Skills Challenge (the Lance Bass edit)

[aruan]

Wherein we bless the weather powers (cloudy with a lovely seabreeze, merci) and learn to enjoy the irreverence that seems to have become the traditional theme of this event.

Where to even start.

Well, Lance now readily takes off his shirt at the slightest provocation and has gotten a fairly large tattoo of a bull's head [ETA: Later reports confirm a bass clef inside it] on his upper back along his spine. (This was especially amusing to finally see after all the rumors and speculation about it all weekend - we went from wings along his shoulders to the 'rock on' hands at his nape, so to finally see what it really was was half the fun.) Joey got into everything with his usual gusto, which is always appreciated. Chris seemed less than enthused, though with fairly good reason (either that or the Knights really were cheating as much as the refs accused. I'm disinclined to go with the latter.) He seemed to enjoy the Good Charlotte boys though. Justin needs to be fed something nutritious and desperately. Some sun wouldn't have hurt, either, the poor lad. He might really be ill, especially considering the way the concert went on Wednesday, so here's hoping he's alright. In other news, however, looking adorable in flip-flops with loose shaggy hair was JC, unofficially on the Knights team in that he came out in jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt and disappeared about halfway through the festivities without having participated in any of the events. Simon Rex was awful lonely after he left, too. [ETA: Apparently, those close enough watched him attempt a stretch, at which point a very angry-looking red stripe appeared starting about an inch above the waistband of his jeans, which would explain a lot. Poor kitten. He must've fallen asleep on his belly in the sun. We're not going into how especially he of all of them should know about the Florida sun, no we're not.]

The refereeing was as high-caliber as ever, which is to say there were disputes after every event so the boys dunked a couple in the pool for sport every now and then. The games were as random as ever, which meant explaining them at least three or more times and having the teams make up the rules along the way. Lance took it upon himself to know what was going on though, being the first to understand the games then acting them out to as many people as many times as necessary. Yes, I might love him a lot.

Lord of the Ringies was the first event as well as the beginning of more Lance nudity than I ever hoped to bargain for. It involved swimming (which apparently was not on the list of things a cosmonaut should be able to do well) for rings in an above-ground pool and other miscellany. Before things began, Joey made his way to the Daze side to schmooze with Lance, even though they were both competing, for opposing teams. I had to mention that because in case we haven't met, I'm an irredeemable, helpless sucker for JoLa, and those two love each other just as much as ever. Lance looks good; really, really good. His hair is a bit longer than it's been in recentish photos, he's tanned and gained a bit of weight back to his cheeks, and don't even get me started on his arms: Making the Tour type squeeing would ensue. Also, I actually do like his tattoo quite a bit - because that matters you know. And he does devil hands at the slightest provocation. Possibly a whole heck of a lot.

Ready-Aim-Splat marked the triumphant return of the rubber band launch, an event Lance felt he had particular mastery over, and acted out copious and detailed pointers for all his teammates. He was originally just one of the people holding the band but took over the job of launching them when things weren't going satisfactorily enough. Lots and lots, I think.

National Flipper League should be an official sport so we can see Justin running around in fins all the time. He's good, yo. Lance himself, though a stickler for rules, regulations, and respect, is not above helping his team out any way he needs to. That this event ended in a dance-off ("the only way to decide this" *g*) that involved Alfonso Ribero imitating Michael Jackson in Billie Jean, complete with lip synching, made it definitely memorable. And speaking of which, Chris and Joey were at it again with their harassment of referees who made unfavorable calls on their team - they threw one, then the other into the pool when they'd found out the first had called on their side.

The Scrabble Scramble event saw Lance once again readily and enthusiastically volunteering to be the one in the pool to fish out the letters, shedding his shirt even before the emcees even had a chance to announce the teams. There was some confusion of the word 'recalcitrant' as 'recalcitrate' (not, in fact, a real word) so there was a rematch, which brought us our word of the day, courtesy of Chris: "disquali - freakin' - cation."

After a particularly convoluted explanation of Sand Trap, even Lance had a question, which was the one and only time they handed him a microphone - there were cheers all around as he finished asking it. Yeah, his voice is just that delicious. As far as the event, they had several kinds of real trouble with defrosting the shirts. Though it was all worth it to see Lance and Justin working like washmaids at the side of the pool (which wasn't technically legal even if the emcee said so, and Lance stood there for a moment to make the most annoyed face at this blatant defiance of the rules of engagement before jumping back into play, the big adorable control freak that he is.) While it was originally Lance's idea to whack the frozen blocks against the railing around the court, it was Justin who decided diligence wasn't the way and really, really took to them hardcore, heaving around his body weight and slamming them onto the ground from dunk height. The Daze ended up winning this one, with Lance in the lead coordinating four people strapped to two land skis across the finish line. The Knights were unhappy with the way events transpired. Justin's response? "Y'all are just jealous 'cause you can't spell." Continuity! Or you know, something.

In more de facto celebrity news, Joey's parents were sitting center court, with Trace, Steve Fatone, Lynn, and Diane sparsed out a few seats down. JC's parents were in attendance as well, though they were reported to have left when he did.

I'm so glad we were sitting on the bleacher side we did if only to bear witness to Lance's cheerleading as he mimed and yelled 'Pull!' at his hapless teammates during Tug-O-War. He was getting red in the face from just standing there. Yep, definitely, definitely love him.

We met a couple of fans walking out the gates and stayed to chat. Others rushed the opposite end of the stands to watch the not-so-red-carpet departure of the players. Tonight looks to be quiet and may well involve make-up sleep for those of us whose budgets lay outside the realm of SPI's VIP party. Good times.

The two choice photographs from today's festivities, taken by me with the ingenious 100mm disposable zoom cameras of giddyupnow (cutting away because they're fairly large):

Comments

[ramblinround.livejournal.com]

Whoo! Go girl! One of the most informative and entertaining reports I've read!

And I might love him a lot too. A really really lot.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Your icon is from one of Liz's pictures no doubt? I need to summon the resolve to go near my friendslist - I haven't touched LJ in about a week or more.

I'm glad you liked the report! The event really was dominated by Lance (tee-hee, for I am twelve) so my account was more accurate than skewed, plus a side of personal bias because mmm, yes indeed. I typed this up as soon as we got back to the hotel and haven't really looked at it since, just cropped and uploaded the pics and there it all is, but yay, glad it's at least somewhat coherent. *g*

[ramblinround.livejournal.com]

I don't think Liz has posted any pictures yet. My icon came from one of from starsprinkles', you can find them here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/starsprinkles/967199.html).

I love that Lance is so bossy and driven when it comes to the competitions. Hee. (And I only mean bossy in the most positive way, of course.) But thank you for explaining the games. That was kind of what was missing from the other reports I read, I think.

I love the new tattoo. Not that it matters, but I do. I love that he practically did get The Horns tattooed on his body. Go Lance!

Thanks again for your kickass report. I really enjoyed it.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link, I don't have her on my friendslist so I probably would've missed those. Mmm, contraband digital photography.

Liz showed us some of her greatest hits after the game as we waited for tables at the Cheesecake Factory, and she's just known for her amazing photography, ergo my assuming and here we are relearning that lesson. But she'll post soon as well. We all need sleep after this weekend - if anything, that was is short supply.

I liked the games, I did. Some of them were unnecessarily convoluted, others were just silly whose rules were meant to be broken, but none of it really matters because it all seems to turn into a free-for-all rather quickly.

I, too, love Lance's bossiness - I'm prone to be the same kind of stickler for the rules, so I totally understand where he's coming from. And really, no one explained the games? They were kind of the point of it all... if you look at it from the right angle. It could've just been all about shirtless!controlfreak!Lance. My attentions may have wavered in there, but glad to see the original train of thought retained some integrity. *g*

Your partner in crime is so cool! We picked her up at the airport on Friday morning and hung out a few times during the weekend and whee! Such fun!

[ramblinround.livejournal.com]

I, too, love Lance's bossiness - I'm prone to be the same kind of stickler for the rules, so I totally understand where he's coming from.

I can just see him demonstrating how it's done, from the rubber band thing to the tug of war. Hee! What a great guy!

Your partner in crime is so cool! We picked her up at the airport on Friday morning and hung out a few times during the weekend and whee! Such fun!

She is, man, she's so awesome. I have to admit that missing out on spending time with her was one of the few things that made me sad about not being able to go myself. I'm glad you got to, though! :-)

So glad you had such a great time. Loved your recap of the skills challenge. And that pic of Justin is great! Hee!

You had me at shirtless!Lance ...

[meinnim.livejournal.com]

... and the ensuing details on control freak!Lance almost sent into a swoon. Which speaks of my highly strange nature. *g*

Thank you for that recap. It's definitely one of the best (and funniest) I've read.

Re: You had me at shirtless!Lance ...

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Dude, I am all about Lance's control freakiness. Anarchy is not my thing, so I totally relate. He's an absolutely gooberlicious and darling boy, and not that any of that was news to me, but it was amazing fun to get to see him live for the first time and have it confirmed.

So glad you enjoyed it! I typed it right after we walked back to our hotel and just pasted it with the image links - the entire weekend was such grand fun, though that seems to be the overwhelming characteristic of the boys/this fandom in general, and I'm happy that that came through. I tried to get out most of the teenie squeeing before putting fingers to keys, so I was just happy for coherence here. *g*

[krabbypatty.livejournal.com]

Jules, I loved this post so much I saved it as a memory! Bossy Lance is something I find sexy.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! And you know, *blush* Whee, I'm giddy you liked it! I had so much fun this weekend and I'm so very glad I typed that up as soon as we got back from Skills because wow, catching up on all the JJB, etc. nastiness that apparently went down, people are seriously just out to ruin their own weekend. Good times all around and all people seem to be doing is reading angst and strife into it. They must've gone to a parallel dimension's Challenge, which I lament on their behalf because my boys were pretty and happy and fun. *shrug*

I love Lance so much. The control freakiness was absolutely adorable. My first time seeing him live, too! All terribly exciting.

Also, have I mentioned to you how much that icon rocks my socks? Because it does. Err, well, it would if Florida's July merited them, but yes. *g*

[icebun.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this, Jules. This is going in the memories section just in case I need a pick-me-up.

Love that boy so much.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Dude, I've not let up on blushing since posting that. I had no idea no one's actually posted a detailed version of events until I just finished catching myself up. I guess most of the forum posters are too busy writing about staking out the hotel lobby and the LJ crowd is probably still in transit or recuperating, but I'm so glad y'all liked it so much! I just know what I want to remember - that it was Lance who happened to totally steal the show was happy coincidence for us all. *g*

[ramblinround.livejournal.com]

Again, I'm so glad you wrote this up. I saved it to memories too. :-)

[crazybutsound]

Thank you so much for this report, which is by far the best one I've read so far. Then again, I don't have that many links with the SDB crew, and always miss out on everything, but I'm glad I didn't this time. Sometimes sucks to be FRench, but Iknow I've already been over that, lol.

I love Lance's new tattoo, maybe even more so because I showed it to a friend who had never seen/hear of Lance, and she bursted out laughing, asking: "Bareback? Wow!" Of course, that's brought way too many porny thoughts of Lance having his tattoo licked by way too many hot guys to my mind. And look, I even have a new OTP. *points to icon*

*giggles*

THanks again for sharing the fun!

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

You're entirely welcome! I was a little ambivalent about the fact that it's so heavily Lance-biased, but it really was All About Him on Saturday.

Isn't the tattoo cool? I especially love the bass clef, a detail only gleaned after the fact.

Dude, excellent photoshopping on the picture. Hee. *g* Go do it and start a trend!

[beatpropx.livejournal.com]

I started as a JoLa 'shipper and this along with a few choice pics has given me serious warm fuzzies. Thanks so much!

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

They don't call JoLa the gateway drug of popslash fandom for nothing. I could take Scrooge McDuck kinds of swims in the mountains of canon for it. And so much JoLa all weekend! Hotel antics! Pretty pre-during-post party pictures! Guarding each other during the game! Hugging and laughing and theyloveachothersomuch!

Obviously, I've been gushing about this all morning. Not surprisingly, this hasn't increased my coherence about it all. I'm JoLa to the core and to be so generously obliged with canon every time they're seen together? I'm rendered a mere gleeful puddle of girl here.

What really got me was a story as related by without_me: She goes shopping at this memorabilia store on Melrose or Sunset in LA a lot. Anyhow, she's in there flipping through *NSYNC pictures and a salegirl came up behind here, points to the picture and says 'Oh, he comes in here all the time.' Interest having been piqued, Alicia asks casually what he tends to buy.

The answer? Superman memorabilia.

The boyband member in question? Lance.

I about died, and more than happily so, right then and there. *wibble*

[beatpropx.livejournal.com]

Damn! I'm almost swooning and that's most unbecoming in a gentleman. Canon, straight up. It's quite possible that I am now even warmer and fuzzier.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Hey, I won't tell. And really, these boys practically make inanimate objects sweat and blush, so I think you're alright. But how sweet is that? She told this story to four of us - there were a full three seconds of silence before we all whimpered and cooed. It's the kind of canon you only dream of, you know? *le sigh*

[geminigirl38.livejournal.com]

Hey there! Great review! Sounds like an AWESOME time. Lance!!! :)

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Laaance! Whoot! *g* Yeah, but really, I think most everyone, whether he's their favorite or not, would have to concede a little bit that this was Lance's show. He was radiant and happy and tanned and seriously darling. This weekend was my first time seeing him in person, and everything everyone's said about his generosity, his laid-backness, his sarcastic wit, his love for his boys, is true.

Thank you!

[geminigirl38.livejournal.com]

Lance has been steadily rising on my adoration list since about two years ago. Who knew? Hehe.

[sinensiss.livejournal.com]

this was such fun to read--thanks for posting about the event. (and being rather Lance-centric myself--extra appreciation for the Bass details.)

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Happy to share. Really though, I just told it like it is, Lance commandeered the attention during this event all on his own.

[without-me.livejournal.com]

You. Just. Rock. JC'd better have some solo!club!tour! dates in Florida, because I clearly need to see you again, and soon. Thank you, thank you for this lovely recap of Lance hotness. He is the most beautiful creature on the planet, and you know I say that from a position of much, much JC love.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Yes! Solo! Club! Tour! Failing a shared gig with Tony of course, and have we mentioned the mere thought of that is enough to induce serious paroxisms of ecstacy? Because, good lord almighty yes.

Thank you, thank you for this lovely recap of Lance hotness.

Heh. You should write what you know is what they've always told me, and my attentions may have wavered toward the others on occasion, but this was seriously Lance's day in the sun (as it were, if maybe not quite literally).

He is the most beautiful creature on the planet, and you know I say that from a position of much, much JC love.

I'm so psyched you've gotten to vouch for that up close a few times now, but from the various distances I saw him this weekend (and angles - everything from ten feet above and below him) he's looked nothing but sunny and beautiful, and that just made my heart flutter every time. After this past fall, I'm so done with the Lance angst - I want for nothing but his happiness, which he absolutely radiated all weekend.

And yes, your love for JC may have come across despite the brevity of our contact. *g* Lance is firmly back on top (insert your choice of pun here) for me, but I hope I managed to convey my own leanings toward JC in our time together as well. Poor kitten, falling asleep in the sun like that. The fact that it seems entirely like him to forget about the less practical aspects of doing so while enjoying its warmth is endearing beyond words. There doesn't seem to be a single pragmatic bone in his body. Is this where I can prove myself not only sympathetic but helpful to his cause and offer to keep him "greasy"? Any fan worth her salt should, I think. *hugs JC*

[without-me.livejournal.com]

Oh, when I say solo!club!tour, that includes Tony. Totally.

And I don't think there's anything wrong with loving Lance and JC both best. Because, really, how cruel would it be to make you choose just one?

Here's to both of them being as blindingly happy as they deserve to be.

[runerinrun.livejournal.com]

Good review Jules! I love your commentary and second all of it. It was so fun to see their personalities come out during the competition. OCD competitive Justin! Shirtless Lance! And man, boy does take it off with no problem!

It was good to meet you sweetie! Sorry, we couldn't do dinner. Amy and I both were laughing yet pissed that we had spaced that we would be doing dinner in Ft. Lauderdale. Next time!

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Thank you kindly. I've mentioned this was my first live event with all of them, and yes, it was delightful to see them in an environment as loosely structured as this and watching what ensued.

I think the last time we saw shirtless!Lance was when he was seventeenish in the video for I Want You Back when they're frolicing out on the lake. I'm so glad he seems to have made such amicable peace with his body issues.

It was simply lovely to meet you both. I'll remember to watch for updates for when Trading Spaces will air, which really is one of the most fun and fabulous shows on television.

[adelate]

What an excellent review! Definitely going in my memories. I felt like I was actually there, reading that. Thanks so much for taking the time out to write it. :))

LAAAAAAAAANCE!

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Thank you kindly! This review was a joy to type up - I'm just as bad about the rules of fair play as Lance, so it was positively squeeful to witness. I'm so glad it had a feeling of immediacy - everyone should get to experience this, or come as close to it as possible, so that's good. It was entirely my pleasure though, really. ;)

Laaaaaaaance! Whoot!

[giddyupnow.livejournal.com]

Hee. I just read over this again as I was typing up the rest of my report and it's as entertaining as I remembered. *saving to the permanent files*

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

I saw your post and had to smile. Oddly, it was just the other day that I realized I never finished typing up my account of Challenge weekend, which will have to be remedied. Good times, yo. Seriously good times.