Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => General Discussion => Topic started by: mare on June 14, 2017, 03:55:31 PM
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Just a continuation.. .
If I can think of a new question, I'll put it here. For now, I got nothing lol
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Continuing the thread from the last one, when I work on a new chapter I go back and read the older chapters sometimes it helps with the flow of the story.
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I have to do that too, or I would probably forget things I'd written earlier in the story and lose some of the continuity. If it didn't take me so long to finish a story, it would probably be easier to remember all the details LOL. I also like to sit on chapters for at least a day or two so I can re-read them before I post them (but not right after finishing them) because I'm more likely to revise that way.
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When I first started writing, I would post my chapters immediately after writing them. Later on, I always made sure to write ahead of myself and would wait at least a few days before allowing myself to edit what I wrote. I found more mistakes that way. Thinking back, I used to do the same thing. Reread the last chapter or at least skim through it depending on how long it took me to start writing the next one.
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When you finish a story, like you just did Julie, do you like to take a break before you start a new one or do you jump right into it?
When you write, do you tend to only wrote nice story at a time or do you like to multi task?
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I haven't completed a story in a while so I can't really think of an answer to that, however I do work on more than one, especially at the moment with the new project and Take Me Home.
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LOL Tracy... I also finish stories so infrequently, I'm sitting here going, "Hm... what DO I usually do?" I used to start a brand new story right away, but the last few years I've always had another story or two in progress to go back to, so I guess I've just attempted to do that.
I told myself I was going to take a break after finishing SAMS, but it's been two days, and I'm already like, "...okay, now what?" I've already thought of two new story ideas in the last two weeks, so I probably will be either starting something new or hopefully updating something old at some point soon. I'm not gonna go the rest of my summer vacation without writing.
I guess I'm a multitasker when it comes to writing. I usually seem to have a main project, a side project, and a collaboration in the works at the same time. Sometimes it's nice to have options, but I do kinda wish I would be able to get back down to writing just one story at a time. That would require me to actually finish some of these "side projects" before starting something new, though, which is not likely to happen.
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I actually went to look at IAWLT to see how I could either rework it or finish it and I didn't realize I'd even posted 19 chapters of it lol. But I love some of it and I even came up with some more depth for Russell, I think I might attempt to do a reboot.
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That's great!
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When I finish something it's usually because I'm in writing mode, so I will probably start something new right away. Or continue something else I have in progress - which leads into the other question LOL. I never just have one story on the go. I've just gotten better about only posting something I'm finished or committed to finishing. Actually, I just finished something and was going to start posting when I was two chapters from the end, but I forced myself to wait until I was done.
I also find that I write a lot more longer one shots now than I used to. Something that's 20K without being split up into chapters is nice to have on the side and pick up whenever I'm bored and want to write a little bit.
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YAY, the forum works again!!
I wish I was more of a one-shot writer. I find those are nice when you're between novels or suffering from writer's block; they're a good way to get the creative juices flowing without the commitment of a novel. I just don't get many ideas that would work best as a short story.
What's your favorite one-shot/short story you've written and read?
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My favourite one-shot I've written was a Titanic AU. I wrote it in 1D fandom for this movie AU ficathon. I originally wasn't going to participate in it, but I was looking through the prompts and someone threw Titanic in there with a Niall/Harry pairing... it was basically the fic I was born to write LOL. I was also lucky enough to have two really good betas for that one, they made the story a million times better than it would have been if I'd just written it and read it over for errors myself.
My favourite one-shot I've read has to be Mare's birthday box story about Nick. That one where he goes through all of his past birthdays and puts a piece of himself for each year of his life into the box. It was a nice way of going through Nick's journey so far in pieces and looking at how far he's come. I loved it.
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LOL So Niall and Harry were Jack and Rose? That is epic.
I loved when Mare would write a one-shot every year for Nick's birthday. I remember the birthday box story; that was a good one.
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Aww thanks ladies!
I enjoy writing one-shots and like I've said before, I think if I were to write anymore fanfic it would only be one-shots.
My favorite one-shot is Documentaries by Izzy. It's an oldie but still one of my all time favorites.
A favorite that I wrote was my very first one-shot I wrote for Nick's birthday which was To the Magnificent Nickolas Carter. I just really liked the idea of Nick writing a letter to himself when he grew up.
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Favorite one shot? Wow there's so many but I know one of my favorites was for the 1,000 WAYS To Kill Nick Carter spinoff... When Julie had Nick kill the fan and baked her into muffins. No lie- I have not been able to touch a blueberry muffin since reading that. I can't even explain it to anyone cause they won't get it lol
As far as my favorite one I have written, it would have to be Changes http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11272&chapter=1 because I feel I captured Kevin in first person POV. I hadn't written him much before.
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Also (shameless plugging) I started posting the reboot under a new title and including a new summary. I was listening to music a few nights ago and Nowhere To Go fit the story perfectly, and so did the lyrics. I was giddy. Lol.
Has anyone written a story and then found a song that goes with it, or been inspired by a song in general?
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LOL So Niall and Harry were Jack and Rose? That is epic.
LOL yup, that they were.
I remember those 1,000 Ways to Kill Nick Carter stories, lol. I don't think I actually wrote one, but I remember reading a bunch of them. The Burning Up one Julie wrote was hilarious too - where he's in the recording studio and burns to death. Poor Nick lol.
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Also (shameless plugging) I started posting the reboot under a new title and including a new summary. I was listening to music a few nights ago and Nowhere To Go fit the story perfectly, and so did the lyrics. I was giddy. Lol.
Has anyone written a story and then found a song that goes with it, or been inspired by a song in general?
That's awesome, Tracy! I love when that happens. I wrote a Nick romance a long time ago called In Pieces and I named it that after the BSB song because the lyrics also fit really well. Especially the whole "Wake me up when it's over / After the ending / When the damage has all been done" bit, since the story takes place many years after their initial relationship ends.
I usually make playlists for stories as I write them. I don't typically share them with anyone, I just keep them to listen to as I'm writing that particular story. Does anyone else do that?
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I actually have a Spotify playlist for Take Me Home.
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I don't ever use music for writing or inspiration at all. I need it to be 100% quiet when I write and listening to music has never helped me to be inspired to do anything, except clean. I put on music to clean. I know it probably sounds ironic coming from a person who makes her living through music, but that's just how I roll. Maybe because I'm surrounded by it all day long, when I get home I never ever listen to it. I mean never ever lol
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Favorite one shot? Wow there's so many but I know one of my favorites was for the 1,000 WAYS To Kill Nick Carter spinoff... When Julie had Nick kill the fan and baked her into muffins. No lie- I have not been able to touch a blueberry muffin since reading that. I can't even explain it to anyone cause they won't get it lol
LOL!! Sorry for ruining blueberry muffins for you, but thanks!
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LOL yup, that they were.
I remember those 1,000 Ways to Kill Nick Carter stories, lol. I don't think I actually wrote one, but I remember reading a bunch of them. The Burning Up one Julie wrote was hilarious too - where he's in the recording studio and burns to death. Poor Nick lol.
Thanks! That one is one of my favorites that I wrote.
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It's hard to narrow short stories down to one favorite that I've read. The first two that came to mind are "Documentaries" by Izzy, which Mare mentioned, and "Crash and Burn" by Refuse - both oldies. "Beautiful Girl" by Mare is another old one that's always stuck with me. I also love the funny challenge ones people have written, like "Nick's Dirty Kicks" by Steph and Julilly's Gaston story for the Beauty and the Beast challenge (don't remember the exact title).
My favorite short story that I've written is one of those funny challenge stories, "Shorty and the Deceased."
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I get inspired by songs a lot. I actually meant to post a link in one of my author's notes at the end of Sick as My Secrets to a song that had inspired me, but I forgot. It was "Take Me Home" by Pentatonix - beautiful song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLRUlbyH_D0 I envisioned the end of SAMS for over a year listening to that song. Another song that was inspiring to me at the beginning of that story is an instrumental piece called "Primavera" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxFAT581T4 Again, it's just a beautiful song, but I like how it builds and builds and sounds so dramatic.
I usually only write to instrumental music, but I do make playlists for some stories with non-instrumental songs. I don't usually listen to them while I'm actually writing, but I will listen to them to get inspired. I just deleted my SAMS playlist that I had been listening to in my car for weeks (off and on for years). I still have CDs I burned with my playlists for Broken/BMS, Curtain Call, Song for the Undead, and 00Carter.
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See my story Take Me Home was inspired by the song from Nick and Knight. It's a beautiful song despite Jordan... I'm not really a fan of his but I do love the song. A lot of my one shots are inspired by music.
Speaking of, I also love writing one shots between stories, I agree with Julie on the fact it does help with my creativity.
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That's my favorite Nick & Knight song! So beautiful!
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That's my favorite Nick & Knight song! So beautiful!
I think it's mine too. I just loved it. I have been writing like crazy lately all of a sudden, I don't know why but it's good to be back at it.
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Awesome!!
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Mare, does your new avy have a platypus playing a keytar? That really IS the greatest Venn diagram ever! LOL
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Yes, it does! lol
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I noticed that the keytar-playing platypus avy shows up when I'm on my laptop, but when I'm on my desktop computer, I still see your old orange avy that has a quote about writing on it. Must be a cookies issue or something.
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Do you guys write down all the story ideas you get, and do you ever go back and look at the ones you don't end up actually writing? Have you ever used an old idea to write a new story years later?
I am doing the WADD (Writer's ADD) thing I do whenever I finish a novel where I want to still be writing, but can't decide what to write. I have too many ideas bouncing around in my brain. So I threw a poll up on my site and on Twitter to get some reader input, just to see if their preferences would push me in one direction or another. I did this one other time like 10 years ago when I was close to finishing By My Side, so just for kicks, I used the Wayback Machine to find where I'd posted all the story ideas I was considering at that time: https://web.archive.org/web/20041121170941/http://www.dreamers-sanctuary.com:80/nextstory.html What's sad is that of the six ideas I posted then, I've only turned one of them into a story (Guilty Roads, which was #4), and I haven't even finished that one. The ideas that seem to turn into successful stories for me are the ones that I start writing right away and don't sit on forever. I still have outlines and research saved for a couple of those old ideas, and the other two keep evolving into newer versions of the same basic premise, but I have yet to actually write any of them. Just wondered if anyone has a success story about taking an old idea and turning it into something worth posting.
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I have so many ideas that I've shelved. Take Me Home was a idea I sat on for like a couple months before I started to write it. I have notebooks full of stuff I wrote in high school, stories I started and never finished. Incomplete came from one of those notebooks. So my answer would be yes.
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I noticed that the keytar-playing platypus avy shows up when I'm on my laptop, but when I'm on my desktop computer, I still see your old orange avy that has a quote about writing on it. Must be a cookies issue or something.
It didn't show up for me until I powered the IPad down and then back up. I was seeing my old when when you asked about the new one lol
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The Importance of Fly Fishing was originally supposed to be about the two of them doing the Amazing Race, but I couldn't come up with all the other teams they'd have to compete against.
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Oh wow, I never knew that! I think it turned out better just focusing on Kevin and Nick and not the distractions of having all those other teams, but the Amazing Race premise is interesting.
Anyone else ever thought of writing a story about the guys competing in a reality show? I know Steph did the one with Bot Fly Jordan, and there's an old one called Survivor about BSB and NSYNC competing on the show Survivor that was actually a really good story. Other than those two, I can't think of any fanfics with that premise that I've read other than maybe some parodies back in the day. I'm surprised I haven't seen one about Dancing With the Stars pop up in the past couple years!
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I think Refuse or someone Refuse-ish did a take on That Reality show that used to be on MTV where they all went to a haunted place and scared the bejesus out of them. Was it called Fear? Something like that. I think it would be fun to put them into that kind of setting. Or maybe ghost hunters lol
I'm surprised there were no Nick and Sharna love stories as well.
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Oh wow, I never knew that! I think it turned out better just focusing on Kevin and Nick and not the distractions of having all those other teams, but the Amazing Race premise is interesting.
Anyone else ever thought of writing a story about the guys competing in a reality show? I know Steph did the one with Bot Fly Jordan, and there's an old one called Survivor about BSB and NSYNC competing on the show Survivor that was actually a really good story. Other than those two, I can't think of any fanfics with that premise that I've read other than maybe some parodies back in the day. I'm surprised I haven't seen one about Dancing With the Stars pop up in the past couple years!
That was my issue with the Amazing Race storyline. I knew I'd have to also focus on the other teams and I didn't want to take away from Kevin and Nick's relationship.
Did you figure out what you're going to write? Of course I voted for the Kevin and Nick one lol
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Sorry for not being around, my Internet connection has been crappy but now that I'm not on the main part of the strip its better.
I wrote a one shot that had to do with DWTS and included a conversation with Nick, Sharna Derek and Bindi. I'm honestly shocked that there weren't more stories about that lol cause Nick and Sharna had a lot of chemistry.
I wrote a Survivor type story with NSYNC but I never posted it. It was on fanfiction.net before I lost everything when they took away real person fics.
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That was my issue with the Amazing Race storyline. I knew I'd have to also focus on the other teams and I didn't want to take away from Kevin and Nick's relationship.
Did you figure out what you're going to write? Of course I voted for the Kevin and Nick one lol
No, I still keep jumping around. I might do the ER story first just because that one is already started and won't be a very long story; I could probably write the whole thing this summer if I could just focus and get going on it. But the Kevin/Nick one is the one I've been thinking about most the last two days. I want to write that one eventually because I've never really written a Kevin novel... I don't think Guilty Roads counts because he's been in a coma most of the story LOL.
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Sorry for not being around, my Internet connection has been crappy but now that I'm not on the main part of the strip its better.
I wrote a one shot that had to do with DWTS and included a conversation with Nick, Sharna Derek and Bindi. I'm honestly shocked that there weren't more stories about that lol cause Nick and Sharna had a lot of chemistry.
I wrote a Survivor type story with NSYNC but I never posted it. It was on fanfiction.net before I lost everything when they took away real person fics.
My connection was crappy there too!
I think Nick and Sharna had great chemistry, though not necessarily romantic. (I love Lauren, though.) But yeah, I'm surprised she hasn't been featured in more stories. If the fandom were more active, I'm sure she would have been.
That still annoys me about fanfic.net, but that site is almost too big... it's probably better that we had to go and find our own places to post stories.
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I think Refuse or someone Refuse-ish did a take on That Reality show that used to be on MTV where they all went to a haunted place and scared the bejesus out of them. Was it called Fear? Something like that. I think it would be fun to put them into that kind of setting. Or maybe ghost hunters lol
Ohh yeah... I don't think I read that one, but I kind of remember what you're talking about. That is a good idea!
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My connection was crappy there too!
I think Nick and Sharna had great chemistry, though not necessarily romantic. (I love Lauren, though.) But yeah, I'm surprised she hasn't been featured in more stories. If the fandom were more active, I'm sure she would have been.
That still annoys me about fanfic.net, but that site is almost too big... it's probably better that we had to go and find our own places to post stories.
Yeah I had lost everything and had to start completely over.. Luckily my friend saved some of my stuff but not all. I ended up rewriting a ton of my stories I'd posted though
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That would be so hard to do. I hate rewriting. I don't think I could do it.
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Ugh, I remember when Fanfiction.net pulled that and got rid of all the RP stories. I had everything I'd posted on there in word documents anyway, but it really did kill my writing for many years because I didn't have anywhere to post anything. I was super into BSB in 2005, and I didn't write a word of fic. I suppose I could have made my own website, but posting on a collaborative site is so much easier.
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I like having my own site mostly just because I like having control over where my stuff is posted (so that I don't risk losing everything like people did with fanfic.net, although I also have it all saved as Word docs too), but collaborative sites like AC definitely make things easier and more interactive. As a reader, it's so much easier to just leave a review on the site than sending feedback the old-school way, when you had to actually email the author. I don't even remember the last time I emailed someone with feedback or got feedback that way myself.
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I hated when fanfic.net closed to real person fics but at the same time, I'm pretty sure that if they didn't I would never have gone on to write as much as I did or would have never met any of you. Them closing kind of forced me to branch out and search for places to post. Finding people like Izzy, Chaos, Eboni and Julie. I most likely would have stayed in my own little bubble and eventually lost interest.
I really do miss getting reviews via email though. They used to be so long and detailed. They were a pain to write but again, that's how I ended up making some of my best BSB friends, through sending and receiving feedback via email. Those were the days.
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Very true - I never made any friends through fanfic.net. I probably only posted stuff there for a few months before they took everything down, though. I don't remember really reading many BSB fics there. Before AC, I found fanfics to read by searching or clicking links on other sites, and I made friends the same way you did - by emailing each other with feedback. Most of the fanfic writers I'm still friends with I met through AC though. This forum has been great for that.
I agree that those emailed reviews were often a lot longer and more detailed. I do miss that, although I like how AC keeps everything in the same place. I've saved every feedback email I've gotten for as long as I've kept the same email address (going back to 2001), but it's not like it's easy to sort through those and read them. It was definitely easier to have a conversation and get to know people, though.
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OMG, so I'm going through my old feedback emails after writing that response, and I just found the confirmation email from when I registered for AC way back in 2003! I guess I saved it so I'd have my password, which is completely different now.
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That is so true, you guys. Before, with FF.net I didn't really make friends with anyone. You couldn't even respond to reviews on there, so there was no dialog whatsoever. This forum has really made it easier to make friends and relationships. I think it's awesome we still have this forum and it's still active.
Julie, that's crazy you joined AC in 2003! I wish I'd known about it earlier. I think I signed up around when Unbreakable came out. Speaking of that - how crazy is it that Unbreakable is almost ten years old?! What a ride that album cycle was. I remember loving that album so much and just being so thankful that they decided to continue on without Kevin instead of packing it in. It's sort of crazy thinking back to those days now that they're all over the place again.
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I know! I didn't post anything on AC until 2005, though... or if I did post anything earlier, the site changed and I had to repost in 2005. I don't remember. I wish I had posted Broken as I was writing it in 2003 though and not after the fact cause it would have had so many more reviews LOL. That was the peak of my "getting feedback through email" days.
I think this forum started in 2006, and that's when I started really getting into AC and making friends here. If you joined in 2007, you didn't miss too much. I can't believe Unbreakable is gonna be ten years old either... or that Backstreet's Back/the US debut album are almost twenty!
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Thinking back on old BSB albums...
Which albums do you think have held up best over the years, and which ones haven't - meaning you may have really liked them when they first came out, but not so much now? On the flip side, are there any albums that have grown on you to the point where you like them better now than when they first came out? You can include solo albums too if you want.
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Never Gone still holds up really well for me. I liked that album a lot when it first came out, and I still really like it. I have a hard time choosing between it and Unbreakable as my favourite BSB album, which is weird since they're both so different. But Never Gone sort of exists in this void on its own I think, since BSB never did anything else like that.
I will actually go out on a limb and say that I'm Taking Off doesn't hold up. I listened to that album non-stop when it came out and I really liked it. I think part of that was because it had been so long since we'd got anything solo from Nick. Now, I don't think I could listen to that album the whole way through. Burning Up, Falling Down and I'm Taking Off are still really good, though.
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Never Gone is probably the most unique of all their albums, in a good way. I will stand by the "organic" pop/rock, always!
I agree with you about I'm Taking Off. Like you, I still adore some of the songs on it, mainly I'm Taking Off and Burning Up, but a lot of the other tracks are just "meh" to me. It's always had skip songs for me, but I used to enjoy listening to more of the album than I do now. I feel the same way about Now or Never, although, again, some of the songs I will always love.
On the flip side, All American is definitely one that I enjoy better now than I did when it first came out. It grew on me quickly (like, within a few days), but I was actually kind of disappointed with it when I first heard it because I felt like it wasn't as personal as I'm Taking Off and the songs, while more upbeat and fun, lacked substance. After listening to it more and learning the lyrics, though, I think it has a lot more substance than I initially thought, and some of the songs are very personal and Nick-ish. Now I think it's his best solo album, and there's not a single skip song on it for me.
As far as BSB albums go, I think Millennium has held up very well. That's always been one of my favorite albums, and it's still one I can listen to all the way through without skipping any track. The tracks that were my favorites when it came out are still my favorites, and I think if I were to make a list of all-time favorite BSB songs, there would be multiple songs from Millennium in the top 20.
In a World Like This has also held up for me, although it's hard to know for sure while it's still the newest album. It took the place of Never Gone as my other favorite album, which I guess means Never Gone hasn't held up quite as well for me.
I think Unbreakable is probably the album that has held up the least well for me. It still has its standout tracks that I will always love, like Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon and Unmistakable, but some of the songs that I really loved when it came out I don't love so much anymore, and I think it has too many throw-away tracks that are not necessarily bad, just boring (You Can Let Go, Trouble Is, Love Will Keep You Up All Night).
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Thinking back on old BSB albums...
Which albums do you think have held up best over the years, and which ones haven't - meaning you may have really liked them when they first came out, but not so much now? On the flip side, are there any albums that have grown on you to the point where you like them better now than when they first came out? You can include solo albums too if you want.
Never Gone is still my favourite, I can still listen to the whole album without skipping anything.
For me, This Is Us is probably the least favourite, but I suppose I didn't really like most of that album when it came out lol. I still love Undone though, that's probably the only song on there I'll play.
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And also, sorry for not being around much. Real life gets in the way :( I've ended up moving house again and we've had to renovate Tim's house as the people he rented it out to completely trashed the place :(
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On the flip side, All American is definitely one that I enjoy better now than I did when it first came out. It grew on me quickly (like, within a few days), but I was actually kind of disappointed with it when I first heard it because I felt like it wasn't as personal as I'm Taking Off and the songs, while more upbeat and fun, lacked substance. After listening to it more and learning the lyrics, though, I think it has a lot more substance than I initially thought, and some of the songs are very personal and Nick-ish. Now I think it's his best solo album, and there's not a single skip song on it for me.
I agree wholeheartedly with this. The only song on there that I find "meh" is I Will Wait, lol. But the rest of them are so much fun! It is a very Nick album for sure, and it speaks to where he is with his life now. He's happy and content, and he's not trying too hard to force out a serious introspective album. I sort of feel like it's what he wanted to do with Now or Never, only now he's older and more mature and able to more effectively walk the line between songs that aren't overly serious, and songs that are just plain stupid. Not having a label breathing down his neck and making bad decisions is working in his favour as well.
As far as BSB albums go, I think Millennium has held up very well. That's always been one of my favorite albums, and it's still one I can listen to all the way through without skipping any track. The tracks that were my favorites when it came out are still my favorites, and I think if I were to make a list of all-time favorite BSB songs, there would be multiple songs from Millennium in the top 20.
Also agree with this. I love Millennium a lot more now than I did back in the day, actually. I remember when I was younger listening to mostly the first three tracks, and occasionally listening to It's Gotta Be You. I never listened to any of the slower ones, but now that I'm older I appreciate them a lot more. Like Don't Wanna Lose You Now - I often skipped it when I was 13. I never skip it now. Spanish Eyes too.
I think I feel the same about IAWLT now as I did when it came out. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I found their effort in doing more acoutic-y songs sort of bland, like Breathe and Try. But their more classic BSB sounding songs like Soldier and Love Somebody I found to be really good.
My opinion on This Is Us is the same now as it was when it came out - it's a hot pile of garbage with one good song. Nick's incredible vocals are completely wasted on the material here.
Here's a question - knowing what we know now about the group and the issues they were having, what's everyone's opinions on Black and Blue? Maybe we've talked about this before. I know the boys say that it was rushed out, which is totally true. It came out a year and a half after Millennium! That is just crazy to think about. There are some gems on that album for sure - The Call, Get Another Boyfriend, Everyone and Time come to mind. Do you think if they'd had more time that the album would have been better, or were they so burnt out that it wouldn't have mattered? Would it have sounded more like Millennium or would it have gone further back into their R&B roots?
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And also, sorry for not being around much. Real life gets in the way :( I've ended up moving house again and we've had to renovate Tim's house as the people he rented it out to completely trashed the place :(
Glad to see you pop in here still, Steph. Sorry to hear things have been rough with your houses!
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I don't really pull out their stuff and listen to it, but making playlists for my long drive I gave to say that Milennium and Never Gone are the only albums that I include every song. If it weren't for Try and One Phone Call, IAWLT would make the cut as well. I think I might just have two or three from This Is Us. I wasn't a fan of the albums minus Kevin.
As far as Black and Blue, it's always been my least favorite album. (I don't even count the non Kevin ones lol) I enjoy the Call, The One and Shape of my Heart, Everyone and HDIFILWY but all the others were just eh, to me.
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And also, sorry for not being around much. Real life gets in the way :( I've ended up moving house again and we've had to renovate Tim's house as the people he rented it out to completely trashed the place :(
That sucks! That happened to a good friend of mine as well. Then trashed the place and also were behind three months rent. She ended taking them to court but in the process she lost the house because she couldn't name the payments on her place and the old one. People are so inconsiderate!
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And also, sorry for not being around much. Real life gets in the way :( I've ended up moving house again and we've had to renovate Tim's house as the people he rented it out to completely trashed the place :(
Oh no, what a hassle! Sorry about the renovations. I hope you're enjoying your new house!
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I agree wholeheartedly with this. The only song on there that I find "meh" is I Will Wait, lol. But the rest of them are so much fun! It is a very Nick album for sure, and it speaks to where he is with his life now. He's happy and content, and he's not trying too hard to force out a serious introspective album. I sort of feel like it's what he wanted to do with Now or Never, only now he's older and more mature and able to more effectively walk the line between songs that aren't overly serious, and songs that are just plain stupid. Not having a label breathing down his neck and making bad decisions is working in his favour as well.
That's a great point about Now or Never, and I can definitely see that. Now or Never had more fun songs on it too, but like you said, some of them were really stupid. There are maybe a couple of "stupid" songs on All American, but they are so catchy, I can't help but love them! The song All American is one of my favorites on the album because it's just so freaking catchy that I can overlook the fact that it's literally about a girl's ass and uses Kim Kardashian as an example of being "All American." I can't say the same for songs like Is it Saturday Yet.
Nick is actually a really good songwriter. I'm not sure if he would have been able to write songs of the same caliber in the NoN days, but I think most of the stuff he's written in the last few years has been super catchy musically and clever lyrically, and that can't be easy to do.
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I love Millennium a lot more now than I did back in the day, actually. I remember when I was younger listening to mostly the first three tracks, and occasionally listening to It's Gotta Be You. I never listened to any of the slower ones, but now that I'm older I appreciate them a lot more. Like Don't Wanna Lose You Now - I often skipped it when I was 13. I never skip it now. Spanish Eyes too.
Millennium is the first BSB album that I actually did listen to all the way through. The US debut I only listened to about half of for at least the first year I had it. I think some of the ballads toward the end of Millennium (Back to Your Heart, Spanish Eyes, No One Else Comes Close) are a little boring, but I still like them and don't usually skip. Don't Wanna Lose You Now is still my all-time favorite BSB song. It wasn't my favorite the first time I heard it, but I remember the moment, maybe a couple months after that album came out, when I was listening to it and thought, "Wow, this song is really beautiful." It just struck a chord in me one day, and I've loved it ever since.
One song on Millennium I didn't used to appreciate nearly as much as I do now is Don't Want You Back. That seems to be a favorite among a lot of people I know, but it was never one of my favorites on that album. I've always liked it, but remember when we got to vote on TRL for the third single, and it was between It's Gotta Be You, Don't Want You Back, and The One? Don't Want You Back would have been my last choice at that time. Now it would probably be my second choice (I still love The One, which is what I voted for). Seeing them sing it on the IAWLT tour gave me a newfound love for Don't Want You Back! I loved their choreography for it.
Does anyone else have songs that they didn't love until they saw them live? Panic and Love Somebody are two more examples I can think of for myself.
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My opinion on This Is Us is the same now as it was when it came out - it's a hot pile of garbage with one good song. Nick's incredible vocals are completely wasted on the material here.
Here's a question - knowing what we know now about the group and the issues they were having, what's everyone's opinions on Black and Blue? Maybe we've talked about this before. I know the boys say that it was rushed out, which is totally true. It came out a year and a half after Millennium! That is just crazy to think about. There are some gems on that album for sure - The Call, Get Another Boyfriend, Everyone and Time come to mind. Do you think if they'd had more time that the album would have been better, or were they so burnt out that it wouldn't have mattered? Would it have sounded more like Millennium or would it have gone further back into their R&B roots?
LOL! What's the one good song? Most of you would probably go with Undone, but my favorite is This Is Us. I still love Straight Through My Heart too, but some of the others that were favorites at the time - If I Knew Then, Masquerade - I'm not as into anymore. That is my least favorite album of theirs in general, though.
I feel the same way about Black & Blue as I do Unbreakable - I think there are definitely some gems on it, but there are also too many throwaway songs that could have been replaced with something better. That said, I think Black & Blue has held up better than Unbreakable for me. Maybe it's just because the singles from that album I consider "classics," whereas they just seemed to forget about the whole Unbreakable album, singles included (although the singles they chose from that album wouldn't have been my choice of singles anyway). I still love many of the songs on B&B that weren't singles too, like Answer to Our Life, Everyone, Get Another Boyfriend, Not for Me, and How Did I Fall in Love With You. But with the exception of HDIFILWY and MTT, the ballads on that album are really blah, and that's where I think they could have taken more time to get better songs.
I'm not sure if their overall sound would have changed; I think B&B is very reflective of the "boyband sound" at that time. It's the album where I thought their music was most similar to NSync's style... which I don't mean as a diss. I kinda like the cheesy late 90s/early 2000s boyband style of song. I think that's why I've always loved One Phone Call, cause it sounds like a cheesy boyband throwback LOL. I prefer that style or pop or pop/rock to the super old-school, Boys II Men-ish R&B though.
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The scissors the scissors the scissors lol
I think I mentally blocked Unbrakable out of my mind, but I do get This is Us and Unbreakable confused. I really am a bad fan. I thought The One was on Black and Blue lol oops
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LOL! Oh Mare. I still think of you when I hear Brian's verse of One Phone Call (the "I got to hold your... head on my shoulder" part) and picture him walking around carrying a decapitated head on his shoulder. Thanks for that! :P
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LOL! Oh Mare. I still think of you when I hear Brian's verse of One Phone Call (the "I got to hold your... head on my shoulder" part) and picture him walking around carrying a decapitated head on his shoulder. Thanks for that! :P
He he
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LOL I first read that as "I love my crazy Brian." I love your crazy brain too - AND Crazy Brian! I really think we need a story about Crazy Brian going around chopping people's heads off.
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LOL! What's the one good song? Most of you would probably go with Undone, but my favorite is This Is Us. I still love Straight Through My Heart too, but some of the others that were favorites at the time - If I Knew Then, Masquerade - I'm not as into anymore. That is my least favorite album of theirs in general, though.
Haha the one good song is Bigger! This Is Us isn't terrible either, though. I don't get the love for Undone. Their vocals are nice on it, but it's just blah for me.
As for Black & Blue, I tend to agree. There are just too many throw away songs on it, particularly with the ballads. Oh, also I forgot about that Shining Star song, lol. That sounds like it could've been an Nsync song... Nick wrote it, didn't he? I'm glad his songwriting skills have improved since then.
One Phone Call is really good in that cheesy boyband way. It's one of my favourites off of IAWLT. I had the Nick answering machine bridge part as my ringtone for a long time LOL.
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Ah, Bigger! I'm not a huge fan of Bigger... I don't know why because it's a catchy song; it's just not my favorite. I feel the same way about Undone. It's a decent song, and it was fun to see them sing it again in Vegas, but it's not my favorite either.
I HATE Shining Star... although I will say, that one was better in concert (going way back to the B&B tour) than it is on the album. Nick and Howie wrote that one, and I think they are the two best songwriters in the group, but that was a fail. LOL
I still have One Phone Call as a ringtone for when my BSB friends call! I love that Nick answering machine part LOL.
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What's your favorite part that each boy sings in a BSB song? For example, Nick's answering machine bridge in One Phone Call might be your favorite Nick solo.
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I feel like I missed a lot around here lol. I don't really have answers to these questions but I love reading everybody's responses :) I'm home and had to work last night so I had to catch up on things before bed.
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Welcome back! Looks like you had an awesome time in Vegas!
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This is tough! But I think I'm going to go with:
I've got this feeling you're not gonna stay / it's burning within me Brian in Don't Wanna Lose You Now. Just the way that his voice comes in after the chorus and the production keeps the song building has always stuck with me. He sounds really great on this song.
Time will always be our enemy / For tonight baby, Come lie here next to me / I can never get enough of your blue eyes / Just another butterfly sigh Kevin in Trust Me. His voice is suited so nicely to this song, and I love how he sings the last part of this verse drawing out the "butterfly sigh" part. Plus, as a whole, it was refreshing to hear him on this album after he'd been gone for so long. I hadn't realised it, but I'd really missed his voice.
When this whole world gets too crazy / And there's nowhere left to go / I know you give me sanctuary / You're the only truth I know / You're the road back home AJ in Safest Place to Hide. I think this is the perfect example of his voice - he starts off sounding normal and as his verse builds he adds more power behind it. And then he leads into the chorus with the other guys harmonizing behind him. It's lovely.
Is it bad that I had a hard time finding an example for Howie? Poor Howie, but I will say that he sounds really nice at the beginning of Trouble Is. Specifically this part: How fooled was I into thinking / I was gonna be alright Okay / Fine
I have a million examples for Nick, so strap in LOL.
There's no more blindness / When I cry I'm smilin' / You kept me from dyin' / And I know with you I'll keep on livin' from Rush Over Me. Especially the "You kept me from dyin'" part, he hangs onto the last word for so long and it sounds so raw. Also I just discovered this song like, a month ago, so there's that. It's new for me! lol
Nick's dramatic I'm waitin' / I'm waitin'... in the background at the end of Siberia. Also in Siberia when Nick can be heard the most over the second chorus. That kills me.
Also Nick screaming at the end of the bridge in Safest Place to Hide.
I also really like Nick's verse in God, Your Mama, and Me. Especially this part, Loud as shotgun, angels singing with the radio / Praying with you every mile down any dead end road he doesn't try overly hard to sound too country, but the way he sings "radio" and "dead end road" does have a bit of twang to it haha. I thought he walked the line between country band and boyband well there.
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All those are so good!! I will post mine at some point, but Nick's "I'm waiting, I'm waiting" in Siberia is one of my favorites too. And I love Brian's verse of DWLYN!
I'm struggling the most with AJ's, so I will have to listen to some music and come back.
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Okay, favorite parts:
For Howie, it's his verse of Show Me the Meaning: "There's nowhere to run, I have no place to go. Surrender my heart, body, and soul..." I've always loved how he sings it live, the run he does on the word "soul." Example: https://youtu.be/05Xatd_5WS4?t=4m7s
For Brian, it's his solo in More Than That right before the last chorus: "I will love you more than that, I won't say the words, then take them back." https://youtu.be/1OwfYjemrYw I've always thought that was the most beautiful section of the whole Black & Blue album.
For Kevin, it's a tie between his verse on Drowning (especially "Love me mouth to mouth now") and his verse on Show 'Em What You're Made Of (especially "Like a lion, I will survive"). I love both parts lyrically as well as musically.
For Nick, I'd probably have to go with the chorus of Incomplete, especially when I can watch him sing it to see the angsty facial expressions. Bonus points for doing the "Oh-oh-ohh..." after the last "incomplete" (which I cannot for the life of me find a video of), and double bonus if he drops to his knees onstage.
I had the hardest time with AJ, but I finally realized it's his verse in Take Care, especially "I can hold you while you cry, you know!" That is one of my favorite parts of the whole IAWLT album.
Honorable mention goes to Kevin and Howie for their verses at the beginning of Feels Like Home, especially Howie's "Senoritas greet us sipping margaritas on the beach..." I've always loved how that line sounds, and I love how Kevin sounds in general on that song!
And another honorable mention for favorite duet goes to Kevin and Brian in Nobody But You. I only listen to that song for their part together... "Somebody tell me cause I can't eat or sleep when you're not close to my body, you're a bittersweet delight... come and help me through the night." That is not one of my favorite songs, but I will rewind just to listen to that part over again.
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I'm pretty sure we've discussed this one before, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. Someone tweeted me this question: "Seriously, why is Nick always the fanfic kick puppy?" In other words, why do we like to torture Nick so much?
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I'm pretty sure we've discussed this one before, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. Someone tweeted me this question: "Seriously, why is Nick always the fanfic kick puppy?" In other words, why do we like to torture Nick so much?
I'm gonna come back to the song question but this question had me dying lmao. I think it's because Nick's the most popular one. You pick on those you love, or at least we do! That and for the longest time he had the most drama, was the most visible. AJ was a close second so it's easy to picture everything bad happening to him from a reader or writer standpoint.
He's a good victim, what can I say LOL.
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I agree with that. Aside from the obvious popularity factor, I think it's because Nick has always seemed the most vulnerable. In the early days, it was because he was the baby of the group, so it was fun to hurt him and have the other guys either taking care of him or trying to protect him or feeling frustrated that they couldn't. And then, like you said, as he got older, he just seemed to have the most issues, so it was easy to exploit that and get him involved in situations that wouldn't necessarily be believable for the other guys.
I think, for me, his lack of close family ties until he married Lauren and had Odin is also partly what made me switch from Brian to Nick as my "kick puppy" because it was just easier than finding ways to write out the wife and kid. In short, I torture Nick because he makes it so easy!
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For Howie, it's his verse of Show Me the Meaning: "There's nowhere to run, I have no place to go. Surrender my heart, body, and soul..." I've always loved how he sings it live, the run he does on the word "soul." Example: https://youtu.be/05Xatd_5WS4?t=4m7s
I forgot about this! He really does sound great singing that part live.
Honorable mention goes to Kevin and Howie for their verses at the beginning of Feels Like Home, especially Howie's "Senoritas greet us sipping margaritas on the beach..." I've always loved how that line sounds, and I love how Kevin sounds in general on that song!
I remember being really annoyed with this part when IAWLT first came out, and now it's one of my favourite parts on the CD, lol. That whole song is really a jam.
As for poor, tortured Nick, I think it's sort of a combination of him being the most popular and him having the most issues. It's weird to say because AJ also had a lot of issues but there seems to be waaay more stories about Nick having drama rather than AJ. It's not just a matter of Nick romance either, it's anything! It could also be that he would give the best, most dramatic reaction in any situation just from what we've seen of him. The rest of them are more rational. Example:
*A hole opens up in the sky, the pending apocalypse is here*
Howie and Kevin: Oh, we read about this in The Globe and Mail. Good thing we combined our forces and built a bunker. Everyone into the bunker!
AJ: *Lights a cigarette* Well, this blows.
Brian: *Clutches his bible*
Nick: ARE YOU KIDDING ME??! How can this be happening?! I've got two girls waiting in my bed and after that I'm moving into my twentieth house on the beach. Everything is terrible. I should have patched things up with my family. No, I shouldn't have, they're terrible. I'm in such crisis! Brian's praying - I bet he won't save my soul. We used to be best friends AND NOW WE'RE NOT.
Howie and Kevin: *Drag Nick to the bunk while he clutches his beautiful blonde head, crying the whole way*
Well, that got away from me a little bit LOL.
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LMFAO!! That is so true!
You know, hearing Nick talk about the stereotypical boyband roles, like the bad boy, the heartthrob, etc. in his press for Boyband, I've realized that Nick was actually the "bad boy" of BSB, not AJ. AJ just got labeled that because he has the "look," but other than his addiction issues, he's not a bad boy at all. Nick has gotten into way more trouble and had way more issues than AJ ever did, at least from what we know. I do think that's why he's more interesting to write about, all the issues and drama he's had. You have to manufacture drama for Kevin, Brian, and Howie.
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Like all of you were saying, I think Nick is by far the easiest to torture because of his overly dramatic life. He seems like such an open book to his fans, it made it easy to just emulate what was going on based on real life events where the others were much more private with that stuff, minus AJ. He does also seem the most vulnerable which makes it easy to take advantage of. And let's face it, he is by far the most popular one of the group. People would tend to read a Nick centered story over any of the others.
I'm not sure if Nick knows what privacy is. All he's ever really known is life in the public eye. I bet even before he became famous, neighbors were all probably very aware of all the Carter drama. It's in their DNA. I can see them standing out in the backyard just screaming at each other with neighbors watching through half closed blinds saying, "Lord...there they go again!"
It is weird though because I really do feel like AJ should be as easy of a target, but like I've always said about AJ, he's odd. There's something about him that makes him less writable and interesting even though he seems like he should by far be the most entertaining one.
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I bet you're so right about the Carter clan back in the day.
I agree with you about AJ. I have written stories about him and tortured him before, but not nearly as much as Nick and Brian. And that was a long time ago; I don't even remember the last time I wrote an AJ story. I started one a few years ago that I never posted and probably won't keep writing. I like him better as a supporting character than a main character. I don't know if that's because it's hard to get inside his head or if it's just because I prefer Nick and Brian. I do think AJ gets typecast as being the "rebel" and all that more than he actually is just going back to his stage persona from the early days. He is an oddball, and he does have his issues, but like I said, I don't really consider him to be a "bad boy" at all. I think he's a teddy bear.
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I forgot about this! He really does sound great singing that part live.
I remember being really annoyed with this part when IAWLT first came out, and now it's one of my favourite parts on the CD, lol. That whole song is really a jam.
As for poor, tortured Nick, I think it's sort of a combination of him being the most popular and him having the most issues. It's weird to say because AJ also had a lot of issues but there seems to be waaay more stories about Nick having drama rather than AJ. It's not just a matter of Nick romance either, it's anything! It could also be that he would give the best, most dramatic reaction in any situation just from what we've seen of him. The rest of them are more rational. Example:
*A hole opens up in the sky, the pending apocalypse is here*
Howie and Kevin: Oh, we read about this in The Globe and Mail. Good thing we combined our forces and built a bunker. Everyone into the bunker!
AJ: *Lights a cigarette* Well, this blows.
Brian: *Clutches his bible*
Nick: ARE YOU KIDDING ME??! How can this be happening?! I've got two girls waiting in my bed and after that I'm moving into my twentieth house on the beach. Everything is terrible. I should have patched things up with my family. No, I shouldn't have, they're terrible. I'm in such crisis! Brian's praying - I bet he won't save my soul. We used to be best friends AND NOW WE'RE NOT.
Howie and Kevin: *Drag Nick to the bunk while he clutches his beautiful blonde head, crying the whole way*
Well, that got away from me a little bit LOL.
LMFAO THIS IS SO ACCURATE!
I've told Julie this but one of the ideas I have on the backburner is basically the BSB spin of This Is The End and what happened to the Boys before they finally got pulled up into heaven. That's probably who I'd have freak out first, is Nick. He's so melodramatic it just fits.
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I bet you're so right about the Carter clan back in the day.
I agree with you about AJ. I have written stories about him and tortured him before, but not nearly as much as Nick and Brian. And that was a long time ago; I don't even remember the last time I wrote an AJ story. I started one a few years ago that I never posted and probably won't keep writing. I like him better as a supporting character than a main character. I don't know if that's because it's hard to get inside his head or if it's just because I prefer Nick and Brian. I do think AJ gets typecast as being the "rebel" and all that more than he actually is just going back to his stage persona from the early days. He is an oddball, and he does have his issues, but like I said, I don't really consider him to be a "bad boy" at all. I think he's a teddy bear.
AJ is totally a teddy bear. Oddly that makes him odder to write when you combine that with all his quirks and issues. I write him best when I focus on one aspect and blow it up bigger. In undead that was his issues, in other fics it's his quirks where he becomes a comic relief.
Funny thing is, in real life comic relief probably belongs more to Howie LOL.
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LMFAO!! That is so true!
You know, hearing Nick talk about the stereotypical boyband roles, like the bad boy, the heartthrob, etc. in his press for Boyband, I've realized that Nick was actually the "bad boy" of BSB, not AJ. AJ just got labeled that because he has the "look," but other than his addiction issues, he's not a bad boy at all. Nick has gotten into way more trouble and had way more issues than AJ ever did, at least from what we know. I do think that's why he's more interesting to write about, all the issues and drama he's had. You have to manufacture drama for Kevin, Brian, and Howie.
That's a good point - Nick really was the "bad boy." Even with all of AJs issues, he never got arrested. Even Nick now, having turned his life around still managed to find trouble with his arrest last year.
I also like what you said about manufacturing drama for Kevin, Brian and Howie. With Nick (or even AJ) you can have a smaller bit of plot and use his real life drama to build it up.
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I'm not sure if Nick knows what privacy is. All he's ever really known is life in the public eye. I bet even before he became famous, neighbors were all probably very aware of all the Carter drama. It's in their DNA. I can see them standing out in the backyard just screaming at each other with neighbors watching through half closed blinds saying, "Lord...there they go again!"
OMG this is probably so accurate. That's entirely what House of Carters was too, so cringe-y but you just can't look away.
AJ is just too sweet to torture, like you've all said. I tried writing an AJ fic a long time ago and it just failed. Because he's always got good intentions it seems like, he just wants to please everybody. Nick can more easily be taken down a dark path of "I hate the world and want to burn it to the ground."
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LMFAO THIS IS SO ACCURATE!
I've told Julie this but one of the ideas I have on the backburner is basically the BSB spin of This Is The End and what happened to the Boys before they finally got pulled up into heaven. That's probably who I'd have freak out first, is Nick. He's so melodramatic it just fits.
LMAO Rose, that would be amazing.
Here's a question - do any of you guys have "head-canons" or portions of BSB history that are not necessarily real, but that you carry through all of your stories? For example, I always have Nick, to varying levels, have some kind of frustration that JT got with Britney instead of him LOL. I know I have more, I just have to remember them.
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That's a good question. Your JT example reminded me that I used to play up the animosity between BSB and NSync in my older stories, but I think that was more because it was played up by the media and fans in real life. JT and other NSync members have cameos in quite a few of my older stories, never in flattering roles, usually being villainous or causing trouble in some kind of way LOL.
I used to make Nick depressed and suicidal in stories I wrote back in like 2000-2001, way before any of his issues with drugs and alcohol came to light. I don't remember if he actually seemed unhappy to me in real life or if that qualifies as head-canon. I was a melodramatic teenager at the time, so I think I channeled a lot of my own issues into my stories, and for whatever reason, Nick was the one who got most of them.
I also tend to make Nick very secretive in stories, which is funny after what Mare said about him not knowing what privacy is LOL. But he always seems to be hiding things from the other guys in my stories. I don't write any of the other guys that way.
None of those are great examples, but I can't think of anything else.
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LMAO Rose, that would be amazing.
Here's a question - do any of you guys have "head-canons" or portions of BSB history that are not necessarily real, but that you carry through all of your stories? For example, I always have Nick, to varying levels, have some kind of frustration that JT got with Britney instead of him LOL. I know I have more, I just have to remember them.
I don't do this much anymore but I used to play up Nick's bitterness about the fact Jive played up the rivalry between him and JT when NON came out, and Nick's frustration about JT's solo career. I also tend to have Nick singing to himself when he's stressed out to try and calm down. I have no reason for it besides being something I sometimes do so I translated it onto him.
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I have to agree with all of you, Nick really is the easiest to write about because of all of his history. I've even tried writing the others, and while Brian is becoming easy for me as well, I felt Howie to be difficult to write. I know almost nothing about him so I can't identify with him at all. I do love him though.
In my stories I always make AJ the comic relief. I feel it fits him. Being the smart ass and sometimes rude one. Nick is always sensitive and anxious, melodramatic one. Brian is quiet but when he's angry he shocks everyone. Howie is quiet too and Kevin is always the adultiest adult lol. He's the strict one. However I did enjoy writing him as a fun loving guy in my romance AU where he was a wedding planner. Sometimes it's fun to play around and give them different personalities.
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I don't know if I do the head canon thing. Perhaps Kevin and a Niick's entire relationship in pretty much all of my stories?
It's interesting what you said, Julie, about Nick keeping secrets. When you mentioned that my mind went to Jenna and Swenglish. I wonder if they are the reason you started to do that because that seemed to be a common thread in all of their stuff.
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That very well could be because it started with Broken, which I wrote while they were writing the Swollen series. I know I am influenced by what I read in other people's stories, so that could be where some of this "head canon" comes from. The keeping secrets thing is also just a plot device to add to the drama and limit the amount of other characters I have to incorporate to be realistic LOL.
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Haha I usually use AJ as the comic relief as well, Tracy. He's got a dry wit about him, you can't not! I've often made him Nick's confidant in stories, just because the way he would give advice would be more entertaining and sarcastic than the other boys.
Which is weird because I feel like if any of them are going to be prone to sarcasm in real life, it would probably be Kevin over AJ.
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I feel like we've seen more of Kevin's sense of humor since he came back to the group. Social media may have helped with that; I think it's definitely shown them more as real people, not just their stage personas and stereotypical roles.
I love AJ as the comic relief, and I think he makes a great confidant because he seems very nonjudgmental. I'm not sure he would be the best at giving advice, per se, but I bet he's a good listener/commiserator.
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In my stories I always seem to have AJ or Kevin giving Nick advice. So yeah that's true for me too.
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I think I have him mostly talk to either Howie or Kevin. AJ is definitely my throw away character unfortunately. The one who is generally in the background acting goofy.
Do any of you feel like one of the boys is your throw away character? I know most people tend to answer Howie to this question, but it's always been AJ for me with Brian as a close second.
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Brian or Howie is typically my throw-away character. It was definitely more Howie at first, with Brian taking over in recent years as it got harder for me to channel him and he and Nick seemed to be less close.
Though I will say that when I was writing Ever Since New York I was finding it a lot harder to write than usual, which was weird since I was really excited about it and had the plot all mapped out. Then it dawned on me that somewhere along the line that story had become way more Brian-centric than I'd intended. So when I went back and added more Nick stuff and started having more scenes from his POV I had a much easier time writing the story. This is why it is better for me to hold off posting until I have a first draft complete lol.
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Howie is always my throw away. I know almost nothing about him and I can't relate to him. Recently I've tried including him more but he is mostly a background character. I've been writing Kevin more and he used to be a throw away too.
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I love the black and blue album! The call play is my favorite song and I play that song every time I have my medical treatment.
I was working on the new chapter of my fanfic when the rumor on Brian appear on Facebook and give me an idea for a new fanfic
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Glad to hear you have an idea for a new story! What rumor are you talking about? I've been out of town for the last two days without wifi, so I've been out of the loop!
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Howie has always been my throwaway character. I hope writing a novel about him has helped with that, but before Sick as My Secrets, he was the only one who never really seemed to have an established role in my stories. Usually Nick or Brian is the star, and whichever one it's not about serves the best friend role (they'll always be Frick and Frack to me). Kevin is usually in that older brother position; he's good for giving advice or keeping the boys in line. AJ is usually the comic relief. Other than maybe being the "peacemaker," Howie never really did much. I see him fitting into that best friend role more in future Nick stories because he and Nick have been so tight the last few years. I think I've seen more of Howie's true personality and sense of humor in recent years, thanks to cruises and soundchecks and that kind of stuff, and writing a Howie-centered story helped me learn more about him and "get to know him" better in a character sense. So hopefully you'll see more of Howie in my future stories!
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Glad to hear you have an idea for a new story! What rumor are you talking about? I've been out of town for the last two days without wifi, so I've been out of the loop!
A poser claiming to work for the boys keeps saying Brian wants to quit the group. The guy has been posting things like this for a while, he goes by Wes or Logan Carter.
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Thanks, Tracy. I'm sure that's bullshit. If Brian wanted to quit, he would have done it a long time ago. I don't know about you, but when I met him in Vegas, he seemed the happiest and most personable he's ever been when I've seen him in person. Also, his voice seems to be getting better. He may never sound 100% like his old self again, but he's definitely figured out some techniques to sing his parts without sounding so shaky. Why would he quit now?
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I don't understand myself and I be sure that guy is fake. Brian was very happy and the guys sign new contract for new album and world tour so I'm sure this rumor is false
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Good point!
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Yeah Brian wouldn't leave. I feel like it would take a big reason for that to happen.
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The fans on facebook panic too quickly and they go back on stage in two weeks if something happen the guys have already tell us
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That's such a weird rumour. Like you guys have said, it makes no sense for him to quit now. Even if he was having thoughts of leaving, I'm sure it wouldn't be posted on Facebook in a sketchy way. We'd get an official announcement like when Kevin left.
But again, unlikely that he is leaving. I doubt we will be seeing any of them leave for the next few years. Actually, at this point I'd say we probably have them as 5 from now until whenever they decide to stop is. Which will probably not be for a long, long time knowing them lol.
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So, I know that I've been seriously MIA around here, but life has been crazy! This is also a bit off-topic; sorry!! Haha! Anyways, my BFF and I are going to see the boys in Vegas in November, and I'm looking for recommendation s about where to stay. Have any of you ladies been?? Which hotel should we choose?? We're looking for something on the strip that won't break the bank, because we have to factor in the terrible US/CDN exchange rate. Thanks bunches!!
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Ugh, isn't the exchange rate awful?
I am also planning on going in November! I had planned on going in June as well but the heat wave ended up messing with our flights so we didn't go. I don't know where in Canada you are but I'm in Winnipeg and what we found was the cheapest option by far was to drive down to the states (Grand Forks) and fly direct to Vegas via Allegiant Air. The Flamingo tends to be my go to for a cheap-ish room on the strip. It's not as swanky as some others but I still like it.
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I just got back last week. We stayed at Planet Hollywood. It's not too expensive and it's super convenient.
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So, I know that I've been seriously MIA around here, but life has been crazy! This is also a bit off-topic; sorry!! Haha! Anyways, my BFF and I are going to see the boys in Vegas in November, and I'm looking for recommendation s about where to stay. Have any of you ladies been?? Which hotel should we choose?? We're looking for something on the strip that won't break the bank, because we have to factor in the terrible US/CDN exchange rate. Thanks bunches!!
Stay in one of the casinos close to Planet Hollywood, the money you save on transportation will be worth it. Also, feel free to hit me up when you're here!
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We stayed at Paris, which is right next to Planet Hollywood, in June. That was one of the most affordable options as far as casinos on the Strip go, and the location was great. When I went in March, we stayed at the Marriott Grand Chateau, which is just a block off the Strip and basically across the street from Planet Hollywood, and that was also a good option - affordable and convenient location.
You're gonna have so much fun!!
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Thanks, ladies! I will definitely check out the places that you mentioned. Rose, do you live in Vegas?? I'm actually piggy-backing this BSB trip on the back of a work trip. I'm flying in on Monday for work, but my friend isn't flying in to join me until Friday. My training course finishes on Thursday morning, so I will have nothing to do on Thursday night. :)
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Have you see the news about Aaron??
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Yes... oh Aaron. Not surprising, sadly. I wish he would accept the help Nick offered him and get his life together, but he seems to be in denial, judging by the "statement" he tweeted.
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Thanks, ladies! I will definitely check out the places that you mentioned. Rose, do you live in Vegas?? I'm actually piggy-backing this BSB trip on the back of a work trip. I'm flying in on Monday for work, but my friend isn't flying in to join me until Friday. My training course finishes on Thursday morning, so I will have nothing to do on Thursday night. :)
I do! It's been great having BSB out here, and I've been very spoiled lol. I've gone in March, April and June.
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The whole Aaron/Nick thing happening right now is so cringe-worthy. Mare, you really hit the nail on the head a few pages back with how the Carters love their public drama, lol. Jeez.
It's sort of funny because my dad PVR'd this "Life or Debt" episode about Aaron Carter a couple weeks ago. I had never watched that show before, but it's basically about people who have really bad debt and then they have to do some challenges and prove they're able to make good financial decisions. Anyway, I watched it when I was at their house and the finance dude from the show was giving Aaron advice and he was saying how Nick should be helping him out. My dad was going off about how Nick should be helping him and I was just like "Listen, NO, because of reasons..." sure enough Nick does not end up appearing in the episode (save for Aaron showing the camera a selfie he took with Nick LOL) and I was just like... so proud of Nick for distancing himself from that mess. But of course he's out here trying to help again and Aaron's just being a brat as usual.
Yeah, Nick probably could have got a hold of Aaron some other, less public way this time around. But if he hadn't tweeted, people just would have said Nick wasn't supporting Aaron. It's lose-lose for Nick in this situation unfortunately.
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I hope Aaron doesn't going to die because of the drugs because Nick have lost enough family member
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I agree about the lose-lose situation he's in. That's the thing with social media, people now feel the need to say something public about what should be a private matter, otherwise fans react negatively thinking there's a lack of caring just because we're not all there to see it. Not that any of it is our business to begin with. I'm glad Nick reached out on Twitter. I hope that's the last he says on the matter though. You did your part now leave it be.
I get so mad when people say things like "He should do more to help" not just about this Nick and Aaron hot mess but in general. You can only help someone out so many times. If they aren't willing to help themselves, it's useless. It's clear that Aaron doesn't seem to think he's a train wreck so Nick helping him is not going to do one bit of good for either of them.
I truly hope Aaron gets the help he needs and this doesn't end in another washed up teen star dead way before his time. I'm so glad I'm too poor to be an kind of addict besides a Chinese food one lol
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I'm glad you're getting to go see them in Vegas, Erika. Have a great time!
It's also nice to see you posting in here, Mistral!
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Thanks! :-)
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Agree with you both, Steph and Mare. From his "statement," Aaron is obviously in denial that he even needs help, so the only thing Nick can really do is extend the offer and then let it be. I think Nick knows that too, from his own experiences - you can't get better until you're ready to admit you have a problem and accept help, and Aaron is clearly not there.
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I've been away from all the news for ages, so Nick and Aaron have had some bust up in public?
I wish I was able to go to Vegas to see the show, sounds like all of you who went had a great time. I'm hoping for a new album and world tour so that I can see them again over here. It's over 3 years since I last saw them.
Hmm, the questions, I've forgot what I just read, lol!
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I do! It's been great having BSB out here, and I've been very spoiled lol. I've gone in March, April and June.
OMG! My bank account would be seriously empty if I were in your situation! I have to say that I admire your willpower; only three shows.
My friend and I are super excited to go. My work confirmed my trip on the exact same day the boys announced that they were extending their residency. It was like fate!! Although, we're probably just as excited to get away from our respective toddlers as we are to be seeing the boys. HAHA For some reason, our husbands are not sharing in our enthusiasm. :P
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I've been away from all the news for ages, so Nick and Aaron have had some bust up in public?
Aaron and his girlfriend got arrested for DUI and possession of pot. Nick tweeted something to the effect of "To my brother, I love you no matter what, and if you want help, I'm here for you," and then Aaron tweeted this long rant of a "statement" about how he didn't do anything wrong, he has a prescription of medicinal marijuana, etc. etc. and then went after Nick for publicly tweeting instead of calling him. Then Lauren tweeted Aaron to have his girlfriend message her his new number since he apparently changed it (which, if that's true, would explain why Nick couldn't have just called him).
From what Aaron has tweeted and said to the media, it sounds like he's in complete denial that he even has a problem. Nothing is ever his fault, and everyone else is out to get him because of his "celebrity status." The cops target him unfairly, people bully him and body shame him, etc. etc. He is always the victim. No one is going to be able to help him until he decides he needs help.
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Anyone have any fanfic questions?
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This is kind of specific but it's something. Was there any event in BSB history that sparked a ton of fic around it? In 1D fandom right now there is a major influx of Niall/Louis fic because the two of them keep gushing about each other in the press and it seems like every single story published is about that. Did something like this happen in BSB fandom? I can't remember. Also back in the day I only wrote about me and Nick going out and sadly that was not true to life LOL.
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Brian's heart surgery seemed to be a big one. There were tons of stories about that or just Brian having heart problems when I first started reading fanfic. It's interesting to me that Nick's cardiomyopathy diagnosis didn't spark a bunch of similar fanfics, but I think that's a sign of different the fandom was in 2009 compared to 1998-1999. I don't see any event sparking a ton of BSB fics nowadays just because there don't seem to be very many of us writing it anymore. I'm guessing the 1D fandom now is more similar to how BSB's used to be, where you have a ton of stories popping up all the time. I miss those days!
I do remember the summer of 2012, when the guys were living together in that house in London and recording. That seemed to bring people crawling out of the woodwork, and it was more active around here again. There were a few short stories written about that, but generally I think just the fact that the five of them were living together like in a fanfic and posting so much about it inspired people to write, whether it was actually about that or something else.
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I continue to write fanfic, but it is pretty hard for me do it in English because it is not my first language and it's more easy for me when someone write in duet with me. My fanfic is not in a style that everyone likes.
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Brian's heart surgery seemed to be a big one. There were tons of stories about that or just Brian having heart problems when I first started reading fanfic. It's interesting to me that Nick's cardiomyopathy diagnosis didn't spark a bunch of similar fanfics, but I think that's a sign of different the fandom was in 2009 compared to 1998-1999.
Huh yeah that is interesting, I didn't even think about that! The fandom was still pretty active in 2009 but definitely not as much in 1998.
I completely forgot about them living in that house together in 2012, but you're totally right, there were a lot of stories about that. In general I remember that summer being very active fanfic-wise. It was great to see. I'm sad there hasn't been as much of a resurgence with how much the boys are doing as of late, but maybe it'll come when they release a new album. How's the new story you're writing going?
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I continue to write fanfic, but it is pretty hard for me do it in English because it is not my first language and it's more easy for me when someone write in duet with me. My fanfic is not in a style that everyone likes.
I definitely commend you for that! I could never write anything in another language lol. It's hard work!
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How's the new story you're writing going?
Not very well. :( I'll be lucky to get the short story I started finished before the end of summer. I don't think I'll start on a novel for awhile. I still keep coming up with new ideas and outlining them, but I'm having a hard time settling into anything. Also, all my ideas are super depressing! More so than usual, I mean LOL. I feel like I need to write something light-hearted, but I never come up with light-hearted ideas. Even the rare comedy/parody I do is always fairly dark. Thanks for asking!
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I definitely commend you for that! I could never write anything in another language lol. It's hard work!
I agree! If it's something that you love, keep at it though!
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I was one of those people that came out of hiding and got a creative surge when they all decided to live together. It would probably take something like that to get me to write again. Besides Brian's heart surgery, I think another thing that sparked some stories was the hiatus and AJ's drama but more so how Nick dealt with it, naturally lol
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I commend anyone who writes in something other than their first language.
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Thanks! Yes it is pretty hard to write in another language, but I continue to write the next chapter of my fanfic.
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I know a lot of people wrote about the hiatus or when AJ went to rehab, and when Kevin left.
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Not very well. :( I'll be lucky to get the short story I started finished before the end of summer. I don't think I'll start on a novel for awhile. I still keep coming up with new ideas and outlining them, but I'm having a hard time settling into anything. Also, all my ideas are super depressing! More so than usual, I mean LOL. I feel like I need to write something light-hearted, but I never come up with light-hearted ideas. Even the rare comedy/parody I do is always fairly dark. Thanks for asking!
Aww that's too bad :( I hope you get your groove back soon. If it's any consolation, I enjoy your super depressing stories lol
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I agree! lol
Of course you'll get your true inspiration to write once school starts back up and you don't have the time.
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Thanks, Steph! I guess all my readers must feel that way, or I wouldn't have any.
And yes, Mare, that's probably exactly what will happen... ugh!
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I was one of those people that came out of hiding and got a creative surge when they all decided to live together. It would probably take something like that to get me to write again. Besides Brian's heart surgery, I think another thing that sparked some stories was the hiatus and AJ's drama but more so how Nick dealt with it, naturally lol
I wish they would do that again; maybe then they'd actually get somewhere with this new album they keep saying they're working on! I believe them, but it seems like it's taking forever, and I worry about the impact that them signing a new record deal will have on it. I think it'll be good for publicity and maybe getting them back on the radio, but I hope they don't sacrifice the quality of their music to try too hard to sound like what's on the radio. I feel like that's where they went wrong with This Is Us (and also, it didn't work).
Yes, I do remember stories about AJ going to rehab and that time period. It's interesting what you said about Nick. I was just thinking the other day about when they went on TRL to announce that AJ had gone to rehab. I still vividly remember watching that live, and the image that sticks out most is of Nick sitting there with his hand in a cast, rubbing his hair and trying not to cry. I wasn't even a Nick fan back then, but that has always stuck with me. He definitely seemed to be taking it the hardest, and maybe that's why people focused on him. Also, the hiatus is when he turned into a hot mess, so there's that, too.
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Since Stephanie (Mistral) has talked about writing in another language as a challenge she faced, what's something you find challenging when it comes to writing? Are there any challenges you used to have that you've overcome?
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Try a new type of fanfic just like I did right now with this fanfic I writing right now
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I wish they would do that again; maybe then they'd actually get somewhere with this new album they keep saying they're working on! I believe them, but it seems like it's taking forever, and I worry about the impact that them signing a new record deal will have on it. I think it'll be good for publicity and maybe getting them back on the radio, but I hope they don't sacrifice the quality of their music to try too hard to sound like what's on the radio. I feel like that's where they went wrong with This Is Us (and also, it didn't work).
Ugh, yes that would be awesome! Nick said on Radio Disney (I think?) that they were going to have a single out next month. But who knows if that'll actually happen. I feel like that's more him being optimistic rather than the boys themselves being ready. It's good they're taking their time with this one, but they also did that with IAWLT and while that album was better than This Is Us it still didn't break radio. Hopefully with a major label backing them this time around that'll change. They are doing these radio shows and stuff now that they weren't before, so RCA really does seem to be here for them rather than just tolerating them like JIVE was at the end. I was really hoping they'd get a single out for their performance at Wango Tango. I feel like not having something new for that and for their Smooth Tour performances is really a missed opportunity.
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Since Stephanie (Mistral) has talked about writing in another language as a challenge she faced, what's something you find challenging when it comes to writing? Are there any challenges you used to have that you've overcome?
I definitely had to learn how to flesh out a story better rather than just writing filler to make a story seem longer. In my early days of writing I struggled to have my chapters be longer and I feel like they lacked a lot of substance. Now I feel like I've got a better handle on how to craft a story that builds as it goes on. I remember when I was writing In Pieces I had this portion of the story where Nick's basically completely freaked out he's got his gf pregnant and then a couple months later he comes around. But instead of showing him coming around and explaining why he did... I just skipped ahead two months in the story LOL.
Oh I also used to be super uncomfortable writing sex scenes. They still aren't my favourite thing to write just because I think they're boring, but I've written so many of them now that at least I'm not squicked out by them anymore.
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Ugh, yes that would be awesome! Nick said on Radio Disney (I think?) that they were going to have a single out next month. But who knows if that'll actually happen. I feel like that's more him being optimistic rather than the boys themselves being ready. It's good they're taking their time with this one, but they also did that with IAWLT and while that album was better than This Is Us it still didn't break radio. Hopefully with a major label backing them this time around that'll change. They are doing these radio shows and stuff now that they weren't before, so RCA really does seem to be here for them rather than just tolerating them like JIVE was at the end. I was really hoping they'd get a single out for their performance at Wango Tango. I feel like not having something new for that and for their Smooth Tour performances is really a missed opportunity.
Agreed on all points. I also saw that interview where Nick said they'd have a single out within a month, which is encouraging. I doubt it will actually be within the month because of Backstreet Time, but hopefully that at least means single out this year, album early next year. I know they can move fast if they want to. I don't mind them taking their time either, but I just hope they're not scrapping a bunch of songs they wrote themselves and recorded before securing the record deal in favor of songs by big-name producers that may be more radio-friendly, but will probably also be more generic. I want them to retain creative control and keep contributing to the writing and producing of their own music as much as possible.
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Try a new type of fanfic just like I did right now with this fanfic I writing right now
That's always a good way to challenge yourself, by trying something new and different!
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I definitely had to learn how to flesh out a story better rather than just writing filler to make a story seem longer. In my early days of writing I struggled to have my chapters be longer and I feel like they lacked a lot of substance. Now I feel like I've got a better handle on how to craft a story that builds as it goes on. I remember when I was writing In Pieces I had this portion of the story where Nick's basically completely freaked out he's got his gf pregnant and then a couple months later he comes around. But instead of showing him coming around and explaining why he did... I just skipped ahead two months in the story LOL.
Oh I also used to be super uncomfortable writing sex scenes. They still aren't my favourite thing to write just because I think they're boring, but I've written so many of them now that at least I'm not squicked out by them anymore.
Those are both good ones. I think the first is something every writer has to learn. I know I definitely did. First I had to learn to add more detail and description... show, not tell, basically. Then I started putting in too MUCH filler and "subplots" that didn't really add much to the story. So now I'm trying to find the right balance between showing what's important and skipping what's not. I try to make sure every scene I write has a purpose, whether it's moving the story forward or developing the characters and/or relationships.
I hear you with the sex scenes, too. Just out of curiosity, do you prefer writing het sex scenes or slash ones? Any slash writer can answer that question as well, if you want to.
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I try to make sure every scene I write has a purpose, whether it's moving the story forward or developing the characters and/or relationships.
Oh man, definitely this. There was a story I was writing a few years ago that I was really enjoying and when I was editing it to post I realised I had a couple chapters at the end that were just me drawing out writing it because I didn't want it to end. So I cut them out completely and just shifted around the couple of important things they did contain (which wasn't a lot) to other chapters. I ended up sending them to a friend of mine who had been hounding me for a sequel just to placate her, but I still never ended up doing anything else with them and probably never will.
I hear you with the sex scenes, too. Just out of curiosity, do you prefer writing het sex scenes or slash ones? Any slash writer can answer that question as well, if you want to.
This is going to sound weird but I much prefer writing the slash scenes. Actually, I got more comfortable writing the slash scenes than any het scenes. I don't even remember the last het sex scene I wrote? Or the last het fic I wrote, to be honest. The slash scenes are just so much easier because I don't feel like I'm awkwardly trying to (or trying really hard not to) picture myself in the female role. If that makes sense. It's also probably because I've just written more slashy scenes than het ones and I can use the boys that already exist rather than having to create a completely fictional female for them to sleep with. Which I feel like should make it more uncomfortable. .. but somehow it doesn't lol.
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There was a story I was writing a few years ago that I was really enjoying and when I was editing it to post I realised I had a couple chapters at the end that were just me drawing out writing it because I didn't want it to end.
This reminded me of a question I thought of earlier in the summer and didn't ask.
Does anyone else get anal about ending their story on a nice "round" number of chapters, or is that just me?
I have this weird, OCD quirk about numbers... Like if I'm adjusting the volume on my TV or in my car or the temperature on my thermostat, I have to set it at a nice, "round" number - ideally a multiple of 5 or 10, but if I have to go somewhere in between, it has to be an even number. Never an odd number and DEFINITELY never a prime number! I'm the same way with chapters - I like my stories to end on multiples of 5 or 10. I wouldn't be able to stand finishing a story on Chapter 51, for example. I would either make sure I finished it at Chapter 50 or stretched it out to 55. That is why the last few chapters of my stories tend to be super long, 'cause I'm trying to make sure I end on an appropriately-numbered chapter LOL. Or why I invent things like "post-epilogues" so I can make the last numbered chapter 200 and not 201. Can anyone else relate?
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This is going to sound weird but I much prefer writing the slash scenes. Actually, I got more comfortable writing the slash scenes than any het scenes. I don't even remember the last het sex scene I wrote? Or the last het fic I wrote, to be honest. The slash scenes are just so much easier because I don't feel like I'm awkwardly trying to (or trying really hard not to) picture myself in the female role. If that makes sense. It's also probably because I've just written more slashy scenes than het ones and I can use the boys that already exist rather than having to create a completely fictional female for them to sleep with. Which I feel like should make it more uncomfortable. .. but somehow it doesn't lol.
That doesn't sound weird. I was just genuinely curious, and your answer explained it well.
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RokofAges75 yes it is very different to try a new style of fanfic, but this idea wait waiting for too long in my writing notebook and for the chapter it depends where the story goes. For the sex scene it is more easy for me to write it since I go on a forum where is only slash roleplay. I'm happy that you are talking to me here, because you didn't on twitter.
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Sorry, I'm not on Twitter as much these days, so I'm sure I've missed some things. It's also harder to have a discussion there, 140 characters at a time. I'm on this forum all the time, so I'm glad you've joined us here!
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Stephen King tweeted this, and I thought it fit well with BSB fanfic:
"The best stories, it seems to me, deal with friendship put under stress."
I would definitely agree with this, especially thinking of BSB fanfic, because it fits most of my favorite stories. I love bromantic stories where the Boys' friendship is tested, whether it's by their internal demons or external conflicts. Even my favorite fanfic romance, Cover Me With Dreams, fits that description. I guess I don't really have a question to go with this, other than maybe "Do you agree?", or "What are your thoughts on this?" I just thought it was a good quote.
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Yes, I definitely agree with this! I don't have a lot to add, but the BSB bromance stories over the years have been some of my favourites. Their group dynamic really works well for any type of story like that. Even in romance type stories, the boys relationship makes it easy to add a subplot for the group. Like in SAMS, Julie, where Nick was struggling with telling the others about his relationship with Howie and how they'd deal with it.
Are there any BSB-centric stories that haven't been done yet that you wish existed?
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I love a good bromance. I also like drama and suspense but occasionally I read slash depending on who writes it.
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Kinda going along with what both of you said, I agree that their relationship with each other makes for a great subplot in any kind of story. I think it's a major reason WHY I love drama and suspense so much in this fandom - it's not just about bad things happening to the Boys, but how they deal with bad things happening to each other. I love stories where they have to protect each other, take care of each other, or struggle with the fact that they can't do those things.
I am definitely in a bromance phase right now, where most of my story ideas have a focus on the relationship between two of the guys or the whole group. Not in a slashy way this time, although I wouldn't be opposed to writing another slash at some point, probably with a different pairing.
Oh, that reminds me of another question I thought of at some point this summer and never posted (at least I don't think I did... ignore me if I did and already forgot LOL). For those of you who write slash and have a favorite pairing that you always write about, how do you keep it fresh from story to story? I'm talking stand-alone stories about the same couple, not stories in a series. This is not a criticism, just a curiosity. In my very limited experience writing in this genre, I feel like I put everything I had into developing the relationship between Howie and Nick in SAMS and its prequel, so the thought of writing a completely different story with that Howie/Nick pairing doesn't appeal to me at all, anymore than taking a het couple from one of my romances and writing a completely different, unrelated story about them would. How are you able to keep it new, different, and exciting each time?
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Stephen King tweeted this, and I thought it fit well with BSB fanfic:
"The best stories, it seems to me, deal with friendship put under stress."
I would definitely agree with this, especially thinking of BSB fanfic, because it fits most of my favorite stories. I love bromantic stories where the Boys' friendship is tested, whether it's by their internal demons or external conflicts. Even my favorite fanfic romance, Cover Me With Dreams, fits that description. I guess I don't really have a question to go with this, other than maybe "Do you agree?", or "What are your thoughts on this?" I just thought it was a good quote.
I saw that quote yesterday and wanted to post it on fb but couldn't save it to my IPad. I love his tweets in general but especially, I love his thoughts on writing based tweets.
I of course agree with that 100%. If the guys didn't have such a brotherly bond, I wouldn't have even entertained the idea of reading or writing about them. Most likely I would have just been a fan of their music and probably nothing else. It's their interactions with each other that caused me to want to know more in the first place. Anything I have ever written or the stories that I've really loved all have that brotherly interaction and how they deal with things in common. That's why I never read stories about only one of them and a generic guy or girl or an AU where they aren't connected in that way. Doesn't interest me at all.
I am the same way about my TV shows I watch. Most of the ones I watch are very family based or bromantic based shows. Even ER at the time. I loved that show but it had more to do with the relationships that the guys had with each other, particularly Benton and Carter, then the actual medical stuff. I started to lose interest when that started to go away.
Girls, I don't care about at all lol although I did love Desperate Housewives. I think that's been my only exception to my rule. Oh and I guess Alias but I have always had a girl crush on Jennifer Garner so her relationship to the characters has always drawn me in. And Alias rocked!
Come to think of it, I think that why I love baseball as well. I fell in love with the Mets way back in the day because of the relationship they had with each other. They've always been a very brotherly bonding type team. How weird lol I base my whole love of things on bromance.
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For those of you who write slash and have a favorite pairing that you always write about, how do you keep it fresh from story to story? I'm talking stand-alone stories about the same couple, not stories in a series. This is not a criticism, just a curiosity. In my very limited experience writing in this genre, I feel like I put everything I had into developing the relationship between Howie and Nick in SAMS and its prequel, so the thought of writing a completely different story with that Howie/Nick pairing doesn't appeal to me at all, anymore than taking a het couple from one of my romances and writing a completely different, unrelated story about them would. How are you able to keep it new, different, and exciting each time?
I feel like I can answer this because I have written... 17 stories about Niall/Harry in 1D. (Wow that's a lot! I thought it was more like 10 until I actually went and counted LOL) Anyway. I guess it's possible to do it in two ways. First, by having the romance not be the only portion of the story. I don't think it should be this way anyway, but when writing about the same characters over and over again it's important to have outside elements that affect the plot. The slashy bits should come as secondary.
Another thing that helps is twisting their character traits differently. Out of those 17 stories I've written, I think only 5 of them are AU. The AU portion definitely helps because I can change the extenuating circumstances a lot more than when keeping it in canon. A lot of the canon stuff is me just writing a short story based around something that actually happened. Even within the canon, I think I only did the "oh god I can't believe I might be gay" plotline once with that pairing. After getting that out of the way there were other, more interesting ways to twist their characters... like for instance most people in that fandom go with the sterotypical Harry's a womanizer character trait and Niall is pining for him. I switched it around. No one has to have an identity crisis, they can still be themselves, just the situation I threw at them was different.
But yeah, changing the extenuating circumstances and making the romance part of the story secondary I think is key to writing about the same characters multiple times.
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Mare, that is interesting what you said about everything you like involving bromance. I agree about ER - the characters and thelr (not just sexual) relationships with each other are what set that show apart from every other medical drama I've tried to watch and haven't gotten into because it's just not as good as ER. I gave Grey's Anatomy another chance this summer and actually made it to Season 2, and I can see why people like it, but it's still no ER.
Baseball, too - I've never thought about it that way, but I can see what you're saying with that. I think of the story Between the Lines, and how the author Carrie used the Boys as members of a baseball team and how well that worked as an AU because the dynamics were definitely similar. The mark of a great team in any sport is how the players get along with one another. I would love to see a movie made about the 2016 Cubs because they had it all - the bromance, the drama, the highs and lows, overcoming the odds, all of it.
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That makes sense, Steph. I think the AU thing would definitely help, as well as different subplots outside of the romantic storyline. I also think it's easier for people who regularly read and write slash to just accept that the characters are gay right off the bat without feeling the need to show the characters coming out or struggling with the fact that they're gay. I think that's the stuff that I wouldn't want to have to write over and over again.
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As a slash convert it was really hard at first to write Frick and Frack in a romantic sense and not a bromance. I'd been writing their friendship forever so to change to romance took me a while to adjust. I've also written Nick/Kevin slash as well. I think getting ideas for me comes from music usually or something I read, depending on my mood. I also take ideas from things happening in the boys lives (like in One Phone Call).
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Between the Lines was a great baseball AU. I think the key to any winning team is the bond they all seem to have. The same with the Royals who had won the year before. The neat thing is no matter where the players end up going after that World Series win, they will still be forever bonded because of it. Those 86 Mets are always together for things. Two of them actual do the broadcasting for all the Mets games together. It's awesome!
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That's a really good point about the bromance aspect. I hadn't thought much about it before, but I tend to enjoy media that focuses heavily on male friendship as well. I really liked The OC, which was obviously a teen drama but the heavy focus on Seth and Ryan as brothers made it great. Same with Fullmetal Alchemist, which was an anime and the entire story was focused around the journey of two brothers. There's just something compelling about male friendship especially. Maybe because of the way men showing too much outward affection towards each other is frowned upon whereas it's okay for females to do it.
I'm not really into baseball at all, but I can see where that would definitely be the same sort of thing.
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Aw, The OC! <3 Agreed... the bromance was definitely the best part!
You have a great point with why it's so popular, because it's somehow more rare to see it outwardly expressed than close female friendship. I feel like since "bromance" became a term, it's becoming more and more acceptable for guys to show genuine affection toward each other. I think that is a good thing.
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Yes ER was the best tv show ever! I have the 15 seasons in DVD so I can watch it when I want. I like a lot Brian and Kevin for brothers story. For slash I prefer create a new character to place with Brian when I write slash fanfic. I try to write the guys with ncis or stargate sg1, but that don't work.
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Anyone have a genre they haven't tried yet that they'd like to one day? Not sure if this has been asked. But for me I want to try Fantasy, it's one of the ones I haven't done yet and I've just about tried everything.
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I think the same for Me. I'd always wanted to try my hand at Sci-fi/fantasy but I don't think I have the creative mind to write in that genre. I feel like to effectively be able to write fantasy, you need to create another world and for me that's too many new characters and names of things and places I know I wouldn't remember lol
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I do think fantasy and sci-fi can be tough, depending on how "out there" you go with it. I think I've tried every genre, but the one I would love to be able to write more in is suspense. I love reading suspense stories, but have never had much success writing them.
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Since Stephanie mentioned crossovers with NCIS and Stargate, what would be your dream BSB crossover? It could be one you'd write yourself or something you'd like to see someone else write.
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I would really like to see some kind of BSB in space crossover. Maybe like Star Trek or Firefly. One with a good ensemble cast that BSB (or Nick, lol) could be dropped into.
Also selfishly I want more BSB/1D crossovers lol but I know I am probably the only audience for that.
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BSB/Supernatural
BSB/BSG to go with the whole in space thing.
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A drama fanfiction BSB with ER cast!
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^ This is my dream crossover as well! I have two solid chapters written of a BSB/ER story, but I'm not far enough (or writing consistently enough on it) to be able to post anything yet. One day!
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Do you read crossovers if you're only a fan of (or at least familiar with) one of the fandoms in the story, or do you only read them if you like both? I feel like that was an awkwardly phrased question LOL, but hopefully you know what I'm asking. For example, if someone wrote a BSB/Star Trek fic, and you'd never seen an episode of Star Trek, would you still give it a chance?
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I would really like to see some kind of BSB in space crossover. Maybe like Star Trek or Firefly. One with a good ensemble cast that BSB (or Nick, lol) could be dropped into.
Also selfishly I want more BSB/1D crossovers lol but I know I am probably the only audience for that.
I'd read a BSB 1D crossover too not going to lie lol
I'd really want a Star Wars BSB cross over fic or Once Upon A Time.
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I'm surprised there aren't more BSB/1D crossovers (or maybe there are?). That seems like a crossover that makes sense and would be easy to do.
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You would think but there's a severe lack of crossover fic in 1D fandom in general.
I think I'd probably read a crossover for a fandom I wasn't familiar with, as long as the story seemed compelling. I suggested the Star Trek one but I've honestly seen like two episodes of that show. My husband is obsessed with it though, so that's why I figured BSB in that universe with those characters might be interesting. I guess as long as the other fandom was described well enough it wouldn't matter. I guess it would depend in that case where you were posting. If I was posting here, I'd put more thought into going into more backstory in the other fandom than if I was posting on StarTrekFic.co m or whatever.
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I doubt I'd read a crossover if I wasn't familiar or not a fan of the other fandom.
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Steph you mentioned a BSB/Firefly one and I completely forgot Rose was writing one called We Burn The Sky that was so good. I love Firefly.
I really am surprised that 1D fanfiction doesn't have a lot of crossovers. I myself write BSB/NSYNC and I have a bit of NKOTB in my romance series. I have also done BSB and the DWTS cast.
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Steph you mentioned a BSB/Firefly one and I completely forgot Rose was writing one called We Burn The Sky that was so good. I love Firefly.
I really am surprised that 1D fanfiction doesn't have a lot of crossovers. I myself write BSB/NSYNC and I have a bit of NKOTB in my romance series. I have also done BSB and the DWTS cast.
Appreciate the love (been trying to catch up) but it's not a crossover. It's heavily inspired by Firefly but it's not in the same universe LOL. Though you know I've toyed with like a BSB/Inhumans/Agents of Shield crossover at one pont. Revealing Nick as an inhuman.
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Sorry Rose. Well Firefly inspired then. But I still love it :)
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It's all good! I still love the love. God I need to get on that fic, so many ideas. No time to write them LOL.
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It's okay. You know me...I don't mind when something is updated lol I want you to finish Miles To Go too....*wink wink*
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I would be less likely to read a crossover with a fandom I knew nothing about, but along the lines of what Steph said, if the storyline seemed like something I'd enjoy, regardless of fandom, I would be willing to give it a try.
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It's okay. You know me...I don't mind when something is updated lol I want you to finish Miles To Go too....*wink wink*
I second this!
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Tell us about a time when you went outside your comfort zone by reading a fanfic you normally wouldn't read and ended up enjoying it. Did that experience open you up to reading more diverse types of stories or change your reading preferences at all?
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Tell us about a time when you went outside your comfort zone by reading a fanfic you normally wouldn't read and ended up enjoying it. Did that experience open you up to reading more diverse types of stories or change your reading preferences at all?
You know, I was just thinking about this because I actually used to really not be into slash. Slash was a genre I would not go near at all until I read some one summer for the summer reading challenge. I ended up really enjoying it and now I even write it myself.
I will now probably be open to reading anything once if the summary interests me. But my favorite kind of stories are suspense.
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My most recent example is also slash. I never used to be able to take slash seriously, but then I read one of Cinzia's short stories for the summer reading challenge back in 2013, and I enjoyed it. It was well-written, and even though it was technically a slash, it wasn't overly sexual. It was easy to overlook that aspect of it and appreciate a good Frick & Frack story. That is actually what inspired me to seriously try writing a slash, which led to Unsuspecting Sunday and then Sick as My Secrets. I read a few slash one-shots here and there while I was writing SAMS, mostly to get some inspiration for the sexy scenes LOL, but I can't say I read anything that stuck with me. But now I'm reading Steph's new story Ever Since New York, which is the first slash novel I've ever read, and I have to say that I'm actually genuinely enjoying it. In all honesty, I probably wouldn't have clicked on it if it wasn't written by a friend/favorite author, but I also wouldn't have stuck with it if I wasn't enjoying it. The fact that it's an old-school Brian story helps! Between reading these stories and writing my own, I've become a lot more open to slash and would read more in the future if the writing was good and the storyline appealed to me, just as with any story.
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It was because of Cinzia for me too funny enough. And I remember you reading my one shot Secrets Of The Heart and I was surprised cause I know you don't like to read slash. I am the same way. If it's well written I enjoy reading it.
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Wish Cinzia would come back here and see what a trendsetter she is! LOL
Yes, there's another example of my newfound openness to slash LOL. I don't think I'll ever turn into one of those people who only want to read and write slash, but I also won't pass over a story just because it has that label anymore.
One thing that I've found I really enjoy about slash is that it's a way to include romance without taking attention away from BSB by focusing too much on a female character. I really enjoyed writing a novel that was just about the relationship between two Backstreet Boys, and I think that's why I'm in such a bromance phase, where most of my ideas focus on two of the Boys (just not in a romantic way).
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I think that's why I enjoy slash too. Although I do write regular romance as well, I feel like I enjoy slash a little more because I can focus on the boys and not the random female characters.
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Yep. Nothing against regular romance or random female characters; I enjoy those too, but it's kind of a relief to not have to worry about creating a believable, likable, well-rounded original character. You still have to make the Boys well-rounded characters, but that's easier cause there's so much already fleshed out for you. Then the challenge becomes making them sexually attracted to each other in a way that's believable LOL.
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Yeah that is what I'm working on with my slash novel I've been trying around with. Want to make it believable but also it's set in the past for most of it.
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My most recent example is also slash. I never used to be able to take slash seriously, but then I read one of Cinzia's short stories for the summer reading challenge back in 2013, and I enjoyed it. It was well-written, and even though it was technically a slash, it wasn't overly sexual. It was easy to overlook that aspect of it and appreciate a good Frick & Frack story. That is actually what inspired me to seriously try writing a slash, which led to Unsuspecting Sunday and then Sick as My Secrets. I read a few slash one-shots here and there while I was writing SAMS, mostly to get some inspiration for the sexy scenes LOL, but I can't say I read anything that stuck with me. But now I'm reading Steph's new story Ever Since New York, which is the first slash novel I've ever read, and I have to say that I'm actually genuinely enjoying it. In all honesty, I probably wouldn't have clicked on it if it wasn't written by a friend/favorite author, but I also wouldn't have stuck with it if I wasn't enjoying it. The fact that it's an old-school Brian story helps! Between reading these stories and writing my own, I've become a lot more open to slash and would read more in the future if the writing was good and the storyline appealed to me, just as with any story.
It was because of Cinzia for me too funny enough. And I remember you reading my one shot Secrets Of The Heart and I was surprised cause I know you don't like to read slash. I am the same way. If it's well written I enjoy reading it.
Wish Cinzia would come back here and see what a trendsetter she is! LOL
Thanks girls!!! *_*
But I just showed how good and amazing slash can be. lol Especially when it's Frick and Frack. lol
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Yay my Frick is here
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Sorry to always be the Debbie Downer of this group but it's also nice hearing from someone who has pretty much quit the fanfic part of the fandom too, right? lo
That being said, I'm pretty sure I haven't really read a story outside my comfort zone that I enjoyed enough to make me a convert. I have had to read out of my comfort zone for challenges and judging for awards and although the writing had been stellar on some, I wouldn't ever really have a desire to read those particular genres again.
You guys know me though and pretty much since day one, I've always said the same thing about fan fiction. I know what I like so that's what I read. Fan fiction has always been my fast food of reading. I don't eat fast food very often at all but when I decide to, I go with what I know I like. In my case, a chalupa from Taco Bell...yum! To waste my fast food experience on a Big Mac would be terrible! So I stick to what I know I like.
I do venture outside my comfort zone often for non fanfic reading and tv watching, just to try it. But BSB fanfic has always been all about those five boys to me. I've never really cared about random girls or their real life wives and I've never wanted to see them romantically involved with each other. It's their bromance I love without the mance part lol
I'm glad to see slash making a comeback to the fandom though because hopefully it'll bring some more people who loved it back to reading again. I remember when it was all slash all the time in the fandom.
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Aw thanks for the love, Julie :) I'm going to give it right back haha.
The story I read out of my comfort zone was Broken. I read that back in like 2007 or something when you'd already finished it. It was clear that Nick was going to end up with cancer but I figured I'd give it a try anyway just because at that time I'd just come back into the fic world and was basically reading everything I could get my hands on that was finished, and that one was really long, and there was a Nick romance as a sequel. Though reading about one of the boys being terminally ill was really not something I was into, I ended up really enjoying it and I now count medical dramas as a genre I really like.
Tracy, you wrote that story about Nick and Brian in college a while ago. Finding Carter, I think it was called? I really liked that one too and before that I was not a fan of AU. AU kind of struck me as "what's the point?" before that, if they weren't going to be in the band then I might as well be reading a regular novel. That story showed me that the boys can still be themselves even if their job is different. I definitely won't shy away from AU now!
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Aww, thanks! I'm glad I made a medical drama convert out of you! :)
AU was the other "outside my comfort zone" genre I was thinking of. I think the first story that really opened my eyes to how good AU could be was Between the Lines. I had tried and failed to get into that story before because so many people had recommended it, but something made me finally stick with it - it may have been Mare's old fanfic group or maybe an awards I was judging, I don't remember. I wasn't that big of a baseball fan at the time, and I didn't like AUs because I missed the Backstreet vibe, but once I got into that story, I LOVED it, and it's one of my favorite fanfics now. So well-written and full of bromance! Since then, I've been much more open to AU. I enjoyed Finding Carter and some of Julilly's AUs like Satin and Silk, and I got into writing AUs like Song for the Undead and 00Carter. I still prefer canon to AU, but just like with slash, I won't pass by a story just because it's AU anymore.
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Aw thanks ladies. Finding Carter was and still is one of my favorite stories I've ever written. These comments made my day.
I love writing AU because there's so much to play with. It's funny because I don't read a lot of it. I go for Canon stories more.
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So here's a question I thought of, what got everyone into writing fanfiction in the first place?
I don't exactly know when it was, I just know that in high school I carried notebooks around and wrote a lot between classes, during lunch, before school... I still have my notebooks too.
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I think I've told this before, but I'll tell it again lol. I was on BSB websites in like 1998 or something, and I was cruising this one fansite that had a link called "Stories." I thought it was going to be stories about meeting the boys, so I clicked on it, but it was fanfic. Like, so many fanfic stories. Mostly Nick romance which was right up my alley LOL. After reading a whole bunch of them I decided to try writing my own.
I actually contacted the author of that site asking her to host my stuff (and she did!) but I didn't even know the concept of chapters or anything at that time. I was just writing in a word document and adding onto it as I went. So I asked her how people would know I'd updated and she was like "Just split it into chapters and send me new chapters as you write them!" And here we are.
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I was digging through some old threads on here and I came across a question I thought would be interesting to ask again. When you get inspiration from a movie, a book or even another fanfic, how do you go about twisting that idea to make it your own?
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Having done two stories that were inspired by movies, (When I Grow Up and Jizzle Of Oz) I can answer this lol. When I Grow Up was directly inspired by the movie 13 Going On 30. While it's not one of my best attempts at writing, I changed it up by making Nick the Jennifer Garner character and setting it in the This Is Us era. It was a bit challenging but I made sure to try and keep the comedy element while adding the drama with the Nick/Kevin storyline.
Jizzle Of Oz was a parody of The Wizard Of Oz. I took the boys and tried to fit them to the characters from the movie. Since Nick was Dorothy he needed a female enemy and the natural choice was Paris lol. I guess I just didn't put a lot of thought into it but I enjoyed Leighanne as Glinda with the munchkins wearing t shirts with her photo on them haha.
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So here's a question I thought of, what got everyone into writing fanfiction in the first place?
I don't exactly know when it was, I just know that in high school I carried notebooks around and wrote a lot between classes, during lunch, before school... I still have my notebooks too.
After reading "Ground Zero" I was yearning for more suspense and then just decided to try my own hand at it. That was Mizpah and the rest is history.
I was on ffnet for like a hot minute before it closed real life admissions. That's when I tried to find people who hosted and Julie was one of them. I was on Izzy's site as well before Chaos contacted me and offered to host on AC before it was actually AC. Good times!
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I was digging through some old threads on here and I came across a question I thought would be interesting to ask again. When you get inspiration from a movie, a book or even another fanfic, how do you go about twisting that idea to make it your own?
Even though it's not really a specific fanfic or anything that I got my ideas from, it's more the genres in general. It's challenging to make a kidnapping story seem original when there are so many out there. I just tried my best to stick to my style which was first person from multi points of view. My favorite spin on suspense though was writing the story as the haunted house as the main character? I'm still patting myself on the back for that one! Lol
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That haunted house story was SO good. And I would have to say that's why I read a lot of your stuff, Mare. I love suspense and you were so creative. Each storyline just pulled me in. It's hard to do a kidnapping story in your own way with being original. Like I did with Figured You Out, there's so many psycho fan stories so I had to kind of do a twist on it. It's hard. Lol
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I loved your haunted house story too, Mare! That was such a creative idea!
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So here's a question I thought of, what got everyone into writing fanfiction in the first place?
I don't exactly know when it was, I just know that in high school I carried notebooks around and wrote a lot between classes, during lunch, before school... I still have my notebooks too.
I've heard a lot of people say that's how they started, by writing fanfic in notebooks at school. That's neat that you still have those! I think there's something special about having them in your own handwriting. I started my first fanfic in a notebook and still have that, but it's only a few pages; then I started typing it on my computer and have never really written fanfic by hand since.
I stumbled onto fanfic while browsing BSB sites, and once I realized what I was reading, I got obsessed with reading it. I read it for probably 5 months or so before I tried writing any myself. I read this short story that was about Brian's illness when he was 5, told from the perspective of this little girl who lived next door. I think Brian actually died in it, but then it turned out to be just a nightmare, and the story ends with the girl waking up as a grown woman, in bed with Brian, who she's married to. It was a cute little story, but I remember being disappointed that it was so short and wanting to read more about what happened in between when they were five and when they were grown up and married. So I decided to try writing my own story about Brian and a girl growing up together as best friends and falling in love. I never finished the first version because I got an idea for another story (Heartache) and ended up finishing that one and getting it hosted online, but I went back and re-wrote the original story a year or so later and finished that one (Years of Grace).
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I didn't even know the concept of chapters or anything at that time. I was just writing in a word document and adding onto it as I went. So I asked her how people would know I'd updated and she was like "Just split it into chapters and send me new chapters as you write them!" And here we are.
That's funny! Does anyone else have an example of something that seems so basic now that you didn't know or struggled with when you first started writing?
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I was digging through some old threads on here and I came across a question I thought would be interesting to ask again. When you get inspiration from a movie, a book or even another fanfic, how do you go about twisting that idea to make it your own?
I guess I usually make it my own by adding or changing details to take the story in a different direction.
In the example I talked about in my answer to how I got started writing fanfic, I took the basic premise of a short story I'd read and extended it into a novel by adding a lot more to the story.
Broken was inspired by the Swollen Issues series - both Nick cancer stories, but in an effort to go my own way, I gave Nick a different type of cancer that would allow me to take it in a different direction (a.k.a. amputating his leg), and I also added in a romantic subplot with Claire's character.
Guilty Roads was actually inspired by The Lion King (which was inspired by Hamlet), but I used Backstreet Boys instead of lions, mobsters instead of hyenas, Amish people instead of Timon and Pumbaa, and changed the setting from Africa to Pennsylvania LOL. And actually, the whole "Let's come up with a way to twist a Disney movie into a fanfic plot" idea was inspired by the fanfic Faceless, which I always thought had been inspired by Beauty and the Beast. So there was a lot of inspiration behind that story.
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Jizzle Of Oz was a parody of The Wizard Of Oz. I took the boys and tried to fit them to the characters from the movie. Since Nick was Dorothy he needed a female enemy and the natural choice was Paris lol. I guess I just didn't put a lot of thought into it but I enjoyed Leighanne as Glinda with the munchkins wearing t shirts with her photo on them haha.
Who else enjoys reading and/or writing parodies? What's your favorite parody you've read and/or written?
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I love parodies.. I might love suspense but I highly enjoy a good parody, obviously cause I'm a huge Weird Al fan. So my love for parodies carried over to my reading tendencies. I've only written one so I guess Jizzle Of Oz is my favorite lol.
I just remembered that Forces Of Nature, although I didn't finish it was directly inspired from the movie Twister. Nick was based off Dusty, AJ was based off Bill and Kevin was based off of their rival Jonas. I wish I'd finished that one.
Then Weird World was taken from a Weird Al song called "I Think I'm A Clone Now", inspired by the lyrics about having a clone of himself.
My favorite parody of sorts I've read was Five BSBs In Search Of A Plot and Julilly's story about Gaston for that Beauty And The Beast writing challenge we did.
As for the notebooks, my first story I ever wrote was the first story I have ever posted on AC which was called Incomplete. I have a couple others that I never posted, including one about 9/11 that I wrote in high school.
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That's funny! Does anyone else have an example of something that seems so basic now that you didn't know or struggled with when you first started writing?
I just learned how to make things italicized when I post to AC. Cause I post from my phone I don't have the editor function so I need to use HTML and I know nothing about it. Cinzia actually told me and I was so excited I learned how to do it lol
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Thanks, Tracy and Julie!
And thanks for also mentioning 5 BSB's, Tracy!
One thing I struggled with was dialogue. When I very first started, I didn't realize that you could put a period at the end of your sentences inside the quotes lol uh...I was a bit out of practice.
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I just learned how to make things italicized when I post to AC. Cause I post from my phone I don't have the editor function so I need to use HTML and I know nothing about it. Cinzia actually told me and I was so excited I learned how to do it lol
Haha Tracy that's funny! I started learning HTML because of fanfic too, back in the day I decided I wanted to have my own website so I got my friend's brother to show me some basic stuff. As I wanted my website to look better I started learning some Javascript. I ended up going to school for Computer Science and I still work in the website/tech industry. I never really made that connection between fanfic and my eventual career until now. Huh!
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That's really cool, Steph! Has fanfic influenced anyone else's life or career in some way?
For me, as a teacher, writing as a hobby has not only made me a better writer, but also a better teacher of writing. The writing I do in front of my students to model different strategies is probably stronger than it would have been if I hadn't gotten into fanfic, at least when it comes to fiction/narrative writing. And just having a love of writing makes it more fun to teach, too.
Also, going along with the HTML thing, running my own website for so long has taught me lots of technology skills that have come in handy in my career and real life - building a website, creating graphics, using social media, etc.
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I love parodies.. I might love suspense but I highly enjoy a good parody, obviously cause I'm a huge Weird Al fan.
I love parodies too! There used to be a lot more of them in the BSB fandom... well, some of them were more "hate stories" than fanfic, but those were still funny too. One of my favorites, going WAY back, is this parody of The Blair Witch Project: http://www.angelfire.com/bc/BackstreetComedy/Blair.html It's not well-written, and it's so old-school, I'm not sure anyone who didn't read it back in 1999 would even find it funny now, but for whatever reason, it's always cracked me up. There's another one of The Exorcist on the same site that was pretty funny too. I also loved everyone's Beauty and the Beast stories - one of my favorite challenges we've done!
I really enjoy writing parodies. I don't write them all that often, but I've done a few for 00Carter and various short stories. My favorite is probably my pandaskunk series because it spoofs a bunch of different stuff, and even though it's silly, it somehow all works together.
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I feel so ashamed I didn't mention 00Carter lol that's right up there in my favorites too. And 1000 Ways.. Even though it's not a parody it's a comedy. I love to read stuff like that now and then.
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Thanks! :)
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How I got into fanfic.
So I've been writing since second grade, like somewhere in a crate of my childhood that I got after my mom passed away, are those little books some elementary schools will help you "publish" if your teacher thought you had written a good story. You got picked to publish it as your own little book. My teacher at the time told me I was good and I heard it a few times in later grades and as a kid who already loved books, I very quickly found I loved writing more than I did playing pretend. My mom wanted to encourage this so by 5th grade she bought me my own typewriter. So I wrote even more, all original fiction obviously.
Fast Foward to 13 my sister gave me a computer for Christmas and I was able to get on the internet full time and I looked up websites about my favorite group at the time. I, like Saka Steph saw a "stories" link, and I clicked and discovered fanfiction. The idea of combining my two favorite things sounded awesome and I went from there. Quickly discovered fanfiction.net and posted there till they got rid of RPF. After that I got hosted on a friend's website that I was collaborating with and she let me know about AC as well.
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When I get inspired by books, usually it's not so much twisting them or spinning them, it's always questions. Like... "What would happen if Nick was in that situation?" or "What if this was different? I could throw BSB in the mix too." Or, like my This Is The End idea, for example. "What were BSB doing all this time before they ended up in heaven?" I find my best story ideas literally come out of nowhere.
Or, from talking to Julie at 3am - which funny story, happens just as easily in person at our hotel room as it does when we're on yahoo or FB messenger in the middle of the night.
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That's so neat that you had an actual typewriter to write on! Do you still have it?
I had an old PC in my room by the time I started writing fanfic, but it didn't have an internet connection. This was back in the dial-up days, of course. So I would write in my room, save my files to a floppy disk, and then move to my mom's computer to get online and post stuff. To read fanfic, I would copy/paste chapters to a Word document, save them on my floppy, and take them back to my own computer to read offline because my mom would get mad if I stayed online for hours at a time, tying up the phone line. Eventually I got internet in my room, and that made things much easier!
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I wrote on a type writer too and I still have it. There's something about it that I like. The smell of the ink and paper.
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Julie I did that but I would take my floppy disk to school and use the school computer when I was on fanfiction.net . That was the first place I posted my stuff before I found AC. I like AC a lot better.
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I wrote on a type writer too and I still have it. There's something about it that I like. The smell of the ink and paper.
So cool! I've never used a real typewriter before, but I love the idea of it!
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So cool! I've never used a real typewriter before, but I love the idea of it!
It was a lot faster than going to the library and printing things. I used to do school reports on a typewriter sometimes if I didn't have time for the library.
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That's so neat that you had an actual typewriter to write on! Do you still have it?
I had an old PC in my room by the time I started writing fanfic, but it didn't have an internet connection. This was back in the dial-up days, of course. So I would write in my room, save my files to a floppy disk, and then move to my mom's computer to get online and post stuff. To read fanfic, I would copy/paste chapters to a Word document, save them on my floppy, and take them back to my own computer to read offline because my mom would get mad if I stayed online for hours at a time, tying up the phone line. Eventually I got internet in my room, and that made things much easier!
Sadly no, I eventually broke it. I adored that thing though till I got my own computer LOL. When my sister gave me the computer she set me up with internet too cause her company paid for it so until I was like, 18 I had hers. Then they switched her to broadband and I had to get it myself. So I was always the only internet user in the house cause my parents weren't really fussed about learning it.
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So cool! I've never used a real typewriter before, but I love the idea of it!
I was fancy too, like it had a delete option if you made a mistake. I remember my dad saying he wasn't sure if I'd like it but my mom was sure I would and she was so right lol. But she loved to write too, only she wrote poetry. So she always understood it.
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What got me into writing fanfics was a Take That story I read back in about 2006. I'd never come across it until then. I thought I'd have a go.
There was a question earlier about crossovers, I've done a BSB/Supernatural one in the past. Would love to do another. Maybe BSB/Outlander or something like that.
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There was a question earlier about crossovers, I've done a BSB/Supernatural one in the past. Would love to do another. Maybe BSB/Outlander or something like that.
BSB/Outlander would be so unusual lol 12/10 would read though.
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I was thinking how I'd even go about writing a BSB/Outlander crossover, it would have to be AU :)
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Not trying to open up a can of worms here, but when drama happens in the fandom, like the last couple of weeks, does that inspire you or hurt your inspiration?
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Surprising but I've actually been back writing again... Working on a couple. I got inspired to do a group story set when Kevin comes back to the group. I just thought it would be a interesting idea to play with, because there's so many about him leaving but not really about when he came back.
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I like that idea! I've been inspired too. I don't know if it's because the fandom has been so active lately, or if it just happened to coincide with Thanksgiving and me having some time off to think about fanfic, but I've been plotting like crazy. Actually writing, not so much yet, but I feel like it's coming.
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I've been doing a lot of plotting, so probably does, horrible as that is LOL.
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LOL What can I say - drama in the fandom means more sources of drama for the fanfics, and you know we all love that kind of drama.
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For me it used to depend on what kind of drama. Happy things would spark my writing more so than bad things. That time when they all lived together in a house is what brought me back the last time. Maybe if ine of them gets kidnapped lol
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I wish they'd do that again. Finish the new album, already!
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Hello my beautiful people!!!
Just wanted to swing by because you’ve all been on my mind. :) Glad I remembered this password, because I don’t remember the password to access my stories and shit, lmao!!! Hope you’ve all been doing well and would love to hear what’s been going on with all of you. :)
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I usually just ignore fandom drama, so it doesn't really hurt/help any writing inspiration I have. The specific issue with Nick right now has all but killed not only my interest in BSB fanfic, but just the group in general. Definitely that hurt any writing I was doing in either fandom because it bothered me so much.
On a completely separate and much happier topic lmao, welcome back Reb :)
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That's sad, especially since you were a Nick girl. Are you going to post the rest of "Ever Since New York"?
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Welcome back, Reb! Nice to see you posting on here. It's nice to see some action on here, period. I'm doing well. I took a little break from fanfic after finishing my last story, but I'm ready to be back now and trying to get going on a new story. I'm also eagerly awaiting the Boys' next album and tour!
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Hi Reb!!!
Not much going on with me. Just been working and making money to pay off this next BSB cruise.. Plus finally going to Disney and living out the stuff I wrote when I wrote Finding Carter a few years ago.
I need a picture with Buzz and Woody. Lol.
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Welcome back Reb!
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When are you going to Disney, Tracy? Is it your first time? Sounds like fun!
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I'm going to Disney before the BSB cruise, I will be there for a few days at the end of April, beginning of May. I've never been so it's really exciting for me. I've always wanted to go. I was supposed to do Universal too for Harry Potter but unfortunately couldn't make it work this time.
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Awesome! You'll have a blast! I wish you could do Universal too, but hopefully you can do that another time. You can do both Universal parks in a day if you're mainly there for the Wizarding World, which is amazing.
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Let's talk about killing people! Characters, I mean. I'm still upset about a certain character getting killed off a certain show the other day and trying to understand that decision from a writing standpoint, so let's talk about killing characters in fanfic.
Do you shy away from killing off characters, or are you cool with it? If you're cool with killing, does that include killing Backstreet Boys (or the main characters in whatever fandom you're writing in)?
What factors in to your decision to let a character live or die?
Have you ever regretted killing (or not killing) a character?
What has been the hardest character death for you to write?
As a reader, what was most shocking or devastating death you've read in someone else's story?
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Let's talk about killing people! Characters, I mean. I'm still upset about a certain character getting killed off a certain show the other day and trying to understand that decision from a writing standpoint, so let's talk about killing characters in fanfic.
Do you shy away from killing off characters, or are you cool with it? If you're cool with killing, does that include killing Backstreet Boys (or the main characters in whatever fandom you're writing in)?
What factors in to your decision to let a character live or die?
Have you ever regretted killing (or not killing) a character?
What has been the hardest character death for you to write?
As a reader, what was most shocking or devastating death you've read in someone else's story?
KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL. :D
I definitely do not shy away from killing characters. I do tend to keep the Boys alive though. But, I've got ideas in my head where BSBs can and might die. So I don't shy away from it. It's more, there needs to be a good reason. So far I haven't killed many main characters in any novels I have currently posted (oneshots are different lol). The last ones I did were in Song From The Undead - I think. I didn't write those, you did lol, but they served the story and the journey of the characters. I don't believe in killing solely for shock. Even in "Miles To Go", Jordan's dying serves a purpose and it's why I did it during "Nick and Knight" rather than something that might involve a BSB lol.
The hardest one is one that hasn't been posted yet, but I'm struggling with it.
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The hardest one is one that hasn't been posted yet, but I'm struggling with it.
Oooh! You have my attention with that.
I never realized that about Undead, but now that I'm thinking about it, I guess you're right? Weird how that worked out.
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Oooh! You have my attention with that.
I never realized that about Undead, but now that I'm thinking about it, I guess you're right? Weird how that worked out.
LOL I know right? My first thought was when did I kill people outside of one shots, and I thought of Undead. Then it hit me that I didn't do the killing.
Also...mwahaha .
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Let's talk about killing people! Characters, I mean. I'm still upset about a certain character getting killed off a certain show the other day and trying to understand that decision from a writing standpoint, so let's talk about killing characters in fanfic.
Do you shy away from killing off characters, or are you cool with it? If you're cool with killing, does that include killing Backstreet Boys (or the main characters in whatever fandom you're writing in)?
- Hm, I've killed Nick a bunch of times. Injured the boys too many times. Killing Nick and Brian both in the one shot I wrote entitled Two Ghosts was very hard. Considering Nick's is a suicide and Brian watches him die but can't help because he's dead.
Killed Nick's parents. Although I am working on one of the boys deaths... It's an AU story but I am trying to work out the idea just right.
What factors in to your decision to let a character live or die?
-Well the times I've killed Nick it was for 1,000 Ways To KILL so I kinda had to lol. But if I had to decide, it would depend on how it moved the story along.
Have you ever regretted killing (or not killing) a character?
-Not really yet. Lol if I killed someone it's with good reason. I've even killed myself off as a character but it was important to the storyline.
What has been the hardest character death for you to write?
-Probably my own death... Murdered on a cruise ship.
As a reader, what was most shocking or devastating death you've read in someone else's story?
- I have a lot of answers but I'll go with Howie's death in Sick As My Secrets because while I kinda knew it was going to happen it didn't take away the fact that it was so tragic. I was pretty sad. But it was very well written..
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Let's talk about killing people!
Only on this forum would that be a totally normal topic of discussion lol
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Only on this forum would that be a totally normal topic of discussion lol
LOL So true.
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Let's talk about killing people! Characters, I mean. I'm still upset about a certain character getting killed off a certain show the other day and trying to understand that decision from a writing standpoint, so let's talk about killing characters in fanfic.
Do you shy away from killing off characters, or are you cool with it? If you're cool with killing, does that include killing Backstreet Boys (or the main characters in whatever fandom you're writing in)?
What factors in to your decision to let a character live or die?
Have you ever regretted killing (or not killing) a character?
What has been the hardest character death for you to write?
As a reader, what was most shocking or devastating death you've read in someone else's story?
I'm okay with it, depending. Look at my BSB "Blackmailed" and "Nothing Gold Can Stay". I had other stories, way back in my early fanfic days, that had one of the Boys dying (most likely Brian), but I refuse to do that again. Now, I'll come pretty close to them dying - again, look at Blackmailed and its sequel. And I'm considering killing a character I created for those stories, but I might not. I hate killing off favorites and darlings. I guess that's why I tend to stay away from reading stories here on AC that have death listed in them. Go figure...
And yet I'm going to have deaths in the last Blackmailed sequel I'm working on, and in the BSB werewolf hunter story I'm planning. How does that work? Maybe it's just because I struggle with creating really strong, fleshed out characters.
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I'm not afraid of killing characters, including the Boys. I might even enjoy killing the Boys, judging by how every novel I've finished (by myself) in the last decade has ended. Jeez... I have a problem. LOL
As far as the decision to let a character live or die goes, I just try to do what makes the most sense and feels right. Sometimes characters deserve to have a happy endings, and sometimes stories just feel more like tragedies that need to end tragically.
I've never regretted killing a character, but I have regretted the way I've done it. Tracy mentioned Sick as My Secrets (thanks, Tracy), and that's actually the one I have regrets about. I had a plan for how it was going to happen and then changed my mind a few days before I wrote it, and now I think I should have stuck to my original plan. It was going to be a lot less dramatic originally, but that was the point. I just can't resist the drama.
The hardest character death for me to write was probably in Curtain Call. I had a work friend who was dying of cancer at the time, so it hit close to home, but I also think writing that story at that time also helped me deal with my emotions about what was happening to her.
The most devastating death I've read in someone else's story was probably in Swollen Issues III. Even though it was the most believable ending and was probably inevitable, I wasn't necessarily expecting it when it happened, and it was so very sad. The most shocking was probably in an old suspense story called Scared of Reality because one of the Boys was killed in the middle of the story, which doesn't usually happen. But I think that's one of the things that made that story great, and it's one of the reasons I love The Walking Dead, too, even when they kill characters I love. It's more exciting when you have the feeling that no one is safe.
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Is anyone else super indecisive when it comes to writing? I'm usually not, but I just started a new story, and I have been having so much trouble making up my mind about basic things, like a title and events. I feel like I have a solid premise and some good character development going for me (and I do have set names for the original ones, which is usually something I get hung up on), but everything else I keep changing my mind about. I wrote two whole chapters of the story, then completely scrapped them and started the whole thing over, and I've made at least five different banners with different titles. I haven't even attempted to write a summary yet, but I feel like that may be a challenge for me too. Is this a bad sign that my story may be doomed from the start? LOL
What do you usually struggle with most in the early stages of planning/starting a new story? What's the hardest decision you've had to make for a story?
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Seeing Rose make reference to the Melissa Schuman allegations in the new story she posted gave me the idea for this question. Are there any real life events or topics that you consider off-limits or taboo to write about in your stories?
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Aww even though I don't have much to say regarding this topic anymore, I felt like I needed to say something so you weren't just talking to yourself lol
I would say, in general, no topic should really be avoided in any type of fiction as long as the writer can bring up the subject matter in a creative, original way. I say always go for it and if the reader finds it too difficult to read then they can skip it.
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Is anyone else super indecisive when it comes to writing? I'm usually not, but I just started a new story, and I have been having so much trouble making up my mind about basic things, like a title and events. I feel like I have a solid premise and some good character development going for me (and I do have set names for the original ones, which is usually something I get hung up on), but everything else I keep changing my mind about. I wrote two whole chapters of the story, then completely scrapped them and started the whole thing over, and I've made at least five different banners with different titles. I haven't even attempted to write a summary yet, but I feel like that may be a challenge for me too. Is this a bad sign that my story may be doomed from the start? LOL
What do you usually struggle with most in the early stages of planning/starting a new story? What's the hardest decision you've had to make for a story?
I have always struggled with the title and the summary and what voice I wanted to use.
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LOL Thanks for replying! I was trying to get some kind of conversation going; I miss coming here and seeing all the red circles... or white speech bubbles now, I guess.
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I have always struggled with the title and the summary and what voice I wanted to use.
Title and summary for sure!! The voice/POV isn't one I usually have a hard time deciding on, although I have started a story in one POV and then gone back and rewritten it in another before.
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I would say, in general, no topic should really be avoided in any type of fiction as long as the writer can bring up the subject matter in a creative, original way. I say always go for it and if the reader finds it too difficult to read then they can skip it.
Good point!
I don't think there's any topic that's totally off-limits to me. Some things that I may have been uncomfortable writing about a few years ago, like Brian's vocal issues, wouldn't bother me now, and I can't think of anything that I would absolutely refuse to read about. I like when writers take risks.
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I've been fighting a nasty bug the last few days LOL.
Honestly I feel like no topic should be off limits if you feel you can write it in the right way. I remember taking on the idea of Brian's vocal issues before we knew what was causing them, I'd guessed (and guessed wrong) but I didn't steer away from it. And with Melissa, I'd been sitting on the idea for my new fic but I'd hadn't at the time had a solid way to put Nick into the place I needed him for the story/ The Melissa stuff was a way to do so.
Also I have the worst time with summaries. I used "Nowhere To Go" lyrics for my newest one since the title was inspired from a certain part of the song anyway.
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I think we all guessed wrong on that. Who'd ever heard of muscle tension dysphonia or dystonia? Not me LOL. I actually had a whole suspense idea that hinged on Brian having vocal cord surgery before we knew what it was, but now that we do, it won't work because it's not treated with surgery. Oh well. It could have been so much worse than what it is. Brian's voice has been sounding better and better every time I've heard him sing live lately, which makes it much easier to talk about these days.
I also got a story idea out of the Melissa situation, which I probably won't ever get around to writing, but it's nice to know I have no shame in drawing inspiration from horrible things happening to/involving the guys, LOL. I think it worked perfectly for the premise of your story, though.
I hope you feel better soon!
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LOL I hope you do write it!
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Maybe someday! It has a solid outline, at least. I've started two other stories in the meantime, though, so probably not anytime soon.
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Do you shy away from killing off characters, or are you cool with it? If you're cool with killing, does that include killing Backstreet Boys (or the main characters in whatever fandom you're writing in)? I'm fine with it, I don't mind killing them off either, I killed Nick enough times in the joint story we all did lol
What factors in to your decision to let a character live or die? If I feel the story going that way, I'm ok with it.
Have you ever regretted killing (or not killing) a character? Not really
What has been the hardest character death for you to write? I don't think any of them have been hard to write.
As a reader, what was most shocking or devastating death you've read in someone else's story? Nick in Curtain Call or Howie in Sick As My Secrets, both really sad.
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Seeing Rose make reference to the Melissa Schuman allegations in the new story she posted gave me the idea for this question. Are there any real life events or topics that you consider off-limits or taboo to write about in your stories?
I don't think anything is off limits really. I might not write about a particular topic, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be written or that I wouldn't read it.
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I've missed so much and have no idea what drama has been happening as I haven't been on twitter for a couple of years and not been paying much attention to BSB news recently (apart from their Instagram posts). Have I missed much?
Hope everyone had a great Christmas :)
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I killed Nick enough times in the joint story we all did lol
LOL So true!
Thanks for the mentions, too!
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I've missed so much and have no idea what drama has been happening as I haven't been on twitter for a couple of years and not been paying much attention to BSB news recently (apart from their Instagram posts). Have I missed much?
Hope everyone had a great Christmas :)
The only big drama lately was Melissa Schuman accusing Nick of raping her back in 2002, which Nick has denied. Google it if you want more specifics; I don't necessarily want to get into all that in this thread.
My Christmas was very nice. Hope yours was as well! :)
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Oh wow, I'll Google that and see what it's all about! Is she she one he did a song with called There For Me?
My Christmas was good thanks, nice having family around and time off work ☺
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Yes, and she was also in The Hollow with him (briefly... she's the blonde girl that gets killed off in the first scene LOL). Strangely enough, both the movie and song were made well after this supposed sexual assault took place. Nick didn't deny that they had relations of some sort, but said he thought everything they did was consensual, so it's a he said/she said situation.
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Happy new year ladies! Sorry I haven't been around, I've been sick. However I did manage to write a couple of one shots for Christmas. Hope everyone had a nice holiday.
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Happy New Year! Hope everyone's starting to feel better!
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Do you guys have any writing-related resolutions this year?
I'm not a resolution kind of person, but last year I made one to write every day, and I actually kept it until March. I didn't always write a lot; some days it was just one sentence, but I still made myself open my story and add something to it every day, and that helped keep me inspired for the days when I actually could get a lot done. I'm planning to try the same thing again this year and see how long I can keep it going. Now if I could just get myself to do the same thing with working out...
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Do you guys have any writing-related resolutions this year?
I'm not a resolution kind of person, but last year I made one to write every day, and I actually kept it until March. I didn't always write a lot; some days it was just one sentence, but I still made myself open my story and add something to it every day, and that helped keep me inspired for the days when I actually could get a lot done. I'm planning to try the same thing again this year and see how long I can keep it going. Now if I could just get myself to do the same thing with working out...
I'm going to try to write every day, no matter what it is -- blog post, book review (Nick's "Facing The Music" is first), fanfic, or regular fic. I have two BSB fanfics I'm working on that I plan to have first drafts by the end of January or February. After that I'll probably look for beta readers/editors/whatever before I post them here on AC.
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Writing more - that's my resolution every year LOL.
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I'm going to try to write every day, no matter what it is -- blog post, book review (Nick's "Facing The Music" is first), fanfic, or regular fic. I have two BSB fanfics I'm working on that I plan to have first drafts by the end of January or February. After that I'll probably look for beta readers/editors/whatever before I post them here on AC.
Great point - writing doesn't always have to mean fanfic writing or even fiction writing.
I really enjoyed Nick's book and am finding it a good resource for researching for fanfics.
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Great point - writing doesn't always have to mean fanfic writing or even fiction writing.
I really enjoyed Nick's book and am finding it a good resource for researching for fanfics.
I really enjoyed it too. I'm going to read it through a second time so I can make notes on things I wanted to the first time, as well as refamiliarize myself with it for the book review. (I first read it mid-December. Took me three days, which is short for me when reading nonfiction books.)
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I don't really believe in resolutions per se but I guess write more for me. Maybe finally finish the two stories I'm working on, and get around to posting the two other projects I'm playing with. One is a group fic the other is a slash novel.
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I really enjoyed it too. I'm going to read it through a second time so I can make notes on things I wanted to the first time, as well as refamiliarize myself with it for the book review. (I first read it mid-December. Took me three days, which is short for me when reading nonfiction books.)
Yeah, it was a quick read. I did the same thing last summer, re-read a lot of it and flagged it with sticky notes for a story I'm writing that takes place in early 2008. It is very interesting to write about Nick in that time period now, knowing what we know, compared to how I naively wrote Nick back then.
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I don't really believe in resolutions per se but I guess write more for me. Maybe finally finish the two stories I'm working on, and get around to posting the two other projects I'm playing with. One is a group fic the other is a slash novel.
Yay group fic!
Is it bad that I didn't even bother saying I hope I finish one of my long-unfinished stories? I already know that's an unrealistic resolution LOL.
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Now if I could find my motivation to write on the group fic that would be nice. I'm having writing ADD. LOL. this is why I'm usually working on more than one thing at once.
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Writing ADD is almost as annoying as writer's block.
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Ugh, what a morning wakeup I, and the rest of the people of Hawaii had.
Truly felt like a fucking story/movie come to life... :(
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I heard! That was insane! *hugs*
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I cannot imagine how scary that must have been!! I'm so glad it was just a false alarm, and let's pray it never amounts to anything more than that.
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I heard! That was insane! *hugs*
I cannot imagine how scary that must have been!! I'm so glad it was just a false alarm, and let's pray it never amounts to anything more than that.
Waahhh thanks! :'(
Completely insane and just too fucking real. I don’t know how, but I had my composure together... no tears, no screaming, just... kinda blank while tryna chase facts yanno? It’s weird, it’s like I’ve been mentally preparing for this, because of everything going on and we’ve been talking about it at work and what to do with our students if we were to get that alert. But I found myself reacting the way I thought I would... scared out of my mind, but accepting the innevability of it because no matter what we did or where we tried to run or hide, we wouldn’t make it anyway. I had those thoughts for a few minutes, then shook myself out of the fear and panic state to get whatever info I could. And like the shit you see in the movies or read in stories, trying to call out and the lines were down; couldn’t call, couldn’t reach anyone, and that helped it to make it feel infinitely more eerily real. Then I turned on my TV to search for stations with any warnings, then I had gone in my car to listen to the radio.
As I sat in my car, I just remember staring out at the sky... it was a fucking beautiful morning in Hawaii; sky was blue and just wide open, sun still rising while birds continued to sing... and in that moment, I was like well this is it, this is the last morning I’ll ever see. I felt this weird sense of calmness like take it in and let it be. I think what killed me the most was holding my 7-year-old nephew as we tuned into the news and with the coverage he asked me “is this a joke on all the kids?”... thinking as a kid, he did something bad which led to this moment.
Ugh, I just can’t say enough about this experience. And apparently it was a lot crazier around the island... sheer pandemonium with people running, crying, screaming, speeding, accidents all over, and apparently there was a death at the airport because in the 38 minutes of panic, someone tried to jump on a plane thru the wheel well and fell out. It... was just fucking crazy.
I mean, there’s a whole bunch of jokes and laughter about it now, and that’s all cool, but it was real life for us for 38 minutes, and the world and its leaders definitely need to continue to talk about this and change.
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I can't believe that even happened. Unbelievable!
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Wow... just wow. Like I said, I cannot even imagine. I guess something like this makes you appreciate what you have and not sweat the small stuff, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place, let alone gone on for so long before it was corrected. Thanks for your account of things, Reb. I'm so, so glad you and your loved ones are okay!
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Generally, I'm not one of those people who think someone should be fired for making a mistake, but how on earth has this guy who hit the wrong button not been fired? That's not a tiny little mistake he made there. That was a pretty huge, apocalyptic sized mistake. That's just how things are here in the US these days. I mean, yikes!
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Yes, and the fact that it took over 40 minutes to be corrected is ridiculous!
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That must've been terrifying! What an awful mistake to make :(
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Generally, I'm not one of those people who think someone should be fired for making a mistake, but how on earth has this guy who hit the wrong button not been fired? That's not a tiny little mistake he made there. That was a pretty huge, apocalyptic sized mistake. That's just how things are here in the US these days. I mean, yikes!
And I don't want to go all tin hat but I thought there were fail safes to keep that from happening by accident?
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And I don't want to go all tin hat but I thought there were fail safes to keep that from happening by accident?
You would think.
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Generally, I'm not one of those people who think someone should be fired for making a mistake, but how on earth has this guy who hit the wrong button not been fired? That's not a tiny little mistake he made there. That was a pretty huge, apocalyptic sized mistake. That's just how things are here in the US these days. I mean, yikes!
Right?!?! I can’t stand our mayor either, because he totally downplayed the situation, staring that no injuries or death resulted of the incident. Yet there were multiple car accidents, a man died trying to escape the “incoming missile”, another man suffered a massive heart attack from the stress brought on by the mistake. And the worker was simply reassigned. Like, why?! Just so upsetting. ::)
As if that doesn’t make it any better, there was an interview conducted in the same damn place the mistake was made, and low and behold, right there behind the interviewee is a post-it note of a FKN PASSWORD!!! ??? Like seriously, these so called “professionals” are seriously making Hawaii look so bad and incompetent right now!
I mean, I couldn’t help than to laugh at how we were all the butt of late night show’s jokes last night, but as a Hawaiian, I HIGHLY resent their remarks of referring to all Hawaii residents as “Hawaiians”... “the Hawaiians made a mistake and pressed the wrong button.” Um, no, just some idiots and dumbass politicians running this shit that never thought it thru, lol. Our governor and mayor is seriously a fkn joke, lol. Did ya’ll see the pic of the “button/window drop down” setup?! It’s ridiculous... maybe moreso than the fact that they didn’t even have a fkn false alert to send out cancelling their initial alert. ::)
And poor Japan had gone thru what we did, but thankfully the correction came exactly a few minutes after, and thankfully it wasn’t widespread news.
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Moving on to happier topics... Who's ready for new BSB music?! I can't believe it'll be 5 years since IAWLT came out! Hopefully the new album will be out by that anniversary. I saw they were recording again this week... seems like they've been working on this thing forever!
What album have you found most inspirational, in terms of inspiring story ideas? Or, for those who don't get inspired by BSB music, which album cycle/era were you most inspired/prolific during?
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God I'm SO READY. This has been the longest we've had to wait for a new album and while all the stuff in between helped (okay yeah I've been spoiled having them just 20 minutes away), I'm dying for new music now.
I was really prolific during the Kevin-less years. The angst I imagined it to give Nick was great lol.
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I want to be excited. Maybe when it gets closer or when they actually release a song. As for your other question, I have never used music as motivation.
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I cannot wait to hear new bsb music! Have you hear a song create by a guy on YouTube for the guys call still together?
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I cannot wait to hear new bsb music! Have you hear a song create by a guy on YouTube for the guys call still together?
I've not heard that. Do you have a link or know the guy's name?
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I want to be excited. Maybe when it gets closer or when they actually release a song. As for your other question, I have never used music as motivation.
I think it will definitely be sometime this year; they want to capitalize on the whole 25th anniversary thing. I'm hoping they'll have a single out by spring and release the album in the summer so they can start the tour then. We'll see. They've sure had long enough to work on it!
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I was most prolific during the Millennium/Black & Blue era (2000), mostly because that was when I started writing fanfic, so it was fresh and new. Other than that, my most prolific era was probably 2010, so This Is Us... even though that's my least favorite BSB album.
I think the most inspirational album for me was Never Gone. For better or for worse, I drew a lot of inspiration from that album for By My Side, which is the story I was writing at the time it came out.
(https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/lovelace/uploads/114/9ec372e0-f285-0132-44ca-0a2ca390b447.gif)
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On YouTube the account is on the name of Robert Duham music and the name of the song is: still together.
I cannot wait to read your fanfic with ER!
This is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nKgKufbxxg
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I was most prolific during the Millennium/Black & Blue era (2000), mostly because that was when I started writing fanfic, so it was fresh and new.
That's when it was for me, too, all the way through their break till Never Gone was released. Looking at the stuff I've posted here on AC, I was writing off and on up through '11.
I don't recall if there were specific songs/albums I was inspired by, but certainly a couple of the music videos - Larger Than Life and Straight Through My Heart, though both stories inspired by those have somehow disappeared. :(
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On YouTube the account is on the name of Robert Duham music and the name of the song is: still together.
I cannot wait to read your fanfic with ER!
This is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nKgKufbxxg
Thanks for the link! It's a pretty song. I could see them recording something like that.
One of these days I will get working on the ER crossover again. It has a solid start, and then I stopped working on it. I need to be in serious medical drama mode to write that one. Someday!
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You are very welcome! Yes it is a pretty song!
ER was my favorite show!
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Mine too!
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I really miss talking to you and I follow you on Twitter!
Who was your favorite character in ER? Mine are doctor Greene, doctor Lewis and doctor Corday
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Okay, I could be making this shit up in my head or I actually did see this somewhere, but... the boys are no longer under their own independent label right?
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I'm like over here, sitting in my garage at 2:30 in the damn morning, smoking hookah and tryna resurrect some kind of writing. O__o
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Hmmm I think Unbreakable did inspire quite a bit of writing, but I don't think any one album has influenced my writing. All of them have. Ironically enough... One Direction has been inspiring me to write some one shots, along with Harry Styles. Two Ghosts... I heard that song and immediately wrote a one shot that night. Sometimes it depends. But I have been inspired by a lot of random stuff. Movies too.
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Okay, I could be making this shit up in my head or I actually did see this somewhere, but... the boys are no longer under their own independent label right?
Nope. They got signed by RCA last summer.
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Nope. They got signed by RCA last summer.
Ooooh okay, I was like I don’t think I’m making this up! Lmao. What’s everyone’s thoughts on that?
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I'm good with it. It means they've done so well getting themselves back on track labels are interested. I mean, I don't think it'll go wrong. That Jive contract was when they were younger and they learned from it. They don't need a label to make good music, I loved IAWLT. But I want success for them and a label would help.
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I really miss talking to you and I follow you on Twitter!
Who was your favorite character in ER? Mine are doctor Greene, doctor Lewis and doctor Corday
So hard to pick a favorite, but I loved all of the original cast, especially Doug and Carol. In the later seasons, Luka was my favorite.
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I just want the Boys to finish making the album already and retain creative control over it. I love when they have a hand in writing their own music, and I hope that having a record deal again doesn't take that away. IAWLT is such a great album, and I hope this next one is similar!
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The guys say in the questions and answers yesterday on Twitter that the new song gonna be online in a couple of days!
Yes Luka was so cute!
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You guys, I hate coming to this forum and not seeing any updated threads! I miss our discussions! :( It's been dead around here.
So here's my question: Where do you currently stand with your BSB fandom?
We're getting close to a new album, but other than Don't Go Breaking My Heart, it's been five years since we've had new BSB music, and unless you've been to Vegas or on a cruise, it's probably been years since you've seen them in concert. Things have happened that may have affected how you feel about certain members. And regardless of that, real life sometimes gets in the way of fandom. So update us on where you are with the guys, the music, fanfic, whatever you wanna talk about. Or just update us on your life, if you'd rather. Or talk about anything... anything at all! Just check in! :)
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Hey! I’m still a very big fan! I’m so mad at myself that I have to leave before the guys come on stage at Quebec because of my health was so bad. I cannot wait for they to come back to Montreal at bell center! I love so much the new song and their music continue to help me. I continue to write fanfic and I hope to post the new chapter when I return from my vacation.
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Aww, that is too bad you missed them! I hope you are doing better now. It sounds like we're going to get a world tour next year, so I'm sure they'll be back to Montreal! I'm glad you're still writing fanfic too.
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I'm still wholeheartedly a BSB fan and always will be! I'm not as obsessed as I used to be and have a harder time keeping up with every little thing they do these days because adulting is hard, but I try to stay in the loop. I love the new single and can't wait for the album and tour!
As far as fanfic goes, this past year has not been a very productive one for me. After I finished Sick as My Secrets last summer, I had all these ideas that I had fun outlining and thinking about, but when it came time to actually sit down and write one of them, I struggled to stay focused on any one story for long. I finally started making some progress on the BSB/ER crossover I started years ago, and I've been working on that pretty consistently all this week, so I'm hoping that will continue. It feels good to be writing again; I've missed it!
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Yes I’m gonna be always a fan! Yes real life keep us very busy so it is very tough to see everything happen with the group or one of them. Yes I read that they want to release two albums this year.
If you need help with your bsb/ER fanfic I’m here! I hope to write with you again someday! My fanfics I have blank page syndrom, but slowly I begin to write again.
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Yay to red dots! I'm still a fan. I felt like my love for them had officially subsided within the last two years but for some reason I've been reinvigorated with this new single. I watched them on the late night shows and even TRL. Last year I didn't follow them at all. I'm so happy for them and I'm really loving the new song. I am excited about the prospect of them touring and would probably go if they came close to where I am. I had even been contemplating going to see them in Vegas maybe in April, but I can't really justify spending that much money on a trip I'd otherwise never make especially since I plan on going on a cruise next summer. Finally!
I'm not into fanfic at all anymore. Probably because even though I still love BSB, I'm not really that into the actual boys as much, if that makes sense? It is nice to see you guys still writing about them though.
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I understand you I don’t have the money to go to Vegas and I wish I can go to the cruise, but I don’t think it is gonna happen. Me too I’m gonna go to see them when they are gonna come on tour at Montreal or Quebec.
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I hope you get to see them at some point!
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Thanks! I hope they are gonna come on tour at Montreal or Quebec.
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I really enjoyed Don't Go Breaking My Heart. I had it on repeat basically the week it came out and I still listen to it a lot during workouts, it's a good warm up song.
In terms of BSB fandom I had a very hard time with the Nick thing and then the fandom reaction around that just sickened me. I'm sorry, but it did. It turned me off of BSB a lot. I still like them and if they come here next year I'll probably go, but I don't think I'm going to do another meet and greet or cruise. I likely wasn't going to anyway, but that kind of sealed the deal for me. I also have zero money on account of everyone in 1D deciding to go solo at once, blah. But I have seen all of them except for Louis this past year, so that's been fun.
In terms of life stuff, I made a drastic change and left the company I'd been at for almost ten years a few months ago. I got a new job off of getting my PMP designation and have been focusing a lot of energy there as well. It's quite different as I used to work near the outskirts of the city, and now I work right in the downtown core. So the commute to work is a lot longer, but there's a lot more happening around there. It's been a huge change.
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It is not only in Nick fandom that fans are bashing, in Brian’s fandom too. I understand you for the money, I don’t have money too and it is make me mad because I would love to do to see more than one concert.
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Mare, I'm glad to hear the new single has reinvigorated your love for them! I love when new music brings the fandom back together.
I'm so looking forward to this world tour and hope they stop enough different places that everyone who wants to see them can go. A cruise next summer sounds awesome - good for you!
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Hello everyone!
Even though I rarely post stories here anymore, I do jump in here and now to see if there is someone around. I'm still writing and, yes, I'm still writing FrickNFrack stories, although the writing has quite taken some breaks during these last two years, as well for my fandom. I'm still a fan. I still love the Boys and can't wait for the new album and, finally, the world tour. But all the Vegas stuff, though exciting and thrilling, has been kinda of sad because it's hard to keep your fandom alive when the group kept talking only about it and you're on the other side of the world. lol
As for real life... lol I had a job until February and then lost it a month before the contract was actually over. That, plus a year that has been really hard (my oldest cat dying in August; my grandma almost paralyzed and spent six months going back and forth to the hospital; my brother that, on a holiday with his Iranian girlfriend, decided to get married and told us only when they were back and still things aren't going well.) sent me in a dark place. But, as always, writing helped me so now things are a little bit better. If I could only find a job before the tour, because I'm determined to do VIP and have, finally, my photo with Brian lol
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Steph, congrats on the new job! Has it been a good change so far?
Cinzia, I'm sorry for all the tough times, but glad to hear things are starting to get better. I hope you find a new job soon - good luck with that!
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Let's talk BSB! We never had a thread or anything here acknowledging their 25th anniversary, but it seems like a good time to reminisce. What are some of your best and worst BSB memories from the last 25 years?
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So glad to see some updates on here!
I'm still a fan and always will be, I listen to them every single day at some point (usually during my drive to and from work). I love the new song and it's good to hear them being played on my local radio station.
I don't have the money for the cruises or Las Vegas, but next time they tour over here, I will be going! It's been over four years since they were last in the UK.
As for real life, we've had a tough few months as my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and died last month. So we've been up and down to Devon where they lived to visit them quite a lot, it was so awful for her in the end, I can't believe how cancer can take over so quickly and devastate a person so much. But I'm glad she's not suffering anymore. On top of that stress we also moved house the week before she died. So it's been hard work recently, but at last things are calming down.
Steph - congrats on the new job :)
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Sorry for all you've had to deal with recently, Steph! Cancer is terrible. :( I'm glad things are starting to calm down, and glad to see you on here!
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Sorry for all you've had to deal with recently, Steph! Cancer is terrible. :( I'm glad things are starting to calm down, and glad to see you on here!
Thanks Julie :)
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Let's talk BSB! We never had a thread or anything here acknowledging their 25th anniversary, but it seems like a good time to reminisce. What are some of your best and worst BSB memories from the last 25 years?
A good memory for me is being front row at the Unbreakable tour and having AJ throw water over me and my friend (it was hot, so I didn't mind lol).
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I've been around, just not on the forum other than to report spam and post when I've updated lol.
I went to GMA the other week to see the boys. Was definitely a different experience for me. I have never camped out for an event before like that. I realize I'm "too old" for things like that now cause I just wanted to sleep and I was tired for like two days afterwards. But it was definitely fun.
My friend had never seen the boys before so it was more for her. She doesn't have a favorite boy yet but is leaning towards AJ.
As for writing, I've been cranking out chapters for my final story of the romance series I've been writing for the last few years so that feels pretty good.
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A good memory for me is being front row at the Unbreakable tour and having AJ throw water over me and my friend (it was hot, so I didn't mind lol).
That sounds amazing!!
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I've been around, just not on the forum other than to report spam and post when I've updated lol.
I went to GMA the other week to see the boys. Was definitely a different experience for me. I have never camped out for an event before like that. I realize I'm "too old" for things like that now cause I just wanted to sleep and I was tired for like two days afterwards. But it was definitely fun.
My friend had never seen the boys before so it was more for her. She doesn't have a favorite boy yet but is leaning towards AJ.
As for writing, I've been cranking out chapters for my final story of the romance series I've been writing for the last few years so that feels pretty good.
I'm glad you got to do GMA! What a cool experience! I don't know if I could do the camping out thing anymore either, but hey, at least you can say you did it!
What's the craziest thing everyone's done for BSB? I can't think of anything too crazy that I've done, but mine would probably involve driving long distances to see them. I'm used to having to drive 3 hours to see them in Chicago or St. Louis because of where I live, but I've also driven 5 hours to Cincinnati, 6 hours to Lexington, 8 hours to Detroit, and 9 hours to Knoxville for concerts or other BSB appearances. When their Chicago and St. Louis shows were on back to back nights at the beginning of the IAWLT tour, I drove 3 hours north to Chicago, went to the show, drove 3 hours back home afterwards, slept for a few hours, got up the next morning, and drove 3 hours south to St. Louis to see the show the next night. I saw a lot of Illinois over those two days, but it was so worth it. I've loved all of my BSB roadtrips.
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My worst memory of the group was a magazine who do an announcement of Brian and Kevin leaving the group in 1998 when Brian have is open heart surgery. I was so sad when I read that. At this time internet was not create so the magazine was the only things to have news about the guys.
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I'm really glad I didn't become a true fan until summer of 98, when Brian's heart surgery was already behind him, because knowing about that before it happened would have stressed me out so much. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, LOL.
My worst memory is when Kevin left the group. I was devastated, not only because one of them was leaving, but because I thought it was the beginning of the end for the group. Little did I know what the future had in store! I'm so glad Kevin came back.
:bsb:
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Craziest thing I've ever done for the boys? Probably going on the European cruise in 2016. I had so much hesitation on that cruise but I'm glad I did it. Finally got my selfie with AJ.
Only one I don't have a cruise selfie with is Nick. He's so hard to get. But I would say going to another country for the boys for me was pretty crazy and awesome. I loved Europe. Especially Barcelona.
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I'm glad you got to do GMA! What a cool experience! I don't know if I could do the camping out thing anymore either, but hey, at least you can say you did it!
We were there at midnight. When we got to the park, there were about thirty or forty others ahead of us. But we stood for a long time. They didn't let us into the little concert area until the sun came up. So crazy. It was only my second time to Central Park and it's like a whole other world, you forget you're in the city until you look up and see buildings through the trees. At least it was a warm night and didn't rain.
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Craziest thing I've ever done for the boys? Probably going on the European cruise in 2016. I had so much hesitation on that cruise but I'm glad I did it. Finally got my selfie with AJ.
Only one I don't have a cruise selfie with is Nick. He's so hard to get. But I would say going to another country for the boys for me was pretty crazy and awesome. I loved Europe. Especially Barcelona.
I'm sure that was amazing!! I'm surprised you were able to get Brian, but not Nick. The last cruise I went on in 2014, Brian was by far the hardest to get a selfie with. Rose and I just barely managed to get one right before he left the deck party on the last night by asking Leighanne if we could get one with both of them. Sucking up to Leighanne totally worked LOL. Nick was probably second hardest just because he always has so many people swarming around him, but we got one with him while he was walking through the crowd the first night.
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So glad to see some updates on here!
I'm still a fan and always will be, I listen to them every single day at some point (usually during my drive to and from work). I love the new song and it's good to hear them being played on my local radio station.
I don't have the money for the cruises or Las Vegas, but next time they tour over here, I will be going! It's been over four years since they were last in the UK.
As for real life, we've had a tough few months as my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and died last month. So we've been up and down to Devon where they lived to visit them quite a lot, it was so awful for her in the end, I can't believe how cancer can take over so quickly and devastate a person so much. But I'm glad she's not suffering anymore. On top of that stress we also moved house the week before she died. So it's been hard work recently, but at last things are calming down.
Steph - congrats on the new job :)
Sorry for your loss. Moving is never fun! Hopefully you found the house of your dreams!
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I really enjoyed Don't Go Breaking My Heart. I had it on repeat basically the week it came out and I still listen to it a lot during workouts, it's a good warm up song.
In terms of BSB fandom I had a very hard time with the Nick thing and then the fandom reaction around that just sickened me. I'm sorry, but it did. It turned me off of BSB a lot. I still like them and if they come here next year I'll probably go, but I don't think I'm going to do another meet and greet or cruise. I likely wasn't going to anyway, but that kind of sealed the deal for me. I also have zero money on account of everyone in 1D deciding to go solo at once, blah. But I have seen all of them except for Louis this past year, so that's been fun.
In terms of life stuff, I made a drastic change and left the company I'd been at for almost ten years a few months ago. I got a new job off of getting my PMP designation and have been focusing a lot of energy there as well. It's quite different as I used to work near the outskirts of the city, and now I work right in the downtown core. So the commute to work is a lot longer, but there's a lot more happening around there. It's been a huge change.
Congrats on the new job!
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Hello everyone!
Even though I rarely post stories here anymore, I do jump in here and now to see if there is someone around. I'm still writing and, yes, I'm still writing FrickNFrack stories, although the writing has quite taken some breaks during these last two years, as well for my fandom. I'm still a fan. I still love the Boys and can't wait for the new album and, finally, the world tour. But all the Vegas stuff, though exciting and thrilling, has been kinda of sad because it's hard to keep your fandom alive when the group kept talking only about it and you're on the other side of the world. lol
As for real life... lol I had a job until February and then lost it a month before the contract was actually over. That, plus a year that has been really hard (my oldest cat dying in August; my grandma almost paralyzed and spent six months going back and forth to the hospital; my brother that, on a holiday with his Iranian girlfriend, decided to get married and told us only when they were back and still things aren't going well.) sent me in a dark place. But, as always, writing helped me so now things are a little bit better. If I could only find a job before the tour, because I'm determined to do VIP and have, finally, my photo with Brian lol
Sorry to hear about all of that! Hoping things pick up for you soon!
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Best and worst BSB memories. Probably the best ones were all surrounding the NeverGone tour and the Up Close and Personal. That was the first time I've ever seen them in concert. I also loved their shows at Hershey Park and Radio City. Also enjoyed going to Howie's bowling event in NYC.
Probably the worst memories for me is when Kevin left and that god awful album that followed. They almost completely lost me at that time. I'm so glad Kevin came back!
The craziest thing I've done is drive to Nashville for Brian's golf event a small lifetime ago. Even though I did that to also go back to Nashville, there's no way I would've made that ride alone if BSB weren't involved. I'm pretty sure I'd never do that again but I think I was at the height of my fandom at that point.
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I'm sure that was amazing!! I'm surprised you were able to get Brian, but not Nick. The last cruise I went on in 2014, Brian was by far the hardest to get a selfie with. Rose and I just barely managed to get one right before he left the deck party on the last night by asking Leighanne if we could get one with both of them. Sucking up to Leighanne totally worked LOL. Nick was probably second hardest just because he always has so many people swarming around him, but we got one with him while he was walking through the crowd the first night.
It's funny how I ended up getting Brian on the recent cruise. We had terrible seats in the theater for the events in there. So I'd nearly given up all hope of getting any pictures other than the group one by the last day of the cruise. Even though the guys were doing the selfie lines, I didn't follow them around the ship so I didn't know they were happening....s o I often missed them.
On the last day it was Brian and Leighanne's game show. So half of the people didn't show up to the event. They let us move forward. I was like three rows from the stage and I had worn my costume to the event because we got ready for the deck party early. Leighanne was picking her team for the game show and chose me because of my costume.
I ended up on stage. Our team won the game and I got a selfie with Brian and a 25.00 poker chip from him as a prize. It was so great to be chosen for the game, something I'd never thought would happen to me. Probably one of my coolest moments with the boys.
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I love the Boys. I stay really in the loop and my fandom is as deep as it ever was. But I've gone to way more shows than I ever have before solely due to the fact for the past year and a half they're 20 minutes away from my house LOL. By my standards I'm going a lot (it's been on average once a month that they're in town) but by others I'm keeping it light so *shrugs* lol. Writing fanfic wise it's focusing issues. I have a lot of half started chapters and chapters I've never posted cause at this point my focus is all over the place I'm kind of holding back till I know I'll consistently write. On top of that adulting is hard so writing when I'm working or busy isn't as easy as it used to be. I still get a lot of ideas though so I'm sure I'll dive back in at some point.
Mare - I didn't know you were considering Vegas! That would've been awesome. I so would've gone with you LOL. But I get why you didn't since it is pretty pricey. I'm actually looking forward to them touring (crazy right?) because these days I use it as an excuse to travel. Plus then I'll actually be able to go back to doing only a couple shows a tour.
Craziest thing I've ever done as a fan...probably the most recent trip to Knoxville. They are literally where I live most of the year but I flew out to Illinois so I could roadtrip with Julie down there. But then again, that was just as much for the road trip and spending time with her. But I think you could argue it seeming crazy LOL.
Worst moment in the fandom? Kevin leaving. It was the first time I cried about something fandom related. I wasn't deep into fandom (mainly cause I didn't have a computer yet) during Brian's heart surgery so I was unaware. The other one was AJ's rehab announcement on TRL cause as a teen that was pretty freaking scary.
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On the last day it was Brian and Leighanne's game show. So half of the people didn't show up to the event. They let us move forward. I was like three rows from the stage and I had worn my costume to the event because we got ready for the deck party early. Leighanne was picking her team for the game show and chose me because of my costume.
See! Leighanne is the key! LOL
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The other one was AJ's rehab announcement on TRL cause as a teen that was pretty freaking scary.
That would be my other one too. I still vividly remember watching TRL that day and being so upset, not knowing what it meant for AJ and for the group. I know it hasn't been an easy road for him, but I'm glad he's in a better place in his life now.
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See! Leighanne is the key! LOL
Yup. Cause Brian is hard to snag LOL
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For me the worst moment would have to be when AJ went to rehab. I vividly remember watching that on TV and crying because of how upset the boys were. Nick looked like he was taking it the hardest. I can't stand to see any of them crying. I don't know why.
The other moment was when Kevin left. I thought that was the end of the group. I stopped keeping tabs on what the guys were doing. I hadn't seen them in concert outside of radio shows in a few years. So after Kevin left I kind of took a break from the boys. I was heavily into depression between 2005-2009. I listened to a lot of emo music and punk rock. It was a weird time.
Then in 2009 a lot changed. Nick came out with that article in People magazine and it was the year he inspired me to make a change. I joined Twitter to follow the boys and meet fans. I started getting back into the boys and writing again. I also changed my mind about suicide that year. I finally saw them in concert again. So yeah I'm pretty happy they stayed together after Kevin left. Sorry for the long post.
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I'm so glad they helped you pull through your depression, Tracy. They seem to have helped so many people that way!
Speaking of seeing them crying... One of my favorite memories is when they got their star on the Walk of Fame. I wasn't at the ceremony, but I remember many of us watching it online together. I ended up crying through most of their speeches because once they each started crying, they got me going to, but they were happy tears. That was such a cool thing!
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Thanks everyone. I was at my old job for a really long time, since I was 23, so I had sort of reached a wall with as far as my career could go at that place. People sort of still saw me as a "college kid" and didn't really take me seriously, despite numerous advances I'd made. Plus I got married to someone who also worked there and that didn't really help, as he was on the innovation side of the company, and I was on the maintenance side. I was told I'd never be able to move over to innovation because of that, so it was time for me to go. The new place has been really great. Sometimes it's just good to get a fresh start. The role itself is really similar to what I did, but I am more business focused instead of IT focused so that's been a really interesting learning curve!
Steph, I am sorry to hear about your mother-in-law.
As for BSB, the craziest thing I have done is probably fly to Halifax to meet up with Julia only for us to then drive down to Boston to meet up with Hannah for Nick's ITO tour. It's either that or last summer I drove 7 hours down to Minneapolis, saw the boys (and endured FGL lol) and then went to the afterparty... and then drove home the next day.
Probably the worst fandom moment was AJ going to rehab. I didn't know until the next day because we didn't get TRL up in Canada, but I remember my friend and I were just devastated.
I've been lucky to have a lot of great fandom moments, but I agree with Julie, watching them get the Hollywood star was really great. Definitely teared up watching the stream of that. Meeting the boys for the first time will always be special to me as well. Also just seeing them in Vegas last year with my husband and our friends was tons of fun! All four of us were really into it and it was just really fun to experience with people who weren't necessarily big fans. They all said the show was really good. I feel like, if that was going to be my last hurrah in terms of my crazy days of BSB, that was a good one to go out on. But I've also said that before and then I got deep back into it, so who knows LOL.
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That sounds amazing!!
It was lol
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I haven't really done anything crazy for them, I always have to drive about 3 hours to see them when they tour here though as they never come to Wales.
Worst memory was when Kevin left as I thought it would be over.
If I had the money I would definitely see them in Las Vegas. Told my husband that if we won the lottery we are going!
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My worst memory honestly doesn't really have to do anything with the boys. Yes, that damn cruise experience of having to cancel due to pregnancy was the worst. Again, nothing to do with the boys but it was really the start of me pulling back from the fandom. I have had friends try to get me to go to Vegas to see them but I really have no desire. I still listen to their music, love the new song, but I don't really care to see them live anymore. :(
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Hey Lore! Having to cancel the cruise had to be so disappointing, even though it was for a happy reason. Maybe it'll be more tempting to go to a show when they tour and it doesn't involve traveling to Vegas.
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Steph, I'm glad you're enjoying your new job! It's easy to get comfortable staying in one place, but sometimes you need the change!
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Just had to share - I went to Chicago for two days and heard DGBMY twice there, once on the radio and once in a bar. So cool that it's getting so much airplay!
What's your favorite of their first singles? I'm having a hard time choosing between IWITW, Incomplete, and IAWLT. I think DGBMY was a great choice too!
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Hey Lore! Having to cancel the cruise had to be so disappointing, even though it was for a happy reason. Maybe it'll be more tempting to go to a show when they tour and it doesn't involve traveling to Vegas.
Maybe, but they don't come to Colorado anymore sooooo
yeah my happy reason is 4 years old now... such a stinker....lov e him but what a stinker
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Hopefully they will on this big world tour they say they're going to do next year!
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I've gotta stick with IWITW because it's what made me a fan.
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I've gotta stick with IWITW because it's what made me a fan.
For sure! I was already a fan, but IWITW and that era is what made me a super-fan. I remember what a thrill it was to hear that song on the radio or MTV in the days when you couldn't just download a song and listen to it any old time before the album came out. It's still one of the greatest pop songs of all time!
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My worst memory honestly doesn't really have to do anything with the boys. Yes, that damn cruise experience of having to cancel due to pregnancy was the worst. Again, nothing to do with the boys but it was really the start of me pulling back from the fandom. I have had friends try to get me to go to Vegas to see them but I really have no desire. I still listen to their music, love the new song, but I don't really care to see them live anymore. :(
Wow! Welcome back, Lore. It's nice to see you posting again.
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I Want It That Way - like Julie it also launched me from fan to the superfan I am now LOL.
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Love seeing everyone posting on here! I wish I could think of another question to keep the conversation going. Anyone?
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I got nothing lol
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LOL same.
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You guys are no help at all! LOL
Anyone else been to the site TV Tropes? I'm not sure how I stumbled onto this site, but it's one of those rabbit hole sites like Wikipedia and YouTube, where clicking on one thing leads to clicking on another, and before you know it, you've wasted an hour. Anyway, it's a site all about tropes (plot devices, cliches, etc.) in fiction - not just TV, but also movies, literature, etc. There is even a section devoted to fanfic, as I discovered the other day.
Here is an index of fanfic tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FanficTropes Each of these have a whole article explaining what it is and giving examples. I spent a lot of time clicking on the ones I was unfamiliar with (which was a lot of them), but once I realized what they were, I could think of examples I'd either read in stories or written in my own. I thought maybe this could generate some ideas for new questions.
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TV Tropes is where fic writing productivity goes to die lol
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The song which made me become a fan was Everybody back in 1998, wow, twenty years ago!
I'm loving that they are being played on the radio here. Whenever I go to the outlet shopping centre near where I live, they are always playing BSB and have done for years. It makes me want to sing along as I'm looking around lol. Whoever runs that place must be a fan too :)
Lore, so good to see you back.
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TV Tropes is where fic writing productivity goes to die lol
LOL Seriously!
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The song which made me become a fan was Everybody back in 1998, wow, twenty years ago!
I'm loving that they are being played on the radio here. Whenever I go to the outlet shopping centre near where I live, they are always playing BSB and have done for years. It makes me want to sing along as I'm looking around lol. Whoever runs that place must be a fan too :)
Lore, so good to see you back.
I've been hearing BSB on the radio more and more lately - not just the new single, but old songs too. We have a mix radio station that plays a variety of pop and light rock, both new and old, and they play old BSB singles like IWITW and Everybody a lot. It's always fun to hear them on the radio or in stores!
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Vegas has DGBMH on regular rotation, it's actually pretty awesome. My friend won the radio contest with the BSB Breakfast. It ended up lame cause the DJ basically took too long interviewing so it was more breakfast and then a M&G with Nick and Howie, but still. It's really neat seeing how Vegas has embraced them given years before when I used to joke that this city was a no-fan-land where tourists basically filled their shows when their tours came here.
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I finally finished my romance series this week, I feel super accomplished. Plus I have something else lined up, just haven't had time to get it posted. And I am working on a one shot as well so it's been a pretty productive week writing wise. Anyone else working on anything new?
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Congrats, Tracy!
I am in a super big writing slump right now, ugh. I have lots of ideas but I haven't written anything really since the spring.
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Congratulation s, Tracy! What an accomplishment to finish a series you've been working on for so long!
I haven't written anything in a few weeks due to school starting back up, but I started a new Nick story in July. I also made some progress on the BSB/ER crossover I've had in the works for awhile. I'm hesitant to post anything until it's further along because of how flaky I've been the last few years, but at least I'm still writing.
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Hi ladies...wow it's nice to see you guys still chatting on here.
Congrats Tracy!
I haven't written anything for years now, tell ya'll the truth I hadn't even heard the BSB in so long. Till last month that I moved to Vegas and some music app offered me a BSB playlist. I said, "what the heck" and wow I went down memory lane and BSB fangirled for a few days lol. I hope everyone is doing well. ;D
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Hey nice to see you too, girl!!
Thanks everyone!!!!
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Hi ladies...wow it's nice to see you guys still chatting on here.
Congrats Tracy!
I haven't written anything for years now, tell ya'll the truth I hadn't even heard the BSB in so long. Till last month that I moved to Vegas and some music app offered me a BSB playlist. I said, "what the heck" and wow I went down memory lane and BSB fangirled for a few days lol. I hope everyone is doing well. ;D
Dude, I didn't know you moved here! That's kind of cool LOL
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Well done Tracy on finishing your series, wish I had some of your motivation!
I've not written anything in ages, even though I've had a few ideas. Just never seem to have the time to sit down and relax long enough to write. I blame work, housework and TV :D
Hope everyone is ok
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Hey guys...I just wanted to make a red dot :D
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Hello red dot pal :D
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It was great to see the guys on Strictly Come Dancing, I only watched it for them
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I have been a bad fan lol I haven't even watched that yet. I've been trying to complete Take Me Home, which is very close to being done.. I've been super inspired to write lately.
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I thought their performance on SCD left something to be desired.
To be honest I don't even know why I bother with BSB anymore. My fandom has seriously waned for some time and they really don't impress me with anything they do anymore. I feel constantly disappointed by them.
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Just popping to say hello because I saw a red dot. Yay! And I wanted to tell everyone to go rent Getting Grace when it comes out on DVD this Tuesday (Election Day in the US) it stars one of my students, who is all grown up now. Maddie Dundon among others. Another one of my all grown up students, Alex Kovacs did the music. Proud teacher moment. So, go support them! The movies really good too. Not just saying that lol
There's everything we fanfic lovers love, except the BSB. Death, cancer, comedy etc...
gettinggraceth emovie.com
They are working on an international release now.
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I have my ticket for the DNA tour! I cannot wait!
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So, who is loving Chances? The moment I heard it, I loved it! Same goes for AJ's song Night Visions. Makes me happy to be a fan when they bring out new music and I love it instantly. Will be trying to get tickets for the DNA tour this week too.
All my faves seem to be touring next summer...BSB, Muse and Take That! Although Take That's new music is shockingly crap lol.
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Montreal is sold out!
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Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! Glad to see some conversation happening on here! Sorry I've missed it!
I LOVE Chances! They are 2 for 2 on good singles this year, which makes me even more excited for the new album! Both music videos have been great too. I guess there are advantages to being with a record label again. I have tickets to Chicago and St. Louis next year for the DNA tour, and I can't believe they are back to playing arenas again! I love the smaller venues, but I can't deny that it's exciting to see them being embraced outside of just our fandom again.
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That's awesome, Julie! Sadly I haven't bought tickets to the tour yet as the dates clash with other things I booked already. I'm going to see NKOTB in Hershey for my birthday, then the first week of September I will be on a week long cruise. It's like everybody got together and was like hmm let's screw with Tracy this summer and all tour at the same time. Haha. Weird Al is touring in July too and it kills me to miss him.
I love Chances. It's such a fanfic song.
I did just book tickets to go to Vegas again for the last week of shows in April so I'm happy
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I really love the song Chances. I am excited for their new album if these first two singles are any indication of what it will sound like. I'm glad they're seeing such a great comeback. They deserve it.
I'm probably going to miss out in this tour. My life is up in the air and I have no idea where I will be living in the summer.
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Wow, Tracy... what are the Chances everything you like would be happening at the same time? (See what I did there?) That's too bad, but maybe they'll add more dates down the road.
Mare, what's going on that you don't know where you'll be living? I hate that kind of uncertainty.
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Wow, Tracy... what are the Chances everything you like would be happening at the same time? (See what I did there?) That's too bad, but maybe they'll add more dates down the road.
Mare, what's going on that you don't know where you'll be living? I hate that kind of uncertainty.
My health hasn’t really been that great. I’ve been using a walker since school started and at this point, I don’t really feel safe living alone anymore. It’s gotten to the point where I have to keep my front door unlocked just in case I fall and can’t get up. Like that old lady in those commercials lol
Anyway, my sister and I have been talking about me moving up to Buffalo. I’m having a hard time with that because I’ve always been completely independent. Even teaching has been really hard this year. I no longer have the strength in my arms to play most of the instruments and I can’t write on my board. It’s been a rough year.
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I'm sorry to hear that! How frustrating that must be for you. Moving to Buffalo sounds like a good idea; at least you'd have your sister around to help. It's easier said than done though, I know. Sending good vibes your way!!
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Thanks!
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Oh no Mare, sorry to hear your health has deteriorated like that and you and struggling :( But moving in with your sister sounds like a good idea and at least you will have someone to rely on if you need help. That's one of the reasons my sister has moved back here after her divorce, her health isn't great so at least she is living nearby so we are all close in case she needs anything.
I'm so excited for the DNA tour, I'm going with my sister and my daughter Holly as they are also BSB fans.
It is typical that all my faves are touring at the same time too, I'm seeing Take That on 8th June, BSB on 15th June and Muse are adding another date not far from me and that's 5th June (if I manage to get tickets). So lots to look forward to next summer, bring it on!
I've even heard Tim listening to BSB's new music and that makes me happy
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I love that you got your daughter and husband into BSB, Steph! Well done! LOL
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They had no choice really lol, Holly has grown up listening to them and when I met Tim he hadn't heard their music but that soon changed :)
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My health hasn’t really been that great. I’ve been using a walker since school started and at this point, I don’t really feel safe living alone anymore. It’s gotten to the point where I have to keep my front door unlocked just in case I fall and can’t get up. Like that old lady in those commercials lol
Anyway, my sister and I have been talking about me moving up to Buffalo. I’m having a hard time with that because I’ve always been completely independent. Even teaching has been really hard this year. I no longer have the strength in my arms to play most of the instruments and I can’t write on my board. It’s been a rough year.
Oh Mare, I'm sorry it's been so rough. I know how frustrating that has to be. I think it's a good idea for you to head up to Buffalo where you'll have her support. <3
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They had no choice really lol, Holly has grown up listening to them and when I met Tim he hadn't heard their music but that soon changed :)
Good job LOL
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I love Chances more than I do DGBMH and it's so exciting to see people outside the fandom embracing them again. There's no Vegas date for the DNA tour (which I expected), so I'm going to the Chicago show next year with Julie. :D It'll be my first time seeing the Boys during an arena tour.
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Can we talk about Don't Go Breaking My Heart being a Grammy nominated song? Holy shit LOL.
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I’m so proud of them! They work so hard to come back like they were with millenium
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I'm really happy for them. Very much deserved. I'm kind if bummed that I have yet to hear Chances on the radio.
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OMG, I was so pleasantly surprised to see that! I never seriously thought they'd get nominated for a Grammy again. It would be awesome to see them win because they definitely deserve it, but it really is an honor just for them to be nominated again after all these years. I guess I'll finally have a reason to watch the Grammys again! I seriously don't think I've watched them since the last time the Boys made an appearance.
I haven't heard Chances on the radio yet either, but I haven't been listening to the radio much. The pop station I sometimes listen to plays all Christmas music this time of year, so they wouldn't be playing it anyway.
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I've heard Chances on the AC station here in Vegas. Not surprised though cause with Nick living here he's basically made friends with all the major DJs lol.
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Is anyone else feeling inspired by the new music and BSB excitement, as far as writing goes? I know Tracy has been writing, but otherwise, the site has been pretty quiet lately.
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Yes I have the new chapter of my fanfic to post, but my life is very busy right now and I hope to be able to do il when the christmas vacation gonna begin
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Glad to hear someone else is writing! I know; I can't wait for Christmas vacation either!
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I am going to try and do some writing over the holidays, maybe. I haven't talked about this a lot, but at the beginning of last year I got a LOT of really negative feedback on a fic I worked really hard on and it kind of crushed all my writing inspiration. But I'm trying to get back into it. I understand that sometimes we'll get constructive feedback and I'm fine with that, but comments that are just attacking me and saying something I did "pulled them out of the story" and "You've written a lot of 1D fic, how could you do this?" was just.. yeah.
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People like that tend to suck all the fun out of writing. These people need to remember it’s fanfiction. It’s not like you’re getting paid to write about these people!
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Is anyone else feeling inspired by the new music and BSB excitement, as far as writing goes? I know Tracy has been writing, but otherwise, the site has been pretty quiet lately.
That VEVO interview was great. For only 10 minutes, it seemed to address many of the things we’ve always wondered. I wouldn’t be surprised if a story or two popped up about it.
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That VEVO interview was great. For only 10 minutes, it seemed to address many of the things we’ve always wondered. I wouldn’t be surprised if a story or two popped up about it.
I've toyed with a few one shot possibilities. It's just getting some time to sit and really write it.
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I've still been posting quite steadily. But that interview did make me want to go back to my group fic I was working on a while back.
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I am going to try and do some writing over the holidays, maybe. I haven't talked about this a lot, but at the beginning of last year I got a LOT of really negative feedback on a fic I worked really hard on and it kind of crushed all my writing inspiration. But I'm trying to get back into it. I understand that sometimes we'll get constructive feedback and I'm fine with that, but comments that are just attacking me and saying something I did "pulled them out of the story" and "You've written a lot of 1D fic, how could you do this?" was just.. yeah.
Sorry to hear that! That is rough. Constructive criticism is one thing, but some people are so quick to react negatively when the storyline doesn't go the way they wanted it to. At the end of the day, you don't owe anyone anything - write what you want, and screw what other people think. That said, I'm sure some people loved it!
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That VEVO interview was great. For only 10 minutes, it seemed to address many of the things we’ve always wondered. I wouldn’t be surprised if a story or two popped up about it.
I could see that happening!
Did anything in that interview surprise you guys, or what did you think was the most interesting part? It was interesting for me to hear Nick talk about Now or Never and admit that he kind of did it to rebel from the group and the whole boyband image. I guess we always kind of knew that, but I don't recall ever hearing it from his mouth like that before. It explains so much of the whole sound and vibe of that album. But I loved what they said about finally embracing themselves as a boyband and just trying to be themselves. They have definitely done that in the last five years, and I think they're at their best that way!
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I could see that happening!
Did anything in that interview surprise you guys, or what did you think was the most interesting part? It was interesting for me to hear Nick talk about Now or Never and admit that he kind of did it to rebel from the group and the whole boyband image. I guess we always kind of knew that, but I don't recall ever hearing it from his mouth like that before. It explains so much of the whole sound and vibe of that album. But I loved what they said about finally embracing themselves as a boyband and just trying to be themselves. They have definitely done that in the last five years, and I think they're at their best that way!
I love that they've embraced who they are. I think the NON talk was the most interesting to me as well. Nick was very honest about it and while many of us suspected that was his rebel teen phase essentially, it's neat to hear him admit it. Everything about the DNA era has been so well done and honest that I'm really excited for what the album will bring.
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I don’t think I was surprised, but I thought it was enlightening that he kind of admitted he was embarrassed to be in a boyband and the mocking really bothered him. I agree that once they embraced who they were, they’ve been more successful. Like they realized, it’s not selling out if you use other people’s songs instead of your own, among other things. They all seem so comfortable in their own skin finally. I’m really happy for them and the fact that the industry seems to finally be taking them seriously as well.
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I'm still over the moon about the Grammy nomination! It's about time they started being taken seriously and respected for both their longevity and their talent. I love that they have shown they can write their own music, play their own instruments, and evolve their style over the years, but there is something to be said for a well-written, catchy pop song like both singles they've released this year, no matter who wrote them. DGBMH and Chances both sound current, but still have that classic BSB boyband vibe.
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I love Chances! I read somewhere that the single actually doesn’t come out until January, so that’s when radio stations will hopefully start really playing it in rotation. I regularly hear DGBMH and they are really promoting their Hershey date here.
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Yeah it got added for AC but the Top 40 add date is Jan 8th which is cool cause it'll be past the holiday music clutter. I hear both songs on the regular here which makes me happy, and tuning into radio more often cause it doesn't get old LOL. I'm beyond hyped about the Grammy. The fact they've gotten this again, in 2018 is freaking incredible. They're getting the respect from their peers and from the industry. They've embraced themselves and the world followed.
Edit - I must've been tired when I wrote this cause I epically failed and used the wrong "here"...
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In montreal the radio play the two new songs almost everyday and the fans hope that we are gonna have a second show because the concert is sold out.
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That's awesome! I hope they do add another Montreal date for you.
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Yes I hope because I wish to go to more than one show in Montreal or Quebec. Yesterday at the radio I hear get down and I scream in the car.
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I've just watched the Vevo interview, very interesting.
I've not heard Chances on the radio here either, but I don't listen to the radio a lot, just on my way to and from work.
Steph, that must've made you feel so down about your story. If people don't like it then they don't have to read it or comment on it, that's just so rude of them! I'm sure you got loads of lovely reviews though.
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Thanks guys. Yes it was incredibly frustrating.
That Vevo interview was interesting. It wasn't really any "new" information per se, but the way it was framed was new if that makes sense. Like, I think we were all well aware that Now or Never was Nick trying to rebel against being in a boyband and be more edgy, but that was the first time he'd ever spoken so candidly about that time. They were all refreshingly honest in that interview. I'd like to see more of that.
I haven't heard Chances on the radio at all, but I don't think it's been added yet. I feel like that's coming in January but I could be wrong. HOWEVER, I have heard Don't Go Breaking My Heart a LOT. Like... a lot. It's on Sirius XM Hit 1 really often and I've heard it on my local Top 40 tons as well. Pretty cool! I still jam to it every time. It's catchy AF. I think Chances will do well here, especially if they play up the fact that Shawn Mendes wrote it. It's unfortunate that he didn't also produce (does he produce?) because then it'd count as CanCon.
Are they doing soundchecks/VIPs this time around? I haven't done one in a while because the prices for Vegas were too much for me to stomach. I thought I saw something about them doing VIP but I haven't seen anything about soundcheck parties. I did a few Niall Horan soundchecks this year and I think rather than doing the M&G portions I'll just continue to do the soundchecks. They're much cheaper and you get so much more.
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They're offering a couple of VIP packages that sound more like what they did in Vegas than what they've done on previous tours. One includes a meet and greet, but no soundcheck.
https://www.backstreetboys.com/news/297982 This page doesn't list the prices, but Rose looked them up before we bought concert tickets, and they were really high. I don't remember exactly how much, but I think it was over $500. So no VIP for us this time around.
I wish they would go back to the old soundcheck party format; I don't need drinks and hors d'oeuvres, but I always loved seeing the soundchecks. Or do what they do at conventions and offer a photo op for a set price that could be split between friends if you don't mind doing a group photo. But I guess as long as some people are willing to pay these prices, they'll keep doing it this way. One of the downsides of them being more popular again.
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Happy New Year! What was your favorite BSB or fanfic-related memory from this year, and what are you most looking forward to in 2019? Is anyone making writing-related resolutions?
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Remember when they used to do soundcheck by luck of the draw? Then if there was more room they’d just let you in. I have never been to a soundcheck or paid for a meet and greet. I would definitely prefer to watch a soundcheck and q and a over a meet and greet.
It seems ticket prices are a bit high for this tour but I guess it’s a good sign for them that they’re doing well.
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Happy New Year to you too! I hope everyone has a great year!
My goal is to read more. I’m proud of myself for getting through three novels since Thanksgiving. It’s been a great distraction for me and helps with my anxiety.
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Happy new year! My wish for 2019 is my health will be better and I want to finish the chapter of my fanfic. The best fanfic I read this year is a slash Brian/Kevin on another website. Yeah the price for the concert is high.
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Ticketmaster has the VIP as of right now and while it includes a pit ticket, it's 850$ in most cities. And of course being TM it fluctuates a bit. Wonderful Union is *supposed* to have their own upgrades for the DNA tour for those who want to do VIP but not be in the Pit, and hopefully be cheaper? But they haven't been released/announced yet.
They're offering a couple of VIP packages that sound more like what they did in Vegas than what they've done on previous tours. One includes a meet and greet, but no soundcheck.
https://www.backstreetboys.com/news/297982 This page doesn't list the prices, but Rose looked them up before we bought concert tickets, and they were really high. I don't remember exactly how much, but I think it was over $500. So no VIP for us this time around.
I wish they would go back to the old soundcheck party format; I don't need drinks and hors d'oeuvres, but I always loved seeing the soundchecks. Or do what they do at conventions and offer a photo op for a set price that could be split between friends if you don't mind doing a group photo. But I guess as long as some people are willing to pay these prices, they'll keep doing it this way. One of the downsides of them being more popular again.
I will forever do cons if they do cause I LOVE their selfie/pro photo options.
I miss the days where I spent 45 dollars on a concert ticket like I did for Unbreakable/TIU but hey I'm thrilled they're popular again. So it's expected. I'm excited for them to be touring again cause it's always an easy excuse to travel!
My favorite 2018 memories are our road trip, which was just amazing. Halloween where I decided to unleash my crazy and now proudly have a photo of myself as a zombie with all five Boys lmao, and a couple weeks ago at the Toy Drive here in Vegas. It was like a Nick VIP. It wasn't crazy, it was organized, and Nick spent loads of time with us. It was the cheapest VIP I'll ever do LOL with a donation minimum of 20$, and he was so sweet.
Also Happy New Year guys!
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Remember when they used to do soundcheck by luck of the draw? Then if there was more room they’d just let you in. I have never been to a soundcheck or paid for a meet and greet. I would definitely prefer to watch a soundcheck and q and a over a meet and greet.
It seems ticket prices are a bit high for this tour but I guess it’s a good sign for them that they’re doing well.
Yes! They did that on the Never Gone and Unbreakable tours. I liked the Unbreakable format the best because you could either win or buy soundcheck, and you got a picture with the guys either way. I bought VIP for one of my shows that tour, which was my first time meeting the guys, and it seemed like so much money at the time, but looking back, I wish they still offered packages with as much as you got with that one for that price.
I liked the different levels of VIP too because you could just go to soundcheck with a bronze, which was not that expensive, or get a group picture with silver, which was still reasonable compared to the prices now. I never felt the need to go above silver with that system. I'm glad I got to meet them so many times while it was affordable, relatively-speaking, because I will not pay $500+ for a picture with them.
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Happy New Year to you too! I hope everyone has a great year!
My goal is to read more. I’m proud of myself for getting through three novels since Thanksgiving. It’s been a great distraction for me and helps with my anxiety.
That's great! I haven't been good about reading lately, but the books I did read this past year were mostly nonfiction, which was new for me... I've always been almost exclusively a fiction reader. So at least I've broadened my horizons.
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Ticketmaster has the VIP as of right now and while it includes a pit ticket, it's 850$ in most cities. And of course being TM it fluctuates a bit. Wonderful Union is *supposed* to have their own upgrades for the DNA tour for those who want to do VIP but not be in the Pit, and hopefully be cheaper? But they haven't been released/announced yet.
I will forever do cons if they do cause I LOVE their selfie/pro photo options.
I hope Wonderful Union offers something more reasonable! I can't understand paying that much for to be in the pit. I would much rather have a seat, even if it means being slightly farther away. I HATE GA.
Cons are the best! I hope Nick, AJ, and Howie keep doing them. Nick needs to make another movie so they have more excuses to go promote stuff LOL.
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I didn't go to any BSB shows last year, but I did see Nick, AJ, and Howie at the Fanboy Expo in July, so that would have to be my favorite BSB-related memory from 2018. The two single releases are right up there too - so exciting!
I did not have a good year in terms of writing or reading fanfic. I worked sporadically on several different stories, but struggled to focus enough to make real progress on any one of them. I finally got into a groove with one of them at the end of November and have been working on that one for the past few weeks, so I'm hoping that will continue this year. My resolution is just to keep writing regularly so I can get back to updating regularly.
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Happy new year to all of you as well.
I currently do not have tickets for DNA. The dates didn't really work around stuff I had booked already... And the one venue that is 45 minutes from my house... Prudential Center in Newark was way too expensive for even nosebleeds.
So for me...it was cheaper to do a small trip go Vegas in April. I got a cheap hotel close to the venue.. Nothing crazy but at least I'll see the boys lol. Plus I am doing a table again. Not a bad thing at all.
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Aww, sorry about the DNA shows, but glad you're doing Vegas again! I wonder how different the tour will be from the residency show. I'm sure they'll put in more songs from the new album, but I wonder if they'll change up the other songs, choreography, etc. or keep a lot of it the same.
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I hope they change it up.
So, thoughts on "No Place"?
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I love it!! It's simple and sweet; I love the sentiment behind it, and I love hearing each of their voices on it. I'm glad Brian seems to be getting more solos on this album. They're 3 for 3 on good songs so far, which makes me even more excited to hear the whole album! I love that they're all so different-sounding from each other too.
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This album has been diverse as hell so far, I'm getting Unbreakable vibes but like in better quality songs if that makes sense? After watching the clips of the video on Brian's IG I'm annoyed there was a YouTube fail and we can't watch the video LOL.
Nick and Kevin sound SO good on this song.
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Where is everyone hearing this song? I'm just hearing the snippets that they've been posting on Instagram. From that I like what I'm hearing.
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I think the song is up on YouTube and I hear it on Itunes. I’m happy to see Brian smile like that!
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Where is everyone hearing this song? I'm just hearing the snippets that they've been posting on Instagram. From that I like what I'm hearing.
It's available to buy or stream on Spotify. The YT link finally works and the video is so sweet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OTZmyheI9k
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This album has been diverse as hell so far, I'm getting Unbreakable vibes but like in better quality songs if that makes sense? After watching the clips of the video on Brian's IG I'm annoyed there was a YouTube fail and we can't watch the video LOL.
Nick and Kevin sound SO good on this song.
That does make sense. Unbreakable was diverse in terms of sound, but I agree about the quality. Unbreakable had a few duds to begin with, and some of the others haven't aged so well. These three new songs are all so good, I don't see myself getting tired of them. I still jam out to DGBMH all the time, and we've had that one since May!
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OMG, that video is absolutely precious!!! Perfect concept for that song! So much love!
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Omg! I loved that video!!! I like the song too. All three have been really catchy.
But ugh Rose, I cringe every time you mention Unbreakable. Just...no lol
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LOL I just mean by how varied it is. I like Unbreakable but it definitely has a few duds and others haven't aged well.
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In terms of sound, I think DNA's going to be more similar to IAWLT, which is a good thing. IAWLT has held up much better for me than either Unbreakable or TIU. Even though it's the most recently released album, it's over 5 years old by now, and I'm still not tired of listening to it. Based on what we've heard so far, I think DNA's going to be just as good, if not better.
It just goes to show how important Kevin coming back was for the group, not just in terms of their sound, but the style and quality of music. I still say Kevin would not have allowed some of the crap they put on TIU LOL.
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I think maybe after he heard TIU he said “Jesus! I better go back now before they totally destroy themselves” lol
I admit I get Unbreakable and TIU confused. Just shows you how much I listen to them. It’s TIU which is awful. Unbreakable has at least two or three good songs on it. For my taste anyway.
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LOL exactly! TIU has some good songs on it, but the bad ones are REALLY bad. I don't find any of the tracks on Unbreakable bad per se, just boring.
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My hero JK Rowling posted a new blog on her website where she answers some questions about writing and gives some tips: https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/on-writing/ It's not really anything new, but I do agree with her advice. Is there anything that stands out to any of you?
I've always found reading a good way to inspire writing, so Sunday night I started re-reading an older fanfic that has some things in common with the story I'm trying to write right now, hoping it might help keep me in fanfic mode as I headed back to the reality of work this week. It worked in that I'm definitely still in fanfic mode, but now I would rather just read this story than work on my own LOL. Whoops. In the long run, though, I hope it will help. I have gotten into the bad habit of watching too much TV and not reading enough books, and I need to fix that.
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Ah man I have not read in forever. Lately I've been doing so much writing that I haven't gotten around to any reading, not to mention nobody really updates so it' hard to find something to read.
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Very true! For those of you who still write - do you post your stories on any other sites, and if so, what has your experience been with those? I know Archive of Our Own and WattPad seem to have semi-active BSB fandoms (more so than AC seems to lately, sadly), but I haven't explored those sites enough to know what the quality of stories is like (from a reading standpoint) or what kind of feedback to expect (from a writing standpoint).
And for those who aren't writing at all or have stopped writing BSB fanfic - do you miss it? If so, what do you miss most? What do you not miss about it?
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I write on Archive of our own and it has more respond there for slash and the website it is very easy to use.
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I post regularly on wattpad and the feedback I get is amazing, I love to be able to interact with my readers. I also post on Archive Of Our Own... And I get a lot of comments to update stories and feedback there. Both are great places to post your work and I highly enjoy it.
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Thanks for the recommendation s! Maybe I'll start posting my new story on those sites along with AC when I'm ready. It would be nice to reach some new readers and also find some new stories to read! Speaking of which, anyone reading any BSB fics you'd like to recommend?
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You are welcome! I read almost only slash so I know you didn’t like this type of story.
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Not usually, but I'm more open to it now than I used to be. Especially if it's well-written and contains medical drama.
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The slash I read don’t have medical drama in it sorry.
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Aww, okay. Well, if anyone knows any good new medical drama or suspense fics, let me know! Those are my favorites, and it's been SO LONG since I've read a new one!
A question for everyone: What are you currently reading, or if you're like me and not reading anything new right now, what was the last great fanfic you read?
I think the last one I was super into that actually got finished is "Ladies Choice" by Erika (KeepThisSecret). That was a great suspense story! I love Erika's writing - where are you, Erika?? The other stories I've gotten into since are unfinished and haven't been updated since 2017...
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Unfortunately I don't have any recommendation s but I'd like some too haha. Sorry I'm not much help on that aspect. I unfortunately haven't had anything new to read in a long time, and I think the last really good story I read was Sick As My Secrets LOL
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Very true! For those of you who still write - do you post your stories on any other sites, and if so, what has your experience been with those? I know Archive of Our Own and WattPad seem to have semi-active BSB fandoms (more so than AC seems to lately, sadly), but I haven't explored those sites enough to know what the quality of stories is like (from a reading standpoint) or what kind of feedback to expect (from a writing standpoint).
And for those who aren't writing at all or have stopped writing BSB fanfic - do you miss it? If so, what do you miss most? What do you not miss about it?
I wish I missed it more than I do. I guess what I miss most is getting feedback on what I wrote but I don’t miss the stress of feeling the need to constantly update.
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Aww, okay. Well, if anyone knows any good new medical drama or suspense fics, let me know! Those are my favorites, and it's been SO LONG since I've read a new one!
A question for everyone: What are you currently reading, or if you're like me and not reading anything new right now, what was the last great fanfic you read?
I think the last one I was super into that actually got finished is "Ladies Choice" by Erika (KeepThisSecret). That was a great suspense story! I love Erika's writing - where are you, Erika?? The other stories I've gotten into since are unfinished and haven't been updated since 2017...
I am reading Turtles All the Way Down by John Green and it’s great. I haven’t really read anything else by him besides The Fault in Our Stars but this one kind of reminds me of it. It’s pretty cute and funny minus the death stuff.
I’ did a lot of reading over Christmas break. I read the next person you meet in heaven which was fantastic. The Outsider by Stephen King was awesome and The Bridge of Clay was great! Doing all the reading does make me feel nostalgic to write, but not fanfic. I just don’t feel the guys that way anymore.
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Unfortunately I don't have any recommendation s but I'd like some too haha. Sorry I'm not much help on that aspect. I unfortunately haven't had anything new to read in a long time, and I think the last really good story I read was Sick As My Secrets LOL
Aw, thanks! I can't believe that story has been finished for almost two years now! Hopefully the new album will bring some other writers crawling out of the woodwork. We seem to inspire each other - it seems like we all slump at the same time, and then there's a resurgence.
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I wish I missed it more than I do. I guess what I miss most is getting feedback on what I wrote but I don’t miss the stress of feeling the need to constantly update.
I miss your writing! But that does make sense. I'm still writing but not posting right now, and I think the feedback is what I miss most too. But the whole not posting part has alleviated the pressure to update and the guilt I feel when I leave people hanging too long, which has been nice. I still enjoy writing for myself, with the knowledge that I'll eventually post it for other people to read and hopefully get some reviews then. I will admit, though, it's harder to stay motivated without that feedback!
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I am reading Turtles All the Way Down by John Green and it’s great. I haven’t really read anything else by him besides The Fault in Our Stars but this one kind of reminds me of it. It’s pretty cute and funny minus the death stuff.
I’ did a lot of reading over Christmas break. I read the next person you meet in heaven which was fantastic. The Outsider by Stephen King was awesome and The Bridge of Clay was great! Doing all the reading does make me feel nostalgic to write, but not fanfic. I just don’t feel the guys that way anymore.
I'll have to check that one out; I haven't even heard of it! I LOVED The Fault in Our Stars, but then I read Paper Towns and didn't enjoy that one nearly as much.
Do you see yourself writing more original fiction in the future?
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I've been steadily writing but getting very little feedback. I just push myself to finish because I need to get out of leaving things unfinished.
So far that's been working well for me.
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That's so hard, but good for you!
With reviews turned off on AC, do you find that readers just don't give feedback at all, or do they give it in a different way (tweet, email, etc.)? I haven't posted anything since reviews were disabled, so that's going to be different for me when I finally do. I used to get most of my feedback through emails back in the day, but most of it for my last few novels has come from AC reviews. I will miss those!
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I miss your writing! But that does make sense. I'm still writing but not posting right now, and I think the feedback is what I miss most too. But the whole not posting part has alleviated the pressure to update and the guilt I feel when I leave people hanging too long, which has been nice. I still enjoy writing for myself, with the knowledge that I'll eventually post it for other people to read and hopefully get some reviews then. I will admit, though, it's harder to stay motivated without that feedback!
Aww thanks! I remember back in the day when we'd only get feedback via email. Maybe you guys should start putting your email address at the bottom of each new chapter you post. One thing about the email feedback was it was real feedback. I know if I took the time to actually email an author about their story, I wouldn't just say "That was good!" Whenever I'd receive it, it was a nice long account of what they liked or didn't like followed by questions which turned into discussions, which turned into friendships that have far exceeded the fanfic itself.
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I'll have to check that one out; I haven't even heard of it! I LOVED The Fault in Our Stars, but then I read Paper Towns and didn't enjoy that one nearly as much.
Do you see yourself writing more original fiction in the future?
You should check it out. It's not a medical drama but the lead character is a hypochondriac amongst many other issues.
I want to write. I've had an idea in my head for about two years now but unlike fanfic where I already had the boys as my characters and only had to develop the storyline, I'm finding it difficult to figure out who I want as a lead telling the story. Whether it should be a female or a male. I tend to feel more comfortable writing as a male, but I also picture the lead as a female. I'm definitely a transgender writer. I completely identify as a male character more than a female one. Is that a thing? Can we make that a thing? lol
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Slightly off topic and should probably go into the tv thread, but speaking of medical dramas, have you watched New Amsterdam? I am really enjoying that one.
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See I've been reading a lot, and I'm thinking that's why I've gotten so many ideas. But then I end up picking up a new book instead of writing LOL. Have any of you read The Girl With All The Gifts? It's a really interesting book and unsurprisingly has some zombie esque themes but not actual zombies.
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Aww thanks! I remember back in the day when we'd only get feedback via email. Maybe you guys should start putting your email address at the bottom of each new chapter you post. One thing about the email feedback was it was real feedback. I know if I took the time to actually email an author about their story, I wouldn't just say "That was good!" Whenever I'd receive it, it was a nice long account of what they liked or didn't like followed by questions which turned into discussions, which turned into friendships that have far exceeded the fanfic itself.
Very true! The email feedback did tend to be more detailed and lead to full conversations instead of just a reply to a review. That and this forum are how I've made most, if not all of my friends in the fandom. I do miss that about the email feedback, although the reviews made it much easier to keep feedback organized. I am not above going back to read old reviews when I need some motivation. I'm glad we can still access them on AC.
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You should check it out. It's not a medical drama but the lead character is a hypochondriac amongst many other issues.
I want to write. I've had an idea in my head for about two years now but unlike fanfic where I already had the boys as my characters and only had to develop the storyline, I'm finding it difficult to figure out who I want as a lead telling the story. Whether it should be a female or a male. I tend to feel more comfortable writing as a male, but I also picture the lead as a female. I'm definitely a transgender writer. I completely identify as a male character more than a female one. Is that a thing? Can we make that a thing? lol
That sounds like something I could relate to! LOL
I'm glad you still want to write! I can see how that would be hard to have to start completely from scratch with developing characters, when we're so used to already having most of them. LOL at transgender writer! If you're imagining your main character as female, why not just make her a woman who isn't very feminine, in the traditional sense? That would probably make her more unique anyway.
Does anyone else feel more comfortable writing male characters than female? It makes sense, given that we've all spent so many years writing about guys. I still find a female perspective more natural for me to write, though.
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Slightly off topic and should probably go into the tv thread, but speaking of medical dramas, have you watched New Amsterdam? I am really enjoying that one.
I need to give New Amsterdam another try. I watched the pilot and was "meh" about it, but I've heard from other people that it's gotten better. I've found that I'm very picky about medical dramas because I compare everything to ER, and no show since has held up to the high standard that one set. I gave Grey's Anatomy another try this summer and actually made it through the first two seasons, but that was all I could stomach of that one. I watched Chicago Med for a full season, but quit at the beginning of the second season. Same with The Good Doctor. I tried Code Black and The Night Watch, and neither of those hooked me. The only one I've stuck with recently is The Resident, which I do really like.
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See I've been reading a lot, and I'm thinking that's why I've gotten so many ideas. But then I end up picking up a new book instead of writing LOL. Have any of you read The Girl With All The Gifts? It's a really interesting book and unsurprisingly has some zombie esque themes but not actual zombies.
I haven't read that one, but thanks for the recommendation! I need some new fiction to read; I've been reading nonfiction, but it's just not the same.
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Pentatonix? That’s exciting. I wonder if one of them is going to attempt beat boxing. I’m really looking forward to this album as well. I’m psyched it’s coming out before my weekend birthday trip up to Seneca Falls so I have something to listen to other than the Hamilton soundtrack.
As far as writing a non feminine female lead, that’s probably the only way I’d do it. We’ll see. It’s not like I’ve even remotely tried to write anything down to begin with. I do feel much more comfortable writing males. When it comes to reading though, as long as the female is strong I enjoy those stories, but I will always prefer stories about brothers. Bridge of Clay was about 5 brothers.
I loved the first two seasons of Code Black but as much as I love Rob Lowe, when he came on, the show just got too jump the shark-ish. You could tell they were experimenting and trying to turn it into Greys Anatomy.
I am really enjoying New Amsterdam. I love the guy who plays the lead. I was so sad when they killed him off of The Blacklist, but this part seems so natural for him. I do really enjoy the resident as well, but honestly, I don’t look at that one as a medical drama. I find that one more suspense and character based.
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That's what I like about The Resident; it's got the right balance of medical drama and character development. So many medical dramas either focus too much on the relationships and sex or have boring, cliched characters that you don't care about or are too formulaic with the "case of the week" formula. I don't stick with shows where I don't like or care about the characters, but I want to see the medical stuff too. I also like how The Resident shows you the shady side of the medical industry; that's a new twist I haven't seen as much.
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We've probably discussed this at some point before, but how have your opinions of each of the Boys changed from when you first became a fan to now?
I was listening to my BSB playlist in my car on the way home, and the All I Have to Give Conversation Mix (LOL) came on. I was listening to it, and it made me think about how differently I view the guys now compared to the impression I got of them the first time I heard that song. Like, I always loved how Brian talked about wanting to be with a smart girl who likes to go to school; I ate that up as a teenybopper because that was me! But now I think about how Brian didn't even send his own kid to real school and how he's a Trump supporter, and I realize he and I are not really compatible at all, LOL. I will always identify as a Brian girl, but my favorite Backstreet Boy is '90s Brian... whereas if I was new to the fandom and was just picking my favorite Backstreet Boy now, it would probably be Nick. I adore mature Nick from the last decade, and I even loved him through his hot mess phase in the 2000s, but '90s Nick still does nothing for me.
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first of all....super trippy being on here on my laptop for the first time.
anyways....to answer Julie's question...In the beginning, I didn't even have a favorite Backstreet Boy at first back in the day. Between 1996 to 1998 there was no particular Boy that I liked over the others...until about 1999 when Nick somehow became my favorite. Not even sure how that happened but one day I wrote in my journal that he was my favorite. He was my favorite I think because of a really dumb thing. I think I read in like one of those teenybopper magazines that his favorite food was pizza (which everyone knows its my favorite) and that he loved Nintendo.
Of course 13/14 year old me who had no idea about boys or what she wanted out of life assumed that of course if a guy has two things in common with you, it's totally meant to be :D :D :D
As I got older, I learned more about Nick...oldest sibling in the family, just like me. He loved the ocean, just like me and had a love for comic books and writing. Just like me.
I kind of glommed onto him. So if you ask me who my favorite is...depending on my mood it's definitely Nick. He's inspired me to keep going in so many was. To be who I want to be and not care what anyone thinks, to finally love myself and that positivity is key.
Brian is also my favorite, however...beca me my favorite in 2011 when I met the boys for the first time. Brian played the role of the "greeter" and welcomed me with literal open arms for a hug. He gives great hugs. He's always upbeat no matter what is going on. Doesn't care what people think of him or his opinion and is always smiling. So between the two of them, they both inspire me a lot. I have a soft spot for Nick becasue his music and his inspiration kept me from committing suicide ten years ago. sorry for rambling LOL but thats how i feel about Nick and Brian.
In the beginning, I always thought Kevin was mean, kind of bossy and stuck up. However since I've seen him in person, witnessed how funny and sarcastic he is...how he's the life of the party...I completely take all of that back. Kevin's hotter to me now in a weird way. I just love how blunt he is and his sense of humor. He's defnintely grown on me.
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I wrote Kevin off as the big brother but young me only saw him in that role. Which I still love, but that's not all there is to Kevin. He's probably the biggest change in terms of perspective. Kevin is always so great with fans, he really does everything he can to make you feel heard online and in person. Not to mention he can party with the best of them LOL. His return made me appreciate him so much. If I had to rank, he'd be practically tied with Nick.
As a teenager I used to say I was a "Brian and Nick" girl. I would lean more towards one or the other depending on what was happening. During Nick's hot mess years of 2003-2006 I leaned more Brian, for example. But like Julie, that's because I thought Brian was 90s Brian. While social media really helped me appreciate everyone in the group more, it made me step back from Brian. He's not the person I thought he was, and that's okay. I always respected that he's someone who stands by his beliefs. I just don't agree with him on a lot of things. Backstreet Boy Brian I still love, but Brian the person, not so much. I can look past it mainly cause I have a brother who thinks like he does, so I've got practice in it. I'll forever have a soft spot for one of my original faves, if that makes sense.
Nick, I loved 90s Nick. I've always been a dork, hyperactive, loving random things. I've joked with Julie that if he was a normal person that we met we'd probably all be good friends since he's pretty quirky himself. I think had I not been a teenager during his hot mess years I might've moved on to a different "fave" Boy. I mean by the time he dropped the weight and started working on himself in like 2007, I was barely 21 LOL. Mature Nick is definitely my favorite Nick and his voice sounds even better today. I'll always identify as a "Nick Girl".
Howie - man, I wish I'd known he had the sense of humor he had back when I was younger. I never appreciated it till Unbreakable after Kevin left and he got more time. I ignored Howie, like I liked him in the 90s but I never paid attention to him LOL.
AJ - Funnily enough I've always had the same level of appreciation for AJ. Mainly cause his voice is always able to give me chills when he really lets go. AJ is AJ, no matter what decade when it comes to his choices about style or whatever LOL.
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I know many people not gonna like me right now, but Brian has always been my favorite since the very beginning. Yes for his voice at first, but later for his courage in dealing with his various medical problems. It has help me to keep fighting against my own illness and I hope one day to have the chance to meet him in person.
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Why? Everyone likes a BSB for different reasons. No one here will hold it against you. :)
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Thanks! Because I read so many means things about Brian and I don’t know why people doesn’t like Brian this much.
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I will always love Brian! I may not agree with him politically, but I still love him. It's just a different kind of love than the teenybopper infatuation I had with him back in the day.
I have a much deeper appreciation for Kevin and Howie now than I had 20 years ago. I feel like they've let their personalities and sense of humor shine more in recent years. I didn't fully appreciate Kevin until he left and came back. I was devastated when he left the group and so grateful when he came back, and every time I have seen him since, he always seems to be enjoying himself and just as appreciative of us fans as we are of him. In hindsight, I think that break was good for both him and for us as a fan base.
My feelings for AJ have fluctuated a little over the years, but not to any extremes. AJ used to be my second favorite after Brian, and now Nick has taken his place, but I still love AJ. He went through kind of an annoying phase back when he first married Rochelle and they called each other Monkee all the time and he posted all those annoying videos on SocialCam or whatever that was called... but I think AJ the family man is my favorite version of AJ of all! He, Rochelle, Ava, and Lyric are so adorable! It makes me happy to see him so happy and healthy and fulfilled.
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I love Brian. Nothing wrong with that :)
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Yup, it's all good. Everyone has their reasons to like or not like the guys.
For me, as you guys know, I came into this fandom pretty late. They were just going into their hiatus while AJ was in rehab. By that time, I was way past my teenybopper years and didn't really look at them in that way. The first time I ever really took notice of them as people was when they made their appearance on TRL to announce AJ was in rehab. I didn't know them from a hole in the wall, except that they sang many of the songs I loved on the radio. When I watched that interview, I was immediately drawn to Nick because he looked so sad. I just wanted them to give the kid a hug lol I remember thinking that.
After I started learning more about them and became involved in the fandom, Nick and Kevin became my favorites. I think I just identified the most with Nick because of his home life. I swear that if I ever did the twenty three and me test I'd be related to him in some way. My mother was adopted so we know nothing about her background, but she has so many of Jane's traits (including her batshit craziness) that I swear they have to be sisters lol anyway, it was and still isn't an attraction with him, although he is adorable, it was just a feeling of connection. Even when he was going through his rough patch, I still felt for him. I've always just gotten Nick. I agree with all of you, this daddy, grown up version is the best one!
Kevin just has always seemed like a protecter and put together. Someone I wish I had in my life growing up. I think that's why in my stories, I have him bonded with Nick the way I do. Existentially, I've always been a Nick in search of her Kevin lol
Brian at first, seemed like a fun, sweet guy. When I went to his golf thing, he was great. I think when you attach yourself to a horrible person like he has, over the years you just start becoming that person. I think his personality is very mold able and he has molded lol.
I adore Howie. He used to be "and the rest" with AJ, but his sense of hum our and dorkishness, have made him jump up into Nick and Kevin status. He's someone that if we were in high school together, would have definitely been in my group of friends.
AJ has and will always be "and the rest" lol he is by far the sweetest one out of the five but also just kind of there. I love his voice and think he's a spectacular dad, but over the years he's just done nothing else for me besides become my comic relief for the other guys. Especially when he went through that ridiculous selfie phase.
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LOL I am definitely glad AJ's selfie phase is over, although I actually found myself sad when he posted a video on Instagram last week saying he's going to be taking a break from social media. We'll see how long that lasts. I really just enjoy seeing the pictures and videos he posts of the girls. Like I said, that is my favorite version of AJ!
I also agree with what you said about Brian. I don't dislike Leighanne; I've met her several times and had full conversations with her, and she's never been anything but sweet and friendly. That said, I know your experience was different, and I totally understand why some fans don't like her. I do think she has molded him and that he might have different views if he had married someone else (someone like me... ha!). But I guess that's just what happens with couples. Lauren has definitely changed Nick as well; that is just a more positive change.
That is so interesting what you said about being a Nick in search of her Kevin. I love that. It definitely explains why you are drawn to them and always wrote their relationship so well. I miss your fanfic!
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Aww thanks! Sometimes I miss writing them. Kevin and Nick lol
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Here's a music-related question for you all. Tell us about your all-time favorite BSB song! Do you remember the first time you heard it? Was it your instant favorite, or did it grow on you the more you heard it?
I have two favorites, Don't Wanna Lose You Now and Siberia. Usually I say DWLYN is my favorite with Siberia as a close second, but all this excitement over the new album has me reminiscing on what a stand out Siberia was from the first time I heard Never Gone and what an amazing song it still is, so I'm on more of a Siberia kick right now. I still remember the first time I heard Siberia on the day Never Gone was released. I hated the first few notes of it... but once it got going, I liked it more and more, and by the first chorus, I loved it. By the end of the song, it was my favorite track! As I listened to Never Gone on repeat that whole summer, I almost always either started with Siberia or started with Climbing the Walls (which I also loved) so I could get to Siberia sooner than starting at the beginning of the album. I absolutely loved it live on the Never Gone tour (with the snow falling!) and have been thrilled on the few rare occasions I've gotten to hear them sing it live since (soundchecks and the cruise). I love it for its melody and the way it starts so simple and then builds and adds layers of harmony, and I also love it for its lyrics and the story it tells. It's also a great Brian song!! It will be hard for any new BSB song to ever top Siberia for me.
And then there's Don't Wanna Lose You Now. DWLYN was not my favorite track on Millennium the first time I heard it or even the first few weeks (months?) after that album came out. I always liked it, but it didn't stand out to me among all the other amazing tracks. But at some point during the summer of 1999, I was listening to it on my Discman in the back seat of my mom's car while we were road tripping somewhere, and something just clicked for me with that song, and I fell in love with it. Around the same time (I don't remember if it was before or after), I read the fanfic Where Can We Go From Here, which features the infamous scene of the guys singing DWLYN around Nick's hospital bed as the doctors are about to take him off life support, and then he wakes up from his coma. Soooo cheesy, but I was 14 at the time and ATE. THAT. SHIT. UP. I think that's another reason I started loving DWLYN so much, and I've never stopped since! I've only seen them sing this song live one time, at my first concert during the Millennium tour, and I've always wished they would sing it again at something I'm actually at! I know they sang it on at least one of the cruises I was not on, and I was so jealous, but it was fun watching the video of it. The guys seem to really like that song too, so I wish they'd bring it back for a tour like they've done with other random non-singles, like Don't Want You Back, Get Another Boyfriend, and Undone.
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That's a really good question and a tough one to answer!
I think Everybody will always have a special place in my heart cause its the song that made me interested in them in the first place. So I will always love that song for opening up the door to them for me. Not to mention I watched the all access VHS of the making of that video like a HUNDRED times lol.
I also really like I Need You Tonight on Millennium. Its such a beautiful song. I remember hearing it on Britney Spears' first album. She sampled a couple of their songs from the Millennium album and when I heard I Need You Tonight I fell in love with it. Nick's voice on that song is incredible and made me swoon!
But I think I would have to say, overall, out of all their stuff, including DNA, that my absolute favorite song is Show 'Em What Your Made Of. It is such an inspirational song. I almost start crying every time I listen to it. I don't think I was excited over it when I first started listening to IAWLT, but over time it started really speaking to me. Its been a hard couple of years for me. So it can be a very uplifting and motivational song when the depression is hitting hard.
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OMG, the All Access video is my favorite! That's the first BSB VHS I bought, and I watched that thing all the time too! So many great quotes came from that video.
I Need You Tonight is a pretty song. I absolutely love Nick singing it (as Heaven In Your Eyes) on the A Night Out concert - my other favorite BSB VHS! I was not a Nick fan at all back then, but that performance is so beautiful!
I love Show 'Em too. It's such a sweet, personal song. I was at the first show of the IAWLT tour in Chicago, and Kevin totally got choked up singing his solo in that song (which is my favorite part of it). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPLSZ1u0Kb8 Love! Also, the music video for it is AMAZING! :drools:
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I love Show 'Em too. It's such a sweet, personal song. I was at the first show of the IAWLT tour in Chicago, and Kevin totally got choked up singing his solo in that song (which is my favorite part of it).
Awww :'(
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I am going to have to say that my favorite BSB song is still “I Want it That Way” maybe it’s more of a nostalgia thing, but this is the song that made me fall in love with them. It always makes me happy when I hear it and I always have to sing along, whether it’s just the straight up lead or the harmony parts. I love love love it!
That being said, I have a few second choices - Madeline is a great song. I Still is up there as well as Take Care
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10,000 Promises is my favorite BSB song. Ever since I watched their A Night Out on vhs. That's when I fully appreciated and fell in love with it. Now I have some amazing memories attached to the song as well, but it's just a really beautiful song.
I'm also very attached to As Long As You Love Me in terms of singles.
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I am going to have to say that my favorite BSB song is still “I Want it That Way” maybe it’s more of a nostalgia thing, but this is the song that made me fall in love with them. It always makes me happy when I hear it and I always have to sing along, whether it’s just the straight up lead or the harmony parts. I love love love it!
That being said, I have a few second choices - Madeline is a great song. I Still is up there as well as Take Care
I feel the same way about I Want It That Way. It's the song that took me from a fan to an OBSESSED fan, so I will always be nostalgic for that early Millennium era - so exciting and so much fun! But also, it's just a really great pop song, even if the lyrics make no sense. It's so catchy, without being annoying. I still enjoy hearing it on the radio from time to time. I'll never get sick of IWITW, and it wouldn't be a BSB concert without hearing them sing it.
Madeleine and Take Care are both amazing songs, too! IAWLT is such an awesome album, it's still hard for me to pick favorite tracks because I pretty much love them all!
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10,000 Promises is my favorite BSB song. Ever since I watched their A Night Out on vhs. That's when I fully appreciated and fell in love with it. Now I have some amazing memories attached to the song as well, but it's just a really beautiful song.
I'm also very attached to As Long As You Love Me in terms of singles.
That's how I feel about Like a Child, which is way up there on my favorites list. I fell in love with it watching the A Night Out video, and then when I realized it was a track on Backstreet's Back, even better! That's a song I've never seen them sing live (in person) and would love to!
I agree about As Long As You Love Me too. That's the song that made me a fan. The first time I ever saw what the guys looked like, it was when they performed ALAYLM on All That, and I fell in love with Brian at first sight. Leighanne and I have that in common with that song, LOL. It's also just a great song... even if the lyrics are a little sketchy LOL.
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lol I mean at least some things never change, in ALAYLM they don't care who you are or where you're from...and in New Love they don't wanna know your name.
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They don't care what you did, as long as you let them do what they do.
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My favourite is Incomplete, but I also love Climbing The Walls, Siberia, More Than That, Downpour and Show Me The Meaning almost as much. I'm also currently addicted to listening to Breathe on the new album
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They don't care what you did, as long as you let them do what they do.
LOL Perfect
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For me is: that’s the way I like it, I want it that way, the call, everyone, if I knew then, In a world like this, take care, no place
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lol I mean at least some things never change, in ALAYLM they don't care who you are or where you're from...and in New Love they don't wanna know your name.
haha i thought the same
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My favourite is Incomplete, but I also love Climbing The Walls, Siberia, More Than That, Downpour and Show Me The Meaning almost as much. I'm also currently addicted to listening to Breathe on the new album
All great songs! Incomplete is another one of my favorites as well. There are only a handful of BSB songs that made me tear up the first time I heard them, and Incomplete is one of them. I adore everything about that song, including its music video, and it's still one of my favorites to see them perform live. Angsty Nick dropping to his knees is the absolute best!!
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For me is: that’s the way I like it, I want it that way, the call, everyone, if I knew then, In a world like this, take care, no place
Take Care!! I love that song so much. In a World Like This is an amazing song as well! Really all of these songs are.
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What is everyone's favorite music video?
Mine has always been Larger Than Life, but I would also put Everybody, The Call, Just Want You To Know, Show 'Em What You're Made Of, No Place, Show Me the Meaning, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, As Long as You Love Me, and I Want It That Way in my top ten, with an honorable mention to Incomplete.
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I’d say The Call or Backstreet’s Back.
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I think my fave music video will always be Everybody. I also really like Just Want You To Know. Both videos are just really fun, with them dressing up and all that. They actually looked pretty good as a 80s hair metal band LOL. And I like what they did with Straight Through my Heart, with the vampire thing. I think I have a thing for them dressing up/being characters haha :D
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Same! I will always love Sphynkter!
I remember being really excited for the Straight Through My Heart video when we found out the concept involved vampires, but I was a little disappointed by the end result. Not enough vampire action for me. It's still a decent video, though; I like the dancing and the shots of the boys with fangs.
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My favorite to this day is Larger Than Life. The Call is a close second, followed by As Long As You Love Me, and then Everybody. I really like Chances though, out of their recent videos. Straight Through My Heart was such a disappointment lol.
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My favorite video is Larger Than Life. It's very futuristic and Sci fi is one of my favorites, but Just Want You To Know is a close second cause I love 80s hair bands.
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How about least favorite video? Mine has to be Helpless When She Smiles. The imagery in the lyrics of that song are so strong, they could have done SUCH a cool video. I was expecting to see hurricanes and reckless rides in the pouring rain, and instead, they stood in a field. In black and white. SO disappointing. I've literally only watched that video once all the way through, and that says it all.
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Yea, that video wasn't that great. Didn't do the song any justice. For me I feel like Drowning(dry version), More Than That, Incomplete are just too similar. They seem to lack depth, at least to me. Sure they can seem aesthetically pleasing for a boyband ballad, but I just feel they could have done better. (on a side note, I feel like Howie was going through weird hair length phases in each of those videos lol)
I think what they did for the Incomplete video would have worked better for HWSS from what you said.
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I agree! The Drowning video was disappointing too. I like the wet version better, even though the side effects were super cheesy. At least it went with the song! I didn't mind More Than That as much because they hadn't done so many scenery videos at that time. I actually really like the Incomplete video; at least it had an actual concept, with each of the guys representing a different element. That one had some cool imagery. I love Kevin playing the piano in the snow, Brian drowning in the ocean, angsty Nick setting fire to a gas station, Howie doing laundry, etc. LOL. Something like that definitely could have worked for HWSS. They just need some wind and rain, not just a pretty meadow.
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(on a side note, I feel like Howie was going through weird hair length phases in each of those videos lol)
LMAO you're so right about this! Howie has had a lot of weird hair phases. I like how his hair is now. Howie has gotten a lot more attractive over the years!
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Helpless When She Smiles
I think I've watched that video twice LOL.
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Come to think of it I have never watched the video for Helpless When She Smiles lmao
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Well, watch it on YouTube and report back to us! LOL
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Here's a question that may spark some debate. What would it take to make you suddenly stop being a BSB fan? I'm not talking about slowly growing out of them, losing interest and moving on; I mean one day you were all about them, and the next day you were done. What would have to happen to completely change your mind about them? For some people, all it took was the sexual assault accusations against Nick. For those of us who are still fans, can you think of another situation that would cause the same reaction in you?
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I think if there was something proven about Nick. If I sincerely believed he was guilty, I'd be done. Or any of them. I'd need something concrete. I'm all about something tangible, so it'd never be something he said/she said.
But by done, I mean I wouldn't be looking them up. I'd unfollow, and make myself move on. I may not cut off like older music I'd enjoyed. I just wouldn't listen to anything new. Or track them in any way.
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It would be hard to just turn your fandom off that way. I don't think I could do it. Especially because of one member out of a group of five. Some may judge me for this, but I'm gonna say it anyway: Even if Nick came out and admitted that he did rape Melissa Schuman in 2002, I don't think I would turn against him. Nick is a different person than he was in 2002. He made a lot of bad decisions that I didn't condone back then and still don't now, but I loved him through that phase in his life and love him even more now that he's gotten his act together. I would be disappointed in him, but I would also be willing to forgive him. I might have a different view of it if he had actually been convicted of rape back then or if it happened today, but I can't turn my back on someone I've been a fan of for 20+ years based on someone else's word, without any evidence, especially when he denied it. I honestly don't know what it would take to make me turn my back on any of the Boys like that, but like you said, Rose, there would have to be irrefutable proof they did something horribly wrong. But then, I write stories about Nick murdering women for fun, so my judgment may be a bit off, LOL. I just feel like, after this long, the love I have for these guys is unconditional. I'm not talking about a teenybopper, romantic version of love; I'm past the point in my life where I want to marry one of them. It's more like a family type of love. You love your family no matter what.
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It would be hard to just turn your fandom off that way. I don't think I could do it. Especially because of one member out of a group of five. Some may judge me for this, but I'm gonna say it anyway: Even if Nick came out and admitted that he did rape Melissa Schuman in 2002, I don't think I would turn against him. Nick is a different person than he was in 2002. He made a lot of bad decisions that I didn't condone back then and still don't now, but I loved him through that phase in his life and love him even more now that he's gotten his act together. I would be disappointed in him, but I would also be willing to forgive him. I might have a different view of it if he had actually been convicted of rape back then or if it happened today, but I can't turn my back on someone I've been a fan of for 20+ years based on someone else's word, without any evidence, especially when he denied it. I honestly don't know what it would take to make me turn my back on any of the Boys like that, but like you said, Rose, there would have to be irrefutable proof they did something horribly wrong. But then, I write stories about Nick murdering women for fun, so my judgment may be a bit off, LOL. I just feel like, after this long, the love I have for these guys is unconditional. I'm not talking about a teenybopper, romantic version of love; I'm past the point in my life where I want to marry one of them. It's more like a family type of love. You love your family no matter what.
You make a good point. And while I've cut off other artists I enjoyed, I've never cut off one where my fandom ran this deep. I can fully admit that while in theory, if I was given concrete proof that he did it, I may very well not do it in a case like this where he's clearly not the same person he was in 2002. It's easy to say I'd be done and cut myself off but another to actually do so. But if something was going to, I think it'd be absolute proof - or at least get me the closest to actually doing so. Or if he or any of the Boys, did something like that today, and they got convicted.
But someone's word, with absolutely nothing else? And him denying it? No. That would not do it.
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I agree that it would take something very serious with irrefutable evidence and was found guilty of something to just be like no, I don't want anything to do with them or that person. And obviously the whole thing with Nick didn't seems to be taken too seriously cause I didn't even find out about it till almost a year after she came out about it (but then again I was going through a lot at that time so I might have just been oblivious) If she can't tell that Nick is a completely different person then he was back then, then she might be doing it just to get attention.
What do you think the rest of the guys would do if one of them was found guilty of something? Do you think they will go one without that memeber? Yea, they did when kevin left and did a bunch of shows with out AJ but if it was something serious, do you think they would go on?
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This topic is so interesting and complex. It's interesting to see your angle of looking at the boys as family. When you put it that way it makes so much sense.
I've only ever thrown myself into two fandoms in my life. Duran Duran and BSB. All the other groups I have enjoyed, I don't think I'd even be able to name everyone in the group. Seriously, I still don't think I can name all five of the nsync guys without help lol
I can say that I watched the last season of House of Cards and would have, even if Kevin Spacey was involved, because I loved that show and he was only part of it. I can also admit that I can never completely watch anything with Bill Cosby In it, without feeling a high level of disgust. Complex, see what I mean?
When it comes to the boys, my fandom has waned already, which you guys all know. Because it has, I can tell you the only way I would even know about this Melissa thing is through the two or three people who talked about it on my twitter feed. I barely follow any BSB fans really except for the few of you who post in here. You guys are the only reason I know about it. My point being, for whatever reason, this never became a big deal. So for me, it's never been a big deal. I have never been the type of person that will automatically side with a victim just because they are a victim. One of my best friends in high school was accused of raping his ex girlfriend in our senior year of high school. He was 18 and she was 16. They took him away in handcuffs and just like that, his life was ruined. He wasn't convicted, it never went to trial and charges were dismissed. Despite all of that, there was always speculation. He ended up moving out of state and starting over. Years later, that same girl admitted she made up the whole story because he didn't ask her to prom. So, yeah... That's how I think about things.
Everyone is entitled to think what they want. The problems start when you try to convince people your thinkng is the correct thinking. Just like politics, no one is going to ever win those arguments.
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Well, watch it on YouTube and report back to us! LOL
Okay so I just finally got around to watching the video and wtf I am so disappointed in Helpless When She Smiles... That video has nothing to do with the song. It's boring and I was unimpressed. I also think the only thing about it that I liked was Nick and Brian lol they look good. That was it.
I remember when the boys had their Say Now and Nick had called in from the video shoot to tell us that for the shots in the field they were getting hit with cow patties from the helicopter. Haha
For some reason I never got around to watching the video until now
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I remember when the boys had their Say Now and Nick had called in from the video shoot to tell us that for the shots in the field they were getting hit with cow patties from the helicopter. Haha
OMG :D I would love to see that blooper footage. They should have kept that in the video, probably would have made it more interesting. LOL
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What do you think the rest of the guys would do if one of them was found guilty of something? Do you think they will go one without that memeber? Yea, they did when kevin left and did a bunch of shows with out AJ but if it was something serious, do you think they would go on?
That's a really good question. I have no idea. I guess it would depend on what it was and whether or not they knew for sure that he had done something unforgivable. The way they have supported Nick through these accusations suggests they must believe his version of events, but I wonder what they would say if he came out and admitted that he did do it? I don't think they would turn their backs on him then either, if only because of how much time has passed and how much he's changed since then. But if something were to happen now? I don't know. I think they are all good people, but I also think they have that kind of unconditional, brotherly love for each other. It's hard to imagine them kicking someone out of the group.
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This topic is so interesting and complex. It's interesting to see your angle of looking at the boys as family. When you put it that way it makes so much sense.
It is a very debatable topic. Its sad that we have to try to prove that something like that has happened cause of girls/women being malicious and making false accusations for what turns out to be such stupid reasons.
I think a lot of fans look at the boys that way now after all this time. Watching them go through so much and grow as people and become such wonderful men. A weird way to put it is like watching your children grow up lol
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Who do you think is the boys biggest competition for the Grammys?
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This topic is so interesting and complex. It's interesting to see your angle of looking at the boys as family. When you put it that way it makes so much sense.
I've only ever thrown myself into two fandoms in my life. Duran Duran and BSB. All the other groups I have enjoyed, I don't think I'd even be able to name everyone in the group. Seriously, I still don't think I can name all five of the nsync guys without help lol
I can say that I watched the last season of House of Cards and would have, even if Kevin Spacey was involved, because I loved that show and he was only part of it. I can also admit that I can never completely watch anything with Bill Cosby In it, without feeling a high level of disgust. Complex, see what I mean?
When it comes to the boys, my fandom has waned already, which you guys all know. Because it has, I can tell you the only way I would even know about this Melissa thing is through the two or three people who talked about it on my twitter feed. I barely follow any BSB fans really except for the few of you who post in here. You guys are the only reason I know about it. My point being, for whatever reason, this never became a big deal. So for me, it's never been a big deal. I have never been the type of person that will automatically side with a victim just because they are a victim. One of my best friends in high school was accused of raping his ex girlfriend in our senior year of high school. He was 18 and she was 16. They took him away in handcuffs and just like that, his life was ruined. He wasn't convicted, it never went to trial and charges were dismissed. Despite all of that, there was always speculation. He ended up moving out of state and starting over. Years later, that same girl admitted she made up the whole story because he didn't ask her to prom. So, yeah... That's how I think about things.
Everyone is entitled to think what they want. The problems start when you try to convince people your thinkng is the correct thinking. Just like politics, no one is going to ever win those arguments.
The family thing is the best way I could think of to describe that unconditional love. It's different because I don't really KNOW them that way, even though I've met them, but at the same time, they've been such a big part of my life for so long... I don't have many, if any, genuine, close friendships that have lasted as long as I've been a BSB fan. There's a dedication and a loyalty there that I can't just shut off. This is the only fandom I've ever been this devoted to, longterm. Most of the other things I consider myself a huge fan of are fictional stuff, like Harry Potter and The Walking Dead. It's different when it involves real people. I'm like you when it comes to other bands; I like a lot of different types of music, and so there are many bands and artists I enjoy, but I don't necessarily care about most of them as people - I just like their music.
This whole #MeToo movement has been weird to witness. On one hand, I do think people like Kevin Spacey and Bill Cosby, who have apparently been abusing others for a long time, should have to own up to their actions and face the consequences. It disgusts me to hear all these horrifying details come out about someone like Bill Cosby, who always seemed like a good guy. It just goes to show how well some of these celebrities hide their true character underneath a charming public persona. And who knows, that could be true about Nick, too. But I was never a fan of Bill Cosby the way I am of Nick, and that makes it different. It also seems like once the movement took off, it became trendy for women to accuse men of sexual abuse, and then it became a witch hunt. I watched the same thing happen to Chris Hardwick, who hosts Talking Dead, when he was accused of abuse by an ex-girlfriend. It looked like he might get fired from his show, but AMC ended up supporting him after they investigated it. I believe that, like Nick, he's also a good guy whose name was dragged through the mud by someone trying to take advantage of him because it seemed like the trendy thing to do. False accusations only hurt real victims. Women do lie sometimes, as was the case with your friend, and that's why I don't buy into the whole notion that women should blindly support other women just because they are women. No.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that's why I finally brought it up here. I haven't said too much about the allegations because I have friends in the fandom who totally disagree with me on this issue, but hopefully by now it's been long enough that we can talk about it without anyone getting their feelings hurt. I've seen friendships ruined on Twitter over this, and I hate to see that. It's also sad to see people struggling with their fandom over something that allegedly happened so long ago.
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Okay so I just finally got around to watching the video and wtf I am so disappointed in Helpless When She Smiles... That video has nothing to do with the song. It's boring and I was unimpressed. I also think the only thing about it that I liked was Nick and Brian lol they look good. That was it.
I remember when the boys had their Say Now and Nick had called in from the video shoot to tell us that for the shots in the field they were getting hit with cow patties from the helicopter. Haha
For some reason I never got around to watching the video until now
It is a pretty video; I'll give them that! They look good in both videos from Unbreakable, but I still hate them (the videos, not the boys LOL).
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Who do you think is the boys biggest competition for the Grammys?
I had to look up who else is nominated in their category, LOL. For anyone else who didn't know, here are the nominees:
FALL IN LINE
Christina Aguilera Featuring Demi Lovato
DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART
Backstreet Boys
'S WONDERFUL
Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
SHALLOW
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
GIRLS LIKE YOU
Maroon 5 Featuring Cardi B
SAY SOMETHING
Justin Timberlake Featuring Chris Stapleton
THE MIDDLE
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
I've only heard about half of these songs, and besides BSB, the only one I like is Shallow, so I'd say that's their biggest competition. A Star is Born was really popular. Girls Like You is played all the freaking time, though, so that could be competition too. Same with The Middle. I have no idea, though. I don't even remember the last time I watched the Grammys (probably not since the last time the Boys did something on it) because I don't care for a lot of the current music on the radio these days. I miss the turn of the millennium! I love classic rock, 90s pop, and 80s music in general.
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Do you guys think they'll win? I'm so used to being disappointed by the Grammys, I'm trying not to get my hopes up LOL. But at the same time, I have lived to see the Chicago Cubs win a World Series and Leonardo DiCaprio win an Oscar (in the same year!), so why shouldn't the Backstreet Boys finally win a Grammy? Maybe the stars will have aligned, and this will be their year! It'll mean more now than it would have back in 1999, 2000, etc.
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Yea, its hard to say. They sometimes don't go for what was the most popular. I agree that shallow might be their biggest competition. idk if gaga and bradley are nominated for any Oscars, but if they are they can win that and leave the grammy for the Backstreet Boys lol I do think they have a pretty good chance, but I too am not going to get my hopes up too high. Not that I don't believe in the guys.
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They are nominated for the Oscars and already won the Golden Globe for Best Song, so they could be tough competition. I agree, though - let them win at the other awards, and leave the Grammy for BSB!
I was also thinking, back when the Boys used to get nominated for Grammys, they always lost to old artists/groups - Santana, Sting, Steely Dan, U2. I know they're up against Tony Bennett, who is ancient, and a couple of their peers (Christina, JT), but otherwise, they ARE the "old guys" compared to the newer, more current artists, so maybe that actually works in their favor!
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Hey 2 of my college friends are also up for song of the year at the Oscars so we don’t want Gaga to win that one either! Just sayin’ lol
When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from the Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings
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I agree that it would take something very serious with irrefutable evidence and was found guilty of something to just be like no, I don't want anything to do with them or that person. And obviously the whole thing with Nick didn't seems to be taken too seriously cause I didn't even find out about it till almost a year after she came out about it (but then again I was going through a lot at that time so I might have just been oblivious) If she can't tell that Nick is a completely different person then he was back then, then she might be doing it just to get attention.
What do you think the rest of the guys would do if one of them was found guilty of something? Do you think they will go one without that memeber? Yea, they did when kevin left and did a bunch of shows with out AJ but if it was something serious, do you think they would go on?
I’m not sure. I think they’d definitely continue on as a group. If anything, they’d just kick out that member. As much as I’d like to believe they’d stick by each other, I remember Brian was more than willing to kick Nick to the curb when he delayed things with his solo album, so I could see him being in the kick someone out of the group bandwagon, unless it’s him of course lol
In all honesty, I think it would take something completely horrible to happen and recent for them to do something like that.
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Do you guys think they'll win? I'm so used to being disappointed by the Grammys, I'm trying not to get my hopes up LOL. But at the same time, I have lived to see the Chicago Cubs win a World Series and Leonardo DiCaprio win an Oscar (in the same year!), so why shouldn't the Backstreet Boys finally win a Grammy? Maybe the stars will have aligned, and this will be their year! It'll mean more now than it would have back in 1999, 2000, etc.
I don’t want to get my hopes up either, but I feel like this time around, there’s a different vibe surrounding them. All the times they have been nominated prior to this, they weren’t taken very seriously by their peers. This time around, I feel like they’ve finally gotten respect from their fellow peers in the industry and that really does make all The difference. Now whether they actually win this one I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this album was up for several of them next year. I mean maybe it’s wishful thinking but it’s got all the earmarks of an album that won’t be ignored.
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The family thing is the best way I could think of to describe that unconditional love. It's different because I don't really KNOW them that way, even though I've met them, but at the same time, they've been such a big part of my life for so long... I don't have many, if any, genuine, close friendships that have lasted as long as I've been a BSB fan. There's a dedication and a loyalty there that I can't just shut off. This is the only fandom I've ever been this devoted to, longterm. Most of the other things I consider myself a huge fan of are fictional stuff, like Harry Potter and The Walking Dead. It's different when it involves real people. I'm like you when it comes to other bands; I like a lot of different types of music, and so there are many bands and artists I enjoy, but I don't necessarily care about most of them as people - I just like their music.
This whole #MeToo movement has been weird to witness. On one hand, I do think people like Kevin Spacey and Bill Cosby, who have apparently been abusing others for a long time, should have to own up to their actions and face the consequences. It disgusts me to hear all these horrifying details come out about someone like Bill Cosby, who always seemed like a good guy. It just goes to show how well some of these celebrities hide their true character underneath a charming public persona. And who knows, that could be true about Nick, too. But I was never a fan of Bill Cosby the way I am of Nick, and that makes it different. It also seems like once the movement took off, it became trendy for women to accuse men of sexual abuse, and then it became a witch hunt. I watched the same thing happen to Chris Hardwick, who hosts Talking Dead, when he was accused of abuse by an ex-girlfriend. It looked like he might get fired from his show, but AMC ended up supporting him after they investigated it. I believe that, like Nick, he's also a good guy whose name was dragged through the mud by someone trying to take advantage of him because it seemed like the trendy thing to do. False accusations only hurt real victims. Women do lie sometimes, as was the case with your friend, and that's why I don't buy into the whole notion that women should blindly support other women just because they are women. No.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that's why I finally brought it up here. I haven't said too much about the allegations because I have friends in the fandom who totally disagree with me on this issue, but hopefully by now it's been long enough that we can talk about it without anyone getting their feelings hurt. I've seen friendships ruined on Twitter over this, and I hate to see that. It's also sad to see people struggling with their fandom over something that allegedly happened so long ago.
I'm honestly glad you have. It's nice having a real discussion on this. On TDS that's still impossible because every time people tried it devolved into insults and name calling. I fully support the idea of hearing women. I do feel that in that aspect, it's overdo. People like Cosby and Spacey needed to be shown for the people they truly were. I do think the movement turned into a witch hunt. George Takei is another example. He was accused and later it came out that his accuser lied. There's still people who don't believe that though. And people who lie about something so serious really do deserve karma to come back on them. False accusations follow forever, and it makes it impossible to simply "believe women" based on their word. There's a lot of reasons I don't believe Melissa, my feelings on Nick aside. I find the most frustrating thing is that because I don't agree with believing blindly, is I'm seen by many as a blind fangirl. Or a rapist apologist. I've had to block a lot of people in the past year due to the heat I got for my opinion.
The thing is, I could stand up right now and accuse someone just because. I could say it happened years ago and that's why there's no proof. I could get friends to say I told them years ago. And because of that, by no means should anyone just believe me because I'm female.
If someday Nick confessed he did it, or some irrefutable proof came out? I'd be the first to admit I was wrong.
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I don’t want to get my hopes up either, but I feel like this time around, there’s a different vibe surrounding them. All the times they have been nominated prior to this, they weren’t taken very seriously by their peers. This time around, I feel like they’ve finally gotten respect from their fellow peers in the industry and that really does make all The difference. Now whether they actually win this one I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this album was up for several of them next year. I mean maybe it’s wishful thinking but it’s got all the earmarks of an album that won’t be ignored.
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The family thing is the best way I could think of to describe that unconditional love. It's different because I don't really KNOW them that way, even though I've met them, but at the same time, they've been such a big part of my life for so long... I don't have many, if any, genuine, close friendships that have lasted as long as I've been a BSB fan. There's a dedication and a loyalty there that I can't just shut off. This is the only fandom I've ever been this devoted to, longterm. Most of the other things I consider myself a huge fan of are fictional stuff, like Harry Potter and The Walking Dead. It's different when it involves real people. I'm like you when it comes to other bands; I like a lot of different types of music, and so there are many bands and artists I enjoy, but I don't necessarily care about most of them as people - I just like their music.
This whole #MeToo movement has been weird to witness. On one hand, I do think people like Kevin Spacey and Bill Cosby, who have apparently been abusing others for a long time, should have to own up to their actions and face the consequences. It disgusts me to hear all these horrifying details come out about someone like Bill Cosby, who always seemed like a good guy. It just goes to show how well some of these celebrities hide their true character underneath a charming public persona. And who knows, that could be true about Nick, too. But I was never a fan of Bill Cosby the way I am of Nick, and that makes it different. It also seems like once the movement took off, it became trendy for women to accuse men of sexual abuse, and then it became a witch hunt. I watched the same thing happen to Chris Hardwick, who hosts Talking Dead, when he was accused of abuse by an ex-girlfriend. It looked like he might get fired from his show, but AMC ended up supporting him after they investigated it. I believe that, like Nick, he's also a good guy whose name was dragged through the mud by someone trying to take advantage of him because it seemed like the trendy thing to do. False accusations only hurt real victims. Women do lie sometimes, as was the case with your friend, and that's why I don't buy into the whole notion that women should blindly support other women just because they are women. No.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that's why I finally brought it up here. I haven't said too much about the allegations because I have friends in the fandom who totally disagree with me on this issue, but hopefully by now it's been long enough that we can talk about it without anyone getting their feelings hurt. I've seen friendships ruined on Twitter over this, and I hate to see that. It's also sad to see people struggling with their fandom over something that allegedly happened so long ago.
I think the metoo movement is long over due, but yes, I do feel like for every five real claims there is probably one false one. I think it’s a mistake to automatically just assume the victim is not lying just as I think it’s a mistake to automatically assume the victim is lying. Unless people admit to doing wrong, it’s always going to be a he said she said. At that point we all make our own judgement a and move on from there. I do tend do believe the victim if a whole slew of victims come out and admit the same thing happened to them like Cosby and Weinstein. Otherwise I try to hold out judgement until I hear a definitive ounce of proof one way or the other. That’s just how I feel.
I will never fault anyone for having feelings opposite mine. Whether I strongly disagree or not. I think that’s why people can’t handle these kinds of talks. People get so defensive when others don’t agree with what’s being said. I have seen, especially on TDS when discussing touchy topics, people just assume they aren’t being understood and whoever thinks differently is just stupid for thinking that way.
Believing Melissa does not make you a bad fan.
Believing Nick does not make you a rape apologist.
Like I said up there somewhere, believe whatever you want but for the love of God...don’t try to change people’s minds. Just move on and accept that at the end of the day, the truth usually comes out.
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Hey 2 of my college friends are also up for song of the year at the Oscars so we don’t want Gaga to win that one either! Just sayin’ lol
When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from the Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings
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I think the metoo movement is long over due, but yes, I do feel like for every five real claims there is probably one false one. I think it’s a mistake to automatically just assume the victim is not lying just as I think it’s a mistake to automatically assume the victim is lying. Unless people admit to doing wrong, it’s always going to be a he said she said. At that point we all make our own judgement a and move on from there. I do tend do believe the victim if a whole slew of victims come out and admit the same thing happened to them like Cosby and Weinstein. Otherwise I try to hold out judgement until I hear a definitive ounce of proof one way or the other. That’s just how I feel.
I will never fault anyone for having feelings opposite mine. Whether I strongly disagree or not. I think that’s why people can’t handle these kinds of talks. People get so defensive when others don’t agree with what’s being said. I have seen, especially on TDS when discussing touchy topics, people just assume they aren’t being understood and whoever thinks differently is just stupid for thinking that way.
Believing Melissa does not make you a bad fan.
Believing Nick does not make you a rape apologist.
Like I said up there somewhere, believe whatever you want but for the love of God...don’t try to change people’s minds. Just move on and accept that at the end of the day, the truth usually comes out.
Totally agree! It's absolutely a case of he said/she said, and none of us will ever know the truth. I think it's very possible that Melissa and Nick have both told their "truth" and just remember things differently. Nick never denied that they hooked up, but he may have genuinely thought it was consensual when she's now saying it wasn't. For me, there just isn't enough evidence in her favor to turn me against him.
I can only imagine the threads on TDS. This is why I like our little group here LOL. We've always been able to debate rationally and respectfully.
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I don’t want to get my hopes up either, but I feel like this time around, there’s a different vibe surrounding them. All the times they have been nominated prior to this, they weren’t taken very seriously by their peers. This time around, I feel like they’ve finally gotten respect from their fellow peers in the industry and that really does make all The difference. Now whether they actually win this one I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this album was up for several of them next year. I mean maybe it’s wishful thinking but it’s got all the earmarks of an album that won’t be ignored.
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That's exciting!! Good luck to them! Personally, I thought A Star is Born was overrated, but the music is good.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Gaga is going to win the category. They realize that too. But so awesome for them. They’re not sure if they’re going to perform or not. They’d rather have Willie Nelson do it since he performed the song in the movie. I think that’s who they said it was. They wrote the song but they’re both pretty amazing singers as well so we’ll see what happens. The last update we got from them they weren’t asked to perform at all. Guess I’ll be stuck watching the Grammys and the Oscars this year lol
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I do not think Nick did it after what Pearlman do to him and if Nick had done anything to Melissa, Lauren would never have a wedding with Nick or have a baby with him.
I really wish the guys win the Grammy because they work so hard and I’m so proud of them!
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I agree; I don't think Lauren or the guys would have been as vocal with their support for Nick if they had any doubts about his innocence. Not that any of them know for sure either, but they know him better than we do.