Episode 16 - Team Dry Bar

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ROSLYN: You've reached the Love and Luck Podcast.

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JASON: Hey babe, don't forget, don't pack or move anything heavy, okay? I'll come do that for you. Don't fuck up your back any more than it already is, all right?

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KANE: Hey, are you sure you're okay with doing all my heavy packing, though? Like, I know you offered to do it, but I don't want to take advantage of you or anything. I know you've been doing the majority of the heavy lifting - literally - for this move and I just... don't hurt yourself on my account, okay? I'll figure something out.

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JASON: Kane. Kane, listen to me. You have a bad back. I, on the other hand, am completely healthy and able bodied. Besides, you're the one who's been getting less sleep because he's doing all this research and paperwork and shit that's going to mean we can actually open the damn bar if we decide to do it, just because it makes his boyfriend happy. While still pulling full time hours at a call center job, by the way. So don't be stupid about this, okay? If you can overwork yourself and I'm not allowed to complain because you want to do it for me, then you can let me do your damn heavy packing.

Look... you do you, and I'll do me, and we'll work together by complementing each other, rather than trying to split things into some kind of so-called ‘objective' divide that would just make us both annoyed and sick and generally not be of much help to ourselves or anyone else, okay?

We're a team, yeah? We don't have to do the same things the same ways to make things work. We can play to our strengths and prop each other up in our weaknesses. That's how this stuff is supposed to work, right?

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KANE: Hey... [Sighs] So, yeah... you're right. I guess I just... I worry that you're going to get frustrated or resent me or something, I don't know. Which is... I know you'll tell me before things get to that. I just... I just can't help but worry.

I'll try and get over myself. But I might need some reassurance every now and then that things are okay. Is that okay?

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JASON: Babe, that's totally fine. You just let me know when you need that reassurance, okay?

Oh, and right now? For the official record? Things are totally fine, unless you insist on lifting heavy things instead of letting me do it. If that happens, things are less fine. So keep things fine, babe, yeah? Let me lift the heavy things.

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KANE: [Laughs quietly] Hey... okay. I promise I'll let you lift all the heavy things.

By the way, speaking of red tape and shit, I've been thinking. Liquor licensing laws are... an adventure. To put it mildly.

I know it's a bar, and we're going to partially run it as a bar, but... considering that a big part of our motivation for this is to have a safe and cool queer hangout where anyone, including teenagers can come by, it gets complicated, legally. And if we want to stay open into the wee hours of the morning, that makes things really expensive, as well as complicated.

Anyway... my point is... [deep breath] Do you think you could handle it, if we didn't serve alcohol in our bar? I know that sounds bizarre and silly but we could still do cool drinks and stuff, we could still maintain a pretty bar-like vibe, just... not serve anything alcoholic. Let me know what you think.

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JASON: Oh my god. This is the biggest thing you've ever asked of me. This is possibly the biggest thing anyone could ever ask of me. Oh man. I need to think about this for a while, okay?

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JASON: Hey, so... could we get some kind of live music licence thing? If we're not selling alcohol, I mean? Because if we could have like, bands and singers, or even fucking slam poetry or whatever... that might make up for not having alcohol.

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KANE: [Relieved] Oh my god honey, yes, we can have as much live music as you want and the powers that be will legally allow us to have.

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JASON: [Sighs] Well... if we can have lots of cool performance stuff then... I guess we can have a dry bar. I'm not super happy about it, but even I know that liquor licensing is a nightmare, and you're the one who's actually handling all these details, so... if that's the right decision, then that's the right decision.

That reminds me, though, that we should invest in a couple of like, xboxes or something. Maybe some board games, and some books and stuff too. So that the nerds like you enjoy being in our weird little dry bar as much as the party animals like me. Although the party animals like me... well, we're definitely going to need that live music happening if there's no booze, let's put it that way.

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KANE: Hey, okay, so, I love that. I mean, I know you called me a nerd but... well, first of all, you're not wrong, and second of all, that's a really good idea. We should definitely consider all the ways we can create a social space people will feel comfortable being in. The better we can diversify our entertainment options without limiting the purpose of the space too narrowly, the better.

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JASON: Wow, that was some very businesslike talk going on there. [Teasing] You fucken nerd.

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KANE: [Amused, lovingly] Shut up, you love me. You love a nerd, that's even worse than being one. So there.

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ROSLYN: Love and Luck is written by Erin Kyan, and produced by Passer Vulpes Productions. Kane is voiced by Lee Davis-Thalbourne. Jason is voiced by Erin Kyan. Credits spoken by Roslyn Quin. Recorded by Kermie Breydon.

For more information about Love and Luck, check out our website, loveandluckpodcast.com. You can also find us on facebook as Love and Luck Podcast, and follow us on twitter, at @LoveLuckPodcast.