#satvb streams

[toomuchracket]

peanut placed delicately on the sofa

the consumption bit started playing and mans goes "oh i dont need that anymore"

be my mistake acoustic main stage

[toomuchracket]

brb KILLING MYSELF

@toomuchracket mads im so sorry

[the1975attheirverybest]

Hope you don’t mind me coming to you for a quick rant?

I love the community that livestreams etc have created, it’s so lovely sharing something with people from all over the world, but at the same time I really feel like it has created this insane expectation for every single show to be different and special.

Like when I was a teenager and started going to gigs, I didn’t know what they played the night before or what they would play the next day, I was just excited for what was happening in front of me. And realistically, if there’s 10,000 people in the arena us hardcore fans forget that probably 9,000 of those people aren’t familiar with the setlist and are surprised/excited by the whole thing.

Maybe it’s a weird thing to say, but I just felt when I was watching a stream tonight the comments were full of fans talking about which songs were the shittest. And then at the end there was loads of them complaining about how “boring” and “mid” the setlist was. Obviously you’ll enjoy some shows/sets more than others, but to watch them pour all their energy into putting on a brilliant show and then call it boring because they didn’t come up with any surprises is just kinda rude.

Most bands and artists keep the setlist exactly the same for an entire tour, why are we out here asking for something different every night of a seemingly never-ending tour??

Sorry to dump this on you, just didn’t know where else to take my rant 🤣

No I know exactly what you mean and I agree. I’ve been seeing that a lot in the comments of live streams. The last one that I watched there were a few people who were like so mad that they didn’t end with GYAT or whatever. I’m like ???? Okay but do you realize this is some peoples only show and they’re just happy they got to go at all? Like why are we making it weird.

It feels really bad too because I know matty talked about doing the show theatrically BECAUSE he didn’t want to just to a straight up “rock show.” But somehow through social media we’ve managed to turn even that into an expectation. So they had to amp it up even MORE and they did SATVB. And yet here we are people are still complaining. I think that’s why matty said that thing a while ago about no phones and shows haha. Idk if they’d actually stick with it but I understand the impulse. He feels like maybe he can’t quite get ahead of it. There are a lot of aspects to it too. The way that recording and spreading on tiktok all these things has ruined the surprise and spontaneous energy. It sucks. We should he grateful the boys have been so on board with the live streams and have tried to help us with it. Not complain!

[allylikethecat]

More matty sickfics please!!

Hello Kind Anon! I know you spent this back in December and I took ten thousand million years to write something, but alas here we are, I have finally completed a Sick Fic Tumblr Prompt fill. It might not be *exactly* what you are looking for, for which I apologize (I promise I am working on something about the IV situation at the end of SATVB) BUT I am happy that I managed to write *something* and am going to try really hard to get through some more of the wonderful prompts in my inbox now that I have finished the January OTP Prompt situation. Thank you again for the request! Let me know your thoughts (and if it's really not what you wanted please let me know and I'll try and write you another one!) Thank you for the support and have a great rest of the week- it's almost the weekend and happy February!

❤️Ally

Matty sickfic

“We’re rescheduling the show,” said George grimly, shaking his head even as Matty opened his mouth to argue. 

“And don’t you even try and start,” George said, silencing him before he even had a chance to try and speak. He crossed his arms over his chest like a pouting child and sunk deeper into the blankets.

The concierge doctor, George felt bad, he didn’t remember his name, that had been called in to attend to him chuckled, adjusting the IV drip that Matty was attached too. Matty winced, the movement changing the flow of the cold fluids being delivered straight to his bloodstream. George wasn’t sure what was in the IV bag and he was almost afraid to ask, the answer would tell him just how sick Matty really was.  

“I’ll be back to check on you in about an hour and change your drip,” he said kindly, “why don’t you try and get some rest?” 

Matty tried to sigh dramatically but his theatrics were interrupted by a coughing fit, the sound wet and painful as his chest rattled, causing both George and the doctor to wince. Matty curled further in on himself. The air smelt of sickness and the cool, minty, scent of menthol was heavy in the room from the Vicks George had rubbed onto the skin of Matty’s chest. It made George’s eyes water as he sat down on the edge of the bed, hovering over Matty, as the doctor took his leave. Matty hadn’t even complained about the Vicks, his hatred of menthol well known, too congested to smell it even though it’s purpose was to clear his sinuses. 

“Do you want me to call down and get you some soup?” George asked, his heart aching with the desperate need to be helpful, to fix Matty somehow, to make everything better. 

“No,” Matty rasped, “hurts to swallow.” The and talk went unsaid. 

He looked proper miserable, his nose red and irritated, his eyes wet and glassy with fever. It felt like as time went on, Matty became sicker and sicker, looking worse and worse instead of getting better. George bit his lip, and wondered if the concierge doctor their tour manager had summoned to the hotel had been the right call. He wondered if he should have insisted on taking Matty to the hospital himself when he woke to him clutching his tight chest, coughing so hard he could barely take a breath, tears streaming down his face as he wheezed. 

George opened his mouth, he wanted to argue that he needed to eat something, he needed to keep his strength up. But the doctor’s instructions rang in his ears. Get some rest. 

“Wait,” Matty wheezed, reaching out weakly to grab at the sleeve of George’s hoodie when he went to stand, intending on heading into the living room of their suite, leaving Matty to get some rest. “Stay.” 

“Okay,” said George, folding easier than he knew he should. He could never deny Matty anything, especially when he was ill. He kicked off his trainers and swung his legs up onto the bed, adjusting his position so that he was leaning against the headboard, careful of the IV line attached to Matty. 

Matty let out a little huff, and started wiggling, positioning himself so that he was half on top of George, half on the mattress, his head resting on George’s chest. He looked so young, so helpless and miserable that it made George’s heart ache as he ran his fingers through Matty’s sweaty, gray streaked curls. He sniffled, nuzzling his face into the divot between George’s pecks, the fabric of George’s long sleeve washer worn tee shirt soft against his cheek. George had a feeling that when he inevitably stood up he was going to have a wet drool and snot patch on his chest. It was objectively gross, but George didn’t care because it was Matty. He could never find anything related to Matty gross and the man had thrown up on him, more than once. 

“I don’t want to disappoint the kids,” rasped Matty, not lifting his head from George’s chest as he spoke. George felt his heart break all over again. Matty was always giving pieces of himself away, always pushing himself to the absolute limit to try and make other people happy. He gave himself away and away until there was hardly any pieces of himself left. 

“I think they’ll understand,” said George softly, “you can barely hold your head up, let alone talk. If you can’t talk, how are you supposed to sing?”

“They’ve been lining up for days,” Matty said before breaking out into a cough. 

“And you can’t even take a breath without coughing,” George reasoned. 

“They’ll understand, your health needs to come first, and if they don’t fuck ‘em, that’s not the kind of kids I want at our show anyway then,” George said.

He knew that even if Matty wouldn’t admit it, he had the bad habit of reading his own press. He had seen every vile word written about him the last nine months. He took it in stride, gritting his jaw and keeping his chin up even as his light, the spark that made him Matty dimmed. George knew that the media wasn’t going to be kind when they announced that they were rescheduling the show. He knew that their so-called fans would be even more vicious, especially the ones that had been lined up for days, caring more about the perfect TikTok video than the health of their so-called idol. 

“I just want the tour to be over,” Matty said at last with another sniffle. Oh no thought George, he was starting to cry. “I just want to go home,” he hiccuped, turning his face into George’s chest again, “Please George, can we just go home.” 

“Soon love,” said George, scratching lightly at Matty’s scalp. When he was no longer attached to the IV, and if he felt up to it later, George wanted to help him take a shower, knowing clean hair always made Matty feel better. 

“I’m just so tired,” Matty said and George squeezed his eyes shut, his own eyes welling with tears at how broken, how burnt out Matty sounded. He knew that Matty wasn’t talking about just right now but of existing in general. 

“I know love,” said George softly, “try and get some rest.” 

He pressed a kiss to Matty’s damp curls and held him as he cried, desperately wishing that he could do more.

[cows-wearing-my-sweater]

wait what live stream are you watching it on?

@ team75live on instagram is going to be streaming!! it’s a rlly amazing fan project that’s going to be streaming as many shows as possible for satvb and is also fundraising for warchild :-)

[tayfabe75]

hi. Just wondering if you have seen the last couple of concerts that were streamed and what you think about Matty feeling quite down. Do you still think there is any hope for him and taylor to be back together

I'm going to preface this (probably) controversial take by first explaining that I think Matty is someone who, while touring, is lucky to be utterly surrounded by loved ones. From his bandmates to his manager, the personal friends he's enlisted to handle the merch, lighting, stage production, etc, even the security guys seem quite close with Matty. If the man was truly struggling with poor mental health, he has a giant support network at his fingertips. Trust me, if you can tell Matty is upset from a grainy livestream, the ones on and behind the stage can, too - and they care, even more than me or you! Because they know him, truly know him, in a way that fans never could, no matter how many times they listen to his albums or watch his interviews. He's good! Or, if he's not, he will be soon, because he's got his boys!

All that said… I'm going to draw attention to something else Matty said while on stage:

"Even in an earnest moment, you should always be suspicious."

And so, I remain suspicious! If Matty appears upset on stage, it's either one of two things: 1) tour is ending, or 2) he wants to appear upset. He once said this about ATVB:

"It's a show that feels pretty loose, but it's actually very, very tight. It's very, very well-rehearsed."

I know the generally accepted fan take is that Matty is just too ADHD to follow through with anything and gave up whatever his plans for the show were supposed to be... But what if the plan was always to make it look like he was really going through it for the duration of SATVB? Upset, distracted, struggling. He even preemptively warned of this emotional shift:

"If you see me sliding over the next six months, I appreciate it, but don't worry about it."

Of course, if Matty has truly been experiencing mental turmoil in his personal life that has since spilled into his professional life, I wish him all the best and hope he finds time and space to heal, but I trust that he's in very good hands if that's the case. After all, he assured us that the boys (his chosen family, if you will) would die for each other if it came down to it!

But, if all is as it seems and Matty truly lost Taylor last June… and if his upset during the last handful of SATVB shows was somehow connected to that loss all these months later… I would point you to the 'Oh Caroline' video, which shows what will become of him if he gets the ending he had hoped to avoid… (ie: if he got it "wrong")

He still ends up with his boys! That's not so bad, is it? Do you happen to know how many folks out there dream of growing old with either Ross, George, or Adam? A whole bunch. And all three? Matty, you lucky dog!

For me, the more likely explanation is that absolutely everything has been orchestrated from start to finish. The tour may have concluded, but the show must go on. So, yes! I would bet money on Matty finding his way back to Taylor. And by the time he does, I even suspect the tides will have turned in his favor following whatever devastation awaits us in TTPD. We'll see!

But... how curious that a pair of artists who have both romanticized star-crossed love stories... should end up in one of their own! Luckily for us, Taylor didn't like the ending of Romeo and Juliet, so she changed it. Thanks for the ask! 🤍

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

Sort of faintly connected to your awesome on-off disucssion about Matty's identity and different ways of presenting himself, when I watching the stream of the Halloween show I really felt like something about being in costume freed him up to be looser, more fun, maybe more "himself" in some ways. I do think part of what I was seeing was just that last night was a break in what must sometimes be an exhausting routine of repeating most of the show over and over again, but I wondered what you thought about how dressing up as a character seemed to dial down his self-consciousness levels. (I'm sure there's a fic idea somewhere in here, also). Forgive the long ask, I'm procrastinating on a work task! 😂

I mean, yes: this is absolutely spot on.

Let me start off by saying I haven't watched much from last night, or from this tour in general really. I am going through a personal content detox because I started off very annoyed at the whole concept of SATVB and I really want to get to my shows next week (!!!!!!) without too much bias.

I am an ATVB girl at heart, it was my first tour that I followed closely both as it was happening and obviously afterwards (the amount of ATVB content I consumed while writing ILYDYM is worrying and I can tell you pretty much everything about any date, god help me), and I find myself missing the "method acting" bit in some capacity. Not the capacity that was driving Matty's mental health into the ground, obviously, but the bit that effectively allowed him to play a character every single night (albeit one very very similar to his own self) and then in the second half completely let go of it and be the real Matty. I remember when I got hit with that realisation at the end of January, just watching as the show transformed from the first to the second half and he blossomed into somebody else, someone familiar and so different from the guy we'd been looking at for the first forty-five minutes.

So this Halloween show was special, yes, because it effectively was the best of both worlds: it allowed him to play a character, do things he normally wouldn't have done for the sake of entertainment (not only other people's, also and most importantly his own), and yet be himself while at it.

And to bring it back to the "Matty is queer" discourse, since that's where I generally gravitate: Halloween is inherently very queer. Dressing up, stretching normal boundaries of appearance, sometimes gender-bending (we all see you and worship you, Adam Hann and John Waugh)... It's all queer as fuck. And even if Matty's chosen costume was admittedly very boring and fairly OBVIOUS for him, I am still happy with it because he looked like he was having an absolute blast. And isn't that why they do what they do, and have done so for the past twenty years, really?

(long ask, even longer reply: apparently I had A Lot Of Thoughts about this ❤️)

[toomuchracket]

wait we never got to officially say goodbye to peanut did we

[toomuchracket]

lostmyhead into woman into bmm oh it's fine i didn't want to have a nice evening anyway

[toomuchracket]

so cute of them to schedule the final show of the album cycle while i'm having Women's Troubles like really honestly so cute

[toomuchracket]

Mads sos

jesus FUCKING christ i want him to break my back like a fucking glowstick

[toomuchracket]

odds on icbmil?????????

[toomuchracket]

I need to know flatmate girlies reaction to Matty dry humping the stage like a worm 😂

stress, given that dylan was clinging to you watching the stream and she was like "mummy what's daddy doing?" and you had to be like "um. weird dancing. don't copy him, dyl, it's cringe" - matty found this extremely fucking funny when you texted him to tell him afterwards, but his main takeaway was "she knows what cringe is and that she doesn't want to be it before she's even three? what a legend" lmfao. idiot man <3

[toomuchracket]

sex demonstration on stage. oh ok

maybe i could help him in a room in which there are no others???

nah jk he's so stupid i love him

[toomuchracket]

https://x.com/102littlefreak/status/1757186049858556086?s=46 i don’t think d word girlie has any water left in her body atp

neither do i after looking at this ����😭 your lip just wobbles as soon as you realise what he's doing, and carly just immediately grabs you and hugs you tight before you just SOB at how tender matty's being. you're still sniffling about it when you see him after the show - every time you think about it it sets you off again - and when he comes up all happy like "my girls! missed you" you just weep lol. matty panics slightly, but when you just cling to him and say "me and the baby are all you need?" he smiles and calms down; he's like "of course. you're my biggest dream, you know, the two of you. and the second baby you keep hinting at lol", and you blush a little bit and say "i just think it would be nice for our girl to have a sibling", and matty kisses your head and says "i know, darling, so do i". once you get backstage, he snuggles up to you on the sofa and talks to the bump, telling his baby girl about the show 😭😭, and then he cuddles you into him and says "you know, as much as i love playing shows like this... i'm so excited to just go home and get ready to meet our daughter. s'all i can think about, honestly", and you're like "me too, baby. three months to go, and she'll be here". and then matty gets weepy and goes into an "i love you thank you for doing this i can't wait to see you be a mum and also can't wait to marry you" etc monologue, and it's just a really sweet night lol.

also though, given that it happened during fallingforyou... flatmate girly (toddler clinging to your leg, baby asleep in your arms) would also fucking sob lmao. the symbolism of matty making your family out of chess pieces while he sings THE song about how he fell in love with you when you were just friends? the idea that you're still all he needs now, but you AND the family you both created? emo hours i fear <3

[toomuchracket]

heart out can't hurt me they played it in glasgow heart out can't hurt me they played it in glasgow heart out can't hurt me they played it in glasgow heart out can't