#cornell big red

[tjkl895]

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Kyle Dake (https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-aqESARDic/)

[puckingoff]

Big Red Up-Ends Black Bears 3-1

Springfield, MA – The Cornell Big Red fell behind early but stormed back to beat the Maine Black Bears 3-1 at the MassMutual Arena on Thursday. It’s the second straight year Cornell has advanced to the Regional Finals as the lower seed.  Cornell goalie Ian Shane stopped 30 of 31 shots, while Sullivan Mack’s two-goal game capped off the NCAA Springfield Regional doubleheader. Both of Mack’s goals…

[pagesofkenna]

new year, new

EGG

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Barbie Girl 💄 | Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin Imagine

Takes place before, during, and after the events of Top Gun Maverick

TGM Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Barbie!reader (romantic), dagger squad (platonic)

Content warnings: light profanity, fluff | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 4.3k

Requested 📨 yes/no (for @kayla-swiftly)

Premise: They say the sky is the limit and anything you set you’re mind to will be achieved as long as you’re dedicated to it. For most people that testimony is nothing but a mere fantasy. But for one woman, with too many dreams to count on her fingers, she took that statement to heart. Proving you can be anyone you want to be and maybe even a few others give or take 😉

Note: Anyone else obsessed with Barbie lately?? Omg y’all I saw the movie last week and absolutely fell in love and i had this request from around the time the final trailer dropped and knew it was the perfect time to write this. I know I know I haven’t been living up to my promise of being consistent but man they having me working my ass off at my job. Also I’ve been traveling and I saw Big Time Rush last night (i felt like a teenager again and it was amazing 😭) anyway I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what you think!

—————————

“Hi, Barbie!” The familiar greeting fills Y/n’s ears as it does every morning she arrives at the hangar. With it comes an instant smile, hand raising to wave at the person responsible for it, “Hi, Phoenix!”

“Hey there, Barbie,” winks another friendly face.

“Hiiii, Hangman,” her tone is playful like his, turning energetic for Bob when he goes, “Hiya, Barbie!”

“Hi there, Bob!”

“Hey, Barbie.” “Good morning, Barbie.” “What’s up, Barbie Girl.”

“Hello, Rooster.” “Good morning to you too, Fanboy.” “Nothing much, Pay. And yourself?”

Unlike her fellow pilots, clad in their deep green flight suits, Y/n stood out in the crowd for hers was a little unorthodox when one thinks of a naval fighter pilot's uniform.

It was pink. Completely as in her combat boots were also the bright color and the patchers were white and pink tones rather than red, blues, black and any other color seen in the ones attached to her coworkers arms. ‘Barbie’ in pink cursive writing instead of traditional bold Times New Roman lettering.

And don’t forget the little flower dotting the ‘i’.

Growing up, Y/n took ‘you can be anyone and anything you want to be,’ quite literally. At no point was it a joke to her when she would tell her friends and family, “oh I’m gonna be a fashion designer and Olympic Gold medalist when I’m older,” “I wanna go to space, fly in planes, and see all the wonders of the world,” “I’ll be a doctor, a teacher, and movie star!” They’d smile and laugh, thinking it was adorable for a little girl to dream big. No way would it be possible to achieve all of those careers. Everyone only gets one life to live and time goes so fast one can only set their eyes on one path and hope for the best.

But Y/n was a dreamer. And if you’re going to dream, might as well dream big.

All through middle and high school people took Y/n’s intelligence for granted. Focusing more on her beauty rather than brains, it came as an under shock to everyone when Y/n had the credits to graduate at the ripe age of 15. Exceeding in her standardized test scores with a high school resume taking up three pages with extracurricular and academic achievements, she had colleges from all over the country begging for her to apply.

Stanford. Cornell. Pratt. Juilliard. NYU. John Hopkins. Harvard. UCLA. Duke. Top medical and law schools. Ivy League universities. Performing Arts schools calling for auditions after sending scouts to watch her perform in school plays and dance recitals. Coaches from high ranking NCAA gymnastics teams sending emails after emails.

So many to choose from….And so the story of Y/n L/n becoming a real life Barbie Doll begins.

Setting her eyes in New York, Y/n attended not one but two of the best schools in the country. While obtaining her bachelor’s in both astronautical and aeronautical engineering at NYU Y/n also completed a two year degree in Fashion Business Management at the Fashion Institute of Technology. During this time she continued training for the Olympics in hopes of making the 2008 Beijing team in gymnastics.

“How do you do it?” Her roommate at NYU constantly asked. “You go from here to FIT, working on two degrees that are completely on opposite sides of the spectrum and career paths,” she emphasized with hand expressions, “and still have enough to time to go to the gym to practice, eat three meals a day, have all your assignments done early, and sleep a reasonably about of hours each night.” Letting out an exhale, her roommate looks at Y/n as if she’s an alien from another world, “What’s your secret? Are you some kind of Barbie doll the government created as a test robot?”

Each time Y/n would pause, think for a moment before smiling, “I don’t know if I should find that as an insult or compliment, but I’m gonna chose it as a compliment and say it’s because I want to live a life where I can look back on and go, ‘I took a risk and tried something new even if it didn’t look possible but it was all worth it.’”

By the time Y/n turned 20 she had accumulated a vast list of credentials to her name. The list included getting her fashion business degree at 17, Bachelors in astronautical/aeronautical engineering at 19–receiving her Master’s for it at 20–An Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, dancing with the Radio City Rockettes, performing with the NYC Ballet Company in their rendition of Swan Lake, landing a role on Broadway, walking a runway at NY fashion week, and appearing on episodes of SVU, 30 Rock, All My Children, Sex and the City, and Ugly Betty.

So yeah, New York was a success in experiences for Y/n.

Following the high note, she packed her bags to leave the golden apple for the flashing lights of Hollywood, California. This time Y/n was working on her doctorates at USC, running her own business with her fashion degree called ‘Dream Closet’, and auditioning for film and tv shows.

Hollywood was a dream come true just like New York. Again she attended two different schools, this time flight school and USC. During the day she was occupied running from class to the hangar and then the observatory. Coaching dance and gymnastics on the side, designing clothes for her online shop which developed into a pop-up chain store in malls across America.

It wasn’t long until Y/n’s name grew into nationwide popularity. People started realizing the Y/n L/n who won the Gold and Silver medals in the 2008 Olympics was the same one responsible for the most recent fashion trends and guest starring on their favorite tv shows. What really set it in stone was when Y/n landed the role of an engineer officer in the 2009 reboot of Star Trek, going on to appear in both the 2013 and 2016 sequels.

Impressive was the only word her costars could use to describe her. What else was there?

Anytime there was a question involving, “who’s most likely to become president?” “Who’s most likely to try something new or create a new hobby?” “Who’s most likely to win a Nobel Prize?” Along those lines…the answer was obvious.

“Oh Y/n,” Zoe Saldana waves her hand, “Always.”

“Yeah,” Chris Pine agrees with a laugh, “That woman, I-I don’t know how one has the energy to do all that she does—a-and still want to do more.”

The Interviewer laughs with them, “didn’t she just race in the Daytona 500 last year?”

“Yes!! And she did a song with Lady Gaga when they were on American Horror Story,” Zoe’s tone is in absolute awe, “All while teaching at USC and creating new technology at NASA.” Chris lifts a finger.

“Don’t forget she had her own Mac Viva Glam line a couple years ago.” Zoe made a sound along the lines of ‘see what I mean,’.

“I’m telling you, she’s gonna be a name in the history books.”

What all has Y/n accomplished career wise? Let’s take a look.

Model, dancer, actor, singer, fashion designer, entrepreneur, athlete, engineer, race car driver, and professor.

And now she can add pilot to the list. Although she got her license to fly way back in 2009, Y/n didn’t put it to use full time until 2016, wanting to wait until after the release of Star Trek: Beyond to say goodbye to Hollywood for the time being and set forth on her next adventure.

Boy did it come as a surprise what she had planned.

The Manila folder containing her resume hit the desk of the Admiral, his eyes wide as saucers. “You wanna join the Navy?” Reading the front page for a fifth time, Cyclone glanced back at the woman in front of him. Doctor Y/n L/n. Or is it professor L/n? “And you wanna be one of my pilots?”

“Yes, Sir.”

”Ma’am, I apologize if this comes off as offending,” he really didn’t know any other way to put it. “But you are more qualified than any person on this base. Doctorates in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Southern California,” he counts off on his fingers, “you recently developed a groundbreaking advancement in space technology that’s going to help our astronauts—on the road to becoming a Nobel Prize nominee.” He raises his eyebrows, “And this is only what relates to this career field. I’m not even mentioning your acting, athletic, and fashion credentials. Why join the Navy?”

Y/n only offers a shrug, “I think the better question is, why not?” Cyclone lets out a sigh.

“What did you say your callsign was again?”

“Barbie.”

There was no stopping the small smile trying to break free, “I should’ve guessed.”

After completing OTS there was much debate on what Y/n’s rank would be coming into the Navy. Civilian lawyers and physicians often are Lieutenants (O-3) right away, but considering Y/n had two doctorate degrees and her pilot license they felt it was only fair for her to come in as Commander (O-5). From there Y/n was sent to North Island to attend Fighter Weapons School.

Better known to its flyers as Top Gun.

Y/n was used to the looks she received on a daily basis. From head to toe she was covered in variations of pink depending on what she was feeling. When teaching her briefcase and pantsuit were baby pink, in the labs her coat was hot pink, at auditions she wore pink leather jackets. Even her race car for the Daytona was pink.

Shoutout to Mac cosmetics for the sponsorship.

So it’s no surprise her flight suit would be the color she was known for—despite it being out of regulations.

Being more qualified than your superiors had its perks.

If she could have a pink F-18 she would but unfortunately that wasn’t possible. That was okay for Y/n. After all, she managed to get her own custom flight suit. One which had everyone having to do double takes whenever she walked into a room.

“Is she wearing…?”

“How the hell did they allow that?”

“Does that mean I can have mine in purple?”

Her first day at Top Gun Y/n met Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace. They were paired as roommates in the dorms and quickly became good friends. Phoenix was beyond amazed with Y/n’s accomplishments and experiences. Every conversation led to a new discovery. “Do you ever burn out?” Nat stag criss crossed on Y/n’s satin pink bed sheets, admiring her wall of photos from when she traveled to see all the wonders of both the ancient and modern world. “I feel I’d be a walking corpse from exhaustion. And you mentioned you’re still running and designing clothes for ‘Dream Closet’?”

Y/n removed her diamond studs, placing them on her desk she was using as a vanity. “I have a team dealing with the business side of things for the brand. I’m still CEO and creative director—usually I work on designs for a couple hours before bed to prepare for the next launch.”

Nat was in awe, “I have to ask….what’s been the best career you’ve done so far?” A common question Y/n heard, there was never a true answer. She loved every career. They all had their perks and their flaws, but at the end of the day it left her satisfied she achieved them.

“I don’t know yet,” she spoke truthfully, “I still have a few to check off on my list. When that happens I’ll let you know.”

Fast forwarding to 2019, Y/n answered the phone to Admiral Simpson’s voice with the news she needed to report back to North Island for a highly confidential mission. The details were unknown, but Y/n packed her bags, loaded her pink vintage corvette convertible and high tailed it to sunny San Diego.

The squeals initiated by Y/n and Nat the moment she stepped foot in the Hard Deck had heads whipping in their direction. “Hi, Barbie!” Nat’s arms opened for a hug.

“Hi, Phoenix!” Y/n accepted the embrace, still grinning ear to ear. The guys around them were looking at each other like, ‘what the…?’ Y/n wasn’t in her standard Khakis like they were—minus Rooster. She bore a pink denim number with matching boots with her hair curled and pink eyeliner surrounded by tiny rhinestones.

“You got selected too?” Nat complimented her outfit before cutting straight to the point.

“For the special detachment? Looks like it,” she winked.

“What happened to the Artemis program? Weren’t you up as a candidate?”

“Oh I still am,” Y/n affirmed proudly, “They’ll be announcing who’s to be selected in the coming months. So for now I’m still with the Bounty Hunters. Plus,” she leans in to whisper, “this will look good on my resume.” The two giggle before Y/n drifts her gaze to the boggling gazes in front of her. “Oh! I’m sorry for being so rude. I’m Y/n L/n,” extending her hand to the first person who’s name tag read Fitch, Y/n added, “But you can call me Barbie.”

“Barbie,” the blonde holding a pool cue repeated like a question, “like the toy Barbie?” Nat chuckled, throwing an arm around her friend after she was done shaking everyone’s hand as they introduced themselves.

“Fellas, if there is anyone who is a life sized version of Barbie, it’s this one right here.”

“Now, Phee…” Y/n’s tone was that of, ‘Don’t start.’

“It’s true,” the pilot defended. “Not only is she Commander Y/n ‘Barbie’ L/n,” jaws drop, “but she’s Professor and Doctor L/n.” The jaws hit the floor, “On top of founder, creative director and CEO of ‘Dream’s Closet,’” Javy makes a sound, familiar with the brand, “Emmy nominated actress,” Fanboy chokes on his water, “Olympic Gold Medalist and soon to be astronaut for the Artemis program.” By now all the guys are on the verge of losing their minds.

Bob rapidly blinks, “uh—.”

“Now I’m not an astronaut yet,” Y/n points out, “I’m a candidate for one.” Nat scoffs lightly.

“They’d be stupid not to pick you, Barb,” she then slaps her side, turning back to the guys, “Oh and how could I forget Broadway, Vogue, and the Daytona 500.”

“Daytona 500!?” Payback practically screeches.

“You were on Broadway?”

“—featured on Vogue—?!”

“Wait a minute I recognize you from Star Trek!”

“—How in the hell—.”

“Guys, guys!” Y/n laughs with her hands slightly raised, “Please, one at a time.” They were in for a long night of questions and story times. And just like Nat was years prior when she first roomed with Y/n at Top Gun, the officers were in complete amazement over the woman in front of them. Never had they met anyone like her.

“Wow,” Jake whistled once she finished bringing them up to date on her most recent careers. “You really are a real-life Barbie.”

“Shhhh,” a finger went to her lips, followed by a wink, “don’t tell Mattel.”

And thus the dagger squad was formed. Two and half weeks of hell bearing training preceding a face-with-death mission brings people closer. Every morning Y/n arrived at the hangar to a chorus of “Hi, Barbie.”

She waved at Reuben, “Hi Payback.”

“Hey there, Barbie Girl,” Javy threw her a peace sign.

“Hiya, Coyote!”

“Good morning, Barbie,” Rooster tipped his hat.

“Mornin’, Rooster.”

“Hi, Barbie!” “Hi, Barbie!” Her favorite duo harmonized.

“Hi, Bob! Hi, Phee!”

And for some closer than others….

“You know I was thinking,” Jake commented, taking Y/n’s hand before leading her to the pottery class he signed them up for. Every Friday night was reserved for date night. Dinner and a movie. Walk on the beach. Spending $20 worth of quarters at an arcade. Attending a comedy show. Paint and sip. Following the successful mission, Jake and Y/n hit it off and began seeing each other.

“Famous last words.”

“It’s not bad,” a chuckle left his lips, stopping at the door. “I just thought it was funny. You know how you’re basically Barbie?” His cheeky smile resulted in her mirroring it.

“Yessss.”

“This means I’m pretty much your Ken, right?” The question makes the woman visible ‘awe’. Jake ruffles a hand through his hair and gives his best blue steel, “we kinda look alike. Don’t you think?”

Laughing, Y/n kisses his cheek, “I mean…name a more iconic duo than Barbie and Ken.”

“Barbie and Hangman?”

“Exactly.” It was safe to assume what their Halloween costumes were going to be.

Time went on, missions were run. And after a year of anticipation—though it felt like forever, it was finally announced in 2020 Y/n would be one of the astronauts selected to be part of NASA’s Artemis program launching in 2024.

Making Y/n the first woman to go to the moon.

The call came in from a restricted number when they were in a meeting, and knowing she was to expect a call within the month everyone quickly shut up so the pilot could answer.

She excused herself to leave the room, staying in front of the window so the team could see her. Throughout the conversation Y/n’s expression remained neutral to the point none had a clue whether the news was good or bad. Only when she reentered the room did they get the answer.

“I’m going to the moon!!!”

“Ahhh!!!!” The team exploded in an array of cheers, Y/n jumping up and down, careful not to drop her phone that was in her hands when Jake lifted her in his arms.

“I’m so fucking proud of you!” Despite being unauthorized to show pda in uniform, Jake gave her a big kiss on the lips, not caring who saw. “You are the most exceptional human being on this planet.”

“Jake,” tears welled in her eyes, which he kissed away. Her heart filled with warmth and gratitude. Feeling on top of the world with her closest friends supporting her.

Once all calmed down and they finished the meeting, Mickey jumped from his seat, “Come on Barbie, let’s go party!” Everyone sped to the Hard Deck to celebrate the news. Mav bought the first round, followed by Payback.

“Guys you don’t have to do all that,” Y/n said once she realized they all agreed to buy her drinks for the night.

“We want to,” Nat tapped her beer with Y/n’s cocktail glass, the guys voicing agreements. “For years you’ve been dreaming about this and it’s finally happening. Your hard work is paying off and we want to celebrate—show you we love and appreciate you, Barbie.”

Y/n fought back tears, never afraid to show her emotions. Some may find it childish or thinned skin, but to Y/n that was what being human was all about. “I love you guys.”

“We love you!” The voices echoed together.

The night had been going well with the squad hanging out by the pool tables like they usually did when Y/n approached the bar to pick up the next round Mickey was paying for. Not paying attention to those beside her, she smiled at Penny and repeated the order before waiting patiently.

But what’s a night at a bar without someone who lacks boundaries.

“You must be the one they call Barbie,” a voice says, flirtation seeping through the words. Glancing to her right, Y/n recognizes a gentleman from the flight line whose name she could not recall. “You’re quite the talk around base. In fact, weren’t you in some Hollywood blockbuster?”

“Yes,” she politely responds, keeping the answer short. Though she was known to be a sweetheart and kindhearted to anyone she met, Y/n could tell where the interaction was heading toward and did not feel comfortable entertaining it any further. “A long time ago.”

“I’m Lieutenant Paul Billings,” he extended his hand, and she immediately clocked he was trying to show off his rank. ‘Boy he’s in for a treat.’

Not wanting to make a scene, she accepts the handshake. “Commander Y/n L/n,” there was emphasis on the Commander, displaying the woman was of higher rank and therefore a silent warning to Billings to not cross a line.

There was a flash of surprise on his face. Y/n held back an amused laugh, ‘guess you didn’t hear everything.’

“Something the matter, Lieutenant?”

“No,” he brushes it off, “Nothing. Say,” he nods to the bar, “can I buy you a drink.” Did he not just hear her order a round for the people she came with?

“That’s kind of you,” she starts just as Penny arrives with a try full of cold beers and her usual cocktail. “But I’m all set, thank you.” Hands moving to take the tray, she jumps slightly at the feeling of his own coming to her wrist.

“What about lunch this week?”

“I’m sorry but I am spoken for, Lieutenant,” removing his hold, Y/n takes a step away.

Now Paul had lost his reasonable composure. Scoffing, he says, “What? Am I not enough for you?” The question results in her raising a brow.

“I beg your pardon?”

He makes a face, “You think because you’ve done all these careers and occupations that you’re better than the average person? I’m not a pilot and an actor or researching the cure for cancer while creating a documentary series,” venom seeps through his tone, obviously depicting his jealousy, “Basic is not up to your standards, so you have to throw our failures in our face as if we don’t already know.”

By now a crowd has formed. Jake started moving the second he noticed Billings etching too close to his girl, followed by Nat and the others who were ready to back him up. Behind the bar, Penny was fixing to ring the bell until being stopped by Y/n’s wave of the hand.

“Are you done?”

Paul’s expression was that of, “what?” No audible response was voiced therefore Y/n continued.

“Okay, I’m gonna go ahead and say this, Paul,” Y/n drops her shoulder. The change in body language let Jake and her friends know she wasn’t taking anything that the man said personally. “I know I should be offended by your insults and insinuations, but the truth is I’m not.” A small smile forms on her lips, “I don’t view myself higher than anyone because of what I accomplished. The only person I do that to, is myself—because I don’t have to prove to no one but me that I am capable of achieving what I set my mind to. And yeah,” a light chuckle escapes, “I’ve set my mind to a lot of things—way more than the average person. But that doesn’t mean you or anyone else can’t do the same.”

Pausing Y/n takes a breath before exhaling, “You look at me, and hate the way it makes you view yourself. Makes you believe you’re a failure because you didn’t follow the path you hoped to make for yourself.” Paul’s expression shifts to one of solemnity, like he was thinking of his younger self who had dreams and aspirations. Mourning what could have been.

It made Y/n sad for him. Empathetic despite him attacking her. “One thing I’ve learned over the years…is time is what you make of it. Life is about taking risks. You can still set out to do whatever it is you wish, as long as you’re committing to taking the risk no matter how scary it is. Sure you’ll find obstacles and it’ll feel like the whole world is against you. But determination will guide you through the walls, and you will be successful so that you can look back and think, ‘it was worth it.’ As cliche as it sounds,” she couldn’t hold back a laugh, “Barbie isn’t a person or an object you can obtain. Barbie is a mindset. And you have to unlock it in your own way, Paul.”

It was so quiet in the building, a pin could drop and everyone would hear it. Their looks of awe, admiration, and even newfound motivation by Y/n’s speech. Impressed by how classy she handled what very well could have been a scream match between rival squadrons.

Behind Billings the Dagger squad stood with proud smirks at their friend. Especially Jake, who caught Y/n’s eyes and threw her a wink. Nat gave the woman a salute, a silent gesture to say, ‘you inspire me everyday.’

And Billings? Well he was at a loss for words.

Patting his shoulder, Y/n grabbed the tray of drinks, “I wish you luck, Paul.” Thanking Penny, who gave her a proud nod and replied, “this ones on the house,” Y/n returned to her friends where she was met with a sweet kiss from Jake, claps on the back and “You go girl!” “Tell them who’s boss.” “Damn, you made me wanna go out there and live life the way I should.”

“What’s stopping you, Javy?” she handed him a beer, “the world is your playground.”

A couple hours later it was time to call it a night. Hugs went around, promises to meet up the following night and tabs were closed.

On their way out, Jake dropped a kiss to Y/n forehead, pulling her close to him as he led her to the door of the parking lot, “So what’s next for you, doll? You’ve proved you can be anything and anyone you chose to be,” he grins at her, “What will you set your mind to now after space?”

“First, I want to write a book—I think that’s something a lot have been waiting for me to do. Afterwards, well, I’ll have to wait a couple more years, but,” The corner of Y/n’s lips lift up before flashing a dazzling smile, “I’m thinking….the Oval Office is in need of a makeover. Don’t you think?”

Then, before he could answer, Y/n turns her head in the opposite direction as if she’s trying to find a hidden camera. Makes eye contact with you, the reader, winking before turning back to Jake where she sets off on her next adventure.

…………….

TGM Tag List: @avaleineandafryingpan @caitsymichelle13 @poppyalice2001 @cutelittlepotatofry @luckyladycreator2 @americaarse @elenavampire21 @back-tooo-black @wildellaa @artemissunn @pinkpantheris

[andresbullets]

Intro intro intro ✓✓✓✓

Name: Miles, aged thirteen (I know not, ideal, but you'll die before me so.)

Music shit or whayevee: Eddie vedder, Temple of the dog, Soundgarden, Pearljam, Radiohead, The pixies, Mother love bone, Stone Temple pilots, Chris Cornell, Alice in the chains, Mad season, Screaming trees, Nirvana, Foo fighters, Blush, Red hot chili peppers, The smashing pumpkins, Green river, Mudhoney. + others but I'm too lazy to add.

Movies / shows I like: Saving private Ryan, Zero day (obviously), Duck!, Full metal jacket, The thin red line, American sniper, The big red one. + others but again I'm fucking lazy. (Recommend stuff please..)

favs/tcc: James gamble & Artem iskhakov, I love loveee the halifax plot it's just an interesting case.

other cases: Elliot Rodger, Andrew blaze, Vladislav Roslyakov, Kimveer Gill, Columbine, Dylann roof, And I'll probably talk a lot about Canadian cases.

No dni list, I block freely especially if you're annoying or just weird

Please bmf, dms are open... 🧦

[strawberryblondebutch]

I know we’ve asked you about who you think will be the first draft pick in 2025, but how about the full first round? I know this is very speculative considering we don’t even the order of the team picks and we won’t know what each team is looking for until after the season, so I’ll probs ask this again later, but any preliminary predictions?

Okay, this is a fun question! Let's talk about drafting strategies first.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to a draft. The first is drafting for need, which is exactly what it sounds like: "we really struggled with finishing, we need a winger with a good snapshot." "This team really struggled in the faceoff circle, let's try to get a center who can win those battles." "For the love of God, get someone on D who can throw their weight around." The other school of thought is best player available, which is also kind of exactly what it sounds like -- screw need, we'd be stupid not to take this one.

Hindsight is usually 20/20, and drafting for need/BPA discussions are usually difficult because they fall victim to this. "Sure, we got the best player available, but we really needed a 1D" vs. "sure, we're short on center depth, but this player was available and we passed over them!"

It's way too early to put together a full draft board because (1) we don't know the order in which teams will be picking, and (2) it's hard to tell which GMs will be drafting for need and which will be taking the BPA. My casual observation is that Ottawa focused more on need (they wanted to get bigger, and Serdachny was the biggest F in the first round, and the Charge were also the first team to take a goalie, because Masch got overworked last season) and Boston was more BPA.

That all being said, here are some first-round draft candidates, in no particular order:

Abbey Murphy (F / Minnesota). I mean, yeah. She's the consensus 1OA pick. If she doesn't come off the board first, it's because she snapped her leg in half and retired from the sport. Or she got banned from IIHF play for biting a ref, idk.

Haley Wynn (D / Clarkson). Probably the best D on the draft board. The only knock against her is that she's right-handed, and I'd say most teams already have their 1RHD settled, but Wynn is the kind of player you make room for. She moves the puck incredibly well, and she has a deceptive skating and puckhandling game that throws off opposing forwards.

Nicole Gosling (D / Clarkson). I'd be remiss not to include Wynn's liney here (and cousin of Sceptres first-round pick Julia Gosling!). Clarkson is a particularly vexing opponent for the other ECAC schools, and that D corps is a big reason why. Unlike Wynn, Gosling is a lefty, and she's very good at clearing the zone, taking pressure off the goalie.

Viivi Vainikka (F / Lulea HF). I do not watch a lot of European hockey, although I would like to. Those who do watch the SDHL cannot stop talking about Vainikka. She's absolutely the top European prospect of this draft class, plays center and left wing competently, and is one of those players that you just can't stop watching.

Kristyna Kaltounkova (F / Colgate). Kalty gets a big boost here in that two coaches are already familiar with her game: she's played on the Czech national team and for Colgate University, so McLeod and Fargo already have a good rapport with her, which goes a long way in adjusting to the pros. As a member of Team Czechia, she's also held her own quite well against more developed national teams. One red flag against her: she was suspended under unknown circumstances for two games last season and took another two games off for personal reasons.

Rory Guilday (D / Cornell), Lacey Eden (F / Wisconsin), Casey O'Brien (F / Wisconsin). Flip a three-way coin for that last first-round spot. All three players have something in common: what they do well, they do so well that they make it look easy. All three have incredibly strong fundamentals, which is their greatest strength and weakness. Flashy players get the most attention, but the most skilled players will fly under the radar. Which one of this trio gets taken first will depend on need: Guilday is a rock-solid stay-at-home defender who doesn't show up on the score sheet, Eden is a winger with a strong finishing touch who needs to be part of a 1-2 punch, and O'Brien is the best playmaking center in the draft. All are specialists, and it comes down to what will pull your team together.

[butcherlarry]

Butcher Larry's thought and feelings about birds, Batfam, Batman, and Superman

I originally made this for the Superbat Week 2024 server when @blorb-el asked me for my thoughts on this topic, and I thought I would clean them up a bit more and post on Tumblr too :) Most of my bird thoughts are based off of birds you see in the Midwest United States because that's where I grew up (Ohio) and currently live (Kansas). I'll also post pictures of the birds too, with some of the pictures being pictures that I have taken myself (I took up birding a few years ago and it's been a nice hobby to get into).

Batfam and Batman:

When it comes to wing/bird head canons for wing fics, my most firm one is for Dick. That guy would definitely have swallow wings! If you have ever seen those birds fly around, you would get what I mean. They are so agile in the air! They are constantly moving and can make crazy fast turns! That just screams Dick to me. As for what kind of swallow, there are three that I'm familiar with (northern rough wing, barn, and tree) and of those three, I'm leaning towards tree swallows. They have a beautiful blue color along their back, and it's just so shiny and metallic. It gives me the the flashy bright blue vibes of the Nightwing suit. I could also see and argument for the barn swallow, because those guys have the flashy blue color, along with a bit of rusty red under the chin. And the tails! they have a neat forked tail. Again, flashy and cool, just like the Nightwing suit.

Pictures of the birds below! On the left is the tree swallow and the right is a barn swallow. These are also pictures I have taken :)

For the other bat kids, that's kinda based on vibes for me. For Jason, I can see a blue jay. Those are corvids, so they are very smart. You also see them bully other birds around, so that might play into that sibling rivalry between the bat kids. I have also seen them gang up on larger birds, like red shouldered hawks, and mob them until they go away. This is funny to me, especially if you head canon Bruce with large bird of prey wings. If you want to go in a silly bird head canon for Jason (which is how my brain is hard wired anyway), then he could also be the ivory billed woodpecker. They are an extinct woodpecker that people in the US argue about if they are even actually extinct. Some bird Facebook groups (and other online bird forums) have rules saying people can't talk about them or else the page will descend into chaos of people arguing about the evidence of whether or not these birds are extinct. Pictures of "evidence" will sometimes circulate on the web as "proof" that they are still out there, kind of like when people post blurry pictures of evidence of Big Foot. I think that fits Jason's vibe perfectly, especially post Lazarus pit :)

A blue jay! These are pictures I have taken.

Ivory billed woodpeckers. This is not a picture I have taken, lol. The link leads you to Cornell Lab All About Birds page about them.

For Tim, there are a few I like: cardinal, red-winged blackbird, and tufted titmouse. I've seen the art of Tim's costume in The Boy Wonder comic by Juni Ba, and it reminds me of a cardinal or red-winged blackbird. The coloring is pretty similar too. What I like about cardinals is that the males look like they are wearing a black mask, kinda like the domino masks that the bat kids wear. They also have a bright red tuft of feathers that they can extend up or lay flat. That might be a cool aspect to integrate into costume design! As for the red-winged blackbird, I think it's neat how they fly. I usually see them around bodies of water, and I find it fascinating to see them glide from one end to the other of a pond. When they are catching bugs to eat, they kind of just hover over where they see the bugs and catch them out of midair. I feel like that would be perfect for when Tim is patrolling Gotham, gliding from building to building, and hovering over goons to drop in and kick. The last bird, the tufted titmouse, is just because of vibes. I think they are cute, but when you look into their eyes, they are full of thoughts of malice, murder, and where to hide a body. Idk, that kid gives me the same vibes too sometimes, and I love that for him.

A male northern cardinal, a male red-winged black bird, and a tufted titmouse. These are pictures I have taken.

For Damian, black-capped chickadee. They are just little guys! So cute and so tiny! And they look like they are wearing a mask! And did I mention they are cute and tiny and flitter around from one spot to the next?? So cute! So tiny! And also full of the same vibes MURDER and MALICE as the tufted titmouse! But so cute and tiny! I just really like chickadees, ok? Damian could also be the young version of whatever Bruce is, since he is Bruce's biological child. I don't like this as much, because while Damian is Bruce's biological kid, he's also his own person! He deserves to be a murderous little chickadee!

Black-capped chickadee. I just really love how roumb and poofy the one guy is in the photo on the right. Again, these are photos I have taken.

For Duke, I'm not as familiar with him. If I had to pick off of looks and vibes alone, maybe a cedar waxwing or an American goldfinch. I LOVE the look of cedar waxwings. They also have tuft on their head and an amazing black bar that goes across their eyes, making it look like they are wearing a mask. When I've seen them, it's usually been in large groups, and if I remember correctly, Duke helped lead a group a vigilantes called "We Are Robin," so I can't help but make the association of those two groups of birds (lol). The cedar waxwing also has yellow in their plumage, which I tie back to yellow in Duke's costume.

American goldfinches are pretty straight forward. The males are a bright yellow in the warmer months, and have black wings and a black cap. Visually, this reminds me of Duke's costume. Fun fact! The American goldfinch is also the state bird of New Jersey, which is the state that Gotham is commonly located in the DC universe :)

The first two pictures are of cedar waxwings. They are borbing it up in the picture where they are eating berries because it was cold as balls that day. The picture below the cedar waxwings is of a male American goldfinch. These are pictures that I have taken.

That takes care of the bat boys, now on to the bat girls!

For Cass, I like an owl for her. They are so quiet when flying, and that would be perfect for when she's sneaking around. As for type of owl, maybe a screech owl? They are a smaller owl species, so I figure that would help her be extra sneaky. Also, looking at pictures of the gray morph of the eastern screech owl, they blend in so well to their surroundings, especially when sitting in a tree, I feel like that would just add to Cass's ability to blend in with her surroundings. I also think they look super cute with their big ol' eyes :)

An eastern screech owl. This is not a picture I have taken, I pulled it from Cornell Lab All About Birds page on the eastern screech owl. I included a link to the page as well.

For Stephanie, a finch! Specifically, a purple finch! I'm pretty sure these guys will gang up on larger birds of prey to chase them away, and just like with Jason, I love the thought of her bullying large birb Bruce around. The males are the one's that have that purple coloring, but I'm going to ignore that. Because these are my head canons and I can do what I want.

A purple finch! You normally see these guys in the colder months. This is a picture I have taken.

And for Barbara, I was thinking a small bird of prey (hehehehe), like a kestrel or a merlin. Since they are falcons, they have pretty good eyesight, which I think goes well with Barbara being oracle, being able so see everything and keeping a watch on the other Bats.

The American kestrel (left) and merlin (right). Links to Cornell Lab All About Birds pages are linked, and the below pictures are pulled from those pages as well.

All right, it's time to go on to the big guy himself, Bruce. I LOVE the idea of him being a swan! I saw a picture of a swan carrying all its cygnets (babies) on its back and had the thought of swan Bruce carrying all his children around on his back. I love dad Bruce (especially good dad Bruce) and will not apologize. I think it would play well into his Brucie-sona as well. Look at the beautiful swan! So lovely! So beautiful! No way that guy is Batman! Also, swans are protective of their young and the males will sometimes attack people who get to close to their families and/or territory. Again, perfect for dad Bruce! Perfect for Batman too, who is very protective of his beloved city.

A swan! Specifically, a trumpeter swan (left, picture pulled from Cornell Lab All About Birds). The picture on the right is what I'm imaging Bruce doing with all his children. That's a different species of swan though (that picture was taken in the UK).

But wait! How does he go around Batmanning then??? I've thought about this for a while and think it would be neat if he had some kind of armor and feather attachments for his suit. If you look at bird wings, they all have different shapes due to how that bird will be using them to fly. I can see Bruce working on some wing armor in his cave to change their shape and maybe add in some artificial feathers as well to make his flying more silent. If I remember correctly, owls have special feathers that help them be more quiet? I can see bird Bruce messing around in his cave to make something similar to attach to his wings to help be more sneaky. I can also see him adding in some extra armor to his wings and using them as an extension of his body to fight bad guys. I remember watching a play through of Dad of War God of War where Kratos and Atreus fight some Valkyries and those fights live rent free in my mind. It looks like there are knives and other heavy pieces of armor attached to their wings that they use to beat up Kratos and Atreus, as well as stabbing the shit out of them too. The fights look like a bitch to win. I can totally see Bruce having something similar too, especially since he tends to be more of a brawler in fights (I can see Jason having something like this too).

Link to video of God of War Valkyrie boss fight

Clark, Kents, Kon, and Lex:

Alright. Clark is an alien. I don't think he would have wings of any bird found here on Earth. In fact, I would love to see him have A BUNCH of wings, kinda like a cherubium (4) or seraphim (6) or MORE!!! He can fly so good with all those wings. He is the best at flying EVER! The only problem would be Clark hiding all those wings when he's not being Superman. That might be why he wears the oversized suits and cloths, to hide them.

OR, Clark doesn't have any wings because he's an alien! He can fly without them, which makes Superman a bit eerie to everyone else on Earth who has wings (some hate this more than others, LEX). As an explanation to why totally normal human Clark doesn't have wings, maybe the Kents came up with the excuse of farm accident? Such as, he went through a baler as a kid (like my great grandpa! But he was an adult.) and that damaged Clark's wings so either doesn't have them or has some kind of prosthetics instead (it doesn't have farm accident, it could be sickness as a kid or something. Farm accident was the first to come to mind for me).

For the Kents, mourning doves! I love those guys, they are so gosh darn cute! And they mate for life 💖

Mourning doves! I took the picture on the left in the winter when it was cold as balls outside. The doves were making excellent shapes that day. I took the one on the right last week when it was warmer.

For Kon, I think I think he would either inherit Clark's multiple wing trait, but probably not have as many (he is also so, so good at flying). Or if you go in the direction of Clark having no wings, Kon would still have wings because he inherited them from Lex. He would have turkey vulture wings because Lex has turkey vulture wings. Lex says they are not turkey vulture wings, they are bearded vulture wings, because bearded vultures are cool as FUCK and eat BONES. Lex is lying. They are turkey vulture wings :)

The turkey vulture! Link is the Cornell Lab All About Birds page of the turkey vulture, and the pictures are pulled from there as well. I don't know why Lex denies that he's a turkey vulture. They are cool too, why you gotta be such a hater 😔

The bearded vulture, the bird that Lex says he is, but don't listen to him because he's lying. The link leads you to the eBird page of the bird.

Anyway, these are my many many thoughts on birds, the Batfam, Batman, and Superman. I hope you all enjoyed them! And please let me know any thoughts you have on this topic! I would love to hear them as well :)

(if you liked my bird pictures, there are more over at my bird blog, balcony birds)

[walks-the-ages]

""A vote for [third party candidate] is a vote for Trump! ""

No, you're just uneducated and spreading disinformation, because its fine and dandy when the democrats do it, apparently~!

Third Party voters did not "lose democrats the election in 2016", because Hilary won the popular vote by some 2,900,000 votes, and the electoral college elected Trump anyways. This is common knowledge you can find a million articles on, but you still find these fucking racist genocide apologists still spouting that "bernie supports lost Hilary the election and got Trump elected >:(" in 2024.

""The electoral college means third party votes are useless!""

The electoral college equally means that a good chunk of America's votes are 'useless' because it only takes a handful of states out of 50 to win an election, even when the actual people's votes say the opposite, but I don't see you telling people their votes are useless when their voting for your favorite genocidaire in blue, now do you?

""This is the election to end all elections! Trump cannot be allowed to win!!!!!""

Trump is going to keep on running until he's dead. This man is going to run for election for the rest of his life. He's always going to be the Democrat's boogeyman, their ace in the hole to get you to elect them into power again and again and then not fulfill any of their promises and in fact, usually do the opposite of what they were elected to do. Remember how Democrats were supposed to defund the police? Yeah, tell that to Joe 'Let's FUND the police!!' Biden.

"People are telling people ~not to vote~ when they say don't vote for Biden!~"

No, you just refuse to actually engage with posts in good faith and fall back on your disinformation campaigns (see the above points). "Man Committing Genocide Right This Moment" and "Man who will also Commit Genocide but while wearing a Red Hat" are not your only choices.

Do you know how many people are running for President?

It's not a choice between two racist, genocidal pieces of shit.

It's actually choice between:

two racist, genocidal pieces of shit (Biden, Trump) ,

an ableist, anti-vaxx millionaire (RFK jr) ,

a Socialist philosopher who focuses on the struggles of race, gender and classes in America (Cornell West),

an established Diplomat and pro-Palestine Activist who wants to defund the military and take big action to solve climate change (Jill Stein)

and a Libertarian Activist (Chase Oliver).

You've got 6 choices in this upcoming election, as much as Democrats will try to convince you otherwise. They want you to believe they're your only hope, because that's how they get their votes: by convincing you that they're your only hope, even as they slide more and more to the right, as they refuse to raise minimum wage, as they refuse to make any change for the better, as they militarize the police and build more pipelines and border walls, even as they commit genocide, they are in your inbox, proclaiming that if only you give them more and more money from your empty bank account, that they're the last line of defense against fascism, while they send more and more USA made bombs and ammunition to slaughter innocents and greenlight coups in other countries and torture people in guantanamo bay and keep Cuba under inhumane conditions and committing fucking godsdamned genocide as we fucking speak and have been since October and long long before then!

Hey, fun fact, did you know?

The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution every year since 1992 demanding the end of the US economic embargo on Cuba, with the US and Israel being the only nations to consistently vote against the resolutions.

For the past 32 years, the UN has been trying to get the United States to stop its almost 70-year embargo on this country, and every single year for 32 years straight, the United States and Israel are the only countries to veto it.

Gee, I wonder why that is????

[merrellholland]

Not So Bad After All → P.Parker AU

HEYYYY YALL; its been a minute and I am sooooo sorry LMAO. I promise to get back into my writing era <3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Person: Peter Parker (Tom Holland)

AU: college hockey player, frat boy, still spider-man in secret

Words: 2.4k

Warning: swearing, slight bullying (but nothing too deep)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Never in my life would I expect to have been dressed up in the most stinky and bulky fury suit… yet, here I am dressed as Sparky the Eagle. I was currently a junior at Empire State University located in beautiful New York, and throughout the years I may have found myself in a bit of a dilemma. 

Money was never an easy task for my family and I, in fact I got into this school with a huge scholarship to help support my financial needs. Despite that, I still needed to pay some tuition fees and that meant that I needed a job. This isn’t my first rodeo though, back home I had many jobs all at the same time during high school in order to help my mom with paying bills. The only hard part was trying to find a job in New York, a place that I’ve never been to until I started my first semester at Empire State. 

As I’ve completed the first two years and am now currently in my third, I’ve noticed the major stereotypical things for a college on T.V were coming to real life. The sorority girls were straight-up obnoxious and cruel to other girls who weren’t part of their sorority house, the frat boys were shirtless 24/7 while playing beer pong and having girls in bikinis all over their front yards of their gigantic frat house every Friday, and lastly the sport-frat boys. These guys were a whole different level of frat boys, and I’ve learned that very early on. These guys? Not only were they known for their handsome looks but most of these guys were going to real professional sports leagues after college, and we all know how that goes for them… in terms of love life. 

All the girls (and some guys) would be over, flirting constantly with them and not really taking interest in their sport but rather their six-pack abs and looks.  

As much as it pains me to say the cliche phrase “not like other girls” it's true. I really wasn't like the other girls swooning over these guys 24/7 and attending their friday night parties after classes were done. I was more the type of person who would prefer to finish homework and then cozy up with some blankets and a classic 2010’s rom-com. 

But now I can’t even do that since my new job requires me to be at the ice rink every week on Fridays from 6-9pm. Six to nine! That’s three hours of prime time that I could be doing homework! And that’s not even the worst part,my job was that I had to be the mascot for the ice-hockey team during their games and interacting with the fans. The Empire State hockey team was one of the best in the college leagues throughout the nation and most players got into the NHL as soon as they graduated. 

And now I’m their mascot, well I dress up as their mascot and that means getting a big sweaty and gross costume every Friday for 3-4 hours… great. Not that I could complain though, since surprisingly the pay wasn’t that bad due to the fact that you’re a student. Today was my first day on the job. The Empire Eagles were playing against the Cornell Big Red’s today and it was a home game so many students were going to attend. 

After I arrived at the rink, the manager handed me the keys to the supply storage room to change into the eagle costume. Getting into that costume was a full ass workout, the smell is something I’ve never smelt before and the amount I was sweating was unbearable. Nevertheless, I got into that God awful attire and headed outside to the ice-rink. The coolness of the air inside did help a little, but I could still feel the beads of sweat trickling down my face. 

My manager told me to practice walking on the ice with the costume since during the halftime break you had to collect all the tokens of appreciation from the fans as they threw it onto the rink from their seats. I slowly walked onto the ice with my giant eagle feet and waddled back and forth to try to get used to it before the game started, I practiced bending down to pick up the gifts  in character and tried to come up with some signature eagle moves… might as well have some fun with it righ–

“Yo excuse me but the rink is for the players to practice right now.” 

I quickly snapped my head to look behind me and– 

Great. A sport-frat boy. 

Peter Parker was someone that was greatly known throughout the university, top GPA, great looks, apparently great in the bedroom (so I’ve heard), and was the centerman for the Empire Eagles hockey team. Though I’ve never really paid attention to him. And as much as I wanted to dislike him, I’ve never personally met him before or even talked to him… so who am I to judge? 

After all, he did ask somewhat politely and– why the heck am I overthinking this? Just apologize and move on Y/N!

I cleared my throat and attempted to have a deeper voice, “Sorry dude I wasn’t aware, I’ll be on my way now” I said… and cringed internally after saying that. 

Peter nodded his head and smiled, “No worries, just a little jittery for the game so I wanted some extra practice” He replied. 

I nodded my head and then exited the rink, going back to the storage room so nobody would see me yet. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

The game started and was currently ending the second quarter with the score being 2-1, the Empire Eagles winning and the Cornell Big Red’s tailing behind. I could tell that all of the players from Empire State were filled with happiness… and might I add overconfident and cocky. But that was something that I couldn’t pay attention to since I had to focus on giving it my all while I walked towards the ice rink at halftime and collected all the gifts that were thrown onto the ice from the fans in the stadium. 

I walked in character as the fun spunky eagle while walking on the ice and picking up the teddy bears with a girl's number in sharpie written on it and a bunch of red roses. As I picked them up and headed back, I took a quick glance and the audience. There were some students who seemed genuinely happy to be there and there were those… What do people call them? Oh yeah puck bunnies? Yeah there were a whole lot of girls wearing those boob jackets from lululemon and attempting to look cold but also cute and petite. I mean again, I’m not one to judge so you do you I guess. 

After I collected all of the gifts from the fans, I took some pictures with a couple of kids and I enjoyed that part. I liked seeing the smiles on their faces as they stood proud with me as their parents took photos. It definitely seemed like a core memory for them and I’m glad that I somewhat got to be a part of that. 

As the third and fourth quarter went on, it was brutal for us. Cornell absolutely demolished Empire State and beat us 4-2. I guess that’s what our players get for being cocky and overconfident throughout the whole game, thinking that they’ve got this. 

After the game ended and the fans left the stadium, my manager said to stay behind and clean the place up and pick up any extra gifts that were left. As I bent down (still in my eagle costume) to pick up some flowers that were left on the ice, something extremely heavy bumped into me from behind causing me to fling forward and make an umph sound. 

“What the fuck?” I cursed in a whisper. 

“DUDE what the fuck are you still doing here?! You need to get out, it's closed practice now looser” the voice said. 

I turned around and looked at the man who was clearly a player on the Empire State Eagles, he had blonde hair and green eyes and was definitely 6’1”. Shit, what was I supposed to do? My manager literally told me to clean the place up and then help security to lock up the stadium! 

“Bro be nice, you don’t gotta be mean” Another boy said. 

As I looked up, I saw that that other boy was no other than Peter Parker. But before I could register that, he offered me a hand and I immediately accepted it. 

I attempted to not sound like a scared wimp so I deepened my voice a little, “Uh thanks dude, I wasn’t aware that it was a closed practice… I’ll uh keep that in mind next time” I said to him. 

He smiled, “Don’t worry, Charlie’s just a snob” He replied. 

“Yeah I can tell” I responded while walking out of the rink. 

He laughed again while combing through his sweaty brown curls, giving me butterflies–

Wait what. 

Nope. Nope. Never. Never in a million years. I refuse. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

The next couple of weeks went by normally, except I’ve started to notice Peter Parker more often. I never realized he was in three of my classes. In my morning class he would wear his hockey sweatshirt with gray sweatpants and in the afternoon he would take off his sweatshirt, revealing a tight-fitted white shirt that showed off his biceps. 

Damn, now I understand why girls swoon over guys like him… bro’s majestic. 

But my mama always told me to focus on my studies, boys come after. And that's what I planned to do, stay focused. He probably doesn’t even know me since at school I’m practically a nobody. I mean I join clubs, I’m in choir, and I’m part of many study groups so most people would know who I am but they probably have other friends to talk to besides me. The same goes for my roommates, they know me but they have other friend groups. 

Once again, it was Friday and that meant that we had another home game. The Eagles were playing against the NYU Bobcats. I went into the stadium and got into my disgusting and sweaty eagle costume. Throughout the weeks, I think I slowly got into character and found new dances to help entertain the little kids during timeouts and in between quarters. 

As the game started, I did my little dances whenever I could and the score at the end of the second quarter was 1-1. The stakes were going to be high but I have a feeling that we were gonna win this one. 

During the third quarter, I sat on the bench that was reserved for me and watched Peter, jersey number 4, skate all over the ice with his hockey stick. He had the puck, all of his attention was on it. The whole audience had a feeling that he was gonna score a goal but then all of a sudden one of the NYU players stole the puck from him and skated furiously across the other side of the rink. 

You could see Peter cursing and quickly going to the other side along with his other teammates. Ever since that moment, it seemed that something triggered Peter… he was starting to get more aggressive and ruthless. It made me anxious to see his behavior on the ice, but nevertheless I kept watching. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Despite the tight game, the Eagles won 3-2 and the whole crowd celebrated which meant that many gifts were thrown down onto the rink. Teddy bears and roses were everywhere and it was all me that had to clean it up. I walked on the ice with my feet stuck in the puffy eagle claws of my costume, gathered all of the gifts, and put them in a big container that I dragged with me across the ice. After I got all the stuffed animals and flowers in the container I headed towards my manager to give it to. As I handed it to him, he thanked me and said I was free as soon as I checked the whole stadium again to see if there was anyone else. I nodded and went back to the arena. 

I checked to see if there were any other fans that were trying to stay behind, but didn’t find any… but gosh my feet hurt so much and I just need a little break before heading back to my dorm. 

I took out the headpiece of the eagle costume and sighed as the cool breeze from the arena chilled my flushed cheeks. I then took out the rest of my costume which left me with my sweaty ponytail and loose hair strands framing my face along with my black leggings and shirt. Though I didn’t take it into consideration that there would be anyone else entering the stadium again after the game was over. But I guess I was wrong, because all of a sudden I heard a voice from behind me: 

“I didn’t realize you were a girl,” I turned my head around to see who it was. 

Peter Parker? I thought in my head. 

“Or pretty.” he finished his statement with his mouth parting slightly. 

I could feel my cheeks warm up despite the cool air as I laughed awkwardly, “W-What? Oh t-thanks… you look pretty too” I replied, not thinking about what I just said. 

Peter just nodded and he looked like he was seconds away from drooling as he continued to stare at me… he really does make a girl feel special. 

“Uhm, are you doing some extra practice? Or–” I say trying to break the silence. 

Peter slightly shook his head and cleared his throat, “Uh yeah, it’s just I don’t feel like I gave it my all today even though we won so I wanted to get some practice in… if that’s okay?” he says. 

I smiled and nodded my head, “Yeah sure, I’ll just go tell my manager and put this costume away.” I told him as I stood up.

He smiled back at me with his teeth as I walked towards the manager’s office, feeling intense butterflies cause Peter fucking Parker just called me pretty… WHAT IS MY LIFE?!

You know, I said in the beginning that I wasn’t like other girls but now I definitely think I am (well at least internally). 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

AN: PART TWO?? 😏

[tjkl895]

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[the-faramir]

✦ nine people I'd like to know better ✦

tagged by @llixulia

last song I listened to: Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit themes played by the Cornell University Big Red Marching Band

favorite color: I don't play favorites with color

currently watching: X-Men '97, Delicious in Dungeon, Star Wars: The Bad Batch

sweet/savory/spicy?: All! Sometimes all at once!

relationship status: Married

last thing you googled: The Girl, The Pig, and The Accidental Demon

current obsession: role-playing games, writing about my RPG characters, trying to relearn drawing for digital art (mostly for my RPG characters)

tagging: @thenyeion @ka-s-22 @icedcoffeeandsleepdeprivation @bittersweetburnedcaramel @whisperingsoup @charboday @pickled-fox @chatotfan2 @multiplefoxes

[venessaclaud]

It makes me crazy to think that I have loved Nirvana since I was in the 5th grade but didn’t get into Soundgarden until I was 28!!!!!!! I remember watching the Black Hole Sun music video as a kid, loving the song but thinking they were Red Hot Chilli Peppers adjacent (because of the music video) which I didn’t like. And I knew who the big 4 of Grunge were and extensive Seattle music scene knowledge but never looked into Soundgarden. It makes me crazy because I can confidently say that Chris Cornell is my favorite artist of all time. Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, Solo. I love it all and Soundgarden and Audioslave specifically are everything I’ve ever been into in music so it’s especially annoying. And I never got to see Chris live. I see videos of him at various venues in Boston that I’ve been to a million times and in the time period where he’s touring and it kills me. I was too young to have seen him with Audioslave, I started going to shows alone in 2008 probably. His solo acoustic tours or any of Soundgarden’s reunion shows or that last Temple of the Dog tour?? Why!!!!!

[pagesofkenna]

the teens found the livecam

[magiclilybean]

Living in a red state? Concerned about your rights in Trump’s America? Able and interested in relocating?

Let me humbly invite you to the great state of New York.

I have often spoken about this before, here on Tumblr, but after the election results it feels more important than ever. Allow me to state my case:

ONE. We signed a "safe haven" law into effect in the summer of 2023. It states we refuse to cooperate with other states’ transphobic laws.

TWO. Other transgender people have been moving here for some time, and our queer communities are growing. 

THREE. We just passed a proposal expanding the Equal Rights Amendment of our state constitution. This will extend its protections to cover gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, reproductive health decisions, and more. Transgender people are now explicitly protected from discrimination by law. Come to our state, you can sue the transphobes! The text of the amendment can be found here.

FOUR. Our state government offers a rare opportunity right now, with a lot of civil service positions open to the public for hiring until May 2025. I can't lay hands on specifics about LGBTQIA+ protections, and the government is BIG and varies from agency to agency, but it's generally a queer-friendly workplace in my experience. Union jobs with good benefits that include a defined benefit pension.

FIVE. We are a big state with lots of places to go. The living expenses upstate are fairly reasonable I think, though still higher than a lot of places. We’ve got the Adirondacks, the Catskills, and the Finger Lakes. If you want to visit NYC, there are plenty of places with lower-than-NYC costs of living that are still within driving distance. 

SIX. I just learned, pulling this together, that Ithaca passed its own safe haven law in 2023. I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes legally, given the state law, but it does let you know that the city of Ithaca specifically wants to protect and welcome the transgender community. Ithaca is the home of Cornell University, a hip college town with lots of farm-to-table places and a hippy dippy vibe.

If you can't relocate, or aren't ready to relocate, just know that we care about you. We will keep fighting for you. We are on your side. And we're going to be here, ready to welcome you, for a long, long time. 

[schraubd]

Out/In List: 2023-24

The other, less old but still venerable Debate Link tradition: The Out/In list! Out                                                                 In Black Sea                                       Red Sea Cornel West, truth-speaker            Cornel West, grifter Paper mills                                     Chat-GPT Pack the Israeli Sup. Ct.                 Don't mess with the Israeli Sup. Ct. Mastodon                                       Blue Sky Achievement Hunter                      Jet Lag: The Game Assistant Professor                         Associate Professor Abraham Accords                          Free Palestine Elon Musk                                      Sam Altman Substack                                         Buttondown Pac-12                                            One Big Mega Conference Surging Nikki Haley                     Trump wins every primary by 50 Reining in the 9th Circuit              Reining in the 5th Circuit #BelieveSurvivors                         #NotAllHamasTerrorists James Corden                                Taylor Tomlinson Electoral Count Act                       14th Amendment Section 3 Cybertruck                                     Lawsuits about Cybertruck Learn to code!                                Learn autoworking! Somali pirates                                Houthi pirates NFTs                                              Index ETFs Grindset                                         Collective bargaining agreement via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/OcXsImg

[possum-quesadilla]

Chapter six of Time’s Arrow, “I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow, I hope it bleeds all day long // You are my sweetest downfall” is here, just in time for my wisdom tooth surgery! Hope y’all are hungry! Especially you, Beetlands fans.

Please read the warnings carefully and proceed with caution. This chapter is pretty rough.

As always, extras!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “No Children” by The Mountain Goats and “Samson” by Regina Spektor, for the very different vibes happening throughout it! The first bit reflects how Beetlejuice was relying on pain to distract him from his Feelings, the second is him admitting that the Maitlands are his “downfall”. Also both songs slap so hard.

- “Charles insisted on moving his chair to sit close by, “in case you fall”. (Why would he care if Beetlejuice fell?)” - Get absolutely fathered, idiot.

- “They’d pointed out their own star not too long after they’d all settled down, and found they couldn’t take their eyes off of it. Was it really tied to them? Would it go out if they did? Would they go out if it did? They didn’t really have answers. They weren’t educated on all the ins and outs of demon-.. hood. Their mother didn’t quite care to find the time to teach them, and they didn’t care to learn.” - Wow. Interesting stuff to think about!

- “Mhm. Blood ritual. Carve a bunch of markings in the ground, sacrifice an innocent. Sign your name in… the Big Book. Then spill your own blood.” - Yep! There’s one big, all important “Big Book” that has the name of every demon in it. Juno (that’s not her original name in this fic) killed one of her living children as a sacrifice, and then slit her own throat. Fun!

- “.. there is. You get an invite, and you give something up.” - Very interesting. Also brought back up later in the chapter!

- “… “flying dragon” orange sapling pots.” - “Flying dragon” oranges are the most cold-hardy orange trees, according to google!

- “ “I would also like to apologize for what happened to your mother,” Charles says firmly, glancing meaningfully at Lydia. (Beetlejuice follows his gaze to find her and the Maitlands all lightly shaking their heads at the man.)” - THEY TRIED TO WARN HIM

- “Charles is kneeling beside him, face scrunched up with that same look he’s given him so many times before. He knows it’s concern, from seeing it on the other humans, but why would Charles be making it at him?” - PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE BEING FATHERED.

- “Your favorite movie is “Pride and Prejudice”. The 2005 version only, you think the 1995 adaptation didn’t do it justice. You went to Cornell University to study business, and met Lydia’s mom there. Your favorite flowers are red carnations.” - Emily showed him that movie, since she was an English major, and he cried the first time he saw it. He hasn’t watched it since her death. Red carnations mean “my heart aches for you”!

- “Your bisexual awakening was Ms. Honey from “Matilda”. You love ‘true crime’, but you can’t stomach most bloody movies. Except for “Alien” and “Aliens”, ‘cause you like watching Sigourney Weaver kick ass. Adam’s lived with you since you were both 16, but you two didn’t start dating until you were 19.” - Surprise, Barb is bisexual! Who wouldn’t fall for Ms. Honey, honestly? I like to think she admired her extreme kindness and somewhat tried to follow her example. Also Sigorney Weaver is literally my wife, if you care.

- “You’ve seen “The Terminator” 137 times. Your favorite of those weird little monsters is the big blue one called ‘Lapras’. You had a dog when you were real little named ‘Sawyer’, and it’s in your top 5 for baby names because you loved that dog. You couldn’t get another after he passed away because your mom’s boyfriend was allergic to dogs.” - Beej may not know what is being said, but he loves to listen! Also I wonder if readers should store the name ‘Sawyer’ in their memory for later.

- Adam’s talk with Beej - AUGH. Where do I even start? Someone finally explains to our little demon what love is actually about. And the first hint at… gasp! Self love?! Slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

- “They feel.. the same way I feel about them. Why? How? … They’ll be here for me until I get better. If… if I ever get better. … I.. need to get better? … Something’s wrong with me. They all know it. (They’ve always known. Everyone can see it.) But what? Will it ever get better? Will they still be waiting for me if I do?” - ARRRRGH… the realization that something is Wrong with you, but you don’t know how to fix it or if it can be fixed, and that those who love you can see it my beloathed… not entirely true, but true in Beej’s mind!

- “The demon clacks his teeth repeatedly, stomping a hoof on the ground firmly once. “This is bullshit.” ” - He stomps his hooves when he’s mad sometimes, like a rabbit. Or a ram preparing to charge.

- “Beetlejuice used one napkin to soak up some of the egg yolk from his plate, quickly shoving it in his mouth before either of the humans have time to notice and protest.” - just wanted to highlight this particularly feral moment.

- “ “Yeah. Sorry, Babs. My bad. My memory is… worse than a goldfish.” “Goldfish’s memory isn’t even that bad. You’re just uniquely forgetful.” ” - goldfish don’t have bad memories!! Stop spreading the falsehood pretty please

- “The demon bared his teeth at her, a gesture which she immediately returned. He was still huffing…” - he also huffs when he’s mad, like a cat does!

- “ “Just… try to be mindful of when important things happen with the business and you, alright? Keep us in the know.” The demon slowly nodded, shifting in his seat. “.. I promise I’ll try.” ” - I think most neurodivergent people have experienced this. The best we can do is try!

- Barbara talking about seeing the doctor - a continuation of the Neurodivergent Experience, and also a reference to a similar scene in Stephen King’s “Laurie”. Because that story fuckin’ rocks.

- “Ash’s hair has been properly bleached and cut into a choppy bob.” - Chloe Price-esque cut, since she’s one of the characters who inspired Ash!

- “Beetlejuice’s has been trimmed back to the length it was after the loop, no longer shaggy and falling into his eyes. The grey is missing completely, the brown pronounced and obviously artificial, if one stares at it too long.” - Yep, his hair has been growing out at an exponential rate since they escaped the loop! So has his fur. I wonder if that will be an issue later.

- “ “Thank you. What have you done to my brother?” “Just gussied him up a little for tonight. And showed him the first three and a half “Saw” movies.” The demon was purring loudly, repeatedly shifting his feet. “Someone’s currently getting scalped.” ” - “SAW” MY BELOVED!!! I got Sawtism. So does Ash. She is doing her best to pass it on to Beetlejuice. He doesn’t really get the storyline, but he likes the blood.

- “ “And… wow. You cut, like… a whole foot off. That’s.. crazy.” Lydia went to fidget with their own hair, ignoring Beetlejuice’s interjection of “so did Larry!”. ” - This likely won’t be relevant, but Beej was present when Polaris cut their hair to the length it is now. A little hint to their past together!

- “ Beetlejuice let out a little groan then. “Oh. Okay. I get it now.” “.. get what?” He patted his sister’s arm sympathetically. “You’ll figure it out soon.” ” - he gets it. He sees it from the other side.

- “ “Oh, Ash, c’mon, you didn’t have to get me anything!” Lydia called after the other teen as she bolted to the back room. “Yeah, but I wanted to!” ” - My own response whenever people say “you didn’t have to”. Yeah, I didn’t, but I wanted to!

- “Beetlejuice waits patiently as Ash presents Lydia with some sort of strange, old camera. Something with the word “Polaroid”.” - Ash used the absurd amount of money Beej has been paying them to get Lydia a nice camera! Beej doesn’t know what it is, and I don’t have the energy to research the proper name for it.

- “ “Hello!” Barbara chirped, repeatedly patting her husband’s arm out of excitement. Beetlejuice let out a weary sort of sigh in the silence that followed. Guess we’ll do it the hard way. … The demon was very careful as they gripped the teen’s arm and bit down on their wrist. Ash yelped as their teeth broke skin, yanking their arm away and holding it close to their chest.” - The bite gave them the ability to see the paranormal! They weren’t gifted like Lydia, so they had to be given that gift. Also, WAS THAT THE BITE O-

- “Ash gripped at her wrist, letting out a little growl of frustration. “What the fuck, man?! Why does it sting so bad?” ” - because they’re venomous!

- “ “… Hope ya got your rabies vaccine, Ash!” Ash blanched, hesitantly allowing Barbara to inspect her wrist. “What?” “Kidding! I don’t have rabies anymore.” ” - Not anymore!

- “… he sees his shaky hands playing rounds of “Mario Party” with all of the humans.” - Beetlejuice sucks at “Mario Party”. They main Bowser, like they do in “Mario Kart”. Lydia mains Shy Guy.

- Isopropyl alcohol - partially based on a scene from “Moral Orel”. Do not watch that show. ALSO, DON’T DRINK ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL!!

- “His voice comes out slow and difficult when he thanks Delia for wiping the frosting off his face.” - GET PROPERLY MOTHERED

- “Lydia opens her presents. Beetlejuice struggles to keep track of them. Some sort of framed… butterfly? No, moth. A framed moth from Delia. … A “forest exploration kit” from Barbara. An old book Beetlejuice had kept in his hammer space, which he recently was told was an original print of “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque”. ” - The moth is a framed, taxidermied Death Head moth! The “exploration kit” is basically just survival/camping stuff. Yeah Beetlejuice had a $100K book in his hammer space.

- “Why is Adam so far from him? He feels some sort of strange, dour sorrow when the ghost sits on the ground rather than next to him, like he and Barbara usually do. His wife sits next to him.” - I wonder if this has anything to do with alcohol related trauma?

- “They watch Lydia’s favorite movie, “Coraline”. Beetlejuice’s head is spinning. “You know that I love you.” He feels sick. “You.. have a really funny way of showing it.” His ears are ringing. It’s deafening.” - He’s watching it for Lydia, but this movie is unfortunately still very triggering for Beetlejuice.

- “ “Yeah. Last month.” He allows the minuscule illusion to slip. “What did you-” Lydia lets out a little gasp, leaning forward closer to the demon. “What happened to your ear?!” Beetlejuice tilts his head so she can better see his right ear. “Had to give up a piece of myself to make up this one. Hurt like a bitch, but it was worth it.” His hands shook horribly as he slowly sliced through the rest of his ear from the notch. Sobs wracked through his body, and he swore he could smell tobacco and brandy. He swore he could hear his mother screaming. But it was worth it for Lydia.” - YEAH CUTTING OFF PART OF THEIR EAR CAUSED A BAD PTSD EPISODE.

- “Beetlejuice carefully thumbed through the Book, past all of the names already written in it. To the page reserved for his coven. For Lydia.” - Hmmm! I wonder what that’s about?

- “He holds it close to his chest, careful not to let it drip onto his… when did he put on pajamas? When the fuck did he get Hello Kitty pajamas? He squinted at Lydia. They were matching? He vaguely recognized the gothic little creature on her pajama pants.” - Ash bought them matching Hello Kitty and Kuromi pajamas, because it’s funny.

- “The room is dim, except for the faint glow of Lydia’s TV. She and Ash had fallen asleep mid-way through some sort of ghost hunting show marathon, bundled up in blankets. They were sat up close together, only held up by each other.” - they fell asleep watching “Buzzfeed Unsolved”.

- “ “I.. I’ll wait for you in the hall. Give you some privacy.” Beetlejuice opened his mouth to ask what she meant, briefly, but shut it again after a few moments in favor of softly thanking her.” - Beetlejuice has no idea why someone would bother to give them privacy.

- “ “Hey, Larry! Long time no see!” They chirped cheerfully. “… Betelgeuse.” They growled, voice low and flat. “You continue to exist.” ” - Based on a scene in “Ready or Not”, one of the funniest horror movies ever.

- “They had not changed in the centuries since they’d seen each other, it seemed. White, fuzzy bear-like ears poked out of their pale, neatly slicked-back hair. A pair of short, plain black horns adorned with a multitude of variously colored rings. Clinical red eyes glaring down at him through a pair of rounded silver glasses, pale brows furrowed and their lip curled in a constant look of neutral displeasure. Their white fur coat, draped over their hulking stature.” - Say hello to Polaris! They are 6’5”. They have albinism, and the features of a polar bear, because their star is from Ursa Minor! Also they have mountain goat horns.

- “Polaris crossed their arms just below sight from the mirror. “I see. Give me a moment.” Beetlejuice shifted his hooves nervously as their aloof crimson gaze scanned his form. “Hmm. Still a clumsy oaf, I see.” They reached up to adjust their glasses.” - Polaris is extremely skilled in healing and such. Yes, they were able to assess what was wrong with Beetlejuice just by looking at them.

- “ “… Pieces of bone lodged in both lungs-” “That happened while I was stuck in a time loop, shouldn’t that have healed?” Polaris let out a growl, much deeper and intimidating than Beetlejuice’s own. “Don’t interrupt me. And no, it doesn’t work like that. Any damage your body sustains in a time loop carries over. Obviously.” “… damn. Like “Happy Death Day”. That explains why my throat still burns sometimes.” ” - YEAH SURPRISE. The damage from the holy water all those times carries over! So did everything else!

- “ “Many little bruises and cuts from… Sirius, it seems. Really now, Betelgeuse, did you not learn your lesson before?” They spoke again before he could hiss at them not to say his name.” - Cyrus’ real name reveal! Not that it was too much of a secret, hehe.

- “ “… That would take me all day, little prince.” Beetlejuice let out an involuntary snarl, stomping a hoof down on the tile floor once. They caught a hint of bright red in their dim reflection. “Don’t fuckin’ call me that.” ” - I wonder what this is about?

- “Polaris flashed him that flat, irritating false smile. They had never properly learned to smile, like Beetlejuice himself, but theirs always seemed more like a grimace. (They were a pair, once. Just briefly. The little demons with big teeth, odd smiles, and poor grasps on any and all social cues, breather or demon. But that was so long ago.)” - They are both extremely autistic, and neither knows how to “smile properly”. They were friends when they were very small, but they had a falling out.

- “I didn’t call you to lecture me, you fuckin’.. Judge Holden lookin’-ass bitch!” - Judge Holden is the main antagonist of “Blood Meridian”, a book I have read quite a few times! He has albinism, like Polaris. DO NOT LOOK HIM UP. PLEASE.

- “ “There. Quite the weight off your chest, no?” Polaris frowned, tapping a finger on their chin. “No, that won’t do at all. I already made that joke after your top surgery, didn’t I?” ” - Polaris did Beetlejuice’s top surgery!

- “ “Th-… thank you, Polaris. That.. I feel much better.” They blinked at him, slightly tilting their head. “Yes, I imagine that’s why you called upon me. To feel better.” They then narrowed their eyes. “Don’t think I’ll do anything else for free just because you thanked me, Betelgeuse. I’m not as soft as you. I just cleared your lungs for free because you amused me.” ” - they do not understand the concept of genuine gratitude.

- “Beetlejuice was.. already feeling better than they had in so long. “.. what will it cost me for you to fix the rest?” But they already knew the answer. “Oh, you know that already, little prince. It’s the same as it has always been.” Polaris grins at him again, curling back their black lips in an offputting manic sort of half-smile, half-grimace. “The cost to remove the Seal that binds you and cure all your ailments is, of course, your most valuable skill: your ability to lie.” Beetlejuice crossed his arms over his chest, gripping at his left forearm. “.. you know I won’t agree to that.” “Of course not. What is the serpent without his silver tongue?” Shame and anger bubbles up in Beetlejuice’s gut. He grits his teeth and sighs. They’re right. You’re nothing but a lying snake. ” - HMMM. I wonder if readers should save this information away for later!!

- “ “If we have no further business, then I will take my leave.” They lifted one gloved hand, presumably to sever the connection, but paused. “.. perhaps consider getting a mobility aid for that leg, Beetlejuice.” Their voice took on an odd sort of wistful twinge. “A cane would suffice, for when it starts to give out on you.” Beetlejuice nodded, giving a half-hearted little smile. “.. thanks, Larry.” ” - Just a little hint at the friendship they used to have many, MANY years ago. A part of Polaris is still strangely fond of Beej.

- “ “About as hard to watch as “Exorcist II: The Heretic”, man.” “… fuck. That bad?” “Maybe even worse.” ” - That movie is one of the worst movies ever. I am not kidding. Watch it if you want to be aware of time passing and death marching closer.

- “ “Aren’t you already dating that… ‘Cyrus’ guy?” “Yeah. ‘M polyamorous, though.” “Oh. Slay.” The demon lifted his head to squint at the teen. ‘Slay’? Before he could ask what the fuck that meant, they spoke again. ” - Beetlejuice has never heard most ridiculous teenage lingo.

- “… god. For a complete doofus, you can be super.. sappy and poetic sometimes. It’s offputting.” - based on something said to me!

- “Lydia caught sight of enormous grey paws under their long skirts, hearing the clicking of their claws on the wooden floor with each step. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, their mind whispered. But that was silly, wasn’t it? Beetlejuice trusted this demon.” - Lydia sees right through Cyrus’ thematic bullshit.

- “His cheeks were still a bright red, the place where Cyrus had placed his lips even having a light tinge of blue to it.” - He got a little bit of frostbite from that kiss.

- “Ash was there as well, sitting on the counter, showing the demon something on her phone that caused them to laugh.” - it was this video.

- “Her green eyes caught the afternoon sun in a beautiful way, reflecting back a golden- fuck, now is not the time for that.” - Lydia’s got her priorities straight! (Well, not straight.) Brothers first, beautiful women second.

- “ “You can’t stand turtlenecks. They’re a sensory hell for you. Why’re you wearing one now?” He’d shook like a chihuahua when Barbara had insisted he try one on in the past. There was no way in hell he’d wear one of his own free will out of the blue. ” - based on my own personal experience with turtlenecks. Why are they literally the worst thing ever?

- “Nearly all of the skin of their neck was bruised a dark purple and blue, from their collarbone nearly to their chin. Just below their Adam’s apple was a line of crudely done stitches holding together what seemed to be a complete decapitation wound.” “Lightly decapitated! My head didn’t come all the way off!” - Yeouch. Just wanted to put all these details together for posterity.

- “ Lydia growled, going to dig through her backpack for her notebook. “No one lays their fuckin’ hands on my brother and gets away with it.” Ash hopped down from the counter and followed her, nodding in agreement. “I’ll get my bat.” ” - Lydia is ready to exorcize a bitch. Ash is ready to bash his fuckin’ kneecaps in.

- “ “I don’t need attack dogs right now, alright? I just…” he hesitated, suddenly looking ashamed. He slumped down into the stool set up behind him. “I want.. someone to be.. here for me.” ” - Sometimes, you don’t need people piling hate on someone who hurt you. You just need them to comfort you.

- “Lydia gently patted his back, speaking to him in as soft a voice as she could muster. “It’ll be alright”, “I’m here”, “You’ll be okay”. She felt the collar of her dress become damp with tears, but she didn’t mind.” - IS THIS FAMILIAR? DOES THIS PARALLEL A SCENE IN TIME IS A FLAT CIRCLE?

- “Lydia feels a soft little smile tugging at her lips as Ash goes on, making plans for what snacks to bring and what creeks to look for rocks in. Beetlejuice chimes in, voice still a little hoarse, suggesting his favorite fallen oak tree for bug hunting. She’s struck with how kind she is, in her own way. How she treats her strange monster of a brother with prickly compassion. She feels a strange little fluttering in her chest.” - 👀

- “.. he and Ash had a stick duel that devolved into an impromptu friendly knife fight,” - Based on a scene in “Night in the Woods”!

- “As Beetlejuice gloated and stuck his tongue out at Ash from a branch a good ten feet above hers, his tail securely holding him up, he felt on top of the world.” - PREHENSILE TAIL USAGE!!

- “He didn’t hit his head that bad, he just needed a moment for the color to return to his vision. Had Ash always had four pairs of eyes?” - Sometimes if you hit your head in just the right place, you temporarily (or permanently, if you’re unlucky) lose the ability to see color. Yes I know this from experience.

- “ He shrugged his shoulders when his daughter asked if the other teen could stay the night. “… I suppose, if her parents are alright with that.” Ash waved their hand and scoffed. “They don’t care. They’re in Massachusetts.” The man frowned, exchanging a brief glance with Lydia. “.. I see. Stay as long as you like, Ms. Swallows.” ” - Charles decided right here that Ash was also his child now too. Father of three!

- “While Lydia and Ash went up to play some sort of… dragon killing game, Beetlejuice decided to retire early to his room.” - Poor guy has no idea what “Skyrim” is.

- “Inside were two little drop earrings with a singular gemstone in each, one a soft, sunshine yellow, the other a gentle, opaque jade.” … “Demons exchange jewelry when they’re courting each other, right?” … “We borrowed some books from Lydia. Read up on demon culture. You weren’t getting the signals the human way, so we decided to try the demon way.” - I JUST. I KNOW I WROTE THIS BUT IT GETS ME, OKAY? THEY PUT IN A LOT OF EFFORT FOR HIM

- “ “… oh!” Finally, a connection. “Oh, yeah, totally, I’m down. You can use me for whatever, don’t even gotta ask permission.” They smirked, feeling a few teeth poking out between their lips. “Bondage, choking, couple bonding over my degradation, knife play, I am down for whatever to spice up your-” Barbara and Adam’s faces both became dark shades of red. Ah. I didn’t connect shit. ” - Both a reference to a “Buzzfeed Unsolved” meme and also highlighting the sad way that Beej sees himself as something to be used by others.

- “They finally forced themself to look down at her, a few rouge tears slipping down their cheeks. Her cobalt eyes were filled to the brim with… love. Care. That same Feeling. Beetlejuice quickly turned their head to find that Adam was the same, his beautiful brown eyes staring up at them the same as Barbara’s.” - WE GOT IT!! IT FINALLY CLICKED EVERYONE!!!!

- “ “… may we kiss you?” Barbara asked in a low, soft voice. Yes. Yes. Yes. Holy fuck, YES. “… Beetlejuice?” “Huh? D-did I say yes?” “You didn’t say anything, sweetheart.” “Oh. I meant yes, b-but my mouth didn’t… speak.” ” - YOU ARE NEVER SAFE FROM AN “Asteroid City” REFERENCE.

- “They didn’t get to finish their sentence. Barbara was cupping their face and pressing her lips against theirs before they knew it. It was electrifying. It was divine. She was warm and soft and perfect and- It was over before they knew it, before they could reciprocate. And before they could stammer out any more foolish false starts to a sentence, Adam was holding their face and kissing them gently.” - WE DID IT BOYS. 88,494 WORDS AND THEY FINALLY KISSED.