#oc: flo jacobs

[asphalt-cocktail]

Mortui Vivos Docent Part 4

A/N: Wow sorry I am such garbage and haven’t updated in SO LONG. I had really terrible writers' block for this story and I had no idea where to go with it. But I had a sudden inspiration! I hope you like the cameo of characters I have in right now, they will be major players in the coming chapters. Not much happens, but I promise I am planting seeds for the future chapters, this one is really long and I’m sorry; it took me 3 days to write this and I wanted to include a lot of stuff in it but not break it into different chapters because I was too lazy and it all kept coming out. I am on a roll right now so hopefully, a new chapter will be up soon! 

Pairing: Cop!Steve Rogers x Deaf!OC

Warnings: Mentions of gore and death, slow burn, Cop!AU. fluff, not proofread 

Word count: 4217

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<<<Part 3       Part 5>>>

The flickering of the disgustingly bright fluorescent lights caused Florence’s eyes to ache. She had been going over her pathology report for the last two hours trying to find out what had caused her patients stomach to blister from the inside out. She groaned before an uncharacteristic flicker caused her to jump and turn around. It was Dr. Strange, “Yes sir?” She asked.

“We have a field assignment.” He said holding her jacket out.

Florence quickly scrambled to her feet and gathered the supply bag and grabbed her jacket, putting it on as they left the basement, the van police scanner read back the conditions of the body and Florence struggled to make out words, she scrunched her nose in frustration “The details are always better at the scene.” Dr. Strange said noticing her frustration.

Florence nodded her head “Yeah, you’re right.”

Soon after they arrived at the scene, it was in the poorer part of town where gang violence was common, they were greeted with flashing lights from the fire department, police crew, and ambulance. A kid, probably 16 or 17 was screaming as he was strapped into a stretcher “I didn’t do it! I promise.” He said, his face was caked in blood and he was obviously in shock.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to calm down.” The paramedic said while he was lifted into the back of the ambulance.

Florence averted her eyes to not be rude and focused her attention on the officer that was taking notes and gathering evidence.

“What have we got?” She asked walking up to James

“We have an apparent teenage female and male both have received multiple injuries,” James said grimly.

“I need you to be more specific, what do you mean multiple injuries,” Florence asked and looked over his shoulder, she wasn’t able to see the bodies yet, but there were horrific amounts of blood splattered on the ground.

James let out a sigh, not one out of irritation, but more out of remorse “We can’t tell.” He said softly and turned to take her to the bodies.

When Florence saw them, she understood, they had been so battered it was hard to even make out their faces. Dr. Strange caught up to her and let out the same sigh Bucky did. They each knelt down at separate bodies “Any ID on either?” Strange asked.

“No, no IDs. The kid that is alive is being transported to the hospital and is being treated for defensive wounds and a slew of other things.” James responded.

Florence looked at the girl in front of her and shook her head and decided to do a temperature reading “These are really fresh, like within two hours the body has only gone down to 34 .5 Celsius.” Florence looked at her watch and back over to James “When was the first 911 call placed?” She asked.

James flipped through his little note pad and then looked at his watch “Around 15 minutes ago. It took us around 3 minutes to arrive and now here we are.” He said.

Nodding her head Florence looked at Dr. Strange “The average body loses 1.5 degrees every hour and she has lost 3 degrees. They’ve been dead for 2 hours and the first call came in 15 minutes ago and its broad daylight?” Florence asked.

Dr. Strange stood up and wrote on his field report “It’s not our job to find out why people took so long to call authorities,” he said curtly “TOD is at 12:17 PM for the male. He died before the female did.”

Florence scrunched her nose up, an hour before the female did? What the hell did this person do? Make them watch? She shook her head, Dr. Strange was right, it wasn’t their job to figure out the logistics behind the murder, only the cause of death. “Time of death for the teenage female is 1:30 PM. We’ll transport them to lab and get a better look at them there.” Florence said before stuffing her field notes into her bag.

This had been the first time Florence had ever been called to a trial. She nervously stood in the bathroom and ran her fingers through her hair and tugged at her blazer, she walked out and was greeted by Steve. They had been seeing each other, nothing too major, just going out for a few drinks after work here and there and occasionally spending the night just to sleep. It was… wholesome. And that was what Florence needed right now, “Come on, Flo, you look great.” Steve said smiling beneath his scruff.

Florence shrugged her shoulders “I haven’t been put on trial before. What am I supposed to even do?” She asked sighing.

Steve gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder “Just be honest and deliver the facts.” He said and pulled her into a quick side hug. Fraternization while in the work place was a no go for Steve, so the sudden affection was welcomed and helped ease her nerves.

Despite her hearing aids, Florence was still given an interpreter which was nice given the amount of people she would have to pay attention to. Talking in loud crows was not one of her favorite things, it was hard to listen to more than one person at a time and often overwhelmed her.

“The prosecution would like to call Dr. Florence Solomon to the stand.” A man dressed in a well tailored suit called her up.

Nervously she stood up and walked through the little gate and into the stand, she went through the procedures before the cross examination began. “Now, Dr. Solomon, would you please give a brief description of what you found in our two victims. Start with the female.” He asked standing in front of her.

Florence watched her interpreter and nodded her head “Right, well we arrived at the scene and found the 16-year-old victim, Dana Suarez in the grass behind the house, internal temperature of her body suggested that she died around an hour after the second victim.”

The prosecuting lawyer clicked on a little remote in his hand and pictures of the autopsy showed the mangled grey corpse of the girl, “Would you mind explaining pre and post mortem wounds, as well as the cause of death.”

Florence nodded her head and swallowed thickly, she was nervous, “So we counted 14 stab wounds throughout the victim’s torso, face, neck, and arms 6 of these were done before death and the other 8 were done after death and the wounds on Ms. Suarez’s hands were defensive in nature. The victim also had scratches along her face and neck that measured at 5.23 centimeters, 5.17 centimeters, and 7.68 centimeters in length. The cause of death was a combination of profuse bleeding and severing of the jugular vein.” She let out a long shaky breath.

“Is there any other evidence that you found on our first victim that we have not covered Dr. Solomon?”

“Yes, Ms. Suarez was found with skin and blood beneath her fingernails that indicated a struggle and that she fought whoever had attacked her. The DNA matched that of the defendant’s and there were also trace amounts of marijuana and cocaine in her system.”

“Now what about our second male victim?”

“The second victim’s name is 17-year-old Shaun Jackson. He was found at the same location as Ms. Suarez, however his time of death was an hour before at 12:17 PM. He received 17 stab wounds, also along his face, neck, torso, and arms 7 were before death and 10 were post mortem. The cause of death was asphyxiation from the collapsing of the left lung. He was also found with defensive stab wounds on his hands and had trace amounts of cocaine and marijuana in his system before death.” Florence glanced past the Prosecutor and looked at Steve for reassurance, he gave her a smile and nodded, she let out a sigh of relief.

The prosecutor turned to address the jury “Now as you can see from the images and description given to us by Dr. Solomon, these two victims are two children who ended up getting mixed up with the wrong crowd of people, it caused them to spiral down a path of drug abuse. However, their mistakes with the law do not excuse the fact that Mr. Andre Marshall had to continuously stab them until their faces remained disfigured and their poor families now need to have closed casket funerals-”

“Objection your honor, the prosecution is waving the bloody shirt,” the defendant said abruptly standing up.

The judge hit the gavel “The jury with disregard the previous statement given by Attorney Jacobs, and Attorney Jacobs, please keep to the facts.” She said gruffly.

“Yes, your honor.” The prosecutor said nodding his head respectfully, “Ms. Suarez had defensive wounds with the defendant’s DNA in them, as well as the murder weapon and house covered in his finger prints. These two teenagers simple were mixed in with the wrong crowd of people, but they should not be overlooked due to their past addictions. I ask you to please bring justice to Shaun and Dana and their families. That is all your honor.”

“The defense may now cross examine the witness.” The judge stated.

Florence sighed, she still couldn’t get up just yet.

There were two defense attorneys, odd, she thought.  The first one stood up, he had dark hair, scruff and appeared to be blind. “Dr. Solomon, tell me about yourself.”

Florence shifted in her seat “Well, I graduated from New York University- Langone and I have been working for the NYPD for the 7 months now, I have also been practicing for 7 months.” She stated.

The defense nodded his head and hummed “I see.” He said “Now, I don’t want you to have to go over and repeat all of the information you told the prosecution and cause the families sand jury to relive that trauma again. But, I do want to ask you in your expert opinion what build do you think one would have to be in order to cause such massive overkill?” He said now stopped right in front of her seated area.

Florence nodded her head “Well, I would expect someone well over 6 feet, that is consistent with the angle of the stab wounds coming in at a downward angle verses an upward or perpendicular angle with where their locations were. In order to be able to subdue two teenagers who were healthy despite their drug use would need a massive amount of strength.” In her honest opinion, she didn’t think the scrawny, terrified 17-year-old boy sitting in front of her could possibly be capable of killing two people with that much rage even if he was given all of the drugs in the world.

“And can you also inform us of what the effects of mixing cocaine and marijuana are?” he asked.

Florence thought for a moment “Cocaine is an upper, while marijuana is a depressant, your body is working against you it causes heart racing, paranoia, your blood pressure to rise, maybe even a little bit of hallucinating depending on how intense your paranoia is and ultimately it can cause death.”

“Now, I am not saying that they both died of heart attacks or a dangerous cocktail of drugs, because we know those are not the facts. But what we do now is that my client previous stated that Ms. Suarez began to act erratically and lash out, when my client tried to restrain her they ended in a small scuffle that caused the scratches to be on Ms. Suarez, and the DNA of Mr. Marshall to be found under her nails. My client Mr. Marshall is 17-years-old is 5’7” and weighs 125 pounds so there is no way he would have never been able to subdue Ms. Suarez and Mr. Jackson. The accredited medical profession who is sitting here stated it as plain as day that a man of much significant size would have had to be present and commit the crimes. We lost the lives of two kids who barely had enough time to live their lives, and I beg you to see the facts and not allow another’s to be thrown into the American Prison system and wrongfully accused.”

Finally. Someone who saw some sense in the case. She knew there had to have been one more person in that room with them, the poor kid is probably terrified the same will happen to him if he rats.

“Dr. Solomon, you may be seated.” The judge said. A security officer escorted her back to her seat next to Steve and James, “We will have recess until the jury has reached a verdict.”

Florence leaned back and cracked her back against the stiff wooden seat “You did great up there!” Steve grinned.

Florence looked at her feet and stood up, sighing “I felt like if I said anything wrong, I could have changed the whole outcome of the case.” She said and ran a hand through her hair.

“First time at a trial?” A voice asked behind her. Steve tapped her shoulder and pointed at the two defense attorneys.

“Was it that obvious?” She asked laughing lightly

“Honestly, no, you held yourself very well up there. Foggy Nelson and my partner Matt Murdock.” He said offering a hand out.

“Ah well you already knew me.” She said gripping his hand.

Steve let out a curt head nod, defense attorneys and police officers didn’t typically get along, however they remained civil.

Matt smiled politely and nodded his head “So Foggy told me you had an interpreter up there. It is honestly refreshing to see someone successful that also has a disability. Sometimes it gets overwhelming having people who don’t understand or undermine you.”

His bluntness was surprising, but refreshing Florence liked it and agreed with him “Yeah, it definitely is.” She responded.

“So, Mr. Rogers? Is it?” Matt asked.

“Captain Rogers.” He corrected.

“Right. Captain Rogers, I heard it through the grape vine that one of the cases has been handed over to the PD?” He inquired.

Steve’s eyes widened “Are you crazy? Keep it down, that case is supposed to be low profile now. Can’t talk about it.”

Matt nodded his head “Right…” He said in a drawn-out fashion that proved he didn’t believe a thing Steve had just said, we aren’t picking up the case, but if you would like to stop by our office later tomorrow we would be glad to discuss a few things with you and Dr. Solomon.” Foggy held out a simple business card and Steve accepted it.

“Thank you, we’ll be in touch.” He said and began to return to his seat.

“All rise, the Court of New York City, Honorable Judge Wilson is now presiding.” The bailiff said.

The judge entered and sat at her seat and hit the gavel “You may be seated.”

Florence hadn’t noticed, but roughly an hour of deliberating had passed. “Has the jury reached a verdict?” The judge asked once all of the members filed into the room and were seated.

The juror at the very end stood up and held out a piece of paper “We find the defendant Andre Marshall, not guilty.” She said nervously.

Florence let out a puff of air as the Marshall family wept tears of joy and the Suarez and Jackson family wept tears of anguish. James and Steve shook their heads, the case was still open, which means that the search was still on for the man who did this.

Later the next day after much paperwork Florence, Steve, James, and Clint went down to Hell’s Kitchen to visit Nelson and Murdock. It was a small office in a small shabby building “Andre, please if you have any other information, the police will keep you safe from whoever did this.” The voices could be heard pleading from the other side of the glass door.

The kid responded in a muffled voice before they said their goodbyes and left awkwardly out the door “Oh, hey, we weren’t expecting you this early.” Foggy said running a hand through his long hair “Please, come in.” He said opening the door wider.

The office was almost bare, you could tell they were still a budding practice, “So, tell us what you know about the case.” Steve said bluntly

“Wow, you like to skip around pleasantries.” Foggy said and held out a pot of coffee and offered it. Clint and Florence both took a cup.

“Well we know it has an impressive list of suspects.” Matt said leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. “Rumlow, Pierce, Stern”

Steve narrowed his eyes and looked at Matt and Foggy “How do you two know that?”

Foggy shrugged his shoulders “Being a defense lawyer has its perks.”

Clint liked how these two worked, they knew a lot and he knew that they weren’t telling them this for no reason. “Why are you telling us this, what else do you know?” He asked.

“Well, we want to know what you know.” Matt said smiling lightly.

“So, you invited us to compare notes?” James asked frowning.

Matt shrugged his shoulders, “I mean yeah, why not, we both want to take them down. There is no way in hell we are representing their case.”

Steve let out a sigh “Tell them about the autopsy, Flo.”

Florence nodded her head, she had brought pictures of the file with her. She didn’t want to take the whole file, it was way too risky “I have pictures of the report I typed up, I took them before I gave it to Director Fury, just be warned there are pictures of the body I had to examine in it.” she said sliding her smart phone across the table.

Foggy picked it up and grimaced at the images “What is it?” Matt asked noticing a shift in his friend’s demeanor.

“Well, it’s a badly decomposed body, ah, that’s about all I can stomach looking at right now.” He said sliding it back.

“The bruising around the victim’s neck happened before death and was a little bigger than the length of the average human hand, when I opened the neck there were hairline fractures in the vertebra around the neck. This means he was held underwater and struggled immensely against someone who was significantly stronger than he was and wanted him to stay under until he was dead.” Florence explained swiping through the pictures to refresh her memories. “We couldn’t get the time of death, it’s incredibly hard to tell when they are decomposing in water. But judging by the waxy and flaky skin that was literally sliding off the victim I would say he’s been in there more than a month.”

Matt scrunched his nose up and frowned “Anything else?” He asked.

Florence elbowed Steve and urged him to continue “We did a steak out at their place and noticed that Stern lives near the Hudson river and he and Rumlow had a meeting when we were watching them. So we sent someone to bug their phones.”

Foggy grinned “Shit you bugged their phones? Is that even legal?” he asked.

James had crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged his shoulders “I mean, what they are doing isn’t very legal either…” He said trailing off.

“So, now what do you know?” Clint asked.

“Well, all we have right now is lawyer gossip.” Foggy started “Rumlow is their pawn, he’s weak and they can afford to lose him that’s why they have him. We don’t know if any other of the officers are in on it, but they already have a lawyer for representation, his name is Parish Landman; he is a pretty high-profile lawyer.”

James smirked “Why didn’t they ask you to do it?” He asked smugly.

Matt frowned “They did ask us… But we don’t represent people who we know for a fact are guilty.” He said curtly.

Florence nodded her head, that was admirable of them. “After I conducted the autopsy, Mayor Stark came in and gave the whole case to the FBI.” She said frowning lightly,

“Damn,” Foggy said “That really puts us in a rut. Especially since we can’t do much with it in the FBI’s hands.”

“We have been talking with Stark’s intern Peter to keep up to date on the case but so far even he hasn’t had anything.” Steve added

“Parker?” Matt asked, “He’s a good kid, we run into him around City Hall whenever we make our way down there.”

Florence looked at Steve “What if we didn’t use him for information on the case? He works in the same area as the Senator, this is a whole new idea and way to look at the case!” She said getting excited and pulling her phone out, she started a facetime with Peter, he answered surprisingly quick.

“Hey Doctor Flo!” Peter said waving at the camera.

“Hey Peter! Do you have a minute to talk? I have a favor to ask.” She said smiling.

Peter looked around and bit his lip “Let me put my head phones in quick.”

“Ask him about the thing.” James said nudging Florence.

Florence shrugged James off and shushed him, “Sounds like there are a lot of people there, Doc, who’s all there?” He asked curiously.

“Ah, the usual Clint, James, Steve, there are some new people too-” she said before Foggy snatched the phone from her.

“Hey Pete!” Foggy said grinning, he looked over at Matt “Peter is waving at us right now and smiling.”

Matt smiled and gave the camera a curt nod “Peter.” He said

“Oh, hey Foggy! Hey Matt! Wow Dr. Solomon I didn’t know you knew Foggy and Matt that’s so cool.” He said through the phone screen.

Florence took her phone back and looked at Peter “Okay so you remember that case?” she asked. Peter nodded nervously “Do you have access to Senator Stern’s information?” She danced around her words hesitant to say them.

Peter swallowed thickly “I mean… Personally no, but I’m sure I can see Ned and Shuri and talk with them about it.”  He said trying to be as vague as possible.

“Thanks Peter! I really appreciate it!” She said grinning and waving at him as she ended the call.

They gathered their things and Florence walked to Steve’s car while the rest of the group parted ways. Florence leaned back in her seat and ran her fingers through her hair “Steve what the hell are we going to do? We can get in so much trouble doing this.” She said and covered her eyes.

Steve reached over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Flo, it’ll be okay I promise.” He said in a comforting voice.

Florence looked up with a deep frown on her face “Steve, I wasn’t made to do police field work, I was made to stay in the dark depth of the police station and look at dead bodies and give families closure.” She clenched her eyes shut “I have to give the family of whoever that man was closure, someone is out there not knowing what happened to their loved one and Tony Stark isn’t letting us do that!” She said getting more flustered.

Steve pulled her tightly against his chest, she tried to pull away, still flustered, but melted into his arms like butter. Her breathing calmed “Florence you are an amazing Medical Examiner and you are a crucial part of every police investigation, Tony Stark took the case from us, but you were still able to do as much as you could to help the family. It’s up to the FBI examiner now.” He said and kissed the top of her forehead warmly.

Florence huffed against Steve’s chest, her voice was muffled in his arms “I know,” She said softly “Peter is going to help, and so is everyone else.”

---

The next morning at work she was greeted with an unfamiliar face “Hello,” She said hanging her coat on the rack “You’re not Dr. Strange.” She joked

“No, I’m Doctor Reed Richards, I work with the FBI and do their autopsies.” He said looking through the file he had in his hands. He was a tall man with brown hair that was streaked with flecks of gray and his forehead was wrinkled with worry lines.

“Nice to meet you Dr. Richards. I’m Doctor Florence Solomon.” She said trying to hold back her frown.

So, this was the dick that would be taking all of the credit on here report.

Stephen walked out from his private office and felt the tension in the air while Dr. Richards seemed oblivious to it “Dr. Solomon, I see you’ve met Dr. Richards.” He said curtly “Mayor Stark has given him full reign of our lab to conduct further investigation on the drowning case.” He informed.

Florence arched her eyebrows “Wonderful, happy to have you. Please let us know if you have any questions.” She said busying herself with work, she made sure to stay in range in case she picked anything up that she could tell Steve and Clint later on.

#Steve Rogers #Steven Grant Rogers #steve rogers fanfic #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers smut #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x Deaf!OC #Chris Evans #chris evans smut #chris evans x reader #chris evans fluff #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #marvel fic #MCU #Marvel MCU #Cop!AU #Cop!Steve Rogers

[mcngolove]

@slecpbug​ asked: A, G, I! Send me a letter from A-Z and if I have an OC whose name begins with that letter, I’ll tell you their... (accepting!)

A

Full Name: allegra st. clair Nicknames, if any: none Hogwarts House: ravenclaw Gender: female Sexuality: bisexual A song I associate with them: the predatory wasp of the palisades is out to get us - sufjan stevens 3 Important Relationships: her father, her first ex-girlfriend, and her younger sister 2 Fears: failure and clowns 1 Element of their backstory: she’s a former high school nerd that had a major glow up that really took everyone by surprise during their high school reunion.

g (i don’t have any oc with the letter g, so i will go to the muse nearest to it on the alphabet, which is florence!)

Full Name: florence wu Nicknames, if any: flo Hogwarts House: maybe a mix of slytherin and gryffindor? considering she’s very sociable but also TV royalty Gender: female Sexuality: bisexual A song I associate with them: perfect - one direction 3 Important Relationships: her mother, her childhood best friend/gay awakening, her platonic tv husband 1 Element of their backstory: aside from being a reality TV/awards show host and presenter, she also runs a lifestyle beauty channel!

i (same for this letter, i don’t have any but im gonna go to the next muse over, jacob!)

Full Name: jacob chan Nicknames, if any: jake (but ONLY for the closest people in his life. a stranger calling him jake will set him off) Hogwarts House: a jaded hufflepuff Gender: male Sexuality: bisexual A song I associate with them: flaws - bastille 3 Important Relationships: frida (his adopted mother), jasmine (his adopted sister), and the bakery 1 Element of their backstory: because of the trauma of growing up in a toxic environment and then being kicked out, jacob used to be prone to lash out in violence. this would get him in a lot of trouble, but baking did help him channel out some of that anger physically (and therapy, of course)

#❀*:.｡. ╱ answered.

[kei-comodo]

Mahogany Sessions によせて

上半期も終わりですが、2016年BEST ALBUMSの記事からお察しでしょうが、2017 Best Albums so farみたいなモノを書けるほど新譜は抑えてないので、今回は僕が最近ハマってるYouTubeチャンネルをご紹介することで代えさせていただこうかと……

Mahogany Sessions 公式チャンネル

SSWや広義でポップミュージックに含まれるアーティストのアンプラグド主体の映像を週２本ほど上げているチャンネルですが、全体のセンスがすごく好み。

ポップミュージックという「この世の綺麗なところだけを救ってみせるファンタジー」と、SSWの「日々を告白」することによるコミュニケーションとしてのうた。このチャンネルの映像にはそういう非現実としてのイメージが根付いてる。

もともとそう言うのは好物なんですが、上半期数少ない新譜を買ったアーティストの中にそっち側へ思い切りハンドルを切らせた子が居たんです。

Sammy Brue - Once a Lover

基調として鳴る低音部と爪弾かれるメロディー、なにかを見てしまったような枯れと10代というまるさと甘さが同居する声。暗喩とも取れる要素が絡み合ってロマンティックだけど開かない歌詞。アルバムのプロデュースを施した曲たちももちろん良いけど、彼はシンガーとしての根っこがものすごく太い。

Flo Morrissey - If You Can’t Love, This All Go Away

そこからフォークシンガー数人のビデオを経て、彼女のセッションを見つけるんだけどこれまた衝撃。ついったーでも言ったけど、子守唄を歌う母のようであり、それにぐずる子どものようでもあり、生まれて初めての痛みがなんでなのか分かってるみたいな声、を持った23歳。Pages Of Gold でのアコギとチェロのみでより表現の色を増したやつも良いんだけど、こっちは映像作品としても美しい。特に後半にメロディーと歌詞をたわむれるように紡ぐところは最高

Jacob Banks - Say Something

アメリカ・NY州結成のインディ・ポップ・ユニット A Great Big Worldのカバー。原曲自体も別れをテーマにしたシリアスな曲だけど、彼の歌声と打ちつけるようなピアノが叩き出すメロディーは愚かしいまでに繰り返し続ける祈りのよう。ナイジェリア出身UK在住の彼にはどことなくスマートさがあるんだけど、ガチで無骨な、スレッジハンマーみたいなこのセッションに布一枚くらいは噛ませてやわらげてる。

Kodaline - High Hopes

アイルランド出身の四人組、さらに音数を減らしたパリでのセッションもあるんだけど、こちらはロマンスよりもその前の苦悩に光を当てている感じ。Mogwaiの「Come On Die Young」の前半部みたいな冷たさと押し寄せる孤独。2:50からのコーラスを狼の遠吠えと評するコメントがあるけど、その群れから離れ、愛するものとの遠さを理解してるからこそみたいな闇の表現を階段に託す映像のセンス。

MUNA - I Know A Place

剥き出しの歌って信じる？ 僕は信じてる。だから、ロサンゼルス結成のエレクトロ・ポップがこんな歌を歌うことに僕は感動した。原曲のプログレさの中にCharaやthe ClashみたいなR&B、パンクにソウルが眠ってるなんて！ この映像の小ささは歌の美しさの証明だし、人力のオーケストラに他ならない。Katie Gavinのシンガーとしての太さと後半をロングショットで収めるこのチャンネルのセンスの良さ。

Alex Vargas - Solid Ground

このハードコアバンドやHIPHOPユニットにいそうなデンマーク出身の兄さんが溢れんばかりに官能的でソウルフルな、間を活かした一曲で魅せるわけです。絞り出すように歌われる序盤のメロディーとロマンティックで悲劇として抽象化した歌詞に上手く乗っかってエクスタシーに至る中盤からの流れが圧巻。壮大とか荘厳みたいな大きさがない代わりにものすごく深くえぐってくれる。

Charlotte OC - Darkest Hour

彼女のこの曲もソウルフルと呼べそうだけど、こちらはその一貫した「哀」の表現が素晴らしい。オリジナルのミックスにもブルーズの要素はあるんだけど、ポップの衣を剥ぎとって快にも染まれず吐き出す歌は色も言葉も変えた感情の音。色んなものの影がよぎるけど、これを歌にするというポップソングとしての綺麗さが光る。

Laura Marling - Wild Fire

姐さんと呼ばせてください、と伏せてしまいそうになる音色の豊かさ。スポークンワードっぽくもあり、ポエトリーリーディングのように叙情的で、コーラスのメロディーは甘く、言葉はリズムを持って芯を打つ。Mahoganyは映像の回し方にもセンスあるなって思うけど、これはロケーションも含めてトップクラスに良い。想像の余地は大きく、感情はストレートに。

Gabrielle Aplin - Stay

日本盤も出てるUK出身の24歳、アルバムのプロダクションが過剰とは言わないけどSSWとしての面はこっちの方が素敵だ。弦楽器によるゆらぎをもったとたん彼女の声は官能性と美しさを増す。戻らない昨日の可能性と光がその声にある。最新作の Run For Cover のセッションも素敵で、遠ざかるほどに美しい景色は僕らの周りに残ってる。

Kim Churchill - Canopy

汗臭いのも置いておこう。豪州のアメリカーナ/フォーク・シンガーによる高速ラッ���とも呼べそうな吐き出す歌と踊り狂うハーモニカとギラギラ光るギター。これをほぼバストショットのみで撮るという構成は濃くて重いんだけどサザンロック的なカラッとした広さを感じたりもする。ここでも畳み掛けるような曲を近距離から映すことで、炸裂するメロディー以上のものが剥き出しになってる。

Half Monn Run - Unofferable

カナダ・モントリオール出身のインディ・ロックバンド。アンプラグドやアコースティックということで間を活かすか、歌メロを抽出するようなアレンジが多いこのセッションで数少ない、グッドメロディーという大砲をぶっ放すのが、彼ら。元々のアレンジからして打楽器と弦楽器にコーラスのハーモニーというのが武器なんだけどやってることがほとんど変わらないのがいい。屋内を強調する映像のカットと合わせて、ドビュッシーとかのロマン派的な見方が一番似合う気がする。

JP Cooper - In The Silence

こんなカリブの海賊みたいな兄さんが、ザ・UKロックみたいなナイーヴで甘いメロディーを歌うわけですよ、日の差し込む薄汚れた倉庫っていう完璧なロケーションで！ Mahoganyってどんな感じ？ って話なら、ほんとマジこんな感じ。歌声と悲劇っていうブラックミュージックの最低要素を持ってはいるけど、どのセッションもポップミュージックという綺麗さの枠に丁寧に収めてる。それが余白を生んで、影の中に無限の階調を作り出すんだけど。

Keaton Henson - Alright

最後にこちらもAlex Vargasと同じく29歳のUKの詩人/SSWの一曲。映像のまま、より闇が濃くなってロマンスも増しまし、ある意味繊細さと一番遠い場所でグロテスクなラブソングを歌ってる。それでも詩人としての一面ゆえか歌詞で情景とリズムを束ねのぼるコーラスの光や、そこに透けるシンプルな愛情はこの闇にこそ映えると思うけど。

こんな感じで上半期BEST代わりの記事は終わりにしたいと思います。歌うというコミュニケーションについて、いつかちゃんと書けたらいいのですが、ここに挙げた歌を聴いたときに浮かぶものは会話や文章では生まれないものってのが重要なポイントなのです。

EMOについても以前話しましたが、アレの大前提も「歌」です。僕らが言葉を超えるコミュニケーション・ツールを持たない以上、そこに音とフリとを加えたものが「他人」を求めるシーンにおいて何よりも必要とされるわけです。音が国境を越えるなら、そこにかかる橋が言葉です。繋がったことが出会いになるなら、僕の記事を通してあなたに新しい出会いがあれば、と祈ります。

クソな世界に心配は山積みですが、これを持って上半期を締めます。

#Mahogany Sessions #Column #2017