#'They thought it was cotton candy and trendy. Fuck if I know. I would have bashed their heads in if I was the one with the Rod.'

[bigboobshaunt]

I feel like Tri and Tatl would be good friends. They would sip deku martinis and complain about the weirdos Zelda and Link met in Hyrule and Termina.

[liukangmybeloved]

everyone else is fighting for second {Mortal Kombat (2021)}

SPOILERS FOR MORTAL KOMBAT (2021)

Summary: Canon Divergent AU. Crack & Fluff. The team develops into something of a found family, which happens to include Cole's actual family. They take a day off from fighting to go to the fair, where the biggest question is 'who is Cole's daughter's favourite in the team?' Besides her dad, of course. Kano is very competitive about this question.

A/N: 1968 words. I will take a meat-tenderizer and FIX the canon and make it SOFT. i love cole young and mk 2021, if you don't like that, you've been warned. everybody lives/nobody dies AU & kano isn't a traitor. also imagine there's just like.... more time before the tournament. enough to become a found family. like i said, fluff & crack. warnings for swearing.

If Cole had it his way, Emily and Kano would have never met. He would be perfectly happy letting everyone else on the team meet her, but he's yet to hear a single sentence leave Kano's mouth that didn't include some colourful variation of 'fuck', 'shit', 'wanker', or 'cunt'. So unsurprisingly, he wasn't exactly eager to let his teenager daughter near the man who Sonya had literally called 'scum of the Earth', but alas.

"I'll be on my best behaviour, pinky-swear!" Kano's grin was all teeth as he'd held his pinky finger up to Cole's glowering face, wiggling it a little when Cole made no move to finish the pinky-swear.

"If you say - cunt -" and the word sounds so uncomfortable coming from Cole, he damn well looks uncomfortable just saying it, "within a hundred feet of her, I'll get Kung Lao to cut you in half." And he gesutres over to where Kung Lao and the rest of their ragtag bunch of misfits; the man in question had forgone his usual weapon for a more modern, soft-brimmed sunhat, but his jaunty wave to Kano at the sound of his name still managed to be menacing. The Australian shuddered in horror at the mere thought; at least he took the threat seriously.

"You don't have to be jealous, man," the threat seemed to only have dampened Kano's jovial attitude momentarily, as he's got a spring in his step as he follows Cole to the rest of the gathered champions, "Uncle Kano's gonna set a fuckin' - flippin' -" he corrects himself as Cole shoots him a warning look, "great example." Sonya barks a loud, derisive laugh as Cole sees fit to remind him that he's not Uncle Kano.

"Emily's a good kid," Liu Kang assures, kind and sincere.

"Yeah, she never even believes me when I tell her Kano's a dirty, little rat," Kung Lao smirks in the face of Kano's sudden outrage, and Cole is pretty sure that, despite it being Emily and Alison's idea, to give the team a day of levity and to bond, this might be the worst plan he's ever agreed to.

"This is a day of bonding, not of infighting," Raiden's voice joins them, followed by the God himself only moments later, which is enough to unite all the champions in confusion at his choice of wardrobe for the day. While still sporting a majority of his usual attire, somehow he'd managed to procure a t-shirt with a meme of all things on it, a personalised meme!

"I designed it myself, I think it turned out pretty okay; whaddya think?" Kano sounded far too proud of himself, looking at the cartoon drawing of what could only be Raiden himself pointing awkwardly at Thor as depicted in Marvel Comics, who was pointing back.

"We are both Gods of Thunder," Raiden explained, pointing to his own shirt; Sonya had gone wide-eyed, unsure of how to react, while Jaxx was doing his utmost not to burst out laughing.

"I... didn't know you knew what a meme was," Cole admits, though honestly, once the shock had worn off of, it was rather charming.

"I didn't know you knew what a meme was," Kano fired back, equally confused.

"I have a thirteen-year-old, of course I know what a meme is -" but then it seems to hit him just as it hits Sonya and Jax, and the three of them turn to the pair of confused, cave-dwelling, internet-free champions. None of them knew where to begin trying to explain the whole situation, but thankfully, Raiden chose that moment to open a lightning portal, and they all headed through quickly.

----

The night that Cole and his family had gone home after everything had gone down, the fighting, Sub-Zero, and the man he's pretty sure is the ghost of his ancestor, Emily had looked him dead in the eye and called him a super hero.

And then told him that his friends were really cool.

This was a sentiment that his new friends seemed to share about his family.

Cole quickly comes to realise that family isn't something a lot of the rest of the team have nowadays; they have each other, but for a lot of them, that's mostly it. He sits on an invite to dinner that he'd already ran past Alison several days ago, before inviting Liu Kang and Kung Lao over, if nothing else, to repay the hospitality they'd shown him so early on.

Alison's rule was that there was to be peace on their property; no training, no fighting, but the team was welcome as long as they didn't bring trouble to the door.

So then it was Sonya and Jaxx, who brought dessert when they came over.

Emily once asked what Thunder Gods ate. Did they eat? Cole wasn't sure. He extends an invite to Raiden anyways, but it's politely declined. The next time, however, he took up Cole's invite, mostly for the company, and to thank Alison and Emily for their patience; having Cole away so often wasn't easy, he'd be the first to acknowledge that. Alison appreciated the sentiment, as did Emily, though she was also just bursting with questions for the God, and he did his best to answer what he could.

Then finally - finally - after so long spent with the team, of most of them coming to find comfort and serenity in his home on the occasions that they need it, Kano is invited to Sunday lunch too.

----

"I know us champions and our super powers are pretty cool," Kano says to Emily, the moment they step through the lightning portal and emerge into the sunshine and the noise of the fair, "but I'm your favourite, right? Besides your old man, of course," and he rolls his eyes a little at that, as does Cole, for very different reasons, while Alison shoots Cole a questioning look. Thankfully she still does not trust Kano as far as she could throw him.

For her part, Emily answers incredibly diplomatically, sounding much older than her thirteen years, and quite a bit like her mother;

"Kano, you're a grown man, my approval shouldn't matter to you," she sounds sincere, which is completely undercut by Kung Lao sliding into step beside Kano.

"Which means you're not her favourite," he teases, and Kano practically growls back, embarrassed, while Emily calls out to Raiden that she likes his shirt. He practically beams.

"Not a lot of people will really get it, though," she points out, and Raiden muses on that for a moment.

"But I get it, and it's mine."

"Fair point," Emily nods at that, as their strange group steps up to buy tickets.

---

Emily spends more of the fair of people's shoulders than she does actually walking, which delights her endlessly. Mostly she's up on Jax's shoulders, and charges her cotton candy for the ride, ripping a small chunk from the one Cole had bought for her.

"It's weird seeing you all look so normal," she says to Sonya, the two of them in line for the Dodge 'Em Cars alongside Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Sonya grins, knows exactly what she means, gaze turning to the two members of the Shaolin Order of Light, not that anyone would know simply from looking at them now. Where Liu Kang had found a pair of trendy, ripped jeans was beyond Sonya's imagination.

"You look cool, though," Emily amended quickly, "I didn't realise you all would come to the fair, but I'm glad you did," she's smiling brightly as they get closer to the front of the line.

"Who did you expect to come along today?" Liu asks, eyes wide and curious. It wasn't that he was as competitive as Kung Lao or Kano, but he still found the child's interpretation of their group to be interesting. She knows, in some capacity, what they're capable off; she'd watched her father slice, dice, and kill Goro after all. The fact that she could think so highly of them speaks a lot to her capacity for kindness, or perhaps her childish naivety, but Liu preferred to think it was the former.

Emily, however, goes quiet, seems to be a little embarrassed. She mutters something, avoiding eye contact with any of them, and Liu goes to ask her to repeat herself, but she interrupts him while doing so;

"I wanted Dad to have a day off," she admitted, before adding, "and... and Lord Raiden; I don't think he's had a day off this millennium."

"It's good of you to look out for them," Sonya tells her fondly, "our team can be pretty single-minded, but we needed this day off, I think." And she gives Emily a pet on the shoulder, and lets her steer the tandem Car when they finally get a turn.

----

"It's me, right? I'm your favourite," Jax asks Emily over lunch, not because he genuinely believes it, but because it riles up Kano, and to a lesser extent, the competitive Liu Kang.

"Jax is one bad day away from pledging his allegiance to Skynet, he can't be your favourite -" Kano grumbles.

"Dad's my favourite," Emily reminds them sternly, and Cole has to hide his proud little smile, before she adds, "and mom's my favourite too, the rest of you, well of course you're all badass as hell -"

"Is it Liu? 'Cos he's pretty and you're, yanno, a teenage girl," Kano scowls at the warrior who'd been attempting to just quietly enjoy his basket of fries. Both Cole and Alison are wearing similarly murderous expressions, and Kano raised his hands in mock surrender, dropping his gaze.

"Actually," Emily said pointedly, despite the embarrassed flush on her cheeks, though she was mirroring her parents intensity, "my favourite is Raiden because he's literally a God that shoots lightning out of his hands, and you're now my least favourite because you're a rat bastard."

"I taught her that," Kung Lao was grinning from ear to ear, and when he and Emily look to each other, they share a definitive nod.

"How come he's allowed to teach her words like bastard?!" Kano demanded to know.

"Because you're a bastard," Sonya interjects.

Kano is thankfully quiet for the remainder of lunch, sulking at his end of the table as chatter returns to normal, returns to talk of how everyone else had been enjoying the day.

----

At the end of the day, Kano shoves a large, stuffed kangaroo at Emily that he'd won at the booth where you had to knock over bottles.

"Didn't even use me eye or anything; lost an hour of my life and fifty fuckin' dollars," he was grumbling, while Emily was examining the prize.

"You won this?" She seemed endeared by it, endeared by the thought that he'd put the time into winning it for her.

"'course I won it, can I stop being your least favourite now?" He asked, and Emily tucked the kangaroo beneath her arm, giving him an appraising look.

"You can't buy my loyalty -"

"Wouldn't want it if it could be bought, I know that shit from experience," Kano interjected, crossing his arms defensively, ignoring where Cole was glowering at him every time he swore.

"But you put time in, and effort, so you're back to third with everyone else."

"As long as none of those bastards is beating me, I'm okay with that."

As they headed to the exit, to where Raiden had created a lightning portal for them all to go home through, Emily reached out and punched Kano lightly in the shoulder.

"Thanks, Kano, it's pretty sweet that you care so much."

"Don't tell the others," he grumbled back.

"We've been with you all day," Jax calls out, "we already know."

[oh-for-fic-sake]

FUCK OFF!

Masterlist

You and Bruce get to the bottom of your youngests Anxiety fueled Mutism.

Warnings: Swearing, Angst ,Bullying ,Racial bullying? ,Fluff , Humor

A/N: This is a request from @babydork10​ Tried to make this as accurate as I could did have to do a bit of reading up on the topic and hope I have done it justice and you all enjoy xx

Taglist: @125bluemachine125​ @iloveyouyen​ @thefangirlsblog​

You and Bruce looked at one another across the kitchen, you where having a disagreement. Not an argument. Bruce thinks that its time to start helping your youngest with his selective mutism by taking him to the funday fundraiser for the brand new Martha Wayne foundation, a new charity for the underprivileged children of Gotham. It was going to try and build a new school with decent education giving these kids equal opportunities to go to college and university,  to make it out of the...Harsher side of Gotham city. Sure the day was going to be fun for the kids, Bruce had pulled in a small fair ground and one of those ridiculous inflatable playgrounds you how ever think its to soon.

"Look the Drs said its caused by a severe anxiety, fear! I just- I want to help him y/n I don't want my boy to grow up..." he cut him self off and you growled hissing at him.

"Mute? Is that it Bruce? You don't want him to be mute? I mean he can't grow up to be the next Robin if he can't talk right?" He growled voice dropping low and dangerous he slammed his hands down on the counter.

"THAT'S FUCKING!-that was unfair..you know I didn't mean that at all!" You held his gaze not the least bit intimidated you know he would never hurt you deep down. You sighed and leaned back against the counter crossing you arms.

"I-I don't want him to grow up scared...Thought that we could-if it was with other kids he might open up a little" you sighed  rolling your eyes

"Its anxiety based Bruce social anxiety fuck-sure sure lets put our boy our socially anxious little boy into a fucking fairground with hundreds of kids he doesn't know! where there will be cameras and reporters and and-fuck Bruce it will be hell for him there!" He growled

"He will know some of them! Some of his class mates are coming...And you know what!? At least its something god damn it! Its fear he is scared don't you get that! He is frightened to interact! To speak to anyone fuck sake he won't even speak to Damien or Tim! Y/n! And they live here...fucking hell, woman..You know? at least I'm trying!" You flew from the counted to the island he was leaning on pointing at him really pissed now.

"OH WHAT AND I’M FUCKING NOT? COME ON TELL ME? HONESTLY BRUCE YOU THINK I’M NOT TRYING? THAT I DON'T SPEND HOURS UPON HOURS UP AT NIGHT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE I WENT WRONG? THAT-THAT SOMEHOW THIS COULD BE MY FAULT!?" you screamed at him across the kitchen your shout echoing off every surface tears streaming down your face a you shook in anger and despair you were so happy the boys where at school you never ever wanted them to see this back and forth especially Roman.

Bruce shook his head at you and made his way to you he opened his arms holding you softly as you wept into your hands.

"Shh shh I-I'm sorry I didn't mean that its not your fault...its not anyone’s fault...I just I see my boy hurting, he wants to interact to play and make friends and I want to help him but I don’t know how....I was just hoping you know the rides and games would take his mind off of the people around him and he could...I don’t know prove to himself its okay, he can make friends and talk to others...That was all love, I wanted to give him the chance" you whined into his shoulder as he help you cupping the back of your head ruffling your hair you turned placing a kiss on his neck before nodding.

"....Okay, we can-we can give it a shot but don't push him Bruce they said he could grow out of it"

"They also said it can be a confidence thing...Fuck it could be o many things! We-I just want to help him, he is such a sweet funny kid I just want everyone to see what an amazing little boy he is!" You smiled nodding up at him.

"I know you want to show him off, a big proud papa... I do to I- I just worry to much" Bruce wrapped his arms around you holding you tight. He was worried for Romans future you both were, he place a soft kiss on your head rocking you back and forth.

"I know you are worried I am to...But we have to try, the boys will be around watching and Alfred to I just want to give him what he needs but-" you took a deep breath on his cologne then moved to rest your ear over his heart listening to the soothing pulse beneath.

"I-I know its hard not knowing what he needs...As parents its our job but...But with this? Its- your right as uncomfortable as it is for us we need to try for his sake...never know he might make a friend" Bruce took a shaking breath and rubbed your arms encouragingly.

"He might do, we do whats best, we try and that's all we can do...come on lets go let Alfred know we don't need him to babysit"

You moved across your youngest bed room he was looking at you slowly blinking his hazel eyes followed you as you ran around grabbing his new outfit. A pair of dark wash ripped jeans and a loose fitting button up shirt. Hopefully he would be able to climb and play in it.

"Mummy...What are you doing?" You took a deep breath and looked down you dreaded this. You smiled and twisted round sitting on the bed and patted for Roman to sit beside you. He did still looking at you cutely as you handed him his clothes he instantly began pulling on the shirt waiting for your reply.

"Well.. Your father and I....As you know we are having a fundraiser today...And its for your Nana's charity....And we were going to take you with us...Its going to be some much fun! your father pulled out all the stops! Theres going to be a fairground with rides and popcorn and candyfloss and a big inflatable playground-"

"Why?" What? You faltered

"What do you mean love? Why what?" He looked down fiddling with a thread on his 'trendy' ripped jeans that his father hated but you wanted him to fit in today to have the best chance, you leaned in placing a hand to his back rubbing slowly.

"Why are you taking me? Won't I embarrass you?" You frowned and kneeled down before him

"Embarrass- OH Roman no! No you have never ever embarrassed us never- do you hear me? My sweet sweet child! Don't you ever think that for a second...Roman Thomas Wayne you look at me" At his full name he looked up at you blinking away tears sniffling softly.

"B-But I don't talk mummy?! isn't that bad? don't people laugh at you and daddy when you take me out?" you gasped

"Laugh? who? who laughs at you my love?"

"....everyone! At school they laugh! a-and when we go out to dinner and when i go with you to see daddy at the office! I try mummy I do try I promise! I just don't-Can't the other parents have to laugh to!..I don't want to go!" you shook your head trying to fight tears seeing how worked up he was getting panting and panicking...This was a bad idea!

"Roman-Roro listen to me...You are my son! My little boy and you have nothing-nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of and don't you worry about what other people think, they are just jealous...You are my special little man! I love you, We love you so very much and we will protect you your brothers included!"

"Damien he and Tim hate me-I cant even talk to them! I love them and Jason and Dick but I can't- they don't know that!-"

"That is one of the silliest things you've ever said and I don't ever want to hear you say that again Roman" you and Roman gasped seeing Bruce slink into the room silently creeping.

"But Daddy-" Bruce waved a hand at him.

"No buts about it Roman...Your brothers love you to death! all four of them and they always will you here me? you might not say it but they know you love them back....There is nothing to be embarrassed about, today is about having some fun you can play with the other kids or stay with your mother and I its your choice...I hope you have a little fun at least go on some rides!" His face lit up

"Re-really daddy? they love me?" You smiled as Roman peeked at Bruce hopefully

"Of course they do! today I want you to enjoy yourself and eat as much cotton candy as you can! Now enough of all this get your- are you really wearing those?" Roman looked down to the jeans on his lap and nodded then quickly slipped them on slowly getting himself all excited he had one hell of a sweet tooth and you can get much sweeter then cotton candy...You'd be lying if you said you wasn't looking forward to it yourself.

"Okay...I will come and...Mummy? Willl-will there be pictures?" You blinked looking to Bruce this was new.

"Pictures? Like the press you mean?" He nodded

"Uh huh Like uncle Clark and aunt Lois" Bruce and you shared a look frowning why was Roman worried about the press?

"Yeah buddy just a few...Your uncle and aunt wont be there though just some people from Gotham....But after we have a picture of the family then will leave us alone...Don't you worry about them you just have fun tonight!" You had a horrid sinking feeling...why the fuck was your seven year old wary of the fucking paps? What has happened for him to be dubious over photos? Roman have an uneasy look but kept quiet prompting you to ask

"Roman love....Is everything alright? You know if anyone has done anything you can tell your father and I? We can fix it..." he smiled a false smile.

"I'm okay mummy....Can we go now?"you looked incredulously as Bruce but nodded."Sure honey go get your shoes on...the black hi-tops your going to need grip on the rides!" He smiled running down the hall

"Bruce-"

"I know love...I will look into it tonight but I picked upon it to"

The car ride was fairly quiet the tension was thick, you knew both Tim and Damien were wondering about how roman would take this but they chose to keep their comments to themselves. You and Bruce were up front Damien and Tim in the back with Roman snugly tuck in the middle. Damien and Tim were bickering over there younger brothers head. you rolled your eyes at them.

"I'm gonna kick your ass drake!" Tim grumbled

"Whatever you helps you sleep at night hell spawn! mini games are my thing!"

"Fuck you-"

"Damien language! and that's enough both of you- if you start this competitive bullshit today you'll get Jason involved and I don't want to have to deal with your bitching when he kicks both your asses on the shoot a duck!!" you looked back to the three boys. both teens grumbled you frowned.

"Roman are you alright honey? your pale...Is it your tummy?" he nodded and both brothers shared a look over him. Bruce did a quick check in the mirror and took a breath.

"In your bag I'm sure I put some in there" you nodded pulling your bag to your lap and puled out a small bottle of pills, What people didn't realize about Romans condition is there was a whole host of symptoms. Just like adult anxiety there were tummy aches, migraines, diarrhea, sickness, nausea and the most frightening of all was chest pains. you huffed you didn't have a water bottle. Fuck.

"Damien? Tim? you got any water for your brother to take his medicine?" at your request they both quickly routed around in their man bags for a water bottle Tim was first handing it to Roman who took the medicine quickly as always. you smiled to him reassuringly.

"Trust me love...There is nothing to worry over- just a fun day at the fair! okay? Just stick with one of us" Damien nodded

"Yeah you can come play with us! we can beat drake together on the mini games! he can fall to our superior genes!" Roman smiled to Damien warily making the teen smile and ruffle the boys hair.

"ha! as if Roro wants to help me wipe the floor with you! don't you Ro? after all if your as good as you say then you wont need the help!" you rolled your eyes as the two began their bickering again

"oh for fuck sake-" you were stopped by Bruce placing a hand on your thigh nodding subtly to them and you of what he was hinting to. Roman was happy smiling wide looking between his brothers, seemingly happy to be included. you sat back facing forward .

"He will be fine just give him a little space today see where it leads, I've asked the boys to watch the other parents and paps today...I have an idea about something want to confirm it first"

"About what? Roman? what do you think-" you were cut off with a patt on the leg from Bruce and a raised eyebrow.

"Just leave it with me...I will know by the end of the day but...with what he was saying to you i think...well i think he is stressing over what people think of us because of him..just let me do my thing today okay? I'm not the worlds greatest detective for nothing~" you nodded still not understanding fully but you trusted Bruce and the boys they would sort it you hoped.

Finally you arrived Jason and Dick came over giving both you and Bruce hugs and picking up roman making him release a soundless squeal at being spun around. Damien was quick to bitch at them about his tummy ache and snatch him away giving the small boy a piggy back waltzing to the fair muttering about the imbeciles.

Hhow the little boy could doubt any of his brothers  could hate him was beyond you, they each doted on him spoilt him rotten! if mum and dad said no you can guarantee Dick, Jason,Damien or Tim would make it happen. Much to the annoyance of you and Bruce. Once the initial speech was over and Bruce had convinced the wealthy to start digging into their pockets a few family photos were taken. you had noticed a few whispers about Romans appearance and quickly shut up the gossipers with a deadly glare as Roman clung to either you or his dad refusing to go with Damien and Tim to the mini shooting games. You sighed when you finally got a moment to breath away from the cameras who seemed to cling to you and Roman.

It was true you didn't normally have your youngest about, it was common knowledge that he was mute and shy so the paps had been adamant that they got as many photos of the boy as they could,much to your annoyance. you swore as he held you tighter as you moved quickly loosing them in the crowds. you turned a corner and rested a hand on Romans head calming him looking around spotting Bruce who was bombarded by his 'friends' a bunch of puffed up ignorant posh clingy twats! wanting to be seen with the infamous Wayne patriarch. you looked down as Roman tugged your sleeve and pointed, you followed hi gaze to the small cup stack mini game where there was a bunch of kids lining up. you smiled down at him and nodded patting his back.

"Go on then baby, go have fun and don't let anyone ask for money! your father has paid for free reign for everyone okay?" he nodded and walked over to the back of the line. you sighed standing stiff watching him closely you noticed that Dick was also near by watching over his baby brother closely making you feel better.

Roman came to a stop looking up at the nets of huge stuffed animals they had a wide selection he smiled seeing a massive great white shark! it was taller then him! he lined up behind the other kids waiting his turn."Hi!" he turned to around seeing a little girl around his age she was dark skinned with a mass of wild natural hair in two pompoms on her head. Roman gulped looking around seeing if sh could be talking to anyone else and she giggled.

"Yes you! that shark is cool huh?" Roman was unsure what to do he didn't want to be rude but at the same time was out of his comfort zone. he settled for nodding and looked back up at it.

"Oh...your shy huh? that's okay! I'm not...You think that's the size of a real one?" she asked looking to the toy hanging above them as the line moved forward. Roman shook his head at her, he knew they were bigger his uncle Arthur had shown him a real great white shark...His mother had to be dragged off of him by uncle Clark after...even uncle Clark had trouble getting her off him..

Roman shook his head and gulped deciding to try and communicate...this girl looked nice and...he doubted she was going away soon the line was long. he blinked and took a deep breath before releasing trying to calm his heart down and made a move signaling to the toy then made a 'smaller' motion hoping she understood. She looked to him then the toy nodding.

"Yeah! your right its probably to small!! but its cool right? I've been trying to win it all day!...Got the seal though see!!" roman smiled a warm feeling slowly bubbling up she had understood. she held out her seal to him letting him prod it, it was fat and squishy making him smile.

"I'm gonna get that shark!" Roman smirked a little looking back up taking another step to the front as more kids left holding various sized sea life prizes, some looked up longingly to the line of huge sharks on the nets you had to knock all ten cups down five times to get one...

"Oooo look! look a tiger shark!! wow I want that one you think I can?!" Libby go excited bouncing up and down placing her hands on Roman’s shoulders. He turned seeing the one at the back with light blue stripes and nodded then pointed to the octopus on the shelf below

"Wow that's cool to...You gonna go for that one? or jaws~" he tilted his head and pointed to the Great white. Libby smiled standing next to him.

"I'm gonna win the tiger shark today!" Roman's eye widened as he heard a familiar laugh

"Ha like you can get that one! scrawny arms like that! you know I'm gonna get it just so you cant have it move!" Roman frowned as some bullies from his class pushed him and Libby shoving the two of them behind their group cutting the line.

"HEY! YOU CANT DO THAT! I'M TELLING ON YOU!" Roman glared at them standing between the small group and Libby. Micky the leader sneered at him.

"What Wayne got something to say? well come on spit it out! oh wait you can't- Dumbo...Don't even know how to talk~ tell me this your little girlfriend? won't even stand up for her-" Roman growled angrily as two of the boys starting mocking them

"Romans got a little girlfriend! ha! what daddy paying her to be friends with you?!" Libby began whining as they began pulling at her pompoms tugging her curly hair harshly.

"Ew look this is her hair! god its gross and fluffy!" Roman panicked and slapped at the boys hands stopping their attempts but one pushed the smaller girl to the floor out of the line as Libby began crying loudly drawing the attention of the adults around them...More specifically the attention of Romans family.

"FUCK OFF!!!" everyone froze as roman shouted to the boys loud and clear.

You had been watching as a little girl approached Roman with her toy, she seemed nice and unfazed by Romans...Situation and you felt a rush of relief as she continued making conversation with him...well Roman-esque chatter as he began pointing at the toys. You looked away as dick came over to you.

"So? things are going well...Looks like today is working huh Mum?" you smiled nodding looking to your oldest.

"Yes- I was worried but...you know I underestimate your father sometimes especially with roman.." dick smiled slinging an arm around your shoulder kissing your head.

"Do-do you know whats going on your father said something about Roman’s issue? that he as an idea but wouldn't explain more then that" dick hissed through his teeth.

"Not entirely sure myself-" you were both interrupted as you heard a loud crying form where roman was. some kids- boys from Romans class had come over and pushed the little girl down and were pulling her hair as Roman was trying to slap them away then-

"FUCK OFF!" you froze momentarily as Roman screamed at the boys and pushed with all his might making the boy loose balance and fall before crying himself. Roman stood in front of the now whining little girl shielding her from the other mean boys. You made your way over but it was to late some photographers had gotten there first and was surrounding your boy taking photos shouting out at him asking hims to 'say something else' Jason and Bruce had swooped in shoving the men out of his sons face collecting Roman and the little girl; knowing that she would also find herself questioned by the pushy journalists. you followed as Bruce continued to one of the public toilets with roman Jason followed with the little girl.

"Shit- Ro-roman oh god are you okay?" you entered just as Bruce had set him down he was bawling his eyes out panicking and holding his breath. shit shit shit. you noticed the little girl was upset and confused, she hadn't known who roman was.

you moved to crouch beside her.

"Hey poppet...are you okay?" she blinked back tears and pointed to her cut knee.

"Oh no! did those mean boys do that?" she nodded sniffling

"A-And they pulled my h-hair saying it was funny looking!! I-I like my h-hair!!" you frowned and moved to hug her careful of her cut knee.

"Oh shh shh Its okay...your hair is very pretty!" she cried louder

"I-I w-ant my mummy!"

"Whats you mummy's name- Jason can go find her do you remember what she was wearing?" she nodded choking and coughing on her sobs. you concentrated on her as Bruce and Dick helped calm down Roman.

"Joy...she has a blue dress!" you stood up but Jason was out the door returning a few moments later with the little girls mother. She looked to you and nodded thankfully as the little girl ran to her getting picked up still tearful

"Oh god Libby what happened to you? why the tears?"

"T-they were mean to him to- th-they called him names! and and made fun of him! and he tr-tried to stop them from pu-lling my hair! and-and then they p-pushed me down and I cut my knee!!!" you looked to the little girl Libby. Then Bruce who has roman in his arms now calm.

"Roman ..Those boys? they are from your school aren't they?" he nodded and you shared a look with Bruce who was rocking him back and forth still panicked himself wondering if this really was a good idea or not. But to everyone's surprise Roman spoke up in a tiny timid voice

"T-they are mean-Call me dumb....Laugh when I make sounds and laugh...Try to make me talk..Poke me with pens so I make noises" you gasped...He had never said that before...Was that? could this be it? the issues was when he made sounds they made fun and picked on him? Bruce grunted

"How long Ro? how long have they done this?" Roman shrugged and shook his head not answering for a second and Bruce pulled him back and continued in his stern no room for arguments voice

"Roman? how long have they been making fun?" Roman looked down

"Since...forever" you gasped he was being bullied at school...no wonder nothing had gotten better! normally with selective mutism as they grew up safe spaces like home and school were just that safe spaces and he'd talk confidently interact and make friends if he was being hurt at school then obviously the opposite would happen.

Damien and Tim was quiet, this was the most they'd never heard their little brother say before and it was- they were gobsmacked. Bruce sighed and nodded.

"Thank you son for telling me- you were very brave! and I'm very very proud of you...Even if it was a swear word he lifted his gaze to Damien and Tim who both gulped.

"And you were very brave to protect your friend today from those bully's....now you leave the school with me I will deal with them...Or better yet I will let your mother loose on them" as he said that all your sons shivered not wanting to cross paths with you ever they felt sorry for the teacher already. Roman gasped and looked at Bruce

"Pictures-" Bruce cupped his sons head kissing his temple

"Leave it to me- now do you want to stay and play with-" he looked to the now quiet little girl

"L-Libby sir" Bruce smiled to the polite child

"Do you want to stay and play with Libby?" roman looked to Libby who stared hopeful and nodded Bruce put him down letting him stand next to the girl he spoke in a whisper barely being heard now that he wasn't tucking himself into his fathers neck for comfort.

"I-I-I'M Ro-Roman" she smiled at him

"HI roman!! can we?- do you wanna get the sharks? and then sweets-LET GET SWEETS!!"

"Shark's?...." Roman nodded grinning looking up at Tim and Damien as they both interrupted"we will go win you the sharks...and then sweets" they looked to Libby's mother

"We will watch out for them, come on you two" you looked as the Libby looked to her mum who nodded before running over holding Tims hand Roman joined her holding Damien's.

"We will take care of them today mother meet you at the gates at four this afternoon"

"Yes you go have fun mum- I know you like the waltzers leave these two with us" you watched as they made for the exit with the tow youngsters

"Roman come and point out these kids to me and Dami-" you gasped chasing them out

"Oh no you don't!...Timothy! Damien don't you dare! you leave those boys alone! I will sort this out-" you were stopped by Bruce who was making his way out allowing the girls mother to exit first

"Y/n leave them~"

"Bruce they will beat the shit out of those kids-" he laughed winding an arm around your waist.

"No they wont...Scare them but not beat them to many witnesses~" you looked to the other woman and smiled

"Sorry about all this- would you like to get coffee? I'm sure the boys will look after them now....It seems they are on guard duty now~" she smiled and nodded still a little on edge but you were determined to become friends with this women...her little girl has done more good for your son in the last ten minuets then you and your family have managed in the last seven years!

At the end of the day you had become closer to Libby's mother Joy and had invited her over the next day for tea it turns out you and the woman had a lot in common which made things easier. you waited at the gates and laughed as not only were Tim and Dami walking out with huge stuffed animals but Dick and Jason were trailing behind each holding a collection of won prizes. Roman and Libby were both ecstatic each holding a huge shark and a few sealed bags of cotton candy.

"Oh my- Jason I never thought pink was your colour~"

"ha ha! mum real funny not these are for the little miss Libby!" the girl was bouncing on the spot

"Mummy-Mummy look Jason got me the unicorn and the minion and the batman!!! see see look mummy he won them for me! he is really good at the shooting games!!" Joy chuckled and moved around her buzzing child

"Thank you boys...she has been looking forward to this for a long time""Jason's my boyfriend to! see he won me a ring! we are getting married!" you and Bruce chuckled as Jason blushed as the Libby showed her mother the small plastic ring excitedly.

"Ah I see well we should be getting home now...Say bye bye and we will see Roman tomorrow"

"Tomorrow? oh are we coming back!!" you chuckled as she got all excited again

"No but you are coming over tomorrow to play with roman how does that sound?" she gasped and looked to you then her mum ,Roman looked hopeful at you to.

"Really?! can I bring my shark?!" you nodded

"Of course you can bring your shark now, we better get home for dinner...we will see you tomorrow Libby, see you Joy..Jason can you take them to Mrs Mouvins car!" Damien snickered

"Yeah go help your girlfriend~" Jason grunted

"Shes not my fucking-" he was interrupted by Libby coming up and grasping his hand dragging him away.

"Come on Jason! don't get lost!" you couldn't help it you laughed loudly with the boys as Jason flushed bright as the child dragged him to there car. you looked to roman

"So you have a good day?" he nodded then paused looking around blinking taking a deep shaky breath then stuttered out quiet words.

"Y-yes ....was f-fun with Dami and Tim" both of which beamed tugging him into hugs.

"Wait a go buddy!" Tim's said giving him a noogy with the flat of his fist making roman wince and chuckle softly Damien spoke up next pulling him into a tight hug.

"We knew you had it in you! first words of fuck you though? your kick ass"

"Yeah who'd of thunk it?" Tim continued Bruce folded his arms eye Damien again

"Yes I wound where he gets it from? huh Damien? I'm sure he must have heard it around the house isn't that right Damien"

"Oh shit" you smirked as you all began your trek to the car

"Oh shit is right my boy! your doing double drills tonight!"

"Huh that's not fucking fair-"

"Triple"

"What the fuck? Why?"

"Quadruple and for being a bad influence on your brother- I don't know what your laughing Timothy your spotting him to make sure he does it"

"What?! why? what about patrol?!"Tim admonished

"Dick and Jason are going with me and if there is so much as one more word about it you'll be doing it tomorrow night as well!" you snickered as both teens held there breath biting back retorts knowing Bruce wasn't fucking around. You turned peeking through the center console to look as Roman.

"AANYway Roman you don't mind having Libby around tomorrow for a play date do you?" Roman blushed as leaned back as Bruce started the car pulling away, smiling he shook his head. No he didn't mind he liked her a lot.

That was the day that changed everything. Roman had anxiety but it wasn't so much as social it was more over the family image. You learned he had been picked on for not speaking and then picked on to make him talk, then when it did make sounds they bullied him even more for making noise!! the whole vicious cycle had gone unnoticed but after one meeting with you everything was fixed. Roman still didn't speak at school it would take time but he was getting better. All in all he was stressed and anxious little boy terrified of screwing up! he didn't want to say the wrong thing in front of the paparazzi or cameras. He was aware of the family's status and had anxiety over that not necessarily people. All of this fear and stress built up on a seven year olds shoulders resulting in his Mutism. Which was now slowly going away! he spoke freely around the house, some times he stuttered and spoke in whispers but it was much much better.

Damien and Tim both loved hearing there little brother talk after going so long not hearing a peep. Both breaking down in tears when Roman first told them he loved them...Not that either would admit it but you had dealt with the sobbing teens that evening giving both long cuddles in the privacy of their rooms. thing's were looking up and with Libby coming around all the time it could only get better!. it was incredible! when with her it as like roman was free, a normal loud boisterous little boy. You were hopeful for the future especially when Bruce was paying for Libby to start school with Roman next term paying for her full education much to the reluctance of her mother. Joy didn't want to be indebted but you but had when you and Bruce explained what was going on... She couldn't refuse that it was a good idea, Libby would have a much better chance in life, for her daughters sake she agreed. and you hoped it was the next step in prying Roman out of his shell.

[nguyenaustin3]

I wanted to post my thoughts somewhere...I guess here will do? Thoughts on folklore (tl;dr: I liked the album, was in love with some moments, but the album ENTIRELY, though the review Variety helped me understand the self-mythology of some of the songs, but I wrote all of this before that)...

Since the release of Red in 2012, Taylor Swift wrote her songs with the stadium in mind, for die-hard fans in nosebleed seats and Disneyland-colossal spectacles. The boy-next-door “Love Story” turned into cotton-candy-colored, “spelling is fun!” bridges to shout along with. Performativity became inextricable from her pop kingdom, and Reputation took it to the extreme, a spectacle of overcompensating bravado, with cryptic snake tweets and good-girl-gone-bad, “jailer”/”Taylor” posturing (uncoincidentally, it was also Swift’s first all-stadium tour). “I’m sorry, the Old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead,” she mic-dropped on “Look What You Made Me Do.” The plot twist revealed on folklore: Old Taylor is very much alive.

Lover was already a return to form of more mainstream-oriented, replace-edgy-with-kitschy pop, but folklore traces back farther in Swift’s history to her country roots: lyrics in the foreground with piano chords, guitar strums, and violin strings to accompany. Problem is, eight years have passed since her last “country” album, if Red fits that description; time has already taken its toll. With no rise-above-the-haters gimmick to sell, Swift has a difficult time filling in lyrical blanks. Instruments have started to rust, and an older mind doesn’t necessarily mean a wiser one.

Ever the innocuous pop star, Swift has always done her best to be G-rated for mass palpability, maybe even appeal. Only recently had the conversation turned PG-13, wearing her political beliefs on her sleeve and openly supporting the LGBTQ+ community (a bit too much?). Another now fleeting inhibition: her aversion to cussing. folklore is Swift’s only album to have two versions — clean and explicit — which works both for and against her. On “mad woman,” she knows exactly how to deliver a “fuck you” under her breath, the words gnarled and sharp. “the 1,” on the other hand, makes Swift sound like a trendy side character on Riverdale: “I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit.” Swifties will be shook, others, especially those who already listened to Melodrama, underwhelmed.

When she’s not too busy expanding her vernacular, at times ironically (isn’t she part of the “Bitch Pack friends from the city”?), she’s searching for profundity in the fading and the fictional. “mirrorball” holds onto a partner’s waist and the head-on-shoulder intimacy of a prom dance. Love is a destructive force that upends generational wealth and mental health on “the last great american dynasty.” When Bon Iver joins the credits, exes become kingdoms romance no longer has the key for, and heartbreak a fray of wide-screen proportions.

At least, that’s what Swift wants listeners to take away. But most often than not, her narratives are hindered by slipshod lyricism, only occasionally going beyond empty aphorisms and reworded idioms sung in time for melodic filler. “High heel” tropes are recycled between songs, modified only by a superlative. YA novels become the source material for lyrics when Swift bats her eyes and tells her crush, “You….you’re not like the regulars,” a paraphrasing of You’re not like other guys. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” is modernized into break-up bitterness and cynicism in “mad woman.”

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. “cardigan” stitches memories of lovers “dancin’ in your Levis” and “drunk under the streetlights” together for a tapestry of youth’s starry-eyed hope while “my tears ricochet” is a realization that taking the high road isn’t always possible when Swift admits her moment of weakness: “I didn’t have it in me to leave with grace.” The common thread here is unclichéd simplicity, which is a thin line that Swift can tread well, but not consistently. Too simple, and “peace” evaporates into the vague, easy-to-relate-to abstraction of “The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me.” Too cluttered, and “illicit affairs” seems more like clunky Wordly Wise passages more suited for Fiona Apple’s “Left Alone” than a Taylor Swift chorus.

When she announced the surprise release of folklore, Swift cited quarantine as the creative force behind her new project as other musicians, such as Charli XCX, had. “In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result,” one Instagram post reads, but that revelation didn’t necessarily translate into sonic terms. While new names — mainly, Aaron Dessner of The National — have appeared in the credits, new sounds haven’t been found besides the fact that folklore is Swift’s unplugged album the same way Joanne was for Lady Gaga, at times predictable and lacklustre. “mirrorball” and “august” is shoegaze for people who didn’t pay attention to shoegaze before, which is another way of saying the two songs are “Lover” with reverb galore. Echoes of Sufjan Stevens’ “Mystery of Love” can be heard on “invisible string,” and most interestingly (read: weirdly), Caroline Polachek (specifically “The Gate”) could’ve taken a minimalist detour through “my tears ricochet.” Where’s Jack Antonoff’s headline from Melodrama and Lover now?

folklore isn’t defined by its male producers though; Swift still sings front and center. When she misses, she won’t find her dart anywhere near the bullseye or on the board for that matter. The outsider-looking-in, high school drama of “I hate the crowds” from “betty” won’t stir any hearts. But when she finds her story, the one only she can tell, the words become indelible: “No other sadness in the world would do.”

[ripstocking]

So, tell me how you got this amazing apartment.I inherited it from Mark Gonzales. He was moving to France and had lived here for a really short period of time and he just turned it over to me.How long have you been here?About a year.You’ve done a lot in a year.Yeah, there was nothing really here so we did this renovation on it, but not really a renovation, because I liked the way the space felt.I’ve heard you say that people take loft spaces in New York and try to turn them into apartments these days and they don’t really appreciate what the space is all about.People want to live in SoHo, and the word ‘loft’ has become a term for something that is opulent. There was a type of home when I first came to New York City that felt like a ‘New York’ space, and those apartments don’t really exist anymore because of the gentrification of New York City. But the space we are in now is one of those remaining dream homes that I thought existed.New York City: Jim Walrod is the most famous interior designer you have never heard of. Since opening his first shop on a desolate block on Lafayette Street in 1987, he has developed relationships with the widest range of legendary New York characters. If you’re an old-school rapper, graffiti artist, painter of cotton candy, builder of foam core lunar landers, motorcycle racing cult director, dashing hotelier or infamous downtown fashion photographer, then of course you know who Jim is. Mike D of the Beastie Boys famously called Jim his ‘furniture pimp’, yet any top decorator in the world, who would literally kill for his clients, would have no idea who Jim was. Why? Because Jim flies under the radar in nearly everything he does. This below-the-radar style is what enables Jim to continue to have the sharpest eye for the next greatest forgotten designs, making him one of the most sought-after designers for the most sought-after clients who appreciate Jim’s particular bricolage of the modern and post-modern decorative art worlds. Mind you this all might be changing: Jim is in negotiations to be the host of a new television show in which he and his non-decorator friends drive around the country discovering forgotten and undiscovered modernist homes. But before he enters the realm of household celebrity and his cover is blown, Jim and I sat down for a chat in his Chinatown loft that he shares with the lovely Mara and his sassy Cairn terrier, Tito.

Maybe the reader will be able to tell from the pictures, but to get to this apartment you have to literally walk through a hardware store. It’s a very surreal entrance into this space, because you would never think that this place existed.

It’s kind of a dream space. I mean it’s a dream of anybody that lives or wants to live a certain way in New York. I like the idea of this fantasy of being able to walk through a hardware store and come into an apartment. There is nothing more attractive to me. I don’t want to live next to a Prada store, or walk above a trendy restaurant. The idea of a secret space is something I’ve aspired to from the time I was a child.

Your landlords, who own the hardware store, have become kind of your friends here too, haven’t they?

Yeah, they’re incredible. They’re absolutely great. They’re my doormen, my security guards, and my friends.

Had you seen the apartment before Mark offered it to you? If so, you must have been freaking out when he offered it to you.

What was funny was that he hadn’t signed a lease on it. It was totally unofficial, he had just taken the apartment. I had come over to see him and his new place, and in typical Mark fashion he was painting in it and smoking tons of cigars and saying to me ‘Yeah, I just got this space but I don’t think I’m really gonna stay here. I don’t think I really want to be in New York anymore’. And at the same time I was like ‘Are you crazy?’ This is like a dream space… But you know he, like a lot of other interesting people, have fled New York City.

Or they’re moving to the outer boroughs, and once that’s done, who knows what it’s going to be.

Yeah. It’s weird because I get to live in a way that’s more artistic, in a space that is raw, and in a city that I love. I just never thought I would have that chance again. That’s why I think a lot of people have left New York, because that originality and energy of the city is disappearing. I obviously design apartments and places for people whose concerns come down to the tiniest details—the angle of how the ceiling hits this, or that—but I feel it’s kind of a joke when people live this way. They used to just do ‘renovations’. When someone moved into a loft there was no interior designer. One of my guiding principles in setting up this space was to just do ‘a renovation’, you know—paint the place. I couldn’t have put in an amazing tin ceiling like this, and I like the idea of exposed pipes and painted concrete and wood floors. I could never propose this type of thing to a client.

This raw space is such a great contrast to what you collect, which is radical ‘70s and ‘80s design. Anti-design really.

There’s this weird thing of liking what other people don’t like and finding beauty within things that people don’t really find beauty within. It’s discovering it and using it against other things, proving a point to some extent. When someone says ‘That stuff is ugly’, I am immediately drawn to it because it just means that it’s challenging. Take for example Memphis furniture and objects, which people are now kind of beginning to consider. They were the scourge of the design world for the longest time and I always found it to be the most legitimate design movement since the Bauhaus. It was an all-encompassing world view of what design could be. And it was based on the idea of looking at the past and regurgitating it tastefully. When I was 16 I worked at Fiorucci. Sottssas and Mendini and Nathalie Du Pasquier all had worked for Fiorucci there and I knew immediately that what they were doing was looking back at Americana.

They had worked there?

Yeah, they worked as the design directors. They were passing each piece of their own design through the store, so it was almost like this laboratory for Memphis for the longest time. The Italians were looking back at the American ‘50s and reinventing it in a very modern way, and this started in 1975. By the time I got there it was ’83, and that was how I learned about American ‘50s furniture: by looking at that stuff and saying ‘Okay, where did this come from?’ So that experience was the first thing that piqued my interest in ‘50s mid-century furniture. It’s kind of like listening to The Beatles and learning about The Isley Brothers or soul music. It’s a time that’s always going to be interesting to me. It was a really fruitful, deep period of thought and design richness.

I like when you say that when someone says it’s ugly, you take that as a challenge. I see that you definitely do that with your own space, but are you able to do that with your clients or not? Is it something you kind of keep to yourself?

I show it to clients. I sneak it in…. and I’m always shocked that they bite. And they do. Once you get the tiniest nibble, you push it a little bit further, and then the floodgates open. I’m really lucky that I’ve had clients who have really gone after it. The truth is, if they’re hiring me, they’re a little crazy or adventurous anyway, or they’re trying to discover something that they can’t get to themselves, I hope—otherwise they’re a boring client.

Now we have talked about the ‘80s, Ettore Sottsass, Fiorucci, and Memphis… all of that seems to revolve around one person: Sottsass, and I know you’re a huge fan of his. Tell me a little bit about why.

Well there are two maestros as far as I’m concerned: Ettore Sottsass and Gaetano Pesce. Sottsass had a career that was completely established. He could have worked as a very safe interior designer, but he chose to keep one foot planted in the arts. He was friends with all the Beat poets in San Francisco in the early ‘60s; he wrote introductions and made drawings for their Beat manifestos while still remaining very rooted in the industrial world of Italy. And then out of nowhere, in 1969, during the Triennale, he sided with the students that were talking about design being overblown garbage for the rich and he sided with the students. Then he went and aligned himself with the anti-design movement and radical thinkers in design like Superstudio and Archizoom, at the age of 52. He was a guy where anytime you thought you knew what something was going to be, he would just rip it apart and start again. All the way into the early ‘90s. And Gaetano Pesce is another thing.

Aren’t you going to do a show of his drawings at The Drawing Center?

Yeah, I hope so. The Drawing Center of New York has proposed it to Pesce and I’m supposed to co-curate it with Hester Diamond.

Gaetano Pesce is a guy who manufacturers have never understood, and artists have always understood. He has consistently aligned himself with artists, and he is an artist in the truest sense. When you look at the lineage of his work, it’s powerhouse sexual when he’s in his sexual prime, and then as he gets older it becomes more expressionist and almost childlike to some degree. But the immediacy with which he can create is amazing—he can imagine and build furniture at the drop of a hat because he developed a way of using poured resin instead of drawings. He can make a chair for you in ten minutes and doesn’t have to deal with manufacturers, doesn’t have to deal with distributors, doesn’t have to deal with anybody. It’s the ultimate DIY; like punk rock used to be, where they say ‘We don’t want record labels, we don’t want distributors, we don’t want anything’. Every time I ever see Gaetano, and you know he’s approaching 80, I just think he’s the most fucking punk rock guy I’ve ever met in my life! That is the spirit of it.

I love thinking of Pesce as punk rock. So if Pesce is punk rock, what’s Sottsass? Because he’s a little more elegant. Some of his pieces don’t have that same visceral quality.

Right, it’s not as immediate. It’s very, very thought out. There are certain principles behind it. Besides Bugatti, he was probably the only person that really threw out the idea of Western culture. The second you do that you are able to open up a world that’s completely different and new. Sottsass was influenced so much by Eastern philosophies, designs and motifs. To bring that in and to reinterpret it through the sexuality of the ‘60s was just like, you know… firecrackers! And at the same time, he was just a true designer that looked at every single aspect of the process of designing. If you look at every piece of furniture that he’s ever done, it’s so fucking thought out.

So I’m looking around and almost everything in here is Italian, except for a few key French pieces.

Yeah it’s mostly Italian, but with some great American pieces too. And then there’s the Nicola cabinet.

I love Nicola! That’s the only one I’ve ever seen in person.

They kind of knock your socks off. It’s easy to dismiss as something as kitschy because she’s not necessarily a furniture designer; she is an artist who makes functional art, to a degree.

When I first opened my gallery she came to me and asked me to sell some of her work and of course I said yes, but thinking back on that now, it feels like a missed opportunity for not fully recognising her vision and holding onto it. I saw a piece of her work at Frieze NY and it immediately sold. It seems as though she’s coming back to what she really was, an artist. How old is she?

I think she’s 81 or 82… I don’t know if there’s anything that encompasses more of the period that she really worked in better than her pieces. I mean those cabinets were sold by Vrej Baghoomian, who also dealt Jean Michel Basquiat’s work!

Really?

Yeah. But you know what the best part of Nicola was? Bad Brains at CBGB – My Picture in the movies, baby! 1982. She shot and directed it.

What?

Yeah! She lived with Bad Brains. They moved in with her and she got the ultimate documentation of the band playing CBGBs in 1979. At the time she was probably in her mid-40s. So to have Bad Brains move in with her…. you know, she’s okay in my book.

Yeah. That is amazing…

I want to get back to your point of something someone calls ‘ugly’ as just being challenging.

I couldn’t agree more. It’s not just a challenge to take that piece and place it in an interior, but to collect it, to live with that idea.

It’s also a metaphor. I’ve hit 46 now, and it’s funny, the people I work for, when I say I live in Chinatown, look at me like I just shot heroin in to my eyeballs. They think ‘Oh my God, why? You could probably live anywhere you want. Why Chinatown?’ But it’s the last vestige of something that feels like the New York that once existed for me. It’s still a little bit dangerous in certain areas if you walk a couple blocks, still the Wild West if you walk a couple more blocks the other way. People don’t talk to you because they don’t speak English. It still kind of feels like how New York used to.

I know you can’t predict the future, but then again, you seem to always be ahead of your time. You were buying all of these pieces before anyone wanted them. I just went to MoMA and on display were all these amazing Olivetti and Brion Vega calculators, typewriters, adding machines, and TVs. It looked like I had walked into Form and Function! And at the time, people thought you were nuts.

That’s really funny, I love when you see the stuff somewhere, and you ask somebody at a flea market or a dealer how much it costs, and they go into this long-winded story trying to explain to me the importance of it. And I always want to tell them: ‘You don’t understand, I owned stores where I had that stuff’, and people would walk in and go ‘Is this for kids? Is this children’s stuff?’ You know the first night I opened Form and Function, the curator of a very large museum that you may have just brought up, but I don’t want to say, walked in and said ‘What is this?’ and I explained to him and said ‘You should know. It was all in your museum at one time and you threw it all out’.

Really? They threw it out?

Well, they probably de-acquisitioned to some extent. They don’t really throw out anything. They ‘put it away’.

There’s all this Memphis furniture and lighting around me, which you said no one liked, but now everyone is starting to like it, so you’re going to have to find something else to rebel against. What are you gonna do?

No, no, no. That’s the other part of it. There’s a period of incubation that doesn’t really exist anymore, when you get to keep something and say ‘It’s mine’, before it goes out into the world and everybody jumps on it for ten minutes and then moves on. I think that’s why there haven’t been any significant music or cultural movements in the past couple decades—everything becomes dispersed so quickly through the Internet. You never get to have a period where 500 of your best friends get to have something unique to hold onto; there is no more of that feeling where it’s you against the world with this ‘thing’. That’s what made music and film and art so important. Because of all the magazines, television, and Internet access, you don’t really get that. But if you do get that, you want to keep it such a fucking secret so that you get to hold onto it for a while. Whether it be a neighbourhood, furniture, or even something that tastes good—at this point I’m just looking for anything that I can protect to call my own.

Do you think there will be a backlash against Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, when people find cool stuff, instead of people saying ‘I’m gonna Instagram it!’ they’re gonna say ‘I’m not gonna show this to anyone?’

You would hope so. It seems like the next Internet billionaire would be the guy that knows how to limit our ability to access information. You know I love Instagram, as you know I am on it 24-7! I don’t even know why I go on Instagram. I really don’t take pictures of stuff that’s in my house or things that I really want. It’s like saying ‘Here, look at this while I grab that’. It almost works as a diversionary tactic. It also helps to keep my eye focused to a large degree, too. I used to find more shit on the street that was incredible but after being in New York a while I became jaded. But things like Instagram focus the way you look at things again. Because, you’re a dealer—remember the days you used to find incredible shit in the garbage? You don’t necessarily find it anymore.

Because everyone knows what everything is, and if they don’t, they can just text a picture to someone who does.

That’s the other part of it too. I remember really early on, I was walking into a Salvation Army and I saw a car with this book called Mid-Century Modern in the front seat, which was like the bible of early collectors. And as I was going down the stairs in the store someone was walking up with a two-stack Eames storage unit. At that moment in 1989 I remember thinking to myself ‘This is all over’.

Little did you know… 35 years later it’s still going strong.

Right. I remember Steven Miesel rented a Swan Chair off of me for an Italian Vogue photo shoot in 1988, and I thought the same thing: ‘That’s it, it’s over’. (Laughs) I always think everything is over, I think summer’s over on July 4th! It’s one of the things that drives me. But there’s a degree of comfort in memories. You reach a point in life when you are able to live in a way that you always aspired to. But sometimes you realise other people aren’t interested in that dream anymore. And that’s what I find here—I can live in the way I always wanted to live in New York City so many years ago.

Does this go back to your childhood? You grew up in Jersey City, right across the river from New York City. You probably saw the skyline daily growing up.

I was here! It was 35 cents to take the Path train over. The first chance I got to come to New York City, every home I went into looked like the inside of this apartment.

There is a degree of comfort in this space for me. You aspire to live a certain way, and that aspiration for me could have been what I saw when I was 17. I don’t know what I would do with a detailed loft, I don’t know how I would do a high-end residence for myself. Design, the way that I work, isn’t based on the principle of ‘beauty’ in the superficial sense: it’s based on an idea of where you can take something, and how opposing things can live harmoniously. I live in Chinatown with a $50,000 cabinet, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t want anything other than walking through the hardware store to get to my apartment. It’s all just the way that you live. If my landlord said to me ‘You can have the apartment to do what you want with it’, there’s nothing I would change.