ic The Gig Economy

[Thevshi]

 

Riverside, Freedom City, New Jersey

Thursday January 4, 2024, 4:36 PM

 

Neko Musume and Bernadette O'Connell were riding in the back of an UBER on their way to Riverside in downtown Freedom City, the typical afternoon traffic making the trip a bit slower that it might otherwise take. Off the in the distance, the back of Sentry Statue was visible, looking out toward the Century Narrows.

 

Not long after the start of the school year and the pair being assigned as roommates, Neko had learned that Bernadette was the lead singer in a band and would regularly go out during the week or on weekends to play at various local bars and clubs. From what the Japanese teen understood, they were doing fairly well and had started a web presence to sell recordings of songs. Just before the holiday break, the Irish teen had asked Neko if she would be willing to help them out with their marketing and social media presence, there had just not really been a chance to really talk about it between finals and Bernadette going home to Boston during the break.

 

Bernadette was somewhat fidgety in her seat with excitement. In fact, the redhead had generally been like that since the Freedom League's holiday party. That night when the two had finally both made it back to the dorm room, Bernadette had told Neko about making out with Charlie in a secluded part of the Hall during the party. Neko had long known the Irish teen had something of a crush on Charlie, which had been put in limbo when the other teen had disappeared from the school well over a year ago. Needless to say, despite the late hour when the two had gotten back from the party, the redhead had still been rather over excited, describing herself as 'Wired to the Moon,' one of the many Irish slang Bernadette used from time to time. All-in-all, since the League party, Bernadette had been about as happy as Neko had seen her, not that the Irish teen wasn't generally cheerful.

 

"Thanks again for agreein' ta try ta help us out Neko." Bernadette said, giving her roommate a wide smile.

 

[Avenger Assembled]

"No problem," said Neko seriously. Bernadette had seen enough of her roommate to know that Neko's illusions went beyond hiding her ears and tail or summoning monstrous creatures - today she was wearing a downright studious mask, a blue-lined yellow notebook in one hand, her ever-present phone in her purse, and a manner closer to an accountant's than either the girl who acted like a friendly kitty-kat on camera or who occasionally woke up screaming on the weeknights they shared a room together. She was wearing today the small illusion of humanity; plus a flower-print dress and sensible shoes. She smiled at Bernadette and added, "I am saving my ideas until we get there."

 

Inside, Neko was nervous - this was a real opportunity, and Bernadette a real friend. To have learned so much about this world was one thing; to teach it to another a different one. 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

"No problem, no need ta have ta repeat things twice." Bernadette said when Neko mentioned saving her ideas until they were at their destination. The redhead was still dressed as she had been for classes during the day, a pair of jeans, a sweater, with the addition of a heavy jacket.

 

The Irish teen was very appreciative of Neko’s willingness to help, even if the other teen might expect something in return, it was far more than fair for the help she could provide Berandette and her bandmates. The Irish teen was regularly amazed at just how well Neko seemed to navigate the social media sphere, monetizing her various projects and generating income for herself.

 

Although the two had grown closer since becoming roommates at the beginning of the year, there was still much about the Japanese girl that was a mystery. But Bernadette had quickly learned when she had come to Claremont, that there were people within the superhero community that had secrets that they did not want to share, and Claremont was no different. So, the redhead had quickly learned to just accept things without judgment or questions. On those times Neko would wake up screaming from some nightmare, Bernadette would be up as well, ready to just talk or give her friend a reassuring hug.

 

Soon the two arrived at their destination, a section of Riverside that long ago had been warehouses or light manufacturing business and had been converted into condos or apartments with mixed in retail business and restaurants on the ground floors. The red brick building the pair were dropped off in front of in fact had a florist on the ground floor, along with a small stationery/card shop. Above were a couple of floors that appeared to be converted into apartments.

 

Bernadette led the way over to a door that was to the side of the two business, unlocking it with a key and leading Neko into a somewhat narrow hallway that led back to stairs and an elevator. The redhead opted for the stairs, leading them up to the top floor and down a small hallway. Soon she was opening a door to one of the apartments, which opened into a large open studio, the soft sound on an acoustic guitar greeting them.

 

The door entered along one end of the studio, leading right into a kitchen area. The counters were a bit cluttered with dirty dishes, pans and empty drink and food containers. Off to the right was a door that appeared to lead into a bathroom. To the left the studio continued to an area that was set up as a living room, with a large futon sofa (which likely could covert to a bed) on the outer wall by some windows, a couple of lounge chairs and a coffee table. The later was covered with papers and some composition books. Opposite this area on the inner wall were a couple of dressers and a small desk with a laptop (which was also a bit cluttered with papers).

One of the lounge chairs was currently occupied by the individual playing the acoustic guitar, Summer Sands. Summer was a couple of years older than Neko and Bernadette, and had been a Senior when the two had started at Claremont. Neko could not quite recall what powers she had, but believed they were not ones that would particularly allow her to engage in superheroics. The older gril she was dressed in baggy pants, with a black T-shirt and had olive skin, brown eyes and long black hair without any particular style. She was about as tall as Bernadette, but was much more lanky. She had a long face that was a bit too odd to be beautiful, but not so weird to be ugly. She also had long, somewhat uncanny fingers, which she was currently using to strum away on the acoustic guitar as she sat by one of the windows.

 

Neko had heard the story of how Bernadette and Summer had entered a singing competition in Boston during the summer and ended up whisked off to a strange dimension filled with music. In fact, that was where Bernadette inadvertently ended up with the singing fish (Treble) that occupied a tank in the girl's dorm room. It was after this that Summer and Bernadette had set to work starting their band.

 

The far end of the studio was an open area with the floor covered with thick rubber pads (like those used under exercise equipment in a gym) as where the walls. Gathered there were amps, speakers, a drum set and several guitars, bass and some microphones and stands.

 

Summer stopped strumming on her guitar to look over at the pair as they entered. "Oh, hey Bernadette, Neko." She said with a small smile as she sat up and put the guitar aside.

 

"Hey Summer." Bernadette said as she walked over towards where the other girl was seated. As she went, one of her duplicates popped into existence, and went over into the kitchen to begin cleaning it up.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Hello," said Neko to Summer, giving her a quick bow as she folded her hands in front of her. "I am Neko Musume and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." As she spoke, a tiny bug took off from her shoulder and began flying around the room, a gaily-colored robot ladybug that Bernadette had seen buzzing around their room more than once. "Please do not mind Red," she said sociably, "he is just filming B-roll footage." She smiled at Summer, showing little points of teeth that weren't much bigger than a human girl's. "I like your music," she offered. "It is very nice. Where did you learn to play?" 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

"Yeah, very nice to meet you Neko, though I kinda recall seeing you around campus my senior year, but I don’t think we had any classes together. Bernadette and I got to know each other in music." Summer replied to the Japanese teen as she regarded the little robotic ladybug that began buzzing around the room. "Umm, okay." She replied at Neko's explanation of what the robot was doing.

 

Bernadette just smiled, having seen the robotic ladybug before, and recalling Ryder and his various robots. Kicking off her shoes, she took a seat on the sofa as Neko continued to speak to Summer. From the kitchen area, the duplicate Berandette called over, "Summer, would it kill ya ta at least get the dishes inta the dishwasher?"

 

The dark haired girl ignored the duplicate and focused on Neko as she responded to the teen’s compliments about her music. "Thanks, it has been a lot of fun working on the songs we want to try out and even writing a few originals."

"As for where I learned to play, well, I started playing when I was about ten or so, my parents able to get me lessons until I began attending Claremont. I think I was really able to take things to the next level there. After graduating, I sort of spent the last year drifting around, making a bit of money here and there playing, but not really finding a place where I fit or had the opportunities I wanted."

 

"When I heard about this competition in Boston back in August, I reached out to Bernadette to join me in it. I understand she has told you the whole story of what went down there, but bazar trip to a musical dimension aside, we killed it at that competition and decided to start our band." Summer shrugged her shoulders. "So, we used the prize money to rent this place for me back here in Freedom and I contacted a couple guys that were a year ahead of met at Claremont that played drums and bass, and here we are."

 

"So that is kinda where we are Neko." Bernadette interjected. "We have a band, an' are gettin' shows an' even have some traffic on a website we got set up, but we are sure there is so much more we could do."

 

"We could focus on trying to get signed by a traditional record label" Summer added. "But that likely would mean having to surrender a lot of control over things, not to mention them taking a large share of any money we make."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Who set up your website - and is anyone managing it now?" asked Neko immediately. "Proper social media management is essential for a rising brand such as yours." She hmmed as she circled the room, giving a critical but not-unfriendly eye to everything. "I have access to a very successful website manager," she admitted, "he was very helpful in getting Catgirl Reacts!" she put the exclamation point in the middle of the word by sheer force of will "out there in the social media market place." She pressed Bernadette and Summer on the social media question in particular, making sure they had a presence on every major platform - and a few of the minor ones. 

 

"Who is your market?" she added, climbing up onto the back of a big overstuffed chair; and then without seeming to think about it climbing up to the top, so she perched there while she watched the other two girls talk. "There are people who market to the metahuman community," she said, enunciating the last two words carefully, "and people who seek a broader market share. I recommend the latter," she went on, "inside jokes and winks to your friends are cute but they won't make you any money." 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

"Well…our drummer was tha main one behind tha website." Bernadette replied as she glanced between Neko and Summer as the other girl paced around the room before moving over to climb onto the back of one of the chairs.

 

"It is pretty basic, so certainly could use updating." Summer chimed. "As for managing….well, us for the moment, but mostly Mark…the drummer."

 

At Neko's questions about social media, Bernadette and Summer both listed the accounts they had. Both had a couple personnel accounts, as did the other two band members, but they did not come close to covering all the major ones, and none of the minor. They had also set up some for the band, which did cover most of the major platforms.

 

"We are certainly lookin' fer a larger audience than tha metahuman community." Bernadette replied to Neko's question about what sort of market they were aiming for.

 

"Yeah, we are generally 'rock' band, but we have experimented with several different songs from different genre of music, giving them a bit of a rock edge, which has helped draw some attention from some people that might not normally like a pure rock band." Summer added.

[Avenger Assembled]

"The drummer," said Neko thoughtfully. She sensed a story there, and looked from one girl to the other before moving on. A potential rival - romantic or otherwise? Nobody seemed ready to talk right away. "I will have my consultant look at your website as well as your social media presence," she said carefully. 

 

When Red finished his tour of the room, he landed on Neko's shoulder and seemed to be communicating with her - though perhaps it was just a robot bug's little dance. It was very hard to tell, given his size. 

 

"Will we be meeting Mark?" she asked curiously. 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Summer gave Neko a slightly confused look at the Japanese girl's comment about Mark. "Yeah, he’s the drummer in our band." She replied.

"Just sorta fell on him as he is better with computers than the rest o' us. He has been handlin' editin' an’ mixin' for our recordings as well." Bernadette added. "Be nice ta eventually hire someone fer that, but right now somethin' we do on our own."

 

"We can give him a call and see if he is free to drop by if it would help." Summer stated with a shrug.

 

"So, as I was sayin', right now we are bringin' in some money with shows, an' bringin' in a bit from social media an' people downloadin' the recordings we have gotten up on Spotify. But the social media part is probably the best way to drive everythin' else an' we are not there like we should be."

[Avenger Assembled]

"I see," said Neko, who was glad to hear the drama she'd worried about wasn't an issue. She sat down carefully, making sure her tail stayed curled up behind her where she wouldn't sit on it. "Talking to everyone would help." She considered what to do next, writing TOURING? MERCHANDISING? on her pad. She thought, hmming aloud, tail twitching behind her in a thump thump thump that she allowed to be audible now that she knew she could trust all the girls around her. "I am going to throw out some ideas. You can tell me if you have tried them, and then you can tell me your ideas. Okay? Do you have much merchandise?" she asked, producing as if from thin air a T-shirt with Bernadette and Summer's faces on it. "Merchandising can be a very lucrative enterprise for an up-and-coming band." Bernadette had seen the many Catgirl Reacts! products that an independent company manufactured for Neko, many of them scattered around their room. 

She nodded, then added, "Touring. With access to the superhuman community," she said, carefully pronouncing the words, "you can tour areas far beyond the reach of other acts. Have you ever considered travel beyond this place?" 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

When Neko indicated that talking to Mark might be helpful, Summer got out her phone to send of a text message, still listening as the teen began discussing some other ideas.

 

"We have been workin' on some merchandise." Bernadette replied. "John, our bass player, got a couple o' T-shirt designs from an art student at FCU. We had been talkin' ta a local shop that could print 'em, but couldn' quite agree on a price, so we haven' moved forward with that."

 

Finishing her text, Summer looked back up at Neko and Bernadette. "We have been meaning to try to find another place to print them, just has not been high on our priorities so far. But sounds like something we should maybe put more effort into?" She asked.

 

"If ya have other thoughts on merchandise that would be great. We have thought about posters an' some other things, but not come up with any real ideas."

 

As Neko brought up touring, both Summer and Bernadette nodded. "Yeah, we certainly want to go on tour."

"Though ta make it work ya either need ta have a fan base around the places the tour will go in order ta fill the shows, be invited ta go on tour with another band that has a wider fan base, or get invited ta some music festival or the like where the audience is already guaranteed." Bernadette added. "Which sorta brings us back ta the whole desire ta wantin'ta boost our social media presence, ta make any o' these more possible by gettin' us out there."

 

"When you said using the superhuman community to tour places beyond the reach of normal bands….did you have something in mind beyond just getting out of the country?" Summer then asked.

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko smiled at the two girls and wondered exactly how far their travels had taken them, thinking of the hidden world of her village and everything she'd seen since. "Other places. Other times. Other..." She made a little gesture. "Other worlds. There are ways to go into space, and to other...kingdoms, other times. There used to be the show on television where they would go back in time, I have seen that in reruns." The girls recognized Supercrime!, one of whose hosts had actually had time travel powers. 

 

"I would not recommend it for just any performing act," she added, "But you all have powers. And there are places to go that are...safe enough." She smiled, showing just a little bit of teeth. "Do any of you know any magic?" 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette was quite a moment, smiling slightly as she recalled some of the episodes she had watched of Supercrime! growing up. Funny how back then she never once imagined that she might someday be able to be a superhero. "Well, not so shoor goin' inta the past would work out all that well. Wouldn' have ta go back very far before people are likely ta not enjoy our music."

 

"But certainly possibly traveling to other dimensions or off world could be an interesting idea to pursue." Summer added, the expression on her face clearly intrigued by the idea and considering it.

 

"Well, so long as it isn' Musicland again." Bernadette said with a grin. "Though, I expect Trebel wouldn' mind another singin' fish ta keep them company."

She paused, then looked back at Neko. "But you know full well I am pretty clueless when it comes ta magic. Though it was certainly how Summer an' I ended up in Musicland."

"Would be nice to go there again and hear some of the songs, just to get ideas." Summer stated somewhat wistfully.

 

Bernadette gave her a small scowl before looking back to Neko. "Anyway, I suppose we wouldn' be against tryin' ta branch out beyond this world/dimension."

[Avenger Assembled]

"There are some places where I could be your guide," she said tentatively, thinking of realms above and below this one she had visited even after coming to the 21st century, "but it would be better to bring...specialists." She considered Raina and some of her friends and nodded approvingly. "I remember Musicland," she added, remembering the story from Bernadette. "But going there might be difficult because of supply and demand. You know," she said, circling with her pen in the air. "You have something that they have. Even if they like what you have, it is hard to sell, because they already have some of it." 

 

Making a list in her head, she added, "I have never been to the Moon but I know superheroes can get there." She'd heard all about how Carmen, with her powerful mentor the Patriot, had managed a full-on trip there. "You could suggest...a diplomatic concert?" She wasn't sure what the right word was. "See if the Moon people like music, and what it is." 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette just grinned at Neko’s comment about not really having anything Musicland wanted. "Actually, part o' how we ended up there is that Summer 'n I very much had what Musicland wanted. But doesn' really matter, I'm not certain there are many people there, other than the Leprechaun that helped send us there." She said.

"He also helped to get us back, sort of." Summer added. At a look from Bernadette she just shrugged and continued. "But anyway, we did not see any other people, but there were singing plants, singing trees, singing fish, even the sun was singing."

 

"Bloody thing had eyes an' a mouth like some kids show." Bernadette added.

 

The two girls listened as Neko talked about going to the Moon. Bernadette had learned a bit about the city on the Moon in one of the classes at Claremont, but nothing really about how to contact any of the residents of the city up there, let alone how to get there.

 

"You mean a goodwill concert?" Summer asked. "I mean, it would be cool to go to the Moon."

 

"Yeah, it could be." Bernadette said in agreement. "Question is how ta get there." She paused a moment. "I could try ta reach out ta Velocity from the League, she seemed ta really like our music."

The redhead smiled at the other two girls. "But still, while we work on that, no reason not ta focus on what we can do here."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Mm." Neko considered the story of the other dimension and the leprechaun - a figure that certainly sounded like many of the yokai she'd known at home. "It is dangerous to visit places like that, if you are not careful. If you do have what they want, they may want to keep it - and you. But if you have been there safely once, perhaps it is not so dangerous." In her experience places of magic and the raw essence of things like music usually were quite dangerous but that wasn't always true. "You could bring me along next time," she offered, "or a magical consultant." 

She considered, very briefly, the look on Carmen's face when she learned that Neko and her friends had gone to the Moon - then focused. "Yes, you cannot just travel. When is your next performance, and what is the venue?" 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

"Oh, we certainly had what that dimension wanted, an' it was tryin' ta keep us there." Bernadette responded. She then gave Neko a small smile, "but if we ever do want ta go back, I will be sure ta let you know so you can come along fer the ride."

 

"Oh, in a couple days at a club called Absolute Zero, in the downstairs venue, the Hollow." Summer responded to Neko’s question about their next live performance.

 

"We played there a couple o' months ago." Added Bernadette. "Sounds like it was pretty well received by the college/young adult crowd that frequents the club, so they wanted ta have us play again."

 

"In addition to that and a couple of other shows lined up over the next month or so, we are working on recording more tracks that we can put up on Spotify and similar platforms for people to pay to download." Summer stated.