#i usually only like a few songs per artist

[flockofteeth]

Holy shit, how did that happen?

Ahhhh. Of course.

Wow, how did that happen?

By spending 254 minutes listening to Twenty Miles lmfao. I'm sensing a pattern

[gothamcityneedsme]

everyone pay more attention to brooke ellen

[nineinchnailsonchalkboard]

.

[musiclover84898]

As you know i’ve been on a tad fiona apple high so im thinking perhaps the reader is the kinda artist that fiona is and she’s preforming in a quiet club. James comes with Kirk (per kirk’s request) and James is really struck by her sorta and ends up trying to talk to her before she leaves so they just talk for a bit and it’s mostly fluff with a few 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 remarks

This is so creative I love it !!! James in a cowboy hat does something to me…I based the title off of one of Fiona’s albums because I didn’t know what to call it lmao. Thank you for your request! 😽

Warnings: Mostly fluff, somewhat-sexual/suggestive remarks. This takes place in 1992

Word count: 1,346

Tidal - James Hetfield

Friday nights were always the busiest, from what I've observed. So any different people would usher themselves inside the small club, sitting at the circular tables or the bar with a glass of wine in hand, chatting and laughing as I performed my songs. It filled me with a sense of pride as I watched the people cheer and applaud for me, a clear sign that they enjoyed my work. I loved what I did, and it felt good knowing that others did, too.

I started my show like normal, the soft, melodic sound of the piano filling out the underground room. My fingers grasped onto the microphone as I began to sing, the lyrics streaming from my lips as the song progressed on. I liked to believe that I was one of those artists who really felt the music they sang and wrote, not the ones who just listened to it. As I continued with the show, it felt like I was the only one in the room; like I was preforming to an empty expanse. I sang better that way, I thought. Slower, more heartfelt songs began to play, hinting at the end of my set.

The door to the club swung open quietly, two men walking in and taking a seat at the bar. I curiously glanced over at them as I sang, my eyes lingering on the taller of the two. He had blue eyes and long, shaggy blonde hair. He was also wearing a cowboy hat, which I thought was quite interesting. We made eye contact; for a moment, it felt like I was singing to him. My stomach jumbled into a knot as we continued to stare at each other, the tension between us growing. Without even thinking, I looked away towards the rest of the crowd to finish out the song. I had to find him after my set, and figure out who the hell he was and what he was doing here at my show..

༄༄༄

I was sitting near the bar, a drink in hand as I gazed at my shoes. The show was a success, per usual; I had received praise from nearly half the bar; their cheering and applause still echoed in my ears. The sound of clinking ice against the glass sent me back to the present moment, revealing the man from before standing right in front of me. My eyebrows raised abruptly, earning a dark, husky chuckle from him.

“You did an amazing job up there, rockstar. I’m impressed,” he said as he took a seat on the barstool next to mine. I bashfully smiled, waving my hand as if I was dismissing his compliments. Nervous butterflies were fluttering in my chest and stomach; why was I getting so damn jittery around him? I took a hearty sip of my drink before settling it back down onto the bar.

“Thank you. I saw you earlier while I was on stage, what’s your name?” I asked. I noticed his outfit and how casual it looked; boots, slightly ripped jeans, and a plain black shirt with the sleeved rolled up to his forearms. Not the attire for a place like a jazz club, I thought. I noticed him take a sip of beer from a tall glass before answering me. He had a horseshoe mustache. It kind of looked like one of the ones you’d see in an old Western film. It made me want to laugh.

“James. James Hetfield,” he began, wiping the corners of his mouth with the back of his big hand. “You’re absolutely beautiful.” His words hung in the air for a long while, allowing me to absorb his low voice and his piercing, ice-blue stare. His name sounded familiar; extremely familiar, actually, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe it was because of the strong liquor I had been drinking for the past fifteen minutes.

“Thank you, Mr. Hetfield.” I joked, lightly jabbing him in the arm with a small fist. He laughed deeply, showing off his white teeth. He certainly was very charming, from his words all the way down to the way he carried himself in general. I felt extremely attracted to him already, even though we’d met just under ten minutes ago. We continued to talk with each other about random things like music, and how we both had a hobby of playing guitar. To me, it sounded like he was extremely passionate and serious about it. It was interesting to listen to him explain how he started playing in the first place. After a few more drinks, it was clear we both felt a bit tipsy.

“I bet a lot of men come up to you, huh? You’re really fuckin’ pretty.” He hiccuped, placing a wobbly hand on my thigh for leverage. His blonde hair looked tousled and messy, which somehow suited him even more. His hat was resting next to his nth glass of beer, which was already half full.

I blush as red as a beet, and mutter a “Thank you” under my breath. He must’ve noticed how embarrassed and flushed I looked, because his lopsided smirk grew wider.

“You’re very welcome, baby. How about we come back to my place, hmm? I could show you a real good time, little lady.” His voice sounded a lot more hoarse and raw than before, a clear sign that the alcohol was affecting his behavior. My heart began to thump loudly in my chest, beating so fast I thought it would burst. The hand on my thigh began to travel closer to the hem of my skirt, toying with the black fabric. I sucked in a breath, my teeth chewing down on my bottom lip.

“I really shouldn’t. We’re both shitfaced,” I laughed softly, placing my hand on top of his own. They felt cold, but it was a pleasant feeling. The atmosphere of the room was hot and stuffy all of a sudden; what the fuck was happening? I rubbed my temples with my index and middle fingers, trying to relieve some of the tension in my head.

“And besides, it’s late. I should be packing up my equipment right now.” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. I wanted to say yes so damn badly, but I just met this guy. I couldn’t just saunter back to his apartment and sleep with him! I wasn’t that stupid.

“So? You’ve never fucked anyone when you’ve been a little tipsy, sweet thing? It’s a lot of fun,” he taunted in a sing-song tone of voice. “But, if you say so, I won’t keep askin’ you,” he squeezed my thigh before letting it go, taking a final sip of his beer. He leaned down, placing a lingering kiss to my cheekbone. I could smell the alcohol on his lips and the faded cologne on his shirt; the unfamiliar-yet-intoxicating scent made my heart race even more than it already was. I quickly scanned him up and down before peering back up into his half-lidded eyes.

“I’ll be seeing you around, sweetheart. You take care of yourself in the meantime, alright?” He told me, tossing on his cowboy hat and making his way through the large room and out the door. As he left, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had seen him before, and how familiar his name sounded. As I slowly refocused on my environment, I could hear people whispering and chatting with each other about the man who had just given me a kiss on the cheek.

“Holy shit, James from fucking Metallica was just in here!”

“Man, I should’ve asked for his autograph. I feel like such an idiot now. Did you see that woman he was talking with?!”

My eyes widened as I instinctively reached for my glass of liquor. I rose the rim to my lips, letting the bitter-tasting liquid fall onto my tongue. A member of Metallica had just chatted me up tonight. I felt a small smile curling onto my lips.

So that’s where I knew him from.

A.N: I finished this at like 3 am so I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes! This is the last fic I will post before I go into inactivity for a little while. Requests will be closed until I adjust to school and overall just get my life organized lmao. I’ll make a post announcing when they’ll be open again eventually. I hope you all enjoyed reading this!, thank you my love @marchymango for requesting it 🤍 Much love xoxo

© musiclover84898

[haveyouheardthisband]

『 FAQ 』

USEFUL LINKS: Submissions spreadsheet (gigantic list of every band submission we've received. Song submissions are on the second tab. If this does not load on your device, you can view a plaintext archive here.) Data spreadsheet (List of every band that we've posted or are still in the queue, in order, plus occasionally-updated data for finished polls.) Song submissions form (Suggest a noteworthy song for a band that's already been submitted but not yet posted. First-come first-serve. These are linked in a readmore under the band's poll.)

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───♫───────────── ⏭ Why was this poll tagged with [x]? Genres are usually from the artist's RateYourMusic page, if they have one. Country tags are also from RYM - we tag both formed/birth location and disbanded/death location. As for decades, we do not usually tag all decades a band was active for, just a few that contain their most popular output. If we get any of these wrong, please send an ask!

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why was this album art used? If the artist has an RYM page, the album art we use is of their most-rated album on there. If they don't, we use Spotify or Bandcamp or other sources. We tend to avoid album art that depicts potentially triggering subjects.

───♫───────────── ⏭ This artist is morally reprehensible! We do not endorse or support any artists posted here. We're asking if you've heard them, not if you like them - and doing a background check on every submission is infeasible. You are free to warn others via reply, reblog, etc. That being said, we may reject submissions at our own discretion.

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───♫───────────── ⏭ Can you post more/less of [x] genre? We run entirely off of submissions, and go through those mostly in chronological order. We do not control which bands get submitted. That being said, we do try to space out polls in the queue if there's a lot of submissions of the same genre/vibe in a row.

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───♫───────────── ⏭ Why didn't my submissions post in the order I submitted them? We rearrange the queue if there's a lot of bands of the same genre/vibe submitted in a row. Or for no reason.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why didn't my submission get posted at all? A few reasons this could happen:

Your band is still in the queue, just not in order (see the question above this one)

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───♫───────────── ⏭ How do I suggest songs for multiple-artist submissions? See here and here.

───♫───────────── ⏭ What's the policy on vulgar/offensive band names or album art? Generally OK, but it'll be decided at our own discretion. In the case of album art, we try to find one of the artist's other works at around the same popularity, and if we can't, we'll trigger tag it.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why don't you tag polls with the band names? Tagging it would put the post in the lap of every fan who follows or searches for the tag. For popular bands, we feel this would skew the results too much.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Can you trigger tag [x]? We currently tag common triggers like gore, nudity, body horror, and suicide (typically as "#___ tw" or "#cw ___"); if we missed a post with one of those, please let us know! As for implementing new trigger tags, sorry, we have enough on our plate at the moment and probably wouldn't remember it. We recommend using Xkit Rewritten's post block feature and/or Tumblr's built-in tag/content filtering.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Have y'all considered increasing the post speed to more than 1 per hour? We don't really want to, sorry! Making 24 posts per day to keep pace is enough work for us already, haha.

───♫───────────── ⏭ How many posts are in the queue? It's maintained at around 150-250.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Do y'all want/need another mod? Not right now. If we ever do, we'll make a post for it.

───♫───────────── ⏭ How is the profile picture album picked? It's just an album that one of the mods likes, that's all. It changes approximately every 2 weeks.

───♫───────────── ⏭ Why is Spotify used for song links and playlists? It simply loads faster on my computer than YouTube. We have no intention of changing this, sorry.

[the-labyrinth-of-me]

Alan Wake 2 revived and expanded my love for art.

Long read under the cut

I used to read a lot as a kid. It was the first thing I did in the morning on the weekends - grab the book I was currently reading from the nightstand and continue where I had left off the other day, then go and have breakfast later. I didn't like the other language related stuff I did at school - although I was always good at it - like reading and learning poems, interpretations, the likes. I needed fiction to dive into. As I arrived in the late teenage years, I stopped reading completely, and discovered my love for music. That never faded, but reading was an interest that had simply died. When I moved out from my parent's and into an apartment with my boyfriend, I started watching movies and shows, which I never properly could at home since I didn't have my own television. Life was okay back then, ups and downs, nothing out of the ordinary. We played Alan Wake for the ole XBox 360, simply because my boyfriend was a passionate reader and the game was about a writer lol. I had so many books around because of my boyfriend , but almost never grabbed one of them (aside from Game of Thrones and maybe a handful of others, at most).

I never viewed all of those creations, those art forms, as art, however. For me, art was always reduced and exclusive to weird sculptures and undefined paintings. Stuff nobody could understand. If it's not making sense, it's art. Nothing from the entertainment field especially. And entertainment never was art for me.

A few years ago, my private situation changed. Boyfriend and I got married and we started a family. That's when entertainment related art became a sort of escapism for me. Something I could dive into rather than family business. I still didn't connect the things I was into back then as art. That only changed when I was captivated by Alan Wake 2. This game single-handedly changed my understanding and tolerance not only for my favorite forms of art (namely music and video games), but got me into exploring for myself what art is. Listening to interviews with people involved in making this game also contributed to that as they talked a lot about art. As per usual with my hyperfixations, I thought about this game, the characters and the storyline a lot and jumped into all kinds of rabbit holes. And one day, I realized that this game that is highly revolving about artists (as per the Dark Presence's nature) does in fact not feature many, many kinds of art, but can truly be called an artistic work, and is an ode, a homage to art. This game celebrates art and its existence and it doesn't tell you which form of art is better and which one is worse. It cherishes and values anything that resembles and represents art, cherishes and values creators. Artists. Poets. Novelists. Photographers. Musicians. Actors. Directors. Filmmakers. Painters. Video game delelopers. Even fan fiction authors. It is those that make fun of these art forms that the game reprimands and punishes. Hartman and the Mormants namely for abusing artists, only seeing them as tools, as content creators for the sake of creating anything, as long as it fulfils a selfish purpose. The game takes us on the journey of creating, of success and failure, try and error, rewriting, scratching, editing, more drafts, doubts, depression, the list goes on. Also addiction. Apparently, Stephen King wrote some of his books while he was drunk and he couldn't remember later what he even wrote (hello to Alan and his memory problems). Artist's addiction definitely is a subject in the game. It helps them see and expand their creativity, yes, but also causes problems, naturally.

So what is art? It's anything that triggers an emotion, basically. A song that deeply touches you. A painting that reveals more its beauty the longer you observe it. The composition of nature, captured in a photograph. The Dark Presence feeds on emotions. Alan can't escape from the Dark Place until he ties emotions into his story through Saga. His work doesn't work without emotions. And if a certain kind of art form doesn't resonate with you, try another one. During an interview, Ilkka said "never only choose one form of art, always be open for others". I tried to follow his advice and he's right about it. And I found out that, by engaging with art, you might discover a thing or two about yourself as well, because art is tied to your emotions. It's a journey through your memories, your soul, your feelings. I discovered that I appreciate art much more than I thought, and I could kiss Sam Lake simply for the Lake House DLC and its take on ai art, and the exploration of what art is, when art is art, who defines if and when someone is an artist. It's an interesting thought process that I haven't finished for myself. Sam also taught me to always carry something to write in case you get an idea for a story lol.

What did the game ultimately bring for me, then? How did and do I profit from it? Well, first of all, I joined an English writing and reading club in my hometown. I'm more comfortable to talk openly about my fanfics. I got back into reading. (roughly 150 pages left in House of Leaves). I'm more sensitive to the beauty of nature, which I try to capture in photos. It kind of feels like a piece of a puzzle I've been missing without realizing it. It has only happened once so far that a piece of media has had such a huge impact on me before (rest in peace Arthur). And the Alan Wake community is so lovely too.

I would go as far as to say that art is arguably the biggest invention of the human race. Not only because the existence of art can be traced back to thousands of years ago. But because engaging with art causes to trigger what I define as our most important trait: emotions. Sometimes I wonder if people who don't have an interest in any art form see and feel the world in a different way. If they might even be disconnected from their emotions in some point, from their vulnerability. Art makes us vulnerable. This can be scary. But, like I said, it's worth the journey to discover more about ourselves. Because without art, we'd just be apes.

[cloudofbutterflies92]

Mi sei scoppiato dentro al cuore (Ghost x OC)

As I promised I wrote a mini shot about the first meeting between Ghost and Eden before the mission in Russia, I leave you the lyrics of the translation of the song here by Mina, one of my favorite Italian artists. I hope you enjoy reading it

Spending two days in a luxurious hotel because the higher-ups at MI6 were frightened at the idea that in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua they will kill her was beginning to wear on her.

She could understand the first day, maybe the second. But even the third was becoming routine and boring. She had to wait until the fourth day before she could go out, obviously because diplomatic business, that was the goal after all.

"Are you in the room? Have you eaten?"

"Yes Grandma I ate some excellent carne pinchada."

It had now become easy for her to lie to her grandmother Helen, she had a special talent. Ever since she was a little girl she could always get away with it, of course those lies then were discovered by the older woman and according to the severity she would react. There were times during her own teenage years when the raven haired woman had literally made her grandmother almost go to the other world.

The punk nights, the fact that she had once shown up completely with her hair shaved because it was cool. Eden had plenty of experience to talk about, years literally swinging in the razor's edge. Yet looking back in those moments she felt free, without having to be under anyone's control, and now instead she walked there, alone and with the sole intention of forgetting with alcohol.

Same lousy habit as her mother, she probably would have ended up like her i.e. on the verge of the slab. Obviously not together with criminals(in her heart she hoped Anna was dead, she hoped with all her heart)

She needed to relax and forget about what better place than one of the city's many bars? With some very good rum? Something strong to help her relax.

"Another Roberto, Fernandes, Antonio"

The bartender immediately interrupted her. "It's Antonio" he received as an answer only she raised her third glass slightly, swallowing the strong liquid.

On the dance floor were a few couples, three to 'be exact and they were all middle-aged. In a way she envied certain people who still loved each other after years, love now had become a rare thing, a complex concept. Or like her who had lost the shred of hope she had placed in it.

Tu sei arrivato

mi hai guardato

e allora tutto è

cambiato per me

"A glass of bourbon" a male voice beside her caught her attention between the notes of that song, probably the usual foreign man who had come to pass that evening, although from the way he posed he didn't sound like that at all.

"Sorry, sir, we don't have what you're looking for

" "Bloody hell, then"

"Maybe a Flor de Caña?" that was enough to get the attention of the blond man, clearly with an English accent. She recognized them too well, especially with a accent as pronounced as that one. She had to admit, the intensity of the caramel-colored gaze was striking her, making her smile amiably.

"A foreign woman in Nicaragua these days is like seeing an angel in the middle of hell, give me what the young lass said"

Nodding, the waiter left them alone, preparing the drink.

"Maybe this woman wants to know exactly the dimension of hell" with slow movements she sipped, studying every detail. Fit physique anyway, a few tattoos peeking out from slightly raised sleeves. No, he didn't look like a businessman even if not everyone was dressed typically from London's haute couture.

"Hell, oh I've seen hell with my own eyes. I live it every day lassie" the mysterious man raised his glass, cheers to the young woman. In that secluded space both of them in one way or another seemed like two tormented souls, Eden was not the kind of woman who liked to have tipsy conversations, she knew she would have said too much otherwise, and now that she was on her third glass it seemed to be gradually slipping away. But she was clear-headed enough to notice that the man was not there on business, how had she guessed? Well simply by noticing that only a military man could have a tattoo depicting different aspects of military life such as soldiers, bombs, and machine guns. Typical.

She had probably lost many colleagues, and in a way she understood this all too well. She herself had been forced to sacrifice the lives of her colleagues. Live or die, there was not much choice in her field.

"Well there are a lot of ways to represent it"

"That's true" with her voice hoarse from the cigarette she was smoking, which seemed to be her consolation besides the little bit of alcohol she had drunk.

"I have a friend, he's really crazy about cigars. If I told him I hate these cigars he would think I was crazy," he burst out laughing, coughing up the smoke.

Eden, with her hand under his chin looked at him curiously. "I should quit smoking too, I usually smoke Marlboro Menthol”

"Menthol? They taste like washing machine soap those ones”

"They are particular" the brunette crossed her legs slightly, taking the last sip. A few couples went to the center of the dance floor, it was fascinating to see how people of different ages were in love or were loved. Something she gave too long had been suppressed.

"I'm not very good at this crap but would you like to dance?"

Eden automatically burst out laughing; she could see how he was not really the slow-dancing type. But with all the stress of that mission and maybe wanting to let loose a little, why not accept?

Mi sei scoppiato dentro il cuore

all'improvviso

all'improvviso

"I'm not coordinated at all love" his gaze lowered chuckling, looking at her a little nervously. Eden shook her head, taking one of his hands and resting it at her own side.

"Follow me" she tried to move for both of them laughing. It was a two-step but there was something more to this: for the first time she felt a sense of happiness?Her heart literally burst as the song said.

"This is one of my grandmother's favorite songs, I know the words by heart" the curly-haired woman explained grinning, how could she tell that he was looking at her as the most interesting thing in that room? How she had made the 'mistake of revealing a top secret information, too stupid at that moment in staying to look at that particular pair of hazel eyes, almost tending toward amber.

They were scrutinizing her, searching.

They stayed there a little longer, in the center of that dance floor. The blue lights illuminated that specific part, the music had stopped but they stood there, almost embarrassed that they had been even after the song ended.

Eventually they both decided to leave that bar, there had been a thought on her part: to spend the night together with him, and the blond had probably thought the same thing. A fuck could have spiced up the evening, but something had stopped them, what could be better than taking away one's pain by conceding one's body? Most likely they were two broken souls trying to find their own broken pieces.

"It was" Eden scratched the back of her head amused

"Good? Funny?"

She nodded "Nice and funny"

There was nervousness between the two, the so-called butterfly effect. There were several choices, but in the end the right thing was to split up. The summer wind brushed lightly, letting a curly hair stand in front of her sight for a few seconds

"Before you go, you didn't tell me your name. If you don't want to be look it's..."

"Simon"

"Simon, my name is Eden" she nodded, she had told as nothing her identity and for her who was on a mission to do so was tantamount to being naive. Never tell your identity to a stranger.

But that stranger had been perhaps one of the few encounters, probably the 'only one that had made her weak. Frightened.

"I hope I get to see you again lass" he smiled slightly and turned his back walking away, Eden could have stopped him but did not. She let him walk away.

But with the promise that they would meet again.

[sarahjtv]

My Hero Academia is Officially Ending and I'm Fucking Coping 😭

So, it was officially announced early today, June 24th, 2024, by Shueshia and mangaka, Kohei Horikoshi, that My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia will officially end in 5 chapters on Chapter 430. The last chapter will be released at the beginning of August after 10 years of publication in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine if all goes well.

I woke up to this news. I'm sitting here on my laptop typing this as a way of coping tbh. On the outside, I'm numb and stunned. On the inside, I'M SCREAMING, CRYING, THROWING UP, MOURNING LIKE I LOST A LOVED ONE WTF 😭

*sigh* But, this was going to happen eventually. It was only a matter of when. When Horikoshi said that we would have more epilogue to cover, I thought "Maybe he'll give us 10 more chapters!" Turns out it is 6-7 chapters instead... In Horikoshi's defense, 6-7 chapters are much longer than what most mangaka have given us for epilogues to their stories. I'd rather have him give us 5 more chapters of an epilogue than rush it in 1-2. Plus, if possible, we could potentially get 19-20 pages per chapter which might be just enough to wrap everything up. And since final chapters of manga tend to be longer than usual, we could get extra pages in the last chapter to finish everyone's arcs and the story properly.

Still, it's so wild to see a series I have loved for years and have such a strong attachment to end as I am following it. I have been a part of many fandoms before and have stuck around them for years (Pokémon, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Breaking Bad, and many more), but it's not often that I've been there there to see a series come to it's conclusion. Sometimes that can turn out well (Breaking Bad) and other times I've seen it end badly (Supernatural; only read about it and it was not great. I bounced after season 13? and I am so sorry to the fandom). My Hero Academia is one of the very few series I will see through to the end.

I'm really coping here, honestly. I've been a fan of My Hero Academia since 2018. I first heard about the series randomly through the internet, but I didn't fully introduce myself to it until I listened to a cover of The Day on YouTube (I forget the artist, I'm so sorry). I thought the song was so cool and that led to me listening to more covers of MHA OPs (Peace Sign is still GOATed btw). This eventually led me to the manga and the anime where I became truly immersed in the series. I started reading the manga around the Joint Training Arc (I think) which was definitely an interesting time to read the manga because the chapters where so short due to Horikoshi dealing with health and I think moving conflicts at the time. It was still an enjoyable arc and enough to keep me interested in reading from the beginning. I want to say I started the anime around season 3?, but I started at the beginning and worked my way up from there. "Shoto Todoroki: Origin" was the episode that finally solidified my love for the series and is still my favorite episode of the series.

To say that MHA has an important place in my heart is an understatement. (⚠️Warning: very quick mention of suicide) I was very sad and depressed in the latter half of 2018. My life didn't feel like it was going anywhere and I was close to giving up entirely. (⚠️ ). Finding and loving MHA during that time honestly might have saved my life. As strange as it sounds, it was one of the few things that brought me genuine happiness at the time. I had something to look forward to every week and it was thrilling. I still remember debating whether Deku or Shoto was my favorite character. Shoto took the top spot in my heart, but Deku is a very close second 🩵💚.

Seeing MHA end is heartbreaking, honestly. I'm watching something I truly love come to an end. We'll still have the anime, movies, and spin-off series to keep us busy for the next few years, but the manga that started it all is coming to a close. It feels so, so surreal. God, is this how the Haikyuu fandom felt when it’s manga ended? My hope is that this fandom can be kept alive long after the series is over. The MHA fandom DEFINITELY has it's flaws, but it also has a lot of good in it too. I have seen incredible art and fanfics come from this fandom. I have laughed and hyped up some of the best moments of MHA with people who love it too. I know that the fandom is collectively mourning its end and I know we'll all cry bittersweet tears when it ends. If anything, I am glad to see Kohei Horikoshi end his momentous story on his own terms. I hope it ends up being one of the best manga endings in recent Shonen Jump like how Haikyuu's was. I think Horikoshi can do it. Regardless of how it ends, My Hero Academia will be one of my favorite pieces of fiction. I am really glad to be here to celebrate it.

[bookscandlesnbts]

RPWP by RM Thoughts

I know I haven’t been active in a hot minute, and I’ve wanted to be; I even have some drafts. But life has been kicking my ass recently and I’ve been really down and not up to posting or trying to collect my thoughts. I want to do this album justice though because I know the stupid fandom won’t at this point and everyone is only screaming about the few sexual lyrics and missing the point of everything per usual. Maybe that’s just the salty asexual as me, but god there are more messages in this album than sex that should be given wayyy more attention like the fact that Namjoon has told everyone to fuck off when it comes to him smoking and him saying fuck you to the government that he’s not a diplomat. Anyway, I love the album. This is what I wanted from Joon minus my Frank feature that I will forever cry about not getting. This album really reminded me of the instrumental out of the box production and song structure of Tyler the Creator (I’m also a huge fan) and the amount of people in comments I’ve seen on social media being like who is that? have me dumbfounded. Yall please expand your horizons. I promise you can listen to other music besides BTS. Tyler is widely influential and such a cool artist not to mention that he is very popular. Of course not all fans live in America so I’m not talking about them necessarily, but if you live in the US, you should have heard of Tyler the Creator. To me it makes sense to listen to music adjacent and that was a clear inspiration. Namjoon recs his music taste all the time too, but I digress.

I’ll list my favorites from the album so far in no particular order. I’m a huge fan of the opening track. It’s funky and sets the tone for the record. Other than that, I love all the songs that we get hard hitting rapping from Joon. I love Nuts, Domodachi (shoutout Little Simz ily), out of love, Interlude, Groin. I do like the title track even though it’s not my favorite, but it really picks up halfway through. And I love the closer Come back to me. I feel like Namjoon let out of all his rage and frustration only to come back to himself at the end of the record, and in the context of the album as a whole, it’s even more meaningful and beautiful.

Since I’m in music circles with people who love artists who definitely influenced this record and featured on it like Little Simz, I am hoping that they give it a spin but not holding my breath. Regardless, I think Namjoon is amazing and I’m so glad that he gets to carve his own path as an artist and make the music that he wants to make.

Lastly, I can’t wait to see Joon and Mimi listen to this album. I bet they will have some introspective and deep conversations as well as a multitude of Jimin giggles from the amount of cursing and those sprinkles of the sexual lyrics that yall are just relentless about.

That’s it from me, for now. Hoping for good news next week but preparing for the worst as well.

[seosejun]

After months of promising activities only for none of those activities to happen, Sejun made waves with a performance at the 2024 Seoul Waterbomb. He performed four songs: two he released as a solo artist and two from 1V1’s discography. Though his performance was generally received well in the moment, he was subjected to criticism surrounding his position as an idol, his relationship with his label, and his lack of public decorum the minute the first fancam was uploaded.

As per usual, he seems to be operating under the assumption that any news is good news. Fan speculation that he no longer wants to be an idol has only intensified, and his performance seemed to be another attempt at tarnishing his idol image. It’s probably the most successful one so far. He was criticized for not being very family friendly (saying ‘fuck’ every three words) and setting a poor example of how an idol should behave (not showing any remorse for saying ‘fuck’ every three words). A few fans have began to put the onus on C Entertainment to reign him in the way his former company did. A protest truck eventually made its way to the label’s building, where it was towed away less than fifteen minutes later—clearly, a sign that they do not care.

SET LIST

MELODY — The title track of Sejun’s debut mini album, NEW GAME. Released in 2023.

GO BIG OR GO HOME — Originally by 1V1. The promoted b-side to their second mini album, LEVEL II. Released in 2021.

OK — His solo track from 1V1’s disbandment full album GAME OVER! Released in 2022.

GALAXY — A b-side from his second mini album, RNG. Features fellow former 1V1 member KIM CHAN. Released in 2023.

VIRAL MOMENTS

He started off his set with his debut song, MELODY, which he performed in a plastic poncho. He is extremely unserious. The poncho later sold out online.

He did have a hard time taking it off after the song. He held his still-on microphone too close to the plastic, resulting in feedback and his worst aura loss in recent memory.

Some of his song introductions went viral. MELODY, was of course, the poncho. He introduced OK by laughing while saying, “I fucking hate this fucking song” and then putting on a good show anyway.

Prior to the performance of his final song, GALAXY, rumors about Chan making a surprise appearance spread like wildfire. Sejun was in on it too, telling the audience he had “a special guest” he thought “everyone should meet.” After an extremely dramatic pause, he followed it up with, “Nah, I'm just fucking with you guys.”

He was not dancing on that stage. He didn't do a single choreography point from Go Big Or Go Home. It’s like he never even filmed the Galaxy music video.

A YouTube comment under a fancam of his performance went viral for proposing a drinking game with a shot every time he swore. The commenter provided a time stamp for every occurrence, which came out to 84 times. The top response, with more likes than the original comment, simply reads, “alcohol poisoning.”

Between songs, he addressed the music-less allegations head-on for once, saying, “Don't blame my company. They'd fucking love it for me to put out another album. I don’t feel like it.” Common reactions to that included “it’s his job,” “he’s burnt out,” “how can he be burnt out when he doesn’t do anything?” and “maybe we'd be distracted if he took off his shirt.”

1V1 fans in shambles as usual. They thought Chan was going to make a surprise appearance and he didn’t. Sejun went twenty minutes in public without talking about Alex, which might be a personal best. He is not nearly as well-behaved as he was in 1V1.

STYLING

[theinquisitxor]

Mid-Year Book Freak-out Tag 2024

Another year, another Mid-Year Book Freak-out Tag! I believe this set of questions originated on booktube, but I see it circulate around all social media. I usually do this set of questions every year. Feel free to copy/paste the questions if you're interested!

I try to only answer 1 book per question (but sometimes I can't decide) and I try to only talk about a book once throughout the set of questions too, so I'm not too repetitive, but it doesn't always happen!

1.Best Book so far in 2024: I'm going to have to say Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I read this on audio back in January, and it's stuck with me since. I bought a physical copy and have been reading & marking up the book over the past few weeks. I'm not a religious person, but this book could be my bible lol.

A close runner up is North Woods by Daniel Mason, and the Beartown series by Fredrik Backman.

2.Best Sequel you've read so far in 2024: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett. This series is just so fun and exactly the type of book I like to read.

3.New Release you haven't read yet, but want to: Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel. I really enjoyed her debut, Kaikeyi and she's an author on my radar now. I'm also interested in Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland.

4.Anticipated Release for the second half of the year: The new T.Kingfisher book, A Sorceress Come to Call in August, as well as A Dark and Drowning Tide by Alison Saft later in the fall.

5.Biggest Disappointment: The Atlas Complex, the third and final book to the Altas series by Olivie Blake. This was a big disappointment and let-down :(

I also found Song of the Huntress and A Winter's Promise to be disappointments this year. Both were books I was anticipating liking a lot, but was let down.

6.Biggest Surprise: The Throne of the Five Winds / Hostage of Empire trilogy by SC Emmett. This became a new favorite fantasy series, and I went into the first book without much of an expectation, but was surprised by how much I liked it.

7.Favorite New Author: I did not read many new (new to me, or debut) authors this year so far, but I did enjoy reading the Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh. So I would say Emily Tesh is a new favorite.

8.Newest Fictional Crush: usually I struggle with this question, but this year was easy 😂. It's easily Zakkar Kai from The Throne of the Five Winds without no doubt. Takshin from the same series is also a contender!

9.Newest Favorite Character: Komor Yala from The Throne of the Five Winds, she was such a great main character, and had such a quiet strength and intelligence that made her an instant favorite.

10.Book that made you cry: The Wall by Marlen Haushofer had me crying by the last page. I might not make everyone cry, but it certainly made me emotional.

11.Book that made you happy: A Fragile Enchantment by Alison Saft was one of the first books I read this year, but it was so delightful and had me smiling throughout. I read it in a day and couldn't put it down.

12.Most Beautiful Book you've bought/acquired this year: The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holton is such an artistic and unique book.

13.Book you need to read by the end of the year: I've been meaning to do a re-read of the Pellinor series by Alison Croggon for a few years now, maybe I'll get to it this year

[yellowflowerbub]

bathtime (together)

♡ Feb. 10th ♡

♡ Day 1 of 5 ♡

꒷︶ ̇ ̟ ෆ ‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿ ෆ ̟ ̇ ︶꒷

summary. you decide to prepare a surprise for Aki when he comes back from work on valentines day

wordcount. 1.3k+

pairing(s). aki hayakawa x reader

tag(s). fluff, teasing, bathing together, pet names (my love, dear), gender neutral, cheesy

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Water is pushed into the tub’s side, it dramatically thrashes against itself before leveling out into miniature waves as the stray droplets that were flung into the air mush together with the rest. Bubbles begin to float over top of the water as the sweetly scented solution is progressively poured. They greedily stack upon each other, building from the water level and up, consuming the surrounding until where the bubbles began and water ended seemed nebulous. They shimmer by the reflection of soft candle light and a tablet positioned on the tub’s wide rim.

A music streaming application is open, pop-ups of different playlists invade the screen before being absentmindedly closed as your shaky fingers feverishly scour your account for the ‘Bathtime with Aki’ playlist. It seems as though it was purposefully hidden, concealed by a multitude of advertisements and song suggestions you never paid more than a second thought to.

“Dear?” You hear. The distant call is muffled by the rushing, running water and a closed bathroom door. You scramble to turn the water off so as to not alert him. He’s on time of course, but per usual you failed to be ready.

Even more anxious, your eyes can barely keep up with how quickly the many playlists whizz past. “What was that? Was the water running?”  

You curse his good ears and continue to search, “Yes, I was just,” you pause, “...washing something off.”

“Alright.”

At taxing times like these you’re thankful of how much of his trust he confides in you. 

You gasp as you spot his name and click it, rapidly turning up the volume while it loads. Through a small speaker on top of the bathroom counter plays the melody of the first song, the funky bass filled with emotions you’ve only touched upon with Aki echo throughout every inch of the bathroom. The sound sneaks under the crack between the bathroom’s door and the cold tile to the silence of the rest of the apartment. The hum of the first few chords of what you believe to be a piano makes a smile creep up your lips. You’re sure he’s heard the song.

By the time the artist begins singing the lyrics to the first verse a soft knock is heard on the door’s wood, you can barely hear it over how loud the speaker plays. “Yes? Who’s there?”

“Who else would it be?” 

“I dunno? Maybe my boyfriend?” 

“Really? And here I am thinkin’ you’re single.”

You giggle, “Wanna come in?”

As the door knob twists and the bathroom door is opened by a crack, the incoming chorus you felt approaching hit. Every little note incorporated into the production from tic to tune fuse within each other to create a symphony your ears are happy to hear. You sing under your breath and let the bubbles in the bath come over your shoulders as you melt into the almost hot water, your arms float by your sides, your feet by one another, and your back pressed to the side of your bathtub.

“Come in, don’t be shy.”

He hesitantly slides into the bathroom, the full suit he wore feeling a bit uncomfortable now that he was surrounded by a warmer air and steam with the door shut behind him. 

“What’s all this?”

You smile, “Have you checked what day it is?”

His brows furrow, he actually has not. He pulls back his cuffed sleeve to reveal a chunky metal watch worn around his wrist. You’d got him that watch for his birthday the year prior as a surprise and he had put it on immediately after he tore it from its packaging. Since then, you’ve never seen him without it. 

“It’s Tuesday?” Still bewildered by the scenery, he thinks to himself for a quick moment before it comes to him.

“Valentine's Day?”

“Ding ding ding!” 

He swears to himself it’s from the scented candles but his face burns, “You’re so corny.”

“You love it.”

For a moment, he seems to remember how naked you were. He’s seen you naked more times than he could probably recall but it never failed to restart his heart as if it were his first moment he laid his pretty sapphire eyes on you. 

“If you get in I might let you touch instead of just stare.” 

“I’ll take you up on that offer.”

He wastes no time riding his suit coat from his torso, his nimble fingers spend no more than a second undoing each obsidian button. He shrugs the thing off his shoulders, half heartedly folding it to toss on the floor. His suspenders and pearl white button up are next, meeting the same fate as the overcoat. 

“You think I can even fit in there with you?”

You fan him, “I’m sure you can.”

 “I’m 6’2, my love.” He chuckles, you can see his bare shoulders jump when he laughs and catch a glimpse of the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes before he turns away from you to continue to strip.

“Why’re you turning around? I’ve seen everything you’ve got.”

“You whistle at me like a piece of meat when I take my pants off.”

Fair enough.

Aki, now fully naked, dips his foot into the water to test its temperature. Chills crawl up his calf from the stark difference and each hair stands on end. He shudders through his teeth as both of his legs slide on either side of your hips.

You’re faintly frightened of the bath overflowing, its edge rising as steadily as Aki let his body sink into the water. The bath looks to be on the brink of spilling over onto the tile by the time he's waist deep.

His body melts into yours just as well as the water, the damp skin over his chest molds with your back like wax on top of a burning candle seeping from its edge. He’s as warm as the water surrounding your bodies, his ribs press hard into you and his heart beats through it, it rests at the closest it can to you. The rhythm of his pumping heart beats stridently in not only his ears, but yours as well. 

“Your heart’s beating really quick. You ok?” You inquire.

He’s quick to answer, “Of course I am. I’m just.. amazed on how nice this is. You did a outstanding job with all of it.” 

“Thank you,” you stifle a laugh, “I didn’t get all of what I wanted in here. Like, I thought rose petals would fit the mood I’ve got going but I didn’t get the chance to place them. They're actually still in our room.”

“I love it either way.” His voice is low, whisper volume as his chin rests on your open shoulder, his nose dipped in the side of your neck. Always so thoughtful. For the most part.

You do laugh this time, “You’d say that no matter what I do.”

He felt his smile lift, “Think of this whole thing as a ballroom. You’ve prepared every piece but forgot some food courses, and some appetizers, and some chairs but there is still a dancefloor and a chandelier overhead everyone adores.”

“Your point here?”

“A hall wouldn’t be complete without its chandelier. And that’s what you are, my love. My gorgeous chandelier.” His lips come down to softly kiss your shoulder, “So no matter what you prepared for me, I will be completely overjoyed because you prepared it and you are here to do whatever it is with me.”

The song, you'd completely forgotten you turned on in the first place, comes to a slow conclusion. The symphony of instruments fade into the silence and splashes of water and the last thing heard before it completely makes it's exits is the lead singer's high note, blending with it all.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

a/n: i'm so proud of that last piece of dialogue that i’m ending the fic here  the song was "out of touch" if you were wondering

Feedback and Reblogs are Appreciated!!

[fromtenthousandfeet]

https://www.tumblr.com/fromtenthousandfeet/762649366059204608/httpsxcom97901suestatus1837382052729311473?source=share

Yes seven and golden were definitely successful. The music that was chosen all have easy hooks and JK's by no means a bad performer. Also JK was extremely popular prior to his solo songs. And anon isn't wrong per se - I'd say JK is definitely the most known member of BTS right now. He should be shouldn't he? Comparing his activities to the only other two members who could've possibly competed - Jimin and Tae had a pretty limited rollout. They didn't go on extended radio legs in the west or otherwise, didn't perform at any big locations like times square or gcf or iheart, didn't have huge collabs with huge western artists, didn't get the Hybe / sb marketing team hounding every music critic, radio host or netting awards for them (imo VMAs are usually negotiated, I've said this before JK entered the picture so i wont be changing my opinion just because he won one - they wouldn't give it to some unknown but the fan voting is a formality). What I question is if goldens only purpose was to be successful for its own sake.

How well did JK really do? With Jimin we can see that his newer songs from muse did better than his older ones from face. Even though sgmb wasn't as popular with his fanbase or in English, it still did better than smf pt 2 and who obviously performed much better than like crazy. Jimin's success with face translated into more fans, more organized fbs and hence a better performance with muse even though he's enlisted and couldn't properly promote his album. I won't consider nlg a worthy comparison since it's just a fansong but let's compare SNTY to 3d or seven. That's fair enough right? JK only had a few weeks to promote it before he enlisted but I would still say better than being totally radio silent like Jimin for muse. Anyhow SNTY's success was very JK from BTS-esque coded. As in without all the marketing and hype, that songs success is what I would've initially expected from JK in the first place from chapter two before the insanity of seven. It did very well of course. But how is it that we went through such a huge hype cycle of the biggest global popstar who sang seven to rival western artists and BTS themselves, all that marketing and activities and then end up right back to the same situation with his music performance that he would've achieved with his popularity post-hiatus anyway. If Jimin is dependent on his fans for his chart performance then SNTY shows that JK is still dependent on armys but how are they both now in the same situation when one has industry plant level money behind him? (industry plant is just a factual moniker for me not an insult for example I love industry plants Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter). But where are all his new fans that he gained from seven and 3d?

If I invested so much money at JK only for his performance at the charts to revert back to the same level as it was before I did that, then I'd be questioning a lot. Of course scooter and his buddies probably still made a sick amount of money from seven and golden but as Hybe trying to make a new BTS, I'd be annoyed that my marketing budget for JK would have to stay huge to get the returns I want. He's no BTS - invest minimal budget and get huge returns. JK might still get the golden treatment once he's back - sunk cost theory is a thing after all. And while JK didn't quite become the next Justin Bieber like he was supposed to, he's still more successful than 95% of Hybe's other projects. Anyway I doubt people who aren't as deep into this as us can even tell his popularity isn't at the level it's supposed to be at. They'll just say JK is the most successful member from BTS because like you said marketing works. However JK in chapter two has shown me that unless he makes a serious breakthrough with his next projects - his merits as a solo artist are still inextricably tied into his groups fanbase. Which is fine since Armys are still huge and maybe that will be enough even though I feel he failed to net enough dedicated fans with his solo music. But I do wonder about the sustainability of this arrangement when the group returns or if the group decides to go on a more permanent hiatus. Will armys all convert to jjks? I guess we shall see.

Also sidenote I know Tae's music has never done as well as Jimin's and his popularity is more superficial than Jimin's but I still think he's more popular than the other members by far and he could've potentially gotten to Jimins level if he'd done a better debut solo album. Just clarifying since I bunched Tae and Jimin together here even though it's not 2022 anymore and Jimin has strided past Tae as a solo artist. Also they may have definitely not opted into whatever deal JK had - I doubt they were offered one but it's possible it was their choice too. I don't want to strip them of their agency. Tae and Jimin have seemed more wary of Hybe than JK I think

Thanks for sharing. Lots of good info here.

[boydepartment]

Enhypen as Sad Songs

MASTERLIST

a/n: as per usual the song comes with a scenario ❤️

warnings- angst

JUNGWON- all i want- kodaline

you and jungwon were best friends for years. when highschool hit and he had to go away to become an idol you knew that was pretty much it for you two. there wouldn’t be anymore late night sleepovers, no more junk food at 3am together, no giggling while sneaking out, no nothing. or at least that’s what you thought. jungwon always planning to make time for you he always thought about how he could go on more adventures with you when he debuted. jungwon would have the money to take you anywhere you’d want. you didn’t know about any of his plans, so when you cut him off with a final goodbye he’s just left in confusion as to why you left him if you loved him.

HEESEUNG- your sister was right- wilbur soot

heeseung started out as your tutor for your english 101 class. you were struggling and needed help, heeseung would help you in more ways than english. he’d take you out on dates, give you stuff, you’d practically act like you were dating. all your friends hated the fact heeseung was this close to you. he had a reputation for using people, of course, it wasn’t true in the slightest. it had just been a rumour. hearing what your friends had to say about him made him so frustrated. heeseung never did anything to hurt you, but if that’s all anyone is ever going to see him as. then fine- he’d treat you exactly like they said he would. your friends were right.

JAY- how to never stop being sad- dandelion hands

you had always struggled working on anything. it was hard to do anything at all actually. from getting up, to trying to go get coffee every morning. jay hated seeing someone he loved so much drown out every single one of their feelings. he watched someone who he loved so much break themselves down. jay was close to you a few months go, you used to order coffee from him and it sprung up a tight friendship... until now. he didn’t know how to help, and telling you he was in love with you made it worse. it made it so much worse. you shut him out completely, because you felt your life was shit and you deserved it.

JAKE- single- the neighborhood

jake was your coworker who you had to style. you were previously his makeup artist and things quickly bloomed into more. you noticed how he would look at you differently every time you had to do his lip makeup. one time he finally took his chance. your relationship together was healthy, stable, and helped you enjoy your career. hybe didn't agree with it though and so you were both forced to separate. you were lucky that they just switched you to a makeup artist for another hybe group. you both only pass each other during award shows or filming. jake doesn't think either of you should be around each other, he's still got a crush and its obvious.

SUNGHOON- i was all over her- salvia palth

heeseung was your older brother, he came home for the summer. when both your parents were out he had a party with all his old and new friends. the party was big which surprised you, what surprised you even more was the fact one of the guys at this party started chatting you up. you found out his name was park sunghoon, he didn't really bother to ask your name. sunghoon was just all over you, not in a way of physically intimacy, just talking to you and not letting you give your attention to anyone else. getting this attention from a stranger made your naïve heart full, for him though, every stranger just made him feel safer. he had no intention being close to you after this party.

SUNOO- falling behind- laufey

sunoo watched all the couples around him, even jake had someone, which shocked him. no offense but the big goofball didn't even deserve you. sunoo watched as you joked with every one of his friends. sunoo didn't understand why jake was irritating him so much, he should be happy his best friend was happy. he didn't understand the reason why he was falling behind was because he was in love with you. he held hope that maybe you would catch on to his longing looks towards you. he wanted to call you his, sunoo wanted to have your shoulder be the one he can finally cry on. it got to the point where even riki found someone, everyone was falling in love but sunoo was falling behind.

RIKI- wasted summers- juju<3

riki was completely infatuated with you, he wanted to be around you 24/7. summer was the perfect time to be around you too, he got a small break from work and you didn't have school. riki missed going to school with you, however, this was his life now. he cherished every moment with you, from watching scary movies and holding your hand even if it was just for a split second. you'd always pull your hand away quickly though, whenever riki got closer to you, you'd pull away. but then you would call him and beg him to come over when the summer thunderstorms were too loud to deal with. while you slept soundly, riki cried next to you. he knew you didn't reciprocate his feelings, he didn't have to confess to you and get rejected to know that. riki knew that once his break was over he wasted like half of his summer trying to hold on your hand.

[bettsfic]

hello! here's an excerpt of the snowbaird modern AU i've been working on. it's a holiday fic, so i'd love to have it posted before christmas. in this fic, coriolanus is a server at a restaurant and lucy gray is the bartender. she's recently started asking him for rides home, so they've been getting to know one another. it's currently sitting at about 10k and i hope to god it maxes out before 25k.

With his texts still pulled up, he decided to reach out to Lucy Gray. They were friends, after all. Friends texted each other. But what to say? “How are you” was boring and banal. She might find it sweet but he knew her well enough to know that she liked getting to the root of things. 

Where was that song from? The fare thee well one

She didn’t reply right away. He tried to occupy his attention with organizing his email inbox and checking his Canvas assignment calendar, but he found his eyes straying repeatedly to his phone. Twenty minutes later, he received a text back. He snatched up his phone, expecting the name of an artist and album, or a link to a YouTube video, or an inquiry as to why he didn’t just google it himself, but instead when he opened the message he found a wall of text so long that he had to scroll three times to reach the top.

HI CORIOLANUS!, it began. He thought all caps and an exclamation point was stylistically redundant but he appreciated and was relieved by her enthusiasm. Fare thee well has an interesting history dating back to 1909…

Were it not for the myriad spelling and punctuation errors, he would have thought she’d copied it from Wikipedia. From anyone else, the infodump would have bored him, but from her it only warmed him to think she’d been willing to spend so much time sharing her knowledge with him. To him, both time and attention were precious commodities.

He’d put off texting her for so long in part because he worried the conversation would become strained and awkward, but the reverse was true: texting her was so easy—and he was so eager to respond to her messages—that he did it while he drove and nearly veered into a median on the way home. He knew she was working that night and so the messages slowed down in the evening. He had to pocket his phone at the dinner table per one of the few household rules, but he could still barely pay attention to the benign chatter of Tigris and the Grandma’am about grocery store deals and soap operas.

While he did the dishes, Tigris leaned against the counter, arms across her chest, and said, “You’re in a good mood today.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you work sixty hours a week and don’t sleep.”

He glanced over his shoulder to find the Grandma’am had returned to her easy chair in the family room, the television blasting an obnoxious commercial jingle for a local car dealer. 

“I met a girl,” he said.

Tigris’s pale eyebrows rose up to her equally pale hair. “A girl? Like, a girl girl?”

“How is a girl girl different than a girl?”

“I just mean, like, a girl?”

“I have a crush, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Tigris squealed and hugged him from the side. “Baby Coryo’s got his first crush!”

“It’s not my first—” He stopped. It was his first crush, aside from Geena Davis in A League of Their Own. His usual date for high school dances and makeout parties was Livia, who was easily the prettiest girl in his cohort just as he was the prettiest boy, although he had never been attracted to her and the feeling, or lack thereof, seemed to be mutual. But that was the Academy for you—if you looked like you should be together, then you were, by definition, together. The power of appearances.

“I guess it is,” he said to the dirty dishwater.

“Does she like you back?”

He hadn’t considered that. He’d just assumed she didn’t and never would. Everything he’d ever wanted had been out of his reach and Lucy Gray was no exception.

“I’ve been driving her home from work,” he said. “And we’ve been texting.”

He showed Tigris the text thread.

“All of this is from today?” she asked, scrolling and scrolling.

“She’s a bit verbose.”

“She uses so many emojis.”

“It’s so cute.”

“And look at all these spelling errors.”

“Also cute.”

Tigris looked up from the phone. “You’re really gone on her. I never thought you’d like a girl who messes up there, their, and they’re.”

“I’m not a pedant.”

“Pedantry is a core facet of your personality, Coryo. You started correcting my use of ‘whom’ when you were four.”

“You may have noticed I’ve changed a bit since then. If nothing else, I’m taller and slightly less obsessed with Spongebob Squarepants.”

She gave him a look.

“Okay, very slightly less,” he amended.

[k-ng116]

"Don't use your heart in a bad way"

Fans of BTS, Army, will know this phrase. Min Yoongi taught us that. It is so important to follow the right artists. Per Korean standards, they expect idols to be saint, perfect in every way and making no mistakes. Its extremely pressurizing to be an idol in this country. But idols are also human and its only natural for human to err. While some mistakes are unforgivable, some deserved to be condemned. I believe most of them strives to be the best they can be, to be the best role models for their followers and fans but some, act on their own best interests.

Supporting a group or idol takes commitment and most of the time it took up a few years. As fans and followers usually "listen" to their idols, it is so important that idols are people with great dispositon and integrity. What they say or do, directly impact their followers' mindset. I am lucky to be an Army. All 7 members of BTS are great guys. Through their songs and many fans interactions, they always give us sound advices, encourages us and most importantly, convey positive messages and embrace love.

Lately, due to Yoongi's scooter incident, BTS came under massive slanders and became the common target for other fandoms' attack. Honestly, this is nothing new and usually with the unity of the fandom, we manage to safeguard our BTS. BTS too, often speak up for us whenever we were being scrutinised. What I am appalled is, the recent attack on Yoongi, carried out by fandom of another Kpop group who were recently in the limelight for some serious crimes. Fans, instead of evaluating the seriousness of the crimes, chooses to support blindly. There are victims to the crimes! Not only did they show no concern to the victims, they left cruel remarks and worse of all, the carry out smearing attacks on innocent people, on BTS, in order to divert the attention. The main culprit being some influential rival of the opposite camp, providing monetary support for the fandom to carry out various smearing activities. Like Yoongi said, "Don't use your heart in a bad way. There is Karma." It leaves me wondering what kind of values and morals did they grow up with, while supporting their idols. Would a kind person do what they did? Unable to differentiate right from wrong? Or were they brainwashed? If they are, the people who brainwashed them are even worse and they should not be public figures. They are toxic and instilling wrong values to people who choose to look up to them.

There is nothing wrong to appreciate music and support the activities of your favourite idols. But, be able to differentiate the basic human qualities and don't be a puppet to wrong-doers. Being supportive of their mistakes or turning a blind eye to it, you are akin to commiting the crimes yourselves.