The Future Is Bulletproof

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Killjoys am I coming through?

I-I think this is broadcasting. This is Vinyl Dust coming in though the static, still alive. It has been chaos out here in my area of the zones. It happened during the night, people came through the town and lit off five times as many explosives that Tommy might keep in the back of his shop. I was out in a bar when they hit, blowing out the windows of the joint. There's not much left of old Mississippi Queen's. I was able to find my way out of the joint ok but what I found on the streets was what could be reminiscent of the old times. The times of war. Masked people in the streets were shattering windows and throwing Molotov cocktails inside. Almost every building was up in flame. I made my way back to my place to make sure Mayhem was ok. An explosive had gone off nearby and had blown out the windows. I found Mayhem out cold on the floor surrounded by little pieces of glass. She sustained a head injury but I'm sure she'll be ok. I cant say that much for the people of the area though. We took major casualties, five folks are dead so far. And there's no clue as to who lead the attack. Some speculate that it was people from the city looking to scare zone dwellers away, some say it was the work of desert raiders or violent gangs. Personally I wonder if it had something to do with the underground BLI forces I saw before. Either way now is the time for rebuilding, not vengeance. This is the first time in awhile I've been able to get a broadcast sent out. So I ask you killjoys, send what aid you can give to those in need. And keep me updated on whether or not there were more attacks from around the zones.

Heres todays song

Well Killjoys, looks like we've made it through yet another year together. Crazy to think about all that's happened in the time that's passed. I've been at this whole broadcast thing for quite some time now! It's been exactly a year now actually, since Mayhem was taken from me...

How things really have changed.

But I haven't been alone on this ride the whole time. Over the years I've been talking on here, I've amassed a small following of you joys and I just want you to know that I wouldn't still be doing this if it wasn't for the constant support from that community. I want to thank you for being there in the best and worst of times. It really means a lot to me.

That being said I think special mentions are in order.

First and foremost, thank you to @warrior-penguin and @maximumbootysmuggler. for all the support you guys give me. You're my best friends and I wouldn't do anything cool ever if it wasn't for you.

Another thank you to @thekillkid2019 for always checking up on me and keeping in contact. You rock!

And a huge thank you to @mcrdeviantclub. Without your support in particular, this project wouldn't have grown nearly to the heights it has. I am forever grateful for everything you do and for being there to enjoy what I do.

There are some other people I feel I should mention as well for keeping up with what I write and their show of support. Don't think you guys go unnoticed! @bxni-muerte, @dolphelecat, @desertlynxkilljoy, @thirteen13stuff, @killjoy-idiot9, @thisriddle-of-revenge, @dust-kittat, @party-kat, @anthemofthezones, @lostwanderer42, @the-name-is-goldilocks, @expertprocrastinator, @mousekatmerch, @thisispotterheadterritory, @ghoststations

These are only a small number of the followers I've gained, but thank you to all those who've shown me support. I hope you all know that I appreciate every single one of you. What I do here is for you. So go into this year with your heads held high. Speak your opinions. Run the distance. And make good art. Do all this and know I'll be with you every step of the way.

Here's todays songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20KcK0OhOGo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elT5qPKkJTY

And a video to send you off on your year

Hello again Killjoys

I'd like to wish you all a happy holiday season! I know that there's some of you out in the zones that practice the old holidays like Christmas, Hanukah, and a few other old religious based holidays. There's those of you who celebrate the holidays simply for the warmth, good will, and festivity that comes with this time of the year. And there's a few of you killjoys who celebrate their own zone based holidays such as spending time with loved ones and spreading cheer and spirit in honor of the desert patron saint of charity.

Regardless of your reason for the season, it is still a time to spend with those dear to our hearts, to give what we can to those in need, and to appreciate what we do have. The zones may be a harsh and unforgiving place but let that not make us into harsh and unforgiving people. It cannot take our spirit from us and this is the time to prove that.

So visit your loved ones today. If you haven't spoken to a friend in a long time, now would be the opportune time to stop by. When you see a tumbleweed less fortunate than you lend a helping hand. Let us not be strangers this day, but kind souls who can be trusted as friends.

Open your hearts killjoys. You may be surprised at what an invitation of kindness brings.

Here's todays song

Hello again Killjoys.

Do you ever feel stuck? Like you're standing around one day and suddenly water starts rushing around your feet. That's fine, you think to yourself. You can handle it. But then the water turns black, and it thickens. Sticky black oil surrounds you and it gets everywhere. It gets on your hands but you cant rub it off, it gets under your nails, in your hair. Your clothes cling to you wet and heavy. You try to move your legs but they wont budge. Wave upon wave pushes up against you and now its up to your waist. It seems you cant escape it and you cry out for help, but no one responds. You seem to be sinking now, being pushed down by an unknown force. Now you're up to your neck in the stuff. In way to deep. You know there's no way out and you remain motionless as the level rises. It covers your mouth and gets in your throat. You cant scream. The smell gets in your nose and finally it covers your eyes and you're immersed in the darkness. The stuff slowly fills your brain and you cant think over the sound of the pounding waves. The voices of the ghosts stuck with you.

The knowledge that you will be ok is not present. You wait with the ghosts.

When will it be ok.

Here's todays song

Hello again killjoys.

Yesterday I traveled out to one of the gearhead settlements in zone 4. My car has been running poorly lately and I’m in need to a few parts to get her purring again. If you’ve never been to the land of motor oil and metal scraps then I suggest you take a trip out there sometime. Mayhem considers herself one of them, as she was really quite handy with machines.

The people out there are friendly, and they live among restored droids from the city where they work hand in hand on restoration projects. Machinery is their livelihood, and even for some it is a religion. Tents and shacks are set up in rows and old cars sit around with the hoods open wide, parts littering the ground. Piles of metal scraps are everywhere and the smell of grease and sweat is in the air. Every hand you shake on your way through will undoubtedly be covered in black oil stains. If you need anything fixed up then that is the place to go. Even if you’re not from their area, it always feels safe there. For some reason it always feels like home.

Here’s todays song

Hello again killjoys, how have you all been?

I’m so sorry I’ve left you hanging for so long now. My station’s equipment broke down and I had to scavenge for the right parts at Tommy’s shop, which I eventually did find.

My equipment wasn’t the only thing that broke recently. Poor wallet.

While I was looking around Tommy’s, I also found something interesting mixed in with the clutter. They were photographs, old ones too. There were children playing in piles of leaves, but the strange thing about the leaves was that they were all sorts of brilliant shades of red, gold, and fire orange. They fell from the trees and rained down upon the children. The sun streaming between the branches of the trees made it look as if the air was on fire.

There are very few trees out in the zones, but the leaves on those trees are small and when they die they turn brown and fall a short distance. I know there are a few trees in Batt City too, but those stay green year round. They’re probably all artificial. These trees, where would I have to go to find them?  

Sadly for all I know, they probably died along with the people in the pictures back during the wars. Some days, it seems that the wars took almost everything beautiful out of the world. They even took the beauty out of death.

I asked Tommy if he knew about the pictures, but a shrug of his shoulders said otherwise. So I bought them. It’s best not to let memories so good die out.

Here’s today’s song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaO_YX23Sm4

Happy Halloween Killjoys!

It is that time of year again where I recount another Halloween tale before the eve draws to a close. A big thing out here in the zones is the subject of witches. Regardless if  you are a follower of the Phoenix Witch, or if you believe in no supernatural power, there are still those out in the further reaches of the desert who practice witchcraft. They are the ones in tune with the earth and its spirits. They sing to the moon and read the stars at night. They do not show themselves to others often but there are a few who've gained their own sort of infamy among the legends of the desert folk. One such witch was called Lady Death. Lady Death fancied herself to be a better guide for the dead than the Phoenix Witch herself. So while the Phoenix Witch would be away, Lady Death would break her mailbox shrines across the desert and steal the belongings inside. She would then try to summon those poor lost souls and trap them away using spells and glyphs. Those souls would never then find a way out of the burning desert hell, forever being lost to the Phoenix Witch's watchful eye.

The Witch of course did find out what was happening to her lost souls. She found Lady Death and laid a curse on her. She removed one thing that connecter her to the people of this land. She took away her heart beat.

Now Lady Death is forced to wander the desert for eternity, cursed to live forever neither dead nor truly alive. The Witch will have nothing to do with carrying her soul and it is likely that she will remain that way forever. But she still leads souls astray. She finds the souls who also wander alone and they follow her, knowing no other way to go. With the Phoenix Witch not there to guide them they become lost to Lady Death's black parade of the wandering dead. So if you happen to lose you life this Halloween, don't lose your soul too. Should you see Lady Death's parade in the distance, do not follow it. Lest you be forced to walk this barren hellscape for eternity in death too.

Heres last years story for those of you interested

And heres todays song

Hello again killjoys!

Its getting to that time again in the zones where brush off their old scary masks and pull out glitter and their saved up sweets. Halloween in the zones is just around the corner and you know what that means. Bon fires late at night and stories passed down through years of tradition. Laugher ringing across the desert plains and pranks held among friends. People wear costumes and face paint to tell great tales. Everyone remembers their dead.

Its also the time of year when it's said that the spirits of the fallen can be most easily seen. The ones that don't get found by the Witch. The ones that are doomed to wander until they find their way. Friends and family of the fallen will often go out to the mailbox shrines where they left the masks or belongings of their dead and leave gifts, hoping it will attract the Witch. Just in case.

The smell of burning incense and bonfires and diesel being burned by long car trips will linger in the air for weeks to come.

Here's todays song 

Hello again killjoys. How has the desert been treating you?

Today I drove by a funeral procession. It was way out by the far edge of zone 5, in an unassuming part of the desert. The sun was just setting and the sky was starting to pale to a lavender blue. Satellites and stars and the headlights of cars were just starting to come into view. It was a small group of people standing around their loved one who laid on the ground. They all wore their masks but their friend did not which makes me wonder where it might be. Usually killjoys try to die with their masks on. It was quite silent. No one cried but the feral wolves out in the distance; their hollow voices carrying their souls far from where they stood. The fallen killjoy was covered in paper flowers, a few real flowers, and the smallest traces of glitter. I saw one friend kneel down and for and instant there was a spark. Then a gentle flame curled up from the body. As I continued to drive it got darker. The standing figures slowly melted into the surroundings until all I could see was the fire, burning bright.

I wish you safe passage, fallen friend.

Here's todays song 

Hello again Killjoys.

Out in the zones, at least in area I'm from, we've had a little tradition that goes back as far as I can remember. Balloons are rather hard to come by so they aren't regularly used in our celebrations. Instead we would use paper and bits of wire or wood to make floating lanterns. Every year to celebrate our birthdays, the killjoy and their friends would get together and release their softly lit lanterns just as darkness would touch the sky. The lanterns came in different shapes, and some would have writing on them. Little words of advice or inspiration or a dear memory.

We would watch those lanterns drift up and as the sky grew darker the lanterns would float further away, eventually joining the stars. They would soon become indecipherable among all the little pinpricks of light.

BLI weren't the only ones who could put satellites in the sky.

Birthdays used to be pretty important to us. It meant that you had survived another year without being ghosted. But in recent years, I've stopped counting birthdays. Until today that is.

It hit me when I happened upon one of Mayhem's old polaroid photos. She took it on my birthday so many years ago. And then I realized that my birthday passed four days ago. I even forgot about her birthday, six months prior. I'm not sure why, but I felt a huge pang of remorse and loneliness. So what I spent last night doing was I crafted two lanterns. I pushed Mayhem outside where she could see the sky. And I let the two lanterns go.

Neither of us spoke the whole time. But Mayhem watched intently. She did not look away until those lanterns were united with the stars.

Heres todays song

Hello again Killjoys

I've just received some terrible news from a friend I have out in a Zone 2 settlement. It was practically a massacre. I don't have all the details but from what I've heard about it, five people, all wearing masks, went into a diner with weapons held high. The masks they wore were not killjoy masks, but they weren't the dreaded drac masks we all know and hate. They were they ranged from hockey masks to theater masks and they concealed the entire face. This diner is a popular 'joy diner in Zone 2 called The Calvary. Without saying a word, they entered and began a shoot out. Luckily the killjoys there were quick to their guns and a firefight broke out. The numbers may still be changing because I know a substantial number of people got injured, but so far twelve killjoys are dead. Only one of the five masked murders were killed. No one recognized her and she carried no form of identification.

Was this an attack from the underground BLI movement? Did it have something to do with the unsteadiness of the politics of Batt City? Perhaps it was city Loyalists or extremist Killjoys.

Despite who it was, I ask that you keep an eye open. Things seem to be regressing and it's not as safe out there as we may have hoped. Keep your boots tight and your guns close, and keep your friends by your side.

Here's todays song 

Hello again Killjoys

Today I'm feeling in a story telling mood. I've been reminiscing  a lot lately, which probably isn't healthy. But I figure it'll at least be a little better if I share it with you.

I remember a time when Mayhem and I were lazing around at her station. The sun was setting and we hadn't been doing much but complaining to each other all day. Both of us were young, lonely, and bored. So she suggested we go out to Mississippi Queen's to ease this boredom. I wasn't up for it at first but her counterargument-

"It's a dry, dry desert out there Vinyl. And when you're thirsty, you just gotta make due."

-convinced me to go out. We went to Queen's and ordered whatever was cheapest. Mayhem loosened up a lot faster than I did, probably because she's a lot more comfortable with the stuff. I tend to get sullen if I'm not in the right atmosphere, and I was already moping earlier that day. Mayhem did attract the eye of some guy, Jim was his name. Her and Jim hit it off real well. They seemed really well suited for each other. Jim never did tell us any other alias, which led me to believe he was  just a neutral out in the zones.

I liked Jim actually. Other people tended to come and go, but Jim stuck around for Mayhem. She deserved that happiness he brought her. That relief from the horrors of the world she had to wake up to every day.

But one day Jim went off to Zone 2 and he never came back. There was some whispers in the wind of a fights that went down that week. Something about an unusually large drac presence. Even a few scarecrows.

We never heard from Jim again. 

I wonder if there will ever be closure. But its not exactly common to find closure out here.

Oh, I also found someone that night, but it didn't go quite the same way. Probably due to my edge, which still wasn't lost to the alcohol. But I think those encounters are stories for another time.

Heres todays song

Hello again Killjoys.

I've missed this. It feels good to be back. I'm still feeling a little sore though so I've decided to take a day of rest. I just need to take a moment and stand back. With all the horrible things that have happened lately, I believe this is important to keep a clear mind. To stand out in the barren desert landscape, to be alive in a place that's so dead. Feel rotation of the earth under your feet and see it in the sky as the stars pass overhead. Look at the endless expanse around you and above. Stars that could consume our planet are mere pinpricks in the sky. The sky wraps around you and here you are, standing so small against infinity. Feel the weights on your shoulders blown away by the breeze. Gravity no longer keeps you bound to the ground.

Wherever you are, I encourage you killjoys to take a moment to yourself. Take that moment, that moment the universe has given you, and make it yours. Allow yourself to feel at one with everything and nothing and you will no longer feel the weight the world has burdened you with.

Here's todays song