video | i was one of those preteen backstreet boys fans and i am living

[axemeaquestion]

[The video is shot from someone's seated lap, legs in dark jeans crossed, Rochelle doing her best to hide that she's recording. Across cameramen and a news van, a Level 2 local news anchor is interviewing a young deer Prismal in a *BTSB shirt.

The Prismal is very excitedly going off into why Lecter is their favorite fox boy. He's hot, he's talented, he LOVES cats, and they saw him in the gym the other day and oh my god look at this selfie they got??

They take out their phone and start waving their selfie in front of the camera, jumping up at down. After a point, they just start rambling. Rochelle tilts her phone up to her face. She grins behind a hologram script, expression equal parts exasperated and fondly amused.

She switches to text not long after.]

back where i'm from we had a couple big boy bands like this with a LOT of fangirls like these. i was sixteen when they got really big. i was also pretty dumb. somehow thought i was better than everyone else who liked them because i liked 1980s new wave and synth pop more. like i said, i was sixteen.

so anyone seen these BTSB guys around? Backstay Sailor Boys or something? because wow. i thought the Midnight Riders was a bad name for a band.

then again, the latter literally saved my life after the infection hit. had to blast crappy old guy rock music and fireworks and fight off zombies on a fairground stage to get a helicopter's attention. so what do i know?

anyway. people are saying i should use this network thing to talk about my thoughts more so uhhhhhh. work's interesting lately? management's pushing a lot more fluff and celebrity stories. this station's already small and kind of directionless and now

well

here's hoping i don't end up in tabloid journalism i guess.

Comments

[loungelizard]

My offer is still on the table...should you get bored of interviewing teenagers with sugar highs.

[axemeaquestion]

i'm not the one interviewing them. technically, associate producers don't go on-camera.

[that's not a yes or a no, rochelle]

you got a publishing company, right? what do you do again?

[loungelizard]

You're still involved with the process, aren't you?

Entertainment media. Comics, music, film, video games...and whatever else doesn't come to mind right now.

[axemeaquestion]

sure. i just happen to be on script right now.

yeah? i mean, i wouldn't mind helping out with the bits and pieces if you need something. news production and media production cross paths a little.

1/2

[loungelizard]

Just bits and pieces? You know how much it'd shake things up if you came and left mid-project. I like a woman who can commit.

text;

[herbmixing]

The nineties, right? I'm right in the middle of that craze back home, AND I'm who they're for, and I still don't get the appeal.

[ An absolute lie. Lecter's buff sex appeal and Tarn's boy-next-door cuteness are doing everything for her.

She sees 'zombies' and 'infection' too...but files it away for later. That feels like a face-to-face conversation topic. ]

My dad would never let me live it down if he knew his Steely Dan records could save lives.

[axemeaquestion]

yep. it was around 96 for me. in fairness, i actually liked NSYNC after i got over...being 16.

[Ro won't lie - she'd probably like that Suzaku guy if she was boy band-aged again.

And Rebecca, girl, we can definitely talk zombies.]

oh DEFINITE same for my dad. he loved the Midnight Riders. but any band famous for pyrotechnic shows could have worked at the time, honestly.

[herbmixing]

I don't think I've ever heard of them...but I still feel like I know exactly how they sound.

I'm surprised we're so close in time and place! It's '98 for me.

[axemeaquestion]

If you know what classic rock sounds like? Trust me. You know how they sound.

It's actually 2009 where I'm from. But I was 16 in '96.

text | j.valentine

[torsion]

I remember this, sort of. Don't remember much about it since I'm more a hard rock kinda gal -- and I was on the move a lot when it really hit it big.

Kinda how journalism, is, huh? People seem to prefer the fluff so that's what makes the money. Take it you'd rather do the hard-hitting stuff?

Re: text | j.valentine

[axemeaquestion]

fair enough i guess. it was hard not to hear about NSYNC and all those guys, though.

and not always. community news and hard news exist for a reason, and people got to get it somewhere. i worked hard news back home in cleveland.

[torsion]

I think I was working as a mercenary around that time. Lot of sleeping bags in the middle of nowhere. But I remember that name.

Makes me feel old.

Definitely don't disagree, but especially with the constant pop-ups on my phone right now it's pretty clear that people are happier focusing on this. Maybe for the better since there seemed to be something of an anti-Moonblessed sentiment going for a bit there.

[axemeaquestion]

you can do what i tell myself. i'm not old. i'm forever young. and definitely not turning 30 this year.

oh yeah i agree with that. sometimes you need some good news. that part doesn't bother me, especially after the "vocal minority" graffiti-ed the front door of my station.

text;

[uncredentialed]

I like Haley and his Comets better.

[axemeaquestion]

huh?

[sorry virginia, she has no idea what you're talking about

she knows halley's comet tho]

[uncredentialed]

Bands? Bill Haley and His Comets? Rock Around the Clock?

[axemeaquestion]

is this one of those

sock hop kind of bands

text un; the magician

[iminthebook]

Seems like you're keeping busy, at least, yes?

I remember far too many boy band hits for my comfort.

[axemeaquestion]

hey harry. i can't talk. once i got over....being 16, i actually liked NSYNC.

and i guess so? sure.

[iminthebook]

How's it going, Rochelle?

I was very hit and miss about like, following bands, but I sang a lot, and hummed a lot, during training, to teach myself vocalization, concentration, and memorization.

As a result, I know way too many of those songs by heart to the tone and everything.

[axemeaquestion]

not so bad this time. how's your head?

at least tell me Bye Bye Bye exists where you're from

arrives 500 years late; un: allstar

[meteorman]

Serious question: did having the music playing make fighting the zombies easier?

I only ask because I've found the only reliable way to kill (re-kill?) them is via a perfect three part harmony, but I've been led to believe that may be something unique to my dimension.

[axemeaquestion]

uh

[Hang on. Sometimes she forgets she's not the only one who's dealt with zombies.]

that's pretty unique yeah

noise attracts zombies were i'm from. noise was necessary and/or unavoidable sometimes though. like starting a machine or opening something loud and squeaky.

or....you know. starting a rock concert so you can get rescued.

tbh i think harmonizing at them wouldve just made them want to kill me more.

[meteorman]

It may be a difference across realities, then. Or a difference in specific zombie biology. You mentioned an infection. I assume your zombies were more 'fresh' (for lack of a better term), meaning their skulls were likely strong enough to withstand concentrated vibration but perhaps more susceptible to things like brass knuckles and bullets.

[What is delicacy and tact, it's fine.]

Mine were the result of necromancy and thus at a much more advanced stage of decay. If you ever build a house, be sure it isn't positioned directly on top of a mass grave.

[axemeaquestion]

can we slow down a second?