#but my sister has been playing it nonstop since release and those are the only issues I’ve seen | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bahamutgames · 1 year

Text

AFTERTHOUGHTS - ROUNDUP

Hello, everyone! I’ve beaten a few games recently that I just didn’t have a whole lot to say about. So I figured it’d be better to round them all up into one neat post rather than making big posts for games I’m only gonna talk a little bit about. And since twitter messed up threads uh, yeah we’re doing it here.

I’ve done this before but only once before. I guess let me know if you think doing stuff like this sucks and if I should just give each of these games more time to themselves? Idk.

As always don’t consider these to be reviews, these are just me throwing up my thoughts! If you’re interested in ANY game I talk about, please give them a shot!

Rotund Zero (April 21, 2022) - PC

First up is a game I actually played last year. And technically I didn’t “Beat it” but I did play a good amount of it, and for the time being I’m kinda done with it. Rotund Zero is a VERY fun platformer with about 26 levels where the goal is just to clear as many as you can within a time limit. It’s simple, but there’s a few ways to tackle these 26 levels, and the levels themselves can be really tough. You’re constantly jumping up and down, which also adds a lot of challenge to it. It has tight controls, cute gameboy graphics, and nice music. I’d say the only bad things about it is that some of the levels can be confusing as to what to do? Basically any level with the beaver enemies SUCK lol. But aside from the levels I hated, it’s a good time attack game! If you like hard platformers and time attack stuff, you shouldn’t miss out on Rotund Zero! Plus it’s CHEAP! Totally worth checking out!

Puyopuyo Tetris (February 6, 2014) - Nintendo Switch

First off, I cannot believe this game first launched in 2014. The version I played launched 3 years later in 2017 (for context I try to use the original release date in those dates I list fyi). I actually started my playthrough of this game YEARS ago now, probably back in 2017-2018. But I got totally walled by the Ecolo fights. I only managed to come back and beat them just randomly when my sister asked if we could try the game out (we play vs puzzle games a lot). And after that I put on my big-gamer pants and beat the rest of the story mode! Sadly, this means I basically remember very little of the first half of the game.

But I will say this about it: it’s ADDICTING AS ALL HELL. I think the story is very good although, as someone not familiar with the Puyo Puyo cast it feels very... het? Or like it’s threatening to be het a lot of the time. But it’s colorful, has a lot of characters, an interesting story in a game that didn’t need one (which I always appreciate), and it’s just fun to play these games. I got totally stuck playing Tetris nonstop that it was affecting my ability to work for a few days lmao. For things I dislike? I think the fusion game mode fucking BLOWS, it’s not fun and barely works imo and they force you to use it a lot. Also Puyo is clearly stronger than Tetris, like Tetris stands no chance against Puyo. Also I think the game should have ended with them destroying the walls between all worlds and every future game adds MORE puzzle games until we have Puyo Puyo x Tetris x Dr. Mario x Panel De Pon ect ect. But other than that yeah it’s a fine game. I want to try the sequel but I feel like it’s gonna be the exact same thing? We’ll see.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 (February 24, 2000) - Dreamcast

Ah, Marvel vs Capcom! I’m not really a big Marvel guy, if I’m being honest. But sometimes when good Marvel stuff comes out I really get into it. There’s only 2 things that really scratch that itch for me and those are Spiderverse (one of my favorite movies ever) and the Marvel vs Capcom Games! (And Super Hero Squad but I haven’t watched that in years). Anyway lately I’ve been in a big MvC mood, I’ve been seeing all those AWESOME MvC3 mods and watching lots of videos on MvC2. And I got fed up with not being able to play it! I own a bootleg copy for Dreamcast but idk where it is, I cannot emulate arcade to save my life, and the game is just generally unavailable everywhere. So there’s only one place to turn... the high seas. My best friend in the whole wide world.

So I finally got to play some MvC2 again! I LOVE this game! It’s so full of love and charm! First off, I don’t think this game gets enough credit from lovers of the Y2K aesthetic. Just the menus are so calming and cool with all the water effects and bright lights. Plus this game has a surprisingly relaxed soundtrack! A lot of the music is very chill in the best way possible. Of course it has drop dead gorgeous sprite art, and I’m always a fan of 2D sprites on 3D backdrops! I actually quite like the stages even though they’re very weird. And of course, the characters are GREAT! My team right now is Venom, Shuma Gorath, and Amingo! Venom and Shuma are my favorite Marvel characters BECAUSE of MvC! And Amingo is a cactus guy so, of course. Hope he can come back in ANYTHING some day! The roster is MASSIVE and it’s honestly impressive there’s so much to choose from including TONS of really weird characters I’ve NEVER heard of like Marrow and Blackheart. It’s great how many odd picks there are.

The gameplay is also great, I feel like I probably still prefer MvC3 but I really need to play this one more to really get the hang of it again cause it’s been YEARS since I played it last. But this was also my first time beating it! I’ve beaten every other game in the series before (even MvC1 cause I had an emulator on my Xbox) except for anything prior to MvC1 I guess. I wish this game had more personalized plots but for the time and with such a big roster I do think the concept of Ruby Heart gathering fighters to fight Abyss is cool and serves its purpose well. I certainly don’t hate it. In fact I think some of the only negative things I can say about this game is just how IMPOSSIBLE it is to play without pirating it. I KNOW pirating games tends to be better anyway, but there’s something nice about playing and owning a real copy. Maybe one day it’ll get rereleased on Steam? Maybe? Please???

Regardless, yes this game is still great and I will absolutely come back and play it more! I wouldn’t mind being better at the Marvel series in general!

God of War (March 22, 2005) - Playstation 2

And here’s a new series I started for the first time this year! I’ve heard absolutely AMAZING things about the series, especially Ragnarok. So I figured it’s time for me to give a shot too, but you know me, I gotta start from the top. I’m honestly surprised I didn’t have more to say about GoW, but it was honestly VERY different from how I was expecting. I actually played the whole game on easy mode cause I’d never played a game like this before but uh... IT’S STRAIGHT UP JUST THE WEREHOG SECTIONS FROM SONIC UNLEASHED!? LIKE, DOWN TO THE TIGHTROPE SECTIONS!?!? IS THIS WHY WEREHOG SONIC HAD STRETCHY ARMS, TO MATCH THE BLADES OF CHAOS!?!?

Anyway, yeah God of War was neat. It’s a VERY brutal game that’s very dark and depressing. But that of course fits with the ton of Greek Mythology very well. And where this dark tone shines is absolutely with the game’s protagonist, Kratos! He’s EASILY the best part. Bad ass design, tragic backstory, a hard ass tough guy but he loves his wife so much and realizes that his struggle for power wasn’t worth it if it meant hurting his family. It’s great. He’s really cool and honestly fits into Greek Mythology pretty perfectly, I’m a little surprised he’s an OC cause he fits really well. The story is simple but good, the game has some cool monster designs (the armored minotaur was GREAT), and it can have some pretty nice looking environments! I do also like that you get so many different tools to deal with bad guys. From different spells and even 2 different weapons! The giant sword and Poseidon's Rage were my go to weapon choices! Probably the aspect of the game that stuck out to me the most though, and this is SUPER random. Is the fact that this game features characters with fully exposed breasts. Like you see them pretty early but there’s important characters with their boobs full on out, and a lot of the enemies are actually doing the same. And obviously Kratos has his nipples out, but I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a game where women do that. And there’s NO jokes about it, it’s just the fashion, it’s taken completely seriously and boobs are treated exactly the same regardless of who has their nipples out in the open. Obviously it’s all greek so of course but it’s COOL! I think more games should have characters with boobs and not make like a point to give them crazy jiggle physics and make jokes about BOOBS LOOK GUYS ITS BOOBS shut up. Boobs are cool and you’re giving boobs a bad name

However, despite all that praise. I honestly was not that crazy about a lot of this game. Like, for starters, the gameplay. So it’s the exact same as Sonic Unleashed’s werehog stages. But I realize now that those are REALLY fun to me because it’s just 1 half of the puzzle. In God of War you ONLY do werehog stages. And the combat is fine but it’s not that exciting to me? A lot of the enemies are REALLY annoying and MASSIVE damage sponges. And while you get a lot of weapons and spells, most of them feel useless? And especially the attacks you learn with the Blades of Chaos. Am I crazy or am I the only one who doesn’t like games where your move inputs look like this: X,X,O,X,O,X,O,O,R2,X,O,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,R1,O,L2. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER THIS!? I’d rather have a small, concise moveset of iconic moves I can instantly recognize, than a MASSIVE list of moves that are completely lost in the fold that I can’t even remember how to use. Then you have SO MANY tight rope sections that are just not fun and annoying. In addition to that, like most of the game is too dark to see anything and a lot of the music isn’t that memorable imo (except for the Cliffs of Madness song I liked that one a lot). The whole game feels like a bit of a chore to get through, but it’s very generous with checkpoints and save points and ultimately it is cool even if I wasn’t SUPER into it. I think this is a series that will only get better as I play the later entries! Time to hook up Playstation Allstars and try Kratos out in that!

Fortnite Battle Pass (July 21, 2017) - PC/Xbox

Okay... I’m a little embarrassed to admit it... I got a little into Fortnite in December and I’ve been playing it since. It’s fun! I tried it way back in 2017 or 2018 and just did not like it and did not get the hype. But recently I had a massive itch to try it again and, well, yeah it clicked! I think the game is a lot more fun now! I ended up getting 2 of my siblings sucked into the game as well, and we all agreed to buy John Cena so we could run around and play as a trio of John Cenas. And I had left over V-Bucks and figured, what the hell? Doom stuff is in the battle pass and I love Doom, so I might as well buy it.

As for the game itself? It’s a ton of fun. I like running around the map, finding resources, getting augments, ect ect. It’s like a Roguelike, which I’m very iffy on. But I LOVE having random equipment on the map and having to adapt to random stuff you find. If that makes sense. But my favorite thing to do? Is DRIVE. Using a car in this game is SO much fun! Getting the Tricked Out and Supercharged Augments so I can just drive through buildings forever, crashing into people, getting my car blown up, doing flips, getting my car blown up. It’s a BLAST and leads to some hilarious moments when I hit someone right after honking at them at top volume. The game has REALLY nice graphics and art style, it’s cute and feels pretty good to play. And has a pretty neat selection of characters, both in terms of its mix of OCs and Pop characters. I do wish there was more stuff I PERSONALLY liked. But like I said earlier, John Cena, Venom, and Doom Slayer are pretty cool. But the second they do Mario or Final Fantasy stuff? It’s over for my wallet. Plus being able to mix assets from characters together can make for fun and cool combos (plus, the goofy emotes). And in addition to that there’s a lot of custom content made by fans? That’s AWESOME! Me and my sister have been having a lot of fun doing prop hunts, ghost hunting, and gathering wood in a medieval castle? Regardless it’s fun and it’s neat fans can make modes.

But yeah, the game isn’t perfect. For more nitpicky things: I think Shotguns are completely busted in this game. Maybe I’m crazy but whenever I use them, they are WORTHLESS! But when an ENEMY uses them, they are ALWAYS a 1-hit KO on me no matter what my health and shields are. Also, I think fall damage is a little extreme in this game, I’ve died just from falling from trees close to the ground at max HP. I also have a big issue with this game that the default skins SUCK. This game desperately needs a custom character creator so I don’t have to play as the boring randomized default characters. But no, the worst part of this game is easily, and you probably guessed it, the microtransaction stuff. V-Bucks are SO expensive and have terrible conversion rates. 1,000 for $8? You can buy barely ANYTHING for that price? $32 for 5,000 sounds like a lot, but at roughly 2000 V-Bucks for any character, that $32 will drain INCREDIBLY fast. I just feel like making this a little less expensive would be VERY appreciated. And in addition to that, you gain exp SO slowly on the battle pass, I know every game does this but still. It’s clear that it’s a tactic to get you to buy levels using, you guessed it, more V-Bucks. By the time I reached level 80 or so, I was gaining exp so slow and I just don’t have to energy to keep grinding to finish the dang thing. I got the Green hellsie I wanted (the green tea girl) and now. I’m happy with it. I think I’m done for the time being. I’ll still play every now and then with my siblings but I am pooped out on grinding that battle pass. Still, the game IS fun! A lot of it, and especially if you go in not planning to spend money like I did (initially) I think you’ll find a great game. But like any microtransaction riddled mess, once money gets involved it really starts to feel like a chore.

Anyway check out my Fortnite OC:

Tightrope Theatre (August 10, 2022) - PC

Last, but not least, is a nifty little platformer called Tightrope Theater! I saw this game was on sale for 99 cents during the winter sale last year, and I just couldn’t pass up a deal like that. So I picked it up and, hey, yeah this game is pretty neat! For positives: let me just start out by saying I ADORE the sprite art in this game! A LOT!! The sprites really evoke a Gameboy Advance feel to me, which is the highest praise I think I can possibly give a game. It’s incredibly charming and cartoony sprites that just look fantastic! The music is also great! Flaming Finale is easily my favorite song in the game. The game clearly had so much love poured into it despite being a small game. And there’s tons of levels too! 140 in total I believe? And there’s even time attacks to keep you coming back to try them over and over again! I didn’t do the time attacks but I did completely each chapter + the 2 bonus ones and I had a great time with it!

As for what I disliked? Well, for starters, this game feels slippery a LOT. I think it’s cause the main character rides a unicycle. SO OFTEN I would land on something and just slide clean off for no reason. Most of my deaths happened that way for sure. Then there’s also bumpers which I found to be REALLY annoying to use properly, and some levels were surprisingly difficult for me to figure out what they wanted me to do. But if I’m being honest even if they ticked me off I think the rest of the game is so much fun and has such high quality that it doesn’t really matter. This game is SERIOUSLY GREAT and I absolutely will be checking out some of their other stuff (I used to play Duke Dashington on Newgrounds a few years back actually!) If you want a small platformer and / or like clowns? Check this game out for sure!

#2022 #2023 #Roundup #Thoughts

0 notes

kimburgess-ruzek · 3 years

Text

You Have No Idea.

chapter one.

summary: Something Kim does changes her future in Intelligence forever. In ways no one can imagine. But when she is caught on the wrong side of crime, will her previous reputation and relationship with the police help her? Or are her actions so damaging that nothing or no one can save her?

t/w: mentions of sexual assault

read on ao3.

one.

*months before the prologue.*

“What do we got?”

Adam lifted the yellow tape to allow Voight to the scene. It was super early. 5:29 am. And the constant flashing lights and sirens made Adam too tired to joke around. He had to get up early to meet Rojas on the scene and take statements. He was wearing sunglasses and his hair wasn’t even done.

“Group of witnesses claim to have seen a woman kidnapped. They were outside of the bar and saw the woman and a man arguing in the alley, they thought it was nothing since it just verbal. Then a van drives by and the man pulls the girl inside and they take off.” Adam caught Voight up while they walked to where the rest of the team was.

“Did they catch a look at the plate?” Voight asked.

“No. The car was unmarked.” Kevin answered.

“The group wasn’t able to identify much of either the woman or the man. It was too dark. But they did say they were dressed for the club. The woman had on a dress. So my guess is camera footage of the club might have their faces. Jay is securing security footage from both inside and outside.” Rojas explained.

“Okay. Get back to the district and watch every second of the footage. I want to see if they were inside that club and if we can get facial rec.”

“We’re taking this Sarge? The witnesses were drunk themselves. They might not be credible. How do you know we’re just wasting time?” Hailey asked. There didn’t seem to be anything worth dragging Intelligence into. They probably could’ve handed this off to some other unit.

“We’re taking this case because I said so. This club has been on the radar for PD a while now. So go watch that footage. While you’re at it, grab the manager. Maybe he has some talking to do.”

“Copy, Sarge.” Adam walked back to his truck and sat inside there, trying to keep his eyes open. They had nonstop cases, and he hadn’t gotten much sleep in the last few weeks. The whole team hasn’t. With one member down, they had to do overtime most nights in order to be one step ahead of the bad guys.

Before he could drive off the scene, his passenger side door opened and Kevin sat down and buckled himself in without permission.

“Hey man, mind giving me a ride to the office? I rode with Jay and he’s still getting footage.”

“Nah, you got it.” Adam took off, heading back to the district. He didn’t talk much on the ride there. He just focused on not letting his eyelids close.

Kevin tried to ease the silence, “So, have you heard from her?”

Adam sighed and rubbed his forehead. “No, I haven’t. I’ve called her everyday. I’ve even dropped by her place a couple of times. She doesn’t want to be heard. Or seen.”

Kevin looked at Adam with sympathy. “Give it time. She took it hard.”

Adam answered as they pulled up to the parking lot.

“Yeah, I just don’t feel okay with it. Something doesn’t seem right.”

...

buzz, buzz. buzz, buzz.

It took everything in Kim to open her eyes. She rarely gets any sleep anymore; she is either pulling all-nighters or she is waking up sporadically at odd hours of the night. Her new lifestyle, as she would call it, isn’t the most healthy. She doesn’t have a sleep schedule, doesn’t have anything but beer in her fridge, and always wakes up hungover. But she doesn’t really care. She’ll do anything to keep going through life at this point. She takes every opportunity to rest her eyes, and she waits until the last seconds to rise out of her slumber. The light was already shining through her half closed curtains, and it took a few seconds for eyes to adjust. She yawned and stretched her arms before reaching for phone, reading the new message that she just got. However, before she could read it, she had a missed call notification. Kim sighed, she could probably guess who it was from. Nevertheless, she opened her phone and played the missed message.

*one voicemail from Adam Ruzek*

“Hey Kim. Just checking up on you. I haven’t heard from you in a while and I know you’re probably upset over everything that happened. I know I am. I miss being able to see my friend everyday at the office. Um, anyways, I just want to make sure you’re doing well. The whole team wants to make sure. Kevin won’t stop bothering me about making sure you’re doing good. I’ve tried visiting, but you must not have been home. Maybe we can meet for coffee or something. I have to go, but please. Just call me. Reach out. And know that I’m already here for you.”

Adam has called Kim everyday for two months now, ever since Kim left intelligence. And everyday, Kim would either sleep through it or she would ignore it. And everyday, Adam would leave a voicemail. Sometimes short, sometimes long. Always asking if she is okay and if she can call him back. Kim couldn’t help but laugh at how persistent Adam is. He will probably never stop calling he’s so stubborn. He’s probably just doing it out of spite now. Part of Kim wanted to pick up the phone one day and tell him to leave her alone and stop calling. To forget about her because she is not coming back. Part of her wanted to answer the call and just tell him the truth. But she knew that she couldn’t do either, because it would distract her from her new life.

...

Kim remembered the day like it was yesterday. The day that changed her life forever.

Two months ago.

The bastards that raped her sister, Nicole, were fully released. Kim dreaded that day, because she knew that she had to inform Nicole of the news. Nicole was healing to the best of her abilities. She felt okay living on her own, but every once in a while she would call Kim, scared and crying. When she heard of the news, Nicole was shocked and felt uneasy. She said that she felt unsafe and asked if Kim could stay the night with her. Kim obviously said yes, but she feared that Nicole would start to retreat to her previous ways.

Within a week of the release of the two men, two women were found in the basement of the train station with obvious signs of rape and signs of drugs in their system similar to what Nicole experienced. After hearing the news of the two women, Kim’s fear turned out to be a reality. Nicole would not leave her house, and she begged Kim to stay at her apartment during the night. Kim often times had to stay late to work on the case, so she would leave Nicole on speaker phone, being there for support and calming her down when her anxiety picked up.

A week later, two more women were found in the train station. It was enough for Intelligence to be looped in. All of the women were drugged with ketamine and raped. They couldn’t remember anything, other than they were invited to an after party after being out at bars.

Kim immediately saw similarities in this case with Nicole’s. She wanted to go a storm the two men’s apartment, but the team shot her down.

“We have no other leads,” Jay tried to reason. “There’s no evidence that it’s the two men, and there’s not enough probably cause for a warrant.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course there’s enough evidence. This is the same exact scenario we saw four years ago. The exact same. You can’t tell me this isn’t enough probably cause.” Kim replied.

“Kim, I get it, okay. I do. But we have no dna evidence, nothing useful from the women. A judge won’t sign off on a warrant. And who’s to say these aren’t just other men?” Hailey jumped in. Even though she wasn’t there when the first case went down, Hailey had heard about it when she arrived. She heard Kim’s concern about the release of the two men about a year ago. She felt for Kim, she really did; but she also understood Jay and knew it wouldn’t be enough for a warrant.

Kim let out a sigh, shaking her head. She was about to respond when Adam jumped in, trying to diffuse the situation.

“Let’s just try to find some evidence. Let’s pull pod footage and see who dropped off those two women.”

It was obvious Kim herself wasn’t handling the news well, either, and the team could tell. She couldn’t shake the feeling of Nicole missing. She couldn’t shake the image of Nicole helpless on a bench at the station. So helpless, no one even looking her way. And she can’t can’t shake the fact that Nicole was doing so good, actually taking a step forward before those two bastards were released. Now, all Kim could do was watch Nicole retreat to her previous ways. She tried being there for Nicole, but Nicole was shutting her out again.

If Kim couldn’t be there for Nicole physically, she was going to do everything in her power to make Nicole feel safe again. She was the first one at work and the last to leave. She just threw herself on the case, which meant getting little sleep or lunch breaks. Even without knowing for sure it was the same two men, Kim had a gut feeling that it was, and it made her sick to her stomach that they got off so easily. Kim asked to run point on the field, but because this case was so close to her, Voight said no without hesitation.

“Kim, I get it. You’re close to this. But I can’t have you going off the books like you did last time.”

“Sarge, please. I won’t. I—“ Kim tried but was shot down by Voight again, this time more assertive.

“No. I’ve made my decision. No further questions. Kim you will run the calls in the office and you are not to go on the field. Got it? Cause if not you can just go home.” Voight stared down Kim. He wanted to make a point to not only her but also the whole team that he is in charge.

The bullpen was silent, and there was so much tension in the room no one dared to even breathe. Kim could feel all eyes on her, waiting for her to make a move.

“Yes sir,” was all Kim could get out before clearing her throat and shifting her eyes to her desk, almost in embarrassment. Adam swallowed hard, he felt so bad for Kim.

“Good. So what do we got?” Voight slid his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders, getting back to business.

“We tried searching for pod footage of the train station, but couldn’t find anyone dropping the women off. Instead, we pulled video footage from the club.” Rojas began typing in her computer while the other gathered around her. Kim still sat at her desk. She felt like she couldn’t move. She was still stunned at what Voight did. And right in front of everyone too. Adam went to see the footage but kept a close eye on Kim.

“Here, you see the two victims, getting into a car. But you only see a portion of the faces of the two men.” Kevin explained.

“So not enough for facial rec.” Jay stated.

“No, but if you pause the video right here.” Kevin stopped the clip and zoomed in on one of the men’s arm, “You can see a scar on the shoulder. I ran all credit card transactions and the same two men that got Kim’s sister were there that night.”

“How does the scar link the same two men to both crimes?” Hailey asked out loud.

“Kim stabbed one of the guys in the shoulder as self defense.” Adam answered quickly, being sure not to share too much information in case Kim was sensitive to it. Everyone looked to Kim, seeing if she had a reaction. She instead was still staring at her desk. Jay began to put the pieces together.

“Do you think that’s enough probable evidence?”

“It can be.” Voight answered, starting to walk away from the desk. “Hailey, Jay, get together a paper lineup. Go see if the women can point out the suspects. Good job Rojas and Atwater. Write up a warrant for the judge.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Got it.”

Everyone stirred to action. Hailey printed out a sheet of random men, with the two suspects on there to see if the women can identify them. Jay put on his jacket and they headed downstairs to the hospital. The sudden noise and movement stirred Kim from her thoughts. She quietly rose from her desk and went to the locker room to splash water in her face. To her dismay, Adam saw Kim her up and he followed her. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

“Hey, Kim. You doing alright? Voight went down on you pretty hard.” Adam followed her into the locker room and closed the door, for privacy. She was drying off her face with a towel, and she turned to walk back out, not meeting his gaze.

“I’m good, Adam. I just want to catch these bastards.” Kim tried to move past him but he stepped in front of her, not letting her out the door.

“No, really. How are you doing? With everything?”

Kim sighed. She didn’t want to express what she was truly feeling, and she especially didn’t want to in front of Adam. Even though they had been through a lot together, this felt different. This not only affected her, but it also affected her sister and her niece. Her family. However, she knew that he wasn’t going to let her leave without doing so, so she opened up a little.

“I feel like I’m helpless. I can’t do anything up here sitting at a desk, that won’t help Nicole. That won’t help those two women. God, I just need to be out there. I need to close this case.” Kim ran her hands through her hair and then put her head in her hands, almost in self defeat.

adam places his hands on her arms, rubbing them up and down to try to sooth her. He gently consoled her, “Hey. Hey. It’s okay. You are helping by being up here. A lot. You have to be strong. For Nicole. And when we get these perps, when we do, you’ll be able to tell her you helped put those men away. We will get these perps. I will make sure of it. For you. I’m always here for you, Kim.”

Kim calmed down a little. She started to give in to her tiredness and fell into a hug when her mind ran back to the case, and she remembered that she had work to do.

“Yeah, thanks.” She pulled away and slid past him to head back to her desk to bury herself with paperwork.

Unfortunately, the two women weren’t able to identify the two men. They were too drugged to remember much of anything. However, the judge did sign off on a house warrant, saying there’s enough probably cause without the women identifying the suspects. The suspects being the same two men that assaulted Nicole and attempted rape on Kim and Erin. This information made Kim sick to her stomach. She knew that they should have been charged with more and sentenced to more time behind bars. Her gut feeling was proving to be true. She knew it had to be the guys. Fortunately, because of this, and with the previous evidence, Intelligence didn’t have to do any undercover operation. Kim was at least pleased with this, because she certainly couldn’t have gone under again, and she didn’t want anyone else going through what she and Erin did years past.

“We’re fifteen minutes out.”

“Copy. No one moves in until I say.”

“Copy that, Sarge.”

It was just past 11:00 pm, so the team was going to the nightclub that their phone pinged to about 15 minutes ago.

“Just rolled in. Both of their cars are here.”

“Twelve minutes out.”

Suddenly, a notification popped up on Kim’s computer screen. This changed everything. Kim clenched a fist, tensing up at the thought of the two men taking advantage of another pair of women. In the very same room that they tried to take advantage of her. In the very same room where Nicole was raped. She made a split second decision, and before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed her jacket and her car keys. She headed for the back exit in order to avoid running past Trudy.

She didn’t know what she was doing. She didn’t know what she was going to do. She just knew that she had to see this case through.

...

Kim sighed. Adam. Never fails. She rubbed her eyes to try to get herself to forget about him, and she looked at her other missed massages.

*one text message from Ryan*

Babe. The cave. One hour. And don’t forget the beer.

Kim quickly look at the time.

11:43 am. Shit.

She only had twenty minutes until she would be late. And she could never be too late. Not with Ryan. She sprang out of bed and ran to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

#chicago pd #chicago p.d.#chicago pd fanfiction #chicago pd fanfic #chicago pd fic #cpd fic #burzek fic #kim burgess fic #burgess fic #kim burgess #adam ruzek #kevin atwater #hank voight #jay halstead #hailey upton #you have no idea fic

10 notes · View notes

theepost · 3 years

Text

My Video Game Journey | Discovering Games & Game Play

When COVID-19 hit and the whole world went into quarantine, it felt like almost every single young adult was playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. People who never normally played video games were buying gaming consoles just to play. Personally, I have never found a game that I enjoy and want to continue playing until my fiancé suggested this game.

I am probably speaking for a lot of people here, but New Horizons is addicting. Don’t get me wrong I definitely had times where I felt very burnt out, but I still played every single day with only a few days missed between now and when I started playing in May 2020. That is pretty consistent, especially for someone who has never really played video games on a regular basis.

Growing up with parents who are against video games.

When I was younger, my parents did not allow us to play video games. Don’t get me wrong we were allowed to take turns playing games on our family computer, but we were never allowed to have a gaming console. My parents felt it would be a distraction from school and homework.

I'm not a parent, but I know there is a lot of back and forth about this topic between parents. Some think it's completely fine and helps kids learn how to manage their time between school, homework, and their personal lives. Other parents allow it, but are very strict about when their kids can use it. Then their are parents who are completely against it.

The way I look at it, however you want to raise your kids and teach them life lessons and life skills is completely up to you. Obviously don't abuse your kids, but whether they are able to play video games or not is completely fine either way. It's the parents choice and no one should be giving them a hard time about it. Well, unless you are the kid who wants to play video games and your parents tell you that you can't. I think at that point there is no avoiding the tantrums.

Getting my first handheld gaming console.

When I was in middle school or when I just starting high school, I asked my parents for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP for Christmas. I remember thinking they were never going to get it for me because they were so against my sisters and I playing video games. To my surprise, "Santa" left me a Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP under the tree that year.

The games that came with the Game Boy was Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed. Since I had never really played any video games before I wasn't on top of what games were new and trendy at the time, however I absolutely LOVED Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure. I remember when I finished all the levels, I played them all again so I could have a perfect score.

I purchased a few other games after getting my Game Boy and The Simpsons: Road Rage was another game I enjoyed. If anyone ever reads this they are probably going to be completely surprised by what I am about to say, but I never really watched The Simpsons growing up. I know a lot of people did, but I never really got into it. For some reason though, I wanted to get The Simpsons: Road Rage. I played that game a lot, but I do not think I played it nearly as much as Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure.

Around my senior year of high school I slowly stopped playing on my Game Boy. I was either at school, doing homework, working, or hanging out with my friends. There wasn't as much free time to play anymore. I am now 25 years old and to this day I still have my Game Boy. Cannot remember the last time I played on it, but I do not think I will every get rid of it. It was my first handheld gaming console, there are a lot of good memories with it, and it still works! I see no reason why I should or need to get rid of it.

Discovering Animal Crossing.

After I stopped playing on my Game Boy, I never really found a game that I consistently played. Usually when I found a game I would play it for a couple weeks to a couple months then would grow very bored of it and eventually uninterested. However my fiancé was big into playing video games and was mainly playing them on his Xbox One. If he was growing tired of a game, he usually had another one lined up.

At one point the Nintendo 2DS was very popular and was sold out everywhere. My fiancé really wanted one so he could play Pokémon Moon. Somehow, I managed to get my hands on them and surprised him for Christmas. He played that game for a few months to a year then he slowly stopped playing. One day I asked him why he stopped playing and he explained that he just grew tired of it. I completely understood because I have also been in that situation before with the games I played on my Game Boy.

To avoid having the 2DS sit and collect dust, I asked if he wanted to get another game for it. He didn't seem interested in any of the 2DS games they had to offer at the time, but he suggested a game to me that he thought I would enjoy. That is when he told me about Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

At the time, there was only Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons was scheduled to be released in the next few months. I believe this was around the end of 2019 and New Horizons was scheduled to release in early 2020.

After doing some research on the game, I was VERY excited. I purchased Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the Nintendo 2DS and I played all the time. Any downtime I had, I was playing. I LOVED this game! After playing for awhile, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released and I wanted it so bad.

undefined

youtube

At the time, Nintendo was completely sold out of the Nintendo Switch everywhere. They were insanely popular because of the new game release and since everyone was forced to quarantine due to COVID-19 everyone was stuck inside with nothing to do but play video games. The only console that was available was the Nintendo Switch Lite.

What is the difference between the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch Lite? The Switch can used when connected to a TV in the docking station provided, as a handheld, or as a tabletop display by using the kickstand on the back of the switch. The Switch Lite can only be used as a handheld.

Since I was so excited for the game and wanted to play so badly, my fiancé got me the Switch Lite as an early birthday gift. I really wanted the Switch, but since I am so impatient and Nintendo was not clear on when they would restock I decided that the Switch Lite would be perfect because I was use to using a handheld anyway.

Playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

When I finally started playing the game I played nonstop for hours a day. Collecting supplies, catching bugs, digging up fossils, popping balloons, catching fish, planting trees, planting flowers, designing the island, inviting new villagers, expanding my home... You name it, I was doing it. Anything to get a five star “aesthetic” island that is considered Pinterest worthy.

Like a lot of other people, I have completely redesigned my island countless times. There is nothing better than completely changing everything up to design a newly styled island. I have also completely restarted my island two times. Which I mainly did this because I did not want to go through the whole island and tare everything down, I didn't really like the villagers I had, and I also just wanted to experience the game again from square one. I have always enjoyed designing spaces and have always been really into art, so it feels like this game was made for me.

My future with video games.

Now that I have been playing New Horizons for about a year now, I feel like I am going to continue to play it for awhile. I will admit when I first got the game, I was playing it way too much. Recently I have been so much better about it and only play for about an hour a day. On days I feel very lazy and do not really want to do anything, I'll play for longer than an hour, but it also depends on what I am doing in the game at that time. I'm just glad I'm not spending all day playing anymore.

For me, I think video games are fun and good to play in moderation and I am not planning on cutting video games out of my life anytime soon. I know there are people who play video games hours daily or do it for a living. After that, on completely the other side of things, there are people who have never played video games and completely hate the idea of video games. Then there are people out there that say that they have tried playing video games and never enjoyed it, but I personally think they just haven't found their game yet. If you happen to be one of those people and you are reading this, do not give up on finding your game! Once you find it, you will be so happy you kept looking.

At the end of the day, do whatever makes you happy. I am just another person on the internet telling their story. If anyone ends up reading this, I hope you enjoyed and continue to read my future posts. There isn't really a plan on when I will be posting or what I will be posting about, but I do know I will be posting regularly.

- E

10 notes · View notes

mirkwoodshewolf · 3 years

Text

Robin and Gale Hood; Ben Hardy x reader Chap. 8

*Author’s note*

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! THERE IS A RAPE SCENE IN THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE OR HAVE BEEN A VICTIM YOURSELF YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! Please call a local hotline for rape survivors and talk to the people there, they’ll help you. I’ve also put a notice on when the scene is about to begin and where it ends so if you’d like to skip that section of the chapter, go right ahead i DO NOT WANT TO CAUSE FURTHER MENTAL HARM BY REMINDING YOU ALL OF THIS TRAUMATIC THING.

Chapter 8,

A capture and tainted soul

Taglist:

@simonedk

@ixchel-9275

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@plethora-of-things

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@geek-and-proud

@wormzteef

@queensdivas

@queen-paladin

@queendeakyy

_______________________________________________________

God all mighty. That Prince John sure made good of his threat, and his subjects paid dearly for his humiliation believe me. Taxes, taxes, taxes. Why he taxed the heart and soul out of the poor people of Nottingham.

And if you didn’t pay your taxes, you went to jail. Yes my darlings, I’m in here too. Prince John saw to it that I have my own cell for my song. I think I may even be coming up on death row in the next little while, who knows.

So unfortunately I myself can’t tell you the rest of the tale of what happens, but what I can say is that it’s not a pretty sight. Especially for our beloved heroine Gale Hood. So those out there who are light hearted or sensitive to certain reading material, proceed with caution.

Ever since Prince John’s decree, it had been nonstop raining. The sun never once came out to grace the land, and the soil became wet and muddy. Storms happened almost every day, other days it was just mild rain.

Robin, Gale and the rest of their crew kept a low profile for a bit cause at this point anyone who tried to interfere with business to the crown would be executed right on sight. It broke their hearts that they couldn’t spare the poor people from Prince John’s wrath this time.

Especially Gale because she knew which family was going to be targeted next, the Sharpe’s. But one night she would do something that would regretfully change her life forever.

Riding through the rain cloaked and disguised, Gale rode towards the Sharpe’s family cottage. She stopped her horse and unmounted off of her and walked towards the cottage. She came up to the door and knocked on it and from inside she could hear the panicked whimpers from the children.

“Veronica, take the children upstairs.” She heard Adam’s voice say.

“Adam, it’s just me.” She softly called out. The door peeked open and fearfully peaking out was Adam. Gale revealed her face to him and when he saw it was his friend, he sighed with relief and quickly brought her inside.

“It’s alright my love, it’s just Gale.”

“Oh thank God. I was so scared it was the Sheriff. He’s been threatening to come by any day now to take us away cause we couldn’t pay off our taxes.” Gale lowered her hood and comforted Veronica.

“They’ve already repossessed my blacksmith shop. Soon he’ll get the cottage and then……” he sighed heavily as he sat down on his chair. “What has England come to?”

“That’s why I’ve come here.” She told them. “Listen…..England’s no longer safe for you and your family. You all need to leave.”

“What?” Adam asked in shock.

“Leave England? But we—we can’t….where would we go?” Veronica asked.

“I’ve talked with Kit and he’s got some friends along the docks who are willing to do a bit of smuggling with no questions asked. They’ll take you to Scotland and you guys can start a new life there. At least until things calm down. Or pray to God above when and if good King Richard returns to England to set things right.”

“But Gale we—we can’t just up and leave…..”

“Adam please!” Gale pleaded. “The prisons are filled to the brim with everyone. Not just men and women but children! Children! Now I have been there for you for each of your children and I look at them like they were my own. Other families have already lost their children to hunger in the cells. I refuse to let that happen to any of yours!” tears filled her eyes. “I can’t let any more children of England die, I can’t.”

Adam cupped the young woman’s face and wiped her hidden tears away.

“Alright then, when do we leave?” Gale smiled and hugged the blacksmith and praised him.

“Thank you.” she separated from him and told him. “Meet me at the river in an hour. It’s too risky to travel by carriage or horses, we’ll take the river to the docks. I’ve got a boat ready for us to travel in. Take nothing just come with the kids.”

“Alright. One hour.”

“Thank you Gale.” Veronica thanked her as she took the young female rouge’s hand and kissed it.

“Thank me when we get you lot onto the ship. Remember one hour at the river. Bring nothing else but you and the children.” She lifted her hood back over her head and snuck out of the cottage.

She went back over to her mare and urged her onward to the river to get the boat ready.

But they were unaware that just short of the Sharpe’s cottage, someone was watching them.

As promised, the Sharpe family arrived at the river and when they saw Gale, the older children hugged her and the babies all babbled out her name.

“Ms. Gale mummy and daddy wouldn’t tell us what’s going on?” Laura said.

“Yeah Ms. Gale where are we going?” asked Michael.

“Shh, okay now children listen to me. We’re gonna play a little game okay?”

“What kind of game?” asked Robert skeptically.

“We’re gonna play a quiet game. If you kids can stay as quiet as possible till we reach the docks. One of you will receive a special prize from me.”

“Really? WOW!!” Michael cheered. Gale shushed him and he quickly covered his mouth.

“Alright now everyone onto the boat. And remember children, not a sound. Not a squeak, a peep, or even laughter. We need to be as quiet as possible.” The children nodded and they piled onto the boat first, then Veronica holding her 4-month-old child, and finally Adam.

Gale stirred the boat and soon the family along with Gale rowed downriver.

All was going good so far till the baby started to cry. Gale grew fearful cause she knew if anyone heard a baby’s cry out here, there would be an investigation.

“Ronnie please quiet Aggie down, we’ll be spotted!” Gale hissed softly.

“Shhh hush my little one.” Veronica tried to calm her crying baby down, but it would take a full 15min till the baby finally went quiet.

“Well we know Luke isn’t going to get the prize.” Michael whispered.

“Michael shush!” Robert hissed.

“Yes Mikey shh!” Laura echoed her brother.

“Children please, not another word.” Adam used his stern father tone on is children. Finally after what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the docks.

After unloading everyone from the boat, Gale lead them through the docks, ducking the guards who were patrolling to make sure no one got passed them except for the merchant ships that were ready to depart.

When Gale found the sails that Kit told her about that showed the Scottish flag, she told the Sharpe’s to stay low in the shadows while she did the talking with the ship’s captain.

She then walked up to a big built man with long flowing hair who was giving out orders.

“Captain Hagrid?”

“Aye that be me. Who are yah?” he spoke with a thick Scottish accent.

“You spoke with one of my informants about a smuggling job. Goes by the name of the Scot.”

“Ahh you’re the lass he wanted me to smuggle that family for yah.”

“Yes. Now you are to promise me that no harm will befall this family. They have no weapons, only their children.”

“You have my word lass. No harm will come to them.” They shook on it when a horrified piercing scream echoed through the docks.

Gale turned and soon found the royal guard taking the Sharpe’s out of their hiding places and binding them in shackles. But when broke her heart the most were the children being separated from their parents.

“I’ve always hated that Scot. Plus the Sheriff got to me first before he did.” Hagrid sneered.

“You—you bastard!” Gale quickly took out her knife and sliced the captain’s throat with quick precision before going to the Sharpe’s to help them out.

She knocked out a couple of the guards and freed Adam from his shackles before giving him one of the guard’s swords to him while she withdrew her sword. The two of them stood protectively in front of Veronica and the children before a neigh was heard from the shadows.

Walking out riding on top of his menacing looking black horse was the Sheriff of Nottingham himself.

“Going somewhere Mr. Sharpe?” his low graveled voice spoke as he stared down at all of them with cold, dead eyes.

“Sheriff of Nottingham……I’m taking my family and we’re leaving. You can’t harm us if we aren’t in England anymore.”

“True. But you haven’t left England yet, have you?” soon one of the guards quickly grabbed Gale under her arms while another knocked Adam over the head sending him down to the ground.

“NOO!!” Veronica screamed.

“DAD! DADDY! PA!” the kids chorused out worriedly.

“ADAM!!”

“Take the Sharpe’s to the jail for refusal of tax payment and for fleeing the country.” The Sheriff said. They once again shackled Adam’s unconscious body before dragging it away as well as the rest of his family.

The kids all crying out for Gale to help them. Gale tried as best as she could to get out of the guard’s arms but he kept a tight hold on her.

“Sir, what should we do with this one?” asked one of the guards.

“This gentlemen is the notorious Gale Hood, sister of Robin Hood. Allow me to take her from here. Go rejoin the others in putting the Sharpe’s away. And also see to it that the children get a special accommodations.” The Sheriff said grinning cynically at the last statement.

He knew this would get a rise out of Gale due to her closeness with the family. When the guards left and the bigger guard released her, she quickly withdrew her bow and notched an arrow in the blink of an eye and had it aimed right between the Sheriff��s eyes.

“You think your life is worth more than theirs?! You’re a demon Sheriff of Nottingham! A vile, prideful, lustful, incubus of Satin. I swear if anyone of those Sharpe children die, I will cut off your cock and force it down your throat!” she snarled threateningly.

The Sheriff spoke not a word, only just looked down before suddenly whipping out his sword and slashing apart Gale’s bow. She stood there frozen for a split second before withdrawing back her sword but the Sheriff forced her to drop it when he slashed her right arm.

She screamed in pain as she knelt down on the ground gripping her bleeding arm. The Sheriff got off his horse and just walked over to her and grabbed her hair and forcefully threw her head back. She hissed and groaned in pain.

“Now this is how a woman should behave. Best to be seen, never heard. And always at the knees of her man.”

“You think I’d willingly suck you off? I wouldn’t touch you to punch you.” she hissed.

“You’ll soon know your place Gale. Just like your whore of a mother did.” She clenched her hand into a fist and punched him right in the dick sending him down to the ground and she quickly raced away from the docks and into the forest.

A chase soon happened as the rain once again became a thunderstorm. Gale ran as quickly as she could through the forest but the Sheriff was close behind her on his horse.

This time he wouldn’t lose her.

Through the muddy trails, Gale would slip but she’d quickly use it to her advantage as she turned another way while it took his horse awhile to turn back around. Gale then scaled up a tree and proceeded the jump from branch to branch, but the Sheriff was close behind her.

When she came to a familiar path she jumped down to the ground and slide along the mud but quickly came up and jumped through a narrow opening between the narrow opening of the end of the forest.

The Sheriff’s horse neighed as it reared at the sudden closure of the forest but the Sheriff driven by his hatred and desire to capture at least one of the Hood siblings, tried to find another way out of the forest.

Gale ran across an open field until she reached a graveyard. For just ahead was the church where Friar Tuck would give her sanctuary. Exhausted and tired from the fighting and getting dizzy from the blood loss in her arm, Gale pushed on till she reached the church.

“SANCTUARY! PLEASE FRIAR TUCK GIVE ME SANCTUARY!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs over the loud rain and thunder while pounding on the closed doors. She heard the roar and hoofbeats of the Sheriff’s horse and he was now coming right for her.

Gale quickly ran to the back towards the graveyard of the church but she didn’t get far. She felt her cloak being grabbed from behind, choking her before feeling herself get kicked in the back but what sent her into a world of blackness was when she hit her head against a gravestone.

Her mother’s gravestone to be exact.

The Sheriff got off his horse once again and walked towards Gale’s unconscious body. What was going through his mind at that moment was—pure lust. But it was soon interrupted with a flash of lightning lit something on her left ring finger.

He looked down at her hand confused and intrigued as he reached out and took her left hand and wiped the mud away to reveal a familiar ring. He gasped and said.

“The Queen’s ring.” His fear then turned to pure disgust as he fully turned Gale onto her back. “To think the Prince would choose you. You’ll never be anything to him. Well after I tell him he beloved committed suicide, I’ll have to help him out of his misery.”

He took out his dagger and raised it over his head. But before he could plunge it into Gale’s heart, he was hit over the head and knocked off of her unconscious body.

“Get away from my daughter!” a voice snarled at him. The Sheriff held his head to see that it was bleeding and when he looked up, there was Friar Tuck holding a long candelabra in his hands, standing protectively in front of Gale.

“This is none of your concern Friar. You’ve known from the beginning that their family’s been cursed with black magic!”

“You claim her to be a witch just because of your lustful desires towards their mother all those years ago! You then convinced Richard to proceed with a witch trial and have their mother burned at the stakes when she was completely innocent! If you so much as lay a sinful finger on her again……”

“You’re mighty preachy Friar and you’ll end up preaching yourself right into a hangman’s noose. Now for the last time, stand. Aside.” Friar Tuck refused and swung the candelabra right at the Sheriff’s face.

The two men proceeded to battle it out with each other. The Friar getting a good few shots at either the Sheriff’s face or jabbing him in his gut.

“You want damnation?! I’ll give you damnation!” The Friar yelled at the Sheriff. But soon the Sheriff grabbed the candelabra and pulled it out of the Friar’s grip and pushed him down to the mud. He placed his sword at Friar Tuck’s neck and the Sheriff spoke.

“I’ll do you one better. You’re under arrest for high treason to the crown.” He then took out some shackles and placed one around Friar Tuck’s neck. Knowing he couldn’t fight back anymore, Friar Tuck surrendered to his fate.

The Sheriff then walked over towards Gale’s unconscious body and hauled it over his shoulder before going back to his horse and draped her across the black Shire horse.

He then walked back over to Friar Tuck and grabbed the chain, then like a dog, led Friar Tuck over to his horse and the three of them left the church.

From inside the church, Anita and Jim who had watched the entire thing stood in shock and horror. Sister Anita wept into her hands while Father Jim tried to comfort her and the two watched helplessly as their Friar and Gale were taken away by the Sheriff.

At the palace as the thunder continued to softly rumble in the sky, Prince John sat down in his throne room surrounded by his gold coins but had a permanent angry scowl on his face.

If one had to compare, his eyes would be seeing red right at this very moment. Heston stood by his throne looking up at his master anxiously.

“Sire, if I may—you’re not your usual cheery self today.” The Prince didn’t answer him, just kept his fists clenched till his knuckles turned white. “I know. You haven’t counted your money for days, hmm? That always cheers you up.” Heston then fiddled with some of the gold coins with his tail but still the Prince didn’t even flinch from his throne. “Sire, taxes are pouring in, the jail is full. Oh and guess what sir, Friar Tuck and Gale Hood are in prison.”

“FRIAR TUCK!?!?” Prince John exploded as he knocked down some of his piles of gold when he stood up with rage. “IT’S ROBIN. HOOD I WANT YOU IDIOT!!! Oh I would give all my gold if I could get my hands on—” he stopped when he remembered the second name. He wet his lips with his tongue as he asked Heston. “Did you say Gale Hood?”

“Did I? Y-y-yes sire. She was trying to aid an escape for the Sharpe family when the Sheriff stopped them.” Prince John pondered before he exclaimed joyously.

“Ahh! Heston I have it! I’ll use that lascivious sister of his to lure Robin Hood into another genius plan of mine.”

“Another trap sir?” Heston asked hesitantly.

“Yes, yes you stupid serpent. Gale Hood will be led to the gallows in the village square tomorrow and burned at the stake for the crime of witchcraft.”

“But sir. Burn Gale Hood, for witchcraft? Shouldn’t there be a trail for her before we suddenly execute her?”

“I’ve seen it for myself back at the tournament of her witchcraft. And the Sheriff has told me more things she’s done to prove herself a witch. Hell even their own mother was a witch. And when our brave hero comes to rescue his sweet, little sister from the breath of hell’s fire. Ha-ha. My men will be ready. Ah-ha!” Prince John spoke cold and darkly as he stared down at the stake where they’ve used to burn witches in the past while thunder continued to rumble.

*WARNING START OF SCENE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION*

When Gale finally woke up, she found herself in a dark room. At first her vision was blurry but her other senses started to come back, she felt on her wrists and ankles chained down.

She tried pulling on them but she was tightly bound. She felt on her back she was lying on some sort of bed.

“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t wake up.” Her heart began to beat in fear for when she turned, standing over the bed was the Sheriff staring down at her with lustful eyes. “If you’re wondering where you are, you’re in the palace. But don’t even bother screaming. Not even your precious Prince will be able to hear your screams.”

At this point Gale was too horrified to even speak, plus she was still out of it from hitting her head as the Sheriff’s face seemed to double even triple through her unfocused vision. The one thing she did feel was him stroking over her bare arms.

“Such…….beauty. I can see why the young prince would fall for you. Your skin…….so soft. Just like hers was. I wonder,” he then lightly clenched his hand around her throat. “If you can perform as well as her.”

The next thing she knew, he got on top of her, her clothes were being ripped apart and he proceeded to rape her. No matter how much she tried to fight back, she couldn’t do anything to get the Sheriff off her.

Her screams echoed through the room but no one could hear her. For you see he had taken her to the lowest dungeons the palace had, a place where it’s eternal darkness and emptiness. Even if the rats and dripping water from the walls don’t make you go mad, the eternal darkness will.

And it was there the Sheriff committed the ultimate sinful action of taking a woman’s innocence before marriage and without consent.

After raping her for over an hour and a half, a knock was soon heard at the door. He covered Gale’s mouth and hissed down at her.

*END OF SCENE. WORD IS MENTION BUT IT’S NOT ACTUALLY HAPPENING AT THIS POINT*

“Not. A. Word.” He held up his trousers and opened the door just a bit and there stood a guard who relayed Prince John’s decree to the Sheriff. His brow quirked with intrigued and he said to the guard. “Alright, tell the Prince I’ll be setting it up in a moment.”

“Yes sir.” The door closed and the Sheriff told the broken woman.

“Seems you’re finally following in your mother’s footsteps. At dawn you will be burned at the stake and your marriage to the prince will be forgotten. After all why would he want a tainted bride such as you? And even if he did, at least I loosened you up for him.”

After dressing himself and making himself look presentable once again, he left the room and slammed the door behind him and locked it up.

Gale, now a broken shell of her former self allowed the tears to fall down her face as she softly began whimpering brokenly.

Why didn’t she fight harder? Why was she weak to stop him? Had she just turned around and stopped him back at the church none of this would’ve happened. It was her fault she had been raped. It was her fault the Sheriff overpowered her.

It was all her fault. She thought to herself over and over again.

Someone was walking down towards the cell where Gale was said to be. The cloaked figure walked through the dark, black hallways with only a torch to light their way. When the person arrived at the cell, they brought out the key and unlocked it.

The door slowly opened and the person walked inside and knelt down beside Gale. Their heart broke into a thousand pieces as soon as they saw the broken form of her still body chained up to the bed.

The person then unlocked her bounds then as soon as she was free, she suddenly lashed out like a wild animal.

Gale knocked the person over and nearly punched their face in when a soft female voice said.

“Gale! Gale! Gale it’s me! It’s Maid Marian!” Her anger suddenly flashed to horror.

“Marian? Oh god I-I-I-I-I…….” Gale quickly got off of her and went over to the corner of the cell and made herself smaller, hoping to disappear into the darkness.

Marian shined the torch towards her and when she saw Gale was stripped of her clothes, exposed to the elements, she set the torch down and unhooked her cloak.

“It’s okay, it’s okay now.” Very cautiously she got closer and closer to Gale and covered her up so that she had her decency back.

“I don’t deserved to be covered in a white cloak. White is pure, untainted, innocent. And I—”

“Stop right there Gale Hood. What has happened to you was—unforgiveable. But it doesn’t make you less of a lady than I am.”

“But Marian…….I—I’m not a…..I’m not a virgin anymore. He’s taken it away from me. I don’t even deserve to even be in your presence.”

“Wrong. You do. Because what you need now more than ever is a friend. Nay your future sister in law. And I will not allow you to degrade yourself like this. God will forgive you because you did not commit the sin of lust. The Sheriff did.”

A sniffle was heard from Gale as she said.

“What if James finds out? What if he won’t—”

“He will not care. If anything, he’ll kill the Sheriff should he find out. In fact, I’ll tell him myself if I……”

“NO!!” Gale snapped out. She looked down shamefully and gripped the cloak tighter around herself. “He can’t find out. Not like this. I—I should be the one to tell him. Please Marian promise you won’t say a word to James.” Even though every bit of her was wanting to run to James, tell him what the Sheriff had done to his future wife, Marian knew that Gale had to be the one to tell James of what happened tonight.

“I promise.”

“Thank you, sister.” Gale leaned her head against Marian’s chest, right over her heart. Marian slowly wrapped her arms around Gale and held her little sister in her arms.

Sending her every bit of comfort she could muster while the two of them sat in the emptiness together.

Outside the village square, the Sheriff of Nottingham along with two of his guards were prepping the stake for a witch burning. The Sheriff stroked the stake with his gloved hand and he said.

“The fox siblings will finally meet their end come daybreak.”

“Sheriff, everything’s in order.” Said one of his guards.

“Excellent.”

“Alms, Alms, Alms for the poor.” A crackly voice spoke up. The three men turned and saw an old blind man coming towards them with his cane poking at the ground and a small mug in his hands. “Oh say now, did me ol ears hear the melodious voice of the Sheriff?”

“Who wants to know?” the Sheriff asked.

“Oh just an old praiser of yours. Being blind, you help keep the thieving scoundrels off the streets after all.”

“Well then…..I suppose you are worth staying around then, aren’t you?” the old man walked closer to the gallows and poked the stage with his cane.

“What’d be going on here?” the old blind man said.

“If you must know old man, we’re finally gonna be rid of one of those thieves once and for all. We’re going to burn Gale Hood.”

“No burn my—” the old man lifted his glasses to reveal Robin Hood but he quickly lowered his glasses back down as soon as the Sheriff burned down and he spoke in the gravelly voice again, “Burn Gale Hood?”

“You bet, at dawn. And maybe it’ll even be a double burning.” Said a smaller, leaner guard. But the bigger and bulkier one hit him on the head as he snarled lowly.

“Put a cork in it yah wanker.”

“A double burning eh? Who be the other fellow who gets the hellfire?”

“Sheriff, this old man’s asking too many questions!” said the bulky guard as he held his crossbow at Robin. Robin tried to ease the situation as he said.

“Nahh sonny I didn’t mean no harm by it. But umm…..couldn’t there be trouble if her brother or—even Prince James were to stop it?”

“Well what do you know Sheriff he guessed it. And he even found out about our plans for the young Prince.” The smaller guard laughed out boastfully.

“Oi Nutsy! Button your beak.”

“Oh no need to worry about that. The Sheriff be too crafty, to clever, and too smart for the likes of them says I!” Robin praised the Sheriff who took his compliments like a praise.

“For being blind old man, you sure do know a good character when you see on. Says I.” The Sheriff boasted to himself, while from underneath the hat and glasses, Robin was glaring pure hatred up at the Sheriff. Robin then snuck away carefully as the bulkier guard told him.

“Sheriff. I still got a feeling that this old coot knows too much.”

“Oh shut up Jacob. He’s just a harmless old blind beggar.” Robin then continued his mantra of calling out alms for the poor as he tried to guide himself out. When he reached the exit, in the shadows stood the rest of the Merry Men.

“Rob!” Little John softly called out. Robin quickly stood by his men as Little John continued, “We can’t let them burn Gale.”

“A jailbreak, tonight. Is her only chance.” Robin said as he removed the glasses from his face.

“A jailbreak!?” said Gilbert and Kit in unison.

“Robin there’s no way we can…….”

“Boys we’ve got to!” Robin hissed at them as he removed his raggedy hat. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose Gale the same way we lost our mother.”

His men looked at him apprehensively but they all looked at Gale like a sister and couldn’t bare it if she were to burn at the stake.

“What’s the plan?” asked Little John.

“In order for that to happen, we’re gonna need three more players.”

“You don’t mean…..” David said.

“Yes.”

“It’s too risky. What if—”

“If James finds out, he’ll immediately jump at the chance to help. Besides he’s involved already. If he dies, King Richard’s line comes to an end. And we’ll be stuck with Prince John and the Sheriff till England burns to the ground.”

“Robin’s right. But—how are we gonna get into the palace, break into the jail, free Gale as well as the people without being seen?” Gilbert asked.

Together the five men left to regroup and carefully plan out their jailbreak. And time was of the essence.

10 notes · View notes

dapper-ships-herself · 4 years

Text

I doubt I will have the motivation to do all these prompts, but this one is cute. Reverse self ship. Part of @fofebruary

Dazai picked up the first volume on a whim one day just because he was bored and he'd randomly found it. He'd expected not to like it all that much, because it's a magical girl series and those are all full of ~light~ and ~hope~ and all the believing in the purity of the world bullshit. But this series had a sense of realness. Still steeped in the classic magical girl themes, but it never shied away from showing the darker parts of the world too and got a bit bloody at some points. What really got him hooked was the purple magic knight, Gillian. She is disillusioned about a lot of the world, struggling to find her place and her reason to be alive, but even those doubts never stop her from trying and fighting for a brighter future and for her team; bonus points, she's adorable and a doofus. He bought every single volume that had been released so far, binge watched the anime, and got every game and so much merch like immediately. This was all back in his mafia days and carries over to the present. He will talk anyone and everyone's ear off about Gillian aka "my goddess!" and openly calls her his wife. Everyone just chalks it up to Dazai being Dazai and that he's a weird otaku but whatever, nothing new.

Not much for romance usually, he honestly can't help falling in love and picturing himself and Gillian together, going on dates, kissing, double suicide, jk actually while Gillian isn't able to outright cure that tendency, he is surprised that the hope of her and her show rubs off on him and knows she would be disapointed hearing him talk about it or offer it

Chuuya hated the series just because Dazai likes it and talks about it nonstop but one day sees a clip of Gillian and gets a crush and he fucking hates it, absolutely denies that he also loves the series now.

Yosano also loves the series and is less open about it but she and Dazai have had discussions about why Gillian is their favorite.

Gin very secretly enjoys the series and often gets all blushy under her mask thinking of Gillian. Tachihara once accidentally found out and she almost slaughtered him when he started to make fun of her.

Higuchi has merch in a shrine in her closet.

Lovecraft does not have any merch but has watched the series after he was introduced to it from seeing Margaret giving Mark a hard time for his figurine he owns. Margaret only does that because she wishes she had the courage to buy more merch but has the whole series tucked secretly away where the rest of the guild can't find it.

Poe has 100% written his own reader insert fiction and uses his ability to experience it.

Also, Ranpo loves the series too and even though he has never really wanted a sibling before finds himself thinking she'd be a good sister. Fukuzawa once pointed out that he seemed attached to this character and he got super embarrassed about it.

Fukuzawa sees Ranpo watching and sees Gillian's struggles and Adopts, nobody but he himself knows this.

Mori thinks she's cute and also adopts and has figurines with changeable clothes, pretty open about it.

And Francis's daughter probably watched and so he bought tons of merch as gifts for her and then later sees it again and gets reminded of his own daughter a little by her favorite character and so mentally adopts, mentions this to no one.

Oda also wishes he could adopt and has spent many hours listening to Dazai rant about her, Ango gets roped in against his will.

Kouyou probably notices Kyouka secretly watching it mostly for the adorable mascot and feels sympathy for Gillian and joins in on the adoption train, sort of tells Kyouka that she wishes she was there to guide the young girl.

Yumeno is given the series to keep them self company in their cell and imagines her as a big sister that would take care of him and not leave him alone, has no one to tell.

Dialogue: "Shall I enlighten you, young Atsushi, on true perfection?."

Erza hears about this book series not long after escaping the tower of heaven and joining the guild. She finds strength in Gillian's refusal to stop fighting and her dedication to her friends. She gets a crush, but the series stays in the back of her head until years later she finds it again and rereads and this time falls in love with the purple knight. She has a whole bunch of merch but refuses to tell anyone about her love out of embarrassment.

She also secretly has two requips where one is a cosplay of Gillian's magical outfit and the other is a piece of armor that she thinks looks like what her magical outfit would be. She never uses them to fight, and requips into them for fun sometimes when she's home alone, cosplays and imagines she's one of the magical knights too.

Dialogue: "What'cha got there, Erza?"

Byleth saw this play while she was traveling around as a mercenary and was instantly captivated by the story of Gillian the purple knight. Her design was really what drew her in, but as they continued on their way she kept thinking about her and thought about how amazing she is. The next town they reached that had a production of the play, she insisted on watching again, and so it continues everytime they find a troupe putting it on. They come across a merchant one day who has a wall scroll of Gillian, and even though she knows it's silly and that with all her traveling there's not even a wall for her to hang it on, she buys it and carries it around. She's not sure what she feels, since love is kind of out of her reach at this point, but she knows she admires Gillian.

Her dad suspects she has a crush on Gillian and thinks it's cute. She won't go out of her way to talk about the play or Gillian, but she will talk about it if asked. Her students know that if they want to get on their teachers good side and try to get a grade bump that they can give her anything related to the series.

It's only after she starts being able to really feel her emotions that she realizes she's in love with Gillian.

Dialogue: "Isn't she cute?"

#self ship #selfship #self shipping #selfshipping #promomyselfship #dapper draws #dazian #erzian #bylian #f/o febuary

13 notes · View notes

longlivallthemagic · 5 years

Text

I’ll never forget the first time I heard one of her songs. It was summer 2006. My best friend Kamie had just gotten her learner’s permit. We were riding down the only highway in our tiny beach town in Kamie’s 1996 Jeep Cherokee with the windows down, salty ocean air messing up our hair, listening to our local country radio station Gator 107.9.

“He said the way my blue eyes shined put those Georgia stars to shame that night, I said, ‘that’s a lie’...”

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a talker. But for once in my life, I fell silent. We both listened intently for the entire three minutes and fifty four seconds.

Now admittedly, I’m kind of an elitist when it comes to the music I choose to listen to because I’m so focused on incredible lyrics. A song is nothing without amazing lyrics. I’m a Beatlemaniac. I love Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, James Taylor—you get the picture. I’m that pretentious snob who’s like “I was born in the wrong decade” and “they don’t make music like they did in the 60s and 70s.” Hey, at least I’m self-aware, right?

I let Kamie choose the music of course since it was her car and while the other songs that came on the radio were fun and catchy, I wasn’t expecting to hear anything that would blow me away. Well I was blown away by the lyrics to that song. And I was even more blown away by the fact that the girl singing it appeared to be around our age. When the song concluded, the DJ said it was this young new musician Taylor Swift’s first single called “Tim McGraw.”

I never forgot that name. I bought her first album later when it was released that fall. I bought every subsequent album on release day. She made me feel like I should own my naturally curly hair and give my straightener a break. She made me feel like I should stand tall and rock heels with confidence even though I’m 5’9” and tower over everyone else. But most importantly, she made me feel like I wasn’t alone. Her lyrics were like reading my own diary—if I wasn’t ADHD and could actually sit still long enough to write a diary—back to myself. She was navigating the awkwardness that is high school and first loves and heartbreak just as I was, but writing about it and being open and honest and raw and vulnerable as she shared her experiences with the world through her music.

It’s funny how music has this strange and beautiful ability to take you back to exact points in time. I remember recording an embarrassing video that I hope never resurfaces of Kamie and me lip-synching to the 2009 Grammys performance of “Fifteen.” I remember dating for the first time and listening to “Our Song” and “Fearless” on repeat. I remember being heartbroken and listening to “White Horse” and “You’re Not Sorry” on repeat.

Speak Now came out when I was in my freshman year of college. I remember hearing “Mine” for the first time and having to pick my jaw up off of the floor because she sang about my life in a such scarily accurate way. My parents’ divorce happened a few years prior and I had developed deep rooted trust issues as a result of that so dating was hard. Hearing her write such a beautiful and optimistic song about a girl with trust issues due to her father’s wrongdoings made me hopeful for maybe potentially getting past that and finding love in the future (spoiler alert—I did and I’m happily married!). I still get chill bumps every time I listen to that song.

I remember studying abroad in London and dating the most beautiful man to ever walk the earth and repeatedly playing “Sparks Fly” on top MacBook speaker volume in my tiny flat, on my iPod while riding the tube, in the library studying, literally everywhere. I remember getting back to the States and meeting this guy I thought was perfect for me because of our electrifying witty banter and playing “Enchanted” nonstop but then being disappointed when things fell apart so all that “Enchanted” playing turned into “The Story of Us”. I remember dating this blue eyed boy who looked at me like I was from another universe and listening to “State of Grace” and thinking maybe he could be the one. I remember screwing him over and feeling bad about it and going “Back to December” all the time. Most importantly, I remember meeting this freckle-faced introverted but brilliant man at a concert and thinking “Everything Has Changed.” And it has. When my sister didn’t like him at first, I reminded myself that this love was “Ours.”

So many things change as time goes on. People change. You move cities. Friends come and go. But music is always a constant. And Taylor’s music has been there for me every step of the way. Every heartbreak. Every love. Every milestone. Taylor, I cannot thank you enough for your words. They mean so much to me and so many people.

Love, the OG Olivia. My older sister who is also a big Swiftie’s name is Meredith and we’re convinced we’re the inspiration behind your cats’ names, see our REP tour signs.

@taylorswift @taylornation @theswiftchicks

#taylor swift #taylornation #taylorswift #taylurking #ts7 #tswift #the swift chicks #theswiftchicks

21 notes · View notes

buckys-beach · 6 years

Text

A Shelby Caught Out With A Solomons pt.3

PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR

Imagine: Your secret relationship with the infamous London gangster was going extremely well. Well, as good as it could be considering you were a Shelby. But it all comes crashing down once your brothers discover you on your knees in front of him.

Pairing: Alfie Solomons x Shelby!Reader

Word Count: 3K

Warnings: Swearing (obvs), bit of sexual harassment

A/N: enjoy ;)

“Tommy” You cringed at the way your voice trembled, making it all too obvious to your brother just how weak you are at the moment.

“(Y/N)” The monotone lull responded back to you

“Look, I’m so sorry about what happened. I just need my family back, please, I’ll do anything” A single tear made its way down your cheek, quickly wiping it away you strained to detect any indication on the other line as to what your brother was thinking.

“Alright”

“Alright what?” You replied rather dumbfounded, what was he on about?

“I’ll forgive you if you help me with some business. I’ll get some men over to you to explain the situation” Was all the reply you received, with that the line went dead signalling him hanging up.

Tommy’s POV

Thomas Shelby was a man that always saw the clear line between right and wrong, especially when his family was involved. It’s no secret that he has gotten very close to crossing that line, he somehow always managed to stop and redeem himself, no matter what.

But on this said occasion that line was looking a bit hazy, but with no other plan to turn to, he continued to walk down that path. Because the thing was, he knew it wasn’t the best plan but it’s the only fucking option that he deemed worthy enough to get himself out of the shit with Sabini

One of the blinder boys was caught in a rather compromising position with one of Sabini’s nieces, making the Italian not a very happy man, and naturally he wanted to knock the Peaky Blinders down a few pegs because of that.

‘Surely (Y/N) can handle it, I mean she was practically raised by criminals and now she’s in bed with another one, she’ll make it?’ With that last ringing of doubt going through his mind he pushed it back to the back of his head, she wronged them in his eyes, and now she needed to make it up and this is the only way to make sure Sabini doesn’t do anything worse to the Shelby clan.

“Thomas?”

“What?”

“Christ, I’ve been talking to you for the last 10 minutes and you weren’t listening, great. I was saying who was calling?” Aunt Pol’s voice interrupted his thoughts

“It was (Y/N)”

“Oh thank God, how is she doing?” worry clearing laced in her voice, she’d been like this nonstop since her niece didn’t return from London with the boys, with very limited information about what went on and ordered not to call her it was only natural.

“She’s ready to make up for her mistake” Thomas plainly states

“I would hardly call falling in love with a man a mistake” Polly scolded her nephew, that disapproving look ever present.

“Pol, she was in fucking Alfie fucking Solomons, the man who almost beat Arthur to death, remember?”

“Thomas, you and I both know you are in no place to judge who your sister shares her bed with, I’m sure she had no idea what Alfie had planned for Arthur and I’ll tell you something I know for certainty, she would have rained all mighty hell down on that man when she found out.” Tommy could just imagine the small frame of his sister screaming at the much larger man of Alfie Solomons, how he must have been petrified, because Tommy sure as hell was the first time she did it to him. A small smile graced his stoic face just for a second, but quickly disappeared.

“Now there’s that smile, I thought you forgot how to do it. Will you finally admit how much you’ve missed her?” Pol smirked, at that moment Arthur, John and Finn clambered into the room, their shouts being heard from at least 5 doors away

“You talking about our (Y/N)?” Arthur questioned, he’d always had a soft spot reserved for his younger sister, he could clearly picture holding her when she was first born and vowing to protect her from the cruel cruel world.

“Yeah, Tommy just spoke to her” Pol informed them, the blue eyed man had to refrain from rolling his eyes, feeling the questions swamp him already.

“What did Solomons hurt her or somethin’?” John spat, knuckles already becoming tenser.

“Is she coming home?” Finn questioned

“Right I’ll say this once, then no more bloody questions, alright?” Tommy receives nods from the rest of his curious family.

“She wants to make up for her mistake, so I’m gonna get her to do some quick business for me then she should be home in about 4 days, give or take” With that the second oldest brother made a quick escape to the door, with no intention what so ever to tell them the truth about the part she was about to play in order to calm Sabini down, sensing their objections at the idea of it.

“You better not be doing something bad to that sister of yours” Polly’s voice echoed through the house just reaching Tommy’s ears before he sauntered down the black streets of Birmingham.

Your POV

“(Y/N) I don’t have a good feeling about this, and you know me luv, I never get a bad feeling for nothing” Turning to your boyfriend, no now fiancé, smiling inwardly at that, you could see him already beginning to fret.

“Alf, all that Tommy has told me is that I need to get in that car with his men and then just stop to do some business on the way, that’s it. C’mon hun, he’s my brother he wouldn’t do anything bad to me no matter who I sleep with” You tried to bring a smile to Alfie’s face, which he never failed to do for you, your attempt had miserably failed.

“See that’s the thing, what ‘business’ is he on about, that could mean fuckin’ anything innit?” His brown orbs bore into yours. “Maybe I should come with you” He suggested

“No way” You immediately interrupted, to which he pretended to be hurt “What why? I thought you’d want to spend time with your husband, un-bloody-believable you’re blowing me off for another man already” “Alf, sweet, no offence but we are kind of in this situation because of you” You smiled sheepishly at him, in return he loudly gasped “Hold on here, blame the Jew why don’t you? If I recall you were the one on your bloody knees!”

Quickly you began to defend yourself, “Well, it isn’t my fault that you’re just so irresistible, and I’m not your wife remember” Ever since his proposal you couldn’t stop him from referring to you as his wife, not that you were complaining. Just worried that if you let him continue he’d declare that you didn’t actually need a proper ceremony because you were already married in his eyes, you know that man like the back of your hand.

“Not yet” He cheekily smirked at you

“Plus, if you came it would make the situation much worse, imagine having a family dinner with Pol, Tommy, Finn, Arthur, John, me and you”

“You’ve got me there luv you have, that sounds bloody disastrous, makes me want to blow my brains out right now if I’m honest” Alfie jokes, making a gun gesture with his fingers and bringing them up to his head. You hit him in the chest for doing such a vulgar expression from your position next to him on the sofa, “You do know at our wedding that is what it’ll be exactly like, just with more Shelby’s” You remind him

“Fuckin’ hell, how many fuckin’ more are there?” He almost screams, but before either of you can say anymore a cars horn sounds outside of Alfie’s home, Tommy’s men ready to take you wherever Thomas ordered them to. Nerves rose in your stomach, but you covered them quickly, knowing that if Alfie knew how you were feeling that there’d be no way he’d let you go.

“Be safe, yeah? Call me when you get there and remember those moves I taught you earlier, just kick them in the jewels and bite them, fuckin’ hurts that does alright, then they’ll be off you as soon as” He talks quickly and directly into your eyes, your hand moves up to caress his check

“Alright mum” you tease, bringing your lips together his meets yours in a feverish urgency.

“I’ll see you in a week yeah?” you whisper, lips just millimetres from his

“Yeah, I’ll have some men follow you” He says, “No you will not Alfie!” you protest

“There’s no way I’m letting you go into another gang’s territory without some of my men, it’ll be the only way I’ll get to bloody sleep at night, it will”

“Fine, but just until I get to Birmingham” You bargain, to which he holds out his hand for you to shake, deal done.

Both of you move from the comfort of the Livingroom to the doorway, chest to chest. “I love you Alfred Solomons”

“I love you (Y/N) Solomons, now that sounds much fucking better than Shelby doesn’t it?” He smirked, knowing it would wind you up, you pinched him on his arm, causing him to release a rather unmanly yelp.

“Bye Alf” your lips met once more before you walked out towards the ominous black car waiting for you, with that you got into the car and one last wave to the man you love you, the tires screeched and you were gone.

“Bye sweet” muttered into the distance.

The bumps on you journey caused you to continuously crash into the two bulky men that were pinned at either side, with a slight ‘omph’ leaving your mouth each time. But no one spoke a single word, between the two men at your side in the back of the car and the two men at the front you had managed to infer that their tense postures meant something unpleasant may well happen, and that was not a good sign for you.

“Look, I’m a bloody Shelby too, can you please just tell me what I have to do. At least then I could prepare for the situation and that’ll help out Tommy even more” You tried to persuade them, looking at each four of the men, who all desperately avoided all eye contact.

Finally, the ginger man at the wheel spoke up, “Tommy said not to tell you anything, your natural reaction will please Sabini more”

Sabini? You heard Alfie talk about this man on numerous occasions and each time there wasn’t that lovely grin adorned to his rugged face, oh no, it was that familiar eye brow crease with a frown that signalled he was a very dangerous man. Suddenly you began to feel sick, the nerves finally getting the best of you as your hands began to tremble ever so slightly. Quickly you folded them into your lap before any of them could sense your anxiety about the situation.

What on earth did he mean by ‘your natural reaction will please Sabini more? ‘Did Sabini want to see me tremble in fear, the sister of the Shelby’s and soon to be Mrs Solomons, because in that case he’d already accomplished it.

But before you could fathom more scenarios which never end well on your behalf, the car suddenly screeched to a halt as a police car swerves in front.

The police? Was this part of Tommy’s plan? Or even worse, part of Sabinis plan?

Both the back doors of the car were swung open at an alarming rate, the two men at your sides scrambled out down the road, leaving you feeling vulnerable, bloody typical men. One large and unkind hand reached from the left of the car and dragged you out onto the pavement.

Your body collided with the ground with a large thud, both hands and knees were scraped before being yanked up under your arms.

“What is going on?” Was all you could get out before the large figure behind you forced your body once more onto a hard surface, but this time it was against the car. Their body pressed into your back, your lip curling in disgust as their hands travelled across your back to your bum.

“Hush now little Shelby, Sabini is going to have his way with you” An Italian voice whispered in your ear, slightly sucking at the lobe.

“Get the fuck off me or else Alfie will rip you apart” You tried to threaten, voice raised with anger and terror.

Two laughs were heard from behind, apparently the men found this hilarious.

“Oh no, what’s your big bad boyfriend gonna do, hey? This is Shelby business, not Solomons. No way he’d jeopardise the truce between the Italians and the Jews for some whore” The other voice spat, and before you knew it you were shoved into the back of the police car after one of them slammed your head into the side of the car, just as everything went black.

Alfie’s POV

“Ollie she should have fuckin’ called by now right?” Alfie’s paces in his office echoed throughout the factory, all the men silent and weary of Alfie’s current temperamental mood.

“Look, maybe you’re just overreacting, there could have been traffic” Ollie was already cursing to himself at the use of words he just used, as Alfie’s head snapped in his direction he knew the wrath he was about to suffer.

“What did you just fuckin’ say to me lad? Overreacting?” the bearded man let out a sarcastic laugh. “My fucking fiancé has just travelled to Birmingham to see her criminal gang family whilst passing through the territory of the fucking Italians, innit. It’s been 8 hours now and we all know (Y/N) keeps her promises, so why the fuck hasn’t she called me, right?” His voice boomed, Ollie wouldn’t be surprised if people down the road heard every word that his boss was saying clearly.

“How about I get in touch with the men that were following her, yeah? They will have seen if something happened” Ollie tried to comfort his boss, with an approving grunt coming from Alfie, Ollie scurried out of the office to find him and his boss some peace of mind.

Your POV

Pain was all you could feel, it seemed that all your body was on fire. But when you tried to sit up, that’s when the red hot pain surged through your head, a strangled groan leaving your lips.

“You’ve got quite a bump there lass” A voice rose

Your eyes darted open, first having to adjust to the darkens of the room you were in, no this icy cold place certainty wasn’t a room. You observed the grim brick walls layered on the three sides surrounding you, but to the front metal bars stood tall from the ceiling to the ground. This was a cell.

“What the..” However, before you could form another word you stomach lurched in a way which was begining to feel like a regular thing to you, vomit rose up from your stomach as you put your head to the side, knowing that there was no way to hold it in.

Once that nightmare was over you sat up, back lent on the cold wall behind you, head slumped slightly to the side, facing the other brick wall you could just about make up a figure.

“I was exactly the same with my third” The voice said again, slowly a woman with wrinkles littering her skin and smiling eyes came into view. Her grey hair mounted her head like snow on a hill, her round frame pottered over to you. She must have been in her sixties at least, what was she doing in a place like this? What were you doing in a place like this? What did she mean by that statement?

The confused look struck on your face prompted her to quickly change the subject.

“You’re (Y/N) Shelby right?” Her soft voice floated in the damp air, a complete contrast to her current surroundings. A woman like this you expect to see in a bakery buying bread for her family, not in a forbidding place for criminals. “No” was your immediate answer. You weren’t stupid, you knew just how many people your brothers had sent to prison or even sent people to their deaths, for all you know the sweet old lady’s son may have been offed by the Peaky Blinders and she was out for revenge.

“Thomas said you’d deny it” She chuckled, her wrinkled hand lay on top of yours as she sat next to you, “My name is Edith, dear, and no use lying to me. I’ve had seven children, I have a sixth sense for that now”

“How do you know my brother?” You questioned accusingly.

“Thomas Shelby is the reason why I’m hear” Edith continued, “Yesterday he came over to my house and offered me a large sum of money if I got arrested and taken to prison, he assured me I’d be put in a cell with his sister, and it was my duty to look after you as I was once a nurse in my day” She explained.

It hit you like a tonne of bricks, you assumed the business deal had gone wrong, you assumed Sabini crossed Tommy, you foolishly assumed Thomas wouldn’t throw his own sister in jail. But who know anything about the notorious Thomas Shelby nowadays? You thought, already coming up with ideas of ways to shout at it him and make his regret what he did. John would no doubt be furious, Arthur acting like a madden horse, Polly would be disappointed, Finn scared, Ada sad and Alfie. Oh your sweet Alfie, he’d be out for Thomas Shelby’s blood.

“How could he do this to me?” You all but cried, tears forming in your eyes ready to spill at any given moment.

“I have to say I’m surprised now about it all, especially given your condition” The old lady muttered to herself, but this brought your attention back to her.

“What do you mean?” You asked, almost scarred of the answer.

“Oh love, you don’t know?” Her gaze turned sympathetic. “When was your last period?”

“About 2 months ago, but it’s because of just how stressed I’ve been with my family” Your hands began to sweat.

“And you’ve been feeling nauseas? Maybe even some cravings?” Your thoughts darted back to those glorious red apples, your heart beat getting ever so slightly faster. “Have your breasts been bigger than usual?” Recalling Alfie’s observations how they have been bigger than normal, much to his enjoyment, panic began to rise.

Putting all and all together your hand instinctively went down to gently touch your almost unnoticeable swollen stomach, “I can’t be” But the all knowing smile from the woman on your right gave all indications that you were. Sudden rage filled your system, how dare your brother toss you like a piece of rag into this murderous place. How dare he risk your life. How dare he threaten your future with Alfie. How dare question your baby’s survival.

Tagged: @blissfullyshipping @captainbuckyboobear @the-writer-appreciation-blog @cyberbadman @thegirlwithoutaname87 @12monkees @trueclarity24 @bigbrooke

(If you want to be added to the stage or taken off just let me know xx)

#alfie solomons #alfie solomons x reader #alfie solomons imagine #peaky blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders imagine #peaky fookin blinders #john shelby #john shelby imagine #arthur shelby #thomas shelby #thomas shelby imagine #thomas shelby x reader #tommy shelby #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby x reader

1K notes · View notes

mystarmyangel · 3 years

Text

[COMPILATION] [TRANS] 210908 YoonA - #Miracle Interview

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ①] 210908 ‘Miracle’ Lim YoonA “The loveliest character I have ever played.”

Lim YoonA, who plays the role of Joon Kyung’s friend and self-proclaimed muse Rahee in the movie ‘Miracle’ (Directed by Lee Jang Hoon, produced by Blossom Pictures), told the story of the movie through an interview on the 8th. ‘Miracle’ is a heartwarming movie that talks about Joon Kyung (Park Jung Min), whose only goal is to have a simple train station in a village where there are rail tracks but without a station.

On this day, Lim YoonA shared her thoughts upon watching the completed version of ‘Miracle’, “I watched the movie 2 days later than (Park) Jung Min oppa so I asked him ‘How was it?’ When I asked him that, he said he cried a lot. In fact, I also cried when I first read the script. I wondered how the emotion I felt through the script will be conveyed through movie. I cried when I first read the script, cried twice when I read the revised script, cried another 2 times when I watched the movie twice. I always got emotional whenever I watched the last scene of Joon Kyung and his older sister Bo Kyung (Lee Sookyung).

Lim YoonA who expressed that she wanted to convey the lovely charms of Rahee she felt through the script to the audience, said, “In fact, the characters I choose to show are similar. You may conclude that they are similar because it is also an active character, but I think the details are different.”

“Rahee is the purest and loveliest character I have ever played. Although other characters are charming too, but Rahee is the most impulsive yet is the purest and loveliest that one can’t detest. Above all, it was good that the setting is in the 80s. I wish to try projects of different eras in the future too, it feels good to be able to film with those outfits and props.”

On the similarity between her and Rahee, Lim YoonA said, “I like to spend time with people around me so in this aspect Rahee is similar to me, but I think Rahee is cooler, she is able to lead people and bring strength to others. Although I am also working hard to be such existence to someone, but it seem I am not there yet, so Rahee is too cool.

Her previous work ‘EXIT’ attracted close to 10m audience. When asked if she felt burdened in choosing her next project with the huge success of her previous work, she said, “Actually it seem like I didn’t think much of it that way. No one will know how the end result will be like, so I will just choose according to my own standard.” ‘Since EXIT is so successful, what kind of work should I do now?’ – I have never thought strategically like this. Also, even if I tried it, there is no guarantee that such a work will appear to me at the time I want it. ‘Miracle’ is really a movie that I decided to participate the moment I received the script. No matter what the end result is, I will not regret. Although I am very thankful to meet a great work like ‘EXIT’, but I think that ‘Miracle’ will also be successful.”

Meanwhile, the movie ‘Miracle’ is the first new film in 3 years directed by Lee Jang Hoon since ‘Be With You’ in 2018. The movie will be released on 15 September starring Park Jung Min, Lee Sung Min, Lim YoonA and Lee Sookyung.

Source: SportsChosun Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ②] 210908 ‘Miracle’ Lim YoonA “Park Jung Min is a big fan of SNSD, but I don’t know if he is my fan.” Laughs

Lim YoonA on working with Park Jung Min expressed: “Jung Min oppa approached me first and I approached him friendlily too, so we were able to get close quickly. And because there was a common point in working on the dialect, so we got close even faster.”

“Oppa even shared with me a dialect reference video he found. In actual fact, I only filmed with Jung Min oppa, but it feels like I was just playing with Park Jung Min, I don’t even know how I acted. Rather than saying I am playing Rahee, it seem that the chemistry between Lim YoonA and Park Jung Min were buried in Rahee and Joon Kyung. It was a really fun and happy filming.”

Park Jung Min expressed his fan sentiment to YoonA in his interview previously, when asked if YoonA has read Park Jung Min interview, she said: “I read it. I read that he said ‘YoonA is a star in my heart’ so I texted him with a message ‘A star in my heart?’ and oppa replied, ‘A star in my heart, Yoongphrodite.’

She continued: “I had many beautiful memories and I feel good to know that oppa felt the same way too. Although oppa said that he is a big fan of SNSD, but I am not sure if he is a fan of YoonA. When the members sent a coffee truck, he pasted the stickers on his phone and asked, ‘When are the SNSD members coming over to play’”, drawing laughter on the set.

“Oppa is very talented and humorous, and we clicked well so we are chatting nonstop on set. It was a miracle for me to meet actor Park Jung Min. Even though It feels like I copied oppa’s interview, but I felt even happier because Park Jung Min is Joon Kyung. Because Park Jung Min is Joon Kyung, so Lim YoonA who plays Rahee was able to be more immersed in the role. Meeting Park Jung Min is a miracle.”

Source: SportsChosun Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ③] 210908 ‘Miracle’ Lim YoonA “I am happy to be able to act as a teenager high school student…It was a pity there was no school uniform”

Lim YoonA said that the most difficult thing in the movie was definitely ‘dialect acting’. “In fact, I was worried about whether I could speak the dialect well. I think Rahee and the movie’s charms lie in the dialect, so I learnt and prepare a lot on the dialect.

At the production briefing held earlier, Lee Sung Min who is a native of Bonghwa, praised YoonA’s dialect acting and when Lim YoonA talked about the praise she got from Lee Sung Min, she said, “I am very grateful to Sung Min sunbaenim for saying that. After the production briefing, he laughed and said, ‘Did I only praise YoonA too much? (Park) Jung Min and (Lee) Sookyung did a good job too’”

She continued: “Isn’t Bonghwa dialect different from just Gyeongsang dialect? We talked about it among the director and the actors on whether it would be better to use the more common Busan-Daegu dialect or the Bonghwa dialect. I thought that even if we were able to speak the Bonghwa dialect well, it would still feel unfamiliar to the listeners. However, as the story came from Bonghwa Yeongju, we all agree that it would be better to use the local dialect.”

“There was a teacher who watched over the dialect scenes at the set. All actors, including myself were inspected by the teacher and we recorded our lines for comparison. I also watched the dialect video materials that Jung Min oppa sent me. Even when I was washing up, I played the recording of my dialect. “

When asked if there was any pressure in playing a teenage high school student who had just graduated from middle school, YoonA said, “Actually I didn’t put too much thought in the age setting. I just love this work.”

“As it is my first time playing the role of a high school student, what I felt was a pity is that I thought there would be school uniform since I am a high school student. But I heard that there are no school uniforms in that era. I wanted to try to play in a school uniform, but still it was great to act as a high school student. It felt good to be able to try it even now.” She then added, “But I think the other actor (Park Jung Min) had a lot of worries (with the age setting),” drawing laughter at the set.

Source: SportsChosun Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ④] 210908 ‘Miracle’ Lim YoonA “Many young friends who don’t know about SNSD… I was happy to appear on ‘You Quiz’ as a whole group”

Lim YoonA who debuted as a singer is also showing outstanding performance as an actress.

Regarding the path she walked, she said, “I think there is a long way to walk in the future with acting as I had a longer time as a singer since my debut. I would be grateful if I heard words that said I have gained a film footing as an actress. I will continue walking forward step by step with my own choices. Instead of having complicated thoughts, I will only do what I want to do, only then will I feel the satisfaction after accomplishing them.

The 2nd to 3rd generation girl group members such as Han Seung Yeon in ‘Show Me The Ghost’ and Han Sunhwa in ‘Streets of Movies’ are active in the movie scene. When asked of the activity of these girl group members, YoonA said, “I’m so happy to see people who were on stage together, from SNSD to other girl group members, and I really want to cheer for them. Although I had memories of meeting them on stage but now that I am meeting them in the acting industry, it seem like we will be conversing from another perspective.” She added, “I was young at that time (when I was a singer), but I think I have matured more over time.”

SNSD recently drew attention by appearing as a whole group on ‘You Quiz On The Block’ after a long time. When Lim YoonA was asked how she felt about the filming, she said, “It felt different from meeting among ourselves. It reminded me of the past a lot when we said ‘Hello, we are SNSD’ in public and on broadcast together. Nowadays, there are many friends who don’t know SNSD well. Many people don’t know that ‘EXIT’ YoonA and ‘Amazing Saturday’ Taeyeon are from the same group. But I am really happy to be able to gather like this again because it was still an opportunity to show off charms as SNSD. Even though it been 14 years since debut, but I am so happy and grateful that each and every member is still active and to be able to meet with everyone via various fields. It is only possible because of people who cheer for us.”

Source: SportsChosun Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ] 210908 ‘Miracle’ Lim YoonA “A proactive character… I am more cautious when it comes to dating”

Lim YoonA talked about the similarities with Rahee: “It seem like she has a similar side to me. It is comfortable and fun to act.”

When asked if her dating style is similar to Rahee who actively approaches Joon Kyung in the movie, Lim YoonA said, “In terms of honesty, I am similar to Rahee. Not only in love, but also in expressing emotions honestly. However, I am not as proactive as Rahee. Even though we are same in term of honestly, but if Rahee is the proactive, impulsive, and straightforward type, then I am more cautious.”

Source: Starnews Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ] 210908 ‘Miracle’ Lim YoonA “Tears from the book and letter presented by Park Jung Min… “It was the first for me”

Lim YoonA said, “ The atmosphere at the filming set was really good so there are many memorable incidents. I had the most scenes with Park Jung Min oppa. We spoke mostly in dialect on the set. In particular, I remembered the last day of our filming.”

Lim YoonA continued: “Rahee’s parts are completed first. On the last day of my filming, Park Jung Min oppa gave me gifts. It wasn’t a book he wrote, but a book he likes, and he wrote me a letter too. I was so touched that I cried.”

‘It was fun working with you. You worked hard’, he wrote the letter with such thoughts to me. I didn’t expect it. It was the first time I received such a letter from my (project) partner, so I am really grateful, and it was really memorable for me. Later on, I repay him my CD with my autograph and messages on it.”

Source: Tenasia Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ] 210908 Lim YoonA, “Tiffany and Sunny, I heard you watched ‘Miracle’ while holding back your tears…Thank you”

Lim YoonA said, “The members were busy, so only Tiffany and Sunny came, and they said, ‘It was hard to control my emotions because it was a premiere’. They then said, ‘If it wasn’t a premiere, I would have cried while watching it. I was grateful it was such a cute, lovely and good movie.’

Lim YoonA expressed her gratitude saying, “Tiffany said it is a movie that everyone has to watch, and I was grateful that she said even after she went home, it was a movie that makes her cry and think a lot over.”

Source: Joynews Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW ] 210908 Lim YoonA, “I called Son Yejin after deciding to appear in the movie... Director Lee Jang Hoon is good.”

Actress Lim YoonA said that she had contacted Son Yejin after deciding to appear in ‘Miracle’.

Lim YoonA is set to appear in the cinema this Chuseok with movie ‘Miracle.’ ‘Miracle’ is director Lee Jang Hoon’s new film who directed ‘Be With You starring So Ji Sub and Son Yejin.

Above all, Lim YoonA is known to be close to Son Yejin.

In a recent interview with Herald POP, Lim YoonA confessed that she asked Son Yejin about director Lee Jang Hoon. Lim YoonA said, “I contacted Son Yejin unnie when I decided to appear in ‘Miracle’. I told her what the movie is about and asked her how it is like working with director Lee Jang Hoon. Unnie cheered me on and said that because he is a very good director, I will be happy filming it.”

“When I went on the set, I realized that director’s thoughts and the emotions that I like overlapped a lot. I has originally like director’s emotion sensibility hence ‘Miracle’ makes me trust and anticipate even more. He is also a gentle person who takes care of everyone on the set and create a comfortable atmosphere for filming.”

Lim YoonA added, “‘Miracle’ also seem to contain all the charms of the director too. It seem like another great tie has been created.”

“I hope to work together again”, expressing her affection for director Lee Jang Hoon.

Source: Herald POP Trans: mystarmyangel

[TRANS-INTERVIEW] 210908 The female celebrity that Park Jung Min likes a lot recently. Do you know who it is?

In the afternoon on the 8th, Park Jung Min talked with Wiki Tree through a video interview ahead of the release of the movie ‘Miracle’

On this day, Park Jung Min introduced Lim YoonA, who he worked together through the movie ‘Miracle’ as a ‘good person.’ He who mentioned that he is a big fan of SNSD in numerous occasions recently said, “I praised YoonA too much that I am getting many phone calls from people around me.” He said shyly while praising Lim YoonA.

“She is a very good person, we got along very well. I got an NG because I couldn’t stop laughing. When I first met her, I had a feeling that she is a very good person and will be very accepting to what I do. My hunch is right.”

On the same day, Lim YoonA also praised Park Jung Min through interview with us saying, “When I first heard that I would be working with actor Park Jung Min, my initial thought is that it would be really good. From before filming, to filming and after watching the movie to now, I still like the fact that it was Park Jung Min who played the role of Joon Kyung.”

Reporter asked Park Jung Min how is YoonA like before working and after working with her? To this, Park Jung Min replied: “A person with great capacity.”

“Putting aside sentiment as a fan, I am grateful and happy that YoonA, a huge actress played the role of Rahee. I knew that YoonA is a good person because of her reputation. I heard that she is a very easygoing and hardworking actress. There isn’t much difference of before (knowing her) and after (knowing her). She is already such a good person to begin with, no matter what I said or what joke I made, she is very accepting. A person with great capacity.”

Source: Wikitree Trans: mystarmyangel

#YoonA #Miracle #Miracle Interview #Interview #Movie #Trans #Park Jung Min

0 notes

sinceileftyoublog · 3 years

Text

Split Single Interview: The Grift Is On

Photo by Nathan Keay

BY JORDAN MAINZER

After five years, Jason Narducy’s got a lot to say. Amplificado (Inside Outside Records), the new third album from Split Single, his solo project with a rotating cast of musicians, was mostly written and recorded by June of 2019. Its themes of Trump-era urgent anger were only heightened by a global pandemic that exacerbated many of the issues that rose to the surface in an era of political turmoil.

Since his second Split Single album, Metal Frames, came out, Narducy’s been nonstop touring and recording with Superchunk and Bob Mould, not to mention writing a musical, Verböten, named after and about his childhood punk rock band. Any free time’s been spent on canvassing for Democratic state legislature candidates, Narducy feeling like he needed to stay politically involved and motivated. There’s no more perfect soundtrack to his exhausted mind than Amplificado’s opener, titled and stylized “caPtAIN calamity’S crUde pRoCessiON”. The off-kilter, minute-long instrumental is less purposeful avant-garde experimentalism than 6th grade marching band practice with weird ringtones going off, as percussionist Dan Leu’s tempos change nonsensically and Narducy introduces tack piano and sound effects of cash registers. The song’s got a lot of hidden meaning, as Narducy would explain to me in a phone interview in early May, but from the surface, it’s most significant as a way to let the listener know that the rest of the record--for the most part quintessential Split Single power rock--was born from this place of confused chaos.

Indeed, besides the opener and the honest, stark “Adrift”, Amplificado is big and burning. “Blood Break Ground” is a song about breaking out from oppression. “Condescension comes with a price / Tear away all lingering ties,” Narducy belts, with drummer Jon Wurster providing propulsive blasts and the other main bandmate here, none other than R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, on bass and backing vocals. “Stone Heart World” calls out GOP hypocrisy, self-described “pro-life” politicians who speak about “barefoot children holding on to desperate mothers” as “others” and “animals.” Lead single “(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love” is just as pressing, but positive, a message of support for the LGBTQ+ community.

As much as Amplificado deals with serious issues, from the pandemic-addled depression and isolation-themed “Worry” to songs like “Blood Break Ground”--the guy behind “The Sexiest Elbows in Rock Music” hasn’t lost his sense of humor or storytelling. Narducy writes about a formative childhood experience with a music teacher on “Bitten by the Sound”, a character in dire straits on “Belly of Lead”, and a ditty about aging inspired by being yelled at by his dentist on “Mangled Tusk”. And maybe the funniest thing about the album is its bio, written by comedian Jon Glaser. (“It has always been a dream of mine to write a bio for the third album of a somewhat known indie band,” Glaser writes, as he then goes on to describe his lunch, nightmares, and video game playing that preceded him writing the actual few-sentence bio for the record.) If you’ve ever seen Narducy play, whether on one of his many lawn shows he did last summer through SPACE in Evanston or opening for Guided By Voices, you know he, too, is both earnest and genuinely hilarious.

Read my interview with Narducy about Amplificado below, edited for length and clarity. He’s got a sold out record release show tomorrow night at 7 PM at Sketchbook Brewing Co. in Skokie!

Since I Left You: When you were writing the lyrics to these songs, did they come instantly or were they workshopped? They feel very emotional and direct.

Jason Narducy: Sometimes they took a while. The song “Mangled Tusk”, the demo was called “Jangle Tusk” because the guitar part felt like jangle pop to me. It was just a working title. The drum beat on the demo, which we didn’t end up using on the record, was kind of like Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk. It reminded me what song it was, instead of calling it “Song Number 32″ or whatever. I was recording vocals, and “Jangle Tusk” was last, and the recording engineer at Electrical Audio, Taylor Hales, asked, “When do we get to work on ‘Jangle Tusk’?” And I responded, “I don’t know, I’m still working on lyrics on that one...you’ve never even heard it, why are you so excited to work on that one?” He said, “I love the title!” And I thought, “I’ll put some thought into that, but those two words aren’t conjuring that much imagery for me.” I really like the word “mangled,” and I had just gone through this ordeal with my teeth and having to wear a nightguard. [laughs] So I started writing lyrics about gnawing and the enamel chipping away. It’s a song about aging, in a way, but I got that stern talking-to from my dentist: “We made you a nightguard years ago and you didn’t wear it, we made you one four years ago and you didn’t wear it, we’ll make you another one and you have to wear this.” I said, “That’s all I have to hear! I’ll wear it every night.” Those lyrics just came based on an odd encouragement from the engineer that liked one other word.

The process of writing is so strange. With “(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love”, the lyrics came so fast, and I was just done. I might have written the bridge this year, but the verses and choruses are the heart of the song. There’s a song we recorded called “3/4″--again, a working title based on the time signature--but we couldn’t get lyrics to it, so it’s sitting on the curb, lonely, without words attached to it. Lyrics are last for me every time. “Belly of Lead”, I was recording the demo in my friend Grant [Sutton]’s house, Clampdown Studio. I didn’t have lyrics to the song, so I picked up a lyric book of Lead Belly’s songs, and I was reading random words off every page so I’d have something documented on the demo. From that, I came up with the word “Belly of Lead” and wrote a story based on someone who made poor decisions in their life, coming to the end, trying to write a letter to his son and others, saying goodbye.

SILY: Was this your first time working with Mike Mills?

JN: I had opened up a show for his group The Baseball Project. I met him a number of times, the first time at the 40 Watt Club in Athens in 2006, when Jon and I were playing with Robert Pollard from Guided By Voices. Mike Mills was at that show, and Jon knew him--Jon actually recorded with R.E.M. on one of their Christmas singles. But he introduced me back in ‘06, and throughout the years, we’d run into each other at shows, or Scott McCaughey would be coming through. Just a lot of mutual friends. We always got along great. I didn’t expect him to say yes when I asked him to record. I felt like it was a longshot. I’m really grateful. I like him as a person and am a huge fan of his work with R.E.M.

SILY: What are some of the Easter eggs in the opening track’s title and aesthetic?

JN: There are a lot of layers, for it being a 1-minute instrumental. This [album] is my re-entry into doing Split Single work, since the last one came out in 2016. I write pretty consistently, so there were some songs I had the ideas down for already. But because I was so frustrated with the direction our country was going in, I kept putting down the guitar and thinking, “I can’t do this right now, I need to get out and do something.” I became very involved in this group called Sister District [Project], and I was doing postcard parties where I’d gather friends and others from the community and started working on state senate races across the country. It was very rewarding work. It provided some camaraderie with others who were wondering what the hell we could do. It also had an impact. I canvassed with a state senate candidate in Michigan, I wrote postcards for state senate races all across the country. Thankfully--and I think this has to do with the technological vetting Sister District does--all the candidates we worked for won. That was rewarding. It felt like I had an impact. I was also working on a musical about my very first band Verböten, and that took up a lot of time. Between Verböten and activism, my focus wasn’t on making another Split Single record. Plus Superchunk and Bob Mould were very busy making and touring records.

Back to the song: I wondered if there was a short audible message that I could make that was a little bit of a set up song. “Blood Break Ground” is such a gut punch, so how could I set this up after four and a half years? The sound of that marching band is sort of what I was feeling and hearing during those years. “That’s not supposed to be there: Why is there a tack piano in the marching band? This tempo isn’t right. Why is it slowing down now?” I put in an old cash register sound, so [it’s like] the grift is on. This is all about making money. If you look at the title, if you look at the letters in the title that are capitalized, it spells “PAIN IS UR CON”.

SILY: Sequencing-wise, you have “Adrift” as the emotional and personal centerpiece. It’s not outwardly political like the other songs. It’s also very downtempo. Did you consciously try to mix the album up in terms of tempo, aesthetic, and subject matter?

JN: There’s a defiance in the first three songs [after the opener]. I thought “Adrift” was a really strong song that kind of sounds like an album closer, but I didn’t want to put it last because I felt like it was too important. It was very difficult to figure out what would come after it, since it was so different. “Bitten by the Sound” has that long intro that builds up, so I thought it was a good transition. You can hear thematically how “Belly of Lead” is a completely different, not personal story, and [the album] closes with “Worry” and “Satellite”, which are very personal. Overall, the up-tempo songs are the ones I’m excited to play live. Besides “Adrift”, you could play all of them that way.

SILY: On “Belly of Lead”, you sing, “My word will make no difference.” Your experience with Sister District Project was the antithesis of that sentiment, but was that line in any way referential to anxiety you had about speaking out?

JN: No, that was just the character [in the song]…in “95 Percent”, though, I addressed something I felt and that a lot of liberal-minded Americans feel, which is we’re very clear that we’re not 100% behind the ones we support. There are things I disagree with Barack Obama about. We’re not a part of a cult. I support equality and equity and true justice, not law and order justice, as the other side claims.

SILY: On “Bitten by the Sound”, you sing, “Sat in a classroom led by an old nun / Sister thought she knew all about rock n roll / But instant karma got the best of her / When she lied about holding Lennon’s hands in her own.” What’s the story behind that line?

JN: I had a music teacher that was a nun in 6th grade. She had a story about meeting John Lennon and holding his hands in hers and giving him advice. Even [as a] 6th grader, [I] looked around and thought, “She’s full of shit.” Now that I’m older, I think if you’re gonna want to impress people and make up some bullshit, why pick a famous person who just died who can’t back up the story? It was part of my childhood that affected my relationship with authority and trusting adults. Music was everything to me, so don’t fuck with that! Don’t make up a John Lennon story. In the song, I talk about that. I was 9 or 10 years old, and my mom lived on the South Side of Chicago, 53rd and Woodlawn, and we woke up one morning and looked out the window, and her car was sitting on brick. All 4 tires were stolen. I just didn’t even know that was a thing. Those are formidable years. You discover music and find solace and peace. Everything feels good with music when everything around you is shaken and uncertain.

SILY: I don’t know whether it’s the mixture of the Christianity and the rock history references, but I heard the line and could hear Craig Finn singing it.

JN: That’s funny. I should mention that I was not at a Catholic school, which is why it’s weird a nun was teaching a music class. That song not so much [musically]. I think the song “95 Percent” definitely has some Hold Steady in it. There’s something about The Hold Steady that’s unabashed, “We’re gonna play rock and roll.” It’s a cool thing. “Yeah, I’m gonna take a guitar solo here.” It’s not too-cool-for-school indie rock. “95 Percent” was influenced by Mac [McCaughan] from Superchunk, a little bit of Springsteen, a little Hold Steady. Just need to add a girl’s name, and it would be very Hold Steady.

SILY: Were there any other prominent or newfound influences on this record?

JN: “Adrift” is so different for me. I learned this from Bob Mould: He writes way more songs than the record needs. You never know. A number of times, he’ll have a song that he thinks should be a B-side, and I’ll raise my hand and say, “I think that should be on the record.” “Fire in the City” is an example of that. I was like, “This song is too good.” It ended up on Beauty & Ruin. We don’t always end up using it, but it’s a good influence. I went into this record and thought, “I have extra time--it can’t hurt to keep going.” I ended up going back to a power pop song that I don’t even know had a title. There was one part of it I really liked. I picked up an acoustic guitar and didn’t even have a pick near me. I strummed the chords with my thumb very quietly and slowly and “Adrift” just fell out. Words and everything, just super fast. I had never recorded a song that vulnerable, that personal, that dark. I don’t think I’ve recorded a song without a guitar pick either. You can hear my stomach growl at some point.

It just so happened I got a text from Alison Chesley who was in Verbow with me, and I asked, “Can I send you a song? Can you put some cellos on here?” She came back with this beautiful arrangement and even a piano part. I think it really elevated it and made it a much more engaging song. That’s the first time Alison and I had recorded in 22 years.

SILY: I thought maybe the experience of looking back with Verböten inspired you to reach out to her. It’s funny that it was just a random text from her that started it.

JN: I think the musical influenced this record in two ways. Not that one. I wrote so many punk rock songs for Verböten, that it reminded me that I like it when I write up-tempo songs. I definitely pushed more high energy songs for the record. [And the other is] “Blood Break Ground” happened because I had to do so much revisiting of emotions from my childhood [for Verböten] that there were other parts of my childhood that I hadn’t addressed yet.

SILY: How did the album’s bio come about? Did you want Jon Glaser to write a legitimate bio, and he came back with something absurd instead?

JN: I mean, he’s a comedian. I know it’s the job of the publicist and the journalist to have as much information presented as possible, but I also think there’s value in not taking it too seriously.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the record title?

JN: The trauma of the Trump years combined with the incredible trauma of the pandemic, which will take a very long time for many of us to recover from. I feel like everything’s amplified. I thought about calling the record Amplified but found that there were a lot of other albums called that, and it was also a pretty basic word. So I thought, “What’s a little twist we can put on that?” A friend of mine, Alberto, is fluent in Spanish, so I asked him for the proper version of that word for this situation.

SILY: What about the cover art?

JN: That’s a Chicago artist named Yvonne Doll. I follow her on Instagram and have been friends with her for years. She’s a musician and a painter. That particular piece came up, and I couldn’t stop looking at it, so I asked whether we could use it for the artwork. Thankfully, she was cool with that. When I presented that and some other photos, the designer, [Chris Tillman], ran with that red theme.

SILY: How was the experience of playing lawn shows during the pandemic?

JN: It was incredible. I was so thankful to Jake [Samuels, Managing Partner and Talent Buyer] and SPACE for coming up with the concept and thankful that people were enthusiastic about doing them. I did about 53 of them last year. It sort of emotionally and financially saved me. I loved how creative it was. I could tell you so many crazy stories about different situations like planning for a rainstorm to come, a small crowd, a huge crowd where the cops showed up. It was great. I’m excited to do more of those.

On Saturday, I played at Thalia Hall to a private show of 20 people. It was honestly euphoric. It was the first rock club show I had done since January 3, 2020 with Superchunk at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. So many things that I hadn’t thought about, like setting up on a stage and the camaraderie with the crew and talking about different lighting setups and sound options, walking to the dressing room. It was incredible. It felt so good. Even for 20 people. And they were there to party. They weren’t just sitting down drinking wine. They were standing up, dancing, leaning up on the stage and screaming. It’s gonna take time, and it needs to be safe, but certainly with the outdoor shows, there are a lot of options being explored, and hopefully by the fall, there will be many more people vaccinated.

SILY: The album’s really up-tempo, as you’ve said. Have you thought about adapting these songs to a solo style of play?

JN: I think any of the songs besides the marching band one I could do live.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading that’s caught your attention?

JN: Oh my god, there are so many new bands I’ve been listening to. New Pagans. There’s this band called Kestrels. It’s very 90′s, like if Built to Spill or Dinosaur Jr. had a baby. CONTROL TOP. I like the new Real Estate record. Sinai Vessel. I love that English band Shame. I think their new record’s really cool. Miss Grit. I get really inspired by newer artists. It’s something I spend a lot of time with.

youtube

0 notes

gameboyrocket · 6 years

Text

Splatoon: The Outcasts - Episode 6: “Sound and Fury”

The popular cultural festival of Inkopolis, Splatfest, has come to an end for now. Divided into two teams, the Inklings of the city duked it out for control of the city’s values, pitting those who prefer punctuality on Team Early Bird against their night-loving opposites, Team Night Owl. Ultimately, after 24 hours of nonstop Turf War battles, the side that took more matches was decided, and the Night Owls were declared victorious. The Outcasts, Inkopolis’ newest group of Turf War rookies, was split two-and-two between the factions, so at least half of the team can celebrate the results in the end.

Through the challenges and trials of the Splatfest, the Outcasts, while having been temporarily separated, seem to have learned from the experience – Amber, the team captain, has a newfound positivity about her future as a leader; André, the gigantic brawler, has finally reconciled with one of his former teammates on Team Spice Splat; and Marjani and Felicity, the team’s abrasive junkie and her straight-arrow counterpart, have grown closer together and truly become friends. The team, which usually struggles to work together long enough to play the sport, have all been given a new outlook by recent events, and their spirits are finally lifting.

With the nonstop clamor of the Splatfest having finally died down with the closing ceremonies last night, the Outcasts are regrouping for lunch at their usual hangout, Café Cardamari, along with Marjani’s younger brother, Turf War DJ and habitual flirt Dodge. After spending the previous day playing Turf War while divided between the two sides, they’re all hoping to catch up with each other and discuss the happenings of the festival. The team still has a lot of room to grow, however, and today, the spotlight shines on two of its members who only rarely make an effort to get along with each other, and are about to learn that they have more in common than they’re ready to admit…

SPLATOON: THE OUTCASTS

Episode 6: “Sound and Fury”

“So Jolokia and I had these guys backed into the corner, right? And Lissy lines up the shot…” Marjani held up her arms as if looking down the sights of a Charger, before mimicking the motion of the recoil of firing, “And I swear, she takes out both of them!” Felicity blushed and giggled. “I keep telling you, Marjie, you got one of them just before I fired,” she insisted. “Sure didn’t seem like it where I was standing,” argued Marjani.

“You think maybe it was a stray ink bullet from your Splatling?” asked Amber, “Slight shot deviation could account for thinking it wasn’t your ink that did it.” “I’m tellin’ you, Lissy shot through the first guy and hit the second!” Marjani asserted. “Could’ve been Jolokia, too,” added Dodge through a mouthful of donut. “She wasn’t close enough to them!” Marjani maintained, “Why doesn’t anyone fuckin’ believe me?!”

“Language, Marjie,” Felicity hushed her friend softly. “Chargers can’t do that,” André finally interjected, his arms crossed as his meal was long since finished. “Oh, yeah? And how do you know?” Marjani challenged him, placing one hand on the table, “You weren’t even there, and you use like, the opposite of Chargers!” “Just how they’re designed,” explained André, “Rumor has it Turf War R&D’s working on changing that, but nothing’s on the market yet.”

“Arrrgh!” a frustrated Marjani finally gave up the argument, going back to eating her meal in defeat. “Aww, cheer up, Marjie,” Felicity tried to console her teammate, putting her hand on Marjani’s shoulder, “I’m sure there’s an explanation for it.” “Yeah, yeah,” muttered Marjani quietly, “I know what I fuckin’ saw…” “So, what about you guys?” asked Dodge, turning to Amber and André, who were seated next to each other, across from their teammates, “Any other good stories?”

“I dunno, we already told the one where we went up against these two,” replied Amber, “We lost more matches than we won yesterday.” André nodded. “Had a couple of good moments, but I can’t remember them all that well,” he added sternly, furrowing his brow. “How’s that?” asked Dodge, “Last I checked, André, my man, you’ve got a crazy good memory.”

André shook his head and cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s, uh… well, there are times where I can’t remember things so well,” he rumbled, “Like when there’s a lot of loud noise, messes with my head, makes it harder to remember anything but the noise later. Still play in Splatfests, but I don’t remember a lot of specifics unless I was focused enough.” “No kiddin’,” replied Dodge with an amazed smirk, “That’s kinda weird.” André simply sighed in response.

“Is that why you hate loud noises so much?” asked Felicity, concerned with André’s well-being. André nodded. “Yeah, part of it,” he confirmed, “Just bugs me in general.” Marjani perked up as André continued. “Wait!” she blurted suddenly, a little too loudly, causing Felicity to jump slightly in her seat, “Is that why you were complainin’ so much at the opening ceremony?! You wanted to go home because loud noise fucks with your head?”

“Marjie, language,” whispered Felicity. “I know, I know,” replied Marjani quietly before turning her attention back to her teammate, “Seriously, though?” André rolled his eyes slightly and grimaced. “Yeah,” he sighed, “Nothing special to it.” Marjani grinned. “Shit, and here I thought you were impenetrable,” she quipped. “Hey, now, Sis,” replied Dodge, “You’re the same way; you hate loud noises, too.”

“It doesn’t make me forget shit, though,” retorted Marjani, “And with you for a brother, ‘course I hate ‘em.” “Hey, my music’s not just loud noise,” argued Dodge. “Oh, yeah?” Marjani smirked as she folded her arms, “Then what about that time you spent four hours playin’ the same damn beat over and over at max volume?” “I-I…!” Dodge’s voice trailed off as he tried and failed to think of a rebuttal to Marjani’s comment, “Th-that was one time! And that’s not even why you hate noise, any–”

“–Don’t,” Marjani growled loudly, her voice suddenly dropping to an uncharacteristically serious tone, “Don’t bring that up. Not here.” “…Right,” Dodge suddenly grew as solemn as his sister, his expression dropping, “S-sorry, Sis.” The group fell silent as Amber, André, and Felicity exchanged nervous glances. “Y-you know, now that I think about it,” stammered Dodge, before clearing his throat, “I might be able to help you guys with your problem.”

“How so?” asked André, raising his eyebrow. “Direct confrontation,” replied Dodge, “We get together somewhere, I bring some of the big guns, and we ramp up the volume until we figure out what your limits are. We repeat it as often as we can until you guys can handle more and more volume.” “That’s sounds stupid as hell,” replied Marjani bluntly. “Marjie, language,” Felicity whispered a third time.

André furrowed his brow pensively. “Stupid, yeah,” he mused, “Stupid enough to work, maybe?” “Aw, c’mon, seriously?” questioned Marjani, “You two can waste your time losin’ your hearin’ tryin’ to do this little therapy thing if you want, but count me out.” “You don’t wanna give it a shot, Sis?” asked Dodge, “At least try it!” Marjani released a grumbling sigh as she rolled her eyes. “Why am I the one who thinks this is never gonna work?” she growled.

“Just once,” interjected André, “If it doesn’t look like it’s gonna work, we’ll call it quits. It’s no scientifically-proven cure, but Dodge is an audio guy; might be onto something, and you’re not giving him enough credit, as usual.” “Wha–!” Marjani’s jaw dropped incredulously, “I give Dodge credit! I told Lissy the backstage passes were from him, didn’t I?” “Technically, it was Marie who told me,” replied Felicity. Marjani groaned again before finally shrugging. “Fine, we’ll try it,” she gave in, “We doin’ anythin’ else tomorrow?”

“I’ve got the day off,” confirmed Dodge. “No practice, but we’ve got a match in the afternoon,” added Amber, “And it’s with Spice Splat again. I’m starting to wonder if Caroline’s doing this on purpose, too, the same way she got our teams mixed together for the Splatfest.” “Oh, we could join them!” exclaimed Felicity, “You know, moral support and all that. And then we can all have our strategy meeting right after, right?” “Actually…” replied Amber with a small grin, “I was thinking that if they’re busy with Dodge, you and I could hang out together.” “What would you want to hang out with Lissy for?” asked Marjani nonchalantly.

“Are we not allowed?” asked Amber, “Just sort of a girl’s day out kind of thing. You know, the kind of stuff you’re not really into.” Marjani glanced back and forth between Felicity and Amber. “B-but Lissy–” she started, before her gaze came to rest on Dodge, realizing that he was out of the loop on Felicity’s secret. “But Lissy what?” Amber smirked as she crossed her arms in victory, taking a small amount of pleasure from seeing her teammate squirm.

“Alright, fine,” Marjani conceded, “Have your little girly-girl day or whatever. No skin off my nose.” “Yay!” Felicity rejoiced quietly as thoughts of what the morning ahead could hold in store for her and her captain. “Alright, let’s get together outside Inkopolis Tower tomorrow at, say, 9?” asked Dodge. “That early?” asked André, “Sure you won’t need more time to set everything up?”

“If I say 10, Sis’ll be there at 11,” retorted Dodge, “You know how she is.” “Just had a Splatfest over it,” agreed André. “And we won!” argued Marjani, “Or did you forget that because of all the loud noise?” André shot Marjani an irritable look. “Don’t push it,” he warned her, “Let’s just agree to be there by 9, got it?” “Fine,” agreed Marjani, “No promises, but I’ll put off goin’ to see Spyke until we’re done with this stupid therapy thing.”

“Great, then it’s settled,” replied Dodge, standing up with his meal tray, “I’m gonna drop by work and see what I can get from the boss in terms of equipment and a nice, quiet, open location for us to do this.” “See you tomorrow, then?” asked André. “Yeah, both of you,” replied Dodge before glancing over to Felicity, “And hopefully you ladies, too?” “Maaaybe,” replied Felicity with a cute smile, “It depends on where we all get together before the match.”

“Back at my place,” Amber spoke up, “The match is at 4, so let’s be there for the strategy meeting around 3.” “Alright, I’ll see you guys around,” said Dodge, walking away as Marjani rubbed her temples and sighed. “Later, Dodge,” she muttered sluggishly. The four resumed finishing their meal in silence as they each contemplated the day ahead, not knowing for certain what it would bring.

Marjani sighed as she adjusted the collar on her jacket and tried once more to rub the sleep from her eyes. She wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to Dodge’s suggestion; perhaps André’s willingness to try it had something to do with it. In the time that they had known each other, André had never been particularly thrilled to be her teammate, especially after she’d flown off the handle at everyone following their first loss to Spice Splat. Perhaps she felt obligated to at least try to get on his good side before their next match with the team, but why did she care?

She, Dodge, and André were all arriving at Blackbelly Skatepark, which was devoid of scheduled matches for the day. Dodge had successfully arranged to get the empty park to themselves, so that they could attempt his harebrained idea of “therapy.” Marjani looked around and breathed a sigh of relief as she realized there was no one else there but them. She couldn’t shake a sinking feeling in her gut that bordered on outright pain, but its source eluded her; she hadn’t even missed breakfast. Worse yet was the familiarity of the sensation.

“Alright, here we are,” Dodge finally spoke, “A nice, quiet, open place.” He led the two over to a pair of speakers set up on either side of a table where he’d set up his controlling equipment. “Geez, Dodge, you got all this shit out here yourself?” asked Marjani, crossing her arms. “I had some help,” explained Dodge, “My co-workers pitched in. And it ain’t shit.” “Steady work must be nice,” mused André. “Playin’ Turf War would be cool, but even if I could, I wouldn’t give up music,” replied Dodge as he moved around behind the table, “It’s part of my soul, you know?”

“‘If you could?’” asked André, “…Have you never even tried Turf War?” “Can’t,” replied Dodge as he turned the equipment on, “Don’t have an ink sac. I’m surprised Sis hasn’t told you guys.” “You don’t–?” André stopped himself from repeating Dodge a second time before continuing, “Wow, that’s…” “–Totally normal for me,” interrupted Dodge, shaking his head with a smile to dissuade André from pitying him, “I’ve lived my whole life like this. I got an infection in it before I was even born. The whole thing was necrotic, so they had to cut it out to save my life.”

“Ever wish you could play Turf War, though?” asked André as he crossed his arms inquisitively. “Course I do,” Dodge affirmed, smirking, “When I was younger, it broke my heart that I’d never be able to play. But I got used to it and decided to do what I could with my life, instead of just sittin’ around feelin’ sorry for myself. I like to think it’s my way of gettin’ back at my ink sac for tryin’ to kill me, and not lettin’ somethin’ that makes me different get in the way of me havin’ an impact on the world.”

André nodded in understanding. “If you two are done with your stupid little heart-to-heart, can we get started?” asked Marjani, “Let’s get this shit over with already.” Dodge nodded. “Everythin’ is ready to go. I’m gonna start with some lower volumes and work my way up,” he explained, “I got some audio straight from a Turf War match, so it’ll be the kinda stuff you guys should be used to. I figure that’s as good a place to start as any.” “Alright, already, just start it,” groaned Marjani, losing her patience with her brother.

Dodge pressed a button on the control unit before moving a pair of volume sliders up. “You guys might wanna stand back a little bit so you’re not this close to the speakers,” he cautioned, picking up a pair of noise-cancelling headphones he’d had on the table and placing them over his ears. The song “Metalopod” could be heard starting up in the background of the noise of a usual Turf War. Marjani grinned and began to laugh as she and André stepped back from the speakers.

“Dodge, if you wanted an excuse to blast my jam, you coulda just asked!” she joked over the noise as she glanced over to André, who was furrowing his brow while Dodge increased the volume. “What’s wrong, big guy?” Marjani quipped, “Come on, we’re just gettin’ started! Pump it up, Dodge!” André shot a dirty look at Marjani before rolling his eyes and looking away. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to concentrate. Dodge continued to increase the volume on the speakers until the sound was resounding around the skatepark.

Marjani kept grinning at André as he started shaking his head intermittently, losing his focus as the volume increased. “Come on, André, you can do it!” Marjani needled her teammate sarcastically, “Didn’t you think this was such a great idea?” She began laughing outright as André covered his ears, grunting slightly and trying to maintain his composure. “Man, what is your malfunction?” she asked, “It’s just a little–”

Marjani was cut short as the Turf War audio suddenly sounded off the unmistakable noise of a Killer Wail special weapon starting up. Her breath caught in her throat as Dodge’s eyes widened. He quickly tried to slide the volume down on the speakers, causing André to snap back to reality just in time to hear a blood-curdling scream coming from his teammate. He jumped in surprise as he looked over to Marjani, who had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other around her own head, sobbing uncontrollably on her knees as Dodge dropped the noise cancellers on the table and rushed to her side.

“Shit!” Dodge hissed, “There was a Killer Wail in there?!” André watched in shock as Dodge knelt down in front of his sister. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” Marjani repeated herself over and over as she tried to control her bawling. “Sis!” Dodge said, taking hold of his sister’s shoulders, “Marjani! It’s okay! I’m here! It’s alright!” Marjani looked her brother in the eye, her quickened breathing slowly for just a moment before she gritted her teeth and screamed again, this time in frustration.

Throwing Dodge’s arms off of her shoulders, she pulled her arm back and, before Dodge could react to what was going on, threw a punch straight into his left cheek, knocking him off balance and onto his back. “You fuckin’ IDIOT!” Marjani screeched as she stood up, tears still streaming down her face, “You blasted a fuckin’ Killer Wail!” “I-I didn’t know!” protested Dodge. “You didn’t KNOW?!” Marjani screamed, “How did you not fuckin’ know?! Didn’t you listen to it first to check?!” Dodge simply sat wordlessly, still stunned from Marjani’s punch.

“Fuckin’ idiot!” Marjani screeched, turning away and storming off, “Fuck this! Fuck it all!” André took a few steps over to Dodge’s side and held out his hand for Dodge to take, putting the other on the younger Inkling’s back to help him up onto his feet. “Sis, wait!” shouted Dodge, starting to follow after his sister. “Fuck you!” yelled Marjani one last time, throwing up her middle finger over her shoulder as she continued walking away.

“Let her go, Dodge,” suggested André, putting his hand on Dodge to hold him back, “…You alright? Looked like one hell of a punch.” “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Dodge replied, rubbing his jaw, “I’m not bleedin’ or anythin’, am I?” “Nah,” André confirmed, “…The hell was that?” “Sis doesn’t like loud noise, but she can put up with most of it no problem,” replied Dodge, “Mostly it’s just Killer Wails that get her riled up.” “That was a little more than ‘riled up,’ Dodge,” argued André, “Gotta have a reason.”

“Sh-she… doesn’t like people to know,” stammered Dodge, “I shouldn’t tell you. When she’s ready, she’ll talk about it.” “Now would be a really good time for her to be ready,” said André, “Not sure if you’re aware, but she just punched you over it.” “Eh, she’s hit me harder before,” said Dodge, “I’m used to it.” “That’s… not healthy,” replied André in surprise. “Nah, it doesn’t happen often,” Dodge reassured him, “And she only does it when I’ve got it comin’. It’s almost always when I do somethin’ really stupid… like that.”

“Almost?” André questioned. “A year or so ago, she was lashin’ out a lot more, and over little stuff more often than not,” explained Dodge, walking back over to the control unit for the speakers and turning the equipment off entirely, “Mom and Dad lost their patience with her and made her get her own place.” André sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Piece of work, that one…” he mumbled, “How do you put up with her when even your parents won’t?” “Because I know her better than they do anymore,” replied Dodge pensively before looking André in the eye, “And I’m not givin’ up on her.”

“Dodge…” André murmured, “What happened to her? What made her like this? Is it just the addictions?” “You gotta ask her that yourself,” replied Dodge, shaking his head, “Like I said, ain’t my place to tell you.” “Well, she sure won’t,” growled André, “More likely Felicity, maybe Amber, but not me.” “If you’re that interested, I suggest you find someone else who might know,” replied Dodge, “But for now, it looks like my idea was a bust after all. You go ahead and peace out, I’m gonna call up my co-workers and we’re gonna haul all this stuff back.”

André sighed again as he tried to process everything he’d just seen, waving half-heartedly to Dodge to acknowledge his suggestion as he turned to leave the skatepark. He breathed deeply as he glanced back to the other squid. Dodge, not realizing André was looking in his direction, wiped his eyes on his sleeve before continuing to rub his sore jaw. André looked back to the entrance of the skatepark to see if Marjani was still in sight, but she was long gone.

André rubbed his left temple as he walked down the hall of Amber’s apartment building, his right hand holding the strap on the Roller bag slung over his shoulder. He let out a rumbling sigh as he arrived at Amber’s door and knocked. “Amber? Felicity?” he bellowed, “You two back yet?” “Come on in!” he heard Amber’s voice on the other side, “Door’s unlocked!” His large fingers gripping the knob gingerly, as if it could break were he to simply grab it, André opened the door gently and peered into the room.

Amber and Felicity were seated upon the former’s bed, side-by-side. Felicity was sporting expertly-braided tentacles and sparkling blue fingernails, while Amber seemed to have tried a new lip gloss color – or any at all, for that matter. Amber was busy on her phone, no doubt deleting spam as usual. “Hi, André!” Felicity beamed, presenting her nails proudly, “Like ‘em? I thought I’d try something new!” André smirked and nodded. “Just you?” asked Amber, “I figured you and Marjani would be showing up together. How’d everything go?”

“She isn’t here yet…?” asked André, furrowing his brow before sighing in realization. “Did something happen?” asked Felicity, “Is she alright?” “I’m not sure,” replied André, “Things went south after just a couple minutes, and she took off.” “Went south… in what sense?” asked Amber, raising an eyebrow. “Turns out she really hates Killer Wails,” revealed André, “Dodge played the sound of one on accident and she lost it. She punched him for it. I’ve never seen her like that.”

“Where is she now?!” asked Felicity, panicking as she stood up off of the bed, “Where did she go?!” “Not sure,” replied André, “Thought maybe she’d go home and then show up here for the meeting. Being late’s nothing new for her, but what I saw… I don’t know if she’ll even remember we have a match. Might be better not to wait and see.” “I’ll try calling her,” Amber reassured the others, opening up her contacts list on her phone and dialing Marjani’s number.

She held her phone up to her ear as the other two silently waited. They could barely hear their own breathing as the quiet dial tones on Amber’s phone continued, her expression slowly becoming crestfallen as Marjani failed to answer the call. Eventually, Amber shook her head in defeat and hung up. “She’s not answering,” she said as she shook her head in dismay , “She needs to set up her voicemail already.” “I keep trying to remind her,” added Felicity, “But I don’t want to seem like I’m nagging; I think that makes her care about it less.”

André sighed, setting his Roller down and going back over to the door. “Wait, where are you going?” asked Amber, “What about the meeting?” “Won’t do us much good if we don’t have our fourth teammate, and I doubt that VX guy is just gonna magically show up to bail us out this time,” replied André, “I’m gonna go look for her. If I’m not back in half an hour, can you two get my Roller over to the tower? I’ll meet you there in time for the match.” “We could go with you,” suggested Amber.

“No, I’ll find her myself,” maintained André, “Should’ve gone after her in the first place. Seemed like the best thing was to just let her vent.” “Why didn’t you stop her?” asked Felicity. André paused with his hand on the doorknob, hanging his head guiltily before looking back to the other two. “…Because she doesn’t like me. You know that,” he rumbled, “She probably couldn’t have hurt me if I intervened, but… I didn’t want her to try. Things don’t need to be even worse between us.”

He opened the door and stepped out into the hall before turning back around. “Like I said, if I’m not back soon, skip the meeting and get to the tower,” he repeated, “I’ll meet you there, with or without her.” “Where are you going to start?” Amber questioned, “Any idea where she would’ve gone?” André put his hand on the outside doorknob again, nodding solemnly at Amber. “Just one,” he confirmed, “Hope I’m right.” He closed the door, this time slightly less gently than when he’d entered.

Spyke breathed out a puff of smoke lazily as he slouched in his shop, located at the end of a shaded back alley near Inkopolis Tower. He had spent the last few days cleaning up the area and adding some needed decoration, such as hanging some exotic-looking rugs he’d found across wires to create a patchy “roof” of sorts, and putting out scented candles and incense burners that helped to mask the persistent stenches of tobacco or whatever else he had burning at any given time. This year’s Turf War season had caused his “business” to attract more customers than before, much to his delight, so his alleyway had to be at least a bit presentable.

He took a sip of his whiskey, his bracelets jangling as he raised his glass, inspected the finer details of the cigar he was smoking, and scoffed quietly before taking another puff. He glanced over to a nearby Inkling sporting ghostly pale skin, unsettling, sleepless purple eyes, and lime green tentacles, leaning against the wall to Spyke’s left while smoking a cigarette with a grim look on his face, which bore a sizable scar that extended from just below his right eye across his cheekbone and down to his jawline. He wore a Rockenberg Black t-shirt and a pair of Black Trainers.

“Wot ‘bout you, Nico?” asked Spyke, “It’s been a slow afternoon. Fink we oughta close up early fer the day?” Nico exhaled a green-colored smoke through his nostrils and shook his head before jerking it to his left, toward the entrance to the alley, where a massive silhouette was blocking a portion of what little light was allowed into Spyke’s dim shop now that he’d put the ceiling up. Spyke looked back to the entrance of the shop, his eye caught by the tall, muscular Inkling standing a few meters ahead of him, and gave a wide, disconcerting grin.

Spyke pushed his lanky, gaunt form onto its feet, his bony fingers continuing to grip his drink and cigar, rising nearly to the height of the Inkling before him, a difference obscured by the urchin’s spiny head. “Well, well, well…” he mused theatrically, “What brings André the Giant Squid to my… humble establishment?” The Inkling stepped forward, his face now better illuminated. “I’m loo–” he started before being cut off by the tipsy, poncho-clad tramp.

“–No, wait, lemme guess…” interrupted Spyke, gesturing slightly toward André with his cigar before taking another swig of his whiskey as he pondered for a moment before continuing knowingly, “…Yer lookin’ fer MJ.” André raised his eyebrow at the thought of someone calling Marjani “MJ,” but folded his arms and continued the conversation anyway. “How’d you guess?” he asked. Spyke took another puff of his cigar and exhaled, inadvertently blowing the smoke into the Inkling’s face, grinning as though he fancied himself to be some all-knowing guru.

“‘Cause she told me ‘at André the Giant Squid’s on ‘er new team a while back. And she came by here earlier in a… right foul mood, rantin’ about ‘er bruvva or sumfin’,” he replied nonchalantly, “We passed a blunt ‘round so she could calm down a li’l ‘fore she took off. Didn’t say where she was ‘eaded, though; sorry, mate.” André grimaced before continuing. “What was she saying about her brother?” he asked as Spyke continued his smoking.

“Ya know ‘er bruvva, right? Wot was ‘is name?” asked Spyke, “Ten-Dodgy, or sumfin’?” “Tendaji. Dodge for short. I know him,” replied André, fighting the urge to glance at the green-tentacled Inkling smoking nearby, who was staring unflinchingly at the giant Inkling. Spyke took another gulp of his whiskey and cleared his throat. “Right, well, I don’t remember exactly wot it was; sumfin’ ‘bout him bein’ loud. Was a li’l too stoned ta listen proper,” he admitted.

“I was there. We both hate loud noises, and he was trying to help us get better at dealing with it,” André explained, “But she completely lost it when he played the sound of a Killer Wail on accident.” Spyke’s eye widened and his grin vanished as he realized the implication of André’s revelation. “Oh… OH,” he muttered, repeating his reaction as if trying to add some needless emphasis, “Well, now ‘at explains a lot.” “Can you tell me anything about that?” André questioned, “Dodge won’t talk.”

Spyke nodded slowly as his eye glanced about, almost as though he was looking for Marjani herself to make sure she wouldn’t overhear him. “…I might, mate. ‘Ave a seat,” he offered, turning back toward his usual spot and walking back over to it while lazily gesturing toward the other Inkling, “Nico, mix up a drink fer André, would ya?” “Not old enough,” interjected André. Spyke’s lowered head perked up at this, betraying how taken aback he was, and he turned back around to face his guest, sizing him up in confusion.

“…But yer, like, nine feet tall, mate, how’re ya not old enough…?” he asked quietly, “You sure? Ain’t no one ‘round ‘ere wot can tell ya wot ta do… Come on, live a little, mate. Nico mixes a mean Old Fashioned.” André shook his head and waved his hand sternly as if demonstrating his resolve. “Not here for vices, Spyke. Got a match later, and I’d rather say sharp,” he countered, “If underage drinking doesn’t bother you, at least respect that.” Spyke shrugged with a slight smile.

“Alright, whatever, nix the drink, Nico,” he admitted defeat with a wave of his cigar, complying with André’s staunch refusal, before settling down back into his usual seat, the gigantic Inkling sitting down in front of him and crossing his arms. Setting his whiskey down next to himself, he flexed his emaciated fingers with a quiet crackling. He took another puff of his cigar before sighing. “…You know, I been finkin’, why do ‘ey call it ‘marowana?’ S’not even made wif arowana. S’bloody kelp…” he pondered, before placing the cigar down on an ashtray and breathing deeply.

His eye lolled upward slightly, away from André’s gaze, as he reminisced about Marjani’s past. “Awright, well, where do I begin…?” he asked himself quietly, closing his eye to think momentarily before deciding on his starting point. “MJ didn’t always used ta be the way she is now, if ya couldn’t guess. She was… a lot brighter,” he continued, looking back to André, “I didn’t know ‘er personally ‘en, but I was watchin’ ‘er Turf War match when it ‘appened.” “‘It…?’” asked André, raising an eyebrow. Spyke nodded and sighed.

“At Moray Towers. ‘Er team was goin’ up against ‘at one international group, those, uh, Sharkfin girls, I fink,” Spyke recalled, “MJ might’ve been nicer, but she was just as aggressive back ‘en as she is now; decided ta head straight fer the enemy base at the beginning o’ the match, ya know, ‘ead ‘em off an’ cause trouble on their side o’ the field. She knew it was risky an’ would probably get ‘er splatted, but ya know, that’s how she plays – tries ta take out more o’ ‘em ‘fore gettin’ splatted ‘erself just ta keep ‘em occupied.”

André was silent as he focused intently on Spyke’s tale. “Anyway, just as she was comin’ up the side o’ one o’ the towers, someone on the other team planted down a Killer Wail. ‘Ey were just tryin’ ta hit one of ‘er teammates on the other side o’ the field, didn’t know she was ‘at close…” Spyke continued, “MJ got ta the top o’ the wall an’ took it point-blank… She never saw it comin’.” “So she got splatted?” asked André.

“Worse. When she respawned, she was coughin’ up a mix o’ ‘er own ink an’ blood. She was so close ta the Wail ‘at the sound blast ‘ad messed up ‘er internal organs, done some real bad damage,” Spyke’s eyelid drooped as he solemnly called back the memories of the day, “‘Ey called off the match, an’ she spent the next monf in the ‘ospital. She was in pain the whole time, an’ kept takin’ painkillers even after she got out. Liked the way ‘ey made ‘er feel.”

“That’s how it started, then?” asked André. Spyke nodded, looking André in the eye again in resignation. “When she ran out, she came ta me knowin’ I’d be the kind o’ guy who could ‘ook ‘er up wif more,” he continued, “‘At’s ‘how I met ‘er.” “So you got her addicted to all these harder drugs, then?” André gritted his teeth as the corner of his mouth curled into a snarl, “Took advantage of her situation to get yourself a new regular, did you?”

“I never gave ‘er anyfin she didn’t ask fer, never pressured ‘er ta try anyfin’ new or nuffin’,” retorted Spyke, “I make it my job ta ‘elp people, no matter wot it is ‘ey need. Ain’t always strictly legal, but–” “–But, let me guess, ‘you mean well,’ so it’s all okay?” growled André, “No, of course, what people do with the drugs you help them get is their business, right? Not like you’re an enabler or anything. No ink on your hands, is that it?”

“Look, I’m MJ’s dealer, yeah, but don’t fink I haven’t done nuffin’ to try and ‘elp ‘er kick it, too. I’m ‘bout as far from perfect as a bloke can get, but s’not like all I care ‘bout’s my bottom line…!” Spyke insisted as his volume escalated, “I’ve kept ‘er away from the more dangerous stuff an’ made sure she never gets too much o’ anyfin’. If she weren’t such a friend, I’d say I practically babysit ‘er – an’ I wager I do a better bloody job of it ‘an you an’ your teammates, eh, considerin’ you came here hopin’ ta find ‘er?”

The two fell silent as Spyke realized he’d crossed a line with his last statement. André sighed and his expression fell as he knew Spyke was right – the urchin knew Marjani better than her own teammates did, especially André himself; while she was certainly difficult to work with, André’s own disapproval of her was also partly to blame for their poor relationship. Spyke stammered for a moment, his breath out of sync with his desire to speak as he collected himself. “Sorry. ‘At was outta line,” he apologized, “…But you asked, mate.”

André rose to his feet silently, still avoiding eye contact with the urchin. “Guess I did…” he agreed glumly as he turned back around, “Thanks for the story. Sorry for wasting your time.” He started making his way back to the entrance of the alley. “…It weren’t a waste,” retorted Spyke. André stopped and started to look back over his shoulder. “…Good luck findin’ ‘er, mate,” Spyke added. André turned forward again. “Take care, Spyke,” he murmured, resuming his exit. “Always do,” replied the urchin quietly as André walked back out into the sunlight, briefly casting a shadow into the alley before vanishing into Inkopolis Plaza.

André looked up to the doors to Inkopolis Tower before him and sighed. He hadn’t managed to find Marjani in time; he had spent too long listening to Spyke’s story, but the urchin had been unable to provide him with any leads as to his teammate’s current whereabouts. His only hope was that she had remembered the strategy meeting and shown up at Amber’s apartment after he’d left. He stepped forward, the automatic doors sliding open to clear his path.

“Don’t worry, he said he’d be here,” he heard a familiar voice speaking as he looked around, spotting his teammates nearby. Amber had her hand on Felicity’s shoulder, reassuring her that André would arrive before the match. Hearing the doors open behind them, Amber glanced over her shoulder and spotted André. “See, just like I said,” she added, causing Felicity to turn around. As the two parted, André realized that Marjani was present, facing the two of them, and now him. “M-Marjani,” he stammered in surprise, “You’re… here.”

“Yeah,” Marjani murmured sheepishly, “I was just upstairs. Had to… I had to say sorry to Dodge.” “That’s…” André was at a loss for words and simply nodded. “I kinda gave you the runaround, huh?” asked Marjani, a hint of hoarseness still in her voice, “Amber said you were out lookin’ for me.” André looked to Amber before nodding at Marjani. “Yeah,” he replied, “Looks like I was the late one for once… You did remember we have a match, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” replied Marjani in annoyance, slinging her Splatling’s bag off of her shoulder, “Dude, we’re goin’ up against Spice Splat, I’m not forgettin’ that.” André turned to Felicity. “Were you two okay taking my Roller over here, or do I have to go back for it?” Felicity nodded, pointing over to André’s Roller bag, which was leaning against a nearby wall. “Thanks,” André said, walking over to the bag and kneeling down to unzip it, “Wasn’t too heavy, was it?”

“Nah, we did fine,” replied Felicity, “We’re stronger than we look.” She held up her arms as if flexing, beaming at her teammate. André smirked and shook his head, chuckling quietly as he rose back to his feet, his Roller on his shoulder. “The others not here yet?” he asked as the doors to the tower opened once more. As if on cue, the four members of Spice Splat walked into the tower. “Sorry we’re late, everyone!” shouted Caroline, her usual grin plastered on her face.

“Everything’s backwards today…” muttered Amber, “First André’s last to show, then Spice Splat is here after all of us…” “Butch here…” continued Caroline, gesturing to the team’s Inkbrusher, “Almost forgot about our match!” “Oi, I didn’t fuggedaboutit!” protested Butch, “My uncle–” “–Had yuh runnin’ an errand or some odduh bilge, we know,” interrupted Moruga, “We’ve heard it before, Butch. De point is dat it needs to stop if yuh are as committed to dis team as yuh say.”

“I know, I know,” insisted Butch irritatedly, “Come on, we ain’t got much time ‘til da match. Let’s get goin’.” Jolokia smiled at the other team, cradling her Tri-Slosher. “It’s good to see you all again,” she greeted them politely, before making eye contact with André. Her smile fell slightly as she looked away from him. “We should really catch up after this,” she continued, a little more quietly than before, “We haven’t all been together in one place since that match in the Splatfest, and we were too busy playing against each other.”

André nodded in her direction before speaking up. “We could… go get coff–” he was cut off as the intercom in the room sounded off. “Teams Spice Splat and Outcasts to Walleye Warehouse, please,” the voice spoke, “Teams Spice Splat and Outcasts, to Walleye Warehouse.” “That’s our cue!” declared Caroline as she adjusted her grip on her Mini Splatling, “Don’t hold back just because we’re friends now, Amber!” “Us? Friends?” Amber scoffed as the two teams made their way to the grates, “Maybe someday, Humboldt.”

“Ouch, girl,” replied Caroline. “Looks like things really are backwards today,” added Felicity confidently, “Now Amber’s the one burning you guys!” “Zip it, squirt,” snapped Butch, “Don’t give your girl too much credit. Boss set herself up for dat one.” “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is, rich boy?” interjected Marjani, “Or are you scared of a little girl with a Charger?” “Enough banter,” bellowed Moruga, “Or we’re goin’ ta be late.” The eight battlers, all chomping at the bit, transformed into their cephalopod forms and dropped through the grates.

The four Outcasts rose out of the indigo ink at their spawn point, weapons at the ready. “Alright, Outcasts,” Amber addressed her teammates, hoping to rally them, “I know we had to skip the strategy meeting again, but at least we know what to expect from these guys. Let’s show Spice Splat what we’ve learned.” Felicity nodded with a dubious smile, psyching herself up for the match ahead, even though none of her teammates were facing her to see this. “Marjani…” murmured André quietly as he glanced over to his teammate, “You… gonna be okay for this?”

“Yeah,” replied Marjani confidently, sounding insulted by André’s insinuation, “Relax, I’m over it. I’ll be fine.” André tightened his grip on his Roller and breathed deeply to calm himself, turning his focus and his gaze forward once more. “If you say so…” he whispered. “Three!” the usual voice spoke over the loudspeakers. “Here we go, guys,” Amber prepared herself, holding her Octoshot Replica at the ready. “Two!” the voice continued, “One!” Felicity held her Squiffer up, ready to begin charging it the moment the match began. “Go!”

The four Outcasts rushed forward from the starting point, the narrow spawn area restricting them into moving together early on. “Marjani, you’re closest to the left path, I want you inking that! André, take the right!” barked Amber, “Felicity, hop across the containers and try to keep them on their toes once they get to the center! I’m going right into the action, so I want you covering my blind spots!” The teammates fanned out, each following Amber’s orders.

André kept an eye on the turf ahead as he lumbered down the ramp along the Outcasts’ right side of the warehouse, a high wall on his left completely obscuring his view of the rest of the action. As he reached the bottom, he took a moment to survey the area and make sure he hadn’t been spotted. He could see Moruga taking his place on Spice Splat’s equivalent of the vantage point where Felicity had planted herself, removed from the action that would no doubt unfold in the center but a prime sniper’s perch.

André made a right and began making his way around another shorter wall, covering as much turf as he could on that side. As he inked underneath a grate, he suddenly felt the sting of Spice Splat’s signature red ink landing on him. He quickly ducked into his squid form and swam a short distance back through his own path to wash the red ink off of himself. “Damn, can’t tell if he’s still here or not,” he heard a voice above mutter, “How’s Ninja Squid even work fuh somebody dat big?”

André emerged from the indigo ink to see Butch standing above. “Hey, you are still here!” shouted Butch with a grin, “Wazza madda, Kraken? Scared ta come up here and get me?” “Would if I could, Butch!” replied André, “You know I can’t ink those walls.” Butch threw back his head and let out a laugh. “Oh, I bet youse would like dat, wouldn’t ya?” he taunted his opponent, “Every time you’ve used dat famous Kraken, youse always pick me ta go aftah.”

André gritted his teeth and glanced to his left as he swung his Roller menacingly, repainting the ground beneath Butch but missing the squid himself. “Oi, watch da tempah!” Butch mocked him, “I mean, I get it if youse hate me ‘cause I took your spot! Youse scared dey like me bettah than when youse was rollin’ with dem, I’m bettin’! Look, Kraken, youse don’t gotta be jealous! I got mad respect for youse!”

“Was just re-inking the turf, Butch,” replied André with a smirk, “I know I can’t hit you up there. Don’t think so highly of yourself.” Butch gritted his teeth and swung his Inkbrush wildly, flinging ink all around below himself, before dropping through the grates in his squid form and transforming back. “I’m not jealous, Butch. I’m glad they’ve been doing well without me; that they found someone new who could take my place so quickly. I don’t resent you for that,” André continued, Butch’s reaction betraying that they had traded the psychological high ground.

Butch planted his Inkbrush on the ground and rushed toward André, only for the latter to place his own Roller down, rolling forward just enough to trap the bristles of Butch’s brush under it as he neared his massive predecessor. As Butch tried to yank his weapon free, André leaned forward and looked his replacement in the eye. “What I don’t like is your overgrown ego,” he growled, “Sure, you might be an ‘Inkbrush Prodigy,’ and good enough to be my replacement, but I find it insulting that they picked such a loudmouth to fill my shoes. I don’t care if you’re all talk or not, Butch; but you do it too much.”

Before Butch could react with a witty comeback, André continued pushing his Roller forward, splatting his horrified successor and sending him back to the other team’s spawn. Taking no time to relish his minor victory, he continued pushing forward, inking whatever he could of Butch’s handiwork before turning his attention to the center of the battlefield, where Amber was huddled behind a stack of crates smack in the middle of the flat, open area, taking cover from Moruga’s shots.

André kept a careful eye on Moruga’s targeting sight as he made his way over to rendezvous with his teammate. “Need a hand, Captain?” he asked as Amber smiled at the sight of him. “Boy, am I glad to see you!” she sighed in relief, “Felicity helped me pin down Jolokia and get her out of Marjani’s way. She kept going on up their right path. I saw you working out your frustrations with Butch over there. How’d you get him to come down to you like that?”

“Just told him he wasn’t the most important thing in the universe,” quipped André. Amber stifled her laughter with a quiet snort. “Asshole had it coming,” she replied, “…So I’m still not sure where Caroline is, but I’m worried Marjani’s gonna get herself splatted up there that close to their spawn, especially with Jolokia and Butch getting back out here any second now. I think you oughta get up that way and back her up. There’s enough of our ink that you should be able to slip past Moruga with Ninja Squid, but I’ll give you some cover fire to draw his attention.”

André nodded and transformed into his squid form, leaving Amber to fend for herself as he swam toward the side of the field that Marjani had taken from the start, making his way up Spice Splat’s equivalent of the ramp that he had taken at Amber’s first orders. “Alright, Oaxaca, let’s dance!” shouted Amber as she sprang out from behind the boxes, hoping to draw and evade the sniper’s fire. As she pressed forward, she looked up to where Moruga had been standing, only to spot a different squid in his place – Caroline.

“Guess again, girl!” replied Caroline, unleashing a barrage of ink from her Mini Splatling. Retreating back in her indigo-colored ink to the safety of the boxes, Amber panted heavily as she realized her mistake. “Shit!” she hissed to herself, “Caroline’s there now?! But then where did…?!” She looked over to where André had gone after Marjani. “No!” she yelped, “That’s a narrow passage with no way out but forward or back! If he catches them in there…!”

As André made his way toward the top of the slope, he sprang out of his squid form, spotting Marjani ahead of him. Looking past her, however, he saw another figure arriving on the ledge above them, scowling callously at his opponents. “Marjani!” shouted André, rushing forward to his teammate as he saw the telltale gleam of Moruga’s tentacles beneath his beret. He clenched his Roller, reaching the end of the slope where Marjani was turning around to face him, just as Moruga activated his special weapon.

Time slowed as Moruga’s Killer Wail started up. André rushed toward Marjani as she looked back over her shoulder in horror, the sound of the Killer Wail alerting her to what was coming. Without thinking, André swung his Roller from left to right, knocking Marjani out of the corridor through its only exit, into Spice Splat’s territory. He looked at Moruga in a combination of surprise and fury for just a split second before the Killer Wail went off, sending a blast of sound straight down the corridor.

Marjani breathed heavily, tears streaming from her clenched eyes as she squeezed her Splatling’s handle until her knuckles were white. As the screech of the Killer Wail faded, she slowly realized that she hadn’t been splatted, and stood up in Spice Splat’s red ink, looking around and seeing no other players around her. “Wha… what?” she muttered to herself as she struggled to process what had just transpired.

“Shit!” she hissed, realizing that André had taken the blast from the Killer Wail in her place, “That was…!” Before Moruga could come around the corner and get her in his sights, she quickly transformed into her squid form and Super Jumped all the way back to the Outcasts’ spawn point. She took a few steps forward as she waited for André to respawn from the pool of ink. After a few seconds, he rematerialized, dropping his Roller and falling to his knees. He grunted between heavy breaths as his eyes darted aimlessly.

“André!” Marjani shouted, dropping her Splatling into the ink with a distinct plop and putting her hands on her teammate’s shoulders, “André! Pull it together!” André’s eyes finally stopped moving as his breathing slowed back down to a normal rate, and he looked Marjani in the eye. “That’s it, big guy,” she whispered, “It’s alright. I’m here.” “…Why?” asked André quietly. “Why am I here?” asked Marjani, “We’re in the middle of a Turf War match, you big lug. You didn’t… forget, did you?”

André sighed. “N-no,” he muttered, rising back to his feet and picking up his Roller, “That’s… exactly why I was asking. If we’re in the middle of a match, you oughta be out there inking, not back here at spawn. Unless… did I… you didn’t get hit by it too, did you?” Marjani shook her head. “No…” she muttered sheepishly, “I-I… I had to make sure you’d be okay. I mean…” She struggled to find the right words, awkwardly breaking eye contact with her teammate.

“…You know, just… after what you were doin’ over at Blackbelly earlier, I-I thought the noise might fuck you up,” she stammered a little more loudly, picking up her Splatling again, “That’s the last thing we need right now. You can… you know, cry about it or whatever if you need to later.” André smirked before slapping his own cheek lightly to make sure he had completely snapped back to reality. “Come on, we’ve wasted too much time here,” he suggested, stepping off of the spawn point, “Amber and Felicity need us. Let’s get back out–”

Before André could finish, the figures of their other two teammates suddenly materialized out of the ink behind him. “Ugh!” groaned Amber before noticing André and Marjani. Realizing all four of them were back at their own spawn point, her jaw dropped slightly in surprise before she pointed to the battlefield. “Don’t just stand there staring!” she ordered, “We just wiped! They’re gonna be pushing hard now and none of us are down there to hold the line!”

“Shit!” spat Marjani as she turned around, “Come on, fuck strategy, let’s just get out there and stop them!” “Language, Marjie!” Felicity scolded her teammate. “No, for once, I agree,” retorted André as the four transformed into their squid forms and swam forward toward the center of the map together, “No time for orders now.” The four didn’t make it very far before encountering Spice Splat’s signature red ink.

“Wait, who got Marjani?” asked Caroline nonchalantly as she fired her Splatling, sweeping it horizontally to splatter her ink in as wide of an area as she could. “Wasn’t me!” replied Butch as he zipped around behind his teammates with his Inkbrush, inking spots they’d missed. “I thought I didn’t get ‘er wit’ my Killer Wail,” added Moruga, “Jolokia?” Jolokia simply shook her head as the eight members of the two teams closed in on each other in a chaotic flurry of red and indigo.

“Nobody fuckin’ got me!” shouted Marjani over the cacophony, “I just jumped back to spawn!” “Language!” added Felicity quietly. “Wait, so you’re the only one who hasn’t been splatted yet?” asked Caroline, “Geez, you guys were right; things are backwards today!” “Then we’re on track to turn this around and win for once!” quipped Amber. As the Outcasts dodged splatters of red ink, trying to push back with their deep purple, a whistle suddenly sounded out.

“Wait, what?!” asked Amber, looking around in confusion. Moruga began to chuckle. “I see yuh took my advice to heart,” he laughed, “Yuh forgot to keep track of de time limit.” Amber hung her head, knowing without a doubt that the Outcasts had been pushed back and defeated. “I was really hoping we could turn it around… and I said it and everything…” she muttered, “…What even happened? We were doing well up until that last minute or so.”

She turned around, facing Marjani. “You jumped to spawn,” she said accusingly, “What for?” Marjani looked to André sheepishly before looking back at the captain. “I-I was on their side with Moruga on my ass,” she muttered, “Was tryin’ not to get splatted.” Amber put her hands on her hips and sighed. “Well, that’s not so bad,” she admitted, “Might’ve been able to get some of their side inked, but at least you got out of there instead of letting yourself get splatted like usual. You could’ve jumped to one of us out there in the middle, though.” “Didn’t know if you guys were safe to jump to,” retorted Marjani.

“Sounds like you guys are learning,” Caroline acknowledged the group, “Keep it up. I legit wanna lose to you guys at least once before the end of the season.” “Speak fuh yourself, Boss!” snapped Butch, his mouth curled into a snarl, “I ain’t losin’ to dese amateurs! Not today, not evah!” “Play nice, Butch,” replied Caroline, without so much as glancing over her shoulder to her Inkbrusher, “Geez, who put a lionfish down your shirt?” Butch simply muttered incoherently to himself, folding his arms as he shot a look at André, who simply smirked back.

“Alright, you guys, let’s get going,” sighed Amber. “Turf War’s closing up for the day. Almost time for dinner,” added Caroline, “You guys wanna go grab something with us?” “What do you guys think?” asked Amber, turning to her teammates. “It could be fun,” said Felicity. André simply nodded in agreement. “Would be nice to not be at each other’s throats for once,” he added. “Nah, not me, I’ve, uh…” Marjani stammered, “I’ve got somewhere to be.”

“You sure?” asked Caroline, “I’ll even treat you guys.” Marjani hung her head and put her hands on her hips. “Tempting,” she said, “But I’m gonna pass.” “Alright, suit yourself,” Caroline acceded, “Let’s get back to our spawns.” She turned around and headed back toward Spice Splat’s spawn point, her teammates following behind. The Outcasts began to do the same, heading up the slope near where the match had started, Amber and Felicity leading the way.

“Marjani,” grunted André quietly. Marjani looked up to her teammate as they walked side-by-side. “What?” she asked defensively, as if her teammate was going to scold her for declining Caroline’s offer. “Sorry for pushing you,” André rumbled quietly, not making eye contact with her, “With my Roller.” Marjani looked away for a moment to wipe her eye before clearing her throat. “N-nah,” she stuttered, “Th-thanks.” André simply nodded in acknowledgement.

“H-hey, so,” continued Marjani, “I’m gonna go drop by Spyke’s. You, uh… you wanna come with?” André smiled, but shook his head. “Not really my thing,” he countered, “I’m gonna stick with the others for dinner. But thanks for the offer.” “Nah, man, that’s cool,” replied Marjani, “You know, you do you, man. But if you change your mind–” “–I know where to look,” André said. Marjani smiled behind her Skull Bandana as the two arrived back at the spawn point with their teammates, each transforming into their squid forms to return to Inkopolis Tower.

SPLATOON: THE OUTCASTS

EPISODE END

Shelley Quinn hummed the tune to one of the Squid Sisters’ recent singles, Marie’s “Tide Goes Out,” as she scrubbed a cast iron pan in hot water, the sunlight pouring in through the window directly in front of her kitchen sink. Courtesy of her child, she had heard the song far too many times recently and the beautiful, somber melody was stuck in her head, not that she minded.

Placing the pan upside-down on a towel with the rest of the dishes she had just finished washing so it could air-dry, she took another towel hanging on the handle of the oven door and dried her hands with it, just in time for the phone to ring. She continued humming as she stepped over to the other side of the kitchen and picked up the phone. “Hello?” she said sweetly, greeting whomever it was that had called. Her warm smile slowly faded as she recognized the voice on the other end.

“Oh, Fingal, hello… It’s… been a while.”

#splatoon #outcasts #splatoon the outcasts #amber #andre #marjani #felicity

1 note · View note

thesinglesjukebox · 6 years

Video

youtube

BTS - FAKE LOVE

[6.25]

Everyone's favorite #1 worldwide Korean group...

Joshua Minsoo Kim: This past August, I eagerly assumed my role as the new sponsor for our high school's Asian Pop Culture club. The name, as I had been informed, wasn't entirely accurate: the group of students who met were primarily there because of a shared interest in K-pop. At the first meeting, I witnessed an ethnically diverse group of teenagers proficiently dancing to one of those "K-pop Dance Game" videos on YouTube. I was immensely moved; I had seen it many times before online, but to see it in person felt like a strong affirmation of my Korean-American identity, especially since I never felt much of that throughout my own teenage years. Several months later, I had an interesting conversation with one of my students about BTS. She had informed me that her younger sister was obsessed, but this proved concerning because her sibling had declared on more than one occasion that she "hated being Vietnamese" and "wished she were Korean." It immediately brought to mind Thai singer Phi Sadoet's "Sao Kaoli," a contemporary luk thung song that finds a boy lamenting how his girlfriend's interest in K-pop and Korean dramas had left him by the wayside. Considering luk thung played a crucial role in bridging the gap between urban and rural societies in Thailand, and historically featured lyrics about country folk being enamored by the city, "Sao Kaoli" posits a 21st century analogue: Thai people are losing pride in their heritage due to Korean cultural imperialism. During my conversation with the student, I realized how myopic I had been; in my celebration of K-pop's continued successes, I had forgotten that its impact on my self-worth wasn't necessarily transferrable to all other Asians. None of this is anyone's fault per se, but it's important to be mindful of how the hallyu can unintentionally arouse feelings of isolation amongst non-Korean Asians. Of course, one of the oft-cited reasons for BTS's international stardom has been their politically conscious lyrics and how it's consistently reflected in their extramusical affairs. And when I listen to "Fake Love," I hear the same poignant message of self-acceptance that's been touted throughout their career. They've affirmed many fans of who they are, but here, they're forcing them to wrestle with any persisting struggles with identity, duplicity, and self-love. The numerous tortured vocal deliveries and antiseptic, self-contained atmosphere provide a space to do just that. Each time I put on "Fake Love," I'm reminded of that conversation with my student. My only hope is that her younger sister--and ARMYs around the world--will use this song as a conduit through which they can love themselves just a little bit more, including their non-Korean cultural identities. [6]

Kat Stevens: My sister rang me up at the weekend to ask why we hadn't covered this song here at TSJ yet (for context: she also was furiously WhatsApping me during this year's Olympic closing ceremony, complaining that EXO were a poor substitute for BTS). I thought it only polite to give this a listen, and it's... inoffensive enough? A sanitised "Freek'N You", with a modern rattlesnake beat instead of a 90s drop-squelch. But I can't get over how miserable they all sound. Given recent events, it's hard to listen to this without feeling an unpleasant combo of guilt and concern. [4]

Jessica Doyle: "Look, Jungkook-ah," Bang Sihyuk said patiently, "we've already been over this. This song does everything we need it to do -- three hooks, for insurance's sake, plus time for Yoongi to give a vocal shrug, plus Taehyung in his lower register. Hell, we even got some chorus lines for Mr. Worldwide-Not-Known-for-His-Singing over there." (He paused while Seokjin took a mock bow and the other kids cheered.) "Meanwhile you guys get to sing about how alienated and isolated you feel when you're required to play your Bangtan-selves nonstop, constantly, for a global audience that demands cute, profound, sexy, politically aware, dramatic, creative, sentimental, glamorous, charismatic, and humble, at the same time all the time, even -- especially -- when you're not officially onstage. And it's perfect, because listeners will either classify 'Fake Love' as Tragically Passionate Bangtan à la 'Blood, Sweat, & Tears' or 'I Need U', or assume you're talking about all those other ARMYs. So you get to register the terror of the roller coaster with less risk of getting torn apart for daring to want the seat in the first place. Everybody gets what they want. Right? But in order for that to work, everybody must get what they want. So we're going to do this again, and this time you're going to lift the shirt. I don't care how angry or ambivalent you look while you're flashing the abs -- anger and ambivalence fit the concept just fine, honestly -- but the abs must be flashed." [7]

Anna Suiter: Fake Love feels almost neurotic at points. This is the most true in J-Hope's rap verse, which is delivered in a deliberately punctuated style that pushes the song forward in a way almost nothing else does. But it's a vocal part that sticks out the most--the English in Jungkook's part of the chorus. Even though I know it's supposed to be "love you so bad", it still sounds a bit like "lying's so bad" when I'm not listening too closely. I can't help but wonder if that choice in enunciation is intentional--the way "fake" is stretched out into two syllables in the chorus sometimes sounds like "sacred" to me. For a song that's about questioning some aspect of yourself in the face of a relationship, or about the things about love that you want to be true but aren't, maybe the English feeling a little bit ambiguous makes sense. At least it adds more texture, though it's not like Fake Love needed much more of that in the first place. [7]

Iain Mew: I still prefer my boyband angst explosively unleashed, but the whole beast in a velvet cage thing that the expansive sounds of "Fake Love" provide is a clever thematic fit for its awakening uncertainty. There's hurt with a mask of happiness and strength, a sorry that might or might not be genuine, and the lack of a single hard edge feels like the part of a dream that lets you realise it's a fake. [6]

Alex Clifton: I've listened to this song fifty times in the past two weeks. I can't remember the last time I did that with a new release. You'd think that by now I'd be sick of it, but I keep living in "Fake Love"; each time I hear it, it makes my body feel electric, like a jolt through my system. Part of why I love this song is because the emotions are anything but fake. The desperation in Jungkook's voice as he sings "love you so bad, love you so bad" is urgent, and Taehyung's follow-up line--"tried to erase myself and made me your doll"--aches with realness. For a song about falsehoods and lies and insecurity in identity, the production is solid: at this point, BTS are a band who know themselves, know their sound, and the confidence pays off. I don't know if this is actually a perfect song--for me, "Blood Sweat & Tears" is the ultimate BTS track--but everything about this hits all my pop buttons all at once and sends me straight to heaven. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta play this another fifty times. [10]

Thomas Inskeep: Just as BTS become truly global superstars, even hitting #1 on the U.S. album chart, they release a single that sounds oddly neutered -- and dull. Usually BTS records sound like events, but this is missing that urgency, that pneumatic thrust, and replaces it with an arrangement that sucks the energy out of the song. Here's hoping this is a rare misstep and not a sign of what's to come. [3]

Alfred Soto: If I'm going to endure a drop, let BTS do it, and if a track contains rote elements I'd rather BTS blast through them. The drillpress of a rhythm part remains tougher than the competition, though. If it's written in the stars that BTS will cross over, then "Fake Love" betrays no hints of dilution. [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#BTS

1 note · View note

theavengingmusicjournalist · 7 years

Text

Getting Seasoned at The Saint with Avery Mandeville at her EP release show for “Salty”

Photo Credit: Ali Nugent, local photographer upon the Jersey Shore

It was one of those hot summer Thursdays at Inkwell’s open-mic night when I heard a special voice, a familiar face, someone who would become a new friend. The air was cool without the blazing summer sun, and the outdoor patio was sprawled with chairs slouched in by dutch coffee drinkers and music lovers. Stuffing a bus bucket as full as possible, I found myself caught by the thick, beautiful, raspy singing voice behind me. Turning my head to see who was singing, stood 22-year-old folk musician Avery Mandeville, performing her beloved song, “No More D*ck Pix.” My memory proceeds me, but I bet she had on some amazing polka-dot pants, with her red curls, usually swimming uptop her shoulders, tied up in a bun instead.

I remember how stoked I was. Jumping up and down, roaring something like, “Rock n’roll, Avery,” the song stuck to me like my shirt had running from table to table, and in that moment I really saw the musician Mandeville is and the talent she prospers in. I felt so connected and grooved by her musical creation. This feeling came on swimming back as though that night this Fri. Feb. 3 at The Saint in Asbury Park for the talented folk-musician’ s release show for her EP Salty.

“Orgasmic," said Mandeville, explaining how the release show felt, “I’ve been smiling nonstop since 6pm. I don’t think I will ever experience something like this again," continued Mandeville.

Having just watched Mandeville rock an incredibly packed venue for the first time with her full band counterparts called, “The Man Devils,” I was more than happy and confident to tell Mandeville that she will definitely experience more nights like this in her music career.

The Saint, as packed as it was, was overwhelmed with family, friends, friends of friends, and friends of family. The night was a true celebration of Avery Mandeville and her art and that love could not have shined through more. In fact, it was her father, John Mandeville's, birthday—I met him in front of the stage, during his daughter’s set and we shook hands. A father so proud, I don’t think he had stopped smiling all evening either.

Shirts were taken off, wigs were given to the crowd, tads of moshing happened, and Matt Fernicola, who hosts Thursday open-mic nights with Mandeville herself, while also encapsulating quite the musical talent, ripped on the guitar up on stage behind his partner in crime. A gorgeous image of what family looks like in the music community in and around Asbury Park was displayed in one space.

In finale, Mandeville ended the night with “No D*ck Pix,” only to be cheered back on for an encore. Fernicola turning back, looked to 25-year-old Joey Henderson, The Saint’s audio engineer, and the band rocked on for one more song before saying good night.

“I started recording in August,” said Mandeville, “but the songs were written for over six years.”

Isn’t that amazing? Imagine the amount of personal history and heart each one of the five songs from Salty holds? I think it is beautiful that music and lyrics can reflect something, a piece of one’s life, but also be performed and relived in each performance.

Anna Rauso, Mandeville’s best friend, was front row with her sister and one of the two brothers of The Lords of Liechenstein, Noah Rauchwerk. “That’s my best friend,” said Rauso to the singing crowd. In that moment, I wonder what it felt like to hear those songs as the best friends of Mandeville, to feel and know the history behind songs curated and developed over a six year period. It’s just a special sort of thing to note—how human connection inspires creation, ex-partners, and also brings it comfort, Rauso and Rauchwerk.

One of the band members, 28-year-old guitarist, Riley Schiro, said it was truly an honor to play with Mandeville. Schiro says he has always been a fan of Avery and her music, having always had the opportunity to see her at open-mic nights.

“Avery called me up last week and asked if I wanted to play the show,” said Schiro, “She sent me the songs—I listened to them all week and we rocked it!”

Brilliantly enough, Mandeville who normally plays solo, plans continuing performances with the full band, having said, “I want to play with these guys more often now.”

Congratulations, Avery. I am incredibly happy for you.

The night’s acts also included The Lords of Liechenstein, Ashley McKinley, and The Mercury Brothers! Check out all these amazing artists, but be sure to take a good listen to The Lords of Liechenstein’s new record, Downhill Ride to Joyland and of course do not forget to experience Avery Mandeville’s Salty EP today.

1 note · View note

ugdigital · 4 years

Text

FEATURE: It’s a family affair With tamika scott!

We’ve watched over the past few years as the ladies of XSCAPE have plotted, and ultimately executed their long-awaited comeback to entertainment and music. Fans have been equally amazed at how the ladies stepped back into the forefront and dominated with their latest release. Now that they’ve fully promoted that project, each member is working in their own personal endeavors, which brings us to Tamika Scott.

As one fourth of the R&B supergroup XSCAPE, Scott has built a reputation that has carried her more than two decades in the music industry. She came to us a mere teenager eager to become a household name, and she’s done just that. In that time from her beginnings until now, she has literally become more than a woman. Scott is now a mother of three, a glam-mother as she affectionately refers to herself, and a loving wife. Making her solo debut even more power is the fact that her entire family has come along for the journey, hence her aptly-titled project, FAMILY AFFAIR. Husband Darnell Winston appears on ‘Almost Over”, while daughters Oshun Love & Young Niyah both appear on ‘Reflection’. Other guests include Q. Parker of 112 fame, and production from RL of R&B group Next! FAMILY AFFAIR is led by the powerful single, ‘Go Outside in the Rain’.

We were blessed with the amazing opportunity of connecting with Tamika to discuss the new project. She gives us an in-depth look behind the EP tracks, while we also talk the history and influence of XSCAPE and more. This feature stands for so much more than most because not only has Scott been a major influence on so many in the entertainment industry, she’s been just that for me as well as a journalist. While my career choice is far different, I recognize that I definitely wouldn’t be where I am, and may not have been so inspired to pursue media without seeing those like her pushing to be such a force throughout the urban community. I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to connect you all with Mrs. Tamika Scott!

U.G. Digital Mag: Hey, Mrs. Tamika Scott?

Tamika Scott: Hey, how you doing?

U.G. Digital Mag: I’m doing outstanding. How are you?

Tamika Scott: Man, I’m doing so good right now…

U.G. Digital Mag: OK, so listen here…. First thing’s first; I just need like two seconds to just fan out over you, because I’ve been doing media for so long, an you, as well as the ladies of Xscape, I’ve not only followed you, but I’ve known for all these years that I’ve wanted to connect with you…

Tamika Scott: Awww…

U.G. Digital Mag: I’m definitely followed, but just hearing the music, and watching you maneuver through this game. All the things you’ve shown and taught us all. I love it! I’m so happy, and grateful for the opportunity. I know you do so much for Tyler Perry and the plays, and I am just a true follower. I’m happy with how far you’ve come and your perseverance. I had to get that out

Tamika Scott: Alright now, now that’s the true meaning of [singing] “Is my living in vain”…

U.G. Digital Mag: Yes! exactly. I was in high school when that dropped, but thank you.

Tamika Scott: Thank you. I’m so glad you followed your passion!

U.G. Digital Mag: Right. But it’s people like you, people like Kandi, Tiny, and your sister LaTocha, who have given me that “umph” to get out there and push for my dreams. I’m watching the likes of you doing it. That’s all I’m doing at this stage of my life is the things that make me happy.

Tamika Scott: You have to. You have to. It’s very important, and I’m so glad. Thank you.

U.G. Digital Mag: For sure. So listen, I know we have a short time. I really like to make my conversations more personal, and I love to get perspectives on things that are happening in everyday life with everyone out here like your fans. Obviously the world is struggling through this stuff with the coronavirus. In what ways does that affect you and your family, especially with you working to promote a project?

Tamika Scott: The positive side of it is spending time with my family. Since 2017, We have been nonstop since Xscape cane back together. This is giving me quality time to spend with my family, my husband, my children, my glam-babies, and I love that time. The time itself is confusing, and I hate watching the new because of your president!!!

U.G. Digital Mag: Nope! Don’t do that! Don’t even!! [laughing]

Tamika Scott: [laughing]. Every time he say something, I’m just like what?

U.G. Digital Mag: It’s funny with you ladies because when you toured for your most recent project, I was living in the Columbus, GA area, and wanted so bad to come to the show, but I had to work and couldn’t get the time off. How has it been out here for you to be touring now just for your own project?

Tamika Scott: I’m loving it because I’m very personable. I love to talk to the fans, and I love to hear their stories. I love it. The only difference is you don’t have three other girls to fall back on. Usually I can say Tiny you answer this, Kandi you answer that, and Tocha, you get that. Now, it’s just me. I’m loving the independence, because I am the Bobby brown. I love to jump in the audience, change the script, or pull somebody on stage.

U.G. Digital Mag: Right. I see enough of your shows on YouTube!, and you’re definitely fun-loving. You get out there and have a ball, which everybody loves. I think it’s dope. You’ve done so well though. ‘Go Outside in the Rain’ has done so weak, and in general, the project has done well. You have your daughters on there, your husband, and Q. Parker. It’s an amazing project.

Tamika Scott: I love R&B, and I wanted to definitely bring back R&B with substance and the songs that mean something, the songs that make you feel good. Something that’s relatable. FAMILY AFFAIR is really my life story, and I’m being an open book. It talks about me being hurt in a prior relationship. It’s me saying “what the hell was I thinking” once I woke up. ‘Go Outside in the Rain’ talks about the pain I endured, ending this long-term relationship. I just wanted to go outside in the rain and disguise the pain. I didn’t want you to see the tears. From that to falling in love again and meeting my current husband, learning how to trust again. The song ‘All of Me’, featuring Q Parker, and produced by RL of Next, talks about me being scared. I want to give ti to you, but I’m afraid. Then I have an inspirational song called ‘Almost Over”, that helped me in a recent situation where I had a hysterectomy, but my doctor messed up, and I ended up having four more procedures to correct the issues with that. I was in a dark place with that. I wrote this song some years ago, and my husband played it while I was in the hospital, and it lifted my spirits when I listened. It was saying hold on, and you’ve come too far to turn back now. Keep your head up, lift your head up high, you don’t have to worry. What you’re going through won’t last. The storm is almost over. I had to breathe it, and live it. I put this on the EP to inspire others going through things, and to teach them how to dance through the storm. At the end of the storm is a rainbow. FAMILY AFFAIR is about my family. I’m a family oriented person. I wanted the world to see what we do in the house. We’re singing and rapping. My daughters are on there. My husband is on there. It’s a big family affair.

U.G. Digital Mag: I think it’s truly amazing, and I love the fact that your entire family is united in the process. I love that you address the things in your life, and the things your fans are experiencing. I just spent two years going through what I felt was like the ugliest divorce and it sucks.

Tamika Scott: wow.

U.G. Digital Mag: It’s amazing though that you cover a lot of that. I was in a place where it’s like what is there purpose. It’s amazing how music touches lives, and the ways it hits you. I benefit from it, and I know so many others do too. I can only say thank you for what you do. How does it feel to know your fans not only pull from your music for their lives, but the fact they have continued to follow you for all these years?

Tamika Scott: It’s definitely a blessing. Everyday I wake up I thank GOD for this life I live, and for following my dreams. It wasn’t easy. It’s a lot of struggles, and a lot of things we went through to get here. Back in the day, we was like lil’ boys in baggy pants. It was about the talent. That’s what set us apart, and that allowed us to have longevity. It’s a blessing and we don’t play with it. It’s not about the money. The money is good, but if you can help somebody achieve their goals, somebody going through hard times, talking about love, and touching lives, it means we did our jobs. I’m grateful and thankful.

U.G. Digital Mag: It’s like you said. You gave us the talent. You weren’t only about selling sex. Obviously you had those songs, but you also had heavy hitters that were otherwise. I think back to the first album, and I can remember playing ‘Tonight” all the time, or on the second album, the intro and outro ‘All About Me’, or my favorite song on the album was always “Keep it on the Real”,

Tamika Scott: Really?

U.G. Digital Mag: My tidal playlist opens with “All About Me”, lol.

Tamika Scott: You got’ have to add ‘Go Outside in the Rain’ to that playlist baby!

U.G. Digital Mag: Let me tell you, it’s already there, along with All of Me, and Reflection. I love that your daughters are on there. All of Me really stands out to me. I think you’ve done an amazing job. What’s next?

Tamika Scott: Yep, that’s next. Getting in the studio, collaborating. The main producer I’ve been working with its Wirlie Morris. He did ‘Go Outside in the Rain’. I’m working on a web series right now. I love e introducing artists to the world. I love being in the background. With XSCAPE, we have out bio pic and we’ll have new music coming.

U.G. Digital Mag: I love it, and the world loves it. Talk a little more about the web series, XSCAPE THE MIC…

Tamika Scott: I wanted people to see Tamika Scott outside of XSCAPE. I’m a mother, wife, mom-ager, I’m a glam-ma, and I’m a cook. You’ll see me in different elements. I love black love, and I believe in it. Even being successful in my career, I know how to be submissive in my relationship. It shows my vulnerability and strength.

U.G. Digital Mag: Thank you so much. This has been amazing. I know we only had a short time, but it was more than enough and truly awesome. I’ve spent a lifetime it seems, wanting to connect and GOD made that happen. I’m immensely grateful to you for your time.

Tamika Scott: Thank you for taking time out of your schedule for little ol’ me.

U.G. Digital Mag: Listen here, My schedule ain’t nothing like yours [laughing]. But you have inspired me in so many ways, and I thank you.

Tamika Scott: Keep doing it!

0 notes

makingawkwardsexy · 6 years

Text

Stuff I Liked In 2017

I guess I want to do a little round up of a few Best Of lists I have so I can look back on things I enjoyed! Though for it, I’m not sticking to things released in 2017 but rather things I experienced in 2017. I don’t think I started any new live action shows that were worth it.

Movies:

Baby Driver - oh man, this movie. The editing is great, the music is great. It’s a musical without singing. The feeling when you imagine yourself in a music video, but conveyed in a movie. I liked the movie a lot, it’s safe to say. Edgar Wright is possibly my favourite director now with his meticulous filmmaking in the movie. It also hired a deaf actor to play a deaf character and it’s so charming. The bad side is Kevin Spacey is in it.

Boy (2010) - Taika Waititi wasn’t on my radar for long before I saw this. It’s got charm, humour, and emotion. I can’t say much about this movie other than it was a pleasure to watch. It’s a coming of age story that was told by a director that is a cross between Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson (in my opinion).

John Wick Chapter 2 - it’s even more fun than the first one. If you just want a fun action movie, this would be the best one for 2017 I think. It’s nonstop gunfights and cool choreography.

Logan - the first of three superhero movies on my the list. Logan was just a nice break from the standard superhero story we’ve been getting. It was serious and dark at times, it was touching as well, in it’s own way. Possibly the best shot superhero movie as well.

Spider-Man: Homecoming - so I love Spider-Man and this may just be on this list because of that mostly. But, boy was I happy with what they did with Spidey. Sure, there are some parts that could be changed, but that’s the case with almost everything.

Thor: Ragnarok - this movie could’ve been awful...it ended up being amazing. It was hilarious (to be expected with Taika Waititi to be fair). He knocked it out of the park and made the funniest superhero movie I’ve ever seen, and one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.

Anime Movies: A Silent Voice (2016) - this movie is beautiful. By the end of it, I felt like I had experienced a whole TV series with the characters with how well done the character development was handled. It’s about a boy who bullied a deaf girl, and was subsequently shunned by everyone for being a prick (fair enough). They’re in high school now and he is trying to redeem himself, and tries to make amends with her. It’s a touching story with gut wrenching moments.

Majokko Shimai no Yoyo to Nene ( Magical Sisters Yoyo & Nene) (2013) - I didn’t expect too much when going into this, but it has some lovely art and animation. The story is fun as well. A nice adventure story that uses the “Magic Users Trapped In A Different World” trope well.

Patema Inverted (2013) - an accident took place in the past, and now there are people who live underground. But not only that, their gravity is reversed. There are complications when the rich, dictatorship above ground discovers them. But the story is about a boy from the above and a girl from below who befriend each other and try to get the girl back to her people. They start to discover secrets along the way! Again, very lovely looking!

Anime Shows:

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2011) - made by the same team behind Toradora, it’s a story about a group of friends who have grown apart since one of their friends died. They all blame themselves for it as well, which causes some lovely moments that are touching and heart breaking. What makes it interesting, however, is that one member can see their dead friend’s ghost who has returned for some reason. They try to help figure out why, whilst grappling with the conflicting emotions they feel (and the fact that they cannot see or hear her).

Erased (2016) - about a character who can reverse time to stop an event from happening. He has used it to save lives before, and suddenly he is transported to the far past, when he was in school. One of his schoolmates was murdered, so he is trying to find ways to prevent her murder.

My Hero Academia (Season 2) - kind of a cheat, but it was a fun ride. I don’t like it a lot, which is weird, considering it’s going on this list, but there’s something about it that just draws me to it. It’s shounen, and typically so, but not obnoxiously so. Unlike Naruto, for example, I actually like the protagonist and his close friends. It’s generally a feel good show.

Ping Pong: the Animation (2014) - an ugly art style? Check. Initially unlikable characters? Check. But, man, it has some cool imagery when they play. It’s also an interesting take on sports anime from my limited experience with the genre. The director did the movie Mind Game, which is also an experience.

ReLIFE (2016) - there are some things not too great about this show, but it really resonated with me at the time of watching. The main character feels like he’s wasting his life and has found it hard to get into employment after his first job. He’s offered a chance to re-do his life, which he accepts in a drunken state. When he wakes, he is 17 again and enrolled in school (this is the dodgy part). But ultimately the anime is a nice story of him using his experience in life to help students out.

Shirobako (2015) - about a group of female friends who all want to make it in the anime industry in their respective roles. It is a very interesting anime that shows how anime is made really. It really highlights how difficult it is to make an animated show, and gives a diverse cast of characters as well. It really put me in creative moods after watching episodes, so that’s the main reason it’s on here.

Video Games:

Moon Hunters (2016) - this game has pretty pixel art and also the portrait art for things is also very well done. You choose a class and go on an adventure to save your tribe from the Sun Cult. Along the way you can meet random people and interact with them, as well as take part in random events. Each choice builds your personality and gives you traits. The main thing that makes this game fun is that you can also do it with up to 4 friends, so it feels like you’re in your own Fellowship trying to save the world.

Persona 5 - okay, favourite game ever. I hate the colour red, and this game made me love it. I love Persona 3 & 4, and this managed to exceed those expectations. The characters in it, the gameplay, the style of it. Oh boy, I don’t think I’ve played a cooler game. It won’t be for everyone, but if you get a chance to try it out, I would recommend it.

Stick Fight: The Game - a silly physics based brawling game with guns that spawn that are as likely to get you killed using them as they are to kill your enemies. You need friends for it sadly, but you can play with up to 4 players and it’s a quick, fun, round-based party game.

Tekken 7 - I just like fighting games to be honest. It also has a bunch of female characters that don’t just fight like female characters do in older fighting games. They have some real brawling moves, which I dig!

Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition - another cheating item on the list, I played the original version years ago. It’s an isometric RPG set in Greek mythology (and Egyptian and Norse as well). You can mix and match from a variety of classes, and play with friends. I enjoy running around with two wolves, a lightning wisp, and a nymph following me, whilst my friend can summon a magma golem. Pretty rad.

#favourites

0 notes

usnewsaggregator-blog · 6 years

Text

‘The Voice’ Is Great TV. It’s Just Not Always Great For The Winners.

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/arts-culture/the-voice-is-great-tv-its-just-not-always-great-for-the-winners/

‘The Voice’ Is Great TV. It’s Just Not Always Great For The Winners.

Currently in its 13th season, NBC’s “The Voice” seems to have officially cracked the secret reality-TV code and struck gold.

Fresh off a third consecutive Emmy win for outstanding reality-competition program, the show has proved that, six years into its run, it’s still capable of reeling in viewers. Recent ratings rival its debut season; this week, nearly 10 million people in the demographic of viewers ages 18-49 tuned in to watch the Top 8 perform, on par with numbers from season one.

“Whatever the DNA is that’s making it successful, it just hasn’t changed,” the show’s host and executive producer, Carson Daly, told HuffPost. “It still feels like important, special, fresh, eventized, feel-good TV. All those early themes we wanted to roll out into the marketplace have stood as the pillar of what makes the show successful.”

Those early themes Daly’s talking about center on one primary ideal: giving someone who’s been attempting to break into the music industry the opportunity of a lifetime. Singers of all shapes, sizes, ages, backgrounds, races and gender identities are provided the chance to perform in a blind audition on “The Voice,” during which four superstar coaches (not judges) sit with their backs to the stage, hoping to hear the next Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake or Taylor Swift. From there, the contestants sing to an audience of at-home viewers eager to vote them into potential stardom. A $100,000 cash prize and a record deal with Republic Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, or, in some cases, with pop and country label Big Machine is on the line.

“Where else can you come on a show and sing and not be judged on anything but your talent, your voice?” the show’s executive producer Audrey Morrissey told HuffPost. “You’re in one-on-one tutoring with these people who are doing nothing but trying to shine a light on you and give you the fruits of all their experience in a very concentrated time to help you: to help you win the show, to help you win your career, to help you become a better artist. It’s literally priceless. Money can’t buy that.”

Of course, the coaches on “The Voice,” the ones who sit in those massive red chairs that dramatically swivel around at the push of a button, have other motives beyond a desire to “shine a light” on fresh talent.

“They’re making a lot of money, too, so don’t forget about that,” Daly joked.

According to The Wrap, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine each make about $13 million a season. And the show not only gives unknown artists a platform but allows its star coaches one, as well. On primetime TV, they can expand their careers by flaunting family-friendly personalities and premiering new music. Before “The Voice,” for example, longtime coach Shelton had hit after hit on the country music charts with No. 1 songs like “Austin,” “Some Beach” and “All About Tonight.” But since his first stint on the show in 2011, his albums have gained mainstream appeal, with “Red River Blue” and “Bringing Back the Sunshine” both landing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, at points surpassing the likes of Adele’s “21.”

With all of its addictive goodness, you’d think the artists emerging from “The Voice” would also gain some momentum in the music business. However, the popularity of the show and its celebrity mentors doesn’t necessarily trickle down to the artists the network highlights for months on end. In truth, the show’s 12 winners have produced only five original Top 40 songs and earned one Grammy nomination from 2011 to now. And most of the winners’ singles that ranked on the Hot 100 were either “Voice” performances or original victory songs. Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery are the only artists whose post-“Voice” singles have charted on the list.

Unlike the coaches whose fame continues to flourish, it seems many “Voice” winners fare worse in the great expanses of the fair-weather music industry. The days of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood ― who, after being crowned the champions of “American Idol” in 2002 and 2005, respectively, went on to earn a combined 10 Grammy Awards ― are gone. Today, “The Voice” might do everything in its power to make sure the viewers who vote are captivated by the show’s talent in-season. But once those artists are thrust into the music world, why do we rarely hear about them post-show?

We do hear about some winners, like Jordan Smith, whose success was personally fostered by executive “Voice” producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey. After flawlessly singing Sia’s “Chandelier” to an incredulous row of coaches on the show, he went on to nab three Top 40 hits and three No. 1s on the Hot Christian Songs chart. His first album, “Something Beautiful,” was a critical and commercial success story as it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart in March 2016, right behind “Voice” coach Gwen Stefani’s “This Is What the Truth Feels Like.” Smith sold 54,000 units in the album’s first week, making him the highest-ranking winner of any singing competition series in the last six years. Nine months later, his holiday album, “’Tis the Season,” peaked at No. 11. He has been touring nationwide ever since.

And then there’s Cassadee Pope, who signed to Big Machine after her win. (A source close to the company confirmed to HuffPost that Pope and the label decided to “mutually” part ways this year.) Now in the country domain, the former pop-punk singer has drawn comparisons to alternative vocalists like Avril Lavigne with her radio-primed voice. The season three champ has produced four Top 40 hits, two of those ― “Over You” and “Stupid Boy” ― being “Voice” performances. Her 2013 hit “Wasting All These Tears” landed at No. 37 and has been played more than 19 million times on Spotify. Her debut solo country record, “Frame by Frame,” also scored a No. 9 placement on the Billboard 200 and sold 43,000 copies in its first week. Just this year, Pope was nominated for a Grammy for best country duo/group performance for her song with Chris Young, “Think of You.”

When asked who he thinks truly embodies a “Voice” success story, Daly cited the 28-year-old Florida native. “Cassadee was like a rocker chick in an all-boy band [Hey Monday], almost like Gwen in No Doubt, and she went on Team Blake and now I’ve seen her on red carpets and in Nashville,” he said.

Another notable mention is season four winner Danielle Bradbery, who, although not a mainstream darling, has achieved success in the country music realm. The Houston native was 16 when she won the show and went on to release her self-titled debut album just five months later. Like Pope, Bradbery signed to Big Machine. “We knew she had a chance, and we definitely wanted her if she was going to win,” a Big Machine representative told HuffPost. “That was at the height, when media was just like, ‘The Voice, The Voice, The Voice!’”

“They knew exactly what we needed to do as soon as I was off ‘The Voice,’ and so they flew me to Nashville and got an album cooking,” Bradbery told HuffPost of her experience with her management team. “Everything was really fast, but I knew they knew what they were doing… they had a plan. They got me on the ‘Today’ show right away, and are just big fans of getting the names and faces out there as much as possible and as fast as possible.”

Bradbery’s 2013 single “The Heart of Dixie” peaked at No. 58 on the Hot 100 and performed decently on the Country chart. She toured with Brad Paisley and went on to produce an anthem for the promotional campaign of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with “My Day.” Bradbery pushed forward with the release of her sophomore album, “I Don’t Believe We’ve Met,” on Dec. 1, and it’s currently No. 41 on the Billboard 200. Her lead single “Sway,” which features more pop-inspired undertones, was released in June and peaked at No. 19 on the Country Digital Songs Sales chart.

“If I’m being honest, I didn’t know much about the whole other side of the music industry that you have to create for yourself and your teams… management, label, booking agents, everything along those lines,” she said. “It was definitely a learning experience every step of the way.”

As it still is for season 12 winner Chris Blue. Instead of rushing forward with his debut album, the R&B singer from Knoxville, Tennessee, is working diligently with his former coach and now manager, Alicia Keys. “I watch Alicia and how she works, and she goes nonstop,” Blue told HuffPost. “After the show and putting in long hours every day, I realized, ‘Hey, this has to continue. This is now my lifestyle. You have to work hard in this business.’”

Daly and Morrissey agree. They say “The Voice” is more of a boot camp than a superstar generator, so if people want to make it in the cutthroat entertainment industry, they’re expected to put their blood, sweat and tears into their own development. Winning, they insist, is hard work.

In fact, the producers never wanted to mimic “Idol,” even if it “blazed a path” for them in the TV landscape, Daly said. “We didn’t really create the show to create a celebrity musician or make people rich and famous. That was never really the goal of the show. We are proud to say that so many of the artists who have been on ‘The Voice’ in any capacity have quit their sandwich-making jobs and are doing well in music. And at the end of the day that’s winning, to us.”

But not every artist who’s deemed “The Voice” triumphs. For every Christian singer like Smith or country fave like Pope and Bradbery, you have a handful of “winners” who enjoy less of the sensation of a post-“Voice” career.

Take, for example, season one runner-up Dia Frampton, who found some success in the early aughts alongside her sister in the indie-rock band Meg & Dia. During her time on “The Voice,” she said, the show, like many other reality programs, attempted to shape and mold its contestants’ stories to attract viewers, not necessarily lifelong fans.

“I was introduced as the children’s book author, which was something I very lightly touched upon when we were doing interviews — that I liked writing children’s books, I liked blogging and writing stories. But that was definitely not the highlight in my own mind,” Frampton explained. “I felt like I said, ‘I love yoga,’ and then it became the highlight, even though that’s just a fun thing I do on Saturday mornings. That was interesting, to kind of have that narrative chosen for me.”

Frampton didn’t see herself as a children’s book author. Nor did she think she’d make it that far on the show. Her “sole intention” behind appearing on “The Voice” was to slip in Meg & Dia stories in hopes of getting the duo back on their feet after they spent all their savings on their 2011 album, “Cocoon.”

“In the moment, we had been dropped from our label, we didn’t have a publicist, we didn’t have money, and I thought, ‘This is our publicity, possibly,’” she said. “But the band was never mentioned. I mean, I mentioned it, but it was never put on the show.” After Frampton finished second, she was picked up by Universal Republic to kick off a solo career. All the while, her sister Meg was left wondering what could’ve been.

“Honestly, there was aftermath to that decision for years,” Dia said. “I think that last year was the first year I felt normal again with my sister, and that’s been a lot of work on our part… I still feel like I abandoned her in a way, and I struggle to deal with that in trying to be successful. I feel like sometimes I wish to not be successful so that I don’t do well and don’t abandon her again.”

Following her season’s wrap, Dia and her new team whipped together an album in a few months, which she said was pushed on her by the label. ”I felt like the record was rushed to be put out,” she said of 2011’s “Red.” “I was so excited to work with so many different producers that I think I should’ve focused on working with one person who I really loved because the album kind of ended up being a crazy plethora of songs in all different genres.”

Despite that, she insists her time on “The Voice” was a learning experience that led her to open for her coach Shelton and go on tour with James Blunt in China. According to Dia, she thought she’d found her stride when “Red” went double-platinum in parts of Southeast Asia, but shortly after a year of celebrity, she was back to the life of a struggling artist. Now she can’t even go out on tour because she fails to sell enough tickets or make enough money to promote her new album, “Bruises.” She’s currently working at a health food store, making minimum wage, while writing songs for other artists.

“I look back at my time, not so much on ‘The Voice’ but post-‘Voice,’ because I felt like that was such a spike in my career and life… It felt like I was doing everything right and I was going to be OK and I was bearing on what I think was success, and then everything just kind of falls down,” she said, getting emotional. “That’s one thing you have to be prepared for as an artist. You have your ups and you have your downs, and your ups feel so amazing and your downs feel so difficult. And I feel like I am in a bit of a down right now. I feel like I’ve been throwing spaghetti at the wall for so long trying to make something hit, just kind of helping other artists get their voice out when I feel like mine is kind of going deeper and deeper into a hole.”

There’s no sure way to determine why some artists soar after “The Voice” while others fall flat, but it appears a lot has to do with who’s in a contestant’s corner after they graduate from the show. For example, if talent isn’t thoroughly supported by Universal Music Group after a season ends, albums can go unproduced, unpromoted and unsold. Morrissey explained that, at its discretion, the pop-focused Republic Records chooses how many people it wants to pick up once the finale airs. Sometimes it partners with other labels, like Big Machine, if it thinks it’s not the best fit for a specific artist.

“Pretty much all the winners are picked up,” Morrissey said. “There is choice amongst the label what they do with them, but we, as a television show, once they won, we’re not necessarily personally involved in their careers. We do everything in our power to prop them up, as we can, but that’s when it flips over to, really, the music business.”

“When the baton is passed post-‘Voice,’ there’s some problems,” Levine told Howard Stern in 2015, suggesting that the label “fucks it up” because “no one knows what they’re doing.” He continued, “People take over after we do this great job of building these people up on the show. There’s some real issues there.”

Season eight winner Sawyer Fredericks had an inconvenient experience shortly after being crowned “The Voice” in 2015. The now 18-year-old said he dropped Republic after his first album, “The Good Storm,” was released, over disagreements about his songwriting process. “It was kind of a mutual decision,” Fredericks told HuffPost, explaining that the label had him co-writing the record even though he wanted to pen his own lyrics. “I think it definitely changed my intent for a lot of songs.”

For his sophomore album, “Hide Your Ghost,” the now independent singer-songwriter ― who lives on a farm with his family in upstate New York ― wants to take back control of his sound.

“I wanted the freedom as full producer. Basically, whatever I say happens with the album, and I have the final word for everything… really conveying what I mean in my original work,” he explained.

Fredericks is not the only “Voice” winner to go independent. After the label didn’t fully support his album “Come Through for You,” season one’s Javier Colon voluntarily moved on from Republic. Despite having catchy, potential hits like “Stand Up” (featuring Levine and co-written by Pharrell WIlliams), Colon’s music never got its due.

“I went in with high hopes, as I believe everyone did,” Colon told Buddy TV in 2012. “But when you pour your heart and soul into a new album that you think is really great, and your label who is supposed to support, market and promote your music does neither, it’s really hard not to be upset.”

Season 11’s Alisan Porter decided to part ways with Republic, too. The former child star (“Curly Sue,” “Parenthood”), now 36, initially took to Twitter to share the news that she was going independent.

Not everything worked out perfectly with my “record deal” so I went back to the drawing board. My EP is written and I begin production Fri.

— Alisan Porter (@alisanporter) March 27, 2017

“It just wasn’t the right fit for me,” she told People earlier this year. “I have a really clear vision of who I am, and it might not be the most cookie-cutter commercial radio [vision]… I would much rather be true to myself than to do something that didn’t feel right for me.”

Same goes for season five winner Tessanne Chin. Her debut album with Republic, “Count on My Love,” sold only 7,000 copies in its first week due to what she deems a lack of promotion. Now the 32-year-old Jamaican reggae-R&B singer is signed to the Justice League Music Group. She’s been performing frequently enough, but hasn’t seen the kind of success Pope and Bradbery have.

See also: winners Jermaine Paul, Josh Kaufman, Craig Wayne Boyd and Sundance Head, who have yet to release albums with Republic Records, and perhaps never will.

So, what gives? As more and more singing competition “winners” become “losers,” who’s at fault? And is there anything that can revive the once-sensational reality show dream?

“You can’t blame a record company or management because, I think, in today’s day and age, you can ‘succeed’ and really take off without it because of the tools that are available to you independently,” Daly said. “A hit song is a hit song is a hit song, and I don’t care who sings it. You can ask Charlie Puth or Meghan Trainor; Fall Out Boy did this back in the day without any help from radio. If you have a hit song, it’s going to happen for you. It’s just a matter of time.”

According to a Big Machine rep, it’s sometimes difficult to market “Voice” talent after the show, in part due to their network association. Because “The Voice” is on NBC, other companies, like CBS or ABC, won’t feature the show’s artists. “The networks are so competitive with one another that you need not only a label behind you, [but] you need to make sure the network is behind you and going to support you beyond you just being on their show,” the rep said. “If you’re stuck to only being able to do the ‘Today’ show or ‘Access Hollywood’ or another NBC platform, it’s limiting.”

Morrissey says, record deal or not, “The Voice” tries to highlight former contestants whenever it can. Just this week, Alisan Porter was able to promote her Las Vegas show, “The Voice: Neon Dreams,” which is set to give artists, including Chris Mann (season two), Mary Sarah (season 10), Matthew Schuler (season five) and Matt McAndrew (season seven), a new platform, boosting their profiles once more. “The Voice” also recently highlighted past contestants’ journeys on the web-exclusive series “After The Voice.”

“We do try to keep tabs on them. We do invite them back and have them perform on the show when they’re ready and they have music. To the best of our ability we push all of their work on all our socials. We try to do what we can,” Morrissey said. “It is what it is. We try our best.”

Fredericks, for one, confirmed that “The Voice” producers have kept tabs on him and his career. “I don’t think it’s completely like I’m on my own. They’ve helped out quite a bit, and they’ve offered me to do stuff with the show,” he said. “It’s really fun to go back; it’s like a whole family. And it’s still going! This show, like everything, is just go, go, go.”

The coaches are also a big part of the equation. Bradbery’s former mentor, Shelton, who she called “very genuine,” pays attention to the music she’s releasing. He congratulated her on a recent single, which Bradbery said he does as often as he can. “He definitely keeps everybody that’s been on his team under his wing, which I think is really amazing about him. What you see on TV of Blake is exactly what you’ll get. He’s not fake.”

The same could be said about most of the coaches who attempt to stay in contact with their contestants after “The Voice,” Morrissey said. Levine has signed former artists to his record label, 222, while Keys continues to work and write with Blue.

“Coaches go to a lot of lengths to help people keep growing far more than the public sees. We just don’t really have enough time or way on our show to illustrate that,” Morrissey said. “I’m just thinking about Christina [Aguilera] and Alisan Porter ― they’re still very close and work together. Miley [Cyrus], famously, my God, she keeps in touch with everybody, is texting constantly.”

“It’s more than just a season to them or show or just a moment in time, but they really take on the artists as their own and really care about these individuals,” Blue told HuffPost.

However, it’s not just the winning artists who take their shot in the ruthless world of music post-“Voice.” Throughout every season of the show, hundreds of contestants rotate in and out of the spotlight. Another famous reality show contestant is proof you don’t have to win to win: Jennifer Hudson. She is currently a coach on “The Voice,” but she placed seventh in the 2004 season of “American Idol.” She’s since won a Grammy for her album “Jennifer Hudson,” and Oscar, Golden Globe, British Academy Film and Screen Actors Guild awards for her role as Effie White in 2006’s “Dreamgirls.” Perhaps, with her experience, she can help guide her three eliminated live-show contestants, Davon Fleming, Shi’Ann Jones and Noah Mac, to mainstream success without a crown.

“When she’s looking at them and saying, ‘I’ve been you. I’ve been right where you are. I know how to do this. I know how you’re feeling. I can help you navigate the waters once we’re successful.’ I mean, how do you not take somebody up on that offer? That’s valuable,” Daly said. “And having Kelly [Clarkson] on next season, too, will be the same thing.”

In Clarkson’s mind, making your way to the top of the music charts after appearing on a singing competition show has a lot to do with perseverance. But, of course, luck plays a role, too.

“The question is always, ‘Why does this one make it and why didn’t this one?’ And it’s hard to tell you that because I think if we knew the answer we’d bottle it up and sell it so everybody could make it,” Clarkson told HuffPost. “Jennifer Hudson and I had this talk when I worked with her recently. We were both like, ‘You know, it’s really not even winning.’ Like she’s the best example of that. It’s taking that opportunity, making something of it and being OK with the fact that it might not be exactly what you thought it was going to be.”

We’ve seen that sort of attitude with “Voice” contestants like RaeLynn, who, at 23, is now one of the most sought-after songwriters in Nashville after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of season two. Her debut album, “Wildhorse,” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart and landed within the Top 10 on the All-Genre Album Sales Chart in 2017. This success, though, came after she left Big Machine and joined forces with Warner Music Nashville, which helped her sink into who she wanted to be as an artist. Under its guidance, she wrote “Love Triangle,” which garnered her a whole lot of attention for its raw and honest lyrics about being a child of divorce.

“Within a week, I had so many other writers who wanted to write with me because of that song,” RaeLynn told Billboard. “It goes to show a great song is what can change a lot for you, and that’s what that song did for me.”

RaeLynn credited Nashville as a pivotal environment. This might explain why a select few winners have flourished when they focused on Music City.

“Everybody knows everybody, and when they find out there’s a new artist that’s great, everybody is going to support them,” she said. “They don’t just support artists who’ve already made it. They want to support new artists, and I think that’s so special.”

And it seems country music listeners want to support emerging artists, as well. A source close to “The Voice” told HuffPost that voting during the show typically takes off in local markets when there’s a particularly moving performance. For example, when Sundance Head advanced in the competition, “The Voice” saw a huge spike in voters from Texas.

“A lot of people who haven’t won the show [and are successful] are just people from Team Blake… He’s from that world and they take care of their own, no doubt about it,” Daly said, mentioning acts like RaeLynn, the Swon Brothers and Gwen Sebastian, who toured with Shelton and wrote three songs on Miranda Lambert’s latest critically acclaimed album, “The Weight of These Wings.”

Ultimately, Clarkson believes no singing competition winner should ever feel like they’re automatically going to be a superstar with a dozen No. 1s. “That’s a level of entitlement that’s going to end up not really working out well,” she advised.

“TV is so powerful, right? Use that platform and use that stage to really showcase what you have, and then use that opportunity to meet as many people as you can meet. That’s all we can really do because there’s no rhyme or reason to why some of us make it and some of us don’t. We all work hard. But some of it is the aligning of the stars.”

Even with the ups and downs, most if not all of the contestants HuffPost spoke to had nothing but fond memories from their time on “The Voice,” and credited the show for giving them a place to shine.

“I loved it as a learning experience, and I’m happy I did it,” Fredericks said. Bradbery and Blue expressed similar sentiments. “If it wasn’t for ‘The Voice,’ I’d be home doing regular stuff, so it was probably the biggest high moment of my whole entire life,” Bradbery said. “It’s been amazing.”

“‘The Voice’ is a really great concept,” Frampton said. “At first, I honestly thought, ‘OK, this has to be rigged. Somebody has to tell the coaches to turn around for certain people.’ But going through the show and seeing the process, I truly believe that it is very genuine.”

Despite the inconsistent track record, the hope for post-show success persists. “The Voice” is expected to continue running two cycles a year until ratings dip (which likely won’t happen anytime soon). Daly said that because there’s so much content out there, in order to stay relevant you have to be on top of your game. “There’s very little appointment viewing,” he said. “If you go away too long, you run the risk of just like falling into oblivion. There’s a successful Mark Burnett competition reality program [‘Survivor’] that’s been on twice a year on CBS for 35 seasons, and it works!”

Daly and Morrissey also know their show is entertaining a robust audience and fills that feel-good void on TV. Because when it comes down to it, the winners of “The Voice” are the network, the coaches and, undoubtedly, the devoted fans who get to see a produced version of the American Dream play out before them. They might not be tuning in to vote for album sales or chart appearances, but they’re glued to their seats in anticipation of each season’s climax.

Win or lose, prevailing after “The Voice,” like any other talent show, is the luck of the draw. But who knows? With a younger, more pop-rock-inspired crop of season 13 finalists (including Brooke Simpson, 26, Chloe Kohanski, 23, and Addison Agen, 16), the future winner could fare better. There’s still a country singer in the mix, though, ahead of next week’s finale, 40-year-old Red Marlow. Will a Tennessee crooner reign supreme once again? If we had to guess, we’d say yes.

UPDATE: (Dec. 20) ― Rock-pop singer Chloe Kohanski was crowned Season 13′s “The Voice.” With that, her coach, Blake Shelton, secured his sixth win.

Additional reporting by Lauren Moraski.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the title of Stefani’s album. It is “This Is What the Truth Feels Like” not “What the Truth Feels Like.”

Original Article:

Click here

#always #great #voice #winners

0 notes