#he will sing at least 1 song by that dead band

[gracefullou]

What sort of set list do you think we could get for festival louis? Do you think he'll change it up much? (other than shortening it I guess if he's not headling!) ♥️🖤

And what set list would you want for festival louis (If different to his current FITF set!)

Hi, anon! Your guess is as good as mine, Louis is unpredictable that way. I really loved the 2023 afhf setlist, it was perfect for a festival, the set was full of energy and i was hyped up the whole time! I doubt he'll have time to perform the full setlist though even when he's headlining (i've never been to a festival so i don't really know what the norm is in terms of the sets duration). I think from walls, kmm will be the only surviver 😂. And from fitf, i feel Louis already got rid of the slower songs on the album except for Saturdays (a crime in my opinion) so no chance we'll get ttwlg or common people or my beloved lucky again 😔. I think we can say goodbye to bigger than me in the festival era 😭 bc i don't think he'll play it. I feel like Waoyf is in danger too (he better not take it off the setlist though 🔪🔪) and so is Chicago and angels fly. Megamix is in danger as well but I feel Louis loves it too much to take it off the setlist and everyone deserves to hear all this time live at least once in their lives so don't you dare Louis. I think the greatest, face the music, ooms, Saturdays, silver tongues, holding onto heart ache and bty rock version are the ones that will for sure make it to the setlist and paradise, maybe. I'm really hoping that he'll surprise us all and add headline to the setlist permenantly. That would be the perfect setlist for festival season in my opinion especially if he adds defenceless and always you, maybe even otb to some of these shows 🥺 And i'll be even more delusional and manifest a new single and guitar Louis on stage 😁.

[st4rb3rr13s]

Musician!Eren headcanons

Just some headcanons, should be no warnings

Since this is getting more popular I thought y’all would like me to do a second one<33

Musician!Eren only puts out his albums or singles on his favorite number(3). What I mean is, like if he’s putting out a song in October it would HAVE to be October 3rd, 13th, 23rd, 30th, or 31st. If it’s not, he’d be actually pissed. (He thinks it’s good luck.)

Musician!Eren would listen to Wave to earth, Beyoncé, Usher, A-Boogie, Meek Mill, Bruno Mars, Eminem, Biggie, Tupac, and Jay-Z. So he likes making RNB or rap. But when he was younger he def was into rock tho. He has posters, t-shirts, and merch of his old favorite bands. He probably met one of his idols when he was younger too. (Father Grisha has connections.)

Musician!Eren and Grisha’s relationship went rocky when Eren didn’t want to go to college and wanted to pursue his music career. Grisha was NOT happy about it because Eren was for one spending GRISHA’S money on his passion and it seemed like it wasn’t going anywhere. Grisha and Eren defiantly had multiple arguments about his career before it sky rocked.

Musician!Eren’s first hit was an overnight sensation. Like before maybe a couple thousands listened to it and was many people’s favorite underground artist, but when he made a song talking about his love PEOPLE WENT CRAZYY!! Like Snooze or Hrs and Hrs, people played it like that.

Musician!Eren would be the most chill person anyone could’ve met in the industry. Everyone loved him, as he was one of the most realest but nonchalant people. He could keep a conversation but he was never blatantly rude or disrespectful to anyone. So when you two met, you were drawn to his chill nature.

Musician!Eren’s first beef with Jean wasn’t anything he really cared about. He didn’t care until Jean started to talk shit about you honestly. He wanted to talk all this shit while his fiancé, Mikasa, and you were best friend. You didn’t care, knowing he wanted clout but Eren cared. And he made his first of many diss tracks, getting more attention.

Musician!Eren would get cancel for the shit he said in the past, like someone came for a song he made when he was much younger and he asked him about their dead relatives. People went after him, but did he care? No, he didn’t even address it. He honestly replied to it with “New Single out tomorrow.” LIKE WHAT?? (But profit ig.)

Musician!Eren’s first scandal would be him dating Mikasa (obviously fake.) They’d see the pair hanging out together more often, Mikasa giggling while Eren was telling a joke. People would question them, and they’d end it saying they were friends. (They were co-stars for AOT, but no one knew until the trailer came out.)

Musician!Eren and you came out on the red carpet, matching, while his hand was on your waist, omg. EVERYONE WOULD GO CRAZY !! So many pictures, paparazzi trying to talk to you two, asking when did this start. Everything. The two of you look at each other, laugh, answer, then walk away. (Too in love 😭)

Musician!Eren would definitely feature you in one of his songs. He would want you to be in at least one, and it had to be a love song. Either you acting in it or singing or even both, he didn’t care. Just needed you to work with him once.

Musician!Eren who definitely donates some of his money because he doesn’t know what he’d use all of it on?? He gives some to his family and spoils you?? What the hell is he going to do with an extra 1 mil?? Better to donate it, because he can gain that 1 million in a day if he really needed it.

Musician!Eren who was caught smoking weed. People tried to cancel him again, and he didn’t care. He addressed this time though, with a video of him smoking o’s while high. He didn’t really care about anyone’s opinion about what he does, unless it’s you.

Musician!Eren who went in disguise to buy you a bag. You complained about not being able to buy it online since it was sold out, but in store it wasnt. (His cover was shit and people found out easily(too many paparazzi, he asked for them to ship the bag to your house.))

Musician!Eren who got in trouble with his mom when he made a song about getting bitches. His mom KNEW he was in a relationship with you, and Mama Carla knew how it felt. She cussed him out then when she saw him next pinched his ear before forcing him to apologize to you. (Definitely doesn’t like her son being a player.)

Musician!Eren who is always a trending topic, and everyone always in his business. He went to get ice cream? Eren loves chocolate ice cream. Went to buy some new shirts? Eren can’t stop spending his money. Like leave him alone 😭😭

Musician!Eren on your anniversary definitely planned a nice vacation to the place you’ve been talking about going to, planning activities, everything. Surprises you too because he acts like he forgot. (He never forgets anything.)

Hope you like<33

@s3lfinvolvedh3athen

[aurorafables]

From the Grey, Chapter 1.

Let's get is started. :) I'm very excited, and I hope you will like it bc I loved to write it.

Pairing: Noah Sebastian X Nicholas Ruffilo

Warnings: 18+, Explicit, Angst, Past character death, Suicidal thoughts

Tags: M/M, Slow burn, Childhood friends, Friends to lovers, Family drama, Band fic

Word Count: 4.2k

Cross-posted: AO3

Author's note: This was originally written in Hungarian, and I'm still looking for a proofreader, so please forgive me the mistakes, strange expressions. Hope it's still enjoyable. Let me know, what do you think. :) Also let me know if you want to be tagged in the upcoming parts :)

Summary: In Noah's life, his best friend was the light, the way out of the abuse he suffered at home. After a childhood full of trauma, in which he was stripped of his wings so many times, he moves in with Nick, whose goal is to let him fly. The band, Bad Omens, led by Noah, begins to soar, which brings at least as many problems as joy. As teenagers grow into men, Noah and Nick drift closer and closer to each other, and the boundaries of friendship and love completely merge.

Chapter 1.

It would be difficult to say exactly when it started. It was as if the dynamic between the two of us had completely changed without being noticed. I could compare it to when I'm doing a tattoo and I want to create a nice color gradient to make the design look as realistic as possible. The point is that you can't tell where one color ends and the other color begins. Even between us, the transition from wanting to hug him in a friendly way to kissing him passionately was imperceptible.

Maybe I woke up like that one day, but it's also possible that the desire had been brewing in me for weeks, months, years, I just blocked it deep down. And what if I felt that little spark the first time we met, but I was still almost a child and couldn't identify it? I have to start this story somewhere. And like most fairy tales, it didn't start well. The mood of the whole band was cast by melancholy over the loss of a friend. But like all dead artists, Keaton remained immortal. His voice will live forever on the records, despite the fact that he was not with us anymore. The music of Too Close To Touch mingled with the cohesive low murmur of the crowd outside in the club's concert hall, where Keaton's vocals echoed painfully through the walls. "Death is not a game with the ones I hold close She was mine, mine, you can't deny Three years is too quick to die"* All his anger, all his pain were in the song he wrote about his little sister, who died lying on a hospital bed. In the text, he blamed God for choosing little Eiley over him. The poor boy had no idea at the time that they were both chosen… Personally, I would have liked to break something if I remembered that he was gone now, and I could only reassure myself that maybe they were already up there together. If it even exists up there. Because what if up there is actually only two meters underground?

The song didn't come at the best moment, because we had to go on stage right after, and I might be able to hide my mood in front of the audience… I glanced at Noah and my heart sank when I saw him banging his head against the wall, clutching the microphone in his hand, next to the stage, which we will soon have to walk up to. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, which I completely forgot to do in parallel. I was so worried about him. I knew he'd hate himself for that if his voice cracked while singing the opening lines of The Death Of Peace Of Mind. His maximalism was what he could torture himself with the most. Also, he had to be up there alone at the beginning of the song, we didn't join until later. I walked to him and gently put my hand on his shoulder, but I still managed to scare him a little because he pulled away before he opened his eyes. When he saw me, he almost snuggled back into my hand. It reminded me of my very first cat, the little black ball of fur I found on the street when I was barely ten. I named him Dusk because of his color and when he came to us I did everything I could to fatten him up. We slept together in my bed at night, because his soft purr always lulled me to sleep quickly. It was amazing how much Dusk and Noah were alike. Even in the semi-darkness next to the stage, my best friend's dark brown eyes glistened with unshed tears, which he tried to quickly blink away. His shoulders slumped forward in the thin linen jacket, and I'd bet his fingers were white under the faux-leather glove he wore on his left hand, clutching the microphone like a lifeline. He and Keaton were very close. In the last two years, they spent a lot of time together, especially during and after the Covid epidemic, when it was possible to travel. Even when they were far away, they kept in touch on a daily basis. Keaton was good with all of us, but he had a stronger bond with Noah. He wanted to remember him by playing their songs during the break after our opening band, but Eiley's song has never come at such a bad time.

“We can extend the time for five more minutes,” I told him, and meanwhile I looked back at Jolly, who was still fiddling with his headphones with the help of a sound technician, and Folio was deep in his own thoughts drumming on the wall, sometimes doing shoulder circles as a warm-up. "Everything's fine," Noah replied in a weak voice, to which I nodded hesitantly, lowered my hand, and took a step back. "I'm worthless to the world You're innocent and pure God, why didn't you choose me over her?”* They signaled to Noah, who gave a thumbs up as if everything was fine. Nonsense. I knew nothing was okay. Keaton's voice faded outside and soon the intro to our song began. I looked down at my guitar and after stretching my fingers I strummed a few chords just to pass the time. When Noah walked out and the crowd cheered, he wasn't as lost as he had been two minutes ago. He immediately filled the stage and sang like a fucking siren without faltering. I shook my head, feeling a little angry at myself for constantly underestimating him. It was about time to get used to that Noah wasn't ruined by all the crap that happened around him. On the contrary, it only strengthened him even more.

Two months later, I was sitting on the steps of the tour bus in Phoenix, beer in one hand and a half-smoked cigarette in the other, when I heard Noah's footsteps behind me. After a concert he liked to clear his head, so I thought he was going for his usual walk and I thought that I could join. I stood up to let him go, and when he stepped next to me, I was hit by the smell of his perfume. He had just stuffed his wallet into the back pocket of his pants, so I began to suspect that he had other plans for that evening. “Karin is in the city,” he said to me, but he didn't look at me, just watched the night lights. The blue neon lights of the bar glistened on the brunette's hair, and the tattoos running down his arms coiled around his skin like snakes. I thought I still had time. I thought I could figure something out before they met again in Salt Lake City. I blew out the last of the smoke, extinguished the butt, then slipped out of my denim jacket and held it out to him. “We will leave in the morning, be here by then.” Noah hesitantly took my jacket and looked at me. “That's it?” he asked in disbelief. I don't know what he expected. Maybe to remind him again that woman is crazy like hell? "I'm tired," I confessed to him. ”I can't save you from someone whose arms you keep running into. But I can do something to save you from catching a cold,” I gestured towards the jacket. He still didn't move, even though the situation was becoming more and more pressing for me, and the spring night wasn't nearly warm enough to keep me from getting goosebumps. I wrapped my arms around myself and hobbled in place. I kicked small stones with my boots on the asphalt of the parking lot and waited. I didn't care if I froze there, I wouldn't leave Noah alone as long as he needed me. The boys' laughter could be heard from inside the bus, a car honked on the street not far from us. I raised my head and immediately met a pair of dark eyes. Stared. I don't know how long or why. I swear he didn't even blink. Then he reached out and touched my arm under the sleeve of my shirt. “You are cold.” I blinked a few times, then started to move. I took the jacket from his hands and draped it over his shoulders. “But you don't have to be cold,” I answered him with an encouraging smile. “Everything will be okay. I will be okay,” he said quietly and gloomily. I don't know which of us he wanted to convince with this, but it didn't work. The smile immediately melted off my face. “Noah…” It's been a long time since my voice sounded so desperate when I said his name. I think all my fear must have been on my face because Noah took a step back and shook his head. I was ready to try again to get him to stay. We could have done so many things. From walking to sitting down to play video games with the boys. Or we could have gone to a nightclub to drink and to flirt with girls. Whatever, just don't let that cunt touch him again… He brushed his hair back and shrugged as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I have to go, Nick. We will talk in the morning.” And that was it. There was nothing I could do to keep him there.

I got home from the tattoo salon late that night and was so tired that all I could think about was my bed. But as soon as I stepped through the door, the strong smell of weed hit me. It went through the small apartment so intensely that I almost got sick of it. "Shit," I muttered to myself as I kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag on the floor, and headed for the bedroom with the goal of scolding Noah. The door was not locked on the little hole we called the bedroom, which was completely filled with my bed and the mattress that Noah had been sleeping on for months. When I entered, he was sitting on the bed, knees pulled up to his chin, and he was holding a weed cigarette between his long, thin fingers. As if he had completely forgotten about it, the ash fell onto my blanket and I was amazed that it hadn't caught fire yet. Noah didn't even notice I got home because he was listening to music on his earphones, and I was sure he was just physically in the room by the way he looked. I leaned towards him, took the cigarette from his fingers and crushed it in the ashtray. With that, I finally drew attention to myself, because after he looked up at me tensely, with red eyes. The Asian features of his face came to life, which normally I would have stared in fascination, but this was not a normal case. I forgot I wanted to yell at him for wasting the weed and almost setting our apartment on fire. Because by then we both owned that little flat. In the corner, next to my guitar, there was also his. Noah's things appeared in the bathroom, his shampoo, his toothbrush, he got half of my wardrobe and sometimes half of my bed… His clothes were just as messily scattered as mine, and he already had his favorite mug, from which he preferred to sip his coffee in the morning. I wanted to think that his eyes were red from smoking weed, but when he spoke, I had no doubt that he must have been crying for hours.

"I thought you'd come home earlier today," he said in a nasal tone after stopping the music and taking out his earphones. In the meantime, I opened the window without holding him responsible for why he did not do so. “I thought so too,” I answered him, then I fell down on the bed next to him. ”Another guest came at seven, and thought I would do miracles in two hours with an old, messed-up tattoo.” Noah nodded, then slowly stretched out his infinite legs. He was only sixteen then, but already a little taller than me. We sat speechless for a while and looked at each other. I was even more overcome by fatigue, and for a moment my eyes were probably closed too long while blinking, because I was jolted when Noah moved next to me. He took a deep breath, then let it out shakily. Our tattooed arms touched and I could feel the tremors running through his bones as he reached for his phone. Oh my god, he was so skinny. If I touched his arms, I was afraid I would crush him as if his limbs were made of thin glass fibers. “I got a message,” he whispered into the dimness, then put the phone on my thigh. I picked it up with a scared heart and started reading. I had a guess of what it might be, and honestly… I just didn't understand why it didn't come sooner. At first, Noah's mother tried to lure her son back to her side with sweet, but poisoned words, which in the end turned into mere threats. Every fucking word she wrote made me feel nauseous. “After half a year, she remembered that she had an underage son. Maybe she expects some kind of reward for it?” I asked, but mostly I meant it as a poetic question.

Noah tensed up next to me and started breathing faster. “I… I can't go back there. If… if you say I have to go back to her, I… rather… I…” "Hey Noah, I would never say that," I turned to him and tried to speak in the most soothing voice possible. But I was too late… By that time, tears were already falling, and he was clutching the crumpled bottom of his two-size-larger shirt. I was totally in shock because I had never seen anything like this before. What kind of friend is who doesn't recognize that the problem is so big? Noah was an old soul with a lot of shit and loss behind him, who blended in perfectly with the adults, so I tended to forget that he was still just a kid. But now there was a child next to me who was terrified. Whom fear brought out the worst. "I shouldn't be here," he said between sobs, to which I shook my head so fast that my hair hit my cheek. I knelt on the bed, turned to face him and tried to remove his fingers from his clothes. I just wanted to hold his hand… I just wanted him to know I was with him. “Noah…No! Don't tell me this!” I protested loudly, but he didn't listen to me. It's like he didn't even hear what I said. Instead, he drove himself deeper and deeper into madness. “I should have died a long time ago…years ago.” If he had only stabbed a dagger into my stomach with his words, this was the moment he twisted it. My chest felt tight and I couldn't breathe. Noah snapped his head back hard and his skull hit the wall loudly. After that, I couldn't focus on my own panic anymore, without thinking I put my hand on his head to protect him from himself. I didn't care that I might not be able to tattoo. My fingers ached as they met the hard wall, but I didn't really notice the pain. All I cared about was Noah and how I could keep him safe. I've been trying to figure out how to fix this. His cries and animalistic whining still ring in my ears, mixed with the sound of my heart's frantic beating. I wrapped my arms around his head and pulled him close as he just cried and cried, his tears completely soaking my shirt. He was hugging my thighs as I knelt next to him, finally not wanting to hurt himself anymore.

That night, I only left his side when I brought him water from the kitchen. Then we both got into bed and Noah turned to face me, but half of his red face from crying was hidden in the pillow and the other half was covered by his hair. I quickly got rid of my tight jeans, threw them on the side of the bed and took his phone in my hand. He was watching what I was doing, but he didn't speak. First, without any guilt, I deleted his mother's message, then opened his music. It didn't surprise me that he was listening to Castle Of Glass by Linkin Park when I got home. I flipped through the playlist and started our favorite song As Cities Burn after giving him one of the earbuds. "Won't you come down, heaven. Won't you come down? Won't you cut through the clouds? Won't you come down?”** At the first chorus, he already closed his eyes, and only then did I allow myself to relax a little. I carefully reached towards him, smoothed the strands falling from his face behind his ears, and then I closed my eyes too. I begged myself to fall into a dreamless sleep. In the morning, when we woke up, Noah helped me untangle the earbuds’ cord from my hair. We parted laughing, shoving a piece of toast into our mouths. He went to a band rehearsal, and I went to a place that has become my second home, the tattoo salon. My fingers got away with it quite well, with a small bruise on one of the joints, which only started to hurt a little towards the end of the day. We didn't discuss anything else about that night. Maybe I regret it since then, but what can I say? I was just a scared kid too, too stupid to help his friend more. Noah's mother died less than two months later. I didn't feel for a minute that she was a loss to the world.

He has become a grown man since and he doesn't need me to protect him from the world. I watched motionless as he walked down the street to get into a taxi. His tall, thin figure disappeared around the corner and I could finally get my legs moving. I got on the bus, grabbed a new bottle of beer from the fridge and joined the others. Folio showed Matt some funny videos and Jolly typed a message on his phone. I sat next to him on the couch and started reading the news. "He won't be able to do this for long," said Jolly next to me in a strong Swedish accent. When it was late and he was tired, he didn't pay so much attention to speaking English with perfect pronunciation. But there's nothing wrong with that, we've been working together for so long, and we've been friends for so long that we understand each other with half a word. “What do you mean?” I turned to him. I slipped out of my boots, slid off the couch, and put my feet up on the small table. I rested my head on the backrest and wiped the steam from the side of the glass with my thumb. “For Noah's secret night meetings. Matt had told him before when saw that he wanted to go out on the town all by himself.” “It doesn't happen that often. And it's not a secret where he's going, he told me he was meeting Karin,” I took him to my defense immediately. “Anyway, why can't he go? The fans had left for an hour, no one was out there. And it's not that he hit the town on foot. He called a taxi.” “That girl is strange,” Jolly grimaced. You do not say.. “When she came to our place, Noah wasn't quite himself.” Recently, I felt guilty for not trying to stop him more firmly, but I reminded myself: Noah pointed out rather angrily during an argument about this that I can't protect him from everything. "If a little fuck puts him in a better mood, we're all fine with that," Folio interjected when Matt left us alone. Maybe I gave him a nasty look from behind my beer bottle, because he held his hands up defensively. I took another sip, then realized I didn't even want the beer. I put the bottle on the table, brushed my teeth in our small bathroom, and went to sleep. At least I wanted to sleep, but I must have been tossing and turning for another hour.

It felt like I had barely closed my eyes when something started to tingle my nose. I brushed it off at first, but then Noah's soft chuckle crept into my consciousness. I groaned then pulled the pillow over my head planning to go back to sleep. I kicked the blanket off because I was hot, and it turned out, it was a big mistake. Ice cold fingers touched my side, the muscles in my stomach jumped and I let out a muffled moan. “Fuck me!” I grumbled hoarsely as I caught Noah's hand, who was just putting the other one in front of my mouth. "Shh, the others are still sleeping," he whispered excitedly with sparkling eyes. “I want to sleep too,” I answered after pulling his hand away from my mouth. “Come on, Nick. I'm hungry. I want breakfast.” “Why can’t you eat?” “Missing your company.” I sighed. “Go to the kitchen. Give me five minutes and I'll be there.” "If I leave you here, you'll go back to sleep," he said accusingly, as if he had every right not to let me go back to sleep. “And I would go a little further for breakfast than the bus kitchen. But I promise, it's worth it. You will love the place.” Another sigh, but I sat up with half-closed eyes, then pulled on a pair of pants and a thick hoodie. My jacket was still on him and he didn't seem like he wanted to give it back.

After five minutes, Noah got off the bus energetically, and I, wrapped in my hoodie, got off the bus grumpily. It was just dawn, around half past six. Noah finally slowed his steps and stopped in front of me, facing me. My hair would have been a complete disaster, not to mention the pillow creases on my face, or my eyes, which I could barely keep open. "You're sweet when you are sleepy," he said finally. He looked at me with a smile, then pulled the hood over my head and did the same with his own. ”I don't want to be recognized.” “Come on! Who would be awake this early?” I asked sarcastically, yawning into my palm. We walked down the street and luckily he was right, we really didn't have to walk far before we got to the breakfast place. Too tired to read the sign, I just entered the small but friendly coffee shop and sighed as I was greeted by a pleasant warmth inside. I said hello to the gray lady behind the counter. When I saw the first cat, licking its paws on a chair, I turned to Noah questioningly, who just shrugged. "I thought you missed your little monsters," he said. A big smile spread across my face. A cat café. I was already less sleepy when I crouched next to the kitten and let him sniff my hand. Then I noticed even more hairballs and I didn't even know which one to go to. Meanwhile, Noah ordered us coffee and breakfast at the counter. I heard the old lady laughingly answer him when asked why they were open so early: “If the kittens wake up, why can't I open the cafe?”

I smiled as I scratched the head of a calico sitting next to the wall, and we blinked at each other for a long time. After ordering, Noah came over and sat next to me. "The chick likes you," he remarked when the kitten was placed on my lap. “What kind of chick? She is a lady here,” I caressed the hairy ears. Laughing softly, Noah leaned forward and, using the kitten etiquette he'd learned from me, introduced himself to our newest friend before petting her. Now that the hood was off his head, I noticed the bite marks on his neck. The dark red spot was located right on the border between his tattoo and his bare skin so that it was just noticeable. I swallowed, tore my gaze from his neck, and reassured myself that Noah didn't seem as lost now as he did after most of his meetings with Karin. Maybe she has changed. Maybe she finally realized what she had to lose? Noah's fingers accidentally touched mine in the kitten's soft fur, and we smiled at each other as the furball began to purr loudly. I haven't seen Noah this happy since before Keaton's death. Maybe Karin isn't so bad after all? We ate breakfast sitting on the floor with a cat each in our laps and had to run back to the bus before departure.

*Too Close To Touch - Eiley **As Cities Burn - Contact

[rosewaterandivy]

a fool without a cause | track 1: the plan (fuck jobs)

🎶 My body is a temple, how much d’ya think I could get for it? 🎶

summary: a meet ugly

word count: <700 words

warnings: 18 + for eventual smut, empire records AU | The gang are in their early twenties, college-aged, cursing, name calling, vague mentions of crime

a/n: ah yes, this brainrot sees the light of day. here we go!

Series masterlist | Playlist | Currently spinning: 

Eddie Munson was decidedly not a morning person.

So his presence at the old opera house of Recycled Books & Records before his usual shift was startling, to say the least. Even more so was the fact that he seemed to be awake.

Smoking a cigarette by the service entrance of the building as the sleepy town of Hawkins rose to greet a new day. Leaning against the wall like he could not be bothered to hold himself upright in his usual spot near the graffiti’d red devil. Just minding his own business, enjoying the last drag from his cigarette when a Prius careened around the corner like a bat out of hell.

He stubbed out his cigarette in an abandoned planter that had long ago been sacrificed for the cause. RIP Audrey II. Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the wall waiting to see who emerged from the car. It was well-maintained, from what he could tell, a ding or two on the bumper with a sticker that proclaimed ‘Ask me about my lobotomy!’

It also had an above-average stereo system, based on the volume and reverb of the baseline thumping from the car. Eddie could just make out the driver in the front seat singing to themselves as they flipped the visor down to mess with their hair. He can faintly hear the impassioned exclamation of “There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem next year!”

The driver bopped in their seat to the rest of the song and donned a pair of wayfarers that would give Harrington a run for his money. The engine was finally cut, and the door opened and you stepped out, still singing the final verse of the song you made your way to the sidewalk in front of the store.

Eddie straightened up a bit at that. Around his age, if he had to guess, give or take. Sporting denim cut-offs, Converse that had been beat to hell, and a flannel tied into some sort of cropped thing which he very much approved of. Now, it wasn’t that this mystery girl hadn’t intrigued him, just a rather unfortunate case of foot-in-mouth-syndrome.

Case in point:

“What the hell were you listening to?”

And yeah, that was on him. His tone could’ve been more genial and less frustration laced with exhaustion. He scrubs a hand down his face, mortified at his implication.

A slow turn accompanied by a withering stare. “Excuse me?”

“Sounded like some indie shit.” He leans against the wall again, “Weird choice of hype song s’all I’m saying.”

“Huh,” You scoff. “Well, I don’t recall asking for your opinion, dickbag.”

“Woah there, sweetheart! Wouldn’t wanna give a guy the wrong idea there.” He shoves his bands in his pockets, “I mean, at least it wasn’t Fall Out Boy or something.”

“Fall Out Boy is pop-punk, first of all.” Followed by a huff, an arched brow and crossed arms. “My apologies for not rolling through with Between the Buried and Me or some other prog-metal bullshit, I didn’t realize I’d be in the presence of the arbiter of taste this morning.”

Oh.

Eddie likes the scathing bite to your retort more than he should. He appreciates a good banter, thinks you can give as good as you can take.

He shrugs, benevolently. “S’not your fault you don’t have good taste. Can’t win ‘em all.”

“Isn’t it time you drop dead from emphysema or something?”

And before he can reply and dig himself in deeper, Hopper unlocks the front doors of the store. Without so much as a goodbye, you turn on your heel and leave.

Great job Munson, another successful human interaction!

Eddie yanks open the service door and stomps into the employee lounge. And makes himself comfortable on the couch, mentally replaying the interaction and highlighting everywhere he’d gone wrong.

On the bright side, at least he’d never have to see you again.

Famous last words.

[a-silent-symphony]

We got Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen to rank every single album by the band from worst to best

We asked Nightwish founder Tuomas Holopainen to rank the band's albums from worst to best - and some of his choices surprised us

From fantastical realms to elaborate filmic sagas and love-letters to Darwinism, the Nightwish discography is rich in intrigue – and low on dullmoments. As its central creator, Tuomas Holopainen is inextricably bound to the sounds, feelings and memories that saturate each of these nine albums.

His life is in this music. But if it came to it, in a castaway situation, which albums would he most (and least) want to be stuck with? It’s a tough call. “They are my children,” he pleads, “how would they feel if they saw the ranking? Wishmaster would be so sad!” Still, he did manage to settle on an order, and here it is...

9. Wishmaster (Spinefarm, 2000)

“It went to No.1 in Finland, but to me Wishmaster is one of those albums that was kind of ‘in-between’. It doesn’t stand out to me on a personal level. There was nothing revolutionary about it after [1998’s] Oceanborn.

It was made in a really good spirit – everybody in the band was happy after the success of Oceanborn – so this was just a natural continuation of that. But it didn’t really introduce anything spectacularly new for me personally. I think that’s my problem with it. If Ihad to pick a favourite song, I think I’d pick Dead Boy’s Poem; lyrically, it’s very much in the essence of Nightwish.”

8. Angels Fall First (Spinefarm, 1997)

“Our debut sounds so innocent because it was done as a demo. It was never supposed to be released, but we sent it to the record label and they said, ‘Let’s put this out!’ It still has my parents’ home address on the booklet.

“When I founded Nightwish in July 1996, I just wanted to do moody acoustic music. Since me and Emppu [Vuorinen, guitars] had a strong metal background, it was a natural transition to do something heavier, but that original acoustic band idea can be heard strongly. We couldn’t find anybody to sing, so I kind of dug a hole and fell into it myself.

"We played Elvenpath years later on the Decades tour, and I can’t understand how Floor was able to keep a straight face singing those lyrics – to her credit, she did! I just remember the kid that I was back then, writing those songs, and I kind of miss that kid, because it was all about Donald Duck and fantasy books and snowmen and things fantastical.

"Nymphomaniac Fantasia? Not my proudest moment. But it was done because there was a young kid who had some, I don’t know… issues, ha ha ha! Love-life gone wrong or something. It was a different time.”

7. Century Child (Spinefarm, 2002)

“After Wishmaster, I seriously considered quitting the band, especially thanks to the departure of the [original] bass player [Sami Vänskä] and my slight burnout. Then I went on a hiking trip in Lapland with Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica, and he talked me over that.

"We needed a new bass player, and we needed management because until then it was me and Jukka [Nevalainen] the drummer taking care of the business side. So we got management, and we got Marko [Hietala, bassist/ singer until 2021], who was already a big name in Finnish metal – we were all big fans.

"There was a lot of bad stuff happening in the band as well – that’s reflected on the album. Slaying The Dreamer was a way to get rid of all that frustration. Artistically I found film music, Hans Zimmer above all, and that really can be heard on Century Child. But the album didn’t take us much on the next level. Artistically it did, but not commercially.”

6. Dark Passion Play (Nuclear Blast, 2007)

“It was a really easy album to write because all the emotions were there so strongly, after what happened with Tarja [Turunen, original vocalist who was dismissed from the band in 2005], and everything in my personal life. I was about to lose my mental health, and then doing the songs for this album saved it.

"I’m a very private person, but I write about some really personal things, and these people – Anette [Olzon], for this record – are singing it out for the whole world to hear. Ineeded to do a song like The Poet And The Pendulum, where I killed myself in the lyrics; I had to do it for my mental health, and it ended up being a wonderful piece of music.”

5. Imaginaerum (Nuclear Blast, 2011)

“Again, this was a pretty easy album to write – we all had a good time with it. When it comes to songwriting, I’m a morning person. I’ll wake up about six when I’m at home, then a litre of coffee and I’m off. Usually I’m done by two or three o’clock. I write songs upstairs in my little home studio – just a keyboard and a lakeside view. In the studio with the band, the other members and the engineers are more night owls. Also in the tour bus it’s always me up first, making coffee downstairs.

“It was clear from the start that this would end up being a film. We thought, ‘What haven’t we done yet? Let’s do a music video for every song on the album, and then somehow combine them to become this really weird film.’ It’s a very optimistic album. It just puts a big smile on your face.”

4. Once (Nuclear Blast, 2004)

“One of the best times that this band has ever had was 2003- 2004, making the Once album, and the first part of the tour after that. In late 2003 we flew to London to record the orchestras. I rang the studio doorbell and Rick Wakeman opened the door. I think I said, ‘Errr… [makes incoherent starstruck noise] Thanks!’

"We went to the studio, started playing Ghost Love Score and my face melted. Like, ‘I’m next to Wembley, listening to the orchestra playing a song that I wrote, this is really life at its best.’

"Something happened with that album – all the stars were aligned. I remember looking at the album charts and seeing ‘Nightwish, Michael Jackson, Anastasia’ and going ‘Really?!’ I don’t think any of us were quite prepared. You get sucked into this massive world of big tours and worship from the fans, then the money starts to flow in, and it’s easy to lose your perspective. Impulse purchases? I did a round the-world trip on my own, it was wonderful. But money has very little meaning to me."

3. Oceanborn (Spinefarm, 1998)

“Our ambition went through the roof after Angels Fall First, because we all realised that this is actually really fun. I was studying biology, Tarja was studying singing, I think in Germany, Jukka was studying to be a computer engineer, Emppu was working in a carpet factory.

"Music was just a hobby. And then we realised, ‘There’s something going on here, so let’s put all the focus in Nightwish for maybe a few years, and see what happens.’ It was eight hours every day in the rehearsal room, playing the songs and just really feeling it. It was the watershed album for us, it took us to the next level.

"All the guys, we had just gotten out of the army so we all had short hair, we had no idea about the metal scene at all. We were complete countryside hickeys who just happened to like metal music, and we were given this chance to show what we could do with a three-album deal. It shouldn’t have worked on paper, but somehow it did.”

2. Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Nuclear Blast, 2015)

“If Floor hadn’t come along, I think that would have been the end of the band. We got over an ugly divorce once [with Tarja], then again with Anette, then Floor comes along and everything shines bright again. She learned the setlist in 48 hours – when I called her, she was at her sister’s wedding. Even from the first show the fans embraced her. So we took a lot of that good feeling for Endless Forms Most Beautiful [named after a line from Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species].

"We went to Röskö campsite in Finland to record. It’s a four-hectare area by a lake in the middle of nowhere, belonging to the Boy Scouts. We stayed for three months. Every morning we’d rehearse for a few hours, have lunch, go back, rehearse and then spend the evening with each other by a campfire, barbecuing, playing acoustic guitar, singing, going to the sauna and talking about the songs all the time. The Greatest Show On Earth, that’s the Nightwish desert island song. I’m sure we’ll play that at the end of the setlist until forever.

"We recorded Richard Dawkins’ part in Oxford. He’s quite the character. I’m a huge fan, so I was really starstruck. He did his parts beautifully, it was over in about 30 minutes and then he gave us a ride back to central Oxford in his Tesla. And halfway back he asks us, ‘So are you musicians or something?’ Ha ha! So his head’s somewhere… all the time! But he’s a wonderful guy.”

1. Human. :II: Nature. (Nuclear Blast, 2020)

“I immediately knew after Endless Forms Most Beautiful that ‘OK, we have to do more songs about this.’ And so the idea of Human. :II: Nature. was first to have songs about humankind, and then you play the other CD and relax and go into nature. My memories of making the album are of happy times, no conflicts. We returned to Röskö to make it.

"When the pandemic hit, it was like, ‘Should we postpone the release?’ But it was all printed and the advertisements had gone out to the papers. So the record label said, ‘Let’s go with it. Maybe people will have more time to concentrate on it…’

"Noise was a big single, but there’s also something about Shoemaker [named after famed geologist/astronomer Eugene Shoemaker]. It’s on the artsy side, but not in a pretentious way.

"Realising what evolution is… it’s about realising our mortality, at least for me. And it’s made all the difference. When I kind of realised that this is very likely the only life we’re gonna have – it’s only after that that I started hugging my dad. I never hugged my dad before that. I’ve just felt much more liberated and in the light ever since.”

[razzle-zazzle]

can you tell us more about branch villainous parent idea you have?

Had to put this one under a cut bc it got long sorry.

tl;dr ancient troll sorceress who kinda made herself immortal but then spent centuries trapped underground adopts one (1) small gray trolling when she escapes in the hopes of using him as an agent in her big revenge plan

Okay okay so. I was listening to "The Monster Under Your Bed" by Madame Macabre (among some other songs) and somehow ended up creating a silly little AU where Branch is adopted and raised by something a little bit eldritch and a lot bit unsuited to taking care of a child. So meet Lola (<- placeholder name)!

Lola's a Pop Troll... or at the very least, she used to be. Her backstory starts a good few centuries before the Bergens even show up, but just long enough after the splitting of the genres that most Pop Trolls at the time only had a vague idea about the existence of other genres. Lola was just like any other Pop Troll, really—in fact, she was even quite a catch! A love of singing and dancing, a clear voice and pretty face; she had quite a few admirers.

But, well, her story's not as well known, in the days of Trollstice, but for those who do know it, it's a cautionary tale. Because Lola, like any Troll, was able to use her song to affect the world around her. And she pushed the limits of this power, often in... well, it was more carelessness, at first. A descent into destruction that started slow and snowballed, until she was pretty much a step away from Evil Sorceress. At the end of her tale, in an effort to put a stop to her, a small band of heroes used the Pop String to defeat her, sealing her body underground in the roots of one of the many Troll Trees of the time. Thought dead, Lola became a cautionary tale about the dangers of using one's song to destructive and selfish ends.

Except she didn't die. She was already beyond death, at that point. So for centuries, she remained trapped, unable to pierce the barrier sealing her in her tomb. And in those centuries, the Bergens came, discovered the Trolls, and Bergentown formed. In those centuries, the number of Troll Trees diminished down to one, caged in the center of a dreary town.

Enter Branch. From stage top, falling from the tree after being pushed out of the way by Rosiepuff. Branch, who's small and scared and curls up in the crook of two roots, where a small patch of either-lobelia-or-rhododendrons-I-haven't-quite-decided-which-flower-works-best-yet are growing. The barrier containing Lola has eroded slightly, over the centuries, and the slow genocide of the Pop Trolls by the Bergens has only sped up the process. She's still trapped, but now there's a small hole that light can sometimes get through.

When Branch first falls into Lola's tomb, he almost doesn't make it out alive. Why does she stay her hand, though? Is it because she could see a kindred spirit in the Trolling that had lost all hope? Because she saw in him an opportunity to escape her tomb and finally enact revenge? Because centuries buried underground can tire a person out immensely, and the thought of expending energy to kill one little Trolling was too much for her that day? Whatever the reason, Branch manages to climb back out. But he comes back, again and again, just to... talk. The scary lady trapped underground understands grief, after all, and Branch feels safe underground where the Bergens can't reach. No matter how much the shadows move and hiss and cry. But going in and out stretches the already weak barrier to its limits...

There's only a week or so between Rosiepuff's death and the Great Escape, in my headcanons (something something Chef randomly going in and eating Trolls outside of Trollstice in flagrant violation of rules or tradition purely because she can), so only a week or so after their first meeting a Bergen's shovel both clears a path and snaps what little remains of the barrier, loosing Lola upon the world.

When she "adopts" Branch, it's with a clear goal in her mind: raise this little gray Trolling to be an instrument of destruction, groom him for the eventual role he'll play in her revenge scheme. There's just one problem:

She gets attached.

[ereborne]

1, 3, 20, 23 please ❤

1) Song of the year: One for the whole year is so hard. I'm very tempted to say "Soap" by the Oh Hellos, because I keep coming back to lean on it, but that was my first Song of the Day since I started up again. Maybe "Such a Simple Thing" by Ray LaMontagne, because the fic 'a simple thing' by iridan finished in January and it's one of the greatest things I've read and has in various ways influenced an enormous percentage of my thoughts this year (I have a hard time recommending it to people, because 'nearly a million words of Boba/Din BDSM fic exploring deradicalization and rebuilding/reclaiming a culture' is such an intense and specific thing, but if that appeals to anyone, it's a gorgeous work) and I've digressed, but the fic does bring the song to mind. It also has a ton of other songs associated with it, though (at least one song rec per chapter! love that) so maybe not. One song for the whole year! I'm gonna say "Yippie-Ki-Yay" by Hippo Campus, because of the songs that have gotten the most stuck in my head this year, it's the one I never minded.

3) Favorite band I started listening to this year: I also picked 'Yippie-Ki-Yay' for song of the year so that I could mention Hippo Campus there, so I could answer Turnpike Troubadours here. "Before the Devil Knows We're Dead" and "Black Sky" and "Chipping Mill" are all really good, and "Brought Me" is my very favorite. I've spent so much time singing the 'Brought Me' chorus this year.

20) Something I learned this year: tea pets! I read the Tea Princess books by Casey Blair early this year (do recommend, very fun, clever and kind) and they have magical tea pets in them, but I didn't realize there are real-world ones until I saw this post. They're so cool and there are so many pretty ones! They astound me.

23) If I could send a message to myself back on the first day of the year, what would it be: This is such a silly answer, but--one of the heads of my college up and moved to another university mid-year. He gave us one week's notice, took his personal assistant, and left his wife behind (I suppose the cliches have to happen irl sometimes). It wouldn't be any of my business, except for how we format our reports specifically to his tastes, and if I'd known ahead of time that his opinion wasn't going to matter anymore, I'd have organized a lot of our data systems differently. Also, from a far pettier standpoint, it would have been such high-tier gossip. For a story that juicy, I might've even managed to wheedle a recipe out of the finance admin who makes the little Greek honey cookies (a highly-coveted prize. I cannot replicate them, and I have tried).

[smallturtlebomb]

INFO AND HEAD CANON STUFF FOR MY ROTTMNT OCS!!!

Section 1: Akira Kimura

Akira Kimura is an Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. He has two moms and one sister (His moms being Kōki and Miu Kimura and his sister being Mina Kimura). He is gay and uses he/him pronouns!! He is 6’3, Korean and Japanese, and loves to play his drums and piano. He also likes writing, drawing, surfing/skating,,singing, crafting, training. He is the drummer in his band (The Late Night Dolls/TLND) and the backup vocals. In his private time he likes dressing up as a girl (yes he is a drag queen). Also by joining Mari-Lynn’s clan (The Nakaruma Clan) He got two special powers. He can control water and he can clone/make life (but he doesn’t know about the second power yet..)

Some head canons:

• He will totally listen to you rant about your interest, as long as you do the same with him.

• His favorite music genres are Punk rock, Jazz rock, j-pop, k-pop, hip hop metal, and grunge!

• He is a huge nerd about romance films (mostly movies like studio ghibli)

• He has a big fat crush one Donnie and tries his best to hide it (it’s sometimes obvious)

• He calls Donnie “Don-Don”. He also calls Rae “Rae-Rae”

• He loves writing songs and poems (some songs in the band are made by him).

Andddd…. That’s all I can remember for Akira. Feel free to ask him (and other characters) some questions as well!

Section 2: Mari-Lynn Nakaruma

Maria Linda Nakaruma (also known as Mari-Lynn), is a 5’9 Nekomata yōkai. He has one brother and one uncle (where r her parents? That’s a story for another day!). She is Pansexual and uses any pronouns (mainly She/He/They)! She’s also Japanese Puerto Rican and plays the guitar and is the lead vocals for her band. He also likes drawing (mostly doing graffiti art tho), skating, training, reading comic books, doing punk stuff too! Her main powers are Controlling fire, shapeshifting into different felines, and raising the dead (but she can barely control the zombie power). He is also the next leader of the Nakaruma Clan and sort of looks forward to it.

Some head canons:

• She loves watching/Reading “Ryan Collin Vs. The Alternate Universe” which is just rottmnt’s version of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World”

• Big fan of horror movies (Like human centipede but I’ve never watched it in my life)

• Her favorite music genres are: Punk rock, metal, hip hop, grunge, and j-pop

• Also has a crush on Raphael and hides it pretty well (he can’t hold it in much longer, he has to confess..)

• Her uncle helped her make her band and learn how to play music

• ML is a chill but chaotic person

And that concludes ML’s section! U can also ask her some questions if you’d like! ^^

Section 3: Mina Kimura

Mina Kimura is the little sister of Akira. She is a 5’3 Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle but doesn’t have the marks like Akira (She actually gets the marks from her mom Koki)! She uses She/Her pronouns and is AroAce! She is also Korean and Japanese as well and is the bassist and music editor in the band. She loves creating a bunch of outfits and clothes (Akira mostly gets dresses made from her), Swimming, doing makeup, skating/surfing, drawing, and painting. Her powers in the Nakaruma Clan are controlling nature and Telekinesis.

Some head canons:

• Mina provides clothes for everybody (including some yōkai’s and mutants living on the streets of New York or The Underground City.

• Mina loves watching stop motion films

• Mina is chaotic but sweet too

• Mina gives good advice to people when they need help

• She protects her older brother since he can be insecure at times

• Her favorite music genres are: Punk rock, metal, hip hop, breakcore, Indie music, and Chiptune

And that ends Mina’s section. Now for my last but certainly not least oc…

Section 4: Rae Koji

Rae Koji is an 5’9 Kitsune yōkai. Her family has been ‘missing’ ever since an incident (that I’ll explain next time). She is a lesbian and uses She/Her pronouns. She’s Japanese Chinese and the backup guitarist and vocals for her band. She likes graffiti, skating, playing games, watching movies, and reading. Her powers are controlling wind, shapeshifting, and healing. She is most of the time grumpy and silent but cares about her friends a lot.

Some head canons:

• Painting can calm her down

• She has a crush on ML and gets a bit jealous whenever ML talks abt Raph

• Her favorite music genres are: Punk rock, lofi, metal, j-pop, and hip hop

• Rae collects anime figures and action figures (she also puts them in cool poses and takes pictures of them)

• She’s really competitive while playing games with her friends

• She also has some Lou Jitsu merch in her room

And that concludes the info/head canons of my ocs!! This took a lot to type out so I hope u enjoyed reading! Baii now! <3

[foralternateuniverses]

modern au in which LBH makes a folkmetal band (check out the group Mado De Oz) with his friends & cousin ans it ends up being officially sponsored by his father, it's a very popular group, named Heavenly Demons, although sometime LBH will launch solo albums (check out Alexander Ryback)

The group is made up by MBJ, SHL, ZZL and LBH, all whom are capable players of several different instruments and can sing, so they changing the instrument they're playing mid song is part of the show.

SY, the maintained brother of the pro in traditional Music and instruments SJ and friend of the group Heavenly demons SQH, is the closeted #1 fan of LBH

One day, he visita SQH without warning and sees LBH chilling in SQH's living room, he manages to rain in his inner fanboy and... LBH seems to know him?

Turns out LBH & SY first met when they were children.

When LBH was little, his family moved next door to SY's, but there was an accident (assassination attempt on LBH) in which LBH's Nanny died and SY was left in a coma, to which he woke up with amnesia,

LBH had thought that SY had died, his family paid for the doctor and everything else and, for their safety, broke ties and LBH was left in the dark about what actually happened to his Yuan'ge

So he believed SY to be dead until they accidentally met at SQH's apartment

Their relationship rapidly develops and they (obvs) end up dating, secretly

That is, until paparazzi catches them and they think that the guy LBH is making out with is SJ (SY's existence is a secret), who is secretly dating the pro tennist LQG

SJ is more unhappy with his baby brother dating that beast than with being confused with him, but things keep getting complicated

For X or Y reason this topic is brought up to LQG publicly, and it ends up with his long lasting romantic relationship with SJ being revealed

So now people think that SJ is cheating on LQG, who is torn between revealing the existance of SY (sth he knows SJ doesn't want to happen) and keeping quiet, so he just sticks to defending SJ, even if it just makes it so people pity him and think he is in deep denial

At least, until it is finally revealed that it was, in fact, not SJ, but his brother, and another media circus erupts

[letapollojusticesayfuck]

fic masterlist (Nov. 6, 2022)

A collection of links and descriptions for my Ace Attorney fanfics are found below--though you could always just visit my AO3 profile and browse them that way!

stop the presses scoop of the century (read all about it) | event of the decade (extra, extra!)

Apollo Justice writes tabloid articles to help pay his law school tuition. Thanks to the wild world of Internet virality, this leads to him starting a relationship with Klavier Gavin, famed rockstar prosecutor

smile for the camera (and keep your fingers crossed)

After a photo of Klavier and Apollo sharing dinner winds up as front-page news, the whole world obviously assumes they're dating. Correcting them seems like it wouldn't be a big deal, except that for the first time since the breakup of the Gavinners, people are paying attention to Klavier's music, and Apollo feels like he's gotta at least do something nice for the guy after he kind of indirectly ruined his life, right? Anyway, it's not like he's going to do anything as cliché as falling for him for real.

thank you for the music (for giving it to me)

Apollo's the first to admit that he's not a Gavinners fan. So why did he agree to accompany Klavier to the premiere of Broadway's latest musical, a play whose plot is based entirely around the band's discography? As the performance unfolds, however, both Klavier and Apollo come to realize that the writers have borrowed more than just Klavier's songs--they've based the story on aspects of the lawyers' real lives, too. Except--hang on, did the two protagonists just kiss?

fame vs infamy (the price of writing fanfic out of spite)

In which Apollo Justice becomes the most popular fic-writer in the Gavinners fandom. (and, along the way, realizes his Big Gay Crush on Klavier Gavin might not be as hopeless as he thought)

perspective

Klavier Gavin, through the years. (an introspective look at the man behind the rockstar façade)

keeping all your hopes alive

After their chance to prove themselves as competent detectives with a big break in an important case goes south, Kay finds her partner Ema drowning her sorrows in their shared office. They have a heart-to-heart--which ends with Ema crashing on Kay's couch (and the acknowledgement of some inconvenient shared feelings between them).

undeniable you (the currents pulling me onward)

Kristoph Gavin is found dead in his prison cell, and Klavier Gavin is the prime suspect. With nobody else available to defend him, Apollo Justice flies in from Khura'in to take the case--but during the course of the trial and its aftermath, long-hidden secrets come to light.

love at first sight (and other common misconceptions)

Klavier's always been certain that when he runs into the person he's going to fall in love with, he'll just know. Apollo believes the exact opposite--that you can't fall in love with someone without getting to know them first. After a bit of convincing, Klavier's starting to see Apollo's point.

let's get old and boring

five times Klavier considers proposing to Apollo, and the one time Apollo gets tired of waiting

Klavier and Apollo Get Scurvy

Klavier and Apollo make a bet to see who can spend the least money in a month on daily essentials. Too bad that in their pursuit of victory, neither one of them remember that fruits and vegetables are kind of important.

Musically Inclined

Sometimes, you've just gotta sing showtunes at the top of your lungs when nobody's around, you know? (Otherwise known as: 5 times Apollo walked in on Klavier singing songs from musicals, and 1 time the opposite scenario happened)

dubiously legal date ideas

Kay Faraday wants to brag about the cool date she and Ema went on--unfortunately, Klavier Gavin doesn't see the romance in breaking and entering.

funeral march

In the aftermath of Lana Skye's trial and the toppling of Damon Gant, Phoenix goes to look for Miles. Their ensuing conversation is perhaps more revealing than he realizes at the time.

shameful

Apollo's just trying to investigate the month's latest crime scene--it's not his fault Klavier keeps being strangely helpful for a rival prosecutor, not to mention distractingly attractive. Ema Skye, however, just wants to be able to present her newly-discovered decisive evidence without having to deal with copious amounts of flirting.

flying cars, smuggling rings, and other futuristic things

Ema's trying to deal with the paperwork from her most recent case--however, Kay's more interested in her thoughts about what the future's going to look like.

morning revelations (to sleep beside you from now on)

It’s not until he sees Klavier beside him, golden hair strewn over the pillow like some sort of Renaissance heroine, that Apollo Justice realizes he’s in love. Apollo wakes up next to Klavier and has to come to terms with his feelings for the prosecutor.

lyrical clarity (knocking some sense into you)

Apollo doesn't pay attention to who's part of his favorite bands--he just appreciates the music as-is. Of course, this means that he's entirely caught off-guard when it turns out that the lead singer of his favorite group is none other than Klavier Gavin. Naturally, he goes to confront Klavier, only to find that there's still more truths to uncover--and a lot that they've still got to talk about.

lonely luxury

After Kristoph's execution, Klavier finds himself alone with his thoughts--until Apollo shows up to remind him he's got people he can rely on for emotional support.

wednesday, 1:22 pm

Ema and Kay take a moment out of their busy schedules to catch up for coffee. (advocating for prosecutors getting bullied is definitely typical date conversation, what do you mean?)

still living (celebrate this new beginning)

Immediately following the untangling of the truth behind DL-6, Miles Edgeworth seeks solace alone in an empty courtroom. However, Phoenix Wright is nothing but a persistent friend.

grave misunderstandings

Apollo Justice has been alive for three hundred and sixteen years, but in all that time, he has never met anyone quite like Klavier Gavin. ...okay, perhaps alive isn’t quite the correct term to use here. Apollo has only been alive for twenty-three of the years he has existed; for the remaining two hundred and ninety-three, it’s more accurate to say he’s been undead. Or: Apollo thinks Klavier's human. Klavier thinks Apollo's human. They're both wrong.

the best-laid plans

Klavier Gavin has planned the perfect proposal--dramatic enough to fulfill his love of Grand Romantic Gestures, yet simple enough to meet Apollo's more straightforward nature. All he has to do is not mess up the decorations! Apollo Justice just wants to know how his boyfriend ended up tangled in several meters of blue fabric.

sweet distractions (M-rated)

Klavier and Apollo grab some frozen treats one summer afternoon in People Park. Unfortunately for Apollo, watching Klavier eat his ice pop is pretty distracting, and doesn't seem to be doing anything to help with the heat.

in effigy (E-rated)

Apollo discovers some scandalous Gavinners merchandise in Klavier's closet. Klavier, having no shame, decides that this is an excellent opportunity to have some fun with it. or, The One With The Official Gavinners Dildos

demo tracks and instrumentals

Klavier, Apollo, and the multitudes of ways in which they find themselves drawn to each other (a collection of drabbles written in response to tumblr prompts and asks)

[krispyweiss]

Sound Bites Presents: The Best of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2023

Editor’s Note: the 2023 edition of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass ended one week ago today. Having returned to backward Oiho after a glorious three days in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the blog recounts his favorite sets of the festival. Read Sound Bites’ full coverage here, here and here; and see more photos here, here and here.

Rickie Lee Jones - Horseshoe Hill stage, Sept. 29; Banjo stage, Sept. 30: Given 45 minutes for her festival-opening reading from “Last Chance Texaco” and another hour for music the following day, when she played the titular song from her 2021 memoir, Jones got more stage time than any other performer. And she put it to good use. After sound-checking with a snippet of “The Horses,” a high-spirited Jones read excerpts about her time as a 14-year-old hitchhiker in California and how her admiration of the hippie ideal eventually turned into contempt. She closed the session by playing a solo-acoustic version of “The Moon is Made of Gold,” a song written by her father.

The following afternoon, Jones and her band played to a ginormous crowd - “I haven’t seen so many people in front of me for so long,” she said, clearly enjoying the moment. Crooning at the mic on “One More for the Road;” playing guitar on a New Orleanian rearrangement of “Danny’s All Star Joint;” sitting at the piano for “We Belong Together;” and playing banjo on an untitled work-in-progress she had unveiled two nights earlier on guitar at the benefit for Camp Winnarainbow, Jones was effervescent and as appreciative of her audience as they were of her. Sound Bites obviously doesn’t know Jones, yet it made him so happy to see her so happy over the three days of performances he and Mrs. Sound Bites witnessed. Rickie Lee, gold.

Tommy Emmanuel - Arrow stage, Oct. 1 - Allotted a criminally stingy 50 minutes, Emmanuel was the only solo-acoustic act to make an audience stop talking and simply gasp at what they were hearing and seeing. That’s because he is a band unto himself and he introduced his phantom accompanists while playing bassline, percussion, rhythm and lead simultaneously on his acoustic guitar. “Sixteen Tons” and “Nine-Pound Hammer” found Emmanuel singing; “Imagine” was instrumental save for the audience and the guitarist’s famous, inhuman “Beatles Medley” closed the set, which should’ve run an hour.

Eilen Jewell - Rooster stage, Oct. 1 - Playing songs from her pre- and post-pandemic albums, Gypsy and Get Behind the Wheel, respectively, Jewell was positively enthralling during her 45-minute midday set, which wrapped with a near carbon-copy of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River,” allowing secret-sauce guitarist Jerry Miller to shine.

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram - Towers of Gold stage, Sept. 29 - At 24, Ingram sounds like he’s been playing guitar for 50 years already. This up-and-coming bluesman is going to be a huge star and he spent his 50 minutes demonstrating why he may very well be thought of in 2073 in the same way Buddy Guy is today.

The Travelin’ McCourys - Banjo stage, Oct. 1 - With Punch Brother Noam Pikelny filling in for Rob McCoury on banjo, the sons of Del played some of the least-Hardly Strictly music of the entire festival, as a large swath of the audience bounced along in unison while the band smoked a bluegrass “Scarlet Begonias” in the park the Grateful Dead filled with music so many times in the days of yore. “Seems appropriate,” Ronnie McCoury said.

Doc Watson Tribute - Horseshoe Hill stage, Oct. 1 - Joined at various points by Andrew Marlin, Valerie June and Jon Langford, Mitch Greenhill, Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman offered an intimate set that included “Summertime,” “Handsome Molly” and “Tom Dooley” among others. It all ended with the life-affirming experience of a couple of hundred people singing “Keep on the Sunny Side” under a canopy of trees in a light afternoon fog.

Bettye LaVette - Rooster stage, Sept. 30 - At 77, LaVette remains a powerful performer, stalking the stage and employing her raspy voice to great effect. Bob Dylan may have written “Things Have Changed,” but LaVette owns it.

Irma Thomas - Rooster stage, Sept. 30 - Thomas, 82, played HSB’s most-rambunctious set, closing Saturday with a barnburner that reached its apex with “I Done Got Over It” -> “Iko Iko” -> “Hey Pocky Way” -> “I Done Got Over It.”

Honorable mention: The McCrary Sisters - Rooster stage, Sept. 30 - Rather than a full performance, which they merited, the McCrarys played a handful of five- to 15-minute spots that included uplifting renditions of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” and “Amazing Grace.”

10/8/23

[ghoulangerlee]

ssooo tell me about this 'you share not the blood of our, our, ours' fic of yours (does not go to Ghost school but will happily listen to her friend tell her about their story :3)

you've activated my trap card bwhahaha ily you're the best <3

SO. it is 99% self indulgent and 1% true to real life Ghost lore, starting from the moment that Papa III is killed and Cardinal Copia takes over as the lead singer of the Ghost project. the title comes from Ghost's La Mantra Mori which i listen to entirely too much for a song that repeats the same thing over and over. there is something haunting about the cadence of him singing we focus on your death, we focus on your death, you share not the blood of our, our, ours, thus we focus on your death

It is arguably very self indulgent because I've marketed this fic as the slowburn polyghouls/Copia AU that I wanted to see in the world and it's somehow turn more into (currently 40k) of internal feelings about doing the right thing and corruption in the Satanic church.

Also including: bonding with your ghouls and trying to summon more so you have a full band to play instruments before you have to go out on tour all while writing an album so you have music to play on tour otherwise you've got to just sing all the songs from the dead Papas who were all beloved :) and like what if you mess up? will people like you as much as they liked the others? there might be some underhandedness afoot with the Clergy making it very clear that if you toe out of line you will be Dealt With (read: killed just like the predecessors)

here is a snip of the meat and bones plan of the current chapter im writing:

other stuff happens in the chapter but this one is v plot forward because I really need to get this man and his band out of the church and on the road jfc.

tiny lil preview even tho it's not ur wheelhouse and is most likely v confusing hahaha.

Dew stares at him for a long moment, his head tilted upwards a bit, a curious expression on his face, “You’re so quick to give the knife to me,” he says slowly, “With no worry about what I might do with it beyond a little cut on your hand.”   “You wouldn’t hurt me, Dewdrop,” Copia says, “I’d give you the knife and let you put it to my throat if that’s what was required.” he glances down at the dagger in his hand, “Do you want this?” he asks, “A bond with me, like I have with Aether and Rain, like you have with them?"   For a moment, Dew’s expression flickers a bit, self-consciousness leaking into it as he stares at Copia; and then, all at once, he drops the dagger and dives forward, nearly tackling Copia to the bed in his haste to try and fold himself into his arms. “I would never put a knife to your throat,” he says, resolute and firm, though his voice is muffled by Copia’s shirt. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me right now. I want to do this, I want this, I want to be a part of it, but I keep getting stuck on the what ifs.”

ANYWAY thank you for coming to my ted talk on this fic that i joked about being 100k but is going to be at least 100k with at least 2 arcs lmaoooo. we're really basking in the self indulgence here.

[anandabrat]

Nightmare Warehouse, day two, created with the incomparable @starshipblueberry!

(If you missed day 1, click the nightmare warehouse tag!)

Helena blinks hard. There’s still water in her eyes - is it green? That can’t be right - but if she’s not very much mistaken, there are all manner of unusual creatures dancing around her and singing. 

And she’s in a fountain of some kind.

Ah. Warehouse shenanigans, surely.

She takes in her surroundings. A pastoral village, if a bit Edward Gorey in tone and color palette. The music around her is even more modern, however. Perhaps something to do with the record from the party, then, only a few moments ago. Something to file away for later, when there’s a stronger possibility of breaking the artifact’s hold.

For now, scope out the shape of the situation. Look for allies, if fellow Warehouse agents count as allies.

The song is coming to a raucous close. The group of villagers, if the term applies, seem to be congratulating each other on a job well done. A conical man with an oversized grin proclaims to the group at large that it was a ‘great Halloween, everyone!’

Another clue. Helena steps down to get closer to this oddment of characters and nearly trips over her feet.

Her feet are further away than usual, and when she looks down, she spots her own hand and blinks several times, taking in the way her skin barely stretches over the bones. How pale that skin seems to be. Very interesting, indeed.

She’s so preoccupied that it takes her a moment to realize that the crowd has fallen silent. Perhaps this man - the Mayor, she reads on his badge - said something of import and she’s missed it.

“Ah. An excellent Halloween, indeed,” she offers, and the crowd relaxes again, complimenting her again and again on what incredible work she did. She must be some sort of bigwig in this town. 

Though they’re nothing but complimentary, and despite their appearances seem generally a genial group, she finds herself gradually backing away, out of some buried instinct. Then the Mayor calls for prizes and the crowd melts away.

Time, perhaps, to explore. She passes a small band, who murmur something to her that she simply nods in response to, then the path ahead of her opens up into a vast, moonlit graveyard. 

She opens the wrought iron gate and hears music start to swell as she enters. She stops dead in her tracks. The music repeats its motif, again and again, as she stands on the path leading down to the graves.

Clearly a key to this puzzle has to do with music. Helena takes a tentative step forward and hears the tune change.

Well, might as well find out what she’s meant to do in this graveyard.

She takes a breath, and strides down the hill.

***

“So what aisle did you steal this from, Claud?” Pete barely stops chewing to ask this, but he has the manner to at least cover his mouth. 

“Dude. I didn’t, I swear. It was on Ebay,” Claudia holds up both her hands in the international symbol of 'do not blame me for the current whammy'. “It was supposed to be a first pressing — I had no idea it was, like, the literal first pressing.”

“Uh huh uh huh. Nicely done. So what do we think? Panic level… yellow? Orange?”

“I think I would feel better if I knew where everyone else was,” Claudia replies. 

“Do we think they were outside of the radius, or…” Pete makes a face and starts doing the robot. 

“Is that supposed to be claymation?“ Claudia snorts. “This is claymation.” She stands up and balances on the backs of the theater chairs and is about to start singing Jack’s Lament when the actual music starts to swell behind her. 

“Man, I wish we had popcorn,” Pete sighs.

[lee-minhoe]

OKAY MEL BUCKLE UP YOUR SEAT BELT BC THIS IS GOING TO BE A RIDE ! also ik i have 9203402849 potential love letters i could write but there is one that truly warrants a long explanation because all i've ever written is hate mail about him to you... yes this is about lee fucking jangjun of course it's about lee jangjun 🙄

ok but i swear i'll try to actually write nice (🤢🤮) things unlike my one lino letter LOL

your favorite thing about them  he is sUCH an entertainer!! ofc he's funny and high energy and very much an enfp (the synergy of him with other enfps is insane LMAO) but also he does put in effort to be prepared when he goes on variety shows (vaguely all i know is that he does research beforehand especially if he's meeting other idols, prepares some jokes or stunts or props, idk maybe thats standard but at least it's not lazy)! besides him being absolutely deranged for entertainment purposes, i do love watching him on variety shows he really does the whole entertaining idol gig thing with such ease with his very mc-host way of speaking, his comedic timing, and the way he puts people at easy by ironically catching them off-guard with his irreverent jokes, etc. etc. honestly it's an especially great skill bc he's interacted w a lot of dongsaeng/rookie groups while hosting ssap possible and idolympics.

when you Knew TM they were your bias  LMAO the way u literally watched my realization in real time... okay but i don't actually remember what exactly cemented my coffin. i started noticing his rarer soft / calm / cute moods (instead of his obnoxious parodies of aegyo) and that he just happens to be good at everything. OH I REMEMBER NOW. SOMETHING SOMETHING HE IS GOOD AT COOKING ASDKFJLSJDFLKSDFL!!! lmao fuck why is it cooking that always gets me! also that was around the time i learned that he won 10 medals at isac 2018-20. and can do like 5 hurricane kicks in a row while singing. oh and he went from being literally tone deaf (or so he claims) when he auditioned to making it past several rounds on king of masked singer. okay but even tho he's good at everything he failed kindergarten <3 we stan having capabilities that can't be assessed by a standard education curriculum and being successful anyways 🤪

your favorite looks on them  jokes on you i don't look at him. ok just kidding u got me. honestly i rly haven't watched that that much content to be super familiar with his full range of looks/fits but i'll give you my top 3 from my jjun tag: 1) the white hoodie outfit from one of the ssap possible episodes with curly brown hair just got me i think he was super sleep deprived that day bc he was very subdued and sleepy the whole time it was very cute 2) pink jjun from the rata tat tat mv was insane w the givenchy tank and silver necklaces and and arm band... 12 dead 47 injured. 3) glasses + leather jacket from dream radio!! okay i couldn't even see half his face bc of his mask in this radio special but it was a great outfit so i had to give it a shout out. he did lower it at once point to show off his side profile ! 🥰🥳💕 ... did i mention men's health magazine nov 2020? haha forget i said anything what.

your favorite verse/chreo they do  the entire poppin' song he did with sungyoon!! some highlights w timestamps: - he has a pretty high pitched voice so i'm easily impressed by how he manages to pitch it down pretty low for the chorus. - also his verse after the first chorus is so addicting, there's something about the pitching and tone and varying emphasis of that verse that is so funny and satirical - my favorite part is the one singing line he gets lol a rare commodity as for choreo idk why the only thing i can think of rn is that time he danced w weki meki LMAO

your wish for them (solo stuff, being in a drama,  a nap maybe  lolo) to me he's honestly up there with seungkwan and baekhyun as born-entertainers so i hope he sticks around the entertainment industry for a long time 😃👍

anything about them !!!!  THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN TOO MUCH ABOUT HIM. and i've already spoken so much about him to you in the past month LMAO i swear i also love golcha joochan and jibeom dearly too :( anyways i shall leave you with a picture of jjun in a soda can and we shall never talk about this post ever again 🤫🤐

surprise ! <3 my gift for u for making it to the end ily 😘

i was CACKLING WITH GLEE WHEN I SAW THIS WAS ABOUT LEE JANGJUN HAHAHAHAHAAH

no you're right though, it's a skill to be such a great entertainer and mc like not everyone can do it! and to put people at ease and read the room and research guests beforehand, it takes work!! (and from the jangstar videos that you sent me to watch, mad respect to him for it cuz i would open the video thinking that i'd only watch the timestamp you sent but then end up watching the whole thing lmao)

LMAO i remember watching your realization happen in real time, it went from "no way jjun is gonna become my bias" -> "oh no i think he might be my bias....." -> final acceptance of the fact 😂🤣 oh but the cooking explains why you also bias lino hahahahaah i agree that gets me as well (although, mark cant cook eggs to save his life so idk). also jjun FAILED KINDERGARTEN LOL love that <3 he's so good at everything else

okay but the DREAM RADIO OUTFIT omg....he looks so good even with the mask on and with the glasses too (lol i guess how it's the cooking that gets you, for me it's the glasses) and then sunoo's fckin cute smileeeee omgggg 😭😭 the pink jjun with the tank and arm bands though 😳😳😳 and mens health ok bestie dont need to pretend you didnt mention that because i remember you mentioning it to me so i already know exactly what youre talking about and yes i will torture you

okay moving on to poppin, his verse after the first chorus really is so addicting and so good, he nails the satirical tone well there (and then sungyoon's part after it omg). THE WEKI MEKI DANCE IS SO FUNNY?? the way he just turned it on and started dancing like he's always been a part of weki meki LMAOOO he got really into it

(blurry af pic of jjun dancing to the song fabulously)

the soda can jjun is so cute 🥺

also i cANT BELIEVE YOU SURPRISED ME WITH THE LEE KNOW PIC AT THE END YOU HIT A SPECIFIC WEAKNESS i literally have that pic saved in my pinterest.....he's so hot....i had to stare at that pic as i was typing up this response and i was in PAIN and the ROLLED UP SLEEVES WITH THE WHITE BUTTON DOWN omfg this is literally one of my WEAKNESSES okay clearly you can tell i am now spiraling, this is what lee minho does to me 😐😐😐 i blame you

tell me why you love your bias!

[paulisded]

The Ledge #619: New Releases (Pt. 2)

This month's second part of the monthly new release series is bookended by a pair of...well, let's be honest...pretty bizarre cover albums. The first set contains tracks from the "new" duets album by Glen Campbell. How can it be new when he's been dead since 2017? Well, in 2011 he released an album, Ghost On the Canvas (his 61st!), that featured his versions of songs by artists you would never think he'd even acknowledge. For this new one, Glen Campbell Duets: Ghost on the Canvas Sessions, the producers have brought in other artists to add their vocals. I just couldn't stomach the idea of Sting singing a Paul Westerberg song, so I went with a couple of different tracks. How did Exene and John Doe from X end up on "Any Trouble"? And does anyone really believe that country star Eric Church has even heard of Guided By Voices? It just doesn't seem possibe.

As if that's not crazy enough, the last main set of the show features a handful of tracks from a new tribute album released by Cleopatra Records. Punk Floyd - A Tribute To Pink Floyd features exactly what the title says - punk bands covering tunes by that awful band that was one of the reasons punk rock even happened in the late 70s. Oh well. At least the versons are fun.

But there's some great covers also included. There's two tracks from the upcoming tribute to the Rolling Stones called Jem Records Celebrates Jagger & Richards. There's also a fabulous duet between Tom Baker and the late Justine Covault on Steve Earle's "You're Still Standing There". It's not just a covers show, though, as there's some great Americana, power pop, punk, and good ol' rock and roll. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!

1. The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Learning To Love A Band

2. Glen Campbell - Hold On Hope (feat. Eric Church)

3. Glen Campbell - Any Trouble (feat. X)

4. Paul Collins - Tell Me

5. The Midnight Callers - Jumpin' Jack Flash

6. Tom Baker featuring Justine Covault - You're Still Standing There

7. J Prozac - Problems

8. Diablogato - Lost Highway

9. The Wynotts - Hey, Sharon

10. Aaron Lee Tasjan - The Drugs Did Me

11. Aaron Lee Tasjan - I Love America Better Than You

12. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - East of East

13. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - The Boy Had It All

14. The Armoires - We Absolutely Mean It 

15. The chrisVandalay Project - Better Than Before

16. Little Roger - Does Susie Like Boys

17. Go Dog Go - Shout It Loud

18. Sin City - Gin & Tonic

19. Local Drags - Left In The Sun

20. VACATION - I Was a New York Ranger

21. Shiny Beasts - Pure Grain Alcohol

22. Fucked Up - Cops

23. Real Losers - My Rocket Radio

24. The Hallions - Attack

25. Yobs - Wasted

26. The Yum Yums - Do You Like Me

27. The Yum Yums - Baby Doll

28. The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs - Wake Up

29. UK Subs - Comfortably Numb

30. Peter & The Test Tube Babies - Bike

31. The Queers - See Emily Play

32. The Vibrators - Arnold Layne

33. Angry Samoans - Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2

34. The Peawees - The Wolf

[angstics]

I have many thoughts about les mis live, and they are all beautiful and complex.

to get it out of the way, things that sucked: the face spotlights were RIDICULOUSLY distracting and ugly use wide spots. the context tidbits are so useless lmao everything is explained in the main songs. it kind of made eponine irritating because she would always appear in these ugly sounding tidbits just to yearn. The surprise is kind of the point. The video effects were kinda distracting BUT also really good which i will expand on later. The tempo was so off, at least to how im used to it. I really dislike how they elongated the notes (though it was impressive tbf). I dislike the weird pauses that were obviously not mistakes. I HATE the line changes. They removed my favorite part of paris look down when the ppl go “whens it gonna end somethings gotta happen now somethings gotta give itll come itll come” then the FANTASTIC fanfare. GOD. Watching it live, i felt act 1 was so rushed — i do think it had abnormally fast tempo… this one’s silly bc it depends on actor intuition but i wish they laughed at the points the characters laugh in the 2010 recording (theres like 3 points that just so perfectly punctuate the sadness). Noticeably awkward staging during rain will help flowers grow. I wish grantaire fell with enjolras SORRY.

Also i wish everyone who talked went to hell, everyone who coughed endlessly took some PILLS, everyone who went up and down the stairs pissed in their seat -_- the worst was when the idiots in front of me (WHO WERE TALKING THE WHOLE SHOOOOOW they were shushed by the usher Three times I need them to be tried for this) were whispering during To love another person is to see the face of god and i wanted to STRANGLE them

anyway, onto the good. And be sure it far outweighs the bad. Great casting, great singing, SUCH a good band, good lighting (spots otherwise). There were no obvious acting missteps that i hear in recordings which was a nice surprise

The set was SOOOOOOOO dynamic and fluid and lighting was used in a simple but CRAZY effective way to morph and splinter the setting. Augh. When the set pushed in during paris, i fell to my kneeeeessss (in my brain). The gate, the barricade, the houses were GORGEOUS

Lighting during the final battle. I wanted to die it was so good. I didnt know or forgot grantaire dies last. I remembered it was voluntary but not like that. Jesus god

There were a lot of surprises in staging acting etc that had me genuinely jump in my seat from shock and delight. I have never acted like that in a theatre, much less for a show ive seen and listened to a MILLION times. Some moments like this: enjolras falling over in the cart and being Dragged out, heart full of love starting so reluctantly (i was DELIGHTED by this it was a nice surprise laugh), the wigs (love), the staging during one day more (god when enjolras is dead center stage haloed by light).... there are so many other moments that had me shook i cant recall rn...

gavroche was so Present in the set, which you really miss in the audio. His little added dialogue bit was my favorite of those. His relationship w grantaire was particularly pronounced, which kinda shifted the source of grantaire’s sacrifice. Ofc there are many reasons he chose to die for the cause, but i hadnt thought one being grantaire seeing the police state for the robbing force it was. Hard yes, but evil. He didnt know it was *evil*. I think that realization was pushed by Gavroche’s killing and something so interesting in the discussion of how sheltered these kids were (or not). Rich boy’s game to play… what did enjloras know…

On the same line, i felt the “message” very strongly seeing it sung at me. Is there a world you long to see… i also felt the faith themes distinctly. Vaguely christian ending lol ill lead you to salvation, the only survivors being a couple. Wait the thenadiers are also a couple. Lol?

On that lot, they were fun and good lol. They changed one of his beggar at the feast lines and it was kind of silly. “this one’s a queer but what can you do” to “this one’s a queer, i might try it too” ????? I dont know if we want to wokeify this guy in particular

There was a part duringggg i think drink with me before grantaire’s verse where both he and enjolras are in the shadows on literal opposite sides of the stage (e is high right upstage, g is low left downstage) and grantaire is staring Right at enjolras. And enjolras turns to him through the first verse. I was watching this going crazy that they actually fanfictionified them i didnt think they would more than ive already seen. There is one movement in particular ive never seen and would have Definitely been in the compilations i watched (lol). This will have its own seperate joke post

Speaking of, watching it live made me realize how Present enjolras and grantaire’s relationship is. Besides the lovey dovey achilles-and-patroclus slash thing, i loooovveeeee their ideological conflict SOOOO much. It is so genuis. So i love that it was center stage when it isnt really in the lyrics (or 2012 film or other adaptations)

And they were both blond. Which was crazy

Javert at the end made me so crazy. Again, the staging — mourning Gavroche, seeing valjean carry marius — shifted how i thought of his suicide as well. I think maybe he had the same awakening as grantaire

Hey guys maybe the police state and prison complex is bad lmfao

The candlesticks at the end ❤️ (this is a bit of hater moment but i was watching the ramin 14 boot and the moment the bishop walks away from him at the end he does the same thing fredric march does where there is a pause and jean is kneeling infront of the bishop and he holds the bishop’s hands to his head in silence and. It is so vulnerable and meaningful and i adore it. And i wish theyd kept that staging)

I always found it weird that eponine is for some reason fantine’s right hand man in heaven. If we’re being haters i still dont like the caricatured costumes and behaviours of “the poor” and “whores” companies. AND they shouldve really tried harder on boy eponine. cut her hair at the very least and mirror her further w fantine -_- well that makes make me like heaven more

This also really made me think about how valjean saw javert as Just A Man, while javert saw himself as The Law. Which they literally say but seeing how they acted around each other cemented it. Javert was so very humanized by his sadness and anger and all that emotion Destroyed him because there is no compassion in the law lol. Maybe there is something wrong with our governments Lol

for a bit that kinda meanders and strays from the main action, they made "heart full of love" et al. really really wonderful. the staging was so great, like marius actually climbing the gate and throwing rocks at her window, cosette running to him, marius and eponine hiding along the gate in times i didnt think they were listing. the thenadier climbs the house set it's so fun

i love that eponine is consistently black. it adds. so much. and i will always judge a production if their eponine is white. this one had a great black actor play her -- her voice was nicely different from the recordings

i liked the video sets, especially when it emphasized character mvmt. sometimes it was bright and looked kind of bad, so the darker the better lol. there was a moment when we dip in the sewers where thenadier enters from upstage center from the darkness of the sewer in the backdrop and it was AWESOME.

OH MY GOD turning -> empty chairs. GOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. turning is such an underrated song and they just so beautifully staged it. the all female cast who communicated such different perspectives on the massacre that was a nice change from a monolithic company. and the lights. when i saw theyd set them down, i knew what was coming. and then it came. God. empty chairs. so good. So good.

the choreo during the wedding was great

Enjolras had the red vest. W

god i feel im missing so much. hope i get another cheapo ticket. Eek. im so glad i get to see it at all. limit hit <3