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Victor Holden

"Fuck that, let's go play!"

0 · 741 views · located in On Tour

a character in “Living in the Limelight”, as played by Something?

Groups

Power-prog-metal quartet in flux.

Description

Full Name: Victor Holden

Stage Name: He usually goes by Vic.

Age: 26

Birthday: 29th of November

Appearance: Image Due to the fact that his wardrobe is somewhat limited, you won't see Victor in so many different clothes. His clothes are clean though, for the most part. When he has the money to get it washed, he does. Off stage, you'll usually see him in a white or black t-shirt with a button down shirt that's checkered in either red and black, or black and white. His pants are usually of dark grey or black color, a pair of them worn. On stage, he likes to dress up and look nice, though it doesn't have to be all suit and formal shoes. Victor has never really been on a big stage, but before his life changes for the worse, he usually wore nice shirts and ties on stage. It varies though, as sometimes he'll just wear a nice t-shirt. Victor is just about 6 feet tall, and has a normal build now. He's a little muscular, but nothing absolutely insane. With his grey-ish eyes, it's a strange feeling when this man stares at you. His eyes are piercing and a lot of people find it uncomfortable when he looks them in the eyes, if they don't know him very well and aren't comfortable with it. On his left forearm there are four strings of binary numbers tattooed. They run all the way down to his wrist, and are there in memory of three family members he lost. They represent their birthdays. He has a full sleeve on his right arm, which has the comedy/tragedy in skulls, a couple of roses and then a chain that runs through it all.

Role: (Soon to be bassist of band 2, Cor Leonis.)

Musical Style: He likes to play with the drums a lot, at the same time as offering harmonies and playing in octaves. No doubt, he's a great bass player and has the right feeling of where he wants the music to go. Victor is good at finding the right harmonies and notes, that may change a certain part of the song and make it sound completely different. He's primarily self taught since he wanted to play guitar, but found that four strings were easier for him than six. Musical theory isn't his strong side, but Victor plays with his heart more than his brain. Whether everyone likes that, time wil show. In short, he's a diamond in the rough. He takes in all the music he hears every day, and in the end, something comes out. You won't be in a second of doubt when you hear Victor playing. It may not be perfect, but it's different. Maybe in a good way, since he feels the music rather than thinking about it so much. Victor playes both with a pick and with his fingers. It depends on what sounds best in the song he's playing. Some parts sound better when picked, giving a more agressive tone, while it's easier for him to make the bass rumble in the background when using his fingers.

Influences: Metallica (Cliff Burton), Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium and a wide variety of different bands.

Instruments:

Image - Gibson Thunderbird

Personality: When he first came to America, he was very shy. Victor quickly found out that he didn't have to be since a lot of people liked him. He has always been a very quiet person, going by the "If you don't have anything to say, shut up." principal. When he's stressed, he has a habit of biting his lip on the inside of his mouth. Also, when he first meets a person he tends to take a few steps back when he talks to them. It has something to do with the fact that Victor's personal space is a little bigger than normal. He won't take a single step closer until he's comfortable with that person. Now though, in his adult and kind of broken life, he doesn't really care about much. All he knows is that the sun rises and sets, and he will still be living on the street. Victor tends to shrug everything off because it's easier, but when he's alone he always has a frown on his face and looks very serious. If you see him sitting alone, it'll be the same. Like he's constantly thinking about something. When he gets drunk though, he's a lot of fun. If you do manage to get close to him, you'll have a friend for life. The only time where he'll actually be rude, is in the morning. Victor hates mornings. All in all, Victor doesn't like to think when he's around other people. He saves that for when he's alone or not talking to anyone, but then he does it all the time. Due to the fact that he is from Ireland, he has an Irish accent. It's still very easy to hear because Victor never let it go.


Biography: Born in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a business man for a company over there and got a job offer in the United States. Of course, that meant that the family had to move. At the time, Victor was sad and didn't want to leave his school and friends. His first few months in this new home were hard for him, and he didn't really make any friends. Gradually and slowly though, that changed. He made one very good friend in high school, and that was the time where his love for music really started. Her name was Edei Delanore. He introduced her to the bass which he was playing himself up until a point where his life changed. Victor still holds those memories close to his heart as he is incredibly fond of them. It reminds him of what he had back then and on the other hand, how much he's let slip through his fingers. Not long after he was out of high school, his father and sister died. Victor came home to a house almost burned to the ground and a mother screaming. Two family members dead and the last one gone crazy, Victor felt like his world was falling apart. He ended up getting various jobs but was unable to keep any of them because he simply couldn't. He cut all connections to friends and other family members, and ended up doing drugs, living in a tiny flat with another druggie friend. Victor lived like that for a few years until he had enough of it. It came to the point where he was tired of looking at himself in the mirror, and instead of considering taking his own life, he pulled himself out of the dirt he was in. Because he wanted to get clean and get back on his feet, his 'friend' threw him out and said he never wanted to see him again. Victor packed his gear and what few possessions he actually had, and went out the door. Whenever he'd had the chance, he'd been listening to heavy music and followed the shows and concerts going on in town. As he now had no roof over his head and no one to go to, he'd sat down on a bench and picked up a news paper. There, he read an ad about a band looking for a bassist. Cor Leonis. Victor's jaw had dropped. He was sure that he had heard almost every song they had released, and played along to their songs. It had taken him a long time to learn them by ear, and it meant that he played them a little differently, adding some of his own twists to the songs. He sat there for a long time, eventually deciding that it couldn't hurt to go see what it was all about. This young and now homeless man, was sure that he would be rejected and sent home. Both because he didn't look very nice, and no one knew who he was. Still, he walked towards the studio the band was in, his thoughts going back to high school and the hours he'd spent with Edei.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand... Rock of Ages :)

So begins...

Victor Holden's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore
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The case he was carrying seemed to get heavier and heavier with every step he took, but Victor just kept walking. "This is my last chance, isn't it?" His fingers ran through his hair as he brushed it out of his face. He wasn't talking to anyone, but in order for him to remember his thoughts, he had a habit of speaking out loud. Some people found it weird when they were close to him and could hear it, but Victor tried to do it as discretely as possible. Sometimes he just forgot though. The cars that were passing by, the people that were walking or running past him were nonexisting to Victor. He was walking in his own little world, wondering what was going to become of him. This really was his last shot at life, going to this studio and hoping to be something else than a homeless, recovering drug addict. You'd never suspect it of Victor, that he had used drugs, because of his gentle and kind nature. His life had just fallen apart, and that had broken him. He looked up ahead briefly to get his bearings, realizing that he was on the right track and new that he should turn right up ahead. "If I have to be honest... I don't know what the hell to do if this fails." His voice sounded, though inaudible from the noise of his surroundings. And he didn't. Victor didn't have the energy to go somewhere and ask for help. That was his problem. He couldn't ask for help, even though other people could easily see that he needed it.

The road wasn't very long, up to the studio where the ad in the paper had told him to go. There was no hope to be found in his heart, or in his mind. Victor was sure that they would laugh at him and tell him to fuck off, and he already felt a little embarrassed because he'd actually thought it would work - if even just for a brief moment. He looked up again. "What if they laugh and tell me I'm worthless?" He asked himself, frowning as a lock of dark hair dangled in front of his eyes. "Well, it's your best bet. It can't get any worse than it already is." That was motivation enough. Granted, it was unrealistic that the musicians at the studio would even think about giving him an audition, but anything would beat living on the streets. Plus, Victor was good at playing his instrument. As he came closer, the dark haired Irishman started to hesitate. He neared the studio but doubt crept up on him like a cold shadow. "Fuck it, come on!" Victor said to himself, a little louder than before. He grasped harder around the handle of the case that held his Gibson Thunderbird, taking determined steps towards the door of the studio. There were nice cars parked outside (though Victor Holden didn't know anything about cars. Or cared for that matter), but he didn't really see them.

Hi, I'm Victor. I saw that thing in the paper and I thought you might...No, that won't work. He frowned again and shook his head, almost at the door. Victor didn't notice anything or anyone as he was focused on what exactly he should say once he had knocked the door. Hi, I'm a homeless guy who wants to be in your band, how's that? He stopped, turned a little and almost started walking back to where he came from. Eyes closed, breathing steady, Victor forced himself to go on and take the chance. What if something did happen? That might pull him out of the pit he was in right now. "Fuck it." His knuckled rapped against the door and he took a step back, feeling himself calm down a little as he waited for someone to answer it. "Here goes nothing." Victor set the case down on the ground, holding it with one hand. His mind raced through possibilities of what to say, thinking that his situation right now was pretty unusual. At least he didn't look like he'd just come off the streets. And he didn't have to tell them that he was homeless, unless they asked. Victor had a little stubble on his face, but he was clean and his hair wasn't greasy. Well... Not that much. "Man, I wish Edei was here."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore Character Portrait: Ted Marubini Character Portrait: Izzie Martinez
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#, as written by Celedia
Edei hadn’t run out of the studio yet, which was surprising considering how well she seemed to deal with drama in general. The others had funneled into the studio from outside, though, which didn’t really give her a good reason to head outside so she stuck around, peeking her head around to survey the sudden influx of people.

Once again, an amused grin slid over her lips as she studied those surrounding her. If she were shooting a cover for ‘Hottest People in Music’, she would probably choose this crew. Well, if she could convince Izzie to wipe the scowl off of her face for five minutes or so, though she had to admit that the band leader looked more bad ass when she was pissed.

"I guess I should introduce myself. Edward Marubini, guitarist and now-singer of Cor Leonis, alias Edward Sturm. You can call me Ted."

“Nice to meetcha, Ted.” She called out, not wanting to tick off anyone but not wanting to be rude and she pointed towards herself.

“Name’s Edei.”

A couple of people chimed in, agreeing with her decision to go drinking and before she could gesture towards the door and say Well then, let’s go! I know this bar owner down the street… a knock came upon the door leading into the studio.

“I’ll go get that!” She exclaimed, calling dibs on an excuse to leave the hostile environment before anyone else could speak up and she almost tripped over the hot chick that had settled herself onto the floor.

“Oops, sorry.” She apologized on her way out, taking careful steps this time around and with a quick tug, the door flew open and she peered at the source of the noise- a man who was apparently talking to his self.

”… was here."

She cocked a brow, looking around the outside just to make sure that he wasn’t talking to anyone else before her gaze settled upon him. Tall, dark and handsome. Not a surprise, it seemed most musicians were. But more than that, this guy seemed familiar. Edei peered at Victor intently for a few moments before her jaw dropped in recognition. He was older, a bit of stubble on his chin but otherwise he looked the same as he had a few years ago when they last saw each other.

“VIC?!” She exclaimed, barely giving him a chance to respond before the petite bass player launched herself at him. Her slender arms wrapping around his neck tightly, which forced him to either pick her up or lean down because of their height differences. Time and time again, she had tried to contact him but he’d seemingly cut himself off from everyone. She didn’t even know he was alive, until now.

“How in the hell have you been? WHERE have you been?”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Bey Jackson Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted put his head in his hands. "Christ, don't tell me they booked this place for three! Or is Psychosis a quintet? Or do we just have a trespasser?" He wouldn't normally be this...prickly, but he was a bit annoyed right now. There was still no response for his call for bassists, he was going to be sharing a studio with the most volatile guitarist since Dave Mustaine, and now this...person, at the door. What on Earth did he want? Was he visiting Edei? Was he confused? Or was he part of a third band?

Ted had no idea of the answers to any of these, and if there was one thing he hated, it was not having a single damn clue what was going on. What was he to do? Why, ask, of course. He stepped around Bey to the door. "It seems you and...Edei...know each other," he said carefully to the new arrival. He glanced down and noticed a long case. Too long for even a guitar. Was it even possible? "Are...are you with Psychosis? Or are you here about the advertisement for a bassist?" Ted glanced back over to Charlotte and Bey, then back to the newcomer. He seemed unaffiliated with the other band, so it was possible. Before he could get a response, Ted walked over to his two bandmates. "Alright, ladies," he announced, hating how pimp-like it sounded, but having no other real way to address them, "I think we might have someone new. I'm going to talk to him; I want you two to start warming up. If he's here to audition I'm going to ask for a full band rehearsal. We'll do some jamming, maybe run through some songs from the first album with him. Cool?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Victor leaned down as the girl who had opened the door launched herself at him. He hadn't expected it at all, and she had taken him by surprise. What the he- He thought and looked confused as she asked him questions. It took a few moments before he actually understood what she said. Her voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. It rang a bell somewhere in a dusty corner of his mind, and slowly it came back to him. At first, Victor refused to believe it. It simply couldn't be that life had taken him back to her after all these years, and after what he had done. Victor had cut all connections and not even let her know that he was still alive. His life had fallen apart, yes, but the least he could have done was let Edei know he was still there. "E-Edei?" He stammered and let her go, still with his hands on her shoulders though. Victor just looked at her with a strange expression. Now that he actually looked at her, the girl he'd known back then looked the same. Edei looked more like a woman now, though she was still small, but other than that he could easily recognize her from high school.

"I'm here for the bass... Thing." His eyes moved from Edei to the man in the door, and a vague smile found it's way to his face. Wait.. That means... His clothes, his looks, his personality. There was no way they would even consider to let him play, but apparently it didn't matter what you looked like. In a matter of seconds, his life had taken a turn. Seemingly for the better. The man in the door walked over to two girls and talked to them, which left Victor with a strange feeling. He had asked him two questions, and then left. And Edei was there. She was actually there, within arms reach! "Edei, I'm...." He was almost tearing up. To have the only person he actually missed from back then, stand in front of him after such a long time, was incredible. He only hoped that she wasn't mad at him for the way he had disappeared. "I'm sorry." That felt like the right thing to say. It was, wasn't it?

Head spinning and feeling dizzy, those were the effects of all this. Victor couldn't believe that Edei was there and that he maybe had a chance to play with Cor Leonis. Furthermore, he wanted to talk to Edei more than he wanted to rehearse right now, but playing with these guys was his last shot at life as far as he was concerned. Victor's grey-ish eyes moved back to Edei's, but he didn't know what to say. Part of him wished that she would hug him again, and another wished that she would slap him across the face for the way he'd left. The homeless, hopefully soon to be bassist of Cor Leonis swallowed hard, trying to push emotions away. He had to stay calm right now, if that was possible at all.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted turned away from his bandmates and back to the newcomer. He had to be diplomatic. "Alright, sorry if things are confusing. I'm in the same boat as you. Basically, if you're here about the bassist position, we're happy to have you. I've just instructed Bey and Charlotte to start warming up. While they're doing that, we can get some formalities out of the way, and I can give you my spiel as bandleader. Here, come inside." He escorted him inside and closed the door. Only then did he notice the...uh, earthy smell he had. He hoped he hadn't just given false hopes to a homeless madman. He'd never hear the end of it if he had. Either way, this was good. Though the newcomer seemed rather...grungy, he didn't seem slovenly otherwise; after all, his bass was in a hard case, which at least showed he cared about the instrument...or had received it from someone who cared about the instrument.

Disregarding cleanliness for the moment, Ted held out his hand genially. "I've forgotten to introduce myself. Edward Marubini, guitarist and now-singer of Cor Leonis, alias Edward Sturm. You can call me Ted." His delivery was identical to when he had introduced himself previously, which was expected given that he had virtually rehearsed it during the failed audition process for a new singer. He was thankful he found himself able to handle singing and guitar: the majority of the singers who had come to the audition had had...less than noble intentions. And virtually all of them didn't have a voice like Carson's. A shame he was such an asshole: Ted had never heard a singer with that combination of power, charisma, and range since...Peter Steele, maybe, though Carson was more a baritenor than a bass-baritone like the late Steele.

Ted ignored the memories of earlier tensions in the band, and focused on the here-and-now. He decided to ask the important question, or rather the one more relevant to the audition. "I need to ask, how familiar are you with Cor Leonis's music? If you don't know any of our songs that well I understand; we're obviously still trying to make it."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore Character Portrait: Ted Marubini Character Portrait: Craig Duncan Character Portrait: Izzie Martinez
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#, as written by Celedia
What a weird fucking day.

That was the first thought that flowed through Edei’s mind after she stepped back from hugging Vic, her smile faltering briefly as he mumbled an apology before being swept away by Ted. Being pint-sized, she was used to being overlooked but she also didn’t want to assert her presence if her old friend really was here for the bassist position. He was damn good at what he did and if she just stepped back and let him play, he would bag the spot in Cor Leonis easily.

Reaching over, she captured his hand and squeezed it gently, it smile growing into a grin as she inclined her head towards Ted. “Good luck with the bass… Thing.” She mocked him lightly, letting out another soft bout of laughter before breaking away from the two guys and wandering back over towards where Izzie and Craig were standing.

“So, we going to start up too? Or did you really want me to go grab a fifth of something to make today easier to handle?” She kept her tone playful and light, trying not to piss off Izzie anymore than necessary but on the other hand... Well, Izzie was incredibly easy to piss off. Dragging her lower lip between her teeth, Edei tried to hold back amused laughter at Izzie’s infuriated countenance. “If it helps, I don’t know Sweet Cheeks either.”

Casting a quick, conspiratorial wink at Craig, she wandered back towards her hard case so that she could drag it to whichever room they moved into, her eyes drifting for just a moment towards Vic to see how he was holding up.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Victor laughed a little nervously at what Edei said, watching her leave and go to her bandmates. Apprently they were going to play as well. The homeless and hopeless man tilted his head and wondered how any people they could fit in the studio. Victor had no idea of how big the place was. It was a bitch of a dilemma he was in, to be honest. It was almost impossible not to go after Edei and just pull her into another embrace, and just sit down and talk. Then there was the band thing, which was probably Victor Holden's only shot at getting somewhere. Somewhere better. Save your own life first, then catch up with Edei. His mind went and forced him to snap out of the trance-like state of mind he was in. So many thoughts in so little time made his head spin, though Ted's words came through. It took a moment before he answered the man, and Victor looked around at the people that were there. It was clear that he wasn't used to this and that he was nervous, but the man remained where he was and let his gaze fall back to Ted.

Since when does a band have a leader? The idea was a little strange to him and he wondered what he really meant by leader. Did that mean that Ted made all the decisions or was he open to suggestions. Victor had always found that it made a band work much better if every member was allowed to say their part. Pushing that aside as he didn't even know how rehearsal was going to go, and frankly, Victor didn't have his hopes up. When the man held out his hand in greeting as they had stepped inside, Victor looked at it for a second and then patted him on the shoulder instead and smiled slightly. "I'm Victor." He said simply, not really wanting to shake Ted's hand. It was nice that he was polite, but Victor knew what he looked and smelled like. If I was him, I wouldn't shake my hand. I wouldn't touch me at all. That thought brought a smile to his face although it was quite sad to think of the reason why. A bath, new clothes and a shave. He would die for that. But he had no home and no money for clothes nor a shave.

It was impossible not to look around though his eyes never met anyone else's. When the circumstances were brought into consideration, added to the fact that Victor was a little shy, looking someone directly in the eyes wasn't exactly a comfortable thought. It'd be a lie to deny that he was scared if they would judge him. "Hmm?" Victor looked at Ted and tried to figure out how to word his next sentence. "I'm... Quite familiar." He said and shrugged, already feeling like an idiot. "I can play." Although the words trust me came to mind, Victor didn't say it. He wouldn't ask that of anyone. "I... I guess there's only one way to find out? What kind of amp do you have?" It was clear that it was an attempt to lead the subject of discussion somewhere else. Every single time he'd been asked about his playing or how familiar he was with something, he felt like a fool. Part of his inability to explain himself properly. "If you say Orange AD-200, I'll fall over." For the first time so far, Victor gave one of his crooked smiles. Whatever this was going to end up with, he was at least going to be playing some bass. Hopefully with a good amp as well.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Bey Jackson Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted smiled. "Sorry, no Orange in the bass area, though I'm a big fan of them. The only bass amp we have right now is a Hartke combo; that was the only thing our old bassist didn't own. You can borrow my distortion pedal if you need it; I can get by on the amp drive for an audition. C'mon." He led Victor into the rehearsal room where he saw the rest of the band getting ready. "The Hartke's over there," he said, gesturing vaguely at the black combo amp. They'd have to get something better for him later. Not to mention some stuff to tidy him up at least a bit. Assuming he wasn't crazy; with every passing second Ted's doubts about his intelligence and the bassist's mental stability grew. He wanted to get on with this audition so he could know if he ought to give Victor money to tidy up or a boot in the ass. Hopefully the former, but he would not hesitate to give the latter; he had done so to plenty of cocky "I'm totally as good as Steve Harris" types.

He unplugged the Rat from his board and placed it near the bass amp. "Tweak the settings all you need; I'm not attached to any setting." Not entirely a lie; though the pedal had been integral to his initial sound with Cor Leonis, he was experimenting to make it less of an "always-on" pedal. To that end he had nearly fiddled the three knobs off, not to mention the gain and EQ knobs on his amp. He was satisfied with the amp now, but not so much the pedal. But never mind that. He had an audition to set up. He took out the extra connector and tidied up the simplified pedalboard. Close enough. Now, what to do first. Free jam would work best, he figured. He closed the door to the rehearsal room, hoping it would keep the sound down in the rest of the studio (judging by Izzie's reaction—wait, she was always like that), then opened his guitar case to pull out his Hägstrom. Might as well use it; it was lighter and most of the current settings were optimized to it anyhow.

He shouldered the brown guitar, and looked over at Victor. He nodded in appreciation of the Thunderbird bass, a fine instrument indeed. Back to business."Alright, let's do a quick jam first, get warmed up. Charlotte, start us off if you please?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Bey Jackson Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted smiled as he heard the familiar hard-hitting drum pattern, and quickly tried to think of something to play. He could play anything out there, a whole cornucopia of various chord shapes and modal licks. All of it was possible so long as he fit it to the rhythm. Oddly, though, only one idea stuck out to him, a simpler power-chord based riff. With a short melodic lick to cap it, his little contribution was finished. He nodded to Victor as he played, inviting him to help lay down the rhythm. He looked away from the bassist briefly, realizing that he was probably putting the (presumably) younger man under tremendous pressure by watching him so hawkishly. He focussed on the ceiling, noticing that a small piece of drywall up in the corner seemed to be moving with the rhythm of his riff. He then heard a clear but powerful growl from nearby, and recognized it as the Hartke doing its magic. He noted immediately the sense of groove in the newcomer's playing: it was uncannily organic. Ted had learned his rhythmically complex riffing over several months at least, and in theory several years, as he had always felt his playing expanding daily since he dedicated himself formally to the guitar, about 20 years ago now that he recalled.

But this, this was not learned. Hell, given his condition, Ted would have been surprised if the guy had taken a formal lesson in his life. Lessons could get pretty pricey, he mused, remembering the absurd amounts he had either shelled out for lessons or considered shelling out before his parents told him better. But with all that money, Ted knew he could not have bought the feel that Victor unmistakably had. That was innate, rare, valuable. At that moment, Ted's esteem for Victor went up tenfold. But he wasn't sold yet. Some bassists fit the jam environment better, and Cor Leonis was definitely not the Grateful Dead. Though we could use fans like the Deadheads, Ted thought to himself before he came back to reality and let the jam continue for a minute or so. Finally, he stopped playing and motioned for quiet. "All right, good, good. Now the fun part. Charlotte, Bey, you pick. Anything off the first album. Just not the friggin' drunk song."

Ted despised that song, actually titled "Tack". He called it "the drunk song," mostly because the lyrics had been written after Ted had drunk half a bottle of a drink twice as alcoholic as he had suspected. God, the hangover after that night was awful. Worse, the record's producer loved the schizophasic nonsense Ted had penned, though about a third was lost to the Evil Demon of Illegibility. What was legible, the producer pestered them into making into a song. It had, of course, become surprisingly popular at shows, which only contributed to Ted's hate for it. He intended to play it as little as possible (once playing "Freebird" instead, to mixed reception), and just hoped it would die a quick death.

Of course, though, before Bey or Charlotte could say anything, a detuned and massively distorted guitar sonically pierced the wall, startling him. Guess the walls weren't so soundproof, Ted noted ruefully as he calmed himself and covered his ears against the continuing playing. Sounded like Psychosis had similar ideas to his own. He sighed, realizing that things were not going to improve. Might be best to get out and at least talk with the prospective bassist. If he could get along with the others in the band, that improved his standing even more, though it was already pretty good, at least for Ted. He announced his plan as loudly as he could. "It looks like Izzie wants to loudness-war us out! Well, she can win for now! Let's get clear for a bit and get to know the prospective member better!" He removed his guitar and turned his amp off, hoping they would at least get his nonverbal message if they couldn't hear him. He wouldn't blame them if they couldn't hear him, over all that...noise. Dear God, the atonality.

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Character Portrait: Bey Jackson Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted shrugged at Victor's suggestion. To be honest the idea had occurred to him, but he wasn't going to broach it unless the others seemed genuinely uncomfortable. And...well, they did, so he took the opportunity to make a command decision. "Alright, let's head outside. The weather's nice if I remember right." He led the way to the door, holding the door to let the others out ahead of him. As he closed the door behind him, he listened a moment for the buzzsaw guitar jam, now at full volume and in full force. Regardless, he could actually hear himself think now, and made a mental note that the studio's sound insulation was godawful. He would need to have a word with the manager about that. Unacceptable, especially with a band like Psychosis grinding away. Christ.

He tore himself away from his bitter irritation, and turned to the prospective recruit. Time to play job interviewer. What question ought he bring up first? Boarding? Nah, experience would be better. "Victor, that was some damn fine playing, especially for a warmup. How long have you been playing the bass?" He was tempted to ask about where he studied, but had a feeling he knew the answer anyway, and didn't want to intimidate him with too many questions, or make him think he was a snobbish type more suited to professorship than recording. Which was half-true; Ted had taught before, but the ship of any possible teaching positions, at Berklee or anyplace else, had long since sailed, pretty much since he collaborated with Izzie Martinez. Regardless of his personal thoughts on the collaboration, it seemed that it would haunt his career for a while, unless he could knock it out of the park with Cor Leonis. He had a good feeling about the present lineup and the possibility of adding Victor to it. If Victor gelled with the band, they might have a veritable powerhouse of a lineup. But back to reality, and back to Victor's response...whatever that would be.

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Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted quirked his lips at Victor's response. Astonishing. He was out of practice? There had to be a catch. Jaco Pastorius wasn't a terrific bassist AND mentally stable. Ted had to admit he placed a slight emphasis on mental stability over musical prowess; after all, musicians grew in bands. He himself knew that; recording the first album had forced him to develop a lead style that would both contrast with Bey's and fit the genre. Admittedly reviews indicated that had backfired, but plenty of bands had had weak debuts and went on to great things. He'd learn. He'd improve. They all would. And unlike getting mental help, that would be relatively free of charge, and free of stress...well, not free of stress. Ted always pushed himself and others to stress in the pursuit of perfection. It may have driven Jackson away, it may have ended plenty of collaborations, and he probably should stop doing it...but he was too much of a perfectionist in the studio.

But he was getting off-topic. The point was, if Victor was a mad genius, he was probably getting the boot. He had to ask why he was in such an...unfortunate...condition, but he decided to wait for Charlotte's question to get answered. Though after a second, he realized the din seemed to be ending. He had half a mind to go in and check, but decided not to. Izzie was like a black mamba, he reminded himself. Don't cross her or you'll get bit, and if you get bit you're in deep shit. The analogy even had a half-assed rhyme to it. Probably why he remembered it.

He blinked and licked his lips. He needed to focus on the people at hand. And probably give a call to the manager, have a word about the atrocious soundproofing, not to mention the personal troubles.

Speaking of which...where had Bey gone?

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Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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She was here a minute ago...how did she get away without anybody knowing? WHY did she leave? Where did she-

"Ted?"

The guitarist started before answering. "Hm? Sorry, spaced out a bit there. Well," he paused a moment, leaning his head back to listen for the silence, "Firstly, I can sympathize with the need for finances. Rest assured we can work with that. Secondly, it sounds like Psychosis stopped making noises, so we can probably go back in and play some. In the interest of courtesy to them, even to Izzie, maybe we should try something...quieter. I'll turn down my amp, and we can try to do something like that one song, Sun Caravan or whatever. Rest assured, you've got a million steps up on every other bassist we've seen so far, something I'm sure Charlotte will agree with. The sooner we get in and do this last jam session, the sooner we can welcome you as a member, or at least put you on the payroll for studio time, and start the business of writing music and playing it. On that note, let's jam."

Waiting only an instant to see they understood, he fairly hopped inside, eager to get back to playing. As they passed the other practice room Ted glimpsed the members of Psychosis chatting idly. At least they seemed unlikely to get back to noising, which meant they could make some music. Inside the practice room, Ted quickly walked over to the case with the Hägstrom inside and pulled it out before turning to his pedalboard and unplugging the cable to run the guitar straight into the amp. He turned the volume and gain down, then played and listened to a few experimental notes. Satisfied, he turned to regard those who remained of his bandmates. At the moment Bey still had the plausibility of having gone to the bathroom or something similar, which reassured him some. He couldn't shake some darker suspicions, though.

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Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted smiled in return to Victor. "I should also thank you, for putting up with..." He gestured around. "...all of this. And for showing up. Half the battle is getting the courage, or something like that. Anyway, to your second suggestion, I wholeheartedly agree. On all counts. Here, I'll show you something I've had in my sleeve for many years. It's a simple, quiet jazzy kind of piece, but I always thought it was missing something. See if you can come up with a line to follow it." With that, he started playing, fingerpicking this time.

Almost everything he had said about the piece was true. Yes, it was jazzy, and it was missing something, but Ted hadn't written it that way. In fact, he hadn't really intended to write it at all. It started back in college as his attempt to learn a piece by Joe Pass. After about a month of hashing and struggling, he finally gave up, altered what he had, and used that as a fresh start. He never really liked it, as it relied too much on upper-string chording, thus losing any kind of bassline. But, he thought to himself years later, perhaps he could record it with a bassist. He never got the chance while he had been in the jazz scene, nor in the studio scene, and afterward shelved it mentally to focus on paying gigs back in Baltimore, and Cor Leonis after that. He only remembered when setting out on tour, and at soundchecks would play sections to test the clean tone. When the time came to audition new bassists, he set the piece out as a kind of acid test. He knew most of the bassists he got would just play the roots, maybe the fifths. He wanted a bassist who would do a bit more than that. Admittedly half the cocky asses who came in didn't get so far that they got to this point, so after a while Ted had wondered if it was fair to bassists expecting nothing more than straight-forward power metal.

Victor, however...he was different, Ted could tell that. So he decided to try using the piece one more time.

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Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini Character Portrait: Izzie Martinez
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Ah... Jazz... He shrugged and bobbed his head along to Ted'd playing. When Victot thought, he looked very very serious. He cracked a smile though when Charlotte spoke up and shrugged again. "I think their amps ho to eleven." Soon after, the serious expression returned. A raised eyebrow and a focused stare on Ted's fingers, figuring out what key he was in and listening. Victor had not played jazz in a very long time. When he finally started playing, he picked a note at a time, then threw an Octave on to get his bearings. The bassline he eventually came up with was not what you would have expected, but then again, it was Victor. It was jazzy, but with a few slides here and there. As they played, Victor looked down at his hands and realized that it sounded pretty decent, though it still needed some work.

This piece is pretty fucking cool... Victor had never played with anyone who sounded like this. Like Ted did. Granted, he's jammed with the man for maybe an hour and a half. How long had he actually been there? Anyway, something told him that he would be able to tell when it was Ted that was playing. As he stood there and thought to himself, Victor plucked a wrong note that sounded just plain dreadful. "Aah, you fucking gobshite.." His accent flaired up even more when he was mad and when he swore. The grungy looking man brushed his hair back and looked around at Ted and Charlotte, unable to help but chuckle. "Pardon me..." Followed his cursing. He let the bass hang and looked at Ted, waiting for a silent moment, just to ask him what he thought of it so far. Maybe he wanted Something different than that.

If he was to come up with Something else, it was clear to him that it was going to take some time. He would need to dig into the whole part and mess around for a while. Also, he wondered how much time they had before the doomsday machine in the other room decided to begin. It wasn't that it was horrible Music or anything, but it was just so loud. Victor realized that he hadn't even exchanged a word with the Psychosis frontman. Well frontwoman. She's was a woman right? Anyway, he realized that he already didn't like her very much, and that was based on what he'd heard Izzie say and the fact that her band was so fucking loud. "You..." Victor pointed at Charlotte as he spoke. "I like you. You're easy to follow..." And she was. Charlotte was easy for him to work with. "Was this kind of what you had in mind?" This question was directed at. "I can change it and come up with some other stuff, but I think that would require some more time..."

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Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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Ted listened carefully to Victor's playing. Very unique, with an admittedly heavy use of octaves. It still sounded miles beyond any other bassist who had auditioned. He had a definite sense of syncopation that few metal bassists had, and which Ted liked more than he really should have. It just seemed so...fresh, so unique. Maybe it could be an interlude on the new album—

As if the universe had read Ted's thoughts, Victor suddenly hit a sour note. His thick Irish accent came through as he swore at the error, then as he apologized for the profanity. Ted stopped playing a moment later, realizing that he wasn't going to go past the mistake. At least he wouldn't try that in the studio...presumably not, anyhow. You couldn't exactly run with a sour note in the studio. Well, you could punch the right note in over it, but that was lazy, and if the damn studio didn't have soundproofing, they sure as hell wouldn't have equipment able to punch a note in that precisely. Best to get the take right than to try and post-fix it. If you could get it right in the studio, you could get it right on the stage.

The guitarist gave a quick thumbs up to Victor as he laid his Hägstrom in its case, then turned to Charlotte as she spoke. He smiled at her suggestion. "Sounds good. Let's hear some of what you had in mind," he replied, gesturing to the kit. "Victor, let's see how you do with whatever she has in mind."

With that, Ted leaned back, turned the amp to standby (probably should have done that earlier), and waited to see what Charlotte had in mind.

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Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore Character Portrait: Ted Marubini Character Portrait: Izzie Martinez Character Portrait: Cormac McMurphy
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Craig looked over at Edei uncertainly as she spoke, apparently curious about what he wrote. Still, he really wasn't sure he wanted to hand it over quite yet...granted, she probably wouldn't be as severe about it as Izzie would if she didn't like it - hell, he might actually show it to her later if she wanted. The fact his frontwoman even asked was still a shock to him because she very much had her way of doing things - and she didn't want anybody to fuck it up, which he respected. All in all, Craig wanted to stay on Izzie Martinez's good side if possible, which meant he was willing to oblige to what she asked of him in order to keep his place in this band since he quite liked playing for Psychosis. Still, he still thought his pieces needed more work before giving them to someone to review. "Edei, I'm not really sure they're ready..." He said, skeptically but with a small smile despite the fact he felt like the spotlight had just been put on him but he wasn't irritated with the petite bassist in the least for it. "Like I said, it's not done yet." Craig told them, shaking his head. Whenever he had the balls to show Psychosis his work he made damned sure he was content with it because Izzie wasn't exactly the type to encourage him to work at it a bit more if she didn't like it.

As it turned out, Cormy didn't have anything to show either which left Craig the only one with material. Great. He looked over at Izzie and sighed a little. He highly doubted he could talk his way out of this - and that belief was only reinforced as she fixed the young guitarist with one of those looks that had always made him a little uncomfortable. When Izzie began to speak once more though, Craig couldn't help the smirk that crept onto his face. Apparently unable to remember the full quote and if it made sense or not. "Speak now or forever hold your peace." He thought, but dare not as for fear that Izzie would use her guitar as a murder weapon on him. Still, in spite of it Craig wanted to laugh - but he didn't as he had a feeling Izzie wouldn't appreciate it too much. Once she finished, Craig wiped the smirk off his face and nodded once at her. "Right, well...Most of it's some real technical stuff...I've got some riffs I really like." He shrugged as he looked at the group.





Charlotte watched as Ted and the new guy messed around with the piece they had been talking about, overall impressed with the guy so far. She liked what he was doing with it - it was different. Yeah, I think we can work with this guy. She thought, smiling. Not long after that, Vic hit a bad note and Charlotte struggled not to laugh as he swore. Yep, he's definitely Irish. The blonde, shook her head a little in amusement, not at all offended by the profanity. I wonder what he can do with that piece with more time... She thought and then turned her attention to the bassist and smiled. "Why thank you. I quite like you as well." She replied, winking and then looking back over at Ted as he replied to her. Charlotte was glad he seemed to approve of the idea. "Thanks Ted." She said, pleased and eager to show them some of what she had in mind. She moved back to her kit and played a few beats, not really having anything concrete yet since she had wanted to run the idea by Ted first but she had a basic idea and she wanted to show them that. She could fiddle with it later. What she played wasn't quite jazz but it had a pronounced enough influence that it was noticeable, which Charlotte thought could be fun to toy around with.

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Character Portrait: Bey Jackson Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini Character Portrait: Izzie Martinez
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Ted watched Charlotte's playing, noticing the nuance, the swing, the syncopation. He wouldn't have believed it if he wasn't seeing it right now. She was playing...jazz? No, not quite jazz, not with that grip...but it had that swing. It reminded him a bit of...well, he couldn't think exactly what, but he couldn't suppress a grin at hearing it, remarking, "Charlotte King, playing jazz? I'll be damned!" He flipped the amp back on and carefully eased the gain up while letting a single low E ring out...and unexpectedly feed back. Very loudly. "Son of a bitch," he muttered as he quickly muted the string. He stepped away from the amp, played again, and this time smiled at getting a tone remarkably similar to the Rat, but...nicer. He hadn't thought about just cranking the amp before. Well, he had, but he reasoned that if he wanted a clean tone usable, a distortion he could turn on and off seemed imperative. This had decreased in necessity when he didn't really need a clean tone for this music. He wondered what he compatriots back in Nashville, or his old classmates at Berklee would think of him now, cranking amps and sharing a studio with a death metal band. Not that he really cared.

The thoughts had run through his head in only a few seconds, and now he shook them off as he pinched his pick and started to play along to Charlotte's drumming, palm-muting a series of chords more rhythmic than harmonic and syncopating to match her as best as he could. He heard Victor's bass rumble underneath with its own figure, also syncopating, albeit with some difficulty. To be fair to him, Charlotte had a very...irregular and unpredictable sense of syncopation. Ted chalked it up to beginner's roughs (that was a thing, right?) and continued to play the muted chords for a few more seconds, before trying a solo over Victor's bass and Charlotte's drums. He ran the sequence of chords in his mind as he played for a minute more, then realized he was running out of ideas. He stopped playing and held up his picking hand to signal to stop. As the playing petered out, he nodded approvingly. "That was some good stuff! See if you two can work out any more. I'm going to go figure out what's going on outside." He had passed off some earlier altercation ending with an audible thud as Psychosis having an infight, which would be par for a band fronted by Izzie. However, the possibility that Bey was involved had just occurred to him, and the possibility was, to say the least, nasty in its implications.

With this concern in mind, Ted set the amp back onto standby, placed the Hägstrom in the open case, and walked out into the anteroom between practice rooms. Bey was there, but to his surprise, she was packing up her guitar. "Bey?" Ted asked carefully. He wasn't sure what was going on. Had she been the thud? Was there some emergency he had missed in his furor of grilling and auditioning Victor?

Bey looked up, and Ted saw anger etched on her face. Anger at him? Slowly she pointed at the other practice room. "Call me when that Izzie bitch is gone, and when you start giving a shit about the person who helped you start this." With that, she picked up her case and left before Ted could respond. To be fair, Ted was too shocked to respond at the moment. He ran through her statement in his head. Izzie. Giving a shit. Connecting the dots didn't take very long. Ted calmed the fury and frustration he could feel rising in his heart, and strode over to the "Psychosis room", opening the door without knocking.

In a flash, his eyes settled on the frontwoman guitarist. He inhaled through gritted teeth before speaking. "Izzie, listen up. I don't know what you said to Bey, but she just quit my band. I don't care how you conduct yourself as a bandleader, or how you treat your group, but if you ever touch or denigrate Charlotte, Victor, or whoever I get to replace Bey, two things will happen. One, I will take Blue Fire and smash her over your skull, and two, I'll report you for August 24th 2006. You might not remember everything that happened that night, but I do. And the statute of limitations has not expired." Before he could get a response (which would have most likely been in the vein of assault and battery), Ted slammed the door and crossed to the room where Victor and Charlotte were.

He entered much more quietly, having worked out the anger in his little threat monologue. Now he just felt...drained, and a bit lost. "Bey just quit," he announced, in case they hadn't heard the events outside. He crossed to his stool and sat, then slouched, pensive.

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Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Edei Delanore Character Portrait: Ted Marubini Character Portrait: Izzie Martinez Character Portrait: Cormac McMurphy
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Charlotte smiled at Ted's reaction to her playing, laughing a little. No, playing in a jazz style wasn't exactly expected from her - she'd almost always played heavy music, only on occasion experimenting with other things and that usually didn't last very long at all. So far she liked where this little experiment was going though and if she wasn't mistaken, so was Ted as he and the new guy played along. The whole thing might turn out rather well if she continued to run with it - she was a bit curious as to what Ted and Victor could come up with as well. Ted then stopped soloing and signaled for them to stop.

Charlotte paused her playing and brushed a blonde curl that had escaped it's bun behind her ear, looking over at Ted to see what he had to say. "So, I assume that means you liked it?" She asked him with a grin before looking over at Victor and nodding at what her frontman said. Victor seemed like a creative guy and she thought that might make working with him quite fun. "You seem creative. I'd like to see what you can come up with." Charlotte told him, before glancing toward the door after Ted, wondering what might be going on. "He's probably trying to find Bey..." She thought, aloud. Hell, she herself wondered where on earth the other girl had gone...She had seen her earlier and she didn't think it would be like Bey to just bail on them like that.



Charlotte couldn't quite catch what was going on and so when Ted reentered the room, she immediately walked toward him, about to ask what it was he'd gone out for when he broke the news. "She what?" Charlotte demanded, her blue eyes wide with surprise. "Why would she do that?" She asked him, unable to understand why Bey would leave. She had been a founding member, after all.






Craig couldn't help but laugh a little at the thought of Psychosis becoming a punk band - he could never imagine Izzie having any of that. "If you ever convert this band to punk, I'm on my way out." He told him, having never been a big fan of punk. He'd had never found it very interesting to play as he quickly became bored with such styles of playing. When Izzie replied, he sighed and nodded once, picking up his axe. Before he could even pick a single note though, the door was thrust open and suddenly, as the young guitarist looked up; the frontman of Cor Leonis was standing in there doorway, looking quite pissed off. Damn... Craig thought in surprise, however as Ted continued to explain, he understood why he was over here. He would be pissed too if one of his members had quit because of something someone had said, but the fact he seemed to have grown enough balls to stand up to Izzie Martinez - was quite shocking. He kind of wanted to pat the guy on the back for it because he didn't exactly know many people who would say that to her. Craig quickly brushed the thought aside however, and was now a little concerned Izzie was going to beat the shit out of the guy and so he took a step forward, watching the Psychosis frontwoman who was now telling Ted off. It seemed he wasn't going to be needed though, he thought, a little surprised as he watched Izzie Martinez's face. What the hell is August 24th of 2006? Craig wondered. She had suddenly gone pale as a ghost, as if what Ted had said made her recall something.

He cocked his head to the side, still looking at Izzie as the Ted guy shut the door (Probably wanting to get out of there before she recovered from her shock) before glancing at his other bandmates, Cormac seeming as clueless as he was about the whole thing. She didn't exactly answer the drummer's question and Craig wasn't entirely sure if that was because she wasn't comfortable sharing or if she just was still in shock. "I have no idea." He told her, still impressed by the fact Ted had the nerve to do that - whatever it was he had on Izzie, it had to be pretty bad to make her react like that. "So, then what the hell is August 24th, 2006?" He asked her, curiously.

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Character Portrait: Bey Jackson Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini Character Portrait: Izzie Martinez
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Playing with these guys were good. It was hard to fit in something that sounded really good, though Victor did okay. There were a lot of things he had to work on though. Added to that, he had a new drummer he was going to learn how to work with. Fortunately, he worked best when pressured and he always grew with the task. If you weren't challenged, how would you ever improve? Victor was dead set on doing his best and still maintain his own style of playing. He tried to work with Charlotte, though he had to get used to the way she was playing. In his mind, she was a little hard to follow, but easy at the same time. Makes no sense, no. After a while of playing, he was sure that she'd be there and on the spot, but it was as like two cards travelling to the same destination, via two very different paths. Fuck it, it makes sense in my head! And with that, Victor turned his attention back to Ted as he called for a stop. Apparently he approved of it all, which sent a flutter through his stomach. Since Victor was Victor, he didn't show it. Or at least, did his best not to.


"If mucking about on the strings makes a bass player creative, then hell yes I am." His accent flaired up as he answered Charlotte and waved after Ted when he left. "And you are very interesting to work with." The Irishman nodded and smirked, sitting down and setting his bass up against the Hartke amp on the floor. "Hmm? Oh yeah, I thought that we were missing somenoe." He remembered Bey from when he had shown up at the studio and all, but where had she gone? Victor ran a hand through his (a little too greasy) hair and leaned back. He was still in dire need of a damn shower, but he wasn't sure where to get one. Maybe if this actually works out, I'll go rent a hotel room for a couple of nights... And that led him to wonder if he would get paid at all, and if so, how much. At the moment, Victor looked exactly like what he was. Homeless.

Muffled voices came from the room next to theirs, which made him raise an eyebrow and look at Charlotte. Whatever was going on in there didn't sound good. "What the hell is going on?" He asked her, shrugging. "Unless you're a professional wrestler, I don't think it's a good idea to go up against the fuckin' behemoth of a woman in there." And who else but Izzie Martinez could that be. A moment later, Ted came back into the room looking less than pleased. "What?" Victor said, frowning. What the hell did she leave for all of a sudden? "What's going on here, mate?"

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Character Portrait: Charlotte King Character Portrait: Victor Holden Character Portrait: Ted Marubini
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"...and when you start giving a shit about the person who helped you start this."

Those words still echoed in Ted's mind. Who had started Cor Leonis? Was it really his band? As much of the first album's material came from her alternative influences as from Ted's jazz, after all. She took most of the leads on that album, and did a sizable portion of singing. Sure Ted had "led" them in the sense of getting gigs and working with management, but the writing had been largely a group thing, at least before the Roberts brothers left. That had always seemed suspicious, and Bey refused to discuss the "difficulties" Carson had claimed, adding to Ted's suspicions at the time. However, gradually he brushed them aside in favor of trying to get a suitable replacement lineup. And now that seemed to have exacerbated the problem. Maybe he shouldn't have been a bandleader in the first place.

But as he brought his thought spiral back to Earth, back to the rehearsal room, he realized that he had to do his best now. He refused to let Izzie Martinez wreck his career in metal the way she wrecked his career in jazz and sessions. Edward Marubini was finished, but Ed Sturm's career was just starting. He would get through this, one step at a time.

First among those steps was explaining the situation to Charlotte and Victor. "It sounds like Izzie said or did something that got Bey really torn up. She left just now, telling me to call when Izzie was gone and when I...when I, quote, started giving a shit about the person who helped me start this band, unquote." He shrugged. "I guess there's not much to be done. Izzie's not going to leave her studio. She isn't going after either of you any time soon, nor whoever replaces Bey. But still...I mean, at this point we might as well start over with a new name, 'cause Bey took with her the last thing that made Cor Leonis what it was."

So much for optimism and getting through things. Of course, saying it all out made things that much more real and much more of a problem. Ted sighed and stood up from the stool, then sat back down. No need to stand up.