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ukagakadreamteam · 3 years ago

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Ghost Jam 2022 Results!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. We had a much bigger event than we were expecting, so it’s been quite a task getting everything together!

We had an incredible turnout this year, with 23 ghosts submitted by 32 participants, several of whom joined the server specifically for the event! This is a huge growth from last year; nearly double the amount of ghosts, 13 more participants, and 19 of our participants releasing a ghost for the first time as a part of this event!

Additionally, several people took on the optional challenges we offered this year. The challenges were as follows:

72 Hour challenge: create the ghost within the first 72 hours of jam.

New Assets Only challenge: create the ghost using no premade assets at all, aside from a template.

3 ghosts qualified for the 72 Hour challenge, and 14 qualified for the New Assets Only challenge! We also saw several different interpretations of our optional Disaster theme!

With so many ghosts, I'll admit, writing up that many blurbs about them sounds intimidating both to write and to read. So instead, this year we're going to list some bullet points for each ghost, and encourage you to download each one to try them out for yourself! There were so many interesting concepts explored this year, you've really just got to try them to see!

PLEASE NOTE: Several of these ghosts have only been released privately in our Discord server. If no download link is given, you'll have to join us on Discord to get the files!

Without further ado, this year’s list of ghosts!

Анемони (Anemone), by @smokycinnamonroll:

[Download]

• Written in Russian! (Absolutely worth picking up even if you don't speak Russian, though!) • Has a great idle animation! • Made in just 72 hours, using all new assets! • Comes with a unique balloon, in a nice ellipse shape!

Sackboy, by idkimtired:

(Server exclusive! The dev has not indicated plans to release this ghost publicly, so you’ll have to join our Discord to get it!)

• Is super adorable! • Kicks his little leggies, wherever you set him! • Gives you stickers! • Made without template code, using all new assets! • Comes with a unique balloon!

Balloons, by Galla (explicit link!) and Zichqec:

[Download]

• A soothing friend that bobs up and down! • Super satisfying to play with! • Pick from 3 charm options! • Made in just 72 hours, using all new assets! • Comes with a unique balloon!

Needle, by Galla (explicit link!) and Zichqec:

[Download]

• Is a needle! • Comes with content warnings! • Can poke other ghosts! • Made without template code, using all new assets! • Comes with a unique balloon!

Vending Machine, by kai and Bugtoast:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• You can buy virtual items! • You can virtually eat/drink the virtual items! • Looks great as a desktop decoration! • Provides a nice surface to set other ghosts on! • Made with all new assets!

Aaron the Protogen, by Ryder:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• Has a really nice tail animation! • Can play a couple of minigames! • Tells lots of terrible jokes! • Comes with a unique balloon!

After-school Study Group, by Ayaka:

(Server exclusive! The dev has not indicated plans to release this ghost publicly, so you’ll have to join our Discord to get it!)

• Can help you if you're studying Japanese! • Have an option to display their Japanese dialogue in romaji! • Have fun banter back and forth! • Comes with a unique balloon!

Shadow the Hedgehog, by @digitalvalkerie:

(Server exclusive! The dev has not indicated plans to release this ghost publicly, so you’ll have to join our Discord to get it!)

• Has a very nicely drawn shell! • Begrudgingly accepts a partnership with you! • Cares about you?

Herlock Sholmes, by @characteroulette, @ageofzeroart, and @versegm:

[Download]

• Has a large shell with a lovely style! • Has reactions to other ghosts opening and closing! • Is packed full of character and charm! • One of the most polished entries this jam! • Comes with a unique balloon!

Sweedeesh Feesh, by @unrestedjade:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• Has a really nice idle animation! • Can play higher-or-lower! • Has nice chill vibes!

Snoopy + Woodstock, by @frank-r-t:

[Download]

• Captures the charm of the Peanuts artstyle incredibly well! • Has fun dialogue back and forth! • Both are very pettable!

Heather, by @luedelouartandwriting:

(Server exclusive! The dev has not indicated plans to release this ghost publicly, so you’ll have to join our Discord to get it!)

• Is very cute! • Has cute little icons to indicate emotions! • Doesn't say much, just here to vibe! • Made with all new assets!

Earthquake Duo, by @catboy-otacon and @aegisghosts:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• Have a big presence on your screen, with lots of nice detail in the shell to look at! • The sakura character's face acts as its balloon! • Sometimes, there are earthquake events, and the two will leave to go on a rescue mission! • Made with all new assets! • Comes with a unique balloon!

OurOwl, by tetchytick:

[Download]

• Has a very nice painted shell! • Has a lot of character in the writing, and even in the menu options! • You can attempt to pet it! • Made with all new assets!

Desktop Rabite, by @crabbymaiden:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• You can give your pet Rabite a name! • You can give your Rabite different foods! • You can pet your Rabite in various spots! • Made with all new assets!

Джи-Хэй Хва (Jihae and Pavel), by @dragonpanther888 and @smokycinnamonroll:

[Download]

• Written in Russian! (Absolutely worth picking up even if you don't speak Russian, though!) • Come with two shells, one of which is partially drawn traditionally! • Made with all new assets!

Tekame Hameha, by @noirfos and Straythorn:

[Download]

• Is a cute tortoise that carries letters! • Has a pun name! • Made with all new assets!

The Tiny Terrors, by Doomfanger666:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• A duo of friends to terrorize your desktop! • Or perhaps to get a respite from the disaster back home? • Made with all new assets!

Paper, by Galla (explicit link!), @inportant-spam-rsvp and Zichqec:

• Made within just 24 hours! • Includes 4 (premade) minigames! • Over 2000 (freshly written) words available for the minigames! • Is judging you! • Made without template code! • Comes with a unique balloon!

Hollow Jam, by @dransnake, catrat, and @wildmoonproductions:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• Have a pretty animated shell! • Have 3 whole characters! • Have a lot of questions you can ask in their menu! • Made with all new assets! • Comes with a unique balloon!

The Scientist’s Assistant, by pixel_zoo, Era the Outworlder, and Ecclysium:

[Download]

• Has a very pretty pixel art shell! • Has an interesting mechanic for using items! • Complete with sound effects for the actions you can take!

Nai, by @sialu-the-arts-cat:

(Server exclusive! The dev has not indicated plans to release this ghost publicly, so you’ll have to join our Discord to get it!)

• You can pet the cat! • You can also poke the nose! • Has a nice idle animation of the tail flicking back and forth!

Dr. Arthur S Seavers, by @fursie-does-art:

(No public release yet, but do keep an eye out for one!)

• Is super sweet and friendly! • Has a fun firstboot with multiple questions! • Made with all new assets!

Thanks so much for participating, everyone! We hope you’ll join us again next year, too!

#Ukagaka #ukgk #Ukagaka Ghost #Ghost Jam #Ghost Jam 2022 #Ukagaka Dream Team

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yourwannabekpopidol · 4 years ago

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Project 15

Apprenticeship Program Name: Radio Campbuzz Project Name: RJ for Rangdhonu and script writer for shows Program Date: Fall 2017 – Fall 2018 Program Description: I joined this program when Kashfia Ma’am was the advisor for the program. She assigned me to a RJ position for a weekly show called, “Rangdhonu”. And I had to write the script for the show as well. What I had to do was be a host for the show and the show is about pop culture and entertainment. So we had to talk about any new update on Hollywood and Bollywood. Program Justification: What the show provided was to let the students know about any pop culture and to let them enjoy some entertainment before going back to class. There were other shows but this show made me realize how fun it is to be a RJ. Due to this show, I was even awarded the best RJ in Radio Campbuzz of Spring 2018. Program Name: Rangdhonu. Program Time: Every Wednesday from 12 pm to 1 pm.

Picture 1: This is me before the show of Rangdhonu at the station.

Picture 2: This is the poster that declared that Nabeela apu and I were the host of the show, Rangdhonu, on social media.

Picture 3: This was the award and the certificate of me winning the best RJ.

Script for the 5th Rangdhonu show: Written by: Wangkhem Thonglen

Link 1

Sonam Kapoor ties the knot! Celebrity marriages are always the talk of the town, especially when it is the much-awaited wedding of one of Bollywood's most beloved stars, Sonam Kapoor. In an event of grand celebrations, Sonam Kapoor has finally tied the knot last Tuesday, May 8, with her long-time boyfriend Anand Ahuja. For those who don't know, Anand Ahuja is a businessman who has founded his own fashion brand named Bhane. His Delhi-based business has made him quite successful despite his young age, and fans know him well for always being addressed fondly in Sonam's online posts. The couple is active on social media, and has never failed to win hearts through their messages of adoration and love. Radio Cambuzz wishes the couple a happy conjugal life!

SaRa May 12 marked the grand opening of SaRa's first showroom in Mirpur. The fashion house made a huge statement with endorsements from stars like Sara Zaker, Oyshee, Shahtaj, Pritom, Xefer, Azim, Doyel and many others. They were present during the opening, along with the owner S.M Khaled.

RABINDRA FESTIVALS AROUND THE COUNTRY The celebration of 157th birth anniversary of Tagore in Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka. Artistes performed in a programme by Jayita Rabindra Sangeet Shomillon Porishod in Mymensingh. Artistes did a cultural show in Rabindra Mela, Channel i premises, Dhaka. Artistes from Bangladesh and India performed in Rabindra Festival in Shelaidah Kuthibari, Kushtia. Also Sirajganj.

30 years of BAMBA - More than just bands After a break of almost four years, Bangladesh Musical Bands Association, better known as BAMBA, recently arranged a mega concert, 'BAMBA Live Chapter 1', in Dhaka. The turnout was huge, with the spacious hall room of the International Convention Centre, Bashundhara, filled to the brim with fans eager to get a glimpse of their favorite bands and listen to their all-time hits. 11 of the 27 bands under the umbrella of BAMBA, including Warfaze, Miles, Shunno, Aurthohin, Nemesis, Vikings, Feedback, Dalchhut, Maq O' Dhaka, Pentagon and Arbovirus performed at the concert. Star Showbiz recently invited BAMBA to participate at a roundtable discussion at The Daily Star Centre. Hamin Ahmed, President of BAMBA; Sheikh Monirul Alam Tipu, General Secretary; Fuad Naser Babu, Vice President; Maqsoodul Haque (Mac), Executive Committee Member; Mohammad Ali Shumon, Treasurer; and Doza Alan, CEO, SkyTracker Limited, took part in the roundtable discussion. It was facilitated by Star Showbiz Editor Rafi Hossain. The discussion focused on BAMBA's current activities and the way forward in the face of the challenges confronting our music industry.

Link 2

Zoe Saldana on the Hollywood Walk of Fame After smashing success as the alien warrior Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and more recently, Avengers: Infinity War, Zoe Saldana is on a path to eternal stardom, literally. She joins the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and her co-actor Chris Pratt, by receiving her very own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Zoe Saldana took to Instagram to express her gratitude, saying she is blessed and honored to be a part of the history of Hollywood. “May this open more doors for Latinx and all other under-represented community!” she further stated. Zoe Saldana has also appeared in James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar and the recent Star Trek trilogy. Being a constant presence in blockbuster sci-fi and fantasy films, Zoe Saldana is expected to become a top name in this specific genre quite soon. 2018 71st Cannes Film Festival From Tuesday May 8th til Saturday May 19th. Australian actress Cate Blanchett has been named as the President of the Jury. Asghar Farhadi's psychological thriller Everybody Knows, starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Ricardo Darín, opened the festival and competes in the Main Competition section The Han Solo spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story touched down Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, bringing its cast and a full-sized Chewbacca to the French Riviera extravaganza. Director Ron Howard, wearing a hat that read “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” introduced his cast before the film’s international premiere at Cannes. Sonam Kapoor wows at the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival 2018. Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan once again stole the show as she walked the prestigious red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, this time in a stunning ultra-violet, blue and red gown that reflected the metamorphosis of a butterfly. History was made at this year's 71st Cannes Film Festival on Saturday as 82 women, representing the limited number of women filmmakers selected over its more than seven-decade history, made a symbolic walk up the red carpet. The stars, filmmakers and other professionals ascended the steps of the Palais des Festivals at the Cannes Film Festival, protesting for the solidarity of the women in the industry who are struggling for a voice, equal pay, as well as a safer work place. The five female members of this year's Cannes jury-- Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay, Lea Seydoux and Burundian singer Khadja Nin, along with Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek and Marion Cotillard were among the group of women.

Link 3 Mim Mantasha Superstar in the making Winning the country's biggest pageant is not an ordinary feat. Mim Mantasha has won not just a crown, but also the hearts of millions. Awaiting a new journey, the Lux Channel i Superstar 2018 winner shares her story with The Daily Star. A final year student of Fine Arts at Jahangirnagar University, Mim has always been a creative and curious soul. She was an avid follower of the contest for a long time. This year, she finally took the decision to compete. Taking part in the competition was certainly not a cakewalk. “We went through vigorous training sessions. We did yoga in the mornings,” explains Mim. Before the task rounds, the contestants went through fifteen days of training for ramp walk, acting, dancing, and many other skills. The photo shoots, acting, and improvisation rounds were Mim's favourite tasks in the competition. “I was nervous but in a scene, I got to convince people through my acting that my child was lost. I enjoyed it,” Mim smiles, adding that the competition was an overall memorable experience. Although she is highly enthusiastic about working in the media, she wants to take more preparations before doing so. She is now Lux Bangladesh's brand ambassador and has also won the opportunity to work on television and feature film projects of Impress Telefilm. Before hitting the silver screen, Mim wants to explore the world of television. Being a painter at heart, Mim also wants to continue painting and have her own exhibition in the future. Further to this, she intends to work for children who need special care. “I am in a fortunate position and it is our duty to take care of those in need.” says Mim. With great intentions, we hope Mim Mantasha excels at every step of her future endevours.

Link 4

Avengers Infinity War Review The plot itself is pretty simple. There are six stones that possess mystic powers and he/she who possesses all the stones is by default the most powerful being in the universe. Our Marvel superheroes must forget their own conflicts and join forces against Thanos to restore the fate of the universe and its inhabitants. Of course, watch the movie to know how things pan out. Avengers: Infinity War is the movie of movies, and let me tell you why. Most, if not all, the characters of the MCU are present in this film and bring their own flavour into the mix. Thor is mourning the loss of his home and hammer, Stark feels he needs to take a break from saving the world, Captain America is still out to bring justice the right way, and Hulk has no control over himself. I don't know what formula the Russo brothers have applied in their direction but I watched in awe how all the characters blended to deliver multiple storylines within a movie. Yes, I have also compared this movie to a mega three-hour episode of your daily soap opera. Avengers: Infinity War is the comprehensive Marvel movie; it is the beginning of an end. It lifts you, it hits you, and leaves you with a cliffhanger extraordinaire. See it to believe it and it'll still be unbelievable. By next weekend, Infinity War will top $1.78 billion and could sit around $1.8 billion, ensuring Marvel's year-to-date tally exceeds $3.1 billion by next Sunday.

Deadpool 2 Marketing Right off the bat, you see how Deadpool has scratched out the 20th Century Fox logo and put “TBD,” which is a sly allusion to the ongoing Disney/Fox (and Comcast?) merger drama. The content of the letter is exactly what you might expect from the Merc with a Mouth. Pop culture references, silly puns, bad language, and Ryan Reynolds bashing. Then, at the bottom, instead of the #ThanosDemandsYourSilence, we get #WadeWilsonDemandsYourSisterSorryStupidAutoCorrectSilence. See, you guys, it’s funny! And not at all trying too hard. Kidding aside, the marketing for “Deadpool 2” has been pretty top notch, but perhaps not as great as the first film. Recently, the film premiered a music video for the soundtrack featuring Celine Dion singing an over-the-top ballad while a high-heel-wearing Deadpool does an interpretive dance around the diva. It’s ridiculous and fun. And also, the most recent trailer seems to have struck a chord with fans, who are coming down off their ‘Infinity War’ high.

Link 5

Top 10 Hollywood Box Office Weekend 1. Avengers: Infinity War - $62,078,047 (Total Grossing – $548,090,150) 2. Life of the Party - $17,886,075 (New) 3. Breaking In - $17,630,285 (New) 4. Overboard - $9,864,415 5. A Quiet Place - $6,455,396 (Total Grossing - $169,608,030) 6. I Feel Pretty - $3,805,437 7. Rampage - $3,462,442 (Total Grossing - $89,827,105) 8. Tully - $2,248,945 9. Black Panther - $2,077,207 (Total Grossing - $696,331,818) 10. RBG - $1,188,186

Billboard’s top 10 Hits 1. This Is America – Childish Gambino (New) 2. Nice For What – Drake (Last Week: 1) 3. God’s Plan – Drake 4. Psycho – Post Malone Featuring Ty Dolla $ign (Last Week: 2) 5. Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line 6. The Middle – Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey 7. Look Alive – BlocBoy JB Featuring Drake 8. Never Be The Same – Camila Cabello 9. Perfect – Ed Sheeran (Last Week: 12) 10. No Tears Left To Cry – Ariana Grande Learning and reflections: This program made me realize the inner potential I had to be so extrovert and be a good host. I learned what to do or say after getting stuck during a live session. I have improved my speaking skills and the flow of a RJ host on how to talk and say because they have a different tone when it comes to a live session. I have taken all these skills from this program and I even got selected and did a short commercial video for Spice FM Radio. I also learned how to write a script for a radio show.

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anagentinwriting · 6 years ago

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Subscribe - Part 11

Summary: (Modern AU) Peter was your college sweetheart until a certain event led to your break up. Seven years later another event brings you two back together, but this time a little girl is in the picture. Will listening to your podcasts be the reason you two get back together or be another reason to keep you apart?

Pairing: Peter Quill x Reader

Word Count: 2423

Warnings: Fluff, swearing, slight angst

Subscribe Masterlist / Main Masterlist

On the flight back to California, you kept replaying the weekend over in your head. Saturday was a busy day filled with meeting fans and having a Q&A at a local coffee shop. Wanda and you were both surprised with the turnout, and the fans had a ton of questions. Some were about your children, products you’ve used, tips, and of course, a couple of questions about Star-lord. For the fun of it, you decided to record the event and upload it to the podcast page once you got back.

After the meet and greet, you and Wanda did a little exploring, like stopping at a few toy shops that sold Potts of Honey products. You walked through Central Park and stopped at a few souvenir shops and bought a little gift for Mer. It was a fun and productive trip.

Peter promised to keep Meredith for a few hours longer after you got back, so you could get stuff settled at home before he dropped her off. You put in some laundry, vacuumed, and sat down at your desk to get some work done.

A sharp, dull pain shot up the back of your neck as you let out a groan and opened your eyes. Ugh...what time was it? You lifted your head off your desk and noticed a piece of paper sticking to your face. You sighed, pulling it off and stretching your neck back and forth. You heard Meredith’s unique laugh, coming from the kitchen, they must’ve got here while you were sleeping in that uncomfortable position. You walked out of your office, letting out a long yawn that made your eyes water.

“Daddy, you're gonna burn the grilled cheese. Mommy won’t eat them if you burn them.” You stepped up to the kitchen doorway and leaned against it.

“It will be fine, Twig. It’s hard to burn a grilled cheese, and the tomato soup is going to be delicious,” Peter replied, standing over the stove with Mer sitting on the counter beside him.

“It’s from a can. You can’t mess that up,” she blurted out, forcing a chuckle out of him.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He leaned in close to her. “Your mother burnt tomato soup once,” he said, making Mers mouth drop open.

“In my defense, I got distracted. It happens,” you confessed, making yourself known. Peter turned around, shooting you with his boyish smirk as Mer jumped off the counter and ran over to you.

“Mommy!” Mer jumped into your arms, and you held her close. You tighten your grip around her, squeezing your eyes shut. “I missed you!”

“I missed you, too.”

“Did you get me anything?” Mer asked with innocent eyes as you two pulled apart.

“How about you go get my bag from the living room, and I’ll show you,” you told her, making her eyes light up and take off to the other room. You stood up, watching her leave with a side smirk on your face.

“I’m happy you’re home, too,” Peter nodded as you turned around. “She can be a handful on the weekends. Whew!”

“I tried to tell you,” you chuckled. “I hope you were able to keep her under control.” You stepped to the other side of the room to stir the tomato soup. Peter licked his lips, keeping a watchful eye on you. “I want to thank you for watching her again.”

“It’s the least I could do after everything.” He cleared his throat, biting his lip. “I figured cooking you both dinner would be a good idea since you were passed out in your office.” You punch him on his bicep, feeling your face heat up.

“Got your bag,” Mer grunted, dragging it into the kitchen. You leaned down and opened it, handing her a stuffed teddy bear with ‘I <3 NY’ sewed on the belly. “I love it,” Mer squealed, holding it tight to her chest. She rushed over to Peter and hopped back on the counter. “What do you think, daddy?”

“I’m jealous I didn’t get one,” he smirked at you as Mer giggled next to him. “As I was saying, YN. You go relax. Me and Mer will finish cooking dinner.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.” Peter turned back to the stove and flipped the grilled cheese. You walked out of the kitchen and took a chair at the dining table in the next room over. You weren’t one to eavesdrop, but Peter was so sweet to her you couldn’t help but listen in.

“I told you! I knew you were going to burn the grilled cheese. It’s like you got distracted or something,” Mer joked, making you crack a smile across your face. “Are you going to join us for dinner, Daddy?”

“Wish I could, Twig, but turns out I have to go to New York tonight for a day or so.”

“Awww, man,” she complained, letting out a loud sigh. “That means I have to go to daycare with all those babies!”

"I'm sorry," he breathed a soft chuckle. "I think you can survive a day or two.”

“I don’t know, dad. You don’t know what it’s like in there. It changes a person,” she stated with a straight face, forcing him to shake his head unable to stop the smile gracing his lips. “What is in New York?”

"I'm going to listen to the girl from Queens, she's playing at a local coffee shop there. I remember a certain little girl mentioning how we should listen to her live-in person and see if she is as good as her demos are."

“Yesss! She’s so amazing.”

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, it was kind of a last-minute decision."

"It's okay, Dad," Mer replied in a comforting tone.

“Would you mind buttering some more bread since I burnt this one?”

“On it, Grilled Cheese Burner.”

_______

You returned to work, and things couldn’t have been busier. It was a crazy week so far, and it felt like it was flying by. The schedule you and Peter created was working out like a charm. You couldn't believe how much easier it was when two parents were involved. You hated to admit it to yourself, but you loved observing their interactions. You felt yourself falling for him all over again, and you hated how fast it was happening. What if you get hurt again? What would happen? How would you move on? He knew about Mer now so he would continue to be in your life. But damn, he was so good with her and it only made him more irresistible.

You got off work early and decided to go to the studio to pick Mer up. She wanted to ask Peter to the father-daughter dance happening on Friday, but she was nervous. You figured if you left work early, you could help her build up a little extra courage and ask him herself.

Walking into the studio, you waved at Mantis, and she pointed to the offices to the left while she continued talking on the phone. You nodded, making your way to Peter and Bucky’s office. You stopped by the doorway, seeing Peter and Mer playing together. A sincere smile formed on your lips, watching them interact.

“Hi, my name's Korg,” Peter said in a gruff accent, shaking the toy. “I run this place around here. What's your name?"

“Daddy, you're so funny,” she giggled, leaning into his side. You didn’t miss the heartfelt smile that spread across his face. It wasn’t hard to notice that Peter enjoyed being a dad. He loved spending time with her, and he was turning out to be a great father.

“Hi, YN.”

“OH SHIT!” You held your hand to your chest, turning around. “Hey, Bucky.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you heard me,” he chuckled, coming to stand next to you.

“I didn’t.” You punched him on his arm. “I forgot how sneaky you can be.”

“One of my many skills,” he smirked, glancing into his shared office.

“Mommy!” Mer came running at you and wrapped her little arms around your legs, pulling them into a hug. You leaned over, patting her back.

“How was school?”

“It was so much fun. My math is starting to get challenging, and I like it.”

“What like it isn’t challenging enough already,” Bucky mumbled beside you.

“That’s great. Why don’t you go pack your things, and we’ll go have dinner at Auntie Gam’s tonight?”

“Yes…okay,” She paused, chewing on her bottom lip. “Uncle Bucky, I’m gonna need your help, come with me.” She grabbed his hand, forcing a laugh out of him as she pulled him along to get her bag.

“Hey,” Peter greeted, walking up to you. “How are things coming along at Potts of Honey?”

“It’s good. We’re hoping to start building on the New York property in the next month or so. It's all happening really fast. And turns out, the podcast is more successful than we thought it was on the east coast.”

“Yeah, I listened to that Q&A podcast you did at that cafe. It was fun to listen to. You and Wanda are inspiring so many people.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Are you kidding? You’re incredible at what you do.”

“Thanks,” you gushed, feeling a blush tint your cheeks.

“And the whole New York facility sounds exciting, too. You're something else, YN,” he confessed. “Do you know who is going to be running it once everything gets settled?”

“I don’t know. That’s a good question. I haven't....” Meredith interrupted you as she ran down the hallway shouting with her backpack strapped on tight.

“MOM, I AM READY TO GO!”

Saying quick goodbyes to Mantis and Peter, you and Mer headed out to your car. You buckled yourself in and watched Mer strap herself into her car seat from the rearview mirror.

“Did you ask your dad if he wanted to go to the dance?”

“Um…no. He wouldn’t want to go to some stupid kid thing anyways,” she sighed, looking out the window.

“You don't know that,” you replied, unbuckling your seatbelt. “You know what, we're not leaving till you ask him...let's go back inside?”

“No, I don’t want to.”

“Yes, you do. I know you do,” you said, turning around in your seat. “I'm not asking him for you. You’re a big girl. You can do this.” She shook her head, staring at the front seat. You stepped out of the car and opened her door. “He will say yes, but only if you ask him.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m your mother. Now come on, Meredith.”

“Finnnne,” she whined, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car.

“Hey, Peter,” you greeted, walking back through the entrance. He glanced in your direction as he leaned against the front desk, chatting with Mantis. “Mer wanted to ask you something? She’s nervous you might already have plans, but she has been wanting to ask you for a while now.”

“Is that right? Okay. Hey, Twig.” He walked over and leaned down in front of her putting his hands on her shoulder. “What is it? You know you can ask me anything right. No matter what it is.”

She looked at you standing next to her, and you nodded. “Did you want to go to this father-daughter dance at my school on Friday night?”

“Friday you say--” he hummed, thinking it over “--I’d love to go! I’ll have to rearrange some things, but I’ll be there.” She smiled and wrapped him into a hug. He put his arms around her little frame and squeezed her tight before pulling away. “Do I have to wear a tux?

“Yes,” she giggled and hugged him again. You smiled down at them. “Do you promise?” She asked, holding up her pinky finger.

“I promise, Twig.” He hooked his pinky with hers and swung it around, forcing a loud giggle out of her.

“Now let's get going, Gamora is waiting for us. I'll text you about the dance details, Peter, and figure out a game plan.”

He nodded. “Sounds good, YN. See you two ladies tomorrow.”

Mer smile, waving goodbye. “Love you, daddy,” she shouted before walking out the door.

“Love you, too, Twig.”

“She is so cute, Peter.” Mantis commented.

“She is going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up,” he smirked, resting his elbows back on the front desk. Mantis chuckled, agreeing with him.

“When are you going to tell her the truth?” Nat asked, walking into the room.

“Excuse me?” Peter questioned, looking up from the paperwork in front of him.

“About how I work here." She twirled her finger in the air. "I hate hiding when she comes in. It's ridiculous how after all these years you still don't have the balls to tell her what happened.”

“It's a sensitive subject." He furrowed his brows together. "Besides, I don't want to ruin what I have been trying to rebuild with her.”

“You think this will ruin everything. You’re an idiot. This will clear everything up beside when I was watching the security cameras I could tell she’s still into you,” Nat added, crossing her arms.

He scoffed. “I doubt it. I mean, she...she doesn't even want to talk about what happened.”

“She's trying to protect herself, doofus. She doesn’t want to relive what she went through because it was hard on her, especially because she was pregnant.”

“In my defense, I didn’t know about that part,” Peter stated, forcing Nat to roll her eyes. “When the time is right I will tell her, but not right now!”

“Fine, but now is the right time.” He shrugged, chewing on his lip. “Buck and I are going to dinner soon, did you want to come?”

“No, I should stay here and catch up on some things.” Nat nodded at him as she walked back to her office.

Peter smiled at the paperwork in front of him thinking about the father-daughter dance. Would he still be able to fit into the silver tux he bought forever ago? Does he get her a corsage? Or a bouquet? Sure, he would have to cancel his plans with Bereet, but that was an easy fix, and she’d understand, right? Peter’s mind continued to be filled with questions, but there was one that lingered in the back of his mind. Was Nat right about YN? Did she still have feelings for him? Nat has always been super observant, so could she be right?

_________

AN: Awww...now who's excited about this dance! The reader might be catching feelings, but how long will it take for her to realize he might feel the same? Slow burn, am I right? Nat seems to know the truth about why they broke up...hmmm...I wonder what it could be? As always thanks for reading!

#peter quill #peter quill au #peter quill x reader #peter quill reader insert #peter quill image #Star-Lord #star lord x reader #star lord au #Chris Pratt #Guardians of the Galaxy #guardians of the galaxy vol 2 #GotG #marvel #marvel fanfic #Marvel AU

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holdyourbreathuntilyouseelight · 6 years ago

Text

The Bodyguard - Chapter 5

Summary: Magnus is a dancing popstar sensation whose popularity continues to climb. Alec, an ex-Secret Service agent, is hired on as a professional bodyguard in charge of Mr. Bane’s personal security by insistence of Magnus’ manager. Despite their initial differences, Magnus finds himself falling for Alec the more time they spend getting to know each other and relies on him for more than physical security as his safety gets threatened. Loosely based on the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

Rating: M

Genre: AU, Everyone is Human AU, Celebrity!Magnus, Bodyguard!Alec, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Romance, Eventual Smut, Mutual Pining

Author: holdyourbreathuntilyouseelight

A/N: So sorry I disappeared for a few weeks there - I am suffering from intense occupational burnout and compassion fatigue and I'm doing my best to work overtime while battling it so it's been taking up all my brain power. Hoping things calm down soon and I can better focus on this story.That being said - here is another chapter. Things get a little more exciting from here on out! Malec is coming soon ;) Thank you for sticking with me and this story! You guys are amazing.

Click here to read on AO3.

Previous chapters on tumblr: Prologue // Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4

"Hit, hit, duck. Good." Alec directed, nodding in approval as the group hit their target clearly. "Luke, great form. You're getting good power with those hits. Keep your wrist straight."

Luke nodded and kept hitting the cushioned martial arts dummy in front of him.

Alec held these training sessions when he could, when they had a day or two between shows or Magnus was busy in dance rehearsals. Some of the security team he had hired on his own, but some had come from Magnus' original group. Naturally, those original people didn't have a lot of formal training in combat or disarming opponents, so Alec took it upon himself to prepare them. If something happened and Alec wasn't there, he wanted to make sure everyone was safe and knew what to do. He had night patrol keeping an eye on the floor they stayed on every night, even with Alec in the bedroom over from Magnus, and regularly stationed guards in positions around the venue. He needed them to be able to act efficiently and effectively in the event someone who did not belong tried to intrude.

The benefit concert Magnus was performing at tonight was a very small club, with not much room to place people, and Alec felt more nervous than ever at the idea of the team not being fully prepared to tackle down a dangerous suspect in the event it came up.

So far, the tour had been uneventful for actually coming across a suspicious person, but Alec knew that streak of luck was just that – luck.

Luke wiped the sweat off his brow as Alec paced by him while observing the room.

"You really don't go easy on us, huh?" Luke asked, taking a deep drink from his water bottle.

Alec smiled. "Not my style. Best way to ensure progress is to challenge. You've all come a long way in a short time."

"You're a good teacher. To be honest, Alec, I wasn't sure about you in the beginning, but you've been what we didn't know we needed. Magnus included. He probably will never admit it to you, but I can tell he's glad you're here."

Alec chuckled. "He definitely will never admit it. But thank you. I hope so. His safety is my ultimate concern, but it is easier to protect him when he lets me."

Luke was watching him closely, a spark of mischief in his eyes, and Alec wondered what he had said that made him look at him in such a way.

"You get him though. Even though I know he puts you through your paces. Something about the two of you works."

Alec regarded him skeptically. "Don't tell me you're joining the fans in 'shipping' the pair of us."

Luke laughed. "I didn't say that… but I haven't seen Magnus so smitten in all my years of working with him. You're good for each other."

"You guys are seeing things." He turned to the rest of the room, grateful the others weren't eavesdropping on the conversation. "All right, everyone! Let's practice some disarming!"

Luke smirked as he swept past him to head to the mats on the other side of the room.

Alec shifted uncomfortably at his spot on the sidelines, trying not to let Luke's comment nestle in his mind and manifest into hope.

The venue was small, smaller than Alec anticipated, and it made his anxiety jump upon seeing people filed around the block and the realization that it was in anticipation of the big night.

Magnus, of course, looked thrilled by the turnout, flipping through social media to see the posts from excited fans.

"Are we there yet?" Magnus asked, peeking through the tinted windows in an attempt to see how close they were to the hall.

"We're going through a back entrance, Magnus, to get you in past the crowd and where you're needed." Raphael explained.

"Alexander, will you relax? You're setting off my anxiety and I don't even anxiety." Magnus said, placing a hand on his bouncing thigh.

Alec's leg stilled, surprised to find it had been moving of its own accord, and grimaced. "Sorry. I'm not looking forward to trying to keep things under control with this crowd."

"You worry too much, darling. It'll be fine. It's just a bunch of enthused people ready to donate and support the LGBT youth. Remember that that's why we're here."

Alec swallowed at the feeling of Magnus' fingers drawing circles on the inside of his knee. He tried to remind himself that Magnus threw pet names around easily, that it didn't mean anything.

"We're here. Stay." Alec said quickly, jumping from his seat as soon as the brakes kicked in and near-stumbling out of the car.

"Sit. Roll over." Magnus imitated, collapsing back onto his seat with his usual dramatic flair.

Alec ignored him as he set the security team in motion, clearing the main area and gesturing for Magnus to follow when the time came.

Magnus bounded after him, a little too much like a rogue puppy, and Alec tugged him to remain by his side while the others did their usual sweep.

"Honestly, Alexander. Why don't we clear my dressing room first? Or the rehearsal hall? Waiting around is so boring."

"And deprive myself of extra time in your extraordinary company?"

Alec missed Magnus' sarcastic reply, too intent on what was being said through his wire.

"Repeat that please." he said stonily, gripping Magnus' arm and immediately backing him to a nearby corner to block him in.

"Alec, what—"

But he heard it through the speaker then.

"It's like the others you showed us. Magazine clippings of letters to make up the words. Whoever it is, they know Magnus is here."

Alec closed his eyes, exhaling slowly, as Magnus gripped his jacket from behind. He jerked it back when Alec went to move.

"They're here?" Magnus asked hoarsely.

"Not necessarily. Just that they know you were coming. I… I don't like it." Alec admitted lowly.

Magnus pressed closer to him, even as Alec gave directions through his headset. He felt stupid for poking fun at Alec's anxiety now, when that was all he could feel rushing through his veins. He had been getting too comfortable, thinking that Alec's presence was more of an insurance policy, and that, even worst case scenario, Alec's position would scare off any half-assed stalker. It had been weeks since something happened.

It meant this person was for real, and they clearly meant business. They were following him through the tour; they had photos of him in his home, and then had posted a message at the Chicago venue, and now here.

What did they want from him? Why were they doing this?

Magnus felt Alec relax, even minutely, and pulled himself out of his thoughts to listen to him.

"No sign of any other danger or anyone out of the ordinary. If the person planted that today, they're gone now. It doesn't mean they won't come back tonight." he added. "Magnus, you should think about cancelling."

"Cancelling my appearance at the benefit?" Magnus asked just as Raphael came in the room.

"Alec! We can't cancel this late. Magnus would be ostracized. There are hundreds of people lined up outside who have been hanging around all day just to get a chance to be close to the stage he is on! It would kill his reputation, not to mention plummet the charitable donations…"

"Look, I don't like it either. I respect what this is about and what the fans want, but I am trying to keep Magnus safe!" Alec argued.

Magnus placed a hand on his arm. "Alexander. You said before… giving this person power, by showing that they've gotten to me, or putting a spotlight on them, is exactly what they want. Isn't cancelling because of one letter doing that?"

Alec met his eyes, considering his words, before sighing. "You have a point."

Raphael clapped his hands together. "Magnus is right. We wouldn't want to make things worse."

Alec ignored him and turned his full attention to Magnus. "This place is tight quarters and going to be crammed with people. I won't have as easy of access to you if things go south. Are you absolutely sure you want to go forward with this? This isn't like Chicago—we know before you're on stage that your safety is at higher risk. That they found a way in here before even we did and before the audience was let in. That isn't a good sign. It shows far too much eagerness for my liking, and there's nothing to say they won't attack once you're on stage solo and an easy target."

"I can't let the fans down, Alec. I want to do this." Magnus told him earnestly.

He nodded finally. "Okay. Let's get you to your dressing room. I want a better look at this letter."

He kept a hand wrapped around Magnus' bicep as they moved through the hall, eyes darting to every corner more than ever, and he prayed that whoever dared to threaten Magnus was long gone.

He didn't like the idea of how much bolder they were getting. It could only spell danger, and he would be damned if he let anything happen to Magnus while he was around.

Magnus tried to keep the underlying fear off of his face as his team worked away at getting him prepped for the show.

He didn't want to make a scene, or set off anyone else's fear, but he was panicking on the inside. The letter had been enough to send a shiver down his spine.

BANE BASTARD

YOU HAVE EVERYTHING

I HAVE NOTHING

THE TIME IS COMING WHEN YOU SHALL DIE

He didn't understand what the person wanted. If they wanted him dead, because he 'had everything', killing him wasn't going to let this person have his life or whatever they claimed was 'everything'. He knew that stalkers weren't necessarily rational, so maybe they did think that would happen.

Either way, the text certainly seemed to suggest some sort of psychosis, which did not make him feel excited about his decision to move forward with the benefit. But if running away was what this person wanted, he'd be damned before he gave it to them. They weren't going to take away one method he knew how to pay back his fans for their support over the years.

He was not going to run scared. He trusted Alec to keep him safe and the rest of the team. Even with Alec's warnings that it wouldn't be easy if something did happen.

Magnus couldn't remember a time he had seen Alec as tense as he was now. His eyes would not stay on one place for too long, and he seemed fidgety, which was not the norm for him. Magnus could see through the reflection in the mirror Alec's thumb nail digging deeply at the stretch of skin between his thumb and index finger on the opposite hand.

Magnus frowned. Alec's nervousness was offsetting his own stress even more, and that was the last thing he needed before he went out on stage to put on an upbeat, fun performance.

"Alexander. Can you go take a walk or something? Your presence is raising my blood pressure."

Alec scowled. "I'm not leaving. Your safety is at an increased risk. I don't want to take any chances."

"Well right now, you're risking my sanity."

"That's your problem."

Magnus moved to get out of his chair, ready to get up in the bodyguard's face, but Raphael pushed down on his shoulder to keep him seated.

"Alec. Talk me through your conversation with the police earlier." Raphael said, leading Alec away from the room.

"Raphael…" Alec started to warn, but the manager cut him off.

"He's surrounded by multiple people from his team—not a prime time to attack. As well I've… just summoned Luke to stand guard in your absence." he said as he typed in his phone.

Alec reluctantly followed Raphael, shooting a last, somewhat-hurt expression towards Magnus, which made Magnus immediately regret making a fuss.

He knew Alec meant well, and that he was stressed because he was worried about his well being. It was unfair of Magnus to punish him for it. It was incredibly difficult to relax and not think about the impending danger when the person meant to stay calm and collected was clearly freaking out but he couldn't exactly blame him for being worried.

One of his tour assistants came into the room then, carrying a collection of snacks for the group.

"Magnus, you should have something before you go out there. You need your energy."

"I can't, Iris. I feel too sick to eat." he admitted, though he accepted a water bottle gratefully.

She rubbed his shoulder supportively. "That bodyguard of yours has certainly made things harder for you."

Magnus narrowed his eyes. He remembered why he didn't always get along with the woman. She tended to jump right to blaming others or pointing a spotlight at negativity. He had known her from one of the group homes he had been in in his late teens, and back then they had quite a bit in common. She hadn't had an easy life, and, after he had gotten his big break, they had run into each other and she managed to pull at his heart strings when she was honest about how much she was struggling to find her footing. He offered her a job and she had been working with him ever since.

Since she was a tour assistant, she managed a lot of the administrative pieces Raphael passed off to her, like rearranging travel plans or confirming venues, meet and greets, and the like. It wasn't an easy job – it was a lot of problem solving and reorganizing previously established plans – but she seemed to do well since Raphael didn't complain about her any more than he complained about anyone else.

Magnus knew his success was only capable with a group of talented people in the background, often overlooked and underappreciated by the general population, but Magnus never shied away from rewarding them for their hard work whenever he could. Spontaneous gifts, all-inclusive resort vacation getaways, and of course a handsome paycheque to boot. He had never gotten into the business for the money—but given how little he had growing up, it was incredible to have the power to do so much.

Not to say he didn't still indulge himself too—that went without saying. But he also gave large portions to various charities and used his fame for things like that night's benefit to raise money for others.

Magnus dragged his attention back to his staff member. "Alec is… intense, but he means well. He just has a good habit of getting on my nerves. Nothing I can't handle."

Iris forced a smile, clearly catching the subtle reprimand. "My apologies, Magnus. He just seems to not know when to back off. I'm only trying to look out for you, after all these years, as you've done for me."

Magnus nodded. "I know. I appreciate your concern. Perhaps you should go check with Raphael before the show starts; see if there are any last minute emergencies that need handling."

She bobbed her head in acknowledgement before slipping away and out of the room.

Meliorn moved forward to finish his make-up, and Magnus left the offered food untouched.

Magnus let his team finish their aesthetic prep before being fit for a mic. It wasn't long before he was walking towards the wings of the stage to prepare for his entrance.

Unsurprisingly, Alec was behind him like a shadow as soon as he got close enough to the stage.

"Magnus…" He grabbed his wrist before he could pass, and Magnus found himself turning into the curve of his bodyguard's arm.

"Alexander."

Alec closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly steeling himself for what he was about to say. "Look. I wanted to apologize, for before. I know this whole thing is stressful, for you more than anyone. I am hired to keep you safe, and I take that job very seriously. By not keeping my fears underwraps, I'm aiding in your discomfort, and that isn't fair of me. I'm sorry."

"Alexander." Magnus said, squeezing his bicep. "Thank you but I should be the one apologizing to you. I know I have a short fuse, but I shouldn't automatically take it out on you. Like you said, this whole thing is stressful. I know you're only stressed because you care, and I appreciate that."

Alec finally smiled, the first he had seen in a while, and Magnus found himself mirroring it.

"Magnus Bane, everyone!" the announcer's voice suddenly cut through their spell, and Magnus awkwardly stepped back out of his embrace. He didn't remember when he had started leaning into Alec so heavily.

"Ah, excuse me."

"I will be right here, just in case. I won't take my eyes off of you." Alec promised, and the sincerity in his eyes had to be what caused a shiver to roll up Magnus' spine.

Magnus stepped out onto the stage with his usual flair, greeting the crowd with his typical enthusiasm before the music started and he got into place.

Normally, his concert venues were larger, so he'd have a full band and back-up dancers/choreographed routines happening. The stage was too small for all of that, so it was just a solo act this time around, which made Alec all the more nervous.

He stayed watchful on the sidelines, scanning the crowd, keeping his promise to not let his eyes stray too far from Magnus.

Magnus was dancing along the central piece of the T-shaped stage, the audience on either side grabbing for him like he was a shower of cash they were trying to catch from the air. He would wiggle his fingers at them, brushing at a couple hands, but any time anyone got too close, he'd skip away with a playful grin.

Alec couldn't help his lips turning up at the corners at the sight. Magnus was totally in his element on stage, any stage. No one would be able to guess he'd spent the last couple hours with the growing fear that his life could be in danger at any moment.

Alec was jerked from his thoughts abruptly when an audience member finally managed to get a good hold on Magnus' hand, holding him in place and nearly causing him to lose his balance and make nice with the floor.

Alec was moving before he was even conscious of his decision, grabbing at his mouth piece to instruct the others that were nearby, but Magnus caught his eye and sent him a warning look. He raised a hand to get him to pause, moving his body with it to make it look like part of his routine, as he continued to sing like nothing had changed.

Magnus managed to get his hand free and swept away, moving to the other side of the stage to pay attention to that crowd.

Alec exhaled. He was really glad Magnus was only one of a few guests. He couldn't stand this anxiety for hours on end.

Magnus did a few more songs, a slow ballad among the more energetic ones, but it was his second last one that went downhill.

Due to the packed crowd, Alec's security team was stationed as close to the stage as they could be without being squashed by the over-enthused audience, but somehow, they still weren't close enough.

One person, with the help of a couple friends, managed to climb onto the stage when Magnus' back was turned.

"Underhill!" Alec hissed into his mouth piece, but even he could see the blonde man was struggling to get through the packed bodies to get to where the fan was now dancing on stage.

Magnus, ever the actor, simply smiled brightly and twirled the person, but Alec could see the underlying fear growing in his eyes.

"Get him out of there!" Alec shouted, poised ready to run on stage, but Magnus was raising his hand in a stop motion in his direction again and Alec paused mid-step to wait.

It was against his better judgment, but he wanted to respect Magnus' autonomy, and he knew he'd never forgive him if he ruined the show with his overprotective nature.

But then another friend of the group managed to make it on stage, with others following, and Magnus' mic was near-ripped from him as they tried to get a handful of the star and snagged the wired contraption well off of him in their haste.

Magnus' eyes were full of fear now, especially when, in his attempt to get away from them, he lost his footing and fell off the stage.

"Magnus!" Alec shouted, racing out there at lightening speed and shoving through the gleeful group on stage with no remorse. They scattered like mice, and he tried not to feel pleased.

Magnus had been caught by the ecstatic audience, their screams and cheers roaring in Alec's ears like white noise now, their arms holding him up like he was attempting to crowd surf at a rock concert. All he could hear was Magnus' broken protests, asking to be put down, for them to stop, although, for anyone else, it likely was getting swallowed up in the excitement.

Alec leapt off the platform and tore through the group of bodies to get to Magnus. Underhill, Garroway, and the others were helping thin the crowd as Alec finally caught up to where the star was.

He shoved the hands off of the star and pulled Magnus into his arms bridal style, Magnus' arms latching around his neck while he buried his face in his shoulder, trembling all over.

Hands still were desperate to get a handful of the celebrity, reaching in the crammed space to tug at his shirt, hair, whatever their hands could reach.

"Get your hands off of him!" Alec snarled, sounding more animal than man, and he used his shoulder and broad body to knock anyone in his path aside as he made his way to a clearing.

He didn't care if he was sending the more stubborn people stumbling. Served them right for caring more about the thrill of touching their so-called idol than respecting his personal space and safety.

Once free from the crowd, Alec spoke into his headset.

"Raphael, I need the car running and ready. Back exit. You have sixty seconds or I'm grabbing the nearest cab."

There was panic on the other end, Raphael demanding to know if Magnus was okay, but Alec didn't know how to answer that.

"I've got him. He's safe now." Alec said, which caused Magnus to look up at him.

Alec's heart clenched in his chest at the tearstains on Magnus' face. His grip on his neck loosened, fingertips brushing softly at the nape of Alec's neck, and his eyes were trained on Alec's hazel ones.

Alec leaned his forehead against Magnus' as they came to a stop at the back exit.

"I've got you." he murmured before opening the door to the night air.

Continue to Chapter 6

#malec #malec au #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #shadowhunters fic #malec fic #the bodyguard fic #bodyguard au #bodyguard!alec #celebrity!magnus

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daveg65 · 2 years ago

Text

251 - 800 Cars for CarPlay and NAB Recap- With Guest, Kelly Guimont and Jeff Gamet Chuck Joiner

The latest In Touch With iOS with Dave he is joined by guest Kelly Guimont, Jeff Gamet, and Chuck Joiner. NAB show was last week Chuck provides us a recap of some of the great things he saw at the event. CarPlay and a response from Apple we have 800 cars available. iMessage working on Windows? Refurbished iPhones over half of all smartphones sold in 2022 plus much more.

The show notes are at InTouchwithiOS.com

 Direct Link to Audio

Links to our Show

Click this link Buy me a Coffee to support the show we would really appreciate it. intouchwithios.com/coffee

Another way to support the show is to become a Patreon member patreon.com/intouchwithios

Website: In Touch With iOS

YouTube Channel

In Touch with iOS Magazine on Flipboard

Facebook Page

Twitter

Instagram

News

Microsoft’s Phone Link app is now available for iOS so you can use iMessage from a PC and Microsoft Now Rolling Out iMessage Support on Windows With Several Limitations - MacRumors

Apple Releases Updates to Apple Music and TV Preview Apps for Windows

Apple to Soon Let Users Fix Subscription Billing Issues Directly Within Apps

Emergency SOS via Satellite Saves Students Trapped in Utah Canyon

iPhones Made Up Nearly Half of All Refurbished Smartphone Sales in 2022

Apple Card promo offers 5% Daily Cash back on grocery store purchases

YouTube Music Gains Audio Podcasts on iOS and Web

Topics

Beta this week. iOS 16.5 beta 3 was released this week.

Apple Seeds Third Betas of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 to Developers

Apple Seeds Third Beta of watchOS 9.5 to Developers

Apple Seeds Third Beta of tvOS 16.5 to Developers

Apple introduces Apple Pay Later

Recap of Apple Savings Account Chuck was having issues transferring cash from bank to savings.We discuss some possible fixes as it was asking for a debit card.

Car Play discussion

Apple responds after GM joins Tesla and Rivian in ditching CarPlay support

Apple Says CarPlay Now Available in Over 800 Vehicle Models as GM Plans to Phase Out Support in EVs

iOS - CarPlay - Available Models - Apple

NAB Recap: Chuck attended NAB this year and gives us a recap on some of the great things out there. Here are some of the things he reviewed.

good turnout 65K still about 50% less before 2020.

Sound design software

AI editing not quite there,

Brett Goldstein spoke at the show. https://nabshow.com/2023/video-on-demand-monday/

Post production world met Doc Rock in person for the first time.

Macstock 7 is here! Tickets are now available and the speaker list is filling up as Dave again is speaking at the event with Brittany Smith and Jeff Gamet added to the speaker list. Please join in all the fun July 22-23, 2023! Speakers Link.

Our Host

Dave Ginsburg is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users and shares his wealth of knowledge of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and related technologies. Visit the YouTube channel https://youtube.com/intouchwithios follow him on Mastadon @daveg65,

Twitter @daveg65.and the show @intouchwithios

Our Regular Contributors

Jeff Gamet is a podcaster, technology blogger, artist, and author. Previously, he was The Mac Observer’s managing editor, and Smile’s TextExpander Evangelist. You can find him on Mastadon @jgamet as well as Twitter and Instagram as @jgamet His YouTube channel https://youtube.com/jgamet

Ben Roethig Former Associate Editor of GeekBeat.TV and host of the Tech Hangout and Deconstruct with Patrice Mac user since the mid 90s. Tech support specialist. Twitter @benroethig Website: https://roethigtech.blogspot.com

About our Guest

Kelly Guimont is a podcaster and friend of the Rebel Alliance. She appears on The Incomparable network as well as hosts I Want My M(CU) TV. you can find her on Mastodon and Instagram @verso

Chuck Joiner is the host of MacVoices and hosts video podcasts with influential members of the Apple community. Make sure to visit macvoices.com and subscribe to his podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @chuckjoiner and join his MacVoices Facebook group.

Here is our latest Episode!

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jackiebarnard11 · 6 years ago

Photo

(updated 3/11/19)

Drum roll…

These FIVE Oscar Pool Players Will Now Receive a Prize-In-the-Mail!!

First place: Jane!

This is Jane’s 5th Oscar Pool and 4th win!

Jane is the Meryl Streep and Katherine Hepburn of the Oscar Pool...

Second Place Three-Way Tie: Caroline, Josh, and Sam!

This is Caroline’s 3rd Oscar Pool and 1st win!

This is Josh’s 5th Oscar Pool and 1st win!

This is Sam’s 5th Oscar Pool and 2nd win! - see new 3/11/19 press posting with his prize-in-the-mail. The Academy confirms all prizes are now in the mail.

In last, but not least place, Diana who also was the first to join this year’s pool – thank you!

Final scores:

Jane 17

Caroline 14

Josh 14

Sam 14

Lizz 13

Ben 12

Sarah 11

David 10

Holly 10

Mollie 10

Debbie 9

Rebecca 9

Amanda 7

Tracy 7

Jeanne 6

John 5

Patty 5

Diana 4

My ballot doesn’t count, but I got 9 correct 😊

I liked this year’s Oscars; had to watch it over two days on DVR…but it was fun. I especially liked 3 of the song nominee performances: Bette Midler (Mary Poppins), Jennifer Hudson (RGB), Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper (A Star if Born). Loved Olivia Colman’s and Alfonso Cuaron’s acceptance speeches, too.

Thanks to the 19 of you who played; the biggest turnout thanks to Sam getting his friends to play! This was fun.

Winners: stand-by your mail boxes for your coveted 2019 Oscar Pool prize-in-the-mail!! (small type: you must send me a photo of you with your prize-in-the-mail and be available at anytime for interviews and TV appearances!)

Congratulations again Jane, Caroline, Josh, Sam, and Diana!

2019 official Oscars website with stuff:

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2019

Random comments below from me with the full list (updated 3/11/19):

Best Picture:

“Black Panther” - JT: Fun but sometimes get bored by marvel-type movies

“BlacKkKlansman” - JT: Sam says problematic FBI wrong doings, we liked it

“Bohemian Rhapsody” - JT: well done. Debbie has seen this at least 3 times!

“The Favourite” - JT: I liked it but a bit dark for me

“Green Book” - winner. JT: entertaining, but bit dated, formulaic. Lots of criticism out there on this choice.

“Roma” - JT: great

“A Star Is Born” - JT: I want to see this. There’s an “encore” version playing in NY for one week w/20 extra minutes..

3/11/19 update: we saw the “Encore” this weekend. 12 extra minutes...I loved it and thought Bradley Cooper did a great job and what a good singer! Lady Gaga was amazing, what a good actress! Very sweet, romantic, believable (except for two glaring moments to me: one when they first met and two, when they first sing together). Otherwise, now I want to get to know the soundtrack and see the other versions (Streisand, Judy Garland, Mitzi Gaynor). I just bought “American Sniper” with Bradley Cooper on Google Play for $3.99...

“Vice”

Lead Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice”

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”

Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”

Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” - winner

Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book” - JT: just saw yesterday at the schmancy dine-in IPic theatre South Street Seaport. Thought he was really good and should have won best actor, though I loved, loved Rami’s performance. Haven’t seen much Viggo - his movies are too rough for me

Lead Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”

Glenn Close, “The Wife” - she was good, but I found the movie mediocre, so not surprised she didn’t win this time

Olivia Colman, “The Favourite” - winner

Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”

Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” - JT: excellent movie and she was amazing; could have won this.

Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” - winner

Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”

Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”

Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” - JT: he was excellent

Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice”

Marina de Tavira, “Roma”

Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” - winner - JT: want to see this

Emma Stone, “The Favourite”

Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Director:

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” - JT: should have won in my opinion even though Roma was great

Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War” - JT: want to see

Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”

Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” - winner

Adam McKay, “Vice”

Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird

“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson

“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda

“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman - winner - JT: so good, trippy, fun to see on big screen

Animated Short:

“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine

“Bao,” Domee Shi - winner - JT: want to see

“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall

“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas

“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen

“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee - winner - JT: good choice

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins

“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Original Screenplay:

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara

“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader

“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly - winner

“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón

“Vice,” Adam McKay

Cinematography:

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal

“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan

“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel

“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón - winner

“A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Best Documentary Feature:

“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi - winner

“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross

“Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu

“Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki

“RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen - JT: still need to see this

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins - JT: Sam told us this was produced by The Guardian newspaper!

“End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

“Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald

“A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry

“Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi - winner - JT: this is free on Netflix, excellent, funny, touching

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe

“Fauve,” Jeremy Comte

“Marguerite,” Marianne Farley

“Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen

“Skin,” Guy Nattiv - winner

Best Foreign Language Film:

“Capernaum” (Lebanon) - JT: must see, so moving and well done

“Cold War” (Poland) - want to see

“Never Look Away” (Germany)

“Roma” (Mexico) - winner

“Shoplifters” (Japan) - JT: we are probably renting it for $3.99 today..

3/11/19 update: wow, what a wonderfully filmed, acted film. Sweet, but also very heartbreaking.

Film Editing:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman - winner

“Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito

“The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis

“Vice,” Hank Corwin

Sound Editing:

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst - winner

“First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan

“A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl

“Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

Sound Mixing:

“Black Panther”

“Bohemian Rhapsody” - winner

“First Man”

“Roma”

“A Star Is Born”

Production Design:

“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler - winner

“First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas

“The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton

“Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim

“Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

Original Score:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard

“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson - winner

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell

“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat

“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Original Song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA

“I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson

“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice - winner

“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Makeup and Hair:

“Border”

“Mary Queen of Scots”

“Vice” - winner

Costume Design:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres

“Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter - winner

“The Favourite,” Sandy Powell

“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell

“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Infinity War”

“Christopher Robin”

“First Man” - winner

“Ready Player One”

“Solo: A Star Wars Story”

[email protected]

Jane: if you make it this far in this post, check out David’s comment about you, he he!

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themonkeycabal · 8 years ago

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Hi MC! I hope you're doing ok and that good things are happening in your life! :) <3 I've just got a quick question - are we going to meet any of Darcy's family beyond her parents? I know you wrote a rough ss about her uncle but will we get to see her bitchy cousins? and maybe their views (ignorance) on her life? I love your writing by the way and re-read your stories whenever life is getting me down. Thanks for everything you do. :-*

Hi! Thank you!

Yes, I would like to work in more of Darcy’s extended family. I have plans for cousin Marcia’s wedding. Darcy will be taking Bucky as her plus one, and we will meet her aunt Jo and uncle Hugh (Jo is Rebecca’s sister), Marcia is their oldest daughter. I think we’ll also meet Darcy’s grandmother Francine, with whom Darcy does not get along. Also Rebecca’s cousin Ericka who is the super bitchy one and her husband Tim. Oh, and Darcy’s great uncle Larry who still likes to do the trick where he pulls a quarter out from behind Darcy’s ear.

OMG! I just realized, I can actually give you snippets!

Okay, so here’s from the next fic, The Date, where Darcy’s talking to her mom. I think this will probably get cut or at the very least very edited down a lot. It’s kind wordy, and pointlessly so.

“Have you RSVP’d for Marcia’s wedding yet?”

“No.”

“Darcy.”

“Do I have to?”

Rebecca was silent for a moment and then she let out a long breath. “No, you don’t have to, but it would be very nice if you did.”

Darcy grimaced and dropped down onto a bench, staring out over the Thames. She liked London, it felt big and small at the same time. Human scale, she supposed. New York was still a little overwhelming sometimes. Though, coming from the land of vast southern California sprawl, she really shouldn’t judge.

“Bring Tony as your plus one. That’ll keep everybody busy,” Rebecca suggested. It surprised Darcy into a laugh.

“Oh, that would be so beautiful. But, I don’t think Marcia would appreciate me upstaging her wedding. Not that she ever appreciated me.”

“Sweetie, you two are adults now, maybe it’s time to let go of the kid stuff.”

“Right, did you or did you not have an argument with aunt Jo last Christmas about how she hogged the bathroom when you were kids? Like, actually yelling at each other.”

“I said ‘maybe’,” her mom clarified. “Fine. I know you never got along, but she has asked me twice if you’re coming. She really wants you to be there, Darcy.”

“To show off how together her life is while I’m still interning,” Darcy grumbled. She swore she heard Jane shout ’assistant’ in her head.

“Maybe, or maybe she genuinely wants to share the day with you. She’s not the same person she was when she was fifteen, and neither are you. Give her a chance.”

“I don’t know. There’s so much going on right now. A destination wedding? To the middle of the freaking forest in September? What is that?”

“Okay, look at it this way: why don’t you try to mend fences, you make the effort? And then if she’s an obnoxious diva, show-off, it’ll just make her look petty and you’ll look like the bigger person. You win.”

“That’s so manipulative, mom,” Darcy said admiringly.

“I know. Give it a shot. Or bring Tony. But, I’d really like you to be there. So would your dad. And your brother. And aunt Jo, and uncle Hugh. That’s five people you actually like. And your great uncle Larry, who will pull a quarter from behind your ear, because who doesn’t love that trick? Right? Come on.”

“I’m 25, I doubt uncle Larry will try the coin trick.”

“I’m 48 and he tried it on me when I saw him two months ago at his granddaughter’s bat mitzvah. Just think, free money.”

“That’s a pretty big inducement for me. You know me too well.”

“Besides, who cares how together her life is? Good for her, I say. And, you know and I know that you’re not just an intern. Oh! I know! Bring Steve.”

“That might be worse than Tony. How about Clint?”

“Oh, well, Clint would be fun. Any update since the proposal?”

“The joke proposal. No, mom.”

“I see. And what about Bucky Barnes? I hear you’re going on a date.”

Darcy was silent for a moment. “Who told you that?”

“Steve.”

That sounded bad. That sounded awkward. Her mom and Steve were chatting buddies? She’d never survive. “When are you talking to Steve?”

“Darcy, you leave your phone all over the place. Half the time when I call you, I end up talking to somebody else. They all pick up. And sometimes it’s the only way I know what’s going on with you.” Rebecca made a frustrated sound and then let her breath out slowly before saying, “You can tell me these things, you do know that, right?”

“It’s just been a little overwhelming, is all. Like, everything that’s happened lately. I wasn’t not telling you, I just have a billion things going on.”

“Are you going to tell me now?”

“Do I have to?”

“Darcy …” Rebecca let out the most put-upon sigh she could manage. A tired, exasperated 'mom’ sigh. “No, of course not.”

“Okay, well, look, apparently we’re going dancing. I don’t know when; that’s his deal, but he said while I’m in London. Anyway, he got crazy stoned like five months ago — inadvertently stoned, I mean; he’s not a stoner — and he asked me dancing and I thought it was just because he was, you know—”

“Stoned?”

“Yes! But then he asked when he wasn’t high. And I said yes. But, then it was kidnappings and arrests — did I say arrests? Forget I said that. It wasn’t a real arrest, and it was like five hours tops and I laughed at them the whole time because they had no legal leg to stand on so it was mostly annoying to everybody involved — and attacks on the tower and property acquisitions and unexpected bequests and … so many things! So, we haven’t gone dancing yet. Is it a date? I don’t know. I think he wants it to be.”

“Do you?”

“ … Maybe? Okay, well, look, I totally brought jewelry to London, okay? Nice jewelry I immediately put into a safe box at the hotel. I haven’t bought a dress yet, but that’s just because I haven’t had time. I plan on going out this weekend, and actually, I should say, that Jane and I plan on going out this weekend, and there’s no way in hell she’d let me out of it, even if I wanted, but I don’t want out, so it’s fine. I’m sure we’ll have fun and she’ll make sure I get something suitable for kicking up my heels with a greatest generation assassin. So, I’m taking it seriously and I want to go dancing with him, and I’m just—”

“Oh sweetie,” her mom said, a laugh in her voice.

“Don’t 'oh sweetie’ me,” Darcy grumbled and then paused. “Wow, I really do sound like Pepper sometimes.”

“I’m sure your father loves that.”

“Yeah, he always says it with this panicked look on his face.” It all made so much sense now. Anyway. “So, yes, I guess I’m going on a date.”

“Can I offer a piece of advice?”

“Go for it.”

“Just have fun. Don’t make it bigger than it has to be.”

“That’s exactly what Phil and Jane said.”

“You told the Director before you told me?”

“Bucky’s my partner! There are protocols and crap. I told Phil after Bucky asked me out the first time, because it seemed like I was supposed to and also I didn’t know what to do. He just said dancing’s fun. Because technically Bucky’s an outside contractor, so it doesn’t exactly violate frat regs. Which, by the way, Howard was an asshole.”

“Howard? Your grandfather Howard? What does he have to do with it?”

“He named a sub-clause in the fraternization regs — the one covering partners — after me.”

“I thought you two got along?”

“We did. I loved the heck out of him. But, he was still an asshole.”

“Don’t call your grandfather an asshole.”

“Why not? He’s dead, he can’t hear me. And if he can, he knows what he did. And he’s probably laughing. Asshole.”

And then there’s this bit from the Marcia’s wedding fic, where we meet uncle Hugh and Tim. I think this will also get very very edited down. Again, too wordy for no good reason. Still, though.

Hugh dropped onto the couch next to Paul and let out a gusty sigh. “I will be glad when this is over.”

“Your baby girl’s getting married,” Paul objected with a smirk. “You should be rejoicing, right?”

“You haven’t seen the bill.”

“Oh come on, you’re not paying, I know it.”

“I’m paying some of it,” Hugh argued back, but then he shrugged and smiled a little. “I wouldn’t let them pay for all of it. The destination part of this — that’s all them. But, I’m paying for the food and the flowers. And the open bar.”

“Was Jo behind the open bar?”

“It was her and Rebecca, I feel pretty sure.”

“No doubt.” Paul stood up and waved a hand at his brother-in-law. “Come on, let me buy you a drink before the open bar opens.”

“Sure, sure.” Hugh got to his feet and jerked his thumb at another man passing through the lobby. “Ken, come on over here. Paul this is Ken Wittingham, the groom’s father. Ken, this is my brother-in-law Paul Lewis. Paul’s gonna buy us a drink.”

Ken stuck his hand out and gave Paul a hearty shake. “Thank you for joining us this weekend. It’s a great turnout; the kids are so excited.”

“They picked a pretty spectacular location,” Paul said blandly. It was out of the way, rustic, lovely, but also pricy and a pain in the ass to get to.

“My firm remodeled this place a couple years ago. They cut the kid’s a bit of a break.”

“You did this?” Paul waved a hand at the woodsy yet modern lodge. “Beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Ken smiled and walked them to the restaurant, pointing out features his company designed, built, carved, or otherwise installed. It was an impressive piece of work.

“So, when’s your turn?” Ken asked as they took a seat near the bar.

“My turn for what?” Paul asked, looking over the beer menu.

“You’ve got a daughter, right? How old is she?”

“Twenty-five, I’m gonna need at least two more decades before I’m ready for this. And my son is still in college and not allowed to get married until he graduates. Says me.”

Hugh snorted and ordered a rum and coke. “Scuttlebutt says Darcy’s boyfriend is her plus one.”

“Ugh,” Paul grunted and decided a beer wasn’t going to cut it. “Gin and tonic.”

Ken nodded at the server, “Same.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Hugh said, pulling a bowl of popcorn to himself and starting to pick through the kernels. “Didn’t you get married when you were twenty-three?”

Paul gave him a dark look and reached across the table for a handful of popcorn. “I don’t want to talk about Darcy getting married.”

Hugh pulled the popcorn bowl closer into his body, fending off Paul’s second grab. “Well, whenever it happens, that’ll be a hell of a shindig. I hope we’re invited.”

“She’s threatened to elope to Vegas, so maybe I’ll get lucky,” Paul told him.

Ken gave him an admonishing look, tempered a little by trying not to be the sort of person who judges a stranger you’re about to be stuck with for a weekend. “When my little girl got married, it was worth it all to see her so happy.”

Paul closed his eyes and smiled ruefully, ready to explain at least some of the reality they all faced. “Ken—”

“Darcy’s getting married?” A deceptively soothing voice, a deep, James Earl Jones with a Texas twang rumble, broke into the conversation and Evil Cousin Ericka’s husband Tim, joined them. Tim wasn’t evil, but Tim was complicit in his wife’s villainy and helped it along with his intel gathering and highly selective hearing.

“No,” Paul said shortly. “She’s not getting married. At least, not soon. Or, it’s not in the plans, or you know what I mean.”

“She’s not engaged or anything,” Hugh put in, trying to help. “We were talking about the kids, I was just giving him some guff. Hey, do you know the groom’s father? Ken, this is my wife’s cousin’s husband Tim.” Hugh’s head bobbed as he tried to make sure the relationship was as straight and clear as it could be.

“Thank you for joining us this weekend,” Ken said with his easy smile.

“We were thrilled by the invitation. It was a great opportunity for a little get-away. My wife’s been to the spa twice already.”

“We remodeled that a couple years ago,” Ken said, bearing his teeth in a proud grin, ready to dive into the details of hand-carved this and artisan-etched that.

Tim gave him a half-interested, entirely bored smile and glanced back over at Paul. “So, Darcy was able to make it? Ericka thought she might have to work.”

“She was hoping for an alien invasion,” Paul told him with a grim smile. “But, I know for a fact she escaped Manhattan without incident.”

Ken laughed a little at that and Hugh groaned softly, put his chin on his hand and sipped at his rum and coke.

Tim frowned like he was searching his memory. “She wasn’t there during the Incident, was she?”

“No, no,” Paul assured him. “She was in Europe. Norway, with her former professor.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Tim nodded. “Her internship. You know, that’s a pretty nice internship that gets you at trip to Europe.”

“She was actually there on her graduation trip,” Paul corrected past gritted teeth. “So, she wasn’t working, just visiting.”

“She’s a hard worker,” Tim said mildly.

It didn’t sound like a judgmental comment; in fact, it sounded genuine. But, Paul narrowed his eyes anyway. “Of course, she was in London working when the elves invaded.”

Hugh choked on his drink and let out a sigh. Hugh was one of the handful of people who always knew the secret. The Secret. In fact, Paul was pretty sure Hugh’d known longer than he had. Probably since the beginning. He and Jo had been married and had a kid of their own before Darcy was even born.

“Was she really?” Ken asked, looking concerned and alarmed. As far as alien invasions went, it was pretty low casualty, mostly property damage, minor trauma overall. Still, though, Paul supposed he shouldn’t fault the man his alarm — it was aliens, after all. “Damn, that must’ve scared the hell out of you.”

“You learn to roll with things when it’s Darcy,” Paul told him with a shrug.

“Necessary survival skill,” Hugh agreed. “Good kid, though, don’t get us wrong,” he hurried to assure Ken that his son’s wedding wasn’t going to be ruined by some out of control nut of a relation. Or, if such a person did show up, it wasn’t going to be Darcy.

Paul mentally sent a prayer that when she said “full Stark” it didn’t mean she was going to end up the nut. Oh Lord, please. Except, it was also his idea to let her go for it. This weekend would be an adventure.

“Hard worker,” Tim said again, as though it was the highest praise he could think to offer. It probably was. Tim owned a small chain of carpet stores in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and he worked his ass off to make them successful. It was his primary redeeming quality. “That’s why I was surprised she’s coming.”

Tim was not the most original conversationalist. Or his wife sent him on an awkward spy mission for her. When Darcy was ten she made Ericka look foolish, some clever little gadget that Darcy was able to explain in detail. And Ericka had never gotten over her embarrassment at having the device explained to her like she was a child, by a child.

Who stayed that bitter at a ten-year old? That woman, for f’s sake.

Anyway, so Ericka never passed up an opportunity to dig dirt on Darcy and try to one-up her. Because she had nothing else to fill the hours of her life, obviously, and she used her husband as her witting foil. Tim knew what she was doing, he went along, Paul had no sympathy.

Oh, man, Paul wanted to say so badly. He wanted to just tell Tim exactly who Darcy was. He was so tempted, so very tempted, it was on the tip of his tongue. So much so that he almost stood up and went to call Tony, of all people, because Tony would tell him to lock it down, and then threaten him with the Iron Man suit. Or, at least, Paul hoped he would, because that would get him to back away from the crazy place.

Or he should go call Darcy and tell her to hurry up and come distract everybody with her zombie, Greatest Generation, war hero boyfriend.

Paul frowned at himself. That wasn’t a very nice thing to think about Bucky Barnes. Damn it.

It did pull his brain back on track, though. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to tell everybody all of a sudden. This was a secret he’d kept for over twenty years, and he’d never once been tempted to spill it. Protecting his daughter was more important than anything else.

Maybe it was just that the idea was out there now. The idea of telling people, of letting Darcy be Darcy and, maybe, of letting go a bit. She was all grown up now, as much as it made him sad, and while he would always want to protect her, maybe she didn’t need or want him to anymore. And now was the time to rub it in people’s faces, because Paul knew his daughter and she’d enjoy that as much as he would. So there.

“She’s been working too hard lately,” Paul said. “Her mother and I maybe applied the screws to get her to take a break. We haven’t seen her since the spring anyway.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Hugh said. “You went out when she was in that car accident. How is she?”

“She’s fine. It was just some bumps and bruises. I think her other dad took it harder than she did.” Where bumps and bruises and a car accident were because Hydra — HYDRA — kidnapped her for two weeks. Hydra. Sweet, tap-dancing Moses. “He got the call from the state police. Rebecca and I had time to process; he didn’t.”

It was all a carefully managed story — and this was a story not even Hugh knew. Because, no they didn’t really have time to process when they got the call from Tony. Then they all had two weeks where they couldn’t do anything but sit in a holding pattern, no answers to anything, nothing to process except that she was gone.

And then she escaped, and came home by magical alien teleportation or whatever it was. And she was mostly fine, and then they all had to process the missing time, and the sudden finding, and the weird haze of everything in between.

Actually, months weren’t near enough time to finish processing. He was still working through it. His daughter was kidnapped by evil Nazis. Real ones. It was horrifying.

Paul entirely understood why Tony tried to make a robot army, and didn’t blame him one tiny bit. It was only too damned bad that the thing went evil.

And then more awkward family wedding hijinks. That’s the plan anyway.

So, there you go! I have made some progress lately. For real!

Thank you!

#my fic #snippets #Anonymous #fic bit

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ledenews · 3 years ago

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Elm Grove Business Association and Osiris Shriners Present 'Elm Grove Fall Fest'

The Elm Grove Business Association, in partnership with Osiris Shriners, are proud to present the Inaugural “Elm Grove Fall Fest.” The event will be held October 15th, 2022, from 3 pm to 9 pm at the Osiris Shriners Temple, located at 1 Monument Drive in Wheeling. The event will feature live music, food vendors, craft/artisan vendors, inflatables & games for the children, a costume contest, horse-drawn carriage rides, adult games, such as ax throwing, and more. Admission to the fall fest is free. The event is sponsored by Toriseva Law, Jay Davis at Developers Mortgage Company, Matt Jones Preowned Auto, and In Remembrance of Mark Hamilton & Amend’s Club. Kristy Ferguson, President of the Elm Grove Business Association says, “The Elm Grove Fall Fest is the rebranded, or even the repackaged, Taste of Elm Grove. Unfortunately, the pandemic caused that event to be canceled the last two years. However, we took the opportunity to turn that disappointment into a fresh start with a new direction and date. As the Taste of Elm Grove has now evolved into the Elm Grove Fall Fest, the Elm Grove Business Association and Osiris Shriners are excited to be bringing this newly imagined event to the area. We have a great line-up of events, music, and games for everyone to enjoy.” The event will feature craft/artisan vendors, who will be displaying their creations and products for purchase. Any vendor wanting to be part of the event, the registration deadline is September 15th. Please contact the Elm Grove Business Association at [email protected] , or check out their Facebook page, to fill out a registration form to reserve your spot. For those looking to satisfy their live music itch, Shawn Villamagna, Daniel Welsh, and Verdict are scheduled to appear. Also, if you’re looking for an opportunity to display your competitiveness, there will be an adult games section for you to show off your skills. The event will also offer horse-drawn carriage rides, along with inflatables and games for the children. These activities are scheduled to start at 3 pm and run the entire duration of the event. The Elm Grove Fall Fest is shaping up to be a great time for the entire family with something for everyone. Ferguson added, “We had such a great time and turnout with the Grooving in the Grove event back in the spring, that the Elm Grove Business Association and the Osiris Shriners wanted to do something similar in the fall. Everyone loves coming out for live music, costumes, and food, so come join us October 15th in the Grove for a day of fun.” Learn more about the event by contacting: Kristy Ferguson at the Elm Grove Business Association. 304.563.5674 or [email protected] Read the full article

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quell-tea-salon · 8 years ago

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Nakamura Shugo talk event at Ginansai

Osaka City University invited Nakamura Shugo (VA of Kuga Issei) for an hour-long talk show at their school festival, naturally drawing a decent group of his fans. I arrived at the campus with some time to spare as I wanted to check out the students’ exhibits and stalls as well (first time at a gakusai!), but an hour before the show started the seating area was already half full, so I went to secure a seat for myself. It was still pretty decent spot, about 10-12m away from the stage, so I could see everything clearly.

About 20 minutes before the show, the MC’s asked the audience to volunteer questions for Shugon by filling in a form and placing it in a blind box for Shugon to draw from later. I didn’t submit anything as I was too lazy to leave my seat ^q^ Then, about 5 minutes before the show, Drive A Live played over the speakers and there was a buzz among the audience. Everyone chanted “315!!” at the part before the chorus wwwwww As expected, there were a lot of Idolm@ster side M fans in the crowd. And quite a number of guys too! You can tell from the turnout at his events that Shugon is quite popular with the dudes as well due to his huge, sunny personality :)

The show started and the MC’s invited Shugon on stage while we cheered and clapped. Shugon was 50000000 watts right from the get go ;w; He thanked us all for coming and waved at us with the BIGGEST grin, so cute T_T He was also holding something that looked like a statue of a cat in his palm, and explained that one of the students on the organising team called “Ume-chan” (audience: “Ume-chan?! Umehara?!!!) had made a shisa just for him, and he loved it so much that he couldn’t put it down www

MC: Who's from Osaka? Audience: *two-thirds put their hand up* MC: Oh wow, a lot of people not from here... Anyone from overseas? Me: ..... *raises hand* MC: !!! Where are you visiting from? Me: Australia. Audience: ?!!!!!!! Shugon: Take me back with you!!!! (>∀<) Me: jgflkglsdg;kfd

And then my mind went blank for a minute as I tried to process what had just happened.... But, moving on. Shugon said that it was his first time in a school festival and that he was super tempted to check out the event, as even from the briefing room he could hear how lively everything was.

Shugon: I asked my manager if I could go outside but they were like, "NO." And I was like, "...Gomen (´・ω・｀)" Audience: Cute.......

The hosts were both from the keion club, so Shugon, being a music nerd, had a lot of fun talking to them. I only remember this part vaguely (my mind was still reeling from Shugon asking me to take him home LOL) but I think they were discussing how Shugon got into music. For anyone not in the know, before becoming a seiyuu Shugon was part of an indie band called Akasaka Folk Village. He said that when he was younger (school-aged, I think?) he listened to regular pop music like everyone else, and it wasn't until he graduated from high school that he started to learn about a wider range of music genres.

When asked about his impression of Osaka, Shugon said that he's been here so many times (for work) that he considers it his third hometown, after Okinawa and Tokyo. He loves that everyone is so warm and friendly, and that all the food here is delicious, especially konamono (someone in the audience held up a Kaerru plush ww) like okonomiyaki and takoyaki, BBQ, and sushi.

After some time they moved on to the Q&A section. Shugon pulled out questions from the box and handed them over to the MC's to be read out.

Q: You obviously use your throat a lot in your work. How do you care for your throat? Shugon: I don't have ANY scientific backing lol, but I mix manuka honey in water and drink that every night. Honey's really good for the throat, and manuka honey is the best. It comes in different ratings, and the higher the rating the better. But the stronger ones are also really expensive! You don't need the expensive ones. Even regular manuka honey works really well.** Oh, during SQP my throat was in bad shape right before the concert, and when I told my manager they gave me a throat candy from Taiwan. After taking it my throat recovered immediately and I could sing even higher notes than usual!

Q: What kind of school life did you have? Shugon: In elementary school I was really shy and a crybaby, the type of kid that would run crying to his mother. In middle school I started to take an interest in sports, and you know how there are sports tests every year? In my third year I actually ranked second in the test!

Q: Any advice for students about to take their entrance exams? Shugon: I didn't do much studying as a student.... Whenever I'm invited to schools or unis for work, I see the students doing their best and think, ah, I should've tried harder in school! Sorry, what was the question? www MC: Advice for exams ww Shugon: Oh yeah! Good luck! Everyone, let's put our hands together to wish this person all the luck! *claps*

Q: What kind of hair style do you like to see on girls? Shugon: Mmmmm, this is a tough one... *Gestures to the person who submitted the question* What kind of hairstyle do you like on guys? Audience member: ........ Shugon: See? It's hard to answer, isn't it?www They all have their own charms... Everyone looks super cute! Audience: Kyaaa! Shugon: The guys look cute too! Audience (guys): Yaaaaay! Shugon: *1000000000watt smile* Audience: Shugon's cute too! Shugon: Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Q: If you could participate in a school festival, which club would you join as? And what date course would you plan? Shugon: Date course?? You can do dates in school festivals????? MC: Everyone does it.... the haunted house is especially popular with couples. Shugon: HAUNTED HOUSE!!! THAT'S AWESOME! 8D Student on 2nd floor balcony waving sign for haunted house: WE'RE OVER HERE!!!! Shugon: *Waves back* There they are!! Everyone go visit them!! MC: Couples get ticket discounts and-- Shugon: Wait, why do the COUPLES get discounts? Give it to the singles!ww But yeah, I love horror films so haunted houses are great... It'd be nice to go with a girl who gets really scared. I'd probably get punched, like "Shut up!!" *does punching motion and then mimes getting hit* "W, wait up!!" *mimes chasing after the girl*

He then asked the MC's how they take part in the school festival as the keion club, and they replied that they usually perform songs by Back Number. MC: But not many people listen to Back Number... Shugon: Back Number's really good! Everyone listens to their songs! Even in Australia! *gestures to me* Me: !!??????????????? *doesn't actually know Back Number but shook that he still remembers me*

Shugon encouraged the MC to try his hand at writing songs, and talked about how it’s good to create music with your own feelings and experiences to share with the world. MC: I write sometimes, but the next day I look at my work and think, "Man, this is embarrassing!" Shugon: I know!!!! I think this happens to everyone who’s tried writing. It's usually late at night when you're struck by inspiration and start writing, and at the time you think, "Oh boy, I've got something AMAZING!" but the next morning you look at it and regret everything. MC: Even the song titles can be lame... Shugon: Yeah, you're like "Why did I think this was cool?"

Q: When you're traveling to/from work, what kind of music do you listen to? Shugon: I used to do that, but not anymore. These days I set aside time just to listen to music. At night when I'm at home, I sit in front of the speakers and think "Which songs should I listen to tonight?" and just sit quietly for hours, listening. Lately I've been playing a lot of Sakanaktion (and another female artist whose name I forgot ;;).

Q: Do you like being called "Shugon"? Shugon: I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Everyone, on the count of three, say "Shugon!" Okay? One, two... Audience: SHUGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!!!!! Shugon: THIS FEELS SO GOOD!!!!!!! Thank you, Osaka!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Q: What's your type? Shugon: My type?? My type is....... *looks at the audience member and switches to bedroom voice* Omae da yo♥ (It's you ♥) Audience: *DIES* Shugon: www My type is girls who retweet my tweets! Audience: wwwwww Shugon: Also boys who retweet my tweets ;D Audience: Foo~~~

Q: Can you share any interesting backstage stories from the recording for Side M anime? Shugon: Honestly, it has the atmosphere of a boys school. The recording studios are usually quite small, but a lot of actors are involved, so it can get kinda cramped and hot even with the air-con on full blast. A lot of people bring food/snacks to share and during break time we're all stuffing our faces. Uchida Yuuma, who plays Kaoru (the audience starts to giggle already ww) will just start doing push ups in the middle of a conversation, but we're so used to it that we just keep talking ww Shugon: Ishikawa Kaito, who plays the producer, is really into training, and he showed me a new workout move *sit sideways on chair and bends body into a V shape, where only his bum is on the chair and his upper body and legs are lifted* I can't do it well right now, but this is supposed to be good for your abs >< And oh, recently I went to Disneyland with Itou Kento (VA of Hazama-sensei) and we had so much fun! I remember standing in a queue full of couples where we were the only pair of guys.... It was a very long queue www

The last segment was a rock-paper-scissors game between Shugon and the audience, and the last 3 standing would receive a signed board from Shugo. I lost very early on :( But I saw one of the winning girls break down and cry when she realised that she had won. I feel happy for her ;w; Oh, in the first round, Shugon said something like “I’m gonna use rock!!”, which he actually did wwww In the second round the same thing happened, and when a huge portion of the audience got eliminated he was like “Why won’t you guys believe me?!” wwww

Lastly, Shugon promoted the side M anime and Proani. When he mentioned Issei, a girl in the audience held up a pair of Lizz-kuns (of the twins). Shugon noticed and thanked her for bringing them, aww.

Shugon left us with a farewell message, joking about how he had so much fun that it didn’t feel like work at all, and thanked us again for coming to see him. He also asked us to go and spend lots of money on the food stalls and exhibits to help the uni raise funds since the talk show itself was free ww As he was leaving the stage Reason!! played over the speakers and the audience screamed... Shugon went "Oh!!!" and sang just a little bit "by your side~♪" and we all DIED ><

Shugon has some photos of the event on his twitter (I’m somewhere in the 2nd photo, gdi.) I still have butterflies in my stomach when I recall the event.... Shugon was just so down-to-earth and radiant, and everyone had a great time. I personally will never forget that Nakamura Shugo spoke to me directly, even for just a few tiny moments *____* I’m sure he created some amazing memories for everyone who was present.

**Let me put on my pharmacist hat for a minute... He's partly right - honey is good for throat care (among many other uses) due to its antibacterial and healing properties. While manuka honey is marketed as being superior to regular honey, the scientific evidence so far is inconclusive. Manuka honey is definitely good for you, but so is any raw honey. The next time you have a sore throat, mix a teaspoon of raw honey and some lemon juice in warm water. You'll feel better after the first sip! Sometimes I just place a teaspoon of manuka honey in my mouth and hold it there for as long as possible.

#nakamura shugo #event report #idolm@ster sidem #QUELL #tsukipro

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bernieh · 5 years ago

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Announcing Mad Verse: Beyond Punderdome: the Mad Verse City Tournament of the End Times

Update: The Results and archived broadcast!

Here’s the final results! And below is the YouTube export of the stream (Twitch version here). Thanks for playing everyone!!

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On Saturday night, June 20, 2020, if the world hasn’t ended yet, we’ll be hosting a live Mad Verse City tournament at https://www.twitch.tv/berniehou starting at 9:30pm ET, and you’re invited to either compete with some of the most fun Mad Verse City players around, or play along from the audience!

The Format

This will be a single-elimination, 2-round tournament of at most 32 total players, where all the games will be 8-player games. All players will play in one of the 3 or 4 (depending on turnout) first round games, with the top 2 or 3 (depending on turnout) scores of each 1st round game advancing to the Championship game. The winner of the Championship Game is our overall winner.

What is Mad Verse City?

Oh man it’s so great. It’s a party game where you fight in 1-on-1 rap battles, by writing 4-line verses with the help of Mad Libs style prompts. Then the other players and everyone in the audience vote on the winner. It’s like Quiplash but with more death by rhyme. Here’s the official trailer:

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How to Enter to Play in the Tournament

Space is limited, so there’s no guarantee we can fit you in, but if you love playing Mad Verse City, sign up and maybe you’ll get in or at the least be a standby!

Tell me (by whisper on Twitch, mention on Twitter, or in our Discord) that you’d like to commit to play in the tournament.

Provide proof that you’ve played Mad Verse City before, e.g. a link to a past stream or saved video you were on. If you can’t do this but think you can convince me anyway, give it a shot. Sorry but we don’t want to be explaining how the game works to players during the event.

Give me the best way to contact you, whether it’s by whisper on Twitch, Discord DM, email, whatever.

How to Just Watch Instead

Mad Verse: Beyond Punderdome will be just as much fun to watch as it’ll be to play in! That’s because every audience member gets to vote on every 1-on-1 battle, which directly determines who wins.

You can just watch and not be part of the audience, in which case you can use any device and go to https://www.twitch.tv/berniehou when the broadcast is live (or use the Twitch app and find me at berniehou). Click to follow me there on Twitch to get notified when we’re live.

To watch and be in the audience at the same time, you’ll either need to be on a computer with 2 web browser windows open, or have 2 devices. One will be tuned in to the stream as in Step 1, the other will be on the jackbox.tv website. All you’ll do there is type in a short room code which you’ll be given when each game is about to start, and then you’ll be able to easily vote on the battles.

Who Am I?

My name’s Bernie, I’m just this guy, you know? I created the popular webcomic Alien Loves Predator back in the day. I’m not affiliated with and don’t work for Jackbox Games. I’ve been playing their games on our Twitch channel every week (Thursdays, these days) with my best pals for over 3 years now, and, along with some awesome friends we’ve met on Twitch, we’ve gotten pretty good at these games.

I recently ran this awesome Quiplash 2 tournament and this awesome Drawful 2 tournament!

Some Extra Details and Rules

The tournament and player answers are rated R. Adult language and themes are permitted, but we draw a very hard line at racist, misogynistic, homophobic, etc. references. Offenders will be quickly censored and banned. We’ll make sure the “VIP” of each game is also a trusted moderator of our channel, who will be able to deal with any possible trolls.

An intended schedule of which competitors are assigned to which games will be posted the day of the tournament. Keep in mind that the schedule will have to be flexible, because if one or more players fail to join a game they are assigned to, other players will be pulled from a subsequent game to fill their spot(s).

If a player fails to join a game they were assigned to, they aren’t necessarily disqualified, if they can join a later game in the same round. If all games in that round are complete, though, then they will be disqualified.

We can’t be responsible for any technical difficulties any player experiences on their end, but if a game gets interrupted due to a Jackbox server problem, or a disconnect on my end, we’ll do everything possible to resume in the fairest way possible to all players, including efforts to preserve the scoring of the last completed round.

In the event that we don’t have 8 official competitors to fill out a given game, we’ll use Fillers - people who will play but will not count in the standings - to fill it to 8. If we have, say, 12 competitors left in a given round, we’d divide them into 2 groups of 6, and add 2 Fillers to each to bring both games up to 8 players.

It’s gonna be so fun you guys!

But only if you’re there. So sign up to play today, and see you there!

Confirmed Contestants

last updated: Fri, 6/19, 3:27am ET

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dork-empress · 8 years ago

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ringsofdragons replied to your post “Every time I see a critic of Jupiter Ascending I love it more...”

What I think I hate the most is how it and Kingsmen are arguably similarly ridiculous and kingsmen is considered good and JA isn't and I am not at all a fan of kingsmen (also I saw a person say something once somewhere that JA is a young girl's fantasy & kingsmen is a young boy's and that is why the critical reception was as it was)

This is the explanation I tend to see, given that a gazillion "chosen ones” that surround boys or men (Star Wars, Matrix, Harry Potter) become cultural staples. I’ve never actually seen the Kingsmen, so would be curious about an analysis with that.

I really would like to see an analysis between The Matrix and Jupiter Ascending given that they were both Wachowski films, one of which is considered to be a cultural icon, while the other is a laughable flop. The obvious answer is that one was starring a woman, the other a man, though I do honestly wonder if its the ONLY explanation. Which is part of why I wish Jupiter Ascending was more taken seriously by film critics so they could make that analysis.

Now, I just saw the Matrix for the first time like...last week. Which makes me feel underqualified to make that analysis myself, but apparently thats what I’m doing anyway. Both 1) starred a young person unhappy with their dreary lives who 2) are actually really really special because they were 3) reincarnated from someone ELSE who was really special and now 4) an iconic looking villain kinda representing American Corporations wants them dead so that 5) all of humanity can be physically used to further their own interests, but its okay because they get saved by 6) an anti-authority bad-ass love interest who saves their lives and bring them into awareness of the greater world around them and how they’re apart of it. 7) The person then explores a new world featuring amazing new things that are 8) visually stunning and must 9) navigate their way through interesting and diverse allies, even when 10) some of those allies betray them. 11) They must later choose between their own interests and the greater good 12) ULTIMATELY choosing greater good, though it almost seems like they won’t. 13) They fight the iconic looking villain and 14) escape the world crashing down around them at literally the last second 15) with help from the anti-authoritarian bad-ass who is definitely in love with them at this point. 16) they kinda/sorta re-join their old dreary lives, except now they know more about the world around them and 17) they fly away at the end.

Now there are some other crucial differences besides the gender. First, the visually stunning effects the matrix had were far more groundbreaking in 1999 than the cool space opera landscapes of Jupiter Ascending. Not that they WEREN’T amazing, but for instance, Guardians of the Galaxy came out just the summer before it, also featuring really cool, visually stunning space opera landscapes.

There’s also, for all the similarities, not really a Morpheus character to guide us through the world. We have several guides, including Czaine, Stinger, Kalique, Captain Diomika, Titus, and eventually, Balem Abrasax himself. And we can only trust like half of these. Now, there were other guides for Neo in the Matrix too, most notably Trinity, but Morpheus was the top guy, no question.

Finally, theres every movie’s achilles heel these days: The Franchise. Now, despite the Matrix being the one that got 2 sequels, it was clearly DESIGNED to be its own story, because like...thats what you did? Unless it got crazy popular. Jupiter Ascending was banking on the idea that it would become a franchise, and so the world is a lot BIGGER and not just cause of Outer Space, though that plays a part. The main part of The Matrix’ set-up can be outlined in pretty much one scene. Exposition for Jupiter Ascending....doesn’t ever totally stop, really. Theres all the things about Humanity’s weird colonization methods, the Abrasax family, space capitalism, space bureaucracy, space police, space angels (?), Harvesting, etc. Its a lot. Even the ending leaves a LOT up in the air. Like, in the Matrix, you can expect ‘Hey, Neo’s doing more stuff to destroy the Matrix. Cool.’ But Jupiter’s just kinda...hanging around on Earth. When there are CLEAR THREATS (The other two Abrasax siblings) just kinda...out of sight.

This is also possibly the problem with another weird-but-also-entertaining-but-also-a-critical-and-box-office-flop the recent King Arthur film. There is a LOT fucking going on in that movie, to the point it can be hard to really keep track of it all. But it was supposed to be a set-up to make like, what 6? movies. Same thing with ‘The Mummy’ starring Tom Cruise. Or so I’ve heard, anyway, never saw that one. That one probably IS going to get more movies though, because it has the weight of Universal Studios pushing it forward and not just really passionate creators.

One of my favorite analysees of Jupiter Ascending is that Kalique Abrasax actually won. While Balem was trying to destroy Jupiter, and Titus trying to manipulate her into marriage, Kalique just made friends with her. As the second oldest Abrasax, she would be Balem’s heir, and thus has probably acquired all HIS assets, and....also probably Jupiters. For now, anyway. Jupiter doesn’t use the weird harvest juice, so....she’s gonna die in like, what, 60 years? Thats nothing to Kalique. And if she doesn’t come up with a new heir, Earth goes to Kalique too.

Which leaves an interesting story of Jupiter possibly trying to get a new heir, (like a daughter or something) to inherit the Earth. OR maybe eventually leaving the Earth entirely, for a while anyway, to do some sort of rebellion against Space Capitalism to try and banish Harvesting. Either of these would have made GREAT sequels. Or maybe the Wachowskis wanted to go in a different direction. But the movie doesn’t end with it, so it kinda feels....unfinished. The movie’s a set-up meant to launch into a greater story and it just...doesn’t. Instead of Neo standing at the end in a trenchcoat and glasses, back in the Matrix but not a part of it, Jupiter has EMBRACED her old life. It’s like she’s re-set to the beginning, just with a cool new boyfriend and some neat-as-fuck roller skates. We never get to see what happens after that moment. Because we were denied out sequels due to low box-office turnout.

And yes, there is the fact that it is a movie starring a lady. And not even a story adapting or rebooting a boy’s story like Star Wars, Mad Max, Ghostbusters, or the several other sci-fi/spec fic movies of the last several years starring ladies. In a way, Jupiter Ascending was spared a lot of the girl-hating backlash of those movies, possibly due to the fact it was considered to be ‘bad.’ Also it wasn’t an adaptation. It is HARD in modern cinema to make a non-adaptation big-budget genre film, ESPECIALLY if its not starring a man. Like, I can’t think of one. Please tell me if you can, I’m honestly drawing a blank. Alien. There’s one. I need to see that too, but its a little more horror movie than I’m willing to dive into....

Another good movie to compare Jupiter Ascending to (though I’m not this is already way longer than I wanted) would be Pacific Rim, which is not considered a good movie, but not considered a bad one. It fits honestly where I think Jupiter Ascending should, where people are confused if its a really good bad movie, or a really bad good movie. Thats literally pulled straight from “Honest Trailers” I remember it verbatim. As such, its allowed to not be perfect, while still really fun to watch and is getting a sequel.

But alas. Jupiter still ascends in my heart.

#ringsofdragons #this really wasnt supposed to go this long #long post #whoops #jupiter ascending #analysis

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mightbedamian · 8 years ago

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#TMIishTuesday #61 - Laune der Natur

Hey, First off: 64 % turnout in the election in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Well done, Northerns! Also: Shame that the AfD made it into parliament, but at least they "only" got 5.9 %. Second: Well done, France, too! Even though Emmanuel Macron has his questionable thoughts, I 100 % prefer him over Ms. LePen. Let's see what France will look like with him in the driving seat. On my personal life: I don't remember, if I told you that I am doing an English language exam to get written proof of my skills. It's on level C1 of the European CERT framework. Well, for the written part that I did in April, I scored… erm… 93 %!? I still don't get how, but you know… Not gonna complain… :D Oral exam this Thursday. Technically I have passed the entire thing already, but I'll try to keep the total score over the 90 % mark. Just for fun. :D On my internet life: I discovered more of the wonderful work of German YouTuber skate702. I had watched his Minecraft Sky and vlogging videos already - and really liked it. And in the last week of April I gave his Watch Dogs 2 videos a chance, too. Didn't have a clue about the game, but digging the story! The main character is a hacker, trying to help humankind in rather dubious ways. It's really fun to watch - especially when you have an IT graduate like skate playing and commenting. Apparently, the story is not too far off the reality. Anyway, if you want to check his videos, click right here. On with what we are here for: Music. Dropped last Friday. Bibi's new song. Hahaha. No! I haven't even listened to it. I've read two trillion comments about it. Not a single one was positive. That told me I didn't need to listen to it. Especially, when my favorite band dropped their new album the same day (and the Drama Help Line aka. DHL actually delivered it on time for once). Hey there mighty people of the internet! And welcome to issue #61 of #TMIishTuesday - my weekly Tumblr post about what goes through my weird mind and on what you guys want to know more about. It can be something very personal, it can be something political, it can be completely pointless - but in 99.9 % of the cases, it involves opinions. And mine as well. // Last week I discussed why it is important to make use your voting power. How it helps the democracy we live in. And what might happen, if we don't use it. Check it out, if you haven't. Especially, if you are among those, who may vote in the election in North Rhine-Westphalia upcoming Sunday. // Okay, I still haven't told you what exactly you can expect from this post. A little bit of an review of the new album of Die Toten Hosen, Laune der Natur. And I will try to not make any comments on the Bibi song that was released the same day. I promise. I'll go one by one - song by song - and then give an overall rating for the album, okay? 1. Urknall ("Big Bang") Very strong beginning. First thing of the first song of the album: counting 1-2-3-4 and a piece with loads of rock-y guitar riffs and drums. Me gusta! The song starts by saying "the manager is dead" - which is true. The guy who discovered the band back in 1982 and became their manager, Jochen Hülder, died of stomach cancer two years ago. For the rest the song describes the clash between what band life was like in the beginning and what it could be like now they are famous: They want to go back to the big bang, the beginning. Sound: 8/10 Lyrics: 8/10 Total: 8/10 2. Alles mit nach Hause ("Everything home with me") A softer song to follow the bang-y beginning. Dominant drum beat - rather soft guitars. To be honest: Not the most special beat, quite pop, not too much rock - despite a little reluctant guitar solo. Content: Reflecting on where his career has brought lead singer Campino: Rome, Ibiza, Paris, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Liverpool - but it still feels like he is not satisfied. He takes everything home with him, but it still sounds not too happy when he talks about his "prey". It's a dilemma. Sound: 7/10 Lyrics: 6/10 Total: 6/10 3. Wannsee ("Wannsee") A song I don't know what to think of. Really, really, REALLY catchy chorus ("Wannsee, Wannsee, wann seh ich dich endlich wieder?"), but the music really doesn't convince me… Little too slow, little too much of a "let's make this sound strange". Little too… idk! The music is not my thing. Plus I've never been a fan of the Wannsee. The song describes the life in the Wannsee area, a rather rich suburb of Berlin and how they want to go there again - but at the same time miss their hometown, Dusseldorf. This might also be considered a homage to another German band, Die Ärzte. They wrote a song called Westerland which starts by "Jeden Tag sitz ich am Wannsee". While the Berlin band wishes to be at the North Sea coast (the island of Sylt), the one from Dusseldorf wants to be in Berlin - at the Wannsee. Sound: 3/10 Lyrics: 5/10 Total: 4/10 4. Unter den Wolken ("Below the clouds") The single released a few weeks before the album. Was not too excited about it when I first heard it in April. But the more I listen to it, the more I like it. Soft rock, if you want so. Lead guitar quite melodic, strong drum beat, louder chorus. Lyrics: Very cool! A homage to Reinhard Mey's Über den Wolken ("Above the clouds"). Mey sang about how cool it must be to fly over above the clouds and how that should be the goal of everyone: Reaching for freedom. Now Die Toten Hosen turn it around: They still strive for freedom, but you can't get on any planes cause they are grounded by the weather. Instead, we should try to build our own freedom down here. Fight for it. Really thought through, I like! Sound: 7/10 Lyrics: 9/10 Total: 8/10 5. Pop & Politik ("Pop & Politics") "Do you really think it's good to mix those things? Your naïve thoughts to pop and politics" - the first two lines of the song say what the song is about: People have told the band (and other punk bands, too) that they shouldn't comment on the topics of pop and politics. The song is kind of a throwback to the 80s and 90s when the punk scene (including Die Toten Hosen) went for a totally different approach than their parents and the politicians in power. Everything described in this song ("shut your mouths!", "who needs your embarrassing songs?") actually was what the situation looked like. But the band - and the punk scene - kept going and told them off. Awesome lyrics! Music: The drum beat is ace, the background "oh-oh-oh"s are great, the guitars are on point. This is what perfection looks like! Sound: 10/10 Lyrics: 10/10 Total: 10/10 6. Laune der Natur ("Nature's Mood") A beat resembling folk songs. Very slow again. Not really my kinda beat. The lyrics are good though. About how both nature and other people are steered by a few who think they are God - and beyond. The album is named after this song. Not much more to say about it. Sound: 4/10 Lyrics: 8/10 Total: 6/10 7. Energie ("Energy") The beginning of the song resembles Bibi's song for once. "Papapapapapa" and so on. But the difference is: With "Energie", you get a guitar riff that can compete with any other rock song. With Bibi's song… Okay, let's keep that out of here… Like that beat of Energie a lot! And you get that tiny bit of a guitar solo at the end. Lyrics: Very simple, very short. "Where does all this energy come from all of a sudden?" Sound: 9/10 Lyrics: 5/10 Total: 7/10 8. Alles passiert ("Everything happens") Very thoughtful sound. Acoustic guitar, calm voice. Drum later on, but on a small scale. Lyrics: A typical relationship drama - break-up mood - the understanding that "everything happens like it has to" - love is gone - staying friends wouldn't work - sadness about the break-up. Sound: 7/10 Lyrics: 6/10 Total: 6/10 9. Die Schöne und das Biest ("Beauty and the Beast") The setting: Guy laying on bed, bleeding out of the belly. Lady laying next to him, holding a gun. While he's passing away, he reflects on their relationship - and his failure. Music-wise: Good one. Guitar intro that reminds me of the old Western-themed movies. Drums, some thoughtful piano jingling along at the important parts. A clear cut towards the chorus. Nice. Sound: 8/10 Lyrics: 8/10 Total: 8/10 10. Eine Handvoll Erde ("A handful of dirt") Very thoughtful intro. Just a guitar being picked. Sounds like time is running out. Then the singing starts in low volume. For the chorus the full band joins in: Second guitar, bass, drums. Then back to only picking for the second verse. Then a piano filled musical sequence, then silence. Awesome sound design! And fitting the lyrics as well: The song describes the funeral of someone close and how their coffin is carried towards their grave. Thoughts about what should have been said before the passing-away and life after. The band dedicated this song to their manager, who passed away (the one mentioned in the first song: Urknall). What can I say? If there ever is a right way to say goodbye, this feels really right to me. Love this song! Sound: 10/10 Lyrics: 10/10 Total: 10/10 11. Wie viele Jahre (Hasta la muerte) ("How many years - to death") Big change from the last song! Rocking guitar riff to start with, heavy drum joining in, lyrics sang with a rather loud voice. Great composition! The song describes the changes the band has been through over the more than 30 years of their existence. It satirically compares three birthdays of their guitarist, Breiti: His 20th, his 40th and one of his recent ones. From very limited money to more money and the thrive to make the most of it and the realisation that exaggeration is not the way to go. This is illustrated by the setting of the parties and the gifts Breiti receives from his fellow band members: - location: from the band's run-down rehearsal room to a rather noble hotel room - gifts: two crates of the regional beer and a tiny bottle of liquor; two crates of champagne and a tiny bottle of liquor; and finally for his last one: two crates of organic snack bars - Breiti's body doesn't tolerate anything else! Really, really fun way of telling the story of the changes that have happened over the years! And probably 100 % true as well. Sound: 10/10 Lyrics: 15/10 Total: 13/10 Oops. 12. ICE nach Düsseldorf ("Intercity Express to Dusseldorf") Drum beat and a clanging guitar open that seems to not be 100 % on the beat. Cool! Lyrics: Wow! Who thought of this? :D They are rather pointless, but they 100 % fit the vibe the band sets: Everything Dusseldorf! It's their hometown and most of them still live there and love the city to pieces. The last concert of every tour they do, HAS to be "at home". And 30 years after their first concert - played beneath a bridge - they fill the giant Esprit Arena, to play in front of a mere 20k people. Anyway, back to the lyrics: The last wish of the singer is quite simple: Send his coffin with the Intercity Express - the fastest train in Germany - to Dusseldorf. But please give him his well-deserved window seat! Oh, and the last line tells us: He wants you to dodge his fare - again. Sound: 10/10 Lyrics: 10/10 Total: 10/10 13. Geisterhaus ("Haunted House") The picking guitar guy is back! And so is the soft voice of Campino. Description of the empty, abandoned house. The beat picks up for the chorus: How the house used to be. Explained very quickly, in just two lines. Back to soft sound for the next verse, then slowly picking up for a more extended chorus, describing how there once was hope for a love story. But it's gone. Break. Music picks up drastically for little instrumental intermezzo, before a last chorus gives us hope again - and leaves us with it. Great composition! Sound: 8/10 Lyrics: 8/10 Total: 9/10 14. Lass los ("Let go") Fast guitar sound, fast vocals, fast drums. Sound picking up more and more towards the chorus. Lyrics: Letting go. Wow, who would have expected, right? A story of a broken love. And how both of them can't let go. A theme that Campino likes a lot, it seems. It is present on pretty much every album of the band with one or a few songs. Promise in this case: Let us love each other one last time, before we end this in friendship. Even though we know it won't work. Sound: 9/10 Lyrics: 6/10 Total: 8/10 15. Kein Grund zur Traurigkeit ("No reason to be sad") Very interesting song. Cause it was not written by any of the band members. It's former drummer Wölli, who composed it. Wölli passed away from kidney cancer a year ago. He sings the song as well. The band retrieved his voice track from the original song and put their own instrumentals in it, along with Campino singing the chorus. The song is about desire and that it should be the reason for sadness. Sung by Wölli with his rough voice over the gentle sounds of an accompanying guitar, it makes for a great composition and is an awesome way for the band to say goodbye to Wölli who played the drums in the band from 1986 to 1999. He was part of the composition of songs such as Hier kommt Alex, Sascha… ein aufrechter Deutscher, Wünsch dir was, Nichts bleibt für die Ewigkeit, Paradies, Bonnie & Clyde, 10 kleine Jägermeister. Sound: 5/10 Lyrics: 6/10 Total: 5/10 How do I end this now? With an overall rating? Hard to do! But I'll try anyway. A solid album with a lot of serious songs. The we-only-care-about-fun songs from the 80s and the first half of the 90s are long gone, more thoughtful songs is the way to go for the band. And it works. Ageing, politics, dealing with the passing-away of two loved ones (manager and former drummer) - difficult topics. Still, there's enough room for the fun songs. Musically, the rock parts are there. However, compared to earlier albums (also the last album, Ballast der Republik, released 2012), it's not as present. It sounds much softer, going towards mainstream pop for some songs even. Look at Unter den Wolken, which was released as a single already, look at Wannsee, look at Laune der Natur. That's your perfect WDR2 radio song. And that's something I don't quite like. Yes, I LOVE it when my favorite artists are played on the radio. But there's just too much of a turn-around to fit in more. To be more mainstream-successful. That's my impression, at least. I miss the early 2000s when there still was mainly rock on the band's albums (Auswärtsspiel and Zurück zum Glück). Nonetheless, there are a lot of songs, I really like. Especially the funny ones toward the end of the album (Wie viele Jahre, ICE nach Düsseldorf), but also the more thoughtful Eine Handvoll Erde and Pop & Politik. Three favorite songs, you say? Difficult! But, okay, I'll try: 1. Wie viele Jahre (Hasta la muerte) 2. Pop & Politik 3. Handvoll Erde TL;DR: Sorry, I can't summarise this! You have to read it all! :P If you're interested in getting the album, click this. Oh, and remember to vote on Sunday! Now let me know what you think of Die Toten Hosen? Do you know the band? And if so, what do you think about the album (or the Unter den Wolken single, if you don't have the album)? Place a comment, tweet me, dm me, or do anything else you can think of to get to me. Queer Shoutout you say? It's time for a simple tweet again. A tweet which is basically a little piece of a newspaper, a birth announcement. And it's the single cutest and most beautiful thing I've ever seen! The parents of this guy are ACE! I'm not gonna spoil anything. It's too good to spoil. But that much: It's queer. Check it! As always: Next #TMIishTuesday next Tuesday. If you have any questions in the meantime, just ask away. Whatever you’re curious about - I don’t bite. :) Until then: Stay mighty! Linkage: - skate702: youtube.com/skate702 - Philipp Oehmke: Zum Tod Jochen Hülders: Der Mann, der die Hosen groß machte: http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/die-toten-hosen-manager-jochen-huelder-gestorben-a-1013276.html - Get the album: https://smile.amazon.de/dp/B06XJ85SZJ - Queer Shoutout: https://twitter.com/Lamptopus/status/859870117626347520

Oh, and here’s some self-promo: - Last #TMIishTuesday: http://mightbedamian.tumblr.com/post/160235699317/tmiishtuesday-60-make-a-democracy-a-democracy - All #TMIishTuesdays: mightbedamian.tumblr.com/tagged/tmi - More #TMIishTuesdays on music topics: http://mightbedamian.tumblr.com/tagged/music - More very cool stuff: www.twitter.com/mightbedamian - Even more very cool stuff: mightbedamian.tumblr.com

#tmi #music

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startwreck · 8 years ago

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I’m going to attempt to recap Duchovny in Boston day (February 22, 2017.) Warning: this could get long and sappy because it’s 3 AM and I’m just brain dumping. Under a cut...

Woke up this morning think I would only go to the Bucky F*cking Dent reading/signing event. Had a ticket and I loved the book (read it / Audible’d it last spring) and thought secondhand embarrassment would be minimal in that setting. Great. Planned to cut out of work for a couple hours to go. As I’m walking to the venue, Jen @snowvitamins texted me, and through the magic of distinctive scarves, we were able to make our acquaintance. She was with Mer @damselindistressmya. Fun fact: In the course of trying to find each other, Mer was described as wearing “a Mulder season 10 jacket.” In my anxious and distracted state, I took this to mean that Mer was wearing a jacket with a likeness of Mulder in Season 10 on it (I pictured a varsity jacket, you know, with a leather torso and felted sleeves? and then just a giant Mulder head on the back of it.) Needless to say, I momentarily pondered hiding my scarf-marker. Luckily, I’m an idiot and Mer was wearing an Army jacket similar to the one Mulder wore in Season 10:

So the reading doesn’t happen. Not sure if this was due to the size of the turnout (we wouldn’t have all fit where they do their readings), time constraints, voice preservation, a rogue edible, or what (file under: none of my business.) I was excited to hear David read a chapter so I was briefly disappointed, but totally understand, would still follow the Booksmith and/or DD to the end of the earth.

Stand in line for a while and then it’s my turn. Give him the book with the post-it with my name in it. He pronounces my name correctly (as if I didn’t love him enough already) and I give a smile and say “yep.” He starts doing the inscription. My brain then says “fuck it; we’ll do it live” and I say “I really like the line, ‘Eighty-six years, a long and lucky life’” and tell him how my grandfather, a lifelong Red Sox fan, lived almost exactly those eighty-six years that he’s referring to, born in 1918 and passed in early 2005. I must have been looking down at the table/book when I said most of this, because when I return my gaze up to his face partway through this, he was giving me that Intense Eye Contact (TM), clearly flattered that someone quoted his own words to him. It was a solid looking-into-your-soul kind of stare, like he was trying to decipher who I was in a five second period (and I gladly would have given him my entire family’s social security numbers in that moment.) The man knows how to connect with an audience, that’s for sure (#ACTING.) At that point, either DD or the manager dude standing there (I blacked out so not sure who it was) says, “So he got to see them win.” Downer that I am, I reply bluntly, “Well he had Alzheimer’s at the end so we’re not sure that he really knew.” Manager dude said something like “I’m sure he did” (aka “stop talking, crazy.”) I say “thank you” and make my exit.

Now, had my Day of Duchovny ended there, my day still would have been made. But what happened over the course of the rest of the day was something special. It was a beautiful much-needed reminder of how the arts can connect pseudo-strangers in a magical way and how there is still goodness in humanity.

Over lunch with @snowvitamins, @damselindistressmya, and @myassbrokethefall, we all come back down the earth. I learned that @myassbrokethefall almost accidentally had David sign a book about sheep herding and @damselindistressmya had a lover’s quarrel with him over basketball. We exchange details about “real life” and also discuss topics of fandom and Tumblr politics. It is lovely. They’re all going to the concert, I want to hang out with them more, and they promise I can hide behind them if I’m embarrassed, so I buy a concert ticket on my phone as we’re finishing lunch. It’s mezzanine-level so I can always sneak out or hide behind a seat, right?

I go back to work for literally two hours. I catch up on email but also flail to @dangerscully and @crossedbeams, my transatlantic support team. Yes, you guys are a part of this story. Thank you for your support and sweet messages. Can’t wait til we unite. Let’s just meet halfway into the Atlantic, shall we? I’ll start paddling now...

After a solid two hours of work, it’s time to get our drink on. @stellagibsonisalifeforce and @x-files-behind-the-scenes joined the lunch crew for dinner/drinks pre-concert and they’re awesome too. Seriously, reminder that if you ever have the opportunity to meet Tumblr friends in “real life,” do it. I only have a couple drinks and I’m getting nervous that it won’t be enough to combat secondhand embarrassment. But I’m in it now. It’s happening.

Thanks to @snowvitamins, @damselindistressmya, and @stellagibsonisalifeforce, I actually end up on the floor rather than up in the mezzanine. Go big or go home, right? We’re very close to the stage, just two or three rows of people in front of us. Pat, local boy from Watertown (”Wahtahtown” - DD) who’s in the band, opens. There’s a little break to reset the stage, and then the band comes on stage. I have my ear plugs in my hand, ready to go as DD joins them to wild applause. I’m pretty sure I said “ohgodohgodohgod” half under my breath for the first 1-2 songs. But then I realize something. He’s actually...good?...in person. Err, better. But his stage (and floor) presence, enthusiasm, give-no-fucks attitude, and ability to connect with the audience -- sometimes through Intense Eye Contact (TM) -- more than make up for the occasional flawed pitch. I imploded about two thirds of the way through when I experienced Intense Eye Contact (TM) via the Duchovs for the second time that day. It was during the a song that I had definitely never heard. I was listening and our eyes just met and he sang holding his gaze there for more than 10 seconds. It was seriously transformative. While his eye contact while signing said “Who are you?”, this look said “I know who you are.” Truly a religious experience (TM by @kateyes224.) Update three days later: I finally figured out what song this happened during. All I remembered was that the song had “can’t” in it and that one of the words during the Intense Eye Contact (TM) was “love.” After doing some detective work and familiarizing myself with the album, I have determined that it was “Another Day” in which my Intense Eye Contact (TM) occurred, around the end of the first verse and beginning of the first chorus:

Another home Some other love Another guy sent high above Some other lie, we tell ourselves Passing time before the bell

I can't live long enough To bring you around

After this moment that briefly made me believe that romantic love was a possibility for me, he moved on to work another area of the crowd (I saw a review that said he was really an equal-opportunity crowd-worker and I couldn’t agree more, though he won’t engage with you if you are chronically camera phone-ing -- which I love.) I turned around and briefly freaked out to @damselindistressmya (”that was directed at me”) before returning my attention to the stage and really getting into singing along with the “Ooh oohs” since I didn’t know any of the other words. Not that I’m biased by that experience or anything, but after listening to the album for a couple days (trying to relive the memories), “Another Day”

My other favorite moment came when David came off the stage onto the floor during one song. We’re all dancing up a storm but @damselindistressmya was closest to the action so I gave her a friendly push into the splash zone and stay on the perimeter (apparently crowd control is a secret talent of mine?) I can’t see what’s going on exactly, but a few seconds later, Mer emerges, walking/dancing/shimmying backwards towards the stage, followed by David, who’s doing the same moves, but facing forward, towards the stage. In other words, they are face to face having a dance-off right in front of me. After a few steps of their impromptu tango, Mer somehow has the wherewithal to peel off to the side gracefully to allow David a path back up on stage. It was seriously a work of art. I'm not sure how Mer survived because I’m still not sure how I did, and I was merely a witness. I can’t draw for shit but I felt the need to produce an artist’s rendering of what unfolded before me (style inspired by @jamofappreciation):

Other concert highlights:

@stellagibsonisalifeforce and @snowvitamins’ love of band member Jeff (that eventually we all got in on.) He did have a great blazer (not quite as awesome as DD’s hooded number though. Good work, Nancy.)

Making new friends between Pat opening and the main event. New friends = Alexa & Scott, I think?

David dedicating a song to band member (and opener) Pat’s grandfather, who was there at 80-something years old. They pointed him out and he stood out and everyone clapped for him. Adorable!

Singing Happy Birthday to band member Colin. We were terribly out of tune. I’d like to think this put DD at ease because he realized we were also pitch-impaired.

David showcasing each of the band members individually during one song (”Sweet Jane,” maybe?), going over to each one individually and putting a hand on their shoulder while they played and just being the sweetest father-figure-esque thing ever

Dad dancing for days. I tried to mirror all his moves. Ended up sweating nearly as much as him and my calves hurt for two days after.

David talking about the best political songs are the ones that aren’t political until they suddenly are / need to be

They recorded the album in Boston and many (all?) of the band members are from Berklee, so it’s special for them

Intro’ing his new song “Half-Life” as “It has science in it”

Boston-accenting “Stars” to “Stahs”

Discussing the merits of traveling by train (very Biden-esque and I loved it)

A lot of sweat. At one point I noticed a bead a sweat drip off his face onto the floor. I wanted to live inside that moment forever.

Full band in pussy hats for the encore

Everyone singing along to “The Weight”

Everyone singing along to the chorus of “Hell or Highwater” (I said I’d love you forever, come hell or highwater / Well, babe the flood’s in)

Lots of genuine gratitude (holding his hand to his chest), especially during the closing “Thank you”

Also got to wave to @thattimetheykissed before the concert and say hi after the concert. Great to meet you!

Special thanks to @campaignofmisinformation for starting the Sunday night re-watches that brought so many of us together. The entire day was just the embodiment of @ihavefeministbones’ recent A+ character development post. Seriously, we were quoting it at every turn. Thanks to everyone who made this day unexpectedly great! I’m off to sleep for probably three hours and then will wake up thinking this was all a dream. Please pinch me tomorrow (err, later today.)

#david duchovny #david duchovny music #hell or highwater tour #duchovny in concert #February 22 2017 #duchovny in boston 2017 #personal #fandom #friends #I love you all #it's 4am #I'll proofread later #update: finally proofread and updated three days later #text post #long post #this is way too much information #but it's for the memories #so deal with it #personal fav

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