Realistic or Modern » [ redux ]

[local dreamer]

you are the dreamer and we are the dream
i could write it better than you ever felt it

we are full/NOTaccepting, sorry​

 

[Atlas42]

skylar woods - 19 - bass

Touring for months (and even years) on end takes an extreme toll on individuals. Coming off of their first successful tour, this change was marked by the members of Mock Soldier. Not all of these changes were, bad, however. This was most evident in their bassist, Skylar, who was sitting in the same tour bus again, 4 months after the ending of their official tour. Now late July, the band was hurdling down the road, beach bound. Skylar wasn't quite sure how she felt being back on the road again so soon. Their first tour had been both one of the best and most exhausting times of her life. Even though her face was slightly more haggard and drawn, she felt as if she'd grown significantly as a person. Not quite as mousy and insecure, Skylar quickly found herself in situations she'd never imagined, and doing things she would have never though herself capable of. She went from being the shy, constantly ill wallflower to becoming a skilled bassist in a band that was rapidly rising in popularity. She would get onstage with bass in hand every night, hearing the screams of jubilation fans, and beam widely as she heard their voices all combine as one as they sang along with Mason. It was an exhilarating, powerful feeling, playing in front of a crowd that was so moved by their music. This admiration and love from fans continued even off stage. Fans knew her by name, and the more avid ones knew her birthday, hometown, favorite flavor of ice cream (strawberry) and other bits of trivial information about her. It was shocking to imagine that others would so greatly interest themselves in her personal life, much less consider her as the sweet "fan favorite." Somehow, Skylar fit in perfectly between the highly anxious, yet charming singer, Mason, the bubbly and chatty guitarist, Chelsea, and the goofy drummer, Ryder. She had a place, great friends, and bright future ahead of her.

Despite all of the warm butterflies and rainbows, things had been tough, too. Transitioning from a small town and a relatively quiet life with her single father to touring life had been quite a shock, one that had taken her weeks to get used to -- she still wasn't quite used to it. She quickly found herself surrounded by lots of other people besides Mock Soldier, and often discovered herself standing in the midst of a wild after-party. At these, she felt like an awkward wallflower once more, observing other individuals like Ryder shotgun beer after beer, and then having to deal with and babysit the aftermath of these drunken escapades. The three most difficult aspects of touring, however, was dealing with her health struggles, her fear and doubts of the future, and how much she missed her dad. He worried for her immensely, and she would always return to her tour bunk for the night to be greeted to an explosion of missed texts and calls from her dad. As the days and distance went on, her heart ached in separation, but she tried to Facetime her dad at least once a day, every day. There moments during the tour where she was unsure if she was physically able to continue. Halfway through, in January, she came down with the flu, one that doctors worried about developing into pneumonia. This illness, along with her moderate asthma, wrecked havoc on her lungs, and she found herself hardly able to breathe, or even have the strength to stand up for two hours and play her bass. Mock Soldier had to consequently cancel multiple shows as a result, something that still made Skylar's insides writhe in guilt. Luckily, these cancellations provided her enough time to heal and recover, and as soon as her health improved, they were onto the next city. That had definitely been the lowest point, and although Mock Soldier and their fans had been nothing but encouraging for their ailing bassist, but she immediately knew that she'd let everyone down. She had no intentions of letting her health get in the way this time.

That brought them to the present moment, with the crab grass and palm trees growing on the side of the road, indicating that their destination was almost in sight. Skylar had an acoustic guitar in hand, and was strumming the chords to Tegan and Sara's "Call It Off," while softly singing the lyrics "maybe I would've been something you'd be good at." While the bass was her primary instrument, she knew how to play guitar very well, and when given the downtime, she could play and sing for hours. Ryder was chilling out in the back, half asleep and absentmindedly playing with his fidget spinner that he'd picked up at a convenience store a few miles back. The bright, summer light filtered through the drawn blinds, and suddenly Skylar wrinkled her nose, stopped mid-song, and ducked her nose into the crook of her elbow as she emitted two, high-pitched sneezes. Sniffling, she pulled out a wad of tissues that she always kept in her pocket. Even when not ill, she was always pretty sneezy and sniffly, and she needed to be prepared lest she have any embarrassing moments. She used to be ashamed of her sneezes in front of her band members, but by now, her high-pitched, kitten-like sneezes were expected several times throughout the day. She blew her nose as silently as possible, threw the tissue in the nearby wastebasket, and returned to her Tegan and Sara song.

It wasn't long after she finished her song until the bus parked at its destination. They were staying in a small, but charming cottage by the ocean. It was a bright, pastel blue, matching many of the other quirky beach houses scattered about. It was just big enough for all of he band members, plus a few of the managers to stay in. Each person would be sharing a room, which would be fine by Skylar other than her nighttime asthma symptoms. She'd kept up Mason, Chelsea, and Ryder frequently on tour with her nighttime coughing and wheezing, and would likely do the same at the beach. This gave her a little twinge of anxiety, and she hoped that Chelsea (who she assumed she'd be sharing a room with) had brought her earplugs. Other than anxiety about her sleeping arrangement, Skylar was so excited to be here. The plan was to create publicity and return to Mock Soldier's intimate, small show roots. They were expected to play at some beach bars, have some impromptu beach jamming sessions, and hopefully draw fans in from the surrounding area. They weren't sure how long they'd be staying here; it all depended on their success. This was far better than touring, and in between playing music with her best friends, Skylar couldn't wait to work on her tan -- she was by far the palest member in the band, with pasty, paper-white skin. With a wide grin, Skylar looked at her three bandmates and declared, "Better grab the sunscreen guys, the first thing I'm doing is laying by the pool! C'mon!" With a happy little laugh, Skylar stood up and ran out of the bus into the sunlight, guitar forgotten on the bus seat as she basked in the glory of the sun and the excitement of their beach trip.​

 

[local dreamer]

indentationIt was no surprise that Mason Wells was sleeping, stretched out on one of the benches of the Mock Soldier Tour bus. Even though they'd been off of tour for four months and were just now getting back on the road, it hadn't been easy for the lead singer. He was still having a difficult time adjusting to the changes of the past two years and the two year anniversary of the accident was coming up fast. The previous year, he'd taken some time off from last minute studio work and practices with the newer members of Mock Soldier, and spent those days surrounding the anniversary shut up in his apartment, phone off and disconnected from everything.

indentationThis year, Mason was going to be on the road for a few weeks as a sort of distraction and to get back to the band's roots now that they'd completed a full tour. Still, it wasn't expected to be easy. The previous tour, he'd had a lot of anxiety and problems settling down on the road. He'd hardly slept during the tour, avoiding his bunk for the first half of it, and then just being too anxious to sleep once he finally did start retreating to his bunk at night. Most of the time, he'd lock himself up in the back of the bus with a guitar and a notebook. By the end of the tour, he'd filled out a spiral-bound notebook with lyrics, chord progressions, and basic rhythms. There were even a few paragraphs of writing here and there, mostly just thoughts that Mason was having. When the notebook wasn't in his hands, it was shoved inside of his pillow or tucked into one of the guitar cases so no one just picked it up and read it.

indentationMason had been talking with the three members of Mock Soldier earlier, until finally, he'd crashed out. Mason had caught a red-eye flight the night before from Florida to the bus garage after visiting his father and stepmother for a family wedding a few days prior and had just hung around the garage until everyone else arrived. It'd been nice to see his bandmates again. Sure, he'd seen them a few times over their break, what with practices and one small photoshoot, but he'd been largely alone as they visited with their families again. Unlike Mason, most of his bandmates seemed to get along fairly well with their families. He was happy for them, of course, but it was still somewhat difficult.

indentationMason stirred only very faintly now and then as the bus hit a particularly large bump or stopped abruptly, and on the occasional note that Skylar hit while singing. He shifted slightly further onto his side, drawing his legs up closer before a grimace crossed his face. A month ago, he'd been covering guitar for a friend in an underground-metal band and with a hyped-up and poorly-controlled crowd, things had gotten messy. Mason had wound up getting pushed off the stage when a scuffle broke out between a fan and the lead singer and wound up with a fracture to his heel. He was in a cast, but was weight-bearing finally, and cleared for tour. It was just an annoyance and it had reminded Mason to be grateful that, as a more well-known musician, he had security to prevent accidents like that.

indentationMason stirred when Skylar sneezed, lip quirking sleepily as he identified the source of the noise. He mumbled something that might have been a "bless you" but really could have been anything, before inhaling loudly and opening his eyes as he fully awakened to his surroundings. He pushed himself into a more upright position and peered blearily out the bus window. "Where...?" It wasn't the most intelligible question, but it was all he could manage as his brain came back online. Judging by the position of the sun, it was afternoon, and the bus was no longer on the freeway, but in a touristy-looking area, so he was certain they were close.

indentationSure enough, only a minute later, the bus slowed and came to a halt, parking near a quaint, light blue cottage. Something tugged at Mason's hearstrings as he looked at the cottage and he felt a little swell of excitement. Before he could even react, Skylar had jolted to her feet and was scrambling for the bus door, shouting in excitement. A small smile crossed Mason's face, reaching his eyes and taking away the strain that his face always seemed to bear when not on stage, and he nodded at Chelsia. "Guess we're gonna be beach babes today, huh, Chels?"

 

[deer]

Chelsia Ellington - 20 - Lead Guitarist

[COLOR= #FC648C]"Ah, no, mum. I - please, um, not yet. We haven't -"[/COLOR] She tried to get out as her mother continuously hounded her down with one questions after another. It hasn't been a day since she last spoke to her mum and her mum was already going on and on about her day. It seems that whenever she spoke to her mum Shelby, she always found a way to divert the conversation to Chelsia's relationship with her band mates. Chelsia absolutely adored all of them to pieces, they were like family to her, however, it didn't help that her mum always tried to hover over them so often that it could sometimes be a little overbearing.

"Chelsia? Hello? Earth to my daughter? Have you gone and day dreamed again? This is important! Chelsia!" Her mum yelled from the phone only for Chelsia to jump in her bunker. Biting her lips as her brows furrowed, Chelsia managed to pull the phone away from her ears before her mum could cause her to become deaf for the rest of the day. Rubbing her ears, Chelsia sighed before taking a deep breath, [COLOR= #FC648C]"Oh, mum, could you stop worrying? I wasn't day dreaming. I just needed some time to think a little. You talk way too much, you know that, right, Mum?"[/COLOR] Chelsia giggled, teasing her mother only to hear a "hmph" on the line. Her mother, on the other hand retorted, "You get that from me, my sweet baby doll. Don't you know? You chatter about your friends almost every day too! They're practically my children since you speak so highly about them. When are you bringing them over?" Although Chelsia had been laughing along with her mum, when her mum asked that question, Chelsia slightly froze in her spot, finding herself feeling uncomfortable as she scratched her arm. [COLOR= #FC648C]"I - well, you see, mum. I don't think -"[/COLOR] She started only to get cut off by her mum. "Sorry, darling. I have to go. Client's are coming. We will finish this chat a little later, alright? Love you, my sweetheart. Ta-Ta!" With that, her mum abruptly hung up the phone only for Chelsia sigh.

Looking at her phone, a small smile made it's way towards her lips as she looked at her phone's wallpaper screen. Her lock screen was a picture of her and her bandmates: Ryder, Skylar, and Mason. However, when she unlocked her phone, her home page was a photo of her mum and her papa. It has been years since her father passed away, but it always felt like yesterday since she once had him in her life. Unconsciously, Chelsia slipped her finger through her hair as she reached for an over-sized button down shirt. Taking a whiff of the shirt, Chelsia breathed it in, calming down her nerves as she smiled into the shirt. Just like papa.

Feeling a little bit better and not as homesick, Chelsia stretched as she looked at her wall: another photograph of her and her bandmates along with newspaper and magazine clippings framed and dangled with christmas lights. Chelsia loved decorating the tour bus, especially wanting to make it a little more and comfortable. She and the band had spent the majority of the time on their tour bus when they weren't out doing fan service, being on tour, or other jobs they had to do. Just thinking about the screaming and hyped up crowd, the adrenaline rush she felt before every show, and meeting the fans made Chelsia's inside soar and it made her jitter in excitement! Chelsia loved being with her band family, especially doing music and exploring and adventuring the world with her Ryder, Skylar, and Mason. Although it could be tiring at times, Chelsia always found herself hyping and motivating her band mates to keep and lift their spirits up. She always believed herself to be the motivator and she would definitely stop at nothing to energize her bandmates.

Chelsia missed being on tour and going through all of the craziness. She loved the hectic schedules but also the long nights of just talking about mostly anything and everything. So, when the band had taken a break after a successful and exciting tour, Chelsia hadn't realized how attached she was to the band until she was away from them for a few months. Sure, they all kept in touch, but everyone seemed scattered and busy catching up with the family and their lives after tour that Chelsia couldn't help but feel as if she was invading if she texted them too often. Honestly, she was very worried and concerned about her best friend Skylar, especially when she was sick and ill on and off during the tour. But, she knew Skylar would pull through and was very excited whenever she and Skylar were able to talk and chat on the phone when they weren't with each other. Chelsia was glad that she was able to get back to her dad since Chelsia knew the feeling of missing a family member, especially a parent. It was sorta like her and her mom, except it was Skylar and her dad.

Mason, on the other hand, was a different story. She practically almost hopped onto a plane when she heard that he had an incident with a fan during a night of playing somewhere local. Chelsia worried about how his foot would heal, especially since it was so close to where they were going to go back on tour and back to their lives of busy schedules and cramped spaces. However, Chelsia couldn't just text him 24/7 about how he was doing and bother him, so it was a strain on her to try and text Mason at least once a day or once every two day. Sometimes, she had to stop herself from texting Mason at all and it ended up just her not picking up her phone unless Skylar or Ryder called.

However, before she knew it, the bus stopped and Chelsia heard the delightful and excitement voice of Skylar as she took off running out of the bus. Giggling at Skylar's antics, Chelsia tilted her head to the side as she looked out the window. Her eyes widened in surprise but also glee as she couldn't help but jump slightly on her toes. The sky was clear, the blue water was enticing, and it was such a gloriously magnificent day! [COLOR= #FC648C]"It's so beautiful! The cottage is so precious too! And there's the pool and the beach! Oh we have to go! Yes, mam'! We'll get the items!"[/COLOR] Chelsia exclaimed as well before fumbling around the tour bus, quickly wanting to get things together. Finally finding a bag that was big enough for four towels, Chelsia made sure to bring some snacks, sunglasses, and lots of sunblock. Once she finished preparing, Chelsia smiled, walking up next to Mason as she nodded in response, [COLOR= #FC648C]"We are totally going to be rocking the beach babe style! Speaking of which . . . .[/COLOR] she began before she started trudging through the beach bag as she took out a floral hawaiian shirt and beach shorts as she raised it up to Mason, [COLOR= #FC648C]"Look what I found? You should totally wear it! I bought Skylar and I matching bikinis and so when we all have the outfits on, we can take a group photo for the 'gram! Fun in the sun, isn't it a cute idea?"[/COLOR] Chelsia asked, practically hopping up and down, hoping that Mason and Ryder would agree with the idea. [COLOR= #FC648C]"Race you to the pool where Skylar is!"[/COLOR]

Soon, even Chelsia took off running from the tour bus, reaching and catching up to Skylar, [COLOR= #FC648C]"Sky! On my way here, I saw a cute little shop! Why don't we go in there and get some floaties? I saw a cute unicorn one and I've been dying to try to use one of those! It's been forever since I've gone to a place like this and my childish need is coming out!"[/COLOR] She exclaimed excitedly, before giggling and smiling widely at her best friend, ready to have some fun before calling out to Mason, [COLOR= #FC648C]"Come on, Mace!"[/COLOR]

tags: local dreamer , Atlas42