#or alternatively let me get fired because you have a better gig lined up for me afterwards

[reylofanfictionanthology]

TO FIND YOUR KISS IS NOW LIVE!  

Authors will be revealed next week!  For now all fics are anonymous.  Treats can be posted through author reveals on 2/21.  We will post an updated masterpost at that time.

To Find Your Kiss collection on AO3 | Treats Masterpost

GIFT FIC MASTERPOST

- Reap the Stars for abbytheatre08

The prompt: After Ben's death, Rey goes mad and turns to the dark side. Only Ben's not dead anymore. ----------------------- She is consuming fire, magnificent in her rage. She will burn the galaxy to its foundations, until the ashes rain down and pile high as mountains. She will gather them into bouquets and scatter them like petals upon his grave.

He will be remembered, and they will not.

Call him The Light Bearer and Joy Giver. Call him He Who Loved and Laid Down His Life. Call him Ben.

- we are question marks that hang above the endless unexplained for AlwaysEverlark

The first time she walked into his club, she was looking for a job. Kylo took one look at her—the stubborn pout of her lip, the determined glint in her eyes, the ruddy glow of her face where the sun had kissed it—and swallowed a lump in his throat that was shaped like the words you’re too good for this place.

They needed a singer. Kira Johnson could hold a tune, knew the old standards, and had a knockout pair of tits to boot. A few slinky ballgowns and a touch of lipstick, and she’d more than do the trick of distracting suckers long enough to part them from their money.

The club solely needed to break even; anything they made on top of the Syndicate’s cut was gravy, and Kylo Ren had been lining his pockets with his own take for long enough that he could see Kira for the lump of clay that she was: rough-hewn, misshapen, but soft and supple and sure to curve under his touch.

- Eighty Bucks Says Sweetheart for Amoreusou

Ben likes puzzles. Rey needs help with a bunch of them. Good thing it's a slow day at the office.

- Seldom Visions for Andrina_Nightshade

After visiting an old Sith temple, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren has fallen into a deep sleep when he pricks his finger on the point of a red crystal. Rey become is the first to find him, but his rescuer isn't just any general or pilot, it's the woman he shares a soul with, who haunts his waking hours, who still sees him even in his sleep.

- The Dyad for aneighthdomain

Based of the Prompt: Groundhog Day scenario. Ben and Rey keep getting sent back to the first time they met and no matter what they do, Ben always dies so they stop trying to change events and just live a life time in the year between and couple of weeks and run away together.

- Saudade: The Love That Remains for AnneAnna

- The Delegation for aNerdObsessed

A humanitarian delegation from Naboo arrives at Niima Outpost. Rey is skeptical, to say the least.

- i don't want you like a best friend for anopendoor

It’s not like she hadn’t seen this coming—Rose told her weeks ago that he was invited. It was an inevitability Rey was always going to have to face, she just didn’t think that Rose would be so merciful as to also give every guest a plus one.

But Rey can’t really be upset—and she is totally, unequivocally not upset—that Ben's bringing someone because, well.

She is, too.

- Love is Weakness for bittersnake

“He’s someone I found on my recent trip to Corellia,” Rey replies placidly, her face practiced in its boredom. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Love is weakness,” her grandfather reminds her, the way he has for years. It’s why he doesn’t love her. He will not be weak. It’s why she doesn’t love him, either.

- in sickness and in health (with health being less likely) for BlueButterflyKisses

Deciding to spend the rest of their lives together is the easy part for both Rey and Ben; the trouble is in how to propose.

- Snowed In for Blueyedgurl

Never in her wildest dreams did Rey Johnson think she would ever get to meet her favorite other Kylo Ren. She also would have never entertained the idea of the scenario she found herself in. How did a hike in the woods lead to a snowstorm and taking shelter in a remote cabin in the woods? The idea was so ridiculous but had become reality. Stuck inside with a handsome stranger surrounded by a winter storm, Rey wonders what will happen with no power and only one bed. Will they be polite co-habitants stuck in a strange set of circumstances or is there room for something more?

- Curses, Comforts and Capybaras for Bombastique

Arrogant CEO bites off more than he can chew when he angers a witch... And suddenly finds himself transformed into a capybara. Can kindhearted wildlife rehabber Rey Niima help him break the curse?

- To Heal a Broken Soul for Cat2000

Ben survives the fallout of Exegol, but his connection to the physical world is in danger. Rey tends to him as she searched for a way to heal him.

- holding me like water in your hands for Ceallaigh

After Hux finds out Ben killed Snoke, Hux encases Ben in Carbonite. Rey refuses to let Ben stay frozen forever so she mounts a rescue.

- Like a Thief in the Night for chagrins

Their bond won't let them be alone. At least this time it's the middle of the night and they can't get into a shouting match.

- The Chance for Crysania

When Rey and Ben, long time co-workers who have never been able to admit their feelings to each other, go on a weekend retreat to work on a movie adaptation script together, a Nor’easter leaves them snowed in. On Valentine’s Day.

- Awake for cuddlesome

Something inside him is awake, and something inside her is about to wake up.

An alternate interrogation scene.

- darkness rises, and light to meet it for czechia

After the throne room, Jedi Ben Solo and Kira Ren meet again a year later.

- Not Quite a Fairytale for DarkMage13

Rey lets a stranger use the phone of the café she works at late one night. It changes the whole course of her life.

- You Won't Escape Me ('Cause I Set You Free) for DoorKeeper9

- The Canvas of Your Skin for darlingreadsalot

She was incapable of touching him without drawing blood, it seemed. Lines like vermillion paint streaked where her fingers sketched down the contours of his face, his back, and now his chest.

In which a Force bond is splintered, a resurrection goes wrong, a kiss is forgotten, and two almost-lovers avoid speaking for the better half of a year.

- Fleeing the Storm for driverfever

As the granddaughter of an merciless aristocrat, Rey’s life hangs on a thread at the hands of the French Revolutionaries. When her childhood friend, Ben, offers to platonically marry her in order to take her to his home in England to safety, she has no choice but to accept.

But her suitor and revolutionary Hux won’t give her up so easily. Hounded by revolutionaries and falling in love, Rey and Ben must use all their wits to flee Paris and make it to England.

- Equal Measure for dustoftheancients

When Princess Rey of Coruscant calls upon the cursed Sir Kylo Ren to help her escape her grandfather the emperor’s political machinations, she discovers freedom in the ancient familial magic that binds them together.

- Benimina Solo's Late On-Set Force Ability for Evangel10n

Benimina Solo has never, not even once, had an ounce of Force Sensitivity. She's done a great deal to move on with her life after failing out of her uncle's Jedi training school. So when Rey Palpatine comes into her life and suddenly everything changes, she's not a happy camper.

- Splatter for expendable

“You’re Palpatine’s girl,” he says coldly.

“His chief of staff, yes.” Rey’s eyes narrow. “And you have your hand on my ass, Kylo. Kindly take it off.”

“Or what?”

AKA powerful corporate rivals Kylo and Rey put the hate in love/hate.

- The Haunted Mirror for FangirlintheForest

When Rey travels to UK to attend the reading of his grandfather will, a grandfather she didn't know existed until that very moment, she finds a house, and a old story that will haunt her...

- i'm your secretary for firelord65

Kaydel pressed her lips together in a thin line, passing a pile of datapads over the desk. “I don’t know what that pretentious nerf herder has put into your brain, but these are tales of the key roles women have played in past rebellions.” She stood, tapping the pile. “They’re great reads,” she added, with a pointed raise of her eyebrow.

- and they danced across the sky for flipflop_diva

When he was still a child, he constantly watched the blue butterflies as they danced in the sky.

They seemed to be calling him, aiding him each instance that icy-cold darkness flowed through his very veins. The magnificent creatures saved him from the voices. They drowned out the incessant chatter in his head. Temporarily cleared away all the anger. During those brief respites, watching those blue wings flutter in the sky, Ben felt free.

But that’s another life. Another world. Another time. Another, another, another.

And Kylo's no longer a child.

No. He welcomes the darkness now. Embraces it.

- Finding The Answer for FrenchMartiniPlease

Rey pines for Ben Solo…so why does her soulmate mark always drain of colour whenever she gets close to him?

- Almost Unforgettable for HopeRebel

The woman in the mirror has blood on her clothes, cash in her bag, and a letter from her husband telling her it's better to forget. Well, he got his wish. She forgot everything-- including her name. And she wasn't the only one afflicted.

It'll take the combined efforts of gumshoes, a flatfoot, a washed-up Hollywood starlet, and more to get to the bottom of this bad business. In the end, these things always come back to the beginning.

- The Curl of a Sigh for irridesca

During the last song in Maxine’s set, a song she announces is called “Soul Companion,” Ben heads back out to the lobby to look for Rey. He finds her not with his eyes but with one broad shoulder, when he bumps into her and knocks her gig bag out of her hands and onto the plush carpet.

- and they were roommates for Lady_of_Haven

When Ben loses a bet to his roommate, Rey, he has to eat her out for 30 days.

- torn away from you (my heart is broken) for lakerose

The Force binds more than minds.

- If You Take Me for literallynoonecares

She sighed wistfully as she watched her two friends lean in toward each other as they danced, their lips meeting and melding together as they seemed to become one person instead of two separate beings. She had seen them kiss so many times, but this kiss … it was special.“I just want someone to kiss me like that,” she mused softly to herself, her eyes not leaving her friends.“I could make that happen if you wanted.”

- 3 Days in Vienna for Like_A_Dove

Kylo Ren, trained mercenary Alpha assassin, is on a mission—assassinate Chancellor Palpatine and bring his underground authoritarian regime to an end. It’s what the First Order demands, for the better of society.

It should be an easy task. He’s been getting close to the Chancellor and his cronies for years. So how is it that the unexpected appearance of an Omega, with a seemingly similar mission—and a wholly inconveniencing scent—become a distraction he hadn’t accounted for?

- Confidence and Desire for LittleLostStar

“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually, the confidence will follow.” - Carrie Fisher

- Love brightens even the most monstrous parts of ourselves for LRRH17

No one knows since when the giant, black bear has lived in the forest near Theed. Many stories about the origin of Kylo Ren circulate in the small village. After Rey has run away from Jakku, and arrived in Theed she has heard them all of, but has never actually meet the creature. This changes when her and her friends get attacked by bandits on their way back from Otoh Gunga.

- Your Sweetness Comes With Sugar on the Side for Lutrosis

Rey's daughter loses her mother as she wanders around the Supermarket. Ben finds her and the two connect over both being Type 1 diabetics. They find Rey, and Ben and Rey are instantly smitten. As they date and fall in love they discover that Jade and Ben are connected more than they thought and healing is brought to the Solo/Skywalker clan.

- Allegories, or Allusions to Real Life for maq_moon

“Boys, please stop arguing.” Rose rubbed her temples. “Poe, we get it, you’re childhood best buddies, you’ve got a better grasp on his character than some rando of a rando you met at a party. Finn, for fuck’s sake, we’ve been working with Ben for months. I’m pretty sure if he’s a serial killer or whatever, it would have come out by now.” Finn sat back in his seat, grumbling. “Not how serial killers work.” Rey was going to have a headache if this continued any longer, so she lied through her teeth at the reality of a new player joining their D&D party. "He seems nice." She didn’t trust a single inch of skin on that man. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

- A Mad Man, with a Box for MBlair

Rey and Ben meet, move in together, get engaged, and marry.

- Invite the Wild In for midwinterspring

Kylo Ren, the mysterious senator who appeared from out of the deserts of Jakku and somehow brought them back to life, has spent a long and unproductive session on Hosnian Prime. Now, it's time to go home. After all, there's someone waiting for him and so much for them to do together.

(The ancient Sith had some interesting rituals.)

- Purim Party for MissCoppelia

Rey goes back to visit her foster mother for a Purim celebration. She meets Ben Solo who's visiting his parents, who are friends with her foster mother. They have an attraction to each other right away, but try to play it cool.

- The Banished Heart for misszeldasayre

On Rey of Niima’s nineteenth name day, Jakku gains a new wizard.

Jakku is a withering outpost of the kingdom, and its people hope the new wizard - the mysterious Kylo Ren - will bring them the rains the land needs to heal. Rey is a lonely, clanless girl living in Niima, and she has a secret. One she hopes the wizard will be able to help her with too.

- The Smuggler's Bride for MyJediLife

Miss Rey Nemo is the new mistress of Manor Takodana, left to her by the late Lord Skywalker. When a strange man named Kylo Ren appears on her doorstep, she decides to hire him as her new groundskeeper. As Rey faces sinister threats and secrets are revealed, Kylo Ren may be the only person who can save her.

- Annabel Lee for myownlittleinfinity

Rey keeps finding these ... notes in her locker. She doesn't quite get them. They seem like love notes, but she doesn't know who they could be from. Meanwhile she's paired up with Ben Solo (who hates her despite her gigantic crush on him) for this English assignment. Who knows how THIS will go.

- with my body i thee worship for niennathegrey

Miss Rey Nemo is the new mistress of Manor Takodana, left to her by the late Lord Skywalker. When a strange man named Kylo Ren appears on her doorstep, she decides to hire him as her new groundskeeper. As Rey faces sinister threats and secrets are revealed, Kylo Ren may be the only person who can save her.

- the losing game for no_big_deal

Sith Princess Rey Palpatine is given a peculiar gift for her Life Day: a Jedi. Not only that, one who is boorish, spirited, and stubborn. But, he presents an opportunity: one that could liberate her from a life under the thumb of her grandfather. She has seven weeks to change his heart before all her freedom is taken from her - forever.

- standing right in front of you for notkellymarie

When Senator Solo's engagement is pushed forward, he and his Jedi bodyguard, Rey, travel to Naboo alone for the announcement ball. The pair despise each other, constantly bickering and disagreeing with each other, which makes spending extensive amounts of time alone together all that more difficult. Until of course, one of them breaks...

- the good, the bad, and the smuggling for OccasionallyCreative

Ben Solo is a seasoned smuggler. And he’s not bad at it, either. But when bounty hunter Rey offers him a temporary partnership he can’t refuse, Ben will find himself pushed to the limits of his skill, patience, and resourcefulness on a job that’s dangerous enough to be his last.

It’s like his dad used to say: bounty hunters are nothing but trouble, kid.

- Whatever our souls are made of...his and mine are the same for Padawan_Writer

Ben and Rey meet only after Kylo has defected from the First Order and returned to the Resistance and his mother. Will the dyad still find a way to be?

- They say that only the dead have seen the end of war for politicalpadmé

“He traded his life for mine,” Rey choked, stomping back and forth in front of him so fast he could barely keep track of her. “He died. He died so I didn’t have to—and it’s not—it’s—after everything he’s gone through—it’s not fair.” Tears were running down her cheeks now, and Poe wanted to do nothing more than hug her, but there was nothing he could say—nothing she would want to hear. Poe remembered all the people he’d lost, all the times he had raged and screamed and cried about the unfairness of it all. “Leia sacrificed herself to bring him back,” Rey declared suddenly, ceasing her constant pacing around the fire as she looked straight at him. “And he sacrificed himself for me—and now no one’s going to know. All he’ll be remembered as is Kylo Ren, but he was—he was so much more.” She exhaled with a shudder and whispered, “He was a part of me, and I—I don’t feel whole without him.” ~

A Force Ghost Ben/Rey love story, with a side of rebuilding the galaxy.

- Cicatrix for Priestly

Getting cut up by Rey on Starkiller awakens something in Kylo.

- I Will Always Be With You for Prix

But she wouldn’t be able to hide her pregnancy for much longer. She was starting to show, and her friends would start asking questions. She would have to give them answers, some of them would not understand, and none of them would accept.

She carried his child. The tiny spark of light woven with darkness, just like her. Just like his father.

—————

The world has gone dark More times than you Or your mother Or your grandmother Can remember. And every hurricane That was meant to be The end of it all Had instead ended In sunshine again.

So believe me When I say; You will survive this And the next one too.

World’s End—Nikita Gill

- all my daydreams are disasters for QueenOfCarrotFlowers

During her search for the infamous Luke Skywalker — the man who predicted a devastating earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri — Rey finds herself entangled in Luke’s family history and with his brooding nephew, Ben Solo.

- on what ground I was founded (when I first saw you) for redbelles

Kylo dreams of Rey after the Battle of Crait. And the yearning is mutual...

Some Force Bond dream smut inspired by "Shrike" and "NFWMB" by Hozier.

- Last Summer for Reykenobi68

Rey had started to get used to Ben not living next door anymore by the time the holidays came around. Then he's back for the holidays. Rey is really expecting things to go wrong after the way he left at the end of the summer. ut is it really going to be that bad.

- The Long Way Home for reylotrash711

In the aftermath of Exegol, Ben and Rey are divided by misunderstandings.  It will take time and danger for them to work things out.

- Under the moonlight for shariling

I don't know why I followed you here. She wanted to reply. Maybe because you're so tall I couldn't help but notice you. Maybe it's because of your hair or the way you move, or maybe it's because of that kind of melancholic look in your eyes. There is something about you that I find terribly attractive and I don’t know what it is: maybe the moon or the alcohol or the wolf I have met before infected me with some strange parasite and now I am hopelessly attracted to dogs, I do not know. She could have said one of these things, any of them, instead she said: “I've never bitten anyone before, and I want you to be my first.”

- Fallen for shipperofdarkness

Prompt: Devil!Ben and Angel!Rey or Angel!Ben and Devil!Rey. How do these two on completely opposite sides fall in love and defy worlds to be together?

- come away with me for silentfleur

Rey owns a tinker shop, but her life changes when she meets Ben Solo and is cursed by a witch. Not necessarily in that order.

- A Picture of Me Without You for SpaceWaffleHouseTM

"I suppose I'd somehow struggle through / But I'd hate to picture myself without you."

It's impossible not to have a soulmark. It's not a big deal, not in the lax and gin-soaked speakeasies of 1920s Manhattan, but it's still a heavy weight to bear, as Ben Solo and Rey find out side by side.

- Lips Raw With Love for stellardarlings

Their kiss on Exegol wasn't their first kiss...

Nor would it be their last.

- Everyone Makes Divine Mistakes for Takekurabehime

Jedi Knight Ben Solo is sent to Naboo on an errand of mercy (and to visit his grandparents). He arrives in springtime; but will he be able to complete his mission without finding himself distracted and bewildered when love and intrigue waft through the fragrant air?

- Glitter & Gold for TearoomSaloon

Rey is lead singer in an up-and-coming glam metal band. They've finally got steady performances, but that means playing at the same club as the Knights of Ren, whose lead singer definitely isn't interested in any competition.

- To kiss like lovers do for the-reylo-void (Anysia)

Ben and Rey spend their formative years growing up together in Medieval Scotland and it looks like they will end up together. Circumstances intervene and Rey loses her chance to be with him. Devastated, she carries on until the day clan Ren attacks Castle Jakku lead by the notorious killer Kylo Ren.

- Snow Turns To Rain for thehobbem

For a moment, he wanted to ask what she meant, but if he was being completely honest, he already knew.  He asked himself that same question over the years, and none more often than tonight, since seeing her again.  Was leaving worth it?  Was going their separate ways worth leaving each other?

 “I’m not sure,” he said finally, shaking his head.  “I’m happy...” he said, and she tensed a little, so he continued, “with my work.  I’m glad I’m doing what I love, but....”

 “But?”

 “But it wasn’t the only thing I loved.”

- Change the Dance for theresonatinglight

- Meet Me in the Woods for thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)

“What do you mean no one goes in there?” A chuckle. “It’s haunted. People see all sorts of weird things in there and some don’t ever come out. You’re better off living with your curiosity.” Rey wakes in a shadowy forest with no memory of where she came from, only her name. With the help of the resident guardian she takes a journey to figure out her past, and maybe even discover her future.

- permanent calligraphy (your name on me forever) for Thursdaygirl

As they continue to work together, two things become clear. One: Ben Solo is an enigma. He’s preppy yet humble, privileged yet introspective. He’s the opposite of lazy; she kicks herself every day for assuming otherwise. And two: Ben Solo will never love her.

- show me the stars. for tmwillson3

“I don’t hate Christmas, I just don’t love it the way you do.” Lifting his head, he pulls a face, loosening up a tangled ornament of a poodle with pink, curly fluff. Rey snatches it from him possessively, tossing it back to the cart. “No one loves it the way you do, to be fair.”

“Now that’s the truth,” says Poe, who Finn invited about half an hour ago to keep him company.

“People have bad taste, I don’t know what to say.” Huffing, Rey scrolls through her phone with more intent. “Neither of you are helping me, anyway.”

“What’s the problem?” says Poe.

“Rey thinks her hot neighbor hates her —”

“He does hate me.”

“ — When really he’s been flirting with her for the past, oh I don’t know, how long have you lived there?”

- I realized that I need you, I wondered if I could come home for VR_Trakowski

Rey is doing exploration work for the Resistance, searching for force sensitive planets so any force sensitives that they find have a place to train.

One day, midflight she finds a slip of paper with the elegant scrawling words of the ones that came before. The ones that she found when Ben still roamed the galaxy.

When she lands on a dark and barren planet she is forced to face the feelings she thought she buried.

- Shadows of the Moon for walkingsaladshooter

The hallways got darker, the corridors grew longer. Shadows stretched across the walls. The ghosts of Breha Manor grew each night.

Rey clutched her necklace. Ben met her gaze.

And every night, there was weeping.

- show the way (the world could be) for writergenie

In the aftermath of the Battle of Crait, Rey struggles to find her place among the Resistance. However, her lingering Force bond with Kylo— Ben— whatever name he calls himself— complicates things, blurring the line between friend and foe.

When the tension threatens to boil over and a desperate plan goes awry, Rey begins to wonder whether there really is a line between light and dark after all.

(Stars do burn brightest in the blackness of space.)

- why don't we go (somewhere only we know) for XarisEirene

The bond snaps back into place, even stronger than before. He is here. With Rey, yes, but with Luke - Luke, who is looking at them now with that same dangerous glint in his eye that haunts Ben’s dreams.

- renewed, transfigured, in another pattern for yodalorian

Rey mourns on Tatooine while Ben is stuck in the World Between Worlds. But neither of them are alone, and blue butterflies light a path back to each other.

[the--blackdahlia]

Too Young to Fall in Love Chapter 48 (Dirt!Nikki x Reader)

Title: Too Young to Fall in Love 48

Summary: Nikki Sixx was a hard partying musician on the strip. He never expected to fall in love with anyone, until a girl knocked on his dressing room door looking for a ride home and took his breath away. Just like everything else Nikki did; the drugs, the money, the music; Nikki went hard with love. (Y/n) Bass never expected the bassist of Motley Crue to be the one to shake her calm and calculated life up. She had a plan. Graduate school, become an epic producer, and watch from behind the scenes as her brother’s band rose to fame. Nikki and (Y/n) were perfect for each other, too bad her brother, Tommy, didn’t think so.

Series warnings:  Smut (18+ Please), drug use, language, referenced miscarriage, drug overdose, mentioned attempted suicide, out of character moments for everyone in the band, the timeline might be a little screwy but it’s fanfiction! I know nothing of music production and my medical knowledge is really screwy, so it won’t be accurate.

Nikki had been kicked out of the house by the women in his life. Because, according to the explanation given to him by Athena, he could not see the bride for the next twenty-four hours. The next time he would see her, she would be in a white dress and about to become Mrs. Sixx. Which he was fine with. That’s how he found himself at Tommy’s place with Mick and Vince, all getting ready for the next day.

“My baby sister’s getting married.” Tommy said as he lit up a cigarette and watched Mick deal the cards.

“Where are the strippers?” Vince teased.

“I think we’ve all had enough strippers for a lifetime.” Mick chuckled.

“Dude, there is no such thing as too many strippers.” Tommy chuckled. “I just thought a quiet night in would be nice.”

“And you want to avoid booze?” Nikki asked.

“I mean, there’s that too.” He laughed. “Pamela dumped it all out while I was at rehab. So the closest to alcohol we have is root beer and that shit you put on cuts.”

“Get hurt a lot?” Vince asked with a laugh.

“Do you know how many scars I have man? Some are from burns thanks to somebody’s stage fire splattering.” Tommy laughed, looking over at Nikki.

“Hey, it was cool.” Nikki shrugged. “Chicks dug it.”

“Hey. You’re marrying my sister. She’s the only chick you better be talking about.” Tommy smiled at him. “I still can’t believe my best friend and my best sister.”

“I dare you to tell that to Athena.” Vince said. Tommy shook his head.

“I’m stupid, not suicidal.” He laughed.

Nikki looked at himself in the mirror, he found himself doubting he could make her happy. With a small sigh he plastered a smile on his face and looked to the guys. “Ok, so what are we gonna do before I get married tomorrow?”

“Strip club.” Vince cougheded.

“We need to go someplace where Tommy can’t be tempted by alcohol, but Vince can see cute girls.” Mick grumbled. “Where to go?”

“I don’t know,” Nikki chuckled. “Only other option is to just call a stripper to come here,” he took a bite of his apple and banged his head on the counter top, “I’m going to be a bad husband I just know it.”

“What? Where did this come from?” Mick asked. “Nikki, you’re pretty much already her husband. The only difference is she has your last name legally.”

“I just…” he looked at Tommy and sighed. “T-bone a lot of those words you said in the past still haunt me man… I know you weren't in the right state of mind but…. your words stuck to me man…” Nikki muttered. “I know I’m not the ideal guy you thought of for (Y/n), but… I fell in love with her the minute she showed up at that gig all those years ago.”

“And I was a high and drunk asshole when I said those things,” Tommy told him. “I was pissed that you were dating my sister and I was pissed she was taking my best friend away from me. I got sober and realized my mistakes. Yeah, I relapsed and screwed it up again, but you two are perfect for each other, okay?”

Nikki gave him a sad smile, “Not sure about perfect,” he shook his head. “I couldn’t even see that her depression came crawling back. I should have taken her with me to my sessions… leaving her alone in that house was a mistake.”  

“But you helped her before anything else happened,” Vince pointed out. “And they got her on the right meds.”

“Yeah,” Nikki looked at Tommy. “Naked wedding message to (Y/n)?” he shrugged with a devilish grin.  

“Gross.” Tommy groaned.

“Okay, so I got the perfect place to go,” Mick told them. “No alcohol whatsoever yet. Give them time. There’s cute girls for Vince to stare at, Nikki can’t send any naked messages without being arrested, and I can watch all of you three idiots.”

“Hooters?” Vince guessed.

“The Whiskey?” Tommy smiled.

“The darkest depths of my mind?” Nikki drawled looking at Mick.

“Boys, let’s go back to Disneyland.”

****

“Disneyland?” (Y/n) asked, looking at the sign as they passed.

“Our Tia’s have never been, and all the cousins and such want to go. It’ll be great!” Athena laughed. “And tomorrow, you’ll be getting married and on your way to some nice vacation.”

“Yes!” Vanessa smiled. “Oh and besides, all the food baby and I can eat soooo much good stuff without Vince freaking out too much.”

“Didn’t your doctor say to cut back on the sugar?” (Y/n) asked. She smiled as they parked the car and got out. A huge caravan of women walking to the ticket center.

“Yeah but I can’t help it, baby and I love sweets, and hot sauce, and pickles, and a lot of other stuff that I am dying to have!” Vanessa laughed. (Y/n) just laughed. They got their tickets and before anyone could say anything, the aunts and cousins were all rushing off, leaving Athena, (Y/n), and Vanessa standing there.

“Wow.” (Y/n) laughed. “They ditched us.”

“Better for us to get into some… uh oh…” Vanessa turned Athena around and pointed to the guys.

“What is...shit!” Athena turned (Y/n) around.

“Guys? What’s going on?” (Y/n) asked.

“Nothing, let’s go ride some rides and take some pictures bride to be,” Vanessa said as she and Athena led (Y/n) away from the main area.

*******

“Ok so we have free reign and we can totally take pictures and ….” Mick grabbed Nikki by his shoulders and led him in the opposite direction he saw the girls in.

“Dude, I wanted to get a picture of the castle.” Nikki said. “What gives?”

“We’ll have plenty of time for that,” Mick signalled to Vince and Tommy what was going on. “We should get pictures with princesses first!”

“I remember the last time we were here.” Vince chuckled. “Wonder if that princess still works here.”

“Maybe, we can hitch a ride on the teacups too,” Tommy said as he grabbed Nikki’s shoulders. “We can spin it really fast and make ourselves dizzy.”

“Okay, okay.” Nikki laughed. “Teacups sound like fun.”

Tommy let out a laugh and gave Mick a thumbs up, “Yeah! Let’s go.” They led Nikki to the teacups, away from the girls.

With the girls, Vanessa and Athena bought (Y/n) a pair of ears the were white and had a veil. She looked beautiful as they took pictures of her.

“Ok, so what should we ride first?” Vanessa looked at them, “What?”

“You can’t go on rides Nessa.” (Y/n) sighed. “Well, slow rides you can. But nothing fast or hard.”

“I’m killing Vince for doing this to me,” she grumbled. “I can wait while you two go on the fast rides, but seriously which ones first?”

“Figure out which one is pregnancy safe. We’ll alternate so Nessa doesn’t feel so left out.” (Y/n) told Athena as they grabbed a map of the park.

“Teacups sounds good,” Athena smiled. “We don’t have to spin it fast and we can just let the ride spin for us.”

“Teacups! Let’s go!” (Y/n) smiled and led the way.

The girls waited in line while the guys were on the ride themselves. Nikki and Tommy grabbed their own teacup spinning it as fast as possible, while Vince and Mick sat in their relaxing.

“Kids.” Mick chuckled. “Oh shit! Vince, the girls are in line.”

“Awww crap,” Vince said as Mick tried to signal Tommy. “We need to rush Nik to the exit.”

“They’re spinning too fast to see us.” Mick sighed. The ride started to slow down.

“I’ll grab Nik since my bones aren’t turning to stone. You get the other shithead.” Vince told Mick.

“Jackass,” Mick grumbled as they both scrambled to get to Tommy and Nikki and usher them to the exit.

“Oh hey look, Alice is over there,” Vanessa smiled as she pointed away from the boys. “Maybe we can take a picture with her after our ride.”

“Oh, I love Alice.” (Y/n) smiled. “And I think I saw Ariel. I saw that movie in New York. I loved it!”

“Yeah we can definitely take pictures,” Athena smiled. “I’m sure they have someone dressed as Ariel, we can do some funny pics.” (Y/n) smiled and walked to the teacups while the boys ran away from them.

“What’s the rush guys?” Nikki asked. “I thought we were going to take things slow and enjoy the night?”

“Yeah, but you know we have lots of things to see and we want to get to the best rides man,” Tommy smiled. “Oh look a princess!”

“Remember, you’re married.” Vince lovingly pointed out. “No blow jobs at Disneyland for you sir.”

“Yeah you’re engage so the same goes for you,” Tommy smiled. “Dudes, this is going to be a night to remember. Let’s find the fast rides and go crazy.”

Nikki looked back and froze, for a second he could have sworn that there was a woman who looked like (Y/n) taking pictures of Athena. It made him miss her as Mick, Vince, and Tommy dragged him away towards the matterhorn.

“Guys, I think I’m going crazy.” Nikki told them.

“You are crazy.” Tommy said with a shrug.

“No, I swear I just saw (Y/n).” He told them. “But she’s not here, right?”

“No,” the guys repeated at the same time.

“You’re seeing things man,” Vince smiled. “Come on the Matterhorn is waiting for us!” Nikki followed along with them.

“Hey you guys go. I’ll catch up. Need to take a piss.” Mick told them. He looked around and spied Athena. He pulled her aside while Vanessa was distracting (Y/n).

“We’re going to the Matterhorn,” He told Athena. “We need to figure out a system. I didn’t realize you guys were going to be here too. But Vince wanted to go to a strip club and Tommy wanted to bring the strippers to us.”

Athena sighed, “Ok, well we’re going to space and we can just try to go counter clockwise?” Athena rubbed her forehead. “Jeez this is going to be either funny or a nightmare, I haven't decided yet.”

“We’ll look back on it and laugh later on.” He smiled at her. “I owe you a beer if we pull this off.”

“Right back at you.” She headed back over to Vanessa and (Y/n) while Mick went to meet up with the guys.

The night went of with the girls going one way while the guys went another. That is until it was time for the fireworks show.

“I’d love to get some shots of the fireworks above the castle.” Nikki told the boys. “That’s the popular place to watch them, isn’t it?”

“Yeah man,” Mick smiled. He didn’t figure the girls had the same idea.

“I wish (Y/n) was here with me man, I mean… I gotta bring her back and do this again,” Nikki smiled.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s going just fine.” Tommy said, looking around to see if the girls were nearby. He could see Athena across the crowd, trying to find a perfect spot to hide (Y/n) from. But as long as Nikki was distracted with his photography, he wouldn’t see (Y/n). It didn’t take long for the fireworks display to begin and Nikki kept snapping pictures. He smiled at the beauty of the colors above the castle and across the night sky.

“We should hire them to do our shows!” Tommy said, excitedly. “Could you imagine us playing in front of the castle while fireworks went off?”

“Yeah, I don’t think Shout at the Devil is something Disney would let be played here.” Vince laughed. “And could you imagine us singing the songs from the Lion King?” Nikki pointed his camera in a direction to capture a really beautiful display, unknowingly snapping (Y/n) in the frame while she watched it.

At the end of the night, the guys made their way back to Tommy’s house. Nikki smiling as he looked at his friends, “I’m getting married tomorrow.”

“That you are.” Tommy laughed. “How do you feel?”

“Just… I’m excited and nervous… I… I never thought we would get here and here we are man.” Nikki smiled. Tommy looked at his best friend. It had been a long time since he saw Nikki smile that brightly with a light in his eyes.

“Well, I’m glad it was (Y/n) who could do it for you.” Tommy smiled. “Come on, let’s get some sleep.” He stopped. “You wanna know what I just thought of?”

“What?” Nikki looked at Tommy.

“You’ll be my brother-in-law. I always wanted a brother!” Tommy laughed.

Nikki hugged Tommy and smiled, “Me too twin.”

*****

(Y/n) woke up early the next morning. Athena and Vanessa were camped out in the guest room, but there were family members all over the place. (Y/n) quietly crept outside and sat in one of the lounge chairs. In about twelve hours, she would be Mrs. Sixx. Jett and Ziggy came out through the open door.

“Hey babies. You’re going to Aunt Nessa and Uncle Vince’s. Does that sound like fun?” (Y/n) kissed their heads. The dogs licked and barked happily as they tried to find a way to both cuddle her. (Y/n) had a few minutes of peace with her babies before the chaos started. Everyone was running around, getting ready to head towards the reserved beach.

“I’ve got your dress and shoes.” Vanessa told (Y/n).

“I got the hair and makeup,” Athena added. “The flowers are at the dressing room at the beach. Everything is ready. The aunts and mom are decorating as we speak. Everything should be exactly the way you envisioned it.” Their event was a late afternoon, early evening wedding.

“Do you think Nikki’s gonna like the dress?” (Y/n) asked Vanessa as they got in the car.

“I think he’s going to like taking it off of you.” She laughed. (Y/n) shook her head.

“I bet you twenty bucks that his jaw drops and he can’t form words,” Athen smiled.

“You think?” (Y/n) asked. “He’s seen me in dresses before though.”

“Did you forget how he fumbled his words when he took you out when you guys first saw each other properly after your break up?” Athena laughed. “I agree with Tommy this time, he is going to flip.”  

They arrived at the beach that they had paid to reserve. They girls made their way into the house that set there that was used for weddings. (Y/n) was wrapped in her robe while Athena worked on her hair and makeup.

“I got the stuff you asked for!” Pamela called out, running in. “Something old, new, borrowed, and blue!” She had the four items. “The borrowed is the bracelet I wore all the time on Tool Time and I got picked up to be a model!”

“Thanks Pamela.” (Y/n) said with a smile. It was time to get in the dress.

****

“God, I look stupid.” Tommy said, pulling at his tie. “Nikki, I hate ties. Why couldn’t I just have a dressy shirt?”

“Ask your mother,” Nikki smiled and fixed his own. “Ok… we got everything?”

“Yep!” Vince told him. “You ready Sixx?”

“Oh yeah,” he smiled but then a thought came across him. “What if she runs away? What if she realizes that…”

“Are you getting cold feet now?” Mick asked. “Don’t make me take the cheetah badge away from you…”

Nikki shook his head, “she’s going to take one look at me and realize it’s all a mistake I just know it,” Nikki placed his hands on the small table and started hyperventilating.

“Jesus Christ! Tommy hand me that bag!” Mick said. Tommy quickly brought it over and Mick worked Nikki through calming breaths. “Would she have stayed with you these past couple years if she didn’t want to be with you?”

“Pity?” Nikki looked at Mick. “she could just be pitying me I mean I am pathetic.”

“Dude, would she have paid for the dress and everything out of pity? No.” Tommy shook his head. “She loves you man.”

“If you’re having doubts, you need to decide right now if you want to marry her. Don’t go through with it and make her go through the process of a divorce like I did to all my wives.” Vince sighed.

“I’m not doubting here man,” Nikki shook his head. “I just… I have a feeling she’s going to doubt me.” Nikki closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure how to bring himself out of it. He knew it wasn’t rational but he wished he could talk to her. “I wanna talk to her… I… I need to hear her voice man.”  

“You can’t see her. It’s bad luck. And my aunts will have your balls.” Tommy said. “They’ll have all of ours.”

“They don't have to see each other they can talk through the door we can makes sure there’s no peeking.” Mick looked at Tommy.  

“I...I guess.” He threw his hands up. “Come on, let’s go.”

*******

“Wait you’re what?” Athena hissed. “Tommy, the aunts are going to kill us if they find out what we’re trying to do?” she whispered into the cell phone.

“Look, he’s freaking out and he won’t calm down until he talks to her. They can sit on each side of the door and she can calm him down.” Tommy told her. “I’m afraid he’s going to run if we don’t and I don’t want (Y/n) to get worse.”

“Ok,” Athena looked at Vanessa and hung up with Tommy. “We have a mission Impossible on our hands guys,” Athena sighed.

“What did the idiot do now?” Vanessa asked with a laugh as she looked over at (Y/n), who was getting the last few alterations on her dress done before the wedding.

“Nikki wants to hear her voice,” Athena sighed. “Going to try and have them stand behind either side of the door so they can talk.”

“They’re getting married in just a couple hours. Can’t he wait?” Vanessa asked.

“Apparently he’s freaking out,” Athena sighed. “At least she isn’t freaking out.”

“She’s more of a calm freak out.” Vanessa sighed. She went towards (Y/n). “Can I borrow you for a second before pictures?” She asked.

“Uh, sure.” (Y/n) stepped away from the aunts. They started to fuss with Athena and Pamela, getting them ready. “What’s going on?”

“Just need you to talk to someone,” Vanessa smiled as she walked down the hall and to a door. She knocked softly and Mick peered his head.

“You got the bride?” he looked at Vanessa.

“You got the groom?” She asked. Mick nodded.

“Ok bass player, your bride is out there, so you stand right here,” he put Nikki with his back facing the door, “and talk.”

“(Y/n)?” Nikki closed his eyes.  

“Nikki?” She asked softly. “Silly boy, what’s wrong?”

Nikki let out a smile, “I just had to hear your voice sweet girl.”

“I’m right here Nikki.” She whispered to him. “You know I love you, right?”

“I love you too,” Nikki took in a deep breath. “You going to be amazing Mrs. Sixx.”

“So are you Mr. Sixx.” She was smiling. “I have to finish getting ready and get bridal party pictures. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“I can’t wait,” he looked at the guys who all let out breaths of relief. “Hey (Y/n)?”

“Yeah Nikki?”

“You’ve made me the happiest man alive,” he smiled and felt his eyes water. She reached through the opening in the door and squeeze his hand.

“I love you so much Nikki.” She told him softly. “You’ve made me happier than I’ve been in a long, long time.”

“Love you sweet girl,” he bent down and kissed her hand. She reluctantly let go and headed back to the bridal room. The groom and groomsmen were called out first for a photoshoot. There were serious poses, but lots of goofy ones. It was Motley Crue after all.

Mick looked at Nikki, “Feel better?”

“Much.” Nikki relaxed. His shoulders were relaxed and he looked carefree.

“Dudes, we need to move the bridal party is on it’s way and my aunts want us ready for the ceremony,” Tommy smiled.

“They’re pushy.” Vince sighed. “Glad they’re not my aunts.” They headed out towards the beach. The water shimmered beautifully. There were lights up like how (Y/n) wanted, and the whole thing just looked perfect. All Nikki was missing now was his bride.

Forever Tags: @anathewierdo @dekahg @marvel-af-imagines @feelmyroarrrr @nanie5 @imboredsueme @gemini0410 @aiaranradnay @babypink224221 @mogarukes @xxwarhawk @sandlee44 @shatteredabby @caswinchester2000 @supernaturalwincestsblog @lauravic @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @teller258316 @horrorpxnk @tommyleeownsme

Motley Crue Tags: @primal-screamer @waywardprincess666 @twistnet @saint-of-los-angeles @vader-kai @motleyfuckingcruee @sharon6713 @kawennote09 @2dead2function @nikkisixxwiththebass @iamtiber-andtiberismusic @jayprettymuchomw @charlyallise @you-know-im-a-dreamer @sweet-dreams-on-butterfly-wings @estxxmotley @arianareirg @the-normal-potato @nikki-sixxtynine @jjjjjjjoshdun @just-a-normal-fangirl18 @stella20131991 @tarahell @wowilovenikkisixx @i-want-to-shoot-myself @motleycrueee @sams-serialkiller-fetish @getbackhonkycatt @are-you-reddie54321 @flamencodiva @deacyduck @scarecrowmax @major-tom-is-a-junky @anyasthoughts @bandaids-not-groupies @ilovetomkeiferslips @kaitieskidmore1

Nikki Sixx Tags: @daisystuffsstuff @unknownoblivion @deakysblueoutfit @fandomshit6000 @sixx-mckagan

Too Young to Fall in Love Tags: @kingbouji3 @leximus98 @thekidbakerinthetardis @crystalbaby12 @shawnsstxtches @knockemdeadgirl @deansgirl1993 @haileynicoleseavey17

[isolatedinbusiness]

How Has COVID-19 Infected the Business World?

The COVID-19 pandemic is taking its toll on the world, taking the lives of many and leaving others wondering if their economic stance is going to get them before the pandemic does. The US economy is taking the biggest blow since the days of the Great Depression. The big questions are, who’s jobs are at highest risk? What risks are people facing? How long will unemployment and pay cuts be symptoms of this virus? 

Who Should Be Worrying About Their Jobs Right Now? 

I recently read an article discussing a few of the economic issues the US is facing right now, and from seeing the news and living in these times, it becomes pretty evident that certain industries are being hit harder than others. There were a few passages in the article that stood out to me, specifically one about small businesses and how they are being affected by this. 

“I don’t think you can force hundreds of thousands of small business owners to voluntarily shut down and let failure happen to them,” Mr. Ozimek said. “They won’t do it, the public won’t support it, and frankly I don’t think local authorities would stop them.”

Small, local businesses are taking one of the largest hits during this pandemic. Anyone and everyone involved is going to be facing some serious issues on top of the stresses of living through a pandemic. Small businesses do not generate enough profit to maintain their stores, pay employees and support the owners and their families while no business is running. Because of this, most of these small businesses are laying off their workers or cutting their pay and hours significantly in the face of this crisis. These actions end up leaving those involved in the business, especially employees, wondering how they are going to fend for themselves in the coming times until this pandemic reaches some sort of conclusion. 

Small businesses are not the only ones instating layoffs and the like. Businesses deemed as “unessential” by the government are also having to take part in cutting employees in numbers, pay and/or hours as they shut down or reduce open hours. Restaurants, leisure related jobs, gig economy jobs and the like are also in the sights of the economic crisis brought by COVID-19. Jobs in these lines of work are at highest risk of exposing people to the virus and are not necessary to maintain life and are therefore either shutdown during these times or closed to public access which reduces staff. And even if the business isn’t shut down, it isn’t generating enough to maintain typical wages for those still in work. Many essential businesses are also having to instate layoffs and wage cuts as well due to a lack of profit. 

Businesses are at risk, individuals are at risk, and the question every working person is facing right now is, how much time do I have before this catches up with me? 

So, How Long Could This Last? 

“Public health experts are beginning to make predictions about when coronavirus infection rates will peak. Economists are calculating when the cost of continuing to shutter restaurants, shopping malls and other businesses — a move that has already pushed some 10 million Americans into unemployment, with millions more on the way — will outweigh the savings from further efforts to slow the virus once the infection curve has flattened out.”

This passage in the article confirmed the fears of many. Reopening the economy will bring many risks in inciting another flareup of infections, and seeing as how the US has yet to reach its peak on the curve of cases at the moment means that “business as usual” is not going to happen anytime soon. Unemployment rates in the US are rapidly increasing and they will continue to do so with no current solution to be found. Government pensions are not going to be enough for people, especially those supporting a family, to maintain their lives well. Until a vaccine or cure of some sort for COVID-19 is found, there will be no “normal”. It could take a few months to find a vaccine, Or it could take more than a year. People who have faced layoffs, wage/hour cuts are going to be seeing some major life alterations in these coming months. Things will only get worse before they can get better. 

Questions to Keep in Mind 

How concerned about my job should I be? 

The majority of people should be thinking about ways they can support themselves and their families. Those at highest risk now would be those working in jobs that are unessential in the face of a medical crisis. Certain industries such as the food industry cannot completely shut down, but they will face staff and wage cuts. It is important in these times to plan ahead and know that anyone could be, and most likely will be, affected by this. 

What should I be thinking about right now? 

Right now, everyone should be thinking about alternate ways to support themselves and their families. Budgets should be reassessed and plans should be made in consideration of the possibility of the economy remaining in a slump for another year. People will need to consider alternate employment in essential work forces that are overwhelmed at the moment while keeping in mind the safety of those they are around. 

To conclude, COVID-19 is bleeding out many economically. Businesses will be shut down or experience major cuts leaving more than 10 million people in a compromising situation, and the number will continue to grow every day. The economy will most likely not fully reopen until a solution of some sort has been developed for this virus which could take a long time so people should be attempting to rearrange their lives as much as possible to work with the new circumstances until the world is able to get back on its feet. Help those around you, and stay safe. If we allow ourselves to panic, things aren’t going to get better. So take a moment to breath, then it’s time to start thinking. Be smart, encourage those around you to be smart, and we can get through this. 

KEY TERMS

Layoffs-

The state of being temporarily fired. This is not the fault of the employee, but rather because the company can no longer maintain its staff. 

Unemployment-

The case of being out of work. 

Nonessential Business-

Businesses deemed unnecessary during a certain event. In most cases, they are the businesses that end up shut down by the government. They are not necessary to maintain the basic necessities of life. 

Gig economy- 

Jobs that are open ended. The person working decides their schedule.          ie: Uber

Wage/staff cuts-

The lowering of wages and/or amount of staff. 

[neshabeingchildish]

The Man for the Job

He had lost a lot. His childhood being the first casualty of gaining a superpower, and most recently, the woman he loved enough. He couldn’t say for sure that they would have lasted. He’d loved and lost before, but not like that. He’d been the one to end or at least drive away most potential relationships. But… This one was harder to let go of, mainly because he hadn’t been prepared to. It reminded him of how fragile everybody around him was. How human. 

It could have been any one of them that day. It could be any one of them tomorrow. Every mission was a cause for panic for him and he always had to pretend that he was okay with that. Hell, it was his tagline, for crying out loud. But, he was not okay. He was early years of knowing Piper (when she was merely Henry’s sister) NOT OKAY with constantly worrying about them, being out in the field. Now, he had to worry about them being in politics, as well? 

It was terrifying to think of what would have become of the Man Cave if Spoiler had actually shot her. She was a young mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend, and a public figure. So, while they tried to mourn or tried to help her recover, it would have also been a media storm. He’d done this already with Henry. He’d done this already with Mimi. He. Did. Not. Want. To. Do. This. Anymore. But, what was the alternative? To quit? To retire early and leave Swellview to Piper to defend? 

She hadn’t left the hospital in days. There was a collective of V-Force heroes guarding Billy Thunderman’s room, but she was still there, in her Lady Danger costume with no mask, hoping for the best. They tried to get her to at least go home and get cleaned up. But, she was worried that if she left and something happened, it would be “like that episode of the L Word.” Henry brought her a bag of clothes and toiletries, but after crying, pulling herself together, and imagining that Billy moved every time she headed for the shower, she couldn’t risk even the few minutes it would take her to get cleaned up. 

She had gone through this with Henry. She had gone through this with Mimi. Neither of those times was she able to bear sticking it out and being there with them. She didn’t want to do that to Billy. He was a lonely guy. He felt misunderstood and left out. He felt like while he was close to his siblings, being a middle child, he missed a lot of opportunities to connect with them in certain ways. She wanted him to know that there was somebody who felt a connection. She wanted him to have somebody here for him. Maybe she was getting soft. Maybe she had fallen for him. She couldn’t really figure that out at the moment, but she couldn’t leave, either. 

Captain Man was working alone for the time being. Mr. Danger tried to help out, but people took those opportunities to try to come to question him about being Henry Page, about Piper Hart being Lady Danger, and about him being able to walk. At first, he’d try to remind them that they were venturing into an active fight scene. Punching and begging them to leave because he was in the middle of something. They’d refuse and he tried to answer the questions, “Yeah, I’m Henry Page. Sorry. I don’t have any excuse for you. I can’t speak on Lady Danger. Yeah, I can walk, but I do need braces in order to do what I do. My legs aren’t what they used to be, so the chair isn’t a complete lie. PLEASE GET OUT OF THE CRIME SCENE!” People continued to do it until Simone and Charlotte decided that it was a hazard to citizens to have Mr. Danger there. They just couldn’t help themselves. 

Away from Swellview, though, people were less likely to be as concerned, though they were certainly interested in it all. So, Thunder and Danger was generally the go team for missions away from Swellview and the Thunder girls helped Captain Man, when needed. By the time Charlotte looked at overall crime and the distribution of heroes, she decided, “I don’t think that Swellview needs a hero.”

Simone shook her head and said, “It never has, but it had one because the hero in question was from Swellview and didn’t want to travel or relocate. Captain Man’s record would be abysmal if he weren’t indestructible. So, there was no reason to pressure him onto a team, aside from you’d have an indestructible man on team. He used to be in rotation, but my mom let him have his tenure in Swellview when she came on board, in order to decrease some incidents without making it seem like he was being demoted. What does Lady Danger want to do?”

“She hasn’t decided. She’s waiting for Billy to wake up. She’s getting more and more angry that he isn’t and that none of us are there, so I thought that we could maybe send out some VForce to some of these assignments and be sure to gather there for them soon.”

“Yeah… I don’t think it  would be very tactical considering some of the tasks that Danger Force is currently handling, but…” Charlotte gave her an exhausted look and she shrugged and smiled gently, “I’m not gonna argue with you. You’ve got a knack for finding solutions. And… What has Captain Man said about the offer?”

“I want to ask him when he’s not thinking about all of this. He’s a simple guy and a lot of complicated stuff has happened lately. I don’t want him to feel pressured.”

“He’s going to be President of the Hero League. There is no other way to feel but pressured.”

“Yes, /I/ get that. /You/ get that. But, he’s fine with the world burning while he relaxes, if he feels too much under pressure. If it isn’t about Swellview, he’s not that concerned and even then, sometimes his motivations are questionable. I just want him to be in a receptive headspace when I ask him.”

“Listen. The position is unchallenged. After that assassination attempt, none of the political types want the gig. They’d rather die fighting than on stage politicking. And those who would consider it, we’d be placing in danger to even extend the idea. The non-pows are looking at us and thinking that as expected we can’t handle issues in the supers community. They might stage a takeover. All of my fears may be realized. In order for that not to happen, I’ll ask him,” Simone said.

“But… You don’t know how to communicate with him. I’m telling you, he’s something else…”

Simone opened up the line to connect with him and Charlotte simply threw her hands up in surrender then folded her arms shook her head and gave Simone “the look.”

After a moment to transform, he answered the call in the Man Cave. “OH! It’s just you two. What’s up?” He didn’t get this team up. He did realize that sometimes you had to come to an understanding with people that you didn’t agree with, but I thought for sure Charlotte would stand her ground with this piece of work. And he couldn’t tell whether or not trusting her would be the same as it was for Charlotte trusting her husband years before. He wasn’t sure how that made him feel; he only knew he wasn’t okay with it.

Simone said, “Captain Man. You have given many years of your life to fight for justice. Through the ups and downs, you remain brave and honest.”

“I know this,” he said, a bit suspiciously, because he honestly wasn’t sure where they were, as a group, with this girl. 

First off, she was married to a douche, who he hated. Secondly, she really hurt Charlotte’s feelings. Third, he didn’t know her very well, but he knew that he didn’t like her for those first two very good reasons.

“We need you to do something for us. As you know, less than a week ago, there was an attempt on Mrs. Page’s life. The shooter had terrible aim and it was most definitely going to end with me receiving the attempt. My brother-in-law was brave and quick and he threw himself in the line of fire for my sake and the sake of my children. Unfortunately, he isn’t indestructible. We have a superpowered healer who made sure that he didn’t die while he got medical attention. We’re waiting on the news of his recovery.”

“Nice of you to say ‘as you know,’ before telling me everything that I know. Why are you calling me and why isn’t Charlotte talking? Did you do something to her?” He was already angry at the thought. Charlotte must have been being held hostage to sit here through whatever this was! But, he noticed Charlotte’s amused face and figured something out. Whatever was happening, Charlotte had told her not to do it and she did it anyway. So, he wasn’t about to cooperate with little miss Poison Ivy. The only dealings with her would be at the approval of his little Charlotte.

“Captain Man. We need you. Charlotte wanted to do this under other circumstances, but if we wait too long to set things in motion, the non-pows, the supers, the heroes, and most importantly, the villains will think that there is no order, no peace and no plan. We have to act fast, I’m afraid. We need to ask something of you.”

“If Charlotte said no, that’s the answer,” He said.

Charlotte cleared her throat and watched the green veins in Simone’s temples flair. “Actually, Captain Man, I wasn’t saying “no,” I just wanted to do it better than this. But, she is right about it.“ Now, they sort of had his attention. Charlotte could see that he wanted to at least give her the chance to say her piece, but she could also see that he still wasn’t with it. "We need to figure something out as soon as we can, and we think that you’re the only person who can help us.”

“It was actually her idea!” Simone added. Captain Man was listening, more now. To Charlotte, not to stupid green girl head. 

“We need you to take up the mantle of President of the Hero League,” Charlotte said, ripping off the bandaid, since Simone had gotten them here. She had a feeling this would be a new component of their future as his presidential staff. He sat down and shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking. That sounds like a lot of work. You’ve got Swellview to think about. You’ve got a dog to take care of, and a Schwoz in the Man Cave. You’ve got to make sure that Lady Danger is okay. You can’t just leave Swellview to anybody. Swellview is your baby. The Man Cave is you haven. I can see that all those things have been troubling you, especially since you still haven’t been given a reasonable amount of time to grieve over Mischief Minder and this is a huge responsibility.”

“Glad you understand,” Captain Man told her. He was ready to end the call now. Bringing up Mimi was hard whenever he wasn’t prepared for it. Charlotte knew that. And now, he wasn’t prepared for it and that girl was next to her, looking like she was expecting something from him too. He didn’t even know or like that girl! ‘That’s right. Direct anger at her. Charlotte means well. Her. She means… green. Mean green. Mean Girls. Wait, what?’

Charlotte broke into his tangent of panicked thoughts. “I hope that you understand this: We’re all going through it, Captain Man. We didn’t all lose what you’ve lost, but you know that I have lost before. You saw me whenever I couldn’t wake up Henry and you know that the last thing that I want is to trouble you while you’re in the state of mind that you’re in. Trust me when I say that all I want to do is go home and cuddle with Hammy, with some ylang ylang firing through the vents and the room at 72 degrees. I want my hair deep conditioned and to get a facial and sit in a steam room and come out and make love to my husband. I want…”

“I get it!” Captain Man said.

“But, I can’t do any of that right now. I have to try to fix what was done with Gwen’s transformation and the destruction left in her wake, to non-pow and supers relations, to the sanctity of secret identities, to the reputation of the Hero League and to those personally affected and impacted, just trying to make sense of their lives now. You get it and you know. But, what you might not know is that I can’t do it without you. How many times have you heard me say that in all the years that you watched me grow up?”

“Why me?” Captain Man asked, tearing up.

“Most importantly, I won’t lie to you - your indestructibility is something that we obviously need. People are trying to murder those of us who aspire to this position and you can’t be physically harmed that way. But, in addition to that, you’re perfect for this, Ray. You know what it’s like to be a regular person, even though it’s been many years since you were.”

“Not that many! I’m not that old!” He fussed.

“You were born a non-pow,” she corrected herself. “You became a super early enough that it affected your childhood in a way that supers extremists can relate to. Your non-pow dad exploited you from the moment you had your accident and raised you like some kind of experiment, so you have no reason to trust or like them, but you’ve been surrounded by them most of your life and they love you now, enough to care about what you say and do. You’re very handsome.” He smiled at this. “You’re charming.” He smiled brighter and covered his heart with his hand. “And, you’ve been a hero with a good standing with the Hero League, and with the city that you serve, and you’re recognized nationwide! Remember that time that you saved Double G? He still lets me see shows for free!” They were both smiling and Simone wanted to gush about Captain Man, too, but she had a feeling that might ruin it. He didn’t seem that fond of her. “Captain Man, you were like a second dad to me. You gave me my first job. You gave me a recommendation that helped me to be in the position that I’m in today, and I thank you for that. Now, I need you to do a job for me, and you’re literally the only person who can. It will be a lot of hard work, but I have your back, always. I promise.” 

“Okay, then. I’ll do it,” he said, looking like he was holding back tears. “I’ve gotta uhh… go to the bathroom, Bye!” He hung up on them and she just knew that he was gonna go cry. 

Charlotte looked at Simone and said, “I learned that trick from him, but it’s actually an age old saying. You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

“An old non-pow saying, I presume? Why would I want to attract flies?” Simone asked. 

Charlotte sighed and repeated the phrase into an app she’d been working on in her fired time to translate non-pow specific language to supes language, for all of those who literally grew up around zero of them. The phone recited, “Your heart disarms an opponent much harder than your fists.”

“OHHHH!” Simone said and nodded. Then, she thought about it for a moment and defended herself, “I didn’t feel like I was being rude to him! I listed all of his accomplishments and the reasons why we needed him.”

“Yeah. You didn’t say anything about how he looked (his love language) or anything sweet to him, though.”

“I can’t lie as easily as you,” Simone said. “I grew up in Metroburg. I didn’t have to be secretive about stuff.”

“You planned an entire coup right under your mother’s nose.”

“She doesn’t pay attention to anything I do. I barely had to distract her,” Simone shrugged her shoulders, but Charlotte could tell that was still a raw subject, probably especially since not even a week ago, Charlotte was picking at the wound. “Anyway. We have our president, so I’m collecting my babies from the nursery and going home.”

“By yourself? Henry and Max are still on assignment… You wanna… You’re welcome to stay with Hammy and I…”

“I don’t need your pity protection, Charlotte. I can take care of myself and my kids.”

“I just didn’t want to be alone and since our husbands are working together, I thought… I mean… They could touchdown at my place afterwards and…”

“Okay,” Simone said. “Sure. Want me to grab Hammy from the nursery too?”

“If you will. Thanks.”

Simone nodded and headed towards the nursery. She wasn’t super excited to go to the empty temporary quarters without Max and she wasn’t really in the mood to stay at her mom’s either, having just thought about how easy it was for her to not pay attention to her while she staged the escape of their most dangerous fugitive. She certainly had a lot of raw feelings about Charlotte, but she had them about Evelyn too, and those were longer. 

Besides, Evelyn’s home had a guest room. Charlotte’s had guest quarters. That was more room and relaxation for the babies and her while they waited for the men. Max and Simone still hadn’t been able to find a suitable space, with their history. Simone peeked into the president’s office, where Evelyn was there, getting things ready for the next in line. “Hey, Mom… We’re gonna crash at Charlotte’s into the guys get back. I was headed to the nursery, if you have time to say goodnight to the girls?”

“Of course, I have time!” She said and dropped everything that she was holding. They were in a much better place, but Simone figured she needed super therapy before they’d be “good.”

.

Henry nor Max realized how tired they were from all of the traveling and working that they had been doing until they got back to Charlotte’s house. A simulated tour guide, which was simply a Henrygram (you remember the hologram that moves about the house) came to collect Max and escort him to the guest quarters, “Where your wife and children are anticipating your arrival, even as they sleep,” it said. “Mr. Page. The woman of the house is in the heir’s nursery reinforcing his crib.”

Henry looked confused by that, but he and Max went their separate ways and whenever he saw Charlotte, her face brightened and she rushed to hug and kiss him. Hammy looked annoyed that she had abandoned her mission to secure his crib. They finished kissing and saying hello, only to look at Hammy and see that he seemed to be finishing the job, himself. “He looks like he knows what he’s doing,” Henry chuckled.

“Of course he does. He’s a genius,” she joked and picked the baby up to hand him to Henry. “Say hi to Daddy. Mommy’s gonna finish your crib so you can go back to sleep.”

“What’s wrong with his crib?” 

“The sensors didn’t pick up his swaddle because some wiring got damaged in the sync device. I’m reinforcing it so that the swaddle doesn’t squeeze him too tightly while the crib can’t evaluate his vitals.”

“You wanna sleep on Daddy while Mommy does smart girl shit?” Henry asked.

“Henry!” Charlotte said.

Hammy laughed and laid against Henry’s heart. He was asleep within moments. After they put him back into his crib and swaddled him with Charlotte’s perfected perfect swaddle, it was Char’s turn to lean against Henry’s heart and fall asleep. They had one of those beds that you could pull out of the wall, for nights whenever the Danger life got to them and they just had to be near their precious baby - which was pretty much any time Henry was away for long, or any time that he came home.

There were a lot of things that he hated at the moment - the fact that Simone and Charlotte had been so ugly to each other through the campaign (when they had been on the same page on the mission that set Team Danger in stone), having to be away from his family for so long, knowing that Lady Danger would be taking over Swellview by herself sooner than he felt like she was prepared for (especially with all the ruckus about her unmasking after the election debate), Charlotte going back to work for the Hero League… He made a pillow of his worries and collapsed into them. 

Charlotte’s interface scanned him and he heard a whirring that made him wake up, panicked. The sound was from an opening in the headboard that pushed out a crystal before shutting and leaving it there. “What is?” he whispered.

And, judging from his whisper, the interface knew that meant he was trying to be quiet, so she also spoke at a low volume, made gentle for sleeping purposes, “Sardonyx provides you the stabilisation and strength required to have the endurance, energy and fortitude to create good fortune based on good moral ethics… Would you like me to continue reading sardonyx facts to help you return to sleep?”

“Yes, please,” he said. And so, that happened.

.

Ray got ready to go to the hospital. He had zero attachments to the Thunderman kid. He didn’t think that he liked anybody from that brood, at this point. But, if he was going to be President of the Hero League, Charlotte thought that he needed to show the supers that he cared when one of them fell.

The kid had woke up a week after his attack, conveniently when all of his loved ones were present. They said that he’d been ecstatic to find that Lady Danger was THE Piper Hart. They said he kept referring to her as THE Piper Hart. Ray knew one thing - that definitely went to her head. Piper Hart was one of those online personalities that people followed, but didn’t necessarily love. She gave a good show, but her ways rubbed people the wrong way and those who knew her before loved getting on the Internet and speaking about how horrible she is in real life. Ray would agree but he had gotten used to it by now.

Still. Most of her love these days came from being Lady Danger. It was nice to have a fan who also had a crush, who knew you as two different people, but knew you as you and as your better self. Ray had that not too long ago… 

He made his way to the room with a tray of meatballs. "Here, Kid. This is for you.” Billy looked confused as he thanked him. “Piper! You’ve finally cleaned yourself up!" 

She smiled a little and pointed her thumb at him, "This is my boss, Ray.”

“Oh!” Billy said. “I thought it was just a friendly meatball man.” After a while, he thought about it again. “OH! It’s your BOSS!” He looked starstruck, now. Ray patted him on the back and asked, “Mind if I sit?”

“No. This is so cool. You know… You’re gonna be the first new official President in my lifetime!" 

Ray sat down and nodded. "Kickbutt wasn’t president when I became a hero, but she was a pretty good fighter. I worked with your dad before, too.”

“Yeah! That’s awesome.” They talked for a while, then Ray and Piper left and Billy ate his meatballs. Piper didn’t comment on how weird of a gift that was because Ray was never any good at that sort of thing. He gave her an autographed photo of himself after she already knew his identity and had been working with him. But, in hindsight, that was an excellent gift, because she sold it for a lot of money.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I was supposed to become an internet sensation, get my degree as I grew in reality TV fame, build up my career and become a household name, marry rich, and be hashtag goals for at least a generation. Kid Danger wasn’t supposed to be my brother. I wasn’t supposed to become your sidekick, have some of the worst years of my life trying to prove myself to him and failing, get a permanent scar on my face and now have to take over the top hero spot in Swellview AFTER I unmasked in my freaking sophomore year of college? My life is over. I’m not okay.” She said it calmly, but he still felt it deeply.

“Yeah, Kid. Me neither,” Ray finally admitted out loud to someone.

.

He looked okay. Now that Billy was awake, he healed up quickly and was going to help Piper out in Swellview. He crashed at her place and Jasper asked him several questions. Piper insisted, “My actual brother didn’t do all of this!”

Jasper eventually must have been pleased with the responses, because he finally left them alone. “Always gotta humor older siblings,” Billy said.

“He’s not my sibling,” Piper said. “Well… not by blood, anyway.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Well… I guess tomorrow we start serving Swellview together.”

“We’re a good team. It’ll be great. My sisters will help whenever we need them.”

“My brother tried and was cornered by groups of people who wanted to know his personal life. What if that happens to me?”

“I’ll very quickly get them away from you,” he said and smiled. 

“And you don’t mind being the sidekick of someone who hasn’t been a hero even a portion of the time that you have and has no superpowers?”

“Well, you’ve been a leader all of your life. And I’ve seen you do many amazing things without any powers. Besides MR. DANGER took his wife’s last name. Women are who to follow to be honest.” She just smiled, and reflexively covered her scar when she did. “You know… you never have to cover that around me. You’re not less beautiful because of a battlescar that you won being brave for your team.”

She scoffed, “I’d have preferred she slit my throat.”

“Not me. Then, we wouldn’t have met. Now, we get to see each other every day. I’m grateful she didn’t slit your throat.” Piper took a deep breath and then lunged forward to give him a quick peck on the lips. She sat back quickly and held her own hands. She used to be able to flirt with the best of them, but since her scar, she had been hiding. She’d been shyer. Billy smiled and reached for her hands. She took his and played with it in both of hers. “We’re gonna be fine, M'Lady." 

"Thanks for saying that. I think I’m okay now.”

[mohini-musing]

Home and other Lies

Chasing Ghosts ‘verse

Operation Home is a figment of my imagination created for the story, but M22 is a very real and very amazing resource. Check them out here: https://www.mission22.com/#ourcause

“Thank you for your service.”

The words are pithy. Especially so written on a sign held by a stranger. He declines the offer to take it to the baggage claim where he’s to meet his latest charge. He’s heard them too many times, and even when they’re sincere, he feels they’re somehow tainted. Too many social media posts have cheapened the sentiment beyond restoration. Instead, he grabs a paper and writes the kid’s name and rank on it, deciding that’s all the identifier he needs for the job. He has no idea how he let anyone talk him into this except that he’s been out long enough now that he’s starting to feel like he should be able to offer help navigating the return to civilian existence for the men coming out of the sandbox now. So here he is, standing in an airport, waiting for a kid who probably did exactly what he did and shipped out to war because the alternative of living on his own at barely more than a child seemed worse.

Aged out. It’s a term the social services people use to label the kids who weren’t cute enough, who were too surly like him or too sharp like Tasha for anyone to want to keep forever. Enter the system much past toddlerhood and you’re not getting adopted. You’re going to bounce around until 18 comes and tosses you out on your ass.

He shakes his head to clear it. He’s not 18 anymore. Not even close. Eighteen was basic training, and identification as a sniper, training for things he doesn’t give words because he swore not to, and even if he hadn’t he’s not up for sharing them with a soul. He’s not a kid, yet the memories of being a terrified kid never quite leave him. He remembers coming back. Short half an arm and much of his sanity. It’s not been that long, but long enough.

Tasha would tell him it’s his savior complex acting up, and maybe it is. But he’ll keep doing this. He picks up the kids coming home to nothing, hauls them from the airport to whatever apartment has been procured for them. It started as a silly volunteer gig, but more and more it’s becoming something akin to a calling.

He hooked up with a representative from M22 at the firing range.  He knows the statistics. Knows how many of the guys he served with aren’t walking the earth anymore, knows how many of them made it home but never quite found peace here. He doesn’t know if he has, exactly, but he has Steve, and Tasha, and he’s safe even when the desire to taste gun oil and metal overrides the will to take one more breath. He’s learned to push through punishing workouts when every part of him just wants to hide in the dark in bed until the world ends.

Reintegration contact is his official title. Facilitator of the procurement of living space, securing that space against self-harm tendencies without stripping away the ability to feel safe (yes, the two are different, no he can’t explain how), and ensuring that reaching out is easier that closing in. His phone rings at unfortunate hours, but it’s worth it if he can talk someone through the nightmares, through the empty, threatening darkness. He’s made more than a few calls to law enforcement alongside those talks, to send out someone able to verify safety, to provide transport to inpatient treatment, to be a physical presence and deterrent to becoming a statistic. In the beginning, those calls felt like failure. Sometimes they still do.

The kid is obvious before he makes it all the way down the escalator to the baggage area. Standing too straight, too aware, eyes darting all over the place. James lifts the sign high enough to be seen and the quick moving eyes find it immediately. A nod of acknowledgement, and the kid comes toward him with long strides.

“Barnes?” he asks when he’s a few feet away from James.

“That’s me. James is fine if you like. Let’s grab your gear and get out of this place, yeah?”

Relief is evident on the kid’s face. He also looks half a second from outright panic at the milling crowd.

James darts into the thick of it to pull the luggage from the carousel, flinging the pack over his own shoulder and leading the kid out of the airport as quickly as he can. He’ll never understand why they book these flights in the middle of the day. Late night would be better. Lower crowd volume. Higher visibility.

Maximoff is quiet in the car, but James doesn’t try to press for conversation. It’s terrifying enough to be driven around by someone you don’t know. He’s not going to add to it by pressing for words the kid may or may not have in his arsenal at the moment. It’s been long enough to have his head mostly attached now, but it’s not been long enough for James to forget the utter disorientation wrought by the mindfuck of coming home to a world that’s forgotten there’s a war being fought on its behalf by the kids it didn’t want to care about to begin with.

The apartment complex is a simple one, decently secured without a high price tag – though a large explanation of that fee structure is because it’s part of Operation Home. The efficiency is open enough to provide good lines of sight, with enough division to provide safe space as well. It’s defensible and easy to scan on entry by design – even if it seems crazy to set it up as such when his job here is to help Pietro learn he can let that guard down.

M22 sponsors rehabilitation programs all over the country. Operation Home is one designed for men coming home without family connections. It feels too tailor made to be real sometimes, that there’s a program rehoming throw away vets all of across the city from him. He’s not sure that he’ll ever be able to counsel his fellow soldiers. Too much connection, not enough distance, but peer volunteer gigs negate the need for professional distance he feels incapable of in this instance. But this place lets him help.

Maximoff does exactly the same thing everyone does on entering the apartment. He looks it over, walks every inch, then sinks onto the couch and looks at James as if trying to decide if he’s going to have to chat.

“My number is on the counter. I can put it in your phone if you want. The landline has pre-programmed contacts. They’re listed on the wall next to it. You need anything, you call.”

“That an order?” he asks. James struggles to read whether it’s cheekiness or wariness.

“It’s whatever you need it to be,” he finally says in answer. The kid nods. Right choice, then. Bit of both.

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 29-30: Blade spoilers within (from someone who has NOT watched Blade)

Ha! Black!Woz walks out of the Storytime vault and into 9-to-5.

White!Woz: Haha sweet I get to choose Another Blade

Swartz: Hey, what do you think of being a person who gets used… you know, hypothetically speaking…

White!Woz: ...ah. Well. Shit.  

(We continue this super spoiler-iffic liveblog under the cut. It gets long - this one made it to about 3,000 words. My apologies to mobile users. Just... scroll. Scroll like your life depends on it.)

Awww… the café from Blade has photos from back then on the counter, that’s so sweet. And Amane’s actually wearing the recent necklace for Chalice – that’s a really nice touch there, Toei. Product placement, but it’s a really nice tribute.

Another Blade’s design is – that’s terrifying, that’s a lot of knifes. I like how the spade symbol glows red, and it doesn’t have the ‘handle’ part of a spade. It’s a heart, too. But the thing is… this is the second Another Rider to not have the lens-eyes. Everyone up to Another Zi-O had them, and he notably didn’t.

I know people have been saying they’re proud of Sougo for managing to graduate, and I agree. I really do. I’m happy for our book-dumb protagonist. It’s actually kind of nice to see all four of the ‘team’ together. You know, for certain definitions of ‘team’.

Noting here the Tsukuyomi hasn’t told Sougo that his ‘dream’ was. Not actually a dream, so much as a memory. It makes sense that a small 8-year-old reality warper would take the trauma of something like what Swartz did, and assume the first time he saw it was a nightmare, too.

(Seriously, screw that guy.)

Okay, so, I have not watched Decade, but… from the two (2) films I’ve seen with his cast – WxDecade and the first Hero Taisen movie – this seems to be pretty damned in-character for this Daiki guy. “Lol sup hi just saying hello don’t mind me” *proceeds to steal all your transformation trinkets*

Case in point… Sougo and Geiz don’t notice their personal watches are missing until they go to activate the button on the side. Not when they don’t pull anything out – no, when they go to turn them on. Boys. Boys please.

Also, can I just say that I’m starting to see why people pair Tsukasa and Daiki? I mean, the guy came out in a ~magenta~ apron. And they’re both little shits.

Sougo just shoves Woz in front of them. Woz!Kikai is so OP, oh my god. First the mind control thing when it debuted, the satellite dish lasers in Another Zi-O, and now it has extendable robot arms to grab the watches back. Oh my god.

(Kaito, suddenly copied into another existance as Baron: GFDI just let me be a tree spirit already)

(I know it’s a doppelganger, but seriously. So many Barons. So little patience on his end for people constantly trying to revive him as a pawn.) 

Sougo: Okay, so, you guys’s past is my future, and since it’s 2019, anything that happens in 2068 is the future now, so aren’t you talking about things that haven’t happened yet?

Woz: My lord, please, verb tenses get complicated enough without you speaking.

OOF. Yeah, uh, there’s gonna be a. A few problems with Blade ‘2019’. Namely that he isn’t supposed to be in, like. Japan. Ever again. Because Bad Things Happen when he is around fellow Undead. (He made an exception for Gorider, because a certain zombie f*er was stealing his gig, and poorly at that.

((Am I saying that he’s an asshole who is also a zombie, or that he would do a zombie? … Both. I’m saying both.))

Sougo: Okay, so, we need one person who can fight on both ends, and really, if a team is going after Geiz’s watch, it ought to include Geiz, and you guys want me to go after the Another Riders, so of course the groups are me with Tusukyomi, and Geiz with Woz! :) It’s only rational! :) And if you happen to work out whatever’s going on between you, well, that’s just a bonus, isn’t it? :)

Geiz: ...if I kill him, it’s your fault, you know.

Tsukuyomi: This is a terrible idea.

Sougo: I know! :)

(gasp) Dark Toei is giving us the forbidden rebel backstory!

Oh goody Woz was the leader of their team! And he said he was going to ‘infiltrate’ Oma Zi-O’s camp! And everyone died because he seems to have switched sides. Delightful.

White!Woz: Excuse me? I see a pair of powerups here, but not the one I specifically requested you get.

Daiki: Lol you mad?

White!Woz: ...fight us irl bitch.

Daiki: Heh.

Huh… So… when White!Woz’s tablet makes someone do something, they’re supposed to hear his ‘narration’… and maybe that’s a recent idea from the team, but. When it seemed that he was compelling Sougo to come after him – I can’t remember when, it was during either Shinobi or Quiz, but Sougo and Black!Woz were talking in 9-to-5, and he summoned Sougo away, that didn’t happen. Hm.

Sougo: Dang, couldn’t even knock the watch out temporarily. Drat.

Hm. Regulus is showing up in the daytime now… and so is the rest of the constellation. That can’t be good.

Oooh, nifty. Another Blade has the inverted heart for Chalice on her torso, but the spade for Blade on her. Well, blade. As well as a circular saw, which is a bit overkill when you consider the literal knives sticking up from her shoulders.

Oh, hey, remember that theory about how the Another Riders are technically the enemy that each rider fought? Like how Another Gaim opened cracks into the Helheim forest, and Another OOO bled Cell Medals like a Greeed?

And remember why Kenzaki can never return to Japan?

Undead are drawn to fight each other.

Okay, I get why a speed versus speed battle, to counter Woz!Shinobi, would wind up with Diend summoning Accel. But why Birth? Date’s version was never particularly fast – he’s more of a Mighty Glacier. And the suit isn’t really intended for speed, since Gotou was only particularly speedy when he used the Cutter Wing ‘attachment’.

And then I am immediately answered. Bike juggling to get Woz into the air, so that ‘Birth’ can shoot him down without mercy. (Was reminding us of the bike form really necessary? Was it? I don’t think it was. I could have done without seeing that in-action again.)

Diend: Wow, that’s cold, even for me, watching your friend get beat up like that.

Geiz: Bold of you to assume we’re friends. He’s a born liar. I mean, he’s using a ninja form right now.

Geiz: Yeah, no, Woz, screw you. I know you wanted a distraction. Asshole.

Diend: Aw, look, they do like each other.

OH THANK COSMOS it’s Chalice Versus Zi-O. ...for now. There’s about minutes left for everything to go terribly, terribly wrong. (Because Blade.)

And then it immediately went terribly, terribly, wrong.

Kenzaki and Hajime haven’t transformed in years, because they can’t. They would feel each other’s power, seek each other out, and be forced to fight. Probably the only time Blade has reappeared was in a slightly-alternate reality. (shakes fist at Gorider). And Kenzaki looks absolutely terrible. How did you get here so fast, sir? That jacket has clearly seen far better days, is the damage recent?

Some excellent ‘teamwork’ on Geiz and Black!Woz’s parts – using Shinobi’s finisher to get the two targets in one spot for Geiz’s finisher. Clever. Pity that the other two watches aren’t here.

And with that, and some brutal slashes exchanged between Blade and Chalice…

we move to episode 30.

The power-up watches get all electro-staticy, and try to start a chain reaction with White!Woz, but it doesn’t hold up. Hm.

Geiz: What’s your issue?!

Diend: Looking for my boyfriend-rival. No big deal.

Oh man, neither of them want to be in this fight, but they don’t have a choice. Zi-O accidentally knocks Another Blade into the line of fire for Actual Blade’s finisher, so naturally Chalice steps in to try and take the hit.

It doesn’t… technically work. She still gets knocked out of her transformation, back to Amane, and he’s still in his armor.

Kenzaki: oh god oh shit what the hell?! Amane?! what’s going on oh shit

Woz’s storytime vault…

Oh… The Day of Oma is apparently meant for Sougo to stop the end of the world… apparently as brought on by the Battle Fight.

… Rider versus Rider, right? A pair of Riders who can’t coexist, but also can’t not coexist. And yet another who is supposedly erasing all Riders from history. Starting with the primary members of each group. So… if Blade goes, the world goes. If Chalice goes, the world goes. If they both go, Oma Zi-O rises.

“An interesting game, Professor. The only way to win is not to play.”

Zi-O II’s shot in the opening has been replaced by Zi-O Trinity.

Geiz can relate pretty hard to Kenzaki’s resignation to having to fight Hajime, but also to his desperately not wanting to do that thing.

Once again, we have the question of “What is the future you are aiming for?” The question of “And then what?”

Geiz wants to see the one that Sougo – that they will create.

<3

Junichiro: Hey, what are your plans for the new era?

Sougo: ...Uncle, you have no idea how loaded that question is with this group.

(or does he?)

Hey, that camera’s a clue in more ways than one, isn’t it? Another Blade was attacking photo studios, because Hajime’s a photographer. But that camera’s awfully similar to Tsukasas. Who asked you to repair, that, I wonder…?

Yeah, Woz, you’re kind of being a hypocrite here. Criticizing a woman for wanting to reconnect with an old friend/mentor, while unable to get over the urge to lord over having been Geiz’s superior. GEIZ has a point in his anger. WOZ is just being an ass. And Sougo hones directly in on this.

Kid’s got a decent Charisma stat, too.

When Amane picks up the photos, through to when Kenzaki calls for Hajime. That! The Background!

I think that’s a piano ballad version of “Zi-O: King of Time”!

OST when?

And, also, can we get another instance of Future Soldier in-show anytime soon?

Okay, okay, sorry, back to the show.

OH NOOOO.

Firstly, White!Woz summons the two into a fight.

Then he forcibly activates the Another Blade watch inside of Amane.

The transformation has a screen with Another Blade’s face appear and move over her, just like the card that appears when Kenzaki transforms.

Ow, my heart.

OH SHIT RIGHT.

These two episodes have made no effort to hide the green blood that both Kenzaki and Hajime have – from the miscolored bruises to actual bloodstains. And Undead can be ‘sealed’ away – that’s where the Rouze cards come from in the first place. Another Blade – no. Amane doesn’t want them to fight – doesn’t want them to have to fight. So she seals their powers. Their emblems move onto the Another Blade… armor, I guess is as good a word as any.

And now their wounds are red.

But she just took the powers of two Jokers, absorbing them into one person. Leaving one person with the Joker designation.

Herself.

Please note that I typed this immediately before restarting, only to watch the Sealing Stone appear.

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and nobody feels fine.

Oh, the cinematography of this show. A beam visually separating Sougo and White!Woz from their angles on the stairs – it’s going the opposite direction, making an x with the handrail behind them.

We’re back to the question of “And then what?”.

White!Woz’s future is gone, the potential isn’t there anymore, so he’d rather there not be a future at all. I guess we’ll never see if my ‘a future frozen in an endless moment’ theory was right. Pity. I was wondering if they would go that route for him.

Oooh, an orchestral version of ‘Zi-O: King of Time’!

“You can’t just give up! What’s the use in assuming that it’s over?” Sougo is cheering on even his enemy this boy is not nearly as dark as he assumed in the Ryuki arc, oh my goodness. “You can’t say that any one future is set in stone, so keep trying, keep opposing us! I’ll... No. We’ll keep foiling your plans, but you can’t just give up on the world.”

And the orchestral theme just keeps rising in the background.

Oh… and Sougo said the same thing to Woz. Geiz says that he can’t stand living in the past. And, like I guessed last episode, in like, the fourth section of this liveblog… The past that they’ve lived is, technically, still in the future from where they are now. From Sougo’s perspective, and from the perspective of time itself, none of that has happened yet.

Besides, like Geiz is saying, they came to the past to change history anyway. They’re making a new future, all of them – Sougo, Tsukuyomi, and Geiz… and Woz.

“Do you want in?”

“… That sounds interesting.”

Hm. The Trinity watch – which is somehow successfully created by White!Woz – has all three of the current Belt Voices, doesn’t it? The two that the Ziku Driver uses and the high-pitched one from the BeyonDriver.

“If you use this, I will accept it.”

… accept what? The option to create a new future? The future that Sougo’s aiming for?

Nifty – the light from Regulus and the Day of Oma burns out the clouds from the Sealing Stone.

Pffft - ‘the light is guiding us’ no, no it’s not so much that…

(I love the ‘wtf is going on’ faces from Kenzaki and Hajime)

GEEZ Trinity’s basically a mini-Sentai mech, with all three of them in one place inside.

“Guys, no, I’m sorry, I know none of us know what is going on, but I have to take control for a second, I have to do my speech okay, it’s in my contract. This is not optional.”

I like how the hand on the clock moves to point to whoever’s in control of the body.

I really like how Trinity forms all of their weapons – and how they dissolve when discarded. Nice touch.

And I really like the triumphant section of ‘King of Time’ playing behind this fight.

...Regulus is shining still, brighter than before. With a ‘shine’ of pink, yellow, and green. Their colors.

“Why did you choose to let me stay?”

“Because I think you have more potential.”

White!Woz accepts that ‘his’ world will never exist, and that Sougo will create a better one. He goes out peacefully, and warning Black!Woz – no. Warning Woz that Sir Swartz is planning more than they know.

He goes out with a shimmer of golden motes of light, and the glitching effects that have been a key sign of time re-writing an existence.

Oma Zi-O: You’re almost done… only six more until you’re me.

Sougo: But what I don’t want to?

Daiki yoinked the Future Note. Show off.

Which, of course, creates a slight problem for me and my potential ‘fix it’ of Zi-O, down the line in the Re-United ‘verse. Or, rather, a complication.

See, the draft I’ve got has at minimum one of the Den-O’s and Zeronos ferrying Riders back and forth. THAT is how I plan to deal with the amnesia issue. Not warning them in the present and past, like I had planned. But having the ‘contemporary’ versions of them just. Sorta travel backward, and pretend that they’re the ones that from in the past. Just… ya know, keep their past selves unaware of what’s going on, take the brunt of temporary power removal. Fill in for themselves when Zi-O and Geiz meet them.

And I had everyone scheduling this from Tsukasa having somehow duplicated Black!Woz’s book when he grabbed it during the Ghost arc. I have never seen Decade, and have no idea if that would even be part of his powerset. But, like, Trinity just knocked off his ability to turn Riders into weapons and stuff, so. Ya know.

I’m apparently not that far off, if I can work Daiki into it. … need to watch Den-O and Decade first, but that’s just how it goes.

The complication is my stated ‘not wanting to touch on Zi-O’ aspect. I now admit that I want to handle it somehow, but if they keep airing concepts similar to ones I’ve been working on for months, I’m going to get accused of lying.

Arceus, Cosmos, and Gaim DAMNIT.

Of course, you may have noticed I skipped a scene there during the re-cap.

Because not for the first time, something has been saved by Zi-O taking powers away. I’m still decidedly not here for the amnesia concept, and I am not okay with the fact that certain characters have potentially been un-created – Ankh, Parad, Poppy and the like among them – but here’s the thing.

Both Kenzaki and Hajime remember being Blade and Chalice. They can properly retire – They’re both bleeding red. Hajime was never human to start with – he was using the Spirit card to be human. But he seems to be human now. The Blade and Chalice watches appear to have taken their Joker situation out of the picture.

Like how his intervention by introducing the father to Emu, who clearly went on to point him to Hiiro, saved the son during the Ex-Aid arc.

Like how the girls would have never gone missing during the Fourze and Faiz arc, to say nothing of Takumi and Kusaka being decidedly more alive than usual.

Like how Kaito also appears to be alive again after the Gaim arc.

And how neither the girl or her brother died in the Ghost arc.

How Rentaro can become Shinobi in a newly created potential future.

How Mondo got to meet his father.

… admittedly, his apparently re-creating the events of Ryuki might be a problem. I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the RIDER TIME specials, but I hear that’s what happened? Sorry, Shinji.

But here’s the thing. A not-insignificant number of things have turned out for the better… and as long as the ‘you were never riders’ thing can be… worked around…

Hmn.

((also, just a quick note, if you comment on any of the sections in here, I’d really appreciate it if you specify which statements you’re talking about. These recaps get really long, so... y’know, it’ll make it a little easier for a conversation.))

[spiltwines]

◜ ⁘  ᴘʜᴏᴇʙᴇ ᴛᴏɴᴋɪɴ, ᴄɪꜱ ꜰᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ, ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ᴇɪɢʜᴛ.  →  have you met romy callahan ? she is an actress that has lived in philadelphia for six months. i heard they’re also a scorpio with a knack for being impassioned & ambitious, but can also be quite callous & isolated. she always makes me think of empty beer bottles lining the wall, and you can always catch liability by lorde blaring from their window.  •  

◜ ⁘ ᴋᴀʏᴀ ꜱᴄᴏᴅᴇʟᴀʀɪᴏ, ᴄɪꜱ ꜰᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ, ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ꜱɪx. → have you met cressida plum ? she is a waitress / local musician that has lived in philadelphia for four years. i heard they’re also a capricorn with a knack for being outspoken & sagacious, but can also be quite temperamental & biting. she always makes me think of neon lights in an empty club, and you can always catch upper west side by king princess blaring from their window. •

mandy again  !  can  you  guess  that  ya  girl  got  TIRED  &  crammed  these  two  together  ?

no need to blink, you’ve definitely seen romy before. whether you grew up with her around philly or you remember her on your tv screens every thursday night during primetime, she’s got a difficult face to forget. romy loved the escapism of movies, so whenever her drunkard father would come home in one of his fits, romy would grab her twin brother, tommy, and tuck themselves away while she forced him to watch the classics with her.

romy swore up and down that she’d leave this town, but given her lackluster performance in high school & the general burden of being rick callahan’s daughter meant that she’d probably resign herself to the life of a bartender under his watchful eye. and with her brother by her side, that didn’t sound SO bad, but she had bigger things in mind.

on the eve of her twentieth birthday, exhausted by the waitressing gig she had, romy took a chance  (  and her savings  )  on a whim that lead her straight to hollywood. okay, there were a lot more steps in between, but romy went from being a face on the streets to a golden girl on your tv screen.

the show was basic dramatic fodder, a gossip girl-esque soap, but it developed a big following, and romy was soon an it girl. the problem was, she was a philly girl at heart with her father’s gift for drinking liquor like water --- coupled with the substances that were being offered to her left and right, romy was primed to fail before she could reach her peak. she managed a few movie roles that gave romy high praise and numerous magazine covers labeling her as a someone to watch, but behind the glossy pages and bright lights, there was trouble.

a few too many breakdowns & late arrivals to set got romy fired, unceremoniously written off her show, and managers sending her off to rehab. 30 days later, she didn’t feel ready to bounce back into hollywood yet  ---  so she did the only thing that came to mind and returned to philadelphia.

romy callahan is back, trying to keep a low profile and, more importantly, trying to reconnect with her brother and old friends. she’s quick witted, gifted with a wry sense of humor, and more sensitive than she lets on. there’s a bitter streak in her, but she’s trying to make amends and stay clean . . . though she’s having difficulty keeping away from the booze for too long, insisting she has it under control.

WANTED CONNECTIONS  !

old friends -  people who knew her way back when! people to ground her, people to call her out, just familiar faces that she craves. tbh a best friend that she skipped out on would be amazing.

fwb / hook-ups  -  romy has to keep away from drinking and other vices, so random hook-ups seem to be an alternative as a means of keeping her satiated.

roommates - romy’s attempting a normal second chance, so could be someone who recognises her and honestly wonders why romy callahan is rooming with them. let’s make it fun ! she’s actually a neater roommate than you’d suspect.

anything else tbh i’m so tired

cressida has a knack for doing things Just Because. she grew up dreadfully bored in camden, finding everyone and everything to be the same, so she moved out to los angeles. again, she found herself woefully disappointed and headed eastward, figuring she’d find somewhere that could satiate her.

eventually, she landed in philadelphia. it wasn’t quite what she was looking for, but for the time being, she figured it can do. a musician with a knack for wicked, pointed lyrics and a biting wit, if occasionally a bit cruel, cress doesn’t believe in bullshit. blunt to the point of being off-putting, she may not be the friendliest person, but it’s never a dull moment in her company.

extremely gay and loving it, she tends to work her way through girls and break more than a few hearts, though she insists otherwise. cressida doesn’t believe in being rude just for the sake of it, but she’s often quite careless in how she approaches others.

will also yell at you from her spot onstage if you talk too loud during her performances, thank you very much. she’s only waitressing as a way to get by, and one of these days, definitely, she’s gonna head off to new york or maybe give los angeles a second go; she loves to insist that philadelphia is just a stop along the way, even after all these years.

a better friend than you’d think, an excellent lover with an aversion to romance, a solid drinking buddy.

WANTED CONNECTIONS  !

roommates - pls pls pls, it’ll be blast and she’s probably actually a better roomie than you’d think.

hook-ups - self explanatory, she just likes having pretty girls to fool around with on a regular basis. could be feelings, just buried deep. 

drinking buddies - she’s a blast & definitely a lot nicer after a few drinks.

anyone to perform with, songwriting partner, etc !!

[thepolyorchids]

A bit about each song on The Polyorchids LP

Track 1 of 10: The Lark

This was the first Polyorchids song that didn’t exist prior to the band’s formation. It was sort of an experiment in a different writing style. The first Courtney Barnett album had just come out and I loved the way she wrote these songs made up of super specific and sometimes mundane lyrics that, when added up, made you feel something. Tony’s naturally great at getting specific like that, but I tend to retreat into my own mind and write from that space. I used a simple a two-chord progression I’d been sitting on for years and wrote a blow-by-blow telling of a drive out to a gig Travis, Tony and I played in Willits a few weeks prior. The hills of Lake County had just been burned by a huge fire. On the trip, we met a bunch of nice seasonal weed-trimming folk (plenty of them white dudes w/ dreads, hence the chorus, which was originally just a placeholder but ultimately stuck) and we crashed at a shitbox motel called The Lark. I liked a Joyce Manor song called “Midnight Service at the Mutter Museum” which had a quiet-verse/loud-chorus structure to it. I brought it to the band with that in mind, but couldn’t get Travis to soften the his floor tom hits, only to find that the thumping beat actually made for a better song. From there it found its groove. — Justin

Track 2 of 10: Predisposed

Most of the lyrics and melodies for “Predisposed” were written in 2011. I think for most songwriters it’s easier to say something in a song than it is to say it in real life. This song was written directly to my friend (and sister from another mister) Nicole Putnam. She was and has always been someone that had my back no matter what, no questions asked. This song turned out to be a (WELL-deserved) explanation/Thank You (even though she never asked for either) for all the times in that year she was there for me when I felt like I had no one. It started as an acoustic song (like most Polyorchids songs), I absolutely forgot I EVEN WROTE IT! For me writing becomes sometimes like therapy, so once I finish... I feel better and feel like I can move on a bit. I found and old iPhone in October of 2017. When I checked out the voice memos, this bad boy was on it. It wasn’t totally complete but Justy, Trav and I worked it to be a full band song and it made it to our album. This is also the first time in The Polyorchids history that I sing my own song on the record. — Tony

Track 3 of 10: Dumpster Heap

I wrote the melody for this a few years ago on a miniature kids’ guitar I was fooling around with, but I spent more than a year just humming gibberish to it. Tony and I have had tons of conversations about our feelings about talking politics on social media. On one hand, it’s a cesspool of garbage that brings out the worst in people and diving into it accomplishes essentially nothing, but on the other hand, it’s where we do 90% of our communicating at this point. If we don’t talk about this stuff online, we’re sort of making the decision to not talk about it at all, which isn’t good either. I’ve typed out full responses to Facebook comments only to delete them before posting so as to avoid surrendering my day to a shit show of notifications. This song is about that internal conversation. I wrote a second verse for this after the “grab her by the…” tape came out, but decided it made an evergreen idea too specific. A few months later I started writing ’45’ and realized this 30-second song could exist with just one verse that feeds right into that one. — Justin

Track 4 of 10: 45

The sort of bizarre post-election vibe had given way to the inauguration and now this guy was slapping his Sharpie signature on like five executive orders per day and arguing about crowd sizes. A parade of idiots were marching through Charlottesville with tiki-torches the day I started writing it. I can’t really pull off overtly political lyrics because they feel corny to me about one hour after I write them, but it seemed like a joke that this dude was running things and I felt like trying capture that in some way, because it was inescapable. Jeff Rosenstock’s WORRY had come out a few months earlier and knocked me out. A fast/crazy deep-cut called "Bang on the Door” was my favorite track and I pretty much wanted to jack it and make it my own. The chords and melody for 45 are totally different from that song, but you can tell they’re sort of distant cousins. I only had one verse written, but I showed it to Trav and Tony at the very end of a practice and the “Side! Eyed! Glances!…” intro was so glorious and punchy with the full band. Some songs take work to find their groove. This one was a natural fit right off the bat and we got excited about it. I wrote a second verse and we started playing it at shows. I finished the third verse the night before recording with Pat and our friends Mike and Jake came in to sing gang vocals on the outro. — Justin

Track 5 of 10: Skeletons

Tony wrote this one a few years ago and lost the demo on an old phone (that’s his move) until just a few months before we recorded the album. I’d never heard it prior to that, but I instantly became obsessed with it, even more so than Tony I think. I told him as much, and I even played it a few times at open mics by myself. The song is really just one verse and one chorus… or a looping chorus with one bridge — however you want to put it. I added the guitar riff, which mirrors the melody but gives it something new, and pitched the idea of having Tony and I alternate singing with a louder, shared verse at the end. This is the only time we’ve ever structured a song that way. We recorded this two days before I moved out of California and we had absolutely no time to practice it with Travis. We tracked our instruments to a click track (unlike most Polyorchids songs, which we record live as a full band) and let Pat at Earth Tone play the percussion after the fact — also something we’d never done before. — Justin

Track 6 of 10: Down in the Desert

This song was written after a trip to Arizona for my uncle Jeff’s funeral. My brother and I grew up with our uncle around a ton, bringing us those little popper/snappers and just generally being the best. As we grew older, we came to realize how truly bizarre and fucking hilarious this person was. Eccentric and witty to his absolute core. He joined the Army out of high school and was stationed in Germany, which I think clouds this song in a bit of confusion because “shipped out to Germany…” really sounds like WWII, but it was actually decades later during a peace-time in Germany. My uncle enjoyed room-temperature tall cans of beer — a taste he said he developed during those years in Germany. After the Army, he got into theater and ultimately became a union-carded makeup artist in Hollywood, working on stuff like the sitcom Major Dad and a TV adaptation of the movie Weird Science among many other projects. Before the funeral, my dad received a letter from one of Jeff’s old makeup artist friends/colleagues. He read that full letter at the funeral and it was just about the most real and beautiful thing I’ve heard in my whole life... Just a human being remembering another human being through the specific memories they shared — the kinds of specifics that send you inward to think about your own memories. I cried hard and felt extremely happy at the same time.

The whole extended family stayed at a desert motel that night and passed a couple of tall cans around in a circle and took turns sharing stories. I liked the idea of letting that evening with family be the chorus and Jeff’s life be the verses, so that’s the basic structure of the song. I started the first couple of lines during that road trip to the desert, but the rest came one line at a time over like a half a year. I never hit a wall, but I never hit a groove either. It was a challenge to write, and yet I felt strongly about seeing it through. It wasn’t until I played an almost-finished version for Tony that it became a potential Polyorchids song at his insistence. I played it once at an open mic but the first time we played it live as a band was at Danny Secretion’s Fuck Cancer benefit almost exactly a year later. — Justin

Track 7 of 10: Back off, Warchild

I started this as a sparse and mellow folk song on acoustic guitar, but abandoned it after about a month of frustration over the lyrics. It started as a sort of abstract story about conflict and tension, but I had a hard time keeping it moving. I liked the first verse on its own but didn’t see a path forward. But then we tried it as a band right after the Popgun EP was done while floating some new song ideas. This came right after we’d found some momentum with The Lark, and I got excited about the dynamics of the full band banging it out. It added something new and took some pressure off the lyrics, which I still feel a bit lukewarm about to be totally honest. The binding theme of the song is frustration and tension and negativity. Verse one is childhood, verse two is early adulthood, and verse three is the old age and death. The chorus is sort of an anthemic reveling in that pessimism, which is no way to live but real nonetheless. The one lyric I really love is the chorus line: “...Not our tax brackets not the weather / could pull the graphite out of the letters...” The song title comes from a line in Point Break when Keanu is about to get in a fight at the beach. We spent our teens and 20s camping and boogie boarding at that beach (Leo Carrillo) and rinsing off in those same outdoor showers. — Justin

Track 8 of 10: Low Class Love Song

Low Class Love Song was started in October of 2017. It started out as a baseline I couldn't get outa my head (I'm not 100% sure but I feel like I might have stolen the chords from "runaround sue"). It ended up being a song about the feeling of dating above your class and knowing it's not gonna end well but pursuing it anyway because the pain of a broken heart is worth the experience of sharing some time with that person. Music really is cheaper than a therapist. — Tony

Track 9 of 10: Preachers in Private Jets

This song started as a jam session groove at a practice. Our old band wrote some songs that way, but The Polyorchids never really have. We loved playing it but didn’t know how to treat it because there was no chord progression, just this looping riff. Eventually we added a palm-muted version of the riff and I started yelling nonsense over that part sort of in the style of Fugazi’s Waiting Room. Around that time I saw a video of two televangelist preachers shooting this shit about why God is very pumped about them being super rich. More than half of the lines in this song are lifted almost directly from that YouTube clip. A week before recording, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and Joel Osteen locked up his megachurch doors, keeping out the affected. That last verse was finished right before recording. The chorus chords were written separately by Tony for a different song, but we were elated to find that they fit right into this one and added a nice melodic part that contrasted the verses and the riff. We took a long time to start playing it live, but Jake from Pisscat nudged us to play it every night of a tour we did together around Lake Tahoe. Pisscat pal Becky wrote it on a set list as Pee Pee Jay one time and I regret not calling it that. From there it felt complete. — Justin

Track 10 of 10: Readiness for Radio

After a life spent not caring either way about Bruce Springsteen, I found my way to his Nebraska album and loved it like many before me. I did the obligatory deep-dive into its origin story: DIY four-track demos that he’d recorded in his basement with plans of doing a proper full-band studio album, only to release the raw demos instead because they served the songs better. I liked the idea of writing something that referenced the themes of the album and its story without ever doing so explicitly. The result, I think, is one of those songs that lets the listener find their own meaning. It’s not an autobiographical song for me, and yet I identify with plenty of it personally. The main chords were adapted out of an old mewithoutyou song. I thought I’d spun them off to be totally unrecognizable, but my brother’s wife Veronica spotted it like four years after I wrote it! If you listen to that band, let me know if you can spot it. I recorded it live in the big drum room at Earth Tone, soaking it in open space and reverb. Pat left the loooong ringing sound of the final chord and then abruptly ended it when I slap the strings shut. I love those final seconds. — Justin

[mimmerr]

Ambition, the music industry and death: an interview with Giant Party.

The alternative music scene is not the way the was. Years ago, finding new and interesting acts to follow was reasonably easy because there was investment in upcoming artists and a culture of support.  Can we say that anymore? Alternative music festivals, venues and labels are having an equally hard time, trying to cater to everyone in a world where everyone is catered to. It’s who you know (or who is a fan) rather than what you’re producing, that seems to make or break a band nowadays. Hopefully, you’ll agree with me that something needs to change, that we need musically diverse, decent bands making it big and changing things up.

That’s where Giant Party come along. A four piece band living and working in North London, Giant Party don’t sound like other bands around and that’s how they like it. Even though you can classify them as a lesser known act, their sound is well produced, so much to the point, you’d think they’d be on that All Points East line up at the very least.

I met with Tim (Synths, vocals) and Hugh (Drummer)  to discuss the state of the alternative music business, their upcoming studio work and ambitions for 2020. 

What are the origins of the band?

T: We had been in several bands for years, with members changing every so often.

H: I’m originally from Scotland. I moved to Guildford about twelve years ago and then onto London where I met the singer Al, Tim’s brother. Then the guitarist Mark and I met and realised we had the same musical influences. He joined and Giant Party was formed.

How has this affected your music throughout the years?

H: I think our sound is lighter now. We still have flavours of those older bands that Al and I were in. I’d say our current music has merged all those together but it’s a lot fresher.

What else has impacted the bands’ sound?

T: The way it works is that my brother will record a demo and then we’ll add to it and edit, using our various inspirations to create the track. There’s a lot more older music influencing the band like The Cure and Tears for Fears but newer bands with big live performances are a part of our sound.

H: Like Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem. When you see them, there’s just something so special and ambitious there.

T: The new Tame Impala album is really good too. It has really worked as a whole; it’s not just about those first few singles that came out.

Let’s discuss your ambitions.

T: At the moment, the most frustrating thing is that we’re all working full time. I’d be really excited to see what we could so if we could commit all our time to the band.

H: With the time and money we’ve got to produce now, we’re quite proud of what we’ve made and it’s enough for us to move forward with in terms of working with new people, labels or musicians. In the future it’s about making sure we can afford to go on tour and press on with gigs. Eventually, our end goals would be playing great venues like Shepherd’s Bush and Brixton Academy.

What would you say are the barriers for upcoming bands?

T: I think patience is important. Making music is a slow process and so much success is down to who you know and getting your foot in the door. Being in a band nowadays means being business minded and being able to market yourselves. And still keeping strong in that process. Festival’s lineups have perhaps dipped in quality over the last few years, especially in terms of female representation.

H: The way people listen to music has really changed and festivals are definitely trying to keep up with that. And I’m sure the organisers are thinking, how do we survive as a festival now? We’re not in charge of those big decisions, those sporadic lineups you see, but as I said, that’s to keep up with the way people listen to music nowadays.

You’ve been busy writing material at the moment. What are your songs about?

T: Before it was all about going out in London, White Ink was about that, it was about something people could relate to.

H: None of us are religious, but I’d say the newer stuff discusses religion, symbolism and imagery and big ideas like death.

Tell us about what 2020 holds.

T: This weekend, we’re going into the studio. We’ve got a song coming out in March and then around 3 singles coming out one month at a time. 

H: I’d say this year is going to be big for us. We’re confident that these new songs are even better, they’re newer, fresher and in line with what we’re about. 

What makes Giant Party, Giant Party?

H: We’re melody heavy and we make sure the songs are strong. Along with that, the live shows are equally good. We work really hard on them, all the time, we’re not settling for an average show. It needs to be an experience for everyone that goes.

T: Definitely. We don’t want to be one of those bands that don’t sound as great as they are on record. That can be really disappointing. I’d say as well we don’t follow current trends, we stick to our own sound.

After finishing the interview, it seemed clear to me that Giant Party are a confident band, reassured in their craft and identity. It is we, as listeners that need to support them so they are able to get in the studio and eventually headline Glastonbury. What are we going to do when Tame Impala and Arcade Fire stop touring? Sit at home? No, we need to ensure the big bands of the future are able to get to that stage. So instead of listening to the same album for the sixth time, seek out, listen and follow independent musicians. This means sharing songs with your friends, giving them a like/follow online and catching a gig. From this interview, I hope the first band on your list is Giant Party.

Their Facebook; Their Twitter; Their Spotify 

Bands can request free interviews and press releases by emailing molly@mimmerr.co.uk

[dearyallfrommatt]

Alt-weeklies are dead. Blogs are dead. Bootlickers and the civility police won.

 The above story from The New Republic written by Alex Pareene was brought to my Twitter world by Radley Balko, superlative journalist and maybe the only self-described libertarian I’d let thrive after the Purge. In short, it discusses the recent emasculation of Deadspin and how it’s indicative of the death of the “rude press”. That is, the elimination of smaller, shall we say less respectful outlets like Splinter and Gawker, publications that would stick their fingers into they eyes of the rich and the very much richer.

 And it’s not just those web-based publications’ deaths that article warns of. It’s the slow extinction of the alt-weekly or alt-monthly, all to be replaced by boutique publications that won’t be so gauche as to upset their betters. In other words, they’ll be “civil” because “civility” might be the most important thing we’re missing in this cold, cruel world.

 The first writing gig I got out of college was at an alt-monthly and the only “regular job” I’ve ever had was with an alt-weekly, so I might be a bit biased on this matter. Twenty-some-odd years ago in Gainesville, FL, a pair of cats named Colin Whitworth and Mike Podalsky started MOON Magazine, maybe the altest alternative magazine that wasn’t a ‘zine that I’ve ever seen. I mostly wrote about music and Gainesville being what it was, there wasn’t much sticking-in-the-eye that needed doing.

 Though I do remember them pissing of a real estate guy so badly he started his own “alt-monthly” in competition. It lasted one issue as I recall. Every afternoon at 4:20, we'd have a “staff meeting” and the magazine run pieces from severely left-wing sources going after the destruction of the Everglades or the dangers of the Cassini probe. It was that kind of magazine.

 After I left Gainesville for Athens, I took up with Flagpole Magazine, a music/news/arts weekly in Michael Stipe’s hometown. Athens is a different town and publisher Pete McCommons was a different breed. An old school newspaper man contrasted to Mike and Colin’s “young upstarts”, Flagpole was a gentler poke that nevertheless contrasted well with the bought-and-owned-by-the-chamber-of-commerce local daily, The Athens Banner-Herald. He still gave a lot of room to his staff to go nuts, notably my direct editor Ballard Lesemann.

 When I left college in 1997, I had already worked in actual, for real newspapers for almost a decade. Furthermore, I’d grown my hair long and discovered Hunter Thompson, so I was by no means inclined to go back to covering school board meetings for some small town weekly. MOON went the way of the dodo sometime in 2001, and though I left in 2002, Flagpole’s still kicking.

 I rarely made anything close to a living at writing, but I’m thankful of my time with the alts and grateful to Colin, Mike, Pete and Ballard for letting me share the ride with them and have a little fun. So, again, grain of salt. One thing working on alternatives taught me was that “complete objectivity” was not only impossible but unnecessary so long as your cards are on the table, so I ain’t going to put no shuck on you.

 Now, I won’t summarize or really explore what the above-linked New Republic piece goes into. I highly recommend it be read and considered with much gravity. Even if you don’t agree with its conclusions - or even the need for the existence of “rude journalism” - do study on what it suggests. Do we really want a world where the extremely rich, either as individuals or as a group, can shut down publications that don’t show proper fealty and people who’re willing to tell the Boss Man to take this job and shove it?

 The responses to Radley’s retweet and others I’ve seen elsewhere are telling indeed, though. While there are plenty of sympathetic voices, not a few folks are saying “well, good, fuck ‘em”. There is a negative view of journalists, but if anyone suggests that it’s caused by recent events in the business are lying or stupid or ignorant or all three. For as long as there have been rich dudes willing to start wars for more wealth, there have been plenty of poor bastards willing to die for them. Nowadays, we have folks willing to pay Major League Baseball for what they used to get for free, and not even blink an eye.

 A lot of it’s political. Right-wing media doesn’t have the same problems in getting funding because, well, most rich people are quite fine with the nuts and bolts of conservative thought. The economic side, anyway, which spells less taxes or regulation; the social side, they have enough pull to not have to worry about anyone griping unless they piss off someone higher up the ladder.

 Which is extremely amusing, since these are the same folks who stay constantly stricken with the vapors about how much money Hillary Clinton (or Elizabeth Warren or Barrack Obama or Bernie Sanders or fill-in-the-blank-here) bring home. The “common people”, they’re saying, don’t need hoity-toity nerds who can string sentences together and count without taking off their shoes telling us that they’re favorite rich guy needs a kick in the nuts for being the type of bastard that needs kicking in the nuts on a regular basis. The hooting baboons that support digital frat houses like Barstool are happy to stick it to those PC creeps, man, rebelling in that way that hurts the actual elite not one tiny bit.

 They also hate the corporate media and social media sites, which they will tell you endlessly in the comments sections of corporate medias’ pages on social media while FOX and CNN have a special on it every other week. They hate “political correctness” trying to tell them that the “natural order” isn’t just boozy white dudes watching the Pats and gorging on chicken wings, making  cracks about the opposing quarterback being homosexual or making “hey-it’s-just-a-joke” jokes about Serena Williams or some WNBA playing being a “man, baby”.

 There is most definitely a place for big mainstream news sources like CNN or The New York Times or TIME Magazine. A professor of my in journalism school used to repeat the quote, paraphrased from memory, that “journalism is the first rough draft of history”. Despite what the right wing has been screaming for years, whoever the president is, the big papers are rarely out for his blood. Once you become president, you are a “Washington insider” and all the corporate media really cares about is making money. 

 Whatever he says about the “Washington Swamp” and “fake news”, Donald Trump’s been part of that world, as is every Washington politician or media figure. FOX News is the mainstream media and the Washington Examiner has plenty of backing to keep that so. Who funds The Federalist? That publication has its place but that question must be asked. To do otherwise is to tell the powerful that you’re just fine with them running things, thank you very much.

 But there needs to be a place for a small, scrappy paper speaking for the weird and shat-upon, flicking the earlobe of the rich and powerful and running ads for weekly drag shows. The dirtbag center - that’s what I’m calling the tedious middle-class bourgeoisie spawn that all voted for Trump because they hated Hillary but don’t want to admit it and were shocked as the rest of us, deal with it - wants to be kept fat and saucy while their kids joke about “learning to code” and they all grind themselves down in a miserable existence. Sticking it to the media and the elite, man, all up in the “intellectual dark web,” man, just like Peter Thiel or Bari Weiss, man.

 This is one of those things that shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does, because these people are that guy who started a one-run magazine to get back at Colin and Mike for saying hurtful things about them being crooked. In America, at least, there has always, always been a group of people who will kick down for the benefit of their upper-class betters and do it with a smile on their faces. It’s why dumbass country boys went to die for slavery and why thick-necked hardhats smashed picket lines and assassinated union leaders.

 Like the story notes, we all thought that blogs would be the new hotness, but that lasted just long enough for Google to deciding that “do no evil” was bad for the bottom line. People, especially wingnuts, boo-hoo about Facebook or Twitter without acknowledging or even recognizing that Mark Zuckerberg is a greedy little shit and Jack Dorsey is quite comfortable with cosplaying Nazis. Thanks to Ajit Pai’s bought-and-sold ass, Net Neutrality - about the only thing that keeps the internet from being anything other than a glorified Want Ads - is going to be that much harder to make reality.

A lot of this goes back to the “civility” thing, or lack thereof, NYT columnists bemoan whenever they get caught out being a dipstick. We’re too mean to each other, they say, we don’t know how to respect each other, they say. Rich people know how to run things better than the hoi polloi, so do sit down and be quiet like nice children. Or else. 

 Because here’s the thing, friends and neighbors: the rich, I mean really rich class in this country do not give a solid gold shit about you apart from how much more money they can squeeze out. Suck up to Elon Musk all you want and bemoan Bill Gates having to pay so much in taxes that he’s still a billionaire afterwards all you want. They are not going to let you on the space ship with them once they’re done fouling the waters and scouring the land.

 You can cheer the death of Deadspin all you want, hoot at the firings of journalist who say bad things about Trump or the cops or Tom Brady, and general be gleeful that the media all should “learn to code” to your heart’s content. Because it won’t end there. Conglomerations are already scooping up weekly and small town dailies, shuttering the superfluous and give everyone the same story in the same tone while kissing the proper butts.

 In the end, we need an antagonistic press. We need someone willing to piss off the deep pockets and old families and moneyed interests. We need someone that’ll give a voice to left-handed, bisexual, transvestite furries who love swing dancing. Or even just a little time, a slice of acknowledgement that the world isn’t just boozy obnoxious white dudes on barstools or bitter wine moms sniping on Facebook. You can cheer the downfall of such, but all you’re doing is putting the noose around your own throat and saving the Powers That Be a little time.

��You may not want to rock the boat, friends and neighbors, but have no illusions. When the rubber hits the road, the Wealthy Elite will throw you over. Don’t make it easier for them.

[fuchashok]

ACOUSTIC SIGNALS

FS: Can you tell me some of your influences?

VO: Oh gosh. I’m always bad at answering this question. I don’t even know where to start because I listen to such a broad range of music. Ani DiFranco and Bjork were big influences on me when I was growing up. Sylvan Esso may be my biggest influence right now. I just saw them in concert. They’re a duo, producer and singer, and she’s an incredible songwriter. It’s somewhat dance music but really quality songwriting. Also the rhythms of Tune-Yards. A lot of trip-hop like Portishead. I just got to see Hamilton, so I’m listening to the soundtrack nonstop and I listen to all the artists on the Hamilton mixtape, I definitely have some hip hop influences.

I don’t have a top 3 in terms of influences right now. Kimbra is big influence on me so it was cool to see her speak at Loop. My friends are very influential on me, especially when they’re pushing hard and putting music out, producing. I’m part of 2 groups -Women Beatmakers & Female Frequency- both challenging yet inspiring.

Female Frequency creates albums that are made entirely by women. All the songwriters, the instrumentalists, engineers and singers. Even the studio owners are women. I’m going to work on remixing one of Female Frequency’s recent releases. I’m trying to get involved more with actual releases that women are involved with. I’ll be on the next Female Frequency album, producing a track by myself - maybe my first official solo production?

When it comes to production, I usually co-produce. I’ve produced things for placements or to pitch but I haven’t released anything official under my name that I produced by myself, yet.

FS: At what point did you feel you wanted to become a singer?

VO: Well, I’ve been singing since I was like 4 so I don’t think there was any kind of light bulb that went on where I was like “Oh I should be a singer.” As a toddler, I distinctly remember singing to the painter who was painting my mom’s bathroom. I was on stage by 5, doing plays, then later musicals in high school and college. I did stop music for a while because I worked on grassroots campaigns for environmental and social justice. I missed music, so once I started learning songwriting and guitar I felt like I had come back into my own. I wrote about justice in my songs too in different ways and try to have an impact that way.

FS: What kind of singer do you consider yourself? Folk?

VO: Definitely not anymore. My style as I call it is Electro-alt-pop. That pretty much covers the range of things that I do. I don’t write “shiny” Pop, like Katy Perry. But it’s a pop structure: there’s verses, choruses, usually a bridge. To me that’s Pop. When I go to these electronic shows like in Berlin, it’s different. I wouldn’t call myself “electronic” exactly, even though I use electronic elements and I work in Ableton. When I heard some of the women from Female Pressure perform, I was like ok, I don’t do that kind of electronic music. That’s often way more experimental, too.

After Berlin was when I defined myself as a Pop writer. Took me a while to call myself that - for one, people have this thing about pop. But it’s really such a broad genre and I’m proud to be able to write a concise, catchy song.

I wouldn’t call my music folk, though some of it may be political, and some of my influences are folk, but I rarely play acoustic guitar live, for example. I sometimes write on acoustic guitar but I always go back to my electric guitar and I now always go back to some kind of electronic production.

FS: So you made a transition at some point?

VO: Yes, just within the last couple of years… With my old band, I was doing alternative rock but then I started exploring more electronic production. Sometimes I miss all live instruments for sure, but I think this is the genre that’ll I’ll stick to for a while. “Electro Alt-Pop” covers the Alternative side of me with electronic influences and the Pop song structures with catchy melodies.

FS: What about another musician would make you want to collab?

VO: Thinking about the musicians that I collaborate with now, I have to feel super comfortable around them. So I tend to work with close friends. But the last album I released I didn’t really know the co-producers well, initially. Working with them over the course of a year, I of course got to know them. Now, if I’m starting on a production myself I’ll probably give it to somebody else to work on back and fourth, I’m usually going to pick somebody I’m already comfortable with.

The most important thing for me is that I don’t feel stupid bringing up an idea or doing something that doesn’t sound good. When you’re working on music, its ok if it’s bad at first, so I have to feel comfortable brainstorming or working on stuff that won’t be perfect at first. So I collab with this producer Audible Doctor, who’s more established than I am but I feel comfortable working with him. I know that he’ll appreciate my ideas and where I’m coming from, even if he’s got more production experience.

So, that’s one thing: feeling comfortable. Then there’s their talent and skill. I have to like their beats. And they need to be hard workers because I work really hard and anyone who I work with is most likely going to be working really hard along-side me, so…

FS: How do you come up with most of your song titles?

VO: Most of the songwriters I know come up with their song titles first. That’s a very natural way of writing Pop and Folk. I think it’s a really strong way to write. Still, I tend to do it the other way around. The idea is to keep a journal with you all the time, where you write song titles whenever you think of them - and draw from that list when you have a chance to write a song. Sia, who top lines a lot, does that. It’s a really good way to do it. But right now for the most part I come up with the song titles from the choruses.

“Wake You,” my EP title, and most of my album titles, come from a lyric in the song. My last album was called “Fires and Overturned Cars,” which is a lyric from my song “Incite Riot.”

FS: What instrument do you feel compliments your voice the best?

VO: I would love to have a keyboard player in my band, again. In terms of songwriting, genre and style along with the sounds that I want, they come more from the synth world than the guitar. But, I love guitar and I’m never going to stop playing it. I’ve taken a break from it, though, to work more on my production, but I still play guitar at all my shows. I also really like writing to drum beats. And to other vocals, writing more layers than record over that.

It’s hard to say that any one instrument makes my voice sound better. I think it’s more of the sound or rhythm that I’m writing to. I write to tracks for film and tv, and learned I pretty much can write to anything.

FS: Lets get into performing. How has performing helped your songwriting?

VO: That’s a great question. I tend to be more inspired to write when I’m performing more. I practice more before the performance to get ready and get in the head space of a songwriter and artist. It keeps me in that space so I’m more excited about writing.

I’m in a bit of a transition now because of my new EP, “Wake You.” Translating that to a live performance has been really different than anything else I’ve done in the past. Now, when I’m writing I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to perform those songs - probably too early in the process to be thinking about that- but I don’t like to use tracks live. So that’s holding me back from writing new material a little bit. It’s going to take time and experience producing more tracks.

The main thing about my music is that I want to keep the live instrumentation in there. I want to sure make my guitar is there. My songs often come from me sitting with my guitar and writing. But when I produce a beat and write over that, I take a really different angle to play it live. I don’t know how much I can translate my fully produced non-guitar based songs onto guitar. Sometimes it just doesn’t sound as good. My song “Call You My Own” was written on guitar and then we manipulated it so much you can’t really tell- but that one I still play the whole song on guitar live.

FS: How has New York influenced your music?

VO: Oh my god, it’s probably the number one influence on my music right now because of the people that I’ve met here. When I first moved here in November 2012, I went to shows every night to meet people. Compared to San Francisco where I lived before, it seemed that the music was edgier, harder-hitting which was what I was going for. Also I got involved in Women Beatmakers and Female Frequency. I met so many different producers and felt really empowered to be able to produce myself because I saw all these other women doing it. That’s a huge part of why I make the music that I do now.

And all my collaborators are here now. The reason I have a side gig now writing for T.V. and film is because of someone I met here who runs a music library. There’s just so much opportunity for musicians. It’s hard to live here, it’s really expensive but the quantity of the music here and the quality of musicians has pushed me to be a better musician. It’s a constant hustle here but that’s my personality anyways. It’s inspiring to see so many other people hustling so hard, too.

FS: What are some other places you want to perform at?

VO: I’m dying to perform in Tokyo, not for any good reason but wanting to go there, and play in a really different place than here. I have a friend there who says I should just come and play. But mostly, I want to have longer and bigger tours around the US. Of course, I would love to perform in Europe. I want to perform everywhere but I think the next steps are getting my show together - so I can put on the best show possible and represent my music in the best light, and so I can also play everything from a house concert to a large venue. That goes for gear, too - What’s the most minimal I can bring and what they can provide in order to put on a really good concert in someone’s house, for example.

I always want my show to be really great.

FS: How was it performing in Europe?

VO: Berlin was awesome. I was definitely still working out the kinks playing Ableton PUSH Live. But it was really cool. I pulled together a night with Female Pressure and Female Frequency. Female Pressure is an international group of female-identified producers. I met them through a friend that lived in Berlin for a while. I put on a showcase of about six producers. I performed with my bass player. I back her up for her songs and she backed me up for my songs. That was a really awesome night.

Then we played another show that was only for headphones. The entire audience only had headphones on. Have you ever heard of this? It’s like a silent disco. But everybody was sitting, watching and listening through headphones only, while we had headphones on too. It was really a great opportunity for sound designers and mix engineers that have a perfect mix. I don’t know its not as great for live instrumentation, but it was a cool experience and it was fun to take your headphones off and just watch. I definitely want to get back to Europe and play more of Berlin, too.

FS: You want to speak on Loop?

VO: Loop was amazing. Last year was the first year that I went. It was incredible to meet so many other producers. Its not really a scene that I’ve been in. So it was inspiring being with producers from all around the world. There was some really cool workshops, especially the one where we all got to work on each other’s beats. We would listen to someone’s beat and then work on it in Ableton. It was called “Production Carousel.” So we got to work on five different producer’s beats and five different people worked on my beats. Then at the end we could hear entirely different version of our own beat. Super cool. Also at Loop, I got to meet a bunch of people from Female Pressure. Obviously the shows and the big panels were really inspiring.

Of course it was really weird to be in Germany during the US presidential election, that kind of put a damper on the whole trip. But the Loop Summit was incredible I hope to go again this year.

FS: How has your work as an activist influenced and helped?

VO: Well, in terms of songwriting, especially at the beginning, it influenced my songs a lot. I wrote a lot of political folk songs. At this point I don’t write a lot of political stuff but there’s definitely a theme of empowerment that runs throughout all of my songs and I think that comes from doing social justice work. I was trained as a grassroots organizer. Every independent artist has to promote themselves now, and all my marketing skills come from being trained as an organizer and running political campaigns.

FS: What’s a personal song you wrote describing your life? It could be off the recent EP or the album before that?

VO: “Call You My Own,” the first track off the “Wake You” EP, I wrote when I was doing a couple shows in Cape Cod. I was single living in New York not feeling the dating scene there. I was alone in a room where I finally had some quiet then started thinking about somebody that I reconnected with from high school. Before I didn’t feel much, but after reconnecting, I thought maybe it’s my second chance accepting this person into my life. The line “Did I wait too long?” is wondering if he’ll give me that chance. The verses are rooted in me being on the road thinking about him. Then the second verse is about seeing him in high-school then seeing him recently. There’s this weird (musically) bridge at the end, running through some memories of him. So that’s the personal story behind that song.

FS: I noticed on one of your early albums you got to work with Mystic?

VO: I was a big fan of Mystic and living in San Francisco while she was in LA. I reached out to her about I song I had called “Black and White” which was about white privilege and racism. After she read the lyrics she wrote back “This is a really important song, I would love to be a part of it.” I was friends with Ice Cube’s engineer and ended meeting her at Ice Cube’s studio to record her rapping. It was a really cool experience to meet her and talk to her. It’s still one my favorite songs that I have because of her verse and just the vibe of the whole song, the back and fourth we have at the end. It’s all live instrumentation except for a couple of loops. The producer I was working with at the time was Jon Evans, an incredible bass player.

I don’t perform it much live anymore because it’s different from what I do now. I would love to collaborate with her again. She said at the time that most people ask her to sing and rap. But I always thought of her as a rapper.

FS: What are you listening to right now?

VO: Like I said, Sylvan Esso. Also Empress Of, who producers a lot of her own stuff. Alice Smith who’s R&B and Pop, some of Phantogram. Bishop Briggs is a great artist. Feist, who’s more on the folk side of things now but used to be in a punk band. FKA Twigs. Anna Wise. Frank Ocean. Laura Mvula. Francis and the Lights. Glass Animals…

Live Setup

VO: I’m on Electric guitar with live pedals, and controlling Ableton with the Push 2 and a Softstep. My bass player plays electric bass and she has a midi controller which I think is a MPK small keyboard. She runs Ableton into the synth bass. My drummer as an acoustic drum set then he has SPD FX, which is a drum pad that he has sounds stored in so he doesn’t need Ableton. And then I have 2 to 3 soul back-up singers.

FS: Do you have anything to say to your fans?

VO: Thanks for interviewing me. It helps to talk about my process because it makes me stop and think about it. To my fans: more music will be coming! And I always love to hear from new so I want to know what you think of the new songs. If you want me to come to your town, just let me know!

VALERIEORTH.COM

TWITTER: @VLOMUSIC

INSTAGRAM: VALERIEORTH

PURCHASE/STREAM  WAKE YOU EP | FIRES AND OVERTURNED CARS |

FARAWAY CITY

[mikeyd1986]

EBONIVORY w/ Parkwood, Hara Kiri & Future Static @ Bar Open, June 2018

On Sunday afternoon, I caught the train out into the city and got off at Parliament station, making my way across to Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and attend a gig at Bar Open. My original plan was to go to the first show at the Karova Lounge in Ballarat and stay there overnight. But unfortunately it was pretty unrealistic seeing how I couldn’t even afford my own accommodation let-alone food and petrol. It was a great plan and perhaps one day I will end up visiting Ballarat for a whole weekend but now is not a great time.

So thank god I had a Plan B: Whilst Fitzroy is not exactly around the corner from where I live in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, at least it’s more accessible and the Sunday gig is on during the day as opposed to late at night. I decided to have lunch beforehand at The Coffee Club Australia at Casey Central Shopping Centre with my parents. I ordered the calamari with chips and salad. I was a little anxious about the time as I knew how long the commute to Fitzroy would be today especially with replacement buses on my train line.

Thankfully there wasn’t a long wait between the trains and replacement buses (Express from Westall to Caulfield) but it still took me around 1.5 hours or so to get to Parliament station. The overcast weather with sunny periods looked deceiving and it didn’t take long for the showers to start pouring down. Luckily I brought along a poncho which I whipped out whilst walking along Nicholson Street towards Johnson Street. I certainly didn’t want to get myself drenched walking to Bar Open this afternoon.

Walking down Brunswick Street, I actually missed the venue completely and ended up running into Charlie Ebonivory and Jake Ewings who were grabbing some lunch. I doubled back and found it. Being my first time here, I was a little unsure as to where the bands would be playing. I took a chance and walked up the stairs, finding the door girl outside the band room.

Being a small venue, it didn’t take long for the space to get really stuffy. It took me a few minutes to get my bearings and I started recognising people. It felt good knowing that I wasn’t the only one experiencing social anxiety and awkwardness around people. It’s a barrier I’m still trying hard to overcome. The usual thoughts entered my brain (What should I say? What if they don’t recognise me? What if I make a fool of myself? What if I trip over my words?).

But I still managed to put myself out there a little, even for a few minutes. It was better than nothing. I was really excited to meet the guys from Ebonivory and Hara Kiri plus I met a couple of band members from Future Static and Parkwood AU. Being a very positive and friendly environment certainly helped and so I did feel safe and included today. There’s nothing wrong with being shy and introverted. I’m still supporting the local music scene either way.

FUTURE STATIC                                                                                                    “You're a little too late. Gotta fight for what I need to keep going. Try to find the sun while still knowing. It's a long way down. I'm too far down.”

I believe the last time I caught this Melbourne-based Alternative/Pop-Punk band was at Wrangler Studios sometime last year. They opened this afternoon’s show up with plenty of fierce, bouncy energy and a few laughs between lead vocalist Bri Marsh and bassist/backing vocalist Kira Neil. It’s really great to see that female-led bands are now breaking out and becoming a dominant force in the local music scene. Check out the band’s recently released EP Want: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/want-ep/1360803719

Set List: Daylight, Crawling Back, Too Far Gone, Want, Hits Home.

HARA KIRI                                                                                                            “You gave up along the way. It’s like you never cared at all. Love to you was child’s play. Hid your heart behind cold walls. So I’ll say goodbye enjoy the rest of your life because I don’t need you in mine.”  

Believe it or not, it was my first time checking out this Albury-based Melodic Metalcore band despite wanting to see them play for about a year or so now. They certainly put on a very wild performance today with lead vocalist Ralph Brown screaming his lungs out into the wall, the floor and the crowd. This was balanced out by guitarist/backing vocalist Jason Groenveld, rocking his locks like a young Bob Marley (Yeah man!). Their relentless energy on stage is really infectious and I was so glad that I was able to see them live today. Check out their EP called Judgement here: https://harakiriau.bandcamp.com/releases

Set List: Child’s Play, Fact & Fiction, Despise, Judgement.

PARKWOOD                                                                                                            “And if you ask me, I am in no way sold on the idea. That there are ghosts and there are souls. But one day I’ll die and maybe I’ll know. But until then I’ll love what’s close to home. That is my friends, that is my home.”

I remember seeing this Melodic Metalcore band opening at BANG! last year and for some reason, they weren’t really grabbing my attention. Perhaps I was really distracted by my thoughts at the time or wasn’t in the best mood. But ultimately I dismissed them far too quickly. Today’s performance blows that first impression right out of the water. They had so much passion on stage that it was difficult to turn away (though poor Sam Bianco cutting his finger and bleeding over his guitar). Their songs are tremendously personal and I could easily connect with them on an emotional level. Be sure to check out their debut EP “Close To Home” here: https://parkwoodau.bandcamp.com/album/close-to-home

Set List: Four Years, Lose Yourself, Back to Me, Goodbye.

EBONIVORY                                                                                                            “I broke myself. I want my old life back. I lost my sense of purpose. You tell me You tell me I'm wrong.  I find comfort in the selfishness of the things we ask ourselves. I find comfort in the uncertainty. That we might be dead or might be waking up.”

It’s been a few minutes (3 years in fact) since I last saw the Progressive Metal/Experimental Rock juggernauts from Ballarat live. Today was the first time seeing them since their new line-up which consists of Connor McMillan, Aidan Simpson and David Parkes. It’s always such a pleasure listening to their songs, which were originally intended for a studio setting and now expanded into a live one. It honestly feels like you’re going on a journey with them.

Lead vocalist Charlie Ebonivory is a wunderkind and a wizard in both his gorgeous angelic vocals and solid musical production. It was amazing seeing people in the crowd huddling around Charlie and singing along with him. Whilst it’s tough going past Ebonivory’s debut album “The Only Constant”, it’s good to see the band continuing to develop their sound and release new music. Check out their latest single “Hanmer Street” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjoEwtWygG0

Set List: Hanmer Street, A Colour I’m Blind To, The Space Between, Swineheart, Silent Sirens, Light The Fires.