Jeff Calhoun (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bardish) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
riverviewlogs2018-08-01 10:10 am
bardish) wrote in riverviewlogs2018-08-01 10:10 am
and i wonder, when i sing along with you [OPEN]
who: Jeff Calhoun & OPEN
what: August Catch-All
when: ALL OF AUGUST
where: Various
warnings: Prompt II has brief references to past drug use and... VAGUELY demons.
i. it's a kind of magic (GRAMARYE)
[ Of everything Jeff could complain about with regards to his life here (Such as the recent kidnapping-by-cult! That's still a big one!), there's one thing he's totally content with: his job. Working at Gramarye, he gets the same joy of teaching as back home, only without the constraints of testing and curriculum drama. Also, the pay's marginally better. That helps.
Here in Riverview, he gets to teach kids who don't have a lot of opportunities at the public school, whether because they can't control their magic (or other abilities), or because the facilities aren't equipped for them, or they just... haven't had the best experiences with non-magical people in their own worlds, and feel safer with people more like them. Whatever the reason, they get their schooling at Gramarye, and Jeff's one of the teachers who works with them on their fundamental education. Not with magic (not a chance in hell he'd try to teach magical lessons, with there being ten thousand different types of magic here in the first place), but mundane subjects.
It's a challenge, coming up with lesson plans that can both cast a wide net and be allow him to customize for each kid's needs, but he loves it. And he gets to focus on all kinds of different things, depending on the students. Critical thinking! Reading comprehension! Self-expression! Occasionally, some degree of math!
For all that he might give off a slacker vibe, it's clear that he at least takes his job seriously. So, Jeff can often be found at Gramarye, whether it's during school hours for the magical youths, or after-hours: grading, lesson planning, or cleaning up after some magical mishap or another. Look, it's a hazard of the job. If he weren't so totally gunshy about doing magic, himself, he'd just... enchant the damn papers so no teenage wizards with a strong affinity for pyromancy could set their tests on fire when they get too stumped by a question...
Kyle.
So that's his current mission, when he's not teaching: asking his coworkers (or frequent visitors of Gramarye) for tips or spells to MAAAAYBE baby-proof his classroom. ]
Look, they're good kids, but sometimes they can get a little, ahh... excitable? It's like... shit happens! Things explode a little! So, if you've got a spell for that, I could really use a hand here...
ii. i'm burning through the sky, yeah (OPEN MIC NIGHT)
[ It's funny where life takes you. The last time Jeff played in front of a crowd, it was... 1995? A packed house, the crowd a mass of sweaty bodies, drunk, high, hopped up on this thing or that. He was shitfaced, too, trying to fry a voice out of his head with a cocktail of substances, but he could still hear it, even through the fog. From what he can remember, the set went from okay, to not-so-great, to a total shitshow. He lost time, blacked out, sometime around the last song in the set, and whatever happened after, he still has no memory of.
He found out after-the-fact that the night ended in yet another fight between him and his bandmates. Only by then, it was one fight too many, and that was the end of that. Bye bye, band.
And that wasn't even when he hit bottom.
This is the first time Jeff's picked up an instrument and played for an audience (instead of just himself) in over twenty years, and it couldn't be more different. Open mic at a coffeehouse, mellow music for a small, mellow crowd. Not normally something he'd do-- god, there's still a part of him that expects everything to go wrong, even as he's strumming a guitar and singing covers of other musicians (never his own stuff, not anymore)-- but, fuck, Athena's a bad influence here! Living with another bard, and not having his daughter around to pour all of his attention into, it's gotten harder for Jeff to keep on pretending he can live a full and satisfying life without music.
So, here we go. He's not flashy like he used to be, and half the people at the coffeehouse aren't even here for the open mic performances-- they're doing their own thing and hardly paying attention-- and that helps ease him through his initial waves of anxiety and settle into a nice groove here. It's just a few songs, by a few artists. When he's finished, it's a rush, that buzzing thrill beneath the skin that he always used to feel when he performed.
When it's over, Jeff sticks around to mingle and chat with people. Come say hi!
(And he enjoys the open mic thing enough that he'll come back a few more times over the month to play a short set. If Athena's with him, you can bet there will be duets.) ]
( And here's some references for songs he might've played: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. )
WILDCARD.
[ More prompts might pop up later. IN THE MEANTIME: if these don't strike your fancy, you can choose your own adventure. ]
what: August Catch-All
when: ALL OF AUGUST
where: Various
warnings: Prompt II has brief references to past drug use and... VAGUELY demons.
i. it's a kind of magic (GRAMARYE)
[ Of everything Jeff could complain about with regards to his life here (Such as the recent kidnapping-by-cult! That's still a big one!), there's one thing he's totally content with: his job. Working at Gramarye, he gets the same joy of teaching as back home, only without the constraints of testing and curriculum drama. Also, the pay's marginally better. That helps.
Here in Riverview, he gets to teach kids who don't have a lot of opportunities at the public school, whether because they can't control their magic (or other abilities), or because the facilities aren't equipped for them, or they just... haven't had the best experiences with non-magical people in their own worlds, and feel safer with people more like them. Whatever the reason, they get their schooling at Gramarye, and Jeff's one of the teachers who works with them on their fundamental education. Not with magic (not a chance in hell he'd try to teach magical lessons, with there being ten thousand different types of magic here in the first place), but mundane subjects.
It's a challenge, coming up with lesson plans that can both cast a wide net and be allow him to customize for each kid's needs, but he loves it. And he gets to focus on all kinds of different things, depending on the students. Critical thinking! Reading comprehension! Self-expression! Occasionally, some degree of math!
For all that he might give off a slacker vibe, it's clear that he at least takes his job seriously. So, Jeff can often be found at Gramarye, whether it's during school hours for the magical youths, or after-hours: grading, lesson planning, or cleaning up after some magical mishap or another. Look, it's a hazard of the job. If he weren't so totally gunshy about doing magic, himself, he'd just... enchant the damn papers so no teenage wizards with a strong affinity for pyromancy could set their tests on fire when they get too stumped by a question...
Kyle.
So that's his current mission, when he's not teaching: asking his coworkers (or frequent visitors of Gramarye) for tips or spells to MAAAAYBE baby-proof his classroom. ]
Look, they're good kids, but sometimes they can get a little, ahh... excitable? It's like... shit happens! Things explode a little! So, if you've got a spell for that, I could really use a hand here...
ii. i'm burning through the sky, yeah (OPEN MIC NIGHT)
[ It's funny where life takes you. The last time Jeff played in front of a crowd, it was... 1995? A packed house, the crowd a mass of sweaty bodies, drunk, high, hopped up on this thing or that. He was shitfaced, too, trying to fry a voice out of his head with a cocktail of substances, but he could still hear it, even through the fog. From what he can remember, the set went from okay, to not-so-great, to a total shitshow. He lost time, blacked out, sometime around the last song in the set, and whatever happened after, he still has no memory of.
He found out after-the-fact that the night ended in yet another fight between him and his bandmates. Only by then, it was one fight too many, and that was the end of that. Bye bye, band.
And that wasn't even when he hit bottom.
This is the first time Jeff's picked up an instrument and played for an audience (instead of just himself) in over twenty years, and it couldn't be more different. Open mic at a coffeehouse, mellow music for a small, mellow crowd. Not normally something he'd do-- god, there's still a part of him that expects everything to go wrong, even as he's strumming a guitar and singing covers of other musicians (never his own stuff, not anymore)-- but, fuck, Athena's a bad influence here! Living with another bard, and not having his daughter around to pour all of his attention into, it's gotten harder for Jeff to keep on pretending he can live a full and satisfying life without music.
So, here we go. He's not flashy like he used to be, and half the people at the coffeehouse aren't even here for the open mic performances-- they're doing their own thing and hardly paying attention-- and that helps ease him through his initial waves of anxiety and settle into a nice groove here. It's just a few songs, by a few artists. When he's finished, it's a rush, that buzzing thrill beneath the skin that he always used to feel when he performed.
When it's over, Jeff sticks around to mingle and chat with people. Come say hi!
(And he enjoys the open mic thing enough that he'll come back a few more times over the month to play a short set. If Athena's with him, you can bet there will be duets.) ]
( And here's some references for songs he might've played: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. )
WILDCARD.
[ More prompts might pop up later. IN THE MEANTIME: if these don't strike your fancy, you can choose your own adventure. ]
no subject
She hesitates outside of the coffee shop, because seriously? Is he doing this? Is he really doing this?
He is.
She hangs around the back, drinking black coffee (sweet things are supposed to be treats, after all), listening to him play and sing and trying to decide how she feels. She could barely get him to sing one song at a karaoke bar, but here he is, strumming and singing Bowie while no one even really listens. It makes her angry, these people who don't get how big a deal it is. They should be hanging on every chord.
When someone takes his place on the stool at the front of the room (she already thinks of it as his place), Athena drifts up to the front, watching him for a second as he puts his guitar away with his back to her.
Very quietly: ]
Hey, Jeff? ...Are you okay?
no subject
...
No, seriously, because Jeff had no idea she was even here, not until he hears her voice speaking up behind him. Then again, it could just be that Jeff's a wholly unobservant person! Or maybe he was just so wrapped up in his own nerves that she could've been waving her arms right in front of him, during his short set, and he still would've missed her.
He looks over his shoulder at her, flashing her a cheerful smile, trying not to go like, too far into smiley territory, where he'd just look manic. He feels kinda manic, though, electrified, even though it was just one mellow coffeehouse set. ]
Yeah! [ He's totally okay! And oops he didn't even say hi, so: ] Hey! [ THERE. Greeting accomplished. ] Why wouldn't I be okay?
[ As if he has NO IDEA why she might ask, even though he totally does.
Oh, and BY THE WAY: ]
Did you like it?
no subject
[ WHO'S SUPER NOT CONVINCING? JEFF CALHOUN IS SUPER NOT CONVINCING!!! She sits down in the nearest chair, still very clearly worried. ]
Because, I dunno. [ She doesn't really have the words to wrap around her worries. ] Because you didn't tell me you were gonna do this? Because... I'm just surprised, I guess. It was great though! You were fantastic.
[ AND NONE OF THESE IGNORANT PLEBS DESERVED IT!!! ]
no subject
He supposes he can't blame her. He'd been adamant about not playing for an audience in the entire time they've known each other. ]
Thanks. And... sorry. If it helps, I didn't tell anyone. [ He pauses, trying to figure out how to put it. Athena's one person he tries to be as open with as possible. He'd be a shitty mentor, he figures, if he wasn't. And he may not tell her everything on his mind all the time, but if she's raising an issue, he won't brush it aside, either.
No matter how uncomfortable it makes him to talk about certain aspects of his own bullshit. ]
I kinda wanted to see if I could even do it at all.
no subject
She would have wanted to be there for anything bad, but... she still gets why he wouldn't want her to be, too. ]
Of course you could do it.
[ She sounds cavalier, but there's still worry on her face. Athena punches his knee lightly. ]
You'd better tell me next time.
[ She looks out at the coffeehouse patrons as the next musician starts singing. They're not paying attention to that guy, either. ]
Don't these assholes know what it takes to sing in front of people?
no subject
Athena doesn't know him at his highest highs or his lowest lows; she only heard the stories. ]
I will. Promise.
[ He means it!
Jeff nudges Athena with his shoulder, smiling at her protectiveness. ]
Probably not. But... C'mon. They're not assholes. They just didn't come here for this.
[ And honestly, Jeff's grateful for the patrons who didn't pay attention to the open mic performances. He doubts he could've gone through with this if all eyes and ears were on him.
He's quiet, though, as the guy starts to sing. Nice voice, great potential, but he seems hesitant and nervous, and you can hear it. And the lyrics, uh. They could use some work! But there's a sincerity in his singing, an earnestness, that Jeff admires. God, he might even envy it. That's one thing he knows he held back on, here, tonight. In terms of like, rhythm and melody and harmony-- y'know, just sounding lovely-- Jeff was good. (He knows he was, and false modesty's bullshit.) He was good, but he wasn't open. He held back and kept himself guarded, and he suspects if anyone in the audience picked up on it, she's sitting next to him right now.
When there's a lull between songs, Jeff leans over to Athena. ]
Want to go for a walk when he's done?
[ Because he's still antsy, and they've got shit to talk about, but he really doesn't want to just walk out in the middle of a performance! ]
no subject
This guy is definitely shy, but she can't really blame him. Even she's still uncomfortable in front of an audience sometimes.
Jeff's question is almost startling, she's so focused on the music. ]
Um, yeah. Sounds good.
no subject
Once they're out and walking, he looks down at Athena, mouth quirked in a half-smile. ]
Sooo... wanna do a duet next time?
[ A peace offering! To apologize for, y'know, Jeff keeping secrets and possibly worrying his apprentice. ]
no subject
For real? You would? You'd play guitar, right?