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awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands · 3 years

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Laid out cold, now we're both alone (part 2)

A/N: Hello, this fic is very important to me because I tried my best to give justice to such a cool idea and I hope I did a good job. Plus I don't do multichapter ofter, so this was a challenge.

I wanna thank the lovely @livdonna for proofreading my work, you're literally the best <3.

P.S. If you want to get tagged in the next chapters, let me know.

Summary: Nikki visits Mick to give him a very important task.

Warnings: Major Character Death,Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Drug Use, Angst, Overdose.

Pairing: Nikki Sixx x Tommy Lee

Chapter 1

Taglist: @slashscowboyboots @witchytombstonesmile @arnold-layne @emometalhead @i-dont-like-rice @nikki-sexx @smokeandmirrorz

Mick was supposed to not give a shit about Nikki. He and the stupid drummer had tormented him and his wife for months on ends, making the whole tour a living hell and he didn’t need to have even more things to worry about. So what if his bassist decided to get addicted to heroin? He was a fucking dumbass but it wasn’t his problem. He would end up killing himself and it wasn’t like Mick could have done something, not when his whole body was torturing him.

The only problem was that he cared, deep down. He cared about the fucker and hearing the news that he was gone forever hit him. He lost one of his friends and the band all together in a day, what would have happened? He hated to admit he was scared about the future, it was hard to imagine Motley Crue without Nikki.

He sighed, turning off yet another discussion about his death. They didn’t call him yet but something was telling him that they had to release a statement soon. Doc was probably freaking out somewhere crying for all his millions of dollars lost.

“Fucking Nikki, you had to die at the worst moment, didn’t you?”

“Yeah… sorry about that, man” A voice incredibly similar to Nikki said, making Mick jump up.

Nikki didn’t feel anything, one moment they were in the ambulance and the other they were on the beach. He was confused for a moment before he remembered that Mick had a beach house, and stared at it for a bit. He didn’t know much about the guitarist, maybe almost nothing but he respected him so much. He was one of the strongest dudes he had ever met.

The weirdest thing about all of this was probably how he was only able to feel certain things, no cravings or sand under his feet as he was walking, yet he would still feel guilt, fear, love, worry… it didn’t make sense but he wasn’t in the mood to question the universe’s rules.

People can’t see you until you decide to show yourself. You have to remember or otherwise they can’t hear or see you.

The voice still freaked him out, but at the same time he was grateful for it to be there… it made him feel less alone, which was great considering how he felt lonely for his entire life.

“You’re not alone Nikki, I’ll always be there with you, through highs and lows”

“God it sounds like a marriage vow, T-Bone”

“Well if I could I’d marry now…”

He shook his head, trying to get the memory out. It wasn’t the time to be sentimental and risk fucking everything up, so he walked ( more like flew) through the front door and found Mick sitting on the couch.

“Fucking Nikki, you had to die at the worst moment, didn’t you?”

“Yeah… sorry about that, man”. The bassist hoped that he was heard, otherwise it would have been pretty embarrassing.

Mick visibly jumped at hearing Nikki’s voice and quickly turned around to look at him. From his widened eyes and confused expression, he knew he probably looked fucking transparent.

“Okay first of all why the hell are you here talking to me if you’re dead? Then why the fuck can I see myself through you ?”

The black haired man just realized that he had no idea how to explain everything and be believed, he just went along with whatever the voice in his head was saying, but now it was different. He fumbled with his hand and realized he couldn’t feel them, while he tried to come up with the best way to explain to his friend how he was a ghost and why he was there.

“I died… I have no idea how I came back but I have unfinished business and I need to talk to you!”

The guitarist looked at him up and down, clearly skeptical. However, there wasn’t much arguing… Nikki’s ghost was literally standing in front of him.

“Okay I have no idea if this is a dream, I’m dead or in a coma, or simply I drank too much but now I’ll grab some vodka and you’ll spill your little secrets as you like”.

Nikki smiled a bit… He honestly felt normal for the first time since he was brought back. Having Mick joking was so familiar, usually Tommy was the aim of his jokes and they all laughed because they were all so unexpected…

Tommy. Thinking about him still hurt, again he wondered if he was okay and how much he missed him… but it wasn’t his time now. He had other things to talk about as Mick came back into the living room with his glass.

“Mick… you gotta promise me that you won’t let Motley Crue die, that you will fight to keep the band’s legacy.”

The older man looked at him surprised, rolling his eyes.

“Well that’s a bit hard when our bassist and songwriter died!”

Rage and resentment were heavy in his voice but there was more : fear and sadness. Nikki felt guilty and he fucking hated it, it was so unlike him but he couldn’t help it… Mick cared about the band as much as he did. He always said the band was his life, before heroin came into the picture, but it was also Mick’s and he probably destroyed everything.

“You will find another one, another bassist who is also a songwriter…” The words felt so foreign coming from his mouth. They even hurt a bit but they were necessary.

“I know you care about this band as much as I do, Mick. I know how much you’ve worked your ass off in shitty bands, trying to find the one that was going to break… I might be dead but Crue can’t have the same fate”.

Mick scoffed, taking a long sip of his vodka.

“It’s not easy, it’s not like we can find the perfect match like we did. Plus, everyone will probably hate him for replacing you!”

The frustration was almost tangible, but there was something else… Mick was scared, he knew everything was about to fade away because of Nikki’s actions, he was already looking at the boat sinking. Nikki started to panic because his band had to live, even in his death! It was pointless and selfish but that was the only thing people could remind him of.

“If you give up, then Vince and Tommy will do the same! I know that you think no one will take you, but the truth is they will. Crue is what it is because of our vision, you are part of it and I’m asking you to keep it going. Think of this as my dying man’s wish… even if I’m already dead”

The older man’s grip on his glass got tighter, his eyes lost in thought as he was pondering Nikki’s words. It was hard to take in, hell that was an understatement, it was fucking insane and probably wouldn’t work but the bassist needed to have this false hope.

“It’s so fucking weird, you know? To realize you’re fucking dead yet here talking to me.”

He was deflecting, Nikki knew it, but didn’t want to push it too far. He learned to know Mick, he kept his promises and he was a hard worker and with a good dose of luck and jokes, you got him to your side.

“Yeah, do you remember how I said you weren’t going to make it in that interview? Well, karma hits like a bitch!”

“Mick might not make it , he drinks a little too much and it looks rough” Mick quoted, trying to imitate Nikki’s voice.

“Yeah and then you said something like I heard what you said and you’re dead, fuck I guess you were right” He laughed but Mick didn’t.

Oh c’mon so what if he was joking about his death? It’s not like anyone really cared about him. They just saw him as a burden, which he was. Not his mom, nor his band or his Tommy would have really missed him… they would eventually move on.

“You’re a fucking idiot.” He said annoyed but his lips formed a small smile.

“I know, I know. Mick… please promise me that. If Crue is going to end, then my whole life didn’t mean anything! Ple…” He stopped himself, he was so fucking close to begging but he couldn’t. Nikki Sixx didn’t fucking beg, not in life or death.

“I’m thinking about it!”

He really meant the first part. He spent all his teenage and adult years creating the band of his dreams and making sure they conquered the world. This band was his escape; his attempt at redemption after his shitty childhood. Nobody loved Frank Feranna but he didn’t care, he would become Nikki Sixx and be super fucking famous!

He didn’t need anyone’s love, except that he did.

“ I love you, Nikki.”

“ No you don’t, nobody does, T-Bone”

“Well I fucking do. You gotta pass on my dead body before you’ll hear me not saying it over and over”

His heart might have stopped, but he still felt the big wave of nostalgia hitting him. He couldn’t do it, he would have never been ready to see him again.

“Okay, I will. But listen to me, it won’t be easy and I’m an old man with a fucked up back, so don’t send demons against me if I fail!” The little spark of determination in his eyes relaxed Nikki, he was on board.

“I fucking knew you were the best, Mars! If I wasn’t dead I’d probably tattoo your face on me as a thank you!”

“Oh gross, never say that again!” He pretended to be disgusted but his eyes betrayed him, the small softness in them told Nikki he felt touched.

“Who knows, maybe in hell they have tattoos for the ghosts. God we used to hate each other and now we are two peas in a pod.”

“I still hate you.”

“Ugh, you crushed my heart Mick”

The guitarist flipped him off, rolling his eyes. Nikki desperately wanted to keep talking, if he did then he could have pretended nothing changed, right? He didn’t have to face Vince and Tommy and go through the light… everything would have stayed the same or he could fool himself that it would.

I think it’s time to go to the next person.

The voice was demanding yet still calm. Nikki knew that he couldn’t stay forever, they had to prevent spirits from just lingering into the real world like that, it made him a bit angry but he understood it. It wasn’t like he could have done much anyway…He was just a shell of what he used to be.

“I gotta go Mick…” He wanted to punch himself because he sounded so fucking pathetic, but the other man gave him a compassionate smile.

What he fuck are you, a little small puppy? Oh look Frankie is scared to leave his illusion of a family.

Mick walked him to the other without saying anything, but before turning the handle, which was pointless because Nikki could have just passed through the door, he broke the silence.

“Try to give us some signs, okay? Show us that you’re there… but don’t you fucking dare spill my vodka or I’ll make you two times dead!”

“Oh that’s exactly what I’ll do, thanks for the suggestion!”

He stepped outside and looked at Mick one last time.

“You promised, alien. You gotta do it!”

“Yeah yeah, you better repay me when I come to join you there…” And with one last look, Mick closed the door.

Nikki felt all of the weight crushing down on his body, even if it was made of air. He simply stood still, his mind racing like a freight train, trying to take everything in but also getting ready for his next move… being overwhelmed was an understatement, he felt peeled down like an orange and this was only the beginning. He felt like a fucking coward but he just wanted to get over it, was it that bad to accept his fate and disappear without facing anyone?

You are going to abandon him again? You know why you need to talk to Vince, and you know this will be your last chance to see him, asshole!

He went to kick the sand, but he couldn’t touch it. God, how frustrating was that!

So where are we going next?

Nikki would have wanted to scream at him, give him the middle finger and just run away but it wouldn’t have been helpful, would it? So he forced himself to be as neutral as possible.

“Vince Neil. Take me to his house.”

#nikki sixx #Tommy Lee #mick mard #vince neil #motley crue #motley crue fanfiction #80sRock #80s rock band #fanfiction #my writing #tommy lee x nikki sixx

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housebeleren · 5 years

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Random Commander Challenge: Rona, Disciple of Gix

This summer, I decided to try something new. Inspired, in part, by Abe Sargent’s articles, along with my general desire to try new things & stretch my deckbuilding skills, I decided to challenge myself to build a new EDH deck, chosen at random, every month. I’ll use EDHRec’s randomizer, pick the first Legendary Creature the wheel lands on (with some options to veto, as below), then give myself 2 weeks to build it, and 1 month to play it before I take it apart. Sounds fun, right?!

Here are the rules I’m using:

I have to take the first Legendary Creature the randomizer lands on, but I will skip any Legends I’ve built before, and I will give myself an optional veto for any Legends that are a major presence in my playgroup.

I cannot look at any decklists or read any articles about the Commander as I’m coming up with my list, but EDHRec is okay to see most common cards.

I have a target budget of around $25 for new cards. That doesn’t mean the deck needs to be “budget,” if I’m using expensive cards I already own. But I’m not trying to go nuts buying new cards. This also means there’s an upper limit on the cost of the Commander. Like, I’m not building a Rasputin Dreamweaver deck.

The target is 75% power level. Thematic and fun, but strong enough to make it in non-competitive playgroups.

So with that in mind, for my July challenge, my first spin of the wheel landed on Rona, Disciple of Gix. I love this as my first challenge. Rona has a strong mechanical identity and tons of flavor, meaning this was going to be a ton of fun.

Art: Tommy Arnold

Theme

For Rona, the first thing that jumps out is that she cares about Historic, which makes her pretty unique, mechanically speaking. So the first theme I decide upon was to make sure the deck contained plenty of Artifacts, Sagas, and Legends. Of those, Artifacts are by far the deepest, so it made sense to land on Artifacts as the primary theme, with Historic as the overarching umbrella.

As a secondary idea, I liked the idea of focusing on the idea of Rona as a disciple of an ancient power. Sadly, there is no Gix card to run, but there are plenty of other options that convey the same vibe. And fortunately, many of them are also Artifacts, like Mishra’s Bauble (conveniently appropriate, given the art), Mishra’s Self-Replicator, & Claws of Gix. Those, plus several of the Legendary Creatures (including Urza himself), filled out the sort of “Ancient” feeling I was going for.

Finally, and following from the “Ancient” theme, I also got hooked on the idea of Marit Lage’s Slumber. Given how Modern Horizons was on the brain, and the fact that it’s Legendary, and therefore Historic, this seemed to make perfect sense, and led me to a tertiary theme of Snow. Sure, Gix wasn’t really involved in the Ice Age story, but it still seems to fit the feel of the deck. So Snow Lands and a couple ways to wake up Marit Lage rounded out the deck.

Card Groups

With a deck like this, there’s tons of overlap within categories, but generally, here are the card groupings I focused on:

Mana Rocks - All the usual suspects are here: Sol Ring, Dimir Signet, Talisman of Dominance, Fellwar Stone, etc. Of special note, I also added Mox Opal and Mox Amber, since having 0-cost Artifacts is essential to the “Storm” plan (see below). Also, Honor-Worn Shaku is a must in the deck, since it allows you to turn all your Legendary Creatures, Enchantments, and even Planeswalkers into mana dorks. All told, I have 13 rocks in the deck.

Value Artifacts/Eggs - These are cheap Artifacts that replace themselves. The ones that sacrifice themselves are great early value for Rona. Mishra’s Bauble, Mind Stone, Conjurer’s Bauble, Prophetic Prism, and Arcum’s Astrolabe all made the cut in this build.

Cost Reducers & Enablers - Etherium Sculptor, Jhoira’s Familiar, and Foundry Inspector all do amazing work, while Vedalken Archmage, Shimmer Myr, and Unwinding Clock all work together to keep things flowing.

Legendaries - I threw in Demonlord Belzenlok and Traxos, Scourge of Kroog for some Dominaria realness. From there, I also included Gonti, Lord of Luxury, Venser, Shaper Savant, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Urza, Lord High Artificer, Sai, Master Thopterist, and Padeem, Consul of Innovation, which all synergize with the main themes in various ways, besides also being Historic.

Sagas & Planeswalkers - I wanted to make sure to throw in a few Sagas, so I included Phyrexian Scriptures, The Eldest Reborn, and The Antiquities War, the latter of which is particularly good in the deck and serves double duty as a draw engine and win condition. Sagas are great targets for Rona to reuse. For Planeswalkers, I added two Karns & two Tezzerets. Karn, Scion of Urza constructs are excellent in the deck, while Karn, the Great Creator can help get back your essential Artifacts if they get exiled. As for Tez, Tezzeret the Seeker is a must-have as a tutor, while Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge is recursion and ramp. And both of them also work as sneaky win cons.

Historic Matters - I already mentioned Traxos, but I’ve also really been loving Mishra’s Self-Replicator in this deck, as it can get out of hand really quick. I also included a copy of Cabal Paladin, which is a little on the jank side, but it works with the “Storm” path, as below.

Recursion & Flicker - Aside from the aforementioned Sagas & Walkers that also recur, I included Academy Ruins, Scrap Trawler, Myr Retriever, Skeleton Shard, and Silas Renn, Seeker Adept to help get back essential pieces, but you really don’t need much since Rona herself can recur. Additionally, I added in Crystal Shard and Deadeye Navigator, which can help reuse some of the excellent ETB abilities on creatures such as Rona, Venser, Urza, and Gonti, among others.

There’s obviously a little more to the deck than that. A couple tutors like Fabricate & Inventors’ Fair, a little extra removal a la Dead of Winter & Executioner’s Capsule, plus some must haves like Tormod’s Crypt, Claws of Gix, Hangarback Walker, and Mirrodin Beseiged, which works amazingly in both modes.

Win Conditions & Lines of Play

What I love about this deck is that there are so many different ways to win, but all of them work pretty well together. So even though it looks like there are too many different directions, they are all pretty harmonious. Here are the major paths:

Egg Storm - This is probably the closest the deck comes to a competitive angle. There are several cheap Artifacts in the deck, and with the cost-reducers, you can very easily get a hand full of Artifacts you can cast for free. From there, the key pieces to win are either Aetherflux Reservoir or Bolas’s Citadel (which work well together, I might add), or Cabal Paladin in a pinch. To help with this plan, I’ve also added Paradoxical Outcome, Hurkyl’s Recall, and Retract to go full storm mode.

Artifact Siege - The goal here is to go wide and make as many Artifacts as you can, then go nuts. Sai, Master Thopterist, Mirrodin Besieged, and Mishra’s Self-Replicator are the best at making tons of Artifacts. From there, you can win with the aforementioned Bolas’s Citadel, drain your opponents out with Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge, or turn them into a massive army with the final abilities of either The Antiquities War or Tezzeret the Seeker.

Mirrodin Besieged - This one’s pretty self-explanatory, as it literally has the win condition on the card. There will be times when you just naturally have a pile of Artifacts in the graveyard and can immediately start sniping people down. If you need to get Artifacts in your graveyard quickly, Ashnod’s Altar and Claws of Gix can help.

Marit Lage - Marit Lage isn’t technically a win-con, but a flying 20/20 will take people out relatively quickly, and it is possible to get her out Turn 2 in this deck with a god hand. That’s not super likely, but I have achieved it by Turn 4, and that is still pretty damn good. I have both paths in here, but Marit Lage’s Slumber is a little better, since you can get it back with Rona if the token gets removed. That said, you will need all snow basics to make it happen. I also have the classic Dark Depths/Thespian’s Stage combo, and Expedition Map to help put the pieces together.

Flicker - This one is mostly incidental, but it is a completely reasonable option. The key, as per usual with this strategy, is Deadeye Navigator, which can wreak havoc on your opponents when paired with the right creature on your side. For example, Deadeye + Urza = an army of Constructs, while Deadeye + Venser = Cyclonic Rift, and you can eventually keep the board entirely clean and then just start pecking in for damage. One final option is to flicker Marionette Master, create a massive army of Servos, which can be used to swarm or as sacrifice fodder to Ashnod’s Altar to drain out your opponent.

Sure, I could’ve streamlined it more around the Eggs win, but I didn’t want to do that, since (as mentioned), that’s not the point. As is, this deck has come incredibly close to winning a number of times, though I never actually scored a win, out of the 5 games I played with it.

Conclusion

So, I ended up going a touch over the budget, spending about $35 on new cards for the deck, such as Vedalken Archmage, Fabricate, and Retract, among other essentials. But overall, I was pretty much able to make do with cards I already had. That said, this is one deck that does really need some of the expensive cards to function, so I don’t know how well it would do as a true “budget” build.

The deck has been a blast to play, and I’d definitely recommend Rona as a fun alternative for people who are into Artifact decks but are looking to build something besides the ubiquitous Breya. Sometimes limitations are the best part, y’know?

All told, I loved this experiment, and I’m really excited to keep trying new commanders in this way!

#MtG #mtg commander

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