#Concerts and Events 2016

[sadaveniren]

Favorite pictures of Harry and Louis attending events together since the 1D hiatus started

Bonus:

[alltheprettyplaces]

hello new eras outfit option has entered

[kirsctein]

x

[andhumanslovedstories]

There's so many horrible things happening in America right now that it has been interesting to see what individual horrors hurt me personally the most. I grew up going to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Musicals, plays, concerts, that weird bust of JFK, playing around on terrace during intermissions, putting on a velvet dress that you're going to ruin dropping a milk dud in your lap and not noticing until it's fully melted, wearing the pinchy shiny shoes that are the training bras of women's formal footwear, operas I didn't like but did love, jazz I didn't understand but still fascinated me, red carpet, big stairs, the absolute nightmare amount of experiences I had as a new driver as I repeatedly got trapped in the Kennedy Center's fucking private DC island or whatever the hell is going on traffic-wise, free performances on small side stages, getting to see an enormous production on the Center's most enormous stage, all of which was accessed by walking through that a long, tall hallway lined with flags of the world that made you feel like a dignitary attending the most important even in the world.

And now Trump's taken it over. He fired its board. He appointed one of his loyalists to run it. I want to throw up.

Sometimes I miss DC so much. I love the Pacific Northwest and expect I'll live here for the rest of my life, but this isn't my hometown. I grew up the edge of the District. I've lost cumulative years of my life stuck in traffic on the inner loop and outer loop. Because of the Smithsonian, it used to be so baffling to me that anyone ever had to pay to get into a museum. I've used the Washington DC zoo as a shortcut to a different part of the city because it's free to enter. You couldn't count the amount of knockoff Spider-man popsicles that I've eaten sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. My reading tastes were molded by Kramer Books in Dupont Circle. I spent afternoons walking around the National Mall, normally just a big empty field until there's an event--book fair, country music program, international cuisine, whatever--at which point for a day or a weekend or a week it becomes a sea of tents and stages. I went to protests outside the Capital and the White House about the war in Iraq. I froze my toes off watching Obama's 2008 presidential inauguration.

It seemed like everyone's family touched the federal government in some way. Everyone's family had moved here because they were military or state department or a political consultant or worked with an NGO or some other reason that meant you had to be here, in the nation's capital. Plenty of people had connections to the federal government that we more hush-hush. Like kids in class straight up going, "I have no idea what my parents do for a living. They're not allowed to tell me." High schoolers regularly, accidentally drove into the CIA parking lot and got escorted out because the premises were that accessible. My family moved here because my dad is a reporter who ended up covering international trade. (Imagine how much his job sucks right now.) He switched beats one summer to cover the White House instead. He got to fly on Air Force One. He got official Air Force One M&Ms. I was SO disappointment my dad didn't work there for Bush to call on him by nickname.

Every day my family got The Washington Post. I read the comics and the kid's page, then the rest of the Style section, then Metro, then news. I learned to read from it. We wrapped our delicate Christmas ornaments with its pages. We used yesterday's papers to clean our windows because they didn't leave streaks. I took journalism in high school. You can't IMAGINE how much and how frequently we talked about Watergate. When Post changed its motto to "Democracy Dies in Darkness" after Trump's election in 2016 that meant something to me. I knew Bezos owned the paper now, but that was still my paper, and the motto spoke to something I fervently believed: if people just knew what was happening, they wouldn't allow it to happen. If you expose a problem, people will naturally agree that it is a problem and that we should do something to fix it. Flash forward to Trump's third fucking campaign, and the newspaper wouldn't endorse a presidential candidate. Chickenshit cowardice. Then they change the motto. "Riveting Storytelling for All of America." Eat shit. You're nothing now.

Politics in America is just telling everyone how much you hate Washington, DC so that they'll elect you so you can move to DC. Well, guys, the city fucking hates you too. Republicans will never give the District actually meaningful political representation because no one in that city would vote for them. It's not just the policies; it's the contempt. No one in the new administration loves the city they schemed and lied and stooped to take over. It's just iconography to them, and all they care about is taking that iconography for themselves. Trump doesn't give a shit about the summer program for the Kennedy Center. He has never seen a show at the Kennedy Center. When he was president, he never attended the annual awards. He's trying to destroy one of the most significant places of my life and I'm genuinely unsure if he has ever stepped for inside of it.

[aizshallnotbefound]

missing you

You want jiyong back too— but you couldn’t be more discreet about it

Jiyong’s pov | ft. @makeitworse. Contains: 2ne1!reader x gdragon. Social media au collab, y/n's pov

a/n: collab post with @makeitworse ! congratulation on hitting 300 followers hon <3

r/kpopcelebgossip user: So idk if any of yall have noticed but remember during like 2015-2016 (basically MADE era) y/n and g dragon were like in a speculated relationship right? It was so obvious because of their on stage chemistry , behind the scenes etc etc and i was just stalking gd’s page (peaceminusone) and i was js simply scrolling and i saw literally no pics of them together back when gd posted alot. And i checked his other accounts too and literally no pics of y/n. I checked y/n’s page as well and NO pics at all of them everything is Wiped. No official statement yet but y’all… Do we think it’s over?? Top Comments: user: NONONO IT CANT BE SAY SIKE RN user: I CHECKED THEIR PAGE TOO- the two unliked all of their posts

user: i checked y/n’s spam acc too, literally no pics of jiyong, she literally unliked all posts about gd from all of her accounts. user: they were THE it couple of the k-pop industry no way they ended things like this. I genuinely thought they would get married 😭 user: when is g-dragons ver of eyes nose and lips gonna drop || user: this better be like tae and min hyorin’s breakup where they get back together or im gonna jump user: This is worse than when my parents divorced 😩 user: this better be a PR stunt- MY PARENTS CANT GET DIVORCED LIKE THIS  dispatch.co.kr [EXCLUSIVE] “Something’s Off?”… Idol G-DRAGON and Idol Y/N Allegedly Call It Quits After Fans Spot Deleted Photos and Unfollows  K-pop fans are speculating about a possible breakup between top idols G-dragon and Y/n, after a series of sudden changes on their social media accounts—raising eyebrows over an alleged romantic relationship that was never officially confirmed since 2015.

According to Dispatch’s exclusive monitoring, the two stars quietly unliked each other’s recent and old Instagram posts, and deleted several photos in which they appeared together. Though their agencies have never acknowledged any relationship, fans have long suspected that the two were more than just “industry friends.” 👀 The Evidence? Gone.

Fans first noticed something strange earlier this week when Y/n’s Instagram feed no longer included a carousel photo posted in September 2016 featuring G-dragon backstage at a music show. Within hours, G-dragon also deleted some story highlight’s of Y/N with her kpop group 2NE1.

Furthermore, the pair no longer engage with each other’s posts, despite previously dropping frequent likes and subtle emojis. The once-public digital trail has gone cold. Were They Ever Dating?

Neither party has ever commented on dating rumors, though they were spotted several times wearing what fans described as “matching couple items,” including rings and other accessories. The two was seen many times in events, cruises etc. the two idols was also seen attending eachothers concerts at times secretly. y/n’s car was seen multiple times near his penthouse as well. Their on stage chemistry was fan loved and fueled more to the dating speculations

While some claimed it was just friendship, others believed there was “something more.” than just colleagues or friends 🔕 No Comment from Agencies

When contacted, both agencies declined to comment, stating, “We do not respond to speculation regarding artists’ private lives.” 🌀 Fans React

Online forums are buzzing with mixed reactions—some expressing disappointment, others still questioning if the relationship ever existed in the first place.

“If they weren’t together, why delete the photos now?” “Even their friends used to tease them in live streams… something definitely happened.”

Whether it was a quiet romance or a close friendship that soured, one thing’s clear: something has changed—and fans noticed.

📷 Dispatch will continue to monitor developments.Whether it was love, friendship, or just rumors, we wish both artists the best as they move forward.

r/kpopcelebgossip [DISCUSSION] Y/n is deleting and blocking fans who mention  g-dragon or the alleged breakup — seems like lowkey confirmation? 👀 Posted by User - 2 hours ago Kpop fans going crazy rn because of g-dragon and y/n alleged break up but yall my sister went to her recent post and commented about it AND SHE WAS BLOCKED??? Apparently she is taking down comments about her and gd Like… she’s NEVER done this before?? She’s always been super chill about people commenting whatever—even when shipping rumors were flying before. But now if you even mention him, your comment disappears or you suddenly get restricted 🫠 saw at least 4 fans on Twitter and Insta stories saying they were:

-Soft blocked or removed from followers

-Had their comment about the “deletion/unfollow drama” removed-Got DM blocked after tagging her with “hope you’re okay” type comments

this lowkey feels like confirmation that something DID happen, right?

Top Comments: /user: At this point i wont be surprised if she turns off her comments for a while. Some of yall are really taking it too far with some comments. Privacy is a thing yk?

/user: SHE BLOCKED ME TOO- i put a g dragon gif and she blocked my ass 😭

/user: She was letting people ship her for months. This sudden wipeout screams breakup.

user: Still waiting for Dispatch to drop the “deleted story screenshots” like they always do lol.

/user: I feel bad for her. Must be hard dealing with this stuff publicly. The way fans dissect everything can’t help. Especially the way this would spread through korea gossip media channels

/user: her pr team going WILD with the block button. This is the most aggressive reaction she’s ever had on social. If they weren’t dating… why delete comments at all?

/user: If I ever get blocked by my bias for mentioning her “rumored ex,” I will cry and also make it my whole personality.

/user: She deleted every single reference to jiyong including that old comment under his birthday post. That was the silent nail in the coffin for me tbh.

[DISCUSSION] Idol Y/N A Spotted With Mystery Man Posted by u/kpop_gossip_queen · 27 July 2024 Some photos came out earlier this week of Y/n walking with a man in what looks like Tokyo. Nothing dramatic, just the two of them walking side by side. Not much pda, both masked up and dressed pretty casually. Still, people immediately started speculating — mainly because the guy looks a lot like G-dragon, her ex boyfriend 

If you’re not familiar with their history, they were rumored to be dating around 2015. Never confirmed, but it was kind of an open secret. It was too obvious. They had a lot of lowkey interactions online, subtle matching items, and fans noticed some behind-the-scenes stuff during overlapping schedules, Liking eachothers posts and alot of pics of eachother. Things seemed to be off in 2017, right when G-dragon started his motte tour. That was the point where people started suspecting they were having issues. She usually attends bigbang concerts and gd’s tours whenever she has the time. She’s always seen in the crowd secretly and sometimes backstage pics but during motte tour she was never seen in the crowd ever she barley reposted about it like she usually does with all her industry friends. People thought she was focusing on her solo career or the bigger opinion which was they were having issues. By 2018, it became pretty clear they were done. y/n unliked a bunch of old posts about them, deleted comments that referenced their relationship (or the breakup), and generally stopped engaging with anything related to him. No official statement, but fans took that as confirmation. This all happened a few months (suspected december , november) after he came back from military service. Which marks the start of their hiatus. So naturally, when these new photos dropped, a lot of people jumped to conclusions. But after comparing recent pics and doing some basic digging, it’s clearly not jiyong. Here’s why:

-jiyong was recently seen in seoul and where y/n is it looks alot like tokyo and after some digging it looks like a familiar cafe in tokyo .

-This guy doesn’t have the same tattoos.

-He’s slightly taller and has a different build.

-y/n and Gd haven’t interacted in years, so a random public link-up seems unlikely without any hints at least like they usually did back in the days. - She’s been laying low for a while. From 2020, y/n been really under the radar in her hiatus. She occasionally posts about her cats, art or fashion but she’s avoided any public drama or dating speculation. Her pr team still deletes comments about them till this day. If this was a reconnection with jiyong, it seems weird she’d risk being seen in public so casually after every thing she has done to avoid when it first started No info yet on who the guy actually is — could be a friend, someone she works with, or maybe she’s quietly seeing someone new (most likely). Hard to say. She’s been keeping a pretty low profile lately, especially on social media, so this kind of sighting stood out.Anyway, just putting this here since I’ve seen a lot of people assuming it’s jiyong. I personally think It’s not. But the timing’s interesting considering how quiet she’s been for the past year or so. Even jiyong.

So what do you guys think?

Top Comments: /user: yeah that man aint GD he doesnt have his fashion sense

/user: I thought it might be him at first but the tattoos thing convinced me otherwise. No way he’d get them removed, and that guy’s hands are almost completely clean.

/user: Kinda surprised people even thought it was him. He literally is in korea rn that same morning. Y’all think he’s teleporting?.

/user: To be fair, they were such a strong rumor couple in 2015–2016. I get why people are curious. But yeah, it’s been years, and she wiped all traces of him back in 2018. That wasn’t a soft breakup — that was a clean digital erase. Its been 5 years since then, hard to digest ik but cmon guys

/user: Lowkey hoping it is someone new, she deserves to be happy. And private. After how messy the fandoms were during her rumored relationship with jiyong, I wouldn’t blame her for keeping it quiet now bc of how it turned out a bit messy last time.

/user: No offense but people forget these idols have friends. Not every man near a female idol is a secret boyfriend or ex. Sometimes it’s literally just a person they know.

/user: The fact that people still link her to g dragon every time she breathes near a man is wild. They haven’t even followed each other in YEARS.

/user: I miss her energy from 2015–2016 but she seems like she’s in a more peaceful phase now. Let the girl walk through Tokyo with a guy in peace 😭

/user: People saying “he walks like Gd” like… be serious 😭 The dude has a completely different gait and posture. gd always walked like he was storming a runway. This guy looks like he’s going to buy tofu.

Liked by chaelincl , daraxxi & 1,880,242 others yournamexx ✓ - starting off from the 1st

View comments User -  my childhood is returning and i couldn't be more happier 

_minzy_mz - 🔥❤ 

user -  WAIT SHE’S COMING BACK TO THE GROUP??? Im so glad to witness this 

User - PLEASE COME TO EUROPE I BEG

User -  welcome back queen <3

User - if i was there i would have fainted

User - THE QUEENS HAVE RETURNEDDDDDDD User - the date july 2024 must be marked RN

User - LITERALLY witnessing history rn View 35k more comments

[GOSSIP] Y/n caught dancing to BIGBANG at MAMA 2024— reactions to questions about his new album ubermensch 

Posted by u/kpop_gossip_queen · 1 hour ago If you guys saw the recent MAMA awards, y/n had kind of came back from her long term hiatus and the camera slightly panned towards y/n’s table and she was seen vibing and dancing along to fantastic baby and bang bang with her table members like old times. Fans were used to seeing her get all excited when they performed, so this was nothing new. She was singing and dancing along to their song like before. It didn’t seem like she was doing it out of anything too deep, just that usual vibe where everyone’s hyping each other up and vibing to the performance like its a bigbang concert—something fans have seen her do before. But now... it’s making everyone question things. 👀 1: The awkward interview moments Things took a turn when a few interviewers asked her some awkward questions backstage about g-dragons new album. Yikes.

One interviewer asked, “So, g-dragons new album is dropping soon, any thoughts?” She literally just smiled awkwardly and said, “I’m here to enjoy the show, thank you,” before walking away like she didn’t hear the question. 💀

Another one asked, “Are you supporting his comeback?” She gave a forced smile and responded, “I’m just here for the performances tonight.” It was so clear she wasn’t feeling the topic. What does this mean?Fans are reading a lot into the way she dodged the interview questions, and it’s giving major “let me distance myself from this conversation” energy. While she was vibing to their song like nothing was wrong, her responses say otherwise.

Top Comments:

/user: She was vibing because that's just who she is—she always hypes her friends. But then the awkwardness in the interview is CLEARLY saying, “I’m over it, I’m moving on”

/user: Girl was vibing because of the history with her group and his, but she’s not here for the press bringing him up. She’s distancing herself hard.

/user: I think she’s just tired of all the constant questions about him. She’s been fangirling for ages, but now that things are different, she’s probably just wanting peace.

/user: Yeah, she’s always hyped Bigbang, but you can’t ignore the energy shift when she was interviewed. I feel like the breakup hit harder than we realize.

user: I highkey feel like she’s still trying to keep it friendly, but the press won’t let her breathe. I just wish they’d stop asking her about it. Its been 5 years since then

user: Honestly, I think the whole situation is a lot more complicated than we’re seeing. She was vibing because she’s not petty, but she doesn’t want to talk about him because it’s personal. Her face says it all. But she has no beef with bigbang

Liked by gossip_loverVIP , YG_familyupdates & 880,242 others yournamexx ✓ - amazing reunion week with an old friend 💗 28 february 2024 View comments User -  WHOAAA WHO’S THAT???

User - iv seen this guy in her old music vids before-

user - gd gonna pull up with a new thirst trap now User_lvssteve - /@user be careful hon she might block your ass

User - if this man ends up being that alleged bf back in 2024 gd gonna throw hands while bonamana plays in the bg

User -  so happy she is posting more now and with her old friends 

User - whats this cuties @?  User - IS THIS THE 2024 MYSTERY MAN User - i can smell someone's jealousy rn

View 35k more comments

Liked by daraxxi , YG_familyupdates & 1,880,242 others yournamexx ✓ - ☕🌹 View comments User -  she tryna imitate someones style huh 👀

User - its giving a certain diva (trying so hard not to be blocked again)

user - mr dragon gonna pull up with a new matching thirst trap now User_lvssteve - loving the outfit my queen 

User - i need her phone case- please make it official merch girly

User -  QUEEN IS POSTING MORE AGAIN YIPPIEE

User - one chance i beg you diva

User - ngl how could someone ever break up with her User - someone is resisting to tap the like button badly rn View 20k more comments

Liked by chaelincl , YG_familyupdates & 779,251 others yournamexx ✓ - 🫰🌹 View comments User - IS THAT DAISIES?!?!

User - AM I SEEING STUFF OR IS THIS A GD REFERENCE 

user - her tryna make it as discreet as possible aint working anymore User - GD REFERENCE GOING HARDDD

User - she KNOWS what she’s doing

User -  nail care routine drop when

userlvrtop - he is resisting to repost badly i can smell it

User - /@userlvrtop - i bet he’s losing his shit seeing this rn

View 15k more comments

Liked by gossiplvr18_8 , _minzy_mz & 1,818,251 others yournamexx ✓ - made this silly touch some grass View comments

User - DAISY REFERENCE IS GOING HARD

User - she’s making it obvious atp  

user -  her cat in this too huh User - you cannot tell me she doesnt have a daisy bong yet

User - cant wait for a certain someone to post a rose pic

User -  they definitely have spam accounts to stalk eachother

Userlvsss - gd is definitely fangirling seeing all this View 17k more comments

Liked by d_lable_official , _minzy_mz & 70,251 others yournamexx ✓ - thank you @zip___ds for having me ! 💗 6  March View comments User - ji definitely asked daesung to set them up

user -  ABOUT TIME SHE WAS ON ZIP User - daesung was RESISTING to ask about the one who shall not be named 

User - so happy she’s still so close with daesung after all these years <3 User -  need a friendship like theirs

View 25k more comments

Liked by chaelincl , xxxibgdrgn & 779,251 others yournamexx ✓ - guess who ★

View comments

User - one chance just ONE CHANCE

User - AM I HIGH OR DID G DRAGON LIKE THIS??? Boy you aint slick userlvrtop - need her in a way that would make me shameless

user - IM CRASHING OUT RN GD LIKED GD LIKEDDDDDD User - GD FUCKING LIKED HOLY FUCKING SHIT

User -  jiyong’s ovulating yall

User -  BODY SERVING TEAAAA View 15k more comments

Liked by chaelincl , xxxibgdrgn & 300,251 others blackjacks_ot5 - 2ne1 being unhinged core View comments User -  i love how most of these are js y/n being freaky

User -  gd liked… GD LIKEDDDDD User - gd really be going around liking everything related to y/n atp userlvrtop - did jiyong get flashbacks of her being freaky

user - g-dragons digital footprints goes hard User - i love just like how seunghyun kissed almost everyone from bigbang, y/n has kissed every member of 2ne1

User -  jiyong aint even tryna hide it atp

UsermarriedcL -  oh gd is down bad

Usergyrodropped - /@UsermarriedcL - he too bad for yn- okay il shut up

UsermarriedcL - /@Usergyrodropped i bet he was wished karina was y/n atp

[GOSSIP] Y/n avoiding all questions regarding g-dragons new album Posted by u/kpop_gossip_queen · 30 minutes ago

So after iconic 2nd gen groups are making their comeback g-dragon and y/n’s alleged relationship and break up also made a comeback its only fair as an otp shipper of theirs to dissect the recent drama thats been going on in their instagram

If anyone has seen y/n’s recent live on instagram after a longgg time since her hiatus she was just chilling and answering some questions from the live chat and ofc as expected many questions about gd , their break up etc etc.. here are the two transcript i heard her saying 1st - question: what do you think about gyro drop? - answer: “oh gyro drop? Like the ride? Its one of my favourites. To be honest when i first went on it i was nervous but the more i went on it was fun and it became my favourite ride like ever”

2nd - question: thoughts on ubermensch? - answer: “oh the nieztsche philosophy? yeah ive heard about it. Idk whats its exactly about though”

She’ dodging the questions left and right about him or literally anything related to him but soon after she has been seen on instagram liking one of gd’s post about his cats iye and princess zoa.

Everyones thoughts on this?

Top Comments:

/user: she is dodging anything related to him meanwhile jiyong being so obvious about them 😭 he needs his wife to come back home to the kids (their cats) /user: i just know his cats miss y/n too 😔🙏

/user: i bet he made a spam account and was just giggling and kicking his feet the entire live

/user: when gd posted a thirst trap with the song bonamana after she posted a pic with her guy bestie IS SENDING ME. never knew this man could act like that one desperate ex bf /user: he’s down bad for her again and she’s teasing the fuck out of him by ignoring all the thirst traps i just know it

/user: his hands are ITCHING to like and comment on her posts- i just know he has spam accounts to stalk her instagram and google if she’s currently single and shi 😭🙏

/user: IS THIS A SIGN THEY WOULD GET BACK TOGETHER???? MY PARENTS LETS GOOOOO

/user: he definitely asked taeyang’s help on how to get your ex gf back through songs

/user: gd gonna pull up with a new mv where y/n’s billboard picture in the bg while he sings his heart out on ibelongiiu

/user: i wonder if she got flashbacks on hearing gyro drop and ibelongiiu

/user: take me & ibelongiiu are definitely his ver of eyes nose lips

/user: after hearing gyro drop chorus we definitely know who's always on top and the more freaky one

[lmk if you guys want to be in the taglist ^^]

Taglist:

@gdinthehouseee @loveesiren @sherrayyyyy @ldydeath , @eru-vande @mashtatosworld @wcnderlnds @infinetlyforgotten @petersasteria @emmiesoverthemoon @tulentiy, @loveesiren @breakmeoff

[ likes , reposts , a follow & comments are encouraged and appreciated! <3 ]

[mariacallous]

JD Vance, the US vice-president, was booed by the audience as he took his seat at a National Symphony Orchestra concert at Washington’s Kennedy Center on Thursday evening.

As the normal pre-concert announcements got under way, the vice-presidential party filed into the box tier. Booing and jeering erupted in the hall, drowning out the announcements, as Vance and his wife, Usha, took their seats.

Such a vocal, impassioned political protest was a highly unusual event in the normally polite and restrained world of classical music.

Vance ironically acknowledged the yelling and shouts of “You ruined this place!” with a smile and a wave.

Audience members had undergone a full Secret Service security check as Vance’s motorcade drew up at the US’s national performing arts centre, delaying the start of the concert by 25 minutes.

After news of the reaction to Vance at the concert emerged, Richard Grenell, interim director of the Kennedy Center who was recently appointed by Trump, said the crowd was “intolerant”.

In February, Donald Trump sacked the chairman of the Kennedy Center board along with 13 of its trustees, appointing himself the new chair, bringing in foreign policy adviser and close ally Richard Grenell as interim leader, and naming new board members – among them, Usha Vance. She was on the board of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 2020 to 2022.

“So we took over the Kennedy Center,” the president said at the time. “We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things. We’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country.”

The new board members have recently been given their first tour of the centre, which is home to the Washington Opera as well as the National Symphony Orchestra and hosts about 2,000 performances a year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Thursday evening’s concert programme – Shostakovich’s second violin concerto, with Leonidas Kavakos the soloist, followed by Stravinsky’s Petrushka – got off to a slightly shaky start before settling into its stride.

Audience members nervously joked during the intermission about the apposite all-Russian programme, given Vance’s brutal dressing-down of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during an Oval Office blowup in February that played directly into the hands of the Russian ruler, Vladimir Putin.

Resistance to Trump’s takeover of the traditionally bipartisan Kennedy Center has begun. The producers of the hit musical Hamilton have withdrawn from a run at the institution, due to take place in 2026, and a number of individual artists have also cancelled appearances.

A group performing on the Millennium Stage in the centre’s foyer – traditional musicians Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman – had banners onstage with them reading “reinstate queer programming” and “creativity at the Kennedy Center must not be suppressed”.

In a 2016 interview with the New York Times, Vance said he had not realised that people listened to classical music for pleasure as he reflected on his rise through the American class system after the overnight success of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

“Elites use different words, eat different foods, listen to different music – I was astonished when I learned that people listened to classical music for pleasure – and generally occupy different worlds from America’s poor,” he said. “Unfortunately, this can make things a little culturally awkward when you leap from one class to the other.”

But the public anger at Vance was brought on by the culture war that he and his allies have unleashed on Washington’s cultural institutions, especially the Kennedy Center.

Vance has staked out a reputation as a cultural conservative and leaned into criticisms of “cancel culture”, saying that modern society was crushing the spirit of young men during an on-stage interview at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac) in February.

“I think our culture sends a message to young men that you should suppress every masculine urge, you should try to cast aside your family, you should try to suppress what makes you a young man in the first place,” he said at Cpac.

“My message to young men is don’t allow this broken culture to send you a message that you’re a bad person because you’re a man.”

Trump tweeted in February, in relation to the his takeover of the centre, “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA – ONLY THE BEST.” On Saturday, drag artists rallied outside the Kennedy Center to protest against the attacks on their work.

In February The Kennedy Center announced the cancellation of a Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC concert scheduled to coincide with May’s Pride celebrations.

[metallicames]

You think you can do James hetfield htsd HeadCanons (if you do them) there can be nsfw to if you can want. And I love your story they make me giggle and kick my feet!!! Ahhh!! You make me be more obsessed with Jamie. Hehehe keep doing this!!! Ahhhnn I love you babes!!!

Thank u ❤️ this is my first HeadCanons so please have mercy

SFW

In 2016 James has found a balance between his public and private life.

On stage, he's still the towering, untouchable frontman of Metallica but when he's with you, he truly lets go. You’re his safe haven, the person he doesn’t have to pretend with—no need to fake strength or anger. He shares his deepest thoughts, the doubts and insecurities that still brush up against him, despite everything. He sees you as his balance, his support. He may not say it often in words, but he shows it in every gesture, in every look he gives you.

He loves sharing his passion for music with you—taking you to some concert, holding you close in the crowd under the stage lights.

He doesn’t need big events to be happy. Even with little time, he manages to plan simple yet meaningful dates—like a dinner he’s cooked himself or a spontaneous day trip.

And then there are those moments just for the two of you, far from everything: him sitting with his guitar in hand, you next to him on the couch, the crackling of the fireplace in the background. In those full silences, James finds a rare kind of peace.

From his lips often come sweet words like “baby girl,” “sweetie,” “honey,” or “my angel.” Sometimes he says them with a tender smile, other times as a whisper in your ear with a devilish grin—especially when you’re surrounded by people, just to tease you. He loves to tease.

James needs physical touch like he needs air. When you're together, he always has a hand on you—on your thigh on your waist or holding your hand whit his strong fingers.

When he notices your bare back, highlighted by that one elegant dress that drives him crazy, he can’t resist: he slowly runs his fingers along your spine with the lightest, most intentional touch, sending shivers down your body while he keeps talking to the others at the table as if nothing’s happening. Feeling your breath change because of his touch always drives him wild.

At home, James transforms. As soon as he gets back from the studio or stops tinkering in the garage with his cars, he looks for you. He hugs you from behind, lifts you just to hear you laugh, and showers you with kisses—on your neck, your cheeks, your hands. He’s a “big cuddly bear,” like you often tease him.

Despite having found a much more stable balance there’s a part of James that hasn’t changed: the one that snaps when he feels threatened—or worse, when someone disrespects the person he loves. And this is often a source of conflict between you two: his jealousy, his difficulty in holding back and not giving in to instinct, and his constant fear of abandonment, which becomes especially strong when you go out with friends or are away from him for a few days.

He may seem calm for a moment, maybe with an impassive expression while someone makes an inappropriate comment about you. But those who know him well can see the transformation happening inside. The smile disappears. His gaze turns to ice. His jaw tightens. And his posture shifts—becoming stiff, imposing, intimidating.

NSFW

In this era, like in all eras, James is always ready to fuck you—no matter how tired he might be. If you tease him by sending photos of yourself in lingerie or nudes, you can be sure that when he gets home, you’ll be put in every position possible, and you'll probably end up banging in every room of the house until you're both utterly exhausted.

Sometimes he's the one who teases you: he sends you photos while he's in the recording studio with the others. He takes is a picture showing the bulge of his erection through his tight jeans while he's sitting with his legs open, captioned "I've been thinking about you all day," to get you all worked up.

I firmly believe that James is madly in love with eye contact, both in everyday situations—like parties or dinners with friends—and in intimate moments, he can’t get enough of watching your face as he pushes his cock into you. The way you whine as he guides your hips down. He is mesmerized by the way you moan, the way your eyes rolls back and how your body reacts to his touch.

And of course he can’t tear his eyes away from where his cock’s stretching you open, slick and perfect around him. Every thrust makes him groan low in his throat, filthy and desperate. “Fuck, look at this pussy,” he growls, voice ragged. “Gripping me like it was made for my cock. You take it so fucking good, baby — fuck, you love this, don’t you? I could watch this all night.”

Sometimes he wrecks you senseless against the wall, lifting you up with his hands gripping your ass tight, sliding you down onto his hard cock, thrusting deep inside you until you lose your mind, until you're both sweaty, panting, and completely wrecked with pleasure.

In this era, he fucks you both hard and slow, dominates you with his big body (because yes in this period he was beefy) and with his gestures, choking and slapping you. Leaving you breathless and pushing you to your limits, going wild at the sight of how much you’re enjoying it because of him.

James, in addition to being a very physical man, has also become very vocal over time; he likes to talk to you and praise you. Even though he doesn’t show it, he enjoys being praised in return. Tell him how good he’s doing, how amazing he makes you feel, how beautiful he looks—it drives him even feral. Especially when you call him DADDY—that’s the last straw, the moment he loses all control and literally wrecks you.

He lives to eat you out, any opportunity is a good one for him to spread you wide, face buried between your thighs, growling into your cunt like a beast. Often, you wake up in the morning with him between your legs, eating you like you're his last meal.

And of course he doesn’t care if you have hair— to him, you’re always perfect and irresistible. He preferes natural beauty and body.

After the most intense and wild sex imaginable, he goes back to being the big protective bear he always is. He covers you with kisses and holds you tightly until sleep takes over. He loves feeling the touch of your naked bodies and breathing in your scent throughout the night.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ian Millhiser at Vox:

The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will not hear Mckesson v. Doe. The decision not to hear Mckesson leaves in place a lower court decision that effectively eliminated the right to organize a mass protest in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Under that lower court decision, a protest organizer faces potentially ruinous financial consequences if a single attendee at a mass protest commits an illegal act.

It is possible that this outcome will be temporary. The Court did not embrace the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision attacking the First Amendment right to protest, but it did not reverse it either. That means that, at least for now, the Fifth Circuit’s decision is the law in much of the American South. For the past several years, the Fifth Circuit has engaged in a crusade against DeRay Mckesson, a prominent figure within the Black Lives Matter movement who organized a protest near a Baton Rouge police station in 2016. The facts of the Mckesson case are, unfortunately, quite tragic. Mckesson helped organize the Baton Rouge protest following the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling. During that protest, an unknown individual threw a rock or similar object at a police officer, the plaintiff in the Mckesson case who is identified only as “Officer John Doe.” Sadly, the officer was struck in the face and, according to one court, suffered “injuries to his teeth, jaw, brain, and head.”

Everyone agrees that this rock was not thrown by Mckesson, however. And the Supreme Court held in NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware (1982) that protest leaders cannot be held liable for the violent actions of a protest participant, absent unusual circumstances that are not present in the Mckesson case — such as if Mckesson had “authorized, directed, or ratified” the decision to throw the rock. Indeed, as Justice Sonia Sotomayor points out in a brief opinion accompanying the Court’s decision not to hear Mckesson, the Court recently reaffirmed the strong First Amendment protections enjoyed by people like Mckesson in Counterman v. Colorado (2023). That decision held that the First Amendment “precludes punishment” for inciting violent action “unless the speaker’s words were ‘intended’ (not just likely) to produce imminent disorder.”

The reason Claiborne protects protest organizers should be obvious. No one who organizes a mass event attended by thousands of people can possibly control the actions of all those attendees, regardless of whether the event is a political protest, a music concert, or the Super Bowl. So, if protest organizers can be sanctioned for the illegal action of any protest attendee, no one in their right mind would ever organize a political protest again. Indeed, as Fifth Circuit Judge Don Willett, who dissented from his court’s Mckesson decision, warned in one of his dissents, his court’s decision would make protest organizers liable for “the unlawful acts of counter-protesters and agitators.” So, under the Fifth Circuit’s rule, a Ku Klux Klansman could sabotage the Black Lives Matter movement simply by showing up at its protests and throwing stones.

The Fifth Circuit’s Mckesson decision is obviously wrong

Like Mckesson, Claiborne involved a racial justice protest that included some violent participants. In the mid-1960s, the NAACP launched a boycott of white merchants in Claiborne County, Mississippi. At least according to the state supreme court, some participants in this boycott “engaged in acts of physical force and violence against the persons and property of certain customers and prospective customers” of these white businesses. Indeed, one of the organizers of this boycott did far more to encourage violence than Mckesson is accused of in his case. Charles Evers, a local NAACP leader, allegedly said in a speech to boycott supporters that “if we catch any of you going in any of them racist stores, we’re gonna break your damn neck.”

With SCOTUS refusing to take up McKesson v. Doe, the 5th Circuit's insane anti-1st Amendment ruling that effectively bans mass protests remains in force for the 3 states covered in the 5th: Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

[lovecomedy]

If you need any convincing that Noel and Liam Gallagher are incestuous freaks (affectionate), here's the basic information you need

First of all. The kisses

Loch Lomond kiss, where they just... made out on stage in front of cameras. Cool. There's a gif with every photo from every angle.

Another kiss, this time in Japan. Here's the actual video.

And here's the same video but together with nice quotes from their 2016 documentary:

Here's a 2005 award event where they kiss again and also look quite in love

And here's Liam straight up groping Noel during concerts:

General stage antics and more groping:

Just one more groping

Ok. Let's talk about the music, then

Oasis has a song that Noel wrote called "My Sister Lover". The title speaks for itself, really. It includes amazing lyrics such as "You're my lover, I'm your brother"

But there's more! Noel used the same chorus of this song (with different lyrics) for a song he released in his solo album, 20 years later. It's called "Lock All the Doors". The very first line says: "She wore a star-shaped tambourine, prettiest girl I’d ever seen". And guess... guess who famously played a star-shaped tambourine? Liam! And Noel was the one that gifted him the fucking tambourine!!

Liam wrote a song for Oasis called Guess God Thinks I'm Abel

I'll just link everything that's been said about this song, because it really is batshit insane that this song exists

(It's common in the north of England to refer to things and people as "our". When either Liam or Noel say "our kid", they're talking about each other)

Liam has the tendency of thinking every song Noel writes is about him, including the love songs

Here he says "I'm his muse", along with some other interesting quotes

Ok, now we're on to suspicious quotes!

They had sex last night, according to Liam

This one is my favorite:

Of course this one is just all the weird quotes jammed in one post, you can feel yourself going crazy as you read it

Noel assures us that Liam knows about his arse

Other people confirming that they act like a couple. And them being fucking weird about each other’s marriages.

This one has Noel saying Liam is deeply in love with him. At the bottom, Liam's tweet.

Actually Liam always tweets things that basically confirm they're relationship. Like when somebody asked him if he ever rimmed Noel. Yeah.

This radio interview is where the most lovely quotes come from. Only Noel was supposed to be interviewed but then they both showed up PISSED DRUNK. Transcription in the same post

Even More weird quotes

This one involves the word impregnate

Noel making a suspicious comment about his daughter and son, Anais and Donovan

I think to be convinced you really just need that, but I'd like to add some niceties.

Just genuinely enjoying each other’s company

This is from the Oasis; 10 Minutes Of Noise and Confusion documentary. As Noel is kissing Liam's cheek, Liam is saying "He’s a fucking cunt and I hate him and I love him and he twists my melon, man. He’s the best songwriter in the fucking world.”

Some sweet quotes, and some less sweet ones as well

From the Supersonic documentary

Hugging after playing football

Just being silly

To finish off, two wonderful video edits with endearing moments

[pachinkoballs]

I bring more goods! I have uploaded my copies of the Osomatsu-san stage plays (watch here), the second F6 live concert (here), and the voice actor events from 2016 and 2018 (here). There was also a CD of the concert I have added to the drive on my OST post. Even without Eng subs I hope you guys enjoy being able to watch these, and I would really like to minimize the chances of dealing with copyright so please don't share these links anywhere else online except privately!

[thebroccolination]

CELEBRATE MARRIAGE EQUALITY (AND KEY'S SUPER DIGNIFIED MELTDOWN) WITH KRISTSINGTO

[Okay. Okay. I'm somewhat more emotionally collected now having had a few hours to compose myself. How cute I am when I lie.]

Krist and Singto dedicated a segment in PeBaCa’s concert to celebrating Thailand’s legalization of marriage equality on January 23rd, 2025. Complete with proposal!

[Yes, that's Krist-as-Himself proposing to Singto-as-Himself. No, I'm not the same person I was this morning, and as a matter of fact, I wave goodbye to that Key with nothing but fondness in my heart. I am now Feral Swamp Creature Key who subsists only off rainbows or bloodshed depending on my mood. Thank you for the wellness check.]

In the introduction to their segment, Krist and Singto acted out a reimagined scene from "Love of Siam" (2007), a pinnacle of queer Thai cinema that paved the way for "SOTUS" (2016) to even exist almost ten years afterward, so for KristSingto to show their respect to it was a beautiful way to start things off.

[Do you love the little plush of KingMan over Singto's shoulder as much as I do?]

It should be mentioned that from my passing familiarity with "Love of Siam," KristSingto went with something a touch more melodramatic. Considering how eager they always are to volunteer for the breakup songs and the angry exes series, they're basically theatre kids disguised as economics majors, so it's totally up their alley to take creative liberties with the dialogue and tone.

Of course, I'm also convinced that Krist just wanted an excuse to show off that he can cry on command.

Like, no one dies at the end of "Love of Siam," but Krist apparently decided he needed to for The Drama.

[Yes, your deductive reasoning looking at these two images is correct. Krist did have a heart attack because his boyfriend Singto broke up with him. He did indeed have the spotlight change to red to symbolize his very sad onstage death. I am never, ever exaggerating my love for this ridiculous human, y'all. I would punch a planet into the sun itself for Kit Krist Middle Name Perawat Sangpotirat.]

Granted, this is the same khuujin who put Krist's actual car accident into their meta series about their Extremely Platonic relationship (airing next month). This is very on-brand for them.

Oh, so then they jump into The Future, and yay, Marriage Equality is Legalized Now!

[I’m somehow on my knees screaming into a typhoon near a cliff by the sea while also simultaneously typing this on my phone in a quiet train car.]

I'm only going to get more feral about them from here on out, I'm afraid.

THE PERFORMANCE

Now you're ready to watch The Performance.

Armed with all this context, please go forth into their music number full of every possible fucking rainbow configuration imaginable starting with Krist proposing to Singto (WHAT EVEN HAPPENED TODAY), featuring a walk down the aisle in matching white suits (HELLO???), and ending with them kissing at their wedding (HELP????????):

Also, it cuts off too early in the above video to see the very end of the performance, but if you want to be super unreasonable and unhinged with me for a second, tell me on a scale of yes to obviously how likely it is that they Kissed for Real:

"But Key!" you say, being reasonable and hinged the way I wish you wouldn't be. "They don't kiss for real at these events!"

Maybe yours don't!

Mine do! \:D/

(Are we all fully understanding at this point why I've spent years so fixated on trying to show other interfans that they've been completely brainwashed and fooled by slander of my beloved biological son Krist? Look at that guy in the video who probably planned and staged the whole performance like he always does wearing a THOUSAND RAINBOW RIBBONS UNDER A RAINBOW DECKED IN RAINBOWS. At this point, Krist could marry Singto in a church and there would be three thousand English-speaking interfans commenting on the video going, "Okay, look, I admit he's committed to the bit, but I'm still not convinced." But that's why we block people. <3)

Ooh, fun tidbit for the road: see that place in the background swathed in all the rainbows? That's the area between Siam Center and Siam Paragon, two shopping malls adjacent to Siam Station. "Cutie Pie" (2022) also included this spot in its final scene along with a message of support for marriage equality:

The other fun bit is that that area is considered to be the center of Bangkok, so I've been told that using it as the backdrop for content supporting marriage equality is fairly symbolic.

KEY HAS A LOT OF EMOTIONS INSTEAD OF GOING TO SLEEP

This was going to be more structured but I'm sleepy and emotional and probably going to cry again so let's jump to the sloppy weeping in text.

This performance feels to me like KristSingto have come full circle from their SOTUS era while raising the standard for their next lap together.

Because in many ways, KristSingto will always be associated with beginnings. Their legacy is “SOTUS,” which wasn’t the first Thai BL but the first to gain widespread recognition and signal to the people with money that they could make more money by endorsing more series like it.

[If you've ever complained about the temperature and lack of tongue-inclusion during kiss scenes in early series, know that we have footage of a different KongArt kiss that had to be cut because it got too involved for what TV was allowed to show in 2016. Not just for queer couples. Anyone. It was a big deal that their lips were moving at all.]

They were also the first established khuujin at GMMTV—with all the pros and cons and psychological challenges that have come with it. They celebrated the establishment of the Peraya fanclub on April 19th, 2017 by exchanging rings given to them by their fans.

[Please explain to me how I'm meant to look at any of this and think Krist hasn't been nursing a crush on Singto since his past life. Look at his face. Look at it.]

They were also the first male-male pair to win KAZZ’s Best Couple Award in 2017, then they proceeded to win it three consecutive more times.

[Singto wasn't present for the 2020 ceremony because he was off kissing another man for "Friendzone." Choose your fighter: legend or scandal. (There's a correct answer and it's the first one.)]

And finally, if KristSingto weren’t the first to have an implied same-sex engagement scene in Kongphob and Arthit’s “Our Skyy” episode from 2018, they were among the first.

[Almost no one outside the KristSingto fandom ever includes this scene in the proposal scene compilations but it deserves to be.]

There are only so many firsts one can have in any given industry, and I think it's time KristSingto got to enjoy some of the established comforts available to them now considering how much trauma they both went through to carve the path for themselves and others.

[For one thing, let them kiss with tongue! (I think we can all agree it's an important one. They both kiss well and I would like them to get the credit they deserve for it.)]

Because the thing is, a lot of the really risqué, envelope-pushing, flagrantly queer series we’ve gotten in the years since 2016 were made partially thanks to these two. GMMTV really didn’t seem to want to give KristSingto anything but money-sucking top spender events and concerts because they had little to no faith in BL making substantial money. So they kept Krist doing lakorn series and they, in my opinion, cast Singto aside and let him do whatever he wanted because colorism. By the time GMMTV offered KristSingto “Be My Favorite” presumably in early-mid 2021, Singto was already looking for other opportunities outside the company, which left Krist to create the masterpiece BMF would become with a temporary partner.

So, see, one of the cons of KristSingto's path has been that because they were first, nothing has ever been certain for them, and almost everything has been a struggle until now rather than a guarantee. They were hit with widespread condescension as BL actors when "SOTUS" aired, then split up for profit, brought back together for cash-only events, and never got the second series they were asking for all along. Krist said it himself recently: their last full BL series together was "SOTUS S" which aired in 2017, so their fans have been waiting to see another series from them for seven years.

And yet, in all that time, even when Singto left to find different opportunities, they never gave up on each other or left each other behind. They stayed friends, part of the same group, and their friendship grew and matured. They didn't have to talk about work anymore, so they didn't.

Since they're a year apart, they'd never been equals as students, and at work they'd been colleagues. But when Singto left GMMTV, they became adults who stayed at each other's side by choice. And now that he's back, they're more settled than they were before, and, I think, happier for the years of separation from work stress and the constant spotlights on their relationship.

KristSingto were GMMTV’s faithless gamble, surprise success, and subsequent experiment, and only now are they being allowed relative security and opportunities they should have had all along.

That said, tune into their comeback series "The Ex-Morning" (2025) next month! \:D/

The whole post was an ad for their new series. Mwahahaha.

[dirtylittlefairytales]

Don't play with fire | - Part 1 - |

Authors Note: Hey. This is my first try ever writing in English, since it's not my first language. I read it over several times, hopefully to correct all mistakes. Also this is the first try of fanfiction since 2016. Sooo I appreciate feedback and let me know what you think.. Please be kind. 🙏🥹

Originally I wanted to write a short backstory, but I think it’s just going to be multiple parts if you want to read it. So see this as a kind of introduction. In further chapters I wanted to try myself to write my smut fantasies out. I'm also going to upload this later to Ao3 under the username Lorily96.

-> Writing in 'italic' is supposed to be the your thoughts

Warnings: Describing of a Panic attack, Age Gap (Legal)

Word count: 8k

Tagging: @a-movie-that-youve-never-seen, @amethystblackkchaos, @hereforthehitsbaby

Some people say life is a cruel joke. Unexpected twists and pain waiting around every corner. Some people say the glass is never empty and everything happens for a reason. You can learn from anything.  Everyone you meet is either there for a reason, for a season or... for ever. However the world is not black and white, sometimes there is no reason at all. You know how you sometimes laugh when something bad happens to a stranger or friend. Like their ice cream falling to the ground, seeing a cop writing a ticket for somebody else. I think ‘Life’ itself is bored just like us. That's why sometimes you feel like it’s only getting worse. Doesn’t matter what you do, there is no luck to be found. That's exactly how you felt that day. Just strings of bad luck and to this day you still question yourself. Why? Why didn’t you say something? Why did you do it? Why didn’t you walk away? How did all of this happen in the first place? The events of that day living rent-free in your head, keeping you up at night.

~ Sometimes Life has a dark and twisted humor. ~

All those overprotective dads, who only want the best for their daughter. Your dad was one of them. He always told you: "Be wary of strangers", "Never tell someone your name if you feel something is off", “Go with your gut feeling” and "don't go near the car of a stranger". Seriously, he had good points.

Unfortunately, he didn’t tell you what to do, when you suspect someone is a serial killer. Maybe running or keeping your nose out of the situation would have been a great option. Well, since daddy had been out of the picture since you were 12, maybe he would have some kind of advice for that. Your mom had found out he was cheating, and after the divorce, he cared more about his new girlfriend and son than you. Why care about the daughter you raised for 12 years, your beloved wife, when you can just throw it away and play happy family with the next woman you find.

At times, you wonder if that's the reason you had some kind of daddy issues. Perhaps you liked older men like him because of that. Even today, his face still haunts and excites you at the same time. Remembering how drawn you were to him. He was so charming and devilishly handsome. You felt sick and appalled at yourself for feeling this way. Everything he did, seemed to play into his hands. Who would suspect the nice and charming dad next door? How many times did you lay awake in bed at night, the events of that day replaying themselves over and over. Like a continuous loop with no escape… 

It felt like yesterday. The only reason you were at the concert in the first place was because one of the other guys quit a week before. You couldn’t even blame him, since your boss was a total dick. Ever since you started working in the company a year ago he was just looking for a reason to fire you. Always criticizing you, commenting when your bathroom break was too long. Wore a skirt? Too provocative. Wore a sweater? Be more professional. You could make a whole list of the things he pulled off. You fucking hated working in that place and even more to work outside or around many people. You chose to work in IT because you could work alone and in peace. 

Outside of work, you were a relatively social person. Many friends and people seemed to like you. Despite preferring to rather stay home alone, with your cat and books, you were surprisingly good at making conversations. It felt strange, kind of ironic. Life had a stupid sense of humor. Sometimes you even felt like you were good at reading people. Your mom called it your sixth sense.

Working at the arena for the concert was a real hassle. It was so stressful. Over a week before the actual concert there was already a meeting. Everybody working in the stadium that night was there. They didn’t reveal too much that day. Apparently the whole concert was also a trap for this serial killer? 

They called him - The Butcher 

You remember hearing and reading about him in the news. He had killed 12 people till now and the FBI was sure he was going to show up there. Everything was top secret, everyone had an extra card for controls during that day and a code word. On the day of the concert you arrived extra early to get the last directions for the day. They even told you what he potentially could look like.

Work was boring. The company you were working for was responsible for ensuring that all the screens, cameras were working, both on the outside and on the stage, that the wifi was stable and so on… not the hardest task. There also were others who ensured the overall technology and speakers worked, but that wasn’t your job. Most of the time you and your colleague were sitting backstage, talking shit about your boss and listening to the show, at least you were, because lovely colleague Eric would do most of the stuff alone. What a sweetheart, right?

It felt a bit bad taking advantage of him. You knew he had a big crush on you, he wasn’t exactly hiding it. Relaxing backstage appealed more to you. Therefore it was totally fine with your conscience. This job was a pain in the ass and you already started applying for new jobs. You just had to hang on for a few more weeks. Hoping you could quit soon and work in a non toxic environment.

The first half of the concert remained uneventful. Fortunately, because your room was in the backstage area, you even talked to Lady Raven for a bit on her break. She was so nice and friendly. On and off stage, her whole personality was the same. Which you found truly great, a person like that was hard to find nowadays. The thinker for example seemed like a total dick from what you saw. Lady Raven and you also had some similar interests, it was so easy to talk to her.After asking about it, she told you that they hadn’t found the Butcher yet. She even told you a few more details on how the police got the information of him being there. Before she left you wished her good luck with the rest of her show and went back to work for a bit. 

Later on during the second half of the show, you stepped near the stage. The atmosphere felt incredible. The lights, the performance on stage and the fans screaming and singing the songs of Lady Raven. How you wished to be standing in the crowd just vibing and dancing to the music instead of working. If it weren’t for all the extra police and security in the arena, it would be a normal concert. 

Slowly you started making your way backstage as you saw people approaching from the audience room. Honestly you weren’t keen on talking to many people. Lady Raven started talking and announcing her dreamer girl, Riley. That must be why the people came in from the audience. At the end of the stage you turned around again. On your former spot stood a man. He was tall, with a nice backside, no doubt the father of the dreamer girl, looking at the stage.  Though he seemed to take a quick look around every now and then. Looking at him, he didn’t look like he was having much fun being here. He looked rather stiff. As you started walking back in his direction to get a better look, Eric called you. Sighing, you turned around. As you were making your way backstage, you felt like someone was watching you. 

“Hey, somewhere outside, a monitor has a bluescreen. I'll quickly go fix it. The show is nearly over. After that, we can start with cleaning things up.” Eric told you, as you walked down the stairs towards him.

“Okay, do you need my help?” You asked him, pushing a blonde strand of hair behind your ear, batting your eyes at him, hoping he would say no. 

“No of course not! I can do it alone. The problem is not that hard.” he answered, trying to show off.

You smiled. “Okay great! Then, see you later.” 

You walked past him into the backstage area. It wasn't that you disliked him, he was nice for a work colleague. However, nothing more. For one you had not much in common besides work, and he was a pushover. You could not imagine being with a man who had no opinion and just waited for you say anything until he stated his opinion. 

‘Like have an opinion, Boy?’ Rolling your eyes at the mere thought of his personality, you grabbed yourself a drink and went back to your little break room.

There you waited for the concert to finish, which you knew shouldn’t take too long now. When you heard the last song finished you decided to grab your purse and go into the hallway. Considering it was too good of an opportunity to pass by. When would you ever see celebrities up so close again? Maybe you could ask Lady Raven for a selfie? Or an autograph? You weren’t the biggest fan, but there was a possibility you could sell that autograph later on.

Uncertain where to go, you stood in the hallway. Dancers ran past you. Nobody seemed to take much notice of you. Coming from the left, you saw the thinker walking towards you, and kind of flirting with someone behind him. ‘Spicy.’ A light chuckle escaped you. Curiosity filled your brain and you decided to head in the direction he came from.

In the middle of the hallway, where several corridors met, stood Riley, the dreamer girl and her dad. If you remembered her name correctly that is. You stopped walking and observed them quietly from a little further away. 

‘Did the Thinker flirt with him?’ Now that you got a better view of him, you found that theory pretty reasonable. It felt almost unfair how attractive he looked. 

‘Was he married? Presumably.’ Not that you would consider making a move, besides his daughter was standing right next to him. That would be so awkward. Also remembering, the last time you let someone in, things unraveled in ways that left you a bit guarded. Despite your people skills, your mom and you apparently both had a thing for cheaters. After a year of being single, you told yourself it was for the best. Except for your job, life was good– At least that's what you tried to tell yourself.

Nevertheless you would never have considered being attracted to older men. He was at least 10 years older than you, maybe more. You were 25, and he could easily be in his 30s or even early 40s. All of a sudden the profiler’s description came back into your head: tall, strong, dark hair... 

Even though you've never been overly spiritual, you did believe in a sixth sense. The longer you thought about it, him standing in that hallway backstage. The way he subtly kept looking around for a second. Nobody noticed. ‘Wait… Did he notice you watching them?’ 

Pulling out your phone, you started swiping and typing randomly. Trying to look busy. Your thoughts were racing. He matched the description perfectly, and here he was, casually joking with his daughter like he didn’t have a care in the world. Despite his friendly smile and demeanor, there was something unsettling about him—a bit too friendly, almost fake? 

After looking at him a bit more, it just clicked into place. You couldn’t shake off the feeling that that may be him, the Butcher. Until now they hadn't found him, not that you knew of. So they were still searching for him. People backstage were rarely searched, except when they wanted to leave the arena.

‘God, you should think rationally. Could that really be him? Still he seemed normal…’

Except the look in his eyes. That look gave you unpleasant goosebumps. You grew anxious, you knew where the camera room was. Police officers were definitely going to be there and maybe the profiler was there. Then you could ask her if the man had been checked by security or talk to her about your uneasy feeling. 

Unfortunately you would have to pass him to get to the camera office. If he hadn't noticed you before, he certainly would then. Could you keep your cool? It didn’t matter. You knew you would overthink it in the evening, you had to do it. Your heart was starting to pound audibly in your chest. 

‘Deep breaths–

Breathe in, breathe out. 

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and go. Don't panic.’ Grabbing your phone tightly in your hand, you started walking. 

As you approached them, Lady Raven emerged from her dressing room and started talking to Riley. She was so happy, grinning from ear to ear. As they chatted happily, the dad leaned forward and whispered something to Lady Raven that you couldn't make out. 

As soon as you heard her tell his daughter that they would talk shortly, alarm bells were going off in your head. Your brain stopped working, and your legs and mouth moved on their own. You felt a certain hero complex activating within you. ‘What if he was the Butcher? There was a possibility’

You felt uncomfortable leaving her alone with him. Something felt off. Before they could leave, you sprinted the last few meters towards them. Trying to cry on arrival. 

“Lady Raven, hay… I eh.. I.. I don't... Could I.. could I talk to you for a second? Please, I don't know what to do.. I–” you sniffled. You tried your best to cry. ‘Come one, you could lie better than that’, you thought angrily at yourself. ‘Who would believe you like this?’ This wasn’t going to be the first lie you ever told. You even lied on your last résumé. 

She immediately turned around her face full of concern and worry. For a second you thought you saw his jaw tensing and left eye twitch. ‘Did you imagine it? ‘

“Oh no. Hey, what's going on? You’re Y/N, right? We met earlier.” You nodded your head, keeping the hand over your lower face, while trying to remain in tears. For once, you were glad that you chose to wear your hair open today. Your long blond locks shielded your face even more from the prying eyes around you. 

“What's going on? Are you alright? Did something happen?” She asked more and more questions, putting her hand on your shoulder, trying to comfort you.

“There was an accident, I...“ You just kept mumbling incomprehensible nonsense. Still shaking, sobbing, trying not to look up. You didn't even know what to do, what to say. 

“Hay, ehm… I’m so sorry. Could you give us a second? I will be right back. It won’t take long.." she said, apologizing to the two of them. 

“Of course, no problem. This seems serious! Take your time.”, said the man, his voice laced with concern.

‘Why did he sound so genuine, like he is truly concerned? Maybe I judged him too fast?‘

Gently Lady Raven took one of your hands and started to lead you away. It didn’t matter anyway, there was no going back. Now you need to play your outburst to the end and come up with a plausible story. While she brought you into her dressing room, it felt as if someone was staring holes into your back. 

After the door closed, you immediately felt more at ease. Bit by bit you tried to calm yourself. At least that was what it seemed on the outside. You don’t remember much of what you told her, some kind of sob story. The first idea that came into your mind. About your dad having a car accident. The whole car crashed... With your car being parked further away from the arena and you were so afraid your dad could die. That you at worst wouldn't make it to the hospital in time with all the police controls going on in and outside the arena. 

You cried, trying to think your story would be about your mom and not your dad. Which did the trick and made you sad. Being the kind person she is, Lady Raven suggested that you could drive with her in her limo, so you didn't have to go through the queues or security, and she would take you to the hospital or your car. You thanked her over and over again, as you wiped your tears away. 

How high was the possibility that the dad would like to briefly speak to Lady Raven again, when you went in the hallway again? Then everything would have been in vain. However you could’t pressure her. Something came over you, so you suggested that perhaps the other two could join them. Maybe they could also drive in the car? You tried explaining your suggestion somewhat rationally. That way she can still talk with the dad,

you would feel extremely bad if you kept her from talking to her fans. You didn’t want to cause any more trouble. 

Surprisingly, that seemed to work? No further persuasion was necessary. Which left you very surprised and perplexed. Was she truly such a kind person? Who was so trusting? Especially with everything that was going on here today. ‘Did she have such a shielded and good life, that she blindly believed you?’ You wondered.

‘Unimaginable…that could not be the case. You didn’t believe there were any truly good people left in this world.’

After another minute of collecting yourself, you went after Lady Raven. She had already gone ahead and had already told them the short version of what was going on, when you arrived. Asking them if they wanted to come too, so she and the dad could have their talk. She was way too kind and somewhat naive to even suspect you’d be lying. You almost felt ashamed of yourself, even stupid. What were you even doing?

The daughter gasped and tried not to jump up and down in joy, the way she gripped her dad's arm. She seemed to be torn between worrying about you and happiness. By being asked to drive with Lady Raven, her seemingly favorite artist in the world. She was honored and extremely happy for a few seconds, then she stopped and looked at you sympathetically. 

“I’m so sorry about the thing with your dad...” Nodding weakly at her, trying to keep your act up, you gave her a half smile. Unknowingly to you, you had started twisting the ring on your middle finger. A Tic. Something you always did when you're stressed out or nervous. 

The ring was nothing special. A plain black ring with some Greek numbers on it. A gift from your mom; from the only holiday you ever had taken outside the USA and since you were eighteen, there was hardly a day you didn’t wear it. 

“Why don’t we lead the way? That way, we can talk.” said Lady Raven and gestured to the man. 

“Yes of course... I mean, the circumstances are not the best, but thank you for considering Riley and me. We appreciate it.” He replied, looking concerned but with something unreadable in his eyes that made you want to look anywhere but at him. 

“It is no problem at all. Actually it was Y/N here suggesting it. She would have felt bad if we hadn't been able to have our conversation because of her.”

He raised a brow at you. “That is so thoughtful and kind of you to still think of others. Something really rare these days”

As he walked past you, he briefly touched your shoulder, making you nearly jump out of your skin. “And I’m really sorry about your dad. I hope he pulls through. Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help” he smiled kindly at you.. 

“Yes, I hope so too. Thank you…” You trailed off, realizing you didn’t know his name. 

“Oh I didn’t even introduce myself. I'm Cooper, just call me Cooper.” holding out his hand.

“Well, thank you Cooper. Also, for your offer, maybe I will come back to that." you shook his hand. He had a firm, but not to strong grip. 'so he was married'

"Let’s get going, please.” Somewhere in between Cooper coming close to you, you almost forgot that you had a mission to get to the hospital fast. Daddy dearest was waiting.

He nodded and as he passed you, walking ahead, you suddenly realized just how big that man was. You hadn't even noticed it before. However, standing right next to him you realized it. He was at least 6′2″, not overly muscular, but also not skinny either. Lady Raven seemed tiny next to him, and you weren’t tall yourself—maybe around 5′5″ on a good day. 

Still, something about his vibe felt off. He seemed caring, yet on the other hand, almost relieved—or amused? 

Riley and you walked a bit behind the two to the cat, nobody had to go through any controls. Riley was such a sweet girl, asking you questions or talking about the concert to ‘take your mind off of your situation’. She was so nice. You kind of wish that you had a little sister like her, but no, you only had a half brother. The only reason he ever contacted you was for money from our grandparents' inheritance.

It was only when you reached the end of the corridor, you noticed Cooper looking over his shoulder. One corner of his mouth pulled upwards and his expression changed. Something sinister in his eyes for a split second. So fast that you were doubting yourself again.

Near the limousine, you felt your phone vibrating, probably Eric wanting to ask where you were. You had no time for that now. Shaking your head, you declined the call and started to write to him, saying that an emergency had come up and you would be back later. You didn’t notice that you arrived at the car until someone cleared their throat in front of you.  

Fuck, you almost ran directly into Cooper. Lady Raven and Riley had already gone inside. He looked at me expectantly, a small smile at his lips. You quickly locked your phone and held it up. “Sorry, my… Sister. She gave me the latest updates on our dad.." you explained, the lies just kept rolling off your tongue, and you just hoped they sounded believable. With that you went straight to the car, without waiting for a response. 

Maybe you should have started an acting career… 

You quickly sat down in the car, with Cooper following shortly after you. Keeping your phone in your hand to secretly keep twisting your ring behind it.

This guy was making you so nervous, not only him but also the lies. You even thought you heard a small deep chuckle from behind you, maybe it was just your nerves? The car started moving. You wondered what they talked about… What did he want to talk about to her? 

Lady Raven's voice brought you out of your thoughts. “Y/N, where should I let you out? You remember where you parked your car? Or should we drive directly to the hospital?” 

Car yeah… you almost laughed. You knew exactly where your car was, a few miles away at the mechanic, because your lights weren’t working. Why hadn’t you thought of that. 

“Eh no, no! Just let me know where my car is. It’s a few blocks away. At this free parking space. There’s my car; let me look up the street real quick…” That wasn't a complete lie. Normally, you would park your car there, because it was just cheaper than parking near or in the stadium. Now just your bike was parked there, well, if nobody had stolen it.

You started to unlock your phone to look up the address. A large hand grabbed your hand with your phone to stop you. Before you could even protest or say something, Cooper started talking in his chipper, happy voice. 

“Really? What a coincidence! I think that should be the same parking lot where Riley and I parked my car earlier. I do know the address, it’s just around the corner.  You don't have to look it up.” Lady Raven pressed a button and Cooper told the chauffeur where to go. The address did sound somewhat familiar. You pulled your phone and hand out of his grip. There wasn't much resistance and he put his hands back into his lap. 

You looked back at Riley and Lady Raven, they were deeply engaged in a conversation with each other. Noticing nothing around the. The phone in your hand started ringing again, and you quickly looked at the screen. This time, it was your boss; should you just accept the call? You did not get much time to think about it. 

“Have you heard anything yet?”, came Riley’s question towards you. 

You started twisting your ring again. 

“Ah yes, yes… My brother texted me..” your breath caught in your throat. Realizing you messed up. ‘Didn’t you just say to Cooper that it was your sister? Maybe he didn't notice. Good thing you hadn’t pursued your acting career…‘

“...and the doctor said it doesn’t look critical. Our dad seems stable at the moment… but he needs to be operated on quickly.. I'm sure I will get more information as soon as…” 

All of a sudden the whole car jolted to a stop, followed by wild car honking. You tried to find your footing, unintentionally gripping onto Cooper's thigh. Right before you could fall off your seat a hand pressed against your shoulder and pushed you back into the seat. You dug your nails even more into his thigh. Riley's bags tipped forward and many of the contents scattered a little on the floor. “Sorry, Lady Raven. The car in front of us braked abruptly." The driver apologized. 

“Everyone alright?” Cooper asked, concern dripping in his voice. 

“All good” said Riley and Lady Raven nodded. 

“Yes, I think so..” you  breathed. He came closer pushing a loose strand behind your ear. A blush crept on your face. After another second, you noticed your hand was still on his thigh, and you blushed even more. 

“Oh I’m sorry!” You exclaimed in a panic. He smiled kindly. 

“No problem. I’m glad nobody got hurt.” Then he got up from his seat to help Riley pick her things back up and put them back into the bags. 

Your phone began to ring again. ‘It’s now or never; it would only get worse.’

With a sigh, you picked up the phone and immediately held the phone as far away as possible from your ear. A loud voice screaming through the speaker. Seemed like your boss just started screaming at you at the top of his lungs. 

You mouthed a quick ‘Sorry’ to the others in front of you. He kept on screaming, ranting about how you were not at work and how he always knew you were a lazy piece of shit. He should have fired me months ago… The list goes on.

As Cooper sat back down. You tried to move your body back in the direction of your phone. Seeing as you didn't want to be too close to Cooper. He didn't seem to mind and put a calming hand on your knee this time. Your mind seemed to go fuzzy when you got near him.

Overall this was not your day, your nerves were all over the place. Your feelings felt like they were on a rollercoaster. You still weren't sure if your gut feeling was right… but you also didn't want to find out. All the lies you told today and now your boss is screaming at you? It was just too much. Clenching your fist and putting the phone near your ear again. 

“I quit.” were the only words you said, dry of any emotion. 

“What did you say?” came the angry reply. 

“I quit” Hot tears were forming in your eyes, Cooper gently started to caress your knee. “i’m so fucking done. You don't know what I am going through right now! Someone could die, and you don't even let me explain myself. So go to hell, and I fucking quit.” Enraged, you ended the call and immediately blocked his number. 

You put your head in your hands and sigh. 

“I'm sorry… Sorry, you had to hear that. Everything goes wrong…” And with that, a sob escapes you. 

‘Nobody can see my face, right? So maybe act even more sad? ‘

This whole day was a curse, why were you even here? Because you felt bad vibes from the dilf next to you? You just wanted to laugh over the whole situation. 

‘You were fucking stupid and now jobless. Great work. Just because you wanted to play the hero, because of a stupid gut feeling. He was a normal dad. Not the Butcher. ‘ 

“Don't think like that. You said it yourself; your dad is stable, so that's a good thing. Maybe I can help you get a new job!” Lady Raven is really trying to cheer you up. 

Someone rubbed your back gently, and there was only one person who could do that. You tried your hardest to ignore his comforting touch. 

“Hay Y/N, I know you just met us, and you don't know me. But I bet a girl like you will easily find a new job. You seem like a good person. If you tell me in which field you work, I'm sure I could help. See if someone I know is hiring. How does that sound?” Cooper really tried to comfort you. He was so sympathetic and strangely charming. 

A small laugh escapes you. "Yes, I probably will..” You wipe away your angry tears’. 

“I mean… I already sent out job applications. I wanted to leave anyway, maybe I will get a job here in Philly or maybe where my mom lives. She lives more in the suburbs, like an hour away I think…” you paused. 

‘Why did you suddenly decide to tell him so much about yourself? Didn't you want to keep a low profile and not give too much real information?‘

This guy certainly knew how to make people talk. About everything, even things they may not want to share and then do without even realizing it. ‘Fuck’

“See! Now you're even smiling again. You just need to see the positive things.” With that, he squeezed your shoulder lightly and withdrew his hand from your back. Making you almost miss the comfort and warmth they had brought you. 

Stop crushing on the hot dad next to you! You tried to remind yourself and also remember all the things you thought were off with him.

“We're here,” the chauffeur announced. Great, finally. This car ride felt like an eternity. 

Cooper and Riley got out of the car first, and they said their goodbyes. Riley, of course, needed one last hug, and Cooper simply thanked her again for what she did for Riley. Before you got out of the car, Lady Raven pulled you in for a hug. 

“Please keep me updated on how things are at the hospital and if you need something. Just text me.” She pulled out her phone and pulled up Instagram. 

“Just search for your username, and I'll add you. That way, we can keep in touch.” 

You nodded and put in your name, and handed the phone back to her. 

“Thank you.. so much. Again. I'm so sorry for any inconvenience I caused. I won't forget this. Thank you! Next time, I’ll be in the front row singing your songs.” 

She laughed at that and nodded. While stepping outside the car, you crossed both fingers that the other two were gone.

Unfortunately, Cooper and his daughter waited for you. You had thought that by staying longer in the car, they would be gone already. No lucky day for you

You scanned the parking lot, and of course, your bike was stolen. The universe was just being cruel now. 

“So let us walk you to your car!” Cooper was way too happy, waving the limousine of Lady Raven goodbye. “Sure..” You started walking towards the cars. 

You were clueless on how to get out of this situation. Abruptly stopping, you looked around. 

“I don't see my car..” you say while looking around again. You sigh extra loudly. 

“Fuck me..”

“Your car got towed?” Cooper 

“Maybe” a dry laugh escapes you. 

“Or maybe with everything going on and all the things that were going on at the concert, I… just forgot where I parked my car.” You ran your fingers through your hair. 

"Well, if you tell me which hospital you need to go to, I'm certain Riley and I can make a little detour on our way home. Right Riley?” Riley nodded. 

“Of course, I’d be happy if we could help you out” she said, hopeful.

Right… the hospital. You should get better at remembering your lies. You were torn between keeping your lie up or simply turning around and walking away. 

You didn’t know what to do. Cooper seemed a bit strange at times, but he could not be the Butcher, right? Still while looking at him you felt like something didn't add up. Sometimes… you didn’t know how to describe it… He felt too perfect, too caring or too sweet. Maybe that was just who he was? You were lost in thought.. The look in his eyes was making you feel a bit uneasy. 

All of a sudden, Cooper's hand was behind your back, and he slowly pushed you forward. “If you can't decide, I will decide for you. Going to the hospital should be the most important thing. So we'll drive you and then you can worry about your car later. Okay?” 

You nodded your head at his idea, simply because you didn't trust your words at the moment. His hand wandered up to your shoulder, where he kept a firm grip and pushed you in the direction of his car. 

Riley was already running in front of you. You winced under his touch, did he know his own strength? You wondered. He certainly didn't look that strong. He opened the car a few meters away so Riley could already put her bags in the trunk. 

A black van

You suddenly remembered what Eric told you about the profiler, she suspected the Butcher to drive a car like this? 

Your body tensed up, and you felt like the pressure on your shoulder increased, which was almost painful. Surely that was going to bruise . Cooper opened the back door for you like you were a child being escorted home. You tried to muster your best friendly face before you sat down inside. 

“Thank you... Have you had this car for a long time?” You asked before you could stop yourself. Cooper raised an eyebrow, clearly pondering the question before answering. 

“Yes, I have had it for quite a few years now. Why are you asking?” Should you just tell him? 

It was just the trip to the hospital.. then you would never have to see them again. You could not fuck up even more than you already had, and until now, it was just an uneasy gut feeling. Also, you were trying to move back to your mom, who was at least an hour away. 

“No real reason.. Just that profiler from the concert. She talked so much, about everything and also about cars... especially mentioning a car like this, which could potentially be the car of a-… killer.” 

He only stared at you. 

‘Did you say something wrong? Maybe you’re the weird one now.’ Nervously rubbing your neck, you tried to lighten the mood with a laugh. 

Thankfully, Riley was just on her way to the passenger seat. She didn't hear her, no need to scare her. You didn’t think she knew about what was going on behind the scenes of the concert. 

“So maybe you should switch it up? But maybe she was just talking nonsense..” you tried to diffuse the situation, massaging your sore shoulder. 

Cooper smiled and laughed softly. "Well, thanks for the tip. I thought about getting a new car. Maybe I should finally get one. More family friendly, any ‘smart’ suggestions perhaps?” - 

“Hmm..maybe just something smaller, maybe in white, silver, or another color? Definitiv not black..” you smile. 

“Great. I will keep that in mind when I buy a new car.” he smiled back at you and closed the door, and got in the driver's seat. He seemed like he wanted to ask more questions, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. 

Quickly, you got your phone out and searched for a hospital near you. You found one which was 15 minutes away. When Cooper started the car you leaned forward, so much that your head nearly reached his shoulder and you could smell his aftershave. ‘He even smelled good.’ You showed him your phone. 

“Here, that's the hospital where I need to go.” He slightly turned around to get a better look at the screen. 

“Can I?” He gestured to the phone. “Just to get a better look.” 

You gulped, a nervous feeling growing in your stomach. “Yeah sure..” 

He didn’t even wait for your reply and grabbed the phone. 

“You got some kind of privacy screen on here?” he asked with a raised brow. 

Oh yeah, how could you forget, and here you thought he wanted to take your phone from you. When he couldn’t even see the screen. 

“Yeah! Sorry, I totally forgot. My boss had cameras everywhere in the building, I got a bit paranoid, so I bought one of those..” you laughed. 

“He doesn’t sound very nice. Maybe it’s a good thing you don’t have to work there anymore!” replied Riley. 

“Yeah.. maybe”

“You could just work at my school, our teacher for IT sucks..” 

Cooper glanced at her disapprovingly, slowly shaking his head.  “Riley…”- 

"Sorry, dad, it's the truth. He lives in the past. No one uses Windows XP anymore." Riley grumbled. 

Cooper started the car, and Lady Raven's music was playing loudly over the speakers before he turned the volume down. After a few minutes of driving and Riley vibing to the music, Cooper cleared his throat. 

"Here, you can have your phone back. Oh and I took the liberty of saving my number on your phone. That way, if you ever need anything or some help finding your car later, you can just give me a quick call.” 

What the fuck. He did what now?

He smiled at you through the rearview mirror, his eyes watching you closely. Carefully, you grabbed your phone out of his hands. 

“That's so… thoughtful. Thank you” You tried to put a smile on your face. 

"So, Riley, how did you like the concert?” You tried changing the topic. Oh boy, that worked. Riley started rambling about everything, including how cool it was to be on stage with Lady Raven. Unconsciously, you found yourself smiling a real smile, she was just so cute. Your eyes flickered to the rearview mirror every so often, and as soon as you met Cooper's eyes, you looked back at Riley. Let’s not get lost because of his good looks. You still felt uneasy.  

You tried telling yourself in your head. Somehow, you felt like a prey being watched by his predator. Once in a while you felt like his expression would flicker for a split second, his eyes becoming way darker, but it was gone so soon. You weren’t even sure if you saw it correctly or if it was your imagination. Even though the feeling was only there for a split second, He looked so friendly, encouraging Riley to talk more. 

Finally, you could make out the hospital in the distance. About time, you thought. 

“Hey Y/N?” Riley asked. 

“Yes?”- 

“Maybe when your dad is better again, you can visit us? I feel so bad for you. Today should have been a great day. _You seem really cool… I mean, your dad and family can come too..Right dad?” Cooper smiled and nodded. 

“Great, Like a family dinner, my mom is a great cook.” So he was married. “I just would like to do something nice for you.” Oh god, the world didn’t deserve her kindness. 

“Of course, you don't have to feel compelled to do so. Think about it, you don’t have to decide now..” Cooper interjected. 

“The two of you are too kind. I can't,” more like won't, “give you an answer right now, but I promise to think about it. Okay?” You fake-gushed at the two, your face hurting from keeping the smile on your face. 

Both Cooper and Riley seemed satisfied with the answer. You felt like you were in the wrong movie, was there a hidden camera somewhere? You arrived within the next minute. Cooper parked his car near the emergency exit. One moment away from freedom, away from this lie. 

“I can’t really thank you enough. Thanks for driving me here. I hope you had a great day. Have a safe drive home.” You tried opening the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Oh, child safety must be on. I’m sorry, I forgot.” apologized to Copper and exited the van to open your door. You didn’t believe him, it just matched too well. 

“I hope you get good news inside. Dad acted really strange today, but I’m happy everything is normal again.” she smiled, before you could answer, and your door opened. 

Daddy is acting strange today. You don’t say…  

“Well, bye, Riley.” You waved at her and got out and barely got your hand out of the doof before Cooper shut it close. 

“I’m so glad we could help you.” he said with that charming voice of his. He started to walk with you towards the building. “With all the extra police force, because of the Butcher, it could have taken you at least an hour to get here.”

“That's true. Well maybe next time he shouldn't let his recipes laying around in his hideouts. What does he even want at a pop concert?” you snorted. 

“Did he now?” Cooper asked intrigued.

“At least that's what I overheard from a few higher up people today.”, no way you were saying that it was Lady Raven who told you.

“Seems like he needs to be cleaner and more careful.”

“If not, they might just catch him next time,” you joked.

“I don't think that will happen, sweetheart.” His mouth twitched in amusement.

That was a weird response. He must have seen the frown on your face, as he quickly started to explain himself.

“I mean if they didn't catch him today, while they knew he was going to be there. I think the chances of the police finding him again are relatively close to zero.” His reply sounded reasonable.��

“Well yes, but he fucked up once. Maybe he is getting sloppy with time. Nobody knows.” 

His jaw clenched. “You think so? Maybe you're misinterpreting the situation. I would imagine someone like him to be very calculated.  Otherwise the police would have found him already, if he was being sloppy.”

“True…” You shrugged your shoulders. Maybe you were wrong, but why did he sound somewhat angry at your statement?

He was honestly acting strange now. 

“Well I think this is where I leave you.” Cooper announced after a few seconds of silence. His behavior over the last meters made you feel unsettled again. He seemed strange. ‘Why was he like that?’ 

“Okay…”, should you with your gut feeling, you wondered? Fuck it, it was just a guess, a wild guess. You always knew your big mouth would get you into trouble someday. Maybe he was just a normal dad and you were overthinking the situation. If that was the case, he wouldn’t think anything of it.

“By the way B-...Cooper” you began, and Cooper turned around in a second, looking at you expectantly, one of his brows raised. His face was unreadable. “You're welcome.. You know that? For getting to drive with Lady Raven"—for  getting out of there without the security controls - was what you wanted to say. Even if he were the Butcher his facial expressions and body language didn't betray him. He smiled and stepped back toward you. Every bone in your body wanted to run. ‘Fuck, did this creep you out.’ You felt like you were pushing your luck today 

“Yes.. of course. I am very grateful for that…” Before he could say anymore, Riley pulled down the window. 

“Dad! Let's go home! Y/N needs to go to the hospital! And I want to tell mom all about the concert!” 

“She's right. I don't want to keep you from your father any longer. I bet your sister is waiting for you. Better go inside.” ‘He knew, he knew you lied when you fucked up with the sister and brother thing.’ Panic started to set in, you swallowed hard, your throat dry.

He came even closer and engulfed you in a tight hug. You stood there, frozen in place. He leaned his head down to your ear, his hands holding you even tighter. One of them slowly wandered to your lower back while he talked.

“Thank you, sweetheart. You sure made it easier. I’m sure Spencer will be soo grateful. I’ll let you know…” a dark chuckle escaped him.

“It's a small world. I'm sure we will see each other again.” His deep voice whispered in your ear, which sent shivers down your spine. You felt trapped. Like a tiny mouse next to him, holding your breath unintentionally. He patted you on the back. Smiling, he stepped away. 

‘Breathe– mask your emotions. Get a grip.’ Many different thoughts running through your head.

Tilting your head to your side you looked at him. Moreover you were confused. Even a tiny bit scared.

‘Please don’t let him notice. Who was Spencer? Did you know Spencer?’

Furrowing your brows you asked “Spencer?” your voice slightly quivering.

He grinned even more— it looked unnerving. It was replaced by a much friendlier smile after another second. “Don’t worry about it.” 

‘Were you imagining things? Now you knew why people said “don't play with fire.” Why had you said anything at all...’

His voice became louder, having that charming undertone again “and make sure to call sweetheart. Riley would be very happy if you came over.” Winking at you he turned around and walked back to his car. 

You felt like your chest was about to explode.

“Yes! Once your dad's out of the hospital and things settle down, Make sure to call my dad. Then we can have a fun dinner.” giggling Riley's voice went even higher. She was practically shifting in her seat, unable to sit still. 

‘Fun dinner? Yeah.. sureeee kid..’

You mustered your best smile and gave her a thumbs up. 

“I will kiddo. See you around.” trying to steady your voice. You needed to get away fast. turned around and walked towards the hospital, near the end you were almost running. 

Once inside, you had the feeling that it was getting harder and harder to breathe. As if you weren't getting enough air. Your breathing became more and more rapid. Your vision was blurred. 

‘Was this hyperventilation? What was going on? Was he really the Butcher? Were you right? Would you die next? Maybe he would keep you alive because you unintentionally helped him?’

Anxiety welled up inside you. You barely noticed the loud voices around you. 

‘Did you hear someone calling for help?’

You had the feeling that the world was spinning around you. ‘Were you still walking?’ It felt like your legs were made out of jelly.

Someone was talking to you, holding you by the shoulders. Shaking you. Waving something in front of your face. However, you couldn’t make out the words. You couldn't recognise the face in front of you. Everything sounded dull, like it was far far away. The world became increasingly blurred before your eyes, spinning more and more– 

until you finally gave in and everything went dark. 

[jokeroutsubs]

[📝ENG TRANSLATION] We spent a day with the band Joker Out with whom we talked about everything (including the new album)

Original article written by Tijana Čvorak for Vogue Adria, published 15.11.2024. English translation by IG marija_rocen, review by IG irenalemajic, @moonlvster, proofread by IG Gboleyn123.

Full article under the cut 👇

(Ph: Primož Lukežić)

It's Friday, late in the morning, my colleague Tesa and I met up at the agreed place, in the middle of the industrial zone. On one side there was a parking lot, and on the other an industrial hall and office buildings, a self-service laundromat, a small bar... And a blue metal door. Behind the door is the charming, cozy music studio of the band Joker Out, full of instruments, books and character. When we entered, a friendly voice greeted us from above, and when we looked up, we saw a smiling Jure Maček, the band's drummer, in the gallery.

We climbed the stairs to a platform with a fence, which was obviously the production chill corner of this studio. There were two sofas, a Biedermeier-style wooden table, which surely once graced a bourgeois living room from the 80s, and on the other side there was a table with a computer, an impressive screen and a small mixer. Delighted by the atmosphere and appearance of the studio, we learned from Jure that we're standing in a former garage and that, in addition to musical talent, he also has carpentry skills - because the wooden interior of the studio is actually the work of his hands.

(Ph: Mark Pirc)

Whether you're from this region or not, the media attention that Joker Out has been getting since performing at the Eurovision Song Contest has been hard to ignore. Since 2016, when they formed the band as teenagers, they have won several 'Zlata piščal' ('Golden Whistle') awards in the Artist and Newcomers categories and were nominated for a MAC Award for Best Regional Ex-Yu Rock Band. Their hit 'Carpe Diem' has a more than impressive 23 million streams on Spotify and is the third most popular Eurovision song. I remember when they performed in my town last summer, just a few hundred metres from my house, so I could listen to them with a glass of wine on the terrace. Even though I wasn't standing in front of the stage, I could feel the contagious energy they were spreading, and the singing and cheers of the audience seemed even louder and filled with euphoria.

While I was preparing for the interview, I found out that Joker Out are also popular beyond the borders of our region - at concerts abroad, the audience sings songs with them in the Slovenian language. Furthermore, I discovered that the release of their new music video for the song 'Bluza' was scheduled on the day of our interview. "Yes, exactly," Jure confirmed to me, "let's wait for the others, then we'll watch it together." Soon the other members of the band arrived, some visibly disheveled and sleepless, because the editing of the video lasted until late at night. By the time we all impatiently looked at the monitor, waiting for the new video to be displayed, it had already collected 6,000 views in just a few hours, while the song 'Bluza', since it was released on streaming services, had already reached more than half a million streams. 'Bluza' is one of the singles from the new album 'Souvenir Pop', which is being released today and it represents a sort of a musical diary of the past year and a half of their lives, from the performance at the Eurovision Song Contest onwards.

"The inspiration for the album were the events from the tour, love stories, even global geopolitical topics," laughs Bojan. "All the reflections and deliberations that happened to us in the past year and a half." They say that the new album differs from the previous ones primarily due to the fact that it's sonically much more diverse and richer with instruments.

"Apart from those usual clichés - the whole album is more mature, we've developed the sound and so on - with this album we didn't strictly stick to our own instruments, but rather experimented and explored with different instruments", Kris Guštin, the band's guitarist describes for us. On this album, for the first time, they recorded about half of the songs with Jan on keyboards. "And the lyrics are darker this time, more gloomy than on 'Demoni', so we went one step further there as well." Bojan adds that on this album, for the first time, they recorded songs written in three languages ​​- Slovenian, English and Serbian.

(Ph: Vita Orehek)

We asked him if he could single out any advantages or differences in writing songs in different languages, and he tells us that the language of a song is often dictated by the inspiration itself. "The story already comes with its own language and I don't like changing the songs just because they should be in another language. I don't want to adapt or distort the story as it is." He also discovered that he has different attitudes towards himself in different languages. For example, in Serbian, he says, he can be the most honest when he writes about love, while for the song 'Everybody's Waiting' in English, it's easier for him to be open and honest with himself about unpleasant feelings. On the other hand, it's most natural for him to talk about world and political topics in Slovenian.

The process of creating the album was described to us by bassist Nace Jordan: "The album actually started with the Eurovision song 'Carpe Diem', and after Eurovision and the tour, we moved to London for two months in January this year, looking for new inspiration for the future album. After the tour finished, we spent six weeks in two studios and finished the album with our producer Žarko Pak." Kris, for example, is most looking forward to performing the eighth song from the album 'Mesto duhov' ('City of Ghosts'), because the song contains many unpredictable moments. "I can't wait to hear it and perform it live on stage and see the reactions of the audience who will see it for the first time," he says. "Wow. I haven't even thought about that", Bojan comments. "I have," Nace and Kris answer in unison. We asked them what exactly they thought. "The song is actually a kind of psychosis, where the lyrical subject jumps from a very aggressive and melancholic state to a pompous, almost post-mortem atmosphere," explains Kris. "It seems almost like a funeral song that constantly jumps between the stanza and the chorus, changing the sound image, the tempo, the atmosphere, and, in fact, the whole attitude of the song."

"Not only is it fun to play, but it will also be challenging to practise." When asked which song gave them the most problems, they all unanimously agreed: 'Šta bih ja'. "It's a song that requires a precise fit of all elements, otherwise the song simply doesn't work," Bojan explains. "We couldn't find the formula to arrange all the elements correctly and we were searching for a solution for a long time." "We recorded it more than 130 times", Nace adds. "We're still not sure if it's a slow or dance song," adds Kris, and the guys laugh in agreement. "One or two attempts are usually enough for us - just right", Bojan concludes.

(Ph: Vita Orehek)

When asked about how they developed and changed as artists over time, Bojan smiled and immediately handed the microphone to Jan Peteh: "You can start, keyboard player." Jan, the band's guitarist, continued and explained how, during the recording of one of the songs from the album, 'Everybody's Waiting', they found themselves at a standstill with the arrangement, unsure in which direction they should proceed. But thanks to Žarko's solution, everything fell into place. Jure improvised on the drums on the verse "What a wonderful life", and Jan complemented him by playing electric keyboards. "We connected a Rhodes keyboard to the amplifier and since then, in fact, I've been playing both keyboards and synthesizers in our songs," Jan concludes. "Don't be so modest", Bojan adds and continues: "Actually, it was discovered completely by chance that Jan is also extremely talented on keyboards, which delighted us all. Even our producer Žare was impressed by Jan's approach to playing an electric keyboard, which doesn't happen often. Jan proved to be a great instrumentalist.”

If they could choose with whom to have their dream-collab musical collaboration, with any musician, living or dead, from our region or beyond, Jure would choose Dire Straits. The boys exchanged glances and agreed to choose a band together. At Nace's "Ready, set, go", they say "Buč Kesidi" in unison. "It would be great if we could collaborate with them," adds Kris. And I have to admit that I agree - that would certainly be their dream musical collaboration.

Since we learned all about their plans for the future, we were interested in what they remembered from the past. For example, memories of the craziest concerts that will remain in their memory forever. Jure recalls their performance at Belgrade Beer Festival. Before that, they had already visited Serbia, "but this was the first time after the performance at the Eurovision Song Contest. Even before we went on stage, we heard the crowd chanting "Joker Out" behind us. I couldn't believe what was happening. I think it was one of the best concerts.” Jan continues and highlights the Ruisrock festival in Finland and the Summer Well festival in Romania. "At both of them, we were also greeted with loud chants by an audience of approximately 8,000 people," he tells us, while the other band members nod their heads in confirmation. Kris also adds the performance at Exit festival in Novi Sad and recalls the feeling while watching the footage of that concert: "It's a particularly strange feeling when you see that endless sea of ​​people, which you're not even aware of while you're on stage." "Yes." Jure agrees, "Some concerts really knock you off your feet. That was one of those." Bojan recalls another one: "For me, it was crazy at Wkrwglca in Sežana." The others join in laughing. They start listing who they were performing with that night. "MRFY, VAZZ live, Jet Black Diamonds... there were several Slovenian performers who we met again and the audience was really warm", Bojan recalls. "I felt like I was at one of those nostalgic college parties from the 80s that our parents used to tell us about."

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

We finally got to the topic of fans, and as soon as we asked if they could share any interesting or crazy fan-related stories with us, the guys went quiet and thoughtful. "People ask this all the time, and we still don't have the right answer," Kris notes, which prompts laughter from the others. We learn that they're always met by fans at the airport in Finland, where they have quite a large fanbase, and how much that means to them. Then, completely casually, they mentioned the voodoo dolls they had received as gifts. Tesa and I just looked at each other, we had to find out more. "They made dolls of all the band members in our Eurovision outfits. We actually got them twice, but they were only presented as voodoo dolls the first time," Kris explains with a laugh. Some band members still keep their dolls safe at home, while Kris, for example, doesn't even know where his is.

While they tell us about events from the concerts, like the one where Bojan's jacket was stolen or where they had a backstage in the middle of the forest marked only by tape around the trees, Tesa and I wonder if there is anything that fans still don't know about the band. There's silence again, and I can almost see them jogging their memories with serious expressions. Then they remember - they don't like making music videos.

Namely, it always happens by chance that they shoot music videos in winter, and in rooms without heating. Or, let's say, the fact that Kris has a talent for finding trashy music, or as Bojan calls him - "the best music editor for trashy music". Surely even the most loyal fans don't know that if they were to choose a name now, it definitely wouldn't be Joker Out. Some members of the band don't like the name at all, and Kris adds that it calms him down that his father doesn't like his band's name either, so they almost comfort each other by listing bands they know have a similar story with the name. Speaking of the name of the band itself, we were interested in how the name Joker Out came about. Kris starts the story and explains that it all started in a group chat where everyone actually met, and of course, at some point, like every band, they needed a name. Someone suggested the word "Joker". Since that word was not enough, they also added "Out". The proposal received three likes and the name stuck. Bojan continues: "I remember we were thinking then - if Ota Roš says our name in Pop In and if it sounds good, then it's the right name."

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

Through talking and evoking memories, we've gone way back, to the time before Joker Out was created. At the age of eleven, Bojan was in his first band called No Name, which lasted only a few weeks and played only one song, 'Tears in Heaven'. After that, he was in the band Apokalipsa, which disbanded when, as he says, he "stole" Jan and Nace¹ from other bands, and that's how Joker Out was born.

¹There has been a mistake in the original article. This should say: “Bojan "stole" Jan and Kris from other bands”, not Nace as originally mentioned.

If they had to single out their favourite or most important moment in their entire career, Jan would choose their first concert at Cvetličarna, because it seemed to him that it was then that he felt the turning point in the band's recognition for the first time. It was their first big solo concert, two in a row, both sold out. "Even if we played at Madison Square Garden now, I don't know if it would be as big a step forward as it was then. I don't think I'll ever experience that kind of adrenaline again." Nace points out that the breakthrough moment for him was the concert in Dublin, when they performed abroad for the first time and the audience sang the lyrics along with them. Jure, on the other hand, says that he will never forget the moment of entering the Eurovision final, when everyone sat together on the couch and nervously waited for the result. There was only one spot left when they were announced as finalists and the name Joker Out appeared on the screen.

Kris concludes that he could hardly single out just one moment, because the whole of the year 2023, along with the experience of Eurovision and the European tour, was the best year of his life. Bojan follows up on Jan's words and says that the concert in Cvetličarna was also a turning point for him: "I have never felt such sincere and pure happiness as after that concert, when I cried continuously for at least 45 minutes. I simply broke down under the weight of all the emotions; all the people I love the most were there with me and then, maybe for the first and last time, I felt like the best thing in my life had just happened. Then I also announced a concert at Stožice, which really came true."

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

I can't help but try to imagine what they were like almost ten years ago when they formed the band, thinking about what they wanted to play and what messages their lyrics would convey. Whenever I have the chance to look at young people full of enthusiasm, who really love what they do, I root for them inside. And that is even more powerful when I see how much they have succeeded. There's no doubt that Joker Out have come a long way, and who knows, maybe a very difficult way to get to where they are today. They're currently the most popular Slovenian band, whose songs are sung by fans all over Europe, posting covers of their hits or interpretations of their songs in their own languages on TikTok. If there's anything left of those teenagers, it's the positive energy between them, mutual jokes, contagious laughter and sincere friendship.

Also, they've kept that modesty which you can feel when they talk about their successes and milestones in their careers and the respect they have for each other and for their work. At the same time, I can't help but imagine where else their musical path will take them. With their music and visual presence, they are undoubtedly the messengers of their generation, and the feeling that great milestones, successes and endeavors are ahead of them is almost palpable. Therefore, I can only congratulate the guys on all their achievements and the new album and wish them a big – Carpe Diem!

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

[louisupdates]

The City of Łódź, like an event agency, announced the first world star of this year's mBank Łódź Summer Festival. It will be Louis Tomlinson, a British singer, songwriter and model, in the years 2010-2016 the lead singer of the boy band One Direction.

Stars Łódź Summer Festival 2025

On the stage of the Łódź Summer Festival, in addition to Louis Tomlinson, former One Direction singer, we will also see Polish stars. They will be Sobel and C.K.O.D. from Łódź.

After parting with One Direction, Louis Tomlinson successfully continues his solo career. He has already performed twice at the Atlas Arena in Łódź - in 2022 and 2023. Now he will play a concert for the first time, the entrance to which will be free.

The Łódź band Cool Kids of Death - C.K.O.D. - is called a cult Polish band that returned to the stage with its hits. As the festival organizers announce, C.K.O.D. says goodbye to the last farewell concert during the mBank Summer.

And finally, Sobel is one of the most interesting representatives of the Polish hip-hop scene. The last single "Kochasz" stormed the charts and will certainly not miss it on the festival setlist.

This is not the end. The City Hall of Łódź announces that the cast of the festival will include two more foreign stars.

- One of the stars represents dance music, a combination of dancehall and pop. I assure you that everyone knows this name - reveals Tomasz Piotrowski, vice-president of Łódź. - It will also be a sentimental return to Łódź and Poland. The last star, on the other hand, is alternative music, very ambitious, calm, intimate, one of the most beautiful female voices. The festival lineup has already been added, we will reveal it successively.

The City of Łódź estimates that over 40 thousand people took part in last year's edition of the festival. This year, the organizers expect up to 60 thousand.

Let us remind you that this year's third edition of the Łódź Summer Festival will take place on July 25-27, in a new location - in Błoni Łódzkie. Admission to the concerts will be free. This year, the cooperation with the organizers of mBank gained the title partner.

- This means that mBank is making a very serious contribution to the festival budget. Our goal is that in the following years this festival will become neutral for the city's budget - assures Tomasz Piotrowski.

In the new place, the festival will probably be played on several stages. It is also planned to organize a tent camp.

[asphodolls]

           Pomegranate  blossoms  will  conceive  of  me.

 PERSEPHONE  is  a  female  duo  under  HEART  ROT  MEDIA.  The  duo  consists  of  JUDY  and  MAIKA.  Originally  a  four-piece  ensemble,  SIAH  and  SACHIKO  departed  in  January  2018.  The  quartet  debuted  on  MAY  10,  2017,  with  “EDUTE.”  They  made  their  debut  as  a  duo  on  MARCH  17,  2018,  with  “PERSEPHONE’S  BOUQUET.”

PERSEPHONE's  formation  extends  back  to  2009,  with  seven  members.  At  that  time,  they  were  referred  to  as  SPRING  GIRLS.  The  group's  lineup  would  have  several  reworks,  the  most  notable  versions  being  the  ‘ot4’  and  ‘ot2’  versions.  They  are  the  first  girl  group  to  debut  under  HRM,  but  the  second  group  overall—METAL  WINGS  debuted  in  2009—and  was  the  first  group  to  have  pre-debut  releases.  “LUCKY  GIRLS”  was  released  in  April  2016,  one  month  before  their  debut,  under  the  pre-debut  name.

PERSEPHONE  is  known  for  their  spring  concept,  catchy  songs, their  successful  rise  within  K-pop industry,  and  their  participation  in  the  production  of  their  music.  Since  debut,  the  duo  has  released  thirteen  musical  projects—which  includes  two  full  albums.

hangul.  페르세포네

also  called.  the  flowers  of  spring,  the  keeper’s  of  spring 

spinoff of.  spring  girls

company.  heart  rot  media

debut  date.  may  10,  2017

debut  album.  edute

greeting.  “watch  us  bloom!  hello,  we  are  persephone!”

fandom  name.  narcissus 

fandom  colors.  spring’s  garden  &  spring’s  sky 

light  stick.  flowering  bong

                                                                                                                                                                MEMBERS   ─── 

current  members.  judy,  maika

past  members.  sachiko,  siah

                                                                                                                                                                                 RECORDS   ─── 

‘17   |   ETUDE     :     debut  extended  play

‘17   |   REBEL HEART     :     single 

‘18   |   PERSEPHONE’S  BOUQUET     :     single  album 

‘18   |   ANGEL     :     special  single

‘18   |   CUPID’S  DELIVERY     :     second  extended  play

‘19   |   TIPI-TAPI   :     pre-release  single

‘19   |   BANQUET     :     third  extended  play

‘19   |   IN  FULL  BLOOM     :     first  full  album 

‘20   |   LOVESICK GIRLS     :     japanese  single 

‘20   |   DOMINO ~ BUTTERFLY EFFECT     :     japanese  single 

‘21   |   SENSITIVE     :     single 

‘22   |   GALILEO     :     pre-release  single

‘22   |   APHRODITE’S  GIRL     :     fourth  extended  play

‘22   |   THE  POETS     :     fifth  extended  play

‘23   |   SWALLOW  ME     :     sixth  extended  play 

‘25   |   POMEGRANATE  SEEDS     :     second  full  album

                                                                                                                                                                                CINEMA   ───

‘19   |   THE  BLOOMING  CEREMONY   :     tgon  tour  documentary 

‘25   |   I  DESERVE  SPRING   :     documentary 

                                                                                                                                                                                NOTABLE  EVENTS   ───

‘17   |   THE  BIRTH  OF  KORE   :     debut  concert 

‘17   |   KEEPERS  OF  SPRING   :     fan  event 

‘18   |   SWAN  LAKE   :     anniversary  concert 

‘18   |   CUPID’S  WORKSHOP   :     comeback  exhibition

‘19   |   THE  GARDEN  OF  NARCISSUS   :     world  tour

‘23   |   MAIDENS  OF  SPRING   :     world  tour   :   cancelled  four  months  in 

[twopoppies]

I might miss the point but both are football fans and both attended the final with their groups of friends, sat separately and most likely ran into each other in the VIP area backstage hence the pic. A place like being at the same wedding is a totally different thing especially if we know Louis isn’t friends with the bride as much as Harry is. Sure they seemingly ran into each other alongside other VIPs and singers and F1 drivers backstage in the stadium but sat separately and went with different groups of friends. How is that any more than just that. They could hate each other and still run into each other unwantingly at such events haha it’s not possible to forever avoid that, especially at a big final like the euros or a music award show etc.

I’m not sure what you’re trying to achieve here. Are you trying to convince me that it’s not a big deal? Maybe you haven’t been here all that long, but plausible deniability is the name of the game. Everything you cite is exactly the reason they both could show up there.

It seems like you don’t understand the lengths to which people (including HL) have gone to keep anyone from seeing the two of them even in the same vicinity.

You certainly don’t have to believe they’re still together, I’ll even give you a pass if you’ve somehow ignored all the evidence and believe they never dated, but if you actually believe the two of them hate each other, you’re a lost cause.

The point of everyone’s excitement is that, for some reason, the two of them being in the same place at the same time was allowed to be public. And that we got a photo of them just feet away from each other. Other than Louis’ performance in 2016, that hasn’t happened outside of One Direction concerts and interviews since Lairport in 2014, IIRC. They’ve been consistently absent from each other’s lives in a way that is so glaringly obvious, it would be funny if it wasn’t so infuriating.

I’m not saying anything more is going to come from this moment, but it was a big deal.