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collectorscorner · 3 years

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CC Blogger - New Arrivals @ Collectors Corner : Wednesday 3/31/21

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PUBLISHER/TITLE/PRICE

ABLAZE A Sister GN, $24.99 Cagaster Volume 5 GN, $12.99 Minecraft-Inspired Misadventures Of Frigiel And Fluffy Volume 2 HC, $12.99 Mirka Andolfo’s Un/Sacred Volume 2 #5 (Cover A Mirka Andolfo Eden & Severino Variant), $3.99

AFTERSHOCK COMICS I Breathed A Body #3, $3.99 Nuclear Family #2, $3.99

AHOY COMICS Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter Of Blood #6, $4.99

AVATAR PRESS Cinema Purgatorio Collection TP, $19.99

AWA STUDIOS Byte-Sized #4, $3.99 Mann’s World #3, $3.99

BLACK MASK STUDIOS Destiny NY #1 (Cover A Elisa Romboli Interlocking Variant A), $3.99 Destiny NY #1 (Cover B Elisa Romboli Interlocking Variant B), $3.99 Destiny NY #1 (Cover C Terry Moore), AR Destiny NY #1 (Cover D Rosi Kampe), AR Destiny NY #1 (Cover E Terry Moore Black & White Variant), AR

BOOM! STUDIOS Firefly #27 (Cover A Bengal), $3.99 Firefly #27 (Cover B Rahzzah), $3.99 Firefly #27 (Cover C Bengal Black & White Virgin Variant), AR Firefly #27 (Cover D Ethan Young), AR Firefly #27 (Cover E Ethan Young Black & White Virgin Variant), AR Firefly #27 (Cover F Rahzzah Virgin Variant), AR Firefly Blue Sun Rising Volume 1 HC, $19.99 Gunnerkrigg Court Volume 7 TP, $16.99 Power Rangers Unlimited Heir To The Darkness #1 (Cover A Dan Mora), $7.99 Power Rangers Unlimited Heir To The Darkness #1 (Cover B Jung-Geun Yoon Connecting Variant), $7.99 Power Rangers Unlimited Heir To The Darkness #1 (Cover C Vincenzo Riccardi Virgin Variant), AR Power Rangers Unlimited Heir To The Darkness #1 (Cover D Jenny Frison Virgin Variant), AR Power Rangers Unlimited Heir To The Darkness #1 (Cover E Dan Mora Black & White Virgin Variant), AR

COFFIN COMICS Lady Death Malevolent Decimation #1 (Of 2)(Cover A Richard Ortiz), $4.99 Lady Death Malevolent Decimation #1 (Of 2)(Cover B Anthony Spay Selfie Variant), $4.99

COMIC SHOP NEWS Comic Shop News #1754, AR

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DC COMICS Batman Catwoman #4 (Of 12)(Cover A Clay Mann), $4.99 Batman Catwoman #4 (Of 12)(Cover B Jim Lee & Scott Williams), $4.99 Batman Catwoman #4 (Of 12)(Cover C Travis Charest), $4.99 Batman’s Grave The Complete Collection HC, $39.99 Flash #768 (Cover A Brandon Peterson), $4.99 Flash #768 (Cover B Ian MacDonald), AR Future State Superman Vs Imperious Lex #3 (Of 3)(Cover A Yanick Paquette), $3.99 Future State Superman Vs Imperious Lex #3 (Of 3)(Cover B David Nakayama Card Stock Variant), AR Green Arrow 80 Years Of The Emerald Archer The Deluxe Edition HC, $29.99 John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 2 The Best Version Of You TP, $16.99 Justice League Odyssey Volume 4 Last Stand TP, $16.99 Other History Of The DC Universe #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Giuseppe Camuncoli & Marco Mastrazzo), $6.99 Other History Of The DC Universe #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Jamal Campbell), $6.99 Strange Adventures #9 (Of 12)(Cover A Mitch Gerads), $4.99 Strange Adventures #9 (Of 12)(Cover B Evan Doc Shaner), $4.99 Teen Titans Raven HC, $19.99

DEL REY Star Wars Doctor Aphra Novel HC, $25.00 Star Wars Dooku Jedi Lost Novel SC, $17.00

DK PUBLISHING Star Wars Skywalker A Family At War HC, $24.99

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT Vengeance Of Vampirella #16 (Cover A Lucio Parrillo), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #16 (Cover B Ben Oliver), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #16 (Cover C Stephen Segovia), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #16 (Cover D Rachel Hollon Cosplay Variant), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #16 (Cover E Michael Sta. Maria Bonus Variant), AR

GRAPHIX Dog Man Volume 10 Mothering Heights GN, $12.99 Dog Man Volume 10 Mothering Heights HC (With Dust Jacket), $24.99

IDW PUBLISHING Korgi Volume 5 End Of Seasons GN, $14.99 Marvel Action Spider-Man Volume 3 #1 (Cover A Philip Murphy), $3.99 Marvel Action Spider-Man Volume 3 #1 (Cover B TBD), AR My Little Pony Transformers Friendship In Disguise TP, $15.99 Sea Of Sorrows #4 (Of 5)(Cover A Alex Cormack), $3.99 Sea Of Sorrows #4 (Of 5)(Cover B Brian Level), AR Sonic The Hedgehog Volume 8 Out Of The Blue TP, $15.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin #2 (Of 5)(Esau Escorza & Isaac Escorza 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $8.99 Transformers #28 (Cover A Casey W. Coller), $3.99 Transformers #28 (Cover B Adam Bryce Thomas), $3.99 Transformers #28 (Cover C Thomas Deer), AR Usagi Yojimbo Wanderer’s Road #5 (Of 6)(Cover A Peach Momoko), $3.99

IMAGE COMICS Crossover #4 (Geoff Shaw 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Crossover #5 (Cover A Geoff Shaw), $3.99 Crossover #5 (Cover B Blank Variant), $3.99 Crossover #5 (Cover C Geoff Shaw Virgin Variant), AR Crossover #5 (Cover D Geoff Shaw Raw Variant), AR Crossover #5 (Cover E Ellipsis Design Variant), AR Decorum #7 (Cover A Mike Huddleston), $3.99 Decorum #7 (Cover B Mike Huddleston), $3.99 Department Of Truth #2 (Martin Simmonds 3rd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Department Of Truth #3 (Martin Simmonds 3rd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Department Of Truth #6 (Martin Simmonds 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Department Of Truth #7 (Cover A Martin Simmonds), $3.99 Department Of Truth #7 (Cover B Tyler Boss), $3.99 Killadelphia Volume 2 Burn Baby Burn TP, $16.99 Nocterra #1 (Tony S. Daniel 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Redneck #30, $3.99 Shadecraft #1 (Cover A Lee Garbett), $3.99 Shadecraft #1 (Cover B Jock), $3.99 Shadecraft #1 (Cover C Blank Variant), $3.99 Spawn #316 (Cover A Francesco Mattina), $2.99 Spawn #316 (Cover B Greg Capullo & Todd McFarlane), $2.99 Spawn #316 (Cover C Bjorn Barends), $2.99 Two Moons #1 (Valerio Giangiordano 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Two Moons #2 (Cover A Valerio Giangiordano), $3.99 Two Moons #2 (Cover B Francesco Mobili & Francesco Segala), $3.99

MAD CAVE STUDIOS Terminal Punks #5 (Of 5), $3.99

MAGNETIC PRESS Wahcommo HC, $29.99

MARVEL COMICS Avengers Academy The Complete Collection Volume 3 TP, $44.99 Avengers By Jonathan Hickman The Complete Collection Volume 4 TP, $44.99 Avengers Curse Of The Man-Thing #1 (Cover A Daniel Acuna), $4.99 Avengers Curse Of The Man-Thing #1 (Cover B Patrick Gleason Webhead Variant), AR Avengers Curse Of The Man-Thing #1 (Cover C Chris Sprouse), AR Avengers Curse Of The Man-Thing #1 (Cover D Carmen Nunez Carnero Design Variant), AR Avengers Curse Of The Man-Thing #1 (Cover E Joshua Cassara Stormbreakers Variant), AR Beta Ray Bill #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Daniel Warren Johnson), $4.99 Beta Ray Bill #1 (Of 5)(Cover B Iban Coello Stormbreakers Variant), AR Beta Ray Bill #1 (Of 5)(Cover C Todd Nauck Headshot Variant), AR Beta Ray Bill #1 (Of 5)(Cover D Ryan Stegman), AR Beta Ray Bill #1 (Of 5)(Cover E Ryan Stegman Sketch Variant), AR Beta Ray Bill #1 (Of 5)(Cover F Chase Conley), AR Beta Ray Bill #1 (Of 5)(Cover G Walter Simonson), AR Black Cat #4 (Cover A Pepe Larraz), $3.99 Black Cat #4 (Cover B Natacha Bustos), AR Black Cat #4 (Cover C Jen Bartel Black Cat Women’s History Month Variant), AR Black Cat #4 (Cover D Adam Hughes), AR Captain America #28 (Cover A Alex Ross), $3.99 Captain America #28 (Cover B Patrick Brown Avengers Mech Strike Variant), AR Captain America #28 (Cover C Michael Cho Captain America Two-Tone Variant), AR Fantastic Four Antithesis Treasury Edition TP, $34.99 King In Black Ghost Rider #1 (Cover A Will Sliney), $4.99 King In Black Ghost Rider #1 (Cover B Gerald Parel), AR King In Black Ghost Rider #1 (Cover C Jen Bartel Women’s History Month Variant), AR King In Black Return Of The Valkyries #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Mattia De Iulis), $3.99 King In Black Return Of The Valkyries #4 (Of 4)(Cover B Phil Noto Valkyrie Profile Variant), AR King In Black Return Of The Valkyries #4 (Of 4)(Cover C Todd Nauck Headshot Variant), AR Shang-Chi By Gene Luen Yang Volume 1 Brothers And Sisters TP, $15.99 Shang-Chi Earth’s Mightiest Martial Artist TP, $24.99 Silk #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Stonehouse), $3.99 Silk #1 (Of 5)(Cover B Jee-Hyung Lee), AR Silk #1 (Of 5)(Cover C Nayoung Wooh), AR Silk #1 (Of 5)(Cover D Skottie Young), AR Silk #1 (Of 5)(Cover E Bengal), AR Silk #1 (Of 5)(Cover F Jee-Hyung Lee Virgin Variant), AR Silk #1 (Of 5)(Cover G Jen Bartel Silk Women’s History Month Variant), AR Star Wars The High Republic #2 (TBD 3rd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Star Wars The High Republic #3 (TBD 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Symbiote Spider-Man King In Black #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Greg Land), $3.99 Symbiote Spider-Man King In Black #5 (Of 5)(Cover B Dave Rapoza), AR U.S.Agent #4 (Of 5)(Cover A Marco Checchetto), $3.99 U.S.Agent #4 (Of 5)(Cover B Joe Bennett), AR Union #4 (Of 5)(Cover A R. B. Silva), $3.99 Union #4 (Of 5)(Cover B R. B. Silva Design Variant), AR Union #4 (Of 5)(Cover C Ryan Brown), AR X-Men #19 (Cover A Leinil Francis Yu), $3.99 X-Men #19 (Cover B Jen Bartel Emma Frost Women’s History Month Variant), AR X-Men Legends #2 (Cover A Brett Booth), $3.99 X-Men Legends #2 (Cover B Iban Coello Connecting Variant), AR X-Men Legends #2 (Cover C John Tyler Christopher Action Figure Variant), AR

ONI PRESS Hazards Of Love SC, $19.99 Secrets Of Camp Whatever SC, $17.99

SCOUT COMICS Grit Volume 1 TP, $9.99

SOURCE POINT PRESS Black Of Heart #5 (Of 5), $3.99 Claim A Song Of Ire And Vice #4 (Of 4), $3.99 Cult Of Dracula #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Gyula Nemeth), $3.99 Cult Of Dracula #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Shannon Maer), $3.99 Damned Cursed Children #3 (Of 5), $3.99 Dead End Kids Suburban Job #3 (Of 4)(Cover A Criss Madd), $3.99 Dead End Kids Suburban Job #3 (Of 4)(Cover B Ryan Kincaid), AR Eighth Immortal #3 (Of 4), $3.99 Era Of Great Wonders #4 (Of 6), $3.99 Hollow TP, $14.99 Spaced Out #1 (One Shot), $3.99 Touching Evil #14, $4.99 Warcorns Combat Unicorns for Hire #3 (Of 4), $3.99

TITAN COMICS Adler Volume 1 TP, $16.99 Star Wars Insider #201 (Newsstand Edition), $9.99 Star Wars Insider #201 (Previews Exclusive Edition), $9.99

UDON ENTERTAINMENT Devil May Cry 3142 Graphic Arts HC, $49.99 Robotech Visual Archive The Southern Cross HC, $49.99

VAULT COMICS Giga #3 (Cover A John Le), $3.99 Giga #3 (Cover B Adam Gorham), $3.99 Shadow Service #6 (Cover A Corin Howell), $3.99 Shadow Service #6 (Cover B Rebekah Isaacs), $3.99 Witchblood #1 (Cover A Lisa Sterle), $3.99 Witchblood #1 (Cover B Lisa Sterle), $3.99 Witchblood #1 (Cover C Tim Daniel & Nathan Gooden), $3.99 Witchblood #1 (Cover D Yoshi Yoshitani), AR Witchblood #1 (Cover E Yoshi Yoshitani Virgin Variant), AR Witchblood #1 (Cover F Yoshi Yoshitani Foil Variant), AR

ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT Courier Liberty And Death #3 (Of 3)(Cover A Leonardo Colapietro), $5.99 Courier Liberty And Death #3 (Of 3)(Cover B Nelly Jimenez), $5.99 Grimm Fairy Tales #47 (Cover A Igor Vitorino), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales #47 (Cover B Edgar Salazar), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales #47 (Cover C Sun Khamunaki), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales #47 (Cover D Martin Coccolo), $3.99 Grimm Universe Retailer Program March 2021 Bronze Variant (John Royle Spider Queen Variant Cover), AR Grimm Universe Retailer Program March 2021 Gold Variant (Elias Chatzoudis Van Helsing Variant Cover), AR Grimm Universe Retailer Program March 2021 Platinum Variant (Elias Chatzoudis Van Helsing Variant Cover), AR Grimm Universe Retailer Program March 2021 Silver Variant (Elias Chatzoudis Van Helsing Variant Cover), AR Van Helsing Black Annis #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Edgar Salazar), $5.99 Van Helsing Black Annis #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Igor Vitorino), $5.99 Van Helsing Black Annis #1 (One Shot)(Cover C Maria Laura Sanapo), $5.99

TOYS - T-SHIRTS & COLLECTIBLES Aquarius Deadpool 3000 Piece Puzzle, AR DC Gallery Superman Ascendant PVC Statue, AR Dragon Ball Z Series1 3D Foam Bag Clip 24 Piece Blind Mystery Box, AR Karate Kid Cobra Kai Jigsaw Puzzle, AR Lord Of The Rings Series 1 Action Figure Assortment, AR Loyal Subjects Horror Wave 2 Gremlins Stripe Action Vinyl Action Figure, AR Loyal Subjects Horror Wave 3 Ed Scissorhands Suburb Action Vinyl Action Figure, AR Marvel Graphic Comic Box Alien #1, AR POP Animation Naruto Minato Namikaze Vinyl Figure, AR POP Games Sekiro Vinyl Figure, AR POP Heroes DC Death Metal Wonder Woman Previews Exclusive Vinyl Figure With Chase, AR POP Movies Bramstokers Armored Dracula Without Helmet Vinyl Figure, AR

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jgthirlwell · 3 years

Text

2020 Year In Review

This year once again I invited some friends and colleagues to reflect on 2020

JG Thirlwell

Composer

Foetus Xordox Manorexia Steroid Maximus Venture Bros Archer

www.foetus.org

2020 was a troubling and disturbing year. I created a lot of music and experienced a lot of nights waking at 5am in a panic. I deeply missed the sacred experience of being able to see live music. In its absence of that I listened to a lot of music. It was difficult to whittle down this list but here are a lot of albums I enjoyed in 2020, in no particular order.

Le Grand Sbam Furvent (Dur Et Doux) John Elmquist’s HardArt Group I Own an Ion (900 Nurses) Roly Porter Kistvaen (Subtext) Liturgy Origin Of The Alimonies (YLYLCYN) Clark Kiri Variations (Throttle) Dai Kaht Dai Kaht I & II (Soleil Zeuhl) Chromb Le livre des merveilles (Dur Et Doux) Horse Lords The Common Task (Northern Spy) Ecker & Meultzer Carbon (Subtext) Insane Warrior Tendrils (RJ’s Electrical Connections) Jeff Parker Suite For Max Brown (International Anthem) Jacob Kirkegaard Opus Mors (Topos) Tristan Perich Drift Multiply (Nonesuch) Bec Plexus Sticklip (New Amsterdam) Vak Budo (Soleil Zeuhl) Merlin Nova BOO! (Bandcamp) The The Muscle OST (Cineola) Zombi 2020 (Relapse) Regis Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss (Downwards) Rival Consoles Articulation (Erased Tapes) Sarah Davachi Cantus, Descant (L.A.T.E.) Sufjan Stevens The Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty) Idles Ultra Mono (Partisan) Daedelus The Bittereindeers (Brainfeeder) Boris No (Bandcamp) Aksak Maboul Figures / Un peu de l’ame des bandits / Onze Danses Pour Cobattre La Migraine (Crammed) Noveller Arrow (Ba Da Bing) Felicia Atkinson Everything Evaporate (Shelter Press) Ital Tek Dream Boundary (Planet Mu) Author and Punisher Beastland (Relapse) Sparks A Steady Drip Drip Drip (BMG) Corima Amatarasu (Soleil Zeuhl) Code Orange Underneath (Roadrunner) Deerhoof Future Teenage Cave Artists /Silly Symphonies / To Be Surrounded../ Love Lore(Joyful Noise) Sote Moscels (Opal Tapes) Run The Jewels RTJ4 (Jewel Runners) Oranssi Pazuzu Mestarin Kynsi (Nuclear Blast) Master Boot Record Floppy Disk Overdrive (Metal Blade) Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith The Mosaic Of Transformation (Ghostly International) / Ears (Western Vinyl) Michael Gordon Acquanetta (Cantelope) Neom Arkana Temporis (Soleil Zeuhl) Rian Treanor Ataxia / File Under UK Metaplasm (Planet Mu) Helm Saturnalia (Alter) Ivvvo doG (Halcyon Veil) Robert Normandeau Figures (Empreintes Digitales) Ben Vida Reducing The Tempo To Zero (Shelter Press) Beatrice Dillon Workaround (Pan) Dan Deacon Mystic Familiar (Domino) Sea Oleena Weaving A Basket (Higher Plain Music) Elysian Fields Transience Of Life (Ojet) Rhapsody Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret (Magic Circle) Duma Duma (Nyege Nyege) Ulla Strauss Tumbling Towards a Wall / Seed (Bandcamp)

Honorable mentions Carl Stone Stolen Car (Unseen Worlds) Nazar Guerilla (Hyperdub) Iwo Zaluski with the Children of Park Lane Primary School, Wembley The Remarkable Earth Making Machine (Trunk) Nahash Flowers Of The Revolution (SVBKVLT) Cindy Lee Whats Tonight To Eternity (Bandcamp) Insect Ark The Vanishing (Profound Lore) 33EMYBW Arthropods (SVBKVLT) Declan McKenna Zeroes (Tomplicated) Layma Azur Zeii (Bandcamp)

FILM TV Succession ZeroZeroZero Escape at Dannemora 1917 Small Axe : Five films by Steve McQueen Pirhanas Monos The Hater Better Call Saul

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Drew Daniel

Matmos, The Soft Pink Truth

an alphabet of 2020 recordings

Arca “KiCk i” BFTT “Intrusive / Obtrusive” clipping. “Visions of Bodies Being Burned” Duma “Duma” Eilbacher, Max “Metabolist Meter (Foster, Cottin, Caetani and a Fly)” Forbidden Colors “La Yeguada” GILA “Energy Demonstration” HiedraH Club de Baile “Bichote-K Bailable Vol. 2” Ian Power “Maintenance Hums” Jeff Carey “Index[off]” Kassel Jaeger “Meith” Laurie Anderson “Songs From the Bardo” Mukqs “Water Levels” Negativland “The World Will Decide” O’Rourke, Jim “Shutting Down Here” Perlesvaus “These Things Below with Those Above” Quicksails “Blue Rise” Rian Treanor “File Under UK Metaplasm” Slikback “///” Terminal Nation “Holocene Extinction” Ulcerate “Stare Into Death and Be Still” Various Artists “HAUS of ALTR” William Tyler “New Vanitas” Xyla “Ways” Y A S H A “Summations” :zoviet-france: “Châsse 2ᵉ”

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Sarah Lipstate (Noveller)

With all live performances canceled, this was truly the year of demo videos and home studio recording for me. These are 10 pieces of gear that came out in 2020 that helped keep me feeling creative and inspired during lockdown. In no particular order:

EHX Oceans 12 Dual Stereo Reverb - The Oceans 12 ticks all the boxes for what I’m looking for in a great soundscaping reverb. I used the Shimmer and Reverse algorithms in conjunction a lot when I was composing music for a film score.

Chase Bliss Audio Blooper - While I don’t actually own a Blooper, I had the pleasure of borrowing one from Mike of Baranik Guitars after NAMM this year. He made an incredible Blooper-inspired guitar and I was completely charmed by them both. Chase Bliss always delivers pedals that push me creatively and the Blooper truly hits the mark.

Cooper FX Arcades - I love everything Cooper FX has released to-date so the opportunity to access those sounds in one pedal via plug-in cartridges is just awesome.

SolidGoldFX NU-33 - I was asked to do a demo of this pedal for its release and ended up being really charmed by this box’s approach to lo-fi nostalgia. I’ve used it a lot for film scoring and highly recommend adding it to your collection.

Demedash Effects T-120 DLX V2 - I LOVE a good tape echo and the T-120 Deluxe V2 ranks up there with the best I’ve tried. This pedal made its way to me this Christmas and I look forward to making some beautiful sounds with it in the new year.

Hologram Electronics Microcosm - The Microcosm is one of those pedals where you should fully read the manual before diving in but once you put in that initial effort you’ve got a massively powerful tool on your hands. It does glitch like no other. Definitely worth the homework

Azzam Bells MP019 - I discovered this unique instrument through a post on Reverb’s IG page and immediately looked it up and ordered one. These experimental percussion instruments are hand-made in Italy and they’re as beautiful visually as they are sonically. I used it for bowed cymbal and daxophone sounds on a film score and it was absolutely haunting.

Echopark Dual Harmonic Boost 2 - I love the control you have over dialing in the perfect amount of grit with these dual boost circuits. I use it a lot as a textural tool when I’m laying down drones or bringing in big distorted swells. It’s one of the most versatile overdrives in my collection and I love that.

Fender Parallel Universe Series Volume II Maverick Dorado - I was smitten with the Maverick Dorado when I first saw it at NAMM. It has a lot of the specs that I look for in a guitar and the body shape with the Mystic Pine finish just blew me away. I hope that I get to use it live soon.

Polyeffects Beebo - The Beebo is one of those pedals that I genuinely feel is smarter than I am. It’s like an entire computer in one small touchscreen box. I can’t claim to have mastered using it yet but the sounds that I have managed to get out of it so far have been brilliant. I’m looking forward to spending more time with this box in 2021

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HELM 2020 REVIEW

Let's get the bad stuff out the way first, 2020 was undoubtedly an awful year. I'm still not sure how to really respond to seeing a global pandemic bring the capital to its knees and everything I love and hold dear to a grinding halt. Our government fucked it's response, putting profit before people and killing tens of thousands. The Labour Party descended into farce with the newly elected leader Sir Keith revealing himself as a bland centrist with no opposition or ideas. On a personal level it sucked not being able to travel or see my friends in different parts of the world - or even the same country - who I am starting to miss a lot. However, I was fortunate enough to get through the year with my sanity intact. Music, art and culture once again being my main positive. I think I listened to more music than I have in any year ever. I read more books than I have done since I was a teenager probably. I also re-discovered the joys of walking long distances and am extremely thankful for living near a lot of incredible green spaces: Epping Forest, Walthamstow Wetlands, Walthamstow Marshes, Wanstead Park, Wanstead Flats...

Music. My favourite albums of the year.

Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi Wetware - Flail Raspberry Bulbs - Before The Age Of Mirrors Necrot - Mortal Rope Sect - The Great Flood Private World - Aleph Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Pyrrhon - Abcess Time CS+Kreme - Snoopy Speaker Music - Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry Drew McDowall - Agalma Regis - Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss Nazar - Guerilla Zoviet France - Russian Heterodoxical Songs (and all the ZF reissues!!) Triple Negative - God Bless the Death Drive Permission - Organised People Suffer Actress - Karma & Desire Acolytes - Stress II The Gerogerigegege - >(decrescendo) Chubby & The Gang - Speed Kills Flora Yin-Wong - Holy Palm Eiko Ishibashi - Hyakki Yagyo The The - See Without Being Seen Prurient - Casablanca Flamethrower Henning Christiansen - L’essere Umano Errabando La Voce Errabando Subdued - Over The Hills And Far Away Rian Treanor - File Under UK Metaplasm Komare - The Sense Of Hearing Shredded Nerve - Acts Of Betrayal Jesu - Terminus Autechre - SIGN Hey Colossus - Dances / Curses Sparkle Division - To Feel Embraced Mark Harwood - A Perfect Punctual Paradise Under My Own Name Still House Plants - Fast Edit The Bug & Dis Fig - In Blue Kommand - Terrorscape Haus Arafna - Asche Khthoniik Cerviiks - Æequiizoiikum Worm - Gloomlord Kraus - A Golden Brain Faceless Burial - Speciation

A shout-out to Jon Abby's AMPLIFY series on Bandcamp / Facebook, which I contributed a new piece of music to.

A shout out to the labels where most of the music I listened to seemed to come from:

The Trilogy Tapes Iron Bonehead Penultimate Press Dais La Vida Es Un Mus

Gigs. Despite live music being destroyed in 2020 I still saw a few unforgettable performances at the beginning of the year.

Graham Lambkin @ The ICA, London Puce Mary / JFK @ The Glove That Fits, London Demilich @ Finnfest, The Garage, London Container / PC World / National Unrest @ Venue MOT, London S.H.I.T / Asid / Chubby & The Gang @ Static Shock Festival, ExFed, London

Books I enjoyed. Most not published this year, but all read in 2020.

Joe Kennedy - Authentocrats David Balzer - Curationism Tom Mills - BBC: The Myth Of A Public Service Simon Morris - Consumer Guide: Special Edition Luke Turner - Out Of The Woods Various - Bad News For Labour Mike Wendling - Alt-Right Baited Area issues 1 & 2.

Film. Three good films I saw this year which I hadn't before.

Suspiria (Remake) Midsommar Cannibal Holocaust

Podcasts. I listened to a lot of these whilst walking.

We Don't Talk About The Weather Novara Media Tysky Sour & Novara FM Grounded with Louis Theroux System of Systems Red Scare loveline episodes Suite 212 NOISEXTRA Social Discipline CONTAIN

TV.

Didn't watch a huge amount and what I did was mostly trash. For some reason I rewatched both series' of This Life, a British drama from the late 90's about a group of young professionals house sharing and navigating their careers. Very cringey and has aged terribly, but it was perversely fascinating to revisit something from that time in the age of the pandemic. Following on from this I binge watched the entire series of Industry which was entertaining enough. A programme about a bunch of horny bankers with what felt like a confused ideology behind it. It seemed stuck between trying to criticise and glorify the culture around the industry, but also protect the industry itself from outside criticism by portraying anyone who may oppose as an insufferable wanker. Currently halfway through Succession which is OK. The Murdoch documentaries on the BBC were excellent and a rare respite from their descent into client journalism.

Thanks to anyone who listened to my music this year also. Best wishes to you all for 2021.

Luke Younger

http://hhelmm.com | http://alter.bandcamp.com

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Elliott Sharp

composer

1. My Nr. 1 lesson: patience. Whether it's bouncing through 30 seconds of severe turbulence at 39000 feet or slogging through 30 minutes of a interminable piece of concert music, one attribute I've tried to develop is the ability to see past the discrete and awaited ending, the exact framing of the immediate process, but put it into the context of a larger time frame. I've found that this year more than all others has demanded it. Breathing helps...

2. Books: revisiting old favorites from the realm of Thomas Pynchon and Philip K. Dick (both especially relevant), digging into John Lomax's portrait of Jelly Roll Morton, the works of Colson Whitehead, random things off of the shelf…

3. Composing: with touring off the table, I focused on that which needed to be written, some requested and commissioned, some spontaneously springing forth. Composing requires that one open the windows wide to the world, which at this moment brought in grief, terror, uncertainty, anxiety, visions of plague and pestilence and incipient fascism. Okay, now shut the window and get to work! How to process, translate, transform? The work can be a comfortable and obsessive cocoon once one learns to handle the radioactive materials and put them into the creativity reactor.

4. Beans! We have long been a fan in our house of the wide world of legumes but this year brought two stars to the front: the black bean and the red lentil. The black bean commands the lofty peaks but the seemingly infinite variations of dal surround it. Ginger, garlic, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne, onions, and olive oil form the basis then imagination builds.

5. Online teaching substituted for my canceled conduction of workshops in the Pyrenees Mountains of France. Between the participants and myself, we built a temporary but very congenial space online to share concepts and music. In addition, private lessons brought conversation and music with new friends in Germany, Italy, California, Australia, Illinois, Denmark, Pennsylvania, Spain, Florida, Brazil.

6. What started out as "stress baking" (before I even had heard of the term) soon became a frequent practice that yielded very edible results. The twins preferred the sweeter forays into banana bread and chocolate cake. I tried to find a balance between tried-and-true techniques and experiments in texture and taste with yeasted pumpernickels, multi-grains, and seed breads.

7. While not the same as performing 'live ', online gigs proved that it was possible to generate a surprising amount of adrenaline even without the pheromonal handshaking of a room filled with receptive ears. As a corollary, online recording collaborations with friends worldwide proved to be inspiring and a suitable substrate for sonic experimentation, exploration of new instruments, tunings, effects programming, structures. In these realms, shout-outs to Helene Breschand, Mike Cooper, Henry Kaiser, Tracie Morris, Mikel Banks, Dougie Bowne, Payton McDonald, Billy Martin, Colin Stetson, Jim O'Rourke, Scott Amendola, Roberto Zorzi, Jason Hoopes, Eric Mingus, Melanie Dyer, Dave Hofstra, Don McKenzie, Sergio Sorrentino, Veniero Rizzardi, Taylor Ho Bynum, Scott Fields, Bachir Attar, Karl Bruckmaier, Robbie Lee, Matthew Evan Taylor, Matteo Liberatore, Al Kaatz, David Barratt, Jessica Hallock, Kolin Zeinikov, Robbie Lee, Jeremy Nesse, James Ilgenfritz, Sergio Armaroli, Steve Piccolo, Sandy Ewen, David Weinstein, Jim Whittemore, Chris Vine, Werner Puntigam, William Schimmel.

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Daniel O’Sullivan

(Grumbling Fur, Guapo, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses, Ulver, Sunn O))), Æthenor, Laniakea, Miracle, Mothlite, and This Is Not This Heat.)

Music Richard Youngs - Ein Klein Nein Alabaster DePlume - Instrumentals Hildegard von Bingen - O Nobilissima Viriditas Francisco de Penalosa - Missa Ave Maria Peregrina Carlo Gesualdo - Responsoria 1611 Dirty Projectors - Five EPs Sonic Boom - All Things Being Equal Brother Peter Broderick - Blackberry Richard Horowitz - Eros Of Arabia Duncan Trussell Family Hour Cocteau Twins in the bath

Books/comics Alexander Tucker - Entity Reunion II Derek Jarman - Chroma Stephen Harrod Buhner - Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm The Penguin Book Of Irish Poetry - edited by Patrick Crotty The Gospel Of Ramakrishna - translated by Swami Nikhilananda Lucretius - De Rerum Natura Plotinus - Enneads Ram Dass - Grist For The Mill Lisa Brown - Phantom Twin

Other Fasting / meditation / macrodosing Walks in freshly coppiced woodland (for the smell mainly). Plants / Foraging / Growing Traditional ferments Douglas Sirk movies Mandolorian Writing songs on the piano Rediscovery of Kenneth Graham via my kids

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Karl O’Connor (Regis)

01.Wolfgang Press - Unremembered, Remembered 02. Klara Lewis - Ingrid Live at Fylkingen 03. Jesu - Terminus 04. Dave Ball - Leeds Poly Demos 1979 05. Edwin Pouncey - Rated Sav X (the Savage Pencil Skratchbook) 06. The Bug - In Blue 07. New Order - Power,Corruption and Lies ( Writing Sessions ) 08. JG Thirlwell and Simon Steensland - Oscillospira 09. FM Einheit and Andreas Ammer - Hammerschlag 10. Thurston Moore - By The Fire 11. Body Stuff - Body Stuff 3 12. Ann M Hogan - Honeysuckle Burials 13. Rob Halford - Confess (Autobiography)

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Caleb Braaten (Sacred Bones Records)

Shirley Collins Hearts Ease Dehd Flowers Of Devotion Duma Duma Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Green-House Six Songs for Invisible Gardens John Jeffery Passage Drew McDowall Agalma Sweeping Promises Hunger For a Way Out Colter Wall Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs Woods Strange to Explain

My Favorite 90’s Nostalgia Movie Rewatches

Colors Ghost Dog Menace II Society The Player Rounders Safe Starship Troopers Trees Lounge Vampires Waiting For Guffman

Most Culturally Bankrupt Year : 1997

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Charlie Looker

(composer, Psalm Zero, Extra Life, Seaven Teares)

Ten Things That Didn’t Happen in 2020

1. I didn’t write a ton of new music. Don’t get me wrong, I wrote some. I always do. But mostly I focused on my new YouTube channel, essays, and on getting old recordings released. I haven’t even been working a day-job so I thought I was going to write my next Ring Cycle, but I really didn’t find Covid inspiring.

2. Trump wasn’t re-elected. Cool.

3. I didn’t lose anyone to Covid. I am, of course, profoundly grateful for this. But I feel pretty embarrassed remembering group-texting ten friends in March, “We are all going to see a loved one die. Every single one of us. Don’t kid yourselves”. I can get hysterical, and that was somewhat irresponsible of me.

4. No revolution happened. I don’t mean to be smug or cynical, or to belittle anyone’s participation in the protests. But, as far as I can tell, nothing happened in 2020 that promises to reduce police brutality or human suffering of any kind. We’ll see. That burning Minneapolis police station was exciting to watch at the time, if only on an aesthetic level.

5. I have a stack of unread books I bought this year, just staring at me, with nary a crease among them. These include:

Adorno and Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment (looks amazing, but I haven’t touched it) Marx, Grundrisse (it’s 1000 pages for fuck’s sake. Amazon also accidentally sent me two copies, and its double presence in the stack is just comical) Reza Negarestani, Intelligence and Spirit (the first 15 pages blew my mind, then my mind blew it off)

6. I didn’t settle into living in LA. I moved here six months before Covid and I was just starting to cultivate some friendships and play shows. This was quashed and I still feel like I still live in New York. I still barely know the layout of the city here.

7. No brand-new buzzy musical artists burst onto the scene, that I can recall. No new hyped micro-genre of the moment. There was just no way for there to be a hot new trend. I’d say that was refreshing, but it wasn’t.

8. Tyson’s return was not awesome. Two minute rounds, ended in a draw. I’ve been getting way into boxing this past year. This fight was a bummer. I’m looking forward to Mayweather vs Logan Paul (LOL) because we know it’s comedy ahead of time.

9. For three weeks in July, I didn’t do a single thing other than watch street fight compilations on YouTube and Worldstar. That’s just grim.

10. There were no school shootings in March. Apparently, this was the first March with no school shootings since 2002. Not a single 7th grader got a hand job in March either. I cannot begin to imagine what it’s like to be a kid now.

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Chuck Bettis

https://chuckbettis.com

Other People's Music released this year:

Coil "Musick to Play in the Dark" (Dais)

Duma "s/t" (Nyege Nyege Tapes) Twig Harper "External Boundless Prison/ in 4 parts EP" (self-release) I.P.Y. (Ikue Mori, Phew, YoshimiO) "I.P.Y." (Tzadik) Kill Alters "A2B2 Live Stream 11/13/2020" (self-release) Krallice "Mass Cathexis" (self-release) Lust$ickPuppy "Cosmic Brownie" (self-release) Doug McKechnie "San Francisco Moog: 1968-72" (VG+ Records) Merlin Nova "Boo!" (self-release) Omrb "Milandthriust, The Graths of Mersh" (self-release) Akio Suzuki & Aki Onda "gi n ga" (self-release) Yoth Iria "Under His Sway" (Repulsive Echo) Wetware "Flail" (Dais)

My own music released this year:

collaborations

Chatter Blip "Microcosmopolitan" (Contour Editions) Matmos "The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form" (Thrill Jockey) Reverse Bullets "Dreampop Dsyphoria" (self-release) Snake Union "live at Roulette" (self-release) Snake Union w/ Hisham Bharoocha, Bonnie Jones, Heejin Jang, Matthew Regula "Three Arrows" (Rat Route) Thomas Dimuzio "Balance" (Gench Music) YoshimiO & Chuck Bettis "Live at the Stone" (Living Myth)

solo Chuck Bettis "Arc of Enlghtenment" (Living Myth) Chuck Bettis "Motion Parallax" (Living Myth)

compilation Various Artist "Polished Turds Vol.1" (Granpa)

Music Books read this year

"Intermediary Spaces" by Eliane Radigue/Julia Eckhardt (Umland) "Ennio Morricone In His Own Words" by Ennio Morricone/Alessandro De Rosa (Oxford University Press) "Free Jazz In Japan: A Personal History" by Soejima Teruto (Public Bath Press) "Rumors of Noizu: Hijokaidan and the Road to 2nd Damascus" by Kato David Hopkins (Public Bath Press)

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Maya Hardinge

(musician / artist)

list of things i liked this year

first ever solo road trip through new mexico and Texas right before lockdown experiencing manhattan with no cars on the road . having a car to escape in to nature. (which i craved so much) walks and bike rides with friends… FRIENDS! The web site ‘workaway’ that helped me feel that there were options for escape. playing games weekly on zoom during lock down teaching yoga weekly on zoom. Witnessing and being part of the BLM protests. witnessing and being part of the demise of T sitting on my couch at 6am drinking a cup of tea, appreciating my apt. making time to meditate. halloween without tourists .

some music I’ve bought and/or enjoyed this year Elvis Perkins-Black Coat Daughter Patricia Kokett -Soi soi Henning Christiansen - OP201 Bryce Hackford- Safe Svitlana Nianio and Oleksander - Snayesh yak? rozkazhy Brannten schnure - Sommer im Pfirsichhain Killing Joke - Nighttime David Shea - Tower of mirrors Shakey - Shakey Woodford halse tapes Coil - Musick to play in the dark

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BJ Nilsen

sound artist / composer

Work 2020

Despite Covid 19 lots of things actually did happen.

In Feburary I visited the only active nuclear plant in The Nederlands as part of my "Expanded Field Recording” project together with SML. In March revisited the Acousmonium at the Elevate Festival in Graz with an additional trip deep inside the Schlossberg recording old mining trains. In March and April I did two daily recording projects “Pending and Auditory Scenes” - both of Amsterdam during lockdown. In May did my first Zoom field recording workshop with the CAMP project. In June & July two research trips in Waldviertel, Austria with Franz Pomassl. In August recorded bells and organs in 10 different churches around Amsterdam for Jacob Lekkerkerker. In September recorded Kali Malone at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. Performed at Heart of Noise Festival in Innsbruck and A4 in Bratislava. Also went ice-skating for first time in 20? Years. In November and December I travelled to Jeju island to record field recordings for a project by Femke Herregraven for the Gwangju Biennale, commissioned for 2021. Did lots of gardening, released two tapes “Call it Philips, Eindoven” and “Zomer 2020” with Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson. NOW! Looking forward to 2021.

http://bjnilsen.info https://soundcloud.com/bjnilsen/sets/auditory-scenes-amsterdam

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Vicki Bennett

(People Like Us)

Negativland - True False https://negativland.com/products/truefalse-cd (this came out last year but is so THIS year) Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways https://www.bobdylan.com/albums/rough-and-rowdy-ways/ The Soft Pink Truth - We from Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase https://thesoftpinktruth.bandcamp.com/album/shall-we-go-on-sinning-so-that-grace-may-increase Carl Stone - Stolen Car https://unseenworlds.bandcamp.com/album/stolen-car Porest - Sedimental Gurney https://porest.bandcamp.com/album/sedimental-gurney Matmos - The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form https://matmos.bandcamp.com/album/the-consuming-flame-open-exercises-in-group-form Domenique Dumont - Miniatures De Auto Rhythm https://antinoterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/atn044-domenique-dumont-miniatures-de-auto-rhythm The The - See Without Being Seen https://www.thethe.com/product/see-without-being-seen-cd/ Ciggy de la Noche - Hold Tight HMRC https://soundcloud.com/ciggydelanoche/hold-tight-hmrc Neil Cicierega - Mouth Dreams http://www.neilcic.com/mouthdreams/

and my details: http://peoplelikeus.org/ https://peoplelikeus-vickibennett.bandcamp.com/ pic: http://peoplelikeus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Welcome-Abroad-promo3-2-scaled.jpg

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DJ Food

Music - Type 303 - Sticky Disco / Analogue Acidbath 7" (45 Live) The British Space Group - The Ley of the Land CD (Wyrd Britain) Squarepusher - Be Up A Hello LP / Warp 10 NTS mix (Warp) dgoHn - Undesignated Proximate (Modern Love) LF58 - Alterazione LP (Astral Industries) Robert Fripp - Music For Quiet Moments series (DGM) Run The Jewels - RTJ4 (BMG) Simf Onyx - Magenta Skyline / The Unresolved 7" (Delights) Luke Vibert - Modern Rave LP (Hypercolour) JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland - Oscillospira (Ipecac) Aural Design - Looking & Seeing 7" / DL (Russian Library) Luke Vibert - Rave Hop (Hypercolour) Clipping. with Christopher Fleeger - Double Live (Sub Pop) APAT - Terry Riley's 'In C' performed on Modular Synthesizer (YouTube) Field Lines Cartographer - The Spectral Isle LP (Castles In Space) Jane Weaver - The Revolution of Super Visions single (Fire Records) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - K.G. LP (Flightless) Humanoid - Hed-Set - forthcoming on (De:tuned)

Film / TV - Inside No.9 (BBC) What We Do In The Shadows Season 2 (Netflix) Tales From The Loop (Amazon) Keith Haring - Street Art Boy (BBC) John Was Trying To Contact Aliens (Netflix) The Social Dilemma (Netflix) The Mandalorian (Season 2) (Disney+) Long Hot Summers - The Style Council documentary (Sky Arts) Zappa (Alex Winter)

Books / Comics / Magazines Confessions of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell (Profile books) The Often Wrong - Farel Dalrymple (Image Comics) Edwin Pouncey - Rated SavX (Strange Attractor Press) Jeffrey Lewis - Fuff (all issues - really late to the party on this one) Rian Hughes - XX - A Novel, Graphic (Picador) Cosey Fanni Tutti - Art, Sex, Music (Faber) Caza - Kris Kool (Passenger Press) Dan Lish - Egostrip Vol.1 Electronic Sound magazine Decorum - Jonathan Hickman & Mike Huddleston (Image) John Higgs - Stranger Than We Can Imagine Simon Halfon - Cover To Cover (Nemperor)

Very few exhibitions or shows this year for obvious reasons

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33 notes · View notes

chpkns · 3 years

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BEST ALBUMS 2020

Some albums I enjoyed during quarantine.

Hon Mentions: Campfire Chords - Arkells, A Written Testimony - Jay Electronica, All In One - Jaunt, Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers, Alfredo - Freddie Gibs and Madlib, Thats What They All Say - Jack Harlow, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs - Colter Wall, This Place Sucks Ass - PUP, Only For Dolphins - Action Bronson, Black Habits - D Smoke, What’s Your Pleasure - Jessie Ware, 3.15.20 - Childish Gambino, Dedicated Side B - Carly Rae Jepsen, Dark Lane Demo Tapes - Drake, After Hours - The Weeknd, color theory - Soccer Mommy, Circles - Mac Miller, Womb - Purity Ring

10) Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa

One of the lesser, although still significant, tragedies of the 2020 COVID era was that weddings and sweaty club basements the world over were robbed of Dua Lipa’s prolific output this year. Future Nostalgia is hit or miss in places, but the hits come hot and heavy delivering banger after 80′s-disco-inspired banger. Dominant summer jams “Don’t Start Now” and “Break My Heart” are the highlights here, along with “Levitating” (equally good with or without DaBaby). Sleeper tracks “Cool” and “Hallucinate” round out the year’s best pure pop album.

Highlights: Don’t Start Now, Break My Heart, Levitating, Physical, Cool, Hallucinate

9) Women In Music, Pt. III - HAIM

The third album from LA’s sister act rock trio HAIM delivers consistency and growth for the band. There’s plenty of retro heartbreak rock on Women In Music, Pt. III to satisfy fans of HAIM’s first two albums, but lots of new on offer as well including the jazzy Lou Reed inspired sax of “Summer Girl” and Danielle Haim sounding positively Joni Mitchell-esque on “Man From the Magazine”. The auditory production flourishes of erstwhile Vampire Weekend member Rostam are noticeable throughout and help stretch the bounds of the HAIM sisters’ signature Wilson Phillips meets Fleetwood Mac summer rock sound into something more of the moment.

Highlights: The Steps, Summer Girl, Don’t Wanna, Man From the Magazine, FUBT

8) My Turn (Deluxe) - Lil Baby

I’ve almost given up on trying to enjoy or understand most “new rap” but every now and then something breaks through that I connect with for some reason. Atlanta rapper Lil Baby’s My Turn was that album for me this year. There are many reasons I feel I should not like Lil Baby’s music, from his liberal use of autotune to his mumbling delivery, but something always drew me back to it and, listen after listen, it grew on me. Lil Baby’s flow is persistent when he locks in, with matching driving trap production from Quay Global, Tay Keith and others, mirroring in sound the story of Baby’s rise from the streets to prison to the studio. The standout track is late addition “The Bigger Picture”, Lil Baby’s protest anthem on race in America, policing and the turmoil following the killing of George Floyd by police, a political statement from an otherwise apolitical artist, showing that Lil Baby has much more to offer than bravado and autotune.

Highlights: Grace (ft. 42 Dugg), Forever (ft. Lil Wayne), No Sucker (ft. Moneybagg Yo), Social Distancing, The Bigger Picture

7) Miss Anthropocene - Grimes

The third major studio release from Montreal native Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, doesn’t reach the same highs as its predecessors - 2015′s electro-pop masterpiece Art Angels (which rated number 1 on this list for that year) or 2012′s Visions, the synth-laden fever dream that introduced Grimes to mainstream notoriety (number 2 on this list for 2012) - but it’s still very much worth the time. The vibe of Miss A falls somewhere between Grimes’ previous two albums, and a little darker and messier to boot. Grimes sounds a bit like she’s playing a concert for the end of the world, which feels a bit prophetic for an album released just before a global pandemic took hold. As always, Grimes is out to flex her muscle as a technician and across the album’s ten tracks she mixes diverse sounds ranging from rave synths to banjos showing how far her craft has come since making Visions on Garageband in her Mile End apartment.

Highlights: So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth, Violence, Delete Forever, 4ÆM, You’ll miss me when I’m not around

6) evermore - Taylor Swift

Spoiler alert, this isn’t the highest ranked Taylor Swift album on this list. Surprise released in December, evermore was an early Christmas present to fans of Swift’s surprise summer album folklore (more on that later). evermore continues Swift’s reinvention from pop star to indie singer-songwriter, assisted by songwriting partner Aaron Dessner of The National and a variety of indie darling guest stars - this time around featuring HAIM, The National’s Matt Berninger and another stunning guest turn with Bon Iver. Speaking of Justin Vernon, the album capping title track might be the single best song on either folklore or evermore. And for fans of Taylor’s earlier catalogue like me, the return to country music on “no body, no crime” is like reconnecting with an old friend. evermore is a little messier and less consistent thematically than its sister album, feeling a bit like folklore’s b-sides. But when your b-sides are better than most artist’s a-sides, why not release another album’s worth?

Highlights: ‘tis the damn season, no body no crime (ft. HAIM), coney island (ft. The National), cowboy like me, evermore (ft. Bon Iver)

5) RTJ4 - Run The Jewels

Walking the streets of my neighbourhood with the first listen of RTJ4 in my earbuds, I found myself actually crying at the thought that I would not get to see Killer Mike and el-P perform these songs live in the summer of 2020. The memories of RTJ festival sets past came rushing over me in a wave. That was my first “damn, I miss live music moment” of the pandemic. The fourth instalment of Run The Jewels’ historic rap partnership is more of the same in the very best way. Like the dynamic duo’s previous three instalments, RTJ4 is in your face, moves at a frenetic clip, and takes no prisoners. There’s even another album highlighting collaboration with Rage Against The Machine’s Zack De La Rocha. The politics of RTJ4′s tirades against inequity and the police state feel even more imminent in 2020 against the backdrop of George Floyd, the ensuing protest movement that gripped America, and the 2020 presidential election. I really hope we get a chance to see Mike and el-P tour these songs in 2021, the world needs it.

Highlights: ooh la la (ft. Greg Nice and DJ Premier), goonies vs. E.T., walking in the snow, JU$T (ft. Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha), a few words for the firing squad (radiation)

4) Saint Cloud - Waxahatchee

The majestically twangy folk-Americana of Saint Cloud, the fifth solo album from Katie Crutchfield (stage named Waxahatchee after Waxahatchee Creek, Alabama, where the singer grew up), is a nostalgic cure for the ails of 2020. The soft bluesy rhythms of Crutchfield’s songs feel like a lazy long summer day spent by the water. That was something we needed this year. The songwriting is just as beautiful. The standout track, “Fire”, speaks to Crutchfield’s journey finding sobriety and reconnecting with her southern roots. It also speaks to a longing feeling “give me something / it ain’t enough / it ain’t enough”. On “Arkadelphia”, Crutchfield croons: “We try to give it all meaning / Glorify the grain of the wood / Tell ourselves what's beautiful and good”. In the chaos of 2020, the calm oasis of Saint Cloud is certainly something beautiful and good worth enjoying.

Highlights: Can’t Do Much, Fire, The Eye, Arkadelphia, St. Cloud

3) Suddenly - Caribou

Suddenly was my first genuine pandemic listen and, in the early days of lockdown, I found myself going back to it again and again. So much so, that the opening haunting notes of “Sister” became a kind of touchstone as I adjusted to a weird new work-from-home lifestyle. The chilled out weirdness of Caribou was an extremely welcome presence in 2020. It had been long enough since 2014′s Our Love (2014′s number 1 on this list) that I’d forgotten how enjoyably quirky Dan Snaith’s floaty pseudo-house tunes could be. Suddenly is a little more laid back than the club ready Our Love, which maybe suits it more to a world where dancefloors are closed. The tunes are also tighter, more economical in their length and soundscape. The lead single “Home” sounds downright commercial (in a good way) with it’s motown sampled chorus. Other parts of the album, like the closing “Cloud Song” venture into more experimental territories. All throughout, however, are Caribou’s signature warm chord progressions inviting you to lose yourself in them. Whether you’re looking for a guided meditation or an at-home dance party, Suddenly was the perfect 2020 album for it.

Highlights: Sister, Home, Lime, Never Come Back, Ravi

2) Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1 : The Butcher Shoppe Sessions - Sturgill Simpson

2020 was full of unexpected things, many bad but some surprisingly delightful. Firmly in the latter category is Cuttin’ Grass, Sturgill Simpson’s surprise double album made up entirely of bluegrass covers of his own catalogue. A true product of 2020, Simpson recorded the album with a murderer’s row of contemporary bluegrass artists after recovering from COVID-19 and challenging his fans to raise funds for charity in exchange for recording a new album. That album became Cuttin’ Grass, a traditional bluegrass re-imagination of the greatest hits and hidden gems of a country artist who has always strived to avoid being labelled as a country artist. The songs feel effortlessly at home and are given new life amid the frenetic guitar and mandolin picking, flying fiddles, and twangling banjos. If Simpson’s ode to the revelatory experience of psychedlic drug use “Turtles All The Way Down” felt revolutionary on 2014′s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, it feels like an old standard here with its tempo pitched up and enveloped in the cacophony of the bluegrass ensemble. There is some good old fashioned heartbreak to slow things down too. Mandolin player and backup vocalist Sierra Hull shines on “I Wonder” (a cover of a song originally recorded by Sturgill’s former band Sunday Valley) as she joins Simpson on the chorus: “Tell me am I the only one / drinking and cursing your name?” The juxtaposition of Simpson’s unconventional country catalogue with the most traditional of country music styles just works and the entire hour can be listened and relistened for days. And if you’re still not satisfied, the companion “Volume 2: the Cowboy Arms Sessions” released in December brings back the same supporting cast to explore more of Simpson’s catalogue.

Highlights: All The Pretty Colors, Breakers Roar, Time After All, Turtles All The Way Down, Voices

1) folklore - Taylor Swift

Well, I told you there’d be more Taylor Swift on this list, and here it is. Your number 1 album of 2020 is folklore, the surprise release pandemic project in which the world’s biggest country star turned pop star reinvented herself again as an indie artist. Unlike anything else Swift has put out since RED, nothing on folklore is designed to be played in a stadium. Rather, it’s all more at home in a cabin by the fire, or in your earbuds on a fall walk... basically, it’s music meant for 2020. Like its companion evermore, folklore is the product of Swift’s songwriting collaboration with The National’s guitarist Aaron Dessner. The melding of songwriting styles seems like an odd match at first but sounds like a match made in heaven. Lyrically, Swift’s songwriting makes an evolutionary leap, almost leaving her primary auto or semi-autobiographical comfort zone behind completely (other than, perhaps, in heavily veiled metaphor) in favour of invented stories and semi-historical world building. After a few listens, you discover that the same characters appear in different songs like the imagined history of Rebekah Harkness, the real life former inhabitant of Swift’s Rhode Island home, on “the last great american dynasty” or imagery of “battleships” that “sink beneath the waves” in the ghost story of “my tears ricochet”. In the so-called “teenage love triangle trilogy” of “betty”, “cardigan”, and “august”, Swift tells different parts of the same story from the perspective of different characters. Each song stands on its own, but the discovery that the pieces fit together is wonderful. “betty” is the standout track for me, as a long suffering fan of “country Taylor”. In style, it harkens back to her earlier work, but in substance it’s something new entirely as Swift sings from the perspective of James, the boy who has done wrong by his lover and is seeking forgiveness. The pinnacle of the album is “exile” Swift’s collaboration with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The call and response interaction of Swift with Vernon’s true to for emma form baritone is chill inducing. Like so many of the unexpected good things in 2020, folklore came from throwing plans out the window and doing what felt right for the moment. This is Taylor Swift making the music she wanted to make. In Dark Knight fashion, it’s the album we needed, if not the one we deserved. It’s the best album of the year.

Highlights: cardigan, the last great american dynasty, exile (ft. Bon Iver), my tears ricochet, epiphany, betty, peace

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thecomicsnexus · 4 years

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TOP 10 ARTISTS OF 2019′S REVIEWS

Believe it or not, it is harder to “rank” artists than writers, for comic-books. Most of the time, what you see is mostly a collaboration of many artists, and not always an ugly style is a bad thing. Art is subjective and that is why I am not doing a “bottom 10″ list of artists these years. It just wouldn’t make sense.

But because this year I took all sixty-something review that scored 10, while that is still a long list of artists, I was able to see which artists were more prominent in the material I read this year. This may or many not make sense to you, and it might not even make sense at all. But here it comes.

NUMBER TEN JERRY ORDWAY (1957 - PRESENT)

Jeremiah Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.

He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986), his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and for writing and painting the Captain Marvel original graphic novel The Power of Shazam! (1994), and writing the ongoing monthly series from 1995–1999. He has provided inks for artists such as Curt Swan, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, John Buscema, Steve Ditko, John Byrne, George Perez and others.

Jerry Ordway was inspired in his childhood by Marvel Comics, and dreamed of drawing Daredevil, Spider-Man, and the Avengers. To date he has only worked on the latter.

Ordway attended Milwaukee Technical High School, where he took a three-year commercial art course, before joining a commercial art studio as a typographer in 1976. He subsequently worked his way "from the ground floor up at the art studio" between 1978 and 1981.

Ordway is married to Peggy May Ordway (b. 1959).

While Ordway’s work this year that made him into the list is “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, I think that I am doing a special mention for him. He was inker for that series (And this year, I will be separating pencillers from the rest), but Ordway’s pencils have so much personality, that you sometimes forget he is just inking.

NUMBER NINE GARY FRANK (1969 - PRESENT)

Gary Frank (born 1969) is a British comics artist, notable for pencilling on Midnight Nation and Supreme Power, both written by J. Michael Straczynski. He has also worked with author Peter David on The Incredible Hulk and Supergirl. He had a creator-owned series, Kin, which he wrote himself, published by Top Cow Productions in 2000.

Writer Geoff Johns, who has collaborated with Frank, has opined that Frank's rendition of Superman is the best of his generation and that the only other artist in the same league with Frank in this regard is Curt Swan.

Gary Frank began his professional career in 1991, illustrating covers and interior short stories for publications such as Doctor Who Magazine and Toxic!. This led to a stint at Marvel UK in 1992 as regular series' artist on Motormouth & Killpower. It was on that series that he began a long-running collaboration with inker Cam Smith, who would continue to ink Frank's work for many years. In 1992, Frank was recruited by Marvel Comics to illustrate covers for The Incredible Hulk, beginning with issue No. 400. Shortly thereafter, he was hired as the series' ongoing artist beginning with issue No. 403 (March 1993) and ending with No. 425 (Jan. 1995).

During his initial time at Marvel, Frank contributed covers, interiors and pin-up illustrations for various series, such as X-Men Unlimited, the Sabretooth Special, X-Men Classic, X-Men Prime, and Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, among others. He drew covers for Acclaim Comics' Ninjak and Harris Comics' Vampirella.

In 1996, Frank and Smith were hired as the art team on DC Comics' new Supergirl ongoing series, which re-teamed Frank with writer Peter David. Frank's run as penciller ended with issue No. 9 (May 1997), although he continued to provide covers for the series until issue No. 21. Other assignments for DC included a Birds of Prey one-shot and the DC/Marvel Amalgam Comics one-shot, Bullets and Bracelets.

In 1997, Frank and Smith moved to Image Comics, where they, along with writer John Arcudi, were hired as the new creative team on the Wildstorm title Gen¹³, beginning with the epilogue story in issue No. 25. Their run on the series was praised for its dark, realistic style in both writing and art; however, the drastic change in tone and style alienated many longtime fans who had grown accustomed to the more fantastical and cartoonish approach of the Brandon Choi/J. Scott Campbell run. The Arcudi/Frank/Smith tenure on the series lasted two years, until issue No. 41 (July 1999). It was during this run, in 1998, that Wildstorm head Jim Lee moved his studio and all its properties to DC Comics. Therefore, issues No. 25–36 were published by Image and issues No. 37–41 were published by DC/Wildstorm.

Gary made it into the list because of his work with Geoff Johns on Justice League (including Shazam’s origin). But he could have been included for his work on Doomsday Clock as well.

NUMBER EIGHT DAVE GIBBONS (1949 - PRESENT)

David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything". He was an artist for 2000 AD, for which he contributed a large body of work from its first issue in 1977.

Gibbons was born at Forest Gate Hospital in London, to Chester, a town planner, and Gladys, a secretary. He began reading comic books at the age of seven. A self-taught artist, he illustrated his own comic strips. Gibbons became a building surveyor but eventually entered the UK comics industry as a letterer for IPC Media. He left his surveyor job to focus on his comics career.

Gibbons was one of the British comic talents identified by Len Wein in 1982 for American publisher DC Comics: he was hired primarily to draw "Green Lantern Corps" backup stories within the pages of Green Lantern. Gibbons' first DC work was on the Green Lantern Corps story in Green Lantern No. 161 (February 1983), with writer Todd Klein, as well as the concurrently released "Creeper" two-part backup story in The Flash #318–319. Gibbons drew the lead story in The Brave and the Bold No. 200 (July 1983) which featured a team-up of the Batmen of Earth-One and Earth-Two. With Green Lantern No. 172 (Jan. 1984), Gibbons joined writer Wein on the main feature while continuing to illustrate the backup features. In issue No. 182, Wein and Gibbons made architect John Stewart, who had been introduced previously in issue No. 87, the title's primary character. Ceding the "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps" backup features to various other individuals from No. 181, Gibbons last issue with Wein was issue No. 186 (March 1985). Gibbons returned to pencil the backup story "Mogo Doesn't Socialize" with Alan Moore in issue No. 188.

While Marvel Comics reprinted some of Gibbons' Marvel UK Doctor Who work, Eclipse Comics reprinted some of his Warrior work and Eagle reprinted various Judge Dredd tales, Gibbons continued to produce new work almost exclusively for DC throughout the 1980s. For the 1985 Superman Annual No. 11, Gibbons drew the main story "For the Man Who Has Everything", again written by Alan Moore.

During 1985 and 1986, Gibbons' artwork graced the pages of several issues of both DC's Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe and Marvel's The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition. He was one of the contributors to the DC Challenge limited series and in December 1986, he contributed to Harrier Comics' Brickman No. 1 alongside Kevin O'Neill, Lew Stringer and others. Between May and August 1988, he contributed covers to The Phantom miniseries, inked Kevin Maguire's pencilled contribution to Action Comics No. 600, and produced the cover to Action Comics Weekly No. 601.

He is best known in the US for collaborating with Alan Moore on the 12-issue limited series Watchmen, now one of the best-selling graphic novels of all time, and the only one to feature on Time's "Top 100 Novels" list. Gibbons' artwork in Watchmen is notable both for its stark utilisation of the formulaic comicbook nine-panel grid layout, as well as for its intense narrative and symbolic density with some symbolic background elements suggested by Moore, others by Gibbons.

Gibbons lettered Watchmen and it was his lettering style that later served as one of two reference sources used by Vincent Connare when creating the controversial font Comic Sans in 1994. Gibbons has commented that "It's just a shame they couldn't have used just the original font, because it's a real mess. I think it's a particularly ugly letter form."

Comics historian Les Daniels noted that Watchmen "called into question the basic assumptions on which the super hero genre is formulated". DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed in 2010 that "As with The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen set off a chain reaction of rethinking the nature of super heroes and heroism itself, and pushed the genre darker for more than a decade. The series won acclaim...and would continue to be regarded as one of the most important literary works the field ever produced."

Gibbons returned to Watchmen in 2008, producing the behind-the-scenes book Watching the Watchmen to tie into the release of the 2009 film. Watching the Watchmen is his take on the creation of the seminal work, and features a number of rarely seen pieces of artwork including sketches and character designs, as well as "stuff," he says "that I just don't know why I kept but I'm really pleased I did." Gibbons stated that "I'm basically thrilled with the movie, you know; it's been in the making for years. There have been proposals to make it – some I was excited about, some I was less excited about. But I think the way that it finally has been made is just great. I honestly can't imagine it being made much better."

Gibbons was present in many reviews this year, but he made it into the list because of his work on “Superman” and “Watchmen”.

NUMBER SEVEN BRIAN BOLLAND (1951 - PRESENT)

Brian Bolland (born 26 March 1951) is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology 2000 AD, he spearheaded the 'British Invasion' of the American comics industry, and in 1982 produced the artwork on Camelot 3000 (with author Mike W. Barr), which was DC Comics' first 12-issue comicbook maxiseries created for the direct market.

His rare forays into interior art also include Batman: The Killing Joke, with UK-based writer Alan Moore, and a self-penned Batman: Black and White story. Bolland remains in high demand as a cover artist, producing the vast majority of his work for DC Comics.

Brian Bolland was born in Butterwick, Lincolnshire, to parents Albert "A.J." John, a fenland farmer, and Lillie Bolland. He spent his "first 18 years" living "in a small village near Boston in the fens of Lincolnshire, England," but has "no memory of comics" much before the age of ten. When American comics began to be imported into England, c.1959, Bolland says that it "took a little while for me to discover them," but by 1960 he was intrigued by Dell Comics' Dinosaurus!, which fed into a childhood interest in dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes. Comics including Turok, Son of Stone and DC Comics' Tomahawk soon followed, and it was this burgeoning comics collection that would help inspire the young Bolland to draw his own comics around the age of ten with ideas such as "Insect League." He recalls that "[s]uperheroes crept into my life by stealth," as he actively sought out covers featuring "any big creature that looked vaguely dinosaur-like, trampling puny humans." These adolescent criteria led from Dinosaurus! and Turok via House of Mystery to "Batman and Robin [who] were [often] being harassed by big weird things, as were Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman [etc]." Soon, family outings to Skegness became an excuse for the future artist to "trawl... round some of the more remote backstreet newsagents" for comics to store on an overflowing "bookcase I'd made in school woodwork especially."

As early as 1962, aged 11, Bolland remembers thinking that "Carmine Infantino's work on the Flash and Gil Kane's on Green Lantern and the Atom had a sophistication about it that I hadn't [previously] seen. The young Bolland did not rate Marvel Comics as highly as DC, feeling the covers cluttered and the paper quality crude. His appreciation of the artwork of Jack Kirby, he says, only materialised much later "through the eyes of a seasoned professional." Despite such a variety of inspirations, Bolland credits his eventual pursuance of art as a hobby and then vocation to a primary school art teacher, who "evidently said all the right things to me."

Growing up as "and only child in a house without culture," (Bolland says that his "mother and father had no use for art, literature or music"), he embraced the late 1960s pop culture explosion of "pirate radio stations, music (particularly Frank Zappa...), drug taking, psychedelia, "peace and love," "dropping out," the underground scene, Oz Magazine," and other aspects of hippy culture epitomised by underground comix such as Robert Crumb's Zap Comix. Having taken both O-Level and A-Level examinations in art, Bolland spent five years at art school (starting in 1969) learning graphic design and Art history. Learning to draw comics, however, was "more a self-taught thing," with Bolland eventually writing a 15,000-word dissertation in 1973 on Neal Adams – an "artist [his teachers] had never heard of." He would later recall:

It was during this time that I discovered the sheer range of comics and their history. All the British stuff I'd missed was there to be discovered. I found the American greats, Foster, Herriman, Alex Raymond and Winsor McCay... Noel Sickles, Milt Caniff, Roy Crane, had all, I discovered, put down the basic building blocks of our "Art form". And there were the Europeans... Moebius, Manara, Breccia. Later the Filipinos—Alex Niño, Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, all were inspirational. None of this stuff was to be found in the art schools. During my five years in three art schools I never learnt a single thing about comics from any of my tutors.

Bolland was among the first British comics creators 'discovered' by the American comics industry, spearheading the so-called "British Invasion" in 1979/80. Bolland recalls that his big break came when Joe Staton attended the Summer 1979 Comicon, and, needing somewhere to work (on Green Lantern) while in the UK, arranged to stay with the Bollands. Staton called his editor Jack Harris and told him that Bolland, a big Green Lantern fan, would like to draw a Green Lantern cover; Harris agreed. He drew several covers for DC Comics, starting with Green Lantern No. 127 (April 1980), as well as some fill-in stories. These stories included, in 1980-1981, "Certified Safe" in Mystery in Space and "Falling Down to Heaven" in Madame Xanadu, DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "direct market" of fans and collectors. For editor Julius Schwartz, Bolland drew covers around which writers would craft stories, which included two Starro covers for Justice League of America No. 189 and 190 and Superman No. 422 (Aug. 1986).

Among his earliest interior work for DC was a chapter in Justice League of America No. 200 (March 1982) alongside artistic heroes Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino and Gil Kane, as well as Jim Aparo, George Pérez and Dick Giordano. This gave the artist his "first stab at drawing Batman." Bolland felt that "after my cover [GL #127] worked out the people at DC turned their gaze on London... and particularly on the group of artists at 2000AD who had been weaned on the DC characters." He recalled that, "after I was settled in at DC, scouts from that company came to our "Society of Strip Illustration" meetings to win over a few more of us," making a "formal invitation" at an SSI meeting, which saw "Dave Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill... [t]hen Alan Davis and Mark Farmer," following the artists "Alan Grant "went across" and, at some point, a certain tall hairy writer from the Midlands."

In 1982, DC editor Len Wein chose Bolland to be the artist on DC's Camelot 3000 12-issue maxi-series, with writer Mike W. Barr. The story, dealing with the return of King Arthur to save England from an alien invasion in the year 3000, not only "represents the single biggest body of work" by Bolland – and his only attempt to draw a monthly title – but was also the "first example of a DC (or otherwise) maxi-series." Bolland was not familiar with the Arthurian legends, and initially conceived Merlin as a comical character. The series was graced with considerable media hype, and Bolland found himself "whisked off to San Diego and places and made a fuss of." Bolland was allowed to pick between two inkers, but opted to ink his covers himself. Bolland was uncomfortable with having a third party ink his pencils, and later admitted that he put a high level of detail into his art for the series to leave as little room as possible for the inker to creatively reinterpret his work. However, "by the end I was quite pleased with the results." Reacting indignantly to being presented with Ross Andru layouts for the first two Camelot 3000 covers, he chose to ignore [the Andru design] completely and come up with my own unapproved design. Len Wein rejected it and told me to do the Ross Andru one. Grudgingly I drew the number one cover that made it onto the issue – but as a protest I reversed the letter N in my signature as a code to remind myself that my "artistic integrity" had been despoiled. I liked the backwards N enough to keep it from that day on.

Camelot 3000 had lengthy delays between its final issues. Bolland recalled that he and DC "talked quite a bit about how long it would take me to do the series," and because the series was inked by other artists, he started off "churning the pages out with great enthusiasm." As the series continued, however, Bolland became increasingly meticulous, "trying to make the pages look better and better". The added details he introduced into his artwork caused significant delays in the final issues of the limited series, causing issues #8–11 to be released on a quarterly rather than monthly status, and the final issue to be cover dated nine months later than the penultimate issue.

Bolland married his girlfriend, illustrator and sometime-collaborator Rachel Birkett in 1981. She later gave up illustration "to become a cook in a vegetarian restaurant, although she has since assisted her husband with his work, acting as colourist, inker, co-artist and ghost. The two have a son, Harry.

The Camelot 3000 limited series, which he created with Mike W. Barr, was nominated for the 1985 Kirby Award for Best Finite Series, narrowly losing to Marv Wolfman and George Pérez's Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 2002, he placed second behind Jack Kirby for the title of "Best Artist Ever" in the short-lived National Comics Awards.

Brian Bolland made it to the list because of... you probably guessed it... “Camelot 3000″ and “Batman: The Killing Joke”.

NUMBER SIX FRANK MILLER (1957 - PRESENT)

Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer best known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Sin City, and 300.

He is in both, Writer and Artist list, and, surpise, surprise, for pretty much the same stuff (”The Dark Knight Returns”, “Ronin” and also “Wolverine”).

NUMBER FIVE MIKE DRINGENBERG (1965 - PRESENT)

Mike Dringenberg (born c. 1965) is an American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics/Vertigo's Sandman series with writer Neil Gaiman. Mike Dringenberg was born in Laon, France.

Dringenberg first work in the comics industry was the story "A Tale Of... Lenny's Casino & Grill" in Kelvin Mace #1 (Dec. 1985) published by Vortex Comics. His other early work in the 1980s for publishers such as Eclipse Comics included Alien Worlds, Enchanter, and Total Eclipse. He worked on Adolescent Radioactive Blackbelt Hamsters, a parody of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which itself was a parody of many then-current comic books, and Shock the Monkey. His mainstream work includes DC's Doom Patrol with writer Grant Morrison, where he co-created Flex Mentallo; the fantasy card game Magic: The Gathering; and White Wolf Publishing's card game Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.

Mike is in this list because of his work on “The Sandman”.

NUMBER FOUR RICK VEITCH (1951 - PRESENT)

Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Rick Veitch is from a large Catholic family of six children. He was raised in Bellows Falls, Vermont.

Veitch made his publishing debut in 1972, illustrating the underground comix horror parody Two-Fisted Zombies published by Last Gasp and written by his brother Tom Veitch. This one-shot was excerpted in Mark Estren's History of Underground Comix. It also, according to Veitch, proved to be his ticket to admission to Joe Kubert School.

Veitch then studied cartooning at The Kubert School, and was in the first class to graduate from the school in 1978, along with his future long-time collaborators Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben.

Veitch's next major project was an adaptation of the film 1941 with Bissette.

During the 1980s, Veitch became known as a distinctive fantasy artist and writer for Marvel Comics' Epic Comics line, for which he created three graphic novels, Abraxas and the Earthman serialized in Epic Illustrated; Heartburst published as a standalone graphic novel; and The One originally published as a six-issue comic book limited series. Heartburst was straightforward science fiction, while The One was an ambitious and bizarre fantasy-adventure involving monstrous superheroes, the Cold War, and spiritual evolution. During this period Veitch also contributed numerous self-contained comics short stories to Epic Illustrated.

Veitch's highest-profile title was DC Comics' Swamp Thing. His friends Totleben and Bissette had both illustrated the series since Alan Moore took over as writer. Veitch joined the team for issue #37 (cover dated June 1985), in which Moore's popular character John Constantine was introduced, and appeared regularly after issue #50. He also worked with Moore on Miracleman, illustrating the story that graphically depicted the birth of Miracleman's child published by Eclipse Comics in Miracleman #9 (July 1986).

When Moore left the Swamp Thing series after issue #64, Veitch took over as writer, dividing art duties between himself and Alfredo Alcala. His Swamp Thing stories took a similar approach to Moore's, combining horror-fantasy, ecological concerns, and an encyclopedic knowledge of DC Comics fantasy characters; he gradually turned his attention from the DC Universe to history and mythology, using time travel to introduce his hero to a variety of legendary figures. This was to conclude in issue #91. Difficulties arose after Veitch's plan for issue #88, a story in which Swamp Thing met Jesus Christ, was scrapped by DC President Jenette Kahn. Although DC had approved Veitch's initial script for the Jesus story, the topic was later deemed too inflammatory and was cancelled at the last minute. The publisher and writer were unable to reach a compromise; Veitch quit, and vowed never to work for DC until the story saw print. Though the story arc has still never been printed, Veitch eventually did return to DC.

After leaving DC, Veitch turned to the alternative comics field, where the success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had provided the impetus for a black-and-white independent comics boom. After doing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles storyline for Mirage Studios, "The River", he began creating his own titles again, published by the Mirage spin-off Tundra Publishing.

Rick is one of the “revelations” of this year, to me. He was included in this list because of his work in both, “Swamp Thing” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. His TMNT story is one of my favorite TMNT stories of all time (even though it may or may not be canon).

NUMBER THREE JOHN TOTLEBEN (1958 - PRESENT)

John Thomas Totleben (born February 16, 1958 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American illustrator working mostly in comic books.

After studying art at Tech Memorial in Erie, Totleben attended The Kubert School for one year. He then spent several years working for comics editor Harry "A" Chesler, producing illustrations for the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; which never saw print. His first published work appeared in Heavy Metal in January 1979.

His first success in American comics, and still his best-known work, was as the inker of pencilled art by Stephen R. Bissette for the DC Comics title Swamp Thing, when the series was being written and reinvented by Alan Moore. Totleben and Bissette joined the series in 1983 shortly before Moore. Totleben's style was unusual for the time, and is still distinctive among U.S. comics artists, for its fluid layouts and heavily detailed rendering using a combination of stippling and hatching. He also painted covers for the series in oils and acrylic. Totleben inked the story in Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985) which introduced the John Constantine character.

As with most cases in this list, these artists can ink, color and pencil their own art. Totleben is another artists that made it into this list thanks to his work on “Swamp Thing”.

NUMBER TWO STEPHEN R. BISSETTE (1955 - PRESENT)

Stephen R. "Steve" Bissette (born March 14, 1955) is an American comics artist, editor, and publisher with a focus on the horror genre. He is known for working with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on the DC Comics series Swamp Thing in the 1980s.

Bissette was born and raised in Vermont, where he still lives, and was raised Catholic.

Shortly after the publication of his first work, Abyss (1976), Bissette enrolled in the first class of The Kubert School. Before his first year was completed, his work was being published professionally in the pages of Sojourn, Sgt. Rock, and Heavy Metal. In 1978, Bissette was among the Kubert School's first graduating class, along with classmates Rick Veitch, Tom Yeates, and others.

While still enrolled at The Kubert School, Bissette executed the logo for early New Jersey synth-pop band WKGB and drew the cover for the band's 1979 single "Non-Stop/Ultramarine" on Fetish Records.

His early work appeared in the pages of Heavy Metal, Epic Illustrated, Bizarre Adventures, Scholastic Corporation's Weird Worlds and Bananas illustrating stories written by Goosebumps founder and author R. L. Stine, and he worked with Rick Veitch on the graphic novelization of Steven Spielberg's motion picture.

Bissette is best known for his multiple award-winning collaboration with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on DC Comics' Saga of the Swamp Thing (1983–1987).

Under the company name of Spiderbaby Grafix, he later published the horror anthology Taboo, the original home of Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell and Tim Lucas' Throat Sprockets illustrated by Mike Hoffman and David Lloyd. He created Tyrant, a comic book biography of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which lasted four issues. During this period, he edited the horror anthology Gore Shriek, published by FantaCo Enterprises.

Since 1991, Bissette has presented a lecture series on horror comics called "Journeys into Fear". Having since grown in scope into a five-part series, "Journeys into Fear" identifies 12th century Japanese ghost scrolls and the 16th Century Mixtec codices as early ancestors, and traces the genre from its roots in Winsor McCay's work such as Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. In 1996–1997, Bissette contributed five covers for a comic book series about another swamp monster, Hall of Heroes' Bog Swamp Demon.

Bissette subsequently worked with Moore, Totleben, and Rick Veitch on the Image Comics' limited series 1963, their final creative collaborative effort. From 1963, Bissette owns the characters Hypernaut, N-Man, and the Fury.

Scott McCloud's 24-hour comic project began as a dare to Bissette in 1990. Each created a 24-page comic in 24 hours. The 24-hour comics project evolved into a challenge taken up by numerous hopeful contributors, with several published collections, and inspired other time-limited creative projects. Bissette published the story A Life in black and white in his own comic book anthology SpiderBaby Comix #2 (SpiderBaby Graphix, 1997).

In 1993, Bissette and Stanley Wiater co-edited Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of the New Comics, which featured interviews with such notable comics creators as Scott McCloud, Harvey Pekar, Dave Sim, Howard Cruse, Will Eisner, Peter Laird, Kevin Eastman, and Robert Crumb.

Bissette retired from the comics industry in 1999, alluding to what he termed a "generational shift." He teaches courses in Comic Art History, Drawing, and Film at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont

Since 2005, Bissette has also edited and published Green Mountain Cinema, a trade paperback journal devoted to the independent cinema scene in his home state of Vermont, as well as five volumes of Blur, collecting his film reviews and criticism.

The Stephen R. Bissette Collection at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, houses Bissette's works and memorabilia.

Bissette is in this list because of his work on “Swamp Thing”.

NUMBER ONE GEORGE PÉREZ (1954 - PRESENT)

George Pérez (born June 9, 1954) is a retired American comic book artist and writer, whose titles include The Avengers, Teen Titans, and Wonder Woman. Writer Peter David has named Pérez his favorite artistic collaborator.

George Pérez was born in the South Bronx, New York City, on June 9, 1954, to Jorge Guzman Pérez and Luz Maria Izquierdo, who were both from Caguas, Puerto Rico, but who did not meet until approximately 1949 or 1950, after both had settled in New Jersey while searching for job opportunities. They married in October 26, 1954 and subsequently moved to New York, where Jorge worked in the meat packing industry while Luz was a homemaker. George's younger brother David was born May 28, 1955. Both brothers aspired at a young age to be artists. with George Pérez beginning to draw at the age of five.

Pérez's first involvement with the professional comics industry was as artist Rich Buckler's assistant in 1973, and he made his professional debut in Marvel Comics' Astonishing Tales No. 25 (Aug. 1974) as penciler of an untitled two-page satire of Buckler's character Deathlok, star of that comic's main feature. Soon Pérez became a Marvel regular, penciling a run of "Sons of the Tiger", a serialized action-adventure strip published in Marvel's long-running Deadly Hands of Kung Fu magazine and authored by Bill Mantlo. He and Mantlo co-created the White Tiger (comics' first Puerto Rican superhero), a character that soon appeared in Marvel's color comics, most notably the Spider-Man titles.

Pérez came to prominence with Marvel's superhero-team comic The Avengers, starting with issue No. 141. In the 1970s, Pérez illustrated several other Marvel titles, including Creatures on the Loose, featuring the Man-Wolf; The Inhumans; and Fantastic Four. Writer Roy Thomas and Pérez crafted a metafictional story for Fantastic Four No. 176 (Nov. 1976) in which the Impossible Man visited the offices of Marvel Comics and met numerous comics creators. Whilst most of Pérez' Fantastic Four issues were written by Roy Thomas or Len Wein, it would be a Fantastic Four Annual where he would have his first major collaboration with writer Marv Wolfman. Pérez drew the first part of writer Jim Shooter's "The Korvac Saga", which featured nearly every Avenger who joined the team up to that point. Shooter and Pérez introduced the character of Henry Peter Gyrich, the Avengers' liaison to the United States National Security Council in the second chapter of that same storyline. Writer David Michelinie and Pérez created the Taskmaster in The Avengers No. 195 (May 1980).

In 1980, while still drawing The Avengers for Marvel, Pérez began working for their rival DC Comics. Offered the art chores for the launch of The New Teen Titans, written by Wolfman, Pérez' real incentive was the opportunity to draw Justice League of America (an ambition of Pérez's which "seemed like a natural progress from the Avengers"). Long-time Justice League artist Dick Dillin died right around that time, providing an opportunity for Pérez to step in as regular artist. While Pérez's stint on the JLA was popular with fans, his career took off with the New Teen Titans. The New Teen Titans was launched in a special preview in DC Comics Presents No. 26 (October 1980). This incarnation of the Titans was intended to be DC's answer to Marvel's increasingly popular X-Men comic, and Wolfman and Pérez indeed struck gold. A New Teen Titans drug awareness comic book sponsored by the Keebler Company, and drawn by Pérez was published in cooperation with The President's Drug Awareness Campaign in 1983. In August 1984, a second series of The New Teen Titans was launched by Wolfman and Pérez. Moreover, Pérez's facility with layouts, details, and faces improved enormously during his four years on the book, making him one of the most popular artists in comics as evidenced by the numerous industry awards he would receive during this time.

Pérez took a leave of absence from The New Teen Titans in 1984 to focus on his next project with Marv Wolfman, DC's 1985 50th-anniversary event, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Crisis purportedly featured every single character DC owned, in a story which radically restructured the DC universe's continuity. Pérez was inked on the series by Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, and Jerry Ordway. After Crisis, Pérez inked the final issue of Superman (issue #423) in September 1986, over Curt Swan's pencils for part one of the two-part story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" by writer Alan Moore. The following month, Pérez was one of the artists on Batman No. 400 (October 1986) Wolfman and Pérez teamed again to produce the History of the DC Universe limited series to summarize the company's new history. Pérez drew the cover for the DC Heroes roleplaying game (1985) from Mayfair Games:167 as well as the cover for the fourth edition of the Champions roleplaying game (1989) from Hero Games.

Pérez is married to Carol Flynn. He has no children. He has a brother, David, and a niece and nephew. He is diabetic, and has undergone surgery for diabetic retinopathy. In May 2017, Pérez was admitted to a hospital with chest pains and was diagnosed as having had a heart attack while travelling to New Jersey for a convention. He was subsequently released from the hospital after having a coronary stent fitted.

George was already in last year’s TOP 10 and he made it again this year, thanks to his work on “New Teen Titans”, “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” and “Tales of the Teen Titans”, including “The Judas Contract”.

As I said before, most of these artists are pencillers, but most of them can do anything. Now, I have another list of artists coming up, that have a bit more “rigid” in what they do, but they also excel at it.

The artists in this list are only a small group, among all the other artists that could have made it into this list, some of them being: A. C. Farley, Bruce Timm, Bryan Hitch, Chris Allan, Jim Lawson, Chris Sprouse, Curt Swan, Dave McKean, Denys Cowan, Frank Quitely, Gene Colan, Jesus Merino, Emanuela Lupacchino, Jim Aparo, Jim Lee, Joe Quinones, Keith Pollard, Marcos Martin, Matt Hollingsworth, Paul Gulacy, Richard Pace, Leonard Kirk, Dan Jurgens, Sam Keith, Shawn McManus, Stephen Byrne, The Dodsons, Tony Harris, Stan Sakai and Bob Burden. Thank you all, and thank you to the artists of this list for making 2019 a better year for me.

#artists #comics #review #george perez #stephen bissette #john totleben #rick veitch #mike dringenberg #frank miller #brian bolland #dave gibbons #gary frank #jerry ordway #2019

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placewheredreamsneverend · 4 years

Text

The Royal Romance Book 1 - Chapter 1: Once Upon A Time

The Royal Romance from MC’s POV

MC x Liam x Drake (love triangle)

MC: Jenna Dewan

Liam: Daniel Henney

Drake: Daniel di Tomasso

Maxwell: Xavier Serrano

Music (Book 1, Chapter 1): It Never Ends - Oliver Stay

*The characters and original storyline are all from The Choices: The Royal Romance book 1. All characters belong to Pixelberry.

*I apologize for any misspelling or improper grammar structure. Sorry for any mistakes. English is not my native language. And also this is my first time doing something like this. I was inspired by other amazing fanfiction writers on this site.

It will be just an ordinary night at work, I thought while I was preparing for work at local restaurant also a bar. Manager will be quite demanding as usual. Customers will be, well, customers. At least I have Daniel, my best friend, who also works with me at the restaurant, to keep my back. Not that I need it. I know how to take care of myself, as I always have. And I do know how to put people on their place. It was part of my charm. Well, except one exception. But that doesn’t really count. It was my manager. I needed that job. It paid the rent. That was the only reason why I have tolerated such a jerk even trough I loved to throw him insane talking and innocent flirting with customers. The harsh truth is I really needed that job. I can’t afford to get fired and I was already late for my shift. I closed the front door of my apartment in a hurry with keys in my hand and went straight to work.

"Just another glamorous New York Saturday night of hauling trash to the dumpster...", I said to Daniel as we walked outside of the restaurant to throw out the trash in nearest container.

"It could be worse. There could be...” before he could finish his sentence a giant rat run across his foot. Suddenly they were all around. “Rats! Riley, help!", Daniel screamed with terrified look on his face. I was surprisingly calm. It's not that I haven't seen them before, especially working in place like this. I feel needed to say something to calm him down.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of this adorable little mouse family. They're trying to get by, just like us...", I said as calmly as I could. Just when I wanted to say more... our manager had showed up with furious look on his face.

"Hey! Riley, Daniel, quit slacking off over there!", he yelled as we quickly hurried to get the rest bags in the container.

"You told us to take out the garbage", I said, annoyed. Which I pretty was. Annoyed. By his presence.

"And now I'm telling you to wait on the bachelor party that just rolled in. Chop chop!", he said with the usual look on his face telling us “Get inside or you are both fired!” Nothing new. A jerk. And then he left. He was a word-class jerk. And there was any doubt about that.

We went back inside to find the bachelor party. It was Daniel’s turn to serve new customers, I remembered.

One man yelled inside of the restaurant as I entered.

"Waitress, there you are. We need your best table!" I looked around but I didn’t notice him. It was very crowded tonight. And it was Daniel’s turn... I went straight to the bar just when I heard another men yelling.

"Forget the table. Just bring us whiskey and lots of it.”

My kind of man. I thought. I really could use a one glass of whiskey right now.

“Riley, please take this one. I’ve got a date tonight and I’ll never make it out of here in time...”, Daniel said already untying his bow tie and apron. Somehow I wasn't surprised... much. He's been acting weird lately. Love. I guess.

“You really want me to take the bachelor party? I’m on it. The tip will be insane. I will have those guys eating out of my hand in no time.” I really needed that tip. The pay was too damn low.

“You are the best”, Daniel patted me on the back, happy, and then he left the restaurant smiling. At least, someone is going to have some fun tonight.

“Are you two still talking? I’ve seated them already. Now get over there before I dock your pay”, the manager yelled showing me the table waiting to order.

Oh boy, it will be a long night.

I grabbed my pen and paper and then I headed over to the table where three men were seated, talking, and waiting for my to take the order. They were sophisticated well-dressed. Well, except one, the men with dark messy hair and brown eyes. He was dressed casually in jeans and a blue shirt. He is handsome, I thought. But there was something about them... different. They were overdressed for a place like this.

“Hello, gentlemen. I’ll be taking care of you this evening”, I said politely to them.

“Waitress, steaks for the table”, said the man with brown hair and funny loving smile. I liked him immediately. There was something about him... He sounds friendly. I smiled towards him.

“How about some filet mignon, medium rare and prepared with a bearnaise sauce?”, said the other men with dark eyes and sophisticated stature. Wow! Look around. You do know that you are in a bar? Right? This isn't some kind a fancy restaurant. I thought.

“The closest thing we have to filet mignon is the deluxe burger”, I said.

“Dare I ask for your wine list?”, he said annoyed. He is such a snob.

“We’ve got excellent vintage house red...” He didn't let me finish my sentence.

“House red?”, he looked at me with a disgusted look on his face. Correction, a wine snob.

“It also comes in white.” I definitely didn't like his attitude. He sounded pretentious. And I was very good at reading people...

“We will be fine with a bottle of whiskey... and four deluxe burgers”, said the handsome one with half-smile, half-laugh on his face. Oh, I really liked him. He looked like the type of guy I usually dated.

“Four?”, he nodded behind me and I turned to see the last man man at the party. Whoa. He is really cute! I thought. He had blond hair and the most mesmerizing blue eyes I’ve ever seen. I could easily get lost in them if I allowed myself to. He was wearing a blazer. He also was very handsome.

“Sorry, I’m late.Thank you for your patience, Mis...?” And he sounds politely.

“Uh, Riley”, I said noticing I was holding my breath. He took my breath away.

“Charmed to make our acquaintance, Riley. I’m Liam”, he introduced himself in such delicate manner. Handsome and polite. I’m in so trouble...

“Trust me the pleasure is all mine. Now let me go and put your order. Be right back”, I said with large smiley on my face as I walked away.

There was one thing I was sure of: they were definitely not from around here.

Later that evening, a little after the bar has closed I was finishing up when someone tapped me on the shoulder... It was the man with mesmerizing blue eyes. It was Liam. I remembered his name. How could I forget? You don’t see men like him often at the place like this.

“I think we are about ready to head out. I just wanted to thank you and apologize. I know we keep you late and my friends can be... demanding”, he sounded genuinely.

Demanding, you think? I do have another word for that...

“Demanding? Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Truth.

“I got the feeling that you could take care of herself. If you don’t have any plans tonight, maybe I can make it up to you by buying you a drink. We are about to go to a club”, he looked me with a large smile on his face, the same smile like mine was earlier before. I was melting.

You want to buy me a drink? Like a date? Are you asking me out on a date?

“Oh? Which one?” I didn’t mind. Count me in. It’s not that I have any plans tonight... I noticed that he was hoping for my acceptance.

“We are hoping that you may have some advice about that. We’re not from around here.” No, kidding.

“I recommend going...” before I said anything I remembered that all the clubs around here are crowded and noisy. What I really needed after long work is quite place to rest my head. And I had just the right place in mind.

“...to a gorgeous secret cove by the beach. Forget the club.” My favorite spot. Just what I needed right now. Trough I wasn’t sure will he appreciate it.

“You know... that actually sounds perfect. To be honest, I’m getting a little tired of the usual bachelor party antics. Lead the way!”

You are? I was feeling little confused and at the same surprised by his words. I didn’t expect it. He got me...

“Sure. Let me finish up here and I’ll meet you out front...”, I said and headed back to change. My heart started pumping fast thinking about spending night with him... I’m in a such big trouble...

My heart was still pumping fast when I threw on my casual green dress, my favorite dress, I was so glad that I’ve decided to show up at work tonight wearing her, and stepped outside of the restaurant. I was feeling so excited. And they there were. The four men were waiting for me to come next to the limo. At least, that’s what I thought. I heard Liam calling them by their names. The one with funny and loving smile was Maxwell. Tariq was the pretentious one. Oh, I really didn't like that one. And the one with messy brown hair and casual look was Drake. As I approached them, Drake’s eyes went wide.

“Wow”, he said surprisingly. I didn’t expect that. I was surprised as well.

“Wow?” It almost sounded like a compliment. I wasn’t sure.

“I... almost didn’t recognize you.” Definitely a compliment. It was kind of cute. He was kind of cute. I thought.

“That uniform wasn’t doing you justice”, said Tariq, the pretentious sophisticated wine snob. Flattering. I wasn't surprised. I knew that type of men very well. A slimy ones.

Thanks. But don’t think for one second that you can fool me...

“Yeah, the waitress is hot”, said Maxwell. I didn’t mind... Much. Nothing I haven’t heard before.

I noticed Liam didn’t like the way they were talking about me, especially in front of me.

“Ahem. Her name is Riley and I doubt she appreciate you talking about her like that”, said Liam to them with an angry look on his face. Only if a look could speak... his would be saying: "behave". A truly gentleman. I thought. I did appreciated his words. Not that I needed it them. And they didn’t bothered me... much. I’ve got used to hear stuff like that. That’s when you work in a bar, you get used to of all sorts of people. But still it was very consider of him... He cares about how I feel... He does look like a person who cares...

“Right. Sorry, Riley”, said Maxwell looking at me with the “puppy eyes” look. How can anyone could be possible angry at him? He looked like a childish men but in some sort of good way.

“I meant to say you look lovely. Now let’s get this party going”, he sounded so excited. He was happily looking for this night to start.

Thanks, Maxwell. I forgive you. Not that I need to.

“Hang on... The waitress is coming with us?”, said Drake in some kind of shock state.

“Actually, we’re going with her. She’s is picking our next destination”, Liam explained.

“So she is our tour guide now?” Drake continued looking at me kind of surprised and angry at the same time. What the hell is wrong with this guy? I was hundred percent sure that I didn’t do anything to piss him off... Thought, I even kinda liked him... and I thought he kinda liked me too. Liam put his arms around Drake’s shoulders and calmly said to him:

“Riley, was kind enough to agree to show us around. She’s doing us a favor, so play nice”, Liam smirked at me and nodded as Drake calmed down.

I wasn’t convinced. Drake didn’t wanted me to go with them. And I didn’t know why. But I didn’t care. I was there for Liam.

A short time later... We all pilled out of the limo at the beach and the guys headed off toward the ocean.

“We should build a bonfire”, said Drake as he searched for nearby woods. He didn’t look angry any more. What the hell was back that then?

“I’m not doing manual labor”, said Tariq. Of course, what else could you possible expect from sophisticated wine snob?

“Sorry I forgot who I was talking to. What I meant was, I’ll go build a bonfire”, said Drake as he walked away. He is handy. I though. I had dwelling thoughts about him.

“This place is awesome! Skinny dipping!”, said Maxwell as he started to remove his shirts and unbutton his pants.

“Keep your pant on, Maxwell!”, Tariq shouted. Maxwell continued to strip and then ran towards the ocean. Liam turned towards to me.

“Thank you for bringing us here. I can tell the guys are enjoying themselves already”, he said with warm smile on his face.

“I bet you’ve used to putting everyone else first”, I said as I looked up at him and our eyes met.

“And why would you say that?”, he asked, astonished.

“I can tell. I’m good at reading people...” Truth. I am. But tell me more about you... I really want to know you.

“Now forget about your friends. What about you? Do you like it here?”

“I love it”, he sounded happy.

“It’s my secret spot, so I’m really trusting you.”

Why did I just said that? I really do trust him... even trough I don’t know him that well... yet.

“I’ll do my best to be worthy of that trust. Though there’s just one problem... How am I supposed to buy you that drink?”, he asked me with a chuckle as I blushed. He was charming.

“You’ll think of something. Or maybe you’ll just keep owing me.”

“Fair enough. So what should we do?”, he asked and then patiently waited for my reply while as I was thinking.

“We should... jump in the ocean!”, I said, thrilled.

“Won’t we get soaked?”

Yes. That’s the point!

“You are not afraid of a little water, are you?”

Where is your sense of adventure? I stared running off into the water.

“Wait up!”, he exclaimed as I ran straight into the water catching ice cold waves. COLD!

“Cold!”, Liam yelled as catching up to me.

“But worth it, right?”, I said to him hoping for him to understand the deeper meaning of this little adventure. And he did. I saw it in his eyes.

“I never felt more alive... “, he said as I stared to shiver from the cold. I believed him. Even then I didn't know why.

“You cold?”

“Maybe just a little...” A lot.

“I see that the guys got the bonfire going. Let’s head back and warm up...”, I shaked my head in the state of of an agreement as I wanted to reach for his hands and feel his touch on my skin badly.

We walked back over to the bonfire. We were alone. Liam’s friends went to play by the water.

“Tonight has been quite the adventure... I never thought my night out on the town would end up like this. You are something else, aren’t you?”, he said as I smiled towards him, blushing again.

“I’m going to take that as compliment.” Now that I think it better... every word coming for his mouth sounded like a compliment to me. He was to way good with words, I noticed. It almost sounded frightening on some way. And I don't know why I felt that way.

“Believe me, it is. Spending time with you tonight has been the most fun I’ve had this entire vacation.”

“I guess that means you haven’t really been enjoying yourself very much.” I pulled myself closer to him. We were so closer to each other. I could almost feel his shoulder touching mine.

“It’s been wonderful, but there’s something missing. I really wanted to do the one thing in particular while I was here...” I saw the longing in his eyes. That’s when I knew that I need to do something.

“And what is that?”, I asked him, intriguingly, then he looked straight into my eyes.

“It’s... well... you’re going to think it’s silly, but I’ve always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty... It wasn’t really the guys plan so we just never got around it. And now it’s my last day here... I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. It was thoughtful of my friends to throw me this bachelor party. They’ve done their best...”, then he stopped talking for one short moment. Something was bothering him. I could tell.

“... but I’m not in mood to celebrate” he sounded devastated. I saw some kind of sorrow deep in his eyes.

“Wait for a second, it’s your bachelor party?... Congratulations.” I looked down in the sand and pulled myself away from him. It felt like someone has just punched me in my stomach. Of course, the bachelor party! How did I forget about it? I wasn’t even thinking about it... I have totally forgot it. I felt stupid and sad. I even started falling for him...

“If you knew the whole story, you might not congratulate me so quickly”, he looked away.

And how is that? Please, explain.

“Oh?”

I looked up at him and saw sad smile on his face. He wasn’t happy. Why he wasn’t happy. I didn’t understand.

“I actually don’t know who I’m going to marry yet... only thing I’ll have to pick my fiance by the end of year.”

You don’t know who are you going to marry yet? Are you kidding me?

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The truth is Riley... I’m the Crown Prince of Cordonia.”

He was a prince. And I didn’t know about it. The entire time I was talking to a prince without knowing it. Even I kind of had a feeling... I didn’t expected to find something like this. I dragged him into freezing cold water. What was I thinking? Am I even allowed to talk to him?

“This doesn't change anything. I don’t care what your title is. You’re still the same guy I met earlier this evening... Caring, thoughtful. I have seen a lot of costumers come and go, but I’ve never seen any guy at his bachelor party be concerned about whether the waitress was having a good night.” I poured my heart out in front of him without realizing before it was too late.

“You don’t know how rare it is to hear someone say that. You’re the first one, in fact”, he smiled as he reached for my hands. My heart dropped by the touch of his skin. He liked what I said. I could tell. And I really meant it. Every word.

“It seems the more I talk to you, the more I like, Riley” The feeling was mutual.

“It’s strange... I’ve have know my whole life that I have to take up the duties of the monarchy. I always wandered how that shaped me, who I’ve might have been without the crown.”

“You could be anything, do anything. What drives you, Riley?” Well, that wasn't the hard question. My adventurous spirit.

“What I really want is to live every day to the fullest. Sure I’m only waiting tables now, but.. I like to make every day an adventure. You only get once chance at life, I want to make mine mean something.”

“That’s beautiful, Riley.” I saw in his eyes that he really meant it.

Looking out at the surf, I saw Maxwell, Tariq and Drake splashing in the water.

“Looks like your friends are having fun...”, I chuckled. And then suddenly I had an idea.

“Good. I’m happy for them. They deserve to have fun... Tomorrow it’s back to Cordonia for the start of the social season.”

“But it’s now tomorrow yet...”

“What are you suggesting, Riley?” I saw a sparkle in his eyes. A sparkle of excitement.

“You said you wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. Let’s do it! I know a place where we can catch a boat tour. Best view in town.”

“Right now? But It’s way past midnight. Won’t all the tours be closed?

“Oh...right. I forgot how late it’s gotten. In that case, you are lucky I can call in a favor.”

“A favor? And just like that, you can get us on a tour boat after midnight to see the Statue of Liberty?”

“Well, maybe a few favors, actually, but I do have some friends who owe me. Let’s go!”

“Right now?”

“It’s only getting later every minute we wait. It looks like the guys are busy enough. I bet they won’t even notice you’ve gone.”

“You’re not going to take no for answer, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Then I happily surrender your demands.” I saw a sparkle in his eyes. A sparkle of excitement.

I took my phone and start dialing some numbers. I smiled and took his hand in mine as we walked off the beach.

We went to the docks. Waiting for our boat to arrive.

“... And there we wait.”

“For?”

“A magical boat I’ve summoned just for you”, I said smiling.

“Now, I’m dying to know why you’re so eager to see the Statue of Liberty.”

But I already knew... It was obviously. And I was a good listener.

“Can’t you guess?”

“You want to see the Statue because she symbolizes freedom.”

“Freedom is something that I’ve always wanted. But I’ve always know that my role would require me to give up much of what I desire”, he explained.

“You’re the prince. Can’t you do what you want, at least some of the time?”

“As a member of the royal family, my actions reflect on my house and all of Cordonia. It’s something I’ve never been allowed to forget. No matter how badly I might want to.” He looked deeply at me for one long moment and then sadly looked away.

“Liam... “ Before I could finish my sentence I heard the blast of a horn.

“There is our ride!”, I said standing up to meet him.

The boat arrived and we stepped inside.

“Part of me didn’t think you’d pull this off”, he said.

Don't underestimate me.

“You didn’t think I could pull it off? You just don’t know me very well.”

Truth. And I don’t know you either. I would like to change that... Both.

“You are right. But I’d like to fix that. You’re fascinating, Riley. Why are you doing this for me?”

I saw a spark in his eyes again. He was happy. I make him happy. My heart wished for that to be true.

“I’m doing this because I love a good adventure. And this is going to be an amazing story to tell my friends about.”

And because I falling for you... More then you know.

“To be honest, no one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”

He took my hand in his. Our skin touched.

“Really? Come on, you are prince. I bet people do things for you all the time.”

“I do get all the perks of being royalty, but no one’s ever seen me as just... me. No one’s ever listened to me the way you do. No one’s ever come up with a spur-of-the-moment plan to make my dream come true.”

“Liam... I’m glad I could help.”

“You’re an amazing person.”

And so are you. I’m definitely falling for you...

In the distance, we saw the Statue of Liberty appear. He looked up at her then down at me with amazement.

“So, what do you think?”, I asked him.

“Magnificent. I’ve heard that art has meaning because of what makes the viewer feel. Whether it’s ink splatters on a canvas or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, it only matters if it moves you.”

You are moving me.

“And?”

“And right now, looking at this view with you, I feel like everything is possible.”

It felt like time has stopped. It was just him and me like we were the only two persons left in the whole world.

“Thank you for this moment, Riley.This feeling... this means more to me than you could ever know.”

“Liam...”

“I want you to know that I admire you. Your adventurous spirit. The way you follow your heart.”

“You can live that way too.”

“If only. My whole life I’ve prepared myself to do what’s the best for Cordonia.”

“Well, we’re not in Cordonia now...” I looked up to him. His eyes meet mine. He pulled closer to me as I drove him and kissed him deeply. He returned. He kissed me back. He ran his fingers through my hair. I pulled away. Breathless. My heart was jumping out of my chest.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”, he smiled satisfied.

“I try”, I chuckled as I was trying to find my way back to reality.

“I’m glad I’ve meet you, Riley. I will never forget this night”, he sound sincerely. And I believed him.

Mee too.

When I came back to my apartment, I took a long shower and then I went straight to bed. A few hours later, I caught myself staring at the ceiling, thinking about Liam and the kiss we shared that night. His kiss was sweet and gentle like I've imagined the first kiss would be even if it wasn't the first time I've kissed someone. I silenced thoughts in my mind and closed my eyes. The tiredness soon has consumed me. I felt asleep.

The next morning, when I woke up, I couldn’t stop thinking about the last night. About Liam. That night meant something to me. It was special. He was special and now I’m never gonna see him again. I got ready and went to work still thinking about him all the way, losing all my hope...

When I finally got there, as I walked up to the front door, I heard familiar voice calling my name. I stopped and turned to see. It was Maxwell. I was surprised to see him and a little bit happy too. A lot. Perhaps Liam was with him... I look to see around. But he wasn’t there. Of course he wasn’t. What the hell was I thinking of? He is a prince and I’m, well, me.

“Riley! Glad I caught you. We’re heading back to Cordonia so Liam can find someone to marry and all that jazz. But before I go, I wanted to officially extend to you an invitation to join us for the festivities in Cordonia”, he said with familiar funny loving smile on his face. I loved that smile.

You do... want what? Is this for real?

“You wouldn’t usually be allowed to join... but I wanted to sponsor you”, now his voice sounded serious. That’s when I knew he wasn’t joking.

But, sponsor me? What do you mean?

“Sponsor me?”, I asked confused. I was confused. It doesn’t happen every day for you to meet a real prince charming and the next day one of his friends comes on your front door asking to sponsor you. What actually that does mean?

“I’m from a noble house, but I don’t have any sister, so we don’t have anyone in contention to marry the Prince. Instead, we can sponsor any girl we choose. And you’re my pick”, he explained.

But why me? I’m just an ordinary girl trying to find her place in this words. What possible can I have that other girls don’t have?

“You want to sponsor me? Why?”

“I’m not doing it for you. I saw how Liam looked at you last night. I’ve never seen him so happy. Honestly? I don’t want him to lose that. We’re kinda crunched for time, though. I’ve go a plane leaving within the hour...”

Liam was happy last night... With me. He seen it too. I wasn’t imagine it. But wait...

Within the hour?!

“You’re moving a little fast, don’t you think?”, I said, annoyed.

How can I possible have an answer in such a short time? I need time to think it through.

“No time to waste. The opening Masquerade is tonight! It’s the start of the... uh,I guess I could say, it’s the start of the competition.”

Competition? What kind of competition? Just when I thought that this conversation can’t sounded more weird than already is.

“What do you mean?”, I asked him, confused again.

REALLY MAXWELL, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!

“There’s a whole horde of gorgeous, rich, noblewomen vying to become Cordonia’s next queen. And it’s not just about winning the Prince’s hand. You’ve also got to prove to the council that you can rule Cordonia with him. But I think you’ve got what it takes. You’re witty and charming”, he explained as I sensed hope in his two last sentences.

Just what I needed to hear. Like I couldn’t feel more... smaller. Thanks a lot, Maxwell. Council? I’m definitely not ready for such thing. And I couldn’t imagine myself as queen. But thought of seeing Liam... It changed everything.

“Uh, thanks. So... a fancy Masquerade... and what else I am getting myself into?”

“Fun stuff I promise! You’ll get to go yachting in the Mediterranean, skiing in Alphs and dancing in the Royal Palace... Or, you know, you can stay here. Go back to your waitress gig with your crappy boss.That’s probably about as good.”

He does have a point. And it does sound fun... Even through I’m not quite sure about dancing. I have two left feet when comes to dancing. But what do I have to lose? And thought of me actually going to work today... And it doesn’t sound like me to run away from an adventure... I counted all the pros and cons I could remembered as I summoned all my courage and made a decision.

“I’m in”, I said determined. But I wasn’t...

Oh, boy. I’m willing putting myself in trouble... But I have to see him again. At least once again. I think he wants that to.

“Yeah! Go pack your bags. This is going to be the adventure of a lifetime!”, he was thrilled.

#royal romance #the royal romance #king #queen #new york #statue of liberty #liam #romance #love #game #book #moment #fanmade

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ishidasado · 5 years

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Medievil Is About To Be Revived!

It’s only 8 days until Sir Daniel Fortesque rises again, and i’m going out of my skull with anticipation!

This game was my introduction to the weird, the unknown, the mysterious and the downright creepy, at the mere age of 4 years old! I played Medievil before I watched The Nightmare before Christmas (which is VERY similar in aesthetic and feel and also happens to star an undead/ skeletal hero)

Medievil helped me find my identity of “lover of the darker fine arts” and inspired many years of my personal personal growth. While I can’t credit it directly for my interest in drawing, and later digital art, I can confirm, beyond the shadow of a doubt, it was what lingered in the back of my mind, for the many years I was developing my drawing style and techniques into the ridged- dark style I’ve found to feel free and comfortable. Medievil had such an impact on my life that I squealed in delighted joy when I first watched the Re-make reveal trailer! It was finally coming back into my life after all of those years brewing it’s own essence through my art! Now we are only DAYS away from the release and my hype is running ever so high! I’ve already pre-ordered the digital deluxe, so I’ll be getting the golden armor, themes and virtual comics that come with it! My birthday is only days before this games release and I’m certainly looking forward to Halloween, and playing the game that made me love the holiday, during my 11 day birthday celebration~!

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questingtheworld · 5 years

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Living The Fantasy - Chapter One

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Summary: Meeting royalty, falling in love, and living happy ever after were the things Hollywood movies were made of…or happened only to the Meghan Markle and Daniel Westling’s of the world. Rylie Martin was neither made for the silver screen nor one of the lucky one percent—that is, until a bachelor party entered the bar she worked at one fateful night. Even after a magical meeting and love in the air, Rylie knew getting that fairytale ending wouldn’t be easy. But nothing could have prepared her for what awaited her in Cordonia.

Pairing: Liam x MC

Chapter Title Inspiration: Say You Won't Let Go - James Arthur

Word Count: 10,769

A/N: I've only recently discovered Choices (where has it been all my life!) and TRR was my first book, and it has just completely captured my heart. So much so that I decided to try and expand on the universe that they gave us.

It will mostly be from Rylie's (MC) point of view, but I do plan on having some "intermission" chapters where I explore some "behind the scenes" moments from another character's POV. Warnings and tags to be added as the story continues.

Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it!

* ~ * ~ *

Chapter One: I Met You in the Dark

I met you in the dark, you lit me up

You made me feel as though I was enough

As Rylie heaved two large bags of trash up so they weren’t dragging on the ground as she brought them to the dumpster, her mind wandered as it usually did when performing such glamorous tasks, especially when she was on her second of a back-to-back shift and was basically just running on fumes by that point.

Often her thoughts drifted to alternate universes where she was holding up a plate of decadent pastries instead of rancid garbage or wearing a form-flattering designer dress instead of an ill-fitting, alcohol-stained waitress uniform and pretend the pitter-patter of what she hoped weren’t rats were instead the footsteps of an elegant ballroom dance.

(Not that she even knew a single one, but hey, this was a fantasy, not reality. Speaking of reality, Rylie could distantly hear her co-worker Daniel’s yelp and tug on her arm, threatening to pull her from her daydream and back to the present where those sounds were rats. Not wanting to low-key freak out with him, Rylie delved deeper into her fictional other life.)

Maybe she could have a job where the words, “it’s five o’clock somewhere,” wasn’t a daily utterance, or maybe she could win the lottery and never have to work at all ever again. Or maybe, just maybe, she could be someone who was treated equally and with respect instead of--

“Hey! Rylie, Daniel, quit slacking off over there!”

--Well, that .

And she was so close to reaching the ‘prince charming’ and ‘happily ever after’ portion of her fantasy, too.

With a sigh, Rylie turned to face their manager, Kevin, as Daniel let go of her arm. “You told us to take out the garbage.” Rylie wasn’t usually the type to talk back to her bosses, but there was only so much belittling someone could take before they snapped and Rylie knew that her manager knew that he wouldn’t be able to replace her so easily if he fired her.

Unfortunately, her manager also knew that if she didn’t need the job so badly she would’ve quit by now, which always left him with the upper hand. “I didn’t expect you maggots to take it literally and throw yourselves out with it. Now I’m telling you to wait on the bachelor party that just rolled in. So chop chop!”

Forced to take the loss, Rylie bristled as Kevin smiled smugly before turning to head back into the bar.

“If bullying us is the only thing that makes him happy in life, I think we’re the ones winning in the long run, Rylie,” Daniel said in an attempt to placate her, and after a moment Rylie let out a long breath, expelling all her tension and anger.

“That’s true,” she conceded as they hurried to toss the remaining garbage bags into the dumpster. “That doesn’t make it right, but I’m not going to let him take up any more brain power. Let’s go check out the damage of this bachelor party.”

Heading back inside, the two of them peeked from around the corner of the Employee Only entrance at the back, eyeing the trio of males that waited at the front to be seated. A tanned man in a dark grey suit called out to Traci, one of the other waitresses, as she passed by with a pitcher of water for one of her tables.

“Waitress, there you are. We need your best table!” the man in the suit said.

“Forget the table,” one of the other men said, dressed on the complete opposite spectrum of his friend, with a button-opened long sleeve denim shirt over a plain white t-shirt and jeans. “Just bring us your whiskey, and lots of it.”

“Maybe the one in the suit is the one getting hitched?” Rylie theorized as she continued to peer out at them, watching as Traci assured them that someone would be out to seat them shortly and left to attend to her customers. Guessing what everyone’s story was for them to walk into a barely ‘Grade A’ bar was a thing they did to pass the time. “Do you think they’re bar-hopping, or that this is the pre-game?” she asked, turning to look back at Daniel to find that he was already looking at her with a sad puppy expression, hands clasped in the universal sign of begging. She could already guess what it was he was going to request of her. “Oh, no, Daniel…”

“Rylie, please take this one. I’ve got a date tonight, and I’ll never make it out of here in time…”

While it was only a group of three—smaller than the huge bachelor party they were expecting—alcohol always made things more unpredictable. “Why do I get all the rowdy tables?” Rylie half-complained, though she already knew she was going to do it for her friend.

“Because you’re a saint with a heart of gold and patience a mile wide?” Daniel buttered her up.

Rylie hummed noncommittally, but her poker face cracked as Daniel jutted out his bottom lip more and she threw her hands up in defeat. “Oh, you know I’ve got your back. It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do tonight…and they’re kinda hot…and the tips should be good…” Rylie listed, trying to make herself feel better about accepting and make Daniel feel less guilty for asking.

“Oh, thank you, thank you! I owe you one. You’re the best!” Daniel gushed as he hugged her, and she laughed and hugged him back.

“Just have enough fun for the both of us. I wanna hear all about it tomorrow!”

Unfortunately, their manager chose that exact moment to walk in on them. “Are you two still talking? I’ve seated them already. Now get over there before I dock your pay!”

Rolling her eyes as Kevin left again—maybe if they weren’t so short-staffed he wouldn’t have to do some actual work like seating customers, the horror!—Rylie waved bye to Daniel before straightening her uniform and plastering the friendliest smile she could muster as she walked over to where the party was seated, grabbing three menus as she went. Rylie bowed her head apologetically for interrupting their conversation; it sounded like they had some sort of European accent. “Hello, gentlemen!” she greeted as she placed menus down in front of them. “Sorry for the wait. My name’s Rylie and I’ll be taking care of you this evening.”

Before she could ask for their drink order, the third man that was in a crisp black shirt spoke first. “Waitress, steaks for the table.”

I have a name…and I just gave it to you! Rylie screamed internally, but her countenance betrayed nothing. It wasn’t like it was the first time she’d been defined solely as her occupation instead of as a person. She opened her mouth to respond, but the suspected-groom-to-be beat her to it.

“How about some filet mignon, medium rare and prepared with a béarnaise sauce?”

Does this man think he’s at a five-star restaurant? He was certainly dressed like it, but even she could appreciate someone who wanted to look good wherever they went. The smile remained on Rylie’s face despite her thoughts. “The closest thing we have to ‘filet mignon’ is the deluxe burger.”

Suit man made a face as if the word ‘burger’ itself was beneath him. “Dare I ask for your wine list?”

“We’ve got an excellent vintage house red…”

“ House red?! ”

“It also comes in white if that’s more to your taste.”

That only seemed to cause more terror in the man. “My taste ? Why, I never …”

“Sir, this is a Wendy’s,” Rylie said in a flat voice, unable to help herself when the man set it up so nicely. When silence followed instead of laughter, she shifted awkwardly. Tough crowd. She watched as the eyebrows of the man in the suit furrowed together, and she could already imagine him demanding for her manager and Kevin having the satisfaction of firing her. The man’s mouth opened, and Rylie held her breath.

“But…that’s not what the sign in front of this establishment said—”

A sharp gasp interrupted suit guy, and Rylie returned her gaze to the one in the black shirt. “Oh. My. God. I’ve read about this meme online but I never thought I’d witness it in person! Do me, do me!”

“Err…” That didn’t go the way she was expecting. It was a good thing, don’t get her wrong, but it was still throwing her for a loop. Who were these people and where did they come from? Rylie looked at denim dude, hoping he was the only sane one among them.

Denim man sighed as if wordlessly saying ‘this is why we can’t have nice things.’ “We’ll be fine with a bottle of whiskey...and four deluxe burgers.”

Rylie nodded, mentally taking down their order as she retrieved the unopened menus from the table but pausing when she realized he ordered one more than there were in their group. S he locked eyes with denim man to double check the quantity. “Four, sir?”

The man nodded behind her, and Rylie turned and came face to face with someone’s chest. “Oh!” Rylie let out in shock, taking a step back reflexively. Slowly, her eyes trailed up from the layered clothing (less formal than the suit man but more dressy than the other two), taking in his gel-styled black hair to his facial features that seemed Asian mixed with something before locking eyes with him. Whoa, he’s really cute.

“Sorry I’m late,” the newcomer apologized to his friends, though his gaze was still on her. “Thank you for your patience, Miss…?”

It took Rylie a moment to realize he was talking to her this time. “Uh, Rylie,” she answered less gracefully than she had hoped. Wonderful first impression there, Rylie.

The man smiled, though whether it was because he was being polite or because he actually found her sudden dimness adorable was unknown (Rylie’s inner voice was lamenting that it was the former). “Charmed to make your acquaintance, Rylie.”

“Trust me, the pleasure’s all mine,” Rylie replied dreamily before stiffening when her brain caught up to what her mouth said. “I mean, it’s nice to meet you.” Smooth recovery. “Let me go put your order in. Be right back!”

Fleeing the scene with what was left of her dignity, Rylie sped walked to the kitchen and put in their food order. She took a brief moment to knock her head against the wall a couple times for her embarrassing display before she took a deep breath and headed for the bar to get their drinks.

“Let’s see, whiskey, whiskey…” she murmured to herself as she looked over their stock of liquor. In her haste to leave before she made even more of a fool of herself in front of the bachelor party, she didn’t ask for what specific whiskey they wanted. What kind of whiskey people were they? Rylie discreetly glanced back at the bachelor party’s table, analyzing them. Bourbon seemed a little tame for them, but she believed the only one of the four who could handle a single malt scotch was the one in denim. Deciding it was best if they chose, Rylie picked up three different kinds and put them on a tray along with four empty glasses.

“Hello again, gentlemen,” Rylie greeted. “Your food’s in the works. I’ve got your drink order here, but since the type of whiskey wasn’t specified I figured you guys can pick your poison.”

“Poison? You’re asking us to choose how you’re going to kill us?” the tanned man gasped as he watched Rylie place three bottles of whiskey in the middle of the table before distributing glasses to everyone.

“It’s a figure of speech, Tariq,” denim man explained, eyeing the three bottles in turn before looking up at her. His expression was hard to read, but Rylie knew she was about to be tested. “What’re our choices?”

Rylie straightened under his gaze, firm and ready with no sign of weakness; if he thought he was the first man to question her knowledge of liquor when she literally worked in a bar he would be solely mistaken. “If this is your pre-game, or if you’re new to the world of whiskey, I recommend Four Roses. It’s smooth while having none of the bite of other whiskey.”

The man in black perked up at the term he didn’t recognize. “What’s a pre-game?”

“Like a pit stop before the real party begins,” Rylie answered with a wink before continuing. “If you’re feeling a little adventurous but don’t want to jump off the deep end quite yet, there’s Johnnie Walker. It’s a blended scotch and is a nice middle road between bourbon and a single malt whiskey, like the Macallan here. Choose this if you think you can handle a real kick to your taste buds.”

Rylie gave denim dude a look, who crossed his arms and nodded appreciatively; it looked like she passed.

“What would you go with?” the cute latecomer asked her.

She tapped Johnnie Walker. “It’s the best of both worlds. But it really depends on you—”

“We’ll take it!” the hyper man in black said before anyone else could say otherwise, though no one moved to object his decision.

“Excellent choice,” Rylie said dutifully, though she couldn’t suppress the tiny bit of pride that welled up inside her for the party to trust her word enough to go with her pick. After opening the bottle for them and filling their glasses three quarters of the way full, Rylie left the bottle in the middle of the table for them to refill at their leisure and collected the other two that weren’t chosen, placing them back on the tray. “If you’d like that on the rocks, let me know, though I do think it will dilute the taste.”

The latecomer smiled that million watt smile again. “No rocks, then.”

He could light up the world with that smile , Rylie thought wistfully. “I’ll be right back with your burgers.”

As Rylie walked back to the bar to return the other two bottles her manager suddenly appeared beside her. “Johnnie Walker, Rylie, really? Why didn’t you give them the Macallan when you know it costs more?” Kevin hissed at her.

“The customer chose,” Rylie said through gritted teeth as she kept a smile on her face on in case anyone was looking, “and haven’t you heard that the customer is always right?”

“I know for a fact that they asked for your opinion. You could’ve lied to sell the more expensive one. They clearly don’t know any better and they would’ve been too drunk by the end of the night to notice the bill.”

Her manager was actually the worst. Rylie pointedly refused to look at him or even give that ridiculous statement a response as she put the bottles away. A server’s word meant something to her, at least, and she wasn’t going to lie just to cheat the customer. It probably made her the worst employee in terms of selling unwanted things to customers but her integrity mattered more to her. It was another one of those things that probably should’ve gotten her fired a long time go…

“You’re just lucky that the price difference isn’t too much; less money I’m going to take out from your paycheck.”

…But then Kevin got back at her by doing things like that.

Rylie finally turned to face her manager as she clutched the now empty tray in her hand tightly. “You can’t do that!”

Kevin smirked at her. “I just did. Now you better grab their food before it gets cold and I’ll be forced to take their meal out of your paycheck too when they inevitably walk out.” He made a ‘shooing’ motion with his hand and Rylie had no choice but to do as he said, even if she was going to do it anyway.

The rest of the night was generally normal, with Kevin’s yelling at her and her co-workers normal background noise by now and the one sleazy man (there was always one) who was constantly calling her over for something just to keep her in his presence. Surprisingly, the bachelor party never got rowdy, though they certainly kept the rest of her shift interesting in the way the man in the black shirt was constantly trying to talk about pop culture with her and how Tariq (if she remembered what the one in denim called the one in the suit’s name was correctly) actually tried to eat his burger with a knife and fork.

“Can I get you guys anything else?” Rylie asked politely as she cleared the empty plates off of their table. She didn’t want to rush them but closing time was in a couple of minutes, and after spending 16 hours at work she was ready to book it out of there.

“Just a glass of water,” the man in denim asked as the cute latecomer slid out of the booth to let the one in black out; him and Rylie locked eyes and shared a smile as he sat back down.

“For the table?” she asked for clarification.

The latecomer looked down at his watch as he sat back down and frowned slightly before looking up at Tariq, who nodded. He sighed softly. “If it’s not too much trouble,” he said apologetically.

Well, there went her chances of leaving on time. Still, she couldn’t look at his handsome face and feel anything but a flutter in her heart. “Not at all.”

After delivering their water, Rylie started cleaning the rest of the tables so that she’d have less to do when the bachelor party was done. As she was finishing up wiping down the bar, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see the man she had been eyeing all night. “Hey! Do you guys need a refill?”

The Asian man smiled. “Actually, I think we’re about ready to head out. I just wanted to thank you...and apologize. I know we kept you late, and my friends can be...demanding.”

Was that why he was frowning at his watch when I brought the water earlier? I thought they were running late for something. Did he know what time we closed? The possibility that that thought might’ve been true left her breathless at how thoughtful that would’ve been if it was. “Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Rylie assured him. She’d definitely handled worst tables than his before.

His eyes seemed to search her face for any hint of a lie before he smiled. “I got the feeling that you could take care of yourself.”

Rylie raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, what gave it away?”

“I didn’t mean to offend. It’s just…your features are soft, but sometimes they betray your fiery spirit within,” he answered genuinely before his cheeks reddened and he cleared his throat. “Plus I can imagine it’s not easy to work here...”

“..And that’d require some backbone?” Rylie finished for him, laughing when he seemed even more embarrassed by his insinuation. Before her mind can catch up to her body, she reached out and placed a hand on his arm to comfort him, and she felt him relax under her touch. “I’m not mad, just curious as to what made you think that. You’re not wrong, and I do have a baby face; trips people up all the time.”

Realizing she was still holding onto him (it just felt so natural ), Rylie quickly let go and cleared her own throat. “It was kind of you to come over and apologize. It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate it. If you guys are heading out now, I hope you guys enjoy the rest of the bachelor party!”

The man took another step forward as Rylie began to turn away to get back to work. “That wasn’t the only reason I came by. As… unnecessary as it may be in your opinion, I still have an invitation I’d wish to extend to you to make up for things. If you don’t have any other plans tonight, maybe I can buy you a drink. We’re about to go to a club.”

Well, this wasn’t how Rylie was expecting her night to go, but she certainly wasn’t complaining. Maybe taking the party table would reap more benefits than she originally thought. “Oh? Which one?”

“We were hoping you might have some advice about that,” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’re not from around here.”

Rylie smiled coyly before mimicking his earlier action by searching his face for a lie and saying, “I got the feeling that you guys weren’t native New Yorkers.”

The man realized what she was doing almost immediately and decided to play along in this sudden role reversal of theirs. “Oh, what gave it away?” he said, eyebrows raised.

A grin spread across Rylie’s face before she tried to school them into a more serious expression. “No offense but I’ve never met anyone quite like you since I’ve gotten to this city, and that’s a good thing, trust me. Plus the accents were a bit of a giveaway, though what really sold it was how your friends acted. No chill whatsoever.”

“No offense taken. I’ll humbly accept the first part as a compliment. As for the rest, we’re not exactly used to…all of this,” he waved his hand out vaguely in front of him.

“New York can be pretty overwhelming for those not used to a big city.” The man looked like he wanted to protest but decided against it, so Rylie continued. “Hmm, well, if you really want to let loose, I’ve heard Kismet is the hottest club in town at the moment.”

“That sounds perfect. I know the guys want to go crazy tonight! So, does that mean you’ll join us…?” he trailed off hopefully.

“Under one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“You tell me your name. I’m not in the habit of leaving with complete strangers,” Rylie said with a smile.

The man winced slightly, and Rylie believed if he had less restraint he would’ve smacked a hand against his forehead. “Where are my manners? My name is Liam. I’ll introduce my friends once we’re outside.”

“Trust me, Liam, you have more manners in your pinky than most people do in their entire being. And that sounds like a plan! Just let me finish up here and I’ll meet you out front.”

“You’re too kind, Rylie,” Liam said, then bowed slightly before heading towards the exit.

“And you’re too modest!” Rylie called after him, cherishing the chuckle that she heard before she headed for their table to clear it. She noticed an envelope under their bill and read the neat note written on the front. “Thank you for your service tonight. This is your tip: open once you arrive safely home,” Rylie read aloud to herself before turning the sealed packet in her hands. It felt like it had some thickness to it, but it could’ve just been a bunch of dollar bills. Were they embarrassed? It wasn’t like it mattered, especially since it seemed like she was going to get a drink out of it.

“Who even puts tips in an envelope anyway?” Rylie asked herself. They continued to surprise her with their quirkiness. Shrugging, she stuffed the envelope in her apron pocket and quickly finished her closing duties before heading into the breakroom to change. I am so ready to get out of this uniform… Rylie thought as she began to change into a pair of dark denim skinny jeans, a chic berry purple short sleeved shirt that complimented the tone of her medium brown skin, and accessorized with a faux gold chain and black ankle boots.

Pulling at the hair tie that kept her hair up revealed that while the top half of her hair was a dark brown, from the middle down to the tips was a dark pink ombre colour, otherwise hidden by the way she had styled her up do. Rylie finger combed her hair, trying to get that sultry messy wave and parting it on her right side. With that done, she donned a black leather jacket and checked herself out in the mirror.

Perfect.

Grabbing her bag, Rylie clocked out, waved by to any of her lingering co-workers and avoided her manager like the plague as she made her way outside, finding Liam and his friends waiting for her.

The guy in denim was the first to notice her as he looked up from his phone, and he did a double take as he saw her approach. “Wow,” he breathed out as his eyes subtly raked up her form until he locked eyes with her.

“Wow?” Rylie repeated as she stopped in front of him.

“I...almost didn’t recognize you,” he tried to elaborate, still at a loss for words.

“That uniform wasn’t doing you justice,” Tariq agreed with denim man’s disjointed appraisal, also eyeing her with an approving gaze.

The one in the black shirt joined his friends in crowding her, unabashedly checking her out. “Yeah, the waitress is hot.”

Rylie let out a laugh, trying to figure out if she was amused, flattered, or upset by the attention and comments. They acted as if they had never seen a woman in skinny jeans before, and while it was really nice to be seen as attractive it was also a little objectifying.

Before she could decide, there were footsteps behind her, and she turned to see Liam giving his friends a stern look. “Ahem. Her name is Rylie, and I doubt she appreciates you talking about her like that.”

She hummed, unsure. “The jury’s still out on that one.”

Denim man bowed his head in silent apology, while Tariq looked taken aback as he seemed to be the whole night she was waiting on them. “Are we on trial?”

“Still a figure of speech, Tariq,” denim man said.

“I would appreciate being called by my name, though,” Rylie added, looking at Liam gratefully. “Thank you.”

“Right. Sorry, Rylie. I meant to say, you look lovely,” the one in the black shirt said sincerely, folding his right arm across his stomach and bending slightly at the hip rather regally before standing up and clapping his hands together. “Now let’s get this party going!”

“Before we go, I did promise to introduce you to everyone. This is Drake,” Liam named as he gestured towards the man in denim, “Maxwell,” the one in the black shirt gave a wave, “and Tariq,” Liam finished as he gave the one in the suit a pat on the shoulder.

Rylie gave a wave back to the group. “Nice to meet you all, officially.”

Drake crossed his arms, eyeing her with a more calculating look than before. “So she’s our tour guide now?”

Rylie frowned slightly. Well, isn’t he a ray of sunshine. Liam had made it sound like everyone was on board with her coming along. If that wasn’t the case she wasn’t going to insert herself into their bachelor party. “It’s okay, I can go. I can tell when I’m not wanted.”

“Please stay,” Liam beseeched her softly before facing Drake squarely. “Rylie was kind enough to agree to show us around. She’s doing us a favour, so play nice.”

The two of them held gazes for a while, having some sort of silent conversation before Drake looked away mumbling something that sounded like ‘masochist’. “Don’t go,” Drake sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We’d be grateful for your assistance.”

“Apology accepted,” Rylie said, smiling innocently when Drake’s head snapped towards her.

“I didn’t apologize—”

She began going up and down the balls of her feet and batting her eyes at him sweetly, beaming as Drake realized he couldn’t argue with her. With a grumble, he turned and walked away with Tariq and Maxwell following after him, the latter’s laugh reaching her ears.

“Well since the plan is still a go, I’ll just order us an Uber—” Rylie started as she pulled out her phone.

“Actually,” Liam said, gently placing a hand atop hers that was holding the phone, “we already have a ride.”

He motioned her forwards, and Rylie walked towards the direction the others had gone to see a limo waiting around the corner. “Wow,” Rylie said with a whistle. “You guys really went all out for this bachelor party, eh?”

She missed Liam’s grimace, only turning when his fingers lightly touched her elbow in order to get her attention. “The guys wouldn’t have it any other way. If you could tell me where the club is, I’ll inform the driver.”

After showing the driver the location from the map off her phone, Liam and Rylie climbed into the back with the others before the driver closed the door behind them and got into the front seat.

“So…” Rylie began a few minutes into the drive. “What made you guys choose New York for your bachelor party instead of like…Las Vegas?”

Drake frowned. “Too crowded.”

“Too hot.” Tariq needlessly adjusted his suit.

“Too tempting. We’d definitely get into some sort of trouble there,” Maxwell shivered as scenarios went through his head.

“‘ We ’?” Drake raised an eyebrow at him.

“You guys do seem the type that’ll somehow recreate ‘The Hangover’,” Rylie mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“‘ You guys ’?” Drake repeated again, as if to stress that he wasn’t going to be sucked into their hypothetical mess.

Maxwell nodded at Rylie, ignoring Drake. “Right?! Besides, it was Liam’s idea to come to this city.”

Rylie moved her gaze to him, curious, and Liam chuckled good-naturedly. “I was afraid that what happens in Vegas may not stay in Vegas,” he half-joked. There was a moment of hesitation as he glanced at his friends before he leaned in towards Rylie slightly. “Besides, we never would have met if we hadn’t come to New York. Perhaps it’s—.”

“Kismet,” the driver announced as the limo slowed to a stop, and Rylie felt her face heat up at the perfect timing and double meaning of the word.

Liam seemed to flush as well, but his gaze was still steady on her as he whispered, “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

Rylie swallowed. “I never took you to be a pun guy,” she said, playing on how ‘pun’ and ‘fun’ sounded alike, and willed her heart to slow. She was not going to fall for someone she’d never see again. Don’t do it Rylie.

“It seems like we have that in common,” Liam observed as the door opened and his friends piled out. Liam got out as well before bending down to look at her, holding a hand out. “Shall we?”

Smiling, Rylie accepted his help out of the limo, and the group made their way to the back of the line into the club as the limo drove away to park until called upon again. It was perhaps only a ten minute wait, but she could hear snippets of Maxwell, Tariq and Drake going back and forth about ‘waiting’ and being able to ‘skip the line’ and something about ‘stop being babies’ the whole time.

Unsurprisingly to Rylie, once they got to the front of the line she was carded, as was Maxwell, and the group laughed as Tariq insisted that his ID be checked as well. As soon as they were inside, though, the guys immediately headed for the dance floor like the music was a siren song calling to them.

“Time to party!” Maxwell yelled as he shimmed to the middle of the action.

“No one wants to see your running man, Maxwell,” Drake teased as even he seemed to loosen up with the beat.

“You there! Who do we talk to for bottle service?” Tariq called out to a passing server.

“Yeah, sure, we’ll get a table for the group, you’re welcome!” Rylie called after them as Liam chuckled beside her.

“Thank you for bringing us here,” Liam said as they were seated at a table on the sidelines of the dance floor. “Looks like the guys are having fun already.”

There was something about how Liam said it that drew Rylie’s attention to him. He looked content, but it seemed that it was more out of his friends’ happiness than his own. She returned her gaze to his friends on the dance floor. “I bet you’re used to putting everyone else first.”

Liam turned towards her, startled. “And why would you say that?”

Rylie shrugged nonchalantly, but she chose her words carefully in case he took it the wrong way. “I can tell. I’m good at reading people.” She could see him patiently looking at her from the corner of her eye, expecting her to elaborate. She took a deep breath and plunged in. “You said ‘the guys are having fun’, which suggests that you don’t consider yourself a part of said group that’s having a blast. Plus, you are here instead of out there on the dance floor with them.” Rylie turned towards him, relieved that he didn’t seem upset by what she said. “So, forget about your friends for a minute. What about you ? Do you like it here?”

To her surprise, Liam actually gave her question some thought. “What I’m enjoying most is the company. And I believe I owe you a drink...So what’ll the lady have?”

Rylie gave him a look that said that she was not impressed by his deflection. “So that’s a no,” she answered directly for him, but smiled at the implication that she was a part of making it worthwhile for him. “But I’m glad I make up for it.” Rylie picked up the drink menu and looked through it. “Hmm, I think I’ll have a flaming cocktail.”

“Let’s make that two,” Liam said as he lifted a hand to signal for service.

A few minutes later their drinks were delivered, and Liam carefully handed Rylie a drink before picking up his own. “Careful. We’re playing with fire here…” Liam warned.

Part of Rylie wondered if Liam meant more than just the drinks, and figured she was overthinking things. “That’s what makes it fun!” Rylie said as she raised her glass. “To enjoying company.”

Liam smiled as he also lifted his glass. “Cheers.”

They clinked their glasses together before they both blew out the fire from their drinks and drank.

“Mmmm, this is good. Thank you, Liam. I guess this makes us even.”

Liam stilled for a moment before he looked down, thinking. “Hmm…you’re right. Now I’ll have to find some other excuse to get you to stay.”

Rylie felt her face heat up again and she reached over to place a hand on Liam’s knee so he’d see it and look up at her. “You don’t need an excuse. Turns out...I’m having fun. Clubs aren’t really my scene, and I thought I’d be dead tired after a 16 hour shift but you, and your friends…it’s like you give me energy, give me life.” She laughed at how cheesy that must’ve sounded, but it did finally make Liam look up at her. Her eyes sparkled with how in awe he was, inadvertently proving her point. “I guess there is something to having good company that could make anything better.”

“I’m very happy to hear that.” Liam laughed as Rylie tried to wave off his comment, squeezing the hand that was still on his knee. “Honestly. Well, not about you working for 16 hours, that seems…excessive, but…Hanging out with you is the most fun I’ve had this entire vacation.”

“Yikes! I mean, that’s sweet of you to say, but as amazing as I am I think that means you haven’t really been enjoying yourself very much if I’m the highlight of your trip.”

Liam let out a sigh, sitting back in his seat as he gently swirled his glass, contemplatively watching the liquid swish in a circular motion. “It’s been wonderful, but there’s something missing. I really wanted to do one thing in particular while I was here…”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s...well...” Liam laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Rylie remembered him doing it back at the bar, too; it seemed to be something he did when he was embarrassed. “You’re probably going to think it’s silly, but I’ve always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty...It wasn’t really in the guys’ plan, so we just never got around to it. And now it’s my last day here...I don’t mean to sound so ungrateful. It was thoughtful of my friends to throw me this bachelor party. They’ve done their best, but I’m not in the mood to celebrate.”

Rylie froze in shock as the entirety of what Liam had said hit her. She must’ve stayed that way for some time, because after a while Liam looked up from his drink and leaned forward in his seat towards her, a worried expression on his face. “Rylie?”

Rylie blinked and looked at him, attempting to smile. “Yeah, no, hi, I’m here. Sorry. There’s just… a lot to unpack in what you said. I…didn’t realize this is your bachelor party.” Aside from the fact that she had assumed the husband-to-be was Tariq, with the way Liam had been acting towards her she thought… But maybe it was all in my head. Still, she shouldn’t have been surprised; it should’ve been obvious that someone as great as Liam was already taken. Besides, she told herself not to fall for him, and now she had a really good reason not to.

Nothing’s changed.

The next time Rylie smiled, it was more genuine. “Congratulations.”

It was Liam’s turn to fail miserably at looking happy. “If you knew the whole story, you might not congratulate me so quickly.”

Rylie’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Oh?”

“I actually don’t know who I’m going to marry yet...only that I’ll have to pick my fiancée by the end of the year.”

“Okay…” Rylie said slowly. “What does that even mean? This sounds like a cross between an arranged marriage and ‘The Bachelor’.”

Liam seemed to struggle internally over something before he said, “The truth is, Rylie...I’m the Crown Prince of Cordonia.”

Rylie choked on the drink she had just taken a sip of. “You’re a prince ?” she coughed out. “Am I being Punk’d right now?”

“I’m unsure of what a ‘Punk’d’ is but I can assure you that I’m telling you the truth.”

“Like you’ve been telling the truth up until now?” Rylie retorted, but her voice had less of a bite than it could have as she was distracted by the first part of what Liam had said. “But…it all makes sense now. The pop culture references and the wine, the way you guys act and the reaction to my clothes…all sort of fits with the sheltered court life, right? I believe you, Liam…if that is your real name,” Rylie joked lightly, a small smile on her face.

Liam let out a sigh of relief that she not only believed him, but wasn’t terribly mad at him, too. “It is, I promise.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I mean, if you didn’t trust me or thought I was a threat you wouldn’t have invited me out with you guys in the first place. Or why tell me at all? You could’ve gone back to… Cordonia?” At Liam’s nod, Rylie continued, “And I would be none the wiser. Just…why?”

Liam clasped his hands together and looked down at them as he tried to find the words to explain. “I do trust you, which is crazy and scary and right all at once. That’s why I told you; I felt you deserved the truth, especially since you also put your trust in me by being here. As for why I wasn’t more upfront with you…” Liam moved his gaze back to her.

“I’m not normally allowed to go around without the Royal Guard, and I was only allowed out on the condition that I kept my identity a secret. But perhaps more than that, just for one day, I wanted to be free. I’m very aware that I have a duty to the monarchy. I’ve never known anything else.”

“Oh, Liam, I’m so sorry.” Rylie reached out and hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her. “Your secret is safe with me. I guess living the fairy tale life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, huh?” As she pulled away, she gasped. “And I gravely underestimated you putting other people first; you literally put an entire country of people before yourself.”

Liam laughed softly. “Being royal isn’t as bad as I just made it sound, it’s just not as devoid of responsibilities or one party after another like people think it is. But I wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world.”

“Spoken like a true prince,” Rylie teased.

Liam smiled. “But what about you? You could be anything, do anything. What drives you, Rylie?”

“Being a peasant is not a walk in the park either, or have you forgotten my 16 hour shift? But…I’m sort of doing what I want now, in a way. I want to see the world. Cover the earth before it covers me, you know?”

“Where have you been so far?”

“Here.” At Liam’s confused look, Rylie laughed. “You’re not the only one who isn’t a native New Yorker. I’m actually from Canada. I went to university here and then once I graduated I just…never left. I’m saving up, and one day I’m going to see everything. The Northern Lights, the Eiffel Tower, Machu Picchu…there’s so many different people to meet, different cultures to immerse myself in...”

The look Liam got sometimes when he looked at her was back again, like he couldn’t believe she was real. “That’s beautiful, Rylie.”

Suddenly, Maxwell’s voice drifted over to them from the dance floor, and they spotted the guys still out there, now mingling with the other club-goers. “Come on, Drake. Show off those moves!”

“Another bottle of champagne!” Tariq yelled. “Who knew we’d find a decent vintage here?”

“Looks like your friends are having fun,” Rylie commented.

“Good. I’m happy for them. They deserve to have fun... Tomorrow, it’s back to Cordonia for the start of the social season.” Liam looked about as somber as he sounded.

Rylie frowned. She had no idea what Cordonia’s social season consisted of, but she was pretty sure what Liam would be going through would be worse than his friends. After all, he was the one that seemed to have a deadline for a marriage to someone he didn’t even know yet. If anyone deserves to have fun on their final night of freedom, it’s Liam. And she was going to give it to him. A plan was already forming in her mind. “But it’s not tomorrow yet…”

It was almost as if Liam could hear that she was up to something from the tone of her voice. “What are you suggesting?” he asked, equal parts intrigued and dubious.

“You said you wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. Let’s do it! I know a place where we can catch a boat tour. Best view in town.”

“Right now?” Liam checked his wristwatch. “But it’s way past midnight. Won’t all the tours be closed?”

Rylie picked up her phone to also check the time. “Oh...right. I forgot how late it’s gotten.” She paused only for a second before she unlocked her phone and began texting someone. “In that case...you’re lucky I can cash in a favour.”

“A favour?” Liam repeated as she watched her work, noise chiming from her phone every few seconds. “And just like that, you can get us on a tour boat after midnight to see the Statue of Liberty?”

“Well, maybe a few favours, actually, but I have some friends who owe me. It won’t be easy, but I know this is important to you, so...” With a flourish of taps, Rylie lowered her phone and grinned at him. “Let’s go!”

Liam blinked and looked up as Rylie got to her feet. “Right now?” he said again, still thrown over the fact that she would go through all this trouble just for him.

“It’s only getting later every minute we wait. Besides,” Rylie glanced back at the dance floor and his friends who were still partying hard. “It looks like the guys are busy enough. I bet they won’t even notice you’re gone; they haven’t come by our table since we got here.”

Liam seemed to mull over that fact for a bit, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he kept his eyes on her. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Nope,” Rylie said, popping the ‘p’.

With a nod, Liam got to his feet. “Then I happily surrender to your demands.”

“Wait, really?” It was Rylie’s turn to be shocked as she looked up at him. She had hoped he would agree, but after hearing all the limitations he had she wasn’t sure he could.

Liam laughed at her surprised reaction. “Well, I will have to let the guys know that we’re going, but I can do that after we’ve already left. Besides, I’m finding it hard to say no to you, but even more than that, I’m finding that I don’t want to.”

Rylie’s heart swelled and she knew she was a goner no matter how much her brain was trying to tell her not to. Scratch that, everything’s changed. She was going to be heartbroken in the morning, but that was a problem for her future self. She was going to enjoy this moment right now until her proverbial carriage turned into a pumpkin. “Then let’s get going.”

After settling their tab, Rylie took Liam’s hand and led the way out of the club. “Now,” she started to explain as they walked, “we will have to take an Uber this time, but that’s only so that the limo’s free if your friends want to come get you. We’ll tell your driver where we’re going so he’ll know where to bring them.”

As they stopped by the curbside, Liam squeezed her hand. “Rylie, that’s so incredibly thoughtful of you.” Rylie shrugged as if it was nothing even though it meant so much to him.

“I’m not here to cause an international incident,” she teased. “Just let your driver know it’ll be at the corner of Old Fulton and Furman Street. I’ll order the Uber now.”

Not long after Liam had called to tell his driver the plan and texted his friends where he had gone and instructions on how to reach him, their Uber arrived and a short ride later they were getting out at the intersection she had mentioned. It was a short walk from there to the docks, the twinkling lights from Manhattan greeting them across the water from where they stood.

“…And here we wait,” Rylie said as she folded her arms atop the wooden railing that lined the docks.

Liam mimicked her movements as he stood beside her, his arms just a few inches from touching her own. “For?”

“For the magical boat I’ve summoned just for you.”

“No magic carpet tonight?”

“I’m afraid my monkey’s currently taking it for a joy ride.”

The two of them looked at each other and laughed, though while Rylie returned her gaze to the skyline Liam kept his eyes on her. “Not a bad view…” he murmured, tracing every line of her face as if to commit her vision to memory.

“Yeah, I like how—” Rylie stopped as she turned back towards Liam and found him still staring at her. “Oh, that’s so cheesy,” she teased.

Liam smiled, unashamed that he was caught looking. “Doesn’t make it any less true.”

Feeling a blush creep up her cheeks, Rylie elbowed him lightly. “I’d say the same but I feel like you hear that from enough people already. Don’t want your head getting too big for your crown.”

Liam laughed before he shrugged. “Perhaps, but it’s an empty compliment coming from them. I feel like it’d actually be true, actually mean something, if it came from you.”

Rylie swallowed. “Then…I think I have the best view in the whole city right now.” He smiled, and she thought she had gone blind for a second. “You could definitely light up all of New York with that smile for sure. I’ve been thinking that all night.”

It was Liam’s turn to blush, and he ducked his head down as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I…thank you, Rylie.”

“Y-yeah, of course, no problem.” Rylie cleared her throat before spinning around so that her back was leaning against the railing instead. “Now, I’m dying to know why you’re so eager to see the Statue of Liberty.”

He lifted his head to look at her again. “Can’t you guess?”

She knew what the Statue of Liberty was supposed to mean, and though she never thought it’d apply to him, it also did in the most basic way. “…Because she symbolizes freedom.”

Liam nodded before he looked out towards Manhattan. “Freedom is something that I’ve always wanted. But I’ve always known that my role would require me to give up much of what I desire.”

It was one thing to see this dilemma in movies, where it was only a speedbump in the overall story and things eventually all worked out by the end credits, but it was another to actually know someone in real life going through the exact same issues and not being able to just circumvent it as easily because real lives were at stake. Still, Rylie couldn’t help but wish there was something Liam could do about his situation. “But you’re the prince. Can’t you do what you want, at least some of the time?”

Liam let out a hollow laugh and shook his head. “As a member of the royal family, my actions reflect on my house and all of Cordonia. It’s something I’ve never been allowed to forget. No matter how badly I might want to.” He looked back at her for one long moment before turning away again.

Rylie’s heart ached for him. She hated seeing others in pain and not being able to help them. “Liam…”

She reached out to touch his arm, but before she could there was a loud blast of a horn. They both looked out across the water and noticed a tour boat pulling up.

“There’s our ride,” Rylie announced, glancing back at Liam to check if he was okay. He gave her a weak smile and a nod and she led them down the ramp to where the boat was waiting.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” the man tying the boat to shore said as he caught sight of Rylie.

Rylie grinned and gave him a tight hug. “Paul, long time no see! And Chris, miss you!” She waved at the captain who stood by the steering wheel, waving back. “Spending all your time out on the water instead of on land, it’s no wonder I never see you.”

“You only have yourself to blame for that. I wouldn’t even have this gig if it weren’t for you.”

“And soon we’ll have a boat thanks to you, too,” Chris yelled from the bridge.

“Really? They agreed to sell it to you guys? That’s fantastic!”

“Hell yeah! But we could be here ‘till the sun rises catching up, and that’s not what you’re here for.” Paul not-so-subtlety raised his eyebrows towards Liam.

“Ah, that’s right! Paul, Chris, this is Liam. Liam, Paul and Chris.” Rylie introduced, taking a step back as the men waved and shook hands and exchanged ‘nice to meet you’.

“You must be something special if Rylie’s going all out on a first date,” Paul commented as he moved to guide him on board but Liam waved him off, expertly getting on before turning to offer a hand to help Rylie.

“We’re not—”

“I’m not—”

Rylie and Liam looked at each other as they spoke at the same time before laughing.

“Well, he is special,” Rylie said as she took Liam’s hand and stepped onto the boat.

“You’re still too kind,” Liam insisted.

“And you’re still too modest,” Rylie countered, and Paul laughed at their antics.

“You two are so cute. Now, I would be a horrible tour operator if I didn’t offer commentary during our trip, if you are so inclined to accept.”

Liam and Rylie glanced at each other and she shrugged. “It’s your call.”

“The boat ride alone is already so much, I couldn’t possibly ask for more,” Liam declined politely.

“Besides, I didn’t cash in all my favours just to owe you one,” Rylie joked, trying to help Liam feel less guilty.

“It would’ve been on the house, thank you very much, but I can tell when people are trying to get rid of me for some alone time,” Paul winked before he clapped to signal Chris. “We’ll be heading off shortly, enjoy your trip!”

“Thank you,” Liam and Rylie chorused together even as Rylie rolled her eyes at the ‘alone time’ comment.

“Shall we?” she said to Liam before leading the way towards the starboard side of the ship where the Statue of Liberty would be seen.

As they settled into a spot and the boat began moving, Liam spoke. “As bad as this is going to sound, a part of me didn’t think you’d pull this off.”

Rylie laughed. It did sound a little bad, but she wasn’t too surprised. If she didn’t know herself she’d have thought the same thing. “Oh, savage! You just don’t know me very well.”

“You’re right,” Liam admitted earnestly, turning towards her, “But I’d like to fix that. You’re fascinating, Rylie. Why are you doing this for me?”

“You seemed like you needed it,” Rylie said simply, as if she hadn’t just moved heaven and earth to make sure he saw the Statue in the last few hours he had left in the country. But for her, it was that simple. Liam was someone in need, she had the means to help him, so she did.

“That’s... so sweet of you. To be honest, no one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”

“Really?” Rylie snorted. “Come on, you’re a prince. I bet people do things for you all the time.”

“I know what you’re thinking; I do get all the perks that come with being royalty. But it’s a lot like their compliments, given in hopes of getting something else in return because they see my crown before they see the person beneath it. No one’s ever seen me as just... me . No one’s ever listened to me the way you do. No one’s ever come up with a spur-of-the-moment plan to make my dreams come true.”

“Liam...how could I not see you? How can I not see the man who was first to call me by my name instead of by my job description? Or the man who personally came to apologize on behalf of his friends and then goes and puts said friends’ wants above his own at his own bachelor party? Those qualities are what makes you amazing, Liam, not your crown, and that’s someone who deserves happiness just like everyone else.”

“Rylie…”

“So, what else do you dream about? Maybe I can go two for two.”

Liam smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He moved his gaze back towards the swirling mist around them. “Finding someone. Someone who can be the queen that Cordonia needs.”

“And...also someone you fall in love with, right?” Rylie added when it became obvious he wasn’t going to.

Liam was actively trying not to look at her now. “That’s never been part of the criteria that the Cordonian Council uses.”

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t have both, Liam.”

“...Love is one luxury I cannot afford, especially as a prince,” he whispered, so low that Rylie wasn’t even sure he had said anything.

Before she could ask him, they felt the boat slow down and the mists dramatically begin to part revealing the Statue of Liberty. Liam made a noise that suspiciously sounded like a gasp at the site of it, and Rylie found herself more captivated watching his reaction to that Statue than the Statue itself (and not only because she’d seen it thousands of times already). “So, what do you think?”

Liam’s eyes were alit with wonder. “ Magnificent. I’ve heard that art has meaning because of what it makes the viewer feel. Whether it’s ink splatters on a canvas or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, it only matters if it moves you.”

“And?”

“And right now, looking at this view with you, I feel like anything is possible.” He finally looked back at her, practically glowing from the inside out. “Thank you for this moment, Rylie. This feeling...this means more to me than you could ever know.”

“Liam…”

“I want you to know that I admire you. Your adventurous spirit. The way you follow your heart.”

It hurt to hear how resigned he sounded about his situation and she mourned how it sounded like he was saying goodbye not only to her, but to this part of him that was able to be free for just a few hours. A lack of privacy, a lack of freedom...being born royal came at such a high cost without the chance to decide if you even wanted it. But surely not being able to choose that one person you can be you with, having to kill a part of yourself to live that life...that was too much of a sacrifice.“You can live that way too.” Rylie hoped speaking it out into the universe would make it real.

Liam shook his head sadly. “If only. My whole life I’ve prepared myself to do what’s best for Cordonia.”

If this was the last moment Liam was going to have as a free man, it was going to end on a high note. “Well, we’re not in Cordonia now…”

Rylie looked up and locked eyes with him and Liam felt himself being drawn down towards her, helpless as he surrendered to her gravitational pull. There was only a moment of hesitation as their lips hovered over one another before they kissed deeply. Her hands clutched desperately to the front of his jacket as both of his hands cupped her face, one hand eventually drifting down to the small of her back to press her closer towards him as they continued to kiss.

As the need for oxygen began to make itself known Rylie pulled away, but Liam, unable or unwilling to part from her, stayed close by, leaning his forehead against hers as they both gasped for air.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” Liam said breathlessly, still recovering.

“I try,” Rylie said with just as much difficulty.

Liam closed his eyes and gently rubbed his nose against hers in an eskimo kiss. “I’m glad to have met you, Rylie,” he spoke against her lips. “I’ll never forget this night…”

Rylie gave him a small smile. “Even when you’re surrounded by beautiful women going on group dates to private beaches?”

“Especially then,” he promised before pulling back to look at her properly. “How did you…?”

“I did watch one season of ‘The Bachelor’; figured it was close enough to whatever you’ll be doing,” she joked.

Liam chuckled, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head against his shoulder. He placed a kiss atop her head, and together they enjoyed the rest of the boat ride in comfortable silence, basking in each other’s company until they were once again back at shore.

“All right lovebirds! That concludes our tour. I hope you enjoyed the ride,” Paul said as the two of them approached him by the edge of the boat as he secured it to the docks.

“It was everything I could have ever dreamed of and more,” Liam praised, shaking his hand. “Thank you.”

“We really appreciate it,” Rylie started, but Paul raised a hand up to stop her from continuing.

“Don’t mention it. What’re friends for? Just don’t be a stranger no more!”

Rylie smiled at Paul before giving him another hug. “I won’t.”

After Liam climbed out of the boat he helped Rylie up, and with their hands intertwined they made their way through the docks and along the sidewalk towards the street.

“Liam!”

Ahead, at the corner where they had told the driver to drop the guys off, was Drake, who had both hands cupping his mouth to amplify his voice and was now lowering them as he saw he had grabbed their attention. Close behind him stood Maxwell, who raised a hand to wave. Tariq stood by the waiting limo, one hand braced against the side as he leaned on it.

Liam and Rylie waved back with their free hand before slowing to a stop a small distance away so they could have some privacy.

“Looks like your ride is here,” Rylie said.

“You mean our ride. We can drop you off—” At the shake of Rylie’s head, Liam stopped speaking.

“I think it’s best if we parted ways here,” she said as she let go of his hand, feeling empty and cold the moment she did.

“Rylie—”

“It’d be suspicious if I got dropped off by a limo in my neighbourhood.”

“Who’s going to see at this time of night?”

“New York’s the city that never sleeps, remember? Do you really want to risk it?”

Liam did, Rylie could tell from the look in his eyes, but she could also see the internal struggle going on in his head between the logic of her words and what his heart wanted to do. She pushed further, knowing it was in his best interest to let her go.

“I can handle myself, remember? Besides, I think you’ve got bigger things to worry about than me.”

“A prince can multi-task, you know.” Despite his argument Liam sighed, conceding as he always seemed to do with her. “But at the risk of me not only underestimating you yet again but also being called a liar, I trust you to get home safely.”

“You too.”

Liam nodded, knowing she meant Cordonia and not his hotel room.

“And I want you to know that I’m glad I met you too, Liam. I’ll never forget you .” Rylie couldn’t help but laugh at how she was mimicking the words he had told her on the boat, mirroring the way they had copied each other back at the bar. That felt like ages ago. At Liam’s small smile, she knew he was making the connection too. “And hey, if you televise your wedding like all the other popular royals do I will definitely tune in.”

That made Liam laugh, and he shook his head at her ability to do that even now. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Please tell your friends that it was nice meeting them.”

“I’m sure the feeling is mutual.”

“I dunno, Grumpy Cat might be a tough sell.”

Confused, Liam turned around at Rylie’s head nod to see Drake frowning at them now and he had to stifle another laugh. “I don’t think that nickname will help you.”

“I said what I said. Oh! Tell Maxwell I said that, he’ll be sad he missed it.”

“I will.” His smile faded, and he was somber once more. “Goodbye, Rylie.”

Rylie hated goodbyes so instead she said, “Take care, Liam.”

Liam bowed his head and made his way towards his friends. She waved as each of them got into the limo, lowering her hand to wrap her arms around herself as they drove away. She stood there until she could no longer see their taillights, just as a tower bell in the distance rang, signaling a new hour, the end of their fairytale night.

Rylie let out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding.

“I hope you find your happily ever after.”

#playchoices #the royal romance #trr #trr fanfic #trr mc #king liam #liam rhys #trr liam x mc #long post #marie writes #living the fantasy

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