#glad i finished part 2 but i drew fast than usual and gave myself a fever so ill be drawing slower next part

[grassintheclouds]

Part 2

[7-seas-of-bri]

In The Future -- A Roger Taylor x Reader Fic [part 4]

Read the Past Parts Here! Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Word Count: 4k

Trigger Warning: Alcohol, Talks of Sexual Assault, Anxiety Attack

Did I sleep with her?

Roger paced the floor of his flat.

He didn’t think it was out of the question. You were gorgeous, and he could see his drunk self hitting on you.

Roger has forgotten girls he’s slept with before, leading to some awkward and uncomfortable conversations once meeting them again. This event occurred a year ago, you had told him, it’s a clear possibility that your image may be stuck in the subconscious of his brain.

The problem is, he’s never had to work alongside a past hook-up.

What am I going to do?

He cursed himself for whatever his past self did to you. From the short amount of time you’ve spent together, he has thought you were a great person despite the cold shoulder you gave him at first. The way you attempted to open up to him was a breath of fresh air, people don’t usually trust him with matters that cause them to feel vulnerable.

Roger wanted to find a friend in you, and he became insanely upset with himself that he may have ruined that chance without even realizing it.

I’m not going to let the fact that we slept together get in the way of a friendship.

--

The day of the weekend gig comes much faster than you could have intended. You spent another day with the band between the recording session and now. Getting the chance to talk to Roger was on your mind, it wasn’t fair that you left him just to guess what you had to say, but getting him alone without alerting everyone was something near impossible.

You weren’t excited about the show. Ever since that night a year ago, you had avoided large crowds in small spaces as much as possible. Just the thought of being surrounded by that many people, the possibility of another attacker being there with you, begins to be too much. You hoped you could just hang in the back and not have to experience things similar to that night, you feared that might be too much for you.

You also pondered the idea of not telling Roger, which is not out of the question. Still feeling helpless about what happened to you, and awful about the way you left the person who saved you, you feel as if maybe it’s easier to not face it.

Going between this possibility and just telling him the truth cross your mind at every hour of the day making your head spin at insane speeds. No matter how many times you think it over, you can’t decide what option causes the least amount of pain for you, and Roger.

When you met with the boys yesterday, they again asked you if you were coming to the gig. You continued to assure them that you wouldn’t miss it, but they still seemed skeptical given that your original answer was a sidestep towards no. You knew you’d end up going, not wanting to miss a chance to support the band you now represent, but everyone else wasn’t so sure. Even Miami asked you, he must have gotten the word passed along from the boys.

As the hours drew closer, your anxiety rose. Not knowing what else to do, you called Gracie. She picked up the line on the third ring.

“Hey, favorite person in the world,”

You let out a nervous laugh. Leave it to Gracie to be a ray of sunshine when your thoughts seemed bleak. 

“What’s wrong?”

She could always pick up when you weren’t feeling well, even when you’re miles away.

“I have to go to a concert tonight,” you told, hoping that simple explanation would be enough to convey how you’re feeling.

Gracie sighed. “Oh hun, is it for the band?”

“Yeah,” you sputtered. “And it’s at a small pub, and do you want to know what’s worse of all,”

“What?”

“The band I represent is the same band we saw last summer,”

The line hung in the air for a while, and you wonder if the connection had dropped. Only after a few, long seconds, Gracie answered.

“I thought this band was called Queen,”

“They are, they switched their name, I didn’t recognize it,”

She started at a string of questions that almost came too fast for you to recognize. “Is he still the drummer? Did he remember you? Are you still wanting to work for them? How are you feeling about it? How bad is your anxiety right now?”

You internalized each question, prepared to answer all.

“Yes he’s still there, no he didn’t recognize me, yes I still want this job, and I’ll be honest, I’m not doing great,”

You could hear Gracie struggling for words, not knowing what to say to you. Would anyone know exactly what to say?

“Darling, I’m so sorry, but maybe this will be a positive experience. Maybe you’ll go and have a good time and all those memories will start to wash away. And remember, you can leave, no one's holding you there,”

You nodded, even though you knew she couldn’t see it.

“Have I ever told you, you’re the best?”

“Once or twice,” you could almost hear the smile from across the line.

Suddenly, you heard a car horn from outside your flat. At first, you ignore it, assuming it’s not for you, but when it goes off another time, this time with two beeps, you thought you should check it out.

“Hey, uh, Gracie, there’s a car horn outside and I think I should go see who it is,” you told her hesitantly.

“Be careful, I love you,”

Hanging up the phone, you moved to your front window to check the car.

Not expecting to see anyone you know, you are met with the sight of a man you wouldn’t mistake in any situation.

Slipping on some sandals, you opened the door to your flat.

“Freddie?” you yell at the man sitting in the car with his window down.

“Y/n, darling! I’ve come to pick you up!”

Walking out towards the car, you were still wondering why Freddie Mercury is sitting outside your home.

“But why?” you asked, still not quite understanding.

He grinned. “It’s not that I don’t have fate in you, love, but I wasn’t sure if you’d come if I didn’t drag you out myself,”

Laughing in disbelief, you arrived at the side of his car.

“Well, I don’t have all day! Go, get dressed, it’s a big night for you,”

“And why is that?”

He slid off the sunglasses he was wearing. “Why, dear. It’s your first gig night as our official assistant to the manager, of course!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his theatrics, he must really want you to come.

“Alright, give me five minutes,” you said, turning back towards your flat.

“No more, no less,” he yelled after you.

Following the rapid events that took place in your bedroom to produce the look you’re sporting now, you checked the time to make sure you didn’t take long. As you hustled down the stairs of your flat, you are not surprised to see Freddie still sitting there taking a drag of his cigarette.

“Darling, you are truly a vision,” he gushed as he caught sight of the dress you threw on.

“Why, thank you,” you replied, getting into his car with him.

The drive with Freddie is filled with him talking, to which you are thankful, he took the pressure off of you. It was a stark contrast to the other drives you’ve had over the past few days.

“Aren’t you excited?” he asked.

For the first time in a while when thinking about a concert, your answer is overwhelmingly positive. “I actually am. I’m not going to lie to you, you picking me up has made a lot of my nerves disappear for a while,”

Freddie looked over to you and smirked. “I have that effect on people,”

You scoffed, a laugh pulling at your throat. “You’re ruining the moment,”

“People have told me that I tend to do that as well,”

This left both of you laughing, but the laughs didn’t last as long as you hoped. Freddie’s demeanor shifted slightly as he thought through his next words.

“I can’t help but notice, and I don’t mean to pry, but is everything alright between you and Roger? You seem so comfortable around the rest of us, but there seems to be tension with you two,”

He left off, leaving you room to answer how you’d like. You appreciated this, not feeling like the rest of the boys need to be involved in whatever’s happening between the two of you.

“It’s nothing really. I guess our personalities just don’t mesh well,”

“That’s interesting to me,” he started. “When I first met you I thought the two of you would get along great. I could tell you’re reserved, and he is anything but. Those two things usually compliment each other well,”

You sighed. “Yeah, guess not this time,”

Thankfully, Freddie pulled into the pub parking lot as you finished your statement. He parked the car and took the opportunity to grab your hands, placing them in his own.

“I’d like to let you know I don’t believe you,” he smirked. “But just know this, if there’s ever anything you’d like to talk about, anything at all, my ears are always open. Whatever you say is safe with me. I think you’re a great person, y/n. And I hate to see you struggling, and I can tell, you’re struggling with something,”

The comments take you aback. No one, other than Gracie, has ever said something close to this too you. He may never know this, but what Freddie was doing was something that meant the universe. You felt as if you could trust Freddie, and you’re glad someone like him had walked into your life.

“Has anyone told you you’re pretty great, Freddie?”

“And yet, another thing people tell me a lot,”

As the two of you exited the car, he slung an arm over your shoulder. The two of you walked into the pub like that.

You don’t know what you expected upon entering, maybe a nauseous feeling, maybe your fight or flight response kicking in, but neither of those things happened. You felt, normal. You felt content, and that feeling is better than everything you were anticipating.

Following Freddie, he takes you back to the makeshift dressing room the pub had created for them. In reality, it’s a small side room attached to a hallway with a single bathroom. The hallway led to the stage. The set up was modest but quaint and cute.

“Boys, the real queen has arrived,” Freddie announced as he led you into the dressing room. Brian’s head perked up at the noise, and his mouth turned to a smile.

“Y/n, I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, jumping up and engulfing you in a hug. A second hug from Deaky soon followed. As you let go from John, you see Roger had also gotten up to greet you. Not knowing how he planned this to go, you let him take the steps toward you before giving you a hug as well. It was short, but it was a gesture. A gesture that said he was done acting odd towards you.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he spoke as he pulled away from your embrace.

“It would have been hard not to when Mr. Mercury pulled up and wouldn’t leave until I got in the car,” you giggled.

“What can I say, she couldn’t miss this,”

The boys returned to their pre-show prep, and you did your best to stay out of the way. As show time approached, you checked the floor of the pub, which was quickly filling up. Your anxiety started to creep in again as men, and women, started to fill the front of the room near the stage. You returned to the hallway, doing your best to keep the ‘worst case scenarios’ out of your head.

“Glad you could make it,” Miami called, joining you in the hallway.

You attempted to swallow the thoughts buzzing in your head. “Wouldn’t miss it,”

Miami went on to explain how a gig works. The band would go out and you both would stay back to make sure everything got off the ground smoothly. As soon as the first song goes off without a hitch, the two of us are free to enjoy the rest of the show from the floor.

Hey sweetheart, can’t find your friend?

The boys went out and introduced themselves to the crowd. As the first song began, you could help but hope there were problems with the set. You didn’t want to see them fail, but you also didn’t want to go out there.

A smile from Freddie in the direction of you and Jim was the all clear, everything went perfectly. The cruel truth of what you were about to face became a reality. You pondered making an excuse and asking to stay off stage instead of joining the crowd, but a chance was forced upon you that you could never provide for yourself. You never thought you’d take yourself to a crowded concert ever again, but this situation was not a choice.

You decided you were done living in the past.

Following Miami, he led both of you to the dimly lit bar, the music still in full volume from upon the stage.

Always the best boss, Miami ordered a drink for you and himself. You hadn’t wanted to drink tonight, in fear of too many factors lining up with certain memories, but you figure having one to slightly loosen up your anxieties wouldn’t be the worst thing for you.

Sipping on the drink you got the chance to enjoy the boys’ music again, but this time in front of someone who wasn’t Jim or yourself.

The set progressed without a hitch and they had the audience completely encapsulated. Since the first night you saw them perform, you had a feeling they were going to be amazing someday, and now you get to watch from within it all.

Anxiety was one of the last things on your mind, and as you looked over the crowd of people that loved the music as much as you did, you had the urge to join them. You wanted nothing more but to push your way through everyone and stand in the front, enjoying the music that you spent every day listening to and loving.

The small bit of alcohol in you is enough to push away any anxious feeling that may be conjuring within your head.

You started to stand up from the bar stool and Miami give you a puzzling look.

“Where are you going?” he asked.  

“To the front,” you grinned.

He laughed a bit and shook his head. “The boys told me you hated crowds,”

“I do, but not at the moment,” you gave him a reassuring nod and started your way towards the stage

To distract yourself from the disappearing personal space around you, you kept your eyes on Freddie, keeping yourself grounded and in the moment. Your ability to sneak past people still being a strength of yours as you find yourself in the near front, very close to the band.

Your eyes still on Freddie, he scans the crowd and finds you. A flashing moment of surprise crosses his face as he sees you among the rest of the people who are lost in the music as you are. He dazzles you with a smile and shoots you a wink as his showmanship boosts up levels upon seeing you enjoying the show, as if your image gave him a shot of adrenaline.

The current song comes to a close and the crowd around you roars.

The boys have really got something here.

“I love you all,” Freddie screams into the mic. He allowed the crowd to cheer again before calming himself down and addressing the people in a calmer matter. “I’m speaking for the boys and me when I say that  tonight is very special, not only are we announcing our American tour, but we are also joined by some amazing people who have just become part of the Queen family,”

The crowd erupted again, assuming Freddie is addressing them when speaking of the Queen family, but you know in your heart that he’s talking about you. He found you in the crowd once again and blew you a kiss. Your heart swells at the simple gesture. You find yourself elated with happiness, for the first time in a long time you feel part of a family.

“We have two more songs for you, thank you so much again for joining us tonight!” Freddie yelled to the crowd and on cue, Brian started a riff on his guitar beginning the song of Killer Queen.

The crowd moved along to the rhythm, mirroring Freddie’s movements on stage. This song was your favorite off the new album, and you found yourself lost in the lyrics as you went from member to member, watching them all get lost as well.

The music fills you from your toes up to the top of your head, it sets something off from deep inside of you, a feeling you’ve been missing from avoiding concerts. The vocals move through your ears to your heart as it pounds a similar rhythm, matching the song. Every muscle in your body is buzzing as you reach some sort of a high from the music. The bass can be felt in your chest as Deaky’s playing reaches a new part of your soul, making it feel as if it’s been lifted from your body.

With the ending of the song, the boys transition seamlessly into the finale: Keep Yourself Alive. You scan the face of the boys you’ve so quickly gotten close with, going from one to the next.

From Freddie, to Brian, to Deaky, to Roger.

To Roger.

To Rog.

Back to the night a year ago.

In your head, the music stops. For a few moments, the room is quiet and everyone halts. Looking around, you feel as if everyone in the crowd has their eyes on you, but their eyes make you uneasy, as if they have danger laced behind every glare.

The room starts to close in, their faces becoming the one of your attacker.

Thoughts, memories, words flood your head as the protective dam you had built to keep you from your own mind comes crashing down around you.

Hey sweetheart, can’t find your friend?

Why is this happening?

Don’t struggle, Princess.

I thought I was better.

You’re going to enjoy this.

I thought I was past this.

I bet no one’s touched you like this before.

No.

Please.

MAKE IT STOP!

Returning to the moment, your heart felt as if it was in your stomach and your legs wobbled so much you feared they would give out any second.

Your eyes look up and Freddie is looking at you.

“All you people, keep yourself alive!” he sung, seeming to deliver those lyrics directly to you, his face plastered with worry as he saw your pale face and shallow breathing.

I have to get out.

I have to get out.

Get out.

Get out!

You pushed with everything in your body to reach the backstage area. There was one member of security standing in your way. He attempted to stop you from reaching the hallway leading to the dressing room, but as he recognized your face and observed your panicked demeanor, he let you pass.

The dressing room is your intended destination, but you quickly realize you don’t want the boys seeing you like this. Throwing open the door to the small bathroom, you ducked inside, locking the door behind you. You collapsed on the ground and did your very best to focus on the cold tile beneath your fingertips.

Your shallow, dense breathing is the main thing you hear, but you can also recognize the sound of footsteps as they neared where you were hiding.

“That show was amazing!” You heard Roger yell to which Deaky and Brian backed him up.

Freddie spoke next. “Yeah, brilliant lads,” His voice was dejected, distracted. “I have someone I need to speak with quickly, I’ll catch you boys in the dressing room in a few,” he explained. No one protested, but it was as if you could hear the confused reactions to Freddie’s excuse.

Many people entered the dressing room across the hall, but one pair of feet stayed back. A few moments passed before a quiet knock could be heard on the door. You didn’t respond. The knock came again, but you still said nothing. No one needs to see you like this.

“Y/n? Darling are you in there?”

You didn’t respond.

The doorknob jiggled.

“Y/n? I know it’s you, love. Everyone is accounted for out here except for you,” he prodded.

You’ve been found, there was nothing you could do now. Freddie was going to come into the bathroom whether you fancied it or not.

“Y/n--”

You cut him off by unlocking the door.

In an instant, the door swung open and Freddie met the sight of you balled up on the floor. His face dropped. Freddie closed the door and locked it behind him. Crouching down to your level, he wrapped his arms around you, neither of you said anything.

The weight of his arms caused the room to expand back to its normal parameters and your chest to loosen up slightly. Minutes passed before either Freddie, or you, say anything.

He shifted his weight and joined you sitting, his arms not leaving their tight hug on you. “Darling, what happened? You looked like you were having the time of your life, then just like that, you were not,”

“It’s nothing, Fred, just a little anxiety over the crowd,”

He exhaled into your hair. “I don’t want to overstep, love, but this seems like a little more than just some anxiety,”

His comment made you laugh, it was an empty one. “I don’t think I want to talk about it,”

“I know it’s hard, whatever has got you feeling like this, but you have so many people here for you, including me. Whatever you tell me, it stays between us,”

You need to tell someone. You need to tell--

“I was at a concert a while ago, and I lost my friend in the crowd while I was very drunk, and this man offered to help me find her. Before I knew it he… he…” your sobs took over.

“Shh,” Freddie confronted. “It’s okay, I’m here,”

Taking a deep breath, you continued. “He grabbed me, picking me up. The crowd was so thick, I had nowhere to run. He took me into an alleyway and sta-started touching me--”

“Oh darling,” Freddie cut you off, not needing to hear more to understand what had you in this state. “Love, I am so sorry,”

His grip tightened on you as he allowed you to sob into his chest. “The boys and I would never, ever, let something like that happen to you again,”

Freddie didn’t know how true that statement was.

You decided not to share more details about the night, specifically about the fact that it was at their concert. And the fact that Roger was the one who found you. This was for another time, you already felt like too much of a burden as it was. 

After more minutes passed, Freddie spoke again. “C’mon love, let’s get you home, I’ll drive you,”

You conceded your position and let him help you get to your feet. Freddie peaked his head out the door and assured no one was in the hallway before the two of you entered. The weight of your body fell into his side as you relied on him for the strength to walk. You were nearly at the back exit before footsteps entered in the hallway behind you.

“Y/n?” a familiar voice called.

You didn’t turn, but Freddie did. “Roger, this is not the time,” he spoke, calmly.

He neared the two of you. “Why not, what’s wrong?”

With that question, you turned around, your eyes meeting the striking blue ones of the drummer.

Roger’s face noticeably fell at the sight of your pale face and tired eyes. “Y/n..?”

“Please,” was all you managed.

He didn’t move, but Freddie did, pushing open the door and guiding you out to his car.

And with that, my fic has reached 12k+ words. That’s so exciting!

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[the-everlasting-dream]

The Aftermath of a Tragedy - Drake x MC, Part 1 ~Elizabeth

A/N: I tried to write something to make myself feel better after the last chapter but I only succeeded in making myself cry harder. Also I was thinking of doing a second part from Liam’s POV? It would be hella interesting to get inside his head and see how he’s coping with this.

Summary: MC Elizabeth Richmond’s POV of the events following TRR Book 2 Chapter 19 inspired by this post

Part 2

Pandemonium erupted in the ballroom. Screams ripped through the air, their pitch threatening to blow the windows in. Punches were thrown, bullets cut across the room, knives clattered across the marble floors. Masked figures grappled with Royal Guards as the crowd of nobles rushed towards the exits, scrambling over each other to escape the chaos. 

Winded from her collision with Drake, Elizabeth struggled to regain her breath. Before she could get a word out, a knife sliced by her head followed by a resounding thump as a member of the Royal Guard pinned down the assassin who threw it. Drake grabbed her hand and dragged rather than lead her to relative safety behind the refreshment tables. 

‘Richmond, a-are you okay?’ As he helped her to sit up, Drake’s brown eyes raked over her figure, widening when he saw the blood on her dress.  

‘Drake, I-I’m fine,’ she gasped as she followed his gaze, frowning in slight confusion as the crimson liquid soaked through her golden gown. ‘But you’re not!’ Her hands went to the wound on his chest, her fingers quickly turning scarlet when they touched the green fabric of his shirt.

 He barely looked down at himself before facing her again. 

'Never mind about me! You’re the one they want, you have to get out of here!’ 

Elizabeth shook her head vehemently. 'No, not without you! You just got shot! We have to get you to a doctor now.’ 

 She scrambled for the phone in the pocket of her dress only to come up empty. Elizabeth’s eyes raked the area around her, finally locating it several feet away from their makeshift shelter. Going to retrieve it meant stepping within the disaster zone. Beside her, Drake grunted leaning against the wall, the pool of blood growing on the floor beside him. Their eyes met and he read her thoughts in an instant. 

 ‘Richmond-' He started to say but Elizabeth had already started towards her target, ignoring his insistent pull at her dress. Just as her fingers closed around the device, she heard the metallic hiss and turned to see a dagger speeding towards her, the shiny point gleaming. At the last second, she threw herself to the side and the weapon skimmed her upper arm before she could drag herself back under cover. 

 When he saw the wound, Drake struggled to sit up, keeping a hand to his bleeding chest. 

‘What were you thinking? You could have been kil-' 

‘I am perfectly capable of taking my own goddamned bullet, thank you very much!’ Elizabeth yelled, drowning out his protests, her voice shaking with frustration, anger and terror as tears streamed down her face. 

Truth be told, she had no idea what she would have done in the moment. When she saw the masked man take aim at her, her body froze, refusing to cooperate in spite of her mind screaming at her to move, get out. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as she watched him squeeze the trigger, the sound of the gunshot ringing in her ears, drowning out the chaos around her. All her senses came to a screeching halt as her life flashed before her eyes and she could focus on nothing but the shiny metal bullet hurtling towards her. 

 Tearing herself from the thought, she focused on unlocking her phone, her fingers shaking as she punched in the emergency number. She cast her eyes onto Drake who had slumped lower against the wall. 

‘Drake please, you need to sit up,’ she told him, wedging the phone between her ear and her shoulder, grabbing his arm to prop him up. Finding the seam from her dress, she tore a length of cloth, not caring about the beautiful fabric, pressing it to his chest. The blood soaked through the material at a frightening rate and her brain went into panic mode. The sounds of scuffles slowly died down around them, leaving only their breathing and the mechanical sound of the dial tone.  

After what seemed like an eternity, someone picked up and Elizabeth had to forcibly compose herself. 

 ‘Hello yes, there’s been an emergency at the palace. There were gunmen, they were throwing knives,’ She could feel sobs coming up but shoved them down. ‘My-my boyfriend got shot, he’s still alive but he’s losing blood fast… Please send an ambulance now… to the palace… We’re in the ballroom… Hurry please. I’m not sure how many more people got hit.' 

After the smooth voice informed her that emergency crews were on the way, Elizabeth hung up and tore another strip from her gown to press to the wound. Her mind raced as she tried calculate how much blood he’d already lost. 

‘Soo… boyfriend huh?’ Drake tried for his usual smirk but it gave way to a grimace of pain. 

More tears spilled down her face as she tried to return his smile. ‘What can I say? You know I like to keep you guessing..’ she croaked half heartedly. 

 ‘Oh Drake,’ her voice cracked with emotion as she pulled him closer to her. ‘I’m so sorry… This is all my fault.’ 

 ‘Shhh.. Its not your fault and you know it,’ Drake’s voice was strangely calm, as he gently stroked her cheek, no doubt leaving a smear of blood there. 

 She kissed his palm before clutching it to her chest. ‘But w-we just got started… What about us?' 

'We'll get our happy ending... I promise,' he assured her, his brown gaze growing slightly unfocused. 

'Uh uh... No. You're not dying on me Drake Walker. Keep your eyes open,' she instructed, placing a hand on his face, gently rubbing the stubble at his chin. 'Keep your eyes on me baby. Help is coming. But for now, look at me.' 

He did as she told him but it seemed to cost him a monumental effort. His handsome face grew paler and she turned to get another scrap of cloth before he caught her wrist and she turned back to him. 

'Richmond...,' Drake drew in a haggard breath before continuing more firmly. 'Elizabeth... I-' 

 'No.' She stopped him, sensing what he was gonna say. 'Not now. Not when you're on death's door. You're gonna live and we're going to have a wonderful life together.' 

Drake's eyelids began to close and when he spoke his voice was shaky. 

 'That… doesn’t sound too bad… Tell me more..' 

Elizabeth laughed in spite of herself, slightly surprised at his words especially after their earlier conversation on the lawn before the fireworks. 

 'I'm glad you approve,’ she told him. 'Now keep your eyes open or you’ll miss the rest.' 

She kept rambling mindlessly, saying anything to keep him conscious as she cradled his body in her arms, dimly aware of the wailing sirens as they drew closer. The paramedics would find them eventually but for now all Elizabeth could think about was keeping Drake conscious. She had no idea whether it was the right thing to do but something told her not to let him close his eyes. 

‘Lady Elizabeth! Where are you?’ A voice interrupted her chatter. ‘This is the palace guard! Are you safe?’ 

‘We’re here,' she croaked softly, before repeating herself in a louder voice, not taking her eyes off Drake. ‘We’re here! I’m ok but Drake got shot, he’s bleeding.’

The tables blocking her view of the ballroom were thrust aside to reveal Bastien and three men garbed in the Cordonian military uniform. 

‘Your Grace, are you alright?’ One of them gasped at the sight of her in her stained dress. 

‘I’m fine,’ she insisted impatiently. ‘But Drake’s lost a lot of blood. He needs an ambulance, please.’

Before she could finish her sentence, Bastien had swooped Drake up into his hold, his head lolling as the head of security ran towards the ballroom exit. 

‘Unhand me right now!’ Elizabeth screeched, bursting out of the guards’ grip. 

‘But Your Grace, His Majesty has strict orders-‘

Ignoring their cries of protest, she took off after Bastien, slipping slightly on the spilled champagne and blood on the floor, she kicked off her heels. When she finally caught up to the head of security outside, the paramedics were loading Drake onto a stretcher. The entire area was washed in red and blue light and she struggled to get a glimpse of his face in the dim light, hoping for some indicator that he was alive. She saw the paramedic inside the ambulance put an oxygen mask over Drake’s face and she bolted forward, elbowing her way past a trio of nobles, disregarding their gasps of shock at her appearance. She’d almost made it to the ambulance when a strong hand closed around her arm. 

 ‘My lady,’ Bastien towered over her. Abandoning all decorum, Elizabeth attempted to wrench her arms from his grasp but he expected it and deflected the action. 

‘Let me go Bastien,’ she yelled, trying unsuccessfully to break free as she watched the paramedics close the doors. However the head of security simply stood there as she thrashed against his grip until she had exhausted herself, conceding defeat. 

‘Tell me he’s going to be alright…’ she sobbed, not caring as her tears soaked Bastien’s black blazer. ‘He has to be.’

Bastien put his arm around her awkwardly. ‘If there is one thing I know about Drake, it’s that he’s very stubborn. He’ll pull through, My Lady, you’ll see.’

She clung onto his words, knowing he was right as he gently guided her back to the palace. She paused for a moment to glance back at the retreating emergency vehicle.

‘I’ve got nothing to offer you. I’m nothing special, he’d said earlier. 

Goddamn it Drake, she thought, echoing her earlier sentiment. You are all I want...

[encyclopedia-dramatica]

ED Interviews: The Ben Garrison  (  @GrrrGraphics ) Interview

crackrabbit ( for ED) : First off, you probably get asked this a lot, but can you tell us about how you started drawing and painting? Ben Garrison: I started writing stories when I was in the 5th grade. Then I began illustrating them with little cartoons. I enjoyed drawing stuff for classmates--caricatures and such. I would draw caricatures of my teachers. One time I drew one of a rather brusque math teacher in the 9th grade. He snuck up on me and grabbed the drawing. I thought I was in big trouble, but he loved it and put it up on the bulletin board. By the time I was in high school I started painting. That's when I knew what I wanted to be in life--a fine artist. I studied painting in college, although I have a BA and not a BFA. My wife Tina has a BFA and she was a better cartoonist than me when I met her. I've gotten better since. After I graduated, I got a job at a newspaper and I became a graphic artist instead. I still draw complex information graphics for corporate clients. Political cartooning was a just a sideline when i started drawing them in 2009. I did not expect any fame or money. In fact, they cost me a lot in terms of a smeared reputation and a resulting loss of commercial work.
 crackrabbit ( for ED) : Do you ever listen to music in the background while creating your art? If so (and even if not) what kind of music do you enjoy?

Ben Garrison: Yes. I listen to classical music 90 percent of the time. Some of my darker and more complex cartoons were drawn while listening to Shostakovich symphonies in particular. I like everything he has written, but his Fourth through Eleventh ones in particular--each one is a masterpiece. To me it's a shame that young people aren't listening to the greatest music ever written. Instead they subject their ear drums to heavy metal, rap, hip hop and other trash. I encourage them to listen to classical music because it will connect them to the sublime. I also like early jazz music, old Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra tunes as well as some old standards from that bygone era. If any of your readers want to start with an easy to understand classical music introductory piece, I suggest Mozart's Symphony No. 39. It never fails to put me in a good mood.

crackrabbit ( for ED) : A lot of people on the so-called altright (which includes the new right , or alt-lite as some call it) like to spend free time reading political/philosophy books. Do you ever have time to read books, with all the work you do; and if so, what kind of books do you like and/or recommend?

Ben Garrison: I consider myself to be a libertarian cartoonist and not part of the 'alt right.' I don't have time to read all the books I want to read. I like reading books on history a lot. I minored in history when I was in college. Victor Davis Hanson is one of my favorite history writers. Most recently I finished a book titled "The Problem With Socialism" by Thomas DiLorenzo. I highly recommend it to everyone. I just started a book about my favorite president, "Andrew Jackson," written by H.W. Brands. I don't read a lot of fiction, but a friend gave me "All the Light We Cannot See," by Anthony Doerr and that was pretty good.

crackrabbit ( for ED) : You’ve appeared on INFOWARS/Alex Jones Show a bit over the last two years. How did that come about?

Ben Garrison: I listened to Alex a lot when I first began drawing the cartoons and many of my ideas were inspired directly from some of the things he said. He speaks very colorfully and uses a lot of metaphors that conjure up vivid imagery. I was very angry at him when his divorce was announced and I found out he was a multi-millionaire. I definitely heard him say that he wasn't a millionaire and that most of the money went back into his operations. I was angry that he was hanging out with that scum bag Charlie Sheen for a while, too. Mostly, lot of my anger sprang from regret, because for a while he had guests on such as Max Kaiser and many others who were predicting $500 per ounce silver. It was during this time that I drew a lot of pro-silver cartoons.

I went 'all in' on silver including getting leveraged with silver futures and I got wiped out in 2011 when JP Morgan illegally colluded to short massive amounts of the metal. I should have invested in Bitcoin instead. Now silver is in a protracted bear market, but in retrospect it wasn't Alex's fault and I forgave him. He does deserve to be a millionaire for his years of hard work and waking people up. My financial destruction couldn't have come at a worst time though, because the trolling was at its worst when I was struggling the most. It was hard to find commercial work when search engines summoned up horrific defamation.

Anyway, with the help of my wife Tina we began righting the ship in 2015 and the presidential election in 2016 helped us turn things around. Now I'm close to being able to make a living from cartooning alone. The trolls no longer concern me, although I still despise Andrew Anglin. His troll army helped get me kicked out of the art gallery I was in because they harassed the owner. I'm glad to see someone with the means is going after him for libel and harassment, even though I was disappointed to see the guys at WeSearchr lending him a hand financially. He certainly doesn't deserve it.

I've been on the Alex Jones three times now. It's fast-paced and I have no idea in advance what I'll be asked, so I have to think fast on my feet. I don't claim to have any special talent for public speaking. Mostly I'm content to let him talk. He's a professional and an entertainer. I think he does believe in what he's doing and he's helped us a lot. I've been on many other radio shows and podcasts and those platforms have allowed me more time to sort out my thoughts, but even still I'm mostly a ranter. I never use a script.

crackrabbit ( for ED) : In the image (that i have saved) of your iconic “March of Tyranny” cartoon, there are pencils visible. Do you usually pencil then ink your cartoons, or what is the production process? Ben Garrison:Yeah, I pencil my cartoons in on a large piece of quality 3-ply illustration paper and then ink them in by hand. "The March of Tyranny" was drawn in about three hours with a 'Sharpie' pen and it was drawn rather small. I don't draw them like that any more, but back then I didn't think I'd get many viewers, so I didn't spend a lot of time crafting them. A lot of my earlier cartoons were dashed out quickly.

crackrabbit ( for ED) : Tell me about your fine art paintings.. What paint mediums do you work in most? And what painters are influences on you?

Ben Garrison: In a perfect world I wouldn't be cartooning at all--I'd be working on paintings. I enjoy that the most. I use oil on canvas and a local carpenter here frames them for me--he uses 100 year-old barn wood which gives the paintings a unique western flair. I like Picasso even though he was a monster in his personal life. I also admire the work of DeKooning a great deal. He was a genius. Yes, I know a lot of people consider modern art to be 'degenerate' but they're wrong. I think what they object to is 'conceptual art,' which consists of existential, post-modern exhibition type stuff and I agree it's boring and bad. crackrabbit ( for ED) : What are your thoughts about how the libertarian movement has changed over the past 2-3 decades? Ben Garrison: Libertarians were dealt a setback with the tongue poking Gary Johnson. He hurt the movement. Johnson is a liberal who wants pot legalized. That's it. He apparently smoked too many harvests because he couldn't even name one world leader he admired, even though as governor of New Mexico he must have worked with Mexican leaders such as Vicente Fox. Regardless, I'm a Libertarian because it's the best means to push back against an ever-growing leviathan government. Sure, it may be a waste of time but as Rhett Butler said, "Maybe it's because I've always had a weakness for lost causes." crackrabbit ( for ED) : Where did ya learn to put so much detail into every section of your cartoon pieces?

Ben Garrison: I've always put a lot of detail in my work and when I started out my cartoons were over-worked and chalk full of obsessive detail. I've actually simplified things now. Some people hate what I do, but many more like looking for the little hidden Easter eggs in the detail. The last cartoon I drew featured a small cockroach on Hillary's hamburger of corruption. Nobody saw it. I'm an old man now and my style is pretty much fixed. I will still try to get better, but some want me to draw in an animé style and so forth. I don't think so! Someone wrote me and said I had a lot of work to do...he said my inking was bad, my color theory was terrible and I'd never be a 'professional.' Well, I've made my living via art for nearly 40 years now. I'm thinking that makes me a professional. I've also sold a good number of my latest cartoon collection book. Still, harsh criticism comes with the territory. Some people think my cartoons are the best ever and some think they're the worst ever. As long as I'm getting their attention and drawing memorable things, then I'll consider them to be successful.

Encyclopedia Dramatica would liek 2 thank Ben for the opportunity to interview him.

Ben’s work can be found, viewed and even purchased at grrrgraphics.com . If you want to buy his designs on shirts you can go to https://teespring.com/stores/grrrgraphics-t-shirts . Finally, feel free to help support Ben on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/grrrgraphics .

[davidplusworld]

I finished Inktober 2019!

When I started it this year, I really wasn’t sure if I could finish it. This past month or so was one of the busiest in recent memory. However, I did it. Not sure how I succeeded, but I think that putting all my other blogs on hold was pretty much the only way I could.

Just like last year, I’m going to write some sort of debriefing with some final thoughts about each drawing. You’ll see that time often was a deciding factor for quite a few drawings.

All the drawings can be seen on the same page there:

https://www.davidplusworld.com/portfolio/inktober-2019/

Otherwise, links to each specific post are below, along with

a few thoughts about each drawing

1 – Ring – It was the first drawing, so I didn’t want to draw something difficult, fail and then lose the little confidence I had gained right at the beginning (I’m really at that stage where I have gained some confidence about drawing, but not enough to actually be “confident” about the whole thing). I also didn’t want to draw a ring (the kind you put on a finger), so I chose this simple design of an alarm. In retrospect, the design was maybe a bit too simple, but that’s probably what I needed at that moment. I remember being very afraid to struggle and fail from the beginning.

2 – Mindless – One of my first attempts at doing a caricature of someone alive and famous (well, I did another one in 2018). When I finished it, I was happy that I managed to do it. Now, a little bit than a month later, I think it could have been much better. Does it mean that I improved and gained confidence during this month? Maybe.

3 – Bait – I was still finding my footing I guess. I found this simple – but not too simple – design (really two drawings I merged into one). I wanted to keep things easy because I knew some challenges were coming.

4 – Freeze – First real challenge. I used a video tutorial for most of the drawing. I’m glad that I managed to do it, but I find the final result a bit stiff and lacking life. However, it is fitting due to the topic, so not a huge problem.

5 – Build – Who would have thought that my first big trouble would come with a few geometrical forms? I feel that I’ve drawn blocks many times in the past, but that probably was in high school, about 30 years ago! Or maybe that’s because the paper was not lined paper? I don’t know, but they gave me one hell of a time, and the final result is a much more simplified version than what I originally had in mind. The result is “cute” though.

6 – Husky – The first drawing of this year’s Inktober that I’m actually proud of. Sure, it doesn’t exactly look like the real thing, and there are some parts I wish I had done differently, but overall, I consider it a success.

7 – Enchanted – The previous drawing took quite some time to draw, so I decided for a much quicker design for this one. It actually turned out much better than planned. So, great, I guess.

8 – Frail – What took me a long time was to find what to draw. I’m not even sure this drawing fits the prompt well. When I finished it I was pretty happy with it (but it’s probably because I managed to draw something), but now, I think that it’s a bit too simple, not sure.

9 – Swing – Last year, I drew a smurf quite successfully (with a video tutorial). Could I draw another famous cartoon character? Without a tutorial this time? Well, I guess I can (even if some scaling is a bit messy).

10 – Pattern – When I say that I almost didn’t draw in the past 20 years before last year, it’s not completely true. From time to time I like to doodle some abstract designs. This was the occasion to include one of them to Inktober. Also, I “know” how to draw these and they don’t take too long. I knew I would be needing a lot of time for the next one.

11 – Snow – I just can’t draw people in a realistic fashion. This is probably the drawing I like the least this year, and it’s a shame because I spent a lot of time on it, and I thought the sketch I drew before inking it was kind of OK. Oh well. Still, I need to learn how to draw people, but I will probably need a certain number of tutorials.

12 – Dragon – Two difficult drawings back to back but I’m actually impressed how well I managed to draw this one. It’s probably the drawing I’m the proudest of this year. I never thought it would be a success, especially right after the disappointing previous one.

13 – Ash – Back to a simpler design from lack of time and ideas. It’s actually not bad at all, don’t you think?

14 – Overgrown – I had no time at all for this drawing, so it’s a simplified version of what I had in mind, which was basically a landscape made of rocks and/or concrete with one single flower surviving and growing no matter what. The idea is there, but I feel that this drawing could have had a stronger impact if I could have spent more time on it.

15 – Legend – Not really a drawing at all, just an idea. I had no time and no idea for a drawing that I could actually do, hence this replacement “map.” You can call it a cop-out, I won’t disagree.

16 – Wild – This is one of the drawings I’m the proudest of this year (except for the tail). I find the technique used by Maurice Sendak very interesting and I tried to reproduce it. And I think we can call it a success. I especially like it, because despite not being the original intent, I found myself using hashing quite often when doing various shadings and this is all the wild things are about in terms of the way they’re drawn.

17 – Ornament – I find this one quite interesting and, in retrospect, much better than my original feeling about it. I just talked about using hashing for shading, but for this one, I wanted to try another technique. I started with a youtube tutorial for drawing a sphere. The tutorial was only using pencils. I tried to figure out how to do something similar but with inks. The result may be a little too dark for a Christmas ornament (or maybe it’s for a gothic Christmas), but the result is actually not bad at all. Ironically, I’m usually not a big fan of drawings with a painting feel like this one.

18 – Misfit – I did have a few ideas for this drawing but no time at all, so I just did this in a few minutes. It’s neither bad no good. Of course, it’d be better if I had spent more time on it. Also, today, I regret not doing the opposite. A “weirdo” among many normal “boring” faces is almost a cliché. One normal boring face surrounded by weirdos would have been more interesting when thinking about it.

19 – Sling – For this one, my time constraint kinda played in my favor. As I didn’t want to spend time looking for an original or interesting idea, I just drew a literal sling. And the result is quite good actually.

20 – Tread – This is pretty much the only idea that came to mind. The drawing could be better, but as there was no model to follow, I had to “design” it myself. In any case, I’ve always felt iffy about this “don’t tread on me” thing even before it was taken over by fascists and white supremacists. Now? Yes, we need to do all we can to tread on them, indeed.

21 – Treasure – Another map. This one was one of my two original ideas for this prompt. I meant to detail it much more (as far as treasure maps go), but I totally failed my first attempt (it was OK until I started adding colors) and – as often – I didn’t have the time for another complex attempt (especially as it could have been a failure too). One small disappointment, no one “got it.” Yes, this map is some sort of easter egg (albeit a quite obscure one, I admit) and no one noticed on social media. 😦 Oh well… (I’m not going to tell what it is, just in case someone finds out one day).

22 – Ghost – After drawing Jon Snow earlier, of course, I had to draw “his” Ghost (he’s not a pet, I know). I used a tutorial to draw a wolf. I’m glad I managed to do it, but it does look stiff and lacks life, like the baby from “freeze”. Oh well. Something to keep in mind with these tutorials.

23 – Ancient – I’m glad I got to draw this. Take it as my homage to some of the most amazing drawings ever. I’ve always been fascinated by Lascaux and other prehistorical caves, and not only because I grew up nearby. Those are some of the first artworks ever, and of course, we’ll never know who did them. If we could meet them, we’d be unable to communicate with them. And yet, their art speaks to us, tens of thousands of years later. Nothing symbolizes the power of art more than this. If I had been a better artist I would have drawn the actual wall and all, but I like the idea of only reproducing the painting itself.

24 – Dizzy – First I had no idea what to draw. Then, the idea of drawing Lucille 2 from Arrested Development came to mind, and I knew she was the right thing to draw. Now, I’m totally incapable to draw Liza Minnelli in a satisfying fashion. I found a caricature of her younger self and tried to age her a little bit. One friend recognized her, so I guess it’s not so bad.

25 – Tasty – Around this time, I knew that if I wanted to not fall behind and still do all the other things I needed to do, I’d have to go the fast and easy route. I could have chosen to just be very late at finishing Inktober, but actually trying to make acceptable drawings fast was an interesting challenge in itself. A useful one too, one reason I didn’t draw as much as I wanted to during this past year was that I rarely had the time to spend a couple of hours or more on a drawing.

26 – Dark – I struggled to find ideas for this one when I remember that my kids are always scared of walking through this corridor at night without turning the lights on because it’s dark, even when the rooms are lit. So, that’s what I draw. I didn’t try to be totally accurate and had fun with the hashing, and it worked out quite well in the end.

27 – Coat – Another difficult prompt. I didn’t want to draw a coat, that’s for sure, so I thought about the other meanings of the word and ended up drawing my hometown’s coat of arms. It looks strange in black and white. I’m not exactly satisfied, but it was the last stretch, I had little time and I wasn’t too interested in this prompt. I should revisit later the idea of drawing coats of arms, though.

28 – Ride – Probably my most “ambitious” drawing this year. Well, I had to drastically simplify it compared to the original, but in the end, I didn’t mess it up, so that’s a win.

29 – Injured – One of these drawings where for a while I simply have no idea what to draw, but when I suddenly found it, it became the only choice. I had to draw the scene from another drawing, not from the actual picture; for some reason, it seems almost impossible to find a good quality picture of that scene on the internet. I think I did alright. Oh, a weird anecdote; on Instagram, a preteen commented “OK boomer” on that drawing? To what I can only answer: “dafuck?”

30 – Catch – Another uninspiring prompt. I drew it in a few minutes, just trying to get it over with. At least I didn’t mess it up with colors this time. I thought that was the end of it when a little surprise awaited me shortly after posting it on Reddit. You’ll see in a few paragraphs.

31 – Ripe – I’m actually very pleased with this drawing. Some friends told me that I have improved a lot since last year. Looking at last year’s drawings, I think they’re right, and this final one is the perfect example. Sure, I still need a model – there is no way I can draw this from scratch – but it is a decent drawing indeed. And even more important, for many drawings, I just try something and hope it works. For this one, I feel like I knew what I was doing the whole time, so yeah! A great ending indeed.

We’re “almost” finished. I told you what drawings I liked or disliked. I’m also curious about what you think. Do not hesitate to tell me in the comments.

Also, as they were posted on various social media, they have been ranked by people.

Let’s check those rankings.

Reddit

I’m not sure “upvotes” on Reddit are an accurate way to rank drawings for a bunch of reasons. Upvotes will depend on many random factors (what time the drawing is posted, what is posted at the same time, and so on). Also, you may have noticed that a lot of my drawings this year are inspired by pop culture. I didn’t plan it this way, it just happened. However, it’s true that it makes it easier to find ideas, as well as visualize them, not mentioning finding decent models. Of course, Reddit being what it is, some drawings will get more upvotes, not because they’re better or more interesting, but because they’ll depict things that are popular on Reddit.

  #1 – 213 upvotes!

I’m very surprised by the success of this drawing, but I really think it comes from the popularity of Pokémon Go on Reddit and not anything else.

#2 – 56 upvotes

#3 – 30 upvotes

#4 – 12 upvotes

#3 – 30

I also think that Ride has been overrated because of its subject. The other ones probably deserve their stop in the top five.

  Instagram

Let’s see what my followers on Instagram think. It may give more “accurate” scores, as people liking the drawings are a mix of my followers (note that my Instagram account is Japan-heavy in terms of content) and people who have found my drawings through hashtags.

#1 – 47 likes

It’s not a surprise at all that Dragon was the winner on Instagram. First, it probably is my best drawing this year, but also – as mentioned a few lines above – most of my followers follow me for my pictures about Japan.

#4

#3 – 30 likes

#3 – 30

#5 – 28

And if my followers follow me mostly for pictures in Japan, they especially follow me for the Setouchi Triennale, so it’s totally normal that Husky arrives in the second position. I am surprised to find Catch again near the top, I guess people really like this drawing after all.

I posted my drawings on Facebook and Twitter too, but they didn’t garner many likes, shares or retweets. One reason can be that I didn’t actually post the drawings but links to the posts here. So what we could check is the traffic for the posts. There is a major caveat. The number of views doesn’t reflect in any way whether people liked the drawing or not. More often than not, it reflects how well ranked in search engines the post is. So, with this in mind, let’s check what my Google Analytics tell me.

And indeed the results are very different from anywhere else:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Indeed, I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that the top five is composed of the first three entries as well as two prompts for which one can easily imagine people googling for ideas. One interesting thing is that my old (and out-of-date for some) “Ask a Frenchman” posts usually hog the top ten for most viewed pages on my site, but in October, all of those five drawings were in the top 10 (with Frail placing number two). Interestingly, some of those posts do rank on Google’s page one when you search “Inktober frail” and so on.

I guess that’s all for this year’s Inktober “debriefing”. The blog is going to be quieter in the coming weeks, I do have a lot of catch up to do with Setouchi Explorer. However, sooner or later expect activity here in the form of drawings, pictures or something else.

Cheers.

      Inktober 2019 – The End I finished Inktober 2019! When I started it this year, I really wasn't sure if I could finish it.