#Baltimore blues no 1

[lilyellowsongbird]

Song Of The Day - Jan 30th '23

Baltimore Blues No. 1 - Deer Tick

Over time, Deer Tick has become an important band in my life for many reasons. After hearing Baltimore Blues, I fell in love with the album it comes from, War Elephant. There's a specific sound that I always come back to in my musical journey. A blend of blues and folk influences, maybe some country thrown in. It's the sound of a traveler, the sound of the American south in the 1930s, the sound of a little girl in a worn dress and busted boots, walking in red dirt mud, trying to see how much mud she can accumulate before it falls off from the weight. Maybe I watched Old Yeller and Homeward Bound too much as a kid, maybe I read my Kit Kitteridge books too many times. Now I love travelling the South, my home, slowly and I deeply distrust banks. Deer Tick has that sound, over all their albums. Each of their albums means something different to me at different points in my life, but that sound remains the same.

Baltimore Blues No 1 reminds me of walking a dirt road, just a scoundrel on his way to the next town to find some food, some work, a bed. Just long enough till he feels that itch again. Opening with a lonely acoustic guitar, Baltimore Blues sets you up for a melancholic ride. It's similar to Detroit or Buffalo by Barbara Keith in its subject matter and tone, only Baltimore Blues is the wanderer on his journey, rather than just departing. The organ and electric guitar layered over the simple acoustic gives the song a swinging, bluesy feel. My favorite line is "I can't hang around with you like this my friend/Our time has come to an end/I can't play around with you no more/No, I'm seeing this open door". This theme of leaving the ones you love, knowing that your time is up in a certain town is one I am drawn to(but that's a problem for therapy session me, not writing me). This character is lonely, he cherishes those moments when someone joins him, but ultimately, he knows he has to move on. He has to live this solitary life he was destined to live.

On a little "field trip"(its college can you really call it that?) to Nashville in '21, I was stuck sitting next to one of the most insufferable people I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. I sacrificed myself so no one else would have to sit by her, after all we used to be friends. I knew how bad she could be. On that rough ride, my friend Duck and I sent music back and forth to each other. I knew his taste, and so I sent him this song. "Surely he won't know this song" I thought, "He'll like it, but he won't know it." His response was "Oh, my dad produced an album for them." Meeting his dad last year was like seeing a mythic creature for the first time. This man produced one of my favorite albums? Damn. It's a small world.

Listen to the song here:

[blaseballteamshowdown]

(!!! PREHISTORY !!!) 🦀 Baltimore Crabs ("Crab and Go!")

ORIGIN: Prehistory

LINKS: wiki / before (go to season 24, day 80)

ADDITIONAL INFO: this is NOT the modern crabs. they are an entirely different, and blue, team

🐘 Phoenix Trunks ("Never Forgive, Never Forget")

ORIGIN: Prehistory

LINKS: wiki / before (go to season 24, day 80)

[thechanelmuse]

Juneteenth is a Black American holiday. 

We call Juneteenth many things: Black Independence Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day. We celebrate and honor our ancestors. 

December 31 is recognized as Watch Night or Freedom’s Eve in Black American churches because it marks the day our enslaved ancestors were awaiting news of their freedom going into 1863. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. But all of the ancestors wouldn’t be freed until June 19, 1865 for those in Galveston, Texas and even January 23, 1866 for those in New Jersey (the last slave state). (It’s also worth noting that our people under the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations wouldn’t be freed until April 28, 1866 and June 14, 1866 for those under the Cherokee Nation by way of the Treaties.)

Since 1866, Black Americans in Texas have been commemorating the emancipation of our people by way of reading the Emancipation Proclamation and coming together to have parades, free festivities, and later on pageants. Thereafter, it spread to select states as an annual day of commemoration of our people in our homeland. 

Here’s a short silent video filmed during the 1925 Juneteenth celebration in Beaumont, Texas:

(It’s also worth noting that the Mascogos tribe in Coahuila, Mexico celebrate Juneteenth over there as well. Quick history lesson: A total of 305,326 Africans were shipped to the US to be enslaved alongside of American Indians who were already or would become enslaved as prisoners of war, as well as those who stayed behind refusing to leave and walk the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. In the United States, you were either enslaved under the English territories, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, or under the Nations of what would called the Five “Civilized” Native American Tribes: Cherokee, Creek (Muscogee), Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminoles. Mascogos descend from the Seminoles who escaped slavery during the Seminole Wars, or the Gullah Wars that lasted for more than 100 years if you will, and then settled at El Nacimiento in 1852.)

We largely wave our red, white and blue flags on Juneteenth. These are the only colors that represent Juneteenth. But sometimes you may see others wave our Black American Heritage flag (red, black, and gold).

Juneteenth is a day of respect. It has nothing to do with Africa, diversity, inclusion, immigration, your Pan-African flag, your cashapps, nor your commerce businesses. It is not a day of “what about” isms. It is not a day to tap into your inner colonizer and attempt to wipe out our existence. That is ethnocide and anti-Black American. If you can’t attend a Black American (centered) event that’s filled with education on the day, our music, our food and other centered activities because it’s not centered around yours…that is a you problem. Respect our day for what and whom it stands for in our homeland. 

Juneteenth flag creator: “Boston Ben” Haith 

It was created in 1997. The red, white and blue colors represent the American flag. The five-point star represents the Lone State (Texas). The white burst around the star represents a nova, the beginning of a new star. The new beginning for Black Americans. 

Black American Heritage Flag creators: Melvin Charles & Gleason T. Jackson

It was created in 1967, our Civil Rights era. The color black represents the ethnic pride for who we are. Red represents the blood shed for freedom, equality, justice and human dignity. Gold fig wreath represents intellect, prosperity, and peace. The sword represents the strength and authority exhibited by a Black culture that made many contributions to the world in mathematics, art, medicine, and physical science, heralding the contributions that Black Americans would make in these and other fields. 

SN: While we’re talking about flags, I should note that Grace Wisher, a 13-year-old free Black girl from Baltimore helped stitched the Star Spangled flag, which would inspire the national anthem during her six years of service to Mary Pickersgill. I ain’t even gon hold you. I never looked too far into it, but she prob sewed that whole American flag her damn self. They love lying about history here until you start unearthing them old documents. 

In conclusion, Juneteenth is a Black American holiday. Respect us and our ancestors.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I first posted this 1947 art deco home in Baltimore, Maryland about 3 yrs. ago and the 2bd, 1.5ba house just sold for $239K.

The living room has glass block, curved walls and a fireplace wall, all original.

The living room flows into the dining room to reveal the other side of the double-sided fireplace. Some of the furniture was included in the sale.

The wall shelving is perfect for a tea pot collection or something of similar size.

Bedroom #1 has cool cowboy wallpaper that was very popular for little boys rooms.

The blue bathroom sink is definitely retro.

Bedroom #2 is small, and appears to be a pass thru to the kitchen and 1/2 bath.

The 1/2 bath has a stainless sink with baseball faucet handles. Not sure if the suitcases are decorative or for storage.

The kitchen has original metal cabinets and linoleum floors.

A kitchen table fits in this pantry area.

I don't know why there's a sink, stove and fridge in here.

Small sun porch in the back. This home does need work and seems like it's been slowly deteriorating due to neglect.

There's a patio in the back. What's going on with the roof? It looks like the brick deteriorated and they just painted over it.

The yard is dirt, so it will need some landscaping.

Lake Montebello is across the road.

Before they repainted it green it was yellow.

https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/trendy-unique-mid-century-modern-with-views-of-lake-montebello/

[earlycuntsets]

earlycuntsets.org sourced - where I got all my mcr pictures

pt. 1

parts (2, 3, 4)

first of a series. due to tumblr limits on how many links you can post. this full idea will be continued on future posts. for now here's 2002- 1/2 of 2007. this is pictures. will make a separate post for youtube/recordings.

been needing to fully source my website so here we go! wanted to share with other kool mcr fans.

old fansites/website appearances:

most popular - theimmortalityproject.com

mcr's old website [2002, 2003, 2004, 2005]

magazine scan archive - mcrhollywood.blogspot.com

more mcr flyers here than anywhere - theydrewblood.blogspot.com

gerard pic/interview 2003 - artsucks.com

show pics:

(8/18/2003 & 04/28/2004 washington dc, 08/20/2004 gillette stadium foxborough ma and 06/13/2004 baltimore md) - brokenvoices

(09/13/2004 & 01/21/2005 birmingham academy) - blackvelvetmagazine.com

(rainbow montreal 01/06/2003, kool haus toronto ca 02/10/2003, salle lx montreal ca, 08/25/2003) - junkedcamera.com

(bottom of the hill sacramento ca 1/23/2003) - sacramentomusicarchive.com

I do not know this show, 2003 - idolize magazine

04/03/2004 majestic theater detroit mi - schwegweb.com

05/07/2004 bakersville ca - rocksandiego.com (kira olsson-trap)

10/13/2004 kansas city mo - grrphotography

03/11/2005 taste of chaos cobo arena detroit mi - schwegweb.com

03/13/2005 taste of chaos st louis - grrphotography

03/16/2005 td waterhouse arena orlando fl - jencray.com

03/20/2005 st paul mn - shatterthelens.com

07/16/2005 fairgrounds, salt lake city - trent nelson

08/07/2005 warped tour orlando fl - jencray.com

08/08/2005 warped tour verizon wireless lot charlotte nc - josh hofer

08/12/2005 warped tour tweeter center camden nj - musicmattersmedia.com

11/01/2005 wolverhampton civic hall, wolverhampton england - blackvelvetmagazine.com

03/17/2006 emos austin tx - brooklynvegan.com & andrewkendall

10/26/2006 webster hall ny - dontbescene.com

11/15/2006 nottingham uk - blackvelvetmagazine

1/21/2007 big day out gold coast australia - kylie keene

03/25/2007 cardiff - blackvelvetmagazine.com

07/03/2007 helsinki - deadflowerphotography

flickrs (show pics):

7/25/2003 farmingdale ny - gaelen harlacher

08/16/2003 toronto ca - allfalldownphotography

I do not know this show, 2004 - joel

01/13/2004 night and day cafe manchester uk - tony woolliscroft

04/28/2004 cotton club atlanta ga - mike white

06/15/2004 mr.smalls theater, milvale pa - scapularemix

08/20/2004 gillette stadium foxborough ma - futurebreed

10/26/2004 roseland ballroom nyc - alyssa

01/30/2005 cologne germany - johanna bocher

07/02/2005 warped tour piers, san fransisco ca - laurentertaining

07/06/2005 warped tour pampano beach fl - internetpirateradio

7/28/2005 warped tour quebec city, quebec @ the pepsi colisée parking lot - alec hartman photography

08/05/2005 warped tour st petersburg fl - todd cynic

08/10/2005 warped tour nissan pavillian va - jessica

08/13/2005 warped tour nyc ny - christine natanael

08/23/2005 underworld london uk - sammi hills & lauren siohan

09/02/2005 &09/03/2005 rock in idro milan italy - matteo galli

09/13/2005 station park providence ri - katie o'keefe

09/15/2005 columbus ohio - stacy chambers

09/20/2005 st paul mn - matt birhanzel

10/14/2005 tweeter center camden nj - kristin

03/17/2006 emos austin tx - nicole herbst & allison7821

03/19/2006 recording academy san fransisco ca - james

05/12/2006 sun god festival la jolla ca - sam litvin

08/06/2006 nyc - heather marie ryan

08/25/2006 bramham park leeds uk - dancelike.hell

10/12/2006 virgin megastore london uk - stephen kallao

10/28/2006 & 10/29/2006 voodoo festival new orleans - mandi & voodoo music

10/31/2006 house of blues hollywood ca- veronica murietta

11/09/2006 e-werk cologne germany- sabrina & himychemicalromance

11/21/2006 milano italy - rodolfo sassano

1/24/2007 brisbane austraila - conradpayton

2/04/2007 perth australia - richard giles

03/04/2007 denver co - selene locke

03/07/2007 las vegas nv - heather marie ryan & pamela zabala

03/11/2007 anaheim - scarlet lark

03/21/2007 brighton england - peter hill

04/21/2007 seattle wa - steven friederich

04/22/2007 ft lauderdale fl - heather marie ryan

04/28/2007 williamsburg va - andrew s

05/05/2007 east rutherford nj - maria newman & mimie7981

05/01/2007 toronto ca - liz lulu

05/20/2007 vancouver ca - amy sept

05/21/2007 seattle wa- ciera walters

06/08/2007 leicestershire uk - sara bowrey

06/21/2007 bilboa spain - patriciana

06/23/2007 madrid spain - juan the fly factory

06/24/2007 lisbon portugal - mario guilherme

06/30/2007 hovefestivalen tromoya norway - kim erlandsen

07/08/2007 naas ireland - james quinton

07/25/2007 seattle wa - ciera walters

livejournals:

04/04/2004 bottom lounge chicago il - mechanical_riot

05/11/2004 san francisco ca - from strawberyxlove

01/05/2005 newcastle university england - open_heart_zoo

03/06/2005 daytona ohio - xxmeansyourhxc

03/10/2005 taste of chaos cleveland - dyanna

04/07/2005 barrowland, glasgow uk - elite_cru

part 2 here

[all-for-the-recs]

Chapters: 40/40 (COMPLETE)

Words: 103,707

Author's summary:

“Who even are you?” Neil blinked at him with those perfect, blue eyes.

Andrew became very aware of Neil’s weight at that moment and dropped him. Neil bounced back on the bed and yelped.

“I’m the guy who is going to go take a shower and you’re the guy who is going to wait patiently for Kevin to come tend to your needs,” Andrew said. He gestured down to Neil’s blanket covered body. “Whatever this is, is above my pay grade.”

[AFTG Crime AU that takes place in Baltimore where the Foxes and Raven's are opposing gangs. Neil escapes the Nest and falls for Andrew, but Riko will do anything to get him back. Kevin and Aaron tumble headlong into a secret relationship and Jeremy Knox fixes a very broken Jean Moreau.]

oh god this fic. it makes me physically sick how much i love it. summary kinda says it all but it's just...so gut wrenching. and it has a second part. y'all, you just need to check it out

[tv-girl]

Sept 21 // San Antonio // Aztec Theatre // Tickets Sept 22 // Austin // Emo’s // Tickets Sept 23 // Houston // White Oak Music Hall Lawn // Tickets Sept 24 // New Orleans // House of Blues // Tickets Sept 26 // Tampa // The Ritz Ybor // Tickets Sept 27 // Orlando // House of Blues // Tickets Sept 29 // Atlanta // Masquerade // Tickets Sept 30 // Asheville // The Orange Peel // Tickets Oct 1 // Richmond // The National // Tickets Oct 3 // Baltimore // Soundstage // Tickets Oct 4 // DC // The Fillmore Silver Spring // Tickets Oct 6 / Philly // Franklin Music Hall // Tickets Oct 7 // NYC // Terminal 5 // Tickets Oct 8 // NYC // Knockdown Center // Tickets Oct 9 // New Haven // Toad's Place // Tickets Oct 10 // Boston // Roadrunner // Tickets Oct 12 // Montreal // Corona Theatre // Tickets Oct 13 // Toronto // Danforth Music Hall // Tickets Oct 14 // Toronto // History // Tickets Oct 15 // Detroit // Royal Oak Music Theatre // Tickets Oct 17 // Cleveland // House of Blues // Tickets Oct 18 // Columbus // Kemba Live! // Tickets Oct 20 // Milwaukee // Pabst Theater // Tickets Oct 21 // Minneapolis // First Avenue // Tickets Oct 22 // Chicago // Aragon Ballroom // Tickets

[timebegins-onopeningday]

Time Begins On Opening Day 2024: Round Up Post #1

Happy Friday everyone and welcome to Round-Up Post #1! This post includes links to all works posted in the first half of the season + details about First Half Commentfest which begins today and goes through the weekend.

Soft Deadline #1 offers us 20 (20!!) fanworks for five teams and 104 prompts across several teams as well as some broad and open-ended prompts! For a small fandom and only halfway through the season, that's pretty cool. If you're just finding this prompt meme now, or if you didn't finish something you were working on before the deadline, never fear - this prompt runs the entire length of the 2024 season! There is still plenty of time create.

Enjoy the works, slam that kudos button, leave a comment, and enjoy the second half of the MLB season!

Soft Deadline #2 is September 29, the end of the regular season.

🌞 First Half Commentfest 🌞

First Half Commentfest runs this weekend, from Friday July 19 to Sunday July 21. As we catch up with all these amazing works (fic! art! poetry! y’all are amazing!!) my challenge as a mod for us is to get every single one of these works at least five independent comments from five independent readers by the end of the weekend. (So we’re not including creator responses in that comment count!)

Why? Because it’s very easy to feel isolated as a creator – particularly in a small fandom like baseball rpf. We all know how easy it is to hit the kudos button and move on, but in a challenge designed to inspire creators for a very small, very spread out of fandom, a little encouragement can go a long way.

justleaveacommentfest has a list of resources for helping write comments on fic here and hxphaestion wrote some notes on what kind of comments resonate with artists (scroll for reblog) if you’re not sure where to start.

Let’s get all these works some comments!

🌞 Fanworks from the first half of the season 🌞

That we got as many fics as we did in the first half makes your mod SO happy, because we’re already past what we had last year!! This was a pain in the ass to put together because there were so many links and that delighted me. Shout out to you all, you’re all amazing.

I organized these by fanwork type, then grouped works by team and sorted alphabetically by the creator’s name + title (with the exception of one set of works, which are grouped in order of the series). Enjoy the works, bang that kudos button and COMMENT 🥳🥳

Art

Baltimore Orioles

[collage] heat waves by sapplyandherfriend

a celebration of dingers and slug edit: WOOOOOO TONY IS AN ALL STAR

Toronto Blue Jays

[collage] cheer on your team! by idlt

a toronto blue jays collage made on a 6x4 index card with a bunch of junk from the recycling bin

[collage] love song (show elation) by idlt

a vladdy and bo collage made on half of a page of cardstock with a bunch of junk from the recycling bin and a pile of old magazines that I got from someone in my neighbourhood who was going to throw them out, plus a few star stickers and a picture of vlad and bo pasted on top digitally

Poetry

Toronto Blue Jays

come home (the way they need you to) by idlt

A short poem about Vladdy and home and being seen.

Fic

Baltimore Orioles

one warm summer night (fireworks outside) by Settsplitt

Technically, they’re kind of hidden, standing a few steps down the tunnel, with their teammates all turned towards the fluorescent night sky, eyes fixed on the show. But still, Kyle thinks, as Adley tucks his hand under the hem of his pants, slipping his fingers beneath his belt and digging until he finds bare skin, this can’t be a good idea.

Milwaukee Brewers

In Stadium Light & Shadow by TheGlobeLifeBarn 

A thin satellite in orbit of nothing.

Philadelphia Phillies

Pressure Point by caltrain

Bryce fucked up his hammy and he’s being an enormous baby about it.

you think it’s different but it’s always the same by palimpsestic

Florida’s always so fucking humid, even in February—the air is sticky with unshed rain, hangs heavy with anticipation.

Who’s on First by powerblu (bluspirits)

A lot may have changed since Rhys first got called up to the Phillies: the size of the crowds, their record, the fact that they're playing in the World Series. But one thing is exactly the same: Bryce Harper is still there on the other team, annoying the hell out of him.

put some moves on you, babe (i know you need it) by pronoe

Bryson reminds himself to be careful where he sucks his marks on Alec’s skin, with the way he keeps his jerseys half-unbuttoned.

Seattle Mariners

Broken Foot and Cuddles by Anonymous

turns out that record-breaking pitch had actually been “breaking” in more ways than one. Poor Ty, with the foot fracture.

Toronto Blue Jays

Fiber arts for first inning starts by caltrain

There’s a hot guy no one has ever seen before at the softball clinic. He crushes three balls out of the park off of Kevin and pisses Kevin off so bad that Yusei slings an arm around his neck and kisses his cheek. “Can we get him?” he says happily.

5 Times The Blue Jays were Blue Gays: Number 1 Will Shock You! by idlt

George Springer is writing for the first edition of the new Blue Jays newsletter, organized and edited by Davis Schneider. George's first assignment? Clickbait the fuck out of everyone with the most unbelievable listicle ever (except somehow it is actually that gay)! Here's what he wrote, plus what Davis had to say about it.

he said i have bisexual swag! by idlt

An ode to Jordan Romano's short-lived yet glorious septum piercing (in the format of 2 idiots texting)

the grip of artificial chaos by idlt

Davis and Ernie sneak a moment in the dugout as the fireworks go off.

Out of Left Field by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho were rivals playing on opposing baseball teams in high school. Now, ten years later, they are playing on the same team for the Toronto Blue Jays. As they weather the ups and downs of the baseball season, Danny and Daulton find an unexpected companionship in one another. But there is a lot on the line and neither knows if it is safe to indulge these feelings or if they are better left buried in the past.

Cover Your Bases by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Ten years after being high school rivals, Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho started playing baseball on the same team for the Toronto Blue Jays. Their months together brought them closer as teammates, friends, and then something more. Now they need to decide what risks they’re willing to take if they want to make their relationship official.

Swing for the Fences by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho are officially dating. Unfortunately, being public figures in a major league sport makes that anything but simple. They’ve agreed to keep things private until the end of the baseball season but that means Danny and Daulton must balance their blooming relationship and their work while navigating the ever-present media attention.

The Longest Road by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

After their nightly game of Settlers of Catan, Davis has a heart-to-heart with Spencer about his growing feelings for their mutual friend Ernie. Spencer offers some valuable advice and reassurance, which gives Davis the courage to accept when Ernie asks him to forgo the living room couch and share a bed for the night.

Therapy with Daulto Varsho by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Daulton has always been a listener rather than a talker. Whether it’s good news or bad news, he’s there to hear out his teammates. Sometimes, this leads to unexpected revelations.

[arthistoryanimalia]

Another belated happy birthday to Alexander Wilson, aka “the father of American ornithology,” born #OTD (Scotland 6 July 1766 – USA 23 August 1813)

Vol.1, Pl.1: “Blue Jay; Yellow-Bird or Goldfinch; Baltimore Bird”

from Wilson’s American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of the Birds of the United States, 9 vols., Philadelphia, 1808-1814.

[soulluvs2read]

I’ve seen some people do this and I want to as well so here are some songs from my Neil Josten playlist that I think are him. Bare with me I got quite a few.

Bug Like an Angel - Mitski

Just One Yesterday - Fall Out Boy

Baltimore Blues No. 1 - Deer Tick

Trust Me - Sincere Engineer

STRANGER SKIN - Brotherkenzie

Yippie Ki Yay - Hippo Campus

People Watching - Conan Gray

Trouble - Cage The Elephant

BROOKLYN - Brotherkenzie

[tawaifeddiediaz]

WILL GRAHAM + the orange jumpsuit

(for @madamewriterofwrongs​)

[Image ID: two gifs of Will Graham from Hannibal episode 1.13, "Savoureux", dressed in the orange prison jumpsuit:

GIF 1: Will thanking Alana reluctantly for taking his dogs home with her.

GIF 2: Will looking anxiously around the room as he seeks to answer the question asked of him.

/end ID]

bonus:

[BONUS ID: Will staring intensely at Hannibal through the bars of his room at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He is wearing a blue jumpsuit. /end ID]

[magnetothemagnificent]

I guess it's time I share my list of birds from this past Jewish year (I've been keeping two Big Year lists, Jewish year and secular year). All are from the US, except the last few which are indicated.

1. Ruby-crowned kinglet

2. American Robin

* Leucistic American Robin

3. Song sparrow

4. Rock pigeon

* Melanistic rock pigeon

5. Chipping sparrow

6. Hairy woodpecker

7. Mourning dove

8. Northern flicker

9. Eastern towhee

10. White crowned sparrow

11. White-throated sparrow

12 Savannah sparrow

13. House sparrow

14. European starling

15. American Crow

16. Common Raven

17. Gray catbird

18. Northern mockingbird

19. Canada Goose

20. Spotted Sandpiper

21. American herring gull

22. Marsh wren

23. Limpkin

24. Great white heron

25. Cattle egret

26. Anhinga

27. Snowy egret

28. Great blue heron

29. Black-crowned night heron

30. Wood stork

31. Common gallinule

32. Blue-gray gnatcatcher

33. Turkey vulture

34. Black vulture

35. Yellow rumped warbler

36. Tufted titmouse

37. Little blue heron

38. White ibis

39. Cooper's hawk

40. Cardinal

41. Green heron

42. Carolina wren

43. Palm warbler

44. Pine warbler

45. Sandhill crane

46. Carolina chickadee

47. Bluejay

48. Osprey

49. Chimney swift

50. Red-tailed hawk

51. Prairie warbler

52. American kestrel

53. Glossy ibis

54. Pied-billed grebe

55. Double-crested cormorant

56. Grey kingbird

57. Brown pelican

58. Fish crow

59. Royal tern

60. Bald eagle

61. Painted bunting

62. American white pelican

63. Common grackle

64. Boat-tailed grackle

65. Great-tailed grackle

66. American purple gallinule

67. American coot

68. Brown-headed cowbird

69. Tricolored heron

70. Mallard

71. Black-bellied whistling duck

72. Eastern kingbird

73. Yellow-billed cuckoo

74. Muscovy duck

75. American bittern

76. Ring-billed gull

77. American Pekin

78. Mallard-Pekin hybrid

79. Eastern bluebird

80. Yellow-bellied sapsucker

81. Red-winged blackbird

82. White-eyed vireo

83. Mottled duck

84. Broad-winged hawk

85. Dark-eyed junco

86. Brown thrasher

87. Sharp-shinned hawk

88. House finch

89. Eastern Phoebe

90. Downy woodpecker

91. Fox sparrow

92. Loggerhead Shrike!!!!

93. White breasted nuthatch

94. Red-bellied woodpecker

95. Brown creeper

96. Pileated woodpecker

97. American goldfinch

98. House wren

99. Barn swallow

100. Tree swallow

101. Black and white warbler

102. Red eyed vireo

103. Yellow warbler

104. Mute swan

105. Rusty blackbird

106. Common yellowthroat

107. Warbling vireo

108. Northern waterthrush

109. Veery

110. Swamp sparrow

111. Wood duck

112. American redstart

113. Orchard oriole

114. Greater Yellowlegs

115. Lesser Yellowlegs

116. Baltimore oriole

117. Hermit thrush

118. Wood thrush

119. Ovenbird

120. Indigo bunting

121. Black-throated blue warbler

122. Scarlet tanager

123. Worm-eating warbler

124. Northern rough-winged swallow

125. Blue-headed vireo

126. Northern parula

127. Prothonotary warbler

128. Philadelphia vireo

129. Blackburnian warbler

130. Magnolia warbler

131. Cedar waxwing

132. Blackpoll warbler

133. Yellow-throated vireo

134. Eastern wood pewee

135. Acadian flycatcher

136. Tennessee warbler

137. Caspian tern

138. Laughing gull

139. Forster's tern

140. American oystercatcher

141. Green-winged teal

142. Purple Martin

143. Least tern

144. Field sparrow

145. Killdeer

146. Grey-cheeked thrush

147. Rose-breasted grosbeak

148. Great-crested flycatcher

149. Swainson's thrush

150. Bay-breasted warbler

151. Chestnut-sided warbler

152. Willow flycatcher

153. Ruby-throated hummingbird

154. Peregrine falcon

155. Hooded crow IL

156. Laughing dove IL

157. Eurasian collared dove IL

158. Eurasian jackdaw IL

159. Common myna IL

160. Rose-ringed parakeet IL

161. White spectacled bulbul IL

162. European bee eater IL

163. Chukar IL

164. Short toed snake eagle IL

165. White stork IL

166. Little egret IL

167. Pygmy cormorant IL

168. Eurasian hoopoe IL

169. Alpine swift IL

170. Graceful pinia IL

171. Eastern Olivaceous Warbler IL

172. Tristan's Starling IL

173. Fan tailed raven IL

174. Eurasian black cap IL

Here's to at least 200 next year!

[aftgficrec]

ack finally caught you guys open <333 thanks for all your work! I was wondering if you have any newer longer fics with realistic characterisation and writing (similar to profenity’s works maybe?) and also any non-fox Neil/andrew fics? Thank you!And sorry for the tall order;;🙏

You’ll find an abundance of non-fox andreil in our recent Staff Recs: Writers post. On our tags page under AUs, explore the shops and jobs sections or other themes from fantasy to band aus.

Fandom writer profenity is known for long, meaty explorations of canon characters and themes. Their ongoing WIP ‘The Unkindness of Ravens’ has more than 380k words and 12k+ kudos! Find it in this Raven!Neil to Fox ask under former writing name crazy_like_a. The author interacts with fans on tumblr @hopingforcoordinates. 

We’ve featured or referred to profenity’s ‘Lessons in Cartography’ and sequel ‘The Cartographer and the World’ in many asks. I’m listing some as a doorway to similar works. For something newer, try the Kevin-centric ‘A Falling Star’ series, featured here. If this answer seems cobbled together — it is. This is my subjective, limited attempt at catching lightning in a bottle. -A

check out other works in these asks that feature profenity’s ‘Lessons’ series:

must read fandom classics here

post canon continuation of The King’s Men here

Neil fights with Jack here

andreil exploring feelings, intimacy and sexuality here

in character andreil smut here

small selection of ‘not new’ recs:

‘Hold me close, in fact bury me’ and ‘Trust Fall (And Welcoming Arms)’ here

‘Black As Is The Raven, He’ll Get A Partner’ here

‘progress comes in small steps’ series here

‘Inked Truths’ series here

‘Baltimore Blues’ here

long recs for a return to fandom here

A Falling Star series by NikNak22 [Rated M/E, 245011 words, 3 complete works, Updated Nov 2023]

NB: the author credits inspiration to ‘To Be Certain We'll Be Tall Again’ by fullyvisible, featured here, now complete.

Part 1: Dead of Night (E, 101589 words) It’s Kevin’s senior year at PSU, and things are…okay. But that changes when a single question from a nosy reporter sends his life spiraling. The descent is slow and maddening – memories and trauma from his past weave together to form the image of the man that stands there today. As Kevin begins to look around him with a new and critical eye, though, he’s no longer sure that man is who he wants to be. So the question is - when faced with the truth, is it a case of Kevin finally getting what he deserves? Or is it about time to prove a lot of people (including himself) wrong? Aka the fic that’s all about Kevin Day.

tw: torture, tw: abuse, tw: child abuse, tw: rape/noncon, tw: alcohol abuse, tw: psychological abuse, tw: depression, tw: self esteem issues, tw: body dysmorphia, tw: body shaming, tw: bullying, tw: assault, tw: homophobia, tw: racism,  tw: self harm

Part 2: Darkest Before Dawn (M, 52365) “This is finally it, isn’t it?” Jeremy whispers. “Oui,” Jean says softly on Kevin’s other side. “I believe it is.” And for a moment, they look so lost. Just two little boys about to go out and face the big, wide world. So Kevin searches until both of his hands find one of theirs. He doesn’t look at them, though he feels their gazes on him. He just breathes deeply and closes his eyes. Then he squeezes their hands as he tells them, “I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next.” AKA the highs and lows of Kevin’s life after graduation and into the Pros.

tw: self esteem issues, tw: panic attacks, tw: minor character death, tw: implied/referenced assault, tw: implied/referenced eating disorders

Part 3: In the Light of Day (E, 91057) It’s been almost five years since Kevin graduated from PSU. Five years that he's played Exy professionally. Five years since he’s learned to live on his own. Five years after discovering he’s in love with his best friends, former USC Trojans Jeremy Knox and Jean Moreau. Five years since he’s figured out, they will never love him back. So, when Jeremy and Jean invite him to their house for Christmas this year, he knows this is it. It’s the finale. The last hurrah. The swan song. The final act. It’s time he lets them go, lets this foolish, one-sided love go, once and for all. But he might find this is harder than he ever expected.

tw: depression, tw: bullying, tw: self esteem issues, tw: body dysmorphia, tw: imposter syndrome, tw: implied/referenced eating disorders, tw: gaslighting, tw: ptsd, tw: dissociation, tw: implied/referenced abuse

[gmwsuperfan5467890]

Never Have I Ever Season 4: My Extensive Opinions on all the plots

I will go through various plots and characters (in no particular order) and give my opinion

Margot

I don’t like Margot. Her introduction this season was her being furious at Devi because she was mad that Ben ghosted her but Devi literally has a right to mad. Margot’s reaction was very unwarranted and a lot for the situation at hand, especially because she wasn’t giving Ben any of that energy she was giving Devi. She isn’t wondering why Ben ghosted Devi out of the blue? She isn’t thinking that this could be a potential red flag? She is still protecting him and doting on him?

This isn’t even the only time this happens. Every time Margot is on screen, they have to get her mad at Devi for some reason, which is usually a misunderstanding. Sometimes she is justified, for example when she finds Devi’s notebook and when Devi almost gets her suspended.But why was she mad at Devi when Ben brought the flowers to her house? Why did she not give the same energy to Ben? He was the one that brought the flowers.Then she admits that she is embarrassed of Ben after she spent 6 episodes fighting over him? Girl, what was the fighting even for??

It just makes me mad that her character got so much screen time and the conflict that she has with Devi is so repetitive. I just think about how her screentime could be given to other characters (cough, cough Aneesa) and that makes me even more mad.

Episode 1

Should be called “Never Have I Ever Risked it all for a man” This is not a criticism to the writing of the episode, this is more of a message to characters that don’t exist. Devi, Margot, stand up, please. No man is worth fighting for, no man is worth ruining your reputation for and no man is worth ruining your chances of getting into your dream university for and I’m saying that as someone who loves Ben as a character (for the most part).

Ben x Margot

Was very unnecessary. Ben stop dating girls to get over Devi challenge I beg of you.

Ethan

Also unnecessary but at least he got Devi to take her mind off of Ben.

Fabneesa

They had so much chemistry in their interactions together and they were trying to tell us last season that they don’t have any romantic chemistry?? Nah, sorry I don’t believe it. During the scene where Fabiola confided in Addison about her fight with Devi and Addison told her that she would make new friends in college, I was thinking about how Aneesa would get it since she is in the same friend group (tho props to Addison for listening to Fab and getting it in the end.)

Aneesa

I adore Aneesa so I was disappointed that she was barely in the season. I wish we could’ve gotten more information about where got recruited to.

Nalini

I adore her and I love how much she has grown. In seasons 1 and 2, she would have called Devi ‘stupid’ or used other harsh words without a second thought. Now she corrects her mistakes and is more gentle and comforting to Devi. I also really like Nalini’s relationship with Margot’s dad, they had chemistry.

Nirmala

Funny as always.

Kamala

I am glad that she took that job in Baltimore and I am so glad that she didn’t get married. I feel like a big part of her character is that she isn’t ready to get married and needs to figure out the timing of things in her own terms. I am also very happy that she is still with Mr Kulkarni.

Paxton

I was worried when he dropped out of university but the writers handled the plotline so well. The first thing they did was drill it into our heads that Paxton made the wrong choice and that he was running away from change. I adored his friendship with Devi and I really liked his relationship with Miss Thompson. I really like Miss Thompson’s personality and I like how she isn’t phased by his charm and holds him accountable for his actions. They are also bi4bi, I don’t make the rules.

Fabiola

Fabiola was right in applying to Princeton because she can apply anywhere she wants but wrong in not telling Devi at all. I definitely felt bad for her because you can tell that she adores Devi and would never want to hurt her. Luckily, it all worked out in the end.

Ben

He really needed someone to slap him in the first few episodes because what the hell was he thinking?? First, ghosting Devi after they slept together, dating Margot, refusing to speak to her and lying about it being Margot’s decision. I was ready to fight him. Luckily, he redeemed himself in the last few episodes.

Devi

I am a Devi stan first, person second, have always been from season 1. I am so proud of how much she’s grown and of how far she’s come. Most of all, I am so glad that she got her dream college, her dream boyfriend and started embracing her culture.

Benvi

The moments in the last few episodes were perfection. Ben defending Devi from the creep? Amazing. Them interacting with each other and everyone knowing that they’re in love? Spectacular. Them gazing at each other with heart eyes at graduation when you know season 1 Ben would have been so mad that Devi won valedictorian over him. The scene where he flies all the way from New York to confess his love for her and they run away holding hands and the scenes after that? The most romantic scenes on the show. Benvi is definitely one of the best slowburns in recent television.

[vixnovacoda]

Doctor's Medicine || Chapter 11

Hannibal Lecter x Original Character

Word Count: ~2k

CW/TW: NSFW 18+, graphic, disturbing content, dissociation, canon-typical violence.

[Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5][Chapter 6][Chapter 7][Chapter 8][Chapter 9][Chapter 10]

[ao3 version here]

They were barely through the second glass when Hannibal tried to change the topic from favourite wine flavours and European countrysides. He lowered the wine from his lips, holding it how a trained hand would. “We’ve yet to touch upon the subject of your parents,” he said abruptly. 

   “Or yours,” returned Emma with the clashing of her nails against her wine glass resounding loud against the vastness that was Hannibal’s living room and its gothic decadence. The whole place was decadent, an oasis in concrete, filth-filled Baltimore - there was no sensible way that being a psychiatrist paid for this all on its own. It was made clear then that she didn’t know him well at all. Just bits of him.

   He took his time drinking, body turned to face her as he sat upright and perfectly poised on the other end of the sofa. The whole time, he sipped while she gulped. Not once had he broken form like a careful man being a gentleman with nothing to give away. “You don’t like opening up, do you?” assumed Emma.

   Then it broke briefly. Hannibal looked away from her. She could barely see the look in his eye, but it was clear enough by how he chose to focus on the skulls of dead prey, their lives having been taken away from man to be used as decoration, that he was questioning something. Maybe letting her inside this room while he had still been awake. It wasn’t clear what exactly. It was never always clear with him. Hannibal Lecter, the man who chooses horse hooves for chair feet. The man who designed his living room to be a forest; his hunting grounds. A place meant for calmness or to take home a meal. But she knew she said something he wasn’t expecting.

   “Then in that, we share,” came to utter Hannibal unexpectedly.

   “I suppose,” responded her. “However, I just simply don’t like getting close to people.” She lingered on him as the open fire painted the contours of his face like it were some greco-roman sculpture. If his head wasn’t so attached to his body she’d donate it to sit amongst the greats at a museum. “… Not anymore.”

   “Am I not ‘people’?” asked Hannibal in his usual manner, in his usual way that had you giving more of yourself up to him than he ever would; charming. Hannibal’s words were a bait she openly ate from.

   “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

   His head slanted, ever curious. “And what is your assumption so far?”

   The details of his sculpted lines turned less blurred. “A hunter,” she answered, her hand grabbing the back of the sofa between them as her body shifted closer. “You wait. You watch with care. You stand in a world of prey and take the ones you need in search of something, maybe you enjoy it, maybe it brings you calm. Either way, you’re alone.”

   “I am?”

   “It’s hard to find someone willing to hunt alongside.”

   The firewood crackled in the silence where they were at a stand still. Embers broke and sparks flittered, seen reflected in the only clear thing of that man she called a hunter, his eyes. Deep, dark forces of nature. Flecks of red. So much red in them. So… familiar.

   A bathtub, marbled by blood spilling, pouring over under my knees. I sit in it. I stare. There’s the body, then me. Fingers dip like toes in water, testing the climate. Eyes float to the surface. Iris of blue turned a glaring red. I bend closer, and it almost bleeds into my own.

   A hunger.

   That’s what it was. She had seen it before back in that house she was supposed to call home. Years passed where she might have almost forgotten. But, how could she when he was right there in front of her to remind her. Hannibal had that same look in his eyes, she was sure, and not a reflection like Will. Just, similar. Which meant he was one of the only people that understood her and what she felt. He had to. He just—

   With a grip larger than her own, Hannibal coerced the half-empty glass from her teetering grasp before she could taint the expensive upholstery or the remnants of his stripped-down suit – in which the shirt (a couple buttons undone) and trousers remained – and there she remained without moving an inch. Any closer and their knees would be touching. Then, a buzzing, tingling. A warmth filled her cheeks. She couldn’t help herself, but what was she doing? She barely knew this man she labelled as a friend mere hours ago. 

   Embarrassment swallowed whatever feeling she had while reality came rearing its head in. “But, what do I know? Maybe I am just projecting,” Emma stammered and lurched herself back, resting her tiring body over what was her side of the furniture. “Or deflecting the original question. After all, there's a lot of revealing oneself in discussing parentage, no hiding from the truth where the pieces come together. Even when buried, it never dies.” Though she wished it did. Then none of this would ever have happened. No pain. No tragedy. No dead Alex.

   The alcohol made light work with her, festering in all the nooks and crannies of her body, and the unrest fashioned lead from her frame as she slumped with a heave, spine curving against the armrest. Emma never believed in spirits, but as her heart felt cold while the tips of her fingers and the fireplace burnt, she might have sworn it was Alex. But she would never be so cruel to leave Emma at odds and staring at where heaven laid between the clouds that was Hannibal's ceiling for an answer. It had been this way not too long ago in the spare bedroom Hannibal had provided. Wide-eyed and brain ticking, she had stared at that ceiling. Unable to sleep, Emma was the one to search for the bottom of a bottle and Hannibal the one who indulged her thirst by uncorking a vintage when he probably shouldn’t have. 

   “Why are we still awake?” questioned Emma. Why am I alive?

   Hannibal’s voice waded through the confused silence like an echo. “I think only you can answer that one.” Followed by the pour of more wine. Drop after drop.

   It wasn’t a difficult answer when there was pause and alcohol in the air and the warmth of another who was in reach. She knew, like she had never known before. “… Company,” admitted her with newfound lucidity being consciously aware could never give her. “The world sounds different when I’m with you.”

   “What does it sound like?”

   “Like… Like a symphony.”

   The sofa sighed under the shifting of his weight as she swore he moved closer. “Harmony. When the right notes mix with the right instruments under the direction of the conductor, it is a cacophony of delight that is profound to the senses,” assuaged Hannibal.

   Makes a part of you from deep inside feel as if you could finally breathe , added Emma mid-thought.

   “Everything in sync. Everything right.”

   “See, you understand.” Too drunk with enlightenment under her breath to care, Emma threw herself upright to the rhythm of a bounce and eureka. “You’re the only one who sees me. Is it so bad to want to understand why? To be curious as to what you have buried when you’ve already begun digging up mine? Tell me anything of your parents, then I shall tell you mine. Is that so hard?” pressed Emma as she leaned forward, hunching slightly like a blind beggar to assuage and bend his gaze from above as predators pretending to be as innocent as prey ought to often do. This was the time. She was sure. He’d finally give a little; a test to their bond. To their friendship. Or whatever it was that they had and pretending was friendship. Survival.

   He looked at her.

   She looked back.

   And there was that look again. That hunger . When was the last time either of them had consumed? Too long, but Emma’s hunger was stronger, enough to beat Hannibal by a mile. He sighed through seething teeth. Just this once. That’s all she needed. That’s all she’ll get. “It was snowing the last time I saw them. Our home was covered in thick layers of its pure colour that you could barely see the horizon at dawn. A guise of innocent ongoings, one might say, or the blessing of god,” divulged Hannibbal, straining, like he was slicing off a part of him and serving it up to her raw on a platter. The act softened her. It was the closest she had gotten to understanding him, and sure, he could have been lying to get her to divulge something deeply personal. But only God would do that and he wasn’t God. He was far better than Him.

   Emma swallowed the hardened lump of salt in her throat. “There was a storm when my mother was murdered. It flooded our moors like an ocean. No one could leave,” she confessed.

   “Did you think it a blessing?” he asked.

   “Did you?”

   They stared amidst a revealing quiet, their eyes piercing through reflections.

   “Death is no blessing. It is just death,” spoke Emma through dry lips, suddenly more thirsty than she’d ever been.

   Hannibal slid her lipstick-stained glass across the table.  “I find that it is an end and a beginning.”

   “That’s one way to think about it, certainly.” Nodded along Emma half-heartedly and took glass to mouth; rapid and fast. Anything to completely satiate herself to completion. It wasn’t often she had told someone about her mother and she did not like this strange feeling that came to occupy her because of it. This bitter bile stuck within her like a rot, like a shame. Her fist clenched the wine glass stem with ferociousness. “I prefer to just let death be death.”

   “My, you really are a persistent force in the face of a battle, Emma Darcy,” commented Hannibal, with his sliver of admiration seeming all too genuine.

   Suddenly smiling and all too proud, Emma said, “I get that a lot. People are often surprised to find how unwilling I am to lie down and play dead.” She raised her glass almost triumphantly as she pushed down the rising rot.

   “And nor should you be forced to be something you are not.” Peering past the lip of the glass, she could see the beginnings of a smug smile like he knew something she didn’t. But, no sooner than downing the wine glass’s remains did the red liquid wash away the sight and her vision blur around the corners with a swallow. Light-headed and weightless. Unaware and buzzing. She didn’t seek to stop. The alcohol numbed the pain of her chrysalis – the pain that followed her existence, the pain she had come to stop. The change that was the end of her. Though it was less of a change or evolution and more of a breaking free from an ill-fitted cage.

   “Emma, are you still there?” came the sound of Hannibal’s dulcet voice, distant and far off, ringing and echoing, come to pull her back to the surface.

   “Yes.” She tried to follow it. Dragging, squeezing. Rising, and rising, and, then, free. Blinking away an old layer of a blurred world and struggling to centre her body upright, she repeats herself with a newfound conviction. “Yes, I always have been.”

   With reality rearing back in, she could feel the palm of his hand on her forehead, the other on the small of her back, as the warmth of his body melding with the closeness of hers. The beginning of early daylight cracked into rays behind Hannibal’s head and seeped into the smile that flitted across his lips. This version of herself, the one that had been begging to be let out – the one that found an easy way through the cracks of drunkenness – owed its life to him, and she matched his delight with awe and thankfulness at her saviour.