It's a Mix!

 Gorillaz - Oil ft. Stevie Nicks (Official Lyric Video)
Gorillaz - New Gold ft. Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (Official Lyric Video)

Gorillaz - Saturnz Barz (Spirit House)

Gorillaz - Skinny Ape (Official Lyric Video)

Gorillaz - Silent Running ft. Adeleye Omotayo (Official Lyric Video)

Gorillaz - Dirty Harry (Official Video)

El Mañana Asher's Remix - Gorillaz

Gorillaz - Rockit (Official Video)

Gorillaz - Possession Island ft. Beck (Official Lyric Video)

Gorillaz - Andromeda (Feat. D.R.A.M.) Extended Version

The Boarding House-Mina Aiko

 Thanks Greg for being a part of the Boarding House RP! Find out more about Greg at Book Haven

 

The place was kind of cute. 

Older but cute. It had character, as they say. Not a dump, by any means. Well, not really. Not exactly new, but... it was a boarding house. And that's what she needed.

Mina looked up at the salmon-colored exterior and the somewhat wild vegetation out front. It needed some work, but she needed a place to stay.

It would have to do.

She approached gingerly and knocked tentatively, then a little more assertively, on the front door. Butterflies in her stomach a little. She heard movement inside, thought she heard someone say "just a minute."

Friendly voice.

Then the door opened and a blond woman smiled widely to greet her.

"Mine! You must be...?"

Mina smiled and nodded. "Yes. I'm Mina." She looked beyond the blond to take in the interior. It was cute, a little messy but in an endearing way. Fussy chic, as it were. But that was only her initial impression.

'Come in, come in," the blond offered. "I'm Olivia." She held the door wider and practically pulled Mina in. "You can call me Livy. Or Liv. THE... this is home!" She seemed a little self-consciously earnest, but nice enough. She made Mina feel at ease.

"Everyone is welcome, as long as they follow my rules. Which there aren't much of. I mind my own business and expect my boarders to do the same. In the drama, as I like to say. It keeps us all happy." She clearly liked to talk. "We've only got one other at the moment, but I'm sure there'll be others. Right now we have Kirby. He's quiet and kind of keeps to himself, but he's friendly enough. Ex-military. Navy, I guess..." she whispered conspiratorially.

Mina nodded absently, only half hearing her as she looked around.

"Did you know this used to be an old dorm house...?" Olivia was saying. Smiled mine. Yes, this would do nicely. And it wasn't packed yet. She didn't think this Olivia would tolerate any parties or shenanigans. Which... good. Mina needed quiet really.

"... breakfast every day at six on the dot, and dinner every night at six as well. No extra charge," she added rather smugly.

"I'd like to see the room," Mina asked shyly.

"Of course, of course. Just this way!" She put her hand on Mina's arm companionably and led her upstairs, the stairs creaking a little bit as they ascended. Mina held on to the railing as they went, avoiding a small basket of knick knacks on one of the steps. The place had a certain charm to it, a lived in vibe. It really did feel like a dorm... minus the obnoxious college students. She smiled as they came out into the hall upstairs and Olivia led her off to the left, there was a side table with a spray of flowers and into a small room at the far end, facing the street.

Cute.

There was a faint trace of lavender and some vintage books in a corner, but otherwise, the room was spare. It had a double bed, a bookshelf that looked like it had come from the resale shop, a small closet, and a worn desk. She ran her hand over the slightly scarred wood as she looked around, a faint trace of dust in her nostrils. It was lived in but comfortable, and it would be just fine.

"This is cute," she murmured, and somewhere, she heard a door close. Olivia was puttering around the room. She had a Swiffer in her hand and was absently dusting a little as she looked at Mina out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you think?" the older woman asked.

"I'll take it," Mina replied. "It's perfect."

"Oh, good," Olivia seemed pleased. "You can move in... well, whenever, really. You're welcome anytime."

"Thank you," Mina blushed a little. "I was hoping to move in soon, maybe even this weekend..."

"That's fine, that's fine," Olivia huffed. Let's go back downstairs, I'll show you the rest of the place. Laundry is shared, it's off the kitchen...." She led the way back downstairs. This place has atmosphere, Mina was thinking as Olivia showed her around. The kitchen was large and had one of those old-fashioned tile floors. The laundry was indeed off the kitchen and someone was in there, loading clothes from the dryer into a basket.

'Oh, good timing. This is Kirby, the young man I was telling you about. Cute, isn't he?" she said in a quieter voice, only for Mina's hearing. "Kirby," she said a little louder. "Well, there you are. Meet our newest boarder. This is Mina..."

Ren & Wade

 Ren knew cabin fever might be setting in, but then again, they were both used to the cold and the snow living in upstate New York. Actually, it was divine back in December, but these days of January were bitter cold and gray. 

It hadn't gone so well, their visit to Wade's parents. Wade was as indifferent as he ever was and Ren knew he didn't mean it, but she could tell from the moment they arrived how much his mother missed him. After all, she'd been his teacher in life and he was her only child. Although, Ren thought all this time he had a sister or something. 

Well, it was civil enough. Nobody changed anyone's mind about trying to split them up. She guessed that was something, but even when she got back home she wasn't so sure he was happy, but she'd let it be. All those presents were still in a Christmas gift bag waiting for him to use. Ren told Roni she should have expected that.

They left after work to the thrift shops. Roni knew a new place, but Wade couldn't go. He had some jobs to do around the apartment building.

"At this rate, he could get a job there," Roni told her.

Ren nodded. He hadn't mentioned it.

"You two could get your own place, rent-free, he told me."

"Huh." It was news to her. And to think he might be majoring in engineering somewhere (according to his mother), but he wouldn't do it. It might stress him out. She kept busy looking through sweaters, trying not to think working in the apartment building would stress him out, too. 

All the sweaters she found looked better on Roni than her.

"Now stop that, hunter green looks great on you," Roni awoke her pensive state of mind. Ren wiggled a smile and said they needed to find things for Wade. 

"He won't even come with us anymore," Roni frowned.

"He's busy," what else could she say? 'LIFE IS HARD. But she didn't. It was troubling. She felt as if she needed to be busy too. She could see how exhausted he was lately. What if he decided he didn't like her anymore?

She felt a little of her heart melt. She knew she loved him. She'd never felt that about anyone, but it had nothing to do with his face or his scent, it was far greater. He was her partner and she was becoming teary-eyed.

The Boarding House - Kirby Coleman

 Kirby Coleman was on leave from his Navy duties. He'd been to far too many poker games with the guys from the Chow Hall on the ship. Their families all lived in the area, but Coleman was from Chicago and definitely not into poker. Usually, he ended up babysitting the kids. Not exactly what he wanted to do on leave. So when he found the flyer about the Boarding House, he couldn't wait to move in. The price was right, and he would have his own room. Yes, it was just temporary, but if it all worked out, he might be coming back.

When he got there, he didn't have much and yes, he met some middle-aged blonde woman who gave him paperwork to fill out. She didn't say much, and neither did he. When she found out he was in the Navy she gave him a key as if she wanted to thank him for his Navy service.

His smile was quick, and he was upstairs in the corner, not far from the community bathroom. It said MEN so he didn't feel worried. After all, he was always on his best behavior and he liked it quiet.

Soon enough he found his room to unpack. He didn't have much. Just his trusty rice cooker his Grandy gave him and a small electric kettle. Yes, Kirby was saving as much money as he could these days. Of course, he couldn't say what he was saving up for, but it was a great getaway from the guys. He could read to his heart's content. After all, he wasn't confined to a bunk. There was his trusty laptop so he could catch up on some episodes of Squid Games and even watch the latest movies on Netflix. Yeah, it felt like home, and it was for a couple of hours, but then Miss Olivia came knocking.

"Are you all settled in?" Miss Olivia was full of Southern hospitality. She invited him to dinner at six and breakfast was at six in the morning.

"Well, thank you Miss Olivia, but I just want to hang out in my room," his smile was broad. He liked reading a little then he'd do some pushups and situps. "I have my protein bars."

"What's that?" Her face snarled as she pointed to the little rice cooker on the desk.

"My Grandy gave that to me, and all these recipes," He shrugged with a laugh.

"You don't need to be cooking in here," she snapped.

"Oh." Evidently, he hadn't read the rules right. "Well, sometimes, I get hungry in the middle of the night."

"I bet you do," she was a little sassy the way she swung her hips. Before he knew it,  he felt the sting of her hand on his butt.

It startled Kirby.

"Uh, Miss Olivia? What was that for?" He squinted. Kirby didn't sign up for this.

"I just wanted to see how fit you were, you know, are you certain you're eating right?" She felt his firm biceps then. Yes, she touched his shoulders. She came in with the silliest grin. 

Kirby remained rigid. What was he supposed to do?

"Look, my Momma always told me, to mind my matters, Miss Olivia," He pulled away, but she wouldn't have it. 

When she breathed on him, he did wonder if she was a little sloshed. His face tensed, but she pulled him down to her eye level.

"Baby, you can come down to the basement, any time you like," she giggled into his ear. "I'll keep you company. Forget about that rice cooker, I'll cook you anything you like, honey."

Kirby stressed a smile and shook his head. Finally, she let go and left. Oh, it gave him a shiver and a twitchy dance. Miss Olivia hit a nerve of disgust. Kirby didn't even like women.