bangingthe_hellouttayou | Shout At The Devil! [Halloween Party] Band members and friends invited

Shout At The Devil! [Halloween Party] Band members and friends invited

Zack had decided that he wanted to do something for Halloween now that he'd gotten his new costume and being a Spider-Man fan he'd gone for a Spider-Punk costume straight from his comics. He'd gotten it at a local comic store down on the Strip and couldn't wait to show Damien because he knew the Dog didn't have comics or anything fun back in Hunger City. Zack now pleased that he'd arranged a Halloween Party for the band members, their friends and family to attend inside the communal area of the apartments. It was the biggest space and there was a bar all stocked up with spooky drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike.

It would be a blast!

There were even spooky snacks with crisps and chips shaped like bats, ghosts and pumpkins. There were even actual pumpkins on a table for those who wished to carve a pumpkin alone or with friends. Zack had tried to make it accessible for all, those who wished to party and get drunk and those who wanted to do non-boozy activities too.

As for costumes---they were optional but preferred.

"Ok, I think that's it. Everyone should be arriving soon."

Zack looking around the room and hoping everyone would like what he had set-up with help from some of the others of course.

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“…You mean Jack?” He asked, having met Ziggy’s brother when they first arrived.

The man looked almost exactly like Ziggy, but he could easily have been a little bit younger. It wasn’t like they got a close up look at the famous one to compare. Still if he looked that similar, he probably inherited the same genetic anomalies too.

Tom could have kicked himself if he wasn't currently walking. Sometimes the alternate dimensions, aliens and what-not meant he put his foot in his mouth. This was one such occasion.

"Ziggy and Jack are twins." Tom clarified as he tried to dig himself out of the hole he just threw himself in. He could have kicked Tommy too for the amused little smile the older Anthean had. "I meant our youngest daughter."

Hopefully that would kill this line of questioning before he got truly backed into a corner.

It was a vey legitimate question. But the answer, while worded a little strangely, still seemed to satisfy Dee. Twins had the same genetics, after all. It wasn’t something he and his wife could have discussed in the middle of labor, between the births. It wouldn’t have made a difference even if they did. But discussing whether to have another child made plenty of sense.

”Oh, second pregnancy...” Dee mused aloud. “…did she? Inherit the condition, I mean? …If you don’t mind me asking?”

"Yes." Tom internally sighed with relief. "Yes, though it hasn't expressed itself the same way."

It was strange to talk about another species as a disease but in the moment it was necessary. Tom wondered how to approach this and added. "It appears to be a dominant expression."

That would at least help explain the similarities between Tommy. Aletayria, Ziggy, Jack, Zayda... and.... Tom's mind froze on Damien. Well, hopefully the lack of red hair would avoid that confrontation in the near future.

Tom would be granted a little luck. Dee hadn’t met Damien at the party, and therefore, hadn’t made any connections between him and the Antheans. He was also buying Tom’s clever cover-ups.

“…Mine isn’t.” He added for comparison. “And it was a complete surprise… that I didn’t get until I was a teenager.”

His voice trailed off, not sure of what to say. He wasn’t sure if having more time to prepare would have been any better. Actually, it probably would have been worse. He went through a year and a half of hell, and couldn’t possibly imagine what his entire childhood could have been like if his parents tried to get ahead of it.

Dee literally shuttered at the thought.

Which made the new apartment, the new people and the smell of something cooking a very welcome interruption. (Probably for both parties by this point.)

"Theirs is present from birth." Tom thought that would be the end of it hopefully. It wasn't that Tom disliked talking about his family but that it was a secret still, especially with strangers.

Martyn came out of the kitchen and looked at Dee before turning around to talk to Robert. "Do we have another set of dishes?"

It seemed they were going to have unexpected company.

Dee was quiet, realizing that he had even more reasons to hopefully meet Ziggy now.

While he didn’t know the exact nature of the family’s genetic condition, if it was present from birth, then Ziggy rose to prominence while navigating some collection of symptoms and treatments. He might be able to provide real life advice that no one else could. And maybe… just maybe… he’d be impressed by a kindred spirit, and see Kuro as a worthy audition to the lineup.

“Oh! Hello!” He gave the two older men a weak wave. “Thank you for letting me join…”

That might be an awkward conversation if it ever happened but Tom hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Good evening." Robert answered while taking things out of pots and plating them up to serve family style. The smells were a chunky vegetable spaghetti with garlic fried tofu. Part of the reason Robert made it as much as he did was Erik's love for the dish.

"Those are Rekker's older brothers." Tom explained since those two were busy getting the food and Tommy was pouring a drink. "Robert, our head of security, and the oldest is Martyn."

He headed for the dining table that was in the rather open space living room/dining room/kitchen space that was mostly only divided by the kitchen island and cabinets.

"Do you want to stay in the chair or sit in one of the dining chairs?" Tom knew to ask, not because of any dealings with illness but he had lost track of the leg injuries that had occurred on this tour, and all the others for that matter.

Despite having been an acquaintance of Rekker’s back at CalArts,he hadn’t actually met his older brothers. (Not to mention, Head of Security for the tour was definitely someone worth getting to know.)

“I can sit in one of the other chairs.” Dee replied. It was usually easier that way, especially when he and Jay went out to eat. Venues didn’t have to try to accommodate, and people didn’t have to stare for long periods of time. “…just… give me a minute, please.”

He’d definitely overdone it at the party itself, and his body was tired. His legs ached. He rubbed his thighs, for what little good his weak grip might do. But with a little help, he forced himself up and walked a few steps over to the nearest dining chair.

“Thank you…”

"You're welcome." Tom was willing to help as much as Dee needed, including pushing in the chair.

Martyn came in with an extra place setting for Dee. The oldest Sterling naturally curious about everyone. "Are you from one of the bands?"

Martyn had seen most of the people but honestly, sometimes he couldn't always keep track. Robert soon joined them with a huge plate of spaghetti and bowl of salad. "Are we getting a midnight raid tonight?"

Robert asked Tom with a sort of paternal amusement. Tom shrugged and looked toward the door. "I think they can smell it from across the building some nights."

“Yes. Well… no… Not yet?”

Unfortunately, this time, Dee really was fresh out of recording balls. He didn’t have any more copies of his demo to share.

“We’re still in the process of auditioning other band members. And shopping our demo around to labels…” he didn’t dare say he hadn’t had much luck. He didn’t want Tom to think they weren’t good enough. So it was best to just leave it at that.

That, and an introduction.

“I’m Dee. I perform as The Prophet… I’m one of Jan’s voice students…”

"You're not the only one." Martyn encouraged as he sat down at the table with Tom and Dee. "I don't think all the bands here are signed."

That was as much of a statement as a question directed at Tom who nodded. "I think some are unsigned or recently signed."

And there were a reasonable number of people on the tour who weren't in bands, either because they were musicians without one or people who did something other than music.

Robert placed the things on the table and took a seat between Martyn and Tom. None of them gave a second thought to Tommy sitting off in the recliners watching them. He did that all the time and none of them paid it much heed at this point.

"Jan is Davy's mother?" Martyn asked because he was far newer and hadn't had time to memorize all the interactions and relationships that existed. It took time to commit names to memory.

Dee wasn't anywhere close to having figured out names, much less connections.

"Jan Sutton, yes." he nodded. She and Rekker had worked together in the past, and perhaps still did from time to time. "Her lessons have been... incredibly valuable. Over the last few years especially."

He knew Robert was the head of security. But Tom didn't specify what field or band Martyn was in.

"Are you looking to get signed too?" he asked Martyn.

Martyn nodded. "She does lessons for Syn too."

Martyn could make a lot of connections but would still rather confirm before assuming.

The question got a chuckle from Robert and a annoyed brotherly glare from Martyn at his younger brother. Age had changed very little in how much the Sterling brothers harassed each other.

"I'm a psychiatrist and therapist, and used to train service dogs." Martyn answered. "The closest I've gotten to music is leading some music therapy sessions years ago."

At first Dee wondered what was funny, but the chuckle soon made sense.

"Jay asked me once if I'd ever thought of getting a service dog..." Dee shook his head, laughing a little himself. "I told him I can still fetch enough things on my own, thanks."

Martyn, being a therapist, may hear a tiny bit of denial and defiance in that tone. It was obvious that Dee had some sort of health issues, given both the wheelchair and the difficulty he seemed to have walking the few steps from it to the table. But that wasn't a motorized chair. He wasn't exactly making it easy on himself.

Oh, Martyn knew denial well. After all, his brother had been the absolute king of denying all sorts of help up until about ten years ago. It's hard to resist the usual eye roll he would give his baby brother.

"The dogs I train wouldn't be much help for your situation." Martyn would remember but not necessarily acknowledge the bullhead behavior. "I work mostly with training for PTSD triggers and mental health assistance."

Robert nodded because he knew why, Rekker. So much of Martyn's work had been driven by trying ro learn how to help his brother.

Edited 2023-11-18 02:55 (UTC)

"oh..." Dee nodded, albeit with shifty eyes that suggested there might be more to that, but this wasn't the time or the place for it. "Right... A different type of dog."

It was probably a good thing none of them ever saw him at a doctor's office. On a good day, he was just nervous. But it could, and had, gotten a lot worse than that. He probably wouldn't have even gotten his first infusion if Jay hadn't held him in his lap the whole time. He'd been through six of them now, and fully admitted that it was both tolerable and manageable... and he still asked to sit in his fiance's lap during treatment. (The nurses at the clinic were nice about it. They actually thought it was cute.)

Robert shook his head because he'd seen quite a few of the musicians with Martyn when they were being unintentionally evaluated.

"If you ever need a guard dog..." Robert started and was silenced by Martyn's side eye.

"I did start with military dogs." Martyn mentioned but let out a deep breath. "Rekker's struggles changed my focus early in my career."

The fact was that he hadn't even finished undergrad before that shift started to happen. "I mainly work with patients who experience deep trauma, depression, and suicidal episodes."

Again, that was Rekker but also his work in the military. Veterans and his brother often had similar mental health struggles though the sources were very different.

"No... that's okay." he replied about the guard dog. But then also added, "I'm not depressed... Wanting to die and choosing to die are two very different... um... things..."

He looked down, biting his lip. Did he really just say that? This turned into an awkward conversation far too fast.

"I'm fine! There's treatment... a... a good treatment now... made by World Enterprises..."

He closed his mouth again, feeling like he just made it even worse. He was trying to network, to show Tom that he was an act worth backing. No one wants to back a cripple, especially one they think might be dying.

"...a very good..." he gulped. "... can someone... pass the salad?"

Martyn couldn't help but focus on the tone and word choice. He had the professionalism to not say anything about it though. The topic wasn't even an awkward one for the three older men, though they could tell it was a subject better dropped.

The treatment comment had all three of them looking toward Newton who had been sitting quietly and not in the conversation. The Anthean looking up curiously at the younger man. All of them had questions they wanted to ask but none of them voiced any of them. Tom was suddenly wondering if Tommy had something to do with Dee showing up.

Martyn eventually had to ask and turned his attention to Tommy. "You decided to turn R&D to medicine?"

Tommy nodded but didn't give any further information. He was still as secretive as ever about what his corporation did and did not do.

Robert passed the salad and felt for the younger man who looked so out of sorts now. "Can I get you something to drink?"

The tension was thick and Robert decided to ignore most of it for the moment.

Dee glanced up to see everyone staring, but not at him. They were staring at Ziggy's uncle, for some reason, who was actually the only one staring at him.

Clearly, this was one thing Dee hadn't connected the dots on.

"Research and development at..." he blinked, the tension was thick, and a change of subject sounded fantastic. "Oh, do you work there?"

Martyn couldn't help the quiet laugh at the 'oh you work there?" comment. The innocence of it and the lack of knowledge was amusing.

Tom decides to broach this subject while Newton appeared to be staring a hole into Dee. No doubt some alien sense had taken over, not that Tom could mention any of that.

"He owns World Enterprises." Tom mentioned it as gently as he could since it might be a shock to realize that you are sitting in a room with some very well-known and important people all the sudden.

Edited 2023-11-18 04:19 (UTC)

"...Owns?!"

Dee had just taken the salad bowl, but a mixture of weak muscles and complete shock caused him to almost immediately drop it.

"Yes." Tom confirmed while trying to ensure that the bowl didn't spill.

Martyn thought this topic was a little calmer and smiled. "Tom's wife works with their R&D department."

And most people knew that Tom himself did R&D for the space program. It was one of the reasons that the two had clicked so quickly despite being from different species.

At least someone was able to catch the bowl. Because salad was the last thing on Dee's mind at that exact moment.

"You're serious!" he could hardly believe it. World Enterprises was probably the biggest company in the entire world. And that was the CEO? He turned, jaw still hanging, to Martyn, and then back to Tom. "She does?"

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