#the mid—negotiation Talent Show scramble

[2nebula]

having several (VERY GOOD) Emotions over Murderbot book update

my System Collapse is finished, my crops are watered, and my soul is fed

[neverendingcomplaints]

Day 5 - Mend

Better late than never. Happy Zutara Week, Zutara Nation! Hope you enjoy this short-ish fic if you read it. 

Water whipped through the air, turning a line of fire into steam. A mighty gust of wind blew out a fireball and scattered a wave before they could meet in mid air. Both aggressors toppled to the ground, and were met with another blow as they scrambled to get back up.

“Stop!” 

Zuko and Katara crept back onto their feet, winded as Aang stood between them. Water danced at Katara's fingertips, and Zuko saw the streaks of white lightning dancing in her eyes. Only Aang's command held back the tsunami she no doubt had in store for him. Flames brazed Zuko's palms, familiar and ready to go.

Bring it, he thought. He had plenty of wildfire for her. This had been brewing for weeks. The ongoing needs of the nations after the war had them all on edge, and it had only taken today's small debate to throw them over. The foolish Earth King had rejected yet another sound suggestion out of pure ego, and Zuko had had enough. He and Katara had been sitting as Aang paced. “Maybe we could throw a big party for King Kuei, or host a talent show to show off Bosco's skills! Or -” “Or maybe, we shouldn't play his games anymore. Maybe it's time for a new Earth King.” The words had sliced through the silly suggestions, and two pairs of eyes had turned on him – one wide, and the other scarily narrowed. “Heh, heh...Very funny, Zuko.” Aang scratched the back of his head and clenched his teeth in what approximated a smile, but Zuko didn't flinch. And then Aang had said the one thing. “That sounds like Ozai talking.” Ozai. Amid all of the negotiations and diplomacy, he'd grown so very tired of hearing his father's name. Standing at the Avatar's side as Fire Lord had never been enough – not for his council, not for the Fire Nation and now apparently not for the Avatar himself.  He'd growled and struck before he had time to think. He managed to pin Aang to the wall and brush a quick lick of fire beneath his eye before Katara had struck him with the full force of water. There'd been so much talking – useless, ridiculous talking - lately. Aang had spun out of the way as Zuko turned, hands ablaze toward Katara. He'd been more than happy to take a little hard action. And now here they stood, out of breath but full of rage. Zuko let his flames flare as he glared at the infuriating waterbender. Why did she have to be here, anyway?! He would have preferred to have things out with the Avatar alone, but of course, Aang refused. The two were inseparable, and he did not understand it. He could go weeks, months even without seeing a single smile from his girlfriend – well, just because she was Mai! And Mai knew her place as a proper Fire Nation lady – she would never express herself with such coarse passion in public, let alone attack someone over a small scratch on the Fire Lord's cheek! Katara was Water Nation, but the spark in her blue eyes and even the pure warmth in her smiles and laughs were nothing but fire. It was... Frustrating. That was the word Zuko settled on as something much too familiar spread through him, banishing his rage and taking more of his breath than the physical exertion of a fight. It was why he was unprepared when Aang took a tentative step out of the line of fire, and Katara took full advantage. He was suddenly standing toe to toe with this great consternation, warming in spite of the ring of ice pinning his arms to his sides.  “You apologize. Now.” Katara's voice was as cold as the southern seas.  She sought out his gaze. Too soon, their eyes met. The icy blue violence he'd expected to encounter flashed for a brief moment before giving way to shock.  Annoyance, his mind insisted, but the way the ice melted from his sides suggested otherwise. No. Here, he saw his own hesitance and yes, a swift denial, reflected back at him. His lips pressed into a thin line. He'd wanted her singed and sorry. Several strands of hair had escaped her braid. The naked expression on her face was in direct opposition to the natural power and pride in her stance. His lips parted. Now, he wanted -- This. They didn't have time for this. They'd never had time for this. “I'm sorry,” he finally said. He wrenched his gaze from hers. “Aang. You know I would never overthrow the rightful Earth King. And just...don't mention my father.” Aang nodded, but neither Katara nor Zuko moved. They kept close, Katara studying the ground while Zuko focused somewhere to the left of her. Desperately avoiding time and memories best forgotten.  “Um, guys? King Kuei?”  They both took a step back. Aang looked from one to the other in silence, and Katara managed to give him a pointed look. Zuko's lips twisted. “Maybe a party,” he finally muttered. She nodded and sent a quick smile his way. Aang regaled them with tales of air temple parties, and time and memories moved on. As they should. 

[njawaidofficial]

Ryan Seacrest Returning as Host of 'American Idol'

http://styleveryday.com/2017/07/20/ryan-seacrest-returning-as-host-of-american-idol/

Ryan Seacrest Returning as Host of 'American Idol'

Seacrest is very much in.

After many months of negotiations, the longtime host of American Idol has finalized a deal to return to the franchise that made him a star. He joins Katy Perry, the only confirmed judge, on the ABC reboot, which is expected to roll out with heavy fanfare this spring. He used his other TV platform, Live with Kelly and Ryan, to make the announcement Thursday. Or rather, his co-host Kelly Ripa used it to make the announcement, but Seacrest insisted it was “absolutely” confirmed, “without a doubt.”

Following a few minutes spent talking about the New York heat, Ripa excitedly revealed that Seacrest would be returning to the storied franchise after checking with him that she could reveal the big news. He suggested going back to the show would be like returning to “a 15-year relationship,” not knowing why the relationship ended. “The show is going, we thought well, and then all of a sudden we broke up,” he said of the end of Idol on Fox. “I thought it would be great to get back together at some point.”

Ripa praised him for knowing how to deal with contestants who have just received the devastating news that they have been voted off. “You make that show. You are the heart and soul,” she told her Live co-host of three months. “People really don’t understand how difficult it is to be there, be supportive, keep the show moving at the clip that it moves and then back away when you need to back away … and step away when you need to step in … because you make it look so easy, no one understands how difficult it is. Only you can do it.”

ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey was similarly enthusiastic. “So much of American Idol’s overwhelming success can be attributed to Ryan, whose larger-than-life personality and laudable dedication to creating quality entertainment has made him a true master of his craft,” she said in a statement. “His talent is limitless, and I can’t think of a more appropriate person to honor the Idol legacy as it takes on new life than the man who has been there through it all.”

Seacrest added in a statement of his own, “It’s genuinely hard to put into words what American Idol means to me. I’m so grateful for the show and all the career and life opportunities it’s allowed me to experience. It’s been an incredible journey from day one. To be asked to return this year, at my new home at Disney|ABC, is an honor, if not a bit surreal.”

Perry welcomed Seacrest to the show via a tweet.

I’m spicy, @RyanSeacrest is seasoned All the right ingredients are coming together on @AmericanIdol. Have YOU auditioned? #TheNextIdol

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 20, 2017

To make it all work, Seacrest is expected to be in Los Angeles for live Idol shows on Sunday evenings, and then fly overnight to appear on Live and then do his iHeartRadio drive-time show on Monday morning. In a bid for increased synergy, Seacrest revealed on Thursday’s Live that eliminated Idol contestants would be stopping by Live after they exit Idol. Auditions for the new iteration of Idol, which spent its first 15 seasons on Fox, will begin in mid-August, though Seacrest will likely only attend a handful.

The news comes nearly three months after ABC executives first suggested Seacrest’s involvement was highly likely, at that time a logical conclusion considering he had recently joined the ABC/Disney family as co-host of Live. That he had also relocated to New York for the latter would certainly complicate things, but logistical complexities had never seemed to get in Seacrest’s way. “I think he can do both; he thinks he can do both, but he’s giving it some serious thought,” ABC’s reality chief Rob Mills told THR in early May. Seacrest seemed similarly if cautiously optimistic when discussing the possibility with Ripa on air around the same time.

As THR revealed in a recent cover story, the plan was to have Seacrest’s deal closed in time to announce at ABC’s upfront presentation in mid-May. Instead, the platform was used to announce a deal for Perry, whose traffic-stopping $25 million fee, a new talent show record, would soon leak to the press. Multiple insiders say that Fremantle, which suddenly had significantly less give in its Idol budget, came back to Seacrest with an offer roughly half the size of its first. The supposed justification — that the new arrangement would require less of its famously busy host — didn’t make it any less insulting.

By early June, Seacrest’s camp had requested his name be withdrawn from the negotiation process. ABC’s top executives, allegedly blind­sided by Fremantle’s low-ball offer, were sent scrambling, according to sources close to the negotiation. Ultimately, Seacrest’s new bosses were able to make it right, or at least considerably more palatable for their newest and biggest star. Their offer included, among other things, a salary north of $10 million, putting him back in the general vicinity that he’d been in at the show’s conclusion. Still, the process dragged on for several more weeks as the many players involved squabbled over other facets of the deal.

Working in ABC’s favor from the outset was Seacrest’s affection for the singing competition, which spent nearly a decade as the No. 1 show on television. “I’ve always loved the show,” he told THR this spring. “And if I could do it forever, I would do it forever.” Lest anyone forgets, he closed out the fifteenth and then-final season on Fox with the famous signoff, “Good night America … for now,” in part because he didn’t believe that would or should be it.

“Idol wouldn’t be Idol without Ryan,” Core Media Group CEO Peter Hurwitz said Thursday, with Fremantle’s Trish Kinane calling Seacrest “our own series icon.” With his pact now finalized, the companies will immediately turn their attention to filling out the judges’ panel with whatever money they have left.

Seacrest’s deal was brokered by a team that included Hansen Jacobsen, CAA and top executives from Ryan Seacrest Enterprises, COO/CFO Jeff Refold and president Kelly Mullens Brown.

American Idol

#American #Host #Idol #Returning #Ryan #Seacrest