YAYY shoe repair said my boots will be ready on thursday instead of saturday

Chase Koeneke's Top 10 Games of 2022

I think in general, I found myself wanting in 2022. While new games in some of my favorite franchises saw releases, very few lived up to the expectations I had for them. I also just completely missed games that would almost assuredly make this list (Hardspace Shipbreaker, Immortality, Pentiment, Coromon, Chained Echoes, the list goes on). But what did make the list? Let's find out.

10. Digimon Survive

Look, I promised myself this would be my token tenth slot, and it’s not because it deserves it. Digimon Survive isn’t very good. Its strategy parts are thin and tedious, plagued by low movement ranges and bad maps. And its visual novel parts go on way too long, yet rarely offer much depth. 

But dammit, there’s something here, and with some adjustments, a sequel to Digimon Survive could be really good (though I’m not sure it’ll get that chance.) The art style is excellent, the writing is solid (again, it’s an issue of quantity and redundancy, not necessarily quality) and outside of one or two of them, I ended up really connecting to both the characters and the Digimon. Other games deserve this slot more, but there was no other game I wanted to like more than this, and I think that accounts for something.

9. Platformer Toolkit

I love playing games, but I think I love analyzing them even more, which is probably why Mark Brown’s video-essay-inside-a-video-game appealed to me so much. Mark Brown’s YouTube channel, Game Maker’s Toolkit breaks down game mechanics, theory and psychology, and after he taught himself Unity this year (documenting his progress on the channel), he built a game that gave a tiny window into the the minds of game developers. 

Platformer Toolkit is a simple browser-based 2D platformer, but it controls like garbage. This is by design though! Mark walks and talks you through the physics of character movement, unlocks sliders and panels in a Mario Maker style design that lets you tweak everything from jump height and run speed to squash frames and coyote time. And once you’ve finished the short and free experience, Mark opens up a number of presets that lets you toggle through a group of classic platformer physics setups (Mario, Sonic, Celeste, Meat Boy, etc.) so you can compare and gain a greater appreciation for why those characters control the way they do. It was really compelling and I felt like a learned a ton.

8. Marvel's Midnight Suns

I’ve felt this way for years and I haven’t been shy in saying it: I’m fucking tired of superheroes. Throw them all in the bin right next to zombies and let’s find a new thing to obsess over please. But I do love me a turn-based strategy game, so when the makers of XCOM: Enemy Unknown announced they were making a game based on Marvel heroes, the pros outweighed the cons, and I checked it out. And while I’m not back on the MCU train (in fact, the writing is so, so, so Marveliciously awful, that I’ve started skipping cutscenes whole cloth), I’m finding myself addicted to the game parts of this game. 

Midnight Suns does not play like XCOM. At all. It’s an entirely new, card-based system, played in very small arenas. You’re always outnumbered and you always have a very limited numbered of actions available to you each turn. To overcome this, you have to employ clever strategy to make the most of every move, using attacks to bounce enemies off each other or parts of the environment, disabling the most vicious threats and finding the perfect opportunity to burn an action on achieving an objective. And while I never could thematically wrap my head around why these larger than life super-beings were all fighting in these cramped little spaces, the fact is, it’s just a really fun system to play around in. 

7. Vampire Survivors

More than any other game this year, Vampire Survivors justified my purchase of a Steam Deck. That sounds weird, right? I spent over $500 on a thing just to play a $5 game on it most of the time? But, uh, Vampire Survivors really is that good. This horde mode meets roguelike with a thick coat of Castlevania paint and a sprinkle of idle game sensibilities just kept sucking the hours right out of me. 

While the game on its own is fun enough, the real secret to the game’s success is, well, it’s the secrets. Finding the right combination of active and passive power-ups leads to special ultimate upgrades that turn you into an absolute buzzsaw of destruction against screen-filling masses of enemies. The more you play, the more fun, new toys you unlock, compelling you to try just one more run. A compulsion I would often give into. 

6. Citizen Sleeper

I was so hot on Citizen Sleeper when I first loaded it up. I’ve followed Guillaume “blackysan” Singelin’s work for awhile now, and seeing their work translated to a video game was really exciting. And the writing, my god, the writing! I hung on most every word. And its dice-heavy tabletop game mechanics and extremely limited resources brought in a satisfying combo of luck and desperation that gave me a real sense of scrounging and stretching for survival. 

And then I realized that the game rarely allows the player to fail, almost always throwing them a bone at the last minute, never fully committing to the survival tale the story would have you believe. And about two-thirds of the way through the game, the economy just falls apart completely, as any reasonably competent player can amass more than enough resources to live comfortably, even while the story tries to convince you otherwise. 

It was a real heartbreaker to me, one that partially led to me taking the first potential ending the game presented. But the more distance I get from it, the less I think about the busted economy and the more I think about my sleeper, and the choices and friends she made along the way. And thinking about that makes me smile.

5. Live A Live

Man, I wish Live A Live had gotten a western release back on the Super Nintendo. I know young Chase would’ve loved the JRPG-meets-turn-based-strategy combat, the amazing music and the fragmented story that stars multiple protagonists in different time periods. I know this because current Chase loved it, especially with this HD 2D touchup it got on the Nintendo Switch. Is it better than Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy? I mean…maybe? The fact that it’s even a question at all speaks to how good Live A Live is. 

It’s so inventive for its era. Heck, it’s still inventive today, playing with both genre and expectations to create something unique while wearing its influences proudly on its sleeve. More RPGs should’ve taken cues from Live A Live. And they still should. 

4. Triangle Strategy

Oh look, another turn-based strategy game. Oh, and it’s HD 2D too? Yup, I have a type, and Triangle Strategy almost fits it to a t. The game tells a grand story that genuinely gripped me (even though the voice acting often didn’t), and offered real, tangible choice leading to different story paths, character recruitments and endings. 

And while the battle mechanics weren’t perfect, there was enough depth and variety from the different characters that I took great pleasure in building each soldier up, unlocking new skills and equipping with new gear, looking for synergistic combinations. I love tactics games that make me care about my characters, and I fell hard for this cast of knuckleheads.

3. Tinykin

One of my favorite gimmicks in media is shrinking down and exploring a normal-sized space as a tiny character. I love the MacGuyverness of recontextualizing modern household objects as buildings, tools and transportation. And Tinykin has this in spades. In this miniature adventure, you explore kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and greenhouses as you collect Pikmin-like Tinykin — creatures that help you navigate the world and solve its objective-based puzzles. 

Tinykin has no combat, just chill, puzzling vibes that allow for curiosity and coziness to walk hand in hand. And as your posse of Tinykin grows, you roll deeper and deeper with your crew, until you are masterfully climbing, gliding and sliding about these creative spaces. It’s the perfect game to wind down with, and one I’d happily return to if another room got added as DLC.

2. Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Coming into 2022, this is not the Pokemon game I expected to make this list. Legends: Arceus looked awful in trailers: Empty worlds, lifeless combat, no real multiplayer to speak of. And none of those things changed once I got my hands on the final product. What did change though, was my perspective of the game in the first place. 

Legends: Arceus has you exploring an ancient Sinnoh region, in a world where the concept of Pokeballs and capturing Pokemon is just being discovered. Battling Pokemon isn’t all that fun with the new speed and strong style mechanics, but there’s hardly any battling in the game at all. Instead, Legends: Arceus is about the thrill of catching and collecting. It’s the first game in a while that makes “catching them all” feel like a relevant goal again. And the arrival of Alpha Pokemon (which are essentially bigger and rarer versions of their normal counterparts) added yet another layer of collection on top. In a year where Scarlet and Violet mostly disappointed me, Legends: Arceus is what kept me carrying a torch for my beloved pocket monsters.

Neon White

No other game made me feel as smooth, as cool, as fast and as clever as Neon White. Traversing this deadly parkour demon hunting time trial was my favorite experience of the year. I loved parsing out the fastest route through a level, discovering shortcuts and time saves along the way, before spotting a collectible and slowing down to a puzzling crawl to work my way up to where it was hiding. I loved taking on the challenge rooms that require precise and inventive ways of using your arsenal, not just for killing, but for traversal purposes as well, and then taking that knowledge back to the main game and seeing how i could implement it into my runs. 

Just about the only thing I dislike about the game is some of its writing and voice acting. Spike Spiegel himself, Steve Blum does a great job, but very little else of the cast is pulling their weight. 

But when a game makes you feel this damn cool, it just doesn’t matter what little hiccups you encounter. It’s my favorite game of the year, and one I’d probably love even more if I had a dedicated crew on my platform of choice to compete for the best level times. Neon White is a kinetic experience that turned me into a speed runner with every level.

For the OTP questions you reblogged, how about number 4? (I'm on mobile so it's hard to copy/paste it)

Celestial had a bad day

This girl has seen the final days, so you KNOW it's bad when she comes back with her head down, lance dragging beside her, and eyes swollen with tears.

The group had started eating without her, which was not uncommon when she had many tasks to be done for the day.

She shuts the door behind her in silence and turns toward her friends at the table, meeting most faces with smiles, gestures to come join, or a wave from Tataru.

Estinien looks up from his plate and meets her gaze with pure horror. Something is wrong and she's not going to say anything to show it, as is her way.

*Ahem* "Celest, there's actually something I need to show you. If you all would excuse me"

He takes a plate and puts her favorite items onto it and waves her past the table, into the hallway of dorms, and to her room.

Celest opens the door, drops her lance almost immediately, and falls on the bed face down, not even bothering with her boots.

Setting Celest's plate of still hot food down on her table, Stin closes her door, picks up her lance and sets it upright against the wall.

"Your food is here if you want it" he says, making his way to her. "I won't hold it against you if you don't feel up to it"

He takes her boots off, sets them by the door, and slides into the bed next to her in silence.

Celest makes room for him and turns to her side facing the wall, face hot, on the verge of tears.

Stin senses this and gently brushes her hair from her eyes, then wrapping one arm around her waist he settles into her, his face buried between her neck and shoulder.

Her body starts shaking as the tears finally start streaming down her cheeks knowing she can finally let go of the facade in this company.

The grip around her waist becomes tighter and a kiss is planted on her neck behind her ear. "You're safe with me now" he says, and they remain there for as long as it takes for sleep to take over.

Estinien had a bad day

This man is a walking disaster and can relate to everyone else's pain, but he forgets to take himself into consideration, even forgetting that he himself can have bad days.

Walking up to the door of the rising stones he is greeted with the most obnoxiously friendly lalafel waiting for him to hand over the ingredients gathered that day.

He hands her the prize: a basket of freshly picked mushrooms and berries. His part of the task. Nothing more. Once it was handed over, he turned on his heel and started walking away.

"Thank you, Ser Estinien, dinner will be ready in a bell"!

He closes his eyes in response to Tataru's voice and grits his teeth in anguish. And with a sigh, continues walking toward the lake.

It was unknown to him at the time, but Celest was nearby picking apples from in a tree and saw the exchange, so she followed him trying to be as silent in her rogue form.

Stin comes to a stop at the water's edge and takes a deep breath, and then a sigh. "Your lessons with Thancred are paying off I see".

Celest rolls her eyes and joins him with a smile. "I see you gathered a pretty large bounty today, I'm not the only one putting new skills to use".

Stin gazes down at her with a huff. "Not neglecting the lance too much, are you"?

Celest raises one eye, smiles, and draws her weapon in challenge; she knew sparing always cheered him up.

Answering her call, he draws his weapon. This time he is suddenly more cautious and she senses it.

Trying to spark the flame in his eyes once more, she gives it her all, but he answers with only defense and a straight face.

One final swing and he goes down in pain. "What the-" and she runs to his side in panic.

"Are you actually hurt"?

"I'm fine" he snarls. He gets up, grabs his lance, and walks back toward the town. Once he gets to the gates, he leans against the wall, one hand on his chest.

Celest is right behind him. "What was THAT"? What is your problem today"?

Stin quickly turns toward her grabs her, and pushes her against the wall in defiance. "You are my problem".

"What- I thought..."

Stin reaches into his pocket and hands her what he found today. An Elpis flower. But where did...

"I found it by the crystal tower. Yet another reminder of you and the trouble you get yourself into. I almost lost you to Zenos! What am I supposed to do with myself"!

Celest sees the anguish in his eyes and grows angry. "Don't pull that on me, you're the one who sacrificed himself for me and I had to pull you from the literal DEAD, Stin! We are in this together, and you need to remember to love yourself sometimes or else we will never be able to-"!

Stin interrupts her with a hungry kiss. There's the passion she knew.

"You're absolutely right. I need to love myself as much as I do you".

Both Stin and Celest blush stupidly for a few seconds before she takes his hand and leads him back to the stones.

Time// Toge Inumaki x Reader

WARNING// This was not proof read but hopefully you enjoy my little oneshot!    SFW / Fluff

EDIT: Ive decided to switch the ending up a bit, If you have already read V.1 of this fanfic please begin at “ 4 Days Prior To The Incident.” Happy readings! (3/6/21)

Time. 

/tīm/ 

plan, schedule, or arrange when (something) should happen or be done.

There Inumaki sat, against the soft bristles of grass. Looking among the blazing stars that dared to face the Celeste sky. Nothing was on his mind other than his beloved Y/N. She was currently out on a mission with Itadori and Satoru. Oh, how he wished it was him instead of those two knuckleheads. Of course, they got their work done and exorcised the curse but always had time to joke around. It wasn't a bad thing but it disturbed Inumaki when it came to serious things. Inumaki was never really called on missions unless there happened to be a Grade 1 Curse roaming around Tokyo. So of course, if that happened to be the case, during his free time he would always spend his nights like these. The wind brushed against his Silver-white hair, dusting a few strands away from over his eye. As time passed on, Inumaki decided it was time to head back inside to sleep. Nothing exciting happened other than Panda slipping onto Maki, making her go on a rampage. But it sure was a slow-paced and boring day for him. Not much screaming from Gojo, not much Itadori crying out for help because Megumi was tugging at his hair. 

It was all just peaceful now, Quiet enough for Inumaki to make his way back to his cozy room. As Inumaki crawled into his sheets he just couldn’t get the thought of Y/N out of his mind. Was he this infatuated with this girl? It boggled his mind but he decided to brush it off as an excuse to what he called, “looking out for my friend.” He closed his eyes then drifted into a deep slumber. Time skip// The Next Morning As Inumaki had forgotten he left his curtains completely open, The sunlight pierced through his eyes. This caused him to pry his eyes wide open in annoyance, grumbling, he got up and out of his bed and attempted to pull the curtains over. Finally, Inumaki managed to slightly pull the curtain to its center until he heard some ruckus outside his sliding door. “What’s going on out there..?” He thought to himself, wondering. That was until he saw both Panda and Maki holding up someone.. Who could this be? He took a closer peek and realized it was no one other than Y/N. Quickly, Inumaki closed the curtains and rushed to get his uniform on. Right as he zipped up his mask, He dashed out the door to go see Y/n. “Tuna!” The boy called out, attempting to get their attention. Maki looked over and smirked, she knew about his little crush on Y/N but Inumaki kept denying his guilty crush. Maki waited for him to take over and carry her arm around his shoulder. “Oh! Inumaki, you’ve finally arrived? Guess it’s my time to bounce on out of here.” She let go of the bloodied and beat up Y/N’s arm. Y/N grunting at the sudden movement, Inumaki soon caught onto her left arm and wrapped it around her shoulder. To be honest, He never thought he’d see you in this state and it shattered him to pieces. 

If only he were there to save and help Y/N, He knew he could’ve done it without those two fucking around. No, The more he thought about it it’s his fault for not begging to come along on the mission. It was only a Grade 2 Curse so either Gojo and Itadori were both testing Y/N or doing Dogshit. They were also nowhere to be seen, which pissed Inumaki even more. As Inumaki kept thinking about the possibilities of her not getting hurt or him saving her from the Curse, A soft and sudden voice spoke. “I-Inumaki..? Are you okay..?” It was Y/n. He looked over at her with his worried eyes, snapping out of his thoughts and nodding. 

“Tuna mayo.” He gave her a slight smile and she mirrored his actions. “You two should go out sometime, Always looking at each other with those loving eyes. It’s funny!” Inumaki shot the panda, a disgusted look in his eyes, warning him to shut his yapper. Though, Inumaki didn’t fail to catch the sudden blush on Y/N’s beat-up cheeks. He smiled under his mask. Thank goodness for that, otherwise, it would’ve been a disastrous evening. That was until Y/N Collapsed right in front of his eyes. Horror filled his eyes, he gasped and kneeled to check her pulse. Panda stood there, just as shocked as Inumaki was. There wasn’t anything Panda could do because of his body and Inumaki understood that, He always understood stuff no matter the situation. Still, Horror was in his eyes, he was relieved that her pulse was okay but she must’ve passed out from blood loss. Inumaki carefully picked her up without dropping her.

 Even passed out, he still thought she was beautiful from every aspect. To her (H/C) and Her Face. Sure it may have seemed creepy for him to be carrying her and just admiring her while she’s passed out but nothing could stop him from being this in love with her. He soon got up and attempted to carry her to the Jujutsu Tech Infirmary. Leaving panda behind, he wished Y/N was gonna be okay as well. As long as inumaki knew her pulse was still keeping up, he let out a sigh of relief and entered the school. Worried and curious again, He checked her pulse. Only a few minutes away from the infirmary, Her pulse stopped. 

She was out cold and Inumaki had once again been able to experience the terror and horror of losing her. He didn’t want her to die without him confessing his love. This was probably his first true love in years, Inumaki couldn’t give up so easily. He began to rush even faster than he was before and yelled out for the doctor. “BONITO FLAKES! TUNA MAYO!!” Was it already too late? He was on the verge of tears, he couldn’t do this today. Luckily, Shoko, the Nurse in Jujutsu Tech had opened the door and rushed him inside. She carefully took Y/N from his arms and slammed the door shut right in front of his face. Inumaki called out once again but there was no response. 

His only hope was for Y/N to somehow gain her pulse back and stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, that was nearly impossible for Inumaki to believe. He leaned his back against the wall, still traumatized as to what just happened. He looked to his side, then forward. He saw those Bastards. Inumaki couldn’t contain himself anymore. What the fuck was wrong with him right now? He’s never felt such hatred towards the two laughing men. He needed to somehow scold them both for being such dumbfucks. He threw on a furious face and soon after dashed outside to meet with the two. Being careful with his words he shouted out, “What the fuck is wrong with you two?” There he stood, furious in front of his Superior and Classmate. Who are they to think about leaving you in such a state? It wasn’t fair at all. 

“Yo, Inumaki! What’s with the sudden tone? Did something bad happen?” Itadori commented. Such bad timing for a terrible comment, His comment only enraged Inumaki more than ever. Just like that, His arm swung towards Itadori’s face. The impact caused him to tumble backward. Satoru only stood there in pure shock with his mouth agape. Itadori didn’t say or do anything, Finally understanding what Inumaki was upset about. He chuckled while covering his now bloody nose. “Inumaki, I understand why you’re angry now! Just please chill out before I explain!” Inumaki slowly put down his fists and waited for him to explain himself. “I think you might have misunderstood the calendar for missions! Y/N was assigned a mission on her own today while I was assigned to train with Gojo-Senpai!” As Inumaki started understanding the situation, he began to feel like a dumbass. All though, this didn’t change the fact that Y/N was possibly dead. Ding! A message? He pulled out his phone and signed for Itadori to hold whatever he was gonna say next. It happened to be from an unknown number. Out of curiosity, Inumaki opened the message and let out a loud gasp. His eyes began to tear up little by little. Satoru and Itadori stood there, puzzled. Inumaki looked up and once again carefully said,

 “She is alive.” Still, the two dumbasses were puzzled but Inumaki ignored it and soon turned around to run over to the infirmary. He began to slow down as he reached the door where his crush lied. Slowing opening the door, he saw Y/N. Thankfully the monitor was beating normally and there were no signs of terrible fate. She was fast asleep with many IV’s attached to her. Shoko, the Nurse nodded her head as to letting him in the room and watched over her as Time passed. “Don’t stay in here too long, Loverboy.” He scoffed and looked down at her beautiful (H/C) almost covering her face. Out of instinct, Inumaki decided to brush a few strands of hair away from her face and blushed. She looked so pretty.. Even with the little scars on her face. He admired her so much and he just couldn’t take it anymore. He wasn’t sure if she would feel the same but the poor boy took his chances. He glanced down at her one last time, 

“You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, I don’t know what I would do without you.. Y/N.” Just like that, Inumaki kissed her forehead and smiled down upon her. Silence filled the room for a few seconds... Maybe. “Awww how cute! Can you repeat that last part? I didn’t quite catch it.” There Satoru stood with his shoulder against the doorway and his phone out. Inumaki quickly parted away from Y/N and covered his face with his mask. 

This. Was. Not. Happening. 

Inumaki peeked out only to see Satoru running away and calling for the others in a sing-song toned voice. There was nothing he could do because all we wanted to do was stay with Y/N. Inumaki sighed and looked back at the now awakened girl. Her (E/C) eyes half-lidded now looked up at Inumaki. 

“Inu? Is that you?” He blushed at his new nickname Y/N had given him. He nodded in response and gave her a sweet smile. 4 Days Prior To The Incident “Hey Inu?” Her soft-toned voice called out for him. Inumaki turned his head over to look at the now smiling girl beside him. He hummed in response while still looking at Y/N, He’s never been happier than to be with his first-ever Love. She turned her head and looked back up at the stars. “How come you kissed my forehead?” 

Oh shit, she knew! But, how? Inumaki’s eyes widened and soon looked away as well. He was a blushing mess. “T-Tuna Mayo..?” (W-what makes you ask that?) She giggled in response only to soon turn her head towards him. He looked at her as well, probably knowing what was incoming but continued to deny it. They sat there silently staring each other off until Inumaki decided to pull his head down to look away.

Why was he like this? This is the first time hes ever really been in love with someone so why not take a risk for once? Fortunately, Now was the time to do so. Inumaki looked directly into her eyes, appreciating her beautiful eyes. This was the one time he’d actually had a good look a them, Especially with the outstanding scenery around them. As more time began to pass, He realized what he finally needed to do.

Inumaki put his soft and delicate hands on Y/N’s cheeks. His gaze as timid as ever. What’s she thinking about? Would she hate me? Am I really this perverted as Gojo-Sensei says I am..? Looking back at her now flushed face, her mouth opened to say something but soon stopped herself. Inumaki soon turned his head away in shame, This was all a mistake.. Shit! 

“Inu, What you plan to do next is your choice. Im not stopping you or defying your actions as you liking me even though its obvious.” Slowly, Inumaki pulled his hands down and raised his head back up to look at the now laughing female. She always looked and sounded so pretty when she laughed, Its nothing like Inumaki has ever heard before. He felt so lucky to even have you as a friend... Maybe more than that.  Inumaki puffs his chest and sits up so his back isn't slouching against the tree they lie against. This time, he was gonna get this right. No messing around this time, Hes tired of always running away from his crushes or even his problems. Not that she was a problem but, Something that Inumaki dearly cares about now. More confidently, Inumaki blushed and began to zip his mask down to reveal his marked lips. Y/N stared at him but Inumaki disregarded it, Now's not the time to fuck up.

He raised his gentle and loving hands up to her tender face. Its about time this moment finally happens. For so long Inumaki has been distracted with the thoughts of you while fighting off curses. You were the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with after having this feeling for years now. Inumaki caressed his beloved Y/N;s face to signify the deeper meaning to his love. Finally declaring this battle of confusion and distraction, His face grew closer and closer to her face. Only centimeters away from her delicate lips.

He closed his eyes and leaned into her face, embracing the kiss. It was a soft, sweet and comforting kiss. Nothing like how he imagined them to be. Inumaki finally knew his place and how he felt. He was absolutely smitten with the thought of being with this girl. As the kiss began to deepen within seconds, Y/N pulled away gasping for air. He had probably forgotten about that.. oops.

As they both softly gasp for air, He looked up at her with the sweetest and straightforward smile he could ever give someone. It really was all a matter of Time just to be right where he is.  “Sh-shake..Ehhh.. Tuna. (S-so I was uhmm.. Thinking.)” The boy suddenly spoke up. Her head turned around to see his once again flustered face. Of course she giggled and smiled at him, waiting for his next statement. 

On rare occasions, he would never use real words unless hes completely angered or this special person.. Y/N was around. “Do you think you’d like to be my girlfriend? I know what you're thinking, This embarrassment of a guy has lost his mind. Y/N, Please understand that i love you and I will do anything to protect you from the fuckery of this world.” Inumaki gave her a reassuring look, his eyes shining. Inumaki seriously didn't know how to read Y/N in these type of situations. If only there was some sort of manual to her. 

“Nah.” Y/n bluntly said. Inumaki’s face went from a giddy 5 year old little boy to a 37 year old middle aged mans gloomy face. This was not what he was expecting, really. I knew this was a stupid fucking idea, How stupid am I? This is so bullshit. Laughter erupted from his side, Why was she laughing right now? Inumaki was mourning his ego death. “You should've seen the look on your face Inu!!” Y/N continued to laugh. What is she even talking about? Inumaki tilted his head and his face now confused.

She leaned into his face for a small peck and pulled away. She smiled at him and pat his head. “Of course Inu, Im just messing with you! So adorable for no reason.” Forget the ego death, Welcome back from the dead ego! His face now a blushing mess. 

Boy, was this the happiest day of his life. To finally be with his beloved after countless times of running away. You were finally his girlfriend, His joy and light of his life. 

THE BASICS –––

NAME: Christopher Stephen Argent.

PREFERRED NAME: Chris Argent.

AGE: 43.

BIRTHDAY: February 14th.

RACE: Human.

GENDER: Male.

SEXUALITY: Biromantic Heterosexual.

MARITAL STATUS: Widowed.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE –––

HAIR: dark blond/greying.

EYES: cerulean blue.

HEIGHT: 6ft 1″.

BUILD: muscular, lean.

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: a number of scars all over his body from numerous assaults as a child when he DISOBEYED his father. several injuries and scarring obtained in battle. all scars decorate his entire body, though mainly his hands and torso.

PERSONAL –––

PROFESSION:  Hunter, Arms Dealer, Father.

HOBBIES: Swaging Bullets, Forging Arrows, Archery, Knife Throwing, MMA, Target Shooting, Reading.

LANGUAGES: English, French, Archaic Latin, Classical Latin, Spanish.

RESIDENCE: Beacon Hills, California.

BIRTHPLACE: San Francisco, California.

RELIGION: Atheist.

PATRON DEITY: Ares.

FEARS: Failure, Loss & for a time, his father. 

MENTAL HEALTH: PTSD, recurring nightmares & occasional panic attacks. 

RELATIONSHIPS –––

SPOUSE: Victoria Argent ( previously ), Melissa McCall, verse dependent.

CHILDREN: Allison Argent ( birth ), Isaac Lahey ( adopted ), Scott Mccall ( stepson )

PARENTS: Gerard & Elizabeth Argent.

SIBLINGS: Kate Argent.

OTHER RELATIVES: Victor & Celeste Hayes ( in laws ), Olivia Krasikeva ( sister-in-law ), Paige Krasikeva ( niece through marriage ).

ACQUAINTANCES/FRIENDS: The McCall Pack, Derek Hale, Deaton, Deucalion, The Calaveras.

PETS: N/A.

TRAITS –––

extroverted / introverted / IN BETWEEN.

disorganized / ORGANIZED / in between.

close minded / OPEN-MINDED / in between.

calm / anxious / IN BETWEEN.

disagreeable / agreeable / IN BETWEEN.

cautious / reckless / IN BETWEEN.

PATIENT / impatient / in between.

outspoken / reserved / IN BETWEEN.

LEADER / follower / in between.

EMPATHETIC / unemphatic / in between. (Note: empathetic =/= sympathetic) ;)

optimistic / PESSIMISTIC / in between.

TRADITIONAL / modern / in between.

HARD-WORKING / lazy / in between.

CULTURED / un-cultured / in between.

LOYAL / disloyal / unknown / in between.

FAITHFUL / unfaithful / unknown / in between.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION –––

SMOKING HABIT: never / SOMETIMES / frequently / to excess.

DRUGS: never / SOMETIMES / frequently / to excess.

ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / FREQUENTLY / to excess.

Resolved

Chapter 5: People!

Sherlock was dressed and out the door of 221B by eight the next morning, intending to call upon the Watsons immediately. With two young children in the house they were unlikely to have had the opportunity to linger in bed and he was hopeful that they would not only have information that might lead to Molly’s whereabouts, but would give him some breakfast, and that Watson would take a look at his shoulder, which was giving him some trouble this morning. But the cab that he’d thought he was flagging down turned out to contain an occupant, and not a welcome one. 

“Mycroft!” Sherlock exclaimed, not bothering to conceal his disapprobation as his brother’s tall form emerged from the cab.

“Sherlock!” Mycroft returned in more or less the same tone. “I was told that you had returned to London last night.” 

“Were you indeed?” Sherlock returned, his annoyance increasing. He knew quite well that his brother kept him under a somewhat casual but informative surveillance, but it never ceased to rankle. “And couldn’t wait to see me, I collect?” 

“Yes, well, I was hoping to discover how you fared in France.” 

“Oh, that.” Sherlock hadn’t given the previous two and a half weeks a thought since he’d discovered his wife’s absence and read her disturbing letter the previous evening. A thought occurred to him. “By the by, speaking of your cursed spies and apparent need to poke your nose into my affairs at every turn, were you aware that Molly has gone out of town?” 

“Why yes. It was my understanding that she left with your permission, to return the wayward Lucinda to the bosom of her family for the impending birth. I had wondered when you were going to dismiss the wench. You certainly took your time about it.” 

“You knew she was with child?” Sherlock asked in surprise. 

“And you did not? Your powers of observation seem to be slipping, brother mine.” 

Sherlock ground his teeth a bit, then snapped, “Come upstairs, we can’t stand here speaking of such things in the street.” 

“Very well. And perhaps we might take a moment to discuss your recent holiday in France as well.” 

“Yes, alright.” Sherlock held the door open for his bothersome sibling. 

Mycroft walked in with his usual quiet dignity. “Is Alphonse here? A little breakfast certainly would not come amiss.” 

“That’s why you came so early, isn’t it?” Sherlock sneered as he closed the door, but he nonetheless immediately  strode down the hallway to the kitchen. 

He found Alphonse perched upon a tall stool at the table, reading a newspaper, and sipping from a very small cup of coffee. The chef looked up, quite prepared to be outraged at the intrusion, but his expression eased considerably when he saw that it was the source of many a generous douceur who’d invaded his lair. 

“Monsieur Holmes! You are returned!” 

“As you see. And my brother is now here as well, demanding breakfast.” 

Alphonse set down his cup. “I will bring a tray up à l'instant!” 

“You have my thanks. Oh, and Alphonse?” 

“Oui, monsieur?” 

Sherlock hesitated, then said carefully, “My wife… er… Madame Holmes… she didn’t happen to speak to you about her plan to go out of town?” 

“But no! ! I did not learn of it until after she and Lucinda had departed. I did wonder that you were well with such a scheme. It would not be considered at all convenable in France. Madame may be a married woman, but still she seems to me very much la jeune fille. And that Lucinda -- bah! She has no more sense than un navet! But women in England are given such license. Incroyable!” 

Sherlock opened his mouth at this impertinent speech, but then shut it again. Finally he said, “Never mind. Just bring some breakfast up, quick as you can.” 

Alphonse bowed, a lingering look of concern in his black eyes. 

The encounter did nothing to lighten Sherlock’s mood. 

Mycroft was seated in Dr. Watson’s old chair by the grate. 

“Alphonse will be up with our breakfast presently,” said Sherlock. “Now what did you want to know about France? It went off perfectly well, in spite of a few unforeseen complications.” 

Mycroft asked a number of penetrating questions, and Sherlock’s distracting wifely worries were momentarily set aside as he replied at length. However, they were nearly at the end of the debriefing when Alphonse appeared with a laden tray, and after the chef had arranged all on the little dining table and taken his leave, Sherlock’s thoughts once again turned to his errant spouse. 

After mechanically eating half of his Buttered Eggs, ham, and toast in relative silence, he suddenly asked Mycroft, “You knew she was frequenting Celeste’s?” 

“Yes. Part of the community service required by her school, I take it. She was observed with an adviser, and one or two other students, most of the time.” 

“Most of the time?” 

“Yes.” Mycroft frowned. “Sherlock, what has been transpiring in your marriage? From the way you speak you seem to have been unaware of her movements.” 

Sherlock said, warily, “I knew she was doing community service.” 

Mycroft lifted a brow. “But not, perhaps, at Madame Celeste’s establishment?” 

Sherlock hesitated, then said angrily, “No.” His brother waited expectantly. Sherlock sighed. “I had told her that I did not think it fitting that she visit Celeste. It was something we had originally spoken of the day after our wedding, but after our return from Italy I told her I’d thought better of the plan.” 

Mycroft stared, and then slowly smiled. He said, teasingly, “I take it the wedding night went well.” 

Sherlock felt himself flushing, and inwardly damned his brother’s perspicacity. 

But then Mycroft shrugged. “What’s sauce for the goose should by rights be sauce for the gander. Is that why she disobeyed your decree?” 

“So I am led to believe. Well,” he said, with a bitter laugh, “I have direct evidence of it. But it was only one of three organizations she visited as a student of the medical school. I assumed that wretched girl Lucinda was from some girls’ institute to which Molly was also assigned.” 

“Ah. And once begun, Molly would have found it difficult to end the deception with another’s welfare at stake.” 

“Are you taking her side?” demanded Sherlock. 

“Not at all,” Mycroft replied. “I’m merely stating the facts as I see them. But you, brother mine, need to keep a much closer eye on your bride. She is no Milk-and-Water Miss, nor is she a saint, as you seem to have assumed.” 

“I never assumed any such thing!” Molly’s spirit and independence had been evident from the start -- and yet, she was a good little thing, too, biddable in many ways -- as long as her wishes and opinions aligned with one’s own. Which fortunately they did, most of the time. 

Mycroft said, “Well, I expect once she is returned you will know better how to go on. Where is she? Did she say in her letter?” 

“How did you know there was a letter?” 

“There is always a letter, Sherlock. You will note that I do not go so far as to call my sister-in-law a cozening little slyboots in want of a sound thrashing; I presume that her motives have been pure from the outset -- or relatively so -- and that she merely strayed more and more from the straight path. But above all, she loves you to distraction -- it’s been quite obvious these many months -- and she would not leave in this way without giving you some word of reassurance.” 

Sherlock gave a snort that was only vaguely reminiscent of laughter. “She says she has gone to some haven. An old friend, I take it, but there is not the least clue as to who or where. I was on my way to ask the Watsons if they had any notion of where she might have gone when you arrived.” 

“The Watsons. Yes. It’s possible she’s confided in Mary. And the good doctor has known her since she was a child.” 

Sherlock shoved his chair back and stood up. “I must go,” he said, abruptly. “You can see your way out.” 

Mycroft nodded calmly, and as Sherlock fetched his coat and hat, mused, “I believe I’ll have another slice of toast before I go, and more of this perfectly brewed coffee. Alphonse really is a treasure. But Sherlock, if the Watsons fail to come up with the answer to the riddle, you may need to steel yourself and make the journey to Bath.” 

“Good God,” Sherlock groaned, realizing this was true. No one would be more aware of who might qualify as a haven than Molly’s execrable family: the boorish solicitor who was now Sherlock’s brother-in-law; the sister who’d done her best to frighten Molly and spoil their wedding night; her ridiculous mother; and the four children, the oldest only seven years of age -- hopefully all of them still imprisoned in the nursery. 

Mycroft spoke again, amused. “I feel your pain, brother. And remember, you must be discreet: the mother and sister have proven to be the most unconscionable gossips in the past, and if they learn that Molly has misbehaved in such a way I shudder to think what the consequences might be. You were, if you will remember, forced to marry because of their loose tongues and the sharp ears of the trustees at Molly’s school.” 

“Forced to marry,” Sherlock repeated, examining the words. Then he looked up at Mycroft. “And even now it seems the best work of my life.” And he tipped his hat to his brother (not entirely in mockery) and, without further ado, strode out the door.

 *

 Dr. Watson’s disapproval was patent. 

“Then she did not journey to Yorkshire with your permission as Mrs. Hudson informed us! I must say that I am relieved in one respect: I had thought you must have taken leave of your senses, allowing her to embark upon such a journey with only that young kitchen maid to accompany her. But that Molly should leave for a destination entirely unknown in this way, lying to Mrs. Hudson--” 

“She did not lie, precisely,” Sherlock objected. “She merely said I would not mind her accompanying Lucinda, and that might very likely have been the case, provided her assertion that their destination was one of safety is proven accurate.” 

“Holmes, don’t be absurd,” Watson said impatiently. “Molly has done very wrong in leaving you in the dark like this, very wrong indeed. I fear I am much to blame.” 

“You!” Sherlock stared. “How on earth are you to blame?” 

“It was I who introduced her into your household! She had always seemed to me a most well-behaved girl, demure, conformable -- well, save for her determination to pursue a medical career, which, though admirable in some ways, is decidedly eccentric for a gently reared female. But obviously I was mistaken. Little did I suspect--” 

“Watson,” Sherlock said, a warning in his voice, “I advise you to keep your criticism of my wife to yourself if you do not wish to fall out with me. Molly has, perhaps, surprised us both in this instance, but I assure you my attachment to her is unimpaired and I only wish to determine her location so that I can be reassured of her safety. Will you cast your memory back and tell me if you know of some old friend who would offer her refuge?” 

“Refuge! What refuge should she need other than the home you have provided for her?” Watson narrowed his eyes. “There is more to this tale than the little you have shared with me, I’ll be bound.” 

Sherlock sighed and glanced over at Mary, who was seated by the fire nursing Edward. He was somewhat startled when she looked up at him with raised brows and speaking blue eyes. 

She then said to her husband, “John, would you be so kind as to go upstairs and fetch my shawl?. It’s a bit chilly in here today, even so near the fire!” 

“Of course, my dear,” said John, and immediately left the room. 

Sherlock went swiftly over and sat down near Mary.

 She said quietly, “I know about Lucinda, and about Madame Celeste’s, but no more than that. Molly did not confide to me her plan to leave London. I do know that she came to deeply regret the deception -- that what had, at first, seemed mere mischief had become such a complicated imbroglio. I think if it hadn’t been for Lucinda’s situation she would have confessed the whole to you months ago.” 

“I daresay. I did get that impression from her letter. If only she had shared her destination with me I would be…. not content. But certainly less anxious.” 

“I know,” Mary smiled sympathetically, then looked up at the sound of John’s footsteps coming back down the stairs. “Do not tell John! He will only believe she is entirely lost to depravity and you and I know that is not at all the case.” 

Sherlock smiled grimly and squeezed her hand, then stood up as John came back into the room. 

“Here you are, my dear,” the doctor said, going to his wife and arranging the shawl around her shoulders. But then he straightened and addressed Sherlock. “I have thought of one person to whom Molly may have applied: her old governess. But I’ve had no success in recalling the woman’s name -- Beacham? Bingly? No. I never had much to do with her when I was living with the Hoopers in my time as a medical student. And I know she retired after Molly left the schoolroom, but I doubt I was ever told where she settled.” 

Sherlock sighed. “That information is certainly a help, but I see that I will not now be able to avoid a visit to Bath and Molly’s family.” 

John gave a bark of laughter. “Well, if the rest of this affair has not earned Molly a severe reprimand from you, that necessity surely will do so!” 

“You may be right,” Sherlock murmured, and met Mary’s laughing eyes for a moment before he took his leave.

 *    

 Two days later, at approximately eight o’clock in the morning, Sherlock woke in his hotel room at the Royal George (“...conveniently situated in the heart of the historic City of Bath in Somerset…”) and was immediately assaulted with two dismal facts: it was still pouring rain, as it had been for the last thirty-six hours; and he had failed in his mission to pry from his in-laws the information he was so very anxious to acquire. 

It was not entirely his fault. 

He had, on the train, come up with a not altogether unreasonable premise as to why Molly had left him so precipitately and with such cryptic clues about her destination. Quite worn down by the end of her third year of medical school;  left a loving note but absurdly forgot to include the name and direction of the friend she meant to visit; exigencies of life in London, combined with the herculean effort needed to achieve top marks had, perhaps, turned her brain a little. (He had smiled wickedly at that last element, she would be mad as fire that he’d told her family such a thing.) 

But it hadn’t worked, and for two reasons: 1) the Cavanaughs’ butler, who had (probably quite deliberately) allowed Sherlock to walk in on a family scene that was akin to something out of Drury Lane-- or Bedlam (antique vase shatters; obviously culpable progeny deny involvement; livid father bent on retribution; vociferous mother and grandmother vigorously opposed to same); and 2) his mother-in-law’s rather shrewd but nonetheless nonsensical mistrust of his veracity. To be sure, she had been virtually prostrated by the threat that still overshadowed her grandchildren (I’ll see to you later, all four of you!, Cavanaugh had roared as the nanny bundled the sobbing urchins out and back to the nursery), but to accuse Sherlock of being just as bad as James was the outside of enough. 

“If Molly has gone mad I have no doubt the blame lies at your door!” she had exclaimed with quavering vehemence. “Philomena, I forbid you to tell him anything at all! And you may do your worst, Mr. Holmes, but my lips are sealed. Sealed, I tell you!” And then she had fallen into strong hysterics and was subsequently escorted from the room by her daughter. 

Which had left Sherlock alone with Cavanaugh. 

His brother-in-law had looked him up and down. “So she’s left you, eh? Hah! Not so easy being a married man, is it Holmes? But you’ve made your bed and now you must lie in it.” 

Sherlock had replied acidly, “It is my fondest wish to be able to do just that!” 

But Cavanaugh had sniffed. “I don’t know her old governess, never paid attention. Thought she’d inherited, though, and moved away, little place in Sussex, or Winchester; some place near the coast. But that was years ago. Can’t be expected to remember such trivia after all this time.” 

Sherlock had barely refrained from giving an impatient roll of his eyes. “I shall leave you, Cavanaugh. My sympathy to your children: it is once again all too apparent that they have much to overcome.” 

“And what the devil do you mean by that?” Cavanaugh had demanded, but Sherlock had ignored his blustering and strode out the door, aware that family harmony would hardly be promoted by another turn-up with the man who was now his brother-in-law -- the black eye and broken nose Sherlock had given him more than a year before seemed to have taught him nothing. 

No, the failure of this vital mission had not been entirely his fault. Nonetheless, it had failed, and he now feared he might be facing weeks, if not months, without his wife, a prospect which he found to be insupportable. 

It was in an uncharacteristically despondent mood, therefore, that he rose from the bed and set about preparing to depart a city that had, for all its historic beauty, one fatal flaw: the Cavanaugh family. 

Still, as he washed, shaved, and dressed, he noticed that the rain was letting up at last, and as he finished packing his bag for the journey home, golden sunshine broke out and came streaming through the window. Finally, when he had picked up his bag and was about to depart, there came a knock on the door. 

He opened the door to find his sister-in-law standing composedly before him. 

She smiled. “Hello, Sherlock. May I come in?” 

Sherlock, a thrill of hope leaping within his bosom, nevertheless said, “I’m not sure that would be wise, ma’am. Will you come down to the breakfast room with me?” 

“Oh! Yes. Very well. I suppose visiting you here, in your hotel room would hardly be discreet.” 

“I expect your husband would think it most improper, should he be informed of it,” Sherlock said dryly. 

But Philomena only chuckled at that idea. 

A very few minutes later, the two of them were seated in a quiet corner of the breakfast room of the hotel, and had put in an order for coffee and breakfast for Sherlock -- “...for I had porridge with the children not an hour ago,” Philomena had said, blithely, causing Sherlock to shudder within. 

A discussion of the weather ensued, until the coffee was brought to the table. Then, as he poured out a cup for each of them, Sherlock said, “Now, what can I do for you, Philomena?” 

“It is more what I can do for you.” she said. “I believe my mother was mistaken about you, and I also believe she will come to admit that soon enough. That being the case, I will be so bold as to ignore her demand that I keep from you the information that may be so vital to your interests. But tell me first, is Molly in some kind of trouble?” 

Sherlock replied, hesitantly, “I fear you have guessed correctly. Yet the details of the affair have not been shared with anyone else at this point, and I am determined to keep it that way if at all possible. I can assure you, however, that she did not leave me in this way due to any animosity toward me or any perceived threat to herself. She did it to protect another from forces that she felt might have proved harmful. You must believe me when I tell you that I only want to see that she is safe, and help her in any way I can.” 

Philomena nodded. “You know, when we visited you in Baker Street last Christmas, and in the few letters she has written to me since you married, Molly… well, she did not confide in me, precisely -- sadly we do not communicate upon such terms -- implied, perhaps, is a better word. Implied repeatedly. That her life with you has been little short of paradise in every respect, and that you were a paragon among men. It has been difficult for me to fathom, since my own experience of marriage has been very different. James is a good man, and I do love him, but… well, I believe our relationship is far more prosaic than the one Molly enjoys with you. I cannot help but be a little envious, but I assure you I am also deeply happy for you both. Sherlock, I do trust that you will be able to untangle this difficulty and return Molly -- and yourself, I now collect? -- to that state of bliss the two of you have, until recently, enjoyed.” 

Sherlock gave a crooked smile. “I am certain I will be able to smooth things over, if only I can find her. As for that state of bliss… I can only promise to do my best.” 

Philomena returned his smile warmly. “It is very well. So. Our governess was Miss Emily Beaufort, and she now lives in Bognor Regis, on a small property she inherited shortly before Molly left the schoolroom. Both Molly and I maintain a regular correspondence with her, and I am certain that Miss Beaufort would welcome a visit from Molly. She has many times reiterated to Molly, and to myself, her kind invitation to holiday with her.” 

As this speech concluded, and Sherlock’s tension ebbed in a way that almost left him reeling, breakfast arrived on a laden trolley. Sherlock maintained his usual facade of equanimity as it was arranged on the table, yet it was in a state of considerable elation that he began to engulf bacon, eggs, and several pieces of toast spread with butter and marmalade. Philomena indulged herself with a warm scone spread with clotted cream and raspberry jam, and had a second cup of coffee, “... for I have a great deal of shopping to catch up on, now that the weather is finally clearing. Sherlock, I do not presume to tell you your business, but indeed, it is unhealthy to eat so quickly, and in such large bites. You will not arrive in London any sooner for your haste.” 

“Yes, sister,” he said wryly. 

She gave him a prim smile. 

Twenty minutes later, they were standing outside the door of the hotel, and Sherlock took his sister-in-law’s hand in his. “A good day’s work, Mena, I promise you.” 

“I am counting on it,” Philomena said, and gave his hand a squeeze. “Give Molly my love, if you please, and tell her she is a very lucky girl.” 

And Sherlock laughed, his heart light.

 *

 A few hours later, after a swift train ride through the rain-washed countryside and a very slow cab ride through the congested London streets, Sherlock walked through the door of 221B Baker Street to be greeted exuberantly by Archie. 

“Hello, Mr. Holmes!” 

Sherlock could not help but be pleased. “Hello, Archie! Are you returned from your aunt’s? How did you fare?” 

“Pretty well, but I’m glad to be home,” Archie said with a cheeky grin. “But Mr. Holmes, there’s a gentleman upstairs to see you. Mrs. Hudson put him in your parlor and took some tea up to him. She said you’d be wishful to see him as soon as you arrived.” 

“Indeed? How long has he been up there?” Sherlock said with a frown. 

“Couple of hours, but I’ve been keeping an eye on him, off and on. Mrs. Hudson told him you’d be here by half past two if you was coming at all today.” 

“Were coming at all,” Sherlock corrected, absently. 

“Oh, yes. May I take your bag up, Mr. Holmes?” 

“No, I’ll do it. If Alphonse is in, tell him I’d like some lunch, if you please.” 

“Right away, Mr. Holmes,” Archie said, and skipped down the hallway while Sherlock climbed the stairs. 

But as he reached the top of the stairs, a tall, thin figure emerged from the open doorway of his flat and spoke: “Are you Mr. Sherlock Holmes?” 

“I am,” said Sherlock, gaining the landing and giving the man a swift appraisal. He was fashionably attired and quite young, perhaps his early twenties, and darkly handsome, though just now his countenance was pallid, his expression gravely troubled. “What can I do for you, Mr….” 

“Ashworth,” the young man supplied. “I am Bertram Ashworth, and I understand that you may know where I might find my… my intended wife.” 

“Bertram!” Sherlock repeated. “And Ashworth -- are you Lord Ashworth’s son?” 

“H-his fourth son,” Bertram replied. 

“And are you… when you speak of your intended wife, can you be referring to Lucinda?” 

“Yes! I… oh, Mr. Holmes, if you will but allow me to explain!” 

“Certainly I will, Mr. Ashworth. Come in, come in! I have ordered a late luncheon to be brought up, and we will eat while you tell me your story. You will forgive me for saying so, but you look as though you would benefit from some sustenance.” 

Future Plot: Syer’s Rebellion - Chapter 5

((Sandra, Pyrrhus, Telemachus, Kitzeh, James, Market Splatoon, and Jane belongs to me

Camille and Guist belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula belongs to @agenttwo and @myzzy

Marina and Wish belong to @inklingleesquidly @agenttwo and @myzzy; designs are made by @teamuntyblue  / @ryan-sign-guy

Vix belongs to @teamuntyblue / @ryan-sign-guy

Beaker Jr belongs to @askvincent and @scrushling

Emerald and Sapphire belong to @son-of-joy and @twelvetailedkitsune

Suzy belongs to @son-of-joy

Celeste belongs to @alpinesquid​

Mysteeri belongs to @dreadangel  ))

((Insert opening: https://youtu.be/IBF9XEsnvJI ))

Last time on Syer’s Rebellion:

Sandra has led her brother's rebellion to take control of the Fisherman's Wharf and later liberate San Francisco. Market Splatoon is already considering to let her join despite the insubordination. The rebellion is beginning to spread from the west. This also marks a sibling relationship starting to reform between Sandra and James. The Syer's Siblings were now working together to lead the rebellion to fight President Howe.

With California being liberated, with the exception of Manzanar and its surrounding area, Howe is furious of how Mysteeri has handled the rebels in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Camille, Nebula, and Guist plot an escape attempt, wanting to get everyone out of Manzanar. Chris Zorin has yet to detect this plot.

The Revolution has now pushed forward.

Route From Sacramento to the Black Hills, United States of America - Time Classified

President Evelyn Howe heading to Sacramento from Washington DC only to find her air fleet evacuating loyalists and Splat-Coats. They now had to take them east, hoping to reach either the Black Hills or the Mississippi to make a refugee camp.

The Splat-Coats that were stationed in the Fisherman's Wharf report to President Howe about Mysteeri's fierce fighting abilities when fighting the rebellion. But they reported that Mysteeri retreated due to the rebellion's numbers and the speed of the raid. Seeing this as cowardice, she asked Mysteeri to meet with her in her quarters in the air ship.

"How dare you abandon that post!" President Howe ranted. "Do you have any idea how much is lost because of what you did!?

"I gave it my all, but it wasn't enough." Mysteeri was checking her ammunition. "The Wharf was going to be taken by them anyway. The group leading the rebellion are impressive, especially two indigo inklings."

"You should've stood and fought! " President Howe slams a fist on a desk. "You could've led my men to protect the Wharf! How dare you compliment the ene--" When she heard Mysteeri mentioned indigo inklings, her anger went away. "Two indigo inklings?"

" Do you know them?" Mysteeri questioned.

Evelyn Howe steps away and took a deep breath. She fixed her hair and pulls out from her desk a file on the Syer Family.

"They were an old threat some time ago, the parents to be exact." Howe holds out a photo of a young James. "And it seems their son must be going out for revenge on me."

"That's quite interesting, but that doesn't explain the other indigo inkling, and she’s possibly his sister." Mysteeri folds her arms.

President Howe shook her head and changed the topic. She puts the files away and then shows the photos of two Inklings: Camille and Nebula. "I'm reassigning you to a fort near Manzanar with a Splat-Coat battalion. Make sure that camp is secured so that we can have a rendezvous point to reclaim California."

Mysteeri took a closer look at the photos, knowing well about the Neo Squid Sisters. What are they doing here, she thought. She glared slightly.

"Is that clear, Mysteeri?" Howe asked.

Mysteeri was still looking at the photos. Minutes later she looked at President Howe and nods.

"Good, you're dismissed," Howe ordered.

Mysteeri carefully turns around and walks away. Now she wanted answers to why Camille and Nebula are in this mess. She walks out of the quarters and waits at the hull of the airship.

Meanwhile...

Carolyn Divalves's Manor - Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States  5:50 PM

Carolyn Divalves, the Neo Squid Sister's U.S. tour producer, has this manor that was once the mansion of a wealthy man who made his fortune from a unique magazine that inspired a magazine in Inkopolis. Like the wealthy man before Carolyn, she was going to have a lavish party for Camille and Nebula. However, since the Neo Squid Sisters are currently kidnapped, she welcomes their companions to the party.

Only Sandra, James, Wish, Marina, and Vix attended. Suzy, Emerald, and Sapphire were requested by Sandra to retrieve blueprints of Manzanar. The rest of Market Splatoon were preparing troops to liberate Manzanar before heading to the Great Plains. Pyrrhus was left on the Shinkiro in San Diego to take care of Vix's Galapagos Turtle, Reve.

Formal attire was provided by Jame's partner, Elizabeth, and security was organized by Abraham and Henri. Carolyn Divalves has Sandra, James,  Marina, and Wish accompany her to a swimming pool area with a grotto. She offers Sandra and James a soda; for Marina, water, and for Wish, jasmine tea.

Carolyn appeared with a violet gown with a fur collar. Her inky hair is made into a unique style and her shoes were ruby red. She sat at a table with her guests.

"I should say, you guys have done quite enough here on the west coast," Carolyn complimented, "I may be a simple producer, but looking at this war, in favor of seeing America back the way it was before President Howe drugged our society with this steampunk movement. We're nearly going backward."

"I guess you can say that we're concluding our battle West Theater and move onto the Center Theatre," James stated. He takes a few gulps from his soda, "And there, the Great Plains is what I'm worried about."

"Let's focus on Manzanar for now, James," Sandra suggested.

"Right." James nods.

"I swear Felix is going to kill me if he found out Camille and Nebula ended up thrown in an internment camp for people of Japanese descent." Carolyn is worried. "You need get those two and their friend out of there."

"Which is why I have Abraham organize the companies for a liberation. The victory over Manzanar would convince President Howe that the West has fallen. We'll be taking nearly half the country through diplomacy." James shows a map he has in his jacket, but Sandra has her brother put it away.

"What about Alaska and Hawaii?" Marina has been studying up on US history for a while now.

"They remain neutral along with the State of Texas," James replied, "I heard the Lone Star State has temporarily seceded and gained protection under Mexico until the revolution is over. The humans that lived in that state have always wanted to leave the Union, but they never got that chance."

"Well, now they're a republic of their own.... again." Carolyn called a servant and has them hand a plate of delicate snacks to the kids. "In any case, taking Manzanar won't be hard. Defenses there aren't that fortified; I mean it's enough to keep people in, but not enough to keep people out."

"We just need blueprints so that we can take out the Splat-Coats, apprehend the warden, and escort the prisoners out of there and back to their homes." James adjusted his glasses.

"That's why I've sent Suzy with her team of spies to get them." Sandra took a snack and ate it.

Something caught Wish's eye: an adult dressed in the usual steampunk fashion, but his attire was slightly red with a small badge on the front of his shirt, well-hidden and secured. The inkling was meeting with another similarly dressed inkling, and whispering messages that are hard to hear. Wish narrowed her eyes a bit and nudges her cousin, Marina, whispering to alert her about a possible spy. The two sneak away while Sandra and James were talking.

Vix somehow ended up between the two possible spies, overhearing them.

"How far is this fort?" Vix asked the two inklings.

The two unknown inklings were alarmed and grabbed Vix. Wish was right on time to push the two stranger down, and Marina carried them with her telekinesis. This caused a scene, but Carolyn was obliged to ask security to help Marina and Wish take the unknown inklings to a more secure area.

"Spies? In my manor?" Carolyn seemed annoyed. "How rude!"

Sandra ran up to Vix. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Vix felt like nothing bad has happened.

It turns out that the two inklings that Marina and Wish apprehended were Splat-Coat Spies, monitoring James and Sandra. They were doing this under the order of Chris Zorin after hearing that California is close to being liberated and that Manzanar is the only location that has yet to fall.

"The attack on Manzanar has to start now," James stated while walking up to Sandra and Vix, "Forget the blueprints--"

Sapphire arrived with a yellow envelope. "Here you go, Sandra."

Sandra gets up and takes the envelope. "Thank you very much, Miss Inktran."

James is surprised. Sandra looked at her brother and smiled. Their sibling partnership was going to be something for the Revolution.

After the party, Carolyn bids the Syer Siblings farewell; Sandra's party gathered to Independence, California where the Syer's Rebellion has managed to secure the city. This position was a knife pointing at the throat of the target that is Manzanar.

Inyo County Courthouse - Independence, California, United States  5:50 PM

At the courthouse, Sandra shows the blueprints along with the map of Manzanar. James places colored pieces on the certain area; blue represented Syer's Rebellion and red representing the Splat-Coats. And thanks to Suzy, Emerald, and Sapphire, their mission given by Sandra also had them acquire insight to the forces in Manzanar and the fort protecting it.

This was James's lecture:

"So far, the fort is in Kearsarge which is about 5 miles away from Manzanar, armed with chargers and burst bomb units. You can expect the inkomatons, Ichabods, and Tinmens, to be scattered around there with their ink muskets and ink cutlasses. But those clumsy bots aren't going to be the only kind of inkomatons, so steer clear of new bots. As for Manzanar, we're going to be fighting in a small populated area with civilians. That's going to be hard.

I'll have my Splatoon, Market Splatoon, to help deal with the fort. Sandra, I want you, Suzy, Emerald, Sapphire, and Pyrrhus to go and lead the raid on Manzanar itself. Remember, don't harm the civilians, so artillery and splat bombs might not be the best bet. We'll level that camp to the way it was found: ruins.

"What about us?" Wish asked. Her, Marina, and Vix were left out of this battle.

"We can't risk lives here, you three will remain here to study US history." Sandra knew that idea might suck, but it was something to keep them busy. "Besides, you two have medical conditions and Vix is blind. If you go out there, you'll end up in kingdom-come."

"Kingdom-come? Is that a place in the US?" Vix tilts his head slightly.

"We can take care of ourselves anyway," Marina replied.

"Hey, maybe we can get a train for you guys," Wish agreed.

"I have one question about heading to the fort," Suzy asked, "what about this aqueduct?" She pointed to the Los Angeles Aqueduct. "We would need to cross that, and the bridges we checked are all destroyed, except for one."

"Taken care of," James answered, "For now, you guys just take care of Manzanar."

"Understood." Suzy nods.

"We're going to get you back Camille...just hang in there...," Pyrrhus muttered to himself. He cares about her.

Sapphire places a hand on his shoulder and nods to him, caring about Camille too. Despite her small jealousy towards Pyrrhus dating Camille, she has already come to accept their relationship if it makes Camille happy.

Sandra and James both dismiss the team so that they can chat alone.

Back in the Coast of Inkopolis...

Telemachus and Celeste were at the hull of the The Great Unagi, the flag battleship of the Neo-Squidbeak Fleet. Kitzeh, the Hexapus Inkling-Octoling hybrid, came along to help out (And she had a fight to settle with Camille). They are tasked by Agent 7 to go after Sandra and assure she's okay; he has heard of unusual thing going on in the United States, and he wanted none other than Neo-Squidbeak Splatoon -- or at least half of what's left -- to go investigate.

The Neo-Squidbeak Fleet has two aircraft carriers, five battleships (including the flagship), a submarine, four destroyers, and a supply ship. The only ship that wasn't there was the Shinkiro.

"Don't forget we're finding the Neo-Squid Sisters and the Neo-Clone Sisters......and an inkatarian named Vix," Telemachus reminded Celeste.

"Correction, they're called Inktolings," Kitzeh interrupted.

"Inkatarian sounds more better," Celeste stated.

"Doesn't matter what they're called anyway." Telemachus looked out at sea and signals the captains to start sailing. "United States, here we come!"

Kitzeh takes this time to run up to the hull and spread her arms.

"I'm the queen of the world!!!" Kitzeh shouted.

The three have a long way to go.

new arrivals 8-9-17

this week's tunes at noon is pretty special - Michael Malis trio with Jaribu Shahid from the legendary Griot Galaxy on bass - and it's free!! free music in the park in downtown dearborn. music starts at noon on thursday - don't be late!!! you don't want to miss this one!! items in stock thursday aug 9th,  2017

please pardon our rush on this promotion - the mogwai promotion does not start until aug 22nd. we will have these cool seven inches with coupons available on that date. thank you for your patience.  MOGWAI Party in the Dark seven inch $2.00this is a special coupon to get $2 off the full length new MOGWAI lp that comes out in early September. limit one per customer, you can buy this record, hear som eof the new lp, and then use the coupon inside for $2 off the full length when it is released on september 9th 2017. what a fun promotion!!  we will have the full length lp and box set for the release date in early sept. LOCKWOOD, ANNEATiger Balm / Amazonia Dreaming / Immersion  LP  $31.99Black Truffle presents a new issue of Annea Lockwood's classic 1970 tape piece "Tiger Balm", unavailable on vinyl for over thirty years, accompanied by two exquisite unreleased works for percussion and voice. "Created while Lockwood was living in the UK, the side-long 'Tiger Balm' is a singular work within the cannon of tape music. Inspired by research into the ritual function of music, the piece explores the possibility of evoking ancient communal memories through sound. Breaking entirely with the dynamic language of the musique concrète tradition, Lockwood uses a select palette of mainly unprocessed sonic elements chosen for their mysterious and erotic characteristics (a purring cat, a heartbeat, gongs, slowed down jaw harp, a tiger, a woman's breath, a plane passing overhead), presenting at most two sounds at once. As one sound flows organically into the next, their shared characteristics are highlighted, opening a space of dream logic and mysterious associations between nature and culture, the ancient and the modern. The B side presents two pieces for percussion recorded here for the first time. 'Amazonia Dreaming' (1987), performed by Dominic Donato, uses unaccompanied snare drum and voice to evoke the nocturnal soundscape of the Amazon rainforest. Unorthodox techniques and materials (marbles, chopsticks, a plastic jar lid) transform the snare into a resonant field of sensual textures. 'Immersion' (1998), performed by Donato and Frank Cassara, is a slow-moving exploration of gentle beating tones, performed on marimba, tam tams, and gong. Like the other two works presented on this LP, it provides captivating proof of Lockwood's belief in the complexity that deep listening can reveal within seemingly simple sounds" --Francis Plagne. Comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with archival pictures and liner notes by Annea Lockwood; Includes the score to "Amazonia Dreaming"; LP design by Stephen O'Malley; Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering. MCPHEE & ANDRE JAUME, JOENuclear Family  CD  $16.992016 release. Multi-instrumental master Joe McPhee and his longtime colleague, French saxophonist and clarinetist André Jaume, joined forces for this studio recording in 1979 that was prepared but never released. It is primarily structured around pairs of tunes by Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, and Duke Ellington (or Billy Strayhorn), adding Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" for good measure. The results are stunningly intimate and show the twosome's capacity for creative interplay at a fairly early stage in its unfolding. Mingus's "Pithecanthropus Erectus", which was performed by a larger group on Topology (1981), gets pared down to its essential walking-bass-ness, while Monk's "Evidence" is taken apart, and solo spots by both men are as riveting as one would expect. Part of Corbett vs. Dempsey's ongoing historical effort to unearth and reissue McPhee's important discography, this previously unknown recording will delight existing fans and make new ones. NURSE WITH WOUNDDark Fat  3LP BOX  $59.99Triple LP box set of Nurse With Wound's 2016 release Dark Fat. Dark Fat is a celebration and documentation of ten years of NWW shows, but to call Dark Fat a live album is far too simplistic. It is an entirely new recording constructed by combining the most interesting moments of the past decade into unique tracks. M.S. Waldron is to thank as he is archival commandant of the NWW oeuvre, and since 2006 he has recorded every single thing. He has recorded all the live shows, sound-checks, rehearsals, off-stage events, and even covertly recorded the private conversations of the band. These recordings have been studiously and lovingly crafted into a unique sonic tapestry by Waldron and Steven Stapleton with delicate embroidery and filigree added by Andrew Liles and Colin Potter. This is now spread over six sides of luxurious vinyl and encased in a box with a gatefold insert, all featuring the art of Steven Stapleton aka Babs Santini. Listen in the Dark and soak up the Fat. SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRAMy Way Is The Spaceways  LP  $18.992017 repress. "Fourth volume of spoken word wisdom -- direct from Saturn! The Music Is Like A Mirror / My Way Is The Spaceways / The Music Is A Sound Image / Music Is A Vibration" GALACTIC EXPLORERSEpitaph For Venus  CD  $17.99Mental Experience present a reissue of Galactic Explorers' Epitaph For Venus. Another album from the Pyramid label shrouded in mystery and produced by Toby Robinson in Cologne, circa 1974. Kosmische and head sounds with plenty of Minimoog, analog synths/keyboards, effects, loops, tape manipulation, treated percussions, etc., courtesy of Galactic Explorers, an electronic, minimal, ambient krautrock trio featuring Reinhard Karwatky (Dzyan). Take a trip to the inner regions of your mind, see ancient solar systems forming, and listen to cosmic winds and vibrations while sine waves of pure bliss will give you total peace of mind. RIYL: Terry Riley, Popol Vuh, Sand, Peter Michael Hamel, Tangerine Dream, Baba Yaga, Cluster, Cozmic Corridors, Brainticket. 24-bit domain remaster from the original tapes; Insert with liner notes by Alan Freeman, head boss at Ultima Thule and author of The Crack In The Cosmic Egg (1996). AREL, BULENTElectronic Music 1960-1973   LP  $24.992017 repress; LP version. Bülent Arel's (1919-1990) work occupies a special place in the history of electronic music, with one thing being certain: Arel's work is still fresh, groundbreaking, and it always look outs for the next adventure in sound. Sub Rosa present a collection of his works here as part of their Early Electronic series. Bülent Arel was a Turkish-born American composer of electronic and contemporary classical music. He was also a devoted teacher, a sculptor, and a painter. From 1940 to 1947, Arel studied composition, piano, and 20th century classical music at the Ankara Conservatory. In 1959, Arel came to the US on a grant by the Rockefeller Foundation to work at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. By that time the center had just started out under its director Vladimir Ussachevsky. During Arel's work in Princeton he also met Edgard Varèse, with whom in 1962 he worked on the electronic sections of Varèse's Déserts. Frank Zappa lists Arel as a key influence. Today's electronic music - whether it is Autechre's Confield (2001), Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol. II (1999), or Squarepusher's Do You Know Squarepusher (2001) - builds upon a solid foundation which Bülent Arel helped to pave. Wire #403: Sept. 2017 MAG   $10.50"Lichens, 21st century polymath Robert Aubrey Lowe talks patching up modular synths, vocalising doom metal, and acting the part. Meanwhile, inside the issue... Peter King, New Zealand lathe cutter to the likes of The Dead C, Lee Ranaldo, Acid Mothers Temple, and No-Neck Blues Band. A report on composers who require musicians to throw their bodies as well as their souls into their performances, including Michael Baldwin, Celeste Oram, Louis d'Heudieres, Alwynne Pritchard and others. Plus: Invisible Jukebox: Sparks; Epiphanies: Maggi Payne; Inner Sleeve: Ryoko Akama; Global Ear: Algarve; Unofficial Channels: Pop Not Slop." HIRO KONELove Is The Capital  LP  $18.99"Love Is The Capital the debut LP by Hiro Kone, the recording alias of Nicky Mao. The album is a follow-up to the incredibly well received Fallen Angels cassette, bringing with it some of Mao's most emotionally and politically driven work yet. It is Hiro Kone's long coming opus, examining a number of all-too-relevant themes: capital, the state, egoism, anxiety, and steadfast optimism. The eight songs on Love Is The Capital highlight Mao's austere, politicized techno battling for the greater good. Songs are visceral meditations of rhythm, noise, and melody in the vein of Pan Sonic, Chris & Cosey, Muslimgauze, and Kangding Ray. The sounds were often recorded in scenes of isolation, whether physically or emotionally. 'Infinite Regress' was during a trek with RLoveoxy Farman (Wetware) up to the sleepy, upstate NY town of Palenville. There, frozen in a cabin with the most DIY of recording booths, Mao recorded Roxy's vocals and what would be the track that would put into motion the entire album. 'Less Than Two Seconds' was written in a single afternoon in late December 2015 when it was revealed that the grand jury had declined to indict the police officer who shot to death 12-year old Tamir Rice. The taut techno, industrial minimalism, and aural upheaval is embedded in tracks 'Rukhsana' (featuring Drew McDowall, formerly of Coil & Psychic TV, on modular synthesizer), 'The Place Where Spirits Get Eaten,' and 'Less Than Two Seconds,' an emotionally wrought blitz of serrated Monomachine tones flanked by timeless recordings of essayist, poet, and social writer James Baldwin. Mao ventures deep into heady, prismatic runs of hypnotic techno, on 'Don't Drink the Water' and 'The Declared Enemy.' On opener 'Being Earnest' and 'Love is the Capital,' foreboding motifs brood their way back into the narrative. Still, the album maintains a sense transformation, burdened with an alien tension- the awareness of an impending and necessary collapse. And what may come next." MOON DIAGRAMSLifetime Of Love  2LP  $29.99"Lifetime Of Love is the debut album by Moon Diagrams, the solo recording project of Deerhunter co-founder and drummer Moses John Archuleta. Recorded in Georgia (Atlanta and Athens) and Manhattan (East Village) over a 10-year period, Lifetime Of Love finds Archuleta processing various stages of love, loss, and regeneration via forlorn pop, minimal techno, and weightless experimentation. Throughout each of the 8 songs, Archuleta follows fits of inspiration or moments of chance. By lifting samples from thrift store-sourced LPs, removed from their sleeves and chosen at random to find loops and textures, Archuleta lets the unknown happen naturally, but still confined to a specific set of boundaries. 'Bodymaker' and 'Nightmoves' feature Archuleta's earliest solo recordings, captured between the release of Deerhunter's 2007 breakout LP Cryptograms and 2008 LP Microcastle. The two songs also show Archuleta's willingness to venture outside of the taut, mesmerizing drone rock of his main band. The chilling, ambient techno of 'Nightmoves' perfectly foils and compliments the broodingly sullen but sincerely beautiful shuffle into the dark. In 2012, Archuleta decided to pick up his recording activity, challenging himself to make a solo album. Locking himself in his practice space and using only the spare instruments laying around, Archuleta would enter fugue states in recordings. This period yielded a disparate mix of sonic sketches, from eerily bucolic choir recordings ('Playground'), dusty art-pop ('Moon Diagrams'), and infectiously jubilant dance pop ('End of Heartache'). For the final period, Archuleta found inspiration after an extended stint in Berlin, estranged from his friends and family. But Archuleta used the relative isolation to take in the city's dark energy, eventually returning home to finish the album with a newfound sense of resolve. Subtly grandiose and quietly epic, the album explores a nascent beginning, a morose middle, and a bittersweet, optimistic end." ADI GELBARTPreemptive Musical Offerings To Satisfy Our Future Masters  LP  $30.99For his next release on Felix Kubin's Gagarin Records, multi-instrumentalist Adi Gelbart delivers twelve Preemptive Musical Offerings To Satisfy Our Future Masters. With a spiraling musical complexity reminiscent of film scores, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, library music, criminal swing, Russian vitamins, tinnitus' twist, abstract jazz and musique concrète, Gelbart surpasses himself this time by augmenting his palette of instruments to the extent where he becomes a small orchestra. "The Source" of his musical identity plays "The Message" of synths, broken organs, harpsichord (!), double bass, horns, cymbals and crispy drum machines. It's a "Spacetime Reverie," where "Tsuburaya" blows "Leaves For Gamera" while "He Who Speaks Through Pyramids" walks through "Echoville" with "Dust" on his shoes, contemplating the "Birth Of Alpha" after "The Big Sleep." While humming to songs of the second moon, the "Harpsichord Automata" leads "The March Of The Thinking Machines" to a blissful silver big bang. The LP comes in a beautifully designed sleeve with cover artwork by Berlin-based German illustration star Benedikt Rugar, who has contributed to newspapers such as The New York Times and Spiegel, as well as numerous animation film festivals. A download card is included with the purchase of the record. KING BUCKNOR JR. & AFRODISK BEAT 79African Woman LP  $26.99Hot Casa present a reissue of King Bucknor Jr. & Afrodisk Beat 79's African Woman, originally released in 1979. African Woman is a fantastic Afro-beat album from the Fela Anikulapo Kuti disciple and Kalakuta Republic member. A sublime spiritual and political session recorded in 1979 at the EMI studio in Lagos, Nigeria. Arranged and self-produced, Kingsley Bucknor's second album, hopelessly obscure and impossible to find, ranks alongside the best Afro-beat albums in history. At the age of 19, King Bucknor Jr., also known as the Black Isaiah of Africa, released his second album backed by a 16-piece band called The Afrodisk, and ten background singers. Two long and hypnotic grooves with all the Afro-beat ingredients: fluid and complex drums patterns, strong horns, female voices on chorus, strong lyrics, beautiful keys, and horns solos. Essential for all Afro collectors and music lovers. Vinyl replica; Remastered by Carvery (UK); Includes inner sleeve with an interview. RAINFOREST SPIRITUAL ENSLAVEMENTFallen Leaves Camouflaged Behind Tropical Flowers  LP  $24.99Marking six years of Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement's cultish, elemental output, Dominick Fernow (Prurient) gives the project's first ever release a vinyl pressing for the first time, coiling up two extended tracts of impure, unnatural gloom ranking amongst his most cherished works. Fallen Leaves Camouflaged Behind Tropical Flowers was originally released on tape in 2011 in an edition of 59. When RSE was first conceived with Fallen Leaves Camouflaged Behind Tropical Flowers in 2011, the project was shrouded in a veil of mystery which left many fiends guessing to its provenance -- it seemed too far reduced to be identified as Fernow's work, but also didn't easily resonate with anyone of Hospital Productions' usual suspects, instead holding a unique line of stygian slow techno that sounded like some our bleakest, febrile fantasies come to life. Soon enough RSE's creator and navigator was indeed revealed to be Fernow, and the project became regarded among his most prized golems by those in the know, not least because it was starkly defined in contrast to his myriad other pseudonyms -- Vatican Shadow, Prurient, Christian Cosmos, Force Publique Congo, and so on -- by dint of its perceived restraint and glowering minimalism. Perhaps because of that stringent, meditative asceticism, the hypnotic grip of RSE has remained undiminished and perhaps as strong as ever on this new vinyl edition, where the predator heartbeat and keening tonal groans of "Life Would Transform" sound more pensive and narcotically effective than ever, and the borderland industrial chug and clag of "Skull Covered In Moss" seems to be seated deeper into its dank gloom, emulating a location recording of a burial-by-mud in some godforsaken no-man's-land, with lurking parakeets and mechanical birds awaiting their turn on your soon-to-be carrion. RIYL: Coil, Demdike Stare, Prurient, Brian Eno / Jon Hassell's Fourth World (1980). Remastered by Paul Corley; Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Edition of 500. OMAR KHORSHID AND HIS GROUPLive in Australia 1981  LP  $25.99This is the first live concert recording ever issued of legendary Egyptian guitarist Omar Khorshid and his group. It features tracks recorded during his 1981 tour of Australia, including live versions of songs that grace his various LPs recorded for Lebanese and Egyptian labels during the 1970s with one phenomenal tune, "Al Rabieh," being exclusive here as never before issued in any form. The sound is surprisingly great for a live cassette recording and the band is as sharp and monumental as ever, with stunning instrumental performances throughout, including an extended improvisational rhythmic exchange between percussionist Ibrahim Tawfiek and Omar's electric guitar on the epic track "Sidi Mansour." This record is loaded with Khorshid's signature microtonal Arabesque surf guitar elegance darting atop the backing band's brilliant accompaniment, and the tones of organist Fouad Rohaiem sound raw and abrasive, as though it were still 1973. The album has even more nostalgic (and tragic) significance as these shows would be his last; a car accident claiming Omar's life within 72 hours of flying back to Cairo from Australia. Mohamed Amine, Khorshid's lifelong friend and member of his group from 1975-1981, recorded these tracks and provided the photographs that embellish the beautiful gatefold jacket that accompanies this LP. Collected and researched by Khorshid historian Hany Zaki in Cairo, this unbelievable treasure is now available for the world to behold. Limited edition LP release in a full-color gatefold jacket with exquisite photos from Mohamed Amine's personal archive and informative liner notes by Hany Zaki. TUNES AT NOONevery thursday at 12 noon in dearborn city hall park at the corner of michigan ave and schaeferone hour of free music - bring your lunch and enjoy some fun in the sun!! 8/10 Michael Malis TrioMichael Malis is a pianist and composer based in Detroit, MI. Malis bridges the gap between original composed, complex material and the spontaneity of improvisation. His trio (piano, bass, drums),   featured on his latest album, has toured in the United States and Canada, and in September 2016, they performed at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. 8/17 Viands "Viands is a spontaneous collaboration between two auteurs of Detroit's underground music scene: Joel Peterson and David Shettler. The music they create is a deep, reflective and fearless alternate-reality keyboard meditation that draws on the pair's broad musical vision to explore new vistas.

Avenging Angel: Part 27

Summary: You’ve spent the last five years on a dangerous mission to solve the crime that wrongly imprisoned your father. When the Winchesters find you half-frozen on the side of a mountain, they make it their own mission to save your life and make sure you stay alive. But after five years of uncovering horribly dark secrets, you’ve learned not to trust anyone. Especially people who seem like they have good intentions.

Word Count: 1526

Warnings: None

A/N: Links aren’t working on this part, so here’s the URL to the series Masterlist: https://imagining-supernatural.tumblr.com/post/158422944355/avenging-angel-masterlist

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6 – Part 7 – Part 8 -- Part 9 -- Part 10 -- Part 11 -- Part 12 -- Part 13 -- Part 14 -- Part 15 -- Part 16 -- Part 17 -- Part 18 -- Part 19 -- Part 20 -- Part 21 -- Part 22 -- Part 23 -- Part 24 -- Part 25 -- Part 26

Celeste looked over the reports that came back on your blood tests to see if you had the genetic marker. You watched her carefully, looking for any sign.

Her eyebrows drew together and you saw her eyes skip back to the top of the page to look over the data again.

“What is it?” you asked with apprehension.

“It’s… It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before.” She tilted the papers so you could see them too. As she explained, she pointed to various diagrams and words that had no real meaning to you. “It looks like you have a partial marker here, but I’ve never seen someone have only part of that marker. And that, my dear, isn’t even the strangest part.”

“Do I wanna know what the strangest part is?”

She flipped through a few more papers. “Well, it doesn’t matter whether you wanna know or not because I don’t understand what is happening here. This right here shouldn’t look like that. And these numbers are far from the normal range.”

Celeste lifted her eyes to yours. “I think we should run another test. Just to make sure everything is kosher.”

Slowly, you took the papers from her hand and looked at the gibberish on the pages. “Okay. Maybe it was just a lab error or something.”

“I’m sure that’s what it was.”

After she drew more blood, you left to go check on your storage unit and wait for word on the results. Those results never came back, though, because Celeste called you a week later to tell you that her house with all of her tools had burnt down.

*****

*****

“Mr. Winchester here has led quite the exciting life,” Mr. Covington confirmed. “But I was disappointed that you hadn’t confided in him.”

“About what?” You hedged, wanting to know exactly what he was talking about before you gave anything away.

“The information I require from you.”

This didn’t make any sense. Dean knew about the research. He knew where it was, and he’d read through most of it. Therefore, George should know about it too, since he’d downloaded all of Dean’s memories. So why was he acting like he didn’t know?

Well, if he was gonna act ignorant, then you were too. And a quick glance at both Sam and Dean showed you that the three of you were on the same page.

“You require from me? I’m not just going to roll over and give it to you. I may not like my dad too much at the moment, but I still put him way above you and two guys I met just over a month ago. Why do you want the research anyway?”

Victoria sat forward. “Because he could twist it to make his pack practically invincible, isn’t that right? Once your father and I realized the full extent of what George and his family could use our research for, we stopped immediately."

"You're the reason my family got killed that night," George bit out angrily.

Victoria didn't back down. "Your family died that night because they got careless. Don't blame me for your incompetence."

"Unless you want me to tell Y/N exactly why you left, I suggest you shut up."

Cold, dense tension surrounded the booth so much so that even the waitress looked nervous to come take everyone's orders. As soon as she left, you picked the conversation right up again. "Why you really left?"

"He's just trying to bait you, honey."

"Don't call me honey. Why did you leave?"

"I thought you wanted to keep our relationship strictly professional," Victoria said coolly.

You crossed your arms and leaned forward. "And I thought you wanted to fix our relationship."

“I never said that,” she countered.

Her words hurt more than you could let her know. Sure, you didn’t want her to act like your mother right now. It would just make this meeting harder. But hearing that she didn’t want to fix what she did to you?

“Why are you here, then?” Sam asked in the silence you’d created.

Victoria’s eyes slid to the man she had caught her daughter in bed with and narrowed slightly. “Y/N is my daughter. We share blood. That makes her a part of my pack. I wanted to protect her from the Covingtons.”

“You didn’t seem too concerned for the past year,” you muttered insolently.

“You were untouchable for the past year. Especially after you moved in with Braxton.”

That was the flimsiest excuse you’d ever heard. You just spent five years of your life dedicated to getting your father out of prison, where he was relatively safe already. But your mom couldn’t be bothered to get you out of a dangerous situation when your life was at stake?

You trained your eyes on Dean, signaling for him to take over the conversation. If you opened your mouth right now, you were pretty sure that you would start yelling.

“Why are you gathering such a large pack?”

Victoria’s eyes slid toward George for a split second. “For protection.

“From the shifters?” Sam asked, having seen what you had.

“Don’t listen to her,” George cut in. “She’s not making a defensive plan. She’s the one who’s going on the offense. She’s the one you should be worried about.”

“You tried to kill me,” you reminded him.

“She hurt your friends,” he countered. “I wonder what is so important that she’s hiding that she would burn down the house of one of her old colleagues.”

It was always a bad sign when a Covington made sense. At least he was upfront about his intentions. Or, at least, more upfront than Victoria was being.

Your phone vibrated just then, and you glanced down to see that an unknown number was calling you. Probably some telemarketer. Ignoring the call, you turned your attention back at the werewolf and shifter sitting at the table.

“And you seem pretty intent on getting the attention off of you,” you pointed out to George. “I wonder why that is.”

“Self-preservation, dear. I’m sitting in a diner with two hunters. You never know what you say that could set their kind off. Keep that in mind if you foolishly decide to keep breaking bread with them.”

Keep breaking bread with them? Who said stuff like that anymore?

Your phone vibrated again with the same unknown number flashing across the screen. Slightly curious, but not curious enough to step away from this conversation, you ignored the call again. It wasn’t ten seconds later when a text popped up.

Unknown: Answer the phone. It’s important. –t9

As soon as you processed that the number was Braxton’s, a third call came through. Glancing at Sam, then Dean for a second, you excused yourself and headed outside to take the call.

“Braxton?”

“Look, I don’t have much time, Y/N. Have you talked to your dad yet?”

So that’s what this was about. “Brax, your dad is here right now. If he can’t get that research out of me, then there’s no way I’m giving it to you.”

“I’m not working with him.”

He said it so simply that you had no choice but to believe him.

“What?”

“Meet me at the Skyloft in Vegas next Thursday at eight. Alone. No Winchesters.”

“Why would I do that?” You were curious, but meeting Braxton in Vegas? That didn’t seem like a good idea if you didn’t have any backup. Especially since you didn’t know where he stood anymore. At least when you thought he worked with his dad, you had an idea of how to handle him. But now?

“I have answers.” He knew that would get you. “I’ll explain everything. Please, Y/N. It’s important.”

Braxton Covington begging to see you? Not many people could claim that. Still though, you weren’t stupid enough to just blindly walk into whatever he had planned. “Braxton, I don’t—“

“Do you want to meet your sister?”

Your mouth hung open in the middle of your sentence. Sister? You didn’t have a sister. You were an only child. Sure, you’d dreamed of having siblings, but that was never in the books for you.

“Skyloft. Thursday. Eight o’ clock. We’ll explain everything.”

Braxton hung up and you slowly brought your phone away from your ear, staring at the screen. We’ll explain everything. We. Him and your sister? Both of them would be in Vegas? Your eyes wandered back to the table and you could see your mother through the glass, glaring at something Dean was saying. You could ask her if she knew what he was talking about. But for some reason, you trusted Braxton to tell you the whole truth rather than the woman who gave birth to you.

Slowly, you started walking back inside, your mind still swirling with confusion. But one thing was clear to you.

“We’re not getting anywhere here. It’s a waste of our time.” Both Winchesters had questions in their eyes, but you just shook your head. You’d tell them once the three of you were alone. “George, we’ll leave you with the bill. I think you can afford that. And… Can I get my car back?”

Part 28 of Avenging Angel (Links aren’t working here, so here’s a link to Part 28: https://imagining-supernatural.tumblr.com/post/158339510805/avenging-angel-part-28 )

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((So here’s a story I wrote about the universe created by me and my friends, that this OC was originally from!  I’m mainly posting this to share with my old friends but you can go ahead and read it too!))

(ina = icy, lea's oc, i don't remember much about her but i do recall that she was the ice mage and we shipped her with fukai) {UNKNOWN.} With Bloodcrusher defeated (no, merely sealed away) so long ago, and the stones back in their place on the Demon Lord's crown, the mages seem like some sort of fairytale.  Not many remember them, and the idea that those jewels on the museum-exhibit crown grant powers is absurd.  But this woman knows better. This woman breaks the glass with a kick and grabs the crown, sprinting down halls and avoiding security traps skillfully - running, running, running far away until she's in some dark alley. "I will awaken you." She sends the crown flying across the alleyway hard enough to hit the ground and unbind the jewels on it.  The jewels vanish into thin air and the woman smirks.

{ROY.} The first thing he hears is the sound of busy streets.  Then comes his vision; a strange and narrow pathway between buildings that certainly isn't made of dirt.  It's solid material, a light gray color, he notes as he gives the ground a few firm stomps.  Then comes the sensation of a clenched fist - opening his hand, he sees a little blue stone with... some sort of engraving on it. It all comes back. The mages - names come tumbling out of his mouth.  Myalis.  Hikari.  Neo.  Celeste.  Ryllae.  Ina.  Balance, Light, Darkness, Time, Fire, Ice... and so many more.  The vision of a crown, its jewels scattered everywhere.  The horrible, horrible enemy they'd faced once and never saw again.  He's been called upon again, reborn after - how long?  the world seems so different now - because some force above wants him to do... something. What he needs to do, he doesn't know.  But his first thought is Ryllae.  Ryllae's always had the answers, right?  If he can find her... Glancing back down at the stone, he closes his fist and runs out onto the street.

{LEONARDO.} Anxiously, the boy wrings his hands.  He's been asked questions before - "shouldn't you be in school?"; "how old are you?"; "where are your parents?" - but he doesn't know if he's going to be able to answer the ones that are about to be fired at him. A soft groan escapes the lips of he who is lying on the bed.  A perfect mirror image, with sickly pale skin and dark hair - one could mistake these two for twins. (They were twins, once upon a time.) Eyes flutter open and Leo tenses, staring even harder at the lookalike.  The other boy tries to sit up - he falls back down, weakened by fatigue.  Finally, crimson eyes lock with Leo's and the boy speaks almost defensively. "Who are you?" Deep breaths, Leo has to tell himself, deep breaths so you can explain something so outlandish.  He closes his eyes for a second before replying. "More importantly than me, I'd ask, who are YOU?" That mirror image opens his mouth but he's silenced by Leo's own voice. "Except I already know who you are."  From the bedside table, Leo fetches a gem black like a void and presents it to the boy.  "Ring any bells, Neo?" Neo frowns, suddenly even more defensive.  "Give me that."  As if revived, he snaps into a sitting position and snatches the gem, studying it before turning to Leonardo.  "...I'll ask again.  Who are you?" A demon.  Your brother in a past life.  "Someone who knows that there's a reason you were summoned back to this world." "Is that so."  Blunt as always, Neo gives him a skeptical look. "It is."  Leo is equally blunt, but his old habit of copying is brother is quickly discarded in favor of a more serious tone.  "Listen, if I'm correct, the only thing you can remember is that you're a mage and you have the duties that accompany that title.  I don't know how you've come back, but you have, and it's for good reason." The red-eyed boy nods quietly.  Expectantly.  Leo scratches his head. "...Uh, I dunno the reason, but it's a good reason." "Okay."  Neo rolls his eyes in that familiar way Leo's always missed. "Anyways, the important thing is that you're here and I think there are some people you can't afford to wait meeting."  He places a hand on the other boy's.  "I trust you, Neo, so will you trust me?" Silence. "...Good.  My name's Leonardo."

{CELESTE.} "Myalis!" the girl calls, running across the crosswalk.  This place is strange, but she's gotten used to it after a few hours of wandering, and now her number one priority is to find her brother.  Or at the very least one of the other mages...  And maybe get a longer skirt.  This one's kinda short. When she reaches the sidewalk, Celeste is met with a familiar sight - unfortunately not Myalis, but... "Ina...?" she asks cautiously, tilting her head at the girl with ice-blue hair. "Cele?!" "It IS you!"  They share a hug - long and tight, the first hug they've shared in centuries, probably.  When Ina finally pulls away, her happiness turns to concern.  "I had a feeling I was supposed to find you..." "And I had a feeling I was supposed to find Myalis.  If you could help me with that..." "Celeste." "Mm?"  Her answer is absentminded; Myalis is on her mind right now. "We're here for a very particular reason, I think."  Glancing around nervously, Ina lowers her voice.  "I feel like something's off.  I haven't felt this way since..." Though Ina has trailed off, Celeste is well aware of what the other girl is referring to.  Frowning, she replies.  "If you're right, and the others are here too, it's important that we join the others.  We need to make a plan of counterattack."

{SAPPHIRE.} The young man across from her at the cafe looks awfully familiar, but she can't put her finger on it.  Of course, being such a popular girl, Sapphire's garnered attention from a lot of guys... perhaps he's just an admirer that approached her once.  Fingers carding through long pink hair, the girl takes another sip of her hot chocolate.  He's stealing glances at her, she notices from the corner of her eye.  But Sapphire pays it no mind.  Many, many boys have stared at her before. Then he comes over to her table. As he opens his mouth, she braces herself for some sort of inquiry about her phone number, but instead she's met with a genuinely confused-sounding voice. "Excuse me, ma'am, but have we met before?" This throws Sapphire off a little.  Is he flirting with her?  He doesn't look flirtatious.  He doesn't look happy at all.  He looks... lost.  So she answers honestly. "Not that I remember.  But you do look familiar." He quite politely asks if he can take a seat with her - to which she accepts; it's rare to find a cute boy with manners - and starts asking her questions about her family.  Not her.  Her family.  For whatever reason.  Does she have any cousins?  What are her cousins like? Sapphire is completely stumped now.  Is he interested in her or not?  What are all these questions for?  When she opens her mouth to ask, a feminine voice calls across the cafe from the doorway. "Myalis!" The boy's head snaps to the source of the voice, and Sapphire's eyes follow his. "Hikari?!" He runs off, too excited to bid Sapphire farewell.  She raises an eyebrow as they enthusiastically begin to talk and step out of the cafe. What a strange boy.

{ROY.} "Uh, excuse me."  Roy turns around to find a purple-haired man, probably in his early twenties, looking down at him a bit awkwardly.  Strange; it feels like Roy should be the older one, but... "If I were you, I'd probably head in that direction."  He points backwards.  "Just consider it a tip from... someone who knows what's up." With that, he walks off, not giving Roy a chance to reply.  'Someone who knows what's up'?  Is this a total coincidence or does someone actually know that he's a mage?  Maybe even someone who's set up a trap?  But Roy's always been a risk taker, so he takes off in the direction that man had pointed in. He's greeted from afar with four familiar faces - faces he'd never forget in his entire life.  Or in any of his future lives, for that matter. "Guys!"  The group turns to look at him before the girl with short ginger hair calls back.  And then he runs as fast as he can across the pavement, straight into the arms of four people he'd been through hell and back with.  Celeste, Ina, Hikari, Myalis... "You're just as beautiful as I remembered," he commented to Celeste with a smirk - earning him a scolding from Myalis.  They laughed and talked and caught up on what they'd been doing.  And then Roy said it. "Seeing you guys again is great and all, but there's still Neo and Ry out there..."  As far as he could sense, anyway.  It seems that only the seven of them had been called upon.  "We can't exactly celebrate until we find them, yeah?" "That's what I was going to say."  Hikari crossed her arms - oh, this was a perfect opportunity to get under her skin. "Great minds think alike.  Maybe we're soulmates, then?" "Oh, Roy, would you just SHUT UP!"

{LEONARDO.} Apparently there was some sort of radar that existed within mages, because Neo sure was confident about leading the way in their search.  Neo had practiced introducing himself to random strangers with the phrase "yeah, I'm the guy from The Matrix" (how'd he even know about that movie...?  He was still slumbering when it was released--) and they'd stopped for ice cream at least twice.  The urgent tone Leo had wanted to deliver was lost in Neo's interest in the new world.  Now they were strolling through a park when the red-eyed boy stopped suddenly. "What is it, Neo?" Leo glanced at his former brother with a mouth full of lychee-flavored ice cream. That ice cream was promptly grabbed from him.  "Hey!  Neo, th--" "Shush."  Neo narrowed his eyes and snuck behind a tree, ice cream cone in hand.  "I smell... a unique fear." Completely lost, Leo nodded and let Neo do his thing.  Stealthily, the boy pulled his arm back and hurled Leonardo's ice cream cone across the park.  He didn't even have time to be angry because a girlish scream shortly followed. "NOT LYCHEE!  GET IT AWAY FROM ME!  GET IT AWAY!" Neo snickered as a pink-haired boy came running and bumped straight into Leo, nearly knocking him over.  "Wh-whoa!" That boy looked up and blushed brightly.  "Oh, s-sorry--" "Found you, Roy!"  Neo slapped Roy on the back and laughed.  After him came more old friends - Hikari, Celeste, Ina, and Myalis.  How long had it been?  Three hundred years, maybe? And, unlike the rest, he wouldn't be recognized. "This is Leonardo.  He knows about us... for some reason," Neo said.  Then Leo took his time to speak up. "I'll explain everything later.  Right now, it's getting late - everyone follow me.  We're going to my house." With an "oh yeah!" from Red, they set off.

{UNKNOWN.} The woman twirled about, singing a tune, until finally she knelt down so she was eye-level with the cage.  "Your friends have forgotten all about you, you know." She was met with a glare from the small person inside.  "I'll make it out of here.  Just you watch." "Not on my watch.  You're too valuable to lose... Ryllae."

Global Source meets Mayday

Following on from last week’s post, where Global Source caught up with the girls of B.L.O.O.M. ahead of their debut night at Soup Kitchen, this week we continue our series on Manchester nightlife with an interview with Tom from Mayday, a collaborative project between two well-established names on the Manchester scene: CULT and Ossia. This Saturday at Hidden they’re hosting what looks set to be a pretty outstanding showcase of cutting-edge electronic music, with a serious roster of talent from the celebrated R&S Records, and none other than Talaboman (John Talabot and Axel Boman) headlining. Read on to find out about what it takes to throw a rave in a skatepark, the challenges of making high-end bookings as an independent promoter, and what to expect from Mayday in the coming months.

Global Source: First things first, for those unaware of what you guys are up to, can you describe Mayday in your own words? What’s it all about, and what’s the link with Ossia and CULT?

Tom from Mayday: Mayday is a collaboration between Ossia and CULT. It’s simply the joined forces of the brands. It’s opened up new possibilities for us in terms of bookings, both financially as well as by combining our roster of residents. We’re taking Mayday in a different direction from the other two brands, which tend to focus on more intimate gigs in medium-sized venues, usually showcasing 1 or 2 artists. Mayday on the other hand is all about collaboration with organisations, labels and collectives, really trying to provide some of Manchester’s most top end nightlife. Our show with Dimensions last year was a lot of fun and an amazing opportunity to bring high-calibre artists the likes  of Daniel Avery to Manchester.  

GS: Cool – nice to see a full-on long-term collaboration between the two crews. Having more of you involved must make it a little easier on the wallet to make those higher-end bookings… Does it also make it harder to agree on a lineup? What’s the decision-making process like?

TfM: The costing is definitely eased by the number in the group, sure, but it doesn’t detract from the huge risk we put on ourselves for every show! The lineup process is always a tricky one but thankfully we’re all extremely passionate about the music and appreciate artists from across the spectrum of the dance scene. There’s rarely a suggestion that gets completely shut down because ultimately we’d love to have everyone play for us. Most of the time the main restriction is availability and the booking costs of the artists, we may agree on a 5 stage contingency of acts we want and get in touch with them all, only to find out that they’re all booked, taking the month off, or tied up in something else. Finding a solution is one of the fun bits though, trying to work out who would fit with who, whether they played too recently or too near, all these things come into play.

GS: So back in June you guys hosted an event at Manchester’s Projekts skatepark, where you had Mall Grab and Shanti Celeste play. How did that event come about? I saw some pretty funny video of people who’d had a few too many trying to negotiate a quarter pipe – did you have to do a risk assessment?

TfM: We scouted out the skatepark because we saw that UKF had done an event there a couple of years back. It looked like a wicked event so we got in touch and they were fortunately interested in having us in. They have to get a TEN [Temporary Event Notice] to have an event there but even with that we got the council coming over an hour before the licence expired telling us to pull the plug. Luckily we managed to pull a filibuster and sweet talked them for the hour so that we didn’t have to shut down before Mall Grab finished! The venue was covered with a risk assessment already but we had to take out insurance in case anyone did bail on the quarter pipe while trying to backside blunt and split their chin open. Luckily everyone partied *fairly* sensibly and we didn’t have any issues. There’s always an element of mutual trust when holding events like that, and with a crowd who are there for the music not because they’re at “UNAYYY” and love chanting about the most recent footballer caught up in a controversy we were alright.

GS: I’m sure you heard about the recent controversy caused by Jeremy Underground’s agent threatening to bite someone if they didn’t book a 5 star hotel with a gym and sauna for his client. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get your take on it – should top DJs feel entitled to a post-set spa session? Is there anyone you guys rate highly enough that you’d pay for their sauna to get them on the bill?

TfM: To be honest most tier 1 artists require 5* hotels with room service, wifi, leisure facilities, all expenses covered, upmarket dinner, excessive riders etc. It doesn’t come as any surprise to me that JU asked for those extra facilities because as he said, he had a very busy week of shows. That said we’re always careful to read the contract beforehand to know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into. Everything is negotiable, so as long as you don’t blindly sign bits of paper you should know what to expect. Changing agreements last minute on the other hand isn’t okay. It’s a bit of a confusing situation and it seems that the agent and the promoters were both slightly in the wrong - Jeremy offered to pay for it all himself so in my eyes he wasn’t being out of order. Personally I’d let Dixon have my house keys, all of my savings, any current girlfriends, my watch and my best pair of shoes because I think he is an absolute god. Whether I speak for the rest of the Mayday team is another question but he holds a special place in my heart!

GS: While we’re on the subject of big bookings, at this time of year as we all know it’s Warehouse Project season. Obviously they’ve elevated the standing of Manchester’s club scene on the world stage as a heavyweight contender, but some feel they’re unfairly monopolizing the market. As a smaller outfit, what do you feel are the pros and cons of the WHP brand?  

TfM: I remember a great piece of convo I had with Toby who was the original Ossia don, saying that he didn't mind WHP before this year because as much as they got most of the huge names they tended to leave a decent gap for more niche artists. This year they've just snapped up so many acts we wanted to book who we thought were a little more under the radar. So, kudos to them for improving the programming but also, rahhhhhhh. It's the exclusivity contracts that grind our gears – it takes away so many options for booking talent we truly love and who would provide a totally different show in a smaller venue that wouldn’t detract from Warehouse Project’s ticket sales. But there you go, they operate like a business whereas a lot of promoters do it for the love of the scene.  I can't help but thank them for making the Manchester nightlife so revered, no doubt they're a credit to the city and the scene as well as a pain in the arse. I remember my friends travelling from down south to attend WHP a few years back and it’s always drawn people to Manchester. I’d love to see them find a better venue because I’ve definitely fallen out of love with Store Street, but maybe I take that back because it might make our lives even harder!

GS: Yeah it’s definitely a tough one, hard to argue with the lineups they put together but seeing the corporatisation of the “underground” music scene does leave a sour taste in the mouth. Anyway, enough party politics for now. Let’s get to the matter at hand – this Saturday!  You guys are bringing the legendary R&S Records to Hidden. It’s a hell of a lineup, with Talaboman headlining, and you’ve even arranged an in-store pre-party with Space Dimension Controller at Eastern Bloc Records. How are you guys feeling about it? Looks set to be a night to remember…  

TfM: Safe to say we’ve all been absolutely buzzing for this show ever since we got the go ahead from R&S. They’re a household name in the dance music scene and have proved time and time again that venturing into the unknown and embracing diversity in your taste creates a successful following. Their roster of artists is so impressive and we’re blessed to have Paula Temple, SDC and Renaat. Paula especially has been on our watchlist for a while, and ever since Ossia had SDC do a DJ set a couple of year back we’ve been gagging to see him perform live! Talaboman as the special guest was a no brainer for us - since the two heavyweights joined forces we’ve all been drooling over the prospect of seeing them play together. The fact we’ve got them on a line up is a dream come true. Excitement in the Mayday camp is second to none and we just hope that everyone who plans on joining us brings immense energy and we have a proper party!

GS: I have no doubt that’s what it’ll be. Tom, thanks for your time, and all the best for Saturday night and the year to come – can’t wait to hear what’s next on the Mayday Agenda. Any clues as to what that might be?

TfM: I can't give too much away yet but we've got something special lined up for next may… think Bongos Bingo and Schloss!

There are still a few tickets available for Saturday night, go cop right here.

Check out the videos below for a hint of what you can expect music-wise on the night:

Talaboman - Loser’s Hymn

Space Dimension Controller @ Dekmantel 2017

Paula Temple - Ful (R&S)

Several Glee Project Contenders Cast as Recurring Regular and Recurring Characters in The Wildebrams Saga!

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Once upon a time Ryan, Ian, and Brad created Glee, a show about (mostly) outcast students who were members of the New Directions glee club at William McKinley High School in Lima Ohio. The show as super popular, but they realized that they could not have the same actors playing the same characters forever. They had to graduate eventually, and part of the appeal of the existing cast was that they were relatively unknown actors, and they utilized traits of the actual actors in the characters that they played making them more real.

Season One was lightening in a bottle, and almost all of the cast proved to be loved by the fans, and came back for season 2 (poor Matt!). However, some of the actors hired to supplement the cast during season two didn’t go over as well as they had hoped, so they decided to hire people that were not regular actors at all and write characters around them. Ryan, along with Casting Director Robert Ulrich decided to open up casting to literally the entire world through an online audition process, and large open casting cals in several American cities; and The Glee Project was born.

If you’re not that familiar with The Glee Project, you’re not alone. I had heard of it, but didn’t really know much about it until I managed to find the episodes online a while back and did some reading on it.

Robert and his entire staff combed through all of the audition videos submitted online or recorded at the casting sessions, and selected 70 odd people to fly in for an in person audition. Over the period of two days, Robert, Zach Woodly (choreographer), Brooke Lipton (asst choreographer), Nikki Anders (vocal producer), and Brad Ellis (on camera accompaniest) worked with them to see what they could do in group sessions and as indivduals. Robert, Zach, and Nikki selected 25 people to perform for Ryan Murphy, who further cut the group down to 12 individuals who would be in the show.

Each season lasted 11 episodes (a casting special, nine lesson weeks, and a finale). Each weekly lesson was focused around a theme such as Individuality, Tenacity, Actability, or Sexuality.

The performers would be given about a day to rehearse before preforming a “homework assignment” group number that they had to organize and choreograph on their own for Robert and a “guest mentor” from the Glee cast. The guest mentor would then critique the performance as a whole, as well as individual performers, and select a “winner” who would win a standout role in the main assignment for the week as well as an individual mentoring session with the guest mentor.

They would then be introduced to the main assignment for the week which was a music video inspired by the performances on Glee. Then they were off to choreography with Zach and/or Brooke, followed by vocal sessions in the recording booth with Nikki, both of whom would work with them to improve there performances. When that was done they would report to the music video shoot with the famous music video director Eric White who, along with Robert, Zack, and Nikki would coach the contenders and observe the process.

Following the completion of the music vide shoot the contenders would line up on stage and have their performances during the week critiqued, and they would be informed who was immediately ‘called back’ for the following week based upon their performances during the week. The three contenders who seemed to struggle the most during the week were selected to perform ‘Last Chance Performances’ later that night for Ryan, who would select one contender to be ‘not called back’ and therefor be sent home. The mentors would assign a song for the contender to perform solo (a couple times there were duets), supposedly to help the contender show them something about themselves that they hadn’t shown yet (though that wasn’t always the case in practice) and they were given two hours to rehearse.

Following their performances Ryan, Robert, Zach (and Nikki during season 2) would critique the performances and discuss the week with the contender. Once the contenders left, the three of them would discuss everything and Ryan would make his decision. 

As originally intended the 12 contenders would be eliminated one by one until there was only one left, and that person would win a minimum seven episode arc on Glee, a recording contract, and the ability to tour. But they changed the rules as they went. Most weeks one person was sent home, but there were also times when two would go, or all of them would be surprisingly called back.

During season one, Ryan and Ian Brennan could not make up their minds, and selected two winners and two runners up. The winners were Samuel Larson and Damien McGinty, who you probably recognize as Joe “Teen Jesus” Hart, and foreign exchange student Rory “Irish” Flanagan. The runners up were Alex Newel (Wade “Unique” Adams), and Lindsay Pierce (Harmony aka “The Gerber Baby”). The winners won the promised seven episodes, but ended up doing many more.  The two runners up were awarded 2 episodes each, though Alex was brought back as a regular in season four of Glee.

All in all it was a very successful season. The Glee Project was renewed for a second season, but this time the produces at Oxygen told Ryan that he absolutely had to select only one winner this time. The whole process started all over again and even more people were auditioned; and the final cut was 14 contenders instead of 12. There were even more truly talented people who could have easily had a role on Glee in one form or another, but unfortunately Ryan was forced to choose only one: Blake Jenner, who ended up portraying Ryder Lynn. There was no official runner up, but one of the final three Ali Stroker was later cast as Artie’s wheelchair bound hookup Betty Pillsbury on one episode.

Both seasons of The Glee Project were full of talented and memorable personalities, but unfortunately none of the rest of them were seen on glee (except two — Elis and Dani — who appeared as non speaking extras).

One of the reasons that I don’t create a lot of original characters is that I take a lot of my inspiration as a writer from the performance of the character in the show itself and the real life actor who portrayed them. This obviously doesn’t exist with completely original characters. After watching both seasons of The Glee Project through twice, I began to see how many of these people could have fit into the show, and was inspired to create characters for them. In some cases I envisioned them portraying characters I had already created, and in others I created completely new characters for them.

The following is a list of the Glee Project contenders who will appear in The Wildebrams Saga stories in some form:

Blake Jenner (TGP2 Winner) will continue to portray Ryder Lynn in all of the installments 

Ali Stroker (TGP2 Runner Up) will reprise her role as Betty Pillsbury in New Beginnings and New New Directions, when her character transfers to McKinley against her wishes

Alex Newel (TGP Runner Up) will continue to play Unique up through New New Directions when she is set to graduate

Samuel Larson (TGP Winner) will continue to play Joe Hart until his character graduates at the end of New Beginnings

Damien McGinty (TGP Winner) will make a guest appearance in the Christmas episode of The Ballad of Kitty and Artie, and may show later up as his character Rory Flanagan if it fits a story, but Glee had him return to Ireland after season 3

Aylin (TGP2) will play Kitty’s friend and later nemesis cheerleader Celeste Green, originally introduced in my version of The New Rachel, through New New Directions

Shanna Henderson (TGP2) will play Kitty’s friend and later nemesis cheerleader Suzanne Martin, originally introduced in my version of The New Rachel, through New New Directions 

Marissa von Bleiken (TGP) will play the mentioned, but never seen cheerleader Missy Gunderson through New New Directions

Michael Weisman (TGP2) will portray the original character Brian, a male cheerleader

Hannah McLalwin (TGP) will portray Tabitha, a drama club member

Lily Mae Harrington (TGP2) will portray Samantha Hughes, a new member of The New Directions in New New Directions

Nellie Veitenheimer (TGP2) will portray Tamara Watson, a (former) cheerleader

Abraham Lim (TGP2) will play a yet to be named rival glee club lead

Other characters based upon characters from either season of TGP could possibly show up as well if it seems to fit a story.

What do you think? Did your favorite TGP Contender make the cut?

Are there any other TGP Contenders that you’d like to see?

Let me know!

Several Glee Project Contenders Cast as Recurring Regular and Recurring Characters in The Wildebrams Saga! was originally published on Wilde Abrams dot Com