#I love rachael taylor and her voice

[emsiecat]

I had a fantastic day yesterday!

As many of you know this year marks 25 years since Pokémon: The First Movie ‘Mewtwo Strikes Back’ was released. To celebrate, MCM London Comic Con - which was held this weekend - decided to stage a reunion for the original English dub cast of the anime. The convention organisers had managed to get the amazing Veronica Taylor (Ash), Eric Stuart (Brock and James), Jay Goede aka Philip Bartlett (Mewtwo in ‘Mewtwo Strikes Back’), and Rachael Lillis (Misty and Jessie), plus Dan Green (Mewtwo in ‘Mewtwo Returns’ and Entei in ‘Spell of the Unown’) as guests!

As you can imagine thousands of fans descended on the convention to have the chance to meet their childhood heroes, myself included. (I’ll pop the rest under a read-more to save your dashboards lol).

I still have a real soft spot for Pokémon and it has, to date, been my longest loved fandom; especially the character Mewtwo. As a kid and then teen, he was the character I really felt a connection to. I think a lot of fans did. It was also thanks to the first movie that I met a lot of friends in online fan forums and websites (ah, Geocities fan-sites and the ToM forum, you will always be missed).

I have actually met Jay once before at Wales Comic Con in April 2022 and I found him to be very friendly and charming, making time for everyone who came to his autograph booth. So, when I found he had a Facebook and Instagram account following Wales Comic Con, I followed him there as he makes some really great artwork. I never expected him to follow me back, or just casually chat with me! (If you had told 11-16 year old me that she would meet and chat online with the voice of Mewtwo, she would have melted into a puddle of fangirl goo 😂, and to be honest, I’m still kind of star-struck now)!

Naturally, I wore a lot of Mewtwo and Pokémon themed items to celebrate the occasion and made my way over to the autograph tables when I eventually got in the venue. It was so crowded! I’d made sure to bring a little something for the voice actors to say thank you for basically making my childhood and teen years special, and queued up to see them all, starting with Jay.

Jay recognised me as soon as I got to the front of the queue at his table and greeted me with a big smile and ‘Oh wow you’re here, that’s great!’ after we chatted briefly he asked if it was okay to give me a hug. I said sure, though he couldn’t find a way around the tables (they were all in a long line reaching right down the main hall) so saying ‘Hold on I’m finding a way round’ he then (to the amusement of his assistant and others in the queue) proceeded to crawl under the autograph tables, got up and gave me a big hug, then took a selfie with me. He’s an absolute sweetheart. My day was made right there! I also managed to get two of his original Mewtwo paintings. They’re brilliant, and I love them to bits.

I got my Mewtwo Strikes Back novel autographed and chatted with Jay a bit more before going to queue for the photo-ops. They were great fun.

I queued back up again after to try to get the rest of the casts’ autographs. The lines for them all, especially Veronica, were huge! I loved chatting with fellow fans whilst we waited, and every single cast member was so friendly, taking the time to really interact with everyone.

Dan Green made me laugh as when he gave me his autograph, he saw Jay’s signature and signed his ‘Dan “Mew-too” Green’ and explained he did it because ‘We share him, he was first though, so Mew-too for me makes sense’ 😆 He’s a sweet guy.

Eric and Veronica were so cool, doing impressions for younger fans who came to see them, and making sure all the fans had a great experience. Veronica spends a good amount of time with every single fan, which is just amazing considering the sheer amount of people who were waiting to meet her.

Rachael and her assistant loved my denim jacket (it has a huge embroidered Jigglypuff patch on the back as well as other iron on patches on the sleeves) and as Jigglypuff’s VA, Rachael was happy to see it.

It was such a great atmosphere there and a lot of fun. I’m so glad I went and got to meet the cast that defined my childhood.

#Photography #Me #Jay Goede #Mewtwo #Pokemon #Veronica Taylor #Rachael Lillis #Eric Stuart #MCM London Comic Con #MCM London

[sabrinawitcher]

Hi yall, ready for a dream cast list (I'm broke and bored, how's that?):

(Another break time!!)

Voice Lists for my characters and why:

Bugs Bunny:

Description: I wanted bugs to sound more high-pitched, snarky bugs. One that sounded like Jeff Bergmans version, only I wanted a teenage version, because their teens in my version.

Potential (Dream Cast: means who I wish I could afford) VA's:

- Billy West

- Eric Bauza

- Jeff Bergman



Daffy Duck:

Description: I love Daffy, specifically his more funny roles, like Back in Action (his most beautiful representation) or TLTS (The Looney Tunes Show), specifically because he sounds like a teenager.



Potential Dream Cast Va's

- Samuel Khouth

- Dee Bradley Baker

- Eric Bauza

Lola Bunny:

Description: She's had a lot of good VA's in her heyday, but I specifically liked Space Jams' first and second performance, She was certainly something.



Potential Dream Cast Va's:

- Rachel Ramras

- Zendaya

- Kath Soucie

Tina Russo:

Description: I wanted a sassy, yet teen like depiction, her voice actors were good, nothing wrong, except too mature off a voice, which is good, yet not quite what I'm looking for, so I found some others, and one of her own.



Potential Dream Cast Va's:

- Jennifer Esposito

- Rachael Lillis

- Erica Lindbeck

Porky Pig:

Description: This pudgy pig already sounds solid, ain't no use fixin him, that's why we love his voice actor, (he was the only alive one I could find, R.I.P to his other Va's)



Potential Dream Cast Va's:

- Bob Bergen

Cuphead/X-18+

Description: This Techno Tryhard, unfortunately, can't have an official VA of his own because I don't think he has one (if he does, let me know), so I roped in some badass voice actors.

Potential Dream Cast Va's for Cuphead:

- James Arnold Taylor

- David Kaufman

- Zach Aguilar

Potential Dream Cast Va's for X-18+:

- Michelle Marie

- Kimiko Glenn

- Cristina Valenzuela

That's all yall for this chapter, see you soon!

(What do you all think????)

[booasaur]

Jessica Jones - 3x06

#jessica jones #jessicajonesedit #trish walker #dorothy walker #rachael taylor #krysten ritter #rebecca de mornay #jessica jones spoilers #jessica jones 3x06 #femslash related stuff #but subtext #>_> #jess x trish #heh #I copied the last subtitle directly from netflix's captions #but man #I love rachael taylor and her voice #but I didn't realize how much I liked trish and relied on her being a certain kind of character #until the end of this season :/ #yeesh #just gonna stay over here and ship them :o

[illcasthealinghands]

i see a lot of lumity/other wlw edits with ‘little miss perfect’ lyrics and i’d like to yell about the actual musical because it’s still new and not as big as it should be! the three songs i want to tell everyone to go listen to:

little miss perfect (obviously) the taylor louderman version made it famous but rachael cell actually plays noelle but i can’t seem to find her version

ordinary is mal’s telling of her feelings and experiences with noelle - allie grace is a marvel

BUT THEN: fallin’ fast is their duet later on that uses the lyrics from both of these songs and builds on them and this is rehearsal footage only and still absolutely kills it

honestly the songs that are out for it are incredible and as a theatre nerd this does not disappoint if you love talented voices and queer rep please go support it the demo album isn’t out yet but will be soon!

#the owl house #lumity #catradora #beauyasha #cazzie #avalance #supercorp #musicals #broadway #little miss perfect

[d-criss-news]

[UHQ] Abigail Barlow + Darren Criss. Photo by Scott Suchman.

All Is Bright Again: Inside The Kennedy Center’s Star-Studded 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert

Celebrating 50 years of world-class art, innovation, education and community, the Kennedy Center hosted a magical night of music, dance and even spoken word poetry for its 50th anniversary celebration concert on September 14 — and suddenly, to those of us in the audience, all felt right in the world.

The concert hall was electric from the star-studded lineup, with appearances ranging from first lady Dr. Jill Biden for opening remarks to Oscar- and Grammy-winning artist Common, who closed the show with an inspiring, uplifting two-song performance that included “Black America Again.” Artists like Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council Member Robert Glasper and rapper D Smoke exuded musical relevance with “Common Sense” while guitarist Grammy Award-winning guitarist Keb’ Mo’ and Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride honored musicians who came before them with Leadbelly’s “Black Betty.”

The audience roared for six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as she gracefully stepped onstage to host this one-of-a-kind show directed and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse. But let it be known that this nearly three-hour production had something for everyone to enjoy, and more than enough for my desperate-for-live-concerts, music-loving soul.

If you have never seen the National Symphony Orchestra perform before, this was the night to develop an unwavering appreciation and totally swoon. Conductors JoAnn Falletta, Steven Reineke and Thomas Wilkins led this group with heaps of bright energy, filling the room with tranquility and light. Luckily for us, this also meant ample solos from the prodigious and expressive Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen, who wowed at every given moment and sent the audience into a collective chuckle when flirting with soul icon Bettye LaVette.

With the orchestra playing behind most of the night’s vocal performances, this Kennedy Center experience was elevated into unmatched, intimate concert territory. When Broadway and opera star Kelli O’Hara enchanted us with Sondheim’s “Take Me to the World” from “Evening Primrose,” I immediately got goosebumps that turned straight into happy tears when Darren Criss came onstage right after to serenade us with a new rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Misérables,” with just his guitar and smooth tenor voice to guide us.

The musical theatre geek in me was over the moon when Criss came back onstage minutes later to join TikTok sensations Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow for a duet of their song “Oceans Away” from their newly released album “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.” I followed the duo, known as Barlow & Bear, for eight months on the Internet as they wrote and composed the album right in front of our eyes in a myriad of encapsulating TikTok videos, so seeing them perform lyrics that have been stuck in my head for months for the first time in person was a real treat.

While it felt as though this celebration was highlighting luminaries of the present and future, it just as much recognized soulful powerhouses who have been performing for decades, such as jazz singer Dianne Reeves, who scatted and belted Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing)” alongside McBride and Chen on the violin, and Lavette, who put tears in our eyes with her powerful cover of George Harrison’s “Blackbird.”

Among some of the powerhouse vocalists mentioned above, there was incredible tap dancing, intense ballet choreography with dramatic lifts, modern bluegrass and Americana vibes from Punch Brothers combined with powerful blues vocals from Lake Street Dive’s Rachael Price, and a moving spoken word piece called “Dignity as Currency” from Marc Bamuthi Joseph, vice president and artistic director of social impact at the Kennedy Center.

The evening ended on a high note — literally, from Broadway star Joshua Henry’s talented voice — with Common’s (and John Legend’s) brilliant Academy Award-winning song “Glory” from the movie “Selma.” While Common rapped in honor of the memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin, among others, the cast from David Henry Hwang’s “Soft Power” sang the heart-clenching “glories” in the background.

Of course, there was nothing but respect and applause for the uplifting message and powerful tribute from this finale group. The praise may have only been louder when Henry had brought down the house moments earlier with a fiery rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

The way these artists and musicians played off each other with such effortless musicality, you’d think this star-studded lineup performs together every night — the sign of a brilliantly curated grouping thanks to the production’s creative team. It’s hard to describe the warmth of the concert hall with just words, but if there’s more excellent programming where this came from, D.C. is in luck.

To check out more 50th anniversary celebration events at the Kennedy Center, visit kennedy-center.org.

#darren criss #abigail barlow #district fray magazine #kennedy center's 50th anniversary concert #press #sept 2021

[tabloidtoc]

People, January 4, 2021

Cover: HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier 

Page 3: Chatter -- Taylor Swift on teasing information about her life in her music, Carrie Underwood on the holiday gift from her husband Mike Fisher, Viola Davis on her 10-year-old daughter asking for an iPhone and camera for Christmas, Amal Clooney joking about how her writing a book affected her relationship with husband George Clooney, Halle Berry on refusing to go out with a friend’s past romantic partner, Tina Fey advising people not to go kayaking in the New York/New Jersey river 

Page 4: 5 Things We’re Talking About This Week -- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle start podcasts, Lily James and Sebastian Stan will play Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, Rick Astley is never gonna give up his snacks, LeAnn Rimes wins The Masked Singer, a Whitney Houston biopic finds its diva 

Page 6: Contents 

Page 8: StarTracks -- following tradition members of the royal family have released their annual holiday cards and Prince William and Princess Kate’s three kids Prince George and Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte stole the show this year with the family posed on a bale of hay and matched in cozy sweaters for the shot which was taken in the fall at the family’s country home in Norfolk, England 

Page 9: For their card Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla picked a colorful shot taken in the lush garden on Birkhall which is the prince’s Scottish home 

Page 10: Carter Rubin won season 19 of The Voice marking Gwen Stefani’s first victory as a coach, First Look at Denzel Washington and Rami Malek and Jared Leto in The Little Things 

Page 11: Kate Hudson filmed a scene for Truth Be Told, Rachael Leigh Cook reprising her role as Laney Boggs in He’s All That with Addison Rae playing her daughter, Princess Charlotte of Monaco debuted a half-hawk hairstyle at the Monaco Palace’s traditional Christmas tree ceremony, Nick Cannon helped the Hollywood Food Coalition hand out 2000 meal boxes to people in need 

Page 12: Stars’ Furry & Feathered Friends -- Yolanda Hadid with some goats and a deer, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas cuddled up by their Christmas tree with their dog Diana, Harrison Ford walking a dog in Los Angeles, Salma Hayek and her pet owl Kering 

Page 17: Scoop: Why Tom Cruise lost his cool 

Page 18: Little People Big World’s Jacob Roloff says he was sexually abused as a child by a former producer who worked on his family’s TLC series 

Page 20: Heart Monitor -- Tyler Perry and Gelila Bekele it’s over, Katie Holmes and Emilio Vitolo getting serious, Lana Del Rey and Clayton Johnson engaged, Gillian Anderson and Peter Morgan split 

Page 21: Felicity Jones on making a space epic while pregnant 

Page 22: Ryan Seacrest counts down to 2021

* Lizzo gets real about her body 

Page 25: America Ferrera’s laid-back holiday 

* How Sandra Lee is moving on 

Page 27: Passages, Why I Care -- Rainn Wilson wants people to know how global warming is affecting the Arctic and the world 

Page 28: Stories to make you smile -- a stroll back through history with cats, bringing holiday cheer to U.S. troops stationed abroad 

Page 31: People Picks -- Wonder Woman 1984 

Page 32: Dickinson, Wolfwalkers 

Page 33: Safety, Paul McCartney -- McCartney III, Q&A -- Questlove 

Page 34: On Pointe, Greenland 

Page 35: Promising Young Woman

Page 37: The year’s best books for kids 

Page 38: Cover Story -- HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier -- family means everything to us -- they never aspired to be famous but now they’re HGTV’s biggest stars; how the Home Town couple stay grounded despite the spotlight 

Page 44: 25 Years Later -- Princess Diana’s Panorama Interview Web of Deceit -- forged documents and manipulation and paranoia: inside the stunning new inquiry into Diana’s famous TV sit-down 

Page 48: The COVID-19 Vaccines -- what you need to know -- the long-awaited vaccines are finally here; will they return our lives to normal? 

Page 50: Richie Sambora -- a rock star’s second act -- the Bon Jovi guitarist opens up about his really unpopular decision to leave the band and how he finally found joy in the love of his daughter Ava 

Page 54: Mystery and Heartbreak at a Texas U.S. Army Post -- Death at Fort Hood -- in 2020 dozens of soldiers at the nation’s largest active-duty armored military installation died by homicide, accident, suicide or unknown causes -- officials and grieving families wants answers 

Page 60: Isla Fisher -- my funny fairy-tale life -- the Godmothered star talks about movies, motherhood and how laughter keeps her marriage to Sacha Baron Cohen strong 

Page 63: Sabrina Bryan -- my baby girl is a warrior -- the former Cheetah Girls star opens up about her daughter’s terrifying battle with meningitis 

Page 66: Double Talk -- Kristen Wiig and Gal Gadot -- Wonder Women -- now playing super-rivals in Wonder Woman 1984, the stars chat about parenting during the pandemic and what they love about the 1990s 

Page 71: Paul Hogan -- Crocodile Dundee’s Wild Ride -- his hit 1986 movie made him a global sensation and now 81 the rugged Aussie looks back on the stardom he never expected 

Page 75: Winter TV Preview -- Elizabeth Olsen on WandaVision 

Page 76: Gina Torres on 9-1-1: Lone Star 

Page 77: Freddie Prinze Jr. on Punky Brewster 

Page 78: Ted Danson on Mr. Mayor 

Page 81: Beauty -- Feel-Good Beauty Finds -- start the new year on a high note with these pick-me-ups 

Page 87: Second Look -- hosts Julianne Hough and Tituss Burgess on Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration 

Page 88: One Last Thing -- Jon Hamm 

#tabloid toc #tabloidtoc #ben napier #erin napier #ben and erin napier #home town #kristen wiig #gal gadot #wonder woman 1984 #princess diana #covid vaccine #richie sambora #fort hood #isla fisher #sacha baron cohen #sabrina bryan #paul hogan #crocodile dundee #elizabeth olsen #wandavision #gina torres #9-1-1: lone star #freddie prinze jr. #punky brewster #ted danson #mr. mayor #jon hamm #tom cruise #jacob roloff #felicity jones

[whatiwillsay]

submission:

thanks eggs! im gonna add in some more dates of early swiftgron

*******************************************************

Speak Now tour arm lyrics:

Swiftgron meet cute day: “Tell me everything you want to hear – like that was your favorite year.” – Dixie Chicks, Favorite Year. Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California on September 3, 2011.

“You’re just somewhere that I’ve been and I won’t go back again.” – Selena Gomez, Ghost Of You. Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon on September 6, 2011.

“You are the ever-living ghost of what once was.” – Band of Horses, No One’s Gonna Love You. Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on September 7, 2011.

“There was always something that meant more to you than me.” – Jessica Andrews, There’s More To Me Than You. Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on September 10, 2011.

“Where were you when the world stopped turning.” – Alan Jackson, Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning). Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on September 11, 2011.

“Be a best friend. Tell the truth. Overuse ‘I love you.'” – Lee Brice, Love Like Crazy. Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on September 16, 2011.

“This one’s for the girls who love without holding back.” – Martina McBride. This One’s For The Girls. Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on September 17, 2011.

“Love, save the empty and save me.” – Erin McCarley’s Love, Save The Empty. CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, Louisiana on September 20, 2011.

“Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face?” – The Flaming Lips, Do You Realize. Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 21, 2011.

*Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera kiss as their Glee castmates cheer them on at the Governors Ball. - September 21*

“I hope you know that even if I don’t, I wanted to.” – Rachael Yamagata, Even If I Don’t. Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on September 24, 2011.

“But it flew away from her reach so she ran away in her sleep and dreamed of paradise.” – Coldplay, Paradise. Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on September 27, 2011.

“Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride.” – Jimmy Eat World, The Middle. Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 28, 2011.

“Just as free, free as we’ll ever be.” – Zac Brown Band, Free. Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on October 1, 2011.

“No telling where it will take you, just live your life.” – T.I. [feat. Rihanna], Live Your Life. Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on October 2, 2011.

“It’s easy saying nothing when there’s nothing to say.” – KT Tunstall, Fade Like A Shadow. Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 4, 2011.

“She’s out there on her own and she’s alright.” – Shawn Colvin, Sunny Come Home. New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 5, 2011.

“A little voice in my head said don’t look back, you can never look back.” – Don Henley, Boys Of Summer. Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas on October 8, 2011.

“Through autumn’s advancing we’ll stay young, go dancing.” – Death Cab for Cutie, Stay Young, Go Dancing. KYC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky on October 11, 2011.

“Can you still feel the butterflies? Can you still hear the last goodnight?” – Jimmy Eat World, For Me This Is Heaven. United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas on October 14, 2011.

“I hope to God I would’ve done something good with my life.” – Ronnie Milsap, My Life. Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 15, 2011.

“Memories fade, like looking through a fogged mirror.” – MGMT, Kids. Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California on October 20, 2011.

“May angels lead you in. Hear you me my friends.” – Jimmy Eat World, Hear You Me. Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on October 21, 2011.

“Where love is just a lyric in a children’s rhyme, a soundbite” – Keane, Is It Any Wonder? AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on October 25, 2011.

“And I never saw blue like that before. Across the sky. Around the world.” – Shawn Colvin, Never Saw Blue Like That Before. Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas on October 26, 2011.

“Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks” – The Fray, Happiness. Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on October 29, 2011.

“But darling, I wish you well on your way to the wishing well” – Patty Griffin, Nobody’s Crying. FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on October 30, 2011.

“It’s love’s illusions I recall. I really don’t know love at all.” – Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now. Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on November 5, 2011.

“Birds flying high you know how I feel.” – Nina Simone, Feeling Good. Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on November 11, 2011.

“I could rest my head knowing that you were mine.” – Guns N’ Roses, November Rain. St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida on November 12, 2011.

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” – Anonymous. American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida on November 13, 2011.

“I feel lost again but this time for the best.” – Gregory & the Hawks, For the Best. Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 16, 2011.

“We learned more from a 3 minute record than we ever learned in school.” – Bruce Springsteen, No Surrender. RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 17, 2011.

“Where would we be today, if I never drove that car away.” – Darius Rucker, Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It. Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina on November 18, 2011.

“May these memories break our fall.” – Taylor Swift, Long Live. Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 21, 2011.

“Bring all the pretenders, one day. We will be remembered.” – Taylor Swift, Long Live. Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 22, 2011.

*Dianna (and Karlie) tweet in response to Taylor’s vogue shoot* - January 17 2012

“I am on a lonely road and I am traveling, traveling, traveling.” – Joni Mitchell, All I Want. Burswood Dome in Perth, Australia on March 2, 2012.

“We sleep underneath the same big sky at night. And dream the same dream we can fly.” – Chantal Kreviazuk, In This Life. Adelaide Entertainment Center in Adelaide, Australia on March 4, 2012.

“She said watch your back, I’m nobody’s girlfriend” – Matt Nathanson, Modern Love. Brisbaine Entertainment Center in Brisbane, Australia on March 6, 2012.

“The war outside your door keeps raging on. STOP KONY 2012” – Taylor Swift, the Civil Wars and T. Bone Burnett, Safe And Sound. Brisbaine Entertainment Center in Brisbane, Australia on March 7, 2012.

“Go cut through the noise so you can know what love sounds like.” – Natasha Bedingfield, Neon Lights. Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on March 9, 2012.

“If things go right we can frame it and put you on a wall.” – Ed Sheeran, Lego House. Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on March 10, 2012.

“We Love our lovin’ but not like we love our freedom” – Joni Mitchell, Help Me. Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on March 12, 2012.

“Last time I talked to you, you were lonely and out of place.” – Our Lady Peace, Somewhere Out There. Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on March 13, 2012.

“All romantics meet the same fate somehow.” – Joni Mitchell, The Last Time I Saw Richard. Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on March 14, 2012.

“Keep your feet ready, heart beat steady, keep your eyes open” – Taylor Swift, Eyes Open. Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on March 16, 2012.

“Every lesson forms a new scar” – Taylor Swift, Eyes Open. Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on March 17, 2012.

“You know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again” – James Taylor, You’ve Got A Friend. Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on March 18, 2012.

**Taylor goes home (running to see someone again?) and The Swiftgron spring kicks off and all these two girls do is hang out all spring and summer**

#swiftgron #arm lyrics #timelne #yall tell us #submission

[yespolkadotkitty]

Tinderbox, pt 7

Part VI here

“Sketch is going on tonight’s news.” Rachael put the wrapped roast beef on rye sandwich down on Marshall’s desk. “And the police plaza have a parcel for you. Can you stop by on the way home tonight?”

Marshall glanced at his watch - a traditional-faced timepiece he’d been given by his father. He wasn’t a fan of digital watches or their even newer children, fitbits and the like. “Sure." It would likely be some dry as sawdust paperwork. "Thanks for lunch.” He reached for his wallet, but Rachael waved him off. “You can buy next time.”

She took a seat in his visitor chair - the visitor chairs in the precinct were easily the most uncomfortable pieces of furniture known to man - and unwrapped her own sandwich, the famed New York Chopped Cheese.

The satisfied noise she made biting into it could have conjured sensual images, but Marshall found himself thinking of Rosie.

Fuck. He should've taken his jumper and her phone number, but he had no idea how to find her again, except hanging out by her apartment building, which was way too creepy. Maybe he could put a note in her letterbox. Was that creepy too?

His phone chirped and he pulled it from his pocket.

FAYE: Don't forget mom's dropping me off to your place tonight. Pizza party!

He smiled to himself. His daughter's appetite for pizza was unrivalled.

"Faye?" Rachael asked, smiling.

"Yep. Pizza party at my place tonight." He'd better make sure it smelled halfway decent, and he needed to change the sheets as she'd be bunking in his bed while he had the sofa.

"How is she?"

He lifted a shoulder as he chewed a bite of the sandwich. Rachael's favourite deli made fantastic lunches. "Typical thirteen year old. Thirteen going on thirty. Talking to boys on Snapchat." He shuddered, exacerbating it for effect.

"Not boys!" Rachael said in mock horror.

Marshall glared at her. "Your time will come."

"Not too soon if I can help it." She finished her sandwich, balled up the wrapper with the deli logo printed on it. "I've got a meeting in a few. Have fun with Faye tonight; say hi from me."

"Sure."

He finished his own sandwich, washed it down with a swallow of cold coffee and winced. The glamour of police work.

He texted Faye back:

DAD: Looking forward to it.

*****

He was owed some personal time, so he drove to the Police Plaza after a dry couple of hours of paperwork. The sketch would be airing on local news soon, and hopefully, someone would bite. A lot of catching criminals involved slow, methodical work. Satisfying, sometimes boring. Well, usually boring, actually.

He climbed the steps. Officer Taylor was at the reception desk. He'd spoken to her a few times for one thing or another during his time with NYPD.

"Hey, Marshall." Hardly anyone used his first name anymore. Although since yesterday, he'd found himself wondering how it might sound in Rosie's voice.

"Hi. How's it going?"

Taylor shrugged, smiling tiredly. "Same shit, different day."

They chuckled together.

"I hear you have a parcel for me?"

"Yep." Tucking wisps of her blonde hair back behind an ear, Taylor stood and scanned the cubbyholes below the reception desk. "Here we go. Woman dropped it off early this morning."

His heart thumped. "Can you remember what she looked like?"

Taylor raised a brow. "I might sit behind a desk, but I'm still a cop. Pretty, about my height, wavy brown hair, thick winter coat, sturdy shoes."

Rosie.

He took the bag. Peered inside. His jumper sat neatly folded, something white peeking out of one of the folds. He lifted it out, saw her loopy writing and the deli logo.

Well, shit. How long had he been eating roast beef on rye from the deli she worked at? Even New York was a village, sometimes.

He checked his watch. He had time to stop by the deli and thank her before Faye got dropped off for their pizza party. If he was unlucky, she'd want to give him one of her homemade face masks too. He'd smelled cucumber around his flat for three days after the last time.

"Thanks, Taylor."

"No problem." There was a curious glint in her sharp gaze, but either she knew better than go ask, or she knew that getting information out of Marshall was like getting blood from a stone.

He got back into his police-issued vehicle and drove the few blocks to the deli. Inside was a hub of activity. A dozen tables, most of which were full, held people of all ages and a smorgasbord of sandwiches, soup and hot drinks. The tv was on above the order counter and he recognised the local news anchor. The sketch might be about to air.

Pushing through the doors, welcome warmth hit him, along with the enticing scents of toasted bread and roasted meat.

He spied Rosie almost right away, delivering a pair of club sandwiches to an older couple by the far window. She spoke animatedly to them, and Marshall imagined, fondly, what it might be like to enjoy her brightness every day. It made a pang of longing strike his heart.

She turned towards the order counter.

"Hey Rosie, turn it up, would ya?" One of the customers asked. "It's about that cat burglar."

"I got it," one of the other deli staff replied, fishing a remote from his apron pocket.

Rosie glanced up at the tv, as did everyone else in the building. The sketch played on screen. There were the usual murmurs from some patrons, whereas others ignored the broadcast.

Not Rosie, though. She stared at up the screen, and the round serving tray dropped clean from her hands, smashing an empty glass tumbler on the floor.

Thanking my beauty of a beta, @ly--canthrope​ 

Tagging: @pinkzsugar​ @brokenthelovely​ @mary-ann84​ @leapingoveroblivion​ @from-hel-i-with-love​ @boiled-onionrings​ @dr-kayleigh-dh​

#nomic fic #night hunter fic #henry cavill fic

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 4 Episode 3: Group A... again? Playoff Time! Commentary & Guesses

Hi all my Masked Singer fanatics! Time for episode 3 of this new season of The Masked Singer woohoo! Group A is back... and you are probably thinking how about Group C? Group C won’t be performing until after the World Series which is about last week in October to first week of November... so next week we will be seeing Group B in the playoffs as well, but having said that, let’s focus on Group A  (aka Popcorn, Giraffe, Sun, and Snow Owls) again because my guesses have changed like a lot since last week... I feel more sure about my guesses this time, I swear they are better and more researched this time... 

But First let’s talk about the eliminated contestant who is....

DRUMROLL PLEASEEE 

THE GIRAFFE 

Performance: He sang “Get Down on It” by Kool & the Gang and it was much better than his first performance, even though the beginning was a bit scary. However, I kind of figured he was going to go home because the rest kind of outshined him by a lot. 

Anyways, the Giraffe ended up being...

*INSERT DRUMROLL AND AN AUDIENCE SCREAMING “TAKE IT OFF”* 

BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN 

And if you are like, um who... same! Well he is from the hit show Beverly Hills 90210 and he’s Megan Fox’s ex husband.... and I actually was convinced due to a large amount of YouTube comments saying that it was him because of the clues (did you see how wonderful that segue was? Come on, that was flawless): 

The Fox from Season 2 and Transformers clues= his ex wife/mother to his kids, Megan Fox reference 

Peach Pit= famous scene from 90210 (idk man I’ve heard of the show but never seen it, don’t judge me) 

Robins on his shoulders= nod to him being best friends with Robin Thicke (we’ll talk about that hilarious moment in a second, btw spoiler alert Robin didn't guess his best friend) since they were both 16 

Golden Ear Time: 

It’s been a while since last time they didn’t show it (btw Jenny got a point for guessing Gremlin) so lemme explain this is the segment where I talk about the judges’ guesses... but today I am just gonna talk about Ken and Robin because they had some funny moments with these guesses (oh and btw I am gonna do judges’ guesses for the rest of them, and Joel McHale was a guest judge so he’s included below.. just so you guys know who I mean when I say Joel) 

So Ken guessed Shia Lebouf.... um, ok? Not the first time... What’s funny tho is that his explanation for his answer was so much that even the Giraffe fell asleep like damn lmao 

Then Robin... his best friend since age 16 (these men are both in their 40s, married/divorced with kids and everything), his neighbor, they were in a 2 man band together.... and HE STILL DIDN’T GUESS HIM (and a bunch of 90210 fans did and even got the reference wowwww). The best part was his face when he saw it was Brain, he was like nooooooooo I done messed up (I was about to curse, but this is a family show), funniest thing ever 10/10 would recommend watching just for that reaction

Anyways, we are done here, now to the final 3 for Group A: 

1. THE POPCORN 

Performance: She sang “Falling” by Harry Styles and damn what an improvement! This is the stuff I was looking for when I saw how adorable her costume was. Omg this was my favorite performance of the night, it was so memorable and amazing! 

As for my guess, I changed my answer and I feel confident about this one, I am locking it in.... 

I think that the Popcorn is 80s pop star.... 

TAYLOR DAYNE 

Here’s why, clues please:

Mention of her being sick and having anxiety as a kid= when she was 5 she underwent ureteral reimplantation surgery and struggled with panic attacks, anxiety, and agoraphobia (fear of open/crowded spaces) 

Crimper and Rubik's cube= 80s reference, when she started her career (1985) and gained success

LGBTQ+ Flag= huge LGBTQ+ supporter 

Venus= planet of love, which most of her songs are about

Judges’ Guesses: 

Ken: Katy Perry?! (I know it’s Ken and he’s not great at this, but really?!) 

Joel: Gloria Gaynor (meh, that’s better, I’ve seen this guess a bit, but nope) 

Jenny: Vanessa Williams (nope, I don’t think so Jenny, that’s worse than Gloria Gaynor) 

2. THE SNOW OWLS 

Performance: They sang “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by John Legend and Meghan Trainor and I really heard the country in their voice this time and they sounded older so the moment I heard them I was like yeah nope not Julianne and Derek at all. However, even though I love them, I really preferred their first performance even though this one was cute and I really want them to go super far. 

As for my guess, I changed my answer and thank you to all the people who helped me out by yelling at me on the YouTube comments section, I am gonna go with country duo....

CLINT BLACK AND HIS WIFE LISA HARTMAN 

Here’s why, clues please:

Witch hat= Lisa played a witch, Tabitha, in the Bewitched sequel 

Going through a messy breakup = Clint had a pretty bad legal falling out with his management company

Anchor with MANagement= Clint was in a movie named Anger Management in 2004 

Opportunity fit for a queen= their song together “When I say I do” going to the Tonight Show and her being apprehensive about it, but him pushing her to do it. 

Judges’ Guesses:

Ken: Will Ferrell and Rachael McAdams (what’s your proof?)

Joel: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood (I like that one, pretty close) 

Jenny: Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman (also close not mad at this guess)

3. THE SUN

Performance: She sang "Praying” by Kesha and wow, so good! I loved it so much, her and the seahorse are stiff competition. She’s amazing, I am really into her, she’s one of my faves. 

As for my guess, I am doubling down on my last guess (only one I felt good about).. Let’s go: 

LEANN RIMES

Here’s why I’m doubling down, clues please:

Fractured home= parents were divorced

Into the woods= she used to date Tiger Woods (say what now?! yes this is real, I searched it up after reading a comment on YouTube)

Ugly Rumors= She appeared in Coyote Ugly/ sang for the soundtrack and there were really horrible rumors about her and her divorce

Over the moon= her songs: can’t fight the moonlight and nothing new under the moon 

8 Ball= She was on Star Search at age 8

Judges’ Guesses:

Nicole: Carrie Underwood (her logic is bad, but close enough) 

Jenny: Mandy Moore (um, idk the voice doesn’t match) 

Robin: Katherine McPhee (I like his logic, but no, the voice is too distinct) 

Alright so that’s it! Sorry for it being late but better late than never. I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments and I’ll see you in a couple of days for the Group B playoffs (little fun prediction if you made it this far: I think the Whatchamacallit is next to leave)! BYE!!! 👋🏼

#the masked singer #brian austin green #giraffemask #the masked singer season 4 #masked singer #entertainment #singing #music

[pagetgram]

Getting To Know The Cast Of Criminal Minds

As Criminal Minds rolls out its 15th and final season, the beloved cast gathers to discuss serial killers (what else?), special guest stars, and their millions of phenomenal fans in this exclusive interview. (x,x)

As Criminal Minds rolls out its 15th and final season, the beloved cast gathers to discuss serial killers (what else?), special guest stars, and their millions of phenomenal fans in this exclusive interview.

By David Hochman

The scene is quintessential Hollywood: a train station at dusk. Steam billowing up from the tracks. Loved ones bracing for their emotional farewells. What could be more fitting for the cast of Criminal Minds?

Chugging into its 15th and final season after more than 300 episodes, the police procedural is among the 10 longest-running dramas of all time, and in the top 20 for longest-running scripted television shows. "This is Gunsmoke and Guinness Book territory," says Matthew Gray Gubler, who has played quirky FBI brainiac Dr. Spencer Reid since episode 1.

To honor the landmark occasion, all eight series regulars are gathered at a railway museum in L.A.'s Griffith Park for photos, poignant reflections, and a few behind-the-scenes confessions (mostly involving a tradition called "hot tub wine machine"—stay tuned).

On TV, the tenacious profilers of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit—or simply "BAU" to fans—are a hard-bitten bunch, tracking down serial killers and other vicious "unsubs." But in person, clearly good friends across the board and decked out today in their spiffiest finery, the cast can scarcely hold back tears as they get candid about their extended journey together and what it means to come to the end—sniff, sniff—of Criminal Minds.

Originally published in Watch! Magazine, July-August 2019.

Judging from the misty eyes and group hugs, it looks like the series wrap-up is generating "all the feels," as they say. Are you able to get through scenes this season without a tissue break?

Joe Mantegna (Senior Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi, Seasons 3-present): This is my 50th year in show business, and next to voicing on The Simpsons, Rossi is my longest-running role. I came in with dark hair and now it's gray. I arrived without much of a game plan, and the show and character are now a deep part of who I am. This cast is a true family for me. So every episode this year has an added bittersweet layer. When the director announces, "This is the last profile scene" or "This is our last scene on the jet," you look around with a real sense of passing. It's monumental.

Kirsten Vangsness (BAU Technical Analyst and Media Liaison Penelope Garcia, Seasons 1-present): The term that keeps coming up is "ambiguous loss"—that feeling of losing something you love, and that everything's about to change. In this case it's not a person, thank goodness. But still, in the middle of a scene, it hits you. But you can't cry; you have all this makeup on. Plus, what are you crying for? It's been such an incredible experience. I will have done every single episode except episode 5, every episode of the first spinoff, and two episodes of the second spinoff. I love these people. No, sir. I'm not crying. You're crying. [Editor's note: She's crying.]

Paget Brewster (Supervisory Special Agent and BAU Unit Chief Emily Prentiss, Seasons 2-7, 9, 11-present): Um, I'm in complete denial, so I'll break down into tears the week after we end, but not before. I'm pretending this show's never, ever going to end.

Without spoiling anything, what can you say about Season 15?

A.J. Cook (Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Seasons 1-present): Well, I can tell you that we will find out what happens now that JJ has expressed her true feelings for Dr. Reid.

Matthew Gray Gubler (Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid, Seasons 1-present): Don't you mean "Jeid?" That's what the internet is calling us. Hey, I'm not spoiling anything. I mean, don't rule out, uh, "Jemily" or "Jarcia" this season, either!

Adam Rodriguez (Supervisory Special Agent Luke Alvez, Seasons 12-present): And we do have guest stars. We love guest stars! [Editor's note: Among others, watch for Jane Lynch to return as Reid's schizophrenic mother, and for Rachael Leigh Cook as a potential new love interest for Reid.]

Daniel Henney (Supervisory Special Agent Matt Simmons, Seasons 10, 12-present): Overall, I'd say 15 has more of an arc through the episodes than previous seasons. Our unsub, Chameleon, is played by Michael Mosley, and he's definitely into some gruesome, creepy stuff.

Brewster: Like, we have a scene where a bunch of body parts are hanging from a tree. Our prop guy, who's a professional fisherman in real life, was on top of a 15-foot ladder with a foot and an ear hanging off his fishing pole.

Aisha Tyler (Special Agent Dr. Tara Lewis and forensic psychologist, Seasons 11-present): And people wonder why my house in L.A. is like a fortress and I'm armed! I'd say it's a direct result of Criminal Minds. This show is definitely dark. I'm not going around profiling sociopaths and serial killers, but, yeah, being on Criminal Minds, you become more perceptive about people's bad behavior.

Anybody else find it hard letting go in real life after chasing serial killers at work all day?

Cook: I'm blessed with a good shut-off switch. Once the day's done, I can block everything out. But as soon as I became a mom, something shifted where the naive girl from Canada got the boot and mama bear arrived. We saw that happen with JJ on the show, too. When she became a mom, it was suddenly like, "Whoa, watch out for that guy in the park!"

Henney: I'll tell you a story. About two months ago, I'm at home sleeping and a burglar alarm goes off, and I literally switched into Simmons mode. All the training I'd done with the FBI guys and our tech advisers instantly came into play. I threw on black sweatpants. I was creeping around the perimeter of my house, FBI-style. I clocked all my points of ingress and egress. When you do so many episodes, basic instincts kick in.

Did you identify the unsub?

Henney: Nobody was there! It was a stupid, faulty window sensor.

Brewster: The show definitely sharpens your reactions to your surroundings. When you start the show, you have access to the FBI training manual, which, frankly, no civilian should ever see because the photographs are so grisly. You end up going through a period of hypervigilance where you can't go into a sandwich shop or airport without thinking, Uh-oh! I think that couple's going to end up in a domestic dispute tonight.

Group question: What's your standout memory from these many seasons?

Rodriguez: I jumped onto this flying carpet 12 seasons in, and my first scene was out in the middle of the desert, and we shot all night long. There was an old car that was supposed to be in the scene, but it broke down and they ended up rolling it into the shot, which was funny. But more than that, I remember how welcoming people were. I was the new guy, but I felt immediately at home.

Brewster: We watched your family grow, too, Adam. You had a kid. A.J. had two kids. I met my husband on set. We've been lucky enough to live our lives and develop together as people.

Cook: For me, having both my boys appear in the show was an absolute treasure. Mekhai, who's 10, has been doing it way longer than Phoenix, who's 4, and he loves it, though I can't tell if it's the acting or that everybody's giving him cookies and ice cream all the time.

Henney: I was really proud to play Simmons because, as an Asian American actor, you don't often get the chance to play the quintessential American guy's guy. He's married to a Caucasian woman and has mixed-race children—which is true with me, too [Henney is also of mixed descent]—and I loved representing that on television. To have a kissing scene with Kelly, my wife on the show—you weren't seeing that 10 years ago.

Tyler: Directing a couple episodes was an incredible opportunity. But for me, just the experience of seeing this through to the end is so rewarding. I was only supposed to do six episodes. Everything's been gravy since then.

Mantegna: Hands down, my highlight was being able to work in my passion for law enforcement and the military by making my FBI character a former Marine. That allowed me to bring in Meshach Taylor, one of my dearest, oldest friends, as my commanding officer in Vietnam, and directing two of the three episodes that involved him as a character.

That included the episode where his character died, because Meshach had died. To actually bury him on camera as my dear friend—I'm the godfather of his kids, and he's the godfather of mine—it was everything. If I do nothing else on television, doing that for Meshach to me means the top of the ladder.

TV shows come and go. How do you explain the enduring success of Criminal Minds?

Tyler: Well, I'd say it's not about prurient interest in the macabre. I think the reason people like the show is because we want to know that there's a smart, dedicated team of professionals out there working very hard to make sure that the rest of us stay safe. Even if we don't know who they are and we can't see them, it's comforting that people are sacrificing their personal lives and their relationships so that they can put evil people away.

Rodriguez: I meet young people all the time, teenagers, who love the show and say they love the game of it all—figuring out how these processes work and the skills that go into solving crimes. I think we've probably inspired a generation of people to go into this important work—on the good-guy side, not on the bad.

Cook: So many people have struggled in their lives, and they can relate to what they see on the show. Hardworking moms, people that have been abused, people who've experienced loss.

Vangsness: I think it comes down to a show with some of the greatest characters on television. Garcia is just a bundle of positive energy, and that resonated. Her desk is a living piece of art to how she's connected with the audience. I've got a papier-mâché heart pen a fan from France gave me. There's a little rabbit from a fan in Japan. A German woman knitted a Penelope doll that's sitting there. Oh, and Richard Simmons gave me a necklace one time because he loved the show!

Criminal Minds fans are a devoted bunch.

Henney: I once checked into a ski lodge in Switzerland and my television wasn't working, so I went to the front desk. The two desk guys started staring at me like zombies and pointed to their TV, where Criminal Minds was on, with me on the screen.

Brewster: It takes you by surprise in the weirdest places. You'll be in a bathroom at a movie theater and girls are outside whispering, That's Emily Prentiss, and they wait for you to finish so you can wash your hands and hug them.

What are you going to miss most about the show?

Cook: Um, everything. The scenes in the jet are my favorites because it's such a tight space that we forget we're on a TV show and just enjoy hanging out together. This show, for me, was a coming of age. You can look online and find me in the beginning of season 1 wearing this ridiculous pink pinstriped blazer that will haunt me forever. I look like I'm 12. But I've grown up along with JJ. [Tearing up.] I'll miss it all so much.

Gubler: Likewise, I really look up to Spencer Reid, and I feel so honored to have played him for so long. I will miss his long, you know, three-page monologues of technical jargon about protons or whatever. I'll miss the way he holds his hands like an ostrich foot when he's solving a problem. He's definitely way smarter than I'll ever be, but I like to think that some Dr. Reid qualities have imbued themselves into my own personality a little bit. If nothing else, I've adopted his ever-changing hairstyles.

Tyler: I'll miss being an FBI badass. I'd love to take the FBI jacket, but it's absolutely illegal to walk around wearing it.

Vangsness: I can tell you what I won't miss. Garcia's glasses—because I have them all already. I've bought every pair she's ever worn, so I have a collection of around 65 at home. They remind me to be confident like her, to see life through her eyes. Garcia is my Sasha Fierce.

Brewster: I will miss the hot tub wine machine.

Hot tub wine machine?

Vangsness: You heard that right, mister. It's an epic hot tub party at my house that the women on the show have turned into a standing gig—or more like a floating gig.

Brewster: It's basically a therapy and gossip and splashing-around session fueled by chardonnay and rosé.

Tyler: And it's ladies only because it gets kinda frisky.

Rodriguez: This is a sore subject for me even as a very securely and happily married man.

Mantegna: They do send us pictures on group text, which is thoughtful of them.

Vangsness: I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to tell you that this fine tradition makes it into our last episode. I co-wrote the finale, and we tried to cram in as many little Easter eggs and satisfying plot tie-ups as we could, both for fans and for each other. So within the episode, you'll see the BAU version of hot tub time machine. We worked really hard solving these super-intense crimes over what will be 325 episodes. After all these years, don't you think we deserve a little spa time?

#04.17.19 #april #2019 #cbs #facbook #s: original post #article #magazine spread #CBS Watch! Magazine #watch mag 2019 #Criminal Minds #cm cast #link in x #content source #Paget Brewster #aj cook #Aisha Tyler #kirsten vangsness #joe mantegna #Matthew Gray Gubler #daniel henney #Adam Rodriguez

[lostghoul]

NAME: Rachael

NICKNAME: grimm

AGE: 28

FACE CLAIM: hmm. long lasting fav? Ksenia Solo, Eliza Dushku, Taylor Momsen -- current fav? tbh I can’t decide but Alisha Wainwright is perf rn.

PRONOUNS: she/they

HEIGHT: 5′3“

BIRTHDAY: April 30th! :D

AESTHETIC: witch. all the witchy-ness.

LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO: bad guy - billie eilish

FAVORITE MUSE ( S ) YOU’VE WRITTEN: um, this is a really hard question but honestly I have so much, so MUCH love for Oswald aka Oz. Like I love this kid so much. He grew on me so well and I am so happy with him and his plots. I also have tones of love for Aspen because she’s an OG character. I’ve had a lot of characters before her but she is by far a character I have invested so much time into and just so many layers. And then my newest fav, Georgia, because she’s a bad ass.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE ON YOUR CURRENT MUSE ( THAT YOU ARE POSTING THIS ON ):  Umm. Honestly I’ll just talk about my newest muses-- Georgia and Victoria because they are babes, and they both have unique plots and tbh my partner that I’m writing with FAB. But they both have a little bit of nitty gritty rough and tumble and I always like those things.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ASPECTS OF YOUR CURRENT MUSE: Ummm. I love how Sàga is stubborn and full of flaws, but as so much love and wonder in her. I hate how I love what a jerk Aspen is. I love how Georgia went from making big mistakes in her life, to settling into who she is as a person and growing and becoming a good person. I love the mercilessness of Ilja. And the overall complexity of Lilith. I love how Oz has so much left to learn, and how he’s discovering his life and how it’s okay to be who he is. And I super love how caring and selfless Presley is.

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING: Creating a space where things come to life. I love the connections I get to make with characters and other writers.

FAVORITE TYPES OF THREADS:  supernatural angst :D and tense angst D:

BIGGEST STRUGGLE IN REGARDS TO YOUR CURRENT MUSE: Just a big struggle overall is sorting out their ‘voice’ and how they are as a ‘person’.

tagged by: @agaywad (because they are perf. go follow for quality content)

tagging: umm. no one specific but I’ll tag some rpers I know: @clinquant-aubade @belle-menagerie @foreverwritings

#ask meme #about me

[just-breathe-fight-cf]

FIVE FEET APART

Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis

Copyright 2018 / Simon & Schuster BFYR

Summary: Seventeen-year-olds Stella and Will, both suffering from cystic fibrosis, realize the only way to stay alive is to stay apart, but their love for each other is slowly pushing the boundaries of physical and emotional safety.

For Alyson

--R. L.

We dedicate this book, and the movie, to all the patients, families, medical staff, and loved ones who bravely fight the battle against cystic fibrosis every day. We hope the story of Stella and Will helps to bring awareness to this disease and, one day, a cure.

--M. D. and T. I.

________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 1 - STELLA

     I trace the outline of my sister’s drawing, lungs molded from a sea of flowers. Petals burst out from every edge of the twin ovals in soft pinks, deep whites, even heather blues, but somehow each one has a uniqueness, a vibrancy that feels like it’ll bloom forever. Some of the flowers haven’t blossomed yet, and I can feel the promise of life just waiting to unfold from the tiny buds under the weight of my finger. Those are my favorites.

I wonder, all too often, what it would be like to have lungs this healthy. This alive. I take a deep breath, feeling the air fight its way in and out of my body.

Slipping off the last petal of the last flower, my hand sinks, fingers dragging through the background of stars, each pinpoint of light that Abby drew a separate attempt to capture infinity. I clear my throat, pulling my hand away, and lean over to grab a picture of us from off my bed. Identical smiles peek out from underneath thick wool scarves, the holiday lights at the park down the street twinkling above our heads just like the stars in her drawing.

There was something magical about it. The soft glow of the lampposts in the park, the white snow clinging to the branches of the trees, the quiet stillness of it all. We nearly froze our butts off for that picture last year, but it was our tradition. Me and Abby, braving the cold to go see the holiday lights together.

This photo always makes me remember that feeling. The feeling of going on an adventure with my sister, just the two of, us, the world expanding like an open book.

I take a thumbtack and hang the picture next to the drawing before sitting down on my bed and grabbing my pocket notebook and pencil off my bedside table. My eyes travel down the long to-do list I made for myself this morning, starting with “#1: Plan to-do list,” which I’ve already put a satisfying line through, and going all the way down to “#22: Contemplate the afterlife.”

Number 22 was probably just a little ambitious for a Friday afternoon, but at least for now I can cross off number 17, “Decorate walls.” I look around the formerly stark room I’ve spent the better part of the morning making my own, once again, the wall now filled with the artwork Abby’s given me through the years, bits of color and life jumping out from clinical white walls, each once a product of a different trip to the hospital.

Me with an IV drip in my arm, the bag bursting with butterflies of different shapes and colors and sizes. Me wearing a nose cannula, the cable twisting to form an infinity sign. Me with my nebulizer, the vapor pouring out of it forming a cloudy halo. Then there’s the most delicate one, a faded tornado of stars that she drew my very first time here.

It’s not as polished as her later stuff, but somehow that make me like it more.

And right underneath all that vibrancy is…my pile of medical equipment, sitting right next to a hideous green faux-leather hospital chair that comes standard for every room here at Saint Grace’s. I eye the empty IV pole warily, knowing my first of many rounds of antibiotics over the next month is exactly and hour and nine minutes away. Lucky me.

“Here it is!” a voice calls from just outside my room. I look up as the door slowly creaks open and two familiar faces appear in the small crack of the doorway. Camila and Mya have visited me here a million times in the past decade, and they still can’t get from the lobby to my room without asking every person in the building for directions.

“Wrong room,” I say, grinning as a look of pure relief washes over them.

Mya laughs, pushing the door open the rest of the way. “It honestly could’ve been. This place is still a freaking maze.”

“Are you guys excited?” I say, hopping up to give them both hugs.

Camila pulls away to look at me, pouting, her dark-brown hair practically drooping along with her. “Second trip in a row without you.”

It’s true. This isn’t the first time my cystic fibrosis has taken me out of the running for some class trip or sunny vacation or school event. About 70 percent of the time, things are pretty normal for me. I go to school, I hang out with Camila and Mya, I work on my app. I just do it all with low-functioning lungs. But for the remaining 30 percent of my time, CF controls my life. Meaning when I need to return to the hospital for a tune-up, I miss out on things like a class trip to the art museum or now our senior trip to Cabo.

This particular tune-up just happens to be centered around the fact that I need to be pumped with antibiotics to finally get rid of a sore throat and a fever that won’t go away.

That, and my lung function is tanking.

Mya plunks down on my bed, sighing dramatically as she lies back. “It’s only two weeks. Are you sure you can’t come? It’s our senior trip, Stella!”

“I’m sure,” I say firmly, and they know I mean it. We’ve been friends since middle school, and they know by now that when it comes to plans, my CF gets the final say.

It’s not like I don’t want to go. It’s just, quite literally, a matter of life or death. I can’t go off to Cabo, or anywhere for that matter, and risk not coming back. I can’t do that to my parents. Not now.

“You were the head of the planning committee this year, though! Can’t you get them to move your treatments? We don’t want you to be stuck here,” Camila says, gesturing to the hospital room I so carefully decorated.

I shake my head. “We still have spring break together! And I haven’t missed a spring break ‘Besties Weekend’ since eighth grade, when I got that cold!” I say, smiling hopefully and looking back and forth between Camila and Mya. Neither of them returns my smile, though, and both opt to continue looking like I killed their family pets.

I notice they’re both holding the bags of bathing suits I told them to bring, so I grab Camila’s out of her hand in a desperate attempt to change the subject. “Ooh, suit options! We have to pick out the best ones!” Since I’m not going to be basking in the warm Cabo sun in a bathing suit of my choice, I figure I can at least live a little vicariously through my friends by picking out theirs with them.

This perks them both up. We eagerly dump their bags out on my bed, creating a mishmash of florals and polka dots and fluorescents.

I scan Camila’s pile of bathing suits, grabbing a red one that falls somewhere between a bikini bottom and a single piece of thread, which I know without a doubt is a hand-me-down from her older sister, Megan.

I toss it to her. “This one. It’s very you.”

Her eyes widen, and she holds it up to her waist, fixing her wire-frame glasses in surprise. “I mean, the tan lines would be pretty great--“

“Camila,” I say, grabbing a white-and-blue-striped bikini that I can tell will fit her like a glove. “I’m kidding. This one’s perfect.”

She looks relieved, grabbing the bikini from me. I turn my attention to Mya’s pile, but she’s busy texting away from the green hospital chair in the corner, a big smile plastered on her face.

I dig out a one-piece that she’s had since swim class in sixth grade, holding it up to her with a smirk. “How’s this, Mya?”

“Love it! Looks great!” she says, typing furiously.

Camila snorts, putting her suits back in the bag and giving me a sly smile. “Mason and Brooke called it quits,” she says in explanation.

“Oh my god. They did not!” I say. This is news. Amazing news.

Well, not for Brooke. But Mya has been crushing on Mason since Mrs. Wilson’s English class sophomore year, so this trip is her chance to finally make a move.

It bums me out I won’t be there to help her make a killer ten-step “Whirlwind Cabo Romance with Mason” plan.

Mya puts her phone away and shrugs casually, standing and pretending to look at some of the artwork on the walls. “No big deal. We’re going to meet him and Taylor at the airport tomorrow morning.”

I give her a look and she breaks out into a huge smile. “Okay, it’s a little bit of a big deal!”

We all squeal with excitement, and I hold up an adorable polka-dot one-piece that is super vintage, and right up her alley. She nods, grabbing it and holding it up to her body. “I was totally hoping you’d pick this one.”

I look over to see Camila glancing at her watch nervously, which is no surprise. She’s a champion procrastinator and probably hasn’t packed a single thing for Cabo yet.

Besides the bikini, of course.

She sees me notice her checking her watch and grins sheepishly. “I still need to buy a beach towel for tomorrow.”

Classic Camila.

I stand up, my heart sinking in my chest at the thought of them leaving, but I don’t want to hold them up. “You guys have to get going, then! Your plane is at, like, the ass crack of dawn tomorrow.”

Mya looks around the room sadly while Camila twists her bag of suits dejectedly around her hand. The two of them are making this even harder that I thought it would be. I swallow the guilt and annoyance that come bubbling up. It’s not like they’re the ones missing their senior trip to Cabo. At least they’ll be together.

I give them both big smiles, practically pulling them to the door with me. My cheeks hurt from all this fake positivity, but I don’t want to ruin it for them.

“We’ll send you a bunch of pictures, okay?” Camila says, giving me a hug.

“You’d better! Photoshop me into a few,” I say to Mya, who is a wizard at Adobe. “You won’t even know I wasn’t there!”

They linger in the doorway, and I give them an exaggerated eye roll, playfully shoving them out into the hallway. “Get outta here. Go have a great trip.”

“Love you, Stella!” they call as they walk down the hallway. I watch them go, waving until Mya’s bouncing curls are completely out of sight, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be walking out with them, off to pack instead of unpack.

My smile fades as I close the door and see the old family pictures pinned carefully to the back of my door.

It was taken a few summers ago on the front porch of our house during a Fourth of July barbecue. Me, Abby, Mom, and Dad, goofy smiles on all our faces as the camera captures the moment. I feel a swell of homesickness as I hear the sound of the worn, rickety wood of that front step, creaking underneath us as we laugh and get close for the picture. I miss that feeling. All of us together, happy and healthy. For the most part.

This isn’t helping. Singing, I pull myself away, looking over at the medicine cart.

In all honesty, I like it here. It’s been my home away from home since I was six, so I usually don’t mind coming. I get my treatments, I take my medicine, I drink my body weight in milk shakes, I get to see Barb and Julie, I leave until my next flare-up. Simple as that. But this time I feel anxious, restless even. Because instead of just wanting to get healthy, I need to get healthy. For my parent’s sake.

Because they’ve gone and messed up everything by getting divorced. And after losing each other, they won’t be able to handle losing me, too. I know it.

If I can get better, maybe…

One step at a time. I head over to the wall oxygen, double-checking the flowmeter is set properly, and listen for the steady hiss of the oxygen coming out of it before I pull the tube around my ears and slide the prongs of the cannula into my nose. Sighing, I sink down onto the familiarly uncomfortable hospital mattress, and take a deep breath.

I reach for my pocket notebook to read the next thing on my to-do list and keep myself preoccupied-- “#18: Record a video.”

I grab my pencil and bite it thoughtfully as I stare at the words I wrote earlier. Oddly enough, contemplating the afterlife seems easier right now.

But the list is the list, so, exhaling, I reach over to my bedside table to get my laptop, sitting cross-legged on the new floral comforter I picked out yesterday at Target while Camila and Mya were buying clothes for Cabo. I didn’t even need the comforter, but they were so enthusiastic in helping my pick something out for my trip to the hospital, I felt bad not getting it. At least it sort of matches my walls now, bright and vibrant and colorful.

I drum my fingers anxiously on the keyboard, and squint at my reflection in the screen while my computer starts up. I frown at the mess of long brown hair and try to smooth it down, running my fingers through it over and over. Frustrated, I pull my hair tie off my wrist and resort to a messy bun in an attempt to look halfway decent for this video. I grab my copy of Java Coding for Android Phones off my bedside table and put my laptop on top of it, so I don’t show some serious under chin, and can have a shot that’s remotely flattering.

Logging on to my YouTube Live account, I adjust the webcam, making sure you can see Abby’s lung drawing directly behind me.

It’s the perfect backdrop.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, hearing the familiar wheeze of my lungs trying desperately to fill with air through the sea of mucus. Exhaling slowly, I slap a big Hallmark-greeting-card smile on my face before opening my eyes and pressing the enter key to go live.

“Hey guys. Is everyone having a good Black Friday? I waited for snow that never came!”

I glance into the corner of my screen as I turn the camera toward the hospital window, the sky a cloudy gray, the trees on the other side of the glass completely barren. I smile as my livestream count goes steadily past 1K, a fraction of the 23,940 YouTube subscribers who tune in to see how my battle with cystic fibrosis is going.

“So, I could be getting ready to go on a plane to Cabo for my school’s senior trip, but instead I’ll be spending this holiday at my home away from home, thanks to a mild sore throat.”

Plus, a raging fever. I think back to when I got my temperature taken on intake this morning, the flashing numbers on the thermometer blaring out a strong 102. I don’t want to mention it in the video, though, because my parents will definitely be watching this later.

As far as they know, I just have a nagging cold.

“Who needs two whole weeks of sunshine and blue skies and beaches when you can have a month of luxury right in your own backyard?”

I rattle off the amenities, counting them on my fingers. “Let’s see. I’ve got a full-time concierge, unlimited chocolate pudding, and laundry services. Oh, and Barb talked Dr. Hamid into letting me keep all my meds and treatments in my room this time! Check it out!”

I turn the webcam to the pile of medical equipment and then to the medicine cart next to me, which I’ve already perfectly organized into alphabetical and chronological order by the scheduled dosage time I plugged into the app I made. It’s finally ready for a test run!

That was number 14 on today’s to-do list, and I’m pretty proud of how it turned out.

My computer dings as comments begin rolling in. I see one mentioning Barb’s name with some heart emoji’s. She’s a crowd favorite just as much as she’s my favorite. Ever since I first came to the hospital more than ten years ago, she’s been the respiratory therapist here, slipping candy to me and the other CFers, like my partner in crime Poe. She holds our hand through even the most bone-crushing grips of pain like it’s nothing.

I’ve been making YouTube videos for about half that time to raise awareness about cystic fibrosis. Through the years more people that I could have ever imagined began following my surgeries and my treatments and my visits to Saint Grace’s, sticking with me through my awkward braces phase and everything.

“My lung function is down to thirty-five percent,” I say as I turn the camera back to me. “Dr. Hamid says I’m steadily climbing to the top of the transplant list now, so I’ll be here for a month, taking antibiotics, sticking to my regimen…” My eyes travel to the drawing behind me, the healthy lungs looming over my head, just out of reach.

I shake my head and smile, leaning over to grab a bottle from the medicine cart. “That means taking my medications on time, wearing my AffloVest to break up that mucus, and” -- I hold up the bottle -- “a whole lot of this liquid nutrition through my G-tube every night. If any ladies out there are wishing they could eat five thousand calories a day and still have a Cabo-ready beach body, I’m up for a trade.”

My computer dings away, messages pouring in one after another. Reading a few, I let the positivity push away all the negativity I felt going into this.

Hang in there, Stella! We love you.

Marry me!

“New lungs can come in at any moment, so I’ve got to be ready!” I say the words like I believe them wholeheartedly. Though after all these years I’ve learned to not get my hopes up too much.

DING! Another message.

I’ve got CF and you remind me to always stay positive. XOXO.

My heart warms, and I have a final big smile for the camera, for that person fighting the same fight that I am. This time it’s genuine. “All right, guys, thanks for watching! Gotta double-check my afternoon and evening meds now. You know how anal I am. I hope everyone has a great week. Bye!”

I end the live video and exhale slowly, closing the browser to see the smiling, winter-formal-ready faces on my desktop background. Me, Camila, and Mya, arm in arm, all in the same deep-red lipstick we’d picked out together at Sephora. Camila had wanted a bright pink, but Mya had convinced us that red was the color we NEEDED in our life. I’m still not convinced that was true.

Lying back, I pick up the worn panda resting on my pillows and wrap my arms tightly around him. Patches, my sister, Abby, named him. And what a fitting name that became. The years of coming in and out of the hospital with me have certainly taken their toll on him. Multicolored patches are sewn over spots where he ripped open, his stuffing pouring out when I squeezed too hard during the most painful of my treatments.

There’s a knock on my door, and it flies open not even a second later as Barb busts in holding an armful of pudding cups for me to make my medication with. “I’m back! Delivery!”

When it comes to Barb, not much has changed in the past six months, or the past ten years for that matter; she’s still the best. The same short, curly hair. The same colorful scrubs. The same smile that lights up the entire room.

But then an extremely pregnant Julie trails behind her, carrying an IV drip.

Now that’s a big change from six months ago.

I swallow my surprise and grin at Barb as she places the pudding at the edge of my bed for me to sort onto my medicine cart, then pulls out a list to double-check that the cart has everything I need on it.

“What would I do without you?” I ask.

She winks. “You’d die.”

Julie hangs the IV bag of antibiotics next to me, her belly brushing up against my arm. Why didn’t she tell me she’s pregnant? I go rigid, smiling thinly, as I eye her baby bump and try to subtly move away from it. “A lot’s changed in the past six months!”

She rubs her belly, blue eyes shining brightly as she gives me a big smile. “You want to feel her kick?”

“No,” I say, a little too quickly. I feel bad when she looks slightly taken aback at my bluntness, her blonde eyebrows arching up in surprise. But I don’t want any of my bad juju near that perfect, healthy baby.

Luckily, her eyes travel to my desktop background. “Are those your winter formal pics? I saw a bunch on Insta!” she says, excited. “How was it?”

“Super fun!” I say with a ton of enthusiasm as the awkwardness melts away. I open a folder on my desktop filled with pictures. “Crushed it on the dance floor for a solid three songs. Got to ride in a limo. The food didn’t suck. Plus, I made it to ten thirty before I got tired, which was way better than expected! Who needs a curfew when your body does it for you, right?”

I show her and Barb some pictures we all took at Mya’s house before the dance while she hooks me up to the IV drip and tests my blood pressure and O2 reading. I remember I used to be afraid of needles, but with every blood draw and IV drip, that fear slowly drifted away. Now I don’t even flinch. It makes me feel strong every time I get poked or prodded. Like I can overcome anything.

“All righty,” Barb says when they get all my vitals and finish oohing and aahing over my sparkly, silver A-line gown and my white rose corsage. Camila, Mya, and I decided to swap corsages when we went stag to the formal. I didn’t want to take a date, not that anybody asked me anyway. It was super possible that I would need to bail the day of, or wouldn’t feel well halfway through the dance, which wouldn’t have been fair to whomever I could’ve gone with. The two of them didn’t want me to feel left out, so instead of getting dates of their own, they decided we’d all go together. Because of the Mason developments, though, that doesn’t seem super likely for prom.

Barb nods to the filled medicine cart, resting a hand on her hip. “I’ll still monitor you, but you’re pretty much good to go.” She holds up a pill bottle. “Remember, you have to take this one with food,” she says, putting it carefully back and holding up another one. “And make sure you don’t--“

“I got it Barb,” I say. She’s just being her usual motherly self, but she holds up her hands in surrender. Deep down she knows that I’ll be absolutely fine.

I wave good-bye as they both head towards the door, using the remote next to my bed to sit it up a little more.

“By the way,” Barb says slowly as Julie ducks out of the room. Her eyes narrow at me and she gives me a gentle warning look. “I want you to finish your IV drip first, but Poe’s just checking in to room 310.”

“What? Really?” I say, my eyes widening as I move to launch myself out of bed to find him. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me he’d be here!

Barb steps forward, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me gently back down onto the bed before I can fully stand. “What part of ‘I want you to finish your IV drip first’ did you not get?”

I smile sheepishly at her, but how could she blame me? Poe was the first friend I made when I came to the hospital. He’s the only one who really gets it. We’ve fought CF together for a freaking decade. We’ll, together from a safe distance, anyway.

We can’t get too close to each other. For cystic fibrosis patients, cross-infection from certain bacteria strains is a huge risk. One touch between two CFers can literally kill both of them.

Her serious frown gives way to a gentle smile. “Settle in. Relax. Take a chill pill.” She eyes the medicine cart, jokingly. “Not literally.”

I nod, a real laugh spilling out, as a fresh wave of relief fills me at the news of Poe being here too.

“I’ll stop by later to help you with your AffloVest,” Barb says over her shoulder as she leaves. Grabbing my phone, I settle for a quick text message instead of a mad dash down the hall to room 310.

You’re here? Me too. Tune-up.

Not even a second goes by and my screen lights up with his replay: Bronchitis. Just happened. I’ll live. Come by and wave at me later. Gonna crash now.

I lean back on the bed, exhaling long and slow.

Truth is, I’m nervous about this visit.

My lung function fell to 35 percent so quickly: And now, even more than the fever and the sore throat, being here in the hospital for the next month doing treatment after treatment to stem the tide while my friends are far away is freaking me out. A lot. Thirty-five percent is a number that keeps my mom up at night. She doesn’t say it, but her computer does. Search after search about lung transplants and lung-function percentages, new combinations and phrasing but always the same idea. How to get more time. It makes me more afraid than I’ve even been before. But not for me. When you have CF, you sort of get used to the idea of dying young. No, I’m terrified for my parents. And what will become of them if the worst does happen, now that they don’t have each other.

But with Poe here, someone who understands, I can get through it. Once I’m actually allowed to see him.

 The rest of the afternoon goes by slowly.

I work on my app, double-checking that I worked out the programming error that kept coming up when I tried to run it on my phone. I put some Fucidin on the sore skin around my G-tube in an attempt to make it less fire-engine red and more of a summer-sunset pink. I check and double-check my “At Bedtime” pile of bottles and pills. I reply to my parents’ every-hour-on-the-hour texts. I gaze out the window as the afternoon fades and see a couple about my age, laughing and kissing as they walk into the hospital. It’s not every day you see a happy couple coming into a hospital. Watching them holding hands and exchanging longing glances, I wonder what it would be like to have somebody look at me like that. People are always looking at my cannula, my scars, my G-tube, not at me.

It doesn’t make guys want to line up by my locker.

I “dated” Tyler Paul my freshman year of high school, but that lasted all of a month, until I came down with an infection and needed to go to the hospital for a few weeks. Even just a few days in, his texts started to get further and further apart, and I decided to break up with him. Besides, it was nothing like that couple out in the courtyard. Tyler’s palms were sweaty when we held hands, and he wore so much Axe body spray, I would go into coughing fits every time we hugged.

This thought process is not exactly a helpful distraction, so I even give number 22, “Contemplate the afterlife,” on my to-do list a try, and read some of Life, Death, and Immortality: The Journey of the Soul.

But pretty soon, I opt to just lie on my bed, looking up at the ceiling and listening to the wheezing sound of my breathing. I can hear the air struggling to get past the mucus that takes up space in my lungs. Rolling over, I crack open a vial of Flovent to give my lungs a helping hand. I pour the liquid into a nebulizer by my bed, the small machine humming to life as vapors pour from the mouthpiece.

I sit, staring at the drawing of the lungs while I breathe in and out.

And in and out.

And in and…out.

I hope when my parents come to visit over the next few days, my breathing is a little less labored. I told them both that the other one was taking me to the hospital this morning, but I actually just took an Uber here from the corner a street over from my mom’s new place. I don’t want either of them to have to face seeing me here again, at least until I’m looking better.

My mom was already giving me troubled looks when I needed to put my portable oxygen on just to pack.

There’s a knock on my door, and I look over from the wall I’m staring at, hoping it’s Poe stopping by to wave at me. I pull the mouthpiece off as Barb pops her head in. She drops a surgical face mask and latex gloves onto a table next to my door.

“New one upstairs. Meet me in fifteen?”

My heart leaps.

I nod, and she gives me a big smile before ducking out of the room. I grab the mouthpiece and take one more quick hit of the Flovent, letting the vapor fill my lungs the best I can before I’m up and moving. Shutting the nebulizer off, I pick up my portable oxygen concentrator from where it’s been charging next to my bed, press the circular button in the center to turn it on, and pull the strap over my shoulder. After I put the cannula in, I head over to the door, pulling on the blue latex gloves and wrapping the strings of the face mask around my ears.

Sliding into my Converse, I push my door open then squeeze out into the whitewashed corridor, deciding to go the long way so I can walk past Poe’s room.

I pass the nurses’ station in the center of the floor, waving hello to a young nurse’s assistance named Sarah, who is smiling over the top of the new, sleek metal cubicle.

They replaced that before my last visit six months ago. It’s the same height, but it used to be made of this worn wood that had probably been around since the hospital was founded sixty-some years ago. I remember when I was small enough to sneak past to whatever room Poe was in, my head still a good few inches from clearing the desk.

Now it comes up to my elbow.

Heading down the hallway, I grin as I see a small Colombian flag taped on the outside of a half-open door, an overturned skateboard keeping it propped slightly open.

I peer inside to see Poe fast asleep on his bed, curled into a surprisingly tiny ball underneath his plaid comforter, a suave Gordon Ramsay poster, positioned directly over his bed, keeping watch over him.

I draw a heart on the dry-erase board he’s stuck to the outside of his door to let him know I’ve been there, before moving off down the hallway toward the wooden double doors that will take me to the main part of the hospital, up and elevator, down C Wing, across the bridge into Building 2, and straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

One of the perks of coming here or more than a decade is that I know the hospital just as well as I knew the house I grew up in. every winding corridor, or hidden staircase, or secret shortcut, exploring over and over again.

But before I can open the double doors, a room door swings open next to me, and I turn my head in surprise to see the profile of a tall, thin boy I’ve never seen before. He’s standing in the doorway of room 315, holding a sketchbook in one hand and a charcoal pencil in the other, a white hospital bracelet like mine wrapped around his wrist.

I stop dead.

His tousled, dark-chocolate-brown hair is perfectly unruly, like he just popped out of a Teen Vogue and landed smack in the middle of Saint Grace’s Hospital. His eyes are a deep blue, the corners crinkling as he talks.

But it’s his smile that catches my eye more than anything else. It’s lopsided, and charming, and it has a magnetic warmth to it.

He’s so cute, my lung function feels like it dropped another 10 percent.

It’s a good thing this mask is covering half my face, because I did not plan for cute guys on my floor this hospital stay.

“I’ve clocked their schedules,” he says as he puts the pencil casually behind his ear. I shift slightly to the left and see that he’s grinning at the couple I saw coming into the hospital earlier. “So, unless you plant your ass on the call button, no one’s going to bother you for at least an hour. And don’t forget. I gotta sleep in that bed, dude.”

“Way ahead of you.” I watch as the girl unzips the duffel bag she’s holding to show him blankets.

Wait. What?

Cute guy whistles. “Look at that. A regular Girl Scout.”

“We’re no animals, man,” her boyfriend say to him, giving him a big, dude-to-dude smile.

Oh my god. Gross. He’s letting his friends do it in his room, like it’s a motel.

I grimace and resume walking down the hallway to the exit doors, putting as much space as possible between me and whatever scheme is going on in there.

So much for cute.

#cysticfibrosis #Cystic Fibrosis Awareness #cystic fibrosis #advocacy #Cystic #Fibrosis #book #five feet apart #five #feet #apart #Rachael

[3monthsineurope]

July 24 and 25, 2021

Happy 27th birthday, Haley! I love you and hope you’re having a blast in Mexico with Malik!

Saturday I woke up at 8, which you all know is really early for me. But Catherine and I were taking a red eye flight to visit Nicole in Florida! I wanted to be tired for the plane. Ingvar and I both got up and showered, then I drove him to his car, close to Western. He had played Mario with friends the night before, and Ubered home. We were both pretty tired. I dropped off Ingvar and we said our goodbyes. He was going golfing with some of his best friends! I went and dropped off some things at Value Village for donation, then made myself some spaghetti squash with meat sauce and runny eggs for breakfast. I took care of my plants and worked on packing. I had packed most of my things the day before, but there was still some to do. I put on some make up, then it was time to meet up with my friend, Rachael!

Rachael and I met while we were at Western! We don’t see each other often, but we try to when we are visiting each other’s towns. We met at Woods at Boulevard and caught up for about an hour. It was so nice to see her! After our coffee date, I went home and laid down and rested my eyes for about 15 minutes. I finished all my packing, then left Bellingham around 3.

I spent the drive down to Kirkland listening to voice memos and responding to my Taylor Swift friend, Erica. I also talked to Grandma Sue. Before I knew it, I was parking in Kirkland! Catherine and I were so excited to visit Nicole in Rockledge, Florida! We wanted to go last year, but obviously Covid prevented that. Nicole and Catherine had been roommates at Western, with me right across the hall. We’ve been friends for almost 11 years now! Nicole and I have traveled together in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Nicole, Catherine, and I did New Orleans in 2018! We were excited to finally visit her in Florida. (Yes, I was just in Florida, but two different friends asked me to come at two different times, haha.) I got to meet Catherine and her boyfriend’s Brad’s dog, Bella! She is so sweet!

We hung around their apartment for about two hours, just catching up and watching the Olympics. Brad was nice enough to drive us about a half hour to SeaTac. I sat in the back with Bella, and didn’t feel anxious at all! Brad dropped us off right around 7:30, with our flight being at 9:45. I didn’t have TSA precheck this time (I think I forgot to put it in my info when we booked our trip, months ago), so Catherine and I went through general security. There was absolutely no line! We got through, then headed to The Club at SEA—the lounge we could get into with my card. It was Catherine’s first time in an airport lounge. We each had two drinks and some yummy snacks. We hung out for over an hour, then took the train to N Gates. Our plane started boarding around 9. Catherine and I sat together in an exit row, with her on the isle and me in the middle.

The flight to Orlando was about five and a half hours. I finished my blog from Stuart, Florida, and listened listened to music while we were taking off and a bit after. Catherine ended up finishing one book on her phone and started another on the flight. The flight attendants passed our drinks and snacks and then I tried to sleep. Unfortunately, there was a very rude and obnoxious man in the row behind us. He was complaining about Alaska Airlines the whole time, and even called one of the flight attendants fat! He lied to them, too, about how many drinks he had in total, so they would keep serving him alcohol.

Anyways, because this man was so loud, I only ended up sleeping about two hours. Catherine didn’t snooze at all! I couldn’t believe it. Normally, I sit in the window seat, so maybe I didn’t sleep much because I didn’t have the window to lean on? We landed in Orlando right around 6am, eastern time. Ingvar was still awake at home, hanging out with his friends, hahah. Catherine and I disembarked the plane, took a small train to the main part of the terminal. We both went to the bathroom, then found Nicole! It was so early, hahah. It was so nice of Nicole to pick us up, because she lives about 45 minutes to an hour away. We were so excited to see her! Even though we both saw her about two weeks prior, when she was in Seattle for her grandma’s funeral. Nicole has a cute little Mazda. Nicole he picked out a breakfast place for us, called Keke’s. We drove about fifteen minutes to get there, and we arrived before they opened at 7, haha! We caught up in the car, then headed inside right at 7.

For breakfast we all had coffee (Catherine and I were gonna need it, that’s for sure!) and I had a combo with raspberry stuffed French toast, a chocolate chip pancake, eggs, and ham. It was a lot of food! I definitely took my leftovers to go. Nicole had an egg white omelette and Catherine had some French toast. It was all tasty and the service was really great. From Keke’s, we headed to Rockledge, the town that Nicole and Oscar live in. Nicole actually ended up going on the wrong roads for a bit, which was kinda funny!

In Rockledge, we stopped at the grocery store, Publix. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Publix before? It was kind of like a Whole Foods, with expensive produce. Nicole got some stuff for her and Oscar, and some snacks and sandwich stuff for us. It was an expensive grocery tip! Catherine and I paid for some, though. Next up, was their apartment! Oscar met us in the garage and helped withy groceries. I love Oscar, I didn’t get to see him when he was in Seattle the weeks before. He’s such a nice guy. Nicole gave us a tour of her place. They have a three bedroom and two bathroom apartment in a large community. One bedroom is their master, one is their guest room, and one is Oscar’s office. Their living room and kitchen is a huge space, and they have a ton of closets and windows. They have a laundry room and a screened in porch, and a one car garage. I loved seeing their place!

Catherine chose the guest bedroom to stay in, while I got set up on a futon in Oscar’s office. We hung around for a bit and caught up with Oscar (and Nicole, of course), then I took a shower in Nicole’s bathroom (Nicole usually had the master bedroom’s bathroom as her own, with Oscar having the guest bathroom as his own). It felt so good to shower, wash my face, and brush my teeth after our red eye flight! Catherine showered too, then we were ready to take on the day!

Unfortunately, when Catherine and I booked our flights a few months ago, Nicole was sure she wouldn’t have to go back to work (she’s a sixth grade science and math teacher in the nearby town of Cocoa), to start the process of setting up her classroom and getting ready for the kids to come in August. A few week ago, though, she was informed that she had to go back July 26, the second day of our trip. What a bummer! So, the day we arrived, July 25, a Sunday, was our only full day without her going to work. We had to make the most of it! Oscar ordered us all Chipotle, then we all sunscreened up (thanks for making sure there was plenty of sunscreen, Nicole!) and headed to their apartment pool. We all brought our own beach chairs on our backs, and they even had a cooler for drinks! All four of us hung out at the pool for a few hours and chatted and relaxed. We ate our Chipotle and had some hard seltzers and hopped in and out of the pool. Catherine, Nicole, and I had been best friends for more than ten years now, so there was no shortage of catching up and chatting we had to do. I ended up taking about an hour nap in the shade, which was so nice!

After the pool, we rinsed off and got ready to go to the Cocoa Beach pier (Cocoa Beach is a different town than Cocoa, surprisingly). Oscar stayed home to fill out some documents (Nicole and Oscar had just been approved for a home loan! He needed to do some stuff with that), so Nicole gave us a little tour. She showed us where her school was, their gym, where they used to live, some wild peacocks in Cocoa Beach, and we ended up at the pier. The beach was pretty busy, even around 7! People were surfing and chilling on the beach, and their pier was full of restaurants, shops, and people. It’s pretty wild, that when you visit Florida, it’s almost like the pandemic doesn’t exist. Obviously it is still an issue, but you wouldn’t think so in Florida. Nicole led us down to the end of the pier, to a restaurant called Rikki Tiki Tavern. We sat at the bar top and all had a drink (my frozen mango madness was amazing!) and shared some coconut prawns! The view out there was amazing. We could almost even see launch pads for rockets, down the shore.

After our snack and drinks, we went down to the sand and water, for Catherine to put her feet in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time! Nicole showed us how she’s learnt to walk on her hands, then we called it a night. She drove us back to Rockledge and we got back around 9. Dang, we were all pretty tired! Catherine and I needed to get some rest, hahah. Nicole and Oscar had to get up early to go to work, so we all decided to go to bed. I called Mom after doing my bedtime routine, and it was nice to talk to her. I fell asleep pretty quickly, seeing how I only got three hours of sleep in the last day and a half. I was so happy to be in Florida, though! :]

[typingtess]

So, I did this.

PaleyLive opened by showing the first episode of season two.  Very good episode (have a business trip next week and plan to watch the rest of season two on the road).

The Panel was J.R. Ramirez (Oscar), Eka Darville (Malcolm), Janet McTeer (new character they didn’t tell us anything about), Carrie-Anne Moss (Jeri Hogarth), Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), series writer/executive producer Melissa Rosenberg, Allie Gross who is a big shot at Netflix and Jeph Loeb who is a big shot at Marvel TV.

They really didn’t want to go into the specifics of season two since not everyone has seen it.  They did talk about general themes. Season one was about what was going on in Jessica’s head.  Season two is about what’s going in Jessica’s heart.  

Big part of season two will be the relationships Jessica has with Trish and with Jeri.  Trish truly is her sister - they love each other even when they can’t stand each other.  Trish is looking to help Jessica but she’s also looking to help herself.  She wants to do good in the world and thinks that’s what her career is about.  She also thinks doing good for Jessica help the both of them.

Jeri has a number of big scenes with Jessica this season.  Carrie-Ann Moss said she is nothing like Jeri and Krysten Ritter is nothing like Jessica so they have such an odd time being these very different people.  When Jeri goes to Jessica’s office, Moss realized it was the first time she was on that set - she was surprised by it.

Going back to the sister thing, Eka Darville sees his relationship with Jessica as a brother-sister relationship. Darville is 20-pounds heavier now than when he shot season one.  Junkie Malcolm was skin and bones, clean and sober Malcolm is healthier.  

Jessica’s powers are looked at differently by writer/executive producer Melissa Rosenberg and Krysten Ritter.  Rosenberg thinks Jessica’s powers are just part of her character, the way being tall or having dark hair is part of Jessica’s character.  That’s why while she uses them, she’s not obsessed with them.  Ritter thinks slightly differently.  She believes Jessica despises the powers - they were something she got when she lost her family.

Ritter spoke of creating Jessica.  Jessica walks differently than Ritter, speaks with a much deeper voice.  Ritter explained that Jessica has a fearless swagger when she walks.  Jessica’s voice comes from deep inside her gut because she’s forcing all her emotions down.  Ritter says her real life voice comes from high up in her chest “because I’m adorable.”  The line was met with great laughs from the crowd and the cast/crew.

Season one was filmed from November to April in New York City.  That winter was very cold with a scene shot at 12N in the Bronx one day being filmed in 9-degree temperatures.  The Defenders was shot in the winter as well but season two of Jessica Jones was shot in the spring/summer and that is much more to Ritter’s liking. She’s fine with the heavy leather coat and the scarf in the summer.  Humid is better than cold.

The long time between season one and season two gave Krysten Ritter time to write her book.  It is rare as an actor to have time off but to know you have jobs so she wrote the book when she had time.

J.R. Ramirez didn’t say much except Oscar wants to be a good father to his son and Jessica sees that.

Janet McTeer didn’t say much about her character because she’s not supposed to but was happy to be doing such physical work.

As for the action work - Ritter and McTeer spoke about doing a scene where they had a lot of dialogue and action.  They shoot the dialogue first and then the action.  Makes sense, you don’t want tired performers trying to deliver a lot of dialogue.  The scene McTeer remembers most was one like this - a ton of dialogue followed by action and all at 2AM.

Wrapping up, the actors were asked what Marvel character would they like to have crossover.  Jeph Loeb said they hear from fans all the time and the answer is usually “The Hulk” but that isn’t going to happen.  But using any character, both Krysten Ritter and J.R. Ramirez said “The Punisher”.  Eka Darville was the only other actor with an opinion - “Wakanda forever”.

ETA:  All episodes this season were directed by women.  Melissa Rosenberg was stunned by the “deep bench” of women directors available.

A fun night.

#paleylive #aka jessica jones #jessica jones

[itspatsy]

If she had the abilities, what would the Trish Walker iteration of being the Captain America type super hero look like?

Well, I’m not sure, because there are all these compounding and compacting elements [because] she is a victim of child trauma. She used to be a celebrity [and now] she has tremendous outreach in terms of her voice. There’s a whole bunch of potential ways she could seed it with her radio station, and that she has friends like Jessica that are super heroes that have taken a very different path. I don’t know exactly what it would look like for her.

What I love about the show and all of the characters in it is none of the characters are just one thing... They all have the thing that they present to the world and the thing that they really are. And sometimes more than one alias, they have more than one “A.K.A.” And I think Trish has a number of them. I think there is a part of her that is alpha that actually, if she had the kind of abilities that Jessica had, she would probably be President of the United States in that world or the equivalent. She would take it as far as she could because she has that in her... but I also think there’s another version of it where Trish having the powers that Jessica has could really unravel here. She’s taken a step back from public life; she’s done a lot of work on herself. She’s been in expensive therapy, she has an apartment with like seventeen codes...

There’s a part of Trish that really enjoys being the silent support network. I think she really loves that. I think that’s enough for her, certainly in the first season though, she really wants to see Jessica thrive and heal and make it right and recover. And I think she absolutely means it. And then there’s the other potential reading of the radio show and playing the best best-friend ever that is about her setting herself up to kind of eventually get back in the spotlight, whatever that means. I think both are true. I think that’s very real and people are very often more than one thing or both at the same time.

There are a lot of contradictions in all of the characters in “Marvel’s Jessica Jones.” And Trish’s main contradiction, I think, is that she’s very pure of heart but she has a kind of unholy ambition right under the surface. She’ll take that pill, she’ll fight back against her ex-boyfriend, she’ll entangle herself with someone who is dangerous from the outset. Will Simpson is dangerous from the outset with Trish but she’ll entangle herself with him because, well, she’s got a blind spot because he was Kilgraved but also maybe that’s going to get her closer into the drama that’ll entangle her a little bit further. There’s a bunch of different dynamics going on.

-- Rachael Taylor (source)

#trish walker #marvel's jessica jones #rachael taylor #meta #some superheroes don't seek out being anything bigger than they are and it's just kind of thrust into their lap #others are on a quest for redemption and to right past wrongs #and then there's the kind that recognize they have the power to make a difference and feel a responsibility to take action #trish is more like that #she's got a stubborn reckless do-gooder streak #she wants to help people and fix the world because it's the right thing to do and she doesn't like to see people suffering #and it's something she wants to do with a kind of enthusiasm you don't always see #it's very sincere yet there's a lot of twisty motivations mixed up in it too #and i love that rachael talks about all these different dynamics that come from both pure and not so pure places #because people are so very complex #and are a million things at the same time #trish has got a good heart but also a lot of instability and darkness in her too #delving into the superhero world is probably not in her best interests #or something that would help her be her healthiest self #but on the other hand she'd sure as shit enjoy it and not be angsty about it all the time #bring on the hellcat

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 4 Episode 7: Group A Finals Commentary & Guesses

Hello my fellow Masked Singer lovers! Welcome (or Welcome Back) to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I, Ana, recap every single episode of The Masked Singer. So with this recap, it’s going to be different from my normal ones, where I usually start with the eliminated contestant, I am actually gonna go backwards since we had the smack down, by recapping first the performances, revealing who lost/had to be unmasked, and then at the end giving my guesses. I also did this on season 3 so it will make sense if you’ve seen them... but it will make sense as I go on I promise... so that said: let’s jump into it (please remember to like, comment your guesses/what you think, and follow for more Masked Singer fun)

The Group A finals consisted of 3 contestants going head to head with 1 going straight to the super six and the remaining 2 facing the smack down...

The 3 contestants were: Sun, Snow Owls, and Popcorn

First up was Sun ☀️ who sang Piece of My Heart by Janis Joplin

Performance: I absolutely loved this performance, she is so powerful and omg her voice gives me chills for real. She started super strong and didn’t falter the entire song, it was amazing! She is absolutely one of my favorites, and I have such a good feeling that she’s gonna win it all, because she is that good! For sure, best performance of the night.

Next up were our love birds the Snow Owls 🦉 who sang The Prayer by Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion

Performance: I love them a lot, like a lot, I really do, so what I am about to say hurts me. This wasn’t their strongest performance, I think the song choice wasn’t the best for their voices. Ok, hear me out, it was still so beautiful and emotional and ngl it’s not like I am saying they were horrible, I just wished they could have picked a different song. It suited more her voice than his, his was a bit shaky in the song, but it was still a beautiful performance. They are honestly such a wonderful addition to the show, I really love the Snow Owls, but they didn’t wow me this time unfortunately.

Lastly of the performances, we have Popcorn 🍿 singing Domino by Jessie J

Performance: Vocally, this performance was not as great as the others honestly speaking. It was great, none of these 3 are bad by any means, there isn’t anyone who is glaringly bad of a vocalist compared to the other ones in this group. It’s just Popcorn also didn’t wow me unfortunately. The song choice was ok and I get she was trying to have fun and be more upbeat, but it kind of fell flat for me.

So, the result came in & the winner of the round was (not surprisingly):

Sun ☀️

So that means that Snow Owls 🦉 and Popcorn 🍿 are in the SMACKDOWN... Here’s how it went:

This smackdown was more of a love ballad kind of smack down with:

Snow Owls singing Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion and

Popcorn singing (Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams

Owls commentary: It was beautiful and much better than their first performance, I wish they would have sung this song instead of The Prayer, but whatever I guess

Popcorn commentary: Meh, it was also better than her first performance and it was a different tone to her voice which was really pretty, but of the 2 I felt like she should have gone home/been unmasked

But having said that, the ones who did go home (you probably already got it from the fact that I said “ones” and that last sentence haha) were:

Snow Owls 🦉

who were revealed to be (as I previously predicted):

Clint Black and Lisa Hartman-Black

OMG thank you to YouTube comments for helping me guess these 2 but I am really happy I did... (5/7 right woohoo 😆).. however, I am super sad that they went home I really loved them like a lot... they were super cute and sweet and I wish they would’ve gone to the super six instead of Popcorn *sigh* ...

Anyways here are the clues from the last clue package that gave them away:

Rocking Horse: the movie they were in together Flicka: Country Pride

NASA shuttle: he recorded a PSA for NASA

Roy Rogers: Clint had a song with Roy Rogers

Parthenon in Nashville= they lived in Nashville since 2002

Clue from the branch friend (each person had a friend or family member giving a special clue): snow owls k-i-s-s-i-n-g in a tree= they are a married couple not siblings ofc

Anyways now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at guesses for the 2 remaining contestants going into the Super Six:

1. First we have ☀️ , who I still am convinced is LeAnn Rimes

Omg like this is so her, I am tripling down on this answer, I knew it ever since week 1, here are the clues to try to convince you:

The “Sol Mate” dude= referring to her husband, actor Eddie Cibrian (I know the guy from playing Ross on Baby Daddy but look him up, he’s been in other stuff too)

Angel wind chime= can be a reference to her song On the Side of Ángels or her 2002 album Twisted Angel

Cows= reference to either her being a country artist or her song Cattle Call

The Clue her hubby gave= she has a gold record= that, she does, my friend, her song Blue went gold

2. Last but not least, we have the 🍿, who I am doubling down on my guess for: Taylor Dayne

The Queen BFF= been on this show before: one of her best friends is Leah Remini, who was a guest judge on The Masked Singer in Season 3

A male deer aka referred to as a hart= she has a ton of songs with the word heart in them

Matzo Ball Soup= lady be a Jew... and that’s a Jewish delicacy and she made it when she was on Rachael vs Guy Celebrity Cook-Off in 2012

Alright so that’s it! I hope y’all enjoyed, please don’t forget to like, comment, and follow for more... I will see you all next week for the Group B finals where there will be a *gasp* DOUBLE... that’s right, I said DOUBLE... ELIMINATION! You don’t wanna miss it, bye guys!