#Warpaint Heads Up tour

[pidge-poetry]

Foals

12th July 2019 The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd | Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk | ambientlightblog.com

For the first night of two of the most hotly anticipated shows of the dreary winter season, Aucklanders braved the intermittent heavy showers to make their way to the warm welcoming arms of the Town Hall.

With both performances sold out, there was an undeniable electricity in the air, fans bristling with energy as they jostled for position down on the floor. Admittedly for many there was also the bittersweet pangs of disappointment that due to scheduling conflicts only Saturday nights attendees would be granted the privilege of seeing the stupendous Californian indie rock band Warpaint open proceedings; Auckland based Daffodils however once again delivering an outstanding performance that helped ease the pain just a little.

The quartet of Foals, the indie math rock darlings of Oxford, England have just recently delivered their latest album Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1, an album whose first two singles hands down proved that they are indeed currently at the top of their game. Having formed fourteen years ago, for many it has been like watching a beloved child grow, mature and step forth into the world as an independent entity, full of bravado and hope for the future.

Ensconced on a stage bordered with lush green palm fronds that mimicked the cover of their latest album, a black and white backdrop of a pair of terracotta lions overlooked the four piece whose numbers were bolstered by additional touring members; the stage itself bathed in a heady mix of orange and rose stage lights and plumes of wispy smoke.

Bursting to life as the crowd bellowed with joy, ‘On The Luna’ was the first song to grace the stage, it’s higher octave stance lamenting the fact that Trump is clogging up their computer all day, the bouncy notes seeing the audience dance in time. Following it straight up with a double header from their fourth album What Went Down, it was clear that Foals were going to be playing mixologist with their set list.

Bearded vocalist Yannis Philippakis, his navy and white patterned shirt somehow perfectly complimenting the backdrop drew the fans eyes, as he stood across from guitarist Jimmy Smith, sharing a passing look or two as they fed off both each other and the crowd, Philippakis vocals sounding on point throughout the night.

One of the most noticeable highlights of the evening however was how seamlessly at some points the concert flowed. On paper – due to the continual evolution of both the bands character and sound – the set list may not have looked to have blended that well; but live the pieces connected together, the band often not allowing for the standard stop and start to each piece, but instead allowing the tail end of a song to stretch out and curl itself around the intro of the next.

Old favourites such as ‘Olympic Airways’ segued into new, both ‘Syrups’ and ‘Sunday’ giving the Auckland crowd a taste of how Foals latest work transcribes to the stage; all was embraced, but of course songs such as the epic ‘Spanish Sahara’ were rejoiced, the magnificent stage lighting reflecting the heat of both the track itself and the audience as they gave themselves over.

Delving back into their math rock roots ‘Red Sox Pugie’ set the venue on fire before ‘Exits’ – a song that is almost impossible not to love – forewarned of a world where there will be no birds left to fly thanks to humanity’s destruction of the planet. This urgency to pay attention to the downfall of the climate around us seemed to coarse through Philippakis veins; throughout the evening he had teased the audience as he had stepped down into the pit to get closer, at one point getting them to hold his legs as he walked out onto the first few rows and played guitar above their heads.

But now it was bursting out of him, taking off at speed with his guitar, he ran down the length of the barrier and into the crowd, before returning to the stage, ditching his instrument and walking across a sea of hands to ferociously sing while being held above the adoring fans. The encore bringing everything to a head as the evening’s euphoria spilled over the edges, Foals bringing it home with the fiercely contagious ‘Two Steps Twice’.

And to think, they are releasing Part 2 in just a few months. Heart be still.

[farshores]

What mods do you have running for your games?

I'm just gonna share the ones i have in mind for Tei's games bcus I use Vortex's profile feature to make multiple modded playthroughs & that'll just go on forever sharing those lists lol

Note this is an SSE modlist (that gets a lil long) & doesn't represent the load order these mods are in. There's are 4 specific lists for mods I added for: followers, fun/flavor, for general bug fixes/QOL improvements, & the respective patches

also note that im kinda tired atm & also just lack braincells so if there's something wildly misspelled lmk so i can fix it asap lol

Alrighty here we goooooo

FOLLOWERS + FRAMEWORK

Extensible Follower Framework

Interesting NPCS

Lucifer - Argonian Custom Voiced Follower

Khash The Argonian (A Fully Custom Voiced Follower)

Scouts-Many-Marshes Improved

Inigo

Nebarra

Miraak - Dragonborn Follower SE

Kaidan 2

Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower

Auri - Song of the Green

Gladys the Corgi

FUN/FLAVOR/VANILLA+/WHATEVER CAUGHT MY EYE LIKE THE EASILY AMUSED FOOL I AM

SkyHUD

A Matter of Time

Fuz Ro D'oh

More Informative Console

Alternate Start Live Another Life

New Beginnings - Live Another Life Extension SSE

Simple Follower Sandbox

Pronouns

Classic Classes and Birthsigns (Reimagined) _ Racial Levelling addon

Experience

Optional Starting Spells

SUNS - Season Unending Neutral Stance

Campfire

Simply Rest Anywhere

Immersive Movement

True Storms Special Edition

Supreme Rainstorms SE

Supreme Blizzards SE

Wet and Cold

iNeed [Will be replacing with Last Seed - Primary Needs]

Touring Carriages

Simply No Fast Travel

Weighted - A Compatible Item Weight Mod

Civil War Aftermath SE

Civil War Neutrality SSE

Diverse Skyrim SSE

Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions and Custom Home Support SE

Forgotten Magic Redone

Mysticism Spells for NPCS (high level + spells for spellcasters files)

Mysticism - A Magic Overhaul

Adamant - A Perk Overhaul

Arena - An Encounter Zone Overhaul + Harder Easy Spawns optional file

Apothecary - An Alchemy Overhaul + Food and Drink Addon

Apothecary - Instant Restore Potions (separate mod someone made to undo the recovery time change Apothecary added to potions)

Pantheon - Worship and Prayer

Pilgrim - A Religion Overhaul (NOTE: THE HIRCINE SHRINES WILL NOT WORK IF YOU HAVE HUNTERBORN ENABLED! IF YOU WANT HIRCINES BLESSING - GET IT FIRST THEN ADD ON HUNTERBORN)

Blade and Blunt - A Combat Overhaul

Incremental Injuries

Strike Obstruction Systems - Combat Blocking Overhaul

Leviathan Animations...All of em

Manbeast - A Werewolf Overhaul

Canis Hysteria

Diverse Werewolves Collection

Diverse Werewolves Collection - Player Replacer

Werewolf Feral Beast Run - Faster Werewolves

Simple Werewolf Favorite Howls Menu

Unlimited Werewolf Transformations

Werewolf Loot and Activate

Bigger Tails for Werewolves

Hypertrichosis - Alpha Extra Gore Edition-

Hircine Restoration Project

Mundus - A Standing Stone Overhaul

Aetherius - A Race Overhaul

Dragonborn - Shouts Perk Tree + portable optional file

Dragon War - A Dragon Overhaul + Variants Optional File

Forceful Tongue - Shouts Overhaul

Sil Gahrot - Improved Shout Learning

Dragon Combat Overhaul UPGRADED BABY YEAH

Aurbic Alduin

Talkative Dragons

Enigma Series -AIO-

Play as a Dragon

Sets of Skill - A Skyrim Class Mod

You Are Not a Novice - High Level Start (To be soon added)!

TK Dodge SE

TK Hitstop SE

Ultimate Combat SE

True Directional Movement

True Directional Movement - Tail Behavior Fix

Better Jumping SE

d13 Faster Get Up Stand Up SSE

Immersive Armors SSE

Immersive Weapons

Practical Female Armors SE

Redguard Noble Armor

Signature Equipment

Bandolier Bags and Pouches Classic SE

Guard Dialogue Overhaul SE

Immersive Patrols SE

Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul

Immersive College of Winterhold

Better ICW Map

Convenient Horses

RaceMenu

Racial Body Morphs

Bodyslide and Outfite Studio

CBBE

CBBE Rugged Preset

Pride of Valhalla CBBE

HIMBO (quick note: you don't need the NSFW mods in the requirements list! If you're messing around w/ mods of that nature it's required but if not, it's safe to just up n download the file - just use the underwear options when batch building)

Vanilla Warpaints Absolution

Authentic Eyes

BeastHHBB + Immersive Encounters file + Kharjo alt file

Beast Race Bodypaints SE

Forgotten Argonian Roots (FAR)

Horns Are Forever SE

Argonian Improvement Horns SSE

Digitigrade Beast Races for Skyrim SE

Better Claws and Gauntlets SSE

BAT - Bigger Argonian Tails

Tail Armors

Interesting Beasts and Beards to Find Them

Dominions More Argonians

Adoptable Argonian Hatchling Chases Starlight SSE

My Little Hatchling Ram-Ku

Cyb's Interesting Natural People NPCs SE -3DNPC-

Real Bosses

EVE - Arvak Burning Hooves Restored

EVE - Footstep Sounds Restored

EVE - Giant Campfires Cast Shadows (Standard Vers)

EVE - Tavern Ambiance Sounds Restored

EVE - Ice Skating Fixed

TESL- Loading Screens

Less Boring Loading Screens

Loading Screen Smoke Removed

Immersive World Encounters SE

SkyTEST

SkyTEST Bellyaches HD collection

SkyTEST - Better Sheep SE

SkyTEST - Mihail's chicks replacer

SkyTest- Mihail's goose replacer

Hunterborn

Seagulls of Skyrim

Serana Dialogue Edit

Vampiric Serana

The Choice is Yours

Timing is Everything SE

At Your Own Pace (Misc & Main files)

Thieves Guild Requirements SE

Barenziah Quest Markers SSE

Autumnwatch Addition

Pandorable's Kaidan SE

Mannequin Stay Put

Simple Forsworn

Simple Outfit Manager (Might need to toss this one, I think EFF handles outfits as well)

Run For Your Lives

Sarcastic Player Dialogue

Let Me Drop It

More Tavern Idles - compatibility version

Honed Metal SSE Updated

Honed Metal Revoiced

Honed Metal - Additional Materials

Death is Highly Overrated 2021

Save the Dark Brotherhood

Your Choices Matter - Dark Brotherhood Expansion SSE

Shut Up Night Mother

Skald's Mail

Missives

Headhunter - Bounties Redone

Store Entrance Doorbells

Paarthurnax Quest Expansion

The Library of Paarthurnax

Immersive Good Boy

Smart No More Stupid Dog

PC Head Tracking

Alternate Conversation Camera

Realistic Ragdolls and Force SE

Redguard Children Skintone Fix

Skyland 8K Night Skies

Wearable Lanterns

Wearable Lanterns MCM Fix

Xbox Control Scheme (Full file version)

IN GENERAL BUG FIXES/QOL IMPROVEMENTS/MAIN REQS FOR A GOOD CHUNK OF THESE MODS

SKSE 64

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch

SkyUI SE

SkyUI - Flashing Savegames Fix

Cutting Room Floor

Enhanced Lights and FX

UIExtensions

Static Mesh Improvement Mod

Underwater Visibility Fix

Engine Fixes

NetScriptFramework Skyrim SE

Papyrus Extender SSE

PapyrusUtil SE

Address Library for SKSE Plugins

Face Discoloration Fix SE

Jaxonz MCM Kicker SE

MCM Helper SE

Monster race crash fix

Spell Perk Item Distributor - SSE (SPID)

PATCHES...SO MANY PATCHES

Save the Dark Brotherhood Patch (available under the Your Choices Matter file tab)

Unoffical Enhanced Lights and FX ELFX SMIM fps patch for SE (own mod under same name)

Alternate Start ELFX Hardcore Patch (own mod under the same name)

Apothecary USSEP Patch (Available under Apothecary's files)

Apothecary SktTEST patch (currently unavailable)

Apothecary Hunterborn & Campfire Patch (Both available thru "Apothecary Food and Drink patches")

BEASTHHBB - Immersive College of Winterhold Patch (Available in BeastHHBBs file tab, might need to do a bit of scrolling)

Dragonborn - Adamant Patch (Available in Dragonborn - Shouts Perk Tree's optional files tab iirc)

Talkative Dragons Enigma patch (under files for "Enigma Series Compatibility Patches (Official)")

Forceful Tongue - SimonRim Patch (Under "Forceful Tongue"s file tab)

iNeed Universal Water Patch (own mod under the same name)

True Storms - Supreme Rainstorms Patch (Under Supreme Rainstorms SE files tab)

Interesting NPCs Cutting Room Floor, EFF, Alt Start patches (all available under the Interesting NPCs file tab)

Inigo Marriage Commentary Patch for Kaidan 2 (own mod under same name)

Missives -Solstheim Patch (under Missives Worldspace Additions)

Khash the Argonian Patches (under Khash's file tab)

kryptopyr's patch hub installer (its own mod under the same name, has a lil fomod to help pick out your patches)

lilebonymace patches (same as above)

[azpartygirlz]

Tuesday, February 15th, 2022

SHAME

at Club Congress (tix/info)

Since starting out as school boys, this five-piece band has become notorious for stealing every stage with the outrageous, jaw-dropping performances that have become the shame signature. Their riotous two-year journey has included gate-crashing a Glastonbury stage, supporting The Fat White Family, Warpaint and Slaves, performances in Europe, Austin Texas, a nomination for best new artists at the prestigious Anchor awards, headlining their own UK tour and releasing the double A-side single, Gold Hole/The Lick and follow-up, Tasteless.

Formed in the playgrounds of South London, Steen met guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith at primary school. They got together with guitarists Josh Finerty and Eddie Green at secondary school. Charlie Forbes –the drummer – was at nursery school with Green. Bonded by their precocious taste in music (one of their first gigs was supporting their hero Mark E Smith of The Fall) during their A level years they were hanging out at Stockwell’ s Queen’ s Head – unofficial home to The Fat White Family.

“We were sucked into this alternative world which just crystallised everything we thought about” says Steen. “There were drag queens and jobseekers; people who’ d been in bands, like Alabama3, The Ruts, and the bassist from Stiff Little Fingers – this older generation of people and they saw a kindred spirit in this little group of schoolkid runts.”Along with the Queen’ s head crew, The Fat Whites inspired and mentored them. “In a sea of mundanity the Fat Whites were exciting and dangerous,” says Steen. “It was like watching chaos explode in front of you.”As their foothold in the South London scene grew, shame instigated the daredevil club night, Chimney Shitters and creating a politically outspoken, DIY ethos reflecting a punk spirit in today’ s world.

“We are not puppets. Everything we do, we do ourselves,” says former Camberwell student, Steen. “From our songs to our clothes to the artwork for the singles, T-shirts, and fanzines. It’ s all us. We are about creating a movement - it’ s all our blood, sweat and tears.”shame’ s music is controversial, challenging, political and often unprintable. Visa Vulture (written two years ago) is a vicious indictment of Theresa May wrapped up in a happy love song. ‘ Gold Hole’  is a satire of rock narcissism, while ‘ Tasteless’  is about “Living in a world where nobody dares to say anything or do anything different.”.

But to be ‘ shamed’  you have to see them live. Their appearance at The Great Escape last May so knocked out the editor of French magazine ‘ Les Inrockuptibles’  that he penned a two-page eulogy prompting a wave of shamemania –a performance at Pitchfork Paris and on Le Grand Journal TV show in the slot usually reserved for the likes of Taylor Swift or Kanye West. A sign of how fast they are steaming their way to the top is this. Last year they gate-crashed Glastonbury (“It was insane, says guitarist Coyle Smith. “We got the directions wrong and ended up walking miles round the perimeter with our instruments before we found the right hole in the fence”) this year they have been invited to play by Billy Bragg on the Leftfield stage.

With a UK headline tour under their belt, 40-odd festivals this summer, their first album is being produced by Local Hero, aka Dan Foat and Nathan Boddy best known for techno music and work with James Blake. “As soon as we met them, it clicked,” says Steen. “They had ideas that a stereotypical person producing a guitar band might not necessarily think of. And we never want to be predictable. We always want to do something unexpected.”

“The London post-punk band’s second album is bigger, louder, and more textured as frontman Charlie Steen anxiously details the strange gap between youth and adulthood.“ - Pitchfork

[hlupdate]

From the dawn of his post-One Direction career, Harry Styles has exhibited quality taste in opening acts: His 2017 Live on Tour shows brought along Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges and Warpaint in various parts of the world.

That tradition extended to the recent announcement of his Love on Tour shows: Opening on all of Styles’ American tour dates next year will be Jenny Lewis, fresh off of the acclaim for this year’s On the Line.

“I’m so excited about it,” Lewis says from her current home base in Nashville. “I feel there’s so much wonderful good will toward Harry, and I’m super thrilled he asked me to join him. 2020, man.”

One would assume the two had spoken about it or were friends, but exactly how Lewis came to land this prime gig remains something of a mystery — even to Lewis herself. “We don’t know each other — I’ve never met him,” Lewis says. “I think he really likes On the Line.”

Does she know for a fact that he’s heard her album? “No, but I guess I’ll find out,” she says. “I have no idea!” (Styles was not available for comment at press time.)

Starting with her days in Rilo Kiley, Lewis has long been a compelling presence in the world of alternative Americana. It’s easy to imagine why Styles, who has one foot in modern times and another in roughly 1975, would take to On the Line. Lewis’ first album in five years was a bracing reminder of her skills: songs about romantic turmoil, sung in a voice that can sound both teary and determined, all set to tracks that recall pre-dance pop yet never sound retro.

Then again, maybe it has something to do with their similar album titles — his Fine Line and her On the Line. “Or similar color palettes,” Lewis says. “I think we’re both leaning into blue and pink.”

For someone who’s been relatively quiet the last few years (she briefly fronted a New York-based band, Nice as Fuck), Lewis will be having a high-profile 2020. In January, she’ll be heard on Let the Rhythm Lead: Haitian Song Summit Vol. 1, a collaborative album recorded in that country in 2016 and featuring contributions from Lewis, Jackson Browne, and the Head and the Heart’s Jonathan Russell along with local and international musicians. Lewis sings lead on one track, “Under the Supermoon,” about her trip to the often troubled Haiti, and contributed backing vocals and keyboards to other tracks.

But clearly Lewis’ stint with Styles — starting in June and wrapping up in September — will be taking precedence. “It’s an amazing opportunity,” she says. “I keep thinking of the thousands of little girls and young men and parents of those kids, and just being in a room with people hearing my songs I’ve been writing for so long. What an incredible opportunity. It’s cool opening for Pavement, which I’ve done, but that’s a whole other scene.”

Lewis says she hasn’t yet started prepping for it. “Oh, is it in six months?” she says. “I only work one or two days in advance.”

[staytiny-angel]

The Demon's Lair - Part 1

Rating: E overall T for this chapter

Main Pairing - Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch (be prepared they aren't monogamous quite yet)

Warnings: Mentioned Kidnapping, Murder, hints at symptoms of PTSD, Flogging,(super vague tho, )

Summary - Seth returns to The Lair after a month away on a mercenary mission to learn things aren't quite the way he left them.

Authors Note: I don't know what the fuck happened, I swore I was just gonna write a bunch of kinky smut. That was the plan but it grew a damn plot. A real one, not just a flimsy frame but a whole ass mansion. So I'm just gonna write a story and see where it takes me. Probably gonna come up with some sort of update schedule for this, Chase and Safe Haven.

Taglist: @askauradonprep @swifteforeverandalways @rxllynch @riottbliss @nothingbutmeworld @axelwolf8109 @biforbecky2belts @neversatisfiedgirl @superrezzy00 @nicolewoo

Seth exited his town car in the dim Brooklyn alley stretching and cracking his neck, stiff after an 11-hour day behind his desk, followed by 7 hours passed out on his office couch "Pick you up at 3 like always Mr. Rollins?" his driver asked.

"Yes, thank you Joey" Seth responded, handing the man a hundred dollar bill, "Why don't you pick up Jamie and the two of you have a nice dinner on me while you wait?"

"I think he'll like that, thank you, Mr. Rollins, Sir" Joey replied before pulling off and leaving Seth at a blood-red door with black script reading The Demon's Lair.

Seth both loved and hated the Lair. In many ways, the kink club was the only place he felt like himself. Where he could drop the facade he wore in his professional life and even with his family to an extent, but he hated it too. He hated that even though he felt so at home there and had plenty of wonderful friends and sometimes lovers…nobody seemed to want to keep him.

Breaking out of his increasingly morose thoughts, Seth used his member's card to unlock the door to the Lair and slipped inside. He'd been in the Middle East for several weeks, meaning he'd been 'On' the entire time and was absolutely looking forward to taking off his mask and letting the real Seth out to play.

"Sethie!" The pink-haired girl at the front desk yelled in happiness "I missed you!"

"Sup, Livvy" Seth replied with an easy grin as all the tension seemed to drop off his shoulders as he mentally locked the corporate shark in its tank for the next 6 hours.

The hyperactive submissive had standing permission from her Domme to hug on Seth whenever she wanted so she dashed around the desk and practically tossed herself into the older man's arms. "Miss Ruby said you were in the bad place for the last month so all the hugs for you," she says quietly

"Thank you sweetie pie," Seth whispered in her ear. "I'm just glad to be back," He says louder letting go of her. "So what I miss, any dirt?" he asks as he strips off his suit jacket and tie and then rolls up his sleeve.

"So we finally met Master Balor's mysterious protege." She tells her friend as she takes his cuffs out of a locked case beneath the desk.

"He told me he had asked her to come here. Something about a bad break up." Seth replied, "What's she like?"

"Miss Rebecca is here tonight tending the bar since Devvie is back in school right now, she has a thicker accent then Master Balor's, bright orange hair and she's really pretty. " Liv continues

Seth easily buckles the black leather cuffs with their inlaid red hearts onto his wrists, brushing his thumb over the words worked into the leather "Who's around that might want to play with me?"

"Master Balor and Miss Violet are waiting for you. Miss Renee tattled on you, babe." Liv says with a smile "Naughty Sethie you were supposed to go home and sleep." She teases wagging a finger at him "Now you're in tro-uble" she sings

Seth huffed and muttered under his breath "Bossy fucking Doms." While he, Finn and Violet weren't a permanent triad, the two switches did take care of him, trying to make sure the workaholic took care of himself at least somewhat. And since the pair had quite literally kept Seth from drinking himself to death after his 3 tours in Afghanistan, he did try least try to listen to them. Not that it always happened but at least he TRIED.

Liv shook her head and giggled "Yeah, have fun with that. I've got the desk for another hour and then its Moxie's turn.

Seth walked into the club properly and looked to see who was around, heading over toward the fireplace when he caught a glimpse of his Personal Assistant sitting in a club chair, her two submissives sitting at her feet. Easily kneeling alongside Roman and Mox, he smirked up at her "You are a goddamn tattletale, Miss Renee."

Renee Moxley tapped her boss's nose with the riding crop in her left hand, "You were supposed to go back to the penthouse and sleep when you got back from Saudi Arabia. Instead, you spent 11 hours in the office, of course, I told them"

"Finn and Violet are waiting for you downstairs, you have a demon to contend with."

"Son of a bitch, really?" Seth's head dropped. "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. He's THAT pissed at me?"

"You passed out in the office from exhaustion AGAIN." Roman told his best friend quietly "I had to pick your ass up off the floor and put you on the couch. Did you really think no one was gonna tell the only two people you MIGHT listen to?"

Renee gestured with the crop for Seth to stand up, "Go on, don't keep them waiting" the Domme told him sternly

Now knowing that he was in deep shit, Seth quickly headed to the stairs, only casting a distracted look at the orange-haired woman behind the bar talking to Master Orton and Ember Moon.

When Seth entered Finn and Violet's private dungeon he gulped audibly because sitting in the plush red and black throne like a chair with Violet on his lap wasn't his slightly goofy friend Finn, but King Balor in full on warpaint.

"Oh…look Mon Roi, it's a naughty kitten," The blue-haired woman dressed in a black and red corset, stockings and tall heeled boots said quietly

"Kneel, Little Prince," Balor orders "and explain why Lady Renee called to tell me you disobeyed one of the few things we ask of you"

"My Liege, I slept on the plane on the way home. By the time I arrived in New York my inbox was full, I figured I would work for a few hours and then go home, but I lost track of time and the next thing I knew Moxley was waking me saying you had requested my presence"

"Kitten, we are not your Masters, but you requested this arrangement to help you stay healthy and safe after last summer's incident," Violet says quietly "Yet you disobeyed. Lady Renee said that Roman had to pick you up off of your office floor because you passed out. She had your private doctor come and check you and you didn't even wake up. You aren't taking care of yourself"

Seth opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Balor "Not another word Little Prince, you know very well you've earned yourself quite the punishment"

'Well, fuck' Seth thought to himself as he knelt in front of the throne after having been stripped of his black dress shirt and his hands cuffed behind his back as Violet circled him holding a flogger, Balor still sitting there watching avidly.

"This was supposed to be your welcome home present." She sighed "But someone decided to be a bad little prince"

"I'm sorry my Queen" Seth mumbled "This last mission…it was a lot."

"You are supposed to tell us when you feel these urges to work yourself half to death. Especially after solo missions, was that not the agreement that was made after you almost….left us last year?" Balor says quietly, voice filled with emotion

Seth winced at the mention of last summer, It had been a workday much like today but instead of someone picking him up, he'd tried to drive himself home. Seth had fallen asleep at the wheel and the subsequent accident had nearly ended his life. Now Seth never drove himself after long days at work and he'd hired Joey and his husband Jamie to be his drivers.

"Do you know how scared we were? Renee called us and said you were on the floor, not moving" Violet told him "Are you injured from your mission other then the scrapes and bruises I see?"

"No your majesty" Seth answered quietly

"Then 20, Little Prince. 10 from each of us" then we'll go upstairs to the bar and you can meet Rebecca. You will be nice about showing her your ways. Or we'll end up right back down here. Understand?" Balor commanded

"Yes My Liege" Seth replied quietly

Seth barely heard the whistle of the flogger before the first blow hit his back.

His King and Queen didn't have to know that at least for this time he'd pushed himself on purpose, wanting to not think about what he'd had to do to get a young girl back to her family, He rarely took on mercenary missions himself anymore for this very reason. The damage the killing and violence took took on his mental health was terrible and he wasn't coping well but his mother…his mother had asked a favor for a friend of a friend who's daughter had been kidnapped.

So Seth went and a month later he'd returned. The girl alive, her captor and his people very much dead and he with more blood-soaked memories he'd prefer not to have.

[vulpinmusings]

Ski’tar and Friends part 16: Undercover Gladiators

This week, Ski’tar, 6, and Vemir are given another not-exactly-legal mission by Historia-7 and have to fight in a gladiator pit as a result.

Beginnings

Last time

Archive

The trip back to Absalom Station from Elytrio was relatively quick and uneventful, aside from crossing paths with that freighter crewed by a single, lonely Ysoki again.  Upon arrival, we reported straight to Venture Captain Arvin, handing over the data we’d collected and summarizing the state of affairs on Elytrio.  Arvin was very pleased with our performance and said that our group’s string of successes (the minor case of Vemir’s death notwithstanding) was attracting the attention of First Seeker Lorenzo, the big boss of all Starfinders.  Arvin had also caught word of our group’s tradition of post-mission drinks, so he rewarded us by having the Society cover our tab for this round.  Ship Captain Navasi agreed to join us when we asked, but Iseph had “personal matters” to attend to.

After some discussion of our options, we decided to go to a cocktail bar in the Eye called the Business Proposal, which logically caters to those in the corporate sector.  We took a booth, ordered our drinks, and Navasi took the lead in our conversation.  He asked each of us our reasons for joining the Starfinder Society and what our long-term goals were.  I phrased my quest for the Perfect Boom in terms that didn’t paint me as a mad bomber, and Navasi promised to pass that info along so that we might get sent to places with more exotic compounds to find.  6 and Vemir’s stories weren’t as fancy as mine; Sixer had mostly wanted in on the prestige of the Society and Vemir had intended to only do the one job but was sticking around because he tended to find good bounties along the way.  Navasi gave us his story in return (he’d always been entranced by what the Society stands for), and gave us a little more information about Scored Stars.  It seems that after the Disaster, an impassable barrier appeared around the Scored Stars area so that nobody can get in and anyone who may have survived can’t get out.  The first Seeker’s main priority, and by extension the whole Society’s is figuring out how to get that barrier down so we can investigate.  Our group wasn’t seasoned enough to be directly involved in that work, but Navasi thought that we’d get there sooner rather than later at the rate we were rising in the Society’s eyes.

Just as our drinks arrived, our comms pinged.  Historia-7 was calling to ask us to come back to the Lorespire complex immediately.  Navasi went with us to the Complex, but had to part ways with us there because he had a meeting with the First Seeker.  Historia-7 was deep in the Archives when we arrived, and she barely disconnected enough to acknowledge our presence and give us our marching orders.

While Historia had been going through the data we’d brought back from Elytrio and looking for leads into Scored Stars, she’d discovered a discrepancy in the Society’s archives.  Some of 7’s predecessor's notes had been located and decrypted, and they mentioned a corporation called the Arch-energy Consortium that the Society had no other records of.  Historia-7 wanted that gap of knowledge filled, as she believes Arch-energy may be a front for something sinister and possibly information that could useful for solving the Scored Stars conundrum.  The security around the Consortium’s data was surprisingly tight for such a small company; the only weak point Historia-7 could identify from the old notes was Envar Tam, the son of the CEO.  Arch-energy’s main base of operations, a space station called Brilliance, has an ampitheater were gladitorial-style fights are held for the entertainment of the employees, and Envar is a particularly big fan.  Historia wanted us to go take part in the fights to charm our way into Envar’s good graces and then manipulate him into letting us access his mother’s computers so we could steal as much data as we could.

And to try and avoid linking all this back to the Starfinders, we would need false identities.

Good thing I knew a guy.

ID-man’s shop was dirtier than the last time I’d been there, but the fat human was still in more or the less same shape.  For three false ID, he quoted a total of 9000 credits, which Vemir gladly paid as thanks to Sixer and me for bringing him back to life.  My own credits were starting to run out, so I didn’t argue.  ID-man worked quickly, and soon three new gladiators were walking the streets of Absalom Station: Ezo-14 the android, Veldaro the Kasatha, and Blip the Ysoki.  To further separate ourselves from the Starfinders, since we were starting to become slightly famous, we went shopping for disguises.  I obtained some fur dye to make myself brown with black markings instead of solid grey, Vemir altered his outfit to emphasize his scars and missing arm, and added some warpaint to complete the effect, while 6 subjected himself to an overenthusiastic barber and painted himself blue.  It didn’t quite seem enough in Sixer’s case, but we had no time to fix it.

The three of us took the Odyssey out to Brilliance Station by ourselves, since leaving crew members behind after docking would have been suspicious.  Luckily, the trip was only four days.  The Odyssey is not a fun ship to spend a lot of time aboard.  No engineering lab.

Docking with the station was no problem, but we nearly ran into a snag when station security checked our bona fides.  Something tipped the security Lashunta off, and I had to quickly hack into the comms and modify the data we were sending to erase the incriminating info and make it look like a glitch.  Once we were cleared, we were escorted straight to the amphitheater with no time to prepare and no instructions beyond “if you die, at least try to make it entertaining.”

That did not bode well.

We couldn’t make out much of the crowd as we stood on the arena floor thanks to the reflected angle of the local star shining through the transparent roof, but in the shaded box for high-profile spectators we saw a Lashunta man, probably mid- to late-adolescent, with a wildly colored hair and smoking what seemed like an extremely unwise amount of some drug or another.  Possibly many different drugs at once.  He was clearly eager to watch the fights and just a clearly lost in his own addled brain-space.  Fortunately, he was just there to watch, not to run the show.  

An unseen announcer prompted us to put on a little pre-show to hype up the crowd before the actual fight.  While Vemir simply posed and gestured in an appropriately intimidating manner, I opted to do some acrobatics.  I back-flipped onto my drone, rode it for a bit as it did figure-eights then jumped off, rebounded off one of the columns in the arena, and landed back on the drone as it was still moving.  6 tried to show off his strength by punching one of the columns, but wound up just cracking his hand instead of the column.  That killed the mood a little, but the crowd still seemed to be mostly in our favor.

Then they brought out the monster.

I was glad we wouldn’t be expected to fight other people to the death as part of our cover.  Not that I have problems with killing per se, of course, since I’ve done plenty of that, but something doing it just for sport seems… dirty.

At any rate, our foe was a vicious Crest-eater, a large and very angry six-legged carnivore with bull-like horns and a number of grasping tentacles on its back.  Looking to redeem himself in the eyes of the bloodthirsty crowd, 6 charged straight on with sword at the ready.  His opening blow turned into parrying the Crest-eater’s lunge, but at least he was playing to his strengths from the outset for once.  Vemir and I took cover behind a column while I sent my drone rolling up in anticipation of acting as a shield for Sixer if needed.  I decided this would be a good time to try out a new grenade I’d been working on: frags modified to contain some of the crystallized poison from Ulmarid.  My throw fell short, but the blast was at least flashy enough to score some points with the crowd.

6 took a bad bite from the Crest-eater, but paid the beast back with interest, severing a couple of tentacles.  Vemir lined up a shot and sniped the beast hard.  The Crest-eater tried to back away as Sixer continued to lay into it, and spat out a venomous-looking acid that hit both 6 and my Drone.  Sixer took off one of its legs for that. He was certainly making up for his poor showing in the hype-up.

Vemir finished the fight before I could contribute any more, landing a shot that went straight through the best’s head and hit some internal organ hard enough to make the creature explode in a shower of gore.

As the adoring crowd showered us in flowers and pocket-change cred chips, the Lashunta druggie vaulted out of his seat and ran over to praise us for our performance, although he went to my Drone first before realizing it wasn’t actually sentient.  He then latched onto Vemir as his favorite out of us and introduced himself as Envar Tam and offering to give us a personal tour of the station.

I immediately started recalculating our odds of success given Envar’s utter lack of focus.  On the one hand, he was loopy and cheerful enough to be easily led to whatever we wanted, including his mother’s private office and computer.  On the other hand, I had serious doubts about his ability to stay focused on any given thing for more than ten seconds.

This was going to be a chore.

[undasdotco]

Warpaint Live in Jakarta presented by Wireitup!

Warpaint Live in Jakarta presented by Wireitup!

Reportase dari konser Warpaint Live in Jakarta. Wireitup! memboyong Warpaint ke Indonesia untuk pertama kalinya, dan menghasilkan konser musik terbaik 2017 sejauh ini.

Wawan Sutiawan (@punchxheart) berangkat dari Cirebon ke Jakarta. Ia memulai perjalanan 222 kilometernya tepat pukul 11 malam, agar pagi harinya ia dapat menemui band pujaannya, Warpaint. Ia menyempatkan hadir di sesi Meet & Greet…

[sunshineofyourlove1967]

1 4 12 14 38 and 50 !

hellooooo thank you so much!!! im so glad you’re back, i’ve missed you so much!!!!

1. name your top three favourite songs: oh jeez alright so i think it’s…… in no particular order because i’m too weak to —- them lmao - ….why even try by hippo campus  - i don’t know why is this song so incredibly important to me, i discovered it like, i think a month ago or so? or maybe longer. but i wasn’t at like, the brightest place in my life and i was drawing while listening to it on repeat and kept listening to it for like, four days straight basically without getting tired of it, and it calmed me down so incredibly much, then i listened to it on the bus on my way to exams and back while reading, and i still listen to it every few days and feel so peaceful and transparent and understood, like the lyrics are fairly depressing but i’d found incredible comfort in them,  ‘on and on, the feelings burst and then they fall - till later on we won’t get back to patch things up’ like??? and the whole lyrics, what it speaks about, it’s so definitive, conclusive, irreversibly fatal, like there’s no going back but also no need to worry about things anymore, nothing will be the same as it used to be, but somehow the song was what made me cope with the fact and helped me find perhaps a more optimistic approach to it all, even if at the time it was more of a medium which i explored the lost, wandering, searching kind of sadness through. it’s not just the lyrics though, it’s the feel of the whole song, the guitar and bass and the tempo and all those little unique elements (the instrumental part before the bridge!!!!!!) and even if i won’t be listening to it in a month, a year, ten years, i think it’ll always remain special and unique to me and will always speak the same language as the part of my heart that had needed it so desperately at the time!!

god, how do i name my other top favourite songs after this dksfjhkdf

probably star treatment by arctic monkeys - we’d waited so long for the album even though we made peace with the fact that am was the last thing we’ll ever hear, and i lost my shit when i found out about the news that there was indeed another album coming!!! and then the tiny tbhc snippet on youtube aaaah i remember learning the guitar riff to it immediately and playing it over and over!!! and then we listened to it in my room when it came out and i was stunned the second i heard the opening piano and the backing vocals, and then the ‘as we gaze skyward, ain’t it dark early?’ part towards the end RUINED me and i still cry my eyes out every time i listen to it…. so yeah. am still do really own my ass sddfdf

and the third one……… hhhhhh how am i supposed to choose. probably something off everything you’ve come to expect by tlsp. the entire album is Packed with absolute total fucking bangers and it collectively destroyed us (also the whole tour…………..) probably pattern or element of surprise!!!! or aviation or the title track or used to be my girl or the bourne identity ( oof ) or hhhhhh i really can’t choose, let’s just say that the entire album shares the 3rd position lmao 

4. favourite album cover: oh i like this ask a lot!!! i rly love the cover of revolver by the beatles, it’s so iconic and i adore the style of it, the cover of tranquility base hotel + casino by am bcs,.. c’mon. (i actually made my own version of the model alex made sdkfjhf it was so fun!!! but my hands almost died) andddd is this it obviously, definitely maybe by oasis, and the cover of cullah the wild by cullah is so cool!! (he’s a practically unknown 28yo artist and he has such cool and creative songs!! it’s a mixture between like, alternative blues and alternative hip hop and something uniquely weird and experimental lmao and he releases an album on his birthday every year for free and i love him so much!! he definitely deserves more recognition)

this is what the cover looks like!! (and ‘where you do belong’ off the album is my absolute all time favourite)

12. what’s your favourite era of music: gotta be 50′s, 80′s, 90′s and 00′s, esp the alternative and garage rock scene

14. do you play any instruments? i do!! i play guitar, (acoustic only but god i want to get an electric one so bad) bass guitar, ukulele and i used to play soprano flute in elementary school lmao 

38. what’s a song that has inspired you: i usually pick songs that inspire me, give me certain imagery or provoke certain mood in me and just put them on repeat while i’m writing, so it’s gotta be…………………….. why even try by hippo campus (god this is getting embarrassing how many times am i gonna mention this song sdfdfsdfkdfjf but it’s SO AMAZING and so important to me), to bring you my love by pj harvey!!!! set your arms down, heads up and so good by warpaint, packt like sardines in a crushed tin box, life in a glasshouse, you and whose army?, i might be wrong by radiohead, the entirety of carrie & lowell by sufjan stevens, esp blue bucket of gold and john my beloved recently, and the cmbyn soundtrack by him: mystery of love, visions of gideon and futile devices!!

50 - put all of your songs on shuffle and list the first ten! - alright! so - 

daydreaming - radiohead

heavy storm - first aid kit 

underneath the sky - oasis

la parisienne - zaz

she came in through the bathroom window - the beatles

we no who y r - nick cave & the bad seeds

blue bucket of gold - sufjan stevens (oh hello!!)

the orange monkey - pj harvey

je hais les dimanches - édith piaf

a place i know - cullah (hmmm)

thank you so much for the ask!!!!! it Really kept me entertained for a while lmao thank you!!! 

[pastrami-on-rye-witha-sourpickle]

Long Post about Local Newsies Production

This past Saturday, I by sheer luck caught wind of and by impulse saw the 2pm matinee performance of Newsies at a local Community College.

Long post Incoming

Many Performers of Color, specially actresses of color.

Jojo, Buttons, and Mush were played by actresses and there were more actresses in the Newsies ensemble.

Jack’s voice was coarser and deeper than I expected. Same for Race and Katherine, but that’s probably on me watching the Live Recording many times.

Jack also had a more present Italian-American accent. And the rest of the Newsies, save for Albert, had very neutral accents.

Jack was dressed very similarly to the Broadway show and the touring production but all the other newsies looked they they were from the ‘92 movie, specially Specs.

Katherine was taller than most of the newsies.

No Elmer or Henry, all of their lines were given to Finch, Specs, and Romeo

Albert sounded a lot like Joey Wheeler from Yugioh the Abridged Series by Little Kuriboh. And to those who haven’t seen that, yes Joey has a Brooklyn accent in the first place and The Abridged series only emphasizes it but really, Albert sounded like Joey.

Nunzio and Stage manager were very sassy.

When Romeo flirted with Katherine during Carrying the Banner, he yanked her out of Darcy’s arms and almost planted a kiss on her cheek but Katherine managed to break free. Darcy didn’t do anything; I bet he knew Katherine could resolve the situation herself.

The metal sets were used a lot for minimal parkour and acrobatics. Every newsie was swinging and doing pull-ups them. Romeo and Jack did pull-ups to impress Katherine but she and Darcy were long gone.

Jack was more sarcastic and smarmy than usual.

The Delancey brothers had clothes that coordinated with each other. They were also more aggressive toward the female newsies.

During the “orphan with a stutter” part, it was Crutchie who was the orphan and during the “and Dead” line, the other newsies tossed him into the air like if they were cheerleaders.

There were 4 Bowery beauties performing Don’t come a knocking.

Romeo has heart eyes whenever Katherine appeared on stage.

There were 4 scabs, one of who were a brother and sister pair. And the sister looked younger than Les. and she took the lead and convinced her brother to join the strike.

During “Seize the Day”, it was the female newsies who were doing more acrobatic tricks and they were front and center.

Both Jack, Davey and Les dancer in “Seize the Day”, as did the little girl Newsie.

They had had a paper dance similar to the Live recording. Jack and Davey were dance partners during this part.

During the fight after “Seize the Day”, two of the goons were female.

It was the Delancey Brothers who beat Crutchie at the end. Snyder has to run on-stage to stop them.

Jacobi was an grumpy business owner. The “Fish in the Desert” line was shouted from across the stage

When Katherine walked in with the headline, she was chipper and greeted the newsies but they responded with audible groans.

During “Letter from the Refuge”, Crutchie kept doing that thing where you laugh and cry through the physical injuries. He was also very grumpy, calling out the guard posted to his room.

Specs actually got the letter from Crutchie and delivered it to Jack during the scene transition.

Les acted like the cool big man on campus after he met Sally and Davey was very surprised that Les got a date.

Seitz was the one who was holding Katherine prisoner in the office.

Hannah’s line during the Pulitzer scene when he meets Jack! My goodness. She was pounding at the door to Pulitzer’s office. All of the business men were startled. Wheezing and catching her breath between words! It was hilarious

Jack audibly whispered Shit when Snyder was in the office.

The Delanceys were very aggressive in handling Jack to the cellar.

They tossed him into the floor and that’s where Morris said the That’s firm line.

Oscar has a pair of brass knuckles and mimed punching/boxing a target . And they kicked Jack before they headed out. The printing press was so small that Jack just slept on the floor.

2 Brooklyn Girl newsies. Both had warpaint and were doing chest bumps and acting like “bros”. this is where I realized that Hannah’s actress doubled as one of the Girl Newsies. Also there wasn’t any difference in the costuming for the Brooklyn newsies. They didn’t have red or dark colors to distinguish them from the Manhattan newsies

At the end of “Brooklyn’s Here”, Spot and his Crew did a Power Ranger/Anime Hero pose.

Because of the mics, you could hear many of the newsies’ comments during Jack’s part of the rally. Les was the angriest and made very fair points to counter Jack.

Jack didn’t seemed surprised that he was handed money. It’s like he expected it. Although I did hear him say “fuuuu...” before turning around and realizing that Davey, Katherine and Le saw that exchange. All the other newsies already stormed off.

Jack was almost stoic and panicky just during the conversation with Katherine before “Something to Believe” in. The kiss definitely softened him up a bit.

Davey and Race led Bill and Darcy into the cellar. They also didn’t shake Jack’s hand.

Once and For all was amazing as always.

Crutchie was wheeled in on a pape-wagon.

During the finale, while all the other newsies were dancing/tumbling, Jack and Katherine were slow dancing.

During the curtain call, there were many tumbling and cheer tricks.

Line changes i noticed :

Finch? when are we going to see you inside the church.

Now there’s a headline even Jojo could sell.

Sandstorms.

I enjoyed this production of Newsies very much and I’m glad I got to treat myself with this little impulse buy.

[lunapaper]

Album Review - 'Radiate Like This' - Warpaint

Warpaint’s latest album, as drummer Stella Mozgawa states, ‘isn’t a Quentin Tarantino movie. It’s an album a band made.’ 

Any attempts to assign deeper meaning to the songs on Radiate Like This might be dismissed by the LA-based foursome, but there’s definitely of a lot more going on beneath its hazy, simmering grooves and undulating rhythms.  

There’s pure, unadulterated joy and a lush, playful sense of romance, along with a quiet confidence that comes from a band finally at ease with itself.  

The first single off the record is all about being a ‘champion to oneself.’ ‘I’m an ocean/Breathe in and out,’ vocalist/guitarist Emily Kokal repeats like a sleepy mantra,’ offering up other blissed-out platitudes along a slow-winding coastal groove. ‘Hips’ is appropriately slimy and loose, a plinky, salsa-tinged stunner inspired by the adorable antics of Kokal’s baby daughter, Franny, willing the listener to reach higher as it revels in feminine defiance.  

‘Altar’ is sensual devotion set to jittering percussion and ghostly echoes from the gloom, two lovers fated to meet over and over again. ‘Like Sweetness’ brings honey from heaven, graced with a drowsy, brooding sort of cool driven by the silky bass of Jenny Lee Lindberg as Kokal declares herself the light to a lover’s darkness, containing some of the most beautiful lyrics on the record. 

‘Stevie’ positively glows, a dreamy, lovesick cut that sees Kokal make great use of her upper register, happily proclaiming ‘You're down and dirty/You are one freaky mother/You give me happiness/You make me wanna/You make me wanna dance.’ Cheeky finale ‘Send Nudes’ is equally playful, inviting a crush to ‘Send a couple nudes, baby/Have a cup o’ noodles with me, baby’ amid swirling psychedelics.  

At times, Radiate Like This harks back to the smoky yet haunting allure of Warpaint’s biggest hits like ‘Love Is To Die’ and ‘Undertow,’ reckoning with unrequited angst. 

‘Did you see me hiding?/Did you see me low?/Did you feel me rising?/Or did you wanna watch me fall?’ Kokal asks on ‘Trouble,’ a swooning, piano-laced rebuke. On ‘Melting,’ she pledges ‘no more armor, no more anxiety,’ ready to be the gold to another’s alchemy as steel drums lurch across a dusky soundscape. 

‘Hard to Tell You,’ though, is a sombre standout, signalling a return to the band’s murky dream pop atmospherics.  

‘Will this heart of mine always be so restless?’ Written when the band was on the verge of splitting up after a gruelling tour to promote their second album, the track proves cathartic, even if it makes for uncomfortable listening at times. Though a little early in the record for such a heart-wrenching ballad, no blame is laid at anyone’s feet (‘I think I gave all I can, hurts but I cannot change it/My friend, my friend, my friend/Until the end, the end, the end’), accepting possible defeat with a quiet dignity and grace. 

Radiate Like This was recorded in the midst of global turmoil, with all four band members recording their parts remotely while in lockdown. 

But time away from one another seems to have rejuvenated Warpaint.  

Where 2016’s Heads Up felt patchy and unsure, Radiate Like This is mellow, vaporous and assured. It radiates – pardon the pun – warmth and light and a whole lot of love between friends.  

The world has changed, but the bond between Warpaint has not, growing stronger and more resilient as the years pass. 

‘I feel like it’s a family, you know?’ Mozgawa recently told NME. ‘I feel like these are my sisters.’ 

- Bianca B. 

[onestowatch]

Meet the Asian Hip Hop Collective Breaking Western Music Barriers

While 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, Asian artists’ representation in Western popular music is remarkably scarce. Though examples of Asian artists breaking the Western pop music barrier do exist, such as K-pop artist PSY who was responsible for the 2013 hit “Gangnam Style,” most of these acts have become passing fads or niche artists. Enter 88rising. Founder of the collective, Sean Miyashiro, noticed this alarming underrepresentation and has since championed bridging the gap between Eastern & Western pop cultures through music, specifically hip hop.  

88rising began humbly in 2015, after Miyashiro resigned from his position at VICE, started utilizing his car as an office for phone calls, and took up a night job at Dunkin’ Donuts. In a mere three years, Miyashiro steadily built his empire by showcasing Asian artists’ ability to create a tangible and enduring mark on Western music and culture. Miyashiro elaborated on his cause with CNN stating, "We want to push the culture forward. We're not trying to break stereotypes or change people's mindsets. We're showing people what we can do, by doing what we do." Fast forward to 2018, and Miyashiro has proven to the world that the trajectory is only upwards for 88rising.   

88rising has grown exponentially since its modest establishment, becoming a hybrid-multimedia company/record label, a sort of 360-degree management group, a trend reflective of the present industry. Yet, though Miyashiro’s company and impressive roster of individual artists had been making waves in both the Western and Eastern pop music markets for several years now, the collective group had not released a collaborative project, that is until June 7, 2018.

With the release of the mystical summer love anthem “Midsummer Madness,” 88rising mesmerized audiences across the globe, amassing over 16.6 million plays on Spotify and counting. Following the smashing success of “Midsummer Madness” came a slew of other standout singles and their highly anticipated debut collaborative album Head In The Clouds, released July 23.  The album as a whole is a blissful testament to summer, hosting a plethora of lighthearted jams and fun, youthful feels. In addition to their first collaborative album, the group announced their first festival also titled Head In The Clouds, a 16-city North American tour featuring the bulk of the collective’s roster.

As fascinating as 88rising’s mission and concept is the unique elements each artist brings to the collective’s synergic sound. From the deep timbre of Rich Brian’s flow to NIKI’s angelic musings, 88rising represents the true beauty of diversity. So, without further ado, in the spirit of paying homage to the artists that make up this inspirational collective, we would like to introduce to you a handful of 88rising’s most promising members.

Rich Brian

Indonesian-born rapper, Brian Imanuel’s childhood was spent in Jakartra, helping with the family business while being homeschooled by his parents. At age 10, he began learning English by watching videos on YouTube and simultaneously fell deeply in love with the wonders of the internet. By 15, his fascination with the internet led him to create dark-humored comedy sketches that he would post daily on Vine. It was from this platform that Miyashiro and Imanuel made their initial connection. After watching a collection of his videos Miyashiro offered to pay for Imanuel’s flight to perform in SXSW. Upon receiving his parents’ permission, he made the long journey to Austin, TX, to confront his destiny or at least perform for the first time in the United States. From there things took off quickly, with his comedic hit "Dat $tick" whose visual companion featured Rich Brian (then known as “Rich Chigga”) clad in a pink polo and fanny pack, singing about “pop(in’) shells for a living” and not giving “a fuck about a motherfuckin’ po.” The track and video were as hilarious as they were shocking and borderline offensive. To combat criticism and capitalize off of the world’s obsession with the track, 88rising produced another viral video “Rappers React to Rich Brian” featuring Ghostface Killah, Desiigner, Tory Lanez, 21 Savage, and more, most of whom reacted relatively positively to Rich Brian’s unique sound. Since the “Dat $tick” days, Imanuel changed his official stage name from Rich Chigga to Rich Brain, after publicly recognizing how his former name was highly problematic. Earlier in 2018, he released his debut album Amen and is featured in 5 of the 17 tracks on Head In The Clouds, including popular single “History,” a rare solo track on the album featuring Imanuel’s hypnotically gruff voice.

Higher Brothers  

Chinese rappers MaSiWei, DZ, Psy. P, and Melo make up the eccentric hip hop group Higher Brothers. Hailing from Chengtu, the group is famous for their bold street wear, mixing Mandarin and English lyrics, and their electric approach to what they call “Chinese trap.” Upon reaching an unprecedented level of success internationally, the Chinese hip hop group has continued to break language barriers and preconceived notions of Asian hip hop artists. Since their 2017 break out singles “Made In China” and “WeChat,” the group has blessed the world with three EPs and a debut album titled Black Cab. A standout on the 88rising roster, the group is also featured on 5 of the 17 tracks on Head In The Clouds including the second single on the album, “Let It Go” where they pair with BlocBoy JB to serve up a dance-inducing banger, perfect for any wild summer house party.  

Joji

Japanese-born entertainer, George Miller first became known for his comedic sketches on YouTube featuring alter egos Filthy Frank and Pink Guy. In 2013, he began a viral sensation through video meme “DO THE HARLEM SHAKE” featuring the Pink Guy and pals performing an array of peculiar dance moves to electronic producer Baauer’s track “Harlem Shake.” Though famous for his off the wall humor, Miller had secretly been experimenting in emotive trip-hop, combining melancholic lyrics with elements of hip hop, R&B, and electronic music. His original encounter with Miyashiro concerned collaborating with 88rising to make viral videos, but when he heard Miller’s beautiful sound, Miyashiro was far more interested in the music. Miller’s gorgeous voice and relaxed style adds an essential element to Head In The Clouds. As the lead on “Midsummer Madness,” Miller’s voice is both tranquil yet enticing and becomes a familiar sound by the conclusive title track, enhancing the overarching enchanting vibes of the album. 

NIKI  

Born Nicole Zefanya, NIKI was also raised in Jakarta, Indonesia and knew Imanuel from childhood. Zefanya grew up on sounds of Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah like many of her musically-inclined Indonesian peers. Yet unlike her peers, Zefanya’s soulful crooning was first noticed internationally in her teens through her YouTube covers which garnered her thousands of followers and kick started the young vocalist’s career. Zefanya was the first female to break up the boy’s club that originally made up 88rising, therefore making a substantial contribution to the collective. Though one of the newer artists on the roster, her luscious R&B vocals become a welcomed change of timbre, as they provide a necessary layer of beauty to the often-hip hop-heavy album. Zefanya opens the album with Joji in “La Cienega” with her signature angelic sound as she questions the “glitz and glamour” of Los Angeles. Additionally, her solo track, “Warpaint,” is an anthemic toast to self-empowerment and is steadily becoming a favorite among fans.  

Keith Ape

Korean-Japanese rapper Lee Donghean, better known as Keith Ape, named himself after his favorite artist Keith Haring and his self-proclaimed spirit animal. Born in Bundang, South Korea, Donghean was a trouble child in school, but found an outlet for his rebellious energy in his hip hop idols, Nas and AZ. After realizing his future did not concern academia, he dropped out of school to pursue music and in 2010 adopted his moniker “Kid Ash.”  His raucous, shrill style over trap beats did not hit off until his 2015 with release “It G Ma,” which was followed by a remix featuring A$AP Ferg, Waka Flocka Flame, Father, and Dumbfounded and became a #1 hit. Though he only appears once on Head In The Clouds, his verse on “Japan 88” is a standout due to Donghean’s seamless blend of English and Korean lines, resulting in a mesmerizing cross-cultural flow.

AUGUST 08

Ray Jacobs is a Los Angeles bred, longtime R&B songwriter, arranger, and producer but relatively new under his moniker AUGUST 08.  His stage name was inspired by his tumultuous relationship with his father who was born on August 8; additionally his debut EP titled FATHER focuses on the difficulty of growing apart from one’s family. His highly emotive music covers difficult, heartbreaking topics with grace and relatability. Jacobs’s dazzling voice and songwriting chops caught the attention of the collective, making AUGUST 08 the first non-Asian member of the group, confirming 88rising platform of diversity not exclusivity. His smooth R&B features in “Midsummer Madness,” “Poolside Manor,” “Disrespectin’,” and “I Want In” add additional colors to this group’s sonic palette, contributing greatly this unprecedented masterpiece.   

Be sure to listen to the full album below and don’t forget to grab your tickets HERE for the first 88rising festival featuring all the artists mentioned above and many more! 

[forthelulzy]

Throwback Thursday - Dysfunctional

First published to AO3 on 11/7/14, Dysfunctional was my fill for a kinkmeme prompt about social work in Skyrim. It is still one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever written.

Angelica Laguardia, social worker with the Imperial Department of Domesticity, Children and Families Division, pays a visit to the Dragonborn's house. Predictably, chaos ensues.

Rated T. Comedy, but warnings for minor character death and mentions of cannibalism.

5334 words.

Read on AO3

Angelica trudged up the mountain path, notebook tucked under one arm. The house she was to visit was close to Falkreath, without being too close to the bastion of death, and she'd heard it had a lovely view of the lake from where it straddled the pass. She was optimistic; both because she expected an uneventful house-call as far as her job went and also because she was going to meet the Dragonborn. The legendary savior of them all!

She came over the rise and saw the house — and the view. It was a big house, of course it had to be to be worthy of the Dragonborn. There was a greenhouse on one wing, and a tower of some sort on the other. The trees had been cut away to the northwest to provide a shot of the sparkling Lake Ilinalta below. If only she could paint...

Focus, Angelica, she thought, and climbed the porch to knock firmly on the front door.

Silence. She couldn't even hear anyone moving inside. Were they all gone on holiday? What about the servant — er, housecarl? She'd sent that letter months ago, they should have known that the home visit wasn't optional...

Just as she was about to knock again, or start yelling that she wasn't going away, the door was flung open and a hassled, unkempt Breton — or... Reachwoman? That warpaint wasn't any Breton style that she knew of — stood there, breathing heavily.

Angelica started back, momentarily speechless. The Reachwoman stared, her one eye raking up and down Angelica's body. Goodness, she knew she was plump but that wasn't any reason to look at her like that! Then she realized that the look in the door-answerer's eye wasn't one of disgust, but... lust? There was a distinct hunger in that eye... Angelica fidgeted. She was here for her job. No distractions allowed.

"Rayya!" the Reachwoman suddenly barked. Angelica thought she was talking to her for a moment, before the other continued, "come up here a sec! Got a... guest." Her face broke into a wide, if unsettling, grin.

"Dinner guest?" came another woman's voice from somewhere within. "It's not even noon yet!"

"I don't know, but you take what shows up at your door, yeah?" the Reachwoman replied.

"I'm not here for dinner," Angelica said nervously. She had no idea what the two of them were on about, but she had the distinct impression that it was neither enjoyable for her nor sanctioned by the Eight's Temple. "I'm a social worker." She tried to peer over the Reachwoman's shoulder, but the other shifted, blocking her view.

"A social worker?!" The woman who must be Rayya appeared in the doorway, and now Angelica had utterly no hope of seeing into the depths of the house. Rayya was a tall Redguard wearing the traditional face-encircling scarf-hood of the Alik'r Desert. She was pretty, but Angelica really, really didn't like the look in her eyes. Not as much as she didn't like the still-unnamed Reachwoman's lustful stare, though.

"I, er, yes. Angelica Laguardia, social worker with the Imperial Department of Domesticity, Children and Families Division, here for a home visit."

"Er, okay..." The Reachwoman deflated. "I'm Eola, the steward of this place. Rayya's the housecarl. So, what gives? This's awfully short notice, just showing up at the door."

Odd. "You were supposed to have gotten the letter explaining this months ago...?"

The two women looked at each other, twin unreadable expressions on their faces. "I didn't get any letter," Eola said, shrugging. The lust was slowly receding from her eye.

Angelica huffed. "That courier swore he was the fastest, most reliable one in Skyrim. I guess not."

Rayya's eyes widened, but what for Angelica didn't know, until Eola said, "Oh! Er, yeah! We, um, found a dead guy over there—" she pointed vaguely, "—a couple months ago. Nord, ginger? Yeah, I think bandits got him."

"Yes! Bandits!" Rayya echoed, face red as a tomato.

"Anyway, he didn't have anything on him so we just sent him over to Falkreath to be buried!"

Angelica stood there bemusedly, only a faint, "Oh," escaping her lips. What in Oblivion...?

"So!" Eola clapped her hands. "Come on in, I guess." She turned around and went into the house, leaving the door open.

Rayya waved Angelica inside with a heavy sigh. "I'll see if I can go get—"

"TORVAR!" Eola screamed, standing at the door from the entry to the rest of the house with her hands on her hips. A faint groan followed by a thump echoed through the house just as Angelica's ears stopped ringing, and Eola turned back towards them with a grin. "He'll be down soon," she said sweetly.

"—my Thane's husband," Rayya finished, voice heavy with suffering.

The pounding of paws on hardwood was the next assault to Angelica's poor ears, and two black, four-legged things appeared from the back room. They pelted across the main hall in a matter of a second and skittered around Eola's legs before the social worker could get out a thought beyond, What the hell are those?, and launched themselves at the new scent. Angelica screeched and fell back as the two things were upon her, heavy bodies pinning her down, drool dripping on her cheeks, long gnashing teeth inches from her face—

"CuSith, Garmr!" Eola said, laughing. "Off!"

The... things gave one last lick each to her cheeks and moved away, disappearing somewhere in the main hall.

Rayya shook her head, but even she looked amused as Angelica lay there, shaking. "Sorry about that. My Thane's... dogs... have to greet everyone new."

They were like dogs, but... not dogs. Not even close. The red eyes and the cold breath... she shivered. Not dogs at all. Rayya grabbed her arm, more pulling her up than helping. Eola had disappeared somewhere, but as Rayya led her into the main hall, Angelica soon forgot all about the steward.

Artifacts. Many weapons, a few pieces of armor, the rest miscellaneous in form — most sharp and all dangerous, very obviously radiating Daedric influence from every corner of the house she could see. She recognized the Masque of Clavicus Vile along with the Ebony Mail and Spellbreaker, all three on a mannequin like they belonged there. Azura's Star lay on the mantlepiece, pulsing with light from the core to the tips of the spikes. The warped, screaming faces of the Wabbajack looked at her from a weapon stand along with what appeared to be the Ebony Blade and Volundrung. And— oh, Divines, was that a book with a cover made from mers' skins on the shelf, sitting with A Dance in Fire and Songs of the Return like it belonged there? She shuddered in revulsion and was about to bolt, to run screaming back to Falkreath — no, all the way to the Imperial City! — and report to her superiors with this, but Rayya's hand on her arm tightened dangerously, warningly, and all she managed to do was emit a squeak.

"Shh," Rayya said, and managed to be the exact opposite of soothing. By the Divines, she had walked into a madhouse.

"Ray, what...?" A man who managed to be even more disheveled than Eola appeared at the top of the stairs to the next level, blinking down at them with bloodshot eyes. He swayed on his feet, but he managed to get down the steps with the pseudo-grace of a lifelong drunk. "Oh... hi," he slurred once he was no longer in danger of sliding down on his head. "Yous must be... fo' dinner. Hic."

"No, I am not here for dinner!" she said, fed up with these constant references to spending more time with this 'family' than she had to. "I need to see the children, please. I am Angelica Laguardia, social worker with the Imperial Department of Domest—"

"Ofuck," said the drunk, looking up, where two little girls had appeared on the stairs. "Sisshel, Brit— Brit— just get down here."

The two girls who were probably sisters raced down the stairs, but were only halfway there when Sissel, in the lead, tripped over Brit-something's stuck-out foot and nearly fell. Instead she stumbled against the railing and caught herself while Brit-whatever took the lead and alighted on the main hall's floor with a flourish. Sissel righted herself and jumped onto her sister's back from above with a ferocious war cry, knocking them both to the floor where they rolled around pulling each other's hair and snarling like beasts.

"Um..." Angelica started, but Rayya stepped in before she had to.

"Sissel! Britte! Stop that, now!"

They paused in their fight, Sissel sitting on Britte's chest and Britte's hand around Sissel's neck, and glared at the housecarl. "Not our Da!" they said in unison, and went back to their scuffle.

"Oh, Morwha's tits," mumbled Rayya under her breath. She looked pointedly at Torvar.

"Wha...?"

Rayya tilted her head towards the children, raising her eyebrow meaningfully. She still hadn't let go of Angelica's arm.

"Ohh. Yeah! Girls! Whattevvver she said."

Sissel and Britte drew apart, nursing their wounds — which consisted of two tender scalps, three black eyes and an assortment of bruises between them — and chanting, "Yes, Dad."

"Goodsh. Now, Ray— whattis goin' on here agen?"

"Come on, Torvar," said Eola, emerging from what appeared to be a kitchen on the right. "Why don't you sit down? Miss Angelica here is just going to talk to the kids, take a tour, make sure we're all good here, right? Right?" The last word was directed at Angelica herself, who shuddered and nodded and began to think that maybe this Reachwoman would track her down if she said a thing to her superiors after all. Or maybe she'd never get out of this madhouse, and she would become one of them. Gulp.

She sat the kids down one at a time in the greenhouse — the only place in the entire manor with only one door where she could see that door easily — speaking to them as gently as possible but only really finding out that Britte hated Sissel, Sissel hated Britte just as much, and, oh yeah, their new dad the Dragonborn had killed their old dad the farmer.

"Wait, what?" She hadn't thought— she had realized, of course, that the Dragonborn had to have been the one to bring back all those Daedric artifacts and put them on display in his house, but to think that he had murdered the girls' father and raised them as his own afterward? What kind of man did that?

"Da told my old man not to hurt us anymore, but he didn't stop yelling at us, so Da..." Sissel drew a finger across her own neck. "And took us away in the night, like a prince or something!" Her starry-eyed expression made Angelica wince. But she was starting to see how maybe the Dragonborn could have thought he was justified.

Until Sissel piped up again. "I hear Da left our old house a mess and the guards couldn't find our father's head for a long time, whatever that means."

Oh, Mara... look down upon this child with mercy... Feeling like her stomach was trying to fight its way out of her body through her mouth, she just sat back and tried to breathe.

"Anyway, I'm really grateful that Da saved us, even if he isn't around a lot. But Dad's really funny and sings to us all the time, and Rayya is so strong and beautiful and Eola's such a good cook too!"

Great. The drunk is funny. Just what a child needs... "Ahem. Moving on. You mentioned that your Da isn't here very often...?"

"No. He's off saving the world all the time. I understand. The world has to come first."

"Saving the world?" How many things are threatening the world all the time that you can't see your own kids?

"Yeah. He killed that evil big black dragon in Sovngarde, and now the other dragons don't bother us as much at all anymore. Then he stopped a bunch of evil vampires from taking over, but saved a really nice good vampire and put her in charge of the remainder so they don't cause any more problems, then he went somewhere far away because someone was trying to kill him and saying he was a fake Dragonborn, and he found out that a Daedric Prince was behind the whole thing! I think he's off in Solitude now, helping train the new soldiers that started coming in when he won the war!"

It was quite the list, and if the child told true her Da was every bit the legend Angelica had heard him to be. She had heard that Alduin had been defeated, of course. Everyone had heard the rumble from the Throat of the World when the Greybeards and the remaining dragons spoke the Dragonborn's name and proclaimed him a true Hero, like the Nerevarine in Morrowind and the Last Champion of Cyrodiil before him.

And of course she had heard of the Imperial victory in the war, everyone knew that who was an Imperial citizen — probably even everyone who didn't live in the remote jungles of Valenwood or Black Marsh. It was why she was even here, after all. Imperial victory meant Imperial control meant Imperial bureaucracy in Skyrim once again, and no province could escape the Department of Domesticity, Children and Families Division. Not a single one. High Rock was notorious for its lax rules with regards to social workers, but even though every once in a while one particularly nosy inspector turned up dead in a drainage ditch, well, that didn't mean they were exempt either. Nope.

She was a woman on a mission, and even if that mission ended up killing her, even if she had to drag the all-mighty Dragonborn down into the dirt to do it, she would make sure these children were safe. Thus resolved, she said simply, "Are you happy?

Sissel thought on this for a moment, far longer than she should have. Angelica was beginning to despair when she tilted her head back up straight and said, "Yes. I am. Even though Britte drives me crazy and is really mean, I know my Da and Dad love me and will make sure Eola doesn't eat me."

"Eola? Why would Eola eat you— oh. OH. OH." She had seen the ring on the woman's finger, but hadn't thought — how could he have a cannibal as — as a steward?!

The same way he could have a drunk as a husband, she thought sadly. She knew what had happened to her courier, now. He had probably knocked on the door, Eola had answered, and she had decided she was feeling a bit peckish. Her stomach turned.

"Oh, I shouldn't have said that!" Sissel cried, clapping her hands over her mouth. "No, please, don't take me away! My Da loves me, I swear, and Dad too, and Rayya and CuSith and Garmr and — and even Eola! Especially Eola! She wouldn't eat me even if she was really mad at me, I know she wouldn't. Never..." she trailed off, tears flowing down her cheeks, and sniffed piteously.

Angelica stared at her, thinking. Could she really do this if the kid was happy? Despite how the situation looked? Britte had said much the same thing, even pointing out that having a very intimidating man for a father had forced her to rethink things and stop beating Sissel up quite so much. That had made Angelica wince at the time, as bad means to good ends were just as awful as bad means to bad ends, but now she thought back on that conversation of a half-hour prior and it made her hesitate. Maybe should she could just make some recommendations, maybe not even mention the Daedric artifacts everywhere, the kids obviously weren't affected by the darkness that seeped from them as she was.

Maybe they never would be. She didn't know that much about the Daedric Princes, not anymore. She had studied them as a teenager, wanting to become a conjurer like her older brother Desdemono, but that had fallen flat when she showed utterly no aptitude for magic. Or swordplay, which she tried next, or sneaking around quietly, or even swinging blindly in a target's general direction. She could not put two ingredients together and make a potion to save her life, and she could not string together two words, by Mara, without tripping over her own tongue and making herself the fool. So she had gone into the bureaucracy, desperate to make a difference, a mark on the world somehow. She had thought it would be easy. That she would save children from evil parents, reward the good ones, and that she would be her own kind of hero. All without a fancy sword or spells to sling.

And for a while, the job had proved to be exactly that. She had gone out to some falling-down shacks in Riften, to the manors of Solitude too, and had while she had found things she had not expected — namely, that some people could be horrible creatures much like the mudcrabs they put down every day — she had never been conflicted about whether to report or not. Unlike now. With the Dragonborn's kids.

"Please," Sissel whispered. Barely able to hear, Angelica thought she had made the quiet plea up at first. But then, when she did not answer, the child gave a great hi-hic and started sobbing again.

"There, there," she said awkwardly. While she loved children, and wanted her own, she couldn't talk to one any better than she could an adult. "I just need to do a tour and then I'll leave. I don't want you will be sad, Sissel, and I think taking you away will make you sad, won't it?" The girl nodded, snot dripping from her nose. "I know it will. I will try to — I always take that into account, you know. I'm not trying to be mean, but this—" she waved her hand about vaguely, to indicate the whole sorry state of affairs, "can't happen, you know? It's not right. I can make some suggestions, though. And maybe your folks will follow through. I really hope they do. And then we will go from there. No matter what, I just want what is best for you, okay?"

A pause. Sissel had quieted during Angelica's speech (the longest she had made out loud, ever, she realized) but did not reply, just continued to stare at the floor by her feet. Her small shoulders trembled minutely with every breath.

"Okay?" Angelica prompted.

"Okay." Her voice was small, defeated, and Angelica knew the child was more aware than she had thought, and not as easily mislead as most children her age. She was far, far smarter than Angelica had given her credit for.

"All right then. That's okay," she said and stood up abruptly, wanting to leave before she started crying too. She left without another word, shutting the door to the greenhouse behind her. Sighing, she leaned up against it for a moment while she held her head in her hands. Then she looked up.

Rayya, Torvar, Eola, and Britte, with CuSith and Garmr lying at their feet, were arranged in a tense half-circle of chairs facing the door.

"Er," she said, as the entire family stared at her, eyebrows raised. Even Britte, sitting on Eola's lap, was looking at her with a very serious expression. "Umm..."

"I don't want to leave," Britte blurted out into the ensuing silence.

"I'm not taking you away yet," she replied automatically. The group tensed even more, the dogs-not-dogs starting to growl, and she started inching for the front door. "I didn't mean, er... I didn't mean it like that," she stammered. "I meant that I don't think there's a need to take anyone away anywhere yet, and— I'm sorry, where is your bathroom?"

No one answered her, just glared in silence, and she started shaking even worse. Eola was licking her lips, one eye raking up and down Angelica's body again, and now that she knew that the look was one of hunger, not lust, she felt all the more queasy.

Then, slowly, two women and one girl turned as one to look at Torvar. He was still quite drunk, but closer to being sober at least, and it only took him a second to realize what they all were looking at him for. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence, and said, "Rayya, Eola, stay here with Britte for a second, will ya?" and got up from his chair. He went to the door leading back into the greenhouse, shot one last unreadable look at Angelica, threw it open and disappeared. The sound of heavy Falkreath lumber slamming against the frame echoed throughout the house. Angelica stood there, pressed against the wall next to the door, but could not hear a bit of what was happening within. Apparently the house had been soundproofed at some point — no wonder she'd thought no one had been home at first.

The women sat (and stood) there in silence for a moment, before Eola let Britte down to the floor and stood up. Rayya stood up too, scimitars on her hips shifting with the movement, and Angelica truly thought she was going to die then. She was disappointed when, though her world tilted, she remained conscious.

But the family just turned their backs and set about rearranging the chairs. The dogs-not-dogs got up from the floor too and wound around Angelica once, snarling and growling while she stood paralyzed, then went to a plush rug in the opposite corner and lay down side by side, watching her.

Angelica looked back to find that Rayya and Eola had arranged the chairs so that one sat alone, with four facing it in a way reminiscent of testimony before a council, or when she reported to her division superiors. She gulped: the association was not a positive one for her as she hated being the sole focus of anything, much less an interrogation like this seemed to be.

An interrogation run by a warrior woman, a cannibal, and a little girl who beat up her younger and smaller sister all the time. She realized, for the first time in her life, how pathetic and utterly defenseless she was. It was a miracle she had made the short walk to Lakeview without being eaten by a wolf. By Mara, it was a miracle she had lived as long as she had, with no weapons skills, no magical aptitude, and not even the ability to walk normally without tripping over her own feet.

"Sit!" barked Rayya, and Angelica was in the lone chair before she could think to resist. That was the danger of being Imperial City-born and part of the bureaucracy: she had occupied a specific place in the hierarchy since she was born, and had deference to authority drilled into her until it was a part of her.

Again, she wondered how she hadn't died yet. If a thief with a commanding voice just told her to hand it over on the street, he wouldn't even have to pull a weapon. Pathetic. She fidgeted in the chair, fingers drumming automatically on the underside of the seat while her knuckles turned white from her death-grip.

Rayya and Eola took their seats on the far ends of the slightly curved row of chairs facing hers, Britte hopping into the Redguard's lap this time. The girl was a bit too big to be sitting on anyone, but Rayya didn't seem to mind, playing with Britte's braids.

The greenhouse door opened and Torvar walked in, holding Sissel in his arms. Her cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes red and puffy, but she wasn't crying anymore. She ignored Angelica as Torvar walked past her and took the chair next to Rayya, and steadfastly refused to meet her eyes even when sitting on her Dad's lap facing the Imperial.

The chair next to Eola remained empty. Angelica wondered a moment who it was for, before it hit her — the Dragonborn. Oh Divines, had they somehow contacted him? Was he riding out now to protect his children? It would take a while to get from Solitude to the manor, but... but he had tamed a dragon, hadn't he? Could ride it around like a big flying horse? How fast could a dragon fly — fast enough to get here before Eola got too hungry and decided to eat her, Dragonborn or no Dragonborn? She wasn't sure which was worse, waiting however many hours before being judged by an angry father who was able to kill her with a word, or being eaten by a cannibal immediately. She started praying again, asking for the Divine's forgiveness and a quick death.

She was paralyzed, she wanted to run, she knew she wouldn't get two steps before Rayya cut her down or Eola... did what cannibals did.

While Britte and Sissel watched. Erk.

She didn't want to keep thinking about her own imminent death — would it hurt? would her disappearance be noted? would the truth ever come out if she just... was never seen again after leaving Falkreath? — but it was impossible for her to steer her thoughts away. Like that one time she had ridden past a farmstead that had been attacked by a dragon, and she just couldn't stop staring at the burnt-out husk of a home, imagining the horrible things that had taken place there.

"So, Torvar—" Eola started at last. "What do you think? What would Lothario do?"

"Lothy would be pissed," Torvar said flatly, making Angelica flinch. He seemed fully sober now. "But he's not here and he won't be for a while. I guess I'll have to deal with this myself."

Lothario. Angelica had almost forgotten the given name of the Dragonborn. He was just titles now. Lothario Nicchi was no more.

"So, Angelica Laguardia," Torvar said, his brusque Nord tongue bumping up against the smooth Imperial syllables awkwardly. "I hear you've been frightening my children, making them think we're horrible people. Abusers. Deviants. That my husband is some kind of loveless monster who sacrifices children to the Daedra..." his eyes flicked pointedly to the mace on a plaque near the hearth, the artifact that radiated the most evil influence of them all.

"I don't— I don't think it's like that, and I never said so!" Angelica protested. "You obviously love your children, and they love you. And their Da. They're not saying it just to say it either — they're smart kids. They genuinely like it here."

"But?" Torvar said with a raised eyebrow, face dangerously grim still.

"But— but— but I can't just let you leave all these Daedric things lying around!" she half-screamed, prising her own hands off the chair's edge and gesturing wildly. "They're dangerous! I can overlook the dogs — which are very obviously not dogs, I'm not stupid! — and the constant absence of one parent and the drunkenness and the fighting and— and maybe, maybe even I can overlook the cannibalism." She hissed the word, staring at Eola, who seemed startled but not the least bit ashamed. "As long as it's not random upstanding citizens anymore, for Mara's sake!"

"He came to the front door!" the Reachwoman screeched. "How could I deny such a gift from Lady Namira?!"

"Enough, Eola," Torvar said, one hand going up to massage his temples. "There are plenty of bandits in Falkreath Hold; eat them. The world will be a better place."

"And the necromancers?"

"And the necromancers," Torvar replied wearily. "And the Silver Hand, what's left of them."

The werewolf hunters? What did they ever do to anyone— Oh. Someone here must be a werewolf. Of-fucking-course. She didn't have any surprise left, it seemed.

Eola sat back, mollified for the moment, and Torvar turned back to Angelica. "So, if you think this, what do you plan to say in your report? Speak carefully, now."

"I... I think I would say that Sissel and Britte are doing well, considering their rough start in life," she said honestly. "I would say that the home is full of adults who love them, and that, despite being in the phase when everything becomes a fight of some kind, Sissel and Britte are still sisters, and sisters should stick together."

"That's nice. And the artifacts Lothario has been bringing home because there's no safer place in the world to keep them out of ill-meant hands?"

"I, um. Well, I don't have to say exactly what they are, do I? I can just write, umm... 'Parents are warriors and sometimes leave their weapons lying about where the children can get at them. Tips provided to buy warded locking cabinet.' Or something."

Torvar tilted his head, seeming to... yes, he was sniffing her. The drunk was the werewolf. Great. After a moment, he said slowly to Rayya and Eola, "Not deceitful."

"Really?!" Angelica blurted out as the other women relaxed. The whole thing was a lie — she was talking about and giving an example of a lie!

"Not malevolently," Torvar amended.

Whatever that means, she thought. Not that she wasn't happy that she seemed to be out of the fire for the moment. "Er, okay. That's good. I just need to do a quick tour, make sure the house isn't about to fall down on top of you, then I guess I'll be off. You'll get a copy of my report by next week."

Eola smiled grimly. "Torvar's got your scent now..." she said ominously.

Oh, fuck. Now she really wasn't going to do anything stupid.

"Eola! Stop that." Torvar snapped, then let Sissel off his lap.

Britte hopped down too, and the girls approached Angelica cautiously. "So we're not going away?"

For children who apparently hate each other they sure do say the exact same thing at the exact same time a lot. "Not if I can help it. I can't say the same for the next visit, but that shouldn't be for another three to five years given that I'm going to put 'no action needed' in my report."

"Good. Upstairs first, then? Coming back down for a sweep through the trophy room and kitchen, of course." Torvar said, shooing the girls outside.

He took Angelica on a brief tour, showing her the alchemy table with all manner of ingredients arranged neatly on a high shelf, and though there was deathbell, nightshade and what looked suspiciously like the jarrin root she'd seen in an illustration once, the toxic reagents were far out of reach of children and she dismissed it as a minor issue. Then the enchanting table — not a black soul gem in sight, good — and the bedrooms. While the living space was in chaos, things thrown everywhere and the beds unmade, Angelica ignored it as much as she could, looking instead for actual hazards. Finding none, she had Torvar take her back downstairs.

They went through the kitchen next, and if there were bags of some unidentifiable lumpy substance shoved to overflowing into the cabinet bottoms, she resisted the urge to look. She left as quickly as possible, a chorus of eww, eww, eww chanting in her head.

Then, the last room in the house. She walked through the door ahead of Torvar, intending to just poke her head into the space and back out again. Just a glimpse would do—

But her glimpse was of gray, leathery skin stretched taut around the unnatural glowing blue eyes of a trophy draugr.

She screamed all the way back to Falkreath. But no matter how much the town guards pressed her, she insisted it had only been a close encounter with a troll, that everything was fine at the house of the Dragonborn — no, don't go looking for the troll! — everything was fine, it was just she'd never seen one that big before.

[writingkeepsmewhole]

Beautiful Remains

This is part 4 of A Team. Emily wakes up in a strange only to find that his is on a bus and has been kidnapped. This is a wave of crap shoved in this chapter. 

Andy Biersack x OC

Warnings: Language I think that’s it :P

Let me know if you want to be tagged please :)

I woke up in a very dark, yet warm place. I tried to sit up but my head hit something hard. Good thing I didn't sit up quickly. 'Why do I feel like I'm in a coffin?' I thought almost laughing at my weird thoughts. 'Okay I'm breathing fine so I must have air at lest. I'm dreaming. Emily your dreaming.' I started telling myself over and over. I tried to get my mind off of the small space I was in. I rolled over to try to fined a way out. But instead I felt myself falling. I closed my eyes waiting for myself to wake up but instead I felt the sharp stinging pain of hitting a hard floor. I sat up to see I was in a small hallway. What I fell out of was a bunk. There was six of them. Three on each wall. Four of the bunk curtains were opened, one was closed and the one that was half way opened was the one I fell out of. It was the top bunk on the right wall. It was on the right wall if you were facing the way I was facing. I was facing a door that was slightly opened. I turned my head to see what looked to be a living room? I stood up and started to walk to it. I stopped at a door that was on the right hand side. It was opened and it was a bathroom. I walked into it and closed and locked the door behind me. It was a small bathroom. It had just enough room for the shower, toilet, a small counter with a sink and enough space to stand to open the door. I was shocked to see a note sticking to the mirror. I pulled it off to read:

Emily If your reading this, then that means I'm not back yet. I had to go do a show. When it gets over I have to do a interview, but after that I promise I will be back by three. Sammi and Ella said you can use some of there clothes till we get you some. There staying with us till tours over. All there stuff is in the back room. The bunk you woke up in is yours if you want it, but your free to sleep on the couch if you want. There is a back stage pass on the kitchen counter make sure you get it. You can be back stage for all the bands that are playing. You can ether come find me at the main stage if its not past two. So get dressed and have fun. Andy ps. Sorry I was not here when you woke up. And please don't get mad at me but as I'm sure you can tell I put your necklace back on. I smiled at that still messy yet pretty hand writing. I laid down the note and walked out of the bed room. I walked down the little hallway to the door. I opened it to see a full size bed to the right pushed up to the wall. There was a couch across from me and what looked to be a table that could fold into the wall to the left of me. On the table was what looked to be a make up bag. I opened it to see I was right. I have never seen so much make up in my life. I was shocked. I could not help the smile that came to my face. It took me a moment or two but I finely found the closet. Everything folds up in this room it seems. I soon found everything and got what I needed. I walked back to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I walked back to the room and was soon dressed in ( polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=102754523 ). I walked down the hallway and stopped when I got to the living room. There was a black couch all along the left wall with fold out tables at each end. They folded out from the walls. There was smaller couch on the other side. It was not as long. There was what I'm guessing to be the front door a the right end of it. There was a small kitchen with a counter, sink, bar, etc. Everything you would need but I think a stove. I seen what I'm guessing was the back stage pass sitting on the counter. I picked it up and put it around my neck. I walked out the door to be blinded by the bright sun light. I blocked my face from the sun till my eyes got used to the bright light. There was more busses like the one I just came out of. All had different names on them. I didn't bother reading any of them and started walking to the sound of mixing songs together. I stopped and turned around to see the name wrote on the bus. Black Veil Brides. 'Why I'm I not the lest bit shocked by that?' I asked myself as I started walking again. I soon found myself in a crowed of teenagers all dressed slightly alike. You could still see the differentness between them though. I smiled but I was jumping up and down inside my head. I was at Warped Tour. I have not been here since the last time I came with Andy. This place was my home in a way. I was snapped out of my day dream when someone ran into me. "I'm sorry." We both said at the same time, making us both laugh. "No I'm sorry I was the dumb ass standing still in the middle of a crowded at Warped Tour." I said smiling at the girl. She looked to be around 5'0 feet since she stood around four or five inches shorter then me. She had bright green eyes, rainbow hair that was teased to make it stick out in random places. She had black eye shadow around her eyes. But that's not what had me looking at her face longer then I should do. Coming off the corner of her lip she had drew on with eyeliner stiches. On the other side was just a line. Under one eye was what looked like tear drops on the other was flames. Across her neck was one line going down the middle and three stripes coming off the sides. "What? Do I have something on my face?" She asked touching her face. She must have done it softly since she didn't mess up her make up. "Yeah. not trying to be rude. But why is your make up so random?" "Its not make up its war paint! And if you have ever seen Black Veil Brides you clearly would understand. But I guess you haven't. You just don't understand on what you missing out on! Don't make fun of people you don't even know!" She yelled at me and walked off quickly. "Alright then." I asked mostly to myself and started to walk to the right not really knowing where I was going. "Don't worry about her. She did the same thing to me. Well kind of. She said I only like the band for the lead singer. When I was the one that showed her the band. She is just in a bad mood because Andy didn't come to the sighing today." A girl that looked just like the one I was just talking to but she had different hair and make up. He hair was in teased up pig tails. I don't know how but they looked really cute. I never seen anyone with pig tails that didn't make them look like a little kid. Her make up was white that faded to blue then got darker as it reached the end of her eye, making the ends black. "Andy's the lead singer by the way." She said smiling. "Yea I know who Andy is. I know who Black Veil Brides are I just have never met any of them, but Andy. I have never seen them play live or a music video. I just listen to them for the first time last night. So I didn't get the whole make up thing." I said and started chewing on the inside of my cheek. "If you just heard them last night then how do you know Andy?" 'Crap! I just woke up and I already got in a mess. I cant tell her I really know Andy. She make be a crazy person and try to hurt Andy or me. She don't seem crazy though.' I thought making up my mind quickly "I was on YouTube last night and just kind of ran into there songs. The video had a pic on it so I just guessed that was the lead singer." "But you just said you met Andy...." "Did I? No I meant I would like to meet Andy. Anyways I got to go get me something to drink this heat is killing me. It was nice talking to you." I said smiling then quickly walking away before she could say anything. I started walking back to where I think the busses where. I was getting more lost by the minute till I heard a laugh I knew all to well. I quickly started to follow the sound. I found the busses again. I walked to the right one and walked into it. I was shocked to see a man with a camera filming Andy and some blond guy in a blue shirt talking. Of course all eyes was on me. I was just happen the guy kept the camera on Andy and the blond guy. "Another on of Ashley's friends?" The blond guy asked winking "No this Emily, an old friend of mine. Emily do you mind I'm kinda busy." "I'm not in the mood for you Biersack. First you kidnap me then you just leave me lost at Warped Tour. And then one of your crazy fans tried to kill me because I didn't know what kind of warpaint you wore. What they hell is that anyway?" "Oh so you kidnap people now, huh Andy?" The blond asked poking Andy with is elbow. "No I don't." Andy said laughing lightly "She wanted me to take her away." He said lifting one eyebrow making a shiver run down my spine. 'No Emily. Not this again! I thought I got over this when I was 17.' I thought chewing on my lip. I sat down on the couch behind the camera guy not felling mad anymore. Not really understanding why I was so mad in the first place. I did yell at him for leaving me. I should be happen he is even be nice to me at all. I should be happen he took me with him this time. I mean he has a life now he didn't need me to come back in it. I most likely just messed up the rest of his tour. I'm sure he is very busy and here I am yelling at him for not being here when I woke up. What's wrong with me? How could I be a dick head like that. I mean how could he save me if he could not even find me. I moved a year after he left. Even if he did come back he would not have guessed I moved to New York. I didn't tell anyone I was leaving. I didn't want to be found, that's why I left. I lost faith in him coming back for me. I just gave in to the voices in my head. I just gave up.... They must have been talking about something different and forgot I was there since they seemed like they didn't think I would talk again. But I did. "How's your cheek?" I asked with out thinking. "Who's cheek?" The blond asked. "She means mine Bryan." Andy said laughing "Well would you like to share what happened?" "I slapped him. As hard as I could I might add." I said softly and started to chew on my cheek again. "Well why don't you come over here and let the good people see you. Then you can tell us all about it." Bryan said smiling at me. He seemed to know I was thinking hard about something and I think he was trying to help me forget about even if it was for a little while. "No I could not but in you guys talking more then I already have. Besides everyone one wants to see Andy not some girl they never even knew was alive till just now." I said laughing softly "Come on you can tell us how you know Andy I'm sure they will like that." "Fine." I said getting up and moving to sit beside Andy. "So would you like to tell us who you are?" "Hey I'm Emily." I said smiling and giving a little wave to the camera. "So how do you know Andy?" Bryan asked putting the microphone closer to my face. "We knew each other as teenagers." "No need to be shy. You can say anything you want. So did you know that Andy wanted to be in a band." "Yes. I didn't know if he ever made it though. I moved to New York a year after he left and got a job. I never had a phone as a teen so its not like I could call him or anything like that." I said shrugging. "That's kind of sad. On a lighter note, do you have anything to tell us about when Andy was a kid?" "Yes I have lodes but he has worse things on me so I father not share. I can tell you that he was always getting me to do bad things." I said laughing "I did not. I was like a big brother to you. I think I did a good job at being your friend." Andy said laying his hand on his heart, acting like he was hurt. "I don't know Andy you seem a little crazy sometimes I think I believe Emily on this one." Bryan said "Haha I win!" I said giggling "I think I need prove. How was I always teaching you to do bad things?" Andy said "You gave me my first cigarette, you gave me my first beer, you talked me into getting my first tattoo and piercings. Do you think that was a good idea?" "At the time yes. But then again you wanted to do all those things." "I did not. Well the tattoo and piercings yea but I only smoked because you would not stop bugging me and I only tried the beer to see what it taste like." I said stinking my tongue out at him. I heard Bryan laugh, making me look at him and try to stop acting like a kid. "So what piercings and tattoo did you get?" "Something that you wont get most likely. The piercings I till all have and they were my tongue, my first and second holes on my ear and the tattoo well, like I said you wont get." "I think he will get it Em." Andy said smiling. It must have been my face that answered the question how or why because he quickly answered me. "Because I put the song on my first album."

"Oh..." I said standing up. "So its a song then? I thought you said you didn't know any of Andy's song?" Bryan said "I did say that but I didn't know what he put that song out so how could I have know." I said walking back to the bunks. "Where is she going?" I heard Bryan asked Andy. I didn't bother with listening to what he said back to him. I walked into the back room and changed into a black tank top. I walked back out to here Andy and Bryan laughing. I walked behind the camera guy and sat beside Andy again. "Well welcome back Emily. Care to tell us why you changed?" Bryan asked "To show you my tattoo?" I asked/said since I though that's what he wanted me to do but now I was not so sure. "Oh awesome! So what and where is it?" I moved on the couch so both Bryan and the camera could see my right side. I lifted my shirt to show just under my boobs were the words Beautiful Remains. The were wrote jagged yet pretty letters. I put my shirt down after I was sure they got a good look at it. "So why Beautiful Remains? Is that the only tattoo you have?" "Beautiful Remains because that's something I rather not share. Yeah I only have the one." I said starting to chew on my cheek again. "Alright then so is there any other songs you knew by Black Veil Brides that you didn't know was by them?" "Yeah I really loved there cover of Rebel Yell. I didn't know he sung it though. My friend showed it to me and I never bothered to worry about who was singing or playing it." I said shrugging. "Awesome. So Andy your been writing on the new album any songs you can give us I sneak peek on. Maybe like sing a line or to?" Bryan said holding the microphone out to him. "You know we never do nothing like that on your show. I just eat your paper and run from bees." Andy said laughing. "Do I want to know?" I asked laughing softly "Mostly not but I can show you the videos later if you want." Andy said "Okay I feel like I have the chance to get in on Andy's life before he was in a band. So Emily is he any different?" "Well he seems to eat paper now. Then again I could see him doing that. He has more tattoos and has gotten taller. I don't know what to say really. I have not been around him much so far so I don't know if he is different yet." I said shrugging. "So how long have you been around him so far then? Oh and the big question how did you guys get back talking again and how did you get to be on tour with him?" "Well she would not stop asking so I just had to say yes." Andy said laughing "Shut up!" I said smacking his chest playfully Oddly enough I didn't feel weird about being around him again. In a way I felt sad for being so mean to him before and yet here he is cracking jokes like I never hit him. Like we have said not one word to each other since he left till now. He didn't kidnap me. If I was still home now I would have no house to go to, on the run from a crazy guy and having to work longer to stay alive. No he may be a few years later then what I thought but he still saved me. "I didn't beg him. I told you he kidnap me." I said smiling "How could you kidnap her Andy?" "Well it just seemed like a good idea at the time. I seen her walking down the street and once I knew it was her I kidnap her." Andy said shrugging, making all of us laugh "Well at lest she don't seem to mind it. Oh I almost forgot Emily if you were a pornstar what would your name be?" I could not help but laugh. If only he knew. Well I not a pornstar but I'm close. Not that I want him to know. "Umm... that's kind of hard. I don't really think about stuff like that. Maybe something bad ass like Rouge or something like that." I said shrugging "Awesome I like it." "Thanks." "So Andy there are some people on twitter saying that you have a child is there any truth to that?" "No. See what happen was we were all acting stupid on night and half of us were drunk. Ashley dared me to tell Juliet I was having a baby on twitter. I did and a month later here we are. Some people are really stupid. I mean one I cant have a baby and two if I could why would I want to that just don't sound fun. Its just people trying to start something I guess. It just bothers me that they keep calling Juliet a slut and stuff like that." Andy said sighing "Not really there most likely trying to get you to realize there, there. They just want to be a part of your life even if its something as small as bothering you on twitter." I said playing with one of my bracelets. "Wow." Bryan said "Wow what? Why are you saying wow?" "Well that's the first time I ever seen Andy slightly mad." "He is not mad he just gets bother with people saying stuff to Juliet it seems. I'm taking that, that's his girlfriend." "Oh so you didn't know that are boy Andy here was taken?" "No I didn't but why dose it matter? Even if he was not were just friends so I would not try anything with him." "So you and Andy are like best friend huh?" "I think so? At lest that's how we used to me. I hope Juliet don't mind me coming back into his life. We are really just friends and the worst we have ever done is hugged each other." I lied. I doubt his girlfriend would want to know we used to sleep in the same bed almost every night, or that I was in love with Andy till I was 17. What if she hates me? He will most likely hate me. I mean as soon as she finds out about the stuff that Andy has done for me she will think I'm trying to steal him from her. But maybe she is nice. She might be really nice to me. We could be best friends. Do I want to be best friends with Andy's girlfriend? Do I want to meet her at all? What if she makes Andy hate me? No I cant let that happen. Andy is the only one that I could ever talk to. I don't want to lose him as a friend though. Maybe I should leave so I don't mess up his life. Yes I should leave. But when? Tonight? I don't know what if I'm worrying about nothing? If I just keep my mouth shut and stay out of every ones way like I used to everything will be fine. Right? It has to be. "Well I think that's all the time we have so why don't we end it with a funny face." Bryan said sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes. I didn't get a chance to make one since he made me start laughing. "Well that was fun guys." Bryan said after the camera was off. "Yes it was very much. Thank you for letting me sit in with you guys. Sorry if I messed everything up." I said trying not to look as bad as I felt yet still looking like I really was sorry. "Its no big deal. It keeps the video different from the rest." Bryan said "Well if you say so." I said smiling. "I'm going to change again. It was nice meet you Bryan." I said hugging him lightly then quickly walking back to the back room. I closed the door and took off my shirt. I put the one I had on before along with the jacket on as quick as I could then touched up my make up and hair. My hair was fine and I just need to add a little bit of eyeliner other then that everything was fine. I was putting everything back when there was a knock at the door. "One moment." I said as nicely as I could. "Hey Em, its Andy I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat" "Sure." I said opening the door. "Sweet. Hey do you care if the rest of the band comes?" Andy said running his hand threw his hair. "Nope. I need to make them like me right. I mean I am going to be staying with you guess so I need to make sure they know I'm not going to be smacking you all the time." I said laughing slightly. "Yeah that might be smart." "I'm really sorry about that you know. I should not have done that. I should have just told you who I was. I mean how could you have know it was me and I moved its not life you could have found me. I said look down "hey its no big deal. You had a reason to be mad. I understand. Just promise to wait till you have another good reason to do it again okay?" Andy said hugging me. I hugged him back the top of my head just reached his shoulders. "Still short I see." Andy said laughing. I heard and felt it since he was still hugging me. "No you just to fucking tall. I'm not short I'm fun sized." I said moving my head so my chin rested on his chest, so I could stick my tongue out at him. "What are you proving by doing that? Not a fucking thing. Your just drying out your tongue." Andy said letting me go. "I am not. I'm just wetting the air." I said stinking my tongue again and running around Andy. Well trying at lest. He just moved in my way , since we were in a small bus hall way I really didn't have anywhere to go. Andy looked down at me lifting one eyebrow. I glared back. We quickly started busting out laughing. "Okay you win. Can we go eat now, I'm hungry." I lied. I don't really eat anymore. I only eat enough to keep me from passing out on stage so no one ask questions. Not that they would. Alexis never seemed to realized I didn't eat. Its not that I hated the taste of things I just had to keep the right body for my job. So I don't get hungry anymore. At lest I'm not fat. If I don't have the right body I don't get tips as much as they other girls. I need well needed now. I needed those tips to stay alive. "Alright lets go." Andy said turning around and walking down the hall. I followed behind him. Down the hall and out the door. We started walking to what I guessing the parking lot. When we got there I seen four guys and three girls standing there. 'Man I really they hope they like me. I want them to like me if I'm going to have to live with them I could always leave though. That's still something I could do.' I told myself trying to clam down. "Hey guys this is Emily." Andy said when we got to them.

Part 1 Part 2

[machine-gunn-eddie]

Sierra Oscar Sierra

Parings: Ambrollreigns, Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns

Rating: T

The Hounds of Justice find themselves on a deserted island. Island AU, with a pinch of ambrollreigns for flavor.

Seth was the first to arise; unperturbed in his still half awake state.

Oh hey look, the ocean, he thought, rubbing the crud out of his eyes. Followed by, wait, why the fuck is the ocean in my hotel room?

A quick look around revealed several things: his shield mates lying in the sand, their luggage carelessly piled close by, and the beach they were on sure as hell wasn’t their hotel room.

“Roman, Dean! Wake up!” he hissed.

“Wassup?” Roman mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  He too, looked around them, before turning back to Seth with a confused look. “We get drunk?”

“Don’t think so,” Seth replied, shaking his head. “I thought we were headed to the hotel? Do you remember anything? Dean?”

Their only response was Dean rolling over in the sand.

“Dean,” Seth repeated.

“Mmmgh.”

“Goddammit Dean, we’re stranded on an island, get the hell up,” Seth ground out, punching his shoulder.

“Well sierra, hotel, I don’t give a fuck,” Dean sneered, rubbing at his shoulder. “Couldn’t let me get another minute of sleep huh? Wait a second, where the hell are we?” Dean asked, finally taking a look around.

The Hounds of Justice surveyed the landscape they found themselves on with equally confused looks.

“Well damn,” Dean laughed, getting up and stretching. “Looks like we won a tropical getaway for three. Always wanted a proper vacation.”

“We’re supposed to be on tour,” Roman reminded. “Not much of a vacation. I think we’re just lost.”

“We were supposed to go to an island resort, if I recall. Something about summer press?” Seth shrugged. “I guess we made it to AN island. Not sure if it’s THE island.”

“Well we can’t have gotten that far off the beaten path, right? They’re probably looking for us right now.”

“Alright, we’ll just focus on surviving until we get found by a search party,” the Architect planned, pacing through the sand. “We’ll need to build a fire, find shelter, find clear water, go hunting—where’s Dean?”

Seth and Roman both looked over to see Dean running down to the shoreline, pulling his shirt off as he went.

“Now he’s got the right idea,” Roman laughed, pulling his own shirt over his head. Seth sputtered and blushed, prompting Roman to grab his hand and drag him down to the water himself.

“A little more to the right! No, your other right! Right there!” Dean hollered.

“I still can’t reach it!” Seth yelled, from his perch on Roman’s shoulders. Roman was holding tightly to his ankles while he reached for the top of the palm tree.

“Are you kidding me?” Dean yelled back.

Roman shifted his shoulders up, and Seth stretched as far as he could, but he still couldn’t reach the coconuts. Seth let out a groan of frustration, grabbing onto the tree for balance.

“It’s no use man, I can’t reach it,” Seth yelled down. Dean only blinked in response, staring up at the tree in thought.

“Yo Rome, how much can you deadlift?” Dean questioned.

“Enough,” Roman grunted. “Why?”

“Seth, hug that tree like it’s magnetic brother. Ro, brace yourself,” Dean called, backing up a few paces.

“What? Why— oh hell no !” Roman yelled, as Dean kicked off his back, nearly smashing Roman’s face into the tree trunk had he not steadied himself. Seth let out a similar yell as Dean used him as a human ladder, scrambling up to the top of the palm tree like a jeans-wearing monkey.

“Got em!” Dean hollered, knocking a few coconuts loose and throwing them down.

“Get your crotch out of my face !” Seth shouted, clinging to the tree like a sloth with a bleach job.

“Why? I thought you liked having my crotch in your face?” Dean cooed.

“I’m going to fucking powerbomb you both,” Roman growled, shaking from the effort of lifting his shield mates.

“That’s gotta be the ugliest sandcastle I’ve ever seen, Seth. You should be ashamed,” Roman chuckled, sitting down next to Seth who was methodically packing wet sand together. It resembled a hill with a stick coming out of the top, surrounded by a very uneven wall.

“Screw you,” Seth huffed. “Do you know how hard it is to make one without a bucket?”

“Aren’t you an Architect?”

The fastball of wet sand that slammed into Roman’s face in response made him laugh even harder.

“How exactly are we going to make a fire anyway?” Roman considered, dumping another armful of kindling and sticks onto the pile they had gathered.

“Don’t you just, rub two sticks together? Or something?” Seth replied with a shrug. “Shouldn’t be that hard.”

“I take it back, this is fucking hard,” Seth snarled, tossing the snapped sticks into the pile of broken ones surrounding him.

“You’ve been at this forever man,” Roman sympathized, “Take a breather.”

“I can’t believe that none of us had matches in our bags. Or a lighter, or something,” Seth gritted, kicking out at some of the discarded sticks in anger.

“Sorry man, I got rid of mine when I quit smoking,” Dean said remorsefully. “Wait a sec, do you have all your gear packed?”

“Yes?” Seth responded, unsure of what Dean could be planning.

“Give me 10,” Dean called out, jogging over to their luggage.

10 minutes, the batteries of Roman’s hair dryer, some coat hanger wire, some of Dean’s ace tape, and some body oil that Seth reluctantly parted with later, Dean had started a fire.

“That’s actually really impressive,” Roman noted, watching Dean throw more chunks of wood onto the inferno.

“How the actual hell,” Seth wondered, still entranced by Dean’s MacGyver-level creation.

“I watch a lot of Survivorman,” Dean said, nonchalantly.

“God this is so uncomfortable. I’m never complaining about a shitty hotel room again,” Seth whined, curling up tighter to Roman’s side. The sand beneath them wasn’t that gritty, but the ground wasn’t exactly a plush mattress either.

“C’mon Seth, it ain’t so bad,” Dean snorted on the other side of Roman, “I once slept on a park bench for like, two weeks when I was a teenager. Now that was uncomfortable.” Seth felt Roman subtly pull Dean closer like he always did whenever Dean mentioned his childhood. “Now we got this nice fire going and you guys are with me. I couldn’t be happier.”

“And we couldn’t be either,” Roman replied, tucking his chin down to rest on Dean’s unruly hair. “Right Seth?”

“Yeah,” Seth murmured, reaching out to grasp Dean’s forearm. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

They fell asleep under the stars in a massive tangle of limbs, content in their closeness.

“Will you friggin’ hold still? Sheesh,” Seth muttered, smearing charcoal onto Dean’s face in abstract swirls. “I don’t understand why we gotta do this.”

“Oh, come on! Where’s your island spirit Rollins?” Dean teased, his grin further skewing the warpaint. “If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna go all in.” ‘All in,’ to Dean, meant tearing their cargos into shorts and wearing some Shield bandanas as armbands and headgear. (“Functional and fashionable,” Dean had claimed.)

“Alright, you’re done,” Seth declared, hoping Dean appreciated his effort. “Roman, you’re up next.”

“Nah, he’s already tribal-looking enough,” Dean cut in, as Roman made his way over.

“Dude, that’s racist,” Seth scowled.

“I meant his big ass tattoo!” Dean laughed, holding his hands up in surrender.

“You mean this one?” Roman rumbled, wrapping his right arm around Dean in a chokehold.

Dean made a show of struggling pitifully against Roman, getting Seth and Rome to laugh at his antics. When he was released, however, he immediately spun around and tackled Roman, sending both rolling in the sand.

Seth laughed and joined in, sliding across the beach as a stand in referee.

They ended up a sandy, sweaty mess, laughing and cheering and victorious.

“This is Mitch,” Dean presented, holding said person in his hands.

“Where did you find a volleyball?” Seth said in wonder. They had yet to see any signs of civilization, but if Dean had found a volleyball that meant—

“This is Mitch, ” Dean hissed, upset. “He’s not a volleyball, he’s my friend.”

“Hi Mitch,” Roman said without a single hint of insincerity. “Glad you’re keeping Dean company.”

“Can we talk for a sec, Ro? Just you and I?” Seth asked, interrupting any further conversation with the ball. Dean scowled, but let Seth drag Roman away and out of earshot.

“Why do you always appease him?!” Seth demanded, waving in Dean’s direction. “He’s talking to a volleyball for crying out loud, why are you letting him act crazy?!”

“Why not?” Roman shrugged. “He’s always been a little crazy. But that’s just Dean. Wouldn’t have him any other way.”

“But it’s a volleyball.”

“And it makes him happy, so let him have it Seth.”

“…fine.”

“Ow, shit.”

Roman looked over from where he was hacking at a coconut with a sharp rock to see Seth cradling his left hand over his coconut, his own rock on the ground beside him, blood pooling in his palm.

“Put pressure on it babe,” Roman urged, kneeling down in front of Seth. Seth applied pressure, wincing as he did so.

“How deep do you think it is?” Roman asked, wrapping his own hands around Seth’s.

“Not that deep,” Seth murmured. “Hopefully.” They both watched as blood leaked out from between Seth’s hands, leaving little red stains in the sand.

“I got it,” Roman said, standing up. Seth watched him suddenly take off his tank top, enthralled, but confused.

From somewhere behind Seth, Dean whistled.

“Take a picture Dean, it’ll last longer,” Roman laughed, tearing the shirt apart in his hands. He then tore it further into strips, and, gently prying Seth’s hands apart, wrapped his cut palm with one.

“There,” Roman declared, tying the wrap securely. He bent down and gently kissed the makeshift bandage. “Better?”

“Always,” Seth smiled, resting his good hand on Roman’s cheek. “Thanks Rome.”

“We still need to find fresh water,” Seth noted, surveying what supplies they had collected.

“Mitch knows where we can find some.”

“For the love of god Dean, Mitch is a—”

“Very good friend,” Roman interrupted, throwing a hand over Seth’s mouth.

A short trek through the jungle later, and the Shield (plus Mitch) found themselves sitting on the bank of a freshwater stream.

“His dumb luck never ceases to amaze me,” Seth grumbled, watching Dean walk along the river, chatting with Mitch. “No way that stupid volleyball knew the landscape.”

“You’re just jealous,” Roman teased. “You’re crabby because he’s spending time with Mitch and not you.”

“It’s a volleyball, Ro. ”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“What the hell was that?” Dean hissed, stopping Seth from going any further through the path they had beat into the jungle brush.

“What was what?” Seth said, looking around.

Some ungodly noise, like a cross between a roar and a screech, sounded out, making both Shield members freeze up in panic.

“That!” Dean whispered, shaking off the fear and dragging Seth behind a rock formation close by. “What the hell was that?!”

“I don’t know!” Seth hissed back, risking a peek around the rock, before ducking back quickly.

“Where’s Roman when you need him,” Dean muttered, as another shrill sounded out. “He’s better at all this tropical stuff,”

“That’s racist,” Seth said with a sharp elbow.

“I meant he’s from Florida, numbnuts.”

“Well it’s not like he’s from the Everglades— shit!” Seth breathed, as another terrible sound resounded.

“I wasn’t exactly planning on going out this way,” Dean began, turning Seth to look him dead in the eyes. “But I want you to know that I’ve always hated your taste in music.”

“I love you too—wait what? What do you mean you’ve always hated—oh god is it coming closer?! ” Seth whispers as footsteps could be heard approaching.

“Hi guys,” Roman interrupted, his familiar frame appearing from around the pile of rocks. “What are you doing?”

“Get down!” Seth said, pulling on Roman’s tattooed arm. “There’s something out there!”

Whatever mysterious predator was, in fact, out there took that moment to scream again.

“Jesus,” Roman breathed.

“Quick, Roman, yell back at it!”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You know,” Seth urged, “The thing you do in the ring? Before a spear?”

“That’s actually the dumbest idea,” Dean laughed.

“Well it’s the only one I’ve got!” Seth bit. “Unless you want to try to fight whatever that is!” The screech echoed right on cue.

“Okay,” Roman hastily agreed, standing up and walking around the rock pile. Seth and Dean peeked up from behind to watch.

Roman breathed deep, swinging his arms out wildly while bellowing out a war cry that would have sent an opponent scrambling back up the ramp, had he been in the ring.

A fluttering, shrieking mass of feathers (what was it, a peacock from hell?) flew out of a tree nearby, letting out that ungodly sound as it went.

“It was a bird, idiots,” huffed Roman.

“Awwwwh,” Dean whined, despondent. “I really wanted to see you spear Bigfoot or something.”

“You’re jealous.”

“I am not.”

“You are and it’s adorable.”

Roman and Seth sat poking at the fire, while they watched Dean in the distance sitting and chatting with Mitch.

“Whatever,” Seth dismissed, watching the sparks fly before looking back out at Dean. “I wonder what he’s even saying?”

“—and he’s super tough looking but he’s really just a big teddy bear, I swear. He looks like such a badass putting people through tables and stuff, but damn if he ain’t a big softie,” Dean whispered to Mitch. “And Seth is super smart, and can do all these cool acrobatic moves. People call us ‘wrestling soulmates,’ isn’t that crazy?”

“I just love them both a ton, y’know? Sorry to get all gushy on ya, Mitch.”

“Well hey don’t be telling the fans that, ok? They don’t need to know I’m a sap.”

“Nah, I’m kidding, I know you wouldn’t.”

“Thanks Mitch.”

“I’m not sleeping with the fucking volleyball,” Seth spat.

“It’s Mitch, ” Dean hissed. “And he’ll get cold!”

“Oh my god,” Seth bemoaned, “They warned us you know. ‘It’s not really a gimmick.’ No, of course you had to be actually nuts.”

“Mitch can sleep with us,” Roman invited, ignoring Seth’s rant entirely.

“No, he can’t!”

“Do you want to sleep somewhere else then Seth?” Roman asked with a tone chock full of Don’t-Fuck-With-Me.

“I—no, no I want to sleep here,” Seth mumbled. He couldn’t resist Dean’s grade-A puppy dog eyes anyway. “Mitch can stay.”

“Thanks Seth,” Dean whispered, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Seth wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t.

He couldn’t be, not when he was sitting next to the stupid thing, waiting for Roman and Dean to get back with some supplies, right?

Except he wanted to be the only one waiting. The only one they were looking forward to seeing when they returned.

The volleyball isn’t even a person, Seth, part of his brain chided.

Fuck that stupid volleyball, the other part of his brain screamed.

He stole a glance at Mitch. Dean had found some sharpies in their bags left over from autograph sessions and had given the volleyball some sort of smiley face.

A smiley face Seth wanted to punch.

“What Dean doesn’t know won’t hurt him, huh?” Seth muttered, reaching over to pick up the ball and sneering at his stupid inked on face.

Hey fuck you too, Crossfit Weasel Jesus, said a voice.

Seth was suddenly tremendously glad Roman and Dean weren’t around to see him holler and drop the seemingly mundane volleyball in fear.

“Ro, check it out! There’s a cave!” Dean shouted, immediately stepping inside. “Maybe we’ll find some crabs or something.”

“Or maybe an angry dragon,” Roman joked, ducking his head into what turned out to be a relatively spacious cavern.

“We could take out a dragon no problem,” Dean assured, searching around the driftwood.

The rock suddenly shook with the force of the thunder pealing outside; a flash of lightning illuminating the crevices of the cave.

“See? Now you’ve pissed off the dragon,” Roman laughed, wrapping his arms around Dean’s middle.

“Where the hell are they?!” a very damp Seth Rollins demanded while tucked under a cluster of trees.

Maybe they left you for good, a sinister voice snickered.

“Fuck off,” Seth grunted, sneezing. The fire had sputtered out under the assault of the sudden downpour, and Seth was left shivering under what cover he could find. “You’re not even real.”

A gust of wind suddenly rolled the volleyball across the sand, colliding with Seth’s thigh, who looked down at his face in terror.

Am I, Seth? the voice taunted, as thunder roared and lightning flashed, illuminating the menacing marker mug of his rounded rival.

“Shut up,” Seth sneered weakly, as he tried to clear his face of the wet hair plastered to it.

They headed off towards the bluff you know. Probably ended up in a cave.

“You think so?” Seth asked, trying his best to keep his teeth from chattering.

I’d bet on it. I could show you where they went.

“You’d be willing to help me?” Seth asked with astonishment.

Anything to not have to deal with your bitching for a night, Mitch snickered.

“Think he’ll be okay without us?” Dean inquired, shoving his face into Roman’s neck.

“Seth’s a big boy,” Roman assured, brushing through Dean’s greasy hair. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. We’ll climb back up as soon as the rain lets up babe. It’s too dangerous right now. Seth’d kill us if we broke an ankle trying to get back up to him.”

“M’kay,” Dean whispered, trying to absorb Roman’s body heat. He squished in closer, hoping Seth was keeping dry somewhere back at their base camp.

“Fucking ow, ” Seth hissed, as the third—the THIRD—tree branch sprung back and smacked him in the face.

He resolutely ignored the grating cackle from the volleyball cradled in his arms.

The mud had turned the earth into a veritable Slip-n-Slide, and every step Seth took was a chance at being dragged down into it. He found himself windmilling more than once, praying that the goddamn rain would just let up already.

“You had better not be fucking with me,” Seth growled, trudging further in the direction Mitch had dictated. His only reply was another grinding laugh from the volleyball as he continued his fight through the storm.

“BIG DOG! JACKASS! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Is that Seth?” Roman asked, looking incredulously towards the mouth of the cave. It was hard to hear over the noise of the waves and rain hammering the shore.

“I dunno,” Dean shrugged, getting up to investigate. He cupped his hands around his mouth before yelling “OVER HERE, EDGELORD!” out into the night.

Dean had seconds to prepare before Seth stumbled in, tripping over the driftwood and nearly taking Dean the hell out.

“Hello to you too, Rollins,” Dean laughed, shouldering Seth’s weight. “Enjoy your shower?”

“Screw you man,” Seth snorted, letting the volleyball fall out of his hands. He shook his hair out next to Dean just to spite him.

“You went all the way here in the damn rain?” Roman wondered, coming over to give Seth an inspection. “You’re freezing man, Jesus.”

“Didn’t want to be alone,” Seth explained, trying to wipe his face off with little success. “Didn’t want you guys alone either. I brought the fire starter,” Seth explained, fishing it out of his pockets.

“Thank god,” Dean moaned, snatching it out of Seth’s hands and working on gathering up the driftwood. “I’m sure you slid down here just fine, but we’re stuck down here until the rain stops.”

“Come on,” Roman murmured, tugging on Seth’s waterlogged shirt. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

Though the storm raged outside, the Shield were safe in each other’s arms for another night.

(Mitch didn’t like being left out very much.)

“I swear to God Rome, it’s alive!”

“You don’t believe in God,” Roman hummed, remaining calm where Seth only felt panic.

“I don't—damn it Roman listen to me!” Seth demanded, pounding the sand around him in frustration, having relocated back to base camp when morning came.

“You know I love you Seth, but your neurosis is killing me over here,” Roman grunted, slowly sharpening a homemade spear.

Seth took a deep breath, pushing a few wild curls of dark brown hair back behind his ear. Sure, Roman was the “unshakable” member of the Shield; which was both grounding for Seth, and gave him the urge to punch Roman in the face.

(And then kiss him. You know, apologetically.)

“Ok, one more time, just bear with me, alright? You know I’m only watching out for us.”

Roman grunted a noncommittal noise that Seth took as yes Seth, your paranoia has always been for good reason, please continue.

“The volleyball talks Rome, it actually talks. ”

Roman paused in his whittling to furrow his eyebrows at Seth, who awaited his response with bated breath.

“Are you feeling alright Seth? Have you been sleeping okay?” Roman said, his voice full of concern.

“I’m fine,” Seth sighed. He was weak to a Roman in full Dad Mode™. “I think?”

“Maybe the island’s getting to you. Why don’t you go take a nap?”

“Alright,” Seth surrendered. Maybe he was getting a little island crazy.

Rise and shine, you power ranger wannabe.

Seth’s eyes snapped open at the sound of that absolutely enraging voice.

And no, he totally, absolutely, did not under any circumstances scream at the sight of Mitch right in his face.

Behind him, Dean sat up at the sound of screaming, eyes darting wildly to find an unseen attacker.

“Jesus Seth, where’s the fuckin’ fire?”

“Why is this thing here?” Seth demanded, pointing at the terrifying sight of the volleyball.

“Oh,” Dean said, “Roman said you weren’t sleeping too well so I put Mitch there to help you sleep. Thought we’d join in on naptime.”

Seth just stares at the stupid white ball, unsure of what to say.

“Thanks,” he eventually replies, through gritted teeth.

Seth stealthily strode across the sand, careful not to wake up the sleeping forms of his brothers-in-arms. Night had fallen and he had used the darkness to sneak off with the object of his despisal.

Mitch.

“Alright, just who the hell are you?” Seth whispered, glaring at the terribly drawn on and slightly smudged face of the volleyball. He held it away from him like it was a dangerous animal, ready to claw him.

Mitch, said the round, squishy ball. But you already knew that, didn’t you, jackass?

“I’m hallucinating,” Seth reassured himself, holding the ball up with one hand to inspect it. “I’m dreaming, I’m seeing things…hell, maybe I took a knock in the ring and the island isn’t real at all.”

This ain’t LOST, slimeball, cackled that eerie voice. You’re going crazy, you’re going crazy, it chanted, mockingly.

“Shut up, ” Seth grated, wanting nothing more than to spike it so hard it burned up in the atmosphere. “How can you even talk?”

Wouldn’t you like to know.

“I would! What the fuck is your problem with me?!” Seth crushed the ball between his hands, feeling a little joy when the sides of it pressed in a little bit.

You’re not good enough for them.

“What?”

You heard me. They deserve better. You’re weak, Seth Rollins. Pathetic. You think they love you? How could they?

“No,” Seth said, dropping the ball and watching it roll back, stopping with its Sharpie smirk still looking at him. “You’re wrong.”

Am I? I’m already replacing you. Dean should be spending time with someone who cares.

“I care,” Seth snapped, fists clenching, “I care so fucking much.” He paced closer to shadow the ball, reaching into his pocket to grip the sharpened rock he had taken with him. “Don’t you dare tell me I don’t. We could break up to-fucking-morrow and they’d still be my brothers. My family.”

You sure? Maybe you will break up tomorrow. I don’t think Dean will like you threatening his best friend behind his back, Mitch sneered.

“Then I guess we just can’t let him find out, can we?” Seth said, using the voice he normally reserved for promos from an “undisclosed location.” He pulled the sharpened rock out, gripping it like a knife.

What do you think you’re doing—NO! Mitch screamed, as Seth dropped to one knee and slammed the rock into the ball. A small puncture was made, indicated by a quiet hssss noise, and Seth swung again and again to make some more.

He stood back up, looking down at the slowly collapsing ball, watching its face start to droop.

Fuuuuk you Rollinssss, the volleyball slurred, its marker mouth collapsing. ‘Mmm betterrrr than youuuuu’ll everrrrr beee—

“Die,” Seth snarled, executing a vicious Curb Stomp, making the ball instantly flatten with a satisfying pop!

“Hey guys, have you seen Mitch?” Dean asked, interrupting Roman and Seth’s chit chat over the fire.

“Nope,” Roman said, turning over one of the fish he’d (miraculously) speared and was now roasting for breakfast. “I thought he was with you?”

“Nah,” Dean replied. “You seen him Seth?”

“No, sorry,” Seth said, shaking his head. If there’s a hell, I’m going for this , he thought, observing Dean’s reaction.

“Must have rolled off somewhere,” Dean concluded, without a hint of suspicion, much to Seth’s delight. “I’ll find him later. What’s new with you guys?” Dean said, plunking down at the fire pit right next to Seth.

Seth knew he should feel guilty, he should feel remorse, he should be begging for forgiveness from the man he loves. Instead, all he felt was rightness, having Dean’s attention all to himself and Roman.

Fuck that stupid volleyball, he thought, grinning at his brothers.

“Rome, Seth…”

Roman and Seth look over from where they were playing an intense game of sand-drawn checkers to see Dean approaching, head hung low; cradled in his arms the remains of a deflated, mutilated volleyball.

Oh no, Seth thinks. Of course Dean would wander far enough to find where he’d buried Mitch. Of course he would trip over his shallow grave. Of fucking course.

“What happened Dean?” Roman asks, putting his hands on his shoulder comfortingly.

“Just found him buried like this,” Dean whispers. He’s not gonna cry, (even with the two people he trusts the most, it’s too vulnerable an act for Dean) but Seth can tell he’s choking up. It’s heartbreaking, and Seth feels like such a scumbag he wants to run down to the shoreline and let the sea take him away.

“I’m sorry uce,” Roman says, giving Dean a hug. “I know he was your friend.”

“Yeah,” Seth manages to spit out, “I’m sorry Dean.”

“But who did it?” Dean wonders, pulling away from Roman’s arms to look at the pathetic sports equipment’s corpse. “There’s only the 3 of us on this island, as far as we know.”

“You know we wouldn’t Dean,” Roman rumbles, squeezing Dean’s shoulders. “Right Seth?”

Seth, for all his bravado about being “the Architect” and “the man with a plan,” instantly forgets whatever the hell he was going to say when both Dean and Roman look over at him expectantly.

“I uh, yeah,” Seth responds, shifting uncomfortably. Jesus, he can lie through his teeth about anything else, but for some reason him taking away something Dean liked—a stupid volleyball —makes him feel incredibly guilty.

“Seth,” Roman breathes, “You didn’t.”

Seth looks Roman in the eye, but seeing the disappointment on his face, he can’t bring himself to reply.

“Don’t bullshit me, Rollins,” Dean barks, shoving away from Roman to point at Seth, the ‘Rollins’ making Seth cringe. Dean was already pissed, it seemed. “You hated Mitch. Don’t bullshit me.”

“Fine, alright!” Seth shouts, going on the defensive. “I did it. I killed Mitch. He deserved it, Dean. He deserved it. ”

That halts Dean in his tracks, as if he didn’t expect Seth to plead guilty that fast. (Which to be fair, he probably didn’t. Seth just wants this to be over with as fast as possible.) Dean pauses, lowering that accusing finger, the gears in his head clearly turning, his expression changing from anger incarnate to a smirk that should be labeled as a lethal weapon. Roman looks back and forth, torn between defending Seth and backing Dean.

“I’m going to murder you, Seth Rollins,” Dean growls.

Roman suddenly tenses, barely resisting a shudder, seeing the look on Dean’s face. Dean’s always been animated, but it’s as if the Dean he had seen back in FCW, the one with a chip on his shoulder the size of the moon and barbed wire scars that hadn’t faded, had astrally projected onto whatever hunk of rock and sand they had found themselves on.

“And nobody’s gonna find your body,” Dean continues, pacing closer to Seth like a predator, “‘Cause I’m gonna bury it right in this fuckin’ beach.”

Roman isn’t sure whether to laugh or cry at the sudden mental image of himself in Vince’s office, having to sit in front of his desk and say “I’m sorry Vince, they killed each other over a volleyball, there was nothing I could do—”

The Authority would be happy, at least.

“Dean, I swear, it was for your own good!” Seth shouts, not willing to back down from any fight.

“You murder my friend and claim it’s ‘for my own good?’ That’s rich Seth, even coming from you,” Dean snorts, cracking his knuckles. “My ass, Rollins. Now put up or shut up because—”

“Ambrose! Is that you?”

The Hounds of Justice collectively jump and turn to see none other than Chris Jericho gracefully exit the brush, followed by, oddly enough, Fandango. Both are rocking swim trunks and sunglasses, with Chris exchanging his usual scarf for a brightly colored beach towel. The heat of the moment is lost, the confusion of finding their coworkers defusing whatever was about to go down between brothers.

“Where the hell have you guys been? Management’s been having a field day looking for you all,” Jericho laughs, giving them all an eye over. “What, Reigns decide to give you a tropical tour?”

“That’s racist,” Fandango notes.

“I meant he’s from Florida,” Jericho replies, adjusting his towel-scarf. “Seriously though, where have you been?”

“We’ve been here, on this fucking island!” Seth seethes, his anger from before kicking back up in the face of Jericho’s casual exchange. “How the hell did you even get here?!”

“We walked from the hotel,” Chris supplies. “Y’know, other side of the island, just beyond the river?”

The Shield go dead silent in response, until Seth breaks it with a scream of indignation, spinning on his heels and kicking at the sand behind him. Dean and Roman don’t stop him when he walks several paces down the beach, to continue his tantrum.

“Wait a second, I thought you guys didn’t even like each other?” Dean asks, looking from Chris to Fandango.

“We have tans to work on,” Fandango supplies, in his airy whisper-talk. “Obviously. ‘Mania was the past, our beach bodies are the present and future,” he says, as if his words are sage advice.

“So you guys seriously never walked back to the hotel?” The Man of 1004 Holds wonders, clearly amused by the Shield’s predicament. “I heard Uncle Vince wanted someone to prank you guys, but I don’t think he counted on you being that dumb.”

“Oh yeah? Well I’ll make sure they dump your bedazzled ass on the shore next time,” Roman threatens to Chris, who is now barely containing his laughter. Beside him, Fandango squints at Roman.

“You’re not even a real justice,” ‘Dango says accusingly. “There, I said it.”

“Fan-DANG-oh,” Dean counters, grinning, “Can I get some movie tickets?”

Chris is quick to grab ‘Dango’s arm and drag him off as he starts his rant (It’s Fahn-DAHN-go, you uncultured uggo!) shouting something about seeing them back at the hotel as he leads them to the shore. Seth takes that moment to return, looking decidedly less murderous but very much tired and irritated.

“Were we fighting just a minute ago?” Dean asks Seth, who glances over at him wearily.

“Yeah, I killed Mitch, remember?”

“Oh,” Dean breathes. A sad look passes over his face, but he doesn’t seem nearly as angry as before. “Why ‘ya do it?”

“He kept taunting me. Talked smack like a pro,” Seth chuckles.

“He talked to you?”

“Yes? He didn’t talk to you?”

“Volleyballs don’t talk, Seth. I talked to Mitch, but I thought I just made up his replies in here,” Dean explains, rapping his knuckles on his own forehead. “Right?”

“No, he actually talked to me.”

The Hounds of Justice look at the remains of Mitch with shared expressions of suspicion and possibly terror.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Roman suggests.

“Hell yeah,” Dean agrees, kicking the deflated volleyball somewhere in the distance.

“I call ordering room service,” Seth laughs, beginning the trek to the hotel.

The Shield head off into the jungle for the last time, more than ready to put their island experience behind them, and fight over the hotel room shower.

[howwearestories]

Saturday, September 9th we photographed Depeche Mode and Warpaint at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

LA-based indie rockers Warpaint kicked off the show with a great set. Their latest record Heads Up came out last year on Rough Trade Records.

English electronic band Depeche Mode hit the stage next. It has been over thirty-five years since the band formed and the trio is still packing out arenas across the world. Saturday night’s show was full of fans, both young and old, eager to dance and sing along. They got their set started with “Going Backwards”, “So Much Love” and “Barrel of Gun” and ended the night with “Heroes” (David Bowie cover), “I Feel You” and “Personal Jesus”, being sure to give the crowd plenty of classics mixed in with songs from the band’s newest album, Spirit.

The Global Spirit Tour continues through October hitting cities across the U.S. and Canada. More info and links to tickets can be found here.

Check out more photos from the show on our Facebook page here.

All photos © Andy Jimenez/How We Are 2017

[undasdotco]

Esok! Warpaint Live in Jakarta, The First Ever Concert in Indonesia

Esok! Warpaint Live in Jakarta, The First Ever Concert in Indonesia

Dalam hitungan jam para penggemar Warpaint bakal menikmati sajian dari Warpaint’s the one and only South-East Asian show, yang dipersembhakan oleh Wire It Up!

Menjadi satu-satunya Negara yang dikunjungi oleh Group indi rock Amerika Serikat, Warpaint, membuat Warpaint Live in Jakarta diincar tidak hanya dari dalam negeri namun juga beberapa pecinta Warpaint dari luar negeri seperti Malaysia,…