Her studio, the band, the tour we want her to come with us on once we have it planned.
It feels like the old days, talking about this shit and the longevity it’s always had.
It’s a breath of goddamn fresh air, honestly, and I suppose that’s all the more reason for me to be a tension filled motherfucker right now.
I have no idea if there’s still longevity in anything we’re doing, and that terrifies me.
“I’ll let you take a look without me crowding your space.” Rory pushes off the desk and starts walking to the back. “If you don’t like anything, if you need anything else, let me know. You know the drill.”
Then she disappears behind the door as chaotic as she entered, leaving me with the envelope I immediately open so I can begin going through our shoot.
I was tasked with being the one to pick out the promo photos we’re going to use for the new album, our comeback show, and tour to follow.
It’s always been my job and I’ve always really enjoyed it but this shoot was so goddamn different from the ones we’ve had before, so much more intense, and that’s probably another factor in looking like I have a crowbar up my ass.
Leo wasn’t fucking kidding when she said she wasn’t going to let anything dictate how she lived her life anymore and with that came the very first mention ofResurrection: The Life and Death of Leonor Poe and The Ravens.
It’s a long fucking album title but it’s perfect and as soon as the words left her lips, I could see every single track we were going to lay, starting withNevermore.
The floodgates opened right along with Leo’s pretty little mouth and we knocked out the first ten songs in two fucking weeks, got promo shots done, and Luck managed to squeeze us into SummerFest as a headliner.
It’s a local show full of local bands but it’s a good way to get our feet wet again, especially if we can get Vintage to back the ridiculously long tour Leonor seems to think we need.
Not that I’m complaining, not much, because our girl is fucking back and that’s all that matters.
Carefully spreading the prints over the top of the glossy wood, that goofy smile is back and I immediately know which photos we’re using for what.
The first is perfect for the back of the album.
All five of us in nothing but black jeans and combat boots, backs to the camera and our fucking big cat tattoos are loud as fuck on full display, probably for the first time ever together.
Our girl is dead center between me and Norman with Luck and Pete on the ends and the three of them with long locks have their hair pulled over their left shoulders to keep the shot clean.
The lighting is dim, the brick wall in front of us is ominous as fuck and the concrete we’re sitting on is super uninviting but there’s something about this that is so perfect, so fucking simple, and it’s going to be the back of the physical album for sure.
Scanning the other photos more or less to be a good sport because I already know what else we’re going to use, I shake my head with a grin.
How the fuck did we get here?
I don’t actually want that question answered, not when it could very well jinx this whole entire shitshow, but it’s very surreal to be doing this again.
Amazing, but surreal.
My eyes bounce around the desk, noting small differences in each set of shots, making sure I have the ones that won’t driveLucky crazy because of some minute detail that’s out of whack and once I’ve settled, I put the one’s we’ll keep in our file back in the manilla envelope then spread out the finals.
The crucifixion.
That’s what Leonor said when we were deciding on something that would make a statement, a pose or whatever that would have people shitting their drawers with excitement over this new chapter.
Our girl wanted to emulate the crucifixion and my god, the results from that could not be more spot on.
The four of us played the cross; Lucky was the top, Norm and Pete were the sides, and I was at Leo’s feet. Our positions came courtesy of Luck’s OCD but now that I’m seeing the final result, it couldn’t have been any other way.
Our girl is naked as the day she was born, the four of us holding her up in the shape of a cross, arms wide and legs crossed at the ankles. Her head is tilted back on Lucky’s shoulder, black eyes toward the sky, cherry waves draped behind him while he keeps her suspended. Peter and Norm are holding her in a way that they each have a handful of tit so they’re covered but keep her stretched out with her arms across their chests. Leo’s calves are on my shoulder while I’m basically kneeling at her feet, one hand over her pussy while the other helps support her body to maintain the shape she wanted.
We’re all looking at her, I don’t think anyone told us to but we are and the feral kind of possession on each of our faces by accident is almost as intense as what my sugar did to finish off the shot.
Leonor is stripped raw and displayed bare, nothing to hide, every inch of her and her demons on display for all to see but that’s not even the kicker.
