#it's my first substantial break since I started my new job back in July

[cold-neon-ocean]

I'm gonna draft a spicy LoK fan comic that's so self indulgent~

[keeptheotherone]

Mecation: Day 1 

Thursday

I once read social media described as an indulgence of the fantasy that others are interested in the details of our lives. I’m indulging in that fantasy this week by blogging about my Mecation under the guise of travel blogging ;)

If you follow me in even the most casual way, you know I’m a nurse. While I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of my 23 years as such, I don’t recommend it during a pandemic. The last 18 months have been the second-worst mental health period of my life, demoted to that position not because of the mildness of my symptoms but simply because at 15 I didn’t have the experience or perspective to realize my life was not, in fact, ruined forever.

COVID increased my personal vulnerability as a high-risk patient and made my job immensely more difficult in countless ways both small and large, but the worst part of the pandemic for me (so far) is it took away all my coping mechanisms precisely when I needed them most. Massage, pedicures, dinner out with friends, travel ... all gone practically overnight. Pre-COVID I travelled all the time--home to my parents’, long weekends by myself (Mecation!), annual visits to BFFs, conferences, tourism, the beach, my birthday, writing trips, international trips ... I always had at least one trip in the works, usually one booked and one (or more!) in the planning stages. 

When COVID started, all my close friends and family except for two lived out of state. One of those two was out of town but close enough to get together, but the other was a few hours’ drive away. I’m single and live alone; it was the most isolated I’ve ever been in my whole life. 

With my bestest friends over 500 miles away, I still feel that way sometimes. I haven’t seen them in a year. If it weren’t for COVID, it would only be 7 or 8 months (I’ve gone every January or February since ... forever). Then again, if it weren’t for COVID, I wouldn’t have been there last September; one had been hospitalized and I needed to see she was all right with my own two eyeballs. I expect it will be at least another 7 or 8 months before we get together again, bringing the total to about 20 months. One year we saw each other 5 times in 9 months, our personal best since college. 

I was alone on Christmas. Oh, I’ve spent December 25th on my own before; I’m a nurse. I’ve worked the night of the 24th or the 25th (or both), or whatever combination that didn’t leave enough time off to drive home. But I’ve never spent the Christmas season without my parents. Sometimes the week before, sometimes the week after, sometimes at my place instead of home, but always together. But last Christmas COVID was raging, the vaccines had just come out but were only available to first responders (I got mine on the 23rd), and my elderly parents didn’t feel safe to travel. So I spent Christmas without family.

Travel was not just a break from my daily routine and the stress of nursing; in many ways, the biggest benefit travel made to my mental and emotional health was giving me something to look forward to.  Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” and ohhh, I was so heartsick last year! Not being able to travel meant I couldn’t visit my best friends of almost 25 years (more than half my life!). Not being able to travel meant I couldn’t lean on my dad or be hugged by my mom. Not being able to travel--and not knowing when I could travel--left this gaping hole in my future, and I had nothing to fill it with. 

I tell you this not to throw a pity party but to explain the significance of the trip I’m on right now. It is only my third this year: my dad and I spent a week in the mountains in February (my depression and anxiety was so bad then that was treatment, not vacation), I took a friend to the beach over my birthday, and now I’m a couple hours from home at a nice spa hotel. (I’m not counting my nephew’s graduation, which was emotionally challenging for multiple reasons, or helping a friend move from Florida. Moving is never fun.)

I started planning this trip in the spring ... May, maybe? You know, after the vaccine rolled out to everyone and case counts were dropping and it looked like we were gonna lick this thing and have a quasi-normal summer by the Fourth of July (yes, I’m American. That date is a proper noun here.). I had switched jobs in November (don’t ask) and gone on mental health leave December 29th, so I felt I owed it to my unit to put in about six months of work before taking any significant time off, especially since I came back at 24 hours instead of 36. That meant September.

I knew what I wanted to do: 4 or 5 days at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. I’d been before and loved the freedom of not worrying about every little expenditure (what can I say, I’m cheap), and a few days of Vitamin Sea sounded perfect.

Then came Delta.

All right, maybe going out of the country isn’t the best idea, I thought. Don’t want to end up with expensive reservations and then your destination closes to Americans, or you make it to your chosen island but can’t get back home. But I didn’t want to fly (ugh, airports!), I didn’t want to drive (rest stops and restaurants and gas stations), and while I thought about taking the train, it didn’t seem much of an improvement (and maybe a downgrade) on flying.

Then a friend mentioned a sleeper car, and I thought yes! That could work! I’ve never been to New England, I want to go to Boston, that area of the country has low case rates and the highest vaccination rates, this has potential! 

Then I looked at the CDC map. There were only four states that didn’t have high transmission at that time (early August, I think; I’d had to wait for confirmation that my time off had been approved): Michigan, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire. All four had substantial rates of transmission. Hardly ideal, but one thing I’ve learned this year is sometimes you have to make compromises to protect your mental health. It is true it doesn’t matter if you’re happy if you’re dead; it is also true it doesn’t matter if you’re safe if you want to kill yourself. (I’m not suicidal, I am receiving treatment, don’t anybody panic.)

So, now I’ve settled on Maine or New Hampshire by train via sleeper car (Michigan is too far for a 4-5 day trip and RI--meh). Well, as I got deeper into planning, turned out Maine or NH were awfully far too. Far enough I would have to overnight in a major city, which pretty much defeated the purpose of isolating in a sleeper car. Then I found out there were no sleeper cars on either train route.

So, now vacation is 5 weeks away and I’m back at square one. The Deep South, Texas, and Florida are imploding. Pediatric cases are rising--kids are sicker and make up a higher percentage of cases than they did last year. Scuttlebutt from my ICU colleagues is it’s bad--17/30 MICU beds are COVID and they’re all vented. SICU is being nicknamed “the ECMO unit.” The hospital has 18(!) ECMO machines and 12 are in use; the float nurse who tells us that didn’t even know we had 12 because she’s never seen that many in use at one time. Hospital-wide our numbers are equivalent to early February (we peaked in January). There were six--SIX--pediatric rapid responses in one day. 

And I’m going to travel.

It’s a big deal ... a big accomplishment, really, because of what it says about how I’m successfully managing my anxiety. April 1 was the first time I’d been inside a grocery store in more than a year ... and that wasn’t my idea. It was late April or May before I was comfortable eating in restaurants, even with the falling case count at the time. I’m still not sure if I’m managing my anxiety or reacting to the pressure by going to the opposite extreme (I have a history of that), but I know I’m less stressed, less anxious, have fewer obsessive thoughts, fewer physical symptoms, and am learning to live with this disease. 

So, here I sit at a marble-topped 5-foot-wide desk in my queen/queen hotel room at the end of a productive and enjoyable day. I slept in, completed the big goal of this weekend’s to-do list that I honestly thought would take several days, unpacked and organized my room (I arrived yesterday evening), reorganized my Favorites Bar and Bookmarks on my Mac, had an 80-minute aromatherapy massage, enjoyed a shower in the spa afterwards and even blow-dried my hair(!) before wandering around for a while to get the lay of the land and get some steps in (this place is huge!). Then I changed clothes and took myself out to dinner for my favorite food, Italian. 

That’s me in the picture up top, all dressed up :) Actually, I probably look pretty normal to y’all; like most people with depression, my personal hygiene sunk to new lows in the last year and a half, and as a low-maintenance person to begin with, that’s saying a lot. I bought that necklace as a bridesmaid and am not sure I’ve worn it since; this spring was her 10th anniversary. Yesterday I took out the cat-shaped earrings Dad gave me for Christmas. (Yes, they were gross. Yes, I cleaned them. Yes, I’m wearing them again now.) Just wearing a nice top, fixing my hair (no ponytail or claw-clip bun, my staples), and adding jewelry was a big deal ... especially since “no one” was going to see me. I did it just for me, to make myself feel good. And I did. (That’s another small pleasure COVID took away from me--lip gloss. If I wore any makeup at all, it was lipstick or gloss. Utterly pointless when you’re masked whenever you’re in public.)

I took my laptop to dinner and edited a couple chapters of my new Charlie/Amy fic (previewed during #ktoo turns 10), ran a couple errands, and headed back to the hotel since I don’t like to be out late by myself in an unfamiliar city. Forgot I put my receipt envelope in the backseat pocket and reorganized the glove compartment looking for it, then gathered a bunch of returns into a bag in the trunk. Hung out writing in the lobby until my Mac threatened to die, came upstairs and tidied up, put on my jammies, and talked to you guys :) 

[skamremakesfromhell]

I will never understand how skam italia got so popular that it somehow developed its own breed of stans outside of regular skam/Rm skam stans? Like i literally see other rm stan accounts othe twitter and tumblr complain about how obnoxious skam it stans are

so idk if you were really asking for a breakdown but i’ve been thinking about this a lot recently so im gonna ramble about it for a bit whoops

so it was always inevitable that the remakes would cause divisions within the skam fandom and i think that’s important to kept in mind. there were divisions when there was only the 1 show! the chaos of 8 was a given lol. so not only would there be people that preferred one remake over another but there was also the immediate division between fans of og who didn’t even wanna touch a remake with a 10 foot pole and og fans that were watching the remakes

so the first rounds of remakes start (skamfr, skamit, druck, and skamus) and there was a lot of excitement and disappointment happening because we were all excited for new content but simultaneously disappointed that the content wasn’t new enough. that s1 was the same exact story across them all. skam france came first and it really set the bar real low. it felt to many like a cheap copycat. it had some fun stuff here and there and the cast was doing a decent job but overall with the constant promise of “change” from the production/cast that never followed through a lot of people quickly got tired of it. by the time s1 was almost over druck and skam italia began to air and a little bit later skam austin starts. right here i think it’s important that s2 of skam france was airing for a majority of the time these others were on since s2 is the season that’s the most “either you love it or you hate it”

a number of people gave up on skamfr either not feeling it/refusing to watch s2/whatever and moved on to the other remakes. i think it’s really important to note that at this time skamit was the only version that was changing “william” in any substantial way. druck only changes at the very end and it’s only the fact that he apologized to kiki on his own but edoardo had been introducing small deliberate changes to his character throughout the season. this gained interest from both noorhelm fan and anti noorhelm people because it was new! and different! compared to the other version not changing much for this storyline and skamfr airing a basic copy of s2 this was an exciting development! it was something that intrigued more og fans

of course you have to remember that everyone thought all the remakes were gonna be terrible. they were all a lost cause from the very beginning. people that were enjoying the remakes were already having to be defensive against og fans who hated the remakes just for enjoying them. skamfr was already kinda a dud, skamus had too much hype and pressure on it since it was the one julie was working on to really live up to that, and druck was falling to the wayside from poor production decisions (going on break for a week within the first month without telling anyone ?!?? really ?!?) skamit s1 did seem to be the best produced, with some interesting character changes, and a nice aesthetic. it quickly became the one most people recommended to others. new person asks “which remake should i watch?” and the first answer would almost always be skamit. italians were all pleasantly surprised by the show which made them want to spread it even more. like “look finally some good italian television!” the actors are good and not super overdramatic! the shots are nice and pretty! everyone on the cast is so pretty! rome is so pretty!

but what made this turn into the skamit fans being their own “separate” fandom? well if you go back through all the #discourse you can see all the number of time skamit fans have had to defend the fact that they liked skamit and that in itself will limit you down to the kind of people are always on the defense. who feel like they have to talk about all the great amazing things to feel validated in liking what they like because people are out there criticizing it. who either don’t care about issues people raise or don’t want to think about it. “why can’t everyone leave us alone” “if you don’t like don’t watch” “this is how italy is and you’re the problem for not understanding that”. the casting of sana caused a lot of people to call out skamit and condemn it as “problematic” and/or refuse to watch it before it even aired. now i believe those people are well within their right to do that. if something like this about a show upsets you you don’t owe it to anybody to watch it. but what this caused was people that wanted to watch skamit/enjoyed it felt the need to dismiss the issues raised by other people in the fandom. this is because 1) people were attacking them for liking skamit and 2) it’s become the culture of fandoms to demand you only enjoy things that meet an incredibly high moral ground and you have to constantly prove that the media you enjoy does that. which is such a disservice to being media literate honestly. and this kept happening. the racist, fatphobic comments, the excuse from the production about sana’s casting, the lack of any minority actors, the excluding of mahdi’s characters, the n-word being used and the mess that was the response from the cast and crew

it was one after another of things that made a number of people decided to not be a fan of skamit anymore and once they’d decided that any new thing that came out just proved to them that they were right! that skamit was racist and they were right for dropping it! but that doesn’t just end there because then it becomes anyone that supports skamit is racist and doesn’t deserve respect. and while all this is happening as every new thing happens and we all argue again about who is the most “morally superior” the fans of skamit are stepping on the toes of anyone that dares to criticize the show. they are defensive because they feel like their character is being attacked. because they feel like they have to be. and so ideologies are clashing all over the place over what is and isn’t racist, what’s good representation, what’s the importance of representation over “realism”, how realistic is skam really, you have muslims saying sana’s casting is disgraceful and muslims saying they don’t mind it, people of color saying it’s bad that there are no pocs and that sana is whitewashed and other people of color saying this isn’t a big deal because it’s realistic for italy, europeans claiming all the hate is coming from americans who live in a “us centric world” and don’t understand european views on race and europeans saying uh no i also think this is racist, italians saying this is just how italy is and italians calling all the racist stuff out. it’s just a ton of arguments that are difficult things to get people to see eye to eye on especially when it’s all over social media text and everyone feels like they have something to prove! prove the show they like is morally sound! prove they’re actually the most “woke”! prove and blame and defend and dog pile on everything! and no one is actually listening to each other because defending or shitting on a show is more important than remembering the humanity behind these arguments. remembering that there’s a person who you’re upsetting! who you are hurting because we’ve all invested too much of ourself in this!

it really bred this perfect space for back and forth arguments that went nowhere because people felt the need to tighten their hold on their own ideologies and to defend their position over any random comments they see. i’m guilty of doing this a number of times. i’ve seen a post in the skam tag and made my own post against it. i’ve seen comments on my post or people sub-blogging me and called them out to address it. this thing this show and all it’s versions are something we as fans all feel very strongly about. and this is really the only space we have to talk about it. to hash everything out. to post whatever thought we have. emotion run high! and with the anonymity of social media these arguments escalate so quickly!

i think it’s accurate to say that skamit fans are defensive. they feel like they have to be because they feel like the reasons they and the show they love are attacked are arbitrary reasons. they’ll dealt with so much criticism that any remark against skamit feels like another attack they need to defend themselves against. which has now created a culture where people are scared to say anything critical of skamit. that they’ll be deemed a hater and told “if you don’t like don’t watch”. but people don’t have to defend against every argument they see! they dont need to sit themselves on a high horse! anti skamit people are told to just leave and not bother with skamit but this goes both ways! skamit fans don’t have to address every criticism!

because of this back and forth that went no where we’ve created a culture where we can’t seem to even have discussions about the show anymore. about what we like/don’t like. what’s working and what’s not. that if you say “i don’t like this” you’ll get someone in your ask box basically saying “fuck you” because we attacked the people that wanted to enjoy the show it’s made them feel that everything is an attack. and this is a phenomenon you see across many fandoms! this morally superior hate-filled childish attacks. and at this point i don’t know if we can undo the damage that’s been done, both to how the fans of skamit view criticizers and how the people that aren’t fans view the fans. and that’s honestly really unfortunate

[ittybittypbandj]

The Internship - Chapter 1

Trying my hand at a multi-chapter Bittyparse fic! 5 chapters, weekly updates. Also on ao3. <3

Summary:

Eric Bittle arrived in New York two weeks ago, newly single and ready for a fresh start. This internship was just what he needed to jumpstart his life.

Kent Parson loved his life in New York. He was at the peak of his NHL career. He had friends, the world's greatest cat, and everything he thought he needed.

He never expected a small Southern blonde to burst into his life and turn everything on its head.

Bitty frowned hard at the red bowtie. He twisted away from the mirror, tugging it off as he reached for the lavender one. Lordy, lavender was just as bad. How had all his favorite ties had become gauche overnight?

His mama had reassured him over Skype last night, "Don't worry, Dicky. You'll do great. You'll charm the socks off 'em. Before you know it, they'll be movin' you over to that food magazine you love so much." And he was gonna prove her right. He just needed to put in a little time, show them what he could do.

But how could he do it in a tie that screamed I don't know what I'm doing and by the way I’m bad with animals?

Okay fine, maybe it wasn't the tie's fault. If this were Jack’s first game of the season, Bitty would be reminding him to breathe right about now. He would be alright. He was Eric Richard Bittle. He could land a double Axel with his eyes closed and bake a flourless chocolate cake in Georgia in July. He could do this.

Bitty had moved to Brooklyn two weeks ago, eager to start his new internship in Manhattan. For the next three months he would be a Social Media Associate for Fancy Feline cat food. The job paid a stipend - not much, but enough to finance his matchbook-sized bedroom and name-brand butter - and there was a possibility at the end to extend his contract. It wasn't exactly his dream job, but what was a boy supposed to do? A year out of college, a degree in American Studies, and no experience? Employers weren't exactly banging down his door with offers.

A year ago, Bitty thought Jack was his future. At graduation, he had plans of moving in with Jack, finding a job in Providence, and settling down into their shared life.

After Bitty moved to Providence, he’d sent resume after resume to employers but couldn’t find a job. Jack was out of town frequently and Bitty didn’t have any local friends – Lardo and Shitty and Holster and Ransom were all in Boston, which was just far enough away to be logistically difficult – and he found himself more isolated than he expected.

Bitty also realized that he’d only experienced Jack’s intensity and anxiety through the rosy lens of infatuation. They both struggled with the shift in their living situation, lord knows it was as hard on Jack as it was on him. In April when Jack’s playoff run ended abruptly from a wrist injury and an eight-week recovery, Bitty’d been ready to poke out his own eye rather than face another day of both of them at home, dancing around the fact that this just wasn’t working.

And so, after they’d finally talked and cried and shared a joint session with Jack’s therapist, Bitty and Jack called it quits and Bitty tearfully phoned Lardo to break the news. He’d stayed on her and Shitty’s lumpy couch in Boston for two months while Shitty called in a family favor and helped him land this internship.

Even after everything, Bitty was feeling hopeful. All he needed was a few months' experience and a job on his resume more substantial than ‘running a baking vlog’. He took a deep breath and released it, checked his hair one last time, queued up Queen Bey on his headphones, and headed for the subway.

_/_/_/ \_\_\_

Bitty’s first day at the office was a whirlwind of new faces and information. Meesha, Bitty’s fellow intern and apparently the person in charge, led him on a brisk tour through the office and he practically skip-jogged to keep up with her. While they walked, she peppered him with information about the department.

"You’ll coordinate the images and story for all the social media platforms, and you’ll directly manage the endorsement relationships." Meesha glanced over her shoulder to check that he was keeping up. "I do all the site and ad placement, and Tito runs the admin side. We're all a hot mess this week prepping for Kit, but don’t worry - we'll get you settled in just fine."

"Kit?" Bitty asked.

"Oh yeah, Kit Purrson. She's launching as the face of Fancy Feline in, like, three weeks. Totes adorbs and has a crazy-ass following. We've got, like, a zillion things to do to get ready. I'm sure you'll jump right in. You've used Visio, right?"

By lunch, Bitty’s head was swirling with acronyms and spreadsheets. It felt a little like in figure skating when he’d come out of a scratch spin too fast - the world was wobbly and the colors were spinning, but he was confident it would right itself if he grinned and skated through it.

"Heeeey, how's our new boy doin'?" someone yelled as they passed his and Meesha’s cubicle. Bitty spied styled black hair over the cubicle wall.

"Hey Tito!” Meesha called back. “He's great!"

Tito appeared from around the corner, eight coffees in two to-go containers balanced masterfully on one arm. He read the lids and carefully passed one to Meesha. "You guys ready for our guest today? I’m totally having him sign something.”

Meesha rolled her eyes as she inhaled the fragrant coffee. “You are seriously the lamest. Sports are a consumerist construct and the guy is basically, like, Kit’s chaperone. She’s the real star.”

Tito laughed and offered a cup to Bitty, “Hey Eric, I wasn’t sure what to get you. How’s a vanilla sugar oat milk latte? It’s the special across the street.”

Bitty grinned. “Thanks, hon!” His first day was turning out pretty great.

Meesha steered Bitty into a large conference room. Tito ran to his desk for a hat and marker before joining the people assembling around the conference table. Lordy, he hadn’t been lying about an autograph. Who was this guy?

A dozen folks chatted quietly around the table. Their guest was apparently running late, and Meesha took the opportunity to fill Bitty in on launch plans. As she was explaining the finer points of multi-platform synchronization, Bitty heard a man’s laughter down the hall. His ears perked up. Did he know that voice? Surely it couldn’t be –

Bitty’s head jerked up as an effortlessly well-dressed man in a royal blue snapback stepped into the room. Their eyes locked.

Oh lord. Kent Parson.

_/_/_/ \_\_\_

Kent scowled at Kit, his chin resting on his hands on the cold hardwood.

“C’mon, baby, you’ve got to eat it.”

Kit sniffed the dish daintily, nonplussed.

“I know, princess,” he wheedled, “but daddy’s going to make you the most famous li’l furbaby on the internet. You’ll pass grumpy cat like he forgot how to frown. All you have to do is eat the gross food.”

Kit mrowled in disapproval and Kent rearranged his awkward limbs. So this is what his adulthood had come to, he mused. Two condos, three sports cars, a slew of hockey awards, and apparently a cat too picky to eat the goddamn food she was paid a shitload of money to represent.

Tonight’s standoff had lasted an hour, and Kent would be damned if he let Kit win again.

He scratched his nose. He probably should be doing the prep work the Fancy Feline team needed before Kit’s photo shoot. At the meeting today, they’d given him a to-do list that rivaled his off-season training goals. He was supposed to check with Eric Bittle if he had any questions.

Speaking of which, why had Eric Blast-from-the-Past Bittle even been there today? Kent would have appreciated a goddamn heads-up, that’s for sure.

Eric looked good, he thought. A little taller and sharper than he remembered. His hair game was on point. Kent had only seen him a couple times in the four years since the Samwell party where they first met, and of course Eric had grown up, but seriously – he was hot now.

But why the hell was he in New York City? And was this related to the charming, old-man text messages Jack had started to send Kent out of the blue a month ago?

Kent debated texting Jack to ask, but it was a horrible idea. Either Jack and Eric were still together and Jack would send awkward Canadian nonsense about how great Eric was, or they weren’t together and Jack would get pissed and shut Kent out of his life again.

Kent sighed and climbed to his feet, heading to the refrigerator for Kit’s specialty wet food and a glass of white wine to wash down the bitter taste of defeat. He would fight the cat food battle another day. As Kit scarfed down hand-seared filet mignon, Kent sipped his wine and fiddled with his phone.

Kent: hey dude what’s up? I saw your boy today.

Jack: Hey Kent.

Jack: What?

Well shitballs, this was already turning out to be a terrible idea. No turning back now, Kent reasoned.

Kent: Eric was at a business meeting today. all suited up and shit.

Kent: what’s he doing in NYC? u guys ok?

Jack: Oh.

Jack: We broke up in April.

Kent: shit Zimms, that really blows. he seemed like a cool guy

Jack: Yeah.

Kent: sometimes it just doesn’t work out, y’know? i’m sure you’ll find somebody great

Jack: How was the meeting?

Kent: oh

Kent: it was good. boring as watching ice melt but productive I guess

Kent: eric looks good, I mean not in a weird creepy way but he looks like he’s doing ok?

[Jack is typing…]

[Last message received 8:54pm]

Kent: hey, did you see the new netflix show where ordinary people recreate fancy cakes and that crazy lady yells at everybody?

Kent: it’s the tits

Jack: No, but I’ll check it out.

Kent: dooo iiit

Jack: What’s the name?

Kent: fuck if I know. it’s the one with the previews of nasty looking cakes and ppl getting screamed at. you can’t miss it. it’s a goddamn gem.

Jack: Sounds like it.

Jack: And, thanks Parse. I’m glad he’s doing OK.

Kent: no problem man

Kent: any time

_/_/_/ \_\_\_

Bitty paced all eight feet of his bedroom, back and forth, back and forth.

He was supposed to be starting a new life! In a city of eight million people, how had he stumbled upon the one person connected to his life with Jack? And how was he supposed to be professional and work with said person, when everyone (well, maybe just Bitty) knew that he was secretly a manipulative asshole?

Good gracious, he might be freaking out just a little. He needed reassurance. Who could he talk to that knew the situation and would be supportive and not weird?

Bitty: LARDOOOOO

Lardo: BITTTYYYY

Lardo: Why the yelling, Bits?

Bitty: I am coordinating a photo shoot at Kent Parson’s house next week. KENT PARSON’S HOUSE

Lardo: That’s sick bro.

Lardo: They’re giving you a lot of responsibility right away. Nice.

Bitty: -_-;

Bitty: I think you’re missing the point

Bitty: KENT PARSON KENT PARSON KENT PARSON

Lardo: Lol Bitty cool your jets. He’s been pretty chill lately, hasn’t he?

Bitty: If you mean ‘not making my boyfriend have any more panic attacks’, then yes he’s been chill

Bitty: But I’d say that’s a VERY low bar to hurdle

Lardo: Have you met him yet? How was it?

Lardo: Does he know you and Jack broke up?

Bitty: I’m pretty sure he didn’t know who I WAS

Bitty: Period.

Lardo: No way, dude. You’ve meet him multiple times, right?

Bitty: twice, 3 times if you count the disaster at the Haus

Lardo: He totally remembers you, dude. You’re unforgettable.

Lardo: You’re like a delightful minor superhero.

Lardo: You’re Antman.

Bitty: Ugggghhh this is the worst

Bitty: and Antman, seriously? We are SO gonna talk about that later

Lardo: Bitty, bro of my heart, it’s truth time. You sitting down?

Bitty: *sits*

Lardo: Good.

Lardo: Here’s the thing. Kent Parson is just a dude. A dude with some fucked-up history respective to one JLZ, but still just a dude.

Bitty: I know, but…

Lardo: Hush, Padawan.

Bitty: -_- *hushes*

Lardo: He’s probs not an evil person. You’ve only ever seen him in relation to J, and they went thru some messed up shit as kids. When he’s not dealing with that, he’s probably a boring-ass adult with a job and a cat. You can’t judge him forever based on the 3 times you’ve met.

Lardo: Was he awful the other times?

Bitty: Well no, mostly just at Epikegster

Bitty: But he was Really Bad that time

Lardo: I get it Bits, but if that’s his only awful moment, then the dude already has like a 67% not-awful rate.

Bitty: So you’re saying I’m all worked up over nothin?

Lardo: Maybe? Give him a chance.

Lardo: You don’t have to be BFFs. Just be professional and friendly until he gives you a reason not to be. If it turns out he’s a dickhead, you have my blessing to fuck up his shit.

Bitty: Thanks Lards. Mind if I snap you outfit choices later?

Lardo: Do it. Matching polish?

Bitty: Yes’m but toes only. I miss your help with fingers. It gets all smudgy when I do it

Lardo: I miss you, bro.

Bitty: You too :-*

_/_/_/ \_\_\_

Kent pressed the center button on his phone again…8:51am. This was officially the longest morning in the history of time.

So far he’d gone for a run, made a smoothie, showered, arranged the throw pillows, hidden the dopey photo of him and his sis at Disneyland, brushed Kit. Now he was sitting on the couch, running shoes bouncing on the marble coffee table as he waited for the Fancy Feline team to arrive. Maybe he should make coffee? He hopped up, re-fluffed the pillows, and headed to the kitchen.

The crew arrived promptly at nine, accepting the hot mugs of coffee Kent passed around. Eric shook his hand and started up a pleasant and professional stream of small talk as the photographer set up tripods and the assistant unfolded white umbrellas.

Unfortunately, Kit decided this was her party and she could hide if she wanted to. She spent the first hour perched on the bookcase, refusing to budge for treats or catnip.

Kent couldn’t blame her. Usually it was just her and him in the apartment, and even when he had people over, she generally ignored them and slept in the bedroom on the Monsieur Taco pillow he won her at Coney Island. Having a half-dozen strangers in her space, hovering over her with cameras and lights? He’d probably peace out too, if he were her.

After thirty minutes and no success, Kent relinquished the catnip to the assistant and excused himself to start a fresh pot of coffee. From the kitchen counter, he found himself watching Eric.

Eric was frowning as the drama unfolded, his lean torso hunched in concentration. His right foot tapped impatiently on the rug. It wasn’t Eric’s job to get Kit to participate. Eric had explained this to Kent while they were setting up, that his role today was to make sure they got all the shots they needed for the campaign.

As Kent watched him now, Eric nodded to himself like he’d made a decision and marched over to the bookcase. He began talking animatedly with the photographer and gesturing rapidly, taking charge of the situation like a tiny major general. Kent was impressed. Hell, even Kit watched him with interest.

Kent felt a little like a jerk – he’d always thought Eric was childish and annoying, based on their past brief interactions and Eric’s animated Twitter feed (not that he’d internet stalked him, pssh). But maybe Kent had it wrong. This version of Eric seemed full-to-bursting with charisma and natural leadership. Hell, even Queen Kit respected it.

As Eric directed the strategy to coax Kit off her perch and over to the windowsill, Kent couldn’t help but stare. Eric glowed warm and golden, like Southern sunlight was radiating from his pores. He looked good in control.

Kent’s stomach did a pleasant swoop as he thought about Eric taking control in other ways. Or what it would take to convince Eric to give up that control, to go soft and pliant and let Kent – or someone, whatever – do the controlling.

His chest tingled warmly. This probably wasn’t the best train of thought for a professional gathering; nothing like sporting a quarter chub at ten a.m. with people here to photograph your cat. He sighed, rearranged his junk, and headed back into the living room with the coffee pot.

The rest of the shoot ran smoothly. Kit, once she felt comfortable, totally hammed it up for the camera. Eric took behind-the-scenes videos and sent the best ones to Kent. They all shared high-fives when a video Kent tweeted of himself ineptly juggling cat toys got retweeted by George Takei. In celebration of their good social media fortune, Kent poured everyone mimosas.

Before Kent knew it, it was late afternoon and the photographer’s assistant started to disassemble the equipment. Eric herded everyone to the sofa where he handed out packets of instructions and debriefed them on next steps, and then the crew shook hands and headed out one by one.

As Kent shut the door after the last person, he wandered into the kitchen to find Eric still in the apartment, loading the dishwasher.

“Dude, you really don’t need to do that. I can do it after you go.”

“Kent Parson,” Eric scolded, “my mama would never forgive me if I left a host with a mess to clean up. It’s nothin’, really.”

“Thanks, man,” Kent replied. It was cool of Eric to offer and, if Kent was being honest, he probably would have left it a mess until his housecleaner came tomorrow. He started to consolidate cardboard containers of Chinese food.

They worked in silence in the spacious kitchen, making quick work of the cleanup. Kent caught Eric humming to himself. He recognized the tune – All For You by Janet Jackson – and sang along to Eric’s humming.

Eric let out a surprised huff, his cheeks pink. “Oh lordy! Was I singing that out loud?”

Kent just laughed and pulled out his phone, and one of his favorite pop mixes began playing from hidden speakers. Eric bopped his head to Janelle Monae as he dried the glasses. Kent lip-synced into a bottle of soy sauce like it was a microphone.

As Kent reached around Eric’s shoulder to place the wine glasses on a high shelf, their eyes met and Kent winked. He’d enjoyed a few mimosas and Eric was cute, so sue him. He just thought it’d be fun to make Eric blush, and his efforts were thoroughly rewarded. Eric’s blush spread from his face down his neck, reddening the soft skin at the base of his throat.

Kent felt the warm tingly feelings in his chest again. Shit, Eric was cute.

Abruptly, Eric turned and said, “I really should get going. We’ve got the kitchen under control and I need to upload these videos before tomorrow.”

Kent felt oddly deflated, although of course Eric was going to leave when they finished cleaning. He should probably apologize in case his wink had made Eric uncomfortable. Kent spent his days around gross hockey players, maybe he’d just committed some corporate sexual harassment shit and he didn’t even know it. Kent fished around for something to say that didn’t make him sound like a creeper.

He smiled and tried, “Kit really enjoyed having you here today. You’re good with cats.”

“Ha, thanks.” Bitty twisted the dishtowel in his hands. “I’m not really a cat person, but Kit’s great. Y’all’ve got a really special bond.”

“Maybe you could come over and get some more candid shots sometime?” Kent made a face. For Christ’s sake, he sounded ridiculous. “I mean, the ones today were really good.”

Eric’s face did something complicated. Kent watched him bite his bottom lip.

“Thanks,” Eric replied finally, “but no. I should go.”

“Oh,” Kent exhaled, “Yeah, of course. Sure thing, man.”

Kent helped Eric retrieve his things and walked him to the entryway. As Kent shut the door behind him, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

He was so fucked.

[constantreflection]

Early College: A personal opinion about getting it right

February 2021

I have come to terms after years of denial that I may be a single voice with my opinions about Early College.  Early College is a program that places college courses from on high school campus for a fixed rate.  High school students benefit from this opportunity by potentially earning college credits and meeting high school graduation requirements simultaneously.  In Hawai‘i, most of these courses are offered through the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges (UHCC) and some participating local “4-year” institutions.  High school students also have the opportunity of potentially earning an Associate’s Degree through the UHCCs while receiving their high school diploma – a pretty amazing concept, if done correctly.  The cost of this program to the participating high schools in Hawai‘i currently is $2000 per college credit, that is split between funds allocated by the State with the rest paid for by the participating high school.  High schools can make the decision to charge students a nominal fee or nothing at all, which is a benefit to families since the cost of attending college can be out of reach.  It is also a big deal especially since the State is trying to improve the job market by producing more qualified and college educated workforce.  

It sounds like an amazing opportunity for youth, and I don’t challenge that one bit.  I believe in pushing one’s limit because the results could change the landscape around confidence and personal success.  It can also impact families and communities in ways that change generation of learners.  

But I continue worry because there are important details that are overlooked.  

I see three major issues that are not addressed – understanding the salary structure of University of Hawai‘i (UH) faculty both full-time and lectures, the philosophical hiring practices of UH faculty and lectures, and the design and implementation of college degrees or certificates in the UHCC system.  

The cost of Early College to high schools is $2000 per credit so one 3-credit course will be $6000, this doesn’t include textbooks.  If the course is offered at the high schools, the cost also doesn’t cover mileage to and from the instructor’s UHCC campus and participating high school(s). 

The rationale for the cost, back when this was initially designed, was set when $6000 could cover a Step A lecturer and possibly an entry level full-time instructor under a classification called Rank 2.  However, salary schedules have increased in recent years.  

There are also no clear cut measures to assess the true dollar amount because full-time instructional faculty are not paid by the hour (UHPA Article IV, Faculty Professional Responsibilities and Workload).  The UHCC faculty are given teaching equivalencies (UHCC Policy 9.237) that assigns “27 semesters credits per academic year or equivalent” but the actual total credit workload is 30 semester credits.  This also may include projects outside the classrooms, or teaching equivalencies, through special assignments further complicating the breakdown of some kind of hourly wage.  In any case, I am going to make an attempt based on the documents available.

Let’s take the salary breakdown from the hire date of July, 2017.  Based on UHPA Article XXI, Salaries, a new hire would more than likely fall under a 9-month schedule at Rank 2, which come with an annual salary of $54,084.  If I were to divide that by 30 (referencing the 30 semester credit workload), I would come up with around $1,800 per credit, $5,400 for a 3-credit course.  If we were to hire a new lecturer, which are not permanent employees, the cost comes at $1632 per credit for Step A starting in Fall 2020, which comes out to $4,896 for a 3-credit course.  

If you look at those numbers and go back to the agreed Early College amount of $2000 per credit, the Community Colleges may break even with Rank 2 faculty or a Step A lecturer.  

Change is inevitable and March of 2020 presented the world with a life changing pandemic that required everyone to pivot quickly.  UH was not immune to this shift therefore requiring the entire UH System to refocus on balancing the budget.  One of the many adjustments that addressed the University’s shortfalls was placing a hiring freeze on lecturers therefore relying on permanent tenured or tenured track instructors to provide classroom instructions.  It is also important to note that the hiring freeze applied to vacant position, which means instructors are having to do more with less.  

Back to the salary structure. If the Community Colleges are short on new hires, or Rank 2 faculty, that means reaching into a larger pool of higher rank instructional faculty so let’s break that down.  A 9-month faculty salary at Rank 3 is $64,896 – divide that by 30 and you’ll get approximately $2,163 a credit ($6,489 for a 3-credit course); Rank 4 is $75,720 so that would be $2,524 a credit ($7,572 for a 3-credit course); and Rank 5 is $86,532 and that would be approximately $2,884 per credit ($8,652 for a 3-credit course).  Keep in mind, I am not including those with years of service and substantial raises.  It is quite possible to have Rank 5 faculty making approximately $100,000 a year so that would come out to about to approximately $3,333 per credit ($9,999 for a 3-credit course).  

There is also transportation cost.  As of January 2020, the mileage the Colleges are obligated to pay is $0.575 per mile.  One of Kapi‘olani Community College’s Early College partners is Radford High School, which is about a 24 mile round trip between school to school.  If a course is offered two days a week for 4 months, that would be approximately $441 per semester.  According to UHPA Article VIII.D under Faculty Travel “shall provide for reimbursement at the applicable federal mileage rate per mile traveled on business.”

Again, this is not to take away from the positive impact of Early College but are we executing Early College in a fiscally sound manner if what is coming in is less than what is being paid out?  

Through many conversations with my colleagues about Early College, I have come to a conclusion that the college experience does come at a cost.  If the goal of Early College is to provide a college experience then we really need to regroup and identify what is of high value and importance.  I also believe drastic changes sprout creativity but also open the potential of questionable practices.  As the budget continues to become tight, it appears colleges and high schools are exploring hiring alternatives such as hiring high school faculty to teach UHCC courses.  This leads to a lot of concerns I have especially during this pandemic.  First, prospective hires must meet the minimum qualification for hire in the UHCC System, which is to have a Master’s degree in the content area (to name a few).  Second, since they are full-time with their respective high schools, more than likely they would be hired as lecturers.  This creates Union concerns because if they are hired, the UHCC course has to be taught outside their primary teaching schedule – teachers can’t get double pay during their work hours.  Furthermore, the pandemic placed a freeze on all new hires so it is assumed this hiring practice maybe on hold as well.  

Even if we hired high school faculty to teach, are we neglecting our youth from a true college experience?  Or are we only interested in the credits and neglecting college experience in its entirety?  Think back to your own college experiences, it was more than just earning the credit.  In the classroom are experts in the content area with the personalities to match.  I remember instructors being both brilliant and quirky that contributed to my learning experience that I just loved.  This is not to say high school faculty have the potential of sharing those traits but let’s take a moment and visualize this scenario through the lens of a high school student.  Are they able to separate the person who at one point in the day was their high school teacher then later visualize them as their college professor?  Conversely, can the high school teacher flip that switch as well by following a different set of student learning outcomes and classroom management techniques as a college professor?  These are rhetorical questions but lends for a larger discussion.  

Studies have supported that a post-secondary certificate or degree (like an Associate’s or a Bachelor’s) has the strong likelihood of increasing student’s earning potential.  However, taking college courses for the sake of it being college courses, is very different with actually meeting degree requirements. Navigating through the degree completion process can be complicated and requires intimate knowledge of how it all works.  Degrees have course pre-requisites, and some may have more than others.  For instance, students interested in Nursing are required to take courses in Anatomy and Physiology whereas students interested in Automotive Technology are required to take a general Physics course.  If a student completes, let’s say, an Associate’s with a mix of courses that do not include pre-requisite courses for a particular degree of interest, that student will need to take those courses thus extending the time to degree completion.  Choosing the right courses also impacts financial aid because there are limits to what can be awarded.  We shouldn’t be selecting courses because they are available and convenient, we should be selecting courses because it is purposely aligned to a larger goal.  

Since navigating through the degree completion process is complicated, it further emphasizes the need to spend quality time and effort preparing students.  If we were to dive deep into student development theories in higher education, it focuses quite a bit on understanding one’s self.  It is through their interpersonal journey that students are able to define their values and beliefs that translate into meaningful next steps.  It is worth putting in the time to prepare because it makes the execution more effective.  It is not enough to introduce free college courses thinking that will change the trajectory of our youth.  It requires investment into the developmental process and offering tools that are aligned and purposeful.  

Finally, one of my major concerns that I can’t shake is the distribution of funds based on need at the high school level.  Throughout the years, as far as I can remember, Hawai‘i’s Department of Education is tight on resources.  I enjoy reading business magazines because their main focus is how companies succeed.  There are rich discussions around customer service, which leads into mindful and purposeful investment into their employees.  If I am looking at Early College at face value from a financial lens, couldn’t the monies earmarked for an outside organization or initiative (such as Early College) could be better used to support their employees?  If the concern is around college going rates of high school students, especially with underrepresented youth or youth from low-income households, wouldn’t it be wise to direct funds to those who have the most touch points with these students?  If you research anything around success, it comes down to addressing their basic needs and making sure their foundation is solid.  Does placing a student into a college course an effective move if their basic needs are not addressed and supported?  When I read through the reports around Early College, I understand the intent but there needs to be larger and more inclusive discussions at the high school level first.  

There are other options in addition to Early College if the goal is to provide a rich learning experience while preparing youth for college and/or the workforce.  Students can be exposed to high school courses with honors designation or Advanced Placement (AP) courses.  To me, this route is an investment into the teachers hired by the high schools.  There are non-credit certificates that bridge students to the workforce in a condensed, at times, hands on model.  This provides an option for youth who need to earn a wage at a younger age, whether it be to take care of themselves and/or their families.  There is the option of taking courses on a college campus.  This exposes students to a wealth of resources from the mere exposure to the dynamic demographics of a college campus to support resources such as tutoring and mental health support.  

When we think about success, I feel the discussions have to be more comprehensive.  Early College is locked into a definition and pay structure with minimal room for change when the target audience is constantly changing.  We all need to look at the core of why we have initiatives like Early College and navigate through the details so that efforts are clearly aligned with our student needs as the primary focus. 

[newstechreviews]

Archana Ghugare’s ringtone, a Hindu devotional song, has been the background score of her life since March. By 7 a.m. on a mid-October day, the 41-year-old has already received two calls about suspected COVID-19 cases in Pavnar, her village in the Indian state of Maharashtra. As she gets ready and rushes out the door an hour later, she receives at least four more.

“My family jokes that not even Prime Minister Modi gets as many calls as I do,” she says.

Ghugare, and nearly a million other Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) assigned to rural villages and small towns across India, are on the front lines of the country’s fight against the coronavirus. Every day, Ghugare goes door to door in search of potential COVID-19 cases, working to get patients tested or to help them find treatment.

With 8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, India has the second-highest tally in the world after the United States and its health infrastructure struggled to cope with the surge in COVID-19 patients this summer. India spends only 1.3% of its GDP on public health care, among the lowest in the world. The situation is stark in rural areas where 66% of India’s 1.3 billion people live and where health facilities are scant and medical professionals can be hard to find.

India’s ASHA program is likely the world’s largest army of all-female community health workers. They are the foot soldiers of the country’s health system. Established in 2005, a key focus of the program was reducing maternal and infant deaths, so all recruits are women. They have also played an essential role in India’s efforts to eradicate polio and increase immunization, according to numerous studies.

Read More: How the Pandemic Is Reshaping India

But even as health authorities have leaned on ASHAs to quell the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas, where a substantial number of new cases have been reported, many of these health care workers say the government is failing them. Pay was meager to begin with, but some workers have reported not being paid for months. Their hours have increased dramatically, but pay rises, when they have come, have not reflected the increased demands. Many ASHAs have also complained about not being provided adequate protective equipment for their high-risk work.

“They are the unsung heroes who are fighting to contain the unfettered spread of the virus in rural areas,” says Dr. Smisha Agarwal, Research Director at the John Hopkins Global Health Initiative. She argues it is vital to improve pay to boost morale and sustain this frontline workforce.

—

Ghugare was chosen from her village of 7,000 people in 2011. Since then, she has overseen countless births, meticulously monitored the health of thousands of newborn babies and strictly ensured immunization through door-to-door awareness campaigns. The personal relationships she built over the years have helped in the fight against COVID-19, giving her a good grasp of the medical histories of most of the 1,500 people assigned to her. “It’s all in here,” she says pointing to her head.

Before the pandemic, she was expected to work two to three hours per day, for which she was paid about 2,000 rupees ($27) a month, with incentives for completing tasks in the community. Now, she’s spending 9 to 10 hours a day working to combat COVID-19. She had to cut back her other job working at a farm, and most of the bonuses have dried up as well. The Indian government has given her a 1,000-rupee ($13.50) COVID-19 stipend, but that doesn’t make up for the lost income.

Conditions like these are pushing many of these women to breaking point. Some 600,000 ASHAs went on strike in August to demand better pay and recognition as permanent government employees. (They are currently classified as volunteers, which renders them ineligible for minimum wages and other benefits.)

“The extra work we used to do earlier to ensure our stomachs weren’t empty has stopped now,” Ghugare says.

New Delhi, Aug. 9, 2020. ASHAs protest in New Delhi, demanding better pay and recognition. Photo by T. Narayan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  Read More: India’s Biggest Slum Successfully Contained COVID-19. But Can Its Residents Survive the Economic Collapse?

Heading out the door, she puts on a face mask and headscarf to protect herself while mentally running through the symptoms of one of the possible COVID-19 patients she had been phoned about earlier. Knowing that the individual suffers from diabetes, which makes people more vulnerable to coronavirus, Ghugare begins working out how to prioritize the case and arrange transportation to a center, about 40 minutes away, for urgent testing.

Some cases are particularly challenging. There are days when villagers refuse to talk to her. Worried about being forced to go to the hospital and missing work—a major hardship when people depend on daily wages for a hand-to-mouth existence—people often hide symptoms. Then there is also the menace of fake news, often spread on WhatsApp.

Ghugare arrives at a house in the sweltering heat, where it takes her almost 20 minutes to persuade a man to get his wife tested for COVID-19. Because of a false rumor spread via messaging apps, he is convinced his wife’s kidneys will be removed if she goes to hospital. In the end, he relents. “Dealing with fake WhatsApp forwards is one of the most exhausting parts of the job,” Ghugare says.

By around 1:30 p.m., she has already worked six hours. Before the pandemic, she would have wrapped up and headed to her second job. But now she still has a long list to get through to meet her daily target of visiting 50 houses.

Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesNew Delhi, June 25: ASHAs talk amongst themselves while conducting door to door survey to identify COVID-19 cases. Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

—

Demands like these have driven many ASHAs to protest. “We are warriors who were sent to war without any weapons,” says Sunita Rani, an ASHA from the northern state of Haryana. She has been protesting against the state government since July and says she won’t give up until their demands are met. “If we can fight a virus, we definitely know how to fight our governments.” The Indian government hasn’t yet responded to their demands for permanent government employment.

Most health experts seem to agree that ASHAs are underpaid. But some say that making their roles full-time is more complicated. “The beauty of this role is the mix of incentives that tend to energize ASHAs to perform better,” says Dr. Jyoti Joshi, the director of South Asia at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policies, a public health research organization. She says retaining the incentives for completing tasks, while adding benefits like free family health checkups, might be one solution.

Pay varies by state, and salaries can range from 2,000 rupees ($27) to 10,000 rupees ($135) per month, according to a national union for ASHAs. Many workers also depend on receiving bonuses. For instance, Ghugare receives 100 rupees ($1.25) if she vaccinates a child against measles, mumps and rubella and 600 rupees ($8) for delivering a baby for a family living below the poverty line.

Some economists argue that making nearly a million female health care workers full-time employees, and paying them more, will not only benefit India’s health system but might also help revive the country’s battered economy, one of the worst hit by the pandemic. “Employing and putting wages into the hands of so many people will definitely be beneficial to the rural economy, ” says Dipa Sinha, an economist at the Ambedkar University in New Delhi.

It might also help recover India’s plummeting rate of female workplace participation, for which the country is among the bottom 10 in the world. Experts have attributed this to cultural attitudes and the slowdown in the agricultural sector, where most rural women work. Sinha says that this gender disparity plays into the issue of ASHAs not being recognized for their work. “Who volunteers for six to eight hours a day?” she says. “It’s because they are women that their work is undermined. You can’t do this to a cadre of men.”

Ghugare shares that sentiment although she didn’t take part in the protests. With her two children growing older, expenses are increasing. An increased salary with benefits would help her give her family a better life.

As she walks back home at dusk, she knows her day isn’t done yet. There is household work to get to before getting started with a report on the day’s survey. It will be midnight before she calls it a day. That is, if the phone doesn’t ring again.

“It feels like there is a sword over our heads,” she says. “A hanging sword.”

[evanvanness]

Annotated edition of May 10 Week in Ethereum News

I’ve started thinking of the annotated version as aimed at Eth holders.  There’s a large group of people who hold ETH who want to stay up to date on what is happening, but also have jobs outside of the industry and may not understand all the tech nuances nor have time to spend.  So the annotated edition will try to give you more narrative, more context, some opinion, maybe some 🌶️, as well as pointers to what might you want to read

Fun fact: you can find the #MostClicked and #MuchClicked on Twitter by just searching the hashtags. The usual caveats apply: the things most clicked are the things people hadn’t otherwise seen (not necessarily the most important), and my tweets auto-delete after a month or two, so the data only goes back a couple months.

Before clicking send, I knew for sure which would be the most clicked item this week.  I was right.

How did I know it would be the most clicked?  Because even among Ethereum enthusiasts it’s an undercommunicated thing how low eth issuance will be.  It is planned to sustainably be so low that it might at some points go negative (and perhaps be negative over long periods of time, which worries me a little!).  Perhaps part of the reason we don’t communicate this that loudly is because we just aren’t there yet.   But unlike Bitcoin which has no path to long-term sustainability, Eth has a logical plan to have very low issuance.  

As I said, I forgot this last week, but if I were clicking a few things this week:

chart of ETH issuance over time

A review of hardware for eth staking

MyCrypto’s history of Eth hard forks to celebrate 10m blocks

I might also check out the stuff about personal tokens, because personal money is an interesting subject to think about, even if you’re skeptical like I am.  The idea of “what is money” can take you down some fun intellectual rabbit holes: 

75 interesting uses of social money by Roll 

Personal tokens were the topic du jour, check out this overview from Dan Finlay

A little light this week on the high-level stuff.  The chart of Eth issuance I already discussed.  The hardware for Eth staking is a worthwhile jumping off point if you’re planning on staking.   And the hard fork history is worth knowing, or if you know it, then it’s a fun trip down memory lane.

Eth1

Step by step guide to running a Hyperledger Besu node on mainnet

Nethermind v1.18.30 query the chain and trace transactions within minutes with Beam sync

A primer on block witnesses

Installation guide to running eth1 nodes (or eth2 testnet) on RaspberryPi4

So this week we have a guide to running the ConseSys’s Besu client (part of Hyperledger) which is a Java client aimed at enterprise, but which can run mainnet.   More Nethermind and Besu nodes are good for client diversity.  So is OpenEthereum (formerly known as Parity), which had a release yesterday.

And if you like running nodes on RaspberryPi4, check that out.

This newsletter is made possible by Celer!

Celer has just released a new state channel mainnet upgrade enabling everyone to easily run a layer-2 state channel node and to utilize the low-cost and real-time transactions enabled by Celer. Game developers with no blockchain knowledge today monetize their games through CelerX gaming SDK that leverages the underlying layer-2 scaling technology with ease. Celer has also released the world’s first skill-based real money game apps where players can join multi-player game tournaments and win cryptocurrency prizes, Follow us on twitter, blog, discord and telegram.

Yay, thanks Celer! 

Eth2

Danny Ryan’s latest quick eth2 update – bug bounties doubled, latest IETF BLS standard

PegaSys’s Teku client is now syncing the Schlesi testnet – which has been much more stable than expected

Latest Prysmatic client update – reducing RAM usage, slashing protection

SigmaPrime’s Beacon fuzzer update, struct-aware, bugs found in Teku and Nimbus

Latest Eth2 networking call, gossipsub v1.1. Ben’s notes

Python notebook to simulate a network partition

Apostille, an Eth1x64 variant

Scoping what is necessary to port eth1 to an eth2 shard and turn off proof of work

Lots of talk of go-live this week. Is it July, q3, or q4?  We need to get audit reports and have multi-client testnets running long-term, though last I checked the Schlesi testnet has been quite stable.  And since publishing the newsletter, now PegaSys’s Teku client is fully validating on Schlesi.

Layer2

Demo of Synthetix on the OVM includes paper trading competition with 50k SNX prizepool. The details of how the Optimistic Virtual Machine enables EVM-in-EVM

Gods Unchained building an NFT exchange with StarkWare

Exit games in state channels

Celer Network’s Orion upgrade makes it easy to run a state channel node

I’m going to set up a Celer node later this week if I have a chance.

Also check out the Synthetix trading competition and help stress test the OVM.

Stuff for developers

Solidity v0.6.7, EIP165 (standard interface detection) support. Also survey results on what devs love and hate about Solidity

Solhint v3 – Solidity linter removes styling rules and recommends prettier Solidity instead

Open Zeppelin ethers.js based console

Etherplex: batch multiple JSON RPC calls into single call

Time-based Solidity tests with Brownie

MythX now has 46 detectors

Quiknode has an online tool to test endpoints

Reading Eth price from Maker’s medianizer v1

Build an app with Sablier’s constant streaming tutorial

Building a bot using MelonJS to automate your Melon fund

StarkWare found a vulnerability in Loopring’s frontend where passwords were being hashed to only 32 bit integers

Even the frontend bugs can get you!  

Ecosystem

A chart of ETH issuance over time. The best I’ve seen

Ethereum Foundation’s q1 grants list

A guide to bulk renewing your ENS names

ethereum.org looking for Vietnamese, Thai, Danish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Finnish, or Ukranian translators

A review of hardware for eth staking

A reminder that many ENS names have now expired and need to be renewed! There’s a 90 day grace period, but do it before you forget.

Enterprise

PegaSys’s Hyperledger Besu suite available on Azure Marketplace and Microsoft’s blockchain devkit now supports Besu

Quorum v2.6 – breaking database schema changes, update to geth v1.9.x

Microsoft continues to make the Ethereum dev experience better, with their VScode extension. 

Governance, DAOs, and standards

How to start a MolochDAO

Options for delegated voting in KyberDAO

EIP2633: Formalized upgradable governance

EIP2628: Header in StatusMessage

I oppose any sort of “formalized upgradeable governance” and I think most do.

Application layer

Use POAP for sybil-resistant voting or to determine Discord channel access

Yield: a revised implementation of Dan Robinson’s yTokens for fixed rate, fixed term loans that give a yield curve

Comparing total value locked in DeFi to unique active addresses

75 interesting uses of social money by Roll

Personal tokens were the topic du jour, check out this overview from Dan Finlay

Strike: perpetual swaps with 20x leverage

POAP as a quasi-KYC layer is pretty interesting to me.  Seems like there are some good uses in Ethereum land.

i’m excited to hear that DeFi will get a yield curve!

Tokens/Business/Regulation

Nic Carter: are stablecoins parasitic or beneficial?

OpenRaise: a continuous offering fundraiser for DAOs

dxDAO’s kickstarter using OpenRaise sold out before public announcement – though the curve is still live, plus a secondary Uniswap market

dxDao’s token is an interesting bit.  Most of the token supply goes to the DXDAO, but it’s an interesting experiment in building completely decentralized apps as a Dao with a community that lately has been burgeoning.  It’s also a bit of a check on rent-seeking because it is a credible threat to excessive fees.

One fun note is that the Uniswap market occurred almost immediately and (almost by definition) trades at a substantial discount to the main market.

General

Aggregatable Subvector Commitments, the future may not involve Merkle trees

This week, Ethereum mined its 10 millionth block.

Here’s MyCrypto’s history of Eth hard forks to celebrate 10m blocks

IPFS releases Testground suite for p2p networking tests

PayPal blocked tokenized real estate startup RealT despite a lack of chargebacks, so they’re switching to Wyre

10,000,000 blocks of Ethereum mainnet!

Capricious censorship in web2 and payments!  I’ve been in PayPal’s shoes managing a card not present merchant account, and so I’m somewhat understanding to them.  You’re trying to keep your fraud rate down in a system that sometimes seems rigged against you.  In RealT’s case, they likely also had large amounts coming through which combined with crypto seems scary to Paypal, even with a low chargeback rate.  

It’s not really anyone’s fault.  The system sucks, and this is why Ethereum matters.

Final note that you can see below in the calendar: RAC’s $TAPE dropped yesterday.  It’s a tradable ERC20 token sold on Uniswap (ie, a pre-set price curve).   Of course the price went from $20 to $1000, as the token is redeemable for a limited edition cassette tape of RAC’s new album Boy.

Housekeeping

Did you get forwarded this newsletter?  Sign up to receive it weekly

Permalink: https://weekinethereumnews.com/week-in-ethereum-news-may-10-2020/

Dates of Note

Upcoming dates of note (new/changes in bold):

May 11 – RAC’s $TAPE

May 12 – MakerDAO Sai shutdown deadline

May 22-31 – Ethereum Madrid public health virtual hackathon

May 29-June 16 – SOSHackathon

June 17 – EthBarcelona R&D workshop

[andromedahawking]

NaNoWriMo Day 4

6667 words! Apologies in advance, I wrote this in a sleep-deprived haze when nothing was real, so this probably makes absolutely no sense, but hey, it’s 1667 words. Enjoy!

It made Maria feel a lot better seeing how smoothly this meeting went. Nothing like the previous group projects she’d been a part of. Everybody contributed, everybody had something to pitch in.

“…but the deal with New York was, even though Mazer was really popular, they weren’t totally wooed, right? A bunch of people still refused to vote red…”

“…and in Arizona, it was pretty much guaranteed they’d swing towards the more liberal candidates, so Hanover was going to win no matter what, since she was the most liberal Progressive…”

“…the 29th Amendment only went into effect for this election, it was ratified back in 2046, so there was a 10-year delay before the changes went into effect…”

It was great to see everybody so involved, but as with any assignment, Maria left that day feeling mentally exhuasted. Her head was swirling with all sorts of maps and quotes, blurring together into a big mess of… bleh. She needed to spend a few hours without any heavy thinking and go to bed early.

She ended up doing exactly that when she got home. She went straight to her room, and took a nap for four hours before waking up and doing her homework for the next day. Then she ate dinner, and went back to bed again, not waking up until the next morning.

—

This time, the windows shone brightly with streaming sunlight when she woke up, unhidden by the fog that had conjured up yesterday. She tried to convince herself to get out of bed immediately, but the covers were so warm, and the sun was lighting her room just so… it was a little too intoxicating to let go of just yet. So she made sure her second alarm was set, and drifted off back to sleep again.

This time, when her second alarm went off, she was able to extricate herself from her bed and make her way downstairs. She was still awake before Thalia, although at this point, that was saying more about Thalia than herself. It was 8 already! Shouldn’t she be up too?

“Hey, Thalia, it’s already 8 in the morning! You have one hour to get ready for school, okay?”

“Mmmrrrmmm, school’s not ’til 10!”

“And it’ll take you another half an hour to get your lazy ass out of bed and start getting ready before your ride comes, I know you! If you don’t get up soon you’re going to be late!”

“I knooow!”

Maria sighed angrily. “I’ll be back around 18, don’t do anything too stupid while I’m gone!”

Today was Thursday, so that meant two things: she had both English and History today, and she had work in the afternoon. She tried not to let the familiar sensation of dread hit her too hard as she realised that, but it was… difficult. Work was always a bit of a grating time, but lately, it just seemed like everybody was being just a little bit more insufferable than usual, and it was getting hard to hold her tongue when they were being insufferable to her face. Nathan was her only saving grace at this point. How that man managed to deal with so many people who didn’t know the first thing about social etiquette was beyond her.

She walked into History class with just a few minutes to go before half past. “Mornin’, Professor.”

“Mornin’,” Monaca said back. “Have a good Wednesday?”

“Yeah. Got a good start on the project.”

“Good! I hope you’re ready to work on it today, too?”

Maria rubbed her eyes tiredly. “I hope so. I slept like the dead last night, so I would like to think that maybe I’ll be more awake today.”

“If only it were that easy,” Monaca sighed. “Find a menthol stick, that’ll wake you right up if you start nodding off. Those things are strong as all get-out.”

“Menthol sticks?” Adrien said. “That sounds like some sort of torture method the government would come up with.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, Adrien, ‘cause I also hate menthol with a passion,” Monaca said. “I’ve tried them once, and let me tell you, it woke me right up. Strongest taste out there next to black coffee.”

“That’s honestly frightening.”

—

“Okay, so, 2051!” Monaca said. “I know you guys were al saying that 2050 sounded like a very dull year, but 2051 has some stuff that should actually interest you.”

“Hurrah!”

“Quiet, Hank!”

Monaca laughed. “I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic. Now, in 2051, the groundwork for one of the biggest landmarks in today’s America got laid down: Teller City came onto the map.

“Teller City wasn’t exactly anything special before 2051. It was found in 2033, in the middle of Montana, and got started as a manufacturing city. It wasn’t very big, and it really didn’t have a reputation to speak. But that all changed in 2051. In February that year, a bidding process began for one city to become host to the second headquarters of a fledgling artificial intelligence company that some of you may or may not have heard of: Hawking/Turing Laboratories.”

The class laughed at that line. “Yeah, I don’t think many people really know about HT, Professor,” Hannah called out.

“I didn’t think so either,” Monaca tossed back. “The bidding process took only a couple months, and Teller City was chosen on July 28th. At the time, HT was starting to really get a name for itself, but it hadn’t gotten the reputation it has today just yet. Artificial intelligence was still far from perfected in 2051 and a lot of their resources were being allocated towards energy production to make a profit while their research and development department worked on the androids they’d become known for in the 60s. That meant whichever city won the auction for the second headquarters could count on a pretty healthy influx of jobs and population growth. Teller City had already gone through a pretty amazing growth spurt in the late 40s, but they were confident enough in their infrastructure handling that they were willing to take on another wave of workers coming in to work for Hawking/Turing Labs. They won the auction, and as predicted, there was a big uptick in job growth and population growth in Teller City over the next couple of years as a result of that win. But, that’s only one part of the reason this was such an important year for Teller City.

“Since they won the auction, that meant that this city, in the middle of Montana, which hadn’t really been paid too much attention in the past few decades, got put in the spotlight when President Plenard signed the Energy Restoration Act of 2051.”

“Wait, that sounds familiar,” Tatie said from the back. “Wasn’t the Energy Restoration Act the one that started the energy grid?”

“Exactly!” Monaca said. “The Energy Restoration Act gave a huge burst of government funding to a few energy companies based in the United States as a way to combat the growing energy crisis that was starting to cause major problems for electricity as a result of the oil shortage of the late 40s going into the 50s. And one of those companies was Hawking/Turing Labs, which meant that two cities were given a huge boost of productivity and publicity: namely, Columbia, South Carolina, and Teller City. They started mass-producing cutting-edge solar grids that were to be used to replace the power plants running on fossil fuels, and eventually became the two major hubs of today’s solar grid. In 2051, this was a huge deal, because something on this scale hadn’t been done since the middle of the 1900s, when the interstate highways were built. Teller City got most of the attention, because it produced by and large the biggest amount of panels, gridding, and infrastructure out of any of the other major manufacturing cities in the United States. They sort of had to, since Montana and the West in general is very sparsely populated, so to create a national grid meant they would have to reach all the way out to Washington, Wyoming, Utah, all the small states that have more land than anybody really knows what to do with.”

“Wait, so was this mainly a Hawking/Turing project that was funded by the government, or was this more decentralised?” Maria asked.

“Good question! Hawking/Turing was the main benefactor of the Energy Department’s funding, but a couple of th eother energy juggernauts like PG&E got some pretty substantial extra cash to work on this projet. It took until about 2056 for them to complete the grid, but when they did, it worked pretty damn well. Of course, anything on this level is gonna be rife with lots of little problems, but they did a pretty good job of making it work. Teller City has sort of been given a paragraph to itself in the history textbooks for being at the center of the whole thing. So, if you ever wondered what was so special about Teller City, now you know: they won the second headquarters for HT Labs, and they built a metric shitton of stuff for the solar grid as part of the Eneergy Restoration Act of 2051.”

—

“Okay, it’s official, this class is gonna murder my hands with all the stuff I have to take down,” Adrien said to Maria as they left. “Like, it's interesting and all, and I love it, but Jesus Christ she talks at the speed of sound sometimes.”

“She’s very easy to get excited,” Maria agreed. “Sometimes I wonder if we’d be better off if we put half a sleeping pill in that Snapple bottle of hers before class so we could maybe hear more than just every other word.”

“Ha! Yeah, that probably would help out at least a little.” He checked his watch. “Oop! Sorry, gotta jet, I’ve got Astronomy in five minutes.”

“What?! Dude, run! Run, run! Get going!” Maria exclaimed. “You’re not gonna make it if you don’t book it!”

“I know that already!” he said, already breaking into a jog. He sprinted across the courtyard, then vanished into the sprawl of buildings.

[890428k]

[TRANS] Hanryu Pia July 2017 Interview

170622 Hanryu Pia July 2017 Group Interview (Pages 2~5, 14~15) / Scans © La Esperanca

OVERCOMING CRISES AND THE SEVEN YEAR CURSE WITH TRUST

INFINITE made their debut on 9th June 2010 with the mini album ‘First Invasion’ (title track ‘Come Back Again’) and are welcoming their 7th anniversary this year. Many idol groups in South Korea - most commonly as a result of member changes, enlistment and inability to gain enough popularity - face issues regarding future development as they are unable to break past the seven year curse. INFINITE’s first time on Hanryu Pia was after the release of their second album and another time was during promotional activities for ‘She’s back’. After rising to fame, the INFINITE members branched out separately from simply producing music as a group to each participating in various fields such as drama, variety and musicals. They grew to become individuals who could feature on huge billboards or the cover page of magazines even if they were all by themselves without the backing of the group. Although our chances to interview them gradually diminished as they grew into hugely popular acts over the years, being able to sit down with them now even after a long period of time has passed is more than what we could wish for. They are familiar with our staff members by now. This time, too, “Ah~ it’s the Hanryu Pia interview today. It’s been a while,” L greeted us as we arrived at the photo studio. It is exactly because of our close ties dating back to before that today, we are able to reminisce INFINITE’s seven years together as well as the seven years of the seven members.

Sungyeol: (flipping through pages of our past interviews) What’s this? We- everyone was so ugly! This is hilarious. (laughs) Back to my point, we really looked so ruffled back then. Everyone, we all grew up right?

Hoya: After all, it’s been seven years. If we still don’t grow up, it’ll be difficult in the future.

Dongwoo: Although everyone went through some changes here and there, I feel that I have changed the most, right? I was very cautious and careful at the start but now I’m bolder, running all over the place.

Sunggyu: As for me, I changed into a totally different person. Not just my personality but everything else as well. Just like the Super Saiyan race from Dragon Ball.

Sungyeol: Speaking of this, we must have had a discussion before on the “crises” of the group. Personally speaking, I don’t feel any of such crisis but of course, each member has different thoughts.

Dongwoo: Yeah, there are none. It’s because no matter the situation, we are always in a state of preparation and grit to endure whatever we face.

Sunggyu: Right now, I can feel a very huge crisis.

All members: Huh? What is it?

Sunggyu: Whenever Dongwoo dyes his hair, the crisis his scalp is facing..

Dongwoo: Hahaha, (laughs) about that, it’s a mega-crisis. I already have wounds from it. (laughs)

Sungjong: Ah~ please stop fooling around, hyungs! When we come across any problems, we get it out immediately and clearly. After that, all of us will come together to discuss it or have a 1-on-1 dialogue session. We definitely do not throw tantrums by ourselves or be stubborn about it. Instead, we will get straight to the point and solve the problem right then. Isn’t this way of doing things better?

Yes, this is the kind of atmosphere. Even if seven years have passed, it has not changed. Always happily and wholeheartedly giving their everything for their jobs.

WHAT IS NEEDED FROM NOW ON AFTER ATTAINING 99.9% SYNCHRONISATION

Idol groups from prominent entertainment companies who made their debut in the same period as INFINITE achieved their first music show trophies barely a month into debut. However, it took INFINITE 450 days (‘Be Mine’) to achieve a win on a cable TV channel and another month totalling 488 days to achieve a win on a national TV channel (‘Paradise’). That was quite some time spent. The members cited “receiving our immensely cherished first win” as the greatest turning point for the group.

Dongwoo: We were really anxious before that. It was only when we got our first win that we finally gained the confidence. It was a really momentous milestone.

Myungsoo: Prior to receiving our first win, we really went through so many difficulties…… For the very first time when we heard our group name called for ‘Be Mine’, we were absolutely thrilled!

Hoya: We cried so awfully, everyone’s crying face then was so terrible. (laughs)

Woohyun: Even if I wanted to forget I could never~ My eyeliner was smudged and black tears were running down my face. (laughs)

After achieving their very first music show win, they made their debut in Japan. Ever since then, they have been winning first place on music shows consistently during every round of comeback. Even the goal they set for their Japanese debut - to top the Oricon charts - has been achieved. Having been through showcases all over Asia and two rounds of world tours, INFINITE have masterfully leapt onto the world’s stage.

Sunggyu: The world tour was another turning point too. Being able to show to fans in every corner of the world our capability as live performers, which we were unable to show through television shows, was an opportunity that propelled our growth as well.

Dongwoo: Speaking from my own perspective, it seems our views towards music and our understanding of it has changed ever since kicking off our world tour and the release of ‘Destiny’. We begin to have our own style of interpretation towards love songs that leans towards a sorrowful tone. When we released ‘Back’, that was when we really brought this style and our performance of it to a whole new level. What does everyone think?

Woohyun: That is indeed the case. Our producers changed from Sweetune to Rphabet and the impression left by our songs thus changed substantially as well.

Myungsoo: If we were to determine from the whole picture, didn’t INFINITE’s second season come about since the release of ‘Season 2’? The second season was this period of huge progress that included songs such as ‘Back’ and ‘The Eye’, songs that are full of a manly aura. Our songs from now on are likely to be even more grown-up and mature compared to before.

Speaking of INFINITE’s synonym, it has to be “99.9% synchronisation”. Regardless of which point in the song it is, the sharp, knife-like dances of the seven members are in sync right down to the angle of a lifted arm. That is also a mark of their youth. In this case, to the INFINITE members who have matured into grown men, what is it that is needed from now on? 

Sunggyu: Before, we focused on how to sharpen and synchronise our dance moves as best as we could because that was the only thing we could arm ourselves with in this industry. But as compared to before, we now place greater focus on how to communicate with and reach out to fans through our live performances. That is a kind of synchronisation that we can achieve only with our fans who know us and our music the best. Hopefully, we can become celebrities that will be able to stay in everyone’s memories in the future.

Sungyeol: Although I didn’t think of anything we particularly need, being able to grow suavely with time, maintaining our team spirit that has lasted us till now, standing together with my members facing the audiences on stage, I guess these are to me is what I really need. In other words, our personal will is what we really need. Between the members, we often discuss which sides of us we want to show to everyone in the future. Team spirit, regardless of past or present, will never change.

Woohyun: Yup! The feeling of trust and confidence is the most important. The mutual trust between our members.

THE LOVE FOR INSPIRITS THAT SEEPS THROUGH WORDS AND SONGS

Even though they have released a compilation album, the release of an actual album was still a year and a half after ‘For You’ came out. To INFINITE and their fans, this album can be said to be one that conveys the message “INFINITE is back!”

Sungyeol: Ah~ the hiatus in between was really long that even we ourselves got nervous. (laughs) Last year, we only held ‘That Summer 3’ concerts in Japan without any promotional activities for our albums so it’s really been a while since we’ve met our fans face to face when promoting our album. Although there are many fans who specially make the trip to South Korea to see us, it’s more meaningful if we fly over to meet them instead, isn’t it? I’ve been looking forward to the handshake events where I can meet our fans up close. Being able to share the feeling of happiness with every single one of them, how awesome is that~

Sunggyu: This is really an album that came out after a long time. It has songs from our Korean release of ‘Infinite Only’, three original compositions as well as remixed versions of songs that everyone is already familiar with. I’m really sorry that it took us such a long time. During all this time we’ve made you wait, we were working really hard on recording and filming the MV. The album contains feelings of our sorriness and worry and it would be great if it could become a beautiful present for Japanese fans who have waited to so long for us.

Sungjong: It’s a really awesome album. Instead of us talking about how great this album is, I think it’d be better if we let our fans hear it for themselves instead. Those who have yet to listen to it, please make sure you do, hm?

The title track ‘Air’ is exactly as Woohyun described earlier - a combination of strong melodies and INFINITE’s powerful vocals. It is the product of an impactful fusion between INFINITE’s sorrowful style of songs together with their fiery passion.

Sungyeol: A line in the song goes “yearning for the light and going towards it”. There was a scene in the music video where I was climbing the steps heading in the direction of the lights but when we were filming it, the set was actually pretty dark and the steps were really high. It was actually really scary when I couldn’t see clearly yet had to move up to a higher spot. I even thought to myself “I am definitely going to die once I step out!” as filming went on. My legs were shaking so much. Although I said to the staff not to film my legs, I am not sure how the music video will turn out? As a result of this, I am starting to have a fear of heights. (laughs)

Myungsoo: ‘Air’ is a song that packs a stronger punch. It has a very different feel compared to the other songs and it is one that shows a different side of us to fans. Regrettably, we were unable to show you INFINITE’s knife choreography due to Sunggyu-hyung’s injury so please anticipate it the next time.

In the song ‘Air’, Sunggyu sings “show it to me, that incredible radiance” during the chorus. This particular line left a pretty strong impression on us. Hence, we would like to ask the members this: what would everyone see if we were to request, “Please show something precious of yours to everyone!”

Woohyun: My mobile phone, probably. Ah, no, there’s something more important. The members! The important thing, our members!

Dongwoo: Hmm… air. I guess it’s air. It’s something the living can’t do without isn’t it? And it just so happens it’s called “air” too. (referring to the album’s title) Ahaha. (laughs)

Sungyeol: For me, it’s my body.

Sungjong: Muscles? Recently you’ve been working out a lot right?

Sungyeol: I didn’t mean muscles, what I meant was that what’s important is the issue of maintaining our health. If we are not healthy, doesn’t that mean we would not be able to be with our fans? That’s the reason why these days, I’ve been leading a lifestyle that revolves around exercising by working out at least four hours a day. For Sungjong, the important thing should be your throat, right?

Sungjong: Yup, that is very important. As one grows older, the body becomes weaker so we have to start taking care of it as well as we value our treasure-like vocals. (laughs) Normally, I would either roll my lips to train and relax my mouth or do some throat-stretching exercises.

Sungyeol: Even when sleeping, he wears a custom special protective sleeve around his throat. Says it’s because he doesn’t want to risk his throat and neck hurting and wants to protect them properly.

Sunggyu: Hmm~ If I had to single out just one, I would say it’s probably the albums we released in the past. Although my thoughts, memories and efforts can’t be outwardly shown to audiences live, the one thing that encompasses all of these together in one package have got to be our albums. They are invaluable gems that we only achieved after putting in so much hard work.

Myungsoo: As for me, what is important isn’t really any physical thing but time. Regardless of whether it’s something brand new or something important, it is all because there’s time for me to prepare for it that I can present it well. Be it singing or dancing, time is definitely important in order for us to be able to show different sides of us to everyone.

Hoya: Everyone, did you forget it because it’s right in front of you? The most precious thing has got to be Inspirits of course!

All members: Oh, right! Of course, as expected of Hoya!

Hoya: Indeed, as expected of Hoya. (laughs) There are times when I cannot help but think “Is there any value in my existence? Where do I stand exactly?” During times like these, it is our fans, who are witness to the value of my existence, that assure me telling me “It’s alright!”. I am really grateful and thankful.

INFINITE’s path to solidifying their position in the present day was definitely not a comfortable and easy one. Stumbling into various obstacles throughout the way and pumping in so much hard work it seems as if their blood could physically seep out from an intangibility as such, they finally have the glory they deserve. It was Inspirits who have been with them for the past seven years through thick and thin. The song ‘Thank You’ is dedicated to Inspirits, who can be described as half of the wings that hold and support INFINITE.

Dongwoo: Up till today, so many things have happened, no? There are the good and also the bad. With Inspirits, it feels like there is a tug-of-war going on between us? You can say it’s like a mutually dependent relationship. Even though we had travelled across the globe to greet and deliver our gratitude to Inspirits from every corner of the world, this song isn’t as simple as a few words and phrases strung together. It contains our heartfelt feelings. Being able to express a message coming from the bottom of our hearts makes us happy as well.

Woohyun: As of today, it has been more than seven years since our debut. From the past, and even in the future, it isn’t a “happy ending” for Inspirits and INFINITE but a “never ending”.

There is another new song, ‘Waiting For The Moment’, that we hope fans can listen to while reading the lyrics. This song is one that really tells the story of INFINITE. A line in the song goes “try and take a step out towards the goal that still seems far away”. What are some of the goals that INFINITE have for the future?

Sunggyu: Yes, this song is a song about our story. I really like it and even suggested to use it as the title track although this didn’t work out in the end. (laughs) Goals can be a certain place or a certain moment in time. While recording this song, I’ve been thinking to myself “Is this referring to the present? Or the future? When exactly?” Right then, what was running through my head was that when our fans are listening to our music regardless of whether they hear it live or at home, which is to say, that one moment when our music is able to reach out to our fans, I guess that is the goal that is implied.

Myungsoo: There is a feeling of hope in the song. It awakens not only our memories but also serves as a reminder of the memories shared between Inspirits and us. The song contains our gratitude towards our fans as well. It is a song that holds many meanings. Right now, this song also encompasses all of my feelings.

Hanryu Pia’s【Basketball Finals】— There was a basketball court in the courtyard of the venue where we set up our photo studio and held the interview. Sungyeol and Woohyun played rounds of shooting goals very happily. However, their game was stuck in a deadlock that was won easily by the manager as soon as he entered the game. Sungyeol, who earlier mentioned he’s been consistently exercising all this while, stated “I must have over-exercised, my legs are aching!”

jp-cn translation by SungLikePoison / cn-en translation by 890428k with special help from onlydongwoo / take out only with full credits

[nesoi]

Doing first aid and CPR training. My bosses paid for the course and paid my hours for the first day, but not the second since it wasn’t necessary to their buisness. But, I decided to do the second day so I could get my Standard First Aid instead of just Emergency. The full course was paid for so I might as well spend my day off doing it...

As a genera life update: August was just the start of a lot of changes for me. The week started with my ceiling opening up in my apartment with a leak- and now two sheets of drywall my landlord hasn’t fixed. My best friend and coworker is going back to school and her last day was Aug 1st. And then, as of August 2nd I became the assistant manager at my job- which is pretty much the highest I can get at this job as the GM is one of the owners of the business. I’m proud and I think I’ll do good stuff and I’ve managed to really ground myself on what I’ll allow myself to get stressed out about at work and what I’m not going to exhaust myself over.

I started a new medication the first of July. Now being on it for a month, I’m finally for the first time ever seeing a substantial positive change in my mental wellbeing during this trial. Which is exciting but of course terrifying. Now it seems all of these things that I’ve personally put off because “I’m not mentally feeling well enough”- well- there’s a pressure I’ve now put on myself to perform better now that I AM doing better. But I know realistically, that’s not really how it works.

Despite that reality, I have taken on a few more art commissions. Doing this art is making me feel good, but it does come with the pressure to perform my little circus art tricks for pennies and putting effort into things that I don’t necessarily love to make. Though I don’t allow to let myself take on anything I hate- commission work is always something short of making art for yourself. But I still can’t seem to make art for myself just yet as I’m still struggling with that part of my self-harm routine of not making art... so commissions WILL DO.

Speaking of art, it’s just over two months until my next art convention. Don’t even mention this to me because I’ll probably break into stress hives thinking about how I’m still not prepared with any art stock that i’m actually PROUD of. Every year I say “Next year I’ll make better prints” And... Nothin really new.

In September, my spouse is returning to school. Despite me now working an extra day a week and also my promotion eraning me a raise, things will be tight as that income from my partner will be barely half of what was coming in before. Panic. MONEY is the cause of a good 60-70% of my stress. It would be more if I wasn’t climatized to living paycheck-to-paycheck already, but I’ve long since accepted the reality of my finances and the braket I was born into and I’ve struggled more before now. But I still have bills and debt and still no paper to my name as a graduate of any post secondary. I KNOW that’s not really something I should put all value on- but as a person who once genuinely loved acedemia- it’s hard. Little 98.9% high school average me is dying because of it. But that’s a whole other post worth of struggle.

Aside from those things, some wonderful people came back into my life suddenly and rather unexpectedly. It’s weird catching up with those you haven’t really seen or been with in around three years- and just going back to how it was. I love it, and love having these companions back. Y’all follow me so I know y’all will read this gay shit, but thank you for coming back into my life. Though, I’d like to think in the past few years I’ve grown mentally and especially worked on my self-care skills. So having people who were in my PAST now be in my PRESENT reminds me of past itterations of myself that I feel I am no longer- if that makes sense. I’m still me- but leveled up? But anything that reminds me of who I have been also throws me for a loop as an unpleasant reminder of things I wasn’t proud of (dropping out of school- my general mental breakdowns lol). Moving away helps escape your past but it does catch up and though this isn’t bad blood at all- I have to confront the fact that I am still ME and not completely reinvented. If that makes sense? When I moved away I kinda had a clean slate. That being said, I’m so happy to have this company back into my life and I’m glad they’re here with me now.

All of that and I won’t get into the troubles of having a suicidal mother who greatly benefits from my care that I can’t constantly provide, an exhausted father who misses his daughter, a struggling younger sibling who yearns to move away and be in the same province as me, and a recently-single brother who is begging me to move back home and in with him and my niece to work at his business in the same industry that I work in.

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. How do we adult? Will my stress kill me? Will I ever actually have actual money instead of debt?

[velmaemyers88]

In Conversation with Danny Trejo: From Character Actor to Taco Mogul

The actor talked to Fortune about his adventures in Hollywood and with Trejo’s Tacos.

Nothing about Danny Trejo is what you might expect, including his secret to success.

“Everything good that’s happened to me is a direct result of me helping other people,” says Trejo, 75, whose surprisingly compact 5-foot-6 frame—clad in all black, his long dark hair hanging loose alongside a silver cross necklace—is tucked inside a booth at the Hollywood hub of his booming taco business, Trejo’s Cantina.

His soft-spoken reflectiveness and fondness for high-fives belie a life that could have gone very differently: Born to Mexican-American parents in Los Angeles, Trejo spent most of his young-adult life in and out of California prisons for drugs and robberies. It was during that time and since then that he honed his boxing talents (a helpful skill in venues like San Quentin), got sober at 25, became a prolific character actor, and, from working as a youth drug counselor and motivational speaker, discovered how much he loves giving back.

Danny Trejo inside the kitchen at Trejo’s Tacos on July 11, 2019. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Today, Trejo’s iconic craggy visage fronts eight Trejo’s Tacos locations across Los Angeles, and the eats are a hit: The Los Angeles Times named the rainbow cauliflower tacos on its 2017 list of 10 favorite recipes; the Cantina location serves around 500 diners a day on weekends; and there’s talk of expanding the business, which now includes a doughnut shop, outside California. (He’s also recently launched Trejo’s Cerveza, currently for sale at L.A.-area Whole Foods and Total Wine.) Somehow Trejo also still has time for acting: He’ll soon add 20-plus roles to his nearly 300-credit film and TV résumé, including a second Machete sequel and August’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, in which he voices a monkey named Boots, a role Trejo says proudly “will give me a whole new audience.”

Fortune chatted with Trejo in early July about his food-mogul renaissance, his adventures in Hollywood, and how he learned to channel a misspent youth into a force for good.

Fortune: Trejo’s Tacos feels like an L.A. institution, yet it’s only three years old. What inspired you to get into the restaurant business?

Trejo: My mom was a gourmet cook. When I around 12, I’d say, “We should start a restaurant,” but my dad was like a Mexican Archie Bunker. “Hey, we’ve got a kitchen right there!” [Laughs] Seven years ago I did a low-budget movie called Bad Ass, and one of the producers, Ash Shah, noticed that I didn’t like junk food. I am pretty picky! A few movies later, Ash says, “Danny, you should start a restaurant.” He created a business plan for Trejo’s Tacos. My team said, “If nobody’s asking you to front 50 grand, seems like a good idea!” We opened, and it totally blew up. Two years ago we opened the doughnut shop, and we sell out by 2 p.m. every day.

Anthony Bourdain raved about your tacos when he filmed Parts Unknown here in 2017. What was that day like for you?

Amazing. He joked, “You’re Mexican and you have a cauliflower taco?” He loved it. At around five or six o’clock at night, you’ll see a lot families coming in here. One woman told me, “Thank God for this place.” The kids can be gluten-free, mom can be vegetarian, and Dad can have cow!

Trejo’s Tacos offers gluten free and vegetarian taco options. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

I love the nachos with steak and two eggs on top for breakfast.

Your latest incarnation as a restaurateur is another twist in an already surreal career. To what do you attribute your staying power?

I have good people around me. The same agent for 25 years. I met my assistant Mario at San Quentin when I made a movie there, and he was a prisoner. He’s been with me for 15 years.

You were discovered while working as a boxing coach on the set of the 1985 Jon Voight movie Runaway Train. But it wasn’t until you were cast as the knife-throwing Navajas in your cousin Robert Rodriguez’s 1995 film Desperado that you started to play substantial roles. Is it true you didn’t know you were related until shooting began?

We first met when I auditioned in L.A. He said, “You remind me of the bad guys in my high school.” I said, “I am the bad guys from your high school!” Then we filmed in Acuña, Mexico. My family from San Antonio visited the set. My Uncle Rudy says, “Who’s that?” I say, “Robert Rodriguez, the director.” He whistles at Robert, “Hey! Say hello to your second cousin Danny!” I was like, “What’s up, cousin? Make my role bigger!” But he didn’t. He said, “Danny, you can do more with your face than most actors can with dialogue.” I’m walking around with no shirt, all these tattoos, people asking for my autograph. Robert says, “They think you’re the star.” I said, “You mean I’m not?” Nobody really knew [lead actor] Antonio Banderas at the time. He was quiet—unlike me. [Laughs]

Trejo’s Tacos and Trejo’s Coffee merchandise on display for purchase. Two years ago, Trejo opened a doughnut shop that sells out by 2 p.m. every day. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Robert went on to create the vigilante-hero character Machete for you. How did he evolve from a minor character in the Spy Kids franchise to fronting two, soon-to-be three features?

After he put Uncle Machete in Spy Kids, Robert did the Grindhouse movies [with director Quentin Tarantino], and they needed fake movie trailers. One was for a Machete movie. At the premiere, everybody was like, “You have to do that movie.” Machete was the first Mexican superhero. I was almost in tears when I saw 8-year-old kids dressed like him on Halloween.

Of all the people you’ve worked with, when have you felt the most starstruck?

With Robert De Niro, when we did Heat. Then Robert [Rodriguez] somehow got him to do Machete! I see him on the set and he says, “Well, well, well, number one on the call sheet now, eh?” I was like, “Can I get you some coffee, Mr. De Niro?” [Laughs]

For what roles are you most often recognized when you’re out in the world? Seeing your severed head on a turtle in season two of Breaking Bad left quite an impression with fans.

Spy Kids. Machete. Anchorman. Bubble Boy. And every Mexican I know loves Blood In, Blood Out. For Breaking Bad, I remember my agent saying, “Danny, you’re going to have a Hollywood first: You’re going to go across the desert on a turtle.” I’m thinking it’s a cartoon, or a really big turtle? “Actually, no. It’s just your head.” [Laughs]

A lot of your roles lean campy, but you’ve also acted in serious films like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Sherrybaby about a mother who’s a drug-addicted ex-con. When did you think to yourself, “Wait, I can actually act?”

I’m a drug counselor at a place called Western Pacific Rehab. A few years ago, my son Gilbert cast me in a drug-themed movie he wrote called From a Son. There’s a scene where I break down and cry. I’d never had to do that in a movie. I was thinking I’d do a John Wayne, tough-guy thing, but my son…shit, he’s so brilliant. He reminded me of stuff from when he was young. He showed me a picture of us from 1985, when he was a little baby. Then, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t even cry at my parents’ funerals.

Trejo’s silver cross necklace and watch. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Did you surprise yourself in that moment?

Completely. I thought, “Wow, okay, this must be acting.”

Your son is named after your Uncle Gilbert, who you’ve said led you down a path of crime when you were a teenager. What do you remember about that time?

My dad came from a family of 11, and Gilbert was the youngest. He was only six years older than me. I had no siblings, so he was like my older brother. Unfortunately, he was also an armed robber and a drug addict. He showed me how to rob when I was 14. He gave me a sawed-off shotgun and put me in front of a mirror to practice. “Give me your money, bitch. I’ll slap you!”

Your first acting job.

[Laughs] Yes. We robbed an Asian grocery store together called Far East Market in Burbank. We had a revolver, but you had to hold it just so or it would fall apart. I go, “Give me the money! Give me the money!” The woman gives me $8 from the cash register. I grabbed it, and we ran down Lankershim as this guy comes out of the back, screaming, with a hatchet!

How do you feel now about the crimes you committed?

I feel regret. I’ve never been mean, but I’ve also never let anybody take advantage of me. In prison you’re predator or prey. My friend Cookie and I had a protection ring for young kids coming in, including for gay couples who’d been married on the streets. When I got out of the pen, I’d get cards from kids we protected. Their parents also said thank you.

Did your own parents live to see your success?

My mom did. My dad saw me get sober but never saw me get into acting. He would have laughed. Even my mom was like, “Get a job, mijo,” even after I’d worked with Robert De Niro in Heat! She did get excited when I was on The Young and the Restless in 2008. She had four of her friends over to watch, and they were like, “Oh, my God.” That was it. I’d made it.

Over the years you’ve appeared in dozens of commercials and ads—selling products from Snickers to AARP—and you’re now a spokesman for the erectile dysfunction product Giddy. What appealed to you about tackling that taboo subject?

We don’t talk anything in our society—condoms in high school, birth control. We definitely don’t talk about erectile dysfunction, especially in the Hispanic community. I don’t know a man who hasn’t experienced it. I think it’s like everything I do—teaching people to neuter their dogs, warning kids about drugs, you need to show them you’re cool. You need a face like this to get through to them. Not so much as “Danny Trejo” but the guy from Spy Kids, the guy from Heat, the guy from Desperado. People think, “Okay, I want to hear what this guy has to say.”

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—Woodstock 50 lives on for now. But here’s how it all unraveled

—‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ debut overperforms—but can its spell last?

—Amazon’s TV bosses want to remind you (again) why they’re not Netflix

—A taste of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s new mezcal

—Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily

Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.

Credit: Source link

The post In Conversation with Danny Trejo: From Character Actor to Taco Mogul appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.com/in-conversation-with-danny-trejo-from-character-actor-to-taco-mogul/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-conversation-with-danny-trejo-from-character-actor-to-taco-mogul from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.tumblr.com/post/186647339637

[weeklyreviewer]

In Conversation with Danny Trejo: From Character Actor to Taco Mogul

The actor talked to Fortune about his adventures in Hollywood and with Trejo’s Tacos.

Nothing about Danny Trejo is what you might expect, including his secret to success.

“Everything good that’s happened to me is a direct result of me helping other people,” says Trejo, 75, whose surprisingly compact 5-foot-6 frame—clad in all black, his long dark hair hanging loose alongside a silver cross necklace—is tucked inside a booth at the Hollywood hub of his booming taco business, Trejo’s Cantina.

His soft-spoken reflectiveness and fondness for high-fives belie a life that could have gone very differently: Born to Mexican-American parents in Los Angeles, Trejo spent most of his young-adult life in and out of California prisons for drugs and robberies. It was during that time and since then that he honed his boxing talents (a helpful skill in venues like San Quentin), got sober at 25, became a prolific character actor, and, from working as a youth drug counselor and motivational speaker, discovered how much he loves giving back.

Danny Trejo inside the kitchen at Trejo’s Tacos on July 11, 2019. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Today, Trejo’s iconic craggy visage fronts eight Trejo’s Tacos locations across Los Angeles, and the eats are a hit: The Los Angeles Times named the rainbow cauliflower tacos on its 2017 list of 10 favorite recipes; the Cantina location serves around 500 diners a day on weekends; and there’s talk of expanding the business, which now includes a doughnut shop, outside California. (He’s also recently launched Trejo’s Cerveza, currently for sale at L.A.-area Whole Foods and Total Wine.) Somehow Trejo also still has time for acting: He’ll soon add 20-plus roles to his nearly 300-credit film and TV résumé, including a second Machete sequel and August’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, in which he voices a monkey named Boots, a role Trejo says proudly “will give me a whole new audience.”

Fortune chatted with Trejo in early July about his food-mogul renaissance, his adventures in Hollywood, and how he learned to channel a misspent youth into a force for good.

Fortune: Trejo’s Tacos feels like an L.A. institution, yet it’s only three years old. What inspired you to get into the restaurant business?

Trejo: My mom was a gourmet cook. When I around 12, I’d say, “We should start a restaurant,” but my dad was like a Mexican Archie Bunker. “Hey, we’ve got a kitchen right there!” [Laughs] Seven years ago I did a low-budget movie called Bad Ass, and one of the producers, Ash Shah, noticed that I didn’t like junk food. I am pretty picky! A few movies later, Ash says, “Danny, you should start a restaurant.” He created a business plan for Trejo’s Tacos. My team said, “If nobody’s asking you to front 50 grand, seems like a good idea!” We opened, and it totally blew up. Two years ago we opened the doughnut shop, and we sell out by 2 p.m. every day.

Anthony Bourdain raved about your tacos when he filmed Parts Unknown here in 2017. What was that day like for you?

Amazing. He joked, “You’re Mexican and you have a cauliflower taco?” He loved it. At around five or six o’clock at night, you’ll see a lot families coming in here. One woman told me, “Thank God for this place.” The kids can be gluten-free, mom can be vegetarian, and Dad can have cow!

Trejo’s Tacos offers gluten free and vegetarian taco options. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

I love the nachos with steak and two eggs on top for breakfast.

Your latest incarnation as a restaurateur is another twist in an already surreal career. To what do you attribute your staying power?

I have good people around me. The same agent for 25 years. I met my assistant Mario at San Quentin when I made a movie there, and he was a prisoner. He’s been with me for 15 years.

You were discovered while working as a boxing coach on the set of the 1985 Jon Voight movie Runaway Train. But it wasn’t until you were cast as the knife-throwing Navajas in your cousin Robert Rodriguez’s 1995 film Desperado that you started to play substantial roles. Is it true you didn’t know you were related until shooting began?

We first met when I auditioned in L.A. He said, “You remind me of the bad guys in my high school.” I said, “I am the bad guys from your high school!” Then we filmed in Acuña, Mexico. My family from San Antonio visited the set. My Uncle Rudy says, “Who’s that?” I say, “Robert Rodriguez, the director.” He whistles at Robert, “Hey! Say hello to your second cousin Danny!” I was like, “What’s up, cousin? Make my role bigger!” But he didn’t. He said, “Danny, you can do more with your face than most actors can with dialogue.” I’m walking around with no shirt, all these tattoos, people asking for my autograph. Robert says, “They think you’re the star.” I said, “You mean I’m not?” Nobody really knew [lead actor] Antonio Banderas at the time. He was quiet—unlike me. [Laughs]

Trejo’s Tacos and Trejo’s Coffee merchandise on display for purchase. Two years ago, Trejo opened a doughnut shop that sells out by 2 p.m. every day. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Robert went on to create the vigilante-hero character Machete for you. How did he evolve from a minor character in the Spy Kids franchise to fronting two, soon-to-be three features?

After he put Uncle Machete in Spy Kids, Robert did the Grindhouse movies [with director Quentin Tarantino], and they needed fake movie trailers. One was for a Machete movie. At the premiere, everybody was like, “You have to do that movie.” Machete was the first Mexican superhero. I was almost in tears when I saw 8-year-old kids dressed like him on Halloween.

Of all the people you’ve worked with, when have you felt the most starstruck?

With Robert De Niro, when we did Heat. Then Robert [Rodriguez] somehow got him to do Machete! I see him on the set and he says, “Well, well, well, number one on the call sheet now, eh?” I was like, “Can I get you some coffee, Mr. De Niro?” [Laughs]

For what roles are you most often recognized when you’re out in the world? Seeing your severed head on a turtle in season two of Breaking Bad left quite an impression with fans.

Spy Kids. Machete. Anchorman. Bubble Boy. And every Mexican I know loves Blood In, Blood Out. For Breaking Bad, I remember my agent saying, “Danny, you’re going to have a Hollywood first: You’re going to go across the desert on a turtle.” I’m thinking it’s a cartoon, or a really big turtle? “Actually, no. It’s just your head.” [Laughs]

A lot of your roles lean campy, but you’ve also acted in serious films like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Sherrybaby about a mother who’s a drug-addicted ex-con. When did you think to yourself, “Wait, I can actually act?”

I’m a drug counselor at a place called Western Pacific Rehab. A few years ago, my son Gilbert cast me in a drug-themed movie he wrote called From a Son. There’s a scene where I break down and cry. I’d never had to do that in a movie. I was thinking I’d do a John Wayne, tough-guy thing, but my son…shit, he’s so brilliant. He reminded me of stuff from when he was young. He showed me a picture of us from 1985, when he was a little baby. Then, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t even cry at my parents’ funerals.

Trejo’s silver cross necklace and watch. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Did you surprise yourself in that moment?

Completely. I thought, “Wow, okay, this must be acting.”

Your son is named after your Uncle Gilbert, who you’ve said led you down a path of crime when you were a teenager. What do you remember about that time?

My dad came from a family of 11, and Gilbert was the youngest. He was only six years older than me. I had no siblings, so he was like my older brother. Unfortunately, he was also an armed robber and a drug addict. He showed me how to rob when I was 14. He gave me a sawed-off shotgun and put me in front of a mirror to practice. “Give me your money, bitch. I’ll slap you!”

Your first acting job.

[Laughs] Yes. We robbed an Asian grocery store together called Far East Market in Burbank. We had a revolver, but you had to hold it just so or it would fall apart. I go, “Give me the money! Give me the money!” The woman gives me $8 from the cash register. I grabbed it, and we ran down Lankershim as this guy comes out of the back, screaming, with a hatchet!

How do you feel now about the crimes you committed?

I feel regret. I’ve never been mean, but I’ve also never let anybody take advantage of me. In prison you’re predator or prey. My friend Cookie and I had a protection ring for young kids coming in, including for gay couples who’d been married on the streets. When I got out of the pen, I’d get cards from kids we protected. Their parents also said thank you.

Did your own parents live to see your success?

My mom did. My dad saw me get sober but never saw me get into acting. He would have laughed. Even my mom was like, “Get a job, mijo,” even after I’d worked with Robert De Niro in Heat! She did get excited when I was on The Young and the Restless in 2008. She had four of her friends over to watch, and they were like, “Oh, my God.” That was it. I’d made it.

Over the years you’ve appeared in dozens of commercials and ads—selling products from Snickers to AARP—and you’re now a spokesman for the erectile dysfunction product Giddy. What appealed to you about tackling that taboo subject?

We don’t talk anything in our society—condoms in high school, birth control. We definitely don’t talk about erectile dysfunction, especially in the Hispanic community. I don’t know a man who hasn’t experienced it. I think it’s like everything I do—teaching people to neuter their dogs, warning kids about drugs, you need to show them you’re cool. You need a face like this to get through to them. Not so much as “Danny Trejo” but the guy from Spy Kids, the guy from Heat, the guy from Desperado. People think, “Okay, I want to hear what this guy has to say.”

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—Woodstock 50 lives on for now. But here’s how it all unraveled

—‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ debut overperforms—but can its spell last?

—Amazon’s TV bosses want to remind you (again) why they’re not Netflix

—A taste of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s new mezcal

—Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily

Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.

Credit: Source link

The post In Conversation with Danny Trejo: From Character Actor to Taco Mogul appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.com/in-conversation-with-danny-trejo-from-character-actor-to-taco-mogul/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-conversation-with-danny-trejo-from-character-actor-to-taco-mogul

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Cover You In Oil, Part 1

WordCount: 8496 (I promise this is the only chapter that insanely long. I swear. The other ones average around 3500 words) Tags: @outside-the-government, @yourtropegirl @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 (please let me know if you want to be tagged) Author’s Note: I started writing this fic in July of 2015, shortly after my Mum was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The idea came to me one day as I was driving to work, so clearly... I knew I had to write it. I love the soulmate trope. As usual - since this isn’t a Star Trek fic and this is a Star Trek blog, let me know if you want to continue to see it or not. Description: Sally Manners has spent her life avoiding the man whose name is etched on the inside of her thigh. Until suddenly she can't. Tony Stark x OFC, Soulmate AU.

Her mother’s soulmark was a beautiful scratchy line of her dad’s script along the side of her foot. It said “You look lost”. A beautiful opening line. Sally’s dad’s soulmark was slightly less romantic, “Not hard to be, in ButtFuck Nowhere”, etched in the large loopy letters of her mom’s hand, just above his collarbone. The romantic notion of the soulmark was not quite so romantic in its gritty reality. This became all the more evident when Sally’s soulmark rose on her skin. It had always been there, a dark, snake-like smudge starting on the outside of her thigh and twisting around her leg before ending just above the inside of her knee. As she got older, and the words finally became visible, Sally realized she would be better hiding out in ‘ButtFuck Nowhere’ with her grandparents, working at the Piggly-Wiggly than ever trying to pursue her passion for anything that might bring her in contact with him. The problem was, her summers spent with Nan and Pops sparked a passion for classic car restoration. And she was damn good at it. It was like it was written in the stars that she was going to eventually meet the man whose actual name was seared on her skin.

Sally had never heard or met anyone whose soulmark actually identified their soulmate. It reeked of arrogance and conceit. It would have been one thing if the damn name had been something common, like John Smith. But even in the days before Wikipedia and Google, Sally had heard of him.

“I’m Iron Man, but I don’t mind if you scream Tony motherfucking Stark when my face is buried between your thighs.” The letters were precise, perfect block letters that almost looked unreal. The first time she’d managed to read all the words, she couldn’t figure out what it meant, but after her first clumsy foray into sexual experimentation, she knew exactly what it meant. And every time she saw it, her cheeks flushed. She never wanted to meet him. She never wanted to hear those words. She never wanted to know what horrified response she would give.

Pops bought the Mustang when she was sixteen, and taught her how to do a complete teardown on it. She rebuilt it from the ground up. The ’65 Shelby Mustang had been rust, congealed oil and regret when Pops towed it into the backyard. Sally had thrown herself into it wholeheartedly, saving up every penny from every summer job she could manage to buy original parts to help restore the car.

“What colour will you paint it, Sal?” Pops asked as her nodded in approval.

“The only colour you can paint it, Pops. Red.” Sally could already see it in her mind’s eye. It took her a whole summer to save for the paint job. On her 18th birthday, Pops handed the pink slip to her, and a photo album documenting the entire job.

“Consider it your resume. You’ll never have a problem getting a job if you drive this car and show off that photo album,” Pops promised.

That was nearly twenty years ago, and the Shelby looked just as good now as it did the day it came back from the paint shop. And Pops had been right. She’d never wanted for work. At her first job, the owner had been a pig. He was more interested in upselling oil changes by trying to convince her to bend over the hoods of cars in shorts than actually seeing what she was capable of. But that job had led to another, with the kind of boss who didn’t care that she was female. Which led to more work. And more work. And eventually an independent contract with one of the best restoration shops in the country, based out of California. Goodbye ButtFuck Nowhere, hello big leagues. Seventeen long, labour intensive years, but she was pulling in six figures, owned a great bungalow with a huge garage and shop, and could pick and choose jobs from a waitlist over three years long.

And if every so often, Sally felt like she was missing out on something because she still hadn’t met her soulmate, she just reminded herself of exactly what kind of man he was by reading a gossip magazine, and the feeling left her. And if every so often, she had an itch she really needed to scratch, well, she lived near Hollywood now, and there was plenty of make-up available to mask that soulmark so whatever erstwhile lover she took wouldn’t spill her secrets. And Tony Stark didn’t seem to be hurting for not having met her, from the looks of things. He was successful, there was the whole superhero thing, and he and that Virginia Potts woman looked awfully close. She must be a saint, Sally thought.

It was a blazing hot Sunday afternoon, and the stereo was cranked as Sally was finishing up on a gorgeous 1970 Dodge Challenger. It was the kind of car that screamed for an appropriate playlist, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was blasting on the stereo. During a break between songs, the unfamiliar staccato of high heels filled the silence in the shop.

“Be right out!” Sally called from under the hood of the car. She twisted the wrench and tightened the bolt on the oil pan. She dropped the tool on the ground with a clang, and pushed herself out from under the car on the dolly.

The woman was tall, and what her mother would have called ‘well put together’, in a tailored cream linen business suit, and nude heels. The look set off the strawberry blonde of her hair and her perfect cheekbones. She looked familiar, but Sally couldn’t place her. She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed a rag to wipe her hands, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her ragged work coveralls, stained with grease and oil. She was sure she was an absolute sight. She’d been so set on finishing the car to send it for paint that she’d rolled out of bed at six am, pulled her sandy blonde hair into a messy knot on the top of her head, and thrown on whatever clothes were on the floor under her coveralls. The look was disheveled in the extreme, but she had only been expecting the tow company later in the afternoon.

Sally made to extend her hand in greeting and then noticed exactly how filthy she was. The Challenger had been a labour of love similar to her Mustang and she’d been consumed with the need to make it perfect. It was being donated by the owner to a charity fundraising for pancreatic cancer research. The disease had stolen her father from her a few years earlier, and so she was donating her time restoring the car to its former glory in the hopes to bring loads of cash in for the research foundation. She withdrew her hand self-consciously.

“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting clients today,” Sally apologized. “I’m Sally Manners.”

“Virginia Potts, from –“

“Stark Industries. I’ve read about you,” Sally interrupted. “Way to smash the glass ceiling, Ms. Potts.”

“Please, call me Pepper,” she smiled. “This car is stunning. And proves you are exactly the person I am looking for. I have a friend who has the same car. It’s running rough, and needs some body work.”

“Yeah? What colour is his? I’m thinking about purple for this one, just because of the charity,” Sally offered.

“His is red,” Pepper seemed just a little unnerved, and then recovered by gesturing to her cheek. “You have some grease,” she trailed off.

Sally rubbed the rag on her cheek, but suspected she had probably just made the smear worse. “Perks of the job.”

“Anyhow, I understand you have a substantial waitlist, but my friend’s birthday is coming up soon. I’m prepared to make it very worthwhile,” Pepper offered. Sally quirked an eyebrow, wondering if this friend was the man whose name was coiled around her thigh.

“Anyone I’ve heard of?” Sally asked. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If it was for Stark, she could graciously explain her waitlist was just too pressing.

“The archer,” Pepper replied, and pulled a folder out from under her arm. “These are photos of his Challenger. It’s in pretty rough shape, but he loves it. I would be prepared to fly you out to New York all expenses paid to restore the car. I probably could funnel some other work your way. Steve’s just picked up a 1943 Harley that needs some work, and –“

“Can I see the pictures?” Sally waited for Pepper to offer the folder, and then flipped through the file. The Challenger was in rough shape, but it was definitely not a big job. She could probably be in and out in two weeks tops. It wouldn’t be too hard to avoid Tony Stark for two weeks. Would it?

“We have a top of the line garage that you would have access to, and can fully accommodate you in the tower. Meals catered too,” Pepper began.

“Gym? Pool?” Sally was almost teasing, but was curious exactly how much Pepper was willing to offer.

“Of course,” she nodded. “You’ll find our offer for remuneration on the last page.”

Sally flipped past the various photos of the car, and the car’s excessively hot owner and glanced at the last page. Her breath nearly caught. It was half what she made in a year. And she was being offered it for a two-week job. She would be out of her mind to say no, regardless of the potential of encountering Stark.

“This car is going to paint this afternoon. I can be in New York by Thursday,” Sally offered.

“If you can make it Tuesday, I can fly you out on the Stark Industries plane, and save you a commercial flight,” Pepper offered.

“I don’t want to rush this job. I’ll arrange my flight for Thursday.” Sally was not going to risk walking on a plane with Pepper Potts and Tony Stark.

“Nonsense. I’ll arrange your flight. I’ll email you the details tonight. I’m looking forward to working with you, Sally.” To Sally’s complete surprise, Pepper reached out and shook her hand.

Sally woke with a start early Thursday morning. Her nerves had been a little on edge since agreeing to head to New York. She knew she was being paranoid, but she felt like the skin of her soulmark was itchy, almost burning. And she kept imagining scenario after scenario where she encountered Tony Stark and blurted out some weird and obscure comment that could clue him in to her significance. She’d agonized over packing. Was that outfit too revealing? Would this one catch his eye? The more insignificant she appeared, the better the two weeks would run. She’d even packed her coverage cream just in case, so that her soulmark would be covered at all times, away from prying eyes.

She rolled over and checked her phone. It was only four a.m., but she got up. The sun was rising and the morning was already warm. She pulled on her gear to head out on a run. The run was invigorating and the exact stress release she needed. The nervousness dissipated and by the time she was in the shower, she was eagerly anticipating working on the Dodge.

She settled into her seat on the plane and flipped open the folder of photos that Pepper had given her, to really look into the lines of the car. She’d contacted a shop early in the week and had ordered some parts to be fabricated and sent to Stark Tower to Pepper’s attention. Again, she thanked whatever cosmic intervention had allowed her to be completing the charity Challenger when Pepper contacted her, as it was a small matter to have the same pieces fabricated again, and an order for any others on standby in case the car was in worse shape than she could tell from the photos. Pepper had texted her as she was boarding the plane that they’d been dropped off.

“I’ll have them delivered to the garage for you. Is there anything else you need before you turn your phone off?”

“I’m keen to get started this afternoon. Maybe a pizza? Six-pack of beer?” The last time Sally had been in New York, she’d learned a whole new appreciation for pizza.

“Preferences?”

“Surprise me.” Sally figured Pepper knew beers and pizza. Tony Stark had a well-documented propensity for spending days on end in his lab. Pepper probably knew the best place for every type of take out available.

Flying first class was nothing new to Sally, but she appreciated that Pepper had upgraded the hell out of her when the flight attendance brought her a drink menu. The nerves had been slowly returning since she’d boarded the plane. One drink would relax her just enough that she’d probably nap for the rest of the flight and make it to New York feeling ready to tear down Hawkeye’s Challenger.

“Vodka, please,” Sally requested, handing back the list.

“Ice?” He asked.

“Please.” Sally preferred her vodka neat, but when traveling took ice just for the sake of hydration. She settled back into her seat and put on her headphones. The plane was Wi-Fi enabled, so as she sipped her drink, she worked on the schematic for the car. Eventually, the early morning and vodka combined to make her eyes heavy and she drifted off to sleep, iPad still in her lap. The chime of the overhead system to warn passengers it was time to fasten seatbelts for landing wakened her with a start, and she started momentarily when her iPad was no longer on her lap. The flight attendant walked by and handed to her before she could actually panic.

“You dropped it when you fell asleep,” he explained as he passed it to her.

“Thanks.” She pulled her shoulder bag from the storage compartment by her knees and slipped the iPad and headphones away.

Pepper said there would be a driver waiting for her, and she had to smile when she saw the tablet with her name on it being held up. Of course a Stark Industries employee would use a tablet. The paper sign was apparently out of fashion. She smiled wider when she realized who was picking her up.

“Sally Manners?” He asked. Sally nodded.

“You’re Clint, aren’t you? It’s your car I’m here for?” Sally asked. Clint nodded.

“Yeah, I thought I could get a feel for you on the drive. See what you think and find out what you want to do to her,” he admitted.

“Sure. I have a full set of schematics on my iPad,” Sally offered.

“And iPad? Tony’ll be pissed,” Clint laughed. “Stark Tablets are standard at SI.”

“I’m on contract,” Sally shrugged. “What Stark doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Sure,” Clint laughed and led her out into the warm afternoon. Sally was half expecting him to usher her to the Challenger, which was a little concerning as the photos Pepper had provided made her think it was of questionable road-worthiness. It was with some relief that she found herself climbing into a Jeep Cherokee.

“So tell me about the car, Clint,” Sally asked once they were in traffic.

“Cherry’s great. Except when she isn’t. She needs a big chunk of work,” he began. “In my line of work, she gets beat up a lot.”

“Well, I can’t work miracles. Once I restore the car, you need to care for the car, or we’ll be back at square one again,” Sally explained.

“Yeah, I know. I’m hoping that once she’s looking good, I won’t be so tempted to take her out on jobs,” Clint shrugged.

“You want to stay with the red? I just did purple, it suits the car,” Sally offered. Clint’s face crunched up in thought. He was quiet for a few minutes, looking very thoughtful.

“I like purple a lot. But her name is Cherry.” He was thinking out loud.

“No hurry. Let me know before I send her for paint, and we’ll call it fair.” Sally made a few notes on the iPad and fell silent, waiting for more of Clint’s questions. None came. They pulled into the underground parking at Stark Tower and Clint parked in the company car corral. He grabbed her bags and led her toward the elevator.

“Do you want to see the car first, or your room?” Clint asked as the elevator doors closed.

“If you know where my room is, let’s drop my bags and then head to the garage. I want to get started on the teardown on your car today,” Sally decided. Clint smiled broadly and clapped her on the back.

“Pepper said you’re the best.” Clint punched the button and then turned to look at her, settling against the elevator wall and slouching a little. She’d read he was a master marksman, and she could see it in the way he looked at her. A thousand-yard stare that took in everything. He could probably tell her how many grey hairs were hidden in the sun-bleached streaks in her hair. She hoped he’d be discrete enough not to mention the crow’s feet. “You’re older than you look.” Or maybe he wouldn’t be.

“Uh, thanks?” Sally wasn’t sure if she should laugh or be affronted.

“Oh, shit. Sorry. I meant that you look good for a woman your –“ He stumbled over his words.

“That’s probably worse, Clint,” Sally cut him off. Clint shook his hand and looked at his feet. His hand reached up and rubbed the back of his neck and he sighed.

“This would be the part where I tell you that I’m usually charming enough that women don’t notice these things,” Clint chuckled. Sally couldn’t help herself. She laughed. He was looking up at her through his eyelashes, like a poor wounded puppy dog. It was adorable. And kind of sexy.

“Oh my god, are you flirting with me?” Sally started laughing in earnest. Clint had the decency to blush a little.

“Maybe?” He shrugged. “I mean, I feel as though I owe you. Coming to fix my car and all. And then you get off the plane with that long-legged surfer girl look. But you know cars. Can you blame me for thinking these thoughts?” He pushed up from the elevator wall and stepped toward her. Sally held her ground, both amused and mortified. Any other guy, and she would be all over him. He was hot. His arms alone should require a permit, but then he was hot too. He had that beat-up tough guy look that she’d always been drawn to, and a look like he just didn’t really care. He was wearing a threadbare white t-shirt and faded jeans that were snug to his thighs. The tousled blond hair was what really sealed it for her. She would be all over him. If he were any other guy. But not when he was colleagues with Tony Stark. She put her hand up to stop him.

“Whoa, Tiger. I’m flattered, but –“

“Shit. Did I read you wrong? I got the impression you were single.” He didn’t quite apologize. Sally wouldn’t have respected him if he had.

“I am,” she nodded. He took a step back.

“I don’t usually get this wrong,” he mumbled.

“You aren’t wrong,” Sally admitted.

“Wrong timing then?” He asked, standing up straight again.

“Something like that?” Sally wasn’t about to whip down her jeans and show him why she was hesitant. “It’s just, I’m fixing your car, Clint. I don’t want to feel like I’m being paid in ass. Even a nice little handful like yours.”

“Maybe next time I wreck it then. I’ll seduce you so you won’t kill me when you find out I need to hire you again,” he laughed. Sally joined him. As the elevator opened, Clint suddenly stopped laughing. “Wait, you think my ass is nice?”

“Ah, Clint. I see you managed to pick up Sally,” Pepper was struggling to keep a giggle contained. Sally burst out laughing again and stepped off the elevator.

“Not quite. She shot me down,” Clint grumbled as he followed Sally, carrying her bag. Sally could hear the peals of laughter escaping Pepper as the elevator door closed.

“The garage is huge, Sally. You’ll love it. At least, I think you will. Tony has all the toys. And by toys I mean cars and the tools to work on them. And wait till you get eyes on Steve’s new Harley. It’s a fuckin’ beaut.” Clint had taken the rejection well, rolling right back into buddy mode with Sally on the elevator ride down to the garage. Sally found herself relaxing against the elevator wall with him and enjoying the chatter.

“Pepper mentioned it. She said it needs work too,” she nodded.

“Oh hell, Steve says he can manage the restoration himself, but I bet he’d secretly be relieved to have the help. You should take a peek at it. Maybe your fancy schematics app would change his mind about the solo job.” Clint had loved the app she’d used to do all the rendering on the car restoration. He kept swiping through the images and making happy noises.

“Let me get your car finished first. I have a big waitlist at home right now,” Sally laughed. Clint let them into the garage, past what appeared to be several million dollars worth of classic vehicles. Sally stopped in her tracks in front of a 1932 Ford Flathead Roadster. “Jesus Christ,” she breathed. “That’s fucking unreal.”

“Tony restored that himself,” Clint offered.

“Then why the fuck did Pepper hire me?” Sally wondered out loud.

“Tony takes forever,” Clint replied. “There’s my Cherry.” He pointed a few cars down to the beat up Challenger. It was in sad shape, and Sally almost felt it didn’t deserve to share space with the Roadster. Yet, anyhow, she thought. In two weeks time though, Tony Stark would probably be begging Clint to buy it. She walked around the Dodge, tracing her hand along the contours of the hood. She peered inside and nodded to herself, making a mental checklist of parts and supplies.

“I had some stuff delivered. Any idea where it’s at?” Sally asked. Clint nodded his head toward a backlit shelving unit behind the car. There was a pile of boxes on it. Sally dug through the box, unwrapping various parts as Clint looked on. She reconciled the pick slip against the parts and let out a low curse.

“What’s wrong?” Clint was immediately beside her.

“There’s no coveralls in this box,” Sally complained. “I wasn’t about to pack the greasy coveralls from my shop, so I ordered a new pair. They aren’t here. I’ll have to call. It’s not a big deal, but it slows me down.”

“Lemme grab a pair of Tony’s for you until your arrive,” Clint headed to the lockers at the far end of the garage. Sally followed.

“Just guessing, but is this your best birthday present ever, Clint?” Sally teased. Clint stopped, his hand on a pair of grey coveralls. He turned slowly with a slight smile on his face.

“Kinda, yeah,” he admitted. “So you’ll excuse that I insist that you start working right away.” He slapped the coveralls against her chest and nodded behind him. “There’s a can around the corner where you can change.”

Sally laughed. “Get out. Just make sure I get my pizza and beer in the next couple hours.”

It stood to reason that Stark was built like a man. Sally was built like a woman. It took a bit of wriggling and jumping up and down and cursing to shimmy his coveralls over her curvy ass. She finally got them hitched up to her waist, and tried pulling the sleeves up, to discover that while the shoulders were broad, she was never going to be able to close the suit over her bust. She huffed out a sigh of disgust and dropped the top back down to her waist and tied the sleeves around her. She pulled her shirt off and tossed it beside her pants, grateful that she’d worn the ribbed white tank under her blouse.

Sally pulled her hair back into a sloppy braid and went rummaging through the wall of tools, pulling what she knew she would need to tear down the Challenger to the frame. She pulled a white paint marker out of her box of supplies and set everything down on the bench nearest the Challenger. She dropped her iPod on the bench, put her wireless headphones on and started taking the car apart labeling each part by what it was, and whether it needed replacing, repair, cleaning, machining, remachining. The music was loud and she was lost in her work, and didn’t notice time passing in the windowless, brightly lit garage. Her head bopped along to the beat of the song in her headphones. She’d decided to just recycle the same playlist as she’d used for the charity Challenger, and an AC/DC song started as she rolled herself under the car to drain the oil from the engine. She felt the vibration of someone banging on the frame of the car, but the music was so loud that she didn’t hear if anything had been said. Once she had the oil draining into a bucket, she rolled herself out from under the car. Clint pointed at the box of pizza he’d left on her bench and handed her a beer. Sally pulled off her headphones and smiled.

“Is it food time already? Thanks,” she offered, taking the bottle and clinking it against his.

“You’ve been down here for about four hours,” Clint laughed. He quirked an eyebrow at her get up. “That’s, uh, quite the look. I know we’ve settled that we’re not happening, but that’s a, well. Damn. You look hot.”

“I look like I belong in a spank bank calendar,” Sally snarked. Clint laughed even harder.

“Well, when you put it that way –“

“We only met today. There is no need for you to overshare,” Sally interrupted, joining in Clint’s laughter.

“No, I’m just saying, I never thought chick-in-too-small-coveralls would be a kink of mine, but if you change your mind, you can get JARVIS to let me know. I can be down here in a heartbeat,” Clint winked. He finished his beer and dropped the empty in the recycling. “I’ll let you have a break in peace. Tony gets pissy when people are constantly in his space. From what I’ve seen you’re a genius too.”

“What’s that mean? That I’m pissy?” Sally laughed. She liked Clint. He was easy to like. He laughed again and winked.

“Nah, more that I’ve seen your portfolio and what you can do with a car is every bit as impressive as what he does with robotics. So maybe you need privacy to work too,” Clint explained.

“Not gonna lie, I do work better alone,” Sally agreed. “But I appreciate the food, and the company on my break.”

“I’ll try not to bug you too much,” Clint promised as he headed back toward the elevator. Sally finished up her pizza and washed her hands before getting back to work. She wanted to lift the engine before she went to bed, which meant releasing all the bolts holding it. Which was how she found herself bent halfway into the engine, one foot on the bumper, oblivious to everything around her. When the playlist had ended, she knew she’d been working for a solid six hours, and it was time to break. She just needed to remove the one last bolt and she could lift the engine before making her way back to her room and taking a long hot shower.

“JARVIS, I’m pretty sure I didn’t sign a release for a music video to be shot in here, did I?” Sally overheard the words and cringed. The coveralls were backordered, but by the time the shop had finally texted her about it, it was too late to get a pair from somewhere else before closing. She would have them by morning, they’d assured her. She finally broke the bolt loose from the engine and stepped down off the car, not even acknowledging the man walking across the garage toward her.

“I’m afraid I have no record of that either, sir,” A crisp British accent came over some sort of overhead speaker. Sally sucked in her breath, determined to ignore everything she possibly could until it would be rude to not respond. She was hooking up the engine crane when she heard him.

“And yet, there is a woman in a wife beater and a pair of my,” his voice rose in question, “coveralls, taking apart Barton’s car. It can’t be real.”

“I assure you, Sir, the biometrics on the woman in question are very real,” the voice in ceiling responded. Sally glared at the speaker and began hoisting the engine out of the car. They were talking like she wasn’t even there. “I believe this is the mechanic Ms. Potts hired.”

“Of course. Thanks JARVIS,” he replied. He cleared his throat and stepped between Sally and the engine crane and the dolly she was trying to put it on.

“I’m IronMan, but I don’t mind if you scream Tony motherfucking Stark when my face is buried between your thighs.” His smirk was enough that Sally had to resist screaming and trying to drop the engine on him. She almost laughed at the thought of what that would show up as in a soulmark - “arrrrgh *splat*”? Then she realized he was staring at her, as though waiting for a response. She turned away and sighed, and in that split second decided not to say anything. He would never know she was his soulmate if she never spoke to him. Because soulmarks didn’t say things like “she’s not going to say a word, but instead will sigh and roll her eyes at you”, they say actual words.

Sally turned back and found that he’d already stepped away from the engine dolly, and was leaning against the Challenger, staring at her. For one brief, fleeting moment, she thought maybe she’d stunned him into silence, and started lowering the engine onto the dolly. And then he started talking again.

“I get it. You’re overwhelmed because you didn’t think you were actually going to meet me, and are unsure what to say. And maybe my opening line was too much? I get it; Pepper is always at me about not sexually harassing the staff. I should apologize, but honestly, this is just too perfect, and it’s like Christmas and my birthday and Clint’s special car mechanic rolled into one magic little bundle.” He spoke with his hands a little, Sally noticed. “Pep didn’t mention you were a woman. JARVIS, why didn’t Pepper say the mechanic was a girl?”

“Ms. Potts felt you would be too easily distracted, and that would prove to be an irritant for Ms. Manners,” The voice that kept coming from the ceiling responded. Clint had mentioned this JARVIS guy too, Sally realized. She was going to have to ask him or Pepper who he was. She finished securing the engine to the dolly, and tidied up her workspace, before grabbing her iPod, the remains of the pizza, and a couple more bottles of beer, and heading to the elevator.

“Pepper was not wrong,” Stark admitted, watching as Sally disappeared behind the elevator doors.

Sally didn’t realize she’d be very nearly holding her breath until the air rushed out of her lungs after the elevator doors shut.

Sally was checking email when a text notification popped up on her iPad.

“Settling in okay? Tony mentioned he met you. I feel as though I need to apologize, despite not knowing why.” Pepper was checking in.

“The car is amazing. It’s in much worse shape than I thought it was in, but I love a challenge.” Sally typed back.

“Do you need me to get anything?”

“I had to borrow coveralls today because mine are on backorder. If they don’t arrive tomorrow, I may need you to contact your supplier for me because the ones I had on today did not fit.” Sally admitted.

“Yes. JARVIS told me that Tony had been inappropriate with you. I’ve given up apologizing for his behaviour. He’s gotten reckless in the last few years. More reckless, anyhow. But JARVIS said he was a little more colourful than usual.” It was probably the longest text Pepper had sent her, and Sally almost wanted to ask her what the reason was behind the behaviour. But then she realized Pepper had mentioned that JARVIS guy twice.

“Yeah, who is JARVIS, by the way?”

“JARVIS is an artificial intelligence developed by Tony. He monitors security, takes care of Tony, passively monitors general biometric information, amongst other things. Like a super computer but with a personality.” Pepper tried to explain. Sally gave her iPad a disbelieving look and glanced up at the ceiling.

“Okay.” She couldn’t really think of what else to say.

“Ms. Manners, Ms. Potts feels you may be uncomfortable with my presence. I would like to assure you that in any private spaces in the tower, my default is set to private. I will not record or monitor anything in your personal space while you are here. There is voice activation of my protocol if you call for me only. If you have any questions, please just say my name, and my monitoring and interactive protocol will be enabled.” JARVIS’s voice came out of the ceiling.

“I have some questions. You were monitoring me today in the garage,” Sally started.

“Yes, Ms. Manners. Mr. Stark has the only privacy override for the garage, as the value of the vehicles stored in the garage demands it,” he explained.

“Fair enough,” Sally replied. “Is it rude for me to ask about you?”

“I have no qualms about your curiosity, Ms. Manners,” JARVIS sounded indifferent.

“Could you call me Sally? I would prefer Sally,” she began. “Do you have emotions?”

“I am not comfortable with the informality of using first names, as I have no first name to offer in return, Ms. Manners. As for your other question, I am not sure how emotions feel to humans, but on referring to the dictionary definition of those things, I would say that I feel some sort of echo of emotion about a number of things.” At the very least, JARVIS was thoughtful, Sally reflected.

“So do you worry? I mean, when Mr. Stark is out being IronMan?” Sally asked.

“I accompany Mr. Stark every time he is in the IronMan suit, so I don’t have the worry that is born from not knowing. I do worry about him a great deal. I worry that he is unhappy. I worry that he is lonely. But I rarely am fussed by his work as IronMan,” JARVIS admitted.

“You worry about him being lonely?” Sally was surprised. Tony Stark didn’t seem like the kind of man who got lonely.

“Men of his age, when they are still awaiting their soulmates, tend to get rather reckless. It’s not part of the natural order for someone with a soulmark to wait so long, I don’t think,” JARVIS offered. Sally almost felt guilty. And yet, it was the first time she’d ever met Tony Stark. So it’s not as though she was deliberately thwarting him for years. Just for a few hours.

Soulmates did get reckless the longer they waited. There was millions of dollars in research dedicated to understanding the impact of soulmarks on their bearers, and all of it pointed to how difficult life became the longer a person waited for their soulmate. Sally knew all about it, it was one of her pet interests. She read every new research paper as soon as they were released. Mostly because she was so determined to never be involved with someone like Tony Stark. The first time she’d had the ability to put his name into a search engine, years before Google existed, the man she saw horrified her. Reckless, arrogant, rich boy with a drinking problem. Too smart for his own good and not doing anything good with his smarts. She followed him carefully as the internet made access to information lightning fast, and by the time Google was a thing, Sally had seen some definite changes in Stark’s behaviour, but her opinion had been formed and solidified over years of net browsing. And there were still plenty of indicators that he was a hot mess.

“I feel like I’m being nosy by asking, but he does have a soulmark?” Sally had heard of people who didn’t have soulmarks. She had never met one, but she’d read about them.

“Perhaps it is too invasive a question, Ms. Manners,” JARVIS acknowledged. Sally pursed her lips, wondering what it was that she would eventually say to him. It was probably rude. She’d spent time around mechanics for over twenty years. Some things just wore off on you after a while. Her language was just as foul as anyone she’d ever worked with.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“It’s quite alright, Ms. Manners.” JARVIS fell silent, and Sally assumed their conversation was over.

Sally was down in the garage by six am, finishing the teardown on the car. She’d unpacked her Bluetooth speaker and had it perched on the chassis while she pulled the rest of the engine components out. Once again, she didn’t hear anyone come in, but Clint managed to stealth up behind her and scare the crap out of her around nine am. He placed a Starbucks on the bench and dropped a package beside it before handing her a bagel

“Master marksman and courier? How do you keep the ladies away?” Sally teased. Clint rolled his eyes.

“Pepper said you needed these coveralls right away.” He looked her over and smirked. “I don’t know, I really like the pin-up look.”

“Fuck off,” Sally laughed and threw her wadded up napkin at him. “She speaks!” Stark had apparently also stealthed into the garage at some point. Sally pursed her lips and darted past Clint to the bag on the bench before Stark could get to the car.

“I’m gonna go get changed, Clint. See you later?” She didn’t even wait for a response, but briskly moved toward the bathroom in the back of the garage without even acknowledging Stark’s presence.

“What’s with her?” She overhead Stark asking Clint. “Yesterday she gave me a dirty look and walked away, and now she’s not even willing to give me a dirty look?”

“Should you remember her, maybe?” Clint drawled. Sally could imagine there was a dirty gesture that accompanied the question.

“Oh shit. Maybe. JARVIS, have I banged the mechanic?” Stark’s voice echoed through the garage, and Sally had to bite back a shout of protest.

“From what I can see of her history, Ms. Manners has never been in the same vicinity as you until yesterday, sir.” JARVIS’s voice replied.

“Are you kidding me? The snotty mechanic who won’t say a word to me is literally named Miss Manners? That’s got to be a fucking joke,” Stark exclaimed.

“Maybe she’s just not into you. She turned me down. Maybe she likes privacy. Neither of us could give that to her. Maybe she likes women.” Clint had clearly not been offended by her rejection, and sounded serene.

“Barton, women are always turning you down. It’s the bow. This just doesn’t happen to me. Maybe she is into women. One way to find out,” Stark commented.

“Nat’s gonna kill you, Tony,” Clint laughed. Sally peered around the corner to see if they were leaving her work area, and sure enough, Clint was steering Tony back to the front of the garage, chatting about something she couldn’t quite hear. She would have to thank Clint next time he popped in to check on his car. She rolled her eyes and walked back to the car, taking a pull from her coffee. The distraction of Stark and her new coveralls had allowed it to cool to a temperature she was easily able to drink. One more thing to thank Clint for. It didn’t take long for her to get lost in the music as she got back to work.

“Bacon, chicken, feta and peppers? That’s quite a pizza.” A female voice interrupted her work. Sally smirked and looked up. Sure enough, it was the stunning redhead that had testified before Congress.

“How much to you want to fuck with Tony Stark’s head?” Sally asked as she accepted the pizza box.

“I love messing with Tony,” the redhead answered.

“He thinks I turned down Clint and won’t speak to him because I am into women,” Sally began.

“Say no more. I’ll tell him you were magnificent,” she laughed. “I’m Natasha, by the way.”

“Sally. Nice to meet you,” she offered her hand and returned Natasha’s warm smile. “Your testimony after the whole SHIELD thing was compelling. It must be hard, keeping all those secrets. I only have one, and I don’t know how I’ve kept it quiet for as long as I have.”

“Part of the training, I guess. I can keep a secret. But I can’t change the oil on my car,” Natasha winked. “Must be one helluva secret.”

“I know who my soulmate is.” Sally heard herself blurt it out. “His name is in my soulmark.”

Natasha’s eyes widened in surprise. “That is a big one. I bet you’ve googled that a few times.”

“Once a week since search engines were invented,” Sally admitted.

“Is he anyone of note?” Natasha pressed. Sally nodded as she bit into a slice of pizza. “I won’t press then. If you ever need me to grab him and bring him to you just to get things over with, let me know.” Sally just laughed in response. She leaned against the car and allowed the conversation to flow as she ate. Natasha finally succumbed to curiosity and tried a slice of pizza.

“This almost qualifies as healthy, Sally,” she commented through a mouthful.

“That’s why I like it. I need quick and easy when I’m in a teardown because I like to go until I’m done. But I don’t want to sacrifice my health too much. I can convince myself this is healthy because there’s real meat on it, not just tube meat, and some veg,” Sally laughed. “I usually tack an extra mile on my run during teardowns as well. Just to cover my pizza habit.”

Natasha’s phone buzzed and she rolled her eyes. “I should probably go report on your incredible romantic prowess before he comes down here and finds up eating pizza.”

“He’ll check the footage as soon as you say it anyhow. But try to get a picture of the look on his face,” Sally smirked. Natasha nodded and headed down the garage. She stopped by the Roadster and called back.

“Is he the one?”

“Do you really think I’d tell you if he was?” Sally called back. She probably should be more surprised that Natasha had figured it out, but she wasn’t. She cleared away her lunch mess and pulled out a basin. There were a pile of parts that were in questionable shape, and Sally needed them clean before she could figure out if they were going to need to be ordered or machined, so she slopped some cleaner in the basin and dropped the parts to soak while she cleaned the engine. She was covered in grime in minutes, and grateful for the amazing bounty of the tool selection in the garage as she made a bigger and bigger mess. Her speaker cut out midway through a Journey song, so she pushed herself up from the floor to check the battery.

Stark was holding the speaker in her hand.

“This isn’t StarkTech. Neither is the iPod. All SI employees are to be provided with StarkTech,” he leveled an annoyed look at her. Sally rolled her eyes, and snatched the speaker away from him. It was going to be hard not saying anything to him, if he was going to be that annoying. She walked over to the soak basin and put the speaker down near it before getting a bottlebrush to ream out one of the parts. “After Natasha came back from lunch, I knew something was up. So I had Jarvis pull your file. You aren’t gay. You could be bi, I suppose, but there’s no record of you ever having a female lover, so I doubt it. And you have a plentiful dating history. No serious romances. I thought maybe it’s just me. Maybe you just don’t like me.”

Sally smirked and met his gaze. She had to bite the inside of her lip to stop herself from speaking.

“And see, that’s where this gets weird. I thought maybe you’re like me, getting reckless because you haven’t found your mate yet. But you’ve kind of always been devil may care. So then I thought that maybe you don’t have a soulmark. But JARVIS kindly pointed out this photo,” he held a picture up that showed just the last word below the hem of a skirt, and thankfully no more. “That is definitely a soulmark. So you’re kind of an enigma. Why won’t you talk to me? How can you already hate me if you don’t even know me? Don’t answer that, I blame Google entirely. I should buy Google and force it to black out any unflattering media about me. Shit. There might not be much media about me at all then. Anyhow. You’ve been here less than 24 hours and you’ve driven me to searching out your personal information, having JARVIS scan the internet for photos of you, pulling your IRS file and other degrading acts. You’re making me crazy. You won’t speak to me, and you will speak to Clint, and you will speak to Nat. I could parade every person on the team down here just to justify my paranoia, but amazingly, I really do think this is actually all about me. Which makes me think maybe you’re biting your tongue because you want me and you don’t want me to think you’re an easy mark.”

Sally was getting dizzy trying to follow him. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her water bottle, drinking deeply from it.

“If that’s what’s stopping you, sunshine, let me assure you. I won’t think any less of you for coming back to my bed with me. Or just throwing down right here. I can have JARVIS give us privacy. Or not. I’m equal opportunity. Embrace your sexuality. Enjoy your inner freak. I won’t judge. We’ve all been there. Hell, if you want a threesome, I’m down. But for god’s sake woman, just say something to me,” he blurted. Sally choked on her water, hacking and coughing and hoping it wouldn’t come out her nose.

“I bet you say that to all the boys,” she coughed. Stark’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“Did Pepper pay you to say that?” He breathed. Sally realized she’d spoken and dropped the water bottle.

“Oh shit,” she breathed.

“Are you fucking with me?” Stark demanded. Sally stared at him blankly, lost in the horror of what she’d done. She supposed it was stupid to assume she would be able to keep her mouth shut for two weeks, but she’d expected she would have more than twenty-four hours to get used to the idea of Tony Stark. Before she knew what was happening, Stark was pulling up his shirtsleeve. Wrapped around his bicep, in a trailing twist around his arm that was similar to the path of the words on her leg, were the words she’d just coughed, in her familiar, cramped scrawl. “Is this your writing?”

Sally couldn’t respond. She back up to the wall and slid down it to the floor, dropping her head between her knees and breathing deeply. “Oh god, oh shit.”

Tony’s arm was suddenly right in her face. “Is this your writing?” Each word was punctuated with a stop, to make him very clear. Sally closed her eyes and sighed.

“Yes.”

“The fuck? Do you know what a pain in the ass this mark has been? I was convinced that there was something deeply wrong with me that my soulmate would be a guy but I was mostly attracted to women. Why would you say something like that?” He exclaimed. Sally raised her eyebrows and made a disgusted noise.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Your mark is bad? Do you recall what your first words to me were, you twat?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, just pulled her coveralls off. She was wearing a comfy pair of men’s boxer briefs under the coveralls, and she pulled the leg up to reveal her soulmark. “How do you think I’ve liked having that fucking thing on my leg since I was twelve?”

Stark knelt down in front of her, looking at the mark. He slid his hand up her thigh and followed the words around with his fingers. “It’s definitely my writing. And unquestioningly something I would say. But how did you go so long without anyone ever blabbing about what was there?”

“Do you honestly think I let anyone see that? With your name branded into my skin like I’m your fucking property? I covered that shit up. I tried to have it covered with a tattoo, but I woke up the next morning and $1000 of beautiful work had fucking vanished,” Sally blurted. She was breathing heavily and Stark was still running his fingers along the words on her leg. She pulled free of his grip and adjusted her briefs before stepping back into the coveralls.

“Sir, your heart rate is dangerously elevated,” JARVIS spoke from the ceiling.

“Do you think?” Stark snapped. He rolled back on his heels and dropped to his ass, head in his hands. Sally could hear him slowly inhaling and then after a moment, forcing the air back out his lips. He flexed his fingers in his hair. Sally slid back down the wall, facing him, knees up at her chest.

“Are you okay, Stark?” He’d been doing the breathing thing for a while, and the rhythmic nature of the act was settling her own nerves. He looked up at her, his dark brown eyes meeting her blue ones and locking.

“We have a lot to talk about. But the first thing I think I’d like for you to do is start calling me Tony,” he said.

“Now why couldn’t you have said it that way in the first place?” Sally laughed despite herself.

[ranwing]

Kadam Fic: All’s Faire In Love and War (1/1)

Title: All’s Faire In Love and War Pairing(s), Characters(s): Kadam, Kurt Hummel, Adam Crawford, Blaine Anderson, Original Characters Rating: PG13  Genre(s): slight canon divergence, major lol Klaine and Blaine (I mean this - am not at all nice to him here.  Parts: 1/1

Summary:  Taking a summer job at the New York Renaissance Faire provides some interesting opportunities for Kurt, both professionally and personally.

Read on AO3

This is something that I've had sitting on my hard drive for some time and wanted to share. It's an offshoot of my misspent youth as a Rennie and proud member of the International Wenches Guild at the NY Renaissance Faire at Sterling Forest (with the corset scars and compromising photos to prove it). Some of this is based on my real experiences in attending the faire and the friendships I made their with my fellow Rennies and the members of the cast.

It's a slight AU, where Kurt did not meet Adam at NYADA and they meet for the first time at the faire. It's a one parter now, but I may expand on it later. Ta!

Kurt turned to get a look at his reflection from the rear and had to admit that the leggings were doing wonderful things for his ass. Well, the leggings along with two semesters of brutal dance classes under the guidance of Cassandra July. That was more than enough to burn off the last of the puppy fat.

The entire costume was very flattering and showed off his toned physique nicely. The white shirt was loosely laced up the front and with the leather vest displayed the broadness of his shoulders and chest. His muscles had gotten considerably more defined with regular exercise and weapons training. The high leather boots brought attention to his long legs. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows so he could display the leather braces that emphasized his strong forearms.

“Hey Kurt, if you’re done admiring your gorgeous self, could you help lace me up?”

Kurt turned to see Nataly standing behind him, trying to hold the pieces of her corset to her chest so that she wasn’t totally exposed. She’d managed to get the corset loosely laced but was in danger of losing a piece or two.

“I’ve got you. Turn around,” he instructed. Nataly was playing a member of the queen’s court, and as such, her costume was a bit more complicated than most. The corset laced both along the sides and down the back and needed a second person to get the fit right. He’d gotten quite good at getting the ladies laced into their costumes since they’d started dress rehearsals and it was rare that he wasn’t approached by at least a few over them over the course of the day for corset adjustments. Apparently a corset could never truly be too tight, and if Kurt were a straight man, all that adjusting probably would be a lot of fun.

The young redhead smiled thankfully as she adjusted her substantial cleavage, her breasts displayed attractively by the tight-fitting garment. She gave a little shimmy to check the fit. “Thanks so much,” she said appreciatively. “They’re not going to move at all during the chess melee.”

“My pleasure,” Kurt insisted. “Let me know if you need me to tighten it later on.”

She gave him an appreciative peck on the cheek, leaving him to finish his own preparations.

This was going to be an interesting summer job, he thought as he put the finishing touches on his hair. When he saw the notice at NYADA that the Renaissance Faire was looking for actors for the summer season, especially those with weapons training, he jumped at the chance. The pay was more than he would earn at the diner and while the work would be hard and the conditions more rustic than he might prefer, it was still a professional acting job. He quickly signed up to audition and was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was he hired, but he had been cast in on of the major supporting roles and not just one of the atmosphere players.

He’d convinced Rachel to audition as well, hoping to cheer her up. She was still in the midst of an epic sulk over her failure to get the lead in Funny Girl, but was not exactly enthusiastic about the prospect of an acting job that was nowhere near Broadway. She ended up being offered a part as one of the wench singers but turned the job down because it wasn’t a prominent enough role for her. Kurt had tried to explain that because she’d never taken any of the stage combat classes, she couldn’t be offered any of the more significant parts because they all required some fighting, but she just turned him out and decided to take the summer off to mentally regroup.

Kurt thought that she was making a mistake. Sure, the faire wasn’t exactly the most important acting job around, but it was still a professional job. While some in the cast made their careers doing faires year round, there were quite a few performers in the cast who had extensive credits outside of the faire circuit and at least half the cast were professional, full time actors. Kurt would now have a professional credit to put on his CV, which was more than Rachel could claim at this stage.

And if wasn’t as if he wouldn’t have time to relax during the summer. Now that the season had officially kicked off, the cast had most of the week to themselves since the faire was only open on the weekends. A bus picked up the cast who lived in New York and drove them up to the faire grounds on Friday where they would have cast meetings and a chance to do a run through of the small changes to the shows they made from week to week. There was a campsite for them to stay at over the weekend, with a decent shower facility and his meals were provided. All Kurt had needed was a tent and sleeping bag.

So maybe the lodging options were a bit more rustic than he’d normally prefer, as he hadn’t slept in a tent since his ill-fated three months as a Cub Scout. But it wasn’t totally awful. He had bought himself a decent tent and a good mattress pad, so he was relatively comfortable. The shower were more than decent and kept surprisingly clean, and he didn’t have to walk too far for a flushing toilet. It could have been far, far worse.

And he actually enjoyed staying with the rest of the cast. They were a fun loving bunch and once the faire closed for the evening, they got to cut loose and really have a good time. Their nights were either spent at a local faire-friendly bar in town, or sitting around the bonfire at the campgrounds, singing and telling stories. He was already making friends and was looking forward to the rest of the season.

“Kurt!”

Except for that. Kurt had very much hoped that Blaine would decide to join Rachel and use the summer to relax, but his ex-fiancé had decided to audition too. Much to Blaine’s chagrin, his acting and stage combat skills were not strong enough to warrant a major role in the cast, and he’d been hired to play a wandering troubadour. His job was to walk about, flirt with the girls and sing romantic songs, which as far as Kurt was concerned was right up Blaine’s alley.

And Blaine’s costume was as much an eyesore as his normal attire could be. With the bright yellow hose, red doublet and a hat with an enormous (albeit slightly scraggly) plume, he reminded Kurt of a half-plucked rooster. He carried a mandolin, which was enough like a guitar that he could strum out a simple tune while he sang.

“What’s wrong Blaine?” Kurt asked as he adjusted the belt on his costume and looked in the mirror again. It needed a little something… maybe he’d pick up that necklace he saw one of the venders selling later on. Just to add a bit of flair.

“I was thinking… that bit before the chess game… I was wondering if I should come out onto the field and maybe try to serenade one of the princesses. And maybe try to comfort her during the match. Do you think that would work?”

Blaine trying to expand his role came as absolutely no surprise to Kurt. His showboat of an ex was never going to be content to be a background player while Kurt would be at the center of the action. It had been a source of frustration to the assistant director, who spent way too much of her time trying to corral Blaine’s flights of fancy.

“No, because once we’re all on the field, we have to focus on the show,” Kurt reminded him tersely. “There are going to be a lot of weapons flying around and it’s not safe. Besides… aren’t you supposed to be by the Kissing Bridge while the game is on?”

“But there’s no one down there but little kids,” Blaine complained. “Everyone is going to be at the chess game.”

“Blaine… it’s only our second weekend of faire. Can’t we just do what we’re supposed to without improvising for a little while?” Kurt asked. His eyes narrowed when he saw something amiss with Blaine’s hair. “Are you wearing hair gel?”

His ex shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. “Just a little bit.”

“Blaine, you know that we’re supposed to look like we’re from the middle ages. You should wash that crap out before Renee sees you.” The costuming director had already warned Blaine twice about his anachronistic hairstyle and had threatened to wash it out herself in the horse trough if she saw his hair slicked back again.

“But it looks awful without the gel,” Blaine whined. “You know how sensitive I am about it.”

Of course Kurt knew. Because Blaine complained endlessly whenever confronted about it. And Kurt had thrown out multiple sets of perfectly good bed linens after breaking up with Blaine because he couldn’t get the stains out of the pillow cases. Blaine had insisted on even wearing gel to sleep, which was a major bone of contention between them.

“Blaine, what do you want from me? If you get fired because you can’t follow instructions, that’s not my problem,” Kurt said dismissively. He was tired of trying to keep Blaine from going off the rails when he had his own job to focus on. “You should get out to the gates to work the crowd and let me finish getting ready.”

He turned away and hurried over to the prop room to pick up his assigned weapons. The prop master handed him a rather impressive looking medieval sword and matching dagger that were a lot nicer than the practice weapons he’d been using. Once the scabbard was belted on, he was no longer Kurt Hummel, NYADA student. He was now Beau, second in command to the Sheriff of Nottingham’s guards.

He rather liked this character and was enjoying the opportunity to play a villain. On paper, Beau was the pretty boy nephew of the Sheriff and it was being broadly implied that he got his job based on nepotism. But Kurt and Ben, the actor playing the Sheriff, had been playing around a bit with dialogue and by the end of the day, Beau would be seen as a lot smarter and more dangerous than he started out as. Kurt would be kept very busy over the course of the day with various shows that his character would be involved with, walking around the fair with the rest of the guards and harassing the other players and faire attendees, as well as the human chess game and grand melee at the joust.

Blaine’s character was sometimes on the receiving end of that harassment, and Kurt could tell that his ex hated it. He seemed to be having a problem in recognizing that this was strictly within the confines of their roles and was still nursing a stung ego about the role he was given. Kurt’s sympathy was… well, pretty non-existent. If he could play Officer Krupke with some semblance of dignity and grace, then Blaine could play a minstrel while Kurt got a chance with a bigger role for once.

It was getting close to the gate opening time and Kurt went to join Ben and the rest of the guards at the top of the hill where they could see the crowd already waiting. It looked to be a good sized number, and there were quite a few wearing costumes easily as realistic as worn by the cast. He’d already learned that the “rennies” (as they called themselves) often came every day during the season and were deeply invested with the faire. They knew all the shows well and most were more than willing to help out and loved to be pulled into the fun.

Blaine and a few other minor characters were already working the crowd, his ex-fiancé flirting with a few young women dressed as wenches, singing to them to maudlin ballad of love and they seemed torn between being flattered and laughing outright. It was cheesy, but in a rather fun way. Kurt didn’t know why Blaine was so resentful over his part, as it gave him license to be as over the top as he wanted and interact closely with his audience.

He watched as the actors playing Robin Hood and his band took over the entrance gate to warn the crowd about the nefarious sheriff and his henchmen, and couldn’t help from admiring the actor playing Will Scarlet. Adam, Kurt remembered his real name dreamily. Now that was a man who knew how to fill a pair of hose. Gorgeous, fit body, and actually British to boot. Just listening to him speak was enough to make Kurt’s toes curl.

They had gotten to know one another, at least on a professional level, during rehearsals and their interactions only heightened his interest in the older man even more. Adam was witty and funny and just a lot of fun to be around. He was exactly what Kurt could use to nurse his bruised heart after the ugly, seemingly never ending break up with Blaine.

But there was no time for daydreaming about making out on the Kissing Bridge with that beautiful piece of man. Or place, since Kurt’s leggings hid absolutely nothing and there was only so much his dance belt could contain. He needed to get his stage game on.

“Alright boys,” Ben commanded, now firmly in his headspace as Sheriff with a malicious glint in his dark eyes. “Everyone ready? Let’s go clear some rabble.”

Kurt felt his mouth curl into a lazy sneer and his eyes grew flinty as he slipped into character. Showtime.

* * *

The morning went smoothly, the cast having managed to work out most of the kinks the opening weekend. After the morning procession the guards followed the Sheriff around the shire, playing at keeping the peace when they seemed to spend most of the time kicking around whatever unfortunate shire residents they came across. Kurt was having a good time with his character, who played at being lazy and a bit dim despite being anything but.

The mid-day human chess game was always a highlight, with all of the major cast members involved and plenty of swordplay to excite the crowd. The audience took sides and more than a few made sure to sit on the side of the Sheriff’s team and were openly rooting for the bad guys. Kurt had found a few fans of his own, including several members of the Wenches Guild (local 69) who flirted playfully and called out to him. In fact, it seemed like most of the wenches from the Guild chose to sit on their side of the field, ready to cheer on their favorite villains. Both sides lead their fans in cheers, with those rooting for the villains yelling out “Blood makes the grass grow! Kill! Kill! Kill!” Kurt had a lot of fun egging them on now that he had gathered his own group of wench cheerleaders.

Ben was calling the plays for the villains in his role as Sheriff, while Robin Hood directed the heroes. Kurt sprawled lazily on the ground while he waited for his cue, letting the actress playing the wicked Lucrezia Borgia lean flirtatiously against him (partly to keep in character and partly because it took the strain off of her sitting on the ground so long bound in a tight corset). He was letting her press kisses on his neck, cooing in nonsense Italian while he played with her blond curls.

“Beau!” Ben yelled, coming up being Kurt to kick him and get his attention when he didn’t respond fast enough. “Stop fooling around and deal with this outlaw scum!” He grabbed Kurt by his collar and pulled him to his feet before shoving him out onto the dueling field. Awaiting him was gorgeous Adam with his sword drawn.

“So this is who you send to me?” Adam laughed. “I thought I would be fighting a guard and not a pretty, beardless boy.”

Kurt drew his sword and casually advanced on his handsome opponent. “Well, this should be easy,” he drawled.

“For me,” Adam retorted as they began to circle one another. “After all, the only reason you’re here is because your mother begged your uncle to give you a job.”

They launched into their duel, and Kurt was pleased that all his weapons practice was paying off. Adam had several years more experience with his kind of thing, but Kurt was more than holding is own with the complicated choreographed fight. It would certainly look impressive to the audience and it began to look as if the outlaw would win. Kurt followed their choreography and let Adam continue his advance when he drew the dagger that he’d had sheathed on the back of his belt and got it pressed up against Adam’s throat.

“Not such a useless pretty boy now, am I?” Kurt snarled dragging the tip of the blade up Adam’s chin. “You’re finished.”

“Sherriff!” the actress playing the queen shouted. “Have your man stand down! We will have no blood spilled on this field today.”

Kurt gave Adam a cruel grin and pressed the tip of the dagger dangerously against Adam’s jaw before pulling back. He raised his fist in victory to a chorus of boos and cheers from the audience before turning to his place on the sidelines. The actress playing Lucrezia threw herself into his arms, kissing him soundly. It wasn’t much later that the whole game dissolved into a wild melee that would finally be broken up by the Queen, announcing that the battle would be decided at the royal joust at the end of the day.

Kurt picked himself off the ground where Adam had him pinned face down into the grass and followed the other guards off the field. Once out of sight of the audience, he checked the time and calculated that he had just enough time to grab something to eat before he was to join the rest of the guards for another patrol around the shire. Then they had the Trial and Punishment show where they held a mock tribunal and convicted faire attendees of absurd “crimes” before making a mad dash to the jousting field to close out the show.

Grateful for the chance to catch his breath and take a short break, he obtained a ploughman’s lunch from one of the concession stands and got his tankard filled with iced tea. He then made his way to the backstage area behind the jousting stand to eat and cool off. Several other members of the cast were already there and he nodded to his friends before digging into his meal.

“That was a nice bit of swordplay earlier, Kurt,” a voice with a natural British accent that Kurt had become quite familiar with said. “You’re really talented for a first timer.”

He looked up and saw Adam standing over him. Nervously swallowing the mouthful of bread and cheese that he’d just bitten into, he nodded. “Thanks. You nearly caught me with that last parry, though. I almost lost my grip.”

“Nah… you had everything well in hand.” He gestured at the empty space on the bench next to Kurt. “Mind if I join you?”

“Of course,” Kurt said, moving his tankard so that the other actor would have plenty of room.

“Thanks. I’ve got about twenty minutes until my next set and if I don’t eat now, I’ll have nothing in my tank for the joust.”

Kurt eyed his choice of meal dubiously. “And a sausage on a stick is going to hold you over?”

Adam grinned and gave Kurt a saucy wink. “Well, I am a man who enjoys his meat,” he quipped, then took a large bite out of the rather phallic looking food item.

Kurt was again reminded that his leggings hid absolutely nothing and tried desperately to keep his mind off of anything inappropriate, but Adam was not making it easy.

Adam looked down at Kurt’s perfectly healthy lunch, then back up to his face. “I would have thought that you were more a meat eater as well.”

Kurt felt his cheeks starting to heat because he was definitely being flirted with. Giving Adam his most winning smile, he nodded. “Oh, I am. But I’m also partial to those frozen bananas that they’re selling. Something hard that I can suck on when things get too hot.”

The older man’s eyes darkened when he saw that Kurt was more than willing to flirt back with him. “Well, that’s a good fact to keep in mind. Because I’ve been trying to figure out a way to talk to you when we’re not rolling on the ground, acting like we’re trying to kill one another.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. “Well, we could roll on the ground together for other reasons, but this is a family show.”

Adam laughed, taking another bite of his lunch. “Ah yes… ‘family shire’ as we keep being told. But seriously… I would like to have a chance to talk with you when we’re not working. Are you going to the bar tonight after the show?”

“Am I being invited?” Kurt asked teasingly.

Adam licked his lips and nodded. “I am inviting you.”

Kurt was about to agree to join him when he saw Blaine coming into the backstage area carrying an absolutely enormous roasted turkey leg and waving frantically at him.

“Oh crap,” Kurt groaned, wishing that he could crawl under the sod and hide from his ex.

“I’m sorry,” Adam said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Kurt looked up at Adam and saw the distraught expression on the older man’s face. His half-eaten sausage even looked like it was losing its rigidity.

“Oh, it’s not you,” Kurt quickly assured his suitor, trying to control his excitement about Adam being his suitor in the first place. “It’s my ex who has some serious boundary issues.”

Adam looked at the outrageously dressed man coming in their direction and his jaw dropped slightly. “That’s your ex-boyfriend?”

“Ex-fiancé,” Kurt corrected. “Don’t judge… it was a strange period of my life that is over and done with. I just can’t seem to get the message through to him.”

“That’s good to know,” Adam said sympathetically. “Because I was starting to question your taste there for just a second.”

Kurt laughed ruefully and shook his head. “Like I said, it was a weird phase that I’m past.”

“Good,” Adam said agreeably. “I’ll see you after the show tonight.”

“Definitely,” Kurt assured him, trying to contain his excitement over Adam asking him out. He knew that hook ups among the cast were pretty common place, but this felt like it was something more. At least, he hoped it was.

Adam surprised Kurt by taking his hand and pressing a gentle kiss to his knuckles that left Kurt all but tingling all over. “See you at the joust,” Adam said softly, giving Kurt a playful wink.

Blaine came trotting over, the feather in his cap flopping in his wake and saw the other man walking away. “Kurt, what was that all about?” he demanded, his brows furrowing in anger. “What were you talking about?”

Kurt looked up at his ex-fiancé and grinned widely. “He asked me out tonight after the show. On a date,” he clarified.

Blaine could only stare of him, his face getting as red as his costume. “A date! But Kurt, we’re…” he started, only to be quickly cut off.

“We’re nothing, Blaine,” Kurt snapped. “You just don’t learn, do you? We’re not dating and we’re sure as hell not friends. Not with the way you’ve been hounding me for months!

“Now I have been more than patient, but enough is enough. We may have to work together this summer, but you do not get a say in anything that I do. Is that understood?”

Blaine seemed shocked by the level of anger directed at him. “What is the matter with you?” he demanded, growing angry himself.

Blaine didn’t seem to care that all their dirty laundry that was about to be revealed to their cast mates, and for once, Kurt didn’t care. Blaine was about to get an earful and what their coworkers were going to learn wouldn’t make him look especially well.

“What is the matter with me? How about me being sick and tired of my cheating ex inserting himself into everything that I do? We’re not together anymore and I find it amazing that you spend a lot more time around me now than you did when we were actually a couple,” Kurt informed him sharply. “What’s the matter? You can’t find someone else to fuck? Because you never seemed to have that problem when we were together.”

“Kurt, it was one time…” Blaine started, but withered under Kurt’s harsh glare.

“One time that you admitted to,” Kurt agreed. “But do you think I’m stupid, Blaine? Do you think that I didn’t notice the odd phone calls or your sudden trip to the free clinic after we both tested clean? Why do you think I ended things with you? Because you are completely incapable of keeping your dick in your pants!”

Blaine’s face flushed nearly as red as his costume when he heart the muffled laughter of the other cast members that had heard Kurt’s rant. One of the wench singers seemed especially amused and began to trill, “A wandering penis I, a thing of thread and patches…”

Kurt knew at that instant that Blaine’s faire reputation had just been cemented and that he’d never escape the label of being an untrustworthy cheater by his own admission. He would have felt sorry had Blaine not made himself such an utter pain.

Utterly humiliated now that he had admitted in front of their cast mates that he had cheated on Kurt, Blaine stormed away, the ridiculous plume on his hat limp and betraying his embarrassment. Kurt huffed, glad that he might have finally gotten that things between them were over through Blaine’s thick, gel covered skull. And it felt refreshing to have admiring and sympathetic looks coming from their fellow actors were admiring and supportive towards him, rather than accusatory.

In the meantime… he had a show to focus on and a date in the evening to look forward to.

[365daysofj2]

Of Blizzards and Blow Jobs (Wheelchair!Jared 'verse, NC-17, 6/?)

When the doorbell rings on Monday night, both Jared and Gen are shocked. Gen jumps up from the couch and answers the door. “Oh, hey, Jensen.” Jared wheels out from the kitchen to see Jensen standing in the doorway with a suitcase and a laptop bag. He’s got snowflakes all over his wool peacoat and in his hair, which glistens under the glow of the overhead light. “Hey! What are you doing here?” Jensen grins. “I figured if I’m gonna get snowed in anyway, I’d much rather be snowed in with you than at home.” His grin falters. “I hope that’s okay.” “It’s fantastic,” Jared assures him. “You can put your stuff in my room.” He wheels towards his bedroom with Sadie leading the way. He stops outside the door to let her open it. She turns on the light, and Jared moves out of the way to let Jensen through. Jensen sets his laptop bag down on Jared’s desk and stashes his suitcase underneath it. “Is Gen going to be okay with this?” he asks, frowning. Jared nods. “She’ll be fine. We’re all adults. I know the place is a little small for three people, but we’ve got plenty of food and hot water, so it should be a relaxing few days.” Jensen kicks off his shoes and opens Jared’s blinds. It’s not snowing that hard yet, but the full-on blizzard is coming. “You got any hot cocoa?” “Yeah, we’ve got K-cups in the kitchen.” Jared and Sadie lead Jensen to the kitchen. The Keurig and the carousel of K-cups are on the corner of the counter, and Jensen twirls the carousel until he finds two cups of salted caramel hot cocoa. He grabs two mugs from a mug tree on the other counter and grins when he sees the Shakespearean insults on the side of the blue Etown mug. “I remember these. Good times.” He sets the mug underneath the spout and turns on the machine. “You sold these at Homecoming?” Jared shakes his head. “No, we made them for the English department banquet. I was in the English honor society—the unfortunately named STD.” Jensen laughs. “STD? Really?” “Sigma Tau Delta,” replies Jared. “That’s why we mostly just called it the English honor society. People teased us enough for just being English majors in the first place.” Jensen hands Jared the mug of hot cocoa and Jared takes a tentative sip. It’s really good, and perfect for a snowy night. Jensen uses Jared’s Scrabble mug to make a cup for himself, and Jared wheels over to the dining room table. He opens a drawer in the hutch and pulls out one of Jensen’s homemade dog biscuits. Sadie sits perfectly at attention as Jared breaks it in half. He feeds the halves to her one at a time, and she crunches through them happily, licking crumbs from her muzzle after she’s done. Jared smiles at Jensen. “She really likes those.” Jensen smiles back. “I’m glad. She’s a special girl, she deserves a special treat.” He sits down at the table next to Jared and sips his hot cocoa. He glances out the back door. “Hey, look, it’s really snowing now.” Jared looks up at the streetlight at the top of the hill. He can see a torrent of big, fat snowflakes falling sideways past it in the pool of warm yellow light. He smiles. “I’m so glad you came over.” “Me, too.” Jensen leans over and kisses Jared’s cheek. “It’s gonna be a good night.” The three of them retire to Jared’s bedroom, where Jared turns on some music and for awhile they just gaze out the window and watch the snow piling up on the cars and the street. The wind is blowing the snow off of the hoods and windshields of the cars and piling it on the driver’s sides. Gen’s car, parked in the handicapped spot at the end of the ramp, is sitting in a drift of snow that’s piled up to the top of the driver’s side tires already. “Wow,” murmurs Jared. “This is gonna be something.” “Were you here for the Blizzard of ‘93?” asks Jensen. “No, I still lived in Texas then,” answers Jared. “And I was only four, so I probably wouldn’t remember anyway.” “I was nine. We didn’t go to school for almost three weeks,” recalls Jensen. “We had to make up so much time that they added a half an hour onto the school day because we would have had to go to school until July otherwise.” “Wow. How much snow was it?” “It was about 10 inches on the first day, and it just kept snowing. We ended up with about two feet total, and we had to get a crew to come take snow off our garage roof because it was damaged. We had a pile of snow in the corner of our yard next to the driveway that was well over six feet tall. We had a bi-level house, and the snow pile came up to the bay window on the top level.” “Holy shit.” Jared leans back into Jensen’s embrace. “I hope this one isn’t that bad.” “Well, if it is, I’ll help Gen dig out her car and your ramp.” “There’s a crew that’s supposed to do that,” grumbles Jared. “I mean, we pay them to do it, but most of the time they don’t and we have to email the homeowner’s association and bitch.” Jared sits up straight and looks Jensen right in the eye. “I don’t want you doing it.” Jensen nods. “I will if it’s an emergency. Otherwise, hands off.” He finishes off his hot cocoa and sets the mug on the nightstand. He gets a wicked grin on his face. “You know, we’re in your bedroom, and there’s a love song playing, and we’re in the process of getting snowed in together, meaning we won’t be able to leave this place for days, and both of us still have our clothes on.” Jensen unzips his hoodie and throws it on the floor. “That’s just wrong.” Jared returns Jensen’s wicked grin. “There are some candles on top of the bookshelf. Sadie, go turn off the light.” Jensen gets up to light the candles while Sadie trots over to the light switch and turns it off. “Go lie down, girl. You’re off duty.” Sadie makes her way to the fleece-lined denim bed in the corner, turns around a few times, and settles down. Jensen finishes lighting the candles and joins Jared in bed. “You’re a little overdressed.” “Maybe you should take care of that, since my specially trained dog isn’t going to,” teases Jared. Jensen frowns. “I don’t want to hurt you.” Jared shakes his head. “You won’t. Just be gentle and go slow.” Jensen pulls Jared’s henley and undershirt off with the utmost care and flings them in the direction of the laundry hamper. He removes Jared’s slippers and jeans and tosses them in the same pile. Then he sheds his own t-shirt and track pants and stretches out on the bed next to Jared. He traces a fingertip down Jared’s sternum to his navel and then replaces it with his mouth. “Wait,” whispers Jared. “I need pillows.” Jensen sits up. “Okay, what should I do?” Jared gestures at the closet, where he stores both his extra pillows and his sex ramp. “Grab two of the fluffy pillows and put one under my knees and the other under my ankles.” Jensen jumps up and does as he’s told, lifting Jared’s limbs with the lightest and gentlest of touches. Jared settles back against his backrest and nest of bed pillows and curls a hand around the back of Jensen’s neck. “Now, where were we?” Jensen brings his lips to meet Jared’s. They’re warm and tinged with sweetness from the cocoa they had, and they’re softer than they have any right to be. Jared brushes his tongue at the seam of Jensen’s lips, erasing all traces of chocolate that linger there. Jensen parts his lips and lets Jared’s tongue sweep the last hints of sugary sweetness out of his mouth. Jensen’s tongue brushes shyly against Jared’s, as though he’s seeking permission to come inside, and Jared responds by breaking the kiss and nudging Jensen’s explorations a little further south. Jensen flutters little feathery kisses all down Jared’s neck to his chest, making him shiver slightly. Jensen makes his way down to one of Jared’s nipples and takes the sensitized bud between his lips, flicking his tongue over the tip and drawing it into full hardness in an instant. He lavishes more attention on it until Jared cries out with need and frustration. Jensen then kisses his way over to the other nipple and repeats the sequence of touches and teases. Jared drops his head back on the pillow and moans, the warring sensations nearly driving him out of his mind. He tangles his fingers in Jensen’s hair and guides Jensen’s head down to his cock, which is fully hard and flushed a deep crimson red. Jensen flicks his tongue over the slit to remove a bead of precome, and Jared’s hips and knees are starting to ache from the tension he’s carrying in his lower body. “Come on,” he urges Jensen in a strained whisper. Jensen straddles Jared’s legs and takes Jared’s substantial cock all the way into his mouth. The tip of his tongue caresses the underside of the head so tenderly that it raises goosebumps on Jared’s skin. Jensen the flattens his tongue and laves the whole shaft bottom to top, slicking it up in preparation for the main event. Jared’s not sure how much more of this he can take, especially if they’re gonna keep doing this for the next two or three days. “Faster. Please,” he gasps. Jensen hollows his cheeks and starts to bob up and down, and Jared has to admit that Jensen is really, really damn good at this. His tongue flutters along the underside of the shaft with each pass in a way that would make Jared’s knees go weak if he were supporting any of his weight on them. As it is, they just hurt, but that’s nothing new. Jared has to force himself not to buck his hips and thrust the way he instinctually wants to, because that’ll just damage his hips and knees further. Instead, he just tries to relax the tension in his lower body so the pain will level off. Jensen seems to take the hint, because he increases the intensity until Jared can barely breathe. Finally, he comes with a long drawn-out moan and spills his seed into Jensen’s mouth. Jensen swallows it all and releases Jared’s cock when he’s done. He crawls up to the head of the bed and flops down beside Jared. “You okay?” Jared nods and reassures him with a quick kiss. “Yeah, I’m good. Just tired and a little sore.” Jensen frowns. “Did I hurt you?” “No, it wasn’t anything you did,” Jared replies immediately. “Just the position. Next time I’ll have you get out the full wedge and we’ll do this right.” Jensen grins at the mention of next time. “You’re gonna keep me on my toes, huh?” “That’s the plan.” Jared pulls Jensen’s head down on his chest and cards his fingers through Jensen’s damp, spiky hair. “Did I tell you how glad I am that you decided to come over?” “Not yet.” Jensen presses a kiss to the hollow of Jared’s throat. “Well, I am,” says Jared, kissing the top of Jensen’s head. “I really, really am.”

[airoasis]

LUCAS DI GRASSI ABOUT THE NEW FORMULA E SEASON: "TOP IS An INCREDIBLE MOTIVATION"

Preparations have been completed and the race vehicles of Group Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler are on their way to Hong Kong where the opening race of the brand-new Formula E season will occur on December 2 and 3. In an interview, the ruling Champion, Lucas di Grassi, talks about his expectations, the new team and its key competitors.Who are the favorites in the title

race this season from your perspective? "That's hard to respond to in Formula E-- particularly prior to this season. I have extremely strong expectations of Renault and Mahindra. At the exact same time, we need to have Virgin, Andretti and Jaguar on our radar too. There are at least five or 6 groups in contention for winning races. In addition, in André Lotterer, Edoardo Mortara and Kamui Kobayashi there'll be some strong brand-new motorists, so it's near-impossible to make any forecasts. The only thing we can be sure of is that this will be the hardest battled season in Solution E history to date."Exactly what does objecting to the season with top displayed on your car indicate to you?" It's an excellent feeling due to the fact that it reveals that we did a great job last season and attained something extraordinary. You don't get points for that in the brand-new season, but it's tremendous motivation to provide everything once again for success."Now that São Paulo, Brazil, is on the Formula E calendar we most likely do not have to inquire about your favorite race ... "The race in São Paulo makes a dream come realfor me. The city is my home and my whole household and my good friends are going to be at the race. Still, there are other cities I extremely much anticipate-- such as Rome and Zurich. With new attractive race places and brand-new manufacturers Formula E is experiencing a genuine boom at the minute. For me it's currently the second-most relevant racing series after Formula 1. It meets all the prerequisites for additional development in the future. "In a couple of days, you'll be taking a trip to Hong Kong. How much are you eagerly anticipating the occasion?"We're anticipating the new Formula E season opener with huge anticipation. We workedhard in the last couple of months to put another car on the grid that'll be in contention for victory. The transition from an Audi-supported team to a full-fledged factory-backed commitment was amazing and went smoothly. Now we're longing for an excellent weekend in Hong Kong-- preferably with as much success as the one we ended last season with. "How did you invest the summer season break since the Formula E season finale? "Straight after the finale in July, there were a great deal of PR commitments that I would not describe as work, though. It was great to see how terrific global interest in Formula E and in our

title win was. Shortly afterwards, the first tests and the work with theengineers and in the simulator began. Specific highlights for me were the 2 races I objected to for Audi throughout the summer break: the legends race in the Audi Sport TT Cup at Hockenheim and the involvement in the GT World Cup in Macau." Has the race on the city street circuit in Macau been practical in preparing for Formula E?" In spite of the cars and trucks and tracks being various, every race sharpens a race chauffeur's senses and trains mind and body. Macau is special and an incredible challenge in motorsport. I'm extremely grateful that I had opportunity to race there again-- although we 'd have wanted for a various result."How delighted are you with the preparations for the new Formula E season?" I'm extremely delighted. Compared to the years prior to, we have actually produced a great starting base with hard work and substantial dedication. Next week in Hong Kong we'll see how that's eventually going to turn out in the race with our competitors

."Can you share the enhancements with us that the team has made compared with last season?"The powertrain, the development of which is free in Formula E, is totally new. In addition, we altered the transmission-- from 3 speeds to simply one speed. With Audi's entry, we now have

even much better chances, especially in terms of working in the simulator. This readies and essential. I'm convinced that, as an outcome, the level in the entire field will be raised when again. "You experienced a crazy race in Hong Kong in 2016, having actually begun from the far rear and ending up on podium. Exactly what are your expectations of the season opener this time? "I'm expecting another crazy race! The track in Hong Kong is long, has an exciting layout and uses lots of surpassing opportunities. The fans are going to see two exhilarating races, no doubt about it." Schedule Formula E 2017/2018 02/12 Hong Kong(HK )03/12 Hong Kong (HK )13/01 Marrakesh(MA )03/02 Santiago (RCH)03/03 Mexico City (MEX)17/03 Sao Paulo (BR)14/04Rome (I)28/04 Paris(F)19/05 Berlin(D )10/06 Zurich (CH) 14/07 New York( U.S.A )15/07 New York City(USA) 28/07 Montreal(CDN)29/07 Montreal(CDN)Source. Audi