#dixie alley

[amassofhumanity]

Seven for a Sunday

Woke up at 1:55 am this morning. Wasn't sure which 1:55 it was, CDT or CST. Found out five minutes later when the clock fell back an hour. Ugh.

Whoops! Seven for Sunday didn’t happen.

Let’s go with Monday Musings.

We’re under a tornado warning. This has been going on for at least an hour. So far it’s missed us but we’re not out of the woods yet. Looks like one has a good chance of coming straight towards us.

My city doesn’t have tornado sirens. I’m in the south. Dixie Alley for tornadoes. The powers that be said it was because people nowadays have other ways of getting that information from other sources. Presumably they mean smart phones. I don’t know what their reasoning was prior to 2007/8 when smartphones became popular. 🤦‍♂️ I live about a mile from the university and they have sirens and I can hear them going off.

I finished training and certification for the new job this past Friday. They then surprised us with doing an hour of taking live calls. That was interesting. This is a temporary job that ends December 9th. I had two interviews lined up with similar customer service outsourcing companies.

One of these companies blew off my interview. They sent three emails the morning of reminding me of the interview. They never called. A few days later they sent a “We know things come up, blah, blah. you can reschedule if you want to.” Hard pass.

The other interview went well. I got an offer within a few hours. Unfortunately, I’ll still be working m current contract and couldn’t take the job. They reached out today with another opportunity but still not in my availability. They said there are other opportunities coming up and they will keep me in mind.

That’s all for now. I’ll keep you updated with how things turn out weather wise. The threat of severe storms will be around until at least midnight if not later.

[highqueenseleni]

Today the Midwest is dealing with a second day of crazy storms and tornado outbreak and it reminds me of a story. I moved to Pennsylvania when I was 15 and a couple years later I met my high school bestie, we stayed close for years, even when she eventually moved to Illinois like a year or so after school.

A few years later I wander off to the Midwest, camp myself in Kansas City and I went on a Facebook rant about how excited I was to see what the storms were like and how novel it was that there were storm sirens. It was my first time hearing one!

She, reasonably, replied to my rant with a frantic warning to not fuck around with Midwest storms, they are nothing like the weak things we got in the mountains, basically she gave me the riot act about not being an idiot. Having completely forgotten that I grew up in the (poorly named) Dixie Alley and experienced my fair share of tornados, devastating storms, flooding, and a Cat 5 Hurricane. The reason I never heard a storm siren is because back in the 90s the south didn't believe in them, apparently. She very quickly agreed that I was fine and told me to go enjoy the storms and just try not to get struck by lightning while doing photography.

There was no warning down there and not great radars on the weather channel at the time, so you had to get really good at learning how to read a storm, the only direct hit with a tornado occurred when I lived in an apartment building top floor, there wasn't enough time to get lower so my mom threw me in the bathtub and threw a mattress over me, still have no idea how she moved that fast. Earlier that day I fell while playing and cut my hand and it scarred into the shape of a tornado, I like to think of it as a protective charm. That was the same year we weathered Hugo in SC, my first time seeing a hurricane eye and some of my clearest early memories.

I have lived in the Midwest (KC and Wisconsin) for a decade now and nothing I have experienced here matched what I experienced in the south. In part because the Midwest is so much better at warning that storms are happening. Thankfully the south is getting better, but it is still way too far behind.

I am sad that all the storms are popping to the south meaning no rain and I am going to have to water my plants :(

[alannah-corvaine]

no sleep tonight, just tornadoes and sky high anxiety.

[scatterpatter]

ur info... dump it...

*PULLING UP ALL MY NWS RESOURCES* WHAT WOULD U LIKE TO KNOW

[mari-animates]

Y'all do know not to shelter under and overpass during a tornado, right? Like you'd literally have a better chance in the open than under and overpass DO NOT GO UNDER THE OVERPASS—

[floweralleyblog-blog]

Each Face a Delight

June is daylily season here in North Carolina. I must work hard to have uneaten blooms. It is worth all the effort to see these beautiful faces. I say their names as I visit each plant to dead-head itswithered blooms. I will share a photo of each with its name. Trying to pick a favorite is difficult. There are qualities other than bloom color that make them desirable…stem strength and length,…

[shuckerss]

Brah fuck this damn tornado outbreak

[officialbillhader]

Oh my gosh the tornado siren in the tv show came on and i got terrified that it was in real life

[francebaby]

i had a great evening that turned into “didnt mean to stay awake so long even though im tired as hell from dancing for 5 hours nonstop but i didnt trust my phone or anyone to wake me if the tornado watch turned into a warning” hdhhdjfh

i believe the storm cell has mostly passed so i should be fine but now the post anxiety wont let me sleep PLS THE BIRDS R CHIRPING

[jrswritings]

Tingles and Giggles - Chapter Four - Tyler Owens x Reader

Get caught up with Chapter One, Chapter Two, and Chapter Three! Masterlist :)

Chapter Four - Out Wrangled

Tyler had paid for breakfast, leaving a generous tip for the gals who both gave you smiles and winks as they watched him open the door for you. 

“Are you ready to experience not Youtube star Tyler, darlin?” He asked, walking over to the passenger side of his truck. 

“And there’s going to be no crazy schemes or secret live streams to embarrass me?” You asked, leaning against the truck. 

“Promise,” he said, opening the door for you. 

You squinted your eyes at him, unsure if he was being serious or not. You got inside the truck, gently placing the flowers in the backseat so they didn’t get crushed. Tyler shut your door and walked around to the driver’s side and slid into his seat. Being inside the famous red truck made you feel like you were in some sort of spaceship with how many buttons and switches there were. Some of the labels in Boone’s handwriting made you giggle, ‘color booms’ and ‘stay putters’ were the best two of the bunch. 

“Admiring Boone’s handy work?” He asked, putting his seatbelt on and putting the key in the ignition. 

“I don’t know if handy work is the right word,” you laughed, ��Maybe lack of English skills, but I’ll let it slide.” 

“Yeah, he ain’t the brightest bulb when it comes to that, but he’s great with a camera,” Tyler laughed, turning the key and the truck firing up. 

“I’m glad your music isn’t as loud as this morning,” you teased, putting your seatbelt and sunglasses on. 

“I thought no one saw,” he groaned, putting his forehead on the steering wheel. 

You laughed, “If I count as no one, then yes. No one saw.” 

“Ugh,” he groaned, leaning back and putting his cowboy hat in the middle of the dash, “No, you’re not a no one. But I was really hoping I went unnoticed.” 

“You? Unnoticed? Ha!” You said, putting your phone in the cup holder and squeezing your purse under the armrest. 

“What’s that supposed to mean, sweetheart?” He asked, looking over at you over his sunglasses. 

“You’re basically a star in all of Tornado Alley, Owens,” you stated, looking back at him, “You could walk into a Walmart and be surrounded by people, even if they didn’t like you, they would flock to you.” 

He smirked, “Can’t help people enjoy watching what I do, but they’ll never enjoy it as much as me.” 

“It’ll be a hell of a way to go,” you said, crossing your legs and looking out the window, “Headlines stating Tornado Alley’s biggest Tornado Wrangler got out wrangled in his last tornadeo!” 

“Ouch,” he said, putting the truck in reverse and heading west of town. 

“You’ll be fine,” you said, rolling the window down. 

“You better hope so, otherwise you get to drive back,” he said, “And it’s a two-hour drive to where we’re going.” 

“Which is where? Do I need to inform my next of kin where they’ll find my body?” You joked, glancing over at him. 

“What?” He laughed, “You will be fine, I’ll keep you safe like my life depends on it.” 

“Good, because it does,” you said, looking over your sunglasses to watch his eyebrows go up, “My team is pretty protective of me.” 

He swallowed hard, “I know…” 

“Why don’t we listen to the radio?” you asked, turning the dial to hear the start of  The Dixie Chicks singing ‘Cowboy Take Me Away.’ 

This is where you had to decide how comfortable you were going to be with Tyler as this was the song you sang that won you the high school talent show. As you were debating on it, you noticed Tyler tapping the steering wheel along to the drums, at least you knew his taste in music was the same as yours.

As if it was planned, you both started to hum along softly before it got to the chorus. 

“Oh, it sounds good to me,” you sang softly, grabbing his hat and placing it on your head, “I said, cowboy, take me away.” 

Tyler glanced over at you, a smile coming to his face as he heard you sing. He’s heard a lot of great artists over his years of listening to music and seeing live performances, but none compared to the melody coming out of you. On top of that, putting his hat on while being in his truck? He fell even more head over heels for you, knowing deep down he was to do everything in his power to spend his life with you. 

“I wanna look at the horizon, and not see a building standing tall,” you sang softly, adjusting in your seat to put your boots on the dash, “I wanna be the only one for miles and miles, except for maybe you and your simple smile.” 

As he drove he pictured just that, the idea of having a little slice of Heaven with you sounded so peaceful. All too soon the song ended and moved onto one he could sing along to, even though he knew you could too. 

“Little place is a little bit understated, yeah, the O.J. 's always concentrated,” he sang, rolling his window down, “The AC’s broke so we gotta sleep naked, it’s a good day for livin’.” 

“Since when can this cowboy sing?” You asked, looking over at him while swaying your feet to the beat of Joe Nichols’ ‘Good Day for Living.’ 

“Since I was little, how about you Miss American Idol?” He asked, “You’d be America’s next big star, bigger than Lainey Wilson.” 

“Haha, I’ve tried back home,” you said, playing with the hem of your shirt, “Didn’t get me very far so I came up here and started storm chasing.” 

“Have you ever thought about going to Nashville?” He asked, knowing he would hate if you left, but he wanted you to live your dreams. 

“No, if I did grow into anything, I wanted to do it organically. Not the cookie-cutter molds that usually come out of Nashville,” you scoffed slightly. 

“Oh, you seem like you’ve had a bad experience with it?” He asked, his tone being hushed as he didn’t want to bring up any bad feelings. 

“I didn’t personally but one of my uncles tried and was told to do the opposite of what he was doing to become a star,” you said, “It is what it is, but I vowed I would never do it that way.” 

“Understandable, darlin’,” he said, leaning back into his seat and driving with his left hand. 

It was silent in the cab for about a half hour of the drive, just listening to music and feeling the warm breeze on your skin. You glanced over at the clock on the radio, it reading 10:26 am. You had been driving for an hour since leaving the diner, and you still had no idea where you were headed. You weren’t sure what all there was to do in Oklahoma besides chase storms or a rodeo. While you were thinking over all the things you could figure out to do in the state, your phone ringing pulled you from your thoughts.

Asher was calling you. As much as you appreciated him being a part of Storm Riders, he followed you around like a lost puppy and did everything you told him to do. If you told him to jump into the Grand Canyon, he would. 

You picked up your phone, answering “This is (Y/n).”

“(Y/N)! What am I supposed to do on a day off? I’ve already gone through the whole checklist you made for me when it’s a clear day, but now I’m stuck sitting in the van waiting,” he said, “Everyone went to the big town close by to go shopping and sightseeing.” 

“Why don’t you take the drone out and fly around the area, see if you can find some wildlife, and get some cool pictures of nature, Ash,” you said, bringing your hand to your forehead and rubbing circles gently. 

“Where are you even? Your truck is here, but you’re not. You weren’t even here when we all got up,” he said, you could hear the shuffling of papers and a door opening. 

“I went out with someone,” you stated plainly, “Go fly the drone, and if you get bored call Willow or Jade. I’m going to be unavailable for the rest of the day.” 

“O-Okay,” he said and hung up. 

You sighed, “I love that kid but he needs to grow more independent.” 

Tyler laughed, shaking his head, “Send him with us for a while and he’ll learn quick.” 

“Really?” You asked a little too quickly. 

“I’ll let Ben ride with you so he can get better shots of Ol Red here and the team shooting more fireworks into a ‘nado,” he said, smirking. 

“Only you, Tyler,” you laughed, leaning onto the armrest and laying your hand over the edge. 

Tyler glanced over and decided it was now or never. He took a deeper breath and grabbed your hand with his, giving it a soft squeeze. Why this caused you to jump, you’ll never know, but it did.

Want more? Here's Chapter Five!

[gothamcity-official]

Red Hood's monthly children's book club

Tonight is the monthly book club run by Red Hood in Crime Alley. It is meant to keep homeless children educated and prepare them for the future. Parents are allowed to bring their children if they are under the age of 15. 

The book they will be discussing from last month is Because of Winn-Dixie. This month's book is reported to be Charlotte's Web. 

If you do not know the address, one of your neighbors does. 

[egberts]

little rock, north little rock, jacksonville, and other cities in central arkansas are being hit with multiple tornadoes and really bad storms right now. a huge, fast tornado tore through west and north little rock, hundreds of people are injured and it's predicted to be a mass casualty incident. if you live anywhere in dixie alley be very weather aware today, it's going to get worse and an outbreak is already predicted to be underway. 3/31/23

[autumnal-thunder]

Historically quiet tornado season for Dixie Alley this year

[silverowl102]

Tornado Tidbits for my Twisters fanfiction writers (from someone who loves weather but it’s not my profession):

Tornados are graded from EF-0 to EF-5. This is not based on tornado size or speed, but damage. (Hypothetically, a powerful twister can be rated EF-0 because it only blew a patio umbrella across the road.) The “E” stands for “Enhanced”. The Fujita scale was updated in 2007. So, any of the tornados from the original movie Twister or Tyler/Kate’s childhood past would likely be rated on the Fujita Scale (F only). But anything recent is EF.

Though the exact location of a tornado cannot be predicted, meteorologists can use predictive tools and models to pinpoint larger areas of risk, sometimes up to a week in advance. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) ranks storm levels from lowest to highest risk as such: Marginal, Slight, Enhanced, Moderate, and High. And you bet that a “high” risk will likely result in lots of storm chasers out and about!

Day time heating increases instability! Therefore, a morning starting with dark skies and widespread cloud cover does not increase tornado risk. A clear, sunny day would - supercell storms can develop later in the day!

Tornado chasing can occur throughout many months of the year. Although peak season for traditional “Tornado Alley” is May-June, “Dixie Alley” has an earlier time frame. And tornados into northern US states and into Canada occur in the later summer months. Tornados are not confined to spring and summer months either - the Mayfield, KS EF-4 tornado occurred in December, for example. However, chasing twisters in other areas of the US with large amounts of trees and hills means an obscured view… and increased danger when you can’t put your eyes on the storm!

Add any other tornado facts you want Twisters fanfiction writers to know! (I love reading all the fics, I do.)

[fabdante]

Headcanon that DmC Dante's wardrobe is an absolute disaster Dante calls "whatever I was able to buy or steal from various places, usually the thrift stores". Could 100% see him beating up or killing a demon and then pausing to check their shoe size. If it fits, Dante's stealing it. Unless he really can't get the bloodstains out. Man is absolutely like a cryptid for the Limbo City laundromats.

Like. He shows up back in Paradise (Kat and his new base, after the first game) wearing a long, ankle-length skirt, somebody else's shoes, a jacket that looks either like a bowling alley carpet threw up all over it, or like a Dixie cup in shirt form, and (probably) no shirt. And maybe wearing socks, if he's lucky.

Kat: "What the hell are you wearing?"

Dante: "Clothes."

(Like that, "What'cha got there?" "A smoothie." meme.)

I know preboot Dante is a peacock (affectionate), but I feel like reboot Dante just kinda doesn't care, y'know? Which can have its own charm.

I could definitely see it! I tend to style reboot Dante around like grunge and other alt aesthetics.

Like, what you're describing here is very archetypical of old school grunge fashion, which was largely an anti fashion movement built from poverty so like the clothes were all just largely hand me downs and things people could buy/nab from the local thrift store. It's got this magpiesque vibe to it also which I personally find very fun.

Anyway yeah I could definitely see that!

[carpe-astra]

The Eternal Companion

The recent explosion of his office coupled with the return of Dixie had brought a lot of things screaming back he'd thought well and put away.

War, in all its various forms, was an eternal companion of his.

Dirt splashed over his back like a crest of sea-spray against a coastal cliff as the ground behind him exploded with a shell, and shook violently. Heat lapped his spine, searing in through the threads of his uniform. Sweat dripped down his back and cheeks. He took Oliver's hand in his own, squeezing tightly as he gripped his brother's shoulder.

"Hang on Ollie. We'll get you to the med tent and get you patched up. Maybe that pretty nurse you've been mooning over will be there," Valentino spoke, managing a strained half grin that felt too wrong on his face. It was hard to keep his voice steady, feeling his throat constrict and burn. Stopping his words as he swallowed back sullen sorrow as Oliver's blood boiled from his mouth and down his chin.

Frankie's hand forced him to share a look with his best friend, cruel as it was. Valentino's head dropped, a bead of sweat dripping from his nose to soak into the ashy soil beneath his knees though he hardly saw it through the swimming shimmer. Then his throat bobbed forcefully and he slid a few inches closer to Oliver while jamming the heel of his palm against his helmet, like he wanted to rip at his hair.

After Frankie took Oliver's helmet off, Val was careful to avoid the large piece of shrapnel buried in Ollie's chest. Tightly gripping his big brother's hand, he spoke. "It's alright Oliver. I'm here..." His tone was deep and gruff with the emotion he couldn't let show.

It was the same nightmare he'd had for years. One that lingered even now, returned to him like a ghost he couldn't quite shake even with the soft glow of the lamps lighting the room.

Valentino lay on his back, his arm wrapped around Lulu, her head resting on his chest. The room smelled faintly of whiskey and ash, the kind of scent that had long since become part of his skin, a reminder of all the things he couldn’t wash away.

Lulu was silent for a while, tracing lazy circles on his chest, her breathing calm but heavy with unspoken thoughts. She looked up at him, her eyes searching his face. “Is Dixie doing any better?"

Valentino tensed, his jaw clenching as the weight of her words pressed down on him. “Some.”

Charlie, the godsblood child they were supposed to protect. The strange, otherworldly child. The one they’d lost. Taken. And Dixie, kidnapped with them. When she’d been returned, something in her had shattered. The loss was too much for her. It was more than just Charlie’s absence - it was the ghosts of the past stirring up old pain.

“She’s hurting, Val,” Lulu said softly, resting her hand over his heart.

“I thought we could have saved her back then,” Valentino muttered, his voice thick with old regret. “But we didn’t. I didn’t. I didn't even save her this time.”

Lulu tilted her head, her brow furrowing in concern. “Val… what are you talking about?”

“He couldn’t handle it,” Valentino whispered. “Frankie couldn’t handle the war, the memories. He didn’t even recognize her.”

Lulu’s expression softened, her hand sliding to his cheek. “Frankie… you don’t talk about him much.”

Valentino opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. The name was like a knife in his chest. “He was my best friend. We served together. The trenches, the mud, the blood… we saw everything. Did things I try not to remember. When we got back, neither of us was the same. But Frankie… he lost control.”

The night air was thick, humid, and heavy with the scent of wet earth. Frankie stumbled alongside Valentino, laughing louder than he had in years, the bottle in his hand sloshing whiskey over the rim. They’d been drinking for hours, retracing old haunts, smoke-filled pubs, dim alleys where they’d made their names with the Kingbreakers. It was almost like before, before the war.

Almost.

Frankie wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shot Valentino a sideways grin, his eyes wild and bright beneath the moonlight. “You remember that time, Val? The one with Mickey and the safebox? Jesus, I swear that man never knew how to keep his head on straight.”

Valentino forced a smile, his heart a lead weight in his chest. "Yeah. He got us into that mess with the coppers, and we still came out clean. Dumb luck."

“Luck, yeah,” Frankie laughed, then tipped the bottle back for another swig. “Man, I miss those days. No worries. No fucking nightmares.” His voice trailed off, the laughter fading into something darker, something hollow.

Valentino kept his eyes forward, on the graveyard up ahead. He’d been dragging this moment out all night, savoring the last flickers of who Frankie used to be. The Frankie he remembered before the war shattered everything.

As the night wore on, the laughter had faded. Frankie knew. They both knew.

“You think we can go back?” Frankie had asked, his voice quieter, eyes glassy as he stared into the empty street ahead of them. “Back to before? Before the trenches. Before… all of it.”

Valentino had looked at him, at the shadow of the man he once was. “There’s no going back, Frankie. We’re not the same men anymore.”

Frankie’s jaw tightened. His eyes flickered with something... regret, maybe. Or anger. Valentino couldn’t tell anymore. “I miss it, Val. I miss feeling… normal. Like I had control. But it’s gone, isn’t it? I’ve lost everything, haven’t I?”

Valentino swallowed hard, the image of Dixie’s broken body flashing behind his eyes, the way she had looked at him when he found her. Her face bruised, her hands trembling, and the baby… gone. “You didn’t lose everything, Frankie,” he said quietly. "You threw it away."

Frankie stopped, blinking, the words sinking in like stones. He looked at Valentino, and for a moment, the rage flared. Just like it had the day he beat Dixie. The day he didn’t even know her face, didn’t even know what he was doing.

"I didn't... I didn’t mean it, Val," Frankie whispered, his voice shaking. “I love her. You know that. You know I didn’t mean to hurt her, don’t you?”

Valentino’s chest had tightened, anger and sorrow warring inside him. “I know, Frankie. But it doesn’t matter. The baby… she lost the baby.”

Frankie’s face had crumpled, his body sagging under the weight of the guilt. “I love her, Val. I really do. I’d never… I wouldn’t hurt her like that on purpose.”

But the damage was done. There was no forgiveness for what he had done, not in Valentino’s eyes. Not in Dixie’s. They had made the decision together. Frankie couldn’t be allowed to spiral further.

Frankie took a step back, staring down at the bottle in his hand like it held all the answers. “So, what now, Val? What happens to me?”

Valentino’s heart pounded in his chest, the weight of what he was about to do pressing down like a vice. “We say goodbye,” he said, his voice almost steady.

So, they had walked to the graveyard. Frankie had known. There were no words for it, just the silent understanding between them.

“Do it, Val,” Frankie had said, almost relieved. “I deserve it.”

Valentino had raised the gun, the weight of it heavier than it should’ve been. “I’m sorry, Frankie.”

Frankie closed his eyes, tilting his head back toward the sky. “I get it. I’ve been a danger to everyone. To Dixie… to you. To myself.” He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "Should’ve died in the trenches. Should’ve gone with the others."

“You were supposed to make it out,” Valentino said, his voice rough. “We both were.”

Frankie looked at him then, his eyes softer, like he was seeing Valentino - the real him - for the first time in years. “You did right by me, Val. By the gang. Even when everything went to hell, you always stood tall.”

Valentino gritted his teeth, the gun feeling heavier in his hand with every passing second. "You weren’t weak, Frankie. The war took too much from us. Too damn much."

Frankie smiled, sad and broken. “Yeah. Maybe. But this is right. You’re doing me a favor.”

Valentino raised the gun, the barrel steady, aimed right at Frankie’s head. His best friend. A brother.

Frankie nodded, his face calm, like he was finally at peace. “Do it, Val. Make it quick.”

Valentino squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed through the graveyard, shattering the stillness. Frankie’s body crumpled to the ground in silence, his lifeless eyes staring up at the stars above.

Valentino stood there for a long time, the gun still in his hand, his heart pounding in his chest. He kneeled beside the body and closed Frankie’s eyes.

Frankie had gone into an unmarked grave.

Lulu stroked his cheek, bringing him back to the present. “You did what you had to, Val. You always do. You’ll find Charlie. And Dixie… she’ll heal.”

“I’ve failed her before, Elizabeth,” he whispered, calling her by that old name. “I don’t want to fail her again.”

"You won’t," Lulu whispered, her voice filled with a certainty that he didn’t feel.

Valentino didn’t answer. He just held her close, staring up at the ceiling as the ghosts of his past refused to let him go.