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Two-Way Mirror Mountain

We've decided to post our NaNoWriMo fanfic here, as we produce it, before we upload the final novel to AO3. We'll make a whole thread of reblogs for it.

Star Trek, and all of the familiar names and concepts associated with it as found in this story are the property of Paramount Pictures and CBS studios.

The U.S.S. Mercury is the fan creation of angille, utilized for a table top role playing game, the files and details for which (including maps of the ship) can be found here.

The characters depicted in this story either belong to their respective creators as listed in that RPG website, or they are members of the Inmara, and the authors of this work.

Two-Way Mirror Mountain is written and edited by Garamond, Danielle, and Auden of the Inmara.

This takes place in the Kelvin timeline, 19 years after the destruction of Vulcan.

Chapter 1: New Crew Members

“You know what really intrigues me?” Ensign Tildi was saying. “I’ve always wondered why Klingons developed phase disrupters instead of phasers. Does it have to do with their values of honor? Or was it that their science just led them to that discovery first?”

“There are many civilizations that have chosen a primary weapon for their military that we classify as a disruptor, Ensign,” Lieutenant Commander K’shan, Chief Engineer of the Mercury, replied, retrieving a tray of food from the replicator. He raised an eyebrow at Tildi, “Why do you ask specifically about Klingons?”

As I stirred my coffee in the far corner of the Galley, I did note that Ensign Tildi had been talking to Ensign Sejwid, not K’shan. K’shan had interjected, perhaps assuming rank gave him the right. Unusually social for a Vulcan, I thought. I smiled.

The table I was sitting at was the only one with open seats this morning. Perhaps other captains would have taken their breakfast in the ready room or their own quarters, but I’ve always been known to go out of my way to mingle with the crew, and I wasn’t about to change my habits now that I had my first commission. Especially with so many new faces under my command. Our command. We’ll get to that.

The conversation was coming to me, and I’d get to be a part of it if I wanted.

Tildi turned to Lt. Cmdr. K’shan and quirked her head. Then after a second said, “Commander, sir.”

“Ensign,” K’shan said, waiting.

“Well, they kind of scare me, sir,” Tildi ended up saying, with a shrug. “And I’m fascinated by things that scare me. I want to understand how they work.”

“A logical feeling,” K’shan said. Despite being shorter and slighter than Tildi, he still managed to cast a formidable shadow.

I could feel Danielle’s notes of satisfaction at seeing how our Chief Engineer interacted with the crew.

Tildi nodded, biting her lip, and then turned and looked around for a place for her and Sejwid to sit. When her and Sejwid’s eyes fell upon my table with me sitting at it, hunched over and smiling, they both halted in a humorous way.

I looked at the chairs, and gestured, doing my best imitation of Danielle. Honestly, I’m pretty gregarious and friendly as it is, but she’s got a more… mom-like mannerism that I can’t quite match.

“Perhaps,” Lt. Cmdr. K’shan said from behind them, “The Captains Vanderkemp would be happy to provide some insight into your query, Ensign Tildi. I understand that xenoanthropology is Dr. Auden Vanderkemp’s specialty. And if you do not mind, I would sit with you as well.”

“Please! All my officers are welcome at my table,” I said, betraying my identity with my deep baritone voice. Coming from what Tildi must have assumed was a diminutive middle aged woman, I apparently surprised her with my voice. That told us a little about how unfamiliar she was with her captains. “It’s Garamond today, Lieutenant Commander K’shan, with Danielle on the side. Auden is still asleep, but I think I can guess how they’d answer.”

Tildi sat first, very tentatively. Sejwid seemed more confident, but I’m not sure if I can read their species’ expressions properly yet. They’re a Valshusan, which I haven’t seen before, personally. K’shan sat last, nodding to me.

“So, Ensign Tildi,” I said. “You were asking about Klingon Disruptors, right?”

“Yes, ma’a - er, sir? Mx?” Tildi said.

I smiled as warmly as I could. I personally liked that confusion, but to spare the others, I corrected her, “Between the three of us, we prefer that everyone just say ‘Captain’. Leave out the sirs, ma’ams, and mxs. Keeps it simple.”

“Yes, Captain,” Tilde responded. “And, yes. I was just wondering about why they chose them.”

I leaned back and took a good big swig of my coffee and let it sink slowly into our belly, before saying, “Well, I don’t think I can give a definitive answer to that. We don’t really know the Klingons as well as we’d like, yet. But if I’m remembering Auden’s classes correctly, it’s usually kind of hard to separate a civilization’s cultural norms from its technological discoveries. I mean, as influences, for the purposes of answering your question. Over the course of their history, the two social forces interact with each other.”

“Oh,” said Tildi.

Sejwid began eating quietly as they listened.

“So, as to the question of whether it was their code of honor or some quirk in their path of technological discoveries that led the Klingons to choose phase disruptors, the answer is a resounding ‘yes!’ I think.” I concluded. “Anyway, it’s a pleasure to have you aboard. All three of you. Ensigns. Lieutenant Commander. Tell me… Tell us, how are you finding life aboard the Mercury so far?”

“It is not New Vulcan, Captain,” Lt. Cmdr. K’shan replied. And then, noting that I recognized he wasn’t going to say more, he began to eat his food.

Sejwid looked out the aft portal that was next to our table, watching the warped and redshifted stars behind us, chewing their food. Then, after swallowing, they said, “I’m intimidated.”

I tilted my head, and observed, “You didn’t fly the ship out of stardock like you were intimidated, Ensign.” They were an excellent pilot.

“Sorry,” replied Ensign Sejwid. “It’s the mission, Captain. I saw the Cherenkov trail with my own eyes, you know. And with how serious Starfleet was in assigning me to this crew. Specifically for the mission, Captain. It’s like they thought I would be as important to its success as Lieutenant Commander K’shan or you, Captain. That’s intimidating. To me.”

“Well, you’re honestly in good company, Ensign,” I said lightly. “This mission is intimidating! But I think Starfleet has actually thrown the best people they can at it. You included. With your record, I’m glad to have you at the helm.”

“Thank you, Captain,” they acknowledged.

I looked at Tildi. Like me and my siblings, she’s human. The Mercury has always had an eclectic crew. And there was a high turnover during both its shakedown and five year missions, and that had made the crew even more diverse. But with Starfleet’s new assignments for this mission, we might have the most representation of member worlds of any Nova class in the Federation. Humanity no longer had a majority presence on the ship. We were merely a plurality now.

And I agree with my siblings, Danielle and Auden. We like that.

Ensign Tildi gulped, and glanced at Lt. Cmdr. K’shan. He was her commanding officer in Engineering. Was she afraid of offending him?

I raised both my eyebrows and tilted my head up.

“I’m.. I’m doing OK, Captain. I like my shift mates well enough, but, uh…” Tildi looked around, a few locks of her tightly curled hair brushing the back of her neck. “No offense, Captain, but despite all the repairs and refitting, I can tell the Mercury has been, um, worn in? The ship’s been through a lot, hasn’t it?”

I laughed, looked at the center of the table and took a deep breath, nodding, “Yes. Yes, it has, Ensign.” I looked back up just in time to see her glance at Lt. Cmdr. K’shan again. So I narrowed my eyes and looked at him, wondering what that was about.

“Captain?” K’shan asked.

—

Captain’s Log: Stardate 2272.9. Captain Garamond Vanderkemp speaking.

This is a special assignment for the U.S.S. Mercury after returning from its first five year mission.

We’ve been stationed at Star Base Alpha for repairs and minor refits, and some much needed down time for the remaining crew.

Two months ago, an enormous and apparently self powered object passed through the Sol System at relativistic sub warp velocities. At near light speed, with no warp bubble, the energies emitted from the object were spectacular to say the least. If you were looking out at the stars in the right direction at the right moment, there was suddenly a broad streak of slowly fading eerie blue light stretching from infinity to infinity, with a golden white thin streak down the center of it.

It apparently passed close enough to Earth that the width of the streak appeared to be about one tenth the diameter of the moon with the naked eye. That’s large. Many people thought it had passed within the moon’s orbit. It had not.

Scans of the object’s trail indicated that it was powered by a simple fusion torch. Technology. A spaceship or a probe. But the trail also suggested that the object’s aura of energy, the emissions from its drive or something like it, was at least two thousand kilometers wide. A bit more than half the width of the moon.

And telemetry showed that if it stayed on course, it would pass through the Romulus system. Eventually. We had time. About a hundred thirty-five years if it kept its current mode of acceleration. But, still, a troubling heading.

Early speculation was that it was a generational starship. Something that big, traveling at nearly light speed with conventional thrusters providing continual acceleration, had to have been in space for years. This was confirmed by closer investigation.

Warp capable probes were sent in both directions, up and down its path, to ascertain its behavior and composition.

It had been traveling for what appeared to be centuries in as close to a straight line as an interstellar object might travel at 0.99% the speed of light through the galaxy.

And we now have a model of it. At the center of the structure is a rotating cylinder that is approximately four hundred kilometers long by two hundred and ten kilometers in diameter, and potentially capable of supporting billions of humanoid lifeforms, depending on their life support systems.

But, to get an accurate detailed scan, Starfleet decided they need the best scanners in the sector. Which means the Mercury.

And since it might turn into a first contact situation, a xenoanthropologist could very well be in order. And, low and behold, the Mercury is captained by a xenoanthropologist. A third of the time, at least.

And since we had the time to prepare properly, they decided to flesh out our crew with all the experts we might need, filling in the holes left by our last mission.

Two years ago, I took command of the Mercury when Captain Vela Asura became… indisposed. And as we know, she had not been assigned to Captain the ship when the Mercury had first left stardock three years before that. We’ve had too many losses.

I love my crew. I always have. But frankly, I’m apprehensive about some of them. Danielle, with her training as counselor, assures me that my feelings are OK to have and that she feels confident about all of our new members. She’s had time to interview them all.

In any case, far be it from me to question my commanders or Starfleet administration.

I am just surprised that we rated a Vulcan.

It has been less than twenty years since the destruction of their planet, and they are still so rare, preferring to focus on rebuilding their civilization.

How can such a leisurely reconnaissance mission so far from New Vulcan interest Lieutenant Commander K’shan, specifically.

I’ve asked, and he has only said, “I find the possibilities intriguing.”

Well, the Mercury has been running more smoothly than ever since he’s taken command of Engineering, so who am I to complain.

We reach our target in just over a day. Auden has been napping so that they’ll be well rested for the encounter.

So, we held our last meeting to go over Starfleet’s specific instructions regarding General Order 1 as they pertain to this mission. And to review the scans of the generational vessel.

This is how that went…

—

At the first convenient time slot, I’d called the entire command staff, plus the officers expected to be at helm and navigation during the encounter, to the ready room.

“Here is a model of the alien vessel,” Lt. Cmdr. Emile Dyson, our science officer, explained, evoking a rotating display in the center of the table.

It looked kind of like an old Earth navel anchor. Besides the habitat cylinder, the main drive was a spike that was more than half the length of the vessel, emitting fusion plasma from it for the entire span of the spike. At the prow was a cylinder just slightly larger in diameter than the habitat cylinder. And from between it and the cylinder extended four enormous, slightly curved spikes, each about two thirds the length of the drive spike. From scans, those appeared to be Bussard collectors. Though, the aliens would call them something different.

Lt. Cmdr. Dyson’s favorite subject was megastructures, just like one of his distant ancestors, and you could see it in his face. He was calmly excited, in his element.

“The engineering for something like this is astounding,” Dyson said. Then he asked, “How many of you have been to Yorktown?”

A few hands were raised. Mine included. Prior to our first assignment to the Mercury, we Vanderkemps had been working as a counselor in Yorktown the day that Captain Kirk intercepted Krall in his attempt to destroy the space station. Yorktown is spectacularly large. Hard enough to fathom that Starfleet had managed to create such a thing.

“That’s 56 kilometers in diameter,” Dyson mentioned. “This vessel can fit 150 Yorktowns in what we think is its habitat cylinder alone. It dwarfs the Cetacean Probe that visited Earth, and the core vessel of V'Ger. The closest object in size that we’ve encountered to date was the Yolada, a generational vessel that the Mercury intercepted in 2268. It was a hollowed out asteroid about 320 kilometers wide. That had had a population of millions. And it had been built 10,000 years ago, traveling through space ever since.

“There’s no reason to think this vessel hasn’t been traveling that long, or longer. Nor to assume it has any fewer people aboard. But our mission, as I understand it, is to scan it to determine just how it works, how it was built, its capabilities, and how many people are aboard, if we can. And to find out just how much we can interact with them without violating our Prime Directive, as it were. And that part is not my expertise. I’ll be taking care of the scanning and calculating.

“Captain?” Dyson then looked at me.

“Thank you,” I said. “Captain Auden Vanderkemp will directly help you with analyzing their culture from what we find, Lieutenant Commander, and maybe help with first contact if it comes to that. But, General Order One is my bailiwick. So, part of this meeting is to make sure that all of you are more familiar with it than you ever have been before. And then after I go over that, I want to field input from all of you. We want your feelings, apprehensions, and insights. Any questions yet?”

First Officer Naalna, a Roylan who had worked her way up to Lieutenant Commander from simple Lieutenant during our last mission, shook her head. She was a veteran of the Mercury like me. And I certainly trusted her to speak up if she saw any problems, but she wouldn’t volunteer more than a calmly smug look if all was going well in her estimation.

I remember realizing then that we had a lot of Lieutenant Commanders. We kind of always had, but there were more now than before. The lowest rank that could take over command of the ship if necessary. The Mercury might have a reputation, it occurred to me.

Well, this mission shouldn’t provoke much turnover. Theoretically. But if our next five year mission went like last time, I guess I could see what Starfleet was thinking.

Chief Petty Officer V’rass raised his feline hand. He’d also been part of the Mercury’s crew as long as I had.

“Yes, Chief?” I prompted him.

His tail lashed back and forth, “What if they don’t like being scanned?”

I smirked, and replied, “Then we’ll apologize and back off, and let them go on their way. Or, if that doesn’t work, we’ll use plan B.”

On the Mercury, “plan B” meant improvise. No matter how many approaches to a problem we might devise and intend to use, they would all be part of plan A. Plan B was for when all hell broke loose.

V’rass grimaced and unconsciously growled. He knew what I was saying by that, though.

“If I may, Captain,” Lt. Cmdr. K’shan said. He waited for my quick acknowledgement, “I think more constructive questions might be devised by those present after you have divulged all the parameters.”

“Of course,” I said. “So, as you all know, General Order One dictates that we may not interfere with the natural development of any civilization. And this even applies to people we encounter living aboard a generational starship. But, much to my chagrin, it’s a rule that is more of an art than a law. I like laws. You can follow them to the letter,” again, I smirked, and our veteran members caught that inside joke. I decided to let them fill the others in. “But Starfleet has given us some explicit directions regarding this case.”

I watched a menagerie of frowns appear on everyone’s faces. K’shan, of course, remained passive.

I continued, “Starfleet command has made it very clear that they hope we can make first contact, despite General Order One. Of course, General Order One doesn’t preclude that in the cases of many civilizations, only those completely unaware of other interstellar civilizations. But, after reading our report on Yolanda, they’ve also made it clear that we shouldn’t assume the denizens of an interstellar generational starship are aware of their galactic neighbors. So we have to proceed with caution here.

“The fact that they don’t appear to have warp drive doesn’t factor much into this, apparently,” I said. “But that they haven’t responded to our attempts at subspace communications, and that they’ve been traveling in a straight line despite how close that brought them to a planet like Earth, does seem to say something about them. We should all be extra observant.

“I want all of you to be extra alert for how anything we are doing might influence them, keeping General Order One in mind, and to remind those under your command why we’re doing this. And, I want you to feel free to question us if it looks like we’re going to overstep these bounds in your eyes. As your Captains, we’ll appreciate it. Understood?”

There were nods, and a couple “Aye, Captain”s.

Ensign Sejwid looked at Ensign Akoll, and then asked me, “How do you think this will affect conn duties, Captain?”

“We’ll be dropping out of warp shortly, and flying in under full impulse,” I explained. “Hopefully from far enough away that they won’t pick up our warp signature in any way. Which is why it’s going to take as long as it will to reach them. But, other than that, if they contact us? Look professional while you’re on our viewscreen? Still, you and Ensign Akoll are sharp officers who’ll have some time to observe and just think about things when we’re not busy flying fancy. We value your insights as well as anyone else’s. Just don’t interrupt anyone who’s speaking to an alien diplomat. And don’t interrupt the alien diplomats, either, if we meet any.”

They both nodded and said, “Aye, Captain.”

Doctor Z’ozaqass, our new Chief Medical Officer and an Andorian, leaned forward and put her elbow on the table to ask, “What if they’re more advanced than us? How does the General Order apply in cases like that?”

“That’s where the artistry comes in,” I said. Then I looked around the room, eyes lingering on Dyson and K’shan, then asked, “With what we currently know about them, does this seem likely to anyone?”

Lt. Cmdr. K’shan’s dry tenor voice cut through the room clearly, “Superficial observation cannot predict the capabilities of any being, Captain. It would be illogical to make any assumptions until the subject demonstrates their capabilities. I believe that your encounter with Charlie Evans during your first mission aboard the Mercury would illustrate that maxim adequately to anyone.”

A chill ran down my back. K’shan was absolutely correct to reference that incident, but it was by far the more terrifying series of moments in my life. Once we’d seen what Charlie was capable of doing, every single instant that I fronted while he was aboard the Mercury was an instant full of adrenaline and intense stress. Any wrong move and a person could simply cease to be, or worse.

Danielle had done a lot of the work to keep Charlie from doing his worst, but had been the insights and presence of then Lt. Cmdr. Vayla Asura that had saved the day. And we will always miss her. I hope she’s doing well.

But, even now, six years later, Charlie’s name makes me hunch my shoulders, expecting the wrath of a child god.

I gestured at K’shan and nearly stammered, “Even so. Yes. Exactly. Thank you.” I composed myself, “However, that was such an extreme scenario, I don’t expect to run into anything like that again in my lifetime. I seriously hope we don’t. But even if we do, there are a number of us here who survived that, and we are better equipped than anyone else in Starfleet to deal with it.”

“I should think so, Captain,” K’shan inclined his head.

I frowned and nodded at him. And I thought I saw a knowing smile try to form on his lips, but he stopped it by turning to look around the rest of the room.

The rest of the meeting was not very notable, and I closed it by noting that we should be reaching our target shortly after the beginning of our next shift together, and that Auden would be fronting then. I assured them I planned on being near the surface along with Danielle, as support, so that our whole psyche could be brought to bear during the encounter. If anyone wanted to direct questions or statements to either me or Danielle specifically, that would be expected and OK.

For some of the new crewmembers, this was their first time working under the command of a plurality such as we are. And even though there are Starfleet protocols and regulations for working with pluralities, and we’re not all that rare, I usually find it’s good to do some hand holding until everyone gets used to how we Vanderkemps work.

We all returned to finish our shifts and disseminate my commands to the rest of the ship.

And while we were settling into our seats on the bridge, with K’shan and Zh’ozaqas returning to Engineering and Sick Bay via turbolift, First Officer Naalna spoke.

Well after the turbolift doors had closed, she said, simply, “K’shan.” As if that one name was an entire soliloquy.

Lieutenant Jasse, or Orion comms officer, barked a single snerk of a snicker, and nearly everyone looked him.

“Now, people,” I said, sternly. “We are privileged to have Lieutenant Commander K’shan serve as our Chief Engineer. I should not have to remind everyone why that is. And I personally value his wisdom.” I paused to let that sink in, then turned to my Number One, “But I definitely agree with you, Lieutenant Commander Naalna. K’shan, indeed.”

She nodded solemnly, eyes on the viewscreen, as if we’d had an entire conversation just between the two of us.

Mentally, I asked Danielle what she thought.

I got the impression from her reactions that she approved of my plan to speak to Lt. Cmdr. K’shan after our shift was over, a private meeting, to see if I could get more out of him. And she seemed to feel that I would be perfectly suited to that role. No need for us to switch.

I took a long deep breath. I wasn’t sure I agreed with her on that last bit, but OK.

And between the commands of routine ship operations, we spent the rest of the evening chatting casually with the bridge crew about everyone’s past assignments. The lighter stories. Things that were funny or amazing.

Later, I called Lt. Cmdr. K’shan to meet me in my quarters after dinner to “speak further about the mission.”

Of course, K’shan acquiesced and arrived at the appointed time.

“Captain,” he said. “I am curious to know why you have chosen to speak to me alone about this.”

“Please, Lieutenant Commander, sit,” I gestured toward the other chair in the room from where I was sitting.

K’shan regarded it curiously before moving to take his seat, still retaining a perfectly formal posture.

“I like to think of Engineering as the… spiritual as well as physical counterpart to the bridge,” I explained. “You and I are positioned at nearly opposite ends of the ship, and at times when the bridge has been compromised it can be commanded entirely from Engineering. From your station, you directly command crew members that I usually only get to see during our personal time. And when the bridge and Engineering are working in harmony, the ship dances with efficiency. So, I think it’s important for you and I to develop a better understanding of each other.”

K’shan pulled his head back as if to look at me from a different angle, and then said, “Although your language is more colorful than I would choose to utilize, I find your logic agreeable, Captain.”

“Thank you,” I smiled at him. “Well, let’s get the worst out of the way, then. Do you, K’shan, have any problems with or reservations about me or either of my siblings, Danielle or Auden?”

K’shan blinked, “May I have permission to speak frankly, Captain?”

“I believe I’ve just asked you to do so. But, yes, of course,” I replied.

“I am curious about your plurality, Captain,” Lt. Cmdr. K’shan said. “Many sapient species exhibit similar neurotypes, including Vulcans. However, Vulcans have a strict discipline for how to handle such a divided psyche, and how to work in perfect harmony and when not to. I have also, upon taking my assignment to the Mercury, made myself familiar with Starfleet regulations concerning pluralities such as yourself. But I found them to be lacking in important details and directives. Your record of service shows that you are able to fill those gaps with your own judgment in moments of stress and need. However, I find myself eager to observe you in action and to learn more, Captain.”

I pouted thoughtfully, tilting my head sideways and forward, and watched my left hand flip over, palm up, fingers loosely pointing toward the center of the room. Then I looked at K’shan and said, “All three of us are happy to answer any direct questions you may have about that, honestly. Go ahead and observe away, too, of course. But, OK. Just to settle my own mind, Lieutenant Commander, your allusion, earlier, to my encounter with Charlie Evans. That wasn’t an intentional jab at me to test me, or unsettle me, was it?”

K’shan flattened his mouth and looked me up and down with his eyes before saying, “I confess that it was, Captain.”

“How did I do?” I asked.

“As expected,” he replied.

I laughed once through my nose, then said, “They say that Vulcans can’t lie.” Then I shook my head.

“There are Vulcans who have said that, yes, Captain.”

I laughed twice at that.

“We’ve now worked closely together for two days, K’shan. Yesterday you worked under Danielle. Today, it was me. Tomorrow you will get to work directly with Auden,” I observed, then asked, “Is there anything you’ve seen so far that we might be better aware of, in order to communicate with you more clearly?”

“At a cursory glance, Captain, it is obvious to me that you are definitively different people,” K’shan said.

I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t, which then made that statement feel like a statement of reassurance about our identities. Which then didn’t seem like an answer to my question, so I frowned, and said, “Are you aware that sometimes you don’t answer questions directly?”

K’shan raised an eyebrow and retorted, “I believe that you are sometimes in the habit of doing the same, Captain.”

“You’ve got me there.”

“Then, you will probably understand that there is an occasional logic to choosing the indirect answer, Captain.”

“Indeed. I’ll certainly concede that.”

“However, I think you will find that my answer to your question was direct.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. That which confuses me about you, and that may cause potential conflict, your plurality, is also obvious to me. And therefore it is both of note, and it presents its own solution. Our acquaintance is still too brief to mention anything else. I do not have enough data, Captain.”

“OK, OK,” I chuckled. “Thank you for that. You are not like the last Vulcan I served with, you know.”

“Despite our focus on logic, we are not all alike, Captain,” K’shan said.

“I suppose I should hope not.” I replied. “I’m sorry if I implied that you were.”

K’shan met that with silence.

“Do you -” I started to ask, then decided to reword it. “How is Ensign Tildi performing in Engineering, Lieutenant Commander?”

“She is quiet and quick to follow orders, Captain. Almost unobtrusive, but always at hand. She is very focused,” K’shan reported. “I find her demeanor when on duty commendable.”

“And off duty?” I pried.

“She is emotional and skittish, Captain. But not a danger to the ship in any way. It is her time, and she may express herself as she wishes.”

“Almost like a different person?”

“I would not say that, Captain, no,” K’shan replied. “I believe Danielle would refer to it as code switching. She expresses her worries, fears, and other emotions when she is off duty so that she may focus more clearly when she is on duty. In my experience, this seems to work well for most humans, and is fairly common.”

Danielle sent me a single clear “yup” in our head.

Well, so far, I could see no hints as to why Ensign Tildi had been acting uncertain around K’shan that morning, other than she was perhaps in awe of working with a Vulcan. And K’shan had adequately explained his behavior during the meeting. So, why did I still have this hunch that his presence on the ship was significant beyond the fact that he was the second Vulcan I’d ever served with? Like, he was maybe hiding something?

In the early years of Danielle’s tour as counselor aboard the Mercury, we’d developed a relationship with Commander Mena. Danielle had worked hard to facilitate Vulcan style counseling for her in the wake of her planet’s destruction, and other more personal stressors. And I had regularly attempted to involve her in my usual off hours shenanigans. Auden had had a couple interesting discussions with her regarding Romulan culture, as well.

If anything, K’shan was more stereotypically Vulcan than Mena had been. Mena had betrayed a wider range of the deep emotions we all know that Vulcans keep below their surface thoughts and expressions. I felt like K’shan was leaking a little, but not nearly as much as she had. Though, of course, I’d yet had so few interactions with K’shan.

K’shan. Something about his name irked me, but I couldn’t say why. I decided then to pass a note to Auden to look into it for me. It was probably just my weird hunch growing unreasonable suspicions, but while K’shan sounded like a typical Vulcan name, it struck me as both familiar and rare. I personally didn’t have the grounds to make that judgment.

Maybe it was Auden’s linguistic knowledge presenting itself as a hunch to me, though. I wouldn’t know until Auden confirmed it.

“Captain?” K’shan prompted me.

“Sorry. Thank you Lieutenant Commander. I appreciate your willingness to entertain me with this discussion.” I said, standing up. “I’d like to confer with you like this again, after this mission is over.”

“I will agree to do so, Captain,” K’shan said, also standing up.

After K’shan had left, and the door had closed behind him, I had another thought as I prepared for bed.

Was K’shan’s presence on the ship just an effect of Vulcan’s interest in the generational starship? Maybe that’s all that it was.

If so, what did that say about that enormous vessel?

In their centuries of space exploration, Vulcans must have encountered other generational starships on occasion. I had seen two in my own lifetime, so far. Did they have an interest in them in general? Or was there something specific about this one that had caught their attention?

#NaNoWriMo 2022 #Star Trek Mercury #Two-way Mirror Mountain #fanfic

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juliakwinto · 3 months

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Christian Boltanski

1944–2021

French sculptor, photographer, painter, and film-maker. He is best known for his photography installations and contemporary French conceptual style.

There's a story... by Catherine Grenier

"Right from the start, Boltanski strove to create not actual stories but vehicles for stories that the viewer has to recompose and interpret. Thus, the essence of his work is less narrative than allusive, less literally autobiographical than enigmatic." p05

Examples of work:

Research and Presentation of All that Remains of my Childhood

attempts at reconstruction

scrapbook form / vitrines

claim to be autobiographical

looks like documentary objectivity

incidental annotations

photos are only representation of people rather than actual people

My Deth or Reconstruction of the Gestures Carried out by Christian Boltanski between 1948 and 1954

use of modelling clay to reconstruct everyday objects

parody of reconstruction

reminiscences rather than actual memories

Inventories

artist as an ethnologist displaying his research as it would be done in anthropological museums

each object is annotated and removed from its context to be treated objectively

"(...) the artist, with no attempt at providing a context, presents -- in a manner of a sequence of ethnographic documents -- row upon row of objects and pieces of furniture that once belonged to an anonymous person."

"Exhibiting the same types of family photographs, the same pieces of furniture, these works seem to be telling us that every life is unique, but that each resembles the other. "

How strong is the connection to the Holocaust and the loss of his family? To his obsession with death? How did generational trauma impact the way he tries to reconstruct his life and his story? Personal is universal: the use of nameless figures-- a reference to Shoah

Grenier, C. and Boltanski, C. (2010) Christian Boltanski. Paris: Flammarion. (Grenier & Boltanski, 2010)

youtube

"Artist who made his name through a tireless engagement with death in work based around discarded objects and images"

Charles Darwent (The Guardian)

"In 2009, the Tasmanian art collector David Walsh commissioned a piece of work from Christian Boltanski called La Vie de CB. As the title suggested, the completion of this was to take Boltanski the rest of his life. That, in fact, was the point of it."

"Under the terms of their contract, the Australian was to pay the Frenchman, then 64, for the right to film him 24 hours a day for the rest of his life via a live video feed installed in his studio in Paris. The resulting footage would be stored in Walsh’s cave-gallery, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), outside Hobart. The agreed sum was to be broken down into a monthly stipend: if Boltanski lived more than eight years, then he would be in profit"

"work made from discarded and anonymous images, culled from newspapers, police records and family photograph albums found in flea markets. These Boltanski assembled into narrativeless stories that yet seemed somehow autobiographical, often appearing to reference the Holocaust without ever quite doing so directly."

#Youtube

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lovelyyy-luna · 3 years

Text

wandavision

[filmed before a live studio audience] {pt.2}

fandom: avengers

fic summary: Y/N and Peter get trapped in an unknown show, Wandavision, along with her friends whose memories were altered. They have to figure out how to get out all while trying to keep the show's star from knowing that they don't belong.

chapter summary: Y/N and Peter end up in Wandavision. When Peter leaves to go to his new home with his new mom, Agnes, he leaves Y/N with her new parents, Wanda and Vision. Vision brings home his boss and his wife without Wanda's knowledge so now they have to whip up a dinner for five.

warning: choking (not the sexy kind lol)

word count: 3221

a/n: I just want to personally thank @spider-starry they were a big help and motivation for this. Love you!

✨WANDAVISION SPOILERS✨

date: april 3, 2021

masterlist

Then a surge of something blasted and everything went black all you could feel was a tingle of energy.

When everything came to, you and Peter were still arguing over the remote.

A woman’s voice came behind you, “You kids are still bickering?”

You and Peter turn towards the brunette that questioned them.

Another lady beside her, a redhead, spoke, “With their age, you would have thought they learned how to share.” She chuckled and in the background responding to her comment was faint laughter.

You look at each other and around. Everything was grayscale. There was a mirror by the window. You walked to it and there you were. All grey. Your hair was done up in an old-fashioned kind of way and you were wearing something that looked like you came out of a vintage housewives catalog.

You rub your face trying to see if the grey would come off but it wouldn’t.

Another voice spoke up. It was MJ, “Are you both alright?”

You rush over to her. “MJ what is going on?”

“MJ? Y/N my name is Michelle. You invited us to come over to watch the new episode of I Love Lucy.” she glanced at the TV and it came on, “Oh! It’s on! This episode is so hilarious!”

You and Peter stand near them and look at the screen. It was the episode where Lucy and Ethel have to switch jobs with Ricky and Fred.

“Oh, I’ve seen this one. This is when they have to eat all the chocolate on the belt.” you chuckle.

And right as you said it that scene came on. MJ and Ned both look at you.

Ned then says “What do you mean you’ve seen this? It’s brand new?”

Then the ladies came back in just in the nick of time and the redhead spoke, “Michelle, Ned sorry to cut the little hangout short but your parents called and they need you home for dinner.”

Your friends say goodbye and you and Peter start to freak out. “Peter, what the heck is going on here? Why are we grey? Where the heck are we and who the heck are those ladies? And why can’t I say the word heck? Heck!”

“I don't know. But that lady looks familiar. The redhead? I’ve seen her somewhere.”

You start to pace and panic. “I'm starting to freak the flip out, Pete. And me not being able to curse is making this whole thing flipping worse.”

“Y/N! That is a quarter in the swear jar!” the redhead says emerging from what you see is the kitchen.

“Oh Wanda,” the brunette said trailing behind, “ I’m sure one little curse word won’t be the end of it. She is almost an adult.” She gives you a friendly wink and that puts a confused look on your face.

Wanda playfully shoved the brunette, “Agnes! You are so bad.” She laughs.

You feel Peter's hands grab your shoulder and pull you back. “Oh shoot I know who that is Y/N. That’s Wanda Maximoff.”

“THE Wanda Maximoff?” you say in shock.

He nods his head and you say in a harsh whisper, “Well then what the heck are we doing in this greyish nightmare with her.”

“I'm not sure but we just need to keep calm. I’ll try and find us a way home.”

“Well, what are you two whispering Wilma’s whispering about?” Agnes asked with a smile.

You and Pete look at each other and you stutter, “Oh nothing, just that funny I Love Lucy episode.”

“Okay well Peter, me and you need to get home. I need to get started on dinner,” she says walking to the front door.

Peter was confused and followed the lady.

You looked at him wishing he could stay but he walked out the door.

You look over at Wanda, and she is walking in the kitchen and you follow.

“Now Y/N tonight is a very important night for me and your father-”

“My father?”

“Yes, your father. Sweetie, are you doing okay?” then you hear the front door open, “Oh shoot! Here’s a dollar. Go see a movie or something. Go on! Shoo!”

You left the kitchen and in the living room, it was dark. On to be lit by candles that you didn’t notice before. Then an older man and lady walk in with the open being held open by a tall man, you recognize as a human version of Vision.

“Here we are!” Vision says.

The older lady exclaims, “Oh how very atmospheric!”

“What’s going on here Vision? You blow a fuse?” the older man asks.

“Pardon me while I go fetch the lady of the house. Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, this is my daughter, Y/N.” Vision says, and then walks past you leaning in to whisper, “Try and make conversation, please.”

You stand there in the dark awkwardly looking around when you hear someone say ‘Guess who?’

The lights were then turned on by Vision walking out of the kitchen and revealing Wanda, your new mom, with her hand over Mr. Hart's eyes and in a new white-feathered robe that was drastically different from before.

“Wanda!” Vision exclaimed.

“Vision.” she gasps, realizing that the man was not her husband.

Then she looks at you horrified that her “daughter” just saw her in her not-so-appropriate nightgown.

“Y/N!”

“Um, mom?”

“What is the meaning of this?” Mr. Hart questioned.

Vision started to stammer not knowing what to say, “Yeah, what is the meaning of… Oh, the meaning of it! You want to know the meaning of it and the meaning of it is that this is the traditional Sokovian greeting of hospitality.”

Wanda then trots over to Vision to demonstrate the “tradition.”

“Guess who?” Vision says as he covers Wanda’s eyes.

“Is that my host behind me?” Wanda says playing along.

“It certainly is,” he chuckled.

“Lovely to make your acquaintances,” Wanda shakes Visions’ hand.

They both chuckle awkwardly and he says, “See, I forgot to tell you my wife is from Europe.”

“Oh, how exotic!” Mrs. Hart says

“We don't break bread with Bolsheviks.” Mr. Hart said darkly.

“Oh, hush Arthur. Have you no culture at all?” Mrs. Hart chuckled, “and that dress,” she pointed at Wanda.

Vision still nervous and awkward, “Yes! It's… it's so… Sokovian, is what it is! Yes!”

“Can I just see you in the kitchen for a moment, sweetheart?” Wanda says grabbing a piece of fabric off of the lampshade, “Y/N dear, why don't you tell the Harts about how school is going? Hmm?”

She drags Vision behind her pulling him into the kitchen.

You sit down and tell them that school is fine but they just sit there with no expression on their faces which weirded you out.

Your “parents” were taking a while in the kitchen and then out of thin air your “father” was on the couch and Mr. Hart was in the middle of having a conversation with him.

“So I say ‘if we orient the forms horizontally rather than vertically. We can use twice the paper, we can still bill twice the cost.’ ”

Vision forces a laugh, “You truly are a pioneer. But the larger purpose of the forms is…”

“Was to analyze our input and our output. You’re awfully dense aren't you, Vision?”

You sit there trying to realize what just happened and what Vision’s job is.

A loud bang comes from the kitchen, you, Vision, and Mrs. Hart stand up.

“Do you think Wanda needs any help in the kitchen? We haven’t any tidbits, or tartlets out here, nary a pig in a blanket.”

“No, that's so kind of you Mrs. Hart. But I'm sure she’s absolutely fine in there!” he says yelling towards the kitchen.

You all sit back down and then more noise is heard coming from the kitchen. Mrs. Hart gets up, “Now you men stay put. I sense a domestic emergency, so..”

“Mrs. Hart, please dont. You can’t.” Vision pleads.

She walks over to the shuttered window to the kitchen, she opens it but turns around being distracted by Vision singing Yakety Yak by The Coasters. You all looked at him confused but noticed pots and pans floating in the kitchen.

A sense of panic comes and you run over to the window and close it giving the guests and Vision a smile.

“How about I go help my, um, mom? And you and my, uh, dad, can have a sing-along?” you say pointing to the ukulele.

“Splendid idea Y/N!” he grabs the ukulele and starts to stum.

You walk into the kitchen and are greeted by the chicken being poofed burnt and Wanda gasps, “Oh no, too much!” then she poofs it again, to where it’s just a basket of eggs, “Oh no, not enough!”

“Mom? Do you need help?”

“No darling, I have everything under control.” She steps back and the noises around you drown out, the kitchen equipment starts to go a little haywire. “Oh, what was I supposed to do next? Oh, what was the main course again?”

She starts to panic, “steak… steak… Diane!” she then yells.

You hear Vision's voice answer the name and respond, saying, “I'm just coming Fred.”

Vision barges into the kitchen and as if again out of thin air. The pots and pans are gone and now Wanda is levitating two lobsters over a boiling pot of water. And thinking that he was someone else she flings the creatures out of the kitchen window shutting it behind.

“So how can I be of assistance?” he says panting.

“Well the chicken is no longer a chicken and the lobsters just flew the coop, so the steak is the last man standing. It says here I can cut down the prep time with a meat tenderizer,” she says reading one of the recipe cards.

“Excellent plan! Where is the tenderizer?”

“I'm looking at him.” She hands him the tenderizer.

Then Mrs. Hart opens the window to the kitchen and Vision startled by that hands you the tenderizer, “Hoo-Hoo in there!”

“Hoo-hoo back to you,” Wanda says, shutting the window on her.

“Okay Y/N you help your father tenderize the meat. And find the lobsters. I'll be right back.” she says taking off her apron and throwing it at you.

Vision places the meat in front of you, “Okay take a whack at it.”

You swing down the hammer and probably swing it down too hard. You do it again. Not knowing what you are doing.

You then hear Wanda yell Woo-hoo! And that made Vison bolt out of there. Along with some loud knocking from the front door. You just continued trying to flatten the slab of meat.

You look around the kitchen and a thought popped into your mind. Something your family would do when money was a little tight.

Your new parents were trying to make the Harts not leave and you finish and then head to the dining room to set up.

“You know I'm starting to think that you’re, not management material, Vision. You know, I had high hopes for you. But from what I’ve seen here tonight, you can barely keep it together. I mean look around. There’s all this chaos going on in your household. Now when are we gonna eat?” Mr. Hart demanded.

“Dinner is served,” you say, pouring the last glass of wine. Wanda and Vision smile at you and you smile back.

“Breakfast for dinner? How very…”

“European,” says Mrs. Hart.

Vision mouths a thank you to you, “Ooh! Let’s have a toast!” he says walking over to the table and picking up one of the glasses of wine. “To my lovely and talented wife and daughter.”

The Harts and Wanda follow, also picking up a glass.

“To our esteemed guests,” Wanda says.

The table clinked glasses and you picked up a glass you poured for yourself, and about to take a sip, “Nice try young lady. The closest thing you’re going to get is grape juice.” Wanda says taking your drink and a smirk.

“Well please eat before it gets cold,” Wanda adds.

Vision comes around to pull out the chair for Mrs. Hart and sits back down.

Then Mrs. Hart starts to ask questions, “So where did you three move from? What brought you here? How long have you been married? Are you going to have any more kids?”

Wanda lets out a confused breath of air and Vision answers, “I think what my wife means to say is that we moved from…”

“Yes, we moved from…” Wanda said as if she honestly couldn't remember.

“And we were married…” Vision said in the same tone.

“Yes, yes, we were married in…”

“Well? Moved from where? Married when?” Mr. Hart said, raising his voice.

“Now patience Arthur,” Mrs. Hart said in a calming voice. “They're setting up their story. Let them tell it.”

You wanted to know your parents' story on all this. But they just couldn't remember or they honestly just didn't know.

“We… our story,” Wanda chuckled nervously.

“Yes, what exactly is your story?” Mr. Hart said with more anger.

“Oh just leave the poor kids alone,” said Mrs. Hart as she continued to eat.

“No really I mean I think it's a perfectly simple question. Honestly. Why did you come here? Why?”

Wanda was lost in a trance of worry on her face and a hint of sadness. You could feel what she was feeling. There was so much emotion in her but overall at that moment was sadness.

Mr. Hart slams his fist on the table demanding an answer. He then started to choke.

No one at the table was doing anything, Mrs. Hart was just playing it off as if her husband was kidding. “Oh, Arthur, stop it.”

Wanda grew with worry but did nothing. You watched him choke asking for help. You walked to go and help but something was keeping you from doing so.

“Stop it.” Mrs. Hart repeated over and over. With tears swelling in her eyes as if she was telling someone else to stop.

Vision looked at his choking boss as if he were scared to help. Mr. Hart then fell to the floor continuing choking.

Wanda kept looking back and forth from the Harts until finally landing on her husband.

“Vision, help him.”

Vision then knelt and his hand then fazed through Mr. Hart's throat pulling out a whole strawberry. He helped him up from the floor and as if nothing happened he checked his watch.

“Well, would you look at the time?” Mr. Hart chuckled.

Mrs. Hart took one last night of her dinner and got up from the table. You and your parents were confused. You started to think if you imagined him choking. But it seemed as if that incident was erased from their memories.

“We had such a lovely time,” Mrs. Hart then went behind Wanda and put her hands over her eyes, “this guest is leaving your home.”

Wanda chuckled, “yes thank you for coming.”

You and Wanda walk Mrs. Hart to the door and Mr. Hart turns to Vision and says, “you made me proud tonight, son. First thing Monday morning, you and me are gonna have a little chat. We'll see about that promotion.” Mr. Hart holds out his hand and Vision shakes it excitedly. Both you and Wanda exchange smiles.

You open the door for your guests and there is the lobster Wanda throughout the window before.

Mrs. Hart comments on it, “oh… what a charming door knocker.” she then knocks it against the door and you close it behind them

Both your parents sigh in relief.

You then try and find a way to excuse yourself, “Um I’m going to do the dishes!”

They both walk towards the couch, “oh thank you, dear!” Wanda says.

“Oh, Y/N hang on,” Vision says and lightly jogs over to you, “thank darling for helping with tonight. I know you were probably expecting you to go out but I appreciate you thinking fast and saving the dinner.” he then pulls you in for a hug. You hug him back, it was the first time in a long time where a “parental” figure said something like that to you. Back in your real family there was so much fighting and no one even speaking to each other. But you soak in the hug and a few tears fall down your cheek as you pull away from him.

“Um well, you’re welcome. But it wouldn't have been possible if Wanda, I mean um mom, didn't turn the chicken into eggs.” you laugh lightly wiping the tears off of your face.

Wanda gets up from the couch, “well that is true but you were the one that thought of making breakfast for dinner. I think we may have a little trendsetter in the house, Vis.” both of them laugh, “and don't worry about the dishes, they are already clean.”

Wanda snaps her fingers and you turn around and the dishes are cleared off the table. “Now why don't you go upstairs to bed it’s way past your bedtime.”

You nod and head upstairs only stopping a little ways off the top to see what they do next.

They both walk back to the couch. Vision then turns back to his true self.

“We are an unusual couple, ya know?” Wanda sighed

“Oh, I don't think that was ever in question.” Vision says putting his arm around her.

“Well, What I mean is… we don't have an anniversary. Or a song. Or even wedding rings.”

“Well, we could remedy that. Today could be our anniversary.”

“Of what? Surviving our first dinner party?”

“Precisely. And our song could be?”

“Yakety yak, naturally.” Wanda chuckles lightly.

“Naturally,” Vision repeated.

“And the rings?” Wanda questioned

“Well, couldn't you make some for us?” Vision and Wanda then put their right hind side by side and like magic wedding rings appear on their ring finger.

“I do. Do you?” he asks her.

“Yes. I do.”

They held hands and looked each other longingly in the eyes, “and they lived happily ever after.” Vision whispers to her. They both kissed and he turned the tv on.

You looked at them from the top of the stairs and you were happy for them. But then you were brought back to reality. Well, not your reality, you were still in a grey tone, but you remembered that your best friend Peter was next door with some lady he doesn't even know.

You get up the rest of the stairs and go into your room. You go to the window and see Peter writing something in a notebook. You look through your desk and find paper clips and start to throw them at his window.

He finally notices, “Y/N where the heck have you been?”

“Dinner party,” you whisper.

“You had a party at a time like this?”

Both of you were interrupted by your “parents” knocking on your doors. “Y/N dear it's time for bed.”

“Okay, mom,” you say cheerily. You whisper back to Peter, “Meet me outside my house tomorrow at 10 a.m.”

He nods to you and both of you shut your windows.

You look inside your closet and pull out some matching PJs. You didn't care honestly what you wore, all you wanted to do was to sleep off this hectic and chaotic day.

With PJs on you slip into bed and with ease fall asleep.

♡please like comment and/or reblog♡

wanna be tagged? (X)

tags: @amourtentiaa @allthisfortommy @l-some0wierd0girl-l @93gguks @cherthegoddess @drpepperobsessed @lcvelydenise @ellesalazar @starilicious @spookybooisa @darlinggbrekker @breathinfive @i-am-scared-and-useless-bisexual

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fritae · 3 years

Text

The Missing Piece : Chapter 1

Gang leader! AU / Corporate! AU

Characters: Dabi x F/OC

Status: Ongoing

Summary:

Rina Aoki is the secretary of one of the world's biggest broadcasting stations - only she hates her job and wakes up everyday asking herself if this is all there is to life. Then, she meets Dabi: a man of overpowering confidence and many, many secrets. But beneath all that confidence is a wounded soul and years' worth of repressed anger. The two struggle with fear, ambition, vulnerability - but eventually learn that life may just be better when you don't have to struggle alone.

A/N:

There are no quirks in this story. I tried to give it a real world spin. But it will explore dynamics between good and evil, right and wrong, and feelings of family, friendship, love and belonging. I'm super excited about the story and I hope you enjoy it!Chapter 1: the meeting

Chapter One: The Meeting

It was raining.

I hide my tote under my coat out of fear for my laptop. If it gets wet, I'm done for. My boss isn't exactly the most considerate person out there. If anything were to happen to the highly coveted files on it, I might as well hand in my resignation.

I sigh with relief once the bus arrives, and quickly hurry inside.

As I find a seat, I lean my head against the window, not caring for germs or the subtle tremble of the glass. It feels cool against my skin, and not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. But more importantly, it is distracting. It'll give me something else to focus on during the ride.

At least I hoped so.

But within minutes, it becomes clear that my mind has no intention of being distracted. The thoughts creep in and suddenly the soft hum of the engine is no match against the throbbing in my head.

Of course not.

Distractions simply don't last long these days.

So I surrender to the thoughts as I stare at the passing streets, feeling increasingly empty by the minute.

I hate my job. I hate everything about it. Working as a secretary for a broadcasting company is a dream for many. The salary isn't bad. I have access to exclusive events and frequently coordinate with the biggest names in the industry. I know the ins and outs of selling an idea and making it resonate with millions.

But I quickly learned all the people in this industry are insufferable. The whole premise rests upon the art of manipulation, taking something that may very well be worthless and conning people into thinking it will fill a hole they didn't even know they had. The people are superficial, be it actors or other famous personalities. Everyone is so obsessed with images. How to best put on a show to gain the love and admiration of millions.

But what use is their love if it's built upon the distortion of reality?

I shake my head before burying it in my palms.

No matter, I tell myself.

As frustrating and unfulfilling as the work may be, it pays the bills and keeps me busy.

A little too busy...

I get up once my stop arrives. I say a quick thank you to the bus driver before hurrying out.

The cold makes me shiver and I pull my skirt to cover more of my thighs before plastering a fake smile onto my face.

The fake smile is part of the uniform here.

My heels click together with attitude as I make my way through the building. The noise hits my ears immediately. Loud chattering, blaring music and upbeat announcements stand in sharp contrast to the calm of the rainy world outside. I blow kisses as my colleagues call out my name from the studio floor.

My friend and roommate Aliyah takes off her headset to wave me over. She left home extra early today owing to her busy schedule as floor manager. The glaring lights tell me they're about to start shooting but as much as I want to help her with final preparations, I have more important things to worry about right now.

"Can't talk now, Al!" I say apologetically. With one point to my tote bag, she understands. "Good luck!" she shouts back, before returning her attention to the production crew.

I sigh.

I will definitely need all the luck I can get.

I take the elevator up to the highest floor of the company. While our studios are bright, loud and fun. The offices are formal, professional and characteristic of a multibillion dollar company. I knock twice before heading into the largest office at the end of the hall, where my boss is waiting for me. The letters NNTV adorn the walls in an elegant gold print behind him.

A pair of glasses sits on the bridge of Mr. Lane's nose as he reads over today's reports.

"You're late, Ms. Aoki." He says without looking up.

"Apologies, sir. It was unexpected."

"Do I not say to account for the unexpected in your planning, Ms. Aoki?"

"It won't happen again, sir."

He offers me a *tsk* in response.

"Our ratings have gone down this month. Much more than we anticipated." Mr. Lane grumbles.

"CBS' new reality show has attracted a lot of viewers, sir. It's competing with our usual broadcasts at-."

"Then why have you not found a program to substitute whatever we usually air at that time?"

I bite back a sigh. "The current schedule is the most optimal, sir. If we switch around any programs we risk affecting the viewership of The Midnight Show and Killer."

"Well then figure something out!" He barks. "That's what your job is, isn't it?"

"We have a team for a reason, sir. Perhaps we can consult them today? I can schedule an emergency meeting to address this."

I say this knowing the rest of the team won't alter the schedule. The nature of the industry is ratings fluctuate all the time. To change our scheduling at every hint of a drop will only harm our future ratings.

He waves me away. "Schedule it for two hours from now. Cancel anything else I have at that time."

"Yes sir." I confirm, before turning around.

My nostrils seethe as I suddenly hear him mutter *Useless* under his breath.

The rest of the day is spent taking more orders and backtracking on Mr. Lane's previous decisions. Just as I'd expected, the board decided it would be better to simply wait out the next two weeks until the current programs are finished before rearranging any of the schedules. I make a mental note to consider what might be a suitable alternative in the meantime.

The hours drag on. I should have been done at 5, but 7 o clock hits and I'm still taking phone call after phone call. It isn't until a quarter to 9 that I can finally go home.

I sigh as I pass the much quieter studio floor on the way out. I don't find Aliyah among the crew, but I'm sure she's taking care of her own things at the moment. The Midnight Show is scheduled for well, midnight, so she's probably taking a final break before her last project of the night.

Once I am outside, I let out a deep breath I didn't know I was holding in. Instead of taking the bus straight home, I find myself walking toward Café Du Monde. It sits a few blocks away from the NNTV building.

The smell of roasted coffee beans and fresh pastries greets me as I enter. The soft jazz is welcomed by my ears after a day of nonstop chatter and corporate debate.

As I stand in line, I remind myself to pick up coffees before I leave for the crew working late tonight. Hopefully Aliyah will be back by then.

---

"Shit," I hear the man ahead of me in line mutter. "I think I forgot my wallet back in the office."

He checks his pockets again, but finding them empty he looks up at the cashier. "Sorry man, I'll be back another day."

But before he could walk away, I step up to the register. "It's okay, I got it."

He glances at me. "Nah, don't-"

"It's nothing. Can you add another coffee to the order please?"

The cashier punches a few numbers into the register and I hand him a 20.

---

The man tips his hand in thanks. I nod back at him and walk up to the roof.

With a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other, I sigh. Now to get the day out of my system...

"How can I repay you," A smooth voice says behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see the man walk up to the ledge with me. He has electrifying blue eyes, a head of thick dark hair, and the kind of walk that signifies authority.

"You good at conversation?" I ask.

He thinks for a moment. "How about I let you be the judge of that?"

I pass the man a cigarette. "Then distract me."

"You don't look like the type to smoke." He comments before accepting it.

"Looks can be deceiving." I shrug.

"It feel good or something?"

"Or something." I confirm with a smile. "Just reminds me to breathe in," and with a soft easing in my chest, "and breathe out."

He leans back against the railing. "Hm. You know breathing quality isn't exactly what people would associate with cigarettes."

I roll my eyes. "You know what I mean."

The man chuckles. "Yeah. Although I think rearranging a few things in your life would help more than smoking. Don't want to grow reliant on an outside source for relief now."

"Well, well. Wasn't aware I was speaking to a mental health guru."

He seems amused by that. "That's not what the people working for me would say but it's nice to know their sentiments aren't universal."

"Ah. So you're a shitty boss."

"I'm just a boss." He corrects. "What people think of me has nothing to do with me."

"Must be nice to believe that." I sigh, taking another puff of my roll.

"No reason not to, eh? Letting others' opinions matter to you means you lose power over yourself. There's nothing you could want from them that you can't do for yourself."

"Money?" I suggest.

"That's easy. But it depends on how willing you are to work for it."

"Work quite a lot." I scowl. "...starting to wonder if it's worth the headache, to be honest."

The man leans closer to me, his breath warm against my ear. I try not to focus on the scent of his cologne, musky with notes of amber and cedar wood. "Then what you want isn't really money. Sounds like you want more."

"More?"

"Yeah. Money by itself isn't satisfying," He says matter of factly. He leans away to take a sip of his coffee. "Only when it's coupled with a goal."

"Hm."

"Money doesn't take you anywhere; it's just a means to an end." He continues. There's an air of mystery behind those turquoise eyes of his. "Your goal is what guides you. Where do you want to go?"

Someone in this neighborhood that doesn't live and die for money? I almost want to laugh. What goal guides him then? What does he stay alive for?

But I keep those questions to myself. I shouldn't get too close to a man I'll never see again.

"I want to be my own boss." I say with a soft smile. Be my own boss. Wouldn't that be nice? No more waking up with Mr. Lane's voice already echoing in my head. No more plastering fake smiles and maintaining that "professional" semblance for hours on end. "I'm tired of taking orders from other people."

I almost miss the sudden gleam in his eye.

"Now that's more like it."

---

I leave the cafe with a box of donuts in one hand and a coffee tote in the other.

I said goodbye to the stranger, happy to have shared these thoughts with someone. It strikes me that I didn't even ask his name.

I shrug. Perhaps that's the magic of moments like these. The universe puts us in places we don't expect to be in. Brings two strangers together and they realize maybe this meeting was just what they needed today. The man got his coffee and I...I was able to let my thoughts run freely.

At least for a while.

"And now we abandon the fantasies and return to reality," I mutter with a sigh. I hook my pinkie with the large glass double doors of NNTV and pull the handle toward me.

There's a small audience present now, the guests for the Midnight Show. I walk around them and smile when I find Aliyah, arms crossed and eyes trained on the set, trying to catch any faults before we air.

"Al!" I call out in a whisper. She immediately looks my way, face lighting up at the sight of the coffee.

"Oh, you're a lifesaver!" She says excitedly as she takes the sweets from my hand. "Hey Joe, set this up for the crew, will ya?"

An intern shuffles forward and takes the bags anxiously to prepare a little station for the team.

"How'd you know I needed the coffee?" She smiles at me.

"Because I needed the coffee," I say with a laugh. "And you've been awake far longer than I have."

Aliyah laughs and rubs her eyes. "I forget how much time I spend here sometimes. No matter - you staying for the show tonight?"

I smile apologetically. "You know I'd love to, but I can barely keep my eyes open. I've got a long day tomorrow, I'm gonna need all the sleep I can get."

I say goodbye to the rest of the crew, smiling sheepishly as they spout *thank you*s for the late night coffee and donuts, and make my way home.

Later that night, as I lay in bed with my eyes trained on the ceiling, I feel a sudden urge to whisper these words out loud.

Please let my life be worth more than the value I add to a company.

#dabi #dabi x oc #dabi x female reader #todoroki touya #dabi fic #dabi fanfic #dabi angst #dabi fluff

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papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

Text

MRS. COOPER’S BOYFRIEND

February 10, 1950

“Mrs. Cooper’s Boyfriend” is episode #75 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on February 10, 1950.

Synopsis ~ Liz decides that the only way to keep George's mother from coming over on Valentine’s Day is to get her a boyfriend.

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) and Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) are not heard in this episode.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz (above right), a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

GUEST CAST

Eleanor Audley (Leaticia Cooper, George’s Mother) previously played this character in “George is Messy” and “Dinner for 12″. She would later play Eleanor Spalding, owner of the Westport home the Ricardos buy in “Lucy Wants To Move to the Country” (ILL S6;E15) in 1957, as well as one of the Garden Club judges in “Lucy Raises Tulips” (ILL S6;E26).

Hans Conried (Mr. Anderson) first co-starred with Lucille Ball in The Big Street (1942). He then appeared on “I Love Lucy” as used furniture man Dan Jenkins in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) and later that same season as Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (ILL S2;E13) – both in 1952. The following year he began an association with Disney by voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan. On “The Lucy Show” he played Professor Gitterman in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E19) and in “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (TLS S2;E1). He was probably best known as Uncle Tonoose on “Make Room for Daddy” starring Danny Thomas, which was filmed on the Desilu lot. He joined Thomas on a season 6 episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1973. He died in 1982 at age 64.

Hal March (Mr. Jenkins / Mr. Crockett) first appeared on the “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Fakes Illness” (ILL S1;E16) using his own name to play an actor posing as the doctor who diagnoses Lucy with ‘golbloots.’ March got his first big break when he was cast as Harry Morton on “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” in 1950. He eventually lost the part to Fred Clark who producers felt was better paired with Bea Benaderet, who played Blanche, and here plays Iris Atterbury. He stayed with the show in other roles, the last airing just two weeks before his appearance as Eddie Grant in “Lucy is Matchmaker” (ILL S2;E27). In 1966 he was seen on “The Lucy Show.”

Frank Nelson (J.Q. Williams, Chairman of the Bank) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. This is one of his 11 performances on “My Favorite Husband.” On “I Love Lucy” he holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring roles: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, as well as six one-off characters, including the frazzled train conductor in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), a character he repeated on “The Lucy Show.” Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs.

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers it’s morning. George Cooper is eating breakfast, while Liz in the kitchen talking to Katie, the maid.”

Liz is planning the menu for an intimate Valentine’s Day dinner with George.

LIZ: “Hearts of beef, hearts of artichoke, hearts of lettuce, heart-shaped candy, and heart-shaped cake.” KATIE: “That oughta give ya heart-shaped heartburn!”

Liz joins George for breakfast and notices that he has nicked himself shaving - several times.

LIZ: “You look like you have your face up in paper curlers.”

Liz confesses she used George’s razor to string beans! Liz apologizes with a smooch. She brings up Valentine’s Day, and George breaks it to her that his mother is coming. George reminds Liz that his mother always spends the holidays with them.

LIZ: “It’s Valentine’s Day, not Halloween! Can’t we give her a rain check until Groundhog Day or something?”

Groundhog Day is an American folk tradition established in Pennsylvania around 1840, that supposes that if a groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow, we are in for six more weeks of winter. The tradition has inspired a Hollywood film and a Broadway musical. Since the date is traditionally February 2 (before Valentine’s Day), Liz is really extending her hospitality into 1951! 1955′s “Lucy Goes to a Rodeo” (ILL S5;E8) opens with Ricky penciling in Lucy for a kiss on February 2nd, which Lucy notes is Groundhog Day.

Liz is upset that her romantic dinner for two will become a threesome. she suggests that if his mother wants to celebrate Valentine’s Day she should get a boyfriend. George says she has no interest in men.

LIZ: “Well, she did once. Or did she win you in a game of Canasta?”

Canasta is a card game of the rummy family devised around 1939. It is most commonly played by four in two partnerships with two standard decks of cards. The game was mentioned several times on episodes of “I Love Lucy.”

George comes around to the idea of getting his mother a boyfriend - but who?

LIZ: “Gee, all I can think of is the Smithsonian Institute!”

In “Never Do Business With Friends” (ILL S2;E31), Ethel complains that her washing machine is old enough to belong in the Smithsonian Institution. Dubbed ‘the Nation’s attic’, the Smithsonian museums (located primarily in Washington DC) will be mentioned again in reference to the antique Cadillac that Fred buys for the trip to Hollywood.

George rushes off to work. The new bank Chairman is visiting. Liz tells Katie to plan to serve three for Valentine’s Day dinner. Liz says that her mother-in-law uses any excuse to visit - even Boys Week.

Boys (and Girls) Week was a movement to help build citizenship among youth. The movement began in 1920 with boys. In 1934, Boys Week became known as Youth Week, and in 1936, Boys and Girls Week. A project of the Rotary International, their sponsorship ceased in 1954.

Liz has invited Mother Cooper (Eleanor Audley) over to talk about the idea and before they know it, she has arrived.

LIZ (to Katie): “Well, speak of the devil-in-law.” KATIE (hushed): “How does she get in the house so quietly?” LIZ: “She’s got a muffler on her broom.”

No sooner is she in the kitchen when she is telling Liz that there’s dust on top of her bookcase. Liz quickly changes the subject to dating.

MOTHER COOPER: “It would be nice to have dates, but not a man!” LIZ: “Not a man!?! Well, I don’t know any kangaroos!”

Mother Cooper is intrigued by the idea, but doesn’t think anyone would be interested in a woman of her age.

MOTHER COOPER: “The man isn’t man living who’d have plain old me!” LIZ: “Well, we’ll dig someone up.”

Mrs. Cooper describes her ideal man. Liz urges her to compromise. Mother insists he is only 41 years old. As she leaves, she tells Liz to forget the whole thing.

Katie tells Liz to try looking at the Sheridan Falls Friendship Center, where her sister found all her husbands.

LIZ: “Katie, I’ll do it! I’m going to get a man for Mother Cooper if I have to get an Erector Set and build her one!”

Erector Set was a brand of metal toy construction sets which were originally sold by the Mysto Manufacturing Company in 1913, a successor to wooden Lincoln Logs and a predecessor to plastic LEGO.

END of PART ONE After a short Jello-O commercial featuring announcer Bob LeMond providing a macaroon pudding recipe, the story resumes.

Liz has embarked on her manhunt and we find her downtown at the Sheridan Falls Friendship Center. The building is marked by a large neon sign that says “Lonesome?” The doorbell sounds “Here Comes The Bride”.

Thomas ‘Cupid’ Jenkins (Hal March), the founder, opens the door.

LIZ: “I’d like to order a man!”

Liz immediately states that it is not for her, although Mr. Jenkins clearly doesn’t believe her.

MR. JENKINS: “I understand perfectly. He’s a gift for a friend.”

Liz tells him it is for his mother-in-law. The phone rings and Mr. Jenkins answers it congratulating the caller on her success and promising to remove her card from his file.

MR. JENKINS: “Goodbye, Lady Ashley.” (hangs up) LIZ: “Was that THE Lady Ashely?”

Sylvia, Lady Ashley (1904-77) was an English model, actress, and socialite who was best known for her numerous marriages to British noblemen and American movie stars. On December 20, 1949, she married Clark Gable, the fourth of her five husbands. The pair divorced in 1952.

It turns out to be a different Lady Ashley. Liz and Mr. Jenkins fill out an application card for Mother Cooper. Although Liz describes her as ‘41, attractive and wealthy’, Mr. Jenkins immediately interprets that as ‘65, old battle axe, and broke’! Liz wants someone to come to the house tonight. Mr. Jenkins promises the perfect man will come with a written 30-day guarantee!

At the bank, George is visited by the new Chairman of the Board, J.Q. Williams (Frank Nelson). He wants to get to know the employees and George invites him over for dinner that evening. Unfortunately, their home phone seems to be out of order so he can’t alert Liz. He tells Mr. Williams the address to meet him there.

That evening, Mrs. Cooper is preparing to meet the gentleman Mr. Jenkins is sending over. The doorbell rings. It is Mr. Williams from the bank. Liz immediately assumes that he is from the Friendship Society and that the Mrs. Cooper he has come to meet is her mother-in-law.

Liz doesn’t want Mother Cooper to know that he is an arranged suitor, so she asks him what they should say about his professional life.

MR. WILLIAMS: “Let’s just tell her I’m Chairman of the Board at the Bank.” LIZ: “Come, now. Let’s not overdo it.”

Believing Mother Cooper to be George’s wife, he sits down next to her. Just then George comes home from work. Liz heads him off at the hallway to tell him that she’s arranged a Lonely Hearts prospect to come over for dinner. George is sure he’s a bum.

LIZ: “You’ll die when you see him!”

Before going into the living room to meet him, George tells Liz that he’s invited the new Chairman of the Board of the Bank to dinner - a Mr. Williams. Liz screams in horror and explains what she’s done. The doorbell rings again.

While George takes Mr. Williams aside to explain things to him, Liz answers the door. It is Mr. Crockett (Hal March again). Before he can get a word out, Liz immediately assumes him to be the man from the Lonely Hearts Club. She quickly instructs him to act like an old friend of hers and ushers him in to meet Mother Cooper.

MOTHER COOPER: “I liked the other one better.”

The doorbell rings again, it is Mr. Anderson (Hans Conried), the man from the Sheridan Falls Friendship Center. He immediately assumes that Liz is the woman that Mr. Jenkins has sent him to meet!

MR. ANDERSON: “After 15 years of sending me lemons, he’s finally sent me a peach!”

Liz is confused, but shows him in to the living room to meet Mother Cooper.

MR. ANDERSON: “Shucks. Back to Lemons again.”

Having explained the confusion, George returns with Mr. Williams, who eagerly agrees to be Mother Cooper’s escort for the rest of the evening. Liz tells Mr. Anderson and Mr. Crockett to go back to the Friendship Center, but Mr. Crockett is confused.

MR. CROCKETT: “What Friendship Center? I just came here to fix the telephone!” LIZ: “Oh, no!!!”

END of EPISODE

In the live Jell-O commercial, Lucille Ball and Bob LeMond go South of the Border, where all the ‘J’s are pronounced like ‘H’.

Lucille is Hosephine and her brother is named Himmy, who is strong as Jerkules. She reads a poem:

I know a little café It’s a perfect place to go Because they always serve Jell-O vanilla tapio- Ca pudding. It’s delicious and tempting And you sap, You also ought to order some Jell-O chocolate tap- Ioca. It’s so rich the kids all say it’s good I cannot rhyme Jell-O orange vanilla tapioca, I wish I could.

Bob LeMond sums up her poem with one succinct line. But Lucille concludes:

Those lines they tell the story, They cut the time in half. They talk of Jell-O pudding, but they don’t get any laughs!

#My Favorite Husband #Lucille Ball #Richard Denning #Ruth Perrott #Bob LeMond #Frank Nelson #Hans Conried #Hal March #Eleanor Audley #Groundhog Day #Jello #Lady Sylvia #Clark Gable #Lonely Hearts Club #Lady Ashley #smithsonian institution #Canasta #Erector Set

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mrsrhys23 · 4 years

Text

Cadence Dorian Carpool Karaoke

Paring: M!Raleigh x MC

Word count: 1,165

Warnings: None

A/N: I don’t own any of these characters, they belong to Pixelberry Studios. This is a part of @cxld-play and @bi-cookie’s @choicesfebruarychallenge. The prompt is Karaoke.

Permatag: @desiree---1986 @cordoniaqueensworld @itschoicesstuff @emilypowell001

“Thank you for helping me get to work,” James Corden smiled, turning to face the young singer.

, “My pleasure,” Cadence Dorian smiled.

“Do you mind if we listen to some music?” He asked.

“No, lets see what’s on.” James switched the radio on and love who I’ll be blared through the cars speakers.

“Lost in the darkness, you showed me the light,” Cadence sang as James got ready for Raleigh’s upcoming part.

“I was feeling heartsick, until you made it right,” James sang, not exactly on key but good enough.

“Nice,” cadence commented. “Baby, no ones perfect, but I know what I’m worth,” She continued, her voice sounding nearly identical to the recording.

“Ready?” She asked.

“I’ve finally found someone who understands,” they sung in a near perfect harmony with each other.

“No more doubt,” Cadence sung, pointing to James.

“No more pain.”

“No more feeling like I am to blame,” they sung together again, James smiling widely and Cadence joining him.

“My days will be brighter,” she started, pointing to the man beside her again.

“And I will fly higher.”

“And I’m gonna love who I’ll be.”

Cadence picked up her water bottle and held it like a microphone, singing her next line into it. “No more doubt.”

James shook his head laughing, “No more pain.”

She leaned in closer to him, holding the bottle in front of them both. “No more writing history in vain.”

“My days will be brighter,” Cadence continued, all the anxiousness she had been feeling about doing this interview fading away. She was now in her element after all.

“And I will fly higher”

“And I’m gonna love who I’ll be,” and with that, the song came to an end and the two high-fived. James switched the radio off for a minute, turning to her and they caught up in traffic.

“Talking off Raleigh Carrera-“

“I mean we weren’t but carry on,” she interrupted.

“What is going on with you two? The reason I ask Is because there’s a rumour you two aren’t together anymore?”

“How did that even start?” She asked, her brow furrowing.

“Well, you two got engaged-“

“Yeah-“ she nodded.

“You wore the ring a few times and then no one saw it again and you’re not wearing it now either. Are you two together or are you not? What is going on?”

“Absolutely nothing. We’re still together, we’re still getting married in August, everything is fine. The reason I’m not wearing my ring is simply because It needed resizing. It was a bit too big and kept falling off and I don’t want to lose it,” she explained.

“That's what I like about you: you’re honest. Now we’ve got that out the way…” James reached back over and turned and the tune to in love with a liar.

“Don’t know who you think you are, but I know what I’ve seen,” the both of them started. “You try to play all innocent but I know where you’ve been.”

Soon the song drew to an end and James turned to her, switching it off again. “Who broke your heart?”

“No one,” Cadence laughed.

“Come off it, you don’t write a song like that had someone not either broke your heart or pissed you right off.”

“We don’t need to talk about it. Let that just stay buried. Where it belongs,” she dismissed. “I was so nervous about coming on this show. I really was.”

“How can you say ‘no’ to some carpool karaoke and driving around LA with me?” he asked, gesturing down at himself, eliciting a laugh from the singer. “Its a serious question.”

“I couldn't,” she smiled, shaking her head and getting a nod from him.

James switched the radios back one and once again the duo started belting out lift me up.

“Salt on your skin and stars in your eyes. You’re close in the darkness and I’m all out of lies. Take my heart and made it your own . You’re everything that I’ve ever known. I tried to resist you, I tried to keep my distance, I tried to play it cool but I’m no match for your persistence. And if you lift me you me up! When the fog rolls i, you lift me! When the Cold sets in you, you give me! The strength to take on anything, oh anything. I see by the light you bring. You lift me up, you lift me up!i see by the light you bring, you lift me up, you lift me up.”

The song drew to a close and James turned to her. “That song is the reason you’re where you are today,” James noted.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “Had Avery not seen it I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

“That was mental, wasn’t it though?”

“It was insane and it still hadn’t quite sunken in yet that this is my life now nearly three years later.”

“You’ve taken some time off recently, haven't you?”

“I just needed to take a break, relax a bit and then come back hopefully with a new outlook and mentality.”

“I mean you haven’t stopped for three years. That is a long time without a break,” he mentioned. “That is commitment.” .

“I’ve loved every single second of it, I’ve made some amazing friends and done some incredible things, I went on tour too and it was phenomenal but it takes a lot out of you,” she explained.

“What have you been doing with your time off then?” He asked.

“Well, I’ve been planning my wedding. I kind of wish I had done it when I was a kid like most little girls and I wouldn’t be so stressed over it now. I travelled a little bit, spent time with some family, wrote a little bit, I’ve just spent most of it relaxing and enjoying myself,” she explained.

“To honour your fiance-“ he reached back over and soon Famous- Raleigh's song blared. She shook her head with a grin as the intro played.

“Moving in time on the dance floor. You got me sweating for it. You need someone to keep your fire lit, lets make our exit. Can’t keep my hands off of you now and I know you don't want me to stop. Can't keep your hands off of me now and I know i don't want you to stop. neighbours knockin’ But we know they can't blame us, yeah, baby i treat you just like you are famous!”

“Now,” James started when the song finished, “That is a sexy song right there. The question is: does he treat you like you’re famous?” James asked, turning to her with a very serious expression on his face.

She raised an eyebrow at him, “Yes,” She nodded, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Thank you so much for helping me get to work,” James smiled, giving her a high five as they pulled up at CBS studios where the Late Late Show is filmed.

#choicesfebruarychallenge #platinum fanfic #m!raleigh x mc #carpool karaoke #choices:stories you play

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biofunmy · 4 years

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The best TV of the decade? It’s a lot to sort out.

Impossible, really — and, at first pass, my picks for best shows of the 2010s wouldn’t look much different from most other critics’ lists: “Breaking Bad,” “The Americans,” “Game of Thrones,” “Twin Peaks: The Return,” “Veep,” “The Good Wife,” “Transparent,” “Atlanta,” “Fargo,” “The Crown” — that’s 10, right? Hit “send” and let’s get on with life.

But perhaps there’s another way to approach this stretch of much-too-much TV, and instead categorize the shared qualities that separated the decade’s very best shows from the heap of mediocre ones. That way, we can talk about this extraordinary period of scripted dramas and comedies without starting one last argument about where they rank.

I know readers only have time anymore to read lists, but bear with me. Here are the best kinds of shows we watched over the last 10 years. Many of them belong to more than one category — a sign of their greatness.

Anxiety-makers

These would be your nail-biters, seen mainly on prestige cable, often on Sunday nights.

Why we gorge on these cliffhanging, often upsetting dramas on the night we most need to rest up for the week ahead, I’ll never know, but we went to bed desperate over characters and story lines we couldn’t control: In AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” probably the decade’s finest work of story engineering and execution (and yes, I’m aware it premiered in 2008), when will Hank Schrader (or Skyler White) finally catch on that Walter White is the meth kingpin of New Mexico? Some of those close calls (the train episode!) and slow-building conflicts were almost too hard to take.

The decade’s other great adrenaline-producer, FX’s “The Americans,” aired on Wednesday nights, where the panic attacks seemed more manageable. How long would it take FBI agent Stan Beeman to figure out that his friendly neighbors, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, were deeply embedded KGB spies? How much does Paige know? Will they outlast the Cold War? Showtime’s “Homeland,” meanwhile, neatly bundled our post-9/11 anxieties with the mental problems of a CIA agent who thought she could save the world.

These are but three shows that gave America’s TV addicts a strong case of the jitters. Others tried and sometimes came close. I started out the decade worrying way too much about Rick and the other doomed survivors of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” (until I gave up on them entirely a few years ago), but the show’s success is notable for its stress-inducement, which was so strong that the network started an aftershow, “Talking Dead,” to help audiences cope with the latest gory developments.

Immersive portraits

These were some of my favorite shows, broadly defined by the word “dramedy” (because they were sometimes intensely funny), but better described as character studies, portraiture — of characters I’ll never forget: Amy Jellicoe in HBO’s “Enlightened,” followed by Hannah Horvath in “Girls.”

Many shows in this category can in some ways be regarded as selfies. Louis C.K., who quickly became persona-non-grata, nevertheless triumphed with “Louie,” which made it possible for similar shows to act as a mirror that not only reveals a personal nature, but a universal quality that potentially can be shared by the audience. I’m thinking here of Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” (FX), Aziz Ansari’s “Master of None” (Netflix), Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” (along with “Catastrophe”) and Pamela Adlon’s “Better Things” (FX).

This genre also, at long last, helped television achieve the diversity it had for too long failed to produce. Issa Rae’s “Insecure” (HBO) is a triumph in the way it both inhabits its creator’s viewpoint as millennial black woman, yet welcomes viewers of any sort.

To that list add Hulu’s “Ramy” and “Pen15,” HBO’s “Looking” and Comedy Central’s “Broad City” — any show where a viewer potentially discovers someone unlike themselves: different age, different background, different race. Or, more importantly, a viewer at long last sees themselves in the main character.

Washington certainly saw its uglier self in Armando Iannucci’s gloriously foul-mouthed “Veep” (HBO), the true definition of comic relief and on-point satire at a time when politics grew unfathomably absurd.

Metaphorical profundity

The best dramas in the 2010s reflected a larger message about the society that watched them — sometimes obliquely, sometimes bluntly. Despite its notably weakened final season, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has proper claim, I think, to be deemed the show of the decade, but not just because it grew so popular. It’s because how much of it seemed to eerily echo our surroundings: Climate change (and denial of it); shocking acts of violence; widespread social collapse; galling politics; extreme disparities in class and wealth; weapons of mass destruction . . . I could go on.

Timing is everything. Hulu took a 1985 dystopian novel — Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” — revved it up and released it just as the Trump administration began detaining, locking up and banning immigrants, appointed conservative judges and looked the other way at nationalist fervor. The metaphor there was almost too applicable; fortunately, the show was strong enough to withstand the hype.

Viewers learned how to find meaning in just about any show — the betters ones made it more compelling: AMC’s “Mad Men” was a beguiling search for the soul of the 20th century; CBS’s “The Good Wife” was a wicked running commentary on politics, technology and modern relationships; NBC’s “This Is Us” was (and still is) a fascinating rumination on the essence of what makes a family. (Note to all you Ancestry genealogy nuts: It’s not just DNA.)

Happy-snarky-sweet

Certain comedies just make us feel better (and also sharper, wittier — empowered, even) no matter how many times we re-watch old episodes. It’s in the camaraderie aspect, the life lessons, the archetypal arrangements, the snarkiness glossed over by group cohesion. It’s a continuation of what began in the best multicamera, studio-audience, ersatz-family sitcoms (“Cheers,” “Seinfeld”), rejiggered for a wired generation. Most of them aired on NBC: “Parks and Recreation,” “30 Rock,” “Community,” “The Office,” “The Good Place,” “Superstore” — now joined by “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” A few others aired on other networks, giving viewers a similar satisfaction: “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS; “Modern Family,”“Happy Endings,” “Cougar Town” and “Black-ish” on ABC.

Transformative tellings

In addition to finding new narrative styles and (quite belatedly) focusing on overlooked demographics, TV turned out to be an excellent venue for recasting an old story from a fresh perspective or enlightened distance.

I’m thinking here of FX’s “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” a compelling departure from the way we popularly regarded that murder trial. It inspired others to dramatize previous events with a corrective, even courageous new viewpoint — such as Netflix’s “When They See Us,” about the unjustly imprisoned teens who were wrongly coerced into confessing to a 1989 Central Park attack on a female jogger.

Crime wasn’t the only subject in need of a remix. Both “Downton Abbey” (PBS) and “The Crown” (Netflix) succeeded because of the way they re-examine extreme privilege, without preventing us from enjoying the luxurious roll in it.

Some shows were revelatory in more subtle ways: Jill Soloway’s “Transparent” (Amazon Prime) masterfully wove a woman’s journey with the entirety of modern American Judaism, enlightening its audience to more than just the trans experience. And Showtime’s “The Affair” played with the very nature of truth, telling the story of marital infidelity from competing — and crucially different — perspectives.

Impossible puzzles and true art

If the decade in TV will be remembered for anything, it will likely be the complexity of some shows. The weirdness. The unexpected swerves. It turned its viewers into perpetual puzzle-solvers and conspiracy theorists. After beginning the decade with an unsatisfying wrap-up of ABC’s “Lost,” co-creator Damon Lindelof returned on HBO with a confounding take on “The Leftovers,” finally mastering the balance between befuddlement and momentum with “Watchmen.”

There are, finally, two standouts — and they challenged my ceaseless harangue about reboots. One was Noah Hawley’s expanded and wholly reimagined take for FX on “Fargo,” a Midwestern crime saga first seen in Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1996 film classic.

The other was David Lynch’s long-delayed but staggeringly beautiful sequel to his 1990 TV sensation “Twin Peaks.” Critics argued, somewhat pointlessly, whether “Twin Peaks: The Return” (Showtime) was a very long film or a strangely protracted TV series.

I can settle that: It was nothing short of pure art — unexpected, absolutely original and layered with deep, trippy meaning. Of all the TV I slogged through in the 2010s, it’s the show I most look forward to someday watching again.

Sahred From Source link Entertainment

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makistar2018 · 6 years

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10 Years Later, Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless’ Still Slaps

When it was released in 2008, Swift’s sophomore album launched a thousand takes. Today, it’s best remembered as a simple time capsule

By LAUREN M. JACKSON November 12, 2018

Taylor Swift during the "Fearless" tour at Madison Square Garden on August 27, 2009 in New York City.

Theo Wargo/WireImage for New York Post

Like Propel water, The Scarlet Letter and mechanical pencils, Taylor Swift’s Fearless pairs well with the sporadic squeak of team-issued sneakers, overpriced hot lunches and the kind of angst that defines comfortably suburb-bound teenage years. Sliding open the album on Spotify with my iPhone 8, I can still feel my limbs stretched in all directions, hear the snap-crackle-pop of a dozen adolescent girls’ joints going through the motions of yet another warm-up to what would become the soundtrack of my high school varsity dance team’s inner and outer lives, as well as leave poptimism forever changed.

I am 27 now, still anxious but inflexible, no longer clinging (as) tightly to singular albums to tell the emotional landscape of my life — but back then, Fearless was god. Swift was barely into legal teenagedom when compiling her sophomore album’s original 13 tracks, but more than the happenstance near-synonymy of our ages (I’m younger by 1 year, 6 months, 27 days), the four-walled, high school claustrophobia induced by the album is a matter of skilled musical mood setting. From the first downbeat of the inaugural title track to the last flippantly rebellious “hallelujah” on “Change,” Swift traps us in the mind of an ungainly teen as she was once trapped, as I was, as so many others wading the ambiguity between comportment and desire that doesn’t quite end when gowns come on and caps fly up.

Like so many notebook pages on the golden screen, Fearless is filled with boys. Stans and haters have their theories, but I like to think of each song as an archetype, less true stories of relationships gone sour than a young woman’s true to life hetero-ethnography. There are the boys who do good — the “Fearless,” “Love Story,” “Hey Stephen,” “The Best Day” boys (the last a tribute to Dad) — the boys who nurture and love intensely. They do all the usual country boy things, all the usual cinematic things: driving slow, kissing in the rain, flouting archaic inter-familial squabbles. They honor their promises and, most of all, leave the narrator better changed for her affection.

These boys who do good are short-lived. By Track 2, “Fifteen,” we’re already checking in to Heartbreak Hotel for the upteenth time with an account of that age generic enough to warrant a fan-made montage of clips from Degrassi: The Next Generation. The song tells an allegedly universal story of freshman year woes, complete with riding in cars with senior boys who also play football (because of course). It’s saccharine, sung in the vernacular of normative coupling that would become Swift’s enemy in the gossip pages. But the limited lexicon is not necessarily untruthful. “Fifteen” has aged about as well as anyone would expect, but some of those refrains make me yearn for arms long enough to slap all the powers that be responsible for belittling the whims of young girls. And according to the greater duration of Fearless — tracks like “White Horse,” “Breathe,” “Tell Me Why,” “You’re Not Sorry,” “The Way I Loved You,” and “Forever & Always” — the greatest threat to the happiness of teen girls are boys.

November 2008 looks rosy from here. America had just elected its first black president, the man who promised too much hope and change to possibly be true, but faith felt good back then. Men had committed just five mass shootings over the past year with one more on the way in December (2018 has 307 mass shootings to its name so far). The nation boasted just under 150 recognized active white supremacist groups (that number would climb to over 1,000 during Obama’s presidency). Global finance was in crisis but cable networks were still winning Emmys. Amy Winehouse was alive. Kanye still made sense and a bright-eyed, hair-tousled new country darling was exclusively concerned with dating, rather than local politics.

Like any celebrity who is also a woman, but also in a lane quite her own, Swift’s relation to mainstream feminism wanes and waxes with the season. A female artist beloved by the girls for whom her songs are written, Swift and her music are therefore more scrutinized, more rigorously excavated for signs of harmful messaging than her male singer-songwriter peers. Fearless frayed Swift’s reputation in a way that wouldn’t let up for years, if ever, largely because of its critical success. Swift took home four Grammys at the 2010 awards, including Album of the Year, beating the Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, The Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D., Beyoncé’s I Am… Sasha Fierceand, most egregiously, Lady Gaga’s debut studio album, The Fame. The perceived slight invited robust inquiry into this supposed album of the year, and the aesthetic discrepancy between the two quickly turned to politics.

Autostraddle’s Riese called Swift “a feminist’s nightmare,” the enemy of “brave, creative, inventive, envelope-pushing little monsters” everywhere. An accompanying infographic, “a symbolic analysis” of Swift’s works to date, cataloged her most damning motifs, including “virginal” imagery, “the stars,” “crying,” and the 2AM hour. At Jezebel, Dodai Stewart agreed that Gaga was the rightful winner, speculating that in a race between “Gaga the liberal versus Taylor the conservative,” the latter “makes the Academy feel more comfortable.” One joy of pop culture is the revelation of how melodramatically things can change. Last month, Swift announced her endorsement of Tennessee Democrats Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper for the midterm elections; meanwhile, Lady Gaga hews the path of glamorous respectability on her lengthy A Star Is Born Oscar campaign.

Feminist readings of Fearless weren’t wrong, exactly. Allies on the album come in strictly male form, while other girls are competition for Swift’s persecuted first person. Even the red-headed bestie Abigail becomes a lesson in chastity, losing her virginity — “everything”! —to the boy who broke her heart (the foil to Swift’s main character, whose dreams of living in a big ole city protect her from such a fate). The charting single “You Belong With Me” is a bouncy jaunt through the valley of me versus those other girls. The video that won Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards over Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” — to seismic effect — stars Swift as both the frizzy blonde, bespectacled weirdo in band and the sleek brunette cheerleader with the man (Lucas Till who now plays MacGyver on CBS). In true romantic comedy fashion, Good Swift, clothed in white, ends up with the guy in the end, defeating Bad Swift, whose only crimes it seems are great taste in footwear and not appreciating her high school boyfriend’s likely moronic sense of humor. Both the song and video became emblematic of a kind of Swiftian all-for-one girl power. Her 2017 video for “Look What You Made Me Do” resurrects and buries all sorts of Swiftisms, including the iconography of the uncool girl who features so heavily in the Fearless-era of her oeuvre.

Pop music exists not to elevate our souls or our politics, but to safely wade in the muck of our pettiest appetites, whether they come with trap drums or in serenades. Pop music deserves interrogation, but it will never exceed us. Fearless was a diary, sounding like the selfishness that bubbles up regardless of one’s intellectual or political guards against it. The debate it ignited wouldn’t happen were it released today, amidst all this. It’s a relic of a time when determining exactly what an album meant, culturally and aesthetically, was a crucial discussion to have in public, when nuance had stakes. Compared to the basic moral tenets we now expend so much of our energy defending, such communal acts of criticism feel small and regretfully scarce. Fearless was a moment, now relegated to a time capsule, no longer a prompt.

Rolling Stone

#taylor swift #fearless #rolling stone #2018.11.12

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cb01site-blog · 6 years

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World Class Free Film School - Lesson 1 - Sign Zee Papers!

Welcome to World Class Free Film School!

In the following series of articles of we will impart the hard-won knowledge that we have gained as successful independent digital filmmakers. And (drumroll puh-leaze!) we will do this for FREE!

Now, why would we do such a thing for free? Well, because we're sweethearts. Because we love you and want you to succeed in this sometimes tricky and crazy thing called The Film Industry.

Now, there are many fine filmmaking schools in this big old world. Places where an aspiring director or producer can attend to learn many of the skills necessary to make a film.

There are also many excellent books out there that you can read that will give you all of the essentials to make a film. Unfortunately, for the poor huddled masses, these film schools and books will cost an initial investment of time and money. This amount you end up spending may be in the thousands of dollars. Now, there is nothing wrong with you spending money to educate you. Perhaps some film schools may actually help improve your chances of getting a job in the industry too, however...

Almost without exception, the graduates of these film schools will go on to find out that making their first few films as Directors will end up costing them several thousands of dollars more. They'll learn the hard way that precious few filmmakers ever see any kind of return on the money they've put up for funding their first few films.

That has been the reality of the situation for the independent filmmaker, up until now. There have been way too many stories told of those starry-eyed wannabe directors who begged, borrowed, or stole to produce their first few flops. At the end those sad stories, the tragedy is they never actually finished their first film. Maybe they never got started. Maybe they ran out of patience or time. Or maybe they ran over-budget, found themselves financially in the hole, bereft of family and friends for favors they could not repay. End result? Oh, I don't know, maybe you end up a bitter ex-filmmaker, working a crappy day job, nursing a sore ego while feeling like a huge failure after spending so much dang money on film school.

Are you ready for a paradigm shift? This is where World Class Free Film School is different! Here, you can learn all of the technical information for producing an independent film while NOT breaking the bank! In this free on-line film school, you will learn the basic principles of pre-production, production, and post. You will walk the path of a successful independent filmmaker and discover a self sustaining business model that I've followed from day one in the business.

You'll gain the perspective of the lessons that I've won and follow me step by step as I explain to you how I wrote, directed, and produced my first money-making film and went on using that as seed money to grow an income generating film library. You'll learn the tips and tricks of creating film revenue streams while satisfying that creative spirit which brought you to this page in the first place. These revenue streams will allow you build your filmmaking equipment arsenal, fund, produce and self-distribute more of the same revenue streams, and, yes, allow you the financial freedom to produce the occasional non-commercial short film, without giving a fig about where the funding will come from!

Interested? Good! Check back frequently! This is a work in progress, and it will evolve as we go happily skipping down the danger-strewn yellow brick road together in this crazy thing called show-biz. I'm looking forward to sharing and giving back some of the knowledge and experiences that have allowed me to proclaim myself a successful filmmaker. Yes indeed, sometimes I puff out my chest and shout my barbaric yawp; "I am a successful FILMMAKER, dammit!" I admit that I do get some funny looks sometimes too.

That being said, I honestly believe that at the end of this course, if you follow the tasty advice that I dish out for you, I have no doubt that you'll be able to shout the same barbaric yawp!

So, c'mon, jump in head first and follow me! You've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain. It's fun, it's entertaining, and you might learn something.

Best part is; it's all FREE!

Lesson 1 - Sign Zee Papers!

Ok, so you've decided that you want to make a film and you're not going let anything stop you. It's time to make like Nike, and just do it. You've got your crew all picked out and they said they would work for free (or almost free and a credit). They're all totally happy with the fact that you're making promises about what they can expect on the back-end profits. Everyone is confident that this film is a sure-fire win at Sundance, it's going to get picked up by a major distributor and everyone is going to get rich, right?

WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!

One of the biggest downers in this crazy business (and don't kid yourself, it is a business), is that it can make ordinarily nice people turn into totally greedy, insufferably egotistical, and absolutely insane monsters. This is no joke.

I don't know what it is, but one day you're buddy-buddy with someone who came on to your project two months ago to help collaborate, everything is fine and dandy, you're cruising toward that Sundance Award, then the next day, BLAMMO! It's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This previously "normal guy" has been replaced with an alien who grew out a pod last night while he was sleeping. Maybe you hired him to shoot some of your footage and he still has the tapes. He was supposed to start editing them, but now he says he wants a gazillion dollar advance, he wants 50% royalty on all sales, he wants complete creative control, and... Wait for it...he wants DIRECTOR credit on the film that was initially your idea two years ago.

OK, this is one of the most important tips that I am going to give you. Before you do anything else; get it in writing! Step one; when you finish the script, get it copyrighted. You can do this easily by logging on to copyright.gov, paying $35 bucks, and following their directions. Step two: when you bring someone on to your film to collaborate, use a contract! Spell everything out completely and make sure you don't give up certain things, like ownership. Make the terms as favorable for yourself as possible. Remember, it's your concept, your project, your business! As a business person, think of collaborators as employees. Employees whom you appreciate, take care of, and share with, but still; employees. To drive a film to completion, someone has to be the boss. If they want to be the boss, guess what? They can make their own frickin' movie! Even if they are working for free (or almost free), you need to be able to fire them if, say, they turn into pod-people. Don't be afraid to terminate someone if you need to.

Make the contracts as iron-clad as possible. Spell out what you are offering them and what rights you will retain. Personally, I would prefer to pay someone up front on a daily rate, rather than to have them work for free (or for some pie-in-the-sky by and by). It's much cleaner. Pie eating contests can get messy. Pay the cameraman a reasonable fee and have him give you the tapes immediately after each shoot, if you're doing the editing yourself. Or, if that's not feasible, go with him to his studio, wait while he captures the footage to hard-drive, then take the raw footage with you while he does the editing. When it comes down to it, he who has the raw footage in his possession, owns it. Doesn't matter if you paid him or not. He shot it and it belongs to him his until he hands it over. All this is a very good reason to learn how to do everything yourself, if you can.

It's hard to shoot, edit, and act in your own film all at the same time. You will probably need some kind of actors in your movie. This can be expensive unless you're shooting a documentary. That's why I like making docs. The talent tends to be free. Even then, you should still take care of the people who volunteer to be in your film. Feeding them is nice. Credits are a must. A complimentary copy of the film on DVD should be de rigueur. I like to give the folks in my documentaries the opportunity to buy extra DVDs from me, at production cost (50%) and let them hand-sell them for profit at the set retail price. It's actually a good self-marketing technique. You end up with a huge marketing team this way. They make 50% profit and you make 50%. But regardless of whether you decide to share the wealth, or not, be considerate!

One thing about getting people to work for free, please respect their time! If you say that a shoot will start at a certain time, be there. Nothing makes an unpaid volunteer more upset than taking time out of a valuable day and be left cooling their heels for a tardy director. If you're producing a narrative, you will need actors. Key words: be professional.

Try to keep it clean and simple. If you're able to, use SagIndie for talent. I know that it's not always feasible, but if you can, do it. It's only a hundred bucks a day and you will get quality performances. You can learn a lot working with professionals too. Maybe you won't need to do so many takes. And usually you will get better results than if you use your Aunt Mimi as the leading lady.

Either way, make sure you get talent and location owner's to sign a release form. Make sure that you make the release as broad as possible so that you don't get caught in a "aha, gotcha!" somewhere down that yellow brick road. No bigger buzz-kill than squabbling over something cb 01 that is supposed to be fun. Remember, that is our definition of "success"? Having FUN? Well, follow the advice in this lesson and have everyone sign zee papers. Then have fun!

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incarnateirony · 3 years

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I get Chaos Machine has a deal with WB. But they are already following the CW too. Kinda bumps in a wrong way..

I mean, there’s been a lot of misinformation about things, and there’s a lot of truth to things here.

There’s rumor, for example, that Jensen was signed on to do a mini series directly for CW a while back. This came from a misinterpretation of a recording someone heard. At the time he was actually discussing a pod-cast-esque thing he was prompted to work on by one of the CW execs as a general encouragement from being career friends, but that never manifest.

On the other hand, yes, Jensen *is* following CW. And I have zero surprise, beyond the fact that he isn’t also following HBO; he’s able to work with both. Which tells me what he’s working on is, in fact, something that’s likely being geared to the CW--which isn’t actually to be mistaken with the first piece of information at the time.

But considering Jensen--and even Kim lately--have been speaking about SPN reboots/revivals recently, I can tell you right now--those are likely fated to go to the CW. Even if their licensing technically lapsed for things like their digital platforms (hence the removal of all their stuff from YT, etc), nothing stops them from trying to grab anything in the works--and they’re the most likely candidate. After 15 years of content (or like 14?) being on CW (before it was on WB before the merger), logic dictates HBO isn’t gonna get in a slapwar with its own sister company to get the rights, as much as we’d all love HBO Supernatural.

I’ve been meditating on this a lot, actually; any of these details alone wouldn’t mean much. These details together though--following CW and still not other WB affiliates by now; Jensen’s comments about rethinking it; certain details I’ve heard about that I literally can’t talk about in public without burning sources; Kim’s mention of it on the stream; CW moving public-- it would indicate they are, in fact, working on something.

The interesting thing though is if CM is the production studio, it changes the handling to some extent even if it feeds through CW.

For example, you’ve heard the script draft process:

Writer Draft

Studio Draft

Network Draft

Production Draft(s)

So let’s imagine, I don’t know. Bobo still works on a CM reboot. That means Bobo’s script would go through CM this time, and Jensen’s studio would be the one with fingers in it. Then the only fiddling would be with the network itself, but the studio can actually pitch a bit back against the network depending on its position--eg, it’s also a WB contracted entity, Jensen has pretty solid clout, etc. Especially since he’d also probably end up working Production end, meaning he could look at something he passed at Studio level, see something butchered at Network level, and go “What the hell?” to his own corp pals.

Keep in mind--while there’s the boycott against the CW, this is in essence a boycott against both of the parent companies: WB and CBS. They use the CW as a vehicle for a lack of accountability. This fandom has a lot of power, but taking WB or CBS head on would be like kicking water uphill.

At current, we can actually shake down WB pretty directly if SPN fandom actually onboards #IStandWithNadria (check my pinned post, reblog if you can), because we basically built an alliance with wider non-CW comic book fandom, the word spread like wildfire because of the nature of Superman, meaning we have diverse support. If you want to actually kick WB directly in the shins right now, please, PLEASE consider joining #IStandWithNadria. Personally I’d prefer people join because they actually are mad about what they did to her, but even if it’s pure gay petty spite, we need every hand on deck we can get.

CBS is a different beast, and also has its bullshit, but right now we can only dump ice on them proxy of the CW.

Breaking down the CW’s value and ad space depresses their ability to draw revenue and basically causes a chain reaction up the ladder where if the network is going to recover, it’s going to have to tell mommy and daddy to stop instead of just protecting them. CW is an LLC with no stocks, and difficult to hold accountable, and smokescreens for the larger corps. But crush out their ad value and suddenly, CBS and WB have to consider how to keep this vehicle for their content delivery alive--they’ve already lost the netflix deal that came by proxy of it, which is why CBS shows are even getting vaulted onto HBO Max now.

Now this is a very LONG aside from Chaos Machine following CW but a very necessary one to understand why, for example, things might be different if it went by way of Chaos Machine. The IP would still belong to WB (which is why an exclusive contracted studio would handle it) and Kripke (duh), but the studio standards would be different. They aren’t the same sort of accountability issues that we’re protesting by rocking the CW boat.

It will leave an interesting question on ethical consumption/boycotting: would one give it a chance knowing the CW/WB would still profit from it to show support to the individual studio, or would we still stay walked away until results happened that showed they learned from their errors? Would Chaos Machine alone even be enough to reinstill trust, or would we need to see it from more WB studios and works (and CBS?).

Personally, I lean towards the latter end of that rather than buying in right away, but that’s a long horizon away. Just a lot to think about.

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your-dietician · 3 years

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15 years ago, 'Rock Star: Supernova' rocked reality television

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/entertainment/15-years-ago-rock-star-supernova-rocked-reality-television/

15 years ago, 'Rock Star: Supernova' rocked reality television

Gillby Clarke, ‘Rock Star: Supernova’ winmer Lukas Rossi, Tommy Lee, and Jason Newsted in 2006. (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Before David Cook became the first rock winner of American Idol or Adam Lambert made TV history with his game-changing, Jeff Buckley-esque “Ring of Fire” cover, there was CBS’s Rock Star: Supernova — a search for the lead singer for a new supergroup comprising Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, and ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke. (Lambert even credited Rock Star: Supernova runner-up Dilana’s “Ring of Fire” performance as an inspiration for his Idol arrangement.)

The Dave Navarro-cohosted talent show, which premiered 15 years ago on July 5, 2006, was an “anti-Idol” of course, featuring covers of songs by Nirvana, the Verve, Hole, Radiohead, the Killers, Dramarama, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Depeche Mode, the Kinks, Living Colour, Failure, Franz Ferdinand, the Police, Talking Heads, Cheap Trick, Bob Dylan, Soul Asylum, Stone Temple Pilots, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and even the actual Jeff Buckley — at a time when that was unheard-of on all other singing competitions.

“It was real. It wasn’t like karaoke with somebody up there just singing some dumb s***. It was real music,” Lee tells Yahoo Entertainment. “I really think [Rock Star: Supernova executive producer] Mark Burnett was way ahead of his time in wanting to deliver that kind of thing to prime-time America. Like, ‘Here’s some real s***. These guys are going to look for a singer. They’re going to make a record. They’re going to go on tour.’ … It totally was ahead of its time.”

The blueprint for Rock Star: Supernova was arguably created a year earlier with Rock Star: INXS, a questionable and somewhat distasteful reality show set up by Burnett and the surviving members of Australian pop-rock band INXS to replace late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence. (Another future American Idol rock trailblazer, Chris Daughtry, actually unsuccessfully auditioned for that show.) Canadian glam-rocker Lukas Rossi eventually won Rock Star: Supernova after performing his self-penned original power ballad “Headspin” on the finale (which, again, was not typical for reality shows of the era), but he tells Yahoo Entertainment/SiriusXM Volume that when his friend suggested he try out for Burnett’s new Rock Star spinoff, he balked — because initially, Rock Star Season 2 was going to be a search for the replacement singer of another big, established rock group, not for the singer of a brand-new band.

Story continues

“My life seemed pretty grim at that point. I was in Montreal, going from friends’ to friends’ houses and trying to get my band, Rise Electric, off the ground. I was literally in minus-40-degree weather, living in an abandoned bowling alley and covering myself up with newspaper just to keep warm. I got a call out of the blue from a friend of mine, [EMI Music Publishing executive] Barb Sedun, and she was like, ‘Hey, there’s this show and they’re looking for a singer.’ And she mentioned another band. I was like, ‘I can’t replace that singer! That’s just not right!’ … It was Van Halen — that’s what she said to me. And I was like, ‘Absolutely not. I don’t want to pretend to be their new singer.’ I mean, I love Van Halen, but that’s just not my persona. I’d be lying to the fans and their fans and to myself.”

Rossi was homeless and destitute after leaving his home base of Toronto following a breakup with a cheating girlfriend, and he had focused all his energy on the fledgling Rise Electric. “I put all my eggs into one basket, because I’m a firm believer. My daddy used to say, ‘Whaddya got for plan B, after all this music s***?’ And I’m like, ‘If you need a plan B, that means your plan A is pretty s***ty, dude.’ So, I didn’t have a plan B. Or a plan C.” Still, Rossi admits that he was tempted to try out for what he believed was going to be Rock Star: Van Halen. “It was a hard freakin’ pill to swallow, because I was frickin’ broke, dude. I had nothing.”

However, a week later Sedun phoned Rossi again to let him know that Rock Star had changed direction, and its second season would instead center on a new hard-rock supergroup featuring A-list musicians, with superstar producer Butch Walker set to record their album. “I was like, ‘Hell yeah, dude! That’s what I was like!’” When Rossi had no way of affording a trip to the nearest audition city, Vancouver, Canada, Sedun footed the bill. “She’s like, ‘I’ll pay for you to get there. Just go and kick ass. I know you can do this. I believe in you.’ I packed up my backpack — I had all my belongings in a backpack — and I went there, terrified.”

Rossi confesses that he “drank a few too many pints” before he tried out with “Headspin” (which he’d written just a week earlier) and Live’s “Lightning Crashes,” and he initially thought he’d ruined his chances. “I was so nervous. I walk in, and there’s this dark room. It’s like really weird, like this little stage lit up with one light and the rest is this empty theater,” he recalls. “And then halfway through that I hear, ‘Why are you sweating so much?’ I was like, ‘Who said that?’ I’m looking around, and then I see Jason Newsted through the darkness. And I said, ‘Oh, hey, dude. I just had a couple of pints and it’s hot as s*** in here. That light above me is hot, dude!’”

Apparently the skunk-haired Rossi’s rock ‘n’ roll attitude — which likely would not have impressed the stuffier powers-that-be on, say, Idol or America’s Got Talent in 2006 — was an asset on Rock Star: Supernova. “There was a chuckle in the darkness,” Rossi remembers. Moments after he left that audition and started walking down the street with his guitar case in hand, a casting agent from the show chased him down and invited him to return the next day. And even later, when Rossi got on the show and botched his live, televised performance of Hole’s “Celebrity Skin” — when his “brain took a big dookie” and he forgot the words — that rawness and authenticity worked in his favor. “When you take your life too seriously, man, that only goes so far. That’s, like, a real person. [Rock musicians] trip over things once in a while. We do things wrong. You have to be yourself,” Rossi shrugs.

Unfortunately, the Rossi-fronted band that formed after the show’s finale was not nearly as successful as the show itself. First, there was a branding issue when the new group, which was supposed to be called Supernova, had to officially change its name to the clunkier Rock Star Supernova (minus the TV series title’s colon), after an established Orange County pop-punk trio named Supernova sued and was granted an injunction. (One key piece of evidence was a Myspace message from Butch Walker noting that Burnett Productions, CBS, Lee, Newsted, and Clarke had been informed that another Supernova already existed, but they had proceeded anyway.)

The hastily renamed Rock Star Supernova’s surprisingly solid, Walker-produced self-titled album, which included “Headspin” as a single and featured Rossi’s writing credits on four other cuts, debuted at No. 4 in Rossi’s native Canada, where it eventually went platinum. (Check out two circa-2006 performances by the band at Yahoo’s studio below.) But in the U.S., the album stalled at No. 101 on the Billboard 200 and received virtually no radio airplay. It was likely that the reality-television stigma hurt Rock Star Supernova’s chances of being taken seriously in the hard rock world, despite the project’s A-list pedigree.

“I think a lot of people think it’s baggage, like it is not ‘authentic’ or whatever, like it’s the ‘Hollywood TV version’ of something,” Walker, who also appeared as a guest judge on the show, tells Yahoo Entertainment/SiriusXM Volume. “But that being said, I mean, that’s what people sign up for when they watch.”

“We toured everywhere, all the way to Australia and back, but I’m a firm believer that timing is everything, you know?” muses Rossi. “And honestly, I don’t know, because I went out there every single night and gave it my all, dude. Me and Tommy were hungry, but maybe the rest of them — I’m not gonna mention people — but maybe somebody wanted Dilana to win instead of me. We’ll just leave it at that.”

Dilana, who toured as Rock Star Supernova’s opening act in 2007, was actually happy and relieved to place second on the show, as she ultimately didn’t think she was the right fit for the supergroup’s music. “I wanted to get as far as I could, but after I heard their first original, I was kind of bummed,” she confesses to Yahoo Entertainment. “That was exactly when I knew: ‘I don’t want to be the singer in this band.’ I’m not dissing them — I mean, they’re great songs, and Butch Walker is a fantastic, amazing, creative artist — but they’re just not me. They picked me to be the first [contestant] to sing an original on the show, and it was a challenge for me. After that, I knew there was no way I would be in this band, singing this material. And I made the mistake by actually informing some people about it the night before the finale.

“Someone posed the question, ‘What are you going to say [if you win]? What’s your little speech going to be?’ And, I said, ‘Well, if I win it, I’m going to decline it,’” Dilana continues. “Everyone knew it was either Lukas or I, so I said, ‘Lukas, you’re going to get it.’ And I think they were videotaping us at that point. So, I have a sneaky suspicion that somehow the producers got word to the band, and maybe they decided to make sure that I didn’t get picked. … Maybe they told the band and the band was like, ‘We’re not going to get humiliated like that.’ But, maybe the TV people were like, ‘Oh, this would be great television!’ Who knows what happened? But everyone also knew that Lukas was definitely Tommy’s favorite from day one, so it worked out perfectly for me. I didn’t have to embarrass anybody, I didn’t have to get kind of nervous if I had won, and I got exactly what I wanted. I wanted the exposure, and that’s what I got.”

“There was a lot of people involved. There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Everybody had their own manager. I mean, you can just see how that’s going to go,” sighs Walker. “There were a lot of people trying to get squeezed through the same rathole with all of their ideas. But they were all great people. I really enjoyed the experience, and Mark Burnett is awesome.”

Rossi was disappointed when Rock Star Supernova lasted only one album/touring cycle, but like Dilana, he used the exposure to further his solo career, and he and Lee remain buddies to this day. (“He’s the best dude. He’s like my tall, skinny daddy. I love that dude,” Rossi gushes.) Most recently, Rossi sang two tracks on Lee’s 2020 solo album Andro, the original “You Dancy” and a cover of Prince’s “When You Were Mine.” And Rock Star: Supernova changed Rossi’s life in a more important and lasting way: Shortly after the show, Lee and Navarro fixed him up with their friend, former adult film actress Kendra Jade. “We met up at Barney’s Beanery and literally spent the next two whole weeks in bed. It was mental,” Rossi laughingly recalls of their first date. Lukas and Kendra eloped in 2007; adopted a son, Bryden, in 2015; and now happily reside in Nashville.

“The music was secondary [to the Rock Star: Supernova experience]. Everybody I’ve met through that whole journey was so awesome,” Rossi adds. “Like I was telling you, I was on the street, I had nothing, and all of a sudden I get thrown into meeting all these wonderful people. … We were all there to do what we love most. Plus, we got to have free drinks and be on television and make a bunch of wonderful, wonderful fans. I mean, God, it was the best time of my life.”

Tommy Lee and Lukas Rossi (Photo: Jordan Strauss/WireImage)

“That’s all it ever was to be — it was a great experience,” says Lee. Rossi does wish that Burnett had continued focusing on rock ‘n’ roll reality shows instead of moving on to the more mainstream and less rockin’ NBC show The Voice (“Why? That’s like McDonald’s cutting off their Big Macs,” he quips), but Lee does believe that Rock Star: Supernova changed music television 15 years ago, attesting: “I think it paved the way for a lot of the shows that are here today, definitely.”