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theartofruling · 9 months ago

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Reunited with a Ghost || Rowan Self Para

Who: Rowan Hartwell + Jayden Hartwell

Where: Southland Palace

When: End of March

Rowan was not a fan of bed rest, but it was made better with her cat Cleo keeping her company. The transfer of power had gone to River as she simply sat in bed, resting. She heaved a sigh because Markus was working, River was working and she was really missing her mom, knowing she would be having another child and her mother wouldn't get to witness it. She had dismissed her Ladies in waiting for the day. Even Scarlett was out with her dad for the week. She was utterly lonely in the moment and she knew it was her suped up hormones in this magical pregnancy. Cleo cuddled closer as if she could feel Rowan’s emotional shift. “Mama, it’s not fair that you don’t get to be here. It’s not fair you don’t get to see your granddaughters.” She could feel unshed tears stinging the back of her eyes.

Just as she laid down, her body shaking with the sobs of grief that no matter how long it had been still hit her like a wave crashing against the shore, she heard a knock on the door. “Jade,” a familiar but unwelcome voice called out rushing over to her. “My sweet baby. I’m here.”

Rowan recoiled at the sight of her father’s mistress, and Cleo stood taking a defensive stance in front of Rowan. Not many people on the staff knew he was still alive but Bianca did. And that wasn’t all she knew. She and Raymond were an item. It was knowledge that Rowan detested knowing and even more so detested the woman. “Bianca, get out of my room. And never in your life call me Jade again or I swear to the suns and sands I will rip your fucking heart out with my bare hands.” The vitriol in her voice was familiar. But it didn’t sound like her. It sounded much like her father. Even to her own ears, she could recognize how much like him she could be.

It caused a chuckle from Bianca, and she stroked Cleo’s fur as if she were familiar with the cat. Cleo, the traitor, relaxed into the touch as though this was familiar. “You sound just like him. Ray, will be proud to know you have it in you.”

“Why are you here, Bianca?”

“Jade, you have a gift that not many share listen. It’s not Bianca. Her body? Yes, but it’s your mother. I was here watching over you when you started to cry. I went to Bianca and she agreed to let me in to take over to…hold my baby one more time. Or she said for as long as I want.” Tears rolled down Bianca’s face and Rowan really listened. It was true. She heard the two conversing in her consciousness. Her mother was really here.

“Mama?!” Jayden Hartwell was really back in some form. “So it’s true? The Veil is down? For how long?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to waste a minute. Can I climb into bed with you? I know you’re grown but I want to hold my sweet child who’s carrying a baby of her own.”

Rowan nodded and Jayden climbed into bed with her wrapping her arms around her. Cleo settled in front of Rowan resting her head next to Rowan’s tummy. “Mama, things have been so hard. I don’t feel like I’m leading. I feel like I’m existing. Doing everything wrong. I haven’t even started trying to renew the peace treaty and I don’t know if it’s possible. And I don’t know if I’m being a good wife or mother because you’re not here so I can’t lean on you. Why weren’t you here! Why didn’t you try to be here?! I got married without my dad to walk me down the aisle. I had a baby and I was so scared and I just wanted you to be there and you weren’t! And now I’m having another one I…” Rowan sobbed and it felt like her heart was aching with a mixture of anger and grief.

Jayden stroked her hair, holding her tight. “I know, and I’m sorry. I don’t know who is responsible for my death Rowan, but I’m sorry I didn’t fight harder for you. Rocky isn’t here?”

“No. Since your death she travels and I think Ryan hurt you for the throne. Without River I would be a Hartwell alone. You and dad prepared me for a full family. You never prepared me for this! To have so little family and to do this without you.” She knew she shouldn’t waste this time with anger but she had been holding on for so long.

“My sweet Jade, I’m sorry. But you’re not alone. You have River. You have your father. You have your daughter, your husband. You aren’t alone.” She stroked. “You could also have Bianca if you let her.”

“Mama, don’t make me throw up! Can you stay? At least long enough to meet Markus and the babies?”

“I don’t know how long the veil will be down. But as long as I have Bianca’s approval I’ll be here.” She paused as if she was listening to something. “She said I can stay as long as I want.”

“Okay,” Rowan said quietly. Her mom began to hum a song that would calm her when her anxiety. It lulled her right to sleep in her mother’s arms once again.

Sleep felt surreal and happy. Until a familiar pain hit her in the stomach and she groaned. Her hands went to her stomach and she felt a paw there too. “Cleo I’m okay. I think it’s just,” she paused as another sharp pain came. She didn’t know why she was trying to get out of bed, scrambling she doubled over with pain.

“Rowan get back to bed! Where are you going? What’s wrong?” Her mother asked.

Her pregnancy was being sped up one last time. Her water breaking contractions coming far too fast to be normal. “Get Markus, Mama! Tell…tell the staff to call Vada. The baby is coming!”

#[rowan]#[Rowan self para]#[Rowan musing]

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pink-chevalier · 4 years ago

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Without Fail Writing Tag

Rules: List five things that you, without fail, weave into or explore in your stories, whether it be specific themes or tropes, character archetypes, allusions to other literary works.

@enniewritesathing and @cyansimblr thank you for tagging! I’m going to say that it took me so long to do this because I don’t know anything about my writing.

1. Hurt. There's always some kind of pain going on in my stories. Either my character is in some sort of emotional distress, or they're physically hurt by something going on. An example would be Ezio because he went through a lot of mental and emotional stress as a teenager. Like the poor boy couldn't sleep because I kept giving him nightmares, I felt horrible for doing that, but it had to be done. Physical pain would be Ryan; he went through a lot of abuse from his biological father and found comfort with Ezio and his small family. There are also touches and sprinkles of some sort of abuse in generations like Alex with her ex-boyfriend. Even going back to the second generation, Leon with this asshole who was just using him.

2. Longing. When my characters have crushes, I make these assholes either wait or work for their damn happy ending. Danny got bitch slapped by Leon, Alex had to wait years to get with Markus, Alistair had to kill a vampire to end up with Lolita, and Dream had to deal with so much shit before ending up with Ezio. Several of my characters had to wait for their happy ending, and I can't tell you why I do this. I literally have no reason, but I guess, in a way, I want to prove that they are meant to be because they're willing to sacrifice everything to end up with someone that they love. I also think that I like the chase, and expressing how they feel about this person. I want to show that it's not just some silly crush, but it's pure concentrated love that they are feeling for them.

3. Family. I make my sims have big families with many siblings, and I made them as close to their parents or siblings as possible. I like to explore the complicated relationship in families because they can be either good or bad. Sometimes, it explains why this person acts a certain way and how something could affect the whole family. But, I also like focusing on the relationship between siblings, the good or the bad.

4. Age. I noticed that I tend to do a lot of storytelling with children and teen sims because I often feel like we're lacking? Don't take that too seriously because I don't know if we are lacking or not, but I just like showing my sim's entire lives. I guess it's for people to look back and see if this character was always this way. Also, I like to do this because I want to show how much the sim has changed.

5. Time. I'm always fucking around with time because I don't like dragging things out for too long because not only will you get bored of it, but I'll get sick of it. I tend to do a lot of time skips or write that days or weeks passed by because I want to get to the point of the story or reach the end of a generation to begin the new one. I guess it's because I'm impatient or something, but I'm not really sure. I want everyone to note that when starting the new generation, they are always moving to a new home.

If someone can kindly call me out on my bullshit, I’ll love you forever because I really don’t know myself. Anyway, lets tag @purplesimmer455 @whyhellosims @orchidlyhere @x-simss @thereesespiece @kalissimsblog

#sims 4 #tag game #without fail writing tag #simblr

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zachnovak · 4 years ago

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@thiskryptonite hmmmmm.... I’m torn right now. Don’t know why I even care or making a post at all let alone on this account I barely remembered the password to. But for some reason, I’ve been missing our friendship quite a lot. Even though I always had the feeling I was second best compared to everyone else on Corinth in your eyes. We chatted a lot, everyday and had fun plotting or just making up head canon stuff with Atlas and my Noah or Markus and Noah. But I’m terrified now and know I deserve it because I couldn’t make any of you happy by existing.

To this day I still don’t understand why after everything you so easily and instantly turned your back and ghosted me after Corinth. Worse, allowed others on there to then send me hate, spread lies, drag up ancient drama that was long proven to be lies and through in all the ‘ist’ words they could think of for that chef’s kiss of trying to cancel someone. But at the same time, I’m not surprised by it either. When I was posting just on invisionfree forums I had a buddy named Ryan who I was great friends with and I coded a lot of RPs for. Only for him to not like some of the members and some how I had mad drama with them. Then with him and then ultimately kicked out of the group I made. Later he told me he would tell them I was saying stuff about them and trying to get them kicked out of the RP. The more drama they stirred and the more I defended myself he hopes they’d leave but if the drama got to bad he’d gladly kick me out of the group as he knew no matter what he did or caused, I’d always come back to him and wanna be friends. I still wanna talk and post with him to this day.

Griffin did the same thing to me. A guy I, like with you, talked to everyday for hours. Personal stuff, random crap, our characters, plans for the threads we had whatever. He didn’t like that I preformed too many actions in a post to progress it so he begun telling people I was power playing and forcing him into things. He knew they took that in the worse possible light and not that I simply made my character do more than say a response and make one action. Ultimately he got the whole RP to ignore me, ridicule me if I popped up in the OOC and even tell me to kill myself and that everyone hated me. And I did try to do as they suggested. I still wanted to talk to and post with him though.

Then Sam, she was a friend who trolled the previous mentioned RP. She knew they believed I was trolling them and sending nasty anon hate to them and members. She knew this and ramped up what she did solely because the admin pissed her off and if they thought it was me, well, who could it hurt? Jay (not Corinth jay but another one) did much the same. He stole many of the ideas, coding, and interactive elements of my first RP. Told members many lies to get them to leave my RP to join his instead. I still let him back on my RP as I missed my friend and RP buddy.

I have a history of trusting the wrong people. Of opening up to them and investing in an actual friendship with them only for them to abuse me in the end as they know I’ll always come back. Even now as I am finishing up the revamps to my RP I’m finding myself wondering what you’d think and if you’d enjoy RPing there. Why do I do that to myself? I know I have episodes due to being bipolar and that I have abandonment issues like no other. That I always try to please everyone even at the cost finically, emotionally, and even physically, of myself. I wonder if I hate myself so much that I just do that to myself. I do sometimes think I deserve all of this, to be told to end myself, to have the friend I allow in to stab me in the back . To be used, abused, and then tossed into the bins. I even find myself thinking of it’ll make people happy that I just disappear and am never heard from again that I should do it. I fail at so much, making my online friends happy, keeping them, why did I fail to do what they wanted and end it?

I’m such a glutton for punishment I actually did rejoin Corinth around Halloween. Used one of my aliases just as Nolan is one. No one suspected and I was actually well liked and all I did differently was talking regularly to more than three people. It still wasn’t for me though, far too much of a clique. I left RPing on tumblr after that. I felt so great zero drama and no one playing Mean Girl games just because they knew I existed still. But now I’m almost done revamping my RP, I want to try it again. I hate that I allowed toxic people to get to me and feel like shit just because they have issues their immature minds tell them it’s ok to destroy someone with mental issues and end something they put so much hard work and planning into just because.... someone got a message from them I guess. I don’t want any drama this time. I just want to stick to my group and the couple I’m currently RPing in, in peace. But at the same time, I wanna run everything passed you and get your input like when I was first making it. I’m nervous, jittery, and feel like I wanna throw up. But not because I worry for the RP lasting or getting members. But because I’m waiting for when your Corinth buddies will attack my RP and me again. When whatever drama they have somehow is my fault again even though I don’t even know who those people are let alone their blogs or what they do. But I know it’s going to happen. That type of person can’t let it not happen. They have to destroy someone, anyone to make themselves feel better. I’m scared and not because I know this will happen again. It’s because I know I’m going to to fail and the first attack from them is going to make me feel like I failed them and need to end either my RP or myself just to make them happy and leave me alone again. Well this turned into a ramble. Guess I’ll sign off this account. I got that off my chest. Don’t think it’ll help, it’ll probably be ignored really and my little prophecy will come to pass. But at least I got it down for when it does.

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hi-alex-the-ghost · 4 years ago

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Lantana Camera

Here’s a little fox I wrote for some secondary/side characters in my comic/story lantana camera

(951 words)(WIP)

“Anthony, dear, It's 3 am why are you up?”

“Markus, hun, It's 3am, why are you still awake?”

“Touché, I have no excuse.” Mark hid his face in mock shame, Anthony coming over to kiss his forehead before heading toward the kitchen. “No wait, why are you awake?” Anthony paused looking over his shoulder.

“I got a call from Cody and Leo, they need me at ‘The Summit‘.”

“Thats, that's a nightclub? If you're gonna go party I don’t mind, you can just tell me.” Anthony smiled, filling up his thermos.

“No, no, they got a call from the owner. Apparently a group of underage teenagers were there with fake IDs.” He sighed, shouldering on his jacket and pausing at the door to look at Mark.

“Tell your students I said hi?” Mark offered, an awkward smile on his face. Anthony chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, will do. Get some sleep, feather.” He closed the door behind him. The smile dropped as he unlocked his car, and drove deeper into the city.

He arrived at the nightclub not too soon after, seeing three teens sitting on the ground outside, two police officers and a social worker standing next to them.

“Hey, Leo, hey Cody.” Anthony addresses the social worker and the nicer of the two police officers. The other officer scoffs rolling his eyes.

“I'm going to sit in the car, be there in five or I'm leaving without you.” He all but storms off, slamming the car door on his way. Cody sighs rolling his eyes.

“Yep. Ryans just a d*ck sometimes, don't mind him. How've you been Anthony? How's the boyfriend?” He asks, shrugging off his partner's attitude.

“Mark's good, was still awake when I got your call but that's not too new. What about you two?” Anthony asked, deciding to finally pull his hair back into a ponytail the best he could.

“I'm alright, kinda hoping to get this sorting out soon.” Cody, commented, glancing at the kids, earning him a myriad of reactions from them.

“Hey be nice, this is my every day so toughen up buttercup.” Leo remarked, smirking. One of the kids laughed, poking at the other two, who looked either very anxious, or very angry.

“Ok, you two, easy, everyone knows about your bromance.” Anthony said, poking fun at his friends. He brushed his hair back looking between the three kids. “So, I'm assuming there's a reason they needed to call the school counselor at three am?”

“Well, its funny story doc, ya see-” the other two covered his mouth, shushing him nearly immediately. The three whispered amongst themselves, much to Cody and Sebastiens dismay.

“Technically, Cody called me because Sebastien’s in the system, and I called you because I figured you would know who his angry accomplice is.”

“Hey what about Carlos? He's my accomplice too! Y-you can't leave him out like that i- what what is it what id do Carmine- oh i said your names! Oh right yeah, my bad my bad, see i know we said we werent gonna do that and not trust them but i just went and spilled the beans!” Sebastien laughed nervously, starting to ramble.

“Seb, shut up.” Carmie said annoyed, setting her chin in the palm of her hand.

“Nice to see you're just as happy as ever, Carmine. How's Dr.Hernandez's project coming along?” Anthony teased, smiling at his students.Carmine rolled her eyes, perking up a bit.

“Finished it. Just gotta turn it in.” She bragged, attempting and failing to hide her pride in herself. Anthony smiled glancing over at cody.

“Come on, Copper, they’re good kids. You can give them a warning or something right?” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at Cody’s stoic face. They stared at each other before Anthony rolled his eyes. “You're not scary, Co-dak, not even a bit.” He flicked Cody's hat back off his head, his hair falling out and down his back. “Oh wow your hairs looking nice, really shiny.” Cody finally broke and smiled, picking his hat back up.

“Thank you, it's soft too. Now with all of the familiarities out of the way, someone needs to take these three somewhere they won't cause trouble.” He gestured between Leo, Anthony, Sebastion, Carlos, and Carmine.

“With that said,and i'm assuming the three of you don't want to face you respective guardians at this hour, Anthony, Wanna play a game?” Leo asked Anthony, with a smirk on his face. Anthony rolled his eyes, placing a fist on his palm out in front of him.

“Wait, you, are you two gonna rock, paper, scissors? Over who gets to take us home? Like a candy-prize-slot machine type thingy?” Sebastian's thick Brooklyn accent was strung through everything he said.

“Seb, please, for the love god, shut up.” Carmine threw a crumpled up napkin at her friend, who then moved, causing the projectile to him carlos. “Sorry Carlos” she said, smiling softly at Carlos’ over exaggerated frown.

“Dammit! I lost! You get the children.” Leo said dejectedly, fixing his braids and shaking his head disappointedly.

“Wait, we‘re the prize? Not the like, losing punishment?” Carmine asked, looking almost genuinely confused. Leo frowned. “Yeah, of course guys, you aren’t a punishment.” Carmine rolled her eyes leaning back, quickly shrugging off any shred of emotion.

“Carmey, you think we’re punishments?” Sebastian asked, concerned for his friend.

“No, I think you're a punishment.” She glared. He feigned offence and threw himself across Carlos, who smiled awkwardly down at his boyfriend. Anthony rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone.

“Alright, let me call my boyfriend and make sure he’s aware that I’m kidnapping three Highschoolers for a secret government experiment.”

#alex irl #alex talks #art #my writing #lantana camera #lantana #my story #open commissions

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fuckyeahalexedler · 4 years ago

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Alex Edler experiencing deja-vu as last of a generation of Canucks

VANCOUVER -- There are the changes you see coming, and the changes you don’t.

With 14 years in the NHL, Alex Edler had learned not to be surprised. And then 2020 came along. And between the first and second waves of COVID-19, the Vancouver Canucks defenceman also saw three good friends leave the team in free agency over the span of 24 hours.

While the 34-year-old was theoretically aware of his senior standing on the team before Oct. 9, the free-agent departures of Jacob Markstrom, Troy Stecher and Chris Tanev, his longest-serving teammate, made Edler understand keenly that he is the last of a generation of Canucks.

With Tanev following Markstrom to Calgary, the second longest-serving Canuck is 25-year-old captain Bo Horvat, who arrived in Vancouver as a teenager in 2014. Edler has been on the team since 2006.

Think about that -- eight years of his career, and not a single teammate remaining.

“Sometimes you see it coming, sometimes you get a little surprised over it,” Edler said Wednesday in an interview from his Vancouver home. “Those three players, personally, they’ve all been very good friends of mine. I played with Tanny a long time on the same team (since 2011), playing a lot together. So it was hard to see him leave. Also with Troy, we’ve built a relationship off the ice as well as on the ice. And then, of course, Marky, I’ve been very close with since he came here, and he’s close with my family -- my kids and my wife.

“You lose an all-star goalie and you lose two key defencemen, obviously that’s a big blow and a big void to fill. That’s three players I was really sad to see leave, and three key guys for our team.

“We’ve added some good players, too, and that’s exciting. I understand there’s a lot of thinking and planning and everything and it’s harder times now and it’s not easy to build a team and make all the pieces fit with the salary cap. I get that part that you probably couldn’t fit all three of them. But I was a little bit surprised that all three of them are gone. But that’s the business.”

Vancouver general manager Jim Benning was unwilling to match the hefty offers the Calgary Flames made to Markstrom (six years and $36 million) and Tanev (four years, $18 million), while Stecher, made to wait in free agency while the Canucks worked on other deals, chose to sign in Detroit rather than return to his hometown team.

Countering these losses, Benning signed free-agent goalie Braden Holtby, then landed first-pairing defenceman Nate Schmidt in a bargain trade with Vegas. The Canucks plan to replace Stecher on the third defence pairing with a player promoted from the AHL.

So, the Canucks are getting younger still, which, of course, only makes Edler feel older.

“Before the twins (Daniel and Henrik Sedin) retired a couple of years ago, I never felt close to being one of the older guys on the team,” Edler said. “It’s been a big change over the last few years and we’re so much younger, and now I feel I am so much older than most guys. They joke me about it every day, too.”

They're not the only ones. The Vegas Golden Knights could be heard chirping Edler as "old man" during playoffs in the Edmonton bubble.

Not only is Edler the only player remaining from the Vancouver team that made it to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, he hasn’t a teammate left who played for coach Alain Vigneault or even John Tortorella. Only six Canucks remain from the team current coach Travis Green inherited just three years ago.

A 2004 third-round draft pick plucked by Canucks scout Thomas Gradin out of a semi-professional league in northern Sweden, Edler made his NHL debut at age 20 on Nov. 4, 2006 in a road game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Edler played mostly with fellow Swede Mattias Ohlund that night, but the defencemen at the bottom of the Vancouver lineup were Rory Fitzpatrick and Luc Bourdon, who was killed in a 2008 motorcycle crash. The depth forwards included Jan Bulis, Tommi Santala and Josh Green. In goal, Dany Sabourin backed up Roberto Luongo, who was two months into his Canucks tenure.

“Honestly, I don’t have too many memories from that game,” Edler said. “But I remember being out there a couple of shifts against (Joe) Sakic, and that’s the only thing that kind of stuck with me.”

It was a fascinating time in Canucks history, as the improving team was transitioning from Marc Crawford to Vigneault. Veterans Trevor Linden, Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison joined Ohlund as holdovers from the previous era, but the Canucks were being taken over by rising stars like the Sedins, Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa.

“When you name all those great players, I feel like maybe we should have been better,” Edler said. “But when you’re young, you just kind of play and don’t think about it too much.”

In all, Edler has skated with 202 teammates in Vancouver, played in front of 16 goalies.

Pop quiz. Among the 65 defencemen, does he remember Lee Sweatt (three games in 2010-11)?

Edler: “He scored and then he retired.”

True. With an economics degree, Sweatt scored the game-winner in his debut but quit hockey for business that summer.

How about Alex Sulzer (12 games in 2011-12)?

Edler: “Yep, I do. German guy. I remember that we played in Tampa, we won a faceoff and he gave it to me and we scored.”

Derek Joslin (two games in 2012-13)?

Edler: “No.”

We admit we couldn’t remember Joslin, either, but the former San Jose Shark and Carolina Hurricane got two games at the end of Vigneault’s final season before taking his career to Europe, where he still plays in Austria for Salzburg.

Edler has logged another 872 regular-season games for the Canucks since his debut, plus 82 in the playoffs, 17 of those last summer.

He is Vancouver’s all-time leader among defencemen in games, goals (99), assists (302) and points (401). Edler remains a top-four blue-liner, last season logging 33 points in 59 games before leading the Canucks with 23 minutes of average ice time in the Stanley Cup tournament that saw Vancouver win two rounds -- the franchise's first playoff success since 2011.

“I think the team really came together in the playoffs and we showed people and ourselves, too, how good we can be,” he said. “It was a good, little playoff run. But I also think when you have a season like that or a run like that, you have to push even harder the next year because you can’t expect to take another step from momentum. You’ve really got to work hard to take the next step.”

Edler said the NHL is faster and younger than it has ever been, but he has a similar sense that this Canucks team is rising towards something, just like the one he started with 14 years ago.

“I’m definitely proud of what I’ve accomplished and what I’ve done, that I’ve been able to stay with the same organization and be an important player, an important part, of the team every year,” Edler said. “But you still want more. I still want more. I think that’s what drives everyone, maybe especially when you get older and realize you don’t have that much left. You want to be in the playoffs again, want to play those big games. I’m proud of what I’ve done so far, but I don’t feel like I’m satisfied yet.”

(Dec. 3, 2020)

#vancouver canucks #canucks #alex edler #dec 2020 #article #text

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rvkswitzerland · 4 years ago

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October 5, 2020

From Vicki:

For the first time since arriving here, Ryan and this stunning place notwithstanding, I finally ended a day thinking, “Today was a good day”.

Things that went well:

- woke up a kid for goat milking at 6:45am. He was mad but had a great time.

- breakfast was calm and I remembered the Monday bag

- Computer had to update (annoying) so I used that time to do laundry and dishes

- Went to the office, met this jolly British guy called David, and learned that we need to put our kid who skips class on a written contract, so we got started with that.

- had delicious pasta for lunch

- taught my college advising class and actually felt useful. Subsequently cancelled my student meeting so she could work on her essays. Instead went to the mitarbeiterzimmer and chatted with the new guy Markus, who just moved here from Germany and the states prior to that. He had tons of questions about our process for getting here and it was good to be helpful.

- had afternoon conference and chatted about technology, kids, and the hike, which is now only 2 days.

- had dinner with the kids and had calm, reasonable conversation full of jokes and very little curse words and meanness.

- Ryan went to basketball so I hung out with kids and chatted. They played with Al. I kicked them out at 8:15, turned on the kettle for them at 9:10, and they were out of the apartment so I could shower by 9:25. High fives were given as they went off to bed.

One day is definitely not a trend, but it’s a good feeling to at least have one day of calm and confidence. :)

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theinquisitxor · 5 years ago

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Spring/Summer reading goals:

(Updated as of June 2020)

Quarantine and all the uncertainty and unrest in the world as led me to want to reread some of my favorite books from my childhood and early teenage years. A lot of these books on this list are ones I have not read in 5 or so years, and getting back into these has reminded me why I loved them so much when I was younger.

-Little Women by Louisa May Aclott- (first read: 8 years ago, reread: March 2020) I was spurred by the new movie to reread this, and it was a great comfort read during the month with the most uncertainty.

-The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (first read: ~6 years ago, reread: April 2020) This was one of my first introductions to high fantasy, and while this series is not perfect, I loved rereading it and the last book is just the best.

-The Fork the Witch and the Worm by Christopher Paolini (first read: Dec 2018, reread: April 2020) I enjoyed this short story collection and the way it prompts the next books set in the Inheritance world.

- Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke: This was a favorite book of mine when I was probably around 8 or 9. Even then, I loved the tropes of magic books, quests, and lady knights.

-Paint the Wind and Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan. Both of these were middle school favorites and Paint the Wind is one of my all time favorite books. It’s a beautiful story set in the American west about a sheltered girl and wild horses.

-The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. (first read: ~4 or 5 years ago, reread: April 2020) Do I need to even say anything about this? If you haven’t read it yet, you have to fix that.

- Harry Potter Series (first read ~10 years ago, most recent reread: May-June 2020) This is a series I’ve reread multiple times, but had probably been about 4 years since I read them last. I remember how much and why I love this series and I would still go to Hogwarts in a heartbeat if I could.

My list of rereads I still want to get to:

-The Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke. (first read: ~10 years ago, rereading: 2020) I read the first book on audio, and I plan on eventually getting to the rest, but it’s not a super high priority.

-the Graceling Realms books by Kristin Cashore (first read: ~6 years ago, rereading: May 2020) I’m just about to start reading this series again and I am beyond exciteddddd

-The Books Of Pellinor by Alison Croggon. (first read: ~6 years ago) It’s been quite some time since I read these and about all I remember is music magic and that the third book is very dark and sad.

-I think over the later part of the summer and into the fall I want to reread the entire Percy Jackson books. I’m going to put these off for later though since there are so many in both series.

Some other possibilities include: The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak,

Some other books that aren’t childhood favorites, but that I still want to reread for various reasons:

-The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (first read: 2018). I got a really pretty edition of this so I want to read that.

-Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis. (first read: 2016) My favorite Lewis and that’s saying a lot

-The Name of the Wind and then The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.

Some other possibilities include: All the Light We Cannot See by Anothy Doerr,

Well, this is a lot. We’ll see what and how much I get to, but there are a lot of books I’ve been craving to reread.

#books #bookblr #reading list #childrens lit #ya books #my post

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blackkudos · 5 years ago

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Melle Mel

Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961), better known by his stage name Melle Mel and Grandmaster Melle Mel, is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Early life

Melvin Glover was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York.

Career

Glover began performing in the late 1970s. He may have been the first rapper to call himself MC (master of ceremonies). Other Furious Five members included his brother The Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Scorpio (Eddie Morris), Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams) and Cowboy (Keith Wiggins). While a member of the group, Cowboy created the term hip-hop while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five began recording for Enjoy Records and released "Superrappin'" in 1979. They later moved on to Sugar Hill Records and were popular on the R&B charts with party songs like "Freedom" and "The Birthday Party". They released numerous singles, gaining a gold disc for "Freedom," and touring. In 1982 Melle Mel began to turn to more socially-aware subject matter, in particular the Reagan administration's economic (Reaganomics) and drug policies, and their effect on the black community.

A song "The Message" became an instant classic and one of the first glimmers of conscious hip-hop. Mel recorded a rap over session musician Duke Bootee's instrumental track "The Jungle". Some of Mel's lyrics on "The Message" were taken directly from "Superrappin'". Other than Melle Mel, no members of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five actually appear on the record. Bootee also contributed vocals (Rahiem was to later lip sync Bootee's parts in the music video).

"The Message" went platinum in less than a month and would later be the first hip-hop record ever to be added to the United States National Archive of Historic Recordings and the first Hip Hop record inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Mel would also go on to write songs about struggling life in New York City ("New York, New York"), and making it through life in general ("Survival (The Message 2)"). Grandmaster Flash split from the group after contract disputes between Melle Mel and their promoter Sylvia Robinson in regard to royalties for "The Message". When Flash filed a lawsuit against Sugar Hill Records, the factions of The Furious Five parted.

Mel became known as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the leader of the Furious Five. The group went on to produce the anti-drug song "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)". An unofficial music video starred up-and-coming actor Laurence Fishburne and was directed by then-unknown film student Spike Lee). The record was falsely credited to "Grandmaster + Melle Mel" by Sugar Hill Records in order to fool the public into thinking Grandmaster Flash had participated on the record.

Mel gained greater fame and success after appearing in the movie Beat Street, with a song based on the movie's title. He performed a memorable rap on Chaka Khan's smash hit song "I Feel for You" which introduced hip hop to a wider and more mainstream R&B audience. Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five had further hits with "Step Off", "Pump Me Up", "King of the Streets", "Jesse", and "Vice", the latter being released on the soundtrack to the TV show Miami Vice. "Jesse" was a highly political song which urged people to vote for then presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.

In 1988, after an almost 4-year layoff, Mel and Flash reunited and released the album On The Strength, but with up-and-coming new school artists such as Eric B. & Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, and Big Daddy Kane dominating the hip-hop market, the album failed miserably. Mel performed with The King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew on "King Holiday" aimed at having Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday declared a national holiday. Mel also performed with Artists United Against Apartheid on the anti-apartheid song "Sun City" which was aimed at discouraging other artists from performing in South Africa until its government ended its policy of apartheid. Mel ended the decade by winning two Grammy Awards for his work on Quincy Jones' Back On The Block and Q – The Autobiography of Quincy Jones albums.

In 1996, Mel contributed vocals to the US edition of Cher's hit "One By One". Their version is only available on the maxi CD format.

In 1997, Melle Mel signed to Straight Game Records and released Right Now, an album which features Scorpio (from the Furious Five) and Rondo. This album took more of a harder rap style. It barely sold at all in the US and the UK.

In 2001, under the name Die Hard, he released the song "On Lock" with Rondo on the soundtrack of the movie Blazin. Die Hard released an album of the same name in 2002 on 7PRecords.

On November 14, 2006, Mel collaborated with author Cricket Casey and released the children's book The Portal In The Park, which comes with a bonus CD of his rapped narration. It also features two songs, "World Family Tree" and "The Fountain of Truth", by a then unknown Lady Gaga performing with Mel. The book was re-released in 2010. Also in 2006, Melle Mel attended professional wrestling school. In 2007 (at age 45), he stated in an interview with allhiphop.com that "I'm going to try to take some of John Cena's money and get with WWE and do my thing".

On January 30, 2007, Mel released his first ever solo album, Muscles. The first single and music video was "M3 – The New Message". On March 12, 2007, Melle Mel and The Furious Five (joined by DJ Grandmaster Flash) became the first rap group ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In his acceptance speech, Mel implored the recording industry members in attendance to do more to restore hip hop to the culture of music and art that it once was, rather than the culture of violence that it has become. He added, "I've never been shot, I've never been arrested, and I've been doing hip hop all my life. I can't change things all by myself. We need everybody's help, so let's do it and get this thing done."

On October 10, 2008, Mel appeared on Bronx-based culinary adventure show Bronx Flavor alongside host Baron Ambrosia. In the episode "Night at the Bodega", he appears as a spiritual mentor to sway the Baron from his over-indulgent ways and get him on the right path to success.

In April 2011, it was revealed that he would take part in a new hip hop/pro wrestling collaboration, the Urban Wrestling Federation. Its first bout "First Blood" was recorded in June 2011.

Mel also appeared in Ice-T's 2012 hip hop documentary Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.

In August 2015, Mel appeared with Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz in Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's song and music video "Downtown".

In May 2016, Mel and Scorpio, performing as Grandmaster's Furious Five ft. Melle Mel & Scorpio, released their single "Some Kind of Sorry".

Discography

Albums

1982 The Message (with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1984 Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five (a.k.a. Work Party)

1985 Stepping Off (as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)

1988 On the Strength (with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1989 Piano (as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)

1997 Right Now (as Grandmaster Mele-Mel & Scorpio)

2001 On Lock (Grandmaster Melle Mel & Rondo as Die Hard)

2006 The Portal In The Park (as Grandmaster Mele Mel with appearances by Lady Gaga)

2007 Muscles (as Grandmaster Mele Mel)

2009 Hip Hop Anniversary Europe Tour (as Grandmaster Melle Mel)

Singles

1979 "We Rap More Mellow" (as The Younger Generation)

1979 "Flash to the Beat (as Flash and the Furious 5)

1979 "Superrappin'" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1980 "Freedom" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1980 "The Birthday Party" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1981 "Showdown" (as The Furious Five Meets The Sugarhill Gang)

1981 "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1981 "Scorpio" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1981 "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1982 "The Message" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1982 "Message II (Survival)" (as Melle Mel & Duke Bootee)

1983 "New York New York" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1983 "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" (as Grandmaster & Melle Mel / Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five / Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel)

1984 "Continuous White Lines" (Remix – as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)

1984 "Jesse" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel)

1984 "Beat Street Breakdown" a.k.a. "Beat Street" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)

1984 "Step Off" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)

1984 "We Don't Work for Free" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)

1984 "World War III" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five / Grandmaster Melle Mel)

1985 "King Of the Streets" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel)

1985 "Pump Me Up" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)

1985 "Vice" (as Grandmaster Melle Mel)

1985 "The Mega-Melle Mix" (as Melle Mel)

1988 "Gold" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1988 "Magic Carpet Ride" (as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1994 "Sun Don't Shine in the Hood" (Split 12" single with "Da Original" as The Furious Five)

1995 "The Message 95" (Remix – as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

1997 "The Message" (Remix – as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)

1997 "Mama" (as Grandmaster Mele-Mel & Scorpio)

1997 "Mr. Big Stuff" (as Grandmaster Mele-Mel & Scorpio)

2003 "Where Ya At?" (as Melle Mel)

2007 "M-3" (as Grandmaster Mele Mel)

2011 "Markus Schulz Presents Dakota feat. Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio" – Sleepwalkers

2016 "Some Kind of Sorry" (as Grandmaster's Furious Five Ft. Mele Mel & Scorpio)

Collaborations

1984 "I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan

1986 "MC Story" by MC Chill and Emanon (The Baby Beatbox)

1986 "Susie" by Emanon

1986/87 "Who Do You Think You're Funkin' With" — collaborating with Afrika Bambaataa

1989 "What's the Matter with Your World?" (with Van Silk)

1996 "What Order" (with Keith LeBlanc)

2005 "RSVP" (with Nikkole)

2008 "Hip Hop Fantasy" by Chutzpah - for the track Bizness.

2009 "Electro Soul Satisfaction" — collaborating with Mic Murphy of The System

#05/15

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madswrites · 4 years ago

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EIGHT PEOPLE I’D LIKE TO GET TO KNOW BETTER.

𝟎𝟏. alias / name : mads ! it’s a shorthand for my full name

𝟎𝟐. birthday : october 30th

𝟎𝟑. zodiac sign : i don’t know my rising, sun, or moon signs tbh lmao but i’m a scorpio !

𝟎𝟒. height : 5′ 7′’ ! surprisingly tall for most girls i know lmao

𝟎𝟓. hobbies : enamel pin collecting, writing, playing animal crossing & stardew valley, discovering new music to listen to, reading books, coloring

𝟎𝟔. favourite colour : all shades of blue and all shades of pink !!

𝟎𝟕. favourite book : oh man.......... i’m actually an Avid Reader so this is really hard............. as of recent it’s the Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer ( tbh all of her stuff is really good, so i definitely recommend her in general ) but i think of absolute all time i’d say The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ? with the Strange the Dreamer Duology by Laini Taylor in second place for sure

𝟎𝟖. last song : the live version of gasoline by halsey !

𝟎𝟗. last film / show : i believe the last show i watched was ?? the umbrella academy ??? it’s been a few days since i’ve watched something other than youtube lmao

𝟏𝟎. inspiration : i can find it in just about anything tbh !! these days it’s been hard because of everything going on, but music, books, shows i watch on netflix and such, the games i play, all the usual places where most people find inspiration at

𝟏𝟏. story behind url : oh this is a fun one ! lmao i’m a huge fan of roosterteeth & achievement hunter, and one of the members - ryan haywood - has a character called The Vagabond !! and i love that character - and tbh the whole universe that the character comes from - so i decided to change my old url to this one. i’ve actually only ever changed my url for this blog two times now !

thank you for tagging me tess / @slythernwrites !!

#[maddie noises]

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liketolaugh-writes · 6 years ago

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Hello! I heard you were asking for some dbh prompts. For rk1000 (connor/markus), maybe something to do with them being embarrassed by Hank and Carl. Like, they're at a little get together at Carl's place, cue the typical dad stuff, and Connor and Markus are like "oh rA9, my dad is so embarrassing" but get shocked because they're like "holy shit, I have a *Dad*, wow". (Sorry if this sounds too jumbled. I just love rk1k and Hank and Carl being good dads)

Connor hadn’t been sure how the meeting between Hank and Carl would go, perhaps because they seemed to exist in such drastically different circles. As far as Connor could assess, they had almost nothing in common, so there was no telling how they would interact. He had, at least, expected it to turn out somewhat awkward, perhaps even stiff.

He had forgotten that they shared one - two, arguably - rather important similarities.

“Oh my god,” Markus whispered, half covering his face even as he watched the two men sitting across from each other try to stare the other down.

Connor cleared his throat, but then couldn’t think of anything to say. He found himself looking absolutely anywhere but at the two fathers.

“Connor saved my life a good half-dozen times in the first week I knew him,” Hank claimed, stabbing a finger at Carl as if that would prove his point somehow. “Best police partner a guy could ask for!”

“That’s lovely,” Carl said mildly. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You should see how Markus frets - he calls every day to make sure Ryan’s taking care of me alright. A good and dutiful son, wouldn’t you say?”

Markus made a mortified noise. Ryan was laughing.

“Sure would,” Hank agreed, teeth bared in a grin. “And Connor learned how to cook just ‘cause he hated how much fast food I ate. Spent a good week figuring everything out until he was satisfied, the perfectionist.”

“I-” Connor hesitated, glancing at Markus, who looked back through his fingers. “Is this what fathers do?”

Markus blinked, lowering his hands, and considered. “I… suppose?” He sounded uncharacteristically unsure. “Carl’s always made it clear he’s proud of me, but he’s usually less… demonstrative.” He glanced back at the two men, and then quickly away again, head turning.

“Hank is naturally competitive,” Connor mused, fidgeting with his fingers. “I feel like I should have anticipated this. I just…”

Markus gave him a small smile. “Didn’t believe he’d be this open?”

A small, embarrassed grin tugged awkwardly at one corner of Connor’s mouth, and he shrugged.

“There’s really no contest,” Connor said offhandedly, trying in vain to tune out the two men on the other side of the table. “Carl is going rather easy on Hank.”

“I think it’s the spirit of the thing,” Markus said ruefully, reaching for Connor’s hand and squeezing it. “And you think too little of yourself.”

Connor felt himself smile in turn, eyes dropping to their joined hands. “As long as they’re having fun,” he mused, still feeling hot with embarrassment. “But I don’t think they need our help getting along. They can do this. By themselves. While we do something else.”

“Have you seen Markus’ paintings?” Carl demanded, shaking a finger at Hank. “They’ve got more inspiration in them than most acclaimed artists, and definitely more than mine! It’s a damn crime if you haven’t!”

“You know what, that sounds like a wonderful idea,” Markus said quickly, visibly ignoring Carl’s bark of laughter. “Let’s go. Right now.”

Markus stood and tugged Connor up, and then essentially dragged Connor off in a possibly random direction, pace quick and frantic, and Connor glanced back at Ryan waving them off with a grin that was more like a smirk.

Connor was pretty sure Hank was going to lose, but apparently he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

It was… nice. He felt warm.

Mortified, but warm.

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fireofthestars · 5 years ago

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Unpopular opinion

I’m not a big fan of the Russos and Markus and McFeely at the moment, but I had no problem with them describing Bucky as damaged.

Shuri removed his programming, yes, but all that freezing and refreezing and mind-wiping is a separate issue and couldn't have been good for him. It had to have left some kind of damage, I would think similar to a soldier who has had a traumatic brain injury. We have had NO confirmation that Shuri fixed everything about Bucky, just that she removed the programming.

Also, memories. Free of the programming does not equal freedom from the memories. In the Infinity War Prelude comic, Shuri went out of the way to keep his memories intact. We don't know if he is living with PTSD or what his mental state is at the moment.

Ryan Coogler said he considered using Bucky more in Black Panther but there were a couple of issues. He didn’t want the character to come across as some sort of White Savior, or have a white guy shooting a bunch of black guys during the Wakandan Civil War, and he thought it was TOO SOON for Bucky to be in any kind combat.

Yes, he’s been hanging out in Wakanda for a couple of years, but we don’t know how far he’s progressed mentally and emotionally.

So no, I don’t have a problem with that. Maybe they’ll go into all that more in the TV show, maybe Sam will help him out, but out of all the things in Endgame I DID Have a problem with, this wasn’t one of them.

#Bucky Barnes #The Falcon and The Winter Soldier #endgame #anti endgame

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hopelessromantic1352 · 6 years ago

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You Are My Muse - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 is finally here! 😌 Sorry it took so long and I hope it was worth the wait! I'm trying to decide whether or not to continue this series so please send me your opinions and feedback! I always appreciate everyone taking time out of their day to read my fics and give them a like/comment/reblog ❤Word count on this one is around 3,000

Tags: @alleksa16 @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @marycarrillo21 @lxaah11 @kuladekiwi @zeniamiii @ajayismybae @choicesmakemychoices @pb-boeboe

Leland gives me a hug and a peck on the cheek before clasping Thomas' hand in his own for a firm handshake.

He then motions for us to sit on the couch next to his desk.

"Thomas, Stephanie! It is so great to have you both on my show!" He smiles warmly at both of us. "I do believe that is the loudest welcome I've ever had on my show. I also believe that you two are Hollywood's favorite couple. But please," Leland leans towards me, "Tell us Stephanie, how did you get past Mr. Hunt's rough exterior and snag yourself Hollywood's most eligible bachelor?"

Thomas' arm rests on the couch behind my back, his hand lightly touching my shoulder. I place my right hand on his thigh and laugh, taking Leland's question into full consideration.

"It was difficult, to say the least. Even though I could tell he cared for me, he was ever the professional and never let his emotions get the better of him." I squeeze Thomas' leg slightly, hoping that he is relaxing a little.

"Well then, when did you two start facing your feelings?" He smirks at the two us, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

I look up to Thomas, silently asking if he wanted to chime in. He nods once to me and looks at Leland.

"We expressed our feelings for each other almost six months ago."

We look at each other after Thomas makes his admission to the crowd, I lock onto his dark brown eyes and see him smile. A smile that reaches his eyes.

"You two are so cute!" Leland's high pitched voice breaks through my thoughts of kissing Thomas, right here, right now, in front of the entire world. "So Stephanie you said he was standoffish about his feelings, who was the one who pushed for the relationship in the end?"

"Um," I gnaw on my bottom lip and sneak a glance at Thomas who has an amused smirk on his face. "That would be me." I raise my hand shyly. The crowd laughs and I feel heat begin to rise in my cheeks as I think back to before Thomas and I started dating. "I kind of flirted with him, shamelessly, but as I said before he was the perfect gentleman and professional."

Leland laughs before he glances down at the notecards in his hands. "What exactly drew you to Mr. Hunt? I don't know him to have a very warm, bubbly personality."

Thomas scoffs next to me. "I should hope not."

I giggle and the crowd laughs again.

"He has intrigued me ever since the first time we met. He's always so professional, of course, but there's always been a softness to him that drew me towards knowing him better and seeing the man behind the mask more often. In a professional sense, I've admired his work since I was in college. I went to a community college in Iowa before transferring to a university about an hour away from my hometown, and whenever I had the chance I'd do class projects on one of his movies or scripts."

"Sounds like you may have been crushing before you ever laid eyes on him." Leland winks to the crowd.

"Oh trust me, I did my fair share of googling those modeling photos."

The crowd oohs and some laughed. I had never told Thomas this particular fact and I could feel his body tense.

"You mentioned Iowa. What was it like growing up there, in a small town, and moving to L.A.? Have you been back since you've gained your fame?" Mr. St James' questions were respectful and mostly pointed at me, in the personal sense, which I was glad for Thomas.

"It was good to grow up in a small town. Everybody knows everybody and we all supported each other, but once I went to university in the city, I realized there was so much more to the world than what I grew up in." I bite my bottom lip again, deciding how to approach the second part of his question. "As for going back, I haven't had a reason to. My mom moved to Idaho so she could be closer to me, and my brother who just returned from his second tour overseas moved to Idaho as well. The three of us have always been close so, to know that they are a short plane ride away is comforting."

"That sounds amazing, but right now we have to take a break! When we come back, we will ask Thomas and Stephanie all things about their latest film together, Enveloped Love."

Leland turns to us, smiling, like usual.

"How are you two lovebirds faring?"

I smile warmly at him, "I'm doing great."

I turn my attention to Thomas, who nods at our host.

"Quite agreeable."

"Good. I'll be back in a flash." He turns and trots off backstage.

I feel Thomas' hand find mine. I turn my attention back to him.

"You know, we have rarely spoken about our families."

I nod and swallow. "Yeah, I--we should. More often."

He nods, noticing my wariness of the subject, he drops it and squeezes my hand. "You're a natural on here. You field these questions quite like a professional."

I give him a grateful smile. "Are you doing alright?"

"I am. I appreciate that he isn't pushing too personal of questions on us. And, he is focusing the majority of his questions on you, which I am quite alright with." He gives me a smug smirk.

I was about to say that will probably change seeing how the subject is being changed to Enveloped Love, but Leland arrived addressing the camera before I even knew it was on.

"And we are back! Now let's get down to business shall we?" He gives everyone a blinding smile before he continues. "Thomas, you have to tell us, what was your inspiration behind Enveloped Love and it's characters?"

"Well," Thomas clears his throat and I give his hand a reassuring squeeze. "My main character, Alexis Lively, was actually inspired by Stephanie. When I met her for the first time, she made me desire to start writing scripts again. I had quit for some time because I hadn't felt inspired enough to create something worthwhile. Once I created the main character, I called upon Holly Chang. She and I put together a plot and created the dialogue. Stephanie also helped revise the script and gave her own input that aided us in finalizing it."

Leland's eyes widen. "You, Thomas Hunt, allowed an actress to aid you in revising a script?"

Thomas nods. "Indeed I did. She is quite talented beyond her acting ability."

"Well I am impressed, I've heard you are quite the perfectionist. But, what exactly happened with your first female lead, Apricott Persimmon?"

It was my turn to tense up. I didn't like bringing Apricott into the interview when it wasn't part of the plan. Thankfully, Thomas was ready to field the question.

"Ms. Persimmon decided on her own, that she did not want the role after the first two months of filming. Her agent called and informed me that Apricott could not find herself in Alexis, so she decided it was best for her and the rest of the crew to step away and allow us to fill the role with someone who could find themselves in the character."

Nicely done, Mr. Hunt.

"You two do realize that it was a bit of a scandal when it turned out that Stephanie filled the role, correct?"

I glare daggers at our host, who has the audacity to wink at me.

"I fought with Thomas trying to convince him to let me have the role since the first time I laid my eyes on the script. He wouldn't hear it though, he told me that he didn't want to jeopardize my career over one movie."

"So what changed your mind in the end, Thomas?"

"I did not have many options. I had contacted three other actresses, not including Ms. Persimmon, and they were already engaged in other projects. We did not have the time, nor was it in the budget, to hold auditions to try and find a new Alexis. Stephanie approached me and told me, quite confidently, that she could handle the media and that she absolutely wanted this role."

"I have dealt with a lot of flak from the media in the past so I knew that I could handle them, especially with Thomas and the rest of the crew backing me. Apricott herself backed me as well, which I'm very grateful for."

Leland nods, "Why did you choose Apricott for your lead in the beginning Thomas?"

"She was high on my list because I knew not many people would want to take a chance on her after her blow up with the media. No matter her family, she is still a talented actress. I have no problem ignoring bad headlines to focus solely on a actor or actress' talent." I glance at Thomas to find his gaze already on me, a small smile gracing his lips and his eyes are softened.

"What was it like to not get that role, Stephanie? It had to have been frustrating since you wanted it so bad, right?"

I nod, "It was, but it also gave me a chance to take a break from Hollywood, the media, and just get away for a little while. I visited my mom and brother in Idaho for a couple of months, so it turned out to be fruitful."

"That's wonderful, and I hear filming has been going well since the role change and you are well on your way making your release date." He looks between the two of us. "Are you starting to feel the excitement? Your release date is only two months away and I hear you are nearly done shooting, is it starting to feel real?"

"Definitely! I'm so excited to share this movie with everyone."

Thomas squeezes my hand, "The whole cast and crew have worked tirelessly so we can finish by our deadline and within our budget."

"Well folks, you've heard the exclusive story from Stephanie Park and Thomas Hunt regarding their newest movie, Enveloped Love. I want to thank both of you for joining me today. I am so looking forward to watching your movie and hopefully soon, I'll get an invitation to your wedding!"

I nearly seize up completely. Who said anything about marriage?

"After the break we will review Ryan Summers' newest film and talk to Markus Von Groot about his reentry into the American film industry."

The show's director signals that we are clear.

"How'd you like that closing? Pretty great, huh?"

"Leland, we've only been dating for almost six months. We haven't even moved in together." Thomas squeezes my hand, making me look at him.

He looks relaxed, which surprises me more than how Leland ended our segment.

"Rumors would have started anyway, Stephanie. Mr. St. James just beat everyone to the punch." He stands, pulling me with him.

I wrap my arm around his as we make our exit from the stage.

"Thank you two so much, I enjoyed having you both on my show." Leland pats me on the arm before trotting back to his desk.

An assisting director ushers Thomas and I off the stage. The young, shy girl thanked us for being on the show before shuffling back towards the stage.

"Well," I let out my breath, "That was...interesting."

Thomas gently tugs me into an empty dressing room and closes the door behind us.

"What are we doing in here?" I look at him, trying to read him, but he avoids my gaze.

He sits on the loveseat, setting his elbows on his knees. I sit next to him and place a hand on his arm.

"Thomas, talk to me. What's on your mind?"

"Is it so crazy to be thinking of marriage?" His voice isn't it's normal confident self. He sounds vulnerable, something that I rarely hear coming from him.

Then his question hits me.

Is it so crazy to be thinking of marriage?

"We just had never talked about it. He just kind of caught me off guard."

"Stephanie, that did not answer my question." This time, he doesn't sound vulnerable and he looks me straight in the eyes.

"No. I don't think it's crazy."

He lets out his breath and his shoulders relax.

"In fact, I can't see my future without you in it."

His eyes snap back to mine. His lips turn upwards, and I see something that I never thought I would have ever seen. Thomas' eyes shine with tears threatening to spill.

Before I knew what was happening, his arms wrap around me in a tight embrace. His lips find their way to my neck placing a trail of featherlight kisses down to my collarbone and back up.

I grasp at his lapels, giggling.

His hands slide under the skirt of my dress and he lets his thumbs massage the inside of my thighs.

"Thomas, we should really wait until we get back to your house."

He pauses, leaving his lips and hands where they are.

"We still have to head over to the studio."

With that he pulls back. He stands, nods, and schools his expression into it's normal serious lines.

I smile at him, ever the professional.

***

Once we got past the infuriating paparazzi, I climbed into Thomas' luxurious car.

"How many scenes do we have left to shoot?" I broke the silence once we left the parking garage and were on the road.

Thomas doesn't answer. His eyes look distracted and his knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel so tight.

"Thomas?"

"Hmm?" He jumps slightly, taking one hand off the wheel.

"Did you not hear my question?" I bite back a giggle.

"I apologize, no, I was...thinking." His eyes soften as he takes my hand in his free one. "Can we talk about your family?"

"Oh, sure. What do you want to know?" I tighten my grip on his hand.

His thumb rubs the back of my hand soothingly.

"Anything you are willing to speak of."

"Well, you know that I grew up in Iowa with my family, but after I graduated high school, my parents divorced. So, once I moved out here, my mom wanted to stay close to me and away from my dad."

I place my other hand on top of Thomas', rubbing circles on the back of it.

I take a deep breath before resuming my history. "My dad is a...piece of work. He always blamed anything bad that happened on my mom, she could never do anything right, and when she tried to be nice to him and do nice things for him he wouldn't be appreciative. Like everything my mom did wasn't good enough, but he could do no wrong. So, she got divorced as soon as she could once I graduated high school."

Thomas looks over at me as we wait for a red light to turn green. "You aren't close with your father?"

I scoff. "No. Especially not after I moved out here to pursue acting. He basically told me that he would disown me if I came out here to become, and I quote, 'a crazy dream chasing whore.'"

Thomas glances at me, his eyes widen before he scowls. "Your father actually called you that?"

"Yup. Real, 'father of the year' material, huh?"

"I cannot believe, your own father called you that."

I see his left hand tighten on the steering wheel again.

"I don't care what he thinks." I shake my head, tightening my own grip of Thomas' hand. "Now he probably thinks I'm sleeping my way to the top."

I give out a humorless laugh.

"You are not sleeping your way to the top, and you are not a," he pauses before he grinds the word out through gritted teeth, "Whore."

"Thomas, I know that. It's just frustrating that my own father thinks that and, it's hurtful."

He shakes his head, "It is disgusting that he thinks that."

We come up to another red light. The traffic seems to be heavier than usual, but I'm not complaining. Thomas is letting me pour out my family issues to him.

"What about your family?" I look at him, taking in his side profile.

That jawline. Damn, that jawline.

"My father is a successful lawyer in Sacremento." He pauses as he switches lanes. "My mother was always on the school board, taking me, my older brother, and younger sister to games, recitals, anything we were a part of."

"She sounds sweet." My heart flutters when I think of Thomas as a boy. "Did you play sports?"

He raises an eyebrow at the skepticism in my voice.

Yes, he is very good shape, but honestly I can't see Thomas Hunt playing any kind of sports.

"I actually played football until I was ten. Around that time, I started dabbling in different arts. Acting, of course, was my main focus, but I had the opportunity to tour a movie set with my school and became fascinated with screenwriting."

"You were only ten?" I can't hide the surprise or the skepticism in my voice.

He chuckles. "By the time I was interested in screenwriting, I was more like twelve."

"Oh, well, excuse me." I reach over and poke his side. He squirms slightly, "You must have an IQ of like, 500."

"I believe that is impossible."

He cracks a grin when I giggle.

"So, why didn't you go to law school?"

"I never had the desire. Not even when I was a young child." He pulls into the studio parking lot, "Once I was interested in acting and screenwriting, I didn't have any desire to quit."

"Are you close with your family?"

He parks the car and turns it off before answering.

"My sister, whom you saw at The Last Duchess' wrap party, is my closest family member. My brother and I rarely see eye to eye, and my parents don't think that I earned my place as a Hunt."

He looks at me, then moves his gaze to our hands tangled together.

"I'm sorry Thomas. Do you see any of them, besides Rachel, very often?"

"Unfortunately, Christmas and Thanksgiving every year. But rarely outside of holiday obligations."

He releases my hand and moves to brush a lock of my curly hair out of my face.

"All the family I need, is right here."

That phrase makes my heart and body ache for him even more. These are the moments that make this relationship. Little moments of affection behind closed doors, just the two of us, pouring out our insecurities and problems to each other, but knowing that we have each other to lean on when the going gets tough.

I lean over and kiss him gently.

"When did you see my modeling photos?"

Heat creeps up my cheeks. I look away from and bite my lip.

"When we were shooting for The Last Duchess in Cordonia. After Addi said you were an underwear model."

I look back at him to see an amused look on his face.

"What? You know I've always found you attractive, can you blame me?"

He laughs, pulling me back to him. He kisses across my jawline up to my ear.

"Maybe you could, give me a private show later?" My voice is a breathless whisper.

He smirks against my neck. "Perhaps. But, as you reminded me earlier, we still scenes to shoot."

He breaks the contact and I whine quietly, which earns me another chuckle from him.

"Later," he kisses me sweetly, "I promise."

#thomas hunt #thomas hunt fancfiction #thomas orson hunt

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