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ai-da-ice · 7 years

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[Fan Account] ai-da-ice at Tokyo’s Tonikaku HEY Pre-release Event/Handshake Meeting

So, previously I wrote a guide to attending in-store-lives after going to FlowBack’s for their single “Booyah!”, but a pre-release in-store or live event is a slightly different beast since you can’t just buy a physical copy at the store and receive a lottery ticket. I went into this experience of going to a pre-release event for Tonikaku HEY a little blind, not really understanding how it would work but praying I would figure it out as I went along. Still, since I’ve had a bit of bad luck attending events such as missing the priority seating ticketing (Da-iCE’s Stickyle event), getting the worst lottery number and missing the autograph session (FlowBack’s in-store), and getting on the wrong train and blowing some of my shopping money on taxi fare (Chiruran), I was actually expecting for things to go wrong, but I think it went incredibly smoothly, so I’m a little shocked!

These were the basics I knew before the event: at 9, the venue (in this case, a pretty decently sized stage near the movie theater MOVIX at a shopping village in Akishima) would begin opening preorders for Tonikaku HEY as well as the handshake tickets, which vary from order to order. Basically, if you pre-ordered one album, you could get a ticket to have a brief handshake with all the members. If you pre-ordered all three versions, you could get an extra ticket for a longer handshake with an individual member. At 10, you could start participating in the priority seating lottery (sticking your hand in a mystery box and pulling out a ticket to determine how close to the stage you will be) after you secured your pre-order receipt. At 2 PM, the mini-live would begin.

Naturally, I was wondering about the huge gap between drawing the lottery at 10 and the actual performance starting at 2, so I was thinking I would have a lot of extra free time in Akishima. I even skipped breakfast, thinking I’d grab something when I was there. Also, since most of the events I had been to in Japan thus far hadn’t been big on letting people line up too early, I decided to arrive exactly at 9 for the preorders.

This wound up being kind of a mistake, although it wasn’t one with as many consequences as I had thought. When I arrived at the venue, the line was snaking all over the place and was looooooong. I arrived at 9, but didn’t even reach the pre-order tent until closer to 12. Naturally, I severely regretted skipping breakfast. Luckily, they played Da-iCE’s “Next Phase” album to keep us entertained, but it was still a long wait. Here’s an idea of what the line was like:

(PS I FAILED ART LOL)

There were a few downsides to this other than just waiting a long time and starving, though, like I said, nothing wound up being too big of a deal in the end. One was that we were allowed to choose which member we wanted to do the individual handshake with, and they had a limited number of tickets for each member, to keep everyone from all going to the exact same person and having one member with a gazilion more visitors than another. Sota’s tickets ran out pretty early into my wait, and Taiki ran out about an hour later, and so on. Also the priority seating tickets were also a limited number, so I was pretty convinced I’d miss out on both since I was so far back in the line.

As I finally got close to the pre-order booth, I received a form to fill out to let the staff know which albums I wanted. At that point, the all-member handshake tickets were available and Toru and Yudai hadn’t sold out yet, so I opted to pre-order all three versions and go for the individual member handshake if it was still available. Toru and Yudai are about equal in popularity, so I wasn’t sure which would run out first, and I didn’t mind handshaking with either because I love them both, so I waited to see which tickets were left before writing down which handshake I wanted. The form was fairly simple Japanese, so I was able to understand most of it-- you could choose whether you wanted the albums shipped to you or if you wanted to pick them up in Akishima. The shipping cost was actually cheaper than a round ticket back to Akishima for me, so I decided to have them shipped.

When I arrived at the pre-order booth, I was relieved that both the member handshake and individual handshake tickets were still available. Phew! I wound up with Yudai’s individual ticket, which I was very excited about. Unfortunately, the priority seating tickets were all gone (the bad luck finally strikes!), but the venue was set up in such a way that even people outside of the priority area were close, and when we actually got into the mini-live, the members looked at our area to the side frequently.

By time all this was finished, it was already around 12:30, so I made a break for the vending area so I could finally get something to drink and eat. I was a bit short on money, so I wound up getting an ice cream cone from the 17 Ice machine (the company Da-iCE/AAA/TRF rep for-- Hayate was on the vending machine), which also was kind of a mistake since it was very hot and promptly melted all over my hands. But since I got the handshake tickets I wanted, nothing could bother me. (Naturally, I washed my hands right away after finishing my messy ice cream out of respect for the members haha)

Around 1ish, the priority people started being admitted, and at a little after 1:30ish, guess who appeared a bit early...Sota and Yudai!! The two did a mic test and rehearsed Tonikaku HEY and Paradive right in front of us! Of course, this was just to check their mics and make sure the speakers were positioned correctly, so it wasn’t a full vocal performance, but it was still amazing to see them a little extra! They even had a little bit of audience participation by having us sing the songs when they were adjusting their sound sets.

At promptly two, the full group came onstage to kick off with Tonikaku HEY... or at least they tried to, but there was a slight technical difficulty in the intro, and they had to stand on stage for a second waiting for the music to come back on. Then it was off to showcasing their new single. It’s definitely a song suited to live performance like all their summer releases, and calls for several instances of audience participation through chanting the “HEY!” part along with them and mimicking the choreo during the chorus. I think it’s a really fun release which blends retro and modern music and am looking forward to the full release.

After, the five members had an MC about several subjects including the recently wrapped up Chiruran performances and Golden Week, the holiday going on in Japan right now which is one of the reasons the stage was so crowded--students are out of school, and a lot of adults are also off of work. They also did a brief Q&A, which I’d normally love to translate, but i‘m not quite sure what the audience members said because of the high levels of wind during the performance. I have a feeling there was something about ideal types and something about food based on Da-iCE’s responses. Da-iCE also went through and asked what areas of Japan we all came from. Since it was Golden Week, several people had come from quite far since they had the vacation time.

With the MC finished, they moved on to their final song, their hit from last summer “Paradive”! This song is truly a fan favorite for several reasons, but mainly because there is a lot of fan participation from the towel twirling during the chorus to the “HEY!” fan chants during the “come on and feel the heat...” breakdown. The energy whenever “Paradive” is performed at an event is crazy.

Since it was a mini-live, there were only those two songs, but thanks to the hand-shake event, there was still plenty to do afterwards. The group handshake was first, and went by pretty quickly-- I would say you have about time enough to say one quick thing to the members before being pushed along. I decided just to go for “ganbarimashita”-- “You did a great job”--since it’s short and to the point.

If I’m remembering correctly, the handshake order went Taiki-Toru-Yudai-Hayate-Sota. Though it was brief, it was a legit handshake where they clasped your hand in both of their hands while make eye contact. 3/5 members said “Thank you for coming” to me in English (Taiki, Toru, and Sota), while Hayate and Yudai said “arigatou”. Toru and Sota seemed to remember me from Chiruran since they both said “Thanks for coming again” T^T. For both Toru and Sota, I responded coolly with “Oh, it’s no problem,” but YES, it was a problem, because I felt ready to die of happiness~

I was naturally freaking out, but had to run back to the other side of the venue where everyone was lining up for individual handshakes. How this worked was after the group handshakes were over, the members went backstage to change out of their Tonikaku costumes, and the staff set up queues using partitions in front of the place each member would be standing. We lined up behind the signs of whatever member we had a ticket for. If people ordered A LOT of albums, they could potentially have multiple tickets, but they were advised to line up in the longest line first, and if there was enough time, to go back to another line to handshake with a second member. However, there was a cut off point for the event so the members wouldn’t be there all day (once again, it was quite hot).

Since I always blank out when speaking to idols, this time I spent some time practicing the general idea of what I would say depending on which member I was shaking hands with. I had to wait in Yudai’s queue for about twenty minutes before reaching him, so I felt like I was ready by time I reached him. Of course my heart was fluttering like crazy, but I stepped up, and he took both of my hands, and the following conversation occurred (in Japanese):

Yudai: Hello again, do you speak any Japanese? Me: Yes, a little. I met you last year in California. Yudai: Oh, that was [he couldn’t remember the name of which city]... Me: San Jose Yudai: Yes! Waaa, you came so far Me: I'm really happy I got to meet you again Yudai-kun! Yudai: Yes, me too me too (in English) me too 😃

Unfortunately, since my Japanese is so slow, that’s all we were able to say, but just having a longer length conversation with him made me so happy. Yudai, I’ll work harder next time!

After that, I was about ready to pass out from lack of food, so I had to hurry home. But overall, this was one of my most special experiences with Da-iCE. They’ve been so kind by greeting me in English all the time, but I’m going to improve my Japanese more so I can be more confident next time!!

#spoiler: I had a longer convo with yudai in Japanese!#da-ice #fan account

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gutsybitsies · 7 years

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@omgittybits this is superrr late but: prompt: baker bitty and bittyparse!! HOW DID THIS GET SO LONG?? IDK???

Kent Parson cut down on carbs after playoffs. He’s on the ice less but he’s conditioning more, and he’s in constant contact with his nutritionist slash trainer about his diet and training. Every morning he’s up at 7 am, drinks a glass of orange juice and eats a banana before going on a short jog around his neighborhood. Kent was 5′10 and a natural 165 pounds in a league filled with 6′4 and 200 pound giants, so he’s constantly shoveling steak, protein powder, eggs, fish, and yogurt inside his mouth. He has to put on enough muscle mass during the offseason, because when he starts skating, all that weight would start sloughing off of him because of the grueling schedule.

That’s why, when Kent was lured into Bit o’ Home by the bright “Grand Opening!” sign on his customary jog, he expected to buy himself something healthy and nutritious. Instead, he found himself laden with two pies, a chocolate smoothie (with zero nutritional value on account of the sugar), and a receipt for a preorder of a custom cake.

And Kent still hadn’t stopped talking.

“So I really want to wow my friends, you know, they’re always chir-teasing me about everything and you know, I’m a kill with kindness kinda guy,” he tried for a smirk. Kent didn’t know what he actually looked like to the cute guy manning the counter and he’s afraid to know.

“Oh really, you’re a kill with kindness guy?”

“Chyeah, my reputation is on the line here. So do you think that cake is enough?”

Cute Guy giggled. “Well, sir, I ain’t sure if this three tiered strawberry chiffon cake with candy kitten decorations will be done by tonight’s potluck-”

“That’s okay, that’s for next week, there’s another-um-potluck. In the mean time I’ll wow them with these pies tonight.”

“You haven’t even tried a pie yet, how do you know if they’ll wow your friends?” Cute Guy asked. “You know what, I’m going to give you a slice of each pie, on the house, since you just gave me the biggest order in this shop’s history.”

“You’ve barely been open for a day, you trying to butter me up?” Kent grinned.

“Depends on whether or not you come back tomorrow for more,” Cute Guy said.

When Kent left the shop, he looked down at his hands, holding three pie boxes for a potluck that he made up, and a receipt for a cake for another potluck that he made up.

“This is like that time you ordered pizza everyday for two weeks straight because you liked the delivery boy,” Swoops laughed into his phone.

“First of all, it wasn’t the delivery boy, I was just really into pizza, okay?”

“Right. Anyway you’re so tiny, at least this way you have a bunch of food at your house.”

“Shut up, you know I can’t actually eat this many empty calories. I have two steaks and a fuck ton of other food I need to finish today.”

“You want my help?”

There wasn’t any potluck that night, but Kent’s apartment ended up being invaded by hockey players clamoring for pie.

The next day, he went on his customary run, but instead of heading back to his apartment for a breakfast shake and bacon, he took a deep breath and stepped into Bit o’ Home. Tinkles of the welcome bell greeted Kent’s ears and he subtly slid into line. Cute guy enthusiastically smiled at him when Kent finally reached him, and today he’s got a pin on his apron (a cute as fuck apron) that said “Eric :D.”

“Hiya, Mr. Kill With Kindness! What can I get for you today?” Eric asked cheerfully, almost blinding Kent. “I trust the pies went over well?”

“Oh, um,” Kent remembered the orgasmic noises that emanated from his aprtment and how no of it had anything to do with sex. “Yep really destroyed them. That’ll teach Steve Carlsburg a lesson about saying that I never bring anything good.”

Eric giggled again, and Kent swore he could listen to him forever.

“So um, I’m just here today for a banana protein shake and uh...” Kent looked over the sandwich options, “a Jumbo Roast Beef Panini, a caesar salad, and two eggs benedicts.”

“Prepping for an intense workout, I see,” Eric rang up his order and said.

Surprised, Kent gave him a look and Eric laughed again.

“I used to live in a frat house with athletes, I know when someone’s eating up for something intense.”

“Well, you get out what you put in,” Kent said.

“If only, the heaviest I ever managed to get was 130,” Eric shook his head, and handed Kent his shake. “The rest of your order will be called out. Feel free to sit and chat!”

“Won’t your boss get mad at you for this?”

Eric waved a dismissive hand. “You just missed the morning rush, and I’m the boss! My mission operandi is for this to become a neighborhood fixture. Now you just sit comfortable while I go and refill Agnes and William’s coffee.”

Kent was so comfortable he was an hour late in his workout routing that day. Swoops complained, but Kent was lost in Bittyland. Eric “Call me Bitty” Bittle used to live in Georgia, went up north to Massachussetts for college, and is now in Vegas for the long haul.

And Bitty didn’t say this, but Kent is pretty sure he’s gay. Sure, there’s no rainbow flags around the place, but Bitty...Kent mentally slapped himself as he focused once more on spotting Swoops.

Way to stereotype people, he almost muttered out loud.

Heading to Bits o’ Home for a heavy morning breakfast became integrated into Kent’s routine. It wasn’t hard, Kent was sucked into Eric Bittle’s orbit the moment he walked into the store.

The day Kent came to pick up the three layered strawberry chiffon cake was the best day yet.

“He likes hockey,” Kent told Swoops as the two of them set out to demolish the cake. “He was wearing Falconer’s gear, and he talked his head off about how amazing the Falcs did last year, and how it was so sad that his ex boyfriend didn’t appreciate the sport as much as he did.”

“So he likes men and hockey.”

“And guess what, Swoops, I’m a man and I’m also hockey. Appreciate hockey, I appreciate hockey.”

“You gotta set him straight about the Falcs, he’s in Ace territory,” Swoops said.

Kent ignored him.

“I said, you have to set him straight. About hockey.”

“Parse.”

Kent continues to shovel cake into his mouth.

“I’m so punappreciated.”

Swoops get a face full of cake after that.

“Hmm, sounds like a handsome guy,” Jack teased.

“You stop that, Mr. Zimmermann. Did you know how hard it was for me not to brag about you when I was talking about the Falconers?”

“That must be such a terrible thing,” Jack said, his chirping tone evident. “Not wanting to use your dear old friend who definitely would not mind being bragged about, especially if it lands you a date.”

“Oh, you tall, sweet, chirp monster of a young man, don’t you take that tone with me, Mr. Amazing NHL captain!”

“Haha, anything for you, Bits. At least this one likes hockey, remember Chad?”

“Don’t remind me of Chad,” Bitty snorted. Thinking about Chad reminded him of fonder times. “Jack...”

“Oh, I have George on another line, talk soon, eh?” Jack switched the subject.

“Of course, I love talking to you, Jack.”

Bitty stared at his phone sadly. He tucked Senor Bun closer, and turned off his lamp light. He dreamed of smirks and freckles.

“So get this,” Kent said, as he handed the day’s cupcake to Swoops. “He gave these to me for free. And my shake was on the house today.”

“You know what this means?” Swoops bit into the cupcake and groaned.

“You gotta ask him out. Go to this baker angel tomorrow and ask him to get coffee or dinner. Put on that nonsense Parson charm or whatever and see if you can get some dick with that.”

Kent thought about Bitty, shyly looking down at him, cheeks red and warm from the body heat the two of them generate. Bitty’s sweet mouth kissing him, playfully swatting his arm. That one time Bitty came into the cafe in shorts and a tanktop that almost made Kent drop his drink.

The next day, Kent was a man on a mission. He sauntered into the cafe, called for his usual, and slid into his regular seat. He didn’t make much small talk with Bitty, but ran his lines through his head.

When Bitty called for his order, Kent put on his best smile. Bitty smiled back.

“So, Bits, you work here everyday?” He said.

“You see me everyday here, don’t you?” Bitty seemed to get the message though, and his expression turned shy and expectant. It was a cute look on him.

“Aw, and here I was about to ask you out for dinner on your day off.”

Bitty smiled that smile that made Kent warm inside. “I’d love to.”

“Well, we can’t all be dramatic and kiss the guy we want to date instead of just asking them out,” Bitty said into the phone. “I thought it was sweet.”

“Pretty cheesy,” Jack said.

“I liked it, he’s a sweet man. And he’s really funny,” Bitty defended Kent. “He’s taking me to this fancy Italian place near the Strip. Picking me up from my place and everything. And he’s been hearing me gabbing on about the shop and my life since the moment he’s stepped into the cafe, it’s time I get to know about him.”

“Are you serious about him? It’s only been three weeks.”

“He’s a good man, Jack,” Bitty insisted.

“I’m sure he is, I’m just worried.”

“It’s just a silly ol’ crush, I’m not falling in love or anything,” He fiddled with Bun’s ears, neglecting to say that he was sure he could.

“You don’t do anything by halves, Bits,” Jack said. Warned. Stated from experience.

“You give me too much credit, Mr. Zimmermann. You know, he still comes up with fake potlucks and parties in order to order more stuff from me? He loves his cat, he has a whole picture album full of her pictures on his phone.”

“Sounds like another Kent I know.”

“Really? How’s Kent Parson doing? You said you were keeping in touch with him?”

“Besides rubbing it in my face that his team won their conference finals? He’s doing fine, he was looking for restaurants the other day.”

“Lord, and he asked you? That’s the blind leading the blind.”

They soon said good night, and Bitty again clutched Senor Bun close and dreamt of blue eyes and freckled smiles.

“So, Kent, what do you do when you’re not talking to me in my store?” Bitty asked, across from him in the Italian restaurant that Jack had recommended to Kent.

“I play hockey, actually, for the Aces.”

Bitty’s eyebrows almost retreated into his hairline.

“Kent Parson?”

“It was kind of awkward to mention after the third time you talked about how amazing the Falconers were.”

Kent watched the emotions flicker across Bitty’s face; skepticism, surprise, and embarrassment.

“It’s my fault for not recognizing you, you’d think for all the Aces versus Falcs game I’ve seen that I’d remember what you looked like.”

“That’s fine,” Kent laughed, “I think everyone in the cafe knows about your gigantic crush on their captain.”

“Excuse me!” Bitty blushed, mortified.

“Fine, your gigantic man crush on him. Does that make it less gay? Want to make what’s between us more gay?” He tangled his foot with Bitty’s, enjoying the way it made Bitty blush. “And besides, I’m much more handsome than Zimms.”

They stumbled back to Kent’s place afterwards, giggling and whispering like children. Kent didn’t do much more than make out with Bitty on his sofa, any attempts to go further derailed by more laughing and little conversations.

“I have to go back now,” Bitty said apologetically.

“I’ll drive you.”

“It’s late, you can’t-”

“It’s late, I gotta make sure you’re safe.”

Kent saw how Bitty almost melted at his words, and kissed him again. “I’ll drive you back even if there’s three feet of snow outside.”

Bitty laughed. “That’s not as romantic as you meant it to be, Mr. Parson.”

“Oh? Tell me how to be more romantic, Mr. Bittle.”

Bitty’s eyes darkened, and he looked at Kent hungrily, before untangling himself. “If I do, then I’m afraid I won’t be able to get home on time.”

“Next time, then,” Kent led Bitty to the door. “I’d like this to happen again.”

“Maybe next time I can choose the restaurant, and you don’t have to resort to asking Jack about this. That boy is hopeless- Kent?” Bitty noticed how Kent froze. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Jack was my former captain in college and we keep in touch. You know, neither of us knew you were Kent Parson when I was talking about you? But he did mention that you asked him about restaurants-are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Kent plastered a smile.

“...I didn’t mean to keep it from you, I just forgot about it during dinner,” Bitty explained, his eyes and voice earnest. But all of Bitty’s rants about how amazing Jack was was flooding into Kent’s mind, and he managed a weak smile and a peck as he saw Bitty off back to his apartment.

“Well, you know. Sometimes these things don’t work out. It’s only one date, I’m fine,” Bitty reassured Jack.

“I’m still sorry to hear that though,” Jack said. “And he hasn’t called or texted either?”

“I suppose because we saw each other practically every day, I didn’t get his number. And since he hasn’t been coming to the cafe...” Bitty sighed.

“I can give you his number if you want.”

“That’s okay, Jack. If he doesn’t want to see me, that’s fine. Sometimes these things don’t work out.” How many times have he said that? When things with Jack didn’t work out, when family didn’t work out, when Chad didn’t work out. At least with Kent it was quick.

“Bittle,” Jack’s voice was soothing. “It’s okay to let it out.”

“Sorry, it’s just with the shop just opening, and I barely know anyone here, and I thought it would be fun and he was so nice and sweet and I wasn’t expecting anything serious but. It’s just been a lot,” Bitty said.

“The NHL awards are coming up,” Jack said, “I’ve already planned to come over, but I’ll come earlier, spend some more time with you and you can introduce me around the neighborhood and the people that you do know?”

“That’s kind of you, but I can’t possibly-”

“I’ve driven up to Boston to crash at Shitty’s place for less. He’s pretty much a zombie now, by the way.” Jack pulled out his computer to change his tickets.

“I know, poor Shitty.”

“Can you stop moping?” Swoops flicked Kent, who was doing reps of leg presses. “Who cares about this guy who dumped you?”

“He didn’t dump me. We only went on one date.”

Swoops rolled his eyes. “Come on, get up, get up, go take a shower. We’re going to visit the baker. It’s almost closing time, you should be able to get some privacy.”

“What-no!”

Swoops all but tackled Kent and lifted him, carrying him into the shower.

“This is a bad idea.” Kent said when they’re almost to the cafe.

“What? You’re gonna march in there and show him the man meat that he missed out on.”

“This is a bad idea because I’m pretty sure he’s in love with someone else and he’s using me as a rebound.”

“Yeah? As if the person he’s into can beat a fucking pro athlete, where’s all that faith you have in yourself?”

They reached the cafe, only to see Jack Zimmermann in playful banter with a cheery blond.

Kent felt his heart broke. Swoops saw his expression, but before he can stop Kent from doing anything stupid, Kent had already marched into the practically empty cafe with a stony expression.

“Missed me, Zimms? Bits?”

The two of them stared at him, and Kent was sure of the guilty expression that flitted through Bitty’s face.

“I see you managed to get another NHL captain here once I’m gone,” the words were out of Kent before he could stop himself.

Bitty’s face crumpled and Jack’s hardened.

“I think you need to leave, now,” Jack said.

“Or what? I mean, Bitty I knew I was a rebound, but I didn’t expect you to snatch Jack up again this fast.”

Jack stood up. “I can’t believe this, Kenny-”

“Oh, and don’t you call me Kenny-”

“-You can’t just come in here-”

“-To this shitty place, just to see you two fucking around-”

“-I moved my trip to Vegas early because you were the shitty person-”

“-and of course the one time I get to have something you have to ruin it-”

“-He’s not a thing you get to have, how can you-”

“-FUCK you, Zimms-”

“-Oh, you can call me Zimms but I can’t-”

“Kent,” Oh, Bitty was in front of him now, with tears threatening to roll down his eyes. All the anger Kent had left him, and all it left was shame. Shame that he was the reason for Bitty to be on the verge of crying. “Did you mean all that?”

“I-no. I’m so sorry. I saw you with him and you were always talking about how amazing Jack was and-” whatever else Kent was going to say was lost as Bitty enveloped him in a hug.

“I’m so mad at you,” Bitty sniffled, as he cradled Kent. “For ditching me and now coming here and accusing me of awful things and I swear to God, if you don’t apologize-”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“I’m going to forgive you, but only because you’re my only friend in Vegas.”

Kent looked down at Bitty’s watery eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” he turned to Jack, “I-sorry, Zimms.”

Jack was still glaring at him, and Kent remembered the time when they were teenagers and he said something that made Jack glare at him the same way.

“Alright, now that we’ve got the apologies sorted out, let’s invite Mr. Swodoba in and I can serve him some pie for putting up with this debacle,” Bitty shooed Swoops in and placed both him and Kent in chairs, before serving them all pie. He still won’t look at Kent directly, and Kent could see that he’s trying to make more conversation with Swoops in order to alleviate the tension in the room.

“Let’s leave, Swoops. I’ll come back tomorrow,” Kent paused, “If you want that.”

“I’d like that,” Bitty said.

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

Kent walked into Bit o’ Home.

“Hi, I’d like to buy five pies and place an order for three custom cakes. Strawberry chiffon, all of them layered.”

Bitty crossed his arms. “I don’t condone with wasting food.”

“I just thought I’d start from the beginning,” he said.

Bitty softened. He took a business card from the counter and scribbled something on it.

“Maybe start with some texts?” He slid it to Kent, who held his hand for a second longer than necessary.

“...I’m still buying the pies by the way. I want us to start over, let me apologize.”

“You’re lucky I like you so much.”

“I know.”

“We have to have more talks about what happened.”

“You name the time and place.”

“And Jack wants to punch you.”

“What?”

“Just kidding,” Bitty said. “Jack’s a sweetheart who won’t hurt a flea.”

“Are we talking about the same Jack Zimmermann? Doesn’t matter,” Kent sighed, “I’ll sacrifice myself for just one punch if it means something to you.”

“Oh, you,” Bitty slapped his arm.

#omgcp #bittyparse #kent parson #eric bittle #my writing #mywriting

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skell0t-blog · 5 years

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Slipknot's Dark Side Of The Moon

My phone rang yesterday afternoon. Local cd and record store (They still exist!) had gotten my preorder of Slipknot's new album 'We Are Not Your Kind' 2 days early. The store clerk presumably echoed 'sir are you there? Sir?" As I was already backing out of my driveway and speeding over there.

Got home and realized I didnt have a cd player... Literally went back out and bought a $25 cd player from best buy. (They still exist!) Got back home and was finally ready to settle in. Brought some pillows into a carpeted room (a nursery to be, but pretty empty right now). I grabbed my favorite headphones. They're actually gaming headphones but they sound great for music. I turned the lights off. This is how I was taught to truly listen to music from a music teacher I had in highschool. Its part of the reason I dont really listen to songs before the album comes out. I want to experience the album as one cohesive piece of work first. I was ready now. I hit play. Aaaand Nothing happened. I Felt around for a power button. A blue light lit up on the cd player illuminating my dark room of ritual. Ah there we go. I hit play.

Track 1: Insert Coin: *click* The heartbeat of the album begins. Beautifully sinister. The scrambeled tech noises that have permeated songs throughout slipknots reign were placed through this album in such a way as to be thematic and tie the album together song to song and this intro foreshadows this. These sounds layered over a drone like background led my imagination to wander. I envisioned an old radio sitting on the counter of some lost space ship. Detuned and searching for a signal before grasping the next song it found. Also Im a sucker for sirens (welcome to the jungle) and alarm sounds (solway firth) and this intro delivered.

Track 2: Unsainted. The only reason this wont be considered the best song on the album is because we all listened to it 100 times before we heard the album. Its a song in the same vein as one of slipknots best songs, psychosocial. Its a banger with a beautiful refrain. Nothing has so consistantly given me goosebumps as the final scream of "YOU'VE KILLED THE SAINT IN ME!" before the final chorus kicks in. I love the heretical lines interspersed. "Your bible don't work on me." is lovely and the meaning of the chorus speaks to me a bit too. "Ill never kill myself to save my soul." To me "kill myself" is metaphorical and the idea is that of someone is telling you they know how to save your soul and that involves changing who you are at your core whether its believeing things you dont really believe, or being against things you dont want to be opposed to, then what they are really saying is you have to abandon who you are or kill who are inside in order to save your soul. This song says fuck that noise. 10/10

Track 3: Birth Of The Cruel.

It may be my new favorite line:

"I'M ALL FUCKED UP AND I MAKE IT LOOK GOOD."

I cant help but feel this would be a great theme for danarys targaryen when shes burning down kings landing. The almost sludge metal of a riff when the screaming kicks in with sids wildcat sounding scratches is some awesome layering. I love the serenading vocals throughout. Great lyrics. I could headbang to that verse riff when played by itself all day. 9.5/10

Track 4: Death Because Of Death. So this is where I first heard it... Now hang with me on this one. I get a small vibe of "Ghost" on this track and honestly It made me pause thinking of the choir in Unsainted as well. I cant help but think of "La mantra Mori." This might be sacrilege for some to hear but as an avid ghost fan it was a more than welcome surprise. I love little fills like this in general ever since Before These Crowded Streets by Dave Matthews Band (dont judge me) where every song had some little interlude. Great way of adding cohesion to an album even if the interlude its self sounds nothing like the rest of the album. I dont really want to pin a rating on this one. I just love it for what it is.

Track 5: Nero Forte. OH THANK GOD. Look we were all excited for this album and we knew the released songs were good but you have to have that tiny fear that we had already heard the best of the album and the rest was going to be supporting material. I excised that fear, exhaled, Smiled, and broke my neck when I heard "WATCH THIS!" That bass slide early on is just filthy. The chorus just a breath of fresh air. It's reminiscent of "My Plague" and is sung beautifully with Corey's full vocal range on display. 10/10

Track 6: Critical Darling. Back to back bangers. We get multiple vocal styles from #8 on this track. The prechorus is a great buildup and the chorus is just beautiful. The chorus almost feels like a nod to chester bennington. The lyrics "we tell ourselves it cant be hell if theres no heaven." Really made me think. I feel like the message of this song opposes Unsainted a bit. The bridge reminded me of ghost again. A little more nasaly and higher register than we usually hear corey. How does he keep the new stuff coming? The ending riff is filthy. And as always I love the segues after songs. 8.8/10

Track 7: Liar's Funeral. Another one with multiple vocal styles. These songs have 3 different singers and theyre all the same dude. Just amazing. I think we're meant to take this as a mix of feelings one could have and then self reflection or someone else calling out these feelings. Whoever it is saying that things are too hard and they should die is the liar. Corey is calling them a liar. Hes telling them to get a grip and stop pretending this is a warranted reaction to whatever they are going through. "LIAR! LIAR!" Its gutteral. Reminds me of "FRAUD! FRAUD!" on "Liberate." Not the strongest track but on an album like this where the bar is set so high even supporting tracks are great and like I said the mix of vocal styles is impressive and the "CLOSE YOUR EYES AND JOIN THE BLIND" part will keep me coming back to this. 8.5/10

Track 8: Red Flag. Apt name for a track with a series of warnings. Almost as if the person from the previous track is moving on from their troubles and recognizing the toxic environment they were recently trapped in. Coreys flow here is just perfect. The chorus is... scary honestly. Its beautifully terrifying. The stocato high pitch beeping from sid is great. The ending verse is amazing. And... another segue! 9/10

Track 10: Spiders. So we got a groovy ass track here! A suspenseful piano sets the tone. I swear I get a weird depeche mode new wave feel from the chorus. Has an occult rock feel once again. I get that feel quite a few times on this album when things slow down and get softer. Tracks like this give album enough variety to have some real staying power. Groovy. 9/10

Track 11: Orphan. When Corey growls "everyone has something, someone here has everything" i could just listen to that on repeat. Another banger with beautiful clean chorus. "If you wanna know my story, take my pain" Sounds deep and id like to know the full meaning behind these words. 9/10

Track 12: My Pain. On its face seems like another song about a toxic relationship. Love and pain are set up as 2 sides of the same coin. Musically its a great drone track that helps keep the atmosphere of the album consistent while still being in a different direction and mixing things up a bit. Super creepy chimes add a great effect. Again we get corey with a growl which Ill ways love. Another one that doesnt really necessitate a rating. Just a cool tone establishing song for the album.

Track 13: Not Long For This World. Corey mustve been really delving deep into some troubled times during the writing of this album. Just really dark lyrics. Sid makes the last riff splendid. Love the segue. 8/10

Track 14: Solway Firth. And I'm fucking headbanging! This track slams. Bangs. Whatever you want to call it. People are blind to tragedy when it happens to everybody else. Until it happens to them its not real. I know this song is about "the boys" comics and its a great representation of what billy butcher would be thinking and feeling. "ANOTHER NEEDLE IN THE BACK THROUGH PURIFIED SCARIFICATION." Is one of the best sung lines on this album and really makes this track the finale. 10/10

I know its still shiny. Its still new. But this is a masterpiece. A term id only endear to a handful of albums. An album can have all great songs and not be a masterpiece. It needs cohesion and running themes to take it over the bar to that next level where it stands as one piece of artwork. The constant frequency and feedback sounds are so perfect for Slipknot going all the way back to their self titled album.

My Rating: 10/10 would insert coin again.

I listen. I smile. I headbang. I feel something. Thats whats important.

SUPERLATIVES

Favorite Song: Unsainted

Favorite Riff: main riff of birth of the cruel right after "WATCH THIS!" My neck still hurts.

Favorite Line: Still sticking with "I'M ALL FUCKED UP AND I MAKE IT LOOK GOOD!" The way he delivers it with such tenacity is fucking perfect. Makes me mean mug everytime.

Favorite meaning: Liars Funeral. If my interpretation is reasonable than I really like the idea that you need to take a step back from what youre feeling and ask if youre really justified in taking it as far as you are. Its one of the toughest things to get past a feeling of victimhood as we hear in Solway Firth "it wasnt somebody else, you fucking did it to me." That may be true but to then think youre entitled to be a shithead, or selfharm, or whatever is bullshit. Youre lying to yourself.

Favorite mask: Corey. Mostly because his side eye in Unsainted just looks so bad ass.

Thank you for reading.

#Slipknot WANYK We Are Not Your Kind Review

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jenmedsbookreviews · 7 years

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So. Funny old week. Started off in a rather unspectacular fashion. Went to work. Did work type stuff. Got bored. Rinse and repeat on Tuesday. Well, Health and Safety meeting on Tuesday so I was mainly depressed by lunchtime, but still relatively uneventful. Flying visit to Dublin on Wednesday (literal as it’s a long walk from my house) in which I managed to set the Irish budget (mostly). Go me. On the plus side I got a lot of reading in at the airports and on the plane so it wasn’t all bad.

Thursday… what to say about Thursday? Well, first up, I was only in work for half a day which is always nice. I had the afternoon booked off to attend the book launch of Lloyd Otis’s debut novel, Dead Lands. Great book which I’ll be reviewing very soon and which, coincidentally, I was actually reading on my way to London. Arriving in London, me and my sister decided to treat ourselves to some wonderful Danish pastries at Ole & Steen on Haymarket. If you like Danish pastry (and I mean the real deal not the soggy stuff you find festering in the cake department fo supermarkets) then you could do worse than visit this place. I’m not being paid to say this, not at all. I just happen to think their food is lush and very reasonably priced for a central London Cafe/Restaurant.

So, one lovely toastie and cake fest later, Mandie and are are headed to the nearby (overpriced) giant sweet shop so that she can buy her friend a stick of pink rock. It’s a thing… Don’t ask. While I’m loitering in the entrance trying not to get enraged by the prices they are charging (£10 for a box of Oreo cookies!!!) I decide to check my emails. Oh my giddy Aunts. I won’t lie. I know I must have looked like a complete div. I know this as while I was reading one particular email I was stood staring out at Piccadilly Circus literally opened mouthed in shock, waiting for Mandie to join me and check that I wasn’t actually seeing things. Please note – I am getting very old and I wasn’t wearing my glasses so I could quite honestly have been reading anything. But no. I wasn’t seeing things. What I was reading was real.

I had received an e-mail from The Writer Awards, telling me that I had been named as one of the top nominated book blogs. Apparently they had been seeking nominations and from 1000+ recommendations, my little old blog had been selected as one of the best. Now, being honest, and being blind, I hadn’t read the whole email and I am always cautious about selecting links in emails as you never know if it’s a virus. I’d seen mention of top 33 so I figured number 30 wouldn’t be bad, but being the sceptical soul that I am, I googled The Writer Awards rather than followed the link. Sure enough a site showed up a the top of Google and I clicked through to find the Blogger Awards near the top of teh site. As I started clicking through the list, I really expected to be scrolling through for hours. Imagine my surprise when at No.10 I found Jen Med’s Book Reviews. No. 10!!!

I double checked the e-mail and sure enough there it was. Ranked no. 10. Of 1000+ blogs. And why – well apparently this little weekly mind melt is one of the reasons. Who knew. I thought it was just a good way to fill a gap in my blogging diary 😀

For those of you reading this on a phone, what this says is

This blog nicely weaves in the author’s own adventures through weekly recaps. It’s like you’re following a bookish journey from book tours to recaps to the reviews themselves. The creator’s personality really shines through!

Now personally I believe that they missed the word disorder out of the above statement but let’s look at the facts: Weekly adventures from book tours (Dead Lands – check), recaps (look below – check) and the reviews themselves (see the bottom of the post for links to all of last weeks posts – check). Well. Yep. That’s me then.

All joking aside, I am still rather stunned to have received the email. I’ve only been blogging for around 15/16 months, and in all honesty, only really been pushing myself to take it seriously since last November (a post a day for months now excluding Christmas) so this is absolutely amazing. Whoever it was that nominated me, thank you. It really means a lot. I knew nothing about this, can’t really understand how I got here, but at least I know that all of my hard work (well reading and occasional rambling) does mean something. I often feel that although I have a bias towards crime fiction, my blog is neither one thing or another, and so it feels like it’s harder to build a following that it might be for a dedicated crime fiction or Sci-fi/fantasy focused blog for example. And anyone who knows me will testify that being recognised for my ‘personality’ has seldom been a good thing in the past. 😉 So, for a gal without a gimmick I’m feeling kind of proud.

Enough of the fluffiness… Back to Thursday night. What an evening. So great to see Lloyd again and to be able to help him celebrate his success. I have no doubt that Dead Lands is going to do really well and that he has an amazing future in front of him. I first met Lloyd at Crimefest which seems forever ago now – long I’m sure for Lloyd – but it is so good to be able to support him on his journey, even if it’s just by way of a review. Good luck, Lloyd.

So. Back to my week. Friday was all work. Boo hiss… Any way. Moving on.

Book post wise – well Monday saw my last Mr Men Christmas book arrive so I am all set for Christmas month on the blog. Sort of. And, you know how Thursday was a pretty awesome kind of a day? Well what I didn’t mention is that when I popped home at lunch before catching my train I was greeted by the Post Man bringing me a parcel. A bookish parcel. A very exciting bookish parcel. It was only Now We Are Dead by Stuart MacBride which I’ll be reviewing for First Monday Crime in November. Stuart will be appearing alongside authors Vaseem Khan, Simon Booker and Elodie Harper, with the panel charied by Barry Forshaw. I was lucky enough to attend October’s panel and I’m sure as heck going back for the next one. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Book purchase wise – well aside from the signed copy of Dead Lands (whoop whoop), I’ve been a very good girl. I only bought 4 books. Just 4. 2 preorders, Helen Phifer’s Dying Breath and Susi Holliday’s The Deaths of December, and two books recommended in Ann Girdharry’s recent Book Love post as they sounded right up my street, LaRose by Louise Errdich and Red Blood, Yellow Skin by Linda L.T. Baer.

Netgalley saw me downloading two titles again, both for blog tours. First up Stephen Edger’s Dying Day and also Kierney Scott’s Now You See Me. I also received an ARC of Jennifer Gilmour’s new book (more on that tomorrow).

And aside from some teeny tiny audible purchases, namely Elly Griffiths’ The Chalk Pit, Val McDermid’s Insidious Intent and B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed DoorsBehind Closed Doors that is absolutely it.

B.Reading wise, I read just the four books this week. Been busy and in schock 😉

Books I have read

Zenka by Alison Brodie

Devious, ruthless, and loyal.

Zenka is a capricious Hungarian with a dark past.

When cranky London mob boss, Jack Murray, saves her life she vows to become his guardian angel – whether he likes it or not. Happily, she now has easy access to pistols, knives and shotguns.

Jack discovers he has a son, Nicholas, a male nurse with a heart of gold. Problem is, Nicholas is a wimp.

Zenka takes charges. Using her feminine wiles and gangland contacts, she will make Nicholas into the sort of son any self-respecting crime boss would be proud of. And she succeeds!

Nicholas transforms from pussycat to mad dog, falls in love with Zenka, and finds out where the bodies are buried – because he buries them. He’s learning fast that sometimes you have to kill, or be killed.

As his life becomes more terrifying, questions have to be asked:

How do you tell a mob boss you don’t want to be his son?

And is Zenka really who she says she is?

I read Alison’s last book, Brake Failure last year and really enjoyed the blend of humour and action. Based around an East End crime boss who is trying to get to know his son for the first time, this book is packed full of laughs, action and the odd body dump. It had me chuckling all the way through at the series of mishaps and misunderstandings. And god help Olga!!! You can see my review next week and in the meantime you can order the book here.

…

Dead Lands by Lloyd Otis

The stunning debut from thriller writer Lloyd Otis.

When a woman’s body is found a special team is called in to investigate and prime suspect Alex Troy is arrested for the murder. Desperate to remain a free man, Troy protests his innocence, but refuses to use his alibi. Trying to protect the woman he loves becomes a dangerous game – questions are asked and suspicions deepen.

When the prime suspect completes a daring escape from custody, DI Breck and DS Kearns begin the hunt. Breck wants out of the force while Kearns has her own agenda and seeks revenge – and a right-wing march provides an explosive backdrop to their hunt for Troy.

Lloyd Otis brings a startling account of the past back to life over a burgeoning ’70s landscape, and delivers a thrilling piece of crime fiction that will excite any fan of the genre.

What a debut. Full of suspicion, tension there is a ruthless and brutal killer on the loose but is he the man the police suspect? Set in 1970’s London I loved the freedom that this brings to the narrative as well as adding to the tension as you know that the police cannot rely on the forensics to get their man. So will justice prevail? Well – read for yourself to find out. I have and I’ll be reviewing in a little over a week for the blog tour. However, the book is available now and you can bag a copy here.

…

A Cosy Candlelit Christmas by Tilly Tennant

All singleton Isla wants for Christmas is to be left in peace, but a surprise trip to the Alps means there’s a chance for romance in every snowflake that falls…

It’s the week before Christmas and Isla McCoy has just received an unexpected gift: a letter announcing she is due a life-changing inheritance, but only if she’s willing to make amends with the father who abandoned her.

She has absolutely no intention of forgiving him, but who could resist an all-expenses-paid trip to the French resort of St Martin-de-Belleville?

There she meets smooth-talking Justin and nerdy glaciologist Sebastian; two very different men, with two very different agendas. Torn between her head and her heart, Isla finds herself utterly lost in a winter wonderland of her own feelings.

Surrounded by twinkling candles and roaring log-fires, Isla’s resolve finally begins to melt. But will she learn how to reconnect, not only with a whole new family, but with herself and her heart?

A gorgeously heart-warming festive read to help spark a little romance in those long winter nights. Perfect for fans of Jane Linfoot, Debbie Johnson and Jenny Colgan.

The difficult situation of meeting her estranged father is what greets Isla this Christmas. But maybe that’s not all. In an idyllic ski-resort setting, with crisp white snow and beautiful scenery all around, could love also be on the cards. Released on 26th October, I’ll be spilling the beans on this book really soon, in the meantime you can order a copy right here.

…

The Lost Child by Patricia Gibney

They placed me in here and threw away the key. I look down at the gown they’ve put on me. I want my own clothes. I don’t know how long I’ve been here.

An elderly woman is found murdered in her own home, and Detective Lottie Parker and her partner Detective Boyd are called in to investigate. When they discover that the victim’s daughter is missing as well, they start to fear for the safety of the whole family…

Two days later as a nearby house is set on fire and with the body count rising, Lottie and her team begin to unpick a web of secrets and lies, as the murders seem to link back to a case investigated by Lottie’s father before he took his own life.

With little knowledge of what really happened to her father, Lottie knows this is a case that could give her some answers. But how much does she want to know? And how far is Lottie prepared to dig to uncover the truth?

The Lost Child is a thrilling page-turner from the bestselling author of The Missing Ones and The Stolen Girls that will have you guessing right to the very last page. Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons and Robert Dugoni.

Book three in the Lottie Parker series sees our troubled Irish Detective investigating a murder and brutal attack which could well have links back to her own father. With her personal life as complicated as ever, can Lottie keep her head clear enough to get to the truth? You can find out when the book is released on 27th October if you preorder the book right here.

…

I’ll take that as I’ve been busy this week. Blogging wise, another really full on week of reviews and book love which you can follow right here.

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra

#BookLove: Anne Williams

Snowflakes, Iced Cakes and Second Chances

#BookLove: Ann Girdharry

Cover Reveal: Conrad Jones

Press Release: Heywood Hill Competition

Her Last Secret by Barbara Copperthwaite

The Fallen Agent by Oliver Tidy

Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir

The week ahead is just as busy with a mammoth number of blog tours. First up today is Zoe Sharp’s Fox Hunter; on Wednesday is The Second Son by Andy Blackman, Thursday is Lily Graham’s Christmas At Hope Cottage and Friday is Sharon Maas’ The Girl From The Sugar Plantation. I’ll also have book love posts from Joanne Robertson of My Chestnut Reading Tree and Meggy Roussel of Chocolate’n’Waffles and my second Inspector Chopra review. Busy, busy, busy – just how I like it.

Adventure wise – well nothing bookish but I’ve got to travel to Manchester and Edinburgh this week to deliver some project training so who know what I’ll listen to along the way.

Have a fabulous week of bookishness all.

JL (award winning book bloggist )

Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 15/10/17 So. Funny old week. Started off in a rather unspectacular fashion. Went to work. Did work type stuff.

#Rewind Recap #Weekly Round UP

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