#FL: Aftershock

[streetlites]

My great-grandfather had told me that no one would ever appreciate the amount of effort it took to run the family business. It was still a hard lesson to learn, despite the warning.

You don't have to like what I do. I don't care if you agree with my decisions. Just know who keeps the money in your accounts.

[sleepoutro]

MCR north american tour full youtube recordings masterpost ✨

here's all the recordings/compilations of full shows i could find on youtube (some might be missing a few minutes/a couple of songs), plus a tiny bit of info on each video. ik these are probably all on the my chem archive dropbox but i didn’t have anything better to do lmao so here they all are in one tidy list. thank you to all the people who filmed these i owe you my life. (btw when i say right or left side of stage in this post i mean from the audience pov :D)

Oklahoma: Tony: filmed from ga

San Antonio: JYeahJasonJude: filmed from near barricade, with great zoom. Tony: filmed from seats, full stage view, phoenixrai: filmed from ga

Nashville: The Academy is My Beautiful Romance: compilation of different videos, streams, clips etc. ur internet boyfriend: filmed from back of the arena seats

Cincinnati: The Academy is My Beautiful Romance: compilation of different videos!

Raleigh: Yordoom: filmed from ga (this one has a really clear and fun view of the floor crowd in my opinion). dallon: filmed from seats, right side

Elmont: Alê Morais: filmed from high up right side. Mothman Multimedia: not a full video but a playlist of videos from the whole show, filmed from high up, center

Philadelphia: Electronic Beagle: filmed from high up left side. markit aneight: amazing quality!! deadhoarse: another great quality one, left side

Albany: The Academy is My Beautiful Romance: compilation :)

Uncasville: ConcreteRose: side of stage, right side. Kelush: filmed from ga

Montreal: Finnyfresh: instagram live uploaded to youtube, mostly filming jumbotron

Toronto1: Keandell Clyde Arcenal Pineda: filmed from floor seating, full stage and jumbotron view.

Toronto2: The Academy is my Beautiful Romance: compilation

Boston1: Full Sets: filmed from seats further away, full stage

Boston2: Cen's Jams: filmed from high up left side, stage and jumbotron in view most of the time. Blue Moon: Side/almost behind stage, frank's side. chaosangel42: filmed from seats on stage level, right side

Brooklyn1: The Academy is My Beautiful Romance: compilation

Brooklyn2: xZ3ROGRAVITYx: nice full stage view from the right side. Tom’s Archive: filmed from ga with a great zoom and some great quality shots from the jumbotron

Detroit: Bingop: filmed from further away, seats, Sheep: very good full stage view from the left

Saint Paul: Cool Concert Channel: filmed from ga, close to the stage

Riot Fest: Geoffrey Gardner: right-ish side of stage. phoenixrai: great quality. and kudos to both of these people for how stable the videos seem to be considering everything lol

Alpharetta: Blue Moon: close to stage, great quality

NJ1: phoenixrai: again, fantastic quality. deadhoarse: great quality, filmed from left side with a great zoom, so there’s nice variety in the shots. Tom’s Archive: close to stage, another great quality recording. Gothic Romance: just another great recording, more from the right side of the arena this time. nj1 had all the people with good cameras for some reason lol

NJ2: Tom’s Archive: Tom coming in with another banger. filmed from the pit, amazing closeups. ray toro is so beautiful. Andrea Warfel: filmed from further back in ga. Metal Love Collection: another great quality nj video, filmed from ga with a good zoom.

Firefly: alene b: good quality, just clips of last two songs. gems (loves frank iero): another nice quality one, good view of jumbotron most of the time

Sunrise FL: The Academy Is my Beautiful Romance: compilation!

Houston: Fredy Benitez: filmed from further back in seating

Dallas: phoenixrai: great quality, filmed from ga

Denver: Sudz’ Concert Recordings: filmed from further back but with a good zoom, nice full view of stage

Portland: The Academy is My Beautiful Romance: compilation!

Tacoma: SquawkyJo: full stage view

Oakland: The Academy is my Beautiful Romance: compilation!

Las Vegas: hearmenearme: filmed from left side high up. phoenixrai: great quality!

Aftershock: Elias Blake: divided into 2 parts, link is to part 1 :)

LA1: phanfanisonline: divided into 4 parts, link to part 1 :)

LA2: JMetalHead: filmed from right side high up

LA3: ray: filmed from pit, link is to part A. JMetalHead: filmed from right side high up. i love this person's reactions to their favorite songs haha RandomAspectsofLife: side of stage, frank's side (almost behind stage so you can see a lot of the crowd which i love!)

LA4: ray: filmed from seats, right side, full stage view + occasional jumbotron, link to part A.

LA5: Tina Sharp: full view of stage from the left side. deadhoarse: great quality, filmed from the right

WWWY2: StayThicc: filmed from further back, jumbotron in view the whole time. The Academy is My Beautiful Romance: compilation!

WWWY3: PichyTheReefCoralTheReef: full stage and jumbotron view

MEXICO CITY: we got our professional recording! uploaded by a lot of people but here is one link

and obviously a reminder that there are also a ton of amazing quality individual song performances on youtube, these are just the full show recordings! please lmk if you notice any mistakes, it's late when i'm making this lol. i'll try to add on to this if new videos are uploaded :) happy watching! edit: just to add, if you click on one of these videos and it turns out to be one of those that barely show ray at all just please click right out of there. i haven’t watched all of these through so please know that i don’t endorse that and find it weird as fuck to say the least

[asmrrpaddict]

Freelancer during the Aftershock period is the definition of,

FL “I believe everyone should be in therapy.”

“Are you in therapy?”

FL “Oh no, not me I’m fine.”

[earlycuntsets]

mcr shows on youtube pt. 4 (2011 - 2023) last one :]

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

08/05/2011 pnc bank arts center holmdel nj - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/13/2011 hersheypark stadium hershey pa - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/20/2011 first midwest bank amphitheater tinley park il - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/26/2011 little john's farm reading england - em

08/31/2011 rogers arena vancouver canada - catie cunningham

09/03/2011 usana amphitheater west valley city utah - delaney nye

09/04/2011 comfort dental amphitheater greenwood village co - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/09/2011  capitol federal park at sandstone amphitheater bonner springs ks - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/11/2011 dte energy music theater clarkston mi - justanotherkilljoy

09/18/2011 farm bureau live at virginia beach va - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/20/2011 verizon wireless amphitheater charlotte nc - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/22/2012 gold coast parklands gold coast australia - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/03/2012 adelaide showground adelaide australia - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/05/2012 mccallum park perth australia - myxinfinitexromance

05/19/2012 north beach asbury park asbury park nj - ryan hanratty

12/20/2019 the shrine expo hall los angeles ca - gabe havel photo

05/16/2022 the eden project day one st austell england - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/17/2022 the eden project day two st austell england - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/21/2022 stadium mk milton keynes england - TheChickenGiraffe

05/24/2022 royal hospital kilmainham dublin ireland - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/28/2022 sofia gardens cricket ground cardiff wales - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/04/2022 bologna sonic park arena parco north italy - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/06/2022 olympiahalle munich germany - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/07/2022 budapest park budapest hungary - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/09/2022 progresja warsaw poland - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/11/2022 o2 arena prague czech republic - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/13/2022 stora scenen gröna lund stockholm sweden - live from stockholm

08/19/2022 paycom center oklahoma city ok - tony

08/23/2022 bridgestone arena nashville tn - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/24/2022 heritage bank center cincinnati oh - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/29/2022 wells fargo philadelphia pa - ronaldb2985

08/30/2022 mvp arena albany ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/05/2022 scotia bank toronto ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/16/2022 riot fest douglass park chicago il - geoffrey gardner

09/20/2022 prudential center newark nj - deadhoarse

09/24/2022 fla live arena sunrise fl - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/03/2022 tacoma dome tacoma wa - seattle concerts

10/05/2022 oakland arena oakland ca - HisoKu

10/07/2022 t-mobile arena las vegas nv - wormspeddler (smeagles)

10/08/2022 aftershock discovery park sacramento ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/09/2022 barclays center brooklyn ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/15/2022 kia forum inglewood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/23/2022 when we were young day day two las vegas - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/29/2022 when we were young fest las vegas nv - PichyJr

11/18/2022 autódromo hermanos rodríguez mexico city mexico - leashalia

03/11/2023 the outer fields at western springs auckland new zealand (soundcheck) - the academy is my beautiful romance

03/23/2023 qudos bank arena sydney australia - the academy is my beautiful romance

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

[lovepinkshiftforever]

ITS AN EAT UR FRIENDS FALL W/ JHARIAH & POLLYANNA 😋🌟 tix on sale friday 10am local

9/15 - Chicago, IL - Riot Fest*

9/17 - Milwaukee, WI - JJ’s Bar and Grill

9/19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Robots Project

9/20 - Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room

9/21 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life *

9/22 - Nashville, TN - Drkmttr

9/24 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups

10/5 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock*

10/11 - Providence, RI - Alchemy

10/12 - Asbury Park, NJ - House of Independents

10/13 - Massapequa, NY - Massapequa VFW

10/14 - Philadelphia, PA - Ukie Club

10/15 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Music Hall

10/17 - Chapel Hill, NC - Motorco Music Hall

10/18 - Atlanta, GA - @masquerade_atl

10/19 - Tampa, FL - New World Music Hall

10/20 - Orlando, FL - Level 13

10/21 - Miami, FL - Gramps

*festivals, no pollyanna & jhariah

[capitalisticveins]

I just realized that FL and Lasko haven’t had a 1-on-1 audio since aftershock (if u even count that since the episode was shared with 2-3 other characters)

soooo…

#ReuniteFLandLasko2k23

[messenger-of-stupidity]

Since I'm so nervous about tagging people, I'm not going to *Actually* tag the person

But you know that fic series thing that @/gingerbreadmonsters made where Freelancer died and Gavin basically broke tthe world to revive them?

Yeah. That got my brain spiraling (i love their writing so much I can't describe it)

The grieving process is hella complex and varies so much for each person. But one of the most common things is the brain recreating the deceased as a coping mechanism.

All I can think of is after the inversion none of the Damn group could really handle Freelancer being gone. Especially since they kind of brought everyone together.

They convinced Huxley and Lasko to get in touch again.

They enlightened Damien that he scared Lasko and he therefore adjusted how he interacted with Lasko to strengthen their friendship.

They organized that bowling episode and introduced everyone together.

So what if the group just mutually decided to continue on like Freelancer wasn't dead and survived?

Like, all the Aftershock were their brain conjuring FL so they could have someone to talk to. All the parties were them just pretending that Freelancer was still there, flirting with Gavin.

Caelum doesn't really know how to deal with the only human that could see him dying, that he just wants to pretend it didn't happen and is just a nightmare.

Dear keeps hearing so much about this Freelancer that they're so excited to meet them. But when they finally meet the squad, Freelancer isn't there.

"are they coming later?" Dear asks, turning to Lasko. He shakes his head and gestures to the empty spot next to Gavin.

"They're right there, Dear. Are you okay?"

Dear just doesn't know how to interact with that so they just don't say anything and go along with it.

[penncilkid]

*shuffles in* hi, can you just whip these up really fast? some of the tables are starting to get impatient *drops ticket and leaves*

Redacted ask game - 33, 35, 29, 24, 8, 17, 18.

8: I honestly fuck with the vast majority of non-canon couples (it's kind of my brand at this point) so this was tough. But a few that I've stumbled upon and just kind of went "Eh....? /neu" are Greg (Keaton)/Gabe, Xavier/Huxley (This one could change if pitched well but otherwise not really for me), and maybe Blake/Cutie? I mused it briefly but didn't get far because Blake's pretty restrictive for rarepair purposes /lh

17: Honestly? *Honestly?* I think it would be real fun to bring Hudson back around, especially following Inversion (even though it's been years at this point). Marcus or Kody would be interesting for different reasons too. (COMING BACK TO THIS: ALSO FRED AND BRIGHT *DUH* /lh)

18: Okay if I *have* to pick someone to die, I think I would go with William as a knee jerk answer. I love what fuckery he has going on post-Summit, but also I think we could really fuck up Sam and Vincent for a spell or two.

24: I confess that I haven't had the mental bandwidth nor time for properly devour the D(a)emon 101 vid so perhaps I'd change my answer, but out of the basic/standard types, I think I'd be an Inchoate or Serenity Demon? (Something something relating heavily to Freelancer/Avior and Cam/Freelancer) (Yes, I put FL twice for a reason /lh)

29: I don't think I'm allowed to say Inversion as my Favorite Anthology (but like... it would technically be the answer— /lh) but besides that, I'd have to say the Gamebois/Gaming playlist? (/pos) I rewatch them often and can quote random moments as I watch them. [Runner Up Answers: Past/Present, This year's Valentine's Day Anthology, and The Fooliverse because AUGH /pos]

33: Since this is my 2nd time getting this question, I figured I'd try another pass at a concept. So! I'd *love* to pair a D(a)emon and Vampire together. Immortal beings who are immortal in a different way. Specifically a Sadism Demon Listener I think? With a Vampire Speaker. They meet while stuck at DUMP for one reason or another at the same time, a true chance meeting. Their 2nd meeting comes after the vampire is there handling business for their clan and the demon finally spots them after returning to DUMP every night in hopes of seeing them again. Leaning towards a romance of some kind for these two. So yeah. /pos

35: I explained how Freelancer Season 1/Gavin is technically what got me into Redacted already. So instead, if I were to shine a light on a video that really showed me I was really getting attached to the Redactedverse at large: Either A) Huxley's Aftershock video. It was one of the first on the channel to ever make me cry. There's something about him realizing Xavier's parents won't see him again that just ruined me that first time. // Or B) David's playlist, specifically the one where he talks about Gabe to Angel the first time. It wasn't the first time I listened to it that got me, but the second.

[black-arcana]

JINJER Announces Fall 2024 North American Tour With HANABIE And BORN OF OSIRIS

Ukrainian modern metallers JINJER will embark on a North American tour in the fall. Support on the trek will come from fast-rising Japanese metalcore unit HANABIE and progressive metalcore mainstays BORN OF OSIRIS.

As JINJER is currently in the studio recording its fifth studio album, fans can expect to hear a handful of brand new, never-before-heard tracks on the tour.

The 18-date tour will kick off on September 20 at in Sayreville, New Jersey and will include a couple of Canadian shows (in Toronto and Montreal) before wrapping up on October 13 at Sacramento, California's Aftershock festival.

In addition to Aftershock, the tour will also see JINJER performing at festivals such as Metal Injection Festival, Louder Than Life and the return of the mighty Mayhem festival.

Various ticket presales via Citi, Ticketmaster, Live Nation and more begin today, with general public on-sale beginning this Friday, June 14 at 10:00 a.m. local time.

JINJER comments on returning to North America: "It's finally time for some huge announcements: We're stoked to report that this September, JINJER will return to North America with not only two absolutely sick supports: HANABIE and BORN OF OSIRIS! Most importantly, we'll be performing some brand new unreleased songs from our upcoming fifth studio album. [We] just cannot wait to share what we've been working on for the last two years. This will be without a doubt a banger of a tour … We're looking forward to this so much!"

JINJER fall 2024 North American tour dates:

Sep. 20 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom Sep. 21 - Brooklyn, NY @ Metal Injection Fest Sep. 22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre Sep. 23 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall Sep. 24 - Montreal, QC @ MTELUS Sep. 26 - Harrisburg, PA @ HMAC Sep. 27 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage Sep. 29 - Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life Oct. 01 - Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Oct. 02 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre Oct. 03 - Lake Buena Vist, FL @ House Of Blues Oct. 04 - North Myrtle Beach, SC @ House Of Blues Oct. 06 - Houston, TX @ House Of Blues Oct. 07 - San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theatre Oct. 09 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre Oct. 11 - Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues Oct. 12 - San Bernardino, CA @ Mayhem Festival Oct. 13 - Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival

During an appearance on a recent episode of Knotfest's "She's With The Band", the show hosted by Tori Kravitz, JINJER vocalist Tatiana Shmailyuk spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2021 album "Wallflowers". Tatiana said: "My purpose is just to write lyrics and sing them. I'm so behind right now with the writing lyrics. And I warned my guys. We were at least to get a really rough draft, rough sketch or a demo of one song, like maybe first single from the new album, at least get this, but nope. [Stress and creativity don't] work with me. Well, but when the deadline's coming, and everybody knows that — I've been talking, like, every single time we release a new album, I say that, I say this — deadlines push me. So I just have to write, so I get this stream of consciousness, basically. I write down whatever the bullshit is in my head. And then you build it. At least you have to have bricks to build a poem or whatever it is, just lyrics."

Regarding the musical direction of the new JINJER material, Tatiana said: "It's gonna be different, first of all, because I feel that the music differs a lot. And to my mind, the whole — I won't say how many songs are there; I guess 12 or even 15; let's say 13; I don't remember — but they all have… not all of them, but half of them, at least, they have a similarity in them. They're similar to each other or they remind me. They have this concept within — without any lyrics, they still sound like they belong to one box. They are a set of songs. And I already think about all the… I'm not even thinking about like the lyrics — I think about the topics and stuff, but I think about the booklet or the cover or even the music videos and what I'm gonna wear there. And it has a certain flavor to me that… I feel like it has this flavor of 19th century. It's very romanticism from the 19th century. If you listen to it, you will think, 'Oh.' You know, when you listen to MUSE, you feel he was inspired by a lot of classical composers — obviously. So our new music has this flavor. And I'm so excited."

JINJER released its first official live DVD/Blu-ray, "Live In Los Angeles", on May 17 via Napalm Records. Recorded and filmed on December 22, 2022 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, this offering is intended to celebrate not only getting through the last few years in one piece, but also the band's 15-year career.

"Live In Los Angeles" was a spontaneous decision by the band, recorded as raw as possible, to emphasize the passion that can come from a live show. This release is an explosive mixture of JINJER's discography — featuring fan favorites like "Sit Stay Roll Over", "Home Back" and the game-changing "Pisces". The live album contains 16 songs in various audio formats, with some strictly limited: the deluxe digipack features not only a DVD, but also two more songs, "Wallflower" and "Disclosure!", recorded in Paris in 2023.

JINJER is:

Tatiana Shmayluk - Vocals Roman Ibramkhalilov - Guitars Eugene Abdukhanov - Bass Vlad Ulasevich - Drums

Photo credit: Lina Glasir

[fuckyeswednesday13]

This is what you’ve all been asking for! @coalchamberofficial is heading out on our headline Fiend For The Fans Tour this fall!!! Joined by our friends @fearfactory, @officialtwiztid, @mrmotherfucker13 performing Murderdolls and @blacksatellite as support. You are not going to want to miss this! 🔥🔥 LFG!!

🎫 Tickets go on sale Friday, May 10 @ 10am local time

FIEND FOR THE FANS TOUR 2024 dates:

8.23 Las Vegas, NV

8.24 Anaheim, CA

8.25 Phoenix, AZ

8.28 San Antonio, TX

8.29 Ft. Worth, TX

8.30 Rocklahoma*

8.31 Houston, TX

9.01 Dallas, TX

9.03 Orlando, FL

9.04 Atlanta, GA

9.06 Nashville, TN

9.07 Sauget, IL

9.08 Columbus, OH

9.11 Norfolk, VA

9.12 Baltimore, MD

9.13 Harrisburg, PA

9.14 Pittsburg, PA

9.15 Sayreville, NJ

9.17 Boston MA

9.18 New York, NY

9.19 Cleveland, OH

9.20 Flint, MI

9.21 Flint, MI

9.22 Louisville, KY

9.24 Ft. Wayne, IN

9.25 Chicago, IL

9.26 Milwaukee, WI

9.27 Minneapolis, MN

9.29 Denver, CO

10.12 Aftershock Fest*

💥Wednesday 13 Meet & Greet VIP Upgrade will be available coming this Friday.

💥Wednesday 13 will NOT be appearing on *Rocklahoma or the *Aftershock fest dates•

All Wednesday 13 info over at:

Officialwednesday13.com

[jedifarmerr]

Pepper Sprout (mini-series)

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader/OFC (no physical description, established backstory & personality.)

Premise: Set after the events of the Last of Us Part 1, Joel befriends, then slowly falls in love with Ellie’s teacher.

Rating: E for future chapters (18+ blog)

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: some violence at the beginning (guns and blood), language, a tiny amount of drinking, and ambiguous age gap. This is pretty tame...for now.

A/N: Hello! I thought of this series a few months ago while playing the game and I am seriously so excited to finally be sharing it. Currently, this is shaping up to be around 5 or 6 parts? This will include some spoilers (the ending) of The Last of Us Part 1. Reader is related to a character from the Last of Us Part 2, but it's a faceless NPC.

Part 1

The air stunk of dry-rot wood, spoiled food, and flesh. He could practically taste it as if it was sitting on his tongue like a wet fuzzy sock. 

Joel was hanging back by the host stand, scanning from salad bar to sundae bar. Finger hovering over the trigger. This fight wasn’t over. 

Not yet, anyway. 

He’d dealt with enough infected over the years to know that in a horde of this size there would always be an aftershock. Just waiting and watching; somewhere out there - lingering. 

But where? 

This Golden Corral was a buffet of Cordyceps. A goddamn petri dish. The floor was covered almost entirely in torpor corpses; a dusty gray with sprinkles of crimson from those freshly slain. Florid fungus cobwebbed itself to the walls. 

A crack of glass – a screech – echoed throughout the restaurant. 

Joel whirled around. Just as the kitchen doors burst open and out flung a spider-crawling stalker. Bingo. Joel jerked his gun, aiming right between its jaundice eyes. The barrel kicked back with a bang, and blew straight through its moldy brain. 

Splat. 

Its head broke into tiny bits and pieces; blood gushing from the severed neck. 

Never one to be too careful, Joel waited a long minute before slinging the shotgun around his back, calling it. 

He took a step and immediately winced. His knees were inflamed to the point he could hardly walk. Hobbling to the nearest chair that wasn’t wrapped up in bone-dry veins, he slumped down. 

“That was too damn close,” he grumbled at Tommy as he went on massaging his achy joints. Despite the cool weather, he was drenched in sweat. His shirt was completely ruined – soaked through and through with guts. 

So much for a day off, and one he could’ve really used. He was completely exhausted. Running on pure adrenaline, and one too many shitty cups of coffee. 

The last three weeks had been intense with fall officially here, and the infected beginning their official migration north for winter. 

Tommy swaggered over. “11…12…13. 13 of those fuckers, and look at that - barely a scratch. Shit, that’s gotta be some kinda record.” He brought a hand down on Joel’s shoulder and squeezed. 

Even with blood smeared along his brow and sweat-greased back hair, Tommy looked unfazed. He actually appeared elated, reveling at the carnage and their ultimate victory. 

And fine. Joel could at least admit this was a pretty solid win. 

Too bad the bodies still needed to be searched, and god - he was so desperate to get out of here. He gave himself ten second of rest before forcing himself back onto his feet. 

“Mike’s gonna be sorry he missed it.” Tommy crouched beside a clicker with a shiv sticking out of its neck. He wiggled the handle loose, and blood oozed from the wound. 

But hey - at least the blade was still intact. 

“Yeah, right,” Joel scoffed. “That guy owes us big time - that’s for damn sure,” he reiterated for the dozenth time that day. 

It was a Tuesday, meaning the on duty patrol for this route was Mike and Eugene. Now, Eugene was actually sick with a nasty case of the flu. So, he could slide, but Mike. Hell no. His excuse was, now get this - his ankle was bothering him. 

His goddamn ankle. 

While it was probably an old injury flaring up from days of chilly rain, the guy decided it exempted him from the patrol, reciting some bullshit he’d memorized from the handbook. 

Seriously, who wastes their time reading that? 

Section four of protocol states…blah blah blah. What a fucking nerd. Joel couldn’t stand him before, and this definitely didn’t help. 

“Lucky for you, he won’t be joining us for dinner,” Tommy said, as he jingled a few shotgun shells loose from the last in his pile. “Ellie did tell you who’s coming, right?” 

Joel flicked his tongue over his lips, and chuckled under his breath. Man, he really should’ve seen that one coming because knowing Tommy: he’d been waiting all day for the chance to slip her in. 

Maria and Tommy had been playing cupid, and recently landed on a new target. 

Mike’s younger sister, who just so happened to be Ellie’s teacher, and also, a family-friend of Maria’s. It was all a very twisty hodunk small town over here. 

“She sure did,” Joel stated. Matter-of-fact. He couldn’t feed the beast, or else it would never end. 

Joel checked over the last runner, and pocketed a travel-size bottle of hand sanitizer. Some good that did them. 

“And you’re cool with that?” Tommy trailed over to the busted window they came in from. His eyes wide and bright and full of ulterior-motives. 

Joel curtly nodded befor climbing on through. 

“Guessin’ you would be.” Tommy tapped his fingers against the gun at his side. Joel stared down the end of the street at the McDonald’s; the horses were safely holed up in the Playplace: tied to a support beam for the windy slide. “Thought I remember, you saying you liked her, like as a person.” 

“I barely know her,” Joel shot the conversation dead. 

He was just telling the truth. The bulk of what he knew came from Tommy and Ellie and whatever people around town said. Always good things. She was like this patron saint of Jackson. Mother fucking Teresa.

And who knows? Maybe she was. Joel had hung out with her a whopping three times: two of which ended up being a complete mess. The first one had ended with her doubled over and hurling outside the Tipsy Bison, choking and gagging out apology after apology. She was a lightweight and supposedly, too much sugar made her sick.

Anyway – 

Then, came meet-the-teacher night where he took his turn making a complete ass of himself. It’d been fine until Ellie upped and left to use the bathroom and alone – it was painfully awkward. He’d take the piss for that one. Small talk and pleasantries were never really his forte. 

“Well, I’m not gonna say she would be interested, but-”

“Okay, Tommy,” Joel scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. “I know where you’re going with this, so before you go on and get any ideas. It’s still a no.” 

Tommy’s expression dipped into a frown. “But what about -” 

Joel held up his hand. “I appreciate it, but I’m just not interested,” Joel let him down easily, but the assurance in his tone left little room for an argument. 

Tommy opened his mouth, but quickly clamped it shut. He huffed – defeated. Once again. That was his fifth reject; one for every month Joel had lived here. 

Despite the outcome always being the same, Tommy just kept trying. No. No. No. Not even a maybe. Not once. Joel had made his stance pretty clear. Scratch that - translucent. Dating was out; marriage was a hell no. It’s not like his first go-around had been anything to write home about, clearly. 

What a crapshoot. 

Joel viewed relationships differently than Tommy. His little brother was sickly in love, and good for him, but Joel thought the whole thing was nothing more than another liability. 

Why would he risk it? 

If he’d never been any good at them in the first place. It always seemed to be the wrong place or wrong time or too late. He’d never been able to get it right, so it was just better off this way. 

He was better off this way

---

Cleaned up and rested; later that evening, the five of them gathered at Maria and Tommy’s for dinner: roasted meat and rosemary potatoes. Served family-style, just like her mother used to do. 

Rory wasn’t here to babble away like usual as he was staying the night at his grandpa’s. 

The conversation was otherwise nothing special, mostly centered around the newbies in town. Some whispers about Jackson had spread south, and what had once been three hundred had steadily grown to around four or five. More would probably come spring.

Joel slugged back his beer, and stole a glance at the woman beside him.

She was attractive, and being this close, in this light, he could appreciate her features even more. She was inches from him, and he could smell her perfume? Soap? It was real nice. Fresh and clean and soft and as sweet as her famous nickname. 

Lolly. 

A childhood nickname that stuck to her like glue. 

When he’d first heard it, he’d expected some young girl, barely 18 to be sitting at the bar top. 

Not…her; a full-fledged woman. 

Sure, she was younger than him, but not by enough to make his stomach curl with cradle-robber shame whenever his gaze lingered for just a moment too long. 

Like now. 

Joel shook his head, and focused on Ellie, talking about school, and her extreme dislike for their most recent unit. 

While school wasn’t mandatory, all the kids enjoyed going. It was only three times a week, and half-days with all age groups coming together on Friday. Younger kids still learned how to read and do basic math, but at Ellie’s age, it was mostly job and life skills. Sometimes people would come and speak about their occupation, other days they learned how to read a map and purify water or currently – sewing. 

“Laugh all you want, I almost lost a finger.” Ellie flashed the band-aid on her pointer as proof. Lolly looked slightly guilty, even as she giggled. 

“Well, not everyone can be as talented as Lolly over here,” Maria boasted, pointing to Lolly’s little dress. “Let me guess, you made that yourself?” 

Lolly’s chewing slowed as she squinted at Maria. She was no dummy; it’d taken her all but a few seconds to sniff out the set up. 

She swallowed. “No, actually. This is one Mike brought back from that boutique in the square. I just added a little material here and there, so it would fit.”

Joel’s gaze traveled over the dress, following the flick of her wrist. It was a rusty orange number with big sleeves that reminded him of the 70’s. Even though it was completely impractical, it was also hauntingly cute. 

“Still impressive,” Maria insisted, and Lolly clicked her tongue - not playing along. 

A moment of silence followed: amplified by the scratch of silverware on porcelain. 

“Joel and I had a pretty eventful day, ain’t that right?” Tommy perked up, spearing a cherry tomato on his fork, and popping it into his mouth.

Great, now it was his turn to be buttered up. 

“Oh. Trust me, I’ve heard. Everyone in town won’t shut up about it. They keep saying you might be the best patrol we’ve ever had.” A teensy smile teased her lips, and Joel’s tongue immediately became dry toast. 

 Joel gulped, and waved off her minuscule praise. “Oh, no. It was nothing-”

“Nothing?” Ellie snorted. “Psssh. Sure smelled like something to me.” Ellie wrinkled her nose and shooed away the residual stench. 

Goddamn kids and their honesty. At least, Ellie didn’t mention finding him sprawled out on the couch with enough ice packs to drown each leg. 

Joel leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Really now? You think you can do better, kiddo?” Joel challenged – light-hearted. 

Ellie shrugged – a cocky maybe. 

“Guess we’ll be finding out soon enough - 8 months?” Tommy pointed his fork at her. 

“9.” Ellie glanced at Joel. 

He’d snuck her a few times, and taken her up to the pond for those swimming lessons he promised her. He would surely do it again once it warmed up. 

Ellie looked at Lolly, and her brows wrangled up with some sudden thought. “Have you ever been on patrol?” 

Maria’s head whipped up as fast as a sucker punch. Lolly eye’s widened, but Joel wasn’t sure if it was Maria’s reaction or the seemingly innocent question itself that caused her to react, but then neither of them said a word. 

Joel wasn’t sure what the fuck was going on. He looked at Ellie, then his brother, but Tommy looked just as confused as them. 

Lolly must’ve noticed the regret creeping up on Ellie’s face, since she immediately offered her a small grin. 

“Believe it or not,” she said, “I used to go all the time.” 

Joel blinked back. What? When? 

He’d never seen her name listed in a single log book, and those dated back almost 10 years. Give or take. 

While Joel had only been here around six months, he’d never heard anyone talk about it, or anyone ever stopping patrol so young. Most people kept going until they either couldn’t or died. Eugene was like, 70? And he was still out there a couple times a week. 

Nobody said anything for a long minute; the silence sat heavy and tense and uncomfortable. 

Maria clapped her hands, “Anyone want dessert?” 

---

Fluffy chocolate mousse was the answer as the conversation returned to idle nothingness until it was time to go. 

While putting on their coats, Tommy offered they walk her home because the streets of Jackson were crawling with crime and all. She’d brushed it off at first, but Ellie insisted.

Turns out, Lolly knew a thing or two hundred on constellations and Ellie used the walk to pick her brain. Joel trailed a step behind them, watching Lolly’s finger trace the blanket of stars. 

Lyra. The W – named for some vain queen in Greece. Cassie something or other. Next to it, was her husband. Another C name. Supposedly it looked like a stick figure house, but Joel didn’t see it. 

Still, he listened to the sound of her voice; there was something soothing about it.

Sadly, that peace couldn’t last as Mike was out on the front porch. He was chilling on the small swing, downing a beer as if he knew Joel would end up walking her home. 

“I was wonderin’ when you’d get back.” 

Lolly jumped at the sound of his voice. She’d been so engrossed with Ellie that she’d yet to spot him. 

“Ellie. Joel.” Mike spit his name out like a jagged piece of glass. Oh yeah, the dislike was mutual. 

Joel drawled out Mike’s name; a little friendlier than usual, just to irk him. “How’s the ankle?” He pointed to the hack job wrapping. 

Mike sneered. “Better. Thanks for asking.” 

“What’re you doing out here?” Lolly butted in; the words spoken through a tight, nervous-looking smile. She refused to look directly at him or even Ellie for that matter. 

“It’s a nice night, don’t ya think? Guessin’ it’ll be the last one for a while, so thought I’d enjoy it. By the looks of it, seems as if you two thought the same.” 

Mike glared at Joel with a threat in his eyes: think about touching her and I’ll knock your teeth in. Joel would love to see him try. 

Joel wondered if Mike was always this suffocating. If so, maybe that’s why she was still single because who would want to deal with him? Mike was about to square up with a middle-aged man and a 15-year-old girl for what? Walking his sister home?

His adult sister. Nonetheless. 

Joel didn’t try to understand it. 

Lolly held Mike’s gaze for a moment before turning around with a word. She forced a smile, and it actually looked believable which was slightly concerning.

“Well, uh. Thank you both for walking me home. Ellie, I will see you tomorrow. Joel-” 

Mike cleared his throat and the anger seethed from her pores. She squeezed her eyes shut, so tight she nearly burst. Taking a deep breath, she peered back up at Joel. “It was nice seeing you again.” 

With that, she spun around and bolted up the steps. Mike didn’t seem to give a fuck, rocking back and forth so slow that the rusty screws gave into a haunting squeal. 

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Ellie spoke out of the side of her mouth, waving at Mike while taking a step back, then another. 

“You read my mind.” 

Joel and Ellie booked it down the road. 

Fuck, if he would ever go back there again.

[streetlites]

When I'm walking through a room and only see wallets; when I'm exploiting some poor child's circumstances to further my agenda; when I'm threatening someone's livelihood for not following my instructions to the letter - I wonder - would the girl I used to be proud of me? I truly do not know.

[mr-laveau]

"You are a breath of fresh air in my life just by virtue of being unapologetically yourself."

-Lasko Moore

"Oh I can be very pleasant, just not usually with you."

-Aaron

Allow me to be that bitch, and share with the class ANOTHER totally-not-a-self-indulgent poly Lasko/Aaron listener OC, Carter Wilde, a.k.a [Casanova], the bratty telepath.

*Just pretend I actually knew how to spell Casanova above when I first made this.

The Deets:

Carter (he/him) is a human born telepath and currently, a professor* at D.A.M.N for Advanced Telepathy Studies, Fire Elemental Magic 101, Intro to Warding, Electro Magic II and Basics of Illusory Magic.

*he used to be a part-time sub and worked with Aaron before he changed career paths and started working full-time for the academy

Carter is Afro-American/desi and grew up in Chicago before moving to Dahlia for work while getting his teaching license. Was working with Aaron before he got a full position at DAMN but as far as Aaron knew then, Carter's teaching some accounting/management classes at a college.

Very much the professor with a fun but unorthodox way of teaching*–he once made his class write up and direct a short film to teach them how to consider different variables in manipulating their illusions properly with magic like they did when making their films. His time with Aaron taught him to be more relaxed about his students.

*Damien "strongly disliked" his ass for a while because he didn't like his methods, and Carter fed into it to mess with him before he arranged a separate syllabus plan for Damien to tackle while the class did their thing. They get along now but Carter will sometimes subtly remind Damien about the MANY "nicknames" he overheard Damien calling him during class.

Did not handle inversion well, his magic was a bitch to maintain inside the ward and everyone's thoughts didn't make the situation any better. Had to tell Aaron about his magical status a little bit after since keeping it all in didn't make things better and it was the only way to really explain what happened then after he initially told Aaron he'd been handling a trip out of the city. The conversation pretty sad but they made it and wrangler Lasko after his Aftershock vid w FL for a group care session. They're all in therapy :)

"Could you tell this was the first cutie design?"*.

*This isn't a lie, this was the first Cutie design and Carter was initially going to be a journalist who worked with Sama and dared Geordi, however I scrapped it and moved onto another design I liked. This was also the first Smartass design but as Lexi can attest, I found something else I liked.

Met Lasko when he first started subbing for Intro to Warding (very early in the timeline). Their dynamic fits the non-canon listener dynamic he seems to have with them in BAs/HBWs/HBSs. Carter loves to tease him just to poke a reaction out of him but is entirely sweet about taking care of Lasko otherwise since he doesn't often do it for himself. Will often drop in before Lasko's classes to give him sweets/gum/mints.

Very much the personification of "crackhead" energy outside of work. Aaron keeps him on a leash but will act on the first devious-not-so-devious thought that crosses his mind. To his benefit, Carter does know how to restrain himself for the sake of not pushing buttons, but more often than not will poke at people just for fun.

Will sometimes read Aaron's thoughts just to peek at what annoys him that day in order to turn it around and get him to laugh. It works despite how much Aaron thinks it doesn't.

Aaron and Lasko are also dating each other in addition to dating Carter. Aaron was initially rough around the edges when it came to interacting with Lasko and getting to know him but with a good conversation, they both managed to work things out between them. Now they both take turns making sure Carter doesn't burn something down on a whim.

That's all folks!🧡

[ephxmerrxl]

i relistened to the aftershock vid of damien n fl- something about them arguing with eachother is delicious and the apologetic attitude of damien afterwards has me satiated for days (i will continue to listen to more angsty audios because i can)

[laskymoore]

For the Redacted ask game!

Favorite anthology? (ex. Valenweek, Hot Boi Winter, Afterfluff, Aftershock..ect)

Least favorite listener(s)?

What video got you hooked to the Redactedverse that you knew right then & there this was going to become an obsession?

1. Valenweek all the way

2. Babe, im sorry but all the other listeners have some sort of actual character or personality but Babe has NOTHING

3. I’m not sure, possibly the first Caelum video? i started off Redacted with FL season one so it probably spawned there !

[boymosher-420]

We are beyond thrilled to announce our North American tour with @whitechapelband + @kublaikhantx and @sanguisugabogg this September/October! Do not miss these shows - we will be playing ‘Pain Remains’ in its entirety!

Tickets will be available starting with:

Citi card presale- May 14 at 12pm ET.

American Express® presale -May 14 at 12pm Citi

The Live Nation and Ticketmaster - May 14th at 2pm ET.

Local presales - May 16th at 10am local time.

General onsale - May 17 at 10am local time

Lorna Shore North American Tour

w/ Whitechapel, Kublai Khan TX, Sanguisugabogg

Thu Sep 19 - Montreal, QC - MTELUS

Fri Sep 20 - Toronto, ON - HISTORY

Sat Sep 21 - Moon Township, PA - UPMC Events Center

Sun Sep 22 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Special Events Center

Tue Sep 24 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live Orlando

Wed Sep 25 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle

Fri Sep 27 - Louder Than Life Fest - Louisville, KY**

Sat Sep 28 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant

Sun Sep 29 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom

Mon Sep 30 - The Midland Theatre - Kansas City, MO*

Wed Oct 2 - New Orleans, LA - The Fillmore New Orleans

Thu Oct 3 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues

Fri Oct 4 - San Antonio, TX - Boeing Center at Tech Port

Sat Oct 5 - Dallas, TX - Southside Ballroom

Mon Oct 7 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren

Tue Oct 8 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl

Thu Oct 10 - Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues

Fri Oct 11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern

Sat Oct 12 - Aftershock Fest - Sacramento, CA**

Mon Oct 14 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom

Tue Oct 15 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom

Thu Oct 17 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex

Fri Oct 18 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium

Sat Oct 19 - Omaha, NE - Steelhouse Omaha

Sun Oct 20 - Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore Minneapolis

Tue Oct 22 - Chicago, IL - Radius

Wed Oct 23 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit

Thu Oct 24 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora*

Fri Oct 25 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring

Sun Oct 27 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom

Mon Oct 28 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall

Tue Oct 29 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia

Wed Oct 30 - Wallingford, CT - Toyota Oakdale Theatre