#is actually referring to our beloved quartet :)

[rapturesbest]

Fort Frolic is becoming more and more popular the longer the games are out, much to my thill, as this means people are looking more and more into the muses, the Disciples, the quartet. Which is delightful. I have seen a lot of posts ranging from early 2015 blogs and art pieces as well as forums to modern, recent takes and character dives.

Of course, fandom is a space in which to explore and grow our own thoughts and theories. Some of the posts I have seen are certainly… choices. I have been putting off a brief character study of the muses until my wife and I have finished editing and splicing together our complete comprehensive history of the Disciples.

I have been working on breathing life into these characters for years now. Pulling from every media as well as looking into any rabbithole I could.

The reason behind this post is not to claim others work and ideas as incorrect but instead is to bring my findings to light. Share with you what is one of my two life’s works.

A brief character study of Kyle Fitzpatrick

Oh where to begin with my beloved boy. His canon appearances are so short lived. With three canonical lines I all but built him from the ground up. He is mentioned during DLC Burial at Sea 1 with no voice lines BUT that does give us where he was on New Years Eve, which I will talk about later in this post. He is not mentioned at all in Rapture by John Shirley. But this doesn’t mean that we don’t have clues and context for him as a character.

Let’s start with his name, Kyle Fitzpatrick.

Kyle is a Scottish-Gaelic name and FItzpatrick is an Irish surname. Coincidence right? No. Based purely on his name we can place his origin in either Ireland or Scotland, which comes into play when we dive further into his place within Rapture’s society.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “Oh but he doesn’t have an accent! In his voice lines he doesn’t have an accent.” and you’re right. He doesn’t. Let’s talk about that.

Kyle was employed by Sander Cohen, we know that as a hard fact. We also know as a hard fact that Sander Cohen was heavily on the side of Andrew Ryan when it came to the Ryan vs Fontaine bias. After the Death of Frank Fontaine who rose up in his place to challenge Andrew Ryan? Atlas. Atlas is a working class Irishman. Now, don’t you think it’s rather unseemly to have someone who is in the inner circle of Ryan supporters having a similar accent to his biggest adversary?

Of course, the scottish-gaelic accent is actually quite different from Fontaine’s accent as Atlas, but we also know for a Hard Fact that there is still racism within Rapture. Therefore by piecing together the racism as well as Cohen’s connection to Ryan we can deduce that Fitzpatrick was trained to cover his natural accent to keep up appearances within Fort Frolic and Rapture as a whole.

Next, Let’s talk about his age. We know Cohen referred to him as “Young Fitzpatrick.” I have seen a million and a half headcanons and ideas on how young “young” is. For this I’m pulling from the book, Rapture, with Martin’s POV. While the Rapture book is not considered Canon, it played a very important part in my construction of Kyle. We know from that that Cohen and by proxy, his disciples, are not only privy but are actively involved in a lot of skeezy, under the table, unorthodox practices and circles. Why does this matter? Because it feeds directly into Kyle Fitzpatrick’s age. In my construction of Kyle I placed him very firmly at the age of 21 when he died. So young right? Yeah I agree, but I have several reasons behind this. The first being that I do not believe that his prefrontal cortex is completely matured; I will touch back on this later. It’s not unknown that I am an avid fan of BaS and I really liked Elizabeth’s line of “This city values children. Not childhood.”

Kyle is the youngest of the muses. Being 17 at the time of Cohen scouting him, 18 when he was made an official disciple and 21 at the time of his death. I’d like to explain my reasoning behind the gap between him being scouted and him being debuted as a proper disciple. We know for another Hard Fact that all four of Cohen’s disciples (as well as others) had a physical, sexual relationship with their employer. Martin mentions it, Silas mentions it. Hector’s audio diary mentions it. Kyle was not excluded from this though I think he was not actively sought after by Cohen as much as other muses were. Cohen is smart, very smart, he knew that bringing on someone under the age of consent would not go over well with Ryan nor a number of the other key players within the social hierarchy. Kyle was groomed for the months leading up to his official debut. Which we know many went through but only 4 have managed to pass. I can go into further detail into his test. But I will spare you the details. He was pushed into the spotlight the second he turned 18 in 1956.

Let’s talk about why he was so young. Kyle is nothing less than a musical protege. He is incredibly talented, especially at such a young age. He is *young* he is not *stupid*. I’ve read a lot of people saying that they think that he’s naive or trusting and I’d like to counter that by saying that he’s impressionable, not naive. Cohen chose him because he knew he could mold him into something special. Which he did. Kyle is brilliant. But don’t think for one second he was stupid. He had three people constantly telling him that he was being manipulated by Cohen, by his Sponsor, by several players in Rapture. But he *chose* to ignore them.

Let’s break that down. Kyle was a victim of love bombing and near constant manipulation from almost everyone around him. I plan on doing an indepth dive into the mental illness within Rapture and the effects it had on those within the city.

Kyle was pulled in two separate directions. After working extensively on fitting him into the world created by 2K as well as John Shirely I chose to have his Sponsor be no one less than Frank Fontaine.

I do have a reason behind this. We know from all media types that Fontaine is an opportunist. Ryan always kept him at a distance. Never really trusting him. Not allowing him into the proper inner circle of Rapture like some of the other businessmen. I think especially in 1956, once things were properly starting to get heated, Fontaine would have looked for a way to worm his way into the inner social circle. He had a lot of people on his payroll, this we know for another fact. But how far did that really spread?

In order to explain the next part of Kyle’s backstory I have to derail to talk about Frank Fontaine. I can cite several occasions where Frank Fontaine openly or internally admits to blackmail, manipulation, sexual favors and paying off several people within Rapture in order to get ahead or get his way.

We know for a solid FACT that he had someone in nearly every part of Rapture with the exception of Fort Frolic. I always found that interesting. Why would the person with his hands in nearly every part of Rapture not be actively seeking out someone within the gossip hub of Rapture.

Unless he did.

I pride myself on fitting my work into being completely canon compliant. Fitting Kyle into the greater canon of Rapture was… difficult. I had to play fast and loose with a lot, backbending and jumping through hoops in order to bring such an insignificant character.

Kyle was young, this we know. Impressionable. I believe that Frank Fontaine saw him as someone he could easily get information out of.

Another solid fact we know is that Cohen didn’t care much for Fontaine or later Atlas. But Sander Cohen is a connoisseur of the arts. He can appreciate people with money, especially when it comes to funding his projects. Fontaine being interested in sponsoring his youngest disciple would have been too tempting a lure to ignore and so Kyle’s ties to Fontaine began.

Let’s dive into the manipulation and abuse within Fort Frolic and Rapture as a whole. Yummy, right? I see again and again people claiming that Kyle was stupid or that he loved Sander Cohen and I firmly stand against these claims. Kyle is young but he’s not blind. Do I think Kyle was once infatuated by Cohen? Yes. He was. Especially for a kid who came from a rocky background. But I think many people forget that Martin had been with Cohen from day one, working for him topside before he joined him in Rapture. Kyle had access and very close relationships with people who had been around Cohen for a lot longer than he had been. But knowledge and outside perspective doesn’t always protect someone from gaslighting, manipulation and abuse. I think that the dynamic between the key players was… difficult. A lot happened out of the public eye, within Fort Frolic, within the Disciples relationships and most certainly the interlocking dynamics between sponsors and their subtle or active gathering of information.

I’m about to step out of my semi-formal setting to get down and dirty real quick. I know y’all Sander Cohen kinnies gonna hate me for this one but that man is absolutely an abuser. We know this. He’s a sadist. And while I *love* that for him, he absolutely took out his artistic (or personal) rage on his disciples. There is a lot of room for disdain between disciple and artist. The prime written example of this is Martin considering just fucking killing Cohen when he first started to splice in 1956. The next example I’m going to pull is from the game with Hector Rodriguez. He says, and I quote, “the things that man made me do”. Which I always found interesting, saying as until the closure of Fort Frolic on New Years, they had *every* opportunity to leave all together. Of course, I could go into heavy detail into why each of the muses stayed but I will spare you. I’m here to talk about Kyle. Why did Kyle stay?

By 1958 Kyle was very firmly rooted within the upper class of Rapture. He was renowned as a musical genius as well as held a lot of social power from his dealings with Fort Frolic as one of Cohen’s Disciples as well as his ties to the essentially untouchable Empire that Frank Fontaine had created.

He was 19 years old and was untouchable by consequences for his actions. If Cohen didn’t bail him out of sticky situations, Fontaine would. Their dynamic is extremely interesting to me and I’d love to really get into the meat of it, but again, I will spare you in this short dissertation. Kyle was feeding Fontaine information he got while in Ryan’s social circles and he was well paid for it. It was an investment, of course, but Kyle gave him valuable information on Andrew Ryan and the inner workings of Fort Frolic as well as started giving him the seeds of ideas for Atlas. Though that’s another rabbithole for another day.

Kyle was very dangerously intertwined with Fontaine, which did not go unnoticed by Ryan nor his associates. After the ‘death’ of Frank Fontaine, anyone who had any ties to him were detained and questioned extensively. Kyle being one of them. But again, a story for another day.

Kyle was young and impressionable, as I have stated before. But he was also constantly being manipulated, gaslit and abused by those who saw him as an asset rather than a person. They took advantage of his love and lust for life. Kyle was burned out in record time but that does not mean that he wasn’t an absolutely awful person. He was a teenager given an outrageous amount of power. He was making extremely questionable decisions and was facing very few consequences for his actions.

I am not defending him as a good person. Anyone who enjoys Bioshock knows that these characters are extremely flawed and that is what makes them so fucking interesting.

I can go on and on about how everyone in Rapture was a simple pawn in a bigger game in a city that was destined to fail, but that’s the beauty of Bioshock.

Kyle Fitzpatrick was not a good person but he was the PRIME example of what Rapture was made for. He was a kid who came from a backwater town in Ireland who clawed, bit and fucked his way to the top. He loved too much and it was taken advantage of, brutally. Do I think that love extended to Sander Cohen? No. Kyle recognized him as a genius, albeit an outdated one, but he did not love him. Not like he loved his fellow Disciples or his work. Cohen was a security blanket for his debauchery, he signed paychecks and Kyle was willing to entertain him until New Years.

It is my belief that it was Kyle’s plan to bail from Fort Frolic after the Civil War started. He was in too deep with Atlas and Ryan knew it. His choices had landed him directly in the spotlight. Secrets were exposed and Kyle was brutally punished for it until his death in 1960.

I plan on posting a complete comprehensive history of him as well as the other Disciples.

TLDR:// Kyle Fitzpatrick is a dirty little bastard man who’s age is being confused for him being naive or stupid. He doesn’t really love Sander Cohen and he got exactly what was coming for him.

#bioshock #rapture #fort frolic #kyle fitzpatrick #fort frolic radio

[its-short-for-jackalope]

New Characters Ahoy!

Thinking about Captain AJ Griffin, Morgan Reese, and K̵̨̦̝̰̣͕̞̘͗̀̏̚a̵̜͈̗͕̫̪͌̐̃̓̉̇͌̚l̷̨̯͈̼̱̥̩̿͑̋̇̓͒͐ aboard the Ellen Austin

hello! I am FINE and NORMAL and have been very CALMLY and very CASUALLY thinking about episode three and the new information we have about the characters our beloved quartet will be sailing with next month. 😇

...Yeah, I didn't believe that either.

Let's just get right to the unhinged rambling part of the post, shall we?

Sike! The post is still hinged for a minute while I give you a quick rundown of each character.

⚓️ AJ Griffin, the Captain

voiced by Jeff Blim

rigid leader, fiercely loyal to his crew

Civil War veteran haunted by the past

@man-down-in-hatchet-town's favorite

⚓️ Morgan Reese, the Bosun

voiced by Huck Walton

first appears at the end of episode 2

kind, adventurous, friend to all

fairly good guitarist

⚓️ Kal, the Passenger

voiced by ???

will change the story forever

???

???

Yup. That's them. I can't wait to hear what they get up to when the episode comes out. But in the meantime, I've got a brain that won't shut up and a pal to throw half-baked theories and wild speculation at, so here's some stuff we've been talking about.

Before Matt starts introducing us to these characters, we're presented with some questions:

Who is in command? Who will have our backs? Who can we trust when things go sideways?

The first answer comes to us easily enough. We can assume that the one in command (at least at the start of it all) is Captain AJ Griffin.

The second answer is also pretty clear. Morgan Reese is the man who's meant to look after everyone. It's literally his job, and he's already helped (will help?) Samuel, Rose, Margaret, and John by getting them aboard the ship. So he probably has our backs.

The third answer, if we follow the pattern & use the process of elimination, would have to be the last named character: Kal. Except the only thing we know for sure about Kal is that they're a passenger who will impact the story in a big way. So can we really trust them? (Perhaps more importantly: can we trust Matt when he says/implies we can trust Kal? He's already proven to be pretty sneaky...)

Actually, can we/the quartet trust any of these characters? We know a little bit about them now (2 out of 3, anyway) but they're not going to exist in a vacuum—there are so many other things we don't know about the adventure they're taking part in that are going to influence what these characters do and whether they'll be allies or antagonists. Not all Bad Guys™ are bad guys, and not all good guys are Good Guys™, if you know what I mean.

The way I see it, there are a few different ways this could go...

⚓️ Captain Griffin is already haunted, so he's vulnerable to whatever dark powers are at play, and Morgan Reese will be left to try and hold the ship together and keep everyone (including his captain) safe.

We're told that AJ is a strong ally, but that he "casts a heavy shadow" and is "weathered by the darkness of men." "Echoes of his past are always right beneath the currents, rippling, rhyming. And it will haunt him once again..."

When we hear about Morgan, there are no references like these. Instead, we're told about how the bosun is everyone's buddy, a friend to all. He stands in pretty stark contrast to the tragic, noble but melancholy picture of AJ we're given.

If the captain is overwhelmed by ghosts—his or someone else's—the bosun's heart and positivity could potentially hold everyone steady, at least long enough to sort out the trouble. Sea shanties are for morale, after all, and Morgan's fairly good at guitar.

⚓️ Captain Griffin is hardened by the past and can handle the pressure, but Morgan Reese is unprepared and could end up inadvertently spreading darkness and fear throughout the entire ship.

You know, like exposure therapy; AJ's already borne witness to some awful, awful things, so maybe he has a tolerance for it. He's already been managing his own darkness, so we could have a same captain, different ghosts sort of situation. If you think about it, it might be a little easier to deal with someone else's ghosts instead of your own. It's less personal.

Morgan, on the other hand, has no tragedy in his past as far as we're aware, but we do know that he "doesn't match AJ's level of precision or experience." If he's never had to face true darkness before, he might not know how to keep it from snuffing his light out. And since Morgan is described as "the perfect conduit" I'm pretty sure that means whatever's up with him gets passed on to everyone. If he loses hope, maybe the Ellen Austin does too.

⚓️ Morgan Reese as a character is actually way too good to be true so he's actually a Big, Lying, Liar Pants who will give me trust issues and break my fairly-good-guitarist loving heart because he has ulterior motives.

Brooke (you meanie /jk) had to go and scare me by pointing out how weird it is that we keep getting hints of how dark and spooky this episode could be, and AJ is revealed to us as a tragic, sad veteran, but then Morgan is just this ray of sunshine in dark waters who is fairly good at guitar. And I hate to admit it because I was immediately besotted with this character the moment I heard about his quite-good sea shanties, but that's a valid point.

Maybe Morgan is playing a long game, one that required him to have "endeared himself to all," and now that he finally has the trust of his captain and the ear of his shipmates, he's ready to kick things off and conspire with some spirits. Does he "have our backs" in the sense of oh what a lovely place to store my knife ??? 😱😥 I hope not!!! But now I have to emotionally prepare myself for that possibility, lmao.

"Oh, but Jack," you say, "what about Kal? You went and made their name all funkyspooky in the header and everything, so why haven't you mentioned them yet???"

First of all, aww thank you for noticing! I had to scroll through [redacted] open tabs on Firefox to find my cursed text generator for that, so I'm glad it was appreciated. <3

Second of all,

✨️drama. ✨️

Whatever's up with Kal is vital to the story and probably the biggest contributor to my current lack of hinges, so of course I had to save them for last.

I have two primary theories revolving around Kal that I'm struggling to choose between...

⚓️ We should be scared of the dark, actually, because Kal is—or controls—the dark.

⚓️ Kal is actually totally fine and chill and a friend, and the actual dark forces are making them seem threatening on purpose.

MAIA's transmissions for this episode have been pretty spooky. Something is getting into MAIA's room and interfering with the broadcasts, first by cracking a pane of glass in the window in transmission 10 when we were being told not to fear the dark, and again by shattering the lightbulb in transmission 11 right when we were going to hear about Kal. ("It seems that some inhabitants of the Pulp universe are less forthcoming than others.") Then, when the broadcast ended, there was a swirling shadow outside the window. Niiice and ominous.

"Margaret is not the only one awakening," Matt tells us in the trailer. "Our heroes will find that the light of discovery can bring forth shadows darker than anything they could have ever imagined."

I would venture that whatever's awakening is probably doing so in response to Margaret—her light is bringing forth the shadows. Maybe the shadows were already there in the Sargasso Sea, "this place where the water itself is haunted, where the air is thick with spirits," and the light is just deepening them. Maybe they're everywhere, and they're feeling threatened, so they're attacking MAIA's room to prevent us from learning their secrets and to remind us that we should be scared of the dark, actually, because dreams may start there but so, too, do nightmares.

I spent a lot of this time convinced that Kal is the source of the shadows, starting with a conversation my sister and I had the instant we both watched the transmission.

behold, the first reference to the anti-Margaret

Kal, as the anti-Margaret, could be another seemingly human person with strange powers, but instead of the Radiance, their magic is something else, something darker. Maybe they can spawn limbs of shadow the way she can produce light, and maybe they can conjure ghosts the way the Traveler brought a whole jungle paradise into existence on the Sagitta.

I don't believe it's a coincidence that the transmission was interrupted right before we were going to learn about Kal. My first instinct was that this must have been Kal's doing, that they're the one who doesn't want to be known, but after re-examining the transmission and the question about trust, it makes me wonder. Maybe we should trust Kal—after all, what's a bigger sign of trust than giving it when there are still so many unanswered questions? Maybe the quartet will be faced with the same struggle as us.

If the shadows/dark forces aren't Kal's doing, then they could be trying to sabotage Kal because of how important they are to the quartet's story. If Kal is the one to trust when things go sideways, then the shadows might want to do all they can to keep Kal obscured, hidden and silenced so our heroes can't get their help, or won't trust them enough to accept it when it's offered.

I, for one, think either option would be very fun and exciting to listen to. Or neither!

Now, I think this post is long enough, so I think this'll be it for today. and while I may be suspicious of Matt's little hints and teasers about the new episode, I definitely trust him to take these characters and tell a really good story with them.

...man, I can't wait for September.

As always, please feel free to share your thoughts on anything I've rambled about here! Hope this was a fun/interesting/not totally confusing read for you! 🖤

#jack jabbers #pulp musicals #pulp musicals episode 3 #the ghosts of antikythera #pulp musicals tgoa #tgoa #pulp musicals theories #pulp musicals theory #matt dahan #captain aj griffin #morgan reese #pulp musicals kal

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

The Ghost of All My Yesterdays

(Pulp Musicals 3: The Ghosts of Antikythera Theory Part 1--The Reasonable Stuff)

So I've been thinking a lot about The Ghosts of Antikythera and the excellent rambling theory post (my favorite kind of post) @its-short-for-jackalope made a few days ago (you can read it here--seriously, if you haven't already, read it--it's got so many fun and interesting ideas packed in), and slowly building up my own theories about exactly what's going to go down the next time we see our beloved Pulp Quartet.

I think it'll all come down to Episode Three's theme, which I believe is going to be the Past, and our relationship with it.

Theory under the cut (sorry it's so long lol) (this post is just gonna have the more basic, grounded stuff. The real wild swings will come in a part two).

As several people have already remarked, "Antikythera" could refer to either a Greek island or the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek device that was found in an ancient shipwreck on that same island, and was once used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. While anything's possible in a series that just featured one character transporting four others through time, I'm of the opinion that the device is more likely than the actual island to majorly feature.

But! I’ve previously written (here) about the supposed real-life story behind the Ellen Austin and her encounter with a ghost ship in 1881. The Antikythera Mechanism, meanwhile, isn’t discovered until 1901. I can think of two ways around this time discrepancy.

First of all, it's always possible that Matt simply... changed up the timeline. He's already played fast and loose with real world history--he aged John down to match the Stratfords, put the Stratfords in the middle of the Great Moon Hoax, and even stuck a giant-ass brick satellite up in the sky to forever change the nature of oceanic voyages. It’s easy to see him just moving the discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism up twenty years or so. However, there's still the problem that the Mechanism was discovered on a Greek island far from the Sargasso Sea, where both history and Pulp find the Ellen Austin. Which brings me to the other, in my opinion more likely, explanation…

What if the device is found on the ghost ship in 1881 and then returned to the Antikythera Island shipwreck at the end of the episode?

Matt has said that every episode of Pulp has a particular theme. Episode 1 was Imagination, Episode 2 was Friendship, and Episode Three is shaping up to be about our relationship with the past. We have Margaret starting to uncover her own history while all four characters must grapple with leaving behind the lives and people and years they knew. To the people of 1881, the Pulp Quartet have been quite literally living in the past, and now our gang have to figure out how to either get back to that time, or else let it go and march into the future. How can they cast away their intense ties to 1835, when they themselves are but a manifestation of that past reaching out into the future?

You know what else is a manifestation of the past reaching into the future? Ghosts. In "Behind Me", Rose talks about how the "ghost of all her yesterdays stands beside her," introducing specters as a metaphor for the impact of the past. As such, I think the Ghosts of Episode 3 are going to be both kinds—metaphorical ghosts of our characters’ yesterdays and losses, and then also actual spirits.

What if these titular Ghosts of Antikythera are just that? Spirits that, in a thematic parallel of our four protagonists, have been taken from their homes and their time. Perhaps the Antikythera Mechanism is haunted and the ghost ship's former crew it on a previous voyage. While sailing it to America, they meet disaster, most likely caused by the ghosts of the mechanism, leaving the Ellen Austin to find the ghost ship and confront the spirits. At the end of the episode, the evil is defeated and either our protagonists, the Traveler, or even the crew of the Austin (the least likely option) return the Mechanism to its watery grave, where it will be found again in twenty years...

(Part 2 can be found here.)

#Pulp Musicals #Pulp musicals episode three: The ghosts of antikythera #the ghosts of antikythera #samuel stratford #rose stratford #Margaret Cavendish #Sir John Herschel #pulp musicals theories

[phonecallwithsatan]

just look for my owl (three)

a.n. : I am in awe that there are TEN of you that follow me. I don’t even care if I get bullied for geeking out over ten followers. I’m so happy and glad you all enjoy what i’ve written. My lovelies, here is chapter three of this series. I think its getting interesting but im too scared to add mature stuff in here because i dont know how you all will react. Look at me, speaking to my ten followers. It’s a press conference at this point. Chap. four is soon to follow tonight so please keep out for that! This fic is a they/them reader, so  I will only refer to you as they/them. 3k words, fred weasley x y/n, enjoy!<3

Our beloved Fred Weasley falls for Ilvermorny student [y/n] [l/n]. He’s determined to get to them, but the only way he can is through post sent through the two. The only thing left for the pair is to just look for an owl.

Check out chapter two before you read this!

☾

It had been four days since that owl came in to deliver Fred Weasley’s Professor a parcel from [Y/n l/n]. 

It had been four days since Fred hadn’t stopped thinking about [y/n].

Luckily, no suspicions from his professor were brought up about the missing photo, and he was glad. The professor even came in during his quidditch practice to chat with the students cheerfully, even taking a few photos of the team as a whole and separately. 

Today was the 31st of October, and the Triwizard champions were chosen shortly after Fred began to dig into his food, irritated at the interruption that faced him.

Or maybe he should say the Quartet champions now that Harry was facing the tournament too.

Dinner wrapped up a bit after that, and the two twins carried on to their dorms surprisingly silent the whole way. Not causing any ruckus or speaking even.

Perhaps it was because they were disappointed at the selection of Harry even though he was younger than the two twins. They could have had a chance now that he was chosen, but Fred knew that it wasn’t about that.

He didn't know about his twin at the moment, normally he does, but Fred was in a hurry to get to his dorm and sleep, as he had no homework.

Everyday for these past four days, Fred has dreamed about [y/n]. Dreaming, thinking, pondering, it was all connected to them. Not a particular storyline, not at all, his dreams were more of the idea of a real-life physical them.

[y/n] in his jumper, [y/n] in Hogwarts robes, their hand in his under the table during dinner at the great hall, how they would say his name in any context. His thoughts were severely occupied with them and Fred was okay with that.

These ideas followed their way through the portrait hole, into the Gryffindor common room, and up the stairs to the boys dorm. 

He had yet to wash himself off after his long day, so Fred went off to the left side of the dorm to access his trunk at the end of his bed. He takes out a simple orange towel and closes the chest up. He then takes off his sweater vest only to place it on his bedspread.

Walking over to his bedside table, Fred decides to let [y/n] take a dip into his daydreams as he looks in his drawer for the photo of them.

No, thinks Fred. No, no, no, no, no, cascading words now fill Fred’s brain as he panics about the fact that his polaroid was missing.

The polaroid of [y/n] was now missing from Fred’s bedside table, confused as to how exactly he misplaced something so golden.

His whole dresser was obviously rummaged through. There were a few sickles missing along with an extra jar of ink and- his stash of Fizzing Whizzbees and Jelly Slugs. He genuinely frowned at the candy more than anything else, but then he remembered about the photo that was missing- stolen now.

Fred whipped his head back to see who was in the boys’ shared dorm, and the only person he saw was his twin chatting with a visiting fifth year student. 

Now completely turned, Fred walks to the front of his bed and pulls out his trunk, wondering if he had left it in there by accident, but it was no luck.

“George,” started Fred with his back to his twin.

George turned to his brother. 

“What is it, Fred?” He asked with confusion. He noticed the drawer hanging on by a thread off the rest of the table and decided to completely disregard his conversation at that point. “I’ll catch you later.” 

As the friend walks out of the boys’ dormitories, Fred begins to explain what had happened, hand motions waving around. They usually appear when there is something wrong.

“Someone rummaged through my stuff,” Fred motions to his dresser, “did you let anyone else come in here and mistake it for yours?” 

George looked at his twin with furrowed brows until his face lightened up a bit from the clarity. 

“Yeah, actually. Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff was in here and he asked me for some ink.”

“George, what the hell.” Fred was beyond confused as to what, first of all, Cedric Diggory, one of the Triwizard champions, was doing in the Gryffindor common room. Why he was needing ink in the middle of the day and why his drawer. “You let him go through it? Half of my items are missing.” Fred was furious at how irresponsible his brother was at the moment.

“He was desperate and I felt bad.” A simple response from a boy with little to no empathy when it came to using a twelve-year-old student as a lab rat for their inventions. A particular unnamed candy that is still a work in progress gave her severe diarrhea for weeks straight.

“George, he stole money, candy, and t- What is wrong with you?” He cut himself quick before he could expose [y/n] to his brother. He was mad at him and now was not the time to gush about them.

“It’s fine, we’ll talk to him tomorrow.” George laughs at his twin for being unmanageable, but Fred is unamused.

“Piss off.” Fred takes his towel and goes town to the bathrooms, bringing a change of clothes with him.

☾

Fred was a bit after hours for students, but he couldn't wait to get the bath located in the prefect's bathroom.

Yes, Fred had snuck in there, but that's because the boys’ dormitory bathroom was disgustingly filled with too many boys in one perimeter. So with this in mind, Fred knew exactly where to go to relax from the fuming that happened between himself and his brother.

Fred dropped his towel by the edge of the water and took off his shoes. Setting them neatly by the towel, he began to work on his shirt. He loosened his tie but not all the way so the loop in it would stay. He began to unbutton his shirt, hands working a bit slower than normal. He did not come here often, nor was he a prefect, so he took his time.

He looked up from his hands and Fred looked at the mermaid mural on the stained glass, thinking of [y/n], the beauty remarkable from either photo. Not that Fred was comparing physical features from the mermaid and from [y/n], he was rather just acknowledging how both were, to put it literally, breathtaking. 

The colors from it shaded his body in colors of pinks and blues, diluting a bit now that the white shirt was shrugged off his body. The color was not as vibrant now, but his light skin and freckles that were splattered all over his chest created a new palette of shades.

He dropped his shirt on top of his other items and he undid his belt, leaving it on the belt loops of his pants as he takes them off as well, folding them up unlike his shirt and dropping them on his pile of clothes. All he had left were his boxers, and they were soon added to the tower of items on his right side.

He stepped into the water while simultaneously checking for any other visitors. It was a bit late for that, though, considering that he was completely exposed at that point. 

The moonlight shone through the glass, some areas of the floor painted colors with the light. The water was flowing from a few taps and bubbles were flying everywhere. Fred shifted a bit from his old placement in the giant pool so his arms were now propped on the edge.

Now with the photo in the hands of a certain someone he considered a snake, even though they were in Hufflepuff, Fred needed to confront Cedric for not only his money, his candy, and his ink without consent, Fred needed to confront him about [y/n]. What kind of a freak just steals a photo? 

Oh, thought Fred. 

What if, somehow, Cedric gets a hold of [y/n]? Impossible, he reassured himself. Cedric doesn't even know their name. He knows nothing. He's a loathsome rat who steals money, candy, ink, and photos. 

Smiling to himself for coming up with that description, Fred quickly goes down the same road again.

What if, somehow, [y/n] likes him, instead? What if- His mind was filled with ‘what-ifs’ and ‘somehows’ that clouded his brain. Cedric shouldn't have been running through his mind regardless. There’s just no possibility where [y/n] would even meet him.

He was consumed with someone who did not know he existed Fred was jealous that someone else was in possession of that photograph.

The only way to eliminate Cedric was to get to [y/n] first, and he knew his plan from the moment he saw their photo.

He was going to catch his professor at the owlery in the castle, and sneak his own letter in there. This way, both parcels would miraculously be carried over the Atlantic ocean.

His professor wouldn't notice and hopefully [y/n] wouldn't be too freaked out.

The tap finished spewing water and the room went silent except for a few drips coming from one of the spouts. Fred estimated his time and decided to waste none of it, so he dunked his head underwater out of impulse and came back up with his hair sticking to his forehead. 

He needed to write.

☾

Fred was now back in his common room sitting on a couch with his parchment spread out over his legs and couch, and his wet hair slowly dripping on it, making the ink smear a bit. He had crumpled up at least five different drafts of a few sentences while sitting there.

He was wearing grey pants and a gryffindor jumper, keeping him warm on the first day of November. It was about one at night and he could hear his brother, Ron Weasley, snoring from the upstairs dorms.

He dug up a few polaroids he had taken with his brother at the beginning of the year to drop in the parcel. Fred had decided to make this out to his mother, Molly Weasley, hence the photos would have been for her. Molly wanted photos taken with their new camera and photos of their new brooms for Quidditch being put to use properlly.

Normally, Fred didn't really use muggle instruments, but he did have a shared camera with his twin, George. Luckily, a shop in Hogsmeade sold refills for it.

And they would have, Fred and George ended up taking photos of themselves during Quidditch practice, making sure to hide the camera from teachers and spectators so it wouldn't be taken away. Snape would make it his life goal to snatch it away from them when really it did no harm.  They took photos of their jerseys, the field, a few separates, a few with the team, and two separate ones of the twins. They were planning to give them to their mum, but these photos would be put to use differently.

It was a brilliant plan in his eyes. [y/n] would surely respond to his so-called mistake, right? Hopefully they would send a letter back, and maybe a few polaroids for himself to keep. It’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Fred began his sixth attempt at writing out a letter to his own [y/n].

Mum,

We miss the burrow. And you and dad, of course. 

As promised, the photos. We think you’ll really enjoy these, since you probably miss our ravishing looks.

There’s not much to write about, mum. Ginny is okay, Ron is alright, and George is asleep somewhere right now. Otherwise, they would have scribbled something on here.

Fred

It was too short but he couldn’t think of anything else to write to his mum. She had written to Ginny a few days prior so he had given all viable information to Ginny’s response letter.

He reacted quickly to the water that dripped off his hair and snatched the parchment before it could bleed and combine with the ink. The script was perfect, absolutely incomparable to his other drafts.

Time moved fast and it was now two in the morning. Fred took his parchment and placed it neatly in the parcel. He took his stack of polaroids and placed them in the parcel.

Almost forgetting, Fred searched through the polaroids and found the two individual snapshots of the twins in their uniforms. Molly constantly mixed the two up when they wore their quidditch uniforms, always forgetting who was #5 and who was #6. Their own mother. It severely got worse every year.

From totally forgetting to absolutely forgetting, Fred forgot that this letter wasn’t even going to reach his mother. He had already marked up the photos though, that was just an afterthought.

He looked at the photo of himself and his twin standing in front of the center field, astonished as to how clear it was. He could see his features perfectly unlike the photo he previously had of [y/n] that was blurry but nonetheless readable.

Shoving the photos back into the parcel, he wrapped it up nicely and carefully wrote the address of the burrow on it.

His plan was slowly coming into action, and Fred was just excited to see it play out.

☾

Fred had ended up spilling everything to his twin the day he planned to sneak his letter along with McGonagall’s.

“So you have no clue who [y/n] is, and you’re providing photos of you and your friends to this person, might I add again, who you don’t know? Fred, this is ridiculous.” George was talking to his twin in the corridor right before the owlery as they were both waiting for the professor to return with a response letter. Fred had been holding onto the parcel for a few days now, and yesterday, he saw that familiar brown owl arrive again.

McGonagall greeted the owl mid-class and took the letter in hand to place it safely in her desk. The owl remained on the window perch for the rest of class.

Fred wasn’t able to see who sent it, but he knew that owl all too well to be mistaken for someone else owling his Professor.

Just as Fred was about to respond to his brothers snarky question, they heard footsteps down the hall and they began to walk up to the owlery.

They had decided to distract McGonagall with a familiar owl, Hedwig. Harry had been complaining how she had been squawking too much for normal. Harry wouldn’t mind, though, because he never had to know that his owl was involved in a hopelessly romantic ploy.

Fred and George were now in the owlery next to Hedwig, feeding her snacks they had brought for compensation. It was only fair to her that she got something in response. A few strange squawks escaped her beak.

“Good morning Mr. and Mr. Weasley. Are you writing someone?” McGonagall was an expert at knowing who was who just off the back of their heads. Granted, she could probably tell the two apart without them turning around. 

“Just paying a visit to Hedwig here, professor. We need to get going soon.” George glanced at Hedwig mid-sentence and gave the professor a small smile.

Their plan was failing terribly. McGonagall was getting her owl ready for the journey by winding the ribbon around its leg to hold the letter more in place. 

Normally, Fred and George would just place a note in Errol's beak, but since it was a longer distance they would have to find a way to tie it around the owls leg.

Luckily, Hedwig served as an amazing distraction as she began to choke and squawk on the snacks they were giving her. It was a time of crisis but the twins had to act fast.

McGonagall turned to the twins and quickly discarded her owl to help them. She pushed them aside and began to aid the choking owl, George began to laugh a at the visual of an owl choking, but quickly put it away as he got a scolding look from McGonagall, who was now shaking the owl. 

Fred used this distraction to run over and tie his letter to the owls leg, attaching his and his professors letter to the owl. The animal began to flap its wings, confused as to why an unknown ginger was picking at his feet, but Fred was too busy to yell at it.

By attaching his letter to McGonagall’s owl, Fred didn't need to get authorization from someone to send it. He also did not have to get it searched, as he was sneaking it through.

He turned to see George motioning him to hurry, laughing at the same time because his professor was still talking to the bird, trying to get it to stop choking. 

Fred was able to tie the letters successfully and shooed the owl quickly, noticing how the two letters weighed it him down a little, making Fred laugh too. He didn’y understand how he pulled it off, but he was happy it worked- somewhat. The owl was steadily flapping it’s wings but Fred could see that it wasn’t used to that type of weight on its feet.

He speed walked back to his professor who was oblivious as to what happened behind her back. The twins were wrong for laughing at the McGonagall who wanted to just help them deal with the animal cruelty they put on Hegwig, but it was a visual they would never forget. And truly, it was a little funny and dramatic.

Fred wondered again how the hell his absurd plan worked, but he was glad that he was able to send out the parcel, and avoid murdering his friends owl with food.

“There, girl. You’re alright. You spit out.” McGonagall consoled the owl by patting her head. She turned to the twins and scolded them for being so irresponsible with someone else's owl.

“Potter doesn’t know, does he?” She asked.

The two twins looked at eachother and ran off laughing, leaving McGonagall clueless to everything that just happened. 

Soon after that, Fred realized that he had just created the beginning of something new in his life. Something that he had yet to receive not in person, but rather in a form of a letter.

All he had left to do was look for that Brown owl.

#fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley x you #fred weasley #fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley fanfic #fred weasley x gender neutral reader #fred weasley series #hogwarts #harry potter fanfic #goblet of fire #goblet of fire fred weasley

[marjaystuff]

Elise Cooper interviews Maisey Yates, Catlin Crews, Nicole Helm and Jackie Ashenden

A Cowboy For All Seasons written by the cowgirl quartet, Maisey Yates, Caitlin Crews, Nicole Helm, and Jackie Ashenden is billed as an anthology, but is actually a compilation since the four stories flow into one riveting plot.  It will remind readers of the Dixie Chick song “Cowboy Take Me Away,” as they are swept up by the characters and plot line. The four heroines tangle with their hard headed cowboys as they find love, healing, and the true meaning of family.

After her passing, June Gable sent to all four of her grandchildren a handwritten bequest, to spend a season at her beloved farmhouse in Jasper Creek, Oregon, before they sell it. These cousins were once as close as sisters, but time and family betrayals have pushed them apart. Grandma June knew her grandchildren had eyes for only one man, so she orchestrated matchmaking scenarios to bring the couples together.

Spring has Keira Long returning to her small hometown after successfully making it in the big city of Seattle. Grandma June has asked her to work alongside Remy West to tend to the land and cattle. But in doing so she must come to grips with her first true love, a relationship she broke up to find her independent way.  This is a story of second chances at romance with her true love. Coming in the way is the family parental issues that both must come to grips with and overcome.

Summer has childhood friends, JJ Frost and Cade Matthewson, coming together to help his two daughters, Lora and Ellie, have a fun summer vacation. Having experienced something similar to what the girls are going through JJ understands the feeling of abandonment by a mother.  Both Cade and JJ must allow each other to share their feelings as they open up their hearts.

Fall has Lila Frost optimistically returning to plan the Red Star Holiday Bizarre. Grandma June asked her to take it over and to work with Everett McCall whose ranch is where it will be held.  Lila had a crush on Everett as a child and wonders if he sees her as a woman.  Will both be able to overlook their ten-year gap in age? Lila must help him take down the wall he has built to protect himself from being hurt by others. Besides trying to repair the relationship with Everett she also is trying to figure out how to reconnect with her sister JJ.

Winter has Bella Jackson returning.  She is probably the most broken of all the cousins. Isolated by her mother from the rest of the family including Grandma June she has to learn how to ask for help.  Willing to ignore her requests to do everything on her own, Noah Faraday steps in to repair the farmhouse and both his and her emotions.

The thread that ties all these stories together is reconnecting. Each of the heroines needs to reunite with one another and to forge a relationship with their lost loves.  These stories blended together as one even though there were four different authors, allowing readers to take a journey with the characters as they try to reunite with each other.

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea?

Maisey Yates:  I was talking to Nicole and joked about book pitches.  I was totally kidding, but the next day I started thinking about the possibility of writing a story centered around four people staying at a farmhouse.  I texted the other authors, and got them on board.  We actually had an auction to see which publishing house would get the story.  

Maisey, Nicole, Caitlin, Jackie:  It came out of the fact we were all friends.  We shared everything we wrote. It just seemed to flow together and felt very organic.  

Caitlin Crews:  Nicole wrote those wonderful grandmother letters that started off each story. Jackie wrote the first story so we knew where we were all going.  

EC:  Since there was a crossover of characters how did that work?

Jackie Ashenden: Since they were all in my story, I wrote the other heroines and asked each author if what I wrote was out of character, but no one rewrote the lines.  We all knew each other’s character very well.  

EC:  How about the seasons, how did that come about?

Caitlin:  Maisey came up with the year of the cowboy.  I thought since it is a year let’s break it into seasons.  The original title was The Year of the Cowboy.

Nicole Helm:  I chose summer because my hero has two children.  I wanted them to be a large part of the story and did not want them to be in school.  

Maisey:  I love the season of fall.  It was October when we pitched it and as I was driving by my daughter’s school, I saw the sign, “Red Star Holiday Bizarre.” I ripped off the name and used it in the book.

Jackie:  They thought to give me winter because it was freezing and sad.  I had never written about snow or Christmas so I found it challenging.  Thankfully, everything magically fell into place.

EC:  How did the farmhouse come about?

Maisey:  Some of us were staying at a farmhouse in Illinois.  It was very similar to the one Caitlin’s husband drew for us.  In this book, with the farmhouse, it felt a bit mystical.  It was funny, how we all had the same farmhouse in our heads.

EC:  How would you describe Grandma June?

Nicole:  Even though she was a great grandmother, her daughters were not great mothers.  I knew people who were not great parents, but learned from their past mistakes.  I also think that sometimes we cannot control how people turn out.  I think June was outspoken, accessible, salty, and brave.  She could not go back in time but did try to make changes for the future. Like the four cousins, I miss my grandparents so much.  What a great thing it would be to have a magic farmhouse.  My grandmother had a paperweight that I used in the story.  I put in tidbits that reminded me of my grandma.  

Caitlin:  Both my grandparents have passed.  I dedicated this story to them.  I would love to be able to communicate with them.

EC:  How would you describe the parents?

Caitlin:  Most of the parents were selfish and self-centered.  They cared more about themselves than their children.  

EC:  How would you describe Bella, Noah, and their relationship?

Jackie:  BELLA is stubborn, determined, vulnerable, kind, and guarded.  She is like most of my   heroes.

NOAH is grumpy, a man of few words, a loner, and protective.

THEIR RELATIONSHIP is based on a connection both tried to deny.  Bella doesn’t want Noah around because she is ashamed of the terrible crush she has on him.

EC:  How would you describe Keira, Remy, and their relationship?

Caitlin:  KEIRA is elegant.  She is a lost-soul and fragile but would argue with that description.  Because she is the first one to live in the farmhouse she is grieving a bit more than the others who had more time to process. Being the oldest she tended to have a slightly different relationship with her grandmother.  Some grandmothers favor the oldest.

REMY is angry, heart-broken, hard-headed, and basically a cowboy.

THEIR RELATIONSHIP has two different parts, one they had and one they will have. The previous one was destined to fall apart because they could not communicate, had secrets, and they were so young.  The one today looks back at the failures of the first time, which enabled them to build a stronger structure going forward. They became friends before lovers.

EC:  How would you describe JJ, Cade, his daughters, and their relationship?

Nicole:  JJ is serious, practical, and sometimes tries to hide her emotional hurt. She is compulsive and not a dreamer, with a focus on being helpful.  

CADE’s main focus is to be a good dad. He is responsible.

LORA and ELLIE are aware that their mom left them.  The older one is snarkier and grumpier.  The younger one is a dreamer.

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GIRLS was based on my family. JJ first thought of herself as just a baby-sitter.  But she became emotionally involved because what the girls went through was similar to her own backstory.  She is reliving her past through them because she lost her relationship with her sister.  

CADE and JJ’s RELATIONSHIP was really good for each other.  At first, JJ and Cade were very guarded because they were hurt in the past.  They rely on each other and then let the attraction take over.  They developed a friendship first.

EC:  How would you describe Lila, Everett, and their relationship?

Maisey:  LILA feels she has boundless options and can always make things turn out OK. She wanted to be an optimist instead of being like her mother who was sad and bitter.  Everett was the first time that did not happen.  She is determined, cheerful, optimistic, creative, and impetus.  

EVERETT has the need to think that controlling the outcome will make things turn out all right.  He is responsible, practical, and a realist.  

THEIR RELATIONSHIP had them both butting heads since they are control freaks.  They have a ten-year gap in their age difference.  Lila saw him as a fantasy at first, but then realizes he has his own issues.  Both had to overcome barriers. Everett tried to protect himself from the bad things but also the good things.  They realized that if there was to be a long-term commitment there will be ups/downs and give and take. I wrote this book quote, “Love wasn’t just rainbows, and fairy-tale endings.  Love was acceptance.  Love was patient. Love was fifty-fifty. Love bore burdens. Love hoped.  Love believed.”

EC:  Do you have Christmas decorations like you wrote about?

Jackie:  When I was writing that scene, I thought about the Christmas decorations I have.

EC:  There is a quote about cities.  Are you a country girl or a city gal?

Caitlin:  You are referring to the book quote, “Country roads, sooner or later they get you where you need to go.” I have lived in cities all my life until about four years ago.  We moved to rural Oregon.  I am aware of the difference in lifestyles and like to write characters that represent small towns.  

EC:  Do you garden?

Nicole:  I do not.  My grandmother and my mom were big gardeners.  By putting those scenes in the book, I was paying homage to them.

EC: Iris Cob Horses?

Maisey: I was flying to Atlanta in October and next to me was a cowboy.  He was telling me how profitable these horses are and showed me pictures.  I told him I was totally going to steal the idea and I did.  Unfortunately, I know nothing about horses.

EC:  Can you give a shout out about your next books?

Maisey:  There is a strong possibility there will be a sequel to this book with new characters, but we hope to bring in these characters as well.  Out in May will be Secrets From A Happy Marriage.  It is my first women’s fiction book that focuses on family relationships with some romance.  It is about women who have a Lighthouse Inn B & B.

Nicole: I have a new book series that started last week, called South Dakota Showdown.  It has six brothers who are police officers who are trying to bring down their father, the head of a motorcycle gang.  It is romantic suspense.

Jackie: Sexy Beast is the next book in the billionaire series.  It has a billionaire and his neighbor, a best friend, who become involved.

Caitlin: In the summer will be book 4 in the “Alaska Force series.” It is written under the name Megan Crane and is titled Delta Force and has the heroine escaping her criminal family by changing her identity. She meets the leader of the Alaska Force that helps her survive her demons.

THANK YOU!!

[katiebruce]

Year of the Silver Star

It’s taken me a while to sit down and right my annual end-of-the-year post. Normally, I’ve got this post done in the weeks leading up to New Year’s Eve, or, at the very least, the night before. Yet, here we are.

 I think part of it is my fear of letting go of what was such an incredible year for me. I know I’m basically alone in having had a great 2017—that’s okay, I’m usually an outcast anyways—but also a sense that I’ve peaked and will now plateau, if not avalanche, downwards into both my Saturn Return and my thirties. Whatever it may be, I owe it to both one of the best years of my life and one of the strangest starts to a new year I’ve ever had to document it.

 So, here it is.

 I started 2017 doing one of my favorite things: being out of the country. Sure, I was working, and sure, I wasn’t with my most favorite people, or in one of my favorite cities (not to shade Toronto, by any means)—but I had a good time. I had this overall feeling of excitement and change and that air of “anything is possible” that often accompanies the completion of a year--but somehow more than ever before. Something just felt right.

 I knew that starting the year off out of the country would provide ample travel opportunities and I made no hesitation in starting that right away. My best friend and I flew to Philly for a weekend—to see one of our favorite emo bands, mind you—and explored the frigid city in all its historic glory. About a week later, I flew to Vegas for my roommate’s bachelorette party, which, in and of itself, was easily one of the most eventful things that happened last year…

 February came and I turned 28 and celebrated with my girl gang at a library themed, Oscar Wilde bar. We got LIT-erary. I still find that fucking hilarious. We ended the night at our favorite watering hole, The good old Owl and ended up getting called The Spice Girls which was actually such a revelation for us (and even though Nicole wasn’t there, she somehow was the fifth we needed and the universe fucking knew it.)

 About a week or so later, me, Bethany and Lo flew across the fucking pond. We traveled London, Liverpool and Edinburgh for a week and froze our bloody arse’s off. In London, Lauren and I had a most memorable night where we were both kissed by a rose and wound up and a Beyonce bash, complete with face masks of Bey and all. I was catcalled in the most British way possible: “Oi, that’s a big bottom!” and I ended up meeting a guy we referred to as Mr. Grey for the better part of the year. He and I would, uh, well, fuck it. We’d have facetime sex at like, the most awkward hours and tbh it was sexy and made me feel great and I walked a little lighter and enjoyed how silly it was for a while. Of course, it ended a few months in, as these things often do, but I can’t deny the fun I had and I feel like I shouldn’t. Everyone should have sex with a sex monster (yes, that’s what I’m going to refer to him as now) at least once in their life. It was a wild ride.

 Beebs and I got inked in Liverpool on an absolute whim, and I had a sixty-year-old man tell me about the time he saw Bowie on the Ziggy Stardust tour as we listened to Lorde and he forever immortalized my love of The Thin White Duke on my forearm. This is when I really started letting go last year; I’m not very good at being impulsive. I may appear to be, but deep down I have grave anxiety about pretty much anything I do. I’ve just been lucky enough to have people who are willing to tolerate it and help me work past it in my adult life. But something changed in me in Liverpool, that drunken night where I not only decided I would get inked but thought up the concept mere hours before having it forever, and I can say I completely allowed this new girl to inhabit me and take over for the remainder of the year.

 I fell in love with Edinburgh and decided that, should I pursue a Master’s degree in the next few years, I’ll be going to school there. I’ve never felt quite as home as I did there. (I realize I’ve always said that about London, but trust me, if something was ever going to top Lahndo, it must be true love.)

 Me and the girls (all sexed up from chatting with all the foreign boys we did) had a most memorable night when we got home getting drunk at a sex store together and spending a collective $800 or so dollars on toys and lingerie. Self-care, bitches.

 In March, I watched as my roommates committed to a beautiful forever together. It was also my first time as a bridesmaid, and holy cow are weddings a lot of work. I’ve always said I’ll have a tiny wedding, if not just elope, but holy hell the experience from the inside only solidified that in my mind.

 Spring came and went and I grew my hair longer and cut it short again, yearned for warmth and visited my sister in Florida & flew to visit Kris in his newly adopted city of Denver. This is also around the time where I went on a few Tinder dates (Lord, help me) and fell, soul-crushingly head over heels for a guy I met one fleeting day at work…

 I took Acid on a third date which resulted in it also being The Last Date, but it made me see text messages as bubbles and I battled a dragon trying to get money from and ATM and watched a Star Wars for the first time (and last time) and had an evening of bad, trippy sex. Nothing like hallucinogenics to make you realize you are not in sync with another person, lol.

 So it goes.

 I traveled Europe for two weeks with Ellie which was lovely and exhausting. I returned to my beloved Italy, which was huge for me, as I always wanted to go before it had been ten years since the last time I stepped foot in the first foreign country I ever visited. We got drunk in San Marco Square and listened to battling string quartets and fell in love with foreign men we were too afraid to talk to and I was old enough this time around to know not to order a Long Island iced tea from a bartender who barely understood English in the first place…

 We eventually, by some form of absolute witchcraft, caught a flight to the tiny Greek island of Santorini and legit lived in a cave house for five days. We walked all over that tiny island and I let the sea breeze cleanse my skin and my hair and my heart and my mind. We watched the sunset every evening as if it were a spectacle to behold (it was—it always is) and just really let ourselves tell time by nature, and how it made our bodies feel. It was really a humbling experience to be in a place that’s so, so small. Going to Athens (via a ten hour ferry ride, mind you) was a bit of culture shock after being so confined for so long. Being in one of the most Eastern cities in Europe, however, really just made my itching to go to the middle east even more dire.

 I had a rough summer in terms of mental health; I hate summer flying (& the debilitating crush I mentioned above seemingly saved me—for like a week—and then left just as fleetingly as it arrived and left me in a pretty low place. I still dream about the guy regularly; I had two separate one’s last night.)

 I started taking Xanax again. Because, well, life is hard and my roommate has a prescription.

 I got to explore the beautiful, beautiful part of Wyoming that is Yellowstone National Park and got to see the beautiful, beautiful human being my best friend is becoming in the process. For a few days we camped, explored, and just really took in nature—even a death storm that threatened to turn our tent into a boat—it was a beautiful experience and I’m glad Nicole has found a place to call her home surrounding her with such beautiful, expressive people.

 August came and with the promise of September on its heels, I started to feel like myself again. Virgo season always does it to me; it’s my polar opposite and therefore, my most compatible sign. Ellie and I got another round of impulsive tattoos; strawberries—a quote stolen from Shakespeare that really just became a euphemism for our friendship throughout the year. We went to riot fest and I saw New Order and cried and Paramore (for the first time since I was, like, nineteen… and while we’re in a side note, let me just mention how much After Laughter was very much the soundtrack to my year and I’m not ashamed to admit it) and Ellie cried and we just had a very fun few days in the hot Chicago heat.

 I chose to recover from this by getting yet another tattoo; my largest & most intricate to date, so that made for an interesting, but wonderful day. It’s also worth noting that I got it in the south side of Chicago so, like, if I ever go to prison at least I’ve got that going for me.

 I returned to Milwaukee and had a riotous night with my girls where I got hit on by two famous band members and it was like, the stuff dreams are made of. I know it’s silly to assign worth to someone’s fame, but you have someone hit on you who has, like, a million Instagram followers & songs in like fifty different movies and see how it makes you feel & then judge me. This also started my love affair with the lesser famous band member who I’ve now entered into some weird “see you around Chicago” love affair thing for the past few months where we both flirt and ignore each other simultaneously. It’s wild.

 I saw so many bands and cried to so many songs and discovered so many artists and felt all the things.

 Friendsgiving came, and Nicole came, & along with her came The Con X tour. Without getting too into it, that was a huge shifting point for me & 2017 in general. The Con was an album that saved my life both metaphorically & also, like, physically, and to be able to stand outside of the depression that nearly took my life ten years prior and say, loudly, “I am still here and I like my life and sort of like the person I am but I am also trying to become better each and every day and it’s all very much worth it” is beautiful and powerful thing.

 My mom and I spent a wonderful weekend in Vancouver, exploring the cold north and even got to go whale watching, which was, honestly, one of the most breathtaking, awe inspiring experiences I’ve ever taken part in. Nothing will make you feel as small as floating in a yellow zodiac in the middle of the ocean surrounded by six Orcas and a baby (but fucking huge!) humpback whale will. Nature does a good job of reminding us of just how insignificant we are.

 The holidays just passed and I forgot about two ex-lover’s birthdays until days after each had past. I’m a big fan of dates; so this, too, was a huge thing for me. My Saturn Return stressed me out for months, yet finally arrived, subtlety, yet very directly. I assigned all my turmoil the Mercury Retrograde and the moon’s rotation yet also tried to use that bad air as a way to propel myself further into becoming better in some odd way. 

I spent a week at home in Tampa and the past week here in Chicago and I’ve been reflective and passive towards the new year, which is new for me. I celebrated the end of one of my favorite years, Year of the Silver Star, seeing Twin Peaks at one of my favorite venues in the world. I’ve lately adopted such a deep, profound love for Chicago that I can’t say was always there. I’ve always loved it here; don’t get me wrong. But lately I’ve just got this overwhelming sense of pride about living here and the person it’s shaped me to be. I truly live in the greatest city in America; it’s such a quiet, best kept-secret and it’s all fucking mine.

 So, in saying goodbye, I realize I am also going to be mourning the death of a good friend to me—2017—in the process. There’s a certain amount of fear that comes after having such a good year. Can anything else compare? Where will I go from here? What does the future hold for my small, insignificant experience on this planet?

 At least David Bowie can’t die again.

 2018 has had a slow, humble start. I think that’s going to be the theme, though—slow and steady. I’m cautious because I’m aging (twenty-nine in a few weeks. twenty-fucking-nine!) but also because of my fear and understanding of Saturn Return. I was just becoming comfortable with impulsive kb, and am now being faced with a wise, considerate version of myself. I’m really trying to act thoughtfully & with reason.

 I will not invite toxic relationships, old or new, into my life. I will not settle for less than what I what, just because I am afraid to voice what I do want. I will not let anything stop my travel plans—and boy, do I have a lot of them for this year.

 I will move out of my apartment, my home for the last seven years, in four short months. I will turn a new leaf. I will (finally) graduate college. I will likely have bad sex. But, I will also have good sex. Really, really good sex. I can feel it; it’s vaginal intuition. I will visit India and bask in the beauty of the Taj Mahal and dream of a love so wild that someone might dream of building me something so grand in order to express their feelings for me some day. I will visit Australia and New Zealand, Iceland, China and who knows where else. I will continue to learn about myself, slowly, humbly, and try to embrace the woman I am and the one I want to become.

So, 2018, Year of the Stardust, I salute you and your intrinsic ability to control what’s next for me. I know it’s going to be a transitional year; that’s inevitable. But I will do my best to accept your place in my life with open arms and love. I will try every day to better understand my place in this world, and what’s next for me. I will continue to grow up. I will end my twenties with you!

 I eagerly await your lessons and turmoil, & burn sage in beginning you, officially, tonight. (After all, it’s a full moon and that feels more like a fresh start than some mortal-made calendar, anyways.)

Cheers to you, Stardust. May the crumbling of my Silver Star bring only beauty within you.

#personal

[margretledbetter-blog]

The Best Ways To Swiftly Receive Even More Popular Music Gigs.

Not too many tunes are actually promptly identifiable off the position piano riff yet this is among all of them. As I was reading this great center, anoher fantastic solo artist began my broadcast ... BOZ SCAGGS!!! All these aspects completely provided CCM with the opportunity to earn songs recording industry inexpensive as well as appealing for little workshops. There are some undiscovered regions in jazz movie credit rating where one can easily discover lots of terrific labels working with overlooked supervisors as well as unknown movies. Couple of can easily question that the gaming business created terrific development in the last century. For fiscal year 2016, Sony Songs once more assumes flat earnings and also a little far better operating profit as streaming revenue development offsets the decline in bodily sales and also electronic downloads.

Two main reasons were cited: a lack from smash hit strikes that consumers desired to buy, as well as a 32 per-cent surge in streaming popular music Digital downloads in 2015, the report stated, had actually declined through 6 percent. Feel it or not, a bistro serving music to customers over an iPod linked to a sound system is illegal, and could possibly possess significant lawful ramifications for the manager of bureaucracy. When the present prices for efficiency nobility settlements Http://Pieknacera2017.Info/Grow-Ultra-Zapobiega-Zakolom-I-Wzmacnia-Wlosy/ were actually arranged, our nation was in the darkest days of the fantastic financial crisis and for that reason, the costs were actually made synthetically reduced to lower the concern triggered by a diminishing economy. With his freshly found out accordant tips, Bartók try out the acquired popular music component and also utilized them as the foundation from sizable jobs featuring the Sonata for Piano, 3 virtuoso piano concertos, 6 string quartets, 3 violin sonatas, and Concerto for Band. Single people discharged in nations around the globe got to Best 10 and also Top TWENTY featuring Top 5 in New Zealand and also United Kingdom. Giving thanks to all the people that had actually stemmed from greater than FIFTY countries, Plant stated, This is actually the 51st nation" and began Kashmir," which was actually the song very most Led Zeppelin followers stated they wanted to listen to in a music journal survey.

Assembling the most effective playlist may be tricky - you must represent not only popular music preference, however length and also beats every minute - however there is actually little much more rewarding in comparison to pushing yourself upward a hill just as the beat of your beloved tune droplets. Based upon Softbank's metrics for Universal Popular music Team, Sony Music might be worth between $6.4 billion and also $8.1 billion after the derivative. Back in years, when the term 'independent' had actually confined use in the USA, currently came to be the choice for large number of the Americans as well as for around the world viewers, that referred to the stand out as well as rock-and-roll. If you endured the 80s, you understand that music was a mixed bag There was actually a great deal of terrific music that was created in the course of that many years, yet if you return and also listen to some old cassettes, or merely view some video recordings on VH1 Timeless, you will end up tossing your eyes or even giggling in the course of every tune.

[kartiavelino]

Why Oprah cried in front of Boyz II Men

Not like occasion songs, love songs and breakup songs, Mom’s Day anthems don’t precisely come alongside each day. However Boyz II Men delivered a permanent ode to the maternal tribe once they dropped “A Tune for Mama” — their final Prime-10 single in a string of ’90s hits — in 1997. The tender tune, which finds the Grammy-winning boy band serenading Mother as “the queen of my coronary heart,” makes them a pure to take the Barclays Middle stage on Saturday as half of the Mom’s Day Good Music Competition, an R&B extravaganza additionally that includes Charlie Wilson, Joe and Kem. “It simply form of organically grew to become this track that individuals performed loads on Mom’s Day,” says Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman, 45. “It’s at all times good to listen to how a lot that track has touched so many individuals, how many individuals have devoted it to their moms that will have handed away or to somebody who’s a mother-type determine. It’s actually been a blessing for us.” Written and produced by Babyface — who additionally collaborated with the Boyz on the No. 1 smashes “Finish of the Highway” and “I’ll Make Like to You” — the monitor served because the theme track for the 1997 ensemble movie “Soul Meals,” centering on a black household matriarch. “When Babyface was writing it, he had us in thoughts the entire time,” says Stockman of his trio, which was nonetheless a quartet on the time. “We immediately knew that it was gonna be an enormous track. It had all the weather.” Boyz II Men After getting a personal preview screening of “Soul Meals” for inspiration, they recorded the track — which performs over the opening credit of the film — and the session went as clean because the group’s harmonies. “We did it in Face’s studio in LA,” says Stockman. “It was actually one of these issues the place we heard it, we understood it utterly and we received in there and knocked it out in a day.” Once they first performed “A Tune for Mama” for their very own mothers, the Boyz knew they’d tapped right into a mom lode of emotion. “They completely beloved it. My mom cried,” Stockman says. “Even now, some of them will come as much as the stage [at a concert] simply so we will sing it proper to them. It’s an ode to them and the way a lot they’ve performed a very powerful half in our lives in making us the lads that we’re.” One explicit efficiency of “A Tune for Mama” stands out amongst all others. “We had been on the ‘Oprah’ present, and our moms had been there, and we sang it for them,” says Stockman of their 1997 look on the talk-show juggernaut. “Oprah was crying, and our moms had been crying. There wasn’t a dry eye in the home. To have accomplished that track on such a significant present with one of the most important icons in tv historical past, that was positively a cool second.” Whereas Stockman gained’t get to see his mama — or his spouse, Sharonda (the couple have three kids) — this Mom’s Day weekend, he says they are going to “be taken care of” to mark their special occasion. In the meantime, the group is greater than able to harmonize on what Winfrey referred to as “the Mama track.” “There are particular concert events,” says Stockman, “the place, if we don’t sing that track, I feel there’d be a riot.” Share this: https://nypost.com/2018/05/10/why-oprah-cried-in-front-of-boyz-ii-men/ The post Why Oprah cried in front of Boyz II Men appeared first on My style by Kartia. http://www.kartiavelino.com/2018/05/why-oprah-cried-in-front-of-boyz-ii-men.html

[ramon62y4610576-blog]

Federal government Protests In Venezuela.

An expedition of daily life aboard the International Space Station, and the astonishing reasons the objective is still rewarding. Almost fifty percent from participants mentioned somebody had reached out to show assistance for their religious beliefs within the past year, as compared to 37 percent in 2011 as well as 32 percent in 2007. First of all, that completely disregards that Clinton's campaign motto was Stronger With each other." However the claim, 52 per-cent of United States females chose Donald Trump" is absolutely wrong. Nineteen percent of participants mentioned they 'd been referred to as a repulsive title over the last year, compared with 22 per-cent in 2011 as well as 15 per-cent in 2007, and also the design and also varieties were actually roughly similar for Muslims who stated they would certainly been picked through airport-security officials.

7 Inquiries Regarding gel You Need to Answer Honestly. If you beloved this write-up and you would like to obtain much more facts concerning on the main page kindly stop by our web site.

Mercury retrograde could possibly additionally give your assurance a little shakeup, which may be a head excursion this August. This eclipse will definitely culminate at the January 31, 2018, Leo moon, which will additionally be a total eclipse AND an effective supermoon. As well as the metrics our experts make use of to cost schools-- sponsor and also college student from small ways, generating the suggestions and also innovations that sustain economic growth, and also reassuring pupils to serve their nation and communities-- oppose ideological labels. In claims created in courthouse that were largely posted online, they learnt through the target, a 23-year-old girl whose title has not been actually launched, who has no moment of the attack and also illustrated in distressing information exactly how its own after-effects robbed her of my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my security, my intimacy, my assurance, my very own voice." They learnt through the criminal, Brock Turner, a Stanford University freshman at that time, that pointed out the girl had granted his sexual advancements as well as condemned the party society and also risk-taking habits" of university for his activities. I work in an interdisciplinary university on my own (the Institution of Environment as well as Natural Assets at The Ohio Condition Educational institution) and also I know that there's a lot of value in exactly what our team political scientists do for interdisciplinary teams, however we are actually frequently not terrific at interacting our durabilities as well as the worth from our knowledge to non-political experts.

7 Moments To keep in mind Off gel.

An opera concert, performances through a men's quartet, jazz band, and country singer, and a bagpipe concert were all arranged for Upson Lee North Elementary in Thomaston, GA, to amuse and teach students. Uranus' fluctuations could take money-making possibilities, however while it is actually reversed, they could take longer to unfold.

7 Wonderful Main reason whies gel Is actually Using This Technique For Direct exposure.

In accurate Leo period kind, August is actually an active month in the celebrities. Mercury will certainly turn back with Virgo and your 2nd residence from job as well as amount of money for the rest of August, after that it will spend the recently from its backspin in Leo. In Virgo and also your sensitive fourth house-- and also off-course-- Mercury could lead you to have traits way extremely directly. When he for a while floated a 20 percent Mexican-import tax, Republicans quickly punished that, and also his management swiftly abandoned the concept. Accurately, exclusive universities possess a perk in this particular situation to broaden their advisers, given that they have not been dependent on condition financing," mentioned Barbara McFadden Allen, corporate director of the Big Ten Scholastic Partnership. DeVos cited the legal action to justify her selection to cease the policy off entering into impact, raising the opportunity that she will certainly reinterpret the borrower-defense regulation to just put on folks which have failed-- drastically diminishing the swimming pool of debtors entitled to alleviation, as well as creating the depraved reward that Obama-era officials warned approximately.