T&T Con Report That Is Juuuust This Side of Jibbering Nonsense
In case anyone doubted my capacity for awesome life choices:
♥ I SAW TACKEY & TSUBASA THREE TIMES IN A ROW LAST WEEK ♥
"This is your life, these are your choices."
I regret nothing. :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
I've loved T&T since I got into fandom in 2007, but I wasn't well-connected with any deeply knowledgeable T&T fans, so I've been missing out on lots of adorable details that I'm only finding out about now thanks to the Almost Disturbing Searching Skills of fuyukoi and the wealth of information that is the team of lovespiral and luin_lote. I probably would have looked harder for T&T-related things all this time since Tsubasa's my second favorite in Johnnys, but it's not as easy finding things for them as it is in K8 fandom, plus Subaru is extremely distracting. (Oh, hey, speaking of! While I was in Harajuku I got the awesomest picture of him making a crazy face while holding a massive signed-ball gun. ♥
I have Feelings about Subaru. ♥ XD)
So anyway! In October, I got tickets to see T&T three times, three days in a row, and I now have purikura-level stars permanently fused to my irises.
I met up with lovespiral and luin_lote in Harajuku on the day of the first con. We met in front of the GAP and immediately continued on into the Magical Land of Idol Things. They're both incredibly sweet people, and I had a wonderful time with the two of them over the last few days.
I'm fuzzy on the details of Con #1 because I didn't bring my computer with me and I didn't write down many details, but luckily luin_lote wrote a much thorougher account.
I do remember some things, though. XD
This is the only con where luin_lote and lovespiral and I sat together. We had pretty bad seats, but that's fine since it was the first con and I probably wouldn't have remembered as much from it as the next two.
fuyukoi emailed me before the show and said Takki'd made a request that people bring pink pompoms to better participate during his solo. ... That's Takki, everyone. He's Yasu with more of a focus on pink than just, you know, ALL OF THE COLORS TOGETHER. (Subaru has a type. ♥)
I couldn't find pink pompoms in time for the con, but a good portion of the audience had. And for those of us who don't have Takki's connections to pompom emporiums, the staff were handing out specially-made pompoms at the front doors: one blue (Tsubasa), one pink (Takki). They're wonderful (and free!) con goods. :D Takki gives us nice things.
Also, their con was pretty Object Intensive. As in, lots of things required for participating in songs. Your standard penlight, but also the pompoms for Takki's solo, a T-shirt for one of the later songs (I forget which), and 3D glasses for mini-movies throughout the con. The whole process of switching the necessary objects reminded me of the way Catholic mass works-stand, kneel, sit, stand, sing, kneel, stand, tango with your neighbor, kneel, fireworks, flip, stick the landing. I think that's what Catholic mass is like-I haven't been to one in a while.
The con was in Yoyogi Stadium (which has a ridiculously long official title) and the interior was gorgeous. There was a huge cluster of large picture frames surrounding the main screen, and a few others scattered around the walls of the arena. Before the con and for most of the beginning, they were outlined in blue light, but they changed color throughout the show. While we were waiting for the con to start, lovespiral spotted two cosplayers dressed in blue and pink suits with matching fedoras. They turned out to be guys, and we saw them at the second con, too. I wanted to tell them that they are awesome human beings in my eyes, but I didn't get the opportunity. So, hey: TACKEY & TSUBASA COSPLAYERS, YOU ARE OF UNPARALLELED AWESOME.
The con began with a mini-movie. And guys, ungh. It was...incredibly hot. It was just T&T running through a warehouse beating up bad guys but like. It started with Takki running down these metal stairs from the roof and it would jump to slo-mo of him punching a dude in the face and then later, Tsubasa doing his insane dancer kick and knocking the teeth out of some other dude. And like. Tsubasa, guys. TSUBASA. And TAKKI. And they're REALLY, INSANELY HOT. ... Yeah, this is where the coherency will start to break down. XD
Anyway, the mini-movie ends with them surrounded by Bad Guys. Takki looks at Tsubasa over his shoulder and Tsubasa smirks and takes off his jacket and tosses it in front of the camera, then fade to black. The music for this was epic-it was the "Lalala" part of "Journey Journey," but it was echo-ey and honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of the con. In the dark with all of the penlights lit and the music building....
And then a platform lifted T&T, holding hands, up onto the stage. They held hands at the start of every con. And every night, the camera zoomed in on just their hands. They'd lift their hands up when they started singing and then pyrotechnics would go off, and then they'd let go and walk down the stairs to the main stage.
I've always known that Tsubasa's just...very comfortable with his body - he has to be, with the level of dancing he does - but like. Throughout the con he would just make these movements. Like just...fluid movements. Walking down stairs, rolling his hips, arching his neck - I have a thing for Tsubasa when he moves. At all. ... I make sounds.
Anyway,
T&T have some traditions in their concerts, like the Takitsuba Call. This is a magical time in which you basically get the opportunity to scream their names as loud as you want with like, several hundred other people. I took that advantage hard. How it works is this: Takki and Tsubasa divide the audience in half and then each of them encourages his side to scream his name louder. There are two constants in the Takitsuba Call: 1) Neither of them speaks, 2) Tsubasa wins. (This is kind of a rule in general, but especially here. XD)
In either the first or the second con there were lots of dudes yelling their names before Takki or Tsubasa had even gestured for the call to start. T&T both looked simultaneously baffled and delighted. So Tsubasa asked for just the men to shout his name, and I was actually really surprised by the number of them. The same thing happened during the third con, but with even more dudes yelling. Tsubasa looked incredibly pleased. It reminded me a lot of whenever Hina's like, "ARE THERE ANY MEN HERE?" and all of K8 looks awed that not only are the men 1) there, but that 2) they'll yell as proof of their existence.
Okay and! Between Aishiteruze and the TakiTsuba Call, they did adorable things.
CON #1:
Takki went down on one knee, Tsubasa straddled his thigh, and they hugged each other. We the audience made our appreciation known. Pretty long hug. :D Tsubasa pet Takki's hair while Takki patted Tsubasa's ass. XD He has the right priorities.
While Takki was down there, he must have figured, This is an awesome time to make me a Tsubacopter. So he lifted Tsubasa up on his shoulder and spun him around pretty damn fast. When he finally put Tsubasa down, Tsubasa stumbled for a few seconds. It didn't look like it was for laughs. XD He just, y'know, isn't used to being a Tsubacopter. It was pretty cute.
CON #2:
This was even more adorable. They did the same hug, but without the Tsubacopter part. When they pulled apart, Takki "passed out" and gave the occasional twitch.
Tsubasa just stared at him, unimpressed, until Takki opened his eyes and Tsubasa waved his arm like, "Go do the call, you enormous loser."
And then the Call started. XD
CON #3
THIS was my favorite night. ♥
Takki again went down on one knee ("We're not married!" indeed - just engaged, then?) and Tsubasa again straddled his thigh and again they hugged. But! This time, while Tsubasa was petting Takki's hair, Takki switched his microphone to his left hand and slowly walked the fingers of his right hand up Tsubasa's bicep.
THEM, guys. THEM. XD
Then! They pulled apart and headed for the ramp to start the Call. But they got to the end of the stage at the same time, so they had a silent exchange of, "...So who's going first?" Finally they stepped down onto the ramp simultaneously. And as they were walking down the walkway, Tsubasa took Takki's hand. They got about two steps, then Tsubasa stopped and switched their hands so his was on top, then he led Takki down the rest of the way. Because, yeah, Takki is definitely not the one in charge in that relationship. XD
lovespiral commented on this, too: "The significance of the hand switch is to show who is the man in the relationship of course :333. Kinki had a DK show where the guest explained the importance of which hand goes on top and you KNOW Tsuba fanboy watches every ep and made Takki watch it too!"
Tsubasa, everyone. XD
During the Call on the second and third nights, Takki jumped down from the mini-stage to borrow Tsubasa's uchiwa from a fan in the area, stroked the image of Tsubasa's face and then yelled Tsubasa's name. Then Tsubasa did the same with a Takki uchiwa, but he was slightly more creative. XD Both nights he held the uchiwa to his chest and became Overcome with Emotions. Clapping one hand over his mouth, looking up at the ceiling to Hold Back the Manly Tears of Feelings and whatnot.
On the third night, he kept it going for longer than the night before, so Takki made a face of comic incredulity and was like, "O__O Me?" Then Tsubasa screamed Takki's name like a dying man. XDD Finally, Tsubasa finished his Ode to My Feelings on Hide-kun and gave the uchiwa back to the fan. But then he just kind of hung out, leaning on the gate, while Takki was gesturing for him to come back up onto the mini-stage. But Tsubasa was just like, :)? Eventually, he said, "Blow me a kiss first." Takki grinned and did so. Because Takki has trouble with the combination of Tsubasa+"No". XD ♥
Day Three was really adorable overall. :D
And now! Here're some general highlights of the songs from all three nights, since I can't remember enough to separate into different nights. This might not be the exact right order of songs, since I took the setlist from the show in Nagoya, but only a few songs'll be swapped if it's not the right order:
Ai wa Takaramono
I actually haven't been a fan of this song since it was released. Now that I've seen it performed live I love it, and can't...remember why I didn't love it before. Basically, it's adorable, and the hand dance is fun.
Ah! On that note! When you have penlights and you're doing the up-down swing, sometimes the idols will pump a fist or something so you'll lift the penlights higher every other time. ... I can't describe this well. I need a gif of someone demonstrating this. XD Anyway! Takki would do it sometimes, but it seemed like Tsubasa was in charge of the penlights. It was really cute. He'd throw one arm up and add this little wrist flick as a flourish. Really, really adorable.
Billions of you
This was fun. It's my favorite song off Trip & Treasure, so I spent every night bouncing to it. While they were singing, the center screen had this mesmerizing like, iTunes visualizer thing going and I was constantly like, "Pretty billions of shiny things! T&T! PRETTY BILLIONS OF SHINY THINGS! T&T!" It was tricky.
Diamond ( choreographed Travis Payne)
DIAMOND. As one of my favorite T&T songs, I was especially excited to see this was going to be performed, and I'm pretty sure they're aware that it's something people love. Before the song, the stadium would go dark and the screen would go black and then a diamond Epically Ascended onto the screen. And in my section one night, six or seven of us just broke out screaming because, y'know: 1) giant diamond, and 2) T&T's dance to that song is blisteringly hot, so we were kind of excited. Plus! I'd seen the stuff Travis Payne choreographed at Playzone, so I was already *____*-eyed.
It did not disappoint. They were just. Incredibly hot. *___*
VTR
This was adorable. It was Tsubasa in drag and Takki dressed up as the gangster dude with the long blond hair. They basically just had a cute exchange, egging each other on. Tsubasa was supposed to be a talk show hostess with a GIANT plastic black up-do, and the set was set up with a chair, a couch, and a low table. When Takki sits down he's like, "Who the fuck are you?" and Tsubasa's like, "I'm [name]." I forget what he said. XD And Takki's like, "...You're not Tsubako?" And Tsubasa's like, "No. I'm [name]." And at the end Tsubasa's like, "Well, that's all I wanted to ask," and Takki goes, "WTF there's like, ten more questions on that paper that you haven't asked me!" and Tsubasa's like, "K, well, bye!"
Tsubasa had this thing he did where...it's hard to describe this. XD There'd be a random sound - I don't know if it has a name, but it's like "YOOOYYYY" and I've heard it in relation to traditional stage plays and stuff, I don't know how to describe it, I apologize XD - and Tsubasa would roll his head and then smirk and...er. It was really funny. XD /fails at basic rules of Show vs. Tell
Kimagure Jet （Takki)
GOD THIS. XDDDDDDDD
Okay so. This is my favorite Takki solo. It's just...for whatever reason, it reminds me a lot of Shingo Mama. Not the lyrics or even really the music, but just...generally.
Anyway, before the con, I'd heard that Takki requested for the fans to bring pink pompoms for his solo corner. Because. Y'know. I figured, It's Takki. Don't ask questions. So when we get to the stadium, lovespiral and I were like, "What if people forgot or didn't hear the message or couldn't find them?" None of us had found them, and I felt kind of bad. I could use pink pompoms in my daily life, after all. But we got to the doors and the staff were there with enormous boxes of blue and pink pompoms. Because Takki thinks of everything. XDDDDDD I told a friend about them and she was like, "He probably made them all himself by hand the night before the con."
I now have a tiger protecting mine:
Anyway!
Tatsumi and Yusuke were Takki's two backdancers for his solo. They're members of 4U. I don't know anything about Yusuke, but I'm very fond of Tatsumi. He's in his mid-twenties and is a huge Tsubasa fanboy and dances incredibly well and I seriously love this guy. This is the face he makes in Playzone when Tsubasa drapes himself over him:
After 4U finished their number, Tatsumi and Yusuke's two fellow members fled the stage, leaving only Tatsumi and Yusuke. And Tatsumi goes, "IT'S TAKKI!" and points to the stands, where Takki emerged in a bright, bright pink suit, holding balloons. Takki, be cuter. XD ♥
So Tatsumi and Yusuke are like, "TIME FOR A COSTUME CHANGE," and pull down their pants. To reveal short-shorts. Because, y'know. ... Yeah. XD I can't invent logic where logic exists not.
While Tatsumi and Yusuke were Serving the Fans, Takki handed out the balloons. Some women had brought their young kids to the cons, so Takki made sure they got some, too. On the second and third nights, the guests were Kisumai and ABC-Z, and on both nights, Takki decided to make them his couch on his way to the stage:
I don't know Kisumai or ABC-Z very well (apart from Senga, Nikaido, and Kawai) but they all seemed to find it deeply amusing. Takki's a small person, so he actually only took up like, half of Kisumai's laps. XDDDD That man is wonderful.
Anyway, then he got to the walkway, where a bicycle was waiting for him to ride to the main stage.
The man. Is WONDERFUL. XDDD
He got to the stage, ditched the bike, and Tatsumi gave him his pompoms. He said they're Originals. Amused.
He lifted the pompoms to his chest, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then went, "READY, SET, GO!" in English. Except on all three nights, Tatsumi and Yusuke "screwed up," for different reasons (Yusuke stepped in front of Takki, Tatsumi was too slow, etc.) so Takki stopped them and made them do it again. When ABC-Z and Kisumai were there, Takki asked them to demonstrate the PROPER way to do it. When Kisumai was there, Takki was like, "SENGA!" because Senga is the only person alive whom Takki can bully XD and Senga did it perfectly. XD I didn't know much about Hasshi before the cons, so I didn't even know his name, but I made a point to look him up later because he was seriously adorable. He screwed up here and then again later, and he just seemed like a cute combination of Yasu's Adorable Self and Shige's Fail Self. ♥
This is Takki's solo, but for these cons, he altered the lyrics. In between verses, they were chanting something like, "POI POI POI," or "BOY BOY BOY." Who knows. It's Takki. ♥ XD
The running joke of the cons was that Takki wouldn't let the song end. It would finish, they would start to leave, and then Takki would rush back and the music would start again. Tatsumi and Yusuke "went along with it" the first time, but the second time, Yusuke bellowed, "THAT'S ENOUGH!" and made O__o eyes at Takki. Takki made a crestfallen face, looked to Tatsumi for help, and found Tatsumi making the same O__o face. The two of them kind of wander offstage, leaving Takki alone. The bright sparkly lights go out, leaving Takki in a lonely spotlight, and the opening of "epilogue" begins. XDDDD As lovespiral said, it was a very Forever Alone moment. XDDD The fans were cute - every night they were like, "AW, TAKKI~" even after the spotlight went out. ♥
Takki's solo was one of my favorite moments, in case it wasn't clear. XDDD
Imagine （Tsubasa)
Holy god Tsubasa is gorgeous.
This is the song he performed at Playzone. And like. I. I can't say as much here as I did for Takki's solo because Takki's had talking and goofing around, but. Tsubasa's was just hot.
The man gets down on his knees and rolls his hips. I. I. That's. I. Ungh.
It was also one of my favorite moments. XDDD
cherry sweet
I am sad to say I didn't know this song before the cons. But I now adore it, and I want to sing it FOREVER AND EVER.
Real DX
Yumemonogatari
Ho！Summer
X～Dame~
These were all performed at the back stage. To get from the main stage to the back stage, they had carts that staff members pushed through the aisles. On Day Two, I had a seat in the arena, right on the corner of E Block. Takki sweat on me. It was a truly divided moment. I was torn between, "THIS IS GROSS/THIS IS HOT," and mostly just made this face: *_______*
As they were climbing off the carts, Tsubasa looked behind him to make sure he was gauging the distance so he wouldn't trip and he saw me over his shoulder. He had this amazing WTF face. XD I was holding his uchiwa, though, and he saw that, grinned, and nodded at me. And I went, "D'AWWW."
Now here's the thing about cons: I'd only seen T&T once before (the night before) so I wasn't up to speed on the penlight dances. luin_lote and lovespiral were in the same block as me, but in a different part, so I didn't have them to guide me. XD And luin_lote had said she gets terrified when she's close to the stage because T&T can see you doing the dances. And before the con started I was all, Pfft, I won't freak out, they're just penlight dances. But when Takki and Tsubasa keep glancing at me, I, uh. Changed my mind. I haven't concentrated that hard since I was filling out my current job's application.
Luckily they're all songs I know, and the penlight dances match what's in the PV, so I knew them cold. If they'd done any of the newer songs, I'd've been screwed. XD
Tsubasa never stops moving, by the way. Like. His hips are constantly in motion, and I know this because that's basically where I was focused while I was trying to remember the next part of the dance. XD
Kamen
HOT. I don't...remember anything else. Just. Hot. *_____*
Samurai
THIS SONG THIS SONG THIS SONG
I HAVE A THING FOR THIS SONG.
AND IT WAS UNBELIEVABLY HOT.
LIKE.
ETERNALLE HOMOSEXUALL FYRE.
SHOOTING UP FROM THE STAGE.
AND TSUBASA LIKE. DRINKING WATER AND SPRAYING IT INTO THE AIR AND I KNOW THAT SOUNDS WEIRD BUT GOD IT WAS HOT.
AND LIKE.
UUUNGH.
SAMURAI.
AND THEY HAD THE PV PLAYING ON THE MAIN SCREEN.
Y'KNOW.
JUST TO GUARANTEE I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BREATHE FOR FOUR MINUTES.
....MOVING ON.
Sora no Screen
Before the song they did a cute thing with screens. The staff would pull these two screens together and allow T&T to strip behind them, backlit by stage lights. Very cute. ...I know what I just said. It was. XD
Heartful Voice
Gorgeous. Gorgeous gorgeous song. Snow and pretty and gorgeous and ungh.
Random other details!
* During the Fighty Song (I don't remember what it was called and I'd never heard it before XD) they kept turning their heads to make kissy faces at each other. XD
* During one of the encores on the third day, Tsubasa leaned over with his elbows on his knees and Takki got down on his knees, clapped twice, and prayed to the Glory of Tsubass. And then waved his hands to further bathe in the Sacred Aura.
* Guests:
First con: Sakamoto from V6
Second con: Kisumai
Third con: ABC-Z and Hasegawa Jun
* Tsubasa said 4U is going to be in Shock, Playzone, and Enjoubu next year.
* During Takki's solo one night, Tatsumi pointed to his own crotch and was like, "THIS IS MY SEXY ZONE!" I...kind of love that man, guys. XD
* Ah! And when Takki laid down on their laps, Hasshi played Takki's arm like a piano. XD
Also, during the MC, T&T talked a lot with ABC-Z. And at one point they passed the mic down the line and they each had an exchange with T&T. When it was Hasshi's turn, he was like, "Ano ne," and then he slapped himself on the cheek and went, "Ano desu ne..."
Adorable boy. XD
* During the first con, Tsubasa talked about his birthday. He was like, "Last year, he borrowed Tokyo Dome for me. This year, we had a private dinner at a Chinese restaurant." He used the word 密室, which means "a room that cannot be entered (i.e. because it's locked from the inside)". Tsubasa's awesome. XD Takki, of course, was all, "NO IT WASN'T! STOP TELLING THEM THAT! XD"
But it's cute. Tsubasa said he was incredibly nervous about it. He got to the restaurant and saw Takki there alone and was like, "...Where's everyone else? The cameras?" and Takki was just like, "It's just us!" and Tsubasa was like, "It felt like a date, you guys, seriously," and Takki was all defensive like, "Well, I never get to just sit down and talk to him!"
Then after the party, Takki had arranged for a limousine to drive them from the restaurant to the next venue for Part Two of Tsubasa's Birthday. XD Tsubasa was like, "A limousine! It felt like Sex and the City." I love Tsubasa's pronunciation of English, by the way. セックス・アンド・ザ・シッチ XD (And later, ハルトフル Voice. He pronounces v's fine, amusingly. XD)
Them. ♥ The whole time, Takki was like, "What I do for your birthdays is completely normal!"
Normal people walk into Tokyo Dome and say, "I would like to borrow this, please. Also, I'll have camera crews recording the whole event and I'll need access to the sound booth and security detail at the doors. Thanks! :D"
In case it's not clear yet,
Kinda married. XD
* Also! On the first night, Tsubasa was all, "Hmm, what should I get you for your thirtieth birthday?" and Takki was all, "Anything's fine." So Tsubasa wondered aloud again and the audience called out some suggestions. The one Tsubasa chose to hear was, "Tsubasa? Me?" and Takki was like, "wejbwjh NOT THAT." And Tsubasa was like, "Well then! I'll give you me. My body and my heart." And Takki flailed more. XD
* On the third night, my seat was way up in the stands, but I was with a bunch of T&T fans who not only did all the dances and even bobbed a little bit themselves, they were enormously respectful of the Juniors, too. And it didn't seem like they knew some of the Juniors well - they were just being kind. They'd applaud and cheer for all of the Juniors, some louder than others, but they usually showed appreciation of some kind. I really loved being in that section, even if my view wasn't as good. ♥
* Not con related, but before the second con, Takki (and...Tsubasa XD) held a press conference to address the dating rumor that sprung up after Takki was photographed going into a hotel with a woman. I'm just...amused.
AND NOW
~THIS PART~
They did this every night throughout the con during the encores. ♥ :D
The first con was the cutest, I think. Takki kissed Tsubasa's hand, and then Tsubasa kissed Takki's. Then they finished the first encore and went backstage.
During the next encore, they had a duel. XD Takki kissed Tsubasa's hand, Tsubasa kissed Takki's, Takki kissed Tsubasa's, and on until they'd done it five times.
It was especially funny because the first time they did it, lovespiral missed the first kiss, and she kept chanting, "KISS AGAIN I MISSED IT," and then they did. XD lovespiral has Powers. :D
So yeah. Seven handkisses. GUYS, BE CUTER.
The third con they did it four times, but they were longer. Tsubasa started it, and Takki's face got incredibly red. XD
And now some other photos from our con and other cons!
AND THAT WAS TACKEY & TSUBASA: OUR FUTURE 2011
ALL FINGERS CROSSED FOR A DVD. *______*
ETA: I'm also really curious about the last con! If anyone went to the last Hiroshima con, please share your experience! I've been wondering if they were leading up to anything with all the handkissing. XD
♥ I SAW TACKEY & TSUBASA THREE TIMES IN A ROW LAST WEEK ♥
"This is your life, these are your choices."
I regret nothing. :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
I've loved T&T since I got into fandom in 2007, but I wasn't well-connected with any deeply knowledgeable T&T fans, so I've been missing out on lots of adorable details that I'm only finding out about now thanks to the Almost Disturbing Searching Skills of fuyukoi and the wealth of information that is the team of lovespiral and luin_lote. I probably would have looked harder for T&T-related things all this time since Tsubasa's my second favorite in Johnnys, but it's not as easy finding things for them as it is in K8 fandom, plus Subaru is extremely distracting. (Oh, hey, speaking of! While I was in Harajuku I got the awesomest picture of him making a crazy face while holding a massive signed-ball gun. ♥
I have Feelings about Subaru. ♥ XD)
So anyway! In October, I got tickets to see T&T three times, three days in a row, and I now have purikura-level stars permanently fused to my irises.
I met up with lovespiral and luin_lote in Harajuku on the day of the first con. We met in front of the GAP and immediately continued on into the Magical Land of Idol Things. They're both incredibly sweet people, and I had a wonderful time with the two of them over the last few days.
I'm fuzzy on the details of Con #1 because I didn't bring my computer with me and I didn't write down many details, but luckily luin_lote wrote a much thorougher account.
I do remember some things, though. XD
This is the only con where luin_lote and lovespiral and I sat together. We had pretty bad seats, but that's fine since it was the first con and I probably wouldn't have remembered as much from it as the next two.
fuyukoi emailed me before the show and said Takki'd made a request that people bring pink pompoms to better participate during his solo. ... That's Takki, everyone. He's Yasu with more of a focus on pink than just, you know, ALL OF THE COLORS TOGETHER. (Subaru has a type. ♥)
I couldn't find pink pompoms in time for the con, but a good portion of the audience had. And for those of us who don't have Takki's connections to pompom emporiums, the staff were handing out specially-made pompoms at the front doors: one blue (Tsubasa), one pink (Takki). They're wonderful (and free!) con goods. :D Takki gives us nice things.
Also, their con was pretty Object Intensive. As in, lots of things required for participating in songs. Your standard penlight, but also the pompoms for Takki's solo, a T-shirt for one of the later songs (I forget which), and 3D glasses for mini-movies throughout the con. The whole process of switching the necessary objects reminded me of the way Catholic mass works-stand, kneel, sit, stand, sing, kneel, stand, tango with your neighbor, kneel, fireworks, flip, stick the landing. I think that's what Catholic mass is like-I haven't been to one in a while.
The con was in Yoyogi Stadium (which has a ridiculously long official title) and the interior was gorgeous. There was a huge cluster of large picture frames surrounding the main screen, and a few others scattered around the walls of the arena. Before the con and for most of the beginning, they were outlined in blue light, but they changed color throughout the show. While we were waiting for the con to start, lovespiral spotted two cosplayers dressed in blue and pink suits with matching fedoras. They turned out to be guys, and we saw them at the second con, too. I wanted to tell them that they are awesome human beings in my eyes, but I didn't get the opportunity. So, hey: TACKEY & TSUBASA COSPLAYERS, YOU ARE OF UNPARALLELED AWESOME.
The con began with a mini-movie. And guys, ungh. It was...incredibly hot. It was just T&T running through a warehouse beating up bad guys but like. It started with Takki running down these metal stairs from the roof and it would jump to slo-mo of him punching a dude in the face and then later, Tsubasa doing his insane dancer kick and knocking the teeth out of some other dude. And like. Tsubasa, guys. TSUBASA. And TAKKI. And they're REALLY, INSANELY HOT. ... Yeah, this is where the coherency will start to break down. XD
Anyway, the mini-movie ends with them surrounded by Bad Guys. Takki looks at Tsubasa over his shoulder and Tsubasa smirks and takes off his jacket and tosses it in front of the camera, then fade to black. The music for this was epic-it was the "Lalala" part of "Journey Journey," but it was echo-ey and honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of the con. In the dark with all of the penlights lit and the music building....
And then a platform lifted T&T, holding hands, up onto the stage. They held hands at the start of every con. And every night, the camera zoomed in on just their hands. They'd lift their hands up when they started singing and then pyrotechnics would go off, and then they'd let go and walk down the stairs to the main stage.
I've always known that Tsubasa's just...very comfortable with his body - he has to be, with the level of dancing he does - but like. Throughout the con he would just make these movements. Like just...fluid movements. Walking down stairs, rolling his hips, arching his neck - I have a thing for Tsubasa when he moves. At all. ... I make sounds.
Anyway,
T&T have some traditions in their concerts, like the Takitsuba Call. This is a magical time in which you basically get the opportunity to scream their names as loud as you want with like, several hundred other people. I took that advantage hard. How it works is this: Takki and Tsubasa divide the audience in half and then each of them encourages his side to scream his name louder. There are two constants in the Takitsuba Call: 1) Neither of them speaks, 2) Tsubasa wins. (This is kind of a rule in general, but especially here. XD)
In either the first or the second con there were lots of dudes yelling their names before Takki or Tsubasa had even gestured for the call to start. T&T both looked simultaneously baffled and delighted. So Tsubasa asked for just the men to shout his name, and I was actually really surprised by the number of them. The same thing happened during the third con, but with even more dudes yelling. Tsubasa looked incredibly pleased. It reminded me a lot of whenever Hina's like, "ARE THERE ANY MEN HERE?" and all of K8 looks awed that not only are the men 1) there, but that 2) they'll yell as proof of their existence.
Okay and! Between Aishiteruze and the TakiTsuba Call, they did adorable things.
CON #1:
Takki went down on one knee, Tsubasa straddled his thigh, and they hugged each other. We the audience made our appreciation known. Pretty long hug. :D Tsubasa pet Takki's hair while Takki patted Tsubasa's ass. XD He has the right priorities.
While Takki was down there, he must have figured, This is an awesome time to make me a Tsubacopter. So he lifted Tsubasa up on his shoulder and spun him around pretty damn fast. When he finally put Tsubasa down, Tsubasa stumbled for a few seconds. It didn't look like it was for laughs. XD He just, y'know, isn't used to being a Tsubacopter. It was pretty cute.
CON #2:
This was even more adorable. They did the same hug, but without the Tsubacopter part. When they pulled apart, Takki "passed out" and gave the occasional twitch.
Tsubasa just stared at him, unimpressed, until Takki opened his eyes and Tsubasa waved his arm like, "Go do the call, you enormous loser."
And then the Call started. XD
CON #3
THIS was my favorite night. ♥
Takki again went down on one knee ("We're not married!" indeed - just engaged, then?) and Tsubasa again straddled his thigh and again they hugged. But! This time, while Tsubasa was petting Takki's hair, Takki switched his microphone to his left hand and slowly walked the fingers of his right hand up Tsubasa's bicep.
THEM, guys. THEM. XD
Then! They pulled apart and headed for the ramp to start the Call. But they got to the end of the stage at the same time, so they had a silent exchange of, "...So who's going first?" Finally they stepped down onto the ramp simultaneously. And as they were walking down the walkway, Tsubasa took Takki's hand. They got about two steps, then Tsubasa stopped and switched their hands so his was on top, then he led Takki down the rest of the way. Because, yeah, Takki is definitely not the one in charge in that relationship. XD
lovespiral commented on this, too: "The significance of the hand switch is to show who is the man in the relationship of course :333. Kinki had a DK show where the guest explained the importance of which hand goes on top and you KNOW Tsuba fanboy watches every ep and made Takki watch it too!"
Tsubasa, everyone. XD
During the Call on the second and third nights, Takki jumped down from the mini-stage to borrow Tsubasa's uchiwa from a fan in the area, stroked the image of Tsubasa's face and then yelled Tsubasa's name. Then Tsubasa did the same with a Takki uchiwa, but he was slightly more creative. XD Both nights he held the uchiwa to his chest and became Overcome with Emotions. Clapping one hand over his mouth, looking up at the ceiling to Hold Back the Manly Tears of Feelings and whatnot.
On the third night, he kept it going for longer than the night before, so Takki made a face of comic incredulity and was like, "O__O Me?" Then Tsubasa screamed Takki's name like a dying man. XDD Finally, Tsubasa finished his Ode to My Feelings on Hide-kun and gave the uchiwa back to the fan. But then he just kind of hung out, leaning on the gate, while Takki was gesturing for him to come back up onto the mini-stage. But Tsubasa was just like, :)? Eventually, he said, "Blow me a kiss first." Takki grinned and did so. Because Takki has trouble with the combination of Tsubasa+"No". XD ♥
Day Three was really adorable overall. :D
And now! Here're some general highlights of the songs from all three nights, since I can't remember enough to separate into different nights. This might not be the exact right order of songs, since I took the setlist from the show in Nagoya, but only a few songs'll be swapped if it's not the right order:
Ai wa Takaramono
I actually haven't been a fan of this song since it was released. Now that I've seen it performed live I love it, and can't...remember why I didn't love it before. Basically, it's adorable, and the hand dance is fun.
Ah! On that note! When you have penlights and you're doing the up-down swing, sometimes the idols will pump a fist or something so you'll lift the penlights higher every other time. ... I can't describe this well. I need a gif of someone demonstrating this. XD Anyway! Takki would do it sometimes, but it seemed like Tsubasa was in charge of the penlights. It was really cute. He'd throw one arm up and add this little wrist flick as a flourish. Really, really adorable.
Billions of you
This was fun. It's my favorite song off Trip & Treasure, so I spent every night bouncing to it. While they were singing, the center screen had this mesmerizing like, iTunes visualizer thing going and I was constantly like, "Pretty billions of shiny things! T&T! PRETTY BILLIONS OF SHINY THINGS! T&T!" It was tricky.
Diamond ( choreographed Travis Payne)
DIAMOND. As one of my favorite T&T songs, I was especially excited to see this was going to be performed, and I'm pretty sure they're aware that it's something people love. Before the song, the stadium would go dark and the screen would go black and then a diamond Epically Ascended onto the screen. And in my section one night, six or seven of us just broke out screaming because, y'know: 1) giant diamond, and 2) T&T's dance to that song is blisteringly hot, so we were kind of excited. Plus! I'd seen the stuff Travis Payne choreographed at Playzone, so I was already *____*-eyed.
It did not disappoint. They were just. Incredibly hot. *___*
VTR
This was adorable. It was Tsubasa in drag and Takki dressed up as the gangster dude with the long blond hair. They basically just had a cute exchange, egging each other on. Tsubasa was supposed to be a talk show hostess with a GIANT plastic black up-do, and the set was set up with a chair, a couch, and a low table. When Takki sits down he's like, "Who the fuck are you?" and Tsubasa's like, "I'm [name]." I forget what he said. XD And Takki's like, "...You're not Tsubako?" And Tsubasa's like, "No. I'm [name]." And at the end Tsubasa's like, "Well, that's all I wanted to ask," and Takki goes, "WTF there's like, ten more questions on that paper that you haven't asked me!" and Tsubasa's like, "K, well, bye!"
Tsubasa had this thing he did where...it's hard to describe this. XD There'd be a random sound - I don't know if it has a name, but it's like "YOOOYYYY" and I've heard it in relation to traditional stage plays and stuff, I don't know how to describe it, I apologize XD - and Tsubasa would roll his head and then smirk and...er. It was really funny. XD /fails at basic rules of Show vs. Tell
Kimagure Jet （Takki)
GOD THIS. XDDDDDDDD
Okay so. This is my favorite Takki solo. It's just...for whatever reason, it reminds me a lot of Shingo Mama. Not the lyrics or even really the music, but just...generally.
Anyway, before the con, I'd heard that Takki requested for the fans to bring pink pompoms for his solo corner. Because. Y'know. I figured, It's Takki. Don't ask questions. So when we get to the stadium, lovespiral and I were like, "What if people forgot or didn't hear the message or couldn't find them?" None of us had found them, and I felt kind of bad. I could use pink pompoms in my daily life, after all. But we got to the doors and the staff were there with enormous boxes of blue and pink pompoms. Because Takki thinks of everything. XDDDDDD I told a friend about them and she was like, "He probably made them all himself by hand the night before the con."
I now have a tiger protecting mine:
Anyway!
Tatsumi and Yusuke were Takki's two backdancers for his solo. They're members of 4U. I don't know anything about Yusuke, but I'm very fond of Tatsumi. He's in his mid-twenties and is a huge Tsubasa fanboy and dances incredibly well and I seriously love this guy. This is the face he makes in Playzone when Tsubasa drapes himself over him:
After 4U finished their number, Tatsumi and Yusuke's two fellow members fled the stage, leaving only Tatsumi and Yusuke. And Tatsumi goes, "IT'S TAKKI!" and points to the stands, where Takki emerged in a bright, bright pink suit, holding balloons. Takki, be cuter. XD ♥
So Tatsumi and Yusuke are like, "TIME FOR A COSTUME CHANGE," and pull down their pants. To reveal short-shorts. Because, y'know. ... Yeah. XD I can't invent logic where logic exists not.
While Tatsumi and Yusuke were Serving the Fans, Takki handed out the balloons. Some women had brought their young kids to the cons, so Takki made sure they got some, too. On the second and third nights, the guests were Kisumai and ABC-Z, and on both nights, Takki decided to make them his couch on his way to the stage:
I don't know Kisumai or ABC-Z very well (apart from Senga, Nikaido, and Kawai) but they all seemed to find it deeply amusing. Takki's a small person, so he actually only took up like, half of Kisumai's laps. XDDDD That man is wonderful.
Anyway, then he got to the walkway, where a bicycle was waiting for him to ride to the main stage.
The man. Is WONDERFUL. XDDD
He got to the stage, ditched the bike, and Tatsumi gave him his pompoms. He said they're Originals. Amused.
He lifted the pompoms to his chest, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then went, "READY, SET, GO!" in English. Except on all three nights, Tatsumi and Yusuke "screwed up," for different reasons (Yusuke stepped in front of Takki, Tatsumi was too slow, etc.) so Takki stopped them and made them do it again. When ABC-Z and Kisumai were there, Takki asked them to demonstrate the PROPER way to do it. When Kisumai was there, Takki was like, "SENGA!" because Senga is the only person alive whom Takki can bully XD and Senga did it perfectly. XD I didn't know much about Hasshi before the cons, so I didn't even know his name, but I made a point to look him up later because he was seriously adorable. He screwed up here and then again later, and he just seemed like a cute combination of Yasu's Adorable Self and Shige's Fail Self. ♥
This is Takki's solo, but for these cons, he altered the lyrics. In between verses, they were chanting something like, "POI POI POI," or "BOY BOY BOY." Who knows. It's Takki. ♥ XD
The running joke of the cons was that Takki wouldn't let the song end. It would finish, they would start to leave, and then Takki would rush back and the music would start again. Tatsumi and Yusuke "went along with it" the first time, but the second time, Yusuke bellowed, "THAT'S ENOUGH!" and made O__o eyes at Takki. Takki made a crestfallen face, looked to Tatsumi for help, and found Tatsumi making the same O__o face. The two of them kind of wander offstage, leaving Takki alone. The bright sparkly lights go out, leaving Takki in a lonely spotlight, and the opening of "epilogue" begins. XDDDD As lovespiral said, it was a very Forever Alone moment. XDDD The fans were cute - every night they were like, "AW, TAKKI~" even after the spotlight went out. ♥
Takki's solo was one of my favorite moments, in case it wasn't clear. XDDD
Imagine （Tsubasa)
Holy god Tsubasa is gorgeous.
This is the song he performed at Playzone. And like. I. I can't say as much here as I did for Takki's solo because Takki's had talking and goofing around, but. Tsubasa's was just hot.
The man gets down on his knees and rolls his hips. I. I. That's. I. Ungh.
It was also one of my favorite moments. XDDD
cherry sweet
I am sad to say I didn't know this song before the cons. But I now adore it, and I want to sing it FOREVER AND EVER.
Real DX
Yumemonogatari
Ho！Summer
X～Dame~
These were all performed at the back stage. To get from the main stage to the back stage, they had carts that staff members pushed through the aisles. On Day Two, I had a seat in the arena, right on the corner of E Block. Takki sweat on me. It was a truly divided moment. I was torn between, "THIS IS GROSS/THIS IS HOT," and mostly just made this face: *_______*
As they were climbing off the carts, Tsubasa looked behind him to make sure he was gauging the distance so he wouldn't trip and he saw me over his shoulder. He had this amazing WTF face. XD I was holding his uchiwa, though, and he saw that, grinned, and nodded at me. And I went, "D'AWWW."
Now here's the thing about cons: I'd only seen T&T once before (the night before) so I wasn't up to speed on the penlight dances. luin_lote and lovespiral were in the same block as me, but in a different part, so I didn't have them to guide me. XD And luin_lote had said she gets terrified when she's close to the stage because T&T can see you doing the dances. And before the con started I was all, Pfft, I won't freak out, they're just penlight dances. But when Takki and Tsubasa keep glancing at me, I, uh. Changed my mind. I haven't concentrated that hard since I was filling out my current job's application.
Luckily they're all songs I know, and the penlight dances match what's in the PV, so I knew them cold. If they'd done any of the newer songs, I'd've been screwed. XD
Tsubasa never stops moving, by the way. Like. His hips are constantly in motion, and I know this because that's basically where I was focused while I was trying to remember the next part of the dance. XD
Kamen
HOT. I don't...remember anything else. Just. Hot. *_____*
Samurai
THIS SONG THIS SONG THIS SONG
I HAVE A THING FOR THIS SONG.
AND IT WAS UNBELIEVABLY HOT.
LIKE.
ETERNALLE HOMOSEXUALL FYRE.
SHOOTING UP FROM THE STAGE.
AND TSUBASA LIKE. DRINKING WATER AND SPRAYING IT INTO THE AIR AND I KNOW THAT SOUNDS WEIRD BUT GOD IT WAS HOT.
AND LIKE.
UUUNGH.
SAMURAI.
AND THEY HAD THE PV PLAYING ON THE MAIN SCREEN.
Y'KNOW.
JUST TO GUARANTEE I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BREATHE FOR FOUR MINUTES.
....MOVING ON.
Sora no Screen
Before the song they did a cute thing with screens. The staff would pull these two screens together and allow T&T to strip behind them, backlit by stage lights. Very cute. ...I know what I just said. It was. XD
Heartful Voice
Gorgeous. Gorgeous gorgeous song. Snow and pretty and gorgeous and ungh.
Random other details!
* During the Fighty Song (I don't remember what it was called and I'd never heard it before XD) they kept turning their heads to make kissy faces at each other. XD
* During one of the encores on the third day, Tsubasa leaned over with his elbows on his knees and Takki got down on his knees, clapped twice, and prayed to the Glory of Tsubass. And then waved his hands to further bathe in the Sacred Aura.
* Guests:
First con: Sakamoto from V6
Second con: Kisumai
Third con: ABC-Z and Hasegawa Jun
* Tsubasa said 4U is going to be in Shock, Playzone, and Enjoubu next year.
* During Takki's solo one night, Tatsumi pointed to his own crotch and was like, "THIS IS MY SEXY ZONE!" I...kind of love that man, guys. XD
* Ah! And when Takki laid down on their laps, Hasshi played Takki's arm like a piano. XD
Also, during the MC, T&T talked a lot with ABC-Z. And at one point they passed the mic down the line and they each had an exchange with T&T. When it was Hasshi's turn, he was like, "Ano ne," and then he slapped himself on the cheek and went, "Ano desu ne..."
Adorable boy. XD
* During the first con, Tsubasa talked about his birthday. He was like, "Last year, he borrowed Tokyo Dome for me. This year, we had a private dinner at a Chinese restaurant." He used the word 密室, which means "a room that cannot be entered (i.e. because it's locked from the inside)". Tsubasa's awesome. XD Takki, of course, was all, "NO IT WASN'T! STOP TELLING THEM THAT! XD"
But it's cute. Tsubasa said he was incredibly nervous about it. He got to the restaurant and saw Takki there alone and was like, "...Where's everyone else? The cameras?" and Takki was just like, "It's just us!" and Tsubasa was like, "It felt like a date, you guys, seriously," and Takki was all defensive like, "Well, I never get to just sit down and talk to him!"
Then after the party, Takki had arranged for a limousine to drive them from the restaurant to the next venue for Part Two of Tsubasa's Birthday. XD Tsubasa was like, "A limousine! It felt like Sex and the City." I love Tsubasa's pronunciation of English, by the way. セックス・アンド・ザ・シッチ XD (And later, ハルトフル Voice. He pronounces v's fine, amusingly. XD)
Them. ♥ The whole time, Takki was like, "What I do for your birthdays is completely normal!"
Normal people walk into Tokyo Dome and say, "I would like to borrow this, please. Also, I'll have camera crews recording the whole event and I'll need access to the sound booth and security detail at the doors. Thanks! :D"
In case it's not clear yet,
Kinda married. XD
* Also! On the first night, Tsubasa was all, "Hmm, what should I get you for your thirtieth birthday?" and Takki was all, "Anything's fine." So Tsubasa wondered aloud again and the audience called out some suggestions. The one Tsubasa chose to hear was, "Tsubasa? Me?" and Takki was like, "wejbwjh NOT THAT." And Tsubasa was like, "Well then! I'll give you me. My body and my heart." And Takki flailed more. XD
* On the third night, my seat was way up in the stands, but I was with a bunch of T&T fans who not only did all the dances and even bobbed a little bit themselves, they were enormously respectful of the Juniors, too. And it didn't seem like they knew some of the Juniors well - they were just being kind. They'd applaud and cheer for all of the Juniors, some louder than others, but they usually showed appreciation of some kind. I really loved being in that section, even if my view wasn't as good. ♥
* Not con related, but before the second con, Takki (and...Tsubasa XD) held a press conference to address the dating rumor that sprung up after Takki was photographed going into a hotel with a woman. I'm just...amused.
AND NOW
~THIS PART~
They did this every night throughout the con during the encores. ♥ :D
The first con was the cutest, I think. Takki kissed Tsubasa's hand, and then Tsubasa kissed Takki's. Then they finished the first encore and went backstage.
During the next encore, they had a duel. XD Takki kissed Tsubasa's hand, Tsubasa kissed Takki's, Takki kissed Tsubasa's, and on until they'd done it five times.
It was especially funny because the first time they did it, lovespiral missed the first kiss, and she kept chanting, "KISS AGAIN I MISSED IT," and then they did. XD lovespiral has Powers. :D
So yeah. Seven handkisses. GUYS, BE CUTER.
The third con they did it four times, but they were longer. Tsubasa started it, and Takki's face got incredibly red. XD
And now some other photos from our con and other cons!
AND THAT WAS TACKEY & TSUBASA: OUR FUTURE 2011
ALL FINGERS CROSSED FOR A DVD. *______*
ETA: I'm also really curious about the last con! If anyone went to the last Hiroshima con, please share your experience! I've been wondering if they were leading up to anything with all the handkissing. XD