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goaliekisses · 1 year

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we had a breakdown over some Unwholesome slutty sid content yesterday so here’s some wholesome content from the athletic on sid

It was 2016 in Minnesota and an aggravated coach Mike Sullivan was searching for the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins following a loss to the Wild. Sullivan needed to speak with Sidney Crosby and was walking briskly on the event level of Xcel Energy Center.

Then, he stopped in his tracks.

Around the corner outside of the Penguins’ locker room, Crosby, minus his jersey but otherwise still wearing his equipment, was sitting on the floor. Speaking with a child in a wheelchair, Crosby sat so that he could better make eye contact. He often does this. Sullivan executed a U-turn while his captain sat with the child for 20 minutes, a scene that unfolds countless times across North America every season.

Thousands upon thousands of people have flocked to arenas for decades to watch Crosby play hockey since was a boy. Crosby’s greater mission, though, has always been to comfort the sick and unlucky among us with an uncommon grace and thoughtfulness that is uniquely his own.

“There’s never been anyone like him before,” former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. “And there will never be anyone like him after.”

The widely held belief that the world of professional sports doesn’t showcase any authentic role models is inaccurate so long as Sidney Patrick Crosby walks among us.

“You always hear that saying,” Bobby Orr said. “You know, that so and so is a better person than he is a player. Well, the great thing about Sid is, he’s one of the five greatest players in history. There’s no question about that. But he actually is a better person than he is a player. Now, think about that. I love him.”

On the ice, he is a living legend. The massive legs, the impenetrable ability to protect the puck, the greatest backhand ever, the cannon-like burst of speed through the neutral zone, the rare playmaking ability, the tenacity, the intelligence, the determination, the precociousness as a teenager, the longevity as a thirty-something and the ability to score goals on hockey’s biggest stage are all indelible trademarks of his greatness.

The mythology of Crosby off the ice, however, may be even more worthy of inclusion in the history books and it is very much rooted in reality. He’s not just an ambassador for hockey, but an ambassador of kindness.

“He was like that even as a little boy,” said Troy Crosby, his father. “He was getting so much attention when he was little, and then as he became a teenager. It could have gone to his head. He could have gotten a big ego. All Sidney ever cared about was taking care of other people.”

Crosby made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005, in New Jersey. It was a zoo after the morning skate. Hockey was back after a year-long lockout, Crosby’s debut was being made in the New York area against Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur and it was Mario Lemieux’s 40th birthday. While he was the center of attention, Crosby, who had turned 18 two months earlier, wasn’t concerned about himself.

“He was giving these interviews and there were people everywhere” said Tom McMillan, the former Penguins’ vice president of communications. “But he noticed, in the hallway outside of the locker room, that his mom was being surrounded by reporters. He was worried about her. She was fine, but he was worried about her. So he comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, can you make sure my mom is OK?’ From the very beginning, he was worried about everyone but himself. He never changed.”

Including his salary and endorsements, Crosby has earned in the neighborhood of $200 million in his career. His father isn’t the only one who says Crosby hasn’t changed. His teammates agree. Team employees agree. Even living legends like Orr agree.

There is a simple explanation for this, Crosby insists.

“I don’t think money ever gives you the vehicle to treat anyone differently or to be disrespectful,” he said. “I get to do what I love to do and I’m very appreciative of that. I don’t take that for granted one bit, regardless of what my pay is. I get to do what I love. The least I can do is treat people well along the way.”

Crosby’s legend in the Penguins organization is such that his contributions to society draw biblical comparisons.

Literally.

“I always say that he’s like a child of God,” former Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald said. “That’s how I’ve always seen him. He has a certain light in his eyes that I always notice. He’s a genuinely good soul. People often give credit to a person’s parents for raising a great kid. I totally get that and they did a great job. But I also see a natural soulfulness to Sid that is innate and not necessarily learned.”

Crosby is a role model, and he knows it. He embraces it.

“I’ve been around a while and I’ve met a lot of people,” Rutherford said. “I’ve never met anyone like him. He only does things for the right reasons. And he cares about people so very much. Other players of his stature don’t always act like this. But he’s different. And you see it most when it comes to the way he treats children.”

The Penguins are the NHL’s oldest team, thus, many players have children. During the Stanley Cup years in 2016 and 2017, it was commonplace for Matt Cullen’s children to be hanging on Crosby after playoff wins, as they would naturally gravitate to the best player in the world who just happened to be the nicest guy in the room.

Crosby, in fact, has been known to have spirited mini-sticks games with Nikita Malkin. And yet, his treatment of children isn’t confined to the children of his teammates.

One story lives in Crosby lore.

It was Jan. 11, 2014. The Penguins had just won in Calgary, 2-1, in the weeks leading up to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. After the game, the Penguins departed to their bus on a frigid Alberta evening.

While sitting on the bus, Crosby noticed a handful of teenagers standing behind a fence, which was located on a steep hill beside the Saddledome. They were chanting Crosby’s name and had signs wishing him well in the Olympics.

Upon seeing this, Crosby, dress shoes and all, sprinted up the steep, icy hill. He not only signed all of their jerseys but talked hockey with them for a few minutes before slowly coasting back down the hill.

“I’ll never forget seeing that,” Steigerwald said. “Who else does that?”

Not many people would do such a thing, it can be presumed. But Rutherford saw it every day while he was the general manager of the Penguins.

“The way he treats children is the single most impressive thing I’ve ever seen in my career,” Rutherford said. “When you see those groups of people who want autographs, you have to be careful. A lot of those groups have people that are there every day and looking to sell autographs. But I’ll tell you this about Sid: Never, not one time, has he ever passed by a child who wanted an autograph. No child is ever left behind. I’ve seen him sign autographs and then get on the team bus. Then, he sees a kid pop up who didn’t get his autograph signed. So, he always gets off the bus and makes sure the kid has an autograph and a picture with him. He understands the effect he has on people, but he’s the farthest thing from arrogant you could possibly imagine.”

Crosby is a regular at the UMPC Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. While the Penguins do occasionally orchestrate team visits that Crosby naturally takes part in, he’s a regular at the hospital. He does so on his own time.

No cameras. No reporters. No attention.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Troy Crosby said. “That’s the way he wants it. It means a lot to him to spend time with kids, just him and the kids. He doesn’t want people knowing about it and he goes to lengths to keep it that way.”

Crosby seems miffed when others are blown away by his character. To him, to be polite, generous and thoughtful is simply natural.

“Treating people the right way has always been important to me,” Crosby said. “Whether it’s your teammates, people you see at the rink, fans, kids, whatever. You’re supposed to be good to people in life. You’re supposed to be respectful. So, that’s what I try to do every day. It’s always been a very important thing to me.”

#he’s so GOOD 😭😭😭😭#sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins

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harrisonarchive · 9 months

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On The Ed Sullivan Show in August 1965; photo by Howard Grafton, via Robert Kidd Gallery.

Q: “How did you come up with that Rickenbacker riff for ‘Ticket To Ride,’ one of the most distinctive Beatles guitar signatures ever, which appears on Anthology Volume 2 in an August 1965 live version? Was the riff conceived expressly for that song?” George Harrison: “Yeah! But John was just playing the song to us on his rhythm guitar, and I had the 12-string Rickenbacker. It was also something to do with the fact that my part on the guitar was hooking into Ringo’s part. So when I came up with that little staggered riff, it dictated or gave Ringo the cue to play the part that he does. It had a big effect on Jim McGuinn, as he was named at the time — but Roger later — and a lot of other people. Even me. Years later even *I* thought that the Byrds had invented it! I forgot. [Laughter] In the books about Rickenbacker guitars, McGuinn talks about how the Byrds went to see A Hard Day’s Night at the movies, and they stayed and watched it through twice, saying, ‘What’s that he’s playing?‘ Afterward, they got the Rickenbacker, and that’s where they got that jangly sound I’d come up with on ‘Ticket To Ride.’ They also got Gretsch guitars like ours, too. McGuinn’s kind to always mention it.” - Billboard, March 1996 (x)

#George Harrison #Paul McCartney #Ringo Starr #John Lennon #quote #quotes by George #Roger McGuinn #The Beatles #The Byrds #1965 #1960s #Ticket To Ride #George and John #george and paul #Harrison contributions #fits queue like a glove

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jamesbracket · 11 months

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The matchups have arrived!

This tournament includes 96 characters named James, Jim, Jimmy, and Jay (with some others too), and they will all be competing in 6 brackets of 16, and the winners of those will be participating in two semifinals, and the winners of the semifinals will fight each other in the final finals! (Basically, it’s just how I did it on @blue-character-brawl, but with the amount of participants cut in half.)

Here are the matchups:

Bracket 1

Jim Hopper (Stranger Things) VS. Jim Halpert (The Office)

James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Marvel) VS. James “Bucky” Barnes (Marvel)

James Bonde (Moriarty the Patriot) VS. James Blond (Super Mario Brothers Super Show)

Jim Rockford (The Rockford Files) VS. James Bond (James Bond)

Jimmy Carter (Real Life) VS. James Madison (Hamilton)

James Byrd (@byrdsfly) VS. James Byrd (Spyro the Dragon)

JayMoji (Real Life) VS. James Phryllas (Real Life)

Jimmy Z (Wild Kratts) VS. Jimmy T (WarioWare)

Bracket 2

James Baxter (Adventure Time) VS. James (Adventure Time)

Jamestown, Virginia (Real Life) VS. James Webb Telescope (Real Life)

Jim Henson (Real Life) VS. Jim Davis (Real Life)

Jimmy Olsen (DC Comics) VS. Jim Gordon (DC Comics)

Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) VS. James Henry Trotter (James and the Giant Peach)

Jimmy Neutron (Jimmy Neutron) VS. Shimmy Jimmy (Phineas and Ferb)

James McCloud (Star Fox) VS. Jay Elbird (Ace Attorney)

James (Wii Sports) VS. James (Papa Louie)

Bracket 3

Captain James Hook (Peter Pan) VS. James Norrington (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Jim Hawkins (Treasure Island) VS. Jimmy Hopkins (Bully)

Jamie Waring (Black Swan) VS. James Flint (Black Sails)

Jamie McCrimmon (Doctor Who) VS. King James IV (Doctor Who)

Dr. James Possible (Kim Possible) VS. Jimmy Pesto Jr. (Bob’s Burgers)

Prince James (Once Upon a Time) VS. James (Princess and the Frog)

jim teacher (This TikTok) VS. Nagasaki James (Noonbit Man)

James March (American Horror Story) VS. James Vane (The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Bracket 4

James (Pokémon) VS. James T. Kirk (Star Trek)

James the Red Engine (Thomas and Friends) VS. James P. Sullivan (Monsters, Inc.)

Jamie Fraser (Outlander) VS. James Sunderland (Silent Hill 2)

James Ironwood (RWBY) VS. Private Jimmy (Red vs Blue)

James Rallison (Real Life) VS. James Huckle (The Search for Santa Paws)

Jay Walker (Ninjago) VS. Jimmy McGill (Better Call Saul)

Jaime Lannister (Game of Thrones) VS. Jimmy Novak (Supernatural)

Jem Carstairs (The Infernal Devices) VS. James Herondale (The Last Hours)

Bracket 5

James Wilson (House MD) VS. Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso)

Jim Lake Jr. (Trollhunters) VS. James Hunter (Animal Ark)

James (The Walking Dead) VS. Jimmy (Scott Pilgrim)

James-Roman Grilfalinas (@artificialkids-2k23-official) VS. Jimmy Lightning (Peggle)

Jamie Wellerstein (The Last Five Years) VS. Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)

James Holden (The Expanse) VS. James Ford (Lost)

James Garrett (Zoey 101) VS. James Amber (Life is Strange)

Jay Merrick (Marble Hornets) VS. Meanie Jim (Junie B. Jones)

Bracket 6

Jim Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes) VS. James Maguire (Derry Girls)

James Black (Detective Conan) VS. James Gunn (Real Life)

James the Cat (James the Cat) VS. Jimmy the Robot (The Aquabats)

Jimmy King (Emmerdale) VS. Jim Johnman (Monster Factory)

Jame Palrose (Terror Island) VS. Jimmy (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac)

James Diamond (Big Time Rush) VS. James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small)

James West (The Wild Wild West) VS. James Maxwell (We Happy Few)

Jimmy Campbell (Bandstand) VS. James E. Negatus (Yonderland)

Round 1 of Brackets 1 and 2 will be going up on Saturday, May 20!

#jamesbracket #bracket #competition #tournament

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mrs-monaghan · 9 months

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Re: the pronouns. I think people also don't realize that the big corporations can make JK sing whatever pronouns they want, regardless of what he wants. Jim Morrison (of The Doors) was blacklisted from Ed Sullivan for singing "girl, we couldn't get much higher" when Sullivan asked them to change it to "girl we couldn't get much better". A show like GMA probably diverted to the female pronouns and that's that, but truthfully my Jikook belief is so strong that the pronouns don't bug me lol

#ask shaz #bts ask #jikook #kookmin #minkook #jikook is real

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thealmightyemprex · 2 months

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Columbia Pictures Month : Bye Bye Birdie

Next film on my Columbia film reviews is the musical Bye Bye Birdie .Now I have no familiarity with the musical ,so will view this as a stand alone thing

Now the plot of this 1963 film is that singing superstar Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson ) has just been drafted ,and Rosie (Janet Leigh ) secretsary and fiance to song writer Albert Peterson (Dick Van Dyke) ,has set up a final performance on the Ed Sullivan show ,with a publicity stunt of him kissing a girl from his fan club ,Kim MacAfee(Ann Margeret ) and shennaigans ensue

Soooooo thats the basic plot but um,mm.......Yeah this plot is somehow very complicated and paper thin ,so it makes no damn bit of sense .The story would make more sense if Albert was the agent of Conrad and not a struggling song writer ,I didnt even bring up the fact Albert is also a biochemist ,or Kims jealous boyfriend hugo ,or Alberts overbearing mother .From what I understand the story is supposed to be about Albert and Rosie......But the movie is more about Kim,and while I am thankful made a star out of Ann Margret who does her all with the role ,Kim shouldnt be the focus

Also tangent a big focus on the movie is Ed Sulivan ,he plays himself and his show is a big plot point .Now I was born way after his time,but his TV show was one of the biggest shows in America.....Soley because the guy had connections and paid well cause the guy has NO CHARISMA and by GOD ,HE CANT ACT .And yes I KNOW ,his show was popular cause he got amazing guests like Elvis,The Beatles ,Jim Henson,etc and his job was just to introduce but I am still baffled cause he is one of the most uncharismatic show business people I have ever seen .Sorry to get sidetracked,this has very little to do with the film,I know that but I honestly dont get the appeal of Ed Sullivan and theres a whole damn subplot about Paul Lynde being in love with him basically ,so I had to bring him up

OK so it might seem like I dont like the movie.....But I was entertained ,despite how messy it is.....Most of the songs are good ,not all timers for me but they are fun ,I think the most fun song for me was Kids performed by Paul Lynde ,I think that is the best song in the movie and I was surprised to find Put On A Happy Face came from this .Honestly its just fun to witness the dancing talents of Dick Van Dyke in anything ,and the musical talents of Ann-Margret ,Paul Lynde and surprisingly Janet Leigh .In fact the cast in general is very good,Dick Van Dyke is fun as this mamas boy song writer (Nowhere near as good as his performance in the next years Mary Poppins but hes good ),Janet Leigh is really good and she impressed me in the musical sequences like I said ,Ann Margret while I dont think her character shouldve been the lead COMMANDS the camera and is very good (Her opening song had me concearned but the later songs showed me how good she was ),Maureen Stapleton is frankly hilarious as the overbearing mother,and Paul Lynde is the scene stealer as Kims father ,a lot of his lines made me laugh .The film is also very funny every time I was unsure about the film thered be a really funny joke .I also think George Sidney directs the film well the film going into often surreal and somewhat cartoony vibes

I dunno I dont LOVE the movie.....But I enjoy it .I do reccomend it if you want something kind of silly

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @amalthea9 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @minimumheadroom @filmcityworld1

#columbia pictures #bye bye birdie

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blowflyfag · 4 months

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Pro Wrestling Illustrated: 1995 THE YEAR IN WRESTLING. March 1996

MANAGER OF THE YEAR: JIM CORNETTE 25,762 votes

It really wasn’t a strong year for managers this year. Many of our readers lamented that for this award, they have a very weak crop from which to choose. Nevertheless, Jim Cornette was able to distinguish himself sufficiently to capture Manager of the Year honors for the third time.

“I never could stand him or his methods,” wrote Bobby Zlada of Louisville, Kentucky, “but once again, you can’t argue with his success.”

For Cornette, it was a year in which he pulled several surprises. It was his decision to team Yokozuna with Owen Hart. That unlikely duo defeated The Smokin’ Gunns at WrestleMania XI and captured the WWF World tag team title. Despite the rumors that Yoko and Owen were going to split up, the “Louisville Lip” kept them together, and he even managed to get Yokozuna some World title shots after he and Owen lost the belts in October.

Cornette convinced Davey Boy Smith that it would be in Smith’s best interest to become a rulebreaker. That advice earned Cornette another helping of hatred, but it did in fact move the Englishman dramatically closer to the WWF World belt.

“Jimmy has a sense of knowing when to make the right move,” said Dennis Condrey, who was once a part of Cornette’s famed Midnight Express. “He zigs when folks think he should zag, and usually he proves everybody wrong.”

{Perhaps the biggest surprise of all came when Cornette announced, late in 1994, that he would manage his long-time enemies. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Somehow, some way, both parties put aside their monumental differences and formed a solid partnership, one that earned the Rock ‘n’ Rolls the Smoky Mountain tag belts.

By summer, however, Cornette was back to his rulebreaking ways in SMW again, as he led his Heavenly Bodies to both the Smoky Mountain and USWA tag team titles in a span of three days, a feat that severed to confirm his reputation as one of the greatest tag team managers ever. On the down side, he made himself look like a fool–again–when he began calling himself “General for the purpose of organizing his SMW Militia, a dastardly crew that includes Tommy Rich, Terry Gordy (the current SMW champ), and The Punisher.

He’s no military man, but he is a winner, whether you like it or not.

RUNNERS-UP

SHERRI MARTEL: 12,910 votes

First runner-up: By leading Harlem Heat to a fourth WCW World tag team title, Martel quieted any doubts about her managerial prowess. She does tend to interfere too much, but what rule breaking manager doesn’t? But you know what? She may have had an ever greeted year had she not spent so much time fawning over fellow manager Col. Robert Parker.

COL. ROBERT PARKER: 10,974 votes

Second runner-up: For the second year in a row, the cigar-chomping braggart has captured the number-three spot in the voting. Parker’s a big talker, but he gets results: He led Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater to an upset World tag title victory over Harlem Heat, gave Meng new purpose for a while, and signed Japanese sensation Kurasawa.

WOMAN: 7,203 votes

Third runner-up: Woman manages only one wrestler, The Sandman, but he was champion of the tough ECW for six months after defeating Shane Douglas last March, and that is an amazing feat in itself. She is more helpful to Sandman behind the scenes than she is at ringside, where she can be just as sadistic as any male in the federation.

VOTES FOR OTHERS (15,648)

Some of the top vote-getters who did not capture a runner-up spot include: Paul Bearer, Paul E. Dangerously, Ted DiBiase, Jimmy Hart, Kevin Sullivan, Sunny, and Harvey Wippleman.

#jim cornette #magazine scan #magazine transcript #pwi #pro wrestling illustrated #wwf #smokey mountain wrestling #world wrestling federation

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huntsvillegossip · 3 months

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Happy New Year Lovelies!

Well, happier for some than for others, it seems. Eagan Connolly is raising quite the fuss about the disappearance of someone named Will Monroe—details are light on who exactly Will is but apparently he's known to some as a local prostitute. If you see her hobbling around, maybe keep a wide berth, since they’ve been heard muttering to themselves in public. If it was something worth worrying about, the police or Mayor Nat herself would have informed us, of course.

We have multiple witnesses having seen what looked like a very upset Christopher Winters and a very concerned Jim Dunford in town the other day. They were arguing about what sounded like a cheeky New Years Eve kiss that they shared. Jim seemed to be trying to placate Christopher, who was not having it, shoving the man away and stalking off. No news yet as to whether Emma Dunford is aware of this. For all we know, this might be her way of having her cake and eating it too. Christopher and Emma are also expecting a child, which begs the question, is now really the time to try something new?

Speaking of their upcoming adoption, the baby’s birth mother has also been on her own romantic adventure. Josie Reigh and Gabriel Westfall are official, at least if the people overhearing her referring to him as her boyfriend are to be believed. The two seem to be quite happy with each other. Alas, not everyone seems to be as over the moon as they are. Nico Garcia stills seems hung up over Miss Reigh, which is no surprise, since he always was the more sensitive brother. He has repeatedly been seen intoxicated at the Sasquatch and was even heard propositioning one of their bartenders. One lucky contender who took him up on the offer is Jessica Sinclair. That girl's taste has always been questionable—but perhaps this is the one who will break her streak of heartbreak?

The younger Garcia brother isn't the only one moping and drinking his sorrows away at the bar. Theodore Collins has become the latest member of the lonely hearts club. Many have remarked he's been overly temperamental at work with some adding in that he and Kirby have officially called it quits. However, seems they're both quick to move on. Theodore was spotted hitting on Morgan Vovk, who took him home "as a friend"—you can take that as you will. Meanwhile, Kirby has been seen multiple times leaving the drive-in with Edward Langston. Now, sonsidering he should be focused on helping raise his goddaughter, you would think he'd reconsider his priorities. Kirby is fun but they're hardly the person you'd want around when you're trying to be responsible.

That's all for now, my lovelies. Remember: drink and flirt responsibly! You never know who's watching.

Love, Auntie G

“Is it just me, or do the old folks at the retirement home seem happier lately? Is it just because of that new doctor working there or what?” - Anon (37M)

“So, I hear there’s an angry bounty hunter in town, and word on the street is he’s after a big score. Guess it makes sense that he seems to have joined Val Moreno’s harem. He seems like her type. Good luck and godspeed to Connor Hastings, I suppose.” - Hopeful Future Harem Member

“It appears like Duck Romero has been lassoed by Claire Forbes and is officially off the market. I saw the two of them on what appeared to be a date after New Years looking mighty cozy. Third time’s the charm, folks!” - Town Bird Watcher

“Declan Sullivan seems to be sowing his wild oats, as he was seen kissing Peyton Wilson soon after a love confession to him by Artemis Hayes was overheard at a construction site. Never seen a boy high tail it out of a conversation so fast. Hey, I'm willing to be her shoulder to cry on any day.” - Bob the Builder

"You'd be surprised how much shit gets talked about at the construction sites. You know that circus guy? Mercy Wainwright? Might've overheard him bitching about not getting to see his kid. That he might actually try to get custody of 'em. Not sure how the baby mama, Josie Reigh, gonna feel about that one." - The 4th Property Brother

“Yeah, so I was having a drink at the Sasquatch when Hope McGillivray threw a drink in Floyd Blackward’s face. Guess he made a pass at her but you can’t blame a guy for trying. Dude’s still stuck in second place it looks like.” - Day Drinker

“Although Halley MacGillivray and Saffron Aubert are now officially dating, Halley has been seen hanging out with Felix Berkowitz, Saffron's ex-fiancé. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. Loyalty seems to be a concept that family struggles with.” - Anon (22F)

"Hey, so I don't know if it was the eggnog at the party or what. But Edgar Wayne had a full meltdown at his own party. Looks like it was cause of Beverly Torrance, she went skinny dipping in this freezing ass weather with Elijah Atkins. I thought the rangers were suppose to help out folks not nearly kill 'em." - Eggnog Lover

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msc-ddv-ss · 4 months

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Character Request Sheet:

The list of all the characters I will write/take requests for:

Walt Disney Animated Movies:

Mickey Mouse and Friends:

Mickey Mouse

Donald Duck

Goofy

Minnie Mouse

Daisy Duck

Pluto

Pete

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

Snow White

The Evil Queen

The Seven Dwarfs

Pinocchio:

Pinocchio

Jiminy Cricket

Dumbo:

Dumbo

Timothy Q. Mouse

Bambi:

Bambi

Thumper

Flower

The Three Caballeros:

Panchito Pistoles

Jose Carioca

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad:

Ichabod Crane

Mr. Toad

Cinderella:

Cinderella

Prince Charming

The Fairy Godmother

Alice in Wonderland:

Alice

The Mad Hatter

The Queen of Hearts

The Cheshire Cat

Peter Pan:

Peter Pan

Captain Hook

Tinkerbell

Wendy / John / Michael

Lady and the Tramp:

Lady

Tramp (Butch)

Sleeping Beauty:

Aurora

Prince Philip

Fauna / Flora / Merryweather

Maleficent

101 Dalmations:

Pongo

Perdita

Cruella De Vil

The Sword and The Stone:

Merlin

Wart (Arthur)

Madam Mim

The Jungle Book:

Baloo

Mowgli

Bagheera

King Louie

Shere Khan

The Aristocats:

Thomas O’Malley

Duchess

Marie / Toulouse / Berlioz

Robin Hood:

Robin Hood

Maid Marian

Little John

Prince John

Winnie the Pooh:

Winnie the Pooh

Christopher Robin

Tigger

Piglet

Eeyore

Rabbit

Kanga / Roo

Owl

The Rescuers:

Bernard

Miss Bianca

The Fox and The Hound:

Tod

Copper

The Black Cauldron:

Taran

Eilonwy

Fflewddur Fflam

Gurgi

The Horned King

The Great Mouse Detective:

Basil of Baker Street

Professor Ratigan

Oliver & Company:

Oliver

Dodger

Bill Cykes

The Little Mermaid:

Ariel

Prince Eric

Ursula

King Triton

Sebastian

Flounder

Beauty and The Beast:

Belle

The Beast

Gaston

Lumiere

Cogsworth

Aladdin:

Aladdin

Jasmine

The Genie

Jafar

The Nightmare Before Christmas:

Jack Skellington

Sally

Oogie Boogie

The Lion King:

Simba

Nala

Scar

Timon / Pumba

Rafiki

A Goofy Movie:

Goofy

Max Goof

Roxanne

Pocahontas:

Pocahontas

John Smith

Governor Ratcliffe

The Hunchback of Notre Dame:

Quasimodo

Esmeralda

Captain Phoebus

Claude Frollo

Hercules:

Hercules

Megara

Hades

Phil

Mulan:

Fa Mulan

Li Shang

Mushu

Shan Yu

Tarzan:

Tarzan

Jane

Clayton

The Emperor's New Groove:

Emperor Kuzco

Pacha

Yzma

Kronk

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Milo Thatch

Princess Kida

Commander Rourke

Helga Sinclair

Lilo & Stitch:

Stitch

Lilo Pelekai

Nani Pelekai

Jumba

Pleakley

Treasure Planet: (Please Gameloft, I'm begging you...)

Jim Hawkins

John Silver

Captain Amelia

Dr. Delbert Doppler

Brother Bear:

Kenai

Koda

Home on the Range:

Maggie

Mrs. Calloway

Grace

Alameda Slim

Chicken Little:

Chicken Little

Buck Cluck

Meet the Robinsons:

Lewis

Wilbur Robinson

The Bowler Hat Guy

Bolt:

Bolt

Mittens

Rhino

The Princess and The Frog:

Tiana

Prince Naveen

Dr. Facilier

Louis

Mama Odie

Tangled:

Rapunzel

Flynn Rider / Eugene Fitzherbert

Mother Gothel

Wreck-It Ralph:

Wreck-It Ralph

Vanellope Von Schweetz

Fix It Felix

Sergeant Calhoun

King Candy / Turbo

Frozen:

Anna

Elsa

Kristoff

Olaf

Hans

Big Hero 6:

Hiro Hamada

Baymax

Gogo

Wasabi

Honey Lemon

Fred

Zootopia:

Judy Hopps

Nick Wilde

Chief Bogo

Moana:

Moana

Maui

Raya and the Last Dragon:

Raya

Sisu

Namaari

Encanto:

Mirabel Madrigal

The Madrigal Family

Strange World:

Searcher Clade

Ethan Clade

Meridian Clade

Jaeger Clade

Splat

Wish:

Asha

Valentino

King Magnifico

Live Action Movies:

Pirates of the Caribbean:

Captain Jack Sparrow

Will Turner

Elizabeth Swann

Hector Barbossa

Davy Jones

Enchanted:

Giselle

Robert Phillip

Prince Edward

Hocus Pocus:

Mary Sanderson

Sarah Sanderson

Winfred Sanderson

Pixar Movies:

Toy Story:

Woody

Buzz

Jessie

Bo Peep

Monsters Inc.:

James P. Sullivan

Mike Wazowski

Celia Mae

Randall Boggs

Boo

Finding Nemo:

Marlin

Nemo

Dory

Bruce

Hank

The Incredibles:

Mr Incredible

Elastigirl

Dash

Violet

Jack-Jack

Frozone

Syndrome

Edna Mode

Cars:

Lightning McQueen

Ratatouille:

Remy

Wall-E:

Wall-E

EVE

Up:

Carl Fredrickson

Russel

Dug

Kevin

Charles Muntz

Brave:

Merida

Coco:

Miguel Rivera

Hector Rivera

Mama Imelda Rivera

Ernesto De La Cruz

Onward:

Ian Lightfoot

Barley Lightfoot

Soul:

Joe Gardner

Luca:

Luca

Alberto

Giulia

Turning Red:

Meilin “Mei” Lee

Elemental:

Ember

Wade

Disney Television Animation Shows:

DuckTales:

Scrooge McDuck

Louie / Dewey / Huey Duck

Launchpad McQuack

Webby Vanderquack

Bentina Beakley

Phineas and Ferb:

Phineas Flynn

Ferb Fletcher

Candace Flynn

Perry the Platypus

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Gravity Falls:

Dipper Pines

Mabel Pines

Grunkle Stan

Soos Ramirez

Wendy Corduroy

Bill Cipher

Amphibia:

Anne Boonchuy

Sprig Plantar

Polly Plantar

Hop Pop Plantar

Sasha Waybright

Marcy Wu

Owl House:

Luz Noceda

Edalyn Clawthorne

King Clawthorne

Amity Blight

Gus Porter

Willow Park

Hunter

Hooty

(The list will be updated whenever any new films release, new characters release in Dreamlight Valley, and when I feel comfortable writing for some of the other shows)

#ddlv community #disney #disney dreamlight valley #ddlv #ddlv rift in time #disney speedstorm #disney television animation #pixar #request page

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mywifeleftme · 6 days

Text

THE END

Stats

I'm a bit of a goon for stats and lists, so as I close the book on this project, here are a few highlights.

Total word count: 181,231 Average review length: 497 words Longest review: 1,761 words (138: Various Artists // Experiments in Destiny) Shortest review: 131 words (303: Alice Coltrane // Journey in Satchidananda) Most reviewed decade: 1970s (110) Firstest review: Various Artists // Keep on Truckin' (1) Lastest review: Patti Smith // Horses (365) Middlest review: [TIE] Sandy Denny & the Strawbs // All Our Work (177) & Various Artists // The Paths of Pain: The CAIFE Label, Quito, 1960–68 (178) Age: 37 Wives left: 0

Twelve of my favourites

1: Various Artists // Keep on Truckin': How a series of TV commercials made Americans crazy for novelty truck driving songs.

32: The Who // Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy: A free, online personality quiz.

59: Nass El Ghiwane // Nass El Ghiwane: Moroccan legends, quibbling about hype stickers, and the gift of trances.

90: Joe Coleman // Infernal Machine: Exploring a well-remunerated "Outsider artist" and his fixation on serial killers (feat. the craziest picture disc I've ever seen).

92: Aquariana // Aquariana: Your introduction to Father Yod and the Source Family cult, plus some weirdo piano ballads.

179: Elvis Presley // The Sun Collection: I asked 17 of my friends (and my grandma) for their opinions on Elvis.

199: Zero Kama // Zero Kama: In 1983, Austrian Psychic TV-devotee Zoe DeWitt snuck into a charnel house and scavenged a pile of human bones, which she then fashioned into musical instruments. This is the music that resulted.

209: Rob Hertner // Bucky's Heartaches: I research a private press country record by a Texan expat in London, and unearth his life as a crackpot political figure in Britain and connections to a terrorist militia group.

227: Jim Sullivan // U.F.O.: A guide to six lesser-known private press folkies, prepared with the assistance of antiquarian D. John Christie.

256: Maria Tănase // I: Romania's answer to Edith Piaf, and a figure much in need of rediscovery.

270: Purple Mountains // Purple Mountains: On David Berman's last work, and writing through pain.

319: Gilbert Bécaud // Incroyablement: A lovestruck fool, but no dummy. Some thoughts on an irrepressible chansonnier.

These are so stupid

Blogs tagged "this is so stupid"

#c'est fini #that's it #see you in hell #thank you fuck you bye #thank you

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thegroovywitch · 1 year

Text

Discover Jimmy Page

The very beginnings: London's youngest session musician

from pageysartgallery

The very beginning of Jimmy Page’s studio career goes all the way back to 60 years ago, at the start of the 1960s, when a 17 year old Jimmy, following two years of touring with Neil Christian and his band The Crusaders, recorded various tracks with them. The most notable of these is the single "The Road To Love", released in 1962:

During one of his many performances at the Marquee Club, he was spotted by John Gibb of Brian Howard & the Silhouettes, who asked him to help record some singles for Columbia Graphophone Company. My personal favourite is "The Worryin’ Kind", a fast-paced rock and roll number:

youtube

Jimmy was offered regular session work by Mike Leander of Decca Records. His first ever session for the label was "Diamonds", an instrumental track which reached #1 on the singles chart.

“In the initial stages they just said, play what you want, cause at that time I couldn't read music or anything.”

- Jimmy Page

In his early career as a session musician, Page has played with a large number of artists. You may want to check out his work with The Who, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Donovan and Them. Here are some of my favourite tracks from those sessions:

On these two 1964 Kinks tracks, he's credited as playing acoustic twelve-string guitar

He plays rythm guitar on the notorious Who single "I Can't Explain"

...and lead guitar on "Bald Headed Woman"

Some more iconic tracks from that time period include:

Around this time, he also released his first ever solo single, an upbeat pop rock track which has him playing all the instruments except the drums as well as singing lead... Something that has never happened again since (he does have a pretty, slightly raspy voice despite him claiming many times that he can't sing):

Suggested album:

The Maureeny Wishfull Album (1968), recorded and composed with his session days "rival" Big Jim Sullivan.

There aren’t any filmed live performances available from this time period, so I’m linking this adorable performance from 1957, playing in a skiffle band when he was only 13 years of age:

youtube

AND how could I not include some video footage of Jimmy walking to the studio on a regular day of session work?

youtube

Gallery:

“I finally called it quits after I started getting calls to do Muzak. I decided I couldn’t live that life any more; it was getting too silly. I guess it was destiny that a week after I quit doing sessions Paul Samwell-Smith left the Yardbirds and I was able to take his place. But being a session musician was good fun in the beginning – the studio discipline was great. They’d just count the song off and you couldn’t make any mistakes.”

- Jimmy Page

#jimmy page #led zeppelin #the yardbirds #robert plant #john paul jones #john bonham #classic rock #rock #pagey #led zep #60s #pageysartgallery #Spotify #Youtube #by dee dee 🌺🕯️#discover jp #my writing

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videbi · 3 years

Text

The Best Movies

These are the movies that appealed to a large audience and had wide social impact to 1) inform, 2) educate, and 3) entertain. More movies may be added or any movie may be taken out of the list at anytime.

Intolerance (1916, Griffith)

The Gold Rush (1925, Chaplin)

The General (1926, Bruckman, Keaton)

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927, Murnau)

City Lights (1931, Chaplin)*

Duck Soup (1933, McCarey)

King Kong (1933)

It Happened One Night (1934, Capra)*

A Night at the Opera (1935, Wood, Goulding)

Top Hat (1935, Sandrich)*

Modern Times (1936, Chaplin)

Swing Time (1936, Stevens)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937, Cottrell, Hand, Jackson, Morey, Pearce, Sharpsteen)

Bringing Up Baby (1938, Hawks)

Gone With the Wind (1939, Fleming, Cukor, Wood)*

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939, Capra)

Ninotchka (1939, Lubitsch)

The Rules of the Game (1939, Renoir)*

The Wizard of Oz (1939, Fleming)*

Rebecca (1940, Hitchcock)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940, Ford)

The Great Dictator (1940, Chaplin)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Citizen Kane (1941, Welles)*

Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

The Maltese Falcon (1941, Huston)

Casablanca (1942, Curtiz)*

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942, Curtiz)

Double Indemnity (1944, Wilder)*

Mildred Pierce (1945, Curtiz)

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Capra)*

Notorious (1946, Hitchcock)

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)*

The Big Sleep (1946, Hawks)

Out of the Past (1947, Tourneur)

Red River (1948, Hawks, Rosson)

Rope (1948, Hitchcock)

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, Huston)

All About Eve (1950, Mankiewicz)*

Sunset Boulevard (1950, Wilder)*

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, Kazan)*

Strangers on a Train (1951, Hitchcock)*

The African Queen (1951, Huston)*

High Noon (1952, Finnemann)

Singin’ in the Rain (1952, Donen, Kelly)*

The Quiet Man (1952, Ford)

Roman Holiday (1953, Wyler)

Shane (1953, Stevens)

Stalag 17 (1953, Wilder)

Tokyo Story (1953, Ozu)

Dial M for Murder (1954, Hitchcock)

On The Waterfront (1954, Kazan)*

Rear Window (1954, Hitchcock)

The Night of the Hunter (1955, Laughton)

The Searchers (1956, Ford)*

12 Angry Men (1957, Lumet)

Funny Face (1957, Donen)*

Sweet Smell of Success (1957, Mackendrick)

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, Lean)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957, Wilder)

Touch of Evil (1958, Welles, Keller)

Vertigo (1958, Hitchcock)*

Ben-Hur (1959, Wyler)

North by Northwest (1959, Hitchcock)*

Some Like It Hot (1959, Wilder)*

La Dolce Vita (1960, Fellini)*

Psycho (1960, Hitchcock)*

Spartacus (1960, Kubrick)

The Apartment (1960, Wilder)

West Side Story (1961, Robbins, Wise)

Jules and Jim (1962, Truffaut)*

Lawrence of Arabia (1962, Lean)*

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, Mulligan)*

8 1/2 (1963, Fellini)*

Hud (1963, Ritt)

The Great Escape (1963, Sturges)

Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964, Kubrick)*

For a Few Dollars More (1965, Leone)

The Sound of Music (1965, Wise)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966, Leone)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966, Nichols)

Bonnie and Clyde (1967, Penn)*

In The Heat of the Night (1967, Jewison)

The Graduate (1967, Nichols)*

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Kubrick)*

Oliver! (1968, Reed)

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, Leone)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, Hill)

Easy Rider (1969, Hopper)

Midnight Cowboy (1969, Schlesinger)

The Wild Bunch (1969, Peckinpah)

MASH (1970, Altman)

The Conformist (1970, Bertolucci)*

A Clockwork Orange (1971, Kubrick)

The French Connection (1971, Friedkin)

The Last Picture Show (1971, Bogdanovich)

Cabaret (1972, Fosse)

Jeremiah Johnson (1972, Pollack)

The Godfather (1972, Coppola)*

American Graffiti (1973, Lucas)

The Sting (1973, Hill)

Chinatown (1974, Polanski)*

The Godfather Part II (1974, Coppola)*

Jaws (1975, Spielberg)

Nashville (1975, Altman)*

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, Forman)

All The President’s Men (1976, Pakula)

Network (1976, Lumet)

Rocky (1976, Avildsen)

Taxi Driver (1976, Scorsese)*

Annie Hall (1977, Allen)*

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977, Lucas)

The Deer Hunter (1978, Cimino)*

Apocalypse Now (1979, Coppola)*

Manhattan (1979, Allen)

Ordinary People (1980, Redford)

Raging Bull (1980, Scorsese)*

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, Spielberg)

Blade Runner (1982, Scott)*

Diner (1982, Levinson)*

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982, Spielberg)

Sophie’s Choice (1982, Pakula)

Tootsie (1982, Pollack)

Once Upon a Time in America (1984, Leone)

Platoon (1986, Stone)

Full Metal Jacket (1987, Kubrick)

Do The Right Thing (1989, Lee)

Glory (1989, Zwick)

Goodfellas (1990, Scorsese)*

Beauty and the Beast (1991, Trousdale, Wise)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Demme)

A River Runs Through It (1992, Redford)

Unforgiven (1992, Eastwood)

Farewell My Concubine (1993, Chen)

Schindler’s List (1993, Spielberg)*

Forrest Gump (1994, Zemeckis)

Pulp Fiction (1994, Tarantino)

The Lion King (1994, Allers, Minkoff)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Darabont)

Heat (1995, Mann)

Toy Story (1995, Lasseter)

Life Is Beautiful (1997, Benigni)

L.A. Confidential (1997, Hanson)

Titanic (1997, Cameron)

Saving Private Ryan (1998, Howard)*

The Sixth Sense (1999, Shyamalan)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, Lee)

Gladiator (2000, Scott)

A Beautiful Mind (2001, Howard)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001, Jackson)

City of God (2002, Meirelles

The Pianist (2002, Polanski)

Finding Nemo (2003, Stanton, Unkrich)

Mystic River (2003, Eastwood)

The Incredibles (2004, Bird)

Million Dollar Baby (2004, Eastwood)

Pan’s Labyrinth (2005, del Torro)*

The Lives of Others (2006, Donnersmarck)*

No Country For Old Men (2007, Coen, Coen)

Gran Torino (2008, Eastwood)

Slumdog Millionaire (2008, Boyle, Tandan)

The Hurt Locker (2008, Bigelow)

The King’s Speech (2010, Hooper)

The Artist (2011, Hazanavicius)

* Disclaimer: Strong sexual and/or violent content not recommended below age 16. Personal discretion or parental guidance advised.+

#films #movies #favorite #list #videbi.tumblr.com #lists #favorites #movies list #films list #best movies

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andreisvechnikov · 1 year

Text

NHL99: Sidney Crosby, icon of his era, never strays from his greater mission

Then, he stopped in his tracks.

Thousands upon thousands of people have flocked to arenas for decades to watch Crosby play hockey since he was a boy. Crosby’s greater mission, though, has always been to comfort the sick and unlucky among us with an uncommon grace and thoughtfulness that is uniquely his own.

“There’s never been anyone like him before,” former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. “And there will never be anyone like him after.”

The widely held belief that the world of professional sports doesn’t showcase any authentic role models is inaccurate so long as Sidney Patrick Crosby walks among us.

At 35, Crosby is the hockey chief of the world, and he lands at No. 4 on The Athletic’s list of the greatest players of the modern era of the NHL. He has won three Stanley Cup championships, two Olympic gold medals, has registered 541 goals, 1,469 points and, quite remarkably, has lived up to every bit of the hype. His legacy is perfectly safe. He simply keeps going at this stage because he loves hockey and is obsessed with winning. Mike Babcock once called him a “serial winner,” which is the perfect description of Crosby. On and off the ice.

It was evident from the very beginning.

There is a simple explanation for this, Crosby insists.

Crosby’s legend in the Penguins organization is such that his contributions to society draw biblical comparisons.

Literally.

‘No child is ever left behind’ Charles Barkley once made considerable headlines for a Nike advertising campaign that stated, “I am not a role model.”

Crosby is a role model, and he knows it. He embraces it.

Crosby, in fact, has been known to have spirited mini-sticks games with Nikita Malkin. And yet, his treatment of children isn’t confined to the children of his teammates.

One story lives in Crosby lore.

It was Jan. 11, 2014. The Penguins had just won in Calgary, 2-1, in the weeks leading up to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. After the game, the Penguins departed to their bus on a frigid Alberta evening.

“I’ll never forget seeing that,” Steigerwald said. “Who else does that?”

Not many people would do such a thing, it can be presumed. But Rutherford saw it every day while he was the general manager of the Penguins.

No cameras. No reporters. No attention.

Crosby seems miffed when others are blown away by his character. To him, to be polite, generous and thoughtful is simply natural.

On May 31, 2007, the Penguins made Crosby, then 19, the youngest captain in NHL history at that time.

The move seemed simple on the surface. He already had become the world’s greatest player and, as a teenager, had just claimed the Hart and Art Ross trophies. His maturity level was uncommonly advanced. He was already a rock star in Pittsburgh.

Easy choice, right?

“Not necessarily,” Crosby said. “It was quite uncomfortable, to be honest. I had never been a captain before.”

Say what?

Well, it makes sense. Crosby was only 16 and 17 when he played his junior hockey in Rimouski. In his younger days of hockey, he always played in older age groups because of his advanced performance. This was very much a new experience for him.

“I tried to learn things from other captains I had in the past and other people who had been captains,” he said. “But at the same time, I wanted to be my own person. I wanted to lead in a way that was natural to me. And you never stop learning. I’m still learning to be a captain to this day, honestly. But I think it was probably a good thing for me, looking back. It helped me grow.”

So did the presence of a fellow icon in the locker room.

Lemieux and Crosby played together in only 26 games before a heart condition forced the oft-injured Lemieux to finally retire for good. On the ice, they only had a few magical moments together, as they rarely played on the same line. Lemieux was slowing down and at the very end.

But before he left, he taught Crosby a few lessons.

“More than anything, he taught me how to stay calm. He was so, so even keeled,” Crosby said. “It didn’t matter what the score was, good or bad. Mario was always the same. He always looked the same, spoke the same. I watched him a lot and I saw how level-headed he was. I think that probably comes to him more naturally than it does to me. I’m probably more emotional than he is. I’m an emotional player. But he taught me how to find that sweet spot. Getting to play with him for a handful of games was a big deal for me.”

Crosby, many will tell you, is the best captain they’ve ever had.

“He’s unreal,” said one of the newest Penguins, Ryan Poehling. “When I got traded to Pittsburgh last summer, I had a text from him a couple of hours after the deal. I remember thinking that it was pretty incredible that Sidney Crosby is reaching out to me that quickly. Then you get to know him, and you immediately realize that this is a special person, that he’s different than anyone else. You can’t fake it. You’re born with what he has, the way he treats people.”

Nowadays, it’s understandable that young players would place Crosby on a pedestal. He’s not only one of the greatest players of all time, but he also treats them as equals.

What might be more noteworthy is that, even when Crosby was essentially a child, he had the respect of his locker room from the beginning.

“He was 22 when I signed in Pittsburgh,” Mike Rupp said. “He’s the best player in the world, this hotshot that everyone is talking about. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. … I could tell you so many nice stories about Sidney Crosby, and they’re all true. But what I realized right away was that, more than anything, Sid didn’t want to be treated differently than anyone else.

Given who he is, Crosby can’t possibly be one of the guys. It doesn’t work that way. He’s Crosby.

And yet, he is one of the guys.

“He just wanted to have fun. Wanted to play mini-golf on the road. He had that little kid smile. He wanted to play the handheld video games on planes,” Rupp said. “He likes to be one of the guys. I think what I’m saying is, he’s not a nerd. He’s not an introvert. But he wants nothing to do with the spotlight because he’s so damn humble. He’s the ultimate captain.”

When you’re a superstar in Pittsburgh, you have certain privileges. Lemieux and Jagr had their share of coaches fired. Some were certainly deserving, of course. But Crosby would never do such a thing. It simply isn’t his way.

He doesn’t demand his friends play with the Penguins. This, in no way, is a typical superstar.

“I was Sid’s GM for a long time,” Rutherford said. “And I can tell you, he never once complained to me about anything. He never once told me to fire anyone, or to trade anyone, or to get anyone in a trade. Never.”

Not until he was asked, anyway.

“Here’s how much respect I have for Sid,” Rutherford said. “At the end of each season, whether we had won the Cup or not, he and I would get together. I wanted his thoughts on certain players on the team and around the league. But he’d never tell me to get someone. He’d never be pushy or demanding. I’d ask him questions about people, and he would answer in his own very polite, very special way. That’s just the kind of man he is.”

Those who coached Crosby often had similar stories.

“He was a dream to coach,” Recchi said. “His relationship with Sully, you know, it’s really special. Those two have a bond. But for all of us on the staff, it was incredible coaching Sid. He asks you lots of questions. He wants your opinion. He’s not going to walk into your office and tell you what to do, or tell you what’s wrong. He asks so many questions and he loves feedback. Not many stars are going to be quite like that.”

Crosby has stated that he’d like to play for a few more seasons, perhaps until he is 40.

It’s unknown precisely when he will walk away or what he will do with his life once he hangs up his skates. Many in the hockey world hope Crosby will remain involved with the NHL in some capacity.

The hockey world, after all, couldn’t possibly be the same without him.

“He just makes you smile when you see him,” Rupp said.

Crosby entered our lives more than two decades ago, a child then. A man now.

A very, very good man.

“He’s just a nice person,” Steigerwald said. “A nice, nice person. The best of the best.”

#the athletic #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins #nhl

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tolbachik · 7 months

Note

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers <3

Hi Zia!! Thank you so much for the ask, I'm really excited to share my answers here! It was real hard to pick, but I had fun!!

5 - My girlfriend!! We met on tumblr years ago when I was looking for an artist to commission, and found out she lived real close by! We became friends, and then it all just kinda snowballed from there really. We really enjoy each other's company, and usually call once a day at night before bed to spend a little time together! She means a lot to me, and I'm really happy to have met her! I really love her, she means the world to me, and I always do my best to make sure she knows that. y'know what she's asleep right now but I'm gonna message her and tell her how much she means to me thank you for making me think about her

4 - My family! My sister especially; we're very close, and love to do pretty much everything together. I usually watch her play games on some of her consoles, maybe we'll watch shows together, all kinds of stuff. She's always been there for me and helped me be the person I am today, so I really appreciate her and all she's done for me! This also includes my cats. Me and my sister jointly own three cats; Quinn, the oldest (and my profile picture), Binky (looks just like Quinn but smaller), and Leon (typical white and orange cat). They all mean a lot to me! I try not to take their companionship for granted, even if they wake me up at all hours of the night lol

3 - Space & space exploration! Really, mostly just in our own solar system. And for the exploration part, just stuff from the 70s-80s and concepts from then. I really love the optimism of the 70s, and all they had thought we would achieve by now. And honestly, a lot of concepts developed around that time still hold up to this day; O'Neill cylinders, space-based solar power, maglev-based launchers, stuff like that! I really hope someday we can get rid of these capitalist chains and focus on making the world and universe a brighter place. I'm a firm believer that we're here to spread the gift of life as far as possible, allowing for as many beings as possible to enjoy the experience of… well, being. Life is very precious, and I fully believe that the exploitation and development of space is something we need to do in order to help bring the gift of life to as many worlds as possible. That being said, I hate Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and every single astrocapitalist asshole who dreams of turning the stars into nothing but lifeless ash with a burning passion. I hope they all choke. Also, my favorite objects in our solar system are Uranus and her moons, and Venus lol

2 - Music! I know it gets said a lot, but music is a very important thing for me. I don't listen as much as I used to, but I still try to as much as I can. I usually listen to stuff only from the 1960s-1990s, but I do branch out every now and again! I really love folk music from the earlier part of that time frame, with musicians like Norma Tanega, Emitt Rhodes, Jim Sullivan, and more taking up a large amount of my favorites there. I also really like international music, especially Soviet stuff! It's so interesting to hear the different melodies and instruments, as well as singing styles. It's such a neat crossroad of cultures, there was so much interesting & beautiful sounding stuff! It's a shame that it's largely ignored over here in the west.

Also, I'm currently on a big Telex kick right now, though! They were a Belgian band from the late 70s into the 80s, and made music that was synthesizer only. I've liked them for quite some time, but it's just kinda coming back full force right now! On top of that, I will admit... Sometimes autism gets the better of me and I can and will listen to a song dozens of time in a row lol.

1 - My book series I'm writing and developing! I really don't like to talk about it (shy + nervous), but it means a lot to me. I'm chronically ill and can't really do too much, so writing has been one of the only things I can do when I get the energy. Even then, progress is far and few between, but it's better than nothing! Long story short, it's a hard sci-fi novel series about an alien race's journey in exploring their world, system, and beyond. Despite being about space exploration and first contact between them and us, it's more about love, friendship, and finding your own place in the universe than it is about war, action, or anything like that. I wanted to write this because I was tired of the typical "woahhh aliens are invading..." type of thing; I wanted something more about understanding and kindness, rather than about hatred and fear.

I've got like... 7 books total planned, with three of those being "prologues" but still like +70k words each. It's a long, arduous process, but it's something that I'm proud of and happy to do. I honestly don't know what my long term plans are for it, if I'll publish it or not. If I do, I'll probably make sure I have at least two of the other books done first, that way I have time to let myself work on the others at my own pace. I do love talking about it, but more likely in private than on my public blog; I'm incredibly shy lol

Thank you so much for this ask, it was a lot of fun! I'll be sure to spread it to some of my friends here, then. I really appreciated this!

Take care, and have a good rest of your day!!!

#my posts #asks

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darkspine10 · 1 month

Text

GF Fanfic - Ego-Death

Tangled Roots (27,062 words) by darkspine10

Chapters: 5/7

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Rating: Mature

Note: The music which inspired this chapter was a sitar piece composed by Jim Sullivan for the Space 1999 episode, The Troubled Spirit (aired 1976). I found it quite memorable, and recommend checking it out to add to the mood.

“And through here… tada!”

Pacifica entered into a cramped room with octagonal wood-panelled walls. “Oh wow. A tiny cupboard.” It was cramped enough with the two of them, let alone if Zera had been present. She had bowed out for the night, probably impatient for Pacifica to leave so she and her wife could get back to their private evening.

After drying off from her second soak of the evening Pacifica had re-dressed, making sure that the old fur hat hadn’t suffered any permanent water damage. She continued to clutch Wendy’s hat in one hand, strangely unwilling to leave it lying around to get lost in Mabel’s home. Her jacket was still soaked through, despite its promised waterproof material. In any case the right sleeve was little more than ragged shreds. She’d been very grateful to get out of the bikini top, and since she didn’t care about appearances around Mabel, hadn’t bothered to put her bra back on.

The t-shirt above was now pleasantly dry. It was white with green around the neck and sleeves. Several varieties of trees were illustrated on the front, with their scientific nomenclature listed out beside them. It was the only good purchase from the souvenir shop of a tourist trap she’d visited with Mason as part of a circuit around all of the local attractions of Oregon beyond the Falls. The trip had been described by Mason semi-seriously as ‘checking out the competition’. He’d bought the shirt for her as a gift. ‘So he’d always be close to her heart’, he’d added with a wink. Amidst the old growth redwoods, oaks, and maples on the shirt was, obviously, Pinus Ponderosa.

For her part, Mabel hadn’t bothered to change out of her bikini, other than wrapping her towel around her shoulders as a makeshift cape. She shook her head, sending water droplets flying into Pacifica’s face. With her best attempt at a performer’s voice, Mabel wagged her finger and said, “Ah ah ah, surely by now, Paz, you realise that appearances can be deceiving. Voila!”

Tugging on on a velvet rope, Mabel caused a set of curtains arranged in a triptych to slide open. Pacifica stared aghast at a trio of tapestries depicting a familiar yellow triangle floating above scenes of unending deprivation and horror. “So you decided when decorating your new house that a critical feature, before painting the bathroom walls even, would be to erect a shrine to Bill Cipher? Have you gone completely round the bend?”

“It’s not a shrine worshipping Bill, dummy. These tapestries are just sick as hell.” Arranged on shelves beneath each of the three tapestries were an array of arcane objects. Mabel cradled a pyramidal prism in her hand but there were also scrolls and spell books, quill pens, and even a brass orrery. Mason would probably have concocted a study like this, if Pacifica had been willing to let him remodel their house, though she doubted he would have endorsed this subject matter. Mabel being the architect behind its design seemed to stretch credulity.

Pacifica knelt down to examine one of the tapestries, noticing a discolouration around the base. Some of the patterned fabric was obscured by black splotches. “Was this burned?”

Mabel guiltily returned the prism to its place in the tableau. “I kinda pulled it out of a fire. A lot of this stuff comes from Grunkle Ford’s old relic collection. Back from when he was being tricked by Bill into building the portal. After Weirdmageddon we made a big bonfire to get rid of all that nasty junk.”

“But you had your eyes on a fetching demon tapestry? Nothing you do is normal, is it?”

“That’s the way I like it.”

The other two tapestries featured illustrations that less obviously matched the dream demon, rendered in more abstract tones of red and black. One on the far right caught Pacifica’s eye. There was no top hat or arms attached to this grey triangle, and the serpent-like slitted eye was blood crimson. Beneath the ominous symbol were prostrated figures, cowering under the branches of a burnt tree and surrounded by piles of bones. “I swear I’ve seen some of these designs before.”

“That’s cause you probably have,” Mabel said, a light crimson colour rising in her cheeks. “I cribbed these two tapestries off of McGucket.”

Pacifica snapped her fingers. “Of course, they used to hang in the Northwest mansion. The southwest corridor to the drawing room if I’m not mistaken.”

“You have a good memory, probably.” Mabel shrugged. “All I know is your parents used to own them.”

Pacifica failed to stifle an involuntary shudder. The thought that her parents would willingly collaborate with such an evil presence briefly passed through her mind, before she dismissed it equally swiftly. “I wouldn’t put too much stock in it. You know what this town is like with triangles.” Over all the centuries of his involvement in mortal affairs Bill’s presence had seeped into the wider culture. Even as a kid she’d seen yellow triangles graffitied on bridges or etched into countertops. It was endemic. “I reckon this is old Modoc Indian weave-work. I’ve seen some similar patterns before. If my dad ever had anything to do with Cipher he renounced it all after what that monster did to him. I still get nightmares about that gruesome face.”

“Well that’s why we’re here. To get rid of all those pesky nightmares, anxieties, and postpartum depressive episodes!” Mabel put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, then leant in to whisper in her ear. “Between us sisters, he still freaks me out too. The worst nightmares are the ones he appears in, because-“

“You can’t tell if it's the real him or not!” Pacifica excitedly finished in shared sympathy.

Mabel looked left and right as if afraid of being eavesdropped. “Do you think the thing you’re hunting tonight is anything as bad as Mr Top Hat and Bowtie?”

Pacifica listed with her fingers. “Terrifying? Yes. Nightmare-inducing, you’d better believe it. Traumatising for life? Jury’s still out.”

“Well, it’ll be a real adventure finding out!” Pacifica couldn’t tell if Mabel was being genuinely optimistic or simply teasing. “Mind out the way.” Mabel crouched down and rolled up a woollen rug that covered almost all the floor. Pacifica only had a second to glimpse swirling calligraphy patterns. “Got this rug from Grand Bazaar in Istanbul one time I was visiting,” Mabel explained, shrugging. “What can I say, a gal likes her souvenirs.”

That much was true. Pacifica had seen the boxes Mabel filled with sentimental old junk lying around the house. Her previously transient lifestyle meant she’d made use of a lot of long term storage lockers, or otherwise hauling heaps of her stuff everywhere. At least now she had a permanent residence she’d have somewhere to leave it all while out campaigning.

Pacifica tapped a finger on the sharp point of one of the glass prisms, watching the miniature rainbow it cast. “So what’s all this in aid of? A private little side room for when you’re feeling particularly occultish on a Friday night?” She suppressed a small chuckle. “Were you on drugs when you made this?”

Mabel rolled her eyes. “Oh ha ha, go for the cheap jokes. I did something called ‘using my imagination’.”

The way her friend had snapped back at her made Pacifica wince. “Sorry, that was rude of me.”

Mabel made an easy smile and placed a palm on the menagerie of trees above Pacifica’s heart. “All is forgiven.”

Pacifica didn’t feel like she deserved to be let off the hook so easily. She’d have to work better on not being so insensitive. “I meant it Mabel. I apologise for being so crass with you and Zera tonight. I lashed out and you didn’t deserve that. I’ve just been so tensed up today. No, not just today. All month. This might be the kind of room you’d find in a serial killer cultist mansion, but there’s a consistent aesthetic to design. It has atmosphere.”

“Not bad for a college dropout,” Mabel said, winking up at her. “I am a master craftsman at anything I put my mind to.”

Pacifica smirked. “Like that ‘super secret craft project’ you’ve been working on but haven’t told anyone yet?”

Mabel whirled around in shock, her smugness immediately punctured. “Wait what, how’d you know about that?”

“All those furtive phone calls and texts over Christmas? It was hard to miss when we were all under your parents’ roof. Plus you were hardly being subtle. So what’s this one about? Art piece? Your own line of hot tubs?”

Mabel bent down beneath the triptych where sets of drawers were inset in the wall and mumbled to herself. “Great, another secret I failed to keep. You’ll find out when I’m good and ready this time, Paz.” Pacifica graciously accepted this crushing loss and watched Mabel as her outstretched finger hovered over the drawers “Let’s see, left side we got smokables, right side is the painkillers, centre bottom is… aha! The acid drawer!”

“So when I mentioned drugs I wasn’t far off?” Pacifica offered.

Mabel, oblivious, scrambled around on all fours, using a stick of chalk to draw five straight lines directly onto the wooden floorboards. The lines formed a pentagon about 25 inches across. Mabel pointed at the blank space within the lines. “Now, sit.”

“Do I have to?”

“It’s part of the ritual. You don’t just take a hit of the drug, you’ve gotta get your brain in the right state. That’s what the whole room is for, the eight sides reflect and refract mental energy. I can get you a cushion if it’s easier?”

“No, I’ll accept your cruel and unusual method of helping me.” Pacifica sat cross-legged in the pentagon, internally reflecting on Mabel’s particular spiritual leanings. When it came to religions Mabel treated them like a buffet, picking and choosing traditions and beliefs from all over the place. She thought back to Mason’s earlier words about gullibility, wondering if he’d been too harsh. When the world they lived in already contained such multitudes, what was the harm in embracing a little madness?

Mabel hurried about to pore over one of the shelves, making a great clattering when she tripped over some keepsake or another. Pacifica grinned to herself. She studied her friend’s movements. Mabel had all the grace and elegance of a controlled demolition. Somehow she’d learnt how to counteract her innate clumsiness by predicting every stumble and fall milliseconds before the fact and shifting the balance so she stayed perfectly upright. She would dance about gently on tiptoes, seeming always one instant away from collapsing to the floor but never tipping over that critical threshold. It was quite an impressive achievement, though Pacifica would baulk at describing it as balletic.

Mabel rummaged around in one of the drawers, tossing items out of the way, before producing a plastic bag full of colourful sweets. “Have some gummy koalas. You’re gonna need the energy.”

Pacifica took a handful and swallowed them down gratefully. Today had taken a lot out of her. It wasn’t just the exertion; her mind was worn out and frenzied. She hoped the rest of the night would lend her clarity, if nothing else.

Awkwardly shoving mementoes aside to make room, Mabel slapped down a round CD player of a type Pacifica hadn’t seen in nearly 25 years. Clasping a disc in one hand, her friend clumsily dropped it into the player and pressed a button with a loud click. The sound of smooth saxophone and lounge piano quietly filled the chamber. Mabel snapped her fingers at Pacifica. “Close your eyes.” Pacifica begrudgingly did as instructed. “That’s it, good. Calm your breathing, open your mind, and appreciate the contours of the chamber. I’ll be your guide for your journey on the cosmic express!”

Pacifica cracked an eye open, unable to resist a minor snort of laughter. Her sliver of view showed Mabel retrieving a hefty leather bound tome, covered in strange symbols. She craned her neck, trying to get a better look. “Is that one of the journals?”

Mabel blew on the book, sending dust swirling around in the tight confines of the room and causing Pacifica to sneeze. “No peeking. This is the Bardo Thodol: The Tibetan Book of the Dead,” Mabel said matter-of-factly. “Found it in a flea market.” It was official: Mabel Pines was the world’s biggest hoarder. “It’s the 1975 translation.”

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m putting my life into the hands of someone who can’t even read Tibetan. Lame.” She only half covered up her trepidation with a grin. “Why exactly is this book relevant?”

“It’s one of the major arcana when it comes to recreational tripping. It features Buddhist teachings on how to reach intermediate dream states, like the brink of death, sensations of rebirth, that kind of thing. Once the hippies got their hands on it they opened all new avenues of consciousness. With my help you’ll be able to ascend into a drug induced mania, where you’ll hopefully find the ape ghoul thingy.”

Pacifica took a moment to digest Mabel’s words, then gave a long breath out. “Not to cast shade, but that doesn’t sound like it will work. Getting high to catch a demon? Really, Mabel?”

Ignoring her friend’s pessimism, Mabel continued her frenzied dance around the tight space. At each of the five corners of the pentagon she set down a candle and lit each one. Pacifica felt confined, unwilling to move a muscle out of position lest she knock one of them over.

“Ritual can be a tricky thing,” Mabel said as she waved a match to put out the flame, “but believe me, it works. I’ve experienced it. If you think Gravity Falls is strange normally then you ain’t seen nothing. There’s a whole other side to this town.” She picked up the chalk and started linking the corners of the pentagon with straight, criss-crossing lines. Pretty soon Pacifica was enclosed in an even smaller floor space at the centre of a pentagram. “I’m not talking about the sub-realms like the Unicorn glade or the Crawlspace. This perception of the Falls can only be accessed by guided meditation, aided by a little boost from my good friend Lucy.”

“Who’s-”

Mabel triumphantly set a small vial down on the floor by Pacifica’s feet, inviting her to take a look. The vial was filled with a clear liquid that congealed slightly when Pacifica shook the glass container. “Trust you to have a supply handy,” she muttered.

“That’s some genuine lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD for short. Perfect for inducing otherworldly vision states and dissolution of the self. I bet that skull you’re wearing is probably infused with a trace element of something similar. Maybe something like magic mushrooms, though in a quantity that’s barely detectable. So, you ready to take your first trip?”

Pacifica swilled the chemical around experimentally. “What if I have a bad reaction? God knows my body is still flooded with hormones.”

Mabel screwed up her face. “After six months? Nah. I’ll be here in hand if you have any bad reactions, and I’ll keep the dosage nice and low for your first time, don’t worry. A couple of micrograms should do it.” Inserting a pipette she extracted a handful of drops. “It’s easy really, mixing and diluting to create my own brews.”

“Alright, calm down Walter White. Mabel Juice and Smile Dip addled your brain and you need ever stronger doses to hit the same high, huh?”

Mabel shrugged and flashed a wicked smile. She swung the pipette towards Pacifica. “Now, open wide. A drop or two on the tongue should do it.” Pacifica recoiled, keeping her mouth clammed up like when Leah refused to eat her baby food.

“I’m… not sure about this. Maybe in the morning we can search for the Unshriven again, with clearer heads.”

Mabel frowned. “It might not still be lurking around by tomorrow. You’ve gotta face it down on its home turf. The astral plane.” She made an arc with her hand. Pacifica found it silly how childish her friend could make this sound. The Unshriven was a matter of life and death. “The mindscape can be accessed by certain spells, but a raw approach can be more rewarding. It’s kinda like knitting a sweater. The warp and weft of time and space can be tamed with a little expansion of consciousness. You won’t even need to leave this room.”

“Are you sure you're not just hallucinating during these ‘spirit journeys’? That would be the more obvious explanation. You’re really trying to tell me you’ve stumbled onto a mystical sub-realm all on your own? Mason’s never mentioned anything like this. Nor your uncle Ford in all his journals.”

“They don’t know everything.” Mabel winked.

Her irreverent dismissal rankled. Corduroy had expressed similar sentiments. Pacifica could accept the locals might have some innate cultural knowledge the journals were lacking, but this was on a grander scale. An entirely new way of seeing the Falls, just a few drops of a chemical away. When she put it like that there was a certain tantalising allure to the prospect.

The journals had always been a means of cataloguing the oddities of the Falls, making sense of the insanity, boxing the phenomena into neat categories. Here was Mabel casually coming along and blowing up the entire paradigm. Pacifica refused to believe it had been an entirely futile effort. Whatever happened tonight she would venture forth and bring back a report to add to her journal, and colonise some small corner of the extremities of the strange.

“Alright. I’ll do it.” Pacifica didn’t second-judge the statement. It would be her last, definitive word. What came next would be her own choice to confront.

“Great!” Mabel said, beaming with joy, before taking on a more serious conviction. “Oh, and by the way, before we start I wanted to say sorry for another reminder about you know who.” Mabel gestured at the purloined Northwest tapestries. “If it's not too much to ask, when was the last time you spoke to them?”

Pacifica folded her arms and leant back as far as she dared without bumping into the candles. “We email from time to time. Strictly on the short end, mainly life updates. They tell me about some successful trade deal, I share baby photos of Leah. That’s about it. I haven’t spoken to them face to face since the wedding.”

Mabel blew air out from her cheeks. “Wow, eight years. Impressive streak. Puts into perspective the five years we went without seeing each other.”

“I hope I’ve been able to make up for lost time in the last three.” Making a quick judgement, Pacifica reached up and put a hand on Mabel’s arm. “Hey, before I do this… thanks for helping out tonight. I’ve been in a rough place and you didn’t hesitate to try and make it better. You know I’m being serious when I say this because I hate the word, but: we’re besties. Spouses not included.”

“Aw, Paz, that’s so sweet of you!” She leant in for a hug. Though she was still dripping wet and her skin was clammy, Pacifica accepted the warm embrace from the brunette. Setting her hands on each of Pacifica’s shoulders, Mabel guided her back into the seating position within the pentagram. “Ok, last chance to back out. I know I’ve made it my lifestyle, but I don’t want to sugarcoat it too much. This process isn’t always pleasant. It has to break you down before it can build you back up. Remember, you don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t have to do anything. There are no monsters rampaging around a city, no rare cryptids to protect. The only stakes are whether I can mend some turmoil between two families… and maybe find some peace of mind.”

Mabel softly grinned. “Those sound like big enough stakes to me, honey.”

Steeling herself, Pacifica put on the fur hat as a totem of good luck. “Look after my journal for me,” she said. “When I get it back I don’t want to see any illicit crayon scribbles.”

While Mabel avoided eye contact and checked her concoction one last time, Pacifica snuck a glance at her phone. She was mildly surprised to see it was only 2am - she felt like it should be much later. Her home screen, the background of which was a photo of Merrise holding Leah as they jointly rested on the couch at home, displayed a single notification. It was a message from Mason from an hour ago telling her was heading to bed. Pacifica once again felt the bond of trust, that Mason didn’t stay up on her account, having faith she’d overcome any challenge she set herself. She also guessed that he was probably a little anxious about where she was, even if he wasn’t admitting it. She fired across a short text saying she was alright and would be back in the morning. The instant after getting confirmation that it had been sent she received a thumbs up in return. He was watching out for her. Pacifica put the phone away, safe in the knowledge that Mason would sleep well knowing she was in no danger. No immediate danger at least.

Mabel cleared her throat and spread her arms out above her head, beginning a proclamation. “It’s time. The osprey skull will be your anchoring thread, tying you to the Unshriven so you can combat him on the astral plane. You’re all ready to go, prepared to take the plunge, embrace the strange, taste of the forbidden fruit.”

Pacifica shooed her fussy friend away. “Relax, it’s not my first cosmic dream vision.” She stuck out her tongue and waited patiently. Mabel squeezed out two tiny drops of acid. Pacifica detected a bitter taste, but otherwise couldn’t sense any stronger flavour.

“It should take a few minutes to kick in.” Mabel moved subtly over to the shrines and the CD player. She turned the volume on the muzak down. “Oh, and if you see any geometric forms don’t buy what they’re selling.”

“I won’t,” Pacifica said with a sly smile. Mabel sounded less like an anarchist and more like a kids show host.

“Now, close your eyes, relax, and expand your horizons.”

With a click, Mabel moved onto the next music track and turned the volume to max. This was nothing like the passive ambiance of the jazz. A solo sitar chord echoed off the octagonal wood panelling. Already Pacifica was unsettled. The sitar reverberated off the walls and through her bones. It wasn’t a pleasant sound, the rhythms discordant and overlapping with one another. The sitar had an artificial twang, electronically synthesised. A low hiss, the artefact of the old player, only heightened the sense of eeriness.

Very soon Pacifica was no longer aware of Mabel’s presence, fussing about around her, nor of the surrounding room. As the sitar increased in tempo she felt adrift from the normality of the simple room in the simple house. She tried in vain to focus on the feeling of the wood panels beneath her rear, but this too dissipated away like a half-remembered dream.

Now what was she supposed to do? “Mabel?” Nothing. No sound. Only the barest hint of flickering candles. Even the haunting sitar echoed as if distant. Maybe more time was needed to let the effects of the drug become noticeable. She kept her eyes resolutely sealed shut and tried to picture in her mind an image of the Unshriven. The bared tusks glinted a dull eggshell white over black fur, as dark as driving on the interstate out of the valley at night. The image quickly faded. A memory, that was all. She couldn’t actually find her target by wishing hard enough.

A blur danced at the edge of her vision, in the black space behind her eyelids. Her blood ran cold. The Unshriven was there, lingering like a bad penny in the corner of her eye. But that was ridiculous. It couldn’t be as simple as this. It was all psychedelic hokum. A drawing on the floor, some candles and low lighting, a few words of guidance. Surely she wasn’t that suggestible?

She peeked her eyelids open and gasped in rapidly surmounting horror. The walls of the room were melting away like paint dribbling off a canvas, like wax on a candle. Of Mabel there was no sign. Pressure built behind her eyes and she was unable to prevent herself falling backwards into the newly formed expanse of emptiness.

In a free fall, air rushed past her. Fragments of Mabel’s shrine went flying by, shattered glass fragments, torn threads, and broken planks of wood spinning into the abyss. Pacifica flailed out for any kind of support. She only succeeded in sending herself spinning.

Abruptly she came to a halt, suspended horizontally. She blinked and tried to understand what she was seeing. No matter how disorientated she told herself it was her own brain that was the cause, random synapses firing under the delirious effects of a potent chemical. Unless she’d already entered the so-called ‘other side’ of Gravity Falls.

Gradually the darkness resolved beneath her. She began to glide downwards, no longer in deleterious descent. Stretched out in front of her eyes was a round, grey basin. The scale put her off at first. Everything was rendered in miniature, as if viewed through a microscope. Recognition sparked in her mind when she saw a pair of dramatically split rocky outcroppings. The view was in fact her home - the valley of Gravity Falls, lit in a harsh contrasting monochrome.

She strained to make out details. The mountains around the town and the dome-shaped hill of Crash Site Omega were visible, as vast defining parts of the landscape, but the rest was a bleached blur that made her eyes water. It was like peering through the static fuzz of a television, trying to comprehend the image of a low resolution black & white video. No, not quite monochrome, she realised. The landscape below was lit up in contrast to the endless galaxy-filled sky above. She was seeing through a form of night vision.

Propelled downwards at high speed, her body swept over the treetops. She moved in graceful arcs, her motion that of a bird of prey. She stared down at the osprey amulet but saw only a pair of feathery wings on either side of her body. Part of herself accepted the transformation. If becoming an osprey was a requirement to traverse the spirit realm then who was she to argue?

Swooping past the outskirts where Mabel and Zera’s abode was found, she traced an invisible ley line through the woods. In this perception there were no modern structures, merely half-formed echoes. The town high-street was an assemblage of foundations etched in swirling purple contours. Singular eye-bats drifted in flocks, observing all that transpired.

Pacifica landed on an outcrop of bare granite, her body seamlessly returning to her basic human form, flaws and all. She tried to take a closer look around but her vision was swamped with distracting shimmers. A spotlight trained on her face would be less blinding. Stumbling forwards she left the site of the town behind almost too swiftly. Space was compressed as she was shuttled along a conveyor belt across the divots and hillocks of the valley bottom.

Dizzy, she fell against the trunk of a tree. The wood snapped and collapsed. The pallid grey bark made Pacifica throw up her palms. It was diseased, near dead. The bark oozed sickly globs of congealed fluid. Pacifica watched in stunned bewilderment as the putrescent sap drifted up into the air. The texture was akin to blood, but paler, a mix of scarlet and pink. The globules vanished up into the spiral of stars suspended in the firmament.

Pacifica’s urge to flee became overwhelming again. That was when she really became frightened. The Unshriven was right in front of her, breath hot in her face. It was even more pungent than when she’d come close to the ape in the flesh. The odour was that of repression, of paper and leather left so long that it rotted into mulch, of sticky sweat clinging to skin during every vulnerable moment, and everything that signalled death. The creature reared up on its stubby legs and roared. The skin below its neck started melting away, rolling off the torso like cooking meat, exposing bone and sinew. It had found a way to become even more abhorrent.

Pacifica’s grasp on the situation deteriorated to the point she felt faint. Her legs gave out from beneath her and she tumbled to the cold and sterile earth. Her back impacted on a soft bed of grass. She blinked twice. Bemused and pleasantly surprised to see no sign of the Unshriven, she rose unsteadily. A meadow of gently swaying tall grass, lit golden by a half-set sun, surrounded her. In one direction were vast cliffs towering over an ocean of raging tides. In the other, a castle delicately perched atop a conical mountain peak. Pacifica was at peace here in the warm breeze. She screwed her eyes shut and remembered.

This was Dimension 52. A realm so distant from her own that it hardly felt real at all, even when she’d visited in-person. That trip hadn’t been long after her body had been irrevocably altered, purged of all scars and skin marks. It was where she’d had her first realisation that life would never go back to the way it had been before. This was the world on which Leah had been conceived.

For the first time a frenzied panic overcame Pacifica. Leah was conceived in another dimension. The simple fact now terrified her. She’d never even thought about it, about what it meant for a child to develop inside her across multiple universes, where the laws of physics were malleable. There was every chance that she’d suffered acute radiation poisoning from all their hops between dimensions. What could that do to a growing embryo? For all she knew it had caused irreversible birth defects for her child.

That didn’t make sense. Leah was perfect. Her new reproductive system was freshly minted after all, and six months had shown her no indications of illness or disorder from her baby. Unless it was a fragile window of normality before the horrors came crashing down.

The light of Dimension 52’s sun winked out. Gusts of wind blew against Pacifica’s exposed arms and grass tickled her ankles, though these sensations soon disappeared as well. She shielded her eyes when a single harsh light burst into existence above her. The intensity made her stumble. She knew this place too. Not here. Anywhere but here.

Crumpling against asphalt, a great weight held her down. Spitting rain and tears obscured her sight but she couldn’t mistake the light pouring from the open window. The house she’d shared with Mason in Jersey had never been inviting. Now she dreaded the very sight of it. This was her lowest moment, when she’d convinced herself that even the ones she loved most didn’t want to be around her. When her infertility had finally become impossible to ignore and utter despair felt like the only path available.

“No, please,” she whimpered, her throat ragged. Through the haze in her mind she tried to focus on her happiest memories. Surely that would work to keep herself anchored. She pictured squid whales dancing through an ocean in the sky. Her first kiss, music thudding through her entire body, her heart beating even stronger. The gift of a yellow sweater, specially re-knitted just for her. She tried hardest to imagine her daughters wrapped in her arms. Her two baby girls were like smoke, intangible and gone from her embrace.

Her stomach gurgled uncontrollably. A yawning dread opened up before Pacifca. She knew it was about to get worse. Contractions wracked her lower body, sending spasms through her legs. Her hand gripped against her shirt and failed to stem the awful churning inside. She could feel movement below the skin of her belly as it flexed and gurgled. Fleshy lumps pressed out from within. Pacifica laid back, screaming through the unimaginable pain.

A gaping hole tore asunder between her legs. Muscles painfully forced a living creature out of her womb. It slopped on the ground, coated in internal fluids and blood, tied to her by a pale umbilical cord. Pacifica’s daughter stared up at her with bloodshot, unblinking eyes. Her daughter had no skin. Pacifica decided that screaming again was besides the point. She curled up in the foetal position, as helpless as her child.

She was paralysed in the rain, pathetic and helpless. The light in the house was switched off. Not even Mason would come from her this time. She was an infertile wreck, unfit for motherhood, let alone heroics. Everything her parents had said about her was right.

A light pierced the edge of her vision. Above her Corduroy’s judging face leered. Which Corduroy it was, the father she’d pledged to help or the daughter she’d failed to save, didn’t matter. The gaze penetrated her useless body all the same.

“Get up.” Pacifica raised her head at the voice, barely daring to believe it. “Get. Up. Pacifica.” She groped in the air for a supportive hand, dropping it down again as she was overcome with fatigue.

“I can’t… why do you think I can do this?”

“Because, whether Northwest, or Pines, or something else, you are a warrior. You struck out from your parents, your wealth, your legacy. The only person who can define who you are is staring at you in the mirror.” Corduroy offered a helping hand. “So. Get up.”

Surging with a burst of energy, Pacifica accepted the outstretched hand and climbed out of the puddle of despair. She shuddered, finding herself alone again. No helping hand, no nightmarish homunculus of her daughter. Her surroundings had been replaced by the lifeless woods once more.

She wasn’t infertile. Quite the opposite. Pacifica wasn’t sure which alternative made her more uncomfortable at the moment. She didn’t want to be reduced to this, to sinew and bone and organic processes deep inside. But then, what was this drug trip if not another physical process?

Striving for something inside herself she didn’t fully understand, Pacifica took the first step forwards, stumbling towards salvation.

#gravity falls #gravity falls fanfic #pacifica northwest #mabel pines #tw drugs

2 notes · View notes

whatsaweasley0 · 2 months

Note

5, 11 and 22 for my queenie pop beth PLES

i… may have gotten a bit carried away (no regrets)

ft. the most beth-coded images I could find… not pictured: her gorgeous, iconic 80s perm

5: guilty pleasures

as part of their unlikely friendship, eddie gets her into weed. she doesn’t really smoke, but she will make the best pot brownies any of them have ever had. he’s not a good influence on her, and she loves it

flavored chapstick. i say this is a problem only because what started with steve gifting her an innocent dr pepper lip smackers (bc it’s her favorite soda) snowballed into expanding beyond her simple strawberry and cherry to tootsie roll and more—up to 10+ and counting. does this obsession make sense when she always has to top it off with a separate gloss for the perfect shine? no. will that stop her? of course not. she makes more trips to claire’s than she’ll ever admit to

secretly has a thing for bill murray. can’t/won’t explain why but she’s kinda into it

still sleeps with her childhood teddy bear

also loves to reread books from her childhood. peter pan is the favorite

11: bad/petty habits

accidentally/on purpose made an enemy of jim hopper during her sister’s disappearance because she wrongly assumed that everyone just forgot about katy and beth wouldn’t let him. it was a surprising day indeed when the 5’2 head cheerleader looked him dead in the eyes and called him a “lazy fucking asshole.” it sure made for some awkward apologies when katy did return

people pleasing people pleasing people p— she has this deep need to be loved & as a result she’s always giving more than she gets.

but there’s only so much of yourself that you can safely give away before you lose sight of who you are

she can be the most passive aggressive bitch in town if she wants to be—never unprompted, though. except for when it comes to carol perkins. not for any particular reason per-say, but she has hated carol since the 1st grade and she’s a heinous bitch so she must’ve done something to deserve it, ok?

will not hesitate to correct anyone who incorrectly states a fact or quotes

22: people who’ve influenced them greatly

in terms of fashion/general vibes, it’s a delicate and carefully curated mixture of lady di, brooke shields, & molly ringwald. she’s put-together, trendy, fashionable, and girly in a way that is enviable to her peers but still creative and uniquely beth (think: designer outfits paired with one-of-a-kind accessory finds she picked up at antique shops)

especially in her younger years/as a teen, her mother has been a big influence on beth. she means well, but it’s more for her own sake than beth’s. mrs. debbie sullivan is all about keeping up with the other pta moms in loch nora for most of beth’s life. she’s the one who taught her her love for fashion and never missed a chance to brag about beth for getting elected cheer captain or winning prom queen. but her mother seemed a lot less interested in anything than wine and her pills after the events of fall 1983

beth’s best friends, amy and tiffany, mean more to her than all of her other fleeting “friends” combined. they’ve been inseparable from the get-go, known by their peers as the trifecta— the redhead, the brunette, the blonde. && it’s amy who teaches her that she should never settle for less than what she wants and deserves. tiffany showed her that it’s okay to be a bitch sometimes, because she doesn’t owe anyone anything. together, they are unstoppable. i like to think of them as a teenaged cheerleader version of the powerpuff girls tbfh

her little sister katy, in more ways than i could possibly name here. her disappearance (and reappearance) alone deserve their own essay, but she admires so much about her nerdy, headstrong little sister. it’s her drive to be the best big sister she can that makes beth such a natural leader and really highlights her warmth and maternal nature. but don’t get me wrong, katy can still be a pain in the ass, as all little sisters are.

dustin henderson!!! sure, he’s the annoying lil brother she didn’t ask for, but he’s also been such a positive force in her life. especially since katy’s disappearance. she adores him and their relationship is parallel to her and katy’s. he helps her to embrace her nerdier side and not feel ashamed that she likes history. she also kind of owes him and his mischievous scheming for pushing her together with the love of her life, too

as cliche as it is, i would be remiss if i didn’t add steve harrington to this list. steve is so much more than just a boy who she likes; he is the first person to every truly understand her. steve was patient and kind and he taught her that she is so much stronger than she gives herself credit for, but she doesn’t always have to be. he makes her a better person, makes her want to be one, and vice versa

there are more ofc (did not include her historic heroes or feminist icons but just so you know, she does in fact love betty friedan. which would probably surprise her classmates but that's another story)

a bonus lil blurb/headcanon based on 5, set in 1980:

she and carol had always been frenemies at best

but when they’re among the only cliques of eighth graders invited to a high school party, none of that matters

at least not until a tipsy sophomore rounds up a game of spin the bottle

beth looks around the room, makes eye contact with steve, and agrees

then it was steve’s turn. as the bottle began to slow and neared beth, carol “accidentally” nudged the glass, causing it to fall just short of beth and land right on nicole, two seats down

it was no secret that, although they were currently ‘off,’ carol had every intention of getting back with tommy eventually

that was about all beth knew about him; it was more than enough

if carol wanted to play dirty, beth wouldn’t hesitate to beat her at her own game (er, at least in the minds of two slightly intoxicated 14-year-old girls)

it wasn’t long after that when beth’s spin landed somewhere between steve and tommy.

despite every part of her telling her that carol was certainly not worth all this, she simply agrees when tommy insists that it was closer to him (even if it really wasn’t)

and so, with a single glance at carol, she made out with him in front of the entire party

the whole thing felt wrong and awkward, because he was too slobbery and his tongue was down her throat in an unpleasant mess

but as he finally pulled away (more due to being pried apart than anything), the look on carol’s face was more than enough consolation

she missed the disgruntled, sour glare steve was giving tommy

carol pretty much avoided beth after that; apparently tommy “hadn’t kissed her like that in ages”

beth considered carol lucky for that

#beth my beloved #character asks #original characters #powderblueblood #kayley speaks #headcanons

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