#much less to An Entire Stadium After An Hour Of Jumping And Dancing And Singing Loud As Fuck
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am finally back home and can say without a doubt that i am just fundamentally not built for long distance travel however the train was much nicer than planes
#that being said. pressurized cabins drive me insane a little bit#and also it gives you pretty intense sea legs for a While#like. the ones from the first trip hadnt gone away by the return one. so. might be stuck with that for a few days#we shall see#also ajr live fucks severely#the albums were already incredible but that was a goddamn religious experience#like. idk the way i think abt it is theyre more djs than a regular band esp w their performance showing the making of way less sad#like their music is very electronic‚ theyre making mixes of their own sound effects more than singing in one go#so like. the vocals were a teeensy bit rough at times#notably times it has taken me Literally Hundreds Of Hours Practice to be able to consistently sing along with#and times ive found its literally physically impossible to like. no matter what#idc how big your lungs are‚ there is no human on earth who can do that final run of karma in one breath#much less to An Entire Stadium After An Hour Of Jumping And Dancing And Singing Loud As Fuck#so like i dont blame them for that‚ you dont go to live shows expecting it to be 100% perfect anyways jwbdjsbfksb#the trumpet however. well she was certainly playing sometimes. and was very enthusiastic about her flares.#however. in most of their songs they use midi trumpets to my ear at least#meaning she was likely an addition specifically for live performances and in my personal band kid opinion#prooobably was not in any of the like. higher tier bands? idk just. a lot of the mistakes she was making were hitting as stuff that got#taught out of us the instant we joined any band beyond regular concert#so i would guess she was probably just like. a friend who happened to play trumpet in high school or maybe even just middle school#and they knew that the trumpet parts in their pieces were big and distinct enough that like they /had/ to get a live player#and just kinda. didnt anticipate the audition -> performance gap#like. her tone was really fried the whole time like she was playing as hard as possible#which. she was mic'd. have the sound guy turn her up.#the way they did it made it sound like she was using a mute but not. like she only got the bad parts of a mute from it yknow#her tempo and timing were. bad. theres no nice way to put that one it just Was Bad‚ like the trumpet runs in ajr songs arent. complicated#like. quite literally if you handed me the sheet music right now i would have it down perfect in a week at absolute most#and better than that player on sightread. like. we did so many sightreading drills.#like ill share my band kid creds if anyone cares but i need to emphasize this isnt me being braggy like. they genuinely just arent hard#fuck im out of tags. w/e i think only like one of yall also listens to them anyways so i can leave it there
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My Eras Tour Concert experience!! (7/28/23)
Let's start at the beginning! Immediately after we got through the gates, people approached my friend and I about trading bracelets! (We also gave bracelets to the parking lot attendants!!) The energy was so fun! On our walk from the parking lot, and the entire time we were in the stadium, I was complimenting people's outfits. Everyone looked gorgeous!!! I have never seen so much glitter and sequins!!! It was so cute!! Btw the first bracelet that someone chose to take from me was "Three Sad Virgins" lol.
We walked around the stadium for like an hour. We talked to quite a few people, and traded several bracelets. We met up with one of my dad's former co-workers too! She was super sweet, and I gave her a bracelet. We went to the Capital One booth to do the Taylor elevator video thing, and it turned out really cute!! It's posted on my Instagram if any mutuals want to see. Since we were walking around and stuff, we ended up not watching the openers. It wasn't a horrible loss for us, because none of us were familiar with their music.
We were shocked when we found our seats. Our view was incredible!! We were directly in front of the stage, and we were in the first row of our area. No one was in front of us. We literally could've sat through the whole thing and still would've had a perfect view. (That being said I stood the whole time lol.) I got so excited when I heard Misery Business and Immortals play btw!! I love that Taylor has Paramore and Fall Out Boy in her pre-show playlist! Also I hadn't seen the clock countdown before. The crowd energy was insane, and I was legit about to cry before she even came on stage.
I didn't cry when she came onto the stage, but I did scream a lot lol. As expected, it was super fun to sing along to Miss Americana and YNTCD. Also as expected, my dad sang along to YNTCD! He recorded lots of stuff for me throughout the concert too. Being able to yell "shade never made anybody less gay" was a great experience btw. I started crying during Lover, and I cried again during The Archer. I really wasn't sure which songs would make me cry, but I've got to say I didn't expect Lover lol.
Onto the Fearless era! That was my first time hearing the song Fearless! She didn't play it at my reputation tour concert. It was so much fun!!! I was jumping around and dancing through the whole era. I saw my dad singing along to YBWM! As excited as I was myself, I was also happy that my dad got to hear songs he was familiar with this time. I will always cherish the memory of doing heart hands with Taylor + everyone in the stadium.
You guys have no clue how loudly I screamed when I saw Haim come onto stage in their Bejeweled dresses!! I'm so obsessed with them! Hearing no body, no crime live was incredible. What surprised me most about this era was the fact that I sobbed through marjorie. (Very intense, ugly crying.) That song does make me cry often, but I failed to consider how hard it would hit live given I recently lost one of my grandmas. The song is a beautiful tribute, and I love that Taylor gets to honor her grandmother in such a special way. My dad hugged me through most of the song while I cried. champagne problems was exactly as cool live as I expected. The crowd energy was WILD!! I will always love the intensity in Taylor's eyes when she drops the f-bomb line lol. tolerate it live was also incredible. One of my favorite songs forever and ever!! Btw we cheered for over 3 and a half minutes after champagne problems. (That's a whole minute longer than night 2.)
I have no words for how hot reputation Taylor is. I ascended watching her. I can't believe I essentially got to see a second reputation era. I have the least to say here because I had already heard the songs from this era live, but I had so much fun dancing around and I am just so so gay.
Now for Speak Now!! I had entirely avoided spoilers of what the stage looked like for this era. I was in awe of how beautiful it was! I am so happy to have heard Enchanted live, and the fireworks were perfect!! (The fireworks were not part of the show, but still very cool. Levi Stadium is across a parking lot from Great America, so we experienced the amusement park's firework display during Speak Now and Red.) I cried again during Long Live! I thought I'd be safe since I heard it during the reputation era, but my love for Taylor got to me lol. I love her so much, and I am so glad she gets to be celebrated each weekend.
The transition into the Red era was fun! I hadn't seen anything about it online, so it was totally new to me. This is the era that I could tell my dad had the most fun in. He sang along to 3/4 songs. He didn't know the words to All Too Well, but he did record the entire song for me!! Also he sang the correct words to Trouble lol. This era was so fun to dance around during. I hadn't heard any songs from this era live previously, and my dad and I fueled each other's hype!
God the folklore era was amazing. I had so much fun screaming along to betty!! It's been one of my favorites since the album came out. My inner 2020 self was LIVING!! My jaw locked during illicit affairs, which really sucked, but beyond that it was a wonderful time during this era!! The stage setup was gorgeous!!!!!
Oh. My. God. The 1989 era!!!!!!!!! So damn fun!!! I was jumping around and dancing the whole time!!!! I don't have the words, but it was EVERYTHING!!!!! I was so hyped and also knew we were right around the corner from the surprise songs!!
The surprise songs were right where you left me and Castles Crumbling!! You guys don't understand how insane my friend and I went. We knew Aaron Dessner was at the show, and we jokingly were like "haha what if we get rwylm or peace". We had also been talking about those songs in the car prior to knowing Aaron was there, and my friend said that rwylm was one of her biggest hopes. (It was in my top 10 too!) So imagine how excited we were when Taylor brought Aaron on stage and the song started. We looked at each other, screamed, and hugged. It was such a good moment. Then after, we just had no clue what to expect from the next song. Taylor started playing the piano, and the crowd went silent. I screamed so loudly it hurt my throat when she sang the first line of Castles Crumbling. I had been intentionally avoiding speaking my surprise song hopes out loud, because I was scared of like jinxing it or something. It was everything to me to hear that song. I was completely not expecting it, but Taylor knew I'd go crazy for a Speak Now TV vault song and she delivered!!!! Those song choices were perfect. It was fun going on Twitter after the show and seeing all of the memes from people that weren't there. Usually I'm right there with them and Like everything, but I got to be like "yeah sorry I was actually there" lol. Btw now that the second night has happened, I'd just like to confirm that we won lol.
Last but not least, the Midnights era!!! So cool! Just so so cool! I made my dad record Vigilante Sh*t, because I was losing my goddamn mind. That was the sexiest thing I've seen in my life. Holy wow. No thoughts just gay. I was sad because I knew we were at the end of the show, but I was having too much fun to really think about it. Taylor is such a force. Her care for her fans is so evident, and I'm so grateful she broke curfew to be with us. My love for her is infinite, and I'm in awe that I got to see my favorite person irl for a second time.
Btw I got my favorite outfits for most of the eras, and I still can't get over that. I will never stop talking about this concert!!!! My dad is going to show me his videos on the TV today, and I'm looking forward to reliving everything!! Shoutout to the #1 Swiftie dad for taking so many photos and videos! I didn't take out my phone during the concert because he was totally on top of it all. He let me live in the moment, and I'm very appreciative. Also I know he recorded me a couple times, so I'm curious to see that footage lol.
Here's some photos that my dad sent me!!
#it was really just the best time#I'll never get over it#taylor swift#the eras tour#ashley overshares
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The Extraordinary Dragon (Part 1/6)
After about a century of me being gone and not writing a new story, I am back with a mini-series! 💙
I didn't have a good idea for a new OC so I decided to write a cute and fluffy story about Charlie training a dragon with a sad and mysterious past.
I would like to thank @am-i-space @madelineorionswan & @the-al-chemist for giving me ideas for the names of the dragons mentioned in the story. You are the best 💙 Since some of the dragons are mentioned in the later chapters I will make sure to include which dragons you named in the Masterlist for the story 💙
If you'd like to be tagged in every part the dragon with your name is mentioned please tell me and I will gladly do so 🤗
Warnings: Charlie being excited and obsessed with dragons.
Word count: 2,869
A dragon's roar awakened me. It might sound terrifying to some, but it is a pure melody for my ears. I have been working in the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary for almost 10 years now. Come to think of it tomorrow's the anniversary.
My co-workers constantly tease me, telling me that I'm a workaholic. I always disagree with them. I just love dragons and working with them. Am I a bit obsessed with the creatures? Maybe. But who wouldn't be so excited about having their dream job?
There is something so soothing working with a beast that can swallow you whole, yet if you have the right energy and you treat them right they can be more obedient than a Crup.
When I first got the job I worked with a team of researchers. Since I have never seen a dragon in real life before starting working, my boss Matthew wanted me to learn about their behavior and study them to be better prepared to do other things.
They all thought I will be bored out of my mind – because I applied for the care of dragons position and not researching – but I loved every second of it. All I had to do was wake up every morning and go to the assigned habitat and observe the dragon there and take notes. It's like reading a book about the creatures – something I did almost every day of my 7 years at Hogwarts – but you get to be around them every single day.
My mother thinks I am insane for wanting to be around such dangerous creatures and I had to promise her before I left for Romania that I will write home every day otherwise she is coming to get me at once. I guess she needs to know daily that I wasn't eaten by a dragon. The thing is that being hurt by a dragon is less likely than falling off a broom, so I don't know what she is so worried about.
The only one of my family members that knows about all my injuries and all my scars is my big brother Bill. He understands that I don't mind getting hurt and he doesn't get a heart attack every time I end up in the infirmary. It's nice to talk to someone about these things outside my workspace. Even though being a Curse Breaker isn't the safest job in the world, Bill's number of scars can't even compare to mine.
We do have protective gear and gloves but sometimes the dragon's fire and teeth are just too strong. We are lucky that we have wonderful healers that take care of us and we have remedies that heal burns within minutes so it's mostly just an annoyance.
The year after my training I worked only with Common Welsh Greens. The year after that I tamed two Antipodean Opaleyes and it was the best feeling to see them get excited and welcome me with a friendly roar every morning. Even though they were both adults it felt like dealing with two kids and it was so much fun. The latter are such sweethearts and I even taught one how to roll over. They are like dogs but bigger, way bigger.
After that, I tried to convince my boss to let me work with a more dangerous breed. It's not that I didn't like what I did but I like a challenge. I needed 2 months to convince him to let me work with 2 Chinese Fireballs and by the smirk on his face I knew I was in for a treat. They were brought to our reserve so they could breed but no matter how much others tried nobody succeeded at mating them.
When Matthew finally gave in – not seeing any harm in letting me try before they send them back – I remember I danced around my hut for a solid half an hour being so excited to work with them the next day.
I was surprised that nobody thought of the strategy I choose. It was true that they brought the dragons to us together but they didn't know each other and since nobody thought of trying to acquaint them first, I gave it a go.
After 3 days they were best mates and I gave them 4 more days to fully feel comfortable with each other before taking them to the mating habitat. I am more than proud to say that since then they have been parents 2 times. I did some great things since I started working in the Sanctuary but you never forget your first big achievement.
Due to Matthew being absolutely in awe of me succeeding after a week he allowed me to work with a bunch of Swedish Short-Snouts even though usually only a dragonologist with 5+ years of experience can work with them alone.
I was amused when I saw the faces of some of my older co-workers when they found out – thinking they were going to get the job. I love working with them even though they are the ones responsible for most of my scars. Just after the first day, one burned my entire forearm and everyone thought I was going to back off because of it but it only made me want to work with them more.
Now, after almost 10 years I have worked with every single breed of dragon except my favorite – the Hebridean Black. They are one of the most dangerous and stubborn kind and only a dragonologist with a lot of experience gets to work with them.
I got the glimpse of one when I was working with the research team but no matter how sneaky I tried to be, Matthew wouldn't let me get anywhere close to them. I even got a chance to work with a team that took care of a sick Norwegian Ridgeback even though they are considered to be the most dangerous.
A year ago I got a chance to be part of an exchange program at the Swedish Dragon Reserve and I worked with a Peruvian Vipertooth and a Ukrainian Ironbelly. My boss wasn't happy about the latter one as he reckoned I was too inexperienced to be around and try to tame the largest breed of dragons but as you can probably tell from what I told you so far, I was over the roof about it!
The Ironbelly might be the largest but they are among the least vicious ones – none of my co-workers would agree with me as most of them are terrified of them but I think they are adorable thinking since they are the biggest they are also the scariest. It's the same as with dogs – sometimes the smaller ones are more dangerous.
I got out of bed with a grin on my face. Even though I don't like to admit it I like reminiscing on my biggest achievements.
I made myself some breakfast – eggs and bacon as usual – while blasting music on my wireless. Nothing like singing while cooking and reading the letters my family sent me.
Mum and dad were going to visit George and Ron for the weekend. Bill and Fleur decided to repaint their living room. Ginny invited me to one of her games next week and Percy got another promotion.
I walked to the wall where I had a calendar hanging to mark the date of Ginny's game. It was the perfect event to meet with most of my family members and I love supporting her. I am proud of all my siblings' achievements but Ginny being the only girl among 6 boys made us all have a soft spot for her - even Percy, even though he would probably deny it if someone asked him about it.
Since I was working with three different dragons at the moment – Peruvian Vipertooth named Hel and two Romanian Longhorns Lasair and Rocker – I double-checked my schedule to see which one I am supposed to visit today. As I thought, it was Lasair. I know my schedule by heart but always check it twice– I don't want any dragon to be jealous thinking one is getting more attention from me.
My routine with the dragons was simple. First, they get their breakfast which is usually a piece of their favorite meat, except if it's our Common Welsh Green Crystal – she is the only dragon I have ever met that is a vegetarian and she mostly doesn't want to eat anything else than apples. It took us the longest time to figure out why she doesn't want to eat – vomiting out all the meat we gave her – until we moved her to an habitant with a pumpkin patch and them mysteriously disappearing overnight.
After the feeding, I like to play with them. That usually includes large balls or levitating rocks after which they can jump and run. Then it's my favorite part of the day – the flying lessons. We transport them to the part of the reserve that is built like a large stadium in the middle of the forest surrounded by mountains and it has 10 obstacles that the dragons have to learn to overcome so they are cleared for free-flying sessions.
After flying it's time for a brief pause to get the dragon back to its habitat and calm it down before giving it dinner and tucking it in.
Flying is the most fun thing we can do at our job. When Matthew told me that I am finally allowed to fly with them, I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom because I felt like crying my eyes out. I wanted to fly on a dragon ever since I was a kid and even though I heard rumors about training them in that way, I always thought it was too good to be true.
The first time I flew on a dragon was with a dragonologist named Jim. He showed me how to properly prepare the dragon to be in the mood to have a person on its back and how to lift off and then safely land. Vulcan the Opaleye was just the loveliest when I trained with him to trust me to the point that he would allow me to fly. Even though my dream is to one day fly on a Hebridean Black, I wouldn't change my first flight for anything in the world.
Vulcan was more than obedient and so careful to make me feel comfortable and constantly made sure I was still on his back. He flew in a straight line and at an even pace making me feel so safe that I let go of his shiny scales and lifted my hands in the air. I wanted to shout from all the adrenaline and excitement that ran through me but I didn't want to startle the dragon.
It's safe to say that I didn't sleep at all that night. The second I laid in my bed I felt as if I was still in the air with Vulcan and I couldn't help but wish to do that every day.
"Good morning, Lasair. What do you want to eat this morning? Boar, deer, moose perhaps?"Lasair lifted her head sleepily at me. I teased her with the options, knowing full well that moose was her favorite. If she could speak she would ask me if I can't remember her favorite meal.
"Don't worry, you'll get what you want." I winked at her and put on my gloves before taking out my wand and levitating the big chunk of meat to her.
Lasair was one of the rare dragons that ate her food slowly, so I loved to sit down next to her and watched her chew. If Matthew saw me, he would probably murder me for sitting so close to a dragon but he doesn't know that Lasair and I have an agreement of her keeping me alive and I give her some extra meat for dinner in return.
"So, Lassy, I have some bad news." I cleared my throat as the dragon stopped chewing and tilted her head toward me. "We have to sharpen your claws today."
Lasair groaned and went back to her breakfast.
"I know, I know. Not your favorite thing to do. Trust me if it was up to me, we would rather do something more fun like play with your favorite tire or play fetch with your ball. But the boss said it was time."
Lasair didn't react to my words but laid on the ground once she finished her meal and wrapped her tail around me.
"You know that cuddling and being cute won't work on me." I chuckled. "Not this time, at least."
The dragon's nostrils started to smoke and I knew she was trying to negotiate.
"Between you and me," I whispered, "I'll throw in another piece of meat if you'll be a good girl like last time. How about some boar for dessert, huh?"
Lasair let out a gentle roar, giving me a sign that she agrees with my terms.
"That's my girl. I knew we'll find a common ground." I grinned at her and got up so we could start our day.
"Okay, Lassy. I will need you to step on this mat and do the burying motion. As if you were burying the bones of a deer." I explained when Lasair looked at the mat in confusion.
I mimicked the gesture and she copied it and walked to the mat with grace as if she was a princess.
"There you go! I am so proud of you, Lasair. You really want that extra piece of meat, huh?" I laughed to myself.
"So that is how you get all dragons to behave as if they're Crups?" I turned toward the voice and saw Matthew's amused face, observing my work with the Romanian Longhorn.
"You were never meant to find out," I said in a dramatic voice.
"Oh, it's fine." Matthew swung his hand. "You'll need all the skills."
"What do you mean?" I furrowed my brows at him as I stepped to Lasair to show her to step a bit forward so she could sharpen the claws on her back paws as well.
"Do you know what tomorrow is?" Matthew asked, observing my every move.
"No." I lied. I knew that tomorrow will be 10 years since I work in the reserve but I didn't want to boast about it.
"Come on, Charles. I know that you out of everyone here you’re the one who counts how long you are working here for." He smirked at me.
I couldn't believe it. He remembered that it's my 10th anniversary? I couldn't help but grin.
"What about it?" I tried acting casually.
"Well, the team was thinking about what to get you as a present..."
"Matt, you don't have to get me anything. You know I am just happy being surrounded by dragons." I smiled appreciatively.
"Well, how about you get surrounded by a new dragon?" He winked at me.
"What are you on about?" I narrowed my eyes at him. I was getting impatient, the excitement in me growing.
"We are getting a one-year-old Hebridean Black in a week from the MacFusty’s." Matthew started to explain. "And since you are so good at taming and being best mates with the three you’re taming now, I was thinking of assigning it to you."
"Did...did you just say a Hebridean Black?" I said in a voice that was barely a whisper. I couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth. He was going to let me work with my favorite breed?
"You heard correctly, Charles." Matthew's smirk was growing larger.
"But...but I don't have enough experience, you said so yourself. You...you should give the job to someone worthy, to someone who will know how to handle the breed." I knew that I should've just shut up and thank him for the opportunity. Working with a Hebridean Black has been my goal ever since I can remember, but I have to keep my head clear and think of what's best for the dragon.
"Thinking like this is exactly why I am giving the job to you even though I told you the last time you begged me that you need at least 7 more years before you can work with them." Something in his eyes shifted. He had the exact expression on his face as he did when he assigned me to breed those two Fireballs.
"You are up to something. What's wrong with the dragon?" I pursed my lips at him.
"Oh, the dragon is just fine. Lovely, actually. I bet you two will have a lot of fun." The sarcastic tone in his voice told me that he was hiding something from me but I didn't dare to ask him about it.
He deemed me ready to work with a Hebridean Black. To work with my favorite breed. I am not about to jeopardize that if he thinks I am the one for the job. In a week my biggest dream will come true and there was nothing in the world that could ruin that.
#charlie weasley#charlie weasley harry potter#harry potter fanfiction#harry potter#the weasleys#dragon boy#charles weasley#hebridean black#dragons#a dragon story#charie weasley hphm#dragonologist
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Only Mine (Pt. 6)
A/N: We’re using Taylor songs again because we love Queen Taylor. So these are not my works (obviously) but hers. However if you’ve never heard some of these I would highly suggest you check them out because all Taylor songs are absolute bops.
Pairing: Gerard Way x F!Pop Star!Reader
Word count: 3,541
Warnings: Swearing, implied sex (no smut though), arguing (minor)
You found the release of Fractious to be the most ironic days of your life.
You were in the media everywhere, selling only a few thousands copies less in it’s first week than your previous record. Which you were fine with, that was somewhat of the plan.
But you were no where to be seen. Hiding out in a new house you and Gerard had bought New Jersey for just under three million dollars. But no one knew about that purchase, other than your closest family and friends. Because no one needed to know.
The suspense of it all started extremely high, as you only announced the album 12 hours prior to its drop. And the world went insane, fans jumping to Twitter to go absolutely crazy over this new persona that they had already began to love, and some had already caught onto the ‘good girl gone bad’ idea.
You released the entire tracklist only three hours before the drop, and you were already stalking fan pages who began making theories about what it meant. There were already a lot of ‘THIS ONE’S ABOUTE GERARD’ and theories already popping up about him, which made you lightly smile knowing damn well a lot of it was.
The tracklist read:
Blank Space
I Knew You Were Trouble
Style
End Game
I Did Something Bad
I Know Places
Out Of The Woods
Dancing With Our Hands Tied
Don’t Blame Me
Getaway Car
Clean
You smiled and lightly laughed once you refreshed your phone on the couch, your face and name at the top of iTunes and various other music providers promoting your new album.
“Congrats babe.” Gerard said from where he sat next to you, giving you a kiss and squeezing your thigh, “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks Gee.” You leaned your head onto his shoulder, “I love you. So much.”
“I love you more.” He smiled down.
What made it all the better was how MCR was entering into their punk era, only making your album and new persona more believable. You had to admit, Gerard’s red and shaggy hair was really hot, and you were living for it, as you had told him a million times.
And you knew how much he loved your new era. As much as he genuinely loved the real, bubbly you (which is of course why he married you) he continuously admired your new all black look, managing to wear skin tight jeans and short shorts with more crop tops than usual and leather jackets galore. And you can’t forget how many pairs of Doc Martins you had, plus Louboutin boots all for the red bottoms. You basically looked like a filthy rich home wrecker, AKA the look you were going for.
But at home and in private you were the same old Y/N, always letting your natural hair fall into its regular ways, with little to no makeup and not ashamed to wear whatever you wanted.
What seemed to put the cherry on top to this new era was the newest addition to your family, AKA a black french bulldog named Rocko the two of you got. He was a tornado of chaos who would run around the house with his dozens of toys, taunting you and Gerard with them as if to show some form of superiority that he clearly lacked. You treated him like he was a newborn baby, constantly. You bought him clothes, beds, and toys, letting him sleep with you and Gerard despite your husbands protests about how he “took up too much room”. To you, the little canine could do nothing wrong.
That was until he chewed up your favorite pair of shoes, which just oh so happened to cost multiple hundreds of dollars. Gerard was furious at his actions, complaining that there was no reason for him to do so with the countless amount of toys he already had. You were mad at first too, but after only a few seconds of the pup giving you his eyes of sympathy you forgave him and moved on as if nothing happened. Gerard was still in his state of anger though.
“Oh, look, the designs for the tour outfits came in.” You smiled from where you laid on the couch, checking emails on your laptop, Rocko at your feet sitting between you and Gerard who was reading a book. You opened up the file to be greeted with all dozen outfits, which were beyond perfect. Gerard looked over, interested in the topic. “I like that one.” You pointed to one especially scandalous duo of tiny shorts and an even smaller top that could have been easily mistaken for a bra if it wasn’t for the thicker material on the all black set with black tights. “It makes me look like a whore.” Gerard nearly spat out his coffee.
“But you’re not a whore.”
“Yeah, well, my alter ego is.” You smiled. “And you made her that way.” You looked up at him from quickly, “Take that as a compliment.”
“How is me turning my wife into a whore a compliment?” He asked, puzzled.
“Just take it as one.” You huffed.
“I do think you’ll look bad ass in it though,” He remarked, returning to his book.
“Awww, thanks babe.” You blushed, “Maybe I’ll ask them to make you a matching outfit.” You lightly laughed.
“Haha, very funny.” He rolled his eyes.
“It sucks we’ll be touring at the same time.” You sighed, “I miss being able to see you and the guys more.”
“Yeah I miss you too,” He sighed as well, “And Ray does too.” You lightly laughed.
“Ray’s coming to the first show, right?” You asked, looking up at Gerard. He nodded.
“He cleared all of his schedule to go and he’s pumped.” You smiled.
“Good.” You closed your laptop, climbing over to give Gerard a kiss, which he happily accepted and did the same back. “Somedays I wish you kissed me the way as you do Frank.” You lightly smiled, letting go as he chuckled.
“I mean, I could.” He smiled at you, running his hands through your hair, “But that’s more aggressive and in the moment. I prefer to savor the kisses I have with you, let you know how much I love you.” You smiled, lightly rolling your eyes.
“You’re so sappy sometimes, Gee.” You responded, “But I love it.”
That night, as you were going to bed, you stopped in your mirror momentarily to take a look at yourself. You had gained 25-ish pounds since your break from the spotlight, still recovering from your ED. Your doctor said that you were healthy now, but some of the fatrolls that fell on your sides and hip dips as well were starting to bother you. And your stomach still had that bit of blub that you were never very fond of.
Gerard walked past you in the bathroom, immediately getting the memo. “Am I too fat?” You turned around and asked him, his face turning to a form of ridicule.
“You’re a fucking goddess.” He said looking you up and down, “So no.”
“Are you sure Gee-” Before you could finish, he grabbed your hand and practically dragged you to bed where he pushed you down with ease beneath him, giving you a searing kiss.
“You’re fucking gorgeous and the most beautiful woman alive. If you say one more thing about you not being perfect I’m going to frame every photo of you in every inch of this damn house so you know just how incredible you are.”
“Fine.” You sighed reluctantly.
“Now say it with me,” He began, “I, Y/F/N Y/M/N Y/L/N-Way am perfect.” You sighed, choosing to go with it.
“I, Y/F/N Y/M/N Y/L/N-Way am perfect.”
“Good girl.” He said with another quick kiss. You lightly laughed, rolling over to your side of the bed to give Gerard his. You took your hand, running your fingers through his messy hair as the two of you stared at each other.
“After these two tours, I think I want to take a break.” You admitted, saying so above a whisper. He lightly nodded. “Maybe we can start a family.” He nodded again. “And settle down.” He gave you a kiss on the nose.
“That sounds perfect.”
-Time skip because I’m lAzY-
You were on stage doing what you do best, simultaneously swaying your hips to the music and going along with some of the choreography, as if the skin tight black and sparkly body suit and above the knee black boots weren’t enough.
As usual, you would look over to your husband where he was in the VIP section and sing to him, a smile plastered on his face. You would occasionally look over to see both the approval of your family, and friends, including Ray who seemed to be having the time of his life dancing and singing the lyrics.
The show was going absolutely perfect, it was bigger than any other that you had ever done, a larger stage, larger screens, larger everything. Even a larger crowd with over 100,000 people for your first show on tour. You could hear the audience echo your lyrics, jumping up and down judging by the movements of their light up wrist bands.
You of course played a few songs off of your previous album, doing a few acoustic with just you and the crowd which were some of your favorite experiences and moments. You also did a quick speech thanking all of your loyal fans who waited for you to come back with new music, despite the long period of time where you were no where to be seen.
After the finale, you ran back with a huge smile still on your face with your team, drinking some water constantly to hydrate yourself. It only took you a few moments in the back hallways of the stadium before you saw your husband at one end, smiling at you. You smiled back, running up to him and clinging your arms around him. He hugged you back, giving you a quick kiss. “You did great.” He whispered with a huge smiled, “I’m so proud.”
“Thanks.” You smiled back, giving him another kiss. The two of you walked away, arms around each other as you leaned onto him. You tried to keep PDA to a limit, especially since the documentary was actively being made and was recording everything.
Once you were back in your private dressing room where no one else was, he gave you an even bigger hug, swinging you around and you lightly squealed. “You’re just so good.” He laughed.
“Thanks.” You smiled at him, letting go to go and take off your makeup at the chair. “I just gotta meet a few fans then we can go back to the hotel.” You told him through the mirror and he nodded.
“Y/N?” You heard your assistant knock at the door.
“Hey, Betty.” You smiled up at her and she smiled back.
“I assumed you would want Rocky with you.” She said, putting the small black dog and he ran up to your chair.
“Ah yes,” You smiled down at him, picking him up and giving him a bunch of kisses on his little face, “Thank you.” You told her and she nodded,
“No problem.” She closed the door back. You held the small dog in your lap, finishing off your face and hair before getting up and putting him down to change into regular clothes from your stage outfit.
“Gee?” You asked and he hummed, looking up from his phone, “Could you unzip me?” You asked and he nodded, getting up to do so. Usually Gerard would pull something after that, making it less PG, but you shot him a quick glare warning him not to do anything, so he didn’t.
You quickly replaced your stage clothes with a pair of jeans and sweatshirt, turning around to see Gerard still staring at you, wide eyes. “Oh please,” you sighed at him, “We’ve been together for over eight years Gee, handle yourself.”
“Sorry, it’s just really hard to.” He tried to defend himself, you rolled your eyes.
“I’ll be back soon, babe.” You smiled, giving him a peck on the lips before excusing yourself.
The meet and greet went by as always, taking about half an hour before you said bye to everyone, taking photos, and then went back to Gerard. He was still on his phone on one of the couches in the room, Rocko by his feet. “Ready to go?” He asked, looking up, and you nodded grabbing your phone and backpack.
On the way out you couldn’t stop smiling, hand in hand with Gerard going in one of the large black SUVs, you going in first, then Rocko, then Gerard. “How’re you feeling?” Your husband asked and you just smiled.
“Great,” You admitted, taking a sip from your water, “Everyone loved it.” He gave your thigh a squeeze and looked at you.
“It was definitely pretty bad ass.” He smiled and you lightly laughed.
You had walked into your suite, setting your bag and the dog down, placing him in his bed (in the living room part of the room) while Gerard grabbed him a bowl of water. You gave the dog a quick good night kiss, resorting to your own room where Gerard followed, closing the door behind you.
Almost immediately your lips were clashed together, his hands on your waist as he swiftly put you on the large plush duvet of the bed, moving down to your collarbone and neck.
“Do you want me to stop?” He asked for only a brief moment, as a double check. You shook your head violently.
“No,” You sighed out, “Please no.” He smiled down at you connecting your lips against.
“Whatever you want, sugar.”
-Another time skip-
You wouldn’t have ever known if it wasn’t for the insane amount of fatigue and throwing up you were going through, only a month into tour. Initially you could’ve sworn it was just a cold turned to maybe the flu, as many of the symptoms you were having would go away within a few hours, so you were ready for show time.
But here you sat in your hotel room, curled up on the bed with Rocko next to you, your mind completely empty as you stared into the thin air, Betty had run to the nearest pharmacy. What were you going to do on tour? Fans would figure it out easily. But what would you tell Gerard?
Once Betty came back she gave you a somber, almost apologetic smile handing your the small bag. You thanked her, closing the door and going into the bathroom.
You stood over the bathroom sink, your hands gripping the granite edges for dear life as you stared down at the three tests. All positive. It took you a few minutes of staring, rocking back and forth, for everything to sink in.
This was not how you planned it, it was never supposed to go like this. You and Gerard were going to take a break, settle down, have your first child and be together all through your pregnancy. Now you were both on huge tours promoting your new work, away from home for at least the next five months.
You could feel warm tears stream down your cheeks, a small sniffle coming from your nose as you grabbed your phone. Reluctantly, you pressed on your husband’s name, pressing the small phone icon displayed underneath it. You put your face up to the screen slowly. Only a few rings and he answered.
“Hey Y/N/N,” He said, “What’s up.” It took you a few seconds, but you immediately bursted into sobs. “Baby? What’s wrong?” He spoke up, voice with lots of concern.
“Gee,” You began, sniffing again through the sobs, “I’m um- I’m pregnant.” You said. No one spoke for the next few seconds, complete silence on both ends of the line.
“Sweetie,” He said in a light voice, a small laugh following afterwards, “That’s great!”
“No, Gerard, it isn’t.” You snapped, “We had all of this planned out perfectly, no one was going to know unless we wanted them to. But no, in the beginning of a fucking world tour this has to happen.” You raised your voice, “And I get it, this is gonna be a fucking walk in the park for you because you’re not here, and you don’t have to play in front of over 50,000 people every night in body tight suits. And you’re going to be separated from your pregnant wife. Life’s probably fucking perfect for you.” You weren’t sure what had gotten into you, but whatever it was it wasn’t pretty.
“What?” He asked, “You say it like we never wanted this. Sometimes things don’t go to plan Y/N.” He snapped back.
“Well they have to in our world Gerard!” You yelled, taking a deep breath to calm yourself down, “We have our lives set out for the next six months. And this is a big deal, and something we can’t do right now.”
“So are you going to get an abortion? Are you going to put it into the adoption system?” He yelled back. You took a few moments to think.
“No.” You admitted, barely above a whisper, “Gee, I’m sorry.” You began sobbing again, your sad feeling taking over any angry one.
“No, sugar, I am.” He clarified with a sigh, “You’re going through a lot and I should be supporting you, not arguing.”
“Well I kinda started it.”
“And I shouldn’t have continued it.” He responded. “Honey, we’ll figure this out.” He insisted, “We’ll talk to your tour manager and everyone who needs to know, we’ll figure something out. Some way to hide it.”
“Okay.” You said somberly.
“Give me a few minutes,” He said, “I’m going to figure out a way to get to you.”
“Gee, you’re booked for the next fews months on tour.”
“And so are you, but you’re also carrying our child right now.” He spoke back, “We’re going to figure it out, okay? We’re going to have a kid, and start a family, maybe a little off track from what we intended, but this is what we’ve wanted, right?” You nodded despite him not seeing you.
“Yeah, of course.” You calmed down. “This is what we’ve wanted.”
It took a full week for a plan to be made. A week of unnecessary stress and anxiety for everyone on your team who was high enough on the roster to know about the pregnancy. Not even your families or friends knew, everything right now was business.
Gerard managed to fly in during a three day break the band had, consoling your emotions during the time as you two began to discuss personal plans. There was a lot of crying, both tears of sadness and joy, as you two began to discuss where you would live most of the time, which room the baby would take, how to even handle a child.
You already knew the baby’s name, which could go for either a boy or girl: Shiloh Monet Way. You were still very unsure about planning to have a baby, but since your tour would end when the third trimester began, you would have at least a few months to plan and figure out everything.
Gerard had already talked to the guys and their managers about pushing back some of the dates so there was a month break for him to be home around the baby’s due date. At the very least he wanted to be with you while giving birth, but he also wanted to help both you and the baby recover.
New outfits and plans to completely hide your pregnancy were already in the working with your teams. It was like a completely undercover operation to keep both you and your child’s privacy to a fine tune. And of course. Gerard and the guys promised to not say anything at all, even a hint towards you being pregnant wouldn’t be dropped.
“I say we wait to tell our families and friends,” You admitted to your husband, the two of you on the hotel bed getting ready to go to a sound check. “Just in case anything happens. I mean, we have to tell our teams and the guys and stuff, which we did, but no one else.” He nodded.
“Just not for too long,” He said, “Or at least once we know that baby’s developing fine.” You nodded and sighed.
“I was hoping having our first child together wouldn’t be this stressful.” You admitted, almost shamefully in a way.
“It’s okay, sugar.” He put his hand on your thigh and gave it a light squeeze. “We’re going to make the best of it, okay? You have a little less than five months left on your tour and then I get to take a break. This’ll work out just fine.” You nodded, placing your head on his shoulder as you knew he was right.
“You make everything better, Gee.” You said, playing with his hand as he placed a kiss on the top of your head.
“I’ll do it for you, sweetheart.”
#gerard way#my chemical romance#gerard way x reader#mcr gerard#my chem#my chemical gee#my chemical gerard#my chemical romance x reader#gerard way fanfiction#mcr
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So... I never want to forget what BTS Chicago Night One was like... the pictures and video will help that I got.. but I wanted more. Something concrete...so I wrote this:
I have sincere doubts that I’ll ever be able to accurately describe what going to BTS’s Speak Yourself show in Chicago on May 11, 2019 meant to me. Part of being able to convey why it was such a life-altering experience for me would include y’all having an understanding as to why I love these guys so much, what their music, and general existence means to me. And that, is a task that is beyond my capabilities…but I’ll try.
I didn’t know what I was missing. I shrugged my daughter off when she’d try to tell me about them or get me to listen to their music. I didn’t understand why anyone would listen to music outside of their native language. How do you even enjoy it? But then…in July…I heard Fake Love on the radio while on my way to a Hanson String Theory show. Something about it called to me. I jumped in and started reading lyrics (as the message is always my number one concern—after having a good groove/sound) …and I fell in love. –Do you know how hard it is to find a great beat and fat bass WITHOUT sexually degrading lyrics? Damn near impossible until BTS for me. Instead of ‘bitches, hos, money, drugs, and pimping’ they’re singing about chasing dreams, rejecting status quo, finding home with those you love and who love you, about love, relationships, and connection. They sing a wide range—pop, pop/rock, rap, hip-hop…it keeps my many moods quite satisfied. Their music fully transcends language. You can just FEEL it, so deeply, so wholly, you don’t need to know every last word to get the message.
Then, I fell in love with THEM. I fell in love with their message of loving ourselves, speaking our truths, of not trying to meet anyone else’s expectations, to do what makes YOU happy. They are so engaged, humble, gracious, and kind. They’re funny and dorky. They’re reflective and intellectual. They’re driven and talented.
Yes, they’re a “boy band.” Yes, they dance and wear ‘costumes.’ But these boys also write and produce their own stuff (with others as well…but still—active participants!) and always sing live. They give 110% for a minimum of two hours-even to the point of getting sick/passing out/injuring themselves.
And the fan base!! Holy mother! Sure I feel a little isolated here in small town MN in my love for these boys (aside from my kid, my cousin’s kid, and a few friends of theirs) but the fan base is MASSIVE. And incredibly welcoming (for the most part). There’s drama of course—I mean, there are at least 20 million of us. But it’s pretty easy to stay out of and find people to connect with. It’s one thing to know there’s a network of us online… it’s a completely different thing to experience it.
Which, I guess, brings me to this past weekend. After a roughly 8 hour drive, we arrived in Chicago. Right away, the streets were sprinkled with ARMIES—BTS and BT21 gear proudly worn and displayed. A sense of belonging and home seeped in. And that’s not a new sensation for me, as I’ve felt that every time I went to Tulsa, or Back To The Island or any other Hanson event/show. It’s a beautiful feeling. We got checked in and decided to head to Soldier Field as the merch lines were already open and apparently essentially non-existent. The field area had a small number of ARMY milling about, nothing too crazy. We stopped and took a picture of a few BTS banners, then found the merch area. And yeah, after less than a half hour later we were at the front of the line, mostly certain of our merch choices. I pretty much wanted it all, but had to limit myself. We wandered a bit more, and that’s when it finally started to sink in…I was in the same city as seven men who had altered my emotional well being over the last 10-11 months, I would be seeing them LIVE in around 12 hours. I was quickly overwhelmed and started to cry. It feels somewhat embarrassing to say, and I don’t even fully understand what it was that overwhelmed me so much. The rest of the evening was pretty chill—grabbed some dinner and mentally tried to prepare ourselves for the next day.
The next day we went back down to Soldier field—equipped with layers and an umbrella because the weather was turning cold and rainy. When we arrived we knew we made the right call by going to get merch the afternoon before because the merch line was RIDICULOUS – we’re talking thousands of people in line. There were multiple merch locations—all with the same size lines! But we wanted to get pictures done at the BTS Studio – a very neat little booth where you get to “interact” with one of the guys via a sort of hologram like thing, but the pictures turn out so freaking legit I was dying to get one. ….however….BigHit/Mattel (I don’t know who made this call..but!) cut off the general line after we waited for two hours. There were at least a couple hundred more behind us waiting, as well as about a hundred in front of us, and there were five hours left before doors opened to the stadium so it literally made ZERO sense to cut the line. BTS SOLD OUT Soldier Field (roughly 70,000 seats) and they only allowed 250 general people into the studio (there were more QR holders—which tons of ARMY tried for an only a few got) … it was a disaster. I suppose I would have been less angry had it not been so ungodly COLD out. We certainly did not plan for 40 degree weather in MAY.
We decided to hop an Uber and go back to the hotel until showtime. After lunch we drove downtown to check out the BTS Pop-up Store situation, and then made a quick decision to avoid that line as it literally wrapped around an entire downtown Chicago city block – INSANE—but beautiful. So, back to the hotel. The weather was not clearing up, and I was starting to worry about the show—both for our comfort but also and more importantly the guys’ safety. Wet stages are slippery and these boys don’t hold back, the risk of injury was high. So, we joked and tweeted a bit about how Yoongi (Suga) needed to say out loud that he wanted the rain to stop and skies to clear because anything Yoongi says out loud tends to happen – saying he wanted BTS to win daesangs (Korean absolute top awards – they now have 15 from 2016 to 2018) saying he wanted to go to the Grammys (and they presented at this year’s Grammy Awards) saying he wanted Billboard top 200 (done) Billboard top 100 (done) A Billboard Music Award (done x4 – three top social artist and this years top group award). So we called on Yoongi to say he didn’t want the rain… and while the boys may have said it was the power of ARMY that cleared the skies I still say it was Yoongi.
When we got into the venue another rush of realization hit me when I saw how CLOSE to the stage we were. I may have missed out on the VIP tickets (thanks to the stupid ticketmaster app freezing on my phone) but level 100 was INCREDIBLE. Absolutely astounding really. We got our ARMY Bombs paired to our seats and then waited. They play music videos while we wait, and it was amusing to have fans scream for those as well – and indicative of how insane it was going to be once all the fans were in and seated because it was loud even with just around a few thousand inside. My brain still couldn’t quite comprehend that I was about to see BTS live, that I was as close as I was, and that it wasn’t a dream.
The thing about it is…once it started, I had no idea what to do. Do I watch the stage, do I watch the screen, do I not try to capture any video or pictures and just dance, sing, and scream? I tried to do all of those options, but I still feel like I missed so much. I feel like it all went so quickly.
They opened with DIONYSUS – from their new album Map of the Soul: Persona. A heavy hitting, party-anthem type song. A great opener to get the crowd hyped up (as if we needed the help) The pyrotechnics warmed it up a bit when they went off (holy shit we really were close!) The stage was amazing! Large silver leopards behind them, Greek pillars adorning the sides…totally fitting of Dionysus.
They transitioned straight into NOT TODAY—another heavy hitter for bass, power, and intense choreo. Theses guys BURST into their stage presence, taking no prisoners and leaving us all breathless and trembling. The sensation of hearing tens of thousands of other fans screaming with you, singing with you, and doing fan chants for the guys…well, that’s a feeling I’ve never felt before.
My first round of tears started when they did their introductions/welcome speeches. Let’s be honest, I’m Jimin biased through and through. He will always hold the biggest part of my heart out of the seven. And, honestly, I thought he was the most beautiful being I’d ever seen…but to see him in person…holy mother, there is no comparing it. He’s absolutely ethereal. An angel just walking among us. But each of their moments touched me, made me smile or laugh or just bask in the feel of love they send to us. And then…WINGS. I was so excited to know that they were performing Wings as it’s one of my favorite songs and I worried I’d never hear it live since it’s an older one. My teary-eyed state did not go away once they started it, even though it’s an upbeat song. There’s just something about BTS singing about facing fears and chasing dreams, having their wings spread and taking them to where they want to go…feeling that it was the work of ARMY helping them get there…but I know for a fact that ARMY also feel that BTS are our wings too—the way we feel encouraged and empowered to live authentically and without apology, to chase dreams and find our passions.
A small break and then we got J-Hope’s solo JUST DANCE Hobi is a great entertainer, clearly loves the stage and his passion for dance is legitimately felt through the entire stadium. After J-Hope we got an iconic performance of EUPHORIA by Jungkook. Kookie is stunning! Absolutely beautiful. He goes from adorable baby bunny to professional rockstar in half a second. His vocals are solid and his choreo locked down. But who thought up the crazy idea of hanging onto a giant hook-like-thing and just soaring over the crowd on a cable!? My mama bear heart struggled with that, fam. But he did great and seems to really enjoy it so we’ll let it pass.
BEST OF ME!! Ugh, another song I was DESPERATE to hear live and worried I never would. A stellar performance! The energy was still high with them and us, everyone singing along and dancing. So many of their songs are “one of my favorites” but this one definitely is. And I was GIDDY hearing it live. And yes, the answer call between Jimin and Jungkook was a highlight.
Clear the stage, play a quick video… and then… SERENDIPITY. This experience STILL feels like it didn’t happen. Jimin singing live… wow… just… I lack words to express Jimin and his performance. His choreography is always some of the most intricate and demanding and yet he does it flawlessly while maintaining his angelic vocals. He didn’t get the title main dancer by chance. The level of professionalism is incredible. You can tell he feels so loved by ARMY, his smile is so genuine and gracious as he’s absorbing all our cheering and screaming…and yeah, maybe a little bit of sobbing. He’s a soft, sweet person and an absolute powerhouse on stage—even with a ballad such as Serendipity.
And then RM brings us back up in energy with his solo LOVE. They’re all great performers, and RM is no exception. It’s hard to capture a good picture of him because he’s constantly moving on the stage, making rounds to every corner. Another beautiful moment to be chanting “salam salam salam (person person person) and salang salang salang (love love love)” with tens of thousands of fans… it’s quite overwhelming.
BOY WITH LUV is like a blur for me. They all looked AMAZING. I loved the mix of pink and blue clothing. I probably missed a ton of moments through that song because my brain short circuited, I tried to get some pictures but the movement is so constant that not many of them turned out. Strong vocals, a ton of fun together, an all around great performance.
From the newest to some old school – DOPE followed Boy With Luv. I love the energy and power in Dope. I also loved the cute little moment I got on video between Jimin and Jungkook. Dope blended into BAEPSAE and FIRE … this medley is INSANE. I LOVE watching the guys freestyle their dancing and then effortlessly joining formation and nailing the song’s choreography. It’s stupidly impressive. JHope jumped out and attacked us all with some power dancing and then the dreaded/desired hip thrusting.
I got absolutely zero pictures or video from IDOL because I was so enraptured by them on stage. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. It was pretty neat as Idol faded out, they went back to the top of the stage then went full in to the Idol choreography again. Like a second dance break when it appeared the song was over. Another small break and then Tae (V) comes out in pajamas on a freaking bed. The crowd lost their minds. It was a stunning performance of SINGULARITY, and I’m really hoping I can find video of the small dance break he has in it where he flung off the jacket. Sometimes Tae fades a little into the background but this performance wasn’t one of those times.
After Singularity we got a seamless transition into FAKE LOVE—another song I have zero pics or video from because the whole thing was an experience. Seriously. Damn. From the strong, solid vocals to the hard hitting, precise choreo, to the passionate fan chants…Fake Love was perfection. …And do I really need to mention Jungkook’s abs? Oofta. I was utterly enraptured by this performance. Also, since Fake Love was the comeback I came into the fandom during, it holds a unique place in my heart.
I don’t remember Fake Love ending, but I do remember the next song starting. SEESAW. Shit. Again, I shall remind you that Jimin is by bias—always has been always will be. But I’d be a bold-faced LIAR if I tried to say that Yoongi isn’t the most amazing performer I’ve ever seen. They are all phenomenal. But Yoongi has something extra. Something you don’t expect from him. He often flies a little under the radar, not often the highlight of red-carpet appearances or interviews, fairly soft-spoken. But when he hits the stage—watch out! Min Yoongi was BORN to be on stage. Even with a softer song, and less intense choreography Suga owns it. He commands all attention. He’s claimed in the past that he can’t “sing”, since he’s a rapper, but Seesaw (and First Love—his solo from Wings) prove otherwise. Gorgeous. I was speechless, and a bit teary watching him.
And if I wasn’t already an emotional mess by then, Jin gets the stage to perform EPIPHANY. Oh my heart!! This was a song that when I first heard it, my heart and soul KNEW it was intense and it touched me instantly. And then, when I listened again with subs/lyrics I had a little bit of an emotional breakdown. Epiphany live was like the first time all over again. And to be surrounded by tens of thousands of other fans singing “I’m the one I should love…” Well, cue me crying. A message of needing to love yourself before being able to find love with anyone else…well that’s a message we all need to take to heart. A stellar performance. An emotional experience.
But then! Then you know what they did!? When we’re already emotional hot messes? They go into THE TRUTH UNTOLD. Whhyyyy!? Why would you do that to us!? The Truth Untold is a transcendent song, no way around it. A song about feelings of inadequacy, of being rejected if people knew who we really were, hiding behind masks because we’re so afraid… God, just rip out my heart. And our dear vocal line (Jimin, Jungkook, Jin, and Tae) were so lovely and beautiful and somber. The song has no choreo, no fancy stages… just four guys singing their absolute hearts out.
Cue the rap line (Suga, RM, and JHope) coming to pull us from our emotional state with OUTRO: TEAR. Oh lord, as it started there was a woman the row behind us who asked her friend, “what song is this?” and her friend was so offended! She screamed, “Tear, bitch!” It was slightly hilarious. All three rappers dominate the stage, and having never been to a live rap show before, I gotta say the ability to maintain the flow at the speed they do is impressive. TEAR flowed into MIC DROP and ooooooh how I lost my mind! MIC DROP was the song that really got me to jump into the BTS scene head first. It’s always been a favorite, will always be a favorite. I tried to get video, but I couldn’t stop dancing so it’s pretty bad video. (also, no one wants to hear my horrible voice fan chanting and singing along) The choreography to MIC DROP kills me. The choreo (and the song itself) just screams “we’re badass and we have no apologies” so get on board or get the hell out.
A small pause so that they could set up the guys’ giant Anpanman bounce house! ANPANMAN has always been a fun song and a great live performance, but it hit a new level when you get to watch the guys play on a giant bounce house. It’s easy to forget how young they all are and how much of their youth they kind of missed out on as they chased this dream. I mean, Jungkookie is only 21 now, was 15 when they debuted. Jin, the oldest is only 26 and was 20 at debut. They lost a lot of freedom and playful years as they trained for debut. It’s freaking adorable to watch them play on stage. Even cuter when Yoongi goes from savage rapper in MIC DROP to soft and playful on the inflatable. Jungkook chased Jimin to the top, did a little dance and then they slid down (JK after Jimin though I think he had wanted to go down together)
Anpanman transitions into SO WHAT which is truly a sight to see. No set choreo, just the guys dancing along every last inch of the stage to spread their love to everyone in the stadium. Playful moments, a lot of laughter. It’s BTS being authentically them. And I love it.
We all got a bit emotional during the closing speeches. Jin being classic Jin and screaming AARRRMMMYYYY at us, “today is so cold, you know…thank you for coming out today even though it’s cold and rainy, I’d like to hug you with my warm heart” (and he hugs JK) “I actually really hate being cold, I was so happy though because I was with you, Army. I LOVE YOU ARMY!!” Jimin showing us how floored he was by our presence, soaking in our cheers—eyes wide and smile bright. “I’m so so happy today. But! I hope you guys don’t catch a cold.” He then essentially points a finger at us, daring our immune systems to go against his wishes. (the screams overtake the next part of his speech so I’m not positive as to what he said) Jimin always finishes with “I love you” and lots of hearts. Jungkook and his adorable bunny smile, acted shy when it was his turn. He starts with “…It’s been awhile. I know it’s was rainy and cold, rainy and chilly…but you warmed my heart. I hope you also felt warm energy from us. One more thing, please, don’t catch a cold. Alright? See you all again!” Suga – commanding the stage once again. “Chicago make some noise! I heard it’s actually really cold in Chicago but I didn’t know it was going to be this cold. But because of you Army, you guys melted this place. Chicago make some noise! Today’s going to be such an unforgettable day. Thank you so much for coming out today, see you tomorrow!” JHope: “My lovely Chicago!! Did we have fun today? Since it was raining hard, and cold, I was worried for you all. However, as I was watching all of you, having fun, with your smiles on your face, my worries disappeared and I gained my power back. Army, you guys are my hope, you’re my hope, thank you so much Army Chicago, see you tomorrow.” Tae: “How you feeling Chicago? Make some noise. A few days ago I had a dream about chasing some stars and this scenery was exactly my dream. I really wanted to chase and make sure to grab a star. I want to keep this scenery forever (Tae fooled me and I thought his speech was over so my video stopped)…ssshhhh…we will come again next year!” RM: (gets bundled up by Tae, fans chant KIM NAMJOON) “My parents are gonna love this.” (in response to the chanting) “Guys, welcome to the first BTS winter concert. You might catch a cold, it’s freezing but whatever, it’s special right!? It’s fresh. It’s Chicago. Is the weather a serious problem for us? So right before we get onto the stage, like during the sound check, um while we were coming to the stage it was raining a lot and like these friends and every staff were so worried that it was raining and maybe we might do the little dance not very good, so we were worried, but I told them ‘don’t worry Chicago army is going to stop the rain.’ And you guys did! Seriously you guys gave us a miracle and I love this special weather in Chicago. So when the snow comes in Korea I’ll definitely think of Chicago. …”
And then they came right for my heart and soul performing MAKE IT RIGHT and MIKROKOSMOS. Two of my absolute favorite songs off the new album. Sweet, personal, emotional. And the realization that this euphoric experience was coming to an end and I started to lose my composure during MIKROKOSMOS. “Shine, dream, smile” …always for you boys, always for you.
It was around this time that Jimin stood at the corner of the stage facing my section and started to blow kisses. And I teared up because somehow, in a crowd of thousands of people the way Jimin sends his love into the crowd every last one of us feels like the ONLY one of us at that moment in time. You just FEEL the pure love emanating from him...and it’s a feeling unlike any other. A feeling I’ll never forget.
I still don’t think, almost 4000 words later, that I’ve even scrapped the surface of how incredible that night was for me. How touched I was not just by the band, but by being surrounded by thousands upon thousands of people of all ages, races, nationalities, sexual orientations, classes, genders who love them just as much as I do. BTS is so much more than seven beautiful men who dance well. BTS is connection and love. BTS is inspiration and encouragement. BTS isn’t a phase, they’re making an impact far beyond what anyone imagined. Music with a message? It’s been far too long since we’ve had that. BTS is like a long drink of fresh water after being stranded in a desert.
BTS – Seven lights in an otherwise dreary and sad world, reminding us to find our own lights and share it with the world.
#BTS#bts in chicago night one#concert reflection#i still can't believe it#can't wait until next year#i love them so much#kim namjoon#rm#kim seokjin#jin#min yoongi#suga#jung hoseok#jhope#park jimin#jimin#kim taehyung#v#jeon jungkook#jungkook
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BTS in London - Concert report
I’m back from London and two amazing concert days! I also bought a lot of merchandise, both from the BT21 and BTS pop-up stores as well as concert merch. The lines were of course really long. The one for the BTS pop-up store went around the whole block, and for the concert it was also in direct sunlight so it got extremely hot. But in the end I got a lot of nice things (mainly clothes and a Van pillow) so I can’t really complain.
I wanted to write a concert report, mostly for my own sake. But I will share it here, in case someone would like to read about my thoughts regarding the Wembley concerts.
DAY 1
For the concert itself the first day we were there around 10 am to stand in line for the merch, so then we had a lot of time to pass before the actual concert. But it was great to not have to stress, especially compared to O2 last year when the floor tickets were open so we had to stand in line all day to ensure we got good spots.
This year on the first day we also had floor seats but like I said, this time all of them were numbered (we had C3 seats), so again really nice to not have to stress. We didn’t get as close as last year, but we saw them pretty well when they went out to the podium stage and the energy there was great.
I must say, Dionysus as opening was just incredible. Even though it was hard to see the main stage from where we were the energy of the song just caught the whole stadium and the set and music just fills you up with excitement.
Then they kept going with Not today and Wings, which were incredible to hear live. Wings was added from last year and I loved it. It was a perfect concert song that actually got me a bit emotional. Wings was my first BTS album, so in a way those songs hold a special place in my heart.
Also, for their introductions you could tell all the boys have all practiced so hard on their English. And JK of course seemed really eager to give back for last year (even though it obviously wasn’t his fault). He was bouncing around like crazy with so much energy pretty much the whole concert.
Just dance is such a bop and the audience was amazing for the song, chanting J-hope’s name and it was just really fun. For Euphoria I didn’t expect Kookie to get up in the air, but again, just amazing to get to see him do it the way he would have wanted to last year.
Then followed Best of me! Which is also a personal favorite song of mine so I jumped a lot to it. It’s a good thing we had chairs and could sit down for the intermissions.
Then it was Namjoon and Jimin’s solos, and they did well even though Jimin’s bubble didn’t want to burst. Jimin also sang some parts live, which he didn’t really do last year so that was really nice.
I filmed some for Trivia: Love, but my camera is not that good so mostly I just decided to not use my phone at all and rather just enjoy being so close to the boys. I feel some people were filming pretty much the whole time, and personally I wouldn’t recommend that as you won’t be able to take in the experience the same way when you film. (My sister took some more videos and photos though, so I might share them if I get them from her.)
Namjoon was really up close during his solo, and man does he have a stage presence. Then the walk back on the runway before Boy with luv, and Vmin’s hug! The stadium went pretty wild. Boy with Luv was fun as well, especially since we all sang along to it. Then followed the medley of Dope/Babsae and Fire which were super fun to dance and sing along to.
Then came IDOL and the hype got real! I mean, I think IDOL was probably the song that had the audience pumped the most. Last year it was the starting song, but I personally think it worked even better and got more hype this way a bit further into the concert. The intro was enough to just have us all jumping.
For Singularity I mostly watched the screen since he was pretty far away (and I also had a pretty tall girl in front of me). But just listening to Tae, who actually sang big parts of the song live this time was great.
Fake Love of course got us all waiving our Army Bombs with the chant! Also, people really screamed for JK’s abs… Haha.
Now, I must say, the background for Seesaw was amazing. It looked so good and created the perfect atmosphere for the song. For me, together with Just dance and Euphoria, I felt Seesaw really stood out amongst the solo songs this time and I was pretty much just mesmerized by Yoongi.
Epiphany was also great, and Jin really is an incredible singer, but personally as it was pretty much one of the highlights for me last year I thought the arrangement, sound and the stage was better last time. Still great, and leading up to the emotional The truth untold. I had a hard time looking away from Jimin, he kept turning around as if to cough, and you could tell that again he was really emotional during the performance. I just hope he didn’t have a hard time.
For Tear, man…. I don’t know what to say except the auras of rapline for this song are unreal. And their outfits look amazing. I couldn’t have looked away even if I wanted to. And then followed by Mic Drop it’s just such a high on adrenaline, jumping up and down and singing along.
Then it was time for the boys to speak, and again, you can just tell they have practiced so hard on their English. Everyone but Yoongi was almost entirely in English. I felt so proud and happy to hear them try so hard to be able to communicate with ARMY. They were all so happy and it was easy to tell that coming to Wembley meant a lot to them. Jin with his Bohemian Rhapsody chant and Jimin’s ARMY~! shouts were both really cute and funny. I felt a bit bad for Taehyung though, because it felt like people had some trouble hearing him. They all seemed pretty emotional, and for JK when he started apologizing for last year it was just so good to hear that he could feel happy about the concerts this time. Hobi seemed really moved by the audience, which I can understand because honestly for both days I would say the reactions he got were some of the best. It must have been overwhelming. For Namjoon it was also cute how he got this strange almost British accent when speaking. His speech about UK being a wall was also really impactful and made me feel proud to be an ARMY.
The sea of purple and then rainbow ARMY bombs was also really touching and beautiful. The concert then ended with Mikrokosmos, which of course gave us all some cute Vmin interactions. Though I must admit that Love Myself as an ending song last year was much more emotional for me personally, even though I really love Mikrokosmos as a song. The fireworks were also pretty impressive together with the music.
Then when the music and end credits ended it was time to head home, and it was really fun because even outside people were waving their ARMY bombs around. The amount of people was truly crazy. I went to the G-Dragon concert at the arena next to Wembley two years ago, and the difference in people is just staggering. It took a full hour to walk from the stadium to the train station. And that was the end of the first concert day!
DAY 2
Now the second day we got there much later since we already had merch, and it was nice to feel so rested despite us having been drained on energy the previous day thanks to the concert. This time we had stands but still pretty good spots. Of course it was a lot easier to see and follow everything going on from further away, and with less people in front of you, so that was nice. I also had a chance to film and take more photos on the second day. I won’t go through the songs here, because most of what I thought and felt was really similar to day 1.
It was nice that the bubble worked for Jimin in Serendipity and I also didn’t expect to see Vmin in So What, so that was a nice surprise. The hug between Jimin and Hobi was also really cute.
After Boy with luv on the second day the boys were having fun joking about Harry Potter and making different “spells”. Seeing Jin stupefy JK was really funny. And Namjoon’s “Shut up Malfoy!” had us all cracking up. I love it when they bring up old memes of themselves.
Now, the really huge difference between the first and second day, besides our seats, was of course the end ment and also the surprise ARMY had for BTS. I must also say that at least to me, the audience seemed to be more on and more hyper on day two. We kept doing the wave even during the waits, and the screams were louder and the chants more clear. So I am really glad I got to experience both days.
The ending ment started with us doing the wave, and the rainbow sea at the end is so pretty. Taehyung said it was beautiful and that it would always be in his heart, and I don’t know why but that really struck a chord with me. Jimin also patted his shoulder at that moment. I don’t know, I was just more emotional in general the second day. Then Namjoon told him he was in the wrong place so he moved away to his usual side on the stage.
The audience was really good and chanted every members name as they spoke. They all also seemed pretty emotional already, and knowing we were about to sing Young Forever (a song I know is special to them) I expected to see tears. They were so confused at first, and some ARMY also started to sing the song a bit early, but the effect it had on them was clear. The shock and emotion from the members as they realized what was happening was just amazing to see. I got really emotional too of course, especially seeing JK, Jimin and Hobi getting pretty overwhelmed and crying. It was a beautiful moment and I don’t think BTS or the ARMY there will ever forget it.
As the song ended they all thanked us again, this time most of them were unable to do so in Korean, probably too overwhelmed to even form sentences properly. You could really feel their love and how much they appreciated the song. As mikrokosmos came on their singing was very unstable and notes all over the place. They were clearly still very shaken after Young Forever. Jimin didn’t seem to be able to focus on much except ARMY and Tae walked over to comfort him during their part in the song. It was a really sweet moment. Then the fireworks went of and the members started saying goodbye and it was all over for real. A really really emotional ending and a memory I will never forget.
So, in total it was two amazing concerts and I am so happy I was lucky enough to get tickets for both days. I haven’t watched the vlive version of day 1 yet, but I am so happy it exists so that I can relieve that day again.
For me the songs that really stood out this time was hype songs like Dionysus, Fire, Bapsae, Idol, So what and Mic Drop. As well as Wings, Just Dance, Euphoria, Seesaw and the whole ending with Make it right and Mikrokosmos.
The sound of the huge stadium and reverb made it a little difficult for me to hear well at times (especially on the floor), but over all it was two really great concert days!
BONUS
Also, every time I go to London I try to stay close to China Town since I love the food. I basically only eat Japanese and Korean when I am in London. And there is this one Korean BBQ restaurant we always go to, and so we went there to book a table for our last day. Imagine my surprise when we I checked and saw that JK and Jimin had went to that restaurant to eat on the same day we went there to book our table. So close and yet so far! When we went there I also managed to get a picture of their autographs. Seems like Jin had also been there since they had his autograph as well. When we ate there they also played a lot of BTS, so it was pretty much the perfect end to our BTS weekend in London. <3
Not sure if anyone found this interesting, but I wanted to write it all down, at least for my own sake. Thank you so much if you enjoyed this. :)
#bts speak yourself#bts wembley#bts london#Bts speak yourself tour#bts concert report#2019.06.01#2019.06.02#btsandvmin#my post#personal#namjoon#hoseok#seokjin#taehyung#jimin#jungkook#yoongi
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IM SO GLAD U HAD FUN!!! :DDD also you havent told us about your boi yet!!!
MY BOI !!!! MY BOI !!!!!!!! OMFGGGG MY BOY..... WHERE TO START....... FIRST OF ALL I CANT WAIT FOR PHOTOS OF HIM TO BE UPLOADED BC HE WAS ETHEREAL N JUST SO CUTE DHDJDJDJ...... WHEB THEY WEREN'T PERFORMING W CHOREOS !!!!! HE DANCED N FOOLED AROUND MAKING FACES N JUST SHAKING HIS HIPS !!! HE WAS SO CUTE !!!!!!! N THEN DURING RUN/INU HE FOLLOWED OUR MOVES N JUMPED AROUND N :( HE LOOKED LIKE AN ACTUAL ANGEL :(( I LOVE HIM SO MUCH :(( I WAS TOO FAR AWAY FROM HIM :( I FELT HIS GAZE ON OUR PART OF THE ARENA N I FELT LIKE MY LUNGS WERE INFLATING LIKE A BALLOON......
TGERES SO MUCH TO SAY ABT HIM !!!!! FIRST OF ALL ANYTIME I LOOKED AT HIM ON STAGE I HAD THIS BIG DUMB GRIN ON BC HE WAS JUST SO CUTE N SEEING HIM LIVE WAS AN EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!! also y'all r rlly saying that he's flat w ur whole chest ....tae's ass exists. I WANNA FINISH WRITING THIS ASK SO BADLY BUT I SRSLY DIDNT SEE HIM AS MUCH BC I HAD NAMJOON TUNNEL VISION :((( BUT HIS HAIR WAS SO FLUFFY N CUTE N BOUNCY...N DURING ANPANMAN HE WAS SRSLY ADORABLE N S*XY AT THE SAME TIME? IDK :(
DURING THE ENDING MENTIONS WE TAPPED OUR FEET N DID THT FOOTBALL CLAPPING THING !!!!!!!!!! N HE WAS SURPRISED BY IT N SJKSIDKDKDDK HE JUST KEPT ON ASKING US TO DO THE RUMBLE WHEN HE SPOKE N WE DID SO N HE COPIED US N DID THT AGGRESSIVE STEPPING THING BUT IN A CUTE WAY !!! HE N THE OTHER MEMBERS WERE RLLY SURPRISED BY THE WAY HE ALL JUST MADE THE ARENA SHAKE N RUMBLE W OUR FEET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE LOVED SEEING US DO THINGS LIKE THT N WAS ALWAYS SO EXCITED WHEN WE DID SO.....DURING THE ARMY BOMB WAVES....HE SEEMED FASCINATED BY HOW HAPPY N LOUD WE WERE (bc we didn't do it quietly...we did stadium chants) N !!!! YEAH !!!!!!! SHSJD I WAS SO PROUD N DELIGHTED BY THE EFFECT WE HAD ON HIM N HOW HE ENJOYED THE CONCERT WE'VE HAD WITH HIM!
ALSO THE WAY HE PLAYED AROUND W JIN N HOBS N JOON....SJDKFKD AT THE END OF THE CONCERT.... DURING TGE ENDING MENTIONS......HE WAS FILMING JOON W THIS TING CAMERA BUT HE WAS SO FOCUSED ON IT THT HE HAD THIS KINDA STUPID FACE ON...HE WAS SO CUTE N AJJDJD WHEN HE REALISED HE WAS BEING FILMED LOOKING LIKE TGAT HE BEGAN LAUGHING !!! AHH YES BC HIS SMILE IS RLLY A SIGHT TO SEE ;!!!!!!!!! IT'S SO LOVELY N GENTLE N WARM !!!!! IT FEELS LIKE A HUG !!!!!!!! A WARM DRINK ON A COLD DAY !!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S BOTH HEARTWARMING N REFRESHING !!!!!!!!!!! SEEING HIS SMILE ON THIS BIG SCREEN MADE MY ENTIRE BODY TINGLE !!!! I COULDN'T STOP SMILING !!!!!!!!!! I FELT LIKE I WANTED TO HUG HIM SO TIGHT BUT ALSO I DIDNT WANT TO INTERRUPT A BEAUTIFUL SHOW :( ANYWAY FOR ME TO HUG HIM I WOULD HAVE NEEDED TO BE INDIANA JONES OR STH TO JUMP DOWN ON STAGE N CATCH MYSELF THANKS TO ELECTRIC WIRES.....ANYSJDSLDLELDKDKD AHHH HIS SINGING VOICE IS RLLY SO NICE........
when he sings...it feels like he's wrapping you in this transparent cloth ......it's so soft n mysterious......it feels like seeing stars but also like you're in a place where time doesn't exist.....like at the breach of two dimensions ....he looks like a god or a spirit or an elemental singing singularity.....first of all the live instrumental is So Good n i CANNOT stress this enough...I want bighit to release a live album of the love yourself tour bc of how good the instrumentals r........n his presence on stage is just mesmerising...he has this gaze....n his expressions r fascinating.....he makes u feel what goes through his mind.......it felt like some kind of spiritual experience bc..his voice is so deep but smoky n dreamy....n his moves r so slow n icy...n his face ....wow....i was awestruck for hours after seeing him live ....he's a very lovely person....so bewitching n so mesmerising.......
also baby boy :( calisson teddy bear remembered some french phrases to tell us :( he said he loved us more than yesterday and less than tomorrow :(( w such a cute n endearing accent :( the encore stages were His time to shine sjdjd he did the shoot dance just as so what started n was rlly having a fun time jumping around !!!! n he looked so happy to see everyone having a good time ! he sang well. i feel like he was happy with himself since he got better since friday, when he had caught a cold. he's rlly someone who deserves the most. he has that ENERGY ON STAGE !!!!!! OOF 😖😖
during fire.....n baepsae......he had those sick moves....I felt like I was watching a video or sth BC of how quickly his body moves.....he has that expert-like way of controlling his body the same way hoseok n jimin do......he's a v (hahahahah) skilled dancer.....a v skilled singer......the truth untold ended my Life....he did all these vocal arabesques n adlibs....he sounded so beautiful n pure.....his voice was rlly emotional n he conveyed this feeling of Excitement during songs like idol, so what or fire....mischief during anpanman...... emotion as if we were communicating from a different plane of existence during songs like run, singularity, the truth untold and answer love myself........ these are all kinds of different feelings he conveyed but there are so many more :(((
N OMG my JOY when i got back at the hotel n saw that he was live :( wearing his glasses n his beret n his cute little jacket :( a lovely fashionista :( he's charming as ever :( i love him so much :( i hope he got to visit Paris a bit since he loves the town so much and since it's an occasion to see all this artwork n the beautiful architecture of this century old city.........
i love him so :(
#💌#181020#tete#i love him so so so so so much :(( singularity felt like sth from another planet :( it rlly did :(
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Taylor Swift's "New Taylor" Persona Battled Sexism With a Sneer at Hard Rock Stadium
Last night, a Taylor Swift fan emerged wide-eyed from a meet-and-greet with the artist herself, mouth gaping at a group of fellow concertgoers. She uttered just two words: "She's real!"
You could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Swift transitioned from Nashville upstart to larger-than-life superstar in five short years and has remained a household name since, a superhuman feat on its own. Her other superpower is dealing with drama; accusations of fake relationships, fake fan interactions, and general dishonesty have plagued Swift ever since she reached megastardom.
But yes, she's real, and her Reputation tour, like the album after which it's named, displays that realness, warts and all. Critics were not exactly enamored with the 2017 release, calling it "beleaguered and defensive," and dismissing its first single, "Look What You Made Me Do," as "a dreary waste of her creative time." They're not entirely wrong.
But carried by Swift's ceaseless energy through a technically masterful stage show, the songs of Reputation, which made up the bulk of last night's show, sounded fresh. And while Swift's fans were dancing, she accomplished an impressive and surprisingly political feat: inspiring thousands of people to cheer on a vengeful woman.
Of course, these weren't just any people. Taylor Swift fans wear their dedication on their sleeves, literally. They came in charming, audaciously girly attire: sequins, glitter, tutus, fake fur, and hundreds of homemade t-shirts sporting lyrics or clever, Tay-inspired puns. One father, a man with an imposing stature and a salt-and-pepper mustache, accompanied his daughter to the show in a shirt reading "Papa Swiftie."
Swift fans also show up early, with roughly 75 percent of the seats filled when Charli XCX, the first of two opening acts, took the stage. And they were ready to party. Charli XCX, a charismatic performer with a seemingly limitless energy supply, had the crowd jumping in the air and singing along — not an easy feat for an artist opening for another opening act.
Next up was Camila Cabello, unsurprisingly greeted with a warm and very loud welcome from her hometown fans. Between renditions of hits like "Never Be the Same" and, of course, "Havana," Cabello gushed about missing Miami and name-dropped local institutions like Publix. "My hair is 80 percent humidity, and my blood is 80 percent croquetas," she quipped. Naturally, she had the crowd roaring loud enough to nearly drown her out by the end of her set.
At last, Swift took the stage, strutting to "Ready For It." This was not the "Old Taylor," as Swift refers to the love-seeking girl-next-door image she cultivated before Reputation's release. Her opening song was not one of her romantic, "please like me back" hits. "I know I'm gonna be with you," she sang, owning her own foregone conclusion with a sneer.
Swift has long been confident on stage; Reputation simply allows her lyrics to back up that confidence. Swift's unapologetic charisma powered the two hours she spent on stage.
Well, that and snakes.
If you're a follower of Swift's, you know about the snakes. If not, here's the gist: Giant reptilian set pieces, fixed with ruby eyes and fangs, loom over every stop on the Reputation tour. These are no subtle metaphor; they're a reference to an insult hurled via tweetby Kim Kardashian during a dust-up over lyrics penned by her husband, Kanye West. Kardashian's insult helped launch a social media pile-on targeting Swift, and afterward, Swift took a break from the public eye. Reputation, both the album and the tour, is Swift's scorched-earth response, and the snakes are its least subtle metaphor.
The snakes rise dozens of feet high. The snakes bob in the wind. The snakes appear to strike backup dancers on the massive screen behind the main stage. If there is one rule of Reputation, it is this: You can't not look at the snakes. During "Shake It Off," performed by Swift, Cabello, and XCX on a side stage, the snakes rise from the floor and dwarf the whole performance. They looked especially ridiculous swaying above the neon-hued party unfolding below, where the singers smiled and danced and generally looked like they were having the time of their lives while enough confetti to blanket an entire football field blasted into the air. It's not hard to imagine that the contrast between the two was the whole point. Who even cares about some stupid giant puppet when they could be getting down to "This. Sick. Beat"?
So this whole tour is about some mean tweets? you may be wondering. Isn't Swift overreacting? Didn't she bring it on herself? And even if she didn't — she's not being very nice. Wasn't there a less dramatic way for her to respond — perhaps one that's less, well, emotional?
Roughly 60,000 Miamians think you're wrong. They cheered every angry line and delighted in every curl of the lip Swift performed. Sure, it's partly because they liked the music. And it's partly because the show was technically spectacular, punctuated by fireworks and blasts of flames and traveling cages transporting Swift from one stage to the next. But it's also because Swift's fans, like Taylor herself, have been jolted out of the fairytale stories of previous albums like Speak Now and Fearless.
They still love the old material — Swift sang "Breathe," a rarely performed cut from 2008's Fearless, to much excitement. But most of the fans who've followed Swift's 12-year career are now women in their 20s and 30s. They've lived long enough to face their own tough decisions and make plenty of mistakes. They battle the same dismissal and derision that has plagued Swift her entire career.
In a video interlude between songs, Swift contemplates her situation: "Whatever you say, it is not right. Whatever you do, it is not enough." That's a dead accurate description of the female condition.
Perhaps most importantly, though, they've been hurt too. They live under threat of violence and harassment, and many of them have already experienced those things firsthand. In the #MeToo era, they've witnessed women stand up to men who've hurt them, including Swift herself, who won a lawsuit against a DJ who groped her in 2017. But they've also seen the world drag down others who speak up. How reassuring, how affirming for them to see Swift lash out at her treatment — and to see thousands of people validate her feelings in response.
But is that enough? Critics have pointed out that Swift rarely broadens her scope beyond her own thoughts and feelings, and they're right. It's especially disappointing that the "New Taylor," whose rage could send thousands of voters to the polls, is still focused on what's happening inside her own head.
Still, from my seat amid the throngs of adoring, indignant fans, last night felt like a victory. Strip away the pyrotechnics, the sparkly costumes, and the tabloid gossip, and you're left with this: A woman who publicly names the harm done to her, then delivers justice – maybe not by the most graceful means, but honestly and confidently. She gets what she wants, including support.
Maybe to Swift, the show is just personal. But magnified by 60,000 fired-up fans, it's far more than that. You might even call it a movement.
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On Your First Show
B.I (Hanbim) x Female Reader
Word Count: 2238
Gender: Fluff
- Bea
You never felt so heavy in your whole life. It felt like the weight of the world was on your shoulders. Loving Hanbin was so suffocating that once you cried all by yourself thinking "how the hell would I love someone as much as him?" Being on his side made you feel happy and only by seeing his smile, butterflies emerged within your stomach. The only problem was that no matter how much you tried, you never told him how you felt. Not because you hadn't had enough opportunities -- that was what you had the most-- you just didn't have the guts to tell Hanbin that you actually loved him... not only as friend, but as more than that. The fact that you could ruin all the years of friendship that had begun in kindergarten frighten you more than it should. You could not risk that.
You didn't expect his departure to be come so soon. When he told you he was accepted as a new trainee under YG and that he had to leave home to the dorms with other trainees, it tore your heart into a million pieces. The day of his departure came; he went away and you followed with your life without him. Of course you both texted each other in the beginning and he told you all the new things he learned, the schedule he was assigned to, and the classes he had, but with time you two stopped talking. He was practicing almost all week for most hours, so when he had some free time he would either eat or sleep. You kept an eye on him while he was competing on Win and eventually after that on Mix & Match, always rooting on his favor. The relief you felt when he finally debuted was so big to make you turn into a fluff ball of emotions. You were happy for him, perhaps more than anyone else, even though you knew that you weren't as close as before. The feelings for him were getting weaker by the days, until it became a numbness inside of you.
One day while doing some college homework you surprisingly received his call.
"Hello?" Your eyebrows furrowed. He never called you before, so what could it be after such a long time?
"Hey Y/N! It's been a long time since we've talked to each other" The excitement on his voice was clear.
"True, true. So how have you been?" Your mind went blank. The thoughts wouldn't formulate entirely, and you weren't emotionally capable of formulating them either. It felt like a pinch of the so gone feeling for him awoke inside of you just to remind you of how you used to feel.
"Everything is good... well better now that I debuted. So the boys and I will be doing our first concert and I wonder if you want to watch us?" It was a half question, half statement. He really did not know how to approach the subject.
"Of course Hanbin. It will be awesome to see my best friend on the stage! I can't wait." Excitement grew through your body, like little electric impulses passing through your veins.
"Perfect! I will send you the ticket to the show and some information. See ya, bye" He hung up the phone.
Running direct to your bed you jumped on it, laying with your arms and legs open occupying all of it. You were feeling happy but at the same time nervous. So many years passed since you and Hanbin hadn't talked to each other. Hearing his voice through the phone reminded you of the good time you both spent together in school.
{...}
After you got out of the bus your eyes went directly to the stadium. It was enormous! A feeling of proudness came as you remembered your best friend would be singing for that many people. You arrived at the time Hanbin asked, because he wanted to introduce his band members to you. Following the tags around the stadium you got to the door of the backstage. A super big and muscular guy came up to talk to you.
"Sorry young lady, but you can't come in." He said looking to you. You were looking up to face him, and his voice sent shivers of fear on you.
"I'm actually Hanbin's quest." You showed your ticket to the security guard, while he cautiously looked at the ticket.
"Yeah, looks like you are really important person to him." You frowned while he said that.
"May I know why?" you asked, a little bit calmer than before. Maybe the security wasn't that much scary after all.
"The boys only had to choose one person to watch their show. Most of the other boys on the band selected their parents, but he called you. Be grateful towards your friend." You could not hide your surprised expression. How he choose you over his family?? It is an honor indeed, and at the same time you wanted to slap him in the face.
"Yeah, I'm really grateful for him." Smiling at the tall man, you walked into the big hall ahead of you. "Thank you for helping me" You said while you looked around the place.
After you messaged Hanbin to inform him you arrived, you started to wander around the corridors and explore the backstage of the show. You saw some technicians checking the sound and light at one side of the big room, at the other side you saw the make up and wardrobe people running around the corridor; while you were walking something felt a grip on your wrist. Not something, someone. Turning you faced Hanbin. He was different, but you couldn't name what was it. Maybe he was taller, or that was the result of the final process of puberty. Something was different and you could feel it.
"I was looking for you at the entrance, but the security just told me you walked in. I see you still very curious." He gave you a smile, and your heart skipped a beat. This wasn't supposed to happen. Well, not anymore. You were over him, right?
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just exploring a little bit. I've never been to a show backstage before." At the same time, one person from their team passed by your side caring a big box, not seeing what was in front of him. You felt Hanbin pull you into him as a reflex, avoiding a disaster, and saving you.
"Sorry!" They guy shouted after noticing you and walked away.
Soon realizing he still had a hold on you. Your hands pushed yourself from him slowly, not wanting the action to look rude or disrespectful towards him. Silence between both urged, making weird energy flow around. Hanbin's eyes were focusing on you, making you a little uncomfortable.
"Are you going to introduce me to your bandmates?" You said trying to make the situation less awkward.
"Oh, yeah." His face came back to normal expression. He held your hand and started to guide you both to a room with a lot of noise on it.
"This is the room we are getting ready for the concert." He said while stopping at the door. Letting your hand go from his.
The room was average. You could hear a lot of voices inside, from men and women. There was a guy singing really loud at the back, his voice was really good and you were curious to know who was it.
"Who is the loud guy singing? His voice is pretty." You looked at Hanbin.
"That freak is Ju-ne. He's always singing out loud." He stepped into the room and you followed him.
Guiding you too the place, you noticed the loud voice from before getting louder until you found a guy, with his back turned from you.
"Stop singing and say hi to my friend Ju-ne." He immediately stopped and turned to look at you and Hanbin. Scratching his neck, he gave a little smile to cover how shy he was in front of you.
"Hello" Waving your hand and giving a big smile you tried your best to show a good first impression. "I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you." You bowed.
"Hey" He waved back. "Nice to meet you, I'm Ju-ne." He bowed back to you.
"C'mon. Let's meet the other guys." Hanbin held your hand again, but this time tangling his fingers in yours. You got a little bit surprised at the act. He always been touchy but this time looked different. You followed without saying anything, maybe it could be only your imagination playing with you.
Time passed and you met all the members from the band. They were very friendly and funny. You felt comfortable around them easily, they kept talking to you and making you laugh so you were happy with your new friends. Just one thing was bothering you. Hanbin. He was acting all weird around you and the boys. Every time one of the boys touched your hands or did something physical, he would frown and close his face. It wasn't something he normally did with you, so why now?
The boys were in the middle of the show, and you were having a lot of fun. You were always dancing and interacting with the boys when they passed by you in the auditorium. Hanbin didn't stop looking at you at the first half of the show, but he remembered fans needed some attention too and eventually took the eyes off of you.
When they were saying their goodbyes you went inside back to the dressing room. All of them came in at once, talking and being very loud. They were hyper. The show was a success and the boys wanted to eat at some place to celebrate.
"Hey can we talk for a bit?" Hanbin appeared by your side, getting a loose grip on your wrist.
"Of course." A smile came from you and he returned the same smile, but three times bigger.
Getting into a room not so far from the dressing room you previously were, Hanbin positioned you in front of him. The room was smaller, and only the two of you were there. He didn't say anything at first. You felt how nervous he was.
"I missed you." He said in a rushed whisper. You still understood what he said.
"I missed you too. We were inseparable and parted suddenly, I felt very lonely after you went away, but here we are again." You knew he was saying that he missed you and implying something more than the friendship between you two. You just wanted some time to think if you really want to become the little girl in love from some years ago or control your feelings and keep it cool.
" Yeah, yeah..." He dropped his face, just sounding defeated. He started heading out of the room without saying a word and after some abruptly steps to the door he stopped. "Have you ever had a feeling so strong for someone else? A feeling that makes you feel good and complete on the inside?" His head that was once down raised. Harbin still had his back turned to you.
You could not understand why he was saying things like that. Of course you knew something was happening, and you understood why he questioned you, but why he is doing it now? Is he asking because he is liking some other girl, or he likes you? The second option wasn't an actual one, you had just met up after years of not seeing each other. He would not be liking you out of nowhere.
"That only by thinking of that person, your heart starts to beat faster and you get all silly. Your day gets better. Even when you had that hell of a hard, tiring day, and you come back to see her at the end of the day, smiling or just being by your side." He came back faster than you imagined.
The gap from before was getting substantially smaller, with one of his hands now resting on the nape of your neck with his thumb caressing your face. If you weren't understanding before, now you completely lost it. He was, indeed, talking about you. The craziest part of this was how that dormant feeling ushered out of you like an earthquake, destroying all the walls you constructed to block them out.
"I didn't noticed what I felt until I lost you Y/N. After leaving my normal life, I could see how much you affected me. All my struggles seemed harder, all my achievements lasted little because I could not talk to you about them. I did not have you by my side to watch a movie, or just talk about silly things, and that was like a shot in my heart. I thought that if I could see you again and feel like before I would take a good hold on you and that's what I am doing right now." His lips crashed into yours. The salty flavor of his mouth were comforting at some way. You rest your hands on his chest, responding the kiss. Separating after a couple of minutes to regain air with your foreheads resting against each others, a small smile came out of Hanbin. "I guess I just found my number one fan."
#ikon#ikon preferences#ikon bi#ikon b.i#ikon hanbin#ikon imagines#ikon imagine#ikon bobby#ikon junhoe#ikon jinhwan#ikon donghyuk#ikon chanwoo#ikon yunhyeong#kim hanbin
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Concert Hall || Park Jimin
Word Count: 2k
Genre: fluff
The energy and electricity flooded through the crowd and Jimin could feel all of it running through his veins and making it’s way underneath his skin. It found it’s way into the cracks of who he was and underneath where it made it’s way through his entire body, the tingling feeling causing a smile to keep itself on his face. It was how he felt every time before he got on stage, and he would never be able to forget it.
Jimin took a deep breath as the lights dimmed slightly and the cheering in the stadium began to start up. It was louder than he had ever heard before, echoing off the walls and back into his ears before he could even process what was going on. The beginning chords to Fire started playing and Jimin walked out onto the stage, getting into the position he had been waiting for.
So many things flew past him, faces, sounds, noises, screams. Jimin had barely any time to even think about the choreography before he was dancing around and letting the sound of the music carry him. He let it wrap around him, lifting him into the air and carrying his arms and legs, teaching him the dance he had learned so many times before.
The smile stayed on his face as the next song started to play and Jimin continued to sing. He sang as best as he could, wanting the fans to be able to see just how much he cared for this. How much he cared about being in front of them and showing them the best sides of himself. He loved the feeling of being watched, loved knowing how many people supported him for doing something he loved.
Jimin couldn’t even imagine what his life would be like if he hadn’t taken this path. He couldn’t even fathom the idea that maybe, just maybe, there was a possibility that something like this would have never happened to him. There were so many things that had happened that could have possibly changed his path and taken him somewhere else, but he had ended up here with just a little bit of luck.
His eyes scanned the crowd, waving to several fans as he listened to Yoongi rap through the microphone. He could hear it through the headphone in his ear but he pulled it out, wanting to hear the voice for how it really was. It was crazy to him that this was where he was. Jimin stopped in front of a group of fans and waved to all of them, his eyes stopping on a member of the crowd.
You stared up at Jimin, imagining how something like this had managed to happen. You had no idea how your friend had managed to score these tickets but you were so glad that you had agreed to come, because you were almost one hundred percent sure that Park Jimin was staring right at you. He had stopped moving and everyone around you started screaming, but you weren’t able to as you felt the breath leave from your lungs.
The two of you stayed like that for what felt like years, but was only a few seconds that passed by way too quickly. It was Jimin’s part to sing, and as he missed his cue he tore his eyes away from you and began singing to catch up. The other members laughed it off and you could see how Jimin had turned away from you, walking in the opposite direction and making his way to the other side of the stage.
It hurt Jimin to have to tear his eyes away from you and he could feel a bit of his heart being left behind in the way your eyes bore into him. He had missed his cue to start singing but he couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed as thoughts of you just continued to make their way through his head. Your face flashing in his line of vision every single time he looked at another fan.
The song came to an end and Jimin watched as Namjoon began talking to the crowd. Everyone was screaming and yelling, walking around and cheering on the members. Jimin waved to more fans as he continued to walk around the area but he soon found himself walking back to where he had seen you. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about you, wondering what it would be like to talk to you, just to hear your voice.
You stared up at the members listening to Namjoon talk and smiling, thinking about how lucky you were that you had managed to be able to get this close to the stage. The next song started to play and you watched as balloons fell from the ceiling, fans immediately reaching out to toss them around and bounce them through the crowd. People began to play games, tossing the balloons at the members and they happily tossed them back.
Jimin thought quickly, knowing how he would be able to get your attention without seeming odd about it. He kicked the incoming balloon in your direction and watched as his shoe came in contact with something the fan had thrown on stage. It arched into the crowd and he watched as it landed near you, barely missing you. He quickly jumped off the stage and ran over to where you were, pretending to make sure you were okay.
“I needed an excuse to come down, stay after the performance and meet me at the back.” He whispered. Shock ran through you as Jimin finished making sure you were okay and the security guards helped him back on stage. The guard came over to you and made sure you were alright before the show resumed as normal. You watched as the members continued to laugh off what had just happened, but you were still frozen in shock about what had happened.
Your friend was screaming from beside you about what had just happened and you could barely process their words, only thinking about what Jimin had said to you and how he asked you to stay. He needed an excuse to talk to you, he needed to find someway to ask you to stay. He wanted to know who you were. So many thoughts were running through your head and you could feel nervousness running underneath your skin, making it’s way through your blood.
The rest of the concert seemed to go by in a blur, your eyes locking with Jimin’s every so often, a blush making it’s way across your face. Jimin smiled every time he saw the red make it’s way onto your cheeks and he couldn’t help but admire how cute you were. He didn’t know what to make of it, seeing you in the crowd and not knowing if you would wait for him like he asked.
He was nervous about how you would have taken the question, if you thought you had been imagining it and you had just left. He didn’t want to see you leave without finding a way to get to know you later. He wanted to know who you were, he wanted to know everything about you and he wanted to be able to spend time with you. There was something about you that made his heart race the same way it did when he was on stage.
It was approaching the end of the performance and you thought about what Jimin had said to you earlier. You weren’t sure if it had actually happened but you knew you should stay just in case it had. Something like this didn’t happen to everyone, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The last song of the night started playing and you looked over to your friend, holding your stomach in pretend pain.
“I’m not feeling too well, I think I’m going to head home a little bit early. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Your friend’s face fell but she knew that when you were sick it wasn’t something to play around with. You rarely got sick and when you did it always ended up being really bad. She wished you goodnight and you headed out of the concert hall, walking outside into the crisp night air and walking around to the back of the building.
It only took you a few moments to get there, resting your back against the wall and pulling your phone out to play some game to pass the time. It was crazy to you that something like that had happened, that Jimin had jumped into the crowd just to make sure you were okay. Seeing him up close, his features that defined. His face flashed in your mind and you felt a blush make it’s way across your face again.
You didn’t want to admit it, but butterflies were rapidly fluttering in your stomach at the idea of Jimin meeting you out back just to see you. It was something you had never thought about before, something that had never even crossed your mind. You thought it was crazy that you had managed to even come to this concert and now you were going to be talking with Jimin in less than half an hour.
So many thoughts ran through your mind about what would happen when you saw Jimin, completely distracting you from the sound of the door next to you opening and a figure stepping out onto the ground next to you. It wasn’t until you felt a tap on your shoulder that you turned and made eye contact with him, his eyes staring back into yours the same way they had during the concert.
“Hey. Sorry about kicking stuff at you.” He said immediately, raising his hand and scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. He felt bad that he had resorted to kicking something at you in order to jump in the audience to ask you to stay, but he was relieved that it had worked and you were with him now.
“It’s okay.” You said, your voice coming out slightly shaky. The butterflies seemed to multiple as you realized how close you were to Jimin and you couldn’t help it as you voice quivered, causing Jimin to chuckle quietly.
“It didn’t hit you did it?” He asked, his brows furrowing as he stared you down to make sure there were no visible injuries. You shook your head immediately to calm his worries and he relaxed slightly, leaning away from you. “Good. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“It’s alright, it just barely missed me.” You replied, laughing slightly. Jimin smiled as he heard the sound leave your lips and he was surprised by just how quickly he was falling for you. He was shocked that it was possible for someone like you to even exist, and now he had managed to get you someone where he could focus on you with no distractions.
“I’d like to take you out, as an apology, and as a date.” Jimin said the last part quietly, lowering his head out of shyness and you couldn’t stop the smile that made it’s way across your face, taking up all of your features and making itself known to the both of you.
“I’d like that a lot.” You replied, pulling your phone out of your pocket and handing it too him. “Put your number in and send a text to yourself. You can tell me the details later.”
Jimin smiled up at you before taking your phone and putting in his number like you had told him too. As he handed back your phone you took the moment to read his contact name and you smiled even wider as you read the short “Jiminie” he had registered himself as. You leaned forward quickly and placed your lips against his cheek quickly, letting your lips touch for barely a moment.
“I’ll see you later.” You said happily, waving goodbye to Jimin as you made your way around the building again. You couldn’t believe what had happened tonight, but you were glad that you had managed to attend the concert, thinking about what would have never happened if you hadn’t said yes to your friend.
#bts#bts imagines#bts imagine#bts scenarios#bts scenario#bts reaction#bts reactions#bangtan reaction#bangtan scenarios#bangtan boys#bangtan sonyeondan#bangtan imagines#bangtan imagine#jimin#park jimin#jimin imagines#jimin imagine#jimin fluff#jimin angst
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80,698 People flocked to Stade de France the eighth largest stadium in Europe on Friday to see, what could possibly be the most musicians ever in three hours. The event, With Love, Paris, hosted by Penny Lane to raise money to help the families and community affected by the attacks on her Paris show last year sold out in less than 10 minutes and drew fans from around the world. And it’s not hard to see why. When Penny posted the impressive line-up announcement last month we too were excited to see what this day would bring.
We were right to be looking forward to it. The event itself took place over a little more than three hours and was broadcast live on Youtube with additional coverage of the backstage area where fans could see some of their favs interact, dance and sing along to the insanely talented artists performing.
The event itself started at exactly 7 pm with, who else, Penny Lane and her hit song “Be Alright” off her 2017 album Dangerous Woman followed by “Thank You, Next”. From there Penny started bringing up her friends. Skyler Valentine-Griffin jumped up first, surprising no one by joining her bestie on stage for a performance of “Side to Side” followed by Pennys top song of the year “Monopoly”
Next up, “Boyfriend” featuring Ryan Price. Another major hit on the charts last year. Before Penny Lane leaves the stage for the first time, handing over the limelight to Ryan for his performance of “Love It If We Made It”
The stage is empty for a brief moment and then none other than London Calling walk out to perform “Story Of My Life”. It shouldn’t be that surprising to see the boys here supporting their long-time friend however it’s sort of bittersweet to see the four men together, down a member so close to the anniversary of Ethan's passing.
Maxwell Harper-Bennett takes over the stage next belting out the Grammy-nominated song “Too Good At Goodbyes” before hurrying off to catch a flight back to his own tour where he would perform in a few short hours.
A surprising addition Chloe Zuicq storms the stage with some impressive energy. Her newest song “Don’t Worry Bout Me” got the crowd dancing. We were a little shocked Chloe made the line up as we don’t know of any real connection between her and the queen of pop but her vibe was infectious.
Keeping the uptempo vibe, Blaize Griffin was joined on stage by Lucas Osborne for their song “I Think I’m OKAY” where they had the crowd jumping and screaming along proving that Blaize still has IT, even when he’s experimenting with a newer sound for the rap god.
The first surprise of the evening, Ryder Tomasi takes over with his song “I Remember Way Too Much”, after seemingly having drama with the night's host a bit back after being removed from a song due to some drama. However, the former couple seems to have squashed their beef as Penny rejoins the stage, in a new outfit, to perform “The Way” with her former boyfriend.
Next up, Penny stays on the stage but is joined by Hunter Hopkins, another surprise guest, to perform their top ten single “F*ck Apologies” before conceding the stage to Hunter for him to perform his single, “PAID MY DUES”
Roman Rizvi is up next with his bop “Straightjacket” proving that he and Penny are still on friendly terms after the backstage camera catches them hugging it out as he leaves the stage.
An unsurprising addition to the line-up, Cherry Chambers, steals the stage next by performing her hit single “Truth Hurts” where, if you’re still watching the backstage camera, you can see Penny on the screaming along.
Continuing the girl power trend, Maia Karim kills it with a high energy performance of “Who Run The World (Girls)” complete with some serious choreography.
She’s joined on stage immediately following her performance by her former bandmates where Nevaeh reminds us why they’re still the world's best girl group despite still being on hiatus with high energy performances of “Salute” “Shout Out To My Ex” and “Bounce Back”.
Two members leave the stage to watch Penny, Maia and Essence Woods perform the biggest song of 2019, “Don’t Call Me Angel” as a trio for only the second time despite the popularity of the song.
Then Essence takes over to show us all why she’s our “National Anthem”. Despite giving birth, the young mogul doesn’t miss a beat and already looks amazing as she struts around the stage to a highly interactive crowd screaming the lyrics back at her.
The next surprise guest to join the stage is someone no one could have expected. Joanna Martel and Penny have a history and it’s not a pretty one but the pair seem to have squashed it, or at least put it aside for the night so Joanna could perform “Hit Me Baby”.
New artist, Winnie Kane, takes over next by performing her debut single“Hands To Myself” holding her own on her first major performance. Not many people get to say they had their first showcase in front of more than 80,000 people but I guess that’s the perks of being the protege to one of the world's biggest stars.
Make way for the King, literally. King takes over the stage to perform “Redbone” bringing a more mellow vibe back to the stadium after a string of very high energy performances.
Callan Duffy reenters the stage and makes his way to a piano where he plays his ode to his mother “Supermarket Flowers” in a highly emotional performance complete with some tears from both the audience, the backstage feed as well as Callan himself.
Penny Lane takes over the piano (we always forget that she can do more than just sing and dance) for a duo of never performed before songs starting with “I Am” where the pop star struggles to make it through the third chorus due to emotions and moving to “Music” where the singer barely manages to finish, clearly working out some of her frustrations with her career. The backstage feed is full of Penny’s friends, there to support her through a very difficult performance.
After composing herself for a moment Penny does her first speech of the evening where she expresses her gratitude to the city and her fans for sticking by her through some hard times, vowing to continue to do whatever she can to help the families affected by the tragedy that struck the last year. She puts her money where her mouth is, donating $100,000 to the event, before launching into her hit single, “No Tears Left To Cry”.
Skyler Valentine-Griffin joins her friend on stage at the end, where the pair hug it out for a moment before jumping into “Bed” together, seemingly having a great time goofing off on stage together, quickly lightening the mood with their antics before Penny gives her long-time friend a kiss on the cheek, leaving Skyler the stage to perform “Rehab”
Quinton Harper, one of the few artists on the bill that doesn’t have a feature with Penny, is the only artist given two solo songs with both “Sorry” and “Love Yourself” making the cut.
Maia and Penny come back out, both dressed more casually to do a cover of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” clearly enjoying themselves as they dance around the stage and really get the crowd interacting.
The duo leaves the stage and Camisado takes over. Performing their newest single “The Last of the Real Ones” with a high energy vibe.
Penny returns, this time bringing up Olivia Marie for two songs. “Fall In Line” a fitting ode given Penny’s current drama and Olivia’s connection to all of that and “I Can Only” also speaking volumes to their lives.
Olivia leaves the stage leaving Penny to perform “Get Well Soon” before the biggest surprise of the night. A guest performer that literally no one could expect. Penny starts by singing the first verse in the iconic Dixie Chicks song “Not Ready To Make Nice” before inviting none other than Kylie Blue onto the stage to join her. The duo share a connection and some history but have never shared the stage before like this. Penny then concedes the stage to Kylie and the live stream cuts for a few minutes while Kylie performs her hit “Delicate.”
As we reach the three-hour mark Olivia retakes the stage and delivers a moving and emotional first performance of her new single “Praying” which brought the tears from not only the singer but also the rest of the venue.
Olivia and Penny embrace as the younger singer heads off stage and we resume the waterworks as Penny delivers a very emotional rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” before launching into a short monologue thanking everyone for coming. Everyone rejoins the stage as Penny closes the show, crying through “One Last Time” a song with a lot of meaning right now to the pop star.
Overall the entire show was phenomenal. While there were some lower points no performance seemed to be truly lacking and everyone involved help raise a little more than 13 million dollars. | 1/10/20
#With Love Paris#Penny Lane#Skyler Valentine#Ryan Price#London Calling#Maxwell Harper#Chloe Zuicq#Blaize Griffin#Lucas Osborne#Ryder Tomasi#Hunter Hopkins#Roman Rizvi#Cherry Chambers#Maia Karim#Nevaeh#Essence Woods#Joanna Martel#Winnie Kane#King#Callan Duffy#Quintion Harper#Olivia Marie#Camisado#Kylie Blue
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Buenos Aires Calling!
The signs could not have been much better: My first ‘vacation’ lasting more than a week since the awesome festival so called “gneven im grünen”, three concert tickets for my more or less favorite band ‘die toten hosen’- a band I have followed along down the road, which not only makes good music but also supports smaller bands, ethical correct NGO´s and sometimes even play in your living room if you are lucky AND the promising city of Buenos Aires, which goes as the Berlin of South America, or not even Latino American anymore. So my expectations were quite high as well, still they s were exceeded...
My hostel was great, although I arrived way too early they welcomed me with breakfast and showers. As I did not take the first internet recommendation I ended up in a 100% spanish-speaking community, from which a few studied and others sadly escaping war in Venezuela and some others doing whatever. Crazy those two things, first I could never do my exchange semester out of a dormitory, as I already troubled falling a sleep when not completely wasted- how do people snore louder than a airplane taking off? Second why have we reached the point that people need to escape their homes again and shouldnt we welcome them a little more than given them a bed in return of work? You find Venezuelans everywhere in South America right now...
Anyway, I wanted to get to know this European city, which at first glance showed off with nice facades, broken sidewalks and a walkable traffic situation (remember Im used to Lima at the moment, I actually got quite a cultural shock when people actually followed traffic rules and not everyone looked quite similar). I did a walking tour, and right away I saw it at its best, stunning buildings and cemeteries everywhere(at least in the right suburb..) Btw the popularity of their steaks is based on the flatness of the countryside of Argentina, cows actually do have some space to walk around and not need to be cooped up in some stall. Afterwards, I stumbled around myself, and by this is into a huge demonstration. All kinds of human protested in favor of rights for everybody, especially Woman and the LGBT scene. Every of the last ten years more than 200 women has be mudered by their husband or partners, I have heard about it before, but seeing the demonstration showed me how serious the issue is and how many must have suffered domestic violence. I followed along and was quite impressed by the creativity and number of participants. It seems like still the authorities dont really care, as this has been run for over a year now...
it really was endless...
I bet a better photografer would have made a good pic out of that!
Rushed from the energy of the protests I had a buncher Spätibeer (cerveza de ciosco) and decided to go see my friend from my old exchange semester in good old fresno..So we met 9 years ago and havent seen since. Ines were just working in a restaurant and I already had a few beers too many. So after she invited me for two more I tried too call it a night, which is always hard when you in a foreign city for the first time 10km away from your bed and trying to go by public transport. AllI know, I woke up in my hostel the next day and some blurry memories sitting in some other bar with some Germans, but I dont know why. Alright lets face it, probably the craving for more beer.
In the morning, I realized today would be the day I have never really imagined to become true. Seeing “Los Hosen” in Buenos Aires is said to be special. I always wanted to know what´s about it, because special is also sitting one hour in the” Berlin Ringbahn” and drink beer or the Chinese Wall, but neither gets a lot of my attention. After another day of enjoying various parts of the city I went in front of the venue, Museum, a buncher years ago crashed the stage in the second song and the concert was over. The first guys I approached were already a win in the lottery and I could not have asked for more. Spätibeer here and there and talks about everything what my Spanish has to offer. The show was crazy, a venue like SO36, long and narrow. A small terrace all around from which Campino (singer) jumped into the crowd and somehow mad his way back, totally red, as people did not want to let him go...A few punch were needed so he reached the stage again.
The crowd of 800-1000, of which maybe 100 were German, freaked out at pretty much every single song. Decent singing along but even harder dancing along. Everybody full of energy, led by a Band which noticeably enjoyed to be part of it once again. After the concert I went further to a few more Bars or you could call it Club even, energy for those after concerts partys I usually do not have after concerts in Germany. This night, I got a ride home, across the entire city, letting somebody out at the bus station apparently is no option when you their “guest”.
Party people
The same reason, the next day, I was invited to a match of one of the biggest football teams over there.. Boca Juniors, it was really interesting to see such a steep stadium which shacks because everybody jumps and how fascinated all the players and fans are. But I certainly have friends which can analyze those events way more. Side note: Argentina has stopped to allow fans of the visiting teams for all league games, in order to prevent violence. A working approach, but defiantly not in the sense of the sport.
A couple more or less boring hard working days for my uni were interrupted by a Cover concert and even more interesting of a Concert of the Magic Mystery tour show in a house in Buenos Aires. You can apply ahead and if you lucky the Hosen come to give a show and the fans possibly destroy all you have. I talked to many people who at least once tried it, but these gigs are quite precious. Getting inside this house was not possible, but through same delays in my taxi I arrived for the last few songs of the concert, which was totally sufficient for me. Except the drummer, everybody got outside of the house once and of course Campino climbed every fence there exist on the premises. Afterwards, a little party in front of the fence took place and once again a intercultural understanding with hands and legs. Knowing a few words of Spanish certainly made the situation even more fun and allowed me buying beer in the cioscos around, which was hard as for some reasons they only wanted to sell cold beer, but to understand this I almost failed.
Campino not only gave its best during the show, the aftershowparty he won against everybody!
In front of the fence, it was still cleanable afterwards, nobody know about inside
Wow Wednesday already, but still two more official shows to go! The German Hosen fans, organized a bus tour to the town of the next venue, La Plata, which is 1-2 hours down south from BA. Ive almost missed the bus, due to lets face it: Hangoverness but also Credit Card issues, during which I kind of realized how screwed you could be in a foreign country. But all worked out and with 1 hour delay and a busdriver who ask after 1 hour ride where he actually supposed to head we were almost at our first stop: The barbeque party in some Argentina´s house. The owner just decided to through a party for everybody who wanted to come and as it was somebody´s birthday the owner bought beer and steaks for the most of them. (unluckily no grilled cheese, but this time people were at least to buy warm beer in the Späti next door) So i tackled my hangover from last night with a few beers and it become a really nice get-together with people from all parts of society, ages and regions of Germany and Argentina. The good bye was a kiss for the woman living there for everybody and the last existing steaks as “Schnittchen” for later. When was the last time you invited 70 unknown people to your backyard and when it comes to cleaning up they all get in a bus and you give them food and beer for the road? Arriving in front of the venue the people once again couldnt even wait to party on and sang along the sound check inside which was with the song “Reisefieber”, so an old and popular one, this was promising. I dedicated myself to socialize and to the Späti´s around so once inside It starts to be more of a blur...I remember a few songs, some crowdsurfing, an amazing venue as very wide, once again energized Hosen, more beer(in cans btw) and a few special acts. Is there anything more to ask for? Claro, afterparty, but this is even more of a blur...With many more beer and whatsoever for everybody who was tired or just wanted to be sure to make it a good night we drove through la plata and some other parties over there...At some point i recall 7 people, from which I knew 1 slightly before but good times. At some point at 6 or 7 we returned to BA, I was already sleeping in the car for a while. But the others were still going strong not being tired at the moment. Such a day, no shower, one more sip of beer and straight to bed. I reckon I will never get closer to Punk rock than this before.
Days with the most drinks, usually the ones with the fewest pictures for me ;)
Next day started slowly, ended slowly but again a Coverband concert, Peru tied Argentina, so know it´s very interesting who is going to qualify and another day I made a nice tour through the party area of Palermo with two new friends. The show on Saturday was in a huge venue of 5000-7000 people. The living room of the Ramones, they said. Many other guest, setlist switched again and At least the first third of the concert everybody went crazy once more. With forgoing time, people got more relaxed and only half of the stadium jumped along..I mobilized my last strength and had an amazing time. Meeting people in the crowed I have met during the last week and giving them a possible last high five or smile.
Los hosen more or less announced the location of the aftershow party: the club we went the week before but I called it a night in some bar close to my hostel. A friend gave me his sweater to show once more how welcome I am here. Lots of promises of reuniting in whatever part of the world were mad and at some point I went home to my Hostel. I´m not sure if or when I will see this city and especially all those nice people again. But the times, friendlyness and in all kinds of situation and circumstances they gave me here will always be reminded in my brain and my heart. I now understand when los Hosen say they do not come for the music, they come to meet the people, I seldom received such a warm welcome of different people in various situations in several forms. As always I hope to be able to return the favor in a place where I can show people around and gave them a good time, but for now I can just say thank you!
rocknroll
last beer, this time for sure!
more impressions:
there he is!
street art
subway art
maybe next time Ill tell you about my first Spanish interview! ;)
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My Wings Tour Experience: Santiago, Saturday 11th
I had the chance to go to both dates. Since I’m from Argentina and I was going to spend all that money on travelling tickets and accommodation, I decided to spend all I could on the concerts as well lol.
I got second floor tickets for Saturday 11th and first floor tickets for Sunday 12th. The date on Sunday was supposed to be the first date of the tour, but the boys sold out the tickets in less than 5 hours and when they needed to add a second date the only choice was Saturday. Hence, the first date became the second. I was so excited both days that I kind of forgot some details, so I’ll try to remember as much as possible.
Something I would like to mention is that even though the show was in Santiago, there were A LOT of fans from different Latinamerican countries. I personally know around 20 other people just from my city (Córdoba) that were in the show, but there were a lot of ARMYs from Buenos Aires and smaller cities in Argentina. I also saw a big group of fans from Bolivia and then there were a lot of fans carrying Uruguayan, Paraguayan, Peruvian flags. The woman that rented the apartment me and my friends stayed in said that she owned 13 apartments and had 8 of them rented to ARMYs from a lot of countries, including Colombia (she was really surprised because she said that it was the first time something like that had happened to her, having so many people renting her apartments for the same date, from so many different places and all for the same reason).
I was also surprised to see that the media in Chile was covering all about it, and everyone I talked to in Chile seemed to know that we were there because of “that Korean band” lol. I even visited a different city in Chile (Valparaiso) after the concert and the Uber driver was like “Oh you are here for BTS right? people hasn’t stopped talking about it”. Bangtan is huge.
Saturday 11th
They started with Not Today. The moment when the music started playing and the curtain fell, the stadium went crazy. The one I remember to most from Not Today is Taehyung, because that bandana increases his looks a 3547%, it’s been proved by scientists, I kid you not.
After Not Today came the intro talk. The guys introduced themselves in English and Spanish. They just said “Hola” in Spanish and everything that followed in English. Yoongi did his classic taking-his-in-ear-off and listening to the cheers, but couldn’t help smiling because the cheers were seriously crazy.
Jimin tried to speak some English during the first talk, but nobody understood a word, his English was too broken. I’m not saying this as a critic, but more as something that happened because later during the show the guys kept laughing at him ‘cause it was clear that nobody could understand what he was trying to say but ARMYs would still cheer for him and the guys laughed harder at that haha. Hobi and Jungkook talked in English a lot. Kookie has improved SO MUCH, our boy has been studying hard, I’m so proud of him. Yoongi thanked us for coming to the show and then screamed “THANK YOU-SO- MUCH-ARMY” and then threw a kiss -Jin Style- and got all shy, it was the cutest thing ever. Hobi kept waving and smiling to the fans next to the stage. I’m proud to say that during the first talk people cheered for all the boys with the same excitement and you could see that they were kind of surprised with the loudness, we were really REALLY loud (if you know a Latino person, then you probably can imagine what an stadium filled with 20 thousand Chilean, Peruvian, Bolivian, Argentinian, Paraguayan, Uruguayan and Colombian fans can sound like).
There was a project to rise a banner and sing Happy birthday to Yoongi after they finished speaking, but everything was so fast that unfortunately we didn’t have the chance :/ as soon as fans were getting ready to start singing, they lowered the lights and moved on with the show.
The guys were perfect and on point on every single song after that. The crowd went crazy with Hobi’s solo during Baepsae. J-Hope was, to my opinion, the star of the night. Latinamerican ARMYs really love Hoseok and we showed it. We cheered really loud for all of them, but Hoseok got the biggest amount of screams. He looked so happy the whole night, it was priceless. I’ve never seen someone with a more beautiful smile in my entire life.
During his part on the bridge in Dope, Jimin didn’t sing. He just opened his arms really wide and did a few spins like he was Heidi on the hills, holding his microphone up high and listening to the fans singing. He smiled like he was having the time of his life; Park Jimin is so adorable I can barely contain myself and my love for this little cutie. He also made a heart with his arms when the song finished (damn camera man didn’t capture it alright xD)
They played a VCR and then Jungkook sang Begin, the first solo of the night. How this kid can sing and dance like that without missing a note is still a mistery to me.
Lie received a crazy reaction. The public sang along the whole song, and Jimin’s voice was amazing. The choreography is so good, the whole stage is so breath taking… as a Jimin biased, I was a little bit disappointed that I couldn’t see it as close as I would’ve liked, since the first day I was really far from the main stage and the second day I could only see chunks of it (I’m so short TT.TT people kept covering my line of vision, fuck my life honestly). I still could rely on the screens, but I didn’t want to look at the screens, I see BTS on a screen every day of my life. I wanted to see them with my own eyes even if it meant seeing them the size of an ant. You can watch my video here if you like. (I know the quality is shit, but if you listen with earphones you can listen clearly how loud ARMYs were singing).
First Love. Min Yoongi. The piano. The passion this guy has for music gives you chills. As part of the project for his birthday, fans were given other banners that we were supposed to raise during First Love. The silver one that says Agust D is my favorite, it’s really shiny and pretty. I hope Yoongi saw them.
During Lost, a group of fans held a huge sign that said “ARMY says SORRY” for the invasion of privacy the guys suffered when they went out to eat and during his stay at the hotel. Taehyung, Jungkook and Jin saw the sign (I’m not sure, but I think Jimin did too). I felt really sad for that. It’s really unfair that because of a group of disrespectful and inconsiderate people, Chilean ARMYs ended up looking so bad they needed to apologize to the boys during the concert. I think is a good thing that fans recognize when they do something wrong and try to fix it, but being honest, I’m sure that the people holding the sign weren’t the ones that did it. Chilean ARMY worked really hard organizing projects and even prepared a flyer with a “Manual to be a good ARMY” that specifically asked for people to have good manners and respect the boys. They even did a campaign about it like a month before the show. Unfortunately, there’s always selfish people that don’t think about the boys or the way they end up making their country look just for a picture.
Save me was flawless. I couldn’t take my eyes off Yoongi. No matter how much the boys like to drag his dancing skills, I’m no fool. Min Yoongi can dance.
During I Need U I felt like an earthquake was happening or something because ARMYs were singing so loud I swear everything was moving. Another prove I have of that is the short video I could record that was ruined because the sound was so damn loud that my stupid camera saturated the sound and all you can hear is the bass. But you can still notice how during the last part, the boys barely sang and let ARMY do all the singing. Jeon Jungkook jumped so high I was impressed. It was a very emotional song, but it was as if all of us felt energized and happy to see them perform this song that’s so important for all of us.
Reflection’s stage was so pretty!!! It was all full of stars, beautiful colors and feelings. Namjoon’s voice is so clear and beautiful and he didn’t need to do much more that stand there and hold his mic to own that stage. Kim Namjoon is so damn talented that I swear if yall don’t start appreciating him now, you’ll regret it when he’s even more succesfull and amazing than he is today.
Stigma was amazing as well. Taehyung reached his high notes like a goddamn pro and everyone went wild. My videos don’t make him justice at all, so I really hope one of the fansites got to film it. Tae really killed his solo stage.
Ok, now MAMA. I already said that Hobi was the star of the night, and I need to say it again. Jung Hoseok received so much love that after the concert finished, it was all me and my friends could talk about. Hobi shined so bright one of my friends even switched biases. She said “I always liked Hobi, but after seeing him with my own eyes he just escalated so high into my heart and there’s no way he’s leaving”. MAMA is a song that is so full of love and significance, but still has that cheerful thing that is so Hoseok that you can’t help feeling happy when you listen to it. Everybody was singing along, and when the lights went down during the bridge, everybody started chanting “J-HOPE! J-HOPE! J-HOPE!”. He does his rap acapella, the lights go up again and everybody was singing the Chorus like it was on Spanish. Hobi was definitely surprised. His smile was so SO big, you know that thankful and full of happiness smile Hoseok does? That was what was decorating his face at that moment. Then he started harmonizing while ARMYs kept singing “Hey MAMA, ijen naege gidaedo dwae eonjena yeope, hey mama…” and it was slkdfjskldf it was one of those moments that you need to live and share to know what I’m talking about.
youtube
Again, I hope one of the fansites got a recording of that moment because my video is not enough for my soul. You can watch it here. I know the quality is not the best, but the sound is not bad and you can clearly hear how great Hoseok voice was, how loud ARMYs were cheering and singing, how happy everybody was watching the sun shining on stage. To me, it was the highlight of the night.
After MAMA, and as if we hadn’t had enough quality performances that night, came AWAKE. Now, after how hyped and amazing Hoseok stage was I think it would have been hard for any other performance to follow it. Nevertheless, Seokjin owned it. Next time Bighit pulls any of the shit they do with Jin (like what happened with Not Today) I’m going to shove a copy of Awake up their asses because KIM SEOKJIN CAN FUCKING SING. When AWAKE started, everyone was singing along. Jin’s voice was so clear, stable and beautiful I felt like it was some sort of luxury to be able to hear it with my own ears. The whole stadium sang the song with Seokjin and by the second verse, Jin started tearing up. Yeap, our boy was crying. I always thought that it was a little impossible for international fans to make them cry (I guess I have an inferiority complex when compared with K-Armys), but I’m guessing Jin was moved by the fact that people was singing along with him and screaming his name with so much passion. Still, his voice didn’t crack for one second and he composed himself real quick. He reached his high notes like it was nothing and pretty much became the king of ballads, thank you very much.
youtube
Jin deserves so much more than we give him, I hope one day he can have his justice. I can’t wait to hear more of his songs.
Cypher was the moment my soul was cleansed, I gained like 20 years of life after that performance. Namjoon was totally excited, Hoseok looked like some sort of sexy gangster and I’m telling you, listening Min Yoongi rap “Fuck you and you” is a once in a lifetime experience, 100% recomended.
All the songs that came after that are kind of like a blur to me, I can’t remember much. I was so into the concert, singing so hard that at one point I remember that I felt my chest aching lol
I remember that fans tried singing Happy Birthday to Yoongi many times during the talks but for different reasons we couldn’t and everyone was so frustrated lol Who would’ve thought that it was going to be so hard? haha. I also remember that the guys did a talk in Spanish and we could barely hear them ‘cause fans wouldn’t shut up -.- Jimin was struggling so much, I couldn’t understand much of what he was trying to say, but I in a moment he did say one sentence really clearly and fans cheered extra loud for him and he said “HA!” on the mic, like he was super proud of himself and I died. Park Jimin is so cute, I kid you not, he’s smol, adorable and an angel. He really is an angel.
Hobi danced Boy Meets Evil and once again fans cheered his name so loudly, it gave me chills. Also, seeing him dance that choreo was extreme. He’s so good. I wish I could’ve paid more attention to B,S&T but I was partying so hard...
Then 2!3! happened. The stadium looked so pretty filled with all the banners. There was also a strong campaign encouraging fans to learn the lyrics to 2!3! and the lyrics of the chrous were printed on the back of the sign, but honestly, fans knew the lyrics <3
youtube
As later we found out, the sign had a typo lol but thankfully it wasn’t somehting that changed the meaning or anything, and the guys found it cute, so I think it was a success.
The sang Wings, played around and then finished with Spring Day. The choreo is beautiful.
The guys were extremely sweet. Also, I happened to see the whole thing about the giant ARMY Bomb haha. Yoongi saw it first. He started motioning to Hoseok and laughing like crazy and then the fans gave them the ARMY Bomb. Hoseok grabbed it and started ruuning around with the thing and Yoongi was running after him haha. It was super cute.
I don’t know if I’m biased or what, but I feel that the ones that enjoyed the show the most were Hoseok, Yoongi and Jungkook. RM and Jimin are a lot more composed, but super sweet anyways. Their voices sound so good live, like I died a hundred times listening to Namjoon’s English. Jin is a tease!!! He kept coming next to the borders of the stage and throwing kisses and winking and smiling and saghjsjhfd he’s so handsome. Personally, I felt like V was a little bit absent? my friend, a V biased said that it’s not that he was serious, but he was acting coy. I don’t know. I don’t remember much about him more than his amazing voice during Stigma, his killer looks with the bandana and that at one point he was dancing for some fans and I nearly died lol.
It was an amazing concert experience. I was bursting with happiness. I didn’t feel like I was watching a show from celebrities tho. It felt like I was watching my friends being awesome on stage, like they were this people i hadn’t seen in a really long time (even tho it was my first time seeing them ever) and after they left I didn’t feel so bad ‘cause I still had the show next day.
I will write an entry about the show on the 12th as soon as possible. That experience was a 100% different from the one on Saturday because I saw them up close. They are so gorgeous.
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World Cup 2018:
World Cup 2018:
World Cup 2018:
Roman Torres scored the late goal that sealed Panama’s World Cup spot, and celebrated with his manager Hernan Dario Gomez
England v Panama Date: Sunday, 24 June Time: 13:00 BST Venue: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium Live radio and text coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website
Damion Potter was appointed British Ambassador to Panama in August 2017 and has witnessed first-hand how the Fifa World Cup – and Sunday’s match against England – has gripped the nation.
Last October, two months after becoming British Ambassador to Panama, I was back in London accompanying a delegation of Panamanians to promote trade and investment.
As part of this, Panama’s Trade Minister gave a keynote speech to the City of London. I won’t forget his presentation in a hurry.
Only a couple of hours earlier Panama had qualified for their first-ever World Cup, with a last-minute goal against Costa Rica.
Unable to contain his enthusiasm, the Trade Minister opened with several replays of the goal which had already gone viral in Panama, showing it from every angle on the big screen while he jumped around the stage in front of a delighted audience who could see just how much this meant to him, and to his country.
He was not the only one celebrating.
Five thousand miles away, the party was still going strong in Panama City. As the match came to a close Panamanians spilled out onto the streets to the sound of reggaeton, fireworks and car horns as the entire country revelled in the team’s success.
President Juan Carlos Varela declared the next day a national holiday, recognising in his midnight tweet what was already visibly apparent: no one was going to work the next day.
Living and working in Panama showed me first-hand the passion and excitement their first World Cup meant and I was already looking forward to being in Panama for their games, but this was given an extra twist last December when they were drawn in the same group as England.
Suddenly all eyes were on not just the World Cup but how the team would perform against players which are household names in Panama.
Many here watch the Premier League – nearly every time I get a taxi in Panama the conversation inevitably turns to Manchester City, Manchester United or Liverpool and their recent victories or setbacks. This means the chance to face England in the World Cup has really captured their imagination.
Potter swapped shirts with Panama’s President Varela ahead of the match against England on Sunday
In the last few months I’ve been invited on TV half a dozen times to talk about football which has been a great opportunity to promote the UK to a wide audience across Panama.
This has seen me doing everything from wearing a top hat and tails at a tea party on a morning TV show, to offering my opinion on the best fish and chips!
Just a few weeks ago, Panama played Northern Ireland in what was their last home game before travelling to Russia.
Panama’s President had invited me to watch the match with him from his box in the national stadium. The atmosphere was electric; everyone in the stand had their own Panamanian flag, and the live bands made sure everyone was dancing through most of the game.
Panamanians know how to party and they were determined to send their team off in style – the game started 10 minutes late as the firework display just kept going.
The game finished a ‘diplomatic’ 0-0, which also spared me from another Panamanian tradition in the national stadium – if Panama score, everyone throws their beers up in the air in celebration and it’s impossible to avoid getting drenched.
Late last year I hosted an event to watch one of Panama’s first international friendlies after qualifying, against Wales in Cardiff.
Panamanians are passionate people, and with the win against Costa Rica fresh in their minds, emotion was running high as they faced a European side. They took heart from a 1-1 draw.
I’m sure if they can manage the same result against England they will be celebrating as if they had won.
And they have kept the party going since the start of the World Cup.
For the game against Belgium on Monday the country came to a standstill. No national holiday this time, but with the game kicking off at 10 in the morning local time, many people stayed at home to see it live; and most of those who went to work still managed to find a screen to watch it.
The streets were empty for those 90 minutes. On the TV coverage of the game, and with the Panamanians watching from here, you could see the pride that everyone took in singing the national anthem before the game.
People told me it was a dream come true to see the team standing there in the stadium.
Highlights: Belgium 3-0 Panama
Many thought they were still dreaming by the end of the first half, as they kept a clean sheet against Belgium. Although they ultimately lost 3-0, Panamanians were happy with their side’s performance against a team ranked third best in the world.
With hopes running high and seeing results such as Croatia beating Argentina 3-0, there is a belief here that Panama could come away with a point against England on Sunday, and possibly more against Tunisia the following week.
Diplomacy is a funny old game. I’ve spent the last year working to strengthen bilateral relations.
With football very much front of mind, President Varela found time to swap football shirts with the Foreign Secretary on his recent visit to the UK, where he also met the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers and the UK’s private sector to speak about UK-Panama relations.
We’re always looking for new and creative ways to engage Panamanians. The friendlies with Wales and Northern Ireland, and in particular the World Cup match against England, have been a gift.
On Sunday, I will host 120 senior Panamanian contacts for the match. I suspect I will be one of only a few wearing an England shirt. I will cheer loudly if the Three Lions win, although perhaps less so than if I were on more neutral territory.
One of the guests will be the Trade Minister who showed the City of London that incredible moment against Costa Rica.
He has promised me that, should Panama score, he will jump in the nearest swimming pool. I expect that would be just the start of the celebrations.
If Panama win, it will be an incredible place to be – unless you’re the British Ambassador.
BBC Sport – Football
ultras_FC_Barcelona
ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/6702/
#Barcelona
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'He started his trade presentation with football replays' - life as the British Ambassador to Panama
England v Panama Date: Sunday, 24 June Time: 13:00 BST Venue: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium Live radio and text coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website
Damion Potter was appointed British Ambassador to Panama in August 2017 and has witnessed first-hand how the Fifa World Cup – and Sunday’s match against England – has gripped the nation.
Last October, two months after becoming British Ambassador to Panama, I was back in London accompanying a delegation of Panamanians to promote trade and investment.
As part of this, Panama’s Trade Minister gave a keynote speech to the City of London. I won’t forget his presentation in a hurry.
Only a couple of hours earlier Panama had qualified for their first-ever World Cup, with a last-minute goal against Costa Rica.
Unable to contain his enthusiasm, the Trade Minister opened with several replays of the goal which had already gone viral in Panama, showing it from every angle on the big screen while he jumped around the stage in front of a delighted audience who could see just how much this meant to him, and to his country.
He was not the only one celebrating.
Five thousand miles away, the party was still going strong in Panama City. As the match came to a close Panamanians spilled out onto the streets to the sound of reggaeton, fireworks and car horns as the entire country revelled in the team’s success.
President Juan Carlos Varela declared the next day a national holiday,[1] recognising in his midnight tweet what was already visibly apparent: no one was going to work the next day.
Living and working in Panama showed me first-hand the passion and excitement their first World Cup meant and I was already looking forward to being in Panama for their games, but this was given an extra twist last December when they were drawn in the same group as England.
Pick your England team to face Panama[2]
England v Panama: Six things to look out for[3]
The ‘film star’ defender leading Panama’s England challenge[4]
More about Panama – country profile[5]
Suddenly all eyes were on not just the World Cup but how the team would perform against players which are household names in Panama.
Many here watch the Premier League – nearly every time I get a taxi in Panama the conversation inevitably turns to Manchester City, Manchester United or Liverpool and their recent victories or setbacks. This means the chance to face England in the World Cup has really captured their imagination.
<!–
In the last few months I’ve been invited on TV half a dozen times to talk about football which has been a great opportunity to promote the UK to a wide audience across Panama.
This has seen me doing everything from wearing a top hat and tails at a tea party on a morning TV show, to offering my opinion on the best fish and chips!
Just a few weeks ago, Panama played Northern Ireland[6] in what was their last home game before travelling to Russia.
Panama’s President had invited me to watch the match with him from his box in the national stadium. The atmosphere was electric; everyone in the stand had their own Panamanian flag, and the live bands made sure everyone was dancing through most of the game.
Panamanians know how to party and they were determined to send their team off in style – the game started 10 minutes late as the firework display just kept going.
The game finished a ‘diplomatic’ 0-0, which also spared me from another Panamanian tradition in the national stadium – if Panama score, everyone throws their beers up in the air in celebration and it’s impossible to avoid getting drenched.
Late last year I hosted an event to watch one of Panama’s first international friendlies after qualifying, against Wales in Cardiff.[7]
Panamanians are passionate people, and with the win against Costa Rica fresh in their minds, emotion was running high as they faced a European side. They took heart from a 1-1 draw.
I’m sure if they can manage the same result against England they will be celebrating as if they had won.
And they have kept the party going since the start of the World Cup.
For the game against Belgium on Monday the country came to a standstill. No national holiday this time, but with the game kicking off at 10 in the morning local time, many people stayed at home to see it live; and most of those who went to work still managed to find a screen to watch it.
The streets were empty for those 90 minutes. On the TV coverage of the game, and with the Panamanians watching from here, you could see the pride that everyone took in singing the national anthem before the game.
People told me it was a dream come true to see the team standing there in the stadium.
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Many thought they were still dreaming by the end of the first half, as they kept a clean sheet against Belgium. Although they ultimately lost 3-0, Panamanians were happy with their side’s performance against a team ranked third best in the world.
With hopes running high and seeing results such as Croatia beating Argentina 3-0, there is a belief here that Panama could come away with a point against England on Sunday, and possibly more against Tunisia the following week.
Diplomacy is a funny old game. I’ve spent the last year working to strengthen bilateral relations.
With football very much front of mind, President Varela found time to swap football shirts with the Foreign Secretary on his recent visit to the UK, where he also met the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers and the UK’s private sector to speak about UK-Panama relations.
We’re always looking for new and creative ways to engage Panamanians. The friendlies with Wales and Northern Ireland, and in particular the World Cup match against England, have been a gift.
On Sunday, I will host 120 senior Panamanian contacts for the match. I suspect I will be one of only a few wearing an England shirt. I will cheer loudly if the Three Lions win, although perhaps less so than if I were on more neutral territory.
One of the guests will be the Trade Minister who showed the City of London that incredible moment against Costa Rica.
He has promised me that, should Panama score, he will jump in the nearest swimming pool. I expect that would be just the start of the celebrations.
If Panama win, it will be an incredible place to be – unless you’re the British Ambassador.
References
^ next day a national holiday, (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ Pick your England team to face Panama (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ England v Panama: Six things to look out for (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ The ‘film star’ defender leading Panama’s England challenge (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ More about Panama – country profile (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ Panama played Northern Ireland (www.bbc.co.uk)
^ against Wales in Cardiff. (www.bbc.co.uk)
BBC Sport – Football
'He started his trade presentation with football replays' – life as the British Ambassador to Panama was originally published on 365 Football
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Text
Unit 2 Essay- Leveled
A mass of black and gold storms the turf. ‘Back in Black’ courses through the veins of every being within Kinnick Stadium. Fans are losing their voices screaming at the team. It’s game day. For the seniors, they try to cling to the field, close their eyes to let the humming of the fanfare enter their bones. The sophomores and juniors try and keep their cool; they’re on a Big 10 football team. This is the dream. Even as a bench player, anyone knows how to spot one of them on campus. They all have the signature black backpack with a tigerhawk on the back. The sport is printed under the tigerhawk: Football. Each individual player’s number is printed under. To top it off, a tag with their name, sport, and number hangs from the bottom. Athletes are easily spotted; the university wants to make them perfectly visible and have the entire campus recognize them as such.
The football players’ numbers are easily recognizable, and the first string players are akin to celebrity status. Their faces flash on the screen before kickoff, on calendars, and in every single promotional advertisement of Iowa. They are synonymous with Herky and the Old Capitol; they are the face of Iowa. While fellow students clamor to get the classes they need to graduate, the athletes are welcomed with a barren playground where there are no worries. Classes are empty just waiting for them to get their pick of the litter.
They came to Iowa for the sport they played, but also for the education they are blessed to save on. Scholarships stack on top of each other, and a burden left on the rest is lifted. Only what other students dream of and apply for for hours on end, they earn through their skills.
Trombone in hand. Flute. Drums. They are the backbone of the game. They make it. They know all the chants, how to act during a field goal when the Hawks are giving, and when the opposition is. If the team does well, the band travels with them. They are the marching band, largely overrated, but greatly appreciated by those who understand. They make halftime. They are the crusaders of the student section. Without them, the student section is misguided, messy, and devolve into anarchy. The band orchestrates them all. Every chant. Every cheer. Every boo. They wait for their okay, a cue to start. They’re the puppet masters, and everyone follows suit.
The student section. Bibs. Black and gold. Pride is the only emotion they feel. They are a student at the University of Iowa, and get to call the great IC home. They make a blow out feel like a championship, and a high scoring game like the Super Bowl. Instagram becomes plastered with posts about football season being their favorite, and how they tailgate harder than you party. High school seems eons ago, because that was nothing compared to the present. There was no ‘Crazy Town’ sing along at third down. ‘Back in Black’. Hype video before fourth quarter.
Lime green socks adon several students’ shoes. They’re involved in Dance Marathon, the biggest student organization on campus. This season, a new tradition began. After first quarter, the stadium turns to the hospital quite literally across the street from the stadium’s main entrance and wave to the kiddos on the top floor. The dancers were ecstatic to hear of this tradition, and ready to spread their love of Dance Marathon throughout the stadium.
Security keep their post around the stands and on the field attempting to curb the crowd. Everyone’s safety is in their hands; they reinforce the rules everyone attempts to dodge. They are paid to enforce informal laws, but are key in upkeeping Kinnick’s reputation and fans safe. They receive compensation not only for checking bags and keeping fans off the field, but get to watch the game like any other Hawkeye fan. The fans are safe, and they hold a form of valor if only for the duration of the game.
The coveted press box. The pristine bird’s eye view of the game, the way to watch a game so many people envy. Alec Giannakopolous joined KRUI as a freshman, and worked his way up to calling football games, his first being the home opener of the undefeated season. Before calling North Texas, the second game of the season, he sat at home watching the wave in awe. He recalls, “I didn’t think it would be as big a deal as it was, though. I didn’t think everyone would do it. You hear someone say something, ‘hey we’re gonna do this’, then the game happens and you don’t. To imagine the whole stadium do that at one time, it’s kind of incredible.” In his call of the game, he gave the backstory of Dance Marathon and let the sound of the stadium carry the broadcast. In his final year, he got to see a beautiful tradition, and he was on the radio to witness it.
He describes his view as the “second best view of it”. To watch from a bird’s eye view overseeing the fanfare is incredible, and an out of world experience for any average Joe. The wave is all in one direction, and there is the view on the top floor. The kids stand at the windows, waving down at thousands of Hawkeye fans, unbeknownst to them, they have their full support. The kids also wear black and gold just as if they were down below, and wave at every single person waving up at them. Their parents carry them so they can see better or hold their hand narrating what’s going on. Not only does Dance Marathon’s support for them overflow throughout the year, the whole community unifies as one after first quarter.
Iowa loves those kids. FTK is splattered across campus, backpacks, water bottles, T-shirts, and anything in between. They dance for twenty-hours, but can and fundraise all summer and school year long just to see a cure. Each family is rolled into one, and rolled into each family of every dancer. The hospital is one of the best in state, and specializes in pediatric oncology at that. The fanfare has finally found a purpose; it is all for these families who are held at the utmost nobility in Iowa City.
Showered in preferential treatment and scholarships, the players are the creators of the fanfare, the masterminds behind the magic. They work for the school, they work for the fans, and there is a question as to whether they should be paid.
The band is overlooked, underappreciated, and misunderstood. They create the fanfare, but only bounce off of what the team can give them. They are not as privy to the woes of the school, but more replaceable, and less valuable. They do not receive the same respect; they have no nobility compared to the team, though they may work side by side.
Hawkeye vodka is the worst thing on Earth. The student section is a product of a liquor store, and everyone’s words are slurred. Tailgating is a bigger culture than football, and all the Instagram captions are lies. Football season may be best season, but tailgating will always take precedent. Papers are due on Monday, and tests are on Tuesdays, but a handle of Hawkeye makes it all go away. Tailgating is the new deflection; it’s the newest craze to avoid responsibility.
The security guards are usually students who needed money and sacrificed their Saturday for everyone else. Their role is to only make sure drunk kids don’t die, and to get yelled at by middle aged moms with purses that are too big to go inside Kinnick. People try to take pictures on the field, and they get called dicks by someone whose breath smells like jungle juice. It’s especially worse when the crowd storms the field; they keep people from jumping on the goal posts even though it is futile.
“If you’re ever in a press box, the first rule is there’s no cheering in the press box. You do not cheer in the press box. … It’s unprofessional,” Alec explains. To think of football without screaming and cursing is to think of Iowa without corn. College students are forced to abandon instinct, much less, a football fan forgetting to act in their normal fashion. There is no place for being a fan in the press box. It is a necessary evil, but so contradictory to what it’s thought to be.
Standing at what seems to be the top of the world is actually the bottom of the totem pole. It’s symbolic in nature, to have a gesture where everyone stands in solidarity to support these families. It is not the glitz and glam and fanfare; it is reality for them daily. Any parent’s worst nightmare has come true; there is no beauty. There is beauty in the support, and beauty in hope, but there is no beauty in blind support or blind bandwagoning. They may sit at the top of Kinnick with the best view, but it is only on game day that this is the case.
Game day is a holiday, and each player has their role. The reality of it all is football may be more than two teams trying to score more than the other.
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