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madelynraemunson · 3 months

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CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club series)

strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!reader

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ MDNI

Chapter 020: ‘Red Thong, Party’s On!’ (Epilogue)

a/n: pov you’re back at hellfire, but this time you’re sharing the stage with eddie, stripping while he plays a song for you to dance to 🤭🤭♥️ (SURPRISE AT THE END) it’s been a WILD ride my loves, thank you all so much for the support for CMWYW. i hope we all continue to create more beautiful things together. readers, writers, artists, creatives of all kinds keep the world going round. 🤟🏼💋 all my love, maddy

MESS WITH HER? SHE’LL FUCK YOU UP

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014** , 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020*

CW: strip club behaviors hehe, grinding, pole-dancing, ass-shaking, all that hellfire goodness, implications that shy girl c*me on eddie's guitar

word count: 990 words

♡

Mom always used to say, "Inside of you, there are two wolves: a good one and a bad one. Depending on which mouth you feed, one will triumph the other.”

She left out one thing, however: sometimes being bad feels so fucking good.

“We’ve got a verrry special treat for you tonight folks!” the DJ announces. “She took a break for a little while but now she is BACK… and here to stay with us, FOREVER! Put your hands together for the ONE, the ONLY — Hellfire’s Princess — SHYYY GIIIIRL!”

And the crowd goes wild.

You emerge from the side stage in your glimmering scarlet set, flipping your plump, bouncy locks around as you dip your hips to the beat. Your regular customers swoon as you blow them kisses, and the petty kisses you issue to the Hellfire Girls (they came to pick up their severance checks) leave them shaking in their stilettos.

"WOOO, HARGROVE!" Nancy cheers for you backstage, dancing to the song as she curls Nina's hair.

"LET 'EM KNOW, BABY!" Nina shouts after her.

You acknowledge them with a wink, giving one to Chrissy as well as she cheers for you on the opposite side of the stage, bouncing up and down in her sexy Hellfire cheer uniform.

“Let’s go, Shy Girl!” ‘Cherry’ cheers as she waves her pom-poms in the air. "LET'S GOOOO!"

She's hot! Can’t stop! Up on stage doing shots!

You shake your ass when the song calls on it, grinding your hips to the beat to match the lyrics as they come. The crowd hoots and hollers as you dance, showering you in dollar bills as you make the pole your bitch for the night.

“YEAAAH!” Max cheers. “That’s my sister!”

As you glide down the cylindrical silver steel, you wave to the crowd and thank them all for coming out.

“Thank you! Aww, thanks so much! OMG, how are you? Long time no see!”

But just because you’re doing your thing on stage doesn’t mean you aren’t paying attention to the happenings beneath you. Because while you have a bird’s eye view of Vecna’s Lair, you can’t help but fix your gaze on Lucas, who is dressed rather sharper than usual tonight, going up to Maxine in attempts to ‘rizz her up’.

“I see spiciness runs in the family,” Lucas remarks to her as they stand beside each other in Vecna’s Lair.

The self-proclaimed 'Dark Chocolate' shoots her an awkward wink, to which Max responds with a grimace on her face.

“Genetics wasn’t playing ‘bout y’all,” Lucas continues. "You're looking mighty fine tonight, Max."

“Thanks. I guess,” Max shrugs, refusing to entertain it. “But, if you knew anything about family dynamics and DNA, you’d know she’s my step-sister."

"Psh," Lucas scoffs. "Yeah! Yeah, I knew that."

"Course you did," she jeers. "Stalker."

“Stalker?! I thought we were friends.”

Max rolls her eyes. “Whatever this is, is far from platonic.”

She begins to strut away, giving Lucas the opportunity to race after her. And Sinclair wastes no time, pushing himself past the sea of sweaty men to catch up to the beautiful redhead in front of him.

“So there’s a chance we can be more than friends?!”

You chuckle as you watch it unfold from the stage. Then you turn to everyone else.

Argyle and Jonathan give you two stoned-filled waves hello. You wave back. Henry whose the designated bone-snapper bouncer tonight blows you a kiss. You catch it and return the favor. Mike and Will don't even give you the time of day.

You then turn your attention to Dustin who is both head-banging to the song, and holding up a lazily written message on the black screen of his phone: “I AM LOOKING RESPECTFULLY”. You can't help but giggle. It's like he's a mini Eddie.

Speaking of your boyfriend, your eyes dart back to the side stage where you meet Eddie’s gaze.

She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth.

You watch as the curly-haired, metalhead-turned-strip-club-owner eyes you steadily, situating his guitar around himself, giving the body of his NJ Warlock one more wipe down with a cloth.

He smirks to himself, satisfied at the thought that only you two know why that guitar needed wiping down in the first place. But he’s mostly pleased with the fact that, despite the long list of handsome, eligible bachelors after your heart, the passionate, down-to-earth, sexy, siren of a woman that is you, is all his.

My girlfriend's a dick magnet. MY girlfriend…

Eddie then takes to the stage, using the same fingers he’ll use to ravage you tonight to strum the chords of the sexy guitar solo of the song — you know, the song about a guy…..with a hot stripper girlfriend…..whose seducing everyone around her while she does her thing…..in that beautiful red set.

“HOLY SHIT!” someone from the crowd raves, causing Eddie’s eyes to light up like a little kid. “DUET OF THE CENTURY!”

You’ve healed so many parts of Eddie that he was too scared to explore: Love after Isabelle. Showing him that self-care is just as important as caring for Wayne. Encouraging him to find a hobby outside of Hellfire that didn't include doing payroll or grocery shopping. And healing his inner teenager by letting him play on stage with you, as he relives his glory days as the guitarist and frontman of Corroded Coffin one last time.

And as Eddie continues to strum, he stays thinking of you. He couldn’t wait to heal more parts of himself…with 'Shy Girl' Hargrove by his side.

“So,” you pant, edging closer to your boyfriend as the music draws on. "What's next after this?"

Eddie smirks. As the instrumental allows, he presses you against his body, kissing you softly against the lips before trailing all the way down your neck. Your breath hitches in arousal as he hums against you.

“Whatever you want.”

The End

SIKE! King Steve has entered the chat… 😉

CALL OUT MY NAME ♛

(Book #2 of the Hellfire Gentlemen's Club Series)

CEO!bachelor!steve × fem!college grad!reader

MODERN AU • 18+ | BOOK #1 (e.m.)

slight age gap (Steve is 31, reader is 23); reader goes by the nickname "Sweets"

*loosely inspired by sara cate’s salacious players club*

Summary: 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐄. Steve Harrington has the WORST luck with the ladies. His high school sweetheart left him for another dude, his former fuck buddy is dating his roommate, and his dream girl is a lesbian. King Steve is losing hope. That is until he meets you — a newly graduated university student from Seattle — when your paths cross on a fateful night in Sin City. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... that is until your risky business trickles over to Hawkins, Indiana, a town your best friend knows of a little too well.

theme song: call out my name by the weeknd

tag list is open 💌✨

PREVIEW

♛

Winter 2024

“WATCH OUT INDIANAPOLIS — you're about to get... absolutely SOAKED!”

The booming voice of a man in Steve’s bedroom stirs him awake.

Letting out a ferocious yawn, The King rubs his eyes free of the annoying crust in the corner of his sockets, flopping around one more time before doing his routine stretch.

“Google,” Steve commands. “Turn off the TV.”

The TV immediately switches off. It’s nothing personal to meteorologist Marcus Bailey, but if Steve ever needed an accurate forecast of Indianapolis, all he would have to do is look outside his penthouse window. And that, after brushing his teeth, is just what he does.

"G'morning Indy,” he sighs happily on his balcony before going back inside.

Steve then makes his way over to the kitchen to fix himself some breakfast.

“Google,” he calls out again. “Open the curtains, please.”

Google replies:

“Opening curtains. Good morning — Steve.”

"Google, what's my schedule looking like today?" "Google, text Dustin." “Google, what is the weather looking like in Nevada?” “Google, turn on my shower tunes.”

The best thing about not living with Eddie Munson anymore, is that Steve can shamelessly sing Amy Winehouse in the shower without being hounded about it.

“We only saaaid GOODBYE, with WORDS!” Steve sings, confidently off-key. “I died a hundred times! You go back to her, and I goooo baaack toooo…”

"Scanning fingerprint...”

an automated voice announces at the entrance of Steve's walk-in closet.

Swish...

The door slides open. Sauntering his way inside, Steve ventures for some slick black athleisure down to the shoes, his usual musky cologne, and some matching sunglasses (despite the gloomy forecast prediction).

Black. 🎶

Steve Harrington is ready for the day.

---

"Google, make reservations for 3 people at Tony's Steakhouse at 7pm please."

All Steve had left to do for the day now was grocery shop. Which was always a hassle. Because sometimes, the store doesn't have the specific brand he's looking for so the shopper has to opt for an alternate version. Or sometimes, the shopper assigned to him that day chooses produce that is nearing its expiration date making every fruit in his bag a mushy mess. It doesn't happen too often, but it sure feels inconvenient as hell when it does. There are worse problems in life though, so Steve really can't complain.

*Ring, ring. Ring, ring*

The very distinct and custom ringtone has Steve bolting across the room to answer the call. One of his best friends was on the other line.

"Yello?" he says into the phone.

"Hey, it's Shy Girl," comes a voice. "Eddie and I are pulling in."

"Pull off to the side. Valet's got it. I'll send you guys up."

A bottle of cabernet sauvignon a la Steve awaits the pair when they make their way over. Consider it a Tony's pre-game.

"GameWorld stock is up 4% today,” Steve's buddy, and owner of Hellfire Gentlemen's Club Eddie Munson announces as the two clink glasses. "I don’t have much faith in it though, figure I’ll get my pie slices from actual grocery stores. Like Meijer.”

“Everyone's always gonna need groceries,” Steve points out. "Definitely. Just don't day trade. Not now."

"Ooh, you hear that, Eds?" Shy Girl nudges him. "You gotta be careful where you put your money."

"I gotta be careful with my money, period," Eddie smirks. "You're a danger to my pockets, angel."

"Oh but you love me," she says.

"Yeah," Eddie gives in, grabbing his lover's dainty digits, trailing his fingers across hers, and rubbing the glistening rock that took up most of her left hand on the distal side. "I sure do."

"I'm just... so proud of us," Steve sappily reflects. "So much has happened over the past two years and we've all come so far."

"Yeah," Shy Girl agrees. "And it's about fucking time we celebrate."

"I agree," Eddie chimes in, raising his glass once again. "This weekend trip is going to be... one for the books."

"Viva Las Vegas," Steve toasts. "Cheers."

"Viva Las Vegas!"

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Black and red.

They're the two colors that occupy your closet the most. But of course, after graduating from Washington State University (or Wazzu, for short), you expected nothing less.

You could do with some more sequins though, you think to yourself as you pack your bags.

"What do you think of this, Sweets?"

Peering over your shoulder, you see that your best friend, Elle has started festivities early, managing to hold two glasses of champagne in one hand, and six-inch stilletoes in the other.

"Can't take the party out of the girl, that's for damn sure," you respond.

When you left Seattle to attend WSU Pullman, Elle was your only friend in business class. Mainly because the class was predominantly for dudes, but eventually you found out that you two have a lot in common.

Elle is everything you would want in an older sister figure: she is both book smart and wise, she is sexy, and she eats men for breakfast. And, now that she's about to celebrate the launching of her lingerie business (along with her Dirty 30s Era), and you're about to enter your new-grad era, you two are hitting up Las Vegas to go ham together one last time.

It's all so bittersweet. You owe everything to the Warrens, having taken you in when you were a lost undergrad. It also sucked quite a bit not having a support system after graduating high school. You and Elle were all each other has. Which makes this inevitable separation so much more painful.

"Are you sure you're okay with Vegas by the way?" you question. "I know since the split, being surrounded by gorgeous girls 24/7 can kinda be triggering.”

"Don't worry about it, love," she shakes it off. "The past is in the past. This is a new era of me."

Cheers to that. Clinking your airport-pregame champagne glasses with one another, you raise a toast to yourselves, celebrating how far the two of you have come over the past four years.

"To friendship."

"To being elegant and educated."

"To elegance and education."

"And to being girl-bosses for the rest of our lives."

You giggle as you raise your glass of champagne even higher.

"To being girl-bosses for the rest of our lives," you two take a sip at the same time. "And no matter how near and no matter how far, we're always gonna be besties."

"I love you, Sweets."

"I love you too, Isabelle."

🏷️ tag list: @chrrymunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n , @corrodedcoffincumslut , @bebe07011 , @mmunson86 , @eddiesguitarskills , @chelebelletx , @imonhereforareasonsadly , @eddies-trailer-babe @motherfckerr , @jxpsi , @sidthedollface2 , @manda-panda-monium , @elvendria , @micheledawn1975 , @hereforshmut , @siriuslysmoking , @mediocredreams @nymphetkoo , @m-chmcl-rmnc , @ahoyyharrington , @keepittoyourselftellnobodyelse @kellyxo1 @emsgoodthinkin @winchester-angel @chloe-6123 , @redbarn1995 @angietherose @kiyastrf94 , @purplewitchcauldron @kellsck @joyfulfxckery @munsons-mayhem28 @dragonfire @emma77645 @drivelikenina @livosssblog @thinkingth0ts @hugdealer @ellielunamckay @xblueriddlex @maskofmirrors @babyloutattoo89 @queenofhawkins @feral-pumpkin-energy @bl0ssomanddie

divider from: @plum98

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson smut #strip club owner! eddie #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #eddie munson fanfics #joseph quinn #joe quinn

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lgcmanager · 4 months

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SIDE EVENT 020

a reminder on side-events; they are non-mandatory occasional events that your muse can choose to participate in or not.

while missing an event might mean missing out on points, be aware that choosing to take part in it could have positive or negative consequences for your muse. there is also no telling which part of the event will have consequences either since they will be tailored to make it difficult to guess what could impact your muse. while the final consequences are decided at the same time as the event is created, we will only reveal them the sunday after the deadline if there are any. so choose wisely: are you willing to make a gamble with your muse?

( important note: EVERY IDOL in the company will take part in the event canon wise, whether or not a mun writes for it. )

every year, the period between FEBUARY 14 and MARCH 14 is called LOVE MONTH at LEGACY ENTERTAINMENT. during this period, legacy’s staff and roster are encouraged to demonstrate their appreciation to their coworkers.

APPRECIATION (TRAINEES)

this year, for the TRAINEES, the event is coming back to its roots. the SENIORS (NPC) in charge of organizing the event this season, have decided to provide their fellow trainees with THREE love letters that they need to fill up, the letters will later be given to their correspondant altogether anonymously. the recipients of the letters must be

A COACH that has helped you GROW in the last year

A SENIOR IDOL (npc idols are eligible) that has SHINED in your eye in the last year

A FELLOW TRAINEE that you wish to CHEER ON this year

REQUIREMENTS

submit the following form ONCE on the MANAGER BLOG before MARCH 16, 2024 11:59 EDT. rewards will be revealed the following week.

TITLE: MUSE NAME ∙ LOVE MONTH 2K24 (TRAINEE) - COACH: name the coach's discipline (example: singing, dancing, acting, guitar...), and how they have help you grow - SENIOR IDOL: name the senior idol, and how they have shined this year - TRAINEE: name the trainee, and give them words of encouragement

note that to avoid negative feelings, none of the submits will be made public. ic wise, it will be considered that EVERYBODY has received at least a letter.

APPRECIATION (ACTORS & MODELS)

as most of you know, the beloved branch director HEO AECHA (and KIM HYUNCHEOL's wife), has recenlty given birth to the couple's second child. LEGACY AGENCY's staff has therefore decided to make this love month about her!

REQUIREMENTS

for +8 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE ANYWHERE AND 2 NOTORIETY, write a 300+ words solo about how your muse decided to show their appreciation this year. pick one of the four options available:

WRITE a LETTER to HEO AECHA about what the muse likes about LGC AGENCY

PICK a CONGRATULATORY GIFT for HEO AECHA

GIVE an APPRECIATION GIFT to the MUSE'S MANAGER

WRITE ABOUT a SPECIAL MEMORY of your muse with their MANAGER

make sure to use the hashtag lgc:lovemonth2k24 for your solos. you have until MARCH 16, 2023 at 11:59PM EDT to complete the requirements and validate your points. please submit the following form ONCE on the points blog.

TITLE: MUSE NAME ∙ LOVE MONTH 2K24 (LGC AGENCY) - APPRECIATION: +8 skill points distribution +2 notoriety [ LINK ]

LOVE MINIFES (IDOLS)

** please note that only idols who have ALREADY PERFORMED with their groups PRIOR to their respective MINI-CONCERTS are eligible for this requirements. otherwise, they must do the TRAINEE task **

with their various schedules taking them away from the company for weeks at time and their high demand, LEGACY'S NEW GENERATION OF IDOL will be holding mini-concerts at EVERLAND for their fans. the GIRLS (crystallis, fabula and nova) will perform on FEBRUARY 14 (valentine's day), while the BOYS (type zero, versus and agito) will perform on MARCH 14 (white day). for the mini-concerts, each group will perform 3 SONGS, which will be followed by a photo op during which, each idol will take pictures with 5 LUCKY FANS (solo). note that the environment will be heavily controled with security present during the photo op. no fans will be allowed to touch the idols for their safety.

finally, after the conclusion of the MINIFES idols will be have ONE HOUR to enjoy EVERLAND. barriers and security members will be prosent so they may enjoy their time without being interrupted by fans.

VALENTINE'S MINIFES (performance order, costumes and songs)

CRYSTALLIS (costume: crystallis' 2024 official uniform): 'LOVE', 'MY GOSH', 'SIESTA'

NOVA (costume: nova's 2024 official uniform): 'HYPE BOY', 'ATTENTION', 'DITTO'

FABULA (costume: fabula's 2024 official uniform): 'SHOOT!', 'HYPNOSIS', 'IMPURITIES'

WHITE DAY'S MINIFES (performance order, costumes and songs)

TYPE ZERO (costume: lgc boys' 2024 official uniform): 'MAKE A WISH', 'SPRAY', 'LIKE A MOVIE'

VERSUS (costume: lgc boys' 2024 official uniform): 'PADO', 'CREAM SODA', 'ROCK WITH YOU' [with agito]

AGITO (costume: lgc boys' 2024 official uniform): 'ROCK WITH YOU' [with versus], 'BLUE HOUR', 'SCENT OF YOU' [kor. version]

REQUIREMENTS

for +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE ANYWHERE AND 5 NOTORIETY, write on one of the following options available:

a 300+ word solo about anything related to PERFORMING during the MINIFES

a 300+ word solo about the PHOTO SESSION with FANS

a thread with 4 replies (minimum 8 lines) about enjoying their time POST MINIFES with another IDOL

make sure to use the hashtag lgc:lovemonth2k24 for your threads and solos. you have until MARCH 16, 2023 at 11:59PM EDT to complete the requirements and validate your points. please submit the following form ONCE on the points blog.

TITLE: MUSE NAME ∙ LOVE MONTH 2K24 (IDOL) LOVE MINIFES: +5 skill points distribution +5 notoriety [ LINK ]

#lgc:event #lgc:q12024 #lgc:lovemonth2k24

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greenzeppelin215 · 1 month

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My Led Zeppelin Reunion Odyssey

Like everyone else, I'd first heard rumors of Led Zeppelin reuniting in June 2007. I assumed this was just another in a long line of rumors that seemed to materialize on an almost regular basis.

I didn't think much of these latest rounds of rumors until I received a cryptic email from my Zeppelin associate in September. He said it was definitely on and would be announced the public in a few weeks. I had to promise not to repeat this information to anybody until it's been officially announced.

The rumors and web sites were lit up with speculation, theories, denials, dreamers, skeptics and nay-sayers. Finally the day came when an official announcement was made and the Zeppelin world on the Internet exploded. There was to be a concert on Nov 26th, 2007 in honor of Ahmet Ertegun with Jason Bonham joining the rest of the band.

I immediately calculated the odds of getting a ticket, getting off from work and traveling to London. I didn't even have a valid passport. So I resigned myself to hearing about it and seeing clips of it on the Internet. I immediately assumed I would not be going and didn't entertain the thought an set myself up for disappointment. Like 20 million other fans over the world, I registered for a ticket online and didn't seriously consider having a chance at winning a ticket but it was definitely worth a try.

However, a few weeks after the concert was announced in Sept, I got an email from my Zeppelin associate saying "Pack your bags". I didn't quite know what to make of it and wasn't sure what he was referring to or if he was playing some sort of practical joke.

I replied to his email and asked something like "Is this what I think it is?" He said it was and it was serious and came from "the Source”, a reference I knew to mean his connection with the inner circle within the band, Jimmy Page's manager whom he'd known quite well since meeting him in 2003 at the release and premiere showing of "DVD" in NY.

A few days later he forwarded me an email from 'The Source" outlining the itinerary for picking up our tickets:

TICKET COLLECTION

As you are a friend of ours, you won't be required to pick up your tickets at will call with the 20,000 other fans - you will however need to go to the Royal Garden Hotel at 2-24 Kensington High Street, London W8 4PT. Tel: 020-7937-8000.

On Saturday 8th December, between the hours of 11.00am and 2.00pm, from the Royal Garden Hotel. Please ask for guest Mark Reiter in Room number 247.

On Sunday 9th December, between the hours of 11.00am and 2.00pm, from the Royal Garden Hotel. Please ask for guest Mark Reiter in Room number 247.

On Monday 10th December any uncollected tickets will be sent over to the o2 Arena. These may be collected from 10.00am onwards, at the box office at the o2 Arena.

Please note that you will be expected to provide ID in your name to collect your tickets.

A few things NOT to ask Marc:

Can I get passes? Can I get more tickets? Can I pick them up later? Are the seats good?

While you may be a friend of ours, that doesn't necessarily, give you the right to give him grief or to be ignorant - unless of course he really asks for it!

The show will start at 7.15pm with Bill Wymans All Stars. Led Zeppelin will be on stage at 9.00pm. The show will be over at 11.00pm…..

If you have any other questions regarding ticket collection please feel free to email me at [email protected]

Instantly calculating the odds of being able to find a flight, hotel, a passport and time off from work, I knew this would be a miracle to pull off. It all seemed too good to be true. It was all happening too fast.

It came out of the blue and didn't seem real. Would I have enough time to renew my passport? Would it all fall apart after getting a ticket when all hinged on getting a new passport? My old passport was needed to in order to get a new one and it sat 800 miles away in storage.

I didn't know if I could: 1) Get back to Philly or 2) Locate it and 3) Send in with enough time to be renewed and returned to me in time.

As it happened, I had to fly to Atlanta for work in early Nov. and I scheduled the flight to stop over in Phila. with a long layover.

I jumped in the rental car, drove to the storage place and immediately found the passport! Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Jimmy had broken his finger and the concert would be postponed until Dec 10th. Had the concert not been postponed, my worst fears would have been realized where I would have had a ticket but no passport. I actually did not have a ticket in my hand and was assured that I would be given one once in London. I booked a hotel and flight and everything seemed OK at that point.

Not so OK was the fact that our contact within Zep's camp was evasive and frequently unavailable. Our hopes we dashed and then a reassurance would come on the roller coaster ride that was getting tickets to the concert.

Many assurances were met with long intervals of silence that did not instill a lot of confidence that we, in fact, would have tickets in hand in London.

So travel plans made, I left for the airport only to be called by my boss asking if I was working that night. After multiple calls, I scrambled and found a replacement at the last minute.

Earlier as I was leaving, I superstitiously said that it would be a good concert if I'd seen a dog before the show. Well, I get to the airport and immediately see two German Shepherd working dogs. A good vibe straight away!

A long flight to London then met up with my two fellow Zep friends at Heathrow airport. The airport was swarming with Zeppelin fans from all over the world. The customs agent even asked if I was there for the concert. The atmosphere was buzzing with Led Zeppelin magic. Jumping on a train with our luggage, we were instantly identified as Americans among the Londoners. The plan was to get off the train and locate a particular hotel and pick up the tickets.

Arriving at the hotel, we were given the room number and excitedly knocked on the door. Upon entering the crowded room, we identified Jimmy's road manager on the cell phone and then sitting at a table making plans-mostly about tickets and passes. The room was filled with hangers-on, roadies, assistants and the obligatory model type named "Fern".

The 3 of us sat on the sofa as not to intrude on the proceedings. Finally, my buddy spoke with the manager and was told to wait.

Thirty minutes later, we were each given an envelope. It was spilling over with tickets, passes and multi-colored wrist bands. Huh? Were we given the right envelopes? These apparently were for VIP's as the passes were for rehearsal access, multiple after parties and everything a fan could possible want and more. I could only say "Thank you, thank you". We left the hotel and noticed a marble plaque on the ground that read "All Will Be Revealed". It was eerie.

Making it to the hotel, we had heard rumors of the stage crew also being there. I imagined Zeppelin style parties throughout the hallways. It has to be a rumor only as it simply would be too good to be true. We checked in to the hotel, the West India Quay Marriott which was $600/night when accounting for the exchange rate. I thought that rather steep but figured we were getting the tickets and passes for free so it was worth the expense. The girl at the desk said "It's taken care of". I looked at my buddy and didn't say a thing. We gathered in the lobby and asked "Did she mean what I thought she meant?". He thought so and we apparently were "comped" by the band. All 3 of us were staying at the hotel for three days for free. Unbelievable!

My two buddies went sight-seeing around London and to buy t shirts and souvenirs but I decided to stay in the hotel and rest from the long flight and avoid the gloomy, cold December weather outside. I hadn't brought warm enough clothing and could kick myself for not bringing my leather Led Zeppelin jacket!!

I stayed in and called friends from back in the States telling them I had made it to London and read all the Zep magazines I had picked up along the way.

One of the passes we were given was for the soundcheck/rehearsal. The O2 was only a mile away but we had to take a train to get there. We boarded the train and made it to the venue. We immediately met familiar faces and spent time with the Zep tribute band Led Zepagain, also members of FBO. While in line, we could hear the rumblings of "No Quarter" coming thru the doors.

After a thirty minute wait, we were escorted in to the stage area where we saw Robert, Jimmy, John Paul and Jason on stage casually working thru 'No Quarter',' Nobody's Fault But Mine' ,'In My Time of Dying' and a loose jam which was very cool.

There were maybe 100 people among the audience-mostly crew, charity people and contest winners. Robert got down from the stage and wandered around on the floor to listen to the sound and socialize with the crew and fans. I think one of the people he was talking to was his daughter or a close female associate who was laying on the floor right in front of the stage. During the rehearsal, Jason's son did a little drum solo met with a nice round of applause. Robert's voice sounded great and Jimmy's guitar sound was powerful! It was amazing to see the band rehearsing and in such a casual mood. It was the best of both worlds where they were the famous rock stars but also casual enough to just be themselves hanging out and enjoying the chemistry. All 4 band members seemed relaxed and upbeat. After about an hour, we were all asked to leave and were back in to the O2 corridors. From the performance we had just witnessed, we anticipated a powerful concert.

That afternoon back at the hotel, I got a call from one of my buddies who said "Quick, get to the lobby. Jimmy's guitars are down in the lobby in cases!". I jumped on the elevator and made it to the lobby but the gear had disappeared as fast as it had arrived. Apparently it was true that the road crew was staying at our hotel after all. But there were no hot groupies running the hallways, unfortunately.

Later that night, there was a planned social gathering at a local pub called "The Pilot" where Zep fans from different online fan groups had agreed to meet. Royal Orleans, FBO, Achilles Last Stand and representatives from the official forum were all meeting up that night at "The Pilot".

Nech, Mike and I wandered over to the Pilot thru the cold night. Images of American tourists waiting to be pounced upon by a stray werewolf (to quote from Nech, himself).

I was especially looking forward to meeting up with Annie Hollinshead, the organizer of the Knebworth event planned for the following August and Kevin ,a native Brit who I'd been in contact with for years but have yet to meet. Annie and I had been corresponding by phone and Skype for the previous 6 months in preparation for the Knebworth event and a book of collected fan stories to be given to Jimmy on his birthday for the previous 6 months or so. But I had yet to meet her too.

Upon arriving at "The Pilot", I met up with Kevin and Annie where I recounted the afternoon's events at the rehearsal.

There was a festive atmosphere at the pub where long held friendships were renewed or realized in the real world for the first time much like Annie, Kevin and myself. We met up with a guy who claimed to have recorded the Honolulu 71 concert who presented us with photos and his story of being at that concert.

There also was a guy from Sweden outside the pub looking for tickets. It was a great environment but all three of us were absolutely starving as none of us had a thing to eat since arriving. The rush of events and location of the venue and hotel did not lend itself to access to restaurants. The pub had no food at that hour and we were all about to pass out. We made our way back to the O2 which was the closest place that had any food at that hour and split a pizza with Annie, Kevin and a mate of his. I think we finally got to bed back at the hotel around 2 or 3 am.

The day of the concert, we all met up in the one hotel room and did multiple checks for tickets, passes, wrist bands and identification that we were told would be required to get in to the building. After a frantic search for a misplaced ticket, we headed to the train station.

We boarded another train and met a few fellow Zep fans from all over the world, including a group of drunken British business men and another American. Arriving at the O2 , the atmosphere was cold but electric with anticipation. Fans spilled in and were spread out all over the place. The news media had camped out all over the grounds of the enormous venue grounds, covering the hottest news story all over the world for that day and days afterwards. I said to nobody in particular “I wonder if there will be any celebrities here"-not realizing this event was THE social event throughout all of Europe for everybody including non-Zeppelin fans. Models and celebrities from all over had descended on the event as the place to see and be seen. A huge inflatable blimp outside the venue reinforces the omnipresence of the might Led Zeppelin. I was thinking how nice it would have been to have actual airships flying over the O2.

We arrived at the door and were let in just on showing our wrist bands. We weren't even asked to show our driver's license or any of the checks put in place to prevent ticket scalping. It would have just taken too long and the security was not enforcing the identity checks put in place, at least not as strictly as had been announced.

We then made our way up the ramp to where our seats were and realized the seats were in the VIP area!! At this security check point, they were looking for cameras and recording devices with a metal detecting wand. Jimmy's road manager was there and came over said to the security guy "It's OK, these guys are OK" and were let thru the line without any bother. We were seated to left of the stage up on the 2nd level from the floor. At some point, I grabbed a sandwich which I think was $18. The seats could NOT have been better. We were up about halfway of the first section on Jimmy's side of the stage.

One of the guys ran in to some friends and went on a quest to find other friends from Europe. I met up with a fellow American and FBO member who now lived in the UK and we hung out talked about the show and who else was there we knew. One of my buddies made it down to the side of the stage and was talking with the crew who were guarding Jimmy's guitars by the stage. He came back and said he also spoke with Brian May from Queen who was there with his girlfriend. A few minutes later there was a buzz to my left as Marilyn Manson arrived with his actress girlfriend (Evan Rachel Wood). And I could have sworn I saw Nuno Bettencourt sitting to our left. (it turns out that it was him).

The warm up acts were given polite applause but nobody was interested. It was awkward for them as nobody was there to hear them. Everybody was only there to see Led Zeppelin and it was painfully obvious to the bands on stage (Foreigner etc.) and to the fans. There was a really nice filmed tribute to Ahmet and then a very nice filmed documentary of the band.

Then I noticed Jimmy come to the side of the stage and was stretching his legs limbering up before the show. Finally the lights went down and a roar came up thru the crowd.

The first chords of Good Times Bad Times raised the roof. It was a powerful, palpable sound!

The set list continued as follows: Ramble On Black Dog -"Good Evening" announced Robert. He commented on Ahmet and the fact that there were fans from 129 countries at the show. In My Time of Dying-Powerful For Your Life- Was met with a huge roar. It was rumored to be played at the show but nobody was certain it would actually be played at the show. Trampled Under Foot (During the beginning of each song, I dialed my buddy AJ was at work who was recounting which song was being played to his Zep fan office mates.) Nobody's Fault But Mine No Quarter- Very powerful. Since I've Been Loving You-Great Dazed And Confused was great with Jimmy using his bow and the laser pyramid. My friends Annie and Kevin were in the front of the stage at this point and I was happy that she realized her lifelong dream to see Jimmy in concert which she had never done up until this night. Stairway To Heaven introduced by Robert as "This is for you, Ahmet" then "We did it Ahmet" afterwards. The Song Remains The Same Misty Mountain Hop Kashmir was the highlight of the night. Robert's vocals were great and the visuals were perfect and mesmerizing. The crowd reacted to this song the most. Someone threw a bowler hat up on stage at this point, in dedication to John Bonham, I assume. Jason Bonham came to the front of the stage and turned around to face Robert, Jimmy and JPJ in an "I'm not worthy" gesture. -Encore: Whole Lotta Love Rock And Roll

After the lights went up, I noticed that Richard Cole was standing 2 rows in front of me. I elbowed Mike and whispered "That's Richard Cole!!". He said "How do you know?" I just knew as I'd seen an interview with him on the E! Channel and he looked the same as in the interview. In the meantime, my buddy from NY spotted Mo Jones making her way out of her seat beneath us and to the left. He spoke with her briefly but she didn't recall him from their meeting in NY in 2003. She was there with her grandchildren and preoccupied with them. We reluctantly filed out of our seats and the place was buzzing. There was a bottleneck in the corridor as friends and fans were mulling around talking about the experience. My buddy was talking with Warren Haynes from Government Mule who was really nice. A minute later, I noticed Ben Harper and his girlfriend Laura Dern walking around. I took the chance and tapped her on the shoulder and told her that I loved the movie "October Sky" which is one of my favorites. She lit up and said "Thank you!" and was really sweet. She's tall! I could see that her boyfriend asked her what I'd said to her and I'm assuming she told him I commented on the movie. Meeting her was icing on the cake. An actress from one of my all-time favorite movies after the Zeppelin show! So we gathered together and were looking for how to get to the backstage area. There was a group of us all lost and apparently looking for the same place. Richard Cole was standing among us and looking for the same place. The elevator was crowded and he got on the next one. We found the corridor leading to the backstage area and got in line with our wristbands prominently displayed. Who was standing in line in front of me? Richard Cole, of course! Amazing. He's pretty tall too…six feet two, I would say. I wanted to reach out and talk to him but thought better of it. I regret not at least saying "Hi" to him. We entered the back stage area and got something to drink. My buddy and I found an area to stand and observed the crowd pass by. Eddie Kramer walked by! (I’d met him at a record convention in 1988 so I immediately recognized him). Lulu the British singer was there too. Lots of model types were milling around. The atmosphere in the backstage area was electric with anticipation of any of the band members showing up, of course. A small group gathered in front of us: Richard Cole, one of the guys from Oasis, Chad Smith, the drummer from Red Hot Chili Peppers and a few other cool musicians stood around talking about the concert. Richard Cole was maybe ten feet in front of me the whole time and I really wanted to ask him for an autograph. But he was on his cell phone most of the time and I didn't want to intrude. It turns out that my buddy managed to get a photo with him which was cool. Damn, I should have been more forward with that! So were standing around and all the sudden a murmur covers the room like a wave. Jason Bonham shows up to our left. He's with his son and is surrounded by maybe ten people including my buddy who has a nice conversation with him. I could tell that Jason was really gracious and really friendly with all the fans. A few minutes later, Jimena Page makes an appearance. Like a streak across the room, she disappeared somewhere among a crowd, I think because I didn't see her after then. However, Jimmy's son, James Page Jr was there to my right and had a conversation with my buddy from NY. (He was very indifferent to being a world famous guitarist's song according to my buddy and apparently very down to Earth from what my buddy told me of their conversation) About 30 minutes later, John Paul Jones arrived surrounded by 15 people. He was glowing and obviously happy about the performance. He was inundated by questions from all around him. Again, I was so tempted to try to talk to him but didn't want to intrude and probably couldn't have penetrated the throng of people around him.

A few hours had gone by. JPJ and Jason stayed about an hour or so. Finally, ushers came in and announced that we all must leave. After much prodding, we were forced out of the backstage area and made our way to the after party at the Indigo Club. After another line and wrist band checking, we entered the Indigo. Solomon Burke, the blues artist was on stage. What I would assume were record company people and friends of the band were milling around. We were all pretty tired at this point but managed to stick around until three am or so. Not much was really happening at the Indigo but we hung out and made the most of it. Finally leaving the O2, we attempted to flag down a taxi. We were told that it would cost $100 or so by a rather rude taxi driver who wasn't interested in taking us anywhere so close as our hotel. We were starving, tired, elated, and cold and lost in the area around the O2. We even tried to flag down a regular bus and a double decker bus for two hours. We finally grabbed hot dogs off of a vendor working out of a cart there for working people on their way to work at five am.

Eventually we got a gypsy cab who took us back to the hotel. My flight back to Chicago was at 11:30 am that morning and Heathrow was all the way on the other side of London which entailed taking 3 trains to get to the terminals. I slept for an hour and left the hotel at seven am where I toured the London subway system to get to the airport and board the plane. Lots of hung over American Zep fans were on the shuttle bus and plane on the way back to the U.S. Everybody was recounting the previous night's events….still buzzing from the once in a lifetime experience. Fortunately the plane was almost empty and I stretched out across 4 seats to sleep the whole length of the flight back home. Carrying my cache of souvenirs, I made it to the rental car and back to the hotel. That night I went in to work and recounted the whole story to my fellow co-workers. It all had not sunken it that I was actually there. A few weeks later, I had all the mementos framed from this amazing trip. http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t450/fsmith90951/IMG_0146_zpspoqn7f2t.jpg

#led zeppelin

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hellguarded-moved · 1 year

Text

SUBJECT: characters most relevant to the lore, be it by importance, how they've shaped and affected the world, or by their relation to ignis. tw: frequent mentions of drugs / narcotics, implied transphobia, implied rape, mentions of body dysmorphia, super long post.

≥ FILE 020: CONQUEST_

given name lucius. codename derived from his true name. the horseman of conquest and pestilence, he is the one that had given birth to the organization known as 'gonchiye.' translated from russian to mean 'hunting dogs,' it is advertised as a supernatural police force of sorts, meant to upkeep the law and balance in the society of non-humans. the truth is much more ominous than this noble goal lucius presents it to the public with.

the gonchiye was built upon the remains of an ancient pit fighter ring, where humans would imprison supernatural beings through the use of binding magic and make them fight for their entertainment. as time consumes all, lucius had eventually only found a sole survivor of it all— and decided to use this one as a test vessel for a new plague he was developing for the inevitable apocalypse, that would be brought for once the time was nigh; lucius is the second oldest of the horsemen, and even though he rode first, he leaves leadership of the group to the eldest, death. he rides upon a white horse, going by the name glory, and his weapons of choice are a bow and arrows.

the truth beyond this organization is that it is the horseman's way of preserving world balance. each of the four horsemen has their own way of going about it, and while some are more questionable than others... in the end, it is for the greater good of the world. or so they say. many, especially mortals, have any sort of understanding to actually comprehend this divine task. for lucius, this means eliminating targets that, in his opinion, endanger this delicate balance, as well as constantly improving. this could mean many things— be it in regards to biological or technological advancements. one could very easily classify the nephilim as a mad scientist, and they wouldn't be wrong.

lucius has an odd quirk in that he never uses abbreviations, verb conjugations, or contractions. his manner of speech is very proper, if not outright snobby. he is by no means a coward, but he is the type to make others do his bidding for him; it's the very reason why he utilizes the hundred of agents ( there are no more than a hundred active agents at any given time ) within the gonchiye to carry out tasks for him. tasks that are masterfully masked so that the true ambition behind them isn't discovered. generally speaking, there is but a handful of people within the organization aware of the truth, and all of those are under tight scrutiny— to the point of being collared with a collar infused with a special serum meant to make these beasts docile and easily compliant with his wishes. it isn't humane.

ignis is one such agent. once, he dared even to call lucius a friend. the two were rather close, due to them being of similiar ages. ignis is also one of the few people able to actually keep up against lucius in a fight. and they did fight. unfortunately, lucius possesses light magic, which is incredibly effective against an infernal like the hellhound— it has left him with an ugly scar across his chest. their friendship ended and relations became tense after ignis' failure with mission 298: to dispatch stormbringer.

with ignis' continual failures to deliver after that incident, he's set an execution order on him.

≥ FILE 057: LINCEI_

given name kalisha. codename derived from the italian accademia dei lincei, named after the lynx whose keen eye is neccessary for scientific research. kalisha is a nekomata of spanish and japanese origins, and was one of the very first members of the gonchiye. unlike most members who had joined voluntarily under the impression that they'd do some good in the world, to the lynx, it was offered as means of vengeance. kalisha harbors a deep hatred for humans from the times hunters had taken her husband and son, and she's never gotten over the loss. due to her then-violent tendencies, she was also one of the first agents to be collared.

the drug worked well, far too well perhaps, as not long after, her aggressive demeanor had mellowed out. a side-effect of this was the very prominent deepening of her voice, leaving it husky and nearly sounding like a chain smoker. once under control, she's been retired from field missions and was instead tasked with helping with the research— something that had allowed her quite the deep insight into the truth of just what lucius was aiming for. with her mind numbed like so, however, she did not have the willpower to do anything about it, other than simply play along.

that has changed once she was introduced to project talonshot. while their interactions were limited for the sake of conditioning naoto into a cold-hearted killer, she did end up doting on him and treating him like her own son. it could never be the same, and not just for the boy being different, but also due to the strict security within the gonchiye walls, she could never be as open with her affection as she could hope for. nevertheless? it gave her some hope and determination in perservering in these conditions.

ignis considers her his closest friend. both of them were early members, though she's never told him the truth about lucius and the things she's learned until much, much later. she believed she was protecting him this way. they had interest in each other at one point and had tried dating, but things never quite worked out, and so they simply stayed on friendly terms. she is someone ignis can talk about just anything, and he knows she has his back, while he has hers. they had numerously teased each other for their tastes in partners, especially once she'd learned that ignis had taken naoto as his lover and mate, but the truth was, she was very happy for them both; and would entrust her son to no one else.

kalisha eventually meets the current warlord of the red oni tribe and decides to stay with them ( or rather, they had rather forcibly kidnapped her from the gonchiye. she didn't resist or complain ) and become their queen as they became lovers and partners.

≥ FILE 094: NIHIL_

given name noctis. codename derived from his umbrakinesis and the ability to create black holes. about 500 years younger than his half-brother, he harbors immense jealousy towards ignis and has set out along with his cousin, eryx, to earth to seek him out and hopefully drag him back to their home in the underworld. was it selfish? certainly. did that stop them? no. noctis used to be rather clingy towards his older brother as a child, so seeing him run away from home like so was incredibly traumatizing; he practically idolized the hound.

contrary to his half-brother, who is the result of a hellhound and an erinye, noctis is a pureblooded erinye. he is rather apathetic and laughs at the misfortune of others. he is mean, but not neccessarily evil. his magic can be destructive and he can be rather ruthless in a fight. such talents had earned him the position of a saboteur; but not without a collar.

noctis is a trans man, but lucius knew that he possesses female biology, and took advantage of it. his genes were forcibly used in the creation of project talonslash, which has left the erinye with deep mental scars. he'd never felt insecure about his body until that very moment that someone abused it like so. as a result, he's come to loathe talon, even if the boy himself hadn't done anything wrong. long since losing ignis again after his exodus from the gonchiye did he not want to stay anymore, but getting out was never easy. this, though? this was the last straw.

≥ FILE 273: HELIOS_

given name sirius. codename derived from his title, 'the sun of the underworld.' sirius is the current hound of hades, something of a king of the hellhounds, inhering the title of cerberus that goes with it. such tradition is something ignis is aware of, therefore his bitterness about lucius choosing to designate the codename cerberus to him within the gonchiye.

sirius had an affair with tisiphone, an affair from which his ( currently ) only son was born. a bastard perhaps, but he still wished for him to take up the mantle of cerberus once it was time. unfortunately, tisiphone didn't agree with this; she wanted the child for herself, or at least, to have him make whatever choices he wished to later in life. fiercely protective, she hid herself and baby ignis within erebus, the shadowy pocket dimension of the underworld, only accessible to the erinyes and a few others. ignis did take after this fiery desire to be independent, maybe a bit too much, and yet, he felt like his mother was smothering him; not allowing him to leave erebus until... until what? he didn't know, and she never gave him the answer. eventually, he heard the call of hades; a call every hellhound must answer. one that only they hear, and cannot resist. under the influence of the call, he managed to break free of erebus.

that was the first time he and sirius met, some three hundred years since ignis' birth. perhaps a bit too enthusiastic to meet his son, sirius was quick to introduce ignis to just about everything that was to be expected out of him— once, they might have even ended up on good terms. but feeling that his father, too, wished to force his dreams and ideals onto him, ignis came to resent his father more than he did his mother. he swore to never become the next cerberus, or have anything to do with sirius at all. he avoided him like the plague.

sirius is an outgoing, charismatic, yet arrogant individual. he and ignis are quite alike, in both looks and personality, much to his dismay. nowadays, sirius realizes he might've been a little too pushy with ignis, and he regrets it greatly, as he would have loved to be on good terms with his son... he still hopes for as much, even if the rational part of him knows that will likely never happen.

another custom for the hound of hades is to take up two mates, so as to represent the other two heads of cerberus. sirius, dutiful as he is, eventually enters an arranged mateship with xolotl and tiangou, two guardian hellhounds from different cultures, later accepting the names of sol and luna, the sun and moon to sirius' star. this mateship is especially important in these trying times, where the guardian breed is near its extinction— sol is expected to carry the pups of both luna and sirius. this polyamory is yet another parallel between father and son, but ignis remains unaware of this so far.

≥ FILE 298: STORMBRINGER_

given name shinjou. codename derived from his ability to control lightning. this kitsune was the unfortunate patient zero as the sole survivor of the earlier-mentioned beast pit fight business. he was unaware of this predicament until much, much later, that this sickness had started to show itself. at first, it was simple nausea, then it turned into something akin to tuberculosis, and eventually, his very body had started to change.

shinjou is incredibly technically skilled, something of a mad scientist himself to rival lucius, but where lucius seeks the biological, shinjou is more interested in the mechanical. while being the head of a yakuza group called 'the order of the lotus,' in honor of his deceased father, he also owns a cybernetics company that specializes in highly advanced body implants and prosthetics. his twin brother had once lost an entire arm in a fight with a red oni ( this same oni had later also targeted shinjou and took his eye, leaving the fox blind in one eye ), and he was more than eager to provide for his brother with the technology he's developed. later in life he even attempts to build an adroid from scratch.

besides technology, shinjou is also a skilled sniper and hacker, on top of being a very influential person in kyoto— and slowly, all of japan, though for all the wrong reasons. the order had become feared, and its influence had even changed the widely-accepted meaning and symbolism of the lotus flower— where it once was a symbol of purity and rebirth, it is now something to be feared. shinjou experienced many hardships in his life, starting since childhood where he was exiled from the kitsune clan he lived in, for being born a twin, as twins were considered a bad omen. only one of the brothers was allowed to stay, and shinjou wasn't it— he never harbored any ill will against his parents or his brother for making that choice, however, only the clan elders. the twins were separated for most of their life before reuniting.

it only went downhill from there. getting caught and imprisoned within the fighting ring, which then cost his father's life, then getting used as a guinea pig, and even once he'd gotten out of all of that? he was adopted by a yakuza oyabun, who then taught him all that shinjou currently knows in regards to that kind of life. once the man had passed and shinjou took over, he renamed the group to honor his late father, and made it to be the most fearsome group kyoto had to ever deal with. all the misfortunes and abuse led to shinjou closing off his heart to love; and that was where ignis came into play, who'd, despite his own hardships, managed to stay soft and tender.

ignis was originally deployed as a long-time infiltrator agent into the order of the lotus, as per lucius' orders to learn all that there was, and then take him out before the plague had time to spread. this had gone on for twelve years, during which the hound, expectably so if you know anything about him, had developed romantic feelings for shinjou. he failed at pulling the trigger at the end, but shinjou still learned about the truth behind ignis' presence within the order— he was incredibly hurt by his betrayal, given just how much loyalty means to the fox. so much, that he insists every members gets a lotus tattoo ( hand for regular members, the neck for high ranked members ) to show their loyalty. and that's exactly what ignis did, and the fact that he bore the mark of the lotus and still stabbed him in the back like so? was something that broke the fox. one might have thought there was still some hope for salvation for him, but since then, he'd become unreasonably cold and cruel. he was letting no one close to him, ever again. even if later he'd found someone whom he calls a mate, a woman called abigail medusa, even with her the relationship is incredibly unstable and full of vitriol.

however, he still had to thank ignis. thank him for this opportunity to actually learn about the gonchiye, lucius, and the truth behind his undiagnosable illness. this meant war.

≥ FILE 309: TALONSLASH_

no given name. or? 'talonslash,' eventually simply referred to as 'talon' by his fellow agents for simplicity's sake ( despite lucius' disdain ) was purposefully left nameless upon his creation. project talonslash was meant to be the successor to project talonshot, which was, after ignis' influence and tampering, deemed a failure. the codename itself was derived from the mother project talon, plus a contrasting word to the original shot, as the birds were specialized as snipers.

talon is a very particular kind of a genetic experiment, as his dna consists of that of a tengu, falcon, and an erinye. noctis, to be specific. it was an ugly memory. this was made so that they could force his body into becoming resistant to physical stress, as that was deemed as one of talonshot's greatest weaknesses. they couldn't possibly make a durable bird assassin if they wanted him to remain swift and agile, and so, they went with the route that would make talon's body dissolve into shadows whenever exposed to immense physical trauma. therefore, it is incredibly difficult to actually wound him— if you manage to catch him in the first place. he struggles to actually control this side of himself, and everytime he is forced to dissolve like so, it leaves him feeling besides himself, in a nearly dissociative-like state.

his purpose, much like his predecestor's, is to be a living weapon. cold and heartless when taking the lives of his targets, and highly efficent at doing so. he is incredibly skilled with firearms as well as small hand weapons, such as knives. he also had extensive close quarters combat training, and while he excelled at it, it remains not his forte. talon much more prefers to pick his enemies off one by one from a safe distance, unseen. besides that, being agile as he is, usually leads to a more hit-and-run technique of fighting, plus he never properly learned how to handle and counter blows, due to how his body reacts to such assault. but given just what a dreadful feeling having to turn into a shadow leaves him in, he prefers to simply avoid getting hit altogether if he can help it.

despite his lack of identity and the ease at which he kills, he is a surprisingly bubbly and carefree character, if not a bit silly. naturally, he was allowed very little socializing and given even less affection while growing up, and while that had turned talonshot into the apathetic man that he is today, it seemed to have the very opposite effect on talonslash, leaving him childish and very eager to please. the primary person he seeks validation from is talonshot, whom he considers his older brother, even if their actual relation between them is a lot more complex. too bad he hadn't seen him for the majority of his life— only heard about him in stories, constantly compared to, and told just what kind of image he needed to live up to, and then subsequently surpass.

eventually, he was given the name hayato by none other than his brother upon finally meeting. as it is rather new to him, sometimes he still struggles to actually react to it should someone call him that— while he will always, without fail, respond to talon.

talon himself isn't incredibly important to ignis, rather he is important to his husband, naoto, and the one originally dubbed 'project talonshot.' their meeting and further interaction together was important for the development of them both; helping to find themselves among the scraps that the gonchiye had left them in.

honorable mentions, aka characters not played by me ( but @hellhunted ), but still very important:

≥ FILE 093: ORTHRUS_

given name eryx. codename derived from the mythological brother of cerberus, which was the designation assigned to ignis, due to the brother-like relation between the two. eryx joined the gonchiye together with noctis, hence their numbers following one another's. lucius was quite eager to have another hellhound at his disposal thanks to their unique ability of phasewalking.

eryx is a very... airheaded individual. a lot of things go over his head, but his heart is in the right place. he never truly saw the gonchiye for what it was; he and noctis only joined it as means of getting ignis back. eryx was collared nearly right from the start as precautionary measure, as lucius did not want to take any possible risks, having witnessed what troubles the elder hound could, and had, caused him.

ignis was something of an older brother to eryx while they were growing up together in the underworld. but where ignis ached to escape it, eryx wished to remain home. in his selfish desire for as much, ignis had abandoned the younger hound without a word on numerous ocassions. he feels great guilt about this all, but it just never seems like a good time to actually stop and tell him— and his cowardice prevents him from actually ever seeking him out and properly apologize. what kindship they had, is slowly dying out.

≥ FILE 308: TALONSHOT_

given name naoto. codename derived from the mother project talon, plus the word shot to signify his specialization as a sniper. talonshot was lucius' first attempt at dna splicing to create a perfect being with the exact kind of traits he desired. it was... mostly a success. naoto was intelligent and effective, and excelled at everything they put him to, which really mostly just involved assassinations with no feelings attached— something he noticed a lot of his agents often struggled with. to separate their duty from their emotions. ignis especially. but what was especially important and unique about naoto? was that, since he was just the first prototype at this kind of bioengineering for the future, he was also made disposable. 'talonshot' had an expiration date.

talonshot's purpose was to take care of the most important mission lucius had once entrusted ignis with— nowadays he really wonders just why he'd ever trusted that sap with something like this —to take out stormbringer. not only was naoto then succumbed to years of intense training to make sure he was ready for that encounter, his blood was also, since birth, infused with the antibody to the horseman's plague. he was meant to contain the plague, to get rid of the first specimen who wasn't meant to escape, before it started to spread prematurely, before the world was ready for the apocalypse. a clean state for the world was neccessary, but the time had to be right.

however, ignis was still the only person who had the most experience with stormbringer and as such, he was assigned as naoto's handler once he was out of initial basic care and training. they were still sent out on numerous other missions in gonchiye's name, but the long-term goal was to make sure that talonshot knew how to properly employ all that he'd learned against his main target.

you cannot teach new tricks to an old dog though, so long story short, the two ended up falling in love. it was true that at first, ignis despised naoto and all that he was meant to represent, but more importantly— he despised just how all the higher-ups were treating him. like he wasn't a living, breathing being. it took years upon years to make naoto believe that that was who he was; his true name, and not 'talonshot.' ignis strongly believed that he could be an efficent killer if that was who he wished to be, but he didn't need to completely forego his identity for it— and so, the many years of secret relationship were also a lot about helping naoto discover who he was behind all the guns and bullets.

they eventually made it to japan again, fully determined to see talonshot's mission to completion, only for the kitsune to prove a much deadlier foe than either of them had anticipated. ignis' direct orders were to not interfere, to let naoto handle it himself. but once he saw his boyfriend, his mate, nearly on death's door? he didn't hesitate. he'd saved him, paid a heavy price for it as he'd transformed into his true form to do so, and in the end, he still left the fox to live. his mate was alive, but he'd effectivelly ruined all he was working to achieve. enough said that naoto was furious at him— and so was lucius, which eventually led to him marking ignis as a traitor, and a kill order was issued on the hound.

naoto eventually forgave ignis, in fact, he'd eventually even proposed to the hound— the first man to ever do so, no less —and once he was chased out of the gonchiye, he followed after him. they've been on the run ever since, trying for some measure of a normal life, only to be crossed by the more loyal gonchiye agents on a handful of ocassions— until they met rashida and her resistance.

≥ FILE 388: SERQET_

given name rashida. codename derived from the goddess that she was a priestess of in her human life. the first human ignis had ever come into contact upon earth; and also his first ( and, romantically enough, also last ) lover and mate. she was the one to teach him about humanity with a hands-on approach, she was the one to teach him the first human language ( ancient egyptian ) and how to live like a human. due to an injury acquired from his less-than-graceful escape from the underworld, ignis was stuck in his demon form for a good while before recovering, making that a little troublesome; the locals had come to believe that he was an avatar of anubis coming to bless them. once discovered a fraud, both him and rashida were chased out of the temple.

since rashida had shown him her own home, ignis suggested they visit greece; his home on the mortal plane. it was there, closer to the magic of the gods, that he managed to mend the damaged mortal seal and take on a proper human guise. they'd been separated on numerous accounts, oftentimes by means outside either of their's powers, and yet each time, they found their way back to one another. one time she'd died, not long after ignis was recalled back to the underworld against his own will upon hearing the call of hades once again ( as it was louder within greece— for that reason, he now avoids the country ), as many mortal human would, which was something ignis should have expected... and he did, and yet? he couldn't accept it. especially because it wasn't death by natural means. he came to beg persephone to have her resurrected— such a selfish wish of a selfish lover, not at all caring about the consequences it might have had on her. the goddess told him as much, but he wouldn't take no for an answer; eventually tasked to find her soul that had passed on so that she could protect it personally for the times to come, while the spring deity worked with the egyptian goddess serqet to help restore the woman's body.

it... proved problematic, naturally. suddenly inhabiting a soulless vessel, turned into a demon like so, and all for the canine's selfishness and inability to let go. he was warned, but he was willing to face it head on, and was given another hundred years together with her— to help her learn about herself, her new body, her new demonic abilities. it was rough, as the reborn demoness despised herself for being this way, that ignis had done this to her... it took a long time of learning and self-reflection for rashida to accept both herself and him, before... ignis was called back once again, now that his hundred years were up. not that he was willing to stay, but another escape proved more problematic than the last, far too much to actually still be able to find his lover where he'd unwillingly left her on earth. since then? he hasn't seen her again... not for another two thousand years.

due to her own traumas of being reincarnated and forcibly turned into a demon ( and therefore stripped of her soul ) found the drive to fight against the gonchiye and the horsemen, to protect the humanity. even if she didn't possess her own anymore, she still holds humans dear to her heart, and simply couldn't accept what the horseman was doing. she, and many others outside the system, had discovered the truth, and a lot of it was thanks to all the wrenches ignis and naoto had thrown into lucius' plans. an alliance between mortals and immortals was formed, and came to known as the resistance against the coming apocalypse; though more importantly, against all the inhume methods the horseman of conquest is employing to upkeep his precious balance. lucius still insists these puny beings cannot understand the neccessity and importance of a world reset, and so, these two factions are now at war.

these were the two thousand years that had passed, until she's met ignis again— though this time, now a married man. it hurt her heart, certainly, as did the hound's, given just how awful and guilty he felt for all the pain and trouble he put rashida through. nevertheless, she offered the two of them shelter from the gonchiye, after having learned that they were hunted by them— and not long after, even naoto had started to warm up to the demoness. they're all now happily together in a polyamorous marriage.

≥ FILE 523: EMPRESS_

given name persephone. codename derived from her sovereign status to match with her husband, hades, the 'emperor.' persephone was something of an anchor to ignis while he was chained in the underworld. she provided him with light, both literally and figuratively, and with stories of earth— one might even blame her for the yearning he's come to feel for it. he's even come to develop a crush on her but of course, such feelings were not reciprocated. nevertheless, she was the one to bless him with the mortal seal upon his shoulder, that allowed him to appear human and walk freely on earth.

#// WHOOPS THIS TOOK A LOT LONGER THAN I MEANT IT TO BECAUSE I WROTE A LOT LOT #// this is like actually SUPER LONG but if u read it all i'll love you forever because LORE #// also sneaky promo before it's Properly ready but you can now find these characters and more #// to be interacted with on my sideblog @hellwrought #// i decided to NOT add hades and tisiphone to this particular list right now because. while they certainly are important and influential?#// i don't have a lot to say about them besides just. 'this is his rightful master and his mother' gdfkgkf #// sirius at least or maybe unfortunately so is a lot more developed muse than both hades and tisiphone so i chose to include him because #// he do be working hard on his own duty #// help me though turns out i have no general hc tag???? gkjgkjf #// well.#lore.#notes. ( “CERBERUS” );#notes. ( “CONQUEST” );#notes. ( “LINCEI” );#notes. ( “NIHIL” );#notes. ( “HELIOS” );#notes. ( “STORMBRINGER” );#notes. ( “TALONSLASH” );

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irepairmacs · 1 month

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Cracked iPad Pro Screen in London? Don't Panic, get it Repaired by the Pros at I Repair Macs

Is your once-pristine iPad Pro sporting a spiderweb of cracks or a worrying black patch where the beautiful display used to be? We've all been there. Accidents happen, and a damaged iPad Pro screen can put a real damper on your productivity or creative flow. But fear not, Londoners! Here at I Repair Macs, we specialize in iPad Pro screen repairs, getting your beloved device back in tip-top shape quickly and affordably.

Why Choose I Repair Macs for Your iPad Pro Screen Repair in London?

We understand the frustration of a broken iPad Pro screen. It disrupts your workflow, hinders your entertainment, and can even be a security risk if sensitive information is exposed. That's why we offer a fast, reliable, and professional iPad Pro screen repair service in London. Here's what sets us apart:

Expert Technicians: Our team comprises highly skilled and experienced technicians who have a deep understanding of all iPad Pro models. They are passionate about Apple products and dedicated to providing the highest quality repairs.

Genuine or Premium Replacement Parts: We use only the best replacement parts, either genuine Apple parts or premium alternatives that meet our rigorous quality standards. This ensures your repaired iPad Pro functions flawlessly and retains its original look and feel.

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The I Repair Macs iPad Pro Screen Repair Process

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We look forward to getting your iPad Pro back in perfect working order!

#ipad Pro Screen Repair London #ipad Pro Screen

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lizseyi · 2 months

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Advantages Of Hot Desking & Flexible Workspaces - Let Ready

Working habits have changed hugely in the last three decades. The decline in British manufacturing and transition to office based work, from information technology to finance, and the service sector – factory floors have been replaced by huge office complexes in every city and town in the UK.

The daily grind of such practices has been encapsulated perfectly by UK sitcom ‘The Office’ where the politics of every day office life are challenging and sometimes entertaining.

As with every industry, technological advances bring change, and the most dramatic change to how we work, since the perfection of steam power, has been British scientist Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the World Wide Web in 1989.The web as it is now known, effectively gave rise to the internet. This changed everything, from how business and people communicate, to the creation of new industries and workplace practices, to sharing of information and data, it truly has had a profound effect on trade and business around the world.

One of the biggest advantages of the internet is that it enables businesses to allow staff to work from home. In many cases, this can save expenses when it comes to office rentals near me, electricity and rates charges and reducing the level to which people need to be managed, workers are now often judged on their quality of output rather than how well they fit in in the office.

Many companies also offer flexible hours, to work more freely. This is ideal for people with childcare commitments and those who may be late risers or find it easier to concentrate at a certain time of day rather than set office hours. Whilst this is great for many, with that freedom can come a feeling of isolation and loneliness.

With this in mind, the increase in hot-desking and shared office space has spread rapidly from London to other cities across the UK such as Birmingham Leeds, Manchester and even large towns, the new way to work is to split the freedom of home working with the more inspirational co-working spaces such as Alpha Works in Birmingham.

This new breed of office space is an ideal way for tech companies, media, marketing, and finance businesses to spend a few days each week or even month, in a professional calm environment away from the distractions of the house.

The benefits of renting hot-desk office space are easy to champion. Workers can share ideas with different industries, or ask for help from their peers. There is no set time or routine to stick to, you can arrive late in the afternoon and work until the early hours with secure 24/7 access.

office space to rent and hot-desking can be log term or purchased in blocks, or days which can be used as and when you want. Just getting out the house for a few hours can sometimes be worth the small cost in renting office space in this way.

Want to know more?

Call us to chat about your requirements on 020 3019 5060.

#office rentals near me

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crestshie57 · 1 year

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6 Ways To Update And Modernise Your Conservatory

Got an old conservatory and planning to update it? It can be a daunting task for most homeowners but if it’s too cold during the winter and too hot in the summer, then it’s a worthwhile task.

Below are some of the most practical ways to refurbish your conservatory and turn it into a fabulous space where you can relax, do some work, or spend time with your loved ones.

Use Double Glazed Windows

If there’s a must-do to modernise a conservatory, it is double glazing Forest Hill. High quality double glazing comes with so many benefits that will allow you to enjoy and make most of the space.

With double glazing Forest Hill, you can improve temperature control in your conservatory. Double glazed windows are built with two sheets of glass with a layer of inert gas in between. This extra layer of insulation can help keep your conservatory warm during the cold months and protect you from the scorching heat in the summer. It also helps keep the energy costs lower.

Aside from the added layer of insulation, double glazing can also prevent outside noise from coming in. They can also help minimise condensation, which is another big issue for homeowners with conservatories.

Change Its Roofing

You can also consider changing the roof of your conservatory. You have several choices, such as glass, polycarbonate conservatory roof, or even a solid roof. Each comes with their own pros and cons so it is best to consider your needs, lifestyle, and budget.

Get New Doors

Aside from getting double glazed windows, you can also get A++ rated doors. New doors can improve the feel and function of your conservatory. You can opt for bi-fold doors or other configurations that allow you to open up the space easily. This improves aesthetics and practically opens up the conservatory to have an inside-outside continuity.

Create A Cosy Space Using Inviting Furniture

Make the space comfortable with inviting furniture such as a comfortable sofa, armchairs, and a coffee table. This way you can enjoy the view and time with family or friends. Don’t forget the entertainment system for streaming good music.

Experiment With Textures and Colours

Turn your conservatory into a true extension of your house. Make it as homey as possible. Don’t be afraid to put some colours on the wall and pick furniture with interesting textures and patterns. Bland is boring, so personalise the space with your collections, memorabilia, and other talking pieces.

Refresh the space with a splash of colour. Find inspiration on how you can break the usual neutral palate used by other homeowners.

Fresh Foliage

Another way to seamlessly have an indoor-to-outdoor transition is by having some plants in your conservatory. Foliage can brighten up the space. Plants can boost your mood even when you cannot go out during rainy days or winter.

Crestshield Windows Can Help

If you are updating your conservatory and need help with double glazing Forest Hill, our team can at Crestshield Windows is ready to serve. With years of experience, we are your partners in ensuring your conservatory is a beautiful and comfortable space for your family and friends. Visit https://crestshieldwindows.co.uk for more information, or call us today at 020 8776 5554

For double glazing Forest Hill, our team at Crestshield Windows is always ready to assist you. Contact us today to get a quote or visit our website to learn more.

#Double Glazing Forest Hill

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portmacquarieaustralia · 1 year

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Comfortable Family Home - College Rise

#realty realestate property propertyforsale houseforsale

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celebagents · 2 years

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Celebrity Booking Anita Harris - Celeb Agents

Anita Madeleine Harris (born 3 June 1942) is an English actress, singer, and entertainer. Harris sang with the Cliff Adams Singers for three years from 1961 and had a number of chart hits during the 1960s. She appeared in the Carry-On films Follow That Camel and Carry On Doctor.

Celebs Agents is connecting all Celebrities and Brands together. If you are looking to contact Celebrity agents.

https://celebagents.co.uk/clients/anita-harris/

Call: 020 3198 2200 Email: [email protected]

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madelynraemunson · 3 months

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CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club series)

strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!reader

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ MDNI

Chapter 017: Something’s Brewing

Mornings are for coffee, contemplation, and work visitations. And before you know it, things go from 0 to ‘Eleven’.

author's note: the layout of this chapter is heavily inspired by the writing style of one of my inspirations, @pinkrelish 💘 love you alyson!!

CW: fluff, boyfriend eddie, angst, drinking, smoking, profanities, physical altercations, arguing, aggressive eddie, GENERATIONAL CURSES, eddie misogynistic/ableist one-liner (our fave is also a man at the end of the day), therapist!eleven rise up 🤩🤩, divider from @attxnt

word count: 4.8k words

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014** , 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020*

* = somewhat smutty chapters ** = smut chapters

You’ll NEVER. GET. AWAY. from the sound of a woman that loves you.

♡

WEEK-IS-LONG-WEDNESDAY

Eddie doesn't sleep well when you’re not with him. Like a fish out of water, your boyfriend flops and flails around in bed, rolling over his bumpy sheets that still linger with your scent. But before he can even get comfy, it’s already time to start the day.

Son of a bitch.

“Alexa,” Eddie pleads. “Please postpone my cries until tomorrow.”

“Sorry — Eddie… I don’t understand what you meant by please postpone my life until tomorrow.”

“That too I guess.”

———

It’s awfully quiet at Hellfire.

Your friends seem to be protesting your unjust departure, keeping the essence of you alive by paying the Hellfire Girls no mind.

Meanwhile the witches who made you quit are celebrating your absence, laughing and leaning against the wall, entertaining themselves with their week-old gossip that was centered around you. Because without talking about ‘Shy Girl’, they wouldn’t be as interesting. To anyone.

"Yeah and she didn't even have the decency to give her two weeks," Kassidy scoffs. "Just up and left. How immature."

They got what they wanted. You were gone. Controlled, altered, deleted. 86’d, baby. But at what cost?

“Classic Baby Stripper. Can’t handle Hellfire’s heat.”

Now it's their turn to have the spotlight again. Just like old times. Although this time around, that attention is all negative.

But it’s attention, nonetheless.

Emmy and the other Hellfire Girls are seen squirming around, struggling to to reach for a prop that was placed high up on a shelf.

"Mike, I can't reach this thing, can you come get it for me?"

"Sorry, busy," Mike scoffs, shuffling angrily past them.

A couple of raised eyebrows. Okay then…

"Dustin, do you think you can-"

"No. Do it yourself," Dustin snaps.

Every appetizer they ordered from Argyle came out dry or burnt. Any toiletries needed from Nancy were handed over with minimal eye contact and assistance. Jonathan stopped serving them alcohol three peach schnapps ago, but of course those bitches were too busy faking their intoxication to even notice.

And despite everything, they were still appalled. Surely EDDIE wouldn’t approve of this blatant favoritism.

After putting out his cigarette, Eddie makes his way inside with the paperwork needed for your severance check, along with more checks for the club (and Wayne) that he didn’t even want to think about.

"OH EM GEE, HI EDDIE BEAR!" the girls squeal at him. It's their one last attempt to be smothered with love and affection from your boyfriend.

SLAM. The door to Ed's office swings shut.

Chrissy and Nina erupt in laughter, because even despite getting rid of you, Eddie still doesn’t give those girls the time of day.

“Eat shit, you cunts,” Nina chuckles, shaking her head in satisfaction.

While it was obvious whose side The Party is on, the Hellfire Girls are STILL left distraught and confused.

"Do you guys...” Kassidy says. “…kinda get the vibe that everyone seems a bit pissed off today?"

THANKFUL-THURSDAY

"Thank you, come again!"

You had just finished making your 20th peppermint mocha of the morning. And to think you’re going to be here ‘til close…

Being a waitress and barista are two completely different ball parks, something you wish you knew before Steve got you the job at Newby’s not too long ago.

Syrups. Sauces. Coffee beans from robusta to arabica. The just-as-caffeinated juices that would taste a lot better with alcohol in them...

And the damn milks. God forbid you use soy milk instead of almond, otherwise Susan Swayne from the Hawkins Neighborhood Watch Committee will throw a hissy fit for everyone with a satellite dish to see. And you’d much rather not want to end up going viral on Reddit — again.

Sigh.

You’re whisking away at a matcha when you realize that a group of corporate Chads were looking at you for way too long. Your paranoid eyes scan the scene, heart nearly dropping to your stomach as you lean your body into Steve’s for comfort.

"People are staring at me," you report to him at a low whisper.

Harrington is right beside you, wiping the counter down with a wet cloth after spilling some half and half on it. Your new colleague glances over at them before giving you an earnest look of reassurance.

“They probably just have a staring problem,” he says. “New pretty face at a local coffee shop? Of course they’re gonna look at you.”

“I’m almost certain I gave one of them a dance.”

“You’re also making them a coffee,” he points out. “How many people can say that about their dancers? They should be grateful.”

It makes you less stressed knowing you have a male coworker by your side, and that your job predominantly takes place in broad daylight. Your stress is further alleviated when you see Max shuffle back in through the side door after her 15-minute juul break in the parking lot. She gives you a tense nod hello after exhaling a small cloud of 'Wild Raspberry Bubblegum' into the room.

“Back from your break?” you mumble rhetorically, avoiding direct eye contact with her.

“Yeah. I am.”

You and Max got into a fight earlier this morning. It was over something stupid, your first real fight since she found out you were stripping on the low. You’re stunned when she wraps her arms around your shoulders from behind, causing you to hum in endearment. Dearest Maxine…your baby sister.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Max apologizes. "I'm not me when I go without smoking for too long."

"I forgive you," you hug her back. "Thank you for communicating your feelings. Wanna help me with this in-house order?”

“Of course.”

Since your whole lives were spent constantly losing people on such short notice, you, Max, and Billy have made it a goal to never go to bed angry. You all follow through with it 90-percent of the time, which is huge considering your dynamic. You never want to end the day on bad terms with anyone. With how the world operates nowadays, you just never know.

“You guys make coffee for non-heroes?”

And you weren’t going to start the day mad either. To your surprise, your gaze is met with Eddie’s when you turn around. Your boyfriend beams over at you with eager eyes, hands tucked neatly into his pockets as he waits to order.

“EDDIE!” you exclaim.

Mister-Leather-and-Denim greets you with his signature dimpled smile. "Hi, sweetie."

You practically leap over the counter to give your man a tight squeeze. He chuckles into you, his cool rings lightly pressing against your back during your embrace.

“Eddie...” you coo. “You came to see me!”

“I sure did,” your man sings as he goes to put you down. “Ohh my goodness… Look at you with your little barista apron! Do a little spin for me.”

You spin. Eddie hoots in adoration.

“Now do a little pose.”

You pose.

“One more turn for me, baby…all the way, all the way, all the way…” he instructs. Suddenly, his palm issues you a rough smack across the ass. “BOOM! There we go. Now we’re talkin’!”

“Hey hey hey, let’s keep it PG,” Harrington scolds him. “Bob watches the cameras when he’s not here.”

“Then Bob should know Eddie’s hands are rated E for everybody,” Eddie tuts, slyly clicking his tongue at Steve. “Didn’t think I’d miss YOU now did you, Big Boy? C’MERE!”

Eddie scurries towards Steve to give him his as well. Smack. Almost like it’s muscle memory.

Max shakes her head in amusement as watches their tomfoolery unfold in front of her. She always used to think you were exaggerating their 'bromance', but now her doubts have been debunked.

“Need some caffeine to kickstart your heart today?” she asks your boyfriend.

“Not particularly, since your sister’s in front of me,” Eddie replies, chuckling at his own cheesy joke. But then he hands her a 20. “I’ll take a cold brew though. Change is yours to keep.”

“My hero, my hero,” Max hums. You watch as she opens the register to acquire the difference.

Your sister starts on Eddie’s drink while you two spend some time together. Out of habit, you fiddle with his hair and then lovingly stroke his face, all while Eddie scans the room around him, his curious fingers dancing over to the plastic tip jar next to the pastries behind you.

“How much for the trail mix?” he comments.

“Ha-ha,” you respond to him dryly.

“Baby you could make this much in tips in a second at Hellfire.”

“I’m not going back,” you respond with certainty.

Eddie’s face drops when he realizes how serious you sound. Tucking his hands back into the pockets, Mr. Tough guy elicits a rather child-like pout.

“But everybody misses you.”

“Not everybody.”

“Everybody who matters,” he corrects himself.

“That’s sweet,” you admit. “But we’ll all still hang out, y’know? I just...really wanna keep our work-life shit separate.”

“I understand, baby,” Eddie frowns. “I just miss your face is all.”

It was a shitty situation those girls put you and Eddie in. But now that you’ve had time to think about it, you don’t need Hellfire anymore. Stripping has rocket-launched you out of debt; and now that you’re comfortably on your feet, with everything you could possibly want and more, you see no need in having a hustle mentality anymore. And besides, everyone and Eddie knew that to you, Hellfire was only temporary.

“I miss you too,” you assure Eddie. “But I'm out of that cacoon now and spreading my wings. Thanks to you. We can celebrate off the clock."

“Now I like the sound of that," Eddie smirks as he pulls you into him again. He gives you another, rather tight, squeeze followed by a delicate forehead kiss. "So amazing to hear, sweetheart. I’m so happy for you.”

FACE-THE-TRUTH FRIDAY

“You’re upset.”

It’s an assumption that irritates the shit out of Eddie. Jane watches your boyfriend as he frantically ushers himself around, stress-cleaning everything at POTIONS while Jonathan takes his lunch. For as long as she's been here, it's been observed that the only thing Eddie seems to be running on today is a hot chip, and yet another cold brew from Newby’s that you had made for him.

“I’m not upset, Eleven.”

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m NOT,” Eddie insists. “Shy Girl and I are doing great, thank you very much.”

But the psych major doesn’t believe it one bit. Setting the pencil she was twiddling down onto her notebook, Jane narrows her eyes.

“Wanna know how I know you’re lying?”

“Hit me.”

“I never once mentioned Hargrove’s name.”

Caught. Red-handed. A sucker-punch to the ego. Eddie’s cheeks flush an exposed shade of pink, having been read to filth by the girl he and Steve used take turns babysitting when she was a little kid.

“And boys always lie,” ‘Eleven’ tuts. Jane starts to dismantle her waffle fries as if they were pieces of pull-apart bread. She then shoves the Eggo-shaped taters into her mouth. “‘s like it’s in their blood.”

“Girls lie too,” Eddie scoffs.

“But they lie better.”

Eddie pretends to dismiss it, waving Jim and Joyce’s daughter off so she could go with Mike who has probably forgotten to take inventory yet again. But when she doesn’t, and insists on playing therapist, Eddie can’t help but wonder what Jane and Wheeler could possibly be fighting about now.

“Don’t start your relationship off with a lie,” Eleven forewarns. “I can tell you really like Shy Girl. And if that’s the case, I assume you trust her enough to be honest with her.”

"I am honest with her."

“Bullshit.”

He peers back over at Jane.

Eddie’s assets — at this point — have now become a liability. And it was YOU who had to pay the price.

But he knew he still had to be realistic. There was no way in hell that he could spoil you, take you out, buy you nice things, and introduce you to new experiences if his business is in shambles. He needed his dancers.

"If you can’t get rid of those girls, you at least owe Shy Girl the truth,” Jane points out. She finds herself leaning across the bar. "And the truth is... you’re upset about her quitting.”

Eddie shrugs, choosing to gloss over how he really feels in hopes of getting a second opinion. “But I don’t know why I’d be upset. She’s doing what’s best for her.”

But Eleven clears him immediately.

“Because your abandonment issues tell you she gave up too easily,” She shoves another waffle fry into her mouth. “therefore she didn’t fight hard enough for your relationship.”

Man.

“Otherwise, you two would’ve found a compromise by now,” Eleven keeps going. “Meaning she would’ve stayed. Could’ve stayed.”

She pauses for the dramatics while Eddie uncomfortably clears his throat.

“Should’ve stayed," she finishes.

Bingo. It’s like Eleven found a way to invade Eddie’s mind somehow. Disgusted with himself, it also dawns on him that although the kids are much older now, they’re still sponges. That means they can still read into him and everyone else, even more than they could’ve when they were only 12. And this time around, there’s no filter when it happens. It’s a scary thought.

“I liked you better homeschooled.”

SHRUG-IT-OFF SATURDAY

It’s D&D night at Jeff’s house and you’re in charge of food prep. But you really don't see the point in it anymore, considering bank heist campaigns are way more interesting than the messy charcuterie board in front of you.

"I can't believe tonight will go down as the Craigslist Campaign," Max remarks. "That's where Eddie found these guys, right?"

"It's where Gareth found them," you correct her. "I hope they all get along, though. Campaigns are huge for Eddie."

You watch your boyfriend from the kitchen as he does his thing, kneeling on the wooden table as he prefaces the campaign with an introductory monologue. It all makes you swoon. Eddie is just so animated. It's in the dramatic changes in his voice depending on who he's imitating. His theatrical jazz hands. His extremely detailed, and lucid story-telling that slips so naturally off his tongue.

Eddie Munson knows how to put on a show. As a performer yourself, you can appreciate watching his universes come to life. This is a look into Eddie's mind. His world. His safe space. And he appears to be having a lot of fun with it.

Your lip curls involuntarily. A little too much fun, you think to yourself…shamefully, spitefully.

“You’re not mad at Eddie, are you?”

You look at your sister like she's crazy. Max knows you and your micro-expressions like the back of her hand. Wasn't really a hobby she picked up per se, but more of a survival tactic. It makes you second guess yourself. Surely you didn't make yourself that obvious, did you? But even then, you're not even that bitter about it. So why are you physically reluctant in giving an answer that your brain is so sure of?

“No,” you shake your head. “Why would I be mad?”

“He barely did anything to defend you from those girls,” Max points out. “You’re his girlfriend and what do they get? A slap on the wrist for all of the shit they've done? It’s unfair!”

You silently return to your edible arrangement, putting the grapes next to the cheeses and away from the deli meats so that Gareth doesn't get 'the ick'. Then you grab a wine glass to make a rose shape out of said deli meats. Max doesn't back down.

"It's okay if you're upset," she tries again.

"I'm not upset, Max."

"You're lying."

"Am not!" You quickly jump to defend Eddie. "I genuinely think, and know, that Eddie's a keep-the-peace kind of guy. Besides, Hellfire would've been in jeopardy if he fired those girls."

"Hellfire would've been in jeopardy if Billy pressed those charges."

You think about the fight more often than you would like. It was the only time you've truly seen Eddie out of character.

"But that's different. Billy pushed all the right buttons. I know Eddie. He's not as manic as people paint him out to be."

And as if it were a joke, the Universe uses this impeccable timing to launch you into a panic. Soon the sound of shattered glass and moving chairs fill the room, and when you whip your head over to the sound of the commotion, you're stunned to see your man lunging at one of the strangers that were sat at Jeff's dinner table.

"EDDIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" someone yelps.

"You wanna say that shit again?" Eddie demands. "Huh, do you?"

"What the actual fuck," Max breathes out with her hand clutched to her chest. "That came out of nowhere."

"Disrespecting my fucking friend in his own fucking house?!" he gives the guy another violent rattle. "Huh?!"

You're unsure whether to intervene or not, but the guys seem to have it managed so you just stay put in the kitchen. From what you gathered, the guy said something rude to Jeff, making fun of his class and level and using his character skin as a reason for being inferior to him. But clearly, he was still no match for the Dungeon Master.

Eddie shakes his head in pity.

"Classic fucking bard," Eddie spits. "All that talk and all that charisma, but you're still FUCKING WEAK in battle."

"Hurtful..." Dustin, whose also a bard, whimpers.

"Wasn't talking about you, Henderson," Eddie huffs.

Then who was Eddie talking about? Because according to the look on everyone's faces, his rage didn't align with the severity of the issue at hand. The guy did seem condescending and patronizing when you met him, but all he did was poke fun at Jeff. Something the Hellfire boys already do with one another.

Eddie's outburst is enough to end the campaign early, and the guys who allegedly violated Jeff that badly left without a cue. As everyone cleans up after themselves, Gareth locates all the drinks that Eddie has downed tonight and confiscates them. You remember the time Eddie told you drinking makes him feel gross. Makes him act gross too, apparently.

"Eddie, what the fuck, man? Where did that rage even come from?"

"Dude was cocky as hell," Eddie shakes his head at Gareth. "They can act stupid about it, but I see all the underlying shit. They knew what they were doing."

Suddenly your ears perk up. If you had been the one to say that, you could easily appoint those very sentences to the situation with the Hellfire Girls. The burning in your chest is undeniable now. Of course that's how shit starts to feel when it gets personal.

"No one bullies my boys and gets away with it," Eddie says. "They can get out and stay out."

Max looks back over at you, just as distraught. Then she says exactly what you were thinking but were far too afraid to admit. "Where was that energy when you were at Hellfire?"

You and Eddie go to different bathrooms to collect yourselves, both for entirely different reasons. Seeing Eddie that distressed over something so small really had you wondering if he was upset about something else as well. But then you start getting upset at yourself for not putting your concerns first. And this concern was a huge one. He can do that with his boys but not with you?

“Oh my god,” it dawns on you. “I guess I am disappointed in Eddie.”

And then, from the other side of the house, in Jeff's bathroom, it dawns on Eddie too as he sobers up.

“Oh my god. I guess I am upset with Hargrove.”

SUCKER-PUNCH SUNDAY

“You’re early, babe,” you remark.

Little did you know Eddie would’ve been at your door even earlier, had he not been rehearsing what to say in his van...and doom-scrolling the internet for the past hour.

“Just didn’t wanna be late!” is what he comes up with.

You greet him with a kiss shortly before allowing him into the home. Max is working today while Robin and Vicky were out running errands. This left you both plenty of time to hash things out if needed, both in the living room and the bedroom (if it applies).

C'mon, Hargrove, you urge yourself. Just say it.

"Listen..." you both say at once.

You both pause, glancing over at one another in surprise.

"What are you about to say?" you ask him.

"What are YOU..." he counters. "about to say?"

"You go."

"No no," he deflects. "Ladies first, I insist."

You hate that he's a gentleman sometimes. Out of the many situations where you had to rip the band-aid off, somehow this was the hardest one. After swallowing hard one last time, you finally come out and say it.

"I'm..." you begin. "I've been thinking all week. And... I guess am upset with how shit ended with Hellfire."

Eddie breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god, you too?"

Suddenly, the air seems breathable again. You and Eddie both sigh in relief which then extorts a chuckle out of the two of you. At last, you two seem to be on the same page about this minor discrepancy.

"I've been losing sleep over it all week."

"I've been stress-cleaning trying to think of how to come to you about it!"

"Oh my god..." Eddie laughs.

"This is crazy!" you exclaim.

"I forgive you," the two of you say simultaneously.

Your eyes widen simultaneously as well.

"Wait, what?" you echo one another again.

"What do you mean you forgive me?" you hiss. "I should be the one forgiving you, not the other way around."

"Well... you kinda left me in a crummy spot... leaving Hellfire so soon?" Eddie argues. "And you were almost everybody's favorite dancer too. Outside of Chrissy."

"You left me in a crummy spot!" you place your hands on your hips. "By refusing to fire the dancers who made my life a living hell. The bullying wouldn't stop until I quit and you just let that happen."

"Okay first of all, you chose to quit," Eddie snaps. Anger starts to simmer within you. "After I begged you time and time again not to. And you were the one who told me not to get rid of the dancers because it would've been easier to just get rid of you, the one."

"I still expected you to give them some harsh ass consequences!" you exclaim. "And what do you mean I didn't fight hard enough for you? You shouldn't have to make me fight in the first place."

"You know what I mean," Eddie huffs. "And expected? I can't read your mind, Hargrove! How was I supposed to know what to do?"

How was he supposed to know? How was he supposed to know? Not reassuring at all coming from a business owner and manager. And the gag is Eddie sure knew what to do last night, when something similar happened to his homeboys.

"You literally kicked those dudes out last night for bullying Jeff. At the drop of a hat. But you couldn't do with the girls the same way?"

"Those Craigslist dudes don't pay the BILLS, sweetheart," Eddie emphasizes. "Had they been responsible for my paycheck, I may have approached it differently."

"I don't care anymore!" you exclaim. "Paycheck this, paycheck that. It's the principle of it, Eddie! The girls bullied me and all you did was slap them on the wrist. I expected you to do more."

"There it is again, 'expected'! I'm a simple guy, babe. I can't read you like a puzzle! Say what's on your mind. Why do you have so much trouble speaking up?"

"I shouldn't have to hold your hand through something so simple though. Forget that I'm your girlfriend for just a minute. You should've fired them when you realized they were sabotaging another dancer. And whose to say this was their first time doing it? What if they did it with Isabelle too?"

"Don't talk about Isabelle!" Eddie snaps at you. "You don't know anything that happened with her."

"Oh so now you're defending your ex wife too? OVER ME? Your actual, current girlfriend?! It's just anyone but me at this point. WHY AM I THE LAST PRIORITY? IT'S MY RELATIONSHIP."

"IT'S MY RELATIONSHIP TOO!"

"You don't seem to be fighting for it!"

"You're one to talk! You're the one who left when it got hard."

"I don't leave when shit gets hard," you argue. "I leave when shit doesn't change. When shit becomes toxic."

You did it with your last relationship. You did it when you and Max left Billy. You did it with Hellfire when the torment wouldn't stop. And you might as well do it again with Eddie, if nothing changes.

"You know what apologies without change is?" you grumble. "It's manipulation."

"Oh, so I'm a manipulator now?!" Eddie questions. "I did EVERYTHING you told me to do, but now I'm still a manipulator?!"

"Birds of a feather," you huff angrily. "Living up to the Munson name, huh?"

"That's not fair, baby."

"It is."

"NO, IT'S NOT!" Eddie booms. "How would you feel if I told you that you were living up to the Hargrove name? By blowing shit out of proportion when it doesn't even need to be like that?"

"DOESN'T NEED TO BE LIKE THAT?" you shout. "DOESN'T NEED TO BE LIKE THAT? THOSE BITCHES RUINED ME, PUT SUGAR IN MY GAS TANK, AND YOU'RE ACCUSING ME OF READING TOO MUCH INTO IT?"

"Now you're just putting words in my mouth."

"I'd like to put something in your mouth, that's for sure."

"Kinky," Eddie says smartly.

"That's all your mind travels to, is sex isn't it?! No wonder you keep those sluts around."

You and Eddie continue to argue back and forth, the volume of your voices gradually getting louder. Eventually, you grow overwhelmed, and the only thing that will calm you down is a good ol' scream.

Just like a banshee, a high-pitched scream rips through the house.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

You throw a nearby plastic cup at the wall, you're so angry and overstimulated.

"The hell was that?" Eddie questions. A laugh tugs at the corner of his mouth. For a minute, he looks like Billy when he gets a reaction out of you. That really sets you off.

Now you're out for blood. Out for the very thing, every Hargrove wants: the last word. He's right. You are living up to the Hargrove name. But why does it feel so good?

Unable to control yourself, your palms land across Eddie's chest and you shove him into the wall, causing Eddie to short circuit in shock. His face drains to a pale white. Now suddenly, you're Billy. And Eddie is you, looking at you the way you would look at your brother whenever he screamed or punched a wall.

Now Eddie's angry too. As much as he wants to get you back, it's still natural for him to physically refrain himself from doing so. Eddie Munson does not hit women. Wayne raised him better than that.

So instead, he settles for a verbal jab.

“You’re crazy. What is wrong with you, Hargrove?"

It's the damned C word that no enraged woman wants to hear. But now that you've heard it, there's no turning back. You're done with him.

"Get out," you order him.

"Fine," Eddie mutters. "Fine, I'm off to Wayne's anyway!" You stomp after Eddie as he starts making his way towards your door. "He's the only fucking person who seems to understand me."

The two of you share one final look before he heads out.

You hate that it has to end this way, because the devastated demeanor in his beady, brown eyes share that same sentiment. The sorrow is unspoken, but universal. Just as the love and yearning is, even when your words display a lack thereof.

"So you're gonna leave me?" Eddie gulps. "You're gonna leave me, huh? Just like everyone else does?"

You shake your head bitterly. If there's anything about you that you love/hate, it's that you always stand on your business. "Don't worry. Plenty of other bitches in the sea for you."

The final blow to Eddie's chest. Normally Eddie would've been able to recover from that... would've been able to leave the argument untouched after hearing those words... had it not been for you, the only person he truly sees himself with. The only person he would look for in a sea of people.

"I really thought you were different, Shy Girl," Eddie shakes his head. "That's what I get for hiring someone who doesn't understand what the industry can be like."

That's what he hits you with? Just then, the sadness is replaced by resentment entirely.

"I HATE YOU, Eddie Munson," you grimace. "I never want to see your face again."

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greenzeppelin215 · 2 months

Text

My Led Zeppelin Reunion Odyssey

Like everyone else, I’d first heard rumors of Led Zeppelin reuniting in June 2007. I assumed this was just another in a long line of rumors that seemed to materialize on an almost regular basis.

I didn’t think much of these latest rounds of rumors until I received a cryptic email from my Zeppelin associate in September. He said it was definitely on and would be announced to the public in a few weeks. I had to promise not to repeat this information to anybody until it’s been officially announced.

The rumors and websites were lit up with speculation, theories, denials, dreamers, skeptics, and nay-sayers. Finally, the day came when an official announcement was made and the Zeppelin world on the Internet exploded. There was to be a concert on Nov 26th, 2007 in honor of Ahmet Ertegun with Jason Bonham joining the rest of the band.

I immediately calculated the odds of getting a ticket, getting off from work and traveling to London. I didn’t even have a valid passport. So I resigned myself to hearing about it and seeing clips of it on the Internet. I immediately assumed I would not be going and didn’t entertain the thought and set myself up for disappointment. Like 20 million other fans over the world, I registered for a ticket online and didn’t seriously consider having a chance at winning a ticket but it was definitely worth a try.

However, a few weeks after the concert was announced in Sept, I got an email from my Zeppelin associate saying “Pack your bags”. I didn’t quite know what to make of it and wasn’t sure what he was referring to or if he was playing some sort of practical joke.

I replied to his email and asked something like “Is this what I think it is?” He said it was and it was serious and came from “the Source”, a reference I knew to mean his connection with the inner circle within the band, Jimmy Page’s manager whom he’d known quite well since meeting him in 2003 at the release and premiere showing of "DVD” in NY.

A few days later he forwarded me an email from ‘The Source" outlining the itinerary for picking up our tickets:

TICKET COLLECTION

As you are a friend of ours, you won’t be required to pick up your tickets at will call with the 20,000 other fans - you will, however, need to go to the Royal Garden Hotel at 2-24 Kensington High Street, London W8 4PT. Tel: 020-7937-8000.

On Saturday 8th December, between the hours of 11.00 am and 2.00 pm, from the Royal Garden Hotel. Please ask for guest Mark Reiter in Room number 247.

On Sunday 9th December, between the hours of 11.00 am and 2.00 pm, from the Royal Garden Hotel. Please ask for guest Mark Reiter in Room number 247.

On Monday 10th December any uncollected tickets will be sent over to the o2 Arena. These may be collected from 10.00 am onwards, at the box office at the o2 Arena.

Please note that you will be expected to provide ID in your name to collect your tickets.

A few things NOT to ask Marc:

Can I get passes? Can I get more tickets? Can I pick them up later? Are the seats good?

While you may be a friend of ours, that doesn’t necessarily, give you the right to give him grief or to be ignorant - unless of course he really asks for it!

The show will start at 7.15 pm with Bill Wyman’s All-Stars. Led Zeppelin will be on stage at 9.00 pm. The show will be over at 11.00 pm…..

If you have any other questions regarding ticket collection please feel free to email me at [email protected]

It came out of the blue and didn’t seem real. Would I have enough time to renew my passport? Would it all fall apart after getting a ticket when all hinged on getting a new passport? My old passport was needed to in order to get a new one and it sat 800 miles away in storage.

I didn’t know if I could: 1) Get back to Philly or 2) Locate it and 3) Send in with enough time to be renewed and returned to me in time.

As it happened, I had to fly to Atlanta for work in early Nov. and I scheduled the flight to stop over in Phila. with a long layover.

Not so OK was the fact that our contact within Zep’s camp was evasive and frequently unavailable. Our hopes we dashed and then a reassurance would come on the roller coaster ride that was getting tickets to the concert.

Many assurances were met with long intervals of silence that did not instill a lot of confidence that we, in fact, would have tickets in hand in London.

So travel plans made, I left for the airport only to be called by my boss asking if I was working that night. After multiple calls, I scrambled and found a replacement at the last minute.

Earlier as I was leaving, I superstitiously said that it would be a good concert if I’d seen a dog before the show. Well, I get to the airport and immediately see 2 German Shepherd working dogs. A good vibe straight away!

Arriving at the hotel, we were given the room number and excitedly knocked on the door. Upon entering the crowded room, we identified Jimmy’s road manager on the cell phone and then sitting at a table making plans-mostly about tickets and passes. The room was filled with hangers-on, roadies, assistants and the BBC presenter, Fearne Cotton.

The three of us sat on the sofa as not to intrude on the proceedings. Finally, my buddy spoke with the manager and was told to wait.

Thirty minutes later, we were each given an envelope. It was spilling over with tickets, passes, and multi-colored wristbands. Huh? Were we given the right envelopes? These apparently were for VIPs as the passes were for rehearsal access, multiple after parties and everything a fan could possibly want and more. I could only say “Thank you, thank you”. We left the hotel and noticed a marble plaque on the ground that read “All Will Be Revealed”. It was eerie.

Making it to the hotel, we had heard rumors of the stage crew also being there. I imagined Zeppelin style parties throughout the hallways. It has to be a rumor only as it simply would be too good to be true. We checked in to the hotel, the West India Quay Marriott which was $600/night when accounting for the exchange rate. I thought that rather steep but figured we were getting the tickets and passes for free so it was worth the expense. The girl at the desk said, “It’s taken care of”. I looked at my buddy and didn’t say a thing. We gathered in the lobby and asked: “Did she mean what I thought she meant?”. He thought so and we apparently were “comped” by the band. All 3 of us were staying at the hotel for 3 days for free. Unbelievable!

My two buddies went sight-seeing around London and to buy t-shirts and souvenirs but I decided to stay in the hotel and rest from the long flight and avoid the gloomy, cold December weather outside. I hadn’t brought warm enough clothing and could kick myself for not bringing my leather Led Zeppelin jacket!!

I stayed in and called friends from back in the States telling them I had made it to London and read all the Zep magazines I had picked up along the way.

After a 30 minute wait, we were escorted into the stage area where we saw Robert, Jimmy, John Paul and Jason on stage casually working thru 'No Quarter’,’ Nobody’s Fault But Mine’, 'In My Time of Dying’ and a loose jam which was very cool.

There were maybe 100 people among the audience-mostly crew, charity people and contest winners. Robert got down from the stage and wandered around on the floor to listen to the sound and socialize with the crew and fans. I think one of the people he was talking to was his daughter or a close female associate who was laying on the floor right in front of the stage. During the rehearsal, Jason’s son did a little drum solo met with a nice round of applause. Robert’s voice sounded great and Jimmy’s guitar sound was powerful! It was amazing to see the band rehearsing and in such a casual mood. It was the best of both worlds where they were the famous rock stars but also casual enough to just be themselves hanging out and enjoying the chemistry. All 4 band members seemed relaxed and upbeat. After about an hour, we were all asked to leave and we’re back into the O2 corridors. From the performance we had just witnessed, we anticipated a powerful concert.

That afternoon back at the hotel, I got a call from one of my buddies who said “Quick, get to the lobby. Jimmy’s guitars are down in the lobby in cases!”. I jumped on the elevator and made it to the lobby but the gear had disappeared as fast as it had arrived. Apparently, it was true that the road crew was staying at our hotel after all. But there were no hot groupies running the hallways, unfortunately.

Later that night, there was a planned social gathering at a local pub called “The Pilot” where Zep fans from different online fan groups had agreed to meet. Royal Orleans, FBO, Achilles Last Stand and representatives from the official forum were all meeting up that night at “The Pilot”.

Nech, Mike and I wandered over to the Pilot through the cold night. Images of American tourists waiting to be pounced upon by a stray werewolf (to quote from Nech, himself).

I was especially looking forward to meeting up with Annie Hollinshead, the organizer of the Knebworth event planned for the following August and Kevin, a native Brit who I’d been in contact with for years but have yet to meet. Annie and I had been corresponding by phone and Skype for the previous 6 months in preparation for the Knebworth event and a book of collected fan stories to be given to Jimmy on his birthday for the previous 6 months or so. But I had yet to meet her too.

Upon arriving at “The Pilot”, I met up with Kevin and Annie where I recounted the afternoon’s events at the rehearsal.

There was a festive atmosphere at the pub where long-held friendships were renewed or realized in the real world for the first time much like Annie, Kevin and myself. We met up with a guy who claimed to have recorded the Honolulu 71 concert who presented us with photos and his story of being at that concert.

There also was a guy from Sweden outside the pub looking for tickets. It was a great environment but all 3 of us were absolutely starving as none of us had a thing to eat since arriving. The rush of events and location of the venue and hotel did not lend itself to access to restaurants. The pub had no food at that hour and we were all about to pass out. We made our way back to the O2 which was the closest place that had any food at that hour and split a pizza with Annie, Kevin and a mate of his. I think we finally got to bed back at the hotel around 2 or 3 am.

On the day of the concert, we all met up in one hotel room and did multiple checks for tickets, passes, wristbands and identification that we were told would be required to get into the building. After a frantic search for a misplaced ticket, we headed to the train station.

We boarded another train and met a few fellow Zep fans from all over the world, including a group of drunken British businessmen and another American. Arriving at the O2, the atmosphere was cold but electric with anticipation. Fans spilled in and were spread out all over the place. The news media had camped out all over the grounds of the enormous venue grounds, covering the hottest news story all over the world for that day and days afterward. I said to nobody in particular “I wonder if there will be any celebrities here"-not realizing this event was THE social event throughout all of Europe for everybody including non-Zeppelin fans. Models and celebrities from all over had descended on the event as the place to see and be seen. A huge inflatable blimp outside the venue reinforces the omnipresence of the mighty Led Zeppelin. I was thinking how nice it would have been to have actual airships flying over the O2.

We arrived at the door and were let in just on showing our wristbands. We weren’t even asked to show our driver’s license or any of the checks put in place to prevent ticket scalping. It would have just taken too long and the security was not enforcing the identity checks put in place, at least not as strictly as had been announced.

We then made our way up the ramp to where our seats were and realized the seats were in the VIP area!! At this security checkpoint, they were looking for cameras and recording devices with a metal-detecting wand. Jimmy’s road manager was there and came over said to the security guy “It’s OK, these guys are OK” and we’re let thru the line without any bother. We were seated to the left of the stage upon the 2nd level from the floor. At some point, I grabbed a sandwich which I think was $18. The seats could NOT have been better. We were up about halfway up of the first section on Jimmy’s side of the stage.

One of the guys ran into some friends and went on a quest to find other friends from Europe. I met up with a fellow American and FBO member who now lived in the UK and we hung out talked about the show and who else was there we knew. One of my buddies made it down to the side of the stage and was talking with the crew who were guarding Jimmy’s guitars by the stage. He came back and said he also spoke with Brian May from Queen who was there with his girlfriend. A few minutes later there was a buzz to my left as Marilyn Manson arrived with his actress girlfriend (Evan Rachel Wood). And I could have sworn I saw Nuno Bettencourt sitting to our left. (it turns out that it was him).

The warm-up acts were given polite applause but nobody was interested. It was awkward for them as nobody was there to hear them. Everybody was only there to see Led Zeppelin and it was painfully obvious to the bands on stage (Foreigner etc.) and to the fans. There was a really nice filmed tribute to Ahmet and then a very nice filmed documentary of the band.

Then I noticed Jimmy come to the side of the stage and was stretching his legs limbering up before the show. Finally, the lights went down and a roar came up through the crowd.

The first chords of Good Times Bad Times raised the roof. It was a powerful, palpable sound!

The setlist continued as follows: Ramble On Black Dog -“Good Evening” announced Robert. He commented on Ahmet and the fact that there were fans from 129 countries at the show. In My Time of Dying-Powerful For Your Life- Was met with a huge roar. It was rumored to be played at the show but nobody was certain it would actually be played at the show. Trampled Under Foot (During the beginning of each song, I dialed my buddy AJ was at work who was recounting which song was being played to his Zep fan office mates.) Nobody’s Fault But Mine No Quarter- Very powerful. Since I’ve Been Loving You-Great Dazed And Confused was great with Jimmy using his bow and the laser pyramid. My friends Annie and Kevin were in the front of the stage at this point and I was happy that she realized her lifelong dream to see Jimmy in concert which she had never done up until this night. Stairway To Heaven introduced by Robert as “This is for you, Ahmet” then “We did it Ahmet” afterward. The Song Remains The Same Misty Mountain Hop Kashmir was the highlight of the night. Robert’s vocals were great and the visuals were perfect and mesmerizing. The crowd reacted to this song the most. Someone threw a bowler hat up on stage at this point, in dedication to John Bonham, I assume. Jason Bonham came to the front of the stage and turned around to face Robert, Jimmy, and JPJ in an “I’m not worthy” gesture. -Encore: Whole Lotta Love Rock And Roll

After the lights went up, I noticed that Richard Cole was standing 2 rows in front of me. I elbowed Mike and whispered, “That’s Richard Cole!!”. He said, “How do you know?” I just knew as I’d seen an interview with him on the E! Channel and he looked the same as in the interview. In the meantime, my buddy from NY spotted Mo Jones making her way out of her seat beneath us and to the left. He spoke with her briefly but she didn’t recall him from their meeting in NY in 2003. She was there with her grandchildren and preoccupied with them. We reluctantly filed out of our seats and the place was buzzing. There was a bottleneck in the corridor as friends and fans were milling around talking about the experience. My buddy was talking with Warren Haynes from Government Mule who was really nice. A minute later, I noticed Ben Harper and his girlfriend Laura Dern walking around. I took the chance and tapped her on the shoulder and told her that I loved the movie “October Sky” which is one of my favorites. She lit up and said “Thank you!” and was really sweet. She’s tall! I could see that her boyfriend asked her what I’d said to her and I’m assuming she told him I commented on the movie. Meeting her was the icing on the cake. An actress from one of my all-time favorite movies after the Zeppelin show! So we gathered together and were looking for how to get to the backstage area. There was a group of us all lost and apparently looking for the same place. Richard Cole was standing among us and looking for the same place. The elevator was crowded and he got on the next one. We found the corridor leading to the backstage area and got in line with our wristbands prominently displayed. Who was standing in line in front of me? Richard Cole, of course! Amazing. He’s pretty tall too…six feet two, I would say. I wanted to reach out and talk to him but thought better of it. I regret not at least saying “Hi” to him. We entered the backstage area and got something to drink. My buddy and I found an area to stand and observed the crowd pass by. Eddie Kramer walked by! (I’d met him at a record convention in 1988 so I immediately recognized him). Lulu the British singer was there too. Lots of model types were milling around. The atmosphere in the backstage area was electric with anticipation of any of the band members showing up, of course. A small group gathered in front of us: Richard Cole, one of the guys from Oasis, Chad Smith, the drummer from Red Hot Chili Peppers and a few other cool musicians stood around talking about the concert. Richard Cole was maybe 10’ in front of me the whole time and I really wanted to ask him for an autograph. But he was on his cell phone most of the time and I didn’t want to intrude. It turns out that my buddy managed to get a photo with him which was cool. Damn, I should have been more forward with that! So we’re standing around and a sudden a murmur covers the room like a wave. Jason Bonham shows up to our left. He’s with his son and is surrounded by maybe 10 people including my buddy who has a nice conversation with him. I could tell that Jason was really gracious and really friendly with all the fans. A few minutes later, Jimena Page makes an appearance. Like a streak across the room, she disappeared somewhere among a crowd, I think because I didn’t see her after then. However, Jimmy’s son, James Page Jr was there to my right and had a conversation with my buddy from NY. (He was very indifferent to being a world-famous guitarist’s song according to my buddy and apparently very down to Earth from what my buddy told me of their conversation) About 30 minutes later, John Paul Jones arrived surrounded by 15 people. He was glowing and obviously happy about the performance. He was inundated by questions from all around him. Again, I was so tempted to try to talk to him but didn’t want to intrude and probably couldn’t have penetrated the throng of people around him.

A few hours had gone by. JPJ and Jason stayed for about an hour or so. Finally, ushers came in and announced that we all must leave. After much prodding, we were forced out of the backstage area and made our way to the after-party at the Indigo Club. After another line and wristband checking, we entered the Indigo. Solomon Burke, the blues artist was on stage. What I would assume were record company people and friends of the band were milling around. We were all pretty tired at this point but managed to stick around until 3 am or so. Not much was really happening at the Indigo but we hung out and made the most of it. Finally leaving the O2, we attempted to flag down a taxi. We were told that it would cost $100 or so by a rather rude taxi driver who wasn’t interested in taking us anywhere so close as our hotel. We were starving, tired, elated, and cold and lost in the area around the O2. We even tried to flag down a regular bus and a double-decker bus for 2 hours. We finally grabbed hot dogs off of a vendor working out of a cart there for working people on their way to work at 5 am.

Eventually, we got a gypsy cab who took us back to the hotel. My flight back to Chicago was at 11:30 am that morning and Heathrow was all the way on the other side of London which entailed taking 3 trains to get to the terminals. I slept for an hour and left the hotel at 7 am where I toured the London subway system to get to the airport and board the plane. Lots of hungover American Zep fans were on the shuttle bus and plane on the way back to the U.S. Everybody was recounting the previous night’s events….still buzzing from the once in a lifetime experience. Fortunately, the plane was almost empty and I stretched out across four seats to sleep the whole length of the flight back home. Carrying my cache of souvenirs, I made it to the rental car and back to the hotel. That night I went into work and recounted the whole story to my fellow co-workers. It all had not sunken it that I was actually there.

A few weeks later, I had all the mementos framed from this amazing trip.

#led zeppelin #concert

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lukef · 3 years

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that’s entertainment

⌖ @crookxdrook | backdated to august 31, 2007

tired and stressed are the best words to describe the young fire elementalist. there’s a clear time of the day where that changes to relaxed and happy, though, and that time of the day is around 9pm on tuesday, when he decides to go for a few drinks in a bar. he’s tired of sitting in his apartment waiting for something interesting to happen, so why not go to a place where he might meet someone new?

the thing is, even after a few drinks he’s surprised he actually meets someone that catches his interest. diamond’s are prone to looking different, but even between colorful shirts and horrible pants, the other still sticks out. maybe it’s the tattoos, or the hair, or just the way he behaves - or maybe, maybe it’s the fact that the other chose to sit down directly next to luke. if luke is honest, it doesn’t really matter to him, simply because he’s way too drunk. but he’s not too drunk to see the small ‘K’ on the other’s wrist, which somehow leads to a chain reaction in his brain - which then leads to a few dumb ideas. luke settles down for the first one that shoots into his mind, which is: impress him.

he can’t tell the other’s faction and rank just by looking at him, but he suspects the other’s not a diamond, given he would have seen him around at least once before if that was the case. but he’s a king, he looks nice. again, that’s all that matters. luke decides to wait a bit until the other’s had a few drinks, but then he creates (even though it takes him a long time to focus) a small (miniature and wobbly, barely recognizable) mouse, sends it in the other’s direction and manages to let it run over the stranger’s shoulders. it leaves a small piece of fabric burning, but luke manages to pat his shoulder, as if he was trying to show the other that it was his mouse. the fire stops spreading before the other can notice the heat (even though the smoke is still pretty noticeable). the mouse fades right in front of the stranger and luke manages to form a satisfied smile with his lips.

“man, you look like you’ve just seen a mouse or something. care for a drink, dude?”

#* looking for: crookxdrook.#* call: 020-that's entertainment.#* pull a card: thread.

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lizseyi · 10 months

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Advantages Of Hot Desking & Flexible Workspaces - Let Ready

The daily grind of such practices has been encapsulated perfectly by UK sitcom ‘The Office’ where the politics of every day office life are challenging and sometimes entertaining.

One of the biggest advantages of the internet, is its enabling of businesses to allow staff to work from home. In many cases this can save expenses when it comes to office rental, electricity and rates charges and reducing the level to which people need to be managed offices, workers are now often judged on their quality of output rather than how well they fit in in the office.

Alpha Works for example, has a gym, bike racks and showers all within a secure basement. There is free coffee and tea, regular community events and showcases. Quiet rooms, private office space either for long term or individual meetings. Free electricity and high speed wi-wi. Great views across the city which can be inspirational in itself. Friendly staff, and a real community atmosphere.

Want to know more?

Call us to chat about your requirements on 020 3019 5060.

#managed offices

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braveggg-hq · 3 years

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Mermay EVENT

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Topic: Mermay -Month long event for May 2021

Subject: GaoGaiGar Police Verse

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The events and personalities/history of characters are not CANON to either show or universe. It’s only for the event of mermay and this universe only. Please do not think these changes in character are canon. As well it’s not required to read the about for characters, but just there for help or any questions on them.

-Thank you for reading <3

[Mobile format in mind, just a heads up]

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The A.I units are waterbased and land based, though some are able to be air based as well. They were created by the Brave Police and Three G almost at the same time. Though each company was very much oblivious to the actions of each other, mostly due to how they wanted to keep it a secret due to the slowly rising cases of oceanatic life and pollution suspected to be done by the rising ALPHA and Pollion organizations. The Brave Police and Three G would both end up coming together after their units were released and ended up meeting one another.

The Three G and Brave Police ended up merging their programs and working with one another. Which would lead to the creation of the new ocentic rehibilitation center in Nanamagari city near the oceans edge. The purpose being to save, clean, heal, and then return ocean life to the ocean if found harmed or lost. As well as taking in mermaid pods and lost mermaids. It also holds other areas open to the public for learning needs, sometimes holding more open and social mermaids to the public to watch heal or learn about. The creatures that live in the zoo for full or lifetime usually can be found in very suitable permanent tanks. The commissioners of the Units as well can be found around the zoo/lab. Sometimes blending into the area around them.

Zonders can be found in both land, water, and air. Zonders are harmful to the ocean and it’s creatures as well. they are very agressive adn do attempt to either harm, damage permanently, or kill their host. There are as well poactures and hunters that go after these creatures, to which the A.I units of both organizaitons and stations go after to protect and contain as well as arrest-of course. Another thing to note in this universe is that there are far more units present as well as other people. Zonders to note as well target mermaids, mostly to build up and use them to their advantage. Which leads to....[ ]. Zonders are a very high threat, more then the humans who attempt to create and harm the life around them. Zonders are highly toxic and can easily spread and grow in population due to the high amount of ocean creatures and fish. As well as human beach goers and air born life forms. Zonders can as well take on human forms and life forms though cannot get the eyes right nor voice or sounds. Usually keeping to their usual sounds.

[[ KEY

Betterman vs GaoGaiGar or new - ————

Negative - ————

Character change Major - ——

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HUMANS

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The humans include almost all of the usually members of the two universes

Yuuta: Born and abandoned as a infant, Yuuta was adopted by the Amami family. His adoptive family would treat him as their own and raise him as their own. Of course, this leading him to take a liking to both ocean life and robotics or robots. He was almost on top of his class but as well down to earth and very cheerful and playful. He would end up finding out of the two orginizations when his brother Mamaoru ended up meeting with them for the grand opening of the zoo and lab of Nanamagari. Later on he would bond with Deckard- unit and gain the abilities to link up with them after the AK 020 Event.

Mamaoru: Born and found as an infant from a strange matalic lion, his adoptive parents Ai and Ammi Amami. He would end up being an only child until his parents found Yuuta, the two would grow close to one another over the years and usually forgot they were both from seperate famliies. Mamaoru would end up being brought into the Three G when it was found out he could cure Zonderfined humans, creatures, and mermaids. Later on he would be found to be one of the holder of the G-stone, as well as brought into working with the Three G. Refered to Agent Mamaoru and commondly found to be with Gai or Agent volfogg. He would be the one to help zonderfied lifeforms and later fight and defent the lab and zoos from Zonder attacks or attacks in general.

Gai: A cyborge once man. Send to Jupitor as a young man, he would return badly damaged and within a strange matalic lion which would be kept in the Three G labs and storage. Gai is the son of Leo and ———. He is highly skilled in fighting and is able to be both land and water bound. able to have his legs link up to create a fish tail, making him able to fight both on land and water without hinderance. Gai was given his new body after being brought back by the lion from space. Though his water bound abilites were given after Zonders were found in the ocean. He is able to link up with the lion to form GaiGar, a unit that is able to walk on land and water. Though is not able to travel under the water. Merely stand or fly above (Though only with certain units)

Mikioto: A very happy, kindhearted, worker at the G three. She is commonly seen working around and proforming the tasks the late Papillion once did, though commonly now a days works with the head cases and headstation. She presses the button that allows GaiGar to for GaoGaiGar or any other weapons/abilities. She also is known to have an unknown connection with the zonders.

Hyuuma (Geki): hot headed and very blunt. Yet fun and caring when he wants to be. He’s built for fighting, as some say. He’s very hot headed and couragous. Once used for Goldymarg project, he has become very blunt, serious, and tempermental after the Incident 192_Zonder accident. However, he has an odd bond with Ushiyama.

Ikumi (Arma): A quiet strange boy, he is very quiet and can be seen hiding around or stalking different workers of the Three G and later the Brave Police. He is suspected to have a connection to the Zonders or atleast the strange being seen around. Known as Able. He also can be seen protecting the workers of the Three G and Brave Police. Rarely will he be seen or heard speaking.

Papillion Noir: Once a worker for the Three G, after the Zonder incident 192, she has been suspected to have been killed and taken over by one of the leading zonders. Rarely will she appear on land but mostly be seen in the ocean in her new form as a strange jellyfish like being. She can be seen usually drowning or paralizing humans and the creatures of the sea. Rarely however, will she even come out for physical attacks. She was once one of the higher developers for the A.I units and other robotics. As well as having a relationship with Entouji. She is known to have been soft toned, sweet, considerate, and very motherly at times.

Ushiyama (Kazuo): A worker for the three G and one of the repair workers of the A.I units. He is noted to having an odd bond with Hyuuma (Geki).

Leo and liger: Both bothers are on uneven terms. Though get along well. Both are seen as high class workers and are usually up to working on experiements and creating new technology. Though take their jobs seriously. They can be noted as being serious, blunt, nice, exagerent, childish, and hard working. Leo is the father of Gai and Liger the father of Renais. Leo tends to stay in Japan while Liger tends to stay in America with Swan and stallion White and Mic Sounders.

Isogai: Originally the secretary of President Tagia, she has gone missing after the Zonder incident 192. She was seen as studious, sweet, hard working, and cheerful. Her position for the organization was for taking notes, arriends, checking up on developments, and a part of the team Ammar. She tends to use objects as her weapon in the group. (Mostly her pole). Isogai was noted to go to the mermaids after the labs and zoos locked up or closed and play, entertain, and chat with them. Sometimes teaching them defense tatics.

(Operator) Entouji: The developer and creator for most if not all A.I units, also called The Father of A.Is. He is one of the very slim pergentage of highly intelligent human beings. He is commonly in a chair and working at the computer. He tends to become messy and is usually over worked. however, that is his fault. He always is on the run for working and getting things done. Now more then before due to Papillions absents. He’s quiet, friendly, intelligent, and studious. Tends to be messy and forget to take baths.

Ayako: One of the photographers and works for the Brave Police of Nanamagari city. she’s very friendly, exagerant, joyful, talkative, and abrasive. Always in it for that perfect or new hot photo. she usually ends up in the Medical bay or doctors office due to her newest photo or story. She’s a very passionate gal and can be seen with Dumpson half the time. She also is a lover of surfing and new reporting.

Shunsuke: A repair worker for the Nanamagari City Brave Police. Though once the organizations mashed together, works along side Ushiyama and Entouji. He gets along well with almost everyone but has a habit of getting to into his works. Such as repairing things that don’t need to be repaired or updating things. He’s very serious, blunt, joyful, kidding, and strong willed. He tends to be very sarcastic. He has a habit of visiting Gunmax after hours to chat and joke. Or just bicker with.

Seia: A highly respected commander of the army nearby, she’s high ranking and has a lot of sass to her. Though outside of her work, she’s friendly, comforting, and in a way motherly. She’s always ready to help others out and to encourage other activities. She’s a sweetheart yet very stern. She has a special bond with McCrane. She as well has a younger brother who has now passed away due to the events of 192.

Saejima (Commissioner): He is commonly known as the new President of the two organizations after Taiga’s sudden leave. He’s known to be more serious, short tempered, studious, and on track with things then before. He over sees many projects and developments, as well as the tracking of those Zonderfied in the two organizations. He has a strong friendship with Shunsuke and once Taiga. He’s very serious when it comes to Zonder attacks and always in the front of things to see who or what is coming close. He suffers from heavy PTSD due to the Zonder Incident 192 and 3251AK. He tends to drink more often now then before. He has a bond with little unit Bishop and Gunmax along with Yan Long-Ki

(President) Taiga: Once the Three G President, he is now known as Zonder 1231.2, the second part of the suspected Abel. He can be seen as a large figure that appears as the myth of Cthulu. He can be seen in a human form that appears as him, though with red eyes and light purplish skin tone. Sticking to the Zonder appearance. He is noted to be highly agressive and dangerous. Targeting old friends and oblivous humans and mermaids. He is known to drown or rip apart victims in both forms. Before the incident, he was seen as very friendly, cheerful, couragous, fatherly, stern yet abrasive, and protective. He is known to have been married to [ ] and after her death have a relationship with his secretary. He was last seen attempting to protect several workers from a Zonder. Leaving him to being noted as missing in action. He as well was part of the Ammar group- leader. Since his absence GaiGaiGar’s Final form hasn’t been able to be activated as well as more dangerous and higher damaging weapons. Leaving the lab and groups more vunrable to more damaging attacks.

Azuma: He common works at Nanamagari City Brave Police station yet, having taken over for Commisioner Saejima. He’s noted to be cruel at times and very egotistic. However, has grown more kind and humble.

Yan Long-Ki (Commander): He leds the Three G in China and holds onto one of several labs that hold several highly dangerous zonder cases and forms. He has two units of his own that are stationed there for emergency services. He has a wife and young son as well.

Stallion White and Swan White: Two twins, brother and sister who live in America with Liger and Mic Sounders the 13th. They work side by side in the communications department. Stallion commonly stays in America to oversee the weapons build and communications as Swan Travels back and forth between America and Japan with Mic sounders. She has the second part of President tagias activation key. which allows GaiGar to Go to Black GaiGar and Jet GaoGaiGar. Swan white and Stallion white have a bond with Mic Sounders and Liger.

Hana: One of Mamaorus childhood friends and Yuutas best friends. She’s very meek and has a hard time getting things done due to her severe anxiety. however, she is commonly heard encouraging herself to be brave.

Ayame: Hana’s cousin and one of the more ranbuncious and trouble markers of the Zoo visitors.

Reiko, Takayasu, and Sueo: Mamaoru’s friends. Reiko comes from a high class family. she’s classy and knows what she wants but is caring for her friends. Common picks on Takayasu, || Takayasu comes from a high class family and has a high intelligence, he also gets picked on by Reiko. he’s friendly and tends to get the newest technology. ||| sueo is the younger brother of Ushiyama. He’s strong for his age and can be seen feeding the mermaids and animals after, during, and before the labs/zoo opens up. He isn’t too bright but he usually makes that up for thinking out of the box.

Keita Aono: showing up for an interview out of nowhere, He was hired almost right away due to his chrisma and kind personaltiy. He is noted to be clumsy, charming, kind, funny, and studious (at times) he tends to clean and feed the creatures and Mermaids. Though he was given the option to drive on the mobile units due to his actions during the Incident of 192 and 053. He has his own mecha suit. though after these events he is seen to be slightly more awkward, panic prone, kind, and clumsy. He’s still in employment but can be seen placed in much safer areas for work after the close call and accident report 293/13. He is protective of those around him and of course Hinoki. He is known to be willing to protect others even if it places himself in danger.

Ai Amami and Ammi Amami: Mamoru’s and Yuuta’s parents, not their birth parents but adoptive parents. they care for the two and would give anything for them to be safe.

Alouette: A almost genious-level child, she is around seven years old and almost tops Entouji. though they level out mid way. She was the one to help and complete Program Drive of GaogighGar’s final fusion sequense. She suffers from Amnesia, though this did lead her to live a normal life. however, she still retains high intelligence. however, this is not used in order to keep her living a normal life and childhood. Only used if needed. Even then she usually isn’t bothered by it. She is usually with Renais and Regina or playing with the other kids.

Regina: From Scottland and with her units from the Scottland yard. She is very studious, strict, polite, lady like, and graceful. She has a habit of getting protective of her units and hateful or spiteful towards anyone who dares harm them. She can hold a grude for years, though, once joining the labs she’s opened up and softened. Espeically with yuuta’s help. She’s learned to be less strict. though she has a protective grisp on her units still. It’s not as bad as before.

Renais: A cybrog formed aganst her will. She never wanted it, though she had no say. Being kiddnapped at a young age and witnissing her families death say for her father. To who she still has a resentment for at times. She’s strong willed, iron fisted, intelligent, sassy, and confident. She always is ready to put herself in the way of danger to protect those she loves, as well as work to help herself. She’s very confident in herself though has a low self-esteem at times. Renais is usually one to be serious in her work and focus on the objective. She has her own units and is part of Chasseur of France. She has some sort of bond with Alouette. With time she has softened up slightly, only slightly. She’s learned to have a bit of fun but be serious, with Mamauro’s and Yuuta’s help.

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A.I UNITS

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Ms.Piggy: A simple unit who can communicate with the units in certain beeping patterns. She commonly serves oil to them. Suspected to have a bond with volfogg.

Enryuu and Hyoryuu: two twins of the units, Enryuu being the oldest and Hyoryu being the youngest. Enryuu is more hot-headed, clumsy, fun, and blunt, Hyoryu is more serious, cool, friendly, and sweet. Enryu has fire based abilties and able to heat things up and Hyoryu being able to use ice and the cold to his advantage. They both as based off of Tiger sharks.

GoldyMarg: Once part of the Three G, he was zonderfied to the horror of the other units. Sadly, able to keep his self awareness but do nothing from distruction. He is based off a squid. Which only makes him more dangerous. He is often noted to be highly aggressive and dangerous. He has been spotted sinking several ships and taking Zonderfied A.I units to the surface for attacks.

GetsuRyuu+NichiRyu: Two twins built in Germany. they both are very sweet, intelligence, quick with actions, and elegant like the other two girls. They are very close with one another and often have to keep little Shouryu, Bishop, Drill Boy, and Mic out of trouble. They are based off Squids and the one able to fly, the only ones both flight, land, and water based. They can fly in the air due to their blasters and light weight metals.

Volfogg: A sleek and spy built unit, he is very quiet and keep to himself half the time. Often seen sleeping or doing work. He is built after a Seal. Volfogg has some sort of relationship with Ms.Piggy and is seen chatting with Entouji half the time. He is also one of the only units able to walk both on land and swim. He is very graceful and silent. Making him very scary at times due to his sudden apperances. He is often seen looking over late recording of missing or absent agents and workers.

Furyu and Rairyu: Both are land based units who are often based in China. Furryu is often seen as very childish, smart alic, abrasive, and couragous. Rairu is often seen as quiet, smart, brave, and couragous. They both tend to look after the workers and always on the edge due to the zonders getting lose.

Anryu and Kouryu: They are able to switch between both Water and land, but hardly do so. Even if they can, they are considered to be the second set of land based units, they are mostly seen swiming around. anryu is serious, quiet, and sassy. Kouryu is known to be bubbly, loud, and smart mouthed. Though the two are both very intelligent, elegant, and slick. anryu is able to use the darkness to her advantage due to her color and coding while Kouryu can use the light to her advantage. They are both based off Jellyfish and a bit of Beta fish.

Mic Sounders the 13th: He is another Land based A.I unit, commonly seen helping around and using his music to his advantage. He is loud, rembuncious, and joyful. He is also known to be very Childish. He will use his music to the advantage as well as vibrations around him. He’s a sweet unit in his minizied form but the other stuff comes out when he’s in his actual size. He tends to be a little to rambuncious at times but isn’t much of a threat. Just oblvious at times. however, when Swan’s around...he’s more calm and collected.

Rook and Pawn: twins that don’t look alike, they ain’t identical twins at all. Rook is classy and very quiet, Pawn is more loud and rambuncious. They are often seen working together when fighting but are pretty much opposet from one another outside of that. however, they do have a strong bond alonng like the others. They are as well land based. They both use their strangth and physical build for fighting.

Bishop: The youngest of all units, even from Shouryu. He’s meek at times, shy, soft toned, and passive. however, he can be very friendly when he wants to be. He’s often noted ot being the medic of the group along side Duke/Knight. He’s often seen alone and almost greaving the loss of one of his closet brothers/teammates. He’s land based as well. Has a staff he can use to his ability, though he cannnot use it to it’s full potential. Due to the hazard of it sucking all his energy away. this would cause his circuts to fry and in the end, be his death.

King: Able to be both land and water based, he is known to be silent, strong-willed, confident, and leaderlike. He doesn’t take anyones crap and very seirous in most if not all situations. though that is from all he’s had to do while under the old Regina’s control. He has softened up but that was mostly for Bishops sake. He’s more soft toned, quiet, strong-willed, and friendly. He’s based on a sea horse in his water form. He usually is seen with a sword for fights.

Duke/knight: After Goldymarg was lost, a search for him was sent out by the two organizations. However, this lead to a long and difficult battle between all the units. Leading to Knight being captured and as well being Zonderfied. He is land based so after falling into the water, he was easily captured. Leading him to being Zonderfied into a Kalpe type creature. So far no one’s seen him besides being seen before any fights. Suggesting he is a scout of sorts for them.

ShouRyuu: the second youngest of the group. Very naive, curious, childish, friendly, and sweet of the group. He’s very clingy to anyone bigger then him and is usually kept inside the headquarters, lab, or zoo. He can go onto land and into water. His water based form is of a simple Eel. he is able to work with electricty and able to control such. Luckily he cannot harm anyone if he does enter water. He tends to hang out and comfort Bishop.

Gunmax: A land based unit from America, he is commonly seen patroling the land and giving tickets. Though he is known to have a biker gang as friends. He honestly loves them, but is very much known to be a trouble maker. however, his charm, kindness, and joky behavor weights this out half the time. Later on he is given a water form due to the increase of water crimes. He is based off of a Dolphin. He has a pistol on land for fights and a harpoon for water based fights.

McCrane: Usually quiet, blunt, studious, and friendly. He tends to be with Seia half the time and enjoys her presents. He is water based and usually swims around with the other build team. fixing things broken. He is very charming to a lot of visitors and sometimes gets fanmail. He’s often seen fighting with his hands and a pole. He’s the oldest of the build team. He’s based off a clown fish.

Deckard: Paired up with Yuuta later on, he’s charming, friendly, sweet, intelligent, guideful, and fatherly. He is often the first appointed Water based unit. Deckard was the very first to be online and brought into the eye of the public first. Due to Yuuta interfering with one of the wonders that attempted to attack the delivering trucks. Deckard activated and save the young boy before the Wonder could harm him. This as well affected the units strength. While appearing very frail and weak, the unit is able to handle several thousand pounds. Deckard is the head leader of his group but is often looked to by the other units. Deckard is able to use his pistol on land and water, due to it being created just for him.

Drill Boy: the third youngest of all the units. He's not the smallest, but he is water bound. Often seen playing with the other younger units and by himself, he is noted for being a trickster and trouble maker. He is found of the older girls that visit and usually plays tricks for them. That is if he wants to. If he's on for a show he usually gives boring bland tricks. He's known to be childish, playful, sweet, annoying, and bubbly. He's built for building and is able to drill into the ground or surrounding area. He's based off a clownfish.

Shadowmaru and Kagaru: The two are twins, both similar in personality, though having their own differences. Such as Kaharu being more miscvious and trickster like. Shadowmaru is more serious and blunt. Shadowmaru is known to be the more serious of the two while Kagaru is known to be like a fox, trickster and miscvious. He doesn't tend to be as serious as Shadowmaru, though they both hold some serious fighting and weaponry. They take this seriously. Especially after Kagaru was almost reprogrammed by one of the other companies. Luckily he wasn’t but did cost his life. Though thanks to Papillion he survived. Shadowmaru and Kagaru are both able to be on land and water, as well as air. Their water forms are based on Octopus and their air forms are on two dragons.

dumpson: Ayako’s favorites units. Dumpson is slightly hot headed, joyful, iron-willed, and humble. He’s very strong, just slightly more then Deckard due to his framing, he’s able to lift a medium sized oil tanker if he wants though he must be careful due to his unit not wanting to pull or break anything. Especially under the water. He’s someone who will try and whoo others and sometimes without knowing, though he is very focused on his work, he’s part of the build team as well. He is very focused on what he needs to do and get done. Sometimes pushing himself to his limit. He’s based on a clown fish as well.

Power Joe: Another and the second oldest of the build team. He’s got an eye out for the art of fighting and karate, as well as art itself. He has an interest in art and fighting. He’s most often known for his ability for picking up all sorts of fighting ways and actions. He enjoys working along side his brothers, usually taking his time with certain parts, more so the oil areas. Not wanting any of it to leak out. He’s very charming, talkative, joking, mischivious, and lively. He has a crane built onto him as well, making him useful to builds that require high heights or carrying humans around. He’s based off a clowfish as well.

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OTHERS

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Soldato-J/Pizza + J-ark: He was from the Red Planet, but came with abel and Ikumi after it’s demise. He was made to protect the two but would end up in a coma after landing to earth. He would awaken after the evens of 192 and been seen watching over the ocean on nearby cliffs of the Three G labs and zoo. He is seen to not be a threat and protect those around there and fight Zonders. Though appears to be looking for someone of something.

Cain: Confirmed to be killed on his planet by his son Mamaoru after his link with Galeon (The lion). His form taken by a zonder he is often seen harming or killing those in Zonder attacks, though rarely has his form be seen fighting with itself while in attacks among humans. It can be noted he is not a high class threat due to how easy it is to deter this type to coming onto land. However, it can be noted this form of zonder- if able to make it onto land, can cause heavy damage. Though as long on water or in water, cannot.

Abel: while not Zonderfied she took to working along side after being fed lies by Palparepa and Pillus. She is naive and childish, very childish. Though her true form is a very tall woman. She is noted to be dosile and more of a nusisiouce.

Palparepa + Pillus: Both work hand in hand of causing as much damage and death. They have little care for other living beings and seem to enjoy in such activities. Papaprepa is able to take the form of a giant mecha and able to both fly, walk, and swim. Paparepa is seem often along side of Pillus who is seen as very unhinged. Palparepa is often spoted zonderfying other beings if given the chance by using his syring form of an arm while Pillus is seen leading most attacks upon humans and earth life. They often attempt to take over the units and damage them before zonderfing them. They both tend to watch and listen. They as well as known or atleast highly suspected for being the reason behind the zonderification of the Incident 192 and many more. Pillus can take the form of a large great white shark and Paplaperpa his mecha form.

Sakura Akamatsu: Soft toned, sweet heart, brave, studious, and clean. She is known for being found after one of the many attacks on the lab. Seeming to have washed upon the shore, though. The only recorded case of a natural Mermaid. She is known to get sick easily, bruised, or injured easlily. She is known for her bright blue eyes and soft cotton candy pink hair, as well as her soft spoken tone. She is usually held with the rest of the workers in their bunkers and has had custom made travel ways for herself around the area. She is able to travel into different channels of minds at random and able to connect to her very own unit, though this is risky and only done in Emegency cases or on her own will. She is seen often with the other units at times and speaks or plays with the other children best she can.

Hinoki Sai: Hired by the Three G before the events of 192. she was usually seen cleaning up messes and working on the garden. Though after the Zonder attacks of Accident 0029, she would end up with a mobile suit due to the abilities shown during the attack. She was as well moved to another part of Japan. Linking her up to work with the young Mikoto. She is confident at times but usually doubts herself and her intelligence. She is of high intelligence. She has a childhood friend named Keita though forgot of him during the first zonder attacks. However, once she meets him again when he is transferred to the current headquarters of the Three G. she is apathetic and tends to get a bad rep, and rumored to be rude. She has a good relationship with her friends; Mikoto, Swan, Keito (later), and once Papillion. She is commonly seen being in a Sullen manner.

#//Mermay #//Early mermay occuring!#//GaoGaiGar Police Verse #//Alternate timeline/universe

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