#i hate drawing tricycles

[cutelittleriot]

Return to origin band together Chapter 4 part 2

Poppy quickly follows Branch who is alot faster on all fours than she thought. Thankfully she managed to find him but he isn't doing too good.

At the moment he is just sitting down his face on his knees and his arms wrapped around his tail. As much as he hates the limb it's a good thing to hold onto when sad or overwhelmed.

She quietly sits beside him. She knows that Branch is completely overwhelmed right now but she knows that what he said at his brothers needed to be said. She doesn't say anything and just let's him try and collect himself.

After a few minutes he is sort of calm,that explosion,that...everything that happened....it felt good to finally get that off his chest. "Poppy......is it bad that I wanted to be a family with my brothers again? I know they all have lives of their own now but still" He asks.

She gasps at the question why would he even ask that? "Branch of course it's not bad. You just wanted to be together with them again. There's nothing wrong with that" She reassures him. She wants to touch him but with his state right now she isn't sure that he would appreciate touch right now as it might overwhelm him.

Soon Branch gets up,Poppy thinks he is going to head back to Rhonda but he keep going straight. "Wait Branch what are you doing?" She asks. "I'm going to go save Floyd.Alone. I didn’t need them growing up, and I don’t need them now" He simply replies.

He sees that Poppy is still following him though "What are you doing?" He asks. "What do you mean? I’m coming with you" She replies there no way she's going to let her boyfriend go off on a rescue mission alone.

"Why bother? Aren’t you gonna leave me eventually anyway?......Everyone else does" He replies as his ears lower in sadness. Poppy gently takes his paw "I have been by your side from the moment we met. I have been with you when we went to go save my friends from the bergens,when I went gray you were there to help me bring my colors back. You protected me from being turned into a rock zombie. I was there when you were transforming. And throughout all of this you've been by my side too. Let's give eachother some credit here" she says smiling.

Branch sighs, he hates it when his negative thoughts show their ugly heads. He's right Poppy has been there for him for so much. "Right,uh I’m sorry. Thank you" He says smiling. "You’re welcome.And I’m not going anywhere unless it’s with you.To save Floyd." She says as their tails entertwine and they press their heads together. Branch wonders how he managed to land such an amazing woman.

The moment is cut short when they hear the sound of a tricycle. They see one coming up to them and to their surprise it's Tiny Diamond riding it. "Woah! Tiny! You’re coming too?" Poppy asks surprised. "Hey, what can I say?

I was moved by Branch’s speech and his sad, sad drawing. Now, let’s roll." The duo hop onto the tricycle even though they both have a feeling they would get there faster if they ran on all fours. But soon the trio make their way to Mount Rageous.

Meanwhile a certain married bergen couple are riding back from the water park on a motorcycle.

"Wow Grissy,I’ve never seen anyone get kicked out of a water park like that" Bridget says in awe. "All right, for the record,it was the water slide that ripped off my trunks" Gristle clarifies. "Yeah and it was so hot" Bridget says before she catches the smell of something familiar and delicious. "Wait Grissy do you smell that?" She asks as she keeps smelling. "Yeah I do it smells like" "French fries!" The couple says in unison as they stop the motorcycle. Little did they know what was about to happen.

The couple begin to walk throught the course not knowing of the many pairs of tiny eyes that were following their every move preparing to strike.

They soon come across a pile of fries on the ground but before they could even process it a giant clown head lights up. "Who goes there?!" It booms at the two who scream in fear and surprise. The mouth opens up and out comes a bunch of small colorful balls.

"Are those golfballs?" Bridget asks in confusion. They then uncurl themselves revealing to be trolls. "Oh their just trolls look at how cute they are" Bridget says as she coos at their apparent cuteness. Then through a series of events they both end up on the ground covered in sticky hands and wrapped up in tickets.

"Wow Grissy, I didn’t think we’d both find ourselves tied up on this honeymoon" Bridget says as she looks at her husband in shock.

Again very sorry for the very short chapter but the next ones will be long so that's why I'm doing this super short ones rn to get them done.

Fun fact when trolls touch their foreheads together its a show of love can be either romantic or familial.

#trolls #trolls 3 #branch #poppy #broppy #return to origin

[anatomyfordisaster]

It's my 3 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

I fucking hate it here

My account should be able to:

Run and jump easily.

Walk upstairs unassisted.

Ride a tricycle.

Wash and dry hands.

Stack 10 blocks.

Easily draw straight lines and copy a circle.

stand on tip-toes.

Sadly it cannot

#3 year tumblrversary #tumblr milestone

[willywonderfan]

here's some incorrect Disney quotes for you.

1.Donald: Croissants: dropped Mickey: Road: works ahead

José: BBQ sauce: on my titties

Panchito: Shavacado: fre

Goofy: Miss Keisha: fuckin dead

Oswald: Oswald: ...I didn't understand a single word of that and I hate every single one of you.

2. Donald:  Wait, hold up, why do you draw yourself like that? José:  Uh, like what? Donald:  Like with gorgeous, muscular legs. José:  Uh, this is what I look like. Donald: José:  THIS IS WHAT I LOOK LIKE! Donald:  Okay, so I want big beefy arms. Hot ones. Mickey:  I wanna have a cowboy hat! José:  Okay, arms and hat. *draws them* Goofy:  Ooh, give me a cowboy hat too! José:  You can't just take Mickey's hat idea, Goofy! They thought it up all by themselves like a good person! Come up with your own thing! Goofy:  BUT I WANNA LOOK COOL! Oswald: Put Goofy on one of those stupid baby tricycles. Goofy:  NO!! José:  Tricycle, done. *draws it* Panchito, do you want anything? Mickey, making finger guns:  Pew pew. José:  A blaster?! No, that's not really our style, Panchito. Panchito, making finger guns:  Pew pew. José:  You know what, okay. *draws it* But it's just for holding, not for shooting.

3. Mickey:  She was poetry, but he couldn't read. Goofy:  His name was Jared he's 19. Donald:  When his parents built a very strange machine. José, singing:  Watch that scene, digging the dancing queen. Panchito, singing:  Heyyyy, Macarena! Oswald:  Horrible job everyone.

4. Oswald:  You know, when José comes over, Panchito can get a little… Mickey:  Psycho? Donald:  Scary? Goofy:  Drunk? Oswald:  All three.

5. Mickey: If you got arrested what would be the charges? Donald:  Theft. Goofy:  Disturbing the peace. Oswald:  Aggravated assault. José:  Arson. Panchito:  All of the above. In that order, probably.

6. Goofy:  *dies* Oswald:  Timer starts now! When is he coming back? I say two months! Panchito:  Bullshit. One month. José:  Nah, half a month. Mickey, sobbing: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GOOFY JUST DIED! Donald, scratching chin in thought:  One week.

7. Mickey:  Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the things you lost throughout your life. José:  It would be nice to have my sense of purpose back... Oswald:  Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this. Donald:  My will to live! I haven't seen this in years. Panchito:  I knew I lost that potential somewhere. Goofy:  Mental stability, my old friend! Mickey:  Jesus, could you guys light up a little?

8. Donald:  Is it still visible? Where Panchito slapped me? Goofy:  Your face looks like a don't walk signal! Mickey:  Your face looks like a photo negative for the hamburger helper box! José:  A palm reader could tell Panchito's future by looking at your face! Oswald:  The phrase 'talk to your hand cause the face ain't listening' doesn't work for you, because the hand is your face! Donald:  ...A simple 'yes' would've sufficed!

9. Donald:  If you put 'violently' in front of anything to describe your action, it becomes funnier. Donald:  Violently practices. José:  Violently studies. Mickey:  Violently sleeps. Goofy:  Violently shoots pictures. Oswald:  Violently boxes. Panchito:  Violently murders people. Mickey:  Violently worries about the previous statement.

#Disney #mickey mouse #Goofy #donald duck #oswald the lucky rabbit #panchito pistoles #josé carioca #incorrect quotes #Dumb

[obsessiveviewer]

092 - Khef - The Gunslinger and the Man in Black (The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Part 5)

In this episode, Tiny and I continue our journey to The Dark Tower with a discussion of The Gunslinger chapter 5: The Gunslinger and the Man in Black.

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  Timestamps

  Show Start – 00:40

Stephen King News/Check-ins – 06:09

  Previously…on The Dark Tower – 27:50

Part 5: The Gunslinger and the Man in Black – 30:31

  Closing the Ep – 1:04:28

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    Episodes by Category

    News – Covering news items related to Stephen King and The Dark Tower

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    Matt’s Top 19 King Novels

    11/22/63

It

Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower IV)

Pet Sematary

Misery

The Shining

The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower II)

The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower VII)

The Stand

The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower III)

Under the Dome

Billy Summers

Christine

Doctor Sleep

Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower V)

The Dead Zone

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower I)

Revival

End of Watch

    Matt’s Top 19 King Adaptations

    The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Shining (1980)

It (2017)

11.22.63 (2016) - Miniseries

The Mist (2007)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Misery (1990)

Castle Rock (2018) - Series

Creepshow (1982)

Stand by Me (1986)

Gerald's Game (2017)

Christine (1983)

Pet Sematary (1989)

The Dead Zone (1983)

Cujo (1983)

Carrie (1976)

The Shining (1997) - Miniseries

In the Tall Grass (2019)

Sometimes They Come Back (1991)

    Tiny’s Top 19 King Novels

    The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower VII)

Misery

The Stand

The Shining

The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower II)

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower I)

Christine

Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower IV)

It

Cujo

The Dead Zone

Mr. Mercedes

Gerald’s Game

Pet Sematary

Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower V)

Salem’s Lot

Under the Dome

11/22/63

The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower III)

    Tiny’s Top 19 King Adaptations

    Doctor Sleep (2019)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

It (2017)

Christine (1983)

The Shining (1980)

Stand By Me (1986)

The Mist (2007)

Misery (1990)

Creepshow (1982)

The Green Mile (1999)

Apt Pupil (1998)

Geralds Game (2017)

The Outsider (2019) - Miniseries

The Stand (1994)

The Shining (1997) - Miniseries

Lisey’s Story (2021) - Miniseries

1922 (2017)

11/22/63 (2016) - Miniseries

It (1990) - Miniseries

Find more of the show at TowerJunkiesPod.com

#the dark tower #podcast #tower junkies #roland deschain #gilead #stephen king #the gunslinger #the drawing of the three #the wastelands #wizard and glass #eddie dean #susannah dean #oy #jake chambers #wolves of the calla #ka-tet #song of susannah #father callahan

[novemquadragintillion]

Things I want to aquire someday:

Bookshelf with a bunch of books I like. From fine art to photography to cooking to manga to novels to how-tos. If there's room, some CDs and DVDs too!

Noise cancelling headphones

Cargo bike (in a perfect world where bikes aren't stolen all the time) (and if the area I live doesn't have tons of hills) (adult tricycle?)

An electric scooter similar to Vespa from FLCL, if I don't want a cargo bike (also cargo scooters exist!!)

If not a cargo bike or an electric scooter, a small car I guess. Kinda want to avoid cars though

A kotatsu. They always look really comfy and they don't use a lot of electricity (I think), and some types can run on battery apparently

Loft bed. One with stairs instead of a ladder. Underneath the bed, I'd install a curtain to cover the space, and I could store stuff there or have a tiny desk to draw. I saw a custom loft bed once where the person made each stair step into a drawer. It was really cool

If not a loft bed, I really want a bed with a canopy. Sleep like a princess

Mushroom lamp, flower lamp, traffic light lamp or lava lamp

Fairy lights <3

Heated blanket

(vaguely thinking about this one) Canister vacuum with bags and a small floor brush. Nothing fancy, and definitely NOT a floor roller. I hate my family's vacuum, it is annoyingly big and difficult to clean small spaces or underneath furniture with, and its floor roller just gets hair stuck in it all the time -_-

Anything steampunk

A dresser with shallow but wide drawers (what are they called?). I want to store artwork and small to large paper without them getting creases or dust

Toolbox (for tools of course, and maybe another for art supplies)

Paintings of whatever I find interesting

Street signs and/or street sign stickers

One of those green electric exit signs

Portal mirrors

Old restaurant menu board, and a Aperture Laboratories water bottle (these two posts I saw years ago, and they've lived rent free 24/7 in my brain ever since) -

#this random person's ramblings #life #lists #goals

[oodlenoodleroodle]

I posted 5,042 times in 2022

326 posts created (6%)

4,716 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

afloweroutofstone

salamand3rin

ms-demeanor

flightyfox

cyle

I tagged 732 of my posts in 2022

#funguary - 35 posts

#suomeksi - 21 posts

#suomitumblr - 21 posts

#suomi - 20 posts

#suomitumppu - 16 posts

#youtube - 11 posts

#soup fandom - 10 posts

#finland - 7 posts

#food - 6 posts

#revolutionary girl utena - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#suomalaisilla on oikeeta omaakin kulttuuria. ei tarvi mennä repimään karjalaisten juttuja paskaksi ja leikkiä että se roska on suomalaista.

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I just came up with an expression that I feel like describes a lot of situations I experience at work, where other people do this to me or my area of expertise:

Showing up to the Tour De France on a tricycle.

227 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

#4

Here's a genuine post, I mean this 100%

Refugees welcome

I welcome people fleeing Twitter because they hate Elon Musk, because I also hate Elon Musk. I hope you find a new place. Tumblr might be that place for you, it might not, but I hope you do find such a place.

I can imagine this a shitty situation for you to be in because if the shoe was in the other foot and I felt like I had to leave Tumblr, I too would be having feelings about it. Because these platforms are important to us. They're important because we do use them to make human connections.

I hope you don't lose important connections during this upheaval, though I worry that it's unavoidable. I also worry that some clashes with long-time Tumblr users are also unavoidable, because it is a different culture you are coming to and people on both sides can be acting in very bad faith.

If you want to ask me anything, feel free. You can use either the "ask" function or the instant messaging system (both can be found at a person's profile).

267 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

#3

I love the "draw this in your style" -thing because it's like plays for visual art. Like stage actors get to do that all the time where they take existing material (which in many cases has existed for a long time, like Shakespeare plays) and get to do their own version of a character that has been seen many times in many forms.

479 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

#2

I wish I could make you understand how important it is to me that you're here. Here on my sofa. Here in my arms. Here in my life.

But you are a cat. So I just have to trust that you do understand, in your own way.

840 notes - Posted May 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

POV: You hear a tiny meow and gotta scan your surroundings for The Face That Stares At You

1,302 notes - Posted September 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr was all 'oh no you didnt tag your posts very often. maybe you dont know how to tag posts. you should tag your posts so that others #will find your posts.' but then they dont actually show reblogs in searches so like there is no point to tag reblogs (94% of posts here) #except for like personal blog organisation reasons which i dont do. #i tag my original posts. i sometimes add bullshit to the tags of reblogs. that has to be enough.

[scarlettaagni]

drew the trash man for the first time today

#nerd stuff #my art #scarletta doodles #deltarune #spamton #deltarune spoilers #spoilers #i hate drawing tricycles

[underheart7]

*Grand Minimus with a tricycle, since he is too small for a regular one.

They seem me rolling. They hating

This is the first request here. I imagine him with black ja key and glasses on, looking so baddass! 😎 It is Just quick drawing, but it's ok. I wonder what next!

#Request #Challenge #Rayman #Grandminimus #Drawing #Digital

[devnny]

CHAPTER EIGHT.

JTRM — THE “R” STANDS FOR RECOVERING!

PREVIOUSLY.

lots of plot development in this chapter blaugh, i hope it’s not too fast. oh well. ONWARD TO DOMESTIC BLISS!

[•/•/•• :

This is… stupid. This is so, so stupid. What am I doing?

Johnny’s still killing people. And here I thought we were making progress in ridding him of that fourth voice of his.

He doesn’t tell me much about ‘Reverend Meat’. I hoped that had meant it was quieting down, but I bet it’s fucking not. Nny just hides things from me that he knows will piss me off. BASTARD.

I brought up him… moving in. To the apartment. With me.

I have to be going insane again. I’m not AFRAID of him anymore, but does that mean I want him living in my house? No.

But I don’t know how else to control him. He said they were spur of the moment attacks, so does that mean I have to constantly keep tabs on him? I have to know everywhere he goes, and what he’s doing there, and when he’s going, and when he’ll be back? I don’t CARE about any of that.

…Well, I guess I do. But only because I’m trying to keep him from getting crazier. Fuck, this sucks.

I haven’t lived with someone else since community college…]

--

The dry, patchy grass crumpled under Johnny’s shoes while he strode across his lawn, only the dull light of the lopsided moon available to guild him through the dark. He didn’t mind – after all, his eyes were fairly well-adjusted to lurking around at night. He came to a stop at the first story window of his next-door neighbor’s house, and climbed up onto the windowsill. He used that as a makeshift stepstool, and settled himself down before springing up the additional six feet or so, his thin fingers quickly latching onto the window directly above it. Johnny pushed the pane open as he crawled upwards, propping himself up and half-inside the home as he moved forward.

“Hey Squee!” His teeth gleamed in the dark. The little lump in the bed to his right stirred, and a pair of eyes peeked out at him.

“Oh, hello.” Todd mumbled. He wasn’t having any luck sleeping as it was, and his scary neighbor man never made that any easier.

“How’ve you been? It’s been a busy couple of months for me – I’m home now, by the way. Sorry, I forgot to stop in. One of my old friends is, er, back in my life, for the time being.” Johnny admitted, and hauled himself up over the sill to lay more easily on his ribs.

Todd’s curiosity was peaked from that comment, and he pushed his comforter down to properly greet his uninvited visitor. He wiggled down off the rather steep drop that his bed had for a Squee-sized child, and moved cautiously toward the window, Schmee hugged close to his collar.

“A friend?” His lower lip tucked out. “Is he living with you? Is he… scary?”

Johnny blanched, and quickly chuckled the comments away with some embarrassment.

“No, she’s not at the house with me.” He said, then paused. The talk he had with Devi the previous day about potentially moving into her apartment was still very much on his mind. It was one of the reasons he had stopped by tonight, having felt the need to disclose that to Todd, since that would mean he would again be unavailable if the boy needed help.

“Err, I might be… living with her soon, though. It’s kinda up in the air right now.” He confessed. Todd’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, but he only continued to stare at Johnny, unwilling to pry.

Johnny felt some heat crawl up from his cheeks to his forehead as he watched Todd’s inquisitive, almost accusatory, face. He was a little kid! He didn’t want to be a bad example – children should have good examples from the adults in their lives, especially Todd, who was severely lacking upstanding role models with his parents being such lousy people.

From what he gathered, most children had the understanding that a man and woman lived together when they were, well, married! The situation happening otherwise was booed by old people as being devious in nature – he shivered a little.

“Don’t worry – we’re just friends. Promise.” Johnny squeezed an anxious smile out. “It’d just be a roommates sort of situation.”

Todd looked surprised that Johnny had guessed what his curiosity was about, and thinned his mouth into a flat line, tiny teeth poking out while he tried to find something else to look at besides the man flopped over his windowsill.

“ANYWAYS.” Johnny cut in. “She’s been helping me with drawing stuff, and uh, some… other stuff. So I won’t be cramming anymore corpses in the tunnel between our houses. Shouldn’t take more than a couple years for the ones in there to either degrade into bones, or mummify. It is kinda musty down there…”

He failed to notice Todd’s horrified expression.

“—They’re probably already halfway there. It has been almost six months since I was last down there… maybe I’ll go check it out.” Johnny mused with a set of scratches to his jaw. “Aw well, point is, if I do move out, you could use the passage to sneak out at night! Wouldn’t that be cool?”

Todd only continued to stare in shock.

“I’ll keep ya updated. Things are changing so fast these days.” Johnny smiled, then adjusted to slither back out the window. Before he dropped down, he offered a blaring, “GOODNIGHT, SQUEE!”, only startling Todd further.

Todd hurried back to bed and burrowed into his sheets, trying with all his might to unimagine the spooky images of mummies living below his house.

--

WITHIN THE WEEK:

A trial run, that’s what this was.

She and Johnny talked it over, and then she talked it over again with Tenna, and then once more with much more yelling, and then cursed God with every foul word she knew, and then yielded to her hideous fate.

Johnny would stay at her apartment, for now.

Just until he didn’t need to be monitored like the horrible, man-baby he was, Devi told herself.

Her neck lowered further and further, until the crown of her head was almost level with her shoulders. She hated this so much.

Johnny was only going to take two boxes worth of clothes and crap with him, seeing as his new living situation was temporary, but he needed her slightly larger car for the only piece of furniture he intended to bring to her apartment with him; his drafting table.

The desk was old-fashioned, mostly metal, with a heavy wooden surface, and was very, very difficult to lift. Devi leaned against her car door and watched with a sour expression as Johnny attempted to move the table down the driveway with little success, swearing all the way. She grumbled a sigh, and made her way over to help him.

With much less difficulty, the two wobbled down his driveway, screeching the desk’s metal legs along the concrete every so often when their grip slacked too much. They heaved it up over bumper of Devi’s sedan, and the car shuddered under the added weight as the table thudded into its trunk.

“I don’t think we’ll be getting that closed.” Johnny commented, in regard to the trunk door. Devi grunted.

She instructed him to get her some rope, or something, to tie the back shut with, since she outright refused to enter the house herself. Johnny returned with a myriad of different bindings, ranging from thin twine to chains, and Devi did her best not to think too hard about why he had so many options.

“Those are… unused, right?” She pointed to the chains that he was winding around the desk, but got distracted by the rolling sound of plastic wheels a small ways down the sidewalk. A little boy with black hair slowed his trike to a stop beside the car.

“You’re moving after all, Mister Nny?” Todd asked with a wobbly smile. He still didn’t really know how to address Johnny.  

“AH.” Johnny stumbled back from the task at hand with an excited smile. “Hey, Squee-gee!”

Devi watched with a befuddled expression as Johnny trotted around her and to the curb. He squatted down to Todd’s eyelevel, still smiling wide.

“Yeah, but I’ll be back in a little while. I’m just staying with Devi until I’m, uh… feeling better!”

“You’re sick?” Todd asked. Johnny looked off and laughed at nothing as a response.

Todd’s mouth squirmed, and he turned his attention to Devi’s towering figure – from the point of view of a little Squee – a few steps away. She had such an intimidating presence, even though she was mostly just staring incredulously at the scene in front of her, but Todd still got the feeling that she was more anchored than his crazy neighbor was.

“You’re Mister Nny’s friend?” He asked. Devi’s mouth slanted; she wasn’t great with children.

“Uh, yes.” She responded as casually as she could. They way this kid said it, Johnny must have mentioned her to him before. She wasn’t sure if that made her uncomfortable or not.

“I’m glad you stopped by, Squeeg’!” Johnny piped up again. “I was going to leave you a note otherwise – I never know what you’re up to during the day.”

He stood up and tucked his hands behind his back politely.

“You be a good Squee while I’m gone, okay?” His sharp shoulders perked up in a shrug. Todd nodded, and Johnny returned to his work of securing his ever-valuable drafting table to Devi’s car.

Devi watched Todd’s smile inch wider, then watched him peddle his tricycle in a circle and back toward his house. He didn’t seem too broken up that Johnny was leaving, she noted, but they certainly seemed to have some kind of relationship – bizarre.

“You’re friends with that little kid?” She asked.

“Yeah, I kinda took him under my wing.” Johnny answered from the bowels of the trunk. “He needs someone to watch out for him – he’s such a scared-y, tiny kind of Squee, and his parents are… uninvolved. That’s putting it nicely.”

Devi’s mouth pinched up into a small frown. The topic of inattentive parents wasn’t unfamiliar to her – not in reference to her dear old dad, of course, but rather to her perpetually absent mother, who never made even the most minute of efforts to stay in contact with Devi after so-kindly giving birth to her. Her titas warmly referred to her as a ‘crackwhore’.

As heavy as that was, Devi hadn’t been bothered by it much after her hormonal pre-teen years passed, but it still left her with a rare soft spot for sad, neglected children. Or maybe it was a hard, angry spot for shitty parents – yeah, that suited her better.

“How uncharacteristically kind of you, Nny.” She teased dryly, and Johnny responded with a tittering set of giggles.

“HEY, I’m kind!” He popped up and set his foot on the edge of the car’s bumper for leverage as he pulled the bindings tight. He tied the rope and chains together with a gnarled looking bow, and inched back to review his handiwork with Devi.

“If this thing falls out while I’m driving, I’m not stopping.” She said.

“That’s fine, it’ll just go through my windshield and I’ll drive it the rest of the way.”

Both burst into a quick fit of hysterical laughter at the image. As it tapered off into chuckling sighs, Devi gave Johnny a jostling shove on the shoulder to urge him into the last leg of today’s endeavor.

“Alright. You ready to go?” She asked, moving to look at the house with him. Johnny regarded his residence of the past four years with a distant expression for a moment, but not nearly long enough to shrug off all its hellish nightmares and everything it represented for him as casually as he did.

“Yep!” He grinned at her. “Let me lock up, and we can leave.”

Devi held in the urge to scowl at the domesticity of it all.

--

SOME NIGHTS LATER:

It was really starting to hit him that he lives with Devi.

The first night had disoriented that fact, with the majority of the day and evening spent unpacking his things and trying to find places for them to go amongst all of Devi’s things. She was kind enough to empty one section of drawers in her art room as a makeshift dresser for his clothes, which was functional enough for him. He was going to spend most of his time in there anyway, and it wasn’t like he needed a bedroom, and he was not going to ask to mix his clothes in with hers. He had still only been in her bedroom once, and that was because the only bathroom in the apartment was connected to it.

After Johnny had finished unpacking, they drew for a while, and then ate and watched TV, and after that Devi bid him an awkward goodnight. It wasn’t very different from the one night he had spent over before, so it didn’t settle in how different things were going to feel now.

When she got up, and he was… still there, it still felt the same. But then he spent all day watching her paint while he drew, in her art room, which was now sort-of their art room, and he was there every time she left to get a drink or scrounge up something to eat. And he was there when she took breaks, and had dinner, and watched a movie.

Johnny couldn’t remember the last time he had spent a full 24-hours with someone; not even any of the poor bastards he’d strung up in his basement were ‘company’ for him for that long in one sitting.

It was… strange, but nice… so very nice.

Every time Devi left the room they were in, there was a comfortable, unconscious knowledge that she would be back. Whether it was in a few minutes, or in a few hours, he would be in her presence again shortly, and that made him feel a little safer, for whatever reason. There would be no more waiting for days to pass until he could see her in person again, just a mild handful of hours.

And it made him completely manic!

He wanted to draw more now than he ever had in his entire memory of his life. It was compulsive, uncontrollable. Every time Devi left him to sleep, Johnny would take up the same sketchbook and draw, and draw. Fast-paced, frantic swirling and squiggling of ink that dried up his pens and cramped his hands – but he persevered with the kind of persistence he hoped would make Devi proud, ushering forward whatever it was exactly that his brain demanded his fingers create.

So far, it just looked like a mass of churning, scratchy lines, but he was confident that there was a something meaningful there somewhere in-between the rows of indecipherable nonsense. The lines would look wrong here or there, and he would tear away strips of the paper and continue on to the next page, letting the ruined part lay atop it as though they were one singular piece, revealing new and different shapes as the mix-matched directions of the lines tried to work together.

It had been a week’s worth of nights that Johnny had committed to this ‘personal’ project so far, and he felt as if tonight he may actually bring it to its much-desired finish. He was excited about that, seeing as he had so far refused to share any of its progress with Devi – or its existence, for that matter. Each time he would hear her rouse from slumber, he tucked the sketchbook away into one of his designated drawers, and lied about how he’d preoccupied himself while she slept. Devi was not one to be so easily fooled, but she had allowed him to keep whatever he was working on a ‘secret’ from her, curious to see the end result if it was that rigorous of an exercise for him.

--

ONE SLEEP AFTERWARDS:

Devi rustled her hair with a yawn, still sitting in bed. After a couple of passes with her fingers to ‘comb’ it, she tied it back into one sloppy ponytail. She would do it up in her semi-usual pigtail style after breakfast.

The first few days of waking up and knowing that Johnny was in some unknown part of her apartment was very odd, and a little unnerving, but now she was forlorn to say she was getting used to it. Soon she feared she would be accustomed to sharing a space with him, or God forbid, content with it. The thought made her spine shudder.

She undid the lock on her bedroom door, and poked her head out to survey the area. Usually Johnny was on her couch by this time in the day, eating chips or something. He sure ate a lot of her food for a guy that didn’t ‘eat much’ – fucking freeloader.

This morning, however, he was unusually absent from his preferred sofa cushion. Devi’s mouth curved down suspiciously, and she ventured further out into her apartment. She didn’t hear anything besides the casual passing of cars outside, which only made her more wary. Johnny was very rarely quiet. She moved towards her drawing room, her first guess on where he might be.  

Devi was shocked to find him asleep on his drafting table.

She would have sooner thought he was dead, if it wasn’t for the slow rising and falling of his chest, and the intermediate twitching of a finger now and again. Johnny had boasted that he hadn’t slept in months, and she certainly believed it after a week of waking up to find him still up and about.

She stood and watched him a while, unsure of how to approach the situation – it was the same apprehension one might feel in waking a dog that they don’t know the temperament of well, fearful it might snap at them. She had no intention of waking him up, but she was very interested in the tattered looking notebook lying under his forearms.

With a push of stubborn bravery, she grabbed the sketchpad and slid it away from Johnny’s sleeping form, with no resistance on his part. The metaphor about him being akin to a vicious, snoozing guard dog was inaccurate, apparently. Her pilfered goods in hand, Devi retreated to her living room to inspect Johnny’s ‘work’.

From what she could see, it just looked like a torn-up mess. The open page, the one he had assumingly been working on last night, was the only one that wasn’t ripped. The rest all had pieces missing, some of them off to the sides, the other’s random chunks out of the middle. The first one was hollowed out, making it look like the discarded crust of a sandwich.

Devi frowned, uncertain what to make of this massacre of paper and pen marks. Maybe it was just some vent art, and she was expecting some grand project out of this molehill.

She flipped the pages carefully into their ordered places, and began the motion of closing the book’s cover when her eyes caught the vague shape of something amidst the tattered pages. She opened the cover fully again, and pulled one of the dangling pages more to the left. It was eerie how the lines seemed to shift and take form of something different as she did so – kind of cool, she admitted, if it was meant to be an interactive piece. Devi adjusted another loose page, and sucked in a sharp gasp at what she saw.

It was the figure of a person. All of this chaos was made to overlay and frame something, and that something was… Devi, it seemed. The figure showing amongst the damaged and chaotic penwork was her. She could certainly make out her scythe-like pigtails that protruded from the top of the slim subject’s head, however vaguely.

Devi’s chest clenched. There was such an uneasy feeling that came with seeing herself in Johnny’s work. Her brain immediately imagined that this was the result of some unhealthy obsession, maybe infatuation, with her, and that made her nauseous. Johnny couldn’t be living with her and dreaming up weird, neurotic, pseudo-romantic crap about her! Next he’ll be writing her poetry and other delusional bullshit, and that would not be acceptable in the slightest.

She stopped herself, letting the trail of disgusting thoughts leave her for a moment. Perhaps she was being too hasty in assuming that this was a symbol of his desire for her, or something equally gross. Devi wasn’t exactly narcissistic, but she absolutely credited herself and her efforts for guiding Johnny into a better state of being, and she knew Johnny did too. Maybe he put his gratitude toward his creative muse, and this was what popped out.

The shadowed eyes of her paper-self stared at something off the page, unknown to her, and Devi’s mouth twitched at how calm she looked. Sullen, but unbothered by the tumultuous nothingness around her.

Ugh. There better not be some kind of meaning behind this.

Devi closed the sketchbook and returned it to its sleeping owner, who only snorted a bit at having his arm prodded. She chuckled at the response, and shook her head fondly in disbelief of her situation. At least as far as art went, it was a pretty damn good piece from a one, maniacal, Johnny C.

She’d give him an ‘A’ for effort, this time. And maybe interrogate him later about his intentions. Yeah.

--

NEXT.

#jthm #jtrm #mine #devnny #devi gets a diary starter this time! :] #thank you all for your kind comments and tags on these tbh i live for you #chapter

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

Bad Blood - Chapter 24

You can find it on AO3 or read the Tumblr Chapter Index here. 

_____________

John arrives just after midnight, in civilian clothes and a rattling old baby blue Jeep.

“Were you followed?” Peter asks him when he meets him in the backstreet.

“No.” John jams his hands in the pockets of his jeans as they head for the loft building. Peter can taste his anxiety, sharp and acrid, in the air. “How is he?”

“Asleep when I came out to meet you,” Peter says. “Derek’s with him. He seems to be able to keep him calm. He had a small breakdown a few hours ago, but it might be too early to call it a breakthrough.”

“Yeah,” John says as they reach the steps. “I’m not expecting things to go smoothly here.”

They climb the steps slowly.

When they reach the loft, Allison is asleep on the couch with the throw rug tucked around her. Her shoes are neatly lined up on the floor beside the couch. Laura is sitting in the armchair across from her, reading a magazine in the faint moonlight.

The steel door to the secure room is ajar, and Peter can hear two heartbeats from inside. One is Derek’s. It’s as familiar and necessary to Peter as his own heartbeat. The other one, Stiles’s, is slow and steady with sleep.

Peter draws John over into the kitchen, and flicks on the light there. It shouldn’t wake the sleeping humans.

“Coffee?” he asks.

“I’ve had enough coffee today,” John says, and then squints at his watch. “Well, it’s tomorrow already, isn’t it?”

“Tea then,” Peter says, and begins to make it.

John drifts over toward the steel door, and leans there in the darkness. Peter isn’t sure if he can even see inside with his dull human eyesight, but perhaps he just wants to be close to his son.

On the couch, Allison snuffles as she wakes up.

John turns to face her.

Allison sits up quickly. “Who are you?”

“John Stilinski,” he says. “And you must be Allison.”

She blinks at him in the gloom. “You’re Stiles’s dad. My mom’s… cousin?”

“That’s right.” He gestures toward the couch, and awaits her nod before he goes and sits. “I’ve been up at the hospital today. Your father’s out of surgery, and the doctors say he’s looking at a few months recovery time, but he’s going to be fine.”

Allison exhales. “Thank you. And my mom?”

“She knows you’re with Stiles,” John says. “And she knows you’re with the Hales. She’s sure as hell not happy about it, but I guess she’s decided they’re the safest option for you right now.”

Allison nods again. “This is all so crazy. Werewolves!” She looks across to Laura. “Sorry.”

“It’s pretty crazy,” Laura says with a smile, and her eyes flash red.

Allison snorts.

Something in Peter warms at that, at Allison’s reaction. Allison doesn’t know what red eyes mean. She hasn’t been poisoned against werewolves like Stiles has, like every other child in a hunter family has. She takes Laura’s gesture exactly for what it is—showing off. Allison isn’t afraid of Laura’s eyes. She’s not afraid of any of the pack. She’s judging them by who they are, not by what they are. How unexpected, from someone with her surname.

Of course, these past few weeks have been nothing but unexpected. When all this is over, Peter resolves to never be surprised by anything or anyone again in his life.

He carries John’s tea over to him, and perches on the arm of the couch beside him.

“It’s just been insane,” Allison continues. “Not just you guys, but my dad, and Stiles, and Scott…” Her brows creases and her eyes fill with tears. “Stiles said he was there. He said…”

John darts a glance at Peter, and says, “He was lied to. We all were. Some of the old European families are particularly…” He shakes his head as he hunts for the word. “Zealous. The only good werewolf is a dead werewolf to them.”

Laura’s eyes flash again, and it’s not teasing this time.

“It took me half my life to learn it was a lie,” John continues. “It’s not a defence, Allison, it’s an explanation. When I was a hunter, if I’d seen a werewolf lurking around my family’s house, I would have chased him down and killed him too.” He passes a hand over his brow. “Scott McCall was a good kid. I’m sorry that happened to him.”

Allison swallows and nods.

It is what it is, Peter thinks.

If they survive this, perhaps in time they can plaster over the thousands of fractures between them—some tiny and some not so tiny—and learn to how to heal.

If they survive.

***

Allison goes upstairs to sleep in the end, in Derek’s room since he’s not using it. Laura goes with her to find some fresh sheets. John sits on the couch, his feet on the coffee table and his head thrown back, and Peter watches him doze from the window.

It takes an hour or so, but eventually Peter hears Stiles’s heartbeat change, and then the low murmur of voices.

He’s awake.

Peter treads silently over to John and touches him on the arm.

John jolts.

“Stiles is awake,” Peter murmurs.

John tenses, as though he’s going to stand, but Peter shakes his head and keeps touching his arm. Then he sits down beside him.

With wild animals, Peter thinks, you have to wait until they approach you.

It takes a while—the long seconds draw out into even longer minutes—but then the door to the secure room opens a little more. Peter can see the two figures standing there, but he’s not sure if John can make them out.

“Derek,” he says softly, “turn a lamp on, would you?”

Derek detaches himself from Stiles’s side, and moves to switch on the lamp on the end table.

John blinks in the sudden light.

So does his son.

“Hello, Stiles,” John says at last, and Peter can hear the tension in his tone, the barely-disguised urge to leap up and run towards his boy. And then he’s quiet for a moment, as though wrestling with what to say. His voice rasps when he says, at least, “I’ve missed you.”

Derek crosses the floor to stand with Stiles again.

Stiles jerks his head in a nod. “I…”

And then nothing.

“If there’s anything you want to know,” John says, “about all of this, about you, about your mom and me, about my past, you only have to ask. I’ll tell you.”

Stiles swipes his tongue long his bottom lip. “We… our family. You turned your back on all of that.”

John nods, his eyes shining. “For your mother, and for you.”

Stiles blinks.

“Claudia was a Gajos, Stiles.”

And Stiles flinches back, so Peter guesses he knows the names of werewolf packs just as much as does the hunter families. His expression cracks into something caught between horror and disgust. “Mom was a werewolf?”

“She was human,” John says softly. “But she was a human born into a pack. There was a chance, when we expecting you, that… well, we thought you had a chance of being born a werewolf.”

“You didn’t tell me anything about this! I didn’t know anything!” Stiles clenches his fingers into fists.

“I’d always planned to tell you,” John says. “I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”

Stiles opens his mouth to reply, and then closes it again. He shakes his head. “I—I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything to say to you.”

And he turns and walks back into the room.

Derek follows him.

The door closes.

***

“No such thing as a fast resolution,” John says as he makes himself a sandwich in Peter’s kitchen. He’s wearing a brittle smile. “I’ve learned that before in the job.”

“That’s true,” Peter agrees, but he knows John is more hurt than he’s letting on, and a hell of a lot more fragile. “Baby steps.”

“Baby steps,” John says. His hand freezes over the tub of butter. “I should have brought him some photo albums. And I’ve got a video of him somewhere, riding his tricycle up and down the driveway. Claudia took it.”

“You can try that another time.” Peter takes the knife off him and spreads the butter. “You can’t push him too hard. It’s been less than a day.”

“Yeah.” John taps his fingers on the counter and nods. “Yeah, you’re right.”

But there’s a difference, Peter knows, between a thing being right and a thing feeling right. And sometimes it’s as wide as a chasm.

After the fire, after he’d found out exactly what happened, Peter had wanted to grab Derek and shake him by the shoulders. He’d wanted to scream at him to stop wallowing in his guilt, that it wasn’t his fault. He’d wanted Derek to get better, now.

But there’s a process, as the therapists of the world would say.

It’s not a straight road. It’s full of bumps and dips and potholes and detours. It gets there in the end, mostly, but the journey isn’t an easy one. And it’s sure as hell not a quick one.

“What do you want, John?” he asks curiously. “When you imagine this all somehow working out, what do you see yourself doing with Stiles?”

John exhales slowly. “Is this the part where I say I see myself on a boat in a lake, sitting with my son, and dangling a fishing line in the water?”

“If you like.”

“I would like,” John says, and shakes his head and smiles, “but that’s not the son I remember. He hated fishing. He hated anything where he had to sit still for extended periods of time. Jesus, when he was a toddler someone had to sit with him when he went on the potty or otherwise he’d just get up and wander away, and we’d find out later he’d pooped the length of the hallway.”

Peter laughs at that.

“I want a teenager,” John says. “I want a sixteen-year-old kid. I want him to play videogames, and lie about having done his homework, and bug the hell out of me for money for shit he doesn’t need.” He shrugs. “What about you? Where do you see yourself?”

“Maybe I’ll go fishing with you,” Peter says. “I know how to sit still.”

John hip checks him softly.

“I want to rebuild the house,” Peter says, his chest aching. “I want us to live in the Preserve again. I want a backyard. I want to help Matty paint his room and put those glow-in-the-dark stickers on the ceiling. I want to get him a dog and sit on the porch and read a book while he runs around the yard with it.”

“That sounds like a good plan, Peter,” John says.

“Mmm.” Peter puts the lid back on the tub of butter. “I wish it felt like a plan, and not a crazy fucking fantasy that will never happen. Such simple things shouldn’t feel so out of reach, should they?”

And John only smiles sadly and shakes his head.

“No, they shouldn’t,” he says, and offers Peter half his sandwich.

Peter takes it.

#sterek #my fics #steter senior #bad blood #discontentedwinter

[mashkaromanova]

Crop of Princess Alix (‘Sunny’) of Hesse, 1894

[Beware, a long letter!]

“My own darling Ernie dear,

A good kiss & blessing for your dear letter, which made me so happy, & for the photo of my darling Nicky, which you were an angel to have had enlarged for me. It is an excellent one, & the expression so nice & natural. Really, darling, that beautiful parasole is much too good for me, you spoil me always with your presents. I took it out with me of course yesterday morning, but did not open it, it was so beautifully rolled up. No, it is too sweet & that splendid saphire [sic] on the top, I feel I must hide it with my hand & not let any one see it, & yet I am so proud of it, I want all to see it. -

But how I missed you, sweet One, is not to be described. Oh, I missed you sadly, but felt yr thoughts were at least with yr Sunny. It was a great joy having at least Victoria here, as I should have felt too miserable without one relation on my last birthday as a young girl. - Poor Orchie, she had never been away from me on the day before, & I think she felt rather low, from her letter. - But the weather was amiable & fine, after four days incessant rain. To-day it is also beautiful - really we deserve it after all this time. -

Grandmama gave me a delightful teabasket for four. Victoria gave me frames for photos of Nicky & a workbag & silver spoon to put the tea leaves in, like the egg I gave you last year at the Wolfsgarten. - Nicky gave me a magnificent bracelet in diamonds with a clasp of diamonds & two rubies, to be worn & a brooch too. - The cake with the pink roses was a great success, & reminded me so of home, - & all the flowers to decorate the table. -

I got a box sent me from I don’t know whom from London with glorious roses - the room is full of flowers now & smells gloriously. I am so happy as I adore flowers so, & in thoughts I bless the kind angel who sent them - if I could only find out who it was. - Irene sent me a little picture in oils of dear Papa’s sitting room, which I am delighted to have. - 

Then some amiable Ladies sent me glorious flowers, & one a little book written by her brother & so on, kind little attentions & great crowds running to see us go out driving & the the town flagged - most touching, - oh, & they had to wait so long, as we came home much later than usual. - A pencil drawing a lady (now dead) had done of Mama was sent me by a poor old servant, so I accepted & gave some money as an Unterstützung. - I was enchanted with photos of Fatinitza & the two little Jucker, Winky sent me; so nice. -

Victoria & I went for a delightful drive in our two tricycle bathchairs, & looked at a dropping well - if you put in anything, it turns to stone in a few months. - We had to walk a bit, & the consequence is more pain, so it is no good, I must not do it again; - I drink now to glasses a day, vile - one gets brought me at 8 in the morning, like hot salt water, loathsome - then at 11 I go in my bathchair & drink it at the wells, & the crowd gazes to see it run down my throat, very vulgar of them, & then to view me get into my chair bundled up - enshying as Irene would say. -

I am glad you at last are at Auerbach, & I hope you will enjoy your stay there & the neighbourhood of Schönberg. Give dear Marie my love when you see her, & tell her how often my thoughts run back to last year, & I see us sitting in Alexi’s room burning & painting away as tho’ to earn our daily bread. - And your hey cocks [sic] - I can imagine the length of Mino’s face when you returned after midnight, you 3 mad hatters, what will you be up to next? -

I feel for you when the time of yr visite [sic] to Mainz comes. I hear the town is already being grandly decorated - I fear it will be not quite easy for you the whole thing, but I am sure it will be a fine sight. - I may leave here on the 20th of June, wh. day U want to go to Walton & meet Nicky there, who would be arriving that day at Gravesend in his Father’s yatch, & would go straight on to Walton. About four days we should be there and then go to Windsor. 

Grandmama would be too disappointed if I did not remain with her till she goes to Osborne, about the 15th July, but one cannot settle it quite. She is still upset I am going so far away, & grumbles at us in each letter, poor dear. - I must say I too dread the moment when I shall have to say goodbye to her, as who knows when we shall ever meet again - she is no longer young, poor darling Grandmama. -

I am going to be good & do all Dr. Oliver says, so as to be as well as possible when I at last shall be home, at beloved Wolfsgarten, the dearest place on earth, & yet where I miss beloved Papa the most. - I heard from Nicky, he sends you his fondest love; - we hear from each other daily. - Will you thank Ducky & Mino for dear letters & presents - how charming she worked the basket. I shall write to them to-morrow, I cannot write much at a time on the sopha [sic], it is too tiring, & I must be off to my water. -

So Goodbye & God bless you, my own beloved Ernie dear. Many tender kisses, Ever yr own loving old Sister Sunny. - 

P.S. Zwilling sent me a touching telegram - he is always so kind to me, it nearly makes me cry. Oh, how I thank God you have got such a true friend, who I think would do anything for you. - By the by, Irene asked in a humble way, whether she might venture to come to Wolfsgarten about the 20th of July. - Toddie would be away at a bath, Harry away, & she all alone, & I know it is a sehnliche Wunsch of hers to come to the Wolfsgarten. You know she has never lived there since she married. - Won’t you or Ducky write & ask her, I can’t now; it must come from you. -

Aunt Helena of course begged for you to invite Thora whilst she is at Nauheim - Thora got quite red, as she I know hates inviting himself, but I know she is dying to come for one night, only is afraid Ducky might not care to have her. If she is not in your way - mind you don’t do it for my sake, - then one of you will and ask her, & perhaps you could put in a word to her & Christle about their present which you never thanked them for personally. -

Louie is in C.[umberland] Lodge you know. Well, if she asks, should I not better say there is no room, or I don’t know whom you have invited, & that she must write to Ducky, & then she can answer how sorry you are there is no place, because I am sure it would not be good for her to come. - Poor Thora is mad about L.[ouie]’s behaviour towards Zwilling; - I wish she would go back to Aribert, those seperations [sic] I am sure are bad for her. - The amount of telegrams I got yesterday was appalling, just now one came from Aunt Minny from Abastouman. -

To-day a year ago poor Sahl came to us to Kranichstein. Did you write to him, I am so sorry I gave you unintentionally all that trouble. And what was his answer - please write it to me, I am so anxious to know, because he is so nice, poor boy. - Schneiderlein is there, I must fly to my water. - Many kisses. -”

- Alix to Ernest of Hesse, 7th June 1894

#alix of hesse #alexandra feodorovna #1894 #1890s #letter #letters

[purplesurveys]

650

Do you have big hair? It’s not big but it’s definitely thicker than average. Do you like cookies n' cream ice cream? It’s my favorite flavor of ice cream! Have you ever went hiking? Yep but only beginner-level hiking lmao. It was always fun whenever I got to do it though – my favorite hike was the one we did in Sagada. What is your favorite shape? I don’t have a favorite... and I don’t think it’s the sort of thing people have favorites of either haha. Do you have pockets in anything you are wearing currently? Nope.

Have you ever tasted your own tears? Uh sure. When I was a kid I tasted them simply out of curiosity, but these days I get to taste them when they accidentally fall into my mouth. How loudly can you burp? Pretty loud. Do you hang your clothes outside or put it in the dryer? We hang them outside. It gets very hot in the day and where I live, dryers are mostly unnecessary. Do you like the letter q or the letter z better? I guess I don’t have a preference. How many different letters are in your full name? 13, if I’m not mistaken. But I’m not so sure because I only counted by hand and I may have counted a letter twice lol. Do you like making bets? I hate losing (especially money), so no. Do you like to play hopscotch? As a kid. I used to steal chalk from our classroom so we could draw and play on the school grounds while we waited for our high school busmates to be dismissed later in the afternoon. Have you ever had a 'falling' dream? I’ve had those many times. Do you do anything weird in your sleep? Mmm I haven’t been told that I do weird things, so I guess not. I’m mostly behaved – I rarely change positions in my sleep and I don’t kick or thrash around. Do you need to pee? No. I already did shortly after waking up, so I’m good. How tall are you? Barely over five feet, haha. Do you like duct tape? They can be useful, but no I don’t hold a particular affinity for them lmao. Are your legs hairy? It grows hair quicker than the usual so technically yes, but I shave it regularly because I hate when it ends up appearing hairy. Do you like cheese-its? Yeah. I don’t get to have them all the time though because surprise surprise, it’s a foreign snack. How many times can you jump in jumproping? As many times as I want. I did jump rope as a kid so I’m pretty good. Do you eat meat? I do. And now you have me remembering my craving for Korean meat. When was the last time you got a haircut? 2018 :( I didn’t have my hair done at all last year. Do you have bangs? Nope. I might get them after I’m done with my graduation shoot, but we’ll see. What was the last beverage that you consumed? Coffeeeeeeee. How long are your fingers? They’re slender and a little longer than the average Filipino finger, if that’s a thing. I get compliments on them every now and then. Do you like the beach? I LOVE the beach. I used to hate it when I was younger as I thought it was a little overrated, then I went to more and more beaches and I just fell in love with it eventually. Have you ever built a sandcastle? We’ve made super haphazard sandcastles in the past but we’ve never owned those pails or other props that are specifically used to build castles. When was the last time you left your house? Yesterday to go to church, grab lunch, and take my sister back to her dorm. Do you like bumper cars? I love them, but I’ve seen them less and less over the years. I was scared of them for most of my childhood because they seemed chaotic and violent, but when I was around 10 I tried it a few times and I ended up enjoying it with my cousins, so. Do you like the carnival? I like the crazy food and the games, but I’d rather skip on the rides. Do you have any stuffed animals on your bed? Nope, was never into them. My sister is the complete opposite – her beds both in our house and in her dorm have their own generous supply of stuffed toys. Do you have any orange objects in your room? There’s a chance that I do but seeing as I’m downstairs and orange is one of my least favorite colors, I can’t really check for sure. Is there a mirror in the room that you are in? Yes. We have a couple of mirrors downstairs as it’s a good illusion to use to make a space look bigger than it really is. What color is your comb? Purple. What color is the book nearest to you? We don’t have books in the living room; just a couple of video game consoles and a whole bunch of video game titles. What was the last CD that you listened to? I haven’t tuned in to a physical CD in a LONG TIME, but the last album I listened to was Ben&Ben’s Limasawa Street. Can you lick your elbow? Nah. Can you walk in high heels? Yes. Are you sick? Nope, just sleepy and a little tired. Did you ever watch Barney as a child? It was my favorite showwwwwww, other than the original Hi-5. When did you pull out your first tooth? I was in Prep. I was 6, it was one of my middle teeth, and it was in the middle of class. How old were you when you said your first word? Idk but I’m guessing I was close to turning 1, or maybe I already was 1. Can you sit the way people sit when they meditate? I probably could but it’s not my go-to sitting position. Have you ever done yoga? We did it as a PE in high school, but I never committed to it after. What about pilates? I have not. Have you ever had a pet rabbit? Yes. Tobi was a feisty one. Did you ever want to drive an ice cream truck? No. But I also want to make it clear that ice cream trucks have never been a thing here unless if you’re in the city, where everything is a little westernized. Our ice cream here is brought around in manual tricycles that play jingles wherever they go. :) What was the first cd that you ever bought? The High School Musical soundtrack, hah. Do you like the autumn? I’ve never experienced it.

#survey #surveys

[themanicmagician]

Unravel - Jeam Ficlet

[AO3] Summary: Seam keeps falling apart, to Jevil’s increasing exasperation.

Seam poured out two cups of tea and set them on his desk. Jevil would be at his door any moment now, to go over their plans for next week. Little Prince Lancer’s birthday was fast approaching, and the royal scamp expected to not just be entertained, but dazzled by the joint performance of the court jester and magician. Seam picked up the scrap of parchment he’d been using to jot down his ideas. His best one so far was to have Jevil’s carousel creatures balance atop balls of his yarn. Was that too predictable? Had they done something similar before? His brows creased as he searched his memory.

Then, his button eye squeezed out of his scrunched socket. The connection to his magic fizzled, and then his world went dark.

“Shit.” Ears pricked, he heard the button roll off the table, and then onto the carpet, where the plush fabric unhelpfully quieted its movements.

Muttering more swears, Seam picked his way carefully around his desk. He crouched low, hands hunting around the floor. He’d felt his button eye (he used to have two, but the second fell off somewhere years ago) becoming loose the past couple days, but he’d ignored the sensation of his body unraveling. It happened more often now that he was older, and he was weary of the dull ache that accompanied stitching his body back together. He growled, annoyed, as his search of the area around the desk brought up nothing.

He went to stand, but without his sight, he misjudged his proximity to his desk and knocked his head against it. Seam heard tea slosh, and then he was wiping the hot liquid off his face. This was not his day.

“Oh my! What a chaotic scene I’ve entered.”

Of course, now he showed up.

“Jevil.” He gestured helplessly to the room around him. “Do you see my eye anywhere?”

“Yes.”

“…Well?”

“Well what?” Jevil giggled impishly.

“Won’t you tell me where it is?”

“Oh, where’s the fun in that?” Jevil did take a small measure of pity on him, though, because he added, “You’re fairly frigid at the moment.”

Seam pushed off from the desk and cautiously stepped forward, hands warily in front of him.

“Getting warmer~” Jevil sing-songed.

“I hate you.” Seam grumped, but there was no real heat in it. This was just another in their never-ending series of games.

He was beside the couch now. Seam let his hand slide along the cushions as he inched past it, really not looking to bang his knees on its wooden legs.

Jevil called out more hints, and Seam abruptly realized that the jester was just guiding him ever closer towards him. Did Jevil seriously just walk in and pick the button up to watch him fumble across the room?

Yes. Of course he did.

“Searing hot.” Jevil’s breath blew on his face. It smelled of the bowl of candy corn he’d eaten at lunch. “Well done.”

Then small, dexterous hands were tilting Seam’s head down. He felt the playful buzz of Jevil’s magic, and then his sight returned. Seam traced a cautious paw over the returned button. Jevil’s magic had sewn it back on flawlessly, painlessly. He blinked rapidly. It was attached better than ever.

Confident in the full restoration of his sight, Seam returned to his desk. Jevil trailed after. Seam picked up the tea cup that he’d knocked off, and mourned the tea that was now steadily soaking into the carpet.

Jevil prodded his side. “What, no thank you for my assistance?”

“Oh, right. Thanks. Here, come claim your reward.”

Jevil grinned, closing his eyes and leaning in for a kiss. Seam picked up the other cup of tea, and spilled it over Jevil’s head.

Jevil squealed and rushed off to clean his hat before a stain set. Seam chuckled quietly to himself, and went to put the kettle back on.

~*~

Their show was a success, of course. Jevil’s enthusiastic bedlam, accompanied by Seam’s finesse, always made for a fine display. Still, Seam was rather pleased with today’s performance in particular, and the birthday boy clapped louder than any of them. Once Lancer had his fill of magics and tricks for the afternoon, Seam and Jevil were free to meander about the party.

Using magic always left Seam peckish, and Jevil, puckish. And so, they split off, Jevil to entertain the nobles, and Seam, to help himself to the buffet. The spread laid out was suitably extravagant, considering the occasion. Seam piled a heap of shrimp onto his plate, along with slices of roasted chicken that were resting in a delicious-smelling pink sauce. He claimed a small table for himself, and sat back to observe the celebration.

Lancer had received his present from his father earlier in the day, and proudly rode his tricycle up and down the ballroom. The four kings were all present, and engaged in what looked to be amicable discussion at the table of honor. And it wasn’t hard to spot Jevil, his pealing laughter easily drawing Seam’s attention. Jevil was entertaining a few members of the court with simple card tricks, his tail bouncing with energy. Seam admired his counterpart’s endless enthusiasm for entertainment, and, not for the first time, wished he could muster up the same level of energy. Jevil was the only one who truly understood and shared in his need to distract the darkners from their gloomy reality; the need to entertain was what drove them, what kept them going.

Seam ate at a leisurely pace. Every now and then someone drifted over to praise the show, which he accepted with a grace won from experience. Seam ultimately meandered back to the buffet table, and helped himself to a cup of punch. He nearly dropped his cup as Jevil appeared right behind him.

“Missing something?”

Seam regarded him. “Are you fishing for a compliment?”

But Jevil didn’t rise to banter back as he usually would. There was a downturn to his lips. Something was off. Jevil reached behind Seam’s ear and produced a coin. He pressed it into Seam’s paw. Seam looked it over; it was double-sided, showing Jevil’s tail on both faces of the coin.

“Two more than you have, and equal to my collection.”

“…What?”

Jevil huffed, rolling his eyes. He raised his tail. It was coiled around Seam’s own severed one.

What? When had it detached? Seam felt around, and yeah, Jevil wasn’t pranking him. He’d lost his tail. Was probably trailing cotton everywhere, too.

“The prince was about to tie it to his bike handle as a streamer.” There was a peculiar edge to Jevil’s tone. His usual playfulness sounded strained. “You need to pay more attention.”

“Thanks.” Seam grasped for his tail, but Jevil’s own tail twitched back, pulling it out of reach. Jevil circled him and reapplied the appendage himself. Then, Jevil gave him a playful swat on the rear.

“Oi! Not here.” Seam hissed, flustered.

Jevil just winked.

~*~

The Knight unnerved him. He slithered forward from the darkness to the kings’ court. Out of his cracked mouth poured promises like tar, heavy and thick. He took the King of Spades behind a closed door and they spoke for hours. Every day, the king spent a little longer with the Knight. Every day, the king’s mood became darker, yet darker.

Jevil was fascinated by the Knight, for he was so different and outlandish, as if not from their world at all. The court jester kept entreating the Knight to speak with him, but the stranger brushed him off in favor of the king’s ear. Seam hoped, for Jevil’s sake, the jester grew bored of his unwilling quarry and moved on. Some conversations were best left unspoken.

“Stop that.”

Seam was jarred from his dour thoughts as Jevil swatted his paw. He’d nearly forgotten Jevil was here with him now, cuddled up on the couch of their shared office in Card Castle. Seam had been picking anxiously at the fraying threads that wove his forearm to his wrist. He’d loosened the threads to the point that his left hand was limp, and two tenuous strands of string away from being disconnected.

Jevil knocked his hand aside, and worked on reattaching the nearly-severed wrist. Glittering strings appeared in one palm, a needle in the other. Jevil deftly threaded the eye of the needle.

“Sorry.” Seam half-shrugged. “Claws, you know?”

The needle slid easily through Seam’s fabric, in and out. Seam never realized before how much easier wrist reattachment was when you didn’t have to do it one-handed.

“Honestly.” Jevil said as he finished up. He pulled the remaining string taut, and cut the fine thread apart with his knifelike teeth. “You’d fall to pieces without me.”

Jevil patted his arm, and Seam obligingly rolled his wrist. His work done, Jevil pressed back into his side, burying his face against Seam’s shoulder.

“Yes, I’d hate to deprive you of your pillow.” Seam remarked, wry.

“Fool.”

They both looked up at the third voice. The Knight loomed in the doorway, his aura sending a chill through Seam’s cotton. The Knight’s hands beckoned Jevil to their clutches.

“I will speak with you, now.”

#deltarune #deltarune fic #jeam #jevil #seam #haha here i go writing about characters with very little reference to pull from #its fineeee #my fic #fluff #mostly fluff #until the end

[occultexperience-blog]

Demon Clauneck gave me a ton of money, then he took this away. Crazy true story!

This is a true story about working with the Demon Clauneck. It happened a little while ago, back when I was still learning about summoning. I still am learning, by the way, but these days I have a better idea on what to expect.

To set the stage, I have a monetized youtube channel. It's doesn't have millions of hit, and I won't say I am a youtuber because of this channel. I would take material that are in the public domain, using simple editing, and turn them into compelling story. I would also take content that are clearly off copyright, by that I mean, the copyright holding company either went bankrupt,  or in cases of content owner being difficult to determine, usually footage from 80's and 90's.

The channel was a pet project, it yields about 30 to 40 dollars a month. Nothing to write home about. However, I figure if I only take the money out once year, it usually comes out to an extra 500 dollars every Christmas. A nice year end bonus I gave myself every year. In any case, I only log in once a month to do some simple maintenance.

Going back to the occult experience. I got to know Clauneck while searching for the best Demon for money. Clauneck was a surprise hit because he is from Grimorium Verum. I was obsessed with Ars Goetia at the time, so Clauneck was an extra extracurricular spirit, so to speak.

According to the Grimorium Verum, "Clauneck has power over, goods, money, and finances”, “can bestow great wealth”, and finally, “he is much loved by Lucifer”. Clauneck “much loved by Lucifer” is an agent thereof, and so entrusted with accessing astral bank vault. Clauneck is who a myriad of modern-day Hermetic occultists demand or beg money from, and while rightly so this is where their understanding of Clauneck’s vast dominion begins and ends. that was a quote from Wikipedia.

I did my research, I did the summoning. I didn't know about offering at the time, so I didn't have any. I am the type who have a difficult time evoking spirits into life, as in, I am unable to see spirits. But from time to time, I get a prompting, and I would intuitively interpret those signs, sort of a download and decode process.

A few weeks went by and nothing happened. I did feel the urge to start an instagram page promoting one of my other side hassle business, which is writing erotic fiction and publishing them as ebooks. I interpret that as an advice from Clauneck, and so I did exactly that. My instagram is nothing glorious, but I do notice an uptick in sales, with a lot fresh costumers who is exploring my work for the first time. So there, success story.

The end.

Not so fast, during one my routine maintenance check on my pet channel on youtube, I was shocked to notice the analytics went off the chart. One of my video has gone viral! I am not talking about double or triple the hits, I am talking about going from a few hundred hits a day, exploded to a few hundred thousand hits an hour. It went from 8000 hits to 2 million hits, and it was still going strong.

At first I thought the numbers were wrong. Youtube must had gone haywire. but upon checking the traffic source, everything seems legit. Also, the video are getting hundreds of comment per hour. That proofs that the traffic is organic in nature.

It turns out, by happen stance, youtube had place one of my video on the front page in India. Youtube analytics actually tells you where the traffic came from. Also, all the comments are in Panjabi, so that's also a dead giveaway.  

I don't know why, though, my video had nothing to do with India.

This little channel, barely yield 500 dollars a year, and only a few dollars a day, and that's if I was lucky. On the first day it went viral, it yielded a thousand dollar. I thought it was a random spike, but second day came by, another 700 to 800 dollars.  The hits just kept coming. Subscribers too. It went from a few thousand subscribers  to twenty thousand subscribers in 2 days.

It was like a glitch in the matrix. This channel was never destined to accomplish anything great, yet here it is, racking in millions of hits and thousands of dollars.

It was too good to be true, the gravy train has to stop, right? It did. Turns out you can have too much of a good thing. This viral explosion in revenue caught youtube's attention, which prompt them to take a closer look at my channel. Remember how my contents were, ahem, borrowed? Turns out youtube hates it.

On the 3rd day, I logged in to find my channel demonetized. That means it will no longer have advertising, and the channel got kicked out of the partnership program. They said I am welcome to reapply for monetizing once I can show some original content on my channel. I will receive the money I have already made, but no new money would come in.

Effectively, that channel is dead.

The battle is over. What's the body count? I made about two thousand dollars in the spend of 2 days. The channel would had made about 500 dollars that year. With the way youtube is going with small channels, probably less revenue than previous years. On a positive note, I now have a cult following in northern India.

In short, Clauneck gave me a wind fall of cash. It's like winning a mini lottery. Not the jackpot but like 3 or 4 number hit.  I made more money in that short span of time than I would have made in 5 years. But Clauneck also took away one of my youtube channel that took years to grow. It is like an adult taking a tricycle away from child.

I am in full gratitude for Clauneck. I am writing this testimonial as a heads up for other black magician, whenever a Demon gives you something, he would also take something away. That is their nature. It's like eating spicy food in a Thai restaurant, you will be sweating like a foundation and your taste buds would be burnt for weeks. You can't complain because that is what you ordered.

Months later, I came across Morino Ravenburg's youtube channel. He is an expert occultist who like to share his authentic experiences. In one of his video, he talked about his experience with Clauneck.  He also experience the same turbulent energy when working with this same demon, where he described his professional life was turned upside down, but at the end, he was at a better place financially from working with Clauneck.

As did I.

Would I recommend Clauneck? One thing for sure, he delivered results, it is a bumpy ride. Give me an exhilarating experience, also made me depressed for a few days. On a positive note, My instagram account, which was created on Clauneck's nudges, is still alive and drawing new costumers.

E A Koetting once said, "Demons don't care about your comfort."

I am very appreciative of the new experience I gain from working with Clauneck. He feels like a brother to me.

I have worked with other sprits before, and in time, I would like to share those stories too.

Looking online, I haven't found a lot of people who have specifically worked with Clauneck. There are a lot of talks about him, but very few true story I can count on to reference. Do you have an experience with this entity? Share your experience on the comments below.

One last thing, if you are a youtuber or have another blog, and you enjoyed this story, which is 100% true, please share it on your channel. Clauneck would appreciate the attention. Good things happens to people who gain the favor of this powerful spirit.

#clauneck #manifest money #the secret #wayne dyer #abraham hicks #azazel #ea koetting #black magic #voodoo #witchcraft #wiccan #witch #lucifer #satan #satanic #sell your soul #money #get rich quick

[rosescut-archive]

RULES:   TAG FOLLOWERS YOU WANT TO KNOW BETTER  !

TAGGED BY : stolen from @soulmisplaced​ TAGGING: @dnbrough​ @timedtm​ @repulsd​ @mskeatcn​ @mistcrwolf​ @inqustve​

NAME:  gal STAR SIGN:  libra HEIGHT: 5′7″ WHAT’S YOUR MIDDLE NAME?  carrots

PUT YOUR SPOTIFY ON SHUFFLE. WHAT ARE THE FIRST 6 SONGS THAT POPPED UP?  

shape of you by eat your heart out

hey jude by the beatles 

boys will be boys by mademoiselle

break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored by ariana grande

carnival by bikini kill

ballad of the goddess by mikel

EVER HAD A POEM OR SONG WRITTEN ABOUT YOU? not that im aware of  WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED AIR GUITAR?  on the walk home from class WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH? 1990s leonardo dicaprio moose i blame u for this WHAT’S A SOUND YOU HATE; SOUND YOU LOVE?  pencils drawing on paper ; birds in the morning DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?  y e s HOW ABOUT ALIENS? i have a whole theory about them if anyone wants to hear DO YOU DRIVE?  ha no i have the worst anxiety with that IF SO, HAVE YOU EVER CRASHED? no WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? frankenstein by mary shelley  DO YOU LIKE THE SMELL OF GASOLINE? oddly comforting ? it’s weird  WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW? dark crystal because im so hype for the show WHAT’S THE WORST INJURY YOU’VE EVER HAD?  when i was uh three i tripped over a tricycle and smashed my head into the corner of a brick wall DO YOU HAVE ANY OBSESSIONS RIGHT NOW?  uh music and the 80s lmao DO YOU TEND TO HOLD GRUDGES AGAINST PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE YOU WRONG? depends on how bad ... ghost me for weeks and prioritize ur bf of seven weeks over a bff of seven years ? yeah . steal my french fries ? less so  IN A RELATIONSHIP? nope but im in no rush

#✿ — out of character. #◟✿ ( dash games. )

[whatupwiththelists]

List Christmas Letter 2015

Hello Family & Friends,

If you’re reading this letter, congratulations! You’ve made our “B” group! Nice work! The people who made our “A” group have a much nicer letter in my opinion, but this one is OK too. If you’re curious as to how to qualify for the “A” group next year, it’s simple. We select a name and then ask Sophie to choose a number between 1 and 10. Jayden will answer for her which will make her upset so she’ll start to cry. Cadence will try to comfort her, and then some other stuff will happen. Then some more stuff and it usually ends up with everyone hitting daddy. At this point I’m grumpy so you’re in the “B” group, so deal with it.

Again, it’s been an eventful year and we are again in good health and spirits. Lucy is still working at Telus as part of the Koodo team and enjoying herself. She was working as a contractor, and was recently offered Full Time which apparently is pretty rare since most Telus workers are contractors. Working with a younger team is really good training for better understanding of words and slang that our kids will probably start using in a few years. She seems to be having fun which is great. Having her job for almost 2 years, she’s now the “steady” one.

I on the other hand, have a new job… again :) I left Sysomos in November to work for a start up company called VarageSale as a Product Manager. Same job, different place. They develop a product (website & app) similar to Kijiji or Craigslist that you can buy and sell items. Their advantage is that they focus on creating a sense of community and safety. Users need to be “accepted” into the community through an approval process and they have community administrators who monitor those communities. The office is still downtown. A little further commute than the Telus building, but it has it’s perks. We have a large metal bull, a pool table, ping pong table, lots of free food, beer fridge and some really amazing people that create a truly fantastic culture. I’m pretty happy to be a part of that.

On the side, I’m also developing a product in my spare time called Me in a Nutshell (meinanutshell.com is where it will live soon). The idea is that you hook up all of your social media accounts to it, move stuff around and choose colours etc to your liking. We’re looking to do a BETA launch early next year. If you’re interested in taking a look please let me know (I’d love to get more feedback).

What’s up with the kids you ask? Oh right… them…

Well, Sophie turned 3 this year and is still a little nutcase. She was terrible at 2 and SURPRISE! She’s still terrible and I still blame Lucy. She learned to push the pedals on her tricycle this past summer which made me really proud. She loves playing with her dolls and is very particular about what she wears. Sophie has also earned the title of champion grunter and generally making angry sounds when she’s grumpy (which is most mornings). These sounds are typically directed toward me, especially when I have any form of physical contact with her mother. Hugging Lucy = high severity grunt and usually a few bruises while she acts as a human crowbar to wedge us apart. If any of you are interested in a brand new, mostly natural form of birth control please come see me.

Cadence is our little gymnast. She’s constantly doing cartwheels or handstands and generally flipping one way or the other all over the house. A few months back she started in the competitive program, so she’s spending some more time in class. The only major drawback is that sometimes Lucy sees her doing something and thinks she should try. No Lucy, it’s really not a good idea. Cadence is our little superstar when it comes to school. She loves going to school, and is quite the girly girl. Hard to believe she’s turning 7 in a couple of days! She’s still very much into crafts and loves to draw just like mom and dad.

Jayden is doing really well. He’s doing much better at school this year and has made Lucy and I even more proud. He loves gym, music, math and science and it’s been really great seeing him come back with excellent test scores. Jayden has continued to take piano lessons. Lucy is still amazed at how quick he’s able to pick it up and hear the notes. He had his first recital this year, which he was pretty proud of. He played a few songs he’s learned and even one he made up himself. Jayden had a great summer riding his scooter and being a 9 year old boy (attacking anything and everything with anything and everything that remotely resembles a sword/knife/bow & arrow or pick axe).

Last year we got Jayden tested. As it turns out he has ADHD and a learning disability. We learned that he’s been working at a 30% level because of his disability, when his potential is in the mid 90s. This school year has been much better. Now that he’s diagnosed, the school is able to be a little more supportive and we are more equipped to better understand his needs. He’s a visual person and learns through seeing and doing. His struggles are focusing on a task that he doesn’t understand or relate to. He’s not so good with words, but better with numbers and shapes. Much like me.

Lucy and I are very blessed to have three truly amazing little Lists.

(that’s Sophie’s grunting face :)

We also got a new nanny this year. Cathy. She has been amazing. She actually helps out other families in the neighbourhood and is also the lunch monitor at the kid’s school. She picks up the kids at school, supervises homework and gets dinner ready for them. Since she’s come into our lives, the kids are now able to get back into their after school programs (karate and gymnastics) Cathy has been a real help with Jayden. We owe his great test scores to her. She’s extremely patient with the kids, and definitely helps us in many ways. Kids are usually fed, with their chores and homework done before we get home. Which relieves a lot of stress from us since Lucy and I are still both working downtown.

For Lucy and I, life still goes on. I managed to stay healthy this year but didn’t have as many personal bests this year as last. I might run a half marathon next year and I’ll probably bike a little more, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I find that between work, side work, and the kids, I don’t have a lot of time to do much else :) I’m not complaining tho! Ok, maybe just a little.

Lucy had a big year running. She signed up for her first 10K race in March through her work and had 2 months to train for it. Having never run a 5K before she was a little apprehensive, but she did it. After that she signed up for a 15K in June and then this fall she ran her first half marathon in San Francisco and did it in a great time (2’07”). I think her true motivation was the Tiffany necklace they got at the finish line. All in all a great running year for someone who tells me constantly that she hates running. I would point out the conflict to her, but I often fear for my own personal safety so prefer not to talk to her or look her directly in the eyes.

This summer we had new neighbours move in right next door who also have 3 kids around a similar age. SCORE! Jayden and Cadence can often be found hanging around with Ethan and Melody. The neighbour's house is also pretty extraordinarily large, so hide and go seek is amazing over there. A great addition to our already amazing street!

We attended one of our first Canada day street celebrations this year which was a lot of fun. They closed down our street and held a street party on Canada Day. Lots of food, fun and friends. We say this every year, but we are extremely fortunate to be living in a neighbourhood where we can feel safe about our kids running in and out of houses and up and down the streets. This is where I would normally talk about our great neighbours and friends but I don’t think I can top what we said last year. So instead, I will quote it.

It’s hard to believe that 8 9 years ago, we moved into this new town. We’ve made so many great friends. Some have come and gone, but we are always very thankful for the friends we’ve made here, and have come to love. Our neighbourhood, and neighbours are one of a kind. Always willing to lend a helping hand at the drop of a hat. The kind of people you’d want to surround your life with, and that you’d want to raise your family around. For this we are grateful.

…end quote.

It’s been another great year filled with love, laughs, excitement and new beginnings. I hope this letter has given you a little chuckle and filled you up with cheer.

much love & holiday wishes.

word.

The Lists