#Ryder is easiest for me to find stuff

[chevvy-yates]

📸 Ryder pls :3

X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X

[heroes-of-olympus-next-gen]

"Who is Babysitting?" part 3? Maybe Will and Nico's reactions? Or maybe you could do a continuation of post/659159285055488000 (part 4? of it)? Maybe Apollo, Hades and Persephone dynamics with teen or adult grandkids?

Thanks for the ask anon <3 Before you read the next and final part of who is babysitting I was wondering if by saying Apollo, Hades and Persephone dynamics with teen or adult grandkids you mean from when they are 15 to like adults with their own families, or just when they are in college because I have a few ideas, but I am not sure that they are what you ask for. Anyhow, enjoy!

Who is babysitting? (Part 3)

“I hope they’re all fine,” Nico said as they got out of the car. Sure, it was the first time he and Will got out of the house, just the two of them, but knowing that two Gods who can be pretty unpredictable are babysitting your children it can be pretty concerning.

“I’m sure nothing bad happened. We’re in a city that supposedly monsters can’t get into.” Will told him. “I can’t remember the last time it was just you and me.” He glanced over to his husband.

“I think it was in August or something like that. Definitely, before Ryder was born.” Nico replied. It felt so weird thinking how much his life had changed in the last couple of years. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that he had married Will Solace and they had two kids together.

They opened their apartment��s door expecting to find complete chaos. To their surprise, everything was in perfect order. “Hi?” Nico said a bit confused.

“Hey, how was your date?” Hades asked them.

“It was great. How was the babysitting?” Will put his stuff aside careful like the house was going to drop on them. “Did Bianca and Ryder give you a hard time?”

“Pfff, of course not. Everything went smoothly. The easiest kids to handle.” Apollo reassured them, but they didn’t quite believe them.

“They were a handful, weren’t they?” Nico asked his father.

“Don’t believe what they’re saying to you. If it wasn’t me there would be two people crying and let’s just say that they wouldn’t be your kids.” Persephone came out of the kitchen.

“You’re really killing it, aren’t you?” Apollo asked her clearly annoyed.

“Persephone, what are you doing here?” Nico turned to the third immortal.

“What your father and Apollo clearly can’t. Look after two little kids. But it was hilarious watching them try and bickering with each other.” The goddess laughed.

Will and Nico didn’t know how to react. “But the kids are fine, right? Not that we don’t trust you or anything, but we want to make sure that they still have all limbs attached like before we left.”

“Oh don’t worry they are both asleep. Perfect angels. Bianca, especially. She is a darling little girl. I personally made sure that they are able-bodied. And that your house isn’t the stable those two created.” Who would have thought that Persephone, the same goddess that hated Nico with her whole existence was looking out for their kids' well-being?

“We panicked. Ryder didn’t stop crying and we might have created a bit of a mess that we would clean up later.” Apollo excused himself and Hades.

“Persephone pretty much did the entire thing. But it wasn’t that we were bad. You can call us any time to babysit. In a few years when diapers won’t be a thing for them.” Hades declared.

“Noted. Despite that, you actually did a good job.” Nico said. “Thanks for babysitting. You really saved us.”

“That’s what parents are for.”

[angelhummel]

you talked about Sarley and I have no idea if I already asked this before buttttt

Tell me some of your Sarley headcanons I NEED TO KNOW

Omggg I think I told you all the headcanons I have 😂 I’m not good at thinking of a bunch of different stuff like you are!

Okay well not so much a headcanon for starters but Marley and Sam have so much in common! I feel like their beliefs, their lifestyles, their habits, their tastes would all match up perfectly. But not in like a weird twinsies kind of way lol. Just in a nice and easy friendship to romance type way

I mean like Sam was the only guy who didn’t need a grace period to like “warm up” to Kurt or anything. He met him and immediately accepted him for who he was, while a lot of other club members couldn’t say that. Same with Marley and Unique. They decided to have each other’s backs from the beginning (I also hc Sam and Marley both as not straight :P) 

So besides Unique, I think Sam would be the easiest person for Marley to warm up to. Like the other girls are older and have been there longer, and she’s kind of a little intimidated by them even if she won’t admit it. And she doesn’t like Kitty at first. And Artie and Blaine are the other senior members and Jake is like the mysterious bad boy. But Sam is chill, he’s sweet, friendly, nice, and welcoming. And cute to boot so of course she takes notice and is drawn to him

And of course they’ve been in similar living situations before so they understand one another that way. I just think there’s so many possibilities there. I mean even just the two of them going thrifting together. Finding worn but good clothing together. And I hc Marley as knowing how to sew/knit/crochet and being super crafty and stuff so like if they find clothes that are a little worse for wear, she can fix them up and have them looking good as new. And maybe Sam goes with her to the craft store to help her pick out fabric to make dresses and skirts with. And she knits him a sweater that she literally started working on in August and finishes in time to give it to him for Christmas

Quick side note, but did we ever hear about Sam’s family moving back to Ohio? Or are we supposed to believe he was living with the Hudson-Hummels all of s4-5?? Well if so then I just imagine Sam inviting everyone over to the Hudmel house. And you know Carole and Burt want to adopt everyone. And maybe Marley, Kitty, and Tina are there the most. And that’s why they danced with Kurt during his song for Burt in Wonderful 

But if Sam’s actual family is around then they would spend a lot of time babysitting his siblings. And Stacey and Stevie would both love Marley so much. Whenever Marley had leftover fabric from her own dresses, she would make a matching little dress for Stacey. Or make a little stuffed animal for Stevie. And they would always have singalongs together while Sam played his guitar. And they’d be the best at playing pretend and telling bedtime stories, always keeping the kids entertained. 

Also for a more serious one, Marley and Sam both have problems with their body image. Sam knows what it feels like to try and force yourself to look a certain way, even when it’s taking a toll on his mental health. He would be there to support Marley after things got so bad that she fainted. And then he’d always have extra snacks in his bag for her after that. And he’d always keep an eye on her at lunch, making sure she was really eating and not just pretending. And she would think it was annoying but also be grateful for the concern 

And I hate the whole Jarley cheating plotline but if Sarley were just friends first and Jarley happened like in canon, then Sam would be there to console her after they broke up. Bc he’d been cheated on by Quinn and he knew how awful it felt, so he would help her get through that. Also bc I really don’t like Marley and Ryder together, why couldn’t it have just been Sam?? 😭

Also for the future, I could be on board with Sam being a teacher, but maybe just a nice little school in New York?? So they could be closer with everyone else. He could start up an arts program for underprivileged kids to make sure they get the same exposure to music and opportunities that they might not be afforded otherwise. And I love the idea of Marley being kind of like a mystery singer/songwriter?? She helps Klaine with a lot of the original music for the shows they write, and even has several writing and singing credits on some of Mercedes’s albums. And tons of people know her name and voice but it’s not like she’s selling out arena shows and performing giant concerts or anything

Anyway some of this is stuff I already mentioned but some of it is just off the cuff lol. Hope you like it!

[visceralcoma]

Fic Writer Meme

Name

Fandoms

Most popular oneshot

Most popular multichapter

Actual worst part of writing

How you choose your titles

Do you outline

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?

Callouts @ Me

Best writing traits

Spicy Tangential Opinion

I got tagged by three lovely fellow writers:  @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold @5lazarus​ and @paraparadigm So I shall tag two more, pardon if you’ve already been tagged by others.  @thereallonelyagain and @chocolatecatcupcakecheese.

Name:  Call me Coma, though my username is visceralcoma - do not refer to me as “visceral” thats not the “given” name part of my username. That’d be the “last/family” name part of my username. Ya dig? 

Fandoms: I have many and I don’t have them all listed on my fandoms page.  But the main ones I write for are Dragon Age, Cyberpunk 2077, Greedfall, Harry Potter, and MCU. My MCU stuff is under a different username on Ao3 because that fandom is.... a special kind of crazy, toxic, drama/wank filled. More so than Dragon Age and I am sooo not up for dealing with them on here.

Most popular oneshot: If we’re going off kudos/likes/reblogs... that would be my Mass Effect Andromeda one shot between Sara Ryder and Jaal, called Static Love. 

Most popular multichapter:  That would be my Self Insert fic, By the Tits of My Ancestors. A Modern Character in Thedas fic that explores Kirkwall’s crime underbelly, specifically the Coterie and finds a connection between Caribbean mythos and Dwarven mythos of the Titans - all wrapped up in a tale of the MCIT finding her way in Kirkwall while trying not to mess up the timeline of the games and utterly and spectacularly failing at it.

Actual worst part of writing: oof... I would say...two things. First is the romance. Though my discord fam assures me that I write romance well. but I don’t get how given what I write is just people getting close in a platonic way with some sex/smut mixed in. I’m largely romance neutral (unsurprising given I’m aromantic), I don’t recognize things as immediately romantic - even in fiction (books/movies) I don’t really see the difference between doing those actions for a romantic partner and doing them for platonic friends. I... don’t get it.

Second is I absolutely hate hand waving. I will do everything in my power for there to be some sort of scientific reasoning/logic behind something - even if the reader never fully knows it or gets an exposition dump - but so long as I know it. And for magic, it HAS to have rules. Things cannot JUST happen because I need them to. And Magic is the worst thing for me to write because so many stories/media that have magic just... don’t have hard fast rules. Ya heard of Hard Science, well I like Hard Magic. There must be rules  and consequences for breaking the rules - to explain WHY there are rules.

How You Choose Your Titles: It’s a mixture of a pun, something funny, a latin phrase, an idiom that I’ve twisted, or just some... feature in the story I latched onto as the common theme or motivation of my protagonist.

Do you outline: Sometimes. I start with a very basic outline and a vain hope I’ll keep to a specific number of words for the whole piece or chapters but I never do. Outlines are really good for figuring out my heading (using sailing metaphors), in where I’m going. Even if it’s not my eventual destination. But it gives me somewhere to start.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?  Too many... I could never list them because my greedy self will feel compelled to write and post more than 5 chapters of it, and never finish (as if I ever finish any multi chapter fic). I have folders upon folders of ideas half written, chapters started, dialogues mapped out, expositions dumped and worlds drafted. 

Callouts @ Me:  Learn to Finish a Fic!  Lol. thats about it. Everyone bemoans STARTING a story... but I will forever live in the purgatory of learning how to finish a story.

Best writing traits: My best writing traits, in my opinion is action. Its one of the things I find easiest to write - and most fun because I get up and act out the fuil sequence. Figure out how the body should move - whether a specific attack is even possible to happen after the prior.

Spicy Tangential Opinion:  If you intend to be a fanfic writer, do yourself a favor and never participate in fandom spaces beyond being just a writer. Or if you must... do so under a different username than your author name and keep them separate.  You’ll save yourself the headache of fanpol attacking you for whatever slight you made and then attracting hyper-critical haters to your works that will make you doubt and question your ability  or hold you up to whatever fool’s gold standard they have of “righteous” and “pure” topics you’re allowed to write about.

[spaceorphan18]

The Glee Kids and how well they did in school.  

The interesting thing about this is that there are a lot of dependencies -- where the narrative tells us one thing, but my intuition about it tells me another. 

Class of 2012 -- 

Rachel -- Canon says she’s acing all her classes.  She’s the girl who is probably talking all the fine arts classes -- Choir, Jazz Band, Art, Shop, Journalism and PE -- that will probably get you all As without trying.  (Btw - don’t knock art students, they’re awesome -- but let’s face it HS classes in the fine arts are usually pretty easy to pass.)  

Finn -- Solid C/D student.  He struggled a lot with school, but probably basses with a middling GPA.  

Mercedes -- Solid B student - she struggled a little, but she was a hardworker turned in the best work she could.  She also challenged herself by taking lots of AP classes.  And probably did well in English Lit and Social Science/History classes. 

Kurt -- A’s and B’s depending on how hard the subject was and how much he cared about said subject.  Hes he aced French.  He also probably got a B- in Calc.  I do have a headcanon he loved chemistry and lighting things on fire.  He also probably took shop and was fucking great at it.  

Mike -- Straight A student who worked his butt off for it (as we saw in canon).  There are also some Asian stereotypes wrapped up in this, fwiw, but I do think Mike is a decently smart guy. 

Santana -- Another B/C student -- while she often skipped classes whenever she felt like it -- she did care about her education.  She’s another one who probably did well in her English Lit and Social Sciences classes -- she also probably had Speech and Debate just so she could take someone down.  

Puck -- as we saw in canon, he barely passed any of his classes. 

Quinn -- Was Valedictorian.  Which I can see -- but it was almost more about status than it was about being smart.  She also probably got the highest marks in college as well.  But then twenty years later, you wonder what happened to her when she’s a twice divorced, alcoholic mom-slash-housewife.  (I’m not knocking housewives - because they are awesome -- I just meant Quinn ends up not living up to her potential.) 

Class of 2013 --

Artie -- Apparently was getting straight As? I kind of find this hard to believe, Artie isn’t as much of a nerd as the show tried to make him out to be.  But he probably had things like journalism and audio/visual stuff -- he is another who catered his classes to what was easiest for him.  

Tina -- Also got straight As.  This, to me, feels more like the show doing Asian stereotyping (more so than Mike) because Tina screams solid B student to me.  She just doesn’t seem like she cares enough about school for me to buy it.  But maybe her classes aren’t too hard.  

Blaine -- All As in his classes -- except for one B which still haunts him at 45. 

Sam -- Solid C student -- school is hard, especially for someone who is dyslexic.  He do think he tries the best he can, school just isn’t easy for him, though. 

Brittany -- Brittany is not a genius.  She’s special needs (or at least borderline special needs).  I’m kind of annoyed by the way the show handled her, but whatever. 

Others -- 

Matt Rutherford -- ah, how little we knew you... 

Lauren -- Straight Cs and a wrestling scholarship

Rory - Did he take classes? I just assume he sat in the back and did nothing. 

Sugar - Her dad bought her HS diploma

Joe - Letter grades are arbitrary when you’re on the earth to spread the loving message of Jesus. 

Marley - Straight As.

Jake - Smarter than he appears, but has to apply himself -- Mostly Cs and a few Bs. 

Ryder - had a learning disability, much like Finn Cs and Ds. 

Unique - Her fabulous is beyond letter grades. 

Kitty - Probably a lot like Quinn, got better grades than she let on. 

I’m too tired to do the new newbies, so I’m gonna leave it at that <3  

[tobiaskswitch]

Aftercare || Tobias/Gunner

Wednesday morning, after the punishment was over, Tobias and Gunner go back to his suite for a nap.

Gunner was quiet as the door to his suite closed behind him. He's gotten through his first mark-wide punishment, and he definitely wasn't a fan of the concept, or the reality of it. He wasn't sure how he was going to fake a smile for his Moms, when he made his weekly video call to them. Normally, when he was walking into his suite with Karofsky at his side, his mind was buzzing. Were they going to fool around? Was Karofsky in the mood for a little light-hearted play, or did he want to learn more about humiliation play? Now, though, all he wanted was to rest and to have Toby take care of him. "Bed," Gunner mumbled, as he kicked off his shoes.

Toby hadn't been punished, since the switches were left out, but that didn't mean he hadn't been involved. Undeniably, he and the other switches had gotten the easiest part of the night, not being hurt like the subs or manipulated like the Dom's, but it had still been an incredibly stressful experience for him. Be was exhausted, but he kept glancing over at Gunner, who looked dead on his feet. At least it wasn't like last time, Toby thought. At least it was over in one night. Small mercies? "Yeah," he agreed, taking off his shoes and jacket by the door and then following Gunner back to his bedroom. "Do you ...need anything?" He really wasn't sure how to help.

Gunner walked into the bedroom, and took off his pants and shirt, throwing them over his desk messily. He shook his head after a moment and then walked over to his bed in just his boxers, and collapsed onto it. He picked up the remote control for the TV, and held it out to Toby. "We can watch something, if you want. Whatever you want," he said in a soft tone, as he laid his head against his pillow.

Toby nodded and took the remote, sitting on the edge of the bed as he turned on the TV and waited for it to wake up.  He looked over at Gunner as Netflix loaded.  "Hey," he said softly.  "I... I know this might not help at all, but... We all know you only did what you had to."  They didn't know the details of the tasks the Doms were given, whether they'd had a choice, but everyone had seen the videos that Gunner and Adam had made.  Poor Archer had had a rough night.  Toby looked away, then stood up and tugged off his jeans so he could get on the bed next to Gunner.  He didn't quite touch the Dom, but he was close.  "Look, lots of us were here last time, including your brother.  They made the Doms choose how we'd get hurt, but if they didn't choose, we only got hurt worse.  That happened to some people.  So...  We know you weren't given any options where no one gets hurt.  None of this was on you."

Gunner stayed silent as Toby spoke, and took off his jeans. He didn't deserve understanding or forgiveness, he knew that. He wasn't ever going to be okay with what he'd done, especially given that Adam had made almost the same decision in the same night. "It's not all on me. It's on Sue. But in the moment, I made the decision to out my brother, when I've made a big song and dance about giving him all the time he needs to work his shit out," Gunner murmured. "I've forced him into this, and I wouldn't be surprised if it makes him take a thousand steps backwards in being okay with himself and who he is," Gunner mumbled. He'd clearly been thinking about this non-stop since he'd recorded that video.

Toby nodded quietly, looking down at the space between them.  "He's in a safe place, though," he said softly, at length.  "I mean, as horrifying as this place is... no one cares who's gay, and who's bi, and who's into... dressing up like superheroes and boning while pretending to fight crime, or whatever shit people are into here.  So being out...  maybe it'll mean he starts getting support from people.  Maybe he'll stop hiding, and it'll actually help."

Gunner listened silently as Toby spoke, and then quietly shuffled closer to him, lowering himself further down the bed so he could rest his head on Toby's chest. "That's just a best case scenario. It doesn't change the fact that I took the decision out of his hands, and forced him into this," Gunner murmured. "Only monsters do things like that."

Toby was surprised when Gunner moved his head onto Toby's chest, but he definitely didn't mind.  He liked it, actually.  He liked the idea Gunner finding comfort in him.  He shifted so he could move his arm around Gunner's shoulders.  "So, you're talking about the monsters who forced you into outing him, Sir," Toby said flatly.  "That's what I was saying.  We know how this works, lots of us were here last time.  We know you weren't given any options that wouldn't make you hate yourself.  Archer knows that too, and so does Ryder.  They were both here for the last one.  They know."  He squeezed Gunner a little tighter for a second and started to scroll through Netflix options.

Gunner nuzzled against Toby's chest once the switch moved his arm around Gunner's shoulders. He stayed silent as Toby tried to make him understand that they all knew Gunner had had no choice, but it didn't make his guilt ease up. "None of that changes that I made a choice that's going to stick with my brother for the rest of his life. I took a big decision out of his hands, and I don't know how he's going to react to that, long term," Gunner mumbled, before nuzzling against Toby's chest some more, as if holding onto the switch would make all his worries go away.

Toby sighed softly.  He hadn't really expected to make Gunner stop feeling guilty over his choice.  Because Gunner was, well, a good person.  He cared about this stuff.  That was why Toby had started to trust him in the first place, last fall.  He cared.  "I know," he said quietly, running his fingers through Gunner's hair slowly.  He'd chosen a show, but he didn't press play yet.  "Just... remember you're not the monster here, okay?  You feel guilty because you love your brother.  A monster wouldn't be laying here hating himself for it.  And I'm pretty sure Archer knows you're not a monster, too.  You're a good person, Gunner."

Gunner murmured softly as Toby began to slowly play with his hair. "Maybe monster was too strong, but I'm not innocent here. I put someone else before my brother," Gunner said quietly, as he put his arm across Toby's waist and held onto him, before he looked up at the switch. "I put Silas before Archer," he admitted in a quieter voice, before letting out a sigh. "I like hearing you say my name. Sometimes titles are overrated," he mumbled.

"....Silas?"  He hadn't actually known who had been threatened.  He'd caught on, throughout the course of the night, that the Doms' alternative to performing the task was to let a submissive be punished instead.  But he hadn't known whose name had been on Gunner's instructions.  Suddenly Toby was thinking of the night he'd just been through, rather than Gunner's predicament.  He'd spent half the night just trying to talk to Silas, who hadn't been able to respond.  He'd thought his communicator was broken or something, but he'd just kept trying, desperately hoping to hear from his brother, as other subs were located and rescued, and dawn came, and still Silas hadn't been found.  It had been him and Marley, in the end, who'd been able to use the direction of the rising sun to get Silas to figure out his position relative to the switch building, so they could finally figure out which roof he was on.  By then, Silas had been beaten by the guards multiple times, covered in bruises and welts.  "You made the right choice," he said quietly.  "Si couldn't have taken any more last night.  He..."  Toby's throat felt thick, and he swallowed hard.  He remembered exactly how it felt, the way the guards laughed and mocked you when they were beating you, and how much they sounded like Dad when he was drunk.  He remembered the panic, forgetting where he was, unable to figure out what was real, lost in the same terror that his Dad had always induced.  And that had gone on all night for Silas.  Something like nine hours lost in that panicked haze.  He'd said that Toby's voice had helped ground him, but Toby knew it could only have helped a little.  He let out a breath, far more jagged and uneven than he'd have liked.  "He couldn't have taken another punishment," he said finally.

Gunner kept silent as Toby spoke. He wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said anything about Toby's brother being the submissive he would've had punished if he hadn't chosen to reveal Archer's secrets, but selfishly, he had to admit that it felt good to have someone tell him he'd made the right choice. He hated that it sounded like Silas had had a tough night, though, and quietly scolded himself for not checking on more people after his part of the night had been over. "That's what I was worried about," he murmured. "I knew what Archer would have to deal with. But I didn't know what Silas was dealing with. I didn't know if my punishment would be the only thing he had last night, or if it would be the straw that broke the camel's back," he mumbled, before sighing and using Toby's chest as his personal pillow once again.

"And you don't know what they would have done," he added quietly. "If it would have been a whipping, or... Something else. He.. couldn't have handled anything more." He was quiet for a moment, just staring at the wall. "He... Was having a panic attack, or a flash back maybe? I don't know what to call it. He, um. He was remembering what it was like at home, when dad would get drunk. And we'd hide, and hope he wouldn't look for us, but..." His voice became tight, and he let out a shaky breath. "The same thing happened to me last time there was a school wide. The guards just... Sometimes they sound like him. It does something in your brain, and suddenly you aren't sure what even real."

Quietly, Gunner moved back up the bed so he was face to face with Toby. He reached out and held onto Toby's hand, as Toby spoke about his dad. "I'm so sorry this is bringing up horrible things for you," Gunner said quietly, as he looked across the few inches separating them, on the bed. "I know that when the Colonel was here for parents week, I kept hearing his voice for weeks after. I couldn't shake it," he admitted. "If there's a mark-wide for switches again, I promise I'll take care of you," Gunner added gently.

Toby looked over at Gunner and gave a little shake of his head.  "It's okay.  I'm not the one who was hurt." But Gunner was right.  Just knowing what Silas had been through was bringing up all kinds of haunting memories.  "Thank you," he said quietly.  "For not letting them hurt him more than they did.  I know you feel bad about doing that to Archer, but...  Archer is tough.  I mean, so is Silas, but I saw him when he got back to the switch dorm in the morning.  I'm surprised he could still walk, with how beat up he looked."  Toby looked down, fidgeting with the remote.  "You're a good person, Gunner."

"No, but you're the guy I want to date," Gunner said quietly, as he squeezed Toby's hand gently. He shrugged his shoulders a little, as much as he could since he was laying on his side to face Toby, and nodded. "Archer's going to be angry and say dumb things, but I know Archer can get through this. I didn't know Silas well enough to know if he could handle the punishment," Gunner admitted. "God, I'm sorry you had to see Silas like that, but I heard you were pretty amazing," Gunner nudged Toby gently. "I don't know about that."

It shouldn't feel like a surprise to hear Gunner say that, when they had literally already been on a date together.  Why did it feel like such an unexpected declaration?  He looked over at Gunner searchingly, and squeezed his hand back before looking away again.  At the compliment, Toby's lips curled up at the edges in the barest hint of a smile.  "Thanks."  He looked over at Gunner again, meeting his eyes.  "You think I'd trust you even a little if you weren't a good person?  You protect people.  You let me hide in your room when I don't feel safe.  You're a good person."

"You're the cutest when you're smiling, even a tiny one like that," Gunner murmured, managing a smile of his own. "Okay, there are good things about me. But I bet Archer doesn't think so right now," Gunner sighed, as he inched closer to Toby, and rested his head on the switches's shoulder. "Can we just watch Netflix and maybe fall asleep?" he asked, another sign that he wasn't totally back to normal just yet.

That made Toby smile a little more, though he looked down.  As Gunner moved closer, Toby wrapped an arm around him again and pulled him close, happy to let Gunner lay his head on Toby's broad shoulder.  "Yeah, I like that idea."

@gunner-clarington

[jainarden-blog]

A Little Bit Of Organization Wouldn’t Hurt A Bit

Today is a searching and researching online day for an end to the endless clutter I have lived with FOREVER! I am so ready to clear the decks both physically/mentally and offline/online and get to some #extremeproductivity.

This is going to involve a lot of thinking and a lot of trying out things to streamline it into this no-fluff ecosystem I am dreaming about, even as I am typing this. A big part of this is to go paperless and also to start using my IOS phone a lot more. The below may seem like a lot of places but the object of my game is to have places to put things where I can go back and retrieve them. My mind and life goes so fast a lot of the time that the clutter, even when it is just mental has a tendency to pile up and to overwhelm me. By clearing physical mess (most importantly paper) and mental overflow, I can create the space I need to be the best me. Two big goals are time to do online study and being fit mind and body.

Read on for tools and thoughts about them:

Tumblr - Reasons for Tumblr: braindumps, writing habit, connection my introvert heart desires at times, and ease of use. Tumblr is good just to write or to spend time reading. I find a lot of the people on Tumblr are pretty deep, creative and wildly entertaining. Tumblr is a good place for introverts.

Saved.io - to try and curb the worthless habit of saving fifty trillion bookmarks and adding to them daily without ever really delving into those websites or using them. No extensions for this. You just add saved.io after the http:// or https:// and to make folder (tags/labels) put a name in front of .saved.io. Super easy. Sign up for an account and have an online spot for bookmarking your heart out

Google Keep - I need something to take down my own thoughts in a browser as I am surfing/researching and do not want to make a big deal out of it. There is a Chrome extension or you can right-click to add notes with tags. Braindumps and a place to satisfy data pack-rat urges. Follows the line of thinking that I am using Google for a lot of things and it’s already there anyway.

Google Calendar - I have multiple Google accounts but one where all my emails and appointments go. I synced this as my main calendar on IOS instead of the default calendar. One calendar to rule them all! Same for the one gmail. There is also an extension to add events quickly, along with the right click option.

Feedbro - RSS feed reader - too bad Google did away with theirs. This takes away some bookmarks for favorite sites/blogs and gives me an easy and fast way to know that I am keeping up with things that are important to me. Clicking the extension lets you “Find feeds on this page,” save feeds and also to open up your feedreader. Feeds can be categorized into folders.

LastPass - I have used this for years on my computers. It is the best password keeper as far as I am concerned. AND FREE! Today, I put it on my phone. I cannot say enough about how great this tool is for your information.

Scanbot - app for scanning in documents by taking a pic of them. This will definitely come in handy for those on-the-go document situations. Things like bills, manuals, purchase papers, etc. I have at home will, most of the time, be scanned in using my printer’s scanner.

Bullet Journal (BuJo) - my offline to-do / to-did and short journal things. I have one for me and one for my computer. The one for my computer has already saved me this year when I was trying to figure out what program was conflicting with another. My memory was helped by my documentation on what programs I had downloaded and when. I also document computer problems: what happened and what helped. Everything in one book - I think everyone should have one of these and I am surprised I never thought of it before this year. My personal BuJo is not one of internet proportions. I tried that and failed miserably and lost all site of what the book was supposed to be for to begin with. I ditched the trying to make it pretty and doing weekly/monthly spreads. I am back to the original version that Carroll Ryder set forth with his inspiration and am a thousand times better for it. This is something I can hold in my hands and look back on from time to time to see exactly how my time on earth went.

SimpleNote - I have a Reminder label in this for to-do’s, but I mostly just write to-do’s on the calendar or on a post-it/index card to throw away. I also document to-do/to-did’s in my personal BuJo. No this program is going to be something I use for some time, I do believe. I decided I am going to document work with this, especially conversations. I never remember the specifics in time so this will be my second work brain. Tags will be people (initials, first name, or my nickname for them). I can then go back to specific conversations that I want to refresh myself on and also for people notes such as date of birth, family (kid/husband/wife name), and/or specific things about them. Also, dates of meetings, project dates,etc. This is in its infancy - I have high hopes for this going forward.

AirTable - This website/app has high potential. I really like that it is set up like an Excel spreadsheet. I have projects set up in it for tracking daily spending, pantry inventory, gifts, etc. etc. etc. This is so customizable!!!! In my pantry list, I can add columns to be able to know what my lowest price on an item was - so in essence, a pantry checker with a price book included. I figure the way I use it will grow as I get used to it and find its value.

mySymptoms -  $$ App for tracking your health. This is the one thing I paid for. I can’t wait to get enough stuff in it for a good PDF download. It is customizable to you, just like the AirTable. You can add/delete the things you want to track and there is a big list of them: drinks, food, medications, supplements, mood, symptoms, bowel, energy, sleep, stress, exercise, environment, and other. Some of these can be extra helpful for people who struggle with certain diseases or triggers. This is certainly a make-it-all-about-you app that can show correlations between a factor(s) causing another factor(s). Or even for people who forget when or how long they took medications or supplements. In my new found goal of creating a life that serves my health - this one is a winning part of it. I will be a participant in my healthcare.

Instagram - because, at times, I like to take photos of food and things I see that I like. And because, I hate Facebook. IG also gives me an easy way to change the way the photos look and share back to myself for other uses and ways to share my account online with my online people-ha. Braindump for photos.

Twitter - because it’s fun... and sometimes informative. Twitter is the quick connection to the rest of the world and let’s anyone fit into it. My favorite parts of the twit are hashtag and whatever “new episode” tv show I am watching. It’s fun to join in with whatever other people think of an episode and throw your two cents in too. I never feel like I am sitting at my house alone on Friday & Saturday nights with #livepd. With the added gifs on posts, it can get quite hilarious.

GoodReads - This is hooked up to my Amazon account and my Amazon account is hooked up to my local library account through Overdrive. So... free books. I read every night on my Kindle app (you can read in your browser too). The books are automatically added to my GoodReads account. At this time, I am 8 books ahead on my goal to read 100 books this year. 

Listal - As for movies, the best site I have found is Listal. You can tag, star and make lists for the movies/tv you watch (along with books, products, people, dvds, and games, if you wish). Many members do a Halloween movie list each year.

Pinterest - this place fulfills my yearnings to save a million quotes, presented in a pretty way and is the easiest way to make kick ass vision boards. I have multiple boards for this very thing: HouseVB, ClothesVB, ThingsVB and so on.

This is the big starting out list. I didn’t want to leave anything out because I need to be clear on what I am really using and be consistent on what accounts I use for what services. Pinterest may be a big black hole, but once set up with mostly productive boards, I can relax knowing that they are helping me visualize the things I want while also letting me do something that is fun (even if sometimes just losing time surfing the internet).The same with Twitter and Instagram. They are black holes for time. But this way they are serving a purpose of entertainment and braindumps to clear the way for good space in my life. I will follow up with this as being productive online is both an important topic for me and also a much needed topic discussion. In my research, I wish more people would post about their systems to help the rest of us out :D

[masseffectspotlight]

This week we’re featuring @lauraemoriarty!

What got you started writing Fanfic?

Oh god.... I'd have to think right back to the early days of the internet. I think I'd just finished Final Fantasy VIII, and wanted to read more about the characters-- and then I decided to write a very, very bad (I was about 14 or 15-- can't remember now), fanfic that involved the main characters going on a journey... I stuck around in the Final Fantasy fandom for a long time, and then lost interest in writing fanfic around the same time I discovered forum-based post by post RPG sites, so writing fanfic went by the wayside. But what I did learn from those sites was a lot about character development and how to keep learning from your characters-- so it was a really great foundation for later writings. A friend got me playing Mass Effect, as I'd been obsessed with Dragon Age: Origins, and after the ending of ME3 (which I really didn't mind, and still don't), I decided to write about it. The characters sucked me in, and my Sheps weren't done with their stories. Are there any authors, published or fanfic, that inspire you in anyway? Oh god. Another tricky question....Published authors that have inspired me in the past include JK Rowling, Tolkien, Robin Hobb-- and I'm also inspired by poets such as Leonard Cohen and Alfred Tennyson. One of my more recent published author influences is the wonderful Sarah J Maas and her world building in A Court of Thorns and Roses, along with her Throne of Glass series. As for fanfic authors that inspire me, I'd go with our lovely Lena (vorchagirl), Kim (mizdirected), Juleshawke, and a whole host of others who I'm probably forgetting right now. Other authors have also contributed heavily to my work: L.M Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, and to a certain extent, so has George RR Martin. The GRRM influence is more apparent in my Dragon Age works, than my Mass Effect works. What Mass Effect character comes easiest for you to write and why? This can be a canon character, an OC, or one of the MCs (Shepard/Ryder) After Rose Shepard, Aoife Shepard, Lee Shepard, and Grai Shepard, one of my favourite characters for me to write is probably Udina. He simmers with outrage, and I feel that he has such potential. Another favourite of mine to write is Conrad Verner, but in my world, he has a huge edge to him. Another character who I love to write is Nellie Nevell-- Rose's twin sister, and a navy surgeon who worked in the refugee camps during the Reaper War. She's a different type of Shepard, in that she sees far more of the war than Shepard does, and it's a lot harder for her than most people would expect. She has a very different perspective on the war, and I find it to be an interesting and refreshing take on it. Are there any characters you want to tackle writing but haven't yet? Why? Ashley Williams. I'm torn on whether to like her or dislike her, because her favourite poet is my favourite poet, and I think I'll need to write my mShep/Ash story in order to explore her and what she truly is underneath her skin. I'd also really like to write a Jack/mShep fic that's from her pov alone-- that'd be interesting to write because Jack is so complex and damaged, and I'm fascinated by her. Time to talk about your fics! What's your favourite story you've written / are working on? I love most of what I write. I'm most proud of On Both Sides of the Glass, which is a post-war fic that features Leonard Cohen lyrics at the start of each chapter-- even the name of the fic is a line from one of his songs: "The age of lust is giving birth And both the parents ask The nurse to tell them fairytales On both sides of the glass" It's heavily influenced by the music of Leonard Cohen, and Rose, my absolutely precious Rose, is quite a strong character. I'm putting her through hell over and over, and she just lets me. It's pretty amazing what she's gone through, and what she still has to go through. I like writing Rose's post-war journey, and I'm planning on writing hugely ambitious work for her pre-and-during the Reaper War stuff, along with an origins story that starts in 1066, with the Norman Invasion. Rose and Kaidan are soulmates through time and space, and I wanted to write something that would combine my love of historical fiction with my precious baby.  Start with On Both Sides of the Glass and go from there. Things will make more sense if you do. What's your second favourite story you've written / are working on? The Renegade Angels. This story came about incidentally-- I messaged Laura (aka Potionsmaster) about an AU she was writing, and we hit it off. We're both massive Potterheads, and our story reflects our shared love of Harry Potter and other things. Aoife (aka Effie) is a bundle of anxiety masked by obnoxiousness, a sense of humour, and an attitude of "who gives a fuck?" What's your third favourite story you've written / are working on? Probably my entry for the 2018 Mass Effect Big Bang. It's a lot darker than my usual stuff, and features a Shepard who is genuinely tired of being labeled  the Butcher of Torfan, even though she ceased being the butcher a long time ago. 0h! Welcome Home. I really like what I did with my Shepard here. What are your greatest challenges when writing? ​Not going off on random tangents and lecturing readers on things that are well-known in canon. I have a habit of educating people while writing, and I struggle with that. I also struggle with writing smut-- I love writing it, but it's a massive struggle for me to write it inventively and with enough feeling behind it. Another great challenge for me when writing is to not get distracted by google searching-- I'm working on something that spans 1100+ years, and trying to get all the history into it without it sounding like a history lecture is pretty fucking hard. What are your greatest strengths when writing? I'm honestly not sure. People say that my work concerning PTSD is really human and tender, and because I've been through trauma, I think it's one of those things where I end up working through my own trauma of surgeries and idiots who have no place trying to cannulate a traumatised patient. I love writing battles, and the action of war and death. One of the things I love to focus on in writing is the way that there are always unforeseen costs to being a hero in the moment, and that there are always going to be the shadows of what you lose when you go to war. Okay, we're almost done! Any WIP or sequels or anything you'd like to give a hint about? I have a few things in the works, including a Jack/MShep fic, and another Shega fic.

[sorrelchestnut]

2017 Fic in Review

Tagged by the wonderful @solas-you-nerd​, which is great because I find this sort of thing fascinating.  I decided to separate this into two sections, AO3 stats and ~author opinions.~  And to be fair and equitable, I've left Cry Havoc out of the stats section, since as a long-term WIP a lot of its numbers came from well before 2017, and shouldn't be counted.

STATISTICS

No surprise anywhere here.  The "top threes" are all the same fics, in the same order.  The clear favorite was for a new, active fandom that I was posting in right as it was getting going, and then some heavy falloff to the next two, which were rule 63 AU fics in a fandom that is past its heyday.  For that series, the fics received attention more or less in the order they were posted, with interest falling off as subsequent fics in the series were posted.

1. Your 3 fanfics with the most comment threads in 2017:

52: Shoot to Thrill (ME:A, f!Ryder/Reyes) 12: go home, or make a home (Hobbit movies, Thorin/f!Bilbo) 11: Songs You Know by Heart (Hobbit movies, Thorin/f!Bilbo)

2: Your 3 fanfics with the most kudos in 2017:

278: Shoot to Thrill (ME:A, f!Ryder/Reyes) 185: go home, or make a home (Hobbit movies, Thorin/f!Bilbo) 141: Songs You Know by Heart (Hobbit movies, Thorin/f!Bilbo)

3: Your 3 fanfics with the most bookmarks in 2017:

75: Shoot to Thrill (ME:A, f!Ryder/Reyes) 44: go home, or make a home (Hobbit movies, Thorin/f!Bilbo) 28: Songs You Know by Heart (Hobbit movies, Thorin/f!Bilbo)

4: Your first fanfic in 2017:

Posted 04-12-2017: Shoot to Thrill (ME:A, f!Ryder/Reyes)

5: Your last fanfic in 2017:

Posted 11/01/2017: Jeepers Creepers (FO4, Deacon gen)

6: Your longest fanfic in 2017:

23,984: Consider the Thorns (Hobbit movies, Thorin/f!Bilbo)

OPINIONS

1: Favorite opening line from a fic in 2017:

Bryony Baggins was, in the general way of things, a gentlehobbit.  (from go home, or make a home)

I actually love the whole opening section, but the first line was pretty good too.  It was my attempt to ape something of Tolkien's tone as best I could, and while other stories in the series (and, for that matter, the rest of the fic) diverged back to more my own style, this bit was fun to play with.  I particularly had a blast retooling the first conversation between Bree and Gandalf; for example, Bree stealing "I am Gandalf, and Gandalf is me!" line from the book.  It also made for a great whiplash to pull from that right into the aftermath of the battle, with all of the grief and hope that entailed.

2: Favorite ending line from a fic in 2017:

“I’m right behind you, ma’am,” he says, and it feels like the first true thing he’s ever said. “You can count on me.”  (from The Hollow Man)

This was SUCH an important line for me; well before I wrote this scene, it was always in the back of my head.  It's symbolic in the sense that he's saying "you can trust me at your back" which is a big thing since the last time they saw each other, she basically handed him a gun and a motive and dared him to shoot her.  It's also his way of expressing... not just loyalty, which she knew she had when he showed up, and not just affection, which she knew she had regardless of how he chose - but fealty.  Not a soldier following a commanding officer, but a knight swearing to a queen.  Which, despite the outward trappings of their relationship, is very much what they are.

3: Your favorite character to write for in 2017:

X6-88 was my dark horse favorite for 2017.  (Pun very much NOT intended.)  He's a man of VERY strong opinions, which make him a fantastic character, even if I don't agree with said opinions (or, for that matter, all of his actions).  He's a bundle of contradictions, and my favorite contradiction is how he can be so seemingly robotic and yet so hilariously human about some things.  He has doubts, and is startlingly honest about them.  He's such a prideful dick when it comes to being a courser; no else, save perhaps the Sole Survivor themself, really measures up to his standards, and he's not shy with his disdain.  But he's also bone-loyal, and not just because he's programmed to be, and he knows how to admit when he's wrong.

Also, he curses, and listening to him curse in that monotone voice is GREAT.  A shallow finish, but there we are.

4: Your favorite pairing to write for in 2017:

I really enjoyed writing Thorin/Bree, because I loved the chance to write belligerent sexual tension that is fun and snappy and not, like, bordering on abusive behavior.  But my real favorite is actually the tangled Sole/MacCready/X6-88 triangle.  When I first started writing what would eventually be The Hollow Man, I was working on it as a character piece but didn't really know how he'd fit into the existing Sole/Mac dynamic.  I thought he'd hate Mac and respect Sole - you can see that in the opening section, before the time jump.  But just look at X6's handoff dialogues.  There's basically three companions he judges worthy of looking after the Sole Survivor: Strong, because he's big and, well, strong enough to serve as a bodyguard; Danse, because he has the "training and equipment" to serve as a bodyguard; and MACCREADY.  "I know your reputation, MacCready.  I'm confident you can handle whatever threats you encounter."

Once I realized that X6 could - and would! - respect Mac, after getting the chance to actually see him at work, the rest just fell into place.  I liked writing Sole basically bludgeoning X6 into compliance using logic and charisma, but the most important part of that scene was always that X6 fell for Mac first; he was only able to see Sole for who she really is because of seeing her in context with MacCready.  Neither of them  could have brought X6 to the point of decision he reached in that fic on their own.

5: Your proudest fic from 2017:

Definitely go home, or make a home.  This fic shouldn’t exist, y’all.  I started it back in 2014, but it basically disappeared into the void once I started my final semester in grad school.  I always used to open it up, sigh wistfully about finishing it someday, and then put it back down.  And then this year, I was thinking about turning thirty and how it was this big landmark but didn’t feel like a big landmark, and I decided to make something of it by finishing an old WIP by my birthday.  And so I pulled that one out, dusted it off, and I fucking did it.  I had to come up with an ending and then redo the entire middle to make it more compliant with the third movie, but I did it.

Also, it stands out because my normal writing style for OCs is to describe them from the outside-in: you’ll notice that all of my video game fic is from the POV of the canon LI.  Cullen and Evelyn, Deacon and Whisper, Mac and Sole… it’s easiest for me to construct a character from their actions, rather than their feelings, but this was all Bree’s point of view.  So that’s a big thing for me, something I hadn’t much done before.

6: Any goals for 2018?

I have two bigs WIPs that I really, desperately want to finish: Cry Havoc, and everybody’s pickin’ up on that feline beat.  I think I’ve only got another few chapters left on Cry Havoc, and feline beat is halfway through its last chapter, and looking at maybe…  a dozen more scenes?  Ish?  Totally doable, assuming I don’t get distracted by other stuff like I usually do.  A stretch goal would be to finish The Narrow Way, but that chapter is like… three disconnected scenes with no beginning or ending, so that’s a considerably bigger challenge.

7: Tag some people.

I don’t really do individual tags, generally speaking, but you!  Person who is reading this who wrote something in 2017!  Consider yourself tagged!

[danaduchy]

Few scenes with Reyes from talktable (I wish more scenes had notes, they are fun to read):

-Intro- *Ryder waits next to the bar.* Umi: Hey! Krogan: Piss off. *Moment of silence. Umi glares at the pirate, holding her ground.* Umi: You order, you pay. Krogan: I said— *Umi reaches under the bar, takes out a knife, and STABS it into the bar's surface between the pirate's fingers. He gives in. The locals turn back to their drinks, disappointed a bigger fight didn't break out.* *The camera pans back to Ryder as Reyes Vidal slides beside him. He signals for two drinks.* *The bartender fills two glasses with liquor. Ryder turns to face Reyes. He offers him one of the shots.* Reyes: You look like you're waiting for someone. [Not interested.] No thanks. *Reyes shrugs and finishes the two shots himself.* [Cheers.] I've got time for a drink. *They clink their glasses and down the shots.* Reyes: Shena. But you can call me Reyes. I hate code names. *Reyes extends his hand to Ryder.* *Ryder recognizes the name and returns the handshake.* Ryder: I was expecting someone more... angaran. Reyes: The Resistance pays me to supply information—among other things. Ryder: So you're a smuggler? *Reyes grins sheepishly, then moves the conversation from the bar to the vista.* Reyes: Your man—Vehn Terev—was arrested by Sloane Kelly, leader of the Outcasts. Word spread about what he did to Moshae Sjefa. The people are calling for his execution. And Sloane... she's a woman of the people. *Ryder makes a face. This just got more complicated.* [Not how I would put it.] Dress it up however you want. She's a criminal. *Reyes shrugs.* [My kind of leader.] I like her already. *Reyes smiles.* Reyes: Well, she doesn't like you. Ryder: She's never met me. Reyes: You work for the Initiative. Sloane was part of the uprising on the Nexus. I doubt she'll give Vehn up easily. [Everyone has a price.] Maybe she'll agree to a deal. *Reyes seems skeptical. He thinks Sloane is more likely to shoot Ryder in the face.* [Sloane can't stop me.] I'm taking him—with or without her permission. *Reyes looks surprised and impressed by Ryder's audacity.* Reyes: We're gonna be friends, you and I. *Pause. Reyes is concocting a plan.* Reyes: There might be another way to get to Vehn. You work Sloane. I'll talk to the Resistance. *Reyes pushes back from the bar to leave.* Ryder:  How do I contact you if things go south? *Reyes winks--he'll find Ryder--then exits.* *Ryder turns to leave when the bartender calls her back. She's holding the knife from earlier in her hand.* Umi: Hey! You gotta pay. *Ryder rolls his eyes--Reyes left him with the bill--and reluctantly pays the bartender.* Ryder: Keep the change. Umi:  Always do.   -Night off- *Ryder walks into Sloane's stockroom to find Reyes inspecting a wall of crates.* Reyes: Damn it. Why can't the serial numbers be in the same spot? *Ryder crosses her arms and gives Reyes a scolding look.* [I should've known.] "Take the night off. Come out for a drink." Should've known you were up to something. [Step away from the crates.] Whatever you're doing—it stops now. Reyes: Ryder! It's not what it looks like. Ryder: So you didn't use me as a distraction to go through Sloane's stuff? Reyes: Okay, yes. But it's for both our benefit! I promise. Ryder: You've been making a lot of promises— *Loud footprints approach the stockroom.* *Reyes and Ryder look at the door.* Reyes: Shit—someone's coming! We need a distraction! [Kiss] *Ryder pulls a surprised Reyes in for a passionate kiss just as an Outcast Pirate reaches the stockroom door.* *The pirate enters the stockroom. She spots Reyes and Ryder making out and freezes.* Pirate: Oh. (Clears throat.) Sorry. *The pirate leaves. Reyes and Ryder continue to kiss. Eventually, they pull back for air.* Reyes: I think we're in the clear. [Are you sure?] Maybe another kiss? Just to be sure. Reyes: (Chuckles.) Now you're just teasing me. [Don't get the wrong idea.] That was just a distraction. Reyes: It'll be our little secret. [Punch him] Ryder: Sorry. *Reyes looks confused just before Ryder punches him in the stomach. He doubles over as the Outcast pirate reaches the stockroom door.* Reyes: (Groans.) *The pirate enters the stockroom. She spots Ryder patting Reyes on the back.* Ryder: My friend had a bit too much to drink. *The pirate looks at Reyes with disgust, then shakes her head, and leaves.* *Reyes glares at Ryder.* Reyes: Next time, I come up with the plan. Ryder: Hey—it worked. [No action] Reyes: Hide. Ryder: That's your plan? *The Outcast Pirate reaches the stockroom door. Ryder and Reyes hide behind the crates.* *The pirate enters the stockroom. She grabs a couple of bottles (or whatever is easiest for cine) then leaves. * *Ryder and Reyes let out a sigh of relief.* *Reyes inspects the crates once more until he finally finds what he was looking for.* *Reyes opens the crate and triumphantly pulls out a bottle of whiskey.* Reyes: Finally! Here it is. Ryder: That's what this was all about? Whiskey? Reyes: The only bottle of Mount Milgrom in Andromeda. Triple-distilled and 645 years old. This isn't whiskey—it's treasure. [You have a problem.] You really need to rethink your priorities. [Sharing is caring.] I hope you're planning on sharing. Reyes: We'll see... Let's get out of here. *Reyes smiles at Ryder, then grabs his hand.* *They run from the stockroom.*   *CUT TO: Ryder and Reyes leaning against the market railing. * *They both have a glass of Mount Milgrom in their hands and are enjoying a breathtaking view of Kadara.* Reyes: Gorgeous, isn't it? I sometimes forget. Is Andromeda everything you hoped it would be? [Heleus has its perks.] Every day's an adventure. Even my nights off are interesting. [It's been a rough ride.] I knew things wouldn't be easy, but this is more than I signed up for. Ryder: What about you? Why did you come here, Reyes? *Reyes stares out at the vista. This is a very personal question for him.* Reyes: To be someone. [You are someone.] You're someone to me. *Reyes studies Ryder.* Reyes: I'm starting to think that kiss was more than just a distraction. *Ryder smiles as Reyes leans in and kisses him.* [Wow. An honest answer.] That sounded surprisingly genuine, coming from you. Reyes: I'm always genuine, Ryder. In my own way. *Reyes smiles sadly and his back straightens. His mask is back up.* [You are someone.] You're someone to me. *He raises his glass to Ryder.* Reyes: To new adventures. Ryder: And new friends. *Reyes looks genuinely touched.* *The two turn back towards the vista. Scene ends.*   -Dance- *Post-Showdown, we find REYES VIDAL back at TARTARUS. He is lounging on a couch with a bottle of whiskey—the usual shenanigans.* Ryder: Thought you'd be in the throne room. Tartarus is a little shabby for Kadara's new leader, don't you think? Reyes: Come on, Ryder. You know I prefer to rule from the shadows. [That is more your style.] You are a shady bastard. Reyes: Guilty as charged. Reyes: But a handsome one, right? (<3) [You don't have to any more.] This is your chance to go legitimate. Reyes: I'm not built for the spotlight. The angara you met at Sloane's party—Keema Dohrgun. She's agreed to be my front. And with Sloane gone, there's room for the Initiative on Kadara. [Finally!] I'll start rounding up volunteers for an outpost. Might take a while—you exiles have a reputation. Reyes: Not all of us are thieves and murderers. I am, but some of the others are perfectly nice. Ryder: Perfectly. Reyes: Jokes aside, I want this outpost just as much as you do. It will have my full protection. That's a promise. [Might not be easy.] Tann might not want an outpost on a planet full of exiles. Reyes: Not really his call, is it? You're the Pathfinder. Ryder: As long as you can assure us no Initiative shuttles will be shot down on their way in. Reyes: I want this outpost as much as you do. [Thanks, Reyes.] I allied myself with the right man. [What's the catch?] And how much will that promise cost me? Reyes: The trade your outpost will bring in should cover it.   *Reyes gets up. Ryder gives him a quizzical look.* Reyes: If we're done with all the boring business talk, there is something I want to do. Ryder: You're up to something. Again. *He uses his omni-tool to turn on music—something slow and romantic—then holds out his hand to Ryder.* Reyes: I neglected you on our first date. How about we fix that? [I don't dance.] I really don't— *Reyes pulls Ryder from his seat.* Reyes: Relax. It's not the waltz. [This is a surprise.] I didn't know you had a romantic streak. Reyes: There's a lot you don't know about me. *Ryder takes Reyes's hand and he pulls him close.* *Ryder rests his head on Reyes's shoulder. They sway quietly for a moment.* *It's a weighted silence—Reyes lied to Ryder for most of their relationship. He's trying to make up for that now.* *Reyes tips Ryder's chin up with his thumb to look him in the eyes.* Reyes: Since leaving the Nexus, my survival has depended on secrets. I don't want any more of those between us, Scott. Ryder: You're the encrypted one. Reyes: (Chuckles.) Ryder: What? Reyes: I was about to say something cheesy. Ryder: Say it. Reyes: Consider me hacked. Ryder: (Groans.) Just stop talking. [Everyone has secrets.] Don't make promises you can't keep, Reyes. You will have secrets—that's who you are. Just don't lie to me about the big stuff. Reyes: Thank you. Ryder: For what? Reyes: For accepting me. *Ryder kisses Reyes. As it becomes more passionate, we fade to black.*   *Reyes offers Ryder his hand. Ryder looks at it, then back at Reyes.* Ryder: What's this? Reyes: It's a handshake. We're partners now. [Yeah, we are.] Partners and friends. *Ryder shakes Reyes's hand. Scene ends with the two smiling at each other.* [Only by necessity.] Let's be clear, Reyes. I'm only working with you for the greater good. Not because I like you. *Reyes retracts his hand.* Reyes: You know, Ryder, you're kind of a dick. But I've worked with worse. *Reyes pours himself a drink and raises it to Ryder, who shakes their head and walks out.* Cave scene here

[bugsieplusone]

Between a rock and a hard place

Injured and stuck in a cave is the last place Sabine expected an invite from Kadara’s Outcast leader.

A fic for Sloane week ~ under the cut (phew did I make it? I’ve had little time to do much this week.)

Sabine had been surprised to find Kaetus and Sloane as well as half a dozen both at the entrance to the cave when they arrived.

She shook her head. “What are you doing here? Kaetus asked us to deal with this.”

Sloane laughed, a resonant chuckle. “I want to see how you work. Plus rumors were that there was a small army of kett down here. I’ve heard you’re good, Ryder, but not that good.”

Sabine smiled at the backhanded compliment. “Thanks for the vote of confidence-- I guess.”

“Come on then. We’ve picked off a few here, if they don’t know we’re here, they soon will.” Sloane didn’t wait for a reply before her and her small group of Outcasts headed deeper into the cave.

Sabine shrugged at Liam and Vetra and they followed behind.

Pathfinder, a warning.

What is it SAM?

According to preliminary maps, this area is in a geologically unstable region. Arms fire might set of the surrounds.

Well, shit. I don’t think the kett are going to care.

If you turn your sensors on, I can monitor the situation whilst you assist the Outcasts.

Do it SAM. I’ve got some kett to kill.

Sloane’s information had been correct. A small army of maybe twenty-five kett had taken base in deeper part of the cave. However, their handful of eight, five outcasts and the three of them from the Pathfinder team, was more than enough gunpower. Only one injured and a whole lot of dead kett. Sabine had given Sloane the smuggest smile when the last kett fell, yet she remained passive and unimpressed.

The Outcasts began to move some of the more valuable kett provisions and Vetra and Liam scrabbled amongst the belongs to find things for themselves before asking Sabine if she needed anything.

Sabine shook her head. “Take what you can carry, there’s not much room in the nomad.” She watched as Liam took several items of armor and Vetra removed mods from several kett weapons. Both walked back to the cave entrance leaving Sabine behind. She turned to Sloane who was directing Kaetus and another Outcast member.

“Okay take that. Then we can go and bring back some more people to recover the rest of what’s here. Looks some good stuff.”

“Sloane, uh I’m going now.

Sloane nodded. “Okay then so.”

Sabine’s mouth fell open, and she scratched her chin, unsure what reaction she had really wanted from Sloane. Gratitude would have been a good place to start though. “Okay the--”

Pathfinder I am detecting a small tremor in the area can you--

The sound of thunder filled Sabine’s ears. Soil and rock debris flew in plumes around her, fine particles filled her mouth with dust and hit her eyes blinding her from her surrounds. She fell back, her ass hit the ground hard and a sudden sharp pain hit her hand before it reverberated up her arm. She yelped then let out a series of gasping coughs the grit coating her lips as it spluttered from her mouth.

When the dust cleared she looked down at her hand, her pinkie finger was bloody and the skin torn down to the bone. Just looking at it made her flinch. A few feet away she could see Sloane lying prostrate. Sabine’s heart leapt into her mouth, but then she saw her head move and a low groan emanate she made a deep sigh of relief.

Sloane moved to a sitting position as Sabine, walked towards her holding her injured hand against her.

“You okay?” Sabine asked as she looked down at her.

Sloane coughed and licked her lips then glanced up to her. “What the fuck?”

“It’s a rock fall.” It took a moment for Sabine to come out of a dazed state before she saw the bone sticking out form Sloane’s leg. “Shit you okay?” she said as she stared at Sloane’s wound.

Sloane followed Sabine’s glance down to her leg and let out a guffaw. “I guess not.”

Pathfinder your finger appears to be damaged, but not extensively. Also the entrance to the cavern appears to be blocked. I suggest contacting the Pathfinder team in order to find a way out.

“Okay SAM, was just gonna do that,” Sabine said aloud.

Sloane started laughing again then began to cough before staring up to the bewildered Sabine. “That thing in your head now too? I almost forgot.”

Sabine blinked not realising that she had replied to SAM verbally rather than just thinking. She squatted down beside the injured Outcast leader and placed her hand gently on Sloane’s knee. Where her pants were ripped, she could see Sloane’s skin was barely broken, with little blood. However, there was bone pointing through. She’d have to stabilise it and make sure Sloane didn’t go into shock before help arrived.

She pulled her communicator out and tapped on it. “Vetra, Liam, are you okay?”

Static filled the quiet space they occupied before Vetra replied. “Ryder, you’re alright?”

She looked at her hand then down to Sloane’s leg again. “Yeah I’m okay, but Sloane’s leg appears to be broken. Anybody else injured?”

“No. But it looks like you’re both trapped behind a wall of rock, we’re gonna have to dig you out. Kaetus wants to speak with Sloane. None of their comm device can get through to her.”

“I’m gonna dig up what I can in the way of medigel if it hasn’t made its way out yet.” She held out the comm to Sloane. “You okay to talk?”

Sloane nodded.

“Gonna go find some stuff. I’ll be right back. Gonna hand the comm to Sloane, Vetra.”

“Okay, we’ll get you out, Ryder, might take a while-- save your energy-- both of you.”

Sabine headed inwards to the small kett facility. Inside the base was a warren of rooms and stores. She remembered seeing what appeared to be a small medical area in the back. Inside the cupboards was everything she needed. Medigel and a kit with a mediblanket, makeshift splint material and a small handheld monitor that looked to be angaran. She poured medigel over her damaged finger, bound the joint to her index finger with a bandage and winced as she pulled it tight and fastened it securely.

Back near the entrance, Sloane had pulled herself against a nearby rock and was breathing heavy from the exertion of pulling herself. Sabine could hear a faint thud then a sound like a drill coming from the other side of the fallen rock. She said nothing as she knelt down and poured medigel on Sloane’s open wound, put the splint either side of her broken leg and bound and set it in place.

“Okay don’t move it.” Sabine grabbed the medical emergency blanket and made to place it over Sloane.

“I don’t need that,” Sloane said.

Sabine ignored her and draped the blanket over her lower half, whether Sloane wanted to or not she didn’t want her dying of shock and when she didn’t protest any further, Sabine tucked the blanket on either side of her legs.

“Kaetus says a couple of hours at least before they can get through. They’ve got mining equipment on the job already.”

Sabine gave a wry smile. “I can hear. Time for us to get to know each other better then, hey?”

Sloane snorted and bowed her head. “Sure. Got a pillow for my ass though?” She looked to be waiting for Sabine to reply but Sabine sat back quietly and said nothing. “Why did you come to Andromeda? Daddy make you?”

Sabine’s brow rose at the sudden interrogation. “Why did you come?” she said, ignoring the sarcastic tone of Sloane’s enquiry as she made her reply a question.

“I asked first, Pathfinder. I knew your father, he wasn’t an easy man.”

She nodded. “So you did ask first. And no, he wasn’t the easiest of individuals. Dad didn’t make us, if you must know. We wanted to come. Gabriel and I.” She sighed as thoughts drifted to her comatose brother still in the medical facility back on the Nexus. “Gabriel has a natural sense of adventure.”

Sloane spat out more dirt from her mouth. “Nice deflection. But I didn’t ask about your brother.”

Sabine huffed out a laugh. “Gabriel had-- has-- a sense of adventure, but I-- I have sense of curiosity. I’m the kid who doesn’t leave a single rock on the beach unturned.”

“So you looking for something? Plenty of rocks here for you turn over. Beaches kinda suck though. I’m not one for bathing in water that smells like Satan farted in it.” Sloane nodded towards the rock wall and laughed.

Sabine let out an amused laugh. She hadn’t heard Kadara described quite in that way, and it was apt. “Well I’m looking for homes for everyone now. The habitats we’ve found really haven’t been any good.”

“But, before you were Pathfinder? What do you think you’d find under the rocks in Andromeda?”

Sabine bit her lip and shrugged. “I dunno. You found anything of note?”

Sloane shifted her weight. “Ha. Nope. And whatever the fuck I was looking for it doesn’t matter now. I didn’t fucking find it here in the Andromeda galaxy that’s for sure. Maybe I’m still looking.”

She tilted her head a one-sided smirk came to Sabine’s face. “Now who’s deflecting?”

Sloane laughed and coughed again. Sabine made to go to her but Sloane waved her down before she could get to her feet. “Give me some of that water, Ryder.”

“I really shouldn’t. You could have more serious--”

Just give it to me, just gonna rinse my mouth out -- don’t worry, I’m not the kind to swallow,” she said and winked at her and laughed as Sabine passed her the small flask hanging from her hip.

Sabine felt a heat rise to her cheeks at the innuendo and gave a quiet laugh before looking away.

Sloane took a swig and spat out the contents before taking another and swallowing it.

“You lied about swallowing,” Sabine said.

Sloane shook her head. “It’s Kadara, Pathfinder. Everyone lies here. The difference between here and the Nexus-- is you at least know that no one here speaks the truth. Anyway, I don’t make it a habit of lying. I don’t need to.”

Sabine nodded. “Well the lying part I get, but Reye--“

Sloane held her hand up. “Ugh don’t mention him. My Outcasts are going to hunt that bastard down and show him a thing or two.”

“What are you going to do? I mean--”

“It doesn’t matter, hopefully he’s been stabbed in the back somewhere and I don’t have to deal with his deception anymore. I’m gonna rip him to shreds otherwise, or a bullet. One or the other will suffice.” Sloane sniffed and pursed her lips she stared up the rock wall and away from Sabine’s gaze. “I came to Andromeda because of Jien. I would have followed her to the ends of the earth. I wasn’t an opportunist like Reyes.”

Sabine felt a chill run up her spine and dust fell from the rocks above as she could hear the drilling noise become louder. Obviously Sloane had a different idea of what an opportunist was, certainly wasn’t her current role one of opportunity? “You made it, though, we’re here at the ends of the earth.”

A sad smile washed across Sloane’s face and her features softened. “But Jien isn’t.”

She tapped her lips. Sabine knew little of Sloane before the Initiative left, even less of Jien even though her father was a good friend. She wanted to know more about it all, there were stories of what happened on the Nexus during the uprising-- she’d heard one side, but not the other. She wanted to know more of Sloane, if for any reason it meant an alliance and goodwill towards the Initiatives new outpost. “You were close?”

Sloane shifted uneasily again and swallowed. “As close as anyone with initial involvement with the Initiative, your father included.” Sloane tilted her head at Sabine as though gaging her reaction. “You’ve got his eyes, you know. They’re as blue as the waters here.”

“But without the sulphurous fart smell behind it right?” she said and chuckled.

A wide grin surfaced on Sloane’s otherwise unrevealing face. “I’m not that close to your ass right now, I wouldn’t know.”

Sabine crossed her arms and put a mock indignant look on her face, it felt like a cover for an increasing nervousness and she hoped a light hearted response might ease the sudden tension she felt at what in any other situation would come across as flirtatious. “I’ll have you know, my farts have a wholesome healthy smell of someone with a good diet and who gets plenty of exercise and fresh air.”

Sloane started to chortle and hold her stomach. “One night eating Kaetus special bean dish made especially for humans would be the ultimate test of that-- let me tell ya.”

Sabine felt her shoulders relax and she started laughing along with her. “You inviting me to dinner?” she asked.

Their laughter echoed around the cave only drowned out by the sudden sound of machinery on the other side of the fallen rock

Sloane’s laughter subsided and they both turned their heads towards the wall where the noise came from, expecting a breakthrough; however, the sound retreated again and when Sabine turned back, Sloane was staring straight at her, the soft look that appeared on her face when talking about Jien had returned.

“When next you come back to Kadara-- I don’t trust the Initiative, but Jien trusted Alec, and I feel I have to give you at least some semblance of a chance. Yeah, come to dinner.”

Sabine’s mouth fell open then shut again. It was meant to be a joke, but here she was asking her to share a meal. Sloane’s invite came across more as an command than a request and Sabine knew she couldn’t refuse, any more than she could refuse to pay Sloane’s ‘protection’ for the Initiative outpost. However, there had been a fleeting moment of vulnerability behind Sloane’s eyes. You could ignore her heterochromia for the most part, but this was different. Sabine could take it as her current injured state and nothing more, but that moment, it made her heart pound and she felt like a startled deer in headlights of an oncoming truck.

A crashing noise of rock and dust came from the rock face that had fallen, the mining machinery had broken through in just under forty minutes. Kaetus was first through, blindly looking for Sloane before the dust had even settled.

Sabine stood as Vetra and Liam came through behind him.

Kaetus and another Outcast member pulled Sloane to her feet.

“Hey, be careful, her leg is broken,” Sabine said.

Kaetus waved his hand at her. “We know what we’re doing, Ryder. You can go.”

Sabine shook her head. “Well thanks for everything, Kaetus,” she said with a sarcastic tone to her voice.

“Stop. Hang on.” Sloane made them stop in front of Sabine. “You’re making this a habit, saving me that is.”

Sabine crossed her arms and nodded. “For all that’s had happened on Kadara, I’m not one to keep receipts, but maybe I’ll keep this one.”

Sloane smiled and bit her lip “You’re learning fast. You even sound a little bit like Alec. Maybe you’ll fit into Kadara after all.” She reached out with a grimy hand and touched Sabine’s face. Her thumb slid over her top lip leaving a trace of dust.

Sabine let out an inaudible gasp at the intimate touch, her heart rate increased and a flutter hit her belly. “I ah-- I ah--”

“Farewell, Pathfinder. See you when you return.”

With that, Sloane was gone and Sabine stood dumbfounded.

Vetra placed her hand on Sabine’s shoulder. “C’mon, Ryder, let’s get back to the Tempest. Get Lexi to give you a once over. Jaal has apparently cooked something for us, if you’re up for a home cooked angaran meal after all this.”

Sabine stared up at the turian a dazed look in her eyes. “Sure, as long as it’s not beans okay?”

Vetra’s brow knitted in confusion. “What?”

Sabine shook her head. “I’ll tell you later, Vetra, remind me next time we come back to Kadara.”

[thereluctantinquisitor]

Arlan/Reyes + micro story #1: don't leave =3

Prompt #1: Don’t Leave

Arlan Ryder x Reyes Vidal (approx 700 words, some under the cut. SPOILERS for Mass Effect Andromeda (Reyes’ romance)

“Don’t leave.”

Arlan sighed, reaching his arms behind his head and leaningback on Reyes couch. “Believe me, I don’t want to,” he confessed with anapologetic smile. “But all those paths aren’t going to, y'know, find themselves.”

The sound of the Tartarus nightclub thumped outside the sealed door,the beat of the music strangely uniform when stripped to its bare bass. In fact,the effect was so eerie that Arlan found himself tapping his foot purely tobreak the rhythm. Or perhaps that was just what he told himself to justify the anxious habit.

“No, no, of course,” Reyes said, nodding. The smuggler was sitting toArlan’s right, forearms resting on his knees, his gaze fixed on the pair ofdrinks they had just finished introducing to their all too eager stomachs. “You are a busyman, Ryder.”

“As are you. Now more than ever.”

Reyes smiled at that, but the expression was tired, not quite reachinghis eyes. “Mmm, yes. That I am. Strange… it is done. Kadara port is, for all intents and purposes,mine. Yet…” His eyes flicked between the empty glasses, as though the answer tosome hidden mystery lay in the few lucky drops of liquor that had escaped the earlier introductions. Arlan watched as a slight frown furrowed Reyes’ brow. “When Iam alone, it hardly seems real. Like some kind of fever-dream that I will wake up from only to find nothing has changed.”

Arlan turned, sliding his knee up onto the couchas he moved, propping his elbow up on its backrest. “What do you mean? You musthave had that ambush planned out for weeks, Reyes. Unless the mysterious Charlatan is more spontaneous than Ihave been led to believe.” He paused, chewing the inside of his cheekthoughtfully, then snorted. “Actually… that wouldn’t really surprise me, come to think of it.” He met Reyes’ gaze. “I’ve been led to believea lot of things, huh?”

Reyes cringed a little at that, but the expression meltedinto an apologetic half-smile just as quickly. Arlan decided that charm and liquor were a potent mix when mingling in the stomach of a man like him. 

“I, ah… apologise again for that. Again. Had I know Iwould find myself so thoroughly charmed by you, Ryder, I would have taken measures toavoid such deception.”

“Oh please.” Arlan snorted, then grinned to show he meant no harm. “No you wouldn’t.”

They both somehow managed to muster the energy to laugh, despite the late hour and the artful courting of more than a few hard drinks. Arlan’sended in a giddy smile, his mind still held separate from reality by the thin yetpleasurable buzz of inebriation. It took him a few seconds to process the fact that Reyes was looking at him. Really looking at him, and not the way most did. It wasn’t incredulous or disappointed or skeptical, and Arlan found himself uncertain ofhow to respond. Of what to do with his face. His hands. Self-consciously, he cleared his throat. His gaze slipped away as though the steel door to the room was suddenly the most fascinating thing Andromeda had to offer.

“What is it?” Reyes asked gently, tilting his head to the side. “Youseem… uncomfortable. Did I do something wrong?” He paused, then let out a quiet, self-deprecating chuckle. “Ah, aside from my already established lies of omission, that is.”

“No. God, Reyes, no. It’s not you. It’s just…” Arlan shook his head then breathed out a laugh, reaching to comb his fingers through his hair. A nervous habit not even six hundred years of cryo could sleep off. “I woke up from probably the longest nap in human history then got tossed arse-over-elbows into all thisPathfinder stuff, right? And it’s all just been a blur ever since. Everyone expects me to be this… shit, I don’t even know. Whatever it is I am grossly under-qualified. But here with you? It’s just different. I haven’t reallyhad time to just sit like this. Drink. Actually enjoy someone’s company…” 

Sighing, Arlan leanedforward, bowing his head and letting his eyes drift shut for a moment. Behind closed lids, he swore he could sense the swimming darkness. “Believeme, Reyes, I don’t want to leave. The second I go back out there I’m just Pathfinder again. Off to bring peoplehope, sew their dreams into alien soil, battle the Kett, give the most awkward interviews Andromeda has ever seen…”

He trailed off, shaking his head. It didn’t take long before the weight of Reyes’ arm around his shoulders urged Arlan to open his eyes again. It was a simple gesture, but somehow morecomforting than anything he had felt in a very, very long time. Possibly his whole life to date. Sighing, he leaned into Reyes’ embrace without realising and simply took a few selfish moments to enjoy the closeness. The warmth. The smell of someone that hadn’t been wiped away by a decontamination chamber. 

Shit, not even the eerie pulsing of the music through the door could bother Arlan in that moment.

“Then stay.” Reyes murmured the words into his hair, the sensation as pleasant as it was alluring. “Just for a few more days. Just…”

“I can’t.”

Silence. Arlan hated it. Hated the way it fought to drive a wedge between their bodies, despite the fact that they were pressed so close. Touching. When Reyes’ hand appeared at Arlan’s chin, he let his face beturned gently, expecting to meet a pair of disappointed eyes. Instead, the kiss thatfollowed was gentle. Soft. It was the easiest thing Arlan had done all night,coming more naturally than breathing for the few long seconds it lingered, as though time itself haddecided to slow down to give them a little longer together.

It wasn’tenough. 

As Arlan drew away from Reyes, the taste of sweet alcohol and Kadara dust lingeringon his lips, he realised a hard but undeniable truth. The little moments they had? The seconds they stole like thieves picking the pockets of time?

It would never truly beenough.

[junker-town]

4 reasons why the Genesis Open should be the best PGA Tour event in years

Tiger Woods makes his first visit in 12 years to the historic Los Angeles PGA Tour event. But there’s much more to go all in on at Riviera this week.

The 2018 Masters is still 50 days away but that’s just fine because the first major championship of the men’s season begins this week.

We’re having a bit of cheeky fun, but the Genesis Open in Los Angeles is set up to be one of the most exciting PGA Tour events in years. From a hype standpoint, it has to the best on the “regular season” schedule this year. The shots still need to be hit and the stars still need to align — it could turn into a runaway bore with some name the wider sports world has never heard of winning. That happens in golf. We’re not arguing this has the stakes or importance or intensity of a major. But sitting here at the start of the week, it’s hard not to be fired up for this tournament in a way that almost approximates that of a major week.

The PGA Tour doesn’t actually run any of those major championships (if you’re a close, or even semi-close follower of golf, you know this). This is not an intuitive thing a casual sports fan would really think about often. But the majors, the events that rate the highest and are the most coveted, are actually run by four different ruling bodies. They reap all the benefits of owning and operating them, while the Tour labors week to week on events that might not get as much run (but still make plenty of cash).

Tthe PGA Tour gets its fair share of loaded weeks between The Players, the WGCs, and the FedExCup Playoffs. But after that, it can be hit-or-miss on a schedule with 49 (sure seems like a lot!) official events. You’ve got tourneys that succeed because of the market. You’ve got some that succeed because of the course. Others elbow out their competitors because of the date they fall on the calendar.

But rarely does it come together so beautifully like it has this week. Mike Antolini, the tournament director this week, knows they’ve struck gold. “When you have Riviera, you have the west coast swing, and you have the history, and you have LA and you have California in February, the stars really align.” Antolini is the VP of Championships for Tiger Woods’ foundation and his TGR Live events business, which runs and operates multiple tournaments both on and off the PGA Tour. Some of those tourneys may have to hustle and grind for a field or a venue. This is not one of those tourneys but even by Riv standards, 2018 is exceptional.

Photo by Paul Mounce/Corbis via Getty Images

The first tee at Riv, with the fans crowding on every balcony and terrace around the elevated box, is as good as it gets.

I am here being my usual cynical self wanting to find a weakness or a reason to be critical!. The stakes are lower and the majors are still off in the distance. But I also think in a way that’s what amplifies the hype — it’s mid February, the Masters is 50 days away, and the anticipation for a golf event just should not be this high. It’s come together this week, however, and here are a few reasons why.

1. Tiger

For almost two decades now, the easiest way to categorize PGA Tour events is by the very manichean designation of a “Tiger tourney” and “non-Tiger tourney.” The ones Tiger patronized were immediately elevated in stature. The fields became stronger. The cash flowed. The ratings soared. And Tiger often won.

Tiger’s schedule became mostly predictable and it created two classes over the years. You knew he’d be at Torrey Pines, Doral, Bay Hill, Memorial, Firestone etc. You knew where he wouldn’t be, too.

Riviera became one of those spots that was cast aside. Tiger has not played here since 2006. That hiatus hurt — this is arguably the best course on the schedule and it’s his “hometown event,” the place where he made his first PGA Tour start as a teen in 1992. Antolini said getting back here and serving as host “means a lot in his career legacy.”

A 16-year-old Tiger making his PGA Tour debut at Riviera in 1992.

Whether it was the date, an underwhelming track record, or a course layout and conditioning that Tiger just got uncomfortable with over the years, the Riv got dropped. But now Tiger is back after more than a decade away. His presence also deepens the field around him. Dustin Johnson, the world No. 1 and defending champ, described as only he can, how Tiger “definitely brings an aura to an event that makes it a little more special.”

Tiger is not just back at Riv, he’s back on Tour after another yearlong injury layoff. He’s made just one start so far and it resulted in a made cut and top 25 finish. The event this week could be at dirt patch against the weakest field of the year and the circumstances of this being just his second PGA Tour start in the comeback would turn the hype all the way up. But it’s not at a dirt patch, it’s at ...

2. Riviera

I am not a golf architecture expert and I certainly won’t try to fake it here. I leave that to Fried Egg Andy, Geoff Shackelford, and several other voices that are really impacting and hopefully molding the game in a positive way we may not fully appreciate right now.

But what I do know is that Riviera is a fun ass golf course. It’s fun to play if you suck. It’s fun to play if you’re good. And it’s fun to watch the absolute best take it on.

“We’re in a very fortunate position when we look at the field,” Antolini said. “Riviera is such a beloved course with the world’s best players. I mean, they love it.”

The interesting holes come one after another from a viewing perspective. There’s the coolest opening tee box view on Tour. There’s a beast of a redan par-3. There’s a donut green with a bunker in the middle of it.

Photo by Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Rory McIlroy hits out sideways from the famous bunker in the middle of the 6th green.

There’s a short drivable par-4 with a crazy green the size of a fingernail. It’s arguably one of the four or five best par-4s in the world. There’s an awesome 18th hole amphitheater as the course marches out of a canyon and back up to the clubhouse perched above it all. The crowd there gets wild.

Even if you know nothing about architecture, you can still see the intrigue and excitement in these holes.

On the PGA Tour, we rarely get to see golden age designs with bones like this George Thomas classic. It’s got the history that most of other regular PGA Tour stops wish they had. It’s hosted majors and NCAA championships and the most prestigious amateur titles. It’s as good as it gets on the PGA Tour schedule.

3. Los Angeles

Los Angeles should be one of the most important markets in professional golf. But we just don’t come here often enough. There’s this annual stop early in the first quarter of the season, when the rest of the country is frozen, and that’s it. The two US rotating major championships have skipped out on LA, too. Riviera hosted the 1948 U.S. Open and the 1983 and 1995 PGA Championships. That’s it. The drought will come to an end in 2023, when Los Angeles Country Club opens its gates for what should be a delectable U.S. Open.

With this being the one chance LA has for men’s pro golf, every year the gallery has a little extra juice. “Outside the ropes, a lot of celebrities come and watch,” said Antolini. This week, the event overlaps with NBA All-Star weekend. It’s not going to compete with that, but it certainly adds to the circus in a town that’s already a circus. Expect to see a few of those famous NBA faces join the crowds at Riv.

This may be superfluous stuff that the golf diehards don’t care about, but anything that can add to the entertainment value and hype is a welcome addition for one week a year. It’s LA. Tiger is in town. And so are the most famous pro athletes in the country. Whatever the PGA Tour can draft off of to make this more of a show is good.

4. The Field

The field is always the ultimate draw for an event. We can talk about markets and architecture and history, but it’s the field that matters most. This is about as good a field as you could ask for in a non-major or non-WGC event. It’s got everything — the young stars, veterans, the top Americans, a distinctly beefed-up Euro and international crowd. Some names just so the point is driven home:

Tiger

Phil Mickelson

Dustin Johnson

Jordan Spieth

Rory McIlroy

Justin Thomas

Antolini hailed the LA destination as a draw for International and Euro stars to use as a starting point for stateside play and perhaps a drive toward a PGA Tour card. A crop of elite Euros that you may come to hate at the Ryder Cup in September are here:

Tommy Fleetwood

Thomas Pieters

Rafa Cabrea-Bello

Alex Noren

Martin Kaymer

This is still a small sampling of how loaded it is. Adam Scott is beginning his PGA Tour season here. Haotong Li, the first real phenom from China and one of the most important players in the game, was given an exemption just a day after he beat Rory to win in Dubai. There are up-and-coming Americans like Patrick Cantlay and reigning rookie of the year Xander Schauffele, Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner, Matt Kuchar, and on and on.

There are the headliners for casual fans and people who usually don’t care about golf. There are the hipster talents that the diehards crave. There is something for everyone. US Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk got an exemption and will start his year here, and it’s conceivable that 10 (or if you want to get crazy, maybe even 11) of his team members are in the field this week.

I am not some grizzled veteran golf writer, but I have been doing this for several years and it takes a lot to get me this hyped for a regular PGA Tour stop. It can go sideways and we may get little-to-no drama on the actual course. But starting out the week, we have the perfect confluence of venue, field, and Tiger that should make this Genesis Open one of the best PGA Tour events in years.

[venuaur]

So I was cleaning some of the clutter in my room and it led me to looking through my memory box, where I keep a load of things from days in my life I actually did stuff. And in this box, there’s an envelope where I’ve kept a whole lot of ticket stubs and the like, and I thought it’d be nice for my 1,000th post to list them off and reminisce a lil’ bit. Think of it as an icebreaker post about 10 months too late, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Ticket to see WWE Live at Sheffield. The main event was either Cena vs Batista for the WWE Championship or a tag including Randy and Swagger. In any event, Randy tried to RKO Cena after the match and then lost to him in about a 10 second match - Apr. 2010

Ticket to see The Inbetweeners Movie. It was the most awkward double non-date of all time so god knows we needed a movie with as much levity - Aug. 2011

Ticket to see the WWE Raw taping at Liverpool. Main event was Miz & R-Truth vs Cena & Ryder. I don’t remember ever catching myself in the crowd on the TV - Nov. 2011

Receipt for The Five Doctors, the first Classic Who DVD I ever bought. The collection’s been on ice for a while, but I haven’t forgotten about it - Dec. 2011

Ticket to my Year 11 prom. I honestly looked cute as heck and I still have the same suit. The night ended with about a 2 hour trek back to town from an afterparty in the middle of nowhere - Jun. 2012

Ticket for Y-Not, my local music festival. This was my second of three and easily the best. Got a bit hairy after I had a whole litre bottle of whiskey in 45-75 minutes, depending on who you ask. Catch me trying that today lmao - Aug. 2013

Invitation for a joint 18th birthday do at The Bridge, the easiest place to get served if you’re under 18. It’s a really cute invitation styled like a passport - Oct. 2013

Ticket to see WWE Live at Nottingham, which to date is the last time I’ve been. I think the main event was Cena vs Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship, but the match I remember most was Punk and Bryan vs Harper and Rowan - Nov. 2013 

Tickets for The Day of the Doctor cinema release and the celebration in London the next day. I went down with three friends and I feel truly fortunate that I was able to. We didn’t make a whole lot of noise considering, but you can catch me rocking my First Doctor cosplay for the 100th anniversary con - Nov. 2013  

Ticket for a sixth form social at The Sun Lounge, a nightclub that no longer exists. Peak underage drinking, but I seem to remember them kicking us out for something on this occasion - Dec. 2013

Ticket to go to a student conference led by Dr. Phillip Zimbardo in London. This was a school trip that required me getting up at like 4 in the morning, but it was worth it. The main thing I remember was Zimbardo popping the crowd by saying fuck. - Mar. 2014

Ticket to see The Fault in Our Stars. I went with the girl I was crushing on at the time, though sadly she was batting for the other team. We ended up sneaking wine into the movie and she rested her head on my shoulder and cried a lot, because she knew the book already - Jun. 2014

Ticket to my Year 13 prom. For reasons detailed in the next point, I went sporting a full beard and skipped out on the afterparty. I honestly don’t remember a whole lot besides that, besides arguing with my mum on the way home over something - Jul. 2014

Ticket to London Film and Comic Con. Prom was the previous day so I was a bit hungover on the journey down. I essentially went as Daniel Bryan in a tweed jacket. Got a picture with an old TARDIS console. Stood and gaped as Steven Moffat walked past me. Went and had a Pizza Hut after failing to meet Jenna Coleman for reasons I still don’t quite understand. So, I remember it both fondly and not so fondly - Jul. 2014

Train ticket for the aforementioned - Jul. 2014

Ticket to see Guardians of the Galaxy in Uttoxeter, which as far as I remember was the last movie I saw with friends before I went to uni the first time - Aug. 2014

Ticket to see Deep Breath at the cinema. I went with my best friend at the time and neither of us knew how to feel about the Twelfth Doctor afterwards. Nowadays he’s my third favourite behind Eleven and Two. - Aug. 2014

Ticket for the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff, which to date is the only time I’ve ever been to Wales. I was there with an online friend who I knew through the RP scene here on Tumblr - Dec. 2014

Bus ticket to get to the aforementioned - Dec. 2014

Free entry flyer to watch the Royal Rumble at the Krazyhouse, Liverpool. I didn’t end up going, but I went back to Krazyhouse many times - Jan. 2015.

Ticket for the Pokemon Symphonic Evolutions concert in London. Now this was a nice day I don’t think about enough. My dad happened to be driving a band down there the same day, so I got to ride with them, which was cool even though I caught a lil’ bit of roasting. Met up with my friend and his girlfriend down there and sort of met GlitchxCity, who seemed nice - Dec. 2015

Ticket to see The Force Awakens. I was going to wait until the weekend to see it - and had already booked tickets - but when I got spoiled on Han Solo I went on the Thursday. I would go see it 4 times in total, the last time on Feb. 26th, which is my birthday - Dec. 2015

Receipt for a Star Wars themed cup, popcorn and 3D glasses. I still have all three on display. - Dec. 2015

Ticket to see Spectre. I’m a casual Bond fan at the most, but my Dad is more enthusiastic - Jan. 2016

Ticket to see The Big Short in Birmingham. This was part of a weekend visiting friends and the day after I got properly high on weed for the first time - Jan. 2016

Ticket to see Finding Dory (or Dory, as the ticket says). I don’t remember thinking much to it compared to the original - Jul. 2016

Ticket for the MMU Gamers society Christmas meal. I met Santa! She gave me a calendar with cats on it, which I still have - Dec. 2016

Ticket for the midnight showing of Rogue One. Went with the Gamers society again. My heart is still racing from the Vader scene - Dec. 2016

Ticket to see Rogue One for the second time. Probably would have been the same day I did the Christmas shopping - Dec. 2016

Bus ticket from Dubrovnik to Montenegro. The journey was several hours and cost 226 kuna, which is about £28. The two places weren’t that different, but I got a stamp in my passport for my troubles. - Jul. 2017

Ticket to see The Last Jedi for the second time, having previously dragged my sister to go see it. Probably would have been the same day I did the Christmas shopping. I’m sensing a pattern here - Dec. 2017

Ticket to see Solo. I hadn’t seen any of the trailers but I did get slightly spoiled that Maul might be in it - May 2018.

Ticket to see The Incredibles 2. I snuck in between participating in Pokemon GO community day and doing birthday shopping for my sister - Aug. 2018

[lotsofdogs]

Leslie’s Baby Shower Weekend

After a whirlwind weekend, I’m back in North Carolina. The last few days passed by in a blur of travel, family time, baby talk and so many sweets!

I spent Friday evening through Sunday morning in Jacksonville, Florida for the baby shower my mom and I teamed up to throw for my sister and brother-in-law’s baby! Their little one is due on September 25 (Leslie is 33 weeks pregnant) and seeing Leslie’s beautiful growing belly was so wonderful and so, so special to me. I cannot wait to become an aunt and love on their little one in less than two months! AH!

When we started thinking through the logistics of the shower, I figured it would be easiest for me to travel to Florida for the weekend with Ryder and since Leslie and Ross wanted to see their littlest nephew again, we booked our flight for Friday afternoon and headed south!

I was waaay less nervous flying this time since I had some baby travel under my belt thanks to Chase and made sure to keep my luggage and baby gear as streamlined as possible. (I had a few Instagram message requests for my baby travel tips, so definitely check out this detailed travel post if that is of interest: Flying with a Baby For the First Time.)

I gate-checked my stroller, car seat and suitcase, wore Ryder through security in my Baby K’Tan and only packed the essentials in my diaper bag backpack. I was so stressed by an overly full diaper bag on my first flight with Chase because I couldn’t find anything that I needed when I needed it, so I kept my diaper bag limited to diapers, wipes, a change of clothes packed in a Ziploc (<– key just in case a blowout occurred!), a pacifier, burp cloth and swaddle blanket in addition to my personal stuff (phone, wallet and Kindle). I carried my Boppy pillow on as well which was wonderful since it allowed me to comfortably nurse and hold Ryder during the flight.

I was seated in an aisle seat in the very last row of the plane which I LOVED since it allowed me to get up without feeling annoying. Ryder was an angel baby during the flight and slept most of the time — a huge perk of traveling with a very small baby! I was even able to read my book which shocked me because that would’ve been a pipe dream on my first flight with Chase.

To those who said it’s easier to travel with babies when they’re younger, you were SO right. I definitely think an 8-week-old is a million times easier than an 8-month-old when it comes to travel and I’m grateful our travel went as well as it did. (A super-short flight and sitting next to two young sisters who slept most of the flight helped, too!)

Leslie’s baby shower began at 11 a.m. on Saturday and my mom, Ryder and I arrived early to set everything up before Leslie and her guests arrived. (We set Ryder up in the bathroom with a noise machine and his Rock ‘n’ Play and he snoozed for a good portion of the shower.)

(Note: I owe a huge thank you to Leslie’s friend Kate for taking pictures of Leslie’s special day as a gift to Leslie! She is a professional photographer and did such an amazing job. I really appreciate her willingness to let me share her photos on my blog and encourage you to check out Balsam Photography if you’re looking for gorgeous photos in the Jacksonville area!) 

My mom and I stuck to a baby animals theme for the shower since Leslie and Ross are going to be surprised by the sex of their baby and Etsy made the shower planning a breeze!

It’s been a while since I’ve planned a bridal or baby shower and Etsy has really exploded since then and made everything really easy with many stores offering downloadable templates, adorable themed banners and more. (We used a woodland animals downloadable template for the signs, favors and shower games and it worked great!)

We spent a couple of hours eating light bites of food and delicious desserts and I loved reconnecting with Leslie’s sweet friends and meeting some of her friends whom I’ve heard a lot about throughout the years. Everyone seemed thrilled to celebrate Leslie and Ross’ little one and they received so many generous and adorable baby gifts.

(The tiny Oreo onesie was a huge hit with our Oreo-lovin’ girl!)

After the shower, my mom, Ryder and I headed back to Leslie and Ross’ house to unload gifts and hang out with Ross, Ross’ mom and Leslie’s friend Colleen (they’ve been friends since second grade!) who flew in town from Chicago for the shower.

My dad joined our gang for a bit when he arrived back in Jacksonville in the late afternoon after a spearfishing trip to Key West.

I need to take a quick departure from the baby shower talk to tell you guys something completely insane: A BULL SHARK bit my dad’s hand during one of his dives last week when it came after him after he shot a grouper in 110 feet of water. He’s completely fine but how scary is that!?! He thinks the shark was around 7 feet and we’re incredibly grateful he is okay and only has some bite marks on his hand to show for the run-in. Isn’t that crazy!? So scary!

Clearly my dad’s bull shark story captured all of our attention but we also spent plenty of time talking about baby names, baby expectations vs. realities, etc. It was such a wonderful afternoon and the kind of afternoon where hours of conversation feel like minutes. I loved having some extra downtime with my family, Ross’ mom and Colleen.

Ryder and I caught a late morning flight back to Charlotte on Sunday and it was another relatively smooth travel experience. I had a pretty rough headache for most of Sunday so we spent the afternoon around our house and I worked for a bit so I could get this post up today and did my best to accomplish a little meal planning as well.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!!

[Read More ...] https://www.pbfingers.com/leslies-baby-shower-weekend/

[cincinnatiburn]

accepted - ryder lynn

there were two great applicants for ryder and both brought a different take on him. however rachael has graciously accepted the role. head over to the checklist for the next steps.

out of character information

Hello! I’m Rachael (she/her) and I’m 28 and currently in the EST timezone. You can reach me on Skype at cheru1229, I’m pretty much signed in 24/7 even on my phone at work. I do work fulltime so I am active usually in the evenings but will respond by mobile if possible. There is also my rps blog omgleerps feel free to follow me there as well!

BASIC

NAME: Ryder Lynn

NICKNAMES: Ry (very few call him this), Lynn (goes by his last name too)

AGE: 27

BIRTHDAY: 02-02-1990

GENDER: Male

PRONOUNS: He/him

ZODIAC SIGN: Aquarius

MOTHER: Marian Lynn

FATHER: Anthony Lynn

PARENTS: Marian & Anthony Lynn, not the greatest relationship currently with his mother. Things are alright with his dad.

FAMILY: David & Judith Lynn (Grandparents), Sheila Steaple (Aunt, mother’s sister)

SIBLINGS: Rebecca Lynn (Becca), she’s six years younger.

LIFESTYLE

BORN: Indianapolis, IN

RAISED: Indianapolis, IN but relocated to Cincinnati just before high school

VEHICLE:  2008 gray honda civic, same car he’s had since his freshman year of college. It’s seen better days.

PETS: None, but he loves dogs and is allergic to cats.

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: Liberal

RELIGION: Born and raised Catholic but finds himself more agnostic.

BELIEFS: Having a hard time with this at the moment, hard to believe in a God who says you’ll burn in hell for how he created you.

MISDEMEANORS: Public intoxication (a few years back)

FELONIES: None

TICKETS AND/OR VIOLATIONS:  A few speeding tickets.

DRUGS: Has been known to use some recreationally on occasion. Will try anything once.

SMOKES: Only occasionally.

ALCOHOL: Social drinker mostly.

DIET: Discovered he has a great metabolism and will therefore pretty much eat whatever he’s in the mood for.

interview section

(ooc: I kept that Ryder is dyslexic so please forgive grammatical errors and typos below. It’s him writing the answers.)

“ we’ve heard a bit about you but what else is there to know? tell us something new about you. ”

Something new? I’m really bad at this kind of fun facts question. You know at any new job where they introduce you to the team and ask for your name and an interesting fact. I don’t think I’m an interesting person. At least not interesting enough to share a fun fact. I suppose you’ve heard about my reputation when it comes to sex and what others say about it. I’ve been called a whore, slut you name it. I don’t care what they say because I’m enjoying myself and there just jealous because they know I wouldn’t fuck them even if they asked. Anyone I talk to knows I love art. I’m dyslexic. It was worse in high school and when I was younger. I’ve manged to get better through through tutering in high school and even in college. You’ll have to excuse me if I spell something wrong. People often assume I’m stupid because of it but I graduated with a degree in art scoring a 3.5. Just had to work harder than most to get it. I work for this comic company and while it wasn’t what I initially went to school for it’s pretty cool. I love comics and superheroes and I guess I never thought about creating my own comic before but I guess it would be pretty neat. I’ve been sort of working on that recently but I’m not ready to talk about it. Don’t want to jinx it.

“ you’ve been a fixture of fire street for many years now, how has the gay community changed over the years? ”

Well, I was pretty young when I first started on the scene at fire street and that was nearly 10 years ago. Wow, I guess I never sat and thought about the time line there.  A lot has changed in 10 years. Aside from rights but when I was younger it was..I don’t know how to explain it..but I guess it feels like the world and society is overall more accepting than before. I used to be secretly terrified to leave my house and go to school. And while there are just as many assholes as there were before (especially running this country) I guess it feels like with media and pop culture it seems like I’m finding more people who are supportive of me than not. Now, that’s my expearence I can’t say it’ll be the same for everyone else. But I think I’ve noticed that in others on fire street too, like they know it. Then again over the last year and what been going on politically in this country that’s a whole another story. It’s like were reverting back and it’s kind of scary. It’s like the whole world are taking steps back but it’s also bringing the community closer, I’d like to think. I don’t know, I’m not sure if that makes sense or not. I could be rambling. One thing I know is that everyone still seems just as eager to fuck and be fucked as before. Not much change there.

“ some of the men just want sex and some just want romance, how do you play into that? ”

Everyone is gonna want something different. Some guys just want a quick fuck and I can’t fault them for it, sometimes that’s what you need in that moment. Some guys want that all the time and that’s all they need to get by. Myself? I’m not trying to say anything negative about romance and everything but it leads to messy things. Relationships are pretty damn messy and not always worth that heartbreak that comes with it. I mean, I could go to and find a guy in five minutes take him out back and blow him and still feel perfectly happy life. Romance and relationships become about oblagation and expectations and then you wake up the next morning and suddenly he’s out with another guy and your left with a broken heart. I’ve seen guys who are able to do the whole romance thing and make it work. Haven’t really had that luck myself. I’m not out there searching for it but I’m also not going to close myself completely off from having one. If the right guy were to come along.

“ it seems that you suffered a pretty big heartbreak once, can you tell us more about it? ”

No offense but I don’t like talking about it. I was young and stupid and I thought I was in love. Turns out there is a difference between love and infatuation and an even bigger difference between love and lust. Just because a guy wants to blow you doesn’t mean he’s going to take you home to his parents. Maybe I’m still a little bitter about it just for the simple fact that I wish I had been smarter about the whole thing but I guess it was a good learning expearence or whatever.

“ artist extraordinare and all, when it comes to the future, what does it look like to you? ”

I think  artist exdorinaire is a little too nice but I appreciate it. I don’t know what the future has for me but I know I see art as a part of it. I’ve always found art to be my driving force even if my Dad thought I should be on the field playing sports or starting my own business some shit like that, a real major is what he called it. I guess I get it cause, I mean, artists don’t make shit. Unless of course you’re a genius or something or the next Michelangello. School wasn’t the easiest thing for me since I’m dyslexic so when I read it’s like the letter float off the page and I get this headache just trying to figure out what the hell I’m looking at and writing used to be just as hard. I’ve gotten better and it’s no where near what it used to be. I always let my art do the talking. I didn’t have to struggle with art it just…came naturally. Like I said though, art barely pays the bills so I had to find other ways to use it and I came across this place that was hiring fo a comic artist like working on panels and stuff. It’s not what I was hoping to use my degree for but I’ve been here for a while and I actually really like it. I love comics but for some reason I never thought about actually creating them myself. I’m working on my own little project though, got inspired by working here. Don’t have much planned yet but I think it’d be pretty cool to have my own comic. I’d like for some of my original work to be in a gallery somewhere, maybe one day. Right now it’s all sitting in my apartment.