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corkcitylibraries · 3 years ago

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Cork in Verse | Ana Spehar interviews Jim Crickard

Cork in Verse is a series of interviews by Ana Spehar with Cork Poets. This week Ana interviews Jim Crickard.

Jim Crickard’s poetry is camp, entertaining work that explores culture, sexuality and identity with a hint of colour. In 2020 he was invited to represent Cork in the Cork-Coventry Twin City Exchange, which was moved online due to pandemic. In 2019 he was selected by Poetry Ireland for the inaugural Versify series and performed to a sold out show at Dublin Fringe Festival. He came second in the 2019 All Ireland Poetry Slam Final (and is working through his feelings about it with a therapist). In 2018, he won the Cuirt Spoken Word Platform and was awarded a slot to perform at Electric Picnic. In 2020 his poetry was broadcasted on RTE Arena. A poem he wrote was shortlisted in the 2018 O'Bheal International Five Words Competition, and his work has been published in Automatic Pilot, A New Ulster, and Contemporary Poetry.

When did you start writing?

I started writing when was 16. I had just come out of the closet, my older brother Shane (20) died the same year in a road traffic accident. Looking back, I think I needed space for expression. I started out with a journal before sleep. It was playful, private, and helped organise my thoughts. I’d draw a little picture at the end of each entry. I acted a bit like Virginia Woolf, with a high-neck collar, writing solemnly by candle light. When people write diaries, I think they secretly fantasise them being found and read by the masses.

When I was introduced to poetry in my Leaving Cert, I found it to be a bit stiff and flowery with poets like Keats, which had some appeal, but when we moved on to Adrienne Rich and Eavan Boland I was a lot more inspired. It was seeing people use the art form to represent women and give voice to minorities, and how they both textured their work with the confessional. I started writing my own poetry at the end of my journal entries but kept it secret. After a few years, and my first break-up, I started sharing online on a site called AllPoetry. It was great because there were little competitions between users and when I won a few of them I felt brave enough to share my work on Facebook. A few people were kind, but most were indifferent.

When I started going to O’Bheal in Cork, though, I really felt like writing could have a future for me. Writing and performing alongside other writers really makes it a lot more gratifying and instils the self-belief you need to keep going.

Could you tell us more about your creative process?

I’m always on the lookout for something to play with and tease out until it’s a poem. I write with the intention of making people laugh when they hear me perform. Unfortunately, ideas rarely happen when I’m walking around day-dreaming. I mostly need to sit down and write to find the idea or follow whatever I’ve got on my mind. One of my favourite poems that I’ve written takes a hen party in a gay bar and expands it into a series of images and scenarios that delight me and make me laugh. If it makes me laugh, then I trust that it’ll make a crowd of people laugh. I didn’t start out with that idea of the hen party though, I was trying to write a rather embarrassing romantic poem set in a gay bar, it was for a guy I was briefly dating. Suddenly there was a hen party in the corner. They abducted me with their willy-straws and novelty-glasses, and I followed their embarrassing moments and social faux-pas as they ran around, interloping and ruining the sacred queer-space. I was much more interested in them than the romantic poem I set out to write. I suppose it’s important to trust where the poem is going and let it reveal itself. If I ignored them and focused on the poem I was trying to write then I’d have missed out.

How does the creative process of writing affect your mood?

I’m elated when it comes together. I love when I get into a flow and my fingers are typing as fast as they can and what I’m writing is surprising me. That doesn’t always happen though, it can be slow and boring and the cursor can be blinking in front of me waiting for me to write something.

How often do you write? Do you write every day?

I wish I wrote every day. I’ve heard multiple sources say that that’s the best way to approach it, and I would definitely believe it. I have had periods where I wrote a new poem every week, possibly more than one. I have also had long periods of not expressing anything on the page. The latter feels depressing and I feel my life passing me by. It is this dread I feel that I’m losing precious time to grow and improve as a writer. I rationalise it by reminding myself that I need to work full-time, clean my apartment, cook dinner, which is all true. I also excuse myself by saying that I need to relax and watch some TV or listen to a podcast. I think that writing is the purest of me-time and I’d like to transform my relationship with it.

Can you tell us more about Venus Envy?

I have been known to dress in drag from time to time... I performed as Venus for Pride in O’Bheal. Afterwards I went to The Crane Lane with all of the poets. It was interesting being a drag queen out of context in another bar... People wanted to talk to me, some random stranger touched me as they passed by, and someone confided in me with something they had not mentioned before. There’s a strange power to being in drag. It’s like being a shaman, a eunuch, a jester, who is on the outside looking in. You can say things that you daren’t dream of otherwise, and people love you for it. If I had the time and money to do it more often I would. Drag will always have a special place in my heart, and on my right arm is a tattoo-portrait of Panti Bliss, the Queen of Ireland. I’ve thought about putting more drag queens beside her, but it would be like Mount Rushmore of Drag on my arm. Who knows, maybe I will.

‘Hen Party in The George’

Be careful around the corners, don’t make eye-contact at the bar,

watch out for the mom, she’s on safari, in search of exotic birds.

For a parrot to echo her punchlines,

or maybe a cockatoo,

she’s prowling around the cocktail lounge,

she’s looking for me and you.

The mother of the bride uses her lazy-eye

to her advantage,

she edges into a group of faces with meandering conversation.

Now blocking their exit, unsure

who she’s addressing,

on about her gay hairdresser, how great

he is with the scissors.

“I’ve never had a problem with the gays now myself” she says,

pausing to sip from a pink plastic penis,

pausing for praise.

And one by one, the gays fly south,

migrating to the bar,

to the dance floor, to South-Africa if necessary.

“Snobs” she calls em -

“them gays can be awful touchy.”

All her Christmases at once

when the black crow drag queen

stalking her long legs across the stage,

seven foot tall, in a silver crown of feathers refracting light off the disco-ball.

“Jesus” she says, stealing the

microphone: “you’re looking better than me”

“I should feckin hope so” the drag queen says “you’re twice me bleedin’ age!”

Slowly, slowly, the hen party has pissed off all of the George...

Abandoning punctured plastic husbands all over the stage.

Flashing so many cameras it feels like E.T.’s family has landed.

A gathering parliament of lesbians encircles the hens,

a murder of goth gays come down from their perch

I wonder if they’ve seen Hitchcock’s movie, ‘The Birds…’

by Jim Crickard

Sex in the Housing Crisis

We are the generation of born-again virgins

headboards disturb housemates on shift work,

Air-traffic controllers should be included in rent

to coordinate times to get the ride

Landlords can afford to support our sex-lives

and change carpets once in a while

We are the generation of born-again virgins

Like ships in the night, we work to survive,

but we are no thirty year old cargo boats…

anchored in the harbour, waiting for labour,

we are Ferrari red speed boats

with miles to go before we sleep,

miles to go before we sleep.

We are the generation of born again virgins

Nothing kills the mood like mildew

home-sense is built on the backs of millennials

fumigating probate houses

converted into one-beds

with constellations of mould

and half their salary paid

to make out on an old couch

facing a microwave

We are the generation of born again virgins

If you’re living with parents you can forget it

unless you can face breaking their trust

and explain condoms in the toilet-drain.

We must not forget about our parents sex-lives

afraid their carefully considered bed springs

will be heard by their thirty somethings

Let’s give the government hell for

this inter-generational dry spell!

by Jim Crickard

#corkcitylibraries #CorkInVerse #JimCrickard

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heartslogos · 4 years ago

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newfragile yellows [992]

“This is cozy.” Ellana looks up from her phone to see the Iron Bull, paused in the middle of boarding the small boat her family had set up. He does much of what Ellana had done earlier when she’d been frog marched onto the ship and sat down right in the middle of it.

He looks around at the very in style, very hip, very boring strings of lights hung up above them. He looks at the floral arrangements strategically placed to make the ship seem a touch more intimate and secluded. He looks at the near hedonistic display of a charcuterie table — not board — and the literal bucket of filled with wine bottles next to it.

His eye meets hers, equally as unimpressed as she was when she first saw this, and slowly makes his way over to stand in front of the table, hands in his pockets.

“So. I take it your other meet ups haven’t gone well.” Despite the fact that the boat literally lurches into motion as soon as he’s standing next to her — perhaps they thought one of them would try to jump overboard or escape — he doesn’t even sway. The man’s got sea legs. Good on him. Ellana does jerk forward a little bit, nearly knocking over her glass of water, but she manages to only spill a few drop of it before setting the glass straight.

Ellana gestures for Bull to sit, which he does, though he continues to look around at this entire display, and her, like he’s indulging a particularly insipid police officer who hasn’t yet realized what kind of shark he’s reeled in.

“In the past,” Ellana pauses to pretend to think, “Thirty six hours or so I’ve been pulled aside by every single person whom you could even imagine having some kind of imaginary stake in this gambit of a reality television plot and reminded very, very firmly how important it is that I pick for the sake of the family. I’ve had to reassure several people that I really keeping my mind open and it’s not going to be Aedan Cousland.”

“If you didn’t want rumors spreading you probably shouldn’t have gone off with him.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got that talk from literally everyone. I don’t need it from you, too.”

“I take it the rumors are what’s inspired all this?” Bull waves a hand around them.

“A romantic mood in order to get me more…amiable, I suppose.” Ellana casts a derisive look at the wine. “Well. I know you’re a drinker and I think all of Thedas knows of your exploits. Maybe they’re hoping you’ll seduce me into marrying you.”

“It looks more like they want you to seduce me.” Bull reaches over and pulls out one of the wine bottles to read the label. “You know this is your show, right? If you don’t want me here I’ll jump overboard and swim back to shore. I’m not going to risk pissing you off.”

Ellana’s lips twitch up. “You’d rather please me and irritate my crime syndicate? How very…you.”

“Me?” Bull slides his eye over to her. “You say that not knowing me?”

“And you say you’d rather please me over my family.”

Bull tilts his head. “I know enough.”

“Then I know enough also. You can drink if you want. I don’t care.” Ellana starts to pick at some of the grapes on the charcuterie board. “I’m not, but only because I’m worried I’ll get seasick.”

Bull pops the cork on the wine bottle. “You getting seasick will definitely be a mood killer. If there was a mood. Might even be able to convince your people to turn around and drive back to shore.”

“Fair point, but I’d be miserable.” Ellana rests her cheek on her palm. “What happens if I pick you?”

“You come to the Storm Coast, live in a nice house filled with assholes who will probably drive you insane, and we’ll have dinner or breakfast together every day because I make it a point to attempt at least one meal per day with my people.”

“And I’d be one of your people?”

“I’d be married to you.”

“But I’d be one of your people?”

The Iron Bull slowly turns his wine glass as he meets Ellana’s gaze. “You will be one of my people. And I take care of my people. Whoever they are, whatever they are, from wherever they are.”

Ellana smiles for that and allows it to show. “I think it’d be nice to be one of your people. I don’t imagine you ever throwing them into this sort of high stakes dating circuit for the benefit of your group. What happens if I don’t pick you?”

“I go home to the Storm Coast, live in a nice house filled with assholes who are actively trying to drive me insane, and I’ll have my one communal meal with said assholes.” Bull tips his glass towards her. “And you will be with either Edric Cadash, living a very luxurious life as a new member of the Carta, or with Maxwell Trevelyan, living a life that’s pretty much the same as it is now.”

“You wouldn’t be upset to be chosen by me?”

“If anyone chosen by you is upset they need to rethink their priorities,” Bull answers immediately with a sharp and derisive laugh. “It’d be an honor to be chosen by you.”

“It wasn’t an honor to be chosen by my family though.”

“Your family picked me out based on a piece of paper,” Bull says. “If you pick me? It’s because you met me and judged me worthy. And I think that your standards are pretty spectacular. That’s a high bar to cross. Passing it can only be considered a compliment.”

“But if I don’t chose you? Would you be upset?”

“I told you. I didn’t come into this with any expectations. Getting this far is already more than I thought would happen.”

“And you aren’t hoping for more? Now that you’ve made it this far, you haven’t thought to consider how much farther you’d go?”

Bull gestures around them and then at her.

“That’s for you to decide. Not me. At the end of the day, you’re the one in control of this. If I got farther than this that’s because you decided I’m worth it. If I don’t? I wasn’t enough to you. that’s all there is to it.” Bull takes a slow sip of wine. “So. Am I worth it?”

#heartsfic #gather your party and venture forth

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dvoz-alternate · 5 years ago

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The Buccaneer Queen pt. 4

Pirate! ATEEZ x pirate! Reader

Genre: fantasy pirate AU, future romance(?)

Warnings/AN: language, appearance of a new group, violence, underage drinking, implied previous sexual relationship

Word count: ~2.9k

Summary: Women are considered bad luck upon the vessels that sail the Seven Seas. Before you became the captain of The Astraea, a witch of sorts cursed you and the crew leaving a physical mark upon your chest just above where your heart would lie. Anyone that sees the Black Standard flying on the black and gold ship knows that they have stumbled upon the Armada of the Damned which is piloted by the Buccaneer Queen.

Edited: 10/02/2022

»»————-　➴　————-««

Previously:

“I think we will need to bring this up with the rest later tonight,” Yunho glanced down but was alarmed to see that you were looking at them already. “Do you think she heard us?” Wooyoung asked as he started to lower himself down the rigging. “Let’s hope not… something tells me this is something not many people speak out loud,” Yunho answered starting to head to the lookout perch. “Mum’s the word,” with that Wooyoung and Yunho moved to go about their tasks.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Steering into the port of Tortuga Hongjoong stood beside you and watched as your face pulled into a deep frown. Your stare landed on an all to familiar ship that was docked in one of the bays. “Hongjoong will you steer us into port? I’m going to deal with the dockmaster,” you told him, stepping away from the wheel.

Silently he moved into your place and watched as you disappeared into your quarters before reappearing.

“What do you think has the captain in a sour mood,” Seonghwa asked walking up the steps. He had seen the expression on your face and decided not to risk your wrath and skirted up the steps to join his own captain.

“I’m not sure… Whatever it is it must not be good,” Hongjoong muttered, gliding into an empty stall towards the end of the port as the anchor lowered.

»»————-　➴　————-««

You stepped on to the gangplank and you were met with the official dockmaster of Tortuga. “You know the rules of stay don’t you Captain (Y/N),” the man asked checking off some papers in his log book.

“Of course I do,” you told him, handing him a few shingles and gold pieces. The man gave you a pointed look and a brief glance at the ship at the other end of the pier. He knew full well of the heat between you and the other captain, and even with the law of Tortuga there would probably be no stopping a fight if one broke out between the crews.

Sighing you dug out an extra gold piece placing it on his log book. “Enjoy your stay madam,” with that he gave you a nod before turning on his heel leaving you alone. Once the man was out of sight you turned to head back to your ship casting a glare at the offending boat that has caused you hell in the past, or more specifically the captain.

Ignoring the looks from a few of your worried crew members you moved back to your cabin before letting the door bang shut behind you. Your frustration got the better of you and you knew it, but frankly you couldn’t careless. Stripping your jacket off you threw it over the back of your chair before grabbing the bottle of rum from your desk’s drawer. Pulling the cork out you took a long swig before slamming it on the table. “Damn it. He just has to be here…” you curse slamming your hands down on the table.

There was a soft knock on the door, sighing you granted permission. San stuck his head around the door seeing you standing behind your desk looking like you wanted to murder the desks unborn child. “It might just be my opinion, but isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” San asked, carefully closing the door behind him.

You eyed the bottle next to you for a second before redirecting you focus onto the green haired man, “No… What’d you need?”

“Jamey asked for me to check up on you. I guess it’s a good thing too. Do you want to talk about… that?” San asked, waving a hand gesturing to all of you and the bottle.

Your eyes narrowed even more challenging San to take the hint and step down, but he didn’t.

Instead he folded his arms across his chest and waited for you to break and tell him.

“The ship.”

“The one at the end of the port?” San asked, unfolding his arms stepping closer to your ridgid form.

“Yes, that one. The ship is just a reminder of who captains it,” you grit out, hanging your head.

San’s eyes widened slightly. He didn’t think he’d get any real information out about your past this quickly. “I don’t personally recognize the ship, would you mind telling me who it belongs to?” San asked, taking the risk of stepping on thin ice. He could hear the breath catch in your throat followed by a deep sigh.

Taking another swig from the bottle you locked eyes with him, “It belongs to someone who used to be apart of my old captain’s crew. His name is Seungcheol. That bastard.”

His eyebrows furrowed, Whatever happened between the captain and this Seungcheol character must run deep. San was pulled from his thoughts when he heard your voice,

“Don’t worry about me too much San. Why don’t you take the crew and head into the town.”

“I think you should come with us. It might be of some good to get you off the ship for a little while, and why not spend time with us,” San gave you a smile hoping to win you over.

You gave him a blank look for a minute as you contemplated what you wanted to do. “I’ll join you in a minute at the gangplank,” you told him releasing another heavy sigh.

“See you then Captain!” San called leaving you alone.

Returning your rum to its spot in your desk you pulled out a small sack of coins before closing the drawer. You had a strange feeling that you might be paying extra for whatever might happen this evening. You glanced at the flintlock that was resting on your bed and decided to grab it strapping it to your hip. Readjusting your coat you went to find San.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Jongho stood next to Mingi waiting for San to return from your cabin. “Think he figured anything out?” Mingi asked crossing his arms.

“No,” Jongho said, looking at some of the bustling villagers move about.

“Wow a man of little faith. I’m hurt,” San pouted, as he walked towards them.

“No I have faith, just not in you,” Jongho stated matter of factly.

“Well I will have you know I did figure something out about our dear captain,” San said poking Jongho’s chest with a finger.

“What’d you figure out?” Yeosang asked, as he walked up with the remaining members of Ateez.

“The captain has a history with the captain of that ship over there,” he nodded his head at the offending ship. Everyone turned to look at the ship with faded blue and white sails.

“That’s the Diamond isn’t it Captain?” Seonghwa asked glancing down at the short captain.

“It is…”

Approaching footsteps put a halt in their conversation.

Jamey had only heard the last little bit of their conversation, but he scowled when he heard the ships name. San noticed this and grabbed Jamey’s attention. “So you know about whatever relation your captain has to theirs?”

“Yes, and I can’t do anything about it. If the port didn’t have a safeguard then the Diamond’s captain would be as good as dead,” Jamey glared at the taller male. All of them were slightly shocked hearing the venom dripping out of the young boy about the opposing captain.

“You lot ready?” you asked, walking toward them. You were greeted with several yeses. Nodding you gestured for them to lead the way.

Your crew split up once they were onshore, some going into shops and others the pub. You followed the group that went to the pub hoping that something stronger than aged rum would help settle the unpleasant feeling in your chest. You trailed behind the group listening to their mindless chatter. Seeing them like this made whatever worries you had taken a seat on the back burner for a little, but you knew that they were still there.

Walking in behind Yunho you didn’t bother looking around the room of patrons, instead opted to just stare at his back. The ringing of drunk laughter was cacophonous as crews drank and some were clearly already hammered. Sitting at an empty table a barmaid brought over tankards of ale, even setting one in front of Jamey who’s eyes lit up reaching for the large cup. Sighing you reached around Yeosang to pull Jamey’s mug away from him causing him to pout. Seonghwa pat the kid on the back before resuming his conversation with Jongho. Hongjoong drank from his cup but mainly kept his focus on you. You had yet to notice Seungcheol’s crew in the tavern, and he was hoping you wouldn’t even though he wanted to know what secrets you kept buried. Hongjoong could read you like a book. There was something eating at you that you kept suppressed from the crew, and he knows this because it’s the same thing he does with his men.

»»————-　➴　————-««

A man with strikingly white hair sat to Seungcheol’s right nodded his head at the group that just walked in. Seungcheol’s eyes locked onto the only feminine figure in the group and tried getting a good look at the face, but the hat they wore managed to obscure most of the facial features. Unable to get a look at the female in the group Seuncheol let his eyes roam over the rest of the group. His eyes lingered on a man in a red jacket for a moment. Hm... the Pirate King is here… interesting. Finally coming to the end of the table his eyes landed on a younger lad with blonde hair. A dark haired male happened to cover the kids eyes to shield him from obscene snogging by a pirate and barmaid near them. Seungcheol’s eyes widened when he realized who that boy was before quickly looking at the owner of the hat. The person had just happened to turn their head enough that he could finally get a look at their features. “Would you look at that. Never thought I’d see you again,” Seuncheol chuckled, shaking his head.

“What’s so funny captain?” Chan asked looking at the older man.

“It’s funny how history seems to repeat itself that’s all.”

»»————-　➴　————-««

“Mother will you play us a song?” Jamey looked at you. When the only move you made was to take another drink Jamey put on his best puppy dog eyes and asked in a small voice, “Please?”

“No, please not the look Jamey,” you looked away from him.

“Please?” Your crew was fighting the giggles as they watched your resolve crumble.

Slowly you turned your head peeking open an eye at the kid. “Oh for the love of…” you hang your head before picking it up giving a resigned smile, “alright, alright you win.”

“Yes!” Jamey threw a fist in the air causing the men to finally laugh out loud seeing an actual mother-son bond between you two.

Taking your hat off you placed it on Jamey’s head before moving across the room to the piano. As you moved away from them Jamey eagerly grabbed his mug and drank from it greedily. Seonghwa had an odd sense of deja vu for some reason as he watched you tap a man’s shoulder before taking his place.

Looking down at the ivory keys you curl your fingers. It’s been so long since the last time I’ve touched this piano… hesitantly you let them grace the tops of the black and white keys.

Jamey watched from the table having a pretty good idea of why you were hesitating.

Finally the soft notes of keys being pressed started to ring out through the tavern as you reacquainted yourself. You didn’t have it in you to sing this time around so you just let the notes do the singing for you.

Seonghwa’s jaw dropped when he finally put it together. “It’s her…” he whispered under his breath, but it was caught by Wooyoung.

“What?” That seemed to get the tables attention.

“Do you remember that time we were sitting in this tavern a couple years ago, and a man, I’m assuming a captain, pushed a girl to play the piano?”

“Yes?” Wooyoung guessed looking at the others.

“It’s her. Our captain. That was her,” Seonghwa leaned forward hands gripping the edge of the table.

“She seems so different from the cheerful looking girl back then,” Jongho said looking at the back of your head.

Jamey spoke up softly, “Mother has been through a lot since that day. Befell with the curse not long after that night.”

Hongjoong pressed a hand to his chin taking everything in that was happening in the tavern. “I have a bad feeling about this,” Hongjoong muttered, his eyes darkening slightly as he watched a tall pirate get up from the table across the room. Each member turned and watched as the man approached, but had yet to get your attention.

Jamey’s knuckles turned white on the table standing up quickly almost knocking his chair over. Seonghwa and Yeosang each placed a hand on the boy’s shoulders holding him still as they watched how this would play out.

Your finger rested on the last key letting it fade out on its own. “It’s a shame you didn’t sing. I’ve always loved your singing voice.”

Your men could see you visibly bristle at the man’s words. “You know I don’t sing anymore Cheol,” you turned in your seat face void of any emotion.

Seungcheol smiled hearing you use his nickname. It seemed like the atmosphere had chilled significantly within the establishment just by the tension between you and this other captain. “You used to always sing for me and the way you say my name,” Seungcheol took a step toward you running finger along your cheekbone.

Disgust flared in your eyes as you brushed his hand away from you. “Clearly it wasn’t that important to you then,” you grit out, moving to get around him.

Seungcheol grabbed your wrist trying to stop you from leaving.

This only caused your temper to flare. Grabbing his wrist you used his surprise to pin him to a table so he was facing you. The bang as he landed on the table was quite loud causing both your’s and his crew to get to their feet. Drawing your flintlock you used it to hold him in place as you glared at him, and Seungcheol had the audacity to chuckle. “This reminds me of some pretty good times we had,” he smirked up at you but his eyes glanced down to your finger that rested on the trigger.

You didn’t say anything, but if looks could kill Seungcheol knew he would be in Davy Jones locker.

Hongjoong and Wonwoo both started moving in the direction of their captains seeing as this wasn’t going to end peacefully.

Closing your eyes for a brief moment you sucked in a sharp breath before moving the gun just to the side of his head pulling the trigger. The bang echoed off the walls and a barmaid screamed running into the backroom. Shoving yourself off Seungcheol you gave him one long hard glare as you holstered your smoking flintlock. Turning on your heel you walked up to the barkeep dropping the coin pouch onto the counter. Without a word you head for the pub door. Before you pushed out the door completely you cast a hard look at Seungcheol and his crew. “You better pray you find what belongs to me Seungcheol before I do, because I will make you pay. Savvy?” With that you disappeared the door slamming behind you.

Everyone looked over to the captain who stared with wide eyes at the place you once stood, regret flashing over his facial features briefly before his expression hardened.

The barkeep just sighed picking up your coin pouch before wiping down the counter. “I can’t believe she would actually risk starting a fight here,” Yunho breathed still shocked by the entire ordeal.

“She won’t lose her rights to be here,” the barkeep spoke, setting down his rag as he leaned on the counter.

“What do you mean?” Mingi asked looking over at the older man.

“The Buccaneer Queen, your captain, has always paid extra to make sure that you lot have a place to stay safe if her temper gets out of hand,” with that he turned away moving into the stockroom.

“Where do you think (Y/N) went off to?” Yeosang asked, heading for the door after shooting the Seventeen crew a glare.

Jamey was quiet for a moment and hadn’t moved from his spot just staring at the table.

“Jamey?” Hongjoong asked walking back to the boy.

“Huh? Oh… Mother usually goes and sits somewhere on the coast when we are on land to be alone,” Jamey muttered. Jamey cast one look over at Seungcheol seeing that he was already staring at him. Dejectedly Jamey turned away from the older man before leading the crew out the door to find you.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Sitting on the sand you watched as the sun sank below the darkening water. Bringing your knees up to your chest you rested your chin on them breathing out deeply as a few tears streaked down your cheeks. You heard muted footsteps approach you in the sand, but you didn’t look over already knowing who it was. “I’m sorry,” you spoke clearly.

Hongjoong pulled your hat off of Jamey’s head before crouching down in front of you. He took a close look at your face and noticed how your eyes glistened in the fading sunlight. The corner of his lips pulled up as he spoke, “Don’t be. Seemed like he deserved it. Besides, you said it yourself, the members of this crew are family, and family sticks together.” With that he gently placed your hat back on your head wiping the few remaining tears from your eyes.

You surprised him and the others by pulling Hongjoong in for a hug. “Thank you,” you mumbled against his shoulder.

Hongjoong smiled returning the gesture. We are finally getting somewhere with you our mystery captain.

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bigjbonk · 6 years ago

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Change Your Mind Review (SPOILERS)

Now I don't usually do reviews, but man, I can't NOT talk about this episode. I'll be pointing out the best, the worst, and the confusing, as well as some speculation. Prepare yourselves, because this will be a long one, and I have no idea how to do the "keep reading" thing on mobile. Really sorry! So I guess we'll start from the beginning. At first, I had no clue Steven was sleeping. It didn't hit me at all until it was revealed that Connie was gone. I thought it was a nice way to start, because the audience was just as disoriented and lost as Steven was in that moment. That, and it was made obvious that this was a regular occurrence for Pink. Then there's Blue herself. She was furious because she couldn't understand his actions, and when Steven tried to get her to understand, she retaliated because she couldn't. In real life, people try to explain things using what they know, even if the information they have isn't accurate or reliable. People assimilate new knowledge into the old, because that's easier than changing the information you have. This is where many prejudices come from. When new and old information conflict, it can create a strong dissonance, and generally, people don't know how to react to that. So if assimilating doesn't work, they reject. Luckily for Steven, he was able to contextualize the situation in a way that Blue could understand. Though it's not totally clear if Blue fully understands (and it wouldn't be realistic to expect her to after eons of being told that organics are inferior and that non-identical fusion is atrocious), she realizes that she had indeed been doing something wrong. This scene gave me hope. If one Diamond could find it in herself to change and move on, then maybe the rest would too, though I had no idea how the crew was going to pull it off in the next 40 minutes. Then there was Yellow. She had all of the same issues that Blue had, and more. The thing with Yellow was, she was already trying to fix things, but not in the way things needed to be fixed. Instead of working to make things better, she worked to make things WORK. The problem is that making do isn't helping at all, but rather maintaining the flawed system that continues to hurt the lower-caste Gems, and the Diamonds are still miserable anyway. Yellow is fully aware of this, yet she still reacted violently when Blue tried to do something different. Why? Fear. Ultimately, this is White's system, and to try to change it would mean incurring her wrath. It's mentioned that White had poofed a Diamond before, and if the old murals were anything to go off of, it was probably Blue. Yellow didn't want that to happen again. Even if it meant hurting Blue now, she wanted to guarantee that White wouldn't do something worse. For someone as structured as Yellow, it only made sense that reaching her meant showing her that "making it work" just wasn't working. I thought it was a touching scene overall. And oh boy, was I excited when Bismuth arrived to fight off White. And then when it was revealed who was flying the other ship, BOOM. Lapis and Peridot, ladies and gentlemen! I absolutely loved the new designs, I gotta say, though that was when I got my first nitpick. Where did the orange in Lapis's sash come from? A homage to Jasper? On a blue Gem??? Gems are usually analogous in their color schemes, so to see a contrasting color on her was odd. Though maybe it's possible to see spots of other color in real lapis lazulis? I wouldn't know, and I could be wrong. It still irked me a bit, but in the grand scheme of things it was easy to overlook. Just feel the need to mention. White's ship's eyes? Those are horrifying. Put them away. Put corks in the pupils. Please, for the love of Sugar, those are going to give me nightmares. But at least seeing her trying and failing to swat everyone was pretty dang funny for someone who seemed so poised and perfect a few episodes ago. We. Finally. Got. More. Steven. Fusions!!! Smoky's outfit was adorable, Rainbow Quartz was a little surprising but definitely acceptable (I love Pearl's jacket by the way), and Sunstone was... uhhh??? Unique? Not what I was expecting from Garnet, that I will say. But the Fourth Wall breaks absolutely killed me. I guess I sort of liked the fusions? They were nice, but I was kind of simultaneously wishing to see more of them, and for their introductions to be spaced out more. It kind of felt rushed together. Also, fusing with a Gem before she's ready to reform seems really dangerous, but I guess it isn't. And what was with the whole "our only hope is for the four of us to fuse" thing? There were literally three other perfectly good gems right there. Obsidian. That was their name, right? They were pretty much exactly what I was expecting, and they are great monster mom. "YOU'RE HUGE!" Cue even huger giant woman robot mecha ship monster. The resulting climb/battle was equal parts awesome and amusing. The Gems crawling into the pupil gave me Big Jethro vibes. Considering who Sugar is with, it was probably intentional. (Wink wonk IJQ?) We totally called it with White Pearl. But to think White would do to the other Diamonds what she did to Pearl? That was really unexpected. That whole scene was unsettling and utterly terrifying. You know what I noticed about White throughout? She was projecting. The fandom generally seems to agree that White is very abusive towards the Diamonds, and her behavior definitely lines up. One thing that people as a whole have in common, I believe, is a desire to be good. Nobody really WANTS to be bad, but we are well aware that some people just are. And we don't want to be like those people. For some that means volunteering, and for others that means being polite to strangers. Most will try to suppress their flaws in some manner, as White pretty much outright admitted to doing. In some cases, though, oftentimes in abusive situations, there is a tendency to project those flaws onto others. White told Steven that he surrounded himself with weaker beings so that he could feel strong, but isn't that what White herself did? It's easier to say something is wrong with someone else than yourself. And then she made them "better." She did something that "helped," so now she could say she did something "good." And bad people don't do good things. By changing the Gems like she did, she was reinforcing her notion that she was doing something good, and therefore she could continue with that behavior. This is likely also why she talked over Steven in "Legs From Here To Homeworld." If he got a say, he could say something to challenge her world view, and that's scary. She couldn't accept that she had done something bad. ...There are theories and fanfictions everywhere discussing what would happen if Steven's gem was removed. Most decided that he would die. Some said Pink/Rose would come back. I guess now we know? He doesn't die, but he was severely weakened, possibly dying. Not that anything else could be expected in a kid's show, at least not on-screen. Not a disappointing outcome, though. What I don't get is, what WAS Pink Steven? Whatever that was wasn't a Gem, or at least not a Gem in the sense that we have come to understand Gems. I think that was just the Gem essence within Steven or something? Hopefully there will be something later on further explaining whatever that was. And can we talk about "SHE'S GOOOOOONNNE!" Uh, what?! It got a little Dragonball there for a second. But... why? Why is Pink Steven so OP? He made White, the strongest of all the Diamonds, fall down. Doesn't sound like much, but when a show makes a point of pointing out "Wow, this character is stronger than all of the other characters," that's a really big deal. But how, and why? Why is Pink Steven OP? Why is Pink Steven OP?! Please explain, Rebecca! :0 So, is Steven a human-Gem fusion then? Because that gave me some serious "Jailbreak" vibes. Oddly enough, it makes sense, and I am totally okay with this. White's Blush really brings out her whites. Cutest thing since Peridot's laugh on the Moon Base. Very precious. I shouldn't say this about evil immortal alien queens, but White is a gumdrop. Huh, White sure had a lot of ideas for what she was supposed to be. She had to get those notions from somewhere, right? That tells me that there has to be something out there greater than the Gems, possibly their creators? Everyone has their place in the Diamond Authority, including the Diamonds themselves. That means White was given her purpose. Perhaps she was in a similar boat to Yellow, maintaining the image to prevent wrath from higher up? Not at all related, but how did she know what a child was, anyway? We. Are the Diamond Authority. We'll try to save the corrupted Gems. And if you think we can't, we'll have a bubble bath and prove you wrong. JASPER. PADPARADSCHA. I love how every shot White is in, she just has this sneer like, "Ew, what am I even doing here, what are these things, is this water contaminated, where did these people come from, can we please just get back on the ship." It's nice to see that the Diamonds are really trying now. It's too late to correct their past wrongs, and they're probably not going to do a complete one-eighty after all the conditioning they've been through, but they're on their way to being their better selves, and I am happy for them and wish them the best. All in all, a wonderful episode all around. If this was why Steven Universe has such a wonky schedule, then keep it up if it means we get more like this.

#steven universe #su #su spoilers #spoilers #long post #longpost #review #change your mind #su change your mind

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killian-whump · 6 years ago

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OUAT 3x01: Rewatch Blog

Welcome aboard, mateys! It's time to start rewatching Season 3! As usual, I'm a bit behind everyone else on this rewatch, but I've decided it's more fun for me to move at my own pace, so I probably won't be catching up anytime soon ;)

That said... Let's get started on Once Upon a Time Season 3!!!

Whoa. Wait a minute. Eleven Years Ago?! I really AM behind... ;)

Seriously, though. Do they really have to handcuff her ankle to the bed? Do they have a problem with women in labor jumping up and escaping prison right at that precise moment in their lives?

That's sad, though :(

Ooooh... I love the deadly stillness after the ship "lands" in Neverland. It's so... eeeeeeeerie.

Ahhh, and the ominous look on Killian's face.

You can just FEEL the tension in the air.

"Aye. Neverland."

AHHHHHHHH TENSION AND ANGST

Kinda lame title card, haha.

Aw, great. It's this guy. NOBODY MISSED YOU GREG. YOU CAN GO BACK TO WHEREVER YOU WENT DURING THE HIATUS NOW.

SHIT. HE BROUGHT TAMARA, TOO.

I really hate these two, guys. Like, really.

Oh, come on. Don't shove a fucking kid, you asshat. Fucking GREG. You're an insult to your name, and I don't even like your name.

Oooooh, spooky noises. I love the atmosphere they built for this realm.

"Who we work for is not your concern, kid." Well, according to YOU as of about 20 minutes ago in show time, it's not YOUR concern either, dipshit.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THERE'S SAND IN YOUR BATTERY COMPARTMENT, YOU FUCKING MORON. WHO PUT SAND IN YOUR BATTERY COMPARTMENT, HUH? YOU FUCKING IDIOT.

Shut up, shut up. I know it was Peter Pan. LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT.

"It's a good thing you guys don't ask any questions." Hahahaha, bested by an 11-year-old and sand.

...and there he goes, shoving the damn kid again. You're just a colossal jerk, aren't you, Greg?

At least Tamara has the sense to look mildly concerned right here.

"Oh, I know, my hot-headed queen."

I JUST DIED. Forward my mail to my gravesite.

I totally forgot that line ever happened. I love rewatching this show.

"I hope not, or we've wasted our lives." AAAAAAANGST

"Your lives... well... THEY'VE SUCKED" hahaha, Why don’t you tell them what you really think, Emma XD

"We found you." Awww... "And lost Henry! And Neal!" Well, to be fair, it's not like you can expect them to give two shits about Neal. They met him, like, last week. And he's kinda a dick. And his Dad's, like, evil incarnate. But okay.

"Oh, that's a great use of our time: A wardrobe change." One of the best lines ever, really.

I mean, did Rumple really need to do the dramatic cane-spinning exit, though? It makes for good TV, so it's cool and all, but imagine it in real life. Like, just a boat full of people staring at where he once stood, thinking, "JFC That was unnecessarily dramatic."

OH, YEAH, LET'S LIGHT A FUCKING FIRE, GREG. THAT'S A GREAT FUCKING IDEA, GREG. Fucking loser.

Yes, I do plan on doing this until he dies. You have your hobbies; I have mine.

"You making S'Mores?"

HAAAAAAHHAHAHAHA OMG LOOK AT HIS FACE:

Fucking goon. Haha. I named that screencap "assface" when I saved it, because I feel it's fitting for both the character AND the face he's making.

"What if the empty communicator wasn't an accident?"

You mean the one someone OBVIOUSLY filled with sand instead of batteries ON PURPOSE??? Noooooooooooo.

"Don't let the kid get in your head." He's not even TRYING, Greg. He's just hungry and wants some fucking S'Mores. I want some S'Mores, too. We all want fucking S'Mores. S'Mores are delicious, FuckingGreg.

OH LOOK, IT'S FELIX.

AND ALL THE REST OF THE LOST BOYS ONES BOYS. I think we’re calling them “Boys” now. Must have gotten the rights.

Kill him, Felix. Somebody. Anybody. I'll even settle for the annoying Lost Boy with the face that annoys me, although I don't think he's in this season, but he's welcome to join it IF HE KILLS GREG.

"Then you're not getting the boy." Oh, Greg. It is entirely too late for you to do anything remotely likable now. Like, I literally want to throw Henry at them now just to spite you.

YEEEEESSSSSSSSSS RIP THAT MOTHERFUCKER'S SOUL OUT OF HIS BODY. TAKE HIS SPINE, TOO. THE ENTIRE SKELETAL SYSTEM. MAYBE A DISEMBOWELING'S CALLED FOR HERE?

Or, you know, you can just leave his husk there by the fire to rot away. That's good, too. I'm not picky.

GREG IS DEAD, EVERYBODY.

Tamara and Henry are running! Oh no! Will they make it? Will they-

This is a great scene, everybody. Thank you so much. This is the best thing to ever happen to me and the season only started 10 minutes ago.

Hahaha, they even show us a close-up of Tamara lying motionless on the ground, and then Greg. Like they KNOW we've all been waiting for their demise and they wanted to give us screenshots for our scrapbooks.

Anyway, thanks Felix! That was pretty cool. Much obliged.

Hey, look. An enterprising young chap has helped Henry up. There's no way he could be a bad guy.

I have to say, of all the "twists" in Once, this was one of the worst ones in terms of how OBVIOUS it was.

To some extent, it's the casting department's fault, because Robbie Kay is just TOO fucking perfect for Peter Pan. Like, he just EXUDES Peter Pan and he's not fooling anybody.

Heeheehee CS flirting <3

"What do you want?" All due respect, but it's HIS fucking ship? Like, he doesn't really need a reason to be below deck on his own ship?

"I didn't realize you were sentimental." "I'm not."

I love it when he spits the cork out, but how many corks does this man go through?!

Oh, look. Speak of the devil - It's Neal.

"Tell Emma I'm alive. And I love her."

Well, that's a GREAT message to pass on through your kiiiiiid. Won't get his hopes up or anything.

ANYWAY.

"Long enough to know I miss him, too." T_T

UH OH. TROUBLE'S AFOOT!!!

Oh, Dave and Snow are at the helm. That explains it. LEARN HOW TO DRIVE, SNOWING. Gosh.

Pun intended. I'm so sorry.

Regina: "What the hell are you two doing?!" Ahahahahaha :D

"Prepare for attack!" "Be more specific!" I love all these interactions. This is like the WORST family vacation EVER and I love every second of it.

"What's out there? A shark? A whale?" "A kraken?"

YOU FUCKING WISH.

Actually, no, Dave probably doesn't wish... but Kraken-san does! :D

Emma's response is classic. "Mermaids?!" Like what the fuck else does she have to put up with in this crazy sham of a life NOOOOW?

Dave's kinda hot manning that cannon, I gotta say. He's showing off some guns firing off that gun, if you know what I mean.

But really, what did they plan to DO with one mermaid, anyway? Especially after Regina chased them all off with her fireballs?

Oh, look. Henry and Totally-Not-Peter-Pan are on the run!

I'm super fooled by him talking himself up in third person, though XD

"If Pan wants you... he WILL get you."

"Pan will rip their shadows into oblivion."

"Pan loves nachos with spicy cheese."

"Pan is the awesomest guy on this island."

Aw, man. This scene is a snoozefest :/

Literally. They're all just watching Aurora sleep XD

Wait. HOW is Neal feeling better? He got shot, like, 10 minutes ago in show time and he's had no REAL medical care, aside from whatever they bandaged him with, since none of these folks here have magic.

HOW IS HE FEELING BETTER?!

I gotta be honest, though. Rumple is hot as SHIT in this season. I ain't gonna pretend otherwise. This leather clad badass thing WORKS for him.

Oh, look. Tamara's still alive.

"C-Can you forgive me?"

I'm gonna guess that is a HARD ASS NO, bitch.

Haha, love the way he flicks the dust off his fingers.

"GET THAT THING OFF MY SHIP!"

I love how panicked he is by the mermaid XD It gives my entire life meaning :D

I wish we had more information in canon about Hook's time in Neverland. We can tell this is FAR from his first skirmish with mermaids, but how/when/why/what happened? I NEED TO KNOW! Especially if it involved wounds or peril or other things relevant to my interests...

Touching Mulan and Neal chat.

More running in the woods with Not!Pan.

"Well, I'm all out of fish food." Love you, Regina <3

"Fillet the bitch." Seriously, love you so much bae <3

Snow's face, tho XD

This is 110% why I watch this show. SHENANIGANS.

...and a pirate. Don't forget the pirate.

"I've outrun many a storm!" We know you have, babe. We know. You keep telling us...

SHAMPOO COMMERCIAL TIME!!!

PERIL ON THE HIGH SEAS!!!

CERTAIN BLETH DEATH!!!

SUPER DRAMATIC MUSIC!!!

...as we cut to a peaceful, though somewhat dilapidated, castle in the Enchanted Forest. Birds are singing, dawn is breaking, the world is alight with hope and possibili-

JUST KIDDING. GET BACK TO THE FUCKING DRAMA STORM, SHOW.

I hate it when they do this.

Hey, Sean. Nice intro.

"You don't want to see ID?" Neal... ISTFG.

Disappearing arrow, heehee. SHENANIGANS.

I love how interested Robin is in what's inside the vault XD Always a thief, eh?

"This isn't a storm. It's bloody damnation!" Love that line <3

"Let the slags go!" Haha "Don't call my wife a slag!" Haha!

BOY FIGHT!! BOY FIGHT!!!

They're all wet, too! Slow down, cameraman! I wanna see ALL of this!!!

Oooh, almost gutted with his own hook. Haaaaarsh.

Emma, no one's listening to you. Emma, no one's... They're not... They're not even looking or paying any attention at all... They won't even- Oh. Okay. Somehow everyone saw you jump, despite literally being in a fight for their respective lives. Neat.

...aaaaaaand cue the convenient rigging falling loose and hitting her in the head.

SHENANIGAAAAAAAAANS

Oh, look! They're flying!!!

This would be super touching if it wasn't, you know, exactly what Pan wants XD

Haha, Emma looks so ethereal floating there, unconscious, in the waters of Neverland, facing certain death.

Awww! A big group effort rescue!!! Good job, team!

"Told you." Right, but no one was listening...? So how do they even know what she's talking about? Well, I guess maybe they WERE listening...?

Shenanigans? idek anymore...

SHENANIGANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awww... Bobby's acting is so great right here. This is awesome. Very moving. The part after the shenanigans, I mean. Although they’re great, too.

Felix, you're kinda a dick, though. That’s kinda a compliment, tho?

I love it when magic flops :D Dramatic music aaaaaand... nothing.

"Actually, I quite fancy you from time to time, when you're not yelling at me."

You like her even more when she's yelling at you, son. IT IS KNOWN.

His offended face when Charming says, "With him?" XD DAVE, WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS ABOUT ME. DAVE, I THOUGHT WE WERE PALS. DAVE. DAAAAVE.

Hahaha, his adorable shrug to Regina. SHENANIGANS <3

"You couldn't be more right, Henry."

I'm so glad they didn't try to drag out the reveal of Pan to another episode, because he seriously wasn't fooling aaaaaanybody.

Except for Henry. Oops?

It's so great how ominous they're being at the end of this episode, advancing on Henry like that...

Although Pan's "let's play!" is a lot less frightening when you know he literally means "let's dance around a fire and create a rhythmic ruckus" but hey. It still works for the ending of this episode, which is now... OVER!!

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!! PEW PEW PEW!!!

#ouat rewatch #watching fairytales #3x01 #oc #kw reviews #not whxmp

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the-firebird69 · 3 years ago

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We have a continuous train of ships and boats and makeshift ships and boats coming out of the middle of the country Mississippi mostly the river and it is a huge line of them and they're all coming over to Florida and I'll try to get here and mack is blocking them, and our son found out his blocking them and he goes I guess you figure out the problem you smiley now and he says oh I get it I'm not doing anything I used to do completely lost it telling everybody they're gone you don't really even necessarily mean but that's what it says he was like this this is absurd you can't hold it no because this you know detection systems and whatever works beaten down for years for real so he's laughing saying it's you doing we're on the defensive your people are nuts along with these little cookies and they're completely out of lunch so we're not we're willing on them people out of here and I discovered something this works much better started commenting I can't stand these people from there. And you start hitting you start seeing this they're using some sort of song let Us blasted him to stop the song there's a huge number of ships out there huge it's gigantic it's the biggest line of ships I've ever seen we have to blast them too if they get through so I'm going to have to come up with a second line says smaller boats so this is what we're fighting and it's probably the idiots husbands who immitated your son and irritated. All of a sudden he says this we can't really let him run around without a place it says just Jada's name it was me I said I have to figure it out then I figured out something else this woman wants to fight with everybody she's a jerk these people haven't taken anything over and have had my family in possession for years a bunch of assholes it. So the firing on them and they're going away and there's more coming down and I mean going away they're blasting them there's a ton of them coming out right now it's a real ships these are about a mile the ones before them were small but the max have a bunch of special out so they're coming around the corner and they're starting to fight but hear this from my son I was the distance on their weaponry and it's pretty good the ones of cork has can reach over here on those ships she said to tell him to f*** off and go out the other way I said no way I can't they're right there and they're going to take over so he thinks he has a silver barrel to start taking over the ships and he doesn't know which ones we have and which ones we don't so you might tell him if he's trying something in corky says you're just saying it my people don't just say it when it comes to that but that's fine you keep Blabbing little kids and get hit in the head. It's just about to say something chelle hit him right in the freaking head now they're writing the ship knock them on his feet. And something flames say no go ahead what we're saying you know was having to say said screaming this where are you we're always here cuz of you poor stuck here it's just screaming so what is for your own good you're not my keeper a little retarded uncle you don't know how to do anything else is your problem not mine you shouldn't make it my problem cuz you can't do two things at once you f****** loser you're a f****** loser you're a f****** moron and everyone sees you be tomorrow on and can hear it now since there's no other choice you can't do it to run everything I said that's ridiculous if I had money I wouldn't be in this situation nor would you moron and he's going well you have a point terrific now you can figure it out but hey just fight over a letter and fight over a housing place cuz you have to cuz you're stupid this sucks so bad. It's trying to hide his face also people say you're stupid we have to get rid of you start hitting him all over the world too

The fellowships are still coming and I'm pretty sure we haven't taken them over so we need people out there Mac they live we can aim get your little s*** boys maybe big cannons at us

We're going out there to stop them but they're doing is illegal to me and you they do it everyday so help me God if I get the s**** again I'm going to kill every f****** one of them

Thor Freya

Biden

That'd be great grandpa but there's probably too many of them

Zues

Hera

There are a lot of them and they're coming down the road as well to Florida there's a whole shitload and say you can't stop us you're trying to stop them because they have huge cannons in there ships and their aiming right at this area they have to kind of my father said go that way for a while and they won't okay so we see that one it's just like that guy dance incident in the Bronx tale but who knows might be just a movie with the baseball bat but the other guy you know handed them the gun which was Tommy fujino. But really I have no choice it's a look they could like hit over here so not really doing what tom favino might do or what's in the movie It's just in a movie okay. My son says look what came out of all this you know what skillets you know about ships you're about keys all that stuff cuz this assholes house harassing me for what tommyF was having them do and now it's not frustrating you're stupid, he's digging Friday for information what's going on out the open sometimes they do that I guess they have a hard time believing it unless it's extreme diress it comes out in that's who's doing he's an idiot doesn't know he's on camera. You guys are doing that all over the place Max says it's illegal and see how it works you're passing it around they didn't know and you don't remember and you keep asking that way it's so stupid Max says that you're fired.

I've heard this all before no we haven't these people are doing that for years centuries really but recently really loudly and tons of times and they're completely incompetent because of it very stupid for doing that you keep telling him they don't get it

Thor Freya

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folieamagique · 8 years ago

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To-Write Top 5

Holy crap alright so apparently @coastingon-potential wants to know what I am procrastinating on because she tagged me in a thing where I guess I’m supposed to describe my top 5 stories I don’t have the time to energy to work on. THANKS NICOLE! We both know this list is like a KM long so give me a minute to figure out which ones I should put on here...

So Give Them Blood (Wentziero):

I honestly haven’t written a lot for this one yet but I’ll get there. Basically though Frank, the poor little shit, gets turned into a Vampire after he pisses one off. So he’s trying to figure it out. And eventually Pete will find him and he is a Vampire and he teaches Frank how to do shit. And then I mean...of course they find they like each other and that’s kind of all the idea I’ve got for that one right now.

North Woods Law (Peterick):

So...we’re just not going to talk about the title of this one or where the idea came from because I just don’t wanna talk about it. I will probably change the title. Patrick is a Game Warden up North (it’s a thing don’t ask) and he’s been sort of dating this guy who keeps standing him up (PETER WTF ARE YOU DOING). But like he gets kind of sick of being ditched so people convince him to ditch Pete and go out with someone else. And side note Patrick’s current case is a store that is complaining about a Wolf coming too close to it at night and they are worried so he sets a trap and then when he checks it one morning he doesn’t find a Wolf he finds an idiot Pete naked and frustrated at his own stupidity.....I’ll let you guys figure out the connection there. I’ve actually got a large...well 80% of this one done...

Fountain of Youth AU (THIS IS A MESS OF SHIPS HOLY FUCK):

AHA so...my friend Noodle is partially at fault for this mess. I actually can’t find any of my notes for this one...Basically Gerard is the Fountain of Youth and that’s why he never ages but there is a catch to how one can get...the blessing? or whatever you want to call it...from the “Fountain”. and Gerard can actually give it away to someone else if he wants. It was...I think it was kind of late when we came up with that one. Me and Noodle have some strange conversations.

Heathens 2?!? (Peterick):

I have yet to get started on it but I have started thinking about it. There will be a second book for Heathens once I finish something else. You guys will have a reason to scream at me again. If you haven’t read it...here try that.

Vagabond part...3? I think we are at part 3 now... (Freewood - ex-Turnwood):

It’s gonna be called “Blood in the Cut”. It’s in the same boat as Heathens 2. Haven’t started on it yet but I’m beginning to brew some ideas and really should write them down. It’ll be the finale for Ryan/The Vagabond but I will do other Fake AH Crew AU stuff ^-^ probably more origin stories and then just whatever when I get through those. Don’t know yet, we’ll see.

WELL THAT WAS FUN. Good gods I have a lot. This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. I have 6 notebooks and an entire cork board full of sticky-notes with ideas on them. And that’s just the fic stuff. That doesn’t even touch my original works (but no one reads those anyway so).

ANYways...who do I tag... I’m gonna go with @saverockandsoulpvnk whatcha got sweetheart? um... @nixxiah I know you write so who knows what ideas you’re sitting on....I don’t follow a lot of writers on here honestly...wtf...or I am but I don’t remember what they’re damn tumblr urls are. idk if you’re writer and you follow me and you see this then have at it.

#writing #fanfiction #THANKS NICOLE #why do you hate me #wip #thepetetoherpatrick #good lord I have too many stories

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officialwarspite-blog · 8 years ago

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HMS Incomparable by Baron Fisher. Mad Jackie strikes again.

"Here is a descriptive outline of H.M.S. "Incomparable," as set forth I the early morning of September 17th 1912:

Really a Gem! She can be riddled and gutted outside the Central Diamond-shaped Armoured Citadel because nothing vital outside the Citadel! So lightly built she'll weigh so little as to go Fast, with a hundred and fifty thousand horse power! She'll shake to peices in about 10 years! What's the good of a warship lasting longer? The d--d things get obsolete in about a year!

Ten 16-inch guns to begin with (afterwards 20-inch guns) for main armament.

Eight broadside Torpedo Tubes (21 inch torpedo).

32 knots speed at least.

16 inch armour on the citadel and belt amidships, thinning towards the end.

850 feet long-to be afterwards 1,000 feet; 86 feet wide.

Four torpedo tubes each side to be well before the citadel (submerged Tubes) so as not to interfere with machinery space.

Quadruple screws.

anit submarine guns in small single turrets.

A turtle-backed armoured hull. with light steel uninflammable structure before and abaft the armoured Diamond-shaped Citadel.

Two conning towers.

Hydraulic Crane each side (very low height) for lifting boats.

The light steel hollow mast only for wireless and for ventilation, made of steel ribbon to wind up and down at will.

Jam up the Citadel all that is possible right in the centre of Hull, and squeeze the last inch in space so as to lessen the amount of 16 inch armour

Curved thick armour deck.

Ammunition supply by Hydraulic power.

Oil right fore and aft. Enough to go around the earth!

Very high double bottom-honeycombed.

Coffer dams everywhere stuffed with cork.

This, then, is the fast battle cruiser "Incomparable" of 32 knots speed and 20 inch guns and no funnels, and a phenomenal light draught of water, because so very long and built so flimsy that she won't last 10 years, but that's long enough for the War!

In this connection I append a rough sketch by Oscar Parkes of a twenty-inch gun ship. The sketch will offend the critical eye of my very talented friend, Sir Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt, but it's good enough for shoregoing people to give them the idea of what, would have been as great a New Departure as was the '*Dreadnought."

This 18-in. gun was ordered by me without any of the usual preliminary trials or any reference to any Gunnery Experts whatever. The credit of its great success is due to Major Hadcock, Head of the Elswick Ordnance Manufacturing Department, who also designed the 20-in.gun for the fast Battleship Type which was to have been built had I remained at the Admiralty in May,1915 -A model of this 20-in.gun Battle Cruiser of 35 knots speed,was got out before I left the Admiralty—three days more they would have started building."

#Royal Navy #hms incomparable

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agatesilverandtopaz · 7 years ago

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North Arizona Honeymoon Wonder Part 1

"Can't believe you talked me into this" Crow huffed

"Come on its just 15 days and not all of it will be in Mexico" Monty said as he pinned the 'just married' and 'honeymoon' buttons to Crow's shirt they got at check in.

"Yes but a Disney Cruise really?" Crow repeated for what seems like the 100th time. They were aboard the Disney Wonder that wonder be taking them on a two week cruise from San Diego through the Panama Canal up to Galveston.

"How else was I suppose to get you off the ship?" Monty asked with a slight smile shouldering his backpack "plus again fit with the time we had between my birthday and thanksgiving. Now stop complaining and let's have fun. It's about noon so let's go ahead and get lunch and explore some before our room is ready."

Crow gave another sigh but said "alright, lead the way."

Monty smiled and did.

They ended up at Pinocchio’s Pizzeria on the ninth deck slitting a pepperoni pizza. "So what are we doing after this?" Crow ask "Well if you'd like we can go to the shops, check out what there is, or head to see if our stateroom is ready and that our bags are there" Monty said "maybe change and hit the pools?" "Sure second one works" crow said causing Monty to perky up a bit. "Great" They finished eating and took a bit of time getting to their room, Monty had decided to schedule a few things and Crow boredly followed him around. And they just wondered around. They ended up at their Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah, on deck 7, around 2. Their bags were waiting on them. As where a few things Monty had pre ordered for when they got into the room. Including the Romance for 2 package which had two Disney Cruise Line robes, a bottle of Prosecco, a box of chocolates and a beautiful presentation red rose, Two of the Rocky Patel Deluxe Toro Tubo cigar packages which had six different fancy cigars each, and the Not-So-Hidden Mickey Floral Bouquet "Wow," Crow said a bit surprised looking at the stuff "you went all out" "Well I figured why not" Monty said as he opened the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass "we didn't spend that much on the wedding and you paid for it all anyways. Though we can't smoke the cigars in here will have to take them to the smoking area." He finished before offering Crow a glass. Crow smiled and took it before kissing his husband deeply. Monty kissed him back just as deep until Crow pulled back. "You're amazing" he said smiling "I try" Monty said smiling before saying "come on let's drink these , get changed and hit the pools before we have to come back to do that drill" "Right right" Crow said polishing off the glass pretty quickly.

---

The rest of their time in port was spent by the pool drinking mostly until they went back to their room and through on some dry clothes before the safety drill that was required for everyone on the ship. "Come on let's go to the celebration thing as we pull out" Monty said "it'll be fun!" Crow frowned looking at the people and already hearing the noise but he said "fine as long as I can drink" "Deal" Monty said smiling as he lead Crow off. They 'enjoyed' the celebration and the view they got as they left port and got onto the ocean. It was starting to get dark so Monty asked "wanna head back to the room? We can unpack and get room service, we have no reservations to night and your a bit drunk." "Sounds good" Crow said, he was holding it together well but was indeed drunk and just followed Monty as they headed back to the room. "We will spend all day tomorrow on the ocean" Monty said as they walked "I booked us a spa appointment in the afternoon if you'd like to go if not I'll cancel yours and go myself, though you don't have have to get a massage, think about it?" "Alright sure" crow said Monty nodded with a small smile as they made it back to the room. Crow flopped back onto the bed. Monty smiled and kissed his forehead before going to unpack his stuff and he did he asked "what you wanna order in?" "How about another pizza?" "Sure" Monty said as he finished his unpacking "any desserts?" "Whatever, we got anymore of that wine?" "Alright, its in the fridge don't break anything" "Alright" crow said rolling off the bed and landing with an "oof" "That included yourself" he said grabbed the phone and going to order Crow waved him off and stood to get the wine and the chocolates too. He grabbed the glasses from earlier and moved he'd pulled the cork out with his teeth poured them each another glass. "Should be up in like 30 minutes" Monty said "Great" Crow said offering him a glass before saying "you know I'll probably regret this tomorrow but this isn't so bad so far" Monty chuckled taking the glass he said "told you." Crow just stuck his tongue out at that comment and downed his glass. Monty sipped his and flipped the tv on. Crow filled his glass again and sat next to him. They sat like that drinking their wine and sharing the chocolate until their pizza and ice cream desserts got their. Once Monty had brought them over they enjoyed those to until it was late. After cleaning up a bit Monty asked "ready to crawl into bed Teddy?" "For sex?" Crow asked Monty snorted and said "nah, not this time. Sleep." "Oh, ok good," Crow said getting up "I'm too full of ice cream, pizza, alcohol for sex." "I figured." Monty said patting his side as he went to get ready for bed "we can do that tomorrow." "Whatever" Crow replied undressing and flopping back on the bed. Monty came back and kissed his forehead as he got into bed "goodnight." "Night" Crow said as he settles in and dozed off. Monty soon dozed as well.

---

The next morning Monty work up first. And got ready for the day after decided he wanted to got for a jog. He let Crow sleep and left him a note before headed out to go to the fitness center Crow slept another hour before he finally woke up. He frowned confused for a moment as to Monty being missing before he found the note. After reading he just sighed and went to take a shower and brush his teeth, plus take care of his snake bite piercings which were mostly healed at this point. As he was getting dressed after that Monty finally walked in. “Oh good morning” Monty said smiling “figured you’d still be a sleep” “Morning” Crow said before shrugging “woke up.” “Oh well if you wanna get breakfast you can call Room service or go without me. I’m gonna get a quick shower.” “I can wait” Crow said with a shrug before sitting and flipping the tv on Monty shrugged and went to get his shower. He took a quick one and dried off before getting dressed in shorts and a short sleeve button up shirt putting his Disney buttons back on “I don’t know how on earth your still in jeans” he commented to Crow “It’s not that hot” Crow said glancing over “ready to go?” “Yep” Monty chirped smiling “Cabanas work for you?” “I literally have no idea where nothing is on this boat, I’m just following you around” Crow said “Alright then” Monty said patting his shoulder “let go it’s a buffet.” “Sounds good” Crow said following him out. They made it this soon enough and enjoyed breakfast together. “So you though about doing the spa with me or are you just going to find a deck and drink more?” Monty asked “You said I didn’t have to get me back touched?” “Yeah, you can have a facial instead” Crow gave him a ‘seriously’ look. “It would be fine or you can just get the massage we would be on our stomachs the whole time” “Fine I’ll do the face thing, you’re the only one allowed to touch my back.” “Thank you.” Monty said with a smile “we still have some time before that wanna do something?” Crow shrugged and replied “sure” “How about Vista Gallery?” Monty said “it’s an art gallery and we can buy some of the prints too.” “That works I guess.” Crow say as he finished eating “Good” Monty said finishing as well “let’s get going” Crow nodded and stood to follow Monty. They made it to deck 4 and the Vista Gallery a short time later. They walked around holding hands Monty was enjoying himself and Crow looked bored but didn’t complained. “Doesn’t Ruby like Beauty and the Beast?” Monty asked looking at one of the paintings of said movie “I think” Crow said having never really cared enough to ask “we should get her a copy for Christmas” Monty said smiling “Why?” “She’s family it’s what family does” “Alright” Crow said not really caring still. Monty nodded and noted the information so he could get it once they were done here. They kept walking and by the end Monty had found a lovely fox and the hound painting he wanted to get for his sister and Kala as well. He placed the order for both. “Ready to head to the spa?” Monty asked when he was done “As I’ll ever be” Crow said

“Great" Monty said smiled as he took Crow’s hand again and lead him “oh tonight is formal night” Monty told him as there walked" “That’s why we brought out suits?” “Yes, so sense I figured you’d only want to wear yours once we should have our meal and Palo tonight sense it has a dress code anyways. Then afterwords we can do a drink tasting.” “Alright sounds good to me” Crow said “Great” Monty said smiling as the made it to the spa and he went to check in. —- The whole spa treat went pretty well through even if it was just his face Crow wasn’t happy and would glare as he was touched but he didn’t hurt anyone so Monty counted it as a win. “Never doing that again” Crow said as they walked back to their “Well thanks for doing it this time” Monty said kissing his cheek “I feel very relaxed myself.” Crow gave a sigh and just asked “so what’s the point of the fancy night?” “Nice pictures and stuff.” Monty said “we can get a few. It’s not like we got real wedding photos or anything.” Crow shrugged “works for me.” Monty smiled and leaned against him as they made it back to their room. Crow smiled and put his arm around Monty. Soon they made it back to their room. And get ready for the evening. “Have I ever told you I like it when you dress up?” Monty commented as he fixed his own tie

“You told me a few times on that engagement trip we took” crow said with a soft smile “I’d do it more but I’m far to lazy” “I know but it just makes me love these moment more” Monty said kissing his cheek “come on let’s get going” “Sounds good” Crow said following him out. Monty smiled as the walked long. “So what’s tomorrow?” Crow asked him “Tomorrow is our first excursion” Monty said “in Cabo San Lucas” Crow made a face. “I know but come on it’ll be fun, we are going to a beach and to get there we get to ride in a glass bottom boat to see the sea life. And we will be back on the ship in the first group.” “Fine” Monty smiled and patted his shoulder. They made it to the gathering where there were already other people around. Crow grabbed them a couple of glasses of champagne that was offered. “Thanks” Monty said taking it as they walked around “oh hey on this whole trip you don’t wanna dance or anything like that right?” “No, not really” Crow said “why?” “I can’t really dance either,” Monty answered

“And here a thought your where the prefect romantic” Crow said before he shrugged “neither can I. Nor do I want to at all” “Alright good” Monty said with a soft smile Crow nodded in agreement as they kept walking around. They got to greet the captain and drink a bit as well as have a few pictures taken. Monty had asked another couple to take a picture of them on his phone to text his sisters tomorrow and in returned took the couples picture. After that was all finished the pair headed to the fancy Italian restaurant, Palo, to enjoy their dinner. They got a table in the counter. And they were quickly ordered and served.

“This is nice” crow said smiling softly “Glad you think so” Monty said smiling “glad we took the trip?” “Let me see how tomorrow goes” crow said “Fair enough” Monty said as they got their drinks, just water to enjoy their whiskey tasting later that night. They spent the rest of the evening eating and enjoying each other company, and sense it was their honeymoon they got a special cake for dessert. After dinner they went to the whiskey tasting after words. It wasn’t really enough to effect Crow at all, when it came to alcoholism he was only a stair or two behind Jay. But Monty got a nice buzz from it. And the leaned into Crow the whole way back to the room. Crow sat him down on the bed before kissing his head. And went to get changed. “We should totally make out!” Monty called “If you’d like” crow replied after brushing his teeth “though ok taking a shower first!” “Alright!” Monty said as he started taking his suit off and ended up flopped back on the bed in his boxers. He didn’t remember anything after that until the next morning when Crow woke him “ugh….what time is it?” “It’s 7 am, you fell asleep while I was in the shower” Crow said “room service brought our breakfast, coffee and donuts woke for you?” “Sounds great” Monty said sitting up Crow brought the food and coffee over “Thanks” Monty said “you’re up early though” Crow shrugged “thought we where getting off the ship, you fell asleep before I could ask you what time.” “Oh sorry, um…the ship should anchor about 9 and we are leaving to get our boat right after that and then out next boat to the beach.” Monty said “Sounds good enough” Crow said Monty kissed his cheek and said “good” Crow gave a soft smile. They spent the rest of the morning watching tv and getting ready to go. Monty packed a beach bag with sunscreen, a change of clothes for each over them and other things they’d need for the day, plus an extra couple of bags in case they got to shop for souvenirs. Crow carried what he was told too along with two gallon of jugs of water he’d packed. Definitely not allowing himself or his husband, who only rolling his eyes in response, to drink the water in this god forsaken country.

They were some of the first to take the motorcoach to the docks and Monty lead the way, crow knowledge of reading and understanding Spanish helped. They got their spot on the glass bottom boat and rode 20 minutes out to the nice beach. Monty was happy to get to see the colorful fish and sea life. Crow on the other hand was rather pared he didn’t fish. While it wasn’t Disney the beach was still very touristy with a couple of shops, bars, and other restaurants a lot it. Once there Monty said an alarm on his watch and phone so they wouldn’t miss their boat back. And after that they got set up on the beach, finding a nice shady spot near a bar. Monty went to use the wifi and get their drinks.

Crow just sat in their spot and watched their stuff. He leaned against one of the trees they were under and watched the oceans and people running around through his sunglasses. A family with a couple kids running around caught his eye and he watched them for a moment. The kids seemed happy together part of a normal family. He of course couldn't give that to his own kids, he'd be lucky if he didn't screw then up in a million ways....

"You ok?" Monty asked sitting next to him and offering him a large margarita in a plastic cup "you're kinda staring off in space."

"Yeah" Crow said turning back to him and took the drink "just thinking"

"Bout what?"

"Nothing important," he asked "anyone like the pictures."

Monty decided not to press it for now so he answered "Sadie liked a couple so far but I'll check again before we leave."

Crow gave a nod and sipped the drink

"Oh so I figured sense we'd be hitting Puerto Vallarta, save the eye roll, tomorrow you'd only be able to take so much of the beach and Mexico that you might like to say oh the ship?”

Crow didn't rolled his eyes but wanted to but instead said "sounds good to me but what about you?"

"I was thinking of doing a snorkeling outing, if we will be apart it was be a good time sense you can't swim anyways"

"Alright whatever don't get hurt"

"I won't" Monty replied as he leaned back to enjoy the beach.

For awhile they just sat together quietly. Crow was starting to enjoy this, he liked the quiet and liked just being with Monty. He could hear himself think and didn't have to worry about talking back. He closed his eyes and leaned into his taller husband.

Monty smiled as Crow's action and leaned back slightly. Smiling as he sipped his drink and watched the ocean.

It was maybe an hour they sat like that until Monty got too sniff and had to move a bit "want lunch? The bar had a pretty good looking menu."

Crow who surprisingly hadn't fallen asleep opened his eyes and sat up answering "whatever as long as it's cooked."

"Alright" Monty said standing to get the food he grabbed there empty cups to throw away as he went.

Crow watched him leave for a moment until a group of sexy young women setting up near by caught his eye. And he cocked his head watching them.

Monty ordered them some fish tacos and leaned against the deck railing as he waited for them and a couple more drinks when a couple of men talking caught his attention.

"He's got a ring he's married...."

"Man if my wife caught me staring like that she'd kill me...."

Monty glanced back to see what they were talking about and almost had to snort as it was Crow watching the women. But he knew crow well enough that he knew t was in fact the shiny tasseled bikinis he was watching not the women themselves. The women could be topless in from of him and Crow won't bat an eye, no he was such a fucking bird the shiny is what had him hooked. Monty just shook his head with a smile and went to grab the food and drinks when his name was called.

Crow kept watching until one of the women turned to him, smiled, and waved, it was at the point he straightens up and narrowed his eyes frowning. She shrugged him off and went to the water with her friends.

"Like what you see?" Monty asked sitting back down across from him this time

"Meh." Crow replied helping him by taking the drinks from his full hands

"Good to know I'm the only one you have eyes for then" Monty said

"Not really you know that right" crow replied

"I know but I have your heart and that's all that really matters to me" Monty said with a smile.

"So much sap" crow said returning the smile

Monty just shoved him before he started to eat.

Crow started eating as well.

They spent a few more hours on the beach, Monty got to do some swimming as Crow hung out under the tree, before they gathered their stuff and made t back to the boat that had brought them over. It was another 20 minute ride back. And once there they had some more time before they need to catch the motorcoach back so Monty suggested more souvenirs.

Crow just shrugged and followed him.

Monty smiled as they walked around and ended up getting some fancy pottery bowls, a a few t shirts, and some necklaces for Kala and his sisters.

The only things Crow got were three ceramic sugar skulls that had reminded him of Jay and the boys.

Soon after that they headed back to the ship. After dropping off everything in their room and rising the sand completely off they headed out. They ended up taking the cigars they'd gotten out to the smoking deck and enjoying them with a couple of beers until the ship left port and it was dinner time. Tonight they got to go to Tiana's Place.

Monty enjoyed the living atmosphere of the places as well as the food.

Crow liked the food and was happy they were near any annoying kids.

After that they mostly wondered around until about midnight when they finally turned in.

The next morning the ship was in Puerto Vallarta on the docks.

Monty got up and got ready to go leaving Crow to sleep in. He got his breakfast before he left the ship and got to the smaller boat to head out snorkeling for the day.

---

Crow slept till about 10 and woke up pretty bored he laid in the bed for a while long before deciding to finally get up. He got dressed and wondered around for a bit it was at this point he realizing he probably should've gone with Monty as he wasn't that be on anything left to do on the ship, not working out, the spa, eating or swimming at all. He glanced out over the port which they were docked. It's not like he couldn't keep himself safe even without his weapons....he sighed to himself and finally decided to disembark, though before he left he made sure to ask what time the ship was leaving. And it was a bit later than the day before at 5 pm this time. He set his watch and left.

Crow spent third or so minutes wondering around. He mostly ignored people trying to sell him anything though stopped off at a knife shop and bought Whitney a nice porcelain knife, he'd easily be able to eat back on the ship. He bought a few more things here and there until he came across a tattoo parlor with signs in both English and Spanish. He glanced at his watch and seeing as it wasn't even noon yet he went inside. Glancing around it looks clean enough and from what he could see everything in the back looked fine. Clearly this was a place set up for the tourist.

"Anything I can help you with?" A woman asked coming out from the back

"Yeah is there anyway you can...." he pulled out his phone to show her the photo of the cake topper of the Phoenix and the pike "recreate that on my thigh with a banner underneath."

"That's a big one it will cost quite a bit" she said before telling him the price

"Money isn't an issue and if you can get it done he three I'll pay extra in cash."

"You have a deal" she said with a smile leading him back

---

Meanwhile Monty was enjoying the snorkeling. He'd taken many pictures of all the wildlife including a huge turtle. He was now leaning back listening to the guide talking about the history of the place.

----

After getting his tattoo Crow walked back to the ship, stopping to get sugar skulls that reminded him of Ruby and other to kids, as well as a tiny guitar he knew Wyatt would like and that would make Whitney happy as well as three sets of maracas for her six kids. He also got his two future kids some fancy dolls to give to them when they were older and some soft stuffed animals as well.

He walked back to the ship having an hour before it would leave now. He stopped upon seeing a large pottery bowl that was blue with a orange fish and he got it for Monty before finally getting back on the ship and headed to the room.

He put the souvenirs away, sep for the bowl, before he undressed and sat on the bed to unbandage and clean up his tattoo. It looked just like the Phoenix and Pike of the wedding cake topper with a banner underneath reading 'your teddy bear' and he hoped Monty would like it.

Meanwhile Monty and the others also made it back to the docks and headed back to the ship. He headed back to the room wondering if Crow would be ok with staying in the rest of the night and ordering room service for dinner. He was a bit worn out from swimming most the day. He made it back it the room and upon opening the door was surprised to see Crow and the tattoo, "wow..."

Crow glanced up and gave him a soft smile, “you like it?” “I love it…where’d you get it from?” Monty asked walking over careful not to touch, just looking at all the detail. He smile seeing the nickname he’d give Crow. “I got bored left the boat, found the shops in town. It looked good, but I’ll make sure to get shots when we get home. Though I can’t really get into the water until this heals,” Crow answered before reaching around and grabbing the bowl “oh I got you this” “Can’t believe you left” Monty said not too concerned about the swimming thing, it’s not like Crow really was before anyways. But he looked up and said “oh wow, thank you.” “You’re welcome” Crow said before putting the bowl down “I got things for others too but I’ll show you later.” “Sounds good” Monty said before sitting on the bed next to him “now as much as I’d like to just jump you and make love to you for hours I’m tired from swimming all day. Can we just order some food in and watch tv, do that other stuff later?” “We don’t really have to have sex at all on my account” Crow said “but yeah that plan sounds great to me. You order I’m gonna fine with this thing and get some clothes on.” “Great” Monty said with a soft smile as he went to get the phone to call. He got them a couple of pizzas with some beer. Crow came back after his tattoo was all set and he sat on his side of the bed. Monty smiled and flipped the tv on to the Treasure Planet movie and settled in a bit, until the God came and he stood to get it, tipping the guy who dropped it off. Before he went back to join Crow in bed again. They sat and ate their pizzas and drank their beers as they watched a couple movies. Monty showed Crow the pictures he’d taken on his outing and they talked. After a few hours both got ready for bed and settles in for the night to get some sleep.

---

The next day Monty work up about 10 and found Crow still sleeping beside him. He smiled and kissed his head. Before getting up to get a shower. Crow just buried himself a bit deeper in the blanket not wanting to get up yet. Monty came out sometime later and started to get dressed for the day “hey, Crow you wanna get up?” “Not really” Crow muttered in return though he finally unburied himself and got up. Monty just gave a soft smile and patted his shoulder “come on when you’re ready to go we can get lunch from the buffet and catch a movie in the theater or maybe a live show.” “Show?” “Yeah like broadway.” Crow just made a face before heading into the bathroom. Monty shrugged to himself and started checking a few things on his phone before Crow came back and started getting ready for the day “oh hey the ‘Frozen’ deck party is tomorrow but I figured after we eat we can do a night club or maybe another drink tasting.” “How are they going to freeze the deck?” Crow said looking up from the care on his tattoo and cocking his head “No 'Frozen’ the movie were the annoying 'Let it go’ song comes from” Monty clarified “Oh” Crow said looking back down before saying “that plan works” “Cool” Monty said Crow nodded as he finished with his tattoo and finished getting ready for the day and once he was ready Monty lead the way out. They went to Cabanas to eat their breakfast before heading to Buena Vista Theatre to watch whatever movie was planning this hour and it was the fox and the hound movie. Monty smiled and leaned into Crow’s sides. Crow just put his arm and rested his cheek against Monty’s head. They stayed the rest of the day there watching a few different movies until it was dinner time and they went to the Animator’s Palate where they ate and watched the little animation show they had going on. They were really paying attention to it just talking to each other really, until they finished dinner and headed to the Cove Café and sat inside Crow got a black coffee and boredly watched the tv which was a football game and not something Disney. Monty got an Espresso martini and they both got a couple pieces of cake and Monty posted some more pictures on his Facebook. “Ruby has liked all the pictures and Jay commented there are a lot of you and you should start taking pictures of your own.” Crow shrugged “he would, he used to do the same thing you do take all the pictures and get me in a bunch…you are less annoying cause I don’t need to hold still for yours” “Is that where you got that whole run I of pictures from?” “Yeah, told you he stores half his crap at my place.” Monty just gave a nodded still unsure what to make of that, they were such strange brothers. They spent the rest of the evening in the cafe until descending to head back to their room and turn in for the night.

As the walked Monty out his arm around Crow's side not quite pressing his arm against his back.

Crow glanced at him and asked "what are you doing?"

"Holding you" Monty replied

"Why are you doing it?"

"To be close to you?"

"....Remember how I told you that if you want sex you should just ask cause I'm. It good at picking up on your signs?"

"Well clearly you're starting to ge-" Monty said as he was cut off by Crow's lips against his. He hummed against Crow's lips as they fumbled to open their door.

Once in Crow pulled back from Monty and turned to lock the door behind them.

Monty smiled kicking his shoes off and dropped his jacket and shirt on the floor. He laid back on the bed propping himself up on his elbows.

Crow kicked his shoes off and turned to Monty and said "you look good you know?"

Monty wasn't sure Crow really meant it but he smile anyways and said "thank you. You look amazing to me too. Now come and kiss me."

Crow smiled and walked over before kissing him again.

Monty kissed back wrapping his arms around his middle pressing his fingers into Crow's scar through his shirt.

Crow gave a moan into Monty's mouth and pressed closer against him.

Monty gave a moan back and grounded their hips together.

Crow moaned a bit louder and moved to kiss Monty's neck and pressed slightly into this center of His chest getting a moan in return.

Monty kept moaning and started working on removing Crow's shirt over his head "fuck."

Crow broke the kiss as the shirt was yanked off.

"How you wanna do this?" Monty asked panting a bit

"Doesn't matter to me" Crow panted as well

"Alright.... get up I got what we need in one of my bags" Monty said

Crow nodded and moved off him and flopped beside him. As Monty got up to grab a couple condoms and the lube Crow kicked his jeans off.

Monty smiled and did the same after putting the stuff down on the nightstand before he kissed his husband again.

Crow kissed him back and lightly nipped his lip carefully and again rubbed his chest before pulling back and asking "so what did you wanna do?"

"How about you top and then after that you could you can ride me?"

"Think we can go two rounds?"

"I don't see why not" Monty said before kissing him and pulling Crow back on top of him.

Crow moved as he was wanted to and moved to take finish undressing them.

Monty moaned and started rubbing Crow's back with one hand and reached to grab the stuff on the nightstand and he pressed it against Crow's hand

Crow moaned back and pressed against him before he pulled back. To take the condom "you need me to...prep you?"

"No I'll be fine" Monty said

Crow nodded before he tore open the condom package and rolled it on.

Monty smiled grabbing the lube and pouring some in his hand before he reached to stroke Crow's cock to rub the lube on.

Crow gave a moan before pushing Monty's hand away and kissing him against get him flat on the bed and he grabbed Monty's hips and lining up with his ass and pressing in. He made sure to do what Monty had told him to last time by going slow and giving him a moment once he was all the way in.

Monty moaned against as he did and he was happy Crow remember what to do in this case. He waited a moment before breaking the kiss and saying "m...move..." before he started rubbing Crow's back.

Crow gave a moan and started moving slowly. He made sure to go at a slow steady pace.

Monty moaned and squeezed Crow's back as he started kissing his collar bone.

"Fuck" Crow moaned as he started moving faster

Monty moaned and reached to stroke himself in time with Crow's thrust "go fucking faster...."

Crow did as asked lifting Monty hips a bit.

Monty moaned squeezing Crow's back a bit harder hoping to spur him on faster and he gasp as it did and Crow managed to hit his prostate.

Crow gave another moan before he finally came hard with one last hard thrust "fuck..." he kept trying to go but couldn't really "s...sorry"

Monty moaned "so good...its fine Teddy"

Crow nodded and pulled out panting a bit.

Monty sat up and kissed him deeply before pulling back and asking "wanna try another round? You can ride me if you'd like or we can do doggy style."

Crow kissed him back before the kiss was broken "whatever you want."

"Mount up than" Monty said with a soft smile "condom and lube first though."

"Alright" Crow said taking the condom he had off and dropping it in the trash first before he grabbed the new one and tore it open "why do we keep using condoms? It's not like we have anything"

"Habit" Monty said giving another moan as Crow rolled it on "and in this case easier clean up. If you wanna stop using them when we get home we can"

Crow shrugged as he poured lube on and stroking him a bit earning another moan "doesn't matter to me"

Monty shrugged in return before saying "you know what hands and knees, I wanna touch you back."

"Alright" Crow said doing as told

Monty smiled sitting up before he got got behind crow and pressed against into him slowly Giving another moan he knew he wasn't gonna last long but he didn't care at this moment.

Crow moaned and squeezed the blanket.

Monty moaned giving Crow his moment as he started rubbing his back before he started with a slow pace.

Crow moaned loud and panted again gasping every now and again.

Monty smiled and just kept it thrusting and working on Crow's back. He gave a moan as he came quickly. He pulled out and asked "want me to finish getting you off?"

"No I'm fine" crow said giving a yawn "let's get some sleep."

"Alright" monty said kissing his back laying down and trashing the condom.

Crow rolled over and pressed into him "I love you"

"I love you too" Monty said kissing his head

They both dozed off together

@askthemountainstates

#north Arizona

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darkshimmeringworld-blog · 7 years ago

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The Samuel Beckett

Last night I had the most peculiar dream. Samuel Beckett's face on the front of the Samuel Beckett, like Thomas the Fucking Tank Engine. He was scanning the horizon discerning in the metal tides the Absurdity of Existence. His Existence being more Absurd than most others on account of being this strange chimeric dream entity, some aberration of the waves, in a risible, ludicrous scene, hulking his stupid mass futilely to some as yet to be determined end point.

To clarify what I am saying, let me tell you about the Samuel Beckett. The LE Samuel Beckett is an Irish OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) and she was launched in 2013 to the tune of around 70 million euros. Samuel Beckett of course the famous Irish playwright who had nothing to do with gunboats and I imagine not much of a taste for Mastering and Commanding. Lamentably the ship has so far only appropriated the artist of the avant-garde’s name, but let’s not let reality get in the way of some clunky imagery. Poor old clunky boat face, spinning in his watery grave.

From this point on I will refer to Samuel Beckett the Original as “He” and Samuel Beckett the Aberration as “She” in respect to the nautical traditions of old. Actually, I will refer to Samuel Beckett the Children's TV Show Chimera of My Nightmares as “It”, as Lloyd's List publication declared in 2002 it would do with all sea vessels to bring it in line with other reputable titles and move away from the anachronisms of maritime custom. Julian Bray, editor at the time stating that “the shipping industry does need to move forward if it is not to risk becoming a backwater of international business”. No pun intended.

“It” has of today rescued 2,310 migrants, many of them children on the zephyrs of the Mediterranean, as they flee from the currents of 21st century geopolitical ruin. “It” has been spotted off the coasts of Cork, Sicily, Tripoli and the Isle of Sodor. Obviously it is not the “It” of my imagination that is delivering water foundlings to Western Democracy. “It” of my imagination benefiting from having a face, retains an extra humanizing quality, having the advantageous position to emote which elevates it above the boring utilitarian machinery of the Inert Real World “It”. “It” scans darkly the horizon, “It” pensively considers the clouds, billowing, full of themselves. “It” cracks a kind smile, one of those glowing and spreading around the eyes smiles, welcoming the new guests on deck.

My ersatz “It”, the real ersatz “It”, the real, dead “He”. Samuel Beckett the “He”, died 22nd December 1989 in Paris, and is also posthumously bestowed a bridge named after him to honour his legacy. It is a lot harder to picture a bridge with a face. Imagine a bridge with a face, really try to conceive of it. It is like an onion with a toe. To conjure in the minds eye Samuel Beckett's cantilevered countenance is a task that tests the limits of anthropomorphism. Perhaps not since the Watership Down Ultra-Violence Rabbits has anthropomorphism been so brutally clawed at. No puns intended.

But as heavy handed honours to dead wordsmiths, a bridge is surely the superior option to gunboats, fantasy pareidoliac cherry or not. Many in Ireland voiced criticism to the Immodest Proposal of the LE Samuel Beckett, suggesting that the dissonance of what an armoured state vehicle represents and how underfunded the arts are in the country by the government amount to a comorbidity of the Absurd and the Farcical. The same erroneous honour befalling James Joyce, or the LE James Joyce, or the Majestic LE James Joyce Venerated Lady of the Snotgreen Waves, or, Whatever (Yet we still await the LE Flann O'Brien, LE Brian O'Nolan, LE Myles na gCopaleen, LE Brother Barnabas, and LE An Broc, all writers of great distinction and singular vision!). Not to mention LE Oscar Wilde (do the Irish have sailors or do the Irish have sailors?)

Savigny, France, 1457, villagers witness a sow and her six piglets kill a 5 year old boy. The animals are all put on trial for murder. This was not unusual for Medieval and Early Modern Europe, and the trial is deliberated with complete seriousness and proper legal procedure. Looking back it is easy to conclude that these backwards peasants hanging pigs and donkeys in their kangaroo courts, meting out justice to the voles, and cracking down on moles, the illegal schemes of crows and the perjury of the sheep, were making an ass of the law. An alternative view, is that the people of the time, having a relationship with the land and the animals before the industrial revolution, saw agency and sentience in the livestock they lived with. Animals were given the same legal procedure because they were viewed as something beyond mere Objects. In the end, through witness testimony, the sow was convicted and hanged. The piglets escaped the gallows, despite being dabbled in the victims blood, for their role was seen to be ambiguous. The swines! No puns intended.

Things were a lot fairer back then. At least they had trial before death. Not like today, in the industrial age, where no little piggy is whispering words of Habeas Porkus in the internment camps of the chained and the slaughtered. Anthropodenial, not existing just to make “Its” out of the animal kind, also makes intangible the plight of other human beings. A suggestion to re-anthropomorphize the migrant crisis must be taken seriously. Starting with the LE Samuel Beckett, boats will be given faces. And the refugees too! Bigger faces, cuter, wide eyed Disney-masks for all, sailing Westward to Brighter Shores and Super-Stores. A theme tune will be written, and Ringo Starr will ululate the utopian vision. Snapchat filter salvation for all the suffering souls.

The universe is a commodity and we sell ourselves the dream artefacts.

Do boats with faces have nightmares?

I began by describing a dream. A dream I did not have. That was what the voice inside my head told me to write. We live in a hollow that calls to our imagination and within the mystery we sing back into it. Our muffled voices, barely capable, break through the silence. The world is what you fill it. It is a smiling tree. It is a stool with a hat. The onion has a toe. It is the anthropomorphism of bunnies and the pliability of symbols. It is the sabotage of symbols. It is the stupidity of symbols. It is meaning in emptiness and it is void on void. It is Samuel Beckett's Gunboat's Absurd-Awry-Awdry Imagined Simulacrum Face in Honour of the Dead Poet.

No puns where none intended.

MARE SOMNIUM

Narration (Ringo Starr):

The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new, on the Isle of Sodor. The Fat Controller, fiddled in his greatcoat pockets. Placing a stone from his right greatcoat pocket into his mouth, he replaced in his right greatcoat pocket a stone from his right trouser pocket. From his left trouser pocket, came a stone into the now vacant right trouser pocket. And into the left trouser pocket, he placed a stone from his left greatcoat pocket. The circulation of which, pleased him greatly, calling into mind the image of the locomotion of the trains, on his network of railways. There was bad news. The LE Samuel Beckett had disappeared.

Where? cried the Fat Controller, spitting out the stone, Why?!!

Beckett was last spotted following the LE James Joyce, out to warmer waters, but then veered of course in a new direction. Last position not determined Sir.

Curse this morning for the pain it brings!

Weather has finally cleared, I've sent a search party.

I thought it was meant to be rainy.

No, it was meant to be sunny, then it was meant to be rainy.

It's not sunny.

It was sunny.

It hasn't rained . . . (Pause)

Do you think . . Hmm . . . I become too attached to my workforce, by adorning them with faces?

Well . .

I think I should stop.

Well . . .

It crushes me every time I lose an engine or boat. Last year in October, I couldn't leave my cottage for a week, for the sense of loss I felt after Henrietta's passing. Now dear Samuel, dear sweet Sam.

It's a decision only the boss can make.

And the tragedy of the twins! The cruelty! That it should take one but leave the other. They were inseparable. Now every time I see Donald. All I feel is Douglas.

(Sighs)

No, I can't, I'll just downgrade them a little. Make them feel a little bit less real. Like the old days, the classic models.

Here we go again, on about the archaic smiles . . .

It worked for James, and Henry, and marvellous little Thomas. The archaic smile gives me comfort, and infuses a feeling of good in the world. The archaic smile is an old, dear friend, that beams back to his Creator. Sometimes I think we go too far.

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skadiatrazon · 8 years ago

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A Message in a Bottle

The salt water rushed against my feet. Pulling my arm back I hurled the amber colored bottle into the salty spray. The soft plunk of it hitting the water echoed back to my ears. It reassured me that I didn’t throw like a girl, or so the saying goes. I stood there until the sun set. Every day after I returned, and waited.

Such a small bottle it was, but it drifted for days. The tides of the world pulled it out to sea only to push it towards another chunk of land. The tiny object was at Poseidon’s mercy. However, it wasn’t the only thing adrift on the tide. “All hands on deck, we sail towards port!” The captain roared over the waves that crashed against the hull of a ship. She was different. Her boots clopped against the deck and she walked across the wooden timbers. Her eyes scanned the open water looking for any hint of land.

“Aye Cap’n.” Loki growled as he pitched the wheel towards the now visible land mass. The rest of the crew scattered and tended their posts. The ship groaned and creaked as it pitched. The ship was tired and so was the crew. A good rest and a payday was just a few knots a head. “Hey Cap’en,” He roared over the boat to get her attention. “what’s that just off starboard?” The hulking cat took one hand off the wheel and pointed at something that was shimmering off the waters surface.

Bella turned to see whatever he hand pointed at. She watched it flicker in the sunlight for a few moments before she could make out the shape to him. She huffed and turned back to her first mate. “That be trash Loki.” A scowl crossed her face and she walked away from the side of the ship.

One of the younger crew members heaved himself over the ship. “There’s a paper in it Captain.” He called out.

Bella snarled at the comment but she was too tired to care. The ocean took a toll on you while you were out and this group of men did nothing to ease it for her. “Fine, grab it, but I’ll not be sending anyone after ya if ye fall in the foam.” She meant every word. The lad would have to swim himself to shore if he lost his footing.

The lad that spotted it took no time to shimmy himself down the side of this ship. With nimble fingers he snatched up the bottle and the message inside and hauled himself back up topside. As much as he wanted to open it, he kept the cork stuff in and handed the entire bottle over to the Captain.

Bella took the bottle and instead of just pulling out the cork, she smashed the neck of it against the ships rail. The glass shattered and she dug out the slip of paper. It was odd. The writing was too nice to be a child’s, and the paper had such weight and texture. A heavy scent of earth and flowers, accented with a musk wafted up towards her nose. Something was odd about this. She unrolled the scrap and her eyes fell upon the short message and she smiled.

I want to have an adventure. ~S

#pirate #short #story #adventure #sea #skadia #trazon #captain #message #in a #bottle #fantasy #female #furry #anthro #writing #prompt

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spookyscarypants-blog · 8 years ago

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A yarn about generosity

WAITE PARK — Jolly and generous are two adjectives that describe Darlene Ostendorf. At age 82, always in a jolly good mood, she is generous to a fault in creating items to donate to various causes in the area.

Sitting in her easy chair with the TV blaring, she knits, crochets or embroiders “to pass the time. What else would I do with my time?” she says.

When she was about 8 or 10 years old, she learned to make simple fancy-work items by looking at pictures and following directions. She started by making doilies. “If they weren’t right, I took it apart and started over.”

Her aunt, Delrose Fischer, said Darlene has embroidered 44 sets of dish towels this year, seven in a set, 308 total, for the annual Fourth of July St. Joseph Parish festival in St. Joseph. Delrose supplies her with the already-stamped towels, and she embroiders little animals, dishware, flowers — whatever Delrose imprints on them.

Darlene holds up a painting on canvas she made for a niece. (Photo: Marilyn Salzl Brinkman)

Over the years, Darlene has also donated embroidered queen-sized quilt tops, baby quilts for sale and other items that, with the dish towels, Delrose has determined have brought in over $4,000 for the parish.

In addition to her work for St. Joseph Parish, Darlene has donated over 1,500 colorfully knitted caps of all sizes to various organizations— “the children’s home, the veteran’s hospital, any charities that can use them,” she said.

She finds yarn at discount stores but most of it comes through donations “from Delrose and from people who bought it and then didn’t use it,” she added. “When someone has too much, I take it — if it’s new. I know how to put colors together. I like to make them kind of crazy — happy. Those get the most attention.”

She proudly wears a very colorful cap herself when she goes outdoors. “If I’m ever lost in a snowstorm, someone will find me if I wear this.”

A baby quilt Darlene Ostendorf embroidered and donated to St. Joseph’s Parish festival. (Photo: Marilyn Salzl Brinkman)

A farm girl

Born on a farm in Collegeville, to George and Viola Gillitzer in December 1935, she said her parents’ heritage was German, Polish and Jewish. Her father left Germany to avoid being killed for being Jewish. Family legend suggests that he stowed away on a ship to get to America.

“We lived in a log house with a dirt floor and rock-wall cellar where we had mice and rats and bats. No heat upstairs, just a register in the floor, a wood-burning stove for cooking and wood-burning furnace for heat. With no running water in the house, one of my chores was to carry water in from the pump house.” They did not have electricity until the mid-1940s.

Darlene helped her mother with the garden and canning, so they always had plenty of meat, potatoes and other vegetables to eat. She laughingly said that if she didn’t behave, she was told to “go outside and pull weeds.” The thing she hated most about the farm was “picking rocks and we lived on a ‘rock farm.’ ”

A happy time was going with her father at hay-making time. She would climb on top of the hay wagon to stomp down the hay, barefoot — thistles and all — to pack it. Then she would try balancing on the rack — all dangerous, but fun.

Or, she and her brothers and sister would gather together an armload of boards, a coffee can full of nails and a hammer and go into their wooded pasture to build forts. They raked leaves against the fort “and the cows never bothered them.”

They skated on frozen ponds. Walked there, shoveled off the snow and skated wearing hockey skates. In spring, they made wooden boats and floated them on the ponds, always getting very wet but they were never sick. They wore snow pants over the dresses they were forced to wear.

They climbed trees. Their dad would dump a load of sand in the yard and they had a sand box. The went fishing in Big Watab Lake, walking there through deep muck. They couldn’t swim but waded into the water waist-deep for fishing. They used bamboo poles with a cork bobber and a big hook. They learned to clean fish at an early age.

Darlene Ostendorf is the baby pictured in this four-generation photo with her mother, Viola Gillitzer, her grandmother, Barbara Stich, and great-grandmother she knew as "Grandma." Darlene was born in December 1935. (Photo: Courtesy of Darlene Ostendorf)

School days

Darlene and her brothers and sister walked two and a half miles to school, first to the Eisenschenk School. While she was in second grade, they were switched to St. John the Baptist School in Collegeville. If school was canceled for any reason, “we walked back home because we didn’t have a phone,” she said. Always a tomboy, she liked to play baseball with the boys, not softball with the girls.

Franciscan Sisters from North Dakota taught them, all eight grades in a school with one level for classrooms, an attic stage, and a basement where they received daily hot lunches. On Friday mornings, they were served breakfast as they were expected to receive holy communion and were not to eat breakfast at home. They were usually served oatmeal.

#baby #quilts #for #sale

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ericjuneau · 8 years ago

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Reprise (Chapter 25) [Frozen/Tangled/The Little Mermaid]

CHAPTER 25: Message in a Bottle

"A... for Arendelle?" Ariel asked. "Was this... your parents' ship? The ship that went down?"

Elsa nodded, tears beading.

Rapunzel and Ariel didn't know what to do, but wait for their friend to take action. She could do nothing for the moment, suspended by the awe of this discovery.

Elsa swam to the top deck. The sea had coated everything with lime green crust. Rotten wooden planks lay curled and bent in awkward positions. She floated over the forecastle, then dove into the quarter deck. Ariel and Rapunzel followed.

Elsa grasped the edges of the square hole and pulled herself in. It was dark and cloudy, with tiny particles of light filtering in from the broken windows and holes. Splintered timbers lay everywhere. Barrels remained stacked, but their tops had burst open from the pressure. Whatever contents they held had long since disintegrated.

"The royal quarters," Rapunzel whispered. She could imagine the dining table, butler, lamps, windows.

Ariel whispered "I think this was the dining room. Over there is where I found a dingle- I mean, a fork." She pointed to the broken picture window. "That's where the shark surprised me."

Elsa ran her hand over the carpet. It came off on her fingers as sludge. "One time, the cooks had the night off so Anna and I thought we should make dinner for our parents. She was six and I was eight. We told them to sit at the dining table and made them wait for hours while we tried to figure out how to cook."

An empty gold frame hung on the wall, its picture long torn out by bottom feeders and scavengers. "This used to be a portrait of Anna and I. We were looking to the left because the sun was in our eyes."

She swam around the room until she came to a closed door. The bedroom. Her hand hovered over the door handle. They could still be in there, their skeletons fallen into the bed frame. Although if the boat was tossing from a storm, they wouldn't have been asleep. They would have been topside, trying to help.

Elsa pushed the door open.

No bodies. No bed. A birdcage lay on the floor, turned on its side. "We had birds in our backyard garden. Mother kept them there, kept the bad bugs out. Anna dragged Father out and said they had to be knighted as official protectors of the royal Arendelle garden. I saw it from my window."

Elsa swam to the opposite corner, to an empty shelf of books. She scanned the titles, then grabbed one. It crumbled into mush. The leather retained the imprint of her hand.

"Father would read me fairy tales. But he never read the real endings if it was sad. He changed them so the princess didn't die or the young man got his sight back."

Ariel and Rapunzel stayed just outside the doorway, giving her space. They dare not say a thing as Elsa explored the room.

She approached a vanity huddled in a corner, the oval frame empty of mirror glass. But a golden comb lay in the open drawer. Elsa curled her fingers around it. "He gave me my first geometry book at Christmas. It was to help my boredom. This was the Christmas after Anna's accident... my accident. I was eleven, she was eight. He closed the gates, reduced all the staff, made it so I hardly had to see anyone."

"They were teaching me to be a ruler. And I listened to everything they said. A leader has to be stalwart and steadfast. Never show emotion. Never shed tears. The same way you control your powers. Conceal, don't feel," Elsa said.

She stared into the mirrorless frame. "Well, look where that got me. I was their eldest daughter. I was the future queen. You didn't want me to lose control in the middle of court."

Her voice broke, her lips quivered, but she never broke gaze. "You made me so scared. Scared of myself, scared of my powers. But I didn't put the gloves on. You did. You made me put them on."

"Elsa?" Rapunzel and Ariel asked.

"I was just a kid. You thought that was protecting me. You thought suppressing it would keep me safe. Keep everyone safe. I spent all those years trying to control it. And it was all for nothing. I missed any fun. I missed my sister. You took away her memories. You took away any relationship we had." Her voice suddenly stabilized from a quaking shiver to solid red heat. "Did you think ignoring it was going to solve the problem? Did you think I was just going to get over it?"

A white effervescent glow surrounded Elsa, sparkling with ice particles. Her eyes lost the bright blue iris and glowed white.

"What were you afraid of? Were you afraid that I would hurt you?"

Elsa raised a fist. BAM! A giant icicle extended from her knuckles, penetrating through the oval frame to the hull. "Were you afraid of your precious legacy?" BAM! Another icicle. Another hole. "By your cursed daughter?" BAM! "Did you have any concern for me? For my life?"

The ice particles grew until they became globular spheres of slushy ice. Her shoulders grew small ice spikes.

"Elsa? Elsa!" Rapunzel and Ariel called.

"I missed all those years. I missed my life. And it was your fault. Your fault." Elsa whipped around, slicing great tears in the ship. She gouged the floor below her as the ship were a monster she was stabbing. "Well, look at me now! Can I control my powers now? Does this look like CONTROL?"

Shards of wood and iron flew everywhere. Ariel and Rapunzel covered their eyes for protection. Then they heard the giant, groaning creak. Masses of bubbles rose out of the ship's cracks.

Elsa thrashed about, rending and cleaving the room. A cloud of wreckage swirled around her like a cyclone.

Rapunzel caught sight of a ceiling joist falling out of place above them. She pulled Ariel out of the way just in time.

"Elsa! Elsa, stop!" Crashing of breaking walls overwhelmed her voice. The ship emitted another low groan, this one sounding final.

Ariel spiraled forward, tackled Elsa by the torso, and continued through the rear window. Rapunzel followed, barreling out as the aft deck collapsed.

Elsa struggled to free herself, but Ariel didn't let her go until they were clear. When Elsa opened her eyes, they were normal. The white aura of freezing water disappeared.

"Wh- what happened?"

A tremendous crash answered. Back at the ship, the main mast toppled like a felled tree. Rising clouds of disturbed sand consumed the rest of the ship. It sounded like a cannon. In a few moments, all that was left was a gray mist.

"I am so, so sorry."

"We know." Rapunzel said. Even she was getting sick of Elsa's constant apologizing.

Elsa sat at a table in the palace's study, a blanket draped over her shoulders. Books and documents lay out in front of them both, preparing for research on their new evidence.

"It was like a landslide or an eruption or a flood. Or whatever weather phenomenon that has a slow build up then an explosion of force. It was like everything inside me lost its seal. It kept building and building and then it just... it felt like I could have frozen the whole ocean."

"We know. You said that three times," Rapunzel said. "We understand."

Elsa looked away. What she hadn't said was how liberating it felt. How freeing to act out like that.

Ariel reappeared behind her chair. She held out a cup. "Here. I tried everything and this tasted the most like tea that I could find."

Elsa took it with quivering hands and sipped the warm beverage.

Ariel watched with expectant eyes. "Does it taste like tea?"

"A little." Elsa sipped again. She licked her lips. "It's uh, kinda... no, not really. Nothing like tea." A tiny wisp of a smile crossed Elsa's face. "Not even close." Elsa snickered.

That started Ariel giggling. Rapunzel followed, and soon all their chuckling turned into full-bodied laughs. The tension around the table diffused.

Elsa propped her head on her hand, still laughing. "I'm sorry, guys. I just... I don't know. When I saw their room it was like they were alive again. And all those feelings I didn't know I had before came out."

"We always remember things the way we want to," Rapunzel said. "You blamed yourself for what happened, but... like you said, they're the ones that put the gloves on."

Elsa nodded. She sniffed, and put her cup down. "All right. We need to take care of business."

Ariel held up a giant crab claw, which she had also fetched from the kitchen while getting Elsa's not-tea.

Rapunzel held the bottle in the middle of the table. Ariel clamped the claw around the little bit of cork that stuck out.

"Here goes." Ariel twisted as hard as she could. The bottle trembled as the cork shimmied up and popped off. Sea water mixed in and darkened the paper.

Rapunzel dug her slender fingers in, and pulled the scroll out.

Before the cosmos formed, when matter was dust and energy feeble, there were the sands of time. Ever pouring, ever rolling, with no ending and no beginning. A flow that never slows down. That never stops. That never turns back.

Then came the gods. They ruled as gods do, as a child rules an anthill. Noliet, the trickster god, convinced Ytr, a war god, to impale the falls with his unident.

"A unident?" Elsa asked.

"Like a trident, except with one point," Ariel said.

"That's a spear."

"Oh. Yeah, suppose it is."

Rapunzel continued.

Ytr's desires are unknown--perhaps to earn the love of another goddess, perhaps he wished his spear unsullied by the passing of time, perhaps he was dumb. Noliet's motive has no explanation. Chaos does not need one.

The result was catastrophic. But none are left to know its nature. And when the weapon pulled back out, a single grain of sand lay on the blade leaf.

The gods' time in this realm grew short. The demigods were rising. It was time to pass on. But Noliet lay one last seed of discord. He left the grain of time in the hands of the demigods.

The two sides engaged in war. Those who didn't seek its replacement desired to possess it selfishly. But its power could only be harnessed by the strongest magicks. Even demigods degenerated into shambles trying to use it. In the end, to cease the war, it was thrown into the realm of mortals.

Rapunzel flipped to the back. "That's it? That's not any help!"

"Okay, okay, let's not panic," Elsa said. "Maybe there's some further meaning. I mean, mine was in code."

"And mine was invisible without sunlight," Rapunzel said. "Arcius said these notes were for us and only us. It could only be read by our special talents."

Ariel took the paper. "It's seaweed paper. It has to be immersed in ocean water to be read, otherwise it doesn't show. But merpeople do. Maybe it would have been more secret if I was human."

Elsa played with the bottle, spinning it between her fingers. "My letter showed how to get to the island." She pointed at Rapunzel. "Yours told us how to get around the island." She pointed at Ariel. "And yours... told us... why we should get to the island?"

"I don't know," Ariel said. "Why does he have to be so cryptic?"

Elsa bonked the bottle to her head, trying to kickstart her brain. She noticed the end. "Hey, does this mean anything?"

She pointed to an symbol embossed in the bottle's bottom.

"I recognize that!" Ariel said. "That's the insignia of my kingdom. I mean, not Atlantica. My human kingdom. With Eric."

"Whoever made this bottle might have had contact with Arcius. They may know something about him. It's a slim chance, but it's our only one," Rapunzel said.

"There aren't that many glassmakers," Ariel said. "A little detective work and we could find it."

"This doesn't make sense," Elsa said. "Arcius is a powerful sorcerer. Maybe the most powerful one in the world--he has the ability to control time. Why would he use a bottle from a small city? Did it just float by? Why didn't he just conjure up a bottle?"

"Maybe it's a kind of message," Rapunzel ventured. Her eyes widened. "You don't think he's holding the kingdom hostage?"

"No, he would have told us so." Elsa tapped her finger on the bottle's bottom. "If he was forced to use an empty bottle, he must have limitations."

"Maybe he has trouble leaving the island," Ariel said.

"And that would explain why he hasn't tried pursuing us yet," Rapunzel added.

Elsa nodded. "Either he can't or he won't. Maybe he doesn't want to leave his precious grain unprotected. And if that's the case, maybe he didn't send those notes himself. Maybe someone else did it for him."

"And that someone is squatting in MY kingdom." Ariel furrowed her brows.

Elsa rose. The blanket fell off her shoulders. "Ladies, it's time to head back to the surface."

Elsa tied the scroll with a piece of wormy yarn. She squeezed a dollop of brown paste from a cartilaginous shell on the seam. Ariel assured her it was just as good as a wax seal.

"Now, you will make sure this gets to him, right? Make sure that he reads it," Elsa said.

Dudley saluted with his right flipper. "Eh... don't... worry... about... a... thing... The mail... always... gets... through," the sea turtle wheezed. He trotted off down the hallway.

Rapunzel and Ariel strolled around the corner. Ariel pointed in a "here you are" gesture.

"What's that?" Rapunzel asked. "You're sending a letter?"

"A letter to whooooo?" Ariel asked.

Elsa stiffened. "No one."

"Come on. In the short time we've been here, who could you know well enough to send a letter to?"

"Fine, it's Gil. I'm not going to be able to see him before we leave. It would be bad manners to leave him hanging."

"What does the letter say?"

Elsa blushed, but remained steadfast. "A lady does not divulge her personal communiques."

"Come on, please?" Ariel asked, holding up her clasped hands.

"No, it's for his eyes only."

Ariel and Rapunzel pouted. "Fine," Ariel said. "I guess I should say goodbye to my sisters too. Meet me outside the palace entrance."

Rapunzel and Elsa held hands and swam away. Ariel turned in a different direction, heading to the great hall behind the throne room. Attina and Aquata sat at opposite ends with fierce expressions on their faces, reading through documents and scrolls. The four others between them looked bored.

"I'm leaving now. Back to the surface. I wanted to say goodbye?" She couldn't help hedging by making her request a question.

Attina and Aquata gave her a side-eye, but Alana, Adella, Arista, and Andrina swam up to her and hugged.

"Don't be a stranger now," Andrina said. "Come back any time."

"Seriously, save us," Adella whispered jokingly.

"It was so short," Alana said. "We didn't get to have a welcoming celebration... or a parting celebration or anything."

"I know. But we found out something and I need to get back. There are people on the surface who need me," Ariel said.

"It seems like you were barely here," Arista said.

"Hmph," Attina uttered. "She was barely here when she lived in the palace."

The other sisters released her. Ariel took a jaunt forward. Attina and Aquata straightened up, holding themselves like a pair of grand emperors. "Attina, Aquata. Please find a way to get along with everyone. For Atlantica's sake?"

Attina gave her another side-eye, then turned back to her reading.

Aquata's eyes glanced at the trident at Ariel's side. "I suppose you'll be needing that with you still."

"Yes, just for a little while longer. If that's okay?"

Aquata sneered. "I guess I can't stop you. If it's as important as you say it is. Just don't lose it. It's only the key to ruling the sea kingdom."

Ariel grimaced. That was all the good she was going to be able to do. After saying her final goodbyes and headed out.

She turned to the throne room where the chair for the sea king was not empty. An old friend was snoozing away, head on his front claws like a resting feline. She crept up, not wishing to wake him.

"Sebastian," she whispered. "Wake up. I'm leaving."

His thick lips continued to puff and blow air out in a snore.

"Come on, Sebastian. I don't want to give you nightmares about cookpots again." She poked him in the back of his shell.

He sleepily opened his eyes. "Oh. Ar-re-ell."

"I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm leaving."

"Oh? But you just got here."

"I know. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. But my friends need me."

Sebastian smiled like a wise old man. Like King Triton smiled. Maybe they had spent so much time together he'd adopted his appearance.

"Sebastian, how did Daddy die?"

"Ah-ree-ell... sumtimes, it is just our time. Maybe he'd done everyting he needed to in this life. But he did great tings before-"

"No, I mean, for real," Ariel said. "Arista said Daddy died of a broken heart. What really happened? I know there's something people are keeping from me."

Sebastian's eyes bulged. "Keeping... sumting? Heh, heh, like what?" He shrugged his claws.

"Come on, Sebastian. Do you think that's going to work? You're the worst secret-keeper in all of Atlantica. In fact, this all started because you told Daddy about me being in love with a human." She smiled. "In fact, you might say I have you to thank."

Sebastian chuckled humbly, swishing a claw at her.

"Is it that they think I'm too young? I'm married now. I'm a princess. I can-"

"No, no, nut-ting like dat. Dey just... dey just don't... ah-re-ell, you got enough trubbles on de surface."

"Sebastian..." Ariel pouted. It was the same look when he was about to march back to the king after she got legs. "Please?"

"All right, all right. You not gonna like it. He... he choked. On a piece of fish."

Ariel reared back. "He was eating a piece of fish?"

"Yes... it's true. I don't know how he got de idea. When you left, he changed his colors more dan an octopus. He was so proud. He told everyone how you were so brave. And how wrong he'd been about humans. He started visiting the surface again. Just to watch the boats. He helped de sailors in trouble, when he could."

"Really?" Ariel never realized what impact her actions had when she left. She didn't know anything had changed.

"He was doing everyting he could to prove to come out of his shell. But then... I guess he wanted to swim that last mile."

"So he tried eating fish?" Ariel gasped. "How did he... I mean, I can't imagine..."

"I guess he figured you were doing de same. Fish got to eat otter fish." Sebastian nodded. "Had it prepared and everyting. Only me and his daughters knew. I was dere de whole time. But den... it got caught in his throat..."

Ariel's hands went up to her own throat. Her eyes teared up. "That's why Attina and Aquata blame me," Ariel said. "If I hadn't left, Daddy wouldn't have died."

"No, no, child. I know he don't blame nobody." Sebastian patted her hand. "It was just an ach-see-dent. De same ting coulda happened de next day on a plankton wrap. Don't tink it was you for a minute. De girls, dey have dere own trubbles. You got yours. And speakin' of which. You got to get back to dem, don't you?"

Ariel gripped the trident in her hands. "Thanks, Sebastian. For everything."

"You go on, child. You go make your fadder proud. You always did."

She picked Sebastian up and gave him a kiss on his fleshy head. He shied away. "Oh, well, come on..."

Ariel swam out of the castle and met Rapunzel and Elsa at the entrance.

"You okay?" Elsa asked, seeing Ariel's melancholy expression.

"Yeah," Ariel replied. "Just learned some interesting things about my father."

"Like what?" Rapunzel asked.

"Nothing. Nothing important. Let's go."

Ariel led the way, taking them out many miles. They headed east, closer to coastline. The seabed steadily rose. Dense populations of fish and bright colors waned.

Ariel was too thoughtful to make conversation. She loved her father, but she always saw him as a stubborn tyrant, setting rules that made no sense. He'd banned all music from Atlantica. He declared absolute isolation from the surface. He forbid any contact with humans or human things.

For the year following her marriage, she never wondered about the impact of her actions on her old world. Did that mean she was responsible for them? And did she have to take care of those consequences? Clearly, Daddy wanted to make amends. But it was making those amends that killed him.

In the distance, they could see beginnings of a dropoff. The waters were pushing and pulling them like a heavy wind.

"Are those boats?" Rapunzel pointed out oval shadows above them.

"Yes," Ariel said. "That's just the luck we need. We'll transform close to the surface, then swim up. We'll act like shipwreck victims."

The three of them ascended, pressure squeezing their ears.

"Do you hear that? It's like thunder," Elsa said. "I hope there's not a storm."

The water was too murky--stirred up by the ships--to get a clear view of the sky.

Five fathoms away, Ariel stopped. "Okay, who wants to go first? I'll have to change last."

"I will," Elsa said.

Ariel held out the golden trident, glowing like a marigold sun. A beam of light enveloped Elsa in a bright, gentle glow. Rapunzel had to shield her eyes. When she could look again, Elsa was already gone, kicking her legs to the surface.

"You're getting pretty good with that," Rapunzel said. "You even gave her a dress."

"Maybe. I feel a little more confident."

Rapunzel held out her arms waiting for her turn.

Ariel pointed the trident at her. Golden light flowed out and, a moment later, she was swimming up, her braid spiraling behind her.

Finally, Ariel pointed the tines at her own chest. After the bright yellow aura blocked her eyes, then came the familiar sensation of her tail splitting in two. But this time it was painless. Before the final moments of the spell, she took a deep breath. Then she crawled upward with all her might.

Ten feet from the surface, she heard muffled thunder. As she broke the surface, she threw her head back to keep the hair out.

The seas were so rough she couldn't open her eyes. First she noticed the air--thick with gunpowder and smoke, burning wood, and hot metal. Sails flapped and shuddered amidst panicked wails and shouted orders. Ariel opened her eyes.

Galleons and clippers pitched all around them. Mighty ships swirled around each other, firing cannons. Sailors swung across ropes. Muskets and hooks dropped into the water. Elsa coughed from the thick smoke.

"How did we get in the middle of a war zone?" Elsa shouted.

"What is going on?" Rapunzel shouted. "Is this the right place?"

Ariel caught a glimpse of her castle between two ships, far in the distance on a promontory. A galleon traversed the circle of battle. Its figurehead bobbed into the ocean and back out. All Eric's ships had one.

"That's my castle. These are my ships," Ariel shouted.

"Then why are they fighting mine?"

Elsa pointed at another clipper with a different banner. As it turned hard to port to face its cannons, the hull presented a fashioned A, surrounded by a wreath of crocuses.

Ariel's mouth dropped open. She and Elsa looked at each other. "We're at war?"

#Ariel #Elsa #Rapunzel #Tangled #Frozen #The Little Mermaid #fanfic #fan fiction #fanfiction #fan fic #Disney #Reprise #Disneyprincess #Disney princess #crossover

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