#for one day. more hiatus coming because i have a concert and a festival coming up and a shit ton of work

[bluebird-ascended]

Inktober 2024 (one piece ver) day 21: Rhinoceros

[daisyjunghoon]

my honest opinion (which no one asked for but i just want to let it out here bcs I can write more and janfan twitter is in shambles) on what happen recently regarding peponi announcement on fancafe -

for international fans who are unaware, JJ posted on fc that after their concert, for the 2nd half of the year, jnb will no longer perform at uni festivals/festivals except for the ones that are announced before this. it also mentions that 'in the future' they will only focus on making music, album, and their solo concert.

where the rage begins -

he posted this 4 days before their concert which everyone was looking forward too.

the vague statement. some of the concerns from fans that I saw regarding this was - why are they no longer performing on festivals when they have been performing for the past 10 years and even released albums in between so why stop now? when will they be back because there was no specific date mentioned? is it a long hiatus?

I believe jnb fans range from young adults (students) to middle-aged adults. so their concern was if they stop performing at festivals, how are these students are going to see them? for students this might be the only way since most uni festivals are free and cheaper. also, festivals are where jnb gets exposed and gain new fans, so why are they deciding to stop performing at festivals?

fans starts expressing their opinions and disappointments (especially on twt), those who voice out their opinion - a fan on IG actually blocked by jnb official account - on fancafe they get kicked out. led to alot of kfans closing their accounts on twitter.

my honest opinion -

I agree, the timing is off. he shouldn't post this 4 days before their 10th anniversary concert. joykiller.

for me, the main problem here for the statement is both sides are in the wrong. poorly written leads to miscommunication and misinterpretations.

my understanding of the statement - the period they are going on a break after the concert to focus on the new album (since there are only 4 months and if they decided to release it this year) make sense that they will be super busy and won't be able to attend festivals and they already performed during peak festivals so by the end of the year I don't think there's much festivals compared to during summer. And 'in the future' I feel like by early next year, they are probably planning for Asia tour(Indonesia promoter/organizer tweeted before about jnb coming) so maybe that's why they won't be able to perform on festivals again since festivals usually begins first half of the year. If this is the case then I guess they should've worded it better in the statement (they probably couldn't be specific since they are still in the planning stage and anything can happen) but if its not, and Asia tour is not happening, then what I don't understand is why even bother telling fans about their future plans when its uncertain. They should have just go on with their day.

fans expressing their anger is valid, especially fans who had shown support by going to see them on festivals before, I understand their disappointment. but since two days ago, there were too many comments that I don't agree and have crossed the line.

exhibit A: This is all because of JH dating, please break up. he actually wanted to rest and get married and don't care about us anymore. using the merch money for his marriage. do you hear yourselves? this is nonsense. seems like you all are just taking this opportunity to vent out and blame him for dating. He is an adult, a 32 year old man, let him be in love ffs. And even if he wants to get married one day, what's the deal? we have nothing to do with whatever he's doing in his personal life. stop being delusional.

exhibit B: they've changed, they are no longer the 'jnb' I used to know. They haven't communicate with fans for a long time. and which part have they changed exactly? they have constantly post on IG story when they practice in the studio. They have constantly post live performance on youtube. didn't they go on live before during their europe trip? didn't they go on youtube live during their 10th anniversary? didn't JH also make a blog for fans to read? and JH also frequently went on live or post his singing sessions on IG. they just got really busy since the festivals started this year and they had to continue preparing for concert straight away while preparing the album. Also vlive is long gone, if you are expecting them to go on live of how they used to do it on vlive, please move on. the medium and access to do that is limited, and nowadays its a paid service(bubble,weverse) so I'm sure fans would be more fumable if jnb ever decides to do that. they can't satisfy everyone here.

exhibit C: DH is neglected. DH should form a one man band instead. I recommend you to click the link. Read and watch the interview & documentary and see why junghoon and dohyung is inseparable. (link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5)

there's so much more about the nasty comments but I will just stop here for now. If you crossed the line commenting and attacking on their personal life and brought up nothing that has to do with the real problem then I too would blocked you.

5. I actually don't mind if they want to take a break as long as they want to. we are humans. not robots.

6. Peponi should acknowledge what fans are complaining about, even if you disagree with them. communication goes both ways. fans need to know their boundaries and know how to give constructive criticism and peponi/jnb need to know how to accept them. When they keep their silence and pretend like nothing happens (blocking fans opinion/keeping only the good comments/updating IG story when the other side is in chaos), they are doing more damage to themselves. Hence fans are overthinking, overreacting, jumping into conclusions and decide to leave for good because too many times have this miscommunication happen. I'm sure they meant it in a good way and didn't expect this to happen when they announce the statement but again, the approach and execution is always the problem.

I've been a fan of jnb for 5 years now. when anything happen, I always try my best to stay calm to understand the situation and why they chose to do whatever they did. Because I know they work hard and have always give their best to give back to fans. But I have never felt as devastating as this. not even other issues before because jnb and janfans have always manage to get through whatever comes our way. and to me this is not that serious, not even a big deal at the first place and a bit silly which is why I was shocked seeing the reactions. But I guess this is what we have come to, everyone has their own limits and I respect their decisions, maybe someday I will reach my own too.

My messages are open if you want to talk or ask anything, I would love to know your opinions too! if you take your time and read all the way till the end, thank you! if u see any typos just ignore it!

I'm still positive and looking forward to what the future holds for jnb and will continue to suppport and cheer on jnb for awhile. until then.

[jmdbjk]

Weverse/Vlive

So they’ve transferred all the old VLives to WeLive in preparation for Vlive to be dismantled. Also all the Run BTS episodes appear to be on Weverse Media now. Life goes on.

What a night, am I right? Wow. Got a little sleep today and realized we do this again next weekend for the Busan concert. I might need to take a day off and make it a 4-day weekend.

So here is the video of the guys after the live stream was cut, where they are congratulating others, taking pics with the MCs of the FACT Music award show, and being the last ones to leave the stage. Yes that’s Jimin and Jungkook on either side of the dude MC and they were hugging on him.

Didn’t our mens looked classy and sassy all evening? I am so proud of them. And then we got a little barrage of Weverse posts as some followed Jimin’s instructions and got on there right after they left the stage. 

Tae: 

Jimin:

Namjoon and Dory: “Thank you 💙”

And several hours later, Jungkook: “Ah, I should have Weversed, but I was so sleepy that I passed out... TT   I was so so so so so happy to be able to see ARMYs yesterday.  Then see you in Busan!!! 🖤”

And then I saw this... 

I saw a lot of people being all “ooh, RM wants to feel us and touch us” and then he posts a bathtub pic... No, you’re not being cute. Y’all are too horny. Go get laid please. Don’t come back until you accomplish that mission. 

And I’m not even gonna mention the other fandom being the totally brainless idiots they are.

Did I think Joon was being sexually suggestive when he said, “We love you, we’ve missed you, we wanna play with you, we wanna see you, we wanna touch you, we wanna feel you...” Only a moron who intentionally interprets that in an immature and juvenile manner would take it that way. He was delivering an acceptance speech from his heart. Not his dick. 

Thoughtful people would know immediately he meant everything regarding interacting with Army and what we mean to them and they to us ... play with us = to have fun with us, to see us, touch our hearts, feel emotions (closeness) together. Thoughtful people understand how much they miss interacting with us during performances. It was heartfelt. 

We joke that Army is more busy than ever since the hiatus/not a hiatus. Remember the members have told us repeatedly that they exist because of us, they do what they do because of us, when they talk about stuff it all revolves around Army. And we’re out here having the times of our lives with Me, Myself and Mr. Tailor of Chaos and the music collabs, and Run BTS. WE’VE HAD LOTS OF BTS TIME!  We BRAG about how much THEY love US. 

Well, THEY have had NO Army time except last night during that award show and now next week at the Busan concert. Then what? When will they get to see us again? They miss us. Why is Jimin all of a sudden King of WeLives? Because that’s the only way for him to connect with us in a meaningful, real-time way.

Anyway! Didn’t mean to go on a rant but sometimes people are just DUMB. 

P.S. A “world fireworks festival” was happening at the same time as the award show. It was amazing. 

[atruththatyoudeny]

Happy 28th! Always, all the love for the authors in this fandom ♥ Here are all the fics I read and enjoyed this month:

babydoll blues | devilinmybrain (venomedveins) | Sugar Baby AU - flirting - smut - cheating - Daddy kink - collars - light BDSM - fluff - exhibitionism - dom/sub - aftercare - 112k Louis is a high profile, filthy rich label executive who has the world at his feet - a music god.. Harry is the sugar baby trying to make a name for himself singing in shady bars and hanging off the arm of Louis' biggest rival. What Louis wants, Louis gets. But what if the game gets too hot and hits a little too close to the heart?

With You Here, It's Better | lovelarry10 | Valentine's Day - fluff - strangers to lovers - smut - 11k “Why have I put up with you all night?” Louis moaned as they crossed the road, around ten minutes walk from his place now. “Honestly…” “Because I saved you from a terrible situation with my phenomenal acting and rescue skills?” “No.” “Because I’m gorgeous and the best company you’ve ever had.” It was getting harder to disagree, but Louis was nothing if not dedicated to the cause. “No, and no.” Harry sighed dramatically, stopping Louis in the middle of the street and pulling him close to his body, his hand splayed on Louis’ lower back. Louis looked up at Harry, who was smirking now, the pair of them chest to chest, the teddy bear languishing uselessly at Louis’ side. “Then why are you still here?” *** Louis hates Valentine's Day, especially since he's found himself suddenly single yet again. When he stumbles upon his ex in the pub cavorting with his new boyfriend, Louis has had enough. He doesn't, however, expect a tall, curly haired stranger to come and turn his night around...

tomorrow you won’t be mine | darlingfilms | porn with plot - break up - hiatus - canon compliant - smut - angst - emotions - dom/sub undertones - 14k Louis and Harry were larry, until they broke up and weren’t. Years into the hiatus Louis finds himself in Philadelphia for a music festival, completely unaware that Harry has a show that night there too until fans start to freak out online. Louis has things to get off of his chest about their break up all those years ago and turns up to Harry’s concert without notice, leaving Harry in complete shock. Feelings overwhelm them both, leading to a night where they realise just how much they missed eachother...

With A Little Kindness | jacaranda_bloom | strangers to lovers - single parent - kid fic - mpreg - angst - smut - 33k The man lays his hand on Harry’s forearm and Harry looks up as the stranger leans in. “I just wanted to say,” he whispers. “Can I cover your bill? I’m a big believer in paying it forward and I can see you’re struggling. It’s none of my business, of course, but I’d really like to help.” OR the one where Harry is a struggling single parent who doesn’t have time for relationships and Louis is a generous stranger who is unlucky in love, until fate decides to step in and bring them together.

Too Much To Bare | soloistharold | pining - emotional infidelity - angst - insecurity - kid fic - 18k "From where Harry was sitting, Louis’ face looked more angular, more mature. He found himself studying Louis’ features, from the way his hair fell against his forehead, to the prominence of his cheekbones, to the dip of his cupid’s bow, and finally, to the subtle curve of his small lips. He stared and stared and stared, noticing how his eyes crinkled every time he laughed at one of Chandler’s stupid jokes, watching the way his mouth moved when he smiled, feeling a slight yearning in his chest for more contact. He wanted to reach forward, maybe tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear, press his lips against the warmth of Louis’ cheek… perhaps let them wander to the right a bit and capture Louis’ lips in a kiss. He wondered what Louis would do if Harry kissed him. Would he get mad and push him away? Or would he welcome it? Maybe bring a hand up to cup Harry’s cheek and use the other to stroke his hair.” OR Harry has been in love with Louis for as long as he can remember despite his many efforts to move on, until finally, in a last ditch attempt to put it all behind him, Harry pushes away everyone he loves.

Panorama | isthatyoularry | flight attendants - banter - slow burn - 34k Louis' cabin crew at Panorama Airlines are in need of a new member. Cheeky Harry Styles joins the group, but to his mild disappointment Louis determinedly has no intention of joining the Mile High Club. Their first kiss might not be their first kiss.

I've Got You | alltheselights | royalty - a/b/o - arranged marriage - violence - smut - 63k "I recognize that there is no way for me to truly repay a debt like this, no matter how much you may try to wave me off, but I’d like to try,” King Edgar says calmly. “Since yesterday, I’ve been trying to think of something that is meaningful enough for me to offer to you as a reward, but I quickly realized that no such thing exists, not when a question of life or death is involved. But while there is no something that is enough, perhaps there is a someone.” As the king's words settle in Harry's brain, he turns toward Prince Louis. The omega's mouth has dropped open in shock and horror, and that's when the meaning of what the king just said begins to truly take shape in the alpha's mind. “I’d like for the two of you to be married,” King Edgar explains, and just like that, Harry’s life comes to a screeching halt. As a reward for saving the king's life, Harry is offered omega Prince Louis' hand in marriage. Neither of them has any interest in the union going forward, and so they concoct a plan to prove to the king that they are far from a perfect match.

Falling Without Caution | Jennifer_Kaid | FBI - a/b/o - case fic - emotional hurt/comfort - angst - fluff - enemies to lovers - exes - childhood trauma - smut - 50k “You have an ulterior motive behind all of this, don’t you? Orchestrated this whole charade so you could come look at me. Came to get that old scent again,” the omega shot a sardonic smile, “Why don’t you just smell yourself?” “Desperation does not suit you. I expected better from you.” _ Louis Tomlinson, a wanted criminal, was captured by the FBI after years of chasing. Instead of being locked up in a high-security prison, he was offered a deal. What was supposed to be the end of a decade long chase turned into a morally grey circumstance for Agent Styles.

Player | jacaranda_bloom | famous/not famous - recovery from surgery - mutual pining - flirting - smut - 28k Louis’ job should be simple. Harry Styles, one of the top ranking tennis players in the world, is every publicist's perfect client. He’s charismatic, enigmatic, and fit as fuck. The darling of the media, a national treasure, and a sponsor's wet dream. He’s also a goofball with the kindest heart, sweet, and polite, and singularly focused on achieving his goals. There are just two minor problems. Firstly, Louis' debilitating crush on said client. And secondly, Harry has just accidentally Instagrammed a picture of his dick to his 18 million followers. So no, Louis’ job is anything but simple. OR the one where Louis is Harry’s highly strung publicist and has a thing for his client, Harry is an international sports star and has a thing for his publicist, Liam and Zayn have a thing for each other, and Niall wishes everyone would just get their shit together.

nothing lasts forever (nothing stays the same) | beckywritesthings | kid fic - christmas - fluff - angst - mutual pining - friends to lovers - no smut - 15k Harry's got a perfectly normal life in Seattle. He has a well-paying job, friends to hang out with, and a daughter that keeps him on his toes. The only thing he's missing is a partner, but even that isn't necessary, no matter how much Niall tries to set him up. With the holiday season quickly approaching, Harry has pretty much accepted that it's going to be another Christmas with just him and Dani. That is, until Louis Tomlinson crashes back into his life and upends everything within a few days.

I Can Build Your Heart A Home | LiveLaughLoveLarry | past relationship - secret relationship - lovers to friends - exes - getting back together - friends to lovers - exes to lovers - school reunion - 10k “I was just thinking," Niall says. Did you know that Louis came out as gay last year?” Harry nearly chokes on his drink, just barely managing to swallow. “Hrng,” he manages, trying not to cough. “Um. Yeah, I think I saw it on Facebook. Good for him.” “Well.” Niall shrugged. “I figured it just made sense." Harry feels goosebumps rise on his arms. “What do you mean?” “I just think you and Louis should date,” Niall says. “I think you’d be good together, you know? You were friends in high school, weren’t you?” “Erm.” Harry swallows. “Friends isn’t exactly the term I’d use.” Niall doesn’t need to know what terms he would use. Or, Harry and Louis kind of secretly sort of dated in high school. Now it's two years later and they're both back in town for Christmas and it's awkward. Until it isn't.

Love Mail | Neondiamond | strangers to lovers - neighbours - fluff - no smut - 5k A week after moving into a new apartment complex, Harry discovers the mailman doesn’t seem to know the difference between numbers 23 and 28. He’s not too mad about it when he finds out just how handsome his neighbour from apartment 28 really is. Or the one where Harry and Louis keep mistakingly receiving each other’s mail (and also fall in love).

I Followed You, The Brightest Star | therogueskimo | famous/not famous - Coming Out - angst - smut - 28k When Harry Styles accidentally outs himself to the world, he doesn’t know what to do or who to trust, and the holiday season doesn’t make it any easier. He goes to the only place he’s ever felt safe - home. But his coming out has brought up feelings for the only person he ever loved - the one person he’s tried desperately to forget.

[missjoolee]

Joolee's Fanworks Masterlist

Up to date 10April2023

Fanfiction

Julie and the Phantoms

Pairing - Juke

A JatP Untitled Goose Fic 🦢⚠ (Oneshot) Ao3/Gifs

I heard the words "Soulmate Goose of Enforcement" and couldn't be stopped.

And I Can’t Wait to Get on the Road Again (Oneshot) Ao3/Tumblr

On a road trip with her friends, Julie expects to make fun memories. What she didn't expect was a beat up station wagon to be a part of so many of them.

I Hit Back a Little Louder (Multi-chap, In Progress) Ao3

When a favor owed comes due, Julie finds herself the unhappy bodyguard to rising band, Sunset Curve. Well, to be more accurate, the bodyguard to one frustratingly annoying lead vocalist/guitarist.

Help! I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Giddy-Up (Multi-chap, Complete) Ao3

Five times Julie and Luke play a game of HORSE over the course of their relationship.    

Oh My God, They Were Gymmates (Multi-chap, In Flux) Ao3/Tumblr

Luke and Julie pretend to be a couple for discounted gym memberships. But how much of it is actually pretend? 🤔

I Love the Way You Make It Sound (Oneshot) Ao3/Tumblr

Julie is away, shooting a music video for a song she collab'ed on. Missing each other something fierce, Julie receives a late night video call.

Until the Wishes Run Out (Oneshot) AO3

Luke takes Julie on an adventure full of wishes to try and distract her from her bad day.

Pre-dating, but lots of feelings!A scene from my Sea of Tranquility AU.

I can't tell... if it's an "A sharp" or if it's a "B flat"! (Oneshot) AO3/ Tumblr

While on the run from Caleb and his henchmen in the secret tunnels of a long lost pirate's treasure, Julie and Luke rekindle their relationship that had fallen to the wayside after Julie's mom died.

I Found a Note With Your Name and A Picture Of Us (Oneshot) Tumblr

Julie and Luke capture a moment together while they can since they don’t know how much time they have.

More Than a Long Weekend - Making of Sunset Curve's Sophomore Album (Bullet Point w/ Drabble) Tumblr

While making a documentary about SC’s next album, Julie falls into the role of head producer/videographer, but everyone from band to crew can see that she and Luke are falling into something special ;)

No Pairing

A Kitty on My Foot and I Want to Touch It (Oneshot - Reggie Focused) Ao3

Julie helps Carlos look for his tablet and stumbles upon an adorable moment.

Live It Like It’s Meow or Never (Oneshot - Reggie Focused) Ao3

Standalone Sequel to Kitty On My Foot Reggie has always had an interest in possession, ever since he was a kid. Now that he's a ghost, he wants to know if it's possible! Will he figure it out or will these be the cat days of summer?

Discord Karaoke (Oneshot - Luke Focused) Ao3/Tumblr

the country goes into lockdown because of covid-19 right as the season of summer music festivals was about to start. Of the members of Julie and the Phantoms, Luke struggles the most with the prolonged concert hiatus. Julie, Alex, and Reggie brainstorm a way to help him cope.

Can You Hear Them on the Breeze, Those Souls That Rock Amongst the Trees (Oneshot) AO3/Tumblr

An urban legend that exists in Los Feliz is the Hawke Park Band. If you go to the park’s amphitheater after the park has closed at 10:30pm, there is a chance you might hear music.  It’s always rock, and there is no explanation for it. Countless people have crawled every inch of that space, unable to locate any speakers that could explain the phenomenon. The other part of the legend is that any musician that hears this music goes on to have a successful career in music. It’s this part that started the tradition of Los Feliz High’s music program students sneaking in right before summer ends each year, to hopefully hear the music that could make their dreams come true.

Julie grew up with this myth. Hawke Park is haunted. She believed it firmly as a kid, but now as a teen, she knows that ghosts don’t exist. Probably. Because if they did, wouldn’t her mom… No, they don’t exist. So could someone explain to her why she's currently sneaking in with Flynn?

Drabble/Prompts

Boundries! - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: Luke was running, panicked, dream box in hand (I piggybacked/hijacked a prompt sent to @pink-flame ​)

Three Times Luke Stutters because of Julie Molina - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: Character A is secretly an incredible musician. What song are they playing when Character B strolls in and hides so they can listen, inevitably falling for Character A? 

A Bit Dazzled by You - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: Character A is in a boyband/girl group/90’s pop group. What song do they cover that makes Character B swoon over them at their concert?

I Love you - Tumblr - Willex

Prompt: The song that plays when they finally say “I love you.”

Awareness - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: Tracing hands down your partner’s chest

Let Me Rest My Head Here - Tumblr Luke POV - Tumblr Julie POV - Juke

Prompt: Two drabbles inspired by the Juke height difference

Hi - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: “I just want a humble, murderously simple thing: that a person be glad when I walk into the room“

Waiting Up For You - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: Pick a number between 1-102 sleep/bed related prompts. 97

Turns Out You Are a Bit of a Cuddler - Tumblr - Juke 

Prompt: Pick a number between 1-102 sleep/bed related prompts. 45

Feeling Unprepared - Tumblr - Juke 

Prompt: Pick a number between 1-102 sleep/bed related prompts. 17

Luke’s First Apartment - Tumblr - Juke 

Prompt: Pick a number between 1-102 sleep/bed related prompts. 82

Took a Detour to the Kitchen - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: Post Canon sleep/bed related prompt.

Is Everything Okay? - Tumblr - Juke

Prompt: Resting your head in your partner's lap

Vinyl Art

Track List

Now or Never  

Wake Up 

Bright

This Band is Back

Wow

Flying Solo

I Got the Music

The Other Side of Hollywood

All Eyes On Me

Finally Free

Perfect Harmony

Edge of Great

Unsaid Emily

You Got Nothing to Lose

Stand Tall

       +Bonus Track         In Your Starlight

Gif Sets

Hooked on a Feeling (Juke)

Graham Norton (Juke)

Compliment your friends

Wake Up (JatP)

If You Only Knew (Juke, WFW inspired)

Soul Meets Body (Juke)

Heavy (Juke)

Dream vs Reality (Nick)

Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (Juke)

Lifetime (Juke)

#the smile you get (Jopper/Juke)

Fade In/Fade Out (Sad Luke)

Incorrect JatP ft. Bongo Cat (JatP)

Mrs. Harrison's Sick Burn (RIP Nick) (JatP)

Not the Easiest Person to Work With (Juke)

[najatheangel]

a/n: apart of the Stray Kids Summer Collab hosted by @bangchan-fairy. My 2nd story for this collab so please show love and tell me what you think. This collab was so fun to participate in have a great summer everyone. genre: fluff, drama and angst. (Warning: Mentions of car accident and death.) pairing: bangchan x reader (ft. Felix, Changbin, and Lee Know.) word count: 2.2k summary: After years of making music at a young age, stray kids were facing their last night on the tour which ended in tragedy. They were involved in a horrible bus accident leading them to pass away, but only four survived. Months after the incident Bangchan, Felix, Lee Know, and Changbin lost their passion for music and performing as a band. The boys want to reunite and make music again, but they can’t accomplish that without another lead singer which is you.

taglist: @soleilsuhh @melonmochimoon @purplepsycho03 @kpopsnowball @neptunehobi @dundun-baby (Send me a message if you want to be added or removed from the tag list.)

Bangchan’s Pov: 05/23/21.

The day of the audition and the day I’ve found myself loving music again. I hate that we have to start all over again. Ever since that night after our world tour with the boys, we lost everything including our four friends Jeongin, Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Han. I have nightmares every day about that night thinking if I could’ve done anything different or prevented any of my friends from getting hurt, but the devil cursed us with this tragic fate.

I remember we were going to celebrate years of hard work by going to our favorite ramen shop. We played over 30 states and 20 countries all across the globe. We even collaborated with big-name artists like The Weekend, Machine Gun Kelly, Drake, etc…

Our journey was just beginning but quickly came to an end when our tour bus crashed and rolled down the hill away from the expressway. We all almost died together that night, but only me, Changbin, Felix, and Lee Know survived. Lee Know suffered the most injuries out of the four of us when he couldn’t play the guitar for a whole year.

Felix had to be on crutches for a few months, Changbin wasn’t as happy as he normally was; he went completely dark and would never show his soft side to any. As for me, I suffered from severe PTSD after the accident.

We all had to go to therapy, but with me being the leader and having to handle the funeral arrangements with my manager, my depression and stress became much worse.

Our company wanted to force us to continue to perform with just the four of us, but we decided to take a hiatus before thinking about performing again.

That’s how we ended up here after 3 years of pain, grieving the death of my friends and reuniting with my old bandmates to search for a new lead singer.

…

Reader’s POV: 05/23/21

I was Stray Kids biggest fan ever since their debut. Every year, I’ve attended their concerts on my birthday and meet backstage with them thanking them for making music that changed my life. When I heard what happened the night after the tour just like everyone else in the world I cried about it and more than ever I want to take away their pain to turn it into something positive.

I’ve decided to do the unthinkable and audition for stray kid’s next lead singer.

They’ll only pick one out of 5,000 people and the winner gets to make a summer album with Stray Kids. This is my last chance to achieve my dream and give back to the boys for what their music has done for me.

“Number 201! You're up, please get ready to perform on stage.” As the crew backstage called out my number I was shaking in my boots, but I knew that I had to rock that stage. As I grabbed my guitar and walked on stage, I saw four of the amazingly talented men in front of me. After hours of hearing people perform all day, their faces still looked very bored and over this whole audition, but little did they know I had a surprise up their sleeve.

“Hello, I’m number 201. My name is y/n, I’m 22 years old. I’m born and raised in California and the song that I will be singing tonight is an original piece. This one’s for you guys.” As I spoke my last bit of words before performing the boys finally looked up and their eyes glow as I started to play my guitar.

…

Bangchan’s Pov: I was completely thrown off guard when I saw number 201 perform. I couldn’t describe what I was feeling at that exact moment, but her voice was pulling me into another planet. Her song almost moved me to tears it was like she was speaking to all four of us and was understanding how we felt at that exact moment. The lyrics that stood out to me the most were “No matter how tough life may get, it’s best to keep your head high otherwise it’s all downhill.” She’s very confident I can tell that she was born to be a performer so I don’t see why not, but she would be even stronger as a solo artist.

The boys were cheering and screaming immediately wanting to take her in, but I was still not down for this idea for a new lead singer in the first place.

Stray Kids was supposed to be irreplaceable, but then I remembered the reason why we needed someone like her in the first place which is to make music again and do it for our angels Seungmin, Han, Jeongin, and Hyunjin.

So I stood up on stage next to her clapping my hands and slapped my hand on her shoulder. I gave the boys a nod and smiled at her by saying “Congratulations number 201. From this day forward, you will be our new lead singer of Stray Kids. Are you in?” She flashed the prettiest smile and hugged me so tight and the rest of the members joined the big group hug.

“On three you guys, Stray Kids for Life!” Changbin expressed as I’ve finally heard his cute voice come out. “1...2..3...Stray Kids for Life!” Maybe this girl would change us for the better.

…

Our manager gave us until the end of August to perform at the summer bash festival in her hometown Orange County California which was one of the accomplishments of our life since we’ve debuted as a group. Practicing together all summer made me realize how much I enjoyed the process of making songs for our group and became ten times better when she came into the picture.

At first, I’ve felt bad for being cold around the first few weeks of practice. I would always ignore her presence and turn down eating lunch with her on breaks because I was still not used to having her around. She would cry after practice calling her older sister saying that “Bangchan doesn’t seem to like me and I don’t understand why when all I’m trying to do is help him make music again.”

I remember fighting one of my best friends Felix about pushing her away the night and she almost quit the band.

He just kept screaming at me and telling me that I’ve become worse than before after therapy which stung, but I also felt bad for letting him storm off and telling him that our friendship was over. We were fist fighting which never happened and it led us to sleep in separate rooms for a whole week since we were roommates. One night I couldn’t forget was when she came back after Felix left home to visit his family for the weekend. Changbin and Lee Know were out with their girlfriends which led me to be alone or so I thought.

…

Reader’s Pov: 06/04/21.

Bangchan I never understood him out of all the boys. Lee Know he was easy to talk to because we have the same personality and have a love for the same video games. Felix was like an older brother to me always making sure I was alright, well feed, and getting good sleep at night. Changbin was like my personal therapist I would talk to him about all my problems and concerns about anything that’s going on in my life. All three of them were you can say my new besties, but Bangchan on the other hand... was a tough cookie to crack. I would try to check on him if he’s messing up in practice or if he’s stayed up overnight to practice.

I can tell he blamed himself for every little thing ever since the bus accident and he’s hard on himself which makes sense, but I hate that he has to take it out on others especially his best friend. That week in July I’ve decided to come back and give Bangchan a piece of mind because I was fed up with the lack of improvement and bad energy as a group, but then I started to hear him sob from his room. The boys left him all alone and I was the only one that could save him out of his misery.

With no hesitation, I slammed the door open and ran to Bangchan gently embracing him. This man was putting up a fight to forget about the past, but with his PTSD it’s hard for him to get through the pain. So I calmed him down and simply asked him. “Have you ever thought about making a song for them?” I can tell he was hesitating to answer the question, but he responded by saying. “Honestly no. I’m still not in my right mind to do so. You’ve seen me in practice so I can’t do it alone.”

It all started to make sense he was planning the whole time to make this song on his own and not have anyone bother him. “You’re not alone. At least for tonight, since we have one month left, let’s try writing together you and me. Whadya say?” “Y/n...You would do that for me?”

“Of course your my role model and special friend after all.” The unexpected happened he suddenly pulled me next to him on his bed and softly kissed me on the lips. It was my first ever sweet interaction with him and I didn’t understand it, but I was happy at that moment that he finally opened up to me. He caressed my head and dragged me into the studio with him excited to get straight to work.

When the boys came back, we’ve shared the news about our new song they were very happy with our process and agreed to share the song with the world. Of course, Felix and Bangchan talked for hours when he came in the room last and made up instantly. It was a fight that they never wanted to affect their friendship and dynamic negatively, but it made us all happy when they finally became best friends again.

I remember our group becoming a lot closer we would play game night every Thursday, have chicken and beer on the weekends, threw the biggest for Changbin dressing up in wolf costumes, and Bangchan taking me on our first date at the amusement park which was the adventure of a lifetime.

I felt bad for leaving early because I have a weak stomach when it comes to roller coasters. These memories with the boys are something that I’ve always dreamed of being a part of ever since I’ve seen their debut. If I can simply describe everything the five of us have been through it would be...

…

Bangchan’s Pov: 07/26/21.

“Hello everyone. This is Stray Kids we’re back better than ever. This summer has been one crazy ride, but I’m glad I’ve got to share it alongside my bandmates. My forever brothers Felix, Lee Know, Changbin and my angel y/n will share the stage with me as we perform our new song Perfect Melody. This song not only represents our journey with our new lead singer but also our journey with our family Seungmin, Jeongin, Han, and Hyunjin. I hope stays enjoy.” I was very confident presenting this song to the world and didn’t want to bring shame to my angel’s hometown so I had to put a performance of a lifetime.

I’ve slowly started to panic when Lee Know started playing the drums and it took me back once again to the accident in my mind. Good thing I forgot about it completely once I’ve heard her voice starting off the song. With Changbin playing the keyboard and Felix bass blending in with her singing in the background it meshes perfectly which is when I come in singing with her in harmony.

The crowd seemed to go crazy over it and all I can see with her shining so brightly as she does carrying the whole song. Felix deep vocals come in and we scream the lyrics as stays sing together with us feeling what’s in our hearts. We performed like it was our last with no regrets, no hesitation just simply because we loved what we were bringing to the table. If it wasn’t for her I don’t think this ever would’ve happened.

She helped us reunite as a band, got me through my trauma, and best of all we’ve found love in the end. When the song finally cut off we all heard stays cheering and crying screaming “Stray Kids we love you!” Our manager and stage crew was jumping and smiling at us celebrating our successful performance.

Lee Know was shocked saying “We did it, you guys. We performed on this stage and we did it!” Changbin started tearing up but tried to play it off by acting tough. “Duh of course we did. I knew could do it.” Felix laughed motioning for us to group hug.

“Bring it in you guys, If it wasn’t for our wonder woman we wouldn’t have made it this far.” We all hugged each other chanting and spinning around in the confetti. “Bangchan see I told you, we’ve finally done it.” Gosh, she’s just the cutest flashing her sparkling eyes at me as she says that.

“Yeah, I guess we did. I’m sorry for ever doubting and treating you like a jerk. Thank you for everything. For now, on it’s five of us or nothing.” She gives me one last smile and links our pinkies together giving them a tiny kiss. “Of course! Five or nothing.”

[hobipaint]

Sunshine, Inc. - Masterlist [hiatus]

summary: Every trip for Hoseok is the same. Show them around, take pictures, let them eat, souvenirs, back home. It's easy to smile while doing this, but over the years, he's been on the same route - travelling the world the same way, chasing the sun in one direction. It's only obvious that his awe has reduced. To his surprise, though, there's someone who can rival his disinterest - you.

↳ pairing : hoseok x female reader

↳ genres: fluff, angst, world tour! au

↳ disclaimers: mild cursing, discussions of mental health. warnings will be given at the beginning for each chapter.

a/n: hey there, you! this fic is currently on hiatus because I have once again been thrown on the loop de loop called exams. chapters are currently in work, but I have big ideas and even bigger drafts rn so idk when its going to come back. till then, please be patient! thank you so much for being here 💞

• Destinations:

Hey there!

Welcome to Sunshine, Inc.!

Here, we give you the list of cities for our world tour package we call Strands of Colours™. In this tour, there'll be fun, adventures, food, and maybe, some romance?

Any conditions about the travel will be mentioned alongside the cities as we travel - so rest assured as our capable team takes care of your travels.

We hope you have a wonderful trip, and thank you for choosing Sunshine, Inc.!

teaser

• We begin with our pick up from Los Angeles - in case you're from outside LA, we can arrange for pickups from there as well. No biggie. Your necessary flight details shall be emailed to you with utmost attention paid to your preferences. Just sit back and relax; envision yourself in the flight that will begin your trip.

here is the mood you'll want in this city!

• We head on to London, the capital of the United Kingdoms, home to the Brits. Here, our tour guides shall take you along with locals to showcase the finest sights in a city that holds thousands of years of history. Lose yourself amidst the flowers that line the city's numerous parks, feel like royalty near Birmingham, and of course - try the London Eye!

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Next up: the French capital, Paris. Singles and couples, prepare yourself for the abundance of romance that is carefully sprinkled in the air of the city of love. Trace years of French history with heritage walks lined through the heart of the city- including a visit to the majestic Louvre. Our local guides shall also showcase to you how to experience a true Parisian experience, comme les français.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Welcome to the city that holds the legacy of European football, Madrid! Tingle your party sense in the hubbub of Madrid's active nightlife, with evening strolls that show the beauty of the Spanish city. Find peace in the day with the cooling gardens and fountains of the Buen Retiro Park and the Crystal Park. Find various flavours hidden in the delicious streetfood of the city, different from the rest of the world - a truly unique experience.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• A city rich with history, welcome to Berlin. Our local guides shall take you back through numerous pages of the city's story, the good and bad, pleasing your senses with architectural beauties like Brandenburg Gate or Reichstag. Watch the numerous memorials of the wars this city has faced, and wonder at the beauty and peace of the city today. All while being accompanied by the best in German food.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• After all the heat, we take you to the coolness of Zurich, Switzerland. Let us take you through one of the most luxurious cities in the world, at the foot of the Alps and home to Lake Zurich. Its numerous art galleries and museums will be sure to be of your fancy, and of course, loads of Swiss chocolate will be available for you!

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• When in Rome, do as the Romans do! Let our guides show you around this marvelous city and its beauty that transcends generations. Enjoy popular attractions like the Colosseum and the Spanish steps, and the Italian grace that lines the cobbled pathways of the city. Also, visit the Vatican city, just a 15 minute walk from the heart of Rome.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Get a feel of the Ancient Greeks in Athens while walking through its streets, aeons of power and tradition shining in its history. See the Greek architectures that are the fame of this city, interspersed with its bustling night life and modern lifestyle. There are surprises hidden in around every corner in this city - showcased to you through customized tour packages that you can choose.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Where Europe meets Asia, welcome to Istanbul! Experience the archaic yet modern vibe of the city, its colourful architecture and its leisurely pace. Visit the historic Silk Market, the beginning of the Silk Route; also, don't forget to join us while visiting the famed Spice Bazaar, Bursa and the other exciting destinations in this one-of-a-kind city.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• An ultra modern city, Dubai has proven itself as one of the most indulgent, glamorous and progressive cities in the world. Home to marvels like the Burj Khalifa, Atlantis, while showcasing the beauty of the deserts surrounding the city - let yourself soak the opulence of this city while navigating its multiple shopping areas; all the help of our guides, of course.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

•The city that never sleeps, Mumbai is sure to awaken all your senses. The Gateway of India, this city will give you a chance to see all of its cultures mingle in one place. Watch the life of the city through its numerous theatres and galleries. Experience the hubbub of one of the most populated cities in the world along with its savoury street food with the help of our guides.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Next, we visit Shanghai, the modern yet quaint capital of China. Take walks around the Bund and its 52 unique buildings, or visit the Yu Garden and the Jade Buddha temple. Soak yourself in classical Chinese art at the Shanghai Cultural Museum and more places - all carefully planned for you by our guides.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Right in time for the cherry blossoms, Seoul will lead us to a spring fairyland that is filled with the natural beauty of the mountains surrounding it. The city also houses massive markets that boast of sumptuous street food and vibrant clothing, and tourist attractions like the Seoul Tower - don't miss out on any!

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• An ultra-modern city, Tokyo boasts of multiple museums, festivals, internationally appreciated cuisine and sports clubs. This city is also rich in music and theater, with rock and pop concerts, dramas, musicals and symphony orchestras. The city also forms a base to explore all of Japan - pieces of which shall be showcased to you on this tour.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Bangkok is a fascinating city: crowded, noisy, colourful and exciting. There are wonderful, ancient temples and sites, and modern malls that boast of high fashion lined in their shops. The tour shall also be including a visit to Phuket, as a getaway - be sure to be there!!

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

•Home to the Merlion, Singapore has been well known as a tourist destination for decades now. The city's simplicity in transport and beautiful architecture have made it a favourite, and the variance in attractions - from the Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Zoo to Orchard Road and Clarke Quay - makes it a wonderful place to visit. We'll make sure that you don't miss out on any!!

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• Bali - the name of the city itself brings thoughts of tropical airs, sizzling peanuts, roaring mopeds and the gentle gamelan music. This city is hailed as one of the most popular tourist islands in the Indonesian archipelago, and with all good reasons only. Come and explore more about this island along with us in an all new style.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

• The oldest of Australian cities, Sydney brings about a wonderful mingling of chic modern styles and energetic adventure. The city is home to famous destinations like the Opera House, and is packed with activities for everyone to give a try! Make sure you don't miss out on any while travelling with us.

here is the mood you'll want for this city!

•Finally, we make the trip back home to LA, where you'll be dropped back to your homes. We hope you will enjoy the your with us, and keep travelling with Sunshine, Inc. Thank you for your time!!

a/n: this is the masterlist for Sunshine, Inc. clicking on the cities will lead you to the chapter for that particular city -if it is confusing, feel free to leave a comment about the same! Thank you for reading 💞💞 Also, if you want to be added to the taglist you can leave a comment or ask for the same! love, hazel 🤗

[deviiancetv]

When Your Passion Becomes A Job + Artistic Experimentation

Sometimes it feels as if artists get treated so badly, and I don’t know if it’s because people are jealous of our talents, or if it’s because people want to see us suffer. Whenever I see other creatives talk about feeling burn out after not wanting to create as much, they feel overworked, I relate to that BIG TIME. People saying “this is what you signed up for”, but a lot of y’all JUST DON’T GET IT. When you’re passionate about your craft, you don’t want your passion to feel like a JOB!! Once our passions become a thing that we do to pay the bills is when we get burn out, we lose who we are and why we’re here on Earth to do, which is to create things people love and get inspired by. Doja is currently going through this, and she has every right to feel the way she does. People want to be so overly critical, without understanding that celebrities and music artists are humans too. Doja is the most relatable of any celebrity and doesn’t let the fame get to her, she will literally sit on the toilet on live while ranting about her frustrations of the day, like we all do. She’s been performing back to back at every concert, festival and hasn’t made her own fun bedroom music since before she became mainstream in 2018. She needs a hiatus, to do the things she enjoys, and to just go on vacation and relax for awhile. I don’t want to see her bubbly quirky personality get diminished by the public like it has for so many other big names in the industry.

My next topic is, artists & creatives should be able to have the freedom to create whatever they want and to experiment with different things without being ridiculed for it. The public will call you a “one-trick pony” if you do one thing majority of your career, but if you decide to give variety and versatility, people will say “you’re doing too much”. I’ve started to notice this with Chlöe Bailey. Chlöe is starting to discover herself as a solo artist. She and her sister are trying to find their footing in the world of music, and it seems Halle is going to go a more indie soul/jazz route, while Chlöe will be the pop star mixing her sound with more R&B, trap and darker pop sounds for experimentation. Yet, I’ve seen online (mostly in black online spaces) of people being overly critical of her saying “she’s copying Beyoncé”. But didn’t some of y’all’s parents say the same thing when Beyoncé came up and how she was “copying” the legends, Janet Jackson and Tina Turner? Now look at where Beyoncé is, a household generational name. You have to understand that being an artist leaves you room to experiment with who you are, and how you choose to express yourself. Most artists who are greatly inspired by their idols will use some of their aesthetics until they can morph into their own. With that comes TIME!! A lot of people that are so overly critical of Chlöe aren’t giving her time to grow into who she is as an artist, especially when she’s been in a duo group with her sister and they’re experiencing separation anxiety in such a scary industry like the music industry. Give them time to come into who they are and grow from there.

I’m a small creative artist myself, and let me just say, it is not fun WHATSOEVER. Small artists get treated so badly online and in real life. We are constantly trying to create what we love, yet we get very little, if any push or traction on our pages and are overlooked for trends, clout chasers, and online drama. It gets frustrating trying to build yourself without the help of big name industries, but people never pay attention to the little artist that’s just as talented (I know some that are wayyy more talented then those in the big leagues). I just wish the world actually cared more about artists and weren’t so overly critical of who we are and our talents.

[larryfanficcatalog]

Non Au

page one || page two

Given A Chance (174k)

Summary: Louis and Harry run into each other five years after One Direction ends and learn how to love each other again. Featuring: Reggie as the overweight labrador, Niall as Louis’ last grip on reality, and Nowheresville, North Carolina as the setting for Louis’ worst nightmare to come true.

And Then A Bit (159k)

Summary: Harry and Louis fake a relationship for publicity. Eventually it becomes a lot less fake and a lot more real.

To The Ends Of The Earth (68k)

Summary: During a yearlong hiatus, Louis visits Harry at his cabin in Idaho, where long-buried feelings ignite like the fire keeping them warm.

Still I Call It Magic (15k)

Summary: harry and louis before and after concerts throughout the last 4 years.

It Goes, It’s Golden (151k)

Summary: Harry and Louis broke under the strain of it all and now, years on, there's a chance to put all the pieces back together. Set in early April 2015 all the way through to October. Written in Harry and Louis' perspectives, alternating every chapter.

Call Unanswered (249k)

Summary: The day after his 27th birthday, Harry Styles attempts suicide. Louis is flown to his bedside to unravel the mystery of why he did it after a flash drive is found with a note attached, addressed to Louis. On it are a collection of 78 songs, all written for different dates from their past.

When We Were Younger (53k)

Summary: In where you get to see small glimpses of Harry and Louis' life together through the years, first through the eyes of others and eventually their own, as their life keeps spinning madly around them.

Love Is A Word (You Gave It A Name) (21k)

Summary: it's christmas. in between snowman building, tree shopping, and ill-advised skating on a frozen lake, louis and harry get ready to take the most important step of their lives.

They Know (7k)

Summary: The start of Harry and Louis' relationship from the other boys' point of view.

Happy To Be Here (70k)

Summary: The weeks spanning October 2012 - January 2013 are a rollercoaster for Harry and Louis. There's shows to play, an album to promote, publicity stunts to be acted out...and several new tattoos to be inked. Throughout it all, the boys focus on the most important thing in their lives - their relationship.

Who Knew (130k)

Summary: Louis cheats on Harry and gets a girl pregnant

The Winner Takes It all (6k)

Summary: Harry wears only his purple boa, and Louis make good use of the other two.

Stop The World (‘Cause I Wanna Get Off With You) (12k)

Summary: Five times Louis and Harry get walked in on at the worst time, and one time Louis makes sure they don't.

The Dark And The Dentist (66k)

Summary: “I know this song,” Louis whispers, and Harry has to lean his ear toward him to pick up what he’s saying. “It was written for people to dance to it. We should be dancing.” We can’t, Harry almost spits, but it’d be stupid of him. Louis knows they can’t. Even if he looks like any regular Parisian in their twenties, and Harry looks like any hipster Parisian in their twenties, they can’t anyway. To be fair, they probably wouldn’t do it even if they were out. But if they were two uni students, both in Paris for an exchange, meeting over fallen books at the library, or because of mutual friends, or watching Monet’s Water Lilies? “How would we dance?” Harry murmurs, mouth almost pressed to Louis’ cheek, so close he can feel his warmth. What a picture they must make, two millionaires freezing in a park and dreaming of a different life.

An account of the events of November 2014. Canon-compliant.

Always Come Back To You (29k)

Summary: “I’ll do it,” Harry offers brightly. No one even blinks. “I’ll do it?”

Louis sighs irritably. “Shut up,” he orders, tossing a pillow in the general direction of Harry’s face. This is a terrible time for jokes, especially Harry’s lame, old people ones. Not that it was an old people joke. Just that most of the time Harry’s jokes consist of knock-knocks or terrible puns. The type of jokes old people like, Louis’ pretty sure. His nan always finds them hilarious when Harry tells her one.

Harry bats the pillow out of the air without even blinking. “Be reasonable, Lou,” he says in his most reasonable voice.

Louis is perfectly reasonable, thank you very much, and he’s also frustrated and upset and tired and he really wants to punch something. Maybe he should have held on to that pillow a little longer.

“You’re not gonna fucking do it,” he snaps. “That’s the last thing I need.”

Gravity Pulls On You And Me (4k)

Summary: Having to hide his relationship isn't easy. Harry knows it's the price he has to pay to be able to be in One Direction and still be with Louis. Keeping his love a secret is slowly starting to upset him more and more. One night, he reaches his breaking point.

Bigger Than Life (49k)

Summary: “Boybander Harry Styles spotted leaving West Hollywood joined hand in hand with new beau, Xander Ritz”

His heart drops in his chest as he scrolls down, ignoring the short irrelevant article and looking desperately for a picture. Sure enough, there’s pap shots of Harry and Xander, walking hand in hand, looking drunk and cheerful and together.

And that’s—that’s really not what Louis was expecting at all.

Perfect (8k)

Summary: Harry and Louis write Perfect.

If You Say Run (I’ll Run With You) (4k)

Summary: an interpretation of what happened behind the scenes of One Direction's final performance before the hiatus.

I Want To Be So Complete I Could Light A Whole City (3k)

Summary: Harry and Louis have a weekend together before Louis is back in the States and Harry is set to jet off to Jamaica to start recording his album. Harry's love for Louis runs so deep he might just suffocate.

Rainy Days In The Sun (5k)

Summary: It's not always perfect, but it's them. A collection of scenes.

A Few Of My Favorite Things (8k)

Summary: Harry and Louis do cat sitting.

The Ways We Fight (10k)

Summary: How Harry and Louis learn to disagree with each other.

Of Love And Ice Cream (2k)

Summary: A little look into a very hot day in LA. Harry and Louis are hot, eat ice cream and, as always, love each other.

Sugar Pie, Honey Punch (2k)

Summary: Harry is baking and Louis is not helping.

You’re My Light (2k)

Summary: Harry arrives at their home in LA a day after Louis and finds him smoking on the balcony.

Go And Ride With Me, Get High With Me (2k)

Summary: harry and louis smoke before the apple music festival

[littlejeanniebean]

Hey lovely, I wanted to ask you about Up To No Good, a few questions! 1. Is James a big Wolfstar fan and/or does he feel a bit left out? 2. What are their thoughts about Peter now? Do they hate him, feel sorry for him, feel sad, not think about him?!?! 3. Who do you think is the creative force behind the band? 4. What gave you the idea of Remus playing bass, and why is this so incredibly perfect for him?

@blitheringmcgonagall!!!​ <3 <3 <3 I have so many ideas about all of these, let me just:

1. Circa Post-Up to No Good Tour: James looked between the boyfriends, crashed on the couch peacefully, thoroughly entangled in each other. After the disaster that was Paris Fashion Week, they threw themselves into writing their second album immediately. Or, well, James did at least. Minnie kept telling him to take time off, but every time he took even a second away from the studio, his mind immediately went to her. He looked at his bandmates and the easy love they shared - had always shared. All he ever wanted was some of that. Perhaps it was the artist in him, the hopeful romantic -

“I think you mean ‘hopeless romantic’,” Kingsley mumbled from the floor behind the drum kit.

“Did I stutter?” James muttered ruefully. He hated the twinge of jealousy that seeped into his chest every time he remembered that he didn’t have a love like Sirius and Remus’. Sure, Kingsley didn’t either, but the man was self-dating or whatever the term was. He was perfectly content to be single, unlike James, who was once again scrolling through Lily’s social media.

“A watched pot never boils,” the drummer hummed. 

James bit his lip before he could bite back, but his mind still betrayed him. Tosser. Wanker. He wrote down an idea in his notebook, green eyes, green-eyed monster, but he was far too tired to do anything more about it just then, so he shucked off his glasses and crashed on the floor.

A/N: At the end of the day, he is their biggest shipper, but he’s got so much love to give, it’s hard for him not to have someone of his own to give it to.

2. Circa Mischief Managed Tour: James stood in the empty stands early in the morning. The sun hadn’t even risen over the top of the stadium yet. Another artist was sat at the piano, fingers just barely brushing the weighted keys. His once blonde hair was dyed a few solitary streaks of green. James vaguely remembered Lily saying it was the “in” colour now. 

“Alright, Peter?” he ambled down towards the stage.

The pianist started, his pale blue eyes darting around. No one else was there. “Alright, James.”

“That was quite the show last night.”

“Y-you were there?” 

The singer nodded.

“Sorry,” Peter jumped up suddenly, “If you need the space to start rehearsals -”

“No, no, I’m here way too early...” 

“I like to stay late... adrenaline or something... I’m sorry.”

James was about to wave it off, but he took in his former bandmate’s stance and sure enough, Peter sat back down.

“I’m sorry... about the way I left things... I’m not going to pretend I regret it, though. Bands have... a short shelf-life, James... I heard your second tour isn’t performing as well as the first, but you’re a brilliant songwriter with an ear for beats. I think your talent -”

“Is mine. I decide what to do with it. Who I share it with.”

Peter nodded, “How are the boys?”

“They’re good.”

“They don’t want to see me.”

“Oh, they want to do more than see you,” by his tone, Peter could tell that “more” was not a good thing.

“Tell them I’m sorry, will you?”

“See you around, Pete.”

The blond boy nodded again and left.

A/N: I think their relationship with Peter is an evolving thing. They’ll rub elbows again and again at awards shows, concert venues, festivals. Eventually, they’ll learn to be civil and eventually, when they see how his pop-start shine begins to fade - because without his band, he kind of follows whatever trends his marketing team says are in - they’ll pity him, but by then the band’s gone on a well-deserved, mutually-agreed-up hiatus and there’s nothing to invite him back to. 

3. Literally any recording session ever post-Mischief: James: I can rhyme with purple. [writes shit]

Remus: But will it make sense, though? [arranges shit]

Sirius: Who cares? [re-arranges shit]

Kingsley: Good point, all we have to do is take our shirts off and no one will care what we’re saying. [randomizes shit]

James: But that’s cheating! [fixes shit]

Remus: It worked on Evans well enough. [slyly inserts shit]

Sirius: We should make a rap album next. [makes shit cool]

Kingsley: James and I should switch places then, because Jimbo can’t rap. [uses shit appropriately]

James: I can too! [tries to edit shit]

All: Can’t. [is done with shit and sends it up to Minnie and Elphie]

A/N: There are like 101 creative forces between all the Marauders and I haven’t even gotten into Minnie and Elphie’s editing process...

4. Circa Up to No Good Purple Socks Show Segment: “And how did you come to play the bass, Remus?” asked Albus.

“Well, my dad used to play it in a jazz band - they still get together to jam sometimes. So I’ve pretty much been playing all my life and it was never exactly a big deal? Like I didn’t particularly care for it any more than any other thing, it was just... something I did like talking or walking... but then I got into a motor accident - other guy’s fault...”

Sirius closed his eyes briefly. He’d been there. Back in high school, he’d been driving the motorbike when the drunk T-boned them. They were lucky to be alive.

“... and some nerves were damaged,” Remus continued, flexing his hand as if to assure himself that they weren’t damaged anymore, “I was really worried I’d never be able to play again. I went to physical therapy, took my meds, the works. And when I started playing again, something... something had changed for me. It was... It was different... just hearing music versus when you make it - when it comes from... from some place deep within... Like dad’s jazz... and for me, that’s when I really started to play, you know?”

“Beautiful,” the host breathed, taking his time to come out of the story before moving on.

A/N: I just kinda see Remus as... earthy? And I see bass sounds the same way, so it fit :)

You can read Up to No Good / Mischief Managed on my Ao3 :)

Ask me about my fics?

[blackkudos]

Betty Carter

Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 19, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative interpretation of lyrics and melodies. Vocalist Carmen McRae once remarked: "There's really only one jazz singer—only one: Betty Carter."

Early life

Carter was born in Flint, Michigan, and grew up in Detroit, where her father, James Jones, was the musical director of a Detroit church and her mother, Bessie, was a housewife. As a child, Carter was raised to be extremely independent and to not expect nurturing from her family. Even 30 years after leaving home, Carter was still very aware of and affected by the home life she was raised in, and was quoted saying:

I have been far removed from my immediate family. There's been no real contact or phone calls home every week to find out how everybody is…As far as family is concerned, it's been a lonesome trek…It's probably just as much my fault as it is theirs, and I can't blame anybody for it. But there was…no real closeness, where the family urged me on, or said…'We're proud'…and all that. No, no…none of that happened.

While the lack of support from Carter's family caused her to feel isolated, it may also have instilled self-reliance and determination to succeed. She studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory at the age of 15, but only attained a modest level of expertise.

At the age of 16, Carter began singing. As her parents were not big proponents of her pursuing a singing career, she would sneak out at night to audition for amateur shows. After winning first place at her first amateur competition, Carter felt as though she were being accepted into the music world and decided that she must pursue it tirelessly. When she began performing live, she was too young to be admitted into bars, so she obtained a forged birth certificate to gain entry in order to perform.

Career

Even at a young age, Carter was able to bring a new vocal style to jazz. The breathiness of her voice was a characteristic seldom heard before her appearance on the music scene. She also was well known for her passion for scat singing and her strong belief that the throwaway attitude that most jazz musicians approached it with was inappropriate and wasteful due to its spontaneity and basic inventiveness, seldom seen elsewhere.

Detroit, where Carter grew up, was a hotbed of jazz growth. After signing with a talent agent after her win at amateur night, Carter had opportunities to perform with famous jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, who visited Detroit for an extensive amount of time. Gillespie is often considered responsible for her strong passion for scatting. In earlier recordings, it is apparent that her scatting had similarities to the qualities of Gillespie's.

At the time of Gillespie's visit, Charlie Parker was receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital, delaying her encounter with him. However, Carter eventually performed with Parker, as well as with his band consisting of Tommy Potter, Max Roach, and Miles Davis. After receiving praise from both Gillespie and Parker for her vocal prowess, Carter felt an upsurge in confidence and knew that she could make it in the business with perseverance.

Carter's confidence was well founded. In 1948, she was asked by Lionel Hampton to join his band. She finally had her big break. Working with Hampton's group gave her the chance to be bandmates with artists such as Charles Mingus and Wes Montgomery, as well as with Ernest Harold "Benny" Bailey, who had recently vacated Gillespie's band and Albert Thornton "Al" Grey who would later go on to join Gillespie's band. Hampton obviously had an ear for talent and a love for bebop. Carter too had a deep love for bebop as well as a talent for it. Hampton's wife Gladys gave her the nickname "Betty Bebop", a nickname she reportedly detested. Despite her good ear and charming personality, Carter was fiercely independent and had a tendency to attempt to resist Hampton's direction, while Hampton had a temper and was quick to anger. Hampton expected a lot from his players and did not want them to forget that he was the band's leader. She openly hated his swing style, refused to sing in a swinging way, and she was far too outspoken for his tastes. Carter honed her scat singing ability while on tour, which was not well received by Hampton as he did not enjoy her penchant for improvisation. Over the course of two and a half years, Hampton fired Carter a total of seven times.

Carter was part of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra that played at the famed Cavalcade of Jazz in Los Angeles at Wrigley Field which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on July 10, 1949. They did a second concert at Lane Field in San Diego on September 3, 1949. They also performed at the sixth famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert on June 25, 1950. Also featured on the same day were Roy Milton & His Solid Senders, Pee Wee Crayton's Orchestra, Dinah Washington, Tiny Davis & Her Hell Divers, and other artists. 16,000 people were reported to be in attendance and the concert ended early because of a fracas while Hampton's band played "Flying High".

Being a part of Hampton's band provided a few things for "The Kid" (a nickname bestowed upon Carter that stuck for the rest of her life): connections, and a new approach to music, making it so that all future musical attitudes that came from Carter bore the mark of Hampton's guidance. Because of Hampton's hiring of Carter, she also goes down in history as one of the last big band era jazz singers in history. However, by 1951, Carter left the band. After a short recuperation back home, Carter was in New York, working all over the city for the better part of the early 1950s, as well as participating in an extensive tour of the south, playing for "camp shows". This work made little to no money, but Carter believed it was necessary in order to develop as an artist, and was a way to "pay her dues".

Very soon after Carter's arrival in New York City, she was given the opportunity to record with King Pleasure and the Ray Bryant Trio, becoming more recognizable and well-known and subsequently being granted the chance to sing at the Apollo Theatre. This theatre was known for giving up-and-coming artists the final shove into becoming household names. Carter was propelled into prominence, recording with Epic label by 1955 and was a well-known artist by the late 1950s. Her first solo LP, Out There, was released on the Peacock label in 1958.

Miles Davis can be credited for Carter's bump in popularity, as he was the person who recommended to Ray Charles that he take Carter under his wing. Carter began touring with Charles in 1960, then making a recording of duets with him in 1961 (Ray Charles and Betty Carter), including the R&B-chart-topping "Baby, It's Cold Outside", which brought her a measure of popular recognition. In 1963 she toured in Japan with Sonny Rollins. She recorded for various labels during this period, including ABC-Paramount, Atco and United Artists, but was rarely satisfied with the resulting product. After three years of touring with Charles and a total of two recordings together, Carter took a hiatus from recording to marry. She and her husband had two children. However, she continued performing, not wanting to be dependent upon her husband for financial support.

The 1960s became an increasingly difficult time for Carter as she began to slip in fame, refusing to sing contemporary pop music, and her youth fading. Carter was nearly forty years old, which at the time was not conducive to a career in the public eye. Rock and roll, like pop, was steadily becoming more popular and provided cash flow for labels and recording companies. Carter had to work extremely hard to continue to book gigs because of the jazz decline. Her marriage also was beginning to crumble. By 1971, Carter was single and mainly performing live with a small group consisting of merely a piano, drums, and a bass. The Betty Carter trio was one of very few jazz groups to continue to book gigs in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Carter created her own record label, Bet-Car Records, in 1969, the sole recording source of Carter's music for the next eighteen years:

....in fact, I think I was probably the first independent label out there in '69. People thought I was crazy when I did it. 'How are you gonna get any distribution?' I mean, 'How are you gonna take care of business and do that yourself?' 'Don't you need somebody else?' I said, 'Listen. Nobody was comin' this way and I wanted the records out there, so I found out that I could do it myself.' So, that's what I did. It's the best thing that ever happened to me. You know. We're talking about '69!

Some of her most famous recordings were originally issued on Bet-Car, including the double album The Audience with Betty Carter (1980). In 1980 she was the subject of a documentary film by Michelle Parkerson, But Then, She's Betty Carter. Carter's approach to music did not concern solely her method of recording and distribution, but also her choice in venues. Carter began performing at colleges and universities, starting in 1972 at Goddard College in Vermont. Carter was excited at this opportunity, as it was since the mid-1960s that Carter had been wanting to visit schools and provide some sort of education for students. She began lecturing along with her musical performances, informing students of the history of jazz and its roots.

By 1975, Carter's life and work prospects began to improve, and Carter was beginning to be able to pick her own jobs once again, touring in Europe, South America, and the United States. In 1976, Carter was a guest live performer on Saturday Night Live′s first season on the air, and was also a performer at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1977 and 1978, carving out a permanent place for herself in the music business as well as in the world of jazz.

In 1977, Carter enjoyed a new peak in critical and popular estimation, and taught a master class with her past mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, at Harvard. In the last decade of her life, Carter began to receive even wider acclaim and recognition. In 1987 she signed with Verve Records, who reissued most of her Bet-Car albums on CD for the first time and made them available to wider audiences. In 1988 she won a Grammy for her album Look What I Got! and sang in a guest appearance on The Cosby Show (episode "How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?"). In 1994 she performed at the White House and was a headliner at Verve's 50th anniversary celebration in Carnegie Hall. She was the subject of a 1994 short film by Dick Fontaine, Betty Carter: New All the Time.

In 1997 she was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton. This award was one of thousands, but Carter considered this medal to be her most important that she received in her lifetime.

Death

Carter continued to perform, tour, and record, as well as search for new talent until she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer of 1998. She died on September 26, 1998, at the age of 69, and was later cremated. She was survived by her two sons.

Legacy

Carter often recruited young accompanists for performances and recordings, insisting that she "learned a lot from these young players, because they're raw and they come up with things that I would never think about doing."

1993 was Carter's biggest year of innovation, creating a program called Jazz Ahead, which took 20 students who were given the opportunity to spend an entire week training and composing with Carter, a program that still exists to this day and is hosted in The Kennedy Center.

Betty Carter is considered responsible for discovering great jazz talent, her discoveries including John Hicks, Curtis Lundy, Mulgrew Miller, Cyrus Chestnut, Dave Holland, Stephen Scott, Kenny Washington, Benny Green and more.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Betty Carter among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Discography

CD compilations

1990: Compact Jazz – (Polygram) – Bet-Car and Verve recordings from 1976 to 1987

1992: I Can't Help It – (Impulse!/GRP) – the Out There and The Modern Sound albums on one compact disc

1999: Priceless Jazz – (GRP) – Peacock and ABC-Paramount recordings from 1958 and 1960

2003: Betty Carter's Finest Hour – (Verve) – recordings from 1958 to 1992

On multi-artist compilations

1988: "I'm Wishing" on Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films

1997: "Lonely House" on September Songs – The Music of Kurt Weill

[violetganache42]

I HAVE RETURNED FROM TENNESSEE!

God, this is like, what? The second time I've used this GIF?

Man, these past few days have been an enjoyable experience for me. I don't even know where to begin! Oh, wait… I actually do. I think it’s best for me to break it all down day by day.

* * *

Friday

As previously mentioned, Thursday night marked the start of the mini-hiatus because Mom and I had to make sure we could catch our 6:55 AM flight to Nashville on time. Needless to say, we only got a few hours of sleep; however, thanks to us getting the caffeine from our colas and trying to nap on the plane, we were awake enough to explore the downtown Nashville area.

As you may have guessed, Nashville is a popular place for country music and a lot of the attractions in the Lower Broadway area is full of clubs and honky-tory bars. No matter where you go, day or night, there is always a bar where people perform country music live for the patrons.

Nashville also happens to be the place that harbors the Johnny Cash Museum, which was the first stop of the weekend.

As you can tell from the first image, this artifact was made entirely out of steel that was salvaged from the destroyed World Trade Center, which is where the One World Trade Center/Freedom Tower currently stands. The second image is a piece of memorabilia: the Martin D-35 guitar Johnny Cash used when he was alive as it was his favorite Martin guitar to play on stage for two decades.

Speaking of country music, Nashville had recently hosted this year's CMA Music Festival and Garth Brooks took home the award for Entertainer of the Year. I wasn't even sure if it was coincidental or not since this weekend in Tennessee was primarily about his concert, but I'll get on that later. In the meantime, another neat place we checked out was the Country Music Hall of Fame… well, specifically some of the gift shops.

Yes, one of the gift shops has a wall filled with nothing but records from all kinds of country artists.

Outside of the country-related sights, we also checked out a couple more places within the Nashville area like a local candy store called the Candy Kitchen. Everywhere you look, there were all kinds of store-brand and local candy, caramel apples, fudge, ice cream, etc. Combine that with the aroma of pure sugar and you end up either feeling like you've gone to candy heaven or your teeth ended up rotting because of how many sweets this place had.

They even have giant ass Dum Dum lollipops for crying out loud! Like, how the hell are you supposed to eat something that huge?!

Later that afternoon, we weren't sure what to do in Nashville between the bars, party tractors, and what not, mostly because we weren’t in the mood to check everything out due to the little amount of sleep we got. As a result, we did a bit of online searching and found a pretty cool mall not far from the state's capital.

Yep. That's right. That is what this mall is called. The name alone was enough to give me Sonic vibes and I'm certain y'all know why. Hell, they even had three parking lots each labeled emerald, gold, and ruby; I lowkey wished they added four more parking lots and have them named after sapphire, amethyst, diamond, and aquamarine just so it can keep reminding me of Sonic, you know? Specifically the seven Chaos Emeralds? ...*coughs*...

Anyways, that's kinda how Mom and I spent the rest of our Friday: having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and poking at some shops they had before returning to Nashville to see what it was like at night. I will say this right now: they fucking love partying.

Saturday

The next day of the trip was mostly spent driving up to Knoxville for the Garth Brooks concert, which I was able to get a decent number of photos because it was crazy. When Mom got the tickets, she said it was going to be a stadium concert and I thought it was going to be similar to Taylor Swift's concert at Gillette Stadium in terms of crowds, but holy shit! Was I wrong! When you've got a college football stadium filled with 84,000 people attending, it's bound to get fucking cramped, so comparing both stadium tours, this easily takes the cake for the wildest concert I've ever been to thus far. Nevertheless, I still managed to have fun.

Because the Tumblr app—as far as I know—only allows 10 photos per post, I decided to condense some of my favorite photos I've taken for the rest of the trip into collages to try and satisfy the limit, but it appears I may have made more collages than I anticipated, so the rest of this post will be typed via laptop. To kick off the series of collages, here are some of my favorites pictures I’ve taken of Garth.

Sunday

Sunday was the last day of our weekend in Tennessee, so having done the stuff mentioned above, how did we spend the majority of yesterday? By driving through Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, with the latter being the home of Dollywood!

Before going on this trip, Mom and I discovered Dollywood wasn't far away from Knoxville, the same town where the concert at the University of Tennessee was held. She tried to figure out ways to make additional plans to go to Dollywood to see their Christmas traditions, but we ultimately chose to save it for another time because we wanted to make sure we arrived at the airport early enough to board.

On that note, what proved to be the icing on the cake for this trip was what Mom would call a happy accident: viewing the Great Smoky Mountain Range.

The collage with the light blue background is a portion of the several photos I've taken of the Great Smokies as we were driving through a road in Sevierville that offered wonderful views from the distance. The one with a wooden background is during our trek through the mountain range; on top of the photo of the national park sign, we made a few stops along the way because those stops had some marvelous views.

And now comes the pièce de résistance. The happy accident of this trip. While taking pictures of the views at the first stop, we noticed some buildings down below; a couple of them resembled hotels, but we weren't sure what the rest were. As we were leaving the mountains, we immediately entered what we saw from above: Gatlinburg.

We didn't take a lot of pictures there because we were too mesmerized with what Gatlinburg had to offer as we were driving through: shops, an aquarium, museums, ski lifts, hiking, and so on. Everywhere we looked, there was nothing but endless entertainment, just like Pigeon Forge! They are even all decorated for the Christmas season, and honestly, I definitely wouldn't mind spending Christmas in Gatlinburg in the foreseeable future. Renting a cabin, seeing what the resort has to offer, my sisters and brother-in-law joining with Mom, my brothers, and myself to celebrate the holidays. That would be super amazing. ☺️

* * *

Anyways, that pretty much sums up the major events of my weekend hiatus. Posting and queueing on my main and Sonic blogs respectively will return to its regular schedule. Plus, a little something I've been thinking about doing, but what is it? You'll have to find out when the time is right. ;) Until then, see you guys later!

[gigmusicdscvr]

WEIRD TIME: MUSIC, PANDEMIC, AND SEXUAL MISCONDUCT 

Never in our mind we thought that last March was the last time we could live a normal life. We are currently sitting at home waiting for this to at least getting better, which is also scary because there is no idea when. The new year was pretty much fine and exciting before WWIII issues came out, flood sank Jakarta, severe forest fire happened in Australia. We were so excited to watch Foals live for the first time in Jakarta. Throughout their career, the band never visited Indonesia. Now, the idea of listening their tracks come to live was almost like a dream come true, not forget to mention that their last two albums are highly praised. 

Not all tickets sold out that fast though, in February the promoters even came up with sonic opening act, Feast. to get more audiences on the row. Everyone was so optimistic as Foals managed to play in Garden Beats Singapore. They even flew to Manila to perform in other festivals. Yet, three days prior to the festival date it was announced that the festival had to be postponed. No need more time to decide that the Indonesia show was cancelled as well. In April, Foals decided to cancel their Europe and US shows. 

It does not limited to Foals only, imagine how many artists need to do the same thing. Don’t forget their crews, managers, stylist, and other people behind those creative industries. Some managed to record videos, conduct home concert and upload it on YouTube. But, how about small enterprises who needs offline presence? This is a scary and weird time obviously.  Some of us are fortunate enough to stay at home and still get income, some are not. So, we just want to suggest you to do as best as you can to support each other. Donate if you have more, stay at home as long as you could, keep your hygiene and health, and stay safe. Let’s pray this will end soon. 

Anyway, this stay at home moment was the time when we look up to more playlists and podcasts, the number of artists we never heard of or even the forgotten one suddenly peaked. One name ticks us, Moose Blood. It seems too naive not knowing what happened to them. In the end of 2018, the band decided to be in hiatus even indicate a break up after a series of unfortunate events. First, their last album was such a big failure. It never sold out even after the sale. People attack them musically as well as personally. After the accusation toward their former drummer and finally the singer, Moose Blood did not even impress fans with the the material. 

The peak was when Good Charlotte deleted their name from opening acts list and the band release the statement, which to us seem a bit off guard. They should have released any statement since the accusation come out in 2017. Yet, they waited until 2018 before the third album released and finally after being cancelled by Good Charlotte. Well, without any evidence and proof, we never know the truth, but we would like to remain respectful to the victim. Any sexual misconduct and immoral behavior should never happened at all at any stage or place. 

As we research more about this Moose Blood controversy, we bumped into Nothing But Thieves case. There are threads in Twitter talk about this, completed by evidences showing disrespectful manners and private messages from the band members to underage fans. Good PR is needed and they worked fast enough to release statement accordingly. Saying that it was something in the past they’ve long learned and left behind. Good point, although it is still disgusting behavior we could not tolerate.

Moose Blood and Nothing But Thieves were not the only one. The sexual misconduct involving artists  is an old story. Remember Neck Deep’s former guitarist, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein. It exists and happens for a very long time we believe. In Indonesia, there is one case involving a local indie musician lately, he even managed to collect several victims. The worst thing was he still has guts to apologize through video. Although we hoped victims would speak up and bring this case to police, we are sorry to admit that those kind of people are still there around you, around us, anywhere else undetected just like coronavirus. 

What makes musicians do that? There is fame and influences which lead to the imbalance of power between them and fans. There is informal “assurance” that whoever become their victims will not tell anyone due to stigma and dishonor they’ll get from society. 

I hope that this quarantine would make them think through what they’ve done. Uncovered or covered cases. We hope the world gets better soon and we all could live normally, walk safely without caution, then someday the safe gig/concert for everyone regardless their gender is a real deal. 

We know this is such a random thoughts, but we hope you enjoy this. Stay safe and see you soon.

Pic source:  Unsplash/Flavio Gasperini

[fmdsamsooarchived]

I’m officially back from my hiatus! Sorry guys, I had to deal with a few OOC things, but I’m ready to jump right back into rping! I saw that there’s an event going on, so consider this an official starter call for the event. Underneath the cut I’m going to be listing off Soo’s schedule and some of the event related things he’s interested in, just so we can have a base to start from for our thread. Give this post a like if you’re interested! 

March 30th: Soo is performing with Unity at March 30th concert! 

Thread ideas for this: Meeting up backstage before/after Unity’s performance or meeting up after the performances to enjoy the other festivities the festival has to offer; i.e. food trucks, going shopping, visiting park attractions, e.t.c. (open to any muse who’s participating in the concert for that day: BC Soloist 1, Dimensions Soloist 3, Gal.actic, Gold Star Soloist 3, Dimensions Soloist 2, Aria, Lucid, Unity, BEE, Fuse, CHARM, WISH, Origin) 

March 31st: No committed schedules; Casual S/S Fashion Show, Cocktail Party

Thread ideas for these: Soo’s really into fashion, so of course he’s going to attend the fashion show. If any other muses are going to be there, they can sit together and enjoy the show. Or if any muse is participating, we can have a thread of Soo going to support them and they can hang out before/after the show. As for the cocktail party, you’ll more than likely find Samsoo off somewhere on his fourth glass of wine, so if you want to interact with tipsy Soo, now’s your chance! 

April 1st: Contemporary Art Exhibit 

Thread ideas for this: Honestly, nothing really out of the ordinary? Just your muse enjoying the artwork with Samsoo. 

April 2nd: Cherry Blossom Photoshoot, Pink Party

Thread ideas for these: I sent in the form for Soo to be one of the models for the photoshoot, so hopefully if it’s approved, I could use a thread or two for that. Maybe your muse coming to support Samsoo? Or if your muse is apart of the photoshoot as well, we can have a thread of them interacting with one another. And as for the Pink Party, much like the cocktail party, Soo’s going to be sipping on wine and embarrassing himself the whole time, so get in on that.

April 3rd: Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival (3rd + 4th), Food Tasting Festival 

Thread ideas for these: Honestly, just someone to explore with Samsoo. He loves cherry blossoms and just being outdoors and taking in the sights and all that good shit would just make him really happy? And it’d give him a chance to unwind and relax before Unity finishes up their tour. For the food tasting festival, pretty much the same thing, except Soo’s going to want to try every food there, so I hope your muse is hungry. 

April 4th: Charity Gala 

Thread ideas for this: Whew, Soo’s drinking a lot this week 😬😂 how about a thread with someone who’s trying to steer him away from the waiters handing out glasses of wine and champagne? 

April 5th: After Sunset Concert 

Thread ideas for this: Just a muse who’s going to enjoy the concert and maybe indulge in a few of the activities with him. He won’t want to do too much because Unity starts up their busy schedules again on the 6th. 

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 184: JP Hero Billboard Chart

Previously on BnHA: We spent the whole chapter enjoying the cultural festival. Class B entertained with a fantasy play that drew inspiration from no fewer than four separate intellectual properties, proving that it’s not just Monoma who likes to copy stuff. Hounddog handed out some of the most terrifying discipline we’ve seen since Orca’s EXTRA GUIDANCE. Eri regaled Deku with her enthusiastic recap of the concert in vivid detail including sound effects and both Deku and Mirio were thrilled to see her so happy. Those jerk upperclassmen from before apologized for their bad attitude. Everyone was grateful to class 1-A for lifting the school’s spirits. Hadou won the Miss Con competition at long last. Bakugou conquered the warped wall. Shinsou traumatized several class A students for life. Mei successfully wowed people with the support team expo and then promptly passed out afterward. Deku presented Eri with a handmade candy apple and bid her farewell. And lastly, over at the police station, the cops processed Gentle and La Brava and seemed to be taking steps to rehabilitate them. All in all it was the most wholesome chapter ever and I’m almost sorry to see this arc end, but the plot must go on.

Today on BnHA: Aizawa brings Eri back to U.A. and is all “oh yeah by the way, she lives here now.” We learn that Tokoyami interned with a hero named Hawks and YOU ALL KNOW WHO THAT IS. The Pussycats visit the 1-A dorms and announce that they’re coming off their hiatus and that Ragdoll will be supporting them as an OL which is some bullshit but at least she’s okay. Pixie-Bob explains that shockingly, All for One was not inclined to just give her quirk back just like that! We learn that the JP Hero Billboard Chart, the organization that ranks active heroes, will be presenting the new official rankings -- the first without All Might -- shortly. Right now, in fact! We then travel to Kamino for the live presentation. The top 10 heroes are introduced, the highlights of which are Ryuukyuu at #10, Kamui Woods at #7, my new bunny fave Miruko at #5, Edgeshot at #4, Best Finest Elite Superlative Jeanist at #3, and THAT MAN, Hawks, at #2. Oh and Endeavor at #1. With a new suit. I WONDER WHO THIS ARC IS GOING TO BE ABOUT.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 207 now, so any ETAs will reflect that. Just to clarify real quick, my stopping right smack dab in the middle of my boy’s big fight isn’t by choice, lol. I’ve been sick for the past few days, but I’m finally starting to feel a bit better, so hopefully I’ll have the energy to resume soon.)

GASSPPPPPPPP

IT’S THE THING. THE THING WITH THE RANKS. THE HERO RANKINGS!!

omg. are we going to get to see how they do it finally? AND ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO MEET FORMER NUMBER THREE AND CURRENT NUMBER TWO HERO IDOL HAWKS?? THE MYSTERIOUS HAWKS WHO HAS WINGS, AND I ASSUME HE HAS THE POWER OF HAWKS. MAYBE. EXCEPT THAT’S KIND OF A LAME POWER TO SOMEHOW GET HIM ALL THE WAY TO NUMBER TWO ABOVE PEOPLE LIKE EDGESHOT AND FUCKING BEAST JEANIST. HAWKS WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS

maybe I should READ THE CHAPTER and find out. hmmm

anyway so November is ending! that means we’re entering December! which also means I think Bakugou is going to get a new costume soon! and also he and Todoroki have only one month left before they get to retake their exam oh gosh. so much excitement so little time

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ERI GOT ADOPTED BY EVERYONE!?!??!??!

AIZAWA IS OFFICIALLY HER DAD. OH MY GOD. I’M GOING TO CRY. LOOK AT HIS NONCHALANT FACE. “hey Deku meet my new kid”

(ETA: and he says “U.A.” but we all know it’s really just him. I don’t see anyone else from the school stepping up. Aizawa it’s okay you can admit that you’re completely incapable of turning your back on a child in need and so you stepped in and took responsibility for her and only afterward actually went and asked Rat Principal if it was okay and thankfully he said yes because he’s also a pretty cool guy. just like you. my god I love you)

ERI’S SO HAPPYYYYY

LOOK AT ALL OF HER NEW BIG BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!

THE FULL STORY IS YOU ALL ADOPTED A KID, DEKU!!!

Nejire put her hair in pigtails omggggg

and Tsuyu, she is your sister now. GET USED TO IT

so now Aizawa and Mirio are leaving her with Tamaki and Nejire and calling the 1-As outside to talk

so they found out that Eri was abandoned by her parents, and that her grandpa is the comatose Precepts boss

and Mirio says that her horn, which you recall had shrunk quite a bit after the Overhaul battle, started to grow again recently. although it’s still pretty small

so they figured U.A. would be the safest environment for her, rather than a foster home

GOOD. I’M GLAD YOU ALL FIGURED THAT OUT

AHHHHHH

(ETA: btw Mangastream’s translation says “teachers’ dormitory” rather than lounge, which makes a great deal more sense)

HE REALLY DID ADOPT HER IT’S OFFICIALLLLLLLLLL

oh my god. he cares so much. obviously it’s not something he had to do, but he obviously grew fond of her and knew it was going to be the best option for her

so now you have a six-year-old daughter, Aizawa. good thing your twenty other kids can help babysit

and also this guy!

so Mirio is now a full-time live-in nanny. I approve

omgggg

yesssssss

but that’s not to say that this the only reason he’s doing this. that will be the happiest ending but he still loves her regardless

“it’s been a while since we did anything gay, Mirio. how bout it”

yes. pretty neat

now Aizawa is asking if the third years can take Eri for a little bit. I guess he has to go and take care of some teacher things. he’s such a busy guy

Mirio says they’re happy to, and he’s saying they should all play Othello

apparently this is not referring to the Shakespeare play but it’s another name for the board game Reversi. that was really confusing for a sec lol. I’ve never heard of this game before

Deku’s asking if they can join in, but Aizawa’s telling them to go back to the dorms

ah??

OH? DO TELL

and now we’re cutting to the dorms and Tokoyami is suddenly sneezing quite forcefully

LOOK AT THESE CUTIESSSSS

why is Kiri wearing a button down shirt. are you going on a date. none of your usual suitors seem particularly dressed up

(ETA: and what is going on with Kami and Momo there oh my. you two sure look mighty cozy)

Kaminari is teasing Tokoyami about the old superstition that if you sneeze it means someone’s talking about you somewhere

AHHHHHH WHAAAAAAAT

THE FUCK!?

fuck me, what? Tokofuckingyami interned with the former number three himself and no one fucking said a thing?!

and was this his actual internship or his work study? I wonder how many other kids had actual internships that we didn’t hear a damn thing about

also why does Ochako look about 8 years old in that panel. holy shit her eyes are big

anyway, Toko is flatly saying he doubts he has any fans yet and that it’s too early

and now the door is cracking open and Iida is announcing that their guests are here!

EYYYYYYYYYYYY

IT’S BEEN A WHILE YOU ASSHOLES

Ragdoll! ❤❤❤ glad to see they didn’t dump you and that you’re keeping your spirits up even after everything that happened

DID THEY BRING KOUTA. THEY SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT KOUTA. he’s probably in school now though. damn

-- NO HE’S HERE!!!

BE CAREFUL WHEN GREETING HIM YOU KNOW HOW HE GETS!

I love that everyone’s so happy to see them and Mina and Hagakure are even running over for hugs. that’s so heartwarming to see, especially given how the camp ended and the scared and sad terms they must have parted on last time

speaking of those events!

it’s nice that he apologized. even though it wasn’t their fault (mostly). but I’m sure Bakugou doesn’t particularly like to be reminded of it and would rather just pretend like nothing happened. so I hope they take their cue from him and try not to make him uncomfortable

something like 90% of AO3 is convinced Bakugou has Secret PTSD from this incident, and while I tend to stick to Confirmed Canon Only and thus am more on the side of he probably doesn’t, I’m sure that it’s not something he likes to think about all the same and the subject probably does put him on edge

(ETA: and! come to think of it, the one thing we do know he came away with for sure is a lot of guilt! so it’s more than possible that he actually blames himself for being the cause of the attack and for indirectly being the reason why Ragdoll lost her quirk. so to have them come up and apologize to him when from his perspective he’s the one who caused all the trouble to begin with... now that is something I can see really bothering him, actually. oh Bakugou)

Jirou, who as you recall was also injured during the attack, says that they’re all doing well

and meanwhile Tora brought bread for all of them and Mina’s waving it around excitedly and Ochako looks over the moon. she always loves sweets

YESSSSSSSSSS

MY TINY ANGRY SON

LMAOOOOO

DEAR MIDORIYA I’M REALLY SORRY

lmaooooooo

look how much better he’s gotten now, though! he’s graduated from groin punching to handshaking! he’s actually super thrilled to see Deku again and you can tell and he’s trying so hard not to show it and I fucking love it omggg

OH MY GODDDD

HE MATCHED DEKU’S SHOES HOLY SHIT. HOW DOES THIS SERIES KEEP OUTCUTEING ITSELF!?

oh my god. Deku really is his hero. I can’t. why do I suddenly want to cry omggg

anyway! so now Satou’s asking why they’ve come to visit U.A.

and Pixie says they came “to celebrate her reinstatement”

???! Ragdoll???

:(!!!!!!

OH COME ON WHAT THE HELL

okay but like. her quirk was all mental anyway. physically she’s still just as strong as she ever was. I don’t see why she couldn’t be out there fighting crime even without the pokedex quirk. sure, it leaves her a bit more vulnerable not being able to track people or knowing their moves and stats ahead of time, but there’s still a lot she could do goddammit

and now Pixie says they got a report from Tartarus omg!

(ETA: okay so I posted Mangastream’s translation here as it makes much more sense than Jaimini’s version. so you can ignore all the confused commentary below. this makes it clear he’s just taunting them and saying “why sure, I’d love to give back all the quirks I stole, but I can’t do that while you’ve got me all tied up :’) too bad.”)

oh my god sudden All for One holy shit. I don’t think we’ve seen him since like chapter 116?? oh snap

so I’m not quite sure what he’s saying here. is he saying he physically can’t return the quirk, or that it’s use it or lose it type of deal? or is he just saying he doesn’t feel like returning it, sorry, too bad so sad?

I’m going to assume it’s that last one, seeing as he’s a dick

but like, there was never really any chance of that happening anyway. we all know the only way that quirk is coming back is if Deku does in fact turn out to be his kid and he takes the quirk himself and gives it back to her

AHHHHHHH

OKAY BUT. THE SHOT OF KACCHAN’S FACE THOUGH! Kacchan being part of the inner circle yesssssss. holy shit. I’ve been waiting so long for this?? thank you, manga, for this friendly reminder that he is the only other one who knows the full story of All for One and his connection to Deku. I love how serious and somewhat apprehensive they both suddenly look just at the mention of him

anyway, so Mandalay is saying it’s going to be broadcast soon, but that on the most recent JP Hero Billboard Chart they were ranked 411th

holy shit what?! weren’t they in the top 50 before?! that’s an insane slide. I know they lost a member and also had a kid get kidnapped on their watch, but still

AHHHH DETAILS ABOUT THE JP HERO BILLBOARD CHART YESSSSSSS

lol actually this is all stuff that we already knew

BUT LOOK AT THAT SILHOUETTE IN THE NUMBER THREE POSITION THOUGH! fucking Rawk Hawk is about to be revealed at long last omgggg

okay yeah, Deku says the Pussycats were previously ranked at #32

so Kiri says oh, that’s why they’re starting things up again, so they can fight their way back to the top after such a steep drop

oh my god

“NO YOU GUYS DON’T UNDERSTAND, WE FUCKED UP REALLY BAD”

they’re saying that the fact that they didn’t drop even lower means that there are still fans rooting for them, and so they have to work hard

lol Kiri’s sobbing into his arm at how manly they are

and now the kids are all “oh yeah come to think of it, the second semester rankings haven’t been presented yet” and that it’s probably because of all the crazy shit that’s happened recently

are they usually presented before now? I just figured it was a twice a year June-and-December type thing

“exciting” isn’t quite the word I’d use, but okay. sounds more depressing than anything :(

ahhhh now we’re cutting to the presentation!

they’re broadcasting from Kamino of all places

so there are a ton of people and a bunch of stretch limos and such, and it seems to be like an Oscar-level event

oh, but apparently it’s not normally like this

RYUUKYUUUUUUUU

HEY WHAT THE FUCK

WHAT FUCKING GIVES. THERE HAD BETTER BE AT LEAST ONE MORE BADASS LADY IN THE TOP TEN THEN OR I’M GOING TO BE REALLY FUCKING PISSED THAT THE TOP TEN RANKINGS GO “GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY, AND I GUESS WE’LL THROW IN A GIRL HERE AT THE END NOW BECAUSE WE’RE SO GENEROUS”

ffff

number 9 is some old samurai asshole

go fuck yourself Yoroimusha. what makes you so special that you’re ranked above my dragon queen

number 8...

...okay he can stay

oh shit Kamui fucking Woods made it all the way to number 7!

fffffff they showed Mt. Lady and for a moment I thought it meant she was at no. 6! but noooooo she’s all the way at #23. despite having participated in the same missions as Kamui. do you know what, the JP Hero Billboard Chart can go fuck themselves

who the hell

“Crust” lmao. toast hero. sandwich hero

OH GOOD

so now women make up a full 20% of the top ten rankings rather than a measly 10%. we really smashed that glass ceiling, y’all. gender equality has been achieved. you’re welcome

(ETA: I feel like this needs more :/ faces to get my full feelings across. :/ :/ :/ :/ :/ :/ :/ okay that’s better)

anyway if she’s in the top 5 she must be pretty cool and I hope we get to see what her power is someday

(ETA: seems to be your basic run-of-the-mill animal-themed super strength, but damned if Dabi did not want to fuck with her though. you go Miruko)

Edgeshot is at number 4, which is expected since he was previously in the number 5 spot before All Might’s retirement. good boy Edgeshot

except for Mt. Lady apparently

AHHHHHHHHHHHH

BEAST JEANIST

GET WELL SOON YOU SEXY PUNK

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IT’S HIM!!!!!

RAWK HAWK

HOLY SHIT HE’S SO FINE. LOOKS JUST LIKE I REMEMBER FROM ALL THE FANART. HAWKS YOU SEXY BITCH

“HOW EXCESSIVE”

IT’S LIKE AIZAWA’S FACE AND ATTITUDE WITH ALL MIGHT’S HAIR, OH SHIT WHAT A LEGEND

BUT DON’T THINK YOU CAN JUST AUTOMATICALLY WIN MY APPROVAL OVER JUST LIKE THAT! YOU STILL NEED TO PROVE TO ME WHY YOU DESERVE TO BE RANKED ABOVE MY BOY BEST FORKING GODDAMN ONE AND ONLY JEANIST

and of course, number one is Endeavor

lol what he gets the whole last page to himself. why. just because he got a new costume?? I honestly didn’t even notice the difference lol

but okay fine let’s take a look

well, he’s definitely trying! did he make himself a fire antennae thing. and does he have a cape now I can’t tell

god there’s so much fire. just turn it off when you’re not in action and be fucking normal you asshole

and so that’s it. I guess

what I took away from this chapter is that the people of Japan voted in a washing machine over a fucking dragon. given the choice, they would rather have him on the scene, tossing in red shirts with the villains’ white loads to turn all of their clothes pink. I mean, sure then. whatever

BONUS: Miruko’s profile!

OH SO YOU LIKE CARROTS HUH. I don’t know what I was expecting lol

so her last name means “rabbit mountain.” I guess the mountain part is just cuz she’s strong as hell? idk

and I wonder if her first name has any meaning since it’s just written in katakana. I know the notes say something about it being a reference to a professional fighter, but I have a feeling that’s talking about her hero name rather than her given name

I fucking love her. I wish to god there were more than two fucking female heroes in the top ten, but at least the two we have are pretty badass

[theloniousbach]

50 Years of Going to Shows, Pt. 2: The Grateful Dead Universe

Part one of this series extrapolated from the conceit that the 9/4/19 Hot Tuna show here at the Sheldon Concert Hall also marked the anniversary of my Fall 1969 Johnny Winter concert that was my first rock show.  50 years!!   That segment was about those early concerts in KC (well, a couple of Dylan shows in St. Louis and then Chicago).  

The glaring omission from that note was the Grateful Dead (11/11-12/72; 6/16/74 Des Moines; and 10/28/77).  I propose correcting that with this entry that can take up 7/26-27/94 and 7/5-6/95 (shows 4 and 3 from the end) plus visits with The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead and Company, various Phil Lesh and Friends iterations (including the Q 3 times, the Campbell/Greene band twice, another time with Campbell, and this past summer with an Allison Krauss sit in); Ratdog maybe 5 times; Weir and Wolf Bros; and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead to whom I’ve passed the torch.

This is a quite modest Deadhead roll call, but it does include 1972, a Wall of Sound, and 1977.  So I’ve been around long enough to have opinions.  

And I do have opinions.

1972–The 11/11 show was all we thought we were going to get.  A Sunday night show after them always missing us.  There was a rumor then, pure fiction it turns out, that they opened (?!?) for Iron Butterfly (#@%!) in KC before I got on the bus (1969ish?).  I was transfixed—the long unfolding two sets, pauses including for a cigarette puffs), the wide range of songs, the stacks of speakers and Macintosh amps even if it wasn’t quite officially a Wall of Sound show—but that’s all I remember.  Set lists say there was a Box of Rain.  

The second show got added and I was going to go no matter what—two school nights in a row.  And that one is better fixed in memory because of an Owsley Stanley tape that captures a sprawling Playing in the Band to close the first set.  I don’t need that tape to remember the Dark Star>Morning Dew, though being able to revisit it sure is a treat.  It was in fact huge though I was beside myself from the opening notes announcing that the adventure was beginning.  In the moment, I just knew it was happening and that was good enough then.  It is a big big one though with lots of space travel before settling into the Dew.  I turned grumpy about Dew but this one was magic then and now.  

1974–I couldn’t get anybody to go to Des Moines to see them that June.  My dad, actually, was up for the drive and camping (him staying in camp while I and the other Deadheads went to the afternoon outdoor show.  He had a draft dissertation to read which he left somehow but we got it back).  The key parts of this show (another Playing with a gnarly breakdown) were released officially as part of the Road Trips series honoring the Wall of Sound.  That was a sight though I thought I’d seen a version of it inside in KC.  Also a sight was Garcia’s chin and upper lip as he had reduced the beard to mutton chops for a very short while.  The second set was where the meat of the show was culminating in the Playing.  I experienced it at the time as meandering and anxious, without the tranquil spaciness of some of their explorations, but it’s just fine and part of the oeuvre as per repeated listening AND a much broader experience with their music.

1977–When Steal Your Face and then Blues for Allah came out, my enthusiasm was waning.  To this day, I’m a pre-hiatus fan with a real focus on 71-74 when Kreutzmann was the only drummer.  They were more lithe, exploratory, and dynamic.  Still a good friend told me I was going back to Memorial Hall for a late 1977 show, so I got part of that magical year.  And what stood out was 1977 slinkiness even though there wasn’t a Dancin’ in the Streets.  But Lazy Lightning>Supplication, Samson and Delilah, and Passenger all caught my ear.  It was fun, but I was not on the bus much.

The taping scene pulled me back in in the late 1980s, though I’d been intrigued by Lowell George of Little Feat producing Shakedown Street.  I suppose in some ways I am a secondary Touch Head, though Without a Net too was welcome.

I was on the periphery of the Brent Mydland era and actually found Bruce Hornsby’s interlude a real boost to the creativity, particularly Garcia’s. That was spent really by 1994 and 1995.  I went to both nights that they were in St. Louis on those summer tours.  Still I was glad to see the break outs and covers (Here Comes Sunshine, Take Me to the River), but they were going through the motions, keeping Garcia in tow.  It was fun, I'm glad, I'm went, they are memorable in a general sense, but I won't go play recordings.  1995 was the third and fourth shows from the end as they headed from here to Chicago.  Within 5 weeks, Garcia was dead.

It was about the party or, ahem, the cultural experience. I'm glad I got that too with the originals (and subsequent Furthur Festival/The Other Ones/The Dead/Furthur/Dead and Company shows in big venues were as much about that as the music), but an advantage of the end of the big machine is that the shows got much smaller.  The party was still there, but the music was closer. Also as I have aged, I've been willing to pay for better seats (to see Phil Lesh at Willie Nelson's Outlaw Festival this summer we even paid for premium parking.  Sheesh.) so that helps put the music to the fore.

So has couch touring—and that is how my concert gang and I saw the first night of Fare The Well—GD 50 from Levi Stadium in the Bay Area as well as the Friday and Sunday from Chicago.  We also saw a Phil Lesh Quintet reunion.  Being in real time, I count those as shows which indicates that experiencing the music live is what counts for me.

The GD Meet Up at the Movies don’t, but they do remind me that I like to be in the presence of those songs and their creators. And that has pulled me along so far to shows that have included at least Phil Lesh and/or Bob Weir.  I actually am a fan of Drums/Space and stay in my seat to watch the spontaneous magic happen, so having Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart along for The Other Ones, The Dead, and Dead and Company is just fine.  But those operations felt a little bloated.  They have to be in large spaces to accommodate the party, so the gestures are equally grand and the rituals are observed.  Furthur (Lesh and Weir’s operation) was a bit more nimble—one drummer, Joe Russo, and more flexible set lists.  But I saw them in a small arena (12 K) and The Fox Theater (almost 5 K), so those were big concert experiences.

Bob Weir is an indefatigable road warrior, sometimes when he shouldn’t.  St. Louis was an early stop of a Fall 2004 tour that was aborted.  But we got to see him and it was awfully good, one I return to.  It jammed into Jack Straw into the opening of a Terrapin that would be concluded in the second set and the rest of the suite in the encore into Dark Star (my first since 1972 and the only one of two more I saw in person, both from Ratdog) that concluded at the end of the set before back into Jack Straw.  The second set had Peggy O, The Winners, and Friend of the Devil for a can’t be beat acoustic interlude before firing up The Other One and Uncle John’s Band (its reprise after Terrapin proper closed the second set.  With the exception of Playin’, he rehearsed all the big tunes and was energetic and in good voice.  That one was a treat.

Ratdog was always fun, a solid band and a showcase for Weir’s quirkinesses which help make the GD experience.  I like many of his songs more than Garcia’s, excuse the heresy, but I confess that I probably haven’t given up being angry at him not just for being dead but for dying, for giving up which probably started in the 1980s.

Ratdog shows were chances to hear the songs and Weir’s take on them, including Garcia’s at the heart of the canon were always good to hear.  He brought most things into circulation.  The bands were not the all star configurations that Lesh’s were, but they were effective.  St. Louis shows reflected his connection with Johnny Johnson (a 2003 The Dead Show had Johnson and Willie Nelson jam on Little Red Rooster (overplayed over the years, but the way to do a 12 bar blues) and Lovelight that was historic).  After Johnson’s death, it was his horn section sitting in, usually for one of the big jam tunes.  A Dark Star stands out, but there must have been a Sailor>Saint or Eyes another year.

But it is Lesh who is the curator of the part of the universe that matters to me—the invention, the opportunity that any tune can unfold into a world of possibility.  That was most clear with the Q—John Molo, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, and Rob Barracco whom I got to see in their prime three times.  They played the big barn with Weir’s Ratdog to open in July 2001, with a Weir sit in to open set one.  The feature of that one was a Viola Lee Blues sandwich that wove out of that primal jam vehicle from the GD past four times with interludes of Lovelight, Tons of Steel, and Into the Mystic.  Lesh would pull out tunes that had fallen out of the rotation—Alligator and Doin’ That Rag that night, Caution with Furthur at the Fox, Cosmic Charlie with the Q that November, and Viola itself.  The Q revival Couch Tour show we saw had a Mountains of the Moon which suggested a potential (not developed) for that tune as a subtle jam vehicle just as it was the last night of Fare The Well.  They did Beatles tunes, Brent Tunes, Van Morrison.  The second show at the Fox for some reason doesn’t leap out as magical.  But the third one, also at the Fox, on what would have been Garcia’s 60th birthday was.  The first hour was Bird Song>Here Comes Sunshine>Not Fade Away and had me riveted.  The second set had Sunshine of Your Love and a transcendent Low Spark of High Heeled Boys with Haynes somehow capturing the piano parts on guitar.

My only quasi bit of touring was to run over to Indianapolis to see Lesh in a hybrid band of Molo and Barraco with Larry Campbell, Barry Sless on pedal steel, Greg Osby on alto, and Joan Osborne on vocals.  It was a hot hot day but good adventurous stuff.  The Peggy O  as a story with Lesh narrating, Osborne being the fair maid, Campbell as our captain was very cool.  Bertha, Viola, and Shakedown stretched things out too.

With the Molo/Larry Campbell/Jackie Greene/Steve Molitz band, I got to see the premiere of the Ritter Eyes of Horus bass.  A dark stage, the fretboard LED lights on, a solo into The Other One and then Truckin' made quite an impression.  It didn't have the heft/power of the Modulus instruments he used before and after (a possibly smaller one) and it was more striking then pretty, but it was a moment of GD lore that happened on my watch.  Those were two good shows with Campbell showing a range I hadn't expected.  He could dig into the jams whereas I thought he would be more of a Robbie Robertson fills and one chorus solos player. It was also fun to watch Greene grow.  It was like he went to grad school or maybe a post doc in that band.

I have seen Greene at least 5 subsequent times (Duck Room, Old Rock House twice (band and "acoustic," Delmar Hall, and as an opener for Gov't Mule).  He has tasty covers including but not exclusively GD ones and some damn good tunes.  It's good to see his efforts to extend the GD universe.

But I'm putting my money on Joe Russo's Almost Dead as where the legacy will reside.

I saw them earlier in the year and they strike me as not just a Dead cover band, but a PLQ cover band--anything can be jammed out, the tunes can be played in any order in any part of the set.  Russo is a dynamo of energy on drums and his alter ego Marco Benevento is an inventive player.  It's cool to see the varied opportunities the music presents.

My shows this year with Weir (the Wolf Bros trio) and Lesh at Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Festival felt valedictory.  Weir was an interesting disappointment in that his wonderfully idiosyncratic guitar was at the fore, but too often through a too thin toned D’Angelico Bedford guitar.  He had that jangled tone in Ratdog but it went away during Fare The Well and beyond when he used Fender Stratocasters. His voice too was thinner.  So, while I wanted to see him in the spare setting, I don’t need to do it again.

And, though I’m likely to succumb to peer pressure if Dead and Company comes to town, I don’t need that party.

So, I’m content to go out on the Phil and Friends set at the barn with Willie Nelson as my last time seeing an original member.  There was Molo once again, Jason Crosby and Stu Allen from the Terrapin scene, and a new other guitarist Cris Jacobs.  The set had Jack Straw, Brown Eyed Women, Sugaree, and a Cumberland Blues (a favorite) as the closer.  Eyes was the jamming tune, but so was Help>Slip>Morning Dew.  And what a Dew it was as Alison Krauss sang it as she did on To Lay Me Down.  Amazing and what a rare moment in the Dead universe.

Dead music is magical and so it has been for me right to this end.

But long live JRAD too.