#benson speeding tickets

[takeeachdayonebookatatime]

Why did you elbow me? 168

Achilles Castle part 70

Lemonade and lies PART 13

Martha: pov Katherine just got off the phone with Liv turns out their suspect is a murderer they have proof he is a serial killer. I'm heading out to have dinner with some friends of mine tonight. Alexis and Dave have plans for tonight.

Liv: pov it's decided the 4 of us will split up and sit outside his work and house, Detective Elliot is staying  back at the station even if he doesn't want to. Sargent Fin and Sargent Esposito will be sitting outside his work just in case. Me and Sargent Ayanna bell are outside his house we have a warrant out for his arrest 

Fin: pov the guy is not at work so he must be on his way home I text Liv letting her know. She says why don't you pick up some food on the way back to the precinct. Esposito and I found a sub shop that looks good. I make sure to pick up some drinks while Esposito orders the food. I know what Liv and Elliot like, thankfully she texted me what Ayanna and Jet like. Esposito knows what Ryan and Lanie like. The ride back to the station is short.

Ayanna: pov Liv notices our suspect pulling into his driveway. Liv tells the guy she is looking into a guy he might be a pedophile and since you talked to him in the store parking lot can you talk about it you may have info that can solve a crime the guy seems excited to help out the police.

Elliot: pov Fin and Esposito are back with some subs a few minutes later. Liv and Ayanna walk in with our suspect un-cuffed. He probably doesn't even know he is a suspect. They take him to an interrogation room. His DNA has to be a match before he can be charged for the crime Liv had Ryan look him up and see if he had any traffic violations which he did. Liv arrested him for them. Turns out he didn't pay his parking/speeding tickets.

Jet: pov it is so cool watching Captain Benson interrogate the suspect. From what I understand he is under arrest and waiting for sentencing. Lol it's getting late she tells us all to head home for the night. Captain Benson and Sargent tutuola go to interview our suspect. Let's hope we can get something from him. Liv is trying to trick him up and get him to talk without realizing he is. All of us are watching from the box. We chat while we eat. Lanie, who is a medical examiner, is telling a story about the 2 times Kate had food poisoning. I can't believe that sent her to the ER how awful. Some of the stories Liv and Fin are telling are hard to hear about. 

Ryan: Liv tells us how sometimes if a family is split up when the kids are very young the father, mother or siblings can be attracted to each other. ew that is nasty, how could a father be attracted to their children? Lanie says it's hard sometimes with Kate because she has limitations. On my first day on the job I rear-ended a car trying to park. Turns out it was the swat vehicle and a bunch of guys with big guns hoped out.

Joe: pov wow now that is a story, I bet you were very scared. Ryan says yes it was his first day on the job and he was afraid to get in trouble. Elliot and Esposito are talking about the war together. One was in the marines and the other special forces. It's getting late after eating some food. Captain Benson tells us all to head home for the night.

Jim: pov me and Castle are trying to decide on what to eat for dinner I decide to grab some sandwiches from the cafeteria downstairs, I must not forget some water bottles. Katie is eating a tiny bit of soup while we eat our sandwiches. 

Castle: pov kate is no longer on oxygen and doing much better. Alexis stopped by earlier and brought her some lemonade and soup from the restaurant, which is so nice. it's late and Kate just started to fall asleep, I start to doze off I'm startled awake by a beeping noise. It is two of her monitors going off indicating she isn't breathing right and her heart rate is dangerously elevated. I hit the emergency button to call the nurse. I remember to grab the oxygen mask and put it on her face which immediately starts to help Kate. 

Nurse Kendall: pov I run in the room asking what is wrong Castle says Kate wasn't breathing right and her heart rate is dangerously elevated. Nurse Wendy runs to get a Dr, thankfully there is a cardiologist working the night shift. Dr Cantor gives her a dose of heart meds, Her oxygen levels are slowly rising which is good it means whatever happened is ending. Her heart rate is also elevated, the meds should bring it down. Thankfully she doesn't need to be cardioverted or need the defibrillator. We need to figure out what caused this.

Dr Cantor: pov I call Dr Jason and notify Kate's other Dr's of what happened.  A bunch of tests need to be run, an ultrasound machine is being brought into her room, that way she doesn't need to be moved so much.

Kate: pov I don't feel so good, Castle is trying to calm me down. A Dr is asking me how I feel. I’m starting to freak out a little. I can tell the nurse is putting something else in my iv suddenly I start to calm down. I’m so sleepy. Castle is moving my hair out of my face and rubbing the back of my hand trying to sooth me.

Nurse Wendy: pov the calming meds should start working with her PTSD she gets freaked out easily. The EKG shows that Kate is having a bad arrhythmia episode. Once the ultrasound machine is in the room, Dr Cantor opens Kate's shirt and squirts some gel on her chest and moves the wand around over her heart/scar. She has some scar tissue  that would need to be removed, but that is for another day. Nothing looks clogged, which is good. The good side is working hard to make up for the damaged area her blood is being diverted around the bad area. To be continued. ……….

[whoevrwhatevr]

Hm idk. Captain Benson might be able to talk them out of the ticket. Buuttttt I think the only ones who wouldn’t be yelling at me for speeding in the first place is Fin or Amanda 😂 maybe Amaro but his name isn’t gonna win us any favors 👀

[youcouldmakealife]

YCMAL Superlatives Write-ins (rd 1)

Been cracking up at some of the write-ins for the YCMAL superlatives, and pleasure’s best shared!

Best to be stuck with on a desert island:

Scratch but just because I love him

There's definitely characters who would be helpful for survival but I honestly just think Jess would be good company; we could panic uselessly together

Oleg—smart, not chaotic, knows people with boats

Liam (because I’d never be alone with my thoughts)

Don Matheson (can cook, has handyman skills, good level of snark...)

Mike (paradoxically, best survival skills)

Worst to be stuck with on a desert island:

Harry "very few practical life skills but very loud opinions" Chalmers

Seb (can you imagine the sheer amount of TALKING)

Joey, adore him but that boy has zero survival skills

Liam - when driving you crazy is his only form of entertainment

Kiro. I love him, but hell no.

LIAM!!! (Imagine Liam hungry, bored, sunburned and without Mike! You are welcome)

No longer allowed to be locker room DJ:

That list is too long.

Jake post break up with david

WE KNOW ABOUT THE NICKELBACK, LUKE

Playoff Willy

Marc (he'd probably play an NPR podcast or something)

Julius (Finnish death metal no thank you)

Most likely to get a speeding ticket:

Bryce (except if Jared’s in the car)

Bryce (if he isn't in the top 4 I'll eat my shoe)

These are young, rich athletes. It's a lot of them.

Sebastien Boucher (self explanatory?)

Marc and Charlie (they share this trait yes?)

Most likely to drive EXACTLY the speed limit:

David Chapman- actually, he would probably drive under the speed limit...

David, if he literally ever learned how to drive. Maybe Jake just by virtue of having David in his passenger seat judging him

David. Is that a question.

Jared Matheson (just bc David Chapman doesn’t drive)

Most likely to be the one in the middle of locker room nonsense:

Scratch and money are one person, right?

Scratchnmoney

Derek (like, canonically)

Sandro (he started the locker room nonsense)

Joey Joey Joey followed closely by Kiro (they should never meet)

ScratchMoney, I guess Joey if they don't count as one person

Least likely to get involved in locker room nonsense:

They all live in the locker room, and all of them have canonically gotten involved in nonsense, no winner

Oleg Kurmazov (best boy)

Mike (pre-Liam)

Mike Brouwer (dare you to even try to get him involved)

Most likely to venmo you $1.67 If they owe you $1.67:

Robbie (but only to Georgie)

Stephen, passive aggressively

Robbie, out of pettiness

Harry (my petty boy)

David because he thinks that's polite, Jared because he knows it's rude

Most likely to forget they owe you ANYTHING:

Benson (fuck him)

Jake. But he'll take you out for dinner/drinks the next time he sees you.

fucking benson

Bryce Marcus-Matheson (never expects to be paid back and therefore forgets to pay others back all the time)

My girl Charlie growing up in that house (mansion)

[guerrerense]

DME Spreader; Hutchins, IA por Nick Benson Por Flickr: Tough to beat a Jordan Spreader at speed through a big drift. Got a bunch of nice shots of this chase, but, holding off on uploading more until after the Laker Rail ( lakerrail.com - tickets on sale now! ) show this April. This was my second crack at catching a plow train out of Mason City on the ex-ICE Sheldon Sub in a week - on Thursday I got a tip that didn't pan out (they got a warrant, which I heard about, then suffered a mechanical issue that stopped them, which I didn't), and I ended up driving the whole length of the subdivision in a fruitless attempt to find them... d'oh! Redemption came on Tuesday, after a brief ground blizzard passed through, filling in the cuts and requiring the plows run again. This time Scott Marsh had eyes on it the whole time, and was able to provide reports until I intercepted them in Clear Lake, IA. Spent the day following them for about 115 miles.

[garyofrivia]

For They Shall Be Satisfied

Arthur Morgan x OC

Chapter 6

(masterlist in bio)

A/N: we back with another chapter babey - right before my spring semester starts! yoikes!! anyways, things will pick up soon here with this fic. a particular ~event~ is coming that i’m very excited for hehehe. thank uwu so much for reading :D

Warnings/Categories: Violence, Angst

(WC: 5,187)

In the following three weeks after the attempted robbery, the Van der Linde camp felt like normal again. There were chores to be done and money to be made. Annie was restless and eager to help, but her recovery was not as speedy as she had hoped. More than anything, she wanted to get up and go out for a hunt, or to fish, or anything even slightly productive.

At first, Tilly would come over to keep her company when Arthur needed to tend to his duties. He wasn’t around much, apart from when he took up his bedroll beside the cot to sleep. Annie was almost surprised at his absence, not that she expected him to nurse her back to health. He seemed…angry. Distant. There was something he wasn’t telling her.

Dutch hadn’t said all that much to her, either. Nor Hosea at that matter. It was strange that the three of them had been avoiding her like that. Maybe they felt guilty for how the job went, or perhaps they were just focused on what was next. They still needed a big score to get themselves away from the long arm of the law and all the fallout with Benson had been left hanging like old laundry.

Benson… He played them like a fiddle. Arthur brushed it off when she asked what would come of it. He just said, “Dutch is handling it.” Whatever that meant. She decided not to take it personally, mostly because she didn’t have the energy for it.

It took a few days to manage to eat a full meal due to the nausea from all the medication. Strauss gave her wound a look and he told her that it seemed that it was just the muscle tissue that had been damaged, which was good, but that only meant that the pain was amplified tenfold every time she moved her body more than an inch at a time. But she was sick of laying around like a log, so she powered through it as best she could.

She eventually moved back to her own lean-to when Jenny relocated to her new spot near Tilly, Mary-Beth, and Karen. She had come over to talk to Annie a few times, thanking her for helping when she could have left her behind and to help he get back on her feet. She was a sweet girl, only 19. She didn’t say much about where she came from, only that she wasn’t lying about the death of her mother and her father got remarried to a “wretch of a woman”. She left home at 16 and had been a swindler ever since. The O’Driscolls picked her up on their way East and what started as a simple business deal between them ended with them threatening her life if she didn’t do what they asked.

Annie took a liking to her fairly quickly, but still held herself at a distance. Her suspicion of outsiders has been somewhat heightened since the botched robbery. She’d done a lot of thinking during her recovery, and a lot of questions remained unanswered. How did they know about the hit? Was Benson and his employer in on it? Who was his employer? No one seemed to want to talk to her about it. Though, with her stubborn nature and after days of being essentially helpless, she couldn’t help but pry into it further.

“Hosea, c’mon,” she said, hobbling after the man as he strode towards Dutch’s tent. “Don’t tell me you ain’t thinkin’ the same thing.”

“I assure you, I am not thinking the same thing, Annie,” he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “You sure don’t know when to quit, do you? Even with a hole in your abdomen you’re full speed ahead.”

Admittedly, her theory was a bit off the wall, even for her. She was convinced that Benson was hired by the Marshals to go undercover to catch them. It would explain why he insisted to meet them in front of the Sheriff's office and why he was so secretive about who he was working for. That’s what Annie thought, at least. She spoke with conviction, but the lack of evidence to prove it was not working in her favor.

“At least admit it’s suspicious,” she insisted, wrestling with her dress as she tried to keep up with Hosea. She had resigned to wearing one of Karen’s old skirts and blouses to accommodate for the bandages and she’d never hated anything more.

“I believe we’re past suspicion at this point. Give it a rest.”

“Please, Hosea, just let me in on this.”

He paused and faced her just before he was about to push open the flap of Dutch’s tent. “You need to heal.”

“I’m healed.”

“You can barely walk.”

“I can still think straight.”

He scoffed. “You’re doing everything but thinking straight.”

“Just... give me a chance to get back on my feet. I’m dyin’ here.” She gave him a longing look, pleading with her eyes to let her contribute at least something.

He sighed and put his hands on his hips, exasperated. Glancing at the ground and then back up at her, he shook his head and groaned. Without a word, he gestured for her to follow him inside Dutch’s tent. She grinned.

“All I’m sayin’ is that we need more money. That is the plan,” Dutch was saying as they entered. Hosea took a seat next to him, grabbing a beer from the crate on the table.

Arthur was with them, looking as annoyed and impatient as ever. He glanced up to see Annie find a spot next to him and opposite Dutch. John was in the corner, seemingly sleeping and Micah was pacing in the middle of everyone.

“Well,” Dutch continued, looking from Annie to Hosea and then back again. “It’s mighty cozy in here, ain’t it fellas?”

“I don’t remember you gettin’ invited, Princess,” Micah jeered.

Annie rolled her eyes and ignored him.

“So, the plan is... just to get more money?” John said, massaging his brow with his palm.

“Sounds simple enough,” Arthur said, sighing.

“We have any leads?” Annie asked.

“Arthur and I reckon we have a few cards up our sleeves,” Hosea said, sipping his beer.

“Mister Bell here thinks he’s got somethin’ as well,” Dutch said, failing to give more information.

She raised an eyebrow. “Well…? Either of you care to elaborate?”

“Hosea here seems to think he’s caught on to some kind of a real estate scam,” Arthur said.

Hosea grinned. “It’s ‘the perfect crime’ if I say so myself.”

They looked over at Dutch, waiting for his explanation. He had a sly twinkle in his eye as he spoke. “We don’t have many details as of yet, but we assure you all that this is somethin’ huge.”

“Just keep in mind that we don’t need to put ourselves at any additional risk after what happened with the O’Driscolls.” Hosea said.

Dutch opened his arms and smiled. “Have some faith, dear Mister Matthews. This is our ticket outta here.”

“Where are we plannin’ on goin’, then?” Arthur asked plainly.

“Wherever the hell we want, son. Just away from here, that’s for sure.”

“I’m sold on that,” John said. “That’s all then?”

“Patience, my boys,” Dutch said. “I need you all to be on your best behavior now, you hear? That means keeping your ears to the ground and bringing in everything we can. We’ll need all we can get.”

Micah, John, and Arthur nodded and all stood to leave.

“What’s my job here?” Annie piped up. They turned to her, all seemingly to have forgotten she was there.

“Your job is to heal that bullet wound, Annie darlin’,” Dutch said. She hated when he called her that.

“I didn’t get shot in the head, I still got a brain. I’m fine.”

“I’m sure you are, but we’ll need your gun too when the time comes. That means you’ll need to be one-hundred percent. Sit this one out.”

She looked between all of them, waiting for one of them to vouch for her. No one spoke up. “Well, have you all figured out what Benson’s plan was? Did he play us?”

“Of course he played us, that much is a given.”

“So… that’s it then?”

“Revenge is a fool’s game, Annie, you know I’ve always said that.”

“I ain’t talkin’ about revenge. What if there’s more to it? Whoever he’s workin’ for- what if they come back to finish the job?”

“That’s the least of our concerns,” Micah said, scornfully. “Leave it to you to get caught up on somethin’ like that when we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

She ignored him and turned to Hosea. “Help me out here.”

He sighed and glanced away. “Annie, we all talked about the Benson business. We’ve decided that it’s best we move on and just… put it behind us.”

Annie leaned back and crossed her arms. In the corner of her eye, she saw Arthur shift uncomfortably. “Right. Sure. Okay, then. Glad that was settled.”

“If you have something on your mind, it might be best to say it,” Dutch said.

Annie hesitated. The men in the tent watched her with anticipation. She didn’t make a habit of back talking Dutch, but she was one of the only ones that ever really dared to. She looked down at the skirt she was wearing and folded her hands in her lap. She decided that the chance to go on the offense would come later and the diplomatic approach would be better suited to the situation.

She looked up calmly and her voice was steady. “With the bankroll delivery, you were quick to accept that it was a setup after the fact. I’m pointing out that if we can get out in front of this, we can head it off before it happens again.”

“We had this conversation already,” Dutch flared. “We’re done with Benson. And that is final.”

“Dutch, think about this-.”

“We have done a lot of thinkin’, and I am sorry you weren’t there for it, but we have got to keep moving forward.”

She glared at him, her composure melting with the frustration mounting within her. “What happens if they don’t miss next time? If one of our own gets killed? It’ll be ‘cause you didn’t wanna do anything about it when you had the chance.”

“Annie,” Dutch warned. Hosea and John watched nervously while Arthur and Micah were visibly on edge. “Doubt ain’t gonna get us anywhere.”

“Annie, let it go,” Arthur mumbled as he placed a hand on her shoulder, but she instantly knocked it away.

She turned to him and shot to her feet. “You agree?”

“It’s best we move on,” he said, raising his voice slightly.

She looked at everyone in the tent with cold eyes, challenging them to say something more.

“Annie, let’s go have a talk,” Hosea said.

“Nah, I think we’ve all done enough talkin’,” she said, grimacing with disappointment.

“Well, that we can agree on, Miss Bolton,” Dutch said, lowly.

Arthur was the first to break the tension. He snatched his hat off his chair and shoved it onto his head. “If you’re all finished, I have things to do.”

With that, he burst out of the tent with Micah and John following suit, seeing their chance to escape whatever gang politics were about to ensue. Annie rushed after Arthur as he headed toward the horses, holding her side as it panged with each hurried step she took.

“Arthur! Arthur, hold on,” she called. He ignored her and stormed further and further from camp. “Arthur, goddamnit!”

He whirled around throwing his hands up from his side. “What the hell is it, Annie?”

Her eyebrows synched together and her nostrils flared with anger. “What just happened in there?”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“I’m tryin’ to make the right decision to protect everyone in this damn camp.”

“Were you protecting the gang? Or just sayin’ all that for yourself?”

She threw her arms up in exasperation. “What has gotten into you?”

“Nothin’ that’s any of your business, that’s for sure.”

“I’m thinkin’ it is, since you’ve seemed to have such a sour attitude with me lately. Even before the Benson job you’ve been actin’ like a damn child.”

“I’m a child?” he laughed, mockingly. “That’s bold comin’ from you.”

“The hell are you on about?”

“You arguin’ with Dutch in there for no reason. Tryin’ to make it seem like you’re the only one who could possibly be right.”

“And Dutch is the one that’s always right, is he? He has good intentions, I know that. But his last plan didn’t work out too well, if you remember that part.”

“That was our plan.” He shoved a finger in her face and lowered his voice to a harsh growl. “You got no place to be doin’ that. Everything he does is for this gang, every decision he makes is for us. And I might be actin’ like a child, but at least I ain’t the one that’s runnin’.”

She stepped closer to him, so that only he could hear what she said through clenched teeth. “I thought we talked about this.”

“Yeah. We did. And then you got shot.”

“What?”

“At first you wanna leave and make all these plans to ‘help one last time’ and now you’re tryin’ to get in on all these major decisions, as if you weren’t already packin’ your bags.” he said, the bitterness in his voice cutting her to the core. “What’s the idea, Annie? Stick your hand into Dutch’s plans like you run the show and then make it so that we need you more than you need us right before you make a break for it?”

She stared at him, her mouth hanging open in shock. “It ain’t like that, Arthur, none of it is.”

“Then what? What are you gonna do?”

She couldn’t piece together her own thoughts. “I told you already.”

“You sure did. And now you’re plannin’ to get in on one of these jobs and collect what you can to be rid of us all.”

She couldn’t fathom what he was saying. He was acting like she was betraying them when before he said that he understood. That he was wrong for thinking this was in her own interest. But like a lightbulb flipping on in her head, she realized something.

“Dutch talked to you, didn’t he?”

He hesitated, just for a moment and Annie knew the truth before he uttered another word. “That don’t matter.”

“Jesus Christ. I can’t believe this. You fuckin’ told him, didn’t you?”

“No. But I’m regrettin’ that right about now.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Oh really? Go on then. Run to Dutch. Tell him my little secret.”

Arthur glared at her. For a second, the anger in his eyes made her think he might call her bluff. She knew how much this gang meant to him and how she was wrong to expect him to think otherwise about her plans to leave. He was a loyal man, if nothing else. The redeeming qualities he possessed were rare, but she admired him for them all. This was his family. And she felt terrible for imposing her own agenda on it. But after everything they’ve been through together, she owed him the truth.

“I won’t say nothin’. You deserve that much. But I’ll tell you this, Annie Bolton. Once you leave, there ain’t no comin’ back.”

She looked down in shame, the sharpness of his words not missing their mark. “John came back.” It’s all she could say in her defense.

He scoffed. “Yeah, John, the family man of the century. He came back ‘cause he’s a goddamn idiot who knew he shouldn’t’ve even left in the first place. This? What you’re doin’? This is different. We both know that.”

“I’m not betraying you, Arthur. Whatever Dutch said-.”

“You might not be betrayin’ me, sure. But you’re leavin’ everyone else. Everyone who put their trust in you. Everyone who cares for you, who’s helped you. That’s just the same.”

She stared at him, trying to maintain the last bit of composure she had left. “Maybe so.”

“I said I wouldn’t argue with you no more, and I meant it. I just ain’t gonna take this lyin’ down. You’re free to do what you please. Don’t mean I gotta stand by it.”

“I understand,” she said firmly, trying to hide the pain his words had inflicted.

He hesitated as he reached to grab his horse’s reins. His conflict raged inside him, unbeknownst to Annie. He understood where her intentions were. But he couldn’t stop hearing Dutch’s words play over and over in his own head. “She’ll leave us one day, Arthur. She’ll leave us behind and never look back.” He looked up at her from under the brim of his hat, staring at him with a look that he’s seen too many times in a woman’s eyes. He saw spot of red was starting to form on her shirt just above the waist of her skirt.

“You’re, uh....”

She looked down and covered the spot of blood on her waist with her hand, suddenly embarrassed. She felt weak in all sense of the word. Dutch was right. There was nothing she could do for herself in this state, let alone anyone else.

“I’m gonna go get this patched up, then,” she said in a small voice.

“You do that.”

She turned back towards camp and as she heard Boadicea’s hooves pound away into the distance, she did her best to suppress the tears that were pricking her eyes, but the floodgates were fragile.

***

A few days later Mary-Beth had lent Annie a book to read to occupy her mind after she nearly ripped open her stitches trying to chop wood to “let off some steam”. It was a penny dreadful about barber that murdered his customers and baked them into pies, which she found rather intriguing, if not a little outlandish. Though even with something to hold her interest, she was growing more and more frustrated by the minute.

Her conversation with Arthur had put distance between them. He hadn’t spoken to her since, not that she was looking for any conversation with him. It was still… strange. She had other friends at camp, sure, but actively avoiding one of them was an alienating feeling.

She heard through the grapevine about the job that Micah supposedly was onto. He’d picked up from a “contact” that a $150,000 shipment of bank money was on a riverboat and scheduled to dock in Blackwater in two days time. The potential payoff was probably worth the risk, but she wondered how exactly Dutch planned to rob a fucking ferry.

“You’re doing that thing again,” Tilly’s voice brought her back to the present.

“What thing?” She said, sitting up against the wagon wheel under the girls’ tent.

“That thing where you stare at a page for ten minutes and don’t read a word. You keep doin’ it.”

“Sorry.” She closed the book and ran a hand through her hair, toying with the stray strands that had come out of her braid.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothin’. Well, a lot, but nothin’ too important, I guess.”

Tilly raised an eyebrow. She was stitching a tear in a shirt Annie didn’t recognize, but had rested her hands in her lap to eye her carefully. “Is it Arthur?”

Annie blushed but quickly shook her head. “Nah, not him. Well, sorta. In part. It’s just…”

“Dutch, then?”

“You know about that?”

“It’s not a very big camp, Annie.”

Annie scoffed. “I guess not.”

“You can’t keep mouthin’ off to him like that.”

“I know. I was just angry.”

“Well, your temper has always been a force to be reckoned with, Miss Bolton.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware, Miss Jackson.”

“Well, I guess that counts for somethin’,” she said, smirking and returning to her sewing. “What happened with you and Arthur, anyhow?”

Annie shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, nothin’ really. Just a stupid fight about Dutch.”

“Just about Dutch?”

“Yeah. Like I said, I was just mad.”

“He looked pretty mad, too.”

“I said some things I shouldn’t have,” Annie sighed. “That’s all.”

“You know, for a con-artist, you’re pretty bad at lyin’,” Tilly said with a hint of mischief in her voice.

Annie looked up at her, surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I seen the way you look at him.”

“I don’t think I know what you’re talking about.”

Tilly cocked an eyebrow. “I also seen the way he looks at you.”

Annie’s jaw tightened and she looked away. She couldn’t think straight enough to say anything.

“Whatever’s goin’ on with you two, it’s clear y’all care about each other more than either of you let on.”

“We’re all family, of course we do.”

Tilly rolled her eyes. “That ain’t what I meant and you know it.”

“I don’t wanna talk about this, Tilly.”

“Sure, you don’t want to talk about it, but you should.”

“Why’s that?”

“‘Cause it’s just gonna eat away at you otherwise. You’ve been losin’ sleep, you barely eat, it’s already takin’ its toll. And don’t tell me it’s because you got a bullet put through you, you’ve been fine since you tried to cut firewood the other day, for goodness sake.”

“It ain’t like that.”

“Deniaaal,” she sang.

“Tilly, drop it, will you?”

“Fine, fine. But the Annie Bolton I know is braver than all this.”

Annie lifted herself up and sat on the stool in front of the washboard tub, grabbing a filthy shirt that resembled one of Sean’s and began scrubbing. Tilly’s words lingered in the air. “I also seen the way he looks at you.” Did Arthur look at her? Did she want him to? The last few weeks had been so confusing. If she really was going to leave, she knew she couldn’t think of him like that, let alone tell him or acknowledge it.

She wished she could tell Tilly. Her and the rest of the girls had always been so kind to her. In the back of her mind, she knew they’d understand if she told them the truth about why she had to leave. Grimshaw would be the one to give her shit for it, but understandably so. She’d been with Dutch almost as long as Annie’s been alive. She held this gang together as much as Dutch and Hosea did and was like a mother to most everyone, despite her crass nature. For as much as Annie didn’t like her, she still respected the hell out of her.

She managed to scrub through a whole batch of laundry before she realized that Tilly had left to help Mary-Beth with feeding the chickens. The camp seemed somewhat serene with most everyone out working or sitting quietly. For the first time in a while, things felt peaceful. Abigail was watching Jack play down near the river. Hosea was lounging under his lean-to reading quietly. Pearson, Strauss, Uncle, and Javier were playing a friendly game of poker near the fire, all laughing and talking like the old friends they were.

Arthur was sitting on his bed with that damn journal in his lap, scribbling furiously. Annie watched him from afar, her hands absentmindedly scrubbing the last of the clothes. His face was scrunched up with concentration. Even from her distance, she could see the lines on his forehead defined by his focused expression. She thought it commendable that he kept a journal. It was something she could never keep up with, even when she tried. She longed to know what he wrote about and drew so often. She longed to know why he kept it so private and what his thoughts were that even the journal didn’t get to know. She longed to know him.

The thought was jarring. Her attention snapped back to her task as she tried to shake it, but it lingered. She did know him, didn’t she? His favorite color was blue. He sang when he was bored, he did more chores around camp when he thought no one would notice, he likes coffee in the mornings, and he’s smarter than he’d ever let on. Underneath it all, he was fair and kind and loving. But the more she thought about it, there was so much she didn’t know.

She knew he had a son once, but not his name. She knew he loved a girl while back, Mary, but not how it ended. Why did he know so much about ancient Rome and literature? Why did he seem so pained every time he talked about his father, as rare as it was?

Why did he insist on confusing the hell out of her?

She caught the eye of Abigail walking over to her with a soft smile on her face. Putting on a grin of her own, she greeted her. “Hi there, Abigail. Looked like Jack was havin’ fun down there.”

“Well, let’s just see if he takes after his father when it comes to water.”

Annie laughed. “We can only hope not.”

“Do you need help with hanging all that?” she asked as she motioned to the pile of wet clothes in the basket next to her.

“Sure, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

The pair of them took a handle of the basket and made their way to the clothesline on the other side of the wagon. They hung the garments one by one and secured them with pins, working in silence for a while.

“I realize we haven’t talked much recently,” Annie said. “How are you?”

“As good as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” Abigail said with a sigh. “You? How’s that battle scar of yours?”

“Good. A lot better, if I’m honest.”

Abigail scoffed. “Better for you, maybe. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Keep taking it slow.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You, uh… You talk to John lately? He’s been kinda absent. More so than usual. It’s a shock, I know.”

Annie shook her head. “No, sorry.”

“Arthur has been too, come to think of it.” She paused for Annie’s respond, but she didn’t say anything. “Do you think it has to do with whatever Dutch has been plannin’?”

“If I knew what Dutch was plannin’, I’d be able to tell you.”

“Wait, you’re not in on this ferry job they’re gettin’ up to?”

“Nope.”

“What about that real estate business that Hosea was talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Not that either.”

Abigail frowned in surprise. “Huh. Well, I guess it’s good for you to rest.”

“It don’t feel good.”

Abigail smiled. “Yeah, I know how ‘women’s work’ ain’t really your thing.”

“No, no, it ain’t that-.”

“It’s fine, Annie,” she laughed and held up a shirt with a brown stain still on the collar. “You ain’t very good at washin’, anyways.”

Annie smirked. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

For a moment, they worked in silence again. Abigail was a kind soul and Annie always felt close to her. Probably because she didn’t feel like she fit in here either. She was only 22, four years younger than Annie, but she already had a 5-year-old son and had to deal with his father not being in the picture most of the time. That had to be alienating, especially in a place where it was sacrilegious to talk about leaving the outlaw life.

“Hey, Abigail?” Annie suddenly said. “You wanna come to town with Jenny and I? I told her I’d take her to the stables and help get her a horse.”

“Yeah, yeah I’d love to!” Abigail’s face lit up at the invitation, but almost immediately sank. “But… Jack.”

“Tilly can watch him,” Annie suggested, shrugging and gesturing over to where Jack was now throwing chicken feed around with Tilly and Mary-Beth.

“Oh, well, I suppose it’s only for a few hours. I’ll go make sure it’s alright with her.”

Annie hung the last shirt on the line and went back to her lean-to to change out of the borrowed skirt and into something more comfortable for her. A loose black shirt and and an old pair of blue jeans that rose higher on her waist than she’d have liked would have to do for the time being. She went without suspenders and buckled her gunbelt carefully around her hips, avoiding the fresh bandages she’d just put on.

She thumbed the brim of her hat, touching it for the first time since Charles was kind enough to ride back for the day after she and Jenny turned up to camp. It was under the guise of a hunting trip at first, but he told her that he knew how much she loved that old thing. He was always one of the good ones. She tilted it onto her head and whistled to Jenny across the way.

“Hey, let’s head into town, it’s already noon.”

Jenny, startled out of her conversation with Lenny, quickly told him goodbye and jogged over to Annie, giddy as ever. “Are we takin’ your horse?”

Annie looked over at Nero grazing next to Taima, content as ever. She didn’t want to bother him - the thought made her silently laugh to herself. “Nah, we’ll take the wagon. Abigail is comin’ with us.”

“Oh, okay,” Jenny said, shyly but with a small smile.

“I’m ready to go when you two are,” Abigail said as she walked up. Annie noticed she’d applied a bit of color to her lips and her hair was neater than before. Seeing Abigail excited to go to town was enough to bring a smile to her face.

“You look lovely, Miss Roberts. Let’s head out then,” she said. “Pearson has the wagon hooked up for a supply run, so we can do that while we’re there, too.”

The three of them walked across camp and over to the wagon. Pearson was jotting something down on a slip of paper as he stood next to the driver’s seat, looking agitated as ever.

“Mister Pearson,” Annie said, pulling his attention away from his frantic work. “We’ll grab what you need in town, we’re headed there now.”

“Oh, thank you Annie,” he said as he glanced at Abigail and Jenny mounting up on the wagon and then back at his list. “Make sure you get the coffee, we’re almost clean out.”

“The world would surely end if we ran out of coffee,” Abigail said, making Jenny giggle.

Annie took Pearson’s list and grocery money and took her place in the driver’s seat. When she turned back to wave goodbye, she caught Arthur’s eye. He was staring up at them, his journal still open in his lap. He looked sad. She held his gaze for a moment longer and he nodded politely, a gesture he hadn’t given her in a long time. It’s like she was a stranger to him, and it hurt more than it should have. She steeled herself and looked away to drive the horses forward.

Oh, Arthur. She thought. Why is this so hard?

[trafficticketskissling]

Will Defects on Face of Ticket get you a Dismissal

www.kisslinglaw.com

In a lot of states, you can get a traffic ticket dismissed is there are any mistakes on the face of the ticket.  No so in North Carolina.  Here is a great article from the NC School of Government on the issue.

Last year, the court of appeals ruled that a citation that failed to allege an essential element of an offense was sufficient to serve as the State’s pleading. The court concluded that “the standard for issuance of an indictment [which must allege every essential element of an offense to be valid] is not precisely the same as [for] a citation,” and under the more relaxed standard, the citation adequately identified the offense even though it failed to allege an essential element. State v. Allen, __ N.C. App. __, 783 S.E.2d 799 (2016) (an officer cited a motorist for an open container violation, but failed to allege that the container was in the passenger compartment of the defendant’s vehicle; more information about Allen is here).

Last week, a divided panel of the same court ruled that a citation that failed to allege multiple elements of an offense was sufficient. The new opinion raises questions about just how low the bar is for citations, and perhaps for other district court pleadings as well.

The new case is State v. Jones.

Facts. The case began when a Raleigh officer stopped a vehicle for speeding. The driver wasn’t impaired, but did have an open can of cold beer in the car. The officer issued a citation that read in part as follows:

The officer named below has probable cause to believe that on or about Sunday, the 04 day of January, 2015 at 10:16PM in [Wake] [C]ounty . . . [Defendant] did unlawfully and willfully OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE ON A STREET OR HIGHWAY AT A SPEED OF 62 MPH IN A 45 MPH ZONE. (G.S. 20-141(J1)

and on or about Sunday, the 04 day of January, 2015 at 10:16PM in [Wake] [C]ounty . . . [Defendant] did unlawfully and willfully WITH AN OPEN CONTAINER OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE AFTER DRINKING. (G.S. 20-138.7(A))[.]

Procedural history. The defendant was convicted on both counts in district court and appealed for trial de novo in superior court. A jury acquitted him of speeding but convicted him of the open container violation. He appealed again to the appellate division, arguing that the charging language for the open container charge was defective. He contended that the language omits (1) any allegation that he drove or operated a motor vehicle on a public street or highway, and (2) any allegation that the open container was in the passenger area of his vehicle.

Majority opinion. Judge Berger, joined by Judge Dillon, concluded that the citation was sufficient. The majority reasoned that a citation must only “[i]dentify the crime charged,” G.S. 15A-302(c); that the official commentary to article 49 of chapter 15A of the General Statutes states that this is “less than is required” for other forms of criminal process, because a citation “will be prepared by an officer on the scene”; and that a defendant who wants a more technical statement of the offense has a right to object to trial on a citation and thereby to require the State to file a statement of charges or to obtain a summons or an arrest warrant, G.S. 15A-922(c).

Applying these principles to the citation at issue, the majority stated:

The citation properly identified the crime of having an open container of alcohol in the car while alcohol remained in [the defendant’s] system . . . by citing [G.S.] 20-138.7(a) and stating Defendant had an open container of alcohol after drinking. Identifying a crime charged does not require a hyper-technical assertion of each element of an offense.

Dissent. Judge Zachary dissented. In her view, (1) a citation is a criminal pleading, G.S. 15A-921; (2) a pleading must “asserts facts supporting every element of a criminal offense,” G.S. 15A-924(a)(5); and (3) the citation at issue failed to allege multiple essential elements and so was fatally defective. As to the majority’s conclusion that the citations are held to a lower standard than other charging documents, Judge Zachary contended that the relaxed standard applies to the use of a citation as a criminal process that requires the defendant to come to court, but not to the use of a citation as a criminal pleading that formally charges the defendant with an offense.

Analysis. Both the majority opinion and the dissent in Jones are thoughtful and detailed. Given the dissent, I would be surprised if the defendant did not exercise his right to have the state supreme court review the matter.

If there is no further appeal, or if Jones is affirmed, two principal questions will arise:

Just how low is the bar for citations? When does charging language fail to “identify” the offense charged? The majority in Jones seemed to rely in part on the fact that the correct statutory citation accompanied the charging language. Will the inclusion of a correct statutory citation cure any and all defects with a citation? Could a statutory citation be sufficient by itself to identify an offense, even without any charging text?

Is there any impact on other district court pleadings? Most of the reasoning in Jones is specific to citations. Only citations are prepared by an officer in the field and a defendant’s right to object to being tried on a citation does not extend to other types of pleadings. But the last several pages of the majority opinion explores what seems to be an alternative holding that even if the citation were defective, “the [citation’s] failure to comply with [G.S.] 15A-924(a)(5) by neglecting to allege facts supporting every element of an offense in a citation is not a jurisdictional defect” that may be raised at any time.  The majority’s argument seems to be that while a proper indictment is required for the superior court to have jurisdiction over a felony, district court matters do not have the same jurisdictional prerequisite. Candidly, I am not sure that I fully grasp this section of the opinion, but the court appears to be drawing a distinction between misdemeanors and felonies, not between citations and other pleadings. Therefore, its reasoning may apply to other district court pleadings, and may impact the remedy available when pleading defects are identified.

I didn’t quickly find numerous cases from other states addressing similar issues, but I did find one. In State v. Leach, 782 P.2d 552 (Wash. 1989) (en banc), the Supreme Court of Washington held that while most criminal charging documents must allege every element of a charged offense, citations need not do so as long as they describe the offense generally and provide a citation to the pertinent statute. As did the majority in Jones, the court emphasized that citations are normally prepared at the scene by law enforcement officers.

[carryonmylovelies]

#13, PITCH

Rating: T

Tags: Soccer/Football, Outsider POV, Simon Snow, Baz Pitch, My OC Michael Torres, Fluff, Humor

Word count: 4685

Summary: Michael Torres loves football. His favorite team is Watford F.C. and his favorite player is a clever, speedy center defender. He meets a weird, curly-haired Watford fan at a Sunday match and it gets super mental from there.

Read on AO3

AN: This is the first time I've written anything since a lot of stuff in my life happened and I am just so happy to be posting again!! :D I wrote this after going to my favorite soccer team's game and just focused on making it fun. Alsooooo hAPPY BIRTHDAY BAZ!!!!

I'm dedicating it to my BEST friend Theo @bazypitchandsimonsnow because she encouraged me and gave me so much confidence and affirmation about my writing and stuff in my life and I just love her so much and literally it's all on her for being such an inspiration. Love you <3

Michael Torres loved football. More specifically, he loved Watford F.C., the Premier League football team of Hertfordshire, England. He loved everything about them. They were the Hornets, the Golden Boys, standing 8th in the league but quickly gathering speed as they swallowed up wins left and right. They were a team full of young, enthusiastic men with a certain insatiable hunger for victory and they were only getting better. Michael had been watching them play for as long as he could remember; recognizing their striking black and yellow and red colors before he even recognized his own name. Match days were considered to be religious events. Season tickets were a necessity. He owned at least three different jerseys in their classic black and yellow stripes, two different jerseys in their away colors of forest green, and various jerseys with the numbers and last names of all his favorite players. He was obsessed, utterly in love with his home football team of Watford.

At four o’clock today Watford would be playing against Manchester City, the number 1 rated team in the League. It was going to be one hell of a match.

                                                        ***

“DROP BACK, ROLDAN. LOOK UP AND SEE CARSON, COME ON! HE’S OPEN, HE’S OPEN . . . NO! NO! YOU HAVE NUMBER 23 UP YOUR ARSE, LOOK LEFT AND SEE . . . WAIT! YES! BRILLIANT RECOVERY! NOW TAKE IT, TAKE IT, UP THE SIDELINES, YES YES! CROSS TO HENDERSON AND . . . NOOOOOO!” Michael yelled, sumping back into his blue stadium chair as he miserably watched Manchester’s star midfielder sweep in and steal the ball right from under Watford’s rookie right forward, Ben Roldan, dribbling for a moment before rearing back and sending the ball flying back towards Watford’s half of the field.

Michael sighed and took a sip from the soda he had bought before the match had started. All around him, a sea of people were waving yellow and black and red flags frantically, the Watford badge as well as the Manchester badge rippling in the late afternoon wind. People were shouting and cheering at the top of their lungs and the sun shone brightly on the field, stark white lines of paint marking the green grass and aligning perfectly with the two large goals on either end of the field. Popcorn was spilled all over the cement ground and fans were munching on pretzels and nachos. Kids were giggling with their faces sticky and pink from the large cones of candy floss they were shoving into their mouths. There had to be at least twenty-thousand people filling the slightly uncomfortable stadium seats, maybe more, and there was a thrumming, tangible sort of energy hanging in the air that everyone appeared to be feeling.

It was about thirty minutes into the first half and Manchester was up 2 to 1, but Watford wasn’t far behind. They had been pushing the ball into Manchester’s half and taking more shots on goal, and Watford’s fans could feel the determination and perseverance rolling off of their players in waves. It was a strong match so far and Watford had been mostly attacking--that made sense since they had such an unstoppable team of forwards, but unfortunately Manchester wasn’t one to stay on the defense for very long.

Manchester’s up-and-coming forward, Number 42, was now streaking down the middle of the field, weaving through Watford’s midfielders and almost getting close enough for a scoring shot when a flash of black and yellow sprinted towards the attacking forward and neatly pulled away the ball in one smooth motion. The crowd of Watford fans were up on their feet in an instant screaming and cheering with all their might--Michael being one of them--as Watford’s wicked center defender, Basil Pitch, took two long strides up the sidelines and then delivered a devastating kick to the ball. It sailed over the heads of Manchester’s forwards and midfielders and completed its arc right above Jordy Benson, Watford’s left forward. Benson jumped up and trapped the ball with his chest, letting it roll to his feet and settle for a quarter of second before tapping the ball in front of him and taking off towards Manchester’s goal.

The crowd absolutely exploded as Benson lined up for the shot and then slammed the ball in the direction of the goal, everyone cheering and shouting as loudly as they could. Manchester’s goalie had adopted a wide stance and was shuffling back and forth as the ball came barreling towards him, and then made a spectacular dive a second later. The ball hit the goalie’s stomach and the goalie instantly curled around it, falling to the ground having successfully blocked the shot. Watford’s fans all groaned in disappointment but commented to one another that it had been an excellent save, even though Benson’s shot didn’t make it in.

Michael sat back down as the Manchester goalie threw the ball to his closest teammate and the back and forth between Manchester defenders and Watford forwards resumed, the ball being quickly passed and bounced from player to player.

Michael wasn’t happy about the missed shot, sure, but mostly he was still reeling from how skillfully Pitch had recovered the ball, at how Pitch had basically handed the ball to Benson in order for the shot to be made. It was unreal.

Michael looked down proudly at the black and yellow jersey he was wearing, feeling confident in the name and number that was on his back in white, block letters. ‘PITCH’ was curved across Michael’s shoulder blades and a large ‘13’ sat directly underneath it. He had bought the jersey after the first game of the season, after Pitch had made so many saves and recoveries for his team that Michael didn’t even think the ball or any of the opposing team’s players got anywhere near Watford’s goal.

They were about halfway through the season and Pitch had been continuously defending the everloving fuck out of Watford’s goal, catching the attention of not only the public and die hard football fans, but the other teams and players in the league as well. He was a force to be bloody reckoned with.

A burst of noise from the crowd around him and movement on the field took Michael back to his feet as he watched Pitch sprinting up the field, his long legs pumping furiously as he darted in and out of Manchester’s forwards, the ball dancing between his black cleats and a Manchester midfielder practically on his arse. The midfielder shoved himself up against Pitch’s shoulder, driving him towards the sidelines, but Pitch resisted, somehow managing to keep his speed and position despite the extra force working against him. The midfielder tried again and again to throw Pitch off but nothing was making him budge.

Michael cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “STAY ON HIM, PITCH. DON’T LET UP ON THE WANKER!”

The fans around him were shouting out similar comments and Michael couldn’t take his eyes off the two of them.

The midfielder seemed to be getting frustrated, and once again he reared back and slammed himself into Pitch. Or tried to, at least. At the very last minute, Pitch slid the ball behind him and gracefully stepped backwards, the midfielder missing him completely and falling roughly to the ground at Pitch’s feet. The crowd roared in approval, Michael pumping his fist in the air when suddenly he heard the shrill tweet of a whistle being blown, and anger rushed through him. A side referee was holding up the small, red and yellow checkered flag towards the sky, indicating a free kick.

The crowd exploded into yells and jeers.

“OI, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT, REF? WHAT’S THE FUCKING CALL?”

“NO! NO! WHAT A BLOODY TERRIBLE CALL. PITCH DIDN’T EVEN TOUCH THE GIT HE JUST STEPPED BACK! THE GIT WAS PUSHING!”

“YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBARSE WHAT’S THE GODDAMN CALL? THAT WASN’T A BLOODY FOUL.”

A second later the announcer explained the call.

“Due to tripping and unnecessary roughness from number 13, a free kick will be awarded to Manchester.”

“BOOOOO,” Michael yelled, his face furrowed in frustration. “THAT WASN’T BLOODY FUCKING TRIPPING! ‘UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS’ MY ARSE, PITCH WASN’T EVEN--”

But Michael was cut off by a much louder, more aggressive shout.

“OI, REF, GET OFF YOUR BLOODY KNEES AND STOP BLOWING THE MATCH! THAT WASN’T A FOUL AND YOU FUCKING KNOW IT!”

Michael snorted and looked to his left at the seat next to him, noticing a bloke around his age yelling at the field, his face bright red. The bloke looked over and Michael nodded back in agreement.

“The ref IS blowing the bloody match! Pitch didn’t even touch the dumbfuck, let alone TRIP him!” Michael exclaimed, shaking his head as he glanced back at the field, watching Manchester set up for their free kick.

“Christ, I know!” The bloke responded, throwing up his hands and groaning. “I swear to shit, it’s like these refs are TRYING to make the worst possible calls they can. They’ve been at it all season. It’s fucking mental out there.”

Michael nodded again and both of them looked out at the field in disgust as the free kick landed the ball right in front of Manchester’s star midfielder.

About two minutes later, another shrill whistle blow sounded, this time signaling the end of the first half. The players all exited the field through their respective corners and Michael and the bloke sat down next to him. The bloke then turned to Michael and extended his hand.

“Hey mate, I’m Simon. Nice to meet you.”

Michael clasped Simon’s hand and shook it. “Same here. I’m Michael.”

Simon smiled warmly at him and then turned his head distractedly at the sound of a woman’s voice shouting about the snacks and drinks she was selling from the tray she carried, and he quickly hailed her over and bought a large bag of kettle corn, a pretzel, and a bottle of soda.

Michael looked at him as he began to eat. Simon had a mess of curls on top of his head, loads of freckles and moles dotted all over his face and neck, and plain blue eyes. He was shoving handfuls of popcorn into his mouth at a fantastic rate and seemed quite unbothered by the many kernels that had escaped his grasp and were now gathering in his lap. But what really drew Michael’s attention was the jacket Simon was wearing. It was a black zip-up athletic jacket, the words “The Watford Hornets” written on the back in yellow lettering, and the red and yellow Watford badge on the front in the corner. Michael had seen the jacket being worn before, but only by the players, and usually during the colder months when the players needed something to cover up with before matches. Michael wondered where Simon had got it from. Maybe the team shop had started selling them and he just didn’t know about it yet? He doubted it; Michael knew everything the shop sold since he owned most of it himself.

“Hey, uh, Simon, where’d you get that coat, mate? Team shop?”

Simon looked down at the jacket and smiled, his cheeks turning slightly red as his eyes glittered.

“It’s my boyfriend’s. He gave it to me to wear for the match today,” Simon said fondly, rubbing his thumb over the sleeve.

“Oh nice,” Michael responded, noting that Simon still hadn’t answered his question as to where the jacket came from and was about to ask him again when Simon abruptly got up. He was clutching his phone with a huge grin on his face and then practically sprinted down the cement aisle, his hand flying over the metal railing. Michael watched as he stumbled over the last four steps and simply jumped straight to the ground. He then melted into the crowd of people who were getting up to go to the bathroom and to get food before the second half started.

Huh.

Michael didn’t really know what someone could possibly do for less than fifteen minutes during the halftime of a football match that would be exciting enough to literally fall down the stairs for but hey, more power to the bloke.

Michael already had his drink and he wasn’t really hungry so he was content to just sitting in his seat and watching other fans mill about. The goal posts were casting long shadows down the field as the sun began to slip from the sky, and the huge lights along the edges of the stadium clicked on, flooding the stands and the field with brightness as everything outside darkened.

When there were only about four minutes left until the second half, the players made their way back onto the field, stretching and getting set up in their positions, only now they were on the opposite side of the field they had started the match on. Michael briefly scanned Watford’s half and noticed that the center defender spot was strangely empty. A second later, Pitch could be seen jogging out from the sidelines and into position, his shoulder-length inky black hair flying around loosely for a moment before he seemed to realize it wasn’t tied in his usual low ponytail. Weird, Michael thought, as Pitch quickly tied his hair back up and began to stretch.

And even weirder still, Simon collapsed into the stadium seat next to Michael’s a minute later, completely out of breath, his face and neck a startling shade of scarlet. Michael couldn’t really tell if Simon’s curls had gotten neater or more messed up since the last time he had seen them, but they definitely looked different.

“Alright, mate?” Michael asked, raising his eyebrows at Simon’s completely disheveled state.

Simon looked at him in surprise, almost as if he had forgotten Michael was there at all. “Oh, er, yeah I’m fine. Just wanted to make sure I was back in time for the start of the match, is all.”

“Ah, well, not to worry. You made it with two minutes to spare.”

Simon nodded at him happily and then sank lower in his seat, rubbing his hands on his face as he exhaled loudly, his breaths quickly turning into low laughs. What a weird bloke.

Michael leaned forward to grab his drink from the cup holder in front of him when Simon gasped excitedly, smiling at him when he sat back up.

“Your jersey! Are you a Pitch fan?”

Michael looked at Simon as if he had just asked Michael if he liked breathing air. Was he a Pitch fan. The more appropriate question would be to ask who wasn’t a Pitch fan.

“Of course I am. He’s only the most brilliant defender of all the F.C.’s in England and the U.K.!”

Simon looked pleasantly amused. “Oh yeah?”

“Uh, yeah! He’s in the best season of his entire career and has one of the strongest defense records in League history! He plays every match like it’s his last and he never backs down from an opponent. He’s agile, ruthless, and shit, he’s fucking fast. What, are you a Pitch fan?”

Simon looked at him and promptly burst out laughing but Michael didn’t see what was so funny. When he calmed down, his huge grin had shrunk to a small smile in the corner of his mouth. Sort of  . . . smirk-ish.

“Me, a Pitch fan? You could say that. He’s alright, I guess. Seems like a bit of a prick to me.”

Simon then turned his head to stare at the field with a soft expression on his face.

Michael spluttered, “A . . . a prick? Isn’t a bit rude of you to call him a prick? I mean, you don’t even know him.”

Simon laughed again. “I dunno; I think it’s the hair. Awfully pretentious, all black and silky and shit. And don’t even talk to me about that bloody ponytail he always puts it in. Makes him look like a git if you ask me.”

Michael didn’t know quite how to respond to that.

“And would you look at that face? Like he’s ten seconds away from biting you or cursing you out in front of your mum? That’s the face of a prick right there.”

Michael looked at Simon, dumbfounded, but Simon just kept on smiling and gazing out at the field as if his comments were completely meaningless. Coming out of his mouth the insults sounded mostly truthful, but that whole effect was kind of shattered when Simon looked like he was about to rest his hand against his cheek and sigh dreamily to himself. Michael thought that Simon was possibly a bit bonkers. Nice, of course, but still bonkers.

Just then a whistle was blown and Michael looked at the field in time to see Roldan start the kick-off. The ball was directly passed to Benson who in turn sent it spiraling towards Watford’s right midfielder, Terrance Kelly. Kelly quickly leaped up and slammed his forehead against the ball, sending it flying all the way back to Watford’s defensive line. Pitch quickly stepped up and settled the ball instantly with one of his thighs, peeled around a straggling Manchester forward, and then sped away up the sideline until he had a clear shot to one of his teammates.

For the next twenty minutes, Michael and Simon and all of the other Watford fans watched eagerly as forwards Roldan and Benson made multiple shots on Manchester’s goal, the crowd screaming their bloody heads off once one of the shots finally made it into the goal.

Everyone cheered and yelled as Pitch made another few spectacular recoveries and blocks, slick as an oil spill, and even though the bloke obviously seemed to have mixed feelings about the brilliant defender, Simon was always, always, the one cheering the loudest.

As the end of the second half drew nearer, another weird thing happened. One of the bigger blokes of Manchester’s forwards was charging through the defensive line on the way to Watford’s goal, Pitch sprinted towards him, prepared to smoothly slide the ball away from the forward and get it back to up his attacking teammates. However, when Pitch was in the process of stealing the ball, the forward shifted into a lower position and dug his shoulder into Pitch’s chest, shoving him back and causing him to fall to the ground at an odd angle.

Simon was the first one to jump to his feet, worry and concern etched into his twisted expression. His fists were clenched and his eyes were locked onto the spot where Pitch was lying on the green field. After another moment, Pitch visibly sat up and grabbed the hand of a nearby teammate, quickly standing and then brushing the grass off of his black shorts and football socks. Then, once everyone had shifted back into position, Pitch gave a brief thumbs up towards Michael’s side of the crowd, and Simon exhaled and sat back down.

Seriously, Michael just did not get Simon. At all. But at least Pitch was alright. Michael had to admit, it could have been a pretty nasty fall. Watford was incredibly lucky that their best defender wasn’t actually injured.

***

The match was two minutes from ending, Manchester and Watford tied 2 to 2, and Benson had made another shot on goal and missed, the ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing back into the chaos of defenders and forwards. The crowd was losing their goddamn minds as the ball flew from player to player, people screaming to clear it out of the penalty box, to make the shot, to block the ball, to pass it out of bounds. Everyone seemed to think that the command they shouted at the field was the one that should be followed.

But no one expected the ball to go rogue.

No one expected the ball to be kicked out of the cluster of players scrambling to make a play. And certainly no one expected a clever, speedy defender to take two steps, leap into the air, and slam his head into the spinning, spiraling ball.

Everyone watched in complete shock and surprise, Michael in utter joy, as the ball made its fantastic arc over the defenders of Manchester and the forwards of Watford, and then brushed over the Manchester’s goalie’s outstretched hands, the goalie’s fingers just a centimeter away. And then the ball punched deep into the net of the goal as the stadium erupted into total pandemonium.

Michael’s throat felt raw from screaming and his face felt as if it was about to split in two as he smiled.

It was insane. It was incredible. It was bloody fucking mental.

Basil Pitch, number 13, center defender, scored a winning goal in the last thirty seconds of the match against the number 1 rated team in the Premier League, with his fucking head.

It was a sight for the gods.

Michael felt as if history was being written right in front of his eyes. And he had been right there to see it.

Michael turned to Simon, a feeling of euphoria in his veins, to see Simon looking as if he was about to cry. Of course, his smile was so big Michael was afraid it was going to consume his whole face, but his blue eyes were wet, and his cheeks were crimson.

Michael watched Simon’s lips move, unable to hear what he was saying due to the deafening volume of the Watford fans around them, and then Simon threw himself out into the cement aisle, clutching onto the railing as he half-fell half-sprinted down the stairs, his curls bouncing wildly.

“Alright, bye!” Michael called after Simon, waving as though his best mate was leaving. He was just so happy . . .

Simon whipped right back around, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

“Oh, uh, wait! Wait! I, uh, I know we don’t know each other very well yet, but, uh, you’re really nice! And cool! And, uh, I have to go like, right now otherwise I’m going to die but, uh, I want to properly say goodbye! And you can meet my boyfriend! You would like him! Meet me down on the first level of the stadium, by the elevators! See you! ” Simon yelled, speaking so quickly Michael could barely understand him. And when Michael finally processed what Simon had said so he could politely decline, Simon was long gone. Fuck.

Michael sat back down in his slightly uncomfortable stadium chair and exhaled loudly, laughing shakily as he held his head in his hands. This had to be the best, weirdest, most fucking mental Watford F.C. match he had ever attended in his entire life. It felt like he couldn’t catch his breath. And now, after this huge, godly win, he was supposed to go meet some random stranger’s boyfriend? Fucking hell.

Then again, Michael figured he might as well go because how could things get any better or weirder than they already were? Plus, Michael could ask Simon’s boyfriend where he got that Watford athletic jacket! He really did want one of those jackets . . .

Michael resolutely decided to stay behind an extra twenty minutes. He waited until the crowds had mostly dispersed from the stands since there was always a flood of people trying to leave the stadium after matches ended. Michael got a refill on his soda, drank it, and browsed the team shop. The jacket definitely wasn’t in there. Now he was really curious as to where the jacket came from. He glanced at his phone and figured he had given Simon about twenty minutes.

Michael took the elevator down to the first level of the stadium and stepped out, looking around for Simon and his boyfriend. There was a coffee shop a few feet away and another couple places to get snacks, but no sign of the weird, curly haired bloke and his boyfriend.

Michael was about to get back into the elevator and go home, figuring Simon had just forgotten in his excitement, but then he heard a low sound coming from around the corner near the elevators, and stepped around to see what was there.

Oh fuck no.

Michael could tell it was Simon because Simon’s back was turned to him, and Michael recognized the jacket and the hair. But Simon wasn’t alone. There was one pale arm wrapped around Simon’s waist and one around his neck. Michael could see that two long legs were between Simon’s, and the sounds Michael had heard were . . . moans.

Michael cringed and averted his eyes to the ground, not wanting to disturb or invade their private moment more than he already had. He started to walk back around the corner, but something caught his eye. A pair of sleek, black cleats, attached to the legs between Simon’s.Cleats. Michael couldn’t help himself, he looked up farther and saw black football socks, shin guards, and a pair of black shorts. Michael looked to the side and spied a flash of black and yellow. The jacket, the comments, the weird looks on Simon's face during the match; they all made sense now to him now.

Simon’s boyfriend was a Watford football player.

Michael gasped loudly and then instantly cursed himself as Simon and his boyfriend quickly turned around, embarrassed at being caught and--

Oh.

Oh fuck.

Oh motherfucking bloody hell.

Simon gave Michael a small smile, blush high on his cheeks.

“Oh, hey! Hey, Michael. Glad you could, uh, make it. This is my boyfrien--”

“Basil Pitch,” Michael choked out, his face flushed.

Simon’s boyfriend wasn’t just a Watford football player he was . . . he was Basil Pitch. Number 13. Pitch. The brilliant center defender of Watford F.C.

So . . . yeah. Basil Pitch was in front of him. Still in his uniform. His hair falling out of his ponytail and framing his face. His arm tightly wrapped around Simon’s waist.

The air was out of Michael’s lungs. Oh look, his stomach was on the floor. Just normal, regular things.

Pitch laughed coolly.

Michael stared, his eyes most likely obnoxiously wide, as Basil Pitch stepped up to him and offered Michael his hand.

“Well, you obviously already know me. But I haven’t had the pleasure. Your name is Michael?”

“Yes,” Michael squeaked as he put his shaking hand into Pitch’s and shook it. His hand was smooth and a little cold. It was definitely the best thing that had ever happened to him in his entire life.

Pitch smirked. “Nice to meet you, Michael. Thank you for keeping an eye on this bloody prat while I was busy scoring goals.”

Simon rounded on Pitch and pretended to be angry, kissing his cheek viciously as he growled. “Oh shut the fuck up, Baz, you pretentious arsehole. Michael was being cool and you don’t have to be a git every time I make a new friend.”

“Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?”

Michael then cleared his throat because he was a little terrified of the wicked way Pitch was looking at Simon and also of the way that Simon was moving his hands up Pitch’s chest . . . yeah he definitely needed to leave.

“So, uh I’m, uh, just gonna go . . .”

“Oh, sorry, Michael!” Simon exclaimed, quickly taking his hands off of Pitch and opting to hold his hand instead. “Uh, sometimes we forget--” he elbowed Pitch in the side and Pitch snapped his teeth at Simon “--where we are and we get a little carried away. So we’re gonna have to cut this a little short. But do you wanna come to our flat for dinner sometime? We can make it up to you!”

Michael blanched, “Oh, that’s okay, I--”

“Here!” Simon dug into his pocket, grabbed his phone, tapped it a few times, and then thrust it at Michael. “Put your number in.”

Michael took the phone and then gave it back a minute later. He did not remember actually typing in his number but he must have because Simon smiled at him, Pitch smirked, and they both waved goodbye, their arms around each other as they walked away.

And then Michael fainted.

(Just an fyi, Watford F.C. is an actual team in the Premier League and I could not pass up the opportunity of making Baz play for a team called Watford, I mean come on. So he's not playing for the school, he's playing for the Premier League team. All of the other players mentioned are either names I made up or names I pulled from other soccer players but then changed either the first or the last name)

[theaterwit]

Skittles Commercial The Broadway Musical The Essay

So, this is how I spent my Sunday...

I was up at four am and at the airport by 5:15am.  But WHY?

I had a mission. I was off to meet my friend Tim in NYC.  We were about to see

Yes.  Will Eno wrote a thirty minute Broadway musical that will open and close today. One performance only. 

I’ve known Will for about twelve years and since we just finished working on The Realistic Joneses, it was pretty much a must-see. On the way in, I saw this flyer on the train.

Obviously, I called. “Will my life be transformed by 1:30 PM today?“

Keano:”Very transformed. Your spirit is strong and ready. Believe in yourself”

At 1pm, Tim and I arrive at Town Hall. It's packed.  The line to pick up tickets stretches around the corner. A woman is selling T-shirts outside the theater for $10.  (Oddly, the T-shirts *inside* the theater are $20.) The mood in the room is ... buoyant. I do not know if this is a love of Skittles, an excitement about the difficult-to-get-tickets-for event or a carefully group curated ironic positioning in relation to the event.

I'm pretty amused already, and the gentleman to my left is bouncing with enthusiasm. He's brought his 10 year old daughter. It's the first time he's been at Town Hall since performing as a child dancer in a ballet show 20 years ago. I tell him that Skittles Commercial The Broadway Musical is virtually guaranteed to be the same experience so it's great he gets to share his youth with her. It's her first live musical. I don't know what 10 year old me would have thought was going on. I ask her and she says "I like Skittles, so..." and shrugs.

I look through the program and discover to my delight that the director of this epic is none other than Sarah Benson, the artistic director of Soho Rep, a downtown theatre I have a little bit of a crush on (the theater, not the AD). Someone at DDB Needham is a subversive genius. We may never know who thought this up, but if I ever find out, they'll be the first person I buy a drink for at Soho House.  The second person (if not the same person) is Nathaniel Lawler, the copywriter/lyricist co-credited with Will on the book.

The lights dim with a musical fanfare and we're off.

And the next 30 minutes are freaking hilarious while combining a deep questioning about advertising, the communual ethics of the event itself, and a look at the performative dynamics between the show and the live audience in this hall.

And it's about mortality: death, and what we leave behind.  And Skittles. In three very short acts.

So, what actually happens in Skittles Commercial The Broadway Musical?  It's honestly difficult to describe but here's the plot as detailed as I can recall, and no doubt horribly reductive:

Part I

Several NYC residents are at a bodega before the Super Bowl. One of them is a regular, the others are there to buy contact lens solution or a snack.  No one is there to buy Skittles. The first two minutes are straight up Will Eno. The characters are in a mild and gentle existential crisis. There is a big game, but they are ambivalent toward it. There is no contact lens solution. No one seems likely to leave the store. There is no mention of Skittles, although there are several references to the futility of existence.

Then Michael C. Hall enters in an absolutely genius and ridiculous cat costume. He exudes weary despair and wanders around the store, occasionally slipping into his cat persona and batting at objects on the shelves and cat toys. Everyone on stage is excited and awkward about this celebrity appearance in the bodega.

Michael C. Hall explains that he is doing a Super Bowl commercial. No, not for TV. For the stage. He's feeling like this might be a big mistake and sings a ballad about this ambiguity ("This Might Have been a Bad Idea"). Will he still be respected for participating in such a stunt? Is this the ultimate sell-out? Or—after he tastes a Skittle—a wholehearted endorsement of a product he actually loves and will he become famous for the show we are watching at the moment. Or maybe he has to sing that because we're still in a commercial.

The bodega owner yells "NO!!" and tries to fend off something in the house with a broom. Musical flourish and he returns to the action.

At this point, someone in the audience stands up and interrupts the show to ask a question. (“Actually, a two part statement and a follow up question.”) She's trying to understand what's going on.  Another member interrupts to answer her.  A third person in the balcony complains he can't see anyone who's talking at the moment. A fourth man says this is all very well, but shouldn't we be using this time together in the spirit of the Town Hall and discuss something important, like a national high speed rail system? Multiple audience members get involved. Michael C. Hall gets increasingly impatient with all the interruptions. He's one angry kitty. He says he knew this was a terrible idea and says the show is over.  He walks off. The curtains close. House lights up.  

The interrupting audience members get up and leave, disgruntled, including several who hadn't spoken.  About a minute of silence follows. No one in the audience is talking. I am chortling (quietly).

Part II

House lights dim again, curtains open and the bodega has been replaced with an exterior of the Town Hall, complete with table selling the $10 T-Shirts.  Michael C. Hall (to be clear, I keep repeating his full name because the characters always say it in full) is leaving the theater.  The heckling "audience" from the first part descend on him (including the $10 T-shirt vendor), complaining that he abandoned the show and they didn't get the experience they had hoped for. McH argues that it is only a commercial and they didn't miss anything important. In a Pirandello-esque twist, he reminds them that they are all characters in the commercial anyway so it's all still happening. One of the women argues that she couldn't say anything horrible about Skittles ("they make you sad") because Skittles wouldn't write anything like that for a commercial.  Michael C. Hall replies "Wierdly enough, they did."  

The cast sings "Advertising Ruins Everything".  In despair and fury, they turn on Michael C. Hall and the bodega for betraying them.  They pull the exterior drop aside and rush the bodega owner and his broom, tearing apart the set in a Baccanalian frenzy.

Obviously, they kill Michael C. Hall in a flurry of lights and smoke, which brings us to...

Part III

As the smoke clears, Michael C. Hall reappears over his body, wrapped in white plastic chains in a lovely Jacob Marley/Christmas Carol moment. He's now in the afterlife, where he has a brief conversation with Winston Churchill and an even briefer conversation with Amelia Erhardt. Michael C. Hall is now doomed to walk eternity regretting his life choices. He and the chorus sing "This Definitely Was a Bad Idea".  

They eat Skittles.

End of play. The audience cheers.

While I can't recreate the wit of the thing, I'm hoping this helps everyone get a sense of the essential weirdness and theatricality of the experience. Mars was filming an archival copy, but I honestly hope that they don't release it. Benson, Eno and Hall made an inspired little piece of NYC theater mythology that probably can't be recreated but which I will enjoy recounting for years. It was a delight. Well worth 1400 miles of travel in a single day to see. Plus I didn't have to pretend to care about the Super Bowl, so the day was a win-win for me.

After the audience left, I got a farewell stage shot. Everyone off to Sardi’s for a celebration.

And If you've seen The Realistic Joneses (and if not, why not?), I will leave you with one final crossover thought:

"I like Skittles.  Skittle."

[rebeccaroberts-photography]

Structure - Shoot Review

19/05/21

Shoot Review

On Monday May 17th I travelled back into Edinburgh to shoot the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street, I arrived at around 10am and got to my location at around quarter past. The weather was overcast and cloudy, this meant that the lighting on the subject would be soft and diffuse with a low amount of contrast as well as the sky being grey in images.  After the first shoot around the outside and the interior shoot, I revisited the museum a few hours later as the sun had come out around 4pm to capture the exterior again before I got my train home.

Exterior

As I had my museum ticket booked for 11:30am I had some time to shoot the exterior of the building.  The museum is positioned on a corner with two junctions so there were cars passing by along with pedestrians however there were a lot of gaps where vehicles were not in shot and I did make use of pedestrians passing to create a sense of scale.  Firstly, setting up my tripod with an 18-55mm lens which allowed me to shoot wide and standard shots without changing the lens to a prime 50mm. I used the level on the tripod to set up the shot, moving position every so often to get a slightly different perspective – all of which were from ground level as I crouched down, or they were from eye level – to make sure I captured every angle I could.  Exploring angles with the modern and older architecture, I made my way from the modern extension designed by architectures by Benson and Forsythe, moving round to the older building originally designed by Francis Fowke. I photographed the glass bridge that connected the new and old building as well as the bride that used to connect the museum to the university building.  Then shot the back of the building and came back around to the other side of the modern extension where I could see parts of the roof extension and geometric architecture. I revisited about two hours later as the lighting has improves, the sun light was brighter and more direct as the clouds had moved which then created more contrast between the shadows and highlights.

Interior

Once I was inside the museum, I double checked with security as well as the receptionist about taking photographs and assured me that I had full permission to shoot. I started in the large hall with the glass roof and balconies, shooting wide shots on an 18-55mm lens, exploring viewpoints from the first floor up to the forth floor where I shot downwards onto the hall.  Then I made my way through a few of the exhibition rooms but as these are full of artifacts and large exhibition pieces, as well as being much darker and artificially lit. I did not take many shots as the architecture and detail of the rooms could not be seen even when using a long exposure or increasing the ISO the images had a high amount of noise. I went through the modern section of the museum where the Scottish history exhibits are, this is where there were more skylights which allows natural sunlight in. I also noticed more of the geometric shapes throughout the hallways and throughout this section of the building which I made sure to document as often people do not look up to see the shape and textures used in the design.  

Exposure Settings

For my exposure settings, while shooting outside using a tripod I set the ISO to 100, the aperture I initially set to f22 so the entire shot would be sharp, with a shutter speed ranging between 1/10ths of a second and 1/50th of a second. When shooting hand-held, I used a shutter speed between 1/60th of a second ranging to 1/400th of a second, where the apertured was opened up to f11 or wider at f5.6 depending how close I was too the subject. When shooting on a tripod, I struggled to exposure for both the foreground and the background, so I experimented with the exposure compensation settings. I moved the stop between the +1 and -1 settings, so when I pressed the shutter there were three images taken – one underexposed, on correctly exposed and one over exposed. When I was inside the museum where the light was bright and evenly lit so I increase the shutter speed to around 1/640th of a second, keeping the ISO at 100 and opening the aperture up between f5.6 and f11.

Exposure Settings

ISO: 100-1600

Shutter Speed: 1/10 – 1/640

Aperture: f5.6 – f22

Exposure Compensation: +/- 1 and +/- 2

Equipment

Canon 1300D

18-55mm lens

tripod

Contact Sheets

[ao3feed-destiel]

MPD, MD.

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2xhbzZS

by axton_loves_shipping

Dean Winchester, the lead sheriff of Milton Police Department, had always had a quiet life in the small, rural county of Milton, South Dakota. His life had always had a sense of normalcy, if that’s what you could call it. Always the first to respond to calls, emergency or not. His life revolved around picking drunk teenagers up from abandoned parties, ticketing that one nuisance for speeding in town, and having a beer with his brother on his off nights. The alpha had his own normal, even if he was missing sharing a bed.

Castiel Novak, the newest emergency doctor in Milton-Mercy Medical Hospital, had never had a normal. His normal was the chaos of emergency medicine, something he’d worked toward his entire life. A failed relationship and an internship later, the omega finds himself taking a job at a hospital in some city miles away from his home with a population less than one thousand.

It doesn’t take long for the two to meet. It takes longer for Castiel to finally fall for the charm of those green eyes.

Words: 3057, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Supernatural

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/M, M/M, Multi

Characters: Castiel, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Bobby Singer, Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan, Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, Lucifer

Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Mention of Castiel/OC, Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Amara & Chuck Shurley

Additional Tags: Doctor Castiel, Police Officer Dean, ABO, Knotting, Scent Marking, Top Dean, Bottom Castiel, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Dean, Omega Castiel, Omega Castiel/Alpha Dean Winchester

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2xhbzZS

[ao3feedsabriel]

MPD, MD.

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2xhbzZS

by axton_loves_shipping

Dean Winchester, the lead sheriff of Milton Police Department, had always had a quiet life in the small, rural county of Milton, South Dakota. His life had always had a sense of normalcy, if that’s what you could call it. Always the first to respond to calls, emergency or not. His life revolved around picking drunk teenagers up from abandoned parties, ticketing that one nuisance for speeding in town, and having a beer with his brother on his off nights. The alpha had his own normal, even if he was missing sharing a bed.

Castiel Novak, the newest emergency doctor in Milton-Mercy Medical Hospital, had never had a normal. His normal was the chaos of emergency medicine, something he’d worked toward his entire life. A failed relationship and an internship later, the omega finds himself taking a job at a hospital in some city miles away from his home with a population less than one thousand.

It doesn’t take long for the two to meet. It takes longer for Castiel to finally fall for the charm of those green eyes.

Words: 3057, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Supernatural

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/M, M/M, Multi

Characters: Castiel, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Bobby Singer, Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan, Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, Lucifer

Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Mention of Castiel/OC, Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Amara & Chuck Shurley

Additional Tags: Doctor Castiel, Police Officer Dean, ABO, Knotting, Scent Marking, Top Dean, Bottom Castiel, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Dean, Omega Castiel, Omega Castiel/Alpha Dean Winchester

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2xhbzZS

[vividlore]

100 questions nobody ever asks

thanks for the tags guys!!! @sim-pi & @soleilsim <3333

1 // do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? it depends, most of the time closed, but if my mom leave them a bit open then i leave them open yolo

2 // do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? sometimes, but i don’t go to hotels often

3 // do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? tucked out 100%, i mean like tucked in feels like i have my life in order, but i haven’t so.......

4 // have you stolen a street sign before? no i’m such a good girl

5 // do you like to use post-it notes? yes and no

6 // do you cut out coupons but then never use them? no, i never even see coupons (probably because i don’t read advertising flyer things)

7 // would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? bees, because you can escape them by jumping in water right ??? i always see that on the tv you can’t escape the bear i think???

8 // do you have freckles? i don’t know anymore

9 // do you always smile for pictures? no

10 // what’s your biggest pet peeve? i have too many

11 // do you ever count your steps when you walk? no, never have

12 // have you peed in the woods? idk probably not because we don’t even have woods or maybe when i was little when we were on holiday

13 // have you ever pooped in the woods? don’t think so either

14 // do you ever dance even if there’s no music playing? yes

15 // do you chew your pens and pencils? no wtf don’t do that

16 // how many people have you slept with this week? none

17 // what size is your bed? idk it’s the bed i had since i was like 4????????

18 // what is your song of the week? i don’t have a song of the week, not even of the day

19 // is it OK for guys to wear pink? yessssss

20 // do you still watch cartoons? yes

21 // what is your least favourite movie? that movie with vanessa hudgens, selena gomez, ashley benson and some other girl idk what it’s called anymore, it’s so bad omg i want to delete that movie from this world

22 // where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? some really ordinary place, i’m so good at hiding stuff, that’s like one of my only talents

23 // what do you drink with dinner? lemonade

24 // what do you dip a chicken nugget in? mayo or nothing

25 // what is your favourite food? yogurt or spareribs

26 // what movies could you watch over and over again and still love? back to the future, disney and harry potter

27 // last person you kissed/kissed you? nobody rip

28 // were you ever a boy/girl scout? no

29 // would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? no

30 // when was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? idk many years ago, i did kinda write a letter 2 months ago or something, but i didn’t send it, i was never planning on sending it

31 // can you change the oil on a car? no

32 // even gotten a speeding ticket? no

33 // even ran out of gas? no

34 // what’s your favorite kind of sandwich? hagelslag

35 // best thing to eat for breakfast? bread with hagelslag or cereal or muesli

36 // what is your usual bedtime? 12 or 1pm................ oops

37 // are you lazy? so lazy

38 // when you were a kid, what did you dressed up as for Halloween? we don’t celebrate halloween

39 // what is your Chinese astrological sign? ox

40 // how many languages can you speak? 1 and 3 quarters??? dutch, half english and 10% german and 4,9% french??? and like 0,1% other languages

41 // do you have any magazine subscriptions? not anymore

42 // which are better: LEGOS or Lincoln Logs? legos for sure wtf

43 // are you stubborn? yes (:

44 // who is better: Leno or Letterman? what

45 // ever watch soap operas? no

46 // are you afraid of heights? yes

47 // do you sing in the car? YES, but only with people i feel comfortable with

48 // do you sing in the shower? sometimes

49 // do you dance in the car? nah

50 // ever used a gun? no

51 // last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? 3 years ago maybe???

52 // do you think musicals are cheesy? nah

53 // is Christmas stressful? nah

54 // ever eat pierogi? no but it looks so nice!!! i want to try it (this doesn’t sound naturally to me)

55 // favourite type of fruit pie? apple pie, the only pie i like

56 // occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? i actually never wanted to be anything... i think.. i still don’t know what i want to be

57 // do you believe in ghosts? idk

58 // ever have a deja-vu feeling? yes

59 // do you take vitamin daily? no i try to though

60 // do you wear slippers? no

61 // do you wear a bath robe? yes

62 // what do you wear to be comfortable? my “pj’s”

63 // what was your first concert? i’ve never been to one i think

64 // Walmart, Target or KMART? all of them???

65 // Nike or Adidas? idk both, maybe nike because i have more nike-stuff

66 // Cheetos or Fritos? idk neither??

67 // peanuts or sunflower seeds? peanuts

68 // ever hear of the group Tres Bien? no

69 // ever take dance lessons? yes for too long actually and i still can’t dance

70 // is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? nah something they’re passionate about and earn money with

71 // can you curl your tongue? yes

72 // ever won a spelling bee? no, we don’t even have those

73 // have you ever cried because you were so happy? idk, i think so

74 // own any record albums? no

75 // own a record player? no

76 // do you regularly burn incense? no i don’t even like that

77 // even been in love? don’t think so

78 // who would you like to see in concert? nobody, i’m not made for concerts i think

79 // what was the last concert you saw? none

80 // hot tea or cold tea? hot tea??

81 // tea or coffee? tea

82 // sugar cookies or snickerdoodles? idk

83 // can you swim well? yes i love swimming but i also hate it

84 // can you hold your breath without holding your nose? yes

85 // are you patient? no not at all

86 // DJ or band at a wedding? DJ

87 // ever won a contest? don’t think so (:

88 // have you ever had plastic surgery? no

89 // which are better: black or green olives? neither

90 // can you knit or crochet? i could knit, but not anymore i think

91 // best room for a fireplace? living room duh???

92 // do you want to get married? idk maybe

93 // if married, how long have you been married? (:

94 // who was your high school crush? like was i supposed to only have one crush in high school?? because then i massively messed up, i had too many crushes to remember

95 // do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? yes.........

96 // do you have kids? no

97 // do you want kids? probably

98 // what is your favourite colour? yellow

99 // do you miss anyone right now? don’t think so

100 // who are you going to tag to do this tag next? i’m really late so i think everybody did this already???? but feel free to do this and say i tagged you!! xoxoxo

[merriammusicinc]

100+ Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners | Chord Charts & Tabs Included (2019)

Whether you are just starting to learn the guitar or you're more advanced, learning your favourite songs on the guitar is an extremely fun experience that will motivate you to keep learning, and grow your repertoire. By learning to master your favourite songs on the guitar your love for music can only continue to grow. Best of all the next time a guitar comes out at a party or an event, you will be ready to impress your friends and family. The list of easy guitar songs we've assembled below was put together primarily with the beginner guitarist in mind and it includes both acoustic guitar songs as well as electric, with and without the capo.

A capo is a device used on the neck of a stringed (typically fretted) instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. It is a common ... via Wikipedia

Some are as easy as two-chord songs which utilize open chords and are a great starting point for beginner guitar players, others use barre chords, and some have fairly challenging chord progressions and require more advanced technique. The list includes a variety of styles stemming from easy rock guitar songs, country songs, pop songs, Christmas songs and many more (see below for a full list of included styles and genres). Furthermore, it includes links to easy guitar chords, tabs, and strum patterns, although, as previously mentioned, there are several advanced guitar songs that have also been included in our ultimate list of easy songs to learn to play on guitar for beginners.

Easy Guitar Songs

You will probably recognize nearly every single one of these songs and wonder, how in the world are these songs easy to play?  You might be surprised at how simple these hit songs are to play on the guitar.  Try out our top 20 easy songs to learn on guitar today. 

Radioactive - Imagine Dragons

T.N.T - AC/DC

Summer Of 69 - Bryan Adams

Times Like These - Foo Fighters

Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

Walk Of Life - Dire Straits

Perfect - Ed Sheeran

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash

Let It Be - The Beatles

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman

That's All Right Mama - Elvis Presley

How Bizarre - OMC

Dance The Night Away - The Mavericks

Englishman In New York - Sting

Breezin' - George Benson

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

Guns Of Brixton - The Clash

I Shot The Sheriff - Bob Marley

Miss You - The Rolling Stones

Featured Easy Guitar Song: Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

Beginner Guitar Songs

Brand new to learning the guitar? Learning how to play the guitar is a wild journey that can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. Beginner guitar players should start with the basics and work their way up in song difficulty over time as you become more and more proficient. Learn the fundamentals of the guitar with these easy guitar songs for beginners.  

Stay With Me - Sam Smith

Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses

Creep - Radiohead

Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen

Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix

Knocking On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan

Stand By Me - Ben E. King

Mockingbird - James Taylor

I Can’t Explain - The Who

Die Young - Kesha

Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2

Dynamite - Taio Cruz

Heart Of Gold - Neil Young

Time Of Your Life - Green Day

Imagine - John Lennon

Free Fallin' - Tom Petty

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Wonderwall - Oasis

Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton

Featured Beginner Guitar Song: Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton

Easy Acoustic Guitar Songs

The acoustic guitar is a versatile instrument that you can take with you nearly everywhere. Next time you are at a party, on vacation, sitting around a campfire, have the skills and repertoire to impress your friends with these 20 easy songs to play on acoustic guitar.

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day

Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi

Patience - Guns N' Roses

Free Fallin' - Tom Petty

More Than Words - Extreme

Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Layla - Eric Clapton

She Talks to Angels - The Black Crowes

Everlong - Foo Fighters

Let Her Go - Passenger

Nothing Else Matters - Metallica

Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's

The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals

Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen

Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin

Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash

I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

Silent Lucidity - Queensrÿche

Every Rose Has its Thorn - Poison

Featured Acoustic Guitar Song: Free Fallin' - Tom Petty

Electric Guitar Songs

The electric guitar can produce incredible sounds you will recognize anywhere. Learning the electric guitar doesn't need to be an overwhelming feat, below you will find 20 of the most hard hitting electric guitar songs you need to add to your repertoire so you can lay down some heavy riffs.  

Iron Man - Black Sabbath

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

“Master of Puppets” – Metallica

This Means War” – Avenged Sevenfold

Sin City - ACDC

Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumpkins

I Can't Quit You Baby - Willie Dixon

It Hurts Me Too - Elmore James

Smoking Gun - Robert Cray

Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple

Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones

Wild Thing - The Troggs

Two Tickets To Paradise - Eddie Money

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Still Got The Blues - Gary Moore

Doesn't Remind Me - Audioslave

Born Free - Kid Rock

Rockstar - Nickelback

Fire Flies - Owl City

Featured Easy Electric Guitar Song: Iron Man - Black Sabbath

Classical Guitar Songs

Classical songs when played on the guitar have the unique ability to captivate and inspire the audience like no other instrument. Unfortunately few guitarists choose to learn classical guitar songs due to a lack of mainstream popularity.  Stand out from the crowd of guitarists and showcase your skills with by learning how to play some of the worlds most famous pieces of classical music on the guitar. These classical songs on the guitar have a special place in our heart, check out our top 20 classical songs to play on the guitar. 

Cavatina - Stanley Myers

Lonely Shepherd - Gheorghe Zamfir

Canarios - Gaspar Sanz

Guitar concerto in D – Vivaldi

Libertango – Piazzolla

La Catedral - Augustin Barrios Mangoré

Capricho Arabe - Francisco Tarrega

Recuerdos de la Alhambra - Francisco Tarrega

Gran Vals by Francisco Tárrega

Fantasia No. 10 by Alonso Mudarra

Ave Maria – Schubert

Malaguena by Michael Lucarelli

Fur Elise - Beethoven

Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven

Prelude in D - Caracassi

Ode To Joy - Beethoven

Air On The G String - Bach

Theme From Water Music - Handel

Lullaby - Brahms

Bourree Op. 17, No. 5 - Le Couppey

Featured Easy Classical Guitar Song: Fur Elise - Beethoven

Country Guitar Songs

Country music is a blast to play and the guitar is the country artists instrument of choice.  Country songs are some of the easiest to learn how to play on the guitar and with a little bit of practice, you can be picking right alongside your favorite guitarists. Learn how to play some of our favorite country hits from Willie Nelson to Carrie Underwood with our beginner's list of the top 20 country songs to play on the guitar.  

Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash

Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver

Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton

Guitars, Cadillacs - Dwight Yoakam

Wagon Wheel - Darius Rucker

Bottoms Up - Brantley Gilbert

On the Road Again - Willie Nelson

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Broken Halos - Chris Stapleton

Chicken Fried - Zac Brown Band

Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Willie Nelson

Sunday Morning Coming Down - Johnny Cash

Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley

Les Nuits avec mon ennemi: Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

Fast as You - Dwight Yoakam

Angel of the Morning - Juice Newton

A Satisfied Mind - Porter Wagoner

Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood

Good Directions - Billy Currington

Featured Easy Country Guitar Song: Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Christmas Guitar Songs

Christmas time is nearly upon us once again and it is time to break out the guitar and start to string our favorite Christmas songs.  Gather your friends and family near the Christmas tree and have them sing along to the best Christmas songs on the guitar. The classical Christmas carols we all know and love are actually incredibly easy to learn how to play on the guitar. Here are 20 of the best Christmas songs you should learn how to play on the guitar.  

Jingle Bells

Drummer Boy

White Christmas

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

The Christmas Song

O Come All Ye Faithful

A Merry Little Christmas

Joy to the World

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Winter Wonderland

Last Christmas

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

All I Want for Christmas Is You

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Blue Christmas

Wonderful Christmas

Sleigh Ride

Santa Baby

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Featured Easy Christmas Guitar Song: Jingle Bells

Easy Guitar Chord Songs

Learning chords on the guitar? If you are a beginner guitar player or just want some easy songs on guitar, you've come to the right place. These 20 songs with easy guitar chords are perfect for practicing and getting the fundamentals down before moving on to more advanced pieces. Be sure to practice and the chords and switching between chords for each song as it will speed up your learning process tremendously!

Fire – Bruce Springsteen

The one I love – REM

Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles

Three little birds – Bob Marley

Zombie – The Cranberries

Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

Otherside – Red hot Chili Peppers

Brown eyed girl – Van Morrison

Tush - ZZ Top

I Can’t Quit You Baby - Willie Dixon

My Best Friend’s Girl - The Cars

What I Got - Sublime

Low - Cracker

Cherub Rock - The Smashing Pumpkins

Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly

I Need My Girl - The National

Skinny Love - Bon Iver

Rock Me Baby - B. B. King

He Didn't Have To Be - Brad Paisley

(Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult

Featured Easy Guitar Chord Song: Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

Easy Rock Guitar Songs

There’s nothing as thrilling as your fingers blazin' across the strings while strumming a good rock song. As a beginner guitarist you obviously want beginner songs, but they should also be a ton of fun to learn how to play.  Our list of the top 20 rock songs on guitar not only covers that, but it also gives you a set of awesome rock songs to add to your repertoire. 

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Layla - Derek and the Dominos

Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple

Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

All Along the Watchtower - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry

Walk This Way - Aerosmith

Eruption - Van Halen

The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals

Beat It - Michael Jackson

Wild Thing - The Troggs

Heartbreaker - Led Zeppelin

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

Sunshine of Your Love - Cream

Featured Guitar Rock Song: Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Guitar Love Songs

Is there anything more romantic than to serenade the love of your life with a beautiful guitar love song? We're willing to bet she will get goose bumps along her arms and tears in her eyes but that she’ll also never forget that time when you played her a love song on your guitar. We've put together 20 guitar love songs that you can learn with ease. Pull out your guitar and start strumming along to these beautiful love songs and watch your sweetie's heart melt.  

Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley

Like I'm Gonna Lose  You - Meghan Trainor

Love Story - Taylor Swift

Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen

I’m Yours - Jason Mraz

More Than Words - Extreme

Just the Way Your Are - Bruno Mars

She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5

Your Body Is a Wonderland," John Mayer

Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran

You’re Beautiful – James Blunt

Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews Band

Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton

Marry Me – Train

Heaven – Bryan Adams

Wanted – Hunter Hayes

I’ll Be – Edwin McCain

Stay With Me – Sam Smith

Something – The Beatles

Everything – Michael Bublé

Featured Easy Guitar Love Song: Love Story - Taylor Swift

Easy Guitar Tab Songs

Guitar tabs for beginner guitarists should be easy and fun. Guitar tabs are a simplified form of musical notation that is easy to share. This list of songs with easy guitar tabs is comprised of popular hits that are easy for a beginner student to quickly pick up on, and learn how to play the guitar.   

Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet

Cocaine – Eric Clapton

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana

Walk This Way – Aerosmith

Taking Care of Business – BTO

Harder To Breathe – Maroon 5

The Joker – Steve Miller Band

My Generation – The Who

Iron Man – Black Sabbath

Pretty Woman– Roy Orbison

Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Stairway to Heaven -Led Zeppelin

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Blackbird - The Beatles

Nothing Else Matters - Metallica

The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals

Come as You Are - Nirvana

Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

Featured Guitar Tab Song: Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple

Christian Guitar Songs

Are you looking for ways to incorporate your love of the guitar with your love of God? You have your choice of popular Christian songs, but many new guitar players struggle finding songs they want to play at their appropriate skill level and become discouraged. These 20 easy Christian guitar songs are easy to play for a beginner guitarist but are also very popular, members of your church will be sure to be singing along with you.   

Above All - Michael W. Smith

I Surrender - Hillsong Worship

Holy Is the Lord - Chris Tomlin

Good Good Father - Chris Tomlin

Lord, I Need You - Matt Maher

O Come to the Altar - Elevation Worship

Hosanna - Hillsong United

God of Wonders - Third Day

At the Cross (Love Ran Red) -  Chris Tomlin

Come as You Are - Crowder

Your Grace Is Enough - Chris Tomlin

This Is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham

Came to My Rescue - Hillsong United

Forever - Chris Tomlin

Nothing Is Impossible - Planetshakers

So Will I (100 Billion X) - Hillsong United

Everlasting God - Chris Tomlin

Reckless Love - Cory Asbury

Do It Again - Elevation Worship

Build Your Kingdom Here - Rend Collective

Featured Easy Christian Guitar Song: Good Good Father - Chris Tomlin

Kids Guitar Songs

Teaching kids to learn and love playing the guitar doesn't need to be hard.  Kids want to play songs they know and love but can become discouraged if their initial learning process is filled with boredom and difficulty. Teaching kids the basic guitar fundamentals with simple, familiar guitar songs can be an excellent learning experience that will grow their interest and confidence in learning the guitar.  Check out these 20 guitar songs for kids that only use a few chords, these songs will give them to confidence and motivation to continue learning.  

The Ants Go Marching

Yankee Doodle

Three Blind Mice

The Muffin Man

Ring Around the Rosies

Little Red Ridinghood

London Bridge Is Falling Down

Hot Cross Buns

Gingerbread Man

Happy Birthday

Cinderella

B-I-N-G-O

The Bear Went Over the Mountain

Hokey Pokey

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Row, row, row your boat

Old Macdonald

Head Shoulders Knees And Toes

Im A Little Teapot

Featured Easy Kids Guitar Song: Happy Birthday

Easy Pop Songs On Guitar

Many guitarists picked up their first guitar because they thought it would be awesome to learn how to play their favourite pop songs on the guitar, and they weren't wrong. A big stumbling block for people looking to get their start learning the guitar can be picking the appropriate song for their skill level.  Slow and steady is the motto for long term success and it definitely applies to learning the guitar. You can still learn how to play your favourite pop songs on the guitar you just need a little help finding the right ones. We've compiled a list of easy pop songs for the guitar that you can begin to pickup in only a few minutes, check out our list below.

I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

Blackbird - The Beatles

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's

Dust in the Wind - Kansas

Every Breath You Take - The Police

Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton

Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Love Yourself - Justin Bieber

Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen

Yellow - Coldplay

Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver

Zombie - The Cranberries

Let Her Go - Passenger

Hey Jude - The Beatles

Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles

A Horse with No Name - America

Photograph - Ed Sheeran

Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley

Featured Easy Guitar Pop Song: Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

The post 100+ Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners | Chord Charts & Tabs Included (2019) first appeared on Merriam School of  Music 

2359 Bristol Cir #100, Oakville, ON L6H 6P8

merriammusic.com

[gingerambition]

Ginger vs. Do I Have a Type?

If you gathered the small group of guys I’ve been in relationships with you’d quickly realize they don’t look anything alike, and personality-wise I’d say the only thing they have in common is being very smart, but annoying drunks. I’ve been in Facebook official relationships with a ginger who had varsity letters in five sports, a West Point grad who wanted an industrial bar piercing, and an introverted software engineer. 

Apparently the guys I’ve been attracted to the past couple of years tend to look younger than their actual ages. I realize how super fucking creepy that sounds, but before you call Benson and Stabler, picture actors in their mid to late 20′s that play like college students, that’s what I mean. Maybe that’s from years of flight seatmates asking which colleges I’m applying to, years after graduation, or how prone my fair (read: super pale) skin is to beard burn. Regardless, the “hot” guys I literally point out to my friends look like they could be running for homecoming court or proofreading their valedictorian speeches. I’m talking tall, stick figure like builds, skin so soft they must only watch Jennifer Aniston’s Aveeno commercials, topped off with a full head of boyband-esque hair and a curfew I assume is 2 a.m. Now I’m really trying to treat single life like one big opposite day.

I’m also trying to lower my standards. Not like slutty college peak where I’d sleep with guys for their air conditioning in the summer, low standards. I used to live in a third floor glorified closet that was legally not allowed to be leased as a bedroom. So it was whoever maintained eye contact with me even after they’d seen me dance, or I would sleep on the fire escape half-naked. Either way someone was seeing my boobs whether they wanted to or not. Maybe I should phrase that as expanding my standards. When I was younger (I know I’m still young, by the time I’m 80 we’ll all just be half robots anyway) I thought smoking or too many tattoos would be a deal breaker. Now I think my only deal breakers are maybe not be a devil worshipper or one of those guys that dances with glow sticks in parking lots.

In terms of physical type, I don’t think I have one. Just be taller than me and have four limbs. I don’t have a hair color or eye color preference – you know, all the stuff you decide with a custom American Girl doll. Glasses? No. Freckles? Maybe, if I can connect them with a marker. Prior to my prom king flub, I just preferred guys with what I call, “that baseball player forearm muscle thing,” where if a dude rolls his sleeves up any further the seams would bust open romance novel style. (This is where I have to remind myself to breathe.) Also if your jeans are tight on me, that’s kind of a bummer. Luckily I only wear leggings now, so if I pick up your leggings instead of mine, I think we have a bigger problem. 

Traditionally, I avoid facial hair after a bout in college where my skin would get so red it looked like I sucked face with a box of cherry popsicles. I have recently discovered a bizarre attraction to 80's-inspired police officer mustaches – not the real gun toting cops that let me out of speeding tickets when I cry, I mean the kind in porn (I’ve heard) or most Will Ferrel movies. At first I was worried that something happened in my childhood and I needed to seek professional help. After much soul searching and La Croix cut with white wine, I think I’ve just fallen asleep to so many episodes of Blue Bloods on Ion that Tom Selleck has replaced the good decision making portion of my brain. 

My parents have always thought I’ll ultimately end up with someone older. Apparently I've always erred on the side of being “a bit much” for guys my age. I had wanted to be married before 30, but change that to “just before I die” sounds like a far more realistic and obtainable timeline. When it comes to men and marriage I think it’s a lot like musical chairs. They all kind of dance around and when the music stops some random morning, whatever chair they were inside last is who gets a ring. I think I’ll backslide into my childhood dream of having a boyfriend in every country and just travel, while also being world a famous artist / professional volleyball player. Personality wise my lineup is longer than the Duggar’s grocery shopping list, so let’s leave it at asshole with a heart of gold. I need wit, I need ambition, I need passion, and I need to be able to take a guy places without feeling like I’m rushing him for a sorority or I’ve just adopted a puppy. 

Allow me a brief departure from my usual pessimistic and overall negative outlook on, well, most things, and let me voice a small starry-eyed and hopelessly romantic fantasy I cling to late at night when I’ve convinced myself I have restless leg syndrome and can’t sleep. This may sound crazy, but I do have a heart that craves more than vodka sodas and writing hilarious Yelp reviews. I want someone who finds me indescribably fascinating, who never stops asking me questions, who has the most infectious laugh, and looks at me like he’s trying to remember every thing about every moment. A mutual affinity for Taco Bell is also preferred. And now back to your regularly scheduled biting wit and sass.

Luckily I’m basically a pass / fail kinda gal, so as long as a dude has a more pros than cons I can temporarily overlook things like cocaine or describing hiking as spiritual. You could always slip me a $10 and everyone’s a winner. Wait, does that count as prostitution? Kinda into that. Christ, time for another Coors Light fueled and Sherlock Holmes level self-examination. Until next time. 

[louisvillerenaissance]

This week in Louisville:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: Kentucky Shakespeare’s second ticketed, indoor production runs now through January 8th. Tickets are $25 each.

In Lightning is a seven-member rock symphony. Concert at Zanzabar January 6th, 8pm. Tickets are $8.

The 849 Gallery's latest art exhibition is called "All-Night Disco at the Abandoned Car Lot: An exhibition highlighting the artwork of KyCAD's newest faculty members. January 6th, 5 to 7pm at 845 S 3rd St. Ella and Louis: All That Jazz: Jazz singer Marva Hicks and trumpet virtuoso Byron Stripling join Bob Bernhardt in the Louisville Orchestra’s 100th birthday tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, “The First Lady of Song.” January 7th, 8pm at the Kentucky Center.

Music of David Bowie: From “Ziggy Stardust” and glam rock to hard rock and electronica, David Bowe’s 40+ years of inspired and innovative music-making influenced generations. An exceptional new tribute band performs with the LO.  January 8th, 8pm at the Kentucky Center.

Harry Benson Shot First: The illustrious career of the renowned Scottish-born photographer Harry Benson is charted in this charming and cheeky documentary. Benson received initial attention having accompanied The Beatles to cover their inaugural trip the U.S. in 1964. With unprecedented access, Benson captured some the most vibrant and unguarded portraits ever taken of the most popular band in history. Showing January 8th at the Speed Museum; $7 for members, $9 for non-members. Access to the regular exhibits are, as always, free on Sundays.

Just announced!

WFPK Jazz Live at Lola, a jazz performance series in Butchertown Grocery’s speakeasy-style upstairs lounge. The weekly concerts will be held every Thursday from 7:30 until 10 pm beginning on February 9 with The Afrophysicists, fusing jazz with Afro beat!  Admission is free.

[trafficticketskissling]

Right-of-way

In North Carolina, there is no such thing as a right-of-way.  The statutes are written to say who must yield, not who has the right to go.  Below is a great article written by Shea Denning of the NC SOJ on the subject.

Two vehicles, one traveling east and the other traveling south, arrive at approximately the same time at an intersection that is not marked by traffic signs or lights. Which vehicle may enter the intersection first?

The driver of the vehicle on the left must yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right. G.S. 20-155(a). Thus, at the intersection depicted in the image below, the purple vehicle must yield the right of way to the blue vehicle.

Two vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time, within the meaning of G.S. 20-155(a), when considering their distances from the intersection, their speeds and other circumstances, the driver of the vehicle on the left should reasonably apprehend danger of collision unless he waits until the vehicle on the right has passed. Dawson v. Jennette, 278 N.C. 438, 445 (1971). The right of way is not determined by a fraction of a second. Id.

What if the intersection is marked by a four-way stop, as depicted this next image?

If both vehicles arrive at the intersection at the same time, the rule noted earlier still applies. The purple vehicle on the left must yield the right of way to the blue vehicle on the right.

What if, at an intersection without traffic lights, two vehicles approach at approximately the same time from opposite directions? The rule in G.S. 20-155(a) does not apply to vehicles proceeding in opposite directions that meet at an intersection. Fleming v. Drye, 253 N.C. 545, 549 (1960). Either vehicle may proceed straight ahead or turn right. But what if, as in the image depicted below, the driver of the purple vehicle has signaled her intention to turn left? Who has the right of way?

In this circumstance, the driver of the purple vehicle must yield the right of way to the driver of the red car so long as that car is proceeding straight through the intersection or making a right turn. G.S. 20-155(b).

Now assume that the intersection requires a four-way stop. The purple car intending to turn left arrives at the intersection before the red car. Whether the purple car is required to yield the right of way depends upon whether it has already entered the intersection before the red car arrives at the stop sign. If it has, then the purple car has the right of way. That’s because the approaching vehicle must be within the intersection or so close as to constitute an immediate hazard for the rule in G.S. 20-155(b) requiring the driver of a vehicle intending to turn left to yield to apply.

Next consider what happens when a vehicle approaches a traffic circle. A vehicle to the driver’s left is already in the traffic circle. Which vehicle must yield? The vehicle approaching the traffic circle must yield to the vehicle within the traffic circle. G.S. 20-155(d). As the DMV describes in its North Carolina Driver’s Handbook, “an entire traffic circle is an intersection.”

Thus, at the traffic circle depicted in the image below, the blue vehicle must yield the right of way to the red vehicle that is already in the traffic circle.

A driver’s failure to yield the right of way is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $100.  G.S. 20-176(a), (b).