The title says it all, but it never hurts to reinforce that this is a dialogue-heavy chapter, which was pretty fun to write!

Enjoy!


viii: interview


He's done this before, back when they returned from a hiatus and he had to sit on a couch with Murdoc for thirty minutes for an interview. Only this time Murdoc is in jail and Russel has an appointment with their lawyers, so he and Noodle occupy a plush couch in a brighter scenery, three feet apart, conversing with their interviewer. Monica has her hair dyed a bright pink and compliments the guitarist's outfit of the day as the staff sweeps powder on their faces and fix the mics attached to their shirts before the cameras start rolling.

2D settles comfortably in one end of the furniture and rests his ankle on top of his knee as Monica turns to the camera and introduces them. Noodle wiggles her fingers with her award-winning smile in place and he grins with a small wave of his own, and the interview begins with a brief small talk before shifting to Gorillaz-centric matters.

"You started your new phase with the festival, Demon Dayz, in Margate last year. What do you have to say about the experience?"

"'Osting a music festival is a lot o' work. I admire the people behind Coachella." Both Noodle and Monica snicker at his statement. "But it was really nice. When I stepped on tha' stage an' people started screamin', I felt tha' same ol' rush I used to feel befo'. Didn't know I missed performin' till I was up there."

"It was the first time we got to see Little Simz perform her song live." Noodle says in wonder. "And it was so much more amazing than listening to it in the studio. She's awesome! I had to remind myself to keep playing and not drop everything and listen."

"She's truly a great artist," Monica agrees with a dip of her head. "And how would you describe touring again after eight years?"

"Indescribable!" Noodle's choice of words makes the interviewer laugh.

"It was great to 'ave Noodle and Russel wif us again." 2D says with a fond smile. "Felt a lot like old times, except now she's aaaall grown up."

"In the times the four of us did play, right?" She rebukes, cheeky grin in place. "Murdoc was either drunk or hungover seventy-percent of the time. It was a good thing Seye agreed to tag along and take his place."

He nods, arms crossed. "We went to new places, too. In Asunción, Paraguay, they 'ave an orchestra o' recycled instruments. The kids are mad talented. They even gave me a violin!" The singer ends his sentence with a vague playing motion.

"It was so good to go with them to all these cool places and see different cultures. I'd like to go back in a few years and see how they're doing."

"I got me 'ands on a 'andmade toy in Brazil durin' the concert. The lil fing looks exactly like me."

"He keeps it hidden from Murdoc, though, just in case he decides to use it in a Satanic ritual."

The interviewer chuckles. "A toy, uh? You played a new song in some of these shows, didn't you?"

"Aah, 'Ollywood. It's a fun song to play live. It was great to work wif Snoop again. 'E's a real cool man."

Monica spares a glance at Noodle, but sees nothing amiss. "And the rumors of the new album?"

"2D confirmed it in the last few shows, actually. Should be coming in around two months." She lifts a finger and wags it playfully. "But we can't tell you more than that."

"And what about the documentary?"

"We hope to finish it at the end of the year, or in time for the eighteenth anniversary of our first album."

"It's feature length." He adds. "A big project."

Monica whistles and takes her cellphone from a circular desk to her left. "Well, now that we've got that out of the way, I took the liberty of asking people on Twitter to send us questions. Is that okay?"

"Oh, yeah, absolutely." 2D says and Noodle nods her agreement.

"Great! Let's see..." She scrolls down the screen. "Ty Harris asks 'How did you guys form your Zen Bond?'"

The guitarist ruffles her hair as she thinks. "Our Zen Bond came to be because... Well, when you're ten and in a foreign place, you tend to find something to makes you feel safe. Russel was, and still is, very caring and protective. He looked after my needs and made sure I had everything I needed, I'll forever be grateful, but with 2D... Something about him felt right and we got along very well from the start."

"Noodle was a ray o' sunshine in Kong. She could brighten up my day wifout even tryin'. And she's been there fo' me fo' years. Whenever I needed a shoulder to lean on, she was there, even if she didn't understand anyfink I was sayin'."

"We used to be together all day long and it never got boring. I miss the days when things were that simple."

"Aww, that's so sweet! And your friendship's still strong. You're both an inspiration." 2D makes a dismissive, yet embarrassed, motion with his hand as she looks for the next question. "Mari asks: What do you like to do together (outside of what we know)? Do you have any successful baking/cooking experiences?"

"Yeh mean aside from games an' movies an' music stuff?" He taps his chin with his forefinger. "We like nappin' together."

Monica quirks an eyebrow. "Napping?"

"Oh, yeah! Noodle says my chest is a good pillow." He pats it proudly. "And she's all soft tucked into my side, like a cloud. Also, she likes to test 'er nail polish on me."

Said guitarist shrugs her shoulders. "I buy a lot of them. I have to pick the best one before I paint my nails. We like to go thrift shopping, too! Most of our outfits from recent photoshoots are from there."

"As fo' bakin' an' cookin'..." 2D looks at her for help.

"2D learned to cook during his time in Beirut, but it wasn't anything fancy or especially tasty. We've been spending some time together in the kitchen lately."

"Noodle – and Russel too, tha traitor! – says she doesn't trust me wif a knife, so all I do is measure an' stir fings."

She nods. "And if I keep a close eye on the stove or oven, most of what we do comes out alright. Although Russel is always supervising us."

"Russel's been taking care of you all this time, I see." Monica laughs and looks down at the screen. "Oh, another one from Ty and this one's good! "If the whole band was in a horror movie, what stereotype would they play?"

"Murdoc would be the killer. Or the creepy neighbor."

2D chuckles. "He's not gonna like it, love."

"Well, then he can catch these hands." She lifts both of her fists in a guarding position, but she's laughing too. "Seriously, he'd be the one to get us in the haunted house because he bought it. Again."

"Russel would be... Tha guy tha' knows somethin's off but no one pays attention to 'im." He squints his eyes at her. "And yeh'd be... Tha kickass lady. I mean, yeh were tha one to take out tha most zombies back in Kong."

Noodle's eyebrows arch. "Fighting zombies isn't the same as fighting a serial killer, but thanks, I'm flattered. Now, you... You'd be the survivor."

"Me? I know a lot o' 'orror stuff, but I don't fink tha' could save me."

She shrugs. "Maybe not, but I'd make sure you got out of it alive."

Monica is watching the exchange with too much interest when they look at her again. "Well! Here's one from Alien Girl: 'what do you see yourselves doing in 10-20 years?'"

"'Opefully, I'll still be enrolled in music. If not, then travellin' tha world sounds like a good future to me."

"I think I'd go with him." The guitarist muses. "There's so much to explore and see, and it'll be so much better than doing it alone."

"We've been separated for too long." He agrees with a series of nods. "We should stay together this time."

The interviewer purses her lips and gives her phone a pointed look. "Moving on. Pepper asks 'Do any of you draw? If so, what does your works look like?'"

2D shifts on the couch. "I'm not tha' great wif pencils, but I love watercolor! I just play 'round wif it, but it's very relaxing and my art is actually good. We 'ang 'em 'round tha walls o' me room."

"What I draw is just a bunch of eyes and eyebrows, and sometimes lips. Sometimes I rearrange them to look like faces. And Katsu! I draw Katsu a lot."

"She really does." He confirms. "Once, she doodled it in pencil and I colored it, and then she lined it. Noodle got it framed. We call it Su-purr-nova, all pink an' blue an' purple."

"That sounds beautiful!" Monica says, warmth in her tone. "Chi asks 'What was it like recording Strobelite?'"

"2D got the choreography well! He's clumsy most of the time, but he's a good dancer! It's impressive!"

"Well, it was me who taught yeh 'ow to dance, love." He throws a smug smirk in her direction. "Oh, I guess it's sumfink we like doin' together. Dancin'. It's fun! We've been doin' it fo' years."

"The cameras caught Murdoc doing some shady stuff." Monica leans forward on her armchair. "Was it scripted?"

"Not at all." Noodle shakes her head. "But we've been instructed not to talk about it."

"Very well! Next one, then. Minky asks '2D, is there any special woman in your life you've got an 8-ball fracture on?' Oooh."

He blinks at the interviewer and then laughs heartily. "Took me a while to get it! Tha' was clever! Ah, let's see... I don't fink so, I mean, I feel complete like I already 'ave a bird o' my own, y'know? I don't feel an urge to look fo' a girl. Besides, I 'ave Noodle 'ere!" He motions at the guitarist with a flourish. "Could I ask fo' a better woman in me life? I tell yeh, no, I couldn't."

Monica stares at him in silence and lightly shakes her head. "Okay, last one. From Jazz. 'Noodle, what is your type of guy?'"

"My type? Oh, I guess he has to be my friend first and foremost, someone I can trust, someone that makes me laugh and feel safe. We need to have similar interests... I like my independence, so it'd be nice if he understood that sometimes I need to be alone. I like small, sweet gestures, and if he does that, it's a plus."

The interviewer nods thoughtfully. "So, 2D?"

"What 'bout me?"

"No, I mean, someone like 2D."

Noodle lifts and eyebrow. "I guess... Yeah, like him."

"So why not 2D?"

"What?" She squeaks, blush showing through the light makeup she wears. "N-No, we're not like that at all."

"Y-Yeah, we're jus' good friends, is all!" 2D tries to protest, but the high pitch of his voice makes his attempt seem pathetic. "Where did yeh get tha' from?"

"I could never – pfft – I could never date him!"

"It'd be too weird! We jus' – Nope!"

Monica seems to be content with the way they're flustered and draws the interview to a close as her last act of mercy as the two bandmates shift restlessly. The staff comes to remove their mics and hand them bottles of water, which they use to keep their mouths occupied as they head to the bottom floor of the building. Out in the sidewalk, Noodle checks her phone for the Uber she called in the elevator and pockets the device away with a sigh.

"Ey." She looks up at the singer. "Tha's not gonna change our friendship, aight?"

She shakes her head. "Of course, not."

Their ride arrives and Noodle opens the door, greeting the driver as she crawls onto the backseat and 2D follows her inside. The driver checks their destination and pulls off, entering the traffic and pushing a button on the console to play some music he thinks fits their liking. Noodle smiles down at a picture of 2D from their live interview and swipes her thumb across the screen to take Russel's incoming call. Watching as she speaks with their drummer while looking out the window, 2D smiles fondly. Who knows? Maybe now that the other party was hinted at it, they can turn this friendship into something more.


A big thanks to all the wonderful people from 2nu-alliance that helped me by sending questions! Love you all! Now on to some sources:

About the orchestra and violin: on IG: damonalbarnunofficial, there are videos and pictures of Damon visiting the place and playing with them

About the documentary: there's a screenshot found on IG: gorillaz_br of a Denholm Hewlett talking to a fan about it. I used his exact words for it

About the new album and 2D doll: I was there and heard/saw it with my own ears/eyes lmao, but you can find pictures of the doll on IG: gorillaz_br

4li3n_G!rl: 2nu interview in which fans ask them questions