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black-arcana · 3 months ago

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IN THIS MOMENT Announces 'The Godmode Tour Part 2', BLABBERMOUTH.NET Presale

IN THIS MOMENT will embark on "The Godmode Tour Part 2" this fall. Support on the trek, which will kick off on November 8 in Asheville, North Carolina and end on December 7 in Manchester, New Hampshire, will come from KIM DRACULA, NATHAN JAMES and MIKE'S DEAD.

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, August 14 at 2:00 p.m. EDT and end on Thursday, August 15 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code " ITMBBM24" to access tickets before the general public. Check back here on Wednesday for ticketing links to individual shows. General on-sale will be Friday, August 16 at 10 a.m. local time.

Tour dates:

Nov. 08 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Nov. 09 - Roanoke, VA - Berglund Center Nov. 11 - Huntsville, AL - Mark C. Smith Concert Hall Nov. 12 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy Nov. 13 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues Nov. 15 - Shreveport, LA - Shreveport Municipal Auditorium Nov. 16 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center Nov. 17 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Pavilion Nov. 19 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland Theatre Nov. 20 - East Moline, IL - The Rust Belt Nov. 22 - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Casino Showroom * Nov. 23 - Rockford, IL - Hard Rock Live Rockford # Nov. 24 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave / Eagles Club Nov. 26 - Madison, WI - The Sylvee Nov. 27 - Gary, IN - Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana & Nov. 30 - Columbus, OH - Kemba Live!# Dec. 01 - Windsor, ON - The Colosseum & Dec. 03 - Toronto, ON - History Dec. 05 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora Dec. 06 - Reading, PA - The Santander Arena Dec. 07 - Manchester, NH - SNHU Arena

* KIM DRACULA only # KIM DRACULA, MIKE'S DEAD only & NATHAN JAMES, KIM DRACULA only

IN THIS MOMENT's latest album, "Godmode", arrived back in October via BMG. The LP was produced by Kane Churko (ROB ZOMBIE, DISTURBED, PAPA ROACH) and Tyler Bates. Bates produced, wrote songs for, and played multiple instruments on albums by MARILYN MANSON, BUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell. He is best known, however, for scoring the box office smash "300", the Emmy Award-winning Showtime series "Californication", the "Guardians Of The Galaxy" and "John Wick" film franchises. IN THIS MOMENT's song "I Would Die For You" appeared on the soundtrack for "John Wick: Chapter 4", for which Bates wrote the score.

With a Grammy nomination ("The In-Between", 2021),platinum and gold record sales, multiple Top 25 entries on the Billboard Top 200 ("Black Widow" and "Ritual"),hits including "Whore", "Blood" and "Adrenalize" and career streams of more than 1.3 billion, you'd think IN THIS MOMENT might rest on their laurels. Instead, they've created "Godmode", 10 dynamic songs that mark a new high for the quintet, further cementing their legacy in the heavy music world. Proof positive is in "Godmode"'s first single, the industrial-heavy yet ultra-melodic "The Purge", and its darkly cinematic video directed by Jensen Noen (BRING ME THE HORIZON, DEMI LOVATO). From the portentous start of the '90s-tinged "Godmode" with Maria Brink's powerful primal scream to the pitch-perfect cover of Bjork's 1995 "Army Of Me" to the impassioned pain to partnership in "Everything Starts And Ends With You", "Godmode" is a cut above.

The L.A.-based band's eighth album finds vocalist Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth writing the most powerful songs of their career.

"We're always striving for reinvention and growth. It's been 10 years since our 'Blood' album, and there's been a lot of transitions happening, this year particularly, but it all felt so meant to be," explains Brink. Top talent aided and abetted IN THIS MOMENT; Spencer Charnas from ICE NINE KILLS guests on the pointed and pained "Damaged", and several songs were co-written with Tyler Bates, the award-winning producer and composer of numerous film, television, and video game scores. In fact, the initial collaboration with Bates, the moody, haunting mid-tempo winner "I Would Die For You" ended up both on the "John Wick: Chapter 4" soundtrack and as the last cut on "Godmode".

IN THIS MOMENT, a touring juggernaut who've slayed stages worldwide at Ozzfest, Warped Tour, Download, Knotfest and Rocklahoma, put out "Mother" in 2020, during the pandemic, giving fans something to hold on in during that bleak time, and earning "The In-Between" the band's first Grammy nod. It was 2021 when Howorth and Brink first wrote with Bates on "I Would Die For You". Following that collaboration, the duo were writing organically, for pleasure, not focused on the next album. As the pandemic waxed and waned, Howorth learned programming, and created music around synthwave sounds, which Brink leaned into. Her lyrical ideas arose both from soul-searching and "humanity and so much crisis and so many heart-wrenching things in the world. That negativity and darkness is how songs like 'The Purge' came about," Brink explains.

The end result is that when IN THIS MOMENT went into the studio in January 2023, the easy flow had allowed them to compile the most songs they'd ever written at one time, songs the entire band loved. Longtime producer Kevin Churko helped shape ITM's sound starting in 2008, but for "Godmode", his son, Kane Churko, was at the helm.

"Kane's got all the strengths that his father taught him —everything, all the bells and whistles, but he's got some new tricks because he's a younger generation, he's hungry," says Brink.

Kane was the perfect match for IN THIS MOMENT's inspired songs.

"During the pandemic, just writing versus writing with a pressure that music has to be for an album, allowed us the freedom to make the record we made," says Howorth. "Godmode"'s songs gained even more strength in the studio, with Kane shaking up the band's usual m.o. even further.

"Having some songs by Tyler influenced us as well," Brink explains. "It was scary for the band, but it ended up flowing just so beautifully. We felt very experimental."

That flow gave the album its name and theme. "Godmode" isn't religious, rather it's an expression for a triumphant flow state where all comes together seamlessly, coalescing into an ultimate form. As Brink sings in "Godmode", "You got me feeling so high / You lift me off of my feet yeah / You got me feeling like, feeling like / I'm in Godmode." In video games — Howorth plays the game "Destiny" — "God mode" also refers to a code that makes a player invincible.

"There's a spontaneity in this album that you can hear. It's a little more visceral. And that we're not with Kevin, who has done all our albums except for our very first, fans will hear those differences too, which is really cool and exciting for us," Howorth says.

"We had all this built-up energy from the last three years, we felt angst, we felt we had a lot to release," furthers Brink. "And we were letting it loose organically, while also playing with different time signatures and interesting things like that." "We use an 8-string on the album, which we haven't done before," Howorth says. "We did some different tunings, and it can definitely be freeing from guitar standpoint, the way we did things this time. Working with Kane was different and more off the cuff, being in the studio, getting creative and just trying a bunch of different stuff on every song. It was a really good experience."

As fans of Brink's lyrics know, life in and around IN THIS MOMENT hasn't always been easy. As Brink recalls, "When I met Chris, I was just a starry-eyed girl with huge dreams. And he was in a PANTERA-like metal band!" She told Howorth she wanted a heavy lineup that could sell platinum and win Grammys. The band had an early manager who told them it would never happen. But his dismissiveness only fueled IN THIS MOMENT's fire, energy and fight. "We're just relentless," says Brink. "Anything's possible if you really put your mind and energy into it."

For "Godmode", that energy also went into the "The Purge" video, where director Noen brought his artistry and next-level talent to Brink's storyboard ideas. The larger-than-life video themes and sets have been translated into IN THIS MOMENT's live stage show, literally. And summer 2023 saw the band on its first arena co-headlining tour with full pyrotechnics.

"Our whole lives we've talked about being in an arena and having fire and a full show," Brink says. "And now we're doing it and it's just so beautiful."

IN THIS MOMENT certainly have nothing to prove, the lineup's authority assured live on record and onscreen. Yet, "Godmode"'s energy and scope is visceral.

"With our new ideas and excitement and Kane's energy of wanting to prove himself to everybody, we were able to show that we're heavy and just as impactful as every other new band coming out right now," says Howorth. "We can punch you right in the face, that energy is in there big, time. I think our fans are really gonna like this album, because it's taken us back a little bit where it began, but it's also more instinctive, and heavier than anything we've done a long time," concludes Howorth.

Brink, a private person, nonetheless gives and takes much strength from ITM's millions of fans. The healing is on both sides.

"It's amazing if my songs help people feel empowered. When humans share painful things that we went through and how we heal from it, we can help each other and pass that energy on," she says. "Honestly, the most beautiful thing about being in a band is being able to have that connection with strangers who become kindred spirits. Sure, I have urges to wear 'masks' and hide from everything and wear makeup, but I like to share and be honest and vulnerable. The sky's the limit," Brink concludes. "You just have to keep dreaming, keep expanding, keep pushing yourself to that next level. I feel like something is shifting right now in the band; this is such a special moment for us with 'Godmode'."

Photo credit: Joe Cotela

#in this moment

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singeratlarge · 2 months ago

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Bryan Ferry—one of my musical heroes as a vocalist, singer-songwriter, style visionary, and frontman/co-founder of Roxy Music.

Ferry is like a man stepping out of a classic film, evincing James Bond, Marlon Brando, and Humphrey Bogart (RM tributed Bogart with “2HB”). Musically, Ferry is influenced by American soul singers, The Beatles, Gershwin-esque pop standards, and European genres (think Balkan-Mediterranean folk, Marlene Deitrich, French chanson, and opera). He is also a chief interpreter of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Lou Reed; Ferry’s harmonica playing handily mimics Lennon’s early 60s Merseybeat sound. With a 3 & 1/2 octave range, Ferry’s vocal technique involves a groomed palate, tight vibrato, dramatic articulation, and the “talking blues” speak-singing cultivated by Dylan and Reed. Like Billie Holiday, Ferry sometimes sings a tad sharp and off the beat. His style is an acquired taste for some, as he challenges the conventions of male pop/rock singing. One critic called him “Dean Martin for psychotics; Frank Sinatra on LSD.”

Not long ago I home video’d a cover of “In Your Mind,” one of Bryan’s early signature songs that reached me right about the time I turned 20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0nKpda2at4

Singer peter chauncey and I covered Roxy Music’s epic "Mother of Pearl.” Ferry’s lyrics take the dead end of 'party love' and measures it against the durability of pure love, alluding to Boticelli's ‘Birth of Venus’ painting, The Bible, and Frederic Neitzsche. The original “MOP” was a two-tiered rock operetta, opening with a sinister shindig, like a Sam Cooke party crashed by speed freak bikers. The party-groove abruptly cuts to a pensive, down-tempo Velvet Underground-style chord meditation while celebrating the power of eternal love with a fascinating parade of lyrical images. View here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU_2CXq7WYw

...Meanwhile, HB BF. Thank you for your years of setting the bar and giving us incredibly excellent music.

#birthday #MotherofPearl #RoxyMusic #BryanFerry #piano #guitar #operetta #VelvetUnderground #party #love #SamCooke #Boticelli #Venus #Bible #Neitzsche #NickyHopkins #peterchauncey #johnnyjblair #video #music #artrock #inyourmind

#johnny j blair #singer songwriter #music #singer at large #pop rock #san francisco #birthday #Bryan Ferry #Roxy Music

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ztremx · 4 months ago

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Tommy Tedesco! played with

the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas, the Everly Brothers, the Association, Barbra Streisand, Jan and Dean, the 5th Dimension, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Ricky Nelson, Cher, and Nancy and Frank Sinatra as well as on Richard Harris's classic "MacArthur Park". His playing can be found on Jack Nitzsche's "The Lonely Surfer", on Wayne Newton's version of "Danke Schoen", B. Bumble and the Stingers's "Nut Rocker", the Rip Chords' "Hey Little Cobra", the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", the Sandpipers' "Guantanamera", the T-Bones' "No Matter What Shape'" and Nino Tempo & April Stevens' version of "Deep Purple". For Guitar Player, Tedesco wrote a regular column called "Studio Log" in which he would describe a day's work recording a movie, TV show or album, the special challenges each job posed and how he solved them, what instruments he used, and how much money he made on the job.[1]

Tedesco also performed on film soundtracks such as The French Connection, The Godfather, Jaws, The Deer Hunter, Field of Dreams, Gloria plus several Elvis Presley films. He was also the guitarist for the Original Roxy cast of The Rocky Horror Show. Additionally, he performed the opening guitar solo for the Howard Hawks and John Wayne film Rio Lobo. He was one of the very few sidemen credited for work on animated cartoons for The Ant and the Aardvark cartoons (1968–1971).

As a solo artist, Tedesco recorded a number of jazz guitar albums, but his musical career ended in 1992 when he suffered a stroke that resulted in partial paralysis. The following year he published his autobiography, Confessions of a Guitar Player.[1]

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vanoincidence · 11 months ago

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Bones of Payment || Van & Jade

TIMING: end of november. LOCATION: at van's old elementary school. PARTIES: @highoctanegem & @vanoincidence SUMMARY: van needs bones! jade can help her get them! CONTENT: none~

Van wasn’t sure what she needed to dig up a grave, but she knew she needed an accomplice. When Jade had arrived after delivering a few pizzas and the end of both their shifts was drawing near, Van considered her options. She didn’t want to disturb anybody’s grave, not really, but she knew where her third grade class gerbil was buried, and if Regan wanted bones, then she would get bones. Maybe she could have outsourced them, but where would she even get them? She’d seen a Tik Tok about bones and how they were usually inhumanely dispensed across the United States. Van didn’t want to contribute to that economy.

So she waited and watched Jade carefully, only speaking once the other looked like she was getting ready to leave through the back door. “I need bones. Will you help me dig up my third grade class pet so I can get bones?” Van couldn’t remember if she had told Jade what the bones were for, but she was almost positive she had. “It’s for Dr. Kavanagh.” So maybe it didn’t matter if she hadn’t, because she was explaining what she needed them for anyway. “For rent. She wants me to pay her rent with bones and I don’t have bones except for the ones in my body and she says she wants those, too, but I told her I’m getting cremated, so she can’t have those. There are bones at my house, I think– my next door neighbor had a gerbil, but there’s goo, so I can’t get those bones. Help me get the bones.” The words came out in one big breath and she felt a little lightheaded as she watched for Jade’s reaction.

Jade was really loving life as part-time for Sly Slice. Don’t get her wrong, the unpredictability of food delivery apps was like, so her tempo but something about that steady paycheck was doing it for her. Maybe that was growth, maybe that was maturing. (Ruby would be so proud). Jade could only hope it didn’t turn her into some boring old lady. Like Van already thought she was. Speaking of Van, she looked a little twitchier than usual when Jade entered the shop after she wrapped up her last order. She smiled at her anyway, cause she knew the girl loved running on a few hours of sleep, so maybe she was like… tired, not nervous.

Jade absolutely did not expect the word vomit that came out of Van as she readied to call it a night. She stopped in her tracks, giving herself a little time to fully process what she’d been told. Right, yup. Nope, she actually heard that right. Van needed bones, again. She knew this was a recurring issue, apparently. “Oooh, yup. I can…” Hearing the name Kavanagh didn’t elicit some sort of Pavlovian response in her, no way. (She did wipe her chin, just in case). She didn’t expect Regan to be a landlord. That was like, a little problematic of her, actually. A bit of a turn-off, if she was being honest. Like, traitor much? But she had her own red flags to care about first, before she could judge others’. (Like double texting, nothing else). Regan being a landlord aside, there was still Van’s issue, which mattered more than whatever she felt for the doctor. But maybe… if word got out that she was the person who helped Van get those bones, that could work in her favor too. From all sides, this looked to be a win-win situation. Maybe not so much for Van, though. Who was like, being bullied by a greedy landlord. But for her gay agenda? Totes.

“I can totally help, babe!” Jade got out as quick as she could before Van could faint. Her eyebrows pinched together, her head tilted, waiting to see what was coming next. Nothing, apparently. That was all the girl wanted to say. Her hand circled around the room. “Is um… is that anywhere close? Your dead pet’s grave, I mean. We can go on my bike if it’s not. I have an extra helmet. You’re not…like, scared of Roxie, are you?”

Instead of looking distraught, Jade seemed contemplative. That was a good sign… right? Van held her breath a moment longer before her chest heaved. She took to leaning against the wall, not really sure what had gotten into her. She should’ve just told Dr. Kavanagh she would have paid like normal people did. Why did she want bones, anyway? Couldn’t she use money instead of bones? After learning that she was a medical examiner, it made more sense, but wouldn’t she be covered in bones? Van was ignorant to most things happening across Wicked’s Rest, but she wasn’t dumb enough to ignore the death count. It was unusually high, which meant that Dr. Kavanagh probably had access to tons of bones. It was obvious she didn’t care about the legalities of any of any of this.

Jade told her that she could help and Van felt the weight (literally) lift off her shoulders. She slumped against the wall and nodded, thankful that she didn’t need to do any more convincing. Their conversation online had told her that Jade would’ve been the kind of person she could trust in a situation like this, but it was still a weird request to begin with. At her question, Van nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Um— not far, like— maybe fifteen minutes?” She counted on her fingers even though there was nothing to count. Van knew that her old elementary school was goo-less— it was one of the locations they’d set up for temporary shelter. “There might um, be some people here? Because of the displacement or whatever, but…” Maybe it wouldn’t be that weird, Van could lie about losing an earring. She would make sure to take one off, just in case. “Roxie…” The bike, right. Van shook her head. “I don’t— no, I’m not afraid.” A little afraid, but it should be fine. “I’ve never… ridden one before. You’re not going to kill us, so it’s fine, right? I mean, if you do, then she’d get her bones.” Was that the intention? Jade wouldn’t kill her, would she? Van eyed the woman suspiciously for a moment before pushing away from the wall. “Do you also have a shovel? If not, we need to get one.” Why Jade would have a shovel on her, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t exactly have access to one at Dr. Kavanagh’s apartment.

Jade let out a tiny, delighted laugh, looking at Van visibly relax against the wall. She was a little pissed at Regan for making this girl so stressed, actually. And for what? Bones? It was kinda ridiculous, in her opinion. (Alright, fine. She understood Regan a little too) (Her landlord price would be Crunchwraps Supreme, which by all accounts, were far superior to bones).

She clapped with similar enthusiasm, already bouncing on her feet. “Well let’s do it then! Fifteen minutes is nothing!” her eyes sparkled encouragingly, but Van stayed in her spot, despite it, clearly having some doubts. That was okay, not everyone was ready to jump into action immediately, like she was. “Roxie! Yup. Oh, it’ll be so fine, you’re gonna love it. I’ll make sure it’s not a bumpy ride. Stop that, you’re not gonna be bones. Pinky promise.” She’d had several people on her bike before, and not a single one of them had complained about her riding skills, so she was confident she could make Van’s first experience a good one. At least, her argument was convincing enough to get Van moving this time. Except, not really… cause she also had more questions. (And actually? It was a good thing someone was asking the right questions) (Had it come down to her, she would’ve been at the school five minutes ago, and decided there what she wanted to do).

Jade bit the side of her lip, shaking her head in disappointment. “Um, nope. No shovel. Maybe if I had like, known you were planning on this. I bet I would’ve found one,” her eyes widened when an idea crossed her mind. “Ooooh, it could’ve been a whole girlies trip! With snacks and…” she trailed off, having a smidge of self-awareness to understand Van was not in the mood for that. She cleared her throat. One of the best things they had going for them right now, was that Jade was zero distracted by… gay stuff. Cause Van, as beautiful as she was, already felt like a little sister to her. So she could actually put the wonderful brain she had to good use. “There’s a hardware store near, I’m like… positive. Something with a ‘W’? I pass it every time I come here!” she twisted around, her thumb pointing behind her as she could simply determine which way the store was. (A sense of direction wasn’t exactly one of her talents, but that didn’t stop her from believing!). “I mean, they have to have some, right? OH—Or! Maybe they have gloves, and we can dig with our hands.” She beckoned Van to follow her outside,” come on, we’ll make a quick stop there”.

Jade seemed confident in her abilities, so that should have, in theory, put Van at ease. She couldn’t help but feel like her life was turning into a very stupid movie. The kind that were lost to under the table releases, and only film guys named Timothy knew about them. It was a silly thought and she knew it, but her head was full of silly thoughts lately and it was hard to expel them when things like this kept on happening.

Things like this being full grown adults trying to convince her of their worth. Van blinked at Jade before giving her a small nod. “Okay, no shovel, but we can um, we can probably find one.” It shouldn’t be that hard. This was a town with shovels, she’d seen plenty. Maybe they could break into a gardener’s shed, or the custodial shed. Would she even really remember where the gerbil was buried? She hoped so. This all seemed like a loss, in all honesty.

“A girls…” Really, Van wasn’t quite sure what Jade was trying to get at, but she did seem excited to help, and shouldn’t she be grateful for that? She wanted to be grateful for that, so she sucked in a breath and nodded. Jade was devising a plan for a shovel and Van shook her head, “don’t you know anything about committing crimes? We can’t leave a paper trail.”

She thought about Debbie, for a brief moment, and her stomach twisted. She wondered if she was bones now, or if her body was still decomposing in the pit. Guilt settled over her quickly and she felt her mouth fill with iron, anxiety pulling at her seams. “We can— a shovel should be at the shed, um, you know how to pick locks, right?” Jade looked like the kind of person who did know how to pick locks, but that was none of her business. Van nodded before pushing away from the wall, following after Jade. “You don’t think we’ll get in trouble for this, do you?”

Jade’s eyebrows pulled together as Van dashed all her wonderful (half-baked) ideas. Well, okay… better not suggest anything else then. She didn't understand what was happening very well. But Van was anxious, that she knew. She could totally be patient with the girl as she navigated her thoughts and feelings. She was twenty at some point, too. (Her twenties were so fun though, she couldn’t relate). Calling this a crime was totally pushing it, though. “I thought we weren’t… doing anything illegal. How’s looking for your old guinea pig wrong?” Like, it was hers, technically. “Do you mean potentially entering somewhere closed? That’s cool, I can totally flirt with whoever and get us inside, no need to trespass”. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, regarding Van with respect. “What do you know about crime, babe? Do you also get all your knowledge from TV shows? Cause, same”.

So the shovel was a no, for now at least. Not a store-bought one, but possibly they could find one in a shed. Jade didn’t argue with Van’s logic, it tracked. And they would need to pick locks, potentially. She beamed at the girl’s assumption. “Oh, totally. I once dated a guy who taught me all about it,” and by that she meant, she watched him do it for twenty minutes, bored out of her ass, and then made out with him against that same door when he failed to pick the lock. But she knew the basics, okay? She had this, she was super confident she did. How hard could it be anyway? They made it look super easy on TV.

Once they made it to her bike parked outside Sly Slice, Jade reached for her extra helmet, helping Van with it. “I’m positive we won’t get in trouble, babe. It’s not like we’re digging up a real… person, are we?” She mused, adjusting the chin strap. Her hands squeezed Van’s shoulders gently, grinning proudly at her once she was good to go. “You look so badass” she chuckled, spinning around and reaching for her own helmet. Safety first and all. Regan would probably be pissed if she let anything happen to Van. (Well, actually) (She wasn’t sure. Those bones would be up for grabs, wouldn’t they?) She climbed onto her machine, leaving enough space between her and the delivery box for Van to fit with no issues. She was part of the short club too, so they were gonna be super comfy. “I’ll go slow…ish, so you can give me directions, okay?” Jade did not wait for confirmation that Van was on board with the plan, as soon as she sensed the girl behind her, she started the engine. Her voice rose above the noise. “Hold on, but try not to strangle me okay?” There was a time and place for that, but she was not going to joke about it with Van. And with that thought out of the way… they hit the road.

Jade reassured her that there was no crime to be committed, that they would be just entering a place where flirting might ensue. The thought of having to watch Jade flirt with whoever it was that might catch them made her head spin. Van wasn’t sure what having an older sibling was like, but this sure felt like that. At Jade’s question, she nodded slowly. “I mean, yeah– I don’t like, go out and commit crimes or whatever.” She definitely did. The most heinous one was beneath her belt, even if she repressed the memory as best as she could. Still, she wasn’t about to explain to Jade that she had committed two murders already– that was for Van to know and for Jade, or anyone else who hadn’t been there to never find out.

Van nodded, glad to know that at the very least, Jade would be able to get them into a tool shed, need be. She wasn’t sure why she was following through with this plan, or why she wasn’t questioning Dr. Kavanagh more about her need for bones, but she was feeling extremely pressured to follow through with her end of the bargain. What somebody could want with bones over money, she couldn’t be sure, but she wasn’t going to complain about giving somebody something else other than money, that was for sure.

“No, no not– it’s a gerbil, I swear!” The last thing she needed was for Jade to think that she was running around digging up all the graves, but then again, she seemed pretty chill with what they were about to do which, if Van were smarter, maybe she’d question that, too. Instead, she was just glad that somebody was willing to help her. She could have probably asked Nora, but Nora lived in a literal crypt which meant that they’d probably dig up real human remains, and she wasn’t ready for that kind of thing, especially not when it was for a doctor who would definitely know that they were not animal bones. Van felt like a child as Jade put her helmet on her. She wobbled beneath the weight of Jade’s hands, and even though they were within like-height to each other, she felt so much smaller. Van looked at the back of Jade’s bike apprehensively before finally getting on, gripping the back rack to steady herself. “Okay, I mean– yeah, that’s fine.” She liked to skateboard, and she liked to go fast, so this wouldn’t be that much different, would it? The bike started and she could feel the thrum of it in her chest, and in the pads of her fingers. Jade was shouting over the noise and Van opened her mouth to ask what she was saying, but instead the bike lurched forward and Van found herself grabbing onto Jade’s waist.

They moved forward and instead of the anxiety from before, Van felt exhilarated. She wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. The noise of the bike mixed with the wind in her face felt freeing in a way she hadn’t experienced since Debbie died. She… liked it, if she were being honest with herself, but she still held onto Jade tightly, even while leaning forward to shout out directions to her old school.

They arrived safely, which Van was grateful for, despite her newfound love of motorbikes. She hopped off, a little sad that she’d need to take the helmet off. Her fingers felt numb, but not in a way that meant they were cold, just that they’d been resting on something at a constant vibration– she could feel it in her legs, too. That was slightly less uncomfortable than the latter. She turned around to look at the fence, then to the big tree that she knew the gerbil was buried under. “The fence doesn’t look like it’s locked…” The tool shed to the left definitely was, though. Inhaling sharply, Van took off the helmet and nodded. “Are you um– are you ready?”

At this point, Jade wasn’t sure if it was a gerbil, a guinea pig or something else entirely, (all those little things looked the same to her. Was that… problematic?), but in the end, it was all irrelevant. She was here to help Van, not get specific about which animal was dead and buried. As long as it wasn’t another one of those metal-eating rats, she was totally Gucci with whatever they found.

She and Van were so alike, actually. In the sense they both didn’t like to go out and commit ‘crimes or whatever’, so with that important detail out of the way, she was happy to guide the girl to her bike and introduce her to Roxie. It was a super fun ride, all things considered. She was used to jitters from first-time riders, but Van did so well. She wasn’t even yelling in her ear (except for the instructions, duh) nor was she gripping too hard like the people who freaked out on her usually did. It went so smoothly, that they even made it to Van’s old elementary school in less than the estimated fifteen minutes. (She would’ve bragged a little more about how good a ride she was but like, the circumstances or whatever).

Climbing off the bike, she removed her helmet and followed Van’s gaze, smiling at the observation. Luck was totally on their side, it seemed. “Sweet! One less thing for you to worry about, babe.” She wasn’t sure if that was actually true. If anything would be ‘one less worry’ for Van, but Jade couldn’t help being extremely positive. (That was good though, right? Balanced energies). She locked the motorcycle, reaching for Van’s helmet once she took it off, putting it away inside her delivery box. “I’ve been ready since like…you first asked me, yup” She nodded, marching toward the shed.

“You wanna go check and make sure there is something in there for us to dig?” This wasn’t like, a crappy horror movie where the villain was lurking in the shadows, so they could totally split up, right? Nothing would happen to them. And if it did, she was carrying that knife strapped to her ankle. But that was a break in case of emergency type of situation. “I’ll go unlock that shed for us” she spoke confidently, reaching inside her jacket for a bobby pin. Score. She flashed Van one of her brightest smiles before heading left of the field, eyes on the prize.

Really, how hard could it be? Jade could always use a little of that… enhanced strength in her if it came down to it. As long as it didn’t look, you know, like someone forced the door. (She was smart too, alright?) Before she even touched the shed, she made sure to look around for cameras. They were pointed towards the building, which would keep her concealed if she succeeded at breaking into the shed. (Which was kind of a bummer? Because she looked pretty hot. It should’ve been immortalized in tape, really). She inserted the pin and prodded aimlessly, gaze lifting to follow Van.

“Yeah, I guess.” Van looked at the fence, no longer sure if this was a good idea or not. Why was she even doing it in the first place? It was so dumb! She could get arrested! She could get Jade arrested, and after telling her that she didn’t go and do illegal things, that seemed like the opposite of what should happen. But Jade seemed sure of herself and so Van took a deep breath, allowing for the confidence in her company to dissuade any of the anxiety she felt begin to creep up.

“Um…” She looked at Jade, confused as to how she’d do that without actually digging things up. “Do you have like, a bone device or something?” That seemed like a dumb question. But maybe there was a sign of some kind– after all, they had gone all out for the funeral of the little thing. It’d been years ago now, and Van had to wonder just how many other things had been buried along with it. The thought made her sad, but time passed just as it always did, and things were bound to die, weren’t they?

She took a deep breath, watching as Jade sauntered away towards the shed before she headed in the direction of the tree she remembered gathering beneath to bury the gerbil. She paused for a moment, noticing that there were several more headstones. Was she going to go to hell for this? Or whatever variation existed? Maybe she was already in hell. Maybe this was penance for all that she’d ever done– Diana and Debbie included. At least the gerbil’s name didn’t start with D. God forbid there be a triple D situation on her hands.

After confirming that the gravesites were still there, she headed towards Jade, avoiding the distance of the cameras. If she remembered correctly, they barely even worked. Van cleared her throat, jutting a thumb in the direction of the large tree and the animal graves. “I found it, and I think that there are probably like, a lot of bones.” Would Dr. Kavanagh want all of those bones? It still seemed silly that she wanted them at all, and Van wasn’t even really sure why she was humoring the situation in the first place, but it was a little late to ask too many questions. “Did you find a shovel?” She peered into the shed, squinting past the darkness. There were a few different items hung up on the wall, and if Van were being honest with herself, it looked like something out of a horror movie. “I hope Jason doesn’t kill us.”

“Nope! No bone device in me. If anything, my bone device is chilling in the morgue right now,” Jade smiled sweetly, blinking away the dreamy look on her face when the words sank in. “For fun! I mean, she’s not dead. My bone device… meaning doctor Kavanagh,” she clarified, before Van could like, freak out. (Not that it was a hard thing to achieve, mind you). Anyway, Van did as she was told, and both of them focused on their respective tasks for a few minutes. She had zero doubts they would be like, a dynamic duo. A dream team, of sorts. They beat that one metal-eating rat after all. The lock was picked just as Jade heard Van’s footsteps heading her way. (See? The movies never lied). She did a short victory dance, before walking straight into the darkness. She had the advantage of night vision, she knew she’d be able to see if spiders or rats were chilling inside. And thankfully, there were only tools. And a Bigfeet mug, that she was almost tempted to steal.

“I found it yup!” she turned back to Van when she came in, reaching toward the nearest wall and grabbing the rusty-looking shovel. Jade pushed it into her hands, picking up on her concern. (At this point, she wasn’t sure if that was the way her face looked all the time) ��Chillax. I’m not gonna let that happen.” She squeezed the girl’s shoulder, giving her a comforting smile even if she’d struggle to see it. “I’m too important to the plot to die in a tool shed,” she shrugged at her flawless logic, turning around to look for trash bags. “I do have like, a knife if we have to fight a classic horror villain…” she mumbled absently, focused on a different task. If Van mentioned there might be more bones out there, they should grab them all. It could be worth like, several payments. She wasn’t sure if it was a one-bone per-month type of deal or… How did that work, anyway? If they found a femur, was it worth more than a finger? “This should be enough,” she decided, waving three bags in Van’s face. They wouldn’t use them all, she didn’t think. “Lead the way!”

Jade didn’t remember ever shoveling. If anyone ever shoveled back home, it would’ve been Onyx. But that was the fun part, wasn’t it? It was like, unlocking a new useless skill set. Life really was just like The Sims, wasn’t it? They walked over to the giant tree with the tiny headstones, and something sad bubbled in her chest. She didn’t wanna think of Lullaby like this, ever. She just got her, and she was supposed to lose her one day? It was messed up. Her eyebrows pinched together. “What was their name? The Gerbil’s, I mean”. She took the shovel away from Van and sank it on the spot. How hard could it be to scoop up dirt? Not too hard, but definitely ‘a few attempts needed first’ hard. “You should tell me about it, if you want. Do you miss it…them?”

It was hard to believe that there wasn’t anything between Dr. Kavanagh and Jade with the way they spoke about each other. Jade, with confidence, and Dr. Kavanagh, with a hint of uncertainty and frustration. That seemed like a textbook crush, if Van had any say in it. Instead of commenting on any of it, however, Van stayed silent, mind working around the possibility that they were just two private people who wanted to keep things quiet until they were ready for some kind of debut. Though, Van couldn’t imagine a world where Jade was private at all– she seemed the exact opposite.

Still, they had a job to do, no matter how strange it was. Van realized a little too late in the game that she could have gone about this in an entirely different way, but she was well past turning back now. She was grateful, however, to see that a shovel had materialized. She looked past Jade, further into the shed. She thought about the lunches she had had in there, all when the other kids decided they didn’t want to be her friend anymore. She wondered if the initials she scrawled into the metal with a screwdriver were still there. Deciding not to check for the sake of embarrassing herself with something that might no longer exist, she nodded at Jade’s comment. “You’re right, and we’re um, it’s too early for that.” In her life, or in the day, she didn’t bother to amend. “I wasn’t allowed to have knives.” The comment was absent of any real emotion– a story she’d told a dozen times. The responses were varying when it came down to it, and she figured that Jade would fit in with the rest of those who were bewildered.

Van took the shovel from Jade and led the way to the spot beneath the big tree. It looked a little barren, but the grass was greener where the dead things were buried, despite the bitterness of winter as it crept over the town. She stared at the plots for a moment before she felt the shovel being taken from her and she looked up. “Um, its name was Daffy.” What if Jade thought she was obsessed with Disney? “We couldn’t choose a name, so some people wanted to call it Laffy Taffy, and others wanted to call it Daisy, so we ended… there.” Van shrugged simply, as if the story made the most sense in the world. When Jade asked if she missed the gerbil, she shook her head. The dirt turned over on itself, clumps of weeds and some worms visible from the pile. “I don’t think so, I mean, it was like, the closest I ever got to having a real pet, and it was cool, but…” She shook her head, “I don’t think I miss something that wasn’t ever like, mine, you know?” Van crossed her arms over her chest and watched as Jade worked, jumping slightly to the sound of the metal of the shovel thunking against a box.

“Wait, I think you hit it.” Uneasily, Van crouched down and swallowed thickly. She smoothed her hand over the top of the box– an old thing with signatures and stickers and photos taped to it. She saw her classmates faces with bright smiles as they stood in front of the still alive gerbil’s cage. “This is it for sure.” She dug the box out the rest of the way and put it to the side, hesitating. “You don’t think he’s like, going to come to life like from that one episode of Fairly Odd Parents, do you?” Did Jade even know what she was talking about? Probably not. She seemed too old to remember Fairly Odd Parents.

Jade tilted her head, surprised by Van’s comment. Why wouldn’t she have a knife? She was old enough. By like, almost ten years, right? She was… she didn’t remember. Lots of those early hunting memories were super hazy. But it probably didn’t matter, ‘cause she grew to love knives, didn’t she? (Why was there a strange sensation setting in her stomach?) Her mouth stayed in a perfect ‘o’ shape, until she snapped out of her own memories associated with knives. “Do you want one? I could give you one… isn’t it a little unsafe to live in this town, just like… rawdogging it?” she took a quick breath, anticipating a potential anxiety-induced response coming from the girl. “I don’t think you’re gonna be out there stabbing people, fyi. But I mean, like… if you wanted something in case of an emergency. I have some retired ones that are still sharp enough. No pressure” she tacked on, unsure how effective the clarification would be for Van.

It was nice that Van at least wanted to share something with her. As silly as a story about a third grade pet was. Learning anything about anyone in this town was like pulling teeth, she’d take what she could get. (And sure, maybe it was her own interest in emotionally unavailable people that kept drawing her to the wrong crowd, what about it?). Her eyes were bright as she listened, picturing a much younger version (probably not much taller) than Van as she shoveled. “That’s so cute,” her nose scrunched up in delight, taking away her gaze from the hole she was digging and glancing at the girl. Not having any pets wasn’t like, super strange or anything. Her family had that one guard dog that left for the farm upstate a few years after she was born. But Jade’s smile shortened into something pensive. Having Lullaby was like, the best thing that’s happened to her in years. How nice would’ve been to have someone back home to play with while everybody else was too busy hunting? “That’s super smart” she replied, realizing she’d slowed down with the shoveling. “I miss things that were never mine all the time.” She shrugged nonchalantly, digging with more ease now that she’d picked up a better technique.

It resulted in her hitting the box a few moments later. “I sure hit it” she smirked, looking into the hole. Van was the one to reach out for the box, and Jade’s heart melted a little (a lot) looking at the picture of adorable tiny kids. She was so demanding Van to show her which one was her. But right, there were still bones to find, based on the headstones and Van’s memory. She got back to it, barely feeling the exertion. Actually… Would chicks dig shoveling? She could totally turn it into a way to show off her muscles. ‘Cause normally they weren’t super showy, but if she were to flex… Wait, Van was saying something. She cackled at the faint memory, “I don’t think so… Daffy’s been dead too long, he would’ve come back years ago” she reassured, entirely too confident in her logic for someone who’s seen some wild things coming back to life. But what good would telling Van about it do?

She didn’t know what else she dug up, but Jade managed to find a bunch of other tiny bones. She picked up everything she could, (maybe even grabbed some things that weren’t even bones) grimacing all the way through. The things they (she) did for Regan. Yuck. It turned out three bags were like, way too many for all those little bones, but whatever. They got what they needed, the gerbil packed exclusively in one bag and the other findings shoved into another. Jade handed everything to Van, wiping her hands on the empty one. Ew. She’d need to scrub for hours to feel clean again. “Okay!” she panted, glancing at Van with a triumphant look. “I’ll shovel this back super quick so we can skedaddle.” Was it gonna be a perfect job? Nope, but she’d at least make the mess look like there were dogs playing around with the headstones, and not two grown women searching for bones. “Wasn’t this so fun?” she sang, patting down the soil with the shovel. “We should do it again!” One look at Van’s tension-filled face, had her regretting her words. “Or! Maybe we can do something more chill. I’d teach you to ride my bike for sure. We’ll… we can figure it out,” she laughed, wrapping her arm around Van’s shoulder and strolling back to the shed. They would leave everything as it was. No one would ever know Daffy was no longer buried. And like, no one else would care enough to go looking for him anyway.

Van flinched at Jade’s offer, shaking her head. “No, I don’t.. need one.” If anything, she was the unsafe thing. She already had two kills under her belt. Sure, the first hadn’t been on purpose, and maybe she didn’t drive the knife into Debbie’s skull like Nora had, but did that really matter? Wasn’t the intention what mattered? Or the power she couldn’t control? As Jade further clarified, she felt her skin prickle. What would happen if she had one? Would she accidentally hurt somebody? Even if Jade didn’t think she would, she was accidentally hurting people with her magic all of the time. “I think I’ll stick to like, butter knives. You know, for spreading jam and stuff.” She offered Jade a stiff smile, not wanting the older girl to think any differently of her for denying the gift of a knife.

She felt a little exposed, recounting a story from her childhood the way she was. It wasn’t intimate or anything, but Van felt like it should have been by the way that Jade was looking at her. It reminded her of the way parents looked at their kids when they’d done something cute– not an emotion she saw flit across her parents often. She was sure that there was more depth to Jade’s words, I miss things that aren’t mine all the time– because Van missed things all of the time, but mostly the things that were hers that she couldn’t have anymore.

The box was in her hands, which meant that they were closer to leaving the scene of their self imposed crime. Jade’s reassurance that Daffy wouldn’t come back to rip her throat out made Van feel a little better.

She watched as Jade continued to dig, more boxes and more things unearthed from their supposed-to-be permanent graves. She felt guilty for digging them up, but it was too late to turn back now. Dr. Kavanagh needed the bones for whatever reason, and Van couldn’t afford to get kicked out. The items she held in her hands were quickly disposed of into the bags that they had brought with them. Maybe she had misremembered just how big gerbils were, or whatever else had been buried alongside them. “Again? I don’t– I mean, we could like, go roller skating or something, but I don’t think that doing this again would be fun.” She looked down at the bags with a frown, “I really hope she’s happy with what we found.” If she wasn’t, what would happen? Would she come and throw both Van and Thea out? Would she make Jade do it as punishment for not finding the right or best bones? The more she sat with these thoughts, the more confident she was that Dr. Kavanagh might have been some kind of dog shifter with wings. Those could exist, right? Bears did. “Riding your bike would be much cooler.” Scarier, maybe, she realized. It was too late to take it back, though, and Van simply followed Jade away from the scene of the crime– a bag in tow and the shovel stowed back to where it belonged.

#para: bones of payment #para: jade #wickedswriting #//i love jade and mary sm

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phoenixlionme · 1 year ago

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Marvel Black Superheroes Part 2

Part 1 is here.

31. Johnny Watts aka Fuse

32. David Alleyne aka Prodigy

33. Luke Cage

34. Misty Knight

35. Roxy Washington aka Bling

36. Nezhno Abidemi aka Gentle

37. Monet St. Croix aka Penance

38. Tempo - real name unknown

39. Jeannine Sauvage aka Guillotine - biracial; Afro-Arabian

40. Danielle Cage aka Captain America - biracial; half white

41. Jericho Drumm aka Brother Voodoo

42. M'Baku

43. Carmen Cruz aka Gimmick - biracial; Afro-Latina

44. Lunella Lafayette aka Moon Girl

45. Adam Brashear aka Blue Marvel

46. Sera

47. Laura Kinney aka Wolverine - biracial; Afro-Latina and half white

48. Thunderstorm, the daughter of Thor and Storm - biracial; half white

49. Ramonda

50. Gabe Jones - member of the Howling Commandos and Peggy’s second love after Steve (in the earlier comics)

51. Angel Salvadore aka Tempest - biracial; Afro-Latina

#marvel #black supers #blackexcellence #lists #exude excellence #my posts

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pesterloglog · 9 months ago

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Dave Strider, Karkat Vantas

Page 291-293

DAVE: i dunno who the flower is in this case

DAVE: shit what if im the flower

KARKAT: SO

KARKAT: DAVE

DAVE: no hold up that makes no fuckin sense i gotta rewind back to the beginning

KARKAT: ARE YOU GONNA KEEP MUMBLING TO YOURSELF OR CAN--

DAVE: oh shit sorry what

DAVE: i was just thinking through some really convoluted metaphorical horseshit

KARKAT: YEAH THAT WAS PRETTY FUCKING EVIDENT.

DAVE: my b bro

DAVE: what were you saying

KARKAT: I WAS SAYING I THOUGHT WE MIGHT GO, I DUNNO, ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE ENTIRE SHIP WHILE THE CLOTHES WERE WASHING.

KARKAT: SEEING AS THIS DECREPIT MACHINE WE WERE SO BLESSEDLY PROVIDED WITH MAKES A WHIRRING SOUND SO PANCHAFINGLY ARHYTHMIC THAT IT THREATENS TO ERADICATE THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TEMPO FROM THE UNIVERSE.

KARKAT: AND YET SOMEHOW BASICALLY ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE WE STARTED THE LOAD IS THAT YOU’VE BEEN USING IT AS A FUCKED UP BEAT TO WHISPER TO YOURSELF ABOUT FLOWERS TO.

KARKAT: AT THIS POINT I'M EITHER GOING TO NEED YOU TO SPEAK UP OR FOLLOW ME THE FUCK ON OUT OF HERE, BECAUSE THIS IS EXCRUCIATING.

DAVE: ok fine ill do the first one

KARKAT: GREAT. TURN UP THE FLOWER TALK VOLUME.

DAVE: so uh

DAVE: kanaya was telling me this kids story the other day about this dude who didnt cherish a flower enough until it peaced out to do flower stuff idk its not pertinent to the story

DAVE: except the flower was a person

DAVE: because it was a metaphor

KARKAT: YEAH LIKE YOU SAID,

DAVE: really convoluted metaphorical horseshit

KARKAT: REALLY CONVOLUTED METAPHORICAL HORSESHIT.

DAVE: yeah

DAVE: anyway what goes down in the story is that once the flower lady is out of the picture

DAVE: the main character goes around making all these connections between her and everything else in the universe until every damn thing feels like a symbol for how much he fucked up and how much he will never see her again

KARKAT: THIS SEEMS PRETTY FUCKING INTENSE FOR A KID'S STORY

DAVE: yea thats pretty much what i said

DAVE: but i guess its not so much what the story was technically textually about but more like the version of it kanaya internalized and then told me when we were talkin about how she misses rose

DAVE: so like now im taking the story she told me she was projecting her feelings onto and projecting my feelings on top of that

DAVE: this is just one big game of emotional projection telephone so feel free to go paraphrase it to roxy later and make it about whatever fuckin thing youre currently missing

KARKAT: YOUR ABILITY TO GET TO THE POINT

DAVE: gotem

DAVE: anyway you’re not gonna have to miss that skill of mine for long

DAVE: get ready for this shit because i am about to slap you with the point so hard youll fall ass first into the washer

DAVE: just scrambling around in there getting all sudsy

DAVE: but your brain is gonna be so blasted from the mindfreak of a point im about to make that there wont be anything left to clean

DAVE: are you ready

DAVE: karkat you havent made any kind of comment about how youre ready in a few seconds so

KARKAT: YEAH DAVE DROP THIS FUCKING BOMB ON ME.

DAVE: ok thanks

DAVE: so its genuinely cool that kanaya can go around creating meaning that may or may not be actually present in every little thing

DAVE: connecting every feeling she has to the idea of her wife existing out there

DAVE: so i told her she should keep that shit up

DAVE: but im having the opposite issue where im struggling to find anything to be that kind of tether because every single thing i could possibly consider about what it is were doing just reminds me of yet another thing to be afraid about

DAVE: so if you were looking for a more concentrated point

DAVE: the real point thats that point simmered in its own juices into a perfect point reduction

DAVE: here it is

DAVE: everything fuckin sucks huge cosmic donkey sack and im terrified

KARKAT: OK, SO I FEEL LIKE YOU SKIPPED A COUPLE NECESSARY STEPS IN YOUR POINT CLARIFICATION PROCESS.

KARKAT: I’M GOING TO RESIST THE URGE TO CONTINUE YOUR REDUCTION METAPHOR EVEN THOUGH I HAVE SOME INARGUABLY GOOD SHIT LINED UP FOR IT BECAUSE I’M AFRAID OF US GETTING TOO FAR OFF TRACK, HERE.

DAVE: ok but were you going with sweet or savory please give me that much at least

KARKAT: YEAH IT WAS GOING TO BE SUNDAE-BASED.

DAVE: nice

KARKAT: YEAH.

KARKAT: DO YOU WANNA WATCH MORE GBBO AFTER THIS?

DAVE: absolutely

KARKAT: GREAT. ANYWAY, LIKE I WAS SAYING, FOR THE LOVE OF SWEET HUMAN CHRIST, PLEASE BACK UP TO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU’RE ACTUALLY SCARED OF.

KARKAT: ALSO COME HERE, IDIOT.

DAVE: ok yeah this is a better position to unleash all my inner fears n anxieties from

DAVE: so uh

DAVE: like i said i talked to kan about it some

DAVE: and its not like weve not talked about it either but i dunno

DAVE: those times its like my mouth was saying words about the situation wherein our friends are AWOL and maybe dead but my brain wasnt fully letting me experience the emotion that goes along with them

DAVE: man its like i cant even start genuinely thinking about how afraid i actually am for rose and john without my brain flippin its wad and whiting out

DAVE: like haha fuck i hope theyre ok

DAVE: now i better make a fuckin joke before i succumb to the gaping mouth of despair waiting for me to fall in it as soon as i look down and acknowledge that its there ogling how juicy my ass looks as it trembles with terror

DAVE: and then if i think about either of them then its only a matter of time til i have to think about dirk too

DAVE: its an if you give a mouse a cookie situation but instead of more snacks its just another layer of fear about my loved ones

DAVE: and with dirk its

DAVE: whew

DAVE: i guess im just fucked up about how to worry about dirk and be angry at him at the same time

DAVE: because if i get as unholy pissed at him as i sometimes wanna be i also gotta admit to myself that maybe i coulda done something different there

DAVE: like if wed kept up better maybe there woulda been a point along the line where i could have said the right thing somehow and hed idk

DAVE: not stolen rose away on some nightmare family trip

DAVE: forcing us to accept the fact that hes our enemy now and chase after him for an unreasonably indeterminate number of years

DAVE: also like

DAVE: and this by the way adds a whole other layer of guilt on there that i dont really know how to fuckin reckon with but

DAVE: even with all the shit hes pulled and the fact that we are more or less heading toward having to take him down

DAVE: whatever that is gonna mean and whether or not he planned it like that

DAVE: i just

DAVE: me and him had come so far with each other and it was really cool for a while to have him and i

DAVE: ugh

DAVE: i dont WANT to hate him

KARKAT: IS THAT ALL? I’M POISED ON THE PRECIPICE OF REASSURANCE WITH MY COUNTER-RANT LOCKED AND LOADED BUT IT FEELS LIKE YOU’VE GOT MORE SHIT YOU’RE HOLDING BACK ON.

DAVE: yeah i got another thing

KARKAT: WELL THEN QUIT FUCKING PICKING AT THE SEAM ON MY SHORTS AND SPIT IT OUT. THEY'RE BARELY HANGING ON TO THE DEFINITION OF "SHORTS" AS IT IS.

DAVE: ok fuck its just

DAVE: ...

DAVE: the part i mentioned before about how we really have no goddamn clue how long this trip is even gonna take

DAVE: i cant help but feel like its barely getting revved up

DAVE: and for me and roxy and jade and callie and kan thats normal shit at best and boring at worst but we all have our immortality to thank for that

DAVE: we can just dick around in space for near-eternity waiting to catch up to our friends who may or may not be our enemies now and itll be fine

DAVE: i mean no itll be categorically miserable

DAVE: but well survive it

KARKAT: HOLD THE FUCK ON.

DAVE: but you

KARKAT: DAVE.

DAVE: no lemme say this

DAVE: we dont talk about it much and i got shit to say about it

DAVE: its not like i never thought about how youre mortal before but i just thought wed be able to figure it out before it mattered

DAVE: come up with some kind of plan

DAVE: i was just distracted being happy with you i fucking guess and so i didnt think up a way to fix it

DAVE: and now thanks to dirk we have to work it out right the fuck now

DAVE: because i cant spend this trip just sitting around watching you get old and die

#homestuck #homestuck^2 #dave strider #karkat vantas #homestuck^2 act 1 #page 291 #page 292 #page 293

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winxngasks · 10 months ago

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Winx Club Next-Gen Guide

This was something I originally meant to make back in 2019, but for some reason I never got around to it. I believe part of the reason was because I was going to introduce new characters in it, but I also never got around to thinking about them more or working on them till recently(with help from @littlechaoticwitch, since I lost most of my old notes).

Since I have more ideas for those characters now, I thought I would finally make this! :3 Just a simple post with everyone's essential information. I am currently in the process of updating everyone and will be introducing the new characters in time, but I still wanted to post this so you all can know about them now in the meantime. I hope you enjoy! :D

((New characters will be marked with a ⭐, to denote they still have to be officially drawn and introduced. Also keep in mind that some aspects may be subject to change, as they are still work in progresses.))

================================================

- Palladium + Avalon, together

. 1 child, a daughter

⭐ Elaena, age 24, Witch of Memories

- Valtor + Alice, together

. 2 children, a son and a daughter

⭐ Eero, age 23, Wizard of Frostbite

⭐ Aira, age 20, Witch of Hellfire

- Daphne + Thoren, together

. 4 children, 2 daughters and 2 sons

* Charlotte, age 22, (Enchantix) Fairy of Strategy

* Flint, age 20, Paladin

* Lance, age 18, Wizard of Battle

* Amelia, age 16, Witch of Embers

- Nebula + Nereus, together

. 2 children, 2 daughters

⭐ Alessia, age 22, Valkyrie

⭐ Lana, age 19, Fairy of Dark Waters

- Krystal + Roy, together

. 4 children, 2 daughters and 2 sons

* Violet, age 21, Witch of Emotion

* Azalea, age 17, Valkyrie

* Everest, age 15, Paladin

* Aspen, age 10, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Darcy + Unknown Partner, separated

. 1 child, a daughter

* Elodie, age 21, Witch of Illusions

- Galatea + Jared, together

. 3 children, 1 daughter and 2 sons

⭐ Harmony, age 20, no magic

⭐ Tempo, age 17, Paladin

⭐ Alto, age 13, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Tressa + Unknown Partner, separated

. 1 child, a son

⭐ Murdock, age 20, no magic

- Sky + Diaspro, together

. 3 children, 1 son and 2 daughters

⭐ Celestine, age 20, Witch of Smooth Gemstones

* Jasper, age 18, Specialist

⭐ Pearl, age 16, Witch of Jagged Crystals

- Flora + Helia, together

. 6 children, 3 sons and 3 daughters

* Forrest, age 19, Specialist

* Terra, age 17, Fairy of Flowers

* Gaia, age 14, Fairy of Colors

* Hazel(older fraternal twin to Basil), age 10, no signs of possible magic at the moment

* Basil(younger fraternal twin to Hazel), age 10, no signs of possible magic at the moment

* Jaylin, age 5, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Miele + Manuel, together

. 4 children, 2 sons and 2 daughters

⭐ Cyprus, age 18, no magic

⭐ Chrysanthemum, age 15, Witch of Ivy

⭐ Clover, age 12, no signs of possible magic at the moment

⭐ Cedar, age 8, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Bloom + Andy, together

. 3 children, 1 son and 2 daughters

* Aidan, age 17, Wizard of the Dragon Flame

* Jasmine, age 15, Fairy of Storms

* Mckenna, age 9, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Musa + Riven, separated

. 1 child, a daughter

* Madeline, age 17, Fairy of Sound Waves

- Musa + Darcy, together

. 1 child, a son

* Edgar, age 10, some signs of possible magic but no specific source yet

- Icy + Darko, together

. 2 children, 1 son and 1 daughter

* Nicholas, age 17, Wizard of Blizzards

* Juniper, age 14, Fairy of Glaciers

- Roxy + Nex, together

. 4 children, 2 sons and 2 daughters

* Maxwell, age 17, Paladin

* Alexis(older identical twin to Trixie), age 15, Fairy of Instinct

* Trixie(younger identical twin to Alexis), age 15, Witch of Insight

⭐ Jaxon, age 9, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Stella + Brandon, together

. 5 children, 2 daughters and 3 sons

* Rebecca, age 17, Fairy of the Stars

* Orion, age 15, Specialist

* Cassiopeia, age 13, (Future) Fairy of the Red Moon

* Leo, age 9, no signs of possible magic at the moment

* Lincoln, age 4, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Mirta + Lucy, together

. 1 child, a son

* Damien, age 17, Witch of Impression

- Selina + Jay, together

. 2 children, 1 son and 1 daughter

* Noah, age 16, Wizard of Reptiles

* Gwen, age 13, Witch of Insects

- Layla + Nabu, together

. 3 children, 2 daughters and 1 son

* Cloe, age 16, Fairy of Fog

* Raina, age 12, no signs of possible magic at the moment

* Oliver, age 10, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Tecna + Timmy, together

. 3 children, 2 daughters and 1 son

* Eleanor(older fraternal twin to Theodore), age 16, Fairy of Electricity

* Theodore(younger fraternal twin to Eleanor), age 16, Specialist

* Lara, age 14, (Future) Witch of Chemicals

- Chimera + Mitzi, together

. 1 child, a son

* Sheldon, age 16, no magic

- Stormy + Unknown Partner, separated

. 2 children, 1 son and 1 daughter

* Gale, age 15, Wizard of Thunder

* Rain, age 8, no signs of possible magic at the moment

- Mark + Rio, together

. 1 child, a son

* Jeremy, age 15, Paladin

- Other Characters

⭐ Whisperia Royal: Keiran, age 20, Wizard of Nightmares

⭐ Zenith Royal: Pascal, age 18, Specialist

⭐ Paladin: Emery, age 16, Paladin

⭐ Sibylla: Leia, age 18, Valkyrie

⭐ Aurora: Bianca, age 20, Valkyrie

⭐ Diana: Farley, age 19, Valkyrie

#winx club #winx #next-gen #main universe #ocs

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nocturnlightz · 2 years ago

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i. aberta para humanos

É verdade que Roxie e MUSE se conhecem a algum tempo, nunca foram muito próximos, mas estranhos familiares um para o outro, então é compreensível que MUSE tenha estranhado quando Roxanne pareceu desaparecer do nada e aparecer bem diferente do outro lado da cidade. É mais compreensível ainda a curiosidade de MUSE, por mais perigosa que seja.

ii. aberta para humanos ou vampiros

A seguidora de Seth se gaba de ser um serviço menos complicado do que de alguns nosferatus pela cidade, e MUSE aproveita disso para ir atrás de todas as informações que precisa sobre as pessoas ou a cidade de Eden, é claro que tudo tem um preço, e Roxie não permite que MUSE se esqueça deles, mas vale a pena quando Roxanne nunca falhou em sua missão.

iii. aberta para humanos ou vampiros

MUSE vive com uma pulga atrás da orelha desde que Roxie pareceu se aproximar de repente, agora são conhecidos, mas MUSE ainda não consegue deixar para trás a sensação de que tenha olhos colados em seu pescoço desde que a Shah se aproximou.

iv. aberta para vampiros

Roxanne nega ter preferência pelos clientes do Lounge, mas depois de encontrar os olhos atentos de MUSE em si por tantas noites que a preferência vem naturalmente. Roxie sempre guarda um tempo a mais de seu expediente para passar com MUSE, mesmo que isso dê uma certa inveja nos outros que estão na boate.

v. aberta para humanos

Roxie tem suas regras para sua dieta, não é uma assassina de becos e muito menos vegetariana, e MUSE cumpre todos os requisitos para ser o prato principal das noites da vampira. Para a surpresa de Roxanne, MUSE parece mais do que disposto a ser sua vítima e é um pouco difícil de evitar a vontade de proteger sua refeição favorita.

vi. aberta para vampiros

Talvez MUSE ainda não entenda porque Roxie parece tão focada em trazê-lo para a graça de Seth, mas é verdade que a Shah vê um potencial em MUSE que acredita que é o que falta para o culto… Bem, já ouviu a palavra de Seth hoje?

#☽. tempted eve ✧ extras

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confusa-com-glitter · 4 months ago

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Outro mais…

Enfim, terminei o livro da Nora e a eu de 2010 pode se sentir bem, porque ela tinha bom gosto e pelo visto continua tendo.

Quando li o Laços de Fogo, havia entrado no IF do meu Estado e foi um período doido que só, e ler foi uma coisa boa nesse meio tempo. Gostava dos romances da Nora nesse período — e não que ainda não goste, apenas tiver que ir mudando o ritmo e escolha de leitura com o tempo devido à universidade — e reler foi algo novo, porque né, de 2010 para cá teve chão…

Amo a história ainda, porém confesso que teve momentos que queria matar ambos nessa loucura de gato e rato deles. Como terminei, vou começar (reler melhor dizendo) Diamantes do Sol — medinho do momento: que meu amor pelo Aidan mude com a releitura, afinal, Aidan é milhão de vezes mais intenso.

Terminei o Laços de Fogo na versão EPUB, mas achei ambos os livros em um sebo online, e claro, tive que comprá-los poder rabiscá-los à vontade. Chegaram em bom estado — ficarei apenas com o volume 1 de cada trilogia, porque lembro que gostei mais desses que dos demais.

É do tipo que acredita em “Certo, mas no memento errado” ou é mais de “Tudo acontece exatamente como deve acontecer”? Não sei bem o porquê, mas particularmente acredito mais no último. Creio apenas que tudo sempre está onde deve estar. Sabe porque perguntei? Apenas toda hora vejo essa coisa de PNL, lei da atração, leituras de tarô dando sermão no tipo “Movimente-se garota! Saia dessa monotonia e não teime em repetir ciclos, ok?!”, e fico se entender se é um recado ou apenas loucura de algoritmo e assunto em voga no momento. Bem, não que minha vida esteja no melhor cenário, mas ainda assim, de onde está vindo essa coisa que quer me empurrar para não sei onde e nem sei por quê?

É estranha essa sensação de algo como se tivesse uma força te pedindo para ir a algum lugar (que você não sobre onde é), para fazer alguma coisa (que você também não sabe). Não quero ir e nem quero fazer, não sei o que é essa coisa, para onde vai e muito menos se isso pode dar bom… Será que tenho tido problemas com minha intuição e neuroses? Cansei de ouvir o dito “É um salto de fé!”. Tá, mas que seria bem isso?

---

Bem, farei caminhada hoje. Wuni deu para convidar uma amiga dela para nos acompanhar nos nossos três dias da semana dedicado a sermos menos procrastinadoras, e não me importo, o que preciso é ter rotina de exercício.

---

Aqui no trampo, conversando com minha colega Roxy quando estávamos falando de livros, me disse que ama aventura e é super fã de Robert Jordan. Já eu, não creio ter um gênero em si que se diga como predileto. Leio de quase um tudo, mas comentei sobre um livro que li em 2012 do qual gostei (mas nem tanto, na verdade), e a Gueby disse algo como “acho que ouvi sobre ele no TikTok”. Não tenho redes sociais, então não soube bem o que isso queria dizer, mas o livro é de 2009 e creio que seja de muito tempo muito anterior ao boom que é essa coisa de booktok e não sei o quê.

O livro é do gênero thriller de nome “Não conte a ninguém”. Não é ruim, mas achei maçante do meio para o fim — mas devo considerar que não tenho hábito de ler esse tipo de gênero também. Tentarei um Sidney Sheldon para ver se animo de ler mais desse tipo. O curioso mesmo foi que, comentando sobre o livro é que soube que o dito livro virou filme… Pois bem, agora tenho que assistir para reclamar do filme também (típico meu).

---

Música do dia: Madness - Darkways. Para combinar com minha loucura de ter descolorido mechas do meu cabelo amadoramente e no maior estilo “faça você mesma”. Até que gostei do resultado, já que queria algo apenas para sair um pouco do mais do mesmo.

#diário #diary #julho 2024 #july 2024 #literatura #literature #nora roberts #book

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trollexfangirl · 1 year ago

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Ready as I'll Ever Be

At Tempo Isle, King Jake is seen holding his keytar that contains the six strings as Melody was in a cell.

Jake: *glances at Melody* any moment now,Your Highness. 🎵 Believe me know, I've sunk pretty low

But whatever I've done,you deserved🎵

Melody: Jake!

Jake: quiet! 🎵 I'm the bad guy, that's fine

It's no fault of mine and some justice at last will be served 🎵

Melody: please, listen!

Jake: 🎵Now it's time to step up or it's time to back down

And there's only one answer for me

And I'll stand up and fight cause I know that I'm right

And I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!

Ready as I'll ever be 🎵

--------------------------------------------------

At Pop Village,some of the trolls who didn't get captured by King Jake was Branch, Crimson, Torrent,Tank,Tide,Echo & Bellus,Malik,Zeus & Poseidon and their guppies, Hickory,Jussy,Titan, Prince D, Roxie,and Draco. When they felt all hope was lost, Draco decided to motivate them.

Draco: 🎵Now it's time to rise up or it's time to stand down

And the answer is easy to see

And I swear by the sword if you're in,get on board

Are you ready?🎵

Torrent: 🎵I'm ready! 🎵

Branch/Zips/Tank/Tide/Hickory/Prince D/Jussy: 🎵we're ready! (We're ready!)🎵

Draco: 🎵ready as I'll ever be 🎵

--------------------------------------------------

In the nursery,Roxie was with Echo as they were watching their own children sleep peacefully before they left to join the fight.

Echo: 🎵are you quite sure we can do this?🎵

Roxie: 🎵together we will guarantee!🎵

--------------------------------------------------

Back at Tempo Isle as the Dubstep Trolls were getting the rave ready for Jake while the others were on their way feeling determined, thanks to Draco.

Jake: 🎵I'm make them hear me!🎵

(All: 🎵Now it's time to redeem or it's time to time to resolve 🎵

Crimson: 🎵prove they can trust me! 🎵

(All: 🎵And the outcome will hardly come free! 🎵)

Jussy: I'll save my home and family

All: 🎵Now the line's in the sand and our moment's at hand! 🎵

Zips & Torrent: 🎵And I'm ready! 🎵

Draco & Tank: 🎵I'm ready! 🎵

Jussy & Roxie: I'm ready🎵

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Phew!! That took me two or three days to make the drawings and write down the lyrics! I hope you enjoyed it

Torrent, Poseidon, Crimson,Zips,Tank,Tide, Echo, and Malik belongs to @sparklijam

Titan, Zeus, and Bellus belongs to @lasirenacanta

Roxie belongs to @djkingxxxdm

Draco belongs to @king-trollex-fan

Jussy belongs to @jade-green-butterfly

Melody and Jake belongs to me

Branch, Hickory,and Prince D belongs to DreamWorks

The song "Ready as I'll Ever Be" belongs to Disney Tangled the series

#trolls world tour #dubstep trolls #sharktrolls #titan the giant squid troll #tangled #queen melody notes #king jake

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queer-xmen-tournament · 2 years ago

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Where this blog goes next

For a really long time, I've been wanting to create a fanmade X-Men team composed of exclusively queer mutants- and now, I figured since I already have this blog, why not let tumblr decide?

So what I've done, is created 7 spots on the team, based on each characters power and skill set, and grouped a bunch of characters together for a singular poll for each spot. Before the polls go out, I'm going to make a little propaganda post for each person in the group, to make sure everybody knows who is who, and why they should vote for them!

This is only including people who are out as queer in universe, so even though Gabby has been implied to be queer, and Kate has been confirmed to be bi, neither of them are really "out" in their respective universes yet, so they couldn't really be on the team yet.

Here are the groups:

The Psychic

Captain Britain | Betsy Braddock

Askani | Rachel Summers

Negasonic Teenage Warhead | Ellie Phimister

Leo Eng

Alef Chernekhov

The Powerhouse

Iceman | Bobby Drake

Rictor | Julio Richter

Pyro | Simon Lasker

Tempo | Heather Tucker

Good Arson | Rex Ridley

Theia

Kappa | Megan Ogawa

Christopher O'Leary

The Shapeshifter

Mystique | Raven Darkholme

Gimmick | Carmen Cruz

Morph | Benjamin Deeds

Jessie Drake

Faceshopper | Soph

The Warrior

Shatterstar | Gaveedra Seven

Fang | Akihiro

Anole | Victor Borkowski

Mercury | Cessily Kincaid

Jonas Graymalkin

Bling! | Roxy Washington

Madin

Bouncer | Renata Da Lima

The Gimmick

Escapade | Shela Sexton

Loa | Alani Ryan

Aphelion | Reed

Darkveil | Darnell Wade

Jumbo Carnation

Brutha Nature | Jacob Williams

Morgan Red

Monica Sellers

Hector Pullman

The Flyer

Northstar | Jean-Paul Beaubier

Pixie | Megan Gwynn

Galura | Elle Diwa

Aura Charles

Michael Diwa

Liana

The Additional Psionic

Karma | Xuân Cao Mạnh

Destiny | Irene Adler

Prodigy | David Alleyne

Somnus | Carl Valentino

Hindsight | Nathaniel Carver

Pity Girl | Nora Kuang

Christian Frost

Bad Guy | Gabe

Alice Campbell

I hope to start posting these on Monday!

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waitineedaname · 1 year ago

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"1.who is/are your comfort character(s)?" | "22.what type of person are you?" | "31.what type of music keeps you grounded?" | "35.what’s your timezone?"

right now it might be alphonse elric and ritsu kageyama! <- tragic little brother fan when the show has tragic little brothers. also (greed)ling probably. in the past, comfort characters have included tavros and roxy from homestuck, and tommy from hlvrai!

22. this is so vague dslkfjsdlkfj uhhh man idk. I like to think of myself as a kind and enthusiastic person. I try to be compassionate and I'm usually p easygoing, but I've got a pretty strong sense of justice and can get. uh. a little intense when some sort of injustice happens. I've had friends tell me I get kinda scary when that happens. I have no idea how to describe myself

31. grounded.... honestly, some good angry punk music is what makes me feel alive. I listen to all sorts of music, but when I need to be grounded, nothing works better than some music that makes me throw myself around. tbh other genres also work for this, basically anything with a high tempo and a degree of intensity to it. music that makes me want to start biting things

35. Pacific Standard Time! I think that's UTC-7:00?? it is currently 4:47pm.

#asks #daychiie #actually I have a better answer for what kind of person I am #a couple years ago I saw a bunch of posts joking about being evil villains or something #and my thought was ''looks like you guys are having fun but I cannot relate. I'm more of a magical girl type person''#so there's that I guess

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demeterlindavis · 2 years ago

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Eddie never forget his first love, specifically when it comes to the woman who taught him how to play the guitar. Years later after the events in the upside down, an outing with the group at a Battle of the Bands event brings him back to you.

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

Eddie Munson x Reader

Post S4. Billy lives in this one.

2.9 K words

(3/4 of Out by Midnight - Roxy, Billy, and Erik)

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

It was a Friday night that Max had convinced the crew to go with her to an event that was happening over an hour away from Hawkins. There was some band competition to see who can perform the best covers. Eddie had been talking about it for weeks to go as a group since 2 members of Corroded coffin were out of town for the weekend, each for their own reasons so they didn’t have a chance to enter. Max added the cherry on top saying that her brother was in one of the bands. And so on the day of the event, the gang packed themselves into Eddie’s van and Steve’s car and made their way on the road.

It had been about an hour in when his back was turned, finishing up grabbing a couple of beers and a bottle of water at the bar when he heard the opening chords of one of his favorite songs. The soft strumming of an acoustic guitar was unmistakable to his ears. This band was playing a cover of “Battery” by Metallica. He made his way back to the group he came with and passed the beers to Robin and Nancy while Max grabbed the bottled water with her hand, a big ‘X’ clearly written with a marker on it to signify who wasn’t legally old enough to drink alcohol.

“Thanks!” Robin spoke before taking a large sip, tipping the bottom end of Nancy's beer up with her pointer finger and forcing her to catch up with herself and Steve.

“This is it, it’s them!” Max spoke loudly over the speakers amplifying the build-up of the guitar.

“Who?” Steve moved his head closer to her and squinted his eyes as if it were to help him hear better.

“Billy’s band!”

Steve’s eyes rolled, still not 100% over the history with the Hargrove boy he had tussled with long ago. He was like 95% there. The other 5% was just a little bit harder to get over. He watched Billy on stage, a mixture of surprise to find out Billy knew how to play the bass guitar and had even joined a band, with a tiny bit of bitterness knowing this most likely added to his ego. He took a big sip, finishing the rest of what was in his bottle as he saw Billy lock eyes and wink to some poor audience member who was no doubt swooning over his strumming.

“They don’t sound too shabby.” The corner of Eddie’s lips curled down in an impressed smile. He wasn’t trying to judge too soon, knowing exactly how the song was supposed to sound especially with the tempo change that was soon to come. “Do you guys know who’s playing the guitar right now?”

The group looked over at the band member standing in the front line of the stage with an acoustic guitar, the solo stage light increasing the dramatics of the opening tunes as the 3 other band members either played quietly (Billy) or waited in the background. They shook their heads, unable to recognize him as they looked towards the rest of the performers on stage.

“I don’t know who that guy is or the girl on the drums, but-“

“Holy Shit.” Eddie had cut Nancy off, hearing the electric guitar and the drums kick in. The sheer power of their entrance changing the energy of the crowd from 0 to 60. Not only did they sound good, but he had recognized the other guitarist that kicked in with the electricity.

Her hands moved effortlessly as she held the guitar with familiarity from years and years of practice. Her eyes were closed, falling into a trance that allured the crowd into the speeding tempo.

“Why does she look familiar?” Steve looked at the familiar face, trying to figure out where he’s seen her before.

“[Y/N] [L/N].” Eddie spoke with an unbroken stare, awestruck at her absolutely shredding it on stage.

“She’s hot - ow!” Robin rubbed her side where Eddie had elbowed her.

“Sorry Robs, there’s no way you’re cutting in line when I had to wait so long.”

Of all the places, he shouldn’t have been surprised to find you there doing the thing you loved the most: playing your guitar. He was just more so surprised at the fact that you were within his vicinity.

His heart pounded, nearly jumping up his throat from both an old crush and the music the group was absolutely killing. Your fingers moved quickly up and down the frets during the solo moments, also moving and stirring something deep within his heart and his groin.

What’s that saying? You never forget your first love. Especially when they were also the first person to ever teach you how to play the guitar.

His hand reached up to his necklace, holding tight and still keeping the guitar pick you had given him close to his heart. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you as he watched you thrash your head from side to side on beat, the pure raw energy of being in your element. The sweat glistened as your personal highlighter, the lights amplifying your glow while flashing behind you and emphasizing your silhouette.

The two of you never had a romantic relationship, not officially anyways. What started out as a middle school friendship turned best friends, turned into …whatever it was the last couple of years before you had moved away.

It was a warm dewy morning that day in sixth grade when he walked into the band room, ready to start the first day of the year with the elective he thought was the least excruciating to partake in. He heard someone playing the guitar. The melodic tunes rang in his ears as his eyes settled on the musician: you.

He’ll never forget the way your eyes were focused on the music in front of you, hair pulled back by the headphones loudly playing music in your ears. You pressed pause on the cassette player when you stumbled on a chord and you tried the same rift again and again before getting the sequence right. When you had, Eddie’s clapping surprised you as you turned to where he was just outside of your view.

After the introductions and his compliments, he found out you both had the same first period together. It didn’t take long throughout the year for you two to speak comfortably around each other, your carefree and goofy attitude made it easy. A lot of your passion for the guitar came from your dad, who was a musical enthusiast and guitarist with the daytime job of being a high school teacher. That passion oozed out of you and consumed him, inspiring him to pick up a guitar and ask you to teach him outside of school. What started as guitar lessons turned into weekend hangouts strumming together and at some point the hangouts would excuse the musicians from their instruments, watching movies over one another’s place or reading books like learning about Dungeons and Dragons.

Along the way and as you two aged, high school soon came and so did the slow shift in your friendship. It was around junior year when the touches and gazes lingered for just a little bit longer. When the casual flirting thrown into the mix skipped over the nervously laughed response and instigated a comeback to catch the other off guard. The tension was thick but neither dared to make that first official move. Instead settling in the comfort of the quiet and cozy movie nights spent cuddled on the couches, the dissipation of personal space between you two as his arms would always somehow be connected to you and vice versa. It was literally like dating but with a condom to stop the blooming of the next stage to come. Garret, one of the freshmen they befriended, called it “annoyingly painful to watch them both play this ‘will they, won’t they’ thing and should just let it will.” The rest of the members of what would become the band Corroded Coffin the following year had agreed, especially when their senior year rolled in and everyone at that point got accustomed to the pair stuck in an infinite and never-ending dance.

Eddie clapped with an extra loud “Woo!” Watching you graduate and walk across the stage with your diploma in hand. He promised himself he’d walk across the stage in no time and have you cheering with just as much love and swell of pride as he had at this moment.

Only the summer after graduation your dad had accepted another teaching job in California, one also closer to studios where the big shots had better chances of being scouted. That chance for him to finally cross that line and confess himself to you was ripped away, he had helped you pack your things, savoring every last moment that he could spend with you. With a promise to call you both kept it up at first but they became less frequent the moment you began helping your dad with tutoring after school and juggling it with the addition of your part-time job and band practice. Eddie himself became engrossed in his passions for D&D and Corroded Coffin, and just trying to pass high school.

A drunk Robin thrashing around with an energy-high Dustin had pulled him out of memory lane, the song had shifted into their next Metallica cover, ‘Fuel’. Nancy was swaying with an equally drunk Johnathan to a tempo only heard by the pair. Steve was sipping his beer, shaking his head as he watched Dustin jump and down like a maniac after Mike and Lucas joined beside him. El, Will, and Max were more subdued than the others thrash-dancing but were still moving with the high energy consuming the venue. Eddie joined Robin, downing the rest of his drink and matching his dance partner’s wild and almost comedic movements.

When the song ended Eddie let out an extra loud “Woo” as he did the day of your graduation, clapping past the point where his hands turned red as the crowd continued cheering.

The lead singer was catching his breath, allowing more time for the band to soak in the moment. High-pitched screams were erupting as the singer and Billy removed their shirts, their muscles, unfortunately, glowing in the light.

Steve once again rolled his eyes while Mike and Lucas stared questioningly at El and Max who joined in with the screaming.

The singer took his spot again infront of the microphone and took a breath before speaking into the mic, “We are Out Past Midnight and it’s been fucking amazing playing for you all here!” The cheers echoed at the profanity, as he introduced the next band that broke out into a cover of Black Sabbath. Max lead the group out of the venue and towards the back where Billy had told her to meet him the last time they spoke on the phone.

The step-sibling’s relationship had gotten better over the years. The strain slowly healing after the events of the Mind Flayer and Billy leaving back to California to get space away from the hauntings of Hawkins, but the phone calls kept them in touch, even visiting for a while after she was Hospitalized thanks to Vecna. He had surprised her with the fact that he joined a band, telling her he’d give her the full story when they caught up in person again instead of having to explain it on over the phone. He was going to be in the state, another one of the band members having family ties nearby and the Cover Band Competition was on the way.

Max was the first to spot them, putting away their instruments and equipment into a shiny new van before heading back into the venue to enjoy the rest of the night.

“You know, I see now that they let you join the band solely for the number of fangirls you’d bring in.”

The curly blonde head of hair turned at his sister’s voice after setting down an instrument case. The same old shit-eating grin resting across his face. “Tell me you brought more of them back here with you.”

“Gross.” Max said with a scoff, still moving forward with a small grin and giving Billy a hug. When she pulled away she turned to the rest of the group, “You remember the gang. I don’t know if you’ve met Robin,” She pointed to her and then to the metal head of the group, “and Eddie” Billy had given them a nod as the others waved in greeting. The lead singer had come through the backdoor, the last of their equipment in both hands and passing one to Billy. With a final check and slam of the trunk doors, Billy introduced the unknown man to the rest of the group.

“This is Erik. He’s the guy with the vocals.”

Erik stood tall with a brooding stare that was broken with a grin. His long brown hair blew in the wind and proving a magazine cover-worthy look with nothing more than his black jeans and opened leather jacket with nothing underneath. “It’s nice to meet ya, I’d introduce the rest of the band but the girls are already inside getting shots.”

Billy chuckled, “Are Rox and [Y/N] actually buying the shots themselves?”

Erik gave him a knowing look. “They’re being bought by someone but hey a free drink is a free drink.”

While everyone else introduced themselves, Eddie’s lips pursed at the comment, imagining someone flirting with you, being close to you. He shouldn’t have felt so territorial about you, but old habits die hard, especially when old feelings were coming back just from seeing you.

Erik turned to everyone else, pulling the back door open again. “We’re going to head back in and enjoy the rest of the show, do you guys want to come in through this way instead of going back all the way around?”

Robin walked up to him and patted his shoulder in a drunken haze, “You’re not so bad, Erik!” She walked in with everyone trailing behind her. The shortcut into the building soon engulfing them in the music and lights once more.

The younger kids of the group stayed in the crowd, enjoying the music as the rest of them headed to the bar, but still in sight of the others for Steve’s babysitting sake. Eddie followed behind, a bit more nervous the more and more he was able to see you in his view. You were raising a shot glass with your bandmate, a woman with darker skin and black twisted hair cheering you on. She wore a loose multicolored top, following the fashion of the band with the top opened but a tank top underneath. You both took a big gulp, slamming the glasses down with a boisterous laugh.

“Ladies, Ladies” Erik shouted, gaining their attention as he gestured toward the rest of the newcomers. “Billy has friends he’d like to introduce us to.”

He met your gaze when you turned to face them and he saw when the shock had registered in. Your eyes nearly teared as your feet slowly pulled you towards him, hands lifting to rest on his cheeks, slightly squishing them together. “Please tell me I’m not hallucinating right now.” Your voice was wavering with emotion, Eddie couldn’t help but laugh. You were a lightweight when it came to drinking, smoking being your chosen vice. But nonetheless, this was a greeting letting him know he was missed. His hands steadied you by the shoulders, an unbreakable grin spreading across his face as his warm brown eyes stared into yours.

“Hey Sweetheart.”

Erik leaned closer to Roxanne, the drummer of the band, who was perched at the bar. “Jeez, you two were gone for like 10 minutes, how many drinks did she have?”

Roxanne gave him a look, similar to the knowing one Erik gave Billy not too long ago. “3 Shots.”

“Back to Back?” Billy joined in.

The rest of the group watched in silent curiosity at what was happening in from of them. Roxy’s mouth slowly agape as she watched you begin to sway forward unintentionally. “[Y/N] is going down, I repeat, [Y/N] is going down.”

Billy moved fast to reach you, not really knowing Eddie’s character and how comfortable he’s feeling with you being intoxicated embarrassingly fast. He was not going to let you live this moment down but that’s for another time. His arm moved around your waist as he pulled you to the side and suddenly Eddie’s eyes were like a magnet towards the touch.

Steve was the first to break the silence after you were pulled towards a booth to sit down. “What was all that?”

“We’re-“ Eddie tried to fight his eyes watching you past the crowd, settled in a booth with Billy standing to the side, choosing not to sit down. His arms leaned on the table and the back of the seating, encasing you between him as you were both locked in a gaze, him saying something that made you break out into a laugh. Eddie looked away feeling a sting to his chest, letting out a laugh he hoped that didn’t come out as forced “We were best friends once upon a time.”

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