#we don't know this song or this band or this one's a cover apparently but we don't even know the original band (New World)

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: February 7

"Living Next Door to Alice (Who the Fuck is Alice)" by Smokie

[earlgreytea68]

LOOK AWAY IF YOU DON'T WANT SO MUCH FOR (TOUR) DUST SPOILERS, OKAY?

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Set list:

(1) That Pink Seashell spoken word thing actually opens the show

(2) Love from the Other Side: I assumed they'd play this first, and they did, and they looked very happy with the reception that it got

(3) The Phoenix

(4) Sugar, We're Goin Down: I overheard two guys when I was leaving saying, "I only came to this show for that Sugar song, and it was the third song they played," whatever to those two guys lol

(5) Uma Thurman

(6) A Litttle Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me

(7) Chicago Is So Two Years Ago: I know they always play this song when they play Chicago but the way the show is set up, there's this spoken intro that references a light being left on in Chicago, and then they launch into this song, and so I feel like maybe it's permanently in the set list for this tour, we'll see.

(8) Grand Theft Autumn: Patrick told the story again of how he wrote the lyrics while jogging with Pete. Here is exactly what he said, because I recorded it, hahaha: "I wrote this song out here, jogging, trying to figure out the words. This was back when I wrote a lot of the words. And Pete was jogging with me and he was like, 'Eh, maybe change this, maybe change this.' Before we knew it he was writing all the lyrics." And then Pete said, "Imagine us jogging" lolololol

(9) Calm Before the Storm

(10) This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race: They added a little Peterick-y moment in here? I don't remember them playing at each other during this song in previous performances? It was cute, it was during the instrumental part before Patrick leads the singalong, maybe I've just always missed it? They played it each other and kind of did some kind of kick thing with their legs??

(11) Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes: Honestly, always a delight to hear this song, this is one of my favorites <3

(12) Heaven, Iowa: THIS SONG LIVE, I SWEAR

(13) "The Take Over, the Breaks Over": OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SONG AND I TOTALLY DIDN'T EXPECT THEM TO PLAY IT, I WAS SO HAPPY

(14) Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet: <3 Guess they got over being scared of playing this one lol

(15) Fake Out: I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I WAS THAT THEY PLAYED THIS ONE OMGGGGGGG. Also, there was some plan I wasn't aware of to, like, hold up cell phones with pink paper over the lights so the crowd lit up pink???? I have no idea who engineered that but it was CHARMING and at the end of the song Pete said, "Thanks for that, guys, that was beautiful," and the stage was on darkness so it seemed absolutely spontaneous on his part and I think they really did like the effect, so, Idk, future shows, keep doing it????

(16) Patrick did some kind of piano interlude where he played "Don't Stop Believin'"????? It was random but he was super charming, I think the rest of the band used it as a break, it was just SO GREAT. Part of his intro was: "Pete was putting together this show and he said to me, 'Hey, you should play piano.' And I was like, 'I kinda only play songs I wrote. I don't really play piano. I don't know how to play piano.' And he's like, 'Eh, you'll figure it out.'" And then Patrick sat down and played gorgeous piano ugh THANKS, PETE.

(17) Last of the Real Ones: I am glad Mania got some love.

(18) Save Rock and Roll

(19) PETE RECITED BABY ANNIHILATION WHAT. I SWEAR TO GOD. I SO DID NOT EXPECT THIS AND I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE THAT IT HAPPENED. If you're going to the show, pay attention, because I looked away and apparently there's, like, a magic trick at the end of the monologue where he disappears behind a piece of black silk?????

(20) Crazy Train cover: I...don't know what to say about this randomness hahaha but it happened??

(21) Dance Dance

(22) Hold Me Like a Grudge: I think Patrick adores singing this song, I really do.

(23) G.I.N.A.S.F.S.: I KNOW. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, EITHER.

(24) My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

(25) Thnks fr th Mmrs

(26) Centuries

(27) Saturday <3

The show ends with a little piano version of So Much (for) Stardust played over the sound system, so pay attention for that.

The set is super Alice in Wonderland-y and I adored it, it's playful and fantastical and has all these whimsical touches and interludes and I just thought it was delightful and at one point there were bubbles, and I heard some people complaining after the concert that the fantasy thing didn't suit their style of music and really, I was surrounded by downers after the concert, I thought they were perfect hahaha. Like, ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. They looked so, so, so tangibly happy, all of them. Patrick sounded fantastic and he looked like he was having a blast, he smiled the whole time.

I have a lot of videos but they seem like they're all pretty terrible, but I'll see how I feel in the morning lol

[anotherghoul666]

i JUST started listening to sleep token and went to the tag only to find you there, please tell me more about this band?? collective?? i need more

You got it buddy! One order of a full Sleep Token beginner primer, coming up!

Sleep Token are a rock? metal? genre blending collective based out of England, tho nobody's 100% sure of where the members are from because they are also a masked and anonymous project. Their style of music varies greatly from album to album and song to song. From soft ballads, to electronic music, to indie, to progressive / prog metal, to post-rock / post-metal, and now with their newest singles, a definite shift into heavier sounds with roots in djent and -core genre elements like breakdowns and scream vocals, let's just say they are very diverse and there are not many bands that sound the same out there. Their blending is pretty unique, and imo will prove to be genre-defining in the coming years. They are signed to Spinefarm records and they're touring as we speak in Europe.

They formed in 2016 and self-released their first EP called One that same year. Their second EP aptly called Two was released in 2017 on Basick. They currently have two full length albums out on Spinefarm, 2019's Sundowning and 2021's This Place Will Become Your Tomb, which are the crux of the material you wanna look into. I always advise that you listen to the whole albums front to back because artists plan these tracklists deliberately, so we owe it to them to consume their output the way they intended us to, but! I also realize nowadays nobody does that because of Spotify and streaming, unfortunately, so: for Sundowning, I'd recommend Sugar as a first track because it touches on both the soft and harsh sides of the album beautifully; and for TPWBYT I'd say start with Alkaline (bonus points for a delicious video to get you into their visual side too). On January 6th and 7th 2023, they released two new songs to showcase their new sound, Chokehold and The Summoning. These two singles seem to be the optimal path currently to get into the band. There are rumors of a new album called Take Me Back To Eden to be released this year, there's a tracklist floating around online though we don't know if its legit, and there are also rumors for new singles coming out, at the time of writing this, tomorrow and in two days, on the 19th and 20th of January 2023. There's also a recording of an acoustic show called From The Room Below floating online, with new takes on their previous songs and a few choice covers like Billie Eilish's When The Party's Over, surprising crossovers that are emotional experiences.

Now, visually and in theme, you'll notice the band has a storyline of sorts. The lore of Sleep Token is this: the band was formed after an ancient deity called Sleep (a reductive name that doesn't encompass the deity's nature at all, but its true name cannot be spoken in any human tongue) revealed itself to the singer, Vessel, in his sleep. Sleep appears to be a powerful force worshiped in ancient civilizations, that gave them the blessing of dreams and the curse of nightmares. Since this apparition, Vessel's life purpose has been to worship and make offerings to Sleep via music. The members of the band are all called vessels, we can infer vessels for Sleep. The singer is Vessel I, but the fandom's moved to just calling him Vessel. The other members are just called by their numbers. II is on drums, III is on bass, IV is on guitar. They're all vessels. They wear masks to hide their identities, with what seems to be full body black paint and some variety of stage costumes including hooded coats and capes and now apparently full pauldrons and void wizard staves.

You'll come across some specific lingo when encountering Sleep Token content or in the fandom. These terms mostly come from their official social media so they use them themselves, it's not fan made. "Worship" is the tagline, kinda like "Nema" is with Ghost. You'll see fans telling each other that all the time. To Worship is to take part in enjoying the band in any way you can: listening to the music, watching videos, streaming their stuff, spreading the word, going to shows, buying merch, etc. Sleep Token's shows are called Rituals, like Ghost's. Pictures and videos are referred to as Sacred Moments, or Sacred Moments in Time. The bands they tour with are called Brethren. Sleep Token's songs are called Offerings. Because they are written as a means to Worship the Sleep deity. Offerings can also be in the form of instrument playthroughs, videos, etc. What the band produces. When you listened to new material or acquire merch, you also Consume. A note on their anonymity to finish: while there are rumors about who the band members are, nothing's confirmed and the band's explicit wish is to maintain this anonymity, so it fundamental to respect those wishes and not try to dig. They value art for art, they let the music speak for itself, and they explicitely wish for their music to be detached from who they are as people. Let's leave the magic in place both for them and for us!

Welcome to the fold! Worship!

[inarizqkis]

everlongㅡl.mh

summary! in which you see minho in the most unexpected way.

warnings! guitarist! reader, former nct member! reader, fluff, chan makes a surprise appearance?? 😱

fem aligned/identifying dni. you will be blocked idc if ur she/they, they/she, she/her. i check every interaction.

reblogs are appreciated! enjoy :)

you smiled, waving at fans while up on stage. you were currently on tour, and had just recently come out with a new album with your band. you had just finished a song from the previous album, and were about to play the main song on your new album, but you and your band members were taking a break, interacting with fans.

"you! with the blue hair, come up here, please!" you had called up a fan, smiling. you nodded at the bodyguards, letting them know that it was okay to bring the fan up.

"what's your name?" you asked as you helped her on stage, taking her hand in yours.

"i'm jenni! oh my gosh, i'm a huge fan, i've been your fan since like 2017 when you were in nct, and i really appreciate you for all you've done." the girl rambled nervously, and you smiled listening to her.

"thank you so much for being here, jenni! i appreciate it a lot, it sounds like you've been a fan for quite a while, yeah?" you replied, and she nodded.

"is there anyone you'd like to shout out? maybe family, friends, significant other?" you asked, and she took the mic from your hands gently.

"yeah, i'd just like to give a huge thank you to my girlfriend, parker, she's the light of my life, and actually the one who introduced me to your music!" she said, and you nodded.

"thank you to jenni and parker for being great fans, we hope you both have a great night, and that you have a long and happy relationship!" you smiled, and she hugged you. you hugged her from the side, and helped her down from the stage.

"let's see.. how about this gentleman in the black shirt? wanna come up here?" you pointed, and he looked around before pointing at himself. you nodded, smiling encouragingly, unable to see his face clearly as he had a mask and hat on, and he got up, making his way onto the stage. you gave him a hand, pulling him up.

"so what's your name?" you asked, and he took off his mask, smiling, and you recognized him.

"holy shit," you said, turning away and covering your face, laughing as you held the mic away for a second. he laughed, while waving to the fans who apparently recognized him. "can somebody get this man a mic? this is my brother, he can introduce himself."

a staff member handed your bandmate an extra microphone, and minsu, the bassist, handed it to you. you gave it to the smiling blonde, who dramatically cleared his throat.

"what's up, LA! i'm bang chan! i hope you guys are having fun and staying rested." he introduced, bowing, and you smiled brightly, hugging him.

"what's happenin'? i didn't know we were touring at the same time?" you replied, and he smiled cheekily.

"i wanted to surprise you. that, and someone wanted to tag along," he said, and pointed to his group member and your current boyfriend, who waved, along with the rest of stray kids.

"wait, so he's here? he saw me perform?" you said in disbelief, and chan nodded, laughing. you felt yourself get hot with a flush, and if it was visible, it was definitely almost as red as the guitar you had been carrying, which had been on your back comfortably as you scratched the back of your head. the crowd laughed at your reaction, cheering.

"yeah! we're waiting for your main song, mate." chan replied, and you nodded, face still flush.

"okay, okay, i'll be performing it after you get off the stage." you replied, lightly shoving him jokingly, and he laughed, putting his hands up in surrender.

"alright, alright, give me another second to talk to my favorite bro, yeah? don't tell lucas i said that." chan said, looking at the crowd as he said the last part.

"okay, hurry up, then, i'm sure everyone's ready to hear it, right?" you asked, smiling, and the crowd yelled. chan smiled proudly, before turning the mic off, handing it to the staff that was on the side of the stage, and patting your shoulder proudly. he grinned, waving at the crowd, before going back to his seat.

"alright, los angeles! make some noise!" you said into the mic, and the crowd cheered. they cheered even louder once hearing the band beginning to play, and you quickly put the mic onto the stand, before getting ready to play the guitar.

"this song is dedicated to my boyfriend, he knows who he is." you said, winking over at minho, who smiled. you began playing the chords to the title song, everlong, and the crowd slowly died down, still cheering but listening to the song.

after the concert was over, you bid your band members goodnight, thanking them for their hard work, and got into your designated van. you laughed as you saw some fans scream, and you turned your phone flashlight on, waving along with your band members.

soon enough you were at your hotel, and chan texted you, asking if the group could come over.

'sounds good! come over anytime, i'm here for another week then i'm off to vegas :)' you texted back, and 10 minutes later, you could hear the large group in the hallway. you opened the door, smiling once you saw your boyfriend, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, holding the door open with your foot.

"hyung, you were so good! should i come to another concert?" felix complimented, sitting on your bed, a pillow from the couch already tucked in his arms as he rested his chin on it.

"thanks, lix. i mean, if you want to, you could come to another show." you smiled bashfully, shrugging, minho latched onto you like a koala. felix looked at chan, who shrugged in reply.

"i have to ask the manager, but we'll see." chan told him, and he nodded, grinning. you and the boys messed around and talked about how each experience went for the tour, as they were finishing up theirs, but you had a few more shows to perform.

"jagi, are you staying here for the night?" you murmured, as he nodded tiredly.

"if it's okay with you." he mumbled, and you smiled, playing with his hair gently, as you nodded, before talking with the other members.

as it hit about 1, many of the kids were getting tired, even with the conversations and the excitement, so they all left to go to their room which, coincidentally, had been a couple floors down from yours.

"lino-ya, go change into some pajamas, hm?" you said softly, and he nodded, rubbing his eye sleepily, getting up from laying on you.

after he had come back, he flopped onto your bed with a yawn, and you chuckled softly at his antics. due to how famous the two of you were, you couldn't come out, but nonetheless the two of you were content with being able to have this little secret.

"tired?" you said softly, crawling into bed next to him, turning off the dim lamp. you had already turned off the big light, and the room was dark now.

he nodded, rolling onto you as he layed on your chest, wrapping his arm around your waist. you smiled, wrapping your arm around him, letting out your own soft yawn.

the two of you fell asleep shortly after that, your limbs tangled together as the two of you slept contently, even on the slightly stiff mattress with the tightly tucked in bedding, the both of you slept with soft smiles on your faces.

all rights reserved © inarizqkis 2023. do not repost, rewrite, or translate.

[cjkie22]

A non-exhaustive list of why you should listen to hit dirtbag boyband Bears in Trees:

their music is really amazing. you'll love it.

especially if your Spotify wrapped was on the pov: indie side of things

and even if it wasn't.

songs for every emotion

absolutely beautiful lyrics

sometimes these lyrics make sense. sometimes they don't. that's part of the fun.

songs about platonic love !!!!!

songs for the queers! the aros! the aces! the enbies! the trans community!

my dad likes them. doesn't sound like a lot, but it's an achievement.

(more underneath the break)

iain (bass/vox/lyrics) has "ginger" tattooed on the back of their head. if that isn't iconic I don't know what is.

on the note of iain, they were the first person i was aware of that used they as a pronoun, and that changed my life

they have a discord server! it's a really lovely community. i am not biased in the slightest. (discord.gg/sandbox) (https://discord.com/invite/thesandbox) (i will personally send you an invite i don't actually know what the link is)

they should DEFINITELY be on the heartstopper soundtrack

if I'm remembering correctly in the tiktok where they said they should be on the heartstopper soundtrack, they also said 3 out of 4 of them were in some way queer. seems like a good thing to me.

they opened for you me at six earlier this year. it was my first time seeing them live. and WOW.

I met some of my best friends through this band. I'm not joking; big shout out to the mojo dojo castle house, I'll never forget that weekend.

they're hilarious on the internet

you might cry at several of their songs for a million different reasons

BearBerry records

they have a tumblr blog @/bearsintreesofficial (iirc). I'm not gonna tag them but

BiT gigs are a safe space. I may have almost fainted at my last one (new cross inn, August 2023) but I've never met so many kind strangers and genuinely lovely people

merch is super comfy and really cute.

it gives stardew valley and animal crossing (trust me I'm right)

after the new cross gig (sweatiest gig in the world), despite surely being exhausted, callum (uke/keys/vox) took my bereal and i got my mini lesbian flag signed by them all

I turned out not to be a lesbian, which possibly makes it funnier, but the flag is stuck on my wall still

cryptids would LOVE their band

dash.

there's also a community minecraft server for discord members

BiT postcards !!!!

gosh and the bit stickers

they covered stick season on an Instagram live

they also do the funniest twitch streams

iain and the mountain

the raccoon email address

george (drums/production) is elite. the drum fills in doing this again? iconic. also has a specific really cool shirt I want to steal

wedding. dress. tiktok.

callum doesn't wear shoes on stage. apparently this was common knowledge but it sure surprised me at new cross.

the austrian soft drinks advert

iain make up looks

callum plays the flute. I want to say classically trained flautist but i may be wrong.

none of them have EVER bribed any members of law enforcement

their songs are very tattooable

talking of tattoos, nick (lyrics/guitar/saw him play the uke on stage once) has L + R tattooed on his forearms (iirc). absolute genius and I am stealing it when I get more of my patchwork sleeve done

iain releases solo music to under the name pet yeti. it's ethereal. callum also plays flute on one of them.

trumpet joe

the four of them never look like they are dressed for the same event

someone once edited the bears in trees wiki page to say that Ryan Ross was in their band

silly geese

that time we got singing? poetry? performance art? of THAT harry potter fanfiction

according to tiktok, iain and nick once had to sneak into their own show because they were underage

nurby

I have a video in the depths of my camera roll of them covering Mama by My Chemical Romance on a twitch stream

sonick

all of them give me gender envy at different times

their newest single (bart's bike) features banjo

patreon content

yelling it gets better with a room full of people was a healing experience.

tilly

modern baseball and fall out boy adjacent in my brain

if you like bears in trees you're automatically hot and really cool

they did a song with noahfinnce and its really super good

callum also featured on a myriad song which is also really super good

bit songs feel like coming home. they feel like hot chocolate and a blanket on a cold night. they feel like a warm hug. they feel like surviving and falling in love with life again and overcoming the worst things. they feel like victory, because you didn't think you'd make it to adulthood. but I'm 20 now. and I'm still here. I've almost graduated uni. and that's what bears in trees feels like.

all of their songs!!!! amazing!!!!

please feel free to add to this list. I'm taking suggestions.

[ashtray-girl]

Everytime I read or listen a Grant Showbiz intervew he's like trying to say Moz was madly in love with Johnny and that there was something else going on, but without saying the actual words lmao

right?? lmao one of the most interesting things he said imo is when he talked abt feeling "physically threatened" by morrissey when the band was recording those cilla black & elvis covers, right before they split up... bc morrissey had apparently been drinking (which i mean... THAT was quite ooc, i wonder what led him to do that... 👀) & he was acting erratically... showbiz also kept the recording for that Elvis cover (A Fool Such As I) for a while, even tho part of the song was allegedly wiped by the sound engineer & therefore would've been unusable, but THEN he ended up giving those tapes to johnny "for safekeeping" & bc it was "the right thing to do", which like... sure, but if the song was deemed unusable anyway, why not just getting rid of it? why hold on to the tapes? but according to a recent BBC interview, johnny still has those tapes, even tho he hasn't listened to them in a long time & it's apparently the only Smiths' song that's yet to be released... interestingly enough, he said he doesn't plan on ever releasing that bc it reminds him of a bad time & he "doesn't want to put that out into the world"... (no mention of the song having been partially wiped tho... 👀) which leaves me wondering... was that song really the problem? was morrissey's rendition really THAT bad? or was there other stuff that ended up on tape while they were recording? stuff that had to do w/morrissey's erratic behavior & that they don't want anyone else to hear bc it would reflect badly on them, possibly painting a picture that would affect the band's legacy & that would make ppl see johnny & morrissey's relationship in a different, potentially more intimate way? 👀 i mean, at one point the song literally says: "you taught me how to love & now you say we're through"... are we really meant to think nothing of that, given everything else we know? 👀

[kalianos]

Context: So ages ago I ran a game in one of my custom worlds. It was a False Hydra game. Kept the players in the dark about it. Along the way I had kept some light notes pointing out bits here and there I felt were important. These eventually made it to the scene I am going to describe below.

As you walk along the town, the ropes tied around your waist. However everyone alive hear and feel the rope snap and sounds of heavy slapping. Along with the distinct chink of something small bouncing on the cobblestones.

Party starts to immediately asking who died, who they don't remember anymore. I calmly tell them that they are fine. Except the druid. I hear an exasperated groan from the player thinking he died since he was at the end of the rope. I tell him no, his character is still alive and as he looks back. He see's another length of rope behind him that wasn't there before. Leading to a mess of half-eaten green skin, bright armor and a book covered in blood on the ground.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon looking at the journal. They found this in the book. It's a bit lengthy.

1994 DR, 14th of Midwinter’s Torment

The adventurer’s guild has tasked us again. We are holding out a campaign against some rogue goblin elements outside of town. I have my doubts about the job. Acanthes is a chill human at least. He still smells like the swamp though. Somehow got saddled with a warrior from Chaton. Chaton! How the feth did he make it over the many fathoms?

Must have paid an orc ship all his coin to be taking work with the adventurers’ guild.

1994, 16th of Midwinter’s Torment

We made camp at the edge of the their base. It took a two days and a night to get here. By Moradin, The rogue we brought along has cheese. I suspect she is part of the “cheese makers” in more ways than one. She can be useful. Kai is a decent sort. Got too sharp of a tongue. Sharp dagger as well thankfully. In hindsight it was funny how well she threw a dagger into that goblin scouts skull. The tabaxi is being quiet.

1994DR, 17th of Midwinter’s Torment

We managed to break into the first barricades. The guards have been taken down. The patrols are aware of us now unfortunately. I have only a few vestiges of my power left. By Moradin I wish I was stronger to channel his divine will. Time. Time is all we need. They are banging on the doors.

1995DR, 4th of Summer Song

We have gone on for so long. We only had a few days rest from taking down the halfling raids to the north along the steppes. Those plains scare me. We passed by a few ghost towns. Ravaged by the halfling mongrels, taken down by Gnoll war bands. Or worse. Being consumed by the false hydras.

Since we have earned bronze rank over the last several months. We were warned that our jobs are now going to be “real” jobs. True monsters and terrors can now be assigned to us. It can’t be all bad right? I heard in the officer lounge while being debriefed that a blue dragon is potentially going to recruit some of us to acquire a rare gem for a courtship ritual. Apparently we would be guests of honor at the wedding if it goes well. I like weddings. Though I don’t think anyone knows how dwarves wed themselves. Buying themselves from their significant other’s parents, crushing gems under their iron boots. Growing up as a half-orc in the tunnels was interesting. Strangely did get a few interested lookers.

1995 DR, 11th of Summer’s rest

I am fuming now. I had slight hope we would get the deadly mission to help out the blue dragon, I could have worn a pretty formal chain-mail shirt or maybe plate armor. I had even looked into our major library to learn how blue dragons interacted and proper protocol.

All for nothing. Ackerson had come down pale and shaking after the letter flew in and he handed me the pack. I noticed it was much thicker than usual. Usually a manifest was just, “Supplies, guild resources rented, gold reward, gold reward deductions, and a small line for our major injury expenses to be compensated.” All on a single sheet of paper, then the outline written by a desk jockey with no legs. This was a full blown book in size. When I asked what it was about Ackerson just leaned up and whispered into my ear the one thing I didn’t want to hear ever in my existence.

“There is a report of a false hydra by guild watchdogs up in Ohmsford. Your team is the only one capable at the moment to handle it. We have taken measures and given you major bonuses to increase your chances of success. We need you to do this, and…I’m sorry. In case any of you fail, the stone of false hydra adventurers has already been carved upon so we will at least know you all in name and what your designations were in the grand library.”

I’m scared, no I’m terrified. Reading this book made by two wizards accounts is the most terrifying thing ever. These monsters are born from lies in folklore but we have no idea how they spring up? The drawings and the life-cycles of these things are downright horrific.

This is the most I’ve written in this thing in a long while but I can help but think; that I am sending us to the worst kind of death imaginable.

I took precautions just in case. I sent my adoptive father a memory stone explaining everything. Remarking that if he forgets his emerald treasure that its because she died fighting one of the most horrifying monsters of this world for their safety.

I’m going to tell the rest of the party later. Right now they are just going to be aware that its being caused by some cultists at the moment.

1995 DR 12th of Summer’s rest

We are having a last blow out party in the town. Drank myself silly. Kai brought in some amazing cheese. Had a fondue fountain and everything. We were only a little miffed when we found Acanthus floating a maple leaf boat through it. Claimed it would help give it more depth of flavor. I think he’s just being dumb. It does taste mapely though. Lucky bastard that I like maple syrup.

1995 DR, `13th of Summers Rest

Fucking potatoes, cabbage, farm lands and wheat for miles. I don’t want to eat ever again for as long as I live. Well except for pork. Never can give that up. Met some weird farmer named Perry. Claimed he had a scarecrow problem. Exorised it easily enough though Weevil got a small cut. After that a Slaad had erupted from the ground. How the hell this farmer survived with a Slaad on his land I will file into “most definitely an agent of chaos” column. Dispatched it well enough. Had to cast a spell of some power to cure Kai though. She got hit with the chaos disease. Was not interested in having to mercy kill my own party member at the start of the adventure.

We decided to make our way as fast as we could through the evening to the mountains. I knew a place that would give us a good deal on room.

Turns out I was right. The dwarf still remembers me from the good old days down in the caves. Got my friends set up in their own suite while I spent extra for my own private one.

I’ve never enjoyed a bath like this in so long. I’ll have to ask Harriet for a crystal. She finally perfected in making light crystals for the caves and it looks beautiful. I’m sure dad would like one. Who knows, if I managed to send it in time it’ll be a good marker for my memorial on the memory stone.

1995 Dr, 14th Summers rest

Bloody chilly, hellish sky whale. And those two idiots nearly drowned themselves trying to get light crystals when I told them that they were buyable. Claimed it was for the adventure of it and effort. I think they were just being stubborn.

Going into town, everything seemed off. We parked our mule and cart in the stables next to an inn. Ordered drinks as our Tabaxi went upstairs to do his ritual armor cleaning. The rogue managed to convince our druid to steal from an old man who looked like a banker. Greedy morons. Didn’t they see all the guards on high alert everywhere? They were caught by of all things another thief. Chatting with the bartender illuminated a lot. Whatever this is, it started in the northern-western area of town. I asked what the local authority here is. He could only shrug and tell me that it was the Captain of the Guard, Wilma; who runs things as usual. In a weird way it made sense. But it doesn’t make sense. I know there is a big mayoral estate here for a local authority.

1995 DR, 15th of Summers Rest

Dealt with a tailor who had been attacked. The halfling that sits in front of her shop is a creepy old hag of a woman. While here the tabaxi had claw daggers from the slaad start being made. On top of that I managed to convince them to make a nice maul in the old style but big enough for me. The dwarf was amenable when I spoke to him in the tongue of our fathers.

We talked with Leah for a bit. Our rogue tried to do some weird mind trickery that seemed to do something. It appears that not all memories can be completely erased I guess even by magic. The mind is a funny thing. While searching around, I found the picture of her husband and two children. It was hidden in the nightstand drawer. I think she didn’t know what to make of it and it disturbed her.

We met the local cheesemaker by accident. He had been ransacking the town since perfectly fine magic shops and alchemists were just there. Seeing as how the people who run them probably don’t exist anymore to the world. I am letting it slide. Moradin forgive me. Habbakuk and Zeboim as well to appease my sea orc ancestors.

We fought a troll. I burned so many spells and kept a wall between the troll and the everyone else. I got banged up pretty hard. Still that troll got a few lucky swipes on the druid and samurai. They’ve never seen a troll before and I hope they get to remember what happens. Felt prudent to spend most of my spells on healing. There is still a Troll colony here and they are completely feral apparently. I asked about trolls to the Town Captain who apparently has “always ran this town.”

She claims that Trolls are a very rare minor problem that only happened recently. This resort town can kiss my green ass.

Was told to investigate the retirement village for adventurers on the other side of this box canyon. I acquiesced to this request since we being paid. Paid to go and ask questions in that will help our initial investiagion no less. I love when the stars align to throw us a bone.

Met Gloria. She seemed nice. She had a love of ale that rivals some of the heavy drinkers back in the caves.

Acanthes got knocked out something fierce from a quarter shot. He came too and told me he had a weird dream. I suggested he follow his heart which he determined to mean go and meditate to the green father. What he told me afterwards is a puzzle of itself.

A shimmering pillar above the city? The singing I belive is from the false hydra. But this shimmering pillar? What does it mean?

We dealt with an Alemental. Talked to the Destroyers. A nice couple. Maybe I can find a strong man someday. Heh, will it be a man of the earth or a man of the sea like my ancestry wants?

The witch has a crazy love obsession with purple. Quisayle is a strange one to be honest. She seemed more fascinated than concerned about the false hydra.

Mentioned that there is an old tower to the northwest ohmsford that probably held a wizard of some report. She only mentions it because she has no memory of anyone living yet it’s a very nice tower. She is scary good at putting two and two together apparently.

1995 DR.

Had a nightmare. I was back at the inn room with some lady. A giant pale white face came in through the open window and gorged itself on her. As I tried to help another face and long neck came through and tried to eat me. I’m too strong and punched it back.

Woke up in a cold sweat over it. I’m writing this in the morning due to the oddness of this dream.

I clutch my holy symbol of Moradin. The warm glow of his forge comforts me through it. I run my finger over the engraving. If I am going to disappear this will be the one thing I will make sure to survive. It holds the needed identifier for the memory stone and for the guilds false hydra stone. Actually, I should keep this journal out and keep writing in it!

As long as I can see the thing in the moment, I can write about it! By the hammer fall! I can trust myself to keep a good record. I should share this with the group. I also devised that we can use a length of rope to keep us together slightly. This way we know if we have been attacked at least.

Itsafterusanditstryingtoeatmeohmoradinthisis bad. Its tailing us. Dropping its song to attack us!

Oh this is bad. I don’t know what do. If I had a decent mace on me I could beat the hell out of this thing. SHIT TH~

This journal is covered in blood. Inside is a portrait of a Large Half-Orc proudly displaying a Silver rank medal towering over the rest of you looking happy showing off your bronze medals.

A caption below it reads, “ The Squad”

So throughout the campaign they had encountered random weird oddities. Helpful people offering healing, random potions just...inside wolves. All explained away as just some weird quirk of a world they hadn't seen yet. When actually it was their Half-Orc Cleric they never knew they had. I had shamelessly stolen the idea from a D&D community when they were brainstorming about how to bring out a false hydra to be fair. But I think the execution was alright.

[currentlyfckingurmom]

Her Song part 5

Today is Friday, which means tonight we're doing live music. Ash and I named it 'VIP Night' when we were drunk...it may or may not secretly stand for Very Inappropriate Performances. It's not an event we hold every week, but I try to book bands as often as possible. If we can't find anyone, then I host a karaoke night, which most people love. The only downside is that I can't sell booze.

Bummer.

Since there's less than an hour until VIP Night starts, Syd and I are currently moving the shop around. We rearrange all the tables so they face the small stage in the corner of the store; it's only big enough for a few people at a time, but it's all we need. There's not a lot else we can move because of the aisles, but we make it work. I turn the chairs so they face the right way, too, and then sweep off the mini stage.

Syd cleans off the tables while I grab the microphone and tech gear from the back room. As I'm setting up the mic stand, the music abruptly changes from Patsy Cline to Big Time Rush.

Sighing, I give the culprit a 'really?' look and shake my head at her.

"Love you, Momma," she says sweetly.

"Love you too, you little Satanist. And you're only playing this until people start arriving, okay?"

"Deal!"

"Thank you," I say, returning to my task.

"Hey, Momma?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"What's a Satanist?"

"You."

"That isn't a valid definition. Please elaborate. Feel free to use the term in a sentence."

"What- oh my god. Bring me the box of cords, please. This one is done for," I say, tossing the clean-cut cord to the side.

She drags the box of extra cords out of back room and sets it in front of me. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome, sir," she replies as she plops down on the stage next to me.

I rummage through the box, but the cord I need isn't there. "Damn. I guess we'll have to splice the one we have. We can get a new one tomorrow. Do you know where the wire strippers are?"

"Yup. In the toolbox under the shelf with the boxes of cups and napkins. I'll go get them."

"Thank you, Syd."

She skips away and quickly returns with the small tool. I strip both ends of the wire and grab the two halves to twist them together.

"Hi, Y/N!"

The sudden loud voice scares me and my body jumps. One end of the wire, which was apparently very sharp, slips and nicks my finger.

"Oh my god! Can everybody please stop scaring me like that," I breathe out as I stand up.

"Sorry," Florence apologizes sheepishly. "I just heard that you're doing a special night here and I wanted to see if you need any help before it starts?"

"Oh, well, I really appreciate that. Thank you, Florence. But I think all we need to do is fix this wire and set up the mic."

"Momma, is that blood?" Syd cuts in. I look down at my hand and, sure enough, there's a steady stream of blood running down my finger.

"Huh," I say. "I'll be right back. Talk amongst yourselves."

I go into the bathroom and grab our first aid kid, doing my best to not drip blood everywhere. The first aid kit has a latch on it, which is very difficult to open when one hand is covered in blood.

Florence walks in and closes the bathroom door behind her. "Hey, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you and make you cut your hand and- why is it bleeding so much?"

"I think the wire, like, punctured my skin. It's fine, it's not a big deal. And it's definitely not your fault, so don't apologize. I'm very accident prone."

"And apparently extremely easy to sneak up on," she adds, taking the first aid kit from me and digging out an antiseptic wipe. "Wash the blood off first," the blonde instructs.

"Yes, ma'am."

She watches me closely as I wash and dry my hands, but I pretend not to notice because I'm too awkward to say anything. When I'm finished, I jut my hand out for her and she takes it with a playful eye roll. She dabs it with an antiseptic wipe and I wince. "Hey! Be gentle, jeez. That shit burns."

"Oh, suck it up you big baby."

"This is all your fault, remember."

"You literally just said it wasn't my fault!"

"I was lying to make you feel better about yourself. In reality, I'm in a great deal of pain because of you."

She smacks my arm and we both burst out laughing. Looking into her captivating hazel eyes, our laughter slowly fades and her cheeks turn a light shade of pink, and I'm sure mine look the same. She quietly clears her throat and breaks eye contact, wrapping a bandaid around my index finger.

"There you go. I think you'll live."

"What, you're not even gonna kiss it better?" I joke. She grabs my hand and quickly kisses my finger before turning around and leaving the bathroom. "Huh," I say in the empty room.

I can hear more voices coming from the shop as people begin to show up for VIP night, so I quickly place the first aid kit back on the shelf and rush into the main area to finish fixing the cord.

The mic is fixed and set up within the next five minutes, so now we're just waiting for the band to show up. For tonight, we booked a small band whose members go to a local college. They're pretty good, and I think Florence will love their music.

I scan the room for Ash since she was supposed to clock in ten minutes ago, and I see her greeting the band as they enter the store. Waving them over to the stage, I help them set up.

One everything is ready to go, Ash dims the lights and I step into the stage, grabbing the microphone.

"Hey, y'all! How are we feeling tonight?" A series of claps and cheers comes from the small crowd in the store. I make eye contact with Florence and send her a small smile, to which she waves. "Thank you guys so much for coming to VIP night. I'll get out of here so the band can introduce themselves. Enjoy the show!"

Hopping off the stage, I join Ash behind the cafe counter to help her with the orders. I assist her with making the drinks and grabbing pastries while David carries the orders to people's tables.

"Y/N, come here," I hear Florence say from the end of the counter. "I want to introduce you to someone."

I look up and see Florence standing there with a guy. He's older, brown hair. Conventionally attractive, I guess. "Uh, hi. I'm Y/N," I greet him.

"I'm Zach, Florence's boyfriend. It's good to finally meet you. Flo hasn't stopped talking about you," he says, sticking his hand out for me to shake, which I do, giving him a polite, tight-lipped smile. The boyfriend. I always forget about the boyfriend.

"It's good to meet you, too. Although Florence hasn't mentioned you at all," I reply with unintentional malice.

Ash, overhearing the conversation, coughs loudly as if saying be nice. I remind myself that it's not my place and I have no right to be upset. "I've gotta get back to work. Have fun," I say with an (almost) genuine smile.

I do my best to ignore Florence's quietude and clenched jaw. She seemed guilty. She had no reason to be. I should've known she had a boyfriend and that she was just being nice. That's on me.

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

el tejano - habbey oneshot

(this is inspired the song el tejano by lauv and sofia reyes (which i recommend). you don't really need to know the song/lyrics to read it, but it would probably give context for certain details.)

The grating sound of a creaky window being opened filled the dorm room, replacing the sound of Deuce aggressively typing up an essay that was due later that week. He didn’t look up, as he knew it was his closest companion, sneaking through the window. Was there even a curfew on weekends? No, but what Heath didn’t know wouldn’t hurt. 

Heath climbed into the room and threw himself down on his roommate’s bed, sighing dramatically. Deuce kept his eyes on his laptop and paid him no mind. Heath sat up and sighed even louder, which sounded more like a strangled scream.

Deuce chuckled to himself and rolled his desk chair towards the bed. He reached out to stop the chair from hitting the footboard and smiled at his best friend.

“Well, someone sure wants my attention,” Deuce said smugly.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Ask me how my day was!” Heath kicked off his shoes and brought his legs up to sit cross-legged. 

“And you can’t just tell me, because…?”

“Because…suspense,” Deuce rolled his eyes, “and because no one else asked how my day was going the entire time I was out,” Heath said with a slight pout.

“Fine,” Deuce turned around to sit backward in his chair and crossed his arms over the back, “How was your day, Heath?”

Heath flailed his hands in excitement, “Great question!” Deuce held back a laugh, “I went to the park, made friends with some zombie dogs, and saw a flyer for this new nightclub place for teens. I went because, duh, and it was decorated to have this beachy vibe and I love the beach.”

Deuce nodded along, “Mhm…”

“And I stayed there for the rest of the night. but, there’s more!” Heath clapped his hands together. 

“How can there be more if you stayed there all night?” 

“I met a girl! I, Heath Burns, met a girl!” 

“Huh, good for you, man,” Deuce pushed himself off the bed and attempted to keep writing his paper.

“Wait, wait, I gotta tell you all about it,” Heath climbed off the bed and headed towards his side of the room, just barely saving himself from tripping over his sneakers. 

“Fine, but I gotta finish this,” Deuce gestured to his open document, “I promise I’m listening, go ahead.”

Heath plopped down into his own desk chair, “So you know Nirvana right? That human band?” Deuce hummed and nodded. “Apparently, there are Spanish covers of their songs, which is a sentence I never thought I’d say, but they were, like, the majority of the playlist.”

Deuce furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Heath, “Nirvana of all bands has multiple covers in Spanish?” 

“Yuh, and me and the girl just danced to them and talked all night. What did we talk about?” Heath didn’t wait for Deuce to answer, “Great question”.

Deuce chuckled to himself as he finished a paragraph. 

“I learned a lot about her, like, she’s from the Himalayas, and she actually knows some of the same people we do. She knows Cleo and Lagoona and even Clawdeen, isn’t that so interesting?” Deuce nodded absentmindedly. “She even asked me if I watched that human show, um…” Heath searched his brain for the title, “Friends! That’s it!” 

“Oh, that show about the six friends in the coffee shop or whatever?” Deuce leaned back in his chair looking over his last couple of paragraphs. 

“Yeah! I told her that Phoebe was probably my favorite character so far.”

“The blonde one?” Deuce asked.

“Mhm, and she actually agreed with me and we laughed and laughed.”

“How did you of all people, no offense, get a girl to talk to you and dance with you? For such a long period of time?” Deuce started a new paragraph and slightly laughed at the idea of Heath fumbling over his words trying to ask a girl to dance.

“Well actually, you jerk, she came up to me. I had just ordered some salsa for my chips, I had chips, I didn’t think it was important to mention, and she walked up to me. She asked if she could sit with me and try some of my food.”

“And you let her, because only you would share your food with an absolute stranger,” Deuce said, saying the last part under his breath.

“I heard that, and yes, I did. She sat down and asked me if the salsa was mild. I stupidly said that it was hotter than mild because I thought it would impress her but turns out she has problems with hot food. Deuce, I almost scared her away!”

Deuce couldn’t keep his laughs quiet anymore and let a loud guffaw leave his mouth, “See, this is why I didn’t believe that you were able to keep her interested enough to dance with you.” 

“Rude, but I quickly took it back and said it was a joke. She stayed, thank gods, and then one of the Nirvana covers came on, she pulled me to the dance floor, I, of course, had to keep my fire under control, and the rest is the greatest love story to ever take place.”

“Sounds like an amazing night, Heath. What was her name?” Deuce finished up his final paragraph and hit save. Should he have proofread it? Sure, but he might as well give the end of Heath’s story his full attention.

“Yeah...about that, once the club got closer to closing time, she left pretty quickly, and I never…actually caught her name…” 

Deuce stopped moving. He did not hear that right, he couldn't have, “You don't,” Deuce closed his eyes in preparation for disappointment, “know her name?” 

“No, I do not,” Deuce could practically hear the sheepish look Heath had on his face as he spoke. 

Deuce did a sharp inhale and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I mean this in the nicest way possible, dude, you're hopeless.” 

“Yeah, I know. But what matters is that she seemed to be having fun and I know I had fun,” Heath got out of his chair and started to change into his pajamas. “That’s a win in my book.” 

“A win is a win,” Deuce reluctantly said. 

Heath finished getting dressed and sprawled out on his bed, “I wonder if she’s thinking about me right now.”

“Maybe, Heath, maybe.”

On the other side of the school was a blue-skinned girl and her friends gathered in a circle. Giggles left the friends’ mouths as the girl spoke.

“He assured me that the salsa wasn’t actually that hot and so I tried it, it was really good, and we just hit it off right away,” it was hard for Abbey to keep her excitement in check as she recounted the story of the boy she had met that night. 

“And then what happened?” Lagoona chirped.

“Then the music changed and I dragged him to the dance floor,” Abbey took a second to chuckle to herself, “He was such a bad dancer,” another chuckle fell from her lips.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Ghoulia reached a hand to Abbey’s knee in comfort.

“No, no, it was endearing. I loved how bad he was at dancing because he knew he was bad but he was so confident about it. It made me laugh.”

Ghoulia hummed and took her hand away. 

“Ya know, orange skin, red hair, I think I know the guy you’re talking about,” Cleo, who had been trying to act like she didn’t think Abbey’s story was absolutely adorable, finally chimed in to the conversation, “What was his name again?”

“Oh, I never actually asked for it. I didn’t tell him mine either. Guess that wasn’t my smartest move,” Abbey said, giggling to herself. 

“You utter fool,” Cleo reprimanded her but couldn’t stay mad at her very happy friend. 

“Yeah, I know. But I had so much fun, guys, and I think he did too. I swear I saw his hair become fire for a second when we were dancing.” 

Cleo definitely knew who the guy was by now but she held her words. Why ruin the moment by letting everyone know that Abbey was dancing with Cleo’s ex’s best friend? Besides, it was bound to be funny when the two would inevitably run into each other when classes started in a couple days.

[steelflexbell]

LOVE drake but sometimes his fans can be ....... a lot, and ppl think "oh it's cuz they are all young" i mean sure he has some like younger fans but the cringiest ones i've seen are all the millennial ones who watched drake and josh growing up. I LOVE drake but I do a hard cringe every time I see people saying his music is like, the second coming. I love his music, but omg.

Okay, full snob moment here (there is a reason why I keep my Drake stuff separate from my main blog), but a lot of these people lack the curiosity to really explore and expand their musical horizons. Either they don't dig too deep or their taste has always been generally milquetoast in some form. So, by listening to Drake's music, which is terribly underrated, they think that he must've invented music as we know it because apparently they never encountered artists with any kind of range. This involves memoryholing both The Beatles (possibly his biggest influence) and Michael Jackson (one of his favorite artists as far as I could tell based off of a tweet from the Bieber Feud), especially MJ since he's explored just about every genre out there from disco to industrial (he LOVED NIN's The Downward Spiral) to new jack swing to neo-soul. So one doesn't really have to go that deep into the world of music to find revolutionary acts with a vast amount of range.

Drake does have range, but his wheelhouse is safely within the poppier rock territory, particularly of the power pop subgenre. A lot of It's Only Time sound like it could easily fit in on a Jellyfish album. He did cover their song "Joining A Fan Club' in precious concerts, but I will use this opportunity to highlight the song that got me interested in the band prior to becoming a Drakester:

Though I don't know if he is an influence on Drake's work, another artist that Drake fans should check out is David Cassidy. "Nowhere Else To Go" from The Lost Album reminded me of his 70s RCA era, and I've been of the opinion that Drake could've easily portrayed (and possibly still could) David Cassidy in a biopic had one been made in the 2000s. I think the resemblance is close enough and he easily has the vocals to record his own versions.

tl;dr: Drake is great, but once again, he's not a cultural reset when it comes to music. Check out acts with similar sounds and branch out past your comfort zone.

[fandomanimatic-tournament]

Fandom song animatic tournament: Bracket 2 Side B Round 2

This is Home / Home - Cavetown

"Get a load of this monster He doesn't know how to communicate His mind is in a different place Will everybody please give him a little bit of space Get a load of this train-wreck His hair's a mess and he doesn't know who he is yet But little do we know, the stars Welcome him with open arms"

How Far We've Come - Matchbox 20

"But I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well, I guess we're gonna find out Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come"

Remember that we're voting on how Iconic they are for ANIMATICS, not for the song itself. In order to make things fair, the tone and mood of the song should not affect how iconic it is (for example, a serious song should not be considered more iconic than a joke song just because it's serious)Propaganda and animatic links of the songs under the cut:

This is Home / Home - Cavetown

Propaganda:

This song is sooooo sad man... the animatics to this one are so sad its very much a self loathing melacholy song and so you get a lot of really angsty sad animatics from this one, some can be downright gut wrenching but either way you see this song a whole lot so it deserves a place in the hall of fame

this is to the danganronpa animatic i watched all the way back in 2020 that i STILL think about even though im not in the fandom anymore. that animatic is the animatic of all animatics ever to me.

Animatics with the song:

The Magnus Archives (Home)

Homestuck (This is Home)

Good Omens (Home)

The Magnus Archives (Home)

Danganronpa (This is Home)

How Far We've Come - Matchbox 20

Propaganda:

Aside from two of my favourite ever animatics being to this (Homestuck and Hermitcraft 8) it’s such a fandom song (genuinely up there with soldier poet king in the “oh my god it’s just like my d&d party” vibe). So many stories are about averting an apocalypse or some other looming threat “I’m waking up at the start of the end of the world” and the whole song is about reflecting back on your life and that of the world around you. It’s perfect for a climatic buildup to the end of a campaign or series finale, or a summary of an entire work. “Say your goodbyes if you’ve got someone you can say goodbye to” is perfect for drawing ships or friends or siblings to, with maybe one solitary person at the end. The percussion and guitar also make it very suited to animatics - there’s perfect parts in the music to switch between frames or scenes. It’s been around since 2007 so it’s nostalgic and from the peak of amvs and animatics. Please this song fucks so hard look at all the lyrics listen to it on loop it’s so quintessential to me

the DRAMA. the STORY. the EMOTIONS. this is a song for an animatic that covers character growth and major plot points, and it does it so well! if i am invested in the fandom and watch a how far we've come animatic i already know it will change me as a person

Dude. It makes the heart swell with emotion and pride at wow these characters sure have come far

It's the OG. I don't even know if homestuck started its popularity in the animatic scene but it was huge and it remains huge. From TAZ to (apparently, from a quick youtube search) hermitcraft, this song will tear at people's heartstrings as they think about blorbos the band has can't even imagine.

this song makes me so emotional ok? i know lots of fandoms use it but the ones that stuck with me are warrior cats, hermitcraft and of course homestuck. sorry for the cringe but im glad to be free. anyways this is THE song for anything that has either ended or had a large amount of time pass and also its just a really fucking good song on its own.

Animatics with the song:

Hermitcraft

The Adventure Zone

DSMP

Last Life SMP

Homestuck

Please be cautious and read the title, description and warning cards on the animatic videos if you decide to watch them. If you've got specific triggers I'd recommend even more caution when watching animatics of fandoms you don't know, since sometimes canon-typical themes don't get warnings.

[kittenofdoomage]

Recap of my festival fun under the cut. I'm just writing this down so I can remember everything.

Download 2024 was awesome. Don't get me wrong, the biblical rain and resulting apocalyptic mud was crazy 🤣 but I managed to keep my footing the whole time, I was careful, and great googly moogly I was glad I had to the accessibility pass for the restrooms. From what I heard the regular portaloos were a HORROR show.

It wasn't raining when we got there on Wednesday, aside from a little sprinkle, but Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, it rained nearly constantly and I was very glad I prepared with my giant purple poncho that made me look like a condom but hey, I was dry!! We had to use trash bags at points to cover the bits that were getting damp lol tent stayed dry... well, ours did. The men of our party were in a different tent and it got a bit swampy 😬

The music finally started on Friday, we waited a bit to go up to the arena due to the weather. Started off at the second stage because I wanted to watch Scene Queen, but watched the first couple bands before that.

Hanabie - I'd never heard of them before, they're a Japanese band and they absolutely smashed their set. Really entertaining, lots of energy, definitely gonna be checking out more of their music.

Halocene - they were good, I was enjoying a good head bop to their tunes.

Scene Queen - I'm in love. Bimbocore is my new favourite. Her music is hilarious and feminist and just downright danceable. Will be trying to see her again!!! (My brother wants to marry her lol)

After those guys, I headed back to main stage. Found a spot on the hill and chilled out in my chair because standing isn't an option for my busted hip (jeebus, I'm old lol).

Those Damn Crows - didn't know they were Welsh! Been listening to them on Planet Rock for months, really enjoyed their show!!

Polyphia - not usually my sort of thing, I nipped off for lunch at this point and listened to them in the queue for cheesy fries. Instrumental for the most part but not horrible to the ears.

Black Stone Cherry - BLAME IT ON THE BOOM BOOM!! I love this band and I've seen them before, they always bring it lol

Royal Blood - always a great show, they had the crowd bopping.

Queens Of The Stone Age - little underwhelming for the entertainment factor and I left after three/four songs because I wanted to avoid the crush getting out of the arena.

By this point, it was getting muddy (see above picture from Friday afternoon). It then rained all night 🤣 the mud was getting really bad by Saturday morning but it's a festival in the UK, you have to be prepared for this shit to happen lol glad I didn't opt for the Yorkshire puddings in the village though as apparently a bunch of folks got food poisoning - I hope anyone affected is okay!!

With the aforementioned apocalyptic mud, I decided to stay on the hill again for Saturday's bands.

Bambie Thug - I was not expecting to like this, but I fucking did!! She was great, her rendition of The Cranberries "Zombie" had me in fucking tears as I sang along. She had so much energy and passion, really great set.

Wargasm - literally only listened to this band for the first time last week and decided to see them, they were really good. I'm gonna be checking out more of their stuff.

The Hunna - wandered off for lunch again. They were good, but I'm not sure I gave them the attention they deserved because I was so hungry.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - only heard of these guys in passing, though they were a very enjoyable band!! They got a guy out of the crowd with his little boy at one point, made sure they were okay. It was a common theme across the weekend, with bands making sure the fans were okay, always nice to see compassion from them ❤

Babymetal - look, I'll freely admit, I didn't like Babymetal when I saw them at Reading a few years ago but after Hanabie, I gave it another chance. Sadly, they only played three or four songs because of the biblical rain storm that started during their set, but they were still fantastic and I think my husband is going to hate the music I'm going to start listening to lol

Enter Shikari - I like one of their songs, and not many others, but my bestie LOVES them, so I listened. I then wandered off and bought a hat for my kid because everywhere was deserted at the time and no one else's shoes could withstand the big puddle by the shops (New Rocks, all the way). Was funny watching the lead singer throw himself into the big muddy puddle though, his intrusive thoughts won 🤣

The Offspring - WHAT A FUCKING SHOW!!! These guys still bring it, thirty years later. I felt like I was fifteen again, rocking out to Come Out And Play, Pretty Fly For A White Guy, and a great cover of Blitzkrieg Bop (which made me miss my daughter because that's one of her favourite songs). I've seen The Offspring a few times now, it's a band I'll always watch at a festival.

Fall Out Boy - this band was the whole reason for me being there. I love Fall Out Boy and know most of their songs by heart. When I say I had no voice left by the end, I mean it. I was screaming, crying, head banging, throwing the horns, just having the best time of my life. I cried when they played The Phoenix. Screamed along to This Ain't A Scene. I wish I could go to every single show they play. People thought they weren't headliner material but every single hater can suck it because the crowd was huge and everyone was singing along. I'd share the video but you can hear my godawful screeching and no one needs that lmao. The crush getting out of the arena afterwards was awful.

By the Sunday, the mud was so bad that a lot of people were just leaving but our tent was dry and the only mud we'd gathered was on our shoes and jeans. This is outside our tent:

There were only three bands I was desperate to see that day so we headed up to the arena a little later. I wandered, bought some very naughty and sugary donuts to share with my brother (who has eaten very well this weekend because I can't finish a meal to save my life lol) and then sat down to watch the bands again.

Bowling For Soup - GET WELL SOON, CHRIS!! Chris was hospitalized a few days before Download, but the band, with his blessing, played on. They still did a fantastic set, rick-rolled the whole audience (about 80,000 people at this point) and brought all the laughs to the stage. I'd seen them once before this, and both times were excellent shows.

Sum 41 - their last UK festival appearance ever and it was a blast. They played all their greatest hits, got the crowd pumping, and hopefully it won't be their last UK show!!

Limp Bizkit - Fred Durst, despite looking like he could audition for Santa, is still full of energy and drew what looked like the biggest crowd of the weekend. Everyone was dancing and singing and having a great time, and I still remember the words to all their songs lol plus they had the whole crowd singing to Careless Whisper at one point which was amazing.

Avenged Sevenfold - little disappointed with the lack of entertainment with these guys, I left before they finished to avoid another crush and apparently they had a lot of technical difficulties. It's not the first time I've been disappointed by them but I didn't go in with high hopes 🤣

The whole weekend was just chill vibes, despite the weather. Food was good (we apparently avoided the raw chicken and food poisoning), disabled restrooms were amazing, no one got too drunk (I don't drink, so not a problem for me) and the camps surrounding us were respectful yet fun and played some great, very random music on the Sunday night that had us all dancing on the last patches of grass between tents.

I don't expect anyone to read this, it's just for me really, so I can remember all the little details and the bands and just reminisce for the last few moments before I'm back to school runs and work!!

[dragonfliescreative]

Joel (oc) x Reader..

Ch 1. Getting Ready.

Huffing in an attempt to calm my nerves, i stare into the mirror. The outfit Chloe had picked out for the concert felt odd against my skin. i normally just wore what was comfortable, but she insisted that i dress up for this. apparently id feel out of place otherwise. if i was honest i didnt even know what i was walking into. she had been listening to Bloodied Daisies alot long than i had, hell she had been to their concerts too. this was my first time going because she won a raffle for backstage tickets.

"Are you about ready??" Her voice boomed through the door. Pulling briefly at the tight netting over my arms i respond "Yeah i guess so." And with that im met with my best friend. she had her blonde hair up in a spiky looking bun, and a matching punky looking outfit to mine. She covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my god! Y/n you look so handsome!" she snickered, her fingers shortly finding my face afterwards to fix the makeup i had most likely smudged it while putting in my top. "Perfect." She grinned.

I followed her out of the apartment i rented and out to her little black car, that she had of course stickerbombed. Once we sat i tuned back in to what she was saying to me. "-and i hear he's quite the party-er. though if im honest im mainly there for Grayson. god he's smokin' hot." she started the car and we were off. the venue was about a 30ish minute drive from my place since my complex was closer to the edge of the city. "plus, theyre small enough still that they'll most likely drink with us. is that okay?" she asked, turning to me as she hit her breaks for the red light. "I don't wanna be like, wasted." I mumble. the idea of drinking around strangers never was a good one. "You can though, i'll drive us home." I continued, giving her a small smile. And there was that giddy grin of hers, it always made me feel better. "Perfect! im so excited! i know you dont party much but i promise you'll love it." she cooed, before going on to explain that the tickets she gor were basically pay to get in party tickets, and were limited to about 10 ish people excluding the band obviously.

The next 20 minutes of the drive was us jamming out to the album they were touring. I had to admit, I loved this dudes voice. Chloe went over the band members names and what they played. Joel, the vocalist and guitarist, though apparently he could play several instruments too. Grayson, the drummer, her favorite. And lastly their bassist, Arlo, who also could play a few instruments. The more we sang, the more excited i got. i had never even been to a real concert before, let alone one like this.

Holding the CD case in my hand, i actually started to look at the members. inside the case was a picture of them together, with their signatures beside each of their heads. She had gotten this at their last concert. Joel, a kinda small dude, covered in tattoos and freckles with a dark fuzzzy mohawk and green eyes. Holy shit he had braces too. Grayson, a super tall scary looking man, with long black and blue hair, way more piercings than Joel, and gnarly cutting scares all over his body, even his cheekbones. I see why Chloes makeup was blue now. And Arlo, taller than Joel but shorter than Grayson, a lanky androgynous person, with long hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, glasses, and just as many piercings and tattooes as Joel.

The more i stared at the vocalist i started to giggle "How tall is he?"

"Uhh, five eight i think?"

"that voice comes out of that little man?"

"mhm!"

"thats funny as hell."

She giggled with me "isnt it? he's honestly scrunkly as hell. when i met him he smelled like cigarettes and like a woody smelling cologne"

"Chloe that's oddly specific. Why is that what you noticed?"

"It's hard not to when he's just below me in height. his forehead met my nose."

I rolled my eyes and tuned back into the song, into the venue parking we went.

Notes: Grayson belongs to my friend!! @grioxim

Ch 2

Pretty Handsome Awkward Ch List



[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: In The Air Tonight

Now this is a song that many people know, at least partially! Even if the name doesn't ring a bell for you, you almost definitely know the part that some people call "one of the most iconic drumlines in music", so really it's no surprise that this was an arrangement from The Human Drumkit himself, Mr Layne Stein! Voiceplay's cover of In The Air Tonight premiered on YouTube on the 17th of June, 2023, and features J None, back again! I will of course say more about the video when we actually get into it, so let's go!

Apparently the style/aesthetics of this video plays homage to a classic 80s cop show called Miami Vice, which used the song "In The Air Tonight" in its pilot episode, in a scene which (so I've heard) has been referred to by some as one of the most iconic in the history of television.

(Also the car belongs to Layne's dad, and likely would have been sitting in the garage since the early days of 4:2:Five, at least)

J looking very cool and fresh in that red blazer! (Reminds me of the Walk Like A Man section of the Boy Band Medley!)

Geoff is, once again, the only bare-shouldered/sleeveless one of the group! (A back-to-back occurrence if you don't count the Peaches video!) (Also peep the necklace!)

A cool audiovisual effect thing to transition into the "modern-day" filming style!

Cesar is vibing, and Eli is back at it again with the unworn-sunglasses-as-accessory!

Cool necklace! And he's got earrings, too!

I won't lie, this may be one of my favourite Geoff Looks of 2023. It's not even anything particular about the outfit, he just looks so pretty in this one! (And his hair is looking very nice here, too 👀😁)

"Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand"

Of course I had to acknowledge Cesar's powerful side-eye here! Like seriously, if anyone ever asks you what a side-eye is, just show them this moment! 👌

Group shot!

I believe I read a comment somewhere saying this was filmed outside PattyCake Productions or something, like outdoors? And apparently it was a bit warm outside, especially with the lighting rigs, but if they were sweating/partially melting at all during this, you really can't tell! They did great!

(And shoutout to both Layne and Tony for set design and direction!)

Cesar never fails to put his whole self into his performances, and I love it every time

Voiceplay love adding brief little moments like this into their videos sometimes, just to keep things interesting and/or keep viewers on their toes 😄

Get it, Layne! Go off!

I wanna post screencaps from Geoff's little vocal solo and/or Layne's epic drumline-recreation immediately after, but still images don't do either justice! Go (re)watch it yourself!

"I been waiting for this moment, for ALL my liiife!"

The retro filming style/aesthetic is back! Happening so quickly and smoothly that you would be forgiven if you didn't immediately pick up on it! (*cough*)

Sure, why not?

"Well I been waiting for this moment, for all my life, oh loooooo o r r r d d"

(Pretty Boy!!!!!)

J None is freaking amazing, and I really hope he becomes a permanent Voiceplay member again someday; both he and Cesar are fantastice vocalists and performers, and they both have vocal ranges wide enough that they can both easily take the role of baritone and/or tenor!

In my opinion, the original song does not really start getting interesting until the "bass drop" drumline like 3 minutes into the song, but Voiceplay's cover is not even close to dull for a single moment! We get incredible vocals from everyone in this one (and I didn't talk about Eli much at all here, but vocally he was of course phenomenal), and the arrangement has a fair few complexities and interesting stuff to it, like the stomp-clap-click percussion moment which I still struggle to actually keep in time/on beat with! Definitely a very strong cover from Voiceplay, and frankly it's a crime that it "only" has 500k views on YouTube! It deserves a million! At least!

[theclosetedskeleton]

please infodump about your damn skippy oc please i beg

YAHSHANXNABX YAYAYAYAY

okay here we go

I dont have an uhh actual name for the oc (yet), ill try to think about one soon. Anyways

He's (obv referring to my damn skippy oc) energetic and constantly moving around the place. Damn skippy oc try to sit still in one place (failed INSTANTLY).

+ "Naturally curious (Good example for this idea would be the song "rainwater") and lives in their daydreams" kinda person. (When robots attack) (ik theres the line 'how i wish this was just a dream' in when robots attack, but I imagine the scenario wasnt a "daydream" he has and moreso of an actual dream that feels real.)

[going back to the last part, I imagine the entire damn skippy album is just the oc going on these silly tangents abt their life + daydreams (maybe minus "ode to crayola", as I already have a diff oc for that song alone)]

Pronouns - He/they (Was originally gonna go with he/him but i like the concept of "he/they DS oc better)

Physical features !!!

DS has these swirls in their eyes, like the back of the album cover. Confession - Every now and then i think the pinkish color makes him look high but then i add the blue and im like "nuh uh" HWKAN 😭

They also have these star pupils, I added the idea when i first designed the oc back in jan-feb time period. Btw these features arent like contact lenses those are his actual eyes :3 I imagine my DS oc to be like... 80% human and the 20% is uhhh I dont know that answer

Along with this, theres like this ink or whatever that seeps from his eyes. Theyre not tears or anything, no matter what they do to remove the ink it just comes back eventually, but the ink only gets down to a certain point to where it just stops flowing.

small features !!! he wears a lot of stickers on their face, mainly because the stickers are really cool

LOTS of kandi bracelets/wrist bands/spiked bracelets. There probably was a time where he was a scene kid, and they still take inspiration from that 2000s/2010s scene time period.

[side note!!! this doesnt relate with my oc 100% but

on the topic of the kandi bracelets part, DS makes a lot of kandi bracelets for HTTJB (another oc based on a LD album) (The hip to the javabean oc isnt my oc, its @shrimpmcbites 's). Occasionally DS will just give HTTJB a new kandi bracelet for no apparent reason. ]

LOTS OF COLOR !!!!!!!! DS constantly wears so many things dealing with color and bright things, like as if those saturated bright colorful photos were a person.

DS IS TRANS!!!!!! trans ftm to be specific. fuck making all my characters different.... i WILL project on every one of them

(on a specific note, DS hasnt gotten any sort of medical transition like HRT or top/bottom surgery)

Projecting on my oc once more !!!! but fuck i dont care - DS is aroace and queerplatonic !!!! + DS is also in a qpr W/HTTJB because me and @shrimpmcbites said so muahaha (we are both projecting...)

(Geeks is love is abt them !!!!! the line "I don't think they'll ever get the groovy standards that we set for love" fits oh so perfectly with the fact the DS and HTTJB oc's are in a qpr)

Okay now for a bit of silly facts

Favorite drink - Tea !!! of any kind !!!! or maybe koolaid or the type of water drinks where you pour the syrup of a flavor in water and you get juice if yk what im talking abt

Favorite food - I imagine DS to really like smores. especially the ones with too much extra stuff and too many marshmellows and chocolate

Favorite type of music - anything DS can dance to. or just move around to. He doesn't really like sad songs.

Favorite color -Probably all of them but mainly the really saturated BRIGHT colors

Hobbies -

Dancing (not really good at it, + is not a professional, they just do it bc he NEEDS a way to channel all of the internal energy they have.),

Reading (only comic/graphic novels, anything else and he just loses attention)

KANDI - They has SO. MANY. KANDI. STUFF. AT HOME. probably even a few pieces of kandi clothing because of all of the extra time they have on his hands.

Video games - Esp those really retro ones, but he'll play almost any video game that goes in their hands

HOLY SHIT THIS POST IS SO LONG. idk what else to add but if anyone reads this till the end and has any input about the oc send me an ask about it because my DS oc (and @shrimpmcbites 's HTTJB oc) has been CLAWING at my brain and i need people to talk to me about them

[black-arcana]

AMY LEE Shoots Down Rumor She Is LINKIN PARK's New Singer, But Says She 'Might' Be Willing To 'Do It Part Time'

In a new interview with Canada's iHeart Radio, EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee was asked about the recent rumors that LINKIN PARK has recruited a female singer and some LP fans' desire to see her step in as the replacement for that band's late vocalist Chester Bennington.

"That is an incredible compliment," she said after being told that she was a fan favorite to fill the slot (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I have not heard that. No, I have not been contacted [by LINKIN PARK] or anything like that. But [I'm a] huge fan feel like our worlds, our fanbases are a lot of the same people."

She continued: "That's really sweet. We never… Well, did we play shows [together]? I don't know if [EVANESCENCE and LINKIN PARK] were on a festival together or whatever. We met. We were in the studio at the same time. When we were making 'Fallen', I just briefly got to have a conversation or two with Chester. He was really sweet.

"But no, it's not true," she clarified in regard to the rumors that could be LINKIN PARK's new singer. "But that's awesome. They should ask me about that. I don't have a ton of free time, but I might do it part time."

The rumor about LINKIN PARK recruiting a female vocalist was apparently started by ORGY frontman Jay Gordon who mentioned during a radio interview that he had "heard" that they were working with a "girl singer now". When pressed, Gordon continued by saying: "Don't quote me on that. I'm not sure who the singer is going to be, but I heard it was gonna be female. They might just try to move on like that. That ought to be interesting." Jay later seemingly walked back his comments, writing in a Facebook post that he knew "nothing about any of that" and accused "people" of taking his words "out of context."

During EVANESCENCE's 2022 tour with HALESTORM, Lee and HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale performed a cover version of LINKIN PARK's "Heavy" at every stop. Lzzy spoke about the decision to cover the track in an interview with the 105.7 The Point radio station. She said: "[Amy and I] were lobbing a couple of ideas back and forth and then, all of a sudden, we landed on LINKIN PARK. And [we thought], you know what? That would be really cool because inadvertently it would be a tribute to Chester, but also, everything that this song has been about, we've all been through that — everybody. And so it's almost this like very church moment where you walk out onstage and you're, like, 'All right. This is my church. These are my people. We're all doing this together.'"

LINKIN PARK has just released a career-spanning greatest-hits album, "Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023)". The record also features a previously unreleased track with Bennington, "Friendly Fire", which was recorded during the sessions for the group's final studio album, 2017's "One More Light". Bennington died later that year.

In a 2004 interview with Revolver magazine, Chester talked about meeting EVANESCENCE in the studio, and how Amy explained to him that her record label tried to make them sound like LINKIN PARK.

"I met [EVANESCENCE] in the studio when they were recording their record. We were both recording in the same building. I was talking to [Amy]. And she was nice. She said, 'We're having these problems. Everyone at our label wants us to be you.' I told her that's lame. She agreed. She said they went as far as wanting to ask [LINKIN PARK's] Mike [Shinoda] to do a part on a song. She said, 'We knew he wouldn't do it.' So they're running around trying to get guys in other bands to do it like he would. ' I told her to be herself and tell the label to put it where the sun doesn't shine. But the next thing I heard was 'Bring Me To Life' with a guy that sounded just like Mike. It was a little upsetting."

In a 2018 interview with SiriusXM, Shinoda spoke about how he was asked to guest on "Bring Me To Life" and explained why he turned it down.

"I remember when EVANESCENCE first came out, somebody from the record label said, 'Do you want to be on this other band's song? They have this song with a singer — a female singer — and there's like, a rap part.' And I turned it down without having even known anything about the band," he said. "I didn't know anything about the band, and we didn't have anything to do with them. But I just — I just knew that, like, I did my thing in my band, and I didn't want to do my thing in another band. And when I ended up hearing the song, I went, 'Oh, I get it. I get why they wanted me on that song. Like, that would have sounded cool.' I still — I didn't want to do it, because I think, like, they have their own thing and the hardest part for EVANESCENCE was probably growing out of that moment, which they did gracefully. Part of it is just due to the fact that at the time, you know, they were writing cool stuff, and Amy's voice is just a great voice. I mean, she's just got a very powerful voice."