#Foxtrot Lyle

[dis--parity]

“it’s, ah… for your dogs.” brilliant start to a conversation. foxtrot rubbed the back of his neck as he offered the man a lumpy present wrapped in paw-print paper, unable to meet the stranger’s gaze. he found it much easier to look at his dogs instead.

they weren’t completely strangers, right? yes, foxtrot didn’t even know the man’s name and had only seen him a few times, but they both liked apple cider and flannel and dogs. that meant something, didn’t it?

regardless, foxtrot had gotten him — or his dogs, rather — a gift, and he’d been fortunate enough to encounter him again to deliver it. the package held two dog toys shaped like bones — soft, yet durable, meant to be chewed on. one was red plaid; the other was green plaid. they were also, according to the label still attached to them, bacon-flavored.

(for souji agdgdggdgdgd)

『🥐』 Well, if this wasn’t a lovely way to start his day! All he had done was direct the young man he had so recently met to his bakery, and here he was having found him not so long afterwards, a stone’s throw away from the building! Confident as he is that he’s more than had his fill of the canine companions that called the bakery home, he can’t say he was expecting an active contribution to the store!

Well, ‘tis the season for giving, he supposed - but still!

“Well, ain’t that generous of ya!” With a grin, he takes the two bones - plaid, just like the shirt he had been so eager to bond with him over. He does nothing to stop that smile that creeps onto his face the moment he holds each bone in his hand - before transferring one to the other, putting two fingers in his mouth, and letting out a loud, bellowing whistle into the air.

Before long, the two stars of the show come running - with a faster pace than usual, as a certain, almost imperceptible scent wafts through the air. It takes a while to get them to sit still, but the moment they do, he leans down and gives them a bone each - the red plaid is Fujin’s, and the green’s is Mamesuke’s, and they take to them like a panda would take to a generous stalk of bamboo. Within minutes, the two of them are completely pacified, sitting quietly as they gnaw on the toys.

“... well, I’ll be. This is the quietest i’ve ever seen ‘em without ‘em sleeping!” He laughs, looking down at the young man with glee - to think that someone so young, so fresh in his life, could change so much for the better... but, then again, this isn’t exactly the first time that’s happened. “You keep this up, they’ll start thinkin’ of you like an uncle, boy. Thank ya kindly!”

[theaterism]

muse eyes — FOXTROT

[king-of-the-birds]

PAUL'S BALL

a launch party for wings

He produced a handwritten invitation, leaving space to write in the invitee's name, as well as a number, which would be used for a raffle drawing toward the end of the evening. (The prize was a magnum of champagne; the disc jockey Jeff Dexter was the winner.) (..) The recommended dress was "glam."(..)

Some 800 musicians, reporters, friends of the band and music business honchos were invited.(..)

As always at such events, there was ample carping, which a reporter for Rolling Stone duly cataloged. After describing the Empire Ballroom as decidedly unhip, a leftover from the days when the Joe Loss Orchestra would play foxtrots, and young ladies shopped for husbands among the dancers, the writer noted that while the wine and cheese were free, everything at the bar was for sale.

(…)

Eyebrows were raised when, instead of a Wings performance, partygoers were treated to fox-trots, waltzes, quicksteps, and congas, played by McVay's band-along with what McVay remembered as arrangements of sixties and seventies hits, including a Beatles medley and some Beach Boys tunes. They were raised higher still when the heavily sequined and coiffed Frank and Peggy Spence Latin and Ballroom Formation Dancing Teams filed onto the floor to demonstrate their artistry.

"I'm beginning to think that Paul actually digs all this" one guest quipped to the Rolling Stone reporter, "that he actually likes dance bands, ballrooms, and buffet food. That's incredibly camp, you know, incredibly camp. Have you seen his suit? It's like a clown's costume, the jacket is about five sizes too big, and it's not even been finished."

(from the McCartney Legacy Vol. 1)

Paul: A press launch is always a good excuse to have a night out, so we invited friends and journalists, played the album, danced and had a few funny people come on to entertain. I wore an outrageous big check suit that I thought would be good. When I went to collect it from the tailor that morning he told me that it wasn’t finished. I said, ‘Maybe not, but it’s a look!’ So I went to the party with the cotton and the stitching showing, and everyone said, ‘Your suit’s not finished.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know. Great, huh?’

(from Wingspan, 2002)

Some of the guests that attended were Jimmy Page, Elton John, Sandy Denny, Mary Hopkin, members of the Who, the Faces, Deep Purple, Ginger Baker, Henry McCullough, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Graham Bond, Sandie Shaw, the Greek synthesizer wizard Vangelis, the actors Malcolm McDowell, and Terence Stamp, some of the Monty Python troupe, Sir Joseph Lockwood, the head of EMI, Allan Clarke, of the Hollies, and (Benny) Gallagher and (Graham) Lyle.

After the party a fan encountered Paul:

He went skipping (yes it is true) down the road with Linda and just as he turned the corner to a side street, I took courage and called him back. He stopped and said “yeah” so I ran to catch him up and breathlessly asked him for his autograph. The funny part is my pen was at the bottom of this large bag of mine! He stood patiently watching me with arms folded as I rummaged elbow deep. I asked him if he had a pen as I just couldn’t find mine; he said no (which isn’t surprising as he had this crazy suit on that had no pockets).

(Kathy Turner – From Meet the Beatles for Real: Wings Party)

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: Purrfectly Dead by Dixie Lyle

Review: Purrfectly Dead by Dixie Lyle

Series: Whiskey, Tango, & Foxtrot Mystery #5Author: Dixie LylePublisher: St. Martin’s PaperbacksReleased: April 27, 2021 Received: NetGalley Purrfectly Dead is the fifth novel in Dixie Lyle’s Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery (I adore the name of this series!), and as you might imagine, certain critters take center stage. Before I begin my review, I should confess that I haven’t actually read…

[roguish-gallery]

Dr. Jonathan Crane for the character meme plz?

YES!!!!! MY BOY!!!

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them: 

He’s a grumpy old man with an edge and I really admire that dfasdfgsgfdg. Like he’s either wearing some dusty sweater vests and slacks or he’s in his Scarecrow burlap and I think that’s extremely fun to explore. I simply adore him.

least favorite thing about them:

Uhhh… I don’t think I really have anything I actively dislike about Jon? He’s a good boy.

favorite line:

I *could* say something serious, but this post by @jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear sums up my favorite Scarecrow line and it makes me laugh every time I see it

brOTP:

Jon and Harley being psychology bros just rlly makes me happy lol! They have such a fun dynamic whenever they’re together!!

OTP:

BaneCrane is my favorite, but I also really love Hattercrow- it was one of my first rogue ships and I have a very soft spot for it!

nOTP:

This is a rather easy answer, but I don’t like him with Lyle B*lton. I mean, considering that he abuses Jon, I’m hardly enthusiastic about them being together. This has been talked about ad nauseam, though, and other people have discussed the problematic aspects of this ship with much more eloquence than I have.

random headcanon:

When he was younger and needed extra cash, he would offer late-night dance lessons in his apartment (Ballroom dancing was an elective in school and Jon chose it over P.E. He ended up begrudgingly enjoying it, and he picked up more dances over the years). He’s frustratingly good, and even after all these years, he can still cut a rug. I’m talking waltzes, the foxtrot, square dancing, he’s done it all.

unpopular opinion:

Tbh… I always picture/write Jon as being, like… in his forties, mostly to his mid-fifties. Maybe that isn’t too controversial, but I see him portrayed a lot in the fandom as being in his thirties lol! I just like him more as a silver fox, and as someone who likes to play up the professor aspect of his career, it makes more sense for him to be older.

song i associate with them:

Not to be a sellout... but I’ve made a Scarecrow playlist on Spotify if ya wanna check it out.

favorite picture of them:

The first two Alien films are my favorite movies so it is my immense joy to christen the Scarecrow/Xenomorph hybrid from Batman/Aliens II as being Extremely Good. He looks like The Newborn from Alien Resurrection (Note: please don’t look it up if you’re squeamish. It’s very grotesqe.) and that’s one of my favorite xenomorphs from the franchise so I’m very biased towards this design.

On a more serious note, Batman Adventures #5 is super fucking good... and Jon looks cute when he’s trying to be a good professor.

[doodlesink]

Purrfectly Dead by Dixie Lyle--Book Review

Happy Mother’s Day!  Purrfectly Dead by Dixie Lyle is the 5th novel in A Whiskey, Tango, & Foxtrot Mystery series.  Stop by to see what I thought about this paranormal cozy mystery.  Happy Reading!

https://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2021/05/purrfectly-dead-by-dixie-lyle.html

[allbestnet]

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[dis--parity]

a gift mysteriously appears, packaged in blue and bound with a silver ribbon. the handwritten label reads: ‘for alex (the mystery gifter).’ inside is a light purple container filled with cookies. they’re shaped like stars and snowflakes and… wrenches? and screwdrivers? and hammers? fortunately they don’t taste like those tools at all; they’re soft and sweet.

there are also some tickets to the twilight theater — albeit curiously blank ones — taped on the container alongside a note. the note, written in the same handwriting as the label, reads: ‘thanks for all the presents you gave me and wren. you were a brilliant mystery gifter. i know this doesn’t even things out, but i saw these cookies in a shop and they reminded me of you, so i grabbed some. paid for them, i mean.’ if written words could glow with dishonesty, a lie would shine brightly here. it’s still rather obvious.

the note continues: ‘the star and snowflake ones are from the theater. if you’d ever like to see a show there for free, these tickets can be exchanged for any other tickets whenever you’d like. also, there’s a caramel popcorn machine in the leftmost hall with a little star drawn on one side. it’s a bit broken. if you knock on the star, it’ll give you popcorn for free. it’s a theater secret, though, so maybe don’t tell anyone i told you that. hope you have a happy holidays. — foxtrot’

『🔧』 Looks like her little schtick as the mystery gifter paid off in the best way she could have imagined - she could guess within seconds who this was from. Well, it was between one or the other, really, but seeing as one of them had already stopped by...

And what a charming little set of gifts it was - though, the fact that the tickets were blank definitely struck her as odd at first. Then again, she wouldn’t be surprised if there was something more to them than meets the eye; she’d certainly seemed to have her fill of that kind of thing ever since meeting Wren, and she still wasn’t entirely sure why. Questions for after the holiday season, though - for now, she had these little gifts to consider. Some cookies, good old-fashioned ones in styles and shapes that just... spoke to her. The stars and snowflakes were enough to make her grin, but the tools? All she would have needed was one suspiciously shaped like an arm and this would have been truly perfect. She almost felt bad for thinking about eating such beautiful things!

Ah, and there it was - the blank tickets were universal ones, or something close to it. If she ever wanted to see a show, all she needed to do was ask. What a strange way to run a business! But who was she to judge? Such an attitude helped her when she read on about the... popcorn machine? Well, she was definitely a fan of caramel - she’d definitely be giving that a little try whenever she decided to visit.

... maybe that’d be sooner than expected. Just not when she imagined the theatre would already be somewhat overloaded.

“... thanks, Fox.” she’d mutter into the air - grinning as she slipped the tickets into the pages of her journal for later. A spot of tea would go incredibly with these cookies...

[dis--parity]

@theaterism​ liked for a starter!

『🔧』 “Uh-... hey, uhm- excuse me?” She waves to the slightly-taller boy, hoping that the metallic purple sheens of her prosthetic would catch her attention. “Sorry to bother you, but... have we met? I- it’s just bugging me, dude, I... I wanna say I saw you around... the circus?”

[dis--parity]

『🥐』 Walks in sporting a red flannel shirt, sipping on a bottle of apple cider, and walking not one, but two large dogs!

“See, this ’un’s got the idea.”

“flannel shirts can solve many problems. and apple cider. and big dogs. these are the facts.”

[theaterism]

!! realizes his and his siblings’ birthday is in six days-

[theaterism]

primary love language

FOXTROT: quality time

quality time: 33%

words of affirmation: 30%

receiving gifts: 17%

physical touch: 17%

acts of service: 3%

[theaterism]

Much like before, the wrapped gifts can be found laying on the siblings' pillows, though it's uncertain when or how Wren managed to break in and out of their room undetected. This might become a habit...

Charlie has received a set of brand-new prettily-wrapped paintbrushes, as though to accompany the last gift she was given. These ones had no special magic on them, save for the little messages Wren has painted on the wood themself! There's colorful emojis and comments, such as, "This belongs to a nerd", "owns the diabolical braincell", "big rabbit energy", and so on...

Victor's gift is... obvious by the shape of it, but unwrapping the thing anyway will reveal a cute mug with an even cuter face of a cat stamped on it! There's a note inside as well, which reads: "Until you realize that rules are made to be broken, here's a substitute cat for you. :3" Yes, they drew an emoji. They think they're so creative.

Foxtrot's gift is a small box in night blue wrapping paper, which contains two things: one is a golden sun necklace hanging on a black string, as though to stick to a joke shared only by the two of them. What's especially important about this necklace is that the sun spins: it can be twirled and rotated, made specifically for busy, restless fingers. Below the necklace, resting inside the box, is a polaroid photograph that seems to move like a soundless, repeating movie. It's a candid shot of something silly Foxtrot did in a theater costume. Wren's twinkling eye can be seen in the bottom of the shot. Behind the photo, in Wren's cleanest handwritting, reads:

"Incriminating evidence of you being adorable. Merry Halloween Part 2 And Happy Anniversary."

True, presents had appeared on the siblings’ pillows before, but this didn’t diminish the sense of wonder and joy they brought in the slightest.

Charlie adored the paintbrushes, and she laughed at the messages on each one. Her excitement didn’t stop her from donning the mindset of a detective, however. After all, this gift came with clues: 1) The messages had a familiar chaotic energy to them, and 2) the set went marvelously with the sketchbook from her birthday. The puzzle pieces clicked together in Charlie’s mind and left her with a strong hunch about who had delivered the gifts. Still, she barely kept herself from peeking beneath the wrapping of the other presents to gather more evidence.

Regret sparked within Charlie at the same time. She wished she’d remembered to give them a present as well. They deserved one. Not simply for the gratitude she felt for their gifts, but as an attempt to ease lingering tension between them. The seriousness of the incident had stuck with her, shaken something fragile in her, and she’d begun genuinely trying to hold herself accountable for her mistakes. She knew it would take much more time and effort to truly earn forgiveness from the person she’d hurt the most, but she’d committed herself to making amends.

In any case, she was now wholeheartedly determined to give Wren something in return. Something special. Surely it would be even more of a surprise to deliver it on a non-Christmas day, wouldn’t it?

(And another gift did mysteriously appear for Wren on the day after Christmas — a painting of an evening sky over Wetherton, with moving fireworks that burst again and again, their colors vibrant and glimmering. Charlie had used a page from the sketchbook and the new paintbrushes to create the piece. A message written in one corner reads: ‘The sketchbook and brushes are lovely! Thank you!! ☆’)

- ☆ -

Victor loved his gift as well, for more reasons than he could express. It was simple and practical in a way he appreciated, and the cuteness of the substitute cat made him smile. It mattered to him on a deeper level as well. He wasn’t used to being remembered by many people aside from his siblings. His quietness meant he often went overlooked. He usually didn’t mind, really, but it did feel a bit cold at times.

So, the thoughtfulness of this present — and the thoughtfulness of the blanket from several days ago — left a warmth in his chest he rarely experienced, and when he first sipped tea from the new mug, the warmth grew so great that his vision blurred a bit.

His brother asked if he was alright. Victor nodded and mumbled something about the drink being too hot. An unconvincing lie. Foxtrot didn’t press him for answers. Instead, he settled himself nearby and fiddled with a sort of necklace as Victor sat on his bed reading, the mug of tea close beside him. The brothers often offered comfort to each other in this manner — they simply provided a stable presence for the other, silent more often than not. But it was a comfortable silence, and Victor appreciated it.

(And Wren received another gift a day after Charlie’s — a small wooden rabbit, hand-whittled with great care. A note tied to it reads: ‘Thanks for the mug. It means a lot to me. Also, Juliet loves the blanket.’)

- ☆ -

Foxtrot’s pillow wasn’t empty this time. The box itself didn’t give many clues about its gifter, but Foxtrot had seen enough of his siblings’ presents — and he knew enough about Wren — that he could guess who had broken into their room so sneakily. A soft smile stole onto his face as he unwrapped the box.

With no small amount of surprise, he also realized the guilt in his chest didn’t ache as much as usual. The voice in his mind that liked reminding him he didn’t deserve anything had hushed to a low mutter. It was an unfamiliar feeling — though not unpleasant — and one he still struggled to trust and accept. But he was slowly getting better at adjusting to it.

A necklace. Amusement glimmered in his eyes at the inside joke it carried, and surprise leapt within him when the sun twirled beneath his fingers. There was thought put into this present — a deeper layer beneath the jests, a sense of familiarity with his habits. Warm appreciation washed over him.

He’d spotted motion beneath this gift. He carefully lifted the photograph, and a breath of wonder left him. It moved. His face warmed at the scene itself, but his grin widened all the same — especially when he spotted the unmistakable hint of Wren at the bottom. Something melted in him at the note.

“Silly,” he hummed softly, fiddling with the necklace that now hung around his neck. He tucked the photograph in a safe spot — in a drawer beside his bed, where his siblings couldn’t tease him for it, but where he could easily find the memory later on.

[dis--parity]

fox!

“that’s why they’re magnetic? really?” he looked genuinely fascinated by the detail, something close to delight in his eyes. “i mean— i knew they were magnetic, yeah, but i didn’t know why, exactly.” a pause, and then— “i do know why there’re ridges on the edges of coins, though. it’s because when there weren’t ridges, people would shave off bits and sell them, back when the metal was more valuable.”

『🔧』”Oh, that makes sense! I always wondered why they were there...” All that she was concerned about, honestly, was how nice it felt for her to run her finger along the ridge of a coin. There was a unique sensation to the bumps that just couldn’t be beat... if not for the texture of the metal acting against the entire experience. “And- and that just reminds me of, uhm... coins tend to have different sizes, and- and the ones in the UK have different shapes, to- to help people who are blind pick out the right ones! I- I think. Don’t quote me on that... it- it might not actually be the reason, but I think it’d help!”

“did you know that all pennies minted prior to 1982 are pure copper pennies and not copper plated and are technically actually worth two cents?”

[theaterism]

“it’s rather handy to change your name, honestly, and if you don’t like the one you change it to, you can always change it again... a bit like a secret agent.”

[theaterism]

the lyles adore halloween. like, they can trick people and get away with it easier than ever. plus, free candy!! and they steal costumes from the theater when they slip out to go trick-or-treating....