#Dark Horse Tour 50

[harrisonarchive]

Huge thanks to Sara at Meet the Beatles for Real for sharing the following recollection from a fan named Char, as published in the fanzine The Write Thing; it took place during the Dark Horse Tour.

“[In Chicago on November 30, 1974] we sat there trying to calm down. [...] Although I didn’t know then who she was, Olivia was there. He kissed her just after they came into the room, and before he sat down. [...] He told about his guitar strap breaking on stage and how when he realized it was letting go, he stuck his foot out to catch the guitar on his shin. All I could think of is that he is the only one I know that would deliberately get hit on the shin. He must have realized what was happening to me, cause he stared into my eyes once more after that, and sure enough, the results were the same. Olivia came over once and asked us if we wanted anything to eat and then right before he left he stood about 3 feet away from us and leaned over the coffee table in front of us to get some matches from Pete and I remember he said, ‘I thought he was crackers,’ but I don’t know who he was talking about. Then I heard him say that he was going to bed, and I looked up to see him with his arm lightly around Olivia’s waist and they said goodnight to everyone. I felt a desperate urge to do something drastic to keep him there, but I suppressed it and just smiled. […] To describe George, I can say that i was really shocked at how thin he is. His face looked just about like I expected, but thinner. His hair was so fluffy and nice, but his eyes were what I really noticed. They were so deep brown! Most people when you look at their eyes you see the white around the color, but when you stare into George’s eyes you just see deep brown and a lot of emotion. It’s really a shame his eyes don’t photograph the way they really look. If they did, I don’t think anyone would have ever noticed Paul’s eyes even as gorgeous as they are.” - The Write Thing, April/May 1976

[hustonnn]

STABLE TOUR

95 horses !!!!

Start with my bay collection (from left to right) (some horses named in russian)

Doom - my only one Arabian horse because I lowkey hate them but I felt bad for not owning one when they were supposed to be removed

Dragon Fighter - my OC Neyvil'

Gilded Rose (Позолоченая Роза) - second horse what I ever bought but I sold it one day and bought it again cause of nostalgia

Uno - named after Muse song

Danger Desire - horse of my SSO OC's husband Howard

Morning Comet (Утренняя Комета) - starter horse I love him 💚 wish we had more Jorvikian Warmbloods to buy

Pale Road - horse of my RDO OC Wild Brown - Red Cardinal aka Cardi aka Baryonyx aka Boris aka Boryia - named after themed playlist on spotify

Boulder Gate - just Baldur's Gate.

Furious Whirlwind (Буйный Вихрь) - first ever pony. Same story as Gilded Rose

10. Lucky Chace - kinda regret him 11. Thunder Hurricane - first "cool" horse, oldie 12. Iron Man - my fav MCU character :) 13. Night Butterfly (Ночная Бабочка) - bad joke, OC Penelope

14. Druid Bear - Halsin from BG3 !!! felt bad for killing him once so this is an apology. sorry bud 15. Zombie Apocalypse - Deacon Saint-John - main char from game Days Gone

16. Lady Pearl - my OC lady Lidorfya Pearl. wish it was a donkey 17. Brave Guardian - my OC Connor Birdhard 18. Marzipan - cutie 19. Sunrise Faith - @sshadovv 🧡 20. Harsh Autumn (Суровая Осень) - I dreamed of her when I was a kid :""" 21. Sweet Victory (Сладкая Победа) - we all ask ourselves was it worth it 22. Violet Bullet - my OC Valliet Bandolero 23. Almond Cookie (Миндальная Печенька) - was eating cookies lol. didn't like this breed that much tho :( 24. Eternal Love (Вечная Любовь) - my OC Lira

25. Spring Song - love/hate with coat 26. Fiery Sunset (Пламенный Закат) - RIP my fishy Toussaint 27. Glitter Gold - @sshadovv's OC Judy (she didn't like my choice of horse but I still bought it sorry love) 28. Red Deer - ARTHUR MORGAN I miss you old man (main char from Red Dead Redemption 2) 29. Tiger Horse - my OC Jaira Tagger

30. Porcelain Bride (Фарфоровая Невеста) - dreamed of this coat 31. Ghost Queen - my OC Samara 32. White Swallow (Белая Ласточка) - Ciri from The Witcher 33. Yellow Snow - "When the time of the White Frost comes, do not eat the yellow snow" iukuk 34. Bold Horse - bold horse. 35. Pale Princess - a rat. I hate her. my OC princess Fyrze 36. Grim - my OC Gustav Grim

37. Songbird - album Death of a Songbird by Luna Fawn Ripley 38. Singing Fishy (Певучая Рыбка) - my second fish Lubystok (Dandelion from The Witcher) 39. Moon Wisdom - my OC Ezer 40. Wingfeather - novel The Wingfeather Saga, author Andrew Peterson. I love books for children, relatable 41. Old Myth - main char of my favorite series on SSO. The horse's name was Aiden and the whole story was based on the game Beyond Two Souls what I love with my whole heart too. I regret not buying more old models, especially Andalusians because it's one of my favorite breeds 42. Winter Warrior - my OC Irma

43. Golden Feather (Золотое Перо) - my OC Mechanics Emperor 44. Rebellious Spirit (Непокорный Дух) - Spirit!!!!!! Looks like my Spirit plushie 45. Wizard - my OC Guypril 46. Hero Magic - it's Guypril too.. 47. Coyote - my RDO horse Kharciz (I don't know if I spelled it right) (Харциз)

48. Desert Ninja - my OC Wild, specifically from Black Desert AU 49. Wild Hat (Дикая Шляпка) - another Wild, but from Red Dead AU 50. Wildlord - another Wild........ because his full name is Willord 51. Dark Silver (Темное Серебро) - my OC Vampyr 52. Phantom Liberty - cyberpunk is a peak 53. Pirate Blood - I will never buy normal full black Friesian because I am ✨special✨ 54. Dark Maniac - my OC Zwyr (Beast) 55. Ghost Mystery - horse of my OC Apparel' - Parquet. Also it was name of my first "soul" horse irl 56. Sugar Father - hate the name, was my OC Shuga but I sold him

57. Zombie Fairy - my OC Daffodil 58. Osprey - kinda fits to be my OC Zwyr but in reverse colors 59. Terrifying Hunter (Жуткий Охотник) - Geralt of Rivia (main char from The Witcher) 60. Silverhand - Johny Silverhand from Cyberpunk 2077 61. Wild - another Wild but bold sorry not sorry 62. Chaotic Soul (Хаотичный Дух) - hate this horses coat, but it was free so not complaining

63. Little Plum (Маленькая Сливка) - horse of my friend's (@sshadovv) OC Judy - Sguschenka (Condensed milk) 64. Jewel Seeker - my friend's (@sshadovv) OC Judy 65. Loveace - my OC Lovelace 66. Faith (Вера) - my OC Faithful 67. Giga King - my OC Nirehon, but name doesn't suit him anymore 68. Blind Eye - my OC Jack Brown 69. Broken Rebel - feel sad for his name but it sounds poetic.. 70. Crazy Brain - my OC Kris Cardi 71. Great Father - my OC Samson Douglas 72. Lost Star - song Take Me Home by Cade Crider

73. Heaven - just like the coat 74. Frost Shore - cute marks on head 75. Echo - reminds me of my horse from RDR Heparda 76. Silent Hill - my OC Ezer 77. Daydreamer - ME !!!! looks like my horse sona 78. Chocolate Milk - my horse from RDO Nesquik 79. Illusion Pumpkin - homestuck reference

80. Ballless - my OC Samson Douglas..... I'm so sorry man 81. Supernova Axiom (Суперновая Аксиома) - just a random name it sounds hilarious 82. Royal - my OC Royal. I know I am a genius 83. Shark Shy (Акулья Стесняшка) - my older sis give her name. Kinda reminds me of one of my fishes (Lubystok), but I bought this horse before I had her 84. Tiny Sparkle (Крошечная Искорка) - I remember how SSO gave us the opportunity to create our own magic horse. How happy I was as a child when the game showed exactly the same color as I made! Core memory

85. Scarlet Ode (Алая Ода) - bought it just because everyone ride it 86. Glory Power - like his pandorian vibe 87. Guiding Star (Путеводная Звезда) - RIP my fishy Toussaint again :( 88. Lovebird - I hated this horse but I became fond of them while I was doing quests in Hollow Woods 89. Tulip Petal - my OC Garreth

90. River Hoof - this is my favorite magic coat in the game 91. Willow Tree - song When I'm Gone by Shawn James. And this is my favorite tree 92. Gloom Wolf - same story short - hate it first but now seems cute after Hollow Woods 93. Obsidian Star - Yennefer of Vengerberg from The Witcher. Horse doesn't fit for 100% but I don't wanna buy Friesian for you darling 94. Raven Mane - such a common name for this horse :т 95. Butterfly Hurricane - my OC Huston and song Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse - my favorite thing in the whole world

100th horse will be a Noriker, named after the band Big Time Rush - Rockstar. And tomorrow I will buy a robotic horse and call it Unicorn Attack

[ivalice-tifalucis]

Jason.

Suddenly I want to talk about Jason (it's a very long talk).

I realize I never talk about this here, but I often compare him to Queen's John Deacon. There are few similarities. The "silent" one, the underrated one, the one who prefer tea when the others would prefer wine, the one whose lyrics always about life, the dark horse, the one who is not confident with singing, the one who left the band and never be seen again.

The thing about John Deacon is that I never feel sort of bereaved, longing, or sad that he is no longer in Queen. I am a Queen fan since I could barely speak english thanks to my dad and the moment I learn that he left Queen so many years ago I was like that's ok. That's because even though Brian and Roger are the spine of Queen, the heart and soul will always be with Freddie and Freddie died 32 years ago. New fans had their hard time accepting it when they searched for Deacy but they quickly realized time has gone long and he has been living a peaceful private life. It's easy for us to let go of Deacy, because Queen regardless how good Adam Lambert is now, is over the moment Freddie died. There are no what ifs when talking about Deacy leaving Queen and public life. His statement is also clear and undeniable that he left because he thought there should be no more Queen after Freddie.

But the thing about Jason Orange is that he left at the height of Take That fandom. They just had Robbie back and they released Progress and it was very very success album and tour too. Three years later, people expect something but Robbie's not coming back and so did Jason. It feels anticlimactic for fans even though it may not be for him. There are no impromptu. Unlike the rest of the members, Jason doesn't have social media but he also didn't do or say anything leading up to that day in 2014. Take That was perfectly fine ship and suddenly one of their longest standing member at that time jumped the ship without lifeboat that could help him return. He swam to the nearest island and not planning to swim back to the ship ever again. Sure he made a statement through Take That's PR but it's just a thank yous. Something is not told and as fans we left to wonder why did he leave. What had gone wrong in the background??

Toxic fans would often like to think it's because of Robbie because Jason didn't like Rob in the 90s and, while often written off in newer documentaries or autobiographies, was the one who propagated to kick Robbie Williams out of Take That (as stated by the man himself in Look Back, Don't Stare). It's easy to make Robbie Williams a scapegoat, isn't it? However, Jason himself said back in Progress era that Robbie came back to Take That was the final piece of puzzle. Gary in his book A Better Me also said that Jason always wanted Robbie to return and felt like his job is done when he got to see all his boyband friends in the same room again.

However, it still doesn't answer the question to why did he leave? I have a habit of wondering over unimportant things and sometimes, especially now, my mind wonder about Jason and why exactly did he leave. I have some theories, it might not satisfy you but bare with me.

Here's a gif of Jason so you won't get too tired reading this post lol

First theory: tax evasion scandal. I'm not gonna pretend to be a foolish fan and not know that sometimes in 2014, Take That faced a huge backlash thanks to this scandal. Those annoying 40-50 something British guy who love to make this tax evader joke to state they never like Take That to look manly can never escape me every time I go around social media about Take That. Even though it rarely talked about among Thatters, I feel like if they are not known more now than they are a decade ago it's because this scandal still affecting them in the eyes of UK public, who are their major target market. I could also argue if only they make another big break this scandal will be gone from people's mind but sad to say they haven't done anything bigger than Progress even until now, not that I don't like III, Wonderland, and This Life, I do. But me and all of you (roughly 30 people around here) and I'd estimate less than 2 millions most royal Thatters out there who are interested are not enough. Back to the tax scandal, it is a fact that Gary, Mark, and Howard are part of the scandal but not Jason because his finance always managed by his twin brother, so I heard. I wonder whatever went behind the scene could might affect Jason's decision to leave.

Why? Because if it is true that he left because Progress is enough, he could have stated he would be leaving since after Progress or any time between 2012 to early 2014. Why did he have to wait and drag this for too long? Also, I wonder if this is why they are so sensitive about Jason leaving at first. Remember in Robbie's autobiography when they were really angry at Rob for accidentally blurted it that Jason would leave before official statement?

Second theory: anxiety, illness, physical problem or other health problems. I often wonder about this too. Progress era is the ultimate era especially for old school Thatters (lol sorry to the actual ultimate era). Who would have thought that "I'm rich beyond my wildest dream", the greatest britpop star living in private mansion in Beverly Hills with around 10 entourages including his gf, Robbie Williams, could ever reunited with Take That? I can only look this like history book and only recently realized how crazy it is. It happened. In his Netflix documentary, even his management didn't believe this that he'd rather earn so little yet did so much effort for Take That rather than earning another hundreds of millions of dollar doing another solo tour. But it happened, he needed it, the rest of Take That needed it, and we're glad it happened. And then, imagine Never Forget. One of the best Take That song ever, made in 1995 but released when Rob had left, so before 2010 this song had never been performed by Robbie Williams. The moment that all Thatters had been waiting for, to see all five members of Take That perform this song life, without others backing the others, as the original single intended. The only era where they can do this, and it only ever happened once (1). And then Jason...

And then they never did it again. Throughout Progress live tour, Jason didn't sing a single note by solo. His part in Never Forget was covered by Gary. You could even argue that his mic was never on during any of Progress live performances and I would believe you. So much downgrade than The Circus Live where he did an entire section singing two songs with his guitar. What was going on??

Why? He stated few times he was never confident in singing. Even Nigel Martin Smith berating him in the 90s for being the one with the worse singing voice (arguable though because he actually has decent voice). I'm glad Take Two era gave him the confidence to try albeit shyly. However, maybe eventually his anxiety won sometimes between 2012 to 2014. Plus the fact that we know he can't do breakdance forever. He was in his 40s at that time. Even current Take That dance lesser and lesser than they were in previous era. Maybe Jason thought there should not be more dancing in Take That. Maybe he thought his body would no longer able to. Maybe he's not strong as he used to be. He's ill? Idk, only Jason knows.

Third theory: settling down in private. It could be just my headcanon but think about it. We always joke he might as well marry to the bench because he's always photographed alone in his own thoughts. Some people even randomly thinking is he gay? He has that swag though, but I don't think at least he himself think that he's gay(?).

Lol this iconic pic

But what we never talk about is that he did have girlfriends in the past. He has been photographed by paparazzi in the past with "mystery" women (yes women as in plural) which I will not share here. He had a public relationship with Catherine Tate after all.

I genuinely think Jason is the kind who would drop everything to keep his family safe from public. This is after all the same guy who despite the height of his career barely show his family to the public, except his mom probably, but then again all TT moms always have media presence since day 1. Being in kdrama fandom and see korean actors and actresses who literally just dropped their career for their family and their privacy, I can see Jason would do just like that. Why not? He has achieved and experienced everything there is to know about being a celebrity. He doesn't feel the need to. And I feel like his relationship with Catherine Tate, since she also a public figure, was so gobbled down by media that maybe he thought this isn't right to have people judging his partner. If one day Jason appear with a wife and a child, I won't be surprised at all. I would be exploding in happiness that this theory is correct though.

Also I'm happy to see Catherine Tate returns to Doctor Who with David Tennant. I just know then that she actually is known for being in Doctor Who. I had no idea who is she outside being in Happy Now music video 😂

My theory outside Jason leaving:

Take That (and their management) know where and how Jason is (to some extent). In the interviews often Gary, Mark, and Howard would be asked about Jason to which they would say they didn't contact him for ages. Or joke that they tried to email him but then maybe he only have flip phones and doesn't even have a computer to answer the email. Look, he can be a hermit but man living in first world country and doesn't have even a smartphone to answer email in 21st century is ridiculous. I believe they still talk or see each other once in a while, especially with Howard, who tweeted that he met Jason in 2018. Hell, I feel like even Rob has seen Jason at least once between 2014 to now. I don't know, just a hunch.

His privacy is protected by Take That management and also by most of public. Continuation from previous bullet point. Yes. Because do you remember when there was George Michael's art auction in Manchester and some celebrities who came there are photographed clearly. But not Jason. It's hard to find that picture again but I found it and that's just the only the bigfoot sightings of Jason Orange that I know of because it happened after I know Take That deep enough. Between 2014 to 2017, how many sightings that I didn't know? Where if other celeb would have crystal clear pictures taken but not him on the same occasion? I wonder. Also many people claimed that they met Jason in public space in around London or Manchester, but mostly Manchester. So he is not as hermit as they would like you to think. Maybe if you go around there and if you just lucky, you might come across a wild Jason Orange.

Goddammit this guy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jag Chohan (@jaggslife)

At the end of this post, thank you for reading this until this part, guys. I really miss Jason like all of you. He is truly an enigma but no matter what would always have special place in every Thatters' heart. Awww...I cringe a little when I wrote that.

Regardless my theory, I can only wish he lives a good and happy life. If you have something to say, you can also add here in the reblog or reply, or dm me, let's chat.

Also I put all Jason sightings on my tumblr with this tag called The Bigfoot Sightings of Jason Orange (because he is as blurry as bigfoot sightings).

[paxtonrp]

what are some ideas for ocs you'd like to see or think could really fit in here?

Hi there! While we will always recommend taking a look at some WCs (many of which mention how flexible the writer will be), here are some general ideas we think would be neat:

The owner of Prairie Pies! (Paxton's Pizza Parlor). This is the description ripped off from our location page -- we think this lore is ripe for the writer creating their own WCs. Likewise, you definitely have the added comfort of writing a local.

"It’s the only restaurant open past midnight on the weekends and close to Paxton’s border. The owners originally came from New York about 50 years ago and their gaggle of kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and second-cousins have kept the place going. With the recent sales and buyouts of local businesses, they’re dead set on holding onto the place."

The owner of Necktie Meat Market! I think they have more potential for Cowboy Mafia affiliation (or maybe they're a dark horse/double agent dealing with some under the table Obsidian Holdings business).

"The Necktie Meat Market was founded by the Necktie Ranchers Association, a collaboration of local ranchers from all over Paxton. They house a slaughterhouse at a different part of the property and intake cattle, poultry, swine, and exotic game. The Necktie would be a perfect place to make someone disappear..."

We (the admins and our players) would love to see some more neutral characters since we do think most people rarely feel black or white about changes. Some occupations that I think could lend themselves to neutral feelings may be those who would see direct benefits in Paxton becoming more industrialized (more businesses = more job opportunities, which can lead to less crime, right?)

- High school teachers/sports coaches who want to see more opportunities for their students - Healthcare professionals (think like a town doctor, specifically) who wants the townspeople to not have to constantly commute for critical care - Those who maybe moved back to town after living in a city and are looking for work that is comparable to what they left behind - Someone who wants to start a tourism company (like town history tours) - Someone who grew up in Paxton and watched people leave the town in droves due to a lack of opportunities (housing, financial, educational, etc.)

[weirdowithaquill]

WIP Game:

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS. (... I do not know this many people)

Thank you @jobey-wan-kenobi for tagging me in - here's my best attempt to categorise the various inane WIP pieces I have floating about. Oh, and cause I'm a multi-fandom writer, the fandom is at the end of the title.

Edit: Alright, so now I'm sort of using this as a check-off list for things I've written. Things people ask about generally get more progress done on them - so ask about what you want to read!

1: Jinty, Pug and the Ffarquhar Branch Engines (RWS) 2: Bowler the Redeemed Engine (RWS) 3: Arry the Churlish Engine (RWS) 4: Murdoch the Mighty Engine (RWS) 5: Seaside Engines (RWS) 6: Duncan the Disagreeable Engine (RWS) 7: Sir Topham Hatt and his Engines (RWS) 8: Ivo Hugh the Young Engine (RWS) 9: Arthur the Midland Engine (RWS) 10: Mixed-Traffic Engines (RWS) 11: Mid Sodor Engines (RWS) 12: The Caledonian Twin Engines (RWS) 13: Very Important Engines (RWS) 14: Silent Engine Bert Again (RWS) 15: Duke's and Duchess' Engines (RWS) 16: The 2004 Special: The World-Famous Engine (RWS) 17: Edward; a Requiem in Steam (RWS) 18: Mavis the Quarry Engine (RWS) 19: History of the Sodor Highland Railway (RWS) 20: The Island Song (RWS) 21: Five American Engines (RWS) 22: TATMR Horror Story (RWS) 23: The Reject Railway (RWS) 24: Tales From the Other Railway (RWS) 25: Tidmouth Train to Hell (RWS) 26: RWS/World Trigger Crossover (RWS, World Trigger)

27: Hyuse & The Iron Horse (World Trigger) 28: Crash-Course in Meeden (World Trigger)

29: In Orwell's World (Voltron) 30: Comfort Food (Voltron) 31: Pidge & Dr Strangelove (Voltron) 32: Keith and the Wolf (Voltron) 33: Grandma McClain and Adam Join the Voltron Crew (Voltron) 34: Planet Obscure (Voltron)

35: TDWT Rewrite (Total Drama) 36: Total Drama Grand Tour (Total Drama) 37: Pull Your Weight (Total Drama) 38: X-Treme Torture Rewrite (Total Drama) 39: A Night To Remember (Total Drama) 40: In the Hold (Total Drama) 41: Total Drama King Lear AU (Total Drama)

42: BirdFlash story (DC) 43: Jingle Bells, Nightwing Noel (DC) 44: Red Hood Reading Club (DC) 45: WikiHow Does Not Have An Article For That! (DC) 46: Manor on the Hill (DC) 47: Swear Jar (DC)

48: Malevolent Spirit (Saiki K) 49: When You Fall, I Will Pick You Up (Saiki K) 50: Dark Reunion's Anti-Love Ray (Saiki K) 51: Rome (Saiki K) 52: How to Win Over Saiki K, or a Rhapsody of a Man Not in Love (Saiki K) 53: Saiki K Europe Trip (Saiki K) 54: Kusuo's Christmas (Saiki K)

55: Jinrao (Naruto) 56: Obito, Father of the Jinchuuriki (Naruto) 57: Akatsuki Parents (Naruto) 58: Naruto & Nazis (Naruto) 59: Sakura Out-trains Everyone (Naruto) 60: Dogs Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 61: Refuelling Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 62: Work Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 63: Barbeques Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 64: Snorkelling Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 65: Adoption Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 66: Children Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 67: KakaObi Regency Story Part 2 (Naruto) 68: Sasuke/Naruto Story (Naruto) 69: The Club (Naruto) 70: Atomic (Naruto) 71: Only Love Can Hurt Like This (Naruto) 72: The Railwayman AU (Naruto) 73: The Hidan Story (Naruto) 74: School Shenanigans (Naruto)

75: Just Ask Him Out Already! (Assassination Classroom) 76: AssClass Yearbook (Assassination Classroom) 77: The Theoretical Sequel to 'The Informant' (Assassination Classroom) 78: Lost in the Night (Assassination Classroom)

79: Britain in the AtLA World (Avatar; The Last Airbender) 80: Picture of Sokka of the Water Tribe (Avatar; The Last Airbender) 81: Night at the Fire Temple (Avatar; The Last Airbender) 82: Fast Car (Avatar; The Last Airbender)

83: Stay Away From Minnemeny Island (One Piece) 84: Kaoru and the German (Ouran High School Host Club) 85: Romantic Killer AU (Romantic Killer)

86: The White Elephant *The Sherlockverse* (Various)

Right... so that took way longer than expected. Originally, it all seemed fine - I have most of my things in a single, neat folder. And then I remembered I have a Microsoft Account... and a WordPad full of old fics... and several workbooks with their own things in them. I think I'm still missing one workbook, all truth be told!

@lswro2-222 @predawnrex04 and that's all the people I know who aren't @jobey-wan-kenobi

Edit 2: When I get down to like... 60 or something WIPs on here, I'm going to overhaul the list to take them off and put up the new ones. Until then, remember to ask about the WIPs you're most interested in!

[helenandlarrytravels]

February 1st, Bayamo to Baracoa

Breakfast at 7:00, while presentation and service was very nice, fruit was papaya only, juice, watered down papaya and no butter for the small pieces of bread, only mayoand eggs. Shared my P.B. 😉

Hopped into a horse drawn carriage and were given a 45 minute tour of the city. It was really nice. Saw the 1st convent in Cuba, and the homes of the first two presidents of Cuba, the first being Carlos de Cespedes. The first sanctioned outdoor burial ground of the leaders of the revolution of 1868. Previously all burials were in churches. We travelled along a road where all trees had been destroyed by the last big hurricane, all the trunks have been carved into animals and they line both sides of the street. Last a monument to all of those that have died in the revolutions.

Left the beautiful state owned hotel, to get on the road. They were not able to supply us with the box lunch of ham sandwiches as they have a shortage of bread. Plan on stopping at roadside vendors to get fruit etc for lunch.

In the eastern part of the island still lots of old cars but mostly European or Russian models as opposed to North American. We did see what appeared to be a Cuban military base and they seemed to be initiating some new recruits. 

Stopped at a roadside stand a bought a large bunch of bananas for 100 pesos and a string of clementines for 200 pesos. Later again, we stopped in a small town and purchase small cheese 8” pizzas/tacos for 50 pesos each.

As we drove along, country fences are now made of different kind of cacti planted so close together that animals can not pass through. Brilliant idea.

In the last few days I have tried to summarize what I think I heard from our CEO and signage I’ve seen, however, due to no internet I have not been able to fact check, so I hope I am recording the proper facts.

So, during our ride today, we talked about the revolution again where Cuba revolted against Spain. The first revolution lasted 10 years from 1868 to 1878 and was not successful. Again they attempted in 1895 led by Matta, by 1998 they were actually seeking help from the Americans. The Americans came to their aid and there was a big naval battle that ended the revolution and occupation of Spain. Cuban thought they had gained their independence but the Platt clause from the US Government, was that if Cuba wanted to be an independent country, they had to allow a army base and that the US could intervene if Cuban leadership became questionable. Thus the Guatamanno Bay base. 

Takes a long time to get anywhere as you share the road with bicycles, horses and carts, rickshaws, motor bikes and cars and trucks. Flagged down by a police officer today, and when we stopped he was trying arrange a ride for his grown nephew on our bus. Answer was no.

We stop for our lunch at 2:30 p.m. at a beach on the Caribbean Sea where we had our pizza, pineapple, tomatoes and bananas. No sand on these beaches just polished rock and pieces of washed up coral. Proceeded to travel on a winding road through the mountains to Baracoa, for several hours. All S curves.

Arrive at our Casa around 5:30 p.m., Casa Elvira. Larry and I are on the 3rd floor and have an outdoor patio area on the roof. It is a  very interesting home and we are going to enjoy our few days here. The place is owned by Elvira and Alfredo. We joined our group for a short walk around the city, but it was dark already, so we headed to our dinner place which was a private house dinner. The chef was amazing. We started with bread and papaya juice and cream of pumpkin soup, then tomatoes, cucumber, yams, plantain and coconut milk mixed and green beans. A curry coconut sauce was provided with the vegetables. Main course was sword fish, chicken deep fried jams and another root vegetable. Dessert was sliced papaya and marinated glazed orange peel with cinnamon served with espresso coffee. Could hardly walk and all for 1440 pesos each. Walked back to the Casa, showered and to bed. Big day tomorrow.

[businessconsiderations]

Predicting the Man City starting XI against Arsenal

Stones and Walker are confirmed out. Injured playing on 3 days' rest between 2 international friendlies. Annoying.

So what's the starting lineup going to be? Stones allows us to play the 3-2-4-1, him being part of the 2 with Rodri in attack but forming a traditional back 4 in defense. Does anyone else play that role? Maybe Kovacic?

If not, and we play a back 4, it'll clearly be Dias, Gviardiol, Ake, Akanji. Then a midfield 3 of Rodri with Bernardo, obviously, and who? If KDB is healthy, him obviously. If not, I don't think Kovacic is attacking enough, so maybe Foden.

Front 3 is clearly Haaland in the middle. I like Grealish on the left, he keeps the ball, he facilitates. Doku has more creativity, but his game isn't as complete yet. On the right, it's Foden if he's not in midfield, maybe it's Bernardo, maybe Alvarez.

If we can do the 3-2-4-1 with Kovacic and Rodri as the 2. Then I think it's Dias, Gviardiol, then whoever is in better fitness/form between Ake and Akanji, I think that's Ake. The 4 behind Haaland are Bernardo and Foden for sure. KDB if he's healthy, Alvarez if he's not. Grealish if he's healthy, Doku if he's not.

I don't see Nunes starting. Who else, Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb? I guess Rico Lewis is a dark horse candidate to play alongside Rodri. I still don't know what position Oscar Bobb plays, but he seems to make things happen when he's in. Who else in the squad, Sergio Gomez? He's not starting.

Oh, and Ederson may still be hurt, so Ortega in goal.

OK, so I'm predicting the starting 11 without reading anymore, just going to enjoy my Easter morning and tune into the match at 11:30a. I'm guessing we'll play a 3-2-4-1:

Ortega

Dias, Gviardiol, Ake

Rodri, Kovacic

Grealish, Alvarez, Foden, Bernardo

Haaland

KDB comes on at 60-min mark if we need him. Likewise Doku comes on around a similar time if we need creativity down the left. Barring injury or something else crazy, that's it.

Most confident in Ortega, Dias, Gviardiol, Rodri, Foden, Bernardo and Haaland starting. Ake next, that makes 8. Alvarez next because I think KDB is still hurt, that makes 9. Kovacic and Grealish I'm only slight above 50/50 on, but that's my prediction on the full 11.

I don't know what's happened to me in my life because I say football and the NFL and the Steelers are my favorite, but I couldn't rattle off the Steelers squad like this. Sure, there are more players in football, but still, never would've predicted I'd get to this point 10-15 years ago.

Last week I became a Man City member and I joined the local chapter, the Orlando Cityzens, so I could purchase tickets to the summer tour match at Camping World stadium against Barcelona. This is just where I am right now.

[greensparty]

Album Reviews: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros / Aerosmith

What a week this is that I get to do album reviews of two of my all-time favorite musicians ever!

Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros Live at Acton Town Hall, London

Following up The Clash is a very tough act to follow, but as I've said many times before, some of Clash leader Joe Strummer's solo work is just as good if not better than The Clash. It's a bold statement, but it's true.  After Strummer died in 2002, I picked up the posthumously released Streetcore album he did with his band The Mescaleros. It was my #1 album of 2003 and one of the best of the 2000s. Over time I’ve discovered The Mescaleros and the band’s 1999 debut Rock Art and the X-Ray Style is quite good. In 2018 I got to review the compilation Joe Strummer 001 and was truly blow away by the sheer amount of 5-star music Strummer put out post-Clash. I mean Wow! In 2021 I got to review the single disc compilation Assembly, also quite good even though it doesn’t dig as deep. Last year I got to review Joe Strummer 002: The Mescalero Years, which compiles all 3 Mescalero albums and then some, as well as the anniversary re-release of The Clash's Combat Rock. All of these serve to remind us how ahead of his time Strummer was with his call for equality in his lyrics and using the punk sound along with world sounds, the music still holds up, especially in 2023!

album cover

On November 15, 2002, Strummer and the Mescaleros did a benefit concert for striking firefighters at Acton Town Hall in London. This would be one of Strummer's final performances prior to his death on December 22, 2002 at age 50. The recording was directly from the mixing board. In 2012, this recording was released as a limited edition Record Store Day live vinyl. This week, Dark Horse Records, the label of George Harrison, now run by Olivia and Dhani Harrison, is releasing the live recording on vinyl and for the first time on CD and digital. In this concert, Strummer did tons of Mescaleros bangers, including more than a few new songs that eventually were released on the posthumous Streetcore album, and some Clash hits. But the real highlight of this concert was the last three songs, where Strummer was joined onstage by his old Clash bandmate Mick Jones for the first time in almost 20 years. To hear these two legends reunite for The Clash's "Bankrobber", "White Riot", and "London's Burning" is bittersweet. On the one hand they got to perform one last time before Strummer's death, but on the other hand it makes the listener wish this was the beginning of more performances! The recording sounds incredible. The vinyl I got to review was clear and there is also liner notes written by the head of the Firefighters' union and some cool photos too. As a longtime fan of Strummer and The Clash, this is such a cool treat for fans to get to have this performance in their collection! Dark Horse, keep the Strummer releases coming please!

For info on Live at Acton Hall, London: https://darkhorserecords.lnk.to/liveatacton

4.5 out of 5 stars

Aerosmith Greatest Hits

As fanatical as I have been of Aerosmith my whole life, this is surprisingly, the first time I have ever gotten to review an Aerosmith release on this site. You could say I've written quite a bit about them here. I've gotten to review side projects from guitarists Brad Whitford and Joe Perry. But I am super thrilled to get to review a new compilation from one of my Top 3 Favorite Musicians of All Time. In 1980, Aerosmith released their Greatest Hits album filled with 10 hits from the 70s. It is one of their biggest selling releases (12 times platinum). Even though it is such a big seller in the Aerosmith discography, it has gotten criticism among fans for the edited versions of several hits. It was re-issued in 1997 with more tracks. There have been other compilations since then, but this new deluxe edition of 44 tracks is coinciding with their upcoming farewell tour. My personal favorite compilation of theirs is 1991's Pandora's Box box set, which is a deep dive into their Columbia era from 1973-1982. Then there were a few compilations in the 00s that combined both Columbia (which they returned to in 1997 onward) and Geffen (their label from 1985-1993). This new Greatest Hits edition combines both Columbia and Geffen. There's various editions being released this week, but I got to review the 3-disc edition.

Deluxe Edition and photos

For the most part, this compilation goes in chronological order of release. All the big hits are here: "Dream On", "Walk This Way" (both the original and the Run DMC duet), "Angel", "Love in an Elevator", "Janie's Got a Gun", "What it Takes", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (their only #1 song I might add) and "Jaded". There's no real complaints about the song selections, although a number of them are radio edited versions. I think the problem for hardcore fanatics like me is that this just feels like another compilation and not really adding much to the story. I was impressed by a hand full of deep cuts, plus they have the live version of "Rag Doll". But they definitely glossed over this century for the band, i.e. only two songs from Just Push Play, no songs from Honkin' on the Bobo, and only one from Music from Another Dimension. I think more deep cuts would have been more impressive for die-hard fans, but in terms of the songs themselves and the sound quality, off the charts!

For info on Greatest Hits: https://store.aerosmith.com/collections/music/products/greatest-hits-super-deluxe-4lp

4 out of 5 stars

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

Fic: Misty, chapter i

chapter i | chapter ii | chapter iii | chapter iv | chapter v | chapter vi | chapter vii | chapter viii | chapter ix | chapter x

Read on Ao3

Rating: Explicit (whole thing)

Fandom: Prospect

Pairing: Snowman!Ezra x f!reader (monsterfucker au)

Tags: it's basically monster fucking but with a snowman which could technically be classified as a monster i guess?, gothic horror kind of, angst, sorrow, dementia

Summary: Escaping your empty apartment after having been dumped by your fiancé, you rent a cottage at Oakgrove House over Christmas to nurse your wounds. But strange things seem to happen at the estate, where an old woman wanders around in search of old friends long gone, and snowmen appear as if by themselves on the lawn...

Chapter word length: 1,227

A/N: Heavily inspired by the 50 Words For Snow album by Kate Bush. Some lines are straight from the lyrics of those songs, and I recommend listening to the album while reading this.

I am super excited to be writing Ezra, and coming up with a way of not having to put a single, eloquent word in his mouth! I came up with the idea to this one during Christmas, but didn't have time to write it then. Let's see if I can finish it before the summer... It's probably going to get heavy, with different kinds of mental health issues, and there's going to be sex. I'll update the tags as I go along.

Honorary mention to @flora-screeches who encouraged me to write this! Divider by @firefly-graphics

Two days to Christmas. It was dark when you arrived at the carriage cottage of Oakgrove House, your car cutting through millions of snowflakes dancing against the windscreen. The private road leading up to the main house was lit up by vintage street lights, letting you catch glimpses of horses wading through snowdrifts on one side of the road.

The small driveway is neatly plowed but a fresh, powdery layer has built up and it feels almost sacrilegious to taint it with the heavy tracks of your car wheels. As you turn off the engine, a middle-aged woman whose elegant appearance inevitably makes you think of a twenty-first century Downton Abbey steps out of the brick building.

“I’m Denise,” she introduces herself when you get out of the car. “We spoke on the phone.”

“Pleased to meet you.” You shake hands and she makes cool small talk while you lift out your bag, asking you if you had any trouble finding the place – how could you, it’s a goddamn estate in the middle of nowhere, with only one road leading up to it and that road is named for the place – and commenting on the beautifully falling snow.

You follow her into the cottage, get the grand tour, as it is. The place is not that big. Most of the first floor consists of a large kitchen, a walk-in pantry, and a living-room with a fireplace. Upstairs is a small bathroom – “We had to renovate it and bring it up to modern standards, otherwise we’ve kept the rest of the house is as original as possible” – and a bedroom. You look at the full bed and a cold heart closes around your heart as your guts drop. The wound is still so fresh that the mere sight of a two person bed makes you want to cry.

Then again, how are you supposed to feel when your fiancé dumps you on the first of December because he’s fucking somebody else, and suddenly you have nowhere to be or be with on Christmas? You are entitled to your feelings.

Denise gives you some instructions about the fireplace as you follow her downstairs. You suddenly want her to just leave you be so that you can get a fire going and open the first of many wine bottles. Maybe read a little. Try not to think about how utterly destroyed your life is.

“You’re welcome up to the house for lunch on Christmas,” Denise finally says as she reaches the front door. “We eat at one. It’ll be my two daughters and their families, my brother and his family, and my mother.”

“Thank you, but I don’t want to impose,” you shake your head, trying to be polite about it. Spending time with happy families is the last thing you want to do. Your own mother had of course asked you to come for Christmas, but you knew that was an invitation for disaster. She would not stop lamenting the loss of the, in her eyes, perfect son-in-law-to-be. Your friends had also extended warm invitations so you wouldn’t have to spend the holidays on your own. You didn’t want their pity, however. You didn’t want to be the dark mass of grief and jealousy at their light, happy dinner tables, with your friends smiling at their loving husbands and new babies.

You don’t begrudge them anything. You begrudge them everything. Why are they entitled to such happiness, when you are not?

It was impossible to stay in your apartment over the holidays. Your ex had taken his shit and fled to the new one, and you were stuck between the memory-impregnated walls. Your skin was just as riddled with history as your home. You had to get out of there, so you started to google Airbnb’s, finding the cottage at Oakgrove House, only a few hours away.

And here you are, following Denise to the door.

“Let me know if you have any problems with anything,” she tells you as she opens the door. You nod, and then your gaze strays beyond her, down the little path through the garden, across the fence and to the great lawn between the cottage and the manor.

There’s a figure moving aimlessly in the dark, almost invisible in the falling snow. The hairs at the back of your neck rises when a longing call haunts over the snow and reaches you:

“Snowflake…! Snooowflaaaake…!”

“Oh, dammit,” Denise sighs. “It’s my mother. She gets confused sometimes and wanders off. That’s why I moved back here, to take care of her. She has a nurse in the daytime, but…”

She hurries down the path, across the dirt road, over to the big lawn that stretches on forever into the dark, the lit windows of the manor the only sign that there is something out there other than an endless void.

You linger in the door and watch Denise reach her mother. The words they exchange are low enough not to carry back to your door. The mother seems restless and agitated, but lets herself be led back to the cottage.

“This is my mother, Olga,” Denise introduces the old woman. You nod and smile, give her your name, and are met by grey eyes, lost in a fog of time.

“Have you seen Snowflake?” she asks, her voice thin with age and concern. “I can’t find him anywhere.”

“Who is Snowflake?” you ask, curious but still remembering the haunting cry. A shiver runs through you.

“My little dog. He ran away from me. Something terrible must have happened to him, he never runs away…” Olga’s voice dies down as she clearly grows more agitated, and Denise puts her arm around her mother’s narrow shoulders.

“Snowflake was her dog when she was a young girl,” she explains, her voice lowering. “She sometimes goes looking for him.”

You nod to show that you understand. You have seen Alzheimer’s in relatives, not close ones, but still. You’re familiar with the concept.

“Sometimes she goes out in her nightgown. She seems to slip away unnoticed, I don’t understand how it is possible, especially now, with so many people in the house…” Denise shakes her head. “If you ever see her – “

“I’ll get her home,” you promise immediately. “Of course.”

“Appreciate it. Well, come on now, mother. You must be hungry, it’s almost dinner time. Let’s go home.”

“But Snowflake…” The old woman seems hesitant about returning.

“Maybe he’s back at the house. Let’s go see.”

You close the door and stand with your hand on the doorknob for a short while before retreating to the living-room.

Much later, when you wake up on the couch, warm and fuzzy from the still burning logs in the fireplace, and half bottle of wine you downed with and after dinner, you glance out the window. It’s still snowing, and in the distance, you can still make out a couple of lights from the manor’s windows.

On the edge of the lawn, right at the narrow dirt road between the cottage garden and the grass, is a snowman. The single lamp post that marks the driveway to the cottage renders some light onto it, but the snow is still falling so thickly that you can’t, with your sleepy, slightly drunk eyes, make out any details on it.

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Wednesday 10 [12] August 1840

6 ½

12

fine morning R19 ½° now at 7 50/.. – breakfast at 8 ¼ - A- and I out at 10 5/.. sauntered about Adam and the Cossack and one of the princes’ red (his livery red) footman with us à la Tcherkesse – the river (Tchekhouchia 4v. off) alluent de la Dojourni which falls into the Engour [Enguri] 2 lieues = 8v. off – (Dubois iii. 36) – then to the little bazaar – a widish street about 200 yards long – very picturesque A- sketched while I pepped into the shops – hunted out a plate like the one broken on Monday 1/2 ab. paid 45 paras –

wool short sherst, 5/. silver per pood

wax (vosk) 12/. ditto per ditto

cotton (boumaghi) 8/. ditto per ditto

silk (in the thread) sholko, 17/. ditto per ditto

looked at a gun 4/. silver and then at some of the princes old guns – gun (rōōgeĕ in Russ) the prince has one worth 1000/. silver that carries 1080 sagènes and is 3 archines long! – from the bazaar to the garden – pretty 8tagon galleried round house – the princes library a 1er. glazed all round and his French agent, Mr. Liétard arrived about a month ago, lives for the present in the damp rez de chaussée – mentioned the queer insect that bit A- and myself and stuck fast – it is clêtchĭ in Russian – bites sheep and hares – has shot the latter with their heads quite swollen and full of these insects – unless they fall off of themselves i.e. if one pulls them out they leave their heads in the place they have bit – then saw the new church finished in 1827, but the interior has yet to be painted good sized neat plain whitewashed in and out Georgian like church – a priest, and prayers every evening – the little old church in the little old barn style but good and picturesque remains close to the house the palace 300 yards old said the footman – it was about 12 when we all went to the princess – glad to see us – A- sickish went home till dinner to lie down but returned then seeming pretty well – It was Nachitshevan the princess said yesterday was swallowed up by the Earthquake and Ararat [?] in two – the shock much felt at Tiflis – Dadians’ son not sure of succeeding his father as prince regnant – Madame Latchinoff noticed by Madame G- said the rest must notice her but no better than she should be – Tolstoy admires her – her husband beats her – glad to be rid of her – and she tells all this to all the gents – Madame de Baku smokes and drinks vodki (brandy) – G- promises – forgets and does nothing – Mr. Rivoire the Ex French consul at Tiflis in disgrace at home for being too good friends with the Russian authorities and sending not enough information home – unjust – the present consul sent out by Soult almost against the poor mans’ will who had taken a year to consider of it – (baron de la Chapelle) – has no experience and no clever persons in his chancellerie at Tiflis to get political information – Rivoire clever – writes well – knows what is about said Mr. Liétard – Had thought to go to Anaklia from here and then Redut Kala and Guria – A- would like the Suanéthi [Svaneti] tour – had our privadnik (the prince)

Mr. Liétard the biting insect Clêtchi or clêchi.

David.......... in and princess D-, and I with the map before settled our route to Muri and back to Redut Kale and Guria to Koutaïs – impossible to thro’ Suannetti and back all the way on horseback – some dangers in going now to Suchum Kale – dinner about 2 – our Koutaïs M.D. again – says Dubois’s work is severely criticised in Germany – coffee – sat a little while with the princess gave her my address aux soins de Messrs. Hammersley, and my English address at Shibden and afterwards my card “Mrs. Lister Shibden hall” she came home with us at 4 – were to have been off then – but the mourave had got Thamar (the dark grey baggage mare) thought she belonged to one of the peasants, who all turn on to the green, and the mourave and any people authorized by the price take what horse and whenever they please! mentioned our Lailache man – pity I had not named it to the prince – I had forgot – astonished at our having peasants (serfs) in England – the princess sat with us till off – begs us to go, and see her mother in Cachétie – the princess takes no exercise tired with walking the about 200 yards to us – 2 months gone with [?] – very interesting person – the mare was brought back – off at 5 50/.. – our along the plain along little narrow lanes thro’ alder bushes for nearly ½ way then high brackens then wood, and lastly marshy ground and high Indian corn 3 umbrellas high = 8ft. – tired 2 or 3 places houses huts not good enough at last pulled down the poor mans’ wicker fence – rode thro’ his Indian corn (a path) and alighted village of Liia on the Engour [Enguri] but we not near the river at 10 10/.. – good sacle – 5 or 6 women – as many men slept outside and the children know not how many (6 or 8) moved to another tarti and the one next the door given to us – A- had kept up very badly – ill or out of sorts – lay down and fell asleep immediately – took nothing – I supped on the princess’ bread and my odorous Choni [Khoni] cheese and the Dadian good red wine and water and 2 salted cucumbers – very good and she had given me 6, and a large fresh cheese and 8 or 10 rolls or more and 2 bottles red wine for myself and 2 white for A- and 6 or 8 wax candles and fresh cucumbers and apples – lay down quite dressed at 12 – very fine day – latterly a little gentle rain or dew – the dews excessive here –

[harrisonarchive]

Photo from Raga Mala.

In 2014, CooperOwen auctioned some of George’s handwritten notes for what appears to have been the then-planned tour film/documentary. (Some footage from the tour can be seen in the documentary Living In The Material World.) These notes — as seen in a preview image of the auction listing — give an interesting insight into George’s view of the tour: “Voice overs (re-write) 16 to 14 I assembled musicians I knew and respected — Andy Newmark drummer Jim Keltner - drummer Willie Weeks - bass Ravi Shankar - the man who brought the sitar and Indian music to the world - with Alla Rakha and 15 great Indian musicians and singers. Perhaps, in a strange way, it was the critics that helped bring the band closer together….. We certainly weren’t that together for the first couple of weeks. The audiences may have come to see and hear George Harrison - an ex Beatle - Instead I was just another musician up on the stage - I suppose that confused some of the audience - but in spite of pressures - internal and external - we tried to continued as planned - tho during the tour Ravi was taken to hospital with an alleged heart attack - which made me realise we don’t control ‘the plan.’ All of us were deeply concerned for Ravi’s health - and the effect his absence would have on the spirit of the tour -"

[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Wednesday 12 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Wednesday 10 August]

[up at] 6 1/2

[to bed at] 12

fine morning Reaumur 19 1/2° now at 7 50/.. – breakfast at 8 1/4 – Ann and I out at 10 5/.. sauntered about Adam and the Cossack and one of the prince’s red (his livery red) footmen with us à la Tcherkess – the river (Tchekhouchia) 4 versts off affluent de la Djoumi which falls into the Engour 2 lieues = 8 versts off – (Dubois iii. 36) – then to the little bazaar – a widish street about 200 yards long very picturesque Ann sketched while I peeped into the shops – hunted out a plate like the one broken on Monday 1/2 abasse paid 45 paras –

wool short sherst, 5/. silver per pood

wax (vosk) 12/. ditto per ditto

cotton (boumaghi) 8/. ditto per ditto

silk (in the thread) sholko 17/. ditto per ditto

looked at a gun 4/. silver and then at some of the princes old guns – gun (rōōgĕe in Russian) the prince has one worth 1000/. silver that carries 1000 sagènes and is 3 archines long! – from the bazaar to the garden – picturesque octagon galleried round house – the princes library au premier glazed all round and his French agent, Mr. Liétard arrived about a month ago, lives for the present in the damp rez de chaussée – mentioned the queer insect that bit Ann and myself and stuck fast – it is clêtchĭ in Russian – bites sheep and hares   has shot the latter with their heads quite swollen and full of these insects – unless they fall off of themselves i.e. if one pulls them out they have their heads in the place they have bit – then saw the new church finished in 1827, but the interior has yet to be painted – good sized neat plain white washed in and out Georgian like church – a priest, and prayers every evening – the little old church in the little old barn style but good and picturesque remains close to the house the palace 300 years old said the footman – 

it was about 12 when we all went to the princess – glad to see us – very civil and kind – Ann sickish went home till dinner to lie down but returned then seeming pretty well – It was Nachitshivan the princess said yesterday was swallowed up by the earthquake and Ararat rent in two – the shock much felt at Tiflis – Dadian’s son not sure of succeeding his father as prince regnant – Madame Latchinoff noticed by Madame Golovin so the rest must notice her but no better than she should be – Tolstoy admires her – her husband beats her – glad to be rid of her – and she tells all this to all the gentlemen – Madame de Baku smokes and drinks vodki (brandy) – Golovin promises – forgets and does nothing – Mr. Rivoire the ex French consul at Tiflis in disgrace at home for being too god friends with the Russian authorities and sending not enough information home – unjust – the present consul sent out by Soult almost against the poor man’s will who had taken a year to consider of it – (baron de la Chapelle) – has no experience and no clever persons in his chancellerie at Tiflis to get political information – Rivoire clever – writes well – knows what he is about said Mr. Liétard – 

Had thought to go to Anaklia from here and then Redut Kale and Guria – Ann would like the Suanéthi tour – had our provadnik (the prince) David .  . .  .  . .  . in and princess Dadian and I with the map before settled our route to Muri and back to Redut Kale and Guria to Koutaïs – impossible to [go] thro’ Suannetti and back all the way on horseback – some danger in going now to Suchum Kale – dinner about 2 – our Koutaïs M.D. again – says Dubois’ work is severely criticized in Germany – coffee – sat a little while with the princess gave her my address aux soins de Messrs Hammersley, and my English address at Shibden and afterwards my card ‘Mrs. Lister Shibden hall’   she came come with us at 4 – were to have been off then – but the mourave had got Thamar (the dark grey baggage mare) thought she belonged to one of the peasants who all turn on to the green, and the mourave and any people authorized by the prince take what horse and whenever they please! mentioned our Lailache man – pity I had not named it to the prince – I had forgot – astonished at our having peasants (serfs) in England – the princess sat with us till off – begs us to go, and see her mother in Cachétie – the princess takes no exercise tired with walking the about 200 yards to us – 2 months gone with child – very interesting person – 

the mare was brought back – off at 5 50/.. – our [road] along the plain along little narrow lanes thro’ alder bushes for nearly 1/2 way then high brackens then wood, and lastly marshy ground and high Indian corn 3 umbrellas high = 8 feet – tried 2 or 3 places houses huts not good enough at last pulled down the poor mans wicker fence – rode thro’ his Indian corn (a path) and alighted at village of Liia on the Engour but we not near the river 10 10/.. – good sacle – 5 or 6 women – as many men slept outside and the children know not how many (6 or 8) moved to another tarti and the one next the door given to us – Ann had kept up very badly – ill or out of sorts – lay down and fell asleep immediately – took nothing – I supped on the princess’es /sic/ bread and my odorous Choni cheese and the Dadian good red wine and water and 2 salted cucumbers – very good – she had given me 6, and a large fresh cheese and 8 or 10 rolls or more and 2 bottles red wine for myself and 2 white for Ann and 6 or 8 wax candles and fresh cucumbers and apples – lay down quite dressed at 12 – very fine day – latterly a little gentle rain or dew – the dews excessive here –

 Anne’s marginal notes:

Mr. Liétard

the biting insect clêtchi or clêchi.

Liia village of

WYAS page:  SH:7/ML/E/24/0174

[princexual4]

I don’t know which ones you’ve already seen so I just linked all these because it was better than working

A Way Out (22 videos)

A Week of Garfield

Action Girlz Racing

Adventures in the Magic Kingdom

Adventures of Yogi Bear

All Star Cheer Squad part 1, part 2

Atari Tennis

Barbie as the Island Princess (5 videos)

Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp part 1, part 2

Big Beach Sports part 1, part 2, part 3

Brief Karate Foolish

BurgerTime

Busy Scissors

California Games part 1, part 2

Calvin Tucker's Redneck Jamboree (7 videos)

Canada Hunt

Captain Novolin

Chicken in the Darkness part 1, part 2

Chop Chop Fruit Salad Mystery Jam Dokidoki Dating Sim Thingy part 1, part 2

Christmas Eve: Midnight's Call part 1, part 2 

Chuck E. Cheese's Sports Games part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Cindarella: An Interactive Fairy Tale

Cocoto Fishing Master

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (7 videos)

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 (9 videos)

Dead or Alive Venus Vacation (6 videos)

Deadly Creatures (7 videos)

Delicious - Emily's Christmas Carol part 1, part 2

Devil's Third (10 videos)

Disney's Aladdin

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure

Dokapon Kingdom (6 videos)

Goofball Goals

Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game

Grumps Dream Course (64 videos)

Gubble

Guts and Glory (25 videos)

Heart of Darkness (17 videos)

Heave Ho (15 videos)

Hell's Kitchen

Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit

House of Golf

House Party (38 videos)

Katamari Damacy (20 videos)

Katamari Forever (30 videos)

Katamari Reroll (7 videos)

Kitty Love (8 videos)

Kuukiyomi

Kuukiyomi 2

Kuukiyomi 3 part 1, part 2

Lester the Unlikely

Link: The Faces of Evil (18 videos)

Lizzie McGuire 3: Homecoming Havoc

Lost Base Escape

M&M's Beach Party (3 games)

Mappy-Land

Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (6 games)

Mario's Early Years

Michigan Report from Hell part 1, part 2

Miss Spider's Tea Party

Mother Simulator part 1, part 2, part 3

Mountain Rescue Simulator

Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall (3 videos)

Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek (6 videos)

Pantsu Hunter (12 videos)

Petz: Horse Club (7 videos)

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (60 videos)

Pizza Parking

Playeruknown's Battlegrounds Mobile

Pooh's Party Games

RE: Prince of Nigeria

Ribbit King (16 videos)

Shadow of the Colossus (29 videos)

Shrek Super Party (6 videos)

Skitchin' (2 videos)

Sneak King part 1, part 2

Sonic Forces (19 videos)

Sonic Heroes (49 videos)

Sonic Shuffle (6 videos)

Space Quest V (4 videos, very long though)

Spider-Man (7 videos)

Super Bonk (6 videos)

Super Bunny Man (13 videos)

Super Troll Islands

The Bachelor

The Berenstain Bears on Their Own, and You on Your Own

The Munchables (8 videos)

Trauma Center: Second Opinion (50 videos)

Tungulus

Ultimate Fishing Simulator

Vroom in the Night Sky

We Love Katamari (16 videos)

Who Wants to be a Millionaire (3 videos)

Who's Your Daddy? (Ross and Ninja Brian)

Wild Animal Racing

Yoshi's Cookie part 1, part 2

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (24 videos)

[marymccartneyphotos]

Paul Weller in conversation with Mary McCartney: ‘We used to pinch a lot of Beatles songs’

For this Woking-born son of the 1970s, there were four father figures who underpinned everything, from his first guitar to an inspirational career that continues to expand and explore more than 50 years later. On the release of his latest solo record, his third in three years, we asked Paul Weller to pick through the past with an artist who knows better than any how The Beatles shaped the generation that followed. By Dylan Jones; 4 June 2021 from British GQ Magazine

(edited for Mary McCartney content only)

For Weller’s latest GQ appearance, we thought it would be good to put him together with an old friend, the photographer Mary McCartney. Which is what we did...

Mary McCartney: So, Paul, when did you become a Beatles fan? When you were 12?

Paul Weller: When I was five years old. I had some of the singles, because my mother bought them, but the first time I saw them was the Royal Variety Performance in 1963, when I was five. From the time I saw The Beatles I loved music and then when I was around age 12 I started trying to learn to play guitar. Me and my mate had a few lessons for a bit and got a few weeks in, but the guy was trying to teach us how to read music, so we got bored with that. And as soon as we learnt enough chords we stopped the lessons and we just start doing it ourselves.

MM: When did you actually start writing songs?

PW: As soon as we – me and my mate Steve Brookes – learnt the three or four chords. I’m still mates with him now. We started a band and we just learned together and we just kept swapping whatever we’d learned in the week, swapping back and forth. It was just me and him and then we just gathered up people as we could find them. There was never any doubt in my mind that’s what I would do and, even at around 12, I thought that was definitely what I was going to do for a living. Well, I didn’t know it could be a career, I just knew I was going to do music. So by the age of 14 we were playing pubs, working men’s clubs and social clubs with The Jam. But your dad’s band was the catalyst for all of it.

MM: You know, I’m directing a documentary about the history of Abbey Road Studios at the moment, so I’ve been taken back to those times. There is a photograph of me aged three months on one of the sofas in the studio, so I was there before I can remember being there. Whenever I walk in through the doors I still get a funny feeling. But I’m learning a lot about The Beatles’ recording process, though. What was your writing process in the early days?

PW: When we started to write songs we just used to pinch a lot of The Beatles songs. They were very basic, just us taking our first steps as songwriters. I was actually very passionate at the time, but I didn’t have the skills to articulate that passion. That kind of developed. Our first songs would have been nonsense songs, just “My Baby Love Me” stuff... But, like every other fledgling songwriter, I just started off by aping other people, like The Beatles did, like Dylan did. Everyone starts out copying other people.

MM: I assume you recorded your new album during lockdown?

PW: I did. I had about four or five tracks left over from [last year’s] On Sunset and they were just lying around, unused. So I started working away, chipping away, trying to put together a new batch of songs. As ever, I recorded them all in the studio down in Surrey, just me and a guitar singing along to a click track. If I couldn’t record with the band, I’d send the recordings to them and they’d play their parts and then send them back. It was a very odd process, but it worked. However, when we could finally all record again together, it was like the first day of school after the summer holidays. It was great. The writing process was actually the same as it always is, but because I knew I didn’t have any live work for the foreseeable future, we just created all this space. I think the lockdown was actually hugely influential in a way, as all the quiet made me appreciate nature in a way I hadn’t done for quite some time, maybe ever. I could really feel and hear and see nature again, it started to take over. I loved hearing the birds sing and not seeing any aeroplanes in the sky. It helped me think about things I would never normally think about in any situation. I felt more in tune with nature. I had a thought that if we weren’t here, if we all disappeared, which I’m sure we will do one day, the earth would just reclaim itself and that it will always be here and we won’t.

MM: It was such a nice feeling, actually stopping and looking and appreciating, not rushing around. I was lying in bed one night in the middle of London. It was 2am and it was so quiet it felt like we had gone back 100, 200 years. I couldn’t hear the rumble of the underground and it was almost as though cars hadn’t been invented.

PW: How was your lockdown, Mary?

MM: Mine was good, but we’re not here to talk about me. I’m grilling you today. But mine was good. Well, I say it was good, but it was unnerving. I think, on a global scale, it was just unnerving because it was like living in a science fiction movie. I think the main thing a lot of us benefitted from was having to slow down and not being able to just go and do things. So, in that sense, it wasn’t a bad thing. I was obviously worried about people’s health and the economy, but, like you, I really got in touch with nature. I did a lot more photographic work outside. And, of course, I started to prep for the Abbey Road doc. What’s the perfect recording scenario for you?

PW: Well, I love my studio and, to be honest, I’d be quite happy to never come out of the place. I could quite happily stay there forever. I bought the building in 1999, but it’s only really been the past 15 years or so that we’ve really got it together, with the sound and the vibe and the equipment. I’m continually making little acoustic adjustments to the room. We’ve got a drum kit set up all the time, as well as a mic’d piano, so it’s always ready to roll. I can play guitar, obviously, as well as bass and piano, but I’ve never really enjoyed playing the drums, because I can’t sing and drum with any conviction. It’s a different art altogether, playing drums. I like drummers who play the song, who can play the tune and who aren’t trying to do their own thing. That requires a certain amount of discipline, a different discipline: not playing too much but playing the right thing. Your dad is a good drummer.

MM: Yeah, he is. Mum introduced me to a song he played drums on years ago, called “My Dark Hour”, by the Steve Miller Band. He’s credited as “Paul Ramon” and he does backing vocals, guitar, bass and drums. It was recorded in Olympic Studios in London towards the end of 1969, after an argument Dad had had with the others over Allen Klein becoming their manager. The others had gone off and he said Steve Miller walked in and asked if he wanted to play the drums on this track he was recording. I think the drumming on it is so good, but you can tell he’s letting out a lot of tension.

PW: I love that first solo album of your dad’s, the one with you as a baby on the back. That’s probably one of my favourite records. It was lo-fi before lo-fi was even talked about.

MM: I love the rawness of it, as it’s just so personal. I still listen to McCartney and Ram a lot. They shot the album cover up in Scotland. They were horse riding and he zipped me up in his jacket. He put me in the jacket so I was safe, as he was going riding. I love that picture from a photographic point of view as well, as it’s very real. It’s taken at the end of the day, during the golden hour. It’s so natural.

PW: Now, what was it like growing up, then, as a daughter of a Beatle?

MM: Well, it was more like growing up as a daughter of Paul and Linda, because they were such a great couple. But,

also, they were such adventurous people. So, we were kind of following them around and going on lots of adventures. We went on tour with them and we really only stopped when we needed to go to school. So I have lots of memories of travelling as a girl. I even remember going on the double-decker that they used as a tour bus in 1972. The seats on the upper deck were replaced by mattresses and bean bags.

PW: I assume it was your mother’s inspiration that made you want to be a photographer...

MM: I think so, as I think I just always saw her taking pictures. She had such a casual style too. She didn’t do a lot of setting up and neither do I. It’s just so much nicer when you connect with your sitter and when you just casually take pictures. I much prefer that and I certainly know that you don’t like to have your picture taken in a very set-up kind of situation. What really got me into becoming a photographer was looking at Mum’s pictures from the 1960s. They were about her being with someone and taking pictures and very much not “This is Jimi Hendrix”. Again, casual. When I became a photographer, I took Mum’s talent for granted. She would take pictures out the car window and then they became these books or a print on the wall. When I started doing it myself I’d put the camera up and I’d be like, “Dad, can you turn the car around so I can take this picture?” And he’d be like, “No.” She would take pictures so effortlessly and I didn’t realise there was a knack to it. Mum and Dad would treat everyone equally; I do remember that. We were always surrounded by people, so I suppose that’s why I think I am a bit of a people person. I like meeting people and I like connecting with people, but I still find I’m quite shy about it. I find it stressful, but I like it. But I could never in a million years get up on a stage, ever. Even thinking about it makes me feel like fainting. When did you first walk out in front of a big crowd? How does that feel? Is it just feeling that adulation and love and appreciation and then giving that back? Does that feel really healthy? I always think when it works perfectly, it just must be such a healthy feeling.

PW: It’s almost a weird thing, because just prior to going on stage, especially in the hour before, I’m in bits. I’m so nervous and so don’t want to be there and want to go home, and then within minutes of actually being on stage, as soon as that first tune strikes up, I automatically feel as though this is completely where I’m supposed to be. It feels like the most natural, most comfortable, Zen-like place you could possibly be, it’s so weird. I’ve always felt nervous before going on stage. That’s never changed. I mean, it’s got a little bit better as I’ve got older, but not much. I think I need to have that feeling. It was weird, because there was a time when I tried to stop drinking – before I stopped completely – and when I stopped I suddenly wasn’t nervous before going on stage. And I didn’t like it. It felt really odd.

MM: Isn’t there something superstitious about this?

PW: No, I don’t think so. I just think it gives you an edge. Those nerves can make you edgy and I think that’s important for me.

MM: And then did the nerves come back?

PW: When I started drinking again they did.

MM: But now you’re not?

PW: When I finally stopped drinking it took me at least two years to get used to that feeling of going on stage totally sober and straight. And now I love it. But it took a good two years to get comfortable, as it was really odd at first. I’d be on stage and I’d notice so much, like there’s a guy in the front row who’s wearing a green shirt or something, and now I don’t feel that at all. Now it feels natural and I have a greater appreciation of it. That’s the other thing as well, getting more from it and being more conscious of what we’re doing.

MM: Growing up, watching Mum and Dad on stage just felt natural. But I’ve seen you play a few times and it makes me realise how much I couldn’t do it myself. There is such great energy and it’s really entertaining and you look completely natural, but I wouldn’t be able to feel comfortable in that position. Also, to me, it feels like your music has to be played live. I went to a concert before lockdown and the person was so vacant and not connected to the audience and, because of that, it made me nervous. You could tell they were going through the motions, that it was an act. They had no connection at all. Whereas when I look at Dad on stage he’s all about connection. I think I had taken it for granted before that, but when you see someone who doesn’t connect, you realise how important it is.

PW: I know some people who turn up just before they go on stage and as soon as they finish they get in the car and they’re off. I don’t understand that either. It’s a far bigger thing than that for me, because I’m looking for that connection. As much as the audience might be, I am as well, and my band too, because I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes and there are some nights where you get so connected together by an audience that this thing just grows and grows. It transcends the moment.

MM: It’s like magic.

PW: It’s something special. The last time I played at the Fillmore in San Francisco, a couple of years ago, it was like that, and it wasn’t because of gear. It was almost like we took off, like the whole room just lifted up.

MM: Have you got a ritual for after the show?

PW: No, not really. No.

MM: My dad has this sandwich and a Margarita, because he doesn’t eat before he goes on. He waits until after.

PW: I have a cup of tea these days. In the past, I would have got off my nut, but I don’t any more. But if you have a gig like that and that becomes your benchmark, you’re always looking to get back to that moment, which is not always possible. But that becomes the thing you’re always searching for, to find that connection. We’re always striving for the spectacular. It’s the same with record companies. Sometimes you have to compromise, but what you really want to do is pursue your own passions. It was more difficult when we first started, because the record company tried to step in more and tried to guide us to do this or that. In the early days of The Jam they even suggested we cover a 10cc song. We said, “No fucking way is that going to happen.” You’ve got to stick to your guns. You’ve got to pursue what you set out to achieve.

MM: Fashion and clothes feel important to what you do, maybe because they make you feel a certain way to be able to perform?

PW: Yeah. But although I was too young to be really involved in the 1960s, I still lived through that time and that whole thing has never gone away for me. I love that period and it informs a lot of what I do, including how I dress. The whole look and sound of that time is just really formative. I don’t feel I’m stuck in that time, but it will always be the cornerstone of everything I do. I just thought it was such a brilliant time for music and fashion and art and all that stuff.

MM: What do you think it is about it? Is it experimentation?

PW: I think so. It was those postwar years, coming out of all that austerity, that bleak black and white, grey world – large parts of the country were still like that in the early 1960s. There were still bombsites. There was still slum housing. So it took a long time for Britain to become modern, but when it did, it was explosive.

MM: Dad describes it as it all suddenly going technicolour.

PW: Yeah, I think that’s true and you just see the clothes and music expanding. Men stopped wearing demob suits and started wearing all these bright-coloured clothes.

MM: And the pill came about and made life a lot easier.

PW: Then the other pills came a little bit later and helped expand everyone’s horizons. These people were pioneers. And also look at the art world – Peter Blake, David Hockney, Bridget Riley. It felt as though everything was becoming more modern and opening up and becoming different and colourful. I was only a very tender age, but, nevertheless, that influence was of great importance and value and always has been. Punk was probably the first time I experienced that freedom. We missed out on the 1960s, had a lift with Bowie, but after that it was largely a cultural wasteland. I was always looking for when I thought it was going to be our term. The 1970s were still very much in the shadow of the 1960s until punk. And then it all blossomed. Then it all started to make sense.

Fat Pop (Volume 1) by Paul Weller is out now.

Producer: Grace Guppy. First assistant: Pedro Faria. Digital technician: Alexander Brunacci. Make-up: Jane Bradley. Retouching: The Hand Of God

[floralkittygambler]

Am I Tripping Or Is Helluva Boss Also Stereotypical? (Bit of a rant sorry, wasnt impressed :< )

Name is Cleatus with a ‘hill billy’ (sorry, idk if that’s seen as an offensive term? I think red neck is offensive so Im going for what feels safer but idk help me out-) accent. (Honestly the voice is so unfitting it feels like a parody-). HB seems to love the Southern accent (nothing wrong w the accent but the portrayals... Ehhhhh...) Considering everyone gets their own VA to sound unique, the female sheep sounds like we’ve heard her voice in all of Viv’s works before. It’s a pretty voice! But just... Save money and VAs are versatile to play various roles in one series- This really caps their full potential.  Horse imagery everywhere. Lets be honest, Blitz liking horses and his IG pet ended up being the SH logo, it’s really awkward self praise- I hate to say it but it does make me cringe a little... The sciency villians designs. Just... Awful and out of place- Seems like a try hard attempt at a parody. Forced. Misses the mark. Also got Villainous vibes too, like that Dementia (sorry forgot her name but lizard hoodie girl!) lady. She suits her world at least and carries her humour a bit better. The warning is again immature (its an adult cartoon yet I - an adult - feel more like a teen when they cant trust their audience to understand ‘sexual references/scenes’ and opt for ‘horny’. Also no suicide warnings bc dayum even censored it was graphic - and Im a fuckin horror simp! Plus - even accidental - it’s a sensitive topic you need to be careful with. Again, just feels like childish attempts to make ‘funny edgy humour’. Dark humour is an artform most think they have yet lack.  Removal of Tilla. The most unique designed and actually interesting looking imp. Gone. And with the poster originally showing all three earlier it just shows lack of consistency when S2 is scripted therefore there should be consistency now.  Blitz going back to the silent o. CAN WE PLEASE JUST LEARN THE CORRECT FUCKIN NAME! I struggle with pronunciations as it is ;; Moxxie abuse for no reason that isnt actually funny needs a counter. Does anyone else find some of the animation in HB a little robotic/delayed/jarring sometimes? Idk... Just doesnt feel as fluid or smooth anymore - ESPECIALLY for actual movement (like walking. They look and feel so rigid..) Tour bus appears and disappears a lot.  Free stock photo of money for a trillionaire is pretty chuckle worthy! But immediately ruined by suicide prompting. No warning for animal mauling if anyone needed it (Honestly they could have done that joke way better like how it’s done in Madagascar, which this scene reminded me of) Pro: Cat suits (minus Blitz’s, sorry. It wasnt cute) Idk how I felt about the cuties ref tbh. Imma sound fuckin paranoid as hell but Im pretty sure Netflix declined Hazbin according to the timeline and tweets. Agreed, cuties was fucked up and why they accepted it idk but this felt less calling out nonces and more of a petty jab at Netflix. Again, personal opinion but still. More suicide prompting. Also kinda weird Blitz is asking teens in cars whether theyd fuck an old guy... Right after using pedophilia to upset him. The opera was empty then suddenly full. Also Im getting Phantom of the Opera vibes but... Less classy of an homage- Sorry. Im not normally into musicals but that is a brilliant one!  Ok I sorta like the glimpse of Heaven being just as bad as hell but it feels messy. Good point, they’re hypocrites. However the easy to anger seems more like the sin of wrath- which doesnt make sense for a Heavenborne. The swearing... Look, Im always fuckin effin and jeffin but couldnt they just for ONCE think of some more articulate way for the characters to express themselves? At this point, it feels like 50 shades of a single oc. It’s nice to see Millie and Mox be affectionate but that kiss was definitely a gross factor and what teens joke about kissing being like.  Pro: Cat Mox and Mil. Again. I love cats. Though seeing Millie never help when he’s hurt yet him always coming to help her gives me Chaggie vibes.  How is Opera lady still singing when shes dead? Another horse ref shown by unicorn. Old man you could literally de-age yourself in the machine you stupid motherfucker (I miss cowbelly) Ok seeing the old man in diapers and hearing some creepy shit recently about diaper kinks was yikes. Also Cherubs, yall coulda helped him with that piano. Love the pianists class though. Again good to show the hypocrisy of Heaven yet it feels really... 1 dimentional? Also didnt Viv say in a recent stream Heaven was going to be alien and futuristic? And yet its... Just cliche lambs and cherubs with a doe and some bees? The same futuristic heaven she criticised another creator for-  Im sure Wally’s only back bc he got so much fan simping tbh, similar to how Pent was supposed to be a one off and Travis is a minor character. Overall the humour really didnt hit (and I LOVE shitty puns-), it felt mediocre at best BUT BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT Can we give credit that FU-CKING FINALLY we had 1 - ONE - UNO - SINGULAR plot that actually fucking flowed, made sense (sorta), wasnt just messily patchworked plot pieces together and actually flowed like an episode? Still that should be bare minimal that it feels almost dirty to give credit for. Likewise, I felt *stupid* watching. Like they think the audience is so stupid they have to explain everything to them. Basically a kids show if blood and swears slipped in.  Weirdly, this was the weakest episode as well as the strongest plotwise. Halfway through S1, this is... I laughed once, which was even less than last time.  It just feels like watching someone with talent piss it all away for their 15 minutes instead of building a more solid foundation thatll last far longer. Likewise, it almost felt like anti-heaven propoganda in a way rather than ‘both sides wack’ and like heaven is an after thought. I didnt really feel the passion. Yes the other episodes need a LOT of work to be professional studio quality but at least you could feel a soul, a passion. This felt filler. There was no development or anything. Like you could skip it and still understand (well ‘understand’ considering the usual storytelling). Like Ep 1 had a flowing, linear plot (look Viv and SH have shown they arent capable at branching and juggling multiple plots efficiently) and everything sorta feels downhill from there for me... Also for a cat owner it feels Vivs only seen persians and tuxedo cats. (Id also like to personally add - AND IM SORRY - that how husk-like Mox’s felt, idk whether it was a subtle shitty HD ref or just lack of creativity for cats. Also the tux cat with ‘buttons’ and bowtie needs some variation and spice FAST) Again, its a shame Viv/SH dont open themselves up for genuine critique as itll bit their ass sooner or later. Been there, done that, never a-fuckin-gain.

[440mxs-wife]

The Hunter’s Princess- Chapter 3: Winchester Castle

Pairing: Dean x OFC Kira (eventual), Prince!Dean x OFC Lady Kira. Other Characters: Sam Winchester, Prince!Sam Winchester, Castiel, Rowena, Gabriel, King!John, Queen!Mary, Lucifer and assorted minor characters.

Chapter 3 Word Count: 3145+

Warnings: Dean nightmare, Prince!Dean jealous, fluff with Castiel. Each chapter will have individual warnings as needed.

A/N: This is from some material that’s been rattling around in my head from another project that changed direction. Couldn’t let all this content go to waste, though, so here it is. It’s a work-in-progress, and I will try and update as regularly as I can. If you want to be tagged in this series, send me a message!

Thank you and happy reading!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two days later, the carriage reached the gates of Winchester Castle. Once inside its walls, Kira was in awe of how much larger it was than her own humble dwelling. As they passed the stable area, Kira saw a short, white-haired man brushing down one of the horses. "Pardon me, sir?" she called.

The man wandered over as the carriage rolled to a brief stop. As soon as he saw who was in the carriage, he removed his cap and gave the ladies a deep bow. "My name is Collins, Lady Kira. I am in charge of the stables. How may I serve you?"

"It's very nice to meet you, Collins," she smiled. "You may help me, kind sir, by letting my driver know where he can park our rig. I need to report for the Princes' Challenge, and I'm sure, be shown to our quarters," she finished.

"It would be an honor, Lady Kira," Collins grinned and winked at her as he proceeded to give the driver the directions he needed.

"Thank you very much, Collins. I hope to see you again, as I love horses. I don't get to ride as often as I'd like, but maybe while I'm here, I'll get an opportunity," Kira remarked.

"Our stables are at your command, Lady Kira. Whenever you fancy a ride, please come down to the stables and ask for me. I would be honored to assist you," Collins replied, with a twinkle in his eye.

Kira laughed and bid him farewell, as the carriage continued to its destination. She and Rowena were shown to their rooms, where they were each assigned a lady's maid. Rowena's was named Katherine and Kira's was named Sarah. When she introduced herself, Kira felt a little dizzy as a feeling of déjà-vu played in her mind. Sarah looked concerned, but Kira assured her she was fine, just needed a drink of water. Sarah quickly poured a glass from the pitcher on the dresser and handed it to Kira, who smiled gratefully, and promptly drained the contents.

"Thank you so much, Sarah. I appreciate it. I think I'll do some unpacking now," Kira said as she moved to open the trunk.

Sarah intercepted her before Kira could put one finger on the trunk. "I will do that for you, Miss. Please, relax. You're competing in the Princes' Challenge, so you'll need to save your strength," she reminded Kira. "Dinner will be at 7 o'clock for any of the competitors who have arrived. May I suggest you wear this?" Sarah held up a pastel green silk empire-waisted gown with cap sleeves. The skirt was dotted with pale pink mini-rosettes embroidered throughout.

Kira marveled at the selection, but did not recall packing such a dress. Rowena. Kira shook her head in amusement as her fingers brushed the locket around her neck. "That will do very nicely, thank you Sarah," Kira responded. "I would like to freshen up a bit from our long carriage ride. Can you please arrange a bath for me in a couple of hours? I'd like to tour the grounds for now, if that's all right," she added.

"Yes, Miss," she said as she curtsied lightly. Kira gently put her hand on Sarah's arm. "When we're in here, just us or with Lady Rowena? You don't need to curtsy. I may be 'Lady Kira', but I'm a little less....formal than most royals, if that makes any sense," she chuckled lightly. This seemed to put Sarah a bit more at ease. "Thank you, Miss. I'll try to remember," she said as she smiled warmly.

Kira decided to check in with Rowena and find out if there were any other surprises in her wardrobe. As she turned around from closing the door, Kira nearly slammed into a raven-haired woman, a little taller than her, dressed in a red satin gown. "Pardon me, I didn't see you there," Kira apologized.

"Then you should watch where you're going," she seethed. "If you don't want to end up on the floor, that is," she smirked.

"Now, Serena, you need to control your temper a bit. It's not her fault she's so clumsy," a man's voice calmly broke in. Kira looked and saw a man with ice blue eyes and sandy blond hair. Lucifer. Her mouth ran dry and she excused herself before he could see the look of absolute terror on her face. Kira hastily knocked on Rowena's door and as soon as it opened, she rushed in, her entire body shaking.

"Och, Kira dear, you look like you've seen a ghost!" Rowena exclaimed. One look at Kira's face told Rowena that she was not far off the mark. "Katherine dear, would you please excuse us?" Katherine nodded and exited the room. "What's wrong, darlin'?" Rowena asked.

"I was coming out of my room, and bumped into someone. I apologized, but she was rather rude about the whole thing. Told me to 'watch where I was going if I didn't want to end up on the floor'. Then a man came up behind her and it was Lucifer," Kira explained.

Rowena's eyes got wide, then she seemed to collect herself again. "I was hoping we could avoid him, but it seems not. Listen to me: you must keep that locket of yours in your possession at all times. No exceptions," she ordered.

"Why? It's just a locket from my mother's jewelry box that she never got around to giving me. What could Lucifer possibly want it for?" Kira asked.

"Darlin', that locket is a very powerful charmed object. It's what brought you here. Your dear mother didn't get a chance to tell you anything about the locket and all of its power. You know as well as I do that if Lucifer got his hands on it, his power would know no limits. He could do the same as you, move freely about the multiverse."

Rowena continued. "Just think of all the trouble he'd cause in those other dimensions, which might even affect our home dimension at some point. Let's face it: we all know that Lucifer is not exactly the poster boy for 'self-control'. It is imperative that you keep hold of that locket, Kira," she finished.

Kira thought back to how the locket glowed in her hands just before she ended up here. Lucifer is a powerful enough archangel as it is. If he were to get hold of the locket....there'd be no stopping him, Kira thought. To her, that was unacceptable. Not to mention, it's her only ticket home after accomplishing whatever it is she's supposed to do here. In that moment, Kira vowed to Rowena that she would protect the locket with everything she had.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dean went to his room in the bunker to try and get some sleep, at least his usual four hours. However, all he could think of was Kira and how far away from him she is right now. He'd give nearly anything to see her beautiful smile or lose himself in the depths of her soft, hazel eyes. He missed hearing her sing in the kitchen while she was making dinner. The bunker was way too quiet with just him and Sam in it.

If Dean really stopped to think about it, he'd been in love with Kira for quite a long time. Probably started after she started showing him up on the firing range. Dean was never truly upset about Kira being the better shot, but how else was he supposed to get pie? Besides, when she shot the targets better than he did, it always made her smile. And damn, did he love to see her smile.

Where are you, Kira my love? Dean silently wondered. Suddenly, her face appeared before him, but it was like she was looking through him to what was behind him. The look of terror on her face made his blood run cold and was enough to make him turn around to see what it was. Lucifer. Dammit, he was with Kira wherever she was. Oh, Kira darlin', hang on.

Dean was jolted awake and scrambled to sitting upright in bed, taking in huge gulps of air. A sheen of perspiration was on his brow and his T-shirt was soaked.

"What?? What is it?? Dean?!?" Sam shouted as he burst through the door. He heard Dean cry out in terror, which brought him to the door. Sam took in his brother's disheveled appearance and knew he'd had a nightmare of some kind, one involving Kira.

"I saw her. Wherever Kira is, I saw her, Sammy. And she's not alone. I also saw Lucifer," Dean rasped.

"No....." Sam whispered. "Okay, while you change into a dry shirt, I'm gonna call Cas. See if he's come up with anything new, or if Gabriel's been in touch with Cas instead of us," Sam muttered.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After her encounter with Lucifer, Kira was still a little shaken up. There was no way she was going to catch a nap before dinner, so she decided to tour the grounds a bit. She started in the gardens, which were breathtaking, to say the least. There were so many beautiful flowers that it would take a lifetime to sample each of their fragrances.

Kira lingered most over the lilac bushes, as they were her favorite scent for the brief time that they are in bloom. Kira sat down on a stone bench near the lilac bushes. She closed her eyes and just listened to all of the sounds of nature happening around her.

"Did you know that a honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip?" a gruff voice behind her said. Kira shrieked in surprise and nearly fell off the bench.

"Wh-what did you say?" she turned to see a man with dark hair and vibrant blue eyes. Where have I seen him before? Kira asked herself as she regained her composure.

"I am sorry to have frightened you, Miss--" he started.

"Lady Kira. And you are?" she responded.

He immediately knelt before her, bowed his head and drew his right arm across his chest. "Forgive me, my lady, I did not realize who you were when I disturbed you. My name is Castiel, head of security and friend to Princes Dean and Samuel. With your permission, I will take my leave of you," he said, rising to his feet.

Kira placed her hand on Castiel's arm to stop his retreat. "Please, Castiel. There's no need to leave. I was on a self-guided tour of the grounds. Besides, I enjoy learning something new every day. For instance, did you know that a honey bee can fly for up to six miles and as fast as 15 miles per hour?" Kira asked, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

Castiel's face broke out into a huge grin and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle. "No, Lady Kira, I was not aware of that. Perhaps I could accompany you? I could act as your tour guide," he suggested, holding out his hand.

"That would be lovely, thank you," Kira smiled, took his hand and rose from the bench. He guided her hand around his arm and tucked it close to his side. "Shall we tour the marketplace next?" he asked.

"Excellent suggestion, Castiel. Please lead the way," Kira replied.

The pair wandered through the marketplace to see what treasures they could find. As far as they could see, there were all types of merchants within the castle walls. Some sold food and drink, some had bolts of vibrantly colored fabrics for sale, still others offered books and jewelry. Kira didn't have a lot of spending money with her, but enough to have some fun and maybe pick up a few trinkets for her house and pub staffs.

As they passed a man selling apples from his cart, Kira's stomach rumbled rather loudly. Castiel looked down at her midsection then back to her face and chuckled. "Well, that was interesting," he grinned.

"And most un-ladylike, I'm so sorry," she grimaced. "How much for the apple?" she asked the man. He quoted the price, and Kira dug out enough coins for two. "Pick one, Castiel," she said.

He chose his apple and Kira chose one. She smiled and gave her thanks to the vendor, who bowed as they left his cart. She turned to Castiel and said, "Okay, on three, we both take a bite of our apple," Kira commanded. "One....two....three!" she counted as they sank their teeth into the fruit.

It was the most amazing apple Kira had ever tasted, tart at first, then giving way to a sweet finish. She groaned in appreciation and looked over to Castiel, who was having a similar reaction. He nodded and smiled at Kira as he enjoyed his apple and they continued their marketplace tour.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dean and Samuel had just returned from a ride out into the country, enjoying the gorgeous weather. They guided their mounts through the marketplace on their way to the stables. All of a sudden, Dean stopped and Samuel pulled up to a stop beside him. "Look, Samuel. There she is, there's Lady Kira. And she's with Castiel?" he wondered.

The princes watched as Castiel and Lady Kira stopped at a milliner's cart. They took turns trying on different hats, each one more outrageous than the next. When Castiel put on a hat obviously made for a woman, Lady Kira burst into giggles at first, then full-on laughter. At that moment, Dean decided that if he could only hear one sound in the world for the rest of his life, it would be Kira's laughter.

Both princes observed the scene playing out in front of them. Kira seemed so at ease here, not so guarded as she seemed in the pub when the princes had first met her. That night, they heard she'd had to throw out a drunk patron. The man tried to take a few too many liberties with her and one of her staff. She'd also had to deal with two last-minute customers, but both men had to admit, she'd handled both situations with grace.

Samuel looked over at Dean, who had been so relaxed during their ride, now seemed to be genuinely annoyed. Is he....he's jealous! My brother is jealous of his best friend, who at this moment appears as if he's making a move on Lady Kira! Prince Samuel smiled to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dean dismount and quickly walk over to the milliner's cart. Sam caught the attention of one of the stable hands, Logan, and motioned for him to take the horses to the stables. He dismounted as well and handed the reins for the two horses over to Logan.

"Prince Dean! Prince Samuel!" exclaimed Castiel as his face beamed. "How was your ride today?" he asked.

"Good afternoon, Your Highnesses," Lady Kira greeted as she dipped her head and curtsied.

"Good afternoon, Lady Kira, Castiel," Dean said tightly. "How lovely to see you again. What brings you to our doorstep?" he asked.

"I am here to compete in the Princes' Challenge, Your Highness. I only arrived this afternoon, and have already been shown to a room. I was on a self-guided tour of the grounds, starting in the gardens. That's where Castiel found me and has since been graciously acting as my tour guide here in the marketplace," she explained.

With rapt attention, Castiel and Samuel watched the exchange between Dean and Lady Kira. Sam recalled what he and Dean had found out about her from Collins. After what he saw with Kira and Castiel in the marketplace, he was beginning to see why Dean was so captivated by the woman. Sam found himself wanting to know more about her.

"So, you've only seen the gardens and the marketplace so far?" Dean asked, to which she nodded. "I would be happy to step into the role of tour guide now, if you wish. It would be my honor," he finished.

"I deeply appreciate your kind offer, Your Highness. However, it was a long trip to get here, and I am feeling a bit tired at the moment. I had hoped to get some rest before joining everyone for dinner. Perhaps you and I could continue the tour another time, if I may request?" she asked.

Dean paused for a moment and his face broke into a genuine smile, one his brother hadn't seen grace his features in quite some time. "It would be my pleasure, Lady Kira," he said softly. "May I have the honor of escorting you back to the main hall of the castle?" Dean asked.

"The honor would be mine, Your Highness," she said as she curtsied. Dean offered her his arm, and when she gave him her hand, he kissed her knuckles before tucking it close to his side. A pink blush crossed her features, which made her all the more lovely, if that was even possible. As they made their way to the main hall, Castiel and Sam followed behind. This Princes' Challenge is certainly going to be interesting, Sam thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Where am I? Oh dear, this is definitely NOT the pub, this is someone's bedroom, the woman thought as she surveyed her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was that she was just about to pour a beer for someone, then she woke up here. Wherever "here" is, she thought.

She sat up in the bed, which turned out to be kind of a bad idea, as a wave of dizziness crashed over her. She groaned at the dull ache in her head and waited for the woozy feeling to pass. After it had, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and gingerly tested her ability to stand. Once she was satisfied that she wasn't going to fall over, she took a few tentative steps towards the door.

On the other side of the door, she heard male voices, three distinct ones, in fact. One sounded heartbroken, like he'd recently lost the love of his life. She felt a pang of sympathy for the man.

Another man was trying to comfort the first one, to assure him that whatever was going on, they could fix it. The third man had an authority to his voice, confident that a solution would be found to the first man's problem.

As she cracked the door open, all three voices simultaneously stopped and three heads swiveled in her direction. She quickly closed the door and ran back to sit on the bed, her knees drawn tightly up to her chest. The first man carefully opened the door to see who or what was on the other side. His eyes widened as he regarded the woman before him. "Kira?" he whispered.

Part 4 here!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @janicho88 @akshi8278 @magssteenkamp @swiftlymoniquesblog @lyarr24 @miss-nerd95 @distefano123 @hobby27 @deanwanddamons @jessica-noel94 @wayward-mikaelson @jawritter @gabrielslittleangel @jensengirl83 @deangirl93 @ellewritesfix05 @supernatural-jackles

The Hunter’s Princess Series tags: @flamencodiva