darpow

[darpow]

Feeling the grin on his face stretch into a brighter expression when she said that he was nimble on his feet, that she wasn't worried about him stepping on her toes, he liked to think that she wasn't in any danger, that he could keep her shoes from being scrunched or scraped or damaged in any way. "I guess all of those times my mom made me dance at a wedding, or coaxed me into going to those school dances played off," if he had learned a few moves that he could still show off as an adult, it had all been for something, he liked to think. "I think we can do that," he nodded his agreement, "grab something to drink, a little snack? Judge everyone from a quiet corner?"

She was laughing softly as Darrius spun her out and then slowly rotated back toward him. She almost preferred this to summer macarenas on the beach. And, with a Newman sister on the edges of the dance floor with her camera in hands, it was likely there'd be evidence of this to store away as well. "Hmmm," she said, glancing down at the shoes as the song started to trickle down, "no such luck. But I'm not worried. You're actually quite nimble on those feet." She squeezed his shoulder, feeling warm and happy as she asked, "what do you say to giving some other pairs the spotlight here?"

[darpow]

"Yeah, please!" but he was laughing as he said it, fully knowing that Chetan was not capable of keeping anything PG, especially when he was scared. And besides, he was pretty sure that the kids on the train had heard worse things in their life. Who hadn't? "I think it's in their contract that they can't actually kill you," he shot back, "but I'll tell your mom that you refused to go down like a man, if it makes you feel any better."

"Oh, sorry, next time I'm scared I'll make sure to keep it PG," he answered, playfully swatting at his friend. "If one of these scary guys comes up and kills me, you're gonna feel so bad and have to tell my mom." The second part was honestly the scarier part, and Dare probably knew it.

[darpow]

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2024

Do you plan on running the Railway 5K? If so, are you going to be doing it for fun, for charity, or to smoke your friends?

Absolutely! Although I'm a gym guy, I can also be a running guy when I want to. And I want to when it means having the chance to raise some money and do some good. I plan on competing, but having a good time with it, and seeing if I can knock out a few friends in the process. You know, for laughs.

[darpow]

I'm sure that you did some fun ones, though! Halloween was good, I mostly watched lots of movies, ate candy. But I did get out and do some fun things, like the escape room and the train ride. I'm pretty much full steam ahead into Thanksgiving now, mostly thinking about break. Got any big plans this year?

It ended up being a fun time, all week. Spent most of it over at the shop. Gotta love Halloween flash. How'd you end up spending Halloween?

[darpow]

"Very confident, I like it," he grinned as he made his way over to his friend, bringing his water bottle to his mouth to take a long swallow. "I try to do the same. There's nothing better than the look on someone's face when you overpass them and completely knock them out of the place that they thought they were in," he laughed, shrugging both shoulders. "I am, very much. I've been running a few practice runs all month leading up to it, so I feel like I can handle it."

"Powell," Vince smirked at his friend, matching the grin on his face. "I'd say I'm pretty much a nine-and-a-half," he teased. "I've been practicing," he said with a nod. If running from home to work when he was running late counted, then sure. "You may, I like to start off slow and steady then surprise people at the end," he said, also starting to warm up. "You ready?"

[darpow]

"You should be!" but his laugh and the smile on his face said that Darrius had never been threatening a day in his life, which was true. He was too nice of a person, even if he was also a smartass -- he liked to think that the emphasis was just on the smart, more so than the ass… most days, anyway. Everyone had their moments. "Does that carry through all year round, or are we just talking about winter? Do you like to go into the ocean in the middle of summer, or go swimming in the creek, or aren't you much of a water baby?" Some people honestly weren't that into it, and he couldn't blame them for that. But he might judge someone for living in a beach town without ever wanting to go to the beach. "I appreciate you," he pressed his hands together and did a little bit of a bow before letting out a laugh. "Ooh, good choices. I'm a whiskey guy, too, I normally go for the harder liquors, the real," he held up his hands to do air quotes, "manly drinks." Which didn't mean he thought that they were manly, per se, but rather ones that men were always drinking in the movies. "But I like a good cocktail, too. Rum and coke, also. Or a good ole beer."

"Oh, breaking out the given name, i'm trembling with fear." Mon laughed, some might even say equally as loud as the man sitting beside her. "See? You can't even deny it!" not that he was maliciously so. She wasn't sure if Darrius had a mean bone in his body, from what she'd witnessed thus far. "You won't be getting me anywhere near water if it's not a hot shower, jacuzzi, or hot springs." Monique admittedly wasn't a fan; she wasn't one of those surfer types that dared to go out on those brisk mornings, no ma'am. "So yes, I can save it until summer." the brunette chimed reassuringly, even with the smirk that played at the corners of her lips. "I can also promise to try not to spill any more coffee on you." Mon wouldn't dare promise something she couldn't follow through on, so this was the next best thing. "Success! Generally speaking? It varies. Whiskey -- on the rocks -- Vodka soda's, but i'm a sucker for a good cosmo." she didn't really stick to one signature drink. As long as it wasn't milky, she was good. "What about you?"

[darpow]

WHO: Darrius & @vincexmatthews

WHERE: Merrock Railway

WHEN: Railway 5K (November 23, 2024)

"Matthews," Darrius broke into a grin as he approached the other man, slowing from his warm-up jog and reaching for the water bottle he had attached to his belt, "on a scale of one to ten, be honest with me -- how much of a threat are you going to be out there on the course? Do I need to watch out for you?"

[darpow]

ALDIS HODGE: TV Guide Interview (2024)

[darpow]

Darrius's smile was slow, but sincere, lighting up his face when she said that they were going to keep him. And God, did he hope so. When he had been younger, the prospect of moving across the country to take a teaching job had been thrilling, even if a bit scary. But now? He liked his life in Merrock. His big house with his friends, his dogs, playing in the band, jamming with Chetan, teaching young -- or older -- minds, slow dancing with Noa at weddings. Even her blackmail tendencies were things that made him want to stay. "In that case, you're welcome," he said on a soft laugh, spinning her out, and pulling her back in as the music called for it, grinning as he glanced down at her shoes, "just tell me they're not going to cost me a whole paycheck."

"Good," her voice was a little lower and slower as it followed the soft tones of the music, "because we're keeping you." It'd be a lonelier place without him. Less evenings after work tipping stories back and forth, less beers between talking points. She thought sometimes that they could whittle out time until last call. There weren't many people in her life she could say that about. She tipped her chin back to smile up at him. "That might just be the kindest thing a date has ever said to me," she joked, thoughts filtering between the compliment and the offer. She paused before blinking and adding, "Friend or otherwise."

[darpow]

Exactly, they're just making things to make a buck, they don't care as much about the quality of the product, that doesn't matter to them. They just want to make things to get them out the door. For what it's worth, though, I can't see anyone ever telling you that your cooking is horrible! I've never had anything that you've made at the restaurant or in the food truck that was delicious and perfect! But I get you. When someone tells you that something could be better, you want to do better, right? Unlike some people, who just get mad. That's what I figure, it's like once Halloween passes, everything sorta goes fast from there on out.

And they do really care about their products! When it's a big company, everything is just there, which means it's less personal. I don't know, maybe it's me being a chef and liking to get to know my customers and their tastes why it speaks to me. Even if people told me my cooking was awful, I'd do everything I can to make it better. You know, after eating a whole container of ice cream and crying into my dog. But yeah! So far so good. I'm hoping I'd have a little wisdom to share once I get the hang of it. Oh very nice. That's not so bad actually. It'll go by pretty quick.

[darpow]

"Hey!" he let out a loud laugh, "I said that I was smart, I didn't say anything about being a smart ass, Monique! Although I might be a little bit of that, too, I can't deny it." He had to use all of that wit for something, after all. "I don't mind if you want to chase me around town with a water gun all summer long, but can you hold off a little bit during the cold months? That doesn't mean I'm giving you permission for the hot coffee, either," he pointed a finger at her, "but I don't want to freeze." And Maine could get cold -- give it another month, they wouldn't be thinking about water guns. "You chose well," he replied as he reached for his drink, bringing it up to his lips to take a sip. "What's your normal go to when you hit a bar, do you have a favorite?"

”So I’m learning.” Monique mused, tapping her fingers against the edge of the bar. “Oh, now you’re just being a smart ass!” Laughter bubbled from her throat at his remark, unable to fight her response. “I wouldn’t purposefully dump coffee on you — I’m more of a water gun kind of gal, for when I want revenge.” Which wasn’t all too enjoyable any other time of the year bar summertime, which made it all the more hilarious. The bartender went to work and crafted their cocktails before sliding them in front of them, to which Monique offered a smile and uttered a polite thanks. “I chose well, then?” She assumed lightheartedly after he’d slid onto the stool beside her.

[darpow]

Nah, I can understand it! Everyone's got that season where they sorta feel the most alive, I guess you could say? Whether they like the weather, the food, the drinks, a sport that's played… anything at all. I love football, so I'm always a little biased about loving autumn for that reason, y'know? I like living out in the coastal area now for that reason. I had an apartment downtown and I hated when the plow kicked up all the gray, mushy snow. Now, it stays a little cleaner! I do have to ask the big question when it comes to Christmas, though… real or fake tree?

I've no doubt there's something beautiful about every season, but I'm partial to fall in general. Think there's something that just sums up how I feel as a person. The winter does give that kind of dull-ish feeling, mean first snow is beautiful over a field where it's been undisturbed. But once you have places getting all the slush, not so nice. I'm a big Christmas guy, it was always one of my favorite holidays growing up. My mom always went all out and I'm hoping to pick some of those traditions back up.

[darpow]

happy birthday, @jcksonfields!

Heard that it's your special day, boss! I hope that means you're taking the day off and just kicking back (maybe enjoying last night's football victory?) and relaxing with family and friends. I got you something sweet that might give you a laugh, and then something fun for when you feel bad about eating all the sweet things. It's a card deck, but every card has a random, unique exercise on it. You know, so even the master can challenge himself a bit. Happy birthday, JD!

-- Dare

[darpow]

"Not wrong," he confirmed with a smirk. He normally was one of the friendlier person at any given point in time in the gym. He'd get asked to spot, have someone ask if they could have one of his waters, borrow a towel, but he also got invited out for burgers and a drink after, so it was worth it to be the nice guy. Which the man in the middle of the train clearly didn't know as he plowed ahead. "Oh, good," he let out a loud laugh, "get us kicked off of this train because of your potty mouth!"

"For some reason I imagine you as the type of guy who gets asked to spot for every single other person, because you look like such a friendly guy." Che would definitely ask Dare to spot for him, should he ever find himself on the inside of a gym. That was unlikely. "See, I fucking told you!" Che exclaimed, then stopped himself, looking around to see if any young folks were around.

[darpow]

"You probably have," Merrock wasn't so big of a town that he would have been mistaken for someone else, or vice versa, or at least that was what he liked to think. Maybe he left some sort of good impression on everyone. Hopefully, anyway. "I'm Darrius," he held out his hand with that same, big, friendly smile of his, thinking that he probably had seen her around, especially if she had been there since March. But admittedly, he sometimes walked in through the doors and got tunnel vision, just wanting to spend time playing with the dogs, unwind and destress from life.

"I got two! Walter and Gale. Walter's a golden retriever mix and Gale is a bulldog mutt. They were brought in together from a bad situation, I guess, but bonded and loved each other. They still do," he see-sawed his head, "even if they don't always act like it."

"Oh yeah, I think I've seen you around before," Nessa said with a smile, pointing at the guy. She'd seen him around but had not had the chance to speak to him, had her hands full with the baby goats most of the time. "That's real awesome of you to support us like that, we do get by partially on donations," she said, her smile brightening. She had met such kind and genuine people since beginning her job here, it had been one of the best decisions she'd made.

"I've been here since March. I work part time though, so I'm not always here. What kind of dogs did you adopt?"

[darpow]

"I would say ye of so little faith, but honestly, you're right," he laughed, pointing towards some of the people that were heading into the escape room ahead of them, making a beeline to look for clues. "Where do you think we should start? Anything stick out like a sore thumb? Or, well... whatever it is you say." Darrius began to head for one of the nearby walls, looking at a shelf of books.

Tamika shook her head, her laughter quieting down some as she momentarily contemplated the idea of leaving her new home that quickly over something like this. Absolutely ridiculous? Yes. But it was a funny consideration. "I'm banking on some of these other folks.." Tamika looked around them, at the other participants, then back at Darrius with a smile. "Not that I won't try my best!"

[darpow]

It had scared Darrius, to be so far away from his family. When he had moved to Michigan, took up a job in Detroit, it hadn't been so far away, still a decent drive, but doable, he could make it worth his while to travel home for a weekend. But Maine… still, it had worked out his way; he felt settled into that little town, like he had really made a home for himself. "I'm glad it was here," he said after a moment, "in Merrock. And I'm glad you stuck around here, too," he added in with a lopsided smile. After all, what sort of weird kismet would that have been, not meeting his equal in nerding out if she had left town when he had arrived. "Mm, a little," he laughed, "but I can't let you know that often, you'd get such a big head," and that would be a problem. Dropping his gaze down to their feet, and then back up to her face, he scratched his fingers gently against the fabric of her dress, where they were resting on her back. "Make you a deal. If I step on your shoes, I owe you a pair."

"And you made it happen in Merrock," Noa said. "A couple hundred miles from family, from where you were born. I've never been farther than New York City." She was a creature of habit in that sense, happy to catch whoever and whatever drifted close to home. Sometimes she got lucky enough to snare someone like Darrius. "I think you're impressed with my puns too. You just don't want to admit it." Her smile mirrored his, as her gaze slide over the trim edges of his beard. This close she could smell his cologne, the languid beat of the music all but background noise. She lifted one eyebrow at his comment. "We just talked about this, man. Respect the shoes."