*manglemybadger* Posted Aug 25, 2009, 4:36 pm	Like any storm, the rumble is heard and the distant, churning clouds of dust are seen long before anything of detail floods into sight. What is coming? The ragged riff-raff of the Badlands Truck stop - the drunks and the simple folks, the murderers and the track heroes, the marshals and pirates, the con men and the couriers – all stand shoulder to shoulder gazing out the grime-coated, barred windows of Grainne Uaile as the wheeled behemoth rolls into sight and through the gates. Not a word is uttered among the silent witnesses as the gigantic bus trundles to a stop outside the bar’s doors. Deep thumping emanates from within the strange vehicle, shaking thick curtains of road grime off the sides of the vehicle. Is that….music? The sleeping giant again rumbles into action as an array of roof-secured track lights surges to life and sears the sky, cutting the night air with pivoting, powerful beams. The music, if one could call it that, is getting much louder now, as scarred panels slide out of view to expose giant, pulsating amps on all sides of the bus. It has been approximately 70 years since the song “The Jitterbug” by Wham had been heard by anyone, but here it is, once again poisoning the air with its disturbingly cheerful pop sensibilities. The hydraulic door of the bus hisses open, and a red swathe of carpet, soaked to its hue by the blood of hundreds of enemies, rolls out over the packed dirt of the town. All eyes are trained on the dark rectangle of the open door, expecting something - something important - to appear. An unseen bullhorn buzzes over the music with an electric message. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS…FRESH FROM THE HISTORY BOOKS, CLIMBING FROM THE PAGES OF FORGOTTEN LITERATURE, CRAWLING AND GASPING FROM THE RUINS OF HOLLYWOOD AND THE SCREENS OF PRIME-TIME TELEVISION, I BRING YOU…..DEAD CELEBRITY!” Regurgitated from the innards of the bus comes a motley crew of yesteryear. Surgically altered into the likeness of their favorite historical celebrities, the members of Dead Celebrity churn out an endless stream of yesterday’s cowboys, poets, models and actors. Smiling and eager, they pour out of the bus and onto the red carpet, grasping or donning their famous props. The Duke shoots off a lopsided smile as he tips his battered hat with the barrel of a Colt Peacemaker. James Joyce absentmindedly wipes the circular lenses of his spectacles with a tail from his stained shirt. Cary Grant gazes out from a black fedora, while Freddy Krueger clangs his rusted talons along the metal of the bus’ length. The crowd realizes the gang Dead Celebrity has returned from their pilgrimage to the ruins of Hollywood, CA, USA. The members, steeped in the lore of yesterday’s entertainment legends, try to find their 15 minutes of fame behind the wheels and guns of today’s hero maker – the Dark Wind racing circuit. The gang has one simple motto: “Die Famous”. As the garishly-costumed troupe cuts through the crowd of spectators and into the tavern, a young boy in the crowd, cheeks gritted pink by the day’s harsh winds, asks his mother who these strange people are. She scoops him up and stomps off toward home slowly shaking her head at the spectacle behind her. “They’re just another bunch of fools with another bunch of cars and weapons, trying to die faster than all the other fools. And that’s exactly what they are gonna do, famous or not famous…the only thing faster than the fleeting of fame is the reaper’s scythe, and he’ll have Dead Celebrity rolling their end credits soon enough.”
*JD_Basher* jd.basher@charter.net Posted Aug 25, 2009, 5:13 pm	OOC: GREAT to have ya back Badger!... Hope you can stay longer this time around!... Been missing your humorous writing! For those not familiar with Badgers' writing, please look in the Gazette WAY back in the July/August 2043 edition and read the starting of the "Haunted Buccaneer" Also in the May/June 2043 issue has "The immortal Mr. Kinlaw and the dirty liars." Both are fantastically funny and well worth the time looking them up. I hope the Gazette can look forward to more of Badgers' illustrious pen-work! Again, Welcome back Badger!
pweelg Posted Aug 25, 2009, 10:20 pm	OOC Great to see you back around Badger