| Introduction
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xxxxx Brash and bold and loud, Ryan has been disappeared from the world once and doesn't plan to let it happen again. He wears his notoriety like armor, a cheerfully in-your-face shield that -- doesn't, really, let him flip off the government and yell about mutant rights with impunity. But no matter how many times they throw him in jail, now, at least, they're stopping shy of outright killing him. He'll take that as a win.
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| Description
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xxxxxTall and wiry-toned, Ryan sports grey-green eyes and a messy crop of dark hair around his deep tan face. His features are clean-cut, a strong jaw, high cheekbones, a quick and warm smile, though he breaks up his boy-next-door look with a sprinkling of piercings through ears and lip and eyebrow and a few brightly noticeable tattoos -- a weaving of branches and leaves from a ginkgo plant sleeving his right arm to the elbow, an outline of the chemical structure of adrenaline by his right wrist, a treble clef by his left.
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| Reputation
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xxxxxAnyone who doesn't live under a rock probably knows Ryan's name, and those even passingly in tune with pop culture are likely to recognize him when they see him. A well-established star in the online music world, his debut album was met with wild critical acclaim and topped the charts since its release; his shows sell out routinely, and he was the second artist in history to win all the general field Grammys in a single night -- following which he outed himself as a mutant on stage in his acceptance speech.
He cheerfully and deliberately cultivates his rebel image; brashly outspoken about leftist issues, once in the news for missing a show due to spending the night in jail after punching a neonazi in the face at a Black Lives Matter protest (the footage has been turned into a common reaction gif). The paparazzi likes to call him a bad boy; he says he's just passionate.
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| History
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xxxxxRyan's life history changes blithely with the telling of it; he makes up stories both plausible and farfetched to anyone who asks much about his life. What is widely and publicly known is that he's the son of a Baptist preacher from Down South, he got his start in folk music before hitting it big.
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| Powers
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xxxxxEmpathic audiokinesis. Generates and manipulates sound, manipulates people through sound.
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| Skills
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xxxxxSinging, playing violin/guitar/keyboard, making a spectacle of himself, snark.
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| Connections
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blackbirds
- B - Paganini - Caprice No. 24; A challenging tapestry of bright watery blues and earthy greens.
Dawson - Saint-Saëns - et Rondo Capriccioso; dazzling daring amethyst.- Daiki - Wieniawski - Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16; Need restraint to handle azure this intense.
- Dusk - Sibelius - Mazurka, Op. 81, No.1; An absolutely intoxicating orchid.
- Hive - Saint-Saëns - Introduction; rich and plaintive in a dappled emerald and juniper.
- Ion - Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26: Finale (Allegro energico); An exuberant clash of fuchsia and crimson.
- Jax - Bartok - Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz. 112. Allegro; a vivid sunburst-ember orange firestorm.
- Leo - Shostakovich - Concerto No. 1 in A Minor Op 77: Nocturne - Moderato; Deep sea green layered over a shift of other colors too tamped down to grasp.
- Lucien - Mozart - Symphony No. 41 in C, K551 – Jupiter; brilliant leaf green, ambitious whorls of rose.
- Marinov - Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20; Showstopping in bold forest green & an explosion of rich wine.
- Matt - Mozart - Marriage of Figaro Overture, KV 492; entertaining bubblegum and lofty jungle green.
- Polaris - Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 Finale (Allegro vivacissimo); a passionate tumult of scarlet and emerald.
- Scramble - Glass - Violin Concerto No. 1; an intoxicating cherry-red overload.
- Skye - Beach - Sonata in A Minor; lively magenta and haunting indigo by turns.
- Shane - Bach - Partita No. 2 in D Minor, Chaconne; Dramatic cobalt shot through with joyful splashes of gold.
- Spencer - Kreisler - Tambourin chinois; a playful delight of cobalt and sunshine yellow.
- Steve - Vittorio Monti - Csárdás; a deep and grounded navy highlit with undertones of more fiery carnelian.
- Taylor - Falla - La vida breve / Act 2: Spanish Dance No.1; Boisterous flamingo, upbeat spring green.
blackguards
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| Trivia
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- His fans commonly refer to themselves as Blackbirds.
- Yes, there is no end of four-and-twenty references among individual fan groups.
- When they're being particularly troublesome or aggressive en masse online it's also common to refer to them as Blackguards.
- At around 90m followers on Twitter he has learned to be at least somewhat careful what he says on there so as not to send his fanbase swarming unsuspecting people.
- The day of Captain America's coming out wasn't the first time Trump threatened him on Twitter -- that happened a couple years earlier, the day Ryan's follower count passed Trump's own.
- Has a tattoo of the chemical structure of adrenaline near his right wrist, a treble clef near his left, and a weaving of gingko leaves and branches sleeving his right upper arm.
- Well known to be BFFs with his partner in crime Jackson Holland.
- Well known also to have had a short-lived but widely publicized romantic relationship with Captain America.
- There are many and frequent gossip page rumors about all the people he's probably sleeping with (generally assumed to be most anyone he'd seen hanging out with.) He generally neither confirms nor denies.
- Known to be vegan, an anarchist, and loudly outspoken on a range of leftist issues as well as frequently throwing his monetary support behind them.
- Despite being quite openly bisexual and speaking about it plainly on many occasions, including writing it into several songs and being very direct about dating people of all genders, media frequently refers to him as "a strong ally to the LGBT community" when he is at fundraisers, Pride events, etc.
- During the 2020 Coronavirus epidemic, helped start and run Couchella, an online music and arts festival where people could find daily free concerts & other livestreamed entertainment events.
- Though the epidemic has dwindled to manageable levels in NYC, Couchella is still an ongoing daily event; when he's not on the road he still MCs it frequently, although it's grown to a size that he has a whole team to help manage it now.
- Has auditory synesthesia, which most who know him assume has to do with his mutation although the sounds-colors linkage in his brain was there long before his mutation ever manifested -- that just imposed a tactile connection on top of it as well.
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| Notable Selections from his Music!
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- No Strings - the first single of his to meet with any widespread success, kind of an angsty teen rejection of being told how to behave
- Blackbird - a lyrical vignette about a quiet moment in the bayou and a partial inspiration for his hardcore fans' nickname for themselves
- Enough -an angry meditation on bigotry and capitalism, very popular with leftists who haven't dumped him for being a mutant
- Why Not Both? (feat. Halsey) - a whimsical song about being bisexual
- See it Through (2018 album; won Grammy - Album of the Year 2019)
- Sing me to Life - musically spectacular piece, usually what other violinists play if they like him and want to show off their skills
- See it Through - pretty much about mutual aid and activism, was immensely popular with leftists writ large and still is to some extent
- Brighter (Grammy - Song/Record of the Year) - basically a love song to Jax, and also very danceable
- Disappear - angry song about losing friends and refusing to be silenced, popular with angry young mutants
- Firefly O' Clock - ballad about simple joys and southern nights
- Little Wonder - an ode to defiant kids, transparently about Spencer to anyone who knows him. "I blink and I miss it, just look at you go/Really little wonder, no wonder you glow"
- On the Ball - about ballroom culture and queer families of choice, basically
- Dreaming in the Light - actually about Prometheus, though probably not obvious to anyone who doesn't know him
- Lost & Found - very catchy 2nd single widely regarded as not being political, contains thoughtful commentary on belonging and community. "We're never lost, we will find each other/A friend a teacher, muse or a lover"
- Home Again - a lament for losing one family and a celebration of finding another, plays off the saying "you can never go home again".
- Rogga (Off the soundtrack of a movie adaptation of N.K. Jemisin's "The Fifth Season") - very popular with younger mutants for its theme of defiance at oppression specifically directed toward those whose powers are feared by others. "You took me down, I wasn't alone/Our voice will shatter hearts of stone"
- As I Am - an unapologetic defense of coming out, though it's not clear whether it's meant to be about being queer or a mutant
- New Skin - single about the mutant experience, debuted at the Met Gala, interrupted by a bombing that reportedly killed Ryan, which has given the song a kind of cult status.
- Growing Season (feat. Shane on violin) (theme song for a Netflix original series Garden Variety -- the show is very popular with teenagers; the song itself has gotten wildly more popular than the show did, somehow) - a sweet/catchy song about love and family and self-discovery
- Stonewall - queer power ballad dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, makes some LG(B) assimilationists very uncomfortable
- Save Me (feat. Shane on violin)- seems to be about superheroes but is actually about surviving the Met Gala bombing and learning to make art again (with a lot of help)
- Stop For Death (feat. Shane on violin) (Theme song for James Bond No Time to Die movie) - total nonsense, total earworm, no one's sure what it means exactly
- Care Less (feat. Shane on violin) - fierce, slick, danceable song that's actually about caring more
- Safer (feat. Shane on violin) - catchy, poppy, and pretty straightforwardly about vulnerability, trauma, and consent
- Keep Your Family Closer (feat. Shane on violin) (for the Fast and Furious 9 soundtrack) - very popular with mutants, despite not being about mutants at all
- Shelter (feat. Shane on violin) (August 2020)
- Blue - Seems to just be a meditation on the color blue, but is also an allegorical journey from depression into healing.
- Winter Is - A list of cozy winter things tied together with praise about communities coming together in harsh times. Described by a critic as "a fantastic Christmas song, if it could bear to say the word Christmas" "Winter is thick socks and cocoa and song, winter is warmth in his arms/Winter is patient and quiet and strong, winter has winter's own charms"
- In Place - First Single. About taking care of each other, structured loosely after the Prayer of Saint Francis. "I have some things that I can bring, so put me, put me in place/In place of silence let us sing, in place of darkness let us shine/We may none of us be kings, but we will surely hold the line"
- Balm - An elegy that could be interpreted as being for anyone, slow and beautiful and poetic, but with an undercurrent of defiance.
- In Riotous Bloom - A tale about a field of flowers in the whimsical style of "At the Zoo", but sort of poking gentle fun at leftist tendencies.
- Shield - Isn't actually about Steve, but people protecting each other. Maybe it's a little bit about Steve.
- Calico - A sketch of friendship and intimacy through the eyes of Cat (although it's written such that it could be any calico cat, to his friends it's obviously Cat). "Makes his tea perfectly every time/Says if you're the law then everything's crime."
- In Tone - A very punny song about synaethesia and working together. "Melody richest violet, harmony in shades of blue/Bright beneath his fingertips, the sweetest I ever knew"
- Zoom Out - On a superficial level, about burning out on too many video calls, but actually very much about stopping to consider the bigger picture
- Lift Off - A poppy uplifting song about flight and falling in love.
- Cambrian Explosion - A cute story about a (mutant?) trilobite surviving in a hostile ocean and finding others like itself.
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| Gallery
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| Montgomery Ryan Black
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| Codename
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None
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| Birthdate
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August 22, 1990
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| Birthplace
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Louisiana
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| Species
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Mutant
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| Affiliation
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None
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| Alignment
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Loud
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| Powers
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Audiokinesis/Empathy
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| Occupation
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Rock Star
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| Registration Status
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n/a
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| Played By
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Sebastián Yatra
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| RP Hooks
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| Notorious - Ryan isn't just famous for a mutant, he's really famous. His music and media presence has been such that most people who follow pop culture at ALL will almost certainly recognize him, and even people who don't are likely to be familiar with some of his songs.
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| Wild Child - Sex, drugs, rock and roll? Ryan is not above living down to some stereotypes... a lot. If you want the hookups for all the best parties or are into a wild night out, you might well run into him.
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| Role Model - For better or worse, often has young queer kids or Latinx kids or mutant kids excited that One Of Theirs has made it big. Very protective and solicitous of The Youth, though his advice is prooobably to be taken with a heap of salt.
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| ...Notorious - Together with Jax has spent the past many years working to liberate other mutants from the Prometheus project, earning him an entirely different sort of reputation among those unlucky enough to have been through the labs.
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| A Pretty Large Target - As the first and still pretty much only truly Big Name celebrities who is openly mutant, he tends to attract... a lot of opinions, for good and, mostly, bad. Love him or hate him, think he so brave or giving mutants a TERRIBLE name, want to murder him or wish he'd crawl back under a rock, people usually have SOME kind of thoughts even before they've met him!
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