#fabulous female musicians

[iamhowiseeit]

Todays #booksponsor

Fabulous Female Musicians

21 remarkable female musicians who have made an indelible mark on the music industry. From India to Azerbaijan, the UK and the US, each woman's story is unique. These trailblazing women have broken barriers and inspired countless others. This book serves to bring these fabulous female musicians deservedly into the spotlight.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fabulous-Female-Musicians-Sammy-Stein/dp/1803529199/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2C33CTBHVBKHP&keywords=sammy+stein&qid=1696341336&sprefix=%2Caps%2C57&sr=8-1

#ad #fabulous female musicians #Sammy Stein #song writing #female song writer #girl bosses

[sims-himbo]

THE SIMS 4: BARBIE LEGACY CHALLENGE (BASE GAME EDITION!)

ever since i posted the original challenge, i have been getting asked to come up with a base game version, and it is finally here! i'm really sorry that it took this long but i have no concept of time lol, anyways, i hope even more of you can enjoy it now!

challenge rules below the cut

All heirs must be female and named Barbie. (non-heir children may have any name)

You may use the freerealestate cheat for your first house, but try not to use money cheats after that!

You are allowed and encouraged to use lot traits and rewards to boost skill gain, anything that’s in-game is fair game.

You’ve been raised with traditional values: find a good man, start a family, be a homemaker... But you want your children to aim higher, so you’ll make sure to set them up for success.

Complete Successful Lineage aspiration

Max Cooking and Charisma skill

Have at least 4 kids, each child must complete at least one child aspiration and they must all max out their grades in school

Must have Family-Oriented trait

Your mother was happy staying at home, but not you. You’re ready to fight your way to the top and make enough money to support your family for generations to come.

Complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration

Max Charisma and Logic skills

Max Business career (Investor branch)

Must have Ambitious trait

Your family is wealthy and you were pretty popular growing up. You’ve always been a trendsetter, pushing the limits and breaking the mold, so now it’s time to take the fashion industry by storm!

Complete Friend Of The World aspiration

Must have Materialistic and Creative traits

Max Style Influencer career (Trendsetter branch)

Max Photography and Charisma skills

Have a gallery wall with all of your friends and family

Your mom has made a name for herself on social media, and she's used her platform to promote your cooking talents! Empowered by this positive attention, you decide to follow your dreams of becoming a world-renowned chef!

Complete Master Chef aspiration (Chef branch)

Must have Foodie trait

Max Cooking and Gourmet Cooking skills

Die by fire, then make Ambrosia to bring yourself back from the dead! (You may cheat for the ingredients, but not for the skills; you may also cheat to add your ghost to your household, here's how)

When you were a lass, your mom made you four dozen eggs every morning to help you get large! Now, you’re determined to reach your full potential in physical performance and become a world class champion!

Complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Max Fitness and Charisma skills

Max Athlete career (Athlete branch)

Must have Active trait

Your mother was physically gifted, but you’re more brainy than brawny. You spend hours at your computer everyday, there’s so much information to absorb!

Complete Computer Whiz aspiration

Max Video Gaming and Programming skills

Win a Professional Tournament in ALL the games

Must have Geek trait

Your family has achieved many, many accolades, and you’ve set out to capture all of it in an epic Tell-All novel that you spend your entire life writing!

Complete Bestselling Author aspiration

Max Writing skill

Write Book Of Life and bind it to your parent, use it to successfully bring them back from a premature death

Must have Creative trait

Being from a successful lineage, people may roll their eyes and immediately write you off as yet another nepo-baby trying to start a music career… So you must prove them all wrong by becoming a proper rockstar!

Complete Party Animal aspiration

Max Entertainer Career (Musician Branch)

Must have Music Lover and Outgoing traits

Max Guitar, Violin and Piano skills

The success of your ancestors has set you up to comfortably follow your dreams. You love the arts, and you want to become an accomplished painter living in a beautiful palace, surrounded by the beauty you’ve created!

Complete Mansion Baron aspiration

Max Painter career (Either branch)

Max Painting skill

Have an Art Gallery and display all of your masterpieces

Must have Art Lover trait

Now that you’ve conquered the world, it’s time to venture out into Space! There’s so much to explore out there, and Barbie must leave her mark all across the galaxy.

Complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Max Astronaut career (Any branch)

Max Logic and Rocket Science skills

Build and fully upgrade a Rocket Ship

Explore Space and bring a souvenir

Try for a baby on the ship!

Must have Genius trait

#sims 4 legacy challenge #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 #ts4 legacy challenge #ts4 #the sims 4 #the sims #sims 4 challenge #barbie #the sims legacy challenge #sims-himbo #sims barbie legacy

[wherewhereare]

ALBUM: Stormy Weather ..... LABEL: AT&T Presents ..... Year: 1998 From the AT&T special release CD (and one of the best things I ever got in the mail!). This concert, April 16, 1998, was held for the benefit of the Walden Woods Project and the Thoreau Institute. It was produced by Don Henley and recorded live at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. It featured a dazzling array of top contemporary female vocalists singing pop & jazz standards from the 30's - 50's and is some of the best music you will experience. The Fabulous Ladies: Joni Mitchell, Sheryl Crow, Trisha Yearwood, Paula Cole, Sandra Bernhard, Natalie Cole, Shawn Colvin, Bjork, Stevie Nicks and Gwen Stefani. Musical Director: Larry Klein Arranger/Conductor: Vince Mendoza Featured Musicians: Chuck Berghofer - Bass, Jim Cox - Piano, Peter Erskine - Drums, Gary Foster - Alto Sax, Mark Isham - Trumpet, Plas Johnson - Tenor Sax and the rest of the 66 piece El Nino Orchestra. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED, NOT FOR PROFIT. Links: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1515... www.walden.org/About_Us/Biographies/Don_­Henley

Got the link from the GS Discord server.

If someone says Gwen can't sing, you can prove them wrong with this.

#Youtube

[fantasy-relax]

Now the brain worms are satisfied with the world building let's go to the part that started everything.

So meet Ozzy (she/he/they):

19 years old orphan (fem alpha) that have traveled for all the land searching for a place to call home.

Jack of all trades thanks to their curiosity with a preference for writing, reading and narrating.

Have a lot of scars, consequences a of her naivety at the start of her journey.

Taller than Bela, Karl, Salvatore, Donna and Miranda smaller than the rest.

Clumsy, courteous, playful, oblivious to social cues and too Honest (almost a himbo)

Rarely goes feral but with her life in line his capacity for violence is surprising.

Children are the most frequent audience so he ha grow to like them, still don't have patience for the bratty ones and will panic with the crying ones.

Her sexual desire is pretty low, the rare times that feel it she would take care of it alone, is not fan of dirty jokes or bragging. That not mean that she innocent, her fantasy while pleasuring are dirty and kinky as hell.

Because she is always traveling, drink a lot of herbal/drugs to keep her ruts under control. (A really, really bad thing to do that will bite her in the ass later)

Five years have passed, the kingdom and the high noble houses are more stable.

Ages:

Miranda 44

Alcina 32

Mia 30

Bela, Cass and Daniela 16

Salvatore 31

Urias 33

Karl 25

Ethan 26

Rosemary 5

Donna 25

Angie 13

Now Ozzy is traveling with a entertainment caravan (musician and acrobats) that she recently meet, they want to cross the ocean, the caravan has plans and contacts they just need a little more money and supplies, the Moreau ships are famous for their resistance and successful travels ( Make in collaboration with the Heisenberg and Beneviento houses) so it's a great opportunity. The caravan let Ozzy travel with them because a lot a their popular songs were made by her and her stories are a popular too.

Ozzy tells stories, sometimes with the musician providing ambience. The caravan gets famous and a lot a children want to see it, including noble children (that disguise themselves as this kind show are considered for the commoners) especially the fabulous storyteller that sometimes make stories in the spot.

Rose and Angie both want to see it, but Ethan/Karl have a lot of work to do the same goes for alcina/mia and Donna. So the dimisisters beg to go in their place (because they worry about the youngest not because they are curious, of course, they are too old for that, of course) Cass is a sword prodigy and her sisters are not bad at fighting either , all of them will be disguised nobody will notice.

The duchess relent as the place have guards and trust her daughters ability (Mia argued for hours to get the permission, the girls want and need independence) Donna permission is harder to get as she is very protective of Angie but after a long, long discussion she relent ( she will be working after hours to get enough free time to go), the little girls are excited.

Now the romance routes go like this:

Alcina/Mia and Ethan/Karl

If you are in polygamy you can go for the married/dating couples, yo get close to the children you get close to the parents.

The dimisisters

They are very interested in the storyteller, one the few female alpha that they know and the only one that is close to their age (the population of female alphas and male omegas is small).

Bela and Cass are omegas, both of them were annoyed by that, Bela because heats were a pain to deal and consume time and Cassandra because omegas tend to have a difficult time growing muscle mass (she just needs to works harder) but they don't hate it (they just hate the faraway look on their mother face when she talks about a uncle that they couldn't meet) their grandmother Is a powerful queen and she is a omega, Bela seems it as a signal of worthiness and Cass as a challenge to her way to become a knight ( there is few omega knights and mostly are males).

Daniela is a beta, she is mad because all the stories that she had read is always an omega princess/prince so she is pissed when they present (a week a fever and growing pain) but after Bela and Cass first heats she is like "yeah, I'm okay this a lot better ", Mia laughs at her reaction, alcina just sighs while comforting her oldest children.

So after shows Angie and Rose being an energetic and social pair of children goes to Ozzy asking questions after questions and Ozzy finds them adorable. Seeing your caring and patient behavior attract at Bela, your energy and playfulness at Daniela and your protective behavior with the unaccompanied children attract Cassandra. So they start talking to you too, and the more time they do it more enchanted are. So they offer Ozzy a deal to work in their house, just for a period of time, is temporary they swear it.

Ozzy keeps a respectful distance because the children told you that the older girls are their cousins (you noticed the gold decoration in their clothes, you not want to mess with the nobles) but she needs the money and the girls are nice so she talks to the members and the deal is made. (Your fate is made)

Donna

She gets enough free time to go and well she always have loved fairytales, she is shy and quiet but very entranced in the story. Angie knows her aunt/mom so she ask all the questions with time Donna start talking and can't help but be enchanted with your patience and attention so she gets closer and closer.

Little Rose break her leg and Karl/Ethan are in a business travel so she stays with alcina/mia, Ozzy ask for her and Angie gets a wonderful idea, you can go to the dimitrescu house to cheer Rose! You try to deny, working with nobles? HIGH NOBLES yeah no good at all, but the pay is tempting and it will be only until Rose gets better. So you accept (you still can say no escape)

During your stay something go awfully wrong and now Donna and you are Bonded , you can't bring yourself to ask for her to break it (is painful and horrible but possible) so you tell her to leave with you, something that you hadn't mentioned at all, something that makes her really angry.

When Ozzy meets donna she is presented as Angie personal maid, in all his time in the dimitrescu house this is not challenged as Donna stay with Angie in her room and Ozzy eat with the maids of the house, so all the time Ozzy though of Donna as a commoner like him, better off but still closer in society.

Miranda

In this timeline you came three years earlier you are sixteen years old and the reincarnation of Miranda lover, the appearance and scent change slightly but the familiarity is there for anyone that had meet the king in his youth.

You came alone in the kingdom working unnoticed in the orphanage for three years until a entertainment caravan came and you get close and they give a chance to go beyond the sea, and your fame gets to the queen when her grandchildren talk with her about you and she gets curious, it's been a long time since she had gone outside trapped in the palace alone (her children try but they have a lot responsibilities, they want her to have peace so they do their best to reduce her work ) so she goes with them, only this time she says then a ghost appears in front of her and now is every month, week, day.

This an divine signal, the gods are giving someone back to her, she needs to keep you but her guilt is bigger so she try to keep her distance, but her granddaughters get closer and so she does too and well this is what fate is for her, for you.

Ozzy doesn't know that Andy the loyal maid of the children is the fucking queen of the kingdom, because of her attitude and elegance he is a little more cautious than with donna but after seeing how sad and lonely she is behind her mask they try (and succeed) to get closer to the older woman (GILF).

#resident evil village #daniela dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu #donna beneviento #karl heisenberg #mother miranda #au #cassandra dimitrescu #omegaverse

[jucyfruit]

Review and photos: Courtney Barnett leads a powerhouse female lineup at Surly Brewing Festival Field

Barnett, as well as her opening acts, were fresh from the Pitchfork Music Festival and followed a fabulous show by Sylvan Esso the night before. The audience at Barnett's show was treated to significantly better weather — there were barely any clouds in the sky as Lucy Dacus, one of two opening acts, took to the stage promptly at 6:00.

"I guess we'll just start playing some songs!" Dacus exclaimed moments after walking onstage. With that, the 23-year-old jumped into the first song of her set: "Addictions." The musician, who hails from Richmond, Virginia, brought the perfect mood to start out the evening, playing mostly songs off her newest album Historian. As Dacus and her band performed, much of the audience was still seated on the Festival Field grass, bobbing their heads along. As her set continued, more people began to stand and some even participated in a steady sway, showing appreciation for her distinct voice.

"I feel like we should acknowledge that we're not Big Thief," Dacus said, referring to the fact that the Brooklyn band were originally scheduled for her slot in the lineup. The audience didn't seem to mind, though. By the time she jumped into "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore," the crowd was under her spell and her velvety voice was covering the entire field.

At 7:00 p.m. Julien Baker floated onstage and greeted the audience with her quiet speaking voice. The moment she transitioned into the opening song of her commanding set, "Funeral Pyre," it became apparent that she wasn't planning on staying quiet for long.

Baker's most recent album is 2017's Turn Out The Lights, and she played many songs from it throughout her setlist. Towards the end of her performance, she stopped to comment on how grateful she was to be performing on the same stage as women that she deeply respects and looks up to. As she said this, a resounding roar of approval came from the audience.

"That was cool," Baker remarked. "I said the word 'women' and everyone cheered." This would become a theme for the evening: a powerful lineup of female musicians on a beautiful July night.

(x) 7/21/18

#boygenuis #julien baker #lucy dacus #concert review #jb #lb #jblu #2018 #july 2018 #surly brewing festival field #archival

[graff1980]

Nero may have played his fiddle in the middle of Rome burning, but I know a musician who performs for the cold frosted forms yearning to be rewarmed, one who plucks, and twirls soft fluffy clouds around a world, a being made of the things seen, and unseen, a traveler lost in my awakening, a terrible tragedy in the making. They are beautifully genderfluid, female to male and back again, a fabulous fun time friend of ever loving, and changing proportions, channeling the winds of time into their own sad melody, rising from the ashes only to return, be spurned, and burn once more, playing a concerto for the cosmos, and all those who happen to wade in to the lands where visions begin end and then begin again. It is always a pleasure to visit my friend, but they are not always there when I go to sleep, so sometimes I weep for the absence of Dream.

-2024

#poetry #poem #poets on tumblr #writerscreed #poets corner #spilled ink

[pattie-remembers]

Pattie Boyd: ‘George and I nearly drowned in a riptide on our Barbados honeymoon’

February 22 2023, 12.00pm GMT

Barbados, where Pattie Boyd and George Harrison were caught in a riptide on their honeymoon

GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY

Pattie Boyd lives in London with her husband, Rod Weston, and their dog, Freddie. A Sixties model and now an acclaimed photographer, she was formerly married to Harrison and Eric Clapton.

I was three years old when my parents moved to Kenya to live with my grandparents. We had a beautiful, big rambling house. The garden went on into the wilderness, it wasn’t unusual to see giraffes and lions wandering in.

Growing up in Africa shaped me. I remember very clearly riding bareback on my horse through woodland. I got used to the unusual. Going to bed one night I heard a noise. Underneath the door was a snake, slowly slithering into my room. I was frozen, absolutely riveted, he was huge. I was nineyears old and I started screaming.

I was sent to boarding school in England when I was ten and it was quite a shock to the system. The other girls didn’t know what I was talking about. Africa was all I knew.

Boyd with George Harrison, in 1966

ALAMY

George and I nearly drowned on our honeymoon in Barbados. We stayed in the middle of the island and explored the north coast. One glorious day we went swimming and to my horror I realised that there was a riptide. I was swimming towards the beach and not moving. I realised that if we were to swim parallel to the shore, we might get away from the current. I was terrified. I remember Mick Fleetwood said to me once, it is a weird thing when you know you’re drowning, you start swallowing water and everything becomes euphoric. George and I finally made it to the beach and sat there panting. The waiters brought us sandwiches and we ate the whole lot in shock.

India with the Beatles was a magical time. We were in an ashram, surrounded by like-minded people. The maharishi kept insisting it was very important for us all to learn meditation, for us and for the world. He said things were going to escalate and get faster and meditation would give us the tools to slow life down.

The Beatles would sit on the ashram steps with their guitars, jamming together and singing. They wrote so many songs there, everything from The White Album. The whole vibe was gentle and calming and inspirational.

● Kenya tours: 19 adventures ● Best cities to visit in India

Touring with Eric was new to me because I never went on tour with George and the Beatles. America was eye-opening. When Eric went on stage, the audience would stretch back as far as the eye could see. I used to sit on the side, drink in one hand, camera in the other. During the encore the audience would lift their lighters into the air and the whole auditorium would be filled with flickering lights in the dark. I love to capture beauty with my camera. It’s like anything fabulous: it’s not going to be there for ever.

Boyd with Eric Clapton in 1978

ALAMY

Eric didn’t really like travelling otherwise. I think when you’re a musician and you tour, then the idea of travelling for a holiday is not high up on your list.

A place I’ll always love is Venezuela. I went in 1994 when I was single and discovering who I was again. I did a day trip to Angel Falls, eventually reaching the top of a mountain that looked down over an incredibly steep edge. The idea was to go hang-gliding, something that had never crossed my mind before. I said, “Blow that! I’m not jumping off this cliff!” Suddenly an elderly Indian lady ran past us and leapt off the mountain as we watched in horror. Well, we had to do it then, didn’t we? Clutching my camera to my chest, I jumped into nothing. I felt like a condor in the air — I was jumping to freedom.

Angel Falls in Venezuela

ALAMY

Peru is a special place. I went there with a female shaman, and I knew I was going to take ayahuasca [a plant-based psychedelic drug]. Greedy me, I ended up doing it twice. It was amazing. We also knew that we would be shedding a lot, both physically and spiritually. Just before we started I noticed a huge snake curled on one of the eaves. Six hours later we walked out and I saw the snake’s skin lying on the floor. The symbolism was clear. I never did ayahuasca with George and Eric, they weren’t adventurous like that.

Growing up in Kenya helped me not to be frightened in life. I am excited because there are more things to see, more adventures, and I don’t like to repeat things, I don’t see the point. There is always something new around the corner.

Pattie Boyd: My Life in Pictures is published by Reel Art Press at £39.95 (reelartpress.com)

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#pattie boyd #the times

[simgeek2209-legacies]

Valentines legacy

Build each home for each generations

Heir can be picked yourself

Played on normal or long lifespan

Start with a female sim

Each Gen starts with 5000 simoleons 

max careers

complete aspirations

Generation 1 

Rose gen- you live for elegance and the finer things in live although you can be seen as arrogant, you love nothing more than dressing up and hosting lavish parties, you also dream of finding someone to settle down with and start a family 

Career: style influencer

Aspiration: soulmate

Additional goal, host a dinner party once a week

Traits: snob,romantic, materialistic

Relationship married with 2 kids, one from spouse and one from an affair but never revealed

Colour scheme: red and white

Generation 2 

Chocolate gen- After living in your parents lavish home, you decided to become a millionaire so you could build your dream home, however pouring yourself into your career as made settling down impossible but you still manage to go on dates and have fun, in fact you love seeing different sims

Career: business

Aspiration: fabulously wealthy

Additional goal; go on 6 dates

Traits: ambitious, romantic, loner

Relationship: single with 4 kids from different sims (either natural or science, depending on sims gender)

Colours: brown and white

Generation 3

Teddy bear- your parent never paid too much attention to you during childhood, always picking work and dates over you, now as an adult, you want to be the best parent possible,, however you’re partner was less inclined to be faithful and after cheating, you divorced them but no matter what stress happens in your life your child happiness is important

Career: artist

Aspiration: big happy family

Additional goal: have good relationship with your child

Traits: family orientated, romantic, creative

Relationship, divorced with 4 kids (either natural or science babies)

Colours: grey, white

Generation 4

Love letters- seeing your parent heart be broken made you scared to get into a committed relationships, but reading romance novels has you craving that special connection, you tried flirting but failed miserably until you spot a sim that makes your heart sore, one things leads to another and your engaged but a drunk one night stand has you questioning your engagement

Career: writer

Aspiration: best selling author

Additional goal, get engaged, have 1 time affair and call off engagement

Relationship: ex fiance, with 3 adopted children

Traits: bookworm,romantic,clumsy

Colours: purple

Generation 5

Love songs- being adopted and seeing your parents relationship break apart made you have mixed emotions, so you decide to put your feelings into you music, your apprehensive at first about dating but decide to go for it and find a sim, that you can be in harmony with 

Career: musician

Aspiration: musical genius

Additional goal: master violin,guitar and piano

Relationship: married with 2 kids

Traits: gloomy, music lover, romantic

Colour: blue

Generation 6

Sweets-you're sickeningly  sweet and cheerful, so much so that others can get annoyed but you love being the centre of attention, your main goal is to be a famous chef and earn your own bakery, you love romance but not too keen on commitment, but all your partners don't need to know about each other, right?

Career: culinary

Aspiration: master chef

Additional goals: build a bakery, have 6 partners but have none of them know your cheating on them

Relationship, 6 partners,with 6 kids from each partner (either natural or science, depending on sims gender)

Traits: romantic, outgoing, cheerful

Colours, pink,blue,yellow

Generation 7

Candles- dealing with your siblings annoying you and your parents chaotic lifestyle has left you with a hot headed temper but you realised something, you like yelling and being mean to sims, you try to not be mean to your partner but during an argument your temper explodes and your partner dumps you and you become enemies, you decide to fully focus on your criminal career and becoming the most infamous sim ever

Career: criminal

Aspiration: public enemy

Additional goal: become enemies with your ex 

Relationship: ex boyfriend or girlfriend moved in then moved out once relationship ends, with 1 kid

Traits: hot headed, romantic, evil

Colours: red,orange,black

Generation 8

Lingerie- you live for drama and love creating chaos wherever you go, gaining your parents devilish streak, you strive to be a top mixologist and run your own night club however relationship wise, you have a habit for going after married sims and getting caught and confronted by their spouses doesn’t phase you at all, in fact you love it

Career: mixologist

Aspiration: master mixologist

Additional goal: build a nightclub

Relationship: have affairs with 3 married sims, have 3 kids, one from each partner (either natural or science, depending on sims gender)

Traits: self assured, romantic, non committal

Colours: red,purple and pink

Generation 9 

Doves- despite living with your selfish and chaotic parent, you want nothing more than to lead a simple life and to help others in your job as a doctor, unfortunately the chaos of your childhood home made the thought of dating, a nightmare, so you decide stay single and have a science baby all by yourself, now you relax and work on your garden

Career: doctor

Aspiration:freelance botanist

Additional goal: build a hospital

Relationship, single with one science baby

Traits: Good, romantic, loner

Colours:White, yellow,green

Generation 10 

Strawberries- all your childhood, the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle was drilled into, so it makes senses that you became a world famous athlete, nothing excites you more than being active and after giving up meat you feel better than ever, one day you meet a fellow active sim and now there's two things that have your heart pumping, you decide to elope whilst on vacation in Salvador and have four kids, nearing retirement you release you want to leave something behind so people will remember you, what better thing to remember an athlete than a gym

Career: athlete

Aspiration: bodybuilder

Additional goal: build a gym once retired

Relationship: elope with an active sim in Salvador and have 4 kids (either natural or science, depending on sims gender)

Traits : active, vegetarian, romantic

Colours: Red, yellow, green

Generation 11 

Bow and arrow- you vowed to bring bad Sims to justice and work your way up to the top of the police force, whilst studying hard and eventually settling down with a colleague and starting a family  however one criminal keeps catching your eye and you decide to have an affair that results in you having a child together but your spouse doesn't need to know about the affair right? So you decide to conceal the Childs origins as best as possible 

Career: detective

Aspiration: renaissance sim

Additional goal: have a secret affair with a criminal 

Relationship: married with 3 kids but one is from the affair (either natural or science, depending on sims gender)

Traits: genius, self assured, romantic

Colours, brown, grey,yellow

Generation 12

Diamonds- you dream of living the perfect life, in a lavish home,with a successful career as a scientist and happily married with 2 kids at the top of their class and careers, your perfectionism can stress you out but you never let your stress show, you also have a geeky side and love playing video games and competing in tournaments

Career: scientist

Aspiration: successful lineage

Additional goal: max video game skill and compete in video game tournaments on weekends

Relationship: happily married with 2 kids (either natural or science, depending on sims gender)

Traits: perfectionist,romantic,geek

colours:white,blue,grey

#sims 4 #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 gameplay

[aphroditeslover11]

I’m basically the only one of my female friends now who isn’t talking to a guy which caused me to get a bit introspective last night at 2 am. I think I have a similar taste in men to Kitty Oppenheimer before she met Robert at this point. We have pretty similar track records with intelligent men, musicians and the odd guy who turns out to be gay (mine is still my best friend though). I have some fabulous stories! 🤣

#1950s #oppenheimer #american prometheus #cillian murphy #cillian murphy x reader #oppenheimer x reader #christopher nolan #kitty oppenheimer #emily blunt #relationship #men are exhausting #single life

[writingcold]

Sweet Rayne, Pt. 1

Okay, this is my first fanfic. I write stories for my own pleasure, but this hit my brain and took over EVERYTHING. I thought, after all the lovely, lovely, smutty stories that I've been reading about GVF, this needed to be shared. So, this is a sweet little story featuring a soft, romantic Jake and original female character. That said, I have no idea what this man is actually like, nor any of the men from GVF. Rayne is my creation - perhaps what I wish I could be, I don't know. This is set forward a bit - so an older Jake. There will be eventual smut, I can't get away from that piece of this story. It will be mostly in the second part of the story. Otherwise, it's mostly just fluff, a fairy sprinkle of angst thrown in. Oh! And I need to preface this with the fact that there is no Chicago Breaker's Fest (although, I think it would make for a fabulous summer music festival), and later on, band names and singer names are not real, but the song titles are. :)

Content warnings for pt. 1: language, smoking, drinking... if you needed the heads up on that stuff.

Jake had agreed to the music education initiative that had been proposed to him in the year prior.  He had loved visiting the different schools around Michigan.  He enjoyed talking to the kids as they seem to nearly combust with questions and excitement to be doing something other than their typical day.  The tiny rural schools were probably his favorite as he had more hands-on time with the kids, showing them different pieces of his equipment, and getting some playing time with them directly.  The larger schools were fine, it was more example and video, as the audiences were triple, if not quadruple of the small schools.

     The day’s school found him in a town with not quite four hundred students in grades K-1: the Winslow School in Winslow, Michigan, population 1294.  When he was driving in, he noticed that there were three bars, one gas station, small grocery, a diner, and a service station that made up the downtown.  The B&B that had been booked for him was on the west side of the village, nestled in the woods, right on the water, or at least that was what was promised.  When he had driven past, he had no idea what water they were talking about as none was in sight.

     The school was at the one end of the village, anchoring the few businesses that existed.  Aside from the diner that only served breakfast and lunch, the bars offered only bar food, and of course, the establishment he was rooming in for the night only offered breakfast, there was no other restaurant for ten miles in the neighboring town.  Sighing that bar food could be worse, he decided to race out of the village at first light in hopes of making it back to Frankenmuth well before lunch the next day.

     Winslow School looked just like many of the schools in the area - large rectangles covered in dark red brick, with scallops and old touches that crowned the top of the buildings so as not to look too institutional.  Parking his rental car, he saw that the van with all the equipment was already parked in what seemed to be the auditorium, the back doors open.  Mark and Will were unloading his amps and the other musicians’ equipment.  Aside from himself, Toni, the cellist, and Paul, the symphony director, were from Grand Rapids.  A few of the students from the U M marching band were still tucked in the back of the van, seemingly asleep. He saw Luna Lu, a folk singer that was over from Detroit, standing outside of the main doors.  If Danny were with him, he would be able to talk with Luna for days on end.  The thought of his friend made him smile.  The hiatus was wearing thin on Jake.  Sam had started a family.  Danny was honeymooning somewhere.  Josh was working on his film.  They had promised two years.  They were sitting at the eighteen months mark and they had yet to really talk about how to bring the band back.  

     “Hey, rock god,”  Luna poked as he walked up, guitar cases in hand.

     “Hi, Luna.  Lovely day in another lovely town,”  he said, moving to her side.

     “I didn’t think you could get smaller than Maron,”  she snorted.

     “Yeah, welcome to Winslow,”  he said, smiling as the college kids were finally roused from Will slamming the van door.  “Why don’t they let those kids come in a separate van?”

     “I’m thinking the higher ups feel we’d be a bad influence.  I bet they could teach us a thing or two,”  the singer jested, bumping his shoulder with hers.  “You staying in town tonight?”

     Jake nodded, though he was debating that choice as the thought of bar food touched his brain once more.  “You?”

     “Nah,”  she answered.  “I booked a charter from their little airport a couple of towns over.  Gotta gig tomorrow night.”

     “I plan on driving out to see my folks tomorrow, so,”  he nodded, hearing the familiar knocks and mics as the two men were setting up inside.  “I’m hoping to  check out the wild nightlife.  Maybe do a little bar hopping, so if you change your mind…”

     They laughed.  He tapped her arm before turning to enter the small auditorium to see what their next gig would bring.  Will and Mark were not just drivers, they were a few of the top audio engineers in the state, who had their own piece of the puzzle that was their show for the students.  Some kids thought that they were the actual stars, garnering more questions than the classically trained musicians in the smaller schools.  The two men had pieced together something akin to a clean comedy show whenever they were on the stage.

     Through the main doors, he noticed the typical long hall that went beyond the auditorium and pushed into what seemed the backside of the school building.  A small sign that read “Shared School/Public Library” with an arrow pointing down the cavernous hall was mounted next to the auditorium doors.  Below it was a handwritten sign saying that the library was closed for the day due to a massively cool assembly in the auditorium with a huge smiley face.  Jake found himself smiling at the little sign as he walked in behind Luna.

     “Oooo, we’re ‘massively cool’,”  she cooed as she pressed on down the aisle.  

     “Maybe it means only me, since you know,”  he teased.

     She cackled at the slight.  The auditorium was not unlike other schools, but this one seemed a bit more careworn and neglected.  The school bell chimed for the start of their day.  He knew that they had not quite an hour before the room would start filling up with students.  Will was already finished with his amps that were stage left.  Mark was working on the soundboards.  He waved Jake up to the stage to start his sound check.  It was not what it was like in L.A., Nashville, or Mexico City, but it was something to hear his sound filling the room all on its own, reverberating through his chest and back out to the space beyond.  It made him smile every time.

     The others ran through their paces as he sat quietly with Luna, practicing their snippet together while they waited.  There were no rooms behind the stage to hide in, so all of the musicians would have to stand on the side of the room while the kids filed in, dutifully taking their seats.  There were a few of the older high school students who called out to him who must’ve known the band.  He waved with a smile, trying not to show how dorky he felt, like he was sporting the dad wave thing.  The school principal introduced herself as she stood with them, shaking their hands in turn, before taking to the stage to quiet the room down.  She skillfully negotiated the rules and expectations, not unlike other schools.  Jake smiled as he knew he would have been one of those obnoxious kids who could not and would not, remain in a room as long as they were expected to, and do it quietly and respectfully.  The principal then waved the entire group on stage, and he followed, being last in the long line.  He stood under the hot lights, hands behind his back, eyes cast down as the woman introduced each one of them.  Luna seemed to turn on her high beams at him when the whole back of the room erupted when he was introduced. He waved with both hands, laughing as they cheered.  She snarked her “rock god” bit as he continued to wave.

     The room finally grew quiet, and Jake led the troop off stage to take reserved seats in the front row as the ‘sound guys’ were left to start their bit.  Jake did not take his seat, opting to sneak out the back for a break.  He knew he would have about fifty seven minutes before he would be needed again.  Nothing wrong with sneaking back outside for a respite.  He made a stop in the men’s room before planning to hide in his car for a bit and have smoke.  He could hear his mother scolding him for smoking in the school parking lot.  Perhaps he would put on the classic song while he did so just to spite her.  Respectfully, of course.  

     When Jake walked back into the hall, the sound of a blues guitar intrigued his ears.  It was coming from further down the hallway, towards the closed library.  He glanced at his phone.  He had forty minutes.  It was only a minute’s debate before his feet carried him further into the school.  Sure enough, the music was blaring out the door of what was marked “Winslow Shared School & Public Library”.  He looked through the windows, finding no sign of life.  He tried the door, pushing it open quietly, allowing a sweep of the music to wash over him.  The sound of a power drill squealed over the slide of the guitar, breaking the spell.  Just as he was about to turn and find his way back to the auditorium, there was a sharp crack followed by a crash that made him freeze with his hand on the door.

     “Are you kidding me!”

     The voice made him turn as if he were caught in the closed library and needed to explain himself.  Instead, he still did not see anyone.  He took a deep breath and decided to just make sure whoever it was in the room was not in trouble.  He wound his way back through bookcases and displays.   Another crash made him move faster as he finally found the back of the room and the source of the situation.  

     “Are you okay?”  he asked, taking in a bookcase that had looked more blown apart than fallen apart.

     A set of the greenest eyes he had ever seen met his own in a shocked surprise.  The woman was on her knees, remnants of a bookcase around her, dust in her light brown hair, looking a cross between surprised and furious.  She blinked a few times as he reached down to move a few of the larger pieces out of the way so that she could stand up.

     She took his offered hand, and he was quick to notice this was not a soft, manicured hand, but a hand that was strong and no stranger to work.  Helping her to her feet, he found that she was nearly level with his height, the better to look into those eyes, he supposed.  

     “I’m sorry,”  she said, brushing at the front of her long, multicolored sundress.  “I didn’t hear anyone come in.  Oh…”

     He smiled as she brushed past him, turning down the music as she moved.  He peeked at his own phone to see that he had exactly thirty three minutes before he would be needed back in the auditorium.  

     “They’ve already started next door,”  she said, as she moved around the counter of the main desk.  She was turning off the computer, cutting off the sound completely.  She stopped in her tracks, looking at him in a flustered state.  “You’re that guitarist.”

     Jake nodded, flashing his best smile.  “I am.”

     “Aren’t you supposed to be in the auditorium?”  she asked, rifling through books and papers that cluttered the desk until she found a set of keys.

     “Yes,”  he answered, moving closer to the desk.  “I have thirty minutes before my piece.”

      “Oh,”  she said, turning and nearly running into what appeared to be a very small office on the back of the main desk.  “I was supposed to be there for the start of this thing.  I just got busy and …”

     She kept talking, but her voice got lost in the distance.  She was a ball of energy in whatever it was that she was doing, while he stood taking in the library.  It was a classic school library with a learning space, and tons of older, worn looking bookcases that were neatly kept.  He noticed that there was a mural in progress that lined the coffered ceiling that once finished would make the space fantastic.  A display on the far wall was made up of paper flowers that looked like book covers were used to create the petals.  Every inch of kid space seemed to feature loved books and authors and characters.  The older kid side had a much cooler vibe, featuring more stark lines and contemporary displays that would catch the eye.  Unlike a school library, there was an adult section that spanned the far back that was full of contemporary displays with a wall of computers that separated the school and public spaces.

     “You’re still here?”  she asked as she froze behind the big desk again.

     “Yup,”  he said with a smile.  “I thought it would be rude to just walk out while you were talking.”

     “Oh,”  she said again, rattling the keys in her hand.  “Let’s get you back next door.”

     He followed her out of the library and into the hall.  She started walking briskly before stopping dead in her tracks again.  She held up a finger as she rushed back to lock the door.  Jake watched as she walked towards him, noticing that her hair fell well below the middle of her back, swinging softly against her classic hourglass frame in a thick braid.  She was pretty in a way that was not forced or amplified with makeup.  He was amused by how she just flitted around, much like a hummingbird, but with twice the energy.  

     They slipped inside and Jake noted that the two band kids were playing their butts off in their full regalia, much to the delight of the younger students.  There were several loud whispers from the back that caught his attention.

     “Ms. Thomas!”  followed by “Whoa - Ms. Thomas came in with Jake!”  She waved at students to shut it with a mock hard look that looked about as scary as a baby kitten.  He followed her to the side of the room before she turned towards him to usher him back to the front of the house to his seat like he was one of those kids.  He pressed his lips together as he tried not to laugh, returning to his seat next to Luna.

     “Oooo, the rock god found the hottie teacher,”  Luna whispered, craning her neck to look behind her.  “You know, there are tons of songs about that.”

    He rolled his eyes as he slouched down to peek once more at his phone.   Twenty two minutes before he was to do his piece of the performance.  There were also no texts from any of the brothers.  He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth before pocketing the phone and settling in.  His mind rolled back to the music that was blaring in the library.  He smiled.  His thoughts were definitely with the lady who was standing behind him.  

***

Rayne was so totally flustered that her brain felt like it was traveling at warp speed while her hands would only move at a snail’s pace.  She was shoving the drill against the platting on the bookcase, muttering under her breath that this had better work.  She could hear cracking, but Mike had said to expect that while securing the brackets.  When the cracking turned into all out popping and crashing, she panicked just as the whole end of the bookcase split apart falling around her mostly.  

     “Are you kidding?”  she ground out, wanting to throw the expensive drill at the mess.

     If Mike had just done this when he promised to, the entire case would not need to be replaced.  Knocking the board that was leaning against her side a bit harder than she meant to, it fell back into the case, smashing the rest to the ground.  She glared at the chaos feeling like the only way she was going  to feel better was to punch the maintenance man right in the face.

     “Are you okay?”  

     The voice that came from above was a mixture of smooth and rasp that scratched her brain in a very kind manner.  Looking up into a pair of warm brown eyes, she imagined that her jaw dropped, though it most certainly had not.  It was then she realized that the music she had been playing was certainly way too loud, and the man in front of her was probably the most handsome she had ever seen.

     Her warp speed brain kicked back in and she felt herself totally rambling to the very handsome man, who she remembered was a guitar player and his band was from north of Detroit and they were really, really good.  But she could not stop her body from lurching forward like a maniac, trying to find her keys and then disappearing into her office to find whatever it was that she needed from the office before finally deciding that she was just hiding anyways and needed to get to the auditorium for the show that she had a hand in bringing to the school.  When she returned from her office, she expected to find that the very handsome man had indeed returned to the stage where he belonged, not still standing in her very chaotic library, that was a complete mess, just like her brain was at that moment in time.  

     “You’re still here?”  She could have kicked herself for sounding so stupid.

     “Yup,”  he said, smiling that ridiculously high wattage smile that just made it even harder to think.  “I thought it would be rude to just walk out while you were talking.”

     “Oh.”

     Rayne decided that she was going to go down in this man’s journal as a complete dumbass.  She shifted into school mode, brought out her best Mrs. Poole, and shooed him out of the hall as if he were one of her high schoolers.  Sneaking into the auditorium, she felt as if every eye of the back row was on her.  

     “Whoa - Ms. Thomas came in with Jake!”

     The sharp whisper made her whip her head around to whomever it was that dared.  Jake.  Yeah - that was his name.  The guitarist.  The very handsome guitarist.  Putting on her hard face, she heard the snickers, but moved on when they quieted down.  She could see Marcy’s pinched face turn to her as Rayne allowed Jake to move ahead of her.  She was going to have to explain her tardiness - not one of her best traits.  Time seemed to stop whenever she was working in her space.  She had even set three alarms to keep her on track that morning.  Somehow, all three had been silenced.  Taking her place next to the principal, she tried to play it cool, not letting the stink eye that her boss was giving her affect her.  Instead, she let her eye trace from the stage to the front row where he was sitting with…  A little flutter passed over her as she realized that indeed Luna Lu was sitting next to the handsome guitar guy.  She had seen the singer at different festivals over the years and loved her work.  The gleam in the woman’s eyes made her smile all the wider as Jake glanced back at her before slouching down in his seat.

      Rayne watched the stage, unable to truly hide her excitement for the kids in the auditorium.  This initiative was so huge.  They were receiving money to expand, and more importantly, keep their music program that had suffered cutbacks and in the last two years, had debate over cutting all together.  The house lights came up and the musicians on the stage waved, announcing a break so the little ones could move and visit the restrooms.  The middle and high school teachers moved into action to keep the older students in place, only allowing them to stand and stretch.  

     “I can’t believe you were late to your own event,”  Marcy remarked, her smile locked into place, but a trace of irritation in her eyes.  “What was it this time?”

    “I was trying to fix the bookcase that was broken,”  Rayne said, waving at the littles as they marched by, even allowing for a few hugs that were tossed in for good measure.  

     “I thought Mike had that taken care of,”  the principal said, high-fiving one of the first graders.

     “He’s been a little busy, so I thought I would give it a try,”  she said, amping up her excitement as the lines moved into second graders.  “I made it worse.”

     “Your impatience is showing,”  her boss said tightly.

     “That may be, but there’s only two weeks until summer’s here, and just because your school mostly shuts down, I don’t.  It needed to be fixed.  Your only maintenance guy has a laundry list of things to do that just gets longer, and at that pace, it’d be Christmas before he got the time to actually fix it.”

     Her boss glared at her.  “And now it probably needs to be replaced.”

    Marcy moved away from the wall to make herself more visible to the older students who were starting to whine over how long the littles were taking in the bathrooms.  Closing her eyes, she breathed in, attempting to slow her brain back down.  Marcy was a good principal and a good boss.  She knew that budgets were tight.  This time of year was always harder.  Banking on summer school numbers to bring in money to supplement where their state budget was light.  It was a huge headache.  Rayne knew that Marcy’s stress was not due to her antics alone.  

     “Hey,”  the smooth/rasp of the guitarist's voice pierced her ears again.  

     Opening her eyes, she felt like she was thrust against the wall by those warm brown eyes.  “Hey,”  she responded, again feeling stupid for her lack of verbage.

     “I didn’t get to introduce myself,”  he said, holding out his hand.  “I’m Jake.”

     “Oh,”  she said, sliding her hand into his.  “It’s nice to meet you.  I’m Rayne.”

     His brows knitted slightly.  “Rayne, it’s very nice to meet you, too.  Are you a teacher here?”

     “Teacher?  No,”  she answered, as he was forced to step closer to her as the littles were being marched back to their seats.  “I’m the librarian.  Oh, and curriculum director.  Failed amateur carpenter, too.”

     She nearly smacked her forehead at her own dumbness.  The million watt smile was back though and she somehow forgot to scold herself.  He was pushed closer still as a kindergartener rushed at her to hug her, knocking into him.  The surprise in his face was precious.

     “Hey, Marni,”  she said, excitedly, rubbing the little girl on the back.  “You’ve got to get back with your group, honey.  Show’s about to get started again.”

     “Bye, Ms. Thomas!” the girl said excitedly, practically running over Jake to get back to her seat.

     “Sorry about that,”  she said, suddenly shy from his closeness.

     “No, no, that’s great.  They really love you, don’t they,”  he said looking down at all the hands that were waving at her.

     Rayne smiled and waved at the parade of little kids.  Jake turned and stood against the wall, their shoulders bumping every time she moved.  He smelled like mahogany and traces of tobacco and vanilla all rolled into one package.  Her smile grew wider when he leaned closer to her.

     “I’m looking for someplace other than a bar to eat,”  he said, his breath close to her ear.  “You wouldn’t know someplace?”

     Rayne debated for a moment.  “So you’re staying tonight?”

    “Yeah, I’ll leave for home in the morning,”  he said, looking back at Luna who was waving at him.  

     “Oh, I figured that you’d sprint out of here with the rest of them back to civilization,”  she teased, nodding at the rest of the musicians.  “There’s a place out on Backline Road that has good fish fry.”

      “Sounds all right.  Since I don’t know where this Backline Road is, would you like to go with me for dinner?”  he asked, beaming that smile at her again.

     Her eyebrows flew up to somewhere near her hairline.  Her eyes darted back and forth thinking the scenario through.  “I…”  Her shoulders slumped a bit.  “I’m not closing the library until 7:00 tonight.  Is that too late?”

     He shook his head as Luna called out to him.  “No, not at all.”

     “Okay,”  she nodded.  “You’re at the B&B?”

     “Yeah, I can come-”

     “I’ll pick you up there at 7:30 then,”  she blurted out, as he started walking backwards, eyes still on her as he drew himself back to the stage.

     He waved in acknowledgement, making her heart pound like it was going to jump into her throat and out her mouth.  Marcy returned to the spot where Jake had been standing.  All Rayne could see was that very handsome man that had just asked her to dinner.  

***

Jake took to the stage, sitting at Luna’s side.  He turned as Will handed him the acoustic.  Settling in, he smiled as the singer beamed at him.

     “Rock god and hottie teacher going to dinner?”  she asked, as Mark was handing her the mic.

     He licked at his lips and nodded as he plucked out a few chords to warm up a bit.  “Librarian, actually.”

     “Leave it to you to find the smartest one in the room,”  the singer beamed at him.

     He was quick to work with Will to make adjustments while Luna talked with the students.  She was explaining that she was a folk singer, and what folk music was to her, as well as the instruments that could be expected to be heard while listening to folk music.  He continued to pick at the strings, tuning and adjusting.

     “I hope that it’s okay with all of you that my friend here plays with me, yeah?”  she asked the crowd who clapped and a few fans of his band whooped.

     Luna hummed as he started to play one of her songs that they performed well together.  There was a loud call out to the side, and he looked to see that it was the librarian who had her hands up in the air.

      Luna had tucked the mic down low with a demon smile plastered on her face.  “Ooo, hottie librarian is a fan of mine.  Maybe I will stay.”

      He playfully glared as she started to sing.  He softly sang along, allowing her to take her time in the spotlight.  When they shifted into children’s music that the youngest students would know, she encouraged them to sing along.  It was always their part of the show that they enjoyed being involved.  Typically, the music teacher, if there was one, would have practiced these songs with the students ahead of time.  It was obvious that it was the case in this school, as every kid was able to sing and play along.

     When it was Jake’s turn, he continued to hold onto the acoustic, strumming along as he spoke into the standing mic.  He explained that he started learning guitar at age three.  Without fail, there was always that one kindergarten student who had to yell out “you were smaller than me?”, much to his chagrin.  He talked about having passion to learn each mystery of what the guitar had for him as he grew up.  He switched out the acoustic to the Les Paul, and the whole back of the auditorium exploded in cheers.  He strummed and did a final tune before grinning at Rayne.  He began to pluck out the bluesy riff that was playing when he entered the library.  Her eyes lit up, making her pretty face all the brighter.  The principal leaned in her direction and had said something that made Rayne dim down a bit.

     He talked about listening to blues, and how that took him to a path of discovery of rock n’ roll.  He played a few riffs of different songs from the four albums, each one bringing cheers.  The last one, he was joined, in rather dramatic fashion, by all of the other musicians who added their own flair to his work.  He always appreciated the rounded out sound that they had together.  

     “All of us up here on this stage,”  he started, then jerked his thumb behind him, “including Mark and Will, all got our start through our own curiosity, creativity, and some really good music teachers along the way.  I know for me, music is a universal language of shared celebration that doesn’t require us to have shared words, culture, or even politics.  It’s just a shared joy that brings me to any stage, including this one.” 

      They continued to play the song out, all of them smiling and just taking a moment to enjoy playing the music.  The others dropped off, allowing him to play the final few chords, to which he did with flair and a smile.  He missed the stage.  He missed his band.

***

“Oh baby girl, you are in trouble,”  Mae called out from behind the desk.

     “I know!”  Rayne exclaimed as she was trying to pick up the shattered pieces of the bookcase.  “Marcy has let me know I’m in trouble.  I don’t need to hear it from you.”

      “Uh, not what I meant,”  she said over the noise.  “Come look at this.”

     “If you are looking at the circs for the month, don’t bother,”  Rayne remarked, dusting herself off before dragging the large garbage can towards the desk.  “You know May always sucks.”

     “Wrong again there, sunshine,”  the assistant said with a sardonic smile.

     Rayne huffed as she set the huge can out in the hall before turning to see what Mae was looking at behind the desk.  Rounding the long end of the counter, she stopped as her eyes landed on both screens of the circulation computer.  There, in HD, two pictures of Jake while on stage.

     “Whoa,”  she blurted.  “What the hell are you looking at?”

     “Research, for you my girl,”  she said, barking out a smile.  “These are from eight years ago.  Bottlerock, ‘22.  I’d say the man is aging quite well.”

     “Mae!  I can’t believe-”

     “Oh no, these aren’t the last ones.  Look!  He’s so pretty!”

     She watched in stunned silence as her assistant moved through different pictures from when the band was younger to current, each picture was the very handsome guitar player in varying states of concert wear, interviews, and candids.  A few were close to the t-shirt and jeans man she had met earlier, but most were just… whoa.

     “I don’t know what you got yourself into, girlie, but wow,”  Mae laughed with a shake of her head.  “Twenty seven years of library services and never once has a man like that entered my collection.”

     “To be fair, you’ve only been here, so, there’s that,”  Rayne jabbed back, leaning against the desk.

     “But he walked in here!  Oh to be so lucky,”  she said, narrowing her eyes at her boss.  “You’re not wearing that are you?”

     “Well, yeah,”  she said, standing up straight.  “I mean, I was going to pick him up right after I closed down here.”

     “Uh, no,”  Mae said, practically jumping from her chair and going into her office.  When she returned, she was carrying Rayne’s purse and keys.  “Get out of here.  I’ll take care of this dead zone of activity.”

     “No, Mae,”  Rayne protested as the woman practically shoved her things into her hands.  “I can’t do that to you.  Billy’s expecting you home.”

     “Eh, the old man can wait a bit for his supper.  I want you to have a good time with that guy,”  she said, pointing at the screen.

     “But that’s not the guy I’m having dinner with.  That’s his stage persona.”

     “Yeah, whatever it is, just go have fun, girl.  I think it’s been a year since I’ve been able to do this for you.  Just go!” 

     Reluctantly, she glanced at the clock.  It was 5:45.  Mae usually left at six.  If she really didn’t want Rayne to leave, she would have said so.  Nodding, she calculated that she could be home by 6, feed her fur babies, shower (because she was sure there were wood chips in her hair), and be back to town by that 7:30 mark she said she would pick him up.

***

He could hear laughter downstairs as he walked out of his room.  Jake locked the door, turned and made his way towards the fun.  The owner was behind the desk at the bottom of the stairs.  Her warm laugh filled the space and it was hard not to smile.  However, he discovered that  Rayne, with her back to him, was the source of that laughter.  He paused, checking his phone and seeing that he wasn’t late, rather she was early.  And she was wearing a different sundress - this one a dark purple that landed just above her knee.  And her hair was no longer in a braid, but pulled back, so that it fell loosely against her back.  

     “Oh, here he is,”  Mrs. Gentry said, her face glowing.  “I guess you found yourself a nice tour guide for the evening.”

     Rayne turned to look at him, and he found himself sucking in a breath at the sight of her ultra light touches of makeup that brought out her eyes even more, but her mouth…  Her smile made his mind explode with a joy that he had not felt in some time.  He was glad he landed on the last step instead of tripping at the sight of her.

     “Hi there,”  she said, light all in her face.  “You ready?”

     “Sure,”  he answered, unsure of what to do, so, with hands in pockets, he rocked back on his heels.  “Is there a curfew I should know about, Mrs. Gentry?”

     “Nope, I’ll leave the door open for you, sir,”  she  said with a nod.

     “Goodnight Gertie,”  Rayne said, reaching across the desk and touching the woman’s hand.

     “Night Rayne.  Have fun you two,”  she said as they walked out.

     Jake walked a few steps behind her, keys in hand, but noticed that she walked straight towards a small SUV that was parked next to his rental.  He stopped when she did as she must’ve realized that he was confused.

     “I’ll drive since you don’t know where Backline Road is,”  she said with a grin, before she ducked into the vehicle.

    He rounded to the passenger side and got in.  She squeaked as she started the engine and some power ballad blared his ear off.  She slammed her hand against the stereo button to cut the sound.

     “Sorry, sorry!”  she squealed, her cheeks flashing a soft pink.  “I was at risk for being late and I just put on whatever awful radio station I could to make me drive faster.  Sorry.”

      He laughed, knowing that he had done the same thing at times.  She played with her phone for a moment and the power ballad was replaced with some instrumental jazz that he vaguely knew, something that Sam would debate endlessly about.  She pulled out of the small parking lot and moved out onto the main drag that was already packed with cars of visitors to the bars.  

     “How far out is this place?  I didn’t find it in my search,”  Jake asked, watching as they moved past houses, and into the country.

     “Oh, it’s back in the woods, between Winslow and Karpe,”  she answered.  “It’s only about fifteen minutes.  And, yeah, it’s a bar, but at least they have a full kitchen.  Janie offers a good menu.”

     “Friend?”  he asked, eyes trained on the thick woods that flew past his window.

     “Yup.  She’s the best.  She was my first friend when I got into town,”  Rayne explained, as she took a turn onto a road that was one of those ones that photographers love for their treeline and winding curves.  

      “You’re not from here?”  he asked, looking at her.

      “No.  Don’t hold it against me, I’m from Superior,”  she admitted with a grin.  

     “Wisconsin?”  

     “Yup.”

      He groaned dramatically.  “City girl, then.  How did you wind up here?” 

      “Small city, really.  That’s a long story I’m sure you don’t want to hear.”

     “Try me,”  he said, nudging her elbow across the console.

      “I transferred to U M Ann Arbor my junior year after my mom died,”  she started with a nod. Jake grimaced and sucked in a breath  “Yeah,”  she said, looking out her window before continuing on.   “I got my degree in history and creative writing and wound up getting my teaching certificate for secondary school.”

     “So, you did teach high school for a while?”  he asked, seeing the bar ahead, and hoping for a beer to smooth over the edge he just caused.

     “Yup.  It sucked.  Bad.  I was an awful teacher,”  she laughed.  “It was my way to pay for my masters.  Got my MLIS from UW and took the first library job I could.  Been here ever since.”

     “Well that explains it,”  he said as they pulled into the dirt parking lot.  

     “Explains what?” 

     “I thought you were here because you were in witness protection or maybe on the run for bank robbery, international spy…”

     She laughed as she turned off the engine and pushed open her door.  “I like the sound of being an international spy!  Makes me sound so much more interesting.”

     The parking lot was full and the music pouring out of the bar was loud.  He followed her to the door and held it open for her.  The smell of food and liquor and beer smashed him in the face as he followed her inside.

     “Oh hell, there she is!”  a booming voice called from the back of the bar.  

     Rayne let out a sharp laugh as an extremely petite woman clamored around the bar and rushed her full force.  Jake backed out of the way as the woman threw her arms around Rayne and spun her around.  She caught his eye across her shoulder, mouthing a “sorry”, before she was dragged off to the bar.  He followed,  looking around the wood and stone clad bar.  People were crowded around the l-shaped bar, and most of the many tables were packed.  Along the long end of the building, there were floor to ceiling windows that framed a huge deck beyond that overlooked a swath of woods and water.  

     Rayne appeared once again with two beers and menus and a wave of her hand to follow.  He hoped she would turn towards the deck door, but instead she headed what seemed to be an inside table.  She continued to walk past table after table, waving to those by the windows that greeted her, whispering as they realized that he was with her.  She pushed through a side door that revealed a set of stairs up to an upper deck.  There were five tables that crowded the small space, but there was one in the corner that had a reserved note taped to it.  She claimed it as theirs.

      “This is nice,”  he said, taking one of the offered beers.  “I take it that was Janie.”

     “She’s a mess, but she’s mine,”  Rayne laughed.  

      “She’s seems mighty,”  he said, before taking another drink. 

      The waiter came up to the table, beaming a smile at Rayne.  “Been forever since you’ve been out here!  It’s good to see you.”

     Rayne nodded politely, leaving no explanation.  They ordered and asked for another round of beers before settling in.  Jake closed his eyes as a cool breeze swept up over the side of the deck bringing in a tinge of deep forest and swift moving water  smell across his face.  It reminded him of home, and childhood and easier times. 

     “I can’t get this in Nashville,”  he said more to himself than to his companion.  The new green of the leaves and the sound of the river below relaxed him.  

     “Is that home?”  she asked, eyes trained on the woods over his shoulder.

     “Mostly, yeah.  I do try to get back here when I can, which has been a lot lately.”

     “Oh, with the initiative.  How much longer do you work on that program?”

     “Yeah.  I have one more appearance in Grand Rapids next week, then it’s actually done for my part.”

     “You seemed to enjoy today.  How long have you been a part of it?”

     “I signed up for four months.  It’s not been bad.  I’ve visited one or two schools a week, holidays off, snow days off.  Not a bad schedule.  I’ve seen a lot of the state.”

     “Do you usually stay in each town?  Even us little guys?”

     He nodded as the waiter returned with their beers.  “Let’s just say my schedule isn’t too strict right now.”

     “Hiatus, right.”  

     He watched as she took her last drink of her first beer, and mirrored her.  “What about you?  How come you’ve not been out here to see friends?”

     “Well,”  she smiled as she made eye contact, “you mean aside from being the school librarian, I’m also the regional librarian.”

     His brow pinched a bit as he waited for an obvious answer to pop up or she continued on.  He shrugged to prod her on when he couldn’t think of anything.

     “I oversee two other library branches in the county.  One’s over in Hampton, and the other is in Miller.  They’re small, but they are the only public library services available in the county.”

     “So you take care of three libraries?”

     “Yeah, but I have a few assistants and tons of volunteers that do most of the heavy lifting.”

      “Do not let that woman sell herself short!”  Janie’s voice carried out across the small deck as she carried plates towards them.   “She would work a hundred and fifty hours a week if she could.”

     “This from the entrepreneur that would out work me by five minutes any day just to say she beat me somehow,”  Rayne laughed.

     They settled into their meals, talking about travel, family or lack thereof on her part, more travel, music, literature, and where they haven’t been yet but would like to see before they die.  Janie had popped in a few times, checking on them, checking on other diners who seemed to float around them as if they were the only constant at that time.  Conversation was easy with her, something that Jake appreciated.  Before he knew it, the plates were gone, the beers were fresh and the sky was dark.

     “Hiatus,”  she said, sipping on her beer.

     “My elephant time, huh?”  She nodded as he felt his fingers tapping on the arm of the chair.  “Aside from 2020, we had been touring and recording for fourteen years.  Josh had this opportunity to work on a script, which of course turned into a film thing.  Dan got married last Fall and last I heard, they’re still honeymooning.  I’ve been busy with this initiative thing and working on new material here and there.  Josh wants me to work the score if the film gets over a few bumps that it's having right now.  And, this all started when my niece was about to be born and Sam needed to be there.”

     “That’s a lot of life stuff.”

     “Yeah, so much so that Sammy’s even about to have another one - a boy this time.”  The thought of his younger brother and his nerdy dad routine made him smile.  “We said we’d break for two years, so there we are.”

      There was a silence that followed that did not bother him.  However, it was enough for him to realize that they were the last ones on the small upper deck.  

     “What time do they close?”  

     Rayne looked at her phone.  “Uh, kitchen at nine, bar is at bar close.”

     “If you stay, it’ll be dawn!”  Janie boomed from below.

     She popped up, beer in hand and started leaning over the rail.  Jake followed, taking in the familiar smell of cigarette smoke.  The bar owner waved them down with a grin.  He followed, tapping the pocket of his denim button down for the pack that was there.  Rounding the side corner that led to the main deck, he found that the cooler night air had chased most inside, leaving a much quieter crowd.  Janie was wiping tables with a smoke hanging from her mouth.  The antsy craving prickled at his thoughts.

     “Hey, do you mind?”  he asked her as she stopped at the table Janie had pointed to.

     “No.  I was going to bum one from her, but yours are better.  May I?”  she asked politely.

     He fished his lighter out and held a flame up for her.  He could not keep his eyes from her mouth and the way it was wrapped around the smoke. He quickly lit his own to steady himself.  Sitting down next to her again, the view from the lower deck took in more of the narrow river.  Watching the water speed by relaxed him as he stretched out, just taking in the noise from the bar and the dull thrum of the other people.

     The first notes of a familiar song reverberated off the windows.  Instinctively, his fingers moved with the riff on the underside of his chair.

     “That’s gotta be a bit weird,”  Janie said as she slid up to their table.  

     He shrugged with a sheepish smile.  “You sorta get used to it after a while.”

     Jake forced himself to get out of his head as he felt the loneliness tug at him.  Taking a sip of his beer, he noticed that Rayne watched him closely.

     “What’s it’s like to be in front of that many people, playing your ass off?”  Janie asked, swirling her cubes around in her lowball glass.

     Jake grinned and cleared his throat in a flirty manner.  “Hot as hell and twice as fun.”

     “Smooth,”  the bar owner barked, her laugh loud and untethered.

     “It’s something,”  he continued.  “I’ve gotten to see so many people and places, but they are there just to have a great time.  I like to think that I can give that to them - at least for a little while.”

     “Joy,”  Rayne said quietly, holding his gaze.  “Earlier, you said it was a shared joy.”

     He could not look away from those green eyes.  Her friend said something but Jake could not put together words to answer her.  He found himself smiling stupidly and nodding.  Rayne leaned forward, finally breaking the connection.  Jake realized once again, Janie had drifted away, wooing customers inside at the bar.

     “What made you decide to be a librarian?”  he asked as he crushed out his cigarette.

     “I needed to be where the books were.  I get to provide access to information and books and resources that I love.  I get to talk about authors and stories and…”  She stopped as if she lost her train of thought.  “In all honesty, I love to write and be a storyteller.  This allows me to do that.”

     “Sounds great,”  Jake responded, capturing her attention again, seeing that she was beginning to be flustered like she had been in her library.  “A little like my line of work.”

     “I suppose so,”  she smiled as she turned her phone over.  “But mine is way more nerdy.”

     The look that traced across her face disappointed him.  He could feel her shifting back to her real life.  He had learned the look well over the course of the past eighteen months.

     “Time to go?”  he asked quietly.

     She scrunched up her face and sat back in a huff.  “I’m so sorry.  It’s already one and I’ve got storytime with the kids at ten and because of today, I totally have - shit, I didn’t get it set up.”

     He glanced at his own phone, not realizing it was so late. There was still no text from anyone either.  He felt himself frowning at the lack of anything, especially from his twin.

     “Oh, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to upset you,”  Rayne said, touching his arm.

     “What?”  he asked, confused.  He replayed what she said and smiled.  “No, no, no.  You didn’t upset me.  I’m sorry I kept you out so late.  I didn’t realize how long we’ve been here.”

     He grabbed their empties and followed her inside, where she was already at the bar.  The bartender was searching for their tab, much to her displeasure.  

     “Janie, where are you?”  Rayne called out, looking for the scrap of woman.  When she poked her head out of the kitchen door, Rayne pointed at her menacingly.  “What did you do?”

     Jake watched as she stalked over to her friend, but stayed at the bar.  “Hey, can I get a couple of waters and two more of these please, to go?  And the tab too, please.”

     The bartender nodded as he passed a conspiring look towards the two women. “Janie, you can’t do that!”  he heard Rayne exclaim.  Jake smiled.  The loud friend was keeping to her word and covering for him.  He did not need that awkward moment of her trying to pay for anything.  He slipped the bartender his card, quickly signing the screen and adding a tip that matched the total of the tab.  By the time his transaction was done, Janie was practically running at him.

     “Hey - picture?”  she asked with a toothy smile.  “You’d sure look good on my wall, handsome.”

     “Janie,”  Rayne groaned.

     “It’s okay.  Where do you want me, doll?”  he flirted.

     “You are smooth,”  she cooed.  

     He allowed her to pose before moving in beside her, his biggest smile plastered on his face.  Rayne waited for him at the door as he was dragged in for a warm hug.  As he was drawn into conversation from a few people the bar, the door flew open, admitting three obnoxiously loud guys.  Jake noticed the cross look that breezed across Rayne’s face as one leaned in close to her.

     “Back it off, Toby,”  he heard her say in a hard tone.

     “If you’re here alone, you must be lookin’ for me,”  the guy said, his words slightly slurred.

     Rayne squared her shoulders, her expression turning blank.  “I’ve told you to back it off.  I mean now.”

     “You don’t have to be a bitch about it,”  he said.

     “And you don’t have to be the reason for ninety percent of the county’s STD problem,”  she said as he started to move away.  

     Jake moved towards Rayne, when the mostly inebriated Toby bumped into him on purpose.  

     “Janie, why you lettin’ in the long hair she-men?”  he asked with an edge.

     “If you were more of a gentleman, perhaps you would have a chance with the lady,”  Jake remarked.  

     “Who’s this dick?”

     “I’m the guy she’s taking home,”  Jake said with a smile.

     He curled the tip of his tongue between his teeth as he approached her.  The fire that was in her eyes was something to behold.  He pushed open the door and held it for her before following closely behind.  She was silent all the way to the car as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure the guy didn’t follow them out.  He heard the click of the door unlocking and he slid into the passenger side.

     Rayne took a deep breath before starting the car.  “Sorry about that.”

     “Did you ask for a run in with that asshole?”  he asked, stowing his bag behind his seat.

     She laughed without humor.  “Fuck no. ”

     “Are you going to be okay?”  he asked as she cued up the blues guitarist that he caught her listening to earlier.

     “Yeah, just sucks,”  she said, sliding the gear into reverse.

     “Oh, this is Jesse Larsen,”  he said, grimacing at his sudden lack of timing.  “Sorry.  My brain ran ahead of my mouth.”

     “Squirrel moment, huh?”  she teased, her smile returning as she pulled out of the parking lot.  “And yes, this is Jesse Larsen.”

     “He’s a really cool guy.  I met him at Chicago Breakers Fest a few years back.”

     “Gah!  I love Breakers.  I went once with my mom, then again with Janie about four years ago.  Yeah, we did a lot of stupid adult stuff that weekend.  It was great.”

     He smiled at her in the soft glow of the dash light.  It had been quite a while since he had an evening that he had not wanted his time to end with the company he kept.  Rayne was a beacon in this town.  She seemed to draw everyone from small child to town elder to her with a grace and happiness that was unexpected.  He felt warmed by her in a manner that few were able to make him feel.  Glancing at his phone, he noticed that there was a single word text from Josh saying “night”.   He felt irritated, knowing that his twin was just busy, but the lack of communication was a sore point.  As they pulled into the B & B parking lot, she parked next to his rental and cut the engine.

     “Thank you for sharing Janie with me tonight,”  he said with a smile.  “It was fun.”

     “It was fun,”  she repeated with a nod.

     “Please tell me you live here in town,”  he said, his eyes drifting back to the building for a moment before looking directly into her eyes.

     “No, actually, I’m about ten minutes south of here,”  she said with a shrug.

     “Shit,”  he ground out, not liking the sound of it.  “That’s not very gentlemanly of me.”

     “It’s fine.”

     “Let me see your phone please.”  She handed him the phone with a raised eyebrow.  “I will wait out here until you text me that you are home.”

     “It’s not a big deal,”  she said as he typed his number into her phone.

     He looked up at her, feeling deviousness play across his face.  “I could just follow you home to be sure you get there.”

     “Is that a threat?”  she asked, her tone challenging.

     “Maybe,”  he answered, rolling his eyes up at her, slowly taking her in, tracing the shape of her mouth before intently looking into her eyes.

     She sucked in a breath as the tops of her cheeks flushed.  “Oh my.  You are smooth.”

     “Just be safe, please,”  he said, handing her back the phone and grabbing his bag from behind the seat before sliding out of the car.

     Jake leaned up against his rental.  She sat for a long moment, just watching him.  He lit a smoke to show her that he was serious.  He would wait for her text just to know that she was safe.  When she did not move, he dug in his other pocket and took out his keys pushing off the car and moving towards the driver’s side.  The prospect of following her home was intriguing - he had to admit.   She started the engine and with a wave, Rayne was gone.

     Two smokes and a finished beer later, his phone finally pinged.

R ~ Home

J ~ Prove it

     He smiled, picturing her being flustered.  It was a few minutes before his phone pinged again, this time with a picture of her smiling while sitting on a blanket covered couch, dog across her lap and cat nearly sitting on her head.  

J ~ Thank you again for tonight.

R ~ Good night 

     Jake tapped his phone to his forehead a few times.  His plans of leaving early were certainly scrapped.  He felt the length of the day, but the time with Rayne had felt like it had literally flown by in a blink.  Heading inside, it was not a riff that played in his thoughts, it was an image.  He wondered if she would like it as much as he did.

#jake kiszka #jake kiszka fanfic #jake kiszka x oc

[arvorvoresti]

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[zenruption]

Treefort Roaming 2024 - Wednesday and Thursday

It’s back, that time of year when the music permeates all of amazing downtown Boise for five days. Yes, it is my favorite time of year and so far it hasn’t disappointed.

This year is a bit of a different approach. Instead of just roaming, I am much more disciplined as my time is far more limited. Being a dog dad means tons of dog love but also a lot of responsibility, so the 12 hour days at Treefort are no more. It’s a worthy trade-off.

Still, there have been a few surprises that one can’t help but come across while enjoying one of the best festivals in the U.S.

Let’s start with Wednesday.

Wednesday

With my dog, Brahms, in mind, I didn’t head out quite late and only stayed a few hours, but those hours were filled with several great acts.

While heading to the Treefort Music Hall, I found myself diverted to something that just sounded fun. And it was. The Boise Brewing stage is a super cool stage that has had some excellent acts. Buddy Crime is undoubtedly such an act.

A single musician, Louisville, Kentucky based Buddy Crime is backed by prerecorded hard thumping electro-pop to which he adds his lyrical and guitar skills. He’s high energy, puts out some incredible sarcastic vocals, and keeps the audience moving. The crowd was absolutely engaged and I look forward to seeing him again someday.

While I truly desired to stay late and see excellent Boise musicians, Magic Sword, it’d be an early night with only one more act on tap, Neko Case, at the main stage.

Neko Case has been labeled as “alt-country” or indie-rock,” but she defies the labels, becoming almost otherworldly and emitting a chilling vibe in songs such as “Hold on, Hold on.” With haunting sound and lyrics, she grabs you, and you can’t walk away mid-song. Her long career in music has yielded a large amount of work, and she deserves your listen. Check her out on your music service.

Thursday

An annual tradition is watching the first Gonzaga NCAA Tournament game at the excellent Owyhee Tavern while eating a steak. Afterward, it was past eight, and it was time to get out there.

While I only caught the last three songs of Australia’s Blusher at the Treefort Music Hall, it was a blast, making me wish I’d been there for the whole thing. An electro-pop infused experience from three female amazing singers made it part girl band and part high energy indie. Let’s just call it what it is, a ton of fun.

Look for Blusher to be touring the U.S. this next year, as they told me they just got their visas and will be living in L.A.

Things mellowed quite a bit with French Cassettes, but they are a phenomenal band putting out their own harmony-driven pop, with a sound best (but very loosely) compared to Vampire Weekend. Check out their pre-release song, “Benzene.” It’s fabulous.

Then there is Karina Rykeman, who recently dropped her debut album, Joyride. There’s nothing like Karina. She is an incredible bassist, her guitarist is phenomenal, and her lyrics are silky smooth. In many ways, I felt like I did when at a Khruangbin concert but without all the reverb.

Karina is high-energy and keeps everyone dancing, and the crowd loves her. Listen to her track “Joyride” right now!

And that’s it. It was another early evening with absolutely amazing bands. This is why Treefort is incredible; you’re constantly discovering new music to fall in love with.

[bloodinkandashes]

Do you love me?

I don't mean "are you physically attracted to me?" Or even "are you romantically attracted to me?"

Tbh I'm not sure I even know what I mean. I just know I love you. I love your smile and your laugh and your sense of humor. I love how clever and quick witted you are - I really love listening to you and John banter bc you're the only one I've seen able to keep up with him and even get one over on him sometimes. I adore how smart and nerdy you are and how much you love stories. I wish I'd known you forever.

We would have been such good friends. We would have been mermaids and knights and elves and dragons, and skated together and climbed trees and read books and told eachother stories of who we would be when we grew up. Later we would have learned our separate instruments together, we would have jam sessions together and you'd stay for dinner - my mom would have long since all but adopted you. We'd go to high school together, we'd both be in choir (and we'd sound gorgeous singing together), and I'd talk you into doing theater with me and make you try out for the main female role while I tried out for the main male role (we would be fabulous, but frustrate the director to no end by ruining half the practices bc we were unable to keep from giggling during our scenes together), and mom would go to every single one of your band events. We'd both go to college, maybe the same or maybe different. I'd do better keeping up with my homework, I think, with you to inspire me. Freaking ravenclaw. Maybe I'd even have kept enough motivation to become a microengineer like I dreamed. And I'd encourage you to follow your dreams too.

It occurs to me that I don't even know what your dreams are. I know you got three degrees, but I don't even know if any of them were what you really wanted. I know you wanted to be a nurse, but surely that wasn't your only dream. Did you want to be a musician? A physicist? A farmer? Who were you when you dreamed?

I think that's why I really want to play some kind of role-playing game with you - I want to see who you are in the stories you tell about yourself.

I wish I could show you how much I love you but I'm always afraid I'll be too much; that you'll think I want too much. And then at the same time I'm afraid if I don't show you then you'll think I don't love you at all. I love you so much I don't know what to do with it all, I just don't know how to show it. I don't know how to tell you "I love you" in a way that you'll understand. If I knew I would do it in a heartbeat, tell you a thousand times over, any way you wanted. My love is flexible, I guess, I can give and receive it in any form - platonic, romantic, asexual, aromantic, whatever - it doesn't matter to me as long as it's love. I don't need you to love me like I love you, as long as I can love you like you love me... I just need to know what I should be feeling. Please tell me how to love you. Because I already love you.

I love you when you're excited and happy, and when you're sleepy or grumpy, and I love you when you're upset and angry, and when you're scared and anxious.

I love your fashion sense and how much care you put into your appearance - not bc I like that you care about your appearance, but bc it makes you happy to do so - it's an art form and a way of self expression. I wish I were bold enough to wear my personality on my body the way you do, but I'm too afraid of how people might judge me - too weird, too edgey, cringe, try-hard. I don't understand how you can think yourself so weak when you're strong.

I see you reaching for your lifelines, struggling not to go under, fighting in every way you can. You're sleeping a lot now, conserving your strength. You're working to be healthier and take better care of yourself and truly start to heal. I know you think your addictions made you weak, but I don't see how seeking relief from pain could ever be weakness. To bear pain with purpose can make you stronger, but pain without purpose serves only to weaken. You were never weak though, you fought against the pain in every way you could, refused to let it pull you under. And when it did, you got back up and kept going. Your anger, your anxiety, your paranoia, and your people-pleasing, those are all weapons you use to defend yourself from pain. But you've felt pain for so long you don't know what it's like to not feel it, you can't imagine a world where you're safe from its sting, so you carry your weapons everywhere and never let down your guard.

And that's ok. It's ok to want to defend yourself! You're fighting through the pain to cling to life, and you don't need anyone's permission or approval to do so.

But if you need encouragement I'll be here. If you need support or help, or just a hug, Like Sam Gamgee, I can't carry the ring but I can carry you. I'll be your Sam, through thick and thin, through Rivendell and Lothlorien, and past Gollum and Shelob.

In case I didn't already mention it, I love you.

[all-funny-names]

400+ Funny Bowling Names

400+ Funny Bowling Names to Make Your Team Stand Out

Hey friends! Are you getting ready for bowling league night and trying to come up with a killer team name? Choosing a funny and creative bowling team name is a great way to stand out and show off your team's personality on the lanes. The right moniker will get some laughs and give your squad an unforgettable identity. In this post, I'll talk about why having a clever bowling name matters and give you some tips for coming up with your own amusing team titles. Let's roll!

Why Choose a Funny Bowling Name:

A humorous team name helps make bowling night more fun and builds camaraderie. It shows you and your teammates don't take yourselves too seriously and adds some levity to the competition. An amusing name also helps your team stick in people's minds and gives spectators something to root for. Who doesn't want to cheer for a team called "The Bowling Stones" or "The Pin Pals"?

How to Choose a Funny Bowling Name: 

When brainstorming team names, think about bowling puns, pop culture references, or inside jokes. You can riff on famous characters, musicians, foods, movies - anything goes! Avoid names that are too long or hard to pronounce. The name should be memorable and bring a smile to people's faces. 

400+ Funny Bowling Names With Meanings

Funny Bowling Names for Teams: - Strike A Pose - For a team that loves to celebrate every strike with flair. - Split Happens - When your team often finds themselves dealing with splits. - Pin Pals - A friendly team always aiming for those pins. - The Bowling Stones - Because your team rocks the lanes. - Gutter Gurus - Masters of turning gutter balls into strikes. - Spare Me - A team that cherishes every spare opportunity. - Alley Cats - Quick, agile, and always ready to pounce on those pins. - Turkey Tribe - A team that consistently gets three strikes in a row. - Kingpins - Dominating the game, one pin at a time. - Rolling Thunder - Striking with force and noise, intimidating opponents. - Lucky Strikes - A team that believes in luck and strikes. - Pin Poppers - Knocking those pins out of the park. - Bowl Movements - A team that always makes bold moves on the lanes. - Pin Pranksters - Playing pranks while rolling perfect shots. - Spare Change - Making spare shots look like pocket change. - No Pin Intended - When your team's strikes are purely accidental. - The Pinups - Bringing back the retro charm to the bowling alley. - Split Personalities - A team with diverse bowling styles and personalities. - Roll Models - Inspiring others with their exceptional bowling skills. - Lane Rangers - Patrolling the lanes with expertise and precision. - Pin Pioneers - Innovating new techniques and strategies for bowling success. - Bowl-der Dashes - Speedy bowlers racing to victory. - Striking Beauties - A team of graceful and skillful female bowlers. - Pin Wizards - Masters of the pins, casting spells for strikes. - Bowl Weevils - Small but mighty bowlers causing big impacts. - Strike Queens - Female bowlers ruling the lanes with their strikes. - Glamour Pins - Elegant and stylish bowlers who also know how to strike. - Roller Divas - Divas on the lanes, rolling strikes with attitude. - Pinup Princesses - Graceful and glamorous female bowlers. - Strike Chicks - Women who know how to bring the heat with strikes. - Alley Angels - Beautiful and skilled female bowlers who play like angels. - Bowling Belles - Classic and classy female bowlers with excellent skills. - Strike Sirens - Enchanting the lanes with their striking abilities. - Diva Rollers - Divas on the roll, striking and looking fabulous. - Queenpins - Royalty on the lanes, reigning with strikes. - Spare Change Divas - Turning spares into striking opportunities with style. - Glamour Gutterballs - Even their gutterballs look glamorous. - Bowling Bombshells - Explosive and impactful female bowlers. - Pin-Up Power - Powerful female bowlers striking fear into opponents. - Strike Squad - A team that strikes together, conquers together. - Balls Deep Rollers - Fearless bowlers, unafraid to go all in. - Gutter Snipes - Embracing the gutter balls with pride. - Pin-tercourse Pros - Masters of intimate pin action. - Balls & Dolls - A mix of male and female bowlers, having a ball. - Split & Swallow - Turning splits into victories. - Bowl Jobbers - Experts in giving pins a satisfying roll. - Rolling In The Deep End - Not afraid of challenging situations, even in the lanes. - Pin Prowess Pimps - Bowling with style and confidence. - Bowl You Over Babes - Knocking pins and hearts over effortlessly. - Lickity Split Masters - Quickly recovering from splits with finesse. - Balls Of Thunder - Powerful and energetic bowlers making a statement. - Pin Dippers - Boldly diving into the pins, regardless of the risks. - Innuendo Rollers - Masters of the suggestive bowling banter. - Spare Me The Details - A team that avoids unnecessary complications and focuses on the game. - Balls Out Bowlers - No holding back, giving their all on the lanes. - Pin Prancers - Dancing around the pins with skill and charm. - Spare Parts - Individuals who excel at spare shots. - Pin-Up Punishers - Striking with style and authority. - The Alley Cats - Sassy and playful bowlers who own the lanes. - Gutter Girls - Girls who embrace both the gutters and the strikes with equal enthusiasm. - Split Personalities Seduction - Using their diverse skills to seduce the pins into falling. - Bowl & Bedazzle - Making the lanes sparkle with their talent. - Strikes & Seduction - Winning hearts and strikes effortlessly. Read the full article

#FunniestBowlingNames #FunnyBowlingNames #FunnyBowlingteamNames

[air1movingandstoragela]

Introducing The SAP Facility At San Jose - A World-Class Venue For Sports And Home Entertainment

Situated in the facility of Silicon Valley, the SAP Center in San Jose is an exceptional instance of architectural quality and a popular depiction of both sporting activities and home entertainment.

Put up in 1993, this distinguished habitation has beautifully stood up to the examination of time, continuously offering its clients a first-rate experience. The combination of modern style with advanced innovation results in a location that harmoniously incorporates right into its metropolitan area while mirroring the cutting-edge spirit inherent to San Jose. Its background interweaves stories of sports accomplishments, groundbreaking efficiencies, and neighborhood events - each phase adding one more layer to its abundant tapestry.

Featuring over 190 occasions yearly, it is not simply online for NHL's San Jose Sharks but a premier destination for song fans and occasion goers alike. From pulsating rock concerts by fabulous bands such as U2 or Rolling Stones to prominent showing-off occasions like the NHL Stanley Cup Finals or NCAA Female's Basketball Tournament games-- all have actually left enduring marks on SAP Center's illustrious timeline.

In this examination, we will certainly look into amazing instances of remarkable efficiencies, while illuminating how these occurrences have influenced the center's standing as a preferred destination for amusement in the Golden State and various other locations.

Exploring The History And Style

Immersed in the abundant background and embellished with striking architectural expertise, the SAP Facility at San Jose stands as an amazing testament to world-class design and design, its splendor overshadowing other standard sporting activities and enjoyment locations.

The place first opened its doors to the general public on September 7, 1993, under the name San Jose Arena. In 2001, it went through a name modification to Compaq Facility at San Jose, and later, in 2013, it embraced its present name, SAP Center, after a sponsorship arrangement with SAP SE, a German software application company.

This iconic facility has actually been imagined by prize-winning architecture firm Sink Combs Dethlefs (currently Perkins + Will). The framework's one-of-a-kind form is identified by smooth contours that evoke dynamism while its appearance is made up of warm-hued blocks communicating a sense of knowledge and nostalgia.

The field's well-thought-out style prolongs within its large interiors which span roughly 450,000 square feet. Its seating ability adjusts according to the event type-- from 17,500 for ice hockey video games (as the home of the National Hockey Organization's San Jose Sharks) to an outstanding nearly 20,000 for performances or staged performances.

The venue's design prioritizes access, featuring several access factors that enable uncomplicated navigation for viewers, alleviating feelings of overwhelm regardless of its extensive dimension. In addition, state-of-the-art services, including high-definition video boards, give an intensely appealing experience for patrons during events.

Regardless of years of procedure and changing times, The SAP Center at San Jose continues to uphold its credibility as a beacon of building luster and a long-lasting center for top-tier sporting activities and entertainment eyeglasses.

Showcasing Remarkable Moments And Shows

This well-regarded location has a storied past, specified by a selection of illustrious events and identified performances, such as performances by world-renowned musicians, famous sporting events, and various other cultural displays.

Madonna, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones, distinguished symbols, have thrilled countless passionate followers with their sold-out performances at the SAP Facility.

Sporting lovers have actually witnessed intense competitors on the center's ice rink with National Hockey League (NHL) group San Jose Sharks calling it home because of its inauguration. The sector additionally strengthened its track record as a top sporting activities venue when it organized the NHL All-Star Video Game in 1997 and 2019 along with the NCAA Males's Basketball Event several times.

The place's adaptability has allowed it to suit a wide variety of events, each including its diverse background. From political rallies, such as Barack Obama's 2007 rally that drew a big crowd, to spiritual celebrations like the Dalai Lama's 2012 visit, where he shared his message of tranquility with an engaged audience, the venue has actually been a system for various significant events.

These incidents show not just the SAP Facility's capability to host diverse occasions but likewise stress its importance in larger social communications - uniting individuals in one place to trade common encounters that inevitably promote links within the area.

[losangeleslife]

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