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magicofthepen · 3 years ago

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For the character thingy, romana and leela?? ❤

ROMANA - I’m going to answer for Romana I, since I already did Romana II!

favorite thing about them: so I fell in love with Romana I instantly when I watched The Ribos Operation. I was like “wait no one told me that Romana’s basically a recent graduate who always thrived in school but has now suddenly been thrust into the Real World and is a bit of a mess” and oh my god why is she so relatable, also I love that about her. I love that she doesn’t quite know what she’s doing, and her academic brilliance doesn’t necessarily help in the situations she’s finding herself in, but she keeps trying and learning, so by the end of season 16 she’s much more confident and capable on her own than she was when she started. I just absolutely adore the premise of her character and how she develops during the key to time quest. also her banter skills are so excellent. (….this wasn’t one thing whoops. 😄)

least favorite thing about them: I feel like it’s something about how she’s portrayed in the Gallifrey audios, but I can’t quite articulate what? but I feel like somehow, some of the things I really liked about her on TV (her witty fun banter, her determination even when she’s out of her depth) aren’t represented as much when we get glimpses of Actual Romana I (not Pandora or an alternate universe version). idk if this is even fully true, it’s just….she doesn’t quite have the same vibe as the character I remember from the TV show (but this is also tricky because the Lies scene, the Matrix projection in Lies (which *isn’t* really her technically) and the remains of her consciousness in the body that Pandora’s using are the only times we get Actual Romana I - which isn’t that much time to express all the nuances of her character.)

(continuing to skip the favorite line question because it’s too hard)

brOTP: her and the Doctor!! (like I said in the Romana II ask, I used to ship them more, but lately I’ve been more into a platonic interpretation.) I just as instantly fell for their dynamic in the Ribos Operation - two people with very different personalities who don’t get along but are forced to work together and gradually become friends?? this is exactly the kind of relationship arc that I adore. Their banter and snark is So Good (I was so entertained by their interactions in Ribos Operation that my brain refused to pay attention to anything but their scenes, and I ended up having issues following the plot later oops). And I love their growing respect and care for each other - how they go from being mutually dismissive of each other to valuing each other and being a solid Team and just really genuinely liking each other! their friendship is just Very Good (…..and now I really want to rewatch season 16….I’ve only seen it like one and a half times but I loved it very much….)

OTP: I don’t think I have any ships with Romana I that I would consider an ‘otp’? (the closest would be her and the Doctor since I have sometimes shipped them and I adore their relationship in general)

nOTP: Brax/Romana again….and tbh with Romana I it’s more of an actual nOTP (rather than ‘kinda nOTP, kinda ‘it’s complicated’’) because this is the time frame when she’s actually his student and so my discomfort with student/teacher relationships really rears its head (although there’s still one fic out there that I just think is so well-written.....but it does show the relationship as very unhealthy).

random headcanon: .....so sorry to continue Sartia posting, but oops the first thing that popped into my head is my new maybe-unrealistic headcanon that Sartia was Romana’s first kiss. in a teenage “I’m curious and want to try this thing and you’re the only person I hang out with, but it doesn’t mean anything....or does it??” way. (.....this is so self-indulgent in such a terrible way rip.)

unpopular opinion: Armageddon Factor is my favorite Key to Time story! (I gather this is an unpopular opinion in Doctor Who Fandom At Large, it doesn’t seem to be liked as much as some of the earlier stories in the season.) technically I’ve only seen it once and it was a couple years ago, but I remember loving it as a Romana story, there were a lot of really interesting character bits for her!

song i associate with them: hmm I don’t really have one? my Romana playlist is specifically for Romana II in Big Finish so....yeah.

favorite picture of them: anything with her Ribos Operation outfit (with the full cloak), it’s iconic and beautiful! on a similar note, I love this Romana I art by @volucris-liga, it’s the first Romana fanart I ever reblogged and it’s so pretty!

more under the cut!

LEELA

favorite thing about them: her resilience and her kindness. Leela goes through so much grief and pain, she has her world upended again and again, she never really finds a place where she belongs. and yet she still keeps choosing to love, choosing to keep fighting for what she believes in, choosing to rebuild again and again. and sometimes it’s really hard and she doesn’t want to go on….but she does, and she finds moments of happiness again. and that strength is really powerful. and no matter how cruel the universe (and other people) are to her, she is still relentlessly kind - she listens, she protects, she wants to help, she cares.

least favorite thing about them: I mean, the “savage” stereotype that her character references is a racist/anti-indigenous trope (especially the whole dynamic of the Doctor trying to “civilize” her ugh). and I hate that characters keep calling her “savage” (even when they’re the Bad Guys, it’s still bringing up this trope again and again, and it’s even worse when it’s the Good Guys). why are they still doing this.

brOTP: see all characters listed under otp, every relationship that I ship is also an incredibly important friendship in Leela’s life and I love all of them <33 as far as relationships that I see as entirely non-romantic….I really love the version of Leela and Ace’s relationship that exists in my head (and in fandom) - they didn’t get to interact enough in the audios, but I absolutely think they were really close, because of their shared experiences and the ways their personalities mesh. (I feel like I should also say the Doctor here, but tbh I don’t remember her TV stories that well, so I don’t really have a solid memory of what their relationship was like.) and of course, Leela’s parental relationship with Rayo is very important to me!

OTP: once again, ot3 my beloved <33 and Leela/Romana first and foremost (I already rambled about them here, so I’m just going to second everything I said earlier).

and I also ship Leela/Narvin, although I’m not quite as invested in that pairing? (due to a combination of ‘Romana is my favorite character and so I’m just more interested in her relationships with other characters,’ ‘I joined the fandom when things were pretty much all Leela/Narvin all the time (I say with great respect and affection for the artists and writers putting out amazing content for that ship) so I was motivated to write fic primarily for R/L and N/R to balance out the ot3 content,’ ‘apparently I have a contrary streak with Gallifrey and the more the writers push a romantic interpretation of a relationship, the less interested I am in actually shipping it,’ and ‘I’m not really into Leela/Narvin as a pairing on its own - although I do love a lot of fic that portrays them that way bc it’s just very well-written.’) But just. how they form a grudging alliance for Romana’s sake and then develop genuine respect for each other and then build this really solid foundation of teamwork and fondness and care and really relax and feel comfortable around each other….the way they become ride-or-die for each other and just trust and love each other so much….it’s Very Good!! (And I did love writing scenes with the two of them in Call It Home - I might not focus on them, but I do genuinely love their relationship.)

And of course Leela/Veega <33….I debated if they even interacted enough in the actual audios for me to consider it an otp, but I love the idea of their relationship and the story of them in my head so much?? going to link to this post because it really captures my feelings about them - they’ve both been through so much grief and pain by the time they meet, they’ve both lost people they love before, so the idea of them choosing to love each other and build something together against the odds is just. very powerful. plus I have a whole playlist for the family they’ve built together, which is a strong indication that I really love this ship. 😊

nOTP: Leela/Andred. last time I answered an ask meme about Leela, I had this complicated response about how I hated Leela/Andred when I watched Invasion of Time (bc it’s so abrupt and arbitrary), and then Louise Jameson’s voice acting Convinced Me To Care because oh she really did love him....alas i am a Leela/Andred detractor at heart, and I have been nudged back to my default state by re-listening….I simply hate how he treats Leela in Gallifrey.

random headcanon: I really like the idea of Leela being more politically involved in her own right after they all return from the Axis. She’s just spent a lot of time leading a group of people who don’t have a voice in the government, fighting for their rights against the established injustices of Gallifreyan society. I don’t think she’d easily slip back into only being Romana’s bodyguard after experiencing more political autonomy on the other Gallifrey. What exactly this looks like in practice I’m not sure about - in my one fic ‘verse, I wrote about her being more directly involved with the Academy as a political liaison and guest tutor, and also advocating to Romana for policies that would benefit those who live outside the city on their home Gallifrey. but there’s probably a lot of options to explore here!

unpopular opinion: hmm I don’t think this is necessarily unpopular but idk and I want to talk about it: even though Leela identifies so strongly as a warrior, a “happy ending” for her would, I think, need to involve getting away from fighting. too often she throws herself into a fight to try to avoid thinking about how much she’s hurting, and it doesn’t work, it doesn’t stop the pain. and in the Time War, she’s tied her identity so strongly to war (it’s inevitable, inescapable, and she will Fight and Defend because that’s all she has left). there’s a difference between “I am a warrior” and “all I am is a warrior,” and Leela’s slid too far into the second one, and she needs to untangle her own identity from war to heal.

song i associate with them: Freedom by Karmina (it’s a song about going on defiantly in the face of heartbreak - “Tearing my room apart, I’m starting over” / “Take my pride I can still survive I’ve got my freedom” / “Hunt me down you’ll never find me now that I’ve got my freedom”)

favorite picture of them: the first one that came to mind is this gorgeous art by @laurelhach (which I didn’t realize was based on a picture until I stumbled across the original picture and was like oh my god!! it looks exactly like the art!!)

#thank you for sending these!! <33 #sircarolyn #asks #gallifrey audios #romana #leela #ramblings #gallifrey spoilers

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peace-coast-island · 4 years ago

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Diary of a Junebug

A spooky midnight feast

What a long night - and I mean that in a good way! First the theatre, now it's the Spooky Moon Festival. We just enjoyed a spooky midnight feast hosted by Jack to kick off the festivities.

A couple days ago we visited Peace Coast Island to see Marlo and Don. Marlo’s an old friend from Rosevine who left home about six years ago to become an actress in New York City. Not too long after moving there, Marlo met Don, a journalist for News Times, and as of last year they became engaged.

Marlo is who some would consider a starving artist. While she has appeared in numerous commercials, soap operas, and stage shows, Marlo hasn't gotten her big break yet. She has always managed to get by with odd jobs in between sporadic gigs but it sometimes seems like she gets the short end of the stick. It's a shame because she really is a talented and versatile actress.

But it looks like Marlo's finally gonna get her big break with Sugar and Spice, a brand new musical comedy drama that just made its debut at Starlight Theatre. The show played for two weeks there and the next stop will be Port Beacon, followed by Etienne Falls, Glassenwick, Cabot Bridge, and Petunia. This isn't the first time Marlo's gone on tour for a brand new show, but in past experiences, the show turns out to be a bomb and the tour closes early. Though based on the reviews for Sugar and Spice so far - as well as my own thoughts on it - we have high hopes!

Tagging along with Marlo for the first leg of the tour is Don. Since Marlo went off on her first tour, Don has been tagging along to write a review for the show, so he gets work done and gets to spend some time with Marlo - a win-win situation for both. However, if the tour goes on for the full twelve weeks - or more if things go really well - that's gonna be the longest time the two have been apart from each other.

Instead of heading back to New York, Don's gonna be staying at the camp for a while. He's gonna write an article about the Spooky Moon Festival, which he plans to finish tomorrow to get that out of the way. Marlo was the one who suggested that he take some extra days off by visiting the camp to get his mind off things. It's so sweet how much they're gonna miss each other while Marlo's away.

I've met Don a handful of times since he and Marlo started dating. They're a sweet couple, like a comedic duo with Marlo being the funny one while Don's the straight one - they play off each other super well. Anyone who can keep up with Marlo's antics while having a great sense of humor is a winner. I can't wait for the day when they finally get married!

Considering how long they've been together, it was hard to believe that they almost broke up last year. Don spoke about the near breakup when he and Marlo appeared as guests on Garden Chats, a podcast about mental health, a couple months back. It's a really good episode that not only brings up interesting points about the stigma behind depression but also the strong bond Marlo and Don share. Don said that he was hesitant to do the podcast at first but in the end he was glad he did it.

How the two got together is a cute and funny story. Marlo had her first acting gig for an ad for a security system where she played a damsel in distress during a break in. Don was nearby and thought Marlo was in danger so he swooped in to save the day, only to be humiliated after getting yelled at by her and the crew. The poor guy was so caught up in helping someone in need that he failed to notice the cameras and other equipment that were clearly visible. After getting over the embarrassment, Marlo decided to take him out to dinner as she found him kinda cute and didn’t want to be responsible for him crawling under a rock and never ever seeing the light of day again.

For the next four years Marlo and Don hardly left each other’s side. Marlo’s dad often complains that every time he comes over to visit his daughter, her boyfriend’s always there - though over the years he’s warmed up to him. Likewise whenever Marlo comes home, Don usually tags along with her. I think it was Luciana or maybe Emmaline who said that sometimes they forget that Don’s not from Rosevine nor has he ever lived there.

In a way it’s kinda like an opposites attract sort of relationship. Don’s more serious and levelheaded while Marlo is more lighthearted and playful. She’s confident and ambitious, always jumping from one thing to another. He’s more of a go with the flow type, the one who picks and chooses his battles with consideration. He may come across as a no nonsense kind of guy sometimes, but he’s also a sensitive one. She may have a tendency to ramble on and attract trouble, but you have to admit her heart’s in the right place. Marlo gets in over her head while Don gets taken in for the ride. They compliment and contrast each other - sometimes even picking up each other’s traits over the years.

So imagine what was going through everyone’s heads when rumors started going around about the engagement being broken. Since there was never really a confirmation or a denial, no one really knew what was going on. At least for me and my circle of friends, while we were concerned, we knew it wasn’t our place to get involved in any way. Now that we know what really happened thanks to the podcast, I’m glad that the whole thing never really made the gossip mill.

The podcast that Don and Marlo did was hosted by Lessa, probably making it the first time I’ve ever listened to a podcast where I know the host and the guests on a personal level. Don spoke about how he was recently diagnosed with clinical depression and how he had suspected that something was wrong with him for a long time before that. Pressure from work and his engagement along with a bunch of other personal issues led to him getting cold feet and abruptly breaking things off with Marlo. With everything going on he suddenly found himself unable to cope so he ended up almost sabotaging the best thing to ever happen to him. Looking back, he felt that it was his way of punishing himself for not being happy enough despite having everything he could have ever wanted (and more) from someone he loved.

Marlo also spoke about the near breakup and how she began doubting herself when Don started pushing her away. When he told her that he couldn’t marry her, she couldn’t believe it. So she fought back, demanding an explanation and blaming herself. But because she loved him, Marlo knew that she couldn’t just stand there and watch Don slip into a downward spiral.

The “breakup” lasted for about a month, which was the longest Marlo and Don went without talking to each other. By then their friends had noticed a change in Don’s behavior as he was isolating himself from everyone and acting erratically. Marlo felt helpless but persisted and once Don realized that he wasn't all right, he turned to Marlo and her family for help. Since then their relationship has grown stronger.

It was interesting to hear them be so open and vulnerable about their struggles. If the whole conversation isn't proof of how much they care about each other, I don't know what is. I'm glad that Don's getting the help he needs and that Marlo's luck is finally changing.

As for the wedding, there's no set date yet but it's definitely happening. Though at this point they're pretty much like an old married couple, which is super cute. With everything going on in their personal and professional lives, they want to wait until things settle down before tying the knot. Daisy Jane, Andrea, Almie, and I are betting that the wedding's happening sooner rather than later - as in this year. Based on these past few days, it looks like we're not too far off the mark!

Marlo was absolutely fantastic in Sugar and Spice! From the catchy songs to the witty dialogue and relatable characters, it's no wonder that the play has been getting glowing reviews! Marlo stole the show, easily one of the highlights of the play. Unlike previous shows Marlo toured for, she's not stuck being the saving grace of a poorly executed script, something that she has been the victim of far too many times.

The show's about a group of friends who work at a bakery called Sugar and Spice. Marlo is Gingie, a newcomer who had just left home and rediscovers her love for baking through the bakery. There's a funny running gag of Gingie coming up with the most ridiculous cookie recipes that turn out good and leaving the kitchen in such a state of disaster in the process. It's a cute and funny show about a bunch of friends who like to bake.

In between shows, Marlo joined us at the camp. Most of the nights were sold out or didn't have enough seats for the camp, which was why we were unable to attend the first week. Once things got settled down with rehearsals and such, Marlo and Don were able to have some time for themselves at the camp. The two enjoyed picnics on various hangout spots, sightseeing near the mountains, and chilling at the beach.

We also helped Jack set up for the Spooky Moon Festival. Marlo was bummed that she's gonna miss it so Don promised to take a lot of pics for her. It's been great catching up with them and seeing them have fun together. They plan to return in the near future so that's something to look forward to!

The Spooky Moon Festival comes once every few years to celebrate the Spooky Moon. While helping out with the festival, I've learned a lot about the event. Basically there's a spooky looking moon that looks like it's covered in cobwebs that comes into view every four years. It looks super cool, like something out of a vintage spooky picture you see in old books. Everything about the festival gives off Halloween vibes and I'm really digging the aesthetic!

After seeing Marlo off, we got to prepping for the midnight feast. Don's been a great deal of help and it's nice getting to know him on a one on one basis. I think this is the first time I've hung out with him without Marlo. He's been enjoying the camp, which is great as Marlo didn't want him to worry about her too much. Like I said, it's sweet how much they watch out for each other.

At midnight, the festivities began! Making the food was a lot of fun, especially making everything look spooky and cool for the occasion. Decorating cookies was my favorite part as well as cutting out dough into fun shapes for the pies. It took a lot of prep time but the effort was so worth it - everything came out great!

Along with the food, we enjoyed listening to spooky stories, playing fun games, and looking at the moon through the astronomer's telescope. The Spooky Moon's a lovely view to see, made even better with good company to share it with!

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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nahte123456 · 4 years ago

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Marinette Bio-Dad idea, White Collar:Neal

Alright I was doing that stupid fanfic-writer thing where I saw two characters in a short time frame and went “I bet I can think of a story for this”. Those two being Marinette and Neal. I like the whole Bio-dad thing and they do both have blue eyes so I went with it when I found something out, Neal is meant to be around 33 in Season 3 as far as I can figure(it’s said the character is meant to be around the actors age and that kinda works with what Ellen says iirc) and Marinette is meant to be 13.

Neal’s age is an approximate and we know that when he was 18 and ran away from home he did some stupid stuff until Mozzie picked him up. So is it so hard to believe that Neal, fresh from running away and just starting to con see’s a vacationing Tom and Sabine, thinks to try and con/steal some money from them, and starts buying them drinks under an assumed(and older) name. He then learns that they are nice people that seem to just care about him because they are good people and can’t go through with the con, but at that point they are all drunk and attractive young adults and nature takes it’s course and an accident with a condom makes a Marinette that Neal doesn’t know about.

Until a few years later that is. We know Neal was in Paris at one point so in between con’s he remember this nice couple that helped him out for a night and decides he’ll look them up, pop into there restaurant and buy something, maybe they won’t even recognize him. Only to see tiny Mari who 100% has his eyes. And Sabine walks in and she’s not dumb, she recognizes Neal and realizes what he see’s and so he’s invited in and they all have a talk about there daughter.

So Neal starts to give an abridged version of his side of the story when Babynette walks over with a surprisingly good colored pencil sketch of what was, if only by the colors, clearly him. And Neal has a bit of a breakdown at this point, not like a sobbing wreck or anything but he has a host of family issues, pressure from being on the run, and the surprise of a daughter all get to him so instead of some made up story he tells them the truth about the whole witness protection childhood and once he starts he can’t stop until he’s told them everything about being a con, and they were originally his marks and now he’s a master forger and con artist.

Tom and Sabine are...accepting. They don’t really understand either Neal’s need to do these things or the reasons he started but they get that his life was different from theirs, and despite being a criminal he’s been nothing but a good guy to them. So they invite Neal to stay the night and he agrees, eating dinner with the family and bonding with the 3, before sleeping in the guest room.

The next day the adults work out a deal. Neal doesn’t want to be some absentee father Marinette only learns about when she’s an adult and wonders about him forever like he had to, but obviously he can’t just stay for a number of reasons, not the least of which is ‘Burke The Jerk’ getting closer and closer every day. So instead they set up communications, he can call, send gifts, letters, whatever, as long as no big trouble is tracked back to them and no gift or money he sends is illegal. He agrees.

So this goes on and flows into the show until just before Sarah finds out about the U-Boat treasure Mozzie has. White Collar is mostly the same as Neal is still keeping Marinette away from things, and he’s more then sneaky enough to get into contact without being caught, Neal is slightly better off as he was more cautious and he kept more resources to send/liquidate for Marinette.

As for Miraculous, again largely the same overall, Marinette is slightly more confident and knowledgeable about art, she does forgeries as a type of destressing although she always signs them to not get in trouble. The only large change is her having more money for her designing, and that she tells Neal about the Miraculous as he’s far enough away to be safe and he knows better then anyone about secrets and needing to do things.

The change comes after Lila shows up again, I don’t imagine this as a salt-fic(I like salt-fics fine but I don’t think that tone would work great with White Collar) but that is a lot of stress for a teen. Her designing, being bullied, being a superhero, school, just everything. So Neal offers Tom and Sabine a deal, he can take her in for like a month, where she only has to worry about designing and keeping up with school(and Superhero work but with Horse and Rabbit Miraculous that’s also easier without so many people watching). Then Neal and Mari talk and she agrees, she’ll take Tikki, the Rabbit and Horse, some design stuff, and school necessities and that’s it. Just destressing in New York with her father.

Of course Neal being a little shit Neal picks an airport just outside of his range and then at the Burke’s one day he tells Peter “Hey I need your help to get to ____Airport tomorrow, my daughter is coming in and I want to pick her up.” After the freak out from both Burke’s and Neal’s taunting he give a (mostly) complete explanation about his stupid years then finding out about his daughter. To which Peter correctly figures out where some money had vanished in the past and why Neal sometimes went above board to get jewelry and such, to give it to his daughter without any heat being attached.

So Peter agrees to go with him, but El decides she’s going to and rather then trying to both bunk at Neal’s place Marinette can stay in there guest bedroom(Peter’s not thrilled with this sudden information but rolls with it for now). The next day they go to pick up Marinette, who’s cuteness and happiness wins over El immediately although Peter is more suspicious.

After that is a lot of bonding, Marinette shows her signed-forgeries which both worries Peter(she is already far to good at that for his comfort), but also comforts him(even when not selling Neal never so blatantly made sure his work was distinguishable from the real thing), although Marinette does kind of ruin that by stealing his wallet as a “I am Neal’s daughter” thing, same smile to. Neal loves it, El thinks she’s adorable, Peter just knows this’ll mean more work for him somehow.

Over the next week Marinette works on some dresses and meets the rest of the crew. She and Diana get along good, Diana likes her spunk, she and Jones bonds surprisingly well(I want Jones to have a bigger role then normal), and June loves her as much as El does. Mozzie freaks out more then a little at first, but after he gets over it he becomes convinced Marinette will be great and really tries to corrupt her and Marinette does like him in his own zany way.

As for her and Sarah, they grind at first, Marinette doesn’t want to ruin anything for Neal and Sarah doesn’t know how to deal with a child so they kind of both try to pull back without hurting anyone and it all goes wrong but eventually they bond and Marinette asks to make her a dress that looks good and hides her baton and Sarah agrees. Neal’s happy about this but also more then slightly worried about getting teamed up on(it’s bad enough when Moz and Peter gang up on him much less them).

I’ll be honest I don’t have a real ‘plot’ in mind mostly just a bunch of character interaction I think would be great fun. Marinette and El talking fashion, Neal and Peter having a talk on how to deal with a child, and so on so forth.

#biodad au #miraculous ladybug #white collar #marinette dupen chang #Marinette #neal caffrey #neal #badass marinette #protective neal

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mobius-prime · 5 years ago

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159. Sonic Super Special #15

Welcome to the final Sonic Super Special ever! Here's my opinion on it. Past Super Specials have ranged from okay to amazing, depending on the writer and the subject matter, and their long length has usually, if you ask me, worked in their favor, as it meant more time and space to tell a compelling story. This is not true of this one. Unfortunately, the last super special of the comic is utterly awful, with two stories that do absolutely nothing to grip my attention, one of which ends in a status quo with a net gain of absolutely nothing, and the other of which is cringeworthy and isn't even very clear on when, where or how it takes place. Let's just get this over with, shall we?

Naugus Games

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Many Hands Colors: Josh and Aimeee Ray

This first story is far, far longer than it has any right to be - it really feels like they were trying to find ways to pad it out it to take up the full 48 pages of the special. Furthermore, you might notice some oddities about the credits above. First of all, Aimee's name is misspelled with three E's for both stories for some reason, indicating some lazy copy-and-pasting as well as a lack of care from the editors. Even more frustratingly, no one is actually credited directly for the pencils (or inks), with the art instead just being credited to "many hands." Remember how I said the comic was getting annoyingly bad about properly crediting people? Now, in case you're confused, there's not just some artist out there literally named Many Hands; instead, that's the comic's way of sidestepping actually bothering to credit any individuals for their work. It just means "eh, a lot of people worked on this I guess, but we don't care enough to actually tell you who." Unfortunately, unlike a few issues ago where the art style was immediately recognizable as Steven Butler's, the art style for this story is foreign to me, suggesting they got some people who weren't their usual artists to work on this one, so I can't even take an educated guess here. All I know is that both the art style in general and the quality of the inks are very poor, and as we'll see, the art gets unforgivably lazy at times. Perhaps best of all, this story was later retconned into a much more interesting and concise version of itself at a later date, with better storytelling and artwork to boot. The only reason, then, that I'm covering it at all, is honestly as a demonstration of just how lazy the comic could get at times, as well as due to the fact that this is the first appearance of "Many Hands," who later pencilled one other issue for the comic that was of equally poor quality.

So this story takes place at an unspecified time in the recent past. It seems to be sometime after Eggman's return, judging by some of the lines of dialogue within the story, but the actual timeframe is pretty vague. Sonic has returned to the Southern Tundra to pay his respects to Eddy, recalling how Eddy sacrificed himself when he, Tails, and Nate all fought Naugus here some time ago. He's brought a single rose to lay on the site of the wreckage, but the ground isn't quite stable…

And here we have the first instance of a truly terrible art decision. Sonic falls into a pitch black cave system, but instead of representing this with maybe one page max of blackness or darker lighting, we're treated to nearly four pages straight of nothing but this:

He blindly stumbles around for a while, informing us of this fact through dialogue bubbles because everyone knows that telling is better than showing in fiction, right? He finally hits a wall and sees a glow through a crack in it, so he tunnels his way into the next room only to find it full of glowing rings - apparently, either he, Tails and Naugus somehow didn't use up all the rings when they fought, or these one have just auto-generated themselves somehow down here. Sonic recalls memories of the previous battle when Nate sealed Naugus away with a wish from a ring, and then decides to try to use one to get out of the cave system.

Wonderful! Apparently, a "wish" as defined by the magic of the rings just means that you think of someone's name while touching a ring, and so with a flash, Naugus is back from his imprisonment in the zone that Nate sealed him into! But how is this possible?

That explanation makes… basically no sense, dude. Naugus was definitely sealed away in another zone, he didn't just get turned into a pile of telepathic rings. But whatever. He and Sonic start battling it out, and somehow make it outside, where Naugus conjures up a snowstorm that consistently stays centered on Sonic no matter where he runs. Time for the second awful art choice of the issue - now instead of four pages of pure blackness, we get six whole pages of this:

I think the best thing about this is that the blizzard backgrounds are clearly not even hand drawn like the rest of the comic is - there's only two types of snowflakes up there, and they're consistently just copied and pasted in that same repetitive swirl pattern on every single page. I get that drawing for a big story in a super special like this can be long and tedious work, but this is why you don't try to find a way to artificially elongate a story like this which could easily be told in the span of a normal issue length. It just ends up making the audience feel like their time is being wasted. Anyway, the blizzard finally ends when Sonic pulls out a ring from his jacket and wishes for Naugus to be sealed away in his previous zone once more, and thus, Naugus is out of our hair again, with absolutely nothing to show for it. Man, if it's this easy to defeat people in this universe, why hasn't anyone tried this on Eggman yet?

Sonic then leaves back for home, thinking one last time of Eddy, who is shown looking down on him from the heavens above. And thank god that story is over.

Sonic Spin City

Writer/Pencils: Michael Gallagher Colors: Josh and Aimeee Ray

Michael Gallagher, over the course of the comics, has gone from one of the series' main writers to basically a guest writer who's brought on every once in a while for special occasions. In this case, he even makes his return as a penciller! Unfortunately, his goofy writing style has begun to clash with the much more serious plots of these later issues, and this story is no exception. It's entirely unclear about whether we're supposed to take this story as actual canon, as a story from an alternate zone, or as just a silly joke story that doesn’t mean anything - and while I tend to try to avoid looking at non-canon materials in this review series (I've already skipped a few stories and issues for exactly this reason), the ambiguity of this one forces me to cover it. In addition, I don't even know why Josh and "Aimeee" were credited as colorists for this story, considering the entire thing is black and white with no color to be found.

Much like the first story of StH#52, this story has the flair of an old detective serial. Sonic is wandering the streets on a rainy night when two swatbots ambush him. Of course, two swatbots are no match.

What does a swatbot need matches for? Eh, whatever. Sonic races over to Rusty's, a hangout for abandoned badniks, and orders himself a "chili dog float," which in addition to sounding absolutely disgusting doesn't even seem like something a bar for robots would serve in the first place. As he takes his seat, the lights go out, and… this abomination emerges onto the stage.

Yes. The badniks are going wild for a swatbot with tits dancing seductively on a stage for them. What is she gonna do, plug them into a wall outlet? They even start screaming out for "the stretch," and appear to get even hornier as she massively elongates her legs for them. I mean, just, what? I swear, Michael, if we get one more weird borderline-sex thing like this from you in this comic, my eyes are gonna pop out of my head like Natsuki. A bot grabs the dancer's ankle, and she's thrown off balance and crashes down, with the head popping off to reveal that underneath, it's Bunnie in disguise.

You know, after her claim all those issues back that she's a "sax cymbal," I'm not even gonna contest the idea that she'd do a sexy dance during infiltration for a mission. Hell, I get the impression she'd do one anyway just for fun back in Knothole if she got the chance. You might also notice her arm is the arm from her old design, and that coupled with Sonic's own design seems to indicate that if this took place at all in actual canon, it was before Eggman's return, though I'm immensely skeptical that this is supposed to be canon at all. Sonic and Bunnie take out the rest of Rusty's customer base, and then evacuate before the last swatbot activates its self-destruct chip, blowing the place sky high. Congratulations, nothing important was accomplished in this issue and nobody cares!

It's kinda sad that the final Sonic Super Special turned out to be so low-quality, honestly. However, this marks a bit of a turning point in the comic. For the first time in its entire run, from now on, there are no more special issues, no sister series, no miniseries, nothing. From the next issue, all the way to almost the 200th, with one exception in the form of a Free Comic Book Day issue, there are absolutely no interruptions from issue to issue. While this may not seem too notable at first, since we've just been reading everything in mostly-chronological order anyway, keep in mind that as far as the comic is concerned we're still in the year 2000, with a mere seven years having passed from the beginning of the comic all the way to now over the course of 159 issues. Over the course of the next 106 issues, we're going to blaze through nine years of comic history, meaning that the story is going to flow a lot faster, with more plot points being covered in a shorter amount of time. While this does make the order of issues a lot easier to follow, since there's no questions about which issue fits in where or anything, I am sad to see all the special issues go, as I quite enjoyed how they served to break up the flow of the comic as a whole with special stories and side content. Though we're still in the middle of our current plot era, we're entering into a new era of the comic as a whole, where we've got a straight shot through the next hundred issues. So I say - let's do it to it!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sonic super special 15 #writer: ken penders #writer: michael gallagher #pencils: many hands #pencils: michael gallagher #colors: joshua d ray #colors: aimee r ray

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

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November 23rd-November 29th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from November 23rd, 2019 to November 29th, 2019. The chat focused on the following question:

How do you personally deal with hiatuses, both in regards to planned and unplanned breaks?

carcarchu

I feel very guilty when I go on unplanned hiatuses and I avoid going to tapas and webtoons at all until I've got an update completed. i'm scared to see comments complaining about the lack of updates and how many people have unfollowed me in the meantime. i also find it very hard to bounce back from a hiatus. when i've got a groove going it's easier to keep the momentum than it is to start again after a prolonged absence

Deo101

Kinda a rough question haha. I don't go on any hiatuses other than unplanned ones. It's only out of necessity, in the past I did it if school/health got rough, and I'd try to be back the next week with a normal update!!! However.. I have a second comic which has been on hiatus for a year. I miss making it, but I lost the person who I was working with on it so it has been hard to start again. I'm kind of not really dealing with it, as the anxiety of starting again gets worse the longer it's been! But, I know that the only way to get out of it is to just do it, and I have to do it as soon as I can or it will never end. So, I just work my way through them to get back on schedule.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

So far I've only taken one official hiatus, after I finished the second chapter of the comic - I worked on the next chapter's pages for the next two months, then came back and luckily haven't been off hiatus since.

I have another planned hiatus after the next chapter, and this time, I'll be accepting guest art to fill the space - it's not something I was aware was a thing until it was suggested to me. It'll be interesting to come up with a cool way to feature any art I receive. I like the idea of highlighting other artists' work while I'm taking a breather!

eli [a winged tale]

There’s such a huge mental barrier for me when it comes to announcing a hiatus but ultimately life and health come first. I have a comic on hiatus since 2015 (one day it’ll come back haha), and sometimes things happen to push my current one back for updates. I want to tell myself that since I’m producing free content, it should be for fun and not a source of stress (despite industry standards and what I want to achieve). It’s a balance. I think the readers who wait are the ones I am most grateful and treasure.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I have chronic health issues that can be very debilitating, so having hiatuses is something I have to deal with all the time. I might be able to update regularly for a few months, but eventually and inevitably, a sudden hiatus will come. It’s something that causes me a lot of stress on top of an already stressful situation. Readers leave, and then when I’m well enough to work, I don’t just have to churn out as many pages as I can while I can, I also have to rebuild my audience all over again. I hate going on hiatuses and having such an unstable update schedule, but there’s not much I can do about it.(edited)

Cronaj

Aw man... I also have been dealing with chronic health conditions, so I feel you. I finally got treatments that have been working, so I'm able to update consistently now. That being said, I was on hiatus for a year and a half until just recently. It really did destroy the momentum I was building up, and readers I had accumulated. Because of that, I am determined not to take long hiatuses anymore (a week-a month at most) and to announce it beforehand. I do find it important to prioritize health and mental well-being above my comic, but I find my mental health suffering every time I neglect to update my comic, so I find a middle ground by taking short breaks occasionally. Moral of the story: build up a buffer, kids. Don't be like me.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Yeah, same. I'm still trying to get a diagnosis, but I'm kind of an outlier in medicine- my body chemistry is very atypical. I build up those buffers whenever I can, but they always run out sooner or later. I love making comics so much that my mental health suffers, too. I get depressed if I'm not making progress on my comics. I'm really glad you've found a treatment that helps, though! I hope I can too, one of these years.

eli [a winged tale]

What is this mystical buffer everyone keeps talking about

I jest. Keep up the great work everyone! Everyone is trying their best and that’s most important

Capitania do Azar

I always take a small hiatus on the end of each chapter so I can rest and work on writing the next one, usually for a couple months.

sssfrs

I generally take my time with updates anyway. I've lost followers after hiatuses (strangely people only actually started unfollowing me after I came back with a new update) but I'm more focused on getting more of my comic done and progressing towards it being a finished work than keeping a consistent audience. Even though it would be nice...

DanitheCarutor

Fff coincidentally I'm going on a planned hiatus in December. At the end of every chapter I go on one to get feedback, and have some downtime to better plan the next chapter, as well as to get build some buffer. Usually during this time I either hold a Q&A, or do a call for guest art/comics, and I only ever plan to be on break for a month. I don't like being away for longer than that, and the intermission stuff (Q&A's, call for guest art) is announced a month or so beforehand, that way no one is scrambling when the scheduled break starts. As far as an unplanned hiatus, I don't usually have any with my current project. There have been times I've missed the posting deadline due to my fulltime job, but would post either once the page is done or the next week. With my old comic I took a lot of unannounced breaks, not so much because I was busy but I was going through a lot of crap, and morale was really low. It didn't help that it was my very first real attempt at making comics, so I had no idea what I was doing, the story was also hot garbage and became more of a chore to work as time went on. Eventually I just stopped, went on perma-hiatus totally unannounced to this day. I should have let my readers know, but I was really ashamed of myself for not wanting to work on the project (I promised I would complete it), and with a bunch of things suddenly happening in my life I forgot. I'll probably have to go in an unannounced break someday. A lot of things can happen, and being a traditional art only comic creator I'll probably end up running out of supplies eventually, needing to scrounge up some money for more. The nice thing is soooome, hopefully most, of my readers would understand? They know my comic is super time consuming, and that I've been working on it nonstop for 4-5 years now, so they should? Maybe? Hopefully that won't happen, though!

keii4ii

For those of you who take a break after each chapter, how many pages go in an average-length chapter?

🌈ERROR404 🌈

depends on how you're planning to set up your story, whether u want to prioritize to certain print sizes, but the general average chapter size is about 30 pages

Cronaj

I hadn't been planning to take a break between chapters, but we'll see what actually happens. I have chapters ranging from 35-50 pages in length(edited)

DanitheCarutor

Not sure how everyone else is, but I wing it with chapter length. The chapter I'm currently capping off will be 57 pages, although 30-45ish pages is preferred.

eli [a winged tale]

47 for me for this first chapter!

keii4ii

Cool! Was mostly asking a "so how frequently do you take scheduled post-chapter breaks" worded differently

sssfrs

I do 8-12.. I wish I could do more

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I am taking a short holiday break (that was actually planned this time) in between Eryl chapters. My Eryl chapters usually run 30-35 pages, and the break will be around..., 3 weeks I think? I can’t remember exactly. I’m probably going to have to put it back on hiatus partway through the chapter when my buffer runs out because of the aforementioned chronic health issues, though.

spacerocketbunny

I've only taken one hiatus and that was just while my site was being built! But even then we were able to have a short extra comic updating on an alternative site for that time being. We've been updating consistently for 5 years and that's thanks to the stability we've been lucky to have and the fact that there's two of us sharing the work. We've been able to work ahead enough so we've never ran out of a buffer, I'm pretty proud of that tbh(edited)

DanitheCarutor

@keii4ii Oh! So you were asking the time frame in which a chapter is finished? Correct me if I'm wrong. Normally each chapter takes about a year to complete, sometimes a couple months more than that. (for me, that is.)

spacerocketbunny

Nothing wrong with a hiatus though, especially after chapter breaks, I think those are pretty good to keep yourself from burning out!

Cronaj

I do 2-3 pages a week, so I finish a new chapter... about every 4-6 months

keii4ii

I appreciate the answers, everyone!

AntiBunny

I answered this one on Twitter, but I'll answer more at length here. FIrst of all I think a distinction should be made between a Hiatus, which is a planned break, and an extended delay, which is more missed updates compounding with each other.

The former is easier to deal with. Announce it with a clear return date.

The latter is rougher. The artist hasn't planned it, and feelings of guilt can make it harder and harder to return. The best thing to do in that case is to again, get out ahead of it. When you're delayed point people to your social media, and keep posting to make it clear you're still working, or if work has halted completely at least keep posting to let them know when you will be working on it again.

Either way I try to avoid even using the word "hiatus" because webcomic readers tend to read it as "abandoned." Sadly they're all too often right to do so.

Cronaj

Yeah, usually, when announcing a hiatus to my readers, I like to use the word "break" instead

It's a bit softer for some reason

You know, I am 95% certain that my readers thought I had abandoned the project—or died—when I disappeared for a year and a half

Because I know that I have gotten invested in a comic, only for the creator to go incognito

And I always wonder... Are they alright?

keii4ii

I usually figure either life got too busy, or the creator outgrew the project. Or both.

AntiBunny

I know. I stopped updating for almost a year because I wasn't happy with the planned ending of Nailbat. I lost readers I still haven't regained over that one.

In retrospect "waiting for inspiration" was not the ideal way to handle that.

Cronaj

Yeah, the fact that I returned at all is pretty crazy, from a reader's perspective(edited)

I've seen more abandoned projects than I have, "Hey sorry guys! Was dealing with stuff, but now I'm back!"

I mean, it happens

But very infrequently in comparison to the previous sadly(edited)

AntiBunny

Combine the fact that not updating is easier than updating, and the guilt of not updating making you feel like your return has to be even more awesome with every missed update, so you build for yourself a unsalable mountain of imagined expectation, and you have a recipe for abandonment.

Cronaj

Yep!

I'm still trying to regain my momentum

And I always feel so bad if I publish a less-than-stellar page

AntiBunny

There's also the fact that people grow and change. One problem with long form story webcomics is that an artist can outgrow their story.

Cronaj

That is so true

AntiBunny

The most successful tend to be the ones that can grow and change with the artist.

Cronaj

As a novelist as well, I can say that is incredibly accurate

I have dropped so many novels after writing 30k words or more

The only project I've stayed faithful to for over 5 years IS my current comic project

AntiBunny

Sluggy Freelance for example is very different today than when it began. Gunnerkrigg Court as well, and I like to think mine can too.

Though I'll admit I do have a character I've outgrown, and it bugs me people want to see her again.

Cronaj

I think that's just a desire for closure, and for things to come together in the end

AntiBunny

She was more of a comic relief character really. her sort of humor just isn't something I want to write anymore. That kind of edgelord "lol murder," humor isn't something I can write anymore. And unlike the core cast who've grown so that they don't have to come from the same place I was years ago, she hasn't.

I may be drifting off topic a bit there. Anyway I think it serves well as a reminder that for a long term story the characters need to grow with the artist to keep a comic going.

keii4ii

Not every story is meant to grow with the trends, and that's 100% fine. Just means you have to accept the risk of potentially outgrowing the project.

Using the word "trends" pretty broadly

Mine is not very adaptable, and I can't imagine making it more adaptable without altering its core. It doesn't make it less worthy as a story, just... yeah, bigger risk

seetherabbit

I always took breaks or "hiatus" way before I ran out of pages I could in theory add to the buffer

that way I could more easly relax

but also so I don't have to take an hiatus in the middle of a story

Pistashi

everyone needs a break sometimes

I've been updating and working constantly not only on my comic, but alto my yt channel and freelance jobs (because money is always welcomed, even tho I HATE FREELANCE WITH ALL MY CORE)

but I feel like I got momentum now and I dont wanna stop suddendly

sometimes I feel exhausted but then one day later or after 10h of sleep Im fine

I'll take a break later for sure, but rn I feel like this weight of responsibility is helping me build my work ethics

because we cant work just when we are inspired, we dont have that luxury :P

we cant overwork either, so we gotta be smart with our breaks and hiatuses

mathtans

I've been on hiatus more times than I want to count. One of those things where not having much of an audience helps... if no one's really saying much, they either continue not to say anything, or suddenly surface to wish you well.

I will say that I like concluding arcs. My first hiatus was when my wife went into hospital for a bit, I said I'd return but didn't know when. Most of my other hiatuses have been at the ends of arcs... and I'll add that while they were breaks from the comic, they weren't from content. I put up a few behind-the-scenes things, explaining backstory, and had a friend write a column for me too. I've seen other comics do similar, or use guest art.

And for those of you wondering "who's this guy", I've been on hiatus since my daughter was born. Meaning we're going on 17 months. (I may not return to comic work. I have another website I run where I do serials that I'm still maintaining.)

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

In most cases I take a hiatus at the end of a chapter. I have taken two official hiatuses and I think there were some shorter, inofficial ones that I had to take because of other obligations like my studies/family issues/freelance work or finishing books for print. Personally I have managed to not get myself too worked up about hiatuses. I'm doing comics for free and I can't live off of them, so it's inevitable to take breaks. Though I have to say I'm starting into a new chapter without having to go on hiatus, which is pretty neat C:

Pistashi

@Phin (Heirs of the Veil) thats niice! its like the more we work on comics the better (and faster) we get, so keeping the momentum between chapters without a hiatus is an awesome thing! Its the little things tbh

also, you're right. its inevitable to take breaks. specially when you're not working full time and can't live off of them. and like @mathtans said, responsibility shows up and sometimes we have to put things aside

like having a daugther! thats awesome dude! hope your family is doing well (and I know you said you might not get back to comics, but if its something you enjoy keep it up when you're free! making comics is fun) ahdksjnd

Neguri-Senpai-Author

I've actually never gone on a hiatus ever since I started really doing my comic. I can't really go on any hiatuses because I market mine as a weekly comic and additionally I have an oddly strong obsession over consistently in my life so I just feel really really weird if I'd do something like a break from my comic even if I needed it ^^; But currently it's not really that bad. I've been consistent with weekly uploads for a bit over a year now (I've started doing it weekly in September of 2018) and I don't plan on going on a hiatus any time soon. Maybe I'll work a bit in advance but I'm not gonna go on a hiatus to get a break

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

@Pistashi Yeah it's really nice when you finally get a little faster because you optimized your workflow

mathtans

@Pistashi Thanks! Family's doing great, but yeah, most of my free time goes to writing rather than drawing these days. We'll see how things play out.

Desnik

I didn't spotlight my hiatus, but when I finally return to acknowledge it, I'd like to have something to show for it, like a new project or 'this is where I am now' or 'This is what the comic meant to me' so that at least my readers get closure

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble

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disruptedvice · 6 years ago

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May I have this dance (gotg fic)

Starmora week 2018 Day 2 - dancing

Peter hated people who gave themselves self-aggrandizing nicknames.

(Or undercover missions + dancing + jealousy + soft talks = starmora love)

AO3 Link

___________________

May I have this dance? ___________________

A ballroom filled with partners dancing in formal and evening wear might not be what one would first picture when thinking of intergalactic arms dealers, or that the duchess hosting such an affair on her estate would have her fingers dipped in so many criminal pots. She wasn't even duchess of anything, that's just what she called herself.

Peter hated people who gave themselves self-aggrandizing nicknames just to inflate their own sense of importance. Besides- duchess? If you're gonna go for royalty, why not just use queen or king? Even baroness would've been better- there's such a level of pretentiousness that came with duchess. Also, wasn't that like a thing people named their cats? And other pets?

Whatever, he had an issue with this lady's nickname, and it took all his self control not to make a face every time he had to say it because she wouldn't answer to anything else.

Ugh. Peter hated people who gave themselves nicknames, and the ones that went for 'high class' ones were always the worst offenders, the ones who insisted you call them those stupid monikers that implied they were supposed to be rulers of something was always markers of someone you don't want to get to know.

And, to what you're thinking: no. Starlord was different. First- because he didn't give himself that nickname. His mom did. You're in the clear for self-aggrandizing nicknames if someone else gave it to you. It's kinda like why Guardians of the Galaxy worked so well. They would've seemed like such self important dicks if they just started calling themselves that after a brainstorming session for their would be team name. But, because Ronan called them that first (it was even better that he was using it as a put down at the time), and all the people they saved heard him say it before they totally kicked his ass, they were now free to go gallivanting around the universe as Guardians of the Galaxy without seeming like a bunch of dillweeds.

Peter didn't just up and start calling himself a lord one day. Which he can guarantee this duchess lady did. That's why Starlord was different. He didn't nickname himself, because people who did that were the worst.

And he didn't force people to call him Starlord. The Duchess wouldn't respond if you called her anything else, not her real name, or even ma'am or sir. Starlord was different.

He still answered to Peter, or Quill, or even 'hey, asshole!'

He kinda hated these missions where he had to dress up nice and play a functioning member of society and go undercover as a social elite in something fancy schmancy like this.

Actually, that wasn't true. He loved these undercover as someone respectable missions as long as he had a certain someone next to him. Pretending to be upstanding citizens as they infiltrated some gathering was something he always had a ball doing whenever it was him and Gamora pretending to be normal, unsuspecting people. He loved those types of missions.

Safe to say this wasn't one of those missions.

Tonight he was just the well dressed distraction tasked with keeping the Duchess's attention at the gala while the rest of the team actually pulled off the real job.

Gamora had infiltrated the event and was disguised as a guard on the second floor, effectively running point for the team while doing 'walkthroughs' inbetween checking on Peter and watching his back from the second floor balcony in case one of the many disreputable guests in attendance at this ball recognized him for who he actually was. He didn't recognize any names on the guest list, and safe to say he looked pretty damn unrecognizable in a pressed suit with shining cuff links and hair that was actually combed. He cleaned up pretty nicely, if he didn't say so himself.

Plus, it wasn't just the fun type of dancing he was good at. He was good at this stuffy, formal partner dancing too. The one with very precise steps because rich people didn't know how to let loose.

Looking all presentable and dressed to the nines as he held one of the Duchess's gloved hands, his other hand at the waist of her deep midnight blue evening gown (which was too soft to not cost a bazillion units by the way, it was almost too blue, like she could somehow afford deeper colors than the rest of the universe) as they danced around and around in circles with all the other couples there- he fit right in. Nothing to be suspicious about. ___________

Gamora looked out across the balcony, spotting Peter in less than two seconds, still doing fine just like the last time she checked on him. She had to stop herself from grumbling at the sight, knowing that Peter (and everyone else) would be able to hear her through the com links if she did so.

Technically she didn't have to check on him so often and spend so much time literally watching his back since she'd be able to hear on the com links if something were to start going wrong for him, but she did so anyway. Rocket and the other's had their part handled, so she settled in, leaning her back against the wall as she watched him move across the floor below her.

Gamora couldn't help but notice the woman was pretty, this Duchess. Her long orange hair was piled atop her head in a loose style that left locks and curls spilling out to cascade down her shoulders in a messy but perfect way that had to be by design, and probably took hours to get right. Her smile might be what one called demure, or coquettish, with pretty pink lips and warm brown skin that could only be described as beautiful. Her bright hair and midnight dress made her look like night and day. Or like a sunset even. Gamora couldn't tell if that was on purpose, or if she was just one of those beautiful people who always had that thing work out for them, and the affect her dress made paired with the lovely shade of her skin was just an accident.

From head to toe, she was like the sun fading into the dusk fading into the night sky.

It wasn't like this was the first beautiful woman they had come across since becoming the Guardians of the Galaxy. This wasn't even close to the first time the team had been on a mission and used Peter as bait with a target who was an attractive female that he was supposed to go distract and flirt with and buy them some time.

It wasn't how beautiful this woman was that bothered Gamora (though she could do with horrible people being a little less gorgeous sometimes).

The problem was... she was actually a good dancer.

Probably what one would call a natural, as she danced with Peter. Gamora didn't have a good vantage point for seeing her feet, but she was certain that this other woman didn't stumble even once. Neither did Peter, as he led her through the steps with a skill and finesse that she hadn't known he'd possessed. Much more than an instructor, he looked like a professional. They both did. As they moved through the motions with a certain grace and ease, they both looked like they did this for a living, like they were made to be dance partners. The way that silken glove grasped his hand, the other on his shoulder, as she followed his lead with the confidence of someone who knew what they were doing- they way the whirled and twirled, almost floated across the floor with her midnight colors trailing behind them- it was almost like a mirage.

They were both so good at it. Peter never had to stop and wait, never once grimaced in pain because his feet had been stepped on or he'd been kneed, didn't have to direct her or even give her pointers. Like for the first time his skills were able to shine, because he finally had a partner who worked with him instead of against him. He finally had a partner that moved. And when he was paired with someone of similar skill level, for the first time Gamora could see what a truly good dancer he was.

The Duchess complimented him to where dancing looked like one thing they did together, rather than something clumsy or awkward or even a fight. Her movements were fluid, matching his, and Gamora would almost think it was beautiful if the sight didn't fill her with such vitriol. ___________

The job went perfectly, and the mark never suspected a thing. Sure, Peter might have had more fun if he was on the explore the rich person mansion team this time, but he couldn't complain too much. No one got shot at even once, which already had this as a big win in his books. Being a polite version of his usual witty and charming self while moving in circles the whole night was pretty boring. But as captain of a pretty rowdy team, he had to appreciate having a boring night when they were infiltrating a, once again, intergalactic arms dealer's sprawling manor. And dancing was a whole lot more entertaining than standing in the same spot for hours, which he'd had to do on previous 'boring' jobs before (and Peter never was very good at staying still).

After it was finished, Peter kept bragging about his performance and how he put the artist in con artist. So yeah, he was happy for a job well done for a not unimpressive score.

(sure, the Duchess and her operation was to big for them to take her down or anything, but she'd soon discover quite a few integral things missing that would cripple her weapons trade and some of her other illegal side businesses- but the real win were the documents that Rocket found that would soon find their way into the hands of the nova corp who could do much more damage with the papers than the Guardians could ever do in a single night)

For the first time in awhile it felt like one of their plans went off without a hitch. Plus, being the distraction this time was much easier and much less perilous to his health than it usually was. Why couldn't they all go this smoothly? Instead of them running into trouble half the time- probably more than half the time, actually.

Somebody recognizes them, somebody stabs somebody they weren't supposed to, something goes wrong- not this time.

This one was smooth and easy. Their flawless plan was executed perfectly- no running, screaming, or accidental stabbings- and they made off with the score with none the wiser.

Mission complete, without missing a beat. ___________

Or so he thought.

They made it safely off planet and made sure to get some distance between them and the dangerous criminal they just robbed before contacting the client and informing them that the job was done.

Peter was thankful to be out of the polite and mild mannered persona, Drax and Rocket were doing the whole party animal thing like always after a successful mission, of course wanting to celebrate with alcohol, Mantis was glad everyone was safe and laughing like crazy with the other two, but Gamora...

She was much quieter than usual, after everything. And Peter wasn't sure why. She wasn't in the celebratory mood like the rest of them when they just made a helluva lot of units. Normally she was happy when a job went this smooth- especially when they made off without and damage to the ship or collecting any life endangering injuries. No one got injured at all on this one.

Still- she was off. Quiet and subdued. Even her expressions seemed muted, and Peter was actually starting to worry.

She seemed upset, but not in the normal angry Gamora upset way, she just seemed... like unhappy or something. Like something was weighing on her mind.

She gave their friends non-convincing smiles (they didn't have him convinced at least) as they boarded the Benatar in their normal boisterous fashion. It was almost polite smiles that she sent around the table that evening, but she... she seemed almost sad.

Peter pursed his lips, nursing his beer as he watched her watch everyone else. Normally he would've been all too quick to join the high energy coming from the other side of the table that evening, but with Rocket and Drax drunk enough to be shouting, and Mantis playing mediator when they started arguing over whatever drinking game they were playing, he was much more concentrated on the woman beside him.

A frown tugged at her lips as she picked apart what was left of her meal, tearing off pieces of her bread like it was just something for her to do- looking for a distraction from whatever heavy thoughts wouldn't leave her head right now.

And Peter was just trying to figure out what happened, what had escaped his notice.

This was a good job. This was a good day. Or, at least, it should have been. Even as he ran over everything that had happened in the past 24 hours in his mind, he came up empty. There wasn't anything remotely upsetting that he could think of.

Like yeah, he kinda had to fake flirt with the Duchess in the ballroom that night, but that wasn't a big deal. He's had to do that before- when the team used him as that type of bait for a mission.

While Gamora sometimes did get jealous if a particular target got a little handsy- that just led to her aggressively claiming him that night. Fucking the life out of him, and telling him how much he was hers. And he loved it.

It wasn't like she was the worried type of jealous whenever he flirted with a mark for a job that they were all on. She knew it was for a job, wasn't real, and she trusted Peter either way, regardless of the situation. Sometimes she just felt a little possessive whenever she saw people touching what belonged to her (which Peter had told her many times was “hot as hell”).

Anyways, tonight, there wasn't much to get jealous or possessive over. They weren't dancing at some club.

They were dancing in a fucking ballroom for Christ's sake.

It was all elegant and formal. Definitely no inappropriate touches. The flirting was a lot more subtle than it sometimes had to be for cons. Besides, if Gamora had been upset because of the Duchess lady and Peter she would've been all growly, not quiet. Not like this. ___________

He didn't get a real chance to approach her about it until they were turning in for the night, which was probably for the best anyway. It was late when they got back anyway, so they pretty much just ate dinner and went to bed. The captain's quarters afforded them the best privacy anyway. It was the first chance he'd had to talk to her alone since they got back- but she'd been quiet and subdued the whole time. Through dinner he could leave well enough alone (besides, she was allowed to have her own, private thoughts- serious ones too) so he certainly didn't ask her about it in front of everybody else.

But she was still clearly upset with something eating away at her. And, once she shut their bedroom door, it meant they finally had a moment alone to talk.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes,” Gamora replied immediately, almost automatically. Safe to say he didn't believe her.

She went to the dresser to pull out a fresh changes of clothes- or tried to, at least. She had to walk past him to get there, but Peter stopped her before she could make it to the drawers. He caught her wrist and gently pulled her back into him.

“Hey, Gamora, talk to me,” he said softly, intertwining his fingers in hers.

Gamora swallowed and looked at their hands- the way he held it reminded her of the way he held the hand of that woman as he took lead, as they danced together earlier that night. Now he was holding Gamora's hand like they were in a dance.

When she met his eyes, his expression and the concern written all over his face made her heart thump louder.

“What do you want to talk about?” She asked diplomatically, a tone she had picked up from him.

Peter frowned, clearly unimpressed by her trying to play dumb. “What you're upset about.”

“I'm not upset about anything. I'm not upset.” Even her denial sounded much too subdued- she could hear it in her own voice. It wasn't convincing at all.

“Gamora, clearly something's bothering you. Please. I just wanna... I just wanna help.”

She looked away from him then, casting her eyes to the floor, because she couldn't deal with that outpouring of concern from his eyes. He was worried- she had worried him. She didn't like Peter being worried, especially not on her behalf. She wanted him to smile- not furrow his brows as he tried to figure out what was wrong. She didn't like him looking so troubled. She liked Peter smiling. So she cast her gaze away, subconsciously tightening her grip on his hand.

“You looked nice tonight,” Gamora said quietly, because it was true. All dressed up, he didn't look quite like Peter, but he looked nice dancing, and he was good at it. He looked natural, and it was a pleasurable sight, watching him dance across the ballroom floor like he was made to do it. “I didn't know you knew how to move like that. You were really good at it.”

She was silent after that, and Peter waited for her to start speaking again, but it seemed she didn't mean to pause, she was just stopping there.

She still wasn't looking at him, and she was still holding tightly to his hand.

“Mmhmm,” he prompted, encouraging her to continue.

She stared long and hard at their intertwined hands, her jaw tensing and her expression twisting as she thought.

Suddenly she turned her piercing gaze to him. “Why do you try to get me to dance with you?”

Peter scrunched his face up in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Why you you always try to get me to dance with you?” She asked again. “Still? Why do you still try? I never do-” before he could object, she amended, “Rarely do. And I don't dance well when I barely even dance. I hardly move when you do convince me to. And of the few times I have, I've actually physically injured you. Only two of those times were on purpose. The rest were all accidents. I... I suck at dancing,” Gamora said emphatically, and her using that word like he always did was so endearing- saying something sucked. God, she could be so cute sometimes- without even trying. “I suck at dancing, Peter. So why? Why do you still try to get me to dance with you every change you get? Every occasion and opportunity. Why do you try to pull me into dancing with you at every opportunity?”

He gave her a crooked gin then, like he was about to say something a mix of sweet and charming (though she'd never say those words).

“Because it's fun,” he answered with a good-natured smile, like she was silly for even asking.

“It can't be fun. You can't have fun dancing with me when I never actually dance with you. I never really dance with you, Peter. You can't say dancing with me is fun when you've only experienced something akin to dancing, and even then it's few and far between. Why do you keep trying to get me to dance with you? I never do. I always say no. Why do you still do that? Why do you still try to get me to dance? You are honestly good at dancing. Why would you want to dance with me?”

By that point, it was pretty clear this was about more than just dancing. When he saw all her insecurities written all over her face, it took everything he had in him to not interrupt her to reassure her and tell her how great and awesome and amazing she was.

He knew she had to get this out. He wasn't expecting this deep, personal insecurities stuff to be following her dancing question, but he wanted to comfort her the moment it became clear she was upset about her own (perceived) inadequacies.

But he knew she needed to say what she was going to say, so he listened and waited patiently for her to finish, holding her hand the whole time.

Gamora finally met his eyes again, and hers looked far more vulnerable and uncertain than he'd ever seen them as she looked to him for a response.

And, when she turned her eyes to him, it was like his whole mind went blank. He wanted to say the perfect thing, to say something good, but he didn't even know where to start. He wanted to say the words she deserved to hear, but she had him at a loss for words far too often.

Even though he didn't know what to say, he knew he needed to say something, so he settled on winging it. It'd worked for him before.

“Because I... cause I like to, G'mora,” Peter shrugged, a sheepish, almost self conscious smile spreading across his face. “I dunno, I just- I like getting you to wiggle. It is fun, getting you to wiggle and shift back and forth to the best songs in the world. I always have a good time when we do that. When I do that with you. It makes me... Happy. When I'm with you. And I'm glad you thought I looked good dancing tonight,” he added with a wink, cause he couldn't resist. “But you know what I was thinking the whole time? How it would've been more fun with you. Cause you know, I'm always smiling and laughing when I try to get you to dance with me, cause I just can't help myself. You know how many times I had the urge to laugh tonight? Zero. Zilch. Nada. I would've been in stitches in just two minutes if I had you next to me. I would've been smiling so wide my cheeks hurt in just 30 seconds of trying to convince you to dance with me. Instead of fake smiling with that duchess lady the whole hour on the ballroom floor. So, I mean, that's why. I like getting you to wiggle with me, Gamora. And I like making you laugh and smile like you always do when I try to dance with you. I like smiling with you. I like dancing with you too. Anything with you. Makes me happy.”

From the look on her face, it seemed like he had just said the perfect thing.

Without really thinking Gamora pulled him into a warm embrace that seemed to take them both by surprise. He stiffened slightly- cause of the whole surprise thing- before he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. Gamora nuzzled into the crook of his neck, and he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. It was times like these when she was reminded that they fit so well together.

“Don't stop doing that,” she whispered. “I hope you never stop. Asking me to dance. Don't stop.”

She pulled back just far enough to kiss his lips.

It was a good, long kiss. A great one. And when they disentangled their limbs from each other, they were both smiling in a ridiculous manner.

Then Quill's lips turned up into a smirk, obviously something mischievous in mind with the spark in his eye.

“So...” he started expectantly.

“Don't push your luck, Starlord,” she told him, shaking her head, trying to hide her smile with her hair and utterly failing.

“Had to try,” he offered as an excuse. Gamora rolled her eyes, chuckling, because he was utterly impossible.

She kissed him again anyways.

___________

~FIN~ ___________

Author’s note: I know it’s a little late in the day, but I thought I had this one finished, then I got up today and added over 1,500 words to it. When I woke up at noon today Peter was dancing with nondescript woman on nondescript mission. This fic actually started with “While watching his back, Gamora couldn't help but notice the woman was pretty, and a very good dancer. Probably what one would call a natural, as she danced with Peter. Her movements were fluid, matching his, and Gamora would almost think it was beautiful if the sight didn't fill her with such vitriol.” Maybe I regretted not writing a mission fic for day one after reading some of the other fills yesterday. Who knows? All I can say for sure is the Duchess and Peter’s rant about people who give themselves nicknames didn’t exist this morning.

Hope you liked the additions

Also, it is such a shame that I posted that starmora one shot Dresses, Dates, and Dancing back in June, cause after the starmora week prompts came out and I read them I was just like ‘can I repost it? It works so well for day two, I can pretend I did a first date and dancing fic in one on purpose! I totally combined the starmora week prompts, guys! AFTER the fact!’

#starmora #starmoraweek2018 #gotg fic #Guardians of the Galaxy #gamora x peter quill #dancing #fluff #starmora week #day2 #fanfic #MCU fanfiction #my GOTG fics #my fic

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vort3x · 7 years ago

Text

Scattered Thoughts on Lost Light 12 Interlude

Because I said I would also cover this. Sorry it’s later than I expected it would be. Spoilers beneath the cut.

THE SCAVENGERS ARE BACK! MY TRASH CHILDREN! THANK YOU!

Ahem. Yes! The Scavengers are back and I, along with many I’m sure, are incredibly happy to see them though of course you’d know this. You’re reading this after all. This was so unexpected but such a welcome surprise, so let’s get into it!

Just a quick note, but the art style change is kinda weird. Wonder what the decision was behind that (what with the completely different artist for those pages).

Grimlock is finally out and about with the rest of the Scavengers like he’s an actual member and that’s great. No one seems to be nervous around him. He’s just there. It’s perfect. It’s how it should be.

Throughout the whole four pages we get, Crankcase seems to be a lot more expressive, smiley and overall less grumpy. Guess the time he spent with Cons4eva did good things for him. I’m glad.

It’s just my shipper heart talking, but I like that Krok and Spinister were off exploring elsewhere together. <3 (Spinister not being too tall for that doorway also makes me happy for some reason)

Krok insulting Misfire’s aim is great. Misfire’s comment makes me wonder how much he does it. To be fair, I think I’d constantly insult Misfire’s aim if he shot me too.

I wonder where those reports of ununtrium came from and if that’s even important (I’ll mention this more later).

Pretend adventures is such a Scavengers thing. I love it so much. Don’t leave Spinister out of the fun though!

What even is scale? Inconsistent is what it is, but if this panel is anything to go by, Fulcrum is the shortest (assuming everyone is at the same depth), not Krok like I formerly believed. An adorable family.

So when I first read this, I was personally kinda confused as to how the Scavengers wouldn’t have realized what was going on, but then I read back through and realized that Fulcrum had noted that the base was soundproofed. It’s also worth mentioning that we should actually know that this planet (Frayus) had the Black Block Consortia and the Galactic Council on it since the LL received a distress call from the planet last issue.

Krok... honey. That’s... That’s not what you should have called it (I laughed harder than I should have). Fulcrum still being disgusted by organics is great though.

Deathsaurus, Nickel, and Leokaiser also in the same issue? This is great.

Speaking of which, I thought combiners were supposed to kinda be far and few in the IDW verse? Wonder why the Breastforce can combine... and why they didn’t back on Necroworld.

Crankcase’s vehicle mode is so blue... and I love it. Glad we finally get to see it.

Wait wait wait, Nickel outranks Deathsaurus now. I would ask about that, but Jro already addressed this on his twitter. I suppose Deathsaurus giving her control makes sense but... is she capable of taking on that roll? She hasn’t really been in combat all that often. I don’t think she has that experience? (I could be totally wrong, in which case cool) Good for her though!

Deathsaurus’s comment about a third party being involved is very interesting and I’ll come back to it later.

Nickel, what is that vehicle form? It’s cute but... what? Apparently she’s a quad-changer too?

And that basically gets us to the end of the interlude (unless you want to talk about this issue adding to the whole Spinister’s hand changing color thing)! We’re left with the Scavengers being saved by a mysterious party and Nickel accidentally joining them, so the obvious question is who is that party? Here’s my silly speculation:

All we know for sure is that the Scavengers, or at least Krok, know them given Krok’s comment of recognition. Okay that helps to narrow it down, but how can we be sure that it’s someone we the readers know? Honestly we can’t really, but I’m willing to bet that we know whoever saved them. They’re probably either someone we’ve met or someone that works for someone we’ve met. Who is that though?

One possibility is that it’s Brainstorm. We know the Scavengers have had contact with him and we know that at least Grimlock is going to play into this story in a big way.

This is Drift’s vision from LL 1. Grimlock is involved (which we could have honestly guessed all the way in MTMTE 46) and it seems like most everyone in the comic is going to eventually meet up. This would be a good way to get the Scavengers together with the Rod Squad. However, I think it’s unlikely since the Rod Squad seems to be dealing with their own issues going on if LL 13 is any indication (though I suppose it’s possible that that issue is happening before this interlude).

Another possibility is that it’s Fort Max. We know the Luna 1 crew has a space bridge and if a distress call was sent out, Fort Max probably would come help. However, that just seems unlikely. I don’t think that that’s what Fort Max would say to them if he was trying to rescue them. I also don’t think he’d do so by way of portal.

Next idea is that it’s Deathsaurus’s crew, but I highly doubt that since I’d think that they’d be more concerned with saving Nickel than the Scavengers. They’re also currently fighting so...

It could possibly be Overlord? Last we knew Overlord was working for the Galactic Council and assuming he is still working for them, it’d make sense for him to be here (more sense than Fort Max probably would). However, given the Scavengers’ willingness to go with this mysterious third party, I’m inclined to doubt it’s Overlord. At the very least I’m sure Grimlock would be against going.

Here’s a wild idea, but what if it was Megatron? Really I got no proof as to why it’d be him, but it’d be an interesting way to reintroduce him to the story because I don’t think he’s going to be left in the functionalist verse forever.

Now here’s who I really think it is: Scorponok. Scorponok was revealed to be the Grand Architect and is likely also responsible for all the other stuff going on with this symbol.

That links us directly to Grimlock since he’s the one that drew this. Not only that, but those three words under the symbol are the same three that Drift saw in his vision.

What else was in that vision? Sparkeaters World sweepers, just like Scorponok was shown to use. So great. We have a link but why does that mean that I think Scorponok is the one that rescued them? Well before I get into my silly speculation points, I’ll just say this. Grimlock was found on a world sweeper and given how he’s been drawing that symbol, it’s pretty easy to guess that Scorponok had something to do with what happened to Grimlock. You remember how way back in MTMTE 45, Demus wanted to buy Grimlock for a stupid sum of money? Well, while it wasn’t specifically stated, we can guess it was because whoever was behind that symbol (who we now know is, at least partially, Scorponok) wanted him back since Demus was working for them. So! We know that Scorponok (or whoever he’s possibly working for) wants Grimlock back. What better way to do that then to save the Scavengers from harms way and promise them everything they could ever want? Now on to possibly sillier speculation. Remember how I mentioned earlier that Deathsaurus commented earlier on a mysterious third party being involved in taking over one of his raw materiel sources? It could be Scorponok! He’s gearing up for something and it’s really hard to say what, but again, I don’t have any sort of direct proof I can point to to say that this is why I think that. What’s more interesting is to me Krok’s comment earlier about rumors. It’s maybe possible that Scorponok lured the Scavengers here with these rumors. After all, it all seems a bit convenient that the WAP’s transport would stop working and just as the Scavengers are trying to figure out what to do, another portal shows up in their exact location to save them. Now if you want to skip to the end be my guest, but I have speculation (which is honestly probably a bit of a stretch) about who the Scavengers heard their rumor from. Back in MTMTE 45, Krok mentions a couple members of Triple M who are more successful than he is. Agonizer is one of those mechs. We met Agonizer in LL 8 on Troja Major where Scorponok was also seen. Unlike Demus, we don’t really have anything that links Agonizer to Scorponok though (unless I’m forgetting something) which is why I say it’s a stretch... but maybe, just maybe, Scorponok was able to use Agonizer, someone Krok knew, to lure the Scavengers to Freyus with promises of fortune. After all, if it really is him, he does offer them everything they’ve every wanted does he not? TLDR: I loved the interlude a lot and it has a lot of mysteries to it. I can’t wait to see what happens in LL 14 and I really hope the Scavengers will be okay... but! My bet is on the mysterious savior being Scorponok, but who knows. I could be wrong. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

#Transformers #Lost Light spoilers #Lost Light 12 spoilers #Maelstrom talks #Lost Light #Lost Light 12 #MTMTE #since there's a panel of it in here #and wow this is so much longer than I thought it'd be

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mechanizedmonster · 5 years ago

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Artist Interview: John Warren

I’ll be honest, I don’t think I ever known what it is like to perform music. So, it’s valuable to have someone be able to tell you about that experience because it helps to open your eyes and ears. Today, I interviewed Professor Warren of Rutgers University and asked about his musical background.

*Interview begins*

Hello everyone. Today I am interviewing a very special guest, our very own professor: John Warren!

Hello!

How is it going?

It’s going well. It’s been such an honor that you selected me.

Yeah, I feel like this is the greatest honor ever.

Oh no. It’s been a pleasure. It’s been a pleasure working with you and to share about my musical experience.

That’s great, thank you so much. So, we know that you have a history with the bass. What made you decide you want to play bass in the first place?

Well, like many bass players, I was a guitar player first. At a pretty young age, I played saxophone in school bands like many kids do, fooled around with the piano. My father was a guitar player at one point somewhat professional back in the 60s and 70s, so I had guitars around all the time and I always wanted to play guitar you know a young, young, young kid in the 1980s, you know saw Guns N’ Roses and that sort of very guitar centric pop and rock music at the time. So I play guitar for many, many years but the issue becomes, especially when I was younger, everyone played guitar and you know, I was pretty good -actually, very good actually, probably- but it was very hard to find bass players and by that time I got very into punk rock music which actually is very bass driven, something that is not always understood. Bass players typically has the most chops and techniques and that was because the origins of punk rock music, especially from English bands, were immersed in Ska and Rege music which was very bass driven. So, it was important to have a good bass player in a punk rock band. So, at some point, I got frustrated and I made the rhythm guitarist in my band the only guitarist and we got tired of struggling to find a bass player and I just got a bass for Christmas when I was about 13 or 14 and I always messed around with my friend’s basses, but I got a bass, practiced for about a week or two and did my first recording session with the band I was in at the time as the bass player. From that point forward I went back and forth for a long time playing guitar and bass the band I was with throughout most of high school, I mostly played guitar and I had to find two really good bass players, one of which I still occasionally play with today. So, there wasn’t a need. But then in college, I ended up being a jazz, bass major and that was my primary instrument as a music major so the whole thing kinda came back together and where I really focused on bass. Again, I was surrounded by lots of really good guitar players in Mason Gross in a jazz program and even just in the bands I was playing with, it was just so much easier to find a guitar player. Then in college, the jazz program here, at the time at least, was very traditional, playing with the upright bass which I did play with my experience as a guitar player- playing bass and really through all of that though studying jazz, studying upright bass, violin bass, classical technique and all that. I really started to become a bass player which really before that point I was just a guitar player who owned a bass. Yeah. So, it’s a long story but I still play guitar pretty well and occasionally do guitar gigs but there was a point in college I guess where what I had to offer as a bass player outweighed what I had to offer as a guitar player.

How many years do you think it took to hone your skills?

Still working on it man, still working on it. So, again, college is where I really studied bass and I did have guitar lessons before that and the guitar teachers would show me things on bass. So, if you count the beginning, about 20 years? The time I started playing guitar, 30 years. Yeah. It’s a long time. You gotta put like Vladwell has the number he has “x amount of hours to be a genius or master”. I’m not even concerned about that. Just to be competent or Just to be artistically good for people to work with you. Might not be Vladwell’s number but it’s a lot of hours you have to put in.

That’s pretty amazing. I never would have imagined that you were a guitar player.

Yeah. I mean at home, I mostly play. Paul McCarty said, well, no one wants to sit around and sing a song while playing bass or guitar. A classic song that everyone wants to sing along to.

Yeah, I mean, you could do it.

Yeah. There is a guy I know in my neighborhood, the bass player. It’s weird to me a bass player who doesn’t play guitar a little bit, it’s kind of a gimmick, kinda cool. I’ve seen Sting do it. Seen Sting sing with a bass. But, it’s unusual right? Not with a guitar. Probably singing a Beatles song.

youtube

The band you play with, how was it first formed band formed?

Well I played with a few different bands currently and all of them have existed long before I was with them. It’s sort of the dream of the musician, when you want to jump on the wave and its already cresting toward you but you’re hoping the wave comes toward you. It’s kind of depressing. I’ve been very lucky to be a part of projects. I’ve certainly created my own projects but some of them have not lasted for a while. I play with a band called Sea of Otters, in Jersey City. They are an alternative rock band playing 90s. I’m by far the young guy, even younger than the founders of the band. Yeah, so I played bass with them. Nick Ciavatta, Sea of Otters is an Italian name, that band goes back to when I was in middle school. I just so happen to live in the neighborhood and met these guys. The leader of that band Nick and I go a long way back, he is also a sound engineer. Music is a weird place like that like an island on the show Lost. You keep finding the same people and keep playing with them and its almost like a vortex that doesn’t let you leave and keep you performing.

The Sensational Blue Wonders

I played with a bunch of other groups as well. Another band I’ve been playing with is The Sensational Blues Wonders, a traditional country group. Recently the singer started writing songs in a different style. Primarily we play classic country music which includes gospel music and stuff. We tend to view these styles through a lens.

Two different bands I play in. One I’m playing upright bass and singing all the high up harmonies.

I’m interested in a lot of different kinds of music. I get bored doing the same kind of things all the time. I now do play bass in a punk rock band called Patatomic and the Bomb. It’s an original project that does some classic punk rock covers but it’s trio. I play bass and sing. It’s real fun, high-energy, punk rock music. Three pretty different projects acutally. That’s the way I like it. It would be nice to work on my own project, but right now it’s difficult to be the driving force to be the musical project that I want to be. So, I’m happy being the side person.

I don’t really how the bands I’m in formed.

I mean the history to a band is just as important to how they formed because that is the foundation of what brought them together in the first place.

I feel ignorant to how these bands formed.

I know you’re happy to be on the side but if you had the opportunity to make your own dream, what would it be musically?

Well, there is a lot. My background in graduate school studied classical composition. I wrote a bit in modern classical style, sort of a mix of modern crazy music but also blending that with tunnel language of earlier times. You know, pop music because you can’t deny things that you have heard. I find it funny when composers think they are purists and they are gonna write concert music as opposed to pop music but everything you have heard comes out. So, I certainly would like to get back into doing some form of that. I have a really significant interest in film music and I’ve done a little bit of that. I love collaboration, really. What I didn’t like about classical composition was sitting alone, in solitary and working alone for so long. Having come off a rock band and jazz where you can just write a tune and try out a gig that night, that immediacy is something that I cherish and I like. I don’t know if I would necessary want to just start purely writing classical music again but some kind of hybrid with collaboration with filmmakers and make music in that sense as an element in a larger work or a band or ensemble that I was directing a lot of the music for.

I would need some time in solitude, which actually having children now, would look forward to solitary time to play music. I would just sort of need to have the space to mess around. People make the mistake that they want to get a guitar and write a song. The advantage of doing it as a kid is that you have many opportunities to suck.

I’m hesitant to even project what the project would be. I would hope to collaborate as some kind of composer. I’m interested in just sort of being open to what comes out.

I look forward to it.

Yeah. Hopefully one day soon and not in a galaxy far, far away.

Was there a moment where you felt a sense of empowerment or one that stands out that this was the best moment or the highlight.

That depends. Bass for me means a lot of different genres but also different instruments like electric bass and electric guitar are totally different instruments and moments when I shined on those. The violin bass is primarily that slap bass rock ability country style. A lot of that technique is more about rhythm and feel than in how jazz is trained. It’s just connecting to the music. Yeah, there’s been a couple of shows where I felt like I could do this. I don’t think I ever had that moment as a jazz bass player, I’ve played jazz gigs on and off. I haven’t really experienced that. In electric bass, I have experienced those moments.

This is a strange question but do you think your musical background influence your teaching as a professor?

Oh yeah. Absolutely. You know, being a preforming artist, working with the crowd, working with the room definitely translates in classroom teaching. Certainly, lecturing in which I don’t do in case you haven’t noticed. Good classroom teaching is a lot of give and take. Whatever structure or pedology I give to students, every week students bring back to me and I read their insightful viewpoints, see different music and laugh at their jokes. I get to engage with students and hear the views. I give them feedback based on life experience, as a human, as an artist, as an intellectual/thinker type, as a writer. Particularly having a music or theater background is really important at least in my opinion.

Wow. That’s deep.

Yeah. I think deeply.

https://soundcloud.com/john-warren-8/looking-back-riffs-and-memories

What advice would you give to fellow musicians?

Just do it. I mean, at the end of the day, what inspired me or you to play music. Everyone’s a little bit different. I am definitely an extrovert and not an introvert. You got some song your working on and your friends want to jump on, and sing some tunes. That really loose communal aspect is what is important. If get a guitar, play a few chords and you guys can play some music together, that’s the key.

If you can’t find the joy and pleasure in doing it the basic sense, then there is no point in doing it. If you can’t find that joy, you got to change it up so you can keep doing it.

youtube

Wow. Awesome interview. Thank you so much. How would you like to end this interview?

How would I end this interview?

Yes. I’m giving the floor to you.

Well, I’ll ask you a question.

Oh…shoot… Okay. Fair enough.

If you could have any kind of musical superpower what’s so ever or musical ability, what would you aspire to do yourself?

…That’s a good question. I haven’t really thought much about it.

If you could perform in some way, what would you do?

If I learned how to sing good, that would be good.

That’s the origin of Western music.

Or Christmas carols.

Yeah. We were born with our best instrument. I hope you try at it a little bit.

Yeah. Hopefully. Thank you so much for the interview Professor.

No problem.

(Interview End)

This interview was valuable because it shows the dedication and experience of what it means to be an artist. It’s making music apart of you and in a sense, you are your own instrument.

#john warren #professor warren #sea of otters #nick ciavatta #bass #rutgers #rutgers university #words about music

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seigyokus · 7 years ago

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4.2 - Aiming for that Win

Idolish Seven - Part 3, Chapter 4.2 For more Part 3 translations, click here!

Translation below the cut!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Good morning, Ten. Good morning, Gaku. Yaotome Gaku: Ryuu. Did it go okay last night...? Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Yeah, it was fun! More importantly, I called yesterday and made up with my younger brother! Kujou Ten: That's good to hear. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Yeah! He told me that he's proud to have me as his older brother. That gives me the strength to do my best at work! Yaotome Gaku: Ahaha. Definitely can't make a fool of yourself then. Let's give it our best shot today!

Staff: TRIGGER's been on a roll lately! They've always been really on point, but they feel a lot more complete now. Staff: They definitely felt more like three top-class solo artists lined up next to each other before, but they feel a lot more like a team lately. Like in a, "Now, this is TRIGGER!" kind of way. Staff: They’re more balanced with Tsunashi-kun in front. They feel a lot more unrestrained, in a good way! Staff: I look forward to seeing what TRIGGER's got to show us!

Kujou Ten: Come with us tonight! I love you, everyone! Audience: Kyaaaaa.... Audience: Ten-chan's wink is so cute!! Yaotome Gaku: Dance with us 'til the very end! Follow me! Audience: Kyaaaaa.... Audience: Gaku-san's so cool......!! Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Let's make tonight a passionate one! I'll love you all night long. Audience: Kyaaaaa.... Audience: Ryuu-san, you're so sexy! Kujou Ten: We can definitely do it, the way we are right now. Yaotome Gaku: We can become the top idol group in Japan! Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: TRIGGER can go even higher than Re:vale! Audience: Kyaaaaa....

Yaotome Gaku: Hey, let's do the thing I mentioned before for our next live. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: That's a good idea! It'll definitely blow their minds! Kujou Ten: They can definitely look forward to that performance. I think it's a good idea too. Anesagi Kaoru: Oh my! It looks like you're all overflowing with ideas. This kind of momentum is very good. Anesagi Kaoru: The number of pre-orders for your newest single is projected to surpass TRIGGER’s current record. Everything is going perfectly for you three! Kujou Ten: It's all thanks to everyone at the agency and the fans. Anesagi Kaoru: Don't let your guard down just yet! Re:vale, armed with their fifth anniversary as their weapon, is going to star as the main personality on "Friends Day." Anesagi Kaoru: Sales have been going well for IDOLiSH7's newest single, and the new corner on their show has been getting great reviews too. You three must stand at the top, without losing to either of those groups! Yaotome Gaku: Roger that. I definitely don't wanna lose because it's them. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: We let them win last year's Black or White, but let's keep it at that. We'll be the ones getting a standing ovation this year! Anesagi Kaoru: I’m glad you can say it now, Ryuu! Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I just want to live up to everyone's expectations. I've learned that those expectations aren't pressure, but a comforting kind of energy. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Everyone's trust gives me the courage. Anesagi Kaoru: It’s a great honor for us to feel that sense of teamwork with our idols. Keep up the good work! Yaotome Gaku: Speaking of teamwork, did something happen in IDOLiSH7? Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Yeah, I heard about it too. Apparently a couple of them left the dorms. Kujou Ten: Nikaidou Yamato and the Izumi brothers, correct? Yaotome Gaku: How did you know? Kujou Ten: ....... Yaotome Gaku: Man, you said all that awful shit about how you wouldn't acknowledge Nanase as an idol, but the instant you guys exchange RabbitChat addresses, you're back to being friendly with each other? Kujou Ten: That's not the case. I heard about it from their manager. Yaotome Gaku: Hey now, don't get in the way of her work. They're reorganizing their agency right now. Apparently she's so busy she can't even make it on-site anymore. Kujou Ten: Just whose point of view are you speaking from? Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: She seems really busy. She told me that she was having a lot of trouble writing up a manual when we went out to eat the other day. Yaotome Gaku: Went out to eat? Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Yeah. But you know how there's a lot of taboos in this industry depending on which agency you're dealing with, where you are, or who you're working with? Making a manual for all of that must be really hard.... Yaotome Gaku: Went out to eat? Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: We bumped into each other when we were both coming back from work. Neither of us wanted to cook because it was too much trouble, so we ended up going to an udon shop-- Yaotome Gaku: And to an udon shop, of all places!? Kujou Ten: Stop being so worked up over this, like you can't believe what you're hearing. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: W-what did udon ever do to you? Kujou Ten: Also, from a soba shop worker's standpoint, is the decreased number of orders due to people leaving the dorm going to be an issue? Yaotome Gaku: Who hell are you callin' a soba shop worker? I'm not a soba shop worker. Anyways, this is just a guess, but carrying seven people's worth of soba was kinda rough so this'll probably help a bit. Anesagi Kaoru: By dorms, are you referring to IDOLiSH7’s? Did you guys want to live in a dorm too? Yaotome Gaku: Not at all. Kujou Ten: That won't be necessary. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I've always wanted to try living in a dorm! Anesagi Kaoru: Picking you guys up and dropping you guys off would be much easier that way. Why don't you all try living together? It'll also decrease the number of rumors regarding your relations with women. Yaotome Gaku: Hell no. This guy over here would probably tell off a washing machine for not having enough professionalism. Kujou Ten: And you'd probably tell a toaster to stop being so two-faced. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: You guys talk to your appliances? My grandma does that too!

Yaotome Sousuke: Ryuunosuke is right on track. Introducing him to that man was a good idea. Anesagi Kaoru: My, my. That socialite is one of your acquaintances? Nothing less from the President. Yaotome Sousuke: He is. Someone I know at Tsukumo introduced me to him. Anesagi Kaoru: Speaking of which, there's a guest here for you, President. Guest isn’t quite the right word…. If anything, he… He's more like an uninvited guest…. Yaotome Sousuke: Stop muttering. Who is it? Anesagi Kaoru: About that....... Momo: Good evening! Long time no see, Papa Yaotome! Yaotome Sousuke: You! Noisy as ever, I see.... Where's your partner? Momo: He's going about doing his own stuff right now. Say.... I've got a pretty interesting tidbit for you. I'm selling it for cheap, so how about it?

Okazaki Rinto: Bye, Momo-kun. Good work today. Momo: Good work today! Thanks for coming to pick me up! If you see Yuki, tell him I said 'Good luck on filming!' okay? ....... Okazaki Rinto: Ah, someone's calling you. Momo: You're right. Alrighty then, see ya later! ....... Momo: ......Hello! Didn't I tell you not to call me because I’d call first...? Momo: ......That, huh. …...I know. It's all going smoothly. The trap's in place and ready to spring. ......You'll protect Yuki as promised, right?

To be continued....

TL Notes/comments:

Nothing in particular to note! Just lots of thanks for @kuriiii for proofreading/betaing the entirety of ch4!

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

#idolish7 #アイドリッシュセブン #story3:text #story3:tl #translation

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blschaos3000-blog · 5 years ago

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Its 9:41 pm dark/warm

Welcome to another edition of 8 Questions with……

I lived in San Jose for 15 years in another life. While the Bay Area is very large and very diverse,its not the first place you think of when discussing a thriving film community. If you talked live theater,well…you would be more on target. San Jose and San Francisco both had very vibrant and active theater groups performing when I lived there. Of all the towns in the Bay Area,Redwood City would have been among the last places where you expect to a film community starting to rise. But this is what our next guest,Tony Gapastione has managed to do. Transplanted from Chicago to the small town of Redwood City,Tony planted a multitude of creative energy and has grown first a group called the Creative Crew which drew upon the many artists in the area and then after a great run,Tony used the positive energy to launch his newest and boldest adventure yet in creating the non-profit BraveMaker which also has taken off. Tony has written and produced two original short films and while he loves making films,live theater,especially Shakespeare,still holds a place in his heart. Let’s go see what else this hard working artist and family man has on his mind as we ask Tony Gapastione 8 Questions!!!

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself.

Hello! I am Tony Gapastione. I’m a husband, father, filmmaker…and pastor-yep– Kinda weird..but I love my story. I went to Seminary and I served as an ordained pastor for twenty+ years and now serve at large partnering with congregations Bay Area. It seems odd to be both a filmmaker and pastor but it’s the perfect mash-up of my life. I believe stories have power to change the world more than a one hour Sunday morning experience. Creativity is spiritual. Life is about trying to make sense of it right? Who are we? Why are we here? That’s why I love being a filmmaker. It’s very theological…So I work with churches and I make movies. Occasionally I am acting on other’s projects but mostly I love being behind the camera writing, directing and producing. I have short films on Amazon Prime and I’m currently producing, writing and directing feature films. I host community dialogues with my non-profit BraveMaker and do monthly film screenings and a summer film fest to facilitates brave/safe spaces on our culture’s most pressing issues. My wife, Wendy, and I have three daughters and live in Redwood City, California.

What was growing up in Chicago like?

I mainly spent my college years in the city and I LOVED It. Chicago has so much culture, arts, comedy, music, live theater and amazing food. I loved taking the EL train around that place to all the art museums, clubs, theatres and parks. My younger years were spend in almost every suburb of Illinois. We moved around a lot which is why I think being in the theater helped keep me grounded. It was like my family. I felt at home and accepted there while everything else in my life and family seemed to be changing rapidly. My family is still there and love when I get to visit and eat the pizza.

How did you get involved in live theater? What was your first role onstage?

I did school plays starting in elementary school. I was the nutcracker in 4th grade and was sold on it ever since.

What are your three fondest memories about doing live theater?

I was able to play Romeo in R&J and it was a dream come true. I found out I got the role from a friend who came out running from the theatre yelling it when they posted the cast list in Rockford Illinois. Studio Theatre. Very fond memories from there. I also had to appear naked on stage (after the bedroom scene) and get dressed in the scene which was challenging and hilarious when I invited my church youth group to visit. OOPS! Another memory is being in the musical JOSEPH and the AMAZING TECNICOLOR DEAM COAT and wearing skin tigh GO-GO pants that seems to rip in the crotch ever performance. Another fond memory is my dad sneaking in his HUGE video camera and full on boot-legging any performance he attended.

What led you to move to the Bay Area? What was the biggest adjustment for you to make?

I thought living in California meant I was basically going to be in Hollywood. So…. I was a bit disappointed when I arrived in Redwood City Ca and was SIX hours away. But I took a job with a church right out of college. Still I was glad to be in California and was thinking there would be more opportunities for me to act. It’s not quite LA by any means but it’s nice and small and a lot of us know each other. I met some great friends here and we collaborate a lot. That’s why I started making my own projects here for lack of booking acting gigs. There’s a lot of commercial work here but not so much film and I’m hoping to be a part of changing that.

What is the Creative Crew and is it still active today?

I did Creative Crew as a way to gather artists of all kinds for seven years. I just closed it so i could focus on BraveMaker and supporting filmmakers and our monthly community conversation work. But Creative Crew existed to help creative people meet monthly and connect with one another and collaobrate. We’d have people share their work and then I would faciliated an affirmation session for them. No critique of any sort aloud (because we get it everywhere else so why not offer at least two hours a month where we can feel good about our work). And I would lead goal setting sessions to help us make stuff. So many of us creative types talk too much and then complain when we don’t reach our dreams. I started Creative Crew to help ignite my own goals and hopefully support those like me who needed the support. The coolest thing was seeing all the people who met at crew and then somehow started to create together.

Tell us about your BraveMaster podcast…

Stories, scripts and conversations with creators! We interview Brave makers of all kinds. My co-host, Rebekah Amosah, and I get people (from all over the world) talking with people who are conquering fears and getting stuff made. We want to inspire others to bravely go after their goals and stop waiting for permission or for the money or for someone else to make their dreams come true. It’s really fun to talk to musicians, authors, dancers, Youtubers, actors and filmmakers.

What is your writing process?

Chaotic but fun. I have to carve out writing time and just plunk away at my computer. I try not to be precious about it..just get it down and then go back later and fix typos, or add interesting character subtext. I have a writing partner in LA, Jeremy Ray Valdez (we met on the set of my first film 1440 and Counting). We’ve done a feature together and written some TV pilots. I also write a lot on my own, (usually after my kids are in bed) or an hour here and there. I love deadlines and I really enjoy taking a treatment and doing adaptations. I just wrote a feature film with another couple co-writers after another write adapted the story from a book. So I don’t feel as if I have “one process” it’s a bunch of elements pieced together.

What goes into starting a production company?

Finding the right people that you love to work with. That’s what it’s all about in this business. Working with great people, setting goals and doing good work. The same people that helped launch BraveMaker our nonprofit film organization are some of the same people who I’m making movies with.

What was the role that gained you your SAG-AFTRA card?

I think it was a Pepsi commercial with Britney Spears and Mike Myers!

What were your emotions when you knew you had it because they’re not easy to get.

Felt great, like in some way that I had arrived but soon realized it was not a magic want and didn’t really make anything easier for me. It’s nice to have but I still had to work hard and make my own opportunities. How do you balance your professional goals with having a rich personal life?

My family is super important. My wife and three kids need me and I think that drives a lot of sacrifice. I can’t do it all. So I have to be choosy on what I say yes to and who I collaborate with. I am still learning this but I can’t just do it all. So I think having a family helps me get MORE done. I also don’t have a lot of free time. Most of my friends are the same ones I make stuff with because of that.

The cheetah and I are flying out to sit in on a podcast but we are a day early and now you are our tour guide,what are we doing?

I love Redwood City for it’s cafes. My favorite that also acts as my second office is Cyclismo Cafe. Family run, good food and my favorite coffee ever. Just order Tony’s usual. We also have two great performing arts spaces: Dragon Theatre and Broadway by the Bay that both put on great shows, Get your tickets and enjoy.

As always I like to thank Tony for taking the time to sit down and answer a few questions. Tony has a whole slew of ways in which you can follow him at and I listed these below.

You can find Tony on Twitter He is also on InstaGram BraveMaker is also on Twitter BraveMaker is on InstaGram Tony’s personal website BraveMaker’s website BraveMaker’s Filmfest on Facebook BraveMaker on Facebook Tony has a IMDb page

Thank you for dropping by and supporting Tony by reading this interview. Please feel free to drop a comment below for Tony. If you have a story you feel is worth sharing,please drop us a email which you can find on the blog.

8 Questions with………….actor/director/Pastor Tony Gapastione Its 9:41 pm dark/warm Welcome to another edition of 8 Questions with...... I lived in San Jose for 15 years in another life.

#8 Questions With #actor #BraveMaker #Chicago #creativeness #director #faith #family #indie film makers #indie films #interviews #Pastor #Redwood City #Tony Gapastione

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steamishot · 6 years ago

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Awake

It’s a little slower at work today, so I have time to mess around aka blog. This past week has been really busy and socially filled. My family from texas (3 families) came to stay at my house for a few days to attend my brother’s wedding. There were like 14 people staying at my house which was way too many. I got to meet one of my cousins Maylee who is from a small city in Texas. She’s more outspoken and not shy. The other three girls were very introverted, and barely spoke. They were here to visit a few years ago, and they were much more engaging then. So because our personalities are pretty similar, there wasn’t a lot of interaction. But anyway, it was just so busy at home and preparing for the wedding that we barely had time to just hang out, and since we’re all introverted too, we were drained by the obligatory social interactions.

The wedding day- woke up at 5am to get our hair and makeup done. The makeup artists were this khmer lady who is supposedly pretty popular as a singer/entertainer and her daughter. The daughter brought her son (~10 years old) and a baby. She was all tatted up lol and I was like oh no I hope she doesn’t make me look ratchet. She asked me if I had a picture of the makeup I wanted and I said no. Then she asked me “natural?” and I said yes. I was the first one to do my makeup and I didn’t necessarily like the way it turned out because everything was overly exaggerated, but everyone else said I looked nice and I just listened to them. I was like wtf, this is natural? Once I saw the other girls makeup, I realized that it didn’t look that great, but I wasn’t the only one lookin like Mulan’s matchmaker so that was okay lmao. One girl told the makeup artist “something’s wrong with my face. I don’t know what’s wrong, but something’s wrong” after she finished her makeup. The makeup artist assured her that the makeup has to be heavy to look good in professional photos. Shrugs. We were just like whatevers but at least the bride’s makeup turned out well. The morning ceremony had about 100 or so people. At first, I didn’t know how I would feel about having to see family I don’t really talk to, but after this event… I’m more open to it and not as shy around them anymore. We don’t have to be fake with each other and everyone’s just as busy and preoccupied with their own life to overthink things the way I do. It was actually really beautiful to have everyone in one place celebrating my brother’s wedding.

After the morning ceremony was the photoshoot in Echo Park and then we went to the Airbnb that my brother rented out for out of town guests to hang for a bit before the night reception. All the bridesmaids stripped down their makeup and touched it up. I tried as best I could but by the end of the night I think my makeup/face looked a little towed up because I was so tired haha. The wedding was actually a blast. It wasn’t very formal, like normally the bridesmaids and groomsmen are supposed to line up at the entrance to greet people, but we were just all over the place instead and I wasn’t doing my job. My partner for the entrance was Alfred, and we were the last couple to be introduced before the bride and groom. Our entrance was super awkward LOL and I was seriously nervous and uncomfortable. When they opened up the dancefloor (which was just after the first dish came out) people started dancing. The dancefloor was super packed and I was glad that people were enjoying themselves. Cambodian music started the night and then they played Drake… my friend commented how funny it was seeing old people dancing to drake lol. The bride was like pressuring everyone to drink and she even spilled some brandy on me and others LOL. Apparently everyone was running away from her when they saw her coming over to their table. She was legit pouring alcohol into rice bowls for people to drink and being very aggressive about it. Everyone was fine except my friend/bridesmaid Bena who got wasted and threw up twice. I brought her to the restroom to throw up and was avoiding eye contact with anyone the whole time lol. Although most of my family saw and knew what happened. When she gets a little drunk, she can be overly friendly… one of the groomsmen ended up asking her out a few days later. I also later found out that my introverted 11 year cousin cried by the end of the night because the music was so loud. My dad was hella crazy but had fun being around all his friends. After the wedding I realized we didn’t even take one immediate family photo because we were all spread out trying to run the show/host. Oh wellz. The wedding party was a profit so that was great. My brother and his wife are still tending to people/visitors so they haven’t had a chance to really slow down and return to their normal lives yet. And my family is barely returning to that now. I was super tired up until today. I feel maybe 90% now.

I spent Sunday night/Monday with Matt for my birthday. We had great sex twice and I think we are much more in sync now. Our kissing is way better and now I look forward to kissing him when before I used to avoid it. I went to pick him up from his place in Temple City and he drove my car to Temecula, where we spent the night, because his car was having issues. During our one hour drive, he couldn’t stop talking. I was so exhausted I felt like I was drunk because I can’t really remember wtf he was rambling on about. He said he missed me and didn’t know what to when I was busy during the weekend. However, I think he was really happy that he was comfortable enough to vent to me (again, I don’t even remember what he was talking about for that long). He said he doesn’t normally do this etc. His mom had just gone to the ER the day of, so his mind was kinda elsewhere at times and he was spacier than usual during our time together. The lunch spot I chose wasn’t that great and it was kinda pricey (~70) for what it was. One of the dishes I chose was super salty and we sucked it up/didn’t complain about it but were a little salty about that lol. The hotel was nice though and I think I’m starting to appreciate hotels more. I used to be into getting AirBnBs all the time but sometimes hotels are just easier and you don’t have to think too much. Plus he’s willing to spend over a hundred or so so that’s nice lol. The wine tour we had was bomb/educational and funny because it was a mix of young and old folks, and the old folks had a lot of cool things to say. We went to do a second wine tasting after that at a nearby winery. He notes how I rarely talk about myself and gave me a template “I, Connie, am…” and at first I answered “female”. Then I remember talking about other things/other people. I don’t really know how to talk about myself but rather I just share what’s going on in my life at the moment and my perspective on it. Because I feel like you can make your own judgement of me from spending time with me, or if you want to know something specific then ask a more specific question. At the end of that, we were both kinda buzzed and I think we have the same alcohol tolerance which works out. He drove back and I kept on wanting to kiss him during the drive. We laughed about how he’s a better/more careful driver when buzzed than when sober because he becomes extra cautious. What we talked about was kinda a blur but I remember telling him how much I think G makes, and that my ex didn’t have parents. I also remember letting out a silent stinky fart and thinking to myself, I hope he doesn’t smell this lol. We had dinner at golden deli. One recurring question he asks is do your guy friends like you? Or something like that. And I always tell him no and that no one likes me. And he finally asked me how I got into my past relationships, because that was one question I asked him. I just said that the guys were persistent and that I didn’t have anything better to do LOL. That I wasn’t very intentional about my last relationships and therefore didn’t take them as seriously. And I said I’m looking for something more stable now. The night before, when we were Netflix and chilling, we brought up the topic of Aziz/Master of None and I asked him which girl/relationship he preferred. He said he preferred the Italian one because their relationship development was very natural. And he told me that his past relationships happened because they were just placed together/saw each other all the time because of school and things just gradually happened. He said he would get to know someone really well before starting a physical relationship with them, to which I started cracking up at, a lot. I laughed so much because he seemed so pure/innocent and I feel like not a lot of attractive guys think that way anymore. He’s still pretty idealist and a romantic for sure, and I think we balance each other out because I’m more practical/cynical. Dropped him off at home and that was the end to a wonderful weekend. Whenever I thank him for something, he likes to thank me for something in return, and one thing he likes to say is “thank you for being you”. Which I think is pretty sweet.

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billwerde · 8 years ago

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#RIP Tommy Page

In its own unforgiving but meaningful way, life has taught that people I love or have loved, enjoy or have enjoyed, or even been people I’ve been challenged by and only later realized how that challenge made me better… these people leave my life, often unexpectedly. All I can find in these moments is acceptance. And some moments to reflect deeply on time shared.

Tommy Page left this world last night. I’ll set aside the unresolved, and focus instead on what was. Because the latter was pretty entertaining.

Tommy and I shared an important chapter, I think, in both of our lives. Lisa Howard was the publisher of Billboard while I was Editorial Director, and Lisa hired this crazily high energy guy I had never met before to drive advertising sales and partnerships for the magazine. And when Lisa eventually moved on, Tommy took over as publisher of Billboard and became my partner in crime.

Tommy and I surely had our differences, mostly in style, as any professional partnership does. But he loved Billboard. Put Billboard before his own needs. Worked his damned hardest for Billboard. That was my bar for respecting a colleague, and Tommy flew past it. Anyone who knew him or worked with him will tell you that if Tommy Page lacked for anything, it wasn’t enthusiasm for the task at hand.

I don’t know how long Tommy and I ran Billboard; I went through 13 different bosses and 6 ownership structures in 8+ years there, so the dates and eras blur now, into a mostly happy continuum of music, talented people and surreal moments, mixed with a lot of long hours and travel. But I want to say it was a couple of years.

I have two memories I want to share in this moment. They are the first two that came to mind when I heard the news. And I think each says something about Tommy I’d like to remember.

The first was connected to one of the very best memories of my time at Billboard. We relaunched Billboard magazine in January of 2013; this was part of our evolution from being a pure trade brand to one with elements for music fans to enjoy. We needed the perfect artist to grace the relaunch issue—someone with a story that would intrigue fans and the industry alike. Someone who, on their own, had the gravitas and credibility to carry a relaunch issue. To say I was overjoyed when Prince agreed to do it is an understatement.

It will not surprise you, educated reader, that Prince had a lot to say about the music business. The man who once held out on his Warner contract and appeared in public with the word “Slave” on his face to protest his relationship to his record label showed little signs of mellowing as he aged, at least on this topic.

Billboard’s longtime R&B writer Gail Mitchell flew to Minneapolis and was granted access to Paisley Park. We knew Prince allowed no recordings, but Gail was caught off guard when Prince told her she also couldn't take written notes, because “that’s pretty much the same as recording.” Gail eventually filed the story and we edited it and got it on page as time was expiring with our printer.

Now, we never published anything with the goal of making the subject happy, per se. But if you could print a great story and the subject liked it anyway, that was always a good feeling. And this was Prince, an idol of mine since childhood. His manager called after it ran to request a bunch of copies and to let me know that Prince loved it and may want to speak to me at some point about the music business and ways Billboard could help bring about more positive change. We shipped a bunch of issues to Minnesota, and I didn't give it another thought. It took us two months of phone calls and planning to almost not make the Prince cover story happen. I didn't expect anyone would ever take the time to make the logistics line up for a casual conversation.

Except that they did.

Two or three weeks later it was Grammy week. This was 2013 and Prince wore a hood and carried a cane and basically was peak Prince as he came out to present the Grammy for Record of the Year to Gotye and Kimbra. Tommy and I were in the audience. Billboard had a nice little afterparty that night,and I remember telling Tommy I was going to head to my hotel and take a nap, and would be by the Billboard party later. Grammy week was exhausting; I think I’d gotten a few hours of sleep the previous couple of days.

No sooner had I dumped my suit on the floor and drifted off did my phone start blowing up. Tommy was texting me.

“Bill”

“BILL”

“Where are you???”

“Need you here now!”

“Prince coming. Wants to talk to you.”

This got me out of bed.

Fast forward 45 minutes and I’m on the roof of some chi chi hotel rooftop. Pool, torchlights, cabana, the works. Our dear friend Marcie Allen, who throws the best parties, period, was organizing this one, and led me to a cabana in the back where we were instructed to wait until Prince arrived.

This story is already too long, so I’ll save the details of what went down for another time. But suffice it to say, Prince showed up. He came straight to the cabana, still with his sparkly cane from the Grammy stage. And after a sliver of pleasantries, got straight into explaining why the record business was still unforgivably corrupt, and why Billboard needed to be doing more to stop it. I pushed back. I wanted Prince to consider the possibility that because of his actions and the actions of others who dared fight the system, that the balance of power had shifted and was continuing to shift to the artist. I wanted him to consider the possibility that his justified anger might be keeping him from taking some small amount of satisfaction or pride that his efforts were showing signs of paying off.

It was a respectful but certainly intense back-and-forth. At some point, about 20 or 30 minutes in, Prince started quoting scripture to make his points. As he and I went toe to toe, I could see Tommy watching, head swiveling as Prince and I parried, getting increasingly concerned with what it meant to be arguing with our iconic party guest.

Now, Tommy and I have never discussed this night, and I know from a post he made about it when Prince died that he remembers it a little bit differently than I do. But his account and mine agree on this point: Tommy hated to see anyone unhappy, and so Tommy, perhaps misreading intensity for anger, wanted to lighten the mood. And, after a few of his attempts to insert humor were only briefly acknowledged, Tommy seized his opportunity the next time there was a pause.

“You have really incredible skin, Prince. What kind of lotion do you use?”

Prince Rogers Nelson crooked his head at Tommy, stood up on his cane, and said “With that…” and like a purple wisp of smoke, was gone as suddenly as he came.

Now to be honest, in that moment, I kinda wanted to pound Tommy. But the truth is, the conversation had run its course. And really, a back-and-forth that surreal deserved an ending equally so. And of course, in retrospect, Tommy just wanted everyone to be happy. To be enjoying the party. This was quintessential Tommy.

The other memory is much more personal and less Prince-like, though it does involve bright colors.

Billboard has a big Latin music conference and awards show each April in Miami. And setting aside all the very real strategic reasons why this was an important week for Billboard, it was also just about as much fun as a person can legally have and still call it “work.” Dancing to Latin music every night, and partying with the Latin music business and fans was always a real highlight of my year.

The thing about Miami, though, is that people treat “formal” differently down there. If you wear a grey suit, you stick out. Linens, pastels… these were a requirement. And for those that know me, linens and pastels aren't exactly a staple of my wardrobe. Tommy loved fashion, and loved to talk fashion with me. I think he got a kick out of a straight guy who had a POV. Tommy decided he and I were going shopping on our first day in Miami, and that he was going to Miami-fy me.

There’s not much more to share than that, although I’m sure if you could have seen me and Tommy, bouncing around South Beach with all the muscle boys in Zara Man and Banana Republic, you’d have smiled. Tommy running up to me with skinny ties. Tommy getting other sharp-looking men to gather and share opinions when I came out of a dressing room. Tommy just being genuinely blissful in that moment to shop, to share time with a friend… to help me. I got some nice compliments when I wore the slightly-shiny, sky blue suit and the tie that Tommy picked out to the Latin Music Awards, and Tommy beamed like a proud parent. We’d laugh about that shopping trip for years to come.

Now the years have stopped coming for my relationship with Tommy. And I’m sad, tearing up, really, selfishly thinking about things I didn't get to tell him, and then thinking, with broken heart, about those he’s left behind who need him in more profound ways.

The older I get the more I see how life is exclusively about our experiences with other people and the world around us. Tommy and I shared a wild chapter full of parties and laughter, airplanes and restaurants, hard work and music, oh so much wonderful, blessed music, and a goddamned unparalleled team at Billboard that worked harder and better than anyone had a right to expect. I write this for those loved ones, and I write for Tommy. I accept that you’re gone now. I’m so appreciative we had the time we did. And I miss you, man.

#tommypage rip music #tommy page

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s3venpounds · 8 years ago

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1-104

YA CHEEKY LITTLE CUNT love you tho because its always fun to do these asks even though everyone who reads will probs forget all these details in like the span of a week.

1. You woke up naked next to the last person you texted, what would you say?

wanna go again?

2. What’s going on between you and the last person you kissed?

nothing anymore

3. If your boyfriend or girlfriend was into drugs, would you care?

depends on what drugs, the severity of the side effects, the cost of said drugs, and how addicted they are to it. like if its weed sure go ahead long as it isn’t around me not a big fan of the smell. crystal meth however i would probably be turned off or just attempt to get them off it. over the counter drugs though is fine too.

4. Is your last name longer than six letters? yep

5. Was your last kiss drunk or sober? sober

6. Have you ever wanted to have someone but you messed it up? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA yes. horribly messed up. still think about it tbh

7. What does your last received text say? “ well i think you can just wax with whatever length but it wont be able to cling to your hair well”

8. How many times have you kissed the last person you kissed? lost count too busy being happy at the time

9. Where was your last kiss at? a bus stop

10. When is the last time you saw your sister? yesterday

11. What do you drink in the morning? nothing. i dont wake up in the morning

12. Where did you sleep last night? my couch because its fucking comfier than my bed

13. Do you think relationships are hard? most def. wouldn’t have it any other way though.

14. If you could go back and change something in the past 5 months, would you? yeah

15. You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, any problems?

yeah, the fact we haven’t talked in months, and because i’m pretty sure she wants nothing to do with me lol

16. Would you rather it be sunny or rainy? rainy, free shower

17. Do you know anyone with the same middle name as you? dont got a middle name so i guess yes?

18. Are you wearing jeans,sweatpants,or pajama pants? boxing shorts

19. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 years from now? ahahaha no.

20. Does anyone like you? trust me, if i knew i would do something about it

21. Have you ever kissed someone with a name that starts with an S? its rude to say but i don’t remember but from what i do remember its a no

22. Is the last person you kissed gay? not gay specifically at least from what i’ve been told by said person

23. Is there a person you CANNOT stand? 3 people specifically. not gonna name them

24. Have you ever considered getting a tattoo? multiple times, talked to tattoo artists, people who had multiple tattoos, people who are first timers so yeah i want one maybe 5

25. In the past week have you cried? yeah anime hurts the feels bro

26. What breed was the last dog you saw?does pictures on tumblr count? if yes, a shiba inu, if no, golden retriever

27. Do you dry off in the shower or out of the shower? out of the shower, i feel like im gonna slip and fall if i stay in there too long

28. Have you ever kissed a football player? yeah he doesn’t use lip balm often so it was kinda rough

29. Do you think you’re old? yeah

30. Do you like text messaging? most def. i like texting more than talking since i can think about my words and play it off as just “ yeah i was busy” also i find myself a better conversationalist on texts than in person

31. What type of day are you having? a shitty one but i showered so im feeling refreshed at least

32. Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced? nope, i have thought about getting spider bites on my lower lip but i dont think i can pull it off

33. Do you prefer warm or cold weather? cold weather, i hate bugs and indoor volleyball is nice

34. Is there a person of the opposite sex who means a lot to you?yeah

35. Would you prefer a relationship or a fling? a relationship. flings hurt afterwards and to me theres no feelings behind it so youre left feeling empty

36. Are you a simple or complicated person? i wanna say simple but everyone knows everyones complicated. if someones simple that just means theyre not letting off everything at the get go

37. What song are you listening to? lie to me george nozuka

38. When you say you’re sorry do you mean it? of course i do. does it mean i wont make the same mistake? nope. it just means i’ll take steps to preventing it from happening again. if it happens again then ill keep trying. all you can do when you fuck up is to just keep trying to prevent it from happening again. 39. Is there a girl that knows everything or almost everything about you? i’d like to think so40. What made you start liking the person you like now?vibrant personality that draws you in. playful demeanor. likes geeky things like i do. has deep thoughts that make me want to ponder existence with them. likes physical intimacy. and the first thought when i saw her was that i wanted to protect her, care for her, and guide her in life if ever she needs help. 41. When did you last receive a text message? 8:43 am monday42. What is wrong with you right now? im not independent? i rely on friends and other stuff to grant me happiness when really the only source of happiness i can rely on if to draw it from myself. friends help but they can’t be the only source. i have trouble moving on from past issues, constantly weighed down by past decisions and mistakes when i should have passed it a long time ago.43. How well do you know the last female you texted? not very well however she knows me very well since i vent to her lol44. Does anyone disgust you? yeah the same 3 people i mentioned that i cannot stand.45. Would you date someone right now if they asked? most likely yeah46. Are you in a good mood right now? nope. neutral if anything47. Who was the last person you talked to in person?me mother before she left for a bus shuttle to fort mac48. What color shirt are you wearing? nude. no plans today, or guests so that means no pants, no shirt and occasionally if im feeling happy enough, no underwear either49. Has someone recently told you something you didn’t want to hear? not recently. i have a feeling that i’ve given off the vibe to all my friends that they have to tip toe around me about a lot of topics else they’ll make me sad. i’d rather a splash of cold water in the face than some shitty lie50. Anyone you’re giving up on? myself mostly.51. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? i never hate the people i used to date. i hate the decisions i made that lead to breaking up. i tend to think things are never someone else’s fault but more of mine. even if by some weird chance it wasn’t i would twist it so it was my fault. its just easier for everyone that way if people have a scapegoat.

52. Have you ever thought about giving up on someone but couldn’t? yeah.53. Do you like rain? i love it. sometimes on rare occasions i can almost feel the shitty person inside me just kinda slide off my skin and drip off the tips of my fingers and i feel … complete? is the best way i can put it54. Do you care if your boyfriend/girlfriend drinks? nope. party all you like, im just not too keen on drinking very often or partying very often. although when i do party ill party hard.55. Have you ever liked somebody and never told them? who hasnt?56. Do you like to cuddle? love it. spooning, arm on shoulder, hugging from behind, them sitting on your lap, them holding you from behind. my skin feels electric when the person i love has their skin against mine.57. Are you shy? i’d like to say im not58. Do you get along with girls? i’d like to say i do59. Have you dated the person you texted last? not going to lie hahah i considered it at some point60. What do you carry with you at all times? phone, wallet , keys.61. If you were paid 1 million dollars to spend the night in a supposed haunted house, would you? yeah most likely. the economy sucks bro.62. Do you think you can last in a relationship for five months? yeah assuming i dont fuck up lol63. Think back to October, were you in a relationship?nope. sadly.64. The person you like kisses you on the forehead, do you find this cute? DAMN STRAIGHT. shit would be like a good luck charm65. Did anything “cute” happen in the last week? my niece tried to say duck and instead said fuck

66. How old are the last three people you kissed? probably going to get some questionable looks from this but 16, 24, 21

67. Would you rather pay to get your nails done or do them yourself? pay for a pro, i am NOT an artistic person. 68. Which do you like better- Zebra print or leopard print? zebra. black and white. leopard print makes me think a white 40 something year old with plastic surgery, hair thats half a meter tall and nails that are longer than most men’s penises talking with a southern belle accent that tries to hit on pool boys69. Do you have any stickers on your car? none70. Would you rather listen to Luke Bryan or Lil Wayne? i hate country and im not a fan of lil wayne anymore so i guess lil wayne if i absolutely have to.71. Blackberry, Anroid, or iPhone? android 72. When’s the last time you had pizza from Pizza Hut? couple days ago?73. Do you like diet soda? hate it. feels fake to me74. What color are the walls in your room? boring beige75. Are you 16 or older? yes.76. Do you watch Pretty Little Liars? heard of it, seen gifs, dont plan on watching it77. Do you have a job? as of now yeah. 78. What are your initials? SM79. Did you ever have braces? nope. i had retainers but i kept breaking them so my parents were like okay thats enough, its too expensive to replace them lol80. Are you from the south? im about as north as you can get without living in igloos

81. What does your last status on facebook say? “day barely started and 4 things putting me in a shitty mood. looks liek today is gonna be loooooooooong”82. Do you still talk to the first person you ever kissed? i wish.83. Are you closer to your mom or your dad? mother. although im not on good terms with either of them. my mother just has more patience to deal with me84. Have you ever done cheerleading or gymnastics? i did pom squad which was a pretty shitty version of cheerleading i guess. 85. What’s the last movie you saw in theaters? beauty and the beast i thoroughly enjoyed it =] 86. Do you smoke? weed or cigarettes? either one ive stopped both. not worth it, plus i dislike smelling gross.87. Would you rather wear heels or flip flops? i’ve worn heels before but not for a prolonged period of time but they felt nice so i’d say hells. flip flops keep making annoying sounds and it makes me grind my teeth thinking about it88. Is your phone touch screen? yes89. Do you normally wear your hair straight or curly? straight. i’d love it to be a bit curly. i even permed my hair last year apparently it looked good says some friends of mine.90. Have you ever snuck out of your house? i snuck out last night lol. the family gave up on stopping me.91. Would you rather swim in a river, lake, or pool? pool. rivers and lakes have the possibility of germs, leeches or other shit. its a hassle to have to take extra precautions92. Have you ever made out in a car? yep.93. …Had sex in a car? almost.94. Are you single or in a relationship? single. 95. What were you doing last night at midnight? playing overwatch with my friend reo.96. When’s the last time you saw fireworks? AW COME THE FUCK ON. the last relationship questions weren’t enough to jab a knife in my chest but this too? fuck. whatever. it was at capital ex or k- days whatever the fuck you wanna call it. i had fun. the fireworks wasn’t the only thing that sparked. fuck. instant bad mood.97. Do you like the camera on your phone? yeah its really good. i can take pictures of my friends and even see the condition of their pores and shit its pretty nice. 98. Have you ever had a friend with benefits? nope. i’d like to try it though99. Have you ever passed out from drinking? not yet.100. Are you friends with people on facebook that you actually hate? yeah. i should really just delete my facebook. 101. Have you ever had a pregnancy scare? nope. 102. Name your favorite Kesha song: Die young103. Do you have any tan lines right now? nope.104. Would you ever wear cowboy boots with shorts? sure why not. i’d probs wear assless chaps too if i had a nice ass

#ask me more shiiit yallllll #this was fun #but im still salty about that one question about fireworks #ask se7enpounds

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