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myonechicagoworld · 4 years ago

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CHICAGO FIRE – IT AIN’T EASY (S01E09)

Leslie Shay: [clears throat]

Corrine: Have a good day.

Leslie Shay: Yeah, you too.

Kelly Severide: Hey. See you.

Corrine: Mm.

[kissing sound]

[door closing]

Leslie Shay: You feel better? Feel like you accomplished

something?

Kelly Severide: By the way… she’s not 100% lesbian.

[munching & chewing]

Leslie Shay: [sighs]

Kelly Severide: What? [chuckles] You said it was cool.

cutscene

[siren wailing]

[indistinct chatter]

Man 1 (Machinist): Started getting hot. Smoke started coming in.

I turned around. Next thing I know, fire’s coming

in through the window. We tried to spray it, but

it got too hot, and the propane tank blew.

Matt Casey: Anything else combustible in there?

Man 1 (Machinist): A bunch of cylinders… oxygen, acetylene.

Chief Boden: Truck 81, pull those tanks out before it turns into the

4th of July.

Squad, you’re on search.

Otis Zvonecek: Hey, isn’t that that kid Ernie from the Thanksgiving

dinner?

[water spraying]

Matt Casey: Main room’s clear of hazardous material. No workers in

here. Haven’t checked the supply room yet.

Kelly Severide: We got it!

[beeping]

Vargas: Lieutenant, somebody’s in the corner!

Kelly Severide: Okay, grab his legs! Hadley, Capp, finish the sweep!

Capp or Hadley: We’re on it.

Kelly Severide: [grunts]

Chief Boden: Let’s get two attack lines ready in the back.

Firefighter: Right, Chief.

[coughing]

Kelly Severide: Hold on!

Victim 1: [coughing]

Kelly Severide: One, two, three. Go!

Chief Boden: Truck’s still engaged. I need you two to vent the roof.

Kelly Severide: On it.

Capp: Hey! Supply room’s clear!

Matt Casey: Take one of these.

Capp: Got it.

Matt Casey: All yours, Rich.

Engine Firefighter (Rich): Give me more line!

[glass smashing]

Chief Boden: (into radio) How we doing on that vent?

Kelly Severide: (into radio) We’re venting, making progress.

[water spraying]

[explosion]

Engine Firefighter (Rich): Clear out, clear out!

Vargas: [coughing & choking]

Kelly Severide: Vargas!

Vargas: [groaning]

Kelly Severide: (into radio) Mayday! Mayday! Firefighter down!

Chief Boden: (over radio) We’ve got a down firefighter on the roof.

Get a ladder up there now!

Vargas: [choking & gasping]

Gabby Dawson: Vargas, can you hear me?

Vargas: [gasping]

Gabby Dawson: Take nice, slow breaths for us, Vargas.

We’re gonna get you to the hospital in no time,

okay? Just hang in there for us.

You guys ready?

Matt Casey: Yeah.

Gabby Dawson: We need a hand.

[ambo door shuts]

[siren wailing]

Kelly Severide: Hey. Hey. You torch this place? Huh, you little

tweaker?

Ernie: I’m watching.

Kelly Severide: You’re watching it? Did you do it? Huh?

Chief Boden: Kelly! That’s enough!

Kelly Severide: That’s two fires, two dumpsters, same kid!

Chief Boden: Walk it off, Kelly! I am handling this!

Kelly Severide: Why don’t you invite him back for apple pie?

Keep him close. That’s the plan, right?

- Title -

[door opens]

Chief Boden: Good morning.

All: Morning.

Chief Boden: I know you’re all concerned about what happened to

Vargas on the last shift.

Hospital has treated him and released him. He’s

resting up. But he is not out of the woods.

Hazmat has confirmed magnesium shavings

were in a bin at the machine shop, which you all

know is reactive with water.

Christopher Herrmann: Magnesium inhalation.

Chief Boden: He’s got burns on his lungs and an upper respiratory

tract infection.

Christopher Herrmann: So when are we gonna see him again?

Chief Boden: We won’t know until we get the test results.

But look, he’s gonna be fine no matter what happens.

Okay?

Uh, my office. Now.

Door.

[door shuts]

Chief Boden: If you ever talk to me like that in front of the men

again, you will see a side of me that you won’t

forget.

Kelly Severide: All due respect, I’ve got to protect my men.

Chief Boden: And I am doing what? Walking around with my thumb

up my ass?

Kelly Severide: He is a firebug. Plain as day.

Chief Boden: I am taking care of this! Do you understand me?

Step back.

[door closes]

cutscene

[shower water running]

[indistinct background chatter]

[locker door squeaks]

[locker slamming]

cutscene

Phone Voicemail (Vargas): Hey, you’ve reached Jose Vargas.

Please leave a message.

[phone beeps]

Matt Casey: [sighs exasperatedly]

Leslie Shay: Hey, anything?

Matt Casey: He’s not picking up.

Leslie Shay: All right. Well, let me know if anyone’s planning on

going over there. Dawson and I want in.

Matt Casey: You got it.

Leslie Shay: Oh, hey um… Dawson’s landlord is being a dick about

repairs. Her kitchen window leaks every time it rains,

and he won’t do anything about it.

Matt Casey: Really? She hasn’t said anything to me about it.

Leslie Shay: Oh, she didn’t want to come off like a mooch.

But anyhow, she tried to fix it herself, and now

the window won’t go up or down.

Matt Casey: Oh. I’ll, uh, I’ll talk to her.

Leslie Shay: Great. Thanks.

Matt Casey: Yeah.

Leslie Shay: Cool.

Matt Casey: [snaps fingers]

You should have said something about your window.

Gabby Dawson: [chuckles] You want greater Chicago to know your

business, make sure you tell Leslie Shay.

Matt Casey: I can put in a new one for you.

Gabby Dawson: Oh, I-I don’t…I don’t like asking favours.

Matt Casey: Good thing you didn’t ask.

cutscene

[knocking on door]

[door opens]

Chief Boden: The fire at the machine shop… do you know how it

started?

Do you remember Jose Vargas? From the firehouse?

His lungs are burned. Pretty bad.

Ernie: I told you, I don’t know anything.

Chief Boden: But if you did know something, now would be the

time for you to speak up, because that way, I can

still help you out.

Ernie: [sighs] It’s not my fault.

Chief Boden: What’s not your fault?

Come on, son, talk to me.

Look, whatever it is, we can make it right. We can get

you some help.

Ernie: I want to bring my grandma.

Chief Boden: That’s fine.

[radio static]

PA: (over radio) Truck 81, elevator accident…

[radio switched off]

Chief Boden: You come down to the station by 2:00. No one’s

gonna hurt you anymore, Ernie.

Station by 2:00, okay?

[door slamming]

cutscene

Matt Casey: What’s the word?

Man 2 (Security Guard): A bank elevator stopped working. One of

them is stuck. Somebody in there was

calling for help, but now nobody’s

answering the phone.

Matt Casey: What floor?

Man 2 (Security Guard): It’s express. It could be anywhere between

the lobby and the tenth floor.

Matt Casey: Let’s start on ten and get a bird’s eye view.

Mouch: [groans]

Matt Casey: This one.

Christopher Herrmann: All right.

Otis Zvonecek: [grunts]

Matt Casey: Got it?

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah [grunts]

[metal clanging]

Otis Zvonecek: Good.

Matt Casey: All right.

[grunts]

This is the fire department! Can anybody hear me?

Mills, Cruz, Herrmann, throw a rope. I’ll get in the

hoistway.

Otis, get up to the motor room and take over the

power.

Ah, Mouch. You, uh, stay right here and take command

of this floor, huh?

Mouch: [sighs & pants]

[metal clanging]

[elevators powering down]

Otis Zvonecek: (into radio) Power’s down on all elevators.

Christopher Herrmann: Peter Mills, your line’s secure.

Joe Cruz: Line secure!

Peter Mills: All right.

Matt Casey: Yeah.

Firefighter: Okay.

Matt Casey: Hello?

(into radio) Elevator’s empty except for a safe.

Gotta weigh a ton, at least.

[shuffling]

Matt Casey: What the hell?

Man 3: I didn’t do it.

Matt Casey: Hey buddy? I came down here to help you.

You didn’t hear me yelling?

Man 3: Please, I don’t want any help.

Matt Casey: Clearly. What’s your name?

Man 3: I don’t want to say.

Matt Casey: I’m not a cop.

Fine, I’ll call you Ralph. Ralph, don’t do…

Man 3: It’s Mark.

Matt Casey: All right, Mark, don’t do anything stupid.

I mean, don’t do anything stupid again.

Man 3 (Mark): Oh God.

Joe Cruz: Elevator’s dead until that safe’s out, Casey!

Matt Casey: Drop me a rescue harness.

Joe Cruz: On it!

Lady 1: I only noticed the safe was missing when I got back from a

meeting.

Christopher Herrmann: Well, it ain’t going anywhere now.

Man 3 (Mark): I told her I needed 45, and she just said, “take it or

leave it.”

Matt Casey: Looks like you took it.

Mouch: We’ll have him out of there soon.

Lady 1: Never hire family.

Man 3 (Mark): The money never left the building [sniffs]

Maybe Betts and I can work something out.

Matt Casey: There you go. Now, when I say the word… not yet!

Man 3 (Mark): [slipping]

[yells]

I can’t hold on. Help me!

Matt Casey: [grunts]

Man 3 (Mark): Help me…

Matt Casey: Hold on.

Man 3 (Mark): Help me.

Peter Mills: Casey’s…[continues indistinctly]

Matt Casey: Coming for you.

Christopher Herrmann: (over radio) Casey, put your line back on.

Matt Casey: Here, give me your hand.

Come on. Stay calm. Here, now hold on to the beam.

Grab the beam. Got it?

Man 3 (Mark): Yeah.

Matt Casey: Okay. Now give me your other hand.

Man 3 (Mark): Okay.

Matt Casey: One step at a time.

Man 3 (Mark): Okay.

Matt Casey: Edge along. I got you.

Man 3 (Mark): [yells]

Matt Casey: Hold on! Get your feet up.

Man 3 (Mark): Don’t drop me!

Matt Casey: I got you.

Man 3 (Mark): Don’t drop me! Please don’t drop me.

Matt Casey: I got you. Get your feet up.

I got you, I got you. I’m not gonna drop you.

Keep going. You’re okay.

(into radio) I got him. (over radio) Up on line.

Christopher Herrmann: Ready to haul.

Matt Casey: Haul.

Put your feet up. Feet.

Peter Mills: Keep coming.

Move to your right and then… stop! Stop right there.

Man 3 (Mark): [grunting]

Peter Mills: All right.

[applause]

Gabby Dawson: You okay? Let’s go over to the chair.

Man 3 (Mark): [panting]

Gabby Dawson: Well, sir, you look okay. Do you hurt anywhere?

Man 3 (Mark): I feel sick.

Leslie Shay: You’ll be alright.

Lady 1 (Betts): What am I supposed to tell mom, huh? You dropout.

Joe Cruz: Yo, Mouch, I think I left my kit upstairs. Can you run up

and grab it for me?

Mouch: I’d give you the finger, but that would require too much

energy.

[cell phone rings]

Joe Cruz: Hello?

Yeah, I’ll accept the charges.

Leon, you better not be calling me from where I think

you’re calling.

Lieutenant?

Matt Casey: Yeah?

Joe Cruz: My little brother got pinched in a robbery. Unarmed.

Petty theft.

Anyway, he’s at county and if I could get an hour, I need

to bail him out.

Matt Casey: Get us back to 51 and then do what you gotta do.

Joe Cruz: You sure?

Matt Casey: Are you?

Joe Cruz: It’s family.

[truck compartment door closes]

Gabby Dawson: Casey, hey. Uh, hypothetical. A friend comes over

to your house to help out with something…

do you repay your friend with your phenomenal

arroz con pollo picante, or a six pack of his

favourite beer?

Matt Casey: Hypothetically, your friend can bring his own beer.

However, he can barely say arroz c-con yollo

compointe…

Gabby & Matt: [laughs]

Matt Casey: Let alone cook it.

Gabby Dawson: Got it.

Leslie Shay: Look at you. All lit up like a Christmas tree.

Gabby Dawson: What? No, I just asked him if he wanted me to

make dinner.

Leslie Shay: Uh, huh.

Gabby Dawson: Hey, we are not talking about this.

Leslie Shay: Seriously, how long has it been?

Gabby Dawson: He just dumped his fiancée, Shay. But, yeah, it’s

been a while.

Leslie Shay: Right. That’s why you gotta get in there. Pick up the

rebound and slam it on home.

Gabby Dawson: Okay, I’m gonna about to slam something in a

minute.

cutscene

(Over PA): Live and in person, Jose Vargas.

Matt Casey: Ah! There he is! Good to see you, buddy.

Vargas: Lieutenant.

Matt Casey: [grunts]

Otis Zvonecek: What’s up man? [laughs]

Peter Mills: Are you staying for lunch? We’re having brisket.

Kelly Severide: He’s staying. Come on, let’s eat!

Gabby Dawson: Hey.

Vargas: Hi.

[alarm buzzing & blaring]

(Over PA): Ambulance 61…

Gabby Dawson: Save me some of that.

(Over PA): Man down from unknown causes.

Peter Mills & Matt Casey: Sure.

(Over PA): 716 South Morgan Drive.

Otis Zvonecek: Sorry.

Vargas: Doctor’s got me huffing on a nebulizer four times a day.

Plus this inhaler.

Busy day so far?

Kelly Severide: Uh, no, no. Not too bad.

Connie: Casey, Severide. Chief’s asking for you.

Chief Boden: This is Dr. Tenney, CFD medical director.

Dr. Tenney: Gentlemen.

Chief Boden: We wanted to bring you men in since Vargas served

under both your command.

Dr. Tenney: His lab suggests chronic obstructive pulmonary

disease.

Kelly Severide: What’s that?

Dr. Tenney: He’ll develop emphysema, which means his lungs will

gradually deteriorate. He won’t be able to breathe a

normal amount of air, which… could lead to other

issues: weight loss, skeletal muscle dysfunction,

heart problems…

Chief Boden: There’s just no way he can handle the demands of

the job.

Matt Casey: He’s out there right now, Chief. He looks good.

Chief Boden: We are placing him on long-term disability. I wanted

you two to know what was happening. When I get

all this paperwork together, I will talk to Vargas.

Matt Casey: We’ll tell him.

Vargas: So that’s it?

Kelly Severide: I’m sorry, Vargas. It could happen to any of us.

Vargas: Well, be glad it didn’t happen to you.

Matt Casey: Hey, you’re getting paid. Three-quarters salary.

Vargas: Yeah.

Matt Casey: It’s not what anybody wants. But any of us would take

that deal.

Vargas: How about you, Kelly? Would you…would you take that

deal?

Kelly Severide: Uh… [lightly claps hands together] They’re not

offering a choice.

Matt Casey: You still doing landscaping?

Vargas: Yeah. Whenever my buddy needs another guy.

Matt Casey: Take the 75%, start your own business.

Kelly Severide: Or go ride Harleys with your brother like you talked

about.

Vargas: He moved to Albuquerque.

[chuckles] You and me should both be taking 75%.

[sighs]

Matt Casey: Did you see a doctor?

Your shoulder. Do you think no one’s noticed?

Kelly Severide: It’s my neck. And I saw a doctor. She said there’s

nothing to worry about, so I’m not worrying about

it.

Matt Casey: It’s your business, but if it’s an issue for you, it’s an

issue for all of us.

Kelly Severide: Then we’re good.

[alarm blaring & buzzing]

(Over PA): Squad 3, Engine 51. Single car accident.

5512 South Sangamon.

[sirens wailing]

[electricity crackling & buzzing]

Kelly Severide: Car’s energised! Keep your distance!

Tony, get on the horn with ComEd and get this line

cut.

Watch it, guys.

[electricity crackling]

Lady 2: Uh, I knew just to not get out of the car.

Kelly Severide: You knew right. You hurt?

Lady 2: No, I don’t… I don’t think so.

Kelly Severide: What happened?

[electricity crackling]

Lady 2: Well, this animal just darted out, right out in front of my car

and…

Kelly Severide: Well, looks like you missed him, so PETA will be

happy.

Just give us a sec.

Hadley: Severide.

[electricity sparking]

Kelly Severide: All right, we can’t wait for the power company.

Lady 2: Wait, what’s happening?

Kelly Severide: Just stay in the car.

Hadley, throw me the rope bag.

Hadley: Yup.

Lady 2: Oh my God [hyperventilating] Is everything gonna be okay?

Kelly Severide: Yeah, I promise. You’re gonna be fine.

Lady 2: [groans]

[electricity sparking]

Lady 2: Ohh...

[yelps] Ohh…

[groans]

[electricity sparking]

Lady 2: [yelps]

Hadley: You good?

Kelly Severide: Good.

Lady 2: Ooh.

Kelly Severide: See?

Lady 2: Ohh.

Kelly Severide: Safe and sound.

Lady 2: Yeah [nervous laughter]

[groans] Okay [nervous laughter]

Kelly Severide: Come over here.

Lady 2: [groans]

Kelly Severide: You want a backboard and stretcher?

Lady 2: No, no. God, what I need is a massage [laughs]

I’m… I’m good. I’m, uh, I’m fine.

Kelly Severide: All right. All right, well, these guys will check you out

to make sure.

Lady 2: Uh, thank you.

cutscene

[background chatter]

Joe Cruz: You’re moving in with me.

Leon Cruz: Yo, whatever.

Joe Cruz: Whatever? How about, “thanks for saving my ass?”

We weren’t raised like this. You’re turning your back on

your familia.

Leon Cruz: Yo, I got a different family now.

Joe Cruz: What the hell is the matter with you?

Look at where we are! I can’t keep chasing after you your

whole life, cleaning up your mess.

Leon Cruz: Yo, then don’t.

Joe Cruz: You want to die in a gang? Like Moco? Like Ruiz?

cutscene

Peter Mills: Blackboy? That’s your word?

Mouch: It’s a plant. And a triple word score.

Peter Mills: Hey, Dawson, if I said uh, “let’s get a bunch of

blackboys in here to decorate the house,” what

would you think?

Gabby Dawson: Uh, I’m not touching that one.

Mouch: Should I go get the dictionary? It’s a word.

Peter Mills: Wait, I, uh, I saved you a plate.

Gabby Dawson: Thanks.

Peter Mills & Gabby Dawson: [chuckles]

Leslie Shay: Mm.

Peter Mills: Um, yeah, I-I can make you some, if…

Leslie Shay: [gasping] Oh, no. Don’t trouble yourself, Peter Mills.

I had two sunflower seeds in the ambo.

cutscene

Chief Boden: Ernie here yet?

Christopher Herrmann: Not yet.

I know you don’t want to do this, Chief.

But… you gotta do this.

Chief Boden: I just want to believe he’s a good kid.

Christopher Herrmann: But you’re not doing anybody any favours

by waiting for this kid to do the right thing.

Chief Boden: Putting him in the system does what?

Christopher Herrmann: What choice do you have? Let it slide?

Hope that he changes on his own?

cutscene

[squad compartment door shuts]

Lady 2: Remember me? I tried to electrocute you earlier?

Kelly Severide: I remember.

Lady 2: For you. Chocolates.

Kelly Severide: Well, thanks, but it’s not…

Lady 2: No. No, please. I mean, it doesn’t even begin to repay you

for all your help.

Kelly Severide: Miss…

Lady 2: Uh, Renee Royce.

Kelly Severide: Ah.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): [giggles] Call me Renee.

Kelly Severide: Um, look, my services are free.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): This is gonna sound, um… okay what the

hell.

Do you want to have lunch or coffee

sometime? It doesn’t have to be today…

Kelly Severide: Look, it’s a really nice offer.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): Come on, just say yes.

Kelly Severide: Miss Royce?

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): Yes?

Kelly Severide: There’s a well-known phenomenon where people

who have been rescued become attracted to the

men that helped them. Believe me, this will wear

off in 30 minutes, tops.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): Thank you again.

Kelly Severide: Yeah, it was my pleasure.

cutscene

Peter Mills: Hey, I heard the news. Sorry, man.

Vargas: Want a yo-yo? Even as a kid, I could never figure out how to

do it. Otis says I gotta snap my wrist more.

Peter Mills: How long did it take to get from truck to squad?

Vargas: 16 years. My whole career.

Five weeks to get booted out.

[locker door slams]

Vargas: On the bright side, there’s a spot open now.

Peter Mills: No. Yo, I-I wasn’t even thinking… I would never…

Vargas: Mills. When you get the opportunity, grab it.

[locker door slams]

Vargas: It ain’t easy.

Otis Zvonecek: This is from all of us.

Vargas: Thanks guys.

This is um… it sure ain’t pretty.

[laughter]

Vargas: But I love it. Thanks.

Chief Boden: It was an honour to serve with you at this house,

Vargas.

Vargas: Thanks, Chief.

Mouch: You lucky bastard.

Matt Casey: Good luck, brother.

Capp: You’ll do great, man..

Kelly Severide: Just… get well soon.

Christopher Herrmann: See you later, buddy.

Hadley: Take it easy, man.

Matt Casey: See ya, man.

Chief Boden: Keep an eye on him, both of youse.

cutscene

[knocking on door]

Chief Boden: Hey.

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): Wallace!

Chief Boden: Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): We gotta catch up sometime. Off duty.

Chief Boden: [chuckles] You don’t have to tell me twice.

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): Sit. Sit. So what you got?

Chief Boden: We think we have at least two major fires that are

connected. Both of them started in dumpsters, both

possibly started by a 14-year-old kid who has been

seen at three incidents. Record of station visits,

phone correspondence, medical history, SSI data.

Dad’s doing 30 years in Tamms. Mom OD’d a year

ago. He’s a good kid. Some day he’s gonna kill

somebody.

cutscene

[car door shuts]

[bell chiming]

[background chatter]

Joe Cruz: Flaco.

Man 5 (Flaco): [chuckles] Is that Joe Cruz? Damn, ain’t seen you for

a minute. What up man?

Joe Cruz: Hey, I appreciate you talking the time.

Man 5 (Flaco): Ah, we go back, you and me.

Joe Cruz: I wanted to talk to you about my brother.

Man 5 (Flaco): Yeah? I heard you bailed him out.

Joe Cruz: Yeah.

Man 5 (Flaco): That’s cool. You ain’t gotta worry about Puppet

though. I’m watching out for him.

Personally.

Joe Cruz: Look, he ain’t cut out for your crew.

Man 5 (Flaco): I’d love to help you out, bro. But I put in time on

him. Been grooming him for a while now.

You want to buy out, you gotta drop 10k.

Joe Cruz: What?

Man 5 (Flaco): Time is money, man.

Joe Cruz: I don’t have it.

And even if I did, I put in time with Leon. A lot more than

you. So the way I see it, maybe you owe me something.

[laughter]

Man 5 (Flaco): You got heart. I’ll give you that. And loyalty.

Ain’t nothing more important than loyalty to your

hermanos, right?

Okay.

[slurping]

Joe Cruz: We’re cool?

Man 5 (Flaco): As cucumbers.

Joe Cruz: If we’re having this same conversation a year from now,

I swear to you, he’s all yours.

cutscene

Mouch: Sea salt sarsaparilla? What the hell kind of chocolate is

this? Where’s the nougat?

Gabby Dawson: I love this one.

Matt Casey: It’s junk.

Gabby Dawson: What?

Matt Casey: With our winters, you want one made with wood fibre

strengthened with PVC polymers.

Gabby Dawson: This one’s so cute.

I…

Matt Casey: Can’t compete with cute.

Mouch: Mm.

cutscene

Leslie Shay: Hey.

Kelly Severide: What’s shaking, Sparkles?

Leslie Shay: What’s up with you?

Kelly Severide: Nothin’.

Leslie Shay: You on something again?

Kelly Severide: What?

Leslie Shay: You know I’m not giving you painkillers.

You’d think after Thanksgiving that you’d be…

Kelly Severide: No. I-I’m finally feeling better, Shay, and when I

have a good day I don’t question it. So maybe

you shouldn’t either.

And by the way, didn’t we have an agreement when

we first moved in that we wouldn’t get in each

other’s business?

Leslie Shay: This isn’t some personal thing. This is serious,

what you’re doing.

Kelly Severide: I’m not doing anything!

Leslie Shay: Anyhow… [sighs] I came to tell you there’s someone

looking for you on the floor.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): It has been over 30 minutes, and it hasn’t

worn off.

Kelly Severide: Well, how about that?

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): Because you made me wait, it is now going

to be dinner.

Kelly Severide: Is it?

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): Have you ever been to Francesca’s?

‘Cause we’re in for tomorrow night.

Kelly Severide: Where is this place?

Mouch: The injury you want is to get shot in the foot. With the right

angle, you can blow that…

Otis Zvonecek: Severide, tell me that lady you were just with wasn’t

the same woman that you saved from the wreck.

Kelly Severide: Why? Is she your sister?

Otis Zvonecek: [scoffs] Doctors don’t date patients. Lawyers don’t

date clients. Victims are off-limits to firefighters.

Mouch: Uh, actually there’s nothing in the Union bylaws that says

you can’t date a victim.

Otis Zvonecek: And might I add, these chocolates? A little too

fancy-pants.

Kelly Severide: So don’t eat ‘em.

Otis Zvonecek: Whoa! Hey, I didn’t say inedible.

Christopher Herrmann: Vargas, hey! You forgot something?

Vargas: You said come back anytime.

Christopher Herrmann: Of course. Yeah

Otis Zvonecek: Hey, you keep showing up like this, you’re gonna

give Mills here a big head.

Kelly Severide: Hey, man.

Vargas: Hey, who’s drinking after shift? I’m buying.

Christopher Herrmann: Aww, jeez, I wish I could. But Lee Henry’s

got a hockey game.

Mouch: Hey, if you’re still buying next week, I’m totally free Saturday

and Sunday.

Vargas: [chuckles] No problem.

cutscene

[siren wailing]

[battalion car door shuts]

Fireman: Fire’s out, Chief.

Chief Boden: Any idea what happened?

Fireman: Yeah. Dumpster fire in the back spread to the house.

Chief Boden: [sighs]

[cell phone ringing]

Chief Boden: You got anything for me?

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): Sent a couple guys over to the kid’s

grandma’s house. Nobody’s there.

Got a hit on something else though.

The grandma’s the legal guardian,

but his SSI checks, they’re going to

another address.

Chief Boden: Text me.

[rustling]

Chief Boden: Ernie…

Ernie: What are you doing here?

Chief Boden: Did you start that fire?

Did you start that fire!

Ernie: The cops were at my house.

Chief Boden: Why didn’t you come to the fire station like we

agreed?

Ernie: You ratted me out.

Chief Boden: I’m trying to help you out.

Ernie: I didn’t do anything wrong. Everything’s all messed up.

Chief Boden: What’s messed up?

Ernie: No. You have to go. Get out of here. Go!

Chief Boden: Hey! Hey! Hey!

Man 6: Who the hell are you?

Chief Boden: Wallace Boden. How do you know Ernie?

Man 6: I’m his uncle.

Chief Boden: You okay, Ernie?

Ernie: He’s my uncle Ray.

Chief Boden: What’s going on here? What you doing to that kid?

I said, what are you doing to that kid?

Man 6 (Uncle Ray): You a cop?

Chief Boden: Hey, Ernie! Ernie!

cutscene

Kelly Severide: You stay the whole shift?

Vargas: Old habits.

Kelly Severide: You still free tonight?

Vargas: How long were you hanging off the side of that balcony?

Kelly Severide: Long enough.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): [giggles]

Vargas: If I hadn’t raised that ladder when I did, he would have had

nothing but pavement to break his fall [laughs]

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): Wow.

Vargas: [coughs] [inhaler hisses] [cough]

Yeah, sorry I crashed your date.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): Oh, no, no, no. Stop it. This was uh…

it was fun.

Kelly Severide: I’ve never seen you talk that much in my life.

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): [chuckles]

Kelly Severide: Okay.

Vargas: See you guys.

Kelly Severide: I appreciate you making it three. He’s… struggling.

[kissing sounds]

Lady 2 (Renee Royce): You’re a good man.

cutscene

[tires screeching]

Joe Cruz: Leon!

Oh my God, Leon!

Leon Cruz: What the hell did you do?

[grunting & groaning]

cutscene

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): No record of an uncle. But then, in that

part of town you get a lot of unofficial

“uncles” and “aunties”.

Chief Boden: What about the house where I found him?

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): Uh, it’s uh, rented to a… a

Raymond Martin.

Chief Boden: That’s him.

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): No outstanding warrants. Looks like

he’s laying low.

Chief Boden: Has he got any priors?

Man 4 (James Whoritsky): Ah. Did 8 years in Statesville.

Felony arson.

cutscene

[soft music playing]

Matt Casey: Cute enough?

Gabby Dawson: It’s perfect.

I love it. Even the view is better.

Matt Casey: Uh…

Gabby Dawson: Oh God!

Matt Casey: Who you got here?

Gabby Dawson: Oh… [chuckles] That is my niece Maria. She just

started ballet class, and she’s so adorable.

The one next to her, that’s Antonio’s brainiac

son, Diego. I don’t know where he gets it.

Matt Casey: [chuckles]

Gabby Dawson: The twins, Freddy and Caria.

Matt Casey: You his aunt, too?

Gabby Dawson: [chuckles] Yeah, we hang out sometimes.

Matt Casey: Oh yeah?

Gabby Dawson: Well, he knows all the best dive restaurants in the

city.

Matt Casey: Really?

Gabby Dawson: Mmhmm. Here. Try this.

Matt Casey: Mm.

Gabby Dawson: It’s a little spicy. Careful.

Matt Casey: I can take it.

Oh my God.

Gabby Dawson: Yeah? You like it?

Matt Casey: It is phenomenal.

Gabby Dawson: [giggles]

Matt Casey: [chuckles]

Gabby Dawson: Thanks.

Matt Casey: Hey! Let’s take a picture for your wall of fame.

Gabby Dawson: Okay.

Matt Casey: Do that. Here.

Ready?

Gabby Dawson: Ready.

Matt Casey: You sure?

Gabby Dawson: Yeah [giggles]

Matt Casey: [chuckles] Three, two, one.

[click]

[phone vibrates]

Matt Casey: I gotta go.

Gabby Dawson: Okay. What’s up?

Matt Casey: Vargas.

Kelly Severide: Vargas, you gotta stop playing.

Come on, man.

Matt Casey: Hey there, buddy. What’s going on?

Vargas: This is so messed up.

Matt Casey: Why don’t you move away from the edge there,

Vargas?

Kelly Severide: I’ve been telling him.

He keeps living the rest of his life the way he fought

fires, he’ll have a hell of a lot to be proud of.

Matt Casey: Remember the Homewood fire?

We lost the house, and Vargas saves the family photo

album.

But here’s the thing I never told you.

The mom thanked me after it was all over. You know

what she said?

She said, “the house was made out of wood. But the

home was made out of the people in that book.”

Firehouse 51 is made out of you and me and

Severide… and every firefighter that passes through

those gates.

Nothing can take that away from you.

Vargas: [sobbing quietly]

[sobs]

Matt Casey: 51 is always gonna be your house.

Okay.

Vargas: [sobbing]

- end -

Definitions:

Acetylene = Hottest and most efficient fuel gas on the market, making it the preferred product for many applications. It is also the only fuel gas hot enough to weld steel.

Attack lines = Attack hose is designed to be used by trained firefighters to take down fires too dangerous or too large to be extinguished without professional help. These hoses are built to withstand high water pressure and abrasion, giving firefighters the power and range of movement needed to fight a fire.

Hazmat = Abbreviation of Hazardous Materials. Hazmats include such substances as toxic chemicals, fuels, nuclear waste products, and biological, chemical, and radiological agents.

Upper respiratory tract infection = Defined as self-limited irritation and swelling of the upper airways with associated cough with no proof of pneumonia, lacking a separate condition to account for the patients symptoms, or with no history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/emphysema/chronic bronchitis. Upper respiratory tract infections involve the nose, sinuses, pharynx, larynx and the large airways.

Hoistway = a passage (as an elevator shaft) through or along which a thing may be hoisted.

Arroz con pollo picante = Spicy yellow rice with chicken

Nebulizer = Piece of medical equipment that a person with asthma or another respiratory condition can use to administer medication directly and quickly to the lungs. A nebulizer turns liquid medicine into a very fine mist that a person can inhale through a face mask or mouthpiece.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease = COPD is the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties. It includes Emphysema (damage to the air sacs in the lungs) and chronic bronchitis (long term inflammation of the airways).

Emphysema = Lung condition that causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) are damaged. Over time, the inner walls of the air sacs weaken and rupture – creating larger air spaces instead of many small ones.

Skeletal muscle dysfunction = Characterised by impairment in the strength and/or endurance properties of muscles, is a relevant systematic manifestation in patients with chronic cardiac and respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

ComEd = Electricity provider in Northern Illinois.

SSI = Supplemental Security Income

Tamms = Tamms Correctional Centre is a closed Illinois Department of Corrections prison [officially closed since 2013]

Hermanos = Brothers in Spanish

14 notes · View notes

something-tofightfor · 4 years ago

Text

Tipping Point - 11

Pairing: Benjamin Greene x Reader

Word Count: 8083

Rating: M (language, some mentions of a colorful past)

Summary: Two more days with Benjamin - no interruptions, no worries about Noah or Julia... and how will you spend them? There’s a lot that you want to show him - but even more that he wants to say... and see. And do.

Author’s Note: Alright kids, you’ve been patient. So, so so patient. But not as patient as Benjamin. Enjoy. This is a monster chapter...but I don’t think you’ll mind.

Benjamin woke up the following morning to the sound of you and Eric talking in the kitchen, the man’s laughter carrying through the partially closed door of his room. You’d spent the remainder of the evening together, Benjamin helping you cook dinner before the two of you ate in the living room, TV off while you talked. It had been a good night, one that he’d been looking forward to for months, and though you’d slept separately - at your suggestion - you’d shared a long hug at the bottom of the stairs, Benjamin’s hands wandering slowly up your back and over the exposed skin of your shoulders.

It had been hard not to duck his head and lean in to kiss you, but Benjamin’s promise that whatever happened next was up to you was one that he wasn’t willing to compromise on. When… if it happens, it happens. Though he’d had less time to work through the way he felt about you than it seemed you had about your feelings for him, Benjamin knew that you had a lot going on - and was in no rush. It’s funny what a failed engagement and a failed marriage will teach you about patience. He stretched, climbing out of the bed and quickly making it, debating over whether or not to change before heading out into the kitchen. No, I’ve got to shower, there’s no point.

Barefoot, he padded down the hallway toward the sound of your voices and was surprised to see Eric in front of the stove, spatula in hand. “That you, Benjamin?” He looked to you before answering, his lips curving into a smile.

“No, it’s the other strange man your sister has stashed away in her study.” He heard you laugh, feeling your hand land on his arm as you squeezed his wrist. “You cooking? Is this something I should look forward to once we’re back in London?”

“Don’t get used to it. I just came back to get my stuff, and this one roped me into staying for breakfast.” Eric turned away from the stove, eyes on his sister. “Conveniently not telling me she wanted me to cook it until after I agreed.”

“You’re staying in my house for three weeks, the least you can do is make me eggs.” Benjamin watched as Eric’s gaze moved down, stopping on where the two of you were connected before he looked back up at Benjamin’s face, his eyes going slightly wider. She didn’t tell him.

“I see the two of you are closer.” Eric laughed and then turned back to the food. “About time.” Benjamin looked down at you, watching as you shrugged your shoulders, loosening your grip on his wrist and sliding it down a few inches to take his hand in yours. “How do you like your eggs, Benjamin?”

---

A few hours later, Eric was gone and you and Benjamin were back on your way downtown. He’d planned on leaving later in the day, well after he could check into his room, but you’d convinced him otherwise. Either she wants more time in the city, or she’s got a plan. You were sitting across from him on the train, facing him, and though Benjamin was paying attention to the scenery as it flashed by, he was more focused on you. I can’t believe she’s here with me. “Are you even listening to me, Benjamin? You haven’t said a word in almost five minutes.”

“Yes. I’m sorry, I…” He rolled his shoulders out, facing you. “I’m glad you’re with me.” You smiled at his words, waiting for him to continue. “I never thought… well, I planned on spending the next two days wandering around by myself and trying not to get hopelessly lost.” You waited a second and then leaned in, raising one eyebrow.

“There’s a secret to avoiding that.” Oh yeah? He leaned in, too, your faces close together. “Open up Google Maps on your phone, and drop a pin on your hotel when you leave. That way you’ll always know where you need to be at the end of the day.” You finished and then watched him silently, waiting. Is she… “I’m kidding, Benjamin. You getting lost downtown wouldn’t surprise me. It happens to the best of us.” Both of you laughed, settling back into your seats. “Can I ask you something?” I’m not going to like whatever this is. “Did you and Julia… did you guys ever take the train into London and …” Trailing off, he realized that you didn’t know how to end your question.

“We did. After we were married, and before, when I still lived in London and she was in Devon. She would… she would come in to meet me, and then we’d either spend time in the city, or get back on the train and head somewhere else.” He thought back to the trip home from their anniversary weekend, nearly a year prior. “We had a running joke about how we couldn’t stand people being touristy in London, said that we’d never do any of the things that it seemed like people from out of town would do, and yet we spent loads of time in museums and shops, and…” Stop talking. “I should have known then that she was a hypocrite - we both were - but I was so caught up in doing the things that I’d missed out on that it didn’t even feel like…” Benjamin shook his head. “I was trying to impress her, and do what made her happy, even when it wasn’t always something that I wanted to do.”

“Well, there are two things that I want to do with you in Chicago, Benjamin. But everything else… it’s all up to you, I’m just along for the ride.” You licked your lips, narrowing your eyes. “I’m sorry to say, though, the Willis Tower?” He nodded. “The tickets were sold out, which is surprising because it’s the middle of the week, so we’ll have to skip that.” That’s fine.

“The only thing I really planned was to see were a couple of the museums, maybe the planetarium if it’s going to be open, and then Navy Pier, but we took care of that over the weekend.” He reached for his phone, unlocking it and thumbing to a list. “Mostly, I wanted to walk through the city and see all of the buildings. The bridges, you know?” Benjamin lowered his eyes. “There’s a fountain, and Millenium Park, and -”

“The park is one of the things I want to see with you.” You spoke up, clearing your throat. “But we’ll have to go twice. Once when it’s light out, and then again in the dark.” In the dark? “And we should go today, since it’s supposed to rain again tomorrow from afternoon on, so it’ll be perfect for the museums.” She’s thought through this in only a few hours. “That’s just a suggestion, Benjamin, I -” He leaned forward, reaching out and lacing his fingers between yours, cutting you off.

“Sounds perfect.” I said it was her call, but… Benjamin slowly lifted your joined hands, giving you ample time to pull away or tell him to stop. When you didn’t, he pressed his lips to the back of yours, just above your knuckles. He closed his eyes briefly at your intake of breath and then glanced up at you as he pulled away. “What?” He settled back against the cushion, letting your fingers slip from his. My heart is racing.

“You know what, Benjamin Greene.” You shook your head, and Benjamin was pleased to see that your cheeks were slightly flushed. This is nothing. I’ve barely said anything. Though he was giving himself some leeway, Benjamin was still being cautious with you when it came to what he said and how he behaved - out of respect for you. But I don’t know how long I can keep it up for, I just want to - “Where are we staying?” He grinned, shaking his head back and forth.

“You’ll see.”

---

“You do realize that this hotel is known as the most haunted place in the entire state, right?” You glanced over at him from where you’d set your bag down on the bed, waiting until he met your gaze. “There are two supposedly haunted hotels in the entire city and you -”

“I do.” He sat on the edge of his mattress, facing you. “I’d read that.” He grinned. “But I didn’t want to stay here because of ghosts, I wanted to stay here because it’s one of the oldest in the city, and it’s got a ton of history, and -” You rolled your eyes, laying down on the bed and covering your face with one arm. “Are you alright over there?” Removing your arm, you looked over at him, fighting back a smile.

“You come to America to look at museums and stay in old hotels… you really are one of a kind.”

“Who says that?” He shifted, also laying down, his eyes moving up to the ceiling. “One of a kind? You don’t even kn-” Stopping himself, he wet his lips. If she wants to know more, she’ll ask. “I’ll have you know,” he continued, turning his head to look at you. “That I also went to two baseball games, rode the train, have eaten more hotdogs in the last few days than I ever have before in my life, and I went to a dive bar.” You laughed, the sound nearly drowning out Benjamin’s next words. “I’d say that I’ve truly gotten the American experience.”

“No American fling, though.” You sighed, catching your breath. “You could have gone anywhere, Benjamin. New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas.” You rolled onto your side, tucking an arm under your head. “Alcohol and big cities and plenty of women that would have been -”

“That’s not why I came here.” He stayed on his back, though he continued to watch you. “I promised I’d keep myself open to whatever happened, but visiting the United States was never about finding someone to take to bed, or going to … I don’t know. I’d love to visit all of those places, but there’s nothing for me there.”

“What do you mean?” You bit your lower lip. “How can you know that? You’ve never been, there might -” I don’t know. I just know that I know. “Noah and Eric are right about one thing… the way you look? The way you speak? You must have women falling -”

“I’ve honestly never really noticed it.” He sat back up. “And I’m not just saying that, it’s the truth. I’ve always been a … a bit awkward, when it comes to women.” You laughed, telling him there was no way. “Oh, you have no idea. He shook his head back and forth, wrinkling his nose. “Back home, the accent’s nothing special. And I don’t mind going out and drinking with friends, but that’s not my life, not anymore. I’ve had more than a few women call me ‘dull’ because I have interests that don’t revolve around sports or pubs or being seen.” He looked down. “I’ve spent so long trying to protect myself that it feels wrong somehow to make myself so visible, so… so open.”

“I wouldn’t have ever even walked up to you if I’d seen you out somewhere, Benjamin.” You sat up, too. “To be honest, at Eric’s? When I first saw you? I almost turned back around and didn’t even get a beer.” What? “The only reason I even spoke to you was because I saw the ring on your finger.”

“What? That’s -” Why?

“There was no pressure. You were married, and I didn’t need to try to impress you.” The simple truth of your statement stunned him, and Benjamin couldn’t do anything but stare at you. “And then when I saw you on the balcony? It was a little easier, because you were so friendly, even when I was just talking because I was nervous.” Nervous? “Look.” You stood, running a hand through your hair. “Here? You being awkward doesn’t matter. Not when you look… like you do.” It was the first time you’d directly made a comment about his appearance, and Benjamin was stunned into silence. “You have no idea how many of my friends have asked me about you since you moved in with Eric.”

“You’re joking.” He looked up at you, surprised. “What do they want to know?” He paused. “Are any of them attractive?” He raised an eyebrow. “Single? Looking?” You reached out with one hand, shoving his shoulder, and Benjamin’s fingers dug into the mattress, bracing himself as you swore under your breath at him, the amusement apparent on your face. “I do still have a few days here. Plenty of time.” I shouldn’t tease her.

“No, they’re all horrible. Every single one of them.” You grinned at him, winking. “Looks like you’re stuck with me, Benjamin.” Good. That’s what I prefer.

---

“I’ve got to admit, I think this has spoiled me.” He leaned back in his chair, grinning. “I’ll never be able to go back to -”

“No more Domino’s, Benjamin?” You grinned back, arms crossed over your chest. “What did I tell you?” You did. You told me. “You realize… this is the first time we’ve…” You trailed off, seeming to rethink your words. The first time what? “The first time that we’ve been out somewhere together, just the...” It…

“We were at the game the other night, and there was no…” He watched as your face fell, lips pressed together before your gaze dropped. Shit. He said your name, leaning forward. “Help me understand what you mean.” You paused, tapping one finger on the tabletop before you looked back up at him.

“I know no one else was there, but we weren’t… there was still…” Your head moved back and forth quickly. “Noah was still…” Right. “Tonight? This time, it’s… it’s just us.” Is there an us? Could there be… “Forget it, Benjamin, I -”

“No, stop.” He reached across the table, taking your hand. “This is new to me.” He swallowed, watching you. “I don’t want to assume anything, ever, with you.” You looked uncertain, but he continued. “You might not have had the title, but you were involved with someone very recently, and I only know what you’ve told me of that, what I’ve seen being here.”

“I know.” You were quiet, but you didn’t sound ashamed. “It was basically just -”

“It doesn’t matter. I still don’t need to know details.” That got a smile from you, though it was a small one. “I just need you to know that I understand that you’re not just going to jump into something else, no matter how… casual you and Noah were.” What are you doing Benjamin? “Us… the idea of us? It’s not something I’d seriously considered until very recently, but it isn’t because I wasn’t…” You’re rambling. “I was dealing with the end of a marriage, and you were seeing someone, and we live thousands of miles apart from each other.” You stayed quiet, watching him. “It didn’t make sense to me, to even think about it, because what could happen?” What good is it for me to think about something when it’s not possible?

“Whatever we want.” You took a deep breath. “Benjamin, whatever we want to happen can happen.” What are you saying? “There are so many things that I want to ask you, so much that I…” You took a long drink from your cup, averting your eyes. “We’ve got four and a half days left, and…” Finally looking back at him, you steadied yourself. “You’re officially single, and so am I. I don’t know what it is that you’re looking for - if you’re even looking for anything, but we don’t… I don’t know when we’ll see each other again, and it just feels…”

“We’re here now. Together.” He squeezed your hand, swiping his tongue over his lower lip. “Don’t overthink this.” This feels too serious, and it shouldn’t. We’ve never … “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. All you’ve got to do is ask.” He’d never been so straightforward with anyone - not even when telling his story to Julia - but Benjamin wanted you to know him. The real me. “But I’m not doing it in a pizza restaurant surrounded by other people, so if you’d like to go back to the room, we -”

“No.” You looked out the window. “No, we’re not going back yet, I told you you had to see Millenium Park at night, and I meant it.” Pulling your hand back, you took a deep breath. “Whatever details you have to tell me, Benjamin? Whatever you fill in from what I already know?” Here it comes. “It’s not going to change what I think of you.” You tilted your head to the side, shaking it. Are you sure? “And anyone that would let it? Doesn’t deserve your time.” You stood, grabbing for the check that had been placed onto the table. “So let’s go, and we can start heading to our next stop.”

Stunned, Benjamin watched as you stepped away from the table and toward the hostess stand, getting in line to pay. I think… I think she means it. He stood too, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a twenty from his wallet, tossing it onto the table before he walked to you. He could tell that you were on edge, and even though he was still trying to tread lightly, Benjamin slipped an arm around your waist, pulling you against his side. “Thank you for dinner.” You looked up, not speaking. “It was definitely worth the wait.” You didn’t speak until you’d paid, the woman behind the counter running your card and you signing your name quickly.

“Alright.” Back on the sidewalk, you gestured to the left. “We’ll walk back this way.” Taking the lead, you began walking the opposite direction you’d come from, headed toward the lake. “Gotta watch the sunset from the shoreline.” As you walked, Benjamin debated over whether or not to take your hand, but you made the decision for him after barely a block, stopping and turning to look at him over your shoulder, one hand extended backward toward him. “Well? Hurry up, Benjamin.” As his hand connected with yours, Benjamin felt a sense of calm that he couldn’t ever remember experiencing before, the feeling amplified as you squeezed his fingers. “Come on.”

You made small talk as you headed toward the water, the two of you crossing streets and making your way through a green space that you told him was called Maggie Daley Park, and was typically filled with children and their parents during the day. By the time you crossed Lake Shore Drive again, you were deep in conversation, Benjamin telling you about something that had happened at work the week before he’d left. He didn’t realize how far you’d walked until you came to a stop on the waterfront trail. “We’re here?” He scanned the horizon - the sun was still sinking, and though it was warm out, it was comfortable. “W-”

“Almost.” You pointed, Benjamin turning his head to look in that direction. “We’re going out onto that little pier.” We are? “Don’t look back at the city until I tell you to..” Even though he wanted to turn his head, Benjamin didn’t, instead looking at you as you walked, watching the way you moved, just one step ahead of him. .

“Why the pier?” He tightened his hold on you, waiting. “We’re already on the waterfront, I -”

“Because if we’re on the path, then you have things in the way.” You laughed. “On here, you can see the water and the sky and the city, and …” You shrugged. “I just thought it would be nice.” You stepped off of the sidewalk and onto the narrow pier, dropping Benjamin’s hand to walk in front of him and sidestepping the few people you passed. Though the trail had been more filled with people, the pier was largely empty, and once you’d reached the end of it, Benjamin could see why you’d wanted to be there. “Alright, Benjamin. You can turn around.”

He did as you told him, his eyes widening and jaw dropping as he took in the view. “The buildings, they’re…” He stopped, shaking his head. “They look like they’re glowing.” There was so much glass reflecting the late-evening sunlight that Benjamin was speechless. This is beautiful. “We wouldn’t have seen any of this if -”

“I know.” You stepped closer, smoothing the skirt of your dress down. “There are sunset cruises that sail out from Navy Pier every night, but I didn’t have a chance to book one on such short notice, plus I didn’t know how you feel about boats, so…” With a shrug of your shoulders, you turned to face Benjamin fully. “This is what we -”

“It’s perfect.” He tore his eyes from the skyline and looked at you, reaching out to take your hand again. “This whole day has been…” He wrinkled his nose. “All of it, it’s…” It’s what I hoped for. Benjamin felt that every minute spent with you was better than the last, and even though he couldn’t put into words exactly why that was the case, he had the idea that you felt the same. “How much time do we have until the sun sets?” You turned your head away, looking at the sinking sun and then at the city.

“Ten minutes? Maybe less.” His heartbeat sped up. Are you going to do this? He said your name, not giving himself a chance to think.

“Ask me a question. Anything. I’ll answer it honestly.” You looked surprised, but didn’t turn him down, instead reaching up and scratching the side of your head with your free hand. “About Julia, about me, about Kieran, whatever -”

“Why did you agree to come here with Eric?” That’s what she wants to know? “I mean, I know you probably just wanted a vacation after everything, but… was that it? What were you -”

“I wanted to see the city. I wanted to come to the United States.” Benjamin closed his eyes. “I needed to get away, to get as far away from London and Devon as possible, to think about something else.” He watched as you listened to him, eyes never leaving his face. “And instead of just sitting at home and wallowing, I thought it would be good for me to spend time with friends. New friends, sure, but… friends.” Benjamin looked away, eyes moving between the masts of the few small boats that were out on the water, the waves themselves, the clouds that were tinged with varied shades of gold and pink and blue. “I wanted to see you.” You said his name, drawing his attention back to you. “Talking on the phone and through the computer was great, but I wanted to spend time with you again, even if it was just as friends.”

“But you said you didn’t realize -”

“I didn’t. Not until we were starting to land, and even then it wasn’t… but when you found me at the baggage carousel? When we talked on the way back to yours?” Benjamin’s jaw worked, no words coming out. “I think subconsciously I always realized that I was attracted to you - and I don’t mean physically, even though I am that, too.” You grinned, waiting. “It was always in the back of my head, how I felt, but I didn’t let myself think about it, because there wasn’t a point. I was there and you were here, and you had … him, and I don’t ever want you to feel as though you’re a rebound or a fling, or, or a... “

“A consolation prize? Like you settled for me because you couldn’t have your wife?” There was no accusation in your voice, and Benjamin saw that you didn’t even flinch as you asked the question. “It’s alright, Benjamin, you can tell me the truth.”

“Yes, but… no.” He stepped closer to you, urging you to turn away from him and face the end of the pier before stepping behind you. “I’ve never thought of you like that, just like I never thought Julia was my substitute for Allie.” You leaned back, shoulders against Benjamin’s chest, and he placed one hand on your hip, the other arm hanging by his side. “I came here because I hoped it would help me, and that I’d have a chance to work through things in a new environment.” He swallowed, lowering his head and inhaling, the scent of you filling his nose. “But all it did was make me realize how much I care for you, and how much I hated the thought of you with someone else.” Especially someone like Noah. “But I know what people think, and I don’t want you to…”

“You’re really talkative tonight.” You sighed as you spoke, the rest of your body moving to align with your shoulders, the entire length of it pressed against him. “I like it.” I do too. “I’m glad you came here, Benjamin.” His hand tightened, the other arm moving to wrap around your waist before he could stop himself. “I never thought anything would happen after that party, because I thought you’d work it out with your wife.” I did too. “Anyone that wouldn’t fight for you is an idiot; I knew that the first night, but…” He laughed quietly, eyes still on the horizon where the buildings met the open sky over the lake. “And then you moved in with Eric, and… everything changed. We started talking, and even though you convinced me to go out with Noah, I… there was something I couldn’t…”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I’m glad we… got here.” He tightened his hold on you. I get it. “Why does every conversation we have seen to turn into… whatever this is?”

“Because we both know you’re getting back on a plane on Sunday, and that means we can’t waste any more time.” You turned in his arms, looking up at him. “Because I’m tired of getting to know you through a screen, Benjamin.” I am too. “You’re here, and I -” He leaned down, watching as you looked from his eyes to his mouth and then back, chewing on the right side of your lower lip. “I want to make the most of that while I can.” I do too. The sky continued to darken, but Benjamin couldn’t take his eyes off of you, just waiting. “And that’s why I’m here right now with you.”

He moved again without thinking - without doubting, without waiting for you to react, your faces getting closer to each other, but before Benjamin broke his promise to you, he stopped, groaning quietly and then pressing his forehead to yours. I can’t. It has to be her. “I thought.” He cleared his throat. “Thought we were going to watch the sunset.” I don’t care about that right now, but if I don’t, I’m going to… “That’s why you brought me here, right?”

“Yes.” The single word was thick with regret, but you agreed. “It is.” He felt your exhale against the skin of his cheek before you turned around, though you didn’t step away from him. He held you close, both of you watching as the sun dropped behind the buildings, illuminating them from behind, the reflective surfaces of the windows turning into shining golden panels. It got dark quickly after the sun disappeared from view, but neither of you moved, both sets of eyes staring off into the distance as the city lights came on one by one. I almost kissed her. I wanted to kiss her. “Well?” You broke the silence, pulling yourself out of Benjamin’s arms and taking his hands. “Was this a good spot?”

“In London,” he started, grinning. “Unless you live in a high rise, it’s very difficult to see a proper sunset.” He spread his fingers, feeling your hands moving within his to join together, palms pressed flat against each other. “And in Devon, you’ve got to drive to the coast, which takes hours, and then you’ve got to hike back in the dark. So this… this was definitely a good spot, even if it feels like we’ve walked five kilometers while I’m full of pizza crust.” You laughed immediately, the smile growing as it overtook your face. She planned this for me. “Thank you for showing me this.” He wet his lips, blinking rapidly. “It means th-”

“Oh Benjamin.” You sighed, reaching up with one hand to cup his cheek briefly before patting it. “We’re not even close to being done yet.”

---

“What’s that one that looks like a diamond?” He pointed, one of his arms around your shoulders. “It’s really -”

“You’re going to laugh.” You leaned into him as you walked, following the winding design of the BP Pedestrian Bridge away from the lake and back toward the city. “But it’s called the Smurfit building.” He managed to hold back his laugh - barely - but tightened his hold on you, fingertips grazing the front of your arm. “Wait til you see it from the plaza.” I can’t wait. “We’ve got to see the fountains first, I know you saw them when it was light out, but they -”

“Whatever you want.” He squeezed your arm gently, eyes moving up as you reached the grassy area at the end of the bridge, well-lit beams criss-crossing over your heads. “Is there music here?”

“Some days. A lot of times, people will just come here to hang out and lay around on the grass, but they hold concerts here on some nights.” You pointed things out a you walked, and within a few minutes, the tall rectangular fountains came back into view. “There’s still a ton of people here, damn.” You were right - it was still a warm night, and there were plenty of people splashing in the shallow pools of water, but Benjamin’s attention was on the way that the structures were lit, the constantly changing images on the surfaces.

“We’ve got some fountains in London, but nothing like this.” He paused. “This whole city, it’s… I wish I had more time to spend here, because there’s so much to see, so many different…”

“You’ll have to come back.” You looked up at him, sounding hopeful. “I mean, Eric and I are from here, and I live here, so… you’ll always have somewhere to stay.” Will I? “It’s more than just fountains and buildings, though. There’s so much to do, but commuting back and forth takes up a ton of time, and -”

“I’ll come back. Definitely.” You were slowly walking along the outside edge of the fountain’s plaza, Benjamin’s arm still around your shoulders. “There are other places I’d like to see, though.You mentioned other cities, and even though they weren’t my first choice, I’m sure -”

“New York’s nice. So is Los Angeles.” You stopped, giving him a chance to focus on the back side of one of the fountains, illuminated in bright, vibrant blue, the water coursing down it in a rush and splashing onto the ground. “Overwhelming, both of them, the first time I -”

“You’ve been to both?” You were walking again, continuing in your slow circle of the outer edge, passing by others walking together or sitting on benches and stone walls. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yep.” Sidestepping to avoid a woman with a stroller, you angled your body toward Benjamin’s, him instinctively drawing you in toward his chest, one of your hands settling flat against his abdomen as you steadied yourself. “Los Angeles twice, New York once. Had to see both coasts, but they were a lot.” You looked up at him, still resting your hand where it had landed, and Benjamin contemplated raising his free hand to your jaw, tilting your head up and - “Let’s keep walking, Benjamin.” You swallowed, taking a deep breath. “We’re blocking the -”

“So?” He grinned, winking at you. “There’s plenty of space.” I could stand here all night. “Just joking. Let’s go.” You started walking again, but Benjamin took your hand instead of keeping his arm around your shoulders, his eyes constantly moving as he tried to take everything in. “Is this a popular date spot? People come here with -”

“Benjamin Greene.” You stopped again, pulling your hand away from his and placing both of them on your hips as you turned to face him. “Is this a date?” No. Yes. We… is it? He stared at you, trying to figure out what you wanted as an answer, and then went with what he thought the correct answer was.

“I’d like it to be.” He watched as the smile froze on your face, but the pause was only momentary, your eyes closing and the expression changing to one of relief. “What? Did I say something wr-”

“No. No, Benjamin, not at all.” Glancing up at the sky, you met his eyes again. “Come on, we’re almost there.” Almost where? But a few minutes later, Benjamin knew what you’d been so excited to get back to. It’s totally different at night, it looks… like a different place. “This is the best view in Chicago.” You were still next to him, but standing closer than you had been, your arm pressed against his. “I always come here at night and just sit. You see something different no matter how you look at it, and… it’s …”

“You’re right.” He stepped closer, eyes moving upward and over the smooth metallic surface of Cloud Gate - or, as you’d called it “the Bean’- trying to find a space that wasn’t smudged with fingerprints. “Everything is different, it…” He looked over his shoulder at the buildings behind him. “You can see the whole city.”

“Not quite.” You laughed, stepping next to him. “It looks like it, though.You can definitely see more of it from the Willis observation deck, but we -” We. Come on, Benjamin, say the right thing.

“I like this better though.” You turned your head toward him, tilting it up, even as Benjamin kept his eyes on the sculpture in front of him.

“This park, or -”

“No.This.” Benjamin moved his arm, lifting it and trailing one finger over your shoulder blade and then across your back, feeling the movement of your skin beneath his touch. “This whole day, being here with you, I…” He felt you move, lowering his eyes to yours as you faced him completely. “But the… the park’s nice, too…” He was expecting a laugh, but didn’t get that; instead, you stepped closer to him, tentatively raising one hand to the side of his face and sweeping your thumb over his cheek. “What are -”

“Benjamin.” Your voice was little more than a whisper, hardly carrying to him though he was only a few inches from you. “Benjamin, I w-” He moved his hands, resting them on your hips but not saying anything else, barely daring to breathe. What is she doing, is she really… He felt you shift beneath his touch, rising up onto your toes and closing the distance between your faces slowly. As you moved, your hands did, too, the one on his cheek sliding back so that the tips of your fingers were curled around the back of his neck, the other hand wrapped around his forearm to steady yourself.

“Are you absolutely sure?” He forced himself to speak, unwilling to look away, his grip on your hips tightening. “I don’t want you to -” You paused, but only for the briefest of seconds, and then you nodded once, tilting your head slightly to the side.

“Yes.” He felt the movement of your lips forming the word against his more than he heard it, and then you were kissing him, Benjamin’s eyes closing at the contact. He let go of you, sliding his hands around to your back and easing you down so that you were standing flat-footed on the concrete of the plaza as he leaned forward, staying with you without breaking the connection. This is happening. When you pulled back a few seconds later, you didn’t step away from him, instead swallowing hard and inching closer. Benjamin felt your thumb moving slowly over the skin behind his ear, but was speechless, waiting to see what your response would be. She just… “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, Benjamin.”

“Oh yeah?” You nodded, taking a deep breath. I can’t believe… “I’ve wanted you to do that for a long time.” Benjamin finally opened his eyes, staring down at you. He was relieved to see that there was no regret in your eyes, no confusion.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” you grinned as you spoke, lowering your arm. “Should we get back to -”

“You’re really going to -” But you were already walking away from him, quick steps carrying you toward the sculpture that was your intended goal. She kissed me and she’s just walking away. “Wait!” He chased after you, dodging between people and finally caught up as you stepped beneath the Bean, his hand shooting out to take yours. “Stop.” You did, but you didn’t turn to face him, and Benjamin caught your reflection, eyes moving over your face through the polished surface. What happened? “You just… and then…”

“Benjamin.” He watched as you took a deep breath, chest rising and falling. “Listen.” You turned to face him, the hand he wasn’t holding reaching out to grasp his shirt. You swore, but Benjamin stayed quiet, still waiting. “That’s not what I wanted for our first… I wanted… but…” He said your name, finally saving you.

“That was perfect.” He leaned down, speaking quietly into your ear. “If you regret it, just…”

“I don’t, Benjamin. I promise. I’ve just thought a lot about what I wanted this to be like, and it wasn’t…”

“Wasn’t what?” He was genuinely curious, taking a half step back and putting his fingertips against the cool metal next to your shoulder. “Because I think that -”

“That was barely a kiss, Benjamin, that wasn’t anything. There were all these people around, and we didn’t -” Benjamin laughed, moving to quickly pull you into a hug that seemed to surprise you, your grip on his shirt tightening. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, you’ve no idea what you... “ He laughed again, pressing his lips to the top of your head. “Barely a kiss?” You mumbled in agreement, but Benjamin hugged you tighter before urging you backward, allowing you to look at him. “You’re wrong.” One eyebrow raised, he decided to say what he was actually thinking instead of keeping his thoughts to himself. “It’s a good thing there were loads of people around, otherwise I might have gotten carried away.” Your eyes widened. “Not like that, I just meant…” He closed his eyes, nose wrinkling. “Look at us, we’re both unable to complete sentences.”

You laughed at that, letting go of his shirt. “What a pair,” you muttered. “Can we talk about this later, Benjamin? And just keep… walking?” He agreed, taking your hand again as you made your way under the Bean fully, stopping to look up at the center and then continuing to the other side of the plaza. It really is different no matter how you look at it. “There’s your building Benjamin, the diamond?” You squeezed, gesturing with your joined hands. “I actually like this side better, the reflection’s -” Your eyes moved between the metal and him, and Benjamin tore his gaze away from you to look at what you were pointing out. “It’s clearer.” A lot of things are now.

“You really love this city, don’t you?” He tugged on your hand to pull you closer before dropping it and winding his arm back around your shoulders. This feels so comfortable. “I can hear it in your voice when you talk about it, the way you explain what we’re seeing.” It’s how I’d like to talk about somewhere someday. He felt your arm going around his waist, fingertips skating over his lower back. “I see it how you do, and that -”

“I do.” The two of you stood about five yards from the sculpture, the buzz of conversation filling the air around you. “It’s home.” It is. “But there’s a lot more of the world to see, Benjamin.” What? “Going to London to see Eric was the first time I’ve ever been to Europe, and even though I only saw one small piece of it, it’s enough to make me wonder what else there is out there.”

“There’s a ton.” He wet his lips. “I haven’t been far, but I’ve seen a lot of Europe, and there are so many things to…” Where is this conversation going? “If you get the chance to see the world, you should.”

“What about you? Are you going to take your own advice?” You were watching him, nose wrinkled. “Everything over there’s just a short train ride or a couple hours by plane, right?” He nodded, running a hand through his hair. “Can’t be that expensive.” It is when you’ve got nothing. He gave you a tight smile, shrugging his shoulders.

“I didn’t have much money … after, you know? A lot of the first few years was just me trying to stay afloat, and there were a couple times when… when it was close, especially when I was seeing Julia. I’d stay with friends, work short term, find a new place, and just… repeat.” You watched him closely. “When I explain to you exactly what happened, and what happened after, you’ll… you’ll understand.” If you want to know. “But now… yeah, you’re right. I’ve got my degree, and I’ve got a decent job, and I’ve got some money saved, so it’s possible.”

“It is.” You stepped away, taking his hand again and pulling him across the plaza toward an empty bench. “Look, Benjamin.” Here it comes. You sat first and he dropped down next to you, leaning forward and clasping his hands together between his knees, eyes on the pavement. “Whatever you want to tell me, I’ll listen.” He turned his head slightly, looking at you. “I think I know you well enough to know that whatever happened - your intentions were good.” They were. “But don’t feel like you have to unload everything right now, there’s no rush.”

“Are you serious?” He licked his lips. “Most people would want … no, need to know everything, before they…”

“How many people have you told, Benjamin?” Reaching over, you used one hand to squeeze both of his. “Julia? Leo? Allie? Bianca and -”

“Julia’s the only one that knows everything.” He swallowed hard. “She kept the secret, which… surprises me, actually.” You swore under your breath but didn’t move your hand from his. “Leo… Leo saw the news clipping, and I explained my side of it - he said his mum was a lot of things, but she wouldn’t have ever married me if she didn’t believe my story, so he believes what I’ve told him, and he knows she knew before the wedding.” He paused, dropping his head. “I’d tell Bianca and Zac if they asked, but it’s never come up, because they’ve just been…” I didn’t want to risk losing them, even though I didn’t do anything. “I’d tell Eric, if he asked, too.”

“But why then…” You shifted closer to him, your other hand falling against his, too. “Why’d you just blurt it out to me in that room? Why’d you… you didn’t know how I’d react.” I didn’t. But I hoped… “You said you’d tell me whatever I -”

“I didn’t tell Allie anything, and she left me. I told Julia everything, but too late, and I almost lost her before we… and then I did lose her.” He paused, unable to look at you. “I like you, and it feels… it feels like lying, if I don’t… I need to…” He pulled his hands from yours and covered his face with them, tugging on his own hair. Calm down, Benjamin. She doesn’t need to see you like this. He felt his body tense, but then, after only a short pause, he felt your hand against the center of his back, moving in slow circles.

“It’s ok, Benjamin.” You leaned closer, resting your chin on his shoulder. “You’re not lying. There’s no reason for you to be upset.” You widened the circles you were making against his back, keeping your voice low. “Don’t feel like you’ve got to tell me everything, it’s not… you didn’t …” You moved forward, kissing the top of his shoulder without removing your hand, and he felt himself relax, the tension in his body decreasing slightly. She’s right. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Benjamin. You didn’t do anything that you should be ashamed of, and like I said, whatever you want to tell me, I’ll listen. But it’s got to be on your terms, not mine.” He lowered his hands, rubbing his eyes. “I mean it. I’m not just saying -”

“D’you mean that?” He finally looked back over at you, your face a few inches from his. “You aren’t in any rush to -”

“What’s the rush, Benjamin? So what, you’re leaving in a few days. That doesn’t mean anything changes between us, that doesn’t mean our time is up, it just means… we go back to screens and devices, and…” You bit your lip. “We go back to the way things were.” No, we don’t, because you kissed me, and now I can’t… “We’ve got time, Benjamin. Plenty of it.” He stared at you, straightening up and watching as you did the same, your eyes focused and clear. Noah has no idea what he gave up on.

“Thank you.” Benjamin closed his eyes, sighing. “You don’t even realize what… how much you saying that means to me.” You laughed, waving a hand and then tucking hair behind your ear as you ducked your head. “You also have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now.” He heard you suck in a breath, eyes locking back on his, your mouth open in surprise. “Really, I know we’re talking about something serious, but -”

“So do it, Benjamin. What’s stopping you?” It wasn’t quite a challenge, but he heard the edge to your voice; anticipation in every syllable. She’s telling me to… it’s her… He moved without waiting to think it through, one hand reaching up to grip the back and side of your neck, thumb resting in front of your ear and pulling you toward him as he leaned in. “Benjamin…” You whispered his name as his lips connected with yours again, and this time, it wasn’t quite gentle.

You tilted your head slightly to the side as he tightened his grip, your hand moving to his shoulder and squeezing. He felt your lips part and Benjamin drew your lower lip between his, fighting with himself not to bite down before he released it, lips pressed against yours one more time even as your fingers dug into his shoulder. Damn. Damn, this … You pulled away, taking a breath, but Benjamin wasn’t ready to let you go yet, murmuring your name as he called your attention back to him.

“What, Benjamin? You…” He cut you off with a third kiss, this one landing against the corner of your lips before he kissed you once more - lips firmly pressed to yours for long seconds. Enough. It was his turn to pull back an inhale deeply, and Benjamin was rewarded with a glimpse of the dazed look on your face as you shook your head back and forth as if to clear it. Yeah, me too. “That was…” You leaned back against the bench, closing your eyes. “Damn.”

“Well we’re in public, so I…” You stood abruptly, holding your hand out to him and clearing your throat.

“We don’t have to be in public anymore tonight.” What is she… “Let’s go back, Benjamin. We can keep… the room…” You drew in a breath, waiting, and he took your hand, fingers closing around yours without hesitation as he stood. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest through the thin material of his shirt, but the only thing he could focus on was the way that the feeling of your hand within his was becoming almost second nature to him.

---

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padfootagain · 5 years ago

Text

The King And You (VII)

Part 7: Farewell

Here comes a new chapter for my Caspian series! Our poor King is going through a lot… but he's building his team up and oh dear, what a team…

I hope you'll like this new chapter!

Word Count: 2504

You talked with Agatha for what felt like hours. Caspian disappeared in the distance, and you wanted to follow him, but the old woman stopped you. She argued that he had a lot to take in, that he needed time. You guessed she was right.

So, you walked back inside, and talked. She told you everything she knew about her mother's family: her sister and brothers dying when they were still so young, the stories they believed in. And for a reason she couldn't fully comprehend, Agatha believed in them as well.

And it sounded crazy. Utter madness. Bananas.

But no matter how many times you turned the story around and around in your head, you couldn't find any better explanation. Maybe you were being conned by a pair of very convincing criminals?

Then, why did your heart tell you it wasn't so?

Narnia. Aslan. Wars. A white witch. Winter. A stone table. Telmarines. Talking animals. A star. The Dawn Treader…

None of it made any sense.

With doubt still blurring your thoughts and questions twirling around your mind, you took a look at the time on your phone. Caspian had left more than an hour before. It was more than time to go looking for him. After all, God knew what kind of troubles the man could get himself into.

You gave your phone number to Agatha and told her to stay home, in case he would come back. Meanwhile, you would drive around the neighbourhood in his search.

You passed tall red trees, and pretty white houses of a too-perfect street. White fences were all that was missing to render a classic American neighbourhood. Above you, the sky was getting grey with clouds heavy with rain.

The distraction of your drive didn't make your mind quiet. But despite your doubts, and despite the fact that you couldn’t believe Caspian's and Agatha's tale, you couldn't find a way to believe that they had ill intentions either. So, maybe they were both crazy, nevertheless, you couldn’t just abandon Caspian like this. After all, he had been nothing but nice to you since he had stumbled into your life. It wasn't fair to simply abandon it, your conscience couldn't allow you to act like this.

Twenty minutes passed and you couldn't find him anywhere. You were starting to fear that something might have happened to him. He could have been attacked, or hit by a car, or kidnapped, or simply lost his way which, given his global appearance and attitude, was already a disaster…

You almost missed his form sitting on the grass, under a maple tree. You parked your car quickly and hurried towards him, but as you approached his motionless figure, you slowed down your pace. There was something quiet and still around him, a saddened aura that you felt reluctant to disrupt, so you approached cautiously, stopping a couple of steps away from him. You stood there for a moment, silent and as motionless as him, your eyes on his shoulders and the back of his head.

"Caspian?" you called in just a whisper.

But he didn't react at all.

"Are you okay?"

Again, your words were left unanswered.

So, you slowly closed the distance between the two of you to sit by his side. He didn't turn to look at you, didn't move at all to acknowledge that he had as far as noticed you were there. His gaze was set on a random point of the horizon, and you were sure that his eyes saw without looking. It was written all over his face that he had been crying for a long time.

You wanted to say something, but found yourself at a loss for words. You merely sat uncomfortably next to him instead, searching for things to say that seemed to fly out of reach every time you opened your mouth.

As you lacked words, you reached to hold his hand instead. His fingers were cold and calloused, but reassuring, for a reason you couldn't fathom. After a moment, he reciprocated your gesture.

And he was grateful that you didn't try to reassure him with empty words about feelings you couldn't understand. He didn't need someone to tell him that things would be alright, that they understood, that he wasn't alone…

Because things would not be alright. Because you didn't – couldn't – understand. Because he was alone…

Did that mean that he would give up? No, he couldn't. He was King, his people needed him to find a way back home. He would fight for them to his last breath, this was a vow he would never break. But for now, he didn't need a denial of the facts. He didn't need lies to be told in reassurance. He knew that he was going to face hard times, he knew that he had lost the help he thought he could get in this world decades before. He was lost and needed to find a way back.

But then, you were holding his hand now. You were sitting on the grass with him, skeleton leaves cracking under your weight as you shifted to sit cross-legged. And just like you couldn’t begin to fathom the kind of pain he was facing, he couldn't imagine how hard it was for you to believe him. Yet, you were still here. He believed that actions spoke better than words.

As he held your hand in his too, giving it a little squeeze, as to check if it were real, he reckoned that maybe, after all, he didn't have to be alone.

"Can you stay with me, for a little while?" he asked in a shaky breath.

You gave his hand a soft, reassuring squeeze.

"Of course."

And no matter how much you tried to convince yourself otherwise, you couldn’t deny that his pain was real. No one could fake pain that well.

Could he?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eventually, you went back to Agatha's, and she offered Caspian and you to stay over for dinner, a simple, quiet meal that lifted Caspian's spirit a little. He was silent for most of the time, until you reached the dessert.

"I'd like to see them," Caspian broke a silence that had settled for a few minutes around the table. "Their… tombs, I mean. I'd like to go and see them."

"Well, my mother wanted her ashes to be spread in the ocean, and that's what we did," Agatha answered. "We don't have a tomb. The rest of her family is in England."

"Can we go there?"

"No, you can't," you shook your head. "I mean… you need a passport and everything to go there. And it's not like… getting a ride to New York, you have to take a plane."

"A plane? What is a plane?"

"A… mean of transportation. Nevermind," you brushed his remark away, taking a sip of water. This day had been way too crazy already for you to spend half-an-hour explaining him what a plane was, you just didn't have the strength.

"Is England very far?"

"Yes, it is."

"I see. And what about this… pass… part?"

"Passport. It's an official document that states your identity. You need one to get in and out of countries. And you'll need one to get in England. But if your whole fairy tale is true, then I guess you don't have one, do you?"

"I am afraid not."

"And you won't get one using official ways. I mean, you didn't exist before yesterday."

"And that will be a problem?"

"Yes, they want to know like… where you were born, proofs of who your parents are… and your parents aren't even of this world, are they?"

"No, no… they weren't. I see, that is a problem indeed."

"No, you can't leave the country. I'm sorry, but there's no solution."

"But I need to walk in the Pevensies' footsteps. Go where they found their own passages to Narnia. Maybe one of the doors is still open."

"You can't go to England."

"Actually… I might know someone who could help us get the documents we need," Agatha quietly said.

Both you and Caspian looked at her, but if the King stared at her with hope in his eyes, your gaze was filled with confusion.

"I… might know a man who can get us the papers. We… dated. A long, long time ago. But we kept in touch, and… well, he owes me."

"Who is he?" you asked.

"Roger. His name is Roger O'Malley, and… well… I might have helped him run away from the police a few decades ago."

"He's a criminal?!"

"Well, you said yourself that we couldn't use official channels for this, they will just ask a ton of questions that we cannot answer. Roger must know how to find a passport, I'm certain of it."

"That… is the craziest idea, ever. What did he do anyway, this Roger?"

"Oh, nothing violent. He worked for this… businessman in Chicago and then in New York."

"You mean… he's a mobster?"

"Oh, he's retired now!"

You looked at Agatha with wide eyes, before throwing your hands towards the ceiling in desperation, huffing, your voice turned high-pitched in your near-panic state.

"Oh, yes, of course! Pardon me! If he's retired now, then all is fine! We should definitely ask a retired mobster to get us fake IDs and passport for this gentleman here, who will answer, if asked about his profession, that he's a Duke in a magical land called Narnia! For proof, he walks around dressed up like in a musketeer! You're right, that is a brilliant idea. Actually, the only glitch we could get in this perfectly sensible plan is passing the security checks at the airport with his BLOODY SWORD!"

"Actually, I'm the King of Narnia, not a Duke," Caspian corrected you, which only made your panic worse.

"Oh, pardon me, Your Highness! Of course, he's a King! That'll solve all of our problems! Maybe, as he's royalty, they'll give him a hot towel and a tiny chocolate on his pillow when we're all rotting IN JAIL!"

"Now, now, calm down, child," Agatha replied with an annoyed voice.

"This is a terrible, terrible idea," you fought back, stated a fact that seemed so obvious to you. "Don't call me to bail you and D'Artagnan here out of jail once you get there, huh?"

"Well, do you have any better plan? A single idea, even?"

And you had to admit that you had none.

You and Caspian exchanged a look. He didn't understand the whole issue, but he did get that what Agatha was offering was going against the law. However, he didn't have much choice.

"Agatha, if we contact your friend, can you promise me that no harm will come to anyone out of our actions?"

"Of course!"

"Then, I have to take the risk. Even if the way you describe, as I understand it, seems to go against some of your laws. Going to England might be my only chance. However, considering the risks you might be facing, I will travel on my own and undergo the purchase of this… passport on my own."

"I can go with you," Agatha shook her head, and her tone was final. "In fact, do you have a place to stay here?"

"He slept at my place yesterday," you answered.

"Well, then, you can stay here for as long as you need. After all, my family considered you one of their own."

Caspian gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Agatha. For everything. But I don't want you to get into trouble on my behalf…"

"Nonsense! It's gonna be a lot of fun! Dear, I haven't had so much excitement in my life in a long while. And don't you worry, my dear, I'm sure we'll find a way to bring you home."

"How do we contact this… Roger?" you interrupted, bringing back the conversation towards practical issues.

"I'll call him! I have his number. You were of great help, but I will take care of Caspian now. You don't have to worry about him anymore. Nor getting into jail."

Caspian reached across the table to take your hand in his in a gentle, warm hold.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. I don't want to be a weight…"

"Don't mention it," you mumbled, uncomfortable. "Anyone would have done the same."

Caspian gave you a warm smile.

"No, I don't reckon that's true."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yes. I think I will. Agatha will help me, you need not worry about me anymore."

You huffed again.

"You're a lot of trouble though. I think I'll keep on worrying about you for a while."

You exchanged a soft smile.

"Well, I guess… Agatha has my phone number, so if you need anything, you can call me," you offered.

"Call?"

You chuckled and showed him your phone.

"You can use that to talk to someone who's away."

"Your society is most impressive. Even if our magic is different, yours is just as strong the magic ."

"It's not magic, it's science," you replied.

"But isn't magic only science that we can't yet understand?" Agatha replied with a mischievous look, and the two of you laughed.

"I guess that's true."

You helped to clean the dishes, helped Caspian to settle down too. But then you were standing before the threshold, ready to leave without him, and you had to admit that it felt strange to part with him. If you were being honest with yourself, you even felt sad. Despite how crazy this whole ordeal was - and that you still didn't believe in his whole backstory - as you looked at him standing there, before you, giving you a warm smile while his dark eyes were tainted with pain, you knew that you would miss him.

"Good luck, then. And… call me if you need help. Otherwise, I… guess it's a…"

But your voice broke before you could say the word, and when you tried again, nothing came out but silence.

Caspian took your hand and brought it to his lips in a soft, slow movement, hesitant. As if he wasn't sure you'd let him go through with it, as if he wasn't sure it was adequate, but it felt right to do so, so he did it anyway. His lips lingered on the back of your hand for a few seconds too long, by Narnian standards of politeness, but you wouldn't have known anyway. You told yourself it was just one more eccentricity. Nothing more, despite the jolt of electricity that ran up your spine then.

He gave you one last tender smile.

"Farewell, Y/N."

You nodded, unable to understand the tears in your eyes, but you freed your hand and turned to walk to your car anyway.

You didn't look back as you drove off the street. You kept on repeating to yourself that at least, now, your life could go back to normal.

And that was a good thing, right?

****************************************

Tag list : @ponycake27 @horsesreign @xinyourdreamsx @jbluevelvet @notkeppeki @daynigt-dreamer-stuff @fudgeflyss @stuckupstucky @snek-shit @suchatinyinfinity @i-padfootblack-things @buckybsarmy @heyohheyitsgabi@jigsawlover10 @emyyjemyy @addictedtofictionalcharacters @staringmoony@geeksareunique @giggleberts @sad-orange-thoughts @aylinnmaslow @benbarnes-world @ladyblablabla @drinix @joelynnp @wearetalkingtoyou @mxrihollxnd @rockintensse @cutie-bug @purplocity @rockintensse @newtstarmander @shinebrightlikeafanbase @millionsleeplessnights @goldenor5 @raquelbc2003 @carolinesbookworld @roses-in-your-country-house @mcrmarvelloki @marvelcapsicle

#Caspian #Caspian X #caspian x reader #caspian fanfic #King Caspian #caspian imagine #narnia #narnia fanfiction #narnia imagine #imagine #fanfiction #fanfic #writing

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theloniousbach · 5 years ago

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50 Years of Going to Shows, Pt. 2: The Grateful Dead Universe

Part one of this series extrapolated from the conceit that the 9/4/19 Hot Tuna show here at the Sheldon Concert Hall also marked the anniversary of my Fall 1969 Johnny Winter concert that was my first rock show. 50 years!! That segment was about those early concerts in KC (well, a couple of Dylan shows in St. Louis and then Chicago).

The glaring omission from that note was the Grateful Dead (11/11-12/72; 6/16/74 Des Moines; and 10/28/77). I propose correcting that with this entry that can take up 7/26-27/94 and 7/5-6/95 (shows 4 and 3 from the end) plus visits with The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead and Company, various Phil Lesh and Friends iterations (including the Q 3 times, the Campbell/Greene band twice, another time with Campbell, and this past summer with an Allison Krauss sit in); Ratdog maybe 5 times; Weir and Wolf Bros; and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead to whom I’ve passed the torch.

This is a quite modest Deadhead roll call, but it does include 1972, a Wall of Sound, and 1977. So I’ve been around long enough to have opinions.

And I do have opinions.

1972–The 11/11 show was all we thought we were going to get. A Sunday night show after them always missing us. There was a rumor then, pure fiction it turns out, that they opened (?!?) for Iron Butterfly (#@%!) in KC before I got on the bus (1969ish?). I was transfixed—the long unfolding two sets, pauses including for a cigarette puffs), the wide range of songs, the stacks of speakers and Macintosh amps even if it wasn’t quite officially a Wall of Sound show—but that’s all I remember. Set lists say there was a Box of Rain.

The second show got added and I was going to go no matter what—two school nights in a row. And that one is better fixed in memory because of an Owsley Stanley tape that captures a sprawling Playing in the Band to close the first set. I don’t need that tape to remember the Dark Star>Morning Dew, though being able to revisit it sure is a treat. It was in fact huge though I was beside myself from the opening notes announcing that the adventure was beginning. In the moment, I just knew it was happening and that was good enough then. It is a big big one though with lots of space travel before settling into the Dew. I turned grumpy about Dew but this one was magic then and now.

1974–I couldn’t get anybody to go to Des Moines to see them that June. My dad, actually, was up for the drive and camping (him staying in camp while I and the other Deadheads went to the afternoon outdoor show. He had a draft dissertation to read which he left somehow but we got it back). The key parts of this show (another Playing with a gnarly breakdown) were released officially as part of the Road Trips series honoring the Wall of Sound. That was a sight though I thought I’d seen a version of it inside in KC. Also a sight was Garcia’s chin and upper lip as he had reduced the beard to mutton chops for a very short while. The second set was where the meat of the show was culminating in the Playing. I experienced it at the time as meandering and anxious, without the tranquil spaciness of some of their explorations, but it’s just fine and part of the oeuvre as per repeated listening AND a much broader experience with their music.

1977–When Steal Your Face and then Blues for Allah came out, my enthusiasm was waning. To this day, I’m a pre-hiatus fan with a real focus on 71-74 when Kreutzmann was the only drummer. They were more lithe, exploratory, and dynamic. Still a good friend told me I was going back to Memorial Hall for a late 1977 show, so I got part of that magical year. And what stood out was 1977 slinkiness even though there wasn’t a Dancin’ in the Streets. But Lazy Lightning>Supplication, Samson and Delilah, and Passenger all caught my ear. It was fun, but I was not on the bus much.

The taping scene pulled me back in in the late 1980s, though I’d been intrigued by Lowell George of Little Feat producing Shakedown Street. I suppose in some ways I am a secondary Touch Head, though Without a Net too was welcome.

I was on the periphery of the Brent Mydland era and actually found Bruce Hornsby’s interlude a real boost to the creativity, particularly Garcia’s. That was spent really by 1994 and 1995. I went to both nights that they were in St. Louis on those summer tours. Still I was glad to see the break outs and covers (Here Comes Sunshine, Take Me to the River), but they were going through the motions, keeping Garcia in tow. It was fun, I'm glad, I'm went, they are memorable in a general sense, but I won't go play recordings. 1995 was the third and fourth shows from the end as they headed from here to Chicago. Within 5 weeks, Garcia was dead.

It was about the party or, ahem, the cultural experience. I'm glad I got that too with the originals (and subsequent Furthur Festival/The Other Ones/The Dead/Furthur/Dead and Company shows in big venues were as much about that as the music), but an advantage of the end of the big machine is that the shows got much smaller. The party was still there, but the music was closer. Also as I have aged, I've been willing to pay for better seats (to see Phil Lesh at Willie Nelson's Outlaw Festival this summer we even paid for premium parking. Sheesh.) so that helps put the music to the fore.

So has couch touring—and that is how my concert gang and I saw the first night of Fare The Well—GD 50 from Levi Stadium in the Bay Area as well as the Friday and Sunday from Chicago. We also saw a Phil Lesh Quintet reunion. Being in real time, I count those as shows which indicates that experiencing the music live is what counts for me.

The GD Meet Up at the Movies don’t, but they do remind me that I like to be in the presence of those songs and their creators. And that has pulled me along so far to shows that have included at least Phil Lesh and/or Bob Weir. I actually am a fan of Drums/Space and stay in my seat to watch the spontaneous magic happen, so having Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart along for The Other Ones, The Dead, and Dead and Company is just fine. But those operations felt a little bloated. They have to be in large spaces to accommodate the party, so the gestures are equally grand and the rituals are observed. Furthur (Lesh and Weir’s operation) was a bit more nimble—one drummer, Joe Russo, and more flexible set lists. But I saw them in a small arena (12 K) and The Fox Theater (almost 5 K), so those were big concert experiences.

Bob Weir is an indefatigable road warrior, sometimes when he shouldn’t. St. Louis was an early stop of a Fall 2004 tour that was aborted. But we got to see him and it was awfully good, one I return to. It jammed into Jack Straw into the opening of a Terrapin that would be concluded in the second set and the rest of the suite in the encore into Dark Star (my first since 1972 and the only one of two more I saw in person, both from Ratdog) that concluded at the end of the set before back into Jack Straw. The second set had Peggy O, The Winners, and Friend of the Devil for a can’t be beat acoustic interlude before firing up The Other One and Uncle John’s Band (its reprise after Terrapin proper closed the second set. With the exception of Playin’, he rehearsed all the big tunes and was energetic and in good voice. That one was a treat.

Ratdog was always fun, a solid band and a showcase for Weir’s quirkinesses which help make the GD experience. I like many of his songs more than Garcia’s, excuse the heresy, but I confess that I probably haven’t given up being angry at him not just for being dead but for dying, for giving up which probably started in the 1980s.

Ratdog shows were chances to hear the songs and Weir’s take on them, including Garcia’s at the heart of the canon were always good to hear. He brought most things into circulation. The bands were not the all star configurations that Lesh’s were, but they were effective. St. Louis shows reflected his connection with Johnny Johnson (a 2003 The Dead Show had Johnson and Willie Nelson jam on Little Red Rooster (overplayed over the years, but the way to do a 12 bar blues) and Lovelight that was historic). After Johnson’s death, it was his horn section sitting in, usually for one of the big jam tunes. A Dark Star stands out, but there must have been a Sailor>Saint or Eyes another year.

But it is Lesh who is the curator of the part of the universe that matters to me—the invention, the opportunity that any tune can unfold into a world of possibility. That was most clear with the Q—John Molo, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, and Rob Barracco whom I got to see in their prime three times. They played the big barn with Weir’s Ratdog to open in July 2001, with a Weir sit in to open set one. The feature of that one was a Viola Lee Blues sandwich that wove out of that primal jam vehicle from the GD past four times with interludes of Lovelight, Tons of Steel, and Into the Mystic. Lesh would pull out tunes that had fallen out of the rotation—Alligator and Doin’ That Rag that night, Caution with Furthur at the Fox, Cosmic Charlie with the Q that November, and Viola itself. The Q revival Couch Tour show we saw had a Mountains of the Moon which suggested a potential (not developed) for that tune as a subtle jam vehicle just as it was the last night of Fare The Well. They did Beatles tunes, Brent Tunes, Van Morrison. The second show at the Fox for some reason doesn’t leap out as magical. But the third one, also at the Fox, on what would have been Garcia’s 60th birthday was. The first hour was Bird Song>Here Comes Sunshine>Not Fade Away and had me riveted. The second set had Sunshine of Your Love and a transcendent Low Spark of High Heeled Boys with Haynes somehow capturing the piano parts on guitar.

My only quasi bit of touring was to run over to Indianapolis to see Lesh in a hybrid band of Molo and Barraco with Larry Campbell, Barry Sless on pedal steel, Greg Osby on alto, and Joan Osborne on vocals. It was a hot hot day but good adventurous stuff. The Peggy O as a story with Lesh narrating, Osborne being the fair maid, Campbell as our captain was very cool. Bertha, Viola, and Shakedown stretched things out too.

With the Molo/Larry Campbell/Jackie Greene/Steve Molitz band, I got to see the premiere of the Ritter Eyes of Horus bass. A dark stage, the fretboard LED lights on, a solo into The Other One and then Truckin' made quite an impression. It didn't have the heft/power of the Modulus instruments he used before and after (a possibly smaller one) and it was more striking then pretty, but it was a moment of GD lore that happened on my watch. Those were two good shows with Campbell showing a range I hadn't expected. He could dig into the jams whereas I thought he would be more of a Robbie Robertson fills and one chorus solos player. It was also fun to watch Greene grow. It was like he went to grad school or maybe a post doc in that band.

I have seen Greene at least 5 subsequent times (Duck Room, Old Rock House twice (band and "acoustic," Delmar Hall, and as an opener for Gov't Mule). He has tasty covers including but not exclusively GD ones and some damn good tunes. It's good to see his efforts to extend the GD universe.

But I'm putting my money on Joe Russo's Almost Dead as where the legacy will reside.

I saw them earlier in the year and they strike me as not just a Dead cover band, but a PLQ cover band--anything can be jammed out, the tunes can be played in any order in any part of the set. Russo is a dynamo of energy on drums and his alter ego Marco Benevento is an inventive player. It's cool to see the varied opportunities the music presents.

My shows this year with Weir (the Wolf Bros trio) and Lesh at Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Festival felt valedictory. Weir was an interesting disappointment in that his wonderfully idiosyncratic guitar was at the fore, but too often through a too thin toned D’Angelico Bedford guitar. He had that jangled tone in Ratdog but it went away during Fare The Well and beyond when he used Fender Stratocasters. His voice too was thinner. So, while I wanted to see him in the spare setting, I don’t need to do it again.

And, though I’m likely to succumb to peer pressure if Dead and Company comes to town, I don’t need that party.

So, I’m content to go out on the Phil and Friends set at the barn with Willie Nelson as my last time seeing an original member. There was Molo once again, Jason Crosby and Stu Allen from the Terrapin scene, and a new other guitarist Cris Jacobs. The set had Jack Straw, Brown Eyed Women, Sugaree, and a Cumberland Blues (a favorite) as the closer. Eyes was the jamming tune, but so was Help>Slip>Morning Dew. And what a Dew it was as Alison Krauss sang it as she did on To Lay Me Down. Amazing and what a rare moment in the Dead universe.

Dead music is magical and so it has been for me right to this end.

But long live JRAD too.

#Grateful Dead #Phil Lesh #Bob Weir #JRAD #Ratdog #2019

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cocomaxley · 6 years ago

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Operation: Payback is a Bitch

This is a part of a TRR A/U called Cordonians Gone Wild, a collaborative effort by @ao719 @speedyoperarascalparty @leelee10898 @riseandshinelittleblossom and yours truly. Catch up HERE.

Summary: The men try to get back at the ladies for all of their previous mischief.

Rating: NSFW, mature and very bad decisions.

Tag List: @blackwidow2721 @hopefulmoonobject @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @fullbeaumonty @brightpinkpeppercorn @katurrade @krsnlove @alj4890 @zaffrenotes @annekebbphotography @carabeth @moneyfordiamonds @give-me-ernest-sinclaire @3pawandme @indiacater @ownworldresident @tornbetween2loves @stopforamoment

Rashad and Genevieve arrived at the restaurant to meet their friends for dinner. Once everyone was seated, they fell into easy conversation. “Are you guys all set for your camping trip?” Genevieve asked the men. Rashad smiled and held her hand. “We are for the most part. What do you girls have planned for girls night?”

“I'm not sure yet, probably the usual. Watch a movie and drink a lot,” Alicia giggled. Liam got a mischievous smile, “I'm sure it'll be a romcom because we know you guys can't handle scary movies.” The guys all chuckled. Stephanie raised her brow, “I love scary movies, so shut your face, Liam.” Maxwell chimed in, “But she hates clowns!” Stephanie glared at him, “Because clowns are fucking creepy!” The girls nodded in agreement.

“I bet you guys can't make it through the new version of It,” Rashad said. Genevieve's eyes went wide in surprise. Her fiancé wasn't normally the type to tease. She replied, “Honey, I love you, but whenever you guys bet against the girls, it never works out in your favor. Like ever.” It was the girls turn to laugh. Leo said, “Well if you're so positive you can win this bet, then watch the killer clown movie for your girls night.”

Anitah said with a smirk, “Fine! It's on! And when we win, guess who will have to streak around the palace grounds again? That's right, but this time it will be harder. You guys will have to finish the lap in under 30 seconds. If you don't, you have to keep running laps until your time is under 30.” Liam looked at his wife, “And if we win, which we will because you guys are a bunch of weenies.” Anitah leaned in close and whispered, “Husband’s choice in punishment.” Liam swallowed hard, “Oh...ok, you're on.” The men shook hands with their women, each one feeling confident on an easy win.

After dinner, they decided to go to the beer garden for a few drinks. The men walked up the bar and the ladies sat at a table. Leo rubbed his hands together, “Alright boys, Operation Payback is a Bitch is a go. These girls will be so sorry for everything they've ever done to us. I’ll finally get to do the thing she never lets me do.” Rashad laughed, “Gen will be huddled in a corner crying. She hates scary movies. Add a clown in there, and this will be the easiest blowjob I'll ever get.”

Liam chuckled, “Anitah’s biggest fear is clowns. She hates any and everything about them because of the original It movie. She’s so done, and I’ve got a punishment in mind for every time she’s commandeered the royal jet...she’s not going to walk straight for a week.”

“I'm finally going to use those handcuffs on Pam. We've only used them in Amsterdam,” Drake said. Maxwell clapped his hands together, “I'm asking for a Capuchin monkey! They're so cute!”

Two weeks earlier…

The men were playing poker in Liam’s study. Liam asked, “Rashad, the wedding is coming up. How’s the wedding planning?” Rashad looked up from his cards, “Everything's pretty much done. Gen and my father have been like two little girls with the planning. He's so excited for the wedding you'd think she was his child,” he laughed, “he keeps saying things like ‘I can't wait to have a daughter, I've always wanted a daughter.’ I want to say, what the fuck, dad. I'm standing right here.”

Drake snorted, “Well no wonder he let her take your jet to Amsterdam. Sounds like he can't say no to her either. Man, these girls have really given us some shit, haven't they? Thanksgiving, Thunder down under, St. Tropez…” Leo said, “Yeah no kidding. There was New Orleans and Chicago too. They definitely keep us on our toes. Especially Anitah with Liam!” Leo laughed while Liam glared at him.

“Let's not forget that she's hoodwinked my top three guards. Mara got ditched at the airport, Brad got locked in a closet with snacks and a pillow and Bas got fucking drugged! She even stole their damn phones,” Liam shook his head, then his face lit up, “let's get them back. They're due for some retaliation.” Leo's face perked up, “I'm listening, little brother.”

“They all hate scary movies. So let's bet them that they can't watch the new It movie all the way through. We can plan a ‘camping trip’ and then on their girls night we mess with them. We will turn off the power to my quarters, walk around the apartment dressed all in black and make noises, open and close doors,” Liam started laughing hard.

Maxwell shrugged his shoulders, “I was with them for all of that and had a ton of fun, but I think it'll be fun to mess with them. Stef might kill me, but it'll be worth it.” Bastien cleared his throat, “Your majesty, if I may speak freely?” Liam nodded so he continued, “I want in.” The guys all laughed knowing having Bastien on their side gave them an edge. Leo yelled, “Game on, boys!”

Girls Night...

The men had just left for their camping trip, and the ladies were in the royal quarters getting girls night started. “You guys, I really don't want to watch this movie. I'm so scared,” Genevieve said. Her eyes welled up with tears. “Well we can't back out now, Gen. We already agreed to it.” Anitah said. She met Genevieve’s gaze, her own eyes welled up with tears and face full of fear.

“I'm just gonna give him the blowjob. I like giving him blowjobs anyway, so I'm not really losing. I just can't watch it. I'm about to cry,” Genevieve rambled, pacing the room. “None of us want to watch this movie, but I'll be damned if we lose a bet to them,” Pam said, her face a little paler than normal. Stephanie added, “We just have to remember that it's not real. Ok, ladies? Let's not lose our shit before we start the movie.”

Anitah placed the disc into the DVD player with shaky hands. “The lights stay on!” Pam yelled. Alicia pulled out her iPad and headphones and pulled a blanket over her head, “I said I'd be here. I never agreed to watch the movie.” Stephanie pressed play on the remote and the movie started. All of them huddled close together on the couch.

Genevieve watched the movie with her hands covering her eyes and Pam hugged her knees. Anitah held a pillow tightly against her while Stephanie chewed her fingernails. Alicia hadn't moved from her spot underneath her blanket. At one point in the movie Pam screamed, “No, Georgie! Don't do it!” A sob escaped Genevieve’s throat and Anitah used the pillow to cover her face. Stephanie sat with wide eyes, mouth open. A loud clap of thunder shook the room which made them all jump and rain pounded against the windows. They laughed nervously realizing it was just a storm outside.

The movie continued to play. “Ok guys, twenty minutes left in the movie. We can do it. We've got this. Then the guys will be so sorry for doubting us,” Stephanie said. They turned to each other and nodded. “God, I fucking hate clowns. God, I hate Liam,” Anitah said, her face still covered by the pillow. All of a sudden the power went out and everything went pitch black. “What the fuck happened? Why did the power go out, Anitah! Call someone,” Genevieve cried. “My...my cell phone has no service,” she responded voice shaking.

Pam kept her cool, “Ok, our phones have flashlights. Turn those on and we will look for the fuse box. Do you think your quarters has a fuse box?” Anitah shook her head. They heard a door slam shut in the back of the royal quarters. “Wha...what the fuck is happening?” Stephanie whispered. Then they heard the floorboards creak and saw a dark figure walking down the hallway.

“We’re going to die!” Genevieve screamed, scrambling for the main door. The other girls quickly followed her out. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, what the fuck do we do?” Anitah said in a panicked voice. When they turned the corner they saw another dark shadowy figure. They froze in place. Lightning flashed outside, and then another clap of thunder made them jump again. “Let's go to Liam's study and lock the door, follow me,” Anitah whispered.

Drake, Rashad and Maxwell watched the girls run past the room where they were hiding. The women were in the middle of the hallway staring at Liam wearing a black cloak with his head covered by the hood. They had to fight back their laughs so they wouldn't give away their hiding spot. “Maxwell, we said Pennywise the clown! Is that a Bozo costume?” Drake asked in an irritated tone. “It's too late Drake. Besides, Stef is afraid of all clowns,” Maxwell said. Rashad snorted, “Gen is afraid of her own shadow in the dark. Just give him the red balloon. That'll be enough.”

Maxwell walked out of the room and stood in the middle of the hall holding a red balloon on a white string, just as the girls turned around and started running in his direction. When they saw him standing there, they all let out ear piercing shrieks. “SCATTER!” Anitah yelled. Anitah and Genevieve ran down a hallway. Stephanie came up and kicked Maxwell in the crotch before Pam dragged her down the opposite hallway.

Maxwell crumpled into a heap on the floor. “Shit! Max, you alright, buddy?” Drake asked as he kneeled down next to him. “I...I think I'm dying, Drake. I can't breathe.” Maxwell said in a pained voice. “I didn't know she'd kick you. These girls are in full fight or flight mode,” Drake said trying to stifle a chuckle.

Anitah and Genevieve burst through Liam's office door and locked it, both of them out of breath. “Call Bastien, Anitah. I feel like killing killer clowns is part of his job description.” Anitah walked to Liam's desk and grabbed the desk phone. “The line…it's dead, Gen. it's dead,” she whimpered and replaced the handset into the cradle. The doorknob jiggled. Anitah froze, “Oh God, Gen. what do we do?” Genevieve turned in circles, “I don't know, I don't know! Does Liam have any hidden weapons in here?” She picked up a vase from the side table, “Grab something heavy, Nitah. A big fat book or something.” They stood at the ready as the door lock clicked open and a figure stood in the doorway dressed head to toe in dark clothing, his face covered with a black ski mask. Anitah yelled, “Now!” And they both threw the objects at the intruder. The book hit him in the forehead, and the vase made contact with the side of his head. “FUCK!” The hooded figure yelped holding his head. Anitah and Genevieve pushed past him and ran down the hall.

Pam and Stephanie ran into the library and hid behind a bookshelf. They heard the door open and heavy footsteps heading in their direction. “Stef, we have to move,” Pam whispered, Stephanie nodded. They tiptoed to the end of the bookshelf and quietly walked to the next aisle moving towards the back of the library. The footsteps stopped. “Ok, Pam, we need to get out of here. I will go out there and let him see me. When he goes for me, you need to trip him. Then we make a break for the door.” Pam took a deep a breath, “Ok, we can do this.” Stephanie stepped out into the main aisle, and the large figure took slow deliberate steps towards her. At just the right moment, Pam stuck out her leg. The intruder tripped and fell on his face with a groan. He stood up quickly and tried to grab Pam, but she reacted quicker and bit his hand hard. “Motherfucker!” He backed away from her shaking his injured hand. “Run! Now!” Stephanie yelled pushing him out of her way making him lose his balance, falling on his back.

Pam and Stephanie rounded the corner and saw two other people. All four of them screamed. “SHHHHH! Everyone shut up!” Stephanie said trying to keep her voice down, once she realized it was Anitah and Genevieve. “Oh thank god. You guys are ok,” Anitah said while trying to catch her breath. They heard footsteps approaching. Genevieve opened the ballroom doors and whispered, “Quick! In here.” They huddled together, hiding behind the bar when the ballroom doors opened. Two intruders walked inside slowly. “Check behind the bar, I'll check the balcony,” they heard one of them tell the other. They tried to move to the other end of the bar but he already saw them. “They're right here!” He shouted to his partner.

Anitah launched herself at him and knocked him back, “Run! Run!” Stephanie and Pam ran towards the open ballroom door. He got back on his feet facing Anitah. Genevieve was frozen behind the bar, eyes wide. He lunged towards Anitah, but she blocked his arms. She swept his leg out from underneath him, and he fell on his back. “Ha! Take that!” She yelled. He stood back up, but he was clearly disoriented. Anitah punched him in the face, and he fell backwards. Genevieve stood up and stepped on his manhood. She grabbed Anitah by the arm and ran for the ballroom doors. At the other side of the ballroom, Pam and Stephanie were being held back by the other intruder. “Stef, what should we do?” Stephanie looked at Pam and yelled, “I've had it!” She walked up to him and punched him right in the nose. “Ow! What the hell?” He held his face, and the girls ran out the door. Rashad removed his mask after Stephanie punched him. His nose was bleeding. He walked over to Liam “You ok, man?” Rashad asked him. “No heirs,” Liam grunted as he laid on his back holding his groin. They heard the women screaming in the foyer. “I will fucking cut you, clown!”

“Whoa, whoa, Stef! It's me! It's Maxwell, please don't kick me in the balls again.” He removed his wig with one hand while the other hand held a frozen bag of peas to his crotch. Drake, Liam and Rashad joined them in the foyer. All of the women were shocked when they saw the intruders without their masks. Bastien walked up to the group. He had a visible lump on his forehead. Anitah covered her mouth to silence the laugh that was forming in her throat. “We took Bas down again!” Genevieve said grinning at her. “I am never betting against you ladies again,” he turned to the four men, “From now on, you guys are on your own.” He huffed and limped towards his room.

“You!” Genevieve pointed her finger at Rashad. The other three women crossed their arms and glared at their husbands. Their husbands were staring back at them, bruised and battered. Rashad held his arms up in defeat, “It was supposed to be a harmless prank. We didn't know you guys would go all Chuck Norris on us. I think my nose is broken.” Drake showed everyone his hand and said, “My wife bit me, like a fucking animal.”

“I'm pretty sure I won't be able to have kids,” Liam said still holding his groin. “Serves you all right. That was really, really mean!” Genevieve said, she was now sobbing. Rashad wrapped his arms around her, trying not to laugh, “You held up much better than I thought you would, sweetie.” He couldn't hold back his laughter anymore, and everyone else started laughing along with him. Liam looked around the group, “Hey where's Leo?”

In the royal quarters, Alicia was under her blanket and the movie she was watching just finished. She pulled the blanket off and stood up. When she turned around she was facing a masked person. Her jaw dropped open. “What..what do you want?” She stammered. The person didn't respond. He made a move to grab her, but she slapped him across the face with one hand and then slapped him on the other cheek with the other hand. “Dammit, Alicia! It's me!” Leo said pulling off his mask and holding both cheeks. “What the hell, Leo! You scared the shit out of me! Where is everyone?” She yelled. Leo filled her in on their plan. She laughed, “I'm so glad I’m not part of this fuckery.” Leo wrapped his arms around her waist, “Well I know what we can do while they're running around the palace.” He kissed her passionately while his hands worked on her clothes.

The group walked back to the royal apartment and opened the door. Leo and Alicia were sitting on the couch grinning from ear to ear. Anitah glared at the two of them knowing what they'd just done and said, “You know that thing you never get to do, Leo? Well you can do it because she was under that blanket with an iPad and headphones. She didn't even watch the movie.” Leo smirked and slowly turned towards his wife while rubbing his hands together. Alicia's mouth fell open, “Anitah! Why would you sell me out?” Anitah smiled at her friend, “That was a hard earned win, Alicia. You forfeited.”

Liam cleared his throat, “Actually, my love, you lost. None of you finished the movie, and that was the bet. I believe you still had twenty minutes left to watch.” Anitah's jaw dropped, but before she could respond, Liam threw her over his shoulder and said, “Get ready for your punishment, My Queen.”

Rashad smirked at Genevieve, “Let’s go home. I'd like to cash in that win tonight.” Drake walked over to Pam and pulled her towards the door, “Come on, baby, there's some pink fuzzy handcuffs with your name on them.” Maxwell started dancing, “I'm getting a monkey! I'm getting a monkey!” Stephanie laughed at him and pushed him towards the door.

Monday Morning...

The men had a council meeting first thing Monday morning. They were presenting a new proposal to increase tourism. The guys stood in front of the council; Liam with a black eye, Leo with red marks across both cheeks, Rashad with a broken nose, and Drake with a visible bite mark on his hand. Bastien was standing in the back of the room with a large purple lump on his forehead and the side of his head was clearly swollen. From the head council seat, Rashad’s father looked at them with a raised brow, “What in God’s name happened to all of you?” They exchanged uncomfortable looks with each other. Rashad spoke up, “Father, that's not relevant to our proposal. Let's...let’s discuss that later.” Rashad’s father let out a hearty laugh, “Oh, I've already spoken to my future daughter-in-law. I just wanted to see if you'd willingly admit it in front of the council.”

#cordonians gone wild #cordoniansgonewild #cgw #liam x anitah #drake x pam #leo x alicia #maxwell x stephanie #rashad x genevieve #clowns #clown #the royal romance #trr au

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canaryatlaw · 6 years ago

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Alright, it’s currently 8:53 pm Illinois time (we’re still in Indiana so my phone thinks it’s 9:53, it didn’t transition for the whole day until like now apparently and is probably supposed to have changed back by now but here we are), we’re in the car on the way home from the con and I’m starting to write now because I need to go to bed ASAP when I get home because I once again could not fall asleep FOR MY FUCKING LIFE last night and of course I had to get up early so we could road trip to the con so I got like an hour and a half of sleep??? The last time I remember looking at the clock was at 5:08 am and my alarm was set for 6:45 am, so....it wasn’t good. But yeah, today was really good despite my lack of sleep. I did wake up when my alarm went off at 6:45 am, I had a message from Jess saying to give her like 10-15 more minutes than we initially planned so I got ready and waited for her to come pick me up. We got gas and then McDonald’s, breakfast sandwich and coke if I wanted to stay awake all day lol. And so we were off to Indiana for the con. The drive there was fairly unremarkable, we stopped at a rest stop for a minute but that was about it. We made it into Indianapolis around like 11:30 their time, parked in the parking garage next to the con center and got to the con. Our drive through Indianapolis revealed that today was definitely their pride parade and with a little more research we probably could’ve done the parade and the con, but oh well, not much we can do about it now. According to the online schedule the photo op for the guy Jess had a photo with was at like 1:20, so when we arrived we had to wander through the giant con center at first and then redeem our tickets and actually get to the main hall, where we located the photo op people and asked about the schedule.

It’s a good thing we checked, because he was not in fact at 1:20 anymore, he had gotten to what was first 4:45 and would then move to 5:45 in not too long. So obviously this was a bit of a curveball, since according to the earlier schedule we probably would’ve headed out a lot earlier. So now we have some time to kill. Well we wanted to see the guests anyway, and the first I wanted to see was the kid from Shazam, Asher Angel, mostly because I wanted to go on about how much positive depiction of foster children in media means to the kids out there that are constantly thought of as a problem and nothing more. He was sweet, definitely a teenage boy lol you could tell it was one of his first cons, but he was doing alright and was nice to talk to. He definitely looked bored at other points throughout the day which I can’t really blame him for, he is a teenage boy and the amount of attention the celebrities were getting at this con was definitely less than expected. Like, there were pretty much no lines for everybody....the entire con was a lot smaller than expected. So that was interesting to deal with. After that though we went and said hi to the guy Jess wanted to see from Shield and she got a selfie with him, he was really nice too. At that point we wandered the show floor for a while, Jess unsurprisingly found some kpop merch (it’s generally among the anime booths at this point) so she bought some of that which was cool. We ended up leaving the con center to get some food because con food is always trash and overpriced, and we didn’t have anything else better to do lol.

So we ended up going to steak and shake, which was a giant joke because the last time we went to a con in Indiana we got into a fight that kind of climaxed in us ending up going to steak and shake for dinner despite my request that we go literally anywhere else because my acid reflux was really bad that day, but that’s a whole other story we won’t go into, just know the fact that we ended up there was a giant fucking joke. I got a cheeseburger and a strawberry shake, and we killed some time there for a while before finishing up and walking back to the con. We returned to the main hall and ended up saying hi to John Wesley Shipp, this con was like prime for just getting to say hi to celebs because so many of them were standing around lol. He was cool, we got back to the Shield guy to get an autograph for Emily, and right next to him was Dot-Marie Jones, and I recalled that she had been at Clexacon and afterwards her wife had posted about how awful the con had been to them on Instagram and she was free so I was like if we approach this correctly we could get some quality tea about Clexacon out of this interaction lol. She had stickers that they were selling for $5, so we bought a sticker (they ended up giving us two) and were like “oh we just wanted to say hi, we wanted to see you at Clexacon but we heard it wasn’t great for you guys?” and that basically worked perfectly and launched a like, 20 minute conversation that consisted of all the terrible shit Clexacon had done to them and like, it was bad. The biggest revelation was definitely that the con wasn’t paying any of the celebrities to be there (I realize a lot of people aren’t privy to how the financial arrangements for cons work so that might not seem like a big deal but it is HIGHLY unusual and I couldn’t believe they got that many guests without paying any of them) and on top of that wanted a cut of their autograph money and shit which is just.....wild. It was a really good conversation though, not just about Clexacon but on how the voices of actual queer women should be the ones being centered, not just straight actresses that portray them but don’t live the stories (and we all know I adore my actresses, but it’s not the same) and like Clexacon had just been so shitty to her when she was one of the only actual queer women there and they could’ve had so much more but they were clearly only motivated by greed. She’s a super lovely person too and it was just overall a great conversation and it was really a pleasure to talk to her.

After that, or some time around then, the timeline might not be perfect here but I’m doing my best lol. We basically had nothing to do but I wanted some water so we walked over to their food court area and got some water bottles with the intention of just sitting at the table there for a while, which we did, but they ended up doing some like, pre-podcast launch media session with these three ladies who are launching a cold case podcast about this case from Indiana where this little girl was killed and I mean I only listened to their info about the case but I’m pretty fucking sure the abusive stepfather’s the one who did it (let’s be real, if the kid of an abusive parent dies, there is an extremely high chance the parent did it, and that chance actually goes up further by the fact that he was a stepparent, this is the reality of child abuse that I work with) so idk how much of a cold case there is to investigate there but Jess found them on twitter and they currently had like 18 followers lol so I mean maybe they’ll find their stride and build up a fan base. After their presentation and a little while of more time chilling out we ended up going back to the con area and seeing John Glover, whom we paid $20 to get a selfie with, he was again so delightfully bizarre and just absolutely hilarious to interact with and talk about Shazam with. So that was cool, and after that we chilled outside the main hall for a bit until Jess decided it was time to line up for the photo op, at which point I wandered for a bit and eventually ended up at Vanessa Marshall’s table who I kinda wanted to meet, she’s a voice actress who’s been in a ton of stuff but most relevant to me was that she did Black Canary for Young Justice and recently did an interview with the young justice podcast I listen to that was just fucking amazing about self-acceptance and that really just made me want to meet her so I paid $20 for a selfie with her and ended up having a lovely conversation with her.

After that I wandered a bit more and ended up buying a $5 “damaged” piece of Wonder Woman fan art (it was in the damaged pile but I couldn’t see anything wrong with it and it was a damn good deal) and ended up buying an adorable print of Goose the cat that was $10 and is going to go great on my Captain Marvel closet door. After that I reunited with Jess after her photo op and waited a little while longer waiting for the print while talking with a nice couple we’d previously spoken to at a con at some point lol. Once we got the photo we headed out, left Indianapolis and headed straight to the Cracker Barrel we’ve definitely been to before lol. There was a little bit of a wait but we got in in like ten minutes or so. Got our classics but they sadly we slightly less quality than we’ve previously had, but still mostly good. After dinner I raided their candy section very lightly and Jess acquired a giant stuffed goat I said I’d buy her so we paid the bill and bought that and headed out.

From there we’ve been driving, stopped once to go to the bathroom in the rain, but it mostly stopped raining so we didn’t have to deal with too much of it. The highlight of the drive home was definitely realizing Jess’ nemesis who was at the con was actually in the car behind us, and we proceeded to cut her off like three different times and it was great, I’m pretty sure she was still behind us when I started writing this and she was behind us until we hit the greater Chicago area but now we’re pulling up to our neighborhood that’s having it’s massive Nordic fest right now (“midsommarfest”) which looks pretty wild right now, but I’ll be home in a second and probably finish this off right before I go to bed, after I shower. My phone now said it��s 10:47 pm, though it should say it’s 9:47 pm Chicago time, so we’ll have to see for how much longer we’ll have to deal with that. But I’m about to get out of the car so I’ll leave this here.

Okay, it’s 10:54 pm currently, though my phone still says 11:54 pm lol. But I’m all showered and ready to go to sleep, and boy am I sleepy, so I’ll be going to bed now. Goodnight my friends. Hope you had a lovely Saturday as well.

#daily journal #June 2019 #Jess tag #Rachel’s con adventures

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racingtoaredlight · 4 years ago

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RTARL’s 2020 NFL Season Week 8 Extravapalooza

Well, here it is. The last week of football before Election Day. Nobody knows what the hell things are going to be like society-wise in the immediate aftermath, no matter which candidate is declared the winner (or WHEN a winner will be declared, for that matter). Will Leitch thinks that if Trump wins, or at least refuses to concede, athletes might decide not to play anymore. I don’t think I can go that far, I’m probably too cynical to believe that anyone would really give up the giant piles of cash that a truly prolonged protest would cost. It would be pretty damn wild if it happened, though. Maybe things post election will be pretty much business as usual, with perhaps a bit more weeping and gnashing of teeth on our Facebook timelines than we’re used to. Whatever the case, at least we have this one last oasis of NFL action to enjoy in peace and relative calm before things go buckwild.

My picks are in BOLD, and the lines come to us courtesy of our friends at Vegas Insider. I use the “VI Consensus” line, which is the line that occurs most frequently across Vegas Insider’s list of sportsbooks. Your sportsbook of choice may offer a different number, and if you’d like my opinion on said number A) you are insane, and B) leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer at some point before things kickoff today.

EARLY GAMES

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers (-6.5)

In what will be the case for several games on the slate this week, the weather looks windy, cold and miserable for this one. A dysfunctional Vikings team that already looks to have thrown in the towel playing in shitty, uncomfortable conditions against a dick like Aaron Rodgers who would gleefully run it up on anybody at any time seems like a recipe for an ass-whoopin’ featuring many hilarious shots of bundled up, checked-out Vikings on the sideline.

New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (-4.5)

In case you were wondering how things are going in Pats Nation, I was visiting with my grandmother this past Wednesday and she was wondering aloud if they should try playing Julian Edelman at QB since he played there in college. Since this conversation, both Edelman and fellow WR N’Keal Harry have been ruled OUT, so my grandmother’s outside-the-box thinking can’t be properly utilized even if she’d managed to convince Bill Belichick to try it via a steady campaign of email harassment. QB Cam Newton has looked like he’s trying to play while wearing a medieval suit of armor for the past 2 games and now he has absolutely nobody to throw to outside of RB James White. Oh, and reigning DPOY CB Stephon Gilmore is also out for this game and might be on the trade block. Not great! If the Bills don’t cover here I’m officially declaring them frauds, and the AFC East will join the NFC East as true dumpster divisions whose winners absolutely should not be permitted into the playoffs.

Tennessee Titans (-7) at Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals will be missing 3 starting offensive linemen for this one, which you’d think would be less than ideal for my boy Joe Burrow. But A) his offensive line has been absolute trash all year anyway, and B) the Titans are terrible at generating a pass rush. If there’s ever a situation where missing 3/5 of an O-line is okay, it’s this one. Joey’s gonna sling it all over the yard, baby! Well, except for the huge chunks of the game when Tennessee uses Derrick Henry to chew clock and grind the Bengals defense into dust. Joey won’t be slinging anything then.

New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs (-20)

You should only be able to view this game on the Dark Web.

Las Vegas Raiders at Cleveland Browns (-2)

The weather is supposed to be fairly nasty for this one, with rain, strong wind gusts whipping off of Lake Erie, and gametime windchills in the low 30s. Both teams like to run the ball a ton as it is, so they won’t have to adjust strategies all that much. With that said, the Browns run defense is much stronger than that of the Raiders, so I’m giving them the nod. My nonsensical-but-very-real vendetta against the Raiders may also be a factor.

Indianapolis Colts (-3) at Detroit Lions

I was pretty surprised to see the Colts as road favorites here. Since getting studmuffin WR Kenny Golladay back in Week 3, Detroit is 3-1 and looking pretty good. Indianapolis has had a very cake-like schedule, and I’m not sure they’re as good as their 4-2 record would indicate. Gimme Stafford and the Lions all day.

Los Angeles Rams (-3.5) at Miami Dolphins

I feel bad for Miami (now backup) QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. He seems like a great dude, and the team was playing reasonably well with him at the helm. That said, I’m excited to see what Tua can do. If he’s 100% healthy, I think he’s gonna be a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Not so much this week, though. The Rams D and Aaron Donald are a rough way to break in.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-4)

It’s weird, but even though this looks like a high-quality game between two legit contenders who happen to be bitter division rivals, I don’t really have anything to say about it. It’s the marquee matchup of the week, I have no idea who will win, and you should watch it if you can.

LATE GAMES

New Orleans Saints (-4) at Chicago Bears

Here’s another game where the weather could be a factor, with the forecast calling for sustained winds of 25mph with gusts up to 40 mph. The combination of the wind, the Bears’ excellent pass defense, and the fact that WRs Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are once again OUT would seem to suggest that increasingly noodle-armed Drew Brees is gonna have a rough go of it.

Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5) at Denver Broncos

This is absolutely a game between a couple of AFC West teams, don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (-3)

San Francisco looks like the best team in football when they get a decent lead and can just pummel their opponent into submission via Kyle Shanahan’s masterfully schemed running game. Whenever the game situation calls for a shift to a more pass-heavy attack, they’re in trouble. Every Seahawks game this year has been a shootout, and they’ve failed to score at least 30 points in a game only once. I can’t bank on Handsome Jimmy to keep pace with Russell Wilson.

SNF: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (-11)

Yeah, I know, Dallas is starting a Madden Create-A-Player named “Ben DiNucci” at QB for this game. But, this Philly squad that lost to the Football Team by 10 and only managed to beat the Giants by 1 doesn’t deserve to be a double-digit favorite against anybody. Even if DiNucci is pretty bad (and he most likely will be), he still has Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Zeke Elliott at his disposal against a not-particularly-strong Eagles defense. GRIP IT AND RIP IT, BENNY BOY!

MNF: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-12.5) at New York Giants

Oh boy, I bet Giants Head Coach and cartoonishly over-the-top redass Joe Judge is gonna make his guys practice EXTRA HARD after this beatdown. Everybody that knows the douchier and more hostile you are, the better your football man brain is. It’s science.

Last Week’s Record: 5-8

Season Record: 49-46-4

#Sports!#Football #NFL #Gambling

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buzzworddotie · 7 years ago

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RPDR S10E01 - “Tens, tens, tens across the board!”

Have you seen the first episode of Season 10 of Drag Race yet? It was so fucking good! We were served a great mix of queens, lots of Easter eggs and a couple of surprises too! And for, I think the first time, I was totally torn on the first elimination.

Right, so to kick things off you have the entrances starting with Eureka, who was super sweet and looked great in her feathery Phoenix look and I did like her during her brief spell on Season 9. So that’s the one queen we knew was there coming out the gate.

I’m going to do this recap from memory so i might butcher some of these names or forget some stuff (and some queens) but this is a “total rucall” of the episode based on my initial impressions.

Monet XChange, I had seen some activity with her on social media leading up to the season because she did some photoshoot with Bob. I heard a couple of interviews with Bob and Trixie as well commenting on how funny she is as well so my expectations are kind of high on this one.

And I soft of feel like I will end up loving her, she’s coming across pretty well so far. Also, that over-thought first look with the “cleaning story”, I mean she has to have a good sense of humour, right?!

Miz Cracker seems nuts in the best way imaginable. Plus, I don’t know why but out of drag boy-Cracker kind of reminds me of Tyler Joseph from 21 Pilots, tell me someone else sees it?!

I didn’t catch any footage of Cracker before the show but she’s Bob’s drag daughter, right? The hype I was seeing around her had me coming into this a bit skeptical but she is soooo likeable! And that back and forth with the judges, “cracking” Ru and the other judges up? I hope she makes Snatch Game that’s all I’m saying.

A lot of New Yorkers and I’m about to embarrass myself with names, the Chicago queen came in, I want to say The Vixen?, she came in ready to fight apparently! She had a lot to say in Untucked and is clearly hoping to rustle some feathers. We’ll see girl, I don’t see a long run but I could be off base.

My order is arseways but there was the one who is Cracker’s “rival” and totally unprompted announced Season 10 was her chance to call out her nemesis. Is her name Acquaris or Aquaria? I don’t know, people seem to think she’s the shit and there seems like a potential Heather vs Boogers 2018 edition brewing as sides are taken but I didn’t get the Charisma, she’s more of an NT to me. Interested to see if she blows my mind at all but Cracker wins on the Charisma bit so far.

Oh and then there was Mayhem Miller!! She seems so humble and grateful but also there to slay!

It was so sweet to see her become so emotional to get those positive critiques and then to win (oops, spoiler alert) and rightfully so with THAT LOOK!! Stunning. I get the feeling she will be an epic lip syncer as well. I know a bit about her because of an interview with Jasmine Masters who commented on how often she tried out, had to watch all her sisters get on and then nearly gave it all up only to land her spot now, she feels like a special one.

Fuck it, early prediction she makes it to Top 2.

So who else did we have... Asia O’Hara seemed fun during the show, not a massive stand out but she shone in Untucked and I feel like she will be a fan favourite. Also, just to note she is absolutely beautiful out of drag.

Dusty Ray Bottoms just popped into my mind, but I had totally forgotten about her when I was thinking back over the show! Sorry girl, you just get the sense when she first comes in that she is going to be mind blowing and she just didn’t seem to feature a whole lot. I thought her look for the challenge wasn’t too special either. But I am interested to see what more she brings, I have a feeling there is more there.

Yuhua Hamasaki (you can bet your ass I Googled that one) came in looking very quite with her seamstress skills. Another very chill, laid back personality so far but I am interested to see where she excels as I’m not 100% on this one yet.

Monique Heart, she didn’t make a huge impact either thought I did kind of love that plastic wig she wouldn’t stop harping on about! She’s got lots of fight in her, I think she will probably land in the middle a lot, get annoyed and go home mid way through. Prove me wrong!

I just realised one of the best things about this episode is that it seems like they have gotten a really great mix of personalities but no one appears to be too extra.

Yet.

Back to the show, Kalorie Kardashian Williams, is that one right? I really liked her, I thought she seemed really cute, fun and a bit feisty. Could she end up annoying me? Yes. But she did perform the hell out of that lip sync!

And it was versus Vanessa Vanji Mateo! Awwww, she is fucking adorable! I don’t mind that Kalorie stayed, I’m not mad at that. But it is genuinely one of the first times the Episode One bottom 2 were actually 2 Queens that I really liked and wasn’t ready to see go!

Am I missing some one? I feel like I am... Oh Cameron Michael? The one they all are obsessed with out of Drag! Her didn’t really make any noticeable impact for me. I did get a chance to really see her face in Untucked and with that make up she was stunning but I don’t know if she’s going to be one of the exciting ones!

I was delighted to see the design challenge for the first episode, such a great crafty throw back. The hour long episode was great and I hope they run it for the entire season because I think that was a major part of the issue with the production of AS3... But that’s an entirely different story.

Some great looks in the challenge, some not so great. Oh I’ve just realised a queen I missed! Blair St.Clair! Fresh off the boat, she came in a little meek and I had kind of written her off for the first quarter of the show.

I thought she was going to be a bit blah, a bit niche “broadway/old Hollywood” - kind of seen it before but done better - kind of girl. But then she hit the runway in that dark wig and with a decent look and she made me sit up. You always got to watch the quiet ones! I’m thinking she is a potential Top 4, just don’t quote me on that yet! She could be the black horse of the competition.

I was a bit confused when the safe girls had to stand at the back of the room for the critiques and then I was duped by RuPaul. Look, I’m not proud of falling for it but I had totally forgotten that Xtina was supposed to be a judge OK?!

Love Christina, I have zero shame in still crying to Beautiful and having Fighter and Dirrty on more than one Spotify playlist. That woman has serious pipes. I loved how gagged the girls seemed it was so sweet and Xtina seemed like a really great sport.

All in all, Episode 1 of Season 10 was a fun way to kick off the show and a true celebration of the legacy of RPDR. Even the production didn’t seem mind-numbing or too forced. I think you just can’t capture all the magic of this show in 30-40 mins. You have to give them all a real chance to shine!

When Mayhem was in the top with Cracker, I had forgotten we were Lip Syncing for their life instead of legacy, but there you have it. Kalorie did slay the performance though, when she made it rain it was just a clever move. Also, after a lot of lack luster lip syncs in Season 9 I am excited and hopeful that this first one is an indication of whats to come.

So Season 10 Episode 1 gets Tens, Tens, Tens across the board from me! Fierce Queens, a ton of talent and lots of self referential throw backs, it felt like a real celebration and all the cameos from the past faves - It felt fun again!

I’m bracing myself for a great season - what do you think? Who are you seeing as a potential winner? Who stood out to you? Please don’t spill any actual rumoured T to me, I am not here for it.

#rupaul's drag race #rupaulsdragraceseason10 #rupaul #RDPR #review #recall #drag #vh1 #mayhem miller #mizcracker #episodeone

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interestingfactsquotes · 5 years ago

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5 Interesting Facts About The Pittsburgh Steelers

5 Interesting Facts About The Pittsburgh Steelers The Steelers have been arguably the most successful franchise in the history of the National Football League TBH. When it comes to football performances, numbers always stand as proof. You can understand the performance of the Steelers from the team’s six Super Bowl Victories in the NFL History. This number is more than any team aside from the New England Patriots, and even more than the mighty Green Bay Packers and SF Niners. SMH at the success of those two teams. If you are an ardent fan, knowing some interesting facts about them will help. It also never hurts to check out some OMG highlights in 4K HDR on Youtube. Here are five of them: Unique helmet: As compared to the other 31 teams, Pittsburgh Steelers is the only team in the NFL to have the team's logo only on a single side of the helmet. The present logo was actually employed for advertising for the American Iron and Steel Institute in the year 1962. It was initially tested on only a single side of the gold helmet of the team. At that time, the team decided on the black color of the helmet and also the single side logo. An entirely home-grown team in 1979: In the 1979 Steelers team, every player on the roster was either signed as an undrafted free agent or drafted by the Steelers. It means that not even a single player on the roster had worn other NFL uniforms in their career before. Amazing feat for football and also very unusual if it were basketball or baseball. The Steelers also do a great job drafting historically, like finding hidden gems from Clemson football or Ohio State football. The Terrible Towel of Steelers: The fans of the Steelers follow the practice of waving the iconic yellow towel during the games of this team. It began for the radio station promotion. But, it is still followed by the fans of this team as a wildfire. The fans use this towel waving as a way to intimidate any team daring to oppose the Steelers. They do it no matter who comes to play in Pittsburgh whether it is the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, or Chicago Bears. Loyal followers: The Steelers hold the pride of being the only team in the NFL to have loyal followers. It means that they travel long distances to support their team wherever they play. The team gets tons of MEME and GIF on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Tiktok. This shows how much FOMO their fan base has and how they like to share HIFW the Steelers play and win games. The team without cheerleaders: In 1961, the team appointed cheerleaders. They served the team for nine seasons providing cheerleading services. But, thereafter, the team dropped them. Only one other team in the Super Bowl Tournament in 2011 had no cheerleaders other than Pittsburgh Steelers. I hope you would have been surprised by these interesting facts about your favorite NFL Team! Pittsburgh Steelers Gear https://youtu.be/mAKSiw2DF8M Never miss any incredible facts or information about other sports teams and people such as LA Dodgers, LA Lakers, Serena Williams, Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Broncos, KC Chiefs, Post Malone, Lizzo, Eli Tomac, Anna Kanyuk, Meg Donnelly, Josh Richards, Tool, and so much more. Pittsburgh Sports Venues Pittsburgh sports venues are perhaps the most notable and historic in the country. There are several arenas for sporting events around the city and some of them have been renamed. The first stadium to be formally dedicated was Heinz Field in 1936, which was called "the diamond" at that time. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who was then the team, played their home games there until the stadium was demolished in 1979. When Heinz Field was torn down, the city's government looked for a new site for a stadium for a team. During this time, PNC Park Pirates Stadium was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This was his first professional design. The park was located on the former site of PNC Park in downtown Pittsburgh, which was one of the first baseball stadiums to have retractable roofs. This helped it be cooler during hot summer days. Now in 2020, there is ample debate about developing other types of real estate right adjacent to and surrounding PNC Park. The PNC Park Pirates Stadium was not only the first sports stadium that had retractable roofs, but also the first to use lightweight materials to make it. It was one of the first stadiums to feature retractable glass roof. It was also very spacious. It has two levels and a lower deck that are enclosed. There are seats for more than 12,000 people. After more than 30 years, PNC Park Pirates Stadium was moved to its current location and now it is known as PNC Park. This stadium features a retractable roof that is opened in different seasons. The seats are raised a few inches so that fans can watch games from the highest seats in the house. There are eight suites on each level. At night, the lower deck is open to the public and baseball fans can watch outdoor games. In this stadium, the first pitch is given by its own special pitcher, Charlie Hough. His first pitch is an artificial one because he pitched a perfect game to qualify for the postseason. The opposing team is then challenged to a re-start before the next inning. At the University of Pittsburgh, many live events are held at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. It was a natural choice because of the stadium's amazing architecture. This venue has three levels that overlook the river. There are restaurants that offer spectacular views of the waterfront and downtown area. Aside from the well-known architecture and design, this venue also houses the most technologically advanced sound system and lighting systems. This venue has an incredible sound system and is known for its spectacular lights. It was recently voted as the best outdoor venue for music concerts. The sound of rain, applause, and cheers are loud in this venue. If you are interested in visiting the best sports venues in the country, then Pittsburgh is the place to visit. You will be impressed by all the great innovations that have been developed in this venue and the upgrades that they have made in the past few years. Read the full article

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buttermybooks · 7 years ago

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Hey guys! I have a somewhat unconventional post for my predominantly book related blog, but it is something that has been highly requested! So without further adieu:

RIOT FEST REVIEW AND FESTIVAL HACKS!!!

Most of you are familiar with how often I travel and how many concerts I go to, so today’s post is going to be a little bit of both. Over the summer, Riot Fest, which is one of the largest punk rock music festivals in the US, announced their lineup for their 2017 festival. At the top of that list was JAWBREAKER. My absolute favorite band that I never thought I would get the chance to see, considering they hadn’t performed together in over 20 years. Needless to say less than 5 hours after finding out that Jawbreaker was the headliner, I had purchased a ticket along with one of my best friends, Benita. Fast forward 4 months and we were FINALLY headed to Chicago!

We arrived on Thursday and were able to get in a little sight seeing as well as spend the day with a mutual friend, @the-book-ferret!!!

Looking back, I am so glad we decided to do most of our sight seeing on the first day because we would have been too tired to do any on Monday, after spending the weekend at the festival. After spending the day at Millennium Park, book shopping at Barnes and Noble (shout out to @the-moon-queen) and eating SO MUCH deep dish pizza, we decided to call it a night and head to bed.

On Friday, I woke up to a myriad of text messages from everyone who felt it necessary to tell me how jealous they were of all the bands I would be seeing over the weekend and, well, they SHOULD be jealous. The Friday lineup alone was enough to warrant spending this much on the riot fest ticket. After printing our tickets in the hotel lobby, we were finally on our way to the first day of Riot Fest!!!

Entry was super easy at Riot Fest. Actually, “easy” was a recurring theme for the weekend. Everything was hella organized and we pretty much had no issues with staff AT ALL. Did I mention the punctuality? No? Literally EVERY band started no more than 5 minutes late. SRSLY GUYS, this fest was SO ORGANIZED. One of my favorite memories of the weekend was watching 2 middle aged drunk dudes get into a fight, knock over a HUGE trash can, spilling ALL of the garbage in it.. and then walking away like nothing happened; only to have a group of millennials band together and clean ALL of it up so that the festival crew wouldnt have to. I think this incident says a lot about the type of people who attend this festival.

We saw tons of bands on our first day at Douglas Park, the most notable were New Order, NIN, and surprisingly A Day To Remember. As someone who isnt a super fan of their music, I gotta give them credit. Their show was WILD. Easily the most interactive of the day. They entire vibe was super fun. We ended our night with corn dogs and nachos from one of the stands. After that we were headed back to our hotel via a 50% off LYFT ride, thanks to the codes that were being handed out at the exit.

Saturday was basically PARTY day haha. We woke up, had breakfast, lounged a bit and then decided to head to the festival. We saw even more bands on saturday, including New Found Glory (who played ALL the old school jams!) and Taking Back Sunday which ended the night for us. This is the only night that we had trouble leaving the park. We ended up just finding a spot and waiting out the LYFT line because SO MANY people were attempting to leave at the same time, it was nearly impossible to find your driver. If you want to avoid this, you can take the REGGIES SHUTTLE which takes you back to Reggie’s for an after party.

Sunday was emotional for me. I woke up an anxious MESS because it was finally the day I was going to see Jawbreaker. I never thought this day would come. Before our trip, when asked who I was excited to see at the festival, I wouldn’t even mention Jawbreaker because I was terrified they would back out at last minute and I wouldnt actually get to see them. ANYWAY, we decided to eat at KUMA’S west loop for lunch. This is THE BEST place to eat at during riot fest weekend. All of the burgers are named after heavy metal bands and the crew caters to a riot fest esque crowd anyway. Plus it was SO GOOD.

Afterward, we took a lyft the few miles to Douglas park and saw SO MANY BANDS. The most notable, aside from JAWBREAKER was Prophets of Rage. It was so fun to be in the crowd with people who werent quite sure who they were and then suddenly see it dawn on everyone that it was members of Rage Against the Machine and Cypress Hill hahaha!! Im not even ready to talk about how amazing Jawbreaker was. I literally dont have the words to describe it. It was an experience unlike anything else. It felt almost religious.. I’ll be chasing that feeling for the rest of my life.

If you’ve kept reading this far, ILY, but if not I will leave a list of pointers that really helped us below!

FESTIVAL HACKS:

Print your tickets before hand

Pack a drawstring backpack

Charge up your external battery packs (these were so handy)

Make sure to bring a PLASTIC refillable water bottle. (refill stations are around the park)

Buy merch AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Things sell out. You dont want to miss out on your size/style

Load up on as many LYFT/UBER promo codes as possible.

Make sure you have a plastic poncho, non aerosol sunscreen and bug spray in your back pack. You will thank me later.

Wear shoes that you arent super fond of. You will absolutely get anything you wear dirty. (even when it doesnt rain!)

Check out the REGGIE’S Party bus! It could save you tons of time/money on car shares.

Download the RIOTFEST app. You can select the bands you want to see and It will alert you 15 minutes before they start peforming and tell you the stage. It is super easy to get caught up in whatever youre doing and forget which bands youre supposed to be going to next.

TOILET PAPER. bring toilet paper. we just grabbed the extra roll from our hotel room but trust me, ,by sunday the TP in the port-a-potties will be SCARCE and youll be so happy you brought it.

Make sure that everyone in your group is on the same page about what your plans should be. **This isnt necessary but I promise you that you will have 10x more fun if everyone is aware of whats going on and when.

HAVE FUN!!!

#RIOT FEST #RIOTFEST #RIOT FEST 2017 #JAWBREAKER #music and lifestyle

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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Will Coronavirus Freeze the Search for Dark Matter?

Elena Aprile was in a race against time.Her Xenon experiment, one of the world’s largest and most expensive investigations into the nature of dark matter, was coming together beneath Gran Sasso, a mountain in Italy. But Dr. Aprile, a Columbia University physics professor, was stuck in her apartment in Brooklyn as New York entered an indeterminate period of lockdown to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, and she was “living on Cheerios and milk,” she said.In Italy, about a month into its own lockdown, a skeleton crew was trying to finish assembling her experiment’s expensive and delicate detector and safely seal it in place deep below the mountain’s rocks, before the virus brought down the hammer on even this much group activity.What followed was an illustration of how some science is managing to get done during a plague. At stake was perhaps nothing less than the secret of the universe.Astronomers have reluctantly concluded over the last half-century that most of the matter in the universe is invisible. They suspect that this invisible stuff consists of giant cosmic clouds of subatomic particles called “wimps,” for weakly interacting massive particles, left over from the Big Bang.Mostly impervious to normal forces like electromagnetism, these particles drift through the world, and through us, like ghosts through a wall.In the quest to spot them, physicists have built a succession of bigger and bigger detectors. But as they’ve gained greater and greater clarity, they have seen no wimps, which has created a crisis in physics.In the 1970s and 1980s, fashionable but speculative concepts in particle physics were devised to explain some of the deeper mysteries of fundamental physics. One, supersymmetry, suggested that the universe might be littered with undiscovered particles that could act like dark matter. But over the years, the most promising models of what these particles might have been were slowly crossed out. This leaves many of the mysteries of the universe — like why stars are so big and atoms are so small — with no plausible explanation.The wimp experiments keep improving. But eventually they could reach a limit called the “neutrino floor,” becoming so sensitive that they are overwhelmed by neutrinos, ghostly super-elusive particles that flood the universe from the sun, the stars and the Big Bang. Any wimps passing through will be impossible to discern in this sea, and there the wimp search will end.“So we have a few more years where this guy can hide, but it’s not there yet,” she said.Dr. Aprile and her team — a globe-spanning confederation — planned to record the pit-pat of dark matter particles raining into a tank of liquid xenon lined with 500 photomultipliers and other sensors, and placed far underground to shield it from cosmic rays. The hope was that her team’s device would spot the rare collision of a wimp with a xenon nucleus, an event she estimated might happen about once a year per ton of xenon.Dr. Aprile was reluctant to put a price on the project. An earlier version of the experiment with 3.3 tons of xenon cost $30 million. But that didn’t include the people, she said. A big part of the cost is xenon itself, which costs around $2 million per ton, she added. Her new detector will have 8.5 tons.A rival experiment called the LZ Dark Matter Experiment, also using eight tons of xenon, was being assembled in an old gold mine that is now the Sanford Underground Research Facility, in Lead, S.D. And there is a whole alphabet soup of other experiments stashed in old mines and tunnels around the world, with names like PandaX, DarkSide and SuperCDMS.But now coronavirus was infecting even the cosmos. Richard Gaitskell of Brown University, one of the principal scientists of the LZ experiment, said in an email that their project had temporarily been mothballed “out of an abundance of caution and to allow personnel to respect shelter in place.”Dr. Aprile said, “All of us will have delays due to this damn thing. If one of my people gets sick, I will feel so bad.”

Research on the run

Dr. Aprile was born in Milan. To say that she lives a peripatetic life would be an understatement. She teaches at Columbia but commutes regularly to L’Aquila, a town in central Italy near the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, which lies off a tunnel through the mountain of the same name, beneath nearly 4,600 feet of rock.Until March she had been living the typical jet-setting life of particle physicist. In November she attended a physics conference in South Korea. In February, after a brief stop in New York, she was in Italy at Gran Sasso for three days. From there she went to a conference in South Africa, and on to the University of California, San Diego, where she was a visiting professor.Then the universities shut down. Worried about her two daughters, who live in New York, Dr. Aprile returned home. She had planned to return to Gran Sasso in early May after her professorship was done, when they would start testing and running their detector. But the virus had other plans.Stefano Ragazzi, director of the Gran Sasso lab, said that the experiments there are designed to be conducted remotely. As a result, there were only about half a dozen scientists on site in March when the coronavirus hit Italy.It is safer and easier to keep experiments running, rather than shut them off and later switch them back on, he explained, so the lab’s experiments have continued to operate as they would during the winter holidays.Dr. Ragazzi announced that, to ensure the safety of the people and the equipment, work in Gran Sasso would be limited only to what was necessary.“Xenon was amid critical ongoing operations,” Dr. Ragazzi said in an email. “We asked them to come to a safe stopping point and to pause operations.”That stopping point would come once the detector had been sealed in its cryostat — a big thermos bottle that could keep the xenon inside at minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit — and all the air had been pumped out, Dr. Aprile said: “The point is to enclose it in a cryostat, seal it, make it leak-tight.” She spoke over the phone after a long day of teleconferencing with Italy.“We close this detector for the first time inside this big water tank,” she said. “Then we spend a few months, if everything goes well, commissioning it to understand how the hell it works. Hopefully it works as you designed. You start to see if there’s a signal. And that’s when you declare OK, and then you start to work.”All did not go well.An important step occurred on March 5, when a team led by Luca Grandi of the University of Chicago installed the detector underground. It had arrived in pieces at Gran Sasso from all over the world, “like the pieces of a puzzle,” Dr. Aprile said, and had to be assembled in a “clean room” in a part of the Gran Sasso lab that was aboveground.The finished detector, known as a time projection chamber, is about five feet long and five feet wide, and weighs half a ton without the xenon in it. The team had to rent a special truck and get a police escort to move it to the underground part of the lab, which is accessible through a highway tunnel under the mountain.“We didn’t realize it would be so hard to handle,” Dr. Aprile said.There the detector was installed under the dome of the cryostat. But the cryostat was not ready to be closed. “We were almost done, but now we needed special permissions,” Dr. Aprile said.Failure to finish installing the detector would leave the tank open to the air, which would increase the chance of contamination by radon, a radioactive gas found in underground spaces and the main source of contamination in experiments like this one.A minimum of three or four people were needed to handle these final steps. Dr. Aprile had a half-dozen scientists and technicians at the site, so the margin was getting thin. But Dr. Grandi had to leave to teach in Chicago.Dr. Aprile promoted Petr Chaguine, a scientist from Rice University who had been living in Gran Sasso, to direct the team. He reported back to his friends and family in Houston that his Italian colleagues were “kindly translating news and new government regulations” as they appeared, which was often.For a while, the team members approved by Dr. Ragazzi could car-pool from their homes to the lab. Then the rules changed and they had to drive separately.Another rule required a Glimos — Group Leader in Matter of Safety — to visit every day to make sure everything was in order. Roberto Corrieri was doing the job, then announced that he would follow governmental instructions and stay home in Assergi; then he changed his mind and stayed. The only other person who could have done the safety inspection had left to join his family in Naples.“I did not want to push the boundary if he felt he wanted to stay home,” Dr. Aprile said of her conversations with Mr. Corrieri. “Luckily he is a good guy and realized that doing it was important for many people, so he agreed to do it.”She added, “I fear, what happens if the team gets infected or gets hurt. The lab gets the blame."That left enough people in the lab to continue working. “I had to do a lot of encouraging,” Dr. Aprile said. It helped that they knew each other, and that there were no strangers on the team: “So they were comfortable being close enough to work.”On March 20, Dr. Aprile received a photo by email of a pair of her scientists, Masatoshi Kobayashi and Danilo Tatananni. They were garbed much like E.R. doctors, in “bunny suits” and masks, which are standard apparel for the clean rooms where sensitive scientific gadgets are assembled. The men were standing in front of her detector, which they had just closed up.“We did it,” the email said.The physicists will now spend two weeks pumping air from the vat, down to a vacuum, at which point it can be monitored remotely. The task of filling the vat with liquid xenon must wait.“We cannot test drive our new car,” Dr. Aprile said. She was happy and relieved to no longer have to reluctantly urge her colleagues to enter a field of danger.“They feel like heroes,” she said. “Was it worth it? I’m wondering myself.” Read the full article

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northcountryprimitive · 5 years ago

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The North Country Primer #1: Michael Wohl, Seattle WA

Originally published at North Country Primitive in March 2015

In the first of a series, we fire eight questions of varying quality at an unsuspecting musician. First up is Seattle-based guitarist, Michael Wohl, whose Solo Guitar album is available at his Bandcamp page on compact disc. Our thanks to Michael for taking part in this. Please be sure to look him up at his website and his Bandcamp page.

Tell us a bit about yourself and the musical journey that took you to a place where you concluded that playing an acoustic guitar on your own was a good idea… I’ve played guitar since I was nine years old. I am now 28 so I guess that was 1995. The bands that made me want to start were Nirvana, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins - big dramatic 90s rock bands. My dad was really into Queen and got me some of their albums - I really liked Brian May’s guitar. Still do. It seemed like pretty much the only acceptable thing for a young person to do was to play in a band. So I set out to do just that. My mom and dad wouldn’t let me play drums, but a guitar was okay if I started on an acoustic. I started taking lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music, the legendary Chicago spot, back when it was on Armitage. I lived very close to the school, also in Old Town. People like Big Bill Broonzy, Pete Seeger, and Josh White played there back in the day. So I guess the irony is that I went there to take guitar lessons because I was into Kurt Cobain and Kim Thayil, but I’d get dropped off early for my lessons, sit around, and hear people playing all sorts of folk and traditional music. I heard a lot of blues and bluegrass and I guess it crept in my mind along with big loud rock. I heard Jimi Hendrix at around that same age and I was pretty much a lost cause for anything other than playing the guitar at that point! I took guitar lessons from a teacher there named Ramsey Gouda. He also showed stuff from Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Clash and David Bowie. So I was lucky to get exposed to a lot of really wildly different music. By the time I was 12 or so, I was trying to start bands with my friends and playing wherever would have us - rec centers and stuff. It was pretty cool at the time. A lot of them let us book our own bills and they actually paid us! Pretty cool, now that I think about that. We played in punk and metal bands, because that’s the only thing that makes sense for teenagers to play! So at that point, I was full on into Black Flag, Iron Maiden, Minor Threat & Fugazi, things like that. I played in punk bands until I was about 20. That was my first experience going on tour, putting out records, and all that cool stuff. I was in a few different bands and had a lot of fun and got to travel around and meet a lot of people that I am still friends with. Then I moved to Seattle. I moved pretty, uh, impulsively, so I spent a lot of time hanging out by myself and I guess I started coming back to acoustic music and folk music around that time, because it’s the best music to play by yourself. I got headlong obsessed with Neil Young and Bob Dylan and the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music when I was around 20 and didn’t play in a band for a couple years. I got into John Fahey and all the Takoma Records stuff around that time too. And of course Doc Watson, Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt, and Skip James. After that I started playing in rock ‘n’ roll bands. Heavy stuff inspired by the 60s and 70s. Ten Years After, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac stuff, the Allman Brothers, Deep Purple and all that jazz. But I had already started playing this acoustic stuff by myself, so I’d come home from getting stoned and jamming out and play by myself on my acoustic guitar and write all these songs I didn’t know what to do with and learn old songs too. After a while I had quite a few, so I started recording them to teach myself a little about recording - then I started playing that material out for other people. And that’s how I got to where I am now. I guess I never decided that playing acoustic guitar on my own was a “good idea” per se. I always did that when I was by myself. The decision was maybe that I should start sharing it with other people and performing that way. I can’t say for sure why I did that, I just felt like I had a lot I wanted to say that I wasn’t communicating.

What has influenced your music and why? I guess I kind of answered that by rambling on in the first question. I just try to listen to as much as a I can. I think that’s really important. If you’re not playing, be listening. Anyone who picks up a guitar - or whatever instrument - and plays it like they mean it might be an influence to me. I think playing a guitar is absolutely the most fun thing a person can do - when I see another person play one and really feel it, really enjoy themselves, it communicates something to me that makes me want to play one too.

What have you been up to recently?

I got back from a West Coast tour in September and have been chilling out, writing a lot of new songs, learning some other traditional tunes, trying to expand the proverbial songbook. I went to Maui with my fiancée’s family last month and played some amazing music with some people out there. Some people who sang Hawaiian music, some who played more bluegrass and folk tunes. One of the coolest songs I’ve ever heard was by a player out there, a trucker ballad about being a pilot on an ore freighter bringing back minerals and things from the asteroid belts and missing life back on Earth. Heavy! I’m booking more shows for the spring and summer and hope to hit the road sometime soon. And I’m working on a new album, which has been taking a long time cause I keep writing new songs that I want to be on it.

What are you listening to right now, old or new? Any recommendations you’d like to share with us?

Right now, like this second, I’m listening to Dave Van Ronk. The last two records I bought were Japanese bamboo flute music and a guitar duet album that looked nice, but I haven’t listened to either yet. I’ve been listening to a lot of Djalma de Adrade, aka Bola Sete, lately. Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings - they’re so good, I can’t believe they’re real. I listen to a lot of jazz around the house. A Love Supreme has been on there a lot lately, Bill Evans live at the Village Vanguard. I just got a nice collection of Chopin’s mazurkas at the record store for like six dollars. Bela Bartok. I’ve been hooked pretty hard on The Dead - Europe ‘72 particularly. The label Lights in the Attic from Seattle put out an album by Karen Dalton that I can never seem to get out of my head if it rains called 1966.

I also listen to stuff from bands I’ve played with and people I know around the West Coast. Lonesome Shack and GravelRoad are two really good electric blues bands from Seattle. Some really insanely talented, psychedelic, heavy-as-hell blues bands from California, JOY and Radio Moscow. A favorite record of the past year is Bruce Langhorn’s soundtrack to the movie The Hired Handon Scissortail Editions. It’s the soundtrack to a Western from the 70s he did.Takoma Records alum Toulouse Engelhardt sent me a copy of his new record,Mind Garden and it’s really great good too. Wonderful guitar instrumentals, really nice spatial and textural stuff, with some insanely formidable picking. Marisa Anderson’s Mercury is another phenomenal solo guitar record I’ve been listening too. That came out on Mississippi Records, along with Creekside by Lori Goldston, a solo cello record I got last spring that I really love.

The guitar nerd bit: what guitars do you play and what do you like about them? Is there anything out there you’re coveting?

For my acoustic stuff I have a Martin 000-15 with a slot headstock, a 12-fret model. It has a nice wide nut and ample string spacing for fingerpicking stuff. I gave it a bone nut & saddle and changed the tuners and now it’s a dream to play. I was coveting a D-18 for a while, but I was lucky enough to get a really good deal on one recently, so I’ve been playing that a ton.

Banjos: yes or no?

Banjos…don’t have one myself. I like when other people play them. When I play them I find myself wishing I was playing a guitar.

What are you planning to do next?

Finish the album I’ve been working on. Hit the road and play those tunes. Play as much music as I can and meet people in as many different places as I can go. Most of my acoustic guitar recordings were done between a year and a half and almost three years ago. They don’t really reflect what I’ve been up to these days. Instrumental numbers, while I do play them, don’t make up the majority of what I’m doing - usually about a third or less even of my set when I play live. I’ve been more focused on playing live than recording for the past year… I have more fun doing that than recording, I guess. These days most of what I’m doing is singing and playing guitar with a few instrumentals here and there. Some traditional songs, many original songs, some fingerstyle, some picked. The last thing I wanted to do was get pigeonholed and lost in the cloud of open tuned fingerpicking. I love that sound, don’t get me wrong, but it’s only one component of my sound and style. That stuff alone doesn’t scratch my creative itch. I don’t feel fully expressive or like I’m really communicating what I have to say with limitations like that.

What should we have asked you and didn’t?

I don’t know, it’s hard to think of questions to ask yourself without getting pretty existential! Thanks for contacting me and keep in touch.

http://michaelwohl.bandcamp.com/

#michael wohl #american primitive

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ofhalfwaya · 7 years ago

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out of hair pins ( ft. nyc! ) for one, happy fourth of july!!!! and secondly, this is my final post about nyc! below the cut contains the ENTIRE story of my trip, from start to finish, including pictures and my full review of Bandstand with Jessica Lea Patty as Julia! i want to thank everyone for putting up with my excited posts yesterday, and thank you for coming on the trip with me as i experience one of the best days of my life! i’m officially back now, and have done all the replies i missed from yesterday. <3 hope you enjoy my story.

Our day began at 2:30am, with my sister, my brother, and myself all running on little to no sleep. We had a 3 hour drive to New Jersey first ( in which we accidentally saw a little bit of Philadelphia when my sister took a wrong turn in Pennsylvania ) to pick up my brother’s girlfriend, then we stopped at Chick Fil A for breakfast first, and then headed to go to Newark, NJ to get on the train to go into NYC.

For one, Newark is fucking hell. All of the roads are confusing as shit and we couldn’t find our parking garage for the longest time. Then, after about 30 minutes of driving around, we finally managed to find our parking garage. We got out, and from there, tried to find the train station and got so frustrated, we rode in an Uber for the first time in my life. ( I didn’t die and the guy was pretty chill. )

So, we finally get to the station! Awesome! And we finally buy our tickets! We go to the track to get on the train, only to find out that we almost got on the wrong train ( THANK YOU TO THOSE WORKERS WHO HELPED US ). We did end up finally getting on the train and heading into the city.

We arrived at Penn Station, and once you get off the train and you go into Penn Station, you can’t see the city yet, you still have to go up an escalator. So, we take a bathroom break and FINALLY, we go up the escalator to go into the city. And yes, I shed a few years once I got outside.

The picture above was the first view I had of the city. God, it was GORGEOUS. I fell in love.

So, our first stop was to the Bernard B. Jacobs theatre where Bandstand is to pick up our tickets for the show! We walked towards that direction, practically in awe of the entire city. I don’t believe anything really happened on the way there, but we ended up making it to W 45th street where the theatre is located. I look over to my right and there it is, the first Broadway theatre I had saw. (I could’ve seen others but I wasn’t paying attention much on the walk there because I was so excited.) I walked inside, and waited in line because these two people who got upset that Laura Osnes wasn’t performing tonight (I understand, but understudies are great), and then the lady at the will call gave me my tickets which I basically never took out of my hands. Below, I got this lovely picture.

I went outside to meet my sister and we ran across the street to the Music Box theatre (it’s honestly directly across the street from the Jacobs theatre) where we took pictures with the Tony Award Winning Ben Platt(TM) poster where everyone in the rush line looked at me like I was crazy (you would act the same way.)

After THAT, we decided to head towards Central Park, in which this Buddhist man stopped my sister and I, forced a bracelet on our hands and to make a donation. (It was weird, I don’t know, but my brother and his girlfriend walked ahead so they didn’t get stopped.) Here are some pictures I took on the way there.

The wonderful Gershwin Theatre, home of Wicked.

Look, I couldn’t help myself.

Then we made it to Central Park, where I have little photos of Central Park, but take some cute selfies.

So, from there, we decided to go eat some pizza for lunch (it was like 12pm by this point in the day)! We ate at Mariella Pizza, which was delicious!!!! The pizza slices were so huge and really really good. Then, after that, we decided to start walking to the Drama Book Shop, which is when, as we passed 48th street, I saw it.

The Walter Kerr Theatre.

If you don’t know, that’s the theatre where Amélie was located during it’s Broadway run.

And the posters were still up.

So, naturally, I screamed and ran over towards it and proceeded to take sad pictures with the posters.

Look, a lengthy fucking review of how incredible the show was. Assholes.

I got so many weird looks, but my pain needed to be felt.

After that entire fiasco, we did walk all the way to the Drama Book Shop, in which I geeked out because the Dear Evan Hansen book and score were already on sale. No Amélie though. Below are the things I purchased.

I bought the Fun Home graphic novel by Alison Bechdel!

And I also bought the script, A Taste of Sunrise by Suzan Zeder. I saw an INCREDIBLE high school perform this script about being deaf at SETC this year. You will actually be able to watch the performance here really soon, but for now, there’s only BOAL, which I ALSO saw and it’s 1000000% worth the watch. The students wrote and directed this show, and it’s about inequality in the US.

So, while I was checking out, the guy who was checking me out was making small talk with me, and I mentioned that this was my first time in NYC and he was so happy???? He was like “oh my god that’s amazing!“ and I told him that this place was one of my first stops because I really wanted to see it and he was like “That’s amazing, really, please don’t be a stranger and I really hope you enjoy your day” and we left but like he was so nice and he probably said more but I can’t remember.

So, then we were walking back towards where we came from because we had reservations at McGees Pub, the one that How I Met Your Mother was based off. When we saw the Hamilton theatre. There’s even a pop up shop that super fucking expensive ($50 for a crop top). I would’ve taken more pictures but there were a shit ton of people sitting on the steps where the cool silhouettes of Hamilton and Eliza are.

So, after that, we kept walking and ended up accidentally finding Times Square? So, here are pictures of that!

We DID go into Theatre Circle!!! But I wasn’t able to buy anything or really get pictures because we were running short on time. But, I went to go ask the guy if there was any Amélie merch left and he was having a really passive agreessive argument with the woman in front of me. He was like ‘take a joke, lady, i was honestly just joking’ and then as she was walking out and complaining about him, he was like ‘you really need to figure out whats wrong with you, m’am!’ needless to say, there wasn’t any merch there.

So we are walking towards the Pub when I see this vendor with framed broadway shows on it. And RIGHT THERE IN THE CORNER, there’s Amélie. $8 later, I owned that sucker.

So we went to McGees Pub, and it was overpriced and not that great, but it’s more of a tourist attraction than anything. I heard the drinks were great from my siblings? They sold HIMYM t-shirts and such. Our reservation was at 3:30pm and we ended up staying until around 5 to rest and have a nice dinner. We started walking towards Times Square again, and it had rained while we were in there. I have decided that rainy NYC is the best thing in the world. It’s so beautiful.

There were a bunch of Broadway theatre’s giving out stuff, and the one that I saw was Chicago, so I took a picture with her!!!

So, while we were on our way to Bandstand around 6, this group of guys starting doing a street show. And they were super coordinated, hilarious, and really looked like they knew what they were doing. One of them flipped over a kid, like, it was awesome. No video though. :( I suck at being a tourist sometimes.

HEY LOOK THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE

So, a story before we get into Bandstand. We were standing in line about 15 minutes before the doors were going to open, and I’m talking to my sister (my brother and his girlfriend didn’t get tickets) about how excited I am, and this guy passes by us and shouts “Enjoy the show!!” and I shouted back that it was my first, and he stopped, turned around and came over to give me a high five and ask us how we like NYC and stuff. He told us about Bandstand and how he saw it and thought it was better than most of the musicals on Broadway right now and such. His name is John, if that matters. Anyway, he shook our hands and went off into the world to go see Waitress.

So, the doors open. And it’s time to go inside. I walk into the theatre and held back tears all until I sat in my seat and saw this view.

Our seats were PERFECT. And I was look at a Broadway stage in a Broadway theatre and I just busted into tears. My sister was laughing (not in a bad way, she was excited) and we sat there and waited for the show to start, basically.

ALRIGHT WHAT YOU GUYS ACTUALLY READ THIS POST FOR: THE BANDSTAND REVIEW. ( I will hopefully not spoil too much, but it is a review so caution ahead. ) I also didn’t listen to the cast album before going, so everything was new.

Holy fucking shit. I don’t even know where to begin?

For one, the opening number (Just Like It Was Before) and Donny Novitski are fucking incredible live. The choreography was amazing, and the liGHTING HOLY FUCKING SH I T THE LIGHTING OKAY I CANT EXPRESS HOW AMAZING THE LIGHTING FOR THIS SHOW IS.

I really enjoyed I Know A Guy, because it was a clever way to introduce all the main characters of the show.

The shit with Wayne (trombone player) and the gun (that whole scene) was terrifying because I understood what it was trying to mean and it made me really scared for his character.

THE FIRST SONG THEY ALL PLAY THE INSTRUMENTS WITH BLEW THE ROOF OFF OF THE HOUSE. IM A TRUMPET PLAYER AND HOLY SHIT THAT WAS GOOD..

Alright, this is definitely what you guys are waiting for: Jessica Lea Patty was honestly incredible. I have to admit that she was really shaky for the first couple of songs, especially those solos. But I’m telling you, the second she got to Love Will Come And Find Me Again, she was solid. Her vocals were so impressive and incredible and her acting is A+++++

OKAY SO GOING BACKWARDS BEFORE LOVE WILL COME AND FIND ME AGAIN

THERE’S A LIGHITNG CUE WHEN HE IS RIGHTING THE SONG

HES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE STAGE

AND THERES THIS LIGHT CUE THAT IS LIKE UPSTAGE LEFT AND ITS WHITE

AND A BUNCH OF SOLDIERS COME OUT AND THEY ARE SLOUCHED OVER, PUSHING HIS PIANO INTO THE LIGHT WHILE HE WRITES THIS SONG

I WAS

SOBBING

SO BADLY

Now, let me note: up until this point in show, I was really enjoying the show. It was really good and incredible, but nothing had captured me yet. Like, how to I explain it. You know there’s always that one song when you decide, YES THIS IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE HOLY SHIT IM GONNA DIE.

That was Right This Way for me.

Not even just the song, everything leading up to it. The emotions were running so high and everything was so intense. The guy who is telling them about the preliminary and how they have to pay for it all says something that hits them really hard, and for a split second, the guys are in blue spots, a gunshot goes off, and it’s right back to how it was. LEGIT I STOPPED BREATHING FOR THAT ENTIRE MOMENT. It was such a intense moment I couldnt do it. Right before the drum starts, there a loud explosion sound and it goes from the whole stage being lit up to 6 blue spotlights that are on the veterans, and my heart stopped. Corey Cott is on the ground, and his emotion was so real and genuine, and the faces of the other guys in the band looked so tense with flashbacks that I started crying simply because of that quick change from person to soldier.

then the drums start.

and Corey starts singing, tears streaming down his face, his entire body shaking and you can just see it in his eyes how badly he is dreaming of it and the other guys are listening and they understand and im crying because it all feels so real and genuine and i was so invested that when my sister turned to me to say something, she didn’t because she saw my face.

and while the guys are all singing about this, Jessica Lea Patty is just watching and learning so much and you can see it in her eyes and she was so incredible.

and then they make a line and Jessica isn’t in the line yet, but they leave a spot for her, and then she steps up and then the spoTS ARE ON THEM AND ITS SO GORGEOUS AND COREY NAILED THAT LAST NOTE AND blackout.

I turned to my sister and was like, “Theres not way I’m not buying a t-shirt.” so during intermission, i went, bought a t-shirt, and put it on over my shirt in theatre (and then took the shirt underneath of it off like a pro).

alright oKAY ACT TWO

like i don’t have any specifics to say about the beginning bc i mean it was incredible and jessica was doing so so so good

then the scene where Julia finds out about Michael

Corey Cott was sobbing, like you heard him sob and the entire audience was silent and his voice was the only thing in the theatre and i cant okay

BTW I HAVENT SAID MUCH ABOUT THE GUYS BUT THEY WERE FUCKING GREAT AND PERFECT

Also Beth Leavel?????? YOU’RE AMAZING

Okay so before the show, they guy John told us to remember the song in front of the door

This is Life is that song. Where Julia and Donny are standing in front of her hotel room door in NYC and it’s so teNSE AND THERS SO MUCH LOVE AND THEY’RE NOSE TO NOSE

btw after she sings ‘shake on it’ he goes to shake her hand and pulls her in bC YES

so we get to the contest and they decide to sing Welcome Home the original way.

so they introduce them, the curtain rises, and it’s silent

the entire theatre just goes silent. no one moves and no one speaks

then Donny speeds up the song and they start singing it and they’re all sobbing and i’m sobbing and the crowd goes NUTS. i’m pretty sure we didn’t stop clapping for 2 minutes.

and like the entire ending was incredible and they were amazing and they did so good and they got a standing ovation and it was so incredible

ALRIGHT STAGE DOOR STUFF

so no, i didn’t get any pictures bc i really didn’t wanna make them stay out later than they need to

FOR ONE the family next to me was hilarious. their dad was a typical white dad and was making dad jokes and embarrassing his two daughters and i was living. i made friends and we all talked about how Ben Platt didn’t deserve shitty people on Twitter giving him a hard time

so the first person who came out was the JOEY PERO and he started at the other side which was chill. and then James Nathan Hopkins ( he played Jimmy ) came out!!! and he signed my playbill and told me that he loved my shirt ( I had my Bandstand shirt on ) and to have a happy fourth of the july. BY THE WAY HE RODE HIS BIKE AND PARKED IT AT THE STAGE DOOR AND WE GOT TO WATCH HIM LEAVE ON HIS BIKE. Then Joey Pero came over and I told him that I’m a trumpet player and he was like “REALLY ISN’T IT THE GREATEST INSTRUMENT” and I was like YEAH DUH and it was fucking awesome. Drew McVety ( Oliver ) also came out and he was super chill!! Kevyn Morrow also came out and signed!! THEN JESSICA LEA PATTY CAME OVER AND she didn’t have a sharpie so I tried to give her mind but it didn’t work :( and then she got a gold one, but she never signed my playbill. Thankfully, the family next to me helped me get her attention and she came back over to sign it.

PAUSING BC THATS WHEN BEN PLATT CAME OUT OF THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE AND I SAW HIM FROM ACROSS THE STREET AND HE DID HIS NOSE CRINKLE it was the best moment

but not better than Corey Cott coming out of those doors

I was like the second person he signed, and I automatically was like, “you were incredible this was the perfect first broadway show” and he looked up and his eyes were wide like, “this is your first show?” and i nodded and he was like, “i’m really glad you enjoyed it!” and i told him to have a happy fourth of july, and he seemed surprised and was like, “have a happy fourth!“

then i had to leave bc my siblings were tired but i would’ve stayed out there all night

BUT I ONLY REALLY HAVE ONE PICTURE OF NYC AT NIGHT BC MY PHONE WAS DYING SO HERE

And the final picture, of me in my Bandstand shirt, with my signed playbill. <3 That was a whirlwind.

#review #ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴀʏ. / ⊹⇢ ooc.#ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ʜᴏᴍᴇ. / ⊹⇢ shelby takes nyc.#yes my new tags are from bandstand bite me #also my is really shitty and basically me ranting about how incredible it was #enjoy it <333 thank you guys

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canaryatlaw · 6 years ago

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okay, it’s hella late but we’ll have to see how long this post ends up being lol because a lot happened today but it might not be that much to describe. I woke up at 10:30 am to my alarm and met Jess for brunch at the usual place, taking with me only the essentials (phone, wallet, phone external battery, usb cord, wall plug, and my little container of mints I need for when my throat dries out which I also keep my keys in) and had them all shoved in my pockets because the concert was like hella strict about letting bags in and you could only bring is clear ones which is weird but okay. brunch was good, from there we walked to the red line and took it down to the loop to visit the BTS pop up store. so this is a pop up store that’s been here for a week prior to and during the concerts selling exclusive merch and some Chicago themed stuff but sadly they were sold out of that by the time we got there. We arrived and saw there was a line to go in, so we walked down the block to the corner, saw the line wrapped around the corner, walked down that block only to see the line wrapped around ANOTHER corner and walked down that block, only to find the end of the line just past yet another corner, to the point where the line was almost a square around the city block. So yeah, it was kind of extreme. We ended up waiting in line for like two hours or so, which could’ve been worse so I wasn’t all that miffed about it. We had prepared for it to be cold because Jess said it was freezing last night so I had my hoodie, my winter coat, and at that point I was holding my raincoat since the forecast said it was gonna rain tonight. I gave Jess my coat at one point because I wasn’t that cold and she was freezing. We finally made it into the store, I found it a bit underwhelming tbh, they had a few cool little places you can take pictures and look at the merch, and they give you a “menu” of items and you check off which ones and they give you a beeper (like at a restaurant) which buzzes when your order is ready and then you pay for it and head out. We were probably in there for about 25 minutes. I ended up getting a sticker pack just because everything was expensive (t-shirts were like, $59) and at least I’ll use them, and Jess got a button pack after deciding against the shirt she was looking at and planning to buy one at the concert. Once we finished there we walked back around the block to where there was a noodles and company, we were trying to conserve the amount of liquid we were taking in because apparently the bathroom line at the concert was like, 45 minutes long last night so we wanted to avoid that if we could. I had some mac and cheese and we chilled there for a bit before walking back over to state street. we were about to get on a bus that would’ve taken us straight down the where the field is, but when we went to get on Jess’ public transit pass was empty and you can’t reload it on the bus obviously so we had to get off, thankfully there was a train station right there that we just ran down to and loaded more money onto it, then helped this guy out who only needed a single ride but only had a $5 which the machine wouldn’t take, so Jess just swiped her card for him (it’s like $2 for one ride) and he was very thankful. We walked back up to the street only to find out the next bus we were going to take wasn’t coming for another 17 minutes, so we said fuck that and went back down to the red line station we’d just come out of and took that down a couple stops and then walked the rest of the way there, it wasn’t bad, probably a little less than a mile. So this concert was at soldier field, which is the football stadium here in Chi, and is of course massive. For perspective’s sake, the venue we saw NCT at this past week seats 4,400, (I looked these up I didn’t just have them off the top of my head), the hockey stadium we saw Blackpink and Panic! At the Disco at seats 18,500, and soldier field seats 61,500 (minus the seats that are behind the stage, but still, it’s massive). so it was a lot bigger than our previous concerts. We walked around the stadium till we got to the right gate to enter for people with floor tickets, getting in wasn’t bad thankfully. Once we were in we stopped at a merch booth and Jess got the shirt she wanted and I got one of their lightsticks which is like a must have basically, it’s really cool, you sync it with an app according to your seat number and during the concert they control it via bluetooth so everyone’s lightsticks are either synched together or alternating to make like a cool pattern, and it looks really awesome during the concert. After that we made our way to our seats, it had started raining at this point but it was still fairly light, it would pick up before the concert started unfortunately. I ended up making a bathroom run to the row of port-a-potties they had there, because I can suck it up and deal with that rather than waiting god knows how long for the bathroom line. The stadium had opened a whole 2 1/2 hours before the concert actually started, so we ended up sitting in our seats and waiting for a while. SInce we had bought better tickets, we were in the “A” section that’s closest to the stage, but towards the back of it and on the outer edge, where their stage set up was your basic stage in front and then a platform leading out past the audience and a slightly bigger platform at the end that was basically a “B” stage, and they went back and forth between both during the concert. The row behind us was mostly empty, so some people ended up going to that row since they could get closer, so we got to move in some to get a better view which was cool. The concert was pretty great, I have to give them a lot of credit because the majority of the time they were out there singing and dancing they were getting rained on (the main stage had somewhat of a cover but the B stage did not) but they didn’t miss a beat and performed with the same energy and enthusiasm you would expect at a concert like this, so they get major credit from me for that. I’d been listening to the set list so I had at least some familiarity to all the songs, some better than others but I had a good idea what was generally going on. But yeah, it was really cool and fun and Jess is trying to convince me to end up in New York next weekend for their Sunday show (this is after flying to Orlando for MegaCon on Friday night and spending Saturday there, then we’d hypothetically fly to NY Sunday morning, go to the concert, and fly back to Chicago early Monday morning) which I will admit would be very fun but like, the level of energy and monetary investment that would take to pull off is just not here right now, especially because we’re literally doing a NY trip the weekend after next, lol. So that’s probably not going to happen. I liked it a lot though, all of the boys seemed very genuine (except J-Hope, I had his smarmy little face) and performed very well. I was glad nobody slipped and fell on the wet platform because that could’ve been very bad. They had a ton of background dancers, and apparently they had held Chicago auditions for them a while back so all of them were actually from Chicago that got hired and trained for the job, which is really awesome (and probably more financially prudent for the company than to pay to fly another 30 people around the country). And yeah, that’s pretty much it for the concert. After the encore was finished (because there always has to be an encore of course) we met up with Jess’ roommate who was a few rows ahead of us and started our trek back to the red line station, which wasn’t too bad. Apparently last night Jess had waited in line for the bus back to the station and it took like almost an hour to actually get on, so walking seemed like a much better option. We got to the station and started our journey home, Jess and her roommate bailed about halfway through at the station that lets you switch over to the brown line which is closer to their apartment, so I rode the red line the rest of the way back and then walked from there back to my place. It was a trek I hadn’t made in a while but made many many times before, I don’t think I’d ever done it this late before though since it was almost midnight. I didn’t have my earbuds with me so I wasn’t listening to music, and I couldn’t help notice how eerily quiet it was, but that was probably due to my lack of usual music on that walk. At one point I passed a street where you could hear a man yelling very loudly which was fairly disturbing, and then there was a fairly loud noise of some sort, but not enough of a confirmation that it was actually something abusive, so I just shuddered and kept walking, praying that whatever was going on, nobody would end up getting hurt. I’m super sensitive to those kind of situations due to all the time I spent working at the domestic violence legal clinic, and I know that arguments that start with yelling and throwing things over time will often escalate to physical abuse and other mistreatment (not that yelling and throwing things isn’t emotional abuse in itself, but unfortunately emotional abuse isn’t exactly illegal). so that was a fun thing to hear on my way home that late, but I made it back to my apartment and had to grab a bunch of packages that had accumulated for me, then got to my bedroom and dumped everything, then jumped in the shower and started getting ready for bed, and now I’m here! So yeah, good day. It is almost 2:30 am, so definitely past my bedtime and I am getting very sleepy, so I am going to go to bed now. Goodnight loves. Hope your Monday doesn’t suck.

#daily journal #May 2019 #Jess tag

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trashpandawriting · 7 years ago

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Expulsion Day. Short story, draft 2.

It seemed to always rain on Expulsion Days, Thomas mused as he stood among the crowd. Never a huge thunderstorm, never anything that threatened to disrupt the days activities, but enough that if you actually came out to watch it live you'd leave with damp clothes, shivering your way home. He had been to approximately 24 Expulsion Days, that was one for each month since he had turned 18 and could go by himself without needing parental permission. It was mandatory viewing on the television for all citizens - but his father had gruffly denied Thomas the right to go view it in person. But he was no longer a child, and so he came every month like clockwork to experience it in person, unable to get rid of the thrill of experiencing it firsthand. "Sorry, pardon me." He said quietly, pushing past the onlookers with their umbrellas and ponchos. He liked being up front for the spectacle, seeing the action unfold right in front of him. They regarded him with some annoyance, but allowed him to push forward regardless, and soon he had his customary spot right up front in the labeled "splash zone." "Thomas, over here!" He glanced in the direction of his name, smiling as he spotted who the voice belonged too and offering a wave. "Samantha, it's good to see you." He pushed his way over the smiling brunette, offering a smile of his own, "Excited for today?" "Oh you bet, look at this," She pulled out an umbrella, twirling it around for him to see, "It says "LET IT RAIN", I got it off some guy selling stuff outside the gates. Only 20 bucks! Very appropriate though, I think don't you?" "Very," He agreed, offering a thumbs up, "It's definitely going to rain a ton today I think, there was a lot that happened this month." Samantha nodded, closing the umbrella and sticking it into the ground in front of her to lean on, "Yeah, I had a couple of friends who took part in the rally down in Memphis. Hoo boy, can you believe it? I thought they were cool, you know? Turns out - they're just like every other dumb asshole." "Any of them coming today?" He asked. "Dunno, I guess we'll find out soon though - it's almost noon." Samantha offered him a shrug, "I hope so though, wouldn't that be sick? Could you imagine knowing someone who gets to take part in the Expulsion? Wicked cool. I couldn't imagine being one of 'em though, the idiots. How hard is it to be a good citizen? Morons.” There was an easy silence between them for a moment, and they both turned to look at the stage with impatience, waiting for the customary announcement that would signal the begin of the festivities. "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THE EXPULSION WILL BEGIN IN 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." The two glanced at each other, matching each others smiles of excitement as the man who hosted every Expulsion, Chad Newmell came out wearing his customary black suit and red tie, flashing a smile to the waiting crowd that exploded in cacophony of applause at his appearance. "Welcome! Welcome, please, please save your applause, we have much to do, and you know we like to get you fine folks back to work as quickly as possible! Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome to this months Expulsion - and boy do I think we have some real treats for you this time! Now, we of course had a record low of riots this month - only three in our major cities, the worst of course being the awful Memphis riots. However, thanks to our fearless men in black and blue, we have rounded up a record number of agitators! Lets give them a round of applause shall we?" Thomas clapped heartily, and heard himself shout in approval as Chad Newmell began to list the numbers... two hundred and fifty-three in San Jose.... four hundred in Chicago.... and a record five hundred and sixty-six in Memphis. All together, one thousand two hundred and nineteen agitators to the country had been rounded up. His heart swelled with pride at the number, he felt safer already knowing that they had managed to put away so many disruptions. "Now... of course, despite that number, we can't expel all of them. Only the worst of the worst get to take part in Expulsion, the rest of course will either be taken to work off their debts to society, or be recruited into our military to protect our country from threats outside." Chad gave a smile at the approval murmuring through the crowd, "But that still leaves us... 34 agitators that have shown they do not wish to make, and keep our country great! And what does that mean for them?" Thomas' mouth opened automatically, his voice blending in with the thousands of others surrounding him, "EXPULSION. EXPULSION!" "Oh you all are a smart crowd, that is correct! It means expulsion, and we have got a treat for you this Expulsion Day. As always, our sponsors, Flexon Corporation have provided the fireworks for the festivities! The very same our boys in green uses overseas to keep our country safe, here at the Expulsion you get to see the big bangs and the explosions with no worry to your own wellbeing! It's fun for the whole family, thanks to Flexon Corporation! Now, let's bring out this month's expulsions!" Surrounded by armed guards, the line of 34 agitators marked for Expulsion began to line up on stage, and Thomas felt Samantha tap on his arm, as she eagerly began to point out those she knew, "See there? That's Jacob, oh, oh, and that's Katherine. Oh I knew she was a rat, pity about Rob though." "That sure is neat, Samantha, I can't believe you know so many people who get to take part today." Thomas offered her a smile, before turning to face the line of agitators that had now lined up, each holding the same expression of fear and misery. "Now, let's begin shall we?" Chad was speaking again, smiling with an open mouth, his teeth glittering beneath the stage lights, "When I say your name, please step forward to the box marked up here on the stage, and turn and face this gentleman, what was your name, sir?" The armed soldier dressed neatly in all black, leaned over to speak into the microphone Chad offered up, "I'm Sergeant Alex Nichols, sir. Honor to be here." "No, no... it is our honor to have you here, Sergeant Nichols. Sergeant Nichols here was selected to be our Expeller this month due to exemplary showmanship back in the Middle East. A record of 145 kills, that's gotta be a new record isn't it? You're doing your country proud, Sergeant Nichols, and for your courage... you have been given the honor of being our Expeller this month. Just stand back right there by the button, no don't touch it just yet, and let's get started! Ladies and Gentlemen, if you've got anything you wouldn't like ruined, now would be the time to leave or cover up! Our first agitator to be Expelled today is...one Miss Allison Shiner!" The blood began to pound in Thomas' ears as the first trembling woman stepped up the line, her teary eyes turning to look over at the raving crowd. Her arms were strapped to her side, bound with a thick black tape that went around her body to keep the Flexon Corporation Expulsion Kit™ in place on her body. Thomas took a minute to study her, a pretty little blonde with dark eyes and a thin frame but curves in places that would've made any man weep. Perhaps in another life he would've found her attractive, would've asked her to drinks. Asked her back to his house, and see if those breasts felt as good as they looked. But instead he looked at her with disdain, just another agitator bent on disrupting the good of their country. She wouldn't have given him the time of the day. Beside him, Samantha had opened up her umbrella, looking up at the stage with a ravenous look, biting her lip with anticipation. "P-please... please, I swear I'll-" "Now, now, Allison," Chad flashed her a smile, "You're doing this for your country, one last chance to honor the country that birthed, and took care of you. Do you really want your last words to be that of a sniveling coward, or do you wish to take pride in the civic duty you're taking part of?" "I-I..." The woman looked around wildly, her body heaving with sobs, "PLEASE." "Expel her." It was only seconds after Chad Newell said the words that Sergeant Nichols pressed the shiny red button labeled with the single word marked in white "EXPEL" next to him on stage, propelling the pretty young Allison into the sky to meet her maker. The crowd roared and Thomas felt the sudden yet familiar surge of electricity run through his body, leaving his body on fire and an erection growing in his pants. He peered up into the sky, squinting to try and make out where she had gone, and it didn't take long for him to spot her as the sky exploded into a flurry of fireworks and he felt the body that had once been Allison Shiner begin to rain down onto him and the screaming crowd. He lifted a hand up, touching the blood splatters that coated his face, before looking down at his feet where he noticed a solitary chunk of flesh, the blonde hair of one Miss Allison Shiner sticking out of it, sitting on his shoe. He kicked it off absentmindedly, licking his lips clean as he looked back to the stage with anticipation, while behind him the crowd roared in approval at the display. "The first ones are always frightened, aren't they?" Chad was speaking again, looking at the pile of flesh that once was Allison Shiner's face, "Oh well, we always have a few pleaders. Next up! We have a... Bradley Powell. Bradley could you come up here please?"

A man was pushed forward by the armed guards, falling onto the stage with a thud. He looked down at the crowd, opening and closing his mouth as though he were about to say something.

"Now Bradley here, it would appear is an unregistered journalist. And an unregistered journalist means only one thing, doesn't it?" Chad turned to the crowd, cupping his hand around his ear, "What does that mean everyone?" "FAKE NEWS, FAKE NEWS, FAKE NEWS!"

"And what do we DO with FAKE NEWS?" Chad was nearly screaming into his microphone, clutching it so tightly his knuckles began to turn white. "BURN IT! BURN IT DOWN!"

Thomas felt his legs quiver, he had never seen an unregistered journalist at the Expulsion before. Oh he had heard about what happened, had seen it on the television set like every good citizen. But he had never seen one live in person and he felt himself shaking with impatience and excitement at the thought of finally seeing it live. The man in question, Mr. Bradley Powell was blubbering on stage as two armed guards lifted him to standing position, "Please, you people need to listen to me it wasn't always like this - you don'-" He was cut off by one of the guards shoving a white rag into his mouth, and Thomas felt himself lift his nose up in the air to catch a whiff of the sweet smell of gasoline that had begun to permeate the air. The man, this fake journalist began to scream behind his gag as the two guards shoved him into the see-through plexiglass box that had been wheeled onto the stage, locking him inside. Tears streamed from his eyes and he looked out at the crowd in despair as liquid began to pour into the box alongside him, leaving his body drenched. "Now, Mr. Powell, that's enough of your lies, I think. Ladies and gentlemen, would you give this a man thumbs up? Or do you think he deserves and overwhelming DISLIKE?" Chad grinned at the crowd as it began to roar its answer, "It would appear, Mr. Powell, that the audience has given you a big thumbs down. Sergeant Nichols, if you would do the honor, sir." The Sergeant took a step forward towards the box that had been filled a quarter of the way up with gasoline; the smell of it wafted across the crowd through the box's open top and Thomas felt his toes curl in his boots, his heart pounding as he waited. The Sergeant lifted a hand in a wave and then pushed the sole button adorning the glass box that housed the one and only Bradley Powell. Flames immediately enveloped the man and what screams he may have had were cut off as the flames shot up into the sky as the crowd watched in awe, screaming their delight. Thomas however opted to stay focused on the box itself, watching with sick glee as the man writhed inside like a bug that had been trapped. A hand shot forward from the flames, and the flesh began stick to the clear wall and Thomas could only bite his lip with excitement as he watched the skin begin to melt.

"Look, look there he is!" Samantha nudged him, and they looked on in awe as they saw the man's head emerge from the flames, hairless, and blackened, the flesh peeling away from his head to reveal the skull beneath it. Where his eyes once were, were blackened sockets oozing a viscous white goo that Thomas realized (with no small bit of glee), must have once been Mr. Bradley Powell's eyes. "And that my fellow citizens, is how we deal with fake news. We burn it at the source! Right at the damned source! Now moving on... Mr. Jason Reynolds!" Over the course of the next hour, the stage and crowd became littered with bits of flesh, and the only thing Thomas could smell in the air was the fresh scent of blood combined with the acrid smell of burnt journalist. His coat was spattered with blood and he noted with some amusement, bits of flesh that seemed to stick for a moment before falling to the ground like some sort of slime. The sky was tinged with the smoke of all those who had been expelled, and the air surrounding the crowd had begun to get hazy. Beside him, Samantha was staring wide-eyed, streaks of blood running down her face, her umbrella long forgotten on the ground. "Now then, as we close this Expulsion Day... we have one little last surprise for you all. A surprise, and a reminder." Chad looked at the audience, his words hushing them into an eager silence, "We must all remember that these agitators, these would-be disrupters of our fine country can be lurking among us at any time. Our coworkers, our friends, family even. It our duty to remain diligent. It is our duty to disassociate from these would be terrorists. That being said... Miss Samantha Rogers? Miss Rogers are you in the crowd? I know you are." Thomas turned his head, looking at Samantha, "Gee Samantha, that's you isn't it?" She looked at him, her mouth opening and closing in panic, "I-I, no that's not me- I-" Suddenly a spotlight was directed on them, and she screamed, a hoarse desperate scream as two armed guards rushed over to grab hold of both arms. "I-I'M NO AGITATOR. I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEM!" She began to howl, kicking in the guards grasp. "To do with whom?" Chad Newmell said as the guards tossed her to the stage. She sat there, her sweater and jeans soaking in the blood of the deceased, "To do with whom, Miss Rogers?" "J-Jacob, and Rob... and Katherine! I swear I hated them! I didn't do anything with them, I love Expulsion Days, please! I'm a good citizen! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?" Thomas could only look up at the stage with baited breath, squeezing his hand into a fist. He felt like his entire body may burst with pleasure, he could feel the strain against his pants zipper again. "You say that, but what do we all think, hm?" Chad gestured to the crowd, flashing his signature smile. "EXPEL HER, EXPEL HER, EXPEL HER." The crowd roared and Thomas felt his own voice join them, pumping his fist into the air as Samantha stared into the crowd, her tears washing away the blood streaks that had caked onto her face. They had become one singular animal in the search for more blood to close out this Expulsion, and they would not rest until the final drop had been spilled. "I'm afraid, Samantha, the crowd has spoken. You failed in your civic duty to the country, and to its citizens. There is only one recourse. Stand her up, if you would." The two guards pulled her up, and she could only blubber, pleading and begging to deaf ears. Thomas looked down, noticing her umbrella still sitting beside him. With a small smile, he picked it up and opened it, shaking off what blood and flesh had been splattered across it, before holding it up above his head in preparation. "Expel her." The shots rang out, long whistling shots that sounded like missiles streaming their way towards her. The blood rained down onto the vinyl umbrella that he held up, and he felt his body heave a sigh of relief as Samantha's now headless body fell to the ground with a thud. As the blood settled, Thomas felt himself twirl her umbrella looking up at the sky, unable to discern if it was still the smoke from the festivities, or if it was about to storm. Let it rain... let it rain. Yes, it sure did rain hard this Expulsion Day.

#short story #tw: violence #tw: blood #etc etc etc

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