#Planned Visit Pittsburgh

[freebooter4ever]

.

[verystressedcollegestudent]

god ive just completely wasted the last two months of my life haven't i 🙃

[allsadnshit]

How did you meet your husband? And what was your story like?

I met my husband on tumblr when we were both like 17-18 but actually started dating when we were 24

We were mutuals for many years, just casually friends from different cities with no plans of ever hanging out but would chat sometimes, support each other's art, and recommend music/books

I had mutual friends with him irl because lots of people from my arts high school in Pittsburgh ended up in Philly at Tyler which shared a campus with his school which was funny but we still were really only internet friends till 2020 when during the first lockdown I had been through a break up earlier that year and had spent a lot of time alone and sort of thinking more deeply and uninterrupted than I ever had about romance and love because I was unhappy where I was at. I was also really sick at the time and had been getting more sick for the last 4-5 years without finding the reason why so it was just generally a very life changing moment of needing to soul search on a lot of levels to cope with what was happening.

My long time best friend ended up asking me "If you could date anyone, not just who you know or who's around, who would you ask out?" and I had never thought about it like that because I was very much a creature of comfort and usually dated co workers or friends within my social circles out of availability - but I answered right away with my husband which felt funny because I had not ever actually considered him a "crush" up until that point but I realized he was in my eyes, the coolest person I knew.

So I dm'd him on instagram (which he very rarely used) and said something flirty for the first time like "hey nice birkenstocks, maybe we can wear them together on a lavender farm sometime" not knowing if that would be weird since I had never been suggestive towards him before then but to my surprise he reciprocated hard and fast like no hesitation! We realized it had never occurred to either of us to consider something long distance but that we were both very attracted to each other and the timing just lined up well!

We started texting every day for about a month and I also moved into a new short term lease, and within that month of talking he bought his first car so he could come and meet me. He drove in on a friday after work and didn't get to my house till like 1am, but we just had a really intense emotional/spiritual connecting right away and I think both of realized it was serious very fast. I was actually so nervous that I got constipated to the point he had to drive me to the ER on his last night visiting. I told all the nurses I had just met my true love.

After he had to go back to Philly, he drove back up a month later to stay for a whole week, during which we decided he'd come move in with me for the rest of my 6 month lease and then I'd come move to Philly to be with him. I also realized that for all this to happen, I needed to take a risk and find out what was really going on with me medically, so I also got a diagnostic surgery where they found endometriosis. It was a really hard recovery that he was there for me for, and when I was healed up enough and my lease ended he drove us back to Philly. We got married in 2021 about a year later.

He is the treasure of my life <3

[hunterrrs]

photos from here, I NEED FOOTAGE OF THIS. also this article is a great read. he’s invited some families who lost their homes in the halifax fires to practice:

By the time you read this, Pittsburgh Penguins players will have munched on the pudding known as haggis, made from the livers, hearts and lungs of sheep. And learned how to shuck oysters, in all their slimy, gooey glory.

All courtesy of Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain, who brought team building to an entirely new level on Saturday. From the moment months ago that he learned the Penguins would be playing here, Crosby was stoked. A proud native of Cole Harbour, 10 miles from Halifax, the 36-year-old began planning out his transformation from NHL star to tour guide.

“I think just the feel of it, the people, and to see the excitement for the game,” Crosby said Friday. “And just to get around the city a little bit, those types of things.

“It’s somewhere that I’m really proud of, and I hope everyone enjoys themselves there.”

In order to do that, he set something up with a unique Maritime flavor. Welcome to “The Amazing Race: Crosby Edition.”

“When Sidney found out the team was coming here, he wanted to find a fun way to celebrate his hometown with his teammates and educate them on why it’s such a special place,” his father, Troy, said.

He seems to have done exactly that.

After a morning of golf Saturday, the unsuspecting Penguins set out on an “Amazing Race”-like scavenger-hunt competition that would take them through the streets of Cole Harbour, Dartmouth and downtown Halifax, and across Halifax Harbour on a ferry.

Under the format, the players were divided into teams. They were given instructions of where to go, what venues to visit and what tasks they were to do (e.g., eating haggis, shucking oysters), all while going up against the clock.

The instructions came on laminated cards featuring the Penguins logo and a “Welcome to Cole Harbour” greeting.

The message on one of the cards read, “Every player has to shuck two oysters and eat them or have a teammate eat them on their behalf. Careful with that knife, and don’t break any shells!”

Crosby enlisted the help of Paul Mason, one of his baseball and minor hockey coaches, to help plan the event. Mason was paramount in setting up the three Cole Harbour Stanley Cup celebrations in Crosby’s honor, and No. 87 didn’t hesitate when it came to the perfect person to set up this event.

“In organizing this, when he talked to me about it, he wants this entire weekend to be pretty special for the community, for his teammates, for everyone around him,” Mason said. “You can sense how much these few days mean to him. You could sense his anticipation for months.”

Mason said that even though Crosby is the host for his teammates this weekend, he’s going to try to win everything: golf, the scavenger hunt, the preseason game Monday, you name it.

“He’s competitive at everything, even as a little kid when I was coaching him,” Mason said. “And that hasn’t changed.

“When the NHL was shut down during COVID, his dad Troy and I played Sidney and one of his friends in a golf match. They should have won, but somehow we did. He didn’t accept that. He said it was two out of three. When we won the second one he said it was three out of five. We ended up playing seven of them. The seventh one was in December with snow on the ground. They won that one to take the series 4-3. Suddenly that was acceptable because they’d won.

“Once they’d finally won, it was over,” Mason said with a laugh.

During some of those summers, Greenwood has helped organize some of the offseason skates featuring Crosby, MacKinnon and Marchand at a local arena. The competitiveness gets intense at times, something Greenwood said helps all three drive each other.

“Yeah, they’re friends,” he said. “But when they start playing against each other at times, you’d never know it. They want to beat one another at any and all costs.

“You can see how that drive, that determination, that win-at-all-costs attitude rubs off on some of the younger guys.”

Count Drake Batherson as one of them. The 25-year-old Senators forward grew up in New Minas, 50 miles northwest of Halifax, and has been training during the offseason with Crosby, Marchand and MacKinnon since 2019. He calls those workouts “one of my favorite times of the year.”

As such, he’s looking forward to facing Crosby and the Penguins in Halifax on Monday.

“I've still got posters of the Penguins and Sid on my wall at my parents' house, so it's pretty fun now that me and Sid have built a relationship and we're buddies," Batherson said. "It's pretty cool looking back on it.”

It was a tough spring and summer for Nova Scotia.

In late May and early June, wildfires raged through the outskirts of Halifax and throughout the province. More than 16,000 people were forced to evacuate as a result, many eventually returning to find their homes were nothing more than heaps of smoldering ashes.

Less than two months later, the area was hit with record rainfall that caused historic flooding. Water did seep into Crosby’s home, though to nowhere near the extent of some others where people pretty much lost everything.

“The area has been through a lot,” he said. “But the great thing about some of these communities, and the area in general, is that everyone sticks together and everyone’s willing to help each other.

“I think when you’ve seen adverse times here over the years, you’ve seen people come together more and more. And I think we take a lot of pride in that here. The fact that people know they can depend on each other is huge. I think we’ve shown that time and time again, and there’s pride that comes with that.”

Crosby is doing his part to teach local kids exactly that.

On Sunday, the Penguins will hold a practice at Cole Harbour Place. Hundreds of children from the local minor hockey systems have been invited to attend and take part in a Q&A session with some Pittsburgh players and, with a select few kids getting to go on the ice with them.

Part of that group will be kids from minor hockey whose families lost their homes in the fires. Crosby specifically wanted them to attend, with Mason helping to make it happen. Given the trauma they and their families have gone through, it is Crosby’s way of trying to brighten up their lives, even if it’s just for one afternoon.

“That’s Sid, right?” Greenwood said. “He’s going to have an impact on these kids, both on the ice and off.”

He already has.

In 2009, Crosby established the Sidney Crosby Foundation, an organization that improves the lives of children who are sick or struggling. More recently, Crosby and several foundation board members created Nova Scotia Showdown T-shirts heading into the game Monday, with proceeds going to his foundation.

“He’s helping young kids who are going through hard times, and he’s being a role model for young hockey players in the province,” Mason said. “He’s going out of his way to show his Penguins a good time here, and he’s being a great ambassador for the community.”

Greenwood agrees.

“It’s a privilege,” he said, “to say you live in the same place as someone like that.”

[simply-ivanka]

Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance missed out on a Pittsburgh culinary landmark after he was apparently kicked out from meeting with supporters inside — despite the same restaurant chain allowing the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign to meet its supporters there.

A source familiar with the campaign told Fox News Digital that when the vice presidential campaign stopped by Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, their planned visit to excited supporters was cut short when they were promptly kicked out by employees. The source noted that Primanti Bros. management was aware that the Trump-Vance campaign was planning on stopping by.

An employee told the campaign that this was "not a campaign stop" and that "JD's not allowed in," the source said, adding that the manager threatened to call the police if they didn't leave

[coneyislandbabey]

going to california. -> e. roundtree

WARNINGS: some swearing, alcohol, sappy shit, use of my own personal headcanon that eddie's full name is edwin.

SYNOPSIS: you move to Los Angeles, and are surprised to run into an old childhood friend. word count: 3,351

The heat was different in Los Angeles. Not like New York City, where you’d spent the last few years of your life; all humid, thick walls of wet air that cloy inside your lungs and make you hot from the inside out, relentless, merciless warmth even in the dead of night, even with the windows open laying naked on the bed. No, here the air was thin and dry, the egg-yolk sun warming but not ruthlessly so. You stepped out of the car, joints creaking, and swallowed up a great lungful of that thin bright air, felt the clean glare of the sun bouncing off the hot car and onto your face. New. Everything you’d been hoping for already. 

After graduating from your Pittsburgh high school a semester early, you had booked it onto a train to Manhattan about five seconds after your diploma was in your hands, getting a job in the mailroom of a newspaper and crashing on your cousin’s couch, sleeping only a few hours a night and spending every other waking moment writing or wandering the five boroughs sniffing out experiences to write about. Writing was your lifeblood, and it had been practically since you’d first learned how to hold a pen. You never knew exactly what you wanted to do with your life– where you wanted to go, what you wanted to see, where you wanted to end up– you only knew that you’d be writing the whole way through. And that’s what you did for those few years in New York. You wrote feverishly, a woman possessed. Your cousin complained daily of the little green desk lamp you kept on at all hours of the night, sitting in your sleep shirt with your notebook propped on the arm of the couch, fingers bruised from the ever-present pressure of pen against skin. 

It worked out for you, though. All those sleepless nights, accepting strangers’ invitations to parties in Brooklyn or Alphabet City or even the Rockaways, dropping acid in people’s basements or getting drunk on the subway, even rising in the ranks of your job at the paper until you were a real and true reporter: after a year and a half, you had a half-presentable essay collection and a publisher who wanted  to make your wildest dreams come true. And that was that; your essay collection was published a little over six months later, and every week it climbed higher on the best seller’s list. In the wake of your immediate success, your publisher wanted to start working on a second publication, another collection of essays or short stories or a novel, whatever you wanted, they just wanted your name on another book in their arsenal. You readily agreed, of course– this was the only thing you’d ever wanted to do. But you walked out of that meeting, and onto the streets of Manhattan, and all you felt was suffocation where there used to be inspiration. 

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone in the city who knew you, and therefore knew your more impulsive tendencies, when you told them you’d bought a shitty old car for a hundred bucks and were planning to roadtrip your way to L.A. You hadn’t been behind the wheel of a car since before you’d moved to New York, but you’d seen the old thing with the ‘for sale’ sign tucked into the dash and you knew you had to have it. Already the inspiration was pouring in; a novelized account of your roadtrip across the country and ensuing introduction into Los Angeles society. The idea consumed your brain until there was room for nothing else, until you turned right around on the sidewalk and bought the car then and there. You spent the next 24 hours on a goodbye tour, visiting everyone you had come to love in those last few years, and then your meager belongings were all shoved into the backseat of your new acquisition and you were sitting in the driver’s seat, hoping to god you still remembered which pedal was the gas and which was the brakes. 

You made it to the opposite coast after two weeks of seedy motels, eating roadside burgers with strangers, and climbing up to the roof of the car every night to lay out and see the stars the way you never could living in the city. And here you were, a week into your new Los Angeles life, having just spent most of your book earnings on buying a tiny, dilapidated house in Laurel Canyon with huge windows and the perfect little overgrown backyard for you to sit and write in. You felt it in your bones already, that this was where life would start to become important for you. 

***

You had met Brandi the day you moved in. She and a few friends lived in the house across the street, and being the only one home at the time, she came over to help you move your stuff in when she noticed you unloading the car in the morning. She had a golden California tan and big blonde hair, and the kindest smile you’d ever seen. She was your best friend five minutes after meeting her. 

“You have to come by tonight,” she said by way of greeting as she let herself in the front door. It was late afternoon, and you were stretched out across the couch on your stomach, editing something you’d written in your notebook on the road trip here. Old habits die hard. She worked as a cocktail waitress at The Troubadour, and in the few weeks you’d been living in Laurel Canyon, she’d tried to get you to go nearly every time she had a shift, to no avail. 

“I don’t know, Brand–” you started, flipping your hair over your shoulder shifting to face her. 

“No, man. Enough of this writing bubble thing you got going on. You’re coming out tonight,” she said sternly. You couldn’t help the laugh you let out– Brandi was spot on. Every time she asked you to go out, you told her you weren’t interested because you were trying to double down and polish up the road trip writing you’d done on the way here. “How are you supposed to– how did you say it? ‘Be inducted into Los Angeles Society’ if you never go out and see Los Angeles society?”

“Okay, fair point,” you responded, sitting up. “I’ll go tonight, alright? You got me.” 

Brandi grinned, clapping her hands together in delight. “Okay, Yaz and Lynn will walk over and get you and you’ll all drive in together, alright? And I’ll see you there.” 

“Sounds good,” you nodded. 

“That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I’ll see you later!” With that, Brandi disappeared down the front steps just as fast as she’d arrived. You sighed, closing your notebook and falling back onto the couch. After your few weeks of relative seclusion, you were more than ready to get back out into the world and have some fun, and yet, there was something uneasy growing in your chest. Actually going out in the city, that meant really starting this new part of your life, and well, honestly, that was a little terrifying. Better to rip the band-aid off now instead of rotting inside the house any longer. 

***

A few hours later, you were dressed in a pair of bell bottoms and a sheer orange tie-front top with big bell sleeves, your makeup and hair more done and put together than they’d been in months. You observed yourself in the mirror one last time, before lighting a cigarette and loping down the stairs to where Brandi’s two roommates were waiting, equally glammed up, for you. You sat in the backseat of Yaz’s car on the way over, window all the way down and your chin resting on the sill. You were used to city sights, you knew your neighborhood and so many others in New York intimately, but L.A. was different, and so thrilling. 

The Troubadour was different from the clubs you’d frequented in New York, but it still held some level of familiarity, and you were hit with an unexpected pang of nostalgia when you walked in with the girls. You grabbed Yaz and Lynn’s hands and pulled them farther in, toward the stage where an upbeat band was in the middle of a song, and immediately began dancing, trying to shake off the more complicated feelings of being here in this new place. When the song ended, you whistled loudly for the band, who were packing themselves up and off stage, making way for the next one. 

“Our next band is one we know and love here, give it up for The Six!” a silky-voiced man announced into the microphone before vacating the stage. In his place, a band made up of four guys and one blonde woman took the stage, setting up their instruments and getting ready. You cheered with everyone else in the crowd, though you weren’t familiar with them the way the locals clearly were. Within a few seconds, the guitars had struck up, and the front man was at the microphone, lashing out the first lyrics of a song. 

And you realized. No, you didn’t know them the way the locals did, but you knew them. The boys, at least. You recognized Graham Dunne first, that cherubic face and big baby blues the exact same as you’d last seen him in high school. Warren Rojas was behind him on the drums, unmistakable mop of curly black hair dancing as if it had a mind of its own on top of his bobbing head. The front-man, you guessed, was Graham’s brother Billy, just familiar enough to place the face despite never knowing the older boy back home. And, sure enough, there was Eddie Roundtree on bass. The last time you’d seen him, he was just a lanky kid with a guitar that he still gripped awkwardly in his too-big hands. (‘Not ‘too big”, you remember him telling you back then. ‘The rest of me just hasn’t caught up yet.”) He’d grown his hair out, you noted. Grown broader in the shoulders, too. His hands were no longer comically large, compared to the rest of him. He had such an easy command of the bass he was playing, so relaxed on the stage, like he belonged and he knew it. It was kind of hard for you to reconcile this version of him with the juvenile one you used to know. 

And they were good, too. You could see the way a group like them could become something great, something once in a lifetime. They weren’t there yet, but you could vividly see just how it could happen for them. Eddie Roundtree and the Dunne boys and Warren Rojas, all in Los Angeles at the same time as you, all of you so far from home. You couldn’t help the startled laugh that bubbled up and out of you. Lynn turned a questioning look on you, but you didn’t have time to turn and start explaining yourself before Eddie’s eyes swept your way, probably drawn by the laughter. Those brown eyes settled on your own, lazily, for a few seconds, before widening ever so slightly. His hands slowed, but never faltered, on the strings for just a second. Something zinged through your chest when you realized that he recognized you, too, even after all these years. 

You watched Eddie for the entirety of his band’s set. You couldn’t help it– his fingers dancing across the strings of his guitar were mesmerizing, and besides, you couldn’t get over the fact that this was the same boy from your childhood, that all of them were boys who’d slept through your shared classes, who had walked to your house after school to drop off your homework when you were home sick, who you commiserated with about running the mile in high school gym class. 

Brandi found you during the last song, pulling you into a hug and squealing about how happy she was that you actually came. Reluctantly, you tore your eyes from the stage and gave your best friend your full attention, allowing her to drag you back to the bar so she could buy you a drink. By the time you had a drink in hand, The Six’s set was over and a new band was coming on, so you stayed back by the bar even after Brandi had to leave you alone to go do her job. 

“I knew it was you, bluebird.” You whirled around at the nickname, coming face to face with Eddie. He was a few inches taller than you remembered, smiling down at you with a curious mix of surprise and something else swirling in his brown eyes. 

“I haven’t heard that nickname in years,” you laughed. “Hi, Edwin.” 

He groaned. “Nobody calls me that, woman.” 

“I always have,” you pointed out, arching an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, that’s true. What are you doing in L.A?” 

“Writing, mostly,” you shrugged. “I’ve got one book out and now the publisher wants another. You know how it is.” 

Eddie’s grin grew wider, if possible. “Glad to hear you’re still writing. I remember you back in high school, always carrying that notebook around that you’d never let anyone look at.”

You laughed, recalling the notebook yourself. You had treated that thing like it was your baby. “Yeah, well if you’re curious about my writing, you could buy my book and see.”

“First thing on my agenda tomorrow is to go out and get a copy,” he said easily, and you snorted. 

“Good, you better like it. And what about you guys? When did you get here?”

“Few months ago. We’ve been playing gigs at a few regular spots while we put together an album.”

“I want a copy of that record as soon as it comes out!”

“You’ll be the first one to get one outside of the band,” Eddie grinned. “Where are you staying?”

“I bought a place in Laurel Canyon a few weeks ago. It’s tiny, but still a hell of a lot bigger than the living room I was sleeping in in New York,” you laughed. 

“That’s where we are, too,” Eddie said, jerking his head in the direction of backstage. “And, New York? What have you been up to since high school?”

“Many things, Edwin, many things,” you grinned. 

Eddie stayed quiet, all soft smile and soft eyes aimed in your direction. You felt something long dormant start to shift in your chest. 

“I’m really glad to see you, bluebird,” he said after a moment, voice quieter than before. A sentiment just for the two of you to hear. 

You nudged his shoulder affectionately with your own. “Me too, Roundtree.”

“What do you say about us getting together some night soon? You can fill me in on this whole New York story,” Eddie suggested. 

“Only if you tell me how you all wound up here, doing this,” you responded. 

“Deal,” Eddie said, sticking out his hand to shake. You took it; his palm was warm and calloused beneath your own. 

***

“It was not like that!” you insisted through your laughter. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Roundtree.” 

Three nights later, and you and Eddie were sitting on your living room floor, bottle of scotch between you, very much on your way to being drunk and well into reminiscing about your shared high school days. He had shown up at your door a few hours earlier with a smile on his face, and the scotch and a copy of your book in his hands. You laughed so hard at the fact that he’d actually gone out and bought a copy of the book that you almost forgot to ask him how the hell he knew where you lived. Sheepishly, he told you that he’d seen you talking with Brandi and asked her after you left that first night. 

“I promise, birdy, Jimmy McKenna was gone for you for years. You drove the poor kid crazy because he would try to flirt with you all the time and you just never picked up on it,” Eddie explained through his own laughter. You sorted quickly through memories of the boy Eddie was talking about, and as what he said slowly clicked into place, you only began to laugh harder. 

“Oh, god,” you said, throwing an arm over your eyes. “I have always been such an idiot.”

“Not an idiot, just oblivious,” Eddie countered. “You were too wrapped up in your writing to notice anyone around you.”

“Not true! I noticed you,” you said defensively. 

Eddie’s eyebrows raised slightly, a split second look of surprise washing over his features before they settled back into that soft smile he always seemed to be wearing around you. He took another swig of whisky, humming. “Lucky me, then.”

You scoffed, trying to cover the way your heart stuttered with another drink of whiskey. “You were one of the only people I liked hanging out with back then, Ed. I liked stopping to watch you and Graham and Warren mess around with your instruments in the garage whenever I walked by. When I took off to the city, I really did miss you.” 

“Well, if it means anything, I missed you, too. We all did,” Eddie said. His voice was softer now, more serious, matching your own. “Nobody knew where you went, you were just gone when we got back from winter break.” 

“I just had to get outta there, you know?” you sighed. “I worked my ass off so I could graduate early. I had all these visions of the life I wanted to live, and it was so big. I was so focused on getting there that I didn’t even realize there would be anything to miss until it was all gone.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean. Don’t tell the guys this, but even now I sometimes miss Pittsburgh,” he admitted. 

“Me too,” you nodded. “I just keep collecting places to miss. Pittsburgh first, and now New York, too. I felt so suffocated there by the end, too, and now? Some nights I can’t even sleep because I’m not back on that awful couch in my cousin’s apartment, listening to the Manhattan traffic.” 

“Guess that’s life, right? You just keep collecting things to miss,” Eddie said. At some point, he had shuffled closer to you, both of you sitting with your backs leaning against the bottom of the couch. You leaned your head on his shoulder. “I’m really happy I don’t have to miss you anymore, bluebird.”

You looked up, and there were those eyes, big and brown and full of affection, so close. Looking right at you, right through you, like he could see all your guts and bones and thoughts and desires all at once. Riding the tide of whiskey-fueled courage and extreme affection you were feeling for the man sitting next to you, you reached out, palm against his cheek, and pulled his face to yours. The kiss was slow and languid, noses nudging softly against skin, Eddie’s mouth gentle against your own. His hand moved to rest on your hip, a warm and comforting pressure against your skin. 

When he pulled away, your breath catched at the sight of the silly little smirk gracing his face. “You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to do that the entire time I’ve known you.”

“Oh fuck off Eddie, don’t tell me you had a crush on me in high school too and that’s just another thing I was too oblivious to realize,” you said, lightly shoving his shoulder. 

“Okay, I won’t tell you if you kiss me again,” he said, grinning.  Rolling your eyes, you grabbed his collar and pulled his face back to yours. You could feel his smile against your lips, which only made you want to hold him closer, to make up for all the years you’d gone without him in your life. 

[starvember]

roadtrip with the dunne family !!

it’s the end of summer, start of fall. camila and billy were invited back hom to Pittsburgh to visit their family. they weren't planning on taking daisy or karen, but daisy throws such a fit that they actually give in.

even karen got a little fussy the night they broke the news. she got real quiet and refused to talk to either of them — her little arms crossed over her chest with a pout on her face, her dragon stuffie clutched in her hands.

mama mila hates to see her babies so upset, and papa billy doesnt like it either. it's actually billys idea to bring the two — as stubborn as he is, karen and daisy are his kiddos, and he might be more wrapped than camila.

at bedtime, mama mila goes to tuck the kiddos into bed, and as she sits on the bed, billy comes in.

“oh, there's my favorite girls. are we all tuckered out from pouting? mhm, it seems that way, don't it, mama?”

and billy gives everyone, including cami, a kiss on their heads. he sits on the other side and says,

“guess what? ive got you two tickets. you're gonna come with me and mama to pittsburgh.”

all that hard work cami's done in calming daisy down is instantly reversed, which also gets karen excited.

a week later and two overlays later, billy decides the best course of action is to rent a car. he loads all their suitcases in the back and helps cami repack the kiddos carry ons so theyve got more fun things to do.

a few hours into the trip, billy realizes that maybe he shouldve waited the delays out.

karen's already gone through half of her sticker book even though both him and mama told her to use paper only. there's stickers all over the window and seat and a few on her pad of paper.

daisy keeps asking if theyre there yet, and being that theyre somewhere in the middle of the midwest and just left, billy accidentally snaps and tells her to ‘take a guess’

karen's babbling in the backseat immediately stops and daisy goes still as her eyes well up with tears. billy immediately feels awful, but there's not a lot he can do to remedy the situation.

camila turns and reaches into the back seat, shushing daisy before her whimpers turn into full cries.

‘it's okay, little duck, papa's just frustrated. you know how you feel icky sometimes? that's how papa's feeling. trying to keep you and ren safe so we can have fun.’

daisy grabs cami's hand and doesnt turn loose, and before she knows it, she's climbing into the backseat between her two kiddos.

‘i'll sit with you for a little bit, okay?’

and within five minutes, all three of them are asleep. cami's got both girls tucked under her arms, and the car is quiet.

billy decides there's really no need to rush the trip. theyre in the beautiful mountains with stretches of waterfalls and wildlife. while they sleep, billy finds a spot and pulls off. it's just outside a small town, and its almost dark anyways, so they'll have to stop.

he sets up a picnic with food he stopped and got food (a miracle no one woke up when he got out of the car).

“hey, girls. did you sleep good? ive got a surprise. come look.”

daisy perks up faster than camila and karen, and shes blearily trying to get out of the car. billy helps daisy unbuckle her seat belt while camila helps karen.

when they get out, theyre near a pretty waterfall and bill's got all sorts of stuff set up. karen’s sticker books, daisy's coloring books, cami's camera. even their stuffies are sitting on the blanket waiting for them.

“papa this s'nice.” daisy says, rubbing her eyes. she gives billy a huge hug. “i loves it!”

karen tugs on billy's shirt and shyly says ‘thank you, papa’

they sit together and have supper, and while the girls play and get out their pent up energy, cami tells billy she loves him.

“look how happy our girls are. theyre gonna need a bath — i think daisy might be eating the chalk. duckling, out of your mouth.”

“or papa's gonna put it up, okay? on the sidewalk, not your mouth.”

the drive to pittsburgh takes way longer than it probably should. they stop somewhere every night and have supper outside while karen and daisy play. then they go get a hotel and camila gets them ready for bed.

it’s almost a little sad when they get there, and karen asks billy one night if they can drive back home.

‘s'fun. no flying. we drive home, papa? please?’

and theres no way billy can say no. not when karen asks so sweetly. he kisses her head and tucks the covers under her

‘sure we can, monkey. we'll drive home.’

then daisy comes in and jumps into bed next to karen. billy kisses her head and tells her night night, before leaving cami to let them do their bedtime routine.

[misshoneyimhome]

Okay I need a lil bit of holiday angst followed by fluff, I’m thinking he’s on the phone with Alex and they’re prepping for the Nylander clan to arrive in Toronto for Christmas! Now you’ve met the family and adore them but you’ve never spent a holiday together and you’re excited as you think this is a huge step in your relationship! So you arrive back home from gift shopping and he’s on the phone and you’re about to pop in to say hello but you overhear him saying how he feels a little apprehensive and doesn’t know how he feels about you joining in on their holiday, big ouch you feel as though you’re rushing into the family and feel badly about planning this whole business, now if you stayed to listen longer you’d know it’s because he knows how much you live your family and he feels bad for keeping you from them for the first time at Christmas and he’s anxious because he wants to make it a perfect first Christmas together as it won’t be the last…but boy has some explaining to do when he finds you crying in your shared bedroom amongst his family’s presents😭

Oh yes! Nothing says Christmas more than a little holiday misunderstanding 😅 bb, I hope this comes somewhere close to your idea, and that you’ll enjoy a little bit of soft!Willy as he tries to comfort his girlfriend ❤️

Words count: 2.3+

➼｡ﾟ

My Only Wish I William Nylander ✿❄︎

"Okay, I think that's the final one," you quietly murmured to yourself while checking your list twice. And then with a contented grin, you set off for home after a successful Christmas shopping spree. 

Meanwhile you’d been out hunting for gifts, your boyfriend William Nylander was busy getting things ready for his family's visit.

This Christmas marked your first year celebrating it together, and although it felt like a significant step in your relationship, it just felt right. You and William had been dating for almost two years, and an official couple for almost just as long, so spending the holidays together seemed like a natural decision.

Initially, you were a bit unsure about skipping your usual family Christmas, but with work commitments looming with important meetings on the 22nd and William's home hockey match on the 23rd it made more practical sense to stay put in Toronto. Besides, William had extended an invitation to almost his entire family to join in the celebrations.

Or perhaps, it could have been his sisters' insistence to have everyone together that pushed the plan forward. Nonetheless, they were all set to arrive on the 22nd, catch the Leafs playing against the Blue Jackets on the 23rd, and then Alex would fly in from Pittsburgh, giving you all ample time from the 24th to the 27th to enjoy the Nylander family's company. And this year, you were to be a part of it all.

You were absolutely thrilled. Christmas was your favourite time of the year, and there was nothing you wanted more than to spend those days with your beloved boyfriend. You'd found him the perfect present, or maybe even presents, and you'd also sorted gifts for all his family members.

Despite William's insistence that you shouldn't spend all your time and money on gifts for his family, you couldn't help yourself nor contain your excitement. You were simply too eager and joyous about the upcoming celebrations.

You adored his family, and it seemed they felt the same way about you.

William surprised you by introducing you to them rather swiftly, which was unexpected as he wasn't usually the type to share his personal life so soon. But he was simply immensely proud to have you as his girlfriend, and he just hadn’t been able to resist mentioning you to them. So soon after, he pulled you into a family video call for a virtual introduction. Then, during the following off-season, you spent almost two months in Sweden with all his family and friends.

Returning to the condo, you struggled to unlock the front door while juggling numerous bags and holding your phone in your mouth, but eventually managed to push it open.

"Hey babe," you greeted softly upon entering, but there was no response from William.

Thinking he might be in the bathroom, you carefully set the bags down before removing your coat and shoes. But just as you were about to call out once more, William's voice echoed from the living room.

"I don't know, Alex," you heard William's voice sounding rather intense, almost irritated, you thought. "I mean, I love y/n, but I’m just not so sure about her spending Christmas here with us."

The sudden mention of your name caused you to freeze in place.

Moreover, you were baffled by his words. Why would he suddenly express uncertainty to his brother about you staying for Christmas? You'd discussed it several times, and each time, William had appeared genuinely thrilled about the idea. It was even his own suggestion when you’d mentioned the stress of travelling during the holidays.

His words cut deep, leaving a painful sting in your heart.

"I know, it's just... she's been putting in so much effort, and she seems genuinely excited about the whole thing..." William's voice resonated through the condo. You hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but you merely found yourself unable to move. William was talking to Alex about you, and it didn't sound like a positive conversation.

"No, she's out Christmas shopping right now... I just don't know how to say anything..." William's tone was gentle yet slightly husky, and his voice began to quiver as he talked about you spending the holiday with him.

Listening to one side of the conversation, you felt your heart shatter. Naturally, you couldn't hear Alex's response.

True, you had put in a tremendous amount of effort. You wanted your home to radiate the holiday spirit, maybe going a bit overboard with decorations, perhaps choosing a rather large Christmas tree, and even deciding to prepare every variety of Christmas dishes, blending traditional Swedish courses with Canadian ones.

However, you had believed this was what you both wanted. Although William wasn't adept at planning such gatherings, you interpreted his expressions as pure excitement, reflecting the joy you felt in organising the entire event.

But clearly, you were mistaken.

Perhaps it had overwhelmed him. Maybe this step in your relationship was too significant, and now he was having second thoughts.

"I just feel bad... maybe we shouldn't have agreed to do this..."

Slow tears traced down your cheeks as a whirlwind of thoughts raced through your mind, leading you to regret this entire situation. Your breaths became uneven, your chest felt burdened, and pain pierced through your body, gripping your heart with a deep ache.

This couldn't be happening, you thought.

Closing your eyes, you allowed the tears to flow freely, and gently grasping all the bags again, you quietly attempted to make your way to the bedroom, seeking solace and tranquillity. Peeking into the room, you spotted William, his head bowed, facing the large window of the condo, and seeing it as an opportunity, you tried to sneak past him and into the bedroom.

And as soon as you entered, your body collapsed at the foot of the bed, throwing the bags with you. Nestling your knees against your chest, your back leaned against the bed frame, and you released your sobs.

You felt hurt. Hurt that William didn't share the same enthusiasm about spending the holiday together and hurt that he felt unable to tell you how he truly felt.

_

"I just feel guilty about keeping her away from her own family, Alex," William confessed to his brother, expressing his concerns about the upcoming days.

"Come on, Willy, if y/n didn't want to spend Christmas with all of us, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to plan it," Alex chuckled lightly over the phone, prompting a gentle sigh from William.

"I guess you're right. She's seemed so excited about it, which makes me happy. I just hope she won't be disappointed. It's her first Christmas with us, and... God, I just hope she'll like it."

Thinking about having you there during this time of year brought a sense of joy to William. You meant everything to him, and experiencing these emotions with you excited him more than anything else.

He knew how much you cherished this holiday. And he had to admit that all the joy and romance of Christmas had a profound effect on him too, despite being a 27-year-old boy who sometimes felt immature and challenged with admitting to his own deep feelings. Yet, deep emotions coursed through him, seeing your eyes sparkle with excitement when you spoke about spending Christmas together and how much you adored his family.

Your unwavering commitment to him and to making the holiday special touched him deeply. And it only had him believe that you were indeed meant for him.

"Willy, chill out, she's going to love it! Besides, she's already spent enough time with all of us, so she won't get scared away," Alex's chuckles echoed in William's ear, prompting laughter from William as well.

"True that," he replied before their conversation gradually faded, and they eventually hung up.

William released a gentle sigh, feeling relieved after his chat with his brother, as it had helped ease his earlier concerns about your decision to stay back in Toronto with him and his family.

But then looking at the time, he found it odd that you hadn't returned yet. You'd been out for hours, and while he understood that shopping could take time, he also knew you had had a plan, so it shouldn't have taken so long.

Attempting to call you only led to voicemail, which started to raise some concern, as he then began pacing around the condo. He should have heard you come in, but as he noticed your shoes and coat by the front door, he slowly realised that perhaps he hadn't heard you due to his phone call.

Contemplating where you might have gone, William made his way to your bedroom, gently knocking on the door.

"Babe, are you in there?"

Startled by William's voice, your heart sank deeper, and you find yourself struggling to speak.

"Yes... um, but please, don't come in here," you managed to say, trying to hide the tremble in your voice.

"Why? What are you doing?"

Your mind felt foggy from crying, and you hurriedly made up an excuse, not wanting William to see you in this state.

"I, um... I'm wrapping your present," you forced out, attempting to conceal the cracks in your voice.

But sensing that something wasn't right, William felt a twitch of concern. It wasn't like you to come home without saying anything to him, even if he was on the phone. Normally, you'd give him a silent kiss before heading off if he was in a call.

But as you’d simply slipped away into the bedroom, he knew something was off.

"Come on, baby, what's wrong?" he asked, his tone tinged with worry.

You attempted to deflect again, trying to get him to leave, but William wasn't easily convinced.

"Nothing's wrong, Willy... I'm just—"

"You're not wrapping my present; you did that just last week," he stated firmly before pushing the door open.

William's heart shattered into pieces as his eyes fell upon you. You were sitting on the floor, surrounded by the day's haul of presents, your eyes red and puffy, clearly showing signs of crying.

"Shit, babe, what's wrong?" William hurriedly sat down next to you, gently wrapping his arm around your shoulder. "Has something happened? Are you okay?"

The sight of you crying almost shook William. He hated seeing you like this, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had caused it.

"It's nothing..." you almost whispered, avoiding his gaze as you felt too vulnerable to face him.

"No, it's not nothing... you're crying, and I want to know why."

Your entire body trembled as you struggled to articulate how you felt. You had overheard his conversation and knew he didn't want you to stay for Christmas. But finding the words felt incredibly challenging.

"Hey," William spoke softly, his finger gently lifting your chin to meet his gaze. "Talk to me..."

It was as if your mouth wanted to slowly form the words your mind had been processing, yet your voice hesitated.

"I..." you softly began, more tears streaming down your cheeks. "I know, Willy... I know you don't want me here for Christmas." Your voice was low and quivering.

"What?" William was taken aback. "What makes you think that?"

"I heard what you said to Alex... that you weren't sure about having me here for the holiday... and that you felt bad because I've gone overboard, and now you didn't know how to tell me that you didn't want to spend Christmas together..." You repeated softly, recalling the conversation between the brothers.

"y/n, that's not... that's not what I meant," William sighed deeply.

"It's okay, Willy, I get it," you continued gently, trying to muster a soft smile. "Maybe it is too big a step in our relationship, and that's alright... I just wish you'd told me sooner, so I wouldn't have gone through all of this and made you feel bad about it."

By now you had surrendered to the tears, letting them flow freely.

"Baby! I want to spend Christmas with you," William spoke more assertively, now understanding the root of the misunderstanding. It pained him to think that you believed he didn't want this, especially when he was overly excited about having you there. In fact, he had been considering it since last Christmas, but he was unsure if you'd be okay with it until you had both discussed it.

Letting out a deep sigh, he felt the need to explain.

"You only heard part of our conversation, y/n/n. I said those things because I feel like I'm keeping you from your family. Believe me, I want nothing more than to have you around and spend these days with you and my family."

Your eyes darted from side to side, searching his for any hint of insincerity but found none.

"Really?" you simply asked.

A wave of relief washed over you as he clarified the true essence of the conversation. Moreover, you felt a pang of guilt for drawing to conclusion based on just a part of the entire discussion.

William couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

"Of course, babe, my only wish this year is to be with you, and I just want you to be happy about it as well," William said, taking your hand and gently intertwining his fingers with yours. "I just feel guilty that you won't be spending the days at home."

"I am happy about it, Willy. I don't want to be anywhere else but here, with you and your family. Please believe that," you reassured your boyfriend. "You've got nothing to feel guilty about."

"Good," he flashed a gentle smile and planted a kiss on your forehead. "I just love you so much."

"I love you too," you softly spoke, leaning into his touch, before the two of you shared a tender kiss.

[senditcolton]

So Tragic and Rare

October (pt. 22)

previous part 🧡 next part masterlist

Us Weekly Article

KEELY HALLORAN SEEN ENTERING BOSTON BROWNSTONE WITH MYSTERY MAN!

News of rockstar Keely Halloran has been quiet in the past months, with sightings limited to New York and some overseas excursions (Spain and Australia to name a few). But last night, paparazzi caught Halloran sneaking into her Boston brownstone with a mystery man. Who is this person? Fans have no idea. Since April, when Halloran's own publicist shut down any rumors of a relationship, stating that the rockstar was and planned to be single for a long time, there have been only whispers of possible matches for Halloran. But now, it seems as if she has found someone. The only questions remaining are these: Who is this man? Where did they meet? And how long has this connection been going on?

Star Magazine Article

KEELY HALLORAN'S ROMANTIC SUMMER Sparks are flying for the pop princess turns rockstar and apparently have been for a while. When the pap photo of Halloran and a mystery man walking into her Boston home was published, all the usual questions were asked. Who was he? When did this happen? Where did they meet? How long had this been going on? Well, we can now provide an answer to last question. More photos have surfaced of Halloran and her mystery man jetting around Europe, with stops in Athens, Madrid, and Rome. Why are these photos appearing now? Our sources say that they actually weren't sure if who the blonde that they were seeing arm-in-arm with her man was Keely Halloran. Before this year, the most the rockstar has been seen outside of the United States was Ireland to visit her extended family. Even during her five-year relationship with actor Declan Connor, the pair was mainly spotted in New York, LA, and Boston. Halloran's new man seems to be pulling out all the stops to woo the rockstar. We shall see if his efforts will be appreciated. If not, this summer will surely be great inspiration for Halloran's next album.

halloranhollerin Tweet Oct. 6 Keely... WHO IS HE????

kellymattison7 Tweet Oct. 6

me if this man decides to break Keely's heart

annielaine05 Tweet Oct. 7 Oh, this is delicious!! I want all of the info. Please Keely we NEED to know!

justkeelingtime Tweet Oct. 7 Y'know I don't really care who he is, she just seems happier. Looking back on her solo pap shots, she does seem - I don't know - lighter? I'm happy if she is, no matter who she's with!

InTouch Weekly Article

KEELY HALLORAN'S MYSTERY MAN REVEALED!!! It is finally confirmed! The man that has been photographed with rockstar Keely Halloran, the man who Halloran spent a whirlwind summer with, is none other than Carolina Hurricanes star forward, Andrei Svechnikov. The two were caught embracing in one of Halloran's town-cars after the Hurricanes home opener down in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Canes won their first game of the season 4-2 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is important to note that Halloran did not attend the game but one can imagine that she was cheering on her new beau from a different location. The reveal of Svechnikov's identity puts many things into perspective, giving people possible answers to the questions surrounding their relationship. The two could've easily met at last year's NHL All-star game where Halloran was one of the four celebrity guests present. Shortly after the event, rumors started swirling of Halloran seeing someone. These whisper eventually died down in April when her publicist Heather Griffith declared online that the rockstar was single. Did Svechnikov and Halloran connect over the summer or has this been going on longer than any of us could've imagined?

comphycozy Tweet Oct. 12 SHE'S DATING ANDREI SVECHNIKOV?!?!?!

willystyles88 Tweet Oct. 12 OMG guys were we all idiots? Were they dating when we all thought it was her and Swayman? - reply by swaynswoon I don't think so. Her publicist said she was single. I don't think she would've said that if they had been together before April - reply to swaynswoon from bostongal2871 maybe she said that to throw everyone off and keep their relationship private? - reply to swaynswoon from garretalvin89 so she's a puck bunny then - reply to garretalvin89 from swaynswoon that's not what I said AT ALL

kierralewis84 Tweet Oct. 13 NOOO!!! GIRLS WE LOST ANOTHER ONE!! Damn Keely, couldn't have gone for someone else and saved the hockey boys for us??

air_rick1221 Tweet Oct. 13 Andrei definitely outkicked his coverage - reply by halloitsme what are you talking about, they are both gorgeous!!

john_128 Tweet Oct. 13 Svechnikov spent all that time during the off-season to shoot his shot at a rockstar instead of shooting pucks on net. - reply by mistasvech didn't he have almost 70 points last year? - reply to mistasvech from john_128 yeah but only a single assist so far - reply to john_128 from mistasvech and? still a point + they've only played three games!

TMZ Sports Magazine Article

WILL ANDREI SVECHNIKOV'S NEW RELATIONSHIP BE A HINDERANCE TO HIS GAME? Star right-winger for the Carolina Hurricanes has been making headlines as of late but not for his on-ice achievements. Instead, Svechnikov has been the newest fixation of gossip magazines for his connection to rockstar Keely Halloran. The two of them were recently seen together leaving the Canes home opener in one of Halloran's town-cars. But they have seemingly been making waves long before anyone knew they were together. Pictures of the pair spending their summer together hopping around the globe tell us that the two of them have been enjoying each other's company for a while now. But has Svechnikov been too focused on wooing his new girl instead of focusing on his game? With every weekend spent in a new exotic location - Italy, Spain, Greece, Australia, Singapore - it's a wonder that Svechnikov had any time to train for the NHL season... if he even did. The Carolina Hurricanes need their winger to be at the top of his game, ready to bring the Canes to the first Stanley Cup victory in almost 10 years, not following a rockstar around like a leashed dog. Will the Canes season and playoff hopes go down in flames? Or will it be Svechnikov and Halloran's relationship? We're hoping for the latter.

a/n: i did say dating a rockstar wasn't easy! also, i hated myself typing some of these articles/tweets but i think that means i'm doing my job so hopefully you all agree!

taglist: @fallinallincurls @laureniray @comphy-and-cozy@smileysvech@pyotrkochetkov@thewintersoldierdisaster@svexhenthusiast

let me know if you want to be tagged in this story or if you want to add yourself to my general taglist, click here!!

[mariacallous]

On a recent Thursday afternoon, researchers Lanuza Faccioli and Zhiping Hu wheeled an inconspicuous black and white plastic cooler from an operating room at a hospital in downtown Pittsburgh. Inside was a badly scarred liver, just removed from a 47-year-old man undergoing a transplant to receive a new one from a donor.

But what if patients could avoid that fate? Faccioli and Hu are part of a University of Pittsburgh team led by Alejandro Soto-Gutiérrez attempting to revive badly damaged livers like these—as well as kidneys, hearts, and lungs. Using messenger RNA, the same technology used in some of the Covid-19 vaccines, they’re aiming to reprogram terminally ill organs to be fit and functioning again. With donor livers in short supply, they think mRNA could one day provide an alternative to transplants. The team plans to begin a clinical trial next year to test the idea in people with end-stage liver disease.

Alcohol use, hepatitis infection, and a buildup of fat in the liver can cause scarring over time. When there’s too much damage, the liver starts to fail. “Right now, if you get end-stage liver disease, it’s irreversible,” Soto-Gutiérrez says. “Well, we found that is not true. It is reversible.”

Soto-Gutiérrez and his team have been experimenting on rats and organs taken from people undergoing transplants at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the busiest transplant centers in the US. To help design the mRNA and figure out how to deliver it to the human liver, they’ve partnered with Drew Weissman, a physician and immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work on mRNA. Together, Soto-Gutiérrez and Weissman lead the Center for Transcriptional Medicine, launched in April with the goal of bringing these medicines to patients.

On the day I visited, I followed Faccioli and Hu through a maze of hallways until they deposited the freshly explanted liver at a pathology lab, where a team of scientists was anticipating the special delivery. After infusing the liver with an experimental mRNA therapy, they placed the organ in an oxygenated bath meant to maintain its function for several days.

A healthy liver is spongy and reddish-brown in color with a smooth appearance. But when the surgeons took this one out of the cooler, it was hard, marbled, and covered in bumps—evidence of cirrhosis, a type of end-stage liver disease. Over time, the man’s healthy liver cells had been replaced by scar tissue, and eventually, his liver stopped working. His only option was to get a new one.

Livers are the second most in-demand organ. In 2023, a record 10,660 liver transplants were performed in the US, driven in part by a steadily growing number of living donors. In a living liver transplant, a piece is taken from a healthy person’s liver and transplanted into a recipient. But even with this uptick in transplants, not everyone who needs a new liver receives one. Patients may have other health problems that disqualify them from a transplant, and others may die while waiting for one. In 2022, the latest year for which data is available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded nearly 55,000 deaths due to chronic liver disease.

Living donor transplants are possible because of the liver’s unique capacity to regenerate itself—more so than any other organ in the body. In a healthy person, the liver can regrow to its normal size even after up to 90 percent of it has been removed. But disease and lifestyle factors can cause permanent damage, rendering the liver unable to repair itself.

When Soto-Gutiérrez was studying medicine at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, his uncle died of liver disease. From then on, he became dedicated to finding a treatment for patients like his uncle. In the early years of his medical career, he noticed that some patients with scarred livers were bound to a hospital bed waiting for a transplant, while other people with cirrhosis were walking around, seemingly living normal lives. He figured there must be cellular differences in these livers.

He teamed up with UPMC transplant surgeon Ira Fox to look for transcription factors—master regulators that can dial up or down the expression of groups of genes—that can potentially reprogram injured organs. Genes rely on transcription factors to perform many essential functions in organs. Together, Soto-Gutiérrez and Fox have analyzed more than 400 failing livers donated by transplant patients. When they compared them with dozens of normal donated livers that acted as controls, they identified eight transcription factors essential for organ development and function.

They zeroed in on one in particular, HNF4 alpha, that seems to act like a main control panel, regulating much of the gene expression in liver cells. In healthy liver cells, levels of HNF4 alpha were turned up, and so were other proteins it controls. But in the cirrhotic livers they examined, HNF4 alpha was almost nonexistent.

The team needed a way to get the transcription factor into liver cells, so they turned to mRNA technology. Used in some of the Covid-19 vaccines, mRNA is a molecule that carries instructions for making proteins, including transcription factors. In the Covid vaccines, the mRNA codes for a part of the virus known as the spike protein. When injected into a person’s arm, the mRNA enters cells and kicks off the protein-making process. The body recognizes these spike proteins as foreign and generates antibodies and other defenders against it.

The Pitt team is using mRNA instead to essentially turn back time in injured organs. “What we’re proposing to do with mRNA is use it to deliver proteins that have the capacity to repair those damaged liver cells,” Weissman says. “Our hope is that we can treat end-stage liver disease and turn the livers around, maybe forever, or at least until patients can get a transplanted organ liver.” Instead of delivering instructions for a foreign protein to generate an immune response, they’re delivering the genetic code for producing a transcription factor—HNF4 alpha.

In a paper published in 2021, the approach revived human liver cells in lab dishes. The researchers have since tested the mRNA therapy in rats with cirrhosis and liver failure. They treated a group of rats every three days for three weeks while a second group served as a control. The animals that were receiving the injection of HNF4 alpha started being more active. The untreated rats continued to decline and eventually died, the expected result at their stage of disease. Some of the treated rats were still living six weeks after receiving the mRNA medicine. Those results have not yet been published in a peer reviewed journal.

The team is also testing the mRNA infusions in human livers removed from patients undergoing transplants—the process I got to observe. Unlike live rats, explanted human livers can’t be observed for weeks on end. Livers have to be retrieved quickly and infused with the mRNA treatment soon after they’re removed from the body. They stay fresh for just four days or so in a preservation fluid. Six hours after the mRNA infusion, levels of HNF4 alpha start going up and last for two to three days. When HNF4 alpha peaks, other essential liver proteins, such as albumin, start to increase as well. That’s important, Soto-Gutiérrez says, because maintaining those protein levels could mean the difference between a patient needing a transplant or not.

Ideally, Soto-Gutiérrez says the mRNA therapy would be something patients could get once a week or every other week in an outpatient facility and go back home. But initially, they’ll need to test the experimental treatment in very sick patients, likely ones that are hospitalized, to make sure it’s safe. The team is gathering data from the rat and human liver experiments to submit a clinical trial application to the Food and Drug Administration in the coming months.

While livers are the first target, Fox thinks other injured organs may be amenable to this approach. “We’ve been wondering whether the same process might be taking place in other organs,” he says. Currently, the team is searching for similar transcription factors in lungs with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidneys with chronic kidney disease.

Josh Levitsky, a liver transplant specialist at Northwestern University who isn’t involved in the work, says new treatments for chronic liver disease are sorely needed. Current therapies can help slow down scar tissue buildup and ease symptoms but don’t address the underlying disease. “The concept of reprogramming and being able to reverse liver failure could be really game changing if it were to pan out in clinical studies,” he says.

But lots of questions remain. How much damage could be reversed? Would patients need to be on the therapy indefinitely? Or would their livers rebound enough to go off it? Could a liver ever be restored back to normal?

“It certainly has a lot of promise,” Levitsky says, “but the clinical development is going to take a long time.”

[beybaldes]

some word today from my boyfriend so far away

Eddie Roundtree × Fem!Reader

djats masterlist

word count: 2.8k

Request! : Hi !!! Will you plz write one about Eddie growing up w reader and crushing on each other for years as kids and teens and when Eddie and the band go to LA and reader is still finishing HS senior year as 1 year younger than Eddie and they confess feelings and start dating before he leaves and when she finds out Billy's cheating on Camila, she fears Eddie will do the same. She comes visit the band in LA for a week and is cold towards Eddie and he reassures her his love for her and she's her one and only !!

thank you for the request @eddieroundtreestan2224 I hope you enjoy <3

Warning!! I have not read the book or the show!!! All info I have gathered has been from other x readers I have read. sorry in advance if I have butchered vour fav show/book because I have plainly made shit up in favour of satiating my own need for more Eddie fics xoxo

Eddie loved you more then anything; you were his reason to get up in the morning, his reason to try so hard for the bands success, the reason he got out of bed even when all he wanted to do was sleep. Nothing had ever hurt him more then when he had to leave you behind in Pittsburgh.

He knew it would only be for a year, and that the second you graduated you were going to come out to LA to join them, but it felt like it was going to be an eternity. The day he got into the car and left you crying on your door step broke his heart, but he knew he was doing it for a good reason - that if things went to plan, he was setting up a good and stable future for the two of you.

You'd promised you'd come and visit over each of your breaks and you had - he didn't know when each was, but was always happily surprised to find you on his doorstep with your luggage and a smile on your face. Within seconds you'd retreat into his bedroom in the house and spend the rest of the day curled in each others arms, catching up on everything as though you didn't spend every free moment on the phone together racking up your parents phone bill. Eddie promised he'd pay them back when he got 'rich and famous' so you didn't worry it too much.

Camilla was the only one to know about your upcoming trip to LA, considering she spent most of the time in the house it made it perfect as she'd know who was going to be in the house at any given moment, and could help sneak you in this time before Eddie caught wind of your arrival. So when she called you that night, you weren't surprised to see her number on the screen, however, when you picked it up and found her sobbing down the line, you were shocked to silence.

"Billy- he's-" Camilla couldn't even get the words out between her tears, half a sob quickly turning into a grunt of anger as she took in what she'd saw earlier in the day. "Cheated- I- Baby-"

"Cami?" You whimpered into the phone, hurting because your friend was hurting. Camilla was like your sister, knowing her all your life had given you that closeness, and even though you'd technically known Billy longer, it was an easy choice as to who's side you'd take. "It's okay, baby, breathe."

After a moment of silence, Camilla cleared her throat, sniffling the tears away as she spoke. "He cheated on me. Eddie, Graham - they've all been covering for him."

As if your heart wasn't already aching, now it was breaking. Eddie, your Eddie, would do that? If he'd cover up for Billy - the biggest dick known to man kind - then god knows what he would be doing when you weren't around. Camilla lived with them for gods sake and you? Well, you were halfway across the country and still in high school.

Suddenly it was hard to swallow and your throat was completely dry. "I'm catching the next flight out, I'll be there tomorrow." You hung up the phone before she could ask what you'd do about school but that could wait. It was only a week until spring break anyway and Camilla needed you, your savings would rebuild but her heart might not.

When the phone started ringing again as your were packing your bag, you ignored it - even though you knew it was Eddie and you knew he would worry. After the events that had transpired today you didn't feel like talking to him, not until you could contain your whirring thoughts about whether this meant he would cheat on you.

If Billy couldn't get away with it while living with his pregnant wife, then Eddie would pass with flying colours. Only time would tell.

Eventually the phone stopped ringing, but you didn't care to notice, instead running down stairs with your packed bag and running out the front door, down the block, and to Misses Dunne's house. God knows your parents wouldn't let you skip school for LA, but miss dunne had always taken you to the airport for your trips, and given the current situation, you were sure she'd help cover for you.

You were already at the airport before Eddie gave up on ringing your phone, a lit joint between his lips as he sulked with his arms crossed over his chest in the living room of the LA house.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Graham asked, walking into the room with a beer in hand, taking a seat next to Karen on the couch.

"Y/n never picked up the phone." Graham winced at Karen's answer, turning to Eddie with a frown on his face.

"Sorry, dude. She probably just forgot, went to sleep or something."

Eddie scoffed, the frown on his face getting deeper at the suggestion you wouldn't wait up for him, his brow creasing tightly. "No. Y/n wouldn't do that. She never forgets."

"Well, don't let it keep you up, dude." Graham patted him on the shoulder, trying to reassure his friend. "She'll call back in the morning, besides, she'll be here next week anyway."

"Yeah, you're right." Eddie didn't feel like Graham was right however, you always picked up the phone - and the only times you didn't you warned him in advance that you weren't going to be available. His mind was moving at a million miles an hour, thinking of every single thing he'd ever done that could've made you not pick up the phone tonight, but his mind was drawing a blank.

In fact, he stayed there, deep in thought, for so long that he passed out on the couch, waking the next morning when Karen came running through the house to answer a knock on the door. Eddie's head fell back into the arm of the couch, closing his eyes tightly and deciding he could steal a few more hours of sleep now that Karen was tending to the door. That wish was quickly ended, however, as Karen let out a scream, people coming running from all directions of the house.

"What are you doing here?!" Karen was wrapped in a tight hug with a shorter figure that he recognised all too well, your suitcase was in the doorway and your eyes met his over her shoulder.

Eddie's entire demeanour lit up when his eyes met yours. That explained why you hadn't picked up the night before.

"Surprise!"

Eddie sprung up from the couch, jumping over the back of it and pulling you from Karen's arms and into his own. He wrapped you tightly in his hold, cradling your head to the crook of his neck as he took in your presence. You were here, you were really, really here and in his arms again and everything was good. "I thought you weren't coming till next week." Eddie said, pressing a kiss to your head as he pulled out of the hug slightly, getting a good look at your face.

He could swear that every time he saw you, you got more and more beautiful.

"I was gonna come next week." You answer, standing on your tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to his lips. "Camilla called, I got the first flight out."

"How did you get to the airport?" Graham asked, him and Warren stealing you from Eddie's hold and wrapping you in an awkwardly done group hug - the two boys having missed having you around everyday like they were used to, almost as much as Eddie.

"Your mom drove me." You answered, pulling back from the hug and finally pulling your suitcase into the house. "Where's Camilla?"

Eddie and Graham shared a look and suddenly everything Camilla said to you on the phone last night came to the front of your mind. They knew. They hid it. And if they hid it for Billy, who's to know what they were hiding from you?

"I'll take you to her." Karen grabbed your hand and led you out of the living room, the two of you ignoring the longing look Eddie sent your way as you left just as soon as you arrived. He'd just got you back and you were already going to see someone else? Given the current situation he got it, but he still just wanted to spend some time with his girl.

It was gone midnight when you finally left Camilla's room - you'd crawled into the corridor at the dead of night, feeling bad that you'd left Eddie alone all day, but then remembering what he'd done.

He was probably cheating on you too. The voice in your head hadn't stopped since you'd got Camilla's call last night, and you didn't think it was going to any time soon.

You had fully debated just sleeping in Camilla's bed all night with her and Karen, but you'd been away from Eddie for so long all you wanted was to curl into his arms and sleep for a long time. Although you knew he'd probably be asleep by now, you wanted one more night to be his girl, before you had to confront him and potentially find out what Camilla had. The thought alone made you sick to your stomach

"Why are you avoiding me, birdie?" As you carefully shut the door, not wanting to make a sound in case Eddie was already asleep, you were surprised to hear him, wide awake and kind of angry.

You turned around slowly, unbuttoning your jeans and stepping out of them, ready to get something more comfortable on and just go to bed. "I'm not."

Eddie stood from where he'd been sat on the bed, walking up to you. "You've been here all day and this is the first time we've spoken since you arrived." You ignored him, turning your back to him and missing the way his whole face faltered in favour of pulling your shirt and bra off, picking up one of Eddie's shirts off the floor and pulling it hastily over your head. "Did I do something?"

"Are you cheating on me?"

Eddie's heart stopped at the question. His brow creased and a frown took over his lips as he pouted at you, his eyes swarming with an ache you'd been feeling for the past 24 hours. "What?"

"Because Camilla told me that you and Graham were covering Billy's tracks for him." You pushed Eddies chest, pushing him away from you when he tried to reach out and touch you. He let you, keeping the distance you created as he stared longingly at the heartbroken girl before him; he almost didn't recognise you with such hurt swarming in your eyes, clouding you from him. Almost.

"You would've kept doing it too if she hadn't caught him and she never would've known." Another push, but this time Eddie wrapped his hand around your bicep, keeping you closer to his chest as you landed weaker and weaker pushes against him, tears welling in your eyes. "She lives in this damn house, and she didn't know her scum husband was cheating on her - and then it got me thinking. I don't live here, I don't see you everyday, I don't sleep in the same fucking bed as you every night and if you were willing to do it for Billy, I can't see why he wouldn't be willing to do it for you, too."

The pushing had stopped, Eddie holding you against him with one arm, his other hand caressing your cheek, his thumb wiping away at the tears that were beginning to spill over. "Birdie-"

"And then all I could think about was how easy it would be for you to cheat on me out here; you're halfway across the damn country Ed's. And I'm still in stupid fucking Pittsburgh. What could you want with a girl like me when you've clearly got half the country wanting to be with you?" Your words had turned to whispers, your head falling against Eddie's shoulder though his warm hand still cradled your cheek. As you sniffled into the material of his t-shirt he pressed a kiss to your temple, shushing your crying and holding you tight against him - as though he was protecting you from all the thoughts you'd let stir and simmer in your mind.

"I don't want anyone else." Eddie whispered, gently swaying the two of you back and forth in his hold, his hand running through your hair as the tears began to stop. "I just want you, birdie."

Eddie pulled away from you, holding your face between both of his hands and bringing your gaze to meet his own. "I know I shouldn't have covered for Billy, it was shit of me, but part of me truly thought it would hurt Camilla less if she just didn't know. I get how bad that sounds but I didn't know what to do I-"

"You should've told her Ed's." You whimpered, tears springing back to your eyes as you thought back to the phone call and conversation you and Camila had shared - dwelling on how quickly your stomach dropped and how easy it was to think the worst.

"I know." Eddie cooed, his thumb running gently across the flesh under your eye, his forehead pressed to yours in the dark room. "But I need you to know I would never, ever cheat on you, Birdie. I love you more then life itself; I need you like the air I breathe. I've spent every waking moment since moving to LA waiting for you to come back to me - I want nothing more then to spend every night with you in my arms and every day with you by my side."

"Eddie-"

"And one day, I'm gonna marry you, and we're never gonna have to spend a day apart again, okay?" Eddie pressed a feather light kiss to your lips, punctuating each of his words with another; to your lips, your cheek, the dimple of your smile, you temple, the crinkle of your eye, really anywhere his lips could reach. "I love you, birdie. I don't want anyone else but you, ever, you hear me?"

You were tempted to apologise. Say sorry through tears at the way your brain had jumped to the worst case scenario despite knowing what your Eddie was like, despite knowing he was nothing like Billy. But you didn't, thoughts too hung up on the words he'd just let slip past his lips. Biting your lip between your teeth, you held back a wide smile, rocking on the balls of your feet as you stared dotingly up at Eddie. "You wanna marry me?"

It came out as a bashful murmur, but Eddie still heard it, laughing at your quick change in demeanour. "How could I not? You're my whole world, birdie."

He said it as if it was so simple; as though there was no other possible answer or rhyme or reason. And for Eddie, there wasn't.

Snaking your arms up and over his shoulder, you scratched at the hair at the nape of his neck, using one hand to cup his head and pull it closer to you. Pressing a kiss to his lips, you quickly escalated it; tangling your fingers in his locks and pulling, slipping your tongue in his mouth as he gasped and pressing yourself firmly against him. Pulling back breathless, you murmured praise against the blondes lips. "I missed you, Ed's."

"I know you did, birdie." Eddie pulled you in for another messy kiss; a sudden clash of skin and teeth and tongue. "What you say we start making up for lost time?"

"I'd want nothing more." With that you let him push you back towards his bed, blindly trusting his direction as you let yourself get lost in the feel of him for the first time in months, reassured that your Eddie would never treat you how Billy had Camila - not in this lifetime, nor the next.

[hockeylovee12]

A Closed Book-Luke Hughes

Summary: you and Luke had been dating for a year long distance and in secret but now that he’s in New Jersey permanently it gets a little harder to keep a secret.

Warnings: 18+, Smut, Sex

Luke Hughes had always been a very private person even to the people close to him. His brothers like to tease him and say he’s a closed book with about 17,000 different locks.

Personally Luke didn’t mind he knew he is a private person and you quickly realized that and had no problems with it. Sure you would have liked to post your boyfriend and engage in all the conversation with your friends when they brought up their own but at the same time you loved the idea of having someone and something special that you never had to talk about or share with the world. Something that was only yours and that’s what Luke was.

The two of you met one of the first times Luke had came to visit his older brother Jack. You were only 17 at the time and Luke was nearly 19. The two of you hit it off at a coffee shop that was close to your high school. Luke and you exchanged numbers and when you turned 18 you two made it official.

After finishing high school you choose to stay in state so the first few months of being official you two were long distance. It was a lot of work a lot of late night phone calls and texts but you made it work and it was worth it.

Now Luke has officially signed with the New Jersey devils and he’s here permanently and you’re both thrilled.

November 7th marks the date of both your birthday and your one year anniversary so Luke wanted to do something special unfortunately the Devils had a four day road trip the last game being against St Louis on the 7th but two days later they were home for a game against the Pittsburgh penguins and even better they had the next day off.

So knowing Luke��s brother would go out after the game with his teammates probably to a bar which Luke couldn’t join because he is only 20 Luke had the brilliant plan of spending an evening in together and you were all for it.

11/09/2023 Jack and Luke’s Apartment

The devils won in overtime leading the score 5-4. Luke had a pretty good game he had a single assist for which he was proud of and after the game the two brothers headed back to their apartment.

“Luke are you sure you don’t wanna come out with us you know we can get you into the bar it’s not a big deal” Jack offers his younger brother

“Nah it’s ok I’m kinda tired anyway I’m probably just gonna order a pizza and watch some tv you go have fun” Luke says

Jack looks at his little brother with a slight smile while he couldn’t be more happy to have his brother playing with him and living with him apart of him wishes Luke would go out more often because he doesn’t hang out with the team as much as Jack does.

“Also what time you think you’re gonna be back?” Luke asks trying to ask as casually as possible so he knows how long he has with his girlfriend

“Um I don’t know I think we’re gonna hit a few bars see where the night goes I’ll probably be around 3” Jack says

“All right see you later” Luke says waving his brother goodbye as his brother leaves the shared apartment

Almost immediately Luke pulls out his phone and sends you a text.

Then Luke heads to his room to take a shower and get dressed. He puts on a pair of blue jeans and a white t shirt that you told him makes his muscles look big.

Beep beep

From Y/N❤️

I’m here

Luke walks outside his room and comes gets you from the hallway.

“Hey there” Luke says wrapping his arm around you and pulling you inside.

Once the door shuts Lukes lips immediately find there way to yours.

The next three hours the two of you spend your time watching movies cuddling and eating Chinese takeout.

Near the end of the 2nd movie Luke whispers in your ear and asks if you want to go to his room.

A smirk appears on your face and you nod.

“I’ll be right there” Luke says

You walk to Lukes room while he throws out the trash and cleans up before meeting you in the bedroom where he sees you in a gorgeous black lacy bra.

Luke shuts the door with his foot and walks towards you picking you up and placing you on the bed.

Luke takes off his shirt and throws it on the ground then starts unbuttoning your pants and slips them off of you and starts making his way down your stomach with kisses and stops right before he gets to your pussy making you let out a frustrated sigh causing him to smirk

Luke leans over you and reaches into his night stand and grabs a condom

You watch as Luke takes off the rest of his clothes and rolls on a condom then he regains his previous position and starts rubbing his hands on your body. Soon he grips the sides of your panties and yanks them down. Before roughly pushing himself into you.

You let a loud moan.

“Luke” You moan out as Luke continues thrusting in and out of you. Within minutes you both cum and Luke rests his head on your stomach both panting a little bit.

“You ok?” He asks after a minute

“I’m great” You smirk

After laying down for about an hour the two of you decide to take a shower which results in more sex under the warm water.

Around 3am Luke checks his phone

“Oh shit Jack’s gonna be back soon” he says

You quickly realize what he said and jump up quickly putting on your clothes as he does the same.

Once your both dressed the two of you walk out of his room and back into the living room.

“I love you” Luke says pulling you in for a kiss

“I love you too” You reply

“What the hell?” A voice says and the lights flicker on

You both jump seeing Jack standing there

“Jack jeez I didn’t hear you come in” Luke says with an arm still wrapped around you

“Who’s this?” He asks

“Um this is uh” Luke starts to say

“I’m Y/N” you introduce

“Are you dating her?” Jack asks

Luke and I both look at each other

“Um well ya” he says after a moment of silence

Jack looks at him

“How long?” He asks taking a sip of water

“It was a year on the 7th” Luke replies

“A year?!!” Jack exclaims

“How the hell did you keep this a secret for a year?!!”

“Well um you know I’m like a closed book”

“Alright I’m gonna go to bed but it’s late so you both should as well” Jack says walking towards his room

“You wanna spend the night?” Luke asks

“Sure” you reply and the two of you head back to Lukes room and you strip and take one of his t shirts and put it on.

Luke changes into sweats and you both lay down in bed with your head on his bare chest.

A few minutes later the door opens and Jack steps in

“This door stays open all night” Jack says

Luke takes a pillow off the ground and throws it a Jack causing him to laugh

“Goodnight Luke and goodnight Y/N” Jack says retreating back to his own room and leaving the door wide open.

[magentagalaxies]

16, 17, 23!

thank you will!!

16. Post a picture from the beginning of the year

january 9th, me in the first greenroom of scott's buddy cole tour (pittsburgh). i took a mirror-selfie backstage at every tour stop

17. Post a picture from the end of the year

november 25th, me onstage with scott thompson during his toronto show with the kids in the hall (i know i've already posted this photo but 1. it's the most recent pic of myself that i have and 2. isn't it kind of bizarre that i happened to wear the same outfit???)

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

"if you make a deal with someone that needs to be fulfilled at a later date, especially for your documentary, GET THAT SHIT IN WRITING!!!!"

this obviously refers to the whole debacle i went through at college this year (scott visited my college on february 9th and i was supposed to interview him alongside another comedy professor and the comedy department told me they'd give me the footage for my documentary since that was the whole reason they got this celebrity appearance. however the professor who was leading the event treated both me and scott super shitty, and since he didn't like the way me and scott talked about gender while respectfully disagreeing he went on to fucking out me on twitter in an attempt to "cancel" scott for "misgendering" me in a separate interview even tho i go by any pronouns, dipshit. after the tour was done, i realized i'd never gotten the footage, so i checked in again and the professor told me he wasn't releasing the footage bc it "violates the college's community guidelines of respect and inclusion." after a LONG back-and-forth with the department head, they eventually released the footage to me. this whole debacle lasted 2 months and left me with some lasting trauma bc of how so many professors i looked up to were treating me like i was somehow in the wrong for being friends with someone who "disrespected my identity" (again, i've gone by "any pronouns" the entire time)

so with all that context, that advice might almost seem too small. like, you might think i'd rather say "don't trust [insert name of professor who outed me]" (bc he genuinely made me think he was a trustworthy person so that betrayal blindsided me). or maybe even go as far as to say "don't invite scott to your college" bc even tho this started as both me and scott wanting to do a nice thing for each other, it was such a shitty experience for both of us that maybe it's not worth the trouble

but aside from the fact that this event had been planned since the end of 2023, i wouldn't want to avoid it completely. as shitty as being outed by a self-serving asshole in an attempt to discredit your close friend is, and as much as i'm still reconciling with how it changed my view on whether i even want to call myself "nonbinary", i'm glad it happened. bc those problems i have with labels would exist even if someone didn't bring them to the forefront, and i've been able to grow so much as a person since i stopped worrying about being "good queer representation." and also, i have no idea where my friendship with scott would be if that hadn't happened. helping me through that shit allowed us to connect on a much deeper level (and is also the reason he let me keep his jacket lmao), i don't know if we'd be quite as close as we are without going through some of the worst shit we've been through together.

but to say i "wouldn't change a thing" is inaccurate bc that month-long email back-and-forth about whether my school promised me that footage (they fucking did) was so shitty and unnecessary. they might have still pulled the same crap even if i'd gotten it in writing, but then i'd at least have proof on my side. oh well, next time.

thanks for the ask!!

End of year ask prompt

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

Typically people learn about presidential candidates from the big spectacle type events such as their political conventions, rallies, press conferences and debates.  But sometimes it’s the little moments that truly define a candidate’s character and remind us of the stakes of the election. One of those very moments occurred on Saturday in of all places a Penzeys Spices store in what is known as the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That is when Vice President Harris took a break from her preparation for Tuesday’s debate by visiting this small store. 

The Vice President entered to applause but while standing in the entrance, she observed a middle age white woman standing a few feet into the store who was visibly crying. Harris instantly made a beeline for the woman, opening her arms to embrace her while saying, “Come here…what is that about?” Harris then warmly hugged the woman like a mother embracing a child desperately in need of support. The woman—while being hugged by Harris--shared what was causing her to cry, “I’m scared,” adding, “The pressure, you know.”   Clearly the woman was referring to the 2024 race against Donald Trump and the prospect of a monster like him returning to the White House. Harris responded in a comforting tone, telling her, “It’s going to be good. We’re going to be good. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fine.” The VP then added this memorable line, “We are all in this together.” That last line caused the woman to look at Harris and say, “Yes we are.” A moment later both Harris and the unnamed woman were saying to each other, “Yes we are.”

No one had to prompt Harris to hug the woman. There was no handler nudging her forward, urging her to show compassion and empathy.  That was simply Harris’s raw instincts kicking in—that is who she is.  Obviously, Trump is not capable of compassion and empathy. His currency is cruelty, racism and sexism—and it’s what his MAGA base loves. Most of us can relate to the woman in the spice shop saying about this election: “I’m scared.”  To be very candid, after the first presidential debate in June between President Biden and Trump, I, too, was scared. Really scared. I tried to hide it but I could feel my anxiety level growing because of that fear. Adding to that fear were the polls in the weeks after the debate which showed Biden falling further beyond Trump in every battleground state—and even tied in states that should not be in play. It was a time when many openly talked about a Plan B country if Trump were to win—especially since he would now be cloaked in absolute immunity by way of his corrupt GOP Supreme “Court.”

This moment is why I like Kamala Harris.

[beardedmrbean]

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania man has been indicted on charges of attempting to support the foreign terrorist organization Hezbollah, the Justice Department reported Thursday.

Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, a former resident of Pittsburgh, attempted to provide material support and resources to the terrorist group from August 2024 through December 2024, in Lebanon, Syria, the Western District of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Molloy undertook these actions "knowing that the organization was a designated terrorist organization and that the organization had engaged in and was engaging in terrorist activity and terrorism, " a release from the Justice Department said in a criminal complaint.

Molloy, a citizen of both the United States and Ireland, previously served on active duty status in the U.S Army, traveled to Lebanon in August 2024 and attempted to join Hezbollah but was told by "multiple individuals that the time was not right, and that he needed to take other steps before he could join the terrorist organization," the Justice Department release said.

Molloy continued to try to join Hezbollah while living in Upper St. Clair, Pa. and allegedly continued to communicate with members of the organization online and in Lebanon. He also expressed his hatred toward, and promoted violence against, Jewish people," documents show.

"Molloy's alleged animus toward Jews was also evidenced by multiple images and videos on his electronic devices and the usernames he chose for his social media and email accounts, including the username "KIKEKILLER313" on the social media platform X. In one alleged WhatsApp exchange with a family member, Molloy agreed that his 'master plan was to join Hezbollah and kill Jews,'" Justice Department documents show.

He is also alleged to have visited a website that showed the possible incarceration location of Robert Bowers, the man who carried out the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting during which he murdered 11 Jewish worshippers. It is thought that Molloy was a Bowers sympathizer.

The indictment also says Molloy lied to FBI investigators at the Pittsburgh International Airport in October, 2024 about his contact with members of Hezbollah. He said had no current or future plans to become involved with the organization and that he had no business in, nor was he meeting with anyone, in Syria.

"These statements and representations were false because Molloy knew at that time that (1) he did have current and future plans to become involved with Hizballah and (2) Molloy travelled to Syria in furtherance of his attempts to join Hezbollah, and while in Syria, set up a meeting with an individual there," the Justice Department release said.

Molloy faces up to 28 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted on the material support and false statement charges.

[rimouskis]

hi!! when do you think its the best time of the year to visit Pittsburgh? im an international fan and i have to start making plans if I want to see sid play live at least once lmao

I really can't recommend fall enough. if you can come for the home opener, then you get a bit of a show out of it! the weather will be best that time of year too. I can't express to you how irksome I've found it that whenever my fandom friends visit pittsburgh, it's always, like... the dead of winter or slushy gray spring :')