"You know if you worry and think about it, you will be more nervous..." Jaden replied, wanting to give himself a light facepalm.
Eli coughed. "I'm doing okay." His face was cold but it said 'I'm not okay.' He was a man of a few words, but he was so stiff that everyone could see he was not okay. He was probably the most worried as he felt he might drag everyone down. He felt useless compared to everyone else.
Danny was trying really hard not to bite on his nails as he gripped onto his phone. He was the main vocalist and had a decent amount of lines so he was trying to remember all of them. Remembering wasn't his strong point as he was forgetful outside of singing. He had to remind himself not to forget. It was a horrid cycle. He didn't even pay attention to everyone.
Jaden said nonchalantly, "If all else fails, I will cover for you all. I remembered how to sing and dance to all of the songs, so don't worry too much."
They felt assured but they also couldn't help but think, talented, good-looking guys should all go die! They couldn't help but feel aggrieved.
While JADED was prepping, the venue was crowded with people. After releasing teasers and photos, many people flocked for the tickets and they were sold out in just a couple of weeks. For a group that was debuting, it was amazing. All the merchandise had been sold and the concert hall was full of customized lightsticks. It was a cube on a stick and each side had a letter on it, spelling JADED. The fans were being called War-Torn, as it went well with the meaning of JADED.
Towards the front, Adriel and Luis had their lightsticks and signs. Adriel had a sign that had Jaden's stage name, Jade, in bright green and a huge heart. People saw the serious man with the sign and lightstick and put it all over social media. Many who were streaming made memes of Adriel. He wouldn't find out until after the concert though.
Luis also had the name "Jade" on his poster, but he put an arrow on it so that they had to look over at Adriel's poster. He also held the lightstick with full regret. He just wanted to rest at home, why did his boss have to bring him too?! Even though the trailers to the MVs were good, he could listen to the album after the concert when they released them! Or he could watch the live stream! He didn't really have to be here.
Money, he was here for the money because not only did his boss pay, he also gave him a bonus!
"Luis, show more enthusiasm."
"Yes, boss..." Luis was smiling but dying inside. He had to keep reminding himself about money and professionalism.
When the lights on the stage dimmed, everyone knew the concert was getting started. The stage started to fill with white smoke and five color lights moved around the stage. The colors represented each member. Jade was green, Al was blue, Danny was yellow, Eli was red, and Dex was purple.
Once all the lights were fixed in place, they saw silhouettes of each member standing on stage. That was when the music started.
The beginning of the melody was very soft, and Danny's soothing voice could be heard. The song was a sorrowful song talking about depression and how they were slowly trying to overcome it. But it was a cycle, so it never ended. There were times of peace but times of struggles, and it spiraled more and more as they went through the song. Their dance matched the atmosphere of the song, their dance moves were very fluid, as if they were swimming through the ocean. It was a slow dance, but each move held powerful emotions. It was like watching someone going through a rough period of their life, like everything they loved was stripped away from them.
The second song was at a faster pace. It felt like someone was being chased around, anxiously looking around and seeing no one there. It felt like they were on edge the whole time, like the part of a horror movie where it was leading up to the scare, but it never ended. The feeling of anxiousness was so strong, the audience could feel their own hearts beating faster. Some even wanted to leave because they couldn't handle the anxiousness the song induced within them.
There was a warning anyways, so people were there at their own risk.
The third song felt like they were at war the whole time. Nightmare after nightmare, it was like they were living that same scene over and over. Even when it seemed like things were okay, flashbacks would come and ruin it all. It was a constant struggle of trying to stay sane and not let the flashbacks win him over. Did he ever leave the war? The audience couldn't find that out even at the end of the song.
The fourth song had a different feel from the previous songs. The song was all over the place, but somehow it all came together. It was a mix of styles but somehow it worked well. The dances for each person were different, but when they danced together each person had a part of the story they were telling.
And the last song was odd. Like it was so perfect that even the dance was in sync most of the time. But when one of the members "messed up" everything turned to chaos until finally, they were able to obtain order once more. And that cycle repeated throughout the song.
Each song had a different mental health disorder. The first song talked about clinical depression (Eli), the second song talked about anxiety disorder (Al), then PTSD (Jade), ADHD (Dex), and finally OCD (Danny).
The melodies for each song were different and allowed fans of different genres to enjoy at least one of the songs. It was very different from other idols who usually stuck to hip hop as well as certain topics like love, money, or sex.
Even though the album was helping with mental health awareness month, it didn't stop the audience from shedding tears as their lightsticks moved with the beat of the bass. It was amazing to see the colors change based on the song as if each song color represented a member.
By the end of the concert, JADED had won the hearts of the entire audience and left them in tears.
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Grandpa Marky: This chapter was dedicated to Mental Health Awareness Month that takes place in May in the United States (about the time I had originally posted this on 抖阴社区). We should all take the time to learn more about Mental health and how it impacts people on a daily basis! It's important to note that you don't know what people are going through unless they speak up about it! The more we chat about mental health, the more we can spread awareness and educate people.
Also, those changes that I mentioned when taking HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is very common in trans men who are taking male sex hormones/testosterone. Also, please note, not everyone goes through these changes or they have other symptoms. It all depends on the person's body type and genetics. If you have a gene for balding, you may start to bald, etc. Of course not right away but somewhere down the line if you have the gene for balding. As for trans women, their changes are different so if you are curious, let me know and I can show you a great PDF that talks about the medical transitioning differences between trans women and trans men.
Trans Idol (8)
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