Kmusic: JTBCās ģķ¼ė°“ė(Superband) Review
Foreword:Ā SUPERBAND WAS AMAZING AND IT WAS EVERYTHING I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED IN MY LIFE. yup
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After binge-watching this entire program, I knew I had to write something about it. This show literally took my breath away, this show filled all my senses with overwhelming excitement, appreciation, and respect for every single participant, and the music, THE MUSIC, that came out of this show will forever be some of the most amazing songs I have ever heard in my life. But above all else, this show filled a void, an emptiness, a traumatizing, painful longing in my heart that has been needing some intense healing for a while now.
With all the things that have happened with my singer, Superband coming into my life and being the show it was, with all those amazing artists doing what they did, it was a literal blessing and I justā¦ā¦. I just cant believe they did THAT. They did it and it was AMAZING.
First off, whoever thought to make an audition program for MUSICIANS, SINGER-SONGWRITERS, ARTISTS, PRODUCERS, and just instrument-playing people AND VOCALISTSā¦ā¦.. you are a fucking genius and I am so glad that this idea never died in the shadows and was allowed to come to life on the screens.
What I found so poignant about this show from the get-go was how GOOD THESE AUDITIONS WEREā¦ these people came in being REALLYYYYY good at (presumably) one thing like the guitar, or singing, or the violin. These people each had their specialty, they were exceptional music-making people. No one was quite mediocre or ārookieā, each person had some pretty credible expertise or experiences with music, and that in itself, the fact that we got to start off with these sorts of contestants, is something ive never seen before.
I donāt want to compare to other singing shows or the Produce series or whatever else countless audition programs Korea has been churning out over the past years, but since Superband began with this concept, it was already a show that I knew I would LOVE. For the 2 times ive watched Produce, I was always so perturbed by these prepubescent pretty boys frolicking around on stage, barely being able to even pull off a simple note. I just thought so many of them were so TALENTLESSā¦. But who am I to judge.
I think it really just comes down to preference, and even though I knew very well that idols and k-pop are not even things I enjoy anymore, I forced myself through programs like Produce. But now, with Superband, I felt so HAPPY and glad to be watching and discovering such talented musiciansā¦THIS IS WHAT I WANTED ALL ALONG.
Even with the very first audition with Ha Hyunsangā¦ OMFG UGHhHhh THAT BOI IS SO FLUFFY but so good at the same timeā¦ I feel like each time I see him, I ACTUALLY just want to give him a hug :ā-(( the emotional depth in his singing is beyond describable and im SO PROUD TO HAVE WATCHED HIM GROW !!!!!!
Thatās another thing I really really realllyyyyyyy loved from this show........ it was the process of watching these people develop, mature, change,Ā growĀ with show. Some contestants went through some major growing pains, but it was so heartwarming to watch them improve, not that they were even bad to begin with. And the reversals!! Or the expansions?? The turnarounds?? The CONMEN!!!
AHHhhHHhhh okay im still very obsessed with the infinite amount of talent some dudes had, but before I get to that, let me continue on with those stellar auditions, aka the three genius guitarists, too ;_______; they. Are. So. Amazing. I love them a lot. I think I completely fell for them. And I hate myself. I hate to admit it a lot because I used to ALWAYS shit on dudes younger than me, I disliked basically every contestant on produce that was younger than ā99, I thought they were all useless young childrenā¦ but ź¹ģģ, ģ“ź°ķø, & ģķė¹, were a completely different story. I LOVE THEM!!! I always had a bias toward a man that could play the guitar wellā¦ but these guys holy moly, they blew me awayā¦ they are so exceptional at what they do and the fact that theyre still so YOUNGā¦ good lordā¦..my poor heart was so conflicted but ultimately so happy to have discovered them.
To watch these guys be thrown into that first 1:1 perf, and literally tearing up the stage and setting the bar VERY HIGH from the very beginning of the competitionā¦ phewā¦ my goodnessā¦. The talent with these kidsā¦ o myā¦. Okay yeah, nope im never gonna get over it. The āAdventure of a Lifetimeā stage will always be an iconic one from this program, and we all know it. Who knew a pure acoustic, musical performance, no vocals included stage would be so amazingā¦. I LOVE THEM!! Have I mentioned that yet?
Going back to the reversals/scamming thing... I guess this goes with watching some people growā¦ā¦. I want to give a holy and blessed shoutout to probably my favorite contestant out of this entire show: ģ ź“ģ¼ā¦.. he was such a dark horse. In fact, I donāt even remember his audition tbh because he was THAT not-memorable in the beginning LOL (or also.. I believe they never showed his audition to begin with)ā¦ but he quickly caught my eye as the eps went on because he came out of nowhere and whipped out all (or maybe not even allā¦) his skills like secret weapons, stage after stage.. he came in as a vocalist, picked up the bass for two the performances after that (all while still singing, too), although having never played the bass formally... and then once joining hands with Juhyeok and Yechan, he just miraculously becomes the drummer, because they ultimately decided that they needed percussion in their songs. So from thereon after, since āHold Back The Riverā, Gwang-il, to me, was literally GOD(ģ ) Gwang-il, as he played the drums and SANG TOOā¦..and may I add, hes not even that old?????? HES FRKING ONLY 2 YEARS OLDER THAN ME WTF;__; the boy got all these crazy blisters while perfecting the drums, but he didnāt let anything stop him and he was sucH A SOLID BAND MEMBER ALL THROUGHOUT, AHHHHHH MVP GOES TO SHIN GWANG-IL, YALLā¦.(also I just found out that hes a trainee from Mystic Story, aka Yoon Jong shinās agency aka the agency that Iāve been following for many many MANYYYY years now bc a lot of my favorite artists have come out of itā¦. Wow what is this fate)
And special recognition goes to Im Hyung-bin aka one of the 18 yr old genius guitarists bc he ā¦ oh myā¦. He frking became the pianist and singer by the end of the showā¦. Omfgā¦ yall.. HE is also another infinitely talented soul. AND HES EXTRA FRKING YOUNGā¦
Besides these two though, there were many many many manyyyyy other people as well that took up multiple instruments throughout the show, or even began singing, or just did EVERYTHINGā¦.I was so mindblown by this, im still honestly not over it at all.
Because like, is this normal?? Isnāt that so unprofessional?? Its already so crazy that this show already starts us off with NON-amateur musicians and artists. But then some of these dudes have never done any other things formally before they got thrown into it; they came into this show āspecializingā in something completely different, yet they jump onto the stage and do what they needed to, HELLA FRKING WELLā¦ā¦ so many of these dudes, you wouldnāt know that was his first time playing the bass, playing the drums, first time playing that piano, or first time being on the keyboard AND being a vocal, you wouldnāt know any of that unless they mentioned it, unless you watched the show and saw their story.
Because they all pulled it off THAT well.. these people that did these things for the first time ever while being on Superband, they executed their roles so well and showcased such wonderfully exhilarating talentā¦. IM SO BLESSED TO HAVE DISCOVERED SUCH AMAZING ARTISTSā¦.
That was one of the biggest feats of Superband for me. The limitless talent that came out of it. I LOVE watching people like this. Their passion for music fuels such undeniable skill and fervor, and when they step onto that stage, they are literally unstoppable. They made music that stopped my time, stopped my heart, in the moment, but literally MOVED me...i applaud these people so much. I really do.
Thinking back to it now, the number of stages that came out of this show was likeā¦. Countlessā¦. Likeā¦ A LOTā¦. Since episode 1, each stage was very well-produced and I truly enjoyed watching each one from the start. This show was just so jampacked overall, although I admit that sometimes it was arduous due to the GRIND that these people were on, presenting stage after stage after stage, and then listening to LOTS of feedback from almost each judge over and over and over, but it was still nothing short of musical masterpieces out there. I really appreciate how STUFFED, how FILLED TO THE BRIM, this show was with dynamic, enjoyable, exceptional performances (and words of valuable opinions & evaluations, too)
I can re-watch many of them, every day, for days on end. I loved it. And can we just talk about how impressive these dudes are for pulling off something new, for taking on a brand-new challenge with a brand-new set of members, time and time again, stage after stage, week after week, until we came down to the 6 solid bands in the last 3 episodes? They constantly had to work with new people, match their music preferences, fill spaces in their music where they didnāt exactly have someone they may have needed. They had to compensate, compromise, and ultimately DELIVER, at the end of it all. Multiple times. I donāt even remember how many rounds they didā¦ was it 4? I think they had 4 rounds of eliminations before they settled into their official bands. But still... its crazy impressive to think about how driven and flexible a lot of these artists were, to be creating, producing & then performing despite all the different teams they were getting put into week after week.
ANDDDDDD, despite all the odds up against them like the time crunch, the new collab of members each time, the potential lack of a missing instrument or sound, SO many of these teams still came out with self-written and self-produced songs!!!!!!! I mean, even for the cover songs alone, many were already re-arranging everything & basically turning them into new tracks. BUT WITH THOSE SELF COMPOSED SONGS??????????? Some teams literally started from scratch each time, but busted out some amazing tunes and lyrics and executed very very very impressive stages and IM JUST AKFJAKJFKJBSN howā¦. Are theyā¦.. soā¦. Talentedā¦ā¦ I still ask myself each time.
By far, the combo that took my heart and kept it for goodā¦.. LUCY ;_______;. I never expected to like Juhyeokās voice tbh, it was a little TOO weird for me in the beginningā¦ but watching him perform with Yechan and Gwang-il and Wonsang really brought to life his vocal potential for meā¦ that team is literally a combination made in heaven, they have all the right pieces to make ARTWORKā¦ their signature sound was so prominent from the very beginning and i was SO HAPPY when I saw that they stuck to the same exact members once the finale came around.
Before the winner was announced, I told myself very honestly that I didnāt even care who won because the two teams left over, Hoppipolla & Lucy, were already my two all-time favorite combinations of artists from the entire show, and I was already MORE than satisfied with all the wonderful music and stages that everyone had delivered up until that point anyway. But even with that, I was still thoroughly shocked when they announced Hoppipolla as the winning band LOL I gasped aloud. I thought that Lucy at least had a chance. Or like I guess, in my heart, I assumed that Lucy actually won.. LOL but they didnāt.
And in terms of the finale in general, I really would also like to address how I purposely tried really hard to avoid any spoilers and rewatching of performances on youtube before actually finishing the entire series. I tried like reallyyyyy hard, because I wanted to watch the program as thoroughly as possible without spoilers. I HATE SPOILERS. But oh the irony. It was in all in vain anyway.
Once I finally DID finish all 14 episodes, when trying to look for more information/reactions/articles/videos (initially searching in English), I actually struggled SO HARD LMAOOOO bc there was like NOTHING OUT THEREā¦ā¦..i should have known better; this show was definitely NOT catered to the intl. audience (yet?), especially because its in its first season still. There were probably like 2 articles max in English about Superband & it was just about its upcoming premier. Nothing about winners nor results nor anything else i was wary of, anyway. LOLLL THE INTL COMMUNITY DOESNāT CARE; or at least the intl population that DOES care about Superband, is probably reallyyyyyy smallā¦ā¦a reddit thread I found was the most substantial discussion I could find, comprised of a few comments max.
And so that brings me to how I always see a lot of comments begging for English subs and everything, but honestlyā¦ā¦.. all I have to say to yall is: LEARN KOREAN IF YOU REALLY WANT TO WATCH THE SHOW THAT BADLY !!!
If after all these years, I could pick up Korean to an extent where I can watch things raw, im sure others can do the same as long as they put their mind to it. Ive been really appreciating how far my skills have taken me LOL not trying to be THAT person, but I just know that if I COULDNāT read or listen & comprehend or type in Korean like I can now, I would be missing out on a WORLD of amazing stuff. E.g. superband. And if anything, I would like to think that this show helped me practice my vocab skills a lot more. Listening to the judgesā evals after each stage was really enjoyable: I learned plenty of valuable words out of THEIR words.
This show was phenomenal in that all the contestants had total musical freedom. It was soOOOOO refreshing to watch. They got to choose all their music & their teammates in a fair manner (maybe not so much their competition), but seeing them take their passions & what THEY wanted to do with music and laying that all out onto the stage, was so compelling!!! This freedom allowed for countless, ICONIC AF transformations and growth journeys for soooo many of the artists too!!!! I really realllyyyyyyyy loved watching some of them stepping WAYYYY outside of their comfort zones / the image that they originally came in with (e.g. HONG ISAAC HAAAAHAHHA, Jisang, Hyunsang!!), and also watching alllllll those multitalented āscam charactersā!!! HAHAHA, without this program being as open as it was, it wouldāve been impossible to be able to see such a myriad of sides to so many different people. I appreciate, I really do.
And I really really realllyyyy enjoyed watching all the behind the scenes of each performance as well!! Of course, its normal to give viewers some background story before each stage, but in Superband, we got to see some very raw sides of music-makingā¦.. these dudes literally lived like hobos in the recording studios, all disheveled and sleep-deprived human beans, but ceaselessly making music because thatās what they love. I liked watching teams try out a lot of different songs & styles as they searched for THE right one. And then we got to see the final result on stage after the countless discussions and trials behind the scenes. And these processes repeated for months on end. All the contestants are so commendable in this right. The grind was real, and the show didnāt try to hide that. I enjoyed this very realistic approach !!
At this point, after drowning myself in this show for a few days straightā¦ (those episodes are LONGGGGG, close to two hrs each) ive literally spent every night, and basically day, too, watching all the cuts that jtbc uploaded on youtube over and over and oVERRRRRā¦.. ive also been watching some Superband concert clips, from when the entire final 6 bands went on a domestic tour and performed together for several concerts!!
THAT OPENING STAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BLESS THOSE PEOPLE THAT CAUGHT IT ON CAMERA BECAUSE IT IS LITERALLY SUCH A PIECE OF MUSICAL HEAVEN, omfg the energy on that stage IS SOMETHING ELSEā¦ IF I WERE THERE IN PERSON I PROBABLY WOULDVE CRIED INSTANTLYā¦ā¦. lee juhyeok, kevin oh, chae bohoon, im hyeongbin, kim youngso, ha hyunsang, lee chansol, and kim woosung, all the guitarists/ vocalists lined up in the frontā¦ (hearing each vocalist sing a line each made my HEART HURT....I LOVE THEM SM) then the bassists, lee jonghoon, kim hyungwoo, kim hajin, jo wonsang, clustered up AND HAVIN A TIME all by themselves, and the three epic electric guitarists, yang jiwan, kim junhyeob, and Zairo, literally held SUCH stage presenceā¦ on the drums: kang kyungyoon all the way to the right, and red haired hwang minjae in the middle, and the super in-sync, traditional drum banging bois, choi youngjin, shin gwang-il, a-il, & jung gwanghyun, all 4 of them bouncing up and down in the back like intense oompa loompas LOL THEY LOOKED SO CUTE, and the string bois!!!!! Shin yechan & benji on the violin next to hong jinho on the cello; yechan and benji started off sitting down but as the song goes on they literally WENT AT IT HAHAHA as expected of two of the most high-energy musicians. On the piano, lee na-woo, the classic icon himself starting off the entire intro, and next to him hong isaac the transformation legend himself on the keyboard + his super distinctive voice!!!!!! And of course, d-pole with his much-expected little music break in the middleā¦.. in fact many of them got ICONIC solo time: kang kyungyoonās drumming part, kim hyungwooās super duper solid bass, minjaeās powerful beats, kim hajinās LOUD ass bass, lee jonghoonās legendary slap finger bass playing, jo wonsangās super ting-y, classic bass section, and yang jiwanās loud ASS ELEC GUITAR TOO, omg they were all so cute, pointing to each member & hyping them up as it was their few seconds to shineā¦.AND THOSE COLLECTIVE VOICES???? HEARING ALL THE VOCALISTS SING TOGETHER ONE BY ONEā¦ OH my gosh it was soooooo GOOOODDDDDDD.... just watching all those dudes literally have THE TIME OF THEIR LIFE on stage (literally an ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME), the energy was off the chartsā¦ I loveeeeee seeing them so happy, making eye contact with each other, jumping up & down, rocking out, laughing with each other, all while playing their instrument, so fervently, all 27 people on the stage, connected by one songā¦. Theres SO MUCH OVERFLOW of talent in one freaking place, that song sounded SO MASSIVE just thru the video I cant imagineā¦.. if I were actually there omfgā¦ thatās an actual BAND Like A HUGE FRKING BANDā¦ AHHHHHHHHHH a really legendary stage.. the finest of finestā¦ā¦I can literally watch this opening on repeat without getting bored because I just loveeeee the concept of all of them being together like that :ā)))
After watching member after member, team after team get eliminated, seeing them like this on one stage with such happy expressions and making a beautiful piece of music like that o MANNNNNNā¦. This showā¦ā¦ has really done something to meā¦
I appreciate every contestant SO MUCH and I wish I could watch everyone be together FOREVERā¦.because knowing how artistically talented each person is on their own, to watch them join together is like the avengers times 72737446352 or something, its just talent & skill plus talent & skill stacked onto even more skill & talents and just an INFINITE amount of potential AND THATā¦IS LITERALLY.. THE POWERā¦. OF A BANDā¦ā¦ā¦and of great ass music.
This show was GENIUS TO combine so many musicians from so many different backgroundsā¦but watching them work together to make pure art, that is so frking rewarding and heartwarming and I feel so blessed to have witnessed it all.
The genres and potential were literally limitlessā¦ā¦I think this is what encompassed Superband for me, this is what made me enjoy it SO damn muchā¦. I think ive finally run out of things to sayā¦ this piece of text is quite a mess, not very polishedā¦.. but I was hasty in recording my thoughts & emotions before they left me, so I tried my best.
My biggest regret with this show is that I didnāt watch it sooner. (what is really ironic is that it took me FOREVER to start the first ep, despite having tonssss of time on my hands... I had it open on one of my tabs for the longest time, but I lowkey grudgingly, eventually, forced myself to finally start it LOL..(thank god I rly did tho) I watched it 2 months after the finale, which isā¦ kinda late? If I had watched it while it was airing, all while I was still in korea, I feel like I wouldāve been EVEN MORE in love, even more fervent and passionate about everything. Digging thru old vids & watching things from contestants before they came out onto the show, seeing the artists they were, I couldāve easily gone and seen them myself probablyā¦ goddamnit I probably couldāve gone to the superband finale live show, if I had known.. I COULDVE VOTED IN REAL TIME... not that I couldāve brought myself to do it anyway, probably lolā¦.. but basically, if I had known of this show WHILE I was there with themā¦ I donāt know, I couldāve been a lot more active as a fan, I feel like..
Now im back to my original roots: crying in front of my laptop screen and tap-tapping away at my keyboard as a I rant to no one but myself. Being in korea made my appreciation for all kinds of artists, all my beloved ones, EVERYONE, a lot more tangible.. but being back in Americaā¦ it all becomes hidden into the depths of my heart, once againā¦
PHEWā¦ā¦I think now is a good time to mention my favorite stagesā¦ as I mentioned before, the Lucy AND pre-Lucy lineup will always hold a really special place in my heart so basically all my faves include their stages LOL
āSwimā cover by LUCY(ģ ģģ°¬, ģ“ģ£¼ķ, ģ ź“ģ¼, ģ”°ģģ)
āHold Back The Riverā cover by ģ ģģ°¬, ģ“ģ£¼ķ, ģ ź“ģ¼
āAdventure of a Lifetimeā cover by ģ”°ģģ, ź¹ģģ, ģ“ź°ķø, ģķė¹
āėźµ¬ ģģā cover by ģ¼ė¹ģ¤, ė°ģ°¬ģ, ģ ź“ģ¼, ź°ź²½ģ¤
āģ ģ ā by LUCY
'Castle on the Hillā cover by ģģ¼, ķķģ, ė
øė§ė, ķģ§ķø
ā1000xā cover by ģģ¼, ķķģ, ķģ§ķø, ź¹ķģ°
āOne More Lightā cover by HOPPIPOLLA(ģģ¼, ķķģ, ķģ§ķø, ź¹ģģ)
āCry Birdā cover by LUCY
āViva La Vidaā cover by ķķģ, ķģ§ķø, ź¹ģģ
āFlareā by LUCY
āFind You Againā by People on the Bridge(ģ“ģ°¬ģ, ģķė¹, ź¹ģ¤ķ, ź°ź²½ģ¤,Ā ź¹ķģ°)
My favorite funny moments:
āģ“ź² ė¬“ģØ ģ§ģ“ģ¼!!?ā - mellow kitchen (the stealing of the 3 kiddo guitarists)
āokay letās be honest, you canāt even hear the bassā - shin hyunbin 2k19
ģøė³“ ķ
Hyunsangās fam: ģģ¼ the mom, ķģ§ķø the dad, ź¹ķģ° the hyung
āidk if im allowed to say this but it looked like zombie movieā - yoon jongshin, as they all gathered around the cello man
āI thought to myself, isnāt that cello expensive tho..ā - yoon jongshin as youngso slapped & tapped jinhoās cello for percussion
Ah-ilās iconic castle on the hill pose
Zairoās luck with member choosing lmao
HONG ISAKāS DANCING in āTime of My Lifeā LOLLL IT GETS ME LAUGHING EACH TIMEEE (& all his nicknames, like eungalchi lmaooo)
Benjiās āYO-RO-BOON HAM-KAY HEY-YOā during āWoo-ingā
Gwanghyunās ādo-doom-takā
Gwanghyun calling Gwang-ilās drum skills equivalent to that of a middle school bandās LOLLLL
**I watched Moneās radio appearance on Arirang Radio where Benji is the host, and they were an absolute MESS LMAOOOOOO THEY WERE HONESTLY ALL REALLY FUNNY THOUGH.. they kept roasting the crap out of each other and laughing their asses off and manā¦ it was gr8 time and it was really cute to discover that Hong Isaac is now a part of one of Benjiās radio shows too!
One important question I have for this show though: where tf did all the females go? Why was there no female presence at all in this show, I have no clueā¦ā¦ :/
At the end of the day, this show reminded me once again, how to feel happy and excited because of music. how to let great music fill my life with undeniable joy. Being able to look forward to listening to these songs every day, definitely had lifted a small part of me that has been down for all too long. I really appreciate, I am very grateful for, I justā¦ im so thankful to have discovered this show & all its wonderful masterpieces & the beautifully, magically, PASSIONATE artists behind it allā¦ā¦ā¦. I needed this in my life at this point in time, I really did.Ā
Thank you for coming to be, Superband.
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Non AUs/Somewhat Canon
Unequivocal - This is how it would have happened. 38k
Hear Me Out - Itās not so much the turning into a girl thatās a problem; thatās happened before. Itās the fact that Frank doesnāt turn back. 23k
Okay but this ā¦ Ā was so much more than I could have hoped for. Definitely raised the bar for everything else.
Ice Cubes And Rubber Bands - āItās hot.ā
āShut up.ā
āItās so fucking hot and Iām melting.ā
āYouāve said that like fifty fucking times in a row now shut the fuck up and stop whining!ā Frank grits through his teeth, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
āItās not my fault that we are stranded here in the middle of fucking nowhere, Frankā, Gerard says, a bitchy undertone in his voice. It almost sounds like heās trying to pick a fight. Frank takes a deep breath and closes his eyes; itās too fucking hot to deal with Gerardās allures right now. 7k (if you include part two)
Breakdown on the L.I.E. - Frank jerked awake when his dream was interrupted by a squealing banshee, which turned out to be the van grinding and squealing to a halt. 6k
every man - āI won'tāweāre a band, Marc,ā Gee says, āIām notāshit. Iām not the girl who stays home.ā 1k
with the lights on - Frank is weirdly chivalrous in some ways. He always opens doors for her, he lights her cigarettes like heās in a forties movie or something, and he always offers her the last seat, even if it means that he has to sit on the floor. 10k
Sparkle Motion - For the next week, Gerard woke up every morning to a new list of Words that Describe how Gerard is In Bed pinned on the fridge. It disappeared after one of them wrote, āSparkle Motionā because, Bob explained to Gerard, they felt theyād nailed Gerardās essence with that one. 6k
A Natural Reaction to Rough-housing - He made it to the bathroom and stood there leaning heavily on the sink, staring at himself in the mirror. He didnāt look like a creepy sadist. But neither did Christian Bale, and that hadnāt ended well for anybody. 27k
Sweet Caffeine (and Love of Liberace) - In which Brian tasered them into it, Gerard read too many comic books as a kid, Jamia isnāt worried about anything, and Bob doesnāt wear a codpiece. 4k
Now Honey, Donāt You Cry - Frank has always had an irrational fear of thunder, but when it causes a breakdown beyond that of āirrational,ā Gerard vows to find the truth. 6k
Pavlovās Dog - Itās during one of their coveted hotel nights that Frank finally has enough. 1k
Reaching Through The Mirror - The one where Party Poison and Basement!Gerard have sex. 5k
(part one of Time Travel āverse)
James Cameron Got It Wrong - In which 2005!Frank and Fun Ghoul get it on. Then Frank accidentally winds up in 2019. 56k
(part two of Time Travel āverse)
Whatever I Want (Whatever That Is) - The first time Frank walked in on Gerard going down a girl in the dressing room, he was pissed. 9k
Distance in the Afterlife - Gerard comes out. 15k
The One Where Ray Can Hear Sex Dreams - Iām really sorry, Mr. Toro. But I didnāt make you have sex with anyone, as per your request. 2k
Heart On - From early days touring in vans to Projekt Revolution, the tour crew swears that theyāre not homophobic, they just donāt want to see that shit. Frank takes it as a personal challenge. 13k
I died laughing like 17 times.
Just A Spoonful - Itās actually something of a relief when Frank walks onto the bus to find Gerard learning how to sabotage a car. Itās better than the last time, anyway, when he was trying to snort coke through a rolled-up condom wrapper. Or the time before, when he was passed out in a pile of glass shards. All things considered, wrecking random cars would be a step up for him. 1k
When I Think About You (I Touch Myself) - Van!era bodyswap. Gerard is a narcissist. 2k
Youāre so cute when youāre slurring your speech - If this is what Frank wants, then fuck it. Just fucking fuck it. Frank can have it.(Or, Frank wants to bone Gerard. So he does. A lot.) 8k
Ride - This is the coolest place the band has ever stayed at. 15k
jerseymisery wrote this description: āokay this is an ULTRA FAVE!! the whole fic has such a dreamlike sort of quality to it? it gives me such great vibes of like summer and transience and SHIT LIKE THAT.. itās set during bullets iām pretty sure which is. COOL. it just feels like a snapshot, a moment in time.. i really like it. go read it! itās frank x gerard and mikey x an oc.Ā
ierohero's write-up:Ā https://ierohero.tumblr.com/post/188897569757/im-reading-ride-again-theres-literally-no
Link to author (they also wrote some fics below)
Sick - It was sort of sick, since Frank was, like, younger than his little brother, but Gerard had wanted to kiss him from the very first second he saw him standing up on stage and smirking into the microphone.
āWhoās that?ā he asked Mikey.āThatās Frank,ā Mikey whispered back, like it was some big secret or something, hissing the words into Gerardās ear. āThatās the guy I want you to meet.ā
āFigures,ā Gerard muttered. It just fuckinā figured that the first guy heād wanted to fuck in, like, a semester would be the one Mikey wanted for the band. 5k
Broke - Frank is sick. A companion piece to Sick. 5k
Fucked Up - Itās hard to describe the multitude of ways in which Frankie is fucked up, although Gerard keeps trying. He lies in his bunk at night listening to the other members of the band breathing, soft radiator hisses, the occasional snore, and tries to enumerate to himself whatās wrong with Frankie. He thinks that maybe if he can figure out what the problem is, he can fix it. Heās always been sort of an optimist. 1k
Reasons We Donāt - āWhy donāt we fuck?ā Frank asks, tipping his head back to blow smoke at the sky. 7k
subterfuge of tiny proportions - It usually takes Gerard hours to wind down from a show.
He has this crazy wired look in his eyes when they come offstage, all sweaty and flushed and jittery. He touches people more, talks a little louder, a little faster. Even now, even after all this time, it still gets to him. The nervous energy, the screams of the crowd, the music.
Frank watches him every night, because when he is like that, heās beautiful. And because when the stage buzz wears off, he crashes, hard and fast. 1k
He Told Me I Could Never Go Back - Everything was fine until Frank disappeared. 2k
this broke my heart.
Up Against Your Will (HERE is the chapter index) - Stepping into a world so different from their own, Frank and Gerard struggle to survive. 18 chapters
this was amazing, but also hard to read in some parts, bc of the non con and gore :/ not my cup of tea, but I did love the word building and the fic overall.
When I Was a Little Girl -Ā Frank is a dyke. Period. She doesn't like boys. At all. But if you squint (or you're drunk enough) sometimes Gerard totally looks like a girl. 26k
Silken - Gerard can't help but notice the way Frank bites his lip and shifts in his seat when an interviewer brings up his day in drag. Frank's almost normal when he nudges Gerard with his shoulder, raising his hands in the air and laughing, "Oh, yeah. Man, you should have seen him - like Christina Ricci, you know?" but Gerard can still see the imprint of his teeth on his lower lip and files that away while he relates the story about how the conductor was really nice to him and how he'd managed figure out how to sit without crushing anything vital by the end of the day. <1k
Pushy Little Fuck -Ā "Anyone ever tell you, Iero, that you're a pushy little fuck?" Gerard says, rearranging Frank against his side.Ā
Frank just grins at him and says, "S'my middle name."
Frank Pushy Little Fuck Iero. There's a song in there somewhere. 1k
The Kind They'd Like to Flaunt -Ā When Frank first meets Gee, officially, it's because Ray saw Frank from across the room and put him into a headlock to get him over to his booth. 1k
How Dirty Boys Get Clean -Ā Gerard stinks. Frank convinces him that bath time can be such fun. 1k i think?? maybe 2k
Under My Skin -Ā "Maybe," Gerard had said one night, scratching idly at Frank's scalp, "it was something you ate?"
"Maybe," Ray said, "it was some kind of sex pollen."
Frank growled and said, "maybe if you don't shut up right now I'm going to kick your ass." 1k
Body of a Venus (lord, imagine my surprise) - Gerard is dressed like a girl and decides to pay Frank a visit. 1k
āNever Looked Better And You Canāt Stand It -Ā For once, Frank is the self-consciousĀ one. 1k
In the Dark -Ā The problem wasnāt that Gerard was stupid; the problem was that he wasnāt always the most observant guy around. Sometimes he just misses things that maybe he should have noticed. He hadnāt thought anything of it the first time Frank had pushed his hands out from under his shirt and said, āIād rather touch you.ā
(Or the one where chubby!Frank is really self-conscious and avoids having sex with Gerard with the lights on.) 2k
Jane DoeĀ - Frank meets a mystery girl at a party. When she turns out to be not such a mystery (and not such a girl), heās forced to make some hard choices. Set in fall 2000. This isnāt an AU, but some details have been changed.Ā 9 chapters
This fic, manā¦ this ficā¦ An amazing read (though unfinished). Really shows how unbalanced affection and care can be, and leaves you uncertain yet hopeful for their relationship. Hereās an excerpt:
āThe heatās on as high as it goes,ā Gerard said, glancing over with concern. Frank wondered if Gerard would have noticed his trembling if they hadnāt been making out feverishly just a few hours beforehand.
Edit 22/10/2019: I just found out there was a ninth chapter?? Holy shit okay lets go.
Moonlight Model - Frank's a photographer. Gerard's a model. Only not really. 1k
Pack -Ā Frank's a very playful werewolf. 1k
I Wish I Were A Ghost - Halloween is Frank Iero's birthday. It's also the day when the veil between the world of the living and the dead is at it's thinnest.
A ghost-story. Short and sweet. 1k
Immutable - Frank and Gerard are sitting in bed, talking about frank's tattoos, and it's beautiful. 1kā
Curl - Gerard finds Frank tied to the seatbelt in the back of their tour van. Sexytimes ensue. 2k
no sleep -Ā Gerard looked terrible, hollow-eyed and sweaty, and it was still only just after midnight. <1k
the second time the band saves gerard's life - āsoberty fic. 1k
Half the Battle - People tend to assume Gerard is an alpha. Frank knows better. 1k
AfreshĀ -Ā As much as Frank tells him there's never been a time he didn't love Gerard, Gerard knows Frank definitely doesn't miss the days when he could sometimes smell him from the other room. 1k
Just BecauseĀ -Ā By the time Gerard asked Frank to join the band, the only answer Frank had left for him was yes. 4k
Holding Out For An IeroĀ -Ā When Frank gets his chestpiece, he doesn't have sex for a week. 5k
An Inexplicable Occurrence of Angels - 35k
This was on my Fics-I-Canāt-Find-list, and since this one doesnāt have a description, Iāll just paste in what I could remember from reading it last year: ā
My Chem (minus Frank) broke up after Revenge. One day Frank kinda shows up (can't remember how). Frank's an angel with big wings and is hopelessly clueless about the world, so the rest or My Chem have to help him. They take him on walks and it looks like he has a hunchback bc of his wings. I think Frank doesn't even know any words in the beginning, but he learns english quickly. Loves watching movies. Everyone in My Chem basically crash at ray's place bc of Frank. And they're all Hey... maybe we should pick up the band again...?Ā
UPDATE: okay i just reread it and itās sooooo good holy shit. especially the last chapter. there was a comment on AO3 about how they would come back and reread the last chapter over and over again because it made them so happy. thatās probably what iām gonna do from now on.
A NecessaryĀ RequirementĀ - description byĀ jerseymisery ... i think:Ā āitās like a warped tour fic i believe, god itās so fucking funny, the dialogue is gr8.. basically the whole fic is frank wanting to know what gerardās dick looks like okay dhgvjsdghg. 3k
Twenty Percent Down -Ā We're rock stars," Frank says firmly. "We're not moving back to live in our parents' basements."Ā 7k
House hunting!
"What's your credit rating like?" he pants out.
"I - what?" Gerard stops mouthing Frank's skin and lifts his head up.
^ Never fails to crack me up.
One HundredĀ PercentĀ - (Almost. Maybe.) -Ā Frank sighed. "I'm playing tonight," he said, firmly. "It is a fucking sore throat. Luckily, I am not the lead singer. I can play my fucking guitar with a sore throat. I can play it with my eyes closed. I am fine." (11,400 words of, you know, Frank being sick. A LOT.) 11k
Raspberry Swirl - The time that the whole band woke up as girls was maybe the weirdest. 16k
Away With The Boys In The Band - Behind the Music: My Chemical Romance, in the world where Mikey has always been a girl. 69k
Ship(s): Mikey Way/Otter, Mikey Way/Gabe Saporta, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, Mikey Way/Alicia Simmons
^ I could not put this down. The writing is so so so spectacular, and the dialog is both interesting and realistic. A lot of angst, but still hilarious at parts. Please read.
Update because I need to add some things: Listen! Words can not express how obsessed with this fic I am. I made a mixtape for it. Fanart. Currently working on a ebook version of it so I can print it out. Guys. You do not understand how fucking fantastic this fic is. Donāt scroll away from me, Iām serious! Fucking click the link dammit. Click it. Cāmon. Iām waitingāclick iiiiit. You back yet? Yeah? What did I tell you! I know, it is amazing! You okay? Got tissues? Good. Okay now go wash your face and eat a snack. No, no, no need to thank me, the pleasure was all mine.
Any Way You Want - āGee Way is fronting early MCR when Frank spots them in a shitty bar and immediately finds himself immersed in the energy of the music; not to mention the addictive personality of the lead singer. 18k
āSucker Bet - Since Frank's currently got a sloppy handful of Gerard's hard-and-getting-harder cock, oops kinda seems like an understatement. But Frank's a practical kinda guy. 2k
A Helping Hand - Frank just wants to be able to jerk off. He doesn't think that's too much to ask. 6k
Frank the Failiest Vampire - Frank's a vampire, and he's finally ready to let the world know. 0.9
a not!fic
Three Sharp Bites - When Frank had imagined the joy of finally finding a helpless thrall who would tilt back his neck for him, displaying the jugular with a undertone of love and utter submission, he didn't really expect it to include the joy of being bent almost in two while his mate fucked the living shit out of him. 0.7k
part two of Frank the Failiest Vampire. This isnāt a not!fic though.
Fantasy Book -Ā This was really, really not normal behavior for Gerard - not for real, normal Gerard, and it was even a little abrupt for the imaginary Gerard who lived in Frank's head and came out during his Special Alone Times with his dick. 16k
The Year of Living Safely -Ā Post-sobriety MCR. This is as much about me and my own brother as it is about the Way boys, and Christ was it hard to write; it brought a lot of painful things to the surface. 12k
Incredibly painful but worth a read. Or ten. One-sided Frank/Gerard.
second word, one syllable -Ā Prompt #60. Frank loses his voice and has to use notes, texts, charades, etc. to communicate. 4k
More Than He Can Say -Ā Frank doesn't know what it is about tonight. 2k
I've Got Friends in Closed Spaces -Ā Written for the no_tags challenge for the prompt of 'accidental frottage.' Set in the middle of a tour, vaguely 2004. 4k
itās the hide-and-seek fic! iāve been looking for this for an eternity.
āFirst Class - Gerard is totally disturbed, because he's sort of obsessed with making Frank drool. 1.6k
Party Games (Eureka!) -Ā Gerard has awesome ideas. 2k
MCR: untitled no.1 -Ā Gerard plays piano in the loosest sense of the word - plays, with fingers stuttering a little in the air above the white keys and even more over the black ones; body hunched over and shoulders tucked in as soft lines form between his eyebrows. Zero-point-something k.Ā
and hereās another piano drabble by the same author!
just like it was - Basically, I had this really urgent desire to write about Gerard's high school reunion. <1k
love on the webways - As a writer, Grant supposes he could have considerably worse habits than trolling his own message boards.
A totally ridiculous AU vaguely inspired by You've Got Mail. 32k
Grant/Gerard
This was so fun to read! Itās a what-if-they-broke-up-after-tbp fic btw.
you weaseled your way into my heart (and ferreted out my feelings) -Ā You gotta watch out for those bands with umlauts. 5k
Reverberation -Ā Frank feels like he just fell off the stage, staggered directly from the lights and out into the long hallway backstage, tipping over into the momentary quiet. 1.5k
Not a Pretty Girl - 28k
Gen. Always-been-a-girl fic featuring kick ass female drummer, Bob Bryar. The story is a series of shorter fics all about her life before MCR, growing up as a woman in the Chicago scene, touring with The Used, joining MCR and everything that comes with that. It's awesome. + art!
I Am a Patient Boy - So this is an AU about Gerard being a girl named Helen (after her...grandmother?) and Frank being sort of, head over heels. 5k
āHe goes to the next show alone. Itās in this basement club, red-lit and smoky. Frank stands on a chair at the back of the room. Over everyoneās head so he can get a good look.ā
This fic follows Frank as he leaves Pencey Prep and joins My Chem in 2001. The author changed a lot of details though, so I recommend thinking of it as an AU in how the band formed. Unless you want to yell at your screen at 1am for it getting the timeline wrong (like I did).
Not Smashing Windows - In the beginning, they were the scene. An origin story. 32k
From Gabeās POV, and itās done flawlessly. It somehow emulates the same feeling one gets from stumbling across an overlooked short film at three a.m. on youtube. The one you canāt help but wonder about, how it is that youāve never heard about it before. Like it is in its own bubble of existence. Feeling afraid to even breathe or look away, afraid that itāll disappear at any time, that it was too good to be true. Something you shouldnāt be able to hold in your hands. This fic feels incredibly personal to read. Gabeās longings of intimacy, the hopelessness at parts. I could feel my fondness for the characters grow enormously in this fic. The wording and conversations and scenes paint a brilliant picture that will stay with you for a long time. I know it will for me at least.
Ship: Gabe Saporta/Mikey Way
For a Different View - AU. Ray Toro is a girl, Rae, but MCR is still just MCR. 49k
The first time they went over to Mikey's house, Mikey tossed her a beer and said, "My brother might come up. Maybe not, though. He gets weird in the middle of projects." She found out what he meant halfway through Dawn of the Dead, when a bundle of black fabric barreled from the basement door to the refrigerator and back down to the basement without saying a word to either of them.
I need to finish this!!! But āgah. Such awesome awesomeness.
Ship: Ray/Mikey
Double Exposure -Ā āThe worst part was the confession. Well, the explanation sucked too.āĀ Written for prompt 38. Frank/Mikey - Frank and Mikey bodyswap during tour and have to play shows as each other. 2.5k
Frank isnāt part italian in this fic. Heās part alien! :D
Ship: Frank/Mikey
Anti-SexĀ (It Comes Around remix) -Ā The first time Frank ever really talked to Mikey's brother it was at a house party somewhere in the shitty part of the Oranges. Before that, Gerard was just Mikey's weird older brother. In Frank's mind, their interactions were always relative to Mikey, spinning out from him, Mikey first, Gerard a trailing but connected afterthought. At that party, though, Mikey's brother was a little buzzed and cheerful with it, talking with a charisma and charm Frank hadn't seen before.Ā
Hereās a v 2018 relevant part:Ā āHey, you bring me my voter's registration, I swear I'll turn it in."Ā "You're not even registered to vote?" Gerard said, and brought a hand up to run his pinky across his eyebrow like it was all just too much, and Frank laughed.Ā
Crooked Crown - There's always a voice in the back of Frank's head, tiny and barely registering after years of shrugging it off, but still present nonetheless. It says things like, this is a bad idea, and it's satisfying now, but there'll be consequences later. Or, this is the line and you're about to cross it. Someone had once said that Frank had no conscience, which wasn't true because hi, voice in his head. He totally did have a conscience - it was just that he wasn't much of a slave to it.
In any case, the voice dampens out even quicker than usual this time and he's then free to scribble 'BALLS' in Sharpie over each page of Gerard's brand new issue of Hellboy before stuffing it back underneath the seat to be discovered later on. 4k
āThe next day they're in Austin, and it feels like an armpit. Mikey walks around with his fingers splayed out, trying to prevent any part of his body from touching anotherā
^ Ah Mikey, never stop being so relatable.Ā Anyway, this was hilarious. I love how petty both of them were. Poor Ray with his head in his hands!
Rappelling Down Mount Vesuvius - 1k | Gen
I love reading little snippets of their lives like this. Just the right amount of fluff and backstory for something bittersweet and hopeful.
down to the water - Things were better than they were a month ago, hell, a week ago, but that wasn't saying much. A week ago, Gee was stumbling drunk on a stage in Japan and puking so much Frank had honestly been afraid she was going to die. So, while her over-caffeinated, white-faced sobriety of today was a welcome change, Frank still felt like they were all on the edge of disaster, that everything they'd worked so hard for could still collapse around them. 10k
New Rule - Pitch-black basement sex. 2k
Frank is jammed in between Gerard and the wall. He made Gerard check the entire basement for spiders before they turned off the crazy-bright fluorescent strip light, but heās still wrapped himself up in the blankets like a burrito, jamming the edges under his body until heās fucking airtight. āIf you stretch youāll pull the blankets out,ā he says, muffled because his face is pressed under Gerardās chin. āAnd then the spiders will get in, and then Iāll have to kill you.ā
Oooh nooo, they have to share the bed. [cackles loudly]
Kiss The Bottle -Ā A drunk wizard slips Frank a love potion while the band is in between tour dates. Chaos and mischief ensues. 35k
An impeccable casting of the wizard, I must say. lol
Don't Fear the Reaper - Gerard's not the greatest with faces but there's one that keeps crossing his path that he can't ignore. 4k
THE SCENE IS DEAD - 20k
Canāt remember who wrote this description (itās on my to-do list) (was it disenchanted?) but THEY PUT IT INTO WORDS: āI don't know how to begin to describe this one... It's written in an unusual format - ie. a lot of it is told through newspaper articles and webpages but it's one of those super haunting fics that stays with you for days. I don't think there are any triggers listed so be warned there are character deaths and supernatural stuff.ā
And I really donāt have more to add. I donāt even want to say anything more because honestly for this fic, the less you know the better. For me the experience of reading it was made a hundred times better just by the emotional rollercoasters I was put through. Lol. Trying to figure out what was going on/going to happen next was really fun.
Candy Cane Vodka - "Yeah, Mikey, you accidentally made fucking peppermint Everclear. Congratulations and all, but Jesus Christ."
Mikey gets an idea on the road after finding a bargain bin book on homemade infusions. Experimentation follows, and Yuletide chaos ensues.
ngl... iām tempted to make that vodka mixture
Ships: Mikey/Ray, Frank/Gerard
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