#skate mcgraw

[choicesmc]

Rams: 2, 16 & 45

And now when I have actually read LoA - Fiona: 3, 25 & 31

thank you <3 It took a while to get 'round to this but!! I think you'll enjoy it :D (loved the questions your picked :0 made me think!!)

from [this] question list

RAMS

2: Do they have any daily rituals?

Not really? Xe has a couple of routines, but not really rituals. Simple stuff like brushing  xer teeth, cleaning xer room (whenever it gets far too messy for xer taste). 

16: Biggest and smallest long term goal?

“What are you going to major in, love?” Shreya asked, wiping a smudge of lipstick from Rams’ cheek. Zie wiggled in her hold, only serving to smudge the lipstick further. “It’s… not my problem yet,” Rams responded with a cheeky grin, “That’s a problem for sophomore year me.”

Rams is choosing to actively avoid this question right now. In high-school, she wanted to become a Forensic Pathologist and was going to get her degree in Medicine. But now, she’s not sure what she should do… 

Short term, though, she’d like to slowly get back into social scenes and school clubs. 

45: Do they express their thoughts through words or deeds?

It depends on who he’s trying to express to. Beckett requires more words than deeds and the same with Aster! Shreya and Griffin prefer actions to words. His default, though, is through words. If he says something, he means it! (Personally, he also prefers words to actions. He likes being told exactly what you want/expect from him or anything else rather than guessing…)

FIONA

3: Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?

In the sense of going to a gym? No, absolutely not. However, he does have weekly skate nights! On Thursday’s, he makes all effort to leave early, and tosses on down to a local roller rink for the rest of the night which can easily last hours. (His legs are so sore the next day, but it is so so worth it!)

25: How do they see themselves 5 years from today?

Firstly: nothing past LoA 2 chapter 1 happened (ie. Martin became a senior partner is the only thing that happened) Mostly because I want Fiona to have a love-hate relationship with Martin and also I hated how dumb Reggie and Linda were made to make the plot work 😓

So, right now, Fiona wants to be head of the IP Division. It’s been his main love since graduating college! (He has his degree in pure physics. He’s a little crazy 💖)

31: Most prized possession?

He rubbed the silver cufflinks between his fingers, their sharp edges weathered down by years of rubbing. He stared at the simple message his parents had sent him. ‘Happy Birthday’ it read, plain as day. The timestamp showed they’d sent it barely a minute ago. It was 11:46.  Had they forgotten till now?  “At least they sent one this year,” Fiona whispered, biting the bottom of his lip. He placed his phone face-down, deciding to reply tomorrow. 

Purely sentimental, it’s the last pair of cufflinks he’d received from his parents. They are a pair of silver, summation signs that came with a matching chain. His parents aren’t open-minded nor are they particularly happy about his continuation into law school. Since moving to McGraw Bryne, they haven’t really spoken to him besides the occasional text every other blue moon. 

But those cufflinks remind him of when he graduated with his degree. His parents had planned a surprise for him. That weekend, they’d thrown a surprise party for him. It was loud, noisy, packed and Fiona can’t remember ever feeling as loved as he felt that day. 

Now, his cufflinks feel more bittersweet than warm, but he can’t bring himself to get rid of them.

#choices #oc/mc #the elementalists #laws of attraction #asks answered

[karimac]

Turn of the Wheel: Ghosts of Christmas Past

Warnings: Pretty much none on this one. This is the Christmas just before Kari and Bucky decide to give it a go, otherwise known as the Christmas the Hawkeyes went to town at Rockefeller Center.

Although none of the stories so far have ventured into smut, I do consider these 18+ because of violence in other stories.

A/N: This is a submission for @arrthurpendragon's OC Ficmas 2022 event. Please check out her blog to see all the authors participating this year.

Not beta read. All mistake are my own.

Word count: Approx. 4.8K

Banner artwork credit: Image by Robert Jones from Pixabay

The photo is of the Christmas display at the McGraw Hill Building near Radio City Music Hall. It is one of my personal favorites!

If anyone wishes to be added to my taglist, please let me know.

Thanks for reading! Comments and reblogs are most welcome and appreciated!

Happy Holidays!

And here it was, another Christmas Eve, and you were so lacking in holiday spirit that most people would have stuck you with the Grinch or Scrooge nicknames used so often for those who, more likely than not, felt lost or alone this time of year.

You had done your very best to put on your “holiday face” at your bakery, and everyone except for your closest staff members probably bought your acting job this festive season.

You still didn’t feel connected to anyone, especially Bucky, Sam and his family. You felt like a fraud, but you also didn’t want to drop your massive amount of home truths on them until it was well into the New Year. Like maybe next July? Yeah, that could work, right?

Once the doors on Cutie-Pie-Tutti were locked for the night, you put in your AirPods and found the one holiday tune guaranteed to lift your spirits as you wandered around Manhattan.

“On the High Line I see the skyline Snow falls down on me As I hail the taxi, roll through the city To see the Rockefeller tree”

 “The tree? Sounds like a good idea, Liz,” you said as you looked at your iPhone and saw the smiling face of Elizabeth Chan, singer and composer of “Christmas in the City,” staring back at you.

Once you got there by foot, you didn’t expect to find the tree suddenly falling down onto the ice skating rink below and several crazed Russian men in track suits descending on the fallen evergreen.

A group of cosplayers or LARPers seemed to have joined the fray, as did a man with a sword and a female archer dressed in black and purple. The trick arrows she was using were all too familiar.

“Clint’s arrow? What in the world is going on now?” you muttered as some maniac in a track suit came running toward you, hell bent on making your evening even worse with the baseball bat he was swinging wildly as he ran. “Not so fast, tovarisch,” you said as you threw up your hands and pushed him backward into the side of a car with a magic blast. “Not going to ruin my night, or anyone else’s either.”

“Yo! Avenger! We’ve got another Avenger in the house!” one of the LARPers yelled as you turned to see where the young archer had gone or, better yet, where Clint might be.

You looked down onto the rink, and you noticed a petite blonde, dressed in what looked like the uniform of a Black Widow, talking to Clint, but she ran off just as quickly as you saw her. Then you saw the purple-clad archer running toward Clint, and you decided you had better get down to the ice before any more idiots decided to join this party.

As you ran down the stairs, more of the track suit interlopers were making their way onto the ice in a delivery truck, but one Pym particle arrow took care of them. Or maybe it was the owl that hauled the tiny truck away that did the trick?

Oh, how you wished Steve, Tony and Nat were here to see this. Christmas still wasn't the same without them.

“So, Clint, care to introduce me to your protégé? And how in the name of Heaven did you knock over this tree of all trees? Who were the goon squad in the track suits?”

“You didn’t tell me you were calling in the rest of the team! I’m Kate Bishop. People say I’m one of the greatest archers in the world. And I’m lucky Clint is letting me partner with him.”

“Partner? And here I thought you were retiring, Clint. What does Laura have to say about all this?”

“Very funny. Why did you show up now anyway? Not that I’m not happy for the assist, Kari. Kate, this is Kari MacOrish.”

“Nice to meet you, Kate,” you said as you extended your hand. “Now, maybe I can fix your tree trouble. Can you guys step back a bit? And let me know if Damage Control rolls up. I do not like those jokers, and I do not want to spend my Christmas Eve in one of their detention centers.”

“How are you going to fix this tree? Do you need to call Strange or Wong? I know no one knows where Wanda is,” Clint said as your hands were bathed in green light. You winked at Barton and smiled as you unfurled your wings and took to the sky.

“Unraveling time would probably work best, but I really don’t want to deal with that much hassle. It would undo all the battles you just won and make those bozos come back, and once tonight is enough, even for me,” you replied as you sent a wave of light toward the tree and its broken trunk, slowly lifting it back into place. It hurt like hell, but you were not about to let all these locals and tourists lose the chance to have this tree as the center of their celebrations this night.

Many of the lights were shattered, and some branches seemed broken beyond repair, but the star miraculously survived the fall when it landed on a bale of hay near one of the entrances, a sign to you that this might work out after all.

This was not the first time you had rescued a fallen tree, but this was likely the largest one you ever hoped to put to rights with magic.

“Is it straight?” you asked Clint and Kate as you hovered in the air, the sound of sirens in the distance making your timely completion of your task a necessity.

“I think so, but Laura says I’m not very good with stuff like this,” Clint said as you landed and ran to the base, a final touch of the splintered trunk the deal maker to keep the Norway spruce in place until it would be removed in January. You dug in your pocket and found a ribbon you had taken off a present you got from Cristiano, your head baker, and as you placed it on the trunk, it grew in size and wrapped around the damaged base. It was red and gold and glittered as you magically tugged at the ends to make sure it was snug.

“Clint, ambulances are on the way, so here,” you said as you grabbed both Bishop’s and Barton’s shoulders and started a very rudimentary healing of them both. “Just gave you a head start so you aren’t in a hospital bed for the holiday. Kate, it’s been a pleasure,” you said as you gave the young woman a hug, “and Clint, Merry Christmas to you, Laura and the kids,” you added as you hugged him as well. “Tell Ms. Bishop about the café. Card’s in your pocket, Kate,” you yelled back to them as you ran off the ice and back toward Fifth Avenue, the choir of Saint Patrick’s filling the night with song as you went to the subway to head back to Brooklyn.

It was just too bad your holiday blahs returned as soon as you got back to your apartment. Sure, you had a tree there, and Hickory was still wearing his festive red and green holiday bow tie on his collar, but things just felt off.

Maybe it was because you and Bucky were seemingly on the outs for what must have been the fifth time this month.

Or it could have been the disappointment expressed by Sarah, Cass and AJ when you declined an invitation to Christmas dinner.

This year just did not seem like the best time to be mingling with anyone.

As you looked at the packages under your tree, you noticed the one for Bucky right away. It was metallic royal blue with big white snowflakes all over the paper, and the silver and white bow gleamed in the light of your tree. You’d gotten him a new leather jacket because his had been trashed during a fight with some Flag Smasher sympathizers, and he wouldn’t let you magic up a fix for it. So finding him one as a gift was the only way to go.

You’d also gotten Alpine a gift or two while you were at it. You were thrilled when Bucky had gone to the local no kill shelter’s cat café to see the felines up for adoption there, and the white Angora he brought home was too cute for words. So you got her a new bed and some treats you knew she liked. Hickory was a tuna fancier, but Alpine seemed to enjoy salmon more.

And a pile of gifts for the Wilsons sat directly behind Bucky’s box. You found some great, tenderly-loved old Motown records in a store in Detroit. You also found some wonderful souvenirs to give to Sam from one of the old recording studios used by the soulful songsters back in the 60s.

The boys wanted nothing more than video games, but you knew Sarah was not the biggest fan, so, along with some new headphones and controllers for each of them, you registered the boys with an “experiences” camp out of New Orleans. They’d have two weeks away this summer at a camp of their choosing, be it space academy, inventors’ workshop or outdoor adventure base.

And Sarah? A week or two away from the boat while the boys were gone was what you thought she could use, but you knew she would likely not accept the present. So you opted for some very thoughtful jewelry made by local craftsmen in Baton Rouge. The pieces were African inspired and screamed “strong, powerful, caring, friend” when you saw the necklace and earrings.

Now you just hoped you’d get to give them their gifts sometime in the near future. Just not tonight.

“Well, Hick, looks like it’s you and me tonight,” you said as you sat down on your floral sofa and invited your orange tabby to join you there. “Merry Christmas, fuzz meister. I just wish I knew what was wrong with me.”

As Christmas morning dawned, you went into your living room and noticed Hickory had been snooping in a bunch of boxes that were at the back of the tree. You had bought them ages ago and tucked them away. Frankly, you’d shoved them back there because they were too painful to look at.

One was addressed to someone named MJ, and another to a person named Ned. There was another to a woman named May, and the final one was ready to give to someone named Peter, but for the life of you, you could not remember who in the name of the Goddess any of them were.

“I guess I’ll donate these, Hick, because I have no idea why I bought them,” you said as you sat down on the stool in your kitchen, trying to recall any of these people as you made a cup of coffee. But every time you tried, you saw purple lights and felt like hell. You’d been feeling that way since the start of December, but you didn’t want to tell anyone about it. You should have talked to Wong or Strange, but the new Sorcerer Supreme was in Kamar-Taj, and the disgruntled former Sorcerer Supreme was likely holed up in the New York Sanctum and being a bit of an arse about it all.

Nope, those two were a no-go this holiday season.

And Wanda, the one person you likely would have chosen to talk to in the first place, was still off the radar. That didn’t make a damned bit of sense either.

You started to zone out a bit as you drank your coffee, wincing as more weird images popped into your mind. The splintered parts of you in other realms were likely pushing back at you for a reason, but you were not about to deal with them today.

Meanwhile, down in Delacroix, Sarah was probably ready to toss rolls at her brother and his new “bestie,” but that would have been a waste of perfectly good food. She could hear them getting into it in the living room as she put the finishing touches on Christmas breakfast.

“What do you mean Kari isn’t talking to you? Or are you just mad at her for some stupid reason? What did you do this time, Krampus Claus?”

Poor Sam didn’t know what he was getting into when he decided to find out what exactly was going on between you and Bucky at the moment.

“What does that even mean?” Bucky sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs in the Wilsons’ living room. “Krampus Claus isn’t a thing. Even I know that!”

“Cass and AJ wanted to watch that Christmas horror movie with that German monster guy last week, but Sarah yelled at me because she thought I was encouraging them to watch it. First damned thing that popped into my head, Buck.”

“Of course it was. And I have no idea why Kari isn’t talking to me. And before you ask, I talked to Sharon. She has no clue either. And Sarah doesn’t know, so who next?”

“What about Bruce?” Sarah yelled from the kitchen.

“He’s visiting his cousin in California,” Sam yelled back. “Jennifer. The lawyer. As far as I know, Bruce and Kari haven’t spoken in weeks.”

“Great,” Sarah said as she walked in and looked at Bucky. “You two get this close to each other, and then you repel like a couple of magnets. You are both making me and Sam crazy. Now, which one of you two wants to help pour the coffee while we try to figure out how to fix this mess? On top of the mess about Kari and her crazy past, I mean. Or do you think they’re related?”

“Sarah, if I knew, I’d tell you. Kind of makes me wish Loki were still around,” Bucky said as Sam almost dropped the coffee pot. “They actually got along, and he might have been able to help. I know. I sound crazier than usual.”

“What do you mean she won’t open the door? Just cast a spell to open the lock!”

Devnet Casey and Enya Sun had been alerted by Darcy Lewis that you had been less than peppy this holiday season, and because she could not be there herself to see what was up, she asked your two oldest friends to check in on you. So now they were more or less bickering at your Brooklyn apartment door.

“Enya, do I look like I haven’t tried that? Herself warded it pretty well. I even called Mina to get her fanged face over here, but she said to leave Kari alone. She said we all know why Kari gets weird at Christmas. Unless you think she finally got pissed about what we are all doing that is technically behind her back? I’ve tried to stall everyone until Kari gets the nerve to explain it all, and it is driving me mad. I thought telling her would help, but no…”

Devnet was referring to the group trying to figure out what was wrong with you and your magic, but she had made sure not to introduce herself to Sam or Bucky just yet. The same went for any mention of Enya, your first husband Galen’s sister.

“Mina said. Mina thought. Blah blah blah. I don’t care if Mina is Thom’s sister. She has no idea what is going on because she was not one of us way back in the morning dew of it all,” Enya said as she tugged on your door handle yet again. “Wait. Is this about that stupid tree?”

“I’d hardly call the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree a stupid tree. And no, it isn’t about the tree as far as I know. At least that’s what that pixie working at her bakery told me. Then again, Kari is probably not telling anyone anything of great value. There is something weird, though.”

“Weirder than the two of you?” a third female voice said as her footsteps came to a halt. “I thought I asked you to leave the lady alone?”

“And are you ignoring your own advice, Mina?” Enya growled as Kari’s other sister-in-law, Mina O’Malley Harkness, stood before them, red scarf tossed casually around the collar of her black coat, black hat and dark hair framing her face, and a tiny drop of blood near her bottom lip.

“You didn’t snack on a taxi driver, did you?” Devnet asked as she crossed her arms and looked up at Mina.

“No, of course not. Dorian and I made a stop at a local blood bank a few days ago. The one near the Village where all the vampires go. I am not going to ruin your holiday. I promise. Now, did you see the lights in the harbor earlier this month? The purple ones? When I called Kari, she told me about them. She…something about them bothered her.”

“And she told you and not us? And not the assassin? Seriously?” Enya asked just as a neighboring door opened, and the trio stepped back into a piece of shadow so they would not be noticed. “Do you have a key, Mina? We can’t stay out here all day.”

“Can’t you just spell it?” Mina asked as the ladies turned in unison at the sound of a click, and the door opened enough for Hickory to pop out. He pawed Devnet’s leg and asked to be picked up. As she scooped up the orange tabby, the trio stepped inside the apartment and saw you just sitting there in your red and green pajamas, coffee cup in hand.

“Sorry I didn’t open up sooner, but things are just…not right,” you said as you set your mug down. “And doing the ‘three spirits visiting you this night’ part is a bit old hat, isn’t it? Do you really not see the ghosts from Dickens’ story when you see the other three of us gathered round this night? Or the ghosts of those we have lost? I do. And to top it off, I know you’ve been hiding things from me, ladies. I’ve been hiding them from you, too. You’d think we’d all learn by now, but we never do, do we?”

“What do you mean you keep getting into more fugue states?” Mina asked as she sat down in your sage green chair and fiddled with one of the decorations on your side table. It was a small snowman with a cardinal perched on its arm, and it seemed to amuse the vampire a bit. “Your other parts start intruding more? Is that normal?”

“No, it isn’t,” you replied as you looked at Mina. “And it makes things complicated. A stray thought can trigger it, and so can a smell or some particular setting. It’s getting to the point that I don’t want to leave this apartment, and I really can’t live like that.”

“And you haven’t told anyone except us right now?” Dev asked as she finally set Hickory down. “I mean, not Sam or Bruce or Bucky?”

“Not a soul, but I have a funny feeling the Masters of the Mystic Arts might be watching me from a distance. They mean well, but at times, well, it gets annoying.”

“And so do your ‘out to lunch’ moments, Kar,” Enya noted as she walked around your tree. “No offense, but they do get scary.”

“None taken,” you replied to her comments. “I just wish I could stop them.”

“And why the hiding nonsense?” Mina asked as Hickory finally made his way over to her. He had never been too fond of vampires, and you chalked that up to the fact he had never met your brother Ewan. “Go. Have fun. Please, for all our sakes, go down to Louisiana and have a good time. Whatever the purple lights are can wait for a day or two.”

“Mina is right, and you know how infrequently I admit to agreeing with her,” Enya said with a smirk as Mina laughed. “You don’t hate Christmas. You never have. You are just being you again. Taking all this on your back.”

“But,” you started to say before Dev shot you one of her usual withering glares. “What, Dev?”

“Did you get spooked again? About Bucky and that damned dagger you hid in your vault? You said ages ago that Loki looked at the stupid thing and had no idea what it was. Please, for your sake even more than ours, even on your worst day, you would not kill Bucky Barnes. If you were meant to do it with that dagger, you would not have missed the first time. He was brainwashed when he stabbed you, so I am trying to be a bit less judgmental about the man. I truly am glad he got help.”

“Ladies, I am not just showing up on their doorstep. I told Sarah no, and I am not going to mess up her plans. She has enough to handle with her boys, and Sam and Bucky, bless them, are not always jumping in to help her in the ways she might need most. She told me Sam was encouraging the boys to watch Christmas horror films. I’m hoping it was just a misunderstanding. They do not need to see “Violent Night” or “Silent Claus, Deadly Claus” or any other film like that. At least not yet.”

“I am sure Sarah would be more than welcoming,” Dev continued as she grabbed your now empty coffee mug and took it into your kitchen. “Now, out of the chair and into the shower. And what are those things you are wearing anyway? Ugly Christmas pajamas? Seriously? With cats all over them?”

“A gift from my staff at the bakery here. Fine. I’ll shower and get dressed, but I’m still not…going…”

After you showered and changed, you still resisted Dev’s urging you all to go to Delacroix and forget about the drama for one day. Right now she was acting more like her dog Tyrone with a huge bone. She would not take no for an answer, so down you all went via portal, with Hickory in tow. Mina had bagged up the gifts you needed for the Wilsons and Bucky and handed them to you before Enya literally pushed you from Brooklyn to the Wilsons’ front porch, hitting the buzzer for the doorbell for good measure.

“Kari?” Sam said as he got to the front door, opening it a split second after your friends vanished. No trio from the past. Just you, Hickory and a ton of gifts.

“A few old friends kicked my arse for not being more social this year. They were right. Merry Christmas, Sam.”

Cass and AJ came running up behind their uncle and took the bag of gifts inside. Hickory sniffed around and was happy to see Alpine was there as well, and the two scampered off to make mischief as you turned to see Bucky standing there with a big grin on his face. “So, Cris finally get you to leave?”

“It was another group of old friends. You don’t know them. Not yet anyway. I’ll explain another time,” you said as Sarah came in for a holiday hug.

“I think I know why you’re off,” Sarah said as she looked at the gifts Cass and AJ were digging into. “Darcy told me about her friend Jane. She mentioned you couldn’t help with Jane’s cancer, and that got you pretty bummed. No wonder you weren’t in a party mood. You could have told us.”

With the purple light nonsense you had pushed the Jane Foster fiasco to the back of your mind. Her cancer was too advanced for you to be able to help kick start her own healing abilities. Jane was a wonderful woman and a truly talented astrophysicist, but most of all she was Darcy’s best friend. That was why the whole “Jane story” stirred up so many emotions for you.

“Even people like me have trouble when we hear we can’t do something to help others,” you said as Sarah handed you a cup of coffee. “Thank you.”

“Why didn’t you tell us about Jane?” Bucky asked as he nursed his own mug of coffee. “Is it a big secret? Maybe Doctor Cho could help?”

“I was just trying to respect Jane’s wishes about not making a big deal out of her illness. I’m not even sure Thor knows, and they were a couple. I did not want him hearing from anyone but her. And there is some other magical woo-woo stuff going on, but I don’t think I want to get into that until I've done some more recon. I’ll talk to Stephen and Wong after the holidays. I promise.”

“You better,” Sam said with a slight scowl. “Or your presents go back to the North Pole. I’ll call Santa personally.”

“Oh, Nick? He’d never do that. He’s a sweetie. And the reindeer love me. I make them snacks with carrots and other veggies baked in. Cranberries, too. ”

“Of course you know Santa Claus!” Sam replied as Cass and AJ laughed loudly. “What did I say this time?”

“I was kidding, Sam. Are my jokes falling flat already? That goes for any regional or national version that is not called Santa Claus. Like Pere Noel.”

You kept smiling as you thought back to your actual friend Kristopher Nicklaus Kringle, the sole proprietor of a now massive toy workshop in the northern reaches of the world just past the Canadian wilderness. His space was close to The Rift but not physically in it. It was in a pocket dimension all its own. He was indeed an immortal like you, and he and his family had made Christmas their business for centuries. But you were not about to tell that tale today. Nick needed his day off, too.

“So, can I be of any help?” you asked before you turned to see Cass and AJ checking out their new gaming gear. “There’s more to it than the tech, Sarah. That part comes later. Boys, maybe we should eat first since your mom went to all this trouble?”

As the boys begrudgingly left their pile of gifts and went to the table, Bucky pulled you aside for a minute. “You sure you’re OK? Need to talk?”

“This nonsense can wait. And before you ask, I’ll tell you the Santa story another time. Now, did you eat Sarah out of all her beignets today? Did you try that turducken recipe this year, Sarah?”

“Do not mention that word,” Sarah grumbled as she looked back toward the kitchen. “Regular old turkey for us. That other thing was a nightmare.”

“Marvelous, delicious turkey you mean,” you replied as Sarah just smiled and shook her head. As you looked at her, you started to see the damned purple lights again, and now they seemed to touch everyone in the room. You blinked and pinched the bridge of your nose for a minute to get the visuals and the sick feeling they caused you to pass. “Sorry. We had a few celebratory drinks last night before we closed the bakery. Whatever that was at the end had a kick to it. It was the fairy equivalent of a bar mat shot.”

As you took a deep breath and concentrated on the eggs, bacon and beignets before you, you hoped that the rest of the gifts would be as much of a hit as the gaming gear was for Cass and AJ.

You also couldn’t shake the feeling things were going to keep getting less settling as the purple lights became more and more frequent.

“How do you say Merry Christmas in Irish, Kari?” Sam asked as he grabbed more bacon from the platter. “Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Duit. That’s Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I pray that the next one is a good one for us all.”

Back in Brooklyn, Enya, Dev and Mina had long since left your apartment and locked things up behind them as they did. They had flicked off the lights on your tree, so the only lights visible were the ones in and around the apartment building across the way and in the street below. The streets were fairly empty for a Christmas night, so no one likely saw the lingering purple light dancing near your balcony window. A figure appeared there briefly and just as quickly vanished. A wisp of shadow form hovered in the air for the briefest of moments before the purple lights blinked out.

Taglist: @arrthurpendragon, @historygeekfics, @starryeyes2000

#ocficmas2022 #ocappreciation #series: turn of the wheel #fandom: mcu #oc: kari macorish #oc: devnet casey #oc: enya sun #oc: mina o'malley harkness #bucky barnes #sam wilson #sarah wilson #cass wilson #aj wilson #clint barton #kate bishop #captain america #the winter soldier #hawkeye #fyeahsuperverseocs

[oceanbreathessaltyx]

————      𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛   𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎.

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋   𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄   :   James McGraw

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄(𝐒) ／𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐒(𝐄𝐒)   :   James Flint

╳   𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐒.

 moody |SHORT-TEMPERED  |  emotionally unstable  |  whiny  | CONTROLLING  |  conceited  |possessive  |   paranoid | LIAR | impatient  |  cowardly  |  BITTER | SELFISH |  POWER-HUNGRY  |  greedy  |  lazy  |  JUDGMENTAL  |  forgetful | impulsive  | SPITEFUL  |  STUBBORN  | sadistic  |  PETTY  |  unlucky|  absent-minded | abusive  |  addict  |  AGGRESSIVE  |  childish  |  CALLOUS  |  clingy  |  delusional  | COCKY |  competitive |  corrupt  | CYNICAL  | cruel  | depressed  |  deranged  | egotistical |  envious | insecure  | INSENSITIVE  |  lustful  |  delinquent  |  GUILT COMPLEX  |  RECLUSIVE  |  RECKLESS  | nervous  | oversensitive

♔   𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇𝐒.

honest  |  trustworthy |  THOUGHTFUL |  caring  | BRAVE  |  patient  |  selfless  |  AMBITIOUS | TOLERANT  | lucky  | INTELLIGENT  | CONFIDENT   |  FOCUSED  |  humble  |  generous  |  merciful  |OBSERVANT  |  WISE  | CLEVER |  charming  |  cheerful |  optimistic | DECISIVE  |  ADAPTIVE | calm  |  protective |  proud | DILIGENT |  considerate  |  compassionate |  good sportsmanship |  friendly |  empathetic |  PASSIONATE  | reliable | RESOURCEFUL  |  SENSIBLE  |  sincere | WITTY  | funny

🖌 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒 & 𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐒.

art |  acting  | astronomy  |  animals  |  archery  |  SPORTS  |  belly dancing |  bird watching  |  blacksmithing  | BOATING  |  calligraphy  |  camping  |  candle making  |  casino gambling  |  ceramics  |  racing  | CHESS  |  music |  cooking  |  crochet  |  weaving  |  EXERCISE  | SWORDPLAY | fishing  |  gardening  |  ghost hunting  |  ice skating  |  magic  |  engineering  |  building  |  inventing  |  leather-working  |  martial arts  |  meditation  |  origami  |  parkour  | people watching |  swimming |  puppetry  |  pyrotechnics  |  quilting  |  READING  |  collecting  |  shopping |  socializing | STORYTELLING  |  writing  | TRAVELING  | dancing  |  singing

TAGGED BY: @neverhangd TAGGING: Anyone who wants to do it!

#about: james flint #(( dang he's usually a quiet muse but he's been real loud lately )) #(( good he's my favorite guy. love of my life. i'd die for him )) #(( lol bolding sports under skills/hobbies. modern flint would be a big sports guy i think )) #muse: james flint

[cpw-nyc]

Where to find 14 of New York City's festive Christmas trees 'Tis the season for gawking at festive spruce trees By Jenna Scherer and Amy Plitt

If you're a fan of Christmas with a capital C, New York City is the place to be. This time of year, the city bristles with more giant evergreens than a forest in the taiga. Rockefeller Center's enormous Norway spruce is already lit, but it's far from the only evergreen game in town—read on for a handy guide to the biggest and brightest holiday trees in the city.

Looking for more things to do in NYC this season? Check out our pocket guide to New York City.

Or perhaps it’s ice-skating you’re after? Here’s a map of NYC’s best ice-skating rinks.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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It's no surprise that the Met's tree is probably the city's prettiest. This year's 20-foot-high blue spruce is hung with ornate Neapolitan angels, and the base of the tree is the setting for an elaborate Italian Nativity scene. As if that weren't enough, it's backed by an 18th-century choir screen that originally resided in Spain's Cathedral de Valladolid. 

Open in Google Maps

1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028

[phone]

American Museum of Natural History

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This venerable American Museum of Natural History goes all-out with a nondenominational holiday tree decorated with origami animals. This year's tree is laden with 800-plus folded-paper critters.

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Foursquare

Central Park West & 79th St, New York, NY 10024

[phone]

Visit Website

South Street Seaport

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This lower Manhattan waterfront district celebrates the holidays with an outdoor light installation, an on-site Santa and a 30-foot tree festooned in gold, white, and silver ornaments, with a giant star on top. 

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89 South St, New York, NY 10038

[phone]

Visit Website

New York Public Library

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For the most literary Christmas celebration in town, head to the NYPL's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. The library displays an old-school tree framed by an archway in Astor Hall, and in the McGraw Rotunda, Charles Dickens's personal annotated copy of "A Christmas Carol." You can also see the iconic library lions, Patience and Fortitude, festooned with wreaths outside of the Fifth Avenue building.

Open in Google Maps

476 5th Ave, New York, NY 10018

[phone]

Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park

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There's no Christmas-ier park come December than Bryant Park, which gets transformed into a Winter Village complete with skating rink, open-air market and winter-themed restaurant. The tree that looms over it all is huge Norway spruce garlanded with thousands of lights and ornaments.

Open in Google Maps

Bryant Park, New York, NY

Rockefeller Center

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The granddaddy of all Christmas trees has become as synonymous with New York at Christmas as Home Alone 2 and dodging shoppers on Fifth Avenue. This year’s tree is a Norway spruce from State College, Pennsylvania. Try to snag a spot skating in the rink below the tree, or just stand up on the sidelines and look up.…No, higher!

Open in Google Maps

Foursquare

Rockefeller Center, New York, NY

Queens Botanical Garden

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Flushing gets festive with the Queens Botanical Garden's annual holiday tree, which also includes crafts, a tour of the garden, and visits with Santa.

Open in Google Maps

43-50 Main St, Flushing, NY 11355

[phone]

Visit Website

[sohannabarberaesque]

Can you just imagine ...

Top Cat and Beegle Beagle, both proud to wear weskits, sharing a cinnamon roll and some coffee in some chintzy-looking diner some morning and sharing some conversation about nothing much in particular?

Two of the worst-sounding vocalists known, Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw, being in competition to see who actually has the worst musical vocals?

During a review of dive-share experiences involving Peter Potamus' Magic Divers at summer camps in particular, one particularly fascinating report involves Hokey Wolf taking especially close interest in twin girls sent to summer camp on a campership after reports emerged that the girls were being subjected to pornographic exploitation by their stepparents with episodes of rape ... and it later emerged that the twins' stepparents, in their shame over having to send the twins to camp, later committed suicide?

The Skatebirds preferring nothing less than Gatorade when they're finished with a downhill inline skating run?

Branson's "music show" confraternity essentially blacklisting The Bungle Brothers, even as a warmup act?

#hanna barbera #headcannons #random musings #hannabarberaforever

[suzanoagora]

Ice skating to Return at William O. Smith Rec. Center

Ice skating to Return at William O. Smith Rec. Center

To understand the new politics stance and other pro nationals of recent times, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. In the high-profile case of US-based journalist Peter Wilson, 16-year-old American journalist Clifford McGraw and 20-year-old British freelance journalist Jeremy Leslie have been charged with conspiring to violate the UK Foreign…

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[dklem]

Ko-fi requests for @judedeluca!! Thanks!

#puella magi madoka magica #maria yuki #graveyard school #skate mcgraw #vicky wheilson #marvel comics #ashley pearson #attack of the mutant #dinah might

[midnightemails]

For as long as I can remember @taylorswift has always been apart of my life. Not only have the re-recordings brought back so many childhood memories, it’s brought me back to Taylor. I can distinctly remember the first time I ever heard Taylor sing. My grandparents loved watching that TV channel that played country music videos all day long. I’d sit with them and we would sing along. I remember my grandma asking me if I had heard Tim McGraw as the video appeared on the screen. I remember thinking wow this is my new favorite singer and i cannot wait to get a poster of her for my room!!!((( i was 12 at the time))). whenever they dropped me back off with my mom, i BEGGED her to buy me a Taylor Swift cd. Luckily she was feeling generous and she took me right into Walmart to buy one. We immediately took her debut album home, loaded the CD in the computer, and put them on my ipod shuffle. And the rest was history. I adored Taylor on the sidelines for years. I had stricter parents so I was limited on social media and was never able to go to concerts. I connected with Taylor by listening to her music. the debut album reminds me of my childhood. My cousins and I had pink guitars and we would put on whole entire shows of Picture To Burn for our grandma. Fearless reminds me of my childhood friends belting You Belong With Me on the karaoke machine. Speak Now reminds me of the first time I ever held a boys hand while roller skating to Sparks Fly (romantic, i know). Red reminds me of my freshman year of high school….oh what a time it was to go through my FIRST breakup with All Too Well. 1989 brings me back to a time in my life where i was finally starting to feel like a woman. i was getting older and changing my style, as was taylor. reputation hit me like a fucking truck. it had been so long since we had gotten an album and i all i remember feeling is the hardcore rush of emotion when i heard it. somehow at every point in my life, taylor’s discography was able to relate to me. new year’s day is still in my top 5. lover was the most beautiful album. seeing her come back strong and powerful was everything i need to see and hear to help myself become my own lover. the surprise albums will forever go down in history. folklore and evermore are the most beautiful twisted sisters and they couldn’t have come at bettet times. taylor knew we needed her during covid and she did not let us down. she let us in to a whole new world of getting to know her. as the re-recordings of fearless, red, and various singles come out, I am grateful to see taylor being the boss bitch she always has been. she is paving the way for strong powerful women and i am more than lucky to be apart of her footprint. I truly do not know what I would do without Taylor. She brought me comfort and happiness for over 12 years now. I am so fucking proud of her. Now that I am not that little 12 year old girl listening to Tays music on my ipod shuffle, I will be praying for a tour so I can finally come full circle with the artist that has changed my entire life. I love you @taylorswift ❤️

#all too well #red taylors version #taylors version #taylor swift #fearless #lover era #red album #taylor swift 1989 #folklovermore

[zackcollins]

i like it, i love it || jack campbell

masterlist

Author’s Note: Hi, hi! I’m back with another fic! I know it’s been a while and I’m sorry for that. I’ve just had a lot on my mental plate recently and that’s made it hard to focus on writing. I finally felt well enough today to finish something, so... you get this! Yay! GIF credit to mitchmarner!

Warnings: There is a mention of Jack and the reader being in quarantine because this fic takes place just after the season paused last year. If you need to avoid that, that’s understandable and have a nice day! Stay safe, lovelies!

Word Count: 1.5k+

Title: I Like It, I Love It by Tim McGraw

Additional: The reader is masculine this time! They are mentioned to be on the Maple Leafs and there is a scenario or two (you’ll understand when you get there) where masculine pronouns are used in reference to the reader. Hope that’s okay! And I hope you enjoy this! Constructive criticism is always welcome!

You huffed as you plopped down on the couch in your living room. You had just woken up from your third nap in the last 36 hours and you were bored. Switching on the television, you skimmed through the channels; you were looking for something, anything to watch. You huffed again when you found nothing. Not having hockey to play was going to be the death of you.

 You exhaled and pushed off the couch. You plodded to the kitchen. Rummaging through the cupboards and the refrigerator, you found some leftover chicken and orange juice. You poured a glass of the orange juice and grabbed a fork for the chicken. Not wanting to waste the energy to walk to the dining room, you ate the food right where you were standing. You winced a couple of times at the strange flavour combination of the orange juice and the pesto sauce on the chicken, but he managed to finish both without incident. You placed the dishes in the sink and told yourself that you would wash them later; Lord knew that you had time.

 Pacing around the kitchen for fifteen minutes left you no closer to an idea of what to do than when you started. You huffed and sat on the floor in front of the oven. You rested your head against the door with a soft thunk. You brought your knees to your chest and rested your elbows on top of your knees. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and scrolled through the team group chat. Everyone was sharing pictures of what they were doing around the house. Mo had fixed a leaky faucet by himself, which had earned him a few chirps for waiting so long. You chuckled and sent a thumbs up to congratulate him on his efforts.

 You were about to put your phone away when you got a personal text message from Jack Campbell, the goaltender the team had acquired just before the trade deadline. You cocked your head as you opened the message.

 To: (Y/L/N)

From: Soupy

I know we’re supposed to be quarantined, but could you come to hang out with me? Buddy and Fettuccine were supposed to arrive today... now they’re not coming for god knows how long because of everything that’s happening.

 A few strings tugged away at your heart. You knew how much Soupy loved his cats. Soupy talked about their adventures together all the time and talked about how much he missed them nearly as often.

 To: Soupy

From: (Y/L/N)

Of course, man! I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. :D

 As you slipped into a pair of shoes to head up to Soupy’s apartment, you were struck with a sudden thought. Soupy could’ve picked any of the players that lived in the building. He could’ve picked any of the players that lived on the same floor as him. He had chosen you. Something warm and soft bubbled in your gut at that thought. Swallowing nervously, you made your way up to Soupy’s apartment.

 When you knocked on the door, Soupy answered in a faded LA Kings shirt and loose blue sweatpants. His hair was tousled and sticking out in various directions. You nervously swallowed as Soupy stepped aside to let you enter.

 “Thank you for coming,” Soupy said. His voice sounded strained as if he’d been crying. “I’m not exactly doing the best since receiving word my cats weren’t coming anymore.” He motioned to his face. It was then that you noticed the puffy circles around Soupy’s eyes and the red tint to the corneas.

 You nodded sympathetically. “Anything for a friend, man.” Soupy smiled, but you thought you saw something contradictory flash ever so briefly in his eyes.

 Before you had a chance to question Soupy about that, he guided you to the living room. You noticed that he had set up a game of NHL20 on the PlayStation; it was cued to the team selection menu. You smiled and jumped over the back of the couch to grab the player one controller. Soupy chuckled and calmly walked over to sit beside you

 “I thought we could play tonight’s game on here instead,” Soupy said. He made his point by selecting the Predators as the away team.

 “Yeah, I like that idea,” You beamed as you selected your team--the Maple Leafs--as the home team.

 You were fiddling with the lines, trying to match them to what you thought they would’ve been that night. When you got to the goalie screen, you turned to Soupy. “Who should I make the goalie? You or Fred?”

 Soupy shrugged without looking over to you. “That depends on who you think Keefe would’ve put in tonight.” He was flipping through Nashville’s lines, leaving them relatively untouched. “I’m going with Saros because Rinne didn’t play well against you guys last time.”

 Nodding, you turned back to the game and switched Freddie out for Soupy. You quickly glanced at Soupy and noticed a small blush rising on his face. You grinned and turned back to the game.

 At the start of the official game, Soupy won the faceoff. He passed the puck around a few times before virtual-Josi received it at the point. Soupy pressed the button to wind up for a slapshot, but you sneaked in with the virtual version of yourself and bolted down the ice with him and the puck. Soupy cursed and made virtual-Josi and virtual-Ellis chase after your virtual self.. Having a clear-cut breakaway, You made your virtual version delay and then shoot blocker side on virtual-Saros. The net lit up green and the spotlight found your personal avatar as he skated to the corner to celebrate with the rest of his virtual-Maple Leafs linemates. You smiled and did a thrusting motion with your arm. Soupy chuckled and gave you a fist bump.

 “Nice goal, dude,” Soupy brushed his knuckles across yours. Whether that action was intentional or not, something warm blossomed inside your abdomen at the feeling.

 “Thanks, Soupy,” you croaked. You tried to hide the distortion in your voice with a cough, but Soupy looked at you with a tilted head and sideways smile. Thankfully, he said nothing on the matter.

 As the game progressed, you were winning 2-0 by the end of the second period; virtual-Nylander had scored on a powerplay toward the middle of the second period. Even though he was losing, Soupy looked like he was having the time of his life. You caught Soupy glancing at you a few times; each time, you smiled warmly at him. Soupy would always duck his head as if he was embarrassed about being caught. There was something inside you that found that endearing and adorable.

 Near the end of the third period, Soupy decided to pull virtual-Saros to give Nashville a 6-on-5 advantage. With the score still being 2-0, the move made sense to you. As the play continued, virtual-Barrie passed the puck to virtual-Campbell. You glanced briefly at the Campbell sitting beside you. Exhaling softly, you pressed the button to make virtual-Campbell shoot the puck towards the empty net. When the puck went in the net, you looked at Soupy. He had frozen in place, finger hovering over the body checking button. Soupy slowly turned to face you. The look he had on his face made your heart melt.

 Soupy’s face was plastered with an elation you couldn’t even begin to describe. Soupy paused the game before leaning over and wrapping you in a giant hug. You smiled into Soupy’s shoulder as you hugged him back.

 “Thank you,” Soupy said. “That made me feel better about the cats.” You ran a hand through Soupy’s hair. When it made it more tousled, you swallowed a lump that was now in your throat.

 You didn’t trust yourself to talk and not give away how you were feeling; you nodded instead and hoped Soupy found that sufficient. Soupy tilted his head and gave you a lopsided smile. Fondly, you looked at Soupy. Soupy’s expression shifted to something you couldn’t decipher. He moved closer, dropping his controller between you on the couch.

 “If I’m reading this wrong, let me know.”

 Soupy leaned in and briefly brushed his lips across yours. He darted his glance to your eyes. When you nodded, Soupy firmly pressed his lips against yours. You dropped your controller and grabbed Soupy’s face. Soupy grinned into the kiss, grabbing your shoulders. You felt electric as you kissed Soupy. The electricity coursed through your veins and pulsed in your ears. It was the best kiss you’d ever had. Said kiss lasted for a solid two minutes before you pulled apart. Soupy’s hair was a mess and his lips were red. You felt your chest tighten at that.

 Running a hand through his hair, Soupy smiled softly. “Since we’ve already broken protocol, do you just want to spend the entire quarantine with me?”

 “On one condition,” you replied.

 “That being?”

 “You kiss me again.”

 Soupy chuckled before he kissed you again. You felt a thousand fireworks going off inside of you. If every kiss with Soupy felt like this, you couldn’t wait to spend these two weeks with him.

Quarantine for two weeks definitely wasn’t going to be as bad as you’d originally thought.

#jack campbell #jack campbell imagine #jack campbell x reader #jack campbell fic #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs fic #hockey #hockey fic #nhl #nhl fic #freddie writes #masculine reader #fanfiction #writing #imagine #self insert #hockey fanfic #hockey fanfiction #nhl fanfic #nhl fanfiction #fanfiction writing #writing fanfiction #fic #fanfic #masculine imagine #hockey imagine #nhl imagine

[statticscribbles]

Weekly Update 12/4-19/4

Hope everyone is doing well! I’ve updated my rules so hopefully it’s a little easier to understand. Feel free to message me if you have any questions! 

Rules

Current Restrictions: No 13 Reason’s Why

Month’s Challenge:  Angst Challenge

Any request can be bumped up by a Support My Writing donation; simply leave the request in the note section of the ko-fi! A support my Writing donation means the request will be filled within the next day regardless of how ‘worked on’ it is; this also counts as a chapter of a multi-chapter update (one ko-fi equals one chapter of whichever you put in the note section)

Current Requests: 28

Key:

👀 (eye emoji) means I have the request in my inbox

💛 (yellow heart) means I have planned all/some of the request

💕 (double heart) means I’ve written part of the request

🐻 (bear) means I’ve finished writing but have not edited it

Multi-Chapter: Theo Putnam/Kurtz multi-parts( x2)

Multi-Chapter: 13 Reasons Why, Soundtrack, Scott Reed/Male Reader (x8)

Imagine: 13 Reasons Why, Scott/Male Reader, Teammate Pt 3 👀(eye emoji)

Imagine: Riverdale, Sweet Pea/Archie 💕(double heart)

Imagine: 13 Reasons Why, Hannah Baker/Male reader/Scott Reed 👀(eye emoji)

Imagine: Marvel, Natasha Romanoff/YelenaBelova 💕 (double Heart

One-shot: Various, Azula/Male Reader/Cassandra Cain, 👀(eye emoji)

Imagine: 13 Reasons Why, Dance Pt 2, Scott Reed/Male Reader 👀 (eye emoji)

Imagine: 13 Reasons Why, Lefty Pt 2, Scott Reed/Male Reader 👀(eye emoji)

Imagine: Riverdale, Sweet Pea/Archie Andrews, 💛 (yellow heart)

Imagine: 13 Reasons Why, Skate Pt 4, Scott Reed/Male Reader 💛( yellow heart)

Imagine: 13 Reasons Why, Glasses Pt 2, Scott Reed/Male Reader 👀(eye emoji)

Imagine: Teen Wolf, Scott McCall/Reader, 👀 (eye emoji)

Song-Fic: Marvel, Bucky Barnes/Reader  Devil’s Playground by the Rigs 💛 (yellow heart)

One-shot: Marvel, Bucky/Reader, Song-fic My little girl by Tim McGraw 💛(yellow heart)

Imagine: Degrassi, Owen Milligan/Maya Matlin 👀(eye emoji)

Imagine: 13 Reasons Why, Zach Dempsey/Charlie St.George 👀(eye emoji)

Imagine: Riverdale, Kurtz/ Theo Putnam 💛(yellow heart)

Imagine: Might Ducks, Adam Banks/Dean Portman 👀 (eye emoji)

Imagine: Riverdale, Edgar/Reader/Evelyn, 💕 (double Heart)

#weekly update

[delta-magnetic]

so i’ve now listened to all the Medicine at Midnight Radio episodes and wanted to put down some personal highlights

i totally recommend listening to them all if you can! these were just some fun highlights from first time listening through them, but hearing all of the guys talk about themselves and their musical past, and also sharing music they’re inspired by and have worked on was pretty neat ;u;

alsO breaking this up into 2 posts because it was sort of long as one post lol

Nate:

MAM song opened with: Cloudspotter

threw his bass in the trash once (promptly got it back out of the trash) and the other guys still make fun of him for it sometimes -“I had a little tanty” -Joe Plummer: “thats your vibe though you’d just throw it in the trash can” -“I think that’s the one tantrum, maybe in the history of the Foo Fighters, which is pretty good in 25 years. I wish it hadn’t been mine but, whatever”

accidentally set a van on fire with one of his old bands and just, walked away from it

his mother wrote a poem about said van that burned to the ground

MAM song ended with: Chasing Birds

Chris:

MAM song opened with: Medicine at Midnight

a whole different version of One by One was made but scrapped (or “shelved” as he put it, so maybe it exists somewhere still?)

either 3 is “a bunch” to him, or there were even more covers recorded during One by One!

he used to skate as a kid!

quote from his friend Marko: “same pizza different toppings”

fan of country music

MAM song ended with: Holding Poison

Rami:

MAM song opened with: Chasing Birds

both him and Nate like The Cars

has done session work for a lot of people, including but not limited to: Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Selena Gomez, Neil Diamond, Macy Gray, and Johnny Cash

called producer Don Was his “obi-wan kenobi”

met Dave by accident in dc on christmas eve

first time with the Foo Fighters was on the acoustic side of In Your Honor

MAM song ended with: Medicine at Midnight

Part 2!

#wpbosting #foo fighters #nate mendel #chris shiflett #rami jaffee #still tagging as long post just in case lol #long post #i say first time because i'm gonna at least skim through them again #to make a big playlist of all the songs they played! #some of this stuff might have already been known but it was new and cool info to me

[swiftieinred13]

Hi my Swiftie babes! So many of you probably know I'm a spoonie but you may not know what I have and I will get to that in a minute but I wanted to explain something first. I'm struggling. I haven't admitted it to many and not even in words to my family, though my mom already knows. This year has been super rough on me health wise. I've had a whole bunch of doctors appointments (nearly 10) and 1 ER visit. Every day I am symptomatic and sometimes that's why I'm not on tumblr. Please forgive me for those days. I'm trying so hard but being chronically I'll can be HARD. Yes I exercise almost daily and eat well so please dont tell me that and essential oils will heal me. I have a whole brace bin and what feels like a whole pharmacy in my bathroom. So onto what I have. I can name all but 2 as I am in the diagnostic process for them.

1. Chiari Malformation

2. Syringomyelia

3. CCI

4. hEDS

5. MCAS

6. Gerd

7. Gastritis

8. Chrons

9. Occipital neuralgia

10. POTS

11. Syncope

12. A partially paralyzed right ankle

13. PCOS

I am waiting for results on to which autoimmune disease I have but it's quite strong so treatment will be coming. I also appear to have CSF flow issues.

But life isnt over! I'm still a happy girl who loves her friends her family, her boyfriend. I still have hobbies, I love to figure skate and dance and snowboard and bake. I'm always down for a walk in nature or a movie night. That's why I included a "good day" picture (even though I'm always symtomatic) and one with my brace on.

I know I wouldn't be where I am today if it was not for Taylor Swift. This is why I am starting #spooniekatmeettaylor . Everyday I listen to Taylor Swift. She gets me through it all. Her music brings me strength and joy. Her music gets me through this never ending fight. Taylor is everything to me. I've been here since Tim McGraw and I'm never leaving. Catch me and maybe my brace buddy at Gillette at Lover Fest East Night 1! I will be sitting in Floor Section A5, row 16, seats 17 and 18. Please come and say hi! I would love to meet as many of you as possible!

If anyone can reblog with the #spooniekatmeettaylor and tag Taylor, I would be so so grateful.

Love you all! My messages are always open if anyone wants/needs to talk :)

All my best,

Spoonie Kat

#swiftdisabledselfies #spooniekatmeettaylor #spoonieswiftie

[geekbroll]

Natal HB e uma edição especial de Os Flintstones n. 8 - Editora Abril (Brazil) - November 1980  . . Natal HB and a special edition of The Flintstones . . 0 - Flintstones - Johnson & Johnson 1 page ad (ifc) 1 - The Flintstones - O Mais Belo Natal De Todos Os Tempos (The Most Beautiful Christmas of All Time) - 9 pages 2 - Yogi Bear - A Grande Insonia Do Ze (Yogi’s Great Insomnia) - 6 pages 3 - Snooper and Blabber - Detetives Natalinos (Christmas Detectives) - 5 pages - feat. Wally Gator, Snagglepuss, Magilla Gorilla, Hokey Wolf, Secret Squirrel, Peter Potamus, Touche Turtle 4 - Quick Draw McGraw - Um Natal Legal (A Cool Christmas) - 6 pages - feat. Huckleberry Hound 5 - Top Cat - Uma Turma Muito Feliz (A Very Happy Class) - 6 pages 6 - Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy - O Patinho Frio (The Cold Duckling) - 5 pages - feat. Yakky Doodle, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Snagglepuss, Magilla Gorilla, Hong Kong Phooey, Lippy The Lion, Wally Gator, Hokey Wolf 7 - The Jetsons - O Presente Surpresa (The Surprise Gift) - 6 pages 8 - The Flintstones  - O Dia Mais Feliz De Todos (The Happiest Day Of All) - 5 pages - feat. everyone previous + Atom Ant 9 - Yogi Bear - O Espírito de Natal (The Christmas Spirit) - 5 pages 0 - Flintstones - Johnson & Johnson 1 page ad 10 - Lippy The Lion - O Peru De Ano Novo (New Year's Turkey) - 9 pages 11 - Quick Draw McGraw - O Fabricante De Neve (The Snow Maker) - 6 pages 0 - Flintstones - Johnson & Johnson 1 page ad 12 - The Flintstones - O Ajudante De Papai Noel (Santa's Little Helper) - 24 pages 13 - Yogi Bear - (Ice Skating w/ Cindy Bear) - ½ pages 0 - Johnson & Johnson 1 page ad (ibc) 0 - Johnson & Johnson 1 page ad (bc) . . Never forget that Johnson & Johnson, along with Purdue, MURDERED millions of Americans w/ the opioid epidemic. . . #theflintstones #flintstonescomics #hannabarberacomics #flintstones #hannabarbera #abril #cartooncomics #cartoons #cartooncharacters #editoraabril #thejetsons #jetsons #natal #hongkongphooey #yogibear #lippythelion #topcat #comics #wallygator #westernpublishing #braziliancomics #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #comicsinportugese #atomant #touchetturtle #quickdrawmcgraw (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBa3y_Nhjv-/?igshid=rsmhqvvqh08h

#theflintstones #flintstonescomics #hannabarberacomics #flintstones #hannabarbera #abril #cartooncomics #cartoons #cartooncharacters #editoraabril #thejetsons #jetsons #natal #hongkongphooey #yogibear #lippythelion #topcat #comics #wallygator #westernpublishing #braziliancomics #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #comicsinportugese #atomant #touchetturtle #quickdrawmcgraw

[slowpocalypsecooking]

the top 8 tracks on folklore from least to most embarrassing to enjoy

Hi I’m Anthony Fantano and welcome to the needle drop. I don’t know if he says that, because I don’t watch him—if I wanted to listen to a repulsive white man talk about music, I could just go on a date. (just kidding, covid!)

Forgoing any further introduction, here are the top eight tracks from Taylor Swift’s new album, low-caps “folklore,” ranked from least embarrassing to most embarrassing to enjoy, according to me. The whole album is 16 tracks long, but I’m only doing the most noteworthy half because 16 is too many. You’re welcome for that decision.

Methodology: To get on this list, songs had to be both embarrassing and enjoyable. There will be natural fluctuation between tracks, but as we go down the list, assume that the songs are getting increasingly better to listen to and worse to think about, like this:

The rankings:

8. cardigan

This is a song about feeling at times like an unloved trash bag, as we all do, and then being warmly reminded that you matter because you are in fact someone’s fallback. The hook goes:

and when i felt like i was an old cardigan under someone’s bed you put me on and said i was your favorite.

Beyond reveling in this pathetic status, this song serves as an admission that the speaker a. uses the word “cardigan” and b. thinks of those bland, preppy sweaters as a comforting thing to wear. In a cooler universe, this song would be called “flannel.” It is just okay to listen to.

7. mad woman

This song has big Ophelia vibes, big Handmaid’s Tale vibes, big “daughter of the witches you couldn’t burn” vibes. One of the verses contains the line “and women like hunting witches too,” because, hey, woman-on-woman misogyny is bad, didn’t you know. Strong reminder that if being called crazy is the worst form of oppression you’ve experienced, you still have it pretty good. Sometimes sounds decent, sometimes too croony.

6. invisible string

This one uses a pretty lazy, commonplace device: She opens couplets within verses by just naming colors, and uses these to create a simple repetitive structure for introducing random, useless details:

green was the color of the grass where i used to read at centennial park i used to think i would meet somebody there teal was the color of your shirt when you were sixteen at the yogurt shop you used to work at to make a little money

Sure this device is tired, but that’s only the surface of what’s embarrassing here. More embarrassing is the image I’ve conjured of a teal-shirted teenage boy smiling through his braces behind the toppings station at one of those blindingly lit American-kawaii froyo stores. I don’t know who needs to hear this but don’t fuck the froyo boy. Song is pretty catchy.

5. illicit affairs

Title says it all here: This song is about how thrilling and fun and ultimately horrible it is to be involved in a romantic situation you’re not supposed to be in, and how that forbidden sheen can get you totally enthralled with a crappy garbage man. Not a whole lot going on below the surface. This song is both very enjoyable and very embarrassing because it is very relatable.

4. seven

We are back to the aggressive levels of white woman previously seen in “mad woman,” only the case has gotten much more severe. Here’s this song’s final chorus:

Sweet tea in the summer Cross my heart, won’t tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you Pack your dolls and a sweater We'll move to India forever Passed down like folk songs Our love lasts so long

Okay let’s just skate past the part where a presumed adult is telling a fellow adult (I sure hope!) to bring their dolls when they run away together. That in itself is too big a can of worms to crack open. What I want to talk about is the line “We’ll move to India forever,” which pretty obviously uses an Orientalist fantasy of India as some nebulous, ethereal image of the East. Real people don’t live there; it’s the exotic dreamland where sweet-tea drinking southern belles bring their adult toys when they elope. This song is very catchy.

3. betty

Let me start by saying that now that we’re in the top three, all of the remaining songs are vying for the #1 slot. I could very easily see this and the next as the  Most Embarrassing to Enjoy. But “betty” is clocking in at number three today.

This is a song about a teenage romance gone bad, in which a speaker named James (who is “only seventeen, I don’t know anything”) has cheated on a girlfriend (Betty) and is now considering showing up at her party, begging for forgiveness, and hoping for a kiss in the garden. We get the backstory in the bridge:

I was walking home on broken cobblestones Just thinking of you when she pulled up like A figment of my worst intentions She said "James, get in, let's drive" Those days turned into nights Slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long

First of all, “figment” of “intentions” is not really a phrase? But secondly, and more importantly: Excited bloggers all over the internet have posted a smattering of theories detailing why this song is Taylor Swift’s coded revelation that she actually maybe fucks girls, too, y’know, and hey, maybe the object of this song is the supermodel Karlie Kloss, whose middle name is Elizabeth. Apparently Taylor Swift is named after James Taylor, so she could be James, or at the very least James could be a woman. I’m going to allow for the possibility that the speaker “James” is a woman, because why not; it does not change the narrative. But said narrative doesn’t make sense: who is this woman pulling up next to James and picking them up on the cobblestone? Did James really spend all summer with her, and if so, why? James is only seventeen by the time they get back to ask Betty’s forgiveness, so like, where the hell are James’s parents? Do they not care that their child has gone off for the whole summer with a person I can only picture as a cheetah-print-and-goggles-wearing divorcee driving a convertible?

Furthermore, the Karlie Kloss/Taylor Swift fan theories are gross for the simple reason that these two tall skinny white women look pretty much exactly the same. What is it with the internet’s obsession with wanting practically identical people to hook up? There might be an incest thing going on there that you guys could stand to reflect on. And on the more cynical conspiracy-theorizing side, couldn’t this just be some convenient queerbaiting? Didn’t Taylor Swift get criticized for appropriating gay rhetoric and imagery for “You Need to Calm Down,” like, 20 minutes ago? If she were going to come out, wouldn’t it have been an ideal moment to do so when she was under fire for that? I’m not saying all celebrities are shallow opportunists, but, you know, maybe.

This song is infectious. You will need to lobotomize me to get it out of my head.

2. exile

I know I originally said this was gonna be number one but I lied. It is pretty rough, though. This track features Bon Iver, and it’s not the high-pitched sad boy of “Skinny Love” renown. This Bon Iver is deep-voiced and country, like Bon Iver playing Tim McGraw in an uncomfortable SNL parody. Also, the whole song is centered around the tired and overused metaphor that a person is a place, and the person the speaker is pining after is home, and the speaker is in exile because they can’t go home to the person they love. It’s a heartache-ballad, cry-sing in your car, absolute jam.

1. the last great american dynasty

I really tried not to let this be number one. I really didn’t want it to be, which is precisely why it is. This was the track that first alerted me to the entire album’s release, because Ed Markey supporters on Twitter seized on it and decided it was about the downfall of the Kennedy family. It is not. The opening verse goes:

Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train, it was sunny Her saltbox house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money And the town said, "How did a middle-class divorcée do it?" The wedding was charming, if a little gauche There's only so far new money goes They picked out a home and called it "Holiday House"

This is very obviously about a real couple, Rebekah and William (Bill) Hale Harkness, who had a real mansion in Rhode Island that they called “Holiday House.” The Harkness name is on basically every building in Connecticut and a lot of the Northeast because Stephen Harkness, Bill Hale Harkness’s great uncle, was a founder of Standard Oil along with John D. Rockefeller. In 2013, Taylor Swift bought the property known as “Holiday House,” as she says in the song:

Fifty years is a long time Holiday House sat quietly on that beach Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits And then it was bought by me

The cool, fun, left-ish internet reading of this song is that it’s a revolutionary tale about toppling class hierarchy—getting a hold of wealth and bringing the institution that created it to its knees by… “fill[ing] the pool with champagne”? How much would that amount of champagne even cost? This is not a song about revolution. Taylor Swift didn’t storm into the Standard Oil house and burn it down or take it over; she bought it. It is not a song about destabilizing the ruling class. It’s a song about joining it.

It absolutely fucking slaps, unfortunately.

#taylor swift #folklore #i am putting this in the tumblr tags in lowkey hopes that a rabid taylor swift fan will see and come after me #come on that would be funny