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madaboutmunson · 1 year

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Ouija Geebies

Summary: How Eddie discovers Heavy Metal. A 13-year-old Eddie Munson at the beginning of his stay with his Uncle Wayne. Struggling to fit in with the new locals, he takes solace in one of the things he smuggled from home, his parent's Ouija board.

Warnings: references but not the detail of abuse, swearing, ouija board, spirits, bullying references, being the new kid, separation from a loved one.

Author notes: This is a complete work of fiction. There are no facts here ☺️ Just in case anyone was wondering, I love music, and I don't believe any of it is satanic. I just thought it would be a fun idea to write about if maybe it was, but then as I was writing, the story took a completely different turn. Something I started before Halloween but didn't finish in time.

Word Count: 10.5K

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The rhythm of the rain against the trailer window made a familiar beat that Eddie's freshly shaven head nodded along to as he worked the needle in and out of the material in front of him.

The Jedi robe of Obi-Wan Kenobi from last year was being repurposed into a cloak for Radagast the Brown. It just needed a bit of roughing up and a few random patches of other textures here and there, some feathers and vines. He had picked out the lining of the original to wrap around the cardboard wizard's hat he had made.

Eddie loved Halloween, and after everything else that had been taken away from him this year, he wasn't about to let his favourite time of year join that list.

He takes a moment and looks around his mostly bare room, save a few things he refused to part with. His acoustic guitar last used to play "Do you believe in magic" to his Mama down the phone earlier today as they sang together. A few LP Records he would listen to with his Mama that his Dad wasn't precious over. His small bundle of favourite books, which had allowed him to escape the obstacle course that was living in a new town these last few months. His almost destroyed comfort blanket he'd had since he was a baby. A few of his personalised button-down shirts, though he was rapidly growing out of them physically. Lastly was smuggled under some bedding to get it here, his parent's Ouija Board game.

Eddie loved that thing. Every year on Halloween night, he'd scare his friends with it. Either pushing the planchette himself or using fishing wire to make things around the room fall down, whilst all that was illuminated by candles in the room was the board itself.

But this year, he had neither the friends, the fishing wire, or enthusiasm. He missed home. He missed his Mama, no matter what anyone said about her. He missed his friends and how everything there worked as expected, and people were not as stuck up. It didn't matter if you didn't like sports, read books and had longer curly hair there.

Eddie knots his thread and bites it off. Then, standing up, he slips on the cloak in an effortless, spinning, fluid motion and twirls around in it before putting on his hat and looking in the mirror. He smiles happily at himself in the mirror for a few seconds until the backfiring of a car makes him hit the deck in a trembling, curled-up ball.

Shaking, he crawls up to the bottom edge of his bedroom window and looks into the twilight with wide fear-filled eyes as the culprit car chugs past and backfires again. "Jesus Christ", he gasps in a whisper clutching his chest over his rapidly thundering heart.

He scrambles to his feet, takes off his costume and hangs it up in his minimalist wardrobe. As he does so, he looks up at the box hidden under the blanket. There was no one to play it with this year, Wayne sure wouldn't go for it, and so far this year, Eddie had successfully made a grand total of zero friends.

Everyone was just so tough in this town. Tough personalities, tough to get along with, tough to read, tough luck, Eddie thought.

'Ah, screw it', he thinks and grabs the box and pulls it down to the floor next to his bed, ready to push underneath should he be disturbed.

He turns out the main light and uses his bedside table lamp so only the board is illuminated. The rest of the room slowly slipping into dim light and finally into inky black in its deepest recesses.

Feeling slightly uneasy in the silence, he turns the radio on low for company.

Eddie sits on the rug, the board in front of him. He reverently places his fingers on the planchette. He moves it around in circles, increasing and decreasing in size and velocity. He begins with his usual performance piece, but this time in a whisper, "I welcome all that mean well and none that wish me harm".

He sits in the low light accompanied by a late-night radio DJ, his fingers lightly touching the planchette while waiting on the board. The plastic felt warm now after warming it up by rushing it around the board.

Eddie feels disappointed in the lack of movement. He'd obviously only ever used it to scare his friends before. He had no idea if something like this would ever actually work. Then he remembers he hasn't even asked a question yet. He speaks quietly into the corner of his room. "Is there anyone here that wants to speak?"

Eddie waits a few minutes for a response, but the mysterious message indicator does not budge. Finally, he sighs deeply and thinks, "Shit, I can't even make a friend when they have nothing better to do, floating around in the afterlife."

He feels his finger slip on the planchette, or at least that's what he thinks at first until it keeps moving. Not a sudden jolt like he used to do to scare his friends, an almost weak pull, moving his hands with it.

S-A-D.

It spells out gracelessly.

Eddie's eyes were wide again, he'd scream if he had any voice to do so, but it had left him alone with the board and his thoughts.

'You're sad?' He thinks.

His hands are pulled to point at 'NO' and then Y-O-U.

At first, he feels fear. He wants to throw the whole set-up back in the box, hide under his comforter with his blanket, and wait it out until the sun comes up.

The more curious part of Eddie focuses on something else. Someone was talking to him. Responding. Even though it only seemed to want to let Eddie know he was sad. Like he wasn't already acutely aware of it.

Eddie feels shame creep over him. That sadness constantly lurked over him like a rain cloud, but just a constant drizzle of rain, not enough power for a full-blown storm to get it to leave him be. For it to rain itself out, for it to be over. Just the constant steady reminders of everything he'd lost.

He tries to pull the indicator towards Good Bye on the board, but this time it pulls back hard.

'E-D-D-I-E'

The sight of his own name being spelt out with power and, this time, speed was enough for him to dump everything back in the box, wrap it back tightly in the blanket, chuck it in the wardrobe, and slam it shut in here.

"Everything ok in there, Eddie?" The deep voice of Wayne rings out in the darkness.

Eddie grabs his blankie and sits against the wall on the bed, with his knees curled up to his chest, terrified but managing to croak out, finally, "No. I had a nightmare. Can I sit with you or call Mama?"

"Tell you what, how about I read you one of your stories, huh?"

Wayne sits on the edge of Eddie's bed. He reads to him until he's so immersed in middle earth that he's quite forgotten his scare and slips into a restful slumber.

That night Eddie dreams of his usual hero's journey. Again, being forced away from his home by an evil tyrant. To live in exile. To battle the terrors of a new land. But this time, something changes. His weapons and armour are gone, and he has no staff to even cast a spell. In their place, all he has is his guitar.

The mighty tiger-headed ancient suea peek, its usual half tiger, half peacock form, was changed to a colossal half tiger half dragon.

He grips the neck and body of the acoustic against his slight frame like it could possibly do anything to save him from his fate.

Then he hears a sound. No. A voice. He can't make out what it's saying. It seems to be speaking in some ancient tongue until he hears something he recognises.

"Eidde! Nosnum Drawde!" It was speaking backwards.

He thinks fast, "em pleh". He shouts against the roars of the gigantic beast.

"YALP!!" The voice booms in a low multi-layered voice.

Eddie does precisely that. He strums his guitar, and a deep cackle sounds out in stereo around him. Then a swirling grey mist begins to spiral around him. Within it, he sees demonic faces, faces pleading for help, sobbing faces and screaming faces. Until, like a reverse bolt of lightning, it shoots into the sky. Then appears to crash back down into his mouth and into his guitar.

He feels the mist consume him from the inside out, and he lets out an ear-splitting yet tuneful scream like he's singing. It reminds him of something, a Led Zeppelin song. Then his arm strums at his guitar without his command, but the clean, beautiful strum is gone. In its place, a distorted gravelly howl of an electric guitar forced the air before him to ripple.

The chugging rhythm he plays quietens the beast, shrinking it until Eddie's left hand is dragged forcefully to the higher, smaller frets. His fingers dance rapidly over the strings, hammering on and off them, his picking hand a blur, causing the guitar to squeal out its solo beautifully. He bends the strings aggressively, and it feels good. He felt powerful. He looks back up at the beast, glaring at it now and takes a step forward, then another and another until he runs towards it.

The beast recoils in fear away from him. Eddie raises his hand, and with a final hard strum of the strings, a boom emits from him, stripping the beast of everything but its bones which clatter to the ground. The dust they stir up clouds and completely obstructs Eddie's vision until his eyes open to a new morning.

Slowly waking up, he looks back to his closet and wonders. The light streaming through the window removed at least one spooky element.

Eddie hates feeling scared, especially in his own home.

Decision made. He gets out of bed, takes a deep breath and opens the closet.

Lays out the board again in front of him as he sits on the floor.

"I welcome all that mean well and none that wish me harm", he whispers as he warms up the board by circling the planchette around it.

"You scared me last night," he says quietly.

S-O-R-R-Y spells out slowly.

"Did you speak through my dream?" Eddie quietly asks

I-H-E-L-P-U it says, moving faster.

"It was a metaphor, right?"

The planchette pulls to 'Yes.'

Eddie sits still for a minute, trying to think what to ask next, "Can you help me make friends here?"

Eddie's hands get flung around the board by the indicator "Yes" M-A-N-Y.

Eddie likes the sound of that, "What do I need to do?"

H-E-A-V-Y-M-E-T-A-L

Eddie contorts his face. "Like a steel girder?"

"No" M-U-S-I-C

Eddie tries to ask a question, but the board has other ideas.

B-L-A-C-K-S-A-B-B-A-T-H is spelt out as his arms are pulled around the board.

Eddie wracks his brain. That sounded familiar.

"Are they like a band?"

"Yes" L-I-S-T-E-N-P-L-A-Y

The planchette moves around the board at a feverish pace, and Eddie can barely keep up.

"Hey! Whoa! Whoa!" Eddie says a little loudly, as his fingers feel stuck to the indicator and yanks his tiny frame around, pulling him from letter to letter frantically.

Eddie screws up his face and feels the anger build up in him. He was sick of being pushed around but everyone, and now this.

He lets out a yell of pure anguish.

The plastic beneath his fingers slows.

"Yes" L-E-T I-T O-U-T

"You promise the music will help?" Eddie asks weakly and quietly. He's pretty confident he can hear Wayne listening at the door after he cried out.

"Yes" O-N M-Y S-O-U-L

Eddie hears a gentle tapping on his door and quickly bundles up the board and shoves it under his bed.

"Eddie? You ok in there? Want some pancakes? We can go to the diner?"

Wayne's voice though deep and gruff is gentle and almost sad.

"Yes, please" He grabs his wash bag and opens the door.

Wayne backs up a few steps so Eddie can get to the bathroom. Eddie gives him a silent nod, looks away quickly and hurries into the bathroom.

He looks at himself in the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes and the yellowing bruise near his temple shouldn't be something a thirteen-year-old should probably have. Still, nothing about anything recently had been normal.

When his Dad finally got put away, he thought his problems were over, it would just be him and his Mom, and that was perfect.

And it was... for a few months, Eddie's house had never felt so openly full of laughter. They didn't have to watch the clock or listen out for cars. But then the red-lettered bills started arriving, and his Mom got sad.

She tried to transport some product for one of his Dad's old friends. It would have made them a life-changing amount of money, but she'd been arrested before she'd even stepped onto that plane. Someone had squealed.

Eddie had been pulled out of class and sent to his grandparents. But, unfortunately, no one could afford the bail. Eddie was beside himself, and his grandparents were no better than his Dad. Every time he cried, he got in trouble, so he acted out in other ways. Ways that they didn't like either, but at least they just shouted at him and didn't call him names for it.

Moodiness, slamming doors, general disobedience, which grew into other things stealing cigarettes, stealing beers, slashing tires and stealing the tractor.

Then after learning his Mom would have to stay in prison, despite Eddie pleading that they could run away together. He shut himself in his room and cried like never before. His grandfather raged at him and threatened to smash his guitar, and that was all it had taken for Eddie to go out in the night and set their barn ablaze.

He knew Wayne but hadn't spent much time with him. Eddie was worried he would just be like the other Munsons, so he was wary, but Wayne did seem to care. He let Eddie call his Mom and wasn't overly strict. So Eddie was trying his best to behave here.

Eddie ran his hand over his shaven head. It had been such a mess when in a temper, he'd hacked at it himself in a rage. Luckily one of the people in the trailer park was a hairdresser, and Wayne asked for their help. But learning his beautiful dark waves and curls were no more had made his Mom cry on the phone. He hoped it was worth it.

He showered, brushed his teeth and put on a fresh pair of jeans and one of his checked button-down shirts. He lovingly strokes his fingers over the initial embroidered by his Mom on the pocket.

"You're gonna need your coat, Eddie. Probably a hat, too, on account of your new hair cut" Wayne offers a small half smile and hands Eddie a coat and hat.

He looks up at Wayne, takes the items carefully, and quickly puts them on.

The car ride to the diner is silent. Eddie stares out the passenger side window, and Wayne focuses on the road.

"Hey, how about we go to the toy shop before we get pancakes, huh?" Wayne asks gently.

"Ok", Eddie answers quietly. Even though he wasn't really interested in toys all that much.

"Or we could go someplace else if you wanna?" Wayne tries again.

Eddie looks over at him quickly and then back out the window before asking faintly, "Is there a music store?"

"There sure is. one of the biggest stores we got, funnily enough", Wayne says enthusiastically. "Want me to come with you, or you wanna have a look-see by yourself?"

Eddie doesn't know the correct answer to this question or the reaction either answer might cause, so he stares out the window hoping Wayne will decide for him.

"Either is fine, Eddie. I can come with you, get you a few records, or you know I can give you some pocket money, and you get 'em yourself. I can wait outside, in the car, or at the diner. Whatever you want, buddy," Wayne adds kindly.

Eddie thinks for a moment. He wasn't sure who was gonna be in the store, and he didn't really want any of the kids from his school to see him with Wayne, but he also was afraid he'd run into the kids from his school and get hurt again.

"Hmmm, what if I go into the music store, and you can go in the store next door?" Eddie asks, expecting the worst.

"Absolutely no problem. Well, it might have to be two stores down because...well...the store next door is for...um...ladies," Wayne says awkwardly.

Eddie smiles a little as he looks out the window as they pull into a parking spot.

Wayne hands Eddie a considerable amount of money. Eddie thinks more than Wayne probably has to spare, as his eyes widen, looking at the money in his hand.

"Now you don't gotta spend it all in there, but it's yours, ok? So if you wanna go someplace else, you let me know, yeah?" Wayne says with a gentle smile.

Eddie swallows nervously and nods, shoving the money in his pocket and getting out of the car.

Wayne points out the store to him and then points at the hardware store to let Eddie know where he'll be.

Eddie walks into the store and is hit by a wall of heat. He looks around at the different music genre placards around the store but can't see what he's looking for.

"Well, hello there, young man", a woman's voice chirps, "Can I help you today?". Eddie reads her badge. Claudia.

She seemed nice, with full rosy cheeks, smiling eyes and a gentle demeanour. She raises her eyebrows at Eddie in encouragement.

"D-do you h-have any...um...metal?" Eddie stutters out quietly.

"Metal?" She chuckles heartily, "No honey, this is a music store. The hardware store is down the street, but even there, you're gonna have to be a little bit more specific than metal."

"Oh...um...heavy metal...er...b-b-b-black Sabbath", Eddie manages to force out.

Claudia looks at him, confused and tilts her head.

Eddie doesn't know if it's his embarrassment or the heating in this place, but he's almost sweating, so he undoes his jacket and takes off his hat.

Claudia gasps as she looks at his hair.

"H-h-had a fight with some clippers. They w-w-won," Eddie tries to joke.

Claudia's expression though still concerned, a small smile returns to her face, "A little comedian, I see. Let me ask my friend over here about your, Black Sabbath, was it?"

Eddie nods, smiles at her and follows her to a guy hunched over a box with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair in a low ponytail.

He turns sleepily to Claudia, a thin-lipped but happy smile on his face, his eyes barely open. "What is up, Mrs H?"

"Well, Ricky. This young gentleman was looking for something I hadn't heard of...Heavy Metal? He mentioned Black Sabbath if that helps?" She asks hopefully.

The man slowly looks around Claudia, and one-half of his smile turns upward even more, "This little guy? He's into downer rock?" He looks Eddie up and down and nods at him with a look of approval, "Nice!"

"CLAUDIA!! PHONE FER YA" a voice booms out from the back of the store.

"Oh, that might be Dusty. I'm sorry, sweetie. I'll be right back." As she rushes to the back of the store.

"Not to worry, my young friend Rick is gonna get you where you wanna go" Rick stretches up his arms to the ceiling. Eddie wrinkles his nose. This guy smelt odd. Not bad. Just odd.

"Follow me, little dude" Rick waves him over to some records and starts flicking through them. He turns to Eddie, "That term you're usin' is pretty fresh, you know? You not from round here."

Eddie stares at him wide-eyed and shakes his head in a no.

"You know, if I was a betting man, and I have been known to bet, looking at your hairdo, I woulda guessed you a punk," Rick says in a relaxed tone.

Eddie panics. He can't believe rumours have flown around so quickly here. "A punk? No sir, I'm a good kid."

Rick lets out a big goofy laugh and wiggles Eddie by the shoulder, "No man, the music punk. You know it?"

Eddie shakes his head again.

"What's your name, little guy?"

"Eddie", it almost comes out in a whisper.

"Well, Eddie, are you in for a night of mind-blowing musical exploration courtesy of one Reefer Rick" Rick points his thumbs towards himself.

"First port of call, do you have a stereo with a headphone jack?"

Eddie nods

"Do you have any headphones? Because believe me when I say you are gonna need 'em, your Ma ain't gonna like this."

Eddie looks at the ground a little sadly.

"Oh hey now", Rick puts his hand on Eddie's shoulder, "You ok, little dude?"

"I don't live with m-m-my folks," he says sheepishly.

Rick sleepily smiles at him, "All I meant was a lot of folks would find this music a bit loud or scary. If it ain't pop or country and teens listen to it, it gets a bad rep. It's just music. They used to say The Beatles, The Stones and Elvis were all in league with the Devil at one time, and now you can listen to 'em over Sunday lunch, right?" Rick does a hip-swinging Elvis move.

Eddie giggles, feeling more at ease and excited to be talking about something he loves. His stutter calms. "Right. I've got headphones at home. Is this heavy metal easy to play?"

Rick raises his eyebrows at Eddie, "You're a musician?"

"I play the guitar a little" Eddie smiles up at him.

"Well, al-right! A fucking rockstar already, right? What you got? A strat-type guitar? You look like a strat kinda guy." Rick gives Eddie a vast toothy grin of excitement.

"It's an acoustic", Eddie says with a little too much excitement and then looks around nervously before retreating back behind his quiet mask.

Rick matches his initial energy. "Well, firstly, punk generally might be a little more simple to play than the heavy stuff, but are you gonna love the guitar solos from Sabbath and Priest!!! I'd definitely recommend getting a second-hand electric as soon as you can, my friend. Also, you don't need to be shy around me, little buddy. You're good here."

The bell of the store door rings, and a group of kids from Eddie's school pile in. Eddie quickly puts on his hat and moves out of their eye line.

"So I'll just take these, yeah?" Eddie tries to hurriedly grab the records Rick is holding.

Rick holds them up higher, "These kids givin' you shit?"

Eddie says nothing.

"Wait here, my friend," Rick says, handing him two records. One has a UK import sticker on it, a bright white face with a leather and studded hat, and sunglasses with blasts of red on them. Judas Priest. Killing Machine.

The other has a woman in black clothing near a pond and an old building, but the colours are strange, making the scene quite creepy. Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath.

Rick comes back around the corner, "Hey man., I've set Claudia on them. They'll be outta here in no time", he chuckles.

Eddie looks puzzled, "Is she mean? She was nice to me."

Rick shakes his head, "It's not that, buddy. She's super nice, but kids your age sometimes find her a little...um...much" The bell over the door rings again, and just like Rick said, they'd left. Leaving Claudia shrugging in the middle of the floor.

It's at that moment Eddie is glad he isn't friends with them. Especially if they were mean to someone as kind as Claudia. She'd been so nice to him.

Rick turns to another section and gets two more records. The Stooges Raw Power and Ramones Rocket to Russia and hands them over to Eddie.

"How are you boys getting on?" Claudia asks kindly.

Eddie beams up at her and displays the records. Claudia looks between the records and Rick, her eyes finally landing on Eddie, "Well, now, don't they look nice" she smiles.

Rick, Claudia and Eddie head over to the register.

"Mrs H, seeing as you helped me make a new bud today, how about you take these sales, huh? For you and Dusty" He smiles and hands her over the records.

She looks at them and back at Eddie, "You know, Ricky. I think these ones are priced wrong. I'm pretty sure we've got a one-day-only sale on heavy metal, don't we?"

Rick furrows his brow for a second and then smiles. He hands her the price tag gun. "Oh yeah, totally forgot to put up the sign. I swear I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on. I'm pretty sure it was something like 4 albums for $6.66" his goofy laugh fills the store, and Eddie laughs a little too.

"You know that sounds right" She puts the albums in a bag for Eddie, and he gives her $10.

Eddie looks between the first two kind people he's met in this town that weren't Wayne.

"Keep the change, please. For all your help," Eddie says nervously, looking between them both.

Claudia looks like she just might cry, and Rick gives Eddie a big dopey smile.

"You know what, little man. You're welcome back here anytime. We won't let anyone bother you here, kay? I think you're gonna love those records. If we get any heavy metal in, We'll put a copy in the new Eddie box," Rick adds.

Eddie smiles back, "Thank you," he says before zipping up his jacket, adjusting his hat, taking the bag of records and clinging closely to them, and going to find Wayne.

"Got everything you wanted, Eddie?" Wayne asks.

"Er...yeah...and..." Eddie reaches into his pocket for the extra $10 and gives it back to Wayne, who looks at him surprised and gives him an endearing smile back.

"That was for you, Eddie. Tell you what. I'll keep it safe for ya. Maybe for your next trip to that there record store." Wayne says, tucking the money in his inside jacket pocket as they walk towards the diner.

"I could go back?" Eddie says, then covers his mouth quickly, eyes widened in fear. He didn't mean to let that out. He feels his heart pound in his chest, worrying about Wayne's reaction.

Wayne gently reaches for Eddie's hand, which is covering his mouth, which Eddie initially flinches away from. Wayne looks at the ground, "Easy now, kid" Wayne asks with a soft gruffness and reaches for Eddie's hand again.

Eddie is watching Wayne's hand get closer to his. He can't peel his eyes away. Then, to his surprise, Wayne gently moves Eddie's fingers from his mouth and his hand away from his face.

"Look at me, Eddie." Eddie's wide doe eyes shoot up to Wayne's, possibly still in shock. "I'm not gonna hurt you, ok" Eddie looks around the street and can see people staring at them.

Wayne lets go of Eddie's hand and follows Eddie's eye line, "Tell you what, let's talk about this inside, but answerin' your question. Yes, you can go back." He gives a closed mouth little smile at Eddie and gets a half smile in return.

Wayne finds them a booth tucked away in the corner, and the waitress comes over.

"Afternoon Wayne, and who is this sweet little fella?" She asks. Eddie looks at her and reads her name badge, 'Patty'. She looks a similar age to his Mom.

"This here is my nephew, Eddie. He's gonna be staying with me," Wayne says proudly.

"Well, welcome to Hawkins, handsome. What can I get you?" She asks Eddie with her notepad and pen at the ready.

Eddie blushes furiously and looks down at the table, trying to hide the smile threatening to form on his face.

"Erm...p-p-p", Eddie tries. His smile fades as his nervous stutter gets out of his control.

Patty crouches down, tilts his chin towards her, and looks him in the eyes. "Hey there, sweetheart, take a big deep breath for me, yeah."

Eddie does as asked, and she opens a menu in front of him on the table, "Why don't you have a read of this, and when you're ready, you let me know what you'd like, ok honey?"

Eddie scans the menu, breathing deeply, calming himself and finds what he was trying to say, "Blueberry Pancakes...please...Patty," Eddie manages after a minute or so.

She positively beams back at him, "See, you handle those letters just fine, don't ya. Just need to take your time." Then, she turns to Wayne, "Usual for you?"

He nods, and Patty leaves them to it.

Wayne taps each corner of a little beer mat as it turns between his fingers. He finally blurts out, "I'm sorry you didn't come to me first. I didn't think I was ready to look after a kid. Still don't, but when I heard what happened...where you'd ended up...well..." he sighs deeply, "I lived in that house too, but you don't ever have to go back there, ok? Never"

Eddie nods, looking down at the menu, avoiding Wayne's eyes.

"I know it's not easy, but I hope you can trust me one day. I don't mean you any harm, Eddie. I just want to try my damnedest to make you a home where you're safe, that's all," Wayne says quietly.

Eddie hears his words and wonders. Could he be different? Could Wayne have grown up in that house and not been like his grandparents and Dad? Eddie was so distrustful of him. Any minute he could switch on him, just like they did. On the other hand, he did sound like he was trying his best.

"Thank you, Sir," Eddie says and makes a second of eye contact with Wayne as he does.

"Sir", Wayne pretends to shudder, "I never much liked that, too much like 'The Man', people who demand your respect before earning it, you know? So you can just call me Uncle Wayne or Wayne if you like?"

Eddie glances up again and gives him a small smile, "Ok, Wayne."

Eddie sees a smile appear on Wayne's face that reminds him of his Mom. The kind that made the corner of their eyes crease and their pupils sparkle. A real one, Eddie thought.

Eddie takes off his hat and jacket and places them neatly next to him.

"Now let's see what you've been treating yourself to, huh?" Wayne says, reaching for the record store bag on the table.

Eddie puts his hand on it quickly, nervous energy running through him. Rick said he wouldn't like it, and how could he explain where he heard about it? Eddie could end up locked away somewhere, and no one would believe him.

Wayne raises his hands in submission, "Sorry, didn't mean to pry, was just interested to see what you like."

Eddie tilts his head a little. Interested? Eddie thinks for a minute. Maybe he could show him one or two.

Eddie selects the album with the safest cover, Ramones - Rocket to Russia, pulls out the album and hands it over to Wayne, who accepts it gently and looks at the cover and turns the album in his hands.

He reads for a bit, and then Wayne's eyebrows raise. Eddie braces for the worst. It wasn't even the most offensive looking of the bunch.

"I wonder if these are covers, here look. There are songs with the same title as ones that came out before you were born" Wayne points to Do you wanna dance and Surfin' Bird.

"Does that mean Mama might know 'em too?" Eddie asks excitedly.

"If they're the ones I'm thinking, absolutely. Your Mama loved to dance. She'd know 'em" Wayne smiles warmly at Eddie.

"Will you listen to these songs with me? Make sure they're the ones?" Eddie asks, leaning over the table towards Wayne and looking up at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. We can do that. No problem." Wayne's smile is enormous, and Eddie feels something he hasn't felt for a long time, excitement. He's looking forward to something. Maybe this wasn't gonna be so bad.

Patty returns with a hot chocolate for Eddie, piled twice as high with whipped cream and marshmallows, and a coffee for Wayne, "Here you go, gentlemen."

The peak of whipped cream sways as it makes its way down to the table in front of Eddie. "On the house" she smiles at Eddie and then glances at his head.

He tries to make the same joke again. This time it's easier, "I had a fight with some clippers...They won"

Patty lets out a laugh, wholly packaged in joy, wrapped in a ribbon of surprise, which thoroughly infects Wayne and Eddie into doing the same. Eddie looks at them both and feels a little more comfortable.

"Funny too, huh?" She manages when she composes herself. "This town doesn't stand a chance. It's due something good to be true," she beams at Eddie, "I'm gonna see how you're pancakes are coming along, honey."

Wayne takes a sip out of his coffee, "You know, when I was a kid, I loved music. I remember when I was about your age. I had to go into town, take 'em some produce. I was waiting, and there were these kids there...well, they were older than me at the time...slicked back hair, black leather jackets and dirty blue jeans like the guys on your album there. We called 'em greasers on account of the stuff in their hair. They were just passin' through. Some kinda youth motorcycle cavalcade. Most folks despised 'em, not the diner, though, cus they were making a lotta money offa 'em. Anyway, they're playin' this music I ain't never heard before in my whole life. And this girl with them notices my foot a-tappin', and she asks me for a dance. She didn't wait for an answer, mind. Scooped me up, she did, danced me round that whole place until I was leadin' her. I was redder than strawberry, I don't mind tellin' ya, but that music got under my skin like nothin' else. Anyways I got home, got a hidin' because gossip travels faster than a thirteen-year-old boy apparently, but you can bet your ass I got me some of those records. No surprise to you, I'm sure, but they got smashed up for all different reasons, and none of those reasons made a blind bit a sense. Some folks said it was wicked music, couldn't see it myself. It just had a good beat. I lost my whole doo-wop and rock n roll collection to the trash, except for at the diner. They couldn't smash those."

Eddie listens to the story, totally engrossed, leaning over the table at Wayne. He hadn't detected a small whipped cream peak on the end of his nose yet, as he sipped his hot chocolate, never taking his eyes from Wayne as he detailed the story.

He nervously takes the other three albums out of the bag and hands them to Wayne, "The guy in the store said folks might not like it, so I was worried. But, please, don't break them. I can take 'em back and get your money refunded. The people in there were real nice."

Wayne waves his hand, "No need. I'm not gonna break 'em, boy. It's just music. Maybe I won't like it, understand and ask you to turn it down on occasion, but it doesn't mean you can't have it." Wayne laughs, "Would you believe I've actually heard of these two?" Wayne holds up the Black Sabbath album and the Stooges album, "Heard about 'em after 'nam. One of the guys, Houston, from my platoon, got into them when he got home. I didn't hear the music, just the names."

Eddie notices Wayne look a little sadly out of the window for a few seconds and then quickly turns his attention back to the albums and Eddie. Wayne hands the albums back, "Kids are always gonna have music the older folks won't like because they don't get it, but it wasn't made for them" he gives Eddie a smile.

"You got a little something right there" Wayne points at his own nose, and Eddie quickly runs his fingers over his and finds a blob of whipped cream.

Wayne chuckles, and Eddie joins in quietly.

Soon enough, the pancakes arrive, the blueberries arranged in a smiley face. Eddie looks up at Patty, "Thank you, Ma'am", as he gives her a half smile before tucking into his pancakes.

Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad here, he thought. Perhaps this is what the board meant. The music had helped him gain friends today. Sure not like his peers like he wanted, but people had been kind to him, and he learned a little more about Wayne.

When they get home, Wayne sits with Eddie, and they play some of the albums and listen together before Wayne has to go to work the night shift. The first night shift since Eddie got here, he said it paid better money. Wayne had introduced him to the neighbours in case he got scared, or anything went wrong, he could go see Mrs Roberts or Ms Grant.

It turns out that the music wasn't really to Wayne's taste, maybe in parts a little creepy, but Eddie loved it because it was so immersive. They confirmed that the two songs on the Ramones albums were indeed covers, and when the time came, Eddie played bits of the record down the phone to his Mama.

Her ripple of giggles down the phone line fills Eddie's heart like a hot air balloon. He grips the phone cord like he's frightened he might float away.

"Oh, I sure remember those songs, baby bear" He can hear her beautiful smile as she talks, "You gonna learn 'em for your Mama? Before you run off and be a big-time rock star?"

"Even if I did become a rockstar, I'd always make sure to play them for you, Mama," He says gently.

"Oh, that's nice to hear, bear" She coughs, and it turns into a loud stream of coughs and spluttering.

Eddie grips the handset, "Mama? MAMA??!! Are you ok??" His eyes widen with panic as he shouts into the phone, pleading, "Are you still there, Mama? Can you hear me?" His eyes darted to Wayne for help, but what could he do? He was stuck hundreds of miles away, just like Eddie.

"Sorry, baby bear, I'm right here" her voice sounded weak, and her words were croaky, "Just a nasty cough, that's all. Listen, I gotta go, but we'll talk real soon, ok sweetheart? I love you so much, Eddie. I love you 1, 2, 3...."

"Forever," they say together.

Eddie sighs. The calls always seem to end so quickly. He missed her so much that it physically hurt sometimes.

"Come on, buddy. She'll be ok. Let's get you something to eat." Wayne tries

Eddie feels a stab of anger surge through him. What did Wayne know? His Mom was stuck in prison, not a spa retreat. It was terrible. She didn't belong there. She belonged at home. She belonged with Eddie.

He glares at Wayne, contorting his face into a deep frown, clenching his fists and tensing his body.

Wayne sits back down, nods at Eddie and casts his eyes to the floor.

Eddie storms off to his room, slamming his door behind him and making the whole place shake. He turns on his stereo and turns it up as loud as possible. He picks up a pillow from his bed, slams his face into it and yells before slamming it back down on his bed and punching it repeatedly until his arms are as sore as his eyes are.

Then the tears came, like rivers coursing down his face, as he threw his head forward into his hands. Thankfully, the music was loud enough to hide his guttural sobs.

It wasn't fair.

He couldn't do anything about any of this. He felt so helpless and out of control. He hated feeling this way. No one understood. He just wanted to feel normal. Not afraid, not full of rage, not full of sadness. Eddie flops back down onto his bed and hides under his tear-stained pillow.

Alone in the trailer, Eddie gets his guitar later that night and tries to work out some songs and how to play them. Some sounded weird on an acoustic, but some songs lend themselves to that.

His fingertips had started to ache a little, so he put the Black Sabbath album on again. The beginning scene, setting with the rain and bell tolls, the moodiness of the music draws his eyes back to where the ouija board lies in the darkness. Eddie lies down on the floor on his stomach and reaches into the inky black under his bed until his fingers meet the blanket, and he pulls the board back into the low light of his room.

Eddie sets out the board and, with no one home, asks aloud this time, "Hello, is anyone there?"

Without any warming up this time, the planchette forcefully pulls him towards 'Yes.'

"I got the music. I like it. I'm learning to play it. Like you said"

G-O-O-D

"My Mama-" he starts.

S-I-C-K

"Yeah"

E-D-D-I-E T-H-E H-E-R-O

"I can save my Mama?" Eddie asks hopefully

R-O-C-K-S-T-A-R

Eddie is utterly confused and thinks for a moment, "I need to play her the songs?"

R-U-N-N-E-R

Eddie, still bewildered, tries to ask something, but he's already being pulled around the board again, increasingly fast and forcefully.

L-E-A-D-E-R

F-R-E-A-K

"Ok, that's enough!"

B-A-N-I-S-H-E-D

"No! This is wrong. I'm not...please," Eddie cries out, his fingers feel welded to the planchette as it circles the board. Finally, it stops, but Eddie cannot release it. Instead, it forcefully and purposefully moves to its following letter, and grooves appear in the board as it scrapes between the letters.

K-I-L-L-E-R

"No. That's not true!!" Eddie yells out.

A cold chill creeps up Eddie's back and over his shoulders. Like someone's ice-cold hands. He realised what he forgot to say before he started using the board today.

"You aren't who I was talking to last time, are you?" Eddie whimpers out as it points to no, the clear window in it cracks, and feels his fingers detach from the plastic.

The planchette flies from the board, throwing him backwards and Eddie ducks just in time for it to fly past his head, where it stabs forcefully into the wall.

Eddie starts crawling backwards out of his room, never taking his eyes from the planchette currently vibrating in the wall like it was trying to dislodge itself.

Eddie slams his door shut and runs out of the trailer, desperate to remember whose trailer was who's.

As he runs, he turns back to the trailer and hears an almighty crash, but he keeps going until he's at a door Eddie thinks he recognises.

He wants to hammer on the door for them to let him in, but he's already in so much trouble. He taps a few times. His grateful eyes stare at an old, wizened, shawled Ms Grant.

"Oh, Ms Grant. It's me, Eddie. I live with Wayne. I was wondering if I could wait with you a while?" He says, out of breath, looking back at the trailer a few times.

"Something spooked ya, boy?" She says, looking through her tiny spectacles and down her nose at him.

"You could say that," Eddie says, casting a fearful look back at the trailer.

She purses her wrinkled mouth, "Wait there, don't move, young'un."

Eddie is so desperate to get into a safe place he contemplates barging past her to safety, but he waits, sweating with terror, but he waits all the same.

Ms Grant returns, hobbling back into view on her walking stick, with something burning in her hand. She motions with it, wiggling it around in the space in front of Eddie and around his head. It smelt weird.

"Ok, now you can step inside, boy" she steps awkwardly to the side and lets him in, wafting the smokey stick behind him.

Eddie looks around her trailer. It was a place at odds with itself. One half what you'd expect for a little old lady floral painted crockery and tea set, patchwork blankets, a tub of knitting and yarn balls, a stack of puzzle books, and an old TV blaring out some game show in the corner.

Meanwhile, amongst all these things were plants hanging from the ceiling in bundles, a set of rifles, a set of hunting knives, candles, a rainbow of what looked like rocks or pebbles, some weird-looking books and symbols drawn all around in some sort of powder.

"Thank you, Ms Grant. Would you mind if I stayed until Wayne gets home?" Eddie says with relief and hopefulness.

She was busy hobbling over to the kitchen area. "Oh, yes, of course, young 'un. I've been expecting ya" she smiles a mostly toothless smile and brings over two already-made cups of tea.

Eddie rushes over to help her with the tray.

"Mighty kind of ya, Eddie. Just set it down over there" She loosely gestures to a small table between two armchairs, one of which she settles into, picks up her cup and takes a sip.

"I know you're new here, but you should know this place isn't the quaint small town it seems." She rocks back in her chair and peers at Eddie over the rim of her cup, "Wanna share what spooked ya?" She says, raising her eyebrows which only seem to exponentially multiply the wrinkles on her forehead.

"Erm..." Eddie starts, he couldn't possibly tell her the truth, but he got the feeling she would be able to know if he lied, "I thought something flew past me in my room, and I got scared and ran."

"Like a poltergeist?" She says, leaning forward in her chair, so it ceases its squeaky rocking.

Eddie looks at her blankly. She picks up her stick and gestures to a box on top of the bookshelf, "Get that for me, would ya?"

Eddie puts his teacup down and goes to get the box for her.

As he clambers up on a nearby stool and retrieves the box, he notices some booklets lying down on one of the shelves. The cover shows an armoured hero fighting a faceless armoured villain, presumably.

"Like that game too, do ya?" She croaks out as Eddie descends to the floor and puts the box in front of her. As the box makes contact with the floor, the thick layer of dust on top of it springs up, throwing him into a coughing fit.

Eddie grabs his tea, takes a sip, and peers into the box as he manages, "That book is a game?".

Below the layer of dust Eddie can see candles of all shapes, sizes and colours and more bundles of herbs.

"Well, I'd hardly call it a book, dearie, but yes, my great nephew Paul loves playing it. So if you wanna borrow it, go ahead. I know where you live if you don't return it." She cackles.

"Maybe next time he visits, you can meet him, he's a little younger than you, but he doesn't have many friends either," she says creakily as she pokes through the box with her stick.

"I'd really like that, thank you," Eddie says politely. Slightly concerned, as below the candles, weirder things are emerging from the box, bones, teeth, tiny dolls, little bottles or liquids.

Ms Grant leans down towards the box. Eddie swears he hears twenty different joints pop or creak as she does. She picks things out of the box and starts loading Eddie up with them.

"What's all this for, Ms Grant?" Eddie looks down into his arms at the collections of trinkets, herbs, and candles.

"We're gonna go over to yours and cleanse it," she says matter-of-factly, "You see, it sounds to me like you have an unwelcome visitor."

Eddie nods, the fear that what happened becoming confirmed as real is even more troubling than what he ran away from.

"We'll go over there and sort it all out for you, youngun'."

She reaches up her old wrinkled hand to Eddie, and he gently helps her back to her feet and helps her down her trailer stairs and up into his own.

"Where'd it happen?" She says gently. Eddie points a shaky hand to his bedroom.

Ms Grant starts to plod towards it, her smudge stick of burning herbs still in her hand. Eddie reaches out to stop her, "You aren't seriously thinking about going in there, are you?" he says with alarm.

"We've gotta get rid of it, young'un. Do you want that thing hanging 'round ya forever?"

Eddie shakes his head rapidly, his face etched with absolute fear, his mouth is trying to form words, but he seems unable to get them out. The frustration builds, and he wrinkles his nose and clenches his fist at himself in frustration. Finally, he takes the smoking bundle of herbs from Ms Grant and moves in front of her, quietly and cautiously moving towards the door.

His free shaking hand reaches out in slow motion to the handle. His fingertips make contact, and he glances back over his shoulder at Ms Grant, who, to his alarm, is nowhere to be seen. He frantically looks over his other shoulder.

"Jesus H Christ!!" He shouts when he is almost nose-to-nose with her. He had no idea how she had snuck up on him so silently.

She's staring past him at the bedroom door. "You know, some of these things, they cling to people, to objects, and they can grow more powerful the more negativity they have to feed off".

She reaches out and touches Eddie's arm. "I know you and Wayne haven't had the best run at life so far. But, I think you both, being in the same place, made a feast for this thing, must be how it got through," she muses, but never taking her eyes from the door.

"Well, it also might be because I used my ouija board. I forgot to do the ward first," Eddie says openly, assuming that he couldn't sound crazier than what was actually happening.

"I doubt that was the cause. It was probably already lurking. It was just waiting for you to believe in it. The board usually acts as communication. Sometimes they might try to attach themselves to a seeker using the board." She says, looking over the door.

Eddie shudders, remembering that ice-cold feeling from earlier, and he starts to feel a panic set in. "I th-th-think it m-m-might have t-t-tried...." He takes a deep breath, " that."

Ms Grant's eyes finally turn to Eddie's, "Then you cannot go back in there!" She snatches the smudge stick from Eddie, the bells in her hand jingle, and from inside his room, Eddie hears a whoosh and another thud, "Stay here. Do not open this door. D'ya hear me, boy?!" She says with authority.

Eddie looks worried, but nods, a little ashamed and steps out of her way.

With bated breath, Eddie watches as she opens the door and slips inside the room quickly, the fastest she's moved since Eddie met her.

He can hear her mumbling something, the bells gently chiming, but he can't quite make it out. He moves closer to the door and presses his ear against it.

WHACK, something hits the other side of the door with force.

"Leave that boy be, evil one! " Ms Grant bellows as Eddie falls back from the door onto his backside, finding himself crawling backwards from his bedroom door for the second time today. He can barely catch his breath. The room seems to be slipping away from him. Almost like it's getting gradually smaller in his vision until it is just a pinprick of light, and then there is only darkness.

Eddie lurches forward, taking a deep gasping breath. He feels the ice cold first, then the water, he rubs it out of his eyes, and Ms Grant swims into vision, "Ah, thought I'd lost ya then, boy." She reaches out a leathery hand to him to help him up. Eddie takes it but uses his own body strength to get back up. "Ya ok?" She asks, and for the first time, she seems to have genuine concern in her eyes for him.

"Don't worry about me. What about you?" He says as he moves into the bathroom to grab a towel for the floor and one for himself.

She smiles at him crookedly, "oh yeah, nothin' to it. Everything is gonna be fine now. Now I hope ya don't mind. I took the liberty of destroying that board and planchette and put you up some of Pauly's posters to cover up some of the damage it caused. You know. Until ya get your own posters."

"Wow! how long was I out for?" Eddie forces himself to laugh, trying not to think of one of the few things he has from home has been destroyed.

"Oh, a few hours, not to worry. You're scrawny enough to easily walk around," she lets out a cackle.

Eddie gives her back a tiny smile and grabs his jacket, "I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you enough, Ms Grant. I still can't believe you believed me!!!" He says in astonishment, zipping up his jacket over his still-damp t-shirt, "Want me to walk you home, Ms Grant?" Eddie offers her his arm.

She sighs, "You know what young 'un. You had a big scare here today. So I'll do you another favour, I'll stay here with ya til Wayne gets home."

Eddie feels the panic rise in him. Wayne might lose his mind if he found out what had happened, or what Eddie had been up to. It must show on his face as she moves to reassure him quickly.

"Ya Uncle, he's a quiet man, keeps to hiself mostly, but he's a good 'un." She says as she moves towards the sofa to sit down, and Eddie follows and sits next to her, "I won't be telling him any of what happened, so don't ya worry your perdy little head 'bout it alright?" She settles back into the sofa, "As for thanks, there's a few things ya can do, actually."

Eddie leans towards her, "Yeah, absolutely anything."

She smiles at him, "Well, first of all, next time Pauly visits, you should come meet him, he's a little strange, but I venture you are too. Next, you can cut your Uncle a lil' slack. He ain't perfect, buts compared to most around here, he's a saint. He was so happy when he could finally get you here with him. Wouldnt shut up about it. Lastly, and this might be the most important thing, I need you to heed me well."

She turns to face Eddie and looks him directly in the eyes, her voice low as if she doesn't want someone to overhear, "This town, it's cursed. Now don't go panicking. It don't mean happiness can't be found here. It's just when big bad weird shit happens around these parts, it's usually Hawkins. What happened here is just a speck of its weirdness. Now, I've done all I can to protect your home, Eddie, but you must be vigilant. Do not let strangers in here. Observe people, and make sure you know who you're befriending. After that spirit passed through here, the veil is thin. If someone comes in here and has evil in 'em or stuck on 'em, it will go off like a powder keg here, ya understand?"

Eddie's eyes go wide, and he recoils slightly, "How will I know if they're bad?"

"That's the thing. Not all those with evil in 'em or on 'em are bad or even look or act bad, Eddie. But if ya know 'em. You'd see a change. Usually, for the worse. Like darkness settling on them. So keep your eyes and ears open, always."

Eddie nods. "I promise."

"That's a good lad," She says proudly, "Now can you get my shows on here?" She points her stick at the TV, and Eddie rushes to turn it on for her.

Eddie cautiously enters his room to get changed. He sees the Motorhead and Deep Purple posters on the wall and the back of the door and that his room looks incredibly tidy. He lets out a sigh of relief as he doesn't feel that same weirdness in here anymore, that tension in the air. He puts on his pyjamas and grabs a blanket, heading back into the living room and curling up in Wayne's armchair.

His eyelids grow heavy, and thoughts swim through his head. Maybe it had been a rough start here, but that was the kind of place Hawkins was, tough to crack.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad now with the few kind people he'd encountered already. Perhaps he could make new friends, but he'd been looking for them in the wrong places. He could find more people like him who didn't fit the norm. Yeah, that would be cool, he thinks as he drifts into a peaceful sleep.

Eddie sits bolt upright, and nearly scares Ms Grant to death. Eddie relaxes a little as he looks around. The crunch of gravel under tyres must have woken him up again. As soon as he looks around and realises he is in Wayne's trailer, he forcefully exhales and relaxes back into the armchair. His heart still pounding in his chest as he moved from Wayne's armchair to the sofa next to Ms Grant.

The door to the trailer opens, and Wayne reverses in quietly.

"Wayne", Ms Grant greets him.

Wayne's head shoots around, "Ms Grant" he nods and takes off his hat, then his eyes adjust to the darkness, "Eddie? Everything ok?". Wayne's eyes move between the two of them in a panic.

"Oh sure, sure", Ms Grant reassures Wayne kindly, "He just got a bit scared, thought I'd stay til you got back. Beats sitting on my lonesome" she smiles at Eddie and then over at Wayne.

"Well, that's mighty kind of ya, Ms Grant. Anything I can get ya? For your trouble?" Wayne asks gently.

"No, not at all. I'll just be making my way back now," She says, getting up from her seat, and Eddie rushes to assist, pulling on his coat and shoes.

Wayne beams at Eddie and puts his hand on his shoulder, "I can take it from here, buddy, but you can wait here in the doorway for me. So you'll be able to see me the whole time, kay?"

Eddie smiles at Wayne and nods, watching him escort Ms Grant back home before jogging back and dragging in a tall box from the porch, which he lays down on the floor inside the trailer living room.

"Hey. Sorry I was a bit late today. It won't happen again. I got chatting to one of the guys at work, an...um...I just happened to mention you played guitar. He said his boy was learning but switched to bass and said he had this gatherin' dust, so I...er...was gonna surprise you in the mornin' but...er...you're awake now so...um..."

Wayne gestures at the box awkwardly.

Eddie approaches carefully, kneels down and opens the box lid.

Eddie can barely believe it, but it's an electric guitar. He must sit there staring over it wide-eyed and open-mouthed for at least a whole minute.

"Look, I know it doesn't have an amplifier, cables, an' stuff. But I figure you can still practice on it until we get some and-" Wayne is explaining, trying to fill the silence as he turns his cap in his hands before Eddie speaks.

"Thank you, Wayne, so very much. You didn't have to do this. I already have a guitar. It's beautiful...I...but...Won't it be loud?" he turns and looks up at Wayne, a little worried.

Wayne crouches down next to Eddie but leaves him a safe gap between them. Wayne gives him that big warm smile, "You're supposed to be loud, Eddie. You're a teenager."

"What about the neighbours?" Eddie's brow is still furrowed with worry.

"The way you play, they should count 'emselves lucky to hear it. Besides, most of 'em are either hard o' hearing, or they'll be blastin' their TVs anyway. It's not like you're gonna be playing it at 1am with a wall of Mashall amps, is it?" Wayne chuckles.

"You won't get mad?" Eddie asks, his brow relaxing a little.

"Now, I can't say never, on account of me bein' a mere human bein', but I promise, Eddie...I swear...You're safe here with me, ok?" Wayne goes to reach out to touch Eddie's shoulder but stops himself. "I got no interest in hurtin' you or makin' your life any harder than it already is, ok? I know you ain't had a good representation of family so far, other than your Mama, but Eddie...You're my family. You're my blood. I'm on your side, an' I love you."

Eddie gives Wayne a small, sombre smile.

"I know you're tryin' your best, and things take time, so I'm not rushin' ya. I just wanted to make sure you know, without a shadow of a doubt, how much I care about you and how welcome an' wanted you are here." Wayne adds, standing up, "Anyway, she's all yours."

Eddie reverently takes the Stratocaster copy from its box. He holds it by its neck and starts walking towards his room.

As he opens the door, he turns around and looks at Wayne, "Does this mean I should expect a gift every time you are late home or...." Eddie says as he looks around the trailer ceiling before a playful smile spreads across Eddie's face, creasing the corners of his eyes a little. Finally, his eyes land back on Wayne, and his smile broadens further, causing dimples to imprint in his cheeks.

Wayne runs his hand over his chin, trying to repress a huge grin of his own, nodding as he says, "Good night Eddie."

"Good night, Uncle Wayne," Eddie says softly as he closes the door to his room.

#eddie munson #eddiemunson #eddiemunsonfanfic #eddiemunsonfanfiction #eddie munson fan fic #eddie munson fan fiction #wayne munson #eddie munson wayne munson

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pinkiepiebones · 2 years

Text

So when I'm working on other shit I have ancient LPs or "retsupuraes" on in the background. Lately I've been listening to the Retsupurae of Dark Seed 2. It's a very bad game, with bad characters, bad dialogue, bad puzzles, bad music, etc. But I keep thinking that there is a nugget of genuinely interesting story buried in it.

DS2 takes place a year after the first game. In the first game, which is also a bad game (but Cyberdreams somehow roped HR Giger into doing art for it?), ad exec Mike Dawson* has a nightmare about aliens implanting an embryo in his brain. He has three days to thwart the alien's plans, otherwise the embryo hatches and kills him/the planet. He has to navigate his huge house that he apparently bought sight unseen, go to the tiny town for stupid clues, pour scotch in an old car's gas tank. It's a genuinely bad game, barely saved by the fresh Giger art.

DS2 opens with Mike (now played by a different guy) having a new nightmare. He wakes up in his childhood room- the events of the first game sent him into a nervous breakdown so he moved back in with his mom in Crowley, TX. And everyone hates him. His mom insists he needs to "snap out of" his mental health crisis. Everyone treats him like garbage. Oh, and he's the prime suspect in the gruesome murder of the town librarian, Rita Scanlin. Then the alien lady who contacted him in the first game appears on TV to tell him that "the Ancients" are once again threatening earth and he's the only one who can thwart their plans. Again. So this pathetic sack of shit has to traverse his tiny town and interrogate people with a whiny nasal voice and somehow save the world.

But there's a good story buried under the bad graphics and unending dialogue trees. See, the game starts with Mike insisting he and Rita dated, just like in high school, but were never intimate. As Mike "investigates," it comes to light that Rita enjoyed a healthy sex life. She was involved with at least four men in the story. And no one "slut shames" her for it (well, Mrs Ramirez calls her a tool of the Devil for screwing around with her husband, but she paid someone to kill her husband, not Rita). In fact, only when Mike gets into Rita's house at the end of the game and reads a letter she wrote to her mom and never got to send does he start calling her a bitch and a slut. Oh, and it's pretty clear they never really dated once Mike moved back home. High school was 20 years ago and other characters point that out to Mike ("We're not the same people we were in highschool") but he apparently can't accept this. It's just... there's an interesting story here, I think, with Mike being this proto-incel who can't move on from the past, everyone but him apparently having sex and relationships, his only friends being a homeless conspiracy theorist and a faux Fonzie no one else seems to see... I don't know, maybe I'm trying to make it interesting by reading too much into it. Maybe that one comment I saw on Youtube was right, that the "Dark world" and "Ancients" stuff is a figment of Mike's imagination and he's actually the killer, taking the heads of his victims and stuffing them in the flower pots on his mom's porch (which might explain why there are bugs all over the pots towards the end of the game?). And then there's the carnival no one else in town talks about... Sure the sheriff arrives there at one point, but he never interacts with anyone who works for it. He could have asked the carnival barker to back up Mike's claims but he acts as though Mike's the inly person there...

I just, again, maybe I'm trying to find a good story in a pile of shitty garbage. I just think it's an interesting angle, this unabashed loser who put his highschool sweetheart on this high pedestal and still has teenage mentality, Rita's death not being the result of her having sex but the result of her dabbling in the occult, ugh, I don't know. This all sounded better in my head, sorry.

*(Mike Dawson was the first game's writer/ director and had put himself in as a placeholder until they created a proper main character, but apprently wveryone thought he just fit with the game so he stayed in and even narrated for the rerelease. Mike Dawson the guy was not involved in DS2, but Cyberdreams retained the rights to Mike Dawson the character. So why did they make Mike into such a putz? Did Mike the guy do something to piss everyone off so bad they decided to make Mike the character a whiny shitstain of a character? Who knows. Also iirc Giger was not involved in DS2 so Cyberdreams just wholesale swiped some of his artwork. I don't know!)

#retsupurae #dark seed 2

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thisworldisablackhole · 1 month

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Underneath - From the Gut of Gaia

FFO: DEATH METAL, HARDCORE, BLACKENED GRIND / LISTEN

Underneath are a perplexing band. Starting out as a bedroom deathcore project with multi-instrumentalist and kid genius Joey Philips at the helm, they released a debut EP that could have easily fooled me into thinking they have been around the block for decades. Somehow, despite being super hyped on their EP and subsequent singles, their debut LP From the Gut of Gaia slid completely under my radar for almost three months. I wouldn't usually blame a band for my inability to be hip and in-the-know, but Underneath didn't exactly do themselves any publicity favours with this album either. It was released through an obscure independent tape label based in Canada, and then the band completely wiped their Instagram account only to come back about a month later with a post claiming that the band has undergone some changes, all prior music is "dead in the water" and to be regarded as demos, and that their first official release is yet to come. Strange, but okay.

If From the Gut of Gaia is a demo, then everybody else needs to step up their fucking game immediately. Not only does this album feature some masterful punchy songwriting and a thoughtful, engaging track flow, but it has some seriously pro sounding production to back it all up. Guitars and bass are loud and coated in a layer of filth, while the drums are nice and crisp to offer a sense of precision and clarity to the rhythm section that keeps the dirt from bleeding over the edge of the chalice. Joey's vocals sound straight up demented in their anger, and I really appreciate the tasteful variations in range and delivery on display here. Joey treats us to everything from low, to lower, to even lower, some highs for balance, and then those hilariously disgusting slam gutturals on the aptly titled "Disguster" are just icing on the cake. There are also these quick little back and forth pick scrapes all over this album that sound like the crack of a metallic whip (or a burst fire from a laser gun?) and I absolutely love them, even if they are abused in certain songs. There is a laborious attention to detail here that is honestly impressive for such a young band. They have implemented an easter egg hunt of ear candy so that you always hear something new when you smash the replay button.

Catchy isn't usually the first word that comes to mind when I think of blistering deathcore bands, but the way Underneath jumps from these grinding double kick tremolo assaults into insanely groovy mid tempo death metal riffage just activates the neurons in my dopamine deficient brain in a way that keeps me coming back over and over again to engage in the spiraling pursuit of madness. Nasty riffs and quick left hook transitions are a recipe for instantly memorable and addictive moments. The length of these tracks definitely lend themselves to the replay value of this album as well, with an average length of one to three minutes long. There is no fat on these tracks. They are concise, and nothing gets lost in excess, but that doesn't mean the band doesn't indulge in a little ambiance as a treat when they want to. Mid album interlude "-epoch-", for instance, features some somber reverberated plucking and distorted voice samples that transition nicely into the atmospheric black metal intro of "The Second Great Dying", but it doesn't last long before Underneath comes back to remind you that they are here to beat ass first and foremost.

The mammoth fifteen minute title track closer is the only song where the band fully gives in to the experimental blackened death fantasy and strings the listener along with a series of blast beats and slow atmospheric doom passages. The track is technically only 10 minutes long if you discount the spooky 5 minutes of tape decay and an acapella performance of the Christian hymn "Amazing Grace" that sounds like it was damaged by nuclear waste. This part of the track honestly gives me Fallout Radio vibes and I never feel like skipping it. It's quite a fitting way to go out, as a lot of the lyrics on this album center around the theme of religion and the man made destruction of earth.

Again, if this was just a demo, then this band has a very bright future ahead of them. I have absolutely no doubt that they will continue to top themselves as they evolve and grow into their newly fleshed out lineup. I just hope that future Underneath fans will give From the Gut of Gaia the credit it deserves, as I am inclined to believe this album is more than just a shot in the dark, nor is it dead in the water.

#underneath #deathcore #death metal #metalcore #black metal #music

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lattechill · 5 months

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Echoes of Eternity

https://open.spotify.com/album/0AX0tZ8ZNv71I9OYPqlm4g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8s1vAvF6r4

Tracklist

Solace On Sunny Shore Sand Gem Venus Pop Valor Lakefront Lake Verity Venus Stardust Bluesy Lick Dog Star Swing Mount Chimney Soot-o-Polis Cozy Place Cold Brew Free Your Mind Cowboy Gospel Algae-Soy Hybrid Mount Coronet Meteor Falls Sakura Latte Free Titan Off Planet Red Leaves The Black Dog Dark Nights Faro Solitaro (Travellers version) Yuki's Song Kintsugi Bittersweet Infinity Stray Cats' Waltz Space of Body Swaying Moment in the Night Prague Parade Space Man Vibrations of Love Industrial Man 2023/10/23

About Echoes of Eternity

A new compilation after the next batch of six album releases: Echoes of Eternity is now available. This new set offers 35 songs of chill beats with some eclectic ones towards the end, carefully selected from a number of releases between 2021 and 2023.

Albums featured

I ended 2021 with Sapphire LP, inspired by one of my favorite retro games, which I have been replaying that time. 2022 on the other hand, started off with a huge milestone: the 20th album. Honestly, I worked a lot on this release, and therefore Travellers is also featuring a number of beats on this release. Bit of fun to follow afterward: Rock 128. Inspired by one of my most played childhood Game Boy games and a new synth, the PO-128. Pairing Sapphire, Ruby was my next release, still in 2022. And finally started 2023 with Diamond LP. Lastly, Pearl was just recently added to the roaster in October 2023.

EPs featured on Echoes of Eternity

A mass number of 15 EPs were released during this 6 LPs, all being featured on Echoes of Eternity compilation. So, let me list them for you in this paragraph. Starting off with City Lo-fi featuring lofi hip-hop beats inspired by cities, I have been to. Cafè Tokyo on the other hand offers true Tokyo-inspired bar beats. Cowboy Gospel kicked off a long journey, I still enjoy, featuring Cowboy Bebop live series inspired space chill beats. But still, in 2022, I released an EP in collaboration with Viktor Hegedüs with 4 new disco songs: Up in the Air. Venus Pop quickly followed this release returning to the space lofi genre, along with Dog Star Swing. But I had more up in my sleeves for 2022: Urban Night. Again with Viktor, this time dwelling into the depths of classic chill (electronic-based downtempo music). Was it enough for 2022? No, Callisto Soul edged in. Space chill indeed dominated my roaster this year.

EPs of 2023

Next year's spring offered Moon Festival, a tribute to sakura (cherry blossom) and in general the reborn of nature. I worked with Viktor again on this EP. We tried to show you another side of ours. Hopefully managed it. Hospital Playlist was born originally in 2022 and has an interesting story. But I only decided to release it later in 2023. Experimental Disco was my last collaboration EP with Viktor for now. As the title suggests, it is less lofi chill, but still an enjoyable release and offers a change on my palette. Shogunate followed the list with a set of further experimental, yet oriental-inspired songs. Finally Dark Side Tango, Binary Two-Step, and Galileo Hustle. All 3 EPs are inspired by the already-mentioned Cowboy Bebop live series. And yes, more to come.

Compilations on Echoes of Eternity?

I label every release apart from LPs and EPs as compilations. However, some could rather be called special releases. 3 of them feature beats on this release, let me mention them below. Travellers B-Sides - as already mentioned, I worked a lot on Travellers LP, so essentially I pilled up some extra beats, which I released later. Summer Chill with Ermine-chan is a set of T21CB cover songs. Lastly, Cherryland is a pack of 12 songs covering my old band, Dark Cherry.

Listen to Echoes of Eternity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8s1vAvF6r4

Find me on

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/lattechillmusic/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/lattechillmusic Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/lattechillmusic/ Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/3TcWMrT4GT6H95mspFncxF Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/us/artist/latte-chill/1382124803 VK – https://vk.com/lattechill Weibo – https://www.weibo.com/u/7434877671 Tumblr – https://lattechill.tumblr.com/ Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/lattechillmusic/boards/

Free Chill Music (click to download)

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newmusickarl · 1 year

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Top 50 Albums of 2022: #50-41

If 2021 was a year of recovery, then 2022 was the big reunion party.

For the first time in two years we had a full 12 months of live music and festivals, with rooms and fields full of people singing their heart out without the weight of COVID restrictions bringing palpable delight. The whole year has felt like a communal cathartic release, as the full joy of being able to experience music in all its various forms properly returned. The artists felt it, the venues felt it, the touring crews felt it and most certainly us fans felt it.

As a result, I think I listened to more new music in 2022 than any other year I can remember. My Apple Music Replay tells me I've listened to 785 albums, 860 different artists, 4,901 different songs and 38,680 minutes of music – crikey that’s a lot of music, even for me! However, my own tally that I keep every year has broken this down into just over 210 albums from 2022 and around 1,100 songs from the last 12 months as well. This has given me the impossible task this month then of choosing just 50 albums and 100 songs to call my favourites of the year.

Pound-for-pound, I think 2022 has proven to be my favourite year for new music at least since 2019. Not only did we get the final big wave of lockdown albums come through, but the return of live music meant a lot of these records could actually be experienced as they were intended – amongst big festival crowds or simply in front of eager audiences hanging on every single word and chord. Whittling this mass of great music down hasn’t been easy but after much internal debate, I have landed on a Top 50 Albums and Top 100 songs list for 2022. The songs will come in playlist form later in the countdown along with a roundup of my favourite EPs and live shows of the year, but for now let’s get into the best LPs that the year had to offer.

As ever, these 50 albums come from a multitude of genres (pop, rock, indie, hip-hop, R&B, electronica, shoegaze, punk and post-punk - it’s all here!) so although there is a good chance you won’t enjoy everything on this list, hopefully there is at least something for everyone to enjoy. Of course, the variety also makes it very difficult to rank one above the other, so don’t get too hung up on the placements. Generally, I’ve favoured the albums that:

Had the biggest impact on me and the wider music world in the last 12 months

Had ambition or something unique to offer

I played the most during the year

Ultimately produced the best front-to-back listening experience

Got it? Good.

Here’s the first 10 albums that made the cut:

50. Ghosts on Tape by Blood Red Shoes

Kicking things off then at #50, we are going right back to the start of the year as Brighton-based indie-rock duo Blood Red Shoes released, for me, a career-best effort.

Ghosts On Tape is a cohesive and imaginative record, packed wall-to-wall with fun, atmospheric bangers, with the pair pushing their sound into fascinating new territory whilst still managing to bring it altogether into a tightly sewn, coherent package. It all makes for a mightily entertaining experience, like hopping on a Ghost Train you’ll just want to ride on again and again.

Best tracks: Morbid Fascination, Sucker, Comply

Listen here

49. Alpha Games by Bloc Party

2022 was the year Bloc Party got their mojo back. Whilst the band’s 2016 album Hymns still had its moments, it very much reflected a band going through a transition. With Alpha Games though, it was thankfully a different story, with this one marking their first record with Louise who is now a permanent fixture on the sticks.

Although it is far from a perfect record as it still contains a few niggles, if you’ve ever been a fan of Bloc Party’s work there is plenty to enjoy here. The songs are great and the band sound rejuvenated, with the new line-up finally finding their groove with one another. So, whilst it may not hit the heady heights of Silent Alarm, it certainly beats Hymns and as one of my all-time favourite bands, this one was always likely to make the final cut.

Best tracks: If We Get Caught, By Any Means Necessary, Of Things Yet To Come,

Listen here

48. Better With You by KAWALA

An album that grew on me massively throughout 2022, KAWALA really do have a sound like no other. This one came alive during festival season and has pretty much remained in regular rotation since that point. Here’s what I said about the album back in March:

“Centred on a consistent aesthetic of catchy Afrobeat-influenced grooves, led by the dual lead vocal harmonies of frontmen Jim Higson and Dan McCarthy, Better With You is the sound of a band getting ready to hit their stride…

This is a solid debut for KAWALA with both flashes of promise and plenty of fun tunes to be found. You do get the sense the band have another level they can hit, and although they don’t quite get there on Better With You, that is something they can explore in the future. Right now though, this is the ideal launch pad and a summer-ready debut for fans to enjoy.”

Best tracks: Sailor, Never Really Here For Long, Searching

Read my full review for Gigwise here

Listen here

47. Islands by Josef Salvat

Aussie singer-songwriter Josef Salvat has always been one of the most underrated voices in pop and he proved it again in 2022 on his shimmering third album, Islands. Darkly personal but with vibrant synths and killer hooks, there were few better pure pop records this year. Here’s what I said all the way back in February:

“Salvat is now creating as an independent, having left Sony after the release of his sophomore album Modern Anxiety. The result is a record that, despite it largely being crafted during lockdown, sounds unfettered and more liberated than any of his previous work. The moody ballads have been mostly sidelined this time around, with Salvat instead crafting an upbeat pop record that boasts vibrant production, catchy melodies and emotionally-charged songwriting.

Islands is a triumph and easily Josef Salvat’s strongest album so far. Free of major label pressure, he has finally delivered the captivating pop album you feel he’s always wanted to make. Calling back to his own words on the title track, Josef is now exactly where he needs to be—and he’s never sounded better.”

Best tracks: The Drum, Islands, Sunbeams

Read my full review for Gigwise here

Listen here

46. The Present Is A Foreign Land by Deaf Havana

Back from the brink of extinction, Deaf Havana delivered their excellent sixth album in 2022 that was as heartbreakingly personal as it was anthemic. Here’s what I had to say back in July:

“In its simplest terms, The Present Is A Foreign Land is the soaring stadium rock of Bruce Springsteen colliding with the moody, self-reflective pop of The 1975, but it is also much more than that.

Narratively the album tells the story of the band’s last three years, taking the listener through their whole challenging ordeal, unfiltered. At various stages, the brothers confess to their existential crises, relationship breakdowns, alcoholism, mental health issues and other intensely personal struggles. It can be a dark listen at times, but thankfully the uplifting nature of the music and splashes of hopefulness stop it from ever being too overwhelming.

Overall, The Present Is A Foreign Land is a magnificent rebirth – a deeply personal record from beginning to end, simply brimming with all the heart and resilience the brothers could muster.”

Best tracks: Nevermind, Kids, Someone/Somewhere

Read my full review for Gigwise here

Read my interview with Deaf Havana on the making of the album here

Listen here

45. Now or Whenever by Spector

An album that I proclaimed as “the first great record of 2022” back in January, it may have taken Spector seven years to finally release the follow-up to their glorious sophomore album Moth Boys (the record I named as my Album of the Year back in 2015), but Now or Whenever was well worth the wait. Steered by Fred Macpherson’s wildly unique, astute lyricism and Jed Cullen’s masterful guitar work, Now or Whenever is Spector delivering another soaring collection of poetic and wonderfully crafted indie anthems.

Due to the gap between their last two records and the narrative of the band changes, many publications at the time described this album as a “rebirth” for Spector, but for me this album was never that at all. This is simply one of the best indie bands of the last decade creating the great songs they always have done.

Best tracks: Funny Way of Showing It, This Time Next Year, Catch You on the Way Back In

Listen here

44. The Dream by Alt-J

I’m pleased to say that Alt-J finally emerged from the shadow of their incredible, Mercury Prize-winning debut An Awesome Wave in 2022. Now whilst fourth album The Dream may not quite stand shoulder-to-shoulder with that record, it was certainly a big step up from its two predecessors and easily their second-best outing to date.

From cinematic overture Bane, to groovy singles U&ME and Hard Drive Gold, through to the wonderfully quirky moments like Philadelphia, some of the band’s most interesting work is littered across this one. However, the record really shines for me in some of the quieter moments, with the beautifully understated Get Better and Cormac McCarthy inspired Happier When You’re Gone arguably the best of the bunch.

A big bounce back after Relaxer, The Dream is an engaging front-to-back listen with plenty flashes of both beauty and intrigue.

Best tracks: Get Better, Philadelphia, Bane

Listen here

43. Reeling by The Mysterines

Arriving earlier this year in a quieter week for new music releases, I’m so glad I found this debut from Liverpool rock quartet The Mysterines, as it proved to be one of the finest first outings all year. Packed throughout with seismic grunge riffs, big festival-ready anthems and powerful lead vocals from frontwoman Lia Metcalfe, this is a moody and assured debut that will have you moshing out in no time.

Basically, if you were to create a venn diagram with classic bands like Nirvana, Hole and Sonic Youth, and more modern ones like Arctic Monkeys and Nothing But Thieves, you’d probably find The Mysterines floating around in the middle sweet spot. Opening on the full throttle roar of Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much), the four-piece spend the next 40 minutes ripping things up and packing a punch with their intoxicating bluesy rock sound. It makes for a thrilling listen, with plenty of sonic nods to classic rock bands of years gone by, but also a freshness brought about by their own palpable youthful energy.

Best tracks: Still Call You Home, Hung Up, All These Things

Listen here

42. CRASH by Charli XCX

In 2022, the career of experimental pop genius Charli XCX really did come full circle. Having made the original (and still arguably the best) lockdown record in the form of the Mercury Prize-nominated How I’m Feeling Now, CRASH sees Charli turn everything up to 11 and go all out with an album that is just pure wall-to-wall pop bangers. I did originally consider not including this, but there really is no denying just how joyously infectious this album is and, as a result, it has easily been one of my most played records of the year.

CRASH is an album that sees Charli strike the balance between hit-making machine and visionary pop artist. Although at times it can feel like it is built to sell, critics and fans of her later work will still find plenty of her own stylistic signature painted across CRASH, with splatters of modern flair and experimental production techniques amongst the big, polished 80s throwback numbers.

Also, what CRASH lacks in How I’m Feeling Now’s instant and lasting impact, Charli makes up for with fun, playful pop and very few duff moments. Singles Good Ones and You Used To Know Me are mightily catchy, the collaborations with Christine & The Queens, Caroline Polachek and Rina Sawayama all continue to pop off, and there’s plenty of quite intriguing new cuts too such as the late-night quiet rave of Move Me and the dream-pop melancholy of Every Rule.

So whilst I wouldn’t say this is her best project, it is still one of the finest pop records of the year and a solid culmination of - and testament to - Charli’s career to this point.

Best tracks: Good Ones, You Used To Know Me, Every Rule

Listen here

41. Ribbon Around The Bomb by Blossoms

Is it just me or has this album massively flown under the radar this year?

Whilst I appreciate the Stockport indie rockers have set the standard pretty high with their discography so far and the tracks here may not marry up to their catalogue’s biggest singles, Ribbon Around The Bomb sees Blossoms achieve greater artistic maturity with some of their most finely constructed songs to date.

I’m also fully convinced they simply don’t know how to make a bad record at this point, as this is another thrilling 35-minute listen that boasts catchy, instantly timeless songs from start to finish. Ode To NYC will hook you in straight away, a romantic love letter to The Big Apple driven by sweet harmonies and galloping acoustic guitars. Born Wild is another highlight, a hugely cinematic number that draws comparisons to some of The War On Drugs’ recent material. Single Care For still sounds great too, with its 70s flair and swooning, string-tinged melody.

However, it is in the back end of the track list where the best songs really start to appear. Cinerama Holy Days is a wonderful Northern Soul-inspired number, with its upbeat piano melody and cooing backing vocals. Edith Machinist will then have you checking you haven’t accidentally put The Coral on instead (in a good way), before closer Visions delivers an epic seven minutes of bluesy guitars, soaring strings and exquisitely crafted laidback grooves.

With nostalgic sounds, cinematic production and superb songwriting, in another year this one could’ve easily ended up a little bit higher.

Best tracks: Visions, Cinerama Holy Days, Ode to NYC

Listen here

The countdown continues on Sunday with #40-31!

#album of the year #new music #best new music #album recommendation #best of 2022 #blossoms #charli xcx #deaf havana #spector #the mysterines #alt j #josef salvat #bloc party #kawala #blood red shoes #albums of the year #aoty #best albums of 2022

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caw4brandon · 3 years

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What Linkin Park Was and Always Be

When I was just a boy, I used to visit this neighbor and church friend of mine who plays video games and has older brothers. (unlike me) His name is Gary and he’s a middle child. Whenever I visit him, I would find this corner of his gaming room with this pretty looking stack of albums, arranged neatly next to the disk player. These albums were all named;

The American boy band that, instead of making fun love songs, have girls swoon and make guys to roll their eyes hard. Produced music that makes you want to scream and punch somebody...IN THE FACE!

I...may be getting a little too nostalgic recently. With my Animorphs talk and all. But anyways, I wanted to take this moment of trip down memory lane to talk about Linkin Park. About how their music affected me and the mark they left behind for a generation of teens and adults based on what I have observed.

- It Starts with Meteora -

I’ve tried so hard, and got so far

Formed in 1996, The sound of Linkin Park is described as a fusion of heavy metal and hip hop and was later transitioned into more electronic and pop-influenced music. In their early years, the band was founded by three high school friends: Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson under the former name; Xero.

After a long and difficult journey of finding a lead singer while struggling to get a singed record deal, Xero became Linkin Park; an homage and play on words to Santa Monica's Lincoln Park, now called Christine Emerson Reed Park and on October 24, 2000. <Hybrid Theory> was released, earning the status of best-selling album of 2001 followed by is successors <Reanimation> and <Meteora> on March 25, 2003.

Things went from quiet to eleven very quickly as the band gained major stardom for their unique sound mixture of genres with lead singer; Chester Bennington's dynamic vocal range and screamo. Backed up with Mike Shinoda's raps and very occasional singing.

Very quick personal story. The actual first album that introduced me to the band was the Extended Play, <Collision Course> a collaboration with Jay-Z when I was just eleven years old. Given that there was a whole stack of albums at Gary’s and given that he’s my friend with good taste. I decided to give it a try, loving it since then. Linkin Park was not the only thing the bandmates worked on though. On the side, Mike worked on Fort Minor while Chester went on stage with the likes of DJ Letha and Dead by Sunrise.

- What They’ve Done -

Put to rest, what you’ve thought of me

At this point, I REALLY got into Linkin Park. The songs I’ve heard on that poor disk with no cover (which could have been my dad’s or uncle’s), on the radio or on good ole MTV had me headbanging, rapping and screaming in the car like a mad man which probably annoyed my mom who had to send me to school every morning. (Sorry mom)

At around this time, LP made a comeback in <Minutes to Midnight> The album that I used my hard earned pocket money to purchase and listen to. So much so that I can recite <Bleed It Out> with ease. Even till this day.

But, I won’t lie. At that time, I was moving on to other stuff like Japanese music; UVERWorld and The Back Horn or listened to something a lot more religious; Planetshakers and Everfound. All banger bands might I add.

Of course, LP never left the little corner of my angsty heart and I was surprised but listened with interest to their album <Recharged>, <Living Things> and <The Hunting Party> about a year or two later in college thanks to a fellow churchmate of mine who selflessly bought the albums to me as a gift. Which I played, in the middle of the night at my college house! (Now that I think about it, I'm a terrible housemate.)

But, eventually...I had to grow up and all that screaming had to stop one way or another. I placed my albums at a safe place in my childhood bedroom and never looked back since. But every now and again, that angsty corner would send those earworms to me and I would begrudgingly search it up and sing along with little to no problem.

THAT was just a week ago when this post goes up.

Needless to say, Linkin Park is a name that lingers in the air and its something I like to revisit then and again. Every time I revisit, still a hell of a band!

- Why is Everything so Heavy? -

I know I'm not the center of the universe...

From my teen hood to adult hood, The sound of Linkin Park speaks a different tone now. The songs are no longer just headbangers but felt like fragments of the struggles that bleed into words from heart and soul of Mike and Chester. Accompanied by the pure talent of the great musicians of the band.

So, after all this talk. What was Linkin Park’s legacy? It surely must have created a generation of angry monsters right? Well...No. At least from what I can see. It has created a generation of people who are empathetic, a little bit intense but thought-provoking, with a layer of kindness to them and their music even saved someone from their lowest point thanks to a fan. [Story Here]

While I don’t have a music degree or anything. I could feel that no matter what form the band took in the past seven albums they’ve made, its prove that Linkin Park is not bound by genres and themes. While other parts of social media loves to use songs like “Crawling” and “In The End” for meme reasons I can’t completely understand. I get a sense that as artists, LP is far more versatile and adaptable than others while maintaining an ethos (character) of themselves.

By the time I was done with college and nearing my final year. On July 20, 2017. The news broke out that Chester Bennington lost his life by committing suicide and while I am very much more of a casual. The loss was felt and there was not much to say. It truly was a dark day.

And then, Here WE are...2021

What Linkin Park Was and Always Be to me is STRENGTH. Even when it its hard to get up. Even when no one cares. THEY say, “we do” The themes in most of Linkin Park’s songs deals with topics that are (no pun intended) Heavy like, frustration, depression, loneliness and fear but it also builds on empathy, taking back control and allowing one’s self to occasionally tell the world to go screw itself sometimes which can be quite cathartic. (At least for me)

They also remind me of veterans. Fighters and survivors from some kind of war whom are now lowering their megaphones and taking a more gentle approach with storytelling and messaging. Change is a frightening thing, especially for a band that’s all about the angsty, rebel, punk style but change could also mean, they’ve grown, matured or developed into something new compared to their yesteryears.

It has been FIVE years since the band and the community lost Chester and FIVE years since the band went silent after but from what I’ve heard, Mike and Linkin Park are in the works for a comeback.

What I will leave with is this, there truly is nothing like Linkin Park the themes, the lyrics or even the iconography. While it definitely won’t be the same and would certainly take time, it would surely be good to have them return.

- To Chester and to Linkin Park -

Thanks for Reading

- B -

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something-very-special · 3 years

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Impressions

I know I’m way behind on progression through Replicant (insofar as anybody can be ‘way behind’ in the sense of playing a video game for personal entertainment), buuuut I figured I’d share a few thoughts.

Presently I’m doing sidequest mop-up post-Barren Temple, for reference:

So just to get this overall out of the way, I am legitimately fascinated by the differences between NIER and Replicant. This is something I picked up on when I played RepliCant to grab footage for my LP, but given my extremely limited understanding of Japanese all I could get was the tone between characters and to my unpracticed ear they sounded pretty different. I always assumed that Weiss was somehow even more condescending to Brother and hah hah, wow. Even kind of expecting the dialogue and delivery differences I was not prepared for some of the dialogue and delivery differences. Weiss just straight-up insulting BroNier on the regular, not even doing sarcastic eye-rolls like he does with Papa. I don’t remember the exact line that set me off but somewhere in the Barren Temple I was just laughing my ass off at how much of a dick Weiss is.

Thought the ‘miracles’ conversation in the Junk Heap was interesting, too. I remember Papa Nier telling Weiss to stuff it because ‘those kids need a miracle’ and Weiss kind of backs down-- obviously doesn’t believe it, but he knows better than to push. And Brother tries but Weiss is just not having this optimism bullshit. Little things, but the tenor of the relationship is definitely different.

One of the more interesting aspects early on is the way the Lunar Tear is treated. Obviously I don’t know if this was part of the original game or a script adjustment, but Brother talking about the Tear as a source of money as opposed to Father saying it can grant wishes was interesting. Maybe it was to justify that Kaine just has a whole necklace of the damn things and therefore it’s rare but not literally magic, but it always sounded like it was just meant to be taken as a myth to me anyway. Then again, it’s established in the Grimoire that Brother has a fixation specifically on making money so he can support himself and Yonah (versus Papa Nier, who has obviously already established himself as an adult rather than a kid still figuring things out and hoping that enough money will solve all their problems).

Where the dialogue doesn’t diverge is interesting, too. Mostly I’m talking about the scene after defeating Hook. I always found Papa Nier exclaiming “You’re going to live, Kaine!” and “Yes, we’re friends now!” to be obvious holdovers from a younger protagonist just goddamn hilarious when Papa Nier is saying them. They’re still really funny with Brother Nier but just remembering Papa Nier doing the exact same delivery in his deep, manly voice just re-elevated the whole scene into comedy gold.

All of that is really why I was interested in getting the game so already my money is well spent. But there’s some other stuff:

They butchered the OST! ...or so people keep telling me on Youtube. I admit I do think the re-orchestrations is largely inferior to the original (although there are some that are at least as good in a different way, and whatever they did to The Lost Forest -- which was one of my least favorite tracks in the original -- I really enjoy) but I wouldn’t call it a butchering and I highly suspect that if I didn’t have the eleven years of the original OST and its association within the game itself I wouldn’t bat an eye, it still all sounds great.

Also, a weird observation, but I found that the soundtrack sounds much better coming out of the TV speakers than through headphones. I’m not sure if somehow it was optimized for play through external speakers, or maybe just not hearing the added orchestration right up against my eardrums, but when I went to the Lost Shrine with headphones on I was admittedly disappointed, but going to it again and listening through the TV it worked significantly better.

(I’m not sure if this is necessarily a factor, but the booklet in the White Snow edition mentions that the new soundtrack was all studio mixed rather than having the individual tracks layered. While I don’t think that would have an impact on music quality it almost definitely makes a difference in the way it’s produced.)

I miss chest-thrusting to double jump Movement overall feels much more refined and polished. It’s not as slick as Automata, but it definitely feels like a natural evolution of the original game, and as an apologist for NIER’s combat I can appreciate that. A little more responsive, I appreciate being able to move while casting magic, and it still has a bit of a crunch behind weapon impact (although I wish it felt a bit heavier).

But goodness I miss the stupid animation for double-jumping. I mean sure, an aerial somersault is a classic indication of a double jump, but I just loved that Nier would chest-thrust so hard he would break the laws of physics and ascend higher.

It also feels a bit like the aerial dodge was nerfed for movement purposes? I really don’t feel as much horizontal thrust to get a running start after diving off the Library balcony.

Fully voiced? Fully voiced?! I knew this was happening but I totally forgot until the NPC villagers started talking to me! Some of the incidental deliveries are a bit awkward, but as somebody whose glasses prescription is a decade out of date I appreciate this immensely.

The item guy in Seafront just being from the goddamn Bronx is a thing of beauty.

BroNier does fit into the Village better. One of the little details I love in the game is that each bit of civilization has its own style. The maps aren’t large enough to really convey how long travel takes, but the different styles between the Village and Seafront just kind of helped to ‘place’ the characters in a really neat, subtle way (Emil’s sash identifies him as ‘belonging to’ Seafront, which is actually pertinent when you get that sidequest where you find the letter from his science-mom in town! I assume she always wore a kicky sash when she went to work in the underground child torture bunker.)

Facade obviously also has their own style, but it’s... hard not to appreciate.

Papa Nier’s dress doesn’t really ‘place’ him anywhere, which doesn’t feel weird for the main character, and I feel like it’s implied that he isn’t really from the Village in a meaningful way anyway and kind of drifted in at some point after Yonah had been born. But younger Brother Nier is actually wearing the local fashion and it’s a neat little detail that I didn’t appreciate back when I played PS3 RepliCant. (Probably because I didn’t bother talking to any NPCs what with not being able to read the dialogue, so I never really had him standing next to anybody for long enough to process.) Older Brother Nier takes on a very different outfit that winds up displacing him from the rest of the Village (and any other towns), which is a pretty nice visual metaphor, too.

I have a confession to make. I still enjoy fishing in this game.

Yeah I said it. I’ll say it again too-- I like the fishing minigame. I happily blitzed through the Fisherman’s available Gambits, and then just caught five sharks while I was hanging out, and then also caught the sandfish ahead of time, and also wound up with a half-ton giant catfish (??!?) trying to remember where the black bass are located.

Cart me away.

Related but I laughed far too hard when the fisherman says “the WESTERN beach”. I wonder why they changed that line. I just can’t imagine.

And those seals. Always a delight to go to early Seafront and just plant yourself between a couple of seals. Watch the ocean. Listen to the music and the waves. Watch the seals lazily roll around and make cute seal barks.

The most depressing thing about the timeskip is losing those seals.

My garden--! The gardening timeskip exploit was fixed due to a difference in PS4 architecture. :/ I know there’s still an exploit involving time zones but I didn’t go in knowing that and I was horrified when I adjusted the system clock only to find my crops weren’t growing. Is Legendary Gardener still a trophy? Fffffuuuuu

My BARREN TEMPLE. The Barren Temple is, to me, a legitimately funny dungeon, between Sechs getting himself abducted, Kaine getting herself abducted and Nier and Weiss just sighing in resignation, and the whole concept of the rules-based challenges. And the adjustment they made to the Prince’s dialogue before you meet him is so good-- the original felt a little disjointed and felt like it ended with the Prince being confused. It was still funny, but here Weiss just gives zero fucks about insulting the Prince (and presumably knows that’s exactly who he’s talking to) and it’s just great.

And I say all of that because I just died laughing when I got to the infamous Racing Wolf room and saw they outlawed evasion.

Evasion works differently in this game anyway so you wouldn’t have really been able to do the same trick before (dodge roll; in the original release you would dodge roll forward by tapping the button, but a default evasion has you backstep. Of course you could arrange BroNier to face away from the trap and then evade, but it would be significantly dicier, and I feel like the pattern on the shots was awkward enough that you wouldn’t have an opening in the second row (and probably would’ve have dodged your ass right into the bullets anyway). But just that they acknowledged the trick and then flipped you off with it was amazing. Aggravating? My amusement far outweighed my frustration since the Defend trick was still solid.

It also felt like more rooms outlawed jumping? That I can’t corroborate (I was really focusing on whether they did something to Racing Wolf, which is of course the most traumatic of the rooms) but I feel like it wasn’t as easy to cheese some of those rooms as it had been previously.

Dark Blast is amazing. Cheesed the shit out of the actual ‘Evasive Mouse’ room, though. I remember having some difficulties when the miniboss shows up since you can’t dodge out of the way of his lava pillar attack, but I just circle-strafed with Dark Blast and he died comically quickly.

This is actually more relevant to the magic as a whole, but in the time since I first played NIER (so... probably the time I fifth played NIER) I learned more about the little intracacies of the magic system. Like, really little intricacies, like how you can use magic with just a button tap and it actually has different effects... like Dark Blast dealing significantly more damage. It’s not as easy as just holding down the button and getting the multi-shot off the charge, but for a single enemy like that just rapid-fire tapping the button chews through the lifebar.

This tap strategy is really appreciated for Dark Hand (forward thrust punch) and Dark Lance (which is even better thanks to the game’s lock-assist-- a much appreciated quality-of-life adjustment), and I look forward to getting Dark Execution because of its fast activation feature (spreading the lances in a forward cone in front of you, extremely useful for crowd control when you can’t afford to wait for Execution to charge up).

Fragile Delivery still sucks. I don’t know why I had such a terrible time with the first Fragile Delivery but I broke that... Ming vase or whatever you’re delivering half a dozen times. Send that guy a steel rug instead, Guard #3, he is not worth whatever piece of art you had me destroy six times.

And the game still holds up. This is probably a ‘needless to say’ thing but yeah, this is still a great game. I always have a little bit of apprehension going back to something I loved just in case there’s a rose-colored effect going on. Not that I really expected that to happen with this game (I’ve played NIER recently enough that I didn’t think nostalgia would blind me) but, you know, always a possibility.

(That and that the remaster would be... perhaps of dubious quality. It happens.)

Nope! Still engaging. Still charming. I’m always impressed to go back to this game with all the knowledge of its inevitable misery and remember that it’s also just plain funny. NIER is one of those games that’s just like I remember it but better every time I go back to it.

I’m so glad that Automata did well enough to spur greater interest in this game. It really didn’t get the chance it deserved back in 2010 and now it’s topping some of the sales charts. That’s fantastic.

Just... fantastic.

#NIER #NieR Replicant #Musings #Now I just need Threads of Fate remastered and my life is complete #SE don't do that I know you'll ruin it

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metaldragoon · 3 years

Photo

@justsuha filled this out, and I felt like doing the same. Kinda felt they didn’t have the best categories so maybe I shouldn’t have bothered, also tried not being too repetitive with my picks. Favourite Game - Final Fantasy VI, this was an easy one for me. One of the first games I ever played, then I came back to it around like 12-14 years old and it was the first game I ever played on an emulator, then it was one of the first games I ever watched an LP on, one of the first game I ever started playing with mods, and yeah, I’ve just played this game a lot in my life. Best Story - Mass Effect (1), could’ve gone with FFVI again but eh, and maybe Hollow Knight but I feel like the world building in ME1 is crazy-deep and unparalleled. Maybe that’s not story in like a “plot” sense, but it’s what I settled on. Favourite Art Style - Killer7, was a comfortable pick but Persona 5 is also a really crisp game. Also thought about other things that are more atmospheric like Metroid Prime, Hollow Knight, or Bloodborne. Favourite Soundtrack - Final Fantasy VI, like I said, didn’t want to be repetitive, so there was games that had like a banger of a track like Papers, Please, or something like Super Meat Boy, but I couldn’t really justify anything being equal to FFVI. Hardest Game - Dragon Age: Origins, Felt like a Soulsborne game was the “gimme” answer so I wanted to swerve a bit. DA:O is hard as fuck, if you’re not optimizing your build you’re not beating that game. Even on “easy” I’m like chill man Funniest Game - Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, was tempted to go Undertale but since that’s kind of just a parody game I feel like it had a lot more liberties it could take to still be funny. TTYD is super funny while still being like it’s own game. Game I like that everyone hates - Gears of War 2, some kid in Gr. 11 said I should get a 360 and play that, and so I did. I played the online mode so much, but it never really felt like a popular competitive game. I liked being so beefy, it’s basically just one-shotting people with shotguns is the meta and so the whole stalking someone to close the gap to be in range was super fun to me. Campaign kinda trash and my friend wanted to get an achievement for co-op beating it on the hardest difficult that was miserable for me, but I think it’s a really fun game to play with some great audio too, the SFX are top notch. Game I hate that everyone likes - Borderlands, hate is a strong word but man I don’t really care about this game at all and people have been hyping it up for a decade. Underrated Game - Catherine, all my irl friends I tell about this game don’t know what it is, until I remind them and they go “oh yeah, that game looked weird/was too hard.” don’t know anyone who’s actually played more than an hour of it. It’s one of my all-time faves, though. Overrated Game - Breath of the Wild, my wife says I didn’t give it a “fair shake” but I played like 20 hours and zzz... was tempted to go with a Pokemon game too, but it’s more a franchise in general than a specific game. Best Voice Acting - Yakuza Kiwami, I didn’t really have any real opinions on a game having good voice acting; generally they don’t. Yakuza is all VA’d in Japanese so that’s probably why, but it felt pretty cool and was the only thing that I could think of actively enhanding a VG experience. Maybe shoulda gone GTA (3 or San Andreas), both are really dated and definitely don’t sound that good anymore but one of my favourite games to listen to dialogue from. Worst Voice Acting - Metroid: Other M, not bad in terms of the actual talent of the VA’s but damn if it doesn’t ruin everything about Samus as a character. “REMEMBA ME?!” Favourite Male - Kazuma Kiryu, was tempted to go General Leo from FFVI, but couldn’t find an image big enough before I resized this, which I could have easily worked around, but I also really like the Dragon of Dojima! It’s weird because he seems like such a simple design but he’s just badass in the right way, and I don’t know why more games can’t get it right. Favourite Female - Franziska von Karma, from the 2nd Ace Attorney game. For some reason had a huge crush on her, when I was younger I even drew some fanart of her which I ain’t done for nobody but her and Broly. Favourite Protagonist - Samus Aran, wanted to go with a “franchise” character and Samus is always super cool (except in Other M), I’ll always be excited to play her in some new game. Favourite Village - Kakariko Village, felt like kind of a weird question, ‘cuz like if it was favourite area or something, I could have put some other stuff (Greenpath in Hollow Knight for example), and being a village I feel like basically limits you to medieval games but not the main hub either as that’s “a city.” But Ocarina of Time’s Kakariko Village is always really fun to roll in to, also thought of the Goron Village, or just any village in Secret of Mana because that village theme is soo good. Most Hated Character - Nathan Drake, have barely even played Uncharted, but I just always hate any character with his personality, and he’s the biggest and most well-known. Maybe he’s fine but meh. First Game You Played - Super Mario World, can’t say for 100%, but this and Super Mario Kart were games I was playing a lot since at like 4 or 5 my older brother owned them and they’re the most baby friendly. Also remember playing a lot of PC games that my dad had, Timon and Pumba pinball, Chip’s Challenge, Ski Free, and stuff like that. Skunny Kart Racing for DOS but I never understood how to get to DOS. Favourite Company - Bioware, I don’t really care about gaming companies in general, but Mass Effect and DA:O are some of my favourite games. I might say Square as well but they do a lot of stuff. Hated Company - Ubisoft, don’t hate them all but I just feel like they only make games I have zero interest in. Depressing Game - Doki Doki Literature Club, this and creepy are kinda really similar I feel, but I went DDLC but I kinda forget how it even ends. I just remember feeling bummed about the purple and pink haired girl, and then the Monika scene just being uncomfortable (in a good way). Creepy Game - Doom3, don’t really play creepy games, Doom3 was suspenseful so I don’t know if that counts. I had it for like 2 years, played it once for like 10 hours straight, and never played it again. Still lives in my head. Happy Game - Super Meat Boy, is this a happy game? I don’t know, I feel like it’s got a pumped up energy which I equate to happiness. It’s fun and the music makes it really addictive. Favourite Ending - Metal Gear Solid, don’t really have a great answer to this. I really like Meryl and Snake riding off on their snowmobile though.

#me #looking for a sugar daddy

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bluebandana · 4 years

Text

The Lp Show Act 3: Summary

there is a warning for flashing images- for those planning to watch later

we started with a ten minute countdown where cute halloween images rotated

liam came on dressed as a pirate to introduce lola young

a video played of liam in the jack sparrow costume and at the end he introduced carly gibert

the video continued in between songs!!

he introduced tom felton from inside a cage?

tom said he used to speak at comic con about harry potter and then perform after and people had to listen because the doors were locked djsksks

after tom finished we cut back to liam back in the cage

question: if you could have a harry potter pet what would it be

answer: the big sloppy dog

question: what was your scariest experience ever?

answer: today walking through the venue (referencing the video from the beginning)

another intro video!!!

song 1: get low

he started performing in the cage and broke out in the middle of it!!

the stage has a lot of barrels it looks like

song 2: live while we’re young

he said it’s so hard to sing without the boys 🥺🥺

tried to do a spooky voice that was really cute

question in the zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice?

answer: chainsaw because you could hold it and spin

song 3: tell you friends

song 4: live forever

talked about tom again and said he’s a “geeky, nerdy person”

played a video of himself scaring tom while dressed as a clown

song 5: stack it up

song 6: weekend

people came and pushed him off screen and he said “see you in a bit”

he’s apparently on trial in court for bad fashion and being a bad band member

crimes against fashion:

it’s a fan showing pictures of him

she said the first had too many colors

he said he doesn’t like this game

second fan she said there was too much going on

third fan

picture of liam looking like justin bieber

he didn’t even know it was him jdjskss

fourth fan!!

she showed outfits she liked of him

he was found innocent

crimes for being a bad band member:

first fan!!

told a story of liam noticing a fan who needed help during a 1d concert

another fan!

showed a bunch of clips from the band days and said a lot of things that were uncomfortable tbh

apparently they found him guilty

a video again

liam is tied up in a chair

he has colored contacts in now so his eyes are white

song 7: everything i wanted billie eilish cover!!!

he was tied up still in the beginning but he got out in the middle and made his way back to the stage

song 8: cover- youngblood by 5sos

he said he loved those two songs and that he’s a massive billie fan!!

question: which of the poster looks is your favorite?

answer: the gladiator

said he can’t see through the contacts jfkdks

question: do you believe in ghosts

answer: “are there any ghosts in here?” played a scream and he said it was cornelius’ cousin agetha and that proved ghosts are real

showed his past halloweens and looked at some other phots!!

first dressed at batman with tom daly

showed a fan art photo of the lp show with all of his past costumes

showed some other fan costumers and celebrities

sang the addams family and no one sang along and he said they sucked fjkdksks

another photo of him as batman

song 9: drag me down

changed the lyrics to “you’ve never seen it look so scary”

song 10: what a feeling

he said he adores that song (put emphasis on adore referencing adore you)

song 11: one thing

“i knew that song better than i thought”

song 12: midnight memories

this used to be the show opener and now it’s the show closer

another series of countdown screens

backstage- called the After-Life Party

he’s back in the chair he was tied up in lmao

choosing the winners of the competition

they picked the finalists the put a poll on twitter to choose the winner

talking again to people on zoom from the game earlier

said he feels bad about pulling down harry’s pants on stage but that louis dared him to and “there was a thing in one direction that you couldn’t not do a dare”

said the band came to this venue 10 years ago on halloween!!! and found a picture to show us

tiktok live

someone told him it’s been 5 years since the last 1d concert and he said he didn’t know that and he’s happy he sang those songs then and that that’s what made him a bad band member

question: do you like musicals?

answer: he loves them

he said the wig is hot to wear but he wishes his hair was that long

someone told him to prank call louis and he said he won’t because louis will swear at him

said he needs to learn to play among us!!

said he got tired of singing wmyb but he understands the nostalgia so maybe he’ll bring it back

said harry used to put butter on the ceiling?? and then talked about the butter sock from icarly????

sang a bit of hideaway!!!! (the unreleased 1d song that leaked a while back)

announced that tom is doing a show on veeps for the harry potter anniversary

ended the live but said they’d come back because there’s wifi problems

#hiiiii im gonna post this for now #and if he comes back on i'll edit it #but i have a headache #the lp show act 3 #mine #lp

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alittlemorevodka · 2 years

Video

youtube

Three months ago, Vodka was happy to have a new Sinnober single to review, Ophelia. It was beautiful, and so great to have these two back making music again! Fast forward to today, and yet another single has dropped, From Afar (seen/heard here). Rather than just review it without any feedback, I really wanted to find out how things were going in the Sinnober world. I reached out to them and received a response from Natalie Brice to a few questions. The questions and responses follow. I may edit the questions slightly so that they read better, but the responses are 100% from the artist: Vodka: I'm curious about a few things. The most recent single, "From Afar" has a completely different sound than your other music. Can you tell me what influenced the sound of this single, and what is the message you are trying to drive with the lyrics?

NB: When we first started out, we were in our twenties, we had a manager, and there was always a brief: write a hit. We are now in our thirties, we don’t have a manager, and we have two young children. We are no longer operating within that commercial realm and this has been truly liberating in that we consciously create what comes naturally. We listen to a wide range of music and find it stifling to limit ourselves to one style.

A musician friend and I were chatting recently about how simple, well-crafted songs don’t often get the credit they deserve. This inspired me to write a love song. You have to sacrifice part of your ego and get uncomfortable if you are creating something truthful and vulnerable. I felt vulnerable and exposed singing it so I knew I was out of my comfort zone. This song doesn't pull any gimmicks, it isn’t cryptic or clever. It is about being shit scared.

Vodka: Looking at everything that's happened in your lives in the last several years since Projection was released, (starting a family, COVID 19, etc.,) what would you say have been your biggest challenges, both musically and as a young family?

NB: Our son had just turned 4 and our daughter was 6 months old when the first lockdown happened. We have a lovely home, beautiful countryside within walking distance, and an openhearted community who passed cakes over the fence. All this said, we still found it ball-breakingly hard.

If it had just been Seb and I, it would’ve been chilled - fun even. I would’ve learnt a new language, perfected my sourdough starter, phoned old friends, and researched the American civil war.

With a young child and a baby it was a different ball game. There was the paradox of having all the time in the world but no time to do anything creative or work-related. We spent a lot of time at the allotment which was a lifeline, I memorised every cobweb on our bedroom wall while nursing the baby, and we watched a lot of box sets!

Funnily enough, all this stagnancy must’ve provoked a creative surge as song ideas were pouring out of me - just no time to record in the studio as there wasn’t any childcare available.

One of the many blessings that comes with having young children is that you become less precious about your music because you simply have to be. You become super efficient with any time you might have in the studio and you don’t beat about the bush!

Performing and gigging is still a challenge due to our toddler not sleeping which is terribly dull. Hopefully things will shift and we will be able to perform again in the Spring.

Vodka: Finally, as you look towards the next year, what are your plans? Is there another LP in the works at some point in the future?

NB: To achieve a full night’s sleep! And to make space for creativity, family, and friends.

We have every intention of writing another LP, but maybe don’t hold your breath! Until we do, we will release songs spontaneously - as and when they arrive.

Well said, Natalie. Vodka will be watching your musical progress.

With From Afar, Sinnober creates another beautiful song in a catalog that contains no duds. Not one. If you have as yet to pick up any of Sinnober’s music, I encourage you to do so! Pick up all three of their LP’s and all of their singles from their bandcamp.com site. Check out their website as well.

Note: It looked like we were heading for clear skies with Covid 19. The variants are making a comeback, which means that the livelihoods of artists like Sinnober and many others are still threatened. If your situation allows it, consider purchasing more in these tough times. Please, if you are physically able to do so, get the vaccine! –Vodka

Search is broken: Finding former posts from artists used to be a given, but something has happened with our host. Searching for an artist in the search (above) will sometimes get your results, and sometimes (as with a search for “sinnober” for instance) it will yield nearly none of the historical posts. This is a problem that Vodka is researching. Please be aware that we may be forced to change hosts, which would cause a short moratorium on posts. If you are used to seeing a new post on the blog every Wednesday, then just be aware that if you don’t find a new post, it’s because we are off building elsewhere. Thanks for your patience.

#sinnober #folk-pop #inidie-pop #natalie brice #a little more vodka #musicblog #alittlemorevodka

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dungeons-and-dragon-age · 3 years

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Let's go with 🐻🎼✨ for the artist ask meme :)

Thanks for the ask! <3

🐻 Your go-to things to draw when you need comfort?

Hmm it shifts a lot, but some that I always come back to are some of my old OCs! Mostly these three idiots (affectionate):

Desertblaze and Sam, or my avatar OC Dawn (she's the one on my main's pfp lol). Des especially is my biggest comfort character, she's one of my oldest OCs and an absolute sunshine with trauma and drawing her always cheers me up :) realising now that they're all brown felines of some variation dfhfjhsdf but i promise I have more diverse ocs too x'D 🎼 Your favorite music to draw to right now?

I don't really listen to music much while drawing, but I do like listening to audio books, podcasts, or LPs (only of games i already know tho)! Currently it's mostly Welcome to Night Vale ✨ How often do you draw?

I draw most days, even if it's just quick scribbles. In school I was costantly doodling in class (and probably will again once Uni starts haha), and when I've got a lot of free time I just kinda do the same thin tbh x'D Since I've left or gone inactive in the RPG groups I was in I do a lot less polished/finished/rendered art though.

#sorry couldn't resist showing of my kids xD #desertblaze owns my heart since 2012 #the others aren't quite as old (sam's frommm 2017 i think? and dawn only from 2019)#but i still love em lots #also my other ocs ofc but these three are my biggest comfort characters in terms of drawing #tho liam is also starting to be high on the list #about me #not da #ask game

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doomedandstoned · 3 years

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King Buffalo Provide Respite For Pandemic-Weary Listeners on ‘The Burden of Restlessness’

~By Billy Goate~

Artwork by Zdzisław Beksiński

I confess, I came a little late to the KING BUFFALO party. I mean, I’ve known about them from their very first record on and have even picked songs to play on The Doomed & Stoned Show that's I've found particularly enjoyable. Regulars to the program know I’ve always been more a doomer than a stoner, though obviously relishing music from both worlds. Only recently had I given myself the opportunity of really baking in their music. It probably has something to do with the summer psychedelic kick I’m on lately, that and I’ve been getting a lot more sunshine, walking more, learning how to enjoy being human again.

Not only did I give the band's latest LP, 'The Burden of Restlessness' (2021) a solid listen, I've been spinning it non-stop! The title grabbed me right away, because I could very much identify with the uncertainty and fear of 2020 lockdowns, which eventually gave way to boredom and stoic despair. Depending on who you ask, it's their third studio album and it's got its hooks in me for damn sure.

Sonically, the sound is fresh and vital, every note captured prestinely by frontman/guitarist at Rochester's Main Street Armory between December and January. I don't know if he's a sound engineer on the side or what, but I really am impressed by how present the instruments sound, without excessive reverberation. After Sean finished recording and mixing, the tapes were sent to Grammy-nominated producer Bernard Matthews for mastering on the other side of the continent in Portland, Oregon.

Let's go through King Buffalo's release track-by-track, because I think there's plenty to talk about here.

1. Burning

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I feel it falling apart Too many blisters and scars Are we the wick or the flame, are they just one in the same? Was it just doomed from the start?

The record opens with “Burning” and in those first dozen seconds of churning downtuned noise, we’re unsure what kind of song it’s going to be. An assertive riff-motif starts to dance to the accompaniment of a motor-like rhythm. The singing is as depressive as we’re bound to encounter from King Buffalo, with lyrics that express regret about “another year lost in the wasteland” and that feeling of falling apart while time stands still.

The members of King Buffalo have been on a steadily rising trajectory in recent years, so the sudden closures of concert halls and canceled tours wasn't just a bummer for a lot of professional musicians; it had immediate career implications, along with the obvious problem of no job = no money. It’s one thing to weather through a crisis when you know what the end game is, and at this time last year most of us still didn’t know what the hell was going to happen. We thought everything would open up and return to normal, then the summer of 2020 exploded all around us with social unrest. The album’s title speaks to the creative frustrations of being not only uncertain of when your band is next going to tour, but what to do in the meanwhile. For creative people, there’s a burden to create -- sometimes just to keep yourself from going mad with frustration.

2. Hebetation

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I don’t know which way to run One thousand different ways but I can’t seem to live with one So I’m stuck where I’ve begun Another languid day, can’t seem to break away

“Hebetation” was one of the singles that emerged before the album was independently released toward the start of summer. It is the song I relate to the most, too. Vibrant Helmetesque riffmaking sets the song a sail, with a bit of a nod to Sabbath as well. The math-like interplay between drums, bass, and guitar have a vaguely krautrock aura about it, though the volume and tone is pure metal. Like the opening track, the words are frank and honest, addressing the weight of unfulfilled dreams, the jadedness that comes with disappointment, and suicidal thoughts that come floating into mind when it seems nothing's working out as planned. “Nothing’s changed at 35. Still every night I dream a million different ways for me to die.”

3. Locusts

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

Stifling the sun with wicked hands Everything undone with vicious plans

“Locusts,” as the name implies, is replete with bouncing guitar rhythm, with picking that seems to dart about like that swarm of grasshoppers that used to sweep through my poor pitiful East Texas garden mid-summer and shred everything in sight. Around the 3:30 mark, we’re treated to an extended high-end grinder of a B-section, with sweeping psychedelic gestures ala Kim Thayil -- and hearkening back to the melodic motif of another great song: “Sun Shivers.” When the A section returns, the rhythm is more deliberate, less dashing about in math or progressive fashion. The song ends with what could well end up an extended drone jam on just the right night as King Buffalo continues to roll through the U.S.

4. Silverfish

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I stare at the cracks in the wall And melt into nothing A silverfish slithering away, from everything

“Silverfish” got a music video, which was a wise choice as the song is quite accessible and relatable, too (even if it did get a few people wondering if King Buffalo was having their own “The Sword Moment” stylistically). The main motif is a two-note broken interval from high note to low in an almost an ‘80s-style nod to the advent of computer generated music (to my ears it sounds like the guitar may either be taking on the action or playing in sync with the synthesizer).

Never fear, the heavy is soon here. When I heard those first crashing tripled-down chords, I let out an inner hellllll yeah to that shit. The quirky little melody from the start comes back, this time on guitar in a way that really works to convince you that it was a good artistic choice from the get-go.

Lyrically, it's another wistful line of expression: “I stare at the cracks in the wall, I think I’m unravelling...I think I’m losing my grip on everything, I’m drifting away.” This is also one of the few songs on the record with a strong melodic chorus. It comes towards the end, which works quite effectively in climaxing the song.

(BTW, anyone else freaked out by silverfish as much as me?)

5. Grifter

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I make my way over the dunes Desolate and dry The remnants of empires past Too stubborn to die

“Grifter” returns to the everyman accessibility of “Burning” and “Hebetation,” with a notably despondent tenor to each line of the song. The calm singing over rhythmic verses so characteristic of King Buffalo’s writing gives way to a brutal grind sans chorus. Sometimes you don’t have words and you just have to work it all out with your axe or piano or whatever's your jam. There didn’t need to be a big, bloated angry chorus on top of it all. We feel that most adequately from the riffmaking itself, which plays out like slow burning frustration that intensifies with every round of the dirge.

6. The Knocks

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

Everyday I wake up on the floor Another useless day like every other that’s come before I can feel it creeping more and more Don’t think I wanna wake no more, don’t think I wanna live no more

“The Knocks” features the same keyboard playing as before, so now I’m sure it's either Sean or bassist Dan Reynolds on synth -- though the playing here is much more ornamental, at times adding an exclamation point to the sentiment of the lyrics. It might be a little much if overplayed, but here it’s dispensed judiciously. We have a bass, drums, and synth break where a chorus would normally be, followed by another shred sesh that’s feeling like Helmet or Prong love. A beautiful mid-range guitar melody intervenes, then things start to feel a distinctively robotic pattern announces itself around the 3:20 mark, joined in short order by the rest of the instruments. This leads to a melodious guitar sequence, with the dexterous kind of finger work that the one dude at shows likes so much when he pretends to shred next to the stage.

7. Loam

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I’m shedding the burden of restlessness To rise from the loam of the nothingness

“Loam” hearkens back to my favorite King Buffalo album, ‘Longing To Be The Mountain’ (2018). A broken octave rhythmic pattern is plucked with drums and bass being all cool, saying just the right thing at the right time. Atop it, the jaded, sedated crooning of Sean McVay, which as both a musical and cultural Doomer I find appealing. A mean guitar lick lashes out like a whip atop bass and drums around 3 minutes, then tears into another voiceless psychedelic improvisation. It's a beautiful instrumental metal section with a hard rock appeal. The song returns to its opening vibe in an almost Toolesque fashion, then opts for more catharsis-giving mosh time and another plaintively sung extended note melody.

The verses give us a hint of hope, as Sean declares: "I’m shedding the burden of restlessness / To rise from the loam of the nothingness." I'm curious to hear the two other albums the band plans on releasing in 2021 (yes, you read that right!) and how they will pair or contrast with this one.

King Buffalo's The Burden of Restlessness holds a special place in my music library and its songs are a frequent highlight of my daily playlist. I suspect it will be a record you, too, will keep close at hand as the plague rages on. A balm for the weary soul.

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wosofan14 · 4 years

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Jackie Groenen House Tour Interview - 22/10/20 (Rough English Translation) 

Little note - The format of the interview was a little weird. The interviewer guy was very random with what he said, so some things in the translation are very random. But other than that, the video was super interesting. Hope you enjoy the translation :)

 Interviewer: Welcome to a brand new episode of “Inside”, a show where we get an inside look into the houses of professional footballers, e-sports players, Youtubers etc... I’m very excited about today’s guest, as we get to go international on this episode. We are going all the way to Manchester, England to get an inside look in Jackie Groenen’s house.

*On screen text* Woonkamer = Living Room

Badkamer = Bathroom

Slaapkamer = Bedroom

Logeerkamer = Guest Bedroom

Balkan = Balcony

Interviewer: There is an Easter egg hidden in this video, so if you pay attention, then you can spot it, then you’ll have a chance to win some cool prizes. If you’re as excited as I am about this video, don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to the channel to not miss any cool videos. Hopefully after this video, there will be more people that will want to give house tours. Or not, I’d also understand if no one wanted to show me their house. Haha just joking. Now let’s ring the (imaginary) doorbell, or we can knock. Please ignore the huge headphones I am wearing.

Jackie: Hi Matthy (interviewer’s name) and viewers of this show. Welcome to the tour of my crib and welcome to Manchester!

Jackie: Come on inside, this is the hall. I can’t show you too much of the guest bedroom, as my dad is currently visiting. He is also currently filming this video and he’s filming for the first time, so don’t be too cruel on him.

Interviewer: I think your father is doing very well to be fair.

Jackie: Because of the current situation we are in, I’ve frequently had people sleep over and it’s been fun, as it’s meant that I haven’t been alone very often. Now here is my fantastic closet with, if I’m being honest, way too many clothes in it. And I see my father is already looking a little bored behind the camera, as this is his least favourite part.

Interviewer: Yes, I could hear him sigh deeply or take a deep breath behind the camera. You could also see him in the reflection of the closet.

Jackie: This is Mimo (it’s a cushion of a bunny) and he’s my best friend’s bunny. I’ve been able to take this cushion of with me so that I can always think about Mimo and Jenny because I miss them a lot when I’m here in Manchester. I also have a sweater here from training with Manchester United. As most of you will probably already know, I’ve always played with number 14 and I’m lucky enough to be able to play with that number here at Manchester United as well. That’s something I’m very proud of if I’m being honest. I’ve always been a huge fan of Johan Cruyff and I’m always very proud whenever I get to wear the number 14.

Interviewer: Very cool.

Jackie: Alright, here we have the first bathroom. I’ve never actually watched MTV Cribs before, so I don’t really know how people present their bathrooms to the camera.

Interviewer: I’ve never watched MTV Cribs either, but I can tell you that this is a very nice bathroom.

Jackie: People brush their teeth here.

Interviewer: (laughs). I hope that people brush their teeth in the bathroom. People at home, if you don’t brush your teeth, then start now!

Jackie: One of my favourite things about my apartment is obviously my bedroom.

Interviewer: If you have the same bed in your own bedroom as you do in your guest bedroom, then you know that the guests are really well cared for. That is really good to see. I’m adding points on for that!

Jackie: Another of my favourite things about my house is the view. At the moment, you can’t see too much because of the rain. That gives you a good idea about what the weather is like in Manchester.

Interviewer: I was just about to say, that’s typical in Manchester. The view is really pretty though.

Jackie: And here is my very very first guitar. I began playing on this guitar in Frankfurt. I take this guitar with me if I ever go with the girls to the park or somewhere like that. I’m still very careful with it though, as it’s my first ever guitar

Interviewer: I used to play guitar as well. The fact that you have the courage to play the guitar in front of a crowd of in public is very impressive and something I never would have done. I am intrigued though to know how long you’ve played the guitar for.

Jackie: Ummmm I think I’ve been playing the guitar for around 3 years, but I’ve only started taking it more seriously in the past 6 months or so with taking lessons. In Germany, I also had some lessons, but there weren’t very many of them. At the moment though, I play a lot and take a lot more lessons than I used to. I try to have 1-2 lessons every week and I try and play as much as I can before I go to bed so that I can keep improving. I’m still not very good, but I can play some songs. For example, if my dad is sitting on the couch in the evening, or if we are sitting by the heater, I always find it fun to then play a song on my guitar. Slowly but surely, I’m getting better and better at playing.

Interviewer: *says something about the Easter egg in the video and not wanting to spoil anything*

Jackie: Moving on, this is my record player. I’m obsessed with LPs and I find it lovely to put some music on in the evening before I go to bed. Because of my dad, most of my LPs are from the 70s and 80s.

Interviewer: *sees Black Stories in the cabinet* Black Stories is a fantastic game. It’s good to see that you play that game too. But LPs are old music aren’t they? I see and LP of the Beatles, which I like listening too as well. No modern music ever comes out on LPs though, so what do you listen to? Do you only listen to older music?

Jackie: There’s a bit of everything here. 80s music, Beatles, Queen, Jeff Buckley. My absolute favourite LP though is this one of Jim Croce. My dad first introduced me to his music and now I listen to it nonstop. I also love Fleetwood Mac, which is in the record player right now.

Interviewer: I think that most of the people watching this show will have never heard of Jim Croce. This type music is really not something I would enjoy listening to. But I do like that you have such a specific taste in music. You could have also listened to the Top 40 or Despacito.

Jackie: This is something that might be nice to show everyone. I feel like I don’t look at it enough, but I always enjoy holding it. This is the medal from when we became European Champions in 2017. I also have the silver medal from the World Cup in 2019 here where we got 2nd place and lost against the USA. Hopefully now everyone has forgotten about that though (laughs).

Interviewer: That’s still super cool though. A silver medal from the World Cup and a gold medal from the Euros is something that not many footballers can say they’ve achieved.

Jackie: Moving onto my nightstand, I have a picture of all my friends. One of my friends made this painting of us. She’s a very good artist. This is actually my friendgroup, and this painting reminds me of them a lot. And umm... (picks up book of crossword puzzles)

Interviewer: Yes! Zweedse Puzzelboekje (crossword puzzles). Those puzzles are so fun people!

Jackie: I know, I’m old (I guess because she likes doing those types of puzzles that makes her old).

Interviewer: If you’re old then I’m old too.

Jackie: Alright, on to the second bathroom. I think they call this an en-suite. Here is also a place where people brush their teeth.

Jackie: Alright, moving on again. Welcome to my living room/kitchen. This is the room where I study a lot. I also have my Player of the Match award from the World Cup semi-final game against Sweden.

Interviewer: A Player of the Match award is so cool to get, and especially in the semi-finals of a World Cup. It doesn’t even seem that much smaller than the trophy you’d get if you won the whole competition. Obviously they can’t give the big trophy to everyone though. That award is still super cool though.

Jackie: This is my most recent player of the match award from last Sunday from the game against Tottenham.

Interviewer: I think they have those awards in the Premier League for every game as well. Super cool that you have one of those.

Jackie: Someday I’ll make a nice decoration with all these Player of the Match awards.

Jackie: Welcome to my kitchen! I’ll give you guys a small look at what’s in my refrigerator. There’s not too many interesting things in here. I have some fruit and some yoghurt in my fridge.

Interviewer: I think I see some vanilla yoghurt or honey, one of those two things. There are lots of Dutch foods in the fridge though, which is good to see even if you’re in Manchester.

Jackie: Something that is more fun to tell you about is my guilty pleasure. I am obsessed with beschuit met muisjes (a sort of cake like thing with sprinkles - it’s a little hard to explain, so here’s a link to a picture: https://www.iamexpat.nl/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/strange-and-funny-dutch-traditions-beschuit-met-muisjes). I always have some beschuit and some muisjes here, as my dad always brings them for me from the Netherlands.

Interviewer: I assume that they don’t have De Ruijter (company that makes muisjes and hagelslag) in England, so it’s good to see that there’s still lots of Dutch foods in your kitchen in England.

 Jackie: On to the living room, and this is where I relax a lot. I lay on the couch a lot to recover after trainings. For me, this is the most comfy part of the house. I’m always ver relaxed here.

Interviewer: I see another guitar there.

Jackie: Now, this second guitar is one of my most prized possessions. I bought this right before the lockdown and I am really proud of this guitar. I try and play some songs on it as much as I can in the evening.

Interviewer: Now this is the third or fourth time that music has come up on this tour and the second or third time that the guitar has come up. I don’t know if I dare to ask you this, but Jackie, I think that you should play a little bit of a song for the viewers of the show and for me.

Jackie: Now, I don’t play very much on camera because I’m not very good yet.

*plays song and sings*

Interviewer: I did not expect this at all! Jackie can sing! You acted as if you were shy and didn’t want to play the guitar, but then you started singing as well.

Jackie: The song goes on like that for a while, and for the viewers, anyone who can guess that song has a good taste in music.

Interviewer: Unfortunately, I do not know that song. Clearly I don’t have much knowledge about music.

Jackie: Another fun little thing to know is that since the lockdown, I have a Nintendo switch. I must say that I’ve used this quite a lot. Especially when some of my teammates where living with me in my house and we all played Mario Kart. A little secret about that that I have to tell you as well is that we always used the Player of the Match award from the World Cup to hold conversations and give a little speech (thanking your parents friends, etc - think about thank you speeches after awards ceremeonies) thanking people after someone won a game of Mario Kart.

Jackie: This is my balcony.

Interviewer: That’s really high up.

Jackie: It’s really nice to have. I’ll point to some things now.

*points* Here are some restaurants that I would usually eat at frequently.

*points again* That’s one of my dad’s favourite restaurants.

Interviewer: I’m not very familiar with the city of Manchester and I don’t recognize the area that you live in, but is the stadium close to your apartment?

Jackie: *points towards stadium* The Man United stadium is right over there behind that building. It’s about a 10 minute walk away from my apartment. I go there quite a bit as well.

Interviewer: A 10 minute walk?! That’s so nice to have the stadium so close.

Jackie: So, from rainy Manchester, I’d like to say thank you for watching my crib tour. I hope you enjoyed watching, and I hope to see everyone very soon again in the Netherlands. Bye!

Interviewer’s report of Jackie’s crib tour:

Inside Challenge: 5/5. I think that everyone who saw that was flabbergasted by your singing.

Football Factor: 3,25/5. The location relative to the stadium is perfect for a footballer. The fact that you can walk 10 minutes to the training as well is so nice to have as a footballer.

Food: 5/5 I saw a lot of Dutch food there, and you also get some bonus points for the beschuit met muisjes.

Chill area: 2,75/5. The chill area was okay. I don’t think you need much room for a chill area as long as there is somewhere to brush your teeth (laughs).

Final score: 4,5/5

#jackie groenen #translations

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