#maybe ill do more band members at some point

[divinelolita]

i wanna laugh and i wanna laugh rn😪

its been so long(literally a few days) since i sent smthhh

ill boost u bae dw

AHEM

mk so the whole band(um seperate fic duh) with a bf who be freakishly nice n shit(i feel like ivd sent this bf dont expose me if i did) like if a band member accidentally hit him in the face he would say sorry and say some dumb shit like "im so sorry i shouldn't have been in the way of your elbow. " like what💀💀

or if someone was trying to confess or smth he'd be like "i really don't want to hurt you but no." maybe even as a band memeber is right next to them

and arguments with this mf is probably hell like if it was a band members fault he would accidentally make them think it wasn't and it was his(sometimes its on purpose but they figure it out later) OFC these r examples use what u want🧍🏾

BAHSBDKDBDO I CANFT STOP LAUGHING ON THE FIRST ONE

THE BAND X EXTREMELY NICE READER

teehee i have an essay to write but ummmmm that doesn't matter rn 😇 uhh also if it's bad sorry idk what's going on with me

BILL:

・He's so confused how you can be nice all the time

・He really does try to be nice but he just snaps sometimes omg 💀

・He wonders when your breaking point is

・Like if he turns around carrying something and wacks your fucking face he's so confused why you're not YELLING at him

"Yeah and then- *WHACK* -OH SHIT M/N I'M SO SORRY ARE YOU OKAY?! -"

"No, no Bill I'm fine! It didn't hurt that much."

"..what."

・He just stares at you with his jaw dropped low, slowly nodding to himself

・Or like if he knocks something over and you apologize for it

(I've done that so many times...)

・Reassures you it's not your problem 🤞

TOM:

・nahh you got him FUCKED UP bae.

・He doesn't understand how you can be so nice, I feel like he's a brutally honest mf 💀

・If your in public and somebody is being rude to you and you're just kinda standing there, still staying calm???

・He's just looking at your features trying to find ONE small piece of anger or frustration

・I feel like y'all are couple opposites.

・Like he'd obviously have a soft spot for you 🤗 but he doesn't see the reason to be nice to others when he knows it's not his fault

・Arguments with him oh my god...

・If you keep apologizing and saying it's your fault he eventually sits next to you to comfort you, assuring you everything's okay.

"It's not your fault, M/N. I promise.."

・You'd somehow warm him up a bit, he barley notices himself becoming more kind and carefree.

GEORG:

・was his color green or blue omg i can't remember

・He's...so confused.

・Like if he accidentally smacks you with his elbow and you aren't crying or cursing

"M/N? M/N ARE YOU-"

"I'm okay! It just stung for a second haha..!"

"..."

"..."

・He gets you but he doesn't.

・He just can't see himself being so giddy and happy and nice.

・Anger turns into confusion in arguments, why are you so mad at yourself?

・Loves you so fucking much though, always reminding you that you are amazing and didn't do anything wrong.

GUSTAV

・AHHHH HE GETS YOU!!!!!

・He understands you so much oh my god, he just loves you even more now.

・He'd also try to keep you from blaming yourself.

・Like if he knocks something over and you apologize.

"Oh shit I'm sorry I should have moved it-"

"No honey you're fine, I should've looked where I was going.."

・MWA MWA HE LOVES YOU

・Very slightly confused on how you never snap, how you always keep calm

・He wishes he could be like you bae 💔💔

・In arguments he just tries to calm himself and you down, actually sitting down and talking about how you both feel

OH SHITTT I NEED TO DO THAT ESSAY

[because-of-a-friend]

Band-Aid

MASTERLIST

Hi guys, I’m back! Sorry I was gone for so long, I got so busy this past year, I thought I might have to retire this blog for good. But I’m going to try and make time for it, let’s hope it works out this time!

Disclaimer: It has been a LONG time since I’ve written ~anything~ so I am plenty rusty lol.

Thanks for the request anon! This is such a cute prompt! Hope I delivered! After this I’ll have four drafts left and then I can answer the requests in my inbox!

Warnings: Mentions injuries/illnesses, blood, let me know if I missed anything!

Word Count: 1k

Remember that gifs aren’t mine! If you like them, pls click through to show their OPs some love!

You have to laugh as Seungcheol loudly announces to Jeonghan that his head is hurting

You two have been going through this cycle since you were first hired a few months ago

At the beginning, Coups had an excuse to talk to you all the time

Since you were new to the team, he took point on explaining important info to you

What allergies the boys had

Previous injuries you needed to be aware of

Where they generally kept their first-aid supplies

But once you had it all down, there was no reason for him to talk to you on a daily basis

But by this point, Cheol had realized that he very much liked speaking to you

He felt that you two had connected well and wanted to get to know you more

But since you were on the med team, you were often quite busy seeing as there were thirteen members that were in constant need of check-ups, aid with different levels of injuries, and general everyday care to combat the strain they put on their bodies

You hardly ever had time to just speak to him

The only time you really could 

Was when you were treating him

So Seungcheol had started to come up with any excuse under the sun to come and talk to you

First he was constantly complaining that he must have sprained his wrist, or twisted his ankle or pulled a muscle

Then he was constantly getting stomache aches

After that he was getting rashes or little scratches

Now he was in a phase of faking headaches to come and talk to you about it

You knew all of his injuries were fake from the very beginning

He stopped cradling his first “sprained wrist” to tell Seungkwan off for being too loud

He ate full meals that the other boys ordered even when he had his “stomach aches”

You had started carrying around makeup wipes to clean off his supposed “scratches and rashes”

Someone complaining of a headache was a little harder to disprove though

But you were sure you’d catch him somehow

You had begun to enjoy playing this little game with him

As well as the time you got to spend with him because of it

“Well you don’t have a fever,” you tucked your thermometer back into your medical bag

Seungcheol sat in front of you with a pout on his face

“Are there any other symptoms?” you ask

Seungcheol dutifully shakes his head

“Well do you want a pain reliever? Or maybe I should tell them to send you home and rest?” you feel his forehead once more for good measure

“Oh...” he hesitates, “I don’t think it’s serious enough for either of those...”

You smile to yourself

It was quite cute to watch him fumble with trying to feign sickness without  exposing himself

“Well should we schedule an appointment with a neurologist to make sure this isn’t a problem?” you push him further

“No, you take care of me well enough” Seungcheol beams

“Well we have to find a solution eventually,” you sigh. “How’s your water intake? Or did you add anything new to your diet? Increase your screentime?”

“No, they just started out of nowhere,” Seungcheol shrugs innocently

“Well I suppose I can let you go for today but, if it happens again, I’m sending you to the doctor”

“[Y/N]!” one of the managers calls for you. “We need your help prepping supplies for the next concert.”

You give Cheol a bit of a smug look, knowing you’ve backed him into a corner with his latest fake sickness and then

You rush off to help

Seungcheol sighs as he watches you leave

He just lost another excuse to spend time with you

Later that evening Joshua watches with pure amusement as Seungcheol paces back and forth in the dorm 

“Should I say I think I have a sinus infection? Or maybe I could claim of frequent muscle spasms... I feel like constipation has to be my last move.”

“I feel like constipation is a never move,” Joshua interrupted. “Just tell [Y/N] that you like them.”

“I can’t do that, what if they don’t even like me?” Seungcheol complains

“Well then you have an answer and you can stop wasting both of your time,” Josh shrugs

“Wasting time,” Seungcheol repeats. “What if they really don’t like me and I’ve just been annoying [Y/N] this whole time?” 

He hates the feeling settling in the pit of his stomach

He begins to remember all the times you would shut him down as quick as possible 

Or when you would rush off to help someone else as soon as you were done exposing a fake injury of his

How you would sigh and roll your eyes before walking away

Apparently he failed to notice the playful look on your face as you did so

“What? I don’t think [Y/N] would put up with it if you were truly wasting their time,” Joshua protests

“No, I really should stop. It’s [Y/N]’s job and I should leave them alone to do it. Let’s just start getting ready for the concert tomorrow”

Seungcheol’s mood is noticably down for rehearsals the next day

The other boys are off because of it and they’re trying all they can to cheer him up

You notice as well and begin to wonder if Seungcheol is genuinely sick for once 

And then you feel really worried because he usually would use any excuse to come speak to you but he’s not even trying to mention what’s obviously bothering him

“Are you feeling alright?” you corner him, once again pressing a hand to his forehead

“I am, just worried about this performance,” Cheol reaches up to grab your hand, his thumb pressing into your palm as he pulls it away from his head

Then he just walks off

You feel really uneasy about the concert

Everyone else does too

Seungcheol may not be exhibiting any symptoms of sickness but it’s obvious he’s distracted and not ready to perform

Anxieties rise throughout the day but quickly stave off as the concert begins

As usual, Seventeen pulls through and the concert goes well

Even with Cheol somewhat distracted 

But the good feelings end as quickly as they begin

When Cheol falls during a song 

At first it looks like just a simple stumble

But as your watching the big screen, you see the horrified expression form on Seungkwan’s face as he looks down at his leader

You rush to the side of the stage as the other members help him off

They set him down on a chair in front of you and run back off to do crowd control

You quickly see why Seungkwan had seemed so disturbed

When Cheol had tripped, he had fallen against one of the stage props and scraped up his shin

The wound didn’t seem deep but it was large and producing plenty of blood

Coups feels terrible

Not even 24 hours after he decided to leave you alone

And here is a situation where you have to be with him

He can’t even think of his injury

He can only think of how he’s going to apologize and get out of your hair

He’s tested ten different apologies in his head before he actually looks at you

Your hands are gentle as you clean the blood and sanitize the wound

Cheol notices how you hesitate everytime you rub the disinfectant over his leg, seeing if it’ll cause him pain or not 

There is a time where it does sting and he sucks in his breath

You look up at him and Cheol’s heart clenches

You look so worried

Your eyebrows are furrowed and there’s sweat on your forehead 

“Does it hurt a lot? I promise I’m almost done” you say 

Your voice is so genuine and kind

Cheol has to stop himself from grinning at how sweet and caring you’re being

“I’m ok, do what you need to do”

You wrap the bandages carefully once the wound is clean, even going back over where you feel you didn’t do a good enough job

“Does that feel ok?” you stand and put a hand on his shoulder, indicating with your other hand that he should move his leg and test the wrappings

He nods, “Thank you”

Then he gets up and heads towards the stage

“Woah,” you stop him with a hand on his chest, “where are you going?”

 He grabs your hand the same way, a thumb pressed to your palm, but he doesn’t move it away from him this time

“Back out,” he gives you the smile he uses when he wants something

“You can’t go back out there,” you insist, hoping he can’t feel how warm you’re getting while he holds your hand

“It would be best for the fans to see that I’m ok,” Cheol says more seriously this time

You think it over

“...You’ll have to sit in a chair for the rest of the performance,” you insist

“I’ll accept that with my own condition,” Cheol is beaming at you again

“And what would that be?” you laugh

“I take you to dinner after”

Before you can respond, he pulls you towards him, kisses your cheek, and runs off onto the stage with a chair

And your hand flies to your own forehead to check your tempertature

[astronautbeans]

IM BACK AGAIN (THEBYTER)

Ive thought more of it... Spoke wouldn't want to comfort parrot imo he did do allat with the fake secret just to let out his anger on him so id imagine Ash would bring it up to laugh in parrots face and maybe nudge spoke to laugh too because Theyre so Similiar. Ripping away Parrot's friend from him. It strikes Spoke's last sense of defense in a way........ Like...

"Oh fuck I really am I like ash" s "I knew you'd come around , sooner or later the outcome won't change." a

The ceremony to me is like a big gathering or some iron trims , all gold and diamond trims with ash basically monologing the entire time if he doesnt urge spoke to reply

Also it would ruin any chance of spoke ever being free from the mafia because word spreads around. The big bad mafia boss has a non invis player working for him? And it's the guy that everyone has suspected(alongside mapicc) to be affiliated with the mafia?(Ifeel like im going insane mentioning this part because its so important to me. People saw Spoke and mapicc with mafia members , now they know Spoke is part of the highest ranked mafia. It all clicks together.)

I want to write Mapicc chewing him out because of it, spoke doesnt speak but once mapicc does lock eye contact with him something is genuinely off with spoke ,he's not the same guy who he sees as a little brother anymore. OK SORRY DEVIOUS SIBLINGS GOT TO ME Back on track now.

Another way id see ash make his win over spoke more visible would be adding amethyst to the horn bands.... i keep thinking of them What if spoke had like different horn accessories but cuz he had to go invis he took them off and now he has no more space left for them because of the gold/amethyst bands and chains and theyre also a bit too tight to take them off without pain so he just leaves them on........

I just thiught of hiw would spoke react to ash hugging him but like as a way to threaten tobreak his bones if he tries to do something stupid. Ash has mentioned multiple times that hes cut off people's hands in previous videos so Thats not too far of a stretch...Ill be back when I lose my shit again at 2am

jgfdsk hi sorry i finally got around to replying to this my bad it took so long

maybe he wouldn't outright comfort him but he knows loss too. every friend that dies, every person that dies in this world is gone forever,, and at some point he'd been friends with Parrot too. letting him just suffer like this is cruel. he'd hesitate, for sure. Ash is turning him into a monster, turning off his feelings. maybe he doesn't comfort him but he sure as hell feels his chest tighten with shared grief at the hatred on Parrot's face. directed at him because he's part of this too,,,

also gosh yeah of course word gets around. of course Spoke isn't the only one who's infiltrated the mafia. some people dare to hope, that it's all part of the plan, others see it for what it is: Spoke is one more face of the mafia.

AND YEAH OH MY DAYS MAPICC WOULD FIND HIM SOMEWHERE AFTER AND TELL HIM TO MAKE A CHOICE. his friends? or the mafia? and all Spoke can think is 'don't we have the same goal here?' even if he's been blinded by his own doubts and Ash's manipulation <3 this is not his little brother anymore bro you're killing meeeeee Spoke's grown up all wrong and Mapicc can't help but feel somewhat responsible, right? he should've steered him into a better direction, not gotten him into this

gosh dude you have many good thoughts. the horn decorations being too tight sfhdghksfhdjs and the hug too??? sdhgfjgfshdkdshj oh my daysssssssss

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

I dunno what that bday Reita mail was about but seeing people say that it wrote "Being alive is a treasure" makes me worry even more that he was dealing with a chronic illness and he knew he wouldn't live long. We will never know obviously, but there have been many times he said things that made me worry that he would take his own life one day as well, but then others felt like maybe he says these things because there was a clock counting down for him and never told us cause he wanted to experience his life to the fullest and not with people constantly looking at him with "pity" or worrying.

He'd said he wanted to heal from sth and that he wished everyone could heal from their own stuff too, so I took it as sadness over past trauma. He'd also said things pointing at feeling lonely. I never realized how Reita was a moodmaker for the band until he died, cause Aoi had been the one being the most troll/playfull in the past in my eyes and then all of them calmed down. It was what he was saying that made Reita more of a playful member to me. But all in all he always felt like the youngest member to me for some reason. Perhaps because he often said silly things without thinking and then realized people looked at him like "what did you just say? xD", or cause he really said the purest things sometimes. He wanted peace for the world, his band and fans to be safe. He wanted to be a cool rocker but also give sth good to the world, which is a terrible terrible place.

It bothers me I'll never know. He, Uruha and Kai have always been the most private I think. Maybe Kai was more on the open side but the Gemini twins felt like they never said much about their personal life. Their interviews felt mostly like focusing on their beliefs and their love for the stage, or recounting memories with the band. I usually applaud that with artists. You don't have to lay yourself bare before the world to make a life in the spotlight work for you. However, when it comes to him I wish I knew. I wish I knew what took him and how long he'd been suffering. Part of me feels that, even if we couldn't take his pain away, maybe we'd be able to give more. Just a little. I know all he wanted was us to rock with them at lives but I dunno. I guess part of me thinks we could have offered more. He would probably think it's special treatment but I don't care. I like spoiling those I love. The reason I don't do it for everyone is cause I feel I'd be overbearing, but if I knew his life was counting down this fast or that he was hurting too much, maybe i could have come up with sth more to offer than simply cheering for the good work.

[ebaeschnbliah]

A log with eyes ...

There was little speech and no laughter in any of the boats. Each member of the Company was busy with his own thoughts.

The heart of Legolas was running under the stars of a summer night in some northern glade amid the beech-woods; Gimli was fingering gold in his mind, and wondering if it were fit to be wrought into the housing of the Lady's gift. Merry and Pippin in the middle boat were ill at ease, for Boromir sat muttering to himself, sometimes biting his nails, as if some restlessness or doubt consumed him, sometimes seizing a paddle and driving the boat close behind Aragorn's. Then Pippin, who sat in the bow looking back, caught a queer gleam in his eye, as he peered forward gazing at Frodo. Sam had long ago made up his mind that, though boats were maybe not as dangerous as he had been brought up to believe, they were far more uncomfortable than even he had imagined. He was cramped and miserable, having nothing to do but stare at the winter-lands crawling by and the grey water on either side of him. Even when the paddles were in use they did not trust Sam with one.

As dusk drew down on the fourth day, he was looking back over the bowed heads of Frodo and Aragorn and the following boats; he was drowsy and longed for camp and the feel of earth under his toes. Suddenly something caught his sight: at first he stared at it listlessly, then he sat up and rubbed his eyes; but when he looked again he could not see it any more.

That night they camped on a small eyot close to the western bank. Sam lay rolled in blankets beside Frodo. `I had a funny dream an hour or two before we stopped, Mr. Frodo,' he said. `Or maybe it wasn't a dream. Funny it was anyway.'

`Well, what was it? ' said Frodo, knowing that Sam would not settle down until he had told his tale, whatever it was. 'I haven't seen or thought of anything to make me smile since we left Lothlórien.'

`It wasn't funny that way, Mr. Frodo. It was queer. All wrong, if it wasn't a dream. And you had best hear it. It was like this: I saw a log with eyes! '

`The log's all right,' said Frodo. `There are many in the River. But leave out the eyes! '

`That I won't,' said Sam. ` 'Twas the eyes as made me sit up, so to speak. I saw what I took to be a log floating along in the half-light behind Gimli's boat; but I didn't give much heed to it. Then it seemed as if the log was slowly catching us up. And that was peculiar, as you might say, seeing as we were all floating on the stream together. Just then I saw the eyes: two pale sort of points, shiny-like, on a hump at the near end of the log. What's more, it wasn't a log, for it had paddle-feet, like a swan's almost, only they seemed bigger, and kept dipping in and out of the water.

'That's when I sat right up and rubbed my eyes, meaning to give a shout, if it was still there when I had rubbed the drowse out of my head. For the whatever-it-was was coming along fast now and getting close behind Gimli. But whether those two lamps spotted me moving and staring, or whether I came to my senses, I don't know. When I looked again, it wasn't there. Yet I think I caught a glimpse with the tail of-my eye, as the saying is, of something dark shooting under the shadow of the bank. I couldn't see no more eyes though.

`I said to myself: "dreaming again, Sam Gamgee," I said: and I said no more just then. But I've been thinking since. and now I'm not so sure. What do you make of it, Mr. Frodo? '

'I should make nothing of it but a log and the dusk and sleep in your eyes Sam, said Frodo, if this was the first time that those eyes had been seen. But it isn't. I saw them away back north before we reached Lórien. And I saw a strange creature with eyes climbing to the flet that night. Haldir saw it too. And do you remember the report of the Elves that went after the orc-band? '

`Ah,' said Sam. `I do; and I remember more too. I don't like my thoughts; but thinking of one thing and another, and Mr. Bilbo's stories and all, I fancy I could put a name on the creature, at a guess. A nasty name. Gollum, maybe? '

`Yes, that is what I have feared for some time,' said Frodo. `Ever since the night on the flet. I suppose he was lurking in Moria, and picked up our trail then; but I hoped that our stay in Lórien would throw him off the scent again. The miserable creature must have been hiding in the woods by the Silverlode, watching us start off! '

`That's about it,' said Sam. `And we'd better be a bit more watchful ourselves, or we'll feel some nasty fingers round our necks one of these nights, if we ever wake up to feel anything. And that's what I was leading up to. No need to trouble Strider or the others tonight. I'll keep watch. I can sleep tomorrow, being no more than luggage in a boat, as you might say.'

`I might,' said Frodo, `and I might say "luggage with eyes". You shall watch; but only if you promise to wake me halfway towards morning, if nothing happens before then.'

In the dead hours Frodo came out of a deep dark sleep to find Sam shaking him. `It's a shame to wake you,' whispered Sam, `but that's what you said. There's nothing to tell, or not much. I thought I heard some soft plashing and a sniffing noise, a while back; but you hear a lot of such queer sounds by a river at night.'

He lay down, and Frodo sat up, huddled in his blankets, and fought off his sleep. Minutes or hours passed slowly, and nothing happened. Frodo was just yielding to the temptation to lie down again when a dark shape, hardly visible, floated close to one of the moored boats. A long whitish hand could be dimly seen as it shot out and grabbed the gunwale; two pale lamplike eyes shone coldly as they peered inside, and then they lifted and gazed up at Frodo on the eyot. They were not more than a yard or two away, and Frodo heard the soft hiss of intaken breath. He stood up, drawing Sting from its sheath, and faced the eyes. Immediately their light was shut off. There was another hiss and a splash, and the dark log-shape shot away downstream into the night. Aragorn stirred in his sleep, turned over, and sat up`

'What is it? ' he whispered, springing up and coming to Frodo. `I felt something in my sleep. Why have you drawn your sword? '

`Gollum,' answered Frodo. 'Or at least, so I guess.'

`Ah! ' said Aragorn. `So you know about our little footpad, do you? He padded after us all through Moria and right down to Nimrodel. Since we took to boats, he has been lying on a log and paddling with hands and feet. I have tried to catch him once or twice at night; but he is slier than a fox, and as slippery as a fish. I hoped the river-voyage would beat him, but he is too clever a waterman.

`We shall have to try going faster tomorrow. You lie down now, and I will keep watch for what is left of the night. I wish I could lay my hands on the wretch. We might make him useful. But if I cannot, we shall have to try and lose him. He is very dangerous. Quite apart from murder by night on his own account, he may put any enemy that is about on our track.'

The night passed without Gollum showing so much as a shadow again. After that the Company kept a sharp look-out, but they saw no more of Gollum while the voyage lasted.

JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Great River

[s0rcererk1ller]

self care went to shit in the middle of the day because i found out i had to physically go to appeal (which i couldn't do bc i had an appointment and the appeals in the previous rounds were digital),, my professor which supervised me for most of this process said that she asked staff members if she could go and they said yes just to turn her down when she actually arrived. (last year the supervisors were allowed to go, and this yrs organization was dogshit so they didnt provide any actual guidelines — i also didnt even know what the exam for the second round would be until it actually began 💀) i could've had more points and tied in the best case scenario of potential appeal,, but now i think ill be in fourth place which is not good bc top three go to regional. maybe by some miracle ill pass but im honestly doubtful. i also know that the appeals had a HUGE queue of people when my prof went el oh el

otherwise my day was decent, finally used my jacuzzi for once nd soaked forn a while. also felt really pretty today :3 been getting some stomachaches these past few days but i think it's from being so restless, i feel much calmer now though. been thinking ab buying a kpop album as well bc why not :p also ive been binge watching squid game i wanna get to s2 and see my glorious beautiful husband again

sorry for yapping so much oops

- 🦢

that sucks, doll.

bureaucracy is shit. fuckn hate dealin with admin. ‘s why i let shiu handle all that heh. hope it all works out for ya. fourth place is real high. i’m proud of ya either way. but i hope ya get your points n move on. i know it means a lot to ya.

jacuzzi huh? when were ya gonna tell ol ji bout that? i would’ve come over. a soak sounds real nice right about now. yeah, tummy n brain are real connected. you’ve been under a lot of pressure n stress so i can imagine your tummy isn’t happy. anything i can do to help?

which album are ya gonna buy? dunno anything about em, but i might know the band if they’re older. squid game is real fun. haven’t had time to watch the new stuff though.

don’t worry about it. love hearin from ya. n i’m doing fine, baby. don’t worry bout me.

[omens-and-more]

I saw another blog where someone had posted Noah's discord photos and videos, and it made me really sad that he just dropped social media. He used to be VERY active and VERY, VERY interactive. Then again, other than tumblr and tik tok where I'm anonymous because I just don't care to post my life or me, I left social media like 4 years ago. It became too much. Social media gives me anxiety and I'm not even a musician, so I can only imagine how the band feels. They didn't gradually get bigger like most bands too, and these bands had time to adjust to larger numbers of fans. They were baptized by fire - literally thrown to the lions. It is a major shift and shock. Further, I don't think the band minds criticism. Nobody likes to have negative things said of course, but they are grown men who have done this for years, so they can handle it. They really do not need us to stand up for them and I'm not saying this to stand up for them, but to understand them. Imagine you try to be interactive and people take your words and twist them. I read some people's comments and how they attack the band because of what they said in an interview and it's like "that is literally not what he was saying at all omgosh like it's not even hard to comprehend; how far did you have to reach to say that is what he said." This, unfortunately, has been the case of the internet for a few years where even if you tell people exactly what you mean, word per word, slow it down, draw a picture, repeat yourself, they will STILL twist it. It is truly INSANE. So, how in the world are they going to feel comfortable even being interactive? While I'm sure the stalking has had some play in their distance, it has been the making up of stories that scares them. They can't hug their fans now because 1. That fan may blow it out of proportion on social media, 2. If they don't, a jealous fan might and start shit about how that's stalkerish behavior, 3. If someone wanted to be that ill intended, they could even make insane accusations. And yes, let's go there for a bit. Yes, band members have been disgusting towards women and even underage women, but let's also not pretend that there are not any bad apples out there that diminish actual victims' voices by creating lies to defame an artist. And I just know that is one of their greatest concerns because they see it happening in the metal community, but also because Noah has brought up the double standards in an interview before. So, when we see them acting awkward in Meet and Greets or even keeping their distance with Poppy on stage, they are avoiding having ANY speculations with women for their sake and the band's sake. They haven't become distanced because they're better than us. Come on, now there are so many videos from a couple years ago of Noah and Jolly being so interactive and kind. It is because the internet and social culture has changed so much where they feel like they have to tiptoe around everything. In their case, might as well not say anything at all. Better to just put into lyrics to get the point across because if they tweeted it, they would get torn apart by their own fans. "I wish they said more things. Okay, maybe not that, I wish they would say this instead." "I wish they would do this but only the WAY WE think they should." Sorry, went on a rant here. But maybe we should all calm down, log off once in awhile, live life and let them live. Maybe if the fans stepped back and gave them room, they might come back. It doesn't have to be social media but at least come back to life when performing. They can't even enjoy performing anymore 😞

…

[long-in-the-tooth32]

3D Country - Geese

When I realized I was going to be reviewing an album, one album this year immediately came to my mind. I originally thought maybe it wasn't what I should write about. Sure it's my most listened to album, sure it's probably my favorite record of the year, but at the end of the day 3D Country is only a rock record. But I think the conclusion I've come to, is that a rock record is all this album needs to be

3D Country by Brooklyn based outfit geese, as mentioned a moment before, is a rock record. No addendums, no post-, not art-rock, an argument could be made for experimental but using that genre label for anything and everything new robs it off it's meaning to me. No geese made an honest to god blues inspired rock revival record in 2023. If you're familiar with similar efforts of the past few years, you may be as scared as I am about anyone claiming to make new classic rock. I can assure you though, geese are anything but copycats who seek to replicate the music of 50 years ago. This is something wholly new.

The album opens with the absolutely vicious '2122', an absolutely ballistic and manic track that hits you in the face like 20 lbs of bricks right from the jump. The bands makes very clear they are not here to make friends, they're here to tear shit up like nothing else. And then immediately one of the greatest flourishes in the track listing occurs. We go from there to the more toned down title track. A more reflective piece, with lyrics evoking our main character's regrets and tribulation. The first track almost appears as boasting now, false bravado that is more so a defense mechanism than an act of war. This switch really encapsulates one of the most amazing things this record accomplishes. It refuses to be pinned down. Tonally, lyrically, and even within the confines of the bands own compositions.

These songs whip and thrash around, riff after awe inspiring riff coming down like machine gun fire on the listener. And then within these riffs are improvisations and subversion. The more I've listened to the record the more I've noticed, the infinite amount of minute details become more and more apparent to me. And with this a realization that this band is something truly special.

There's a chemistry between the members of this band that I have not heard in a very long time. They play in respect to each other, allowing the music to ebb and flow with each spontaneous addition or modulation. And I think an interesting question that really gets to the heart of this album is why do they play like this, with such fast and loose rules. I think the answer is obvious and quite straightforward, it's too much god damn fun for the band to be convinced to play otherwise.

This isn't to say the album is perfect. I think that there are some weaker points, specifically some decisions that seem ill advised. Undoer, the longest track on the runtime, clocking in at 7 minutes, is far too long. A song of this length almost feels out of place here, I even feel like there's a moment about 4 minutes in where the song naturally concludes but then the band just keeps going for about 3 minutes. As well as this I don't particularly love the track Domoto. It's chorus is a really great one, but the rest of the track never really stuck with me in any meaningful way.

All in all, to say that 3d country is a triumph would be putting it lightly for me. This album is a spectacle. A truly amazing through and through rock record, one that remembers the joy that made rock an incredible genre in the first place.

[sluttery-withoutshame]

Get to Know Me and My Obsession with KISS 🎸

1. Who is your favorite member?

Eric Singer.

2. Who is your least favorite member?

Mark St John, don’t really know a whole lot about him, but he seemed a bit dodgy.

3. Best album?

I have an old compilation album that was only released in Australia and it’s trashed as hell, but I recently found out it’s a rarity and feel so lucky to have it now! It runs from the first album to the Unmasked singles, so a lotta good stuff on there!

BUT if I have to choose a studio album, Unmasked just edges out Dynasty. They were my formative Kiss years.

4. Worst album?

Why you do this to me? I’ll go with Lick It Up. It was the point I jumped off the bandwagon. The title song seemed way below their capabilities. (Sorry @elrohare!)

5. Favorite song?

How do you even begin to answer this? I can’t split them other than act like two eras needed their own favourite.

Older era: I Was Made For Loving You.

More recent: Psycho Circus.

6. Say one nice thing about each member.

Gene- From what I’ve heard, very generous and caring to his fans.

Paul- Flamboyance personified!

Peter- Sang some super cool songs.

Ace- Ugh, someone put a leash on me. Sex personified. Best laugh in the history of mankind. I’m in love with his lead vocals. Best solo album of the four 1978 set. Hilarious.

Eric C- Awesome drummer, cute fox, seemed super sweet.

Eric S- Weird little mystery, HA HA. I’m just staring at the screen wondering where to start. If you’re reading this, you obviously see my posts. My entire blog is my answer. A very different pussy.

Bruce- Seems super lovely. Loves his fans.

Tommy- Sweet. Holds himself respectfully in the face of straight up hostility. Loyal.

Mark St. John- Fleeting member. Was a bridge between two longer standing guitarist, enabling the band to keep playing.

Vinnie- I was a big fan of the Ankh Warrior makeup and I’m sorry he didn’t get to wear it for longer.

7. What do you dislike about each member?

Gene- Egotistical, disrespectful to his wife and other women, and he drools on stage which makes me feel ill to the point I have to turn away.

Paul- Egotistical, money hungry, unforgiving.

Peter- Spiteful. Disrespectful to fans for disallowing Beth to be played in the final concert replay.

Ace- He was a difficult addict.

Eric C- The only thing I can say to this is that he died. Not his fault, but I greatly dislike that cancer robbed him from his life and ours. I can’t say a bad thing actually about him.

Eric S- This is a trick question right? Maybe I dislike that he turned my life upside down. But is that a bad thing? I dislike that our paths have never crossed. I dislike that I never got a candle (and fire safety instructions) from him.

Bruce- I’m jealous that he gets to hang out with Eric and I don’t.

Tommy- He never really developed his own personality on stage. I always felt like he hung back, leaving people to just wish Ace was still there. Almost impossible platform boots to fill, but it’s like it was too hard so he didn’t even try. Eric made the cat persona his own, separate from Peter, but Tommy never accomplished that.

Mark St. John- Seemed a bit dodgy. Bit of a sad end, but he also put himself into the situation that ended his life.

Vinnie- I honestly don’t know that much about him, so I’ll say he currently looks weirdly like Yoko Ono in the 80s.

8. How did you get into KISS?

I’m old, so it was just before the Kissteria Unmasked 1980 tour hit. A truly amazing time. The catalyst was seeing them play I Was Made For Loving You on my favourite music show, Countdown. Then almost straight after that, Unmasked was released It was all like a Kiss collision of stars forming a supernova. My cousins in the big city (I grew up on a farm where no record stores existed) had Dynasty and Unmasked and when we visited we’d play them on repeat.

10. Have you been to a concert?

Believe it or not, only one! I kinda regret that, but I grew up on a farm where concerts where as accessible as if they were playing on the moon, then I was very broke for a very long time, and then when I did get money, I was busy chasing other bands around the world. But had I taken more notice of the existence of Eric Singer, I probably would’ve taken a detour or two to add him to my concert schedule. But I did see them, and at least I had that experience. (In case you’re wondering, I had Star Child makeup. Again, had I known what a little ball of craziness that pussy was, I would have chosen cat makeup.)

11. Do you have any merch?

Yes! Just tshirts, but I have on order one of those Golden Tickets and I hope it actually comes! My sister way back in the day had a Peter Criss doll. All my cousins were hanging it on her because Peter was out of the band by then, Eric C had just joined. probably why he was the only doll they had left on the shelf! She didn't care, she just wanted a husband for her Barbies. Of course he got thoroughly wrecked and most likely ended up in the tip, but I've always wondered what that would be worth now.

12. Unique thing you have related to KISS?

When they played the prematch at the AFL grand final, they did a bunch of staged photos, one of which had them holding up the premiership cup. Later that afternoon my team miraculously won the game. Then the football club did a tour with the cup, and I got to touch it and have photos with it. So Kiss and I have touched the same trophy!

13. Who is/are your favorite lineup(s)?

It’s probably blasphemy to not say the original four, but damn I’d love to have seen Paul/Gene/Ace/Eric S. But if I did, I’d probably be dead.

14. What's your favorite era?

It will come as no surprise that it's Dynasty/Unmasked. It was an exciting time here in Australia. Shandi was no.1 here when they landed and from then on they would play Shandi at their concerts just for us. They didn’t play that anywhere else on a regular basis. Right up to the final concert!

15. What are your opinions on Tommy and Eric?

Fineapple and Snack Cake! I feel like Tommy cops more shit for not being Ace than Eric does for not being Peter. As for my opinion on Eric…have we met? Are you new to my blog? If so, you’re in for a ride!

16. A question you would ask the band if you could?

I’d ask Eric if he would please never wear a hat again and why his Animal tattoo never looked like Animal. I’d love to ask him how it is that he fell through the cracks and seemingly has never had a long term relationship. Because that blows my mind. But I’d never have the guts to do that!

17. What other bands/artists are you into?

Good lord, I hardly know where to start. There’d be a bunch of Australian bands you’ve probably never heard of, like Midnight Oil and Radio Birdman. I followed the Oils all around Australia more than once! I was BIG into Cheap Trick, traveled the world and Australia to see them play before gate keeping fans destroyed my life and lead to a suicide attempt. I still see them when they come here, but it does give me some PTSD. They’re coming to Australia next month and I’m taking my daughter to her first concert. The Stones, mostly 1970 onwards. Huge Cyndi Lauper fan, Adam Ant, Ramones, Queen, Sixx:AM, Stooges, MC5, the entire NY punk scene of the 70s. There’d be a bunch I’m forgetting. I’m into TONS of bands and singers.

18. Do you have a KISSona?

I’m too flexible.

19. Who are some of your favorite blogs?

@bunchofrandomfandomsandbands (thanks for the tag!), @elrohare, @speckster, @2000-man1, @ladyshandioftheendless, @notpaulsguitar, @namelessbutters-doodles, @ladyrosesblog, @angelbambisworld, @starry-eyed-never-satisfied, @sinsiriuslyemo.

I hate questions like this because I know I’m probably forgetting some, but it’s never because I don’t appreciate you, it’s because my memory is Swiss cheese.

20. If you could spend a day with one member who would it be?

Eric Singer! Please make this happen!!

21. How would you explain the band to someone who isn't familiar with KISS?

Classic rock band, iconic for their character makeup and pyrotechnics, hugely influential, entertaining as fuck, genre hopping, and has great fans on tumblr!

(This took me a ridiculous amount of time to complete.)

Get to Know Me and My Obsession with KISS 🎸

1. Who is your favorite member?

Eric Singer

2. Who is your least favorite member?

Vinnie Vincent

3. Best album?

Destroyer

4. Worst album?

Animalize

5. Favorite song?

There are too many good ones

6. Say one nice thing about each member.

Gene- Super charming

Paul- Super charming

Peter- Super Sweet

Ace- Super Sweet

Eric C- Super funny

Eric S- Super nice

Bruce- Super funny

Tommy- Hot

Mark St. John- Super nice

Vinnie- Super nice

7. What do you dislike about each member?

Gene- Egotistical

Paul- Egotistical

Peter- Hateful

Ace- Spiteful

Eric C- Negative

Eric S- Negative

Bruce- Truthful

Tommy- Awkward

Mark St. John- Dumb

Vinnie- Idiot

8. How did you get into KISS?

Scooby-Doo And Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery

9. Have you been to a concert?

I have been to nine. Fort Wayne on August 12, 2016, London on July 11, 2019, Tampa on October 9, 2021, KISS Kruise IX & X Sail Away, the indoor concerts, Indiana on November 25, 2023, and the KISS 2020 Goodbye show.

10. Do you have any merch?

Not nearly enough

11. Unique thing you have related to KISS?

I have a really long tongue like Gene Simmons. I was onstage with him in Anderson Indiana, but Gene kicked me off the stage for upstaging him

12. Who is/are your favorite lineup(s)?

Gene, Paul, Eric C, & Bruce

Gene, Paul, Eric, & Bruce

Gene, Paul, Eric, & Tommy

13. What's your favorite era?

Revenge Era

14. What are your opinions on Tommy and Eric?

Love them. They are a lot better than Peter and Ace (in my opinion)

15. A question you would ask the band if you could?

What was the idea behind the song “Take It Off”

16. What other bands/artists are you into?

Alice Cooper, Ghost, The Beatles, Elvis, Black n Blue, Union, ESP, Mötley Crüe, Liliac,

17. Do you have a KISSona?

The Catman

18. Who are some of your favorite blogs?

@2000-man1, @comets-nix, @tanookikiss, @sluttery-withoutshame, @catmansdrumsticks, @daddycatcriss, @eric-carr-the-fox, @ericsinger

19. If you could spend a day with one member who would it be?

Eric Singer

20. How would you explain the band to someone who isn't familiar with KISS?

KISS is an iconic rock band known for their elaborate stage makeup, flashy costumes, and energetic performances. Formed in the 1970s, they're recognized for hits like "Rock and Roll All Nite." Their unique personas, like Gene Simmons' Demon and Paul Stanley's Starchild, contribute to their larger-than-life image, making them a significant influence on the glam metal genre.

[fhroggg]

dude, we're gettin the band back together

[redbulltropical]

God maybe this is just me but for the love of god I’m so tired of ableism in this fucking fandom. Maybe this is mainly a twitter issue (nvm, twitter is an issue in of itself) but it’s basically everywhere. It’s established that the entire alt scene pretty much prioritises looking a very specific way and if you don’t fit that then oh well I guess you don’t belong. 

Take Frank’s album Stomachaches, no one takes that shit seriously and it sucks. Stomachaches is an incredible piece of art talking about chronic illness and if I have to see it boiled down to “damn, tummy ache :(” by some shitty twitter user or mediocre blogger one more time i’m gonna fucking explode.

It means so much to me to see someone I know struggles with the same things I do perform in front of thousands of people, even just seeing pics of Frank wearing a compression sleeve or ice packs feels so validating, but then I’ll fucking log back on and see some shitty joke about Frank’s accident as if it’s just some chill drama that’s fun to meme. 

Even when Gerard walked with a cane briefly during tbp after screwing up his ankle during the ftlw mv shoot there was - and still is - an abundance of people mocking him or saying how it didn’t fit the aesthetic or made him look weak or out of place. And that was an injury and not a permanent disability. Some of us aren’t going to heal and go back to looking cool and aesthetic. Some of us use mobility aids or have limb differences and “ugly” scars or a whole plethora of things that don’t conform to the fucking quirky alt aesthetic.

Fuck this goes beyond just the band members and how people interact with them, it’s a wider fucking issue.

Being called slurs or being told I don’t belong at shows or I shouldn’t go if i’m just going to sit down fucking stings. This shit is fucking serious it’s not a goddamn joke and everyone ignores it.

I am literally begging at this point. Listen to Frank’s music and try and fucking understand. Don’t just brush off ableism because it “isn’t a big deal.”

I could write pages  about this but my brain is not working at it’s best so i’m gonna leave it here for now 

[nerdwriting]

The Creative Directors Behind Fate: The Winx Saga Must Not Be K-Pop Fans

Also, they have a pretty wrong idea of the role fashion should play in a show.

There are a few words that will stand out across most reviews of Netflix's Fate: The Winx Saga - drab, boring, flop, flat, unimaginative. Critics and audiences consensus is that the show is not only a mediocre-at-best story, but also an atrocious (and ultimately confusing) choice of adaptation of the color pop and fairy magic cartoon it’s based on, 2004 italian cartoon Winx Club.

Fate has plenty of it's own issues - white washing and erasing characters, cringey dialogue, outdated melodrama, etc. But where it truly, unequivocally fails is as an adaptation. Fate misses everything that was magical and lovable about the original series, in all levels, from bizarre writing choices, - such as never actually developing any sense of friendship between the characters, who are based on a cartoon about��..a group…….of friends -, but it's especially and immediately felt in the art direction and costume design.

Winx Club is set on a fantastical world, Magix, where each of our main characters hail from a different planet, à la Sailor Moon. Alfea, the fairy school they attend, is the most common background: a pastel colored, futuristic high tech-meets-fantasy, art nouveau inspired castle. Alfea sets the tone for the whole visual of the cartoon: bright, colorful, futuristic meets vintage, leaning into the technological positivism of the Y2K style, uniting it with magic, DnD worthy monsters and, of course, fairy wings. Often featured are also the Red Fountain school, where the Specialists train, and especially Cloud Tower, the goth and gothic inspired witch school Alfea has an OxBridge rivalry with (How cool would that be in a live action? I guess we’ll never know…).

On Fate, Alfea is the only school we ever see, and it’s another beige boarding school in not-Britain, somehow set in a magical world where everyone has the exact same technology and even social media that we have on Earth in 2021, no transformations and, most egregiously, no fairy wings.

This lack of visual creativity is pervasive throughout the whole show, and its most heartbreaking iteration is in the characters' wardrobe. The styling has the barest bones of a color scheme, - such as 'Bloom has to only dress in red since fire, duh',- the clothes are ill fitting, bland, dark and very dated. These are supposed to be teenagers who enjoy fashion, and yet they look like varying types of soccer moms from 2010.

The series seems to operate on an old and tired vision that women and girls can’t have depth and have adventures and fight monsters while also caring about fashion, a vision that the original show played a big, big role in challenging in the early 2000's. Fashion and costume design sets as much of the tone of a visual medium as the script does; through clothes we can gauge characters’ backgrounds, passions, and personality.

Winx Club has some of the best examples of this in the cartoon sphere - Bloom’s comfortable and bright style, Stella’s glitzy and bold, Musa’s edgy and cool, Aisha’s sporty and fun, Techna’s neon and tech gear inspired, Flora’s earthy and romantic, they all work as extensions of each character and serve a narrative purpose. And that’s not even mentioning how insulting it feels that in their quest to make Winx “edgier, darker” and fit for an older audience, the creators of Fate somehow decided that was in opposition to caring about style and fashion. Most “girly” shows, including the Winx Club are just as much adventure action shows as the ones geared towards boys, and it’s emphasis in fashion, friendship and color does not detract from that. The original run of the cartoon deals with war, violence, grief, abusive relationships and even genocide; leaning into those plotlines would not require Fate to erase any integral parts of what made Winx so beloved, and the fact that they did shows that the Netflix team completely missed the point of fashion in the original show, and really, the point of fashion and costume design in the world building of any show.

That, however, is not a mistake K-Pop makes very often; (This might seem like a bit of wild swerve in topic, but stay with me here). Unlike it's western counterpart, the Korean pop scene never lost the emphasis on music videos and how the visual medium can complete and potentialize music and performance; the K-Pop culture is very album and concept oriented in a way that has been all but lost in many other pop circuits, and the music video, styling and set design of a ‘comeback era’ is a key point of excitement among fans.

As such, music videos that follow storylines, connected universes, boundary pushing concepts and visual effects are the norm, rather than the exception, and a list could be made of works that are beautiful examples of what a live action Winx adaptation could look like. In fact, and very smoothly, here is a small list of exactly that!

A Small List of K-Pop Music Videos That Are Better Winx Club Live Actions Than Fate: The Winx Saga

3. Red Velvet - Psycho

If it was a darker and more somber look that Fate wanted, there was a way to make it actually appealing. While it still feels a liiitle too grown up and elegant for Winx, (maybe this author is biased, as a full proponent for the Y2K fun) Psycho makes a very compelling argument for a witchy, mysterious, fairy tale-esque show that could look scrumptious and definitely not boring, or even a gorgeous example of what the witches in Cloud Tower could look like. Black and white, dark green, pastel blue and pops of jewel tones make Psycho's color palette. To add interest to the understated colors, the styling is heavy on textures; We see plenty of stonework, intricate embroidery, tassels, lace on lace on lace, feathers, bows, opera gloves and lots of glitter. All of that is offset by bold, dark makeup, leather accents and eerie cinematography. Needle & Thread, Marchesa Notte and Self Portrait lend their hyper feminine and intricately detailed tulle gowns, juxtaposed with the creepiness of the lyrics and the dark backgrounds; their deep berry and green fairy tale looks are built with pieces from Zara to Nina Ricci to Dolce & Gabbana to Alexander McQueen.

Red Velvet’s more edgy styling for 2018's Bad Boy would also not feel out of place on the Trix.

2. IZ*ONE - Fiesta

IZ*ONE kicked off 2020 with sweet and fun Fiesta. The MV features rooms with mismatched décor that go from retro to space opera, rocky faux landscapes that feel other worldly, and visual effects that would look perfect on the back of a transformation sequence. Mirroring the set design, the girls wear various outfits by sustainable up and coming brand Chopova Lowena. Their signature skirts made with discarded and repurposed fabrics give a cool and interesting twist on a schoolgirl look that would look very sweet for a band of school fairies that occasionally go off to save the world. Also, wouldn't those bedazzled headphones look great on Musa's fairy outfit?

1. Aespa - Black Mamba and Next Level

Aespa is what fans call a monster rookie. With only three music videos under their belt, they still have some of the most visually interesting work in the industry right now. Their concept is very tied in with high tech, featuring even AI avatars of each member, packaged in a glitzy, fantastical and futuristic aesthetic, candy pop meets cyberpunk. I think I’ve exhausted ways to say that is exactly what a perfect Winx adaptation should feature.

Their debut smash hit, 2020’s Black Mamba is truly a perfect moodboard for live action Winx. Wearing a sequined and colorful mix and match of Dollskill, Gucci, Didu and Balenciaga to a backdrop that features some alien fairy forest realness, a pyschedelic fever dream, rooms straight out of a Y2K catalog or donning lime green and black techwear inside a metro fighting the "black mamba", Aespa look through and through the part of fashion loving fairies who save the world together, while looking fierce, stylish and, most importantly, interesting.

The styling and the sets jump seamlessly from more casual colorful fits with blouses, shirts and baggy pants to barren, darkly lit backgrounds and fringe-and-glitter heavy pieces necessary to fight giant snakes, in a way so fitting to transformation outfits for magical girls we could cry.

In their third MV, 2021's Next Level, the cyber in their concept is taken up a notch (get it. because Next Level-), set to a futuristic urbanscape intersped with a planet made of crystals and the ocasional alien fauna popping up again. We get treated to Monse, The 2nd Skin Co., Johanna Ortiz and The Attico styled to fairy princess standards, sporty sky racers and a white and sequined group styling that is top ten fairy busy saving the world uniform material, or maybe even a specialist worthy getup.

This particular look from Ningning is so Techna that it almost feels as if it's mocking Netflix.

And doesn’t this Karina trapped inside the "black mamba" in Alexander McQueen feel like a perfect Dark Bloom moment?

These are only a few examples of interesting and creative designs that are in line with what a live action Winx Club should have given us. There are so many more I could list, even among other TV Shows, like Sex Education and even polemic dark Euphoria, that know how to have fun with style and design without losing the depth of their stories. In the end, it's hard to justify why Fate creators even wanted to make an adaptation that didn't even try to capture the heart of its source material, and all we can do is watch one more "Restyling Fate: The Winx Saga" video on Youtube whilst mildly dreading season 2.

[catharticauthor]

♪ songbird ch: 1

summary: Reader has been a worker for different gangs around London her whole life. Practically born into one, she had seen the inside of many different ‘businesses’ and decided to retire after a particular job shook her up. She was having fun in retirement as a popular singer in a bar and club until a certain Shelby decides to try and hire her to do his dirty work. Little does he know, it will be a lot more challenging than he thinks.

warnings: none

word count: 1.8k

==♪ ==♪ ==♪ ==

The lights pointing at the stage were much brighter than they seemed from the audience. As the jazz band tuned, the only noises heard in the club were whispers and the metallic clanking of silverware. You were nervous, but not enough to show. The band wanted to start with Put Your Head on My Shoulders- the song they all previously agreed was your best.

It started with only your vocals, so you were more than a bit nervous to start the show with it- especially with the supposed 'important guests' in the audience. You hadn’t met any of them yet, but the owner mentioned earlier they wanted to speak to you after the show. It made you nervous just thinking about it.

Joseph, the band’s pianist, gave you a subtle thumbs up to let you know everyone was ready. You took a deep breath, smoothed the fabric of your champagne-colored silk slip-dress, and put on your stage smile.

“Put your head on my shoulder.”

The rest of the instruments came in perfectly behind your vocals, making a sound similar to sweet honey flow into the crowd.

“Hold me in your arms… baby.”

“Squeeze me oh so tight, show me.”

“That you love me too.”

As you slowly opened your eyes, you began to look over the crowd. A man caught your eye at a table towards the back. He was staring almost wide-eyed, as were the other two men with him.

“Put your lips next to mine, dear.”

You decided to have a little fun and fixated on him in the crowd. He was pretty good-looking.

“Won’t you kiss me once…”

You held your gaze on him and leaned farther into the microphone.

“Baby.”

His eyebrows raised and made the smile on your face grow just a little as you sang.

“Just a kiss goodnight… maybe.”

“You and I will fall in love.”

You broke the rather intense eye contact to look back at Joseph, and the rest of the members, giving them a subtle approving nod for how well the group sounded and smiled.

“Some people say that love’s a game.”

“A game you just can’t win.”

“If there’s a way, ill find it someday.”

“And then this fool will rush in.”

As the song went on, you spared him the occasional glance. You would play with the regulars for fun sometimes, but there was something about him.

“Put your head on my shoulder.”

“Whisper in my ear.”

“Baby.”

“Words I want to hear… tell me.”

“Tell me that you love me too.”

John’s hand suddenly waved in front of Tommy’s eyes, blocking his view of the beautiful girl on stage.

“Tommy? Tom,” John bugged him, moving his hand away before Tommy broke it for him.

Tommy shook his hand slightly and looked at his brothers.

“What on Earth’s gotten into you, Tom?” Arthur said, nudging his shoulder.

“What do you mean?” He continued to look at the woman in a daze.

“That gal singing.” Arthur chuckled, amused at his brother's daftness.

“What about her-"

“You’ve only been eye-fooken ‘er since the song started!” John said with a laugh.

“Oh, piss off,” Tommy dramatically rolled his eyes as he brought his attention back to his cigarette.

==♪ ==♪ ==♪ ==

After a couple of hours passed, customers started to leave the foggy building. Smoke still hung low along with the light fixtures as the place closed.

Joe and all the other members left with your manager to meet about showtimes for the next couple of concerts, leaving you on stage alone. Not in the mood to get wooed by a drunk customer, you waltzed over to the bar and had a seat in front of Henry Stills. He was a much older gentleman that was working in the club before you were even born.

He prepared your usual for you, but before you could even grab the glass Tommy Shelby appeared beside you.

“Do you stare at every bloke like that when you perform?” He pulled the small cigarette out of his mouth and put it out on a nearby ashtray.

“No, of course not,” you spoke sweetly and tried to stay calm.

Was this the Thomas Shelby? The man you had flirted with from the stage all night? Your face began to heat up.

“You’re one to talk- I would pin you as a ladies’ man yourself, Mr. Shelby.” His eyebrows pulled together slightly. He looked taken aback.

You might've been very intimidated and a little nervous, but the last thing you would do is give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

“Now, what would make you think that?” A small smile played on his lips.

“You carry yourself with this certain confidence… as if you own every room you walk into.” You tried your hardest to conjure the right words, hoping your shaking hands weren’t incredibly obvious. “…and your striking features certainly help, but that’s aforethought,” You snickered leaning closer to him.

He nodded and laughed with you.

“Ah. I see.”

“Now, would you like to explain to me why you wanted to speak to my band?”

“I have a business proposition for you.”

“I’m listening.” You were hesitant to work with him.

The Blinders were known all across London for their violence since the bloody scene they caused at Sabini's club a couple months back. The last thing you wanted was history repeating itself here.

“Important people come into this club often, yes?”

“I would assume so, although I know none of them personally.”

“Perfect. And all you do is stand up there and look pretty, correct?”

You narrowed your eyes slightly at his comment. You couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult.

“Joseph and I stay on stage until closing. The rest of the members take five to go get us drinks at intermission.”

“Good. This should go smoothly, then.”

“What will?” Your eyebrows lowered in confusion. Someone approached you from behind.

“Eh! There’s our newest Blinder!” John shouted throwing his arm around your shoulder. You looked up at the half-drunken man.

“Newest what?” You didn’t like this.

Tommy cleared his throat and glared a warning at John. He continued:

“You will work for us as an operative. We need eyes and ears in this club, and seeing that part of your job already consists of staring longingly at powerful men all night, you seem to be the perfect fit.”

Your face turned rosy at the accusation and you tried your best not to scowl as John and Arthur cackled obnoxiously. Shrugging John’s arm off your shoulder, you hopped off the bar seat and walked up to Tommy.

You stopped right before your chests touched and looked up directly into his eyes. The laughter surrounding you stopped cautiously.

“And what do I get out of this job, eh?” You looked up at him with an assertive glint in your eyes and spoke lowly. “Lord knows I don’t work for free.”

“We can discuss the terms later…” He looked down at you through hooded eyes. Hiding an emotion you couldn’t decipher. “Do you accept?”

Your eyes narrowed and you smiled sweetly as you thought about what you would say next.

“If you’re to work with me, there’s one thing you must know, Mr. Shelby,” you nodded along with your words as you spoke, “I am a woman that honors devotion. Commitment. Strong women scare weak men, so I need to know you lot are in it for the long run. Word on the street is you favor betrayal… and that’s not going to fly here. This is a rough business to be in, you know that even better than I do, but if you work with me you must know,” you took this opportunity to get closer to him, lowering your voice, “I take disloyalty very, very seriously.”

You stepped back, and caught a bewildered John and Arthur Shelby, practically drooling at the sight, in the corner of your eye.

“I’ll think about your deal, boys. At my next show, you’ll have your answer.” You swiftly grabbed your drink off the counter and sauntered off, feeling each of their stares on your backside as you walked swaying your hips to the band’s lounge backstage.

==♪ ==♪ ==♪ ==

Since you seemed determined to make Tommy’s life more difficult than necessary, he sought out some of your previous business partners for tips on how to get you cooperating with him. He learned you collected a record of sorts for your behavior around these unruly, brazen businessmen.

Moving from one boss to the next, they all told him the same thing: your only successful and profitable partner was one man. Tommy learned you had worked with this particular boss for over two years- a record high compared to the amount of time you spent working for the other men.

Unfortunately, this conclusion led him straight to Camden Town, to Mr. Solomons, of all people for advice.

As he sat in the leader's office, the smell of alcohol and bread surrounded him. He hoped the conversation would be quick.

"So you know a lot about this girl, eh?" Tommy sighed.

“Why, yes, we had some good times. Once I joked about switchin’ teams on ‘er… and I thought she was going ta cut me cock off with a butter knife!” Alfie laughed at Tommy playfully. The sentiment was not returned.

“I just need to know how to get her to cooperate, Solomons. That’s all I’m here for.” Tommy said.

“I’m not so sure about that one…” Alfie stroked his beard, deep in thought. “The lady is not keen towards the authority of any kind, especially not men ordering ‘er around.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Tommy said with a deadpan look on his face. Alfie’s eyebrows raised and he laughed.

“I’m guessin’ she’s already denied you, eh?”

“Not denied necessarily, but she has an… interesting… intimidation tactic.”

“Oh, yeah, she can be real keen if she wants to be.” He smirked. “I could come wif you to talk to ‘er if you’d like?”

“She doesn’t seem like the consolable type, from what I’ve heard from her previous employers, so I’m not sure that’s the greatest idea.”

“Oh, sure it is! That lass loves me!” Alfie put on his signature smug smile as he stood up and grabbed his hat and coat off the rack next to his desk.

Tommy rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Alright, I guess you can come… you are my last resort." He didn’t like the idea, but Alfie was all he had at this point.

The two started towards the door of Mr. Solomon's office and walked into the factory with Ollie in tow behind them.

Before they were out the door, Alfie stopped turned to Tom.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard from those other men, but if you treat the lady with respect, something those other arseholes bosses know nuthin’ about, she'll return the favor.” He smiled as they walked out of the bakery.

For the first time that meeting, what Alfie said seemed sincere. Tommy believed him. He just found what Solomons said hard to believe.

==♪ ==♪ ==♪ ==

chapter one done! this is my first published fic, so let me know what you think and follow for chapter two =]

[its-me-im-coraline]

First impressions // All

words // 1184

warnings // not explicit smut, more like teasing of smut

pairing // none particular, gn!reader

author's note // if you want to be on the tag list let me know. this is such bad writing omg. I can not easily navigate a scene between so many people without it looking weird i am so sorry and i do hope you like it. sorry for not posting last night but as i said i was having a panic attack. anyway im better now, hopefully ill be able to post one more fic tonight

request // yeap, here it is

summary // The band might have considered more than once of ‘entertaining’ their best friend. After their I wanna be your slave video comes out, sweet ol’ Thomas can not help but suggest they encounter their reacting to the video clip and showing them some of their moves.

Thomas’ idea did not just come out of the blue. It was not a spontaneous thing to do, but a long time formulated thought coming into reality. In all honesty, Thomas, Victoria, Ethan and Damiano had thought about it before, plenty of times. Having Y/N stay with them any time they were at the studio house was flaring up these thoughts like crazy. It was not just one time that the four of them had talked about railing them senseless initiating something more sexual with them, only the fear that they would be pushed away, keeping them from making a move. But after having seen the anticipation from the promotion for theri video clip of I wanna be your slave, Thomas went out on a limp making a move for them all after the video dropped.

“Hey, Y/N, what are you up to?” There were no regards as to whether it was ok to get in or not. The man just sat on the bed, a phone in his hand with it’s screen lit up already.

“Not much, Thomas. I was just finishing some things up on my laptop. What are you guys doing here, all together?” It was not common for all of them to be in the room at once. Usually they only were all together in the living room or outside, the time in any bedrooms spent with two or three at the time and late at night when they couldn't sleep.

By now the other three occupied the small room, sitting anywhere they could: a chair on the desk, on top of said desk, the bed. “We were thinking, cucciolo.” The one to speak up now was Ethan, sitting on their other side, hand in their hair, messing with it just like he always did.

“Our video clip is out and we wanted to see your reaction.”

“I told you guys I’ll watch it when I’m done with the assignments-”

“Did you not just say you’re done?” Damiano had a sneaky smirk on his face, seeing how flushed he made the band’s friend, getting caught in excuses.

Maybe I just don’t want to see it around you, they thought, avoiding to speak, instead nodding their head.

“Then let’s watch it, puppy.” This time it was Victoria’s chance to speak up, taunting the poor person on the bed. The blonde was on the other side of the room but it did not stop her from making Y/N flush in their seat, only fueling her desire to film the up and coming reactions.

Before the video started everyone shifted. Damiano and Ethan were on the right side of Y/N, Thomas and Victoria occupying the left, all within reach of the poor puppy in the middle. They all knew how quickly they’d react to it all, squirming in their seat at the thought of Vic tasting them like a candied apple. “Do you like it, puppy? Want me to tease you like that?” said girl questioned, never weavering from the filming

It seemed like every little thought was simply worse than the previous, the tip of the iceberg being Victoria tied up, all so wonderfully. Such a sight for sore eyes. At it Y/N let out a strained gasp, unable to hold it in.”What is it, cucciolo, you want to be tied like that? I can do it for you,” whispered Ethan, hands quick to tie up Y/N’s with a shoelace he found a few minutes ago. It was not tight but it was enough to restrain their arms behind them.

“So good you are,” he praised, placing his hand in their hair, giving space for Damiano to put his on their thigh.

The video went on, all these scenes with Damiano screaming at everyone’s face simply heightened the already extreme emotions Y/N was experiencing. The man himself could only laugh at that, face coming close to theirs, just like he did for Thomas on the video clip, so assertive, dominating even.

“Are you enjoying yourself, puppet?” His words pierced through them, shivers overtaking their body, a feeling that could only be described as anxiety but also excitement accompanying it.

It was all a dream, or it felt like it. Such situation was too good to be true for Y/N, causing the fear of this being just a very realistic dream. But, Thomas’ kisses on their neck and Ethan’s light tugs on their hair reminded them of the reality they were living inside of. “Use your words, bambino,” said Damiano, the same smirk as before all over his face.

“Yes, I enjoy this,” they finally whispered, words forced out.

The next few seconds were quiet, only facial expressions portraying any reaction, all four of the band members just looking, admiring their beautiful friend and silently agreeing on their next move. It was when they saw Damiano and Ethan kiss and share that pink bubble gum that the band got entertained. Their lips got parted, cheeks flushed to the point of ‘burning’ to the touch, their eyes got wide, all but drooling over the scene unfolding in front of their eyes.

A shock wave shot through Y/N’s body as Ethan grabbed their head, tilting it back, the video clip still in the background, attacking their lips in a hungry kiss. It was hot, wet and sloppy, and it went on for a bit, until the tall drummer ushered his tongue into the mix, allowing the same type of cherry bubble gum from the video clip to move in Y/N’s mouth at once. They did not know what to do, their mind utterly blank and unable to decide on an action.

“Bite it.” Thomas let the two words out of his mouth, straight into their ear. He looked so shy and innocent most of the time, who would have thought he had it in him. “Now move your head, puppy, just like that,” he all but moaned, pulling them back towards him.

“So good for us all,” Thomas spoke again, now him being the one to kiss Y/N, ridding their mouth of the gum and leaving sloppy kisses from their lips to their neck.

Victoria was fed up with how long the escalation was taking, unable to wait a minute longer before she could have her second of fun. With that thought in mind, she pulled the phone from Y/N’s hands, shutting it off and setting it on the nightstand.

“You already know what happens after, pet.” Her voice was more demanding than anyone could anticipate, very bossy one could say, but Y/N was not going to be the one to challenge it.

“Tell me if you are uncomfortable, baby.” Y/N let out a small ‘do it’, opening up their mouth and just waiting, caressing Victoria’s hands on their face.

“Such a good pet,” she praised, going ahead to spit in their mouth before assessing her ‘art’.

“I think we need another ‘rehearsal’ to get it right,” smirked Damiano, “there’s just a few more creative touches we need to add.”

tag list: @bieberhoodforever @tabi-toast @ginny-lily @moriro-da-regina @the-killer-queenie @makapaka11 @teenyweenynightghost @superchrystaldrug

[mcheang]

Lila doesn't know that Luka is Juleka's brother so she tries claiming that he is a delinquent and a bad influence on Marinette.

Gossip report

One day when Lila was leaving school, pondering on how to steal Adrien from Kagami, she spotted Marinette talking to a boy with blue hair and a guitar.

He was obviously older and definitely cute.

Nearby two girls were whispering about how lucky Marinette was to have this senior student asking her out.

Well, Lila certainly hates it when the spotlight isn’t on her.

Later that day, while hanging out with the girls (because Marinette was definitely out on a date), Lila tried to be the one to start the gossip chain.

Lila: hey girls, I don’t want to alarm anyone but do you think Marinette will be fine with Adrien off the market?

The girls exchanged shrugs. “She’ll be fine. She’ll move on.”

Lila feigned concern. “That’s what i am worried about. I think Marinette is so heartbroken, she’ll give her heart to anyone who gives her the time of day. I just saw her after school talking to some high school dropout.”

Pause.

Juleka: what did he look like?

Lila: he had blue hair, rode a bike (let them think it’s a motorcycle) and wore grungy clothes. *gasp*

Alix: and what makes you think he’s a bad influence?

Lila saw her pink hair and quickly backtracked on looks. “I could tell by his face. He looks so smug, arrogant and sneaky. The kind of boy you see smoking and dealing with drugs.”

Juleka: I see...

Lila: so you see, we must interfere on Marinette’s behalf, before his claws are in too deep.

Or at least they will because everyone knows Marinette will never listen to Lila.

Juleka was using her phone and at last found an image of Luka, alone at one of his favorite rock concerts. The background was dim and he was making faces for the camera.

Juleka: was this the boy you saw?

Lila: that’s him! What do you girls think? Delinquent or what?

Mylène: i think you should give him a chance. Don’t be deceived by appearances.

Lila: trust me! I’m a good judge of character. This boy is bad news. He’s the type of guy who ends up in jail and drunk.

Rose decided to intervene. “He’s also Juleka’s brother.”

Oh....

Alya: maybe you should check your facts before you go spreading rumors.

Lila’s brain: hypocrite!

Lila: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. I just got so worried for Marinette.

Mylene: we understand Lila. But Luka’s a genuinely sweet boy.

Rose: all the girls at his school like him

Alix: he’s a real artist, in a musical way

Alya: he’s a member of Kitty Section and the songwriter of their songs

Juleka: and he’s a great judge of character. If he doesn’t like somebody, we don’t like him. It’s a band thing.

Lila sweatdropped. “Oh. Well I can’t wait to make his acquaintance and get to know him better.” Maybe she could make Marinette look bad to him and he could tell Kitty Section?

Alya: no worries. Luka’s taking Marinette back here for guitar lessons

Lila: great (at this line, even I can’t tell if she is sincere or not)

Luka and Marinette arrived on his bike. His travel worn jacket and ripped jeans hardly a cause for alarm. Beneath his bright blue hair were darker, soulful eyes.

The moment they stepped through the door and saw Lila, Marinette predictably scowled and Luka surprisingly flinched.

Before Lila could start charming him, Juleka beat her to it with a request to help him keep his bicycle. (As if. Their boat was cluttered and he could have dumped his bike anywhere.)

The moment they were alone, sister asked brother. “What was her music?”

Luka winced. “Loud. Very loud. Like fire alarm loud that you can’t hear anything else.”

Juleka: she sounded like a fire alarm?

Luka: no, she sounded like screechy violins. Like a novice attempting to be Mozart on her first try, and in vain.

Juleka nodded, worry wrinkling her brow. “I understand.”

Juleka headed back to the group and clapped her hands. “So sorry everyone. But it’s time for a band meeting. So everyone who isn’t Kitty Section, I’m sorry but you’ll have to leave soon.”

Alix: no worries. I can meet up with Nathaniel at the museum.

Alya: and I have to be at a date with Nino anyway.

Mylène: I’ll go call Ivan over.

Lila frowned, correctly assuming Luka didn’t like her and told Juleka. “Is it because of me? Does Luka doesn’t like me?” Cue crocodile tears.

Juleka quickly reassured her. “No. No. He just isn’t used to Italian music, and he’s been very cautious about creating music since Bob Roth. So only band members are allowed.”

Lila: but why isn’t Marinette leaving with us?

Marinette: i have to see them to perform to think of what costumes i have to design for them.

Lila’s brain: darn, she has a legit excuse.

Lila: please, can’t I stay?

This time it was Rose who spoke. Kindly, but firmly. “Sorry Lila. But this is strictly band business. Besides, aren’t you meeting with the president’s daughter online soon? To discuss charity options?”

Lila hid her rage. “Right. Thanks for reminding me.”

As Lila expected, and to Marinette’s surprise, for the rest of the afternoon, Kitty Section warned the rest of their class not to trust Lila. Alix and Alya were already suspicious about her since she tried to malign Luka, and his reaction just confirmed it.

Alya finally fact checked her work and took down Lila’s interview, apologising for posting false information.

Nino told Adrien, who already knew. Nino warned Adrien to tell the truth next time because tabloid gossip is different from deceiving friends.

The next day at school, Lila didn’t bother to show. When Caline reported she was ill, the class finally told her she was a liar and is probably lying now.

Caline: do you have proof?

Alya: yes! And if she’s been lying about Ali, she’s been skipping school for months.

Caline finally became serious. “Well then I shall have to contact her mother.”

Alya smirked. “As Vice President I already sent her an email (double checking the embassy website) asking for confirmation if her daughter had really been in Achu for months. Because after her lie about being Ladybug’s best friend (I attached the video link) and her claims of being Prince’s Ali’s buddy, I am skeptical of her claim to be in Achu for all that time.”

Caline’s frowned deepened.

But as it turns out, Caline needn’t have called Mrs Rossi because she dragged her daughter to school to see the principal after she opened her company email and saw the video. Her colleagues told her what was up and even how her own daughter had been akumatized more than once.

It’s a shame they didn’t get to see the scolding happen. But Mrs Rossi forced Lila to tell the whole class the truth. As Lila had been missing so many classes, Kim pointed out there was no way she could graduate unless she took summer school and make up classes.

Lila protested she already saw the online video lessons.

But Mrs Rossi corrected that Lila wasn’t just going to graduate, she had been expelled for tampering with official documents.

Lila sulked and accepted her fate.

Mrs Rossi reminded her daughter that it was worse than she thought because no school would accept a pathological liar with a record for truancy except the ones prepared for such misbehaving cases.

Alix snorted. “Karma! She called Luka bad news and now she’s heading for a school for troubled kids.”

Indeed, Lila’s new school life was miserable. She couldn’t skip without someone finding her and dragging her back to a class that would laugh at her and an unsympathetic teacher. And where everyone knew of her condition, nobody believed anything she said. Her mother won’t even believe her when she reports she is being bullied. Not when the teacher didn’t think calling Lila a liar is bullying, especially when she keeps coming into class with fake doctor notes, painted blood, self-inflicted scratches, and loose bandages. Seriously, bullying is seriously monitored. Beyond the name calling, nobody actually harms Lila because she always tries to harm herself anyway.

She is like the class jester, giving them a free show. And the punishments for actual bullying are so severe that nobody dares do it.

[justforthedead]

do you have recommendations on where to start listening to fob ? i want to get into it but i’m kinda overwhelmed by everything they did and i’m Lost

ok fob was my first love, but i stopped listening to them until this past year, so ill give a quick over view of the albums so you can see which is you ~vibe~ because they evolve a lot,

i focus a lot on vocals/lyrics, im not a technical kinda guy this is just how i feel and what i can tell, it might be wrong

i got into fob with save rock and roll, theres a music video for each song that tells a story (movie esque), so honestly i recommend watching them in order and listening that way, its a good display of their overall talents/influences

take this to your grave is the first album (technically), angsty and stereotypical 'emo', maybe the "heaviest" album. patrick sounds starchy, pete does a lot of screaming, almost entirely guitars and drum based, the songs all sound pretty similar,

from under the cork tree is still heavy, pretty emo + guitar based, but more produced for lack of better words. they come more into their own style, definitely more cohesive as a band, patrick starts to use his "soul voice", less starchy

infinity on high is where they really start to do their own sound, a lot more emotional, the songs differ from each other, showcasing more of what each member is best at. focusing on portraying certain emotions for a song, they start to have 'slower' songs or sections

folie a duex is the worst album ever made it hurts me so much, they go a lot of directions, and do a lot of things. still a lot of alt influence, starts to get closer to gospel, but honestly i cant give an overall descriptor here, its my favorite album, each song relates to the last but is entirely different, guitar based, but they incorporate a ton of other shit, instruments +features

save rock and roll they go back to rock roots in some songs, but also exhibit genres like electronic + rap (bad wording), also a lot of features (blondie, big sean, elton john, more) . unlike the next album, the influences work really well together.

american beauty/american psycho is the balance point of emo/electronic, i listened to this a lot when it came out, but not much since. the balance limits it somewhat, in mania they actually explore and execute the electronics, in this one the guitar seems to fight with it.

mania departs from the guitars/emo influence, honestly i forced myself away from bandom before this was released, and dont have much time clocked in. pretty diff sound then everything else, very electronic sound, drum and bass kinda stuff, cohesive overall, tpain stylized-autotune vocals.

i can rec diff songs as jumping off points based on what you like if you want too, i did this off memory, but if i could listen through for specific stuff bc ill take any excuse to listen to fob