#today was a rest day! after tmr i have a three day break so expect more then

[jumioxox]

drdttober day five - school/college

[liptonsbabe]

Havoc [Thomas]

A Maze Runner fanfiction

//

Summary: When the reader, the second-in-command of the village goes out into the maze looking for a way out, the last thing she hopes to find is a whole new community on the other side of the walls. Much less, when it seems to be inhabited only by boys her age.

Warnings: none

A/N: Hey! This is my very first fanfic here and i decided to start with some tmr stuff ;) English not my mother language so please let me know if something is wrong. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter one: Leaving home

YOU WAKE UP THAT DAY WITH AN INCREDIBLE MOOD, although things in the village were not encouraging at all.

The dew hadn't fallen yet when you were already in front of the maze, impatiently waiting for the doors to open. You were carrying a backpack with the breakfast on your back, the belt resting on your hips, and an awl strategically hidden in your back pocket.

You didn't understand why your heart was beating so fast even if the night before had been the worst of all. The disease was progressing, it was devastating the village and the parents were leaving their children alone. You trembled in your place. You've never seen anything like that before. The illness, the confusion, the tiredness, the agony. The desease was ending with all of you. If you and the trackers didn’t find a way out as you had promised, then the village would be devastated.

You couldn't allow it. You weren't going to give up. Maybe the answer was out there, waiting for you and you weren't going to keep it waiting.

Maybe the feeling of your restless heart was a good sign. Maybe your heart was sensing things that you could not know and, with a little bit of luck, get it right as he almost always did.

The village had exits from its four points, so, as the sun was in the west that day, you decided to start with the east gate, considering it a good sign. You pulled your hair up in a high ponytail, ate an apple as fast as you could, and waited for the doors to move.

A curtain of dust and pebbles rose in front of your face as you listened the doors opening. That day the main corridor to the maze had a strange smell, but you thought that your nose was already damaged by the medicines and infusions that you had been smelling in the nursery, so you ignored it. You adjusted your boots waiting for the stench to disperse when a strong pull carried you backwards, scaring you.

“What the hell...? Asenat! "You muttered releasing the grip on your shirt. The girl smiled haughtily, crossing her arms over her chest “How many times do I have to tell you to not pull me like that? I hate being pulled!

“You can do it as many times as you want, I honestly don't care, I'll keep doing it anyways”

“You're an idiot”

“Where do you think you are going?” Cassidy asked, standing next to Asenat, both of them staring at you with their arms crossed over their chests and frowning. You rolled your eyes

“To do my job, the same as you should be doing right now”

"You are no longer a tracker”

“I am the leader, I can give myself that position”

"Second leader," Asenat corrected you, "After Richard, and he was the one who gave you the order to stay in the village, remember?"

You clicked your tongue as the trackers were already leaving to the maze. Asenat caught your shirt between her fingers again preventing you from running. Cassidy sighed, shaking her head. If something was clear to them about you, it was how stubborn you could be.

“Yes, I remember”

"Do you still have those headaches?"

"No," you lied. You'd been feeling terrible headaches for a couple of weeks now, before Richard fell sick from what the villagers called the glow. The man, who was also a tracker, had found you in the middle of your section with a terrible bruise on the back of your head and a pool of blood surrounding you. He carried you to the village, and when you were sufficiently recovered, you mentioned having a terrible pain and falling unconscious hitting the stone. Richard didn't need to know more to remove you from your job, forbidding you to return to the maze until your headaches were better. Until the night before you hadn't felt any pain, so you assumed you were fine “I'm great, don't worry about me. It was an accident”

"Yeah, are you sure?"

“Completely”

"Even if it were so, you are not allowed to go out," Cassidy said, determined. "We need you here, my friend."

"I'll be back before dark”

"Things don't work that way anymore," Cassidy replied, looking at you with a frown. "Richard hasn't died yet." His rules are still ours and since when we can do whatever we want?

“Don’t say it like that”

"You know Richard is not going to survive" Asenat lowered her voice preventing any other villagers from hearing her "he will die like the rest of the infected and when that happens all this will be over. We can continue with the rules that he made, but that will not be enough. There are families dying every day, our duty is to take care of them. We have a pact, okay? Treat the disease first, look for a way out later”

"How long are we going to keep waiting?" You asked, taking a step forward. Asenat sighed, "Three? Four? Another five years? This place is falling apart. If we really want to help the remaining villagers we need to find a way out, take them home, give them a better life, heal them "

"Nobody assures us that we will be better out there than here"

"Let's take the risk, we won't lose anything just by trying"

"We have kids in here, even babies. Their parents have died and they depend on us.

"This time it will be different" you said looking at them pleadingly "It's crazy, but something tells me that today we will find the answers we have been looking for. I could assure you that. Do you believe me? Do you trust me enough to believe in what my heart feels?”

Cassidy and Asenat looked at each other. Richard was still sick, confined to his cabin with the doctors trying to keep him alive. The night before he had lost part of the skin on his arms and his uncontrollable anger had made them tie him to the bed, however, that didn’t mean that in his small lapses of serenity he did not realize what was happening in the village.

Asenat shrugged her arms, leaving the decision to Cassidy. In her role as a teacher, she had no say in that situation and she didn't really care too much. You were reckless and almost always clumsy, but you had good ideas and that had helped you become te mainstay of the village. However Cassidy as the third in charge represented the third head of the monster. She would be the leader at Richard's death and if you didn't get back from the maze in time and that terrified her. She was not afraid of responsibility, nor making important decisions, but that represented visualizing a future where the three of you were not together and she preferred not to think about it.

"You know we do," she replied. "There hasn't been a single day when we doubted in your good judgment, but ..."

"It's different," Asenat said rubbing her chin. "The village doesn't feel like it used to. We are used to death, we can handle it, but the feeling of having it lurking over our heads is unbearable. The maze is not better. It is changing. I listen to it every night. The steel lobsters clattering through the halls. The giant woke up and will not go back to sleep”

"Cassidy," you called her, squeezing her hands. The girl sighed, thinking of the possibilities you guys had. Staying with your arms crossed was not an option, but neither was breaking the trust Richard had placed in all of you. Asenat watched you. The three of you shared the same fear, the same confusion and the same dread of losing the entire village. There were children who required the presence of someone capable to guide them, men and women waiting in fear to be infected with the glow and babies crying to feel the arms of their dead parents. You clenched her hands tighter. You needed to be covered for a few hours only and, in return, you would find the way out. You could do it, you trusted your instincts “Please...”

Cassidy sighed.

"We'll cover you until lunchtime, that's all."

"I only need that”

"Come back in one piece, will you?" She begged, looking at a small boy approaching. You leaned down, taking him in your arms letting out a groan as you picked him up. George was eight years old, he didn't weigh the same as five years ago. You kissed his cheek, returning him to the ground “The boy would go nuts if something happened to you”

"Are you going back to the maze?" George asked looking at you with his huge brown eyes. You nodded. Then you were hit by the little boy's suffocating embrace “the lobsters will hurt you!

"They are asleep now”

"They can wake up!"

"I doubt it little one. Don’t worry, I'll be fine. I'll be back at noon and we'll have a snack together, what ya think?”

“You promise?

“I promise”

"Okay, you can go," he said. You laughed, ruffling his hair

"Thanks, puppy. Stay with Asenat, okay? She can scold you while I'm gone”

"Ya’ heard it, boy," Asenat said, rubbing her knuckles at the top of his head. George complained, "You will stay with me the rest of the day and help me teach the little ones how to count to ten.

“That's not fair!”

"Life isn't fair, brat." Come on, maybe we can grab some chocolate from the kitchen later, huh?”

Asenat held out her hand and George took it enthusiastically as they walked together towards the largest cabin that you used as a classroom. George spun on his feet saying goodbye with a bright smile on his face. You blew him a kiss and Asenat turned to show you her middle finger. You smiled

"Take care of him, will you?" I highly doubt that Asenat will do it properly”

"I'm going to watch her. Now go before I regret it. And (Y/N)” She said, stopping you as you walked towards the main corridor of the maze. You turned around, waiting for his words “Don't die out there. The maze stinks enough to add the stench of a corpse” You nodded. It was a fair deal

“No prob”

You finished your run in your section faster than you expected. The meal would not be until three hours later so you decided to make a stop to rest. You sat on the floor against a wall. Hot sweat was running down your neck and the fucking headache was back. You closed your eyes, tired. It was terribly hot, and the stench of rotting meat numbed your nose.

You drank water, the little sip you had left, and put it back in your backpack. You were going to eat some of the apple slices you took with you, but the pain in the back of your head kept you from even chewing. You stood up wanting to continue your hike when the headache went down your neck and then numbed your spine. You leaned against the wall. It was covered in vines, moss, and fungus. You wiped your palms on your pants and started walking again.

The migraine erased your sight. For a second the world around you seemed to move in luminous spirals forcing you to close your eyes. The sound lightened and you swore you heard a static signal on your eardrums.

The floor spined over and over again. You dug your nails into the palms of your hands feeling the blood pour out from the sides, staining the stone. You heard the drops hiting the floor and suddenly everything stopped.

You were sweating. Your soaked shirt stuck to your body, your hair matted on your forehead and you opened your eyes. Pushing back the hair you noticed that this was not your section, that in some inexplicable way the maze had changed drastically and there was no way to return home.

Your heart beat madly. You fell to the ground on your knees, your head aching every second screaming in agony. You crawled down the corridor without understanding its course, but recognizing small fragments of leaves pointing a path to the north.

was that the way out? You, without being aware of the pain, could you have operated some kind of lever, changing the composition of the maze, leaving it unrecognizable? You weren't sure.

You kept crawling. The leaves spreading across the path, turning into a corridor covered in dust and dirt. You complained in pain and in the confusion, you managed to hear voices from the other side.

You buried your nails in the stone rising up. You pulled forward slowly approaching until you reached the exit (or the entrance?) of the maze. The wind ruffled your hair. Then your hands touched the green grass and the pain stopped.

You stayed alert. Your senses fading little by little from fatigue. Your head ached, your hands ached, your back ached. You heard the clear voice of a boy and, unaware of it, you got up as best as you could.

You got up with the help of the leaves on the wall. You narrowed your eyes focusing on the meadow stretching out in front of you. It was not the village, it was not the exit. The walls of the maze were surrounding the meadow and you could only think that the pain had caused you allusions.

Then the torture returned. You clenched your teeth. Your vision became blurry, however you could distinguish completely unknown figures in the mist. Your ears recognized voices, men's voices, and, unable to bear another second, you fainted.

[feifood]

Hello there. Your event is still open, right? May I please have prompts 21 and 7 for Ushijima? Thank you so much! 🌸

Hello anon yesyes the event is open till tmr !! Here’s your Ushijima content I have come to serve this. No but for real I have a fat crush on him not to mention fetus Ushijima was so adorable sdhfjdh MOVING ON please enjoy <33

Ushijima Wakatoshi [angst + fluff]: 7. “Can I stay here tonight?” 21. “It’s pouring rain why are you here?”

Word count: 763 words Warnings: none (might seem more angsty than fluffy doe) Summary: You who up on Ushijima’s doorstep after a particularly rough evening.

The atmosphere is quiet in Ushijima’s room. Nothing but the faint sounds of flipping pages as he continues to read the Shonen Jump Tendou lent him that week. It was a particularly calm evening, Friday night right after some tough volleyball practice with the club. As the soft sounds of the rain hit his windows, the ace was the most at ease he’s been this entire week, his mind almost clear of thoughts. 

Almost. 

But some habits were harder to break than becoming one of the top three aces in the entire country. That being said, Wakatoshi was undoubtedly entranced by you, and had been for a while. Despite how painfully obvious it was to his teammates and even your own friends, you just never caught on.

He’s just a friend, you would always say, there’s nothing going on between us.

Taking a big sigh, he tries to push the thoughts of you out of his mind and direct his attention back to the pages. About a paragraph in, his doorbell rings. 

Settling the Shonen Jump down, Ushijima makes his way to the front door. He expected the old lady next door coming by to have him fix her bike again, but was taken by surprise when you showed up at his doorstep. 

Clothes absolutely drenched by the rain, you lift your head to reveal your tear stained face. To anyone else, it would have just seemed like your face was drenched by the rainwater, but Ushijima’s not just anyone. 

“It’s pouring rain why are you here?” Maybe that sounded a bit too harsh, he thinks to himself right after. 

“Toshi,” you weakly call out to him, “I got dumped.”

Wakatoshi’s body stiffens. Did he just hear that right? Someone actually had the audacity to dump you? He’d already forgotten your partner's name not even a day after you revealed that you were in a relationship. It definitely hurt watching you fall head over heels for someone that wasn’t him, but if that was what made you happy, he was willing to just sit back and let you be. 

Not taking his eyes off you, you sniffle and mumble out, “Can I stay here tonight?”

He nods.

“I just don’t think I can spend the night alone.”

“I understand,” he tries his best to empathize. 

After taking a quick bath and getting dressed in some clothes Ushijima lent you, you return back to his room to watch a movie. You’d told him you didn’t want to talk about it just yet, to which he respectfully gave you your space and asked if watching a movie with him might help.

“Do you want some ice cream?” He turns his head to you standing by the doorframe, “I have your favorite flavor.”

“Sure,” you accept, stepping further into his room and sitting down on the bed. Unbeknownst to you, Ushijima has only bought your favorite flavor of ice cream after that day you shared this information with him. He didn’t even have much opinion about it, but the brief moments of you that enter his mind every time he eats it was enough to get him hooked. 

He soon returned with the ice cream, two tints of it. 

“This seems a lot,” you chuckle at him.

“They were on sale,” he lies. He just heard it was on low stock at the supermarket he usually goes to and bought too many out of panic. 

The entire movie you’d been particularly quiet and it was pretty clear what was on your mind. Wakatoshi didn’t say anything though, the last thing he wanted to do was to make it feel like he was prying into your business. When you decide it was time to tell him what happened, you would. As the credits begin playing, he feels you rest your head on his left shoulder.

Turning to see what happened, he’s greeted with your sleeping face and soft breathing. God, he could just stare at you forever like this. Everything about you was perfect to him. There was nothing in this world that could catch his attention as quickly as you did. 

Realizing that he’s probably been staring at you for too long, he gently sets you down on his beds and puts a blanket over you. He’ll just sleep on the couch tonight, Wakatoshi decides, you’ve already been through so much today. 

Closing his bedroom door, the olive haired boy looks at you one last time. Maybe one day you’ll see how much he likes you. Either way, Ushijima’s going to always be there for you.

[5bruhschillinginahottub]

Cupcake (Caitlyn x Vi)

 Warnings: None except a swearing Vi

Vi was in big trouble. 

Not because she forgot to catch a criminal. 

Not because she let a robber go free. 

It was because it was her girlfriend’s birthday tomorrow. 

And typical, oh so typical Vi, forgot to buy anything, for Caitlyn. 

Vi woke up in her room, waking up from a particularly beautiful dream where she proposes to Caitlyn, and thinking about Caitlyn, she was thinking about parties, getting drunk and kissing her. 

But during what occasion could you have a party where Vi could get drunk and could kiss her? That’s right! A birthday!

So that’s why her fellow Wardens’ heard fuck mes, fuck this, shits and a litany of colourful language resonating from Vi’s room. 

As she put her clothes on and left the room, all the Wardens moved away, did not glance at her and some even retreated to their rooms. 

She ate in a hurry, and left the building in a rage quickly, as Caitlyn was meeting her today. 

As she walked on the pavement leading up to Caitlyn’s apartment, Vi almost missed a piece of paper on the floor. 

Almost, as though it was directed for her. 

She opened the piece of paper, and in scrawly blue words was the sentence:

“HEY I HEARD ITS UR GF’S BDAY TMR! IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE U HV NO IDEAS FOR WAT TO GIVE HER, SO CAN U LET ME FREE FOR HALF A YR IF I HELP U WITH HER BDAY GIFTS? FIND ME AFTER UR MEETING W/ UR GF OUTSIDE THE NEAREST CUPCAKE SHOP!” 

Vi’s face transformed from a face of disbelief, to rage, then a mask of indifference. However, she knew she did not have much of a choice, and how important her girlfriend was to her. 

Should I hang out with a criminal just to give my girlfriend a gift? She thought. I mean, I could easily punch her in the face. 

So she set her mind down, and she decided to meet Jinx after her meeting with her dearest Caitlyn.

-

“Morning Vi.” Caitlyn said. Vi nearly had a nosebleed. Caitlyn was wearing a new navy shirt dress with white polka dots and she put her hat down. 

“Morning cupcake.” Vi said, putting down her gauntlets while she kissed Caitlyn on the forehead. “New dress?” 

“Yeah. It’s my birthday tomorrow, I better dress nicely.” Caitlyn’s posh accent filled Vi’s ears. 

“Don’t tell me you forgot.” Caitlyn teased as Vi grabbed a chair. “O-Of course not!” 

Caitlyn smirked. “So today, we are going to talk about the fact that crimes have decreased over the past few months. Jinx’s sighting also has decreased. She must be sick of us.” 

That’s great! I have a better reason to see her now. Vi thought in her head. 

“Our peacekeeping must have worked very well.” Caitlyn said, smiling softly. Vi nodded. 

“Vi, what’s wrong? You’re strangely quiet today.” Caitlyn asked, holding Vi’s hands. 

Caitlyn’s soft warm hands were in Vi’s rough ones, as Caitlyn’s fingers touched each scar, each blister that formed. 

“Yeah I’m fine Cait. It’s just that-that-” Vi took a deep sigh. “It’s your first birthday as my girlfriend together, and I just want it to be special. I just feel stressed because of that.” 

Caitlyn moved and sat on the same chair as Vi. “My sweet sweet Vi. This is the sweetest thing I have ever heard that has came from your lovable yet foul mouth of yours. You know what, why don’t you go now, and I’ll let you prepare for my birthday tomorrow.” 

Caitlyn moved ever so closer, put her hands on Vi’s cheeks, and kissed her fully. 

“I love you Caitlyn.” 

“I love you Vi. You can go now. See you tomorrow.” Putting on her gauntlets, Vi left the room while Caitlyn waved her cheery wave. 

-

“That took quicker than expected.” A sing-song voice called as Vi left the apartment. Standing in front of her was Jinx in a grey hoodie and black leggings, with a black beret on her head, covering her trademark blue hair, with only a flew wisps loose. 

“Let’s just get this over with.” Vi said, turning a gear on her gauntlets. 

“Oh you’re no fun even compared to your Cait!” Jinx joked as they headed towards the cupcake shop. 

As they walked, Vi looked at Jinx. She was walking with a skip in her step, and she was humming some ditzy tune. 

Without her weapons, Jinx was just- eccentric. Curiosity got the better of Vi, and she asked a question. 

“How are you bored of causing havoc to us all?” Vi asked. 

“Well, you guys always stop my plans, so I have to use one month to develop a new one. I just hope I can get a break. I am human after all.” Jinx said, as they turned onto a corner that had the pale pink cupcake shop. 

“Also, I just want some cupcakes. That’s all.” She said as she opened the door. 

“After you, metal hands.” Vi rolled her eyes, and she stepped in. 

She has been in Canna’s Confections & Cupcakes many many times. Caitlyn was always here to set up traps or to just eat them. 

“Vi! It’s you! And who’s this young lady with you?” Canna said, a sweet old lady with a pale pink dress the shade of the store. 

“Just a friend.” Vi quickly said. “It’s Caitlyn’s birthday tomorrow, do you recommend anything for her?” 

“Of course! She’s one of our favourite customers, I can practically memorise her order of Cookies and Cream and Vanilla.” Canna said, while she wrote down some orders. “How many do you need?” 

“Um, about 24. Some of Caitlyn’s friends and the Wardens are coming.” Vi replied. “I gotcha. What about you?” Canna asked Jinx. 

“Um, can I have three of the Blue Raspberries to go?” She asked, seemingly surprised by Canna’s kindness. “Sure darling.” Vi payed for the cupcakes and we waited outside. 

As they left, Jinx was no longer her rambunctious self. 

“You’re quiet.” Vi said, suddenly noticing Vi was echoing Caitlyn from this morning. 

“Yeah yeah. I just haven’t been treated this nicely in a while.” She said, fumbling with the strings of the hoodie. 

“Hmph. I have never seen a criminal this quiet.” Jinx smiled. A soft smile, unlike her smirks or open mouthed grins. 

“You’re pretty cool for ya know, a warden.” Jinx said. “You’re alright too. Just stop wrecking Piltover, ok?” 

Jinx grinned. “Can’t control my instincts.” She said as Canna came out. “Here are your cupcakes ladies.” She said, smiling. 

“Thanks.” They said at the same time, as Vi passed the cupcakes to Jinx. Canna even put candles in the box. 

“Anyway, I gotta go.” Vi said, leaving the road. “We’re gonna meet again some day anyway.” Jinx replied. She waved and left, leaving Vi to her suddenly muted chaotic thoughts.

-

The party at night went without a hitch. Caitlyn enjoyed the cupcakes so much she ate 10, only leaving 14 left. Vi got slightly drunk, and she kissed Caitlyn a few too many times. 

Vi excused herself after her 4th beer to get some fresh air, and Caitlyn went with her. 

“This party is fantastic. I couldn’t have asked more.” Caitlyn said, resting a hand on Vi’s waist. 

Vi looked at Caitlyn. She was wearing the suit dress with a beret, while Vi was wearing a pastel pink shirt and black tie. 

“You’re welcome Caitlyn.” Vi said. “You know, this is the first time you called me by my full name.” Caitlyn said, moving closer. 

“Ah well, there’s a first for everything. Cheers to your birthday.” Vi said, clinking her beer bottle with Caitlyn’s champagne glass. 

“Cheers.” Vi drank her beer, not only thinking about her beautiful girlfriend, but also about Jinx, and how kind she suddenly was to Vi. 

But that was a thought for another day. 

[hetmusic]

TMR TALKS TO... BALTHAZAR | The Most Radicalist

In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet.       This time we speak with Belgian indie pop-rock band Balthazar. In their home country of Belgium, Balthazar sell out arena stadiums. The two songwriters at the heart of the band, Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez have also become well-known through their solo projects, Warhaus and J. Bernardt, respectively. It’s no wonder that after three albums, countless live shows and successful side projects that Balthazar took a breather following their third album release Thin Walls in 2015. However, the dynamic songwriting duo of Devoldere and Deprez couldn’t keep apart forever, and heading back into the studio around a year ago, the result turned into another epic album, their fourth studio record to date. Fever has been a highly-anticipated record here at TMR, with album tracks ‘Fever’, ‘Entertainment’, ‘I’m Never Gonna Let You Down Again’ and 'Wrong Vibration' all making an appearance as surefire List Picks. Since they’ve been a recurrent favourite we couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk to Balthazar’s two key members about the new album, matters of the heart, songwriting, the importance of imagery, how songs evolve through live shows and more. Here’s our interview, originally recorded backstage ahead of Balthazar’s show at Manchester’s Deaf Institute.

TMR: Fever is your fourth album, following 2015’s Thin Walls, why was this record worth taking your time over? Jinte Deprez: We were touring from twenty-nine/ten to twenty-sixteen, so by the end of the campaign we always felt like we were touring and making albums, so we wanted to take a little break, which we did. Then we released some solo albums, which were received quite well. Yeah, the break was a little bit longer than we planned, but we got back together to write for this album a year ago, so yeah, it went quickly. TMR: Oh, so really it hasn’t taken that long to get the album together. One of the biggest themes on the album is the highs and lows of love; sometimes in your songs, the character is a heartbreaker and other times they’re heartbroken. Was this theme a purposeful choice or a product of the time you were both in? Maarten Devoldere: Well, actually I think we tend to write close to our beds, so we’ve always written love songs. It’s just the most logical theme, it fits really well in a pop song. We aren’t very politically engaged to write about that for example. JD: We are songwriters so it’s always like if one of us is heartbroken, the other one is in a totally different vibe. That way we end up with these different songs on the album. Different emotions. TMR: Would you say there are any underlying themes that would surprise a listener? For example with ‘Fever’ it's quite easy to access those feelings of love or heartbreak, but is there something beyond that? MD: Yeah, that comes across as a love song, but it’s actually more of a dialogue itself. I think because pop music has been used so much to sing about a girl or towards a girl… So we have a tradition in songwriting that if you write about addiction, for example, then maybe you’re going to dress that addiction up as a girl as well. JD: On this album it seems like we don’t make much sense or make any points, because on ‘Fever’ we sound quite harsh towards a girl, but at the same time we’re saying that we’re falling for her. I think that’s something we do a lot on this record. On the other hand, there are some songs that are really just emotion. We wrote three break-up songs, but there’s a pissed off one and a cool one. MD: Yeah, different phases. JD: Whereas in the past we tried to write about the whole relationship in one song, but we stopped doing that. TMR: Since we’re talking about the title-track ‘Fever’, there are visuals for that song as well which are quite obscure, featuring deserts, roads and mountains. How does the imagery tie in with the song? JD: When we were finishing the record, we really had to rush to meet the deadline towards the end, and then we really wanted to go on holiday. Our manager said “no you can’t go on holiday yet, because first we need the video for ‘Fever’.” And so we said, “okay, what’s the budget?” So then we went to Lanzarote on holiday and filmed there. I know it sounds super random, but I guess the vibe and the weather matched this record for us. It’s a summer record. MD: We thought of it as, like, the opening trailer of a movie, and then the album is a movie. It was mainly because we wanted to go to a sunny place. You don’t need deep reasons or to be too profound sometimes. TMR: Yeah, that makes sense, it is very cinematic and the setting definitely helps. Speaking more on visuals, why did you choose painted dogs for the album cover? JD: We were renting this house, because we were touring with our solo projects at the time, and it’s actually a pretty stupid story, but there was a National Geographic magazine which we were flipping through and then we saw that picture. It’s kind of funny, because it’s very direct and they look like a band, you know there’s a singer, and there’s a drummer looking at you. We like the picture and the colourfulness of it. With our past albums, the cover was always a bit melancholic and darker. They also work like a wolf pack, and when we’re not doing our other projects and we come back, there’s this collectiveness that we wanted to embrace. It was the first picture we had for the album, and we have a lot of photographer friends with artistic pictures, but we thought it was more funny to get a picture from a magazine. TMR: We had no idea it was from a magazine, to be honest we thought it may have been something to do with the fact that painted dogs are a matriarchy, so it’s always a female dog that’s in charge of the rest. Both: Really? JD: The thing is if you chose animals, you get to know them very well through this whole process. Well that’s perfect, yeah. TMR: Maybe there was something subconscious there? MD: That’s how music works. TMR: Switching over to the video for ‘Entertainment’, which was shot in studio. Does that reflect how Balthazar is as a band? JD: It was mainly because somebody left the band, so it was like a new collective. MD: Yeah, because the new guy was on holiday for like six months, so we flew him over, and that day when we shot the video was the first day that we were all together. We asked him to come play, he didn’t play on the record, or audition, or anything like that - it was an educated guess. That day we were play-backing the song for the video shoot and we actually had so much fun and we thought, if we have this much fun while play-backing, then it’s going to really cool if we play it live. JD: It was a little bit to emphasize the fact that we want to play live as a band. TMR: ‘Entertainment’ is quite an upbeat song as well. MD: Yeah, we wrote it at the end of the recording process, and for us, we felt like it was the jammy song that we needed, so we were really surprised when the label said that it was going to be the first single. It’s good, especially now live, we feel it really connects with the audience. It’s the enthusiasm. JD: Sometimes you work on a song for month, and that was made in a day, so for us it felt quite strange, but looking at it now, it makes sense. TMR: One of our favourite tracks on the album is ‘I’m Never Gonna Let You Down Again’. Do you each have a favourite track of your own? JD: The thing is we always make so many songs, and we pick our favourites to make the album, so in the end, all the songs are kind of our favourites otherwise it wouldn’t be on the album. MD: They kind of need each other in a way. I don’t know, it changes throughout the week, so today, it’s a Friday, so I’m going to go for... ‘Rollercoaster’. JD: For me, it’s the third day of the tour, and you start to feel like the songs are having their afterlife. They start to change in how we play them live, and it’s cool. Songs you wouldn’t expect to become your favourite song live do because they change. ‘Never Gonna Let You Down Again’ is one of the examples - live it’s really cool and I thought it would have been really hard to play live. TMR: It’s also going to depend on the audience and how they interact with the song. JD: Of course. MD: Like yesterday, there was a harmonica player in the audience, so we invited him on stage, and he did a harmonica solo in ‘Wrong Faces’. That was literally how sometimes live performance is created on the spot. But he wasn’t really that good. [all laugh] TMR: And how has the tour been so far? JD: It’s the third day and Maarten’s voice is, like, cracking already [laughs]. MD: It’s good, it’s a new album, so yeah it’s finding a connection with the old songs, planning the set list. We didn’t play together for two or three years, so it’s kind of cool, but it’s also finding your way as a band again. It’s cool to do it here [in the UK] too. Yesterday, in Brighton, it was a really intimate show, which is cool and really works for us. We’ve played here [The Deaf Institute, Manchester] before as well. Last time I fought with my manager, but he won the fight… I was really drunk, so yeah. JD: [Laughing] was that also the third day of the tour? MD: Yeah, probably. TMR: When you’re on tour, do you have a tour playlist? With songs to get you in the mood for playing live? MD: No, but yesterday, we had our support Faces On TV, who is also the producer of the record. It was the first time we could see him play live, it’s really cool, he’s all alone, but he’s this sound wizard on stage, doing way too many things on stage at the same time. It was really energetic, the perfect warm-up to our show. We also have to step up our game to make it work. JD: Yeah exactly, also our tour manager is like the DJ and he always has music you’ve never heard of. Today I discovered Onra. It’s always great to have a DJ as a tour manager. TMR: After here, where are you playing next? JD: After here, we’re going to Dublin which is cool because it’s been a while since we’ve been to Dublin. It’s cool that they haven’t forgotten us, so I’m really looking forward to that. After that, we’re going to London, to Scala, which is a beautiful venue. TMR: Are you going to be playing your home towns as well? MD: Oh yeah, we’re on tour for a month now. TMR: Do you find the atmosphere is different playing back home? JD: Well, in Belgium, we play an arena show in Antwerp, so that’s completely different from what we’re used to. MD: I’m not so keen on playing arenas, but it’s really cool to have the variation between here with smaller venues and there. TMR: Definitely different challenges in each space. Finally, what’s your plan for the rest of the year? 

JD: I think we’re going to play a lot. We’re going to have the European tour, take a little break, pick up the European tour. Then go to places we haven’t been before, like Mexico, the US and Canada. Then play festivals, do another tour, it’s like… yeah, we released an album, so it’s time to show the baby to the world.

http://www.themostradicalist.com/features/tmr-talks-to-balthazar/