#and NOW that i have 80% of a plan i'm like. well. i don't remember half of what happened when i played through early game THREE MONTHS AGO.

[icewindandboringhorror]

I occasionally wish to reach out to old friends/acquaintances I haven't spoken to since high school/some other even earlier time in my life, but I have SOOO little social energy even for required tasks (like making dr phone calls or etc), I never have any leftover for extra ones, and it would be very odd to message someone I haven't spoken to in like 5 years out of the blue but then take 4 entire months to respond back lol.. My natural curiosity with nostalgia/collecting details of the past/etc. (literally if I were born a little earlier I would definitely do scrapbooking or something lol) is very strong, but, alas, not strong enough to beat out the Social Issues Demons apparently

[librarydilf]

Me, having dicked around in act one for over a month and then dicked around in act two for over a month, who has not yet finished this game even once: maybe I should restart veilguard from the beginning

[jxckchxmpi0n]

“Is that my shirt” prompt with Ethan??? It can be where the group meets up but reader wears Ethan’s shirt instead of her own.

Mixed Items

Ethan Landry x fem reader | m.list

Word count: 790

Did not proofread

Writing fluff for Ethan is my favorite thing ♡

The group was meeting up for lunch since they couldn't do movie night this weekend. It was a small Cafe near the college so it wasn't that much of a walk, but class was running later than expected due to a movie. So you were the last to show up.

You had texted Mindy saying you'll be there in twenty minutes. You wanted to change before showing up, rushing to your apartment. You threw your purse on the couch and ran to your room.

Look through your laundry. You found a black shirt. Without double-checking it, you flipped. Throwing it on your bed, you then found some pants, taking your sweater off you threw on the black shirt and slipped the pants on. Making your way back into the living room, you grabbed your boots and your jacket.

Within ten minutes, you were in and out, now making your way to the cafe. As you were making your way to the cafe, you looked down, realizing what shirt you were wearing. It was a slasher movie from the 80s. Memories came flooding your head when you realized this wasn't your shirt. It was Ethan's.

You and Ethan have secretly been seeing each other for a while. At first, it started as friends with benefits, but then it led to more. Both of you agreed to keep it a secret for a little longer only because you liked having the relationship to yourselves.

As you were a few feet away from the cafe, you planned to not make a big deal about it. Maybe the others wouldn't notice. Entering in, you paused for a moment to find the group, Chad noticed you first. Calling out your name and waving you over.

Of course, there was only one seat open which was next to Ethan, so you swiftly sat down as the other continued their conversation. Anika was the first to greet you, Tara, Chad, and Ethan all arguing over some movie they watched the other day while Mindy sat evil eyeing them.

"How was class?" Anika's voice was soft and low compared to the others. She rested her upped body on the table as she played with her straw.

"It was good we just watched a flim on how to flim and took notes for what not to do when filming." While you were talking to Anika, Mindy's attention went to your shirt. She noticed it when you started to take your jacket off.

"Y/n is that your shirt?" Your eyes met hers, your face warmed up as everyone's attention was brought onto you.

"Oh, uhm." As you stuttered on your words, Chad spoke up.

"Ethan, don't you have one like that?"

Ethan's face was getting red as he then looked between everyone.

"Is that my shirt?" He thought back to when he was over a few days ago, things were getting heating, and he remembers throwing his shirt across your room. His eyes went wide for a moment as the dots started to connect.

"Holy shit that is your shirt!" Tara slapped Chad's shoulder as they all started to realize what's been going on.

"Okay, yes, it is his shirt!" You laughed lightly as you confessed.

"See I fucking knew it! My twenty bucks, please. " Mindy slammed her hand down on the table as her other one was shoved into her brother's face.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ethan's voice broke the silence first as Chad reached into his pocket.

"Let's see about three months ago. I had a feeling something was going on with you two. Chad here denied it because he said you would be coming to him telling him all about it. " You turned to Ethan glaring at him, which only cause him to put his hands up as he was innocent.

"We then just made a bet on if you were seeing each other and wanted to see how long it would be a "secret"" Mindy took the twenty buck from Chad and shoved it in her pocket.

"So all of you knew?" Your body hunched at the defeat of hiding it.

"Oh honey, we knew," Anika padded your shoulder to comfort you.

"Well, so much for that." Ethan looked over at you, laughing, but part of him was relieved for it to be out. He could finally touch you without worrying about the others seeing.

His hand went from his lap, and onto yours, his callous hand wrapped themselves around your thigh.

Your hand dropping down on his, lightly squeezing his. "So when did it happen? How did it happen?" Anika and Tara spoke at the same time with different questions.

"Yeah, come on, spill it!" Chad smacked Ethan's arm as the boy smiled.

[magicxc]

Frenemies

Pairings: Survey Corps - people they cannot STAND

Word Count: 1076

Warnings: none

A/N: Idk man I love a good tussle jskksks. Like give me two characters who absolutely hate each other! And with AOT I really don't have to look too far, yay. This is basically canon but it's funny to think about so here it is as well. 

Headcannons Masterlist

Eren  - Jean, Weak People

I think the Jean one gets over exaggerated a little, and for good reason too, cause the girlies be EATING with those tropes. But at the end of the day they have a mutual understanding and are cordial at best. They're mostly cool because they share mutual friends and spaces but it’s no longer beef per se. 

Hear me out, I don't think anyone wiping out 80% of humanity is willing to kick it with people who aint about it. Mans need someone who’s willing to stand on business behind him. Even throughout the show he’s always admitted to not liking people who’s willing to live like “livestock.” So this is not to be confused with physically weak people by the way but psychologically weak people. Essentially Eren has beef if you’re willing to take it lying down. 

Levi - Zeke

Listennnn I LIVE for their fight scenes okay lmao. Like it's almost always on sight for them and their lil jabs at one another? It’s chucklessss for me omg. Lets be clear, their beef is absolutely warranted. It can be safely argued that Levi doesnt really care for most people but Zeke?? Oh baby its all smoke for him. 

Erwin - The Government 

I swear if it wasn't for the literal fate of humanity and his brewing theory Erwin would've just said fuck it cause baybeeee, they wanted that man GONE. They've tried to get him fired, pointed guns in his face, and built a whole ass guillotine to unalive him; in front of the entire town mind you. Maybe that was the custom back then I don't know. I don’t remember Erwin outright saying that he doesn't fuck with the government but fuck it, I’ll say it for him. Cause I'll stand ten toes down behind this one here. 

Connie - Ymir

I promise you I let out a nasty ole chuckle at the thought cause he don't even dislike her fr fr. I think it's a situation similar to Eren and Jean's in the sense that their friends and environment often see them in the same places. Because if we’re being real, not only do they have little in common but they just don't really vibe like that. I think they could've been a little more cordial but Ymir be on her own timing and it's usually at the expense of the squad. Like when she made fun of Connie for suspecting his mother was a titan or when she kidnapped Historia like 3 times and put them all in danger. And I can't even be mad at Connie for being the voice of reason cause him calling her ugly was simply the truth. I, too, reared back when I first saw Ymir's titan form. 

Jean - Eren, Reiner, Annie, Bertholt

The whole Eren thing is basically squashed but it’s worth noting that if he were to see him in public, he’d walk the other way. 

I lowkey had to dig deep for this one cause I genuinely forgot. But even though they’re all kumbaya now, those three bitches literally watched his homie get half his face chewed off by a titan. Jean is absolutely pouring one out for Marco every birthday by the way, but yeahh it’s still fuck them. Like if they were playing uno stacked, he’d save all his draw 4’s and make them draw 16. 

Onyankopon - Yelena

I'm not too sure that Ony dislikes anyone honestly. But I'm going with Yelena here mostly because she’s the reason he found himself in his current predicament. On what was supposed to be a solid plan in motion to save his people quickly turned into Ony modernizing a primitive people, helping build their resources from scratch, having people question his race (and I'm willing to bet my bottom dollar it was mfs that got ignorant), seeming untrustworthy among his peers, almost getting killed, fighting in a war he had nothing to do with, and probably losing his entire family in the rumble. Now, one or two of those things were inevitable, but if you were to view things from Ony’s POV everything went to shit over a bitch with a fatal attraction to a man with daddy issues. 

Reiner - Himself

Lmaooo I LOVE a good Reiner drag. And while this started out as a joke, I'm deadass now. This man stays talking about wanting to end it all but never follows through, smh. With lots of therapy and support, I genuinely think that Reiner would be on the road to recovery and a healthy lifestyle; but there’ll always be that lingering thought on if he’s worth it or not

Honorable mention: Ymir. But solely because she would get in the way of his fantasy life with Historia. 

Armin - Floch? 

This munchkin is damn near Tanjiro levels of sweet cause omg who does he even hate??? He is always looking for the good in people and I'm about to dislocate my shoulder reaching this hard BUT, hear me out - It’s Floch even if he doesn’t outright say it. The same Floch who damaged the flying boat and almost ruined their mission before it even started? The same Floch who fucked it up so bad that Hange had to sacrifice herself which resulted in Armin taking on an even bigger responsibility? The same Floch who got in a lil too close with his bestie Eren? Close enough to be trusted with his future plans? The same Floch who when he lay on that ground bleeding Armin was nowhere in sight? Even at the port where they attacked the Yeagerists and Armin got shot in the face, he pleaded with his old comrades to stand down but Floch is beneath that level of reasoning huh? Whether Armin despises Floch or not it's safe to say if Floch were getting jumped, Armin would definitely sneak in a kick before helping. 

Floch - Erwin

This is literally one of those cases where its like I disagree but I understand lol. That man legit made them do a suicide charge and yeah he lead the charge blah blah blah but I could never be that brave. And so that resentment is understandable but in all fairness it shaped Flochs character for the better to be honest; cause that whole pwussy boi arc was annoying. 

Also adding the main cast of the Scouts lmao. They thwarted his plans and he spent his DYING breath standing on business. Gotta respect it.

Tags - @eveningatthemoviesnetwork

[sirfrogsworth]

Froggie's (Almost) Very Productive Day

I try to fit as many out-and-about chores as possible into a single day so I only have one set of post-exertional malaise consequences instead of consequences after each day of doing a thing. So any time I decide to drive, I try to find several tasks to accomplish all at once.

My first stop was the Family Services Division in the hopes of getting some help with grocery bills. I am making ends meet, but it seems to be getting harder each month. And maybe I could have skipped my trip to Florida and saved that money, but if I don't do something drastic for my mental health, I fear this first holiday season without a parent could send me into the darkness.

I needed to do an interview to finish applying for SNAP. I wanted to do a phone interview, but the next appointment was in January. So I went to social services where they allow walk-in appointments. I waited in a tiny plastic chair for several hours until they called my name. She yelled out "Benjamin" because when most people see "Grelle" they aren't really sure how to say it. (Rhymes with belly.)

She started my interview and it was going swimmingly at first. But then she started asking questions about the house and my inheritance and my trust. I had no idea what to tell her. It feels like a mistake now, but I have had pretty much no involvement in that process. I have no idea how it works. And I started to panic because she was acting like I was committing fraud or something by not mentioning the trust. But the entire point of the trust was to protect my benefits. Nothing is mine. I own nothing. I have no access. But I had no idea how to explain that.

Maybe my lawyer can help me apply, but I did not want them investigating everything and screwing things up before we even have the estate through probate. We specifically hired a lawyer and went through this convoluted process to make sure everything was on the up and up. But she really made me feel like I was doing something wrong. And that made me panic, which probably made me look even more guilty of something. So I just canceled everything and left.

After a few hours in a crowded government office, I decided to head to a different crowded government office.

I know I didn't need it until 2025, but I decided to go ahead and get my Real ID thingie before my first flight. I was kind of hoping they'd retake my picture because my current driver's license is... well...

And I'm so glad they took my big terrible picture and made it into a smaller, more terrible picture.

People complain about the DMV, but the one near me runs like a machine. It was filled with people and I still only had a 10 minute wait time.

I'm starting to wonder if all of those 80s comedians who were all, "What's the deal with the DMV?" were exaggerating.

Good stuff, Jerry.

I head up to the counter and ask for a Real ID. She asks for two pieces of mail and my birth certificate.

And this disappointed me a little bit.

I did my research. I went to the Real ID website and used their interactive guide to figure out exactly which documents I would need. They gave me this entire checklist and I printed it out and went through all my records and mail trying to find everything.

I had to wait a week for my internet bill to come because it's the only thing I forgot to change to paperless. This took a lot of effort and I was ready to be validated for being so prepared.

And she asks for two pieces of mail.

Any mail.

So I was off to get new tires.

Driving around on 8 year old bald tires was giving me anxiety. I didn't have the money for new tires, but I remember the guy saying they had financing. Recently several of my past debts went past the statute of limitations, and so my credit score lifted itself out of the pits of "poor" and into the realm of "fair." So I decided to take a chance and apply for a Discount Tire credit card. It's a 6 month payment plan with no interest, so that didn't feel as predatory as all the credit card offers I get in the mail with 8000% interest.

We started going through the approval process and I was answering all of the questions and then I saw the name of the bank offering the credit. It was the same bank that tried to sue me and also the bank that can longer collect due to the statute. I was worried they put me on some sort of list and would deny me. But, to my surprise, they approved me instantly. And wouldn't you know it, they gave me almost exactly the amount needed for a new set of tires.

I'm hoping we'll be doing another auction of the house stuff soon, so I plan to pay off the card and then cancel it, but this was the only solution I could come up with to drive safely until then.

I was having a weird day where photos of crusty rich wide dudes followed me everywhere I went. Here is my good ol' boy governor at the entrance to social services.

And at the tire place, I noticed this fella...

Why does every rich CEO think they are a font of wisdom capable of creating compelling quotes?

Does he think no one has ever said "work hard" and "have fun"? And after he said this was he like...

"That's gold, put that in *every* store."

"Oh, and use that picture of me where it looks like a handsome gal just grabbed my undercarriage."

He probably thinks, "Well, no one has put these specific generic platitudes together into a single mega-platitude. I am a genius."

"Be honest, work hard, have fun, be grateful, pay it forward" sounds like he had a bunch of motivational posters on his wall and started reading them all at once.

Like, every line could have a picture of an eagle above it.

In any case, the guy at the tire store, Dakota, was really nice. He made the experience very low anxiety. And he really liked my Thor's Hammer keychain with built in fidget spinner.

He went around showing it to all his coworkers. "Look, it even spins!" And they were like, "Dude, where did you get that??" And I was like, "Amazon." Now I'm just imagining 10 dudes at a tire store all fidgeting their hammers.

As nice as he was, Dakota was still a salesman and had a job to do. He gave me two tire options and tried to upsell me. The cheapest tires had a "1" rating for winter. He said they get "super hard" in the cold... I tried not to giggle. But I explained I drive about twice a month and mostly to the grocery store. If it is a bad winter day, I'll just wait or get delivery. He understood and set me up with the cheaper tires.

He then checked out my car and noticed my tire pressure sensors were dying. I keep getting a warning light on my dash. Apparently they all have tiny batteries in them that die after 7 years. And you can't just replace the batteries so you have to install brand new sensors.

And this is where my social anxiety got me into trouble.

I don't actually need these sensors. They are usually inaccurate. I prefer to test my tires with an actual gauge. But I got so caught up in his sales pitch that I agreed to replace them... at $60 each. For that I could have gotten the fancier tires. I really don't care if an orange light shows up on my dash. And I looked up the price online and a pack of 4 is $30. Though that is without installation.

But still... I wasn't thinking and he was so nice that I was just like, "I want to please Dakota. Saying no might make Dakota sad." Dakota's job is selling me but that doesn't mean I have to buy anything. He would live if I had said "no thanks."

To make my blunder more blunderous, when they finished the tires he asked for my key fob. And it decided that was the time for the battery to die. And in order to reset the system for the new tire pressure sensors, you have to press two buttons on the fob for 7 seconds. Thankfully I had a spare fob at home, but if I want my fancy new $240 sensors to work, I have to return to Dakota and have him initialize them.

I really hope these are the Cadillac of sensors.

Or, like, the ones they use on Cadillacs?

They better be accurate, is what I'm saying.

I do feel safer with new tires. So I am glad I did that. And I gave them a good obligatory kick and felt the tread. They seem nice enough even if they get boners in the winter. It's crazy how bald my other tires were in comparison. Like, I can fit half my finger down into the tread on the new ones—which did not get them super hard.

The way I drive, I probably won't wear them down. They'll probably start to rot before I do.

Before I do, meaning before I wear them down.

Not before I rot.

I am not in a rotting competition with my tires.

I was then off to Sam's. I decided all of my hard work accomplishing 2 out of 3 goals deserved some sushi. So I grabbed some California Rolls and headed home. On my way out, a Hummer and a Porsche nearly collided in the parking lot. And they sort of got stuck facing each other. One of them needed to back up and they both signaled at each other like "You back up, I'm not backing up." And it was just this weird standoff between the two douchiest looking cars you could imagine.

I mean, you have to be a douche to drive a Hummer.

I still remember the mystery Hummer dialysis patient from when my dad was going 3 time per week. We could never figure out who owned the Hummer, but we knew it was not the underpaid nurses and techs. So it had to be one of the patients. And none of them seemed the type. We never solved that mystery.

That hummer started off a delightful safety yellow. (Elon would cry.)

They decided this wasn't extra enough... so they did this...

Katrina and I could never decide... are these cow spots or the world's least effective camoflauge?

There was another patient who drove this old beater...

And I loved seeing this car because we had the same one when I was a little kid. I'm afraid the aesthetics of the 1980s Caprice Classic did not stand the test of time, but it had great sentimental appeal for me.

But this maroon beast that squeaked and sputtered its way from here to there belonged to a very sweet older gentleman. Sometimes he and my dad would be dialysis buddies—sitting next to each other in the recliners. And the worst thing about dialysis was the boredom. All you have to do is watch broadcast TV with 4 channels.

All of the TVs require headphones. They give you your own set of super cheap headphones in the dialysis welcome bag. They were very uncomfortable so I ordered my dad better ones with cushioned ear cups.

His dialysis buddy noticed them and thought they looked nice. And then he revealed that his free headphones broke and he didn't know how to get new ones. He had been watching TV with no sound for weeks. So, I bought another pair with the soft ear cups and my dad gave them to his friend. And it just made me happy imagining the two of them watching The Price is Right in matching headphones.

I do have to make fun of this sweet old man a little bit. When I walked passed his car I noticed he implemented the world's most effective anti-theft device ever created.

That's right... The Club™.

If someone decides they have to have a 40 year old car with an engine that sounds like a dying hyena and a hubcap missing... they are out of luck.

But hey, you gotta protect what is important to you. And if I needed a getaway car and my choices were between his beater and the Cow Hummer, I'd take his ride for sure.

Well, I'd try... and then get arrested because The Club™ is undefeatable.

Do NOT look that up on YouTube. It's 100% true. (And the Lock Picking Lawyer doesn't count due to him being able to break into Fort Knox with a paperclip and then doing it again to make sure it isn't a fluke.)

The dialysis center is in the same complex as my local Tolerable Schnucks and I still see that maroon boat of a car every once in a while. I always smile whenever it is there because it lets me know he is hanging in there and hopefully still has sound for his TV.

Wow, I went off on a mega-tangent.

I didn't even finish talking about my day. Where was I? Oh, the douche standoff finally ended. The Porsche Douche capitulated and backed up. Probably due to the fact the Hummer Douche has 0 visibility behind him.

When I got home I started devouring my sushi. I finally heard back from my lawyer. He submitted the last of the evidence for my appeal. And I was finally able to confirm he got the records of my ECT treatments from 20 years ago. I worked so hard to get those. At first, they forgot to send all records before 2011. I had to call back and figure that out. They shipped them and they didn't arrive until a week before we had to file. Everything was so last minute and my anxiety has been... palpable. It felt like when I did my science fair project on Sunday night.

He's hoping to get a decision at the beginning of next year. He warned me that these appeals are usually rejected. And that the most effective method of approval was a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. But that could be delayed by up to a year. So I might need to figure out how to survive until 2025. As long as my brother does what he is legally required to do, I should be okay. But counting on that also gives me palpable anxiety.

And that was my day.

Every time I go out is always an adventure.

But remember...

BE NICE. EAT YOUR VEGGIES. PET CUTE DOGS. DREAM BIG. KEEP YOUR TIRES WARM... FOR REASONS. 5 LIFE LESSONS -Froggie, Mildly Famous Internet Person

[wanderingmind867]

There's been so many different Batman shows, and I grew up during a time when there was like 50 of them on TV (if I may be hyperbolic). I saw Batman 1966, Batman The Animated Series, The Batman (2004), and Batman: The Brave and The Bold. I saw all four of those shows to some extent, and I kind of want to dissect my opinions on each of them.

I was born in 2005, so Batman 1966 and Batman The Animated Series were both beyond my age range. But I caught reruns of both shows. I don't know if it's overplaying my hand to say what tv stations they aired on, but there was a channel for exclusively retro kids content (like 40s-80s stuff) when I was really young. So that's how I learned of Batman: 1966. The first episode I saw featured Burgess Meredith's Penguin hypnotizing Alfred. I remember that one being my first very clearly, and I then vaguely remember binging some of the first and second seasons when I got them from the public library. I loved them, although I never did get around to watching Season Three of Batman 1966. I plan to eventually (now that I have it on DVD). I'm curious to see my thoughts.

Now as for Batman The Animated Series… I caught that one on reruns too, but not on a channel for retro programming. No, reruns of it just aired late at night sometimes. And I really only remember one episode I saw as a kid: Two-Face. Both parts, but Part 1 was the real standout. I remember that one almost viscerally. It made me a fan of Two-Face, and he'll forever remain a favourite. But I didn't actually love the show that much. Beyond the occasional highlight (like Heart of Ice or Two-Face parts 1 and 2), I really don't remember much about the show. It wasn't a highlight for me. I always found Catwoman especially dull on that show. Maybe my mind would change upon revisiting it, but I don't really want to revisit it.

Now, The Batman (2004). This one started when I was yet to be born, but it ended when I was probably around 4 years old. Being born in 2004, I don't really remember seeing too much of this one on TV. Except for the time I may have gotten a DVD from a library or a blockbuster or something, and it had the debut episodes of Catwoman, Mister Freeze and Man-Bat. I also vaguely recall an episode with Joker and a Train, and Penguin with the Green Lanterns (or something like that)? I didn't actually watch much of it, except for me binging Seasons 1 and 2 online when I was slightly older. I remember liking the first two seasons. Especially the interesting takes on the villians.

Now finally, let's talk The Brave and The Bold. This one aired when I was probably in the age range of being six to nine, and I loved, loved, loved this one! It's still my favourite! I remember a lot of episodes in decent detail. I remembered the first season particularly. The Outsiders, Plastic Man, The Music Meister, Blue Beetle, Aquaman, Owlman, Bat-Mite, etc. I didn't really watch as much of seasons two and three, but season one stands out super strongly in my minds eye. There's a reason I asked for it this Christmas, after all. Also, my public library had the tie-in comic! I remember reading it! I learned about Power Girl, Sugar and Spike, Kid Eternity and Captain Marvel/Shazam through that thing! It was the best!

So I saw four Batman shows, and only really remember scraps from each of them. Maybe I should revisit them all someday. But i'm focused on Batman 1966 and Batman The Brave and The Bold for now. They're the best of the best, in my opinion. And now, if anyone wants me to, maybe i can make some more posts on this stuff later. Maybe I can rank the DC movies i saw, as well as the other dcu tv shows. Maybe I can even talk about the voice actors for each show, or whatever. I have an excessive wealth of stuff to say with these topics, I think.

[annunen]

NHLWAM S12 E7: Niko Mikkola & Eetu Luostarinen

I translated the highlights of the video for any florida finns fans to enjoy.

TLDR: the finns love chirping each other and Lundy needs a babysitter.

Manninen and Putkonen are the NHLWAM hosts.

Under the cut <3

Manninen: We've got two Finnish Fort Lauderdale locals here. Niko Mikkola, new guy, and Eetu Luostarinen, who's already one of the vets. So what's up?

Mikkola: Nothing bad, getting to know new places and the sun shines. Great people here.

Luostarinen: It's always fun to get more finns here. Always welcome.

Manninen: Eetu, how would you describe Niko as a person and a teammate?

Luostarinen: He's a chill Oulu guy. Chill company, easy to hang out with him, he gets along with everyone. Really nice.

Manninen: Do you agree?

Luostarinen: Sure, i'll take what i'm given.

Manninen: Counterquestion for you.

Mikkola: We've known each other pretty long. He's one of those Savo guys, a little twisted like they all are. But there's only great guys here, like i said, so it's been easy to come here.

Manninen: You got pretty lucky, your training center moved from the middle of nowhere (lit. horse ass) to the neighbor. You could bike there, have you ever done that?

Mikkola: I don't have a bike but i've been planning to buy one. It's 5 minutes away so it would be pretty nice to bike there.

Manninen: Or an electric scooter! Has anyone ever come with one?

Mikkola: No, but Kaapo Kakko always used one in NYC. I'd walk and he'd drive past me.

Luostarinen: I haven't biked there either but some guys have electric bikes. And golf carts, pretty cool that you can come to the rink with a golf cart.

Manninen: Now that's style!

-----

Manninen: I asked "Lunkka" Lundell this same question, now i want to ask you Eetu too. Looking at your points, this season hasn't been as good as the last. The big crowds only look at points, they're thinking "what's up with Eetu, he hasn't scored points". So what do YOU think, has this season actually been worse than the last, or have you actually gone forward as a player?

Luostarinen: I wouldn't say it's been worse than last season, pretty equal. Just haven't had those successes. There's also a lot happening in the background, in the game. I play a lot shorthanded too, i've got to take credit for that. If i can't get confidence from points, i have to find it somewhere else in the small things.

Manninen: Are the points so important? I don't remember if you lead the league right now, but as a team you're playing really well.

Luostarinen: It's a team game, if your team is doing well, you're doing something right, and you have to be happy about that. But if i have less points than Mikkola, that's when i should be worried.

Mikkola: Why am I suddenly being attacked?

Putkonen: God damn, throwing you under the boat, right there under that Catamaran.

Manninen: What about you Niko, do you ever set - even though you're known as a defensive brush, let's not say broom (that's Hakanpää's "nickname") - do you set some personal goals for points when starting the season?

Mikkola: Defensive brush, i'll take that. Good name. I don't really set any goals for points. The beginning of the season was pretty wild for me, but now i've returned to a normal phase. Probably getting close to 30 straight pointless games now.

Luostarinen: Yeah, early in the season they were throwing the nickname "Niko Norris" around there.

Putkola: You were on a phase for 80 points.

Mikkola: It was crazy, but now we're back to the roots. You can't only get confidence from points. You need some guys who play shorthanded, keep the own net clear. Take some confidence from those.

-----

(Someone walks by with a dog.)

Putkonen: Cool dog. How's your dog doing?

Luostarinen: Yeah, we have a new one in the family - cavapoo, it's a cavalier poodle mix. And then we have Rose, she's a little over 4 years old now.

Putkonen: Who in your team would you not let dogsit your dogs?

Luostarinen: Lunkka. Even if we speak the same language, i wouldn't trust him with them.

Manninen: Is Lunkka your team's little rascal?

Luostarinen: He is, a little. You need to watch what he's doing sometimes.

Mikkola: But he's so young still.

Manninen: You're allowed to be careless when you're young. We've been careless too.

Putkonen: ...older too.

-----

Putkonen: Roberto Luongo was in the net at your practice. He still catches pretty well.

Mikkola: Yeah. I've said that he'd only need one training camp and he could play an NHL game again. I can't score on him either.

Luostarinen: Best possible EBUG.

-----

Putkonen: Let's take some fan questions. Does Sasha "whip" (reprimand) you?

Luostarinen: No, just constructive criticism.

Mikkola: He's flicked me a couple times with a video where I ice the puck or something. More as a joke. He doesn't really "whip" (reprimand) me.

Manninen: But he gives that to Lunkka!

Mikkola: Lunkka is "in his teeth" a little. In a good way.

Putkonen: Yeah, he was already the last time we visited. Gave him an earful from some celly, telling him "don't jump to the glass, only juniors celly like that".

-----

[the-rat-child]

12 Days of Jalim: Hot Chocolate

this will probably be my only contribution to the season :( I have some bigger fics in the works

fic under the cut and happy holidays

Salim jumped out of bed.

Raising a child made him a light sleeper, just in case something like this happens.

He raced out of his room and followed the sounds of screaming.

They weren't coming from Zain's room, thankfully, and that fact eased his mind slightly.

Slightly.

The noise led him to the kitchen, stopping as he watched the scene with confusion.

Jason stood shirtless as Zain pressed a cloth to his back.

“You're an idiot, I hope you know that.”

“Y’know damn well that you put the handle right where I'd run into it.”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Well your dumbass didn't see it!”

“YOUR DUMBASS JUST FAILED A GROUP PROJECT!”

“DON’T YOU DARE BRING THAT UP!  That was not my fault, thank you!  In fact, our professor is giving that one girl time to make up her portion, so I didn't technically fail it yet.”  He smacked Jason in the head with the rag, continuing, “Remember who is helping who here.”

“Your dad's gon’ be pissed that you knocked those glasses over.”

“No, Baba has the philosophy that cups and shit are replaceable, but I’m not.”

“80% sure he could go adopt some other shithead kid.”

“I'll beat your ass.”

“I'd like to see you try!”

Salim squeezed his eyes shut as he loudly sighed.

“G’Mornin’ Salim,” Jason greeted with a smile.

“Baba, your boyfriend's being mea-”

“You started it!”

“Will you two, please, shut up.”  Salim knew that their bickering was friendly, all in good fun, but it could be annoying. Especially if it interrupts his sleep.  “Why were you screaming?  And which one of you was it?”

"Baba, after last night you should remember what Jason's screaming sounds like," He joked as Salim groaned.

Despite high-fiving Zain, Jason craned his neck to unsuccessfully face him.  “Someone left the handle of the pot stickin’ out, so I got a back covered with boilin’ water.”

“We were going to make your tea, and we wanted hot chocolate.”

“Which you should use milk for.”

“That is not what's important right now,” Zain hissed.

Salim contemplated turning around and going back to bed, but instead, he asked, “Did you at least mop the mess?”

“Yeah, swept and mopped,” Jason replied with a small nod.

At least he was smiling through the pain.  Surely that means the burn isn't too bad, right?

“Go sit down, and Zain, go…  Do whatever.  I will make your hot chocolate.”  

Salim followed Jason as Zain scampered off, asking, “Are you okay?”

Jason shrugged.  “Not the worst thin’ that's happened.  I'm straight.”

“You weren't last night.”

“EEEWWWWWWW,” Zain dramatically screamed as he entered the living room.  

“Just ‘cause you ain't got play don't mean it's nasty, kid.”

Zain scoffed before leaving again, closing his door with more force than necessary.  

“Why were you making my tea?”

“I wanted to wake you up with a nice surprise.”

Salim appreciated that, but definitely wasn't impressed with the attempt.

Jason and kitchens don't mix, he knew that.

“Why did you try?”

“‘Cause Zain was there to help!”

“Did you at least turn the burner off?”

Jason nodded, slightly hanging his head.  He knew it wouldn't have worked but any chance to bond with Zain was a chance he'd take.  Instead, he just made a fool of himself, two glasses broke, and he wasted time.  

Salim stood up and offered a hand.  “Let's just go back to sleep and try this later.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for telling my mom to either go to therapy or shut up + possibly blowing an airhorn or something in response?

(the airhorn thing is like 80% a joke)

We've had a long string of bad events happen in the last few years. And when I say "we" I mean WE. Each of these things have affected both of us. I don't want to go into too much detail for privacy reasons, but it has been 5 solid years (so far) of bad events.

I won't sugarcoat it. Shit's definitely fucked. And I don't blame my mom for being negatively affected by it all. HOWEVER it does not help the situation to constantly complain about it. My mom has been progressively complaining more and more about how miserable she is to the point where I honestly do not remember the last time we had a day without her complaining about being miserable. (Yes, this includes holidays and both of our birthdays, which I've tried to make holidays and her birthday as good as possible for her, yet she complained about everything I DIDN'T do)

That in itself is irritating, but I could let it slide if we were both putting in equal effort. But in the past 4.5 years, I have been the only one working. It's not the best job (retail) but it's better than nothing and I at least make some money. My mom gets disability, which is not much, plus she gambles and sometimes wins, but not much. She pays for food and gas when she can, but 90% it is out of my pocket. She has not been looking for a job. (she herself said she could get a job as long as it's under a certain amount of hours so she doesn't lose benefits or she could work under the table and explicitly said she planned on doing so and then just...didn't) My job has been cutting all of our hours and the job hunt is not going well, so I make about $150 a week.

Now, I try very VERY hard not to complain about any of this. Especially since I was telling my mom about my days at work for a while and while I honestly thought I was just recalling my day, she pointed out to me that I was constantly complaining about everything and didn't have anything positive or neutral to say. I listened to what she said and ever since, I have been very conscious about not complaining about work. Now I only talk about my job if I have a specific question about something that I want to talk to her about or if something unusual happened, but I make sure it is only positive or neutral. (One time, a customer brought in an iguana. I don't work in a pet store. I told my mom about it.)

However, my mom is still complaining regularly about how miserable she is, yet isn't doing anything to help herself. (from what I can tell) She has progressively complained more and more to the point where she hasn't gone a single day in 2 months without saying how miserable she is.

It's irritating and exhausting to be around. I have asked her multiple times to please try not to complain as much and I take every opportunity I can to be away from her (covering shifts at work, going out with my friend, etc) but every time I'm near her, she's either sleeping or awake and complaining. I've just about had it. I don't know how else to convince her to stop complaining. I regularly have earbuds in just to give the appearance that I'm listening to something just so she doesn't complain to me as much. Even this doesn't work, as she then started poking me to get my attention just to get me to take out my earbud to hear her complain.

At this point, blowing an airhorn whenever she complains seems to be the only thing that might work.

[oddballwriter]

Moon boys who have a raging crush on a chubby fam reader and they go out with her friends and turns out shes like really good at roller skating and can go backwards and dance to the music? steven would probably have a heart attack 😭

Two Left Skates

Summary: Steven gets invited over to a roller rink by his crush, and neighbor, and he needs to focus on not making a fool of himself, and also focusing on skating rather than on her

Warnings: Fem reader with she/her pronouns. Nothing else honestly. 

Notes: This is just Steven. There is no reference to the rest of the system. 

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Word Count: 948

The invite was last minute. Super last minute. Same day last minute. But Steven wasn't complaining, after all, in his mind you were the cute girl down that hall that Steven saw every once in a while and at the laundry mat across the street.

So when you both were there doing your laundry and making conversation, you mentioned the fact that you and your friends were planning on going to a bar but one called out last minute. You said that it was a huge bummer because you needed to have a full party, for some reason, Steven wasn't really listening because he was caught up on you just talking to him in general, he said that he felt sorry for you and your friends.

"Do you maybe want to come?" you asked, sending Steven into a bit of a stammer. You want him to come with you and your friends to a bar? You want to go to a bar with him? His crush wants him to go to a bar with her and her friends. That's so out of Steven's element, on so many levels. He's never been invited to anything, gone out drinking, or had anything more than a glass of wine when he's feeling fancy.

"Um, bars aren't really my scene," Steven explains before you interject with "Oh, it's not a bar bar. It's a rollerskating bar.". Steven looks at you, a bit puzzled, "Really?" he asks. "Really." you echo, "Unless you don't know how to roller skate." you reply. "No, I do." Steven confirms, "I haven't done it in a long time but I can do it." he clarifies.

You nod. "So, are you free tonight to go or not?" you ask, wanting to confirm if he's willing to take your offer. Steven nods, maybe a bit too fast, "Yeah sure. I'm free tonight." he says. He wants to slack himself for accepting going out with you and your friends, who he does not know, immediately after saying the words but the smile that goes across your face makes it worth it. "I'll come get you at 8, then." you say as you grab your clean laundry basket and walk away.

Well, now he has to remember how to roller skate before he makes a fool of himself in front of you and your friend group.

After a deep look in his memory and a few videos for recap and filling in the gaps, 8pm rolls around and he opens his door to you standing there and heading off the meet-up with your friends.

Your friends were nice, he met all of them and they seemed happy to meet him. "We've heard quite a bit about you." one of them says. The bar was dim so that the neon lights that accented the building were vibrant but Steven knew he was blushing at the idea of you talking about him to your friends.

The first half of the night was of you all renting skates and doing a few casual laps around the rink, all talking to each other. But soon, Steven found that your friends either started falling behind or going a bit ahead, leaving just the two of you to talk.

"So you skate regularly, huh?" Steven asks you as you two glide along while classic 70s to 80s music plays loudly in the room. "Yeah. I learned a few years ago." you answer, "It's a fun way to get around and be active." you claim. Steven nods, "I haven't done this in years. I learned when I was a kid and then never wore a pair of skates since." he laughs. "You're doing pretty good for not having done it in so long." you smile.

Steven smiles back and tries to say something when something else catches your attention. It's the beginning percussion of Copacabana by Barry Manilow. Your face lights up immediately and you ask a question that Steven wasn't ready for, "Do you know how to dance?". Steven tries to keep his smile, but his nerves are firing off, "In skates?" he asks like there is another option. You nod and he says no. But when you asked if he wanted to try, he didn't say no, at least not quick enough before you decided that for him.

It was fun. A bit slippery on Steven's end but still fun. He followed your lead as you joined the group of dancing skaters in the middle of the rink. Was it a bit ironic to be dancing to a song about a dancer girl who lost her lover in a bar fight and spent thirty years in a mental spiral? Yeah. But you sure danced like it wasn't. You danced really well actually. It was clear that you were no stranger to dancing in skates or in general.

Steven tried his best to focus on dancing himself rather than watching your body dance around. But you sure knew that your plump curves and body shape had something to it. He actually found that he had to focus on the song that was now playing because twice now he's had what he thinks is Love Shack by the B 52's and Voulez-Vous by ABBA play past him.

After who knows how long in the dance circle you and Steven are winded and take a sit-down break at one of the nearby tables outside the rink. "That was fun." Steven comments, "I know, right." you reply with a smile. "I'm surprised I didn't fall flat on my face. That wasn't too bad, right?" Steven asks.

"You'll get better when you do it more." you say with a more teasing smile.

[halloworhorecrux]

Hear me out...

Andrew Garifield Spiderman is Harry Potter

Gwen Stacey is Draco Malfoy

Just imagine that scene where Spiderman sticks Gwen to the car and she screams out " Peter" only it's Draco screaming out "Potter'

Harry: I gotta go

Draco: I'm coming with you

Harry: Draco, your not coming with me

Draco: Yes I am

Harry: Draco, it's too dangerous

Draco: I'm coming with you, I know the wards and know how to reset the entire system.

Harry: *covers mouth

Draco: I'm coming with you. You know that you need me----

Harry: okay okay. Your coming with me shut the thing.

Sorry, I love you. Don't hate me.

Draco: POTTER!

************************************************

Draco: What's your name?

Harry: You don't know my name?

Draco: " I know your name, I just want to know if you know your name."

Harry: Potter--

Draco:

Harry: Potter, Harry Potter.

*************************************************

Draco : No, dad, I don't want cocoa . Honestly, I'm 17 years old.

Lucius: My mistake. I just thought I remembered somebody saying last week that his fantasy was to live in a chocolate house

Draco: Well that's impractical!* slams door*

*opens door* and fattening! *slams door*

Harry: * smirk* Chocolate house?

*********************************************

Dinner at Malfoy Manor, Lucius is a spokesman for Ministry

Narcissa: Well, did you catch that spider guy?

Lucius: No, we didn't catch him, but we will. He's an amature who is assaulting civilians in the dead of night He' s clumsy. He leaves clues, but he is still dangerous. If we wanted the death eaters off the street, we would have them off the street

Harry: So why haven't you?

Lucius: What are trying to say?

Harry: I'm trying to say that he's trying to help, maybe he's doing something the aurors can't.

********************************************

Auror Mad Eye Moody: Who are you?

Spiderman Harry: No one seems to grasp the concept of the mask. I've done 80% of your jobs. Huh, that! That's how you repay me

***********************************************

Draco: Really, you webbed me to a car?!?! What are you a caveman?

Harry: You shouldn't be here

Draco: Tie me up while you go off to war

Harry: It's not safe here

Draco: I know how to help you!

Harry: What are you doing here

Draco: I know the wards

Harry: that's not the point

Draco: I can reset the system

Harry: You can't be here right now. I'm not messing around. You can't be here, ok. This isn't safe

Draco: Oh, you know what, nobody makes my decisions for me, alright, nobody. This is my choice, my choice, mine.

But with a happy ending because I need the good vibes,

We can backpack this....like maybe he thinks he dies, but somehow comes back as *Gwen spiderwoman* version

Like everyone was oblivated to forget Draco, and so they meet again like the Spiderman into the spider verse in college

Draco: oh, are you okay?

Harry: What? *why am I so sweaty *

Draco: Why are you so sweaty?

Harry: It's a puberty thing. I don't know why I said that. I'm not going through puberty. I did, but I'm done. I'm A MaN.

So you're like new here? We got that in common

Draco: Sure, that's something.

Harry: I'm Harry

Draco: I'm Draaa--go

Harry: Wait, your name is Drago

Draco: Yes, it's Italian. I'm from Italy. No accent, though, cause I was raised here.

(In this scenario, Harry has been hit with a curse that makes his webbing leak in his sweet. Harry tried to do the shoulder touch he learned from Sirius.)

Harry: * Why is this so scary? Am I doing this is slow motion or does it just feel that way*

Draco: I'm kidding, it's... Drake. Not draegon, that would be weird.

Harry: hEY

Draco : Okay then .. uh. I'll see you around

Harry: oh see you. *hand sticks to hair*

Draco: *tries to get away* Hey.

Harry: Oh crap

Draco: Uh, can you let go, please?

Harry: *pulls*

Draco: OW OW OW. It's fine.

Harry: I can't let go

Draco: Harry, let go

Harry: It's just puberty

Draco: I don't think you know what puberty is.

Just relax.

Harry: Okay, I have a plan, I'm going to pull really hard

Draco: That's a terrible plan

Harry: one

Draco: don't do this

Harry: two

Draco: three * flips him*

Harry: ahhhhhhhhhh

Buzz of clippers

Harry: Nice to meet you

Draco: Sure. Total pleasure

**********************************************

After they know secret identities

Harry: wait wait hold on there is a secret society of crime fighting vigilantes.

Draco: Okay, there's this lady, Dorcas Meadows. She rides a motorcycle. Oh, merlin. I'm am learning so much from her.

Harry: Oh yea, I have a mentor, too. I'm leveled up my whole thing

*********************************************

The betrayal

Draco: I--I didn't know how to tell you

Harry: That's why you never came to see me

Draco: Harry, it's for your own good

Harry: Who decided that, Draco. I'm not kid anymore.

Draco: I told you, Harry. In every other universe, I fall in love with you. And in every other universe, it doesn't end well.

Harry: *smiles* There's a first time for everything . Well,what do you think?

Draco: What I always think. You're amazing

And they live happily ever after....

[the-girl-in-the-high-castle]

It's been a while since I babbled about my boat show, so here I am.

I know we've already talked about this, but I want to know the WHY? behind it.

Like, we might not have figured out shit about the show, but I know that this one IS figured out, cause I'm 100% sure this is true.

This photo of Maura, which Daniel took with him from the Prometheus, belonged in that empty frame sitting on Eyk's desk in Prometheus' captain's cabin.

This photo is made for a frame, and it doesn't just perfectly fit the said frame, it also looks like it. It looks like Prometheus. Old, washed out, like it had seen better days. Just like this frame and everything around it.

Now, every other photo we see in Daniel's memory is different. It doesn't come close to this one. They are all modern photos. They don't even look a decade old, let alone a century.

Another thing that supports this is the shot from the character promo that I can't find anywhere now, but I have screenshots from it. The same photo in a drawer. On the desk, there is a tobacco box, just like there is one, same or quite similar on Eyk's desk, which Maura uses to trap Alfred, as well as books written in German.

The cherry on top all this is Maura's reaction to Eyk's "family photo". Except, it's probably not a reaction to just the photo, but also the frame. Because she's had a more emotional reaction to that photo frame than she's had about 80% of other things happening around her. Every time she looked at it, it was as if it called to her, as if she was trying to remember what it meant. Because it was her photo that should be there, not some random woman and children (the original script, where she takes the frame and puts it back face down, had only the wife and daughters in the photo, Eyk wasn't there). Anyone who's seen Dark remembers the weird and off-putting staring Stranger Jonas gave us with that spot on the floor, and we later found out what it really meant (and it was huge).

So what does this mean? It means that in the previous sim, the roles were different (I've already talked about this in another of my posts. Different sims, different roles, and every sim taking the character deeper and deeper and more out of touch with reality). Maura's photo on Eyk's desk meant that in the previous sim, or maybe more than one, she was HIS wife.

Finally, what I want to know is why did Daniel take it?

Maybe it's because he knew they were gonna search the ship, and if they found it, it would cause some disturbance. But if he wanted Maura to wake up so badly, wouldn't that help? Wouldn't it help if she remembered there were previous simulations and that that meant none of it was real?

I don't believe a word of what he said to Maura about their backstory is true because everything we know about his and Elliot's memory is just a part of a simulation. But I do believe it was probably one of the previous sims. Perhaps one of the initial sims that would make her remember easier and bring her back to the beginning from the depth of endless cycles.

I don't believe Daniel is some sort of evil mastermind, and I don't believe he does any of it for the sake of some evil plan, but this thing about the photo is bugging me so much, because it also connects to him repeatedly telling Maura that it doesn't matter why she forgot, while he kept telling her she needs to remember and wake up.

I mean, he certainly looks like he wants to burn Eyk to crisps with a stare, but I don't believe in just jealousy being the reason behind it.

[galvanizedfriend]

Any chance for a snippet for the next chapter Yokan? Or any idea when the next chapter is is going to come out ♥️ I’m re reading the Wolf 3 right now and am nearing the end of the updated chapters lol 😭

Hii, friend! ❤️ I can't promise when the next chapter will come because this is turning out to be a monster. 🥲 I'm at about 80% now, and have been making decent progress, but editing this is going to be🙃 So I hope to have it finished soon, but I don't know when. But since you asked, I can give you a little snippet. 😁 This is a scene I had been working on earlier today, Kol and Eve having a 1x1. Don't know if that's the kind of thing you wanted from this chapter, but I was actually having some fun writing this. 😂 Bear in my mind that I have not edited anything, so this could all change. But I hope you enjoy it. 🥲

From TW4x03: "Hello," he greets her, only half her face visible from where she's hiding - quite poorly, mind you - behind the kitchen door. Eve blinks up at him, but stays remains quiet. "Cat eat your tongue?"

She abandons her cover, stepping fully into the kitchen now, all pink pajamas and pigtails.

She is... Big. Kol is definitely not used to following humans' growth spurts from up-close. It's perfectly normal, he supposes, but it still comes as a bit of an irrational shock to see how she went from a little baby to this fully formed mini-person. A mini-Niklaus, nonetheless. Though with none of the malice and aggression and the annoying hubris ingrained into every line of Niklaus' body after a thousand years of living in pure rage. That aside, the similarity is uncanny. It's easy to forget there was once a sweet boy somewhere before the moody tyrant took over.

"My mom says I shouldn't talk to strangers," she tells him as though reciting words she's heard countless times before.

"Ouch. Out for blood, are you?" he retorts flatly. Her wariness doesn't bother him as it seemed to bother Niklaus earlier. In Kol's experience, it's smart to remain watchful around this family. "I'm not a stranger, though. I'm your coolest uncle. My name is -"

"Kol," she finishes for him. "I know."

He smiles. "See? You do know who your coolest uncle is."

"I don't really remember you, though."

A frown appears on her little brow, as though she's straining to remember, sweeping through her admittedly short tapestry of memories after any moments the two of them might have shared. The fact that he knows she won't find any does cause a bit of a pang, he must admit.

Kol doubts he would've spent much time around his niece anyway, seeing as he was always trying to free himself of his family's clutches, but the reasons why he didn't are still a sore spot. Niklaus didn't even trust him enough to tell him about his daughter at first. And when he finally did, Kol ended up murdered by another one of his brothers before he could even be properly introduced to Eve.

"Yes, well. A sore shame if you ask me. I'm rather delightful," he remarks, detracting from the bitterness. "Isn't it a bit past your bed time anyway? Are you up to no good, by any chance?"

"What are you going to do if I am?"

Kol coughs up a laugh at her unexpected show of defiance. "That depends," he bargains. "Are you planning on putting a frog under your uncle Elijah's pillow?"

Eve giggles. "No."

"Filling Rebekah's pillowcase with flour?" More giggles. "Oh, I know! You're going to spread spicy pepper on your father's toothbrush."

That gets a full-out belly-laugh from her, blue eyes twinkling with delight at the thought of playing pranks on her family. Kol likes her more and more by the second.

"That's mean!" she exclaims in-between waves of laughter.

"You say that because you haven't seen his face. Then it's just hilarious. But if anyone asks, I never told you that." He punctuates it with a wink.

[nancypullen]

Hibernating

Hello, interweb pals. I've been lazy, but I've also been avoiding sending my thoughts out into the world. They are not happy thoughts and why on Earth would I want to add to the mountain of bad news and daily drama that we're all drowning in at the moment? Although the orange menace is actively attempting to destroy all that is good and kind, I'm not here to make things worse. So let's take a little trip into the Land of Denial and pretend that everything is fine.

I'll fill you in on what's shaking around the Pullen house. Well, not much, actually. The days tend to all run together and I try to stay busy in my craft room making everything from greeting cards to mosaic birdhouses - it keeps me sane. These are the cards currently in progress. I still need to clean them up a bit and embellish them, I usually just add buttons.

The first birdhouse is already sitting on the front porch. The winter porch is so blah, doesn't hurt to have a little something bright out there.

That's just a cheap, unfinished wood birdhouse from Michael's. I think it was $6. Some broken china from Goodwill, a little paint and grout, and our birds have the fanciest digs in town. Also, my hands were busy so I didn't kill anyone that week. Speaking of my poor hands. I've been picking up vases and candleholders at Goodwill, painting them, then covering them in shattered glass. I think mentioned this a couple of months ago. We made them with my sweet grandma when we were kids and she called them GloomChasers. When you put a candle inside it casts the colored light on your walls and chases away the gloom. I looked everywhere in the internet to find a method for making them,no luck. It seemed so easy when we did it with Grandma. I remembered (maybe incorrectly?) that the glass was already colored. My sister said she remembered painting each individual piece of glass. The truth is probably somewhere in between. Anyyywayyy, my darling husband purchased a sheet of tempered glass, we wrapped it up and gave it a good whack to shatter it and I made trial run with a goldfish bowl. It was okay, and I learned from my mistakes. Kind of.

I've been practicing because I have a big box of broken glass to use, and now I've got stuff like this sitting and drying all over my craft room (waiting for grout).

I've got red for next Christmas, blue just because I had blue paint, another is painted in a rainbow of colors...and I've jabbed my fingers so many times with glass that I doubt I have fingerprints anymore. If I ever go missing and detective sprays my craft room with luminol they'll arrest Mickey for murder. I don't remember bloody fingers when I was a kid, so I'm doing something terribly wrong, but it's a very zen activity and fun to do while I listen to a podcast. Last, but certainly not least, we took a little trip out of town. Originally we'd planned to escape all of the inaugural hoopty-do, but a blizzard canceled those plans. We pushed our plans back a few days and then headed north(west). We crossed the icy Chesapeake Bay...

and pointed the car toward Hagerstown.

The drive was uneventful, and I was delighted to find our hotel was right next door to a mall. Here in Dogpatch I am deprived of my favorite pastime - browsing. To say that our shopping selections are sparse is an enormous understatement. I was so excited to see a BELK that I might have yelped. It was a big one, too.

I didn't buy a single thing in there, but I sure loved looking. There's a polka dot blouse that I can't stop thinking about, but where would I wear it...Aldi?? I think I touched everything in the store - shoes, cosmetics, clothing, purses, Christmas decor clearance (80% off!!!). It was wonderful. I actually did make some purchases while we were in Hagerstown - I found a Hallmark store and bought three boxes of Xmas cards that were 80% off. Three boxes for $7.95 total! For several years I've designed our cards and had them printed, but I don't think anyone really cares. They all end up in the trash, so $7.95 feels smarter. We also paid a visit to a JoAnn Fabrics store (imagine Mickeys' delight) because that's where I used to buy my paper supplies for making cards. They always have the best selection and best prices. Haven't been able to visit one in ages. You guys, I went to the one in Hagerstown twice. I mean, the paper was on sale and who knows when I'll get to shop at JoAnn's again. Rumor has it they're going out of business- I hope not.

I made one other purchase on our little trip. A book. Just a paperback, but it was signed by the author. Nora Roberts has an inn in Boonsboro, Maryland - and she once wrote a trilogy with that inn as the setting. It had everything - romance, heartache, humor, a ghost. I've read a ton of her books over the years, she also writes under the name JD Robb. I remember a series that took place on thoroughbred farms in Kentucky (that really fed into my love of the Kentucky Derby). She's written well over 200 romance novels, and perhaps as many suspense novels under the JD Robb moniker. I'm rambling - I should just say we went to Boonsboro and found the inn right on Main Street.

The gorgeous suites are all named for literary couples, Elizabeth and Darcy, Nick and Nora, Titania and Oberon, Jane and Rochester - you get the idea. Right across the street from the inn you'll find her husband's shop, Turn the Page Book Store. Next to that is the inn's gift shop featuring all sorts of gorgeous creations from local artisans. Her sons own a few restaurants in town, a couple of them on Main Street. Her family is keeping this little mountain town alive and employed. People come to see the inn and buy a book, they stay for coffee and a meal. Nora Roberts was once asked why she lived in Washington County, Maryland when she could live anywhere in the world. She replied that Boonsboro is home, that she raised her sons there, wrote her first book there, found love again there, and loves it. She's worth about $400 million and lives in the same rambler house she raised her children in, though she has added a gym and an enormous closet. ha! Here's a great article from a few years back: https://www.jezebel.com/welcome-to-noraville-the-small-maryland-town-rebuilt-b-1832961839 Her foundation has poured millions into the town and the state, so I didn't hesitate to drop a few dollars at the bookstore. I know it will be used well. Imagine my surprise while I was browsing when I realized she was right behind me!

Can't tell you how relieved I was to be out of focus in that shot. Wrinkles, two-toned hair with static electricity reaching for the ceiling - I really had it goin' on that day. Look away, look at Nora! Pretend she was really there and we had a long conversation and became BFFs. *sigh* Anywho, we had a grand time running around the region - and we hardly scraped the surface. There's so much history there, we did pay a visit to the National Park Service site at the C&O Canal. Super interesting, tons of labor and money spent and then the railroad came through before it was even finished and made it obsolete. Oops. I mean, boats pulled by mules on a tow path might not have been the best plan anyway, but the river was otherwise not really navigable, so the canal seemed like a grand idea. I'll bet they didn't ask a single woman for input. Just sayin'. That's about it from the Pullen Patch. Very little to share, just trying to survive with my heart and mind intact. The future looks rather grim, so it's important to find happiness where we can. Too often for me that's in a cookie jar or an online boutique - two habits I'm trying to break. Tomorrow will be a wonderful day because my sister is coming. We both really like a hair stylist in Easton so we've booked appointments for tomorrow and she's driving in. Isn't that an awful thing to do to that poor stylist? Two heads of hair like ours in one day, one after the other? I feel like I should take her a gift, or at the very least apologize. I haven't had a haircut since I had it chopped short in August. Then I made the mistake of coloring it mid-October before we went to France. It's a mess. I'm not sure what I want her to do with it, but I can't keep walking around like this.

I feel so dated. But I don't like short hair with my mug. Help! I swear, I'll go to my grave wondering what to do with the mop on my head. I really regret coloring it and now having to grow out all that white hair again. Ugh. Oh well, I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow. If nothing else I know my sister and I can laugh about it. Then we'll drown our sorrows in a bowl of crab soup. That's a win. Okay, I've blathered enough. What a bunch of nonsense. If you're still here, thank you. Give yourself a cookie. Hopefully something blogworthy will happen soon - we have a very special family member who has a 7th birthday coming up, that'll be fun! She's having a party at a trampoline park. I don't see Grancy participating in that. The next blog post would be about how I broke my hip and got carted out of a birthday party by EMTs. No thanks. I hope that you're doing well and finding tidbits of joy where you can. Don't let the bastards grind you down. Joy is resistance, happiness is powerful. Stay well, stay safe. XOXO, Nancy

[britt-kageryuu]

Leo is streaming. His model is in his Unicorn onesie, slippers, and mask. He's on his blue inflatable chair floating in a virtual pool. River is on a inflatable table next to him. He's doing an AMA, were viewers can redeem 'Turtle Treats' aka channel points to ask a question anonymously. There is a sign that lists some restrictions on the questions, and if you attempt you will just get your points back.

River: How are things going with your crush?

He turns quite red, and calms himself a bit.

Leo: Things are going fine! We run into each other every now and then at the Restuarant. We went on a couple dates. We don't want to put out to much about our relationship for privacy reasons. Okay next question!

River: Are going to go anywhere else after you finish school?

Leo: No, I really like the clinic, and want to stay there. Plus we have some big plans for the place, like we set up a little cafe type area in the waiting room for clients who might have to wait for their appointments!

A sign saying Sponsored/Not Sponsored by The Caffeinated Turtle Coffee and Tea swings down before 'breaking off' and falling out of frame. Leo looks confused.

Leo: Who keeps doing that? Anyway next question!

River: Are you into any anime/manga? Any favorite from your childhood?

Leo: Kinda for both. We didn't get many channels that had Anime on them when we were little, and it was a while before we got the internet installed, so we may have watched Pokémon, maybe some random DBZ, but didn't watch alot of it because of fighting over what to watch.

Leo pauses to take a drink before continuing.

Leo: But I have been watching some interesting ones recently, like Cells at Work, My Hero Academia, and Black Clover. Though all of us have our own tastes, and I won't tell you what the others like, ask them yourself. Next!

River: Do you have any odd house rules? Not game rules BTW.

Leo: Well this needs some explaining. Okay, a few years again we moved to our current home after an accident destroyed our old one. When we got here we started some renovations, like putting a huge tub in one of the bathrooms that fits all of us in it with room to spare! It looks like an Onsen. Well that left us with one actual Shower, since the huge tub is more for soaking than cleaning.

Another pause to take a drink and catch his breath.

Leo: So we are kinda extra, and tend to have Shower Concerts that last a long time. So if someone else wanted to shower after they would have to wait. So since no one wanted to try making a shower schedule, we now have a waterproof speaker in that bathroom that we can all control. So we play a set number of songs, or a really long song, and have to end our showers when they finish, or else we add an annoying song to the list.

River: Chat would like to say that's very weird.

Leo: Yeah, but it's that or scream at each other to get out of the Shower. Next question!

River: Do you know any other languages?

Leo: Yup! I know quite a bit of Spanish, but I'm a bit out of practice, so I might mess up my words. And we're all working on our Japanese. Dad didn't really teach us, because he didn't think he'd want to go back after leaving his family.

River: On that note, Do you have any family in Japan?

Leo: Maybe? We haven't really tried reaching or searching, because the last time Dad talked to anyone from his family was like, (he's trying to figure the right number) in like the 80's, 90's, and he doesn't really remember if he had any cousins, aunts, uncles, and the like. We might make some attempts in the future, but it's got to be an agreed upon decision. Next question please!

The stream went on for a while longer with chat getting very excited about this new information, and some trying to connect information, but some just get knocked out for obviously trying to dig for more personal information.

--------------------

Masterpost

[eyes-of-metal]

Love Again

Bruce Kulick X Rockstar OC

Chapter One

Plot: Ren was once a guitar icon in the late 80s, but now it's 1992. Her heart and band broke, and now she's a shell of her former self. Her sister thinks Bruce might be the man to help her get her spark back, so with the help of her fiance, Eric, they devise a plan to get them together.

Bruce’s POV

“Thanks for letting me borrow your car, baby.” Alexandra, Eric’s girlfriend, thanks him by kissing him.

I looked over at the wrong moment. Of course, I'm happy for him; he has a less-than-great dating history and deserves it. She’s also his fiance, so of course they will do that. It's just that you don't want to see your buddy making out with someone.

She’s here with her teenage sister, who looks unimpressed to be in the room with an old rock band. She keeps rolling her eyes and pulling annoyed faces. I guess some things never change, and teenagers is one of them.

“Can we go now?” She asks once Alexandra stops kissing Eric.

“Yes, we're going,” Alexandra says, annoyed at her attitude, as they disappear out the door.

I turn my attention back to my guitar and the rehearsal at hand. The tour is in a couple of weeks, and we've been rehearsing like crazy to ensure everything is tight.

“You guys are coming to the party, right?” Eric asks me, Gene and Paul.

The party is his engagement party. It’s wild to think that soon, I’ll be the only one in KISS who's not married. Gene isn't legally married, but he might as well be. He has two kids with Shannon. Paul recently got married, and now Eric. That leaves me. I did almost get married once, but that never worked out.

“We’re all coming,” Paul speaks for all of us.

“Doesn’t she have like six sisters? Gene asks, looking at Eric.

“Yup,” Eric says, “and they all live together; for now, once we get married, Alexandra is going to live with me.”

“That house must be something else,” Paul comments.

“It’s a mansion. Her sister, who's three years older than her, is Ren Blix. She was the guitarist of the band Savage Seduction.” Eric informs us all.

Many years ago, on my first tour with KISS, we went on a tour with them. I remember thinking Ren was a very talented guitar player. They took off during that tour and went on to headline arenas worldwide, having a few hit songs that got to number one. Then they disappeared. I haven't heard anything about them since then.

“Oh yeah, I remember her.” Gene pipes up, “It’s a small world.”

“I wonder what ever happened to them?” Paul ponders, “I haven't heard anything about them in years.”

“I have no idea.” Eric shrugs, “The party is at the house, so you could always ask Ren.”

“I might.” Paul shrugs, “Now, let's get back to rehearsals.

——————————————————

Ren’s POV

It's wild to think my sister is getting married to a member of KISS. I remember back in 1984 when I toured with them as the opening act. That was the tour where Savage Seduction took off. The tour where we got our first number-one song and album. That tour holds a special place in my heart.

During the tour after that, we headed to the arenas with our opening act. The way it would be for the rest of our careers until the band's bitter end. I wish he hadn't ended how it ended.

It still hurts. Jayce was my first love and musical companion since we were thirteen. We built a whole life together, and I thought we'd never lose that. How stupid I was. We were kids in love who thought nothing would change that. Of course, time and fame change everything.

Hindsight is 50/50. You should never start a band with your boyfriend. I know that. I just thought, hey, it will be different for us. We’ve known each other since we were thirteen; nothing can tear us apart, but time and fame will find a way.

We drifted apart, but we kept holding on like idiots. We didn't want to ruin the band we worked so hard to create. We might have been able to save it if we just let go, but we didn't.

He cheated on me. He cheated on me a lot. Then, it was published in a tabloid magazine to rub salt into the wound. He published it. He fucking humiliated me like that. He exposed his unfaithfulness to the world and made me look like an idiot. The band ended because we couldn't be in the same room anymore.

I’m happy for my sister. I am. Eric seems like a good guy. Then again, so did Jace; we know how that turned out. I still want to stay optimistic about my sister even if I'm overly loved. That's why I'm throwing her this engagement party.

I look into the living room and spot my youngest sister, Cassidy, who’s thirteen, yapping someone's ear off. She loves to talk and will talk about anything with anyone. Tonight, her victim seems to be Bruce Kulick.

He's the guitar player of KISS. If I remember correctly, my tour with them was his first. I've met him before, but that tour was hectic, so we didn't interact much.

He's politely listening to her Yap. Which is nice of him, but I feel bad for the guy. He's getting yapped at by a thirteen-year-old girl about god knows what.

“Oh hey, Ren!” She greets me enthusiastically. “She’s also a guitarist.”

“I know; I've seen her play before,” Bruce replies politely with a small smile.

“We toured together before,” I tell Cassidy.

“Oh, cool!” She says excitedly.

“Cass, come here. I have got to show you something!” My sixteen-year-old sister, Jade, comes running into the room.

“Okay!” Cassidy says, “Nice talking to you! Bye!”

“Bye.” Bruce laughs as she disappears with our sister to see who knows what.

“I’m sorry about her.” I apologize, “She loves to talk.”

“It's fine; she's a nice kid,” Bruce says, waving it off.

“I was just admiring that guitar.”

He points to my Ibanez costume. The one with my matt dark purple finish and fuck off written on the back with sparkly black paint.

I have one on my living room wall as decoration and the other in my guitar room. The one on the wall has never actually been played. It's just a backup in case the other one gets stolen. The other guitar has seen many gigs, though. I played it almost exclusively for years.

It's displayed in the living room, face down the back is what's being shown to the world and the fuck off.

“Thanks.” I smile, “You had some nice ones, too; I love the radioactive one. Your guitar work on Crazy Nights is great.”

“Thanks, that means a lot is coming from you.” He smiles, “I still have that guitar.”

“I’m a guitar hoarder, so I still have all of mine.” I laugh, “I can show you more if you want.”

“I always love looking at guitars.” He tells me.

“Me too.” I laugh, “That’s just a guitarist thing, I think.”

“I think you’re right.” Bruce agrees as I lead him to my guitar room.

I must admit it's nice to talk guitars with someone again. I haven't done that in two years and never realized how much I miss it.

——————————————————

Alexandra’s POV

It’s been about two years since I've seen my sister engaged in conversation with anyone who isn't in our family ever since Jace broke her heart and destroyed her life in the process.

She’s pretty much been a shut-in. Which I hate seeing. She used to be much different. She lost her spark. For the first time in forever, I see that spark again in her eyes when she’s talking to Bruce.

Bruce has always been a nice guy. From the moment I met him, he's been nice to me. He's also a guitar player, just like her. Maybe he's precisely what Ren needs to get out of this slump.

The cheating is the straw that broke the camel's back, but in my opinion, Jace never treated her right. He was talking down to her, but she never saw that. It pissed all of us off.

She deserves better, and maybe Bruce is that better. How do I pull this off, though? I know Ren, and she's never going to take my suggestions.

“Eric?” I ask my lovely fiance.

“Yes?” He replies.

“Is Bruce single?”

“Yup, he almost got married once, but it didn't work out.” He tells me, “Why?”

“I was thinking of maybe getting Ren and him together,” I suggest.

“That's not a bad idea.” Eric agrees with me. “But how are we going to make that happen?”

“Leave it to me,” I tell him; I have just the plan.