#*we were yelling can WE have the setlist not you

[rosiehrs]

↳ ❝ FANWARS | 60. the end (written)

word count ; 1.9k

a/n ; this chapter is SO shit, but i js wanted to finally get it out for you guys, so i apologise for the whack ending but yunyn in love!! xx

“y/n, hurry up! we need to take pictures before it starts!” jennifer yelled out eagerly from the living room. “babe, relax. we have three hours before the show starts - you seem more excited than i do.” you replied, laughing at her tactics. “y/n/n, you know how blinks are. i mean look at you - you’re a tame one and even then you’re terrifying.” 

you gave her a smile before placing a kiss on her lips. “god, alright. let’s go pick up the girls.” as you stepped out of your apartment to walk out to jen’s car - she pulled you by the arm and stopped walking. “what’s wrong?” you asked.

“i forgot to tell you.. you look so beautiful, baby.” she smiled as she placed her hands on your waist, pulling you closer to her. you felt your face warm up as you hid into her neck. “thank you, jen. you look just as stunning. honestly, even more.” she placed a kiss onto your temple and took you in one more time. “god, alright, let’s go.” she said, pulling you with her towards the car. 

yunjin started driving to eunchae’s house - where the other girls were. yunjin kept one hand on the wheel and the other hand holding yours. after many, many months together, you trusted her driving skills more and haven’t had a near death experience since the first time. however, eunchae’s house was not far from yours so you didn’t have to worry much at all.

you quickly entered eunchae’s house once yunjin parked the car. the girls were all gathered in the living room, all dressed up and clearly excited. “unnis! you’re here, you’re here!” eunchae called out, running to the both of you and bringing you into a tight hug. one by one, you greeted your friends with a large smile and a tight embrace. stepping back, you jumped up and down. “who's ready to see blackpink?”

and in return, you heard high screeches and excited chants. “let’s go, let’s go!”

“aye, do you seriously think i’m going to let you girls leave without taking a picture?” eunchae’s mum called out, jokingly glaring all of you down. giggles and smiles spread across your faces as you gathered together and she took out her phone. “smile!” 

the stadium was a 20 minute drive away from eunchae’s house and the lot of you took eunchae’s family car (more like a van, and with eunchae’s parents’ permission of course) to the venue. sakura and chaewon sat in the front with sakura in the driver’s seat. you, yunjin and hanni behind them, and eunchae, yujin and zuha in the back. 

“marriage, have you guys thought of marriage yet?” eunchae asked from the back, causing yujin to hit the younger girl with the pink, squeaky hammer. “kid, do NOT give them any ideas. next thing you know, there will be little yunjins and y/ns walking around and i do not need that for my sanity. not yet.”

you laughed, yunjin rolling her eyes at them. “manchae, does it look like i can afford to get married right now? i can barely pay off my student loans, especially after this concert.” she replied, mindlessly caressing your hand with her thumb.

“yeah, eunchae, please do not encourage them to get married now - we just sold our souls for this concert. give us a few months.” chaewon added from the front, causing all of you to laugh. 

the ‘born pink tour’ setlist was playing in the background while the rest of them continued their bickering. you leaned into hanni who happily wrapped her arms around your arm in front of her. “you okay, unnie?” she whispered, making sure only you heard her. you turned to face the younger girl and greeted her with the sweetest smile. “i couldn’t be better, han.” you placed a loving kiss on hanni’s temple, in which she squeezed your arm in return. yunjin watched the scene in awe, holding your hand tighter. your eyes met hers and you exchanged smiles. 

“we’re here, we’re here!” eunchae called out, all of you squealing in response. 

kkura struggled to find a parking spot and urged all of you to get down and find some food. all of you got out of the car, with kazuha staying back with sakura. “come on, children - i shall lead the way.” chaewon said.

the area was packed with blinks, left and right - all you saw were outfits that consisted of the colours black and pink. people were selling headbands, giving out free banners, and music blasting from outside the stadium. to say you were excited was an understatement. seeing all these people, you had only processed where you were and what you were going to be doing for the next 3 to 4 hours. 

“baby!” yunjin said, snapping you out of your trance. “come, chaewon found some food!” she took your hand in hers and dragged you along to where your friends were. “there’s definitely more food inside the stadium, so don’t worry too much about not eating enough, yeah?” chaewon reassured as she sat down, coming back from ordering. the lot of you were mesmerised by how jampacked the area was. never in your life had you seen so many people gathered in one place. 

“god, blackpink really is in our area, huh?” yujin joked. “cheesy! zero out of ten!” eunchae replied earning herself a slap on the shoulder. “bully, you’re a bully, eunchae.”

the doors had finally opened and people rushed their way through to queue up. the eight of you tightly held onto each other, trying not to get lost in the crowd. you had taken pictures in front of the stadium, the ‘born pink tour’ backdrop designated for picture taking, near the posters - anywhere and everywhere to keep the memories. after what felt like forever, you had finally gone through security. chaewon and sakura went to buy more snacks and drinks and the rest of you immediately went to find your seats. their music videos playing on the screen and their songs blasting from the speakers. you guys sorted yourselves out and finally sat down. chaewon and sakura came back with snacks and drinks - yet you guys still had an hour till the show started. suddenly, the voices of everyone in the stadium echoed together, singing along the words of ‘stay’. 

툭하면 거친 말들로 내 맘에 상처를 내놓고

with each word, the hairs on your arms and neck stood up. 

미안하단 말 한마디 없이 또 나 혼자 위로하고

you looked around, amazed by the beautiful harmony so many people were creating together. your friends started recording and joining in, singing along with the thousands of people in the stadium. 

오늘 하루도 혹시 날 떠날까 늘 불안해 해

chills only continued to go through your spine, the stadium shaking with the sound of your voices. and finally with the next line, you joined in.

I just want you to stay

you spent the next hour singing along to songs playing on the speakers, giggling with your friends and lovingly staring at yunjin. you were sandwiched between yunjin and zuha, your fellow certified blink. unexpectedly the stadium lights went off, screams immediately echoed throughout the stadium. one by one, the stadium started to fill up with bright pink lights from the lightsticks. your hair stood up at the chance of finally seeing the beautiful pink ocean. you and your friends joined in and screamed at the top of your lungs.

the vcr started to play on the screen and yunjin excitedly squealed next to you. everyone waited in anticipation but watched the screen in awe. the light on the stage lit up, showing the four girls everyone was dying to see. the screams only grew louder as they confidently walked their way down the stage. the ‘how you like that’ instrumental started to play and the crowd only grew louder. 

‘BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA!’ you all screamed along. in a row, the eight of you were waving your lightsticks around, dancing, singing. when rosé’s line came up, you felt as if your soul had left your body. “park chaeyoung!” you screamed, causing yunjin to laugh next to you. 

the pretty savage instrumental started to play right after, jennie immediately cheering the crowd on. “you guys ready?”

with that the crowd roared.

you and your friends started to lose your voice after each song, but everyone knew it’d be over when it was rosé’s turn to perform her solo. everyone cheered loudly after jennie’s solo, lights going down.

when rosé’s name appeared on the screen and you immediately let out the most bloody scream. the orange lights went on, and you saw her on the pedestal with her mic stand,

Ain’t no magic tool to fix it

“PARK CHAEYOUNG!”

yunjin knew for the next four minutes, she wouldn’t be your lover - it would be park chaeyoung. she knew you loved her, but she knew her place next to your wife of five years. she took her phone out and recorded you screaming bloody murder for the next four minutes of her solo. chants of how much you loved her, how the men needed to back up, how she was your wife. yunjin laughed at the whole thing, also making sure to enjoy the music while paying attention to you. 

Everything I need is on the ground

the loudest screams were definitely from your section, and from you. the lights went down and you felt your body go limp. “oh my god.”

jennifer held your hand, laughing. “you good, baby?”

“did you fucking see that?! she looked and sounded so fucking good, oh my god. her outfit, and the fucking stage, did you- LALISA!”

she laughed, knowing how important every second of this was to you. you jumped as lisa danced and sang to ‘lalisa’, however you didn’t once let go of yunjin’s hand. you loved her so much and she knew that very well.

by this point, you had lost your voice. it was time for the encore and you snickered at those who had already started leaving the stadium. “what losers,” eunchae called out, causing the rest of you to laugh in agreement. 

after a few more rounds of chanting ‘blackpink’ and ‘more’, the lights went off again and the girls came back out in their tour merch and the intro of ‘yeah yeah yeah’ started playing. 

you all stood up, singing along. you and the girls were in the moment, living one of the happiest days of your lives. 

사실 난 좀 두렵기도 해

the pink ocean still amazed you and was a sight you’d never forget. the energy from the fans, from the girls - you’d remember this night forever.

또 한 번 더 사랑에 나 아플까

you looked over at your friends, jumping, singing, laughing. and in the moment, you’d never felt happier. you were with those who you loved ever so dearly, watching another group of girls who you loved ever so dearly. and finally you looked over to yunjin who already had her eyes on you. 

운명이 던진 질문 앞에

Don’t you say no, oh, oh, oh

“i love you.” you said, your voice still clear to her through the noise from the stadium. tears had built up in your eyes, the happiness and contentment in your heart filling you up. she smiled at you, squeezing your hand in hers. “i love you too.”

she lovingly placed her lips onto yours, wrapping her arms around your waist and your arms making their way to her neck.

Just say yeah, yeah, yeah

previous | masterlist

SUMMARY - yunjin (an army) and y/n (a blink) have fallen into the stereotype of not being able to get along, continuously starting fanwars- but only with each other..?

a/n - and there we have it folks! thank u sosososo much for sticking with fanwars till the end and showing it so much love. i love and appreciate every single one of you and i hope you'll continue to enjoy the things i put out in the future! <3

+ taglist !! (closed) @invusblog @yumtooki @babycubchae @fav9yu @en-chantedtomeetyou @kittyeij @captivq @elyds @skisk1 @sserafimez @silantryoo @baerinaa @lizseos @ahnneyong @diestheticu @falling-intoo-deep @misumiausworld @luvkait @lcv3lies @wonyoungsvirus @lost-leopard-beanie @doitab @dexthzone @juhyunsthirdwife @luvvbugs @huhjxn @soobstvrs @lil-tigers-world @pretty-pretty-ela @xuimhao @nshimura @kikelikesmc @cwpiqwon @j-wyoung @urfriendlylocalidiot @edamboon @eunhhh @sam-andher-tales @zuzooms @shelovedyou @mynameisnotlaura @trishatheotaku @j3nc0re @angrybananapolice

[miralunawritez]

can we get a velvet x fem reader?? any scenario will do 😋

Velvet x Fem!Popstar!reader

Background: The reader is a new popstar who is getting close to being as famous as Velvet and Veneer and Velvet is not happy about it.

Warnings: Mentions of judgement, virtual harassment/cyber bullying

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veneer was scrolling through instagram when he saw a post about a new popstar who was about to become more famous than him and velvet..

"Um sis..you might wanna see this.." He says, showing velvet his phone. Velvets eyes widened in anger at the post, "Whats her name?" she says between her gritted teeth. "(Y/n) (Y/l/n)", Velvet pulls out her phone, looking you up to get more info about you. She finds your instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter and starts dming you, trying to bring you down.

You were minding your business, watching tv when you felt your phone buzzing. You open your phone to multiple dms from Velvet. You read the dms, your heart shattering in the process. You decided to send her a message back, "I am sorry you feel that way. But I am not gonna stop what I do because you're upset I am getting more popular than you. Grow up, this is immature."

"Grow up, this is immature." Velvet reads out loud while Veneer looks over her shoulder. Her eyes fill with rage as she grips onto her phone, she starts typing, "I need to grow up? You need to grow a pair of boobs." Veneers face looks concerned "You dont think thats a bit too far? You dont even know what this girl looks like!" He exclaims. "Your right, maybe there is more things I can point out." She said, clicking on your instagram page, scrolling through your posts. Her eyes widen as she looks through your pictures, looking at every detail of your beautiful body, stunning face, perfect hair, and captivating eyes. She goes silent, in absolute awe at ur beauty, not realizing she accidentally liked one of your posts.

You feel your phone buzz again, assuming it was Velvet sending a nasty text again, you pick up your phone prepared for the worst. You look at the notification, seeing that velvet liked one of your posts, it was a photoshoot at the beach, you were in a bikini, sitting on your knees on a towel, your eyes closed and your hands in your hair. You smile when you see the notification, you decided to text her a screenshot of her liking your post, "Im confused, do you hate me or like me?" you type, sending it along with the screenshot.

Velvet sees your message, her heart skips a beat and her blood runs cold, she slowly turns her head to face Veneer "I accidentally liked one of her posts." She looks back down at her phone and starts typing, "Just stay in your lane and we wont have problems." She drops her phone, putting her face in her hands, groaning while running her hands down her face.

A few days later

Velvet and Veneer had a performance, Velvet was looking at to setlist to see who opened for them and the songs they were performing. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw who opened for them, Y/n Y/l/n.

"VENEER." she yells angerly, Veneer comes rushing backstage where Velvet was. "Look at this!" Velvet points to your name, "Shes opening for us!" Velvet looks at Veneer, absolutely livid. "Surprise.." Veneer says, smiling awkwardly. "You knew about this?!" "Okay..(Y/n) might've dmed me asking if she could open for our performance..and I might've said yes.." Velvets jaw drops to the floor "WHAT??!!" she screams angerly, a small part of her excited to see how beautiful you look in person.

You walk into the backstage area, making direct eye contact with Velvet, smiling and winking at her. Velvet feels the blood rushing to her face, turning dark pink. You walk up to Velvet and Veneer. "Thank you for agreeing to me opening for your show, it means a lot" you say to Veneer. You look velvet up and down, feeling your heart race at how stunning she is. "What?" Velvet says in a snarky tone. You rolls your eyes and walk past them to talk to the backstage manager.

"She looks absolutely amazing.." Velvet whispers, thinking out loud. Veneer hears what she said and smiles, "What was that velvs?" he smirks, knowing hes gonna tease her for it. Her breath hitches, "Nothing, what the hell are you talking about? I didnt say anything!" she gets defensive. "Uh huh.." Veneer looks at (Y/n) while smiling, "Im gonna tell her." Velvets eyes widen, "You better not.." Veneer walks past her, walking up to (Y/n) "Hey girl, my sister thinks you looks absolutely amazing" He says, looking at Velvet from across the backstage area. Velvet looks at him back, if looks could kill Veneer would be dead. You look past Veneer and look at velvet, smiling, "Oh really? Well tell her I said she looks stunning" you say, looking back at Veneer.

Veneer walks back over to velvet, "She said you look stunning." Velvets heart races, feeling a blush creeping up on her cheeks. She looks around for you but realizes your already on stage performing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pt 2?

[watermelonsugacry]

Also what are some of Y/N iconic interview moments and what kind of compilation videos have the fans made of her? Like I think maybe "Y/N being done with the boys for 8 minutes (or 10years) straight" lol 😆

YN, Zayn, and a couple other of the band's producers are in one of the hotel rooms. They have some recording equipment set up for them to record some vocals for their upcoming album. As she sits criss-crossed on the white duvet and talks with the guys, she turns her head to the sound of commotion coming from the doorway.

She tilts her head back as she whines out a distressed, "Niiiall," at the sight of her bandmate prancing into the room in nothing but his white briefs. Ever since their first album, the boys thought it would be a great idea to start a tradition where the boys strip down to their briefs to record songs.

One of the many misconceptions people have when they think of YN in the band is the fact that she must be living the dream being surrounded by these attractive blokes 24/7. Well, she sees 4/5 of the boys as brothers and she did not enjoy seeing them nearly naked during one of her favorite activities as an artist.

It's not long before the men in the room start to sing the chorus to Steal My Girl. YN puts covers her face with her hands and Zayn grabs onto her shoulders and sways her from side to side.

...

A compilation of clips of the boys messing around with her as she sings the bridge of What Makes You Beautiful:

On their first tour, Zayn and Liam would sneak around and tug on her ponytail. She carried on with a scrunch of her nose and roughly pushed at their shoulders when they dispersed from their formation. Or Niall and Harry would poke at her cheeks and ears, making her swat their hands away.

On their next tour, all of the boys pranked her by secretly running off the stage as she sang. When her solo was done, she continued to walk around the stage like normal but she dumbly looked around she didn't see anyone in her peripheral.

In 2014, Louis slowly drenched her back with a water bottle. She squealed, promptly turning around to flip off her childhood best friend.

On their last tour, the boys slowly but surely leaned all of their body weight on her. They tugged her down until they were nothing but a pile on the floor.

...

On the Where We Are Tour as the band finishes up their last song on the setlist, they all walk along the catwalk as they blow kisses, and wave goodbye to their fans. YN's the first to make it to the end of the long stage, she bows with a hand over her heart as she mouths the words thank you so much.

She furrows her eyebrows at the sight of fans pointing somewhere behind her but it finally hits her; she knew the inevitable would come.

YN only has time to take a glance behind her before she crouches down and shields her head with her arms as the boys (water bottles in all hands) drench her in water.

She manages to escape from their huddle around her but Harry quickly wraps an arm around her torso before she can run away, pulling her backside to his chest as they all continue to ambush her with water.

When they all ran out of water and continued their journey up the stage, YN just stood there, leaning forwards with her arms out and bent by her sides.

...

A bunch of clips from their early years where the boys (especially Louis) would just be screaming and yelling during interviews for no reason.

YN would just squint her eyes at the ear-piercing sound or close her eyes with a shake of her head and let out a sigh, "Sorry, you were sayin'?"

...

There's a clip from their Take Me Home Tour where Harry put on a candy thong that a fan threw on stage.

YN couldn't stop her jaw from dropping to the floor, the corners of her lips curling up in a smile at the silly sight.

And when Harry comes up to Zayn seated next to her, she fully turns her back to them with a dramatic wave of her hands when Zayn leans forwards to take a bite of hard candy.

The fans scream in excitement and laughter when Harry juts out his groin to her, offering her a piece. They see the way she furrows her eyebrows and mouths a firm no, which only makes the band laugh harder.

...

YN sat in between Harry and Niall during their press conference for This Is Us. The trio would make silly jokes and comments every now and then; getting paired up with these two never made for a dull moment. However, some of the questions they get asked have become so repetitive over the last couple of years that it can make interviews quite boring, passive even.

Like now, when they're asked the generic question what do you find unattractive from the opposite sex?

So after YN finishes explaining her answer about not being honest, she fixes her gaze on her lap to fiddle around with her rings as she waits until Harry finishes his response.

"...but I've never dated a girl who like spat."

YN's eyes quickly flick up to the crowd of interviewers with a raise of her eyebrows and she turns to give her bandmate a questioning look before bursting out in giggles.

"Wait, no, no, no!" Harry's eyes widen in panic when he realizes what his answer sounded like but it's too late. As he and Niall try to explain his reasoning, YN's eyes squint shut and she puts a hand over her smile, her shoulders shaking in laughter.

SINCE 2010 masterlist

Taglist:

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[steddieas-shegoes]

she runs a tight ship

rated t | for @strangerthingsocweek day 1 "introduction" | 1,573 words cw: mentions of illness (just a cold), mildly suggestive language | tags: future fic, corroded coffin, original character, robin gets to have a girlfriend because i said so

author note: a lot of meg's original backstory also revolves around OCs that other people have created, so I've doctored it up a bit to fit in without pulling the other OCs into the mix.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Meg rolled her eyes the moment she walked onto the tour bus.

The boys, and they were in fact boys since they refused to act like grown men, had left clothes scattered across the floor and couch, empty beer bottles and bags of chips on the table, and a pack of cigarettes on the counter.

Unbelievable.

But actually, totally believable.

They weren’t always like this. It’s just that the first night of the tour was always a celebration when they got off stage and Meg had the unfortunate task of making sure they were alive and prepared for the rest of the tour.

She wasn’t their manager, or security, or really anyone of importance in the grand scheme of things. All of those people were just not good at the job, and she took over quickly to ensure the members of Corroded Coffin didn’t end up ruining their careers before they even got started.

“If I see a single ass cheek when I come back there, I’m quitting!” She yelled towards the back of the bus. It was an empty threat, and they knew it, but she’d seen enough ass cheeks to last a lifetime.

She leaned over to pick up the pile of pants and pair of boots right in front of the door, face crumpling into disgust as she caught a whiff of sweat and weed.

“Meg, good to see ya!” Gareth said as he came from behind the curtain leading to the bunks. “Are we in Cinci already?”

“Yep.” She popped her mouth and continued picking things up off the floor. “Soundcheck in two hours. You guys have to at least try to get your shit together for it.”

“We will! You doin’ okay?” Gareth started gathering the trash on the table, throwing it all in the trash can without even seeing what was full and empty.

“Yeah. Good show last night. Didn’t think you’d do the new one on your first night,” Meg admitted. She’d worked on the song with them for weeks in the studio, curating it exactly to their tastes while still staying true to her own style. She didn’t think it would make the setlist at all, especially since they hadn’t even decided if it would make the next album yet, but sure enough, they performed it last night.

And they’d given credit to their “amazing songwriter friend who made sure they didn’t die or forget to eat.”

She would never admit to the tears that fell when she watched them perform their song.

“Ed and Robin agreed it should be a surprise. I think they both just wanted to see you cry,” Gareth nudged her on his way over to grab the guitar on the couch to put it into its case. “Steve told them not to.”

“This is why Steve’s my favorite,” she joked. Well, half-joked. She considered Steve to be the other half to her Keep Corroded Coffin On Track Team. Without him, Eddie would have been left at a rest stop the first time they went on the road.

“Yeah, that’s no secret.” She could hear the eyeroll in Gareth’s voice, but chose to ignore it. “He was snoring so bad last night, I almost had to consider kicking him off the bus.”

“Wait. Snoring? Steve doesn’t snore unless he’s-”

“Fuck.”

They both realized at the same time what was coming. Gareth looked back at Meg, eyes wide.

“Not now! It’s the beginning of tour!”

“Maybe if I load him up with vitamin C? I have a whole vitamin kit in the van and Robin has that nebulizer for her breathing treatments.”

A round of sneezes came from the back and Meg cursed under her breath.

“He’s gotta get away from everyone. He can take the van with Robin and I’ll bunk on your couch for a few days. Did he have a fever?” Meg was known for being dramatic over small inconveniences, but this wasn’t small. It had the potential to ruin tour dates. If anyone in the band got sick, it could ruin a concert.

“Don’t know. I don’t think so? He seemed fine when we went to sleep. He passed out before all of us though.” Gareth quickly set the guitar down and opened the cabinet closest to the bus door. “We’ve got cold meds. Some cough syrup. Tylenol. Cough drops. You think that’ll be enough?”

Meg nodded. “For now. Let’s see how bad it is first.”

They didn’t have to wait long. Eddie and Jeff came out at the same time, panic written all over their faces.

Meg sighed. “Bad?”

They nodded.

“Okay, stay away from him. It could already be too late, but you guys have to stay healthy.” Meg grabbed the basket of meds and a bottle of water from the fridge. “All of you get outside, tell Robin what’s up, and go with security into the building. I’m gonna get him settled in the van and scrub this place from top to bottom.”

“But I’ll miss him,” Eddie pouted. “How long does he have to stay in the van?”

“Until he can breathe through both nostrils.”

“Can any of us ever really breathe through both nostrils?” Eddie wondered.

Meg blinked at him. “Get a shirt on and get out of here before I make it impossible for you to breathe out of one nostril.”

Eddie threw his head back and groaned. Jeff patted his shoulder and turned to grab a shirt that was still on the couch.

“It’s okay man. Might just be a little cold. Could pass quick!” Gareth tried to reassure him, but Meg could already see how this was gonna go.

She was surrounded by slightly codependent idiots. She loved them all dearly, but she needed them to function individually sometimes.

The door banged open and Robin came up the steps.

“I swear, I sleep in one time and my girlfriend abandons me for her harem of idiot men.” She glances between everyone and tenses. “What’s wrong?”

“You stupid soulmate is sick,” Meg grumbled. “Everyone is in the process of leaving this bus before it happens to them.”

“I’ll wake up Frankie. He’s gonna be pissed,” Jeff sighed. “He got his pillows just right.”

“I’ll get him, you guys go,” Meg shooed them away, waiting for them to all leave before turning to Robin. “Hey, Robbie. Sorry I didn’t wake you up, just wanted you to get plenty of sleep.”

Robin leaned her head on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “It’s okay, babe. Steve gonna make it?”

“Haven’t put eyes on him yet. Think you could go check? I gotta avoid getting sick, too. The less I’m around him, the better,” Meg handed her the basket and kissed the side of her head. “Get him to the van so he can contaminate that area instead.”

“But then I’ll get sick.” Robin pouted.

Meg couldn’t resist leaning down and pulling Robin’s bottom lip between her teeth, smirking when she let out a yelp.

“You’ll be fine. You’ve got a strong immune system. Promise I'll make it up to you in a few days. Maybe we could convince them to let us have a hotel room so we can-,” Meg said, pulling away when she heard shuffling behind the curtain. “Oh, good, it’s you. The rest of the guys are gone. Steve’s sick. Don’t come back in here until I give the go ahead.”

Frankie yawned, scratched his head, and nodded. “Got it.”

He was slowly becoming her favorite just by the fact that he never really argued with her. Maybe that was because he was terrified of her, but she could enjoy her power a little if she wanted to.

He walked out of the bus in his pajamas, probably not awake enough to realize he wasn’t properly dressed, but also probably not caring at all that he wasn’t. Frankie was a chill guy.

“Eddie?” Steve’s pitiful raspy voice came from behind the curtain. “Eds?”

“I’ll go,” Robin gave one final kiss to Meg’s lips before walking behind the curtain.

Meg only caught a glimpse of Steve, but a glimpse was all she needed to come to the conclusion that he was miserably sick and she needed to air this bus out immediately. She could hear Robin gently explaining where everyone was and trying to bribe him to put some comfy clothes on to move to the van.

She looked around and wondered what he’d touched last night before going to bed.

She opened the window behind the couch, and propped the window by the sink open to get some fresh air in the bus.

“Sorry I’m sick,” Steve suddenly said behind her, his eyes glassy and nose and cheeks bright red with fever and congestion. “Don’t know how.”

Meg smiled sadly at him. “Not your fault, bud. Just make sure to keep your distance from the guys until your fever’s gone. Don’t need them all getting sick at once and having to postpone a concert.”

Steve nodded sadly. “Okay. Can you tell Eddie I love him?”

“‘Course I can.”

Steve was acting like he was dying, but Meg didn’t say anything. Robin had been honest about a lot of her past, their past, but couldn’t say everything. She knew why they were all a bit codependent on each other. Sometimes small things like the common cold felt like a monster they couldn’t fight.

As Robin led Steve out of the bus, Meg made a checklist in her head of everything she needed to do before the show tonight.

Taking care of her boys was always top priority.

[sheisbeautyweareworldass]

How was the show????

hiiiii

the show itself was sooooo good. he looked so beautiful 🥹 it was insane seeing live the things i’ve seen him doing just in videos for the last 5 years (i’m in the airport rn and i don’t wanna get emotional in the middle of a crowd but yeah !!! sometimes he would something, like that side smirk, and i couldn’t believe he was doing that in front of me and not through a screen). he sounded amazing in every song, but he nailed the high notes in angels fly and his breath control in wayof was incredible. and the crowd !!!!!!!!!!!!! i don’t how it looked on the videos/live, but it was super loud. i was only able to hear him by the end of the greatest (and barely). very loud, excited and people were vibing, dancing and yelling to every song (the only one we didn’t sing loudly along with was chemical, because it’s a new cover).

and you could see how happy he was ????? ofc i’m biased but he truly looked like he was having the time of his life, specially in songs like the greatest, because it was the opening, kmm, because it’s reminiscent of walls, and hoth, because it’s a crowd fave (i can’t stress enough how loud everyone sang this song, i think i dissociated in the next one because i was trying to get over what just had happened 😭), and waoyf, because it’s a slutty song for a slutty country! he also looked so proud and that’s how i found out i craved the validation of an english man… i noticed what he meant when he said shows here are about everyone enjoying the music and not only specific groups of people, because everywhere you looked people were vibing.

barricade was INSANE. we were so lucky no one got hurt because the entire premium pit was moving fast in the direction he went, in every direction you can imagine. i obviously wasn’t able to touch him (if i had i would be here to tell the story), but i could see him and he’s so beautiful. i can’t get over it. half of the things i said last night were various of pretty. i love him. i’m afraid me and parasocial relationship are soooo back.

i gotta be honest, i don’t get how people go to his show and pay attention to anything but him. the only time i noticed his band was when they entered the stage because the show was late and we were all waiting for them 😭 once was louis showed up, i had eyes for no one else and i didn’t want to look at anyone else. that being said, i think they had fun too. there was a moment the light was on steve and he was laughing loudly at isaac o michael and vice-versa.

giant rooks was also great! i’ll have to listen to their setlist for saturday because their performance live was top notch and the stage presence was insane.

that’s not to say things were perfect… they opened the gates later than they should and did everything in their power to slow down. then giant rooks’ started late and louis missed the time for about 20 minutes. i also tripped and scrapped harshly both of my knees and lightly my elbow and spent the entire show bleeding….. but as val said, nothing more me than hurting my knees for louis <3

tldr: louis pretty crowd loud aly injured

[bagofburntcreampuffs]

ʀʜʏᴛʜᴍ ɪɴ ᴏᴜʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛꜱ

Set List★

« previous · masterpost · Yuuken»

➼ now playing...ASAP

It’s been a couple of hours of laying around in the practice room, the setlist was only halfway done and it’s filled with festive music. Some with recommendations from Crowley and the rest was filled in by Kalim and Cater. Lilia wanted to include some random songs that weren’t festive, but it’s been hard to choose between some. Especially since some of these you had to sing. 

What’s considered festive, while also not really festive? Is jazz considered festive? You rack up your brain with song ideas as you try to think. Kicking your legs back and forth as you lay on your stomach, you doodle on the notepad you brought with you. The door bursts open as Yuu’s face peeks in. “Hi! Crowley wanted me to check up on you guys!” He excitedly moves towards you as he looks over to your notepad. Jamil enters the room right after Yuuken’s outburst, “How is the progress?”

“It’s alright so far, we’re a little stuck on some song choices. We have about 7 so far, we wanted to play 15.” Lilia responded.

You fiddle around with the corner of your page, folding and unfolding it. Yuu stares at you from the corner of his eyes. “Well, maybe you should do songs that remind you of home. Since the holidays most likely remind you guys of home right? You can do a song for each dorm and that’s about like, 7 more.” Yuuken suggested. He walks by the door and waves to you all, “I have to go check on the other dorms! Bye!”

Jamil mutters about finishing some more work and rushes out. The rest of the group sit in silence as they take in the suggestion. “That would be perfect!” Kalim yells out. Everyone else nods as they write down songs from their dorms. Now they have 11 songs. “We’ll have to ask the other dorm heads what song will be good to perform,” Cater said, “I can go ask the rest of the dorms, so that will give us 14. What should the last song be?”

It was silent for the moment, as everyone’s stuck thinking. “Can we perform a song from Yuuken’s world? He’s so far from home, I think it would be nice for him. But, let’s keep it as a surprise. I don’t want him to know!” You suggested. “That’s so sweet, Y/n!” Cater yells as he pulls you in a side hug. “Let’s do it, then!” Kalim responded joining you two in the hug.

After finishing up the setlist, you guys went ahead to practice the first 7 songs on the setlist for an hour before heading back to your dorm. Lilia and Cater needed to talk to Kalim so they waved you goodbye as you headed out of the room. Right as you open the door you almost crash into Jamil who was about to enter. 

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were about to enter.” 

Jamil looks towards you and tilts his head, “Are you heading out now? I can walk you back to the mirror, it’s easy to get lost in the dorm.”

You stare at him, blinking owlishly, “Oh! Sure, I get lost a little easily.” Jamil nods towards you and starts to walk down the hall, you have to hurry to catch up as you shut the door.

“Jamil’s really sweet towards, Y/n, huh?” Cater looks towards Kalim and Lilia for a response. “A little uncharacteristic of him,” Lilia responded as he stared at the door. “Really? I haven’t noticed anything.” Kalim responds staring at the door with the others.

You and Jamil are halfway towards the mirror, but it’s quiet and a little awkward. “Did Kalim add you to the club’s group chat?” Jamil breaks the silence. You open your phone and realize that you don’t even have their numbers. “Oh, I don’t even have their numbers.”

Jamil stops in his tracks as he stares at you, “They didn’t give you their numbers? Ugh, of course, they didn’t.” He raises his hand and rubs his temples as he opens his phone with his other hand. He passes the phone to you, and you are greeted with the new contact information. Grabbing the phone, you type in your information and hand it back to him. “I’ll add you to the group chat later.” You nod at him. Then you realize you made it to the mirror during the time you two exchanged information. You push your hand toward the mirror, and you turn to look at him. “Thank you for walking with me, Jamil. Goodnight.” You said smiling up at him. He nods slowly and smiles back, “Goodnight, Y/n.”

a/n: Jamil is definitely ooc. Sorry guys

Taglist: @ars-tral @bookworm666 @cecil-garlicbread @mysme-stuff @doughnuts-eater @kirexa @s7-evermore

[doesntmeanitsmeaningless]

Hola Ailo!!!! The recap that you did ask for is here(a little bit late sorry but still counts), Louis show at the Victorious Festival:

Festival poster.

As you saw but still will link some pics because he look gorgeous, Louis wore full black with a cap 🫠 and the barricade photo I show you that deserves to be link again haha.

🚨Highlight of the recap shirtless Steve is back!!! Thank you Steve 🚨 (no idea if that is a highlight for you but it wouldn't be a recap of me without that important info).

His family was there, here is a cute video of Lottie, other with Olive and other with Lucky.

Seems like the weather was cold, because Mr. Weather Man comment about it and also was doing some arms and hands gestures a few times to said that he was cold, poor Louis, but hey we thank him for showing a tank top.

He said this sweet quote and mention that it was his first festival in the UK.

Here he was interacting with a fan but I wonder what the sign said.

Louis instagram story.

Some observations about the live:-Hands up and down during kill my mind instead of kmm lights (like this other time that they did it in other festival), seems like is a tradition now and I love it.

-You can see his family on the side of the stage moving to the rhythm.

-Fans were yelling I love you Louis and he was smiling.

-He was interacting with a lot of fans, was very smiley and so confident. It was lovely seeing him like this.

He also sign a doncaster bear of a fan I guess maybe after the show I don't know.

For your Nouis' heart, Louis give a like to a video of Niall and Ed Sheeran singing Little Things (here is the full video) on today's show of Niall, they also sing Lego House (there was no live 😑, we just have to listen after it was sad but still beautiful).

Louis took a shot backstage with Phoebe and Daisy.

I already share it but still, the short setlist 11 songs rip 7 😭.

The crowd look huge, I'm so proud of him.

Here is the live in case you want to watch it.

And that is it for the baby recap. I'm probably missing some things but is what I could do, I was very busy with Niall's updates so I didn't pay much attention to everything that was shared yet.

Let me know what you think, I love reading reactions of the recaps :)

I hope you have a lovely day. Here is a spanish phrase for you: Te mando un abrazo.

Oh wow CC 🤩🤩🤩 this is amazing!! Thank you so much!! 😘 Even though I did request it (as I’m in the alps, no wifi, and quite some fandom fomo), the feeling of getting a recap is… so unexpectedly heartwarming! 🥰 It made me sing We Made It “sayin’ goodbye, wavin’ to the hard times” to the mountains this morning, as you really make me feel so included!!

I love the outfit as a whole: it works!! I’m glad you sent a photo of the cap, I would’ve missed the “mauled by a dragon” aspect of it otherwise. 🤪

Weatherman Louis 🥶 lives in an entirely different climate than Steve 🥵! And the shivering pic… is gonna be a favourite of mine!! It’s convincing me that it must’ve been freezing 😎

Aww… the mini Tomlinsons!! 🥹 They do bring a cuteness factor that we don’t often see. And I can’t believe how big Olive is! Can that really be?!?🤔🤔

I love that the kmm hands are back: you know the Louies are in the crowd when…!!

I’m guessing the sign was one of those “please write me a tattoo” or something requests… and Louis didn’t wanna explain that he’s working, day job etc again… so he just says “how?” in THAT voice… wow! 🫠 Good of you to include that!! 🤭

Mini but fun setlist! Face the Music surviving every cut is a surprise to me, but hey… not my day job 🫢

And thanks for the bigger picture: Niall singing Little Things with Ed! Yeah! And Louis liking it!! Now c’mon boys…!! Just a little click, babe!

So much more to say but the kids & mountains are calling. Schöne Grüße aus den Bergen!

Und herzlichen Dank für die tolle Zusammenfassung!! 🫶🫶🫶

[halfmoondaze]

First Night 

previous

Series Masterlist

You started walking in the arena with your tour manager.

“Hey, I just recalled the mix from the last rehearsal. You should be all set” Damian, your tour manager approached you as he walked along with you.

“That’s great, can I take a look at the song setlist?"

“Sure” 

He handed you the sheet of paper. 

“Hm…can we change this song, as the last one?” 

“Sure, no problem” 

“Great”

“Is there anything else?” 

“No, that would be everything. Thanks”

“Ok, you’re clear. I see you at catering” he said before leaving. 

“Hey guys” you said as you greeted your band. 

“Ok, let’s do 'Extasis'” you told your band. 

Shortly after they started playing the song, and you started singing. 

Eventually, you finished you last song of the set list. 

“That’s a wrap” your baterist said. 

“Yay” you said. 

You walked off the stage and headed straight to the dressing room. The show wasn’t until three more hours. 

Then when you entered your dressing room, to your surprise, you found Urban sitting in a nearby couch. 

“Urban?” 

“Hey” he said sounding more relaxed than usual.

“Are you high?” you asked trying to contain your laughter.

“Maybe” 

In that moment, someone knocked on the door. 

“Come in” 

“Oh, hey Y/n; sorry I didn’t know this was your dressing room” 

“Oh shit, sorry. I thought this was Jack’s” Urban said getting up from the couch. 

“That’s, ok. I was actually going to ask you guys if you wanted to hang out?” 

“Yeah” 

And that’s how you, Jack and Urban, ended up playing Call Of Duty: Warzone in your dressing room. 

You were not the greatest videogame player, but knowing how competitive Jack was, you ended up teaming up with Urban, just for Jack to lose. But being slow, you ended up messing up a lot. 

“No no no no no no” you and Urban yelled as you wee about to lose to Jack. 

He won. 

“Aaaaahhh” Jack started yelling as he leaned to Urban and started patting his leg at the realization that he had just won. 

“Godamit” said laughed. 

You were losing it, as you were laughing while you recorded the whole thing on your ig story. 

“You are such a fool” you laughed. 

You, Urban and Jack remained in your dressing room just fooling around while killing time, until you had to get ready to go to the stage.

With the help of your makeup artist and stylist, you were able to get into your costume.

"Lets have a great show guys. 2 minutes side stage" your assistant announced.

You took a deep breath and walked out of your dressing room.

As you approached the stage entrance you waited for your cue, and then you started walking out into the stage and the whole crowd went wild.

“Como están Australia?” you yelled to the crowd and they all started cheering you. 

Y/N Y/L/N

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yourusername sigo sin poder creer lo que viví anoche. gracias @jackharlow por tenerme en tu gira

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JACKHARLOW

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jackharlow Australia so far

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Taglist

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[ominousmotion]

So much has happened in 2023 and it certainly felt a whole lot longer then 365 days and there were so many firsts like graduating uni and getting to face time @another-sun @kraeuterhexchen and @there-is-just-me-myself-and-i for the first time and getting to see them off as they went to shows together 💕 (one day my ass is flying to Germany so we can all go together) and i made SO many pride designs to yell at blind channel about and got to create this with Gemma

And there arnt enough words to say how proud i am of this design

I went to 7 shows this year and had the time of my life and i got to meet we came as romans and got their setlist on my birthday

I started and finished my first semester of gradschool

So many positive things have happned this year and many of them happen on here or because of people ive met on here and i am so vary greatful for you all thank you and i hope your 2024 is the best that it can be 💕

[phantompoguefangirl]

WRAPPED AROUND YOUR FINGER

CHAPTER THREE: HOME IS WHERE THE BAND IS

They don't know about the things we do

They don't know about the I-love-yous

But I bet you if they only knew (they don't know)

They would just be jealous of us

They don't know about the up-all-nights

They don't know I've waited all my life, Just to find a love that feels this right (they don't know)

Baby, they don't know about, they don't know about us.

They don't know how special you are.

They don't know what you've done to my heart. They can say anything they want

'Cause they don't know about us -They Don't Know About Us by One Direction

**************************************

The plane ride was only like a couple hours long and we spent the first part of it discussing logistics for my new setlist song and the rest of it watching Guardians of the Galaxy. We were still quoting it and giggling uncontrollably as we got off the plane and found our luggage. Michael carried mine for me and we made our way through the airport until we got to the secluded area where Luke, Ashton, and Calum were waiting for us with their security guard, Dave.

Ashton was the first to see us and his face lit up like the 4th of July causing his mouth to turn up into his big iconic smile. Ashton was my best guy friend and the band member I was closest to, besides Michael obviously. He was also the reason I got into 5 Seconds of Summer. I'd seen a cute photo of him and I wanted to know who he was so I googled him and found the band. I instantly loved the music and was in Ashton's lane at first, but then I discovered that an angel named Michael Clifford existed and my whole life changed.

Of course, Ashton still had a special place in my heart and when I met him, we'd instantly clicked in a purely platonic way. We were the same age, but because Ashton was older by a few months and because I was so much shorter than all of them, he liked to call me his little sister just to annoy me.

We both were very giggly and sarcastic and we had a lot of fun together. We also kind of ended up being the parents of the group a lot since we were the oldest and someone has to keep track of these dorks when they're together or chaos ensues. I mean, chaos usually ensues anyway, but Ash and I(mostly me) tried to keep them from getting into trouble. Easier said than done when you have the equivalent of four toddlers on crack in adult bodies running around with you. But I loved them for their crazy shenanigans because it was always hilarious and fun to be apart of.

"Mia!!" Ashton yelled, breaking me out of my thoughts as he ran toward me, sounding like he hadn't seen me in months.

"Dimples!" I yelped out the nickname I gave him excitedly as he carefully scooped me up into a hug and I hugged him back as tightly as I could. The boys already knew about my hand because we had called them to let them know what happened while we were waiting in the ER.

"No, stop, I don't want to be annoyed with you. I missed you too much!" he groaned, setting me down. He always pretended he didn't like that nickname but he really didn't mind.

"It's literally only been like a day and a half, Ash," I giggled.

"Yeah, but you guys left me alone with these two idiots so it felt like forever," Ashton said, pointing behind him at Luke and Calum with his thumb.

"Hey! We heard that," Luke said as he and Calum came up to us.

"Yeah, if anything, they should be apologizing for leaving us alone with you," Calum added, playfully shoving Ashton.

"Oh well my bad," I said sarcastically, still giggling.

"Wow, we're gone for ONE fucking day and you all become such whiny little shits," Michael said, laughing as he hugged the boys.

When the guys were done horsing around as they greeted each other, Luke and Calum happily hugged me too and then we started walking toward the exit. I still had a hard time keeping up with them, so Ashton gave me a piggy back ride. Michael was going to but he had all the luggage and Ashton beat him to it anyway.

"So what are you gonna do about tour, y'know with your hand being hurt and everything?" Luke asked, once we were all buckled in and Dave was driving us back to our house.

"Oh we actually need to talk to you about that. Michael offered to play guitar for me, if that's cool with you guys," I explained,"And I want to add a cover song to my set, too."

"Can you handle all that, Mikey?"Ashton asked, worried.

"Oh yeah. It's not that much more to play and like I told Mia, there will be a break between her set and ours so I can rest and refuel then," Michael answered excitedly.

"If you're sure you'll be fine, then I see no issue with that. As long as you take care of yourself," Ash said.

"I'm okay with it too. Just don't wear yourself out, mate," said Calum.

"Yeah same," Luke agreed.

"I won't wear myself out, I promise," Michael affirmed.

"I'll make sure he doesn't," I said,"Thank you guys, I really appreciate all of you."

"Of course. We'd do just about anything for you, Mia. You know that," Ashton assured me, "Speaking of which, I believe you had a second request?"

I nodded and explained my song idea to them. They were down for it too so I texted my band to meet us at our house. As soon as we got there, Michael and I went with them down to the studio to rehearse.

We did a quick run through of my set to work Michael in, and then we started learning Face Down. We were still working on the arrangement and I was just finishing singing the last part of the song when Luke came downstairs. I groaned in frustration as the song ended.

"Hey lunch is read-whoa what's wrong?" Luke said, walking further into the studio.

"Something doesn't feel right. We've pretty much got the song learned but something about the arrangement itself is just...off,"I explained.

"Yeah it feels like there's something missing maybe?" Michael added.

"Hmm, well do you guys want to play it again so I can hear it? Maybe I can help you figure it out," Luke offered, hesitantly.

We nodded, and Luke listened to the original song on the studio computer and then listened to us play it right after. He stopped us after the first chorus and we looked at over at him, confused.

"Michael, what if you sing with her? I think your voices blend well and I think if you harmonize, it might be a nice touch." Luke suggested.

"Oh, I didn't even think of that! That's great idea," Michael said, looking at his bandmate and then over at me.

"Ooh, yeah, let's try it!" I agreed, excitedly.

So we figured out what parts he would sing and Luke was right. Michael's voice and our harmonies were exactly what the song needed. I think the passion and emotion came out more that way because Michael was a big part of the story we were telling with this music and he could tell his side as well. Calum and Ashton joined us when Luke didn't come back and they thought it was awesome too, so that made me feel even better about it.

We practiced it a couple more times and then we went upstairs to eat. Calum had ordered sub sandwiches for everyone, including my band. They were here playing music with me enough that their food orders had been learned.

After we finished eating and my band left, Luke and Calum asked Michael to play Fifa. I played videogames, but I wasn't any good at Fifa and neither was Ashton so we just sat and watched. I ended up between Michael and Ashton on the bigger couch while Luke and Calum took the other one. We watched them play for a few hours, laughing at their playful arguments and insults.

After awhile I began to zone out a bit, staring at my cast and thinking about yesterday. Ashton must have noticed because he gently took my broken hand in his.

"Do you want to talk about what happened with your family? I mean we know the part about how you ended up in the ER but not the rest," he spoke after a moment.

"They were judgemental as hell, but at least my dad and Maggie shut up after Michael basically told them that he didn't give a shit what they thought of him. Grandma was the only one who didn't let up. I guess I shouldn't really surprised though," I told him as I glanced up and watched the boys fighting to score a goal.

"What did they say?" Ashton asked.

I fidgeted with a loose thread on Michael's jeans anxiously as the events of yesterday replayed in my head.

"They basically called me a ho and said I jumped from Jesse to Michael like it was nothing," I answered, trying to stay calm as the boys made various disgusted noises at the mention of Jesse's name,"Then Grandma saw my side tattoo and my belly ring while we were horsing around with my brothers and she said I ruined my body for Michael, who, according to her, just wants to get in my pants and will leave me for some other groupie."

"What?!" Ashton growled.

"Oh my god, what the fuck?" Luke exclaimed, pausing the game and looking at me incredulously.

"Why the hell would they say that to you?" Calum asked, also looking at me in shock.

"I don't know, honestly," I said sadly, shifting away from Ashton in order to snuggle closer to Michael, who set his controller down and wrapped his arms around me in response.

"I pretty much told her grandma to go fuck herself for that last bit, but I was polite about it because I was more worried about Mia's injury than anything else in that moment," Michael said, sounding like he was also trying to stay calm.

"Wow," Luke said, shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair.

"He told them off twice, actually, but Grandma didn't stop until she said the groupie thing and Michael really went off on her,"I said.

"I would have went off too. What the fuck is wrong with these people?" Ashton said, angrily.

"I about lost my shit over what they said about her and Jesse, though. I almost took her and left right then, but we got distracted by her dad asking about her music," Michael said.

"Did you tell them what happened with Jesse?" Ashton asked.

"Yeah but I was kinda vague about it because the details are still hard to talk about,"I sighed.

"That's fair," Ashton said.

"They got the picture, though," Michael said.

"Good," Ashton nodded.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," Calum told me.

"Both of you," Luke added, glancing between Michael and I.

"Thanks," We replied simultaneously.

Michael tilted my face upward to look at him,"Hey, I hope you know your family is wrong for acting like that and saying those things. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, besides this band of course, and I'm never going to leave you. I love you so fucking much, Mia. More than you know."

I leaned up and pressed my lips to his softly. "I know, Baby. I told you I don't care what they think of you. I just didn't want to hear them say it. And I love you too."

"For the record, we're not going anywhere either. We love you too, Mia," Luke added.

"Yeah, your family can kick rocks. They don't know anything about us. None of us would ever even dream of leaving or hurting you, especially not Michael. You mean the world to us," Ash agreed.

"To be honest, I don't think they really should count as family because family doesn't treat you like that. To me, we are your family because we love each other, take care of each other, support each other unconditionally and never judge each other. Except jokingly, of course," Calum spoke up.

"Awe, Calum," I said as I felt the tears welling up in my eyes.

"No, I'm serious. You're as much my sister as Mali-Koa is at this point," he said, getting up and extending his arms to me as Ashton and Luke nodded in agreement and moved closer too. "Remember what I always say? Home is where the band is. Well, you're part of us now so home is where you are too."

"You already know you're my little sister too," Ashton grinned through watery eyes.

The tears were free falling now as I got carefully smooshed into the arms of my four favorite boys. I could feel their warm tears on my clothes as we held each other.

We stayed like that for a bit before Ashton spoke up.

"Hey, how about we have a movie night? We can make a fort and sleep here in the living room tonight!" He suggested, knowing this was one of mine and Michael's favorite things to do.

"Hell yeah! I'll order pizza!" Michael agreed excitedly.

"Calum and I can go get snacks and drinks from the store!" Luke offered.

"You know I'm in!" I agreed, jumping up and running upstairs. I changed into one of Michael's tshirts and some pajama shorts. Michael followed me and changed into his own pjs as he ordered the pizza. He helped me bring our bedding downstairs once he got off the phone.

Luke and Cal got back before the pizza arrived and Ash emerged from his room also clad in sleepwear to help them bring in the snacks. They changed too and then someone threw in Mean Girls at some point, earning a groan from Michael.

"Shut the fuck up, you love Mean Girls," Luke said, gently smacking his arm.

"I was kidding, geez," Michael giggled, shoving him before reaching for me.

Before he could touch me, I squealed as I was swept into someone's arms and pulled onto one of the couches.

"What the hell, Ash?" Michael said, annoyed.

"I can't cuddle with my best friend?" Ash asked innocently.

"First of all, OUCH. I thought we were your best friends," Michael scoffed sarcastically, gesturing to himself, Luke and Cal, both voiced their agreement. "And second of all, what if I wanted to cuddle her?"

I knew I should probably interject but watching any of the boys banter was too funny to miss.

"Well first of all, you know what I meant so come off it, mate," Ashton replied, laughing as he pulled me a little bit closer, "And second of all, I just want Mia snuggles for a little while. You can have her back after that."

Michael was about to protest, but I nodded and smiled at him, "Babe, it'll be fine. I'll come cuddle with you after the pizza gets here and we eat."

Michael made a pouty face before overdramatically sighing and plopping down on the other couch. "Fine, I guess."

I could tell by his eyes that he wasn't really bothered, though. Him and Ashton often jokingly fought over me.

"I'll cuddle you, mate," Calum offered, reaching for Michael.

"CAL PAL!" Michael mock gasped, giggling and jumping on Calum as we all laughed hysterically.

Luke jumped on them and they wrestled around before getting distracted by the movie and laying there tangled up with each other while watching.

I couldn't find my phone so I grabbed Ashton's and took a few sneaky photos of them as it happened. I posted them on Ashton's social media accounts with the caption "Movie night cuddles or failed WWE Smackdown reenactment?" causing Ashton to crack up laughing as he read it.

The other three didn't seem to notice and I put the phone down as we all focused on the tv. I leaned back against Ashton, basking in his warmth as his arms tightened around me. He was so comfy to do this with, like a big adorable teddy bear. I sighed quietly as I laid there feeling very relaxed. That is, until the pizza came and everyone scrambled to get up and grab a slice.

Once we finished eating, we built the fort and situated everything.

"Babe, look!" Michael said, pointing proudly at the nest of pillows and blankets he had created for us.

"Ooohh yesss!" I said, coming over to him excitedly. I jumped into the pile and carefully rolled myself into the blankets like a burrito.

"Hey I wanna be a burrito with you!" Michael said, burrowing in beside me, pulling me into his arms and brushing his lips against mine. I giggled, stretching my arms and legs around him as I kissed him back happily.

"Ew, get a room!" Calum joked, pretending to gag.

Michael's lips didn't leave mine as he help up his hand and gave Calum the finger. I could practically hear Calum rolling his eyes amid Luke and Ashton's laughter.

I giggled into the kiss and we pulled apart after a minute. We shifted around so we could both watch the movie, Michael snuggling me closer and nuzzling his face into my neck as we did so.

The boys had each made their own bedding nests and were now curled up in their spots contently. We ended up eating snacks and quoting every film we watched late into the night until we all fell asleep.

[minhyuuk]

who’s crying now // rockteez!seongjoong

⇀ genre: au, band fic, rockstars, music, general

⇀ word count: 1.7k

⇀ tw: explicit language

⇀ summary: Hongjoong won't sit back and let pretty-boy lead singer Seonghwa rip off his band's music. 

“What do you mean they covered it? That’s our cover. It’s our finishing act!” Hongjoong asked between exasperated breaths. Those fuckheads, he couldn’t believe they would pull something like this. It was a slap in the face. The Guerrillas were known for their rendition of Died in Your Arms by Cutting Crew. It was a classic that they rebranded for shits and giggles one day in the studio and it became a hit. The song was incorporated into their setlist faster than Hongjoong could strum.

Across town, their rivals named the ‘Pirate Kings’ were performing for their nationwide tour. The Guerrillas weren’t as popular as Pirate Kings but still garnered enough attention. Enough attention for Pirate Kings to rip off the very cover that launched them into relevance. The Guerrillas were finishing up their own concert and stepped behind the curtains to hydrate and freshen up before sending their fans on their way. San had checked his phone and noticed a flurry of messages informing him of the rival band stealing their thunder at a venue only 15 minutes away.

“I’m not surprised, Seonghwa loves the attention and he’ll do anything to get it. On the night of both our shows? Half of our fans are already over at their concert. Shit…” San’s head hung low and morale dipped among the exhausted rock group.

Jongho, their main singer, sat on the couch in defeat. He didn’t have any reason to feel more upset than Hongjoong. Hongjoong was their main guitarist and the lead vocal for their Cutting Crews cover. It was a slap in the face to all of them, but mostly him. Pirate Kings couldn’t stand to see a smaller band grow, could they? It was a stunt Hongjoong knew was the brainchild of their fame-obsessed lead singer, Seonghwa, who paraded his good looks and whiny voice around stage.

“We’ll cover Journey.”

One of Yunho’s drumsticks fell from his palm, “What?”

“If they wanna cover our covers, we’ll cover theirs. We cover Separate Ways as a big, you know, like a big ‘fuck you’ and then …” Hongjoong wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“And then?” San interjected, curious but not necessarily shooting down the thought.

“And then… Well, it might be the best or worst thing we’ll ever do.”

“We have five minutes to decide on something.” Jongho swiped at the perspiration on his forehead and grabbed his mic.

Hongjoong bit his lip. Fuck. He wasn’t lying when he said it could be the best or worst thing. If they were targeted by Pirate Kings for ripping off their cover, their contracts would be over. The band’s reputation would plummet and they’d have to work twice as hard to get to where they are now, let alone any higher…However, if it worked out… If their spontaneous revenge cover of Journey went anything like Cutting Crew…They’d earn some bragging rights and maybe even a few record deal offers.

And much to Hongjoong’s initial chagrin, he could rub the prominence right in the face of Pirate King’s Park Seonghwa.

“I’m down.” Yunho held his drumsticks out in between the four of them. San sighed and placed his hand over top. Nervously, Jongho stood up and joined. The three of them stared at Hongjoong expectantly.

“If you fuck this up for us, I’m NEVER going to karaoke with you again.” San laughed despite his shaky nerves. It wasn’t a question of whether or not they could play the cover or play it well, they knew they could do this. The implications of stealing their thunder back were what tempted reconsideration. Plus, losing karaoke night was a threat Hongjoong didn’t heed lightly.

“Let’s go show Pirate Kings whose ass they can kiss!” Hongjoong slapped his hand down on the circle and the four of them yelled ‘Guerrillas!’ in unison. The lights on the stage cued their entrance, the crowd going wild in the sudden darkness. Fans of The Guerrillas were few and far between but as loyal as they come. Their screams welcomed the rock band back onto the platform for their encore. Hongjoong and Jongho took center stage to prepare for the song. All the members exchanged a look of “here goes nothing” before they were illuminated.

“We’re gonna do something a bit differently tonight, is that alright?” Jongho asked the crowd rather formally, to which they replied in screams of confusion and excitement. “We’ve got some news that a band down the street took some inspiration from our classic rock covers…” He paused for dramatic effect. Some of the audience cheered, a majority booed, others remained completely ignorant.

“And we thought that in order to repay the honor we’d cover one of their pieces. I’m sure we’ve all heard ‘Separate Ways’ covered by the lovely Pirate Kings, it’s good, isn’t it?” His sarcasm was hard not to laugh at. Jongho was fronting the last minute decision as if he planned it himself and Hongjoong gazed at the singer admirably.

“But what about ‘Separate Ways’ covered by us? For this show only, we will be skipping our ‘Died In Your Arms’ rendition- I know, I know. Think of it as a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience?”

San chipped in at the mic while fixing his bass strap, “Promise me, you won’t want to miss out on this. You guys are recording, right?” His wink swayed the indifferent crowd in the right direction and they began to cheer. It might have also been because between sets the bassist managed to lose half his clothes.

To prevent them from sidetracking, Yunho began to kick a steady rhythm onto the bass drum to build the crowd’s anticipation.

Hongjoong strummed the infamous synthesizer opening onto his guitar. In an egotistical stroke, he stepped up to his mic and yelled into the crowd, “Take this, Pirate Kings!”

The music radiated from the stage in a wicked energy laced with revenge and the song’s undeniable notoriety. They were doing it, they were covering Separate Ways and no matter the amount of anxiety that ran through Hongjoong’s body, he wasn’t stopping. He was meant to play music. He was meant to be on stage to rile a crowd and play his heart out. No one was going to take that from him or his bandmates. Especially not over a Journey song.

Jongho took out his earpiece, not needing it for the anthem. He found his voice in the opening words of the song which gained more cheers from the crowd than he was expecting. The camera flashes and the sea of phones being held up stunned him. This really might have been the best thing they’ve ever done.

“Here we stand worlds apart, hearts broken in two...two…two,”

The crowd was electrified. Whatever the repercussions of this moment were drowned out to the sound of a bellowing theater begging for more. Hongjoong strummed on his guitar in a Journey-induced ecstasy. This is how music was supposed to make people feel. It was meant to tickle you from head to toe, to make you feel rebellious, daring, free… Alive. When he glanced at his band, their eyes were all closed to latch onto the moment’s bliss. Canceling one sense to heighten another. They played on. When his time arrived Hongjoong pressed his lips into the mic and belted out to his heart’s content the chorus:

“Someday, love will find you. Break those chains that bind you. One night will remind you how we touched and went our separate ways!”

The music carried them to the end of the song. The bass drum’s beat cascaded like the heartbeat of a wave throughout the building. Hongjoong was unable to recall how long they played the refrain after the singing had finished. It felt like a crime to end the song with the crowd’s reaction only increasing. However, to give the members a rest, they lifted their hands off their instruments and followed Jongho to finish off the song in another round of a capella.

The holler from the audience tore the air asunder in a roar. The Guerrillas had concluded their concert with more pomp and circumstance than they ever had imagined. Their energy had made an irrefutable shift and it was palpable. More palpable than the sweat that dripped of Hongjoong’s cheek into his mouth and more intense than the spotlights that blinded his tired eyes. They were meant to make it big, even if it meant making a few enemies along the way. They were The Guerrillas, who could stop them?

Twenty minutes passed of the band waving and bowing to their fans, catching thrown gifts, dancing and singing until their feet burned. Off-stage Jongho noticed the group's manager ushering to them while holding up a phone screen. He was attempting to beckon the rock stars over after their departure from the stage. Judging by the shaking green phone icon, someone was calling the manager. Riding off the high, the members shook each other in anticipation. Was it a major record company? Was it the local news channel asking for an interview? Who was on the other end of that line that promised everything the four of them had ever dreamed of?

“Hongjoong, you take it. Tonight was your idea.” San laughed like a drunk man. He was elated.

Backstage they huddled around the phone and leaned in together. Hongjoong wiped away some beads of sweat before pressing the screen and holding the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Is this The Guerrillas?”

“Yes, this is Kim Hongjoong.”

“I’d like to speak with you about your performance tonight.”

Yunho and San stomped their feet, hyping each other up in unhinged excitement.

Hongjoong calmed them and kept his cool, “Of course, can I ask who is calling?”

Seconds melted into decades once Hongjoong’s question rolled off his tongue. The joy didn’t seem to end even as the sky’s limit was reached and they continued to soar. Whoever it was, Hongjoong would marry them. He was going to repay the person by placing a big, fat diamond ring on their finger. His dreams were coming true. Sold out stadiums, merchandise, photoshoots, studios with thousand dollar equipment. He could make the music he loved with his three most beloved friends in the entire universe. All he had to do was wait for a reply before he could pop the big question.

The speaker crackled and all four hearts stopped.

“This is Park Seonghwa, we need to talk.”

-----

this work is also posted on my ao3 so it is not stolen and the pic at the top is not mine so i do not take credit // tags: @thesafecafe​

[captainhunnicutt]

Tagged by @pomegranate and @mashbrainrot: 6 albums I’ve been listening to a lot lately! Plus one track from each that I’m especially fond of:

1). Kevin Devine - "Put Your Ghost to Rest"

For a number of years, I went up and down the east coast following Kevin - in a completely normal and sane way. Seriously. He became a fast friend and still is to this day. When he released his second full length album, that's when I financially had the resources to start travelling to see his shows. This album was his fourth release, and I was lucky enough to see him on release day. The song "Just Stay"... it made me cry the first time I heard it. "She said it's pretty, but you hate yourself, I can hear it clear as day. I said I sing like this, it sounds worse than it is... I'm okay, okay?" When I heard those lyrics, I just lost it - for him. He's such a good soul and deserves so much good. There was a period of about five years where I didn't see him, and when I finally was able to see him again, the hug he gave me before his set said so much. When he got up on stage that night, he said something like "I'm changing the setlist on a whim. Someone is here tonight who I didn't expect to see, and I know she loves this song. This is for her," and he played this.

2.) Eisley - "The Valley"

During the height of the Long Island emo scene, Jesse Lacey shoved Eisley down everyone's throats. It's the only good thing he ever did (dude ended up being the biggest piece of shit ever), besides legitimately pushing a guy off of of me at a party. The guy was being a real fucking nightmare and Jesse came in swinging, and honestly I appreciated it. Anyway. Eisley. They are hauntingly beautiful. The first time I played an Eisley song for Robby, his response was "I feel like crying," and to this day I don't know if that was a compliment or not.

3.) Manchester Orchestra - "Where Have You Been?"

The best tour I ever followed was Brand New, Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra. I went to 7 shows on that tour, and every night was a like a g'damn religious experience. Don't listen to people who try to shoot it down, follow the band. Spend the money. Travel from one end of the country to the other just to see your favorite bands play live. You won't regret it. "Where Have You Been," was one of the songs where Brand New, Kevin and Manchester all played together on stage. When the yelling "GOD MY GOD MY GOD, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" starts, you could hear a pin drop. I have goosebumps thinking about it.

4.) Death Cab for Cutie - "Narrow Stairs"

No big thoughts on this one. I just really love anything Death Cab, and this one has been getting played most recently. "Plans" is a close second. That opening bassline of "I Will Possess Your Heart?" Seriously? Perfection.

5.) Kings of Leon - "Come Around Sundown"

I'm sorry. My music taste seems to have frozen to anything before 2010. I think because there's so many good memories tied directly to musicians, bands and songs. I remember when this album dropped. I remember it leaking and my community of friends all losing our g'damn minds. A lot of KoL songs found their way into "The Blacklist," which was a great show too.

6.) Incubus - "Morning View"

Incubus has been this strange constant since I was a teenager. My sophomore year boyfriend introduced me to them as we got high in his basement. Very cliche. They were also the first band I ever followed on tour, and are all very sweet and down to earth guys. They are about to release a reimagined version of this album, and... I have mixed feelings about what I've heard. The original is far superior.

Tagging @bardengarde, @kejfeblintz, @valenshawke, @veryliteralsin, @lynnsthoughts, @angelt0rres and anyone else that wants to do it, I guess.

[filthforfriends]

We have to talk about these MÅ covers

On February 17th 2018, Måneskin performed at the Afterlife Live Club in Ponte San Giovanni. They played a medley of "Prisoner" by James Arthur and "Watch Me" by Jaden Smith. Måneskin performed the first minute and 42 seconds of "Watch Me." That section of the song includes the n-word twice and Damiano said it both times.

“Watch Me” starts at 2:26. The n-word is said at 2:43 and 3:44.

Below are the lyrics from the section Måneskin performed. Since Damiano defers from them, I’ve put all the lyrics he recites as they were written in bold.

Watch me (x3) do this / Watch me (x3) do this

Can't find me up up and away / I give a fuck bout your wave / My n@#$% I surf everyday / Drownin' my soul in the basement, aye / I ain't got much in the bank / I got a lot I could say / Tied up with goddesses, hey / I hope you forgive my mistakes

Yeah, ride around with a renegade / You should take a seat, save your energy / I try to heal the gods with a band-aid / And in time of need, you call your enemies

I landed in Ibiza and I need a visa / I ain't playin' with you this no Mamma Mia / Need a Hottie Tottie with a body, yeah / I just spit the knowledge then I'm out of here

That's what they yell when we come around / (Yeah!) This is your town? Well we run it now / (Yeah!) How big is your army, a hunnit thou? / (Yeah!) If you want the rain then we comin' down

I stumbled it cool / I'm awesome, kick flip in the Carsons / We should run for the pool / I got the fire flow, the department exhausted / I owe nothing to you / I'm in the Tahoe, man you making me nauseous / Pullin up with the crew / You such a hypebeast, man you making me vomit

Look / Watch me (x3) do this / It's always been more than the music / You riding waves in the back of my cruise ship

Look, watch me / Watch me (x2) do this / Since 2012 I've been the coolest / If you do not get it, my n@#$% you foolish

That's what they yell when we come around / (Yeah!) This is your town? Well we run it now / (Yeah!) How big is your army, a hunnit thou? / (Yeah!) If you want the rain then we comin' down

The Context:

This video was filmed during the first concert of Måneskin’s first tour. Creatively named Tour 2018, it ran from February to June. It's also been referred to as the "covers tour" or "X factor tour." For the sake of this post, I'm ignoring TV and radio gigs because those performances only have one or two songs. The only relevant dates are actual concerts (because the entire setlist was performed).

I found this image of the Tour 2018 setlist on Twitter. I can't locate its source, but I assume it was posted by Maneskin then deleted because of spelling errors. "Watch Me" is misspelled "Eatch Me," (hence the typo in the video title.) This spelling error is why theres conveniently no record of "Watch Me" being in a Maneskin setlist.

The setlist from the Afterlife Live Club 2/17/18 falsely credits "Catch Me" by Yellow Claw instead of "Watch Me" by Jaden Smith. As we can see in the video, Damiano clearly isn't singing the lyrics to "Catch Me." Because this was a relatively small tour, there are only setlists available for four other dates. Casa della Musica 2/24/18, The Cage Theatre 3/8/18, Vox Club 3/11/18, Santeria Toscana 31 4/20/18. Since the subsequent setlists were based on the first one, each make the same mistake of crediting "Catch Me" by Yellow Claw instead of "Watch Me" by Jaden Smith.

With so little evidence, I can't definitively say how many times Damiano used the n-word, but I can make an educated guess. I estimate Maneskin performed “Watch Me” about 22 times from February to April of 2018 on the following dates: Ponte San Giovanni 2/17/18, Naples 2/24/18, Modugno 2/25/18, Palermo 3/2/18, Catania 3/3/18, Livorno 3/8/18, Florence 3/9/18, Nonantola 3/11/18, Bologna 3/15/18 & 3/17/18, Parma 3/18/18, Milan 3/21/18 & 3/23/18 & 3/25/18 & 4/20/18, Roncade 3/24/18, Bassano Del Grappa 3/26/18, Turin 3/30/18, Genoa 3/31/18, Rome 4/6/18 & 4/7/18 & 4/22/18. Unless he got educated, that'd mean Damiano said the n-word 44 times in about two months.

Remember that Maneskin profited off this tour where the n-word was sang twice a night. They made their first album and started their career with that money.

Four Years Later:

"Watch Me" wasn't the end of Maneskin using racial slurs in their covers. Damiano sings the c-slur twice in Manskin's cover of "Black Skinhead" by Kanye West, but avoids the n-word. This means Maneskin are aware that "Watch Me" was a mistake, but can't be fucking bothered to didn't google a list of racial slurs when covering another Black artist.

The c-slur is said at 1:05 and 1:21.

Maneskin performed "Black Skinhead" from 2019 to 2021. Above is the final rendition on June 16th during a TikTok livestream from Berlin. Damiano received minor backlash for using the c-slur on that occasion and issued an apology on Twitter. Notably, Maneskin have never acknowledged using the n-word in "Watch Me." Hypothetically, that could lead a person to believe that Damiano's primary motivation for apologizing for using the c-slur was that he got called out. Considering his support for Black Lives Matter, the perception that Damiano prioritizes marketability over genuine remorse looks like some lazy ass, token allyship that only a white dude would get congratulated for hypocritical.

Maneskin performed an abridged version of "Black Skinhead," from beginning to 2:16 on the original track. Let's take a close look at which lyrics Damiano censored.

For my theme song / My leather black jeans on / My by any means on🔎Reference to Malcolm X’s speech at the OAAU’s founding, where he repeats that Afro-Americans will find equality in the following sectors: 1. Establishment 2. Self-defense 3. Education 4. Politics & Economics 5. Social “by any means necessary.” 

Pardon, I'm getting my scream on / Enter the kingdom / But watch who you bring home / They see a black man with a white woman / At the top floor they gone come to kill King Kong🔎 Originating with slave traders, there is a long history of Black Americans being characterized as apes. The dehumanization is used to justify Black suffering. Notice the initials KKK, as in Klu Klux Klan, which are also present in the titles alternative spelling, "BLKKK SKKKNHEAD."

Middle America packed in / Came to see me in my Black skin 🔎In this version Damiano avoids the phrase "in my Black skin," but in past performances he sang the lyric.

Number one question they asking / Fuck every question you asking / If I don't get ran out by Catholics / Here come some conservative Baptists / Claiming I'm overreacting / Like them black kids in Chiraq bitch 🔎 “Chiraq” is a reference to the extremely high homicide rate in Chicago. According to BBC, more Americans have been killed in Chicago than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Most victims are young Black men.

Four in the morning, and I'm zoning / They say / I'm possessed, it's an omen / I keep it 300, like the Romans / 300 bitches, where's the Trojans? / Baby we living in the moment / I've been a menace for the longest / But I ain't finished, I'm devoted / And you know it, and you know it

So follow me up cause this shit's about to go / I'm doing 500, I'm outta control / But there's nowhere to go / And there's no way to slow / If I knew what I knew in the past / I would've been blacked out on your ass 🔎In this case, "blacked out" isn't necessarily a racialized term. It refers to a dramatic moment of anger so intense that the speaker doesn't remember their actions.

Stop all that c*%& shit 🔎This term comes from C*%& Songs, which were played at minstrel shows. Kanye is telling someone to stop acting out a caricature of blackness for the consumption of white people.

Early morning cartoon shit / This is that goon shit / Fuck up your whole afternoon shit / I'm aware I'm a wolf / Soon as the moon hit / I'm aware I'm a king / Back out the tomb bitch / Black out the room, bitch 🔎 Damiano repeats the line above to avoid singing this lyric, which actually isn't offensive. In this case, "black out" refers to making a room completely dark by closing curtains etc.

Stop all that c*%& shit / These n@#$%* ain't doin' shit (x2) / Come on homie what happened / You n@#$%* ain't breathing you gasping / These n@#$%* ain't ready for action / (Ready) Ready for action (Action)

In Conclusion:

Damiano censored each lyric with the word "black" to avoid being offensive. In addition to those three instances, the world "black" is repeated in the background 14 times. If Damiano thinks it's offensive to say the word "black" in a song that contains it 17 times, is titled "Black Skinhead," and is about the Black experience, he shouldn't be singing it at all. He censored lyrics that don't reference race because he doesn't know what the song is about. That ignorance is the same reason he didn't know that c*%& is a slur.

Yes, Maneskin should have educated themselves about a song they didn't understand with words they didn't recognize before performing it in front of thousands. Yes, they should have learned their lesson since racism is literally the consequence. Yes, this mistake is inexcusable from BLM allies. However, in reality, Maneskin shouldn't have performed "Black Skinhead" at all. The fact that this song wasn't made for white people's consumption is obvious from the inflammatory title. Lyrically, Kanye is describing his nuanced and complex lived experience as a Black American surviving the intersection of oppressive colonialist forces. "Watch Me" may not have substantive lyrics, but "Black Skinhead" and its subject matter is not to be repackaged into a catchy little rock song by four white Europeans for their mostly white fanbase. It's not our cultural experience and it's not intended to be adopted it as such. I don't know how else to explain it.

"we have artists who are geniuses...When you and I begin to support the black artists, then the black artists can play that black role...when he can sing and dance to please black men, he sings a different song and he dances a different step. When we get together, we’ve got a step all our own. We have a step that nobody can do but us, because we have a reason for doing it that nobody can understand but us."

-Malcolm X

[roads-to-madness]

concert ramblings under the cut!

The first band, Pistols At Dawn, were freakin awesome! Very fun to watch! Unfortunately we were a little late for their set and had to find our seats, but we got to hear a good two and a half songs. I'm absolutely obsessed with this one:

Mammoth WVH left a very positive impression too! And let me tell you, I learned a very valuable lesson in checking out the supporting acts before the show

(anyway hi Frank it was nice to see you again 👋 last time was probably in 2016 or so with SMKC 😂)

NOW ALTER BRIDGE AAAAAAAAAAA

I just about lost my mind when I saw Myles. It'd been way too long since the last time. I stood up since our section was pretty empty and there was no one behind me to block. The people next to me did not stand up 😂 whatever I was there for a good time

First few songs in the set:

Silver Tongue

Addicted to Pain

Ghost of Days Gone By

Holiday

Broken Wings

NOW GET THIS Broken Wings is one of my absolute favorite songs of theirs. In the middle of it, the lady next to me offered tickets she had to CLOSER SEATS. And when I say closer I mean WOW. The difference was insane. I always say I have the best luck when it comes to concerts and this really proves it. Either that or I was just really annoying them who knows lol

the view in our original seats:

the view in our new seats:

(look y'all I found a blurry Flip 😂) sorry about the blur on all the pics btw, my phone is actually trash with a battery!

the next song was Burn It Down (with Mark's lovely vocals taking lead!! 🥰 He's amazing)

They ended the first part of the set with Cry of Achilles!! Always great!

Then Myles did one acoustic song on his own: Watch Over You, dedicated to someone in the audience wearing an NSYNC shirt. Y'know to make sure they were ok in that crowd lmao. Very brave choice of clothing

Mark joined to play an acoustic version of In Loving Memory. These two dudes actually made me cry

thanks guys 😤

They transitioned the band back in with Blackbird. Genius. Didn't think they could recover from making me cry that fast but they did. Amazing!

the rest of the set:

Come to Life (so much fun! aaaaa fave!!)

Pawns & Kings

Stay (more of Mark's amazing vocals!!)

hold your hands up high and throw 'em in the air / show 'em that you care too much to feel this way again

Isolation

Metalingus

Flip and Brian were introduced during Metalingus! I yelled for them so much my throat hurts!

Encore: Rise Today

Even with the awesome seats I wasn't close enough to catch anything flying into the audience but it's always entertaining to watch! I'm worried Flip is gonna hurt someone with a drumstick eventually 😂

Myles threw one of the setlists out as a paper airplane 🥰 adorableee

It was seriously one of the best nights I've had in a long time. It's up there with my favorite concert I've ever attended (Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs). Maybe we'll call it a tie now..?

Anyway AB, when can we do this again??

[concerthopperblog]

Der Abgrund Tour 2023- Withered w/ Bathe & Omenkiller: Live at Grantski Records

Withered is a death/doom/black/sludge metal band from Atlanta, Georgia that formed as a band back in 2003. The band consists of founding member Mike Thompson (guitars/vocals), Rafay Nabeel (bass), Dan Caydeo (guitars/vocals), and Beau Brandon (drums). They are signed to the French label Season of Mist and have released five (5) LPs, one (1) live DVD, and one (1) single. Their latest LP, Verloren, was reviewed on Concerthopper by Richard Davenport and you can check it out by following this link. Verloren is a fantastic album from start to finish and is one of the records that I play regularly from my collection. Mike Thompson has been the force behind keeping Withered steady since their inception in 2003. As the founding member, you can sense the passion Mike has for his fans, his fellow bandmates, and their music.

Withered recently embarked on a tour that started May 18th in New Orleans, LA. and will conclude on June 4th at the Brickyard in Knoxville, TN. I was thrilled to see that Grantski Records was able to snag a date between their Columbus, GA., and Charleston, S.C. dates. There are some amazing and significant metal bands from Atlanta not named Mastodon that also deserve recognition based on the scope of their work. Withered is one of those bands. I recommend checking out Withered any time they are playing near you, but only if you want your face melted off. From start to finish, Withered played a variety of crushing and brutal songs from their intense discography. At one point someone from the crowd yelled, “Your drummer is badass!”. Mike smiled and replied, “Yeah, we know”. That person is correct because Beau Brandon has been blasting beats for Withered since 2007 while impressing their fans with his skills ever since.

Head over to Withered’s Official Bandcamp page today and check out some ‘blackened metal’! If you collect vinyl, then you still can pick up a copy of Verloren (black version or clear marbled vinyl), Grief Relic (black version), or Frolie Circulaire (black version – an autographed variant is also offered for this record). Don’t worry CD fans, they still have some in stock: Verloren, Grief Relic, or Frolie Circulaire.

You can read my previous review exclusively on Concerthopper.com featuring Withered from their performance at last year’s Snowblind Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

Bathe is a noisecore/mathcore/doom/sludge metal band from Columbia, South Carolina that formed as a band in 2014. The band consists of Jon Scott (bass), Alex Strickland (vocals), Paul Huff (guitars), and David Scott (drums). The band has released one (1) LP, one (1) single, and two (2) EPs. This would be my first time checking out Bathe perform, and I was excited to see what they were bringing to the table. When they were setting up and placing a pulpit on the stage, I knew this was about to be a heavy ride. They gained a new fan and I hope to catch them on stage again soon.

You can also check out Bathe’s Official Bandcamp page today and show them some support!

Omenkiller, best known for delivering some heavy ‘Savannah Beatdowns’, is a four-piece deathcore band that hails from none other than Savannah, GA. The band consists of Ben (vocals), Chris (bass), Jace (drums), and Lily (guitar). Omenkiller might have kicked off this evening’s festivities, but do not let that fool you at all. Omenkiller put on a brutal performance that had everyone in Grantski’s head banging and singing along to their set.

Check out Omenkiller’s setlist from this show below:

·         “Hellfire and Holy Water”

·         “Phantom Limb”

·         “Nemesis”

·         “Gehenna”

·         “Home Wrecker”

Follow this link to check out Omenkiller’s Official Spotify page/Instagram/YouTube! Channel today and show them some support!

Curious about Concerthopper? You can find more music related articles, interviews, various photo galleries, indie music reviews, our very own ‘Bars & Bites’ section, our exclusive “She Said, She Said” column, or become a Concerthopper at www.concerthopper.com. Sign up for our monthly newsletter by following this link: The Setlist! Please ‘Like’ our page on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date in 2022, on all music-related events/festivals such as: Riverbend Festival, Relix Presents Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, and Keller Williams and The Keels: Live at The Eastern, The Parallax II Tour: Between The Buried and Me Live @ The Masquerade, So Much For (Tour) Dust: Fall Out Boy/Bring Me the Horizon @ Darien Lake Amphitheater, AmericanaFest (2023), Souls of Mischief: 93’ til Infinity 30th Anniversary Tour @ City Winery (Atlanta), Yob and Pallbearer: Live at the Masquerade, Ghost RE-Imperatour U.S.A. with Amon Amarth: Ascend Amphitheater, The Dark Horizon Tour: In This Moment, Motionless in White, Fit For a King, & From Ashes to New – Live at Buffalo Riverworks, The BabyKlok Tour: BabyMetal & DethKlok @ Coco-Cola Roxy (Atlanta), The Remade in Misery Tour: Memphis My Fire w/ Norma Jean, Secrets, and Saul @ The L (Horsehead, N.Y.), Celebrating 20 Years of Ocean Avenue: Yellowcard @ St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview (N.Y.), The High & Holy Tour: Killer Mike @ The Tabernacle,  Beast in Black: Live @ Exit/In, It Still Moves Anniversary Show: My Morning Jacket @ Fox Theatre, Nth America Tour: Wolfmother @ The Eastern, and the 12th Annual Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival, following us on all social media formats: Concerthopper on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Also, you can follow my concert hopping on Facebook and Instagram for even more photos not available on Concerthopper.com.

[akwardlyuncool]

Are Back Here Again?!

So in the most rude way possible When Were Young Fest has decided to announce the lineup for their 2023 date. And I’m not being facetious when I say rude, because the 2022 dates haven’t even happened yet and they’re already about to start the pre-sale for the next one. We don’t know how well or rather how absolutely terrible this year’s is going to be, but hey why not just ride off on the cloud of imaginary good vibes. I have no doubt in my mind that my and other folk’s anxiety will soon pop off if it hasn’t already, this is just the beginning. We’ve seen what outdoor festivals with big names like this have looked like this year (look up MCR at Riot Fest!) and tell me this isn’t asking for more trouble, that is if When We Young Year 1 lives to even tell the tale.

Now I don’t want to spend this whole post yelling with my WARNING SIGN, mainly because you can read my 2022 WWWY Fest post that I did back in January if you want more in depth reasons why I think this is a terrible idea. No, today I’m going to cry.

If you’ve followed me for a decent amount of time or had a musical conversation with me, you know that my two favorite bands are Green Day and Relient K. My dream tour is a double headline featuring both of them and I get to pick the setlist. (Remember it’s dreamland and in my fantasy I get two kinda opposite bands on the same stage and I get to pick the setlist.) If you’ve listened to those two bands, you’d know that they might wind up on the same “elder emo/pop-punk” playlist, but the idea of them being on the same tour isn’t likely. Warped Tour made some lineups like that happen, however even Warped Tour had it’s modern limitations. When We Were Young decided to make that happen. The catch is however, that it’s still flying in dreamland for me.

If this was happening in my state that be one thing, however convincing other 30 somethings who have kids and jobs and other important day to day stuff going on, would be hella rough and that’s not including the expense of it all. Basically the chances of me getting to be able to go (I’m not doing The Vegas by myself) are very slim to none and I just want to be sad about that for a while lol. Actual personal dream tours are a very rare sighting and part of me just wishes I could be happy that this is even taking place at all, but it’s posing difficult. I eventually got over this years festival because it all seemed to good to be true and a bodily hazard, but this new one is gonna take a minute.

That being said and not to knock the current lineup, but the 2023 roster is substantially better. I say that because there’s too much of my super core here to say I’d take Set It Off, who I absolutely love, over the original line up of Something Corporate. There are I believe 6 bands on that lineup that have made some of my favorite albums of all time, which is un-heard of, even for the most dedicated of Pop-Punk fans, to see in any given tour.  Again there’s red flag and shock here. Will come back after 2022′s festival is over and see if dreams came true or if all of our suspicions were grossly correct.

So Once Again I’m Gonna List Off The Top 10 Bands I’d See If Magic Were To Happen and I Get To Go:

Green Day

They are my favorite band and I have yet to see them live, so a priority they will be.

Relient k

I will do whatever it takes to make seeing them and Green Day in one day happen.

Something Corporate

Good Charlotte

Gym Class Heroes

YellowCard

They would be higher, however I’ve gotten to see them at Warped Tour, so I can prioritize a few other bands first. (Even if I was in the back for that show.)

Simple Plan

Again all my favorite bands from 2004 in one day would be a dream.

Bowling For Soup

Sum 41

The Academy Is...

I don’t talk about how much I enjoy The Academy Is... enough and would very much like to see them live.

PS: Just reading that list is making my brain explode. Like it can’t compute that anyone would get to see even a fraction of those bands live, in a single day. Maddness.

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Also to fight here instead of Twitter, here are 2 “hot takes:”

One, not to knock anyone’s music tastes, but if you saw this lineup and were most excited for 5SOS, the ticket you don’t have should be revoked. You can not sit at the adult table this evening as you are obviously not an adult.

Two, if you’re comparing 2022′s headliners to bands simply on the 2023 lineup and not headlining you need to sit all the way down. ATL and NFG are not the headliners, they have not downgraded.