#junior being drummer boy

[robthegoodfellow]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington Characters: Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove's Mother, Neil Hargrove, Steve Harrington's Mother, Eddie Munson Additional Tags: Angst and Feels, More Feels Than Angst, Abuse of Christmas Carols, Drumming is Life Summary:

Billy is born with a beat. Billy loses the beat. Billy gets his beat back.

[steddielations]

Flight of Icarus Character List

Lore Part 1 | Part 2

- Eddie Munson: Our boy is 18 years old, lives alone in his dad's house with Wayne checking in on him. By 1984, he's the lead singer and guitarist of Corroded Coffin and the DM for Hellfire. He's known as Freak King at school, and Munson Junior around town, he hates both. His grades are bad, but the only trouble he gets in at school is getting blamed for fights with jocks that he doesn't start or win. He works as a barback at the Hideout where his band plays sometimes. His status as town pariah due to his dad's criminal reputation and being an outcast deeply affects him. He wants nothing more than to escape that image, even if he's trading it for a different image. The story kicks off when he gets a chance to chase a record deal in California and teams up with his dad to get the money to move.

- Al Munson: Eddie’s dad, he comes in and out of Eddie's life. He's been abandoning Eddie alone/with Wayne for long stretches since Eddie was a child. Al's very charismatic and has even made Jim Hopper laugh. He uses that "Munson Magic" to manipulate everyone around him, he's a conman and career criminal. He taught Eddie guitar, but also taught Eddie to jack cars at age 10 and only sees Eddie as his little minion. He comes back to town, claiming he's fresh out of a prison stint in Colorado with a debt he needs to repay, and enlists Eddie into helping him rob a truck carrying drugs from his former boss. He leaves details out of the story that blow up in their faces. In the end, he leaves again when Eddie needs him most.

- Wayne Munson: Eddie’s uncle, factory job guy and the best caregiver as we all predicted. Wayne’s a quiet guy, very emotionally reserved too. Eddie says he’s never even heard Wayne yell, he’s non-confrontational. He doesn’t like Al, says nothing even when Al tries to instigate an argument. He deeply cares for Eddie. Eddie is very stubbornly independent, so used to being on his own because of Al, and Wayne tries to respect his boundaries while also being concerned, as Eddie gets very prickly about it. He tries his best to keep Eddie from getting roped in with Al, but overall he lets Eddie make his own decisions. He seems like he wants to just bundle Eddie in a hug at times, but they're not to that point yet in the book. In the end, Al's scheme gets their house burned down, so Wayne permanently takes Eddie in. He shapes Eddie by telling him he’s not his dad and to stop caring what people think and not to put himself in a box. Some nice tidbits: Wayne has a green thumb, reads Gardener’s Weekly magazine and goes to a bar called the Attic on Fridays.

- Ronnie Ecker: Eddie’s childhood best friend. She lives with her grandma in the trailer park. Her father passed away and her mother is implied mentally unstable. She meets Eddie when they’re 8. She’s described as tall, taller than Eddie since they were kids, always wearing a corduroy hat, and people mistake them for siblings. She’s the first drummer of cc. Ronnie and Eddie formed the band specifically because they had to do the middle school talent show. Then Gareth becomes the drummer when she graduates. She’s also in Hellfire, wants to go to law school and has a full ride scholarship to NYU. She’s sort of implied aro/ace after Eddie tries to kiss her when they’re 13, she says it’s not just Eddie, she doesn’t think she’ll ever have a crush on anyone. Ronnie is perceptive and smart and she teases Eddie a lot but they’re very protective of each other. Eddie gets blackmailed by Principal Higgins into dropping out when he threatens to jeopardize Ronnie's scholarship. Eddie never tells Ronnie this, even when they have a fight about him choosing to end Hellfire because Higgins convinced him his friends would be better off. This causes them to leave off on vague terms when she goes to NYU.

- Dougie Teague: This could possibly be unnamed freak from the show, but there’s an age discrepancy because he’s the same age as Ronnie and Eddie in the books and it says he graduates. So he would have to fail senior year twice along with Eddie to still be in high school in the show as unnamed freak. Dougie is the backup cc guitar player, whereas unnamed freak played bass in the show. Dougie is brash and blurts things out. He lives where Eddie calls the nice side of town and they rehearse in his garage. Dougie’s mom is not fond of Eddie but lets them practice there. Dougie’s dad is an HVAC truck guy.

- Jeff (no last name): Jeff is a sophomore and the bass player for CC, whereas in the show he plays guitar. Jeff comes across as reserved compared to Eddie and Ronnie. He played D&D with his older brothers before joining Hellfire. Eddie says Jeff knows more about bass than him. Jeff is ‘the nice one’ and generally nervous and anxious. He’s reasonable but he looks up to Eddie and buys into what Eddie says about the band getting a deal even if it’s unrealistic. Jeff is awkward around girls, wants to do good in school and he’s afraid of getting in trouble. The owner of the Hideout bar lets the band split a beer and Jeff is nervous the whole time. Also, when Eddie screws up, Jeff is the first to forgive him.

- Gareth (no last name): Gareth takes on the role of Eddie’s first sheep, whereas everyone else are Eddie’s friends, Gareth is like the little kid he’s fond of. Gareth is a freshman, there’s a whole scene of Eddie helping him create a D&D character. He’s hotheaded and a target for bullies. Eddie sticks up for him a couple times, and once, Gareth barrels in shrieking and throwing windmill punches to stop Eddie from getting jumped by Tommy H and crew, which results in Gareth going to the hospital with a fractured wrist.

- Rick Lipton (Reefer Rick): Rick is a very typical laid back stoner character. He's around 35, described as a giant soft guy with big smiling eyes and friendly face, wearing a Smokey the Bear shirt, and not what Eddie expected from a drug dealer. His house is also not what Eddie expected, being pretty clean compared to Eddie's teenage inhabited space. Eddie meets Rick through his dad, who has screwed Rick over in the past and this makes Rick unwilling to be the buyer of what they're going to steal off the drug truck. Eddie however puts on his best "Munson Magic" and convinces Rick. Rick is impressed and calls him Munson Junior, which Eddie hates. He goes back to Rick at the end of the book, needing money and a job. Rick gets him started dealing.

- Elizabeth Munson (maiden name Franklin): Eddie’s mom, he's a certified mama's boy. She doesn't appear in the book, Eddie says she got sick and passed away when he was around 6. She's originally from Memphis, Tennessee, where she met Al and they moved to Hawkins when she was 19, they got married March 12th, 1966. She loved Eddie's dad but Eddie says Al was always leaving her to go off on schemes. She passed her love of music onto Eddie. Her favorite was Chicago blues, Eddie didn't understand why until she passed and he started to feel it in his bones too. Eddie remembers dancing with her to Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone" and when the song comes on in the truck while he's doing business with Al, it makes him tear up. He recalls this memory several times, it seems like it’s his happiest memory. He says "When Elizabeth Munson was happy, the whole entire world was happy." His biggest connection to his mom was through her music. Then when Al's scheme goes wrong, the people he screwed over show up and burn down their house in an act of revenge. Eddie almost gets killed trying to save his mom's records, but they burn.

- Paige Warner: Paige is a junior scout at WR Music. She's not described beyond having freckles, chin-length dark hair and dark eyes. She has a younger brother on the Hawkins baseball team. At the Hideout, she sees Eddie's band playing and he chalks up the courage to talk to her. (He's squeaky and blushy, no game) Paige is in town for her grandmother's funeral, she remembers Eddie from the middle school talent show, though she is two years older. She likes his band because they're "real". She returns another night and Eddie (after some bad news that makes him desperate to chase his future) propositions her to get them a record deal. She's insulted, having told Eddie that guys use her for that reason, but they agree to work together. Paige pays for the studio time for cc to record the demo tape. In the meantime, Paige meets Al and Eddie is beside himself the entire time, not wanting her to find out the dirty work they're doing to fund his future. Then, Paige's boss only likes Eddie, and when she delivers this news, Eddie expresses that he doesn't want to ditch his band, but she says this will benefit both of them. So he agrees and it's implied they start hooking up, never making things official. She leaves for California and he's supposed to go later for his audition and stay with her. This doesn't happen, Eddie's heist with Al lands him temporarily in jail, and over a heated phone call, things end between them. It's implied that Paige pays his bail but never speaks to him again.

- Tommy Hayes: It's debatable whether this is supposed to be Tommy H from the show, whether his last name was always Hagan or if that was a fanon thing. Given his proximity to the jocks and being bitter that Steve has changed since dating Nancy, it's supposed to be Tommy H from the show. He's extremely violent in the book, which doesn't track so much with Tommy in the show, who's more of a shit-talker lackey. This Tommy bullies Eddie for being poor, a freak, and the son of a criminal. He bullies the whole Hellfire club and beats Eddie up on two occasions, punches Ronnie (accidentally?) when she tries to protect Gareth, and puts Gareth in the hospital. He faces no repercussions because the Principal is on his side, as Tommy's family is influential and rich.

- Principal Higgins: The principal of Hawkins High. Eddie is justified for wanting to flip him off in the show. Higgins has a ton of favoritism toward the kids from well off influential families, like jocks and preppy students, and always takes their side even when Eddie (and friends) are the ones bruised and beaten. He's a Bible thumper and hates Hellfire and also hates Eddie because he's a Munson, considers him a rotten apple that poisons the bunch. He wants Eddie to drop out to rid the school of the Hellfire club. After the brawl between the jocks and Hellfire, Higgins convinces Eddie that it's his fault his friends are considered freaks and get bullied. He blackmails Eddie into dropping out by threatening to jeopardize Ronnie's scholarship to NYU. Eddie eventually comes to his senses and finds his fire again when everything falls through. He gets re-enrolled in school and turns things around by blackmailing Higgins. At this point, he knows Higgins buys drugs from Reefer Rick, and uses that information to force Higgins to let Hellfire continue and leave him and his friends alone.

- Officer Moore: A Hawkins cop who has it out for Eddie. He's described as having a blond buzz cut, a square jaw, Superman level All-American looks. He has a growing mid-forties beer gut. He pulls Eddie and Ronnie over in Eddie's van, Eddie sasses the shit out of him since apparently he pulls Eddie over a lot trying to find reasons to arrest him, just because he's a Munson. But he has to let them go.

- CJ and Toby: These are two goons that worked with Al under the same boss, Charlie Greene, one of the biggest drug kingpins in Oregon. They are transporting the truck with the drugs that Al enlists Eddie to help him rob. Eddie and Al successfully rob the truck, but CJ and Toby show up to their house days later. While holding Eddie and Al at gunpoint looking for the drugs, It's revealed that Al didn't owe money because he borrowed it, he stole it because he got greedy. Eddie was under the impression that he was saving his dad from enforcers that would come to collect the debt eventually, not helping him steal more from them. Al wasn't in prison like he told Eddie, he was living large as Charlie Greene's right hand man, never sending Eddie a dime. At this point, Eddie and Al have already sold the stolen drugs to Reefer Rick, so Al turns over the 15 grand of money to CJ and Toby. They think it's settled, but CJ decides to set the house on fire too, since Al embarrassed them with the boss. The only reason they don't kill Eddie and Al is because Officer Moore shows up, having been following Eddie. Instead, CJ shoots Officer Moore in the leg and then he and Toby flee. Eddie immediately goes to help the officer (despite hating Moore) while Al is telling Eddie to come on so they can run. Eddie feels like its their fault Moore was shot and won't leave him, Al says he didn't realize Eddie was this much of a fool. Eddie tries to get him to stay because he needs him, but Al leaves him anyway and Eddie is devastated and numb. He's arrested when cops show up.

- Jim Hopper: Hopper brings Eddie a cup of water and talks to him while he's in lockup for the night. He calls Eddie "Junior" but Eddie's too numb at that point to care. He says they know that Eddie tried to help Moore, but he's being held for arson because of the house, until he makes bail. Hopper is really trying to give Eddie a break, knowing he helped Moore, and talks a bit about Eddie's dad. He says something cryptic about knowing Al in school and how every time something went down, Al was usually at the center. Hopper does Eddie a favor and lets him use the phone in his office, where Eddie calls Paige. Hours later, Hopper tells him he made bail and that Wayne is there to get him.

- Chrissy Cunningham: Eddie remembers Chrissy from the talent show. Eddie's dad was supposed to be there, but didn't show up, meanwhile Chrissy is disappointed that her mom did show up. A lot like the show, it's minimal but Chrissy is sweet with troubled undertones. Eddie's surprised she even talks to him, but she's nice and says she'd cheer for him if his dad didn't show. Fast forward to high school, when the jocks are giving Eddie flack, Chrissy tries to get them to stop. Then they try to lie to the principal and say Eddie was bothering Chrissy. Chrissy says it's a lie but Jason quickly silences her.

- Bev: The owner of the Hideout bar. She's a very no nonsense drill sergeant kind of lady. She keeps Eddie humble, calls him Junior despite him asking her not to, always tells him to get a haircut and doesn't like his band at all, though she lets them play there as part of the exchange for Eddie working there. The stage is just some rickety wood that her late husband built. It's implied she had something to do with his death. She's strict and doesn't give anything out for free, only Al is able to charm her out of a free pitcher of beer when he's celebrating Eddie (temporarily) dropping out of school, which stuns Eddie. When Eddie quits the job chasing his California dream, she admits she'll miss their band and that's that.

- Janice: Principal Higgins secretary who equally hates Eddie and favors jocks and preppy students. She wears coke bottle glasses that magnify her eyes and has a fanatical obsession with purple.

- Stan: A junior member of Hellfire who had to sneak around his parents to go to meetings by pretending to be at algebra tutoring, as they consider D&D to be Satanic. When his parents find out, they write a letter to the school, condemning Hellfire club and saying they sent Stan to a church program to cleanse him. Higgins shows Eddie this letter to make him feel guilty and responsible.

-Nicole Summers and Cass Finnigan: These girlies are mentioned in one sentence but I don't know where else to put this info. Eddie implies these are the two other hookups he had before Paige, once in grade ten and once senior year, saying that he could tell they were only doing it for the dare of getting with the freak. Though, he wasn't looking to be anybody's boyfriend. He compares them to Paige, who he feels like genuinely likes him

- Steve Harrington: He doesn't actually appear in the book but his balls get a mention so he's going on the list. The only thing to note is that Steve doesn't approve of any freshman getting beat up, to the point where the jocks do it behind his back and Jason Carver is worried about him finding out. Tommy says Steve doesn't have any balls since dating Nancy Wheeler. Eddie defends Steve's balls, saying Tommy can't talk about someone else having no balls when he gets his kicks beating up freshman.

- Will and Jonathan Byers: At the end of the book, in a record shop, Will and Jonathan walk in. Eddie recognizes Will from his missing posters and recalls the events where Will had a funeral yet somehow was found alive. Jonathan goes to the back for a certain record, and while Will is alone, Eddie watches as a few younger jocks come into the store and start hounding him, calling him zombie boy. Eddie takes up for him, goads the jocks and gets them to take it out on him, takes a baseball to the chest and they leave. Eddie tells Will that Zombie Boy is metal as shit and Jonathan thanks Eddie when he comes back. Eddie offers Jonathan weed and says Jonathan is way too offended by the question for someone with his haircut. This whole interaction solidifies Eddie's new sense of purpose, collecting and protecting sheep.

- Granny Ecker: Ronnie's grandmother. She's not a big part of the story at all but she lives in the trailer park too. She's a wooden spoon wielding grandma character. Eddie calls her Granny too and she worries about Wayne and makes Eddie bring him casseroles and stuff. it's just cute so I'm including it.

[ququb444hm]

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝

part 25 / nair hair removal ☆

masterlist

warning(s): possible typos (this is not proofread in the slightest :3), profanity

normally it would take someone an average of 10 minutes to get to shinrinyoku flower shop from yūgen university’s campus on foot. maybe a bit longer if they were leaving the boy’s dormitory. 

but rintarou suna got there in 5 minutes. 

“holy shit rin. did you sprint here?” cecily had rushed downstairs when she suddenly heard loud banging against the shophouse’s doors. “let me go get you some water-”

rin quickly disregarded the offer, completely focused on finding his friend. “yn. where- where is she?”

“upstairs, but-” before cecily could finish her sentence, the drummer pushed passed her and trudged up the building’s stairs, ignoring his breathless state.

“hey yn?” his voice was gentle, a heavy contrast to his usual sarcastic diction. “it’s rin. could you let me in, please?” 

no response.

“mori said you left practice early without saying anything and you aren’t answering the group chat so we got worried…”

still no response.

while waiting for yn to answer, rin took the time to catch his breath, bringing out his phone to text the rest of the group about yn’s whereabouts: she’s here at shinrinyoku

as quick responses of 'thank goodness’ and ‘we’re on our way’ came from mori and koushi, cecily ascended the stairs with a glass of water for the junior college student. “you didn’t let me finish. yn ended up crying herself to sleep once we got home,” she turned the doorknob to let her and rin enter the dimly lit room. “I don’t know if you know what happened, but thank you for coming either way. I think it would be best if you just wait until she wakes up. are the others on their way?”

fox-like eyes surveyed the sleeping figure that belonged to yn. tears stained her rosy cheeks and a sorrowful expression seemed to lay permanent on her face. his heart ached at the sight before him, wanting nothing more than to find the root of the situation and punch whatever or whoever was responsible. and for some reason, he had a hunch that it was all due to a certain blond– not atsumu, though someone declaring you left practice early because you had diarrhea is definitely something to cry about because what the fuck dude! 

“yeah. koushi finished class a few minutes ago so he's probably on his way with mori right now and tooru might be here a little later because he had a modeling gig today.” 

“okay then, let me know if you need anything.” cecily placed the cup of water for rin down on yn’s nightstand before quietly slipping away to make dinner. 

once it was just the two friends in the room, rin walked over to the side of the bed closest to yn’s head and sat down. her hair was disheveled, strands either sticking to her face or sprawled elsewhere. a heavy sigh escaped rin’s lips as he tucked yn’s hair behind her ear, her face now unbothered by the h/c mess. absentmindedly, he continued to comb through yn’s hair as he waited for the others to arrive and as if yn’s body knew who he was, she subconsciously leaned closer to him.

by the time the whole friend group resided in yn’s room, it was nearing 9:30PM.

“okay, so! they ended up not having any whipped cream–”

“no one asked for whipped cream.”

“can you can it, rintarou. some people like adding a little cream to their cream.” tooru scoffed, slightly glaring as he continued emptying out the grocery bags. “anyways, before I was rudely interrupted, I ended up getting one tub of (ur fav ice cream flavor), another of cookie dough, and..” he rummaged the bottom of the bag, pulling out a small pill bottle and handing it over to yn, “stomach pills.”

yn sat crisscrossed on her bed, blanket wrapped around her and mori who leaned against her figure. a puzzled look painted her face, “oh… thank you?”

“atsumu said you had diarrhea,” mori informed, “we didn’t know if he was being for real or not.”

“ohmygod. he did not..please tell me he did not.” 

 koushi nervously laughed at his friend’s worry. “only if it makes you feel a little bit better…”

“what even happened?” rin asked, eager to find the reason why his friend was now puffy-eyed and sluggish.

yn let out a lengthy whine, falling onto her back as the events with kozume resurfaced her mind in clear detail. tears started to brim her eyes once again as she felt the familiar stinging of her heart. “I thought…I thought he actually liked me back all this time.”

“oh baby…” koushi immediately stood up from his spot on the floor and joined yn on the bed, his arms instinctively pulling her into a tight hug as she cried onto his shoulder.

“kozume said everything was a…mistake. he-” choking back a sob, yn tried to continue despite the constant cracks of her frail voice. “he looked me in the eyes and said it too!”

“ugh! that jerk!” mori shrieked.

“but he-”

“but he fucking kissed you. twice.” rin stated, finishing tooru's sentence. “what the fuck is he even thinking.”

“you know what we need to do?” koushi started, rubbing comforting circles on yn’s back.

“rock his shit.” rin declared, arms crossed against his chest.

“steal his cat.” mori added.

“put nair hair removal in his shampoo and conditioner bottles so he slowly balds. then we secretly steal his hair and make a voodoo doll out of it.” tooru finished, nodding to himself.

“wait I like that idea.” rin and mori unanimously agreed.

the gray-haired senior pursed his lips, wondering how many paychecks he'd need to pay for all three of the boy’s therapies. “uhm… all good ideas class, but I was going to say let all our emotions out and forget about kozume tonight.” he motioned to the defrosting tubs of ice cream on the floor which the group momentarily forgot about.

rin, mori, and tooru all slowly let out a slow ‘ahh yeah’, not having anything to say against koushi who was the most level-headed in the group.

“maybe next time…” tooru mumbled, mentally noting his idea.

yn let out a weak laugh at her friend’s antics. “I think that'd be the easiest option for now. thank you guys for coming, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“aw, of course, baby.” koushi grinned, pulling the girl back into a hug. he motioned for the others to join them and they all complied without another thought.

“oh but guys,” yn spoke up, earning several hums. “you cannot let my brother know about any of this.” the request caused the friends to break away from the hug, confused as to why the only other person besides yn who could knock some sense into kozume couldn’t be informed of the situation. “it’s just… with the game coming up, I don’t want the team to turn to shit because one of the co-captains suddenly can’t cooperate with the main setter.”

mori clicked his tongue, feeling conflicted with yn’s choice. “okay… I understand where you’re coming from but what’re you gonna do when your brother does find out? I mean, he’s not dumb.”

“mori’s right.” rin chimed. “he might start getting suspicious with your change of attitude towards kozume and start piecing things together.”

yn groaned. she knew her friends were right. tetsurou could read her like a book, he is her brother after all. and having been friends with kozume since childhood, he would probably start asking questions when he sees the lack of interaction between the two, especially after the conversation they had during practice. “this is so shit. just give me the tub before I end it.”

part 24 towels <- | masterlist | -> part 26 mic drop

note(s): IM NOT DEAD. AND I WILL BE UPDATING AGAIN. also lmk if i missed ur taglist request </3 i've been inactive for so long i am so sorry T^T +none of the pictures used are mine!!

✩⡱ taglist !! + @writing-for-the-hell-of-it @sherryuki-callmeyuki @anny-bah @ast4rg1rl @sukunasrealgf @dani-shitting-around @whokillednyx @vernon-dursley @limaswife @sugawara-levi @sixxze @ryoiii @literally-a-ferret @444sunarin @llearlert @lloyd4x @usermins @2baddies-1porsche @vernon-dursley @lyzisbitchingagain lmk if u want to be added (msg or inbox)ヾ(･ω･`；)ﾉ

[purposefully-lost]

Through the Looking Glass: a talk with Jack Rabbit's Jonathan Stone.

By Alex Prescott

---

"We have this joke that I'd be somewhere very different if Bobby hadn't pulled me out of that house," Jack Stone tells me. And after all we've discussed, I believe him. It's this troubled history, shared with his brother and bandmate Bobby Baker, that is the inspiration for the upcoming album In the Heart of the Woods.

Sitting comfortably in a studio apartment, he's as striking in person as he is in the magazines. There's no stage blood or leather straps here- he's dressed only in a faded t-shirt and an aging pair of jeans- but he doesn't need the flair to catch anyone's eye. He's larger than life in the way all rockstars should be, and not just because he's broad-shouldered and stands at nearly seven feet tall. It's in the way he carries himself, all comfort and confidence. He's soft-spoken, but only because he doesn't seem to see the need to be anything else.

He's very different from the boy who first left home ten years ago. He'd been a runaway. Tensions in Bobby and Jack's childhood home had finally snapped, and the boys- freshly 18 and 17, respectively- cut their losses. The high school graduation and junior year summer that awaited them had been traded instead for an endless string of motel rooms and parking lots, all their expenses paid for with any odd job they could land. Even now, with all their fame and glory, Jack confides that he's yet to have somewhere to call his own. It's all on the road, for him. He doesn't seem particularly bothered by it.

"When I was in school, I only planned on making it to the next day," Jack says, when asked what's changed in the past decade. "Confidence, mostly, is what's different. I don't think any of us imagined making it here." Of his bandmates, he says that they are closer than they've ever been. "We're all a lot more comfortable with each other. Probably as close to family as I ever had." They've encountered all of the bumps in the road that come along with a tight-knit group, as well as the trust formed in outlasting them. Early on in their career, Jack came out as a gay man, and after a brief romantic affair with his drummer, Andy Campbell, the band easily slid into the reputation of being queer icons. The end of the relationship didn't mean the end of the way they embraced that perception.

They've always been outcasts, and while they've found mainstream appeal, that seems to be who their music speaks most to. In a world that increasingly demands sanitation- from the banning of even the most null rainbow-colored kid's books to demands that everyone keeps their shirts on at Pride, if they have a Pride march at all- Jack Rabbit has remained refreshingly uncompromised. They've only ever followed their hearts, and if that means a sensual stage presence and a sound that still feels gritty, as if it's being dragged straight from the chest, who's to tell them otherwise? They're storytellers, first and foremost, and the stories they've chosen to tell are liberating, raw to the point of catharsis. It's sounds as if the upcoming album is no different.

In the Heart of Woods is a concept album, telling the story of serial murderer living deep in the woods that surround Rabbit's once-home at the northern end of Appalachia. A man, or maybe a legend, that they call the Jack Rabbit. Visually, the album has been taking inspiration from the iconic slasher films of past decades; in his most recent photoshoot, Jack Stone can be seen wielding a hunting knife and wearing a variation of his rabbit mask, striking a horrifying figure while dressed in jean shorts that could've been ripped from an 80's fashion mag if they weren't drenched in bright red corn syrup. He says that the album began almost as a "What if," then quickly grew into fantasy. They've leaned into the idea of a goofy horror flick, but it's just as much a vent and a cautionary tale. It is, mostly, Rabbit's own work, but he says that "Everyone has been supportive. I think they know I'll let them go nuts with whatever we do next."

It sounds as if there is a lot to look forward to for Jack Rabbit. Jack hints at some of the surprises we'll be seeing in the upcoming tour, mentioning in particular plans for on-stage special effects. He seems excited, in a way that feels infectious. Whatever comes next, and despite a decade spent on the move already, it seems there are no signs of slowing down. "I'm really grateful we ended up lasting as long as we have," he tells me, "And I hope there's decades more in the future."

-----

Written by Alex Prescott

Alex has been a full-time writer for TapeDeck for three years, with a focus on connecting with artists to tell their personal stories and explore their craft. He has also written articles for Variety and Airwave Magazine, as well as a run a personal blog discussing news in the entertainment industry, Delayed Broadcast.

-

Through the Looking Glass is Alex's last article as a full-time staff writer here at TapeDeck. We wish him the best as he moves on to the next phase of his career, and he can still be found through his personal blog.

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

Sage Ayana

Race: Human

Nationality: Atlas (Areia colony)

Ethnicity: Mixed Vacun & Mistrali

Weapon: Pilgrim

Gender: Man

Sexuality: Aromantic pansexual

Starting Age: 17

Birthday: Spring 1st

Aura Color: Green

Handedness: Right

Complexion: Dark brown

Eye Color: Red

Semblance: Remedy (Every time Sage's Aura shield takes damage, Sage's semblance converts the damage into a secondary Aura reserve called Mood. Sage can use his Mood to heal his body or to recharge his Aura shields immediately, which looks like green leaves wrapping around his body.)

Occupation: Haven student, Junior Detective, Boy band drummer

Previous Occuppation: Sanctum Regional Tournament player (2nd place ten times)

"And the winner is, Sage Ayana of Areia city!" the host announced to the crowd. The hundreds of people in the crowd went wild. Hundreds of them chanting, screaming, Sage's name. He could reasonably assume that almost everyone from his home was watching, cheering for him too. It wasn't good enough.

Sage headed to the locker room. He sat down and began checking his weapon for damages, even though last match only lasted about 7 minutes. That was when she came in. "Good afternoon, Sage Ayana."

Quiet.

"Good afternoon, Pyrrha Nikos." Sage said back to the armored redhead. "It seems we will be going up against each other in the finals again." Pyrrha stated.

Silence.

Pyrrha started again, "How many times have we faced each other like this?"

"Ten times, in a row. I lost every single match."

"Don't sell yourself so short! It's an accomplishment to make it to the finals consistently."

"Stop." Sage commanded.

Pause.

"... Pyrrha," Sage looked her in the eyes for the first time she entered the room, "you know what it's like for people like us. We don't represent ourselves, we represent our towns. And each time I lose here... forget it. I shouldn't have said that." Sage then turned his back again.

Pyrrha walked in front of Sage. "I apologize if my skill in combat has upset you," Pyrrha said, "but being the best comes with a price."

"That's easy for you to say-"

"It's not!" Pyrrha shouted. "... I know Areia is... unfavorably compared to Argus by Atlesians. But know that I, nor anyone else in Argus, view your city that way. We are equals. And it is an honor to earn second place as many times as you did even if you don't see it that way, friend." Pyrrha then reached out her hand to Sage.

For a moment, Sage considered taking her hand. Forgetting about his duties, his discipline, his fidelity to his parent's teachings of strength.

"We are not friends, Pyrrha Nikos." Sage stared her in the eye.

"... very well then, Sage Ayana. Eternal rivals, then." Pyrrha sadly stated.

"...ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the finale!!!" The host screamed so loud it could be heard inside the locker room.

Sage and Pyrrha got up and walked to the door, waiting for it to automatically open.

"May the best fighter win" Pyrrha hummed.

"I won't lose this time." Sage stated to her.

"You have said that ten times before." Pyrrha coldly stated back.

For a moment, Sage's mouth turned into a frown, but he corrected his face. He must always correct himself, always strive to be perfect... still not good enough.

[cipherexists]

Documenting a few other details that ive found in the way back machine SPG dig

The Spine was originally created with a spinal column made up of smokestacks similar to a locomotive, thus he was appropriately named The Spine. In 1955, the US government invested millions of dollars into upgrading The Spine. Therein he received a brand new titanium alloy spine, and a multitude of highly classified weapons.

yeah, highly classified weapons?? what???

Eventually David entered high school. He was working towards his A+ Certification in computers and looking towards becoming an IT Technician. A sudden (but possibly long overdue) divorce between his parents turned David's life upside down during his Junior year. The divorce didn't go well between parents.

This is not included in Bunny's...despite them being twins... i love the 'sudden (but possibly long overdue) divorce'

David met Jerry Hager for the first time when he took his Beginning Acting class at the college. David knew of Jerry's "miming" down at Seaport Village and even visited his professor a few times while he was performing. It wasn't until his [Sister] [Bunny] took Jerry's mime class, and recommend that he take it with [her] again the following year, that David was introduced to the beauty of the art of mime and movement.

Yes you heard the man, The Jon, The Rabbit, The Spine and Upgrade only went through Three (3) mime classes before their first appearances in balboa park. And none more. (see; Steam Powered Giraffe started at the beginning of the second time David took Jerry's mime class.)

More P.A. Walter VI blog shinanigans

*List of images including but not limited to: Giraffes, toothles (HTTYD), fantasy games and GG <3*

wtf dude, 'Eggs of spider infancy within this meek little blog' ???

Back to the website...2014

Rabbit went on to fight against Becile's copper elephants in 1897, outfitted with a prototype blue matter laser lens array, a Gatling Gun attachment, and a collapsible buzz saw. Rabbit's combat history also spans WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam war.

btw they are still canonically fitted with these weapons, they just wont use them...

Hatchworth time >:)

After getting over that pesky omg-I'm-so-nervous-I'm-going-to-poop-out-all-my-guts feeling, he did ok in theater club. Soon there after, he decided anyone can play guitar, so he did

^^ Sam luke on performing <3

For a while after that, they drifted apart (which tends to happen to friends of Sam).

that is so sad, wth

Approximately junior year a tall, gangly fellow (by the name of David) joined the drama club and introduced himself as such. Sam spent many'a afternoon trying to discern the Bennett twins (one wears black and one wears dragons). The only way Sam chooses to explain the early days of "Hangin' With the Bennetts" is as follows:

"it was like being a supporting character on some weird sitcom within a sitcom."

Sam Luke on meeting the Bennet twins :')

Fast forward a bit and it turns out the Bennetts only got weirder with time. They were robots now and apparently they needed a drummer.

That sounds about right..

Somehow I also became a robot apparently.

Do we know how that happened...yes, will i explain that...not yet

When Peter Walter I began constructing an army of robots, he used whatever source of metal he could find. So it wasn't surprising when his own cast iron stove served as the base for a bronze-laden robot.

...that explains the insanity, i too would keep spaghetti in my pocket if i was made of a stove

upon examination Peter Walter II discovered a hairline fracture had been developing for years in the robot's power core. Hatchworth had been leaking a troublesome amount of concentrated blue matter energy[...]Mustache and all, the Walter boys locked Hatchworth in a lead vault deep within Walter Manor until they could find a solution. But months pouring over his original schematics proved fruitless for the boys and soon months turned into years...and then turned into decades.

Thats how hatchworth came about.... yeah no definitely would be insane at that point.

[floofyboi57]

Epithet Erased Band AU I thought of while painting shit at work-

Giovanni and his boys form a garage band where they make rebellious rock music about sticking it to the man

Gio is the lead guitarist, Spike is the vocalist, Flamethrower’s on bass, Car Crash plays the drums, Dark Star is the backup vocalist, and Ben’s on keyboard

Crusher is their roadie

He met Molly while handing out flyers for his band’s gig at the grocery store

She kept the flyer, even though she was hesitant about going

Trixie found out her dumb cousin invited her friend to his gig and they went with Molly. It was passed Phoenica’s bedtime so she couldn’t come

Molly actually liked it a lot more than she thought she would. Sure it was loud, but she actually liked watching the band play

Trixie took her to one of Giovanni’s practice and now Molly’s their biggest fan

She goes to their practice sessions when she can and Giovanni even promised to teach her how to play electric guitar

Obligatory Battle of the Bands plot line!

Ben hears about it and tells the others

It’s being held in this coffee shop as a way to draw in more customers

Winner gets some cash prize and some people involved in the music industry will be there

Meet the cast!

Mera makes techno music, Indus helps her with her equipment

She’s there for the cash prize

Bliss Ocean is this fairly known alternative group, but known for all the wrong reasons. Every member has been to jail and no one has seen their mysterious manager who always seems to bail them out of trouble

They’re not there to compete, Zora has beef with a music producer going to the show and she wants to ruffle his feathers

Ramsey is gonna get his feathers ruffled. He worked with Zora back in the day and it did NOT go well, now they’re in bad terms and she’s always bothering him. He just wants to find a new band to pitch to the label he works for so he doesn’t get fired

Rick came there with Yoomtah and somehow ended up joining the competition. No he doesn’t play an instrument. This will be interesting

Sylvie works at the coffee shop the battle takes place in. He doesn’t care for any of this, as he prefers classical music, but it’s drumming up business. Besides, it was his boss’ idea.

Bugsy and Arnold are the lead vocalists of their own band. They only really formed their band for the fame, and are hoping some big music people will want to sign them

Howie is a roadie. He’s just there to help any bands who need assistance moving stuff.

Percy is a cop who’s familiar with Giovanni’s band and Bliss Ocean. Bliss Ocean because of their reputation, and Giovanni because his neighbors keep calling the police due to noise complaints. She’s iffy on him, but at least music is a constructive outlet for his teen angst instead of shoplifting or loitering

She’s also friends with Ramsey, no real reason why I just care them

Naven is also involved in the music industry, though as a manager for a few different bands. Recently some tabloids have snapped some photos of him with Yoomtah Zing, Bliss Ocean’s drummer, and rumors about them are going around.

Molly becomes the band’s unofficial junior roadie during the battle of the bands, leaving a lot of her chores and shifts at the toy store to be covered by Lorelai- who is NOT happy about this

I like band AU’s-

[cosmos-oc-soup]

Yoshida Amataka

Group: Hep à la Mode Position: Drummer Appellations: 

Boku (pronoun)

Amataka-kun (Taiyo, Hibari (at school), Miyuki (in public))

Yoshida-kun (pre-main story) > Amataka (present main story) (Miyuki (with friends))

Ama-tan (Hibari (in public))

Gender + Pronouns: Male, He/Him Birthday: September 15th (Libra) Ethnicity: Half-Japanese, Half-South Korean Height: 177 cms School: Yamamoto Public High School (2-C) Committee/Clubs: Student Council, kendo Hobbies: Reading long novels, studying about whatever he finds interesting Talent: Finding missing things Likes: Libraries, jellyfish, mint Dislikes: Extreme visual gore in media Family: Mother, step-mother, Kotoe (step-sister), father Image Colour: A5B7FD Voice Claim: To-ki 風 / Guiano - To-ki (cover) Backstory: As a child, despite his age, Amataka was quiet and lacked interest in many activities outside of reading and whatever his childhood friend shared with him. This was partially due to his parents constant arguing before divorcing and Amataka living with his mother, who is nothing but kind. In junior high school, his mother fell in love with another woman who has a daughter named Kotoe, eventually leading for the two families to live together. Although they are the same age (and sharing a birthday for that matter), they don't have many common interests and rarely interact with one another. In high school, Amataka is considered popular by many students due to his prince-type yet mysterious character as he rarely talks about himself. During junior high school, Amataka met Miyuki at the Otokita Music Center and have been acquaintances since. Personality: A boy who speaks in a polite, pleasant manner, Amataka is what most people would describe as a "natural people magnet". It's rare to see him not surround by others, and even more seeing him without a smile. That being said, however, he doesn't consider himself someone with many friends outside of his childhood friend and tends to be a bit more quiet when alone.

[dancing-to-architecture]

34 - The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

THE album that got me through high school.

No joke, there was a week in my life, i want to say Junior year, where i listened to the song "1979" *at least* a hundred times. I most certainly hung down with the freaks and ghouls.

Also, this is a Double Album, so buckle in, because this is gonna be a *long* one.

(editing afterwards: yeah, it took me over a week to get through. Who'd have figured this one would have some pretty heavy shit associated with it that would put me in a really bad headspace for a while?)

Actually cutting this one, because I'm not THAT much of an asshole.

[Dawn to Dusk]

•Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness-

Such a simple little piano piece, but so pretty, and then the other layers start coming in and it continues to ascend. Up there on my all-time favorite intro tracks list.

•Tonight, Tonight-

The song that made me want to be a drummer. Jimmy Chamberlain beats the shit out of his drum set all towards the end of this one, but in a way that almost feels...polite.

The violins and cello soar throughout the entirety, this song really wouldn't be as amazing without them.

Regardless of how you may feel about Billy Corgan's voice, if these lyrics don't resonate with you, then congratulations on being the happiest person to exist.

The longing, the wanting to be wanted, the dread of the possibility of misplaced hope, the terror that these might be the best days of your life, but you won't notice until much, much later...

Now, if only we could get on with that "crucifying the insincere" business.

•Jellybelly-

This riff is a fucking killer.

I've always associated this one with optimistic nihilism. Everything's fucked, we're trapped in the belly of the beast, there's no way out, but there's nothing stopping us from doing whatever we want *because* nothing matters.

•Zero-

The bass line to end all bass lines.

More nihilism, but much less optimistic this time. More of a "she's here and she makes me happy and that's literally the only thing in the world that matters at this point" vibe.

•Here Is No Why-

The malaise of the star. Rich and famous and a household name and utterly, utterly depressed. I might be*the only one* who thinks this, but i kinda always saw this song as a kind of weird goodbye ode to Kurt Cobain, who's basically the poster boy for 'rock stars who never, ever wanted to actually be famous'.

•Bullet With Butterfly Wings-

Show me a better opening line than "The world is a vampire, sent to drain."

I used to like this song a lot more as a teenager than i do nowadays, likely because at this point it feels like: "what are you rebelling against?" "What do you got?!"

Just lashing out at anyone and anything, but ultimately it really doesn't matter and was a waste of time, effort, and anger. You're still just a rat in a cage.

•To Forgive-

A lot more chill musically after Bullet, but the lyrics are way harsher, talking about loss and pain and childhood trauma.

"I sensed my loss, before i even learned to talk.

And i remember my birthdays,

Empty party afternoons won't come back."

We moved *a lot* when i was a kid (5 schools in 6 years), so i was always the New Kid, Weird Kid, don't talk to him, we don't know him, shun him and maybe he'll leave.

This one always hit me hard.

•Fuck You (An Ode To No One)-

Back to the heavy riffs, back to angry Billy.

The constant New Kid finally hits high school and hasn't moved again, and he hates everybody because everybody hated him for years, but he hates himself the most because he simply cannot leave.

"Destroy the mind, destroy the body, but you cannot destroy the heart.

I don't need your love to disconnect."

•Love-

Fun fact: the guitar is so fuzzy and distorted that the first time i heard this song i thought my headphones had just broken.

Possibly Billy at his most nasal.

Last song i screamed that i didn't *need* your love, but that doesn't mean that i don't *want* it.

The heavily distorted guitar tones sound great throughout the song, but the solo rules.

•Cupid de Locke-

When i say "i love strings in rock music", I'm typically referring to the violin or the cello, (or the double bass if you're TRULY nasty), but i have to say that the harp is a truly underrated instrument these days: incredibly pretty, but incredibly difficult to play well, and it's played so well here.

The lyrics kinda feel like Billy tried his hand at some Shakespeare, and it mostly works.

•Galapogos-

This one hits me a lot harder now than it did when I was a kid, but who could expect a fifteen year old to really get a line like: "and tell me, am i still the man I'm supposed to be?"

But now? That line really resonates with the layers of self-doubt and revulsion that i have utilized as armor for the last 20 or so years, not to mention the more modern confusion and realization regarding things like gender and sexuality.

"And should i fall from grace, here with you,

Will you leave me, too?"

•Muzzle-

And the first line of this one continues the feeling of inadequacy from the last song:

"I fear that i am ordinary, just like everyone."

Without trauma-dumping, lemme just say this one hits close to home.

"I know that i am meant for this world."

Another one where Jimmy is beating the absolute shit out of those drums.

The end of it just feels like the prettiest, nicest ego-annihilating trip ever, to be honest.

•Porcelina of the Vast Oceans-

This intro is so pretty, but it's also interminably slow.

This was honestly one i usually skipped back in the day.

Billy is just being really extra Billy through most of the verses, and though James, D'arcy and Jimmy go ham throughout at least half of the 9 whole damn minutes of it, it's not quite enough to save us from Billy's poetry.

(My phone autocorrected that last word to pussy and you will not BELIEVE the strength it took to fix it.)

And then, an equally long outro and we're almost *halfway* done!

•Take Me Down-

I was always in love with James Iha's voice.

A ver sweet little song, almost a lullaby. If you have never felt like this, i feel bad for you.

Man, i just don't like that last line though.

[Twilight to Starlight]

•Where Boys Fear To Tread-

I LOVE this whole intro. What a great way to start the second half of the album. Doom_barrel_explosion.wav usage and everything. WAKE THE FUCK BACK UP.

This one IS heavy enough to save us from Billy's poetry.

•Bodies-

•Thirty-Three-

One my favorite Smashing Pumpkins songs, though like The List, mutable positioning is always involved.

Certainly one of the prettiest, imo.

This one is really tied with 1979 for "lyrics that could be a chapter from my biography", just... Very different chapters.

•In The Arms Of Sleep-

No joke: the title is correct. This was on a sleep-themed mix CD i had back in the day, just to have music on but nothing that would be too jarring.

Which is really selling this one short, because it's mellow but gorgeous.

•1979-

A song i have literally done speeches about. One of my all-time favorite songs.

One of my favorite music videos. This song is "high school". It's "adolescence", in all of its ups and downs and confusion and depression and (possible, occasional) glory.

•Tales Of A Scorched Earth-

This might be one of the hardest intros on this whole damn album, possibly one of e heaviest songs overall.

Angry Billy at his best, imo. This song is so fucking mad at everyone.

•Thru The Eyes Of Ruby-

I always figured this was about commitment anxiety, especially with the lines with marriage symbolism.

Really cool instrumentation that gets harder as it goes.

•Stumbeline-

Funny thing, the last song was 7 minutes long, but this one FEELS 7 minutes long. Acoustic strumming and more of Billy's poetry. There are some good lines in this one, but a lot of not great ones. 🤷

•X.Y.U.-

Another rather heavy song with some pretty dark lyrics.

And i apologize for an earlier mistake, THIS is the heaviest song on this album.

I liked this one more when i was a kid, but that was also when i was really into nu-metal, so...

•We Only Come Out At Night-

So, i have spent quite a few years working in the arena of late-night pizza, as well as made attempts at being some kind of warrior/poet, and this song feels incredibly accurate to large parts of my life.

"It's goofy, but i love it anyway." -how i feel about this song, also, words my wife has likely said about me.

•Beautiful-

This sounds like the kind of song that might get accidentally played at a wedding because they only half-heard half of the lyrics and didn't realize it's about a stalker.

•Lily (My One And Only)-

One of the better-written songs about a Peeping Tom, in that by the time you realize what's actually going on in the song, it's already almost over.

•By Starlight-

I really like this one overall, but the dead eyes parts makes me think of Jaws. (Dead eyes, like a doll's eyes...)

Did...did Billy fall in love with a shark?

•Farewell and Goodnight-

Another almost lullaby song, and it's really nice and peaceful with the whooshing noises and hand drumming throughout.

More of James singing is always nice, and D'arcy has a pretty voice as well. Man, i forgot how much i liked this one, and the return of the leitmotif in the very first song is such a nice closing to the album, very circular.

Okay... this album has taken me DAYS to get through (thanks ADHD) and it's finally done. Now... to power through the backlog.

Okay, Spotify, this album is long enough already, do we really need the super hyper deluxe edition with 4 ½ extra *hours* of demos, other takes or arrangements?

Who wants this? How often is any of it actually listened to by humans? Why the fuck can't i just listen to the regular, no frills, no demos, standard-ass version of this album?

Gripes with corporations aside, this is on my top 20 all-time favorite albums list.

(Do not ask to see the list, manifesting the concrete existence of the list is like nailing down your shadow.)

For better or worse, this album had a hand in shaping my adolescence.

It's safe to say that i might have been a better person overall during my 20s had i never heard this album.

There are some songs on it that are very likely to be going through my head on my deathbed. I will carry this album with me for the rest of my life.

Which is why it is sucks that Billy Corgan is such an asshole! In this TED Talk i....

[starscelly]

which of the flying stars have your ‘favorite’ backstory? (i realize that that’s kind of a difficult question but hey? maybe it isn’t?) or, alternatively, which one do you want to tell us about the most?

i’m so interested in this au i don’t know what questions to ask so if you don’t like these ones feel free to use this ask as an opportunity to go off about something you’ve got on your mind!

i saw this ask during work and could not Wait to get home to answer this omg tysm for ur interest and question and providing me a space to dump a lil abt the flying stars boys!! <3<3<3

i think robo has my favorite backstory bc its so silly and lighthearted dfjksdf to give a quickish summary of everyone's backstory rq (a chunk of it based off their real lives but messing with the timeline and obviously outcomes and some details etc):

they all grew up playing hockey, roope and miro took it more seriously/were able to go farther with it but none of them quite made it to the draft. jake and robo are on a beer league team when they have the time!

roope and miro were on the same liiga team, bonded over music taste and going to shows and playing music together, but roope went to play juniors in the us and eventually became more involved in the punk scene there and started to prioritize it over hockey (especially since it was a space where he could be openly queer and loud, as opposed to hockey where being either is Largely Unacceptable), eventually quitting. the whole time he was still in contact with miro fs and they were still super close.

miro was feeling a lot of pressure from being seen as a "wunderkind" and ended up using music a lot to cope with that, realized he had more fun just fucking around with friends playing music than he did hockey anymore, and when roope said he was starting a band with two freaks in texas and miro could live with him Rent Free miro was like "^.^ okay" and dropped off the face of hockey earth to go to them

otter grew up in love with punk (esp pop punk) and obvs went to warped tour and everything as much as possible, he was also Always very painfully emotionally open and sincere in a way that made him never want to pursue hockey seriously lol like he got hints of dudes who would pursue it, being on a minnesota hs team, and he was like.... yeah not 4 me. he loved being a goalie but didn't love the locker room environment and ultimately just loved playing the drums and writing more!

robo is like if he still grew up in cali but instead of his dad being an ex-goalie he was actively a drummer and instead of using the rv to go to hockey games and moving to michigan and everything they used an rv to tote around their FAMILY BAND (half inspired by zoe's tags on the original post thank u ily) to little gigs, mostly . robo still played hockey a ton in his free time as a hobby but it was harder/unimportant to pursue it seriously given where he was along with obviously just having this love for music growing up in his family. his big teenage rebellion moment was when he was like "no DAD i dont want to play generic universally appealing rock music anymore, i want to play stupid loud messy punk!!!" except nobody actually cared in a serious way they were like "okay lol as long as ur still having fun playing music if thats rlly what you want to do!!!". he was raised to play guitar based purely on vibes by his mom which is why he cannot actually read music still lol

i can elaborate further on any of them if there's anymore questions or u just want to hear more abt them, and im always more than happy to answer Any questions abt the au!!!!! tysm!! <3<3

[vecnasrevengerp]

welcome home ALEX LAW (logan lerman fc)

hope you brought your tissues with you! be sure to check in at home or to your hotel and don’t forget to always look over your shoulder. this is hawkins, after all.

[LOGAN LERMAN, CIS MALE, HE/HIM] When’s the last time anyone heard anything about [ALEX LAW]? Old friends remember them as [CHARMING AND FUNNY] but also [ANNOYING AND ARROGANT], no wonder they’re still known as [THE DIRTBAG] around town. Today, in 2006, they are [31] and some people say they remind them of [CIGARETTE SMOKE, LATE NIGHT DRIVES, NEVER TAKING NO FOR AN ANSWER, WRITING OBSCENE MESSAGES IN BATHROOM STALLS, AND ASKING THE NOSIEST QUESTIONS]. [its thrash(er skate magazine) baby].

  Alex was born in 1975.

So he was eleven years old in 1986.

He was and still is very fucking annoying.

Biography.

ㅤㅤAlex Law, a child stuck between two much brighter siblings, with much more potential for greatness. Alex Law, the middle child most often ignored or forgotten in favor of how brightly they’d shined. It’s no wonder he’d take it upon himself to gain attention in his own way, which was negatively. All his attempts at positive attention had fallen by the wayside, so in his obnoxious, rebellious acts, in his crass behavior he’d grow to establish quite a reputation for himself. It put the eyes on him rather than his siblings, even if only for a moment.

ㅤㅤFreshman year of high school was when he’d attempt to start his first band - called Hollow Gold. What was a better way to get attention and girls? He’d started as the drummer but hated being hidden in the background, so fought his way to be frontman and guitarist … which only made him much more annoying, and despite every effort to find new band members and really get something real official going, it kept falling through when everyone eventually grew tired of him. Junior year he finally gives up the band and trades it for a new passion, journalism, and eventually is president of the school’s newspaper.

ㅤㅤHe keeps on this route, planning to go to community college for journalism after he graduates in 1993, but very quickly feels like college isn’t for him and drops out to flee to Chicago with two of his friends, David and Juliet. He grows to believe these two to be his best friends, though they simply believe him to be a nuisance tolerable enough to split the rent three ways rather than two. He takes up a job at The Evening News, beginning his work there as an intern and climbs his way up to a full-time journalist, though he hardly feels satisfied in the position. They only assign him minor stories, but he desperately wants the cover story : so desperate he’ll do anything to land it, completely ditching any morals he may have once held in favor of being the paper’s golden boy. Up next : critically acclaimed worldwide — “take that, Jared.” His position isn’t as glamorous as he wants it to be, he’s still well enough off to afford his portion in renting one of the best apartments Chicago has to offer. — Well, to say he’s well off, actually, is an overstatement : he leans upon David and Juliet quite a bit, only paying the smaller portion of the total rent on the place. But, he’ll carry himself as though he is well off, it’s better than admitting his struggles after all.

ㅤㅤHis small contribution isn’t always enough, and the others held a sort of resentment about it, so pretty soon - about a year and a half into living together, so mid 1996 - they came together and agreed upon looking for a fourth roommate. This decision alters the course of their lives forever. The one they choose, unfortunately, comes with a whole lot of baggage — it’s not something they ever quite understand, but the events that unravel after his appearance are a lot more than they’d signed up for.

ㅤㅤThey find their new roommate dead in his room. Alex quickly deduces it was an overdose as he snoops throughout the room ; Juliet and David beg him to be normal. He will not be normal, though. This is a story. A story left unwritten, unfortunately. Alex finds, in his snooping, a briefcase full of cash, and convinces the others that they should keep it. Convinces the others that they should dispose of the body themselves, so that no one catches on to what’s transpired. ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ…ㅤㅤ ㅤ So, they do.

ㅤㅤThey dig a shallow grave deep in the woods they’d driven out to and mangle the corpse so that it’s unidentifiable and then bury it. The job of dismembering the body is given to David — clearly a mistake, as doing so changes David. As David spirals further and further from guilt and the horrors of these actions, Alex and Juliet remain carefree, spending the money and carrying on with their lives as normally as they had before. But it isn’t long before David takes two more lives and nearly takes Alex’s as well. Juliet saves Alex’s life by killing David (easily considered self defense, he’d been threatening her as well), but leaves Alex for dead, too, as she flees the country with the money.

ㅤㅤAlex, fortunately, survives. Though no one had answered his initial call before the attack, when he was intending to come clean about everything that had happened as it had become far too much to bear, a long voicemail message was captured and the authorities were dispatched to the apartment as soon as they could.

ㅤㅤOf course, he switched out the money in the briefcase with newspapers — no way was he letting either of them get away with his money — so he survives with his fortune, but not much else. Now he’d have to pick up the pieces that are left on his own : he hasn’t left the apartment in weeks, he’s grown to trust others even less, and he’s afraid to tell his family about any part of it because he doesn’t want neither their sympathy nor their ridicule — and it was a pretty even toss up for which way it would go.

ㅤㅤWhat he does instead is spend his recovery writing an expose about it all, finally landing that cover story he coveted, and milks the horrors he experienced for as long as possible. Because, well, why not? It’s better than actually addressing the trauma, even though he’s hardly been able to sleep a wink and stayed in that dreadful apartment longer than a normal person would. But, with this attention he does eventually figure that he could drop the journalism thing and turn back to music, as he’d always dreamed. The success of the expose is easily translatable. He’s already well known, he’d always been a pretty good lyricist, he’s hot, and the whole surviving a murder attempt thing worked in his favor - loooves to show off his scar for the sympathy points, truly. So, he forms a pop punk band in 1998 called Morbid Stuff. It’s a slow start, but by 2002, after releasing their second full album, they’re quite a big name in the scene and only growing upwards to more and more fame. The band is working on their fourth album in 2006 when Alex takes an impromptu trip back to his hometown. He’s not invited to the funeral, he has no idea, it’s his younger sister Melanie’s call that brings him back - because her friend Serena Carlisle was in town and she figured she’d let him know since they’d briefly had a … “thing” in ‘98. So he heads back out to Hawkins :) To rekindle an old flame mostly, and to annoy the crap out of everyone else all over again with his mega rockstar ego. (But he will be respectful the moment he figures out a big funeral is happening.)

As an aside, please let us know what your character left behind in the Hawkins High Time Capsule between 1983 (Season 1) - 1986 (Season 4). We’d simply love to know! Please do so even if your character was not canonically in Hawkins or attending Hawkins High during this timeframe.

He spit in it.

Statistics.

Athletics (How Athletic are they?) +1

Burglary (Can they swipe stuff?) +2

Contacts (Do they know people with information?) +2

Deceive (Are they a good liar?) +3

Drive (like, actual driving ability) +2

Empathy (How much of an empath are they?) 0

Fight (Do they have hands?) +3

Investigate (Can they sleuth?) +3

Lore (Kinda like knowledge) +2

Medicine (First aid essentially) -3 (drugs and alcohol heal all wounds! he says proudly as he collapses to his death)

Navigation (How good are they with a map/getting around?) +2

Notice (Is your character observant?) +3

Provoke (Are they a shit stirrer?) +3

Rapport (Are they charming? Can they do it on command?) +2

Resourcefulness (MacGyver scale) 0

Stealth (Are they sneaky?) +2

Will (Tenacity) +2

Extras.

pinterest \ spotify \ im working on sorting his band’s albums but this is generally what i claim as the songs theyve made

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Disability (Dan) Masterlist

A Guiding Light - danalingphil

Summary: Dan struggles through a condition causing him to lose his eyesight, and Phil helps him cope and learn to love life again.

A New Friendship (ao3) - pasteldanhowells

Summary: Dan is in a wheelchair and can’t reach a book in the library, so Phil helps him, they meet and start a new friendship.

All Signs Point to Us (ao3) - RyRyCaptain

Summary: When the queen and king gives birth to Daniel, they soon learn that their son is deaf. In order to let Dan express his opinions to those who haven't learned sign language, they find him a translator who happens to be the son of the King’s advisor, Phil. Soon enough, Phil starts to realize thAt he fallen in love with the younger boy.

Birdsong - phandabbydosey

Summary: Dan has been deaf since birth and, living in a hearing world, deep down he’s always wanted to be able to hear, wanted to know what it’s like to. But when he learns about the Cochlear Implant, an amazing device that could give him what he wants, Dan struggles against his proudly deaf family and himself to decide if he should be ‘fixed’ or not.

But It Takes Someone To Come Around To Show You How (ao3) - Cutaehyung

Summary: Dan is born mute into a world where once in everyone’s life your soulmate will say the specific words that are tattooed onto your body, and bring you together. These words will save your life in more ways than imaginable. Whilst Dan resigns himself to the fact he will never have a soulmate, fate has different ideas…

Colours From An Achromatic’s Eyes - rncloughlin

Summary: Dan is colourblind. He has been his entire life, but that changes when he meets his internet friend for the first time and suddenly he can only see the colour of his eyes.

Explaining the Rainbow - crescendohowell

Summary: Dan is colourblind so Phil explains all the colours to him.

Finally Found a Friend (ao3) - Phandabbydosey

Summary: Phil is deaf and when hes a little boy (primary school) and is really lonely but there comes a new kid named Dan who, plot twist, is also deaf

Good Vibrations - phandabbydosey

Summary: Phil’s band gets a shot at impressing a talent scout, but their drummer drops out just three days before the big gig. Their only shot at a replacement comes in the form of the lead singer’s younger brother, the lead singer’s deaf brother with a fondness for soft pastel colours.

Hearing You (ao3) - centroid

Summary: They were laying on Phil’s couch, watching a movie. Maybe watching was a bad choice of words.

“You look so beautiful like this. Cheeks flushed, hair messed up, eyes blown. I love it.” Phil breathed, and Dan blushed more. A smile tugging at his lips, Dan brought his own to meet Phil’s once more in a single kiss.

‘I want you.’ Dan signed with a seductive glint in his eye.

“You look so pretty, sprawled out for me. Do you know how sexy you look?”

“Ah- Phil”

Hesitation and Bright Blue Eyes - six-foot-two-phanchild

Summary: Dan is severely deaf, and what he’s depended on most suddenly is taken from him in the worst place at the worst time. However, he meets someone that day that changes everything.

Home - dxnhowell

Summary: Dan and Phil are reunited after Dan being away in the army for four years. Things aren’t perfect when he returns, but they make it work eventually.

Light in the Dark - paradisobound

Summary: Phil is the RA (Resident Advisor) for his local college where he manages the residents in his dorm building. But his junior year in college is about to take a turn when one of his residents, who’s named Dan, is blind. Soon, Phil develops a friendship with Dan as he soon discovers that they were meant for much more than just a platonic relationship. He just hopes that his Alpha abilities won’t scare away the timid Omega.

Limbs (ao3) - doctorwatsonofhogwarts

Summary: Dan lost both of his legs. Phil can give him new ones.

Love is Blind (ao3) - thatsthephan

Summary: A blind!Dan AU in which Dan has an accident that causes him to lose his sight, and Phil has to struggle to help him because of his independent attitude.

Milkshake Texts (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Stranger tells Phil that he shouldn’t be texting deaf!Dan if they’re in the same room. Fluffy Phil defending Dan happens.

My Boyfriend, Dan - dxnhowell

Summary: Dan and Phil have been together for eight months. Dan isn’t a youtuber but Phil is. Dan’s also mute. But Phil decides to one day ask Dan to join his live show to meet his viewers for the first time.

One Step at a Time (ao3) - TwistedRocketPower

Summary: It’s amazing, the things we take for granted. When Dan is seriously injured while out running errands, both he and Phil must learn to adjust to a new life. One night changed their lives forever, and they have to learn how to handle it one step at a time.

Second Chances (ao3) - croissantbleu

Summary: Soulmate AU in which you get to see colours when you kiss your soulmate. Dan has a particularity.

Silent Proposal - phandabbydosey

Summary: Phil takes Dan out to dinner (or any place you prefer) and forgets his ear pieces and doesn’t know Phil is going to propose so Phil has to sign will you marry me to Dan?

soft silence / softer lips (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: But Dan quietly reflects on how he can never hear his lover laugh, moan or cry, and Phil wonders how he stumbled upon such a beautiful person.

Something No One Can Hear - six-foot-two-phanchild

Summary: Both Dan and Phil are starting over at a new school, lonely and unsociable. When Phil finds Dan, he’s not what he was expecting - he’s deaf, but that only intrigues Phil more.

Strange Harmony (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan is mute and Phil is deaf, which, as it turn out, works quite nicely.

(TW) Tell Someone (ao3) - QueenOfAllCorgis

Summary: After a terrible accident Dan is forever changed. Phil learns that he isn’t completely unaffected either. They help each other heal.

The Blind Boy (ao3) - jilliancares

Summary: Dan Howell liked to think of his entire life as a series of tragic accidents. Because really, how many people can say that they managed to become blind and obtain a supposedly Cute Boy’s hate all in the span of one year? And Phil Lester has not had the best school life, so in order to avoid bullying or a bad reputation, he refuses to take shit from anyone at this new school. Even if that someone just so happens to be blind.

The Defect System (ao3) - Star4545

Summary: Everyone is born with a Defect. Dan and Phil just happen to be born with two. Dan is blind and deaf, Phil cannot speak nor dance. Once you meet your soulmate, the defects will disappear one at a time.

They Know - phandabbydosey

Summary: Dan is deaf and his subscribers don’t know. One day he accidentally uses sign language on a live show and has no choice but to come clean about his disability.

Who’s that kid? (ao3) - Hannah2003

Summary: Oh another thing!’ Pj yells, prising Chris’ wandering hands off him and pushing him through the door.

‘He’s deaf!’

Why You Should Wear Your Hearing Aids - jilliancares

Summary: Dan is deaf and doesn’t realize how loud he’s being while he masturbates, which is driving Phil crazy (in a good way).

Will I Ever Meet Them? (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: Drawing on one’s arm for their soulmate to see is usually a wonderful, magical experience. Phil sent a smiley face once but hasn’t written anything since.

Or: Dan is blind and doesn’t see Phil’s smiley face because of it. Also, Dan hates soulmates (until he finds Phil) because he will never see any messages.

You Saved Me - dxnhowell

Summary: There’s a fire at Dan and Phil’s school, Dan’s in a wheelchair and has trouble getting out of the classroom, luckily Phil’s there to help him out in time.

You Deserve The World - dxnhowell

Summary: Dan is deaf and doesn’t have many friends at his school. Phil is the new kid who meets Dan on his first day. They instantly bond the moment Dan learns that Phil knows sign language. They become best friends because of this.

[cawtew]

Autobiography - Carter Mosqueda

I was brought into this world on the 16th day of the month November, 2004. My journey started in a small town in Manila, where I grew up and lived near the NAIA airport for almost 9 years. Those 9 years of fond memories are something that I still cherish and carry on forward up until now. I learnt a lot growing up there, and the people I met there, such as my friends, neighbors, ninongs, and ninangs, ingrained a lesson in me.. Going to school was like one of the worst nightmares I had when I was a kid. I started my education at 6 and at that time, I hated it and I’m scared of interacting with new people so every time I had a class, I always cried and bawled inside the classroom looking for my Mom (I once was a Mama’s boy, yes). She had stayed with me inside the classroom for 2 years, both my daycare and kinder year because if she leaves, it is chaos.

Yet those nine years aren't only a lavish lifestyle for myself and my family. After an accident rendered my father's right eye blind, he resigned from his profession as a seaman. Earning a living was difficult for my family at the time, so my parents chose to relocate to Cavite in 2013, two weeks after my ninth birthday, hoping for a fresh start. It was difficult for me when I first moved to the city since I didn't know anyone and the environment was quite different from where I grew up. It took years for me to acclimatize to my new surroundings. I continued my studies in 4th grade at Dasmarinas Elementary School, where I spent my next 3 years and graduated.

The start of my Junior High School years is I think is one of the best things that happened to me. I’ve got to explore new things, and my introverted self has been just thrown away as I meet new people and make stupid shenanigans with them. Because of them, I found happiness, comfort, lessons and I got to become just being myself. One more thing is that I was able to pursue my passion for music, my dream of being a drummer of a band and because of that my band and I were able to play whenever there was an event on our campus.

Now that I'm in my current year, I'm just thankful that I'm still making progress in my path, even if it's a tiny step. I am currently in 12th grade and will graduate from senior high school in a few months. Words will never express how grateful I am for the people in my life right now. To everyone who has helped me, cared for me, and has always had my back. I'll always remember the good times I spent with them and remember the terrible ones as life lessons. They are the finest thing that occurred to me throughout my senior year, and they are slowly transforming me into the best version of myself.

(UPDATE)

It has been months since I last posted this bio and my other blogs in it. Last June, I graduated from senior high school. Now, I'm halfway through my freshman year at National University - Dasmarinas, where I'm studying BS Psychology. And as the year 2023 comes to a close, I am still beyond grateful to the people who have surrounded and helped me. 2023 was such a fun and thrilling roller coaster ride. I hope the year 2024 is even better, full of opportunities and love. 

[tinx-methinks]

I actually forgot some last time and also I have a few more to add. This'll probably be the final update before the last one with the tally on Dec 31st.

I forgot to mention last time that I'd tracked down and read Rage by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman). The book is super controversial because of its association with several school shootings and it's subsequent pulling from publication. The version I read was tracked down on the Internet Archive. I really ended up enjoying it however, and I think it really shocked me that there was a very notable queer reading of it I'd never seen mentioned. It's a shame that the book became what it has since if it hadn't become an outlet for toxic masculine anger there may have been more space for discussion around it. I think I found it at a weirdly appropriate moment of my life and I'm glad for having read it.

I also read a number of stories by Ray Bradbury including: The Whole Town's Sleeping, The Rocket, Season of Disbelief, And the Rock Cried Out, The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, The Beggar on O'Connell Bridge, The Flying Machine, Heavy-Set, The First Night of Lent, Lafayette Farewell, Remember Sascha?, and Junior (favs so far bolded). I'm working through a book of short stories which are my first introduction to Bradbury's work and holy shit. It's really good.

Since I last updated I read some more KA Applegate: Megamorphs 3 Elfangor's Secret, The Conspiracy, and The Separation

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher- I enjoyed this one a lot. It's a contemporary take on The White People by Arthur Machen which I intend to read sometime soon to compare.

The Earl not Taken by A.S. Fenichel was alright but a bit longer than what I was looking for. I think I wanted short and sweet period romance and this one dragged for me at places. Also the modern feminist takes were to the books determent but I would've overlooked that if I'd loved it overall. This didn't sell me on the setting or characters, however so I'm going to give the rest of the series a miss.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree was surprisingly good. I really thought it was going to be a nothing burger but it ended up being a fun fluffy read where you could really tell there was a genuine love of coffee behind it. It made me want to go back to my barista days. I was disappointed by the short story at the end and even more disappointed to learn the sequel is actually a prequel because for me this was all I wanted from these characters and I don't really want to revisit them. If the author writes more in this universe away from Viv and her friends, however, I'll be more than willing to read his other work.

Christmas Charms by Teri Wilson was a fun Christmas romance. Exactly what I wanted to set the mood. Very funny that the main character rebels so hard against the magic charm bracelet that kicks off the plot. It's exactly like one of those Hallmark movies so if you like them you'd like this. My only nitpick is I really wanted someone to go thru the ice, and by making all the character development of the main character internal the author avoided the problem of having this guy mainsplain feelings to her but created the problem where the man and her barely spoke and didn't really develop together in any way on screen. But eh. It's a cheap romance. You'll get over it. No sex in this one either, but it would've felt pretty out of place. There was some great hand lust however.

Also my fiance finished reading me Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis.

As for short stories:

An Upheaval by Anton Chekov: we both liked this. Just a tidy good short story. Delivered on the Chekov thing. Fantastic.

How Beautiful with Shoes by Wilbur Daniel Steele: At first we were leery about this one but after looking into the author a bit we decided it has the same appeal as Riley Sager-esque thrillers do now and decided to call it OK even if it wasn't exactly what we'd call great.

A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf : I really loved this one.

The Catbird Seat by James Thurber: This one was funny, the characters were great, there were some sexism concerns but ultimately we think they were so played up that it still served as humorous enough to make this one rereadable.

Update to this post: tinx-reads-2023

Books I've read since last time:

K.A. Applegate: The Change, The Unknown, The Escape, The Warning, The Underground, The Decision, Megamorphs 2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs, The Andalite Chronicles, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, The Departure, The Discovery, The Threat, The Solution, The Pretender, The Suspicion, and The Extreme. GOD she does Aliens SO WELL. I care about her Aliens SO MUCH argh. I didn't think I would like the Andalite or Hork-Bajir Chronicles at all but now they're all I can think about ahhhh!!!

Hide by Kiersten White wasn't super good... it felt kinda like the author was trying to rub her own back and the novel wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped.

The Legend of Beacon Swamp by Jacob Peyton had it's moments where it could have been interesting but it was so poorly written that any joy you could still derive from it vanished into the murk.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells was the STAND OUT FAVE from this group of books. All my homies love Murderbot.

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk wasn't bad and would've been more enjoyable if I'd just read it for what it was but I was thinking about some of the weirdness in the world building the whole time. I think the angels in this universe are evil and also the main character is kinda really bad.

Consequences by Aleatha Romig was pitched to me as erotica. Which it wasn't. Tried to make me think it was romance. Which is wasn't. And then the ending would've been good and interesting if the entire book hadn't been wayyyy too fuckin' long.

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn was a bookclub book that became a real slog. The main character was smug and mean and I really hated the twist in this book. I thought the author was English but it turned out she was from Texas which really shook me though.

Deadly Kiss by Ariel Marie was the first one in a romance series about lesbian vampire princesses. It was alright, but felt a little confused at times. I think I might take a look at the second one in the series though... it was charming and had some decent erotica.

As for Short Stories...

Kakekomi Uttae by Dazai Osamu was super interesting because I read No Longer Human last year and felt like this piece had SO much of the author's personal voice in the place of Judas.

Graveyard Rats by Henry Kutner which I read cause I'm hunting down the short stories from Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities with a friend. Neither of us thought this was very good, however. We both preferred the netflix adaption.

The Autopsy by Michael Shea was fantastic. I enjoyed this one a bunch. I ended up going through the episode again because of it and I love the changes that were made from the text but for me the text had sooo much more to offer with little details in mannerisms. Plus some of the thoughts about death as a personification just really worked for me. I liked this one a lot.

[fumiko-matsubara]

Purple sketches of all my AssClass OCs 💜

I've been wanting to get back to sketching with a pen because istg my sketchbook was mostly filled with messy sketches that I use for my digital works. So, I wanted to add few pages of polished sketches and I thought one of them should just be a bunch of small sketches of all my assclass OCs.

Anyways, brief intro for each of my OCs below:

Jenny "Miki" Yamazaki

My first assclass OC, initially used for fake anime screenshot art. In TARGET ON, she was dropped to Class E due to complications regarding her transfer. But with the discontinuation of the fanfic, I would have to tweak her character again. Miki being a Class E student in my connected world of headcanons just simply wouldn't work out. But I also can't just throw her away.

Eiji Fukiyose

Bassist of the band Chiba was in. He gets on everyone's nerves due to his unpleasant and audacious personality. The only reason he isn't the most hated in school is because he gets his ass handed to him almost right after doing a wrong. He has already made a couple of appearances in my blog.

Itachi-kun

Chiba's first friend who he had once talked about to Nakamura. He is actually in a boarding school outside of Kunugigaoka, hence, it became difficult for the childhood friends to reunite. I still haven't decided on a surname yet.

Miho Shimada

Current president of the school's light music club and the drummer of the band Chiba was in. She doesn't approve of any of the boys her best friend, Kaho Tsuchiya, had dated so far. I'm currently working on her character profile.

Ayaka Kitazawa

The power vocalist and frontwoman of the band. Her fiery temper is a complete contrast to her demure appearance. She's the sole reason why "Lead Guitarist-kun" was even a thing in the first place. She's an alumnus of Kunugigaoka junior high.

Daisuke Terushima

The cheeky baby of the band; plays the guitar and keyboard. His teasing remarks often gets Eiji into more trouble. In cases where both he and Eiji were caught causing mischief together, Daisuke is always spared from the punishment.

Isami Matsuoka

Chiba's classmate in high school who sits in front of him. Exchange should always be equal for both of them when it comes to favours. If Isami wants to copy Chiba's Math homework in the last minute, he has to treat him to coffee after school in return. He's my newest OC, so I still have quite a lot of work to do with his personality. The point is that he's very pretty.

Senritsu Harukawa

One of the virtuoso girls. Spoiled rotten by her father, nearly everyone in school finds her detestable. But due to the quality of the tea she brings to school, no one can turn down an invitation to the afterschool tea parties she hosts.

Setsuna Kurokawa

Also one of the virtuoso girls and the president of the Gardening club. She's meticulous, fussy, and a perfectionist altogether. When Class E gets punished for school assembly tardiness, it's her time to shine. While she's not exactly being mean to them, Setsuna makes sure that they will still have a difficult time tending the flower beds.

[tampon-on-the-sidewalk]

So You’re the Commentator for your party’s Eurovision Experience?

Have we got a list for you! Semi Final 1 facts to tell during the postcards. Every artist in this semi final has had involvement in the songwriting process. (Note- I will be making one of these lists for the Grand Final as well, BUT with different facts for the qualifying acts.)

1. Albania- Ronela Hajati- Sekret. She is 32 years old, Studied ballet and piano as a child. Her first hit single was in May 2013. Lists Michael Jackson as her biggest influence.

2. Latvia- Citi Zeni- Eat Your Salad Formed in 2020 at a song-writing camp! Describe their genre as ‘Alternative Unicorn Pop’. Their goal is to deliver powerful, serious messages in a fun and cheeky way. 

3. Lithuania- Monika Lui- Sentimentai- 34 years old, won a competition at age 16. She studied Jazz and also attended Berklee College of Music. She’s been a recording artist since 2013. 

4. Switzerland- Marius Bear- Boys Do Cry- 29 years old, was a construction mechanic until being drafted into the army. A colleague told him he should pursue music, and he became a professional busker when he returned from the army. Recording debut in 2014. Won a Swiss music award for ‘Best Talent.

5. Slovenia- Last Pizza Slice(LPS)- Disko- Founded in 2018. Half the members are still in highschool, and they actually performed at their own prom shortly before the contest. 

6. Ukraine- Kalush Orchestra- Stefania Named after the founding member’s hometown, Kalush Orchestra a rap group that adds folk elements to their music. They were the runner-up of the national final, chosen after the winner withdrew.

7. Bulgaria- Intelligent Music Project- Intention- Founded in 2012 with a long list of musicians over the years. Drummer Stoyan Yankulov has represented Bulgaria in both 2007 and 2013. 

8. Netherlands- S10- De Diepte- 21 years old, she began her career in 2016. Her debut album won an Edison Award(Dutch equivalent to a Grammy). It is the first song in the Dutch language since 2010. In Dutch, her name would be pronounces ‘Esteen’

9. Moldova- Zdob si Zdub- These Eurovision legends barely need an introduction as they repped Moldova in 2005 and 2011, landing 6th place and 12th place respectively. Formed in 1994. 

10. Portugal- Maro- Saudade, Saudade- 27 years old, she intended on becoming a vet before deciding to pursue music. She also went to the Berklee College of Music. She currently resides in LA, and made her recording debut in 2018.

11. Croatia- Mia Dimsic- Guilty Pleasure- 29 years old, she has a masters degree in translation studies. Started her musical career in 2014, siting Taylor Swift and Willie Nelson of two of her many influences.

12. Denmark- REDDI- The show- Debuted in 2021 and formed for the National final. They cite P!NK and Green Day as their influences. The drummer,  Ihan Haydar, was part of Denmark’s 2012 act. The song is co-wrote by Julia Fabrin, a writer behind Emelie De Forest’s Only Teardrops. 

13. Austria- Lumix ft. Pia Maria- Halo- 19 and 18 years old, respectively. Lumix has been a DJ/Producer since age 14, Nominated for 2 awards and winning 1 of them. Known for working with Gabry Ponte of Eiffel 65.

14. Iceland- Systur-  Með hækkandi sól- Formed in 2011, a group of three sisters. Their father is a composer and keyboardist. Trans Rights activists! Title stranslates to ‘With the Rising Sun.’ 

15. Greece- Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord-Die Together 25 years old, currently resides in Norway. Studied medicine before putting her studies on hold to pursue music. Recording Artist since 2014. 

16. Norway- Subwoolfer- Give that Wolf a Banana- Keith, Jim and DJ Astronaut. Two wolves from the moon who are known as ‘the best artists in the galaxy’. The song has more than 7 million hits on Spotify.

17. Armenia- Rosa Lynn- Snap- 21 years old, a recording artist as of 2021 but made her TV debut in 2013 for Junior Eurovision’s National final. She has been playing Piano since the age of 6.