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redbirdbella · 4 years ago

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@clintasha-week advent calendar day 25 - holidays

No hate against quiet celebrations of christmas i just really want to write a found family fic. My last advent calendar day!!!

The Invitation arrives mid-November.

You are cordially invited to Morgan Starks first Christmas. The 23rd to the 27th of December.

Great. Just great. It's a little too early for Christmas but either Peppers excellent organisational skills or Tony's excitement had got the better of one of them. She should reply, she really should, she loves her little goddaughter. But Christmas has always been a quiet affair, a lazy day between her and Clint. One where she didn't have to walk around with her guards up, ready for anything. She pins the invitation to her notice board and mentally makes a note to reply, once she's made a decision.

Then HYDRA rears their ugly head and Christmas becomes more of an afterthought. Its Clint who gives her the nudge she needs.

"So what's the plan for Christmas?"

Natasha shrugs "It's Morgan's first Christmas"

"Yeah, I know. That normally happens once someone's had a baby"

"I'd like to be there"

"Yeah?" Clint asks smile rising to his cheeks, "Pepper says it's just going to be low key. Just the Avengers, Bucky, Rhodey, Happy and Peter and his Aunt. We can bring Lucky. Leave early if it gets too much"

Natasha nods. That sounded - tolerable. "At least I won't have to cook"

It sounded simple. Just RSVP but nothing could ever be simple for Tony. There's even a freaking timetable for her to agree too.

They should arrive anytime on the 23rd but preferably in time for the adults-only party in the evening. The words PETER CAN ATTEND BUT WILL NOT BE SERVED ALCOHOL have been written in pen underneath. The 24th involves baking and board games and carol singing and a visit from Santa followed by a child-friendly fancy dress party in the evening. The 25th is Christmas. Presents encouraged, Pyjamas only. The 26th is an open house with exclusive invitations to those Tony deems worthy of paying homage to his baby daughter. She knows that Hills been invited so that'll be - nice.

They receive time off from SHIELD starting the 16th so there's a rush to get presents (I mean what do you get a billionaire and an 8-month-old?!) acceptable pyjamas and a fancy dress costume. Clint decides they should be pirates so he can master the eye patch ready to take over from Fury. Natasha leaves that to Clint using the time to buy her archer a few presents. A new lead for Lucky and a Tourist's guide to Budapest amongst other things. She spoils Morgan into a state of rotten worse than the back of Clint's fridge but it's worth it or it will be.

It's already by the 23rd. Just. She'd be lying if she wasn't still wrapping presents under Lucky's supervision in the back of the quin jet on the way over to Tony's Minnesota mansion. The sun is dipping as they arrive exchanging hugs and a quick squeeze with Morgan before she needs to go to bed. She's surprised to find she doesn't hate it. They give them space to settle into their rooms. Separate accommodation had been provided, but one instantly becomes a luggage storage facility. No one comments. It's nice even when Jarvis directs them down to the Outside barn for the party. It's smart casual, laid back and lit up with fairy lights and a moderate Tree in pride of place. Like someone had put real thought and care into who and what they were doing. Theirs an ice sculpture that's giving out some sort of non-alcoholic punch. A pool table, air hockey table and various amusements but it's the target practice area built into the corner with various weapons from axes to darts that they make a beeline too. Clint quickly claiming the bow. It's a nice icebreaker. Bucky and Clint hit it off occupying two of the lanes showing off to no one but each other, leaving Natasha and Steve to talk.

"Your Clint is good isn't he- there's not much between them. Your Clint. My Bucky" he's had a little to drink but Natasha doesn't care. They've earn't this.

"He's not my boyfriend"

"I know. You're just sweet on him and he's sweet on you. It's nice to see you both happy" Steve says knowingly.

That just about sums it up. She's sweet on him -for him. Just about him.

"Yeah, I'm just sweet on him" she nods.

"Good. Think he's got a fan" he says tipping his bottle towards the young Spiderman who Clint greets warmly.

Natasha smiles downing the rest of her drink in one "Ever thrown an axe before Cap?"

Slowly the numbers in the building rise until everyone's arrived and it's - nice. Really nice. Just a relaxed evening with people she considers friends. She doesn't think once about home or switch to the 5D chess or Machiavellian mind games. They all call it a night at 2 am for fear of waking Morgan but Tony assures them the Barn will be open to use thorough out the stay. Perfect.

Lucky wakes them early the next morning. Too early. but he still manages to drag them on a walk exploring the gardens of the house. It's beautiful even as the snow starts to fall driving Lucky crazy. Clint holds her hand once the mansions out if view. "Need to keep them warm or Morgan will scream the place down when hold her"

They walk until the winter sun rises enough to melt the snow clouds and return to the house Jarvis greeting them upon arrival. Apparently most of the house were in the kitchen baking- or at least attempting to. Only Rhodey seemed to be busy with a few saucepans. The pantry is well stocked though and Steves happy enough to try his hand at gingerbread to escape Bucky and Sam's endless bickering. Natashas just happy to hold the sleeping Morgan, Lucky laying on her lap as Pepper gives Clint the pantry tour. She can't escape the nagging worry that she's not worrying enough until Morgan wakes and stares longingly at the next Christmas tree of the Starks small forest. She gives her a tour and gets roped into help Clint with cookies when Morgan gets hungry and Clint forgets the correct conversion rate between metric and imperial. They're good though melting into her mouth as Clint offers her out a bite. She can feel eyes on them but she doesn't care. They don't care, she reasons or they'd have commented when they'd disappeared into the same bedroom the night before. The afternoon starts as planned with boardgames but quickly dissolves into chaos once it becomes clear that playing trivial pursuit with 3 geniuses, two people with somewhat blank memories of the past 60 years and a Norse god will simply end in tears. It moves to charades which Clint cheats at using ASL to end his torturous turns as soon as possible. Peter soon figures that out causing them to move swiftly onto Jenga the ultimate superhero lever. The games are long drawn out competitive things. It's taken more seriously than most of their missions Natasha notes with a grin. She melts into Steve's arms letting her whisper trash talk into her ear, maybe he's more fun than he first appears. It lasts until Morgan decides it shouldn't screeching and whimpering and demanding a nap. Ruining the quiet calm required for competitive Jenga. Slowly the party breaks away, Tony reminding them of the carols and Santa's visit promised later. Natasha promises to come only to see Morgan's reaction Clint had a $50 bet she'd cry at the sight of the new Intruder, presents be dammed. He's unfortunately right and it takes her through half of the carols (and some of those own songs that mention too much war to be specifically Yuletide) to settle into Pepper's arms before doing the tour of all her Uncles and Aunty's. She coos at Natasha obviously complaints about the new red intruder, but one tickle under her chin and she bursts into giggles.

"Your a natural" Pepper says with a smile, "Obviously her favourite"

Natasha savours the cuddles for a little longer before handing her back carefully removing her little hands from her curls.

"Thank you, Natalie, we are going to have a little nap ahead of the party tonight. Starts at seven. Back here, it's too cold for this little one in the barn. She'll want to see all the costumes hopefully you'll be much happier when it's all your friends dressed up, huh, baby" Pepper coos.

She whisks the little one away before the tears can flow once again leaving Natasha to care for her own needy creature who is just desperate for a walk.

Clint has laid out their costumes on the bed. The costumes are beautiful, Clints has a definite focus on his arms sleeved cut enough to draw attention to each muscle. The swords are surprisingly substantial.

"Mine from the circus"

"A pirate in the circus?!"

"A swordsman in a circus?"

He grins "exactly would you like to learn?"

She smiles picking one up and testing its weight. "I think I can figure it out. Most weapons are fairly intuitive"

"Ready then? Let's see if you can figure it out"

He meets her sword swinging it gently into hers. She grins and meets it using the motion to try and push him off balance. It's ineffective so he capitalises using the swing in her weight to knock her backwards on to the bed but he's too confident in knocking her down leaning too far forward that it would be rude not to bring him down with her.

"Hey" he grins, not exactly disappointed by his new position.

"Hi" She whispers standing up before the blush can rise to her cheeks "You'll have to bring these to SHIELD one day. Give me a proper lesson."

Clint agrees completing a quick change into his pirate costume. Natasha isn't one for fantasy but she can make one exception letting her mind wander.

"Your turn?" He says before putting on his boots.

She doesn't even need to question the sizing if anyone's Natashas body it's him. She changes quickly staring at her self in the mirror. What would madam say at this act of childishness dressing up for a child barely able to comprehend their presence let alone who they are dressing up as. Whatever she would say it doesn't matter Clint wraps his arms around her waist.

"This has been surprisingly Ok. Christmas with the family"

Natasha leans back into his arms "It's complicated, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else"

"Welcome to Christmas" he laughs, "now I just need to get the mutt ready, You wanna be a pirate bud?"

Lucky complains about the pirate flag neckerchief until the fuss arrives at the party. Steve and Bucky and Sam have dressed in 1940s attire. Bruce in his lab coat and goggles. Thor surprisingly as a firefighter though Natasha isn't sure how he learnt about them but she's sure it's a long story. Rhodey as a member of top gun. Peter is some sort of star wars character Clint recognises on sight though the teenager seems more distracted by his Aunt and Happys couples costume. Tony and Pepper are attendees of Jurassic park the two scientists that become a couple if Natasha remembers the films. Morgan dressed in a dinosaur all in one.

"Oh, you are terrifying" Natasha coos offering her arms out for the little girl. She chirps and delightedly reaching for her hat.

Pepper hands her across returning to grown-up conversation with May and Happy.

Natasha let's her hold the hat bringing her to the sofa and to Lucky's waiting nose.

"Does she smell like dinosaur" Natasha coos letting Morgan pat at Lucky's ears. She manages to keep a hold of her goddaughter for most of the night but she has a curiosity for hats swapping quickly to gain a small collection. She falls asleep playing with Clint's buttons and that draws to a sudden close. Tony smiles that new smile he's developed just for his daughter and takes her into his arms.

"Jarvis will drop off breakfast in bed tomorrow if required. Presents opening at 10.30"

The rest of the evening is a timeless blur of a short walk for Lucky, Warm showers and bed before waking up in Clint's arms as Lucky nudges her arms. Apparently jet lag is harder to adapt to when you're a Canine.

"Merry Christmas Lucks" She whispers brushing her fingers through his hair. They're walking fifteen minutes later holding hands today simply out of habit. They discuss gifts and tell stories until they can no longer feel their fingers when they get back no matter how hard Clint holds her. The ice melts away as they eat breakfast, warm Pastries on a platter left by Jarvis dressed in her new pyjamas. It's a new sort of intimacy. Childlike and raw but it's not awkward. Not like she fears.

They give presents amongst friends when 10.30 rolls around. It's tolerable everyone opening presents at once no one needing to explain or pretend. She needs to work on her pretending, she decides as she opens present after present and finds herself liking most of the presents. It's easy to slip under the radar and just enjoy opening presents or watching others open they're own. Well, that is until Clint opens his tourist guide to Budapest his pointed look puncturing the mood until everyone's quiet.

"I know you've been meaning to visit," Natasha says with a grin.

"Yes, I've been told Budapest is very beautiful at Christmas time" Clint returns flicking through the book.

"Well?" Sam asks "is that it?"

"Thank you Natasha," Clint says with a nod when he reaches the back page.

"Fine keep your secrets" Sam mutter's returning to his own pile.

They settle in for Lunch and then nap in front of the fireplace after the queen's speech. Tony had indicated a childhood tradition enforced by his butler. She holds Morgan as they doze pulling the little one in close.

"So this is Christmas huh?"

#clintasha #clintasha advent 2020

13 notes · View notes

hecate-herself · 5 years ago

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Every single prompt I have written?

I think that this is every prompt that I’ve done so far, as of 28/03/2020

1. “Come to bed with me?”

2. “Do you even still love me?”

3. “I think you’re bleeding…”

4. “Get off my foot!”

“Get your foot out from underneath my foot.”

5. “Shh, it’s okay, you don’t need to cry.”

6. “I can’t sleep.”

7. “Why did you lie to me?”

8. “Don’t move, they hit your head really hard.”

9. “Have a good day.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

10. “Do you want a bedtime story?”

11. “Are you sure that you have enough blankets?”

12. “Get out. I am done with you.”

13. “That looks broken. You need a doctor.”

14. “Oh, you can go to hell.”

“Stop threatening me with a good time.”

15. “[mama/papa]’s got you.”

16. “I need a hug. Please?”

17. “Isn’t it your bedtime?”

“Hypocrite.”

“Come to bed with me then.”

18. “I love you, but please, shut up.”

19. “Don’t touch me.”

20. “I can’t stand the sight of you right now. Get away from me.”

21. “I said that I never wanted to see you again. Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to help!”

22. “Please… I am begging you, just open your eyes. Please. You can’t die.”

23. “I’m not hurt.”

“You are actively bleeding.”

“Oh. So I am.”

24. “Don’t pass out on me now, we’re nearly home.”

25. “Isn’t this illegal?”

“Yes, but technically no.”

26. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“If my thoughts are only worth a penny, I shall keep it to myself.”

27. “Did you just stab me?”

28. “…How on earth did you manage to get up there?”

29. “Put the cookie down, eat your dinner first.”

30. “I think I can feel them kicking!”

31. “Are you asleep?”

“Not anymore.”

32. “What if I don’t get better? What if I am broken?”

33. “That is going to leave a really nasty scar.”

34. “Nothing could go wrong, you said. Well guess what? Everything has gone wrong!”

35. “Quick, I think the baby is coming!”

36. “You made me breakfast in bed? What did you do this time?”

37. “I trusted you.”

38. “I don’t… I don’t feel good.”

39. “Come any closer and I will hit you with this book. I swear to God!”

40. “Where did you put your blankie this time.”

41. “Can you check for monsters under the bed?”

42. “You broke my heart.”

43. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Do I look alright to you?”

44. “That best not be the last of the milk… Oh you bastard.”

45. “One little shoe. Two little shoes. All ready to go out.”

46. “It’s just a bad dream. I’ve got you, it’s okay.”

47. “I wish that I never had met you.”

48. “It’s so cold.”

“You need to hold on a bit longer, you are going to be fine. Just stay awake a little longer.”

49. “Roses are red, violets are blue- ow. Fuck you!”

50. “They have grown so much, it’s hard to believe how little they used to be.”

51. “Have you stolen my shirt?”

52. “Stop lying to me!”

53. “I can’t breathe.”

54. “Okay, start from the beginning, you lost me right after you said that you punched someone.”

“That was the first thing that I said.”

55. “I want another baby.”

56. “I never want you to feel like you are alone.”

57. “You are the worst mistake I have ever made.”

58. “Where am I?”

“Are you day drinking?”

“It’s apple juice, not whiskey.”

59. “Say goodbye to mama and papa, they’ll be back soon.”

60. “Kiss me.”

61. “You loved me!”

“Loved. Past tense.”

62. “Don’t go. Please. I can’t lose you.”

63. “Do you pinky promise?”

“What are you? Five?”

64. “Stomach bug?”

“No, morning sickness.”

65. “I feel safe in your arms.”

66. “Am I just a game to you?”

67. “I’ve got you, you are going to be okay.”

68. “Lunch?”

“It’s half seven. In the evening.”

“Dinner then?”

69. “It could be worse?”

“They got jam everywhere!”

70. “I dreamed about you last night. I woke up happy.”

71. “Stop pretending to care.”

72. “Please tell me that isn’t all your blood.”

73. “What are you reading?”

74. “You really are your [mother/father]’s child.”

75. “I was thinking, you, me, the bottle of wine in the kitchen and sitting in front of the fire. Thoughts?”

“Yes please.”

76. “You hurt me!”

77. “You’re burning up.”

78. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but the spider in the shower is frankly massive.”

79. “So… the baby is fine, I want you to know that first, they are absolutely fine.”

“What did you do?”

80. “Thank you for looking after me.”

“For you I would do anything.”

81. “Wouldn’t you rather be with [him/her/them]?”

82. “I think you need to see a doctor.”

83. “You didn’t see anything.”

“Yes, I did. I saw all of it.”

84. “They won’t stop crying and, in a minute, I think I am going to start crying too.”

85. “Are you wearing a new lip balm? It tastes really good.”

86. “You ripped my heart to pieces. Did it even hurt when you left?”

87. “It’s just a bit of blood. I’m fine.”

88. “I will make dinner if you don’t speak for the rest of the afternoon.”

89. “Stop wiggling! I need to get you changed!”

90. “Do you have a reason to get out of bed today? Let’s just stay here as long as we can.”

91. “Did you ever love me, or was it just an act?”

92. “It’s just a nightmare. I’ve got you.”

93. “Can I adopt the stray cat out in the street?”

“Do you want fleas? Because that is how you get fleas.”

94. “You are perfect, my little [pet name].”

95. “Stop smiling at me like that, I am trying to concentrate.”

96. “I feel like no one could ever love me.”

97. “Take a deep breath.”

“It hurts.”

“I know, but you have to breath.”

98. “Do we have any cookies in? No? I’m making cookies.”

99. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“Uh huh.”

“Come on, get into bed with us, you can sleep in bed with us tonight.”

100. “Can I kiss you?”

101. “Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.”

102. “You’re going to be okay, just breath. Oh god… is that bone?”

103. “What would you do if I said that I may have burnt the dinner?”

104. “Take a break. I’ll stay up with them, you need some sleep.”

105. “Yes, you look great in my shirt. But I kind of need it back.”

106. “Go ahead, leave, I am not going to stop you.”

107. “That hit hard, are you okay?”

108. “The amount of alcohol I am going to need to forget this is going to kill me.”

109. “How did you get pen that high up the wall?”

110. “I am madly in love with you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have a clue.”

111. “You’ll come crawling back to me.”

“Never.”

112. “Please breath, please… oh god.”

113. “I may have… mildly panicked?”

“You shot at me!”

114. “Please don’t vomit on me. Please don’t vomit on me. Please don’t… You vomited on me.”

115. “Kiss me. Now.”

116. “Please don’t say that, I don’t think I can take it.”

117. “Did you get shot?”

118. “You drank my coffee? Why must you hurt me in this way?”

119. “How many coffees is that?”

“You try having a toddler who refuses to go to bed.”

120. “May I have this dance?”

121. “Fuck off and fall off a cliff.”

122. “Don’t you dare die on me, you promised me!”

123. “What do you mean you aren’t interested in me, it’s me!”

124. “It’s your bedtime.”

“Can I have a story?”

“I just read you a story.”

“’nother story?”

125. “Hold me, please?”

126. “I’d have stayed, if you had asked me to.”

127. “It hurts.”

“I know, it is going to be okay, I promise.”

“It burns, please… Make it stop.”

128. “Hungry?”

“Depends on if you are cooking or we are going out.”

129. “I just put them down for a nap. We probably have an hour of peace.”

130. “Did you make me breakfast in bed? I think that I love you.”

131. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice!”

132. “Your nose is bleeding.”

133. “No, I am not playing spin the bottle with you.”

“But it will be fun!”

“There are only two people here!”

134. “Fuck.”

“Fuck!”

“No. Don’t repeat that. It’s a naughty word.”

“Fuck.”

135. “Happy birthday!”

136. “After everything you put me through, you come here and ask for my help? How dare you!”

137. “Hey, you passed out, stay laying down for a bit longer.”

138. “Did you just get dragged through a bush, or are you always this messy?”

“I couldn’t find a comb.”

139. “If the kid can nap, am I allowed to as well?”

140. “Look up. Mistletoe.”

141. “Bite me.”

142. “How did I get here?”

“I had to carry you. You hit your head really hard.”

143. “How do you feel about killing spiders?”

“Where is it?”

144. “When mummy and daddy love each other very much…”

145. “Don’t you just look absolutely stunning?”

“You are biased.”

“I am your partner, I am allowed to be.”

146. “I hate you so much.”

“I know. I deserve it.”

147. “I’m calling the doctor.”

“I am fine.”

“You really aren’t.”

148. “Why are you on the floor? Did you fall?”

“Would you believe me if I said no?”

149. “Can you tidy your toys away please? Preferably before I break my neck tripping over a stuffed turtle.”

150. “Did you sleep last night? At all?”

“God no, what do you take me for?”

151. “Get out!”

“Please let me explain.”

“Out!”

152. “it could be worse.”

“You aren’t the one bleeding.”

“Look, you are still alive. Stop whining.”

153. “Pass me that would you- no, no the other one. On your left. No… your other left.”

154. “Hush little baby don’t say a word, mummy has a headache and your crying hurts.”

155. “You and me, together. We’re unbeatable. We can go against all odds and come out on top.”

156. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Well-“

“That was rhetorical.”

157. “Are you bleeding?”

“We don’t have time to deal with it. I’ll be fine.”

158. “Is this heaven?”

“Well, judging by your presence here, hell.”

“Oh. So I am dead?”

159. “Is it wrong for me to wish that they never grow up and I can keep my baby forever?”

“I kind of want that too.”

160. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I am just… speechless. You look beautiful.”

161. “Don’t touch me!”

162. “Walk it off.”

“I don’t know if I can walk.”

163. “Alright, which one of you idiots left your shoes out for me to trip over again?”

164. “Open wide. Come on, eat your dinner!”

“It probably tastes awful.”

“It doesn’t- okay. No, it is pretty bad.”

165. “I’ve had nightmares. That was like a living hell.”

166. “Did you sleep well?”

“Only because you were with me.”

167. “Love me!”

“I love you. Now shut up and go to sleep.”

168. “Don’t move. The spider is on your shoulder.”

169. “How many stitches?”

“Eight. But I think I just ripped two of them out.”

170. “Can I sleep in here? I don’t like the storm.”

“Scared of a little thunder?”

171. “You’re dripping blood everywhere.”

“Sorry, is there a place you’d prefer I stand and bleed?”

“The bathroom. It’s easier to clean up.”

172. “Let’s play a game.”

“Oh no, you are a cheat. I’m not playing against you.”

173. “Bite me.”

“Have you ever said that and been bitten?”

“More times than I’d like to admit.”

174. “Pour us a drink would you? It’s been a long day.”

“Whiskey, brandy, wine or water?”

“If you pour me a glass of water I may actually leave you.”

175. “Get out the shower! You’ve been in there for hours!”

176. “I’ll get the first aid kit.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re a liar. Sit down and let me patch you up.”

177. “Mama.”

“Did they just… Was that their first word?

178. "I’m going to the shops. Needs anything?”

“A will to live. And coffee.”

“A will to live sounds expensive. I’ve got a tenner.”

“Coffee and chocolate then. Close enough.”

179. “Shit it’s on fire.”

“What did you do?!”

180. “How’s the baby doing?”

“They won’t stop crawling underneath the bed.”

181. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been stabbed.”

“Have… Have you been stabbed?”

“A little bit.”

182. “Why are you in a tree?”

“Why aren’t you in a tree?”

“Are you stuck?”

183. “Let’s get a pet.”

“There’s a spider in the kitchen. That’ll do.”

184. “What time is it?”

“Way too early.”

185. “Bed time.”

“I’m an adult.”

“An adult who has been up for nearly thirty six hours, go to bed. Before I drag you up there myself.”

186. “Did you have a good dream?”

“Yeah, you were there.”

187. “What did you do this time?”

“What makes you think I did something?”

“The black eye is a bit of a give away.”

188. “I’m begging you. Please. Please. Just wake up. I need you to wake up. I can’t be without you. Wake up, please.”

189. “What did you do to [her/him]? Tell me!”

190. “I’m actually going to smack you in a minute.”

“Go for it.”

191. “What are you doing?”

“Wasting time.”

192. “You’re bleeding.”

“I know.”

193. “This is going to really hurt.”

“I know, just do it.”

194. “Let’s just get really drunk.”

“Bad day?”

“Bad doesn’t cover it. We have wine in, right?”

195. “Tuck me into bed?”

“You are an adult.”

“So?”

196. “Kiss me, please?”

“Nah.”

“Fine, I will kiss someone else.”

“No, don’t do that!”

197. “Come to bed. I sleep better with you there.”

198. “It would be better if you just forgot me.”

199. “I don’t want to talk about it, just leave me alone.”

200. “I love you.”

“But I don’t love you.”

201. “Where did you get that scar from?

202. “Hold still, I think it’s broken, I can set it, but this will really hurt.”

203. “I haven’t slept in days. The nightmares won’t stop.”

204. “Wake up, I think someone else is here.”

205. “One drink, two drink, three drink, floor!”

206. “How is the hangover?”

“You can great straight to hell, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred pounds.”

207. “I love mummy.”

“What about me?”

“Just mummy.”

208. “Your brat keeps kicking me in the kidney.”

“How come you say they’re mine whenever they are doing that?”

209. “First day of school, are we excited?”

“No.”

210. “Stay in bed a little longer. It is warm here.”

“Alright, five more minutes, then I have to get up.”

211. “I want to hate you, I really do. You repulse me. So why can’t I stay away from you?”

212. “Does it hurt here?”

“Everywhere hurts.”

213. “Are you cheating?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because you cannot have three aces when I have two.”

214. “They’re asleep. We finally have some time to… and you are already asleep.”

215. “How do you always look so kissable?”

216. “How could you do it? To me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t think sorry is going to fix this.”

217. “Oh god I think I am going to throw up.”

218. “Cup of coffee?”

“God?”

“I… I don’t think I am.”

219. “Is… Is it mine?”

“Bastard, of course it’s yours!”

220. “I just want to steal you away to somewhere private and have my wa- oh! I didn’t see you there.”

“I gathered.”

221. “I wish that I had never loved you.”

222. “I can’t stop the bleeding. Please, I need help.”

223. “Ow shit!”

“Language.”

“Ow Merde!”

224. “I go away for six months and I come home, and you have a baby.”

225. “Will you be my Valentine?”

226. “I got you a gift.”

“Why?”

“It’s Valentines day today?”

227. “A candlelit dinner?”

“Anything for you my dear.”

228. “Why are there roses all over the bed?”

“Valentines day?”

“You can tidy that mess up.”

229. “I made dinner reservations.”

“So did I. Surprise?”

230. “Supri- oh shit you’re not [insert character name].”

“Oh god! What the hell? Where are your clothes?”

231. “There are flowers on the doorstep.”

“Who from?”

“I think that you have a secret admirer.”

232. “I guess that you could say that I am a hopeless romantic.”

“I would have just stopped at hopeless.”

233. “I love you.”

“I know. No, I’m just joking! I love you too!”

234. “Happy Valentines day.”

“I didn’t think we would do anything for it.”

“I changed my mind, I wanted to treat you.”

235. “You. Me. Quarantined for two weeks. Anything could happen.”

“Yeah. I may kill you. Or we may both get sick.”

236. “You know, in thirteen years, we could get a quaranteen out of this.”

“I think that I would rather just get sick. Thanks though.”

237. “You have quite a high temperature.”

“Do… Does that mean you think I’m hot?”

“And you are clearly delirious.”

238. “You are coughing an awful lot, you really should be in bed.”

239. “We should do what they did in Edinburgh.”

“Which was?”

“Anyone who was sick got bricked into their homes and left to die.”

“Oh… No, we aren’t doing that.”

240. “We are running out of milk.”

“God, I hate black coffee.”

“Maybe someone shouldn’t have got sick then?”

241. “Is this necessary?”

“You sneezed. You get locked away.”

242. “If you cough on me, I will end you.”

243. “If this kills us, I am glad that I got to spend my last few days with you.”

“It’s a bloody cold.”

244. “I wonder what the world will be like when we can go outside again.”

“It’s two weeks, not two decades.”

245. “I made you some tea.”

“Thank you.”

“But I am not coming into your room, I’ll leave it out here.”

246. “I made you some soup. Open your mouth, I just want to check your temperature first.”

247. “I just want… chocolate.”

“We have three days left. Then you can eat so much chocolate that you are sick.”

“That is the plan.”

248. “I have nothing to read.”

“What about those books on your bedside table?”

“I’ve been inside for ten days. I’ve finished them.”

249. “I can’t believe that I want to be exercising right now. Anything that isn’t these same four walls for another week.”

250. “I am so bored. I would do anything right now.”

“Anything?”

“Anything but you.”

251. “How many rounds of snap have we played?”

“Um… Thirty-six. It’s not my fault you’re bad at any other card game.”

252. “How long will we be inside for?”

“Fourteen days.”

“This isn’t enough coffee.”

253. “I swear there is mistletoe everywhere.”

254. “Close your eyes. I want to surprise you.”

“I hate surprises.”

“You’ll like this one.”

255. “Mince pie?”

“Raisons disgust me.”

“I made them myself.”

“I suppose that it couldn’t hurt to try one.”

256. “You are awful with wrapping paper.”

“I nearly gave up and just wrapped myself up instead.”

257. “What are you doing?”

“Tying a ribbon around you.”

“Why?”

“You’re a gift.”

258. “Do you think you can survive Christmas with my parents?”

“Can you?”

“We are going to need a lot of alcohol.”

259. “I think it’s snowing.”

“I think I am not leaving the house today.”

260. “We need hot chocolate, cream and marshmallows.”

261. “We should go ice skating.”

“I don’t know how to skate.”

“That’s fine, I could do with a good laugh.”

262. “You forgot to get them a present, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t realise that we were actually doing anything for Christmas!”

“A fool’s error.”

263. “Do I get a kiss at midnight?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“If I am still awake. And sober.”

264. “I think that I am on the naughty list.”

“Oh yes, you definitely are.”

66 notes · View notes

viranlly · 5 years ago

Photo

I love New York. I love drinking. I abso-fuck*n-lutely love drinking in New York. I love it so much I went to New York just to drink - caution: this trip is not, and I repeat, not for everybody. I mean, what’s not to love about drinking in New York?! The endless supply of bars; the attractive, charming and talented bar staffs, and let’s not forget the beyond delicious libations they serve up ‘til 3 (even 4) AM on a Monday - astounding, especially when you come from a small town where last call is 12.45, if you’re lucky. Before our trip, we agreed on the ‘one-drink-one-bar-rule’ - a rule that we slowly abandoned as the night progressed. After what felt like a 12 hour commute from YVR, I arrived in Penn Station, starved and parched. A quick change and a touch up later, I finally made it to dinner at WildAir: a hip, trendy, wine-focused Lower East Side restaurant from the boys who opened the Michelin-starred Contra. The food menu is a fairly simple: tartare, mushrooms, clams, and allegedly out-of-this-world fried squid. The wine list, on the other hand, is extensive and edgy. If you’re into the whole natural, skin-contact wine situation like we are, you’ll probably see us there again with a bottle of Susucaru, snacking on some fried squid. A couple blocks down from Wildair, is Bar Goto. A cozy Japanese bar with a MOOD AF lighting, brought to you by Kenta Goto, a Pegu club alumn. The man himself made me a plum Sazerac the last time I was in. It easily became one of those cocktails you crave over and over again. So naturally, I got one, and another one for good measure. The whisky finally kicked in. With a little buzz and a much better mood, we made it to Death and Company and put our name on the list. Wait time was about an hour and 30 mins, enough for a cocktail or two at Angel’s Share – or so we thought. It’s another 45 mins wait for us, but luckily, they have a sister bar next door that’s much less crowded, a little brighter, and slightly more peaceful. Our new friend Ryan, who’s bartending that night made me a ‘Bewitched��, a riff on Old Fashioned with grilled and spiced truffle-infused whisky, cognac, Kokuto syrup, bitters and Kaffir lime leaf. It’s as decadent as it sounds. Stunning mixture of flavour, texture, and aroma on each indulgent sip. It was on point. It’s finally time for us to get to Death and Co. Their Manhattan’s been calling my name since September last year. Everything about Death and Co’s Manhattan is perfect: the bourbon, the vermouth, the ratio, the temperature, just everything. Say what you want (I actually got into an argument on this) but this, is the best Manhattan in Manhattan. The night spiralled down the rabbit hole after the next drink, a Boulevardier - I remember we had two more cocktails there, but I can’t, for the sake of me, remember what they were. I know there was gin, somewhere, somehow. I won’t bore you with the details of our challenging journey home so let’s skip to the morning after - two bottles of Pedialyte, two advils, and a hot shower later. Our mind was focused on a bougie-ish scrambled eggs and caviar at Buvette, and so was the whole West Village apparently. “50 minutes” - the cute European host said. Other people would typically take this time to walk around, maybe get an oat-mylk latte and a croissant. Since we’re no ordinary people, and it just so happened that their sister bar ‘Pisellino’ just opened down the street (what a coincidence), we kinda had to stop by for a drink. It’s 1145, and in front of me was a full, frosty glass (and a mini carafe) of dry martini with olive and twist on the side. What a perfect West Village morning: sunny, breezy, and boozy. By the time we sat down for breakfast, I was a little buzzed, again. But nothing a plate fluffy scrambled eggs and caviar, waffle with berry compotes, croque madame, and another bottle of bubbly rosé can’t fix. We then spent the afternoon roaming around Soho, shopping for all the things we convinced ourselves we desperately needed - Hello new Thom Browne fragrance! It’s a quarter to eight, we were dressed to the nines, ready for a 10/10 night out in New York City. Our plan to have a chic pre-dinner cocktail at Polo Bar was cancelled because someone (aka me) forgot to call and make a reso, and it was packed there. We had to settle for the King Cole Bar across the street where the drinks were meh and the price tag was awfully expensive (no more $25, bland, overly spicy Red Snapper for us) - I went in purely to relive my Andy Sachs’ Harry Potter unpublished manuscript moment and nothing more. Dinner tonight was at the hyped up Korean steakhouse Cote in Flatiron. The one Michelin-starred restaurant is all about high quality meat, delectable side dishes, and impressive wine list (Their beverage director is such a star!). Here’s the thing, if you can make a hanger steak taste so succulently delicious, you’re doing something right. That’s exactly what they do at Cote. The steak (aside from the Galbi) is prepared in the simplest fashion: heat and salt, no marinade, no spices, no nothing - it was perfect. The service was impeccable, the timing of each dish was flawless. With a tummy filled with steak, scallion salad, and rice, we decided to walk our way back to the West Village - seemed crazy far, but at that point, it was necessary. We made it to Dante, who recently crowned #1 bar in the world, so naturally it was very busy. The apero-focused bar is famous for their ‘Negroni Sessions’, which is impressive and can be adventurous. From the most classic, to the most unexpected variation with tequila, banana and pineapple shrub, they do it, and they do it well. If you’re in the mood to splurge (we weren’t lol), their vintage martini is absolutely worth the $65 price tag (the Plymouth gin from ‘60s alone is drool-worthy). I, decided to go for the Olivette: a savoury, brine-y, less serious cousin of the vesper. We then visited Katana Kitten. Another bar in the village that scored a spot in this year’s 50 Best Bars, number 14 to be exact. It’s a fun (the owner Masahiro Urushido is also quite a legend), non pretentious neighbourhood bar with playful and whimsical cocktails. I obviously started with a Hinoki martini, yet another variation of the vesper, while Handika was having a slushy, boozy, crushed-icy ‘dessert’ (didn’t count as a drink, apparently). It was difficult to have just one drink here: would you skip on a yuzu-sisho daiquiri? how about a genever-based negroni with umeshu? or a calpico swizzle? Ya I don’t think so either. We had one of each, plus a another sisho G&T, and the classic highball. YOLO. For the sake of settling our argument on the best Manhattan in Manhattan, I invited Doris to join us at Employees Only across the street from Katana Kitten, conveniently. By the time we saw each other, my Manhattan was gone, and I was drinking a Monkey 47 martini yet again. That’s about all I can recall from that night. Oh wait, there was a tequila shot and another Manhattan - the end. Monday morning - not enough Pedialyte, water nor Advil in the world to bring me back to life. I, somehow, managed to meet Patrick for coffee, had a bite of a mushroom toast, and stayed alive. I made it back to the hotel just in time for a much-needed nap before check out and a trip to Williamsburg for lunch. It was rough. I kept telling myself another lie of “I’m never drinking again” for the 30 minute subway ride to Peter Luger. Peter Luger is a classic: steak (yes, another one), burger, with a side of onion, tomatoes, and fries. We then gathered enough energy to get to DUMBO for a picture of two (hundreds) before saying goodbye to each other - sad. I zipped back downtown for a meeting. A VERY EXCITING MEETING. I got the pleasure to visit the Bon Appetit test kitchen, thanks for the my lovely host Chris Morocco (Yes - we’re friends now HA!). it’s only appropriate that I wore my ‘Thirsty for Andy’ t-shirt - Andy was there, and we obvs. bonded over my OOTD. Claire was doing her ‘Gourmet Makes’, Carla was there, Molly too, Oh I also got to meet Alex Delany and Em Scultz too. It’s a casual Monday afternoon at BA test kitchen. It’s now cocktail hour and the one man I got to meet this time was the man everyone needs in their life: mister Steven Huynh himself. An instagram-turned-real-life-friend that I’ve known for 7 years. We met for the first time that night and we got along over dry martini-inspired cocktails and crudité at Thomas Keller’s TAK room (in the Hudson Yards). Sitting at the bar at TAK room feels luxurious but not intimidating. The bar team was friendly, interactive, and passionate about amaro. They even took us downstairs to check out the vintage amaro collections at their speakeasy, Bookbinder. After a snack break, we visited David Chang’s new restaurant Kawi downstairs. Steven had a pineapple rum daiquiri, I, had a ‘New Fashioned’ - a play of the classic Old Fashioned with coconut-washed Japanese whisky, sencha and bitters. It was delicious. The buzz is back on, and I felt so much better (HA!). Our next stop was The Nomad Hotel - our absolute favorite. We felt like we’re home right away, especially after a delicious Monkey 47 martini (Nobody’s counting, right?). Zanib joined us later that night for a negroni, and of course, I had to refresh my almost empty drink. Another friend Erik joined us for one more drink. Things started to get blurry real quick, I recall there was a Manhattan, a Brooklyn, a rum cocktail of some sort, fried chicken, and a Macallan 12 at one point before we’re back in the car for a nightcap at Blacktail. A tiki-focused sister bar of Dead Rabbit. We’re welcomed by a pink slushy daiquiri, and the bartender made me a delicious, stirred rum cocktail to sip on - don’t ask what it’s called. I finally tapped out and made my way back to Brooklyn. With close to zero voice, I got to Newark and flew back to Vancouver via. Denver - yes, I made a stop to Death and Co for a Sazerac-esque cocktail called the Uncanny Valley and a lobster ceviche. Here I am two weeks later, still recovering from the worst sore throat of my life, slowly getting my voice back (still can’t hit Mariah’s note tho :s). Will I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! Thanks for the amazing time New York - until next time!

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padfootagain · 6 years ago

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I can't believe I reached 3k followers!!! Thank you all so much!! When I started this blog, I hoped to reach 100 followers one day, and now here we are!

So to thank you all and mark the date, I'm making a little event! The theme is simple : movies!

What is it all about?

Under the cut are a list of prompts and scenes from different movies. You can choose between two different things that you would like me to write:

- You can choose between 1 and 5 prompts along with a character and I will write a one-shot based on these prompts for the character you have chosen

- You can choose one scene in the list and a character, and I will re-write that scene for the character you have chosen

A few rules to follow if you want to send a request.

- If you request for the prompts :

- You can request up to 5 prompts, not more

- You can add a few details that you would like to be featured in your request if you have precise ideas

- If you request a scene :

- I will write a one-shot that is inspired by that scene, not the exact same scene (obviously, otherwise, where is the fun?). The idea is to get the same spirit and some references, or the same situation, but not a simple copy.

- These scenes will require me to turn AU!, so don't be surprised.

- You can request only one scene, so choose wisely ;)

- I will most likely 'erase' the characters who were in the original scenes, so don't be surprised.

No matter if you request for prompts or for a scene :

- You can request for any character on my masterlist, no matter if I've already written for them or not.

- I have no trouble with anons, if you're a little shy. So don't hesitate to send a request on anon if you feel more comfortable this way.

- Please, send me your request through my askbox and not in a PM. It's much easier for me to manage, and I might forget about your request if you send it to me privately. If you're shy, send an ask on anon.

- Sadly, I will probably not be able to write all the requests that are sent my way. I will write as many as I can, but I'm only human. I'm sorry if I don't get to write your request. But I invite you to send it anyway, because I might write your request! If you don't send it, then you can be sure that I won't though. Again, I'm sorry if I can't write all the requests I receive, but I usually get too many to be able to write them all.

Requests for this event will be up for one week, which means until January 14!

Considering how well this event works, I may change that date along the way.

Thank you all again and I hope you like this event :D

Prompts :

Every prompt is a movie quote. The movie it comes from is written under the quote in italic

1. "Was that a joke?"

"What if it was?"

"I don't like jokes!"

"I don't like you!'

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

2. "Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf-herder!"

Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back

3. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

4. "Well… my philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice."

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

5. "A heart's a heavy burden."

Howl's Moving Castle

6. "You're far away, where are you?"

"In a world that's disappearing, I'm afraid."

The Sound Of Music

7. "No, I'm not mad. I… I'm hurt, and disappointed and… and mad."

Funny Face

8. "I'm always gonna love you."

"I'm always gonna love you too."

La La Land

9. "I'll just take my ego for a walk…"

An Affair To Remember

11. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Would you like to stay forever?"

Mulan

12. "At midnight, I'll turn into a pumpkin and drive away in my glass slipper. And that will be the end of the fairytale."

Roman Holiday

13. "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

It's A Wonderful Life

14. "Whatever crimes I commit against you, remember, I have diplomatic immunity in 46 countries. Including Puerto Rico."

The Princess Diaries : Royal Engagement

15. "Anything can happen if you let it."

Mary Poppins

16. "Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed. But still you find reasons to keep on living."

Princess Mononoke

17. "Everything is possible. Even the impossible."

Mary Poppins Returns

18. "Love isn't a thinking thing. It's a feeling thing."

Playing It Cool

19. "That is one big pile of shit."

Jurassic Park

20. "I love you."

"I know."

Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back.

21. "Sadness, anger, hate… we were not allowed to express anything. So no, how do we express love?"

Dear Zindagi

22. "Carpe Diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

Dead Poets Society

23. “Always believe in yourself. Do this and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear.”

The Cat Returns

24. "I'll probably lose my citizenship for that."

Mission Impossible III

25. "Oh, don't waste my time with flattery."

"Not to seem rude, but I wasn't actually talking to you."

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

26. "But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass."

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers

27. " I guess we need to register you as a lethal weapon."

Lethal Weapon

28. "Just because it is, doesn't mean it should be."

Australia

29. "It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

30. "A lot of people are in love… but none can love like me, because they don't have you."

Kal Ho Naa Ho

31. "Just follow your heart. And keep smiling."

Kiki's delivery service

32. "That look in your eyes is a pain in my arse, you know that, right?"

Mission Impossible III

33. "Can we take a flight back to reality, or do we have to change planes in Denver?"

The Santa Clause

34. "Yippie-Ki-Yay, motherfucker."

Die Hard

35. "I retire for like five minutes and it all goes to shit."

The Avengers

36. "Would you like to know the probability of her using it against you? It's high."

"Let's get going."

"It's very high…"

Star Wars : Rogue One

37. "I'm too old for this."

Lethal Weapon

38. "Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it."

The Lion King

39. "Now, think of the happiest things. It's the same as having wings."

Peter Pan

40. "I'm in love with you."

"So what?"

"So what? So plenty! I love you! You belong to me!"

"No. People don't belong to people."

Breakfast at Tiffany's

41. "It's called Karma. And it's pronounced 'Ha! '"

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

42. "Whoa, lady, I only speak two languages: English and bad English."

The Fifth Element

43. "You were my new dream."

Tangled

44. "Any question?"

"Yeah. Could we get a cappuccino machine in here? Cause I don't know how you call this."

Mission Impossible

45. "I'm not used to people sticking around when things go bad."

"Welcome home."

Star Wars : Rogue One

45. "Stop, you'll kill them!"

"That's the idea!"

The Mummy

46. "Probably best not to tell anyone about this."

"Right, no one. I mean, I'll tell myself sometimes but don't worry, I won't believe it."

Notting Hill

47. "Once you've met someone, you never really forget them."

Spirited Away

48. "I hit my head on something."

"Yeah, my head!"

Balto

49. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you okay to drive? A minute ago, you were dead."

"What are you talking about?"

"This is not going to end well."

Mission Impossible : Rogue Nation

50. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

Star Wars

51. "A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference."

Winnie The Pooh

52. "If she loves you then she will turn around and look at you... turn around... turn around!"

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

53. "Can I stay for a while?"

"Stay forever."

Notting Hill

54. "Promise me one thing: don't take me home until I'm drunk - very drunk indeed."

Breakfast at Tiffany's

55. "This California dew is a little heavier than usual tonight."

"Really? From where I stand the sun is shining all over the place."

Singin' In The Rain

56. "You need to stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Spider-Man: Homecoming

57. "Who ever said the human race was logical?"

Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home

58. "Blow up the car."

"Oh, it's such a nice car…"

"And yet, do it."

Mission Impossible III

59. "Why complicate things that are really quite simple?"

Mary Poppins

60. "Who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

Mulan

61. "You said 'whoopsidaisies'."

"I don't think so. No one says 'whoopsidaisies', do they? Unless they're…"

"There is no 'unless'. No one has said 'whoopsidaisies' for fifty years and even then it was only little girls with blonde ringlets."

Notting Hill

62. "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

The Wizard Of Oz

63. "Are you out of your corn-fed mind?!"

Star Trek : Into Darkness

64. "You're a good man, with a good heart. And it's hard for a good man to be king."

Black Panther

65. "It is mine to give to whom I will. Like my heart."

The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring

66. "There's no place like home…"

The Wizard Of Oz

67. "I'm with you till the end of the line"

Captain America : First Avenger

68. "You deserve better than this. You deserve people who value you. You deserve to go somewhere where you can be proud of who you are."

The Shape Of Water

69. "No matter how many weapons you have, no matter how great your technology might be, the world cannot live without love."

Castle In The Sky

70. "There is nothing more reassuring than realizing that the world is crazier than you are."

Thor: The Dark World

71. "I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone."

The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring

72. "I love her."

"Does she love you?"

" I don't know now. Yesterday, you weren't alive."

"Well, I apologize for not being dead in a ditch."

"I don't think I can accept your apology."

"Is that a joke?"

"Yes, yes, sort of. I'm not... I've never been very good at jokes."

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

73. "English, motherfucker, do you speak it?"

Pulp Fiction

Scenes :

The links to the scenes on youtube are set in the titles of the movies, so it can be easier for you to choose. I'll re-write the scene entirely so you and the character of your choice can live it ;) It can be set either in the universe of the character you have chosen or the universe of the original scene depending on the scene you choose.

1. Indiana Jones : Raiders Of The Lost Ark

You are so close to finding this lost treasure. Bad for you that you have fallen in a cave filled with deathly traps.

2. Jurassic Park

You thought you would enjoy a nice weekend discovering an amazing scientific breakthrough. Now, here you are, hiding from a T-Rex and wondering how you got yourself in this situation…

3. The Shop Around The Corner / You've Got Mail

You have a date with someone tonight, but you don't know who. All you know is that you are to meet in that café. All turns crazy when your date is actually this colleague of yours whom you hate… kinda…

4. L'Arnacoeur

Your family engaged him/her to seduce you, so you would break your engagement with this guy they hate. Bad luck that for once, he/she falls for you too…

5. Love Affair / An Affair To Remember / Sleepless In Seattle

It's love at first sight. But perhaps the two of you are getting ahead of yourselves. You give each other a bit of time to think, and set up to meet at the top of the Empire State Building, if in six months, you still feel the same for each other. But will you both be there?

6. The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The only way to win this war is to earn more time. And a fight one on one with your enemy is the best way you can come up with. But who will survive the fight? Will it be enough?

7. The Lord Of The Rings : The Fellowship Of The Ring

You are trapped in Moria. A Balrog chasing after you. This looks pretty bad… yep… that's bad…

8. Roman Holiday

You are a princess in your country, but for one day, you have managed to escape your duties, and you are now roaming through the streets of Roma. A stranger helps you through the streets of the city and you spend a magical day…

9. The Holiday

You have exchanged your house for the holiday with a woman in England. You expected a quiet week, but that was before you would meet the woman's brother…

10. The Lake House

Through your mail box, you somehow receive letters from the man who used to live in your house 5 years ago. Through the letters you exchange, you slowly start to develop feelings for each other. Until one day you decide to meet, and set up a date. But he never comes. You realize that he didn't come because he had died during these five years that separated the two of you. But you may have one last chance to save him…

#event #3k #3k followers #celebration

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mcwater21 · 4 years ago

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2. Marsh Madness

The Sheboygan River/Lake/Marsh - Saturday, April 4th

It’s 5pm and Cindy and I have been kayaking on the Sheboygan River and Marsh now for 5 freaking hours! And we just hit a devastating dead end (#L) on our way back to the St. Cloud put-in. We’re now lost in the middle of the Sheboygan Marsh, both phones almost out of power, just a few sips of water left between us, a few hours of sunlight left, Cindy’s shoulder in pain, and no place to land our kayaks. The floating Marsh cattails surrounding us on all sides have no base for us to stand on. If we can’t find our way soon back to the main river ditch we may have to sleep in our kayaks over night - and maybe on the 40 degree water. Wow, could we survive the night in these bizarre conditions? The Bear Grylls’ voice inside me thinks so but it could get dang cold and wet thru the night. I couldn’t help but think of the two twenty year olds who died just a week ago fishing in Lake Winnebago when their canoe capsized late at night in windy and cold conditions. Would this be another “what were they thinking” tragic story line? Wow, how did we get here?

After an amazing 6-week snowbird trip to Florida (kayaked 12 times), Cindy thought the Sheboygan River from St. Cloud to the Sheboygan Marsh would be a nice 2nd waterway in our quest to do 21 Wisconsin waterways this year. Sounded great to me. We spent the night of our 2nd date (August) camping at the Marsh so it would be fun to revisit the area. Hmm, maybe the violent lightning storm and large branch that just missed falling on me during that campout were signs that the Marsh wasn’t as friendly as it looked. Oops, forgot about that warning. I was too jazzed about breaking out my new wetsuit for this trip to worry about the evil Marsh. Dammit, I was not going to drown of cold water shock if I fell into the nippy river today.

Cindy had done some recon with her patio landscaper guy who recommended that we head down the north track of the river to get to the Marsh takeout. Cindy mentioned that the cattails move around and the river pathways could get plugged up. Moving cattails? What does that exactly mean? We didn’t have any stinkin’ cattails in Fox Point. I checked out Google Maps during the drive out and it looked like both the north track and the main river routes were open to the Marsh take-out. No worries. It looked like a 6 to 7 mile river route which should take us around 4 hours. Possibly leaving us time for a quick 9 holes of golf at Lancelot’s afterwards. Right.

The route via Google Maps. Looked clear on the map.

We dropped off my car at the Marsh take-out and headed southwest in Cindy’s car to the put-in (#A) around little St. Cloud. We quickly inflated our kayaks and put in at 12:15pm. After just 50 yards we went under a gorgeous limestone arch bridge with the only little rapids we would encounter all day. We quickly settled in for a very pleasurable ride eastward on the Sheboygan river. There was a small current helping us along, the air temp was in the 60’s, virtually no wind, and the wild life was eager to entertain us. Deer, cranes, blue herons, geese, and ducks were the main players and it was an awesome ride. Very quiet and peaceful - no cars, no people. Ah, nature. Our new water thermometer showed the water at a cool 43 degrees and Cindy’s new GPS speedometer app clocked us at a 2 MPH clip. We were cruising. We both chuckled when Cindy said we should have brought her 14 year old granddaughter along with us. Maybe a little later in the spring when the water warms up.

St. Cloud put-in with limestone bridge at the start

About an hour in we went past another little put-in (#B) by a farm side road. A good spot to start from in the future for a little shorter trip. A half hour later we hit a long east-west straight-away ditch that provided a shortcut to the Marsh. Another half hour went by and we came upon a bizarre little hunting shack, which Cindy nicknamed Shit’s Corner (#C), alongside the river ditch route. It could only be accessed from the river and it had 3 little docks. Cindy remembered this place from a previous trip where she and a friend had encountered some scary looking hecklers as they nervously passed by. This time Shit’s Corner was empty so I docked my kayak to poke around and stretch my back. I peered inside to see just a large fireplace and picnic table. Very backwoods looking but it certainly could provide some warmth from the elements for those hunters.

Shit’s Corner - along the main ditch route

So far the river has been lined mainly with forest and a few beautiful cattails here and there. Within another half hour we hit the start of the thick Marsh cattails section, with only cattails along the banks. I wondered what they were resting on or attached to and how fast they moved around. And how deep they were. And, and, and. We then hit our first big fork (#D), a major 3-pronger, in the cattails maze where Cindy’s patio guy advised us to go left . That route would take us north of the Sheboygan Lake and in theory bypass the major cattail stuff. After 20 minutes heading north our river path ended with a little 4-foot wide opening (#E) to the other section of this route. This opening had just a few flattened cattails lining the top of the water and looked very passable. No worries, right? Cindy enthusiastically paddled into the opening but quickly got stuck. Her kayak was resting on a floating cattails patch and there was no way to get any leverage to push or pull past it. A very unique stuck kayak situation. After 15 minutes of trying different pushing and pulling manuevers, I managed to pull Cindy’s kayak back out of the opening. Argh, that was a lot harder than it first appeared. What are these super cattails made of? Do they have brains? Are they networking? Egads!

It looked so easy to pass thru...

Cindy really looked flustered. Our recon info had failed us and we didn’t really have a good plan B. No worries? We backtracked to the fork and tried door #2 - straight east towards the Sheboygan Lake. Now on the Google Maps this looks like a pretty good size lake but it’s really hard to tell how much water versus cattails there is in this lake. But after a hundred yards this eastward section also ended up blocked by another cattail wall (#F) - this time without any little openings. Solid cattails. Are these things moving while we’re kayaking? Now this is getting a little too interesting. So we backed up again and tried door #3 to the south. I felt much better about this path since I could see the larger part of the Sheboygan River in that direction and figured the more water the better chance of clear passage all the way to the Marsh take-out. Sounds logical, right?

We popped down to the bigger part of the Sheboygan River (#G) and headed northeast towards the Marsh take-out. After 30 minutes or so I could see the Marsh lookout tower across the lake and the park restaurant next to it. Things were looking up. The river turned into the lake at some point and we were kayaking in fairly big water for the next hour or so as we slowly made our way to our destination point. We started getting quite giddy as we closed in on the edge of the lake. We talked about stopping for a drink at the restaurant to celebrate our survival. There were cattails fronting the shoreline but we could see a path jutting north in front of the cattails that would take us to the take-out. Yay, we had made it. An epic trip coming to a sweet end. But what’s this? As we finally approached the cattail wall, 50 yards in front of the shore (#H), we could NOT see a way north thru the cattail maze. It was completely blocked! Are you kidding me?

I said to Cindy “we’re going to have to turn around and head back to St. Cloud. It’s the only path we know for certain and we don’t have any time to risk getting blocked again”. It was now 4pm. She couldn’t believe it. “Another 4+ hours to paddle back - and upstream?” she questioned. As ugly as 4+ more hours of paddling sounded, there just weren’t any other alternatives in my mind. I had little faith in that even if we could find a northern route that it would be open all the way to the take-out (#T). So time to suck it up and head back before it gets too late - and dark. And it will get dark soon. The good news was that the air temp is fine, there’s virtually no wind, there’s not much current to paddle against, and we’re still feeling in decent shape. Cindy’s really a trooper and while her shoulder is in pain, she’s not complaining about it at all. But I’m worried that her shoulder may be hurting a lot more than she’s owning up to. And that she’s getting really worried about our predicament.

So as we head back southwest thru the lake to the Sheboygan River, Cindy is scoping out any northern exits which may lead us back up to the north ditch route. The problem with following any of those routes if they do appear is that they may be blocked farther up and then we’ve lost more time with our daylight rapidly fading. Classic risk/reward dilemma. If we’re very lucky we could find a route which would get us out of the water in 30 minutes or so. But if we try one of those routes and it doesn’t pan out, then what? Seems like the low-risk route of retracing our steps seems the smart play now - even if it does mean another 4 hours of paddling, with some of it in the dark. Without flashlights. Cindy calls her sister Lisa and leaves a message informing her of our plight and plans to get to the Marsh restaurant later tonight. Lisa is the now only one who knows we are out here. But at least someone knows. If she listens to her messages.

Google Maps satellite view shows paths open. How old are these?

We take another hour getting thru the big lake again and back onto the river. As the river narrows we realize that we didn’t go past this part of the river before and we must have missed our link back to the main ditch route. But we’re going in the right direction and this part of the river will meet up with the ditch route farther down so we should still be ok. Our phones are both very low on power but I am able to still look at Google Maps and verify our route. We snake our way thru the narrowing river section and start heading north towards the ditch crossing which looks to be another 20 minutes or so away. And then - we hit another freaking cattail wall! (#L) Oh my god! Are you kidding me! It’s now 5pm. This was our lowest point. I tried to stay positive but was worried that Cindy was really getting very anxious about our situation. But she wasn’t showing it if she was. Cindy’s a rock. Strong German. I checked Google Maps again and determined we had to backtrack about 30 minutes to get to the ditch route linkage. We may have lost an hour by missing this exit earlier. That was my major mess-up by not checking Google Maps earlier to make sure we didn’t miss this. Trying to conserve phone battery by using my “guy-dar”. First major “guy-dar” failure in a long time. I had really sold Cindy on my “guy-dar” back in Florida. She now wants a refund. Lovely.

We snake our way back east for 30 minutes and Cindy finds the original exit (#G). Hallelujah! My fears of the Marsh cattails quickly moving to close down our only exit and lock us in the cattail hell maze forever are gone. Now it’s just a matter of hunkering down and paddling for another 2-3 hours, with limited water and phone power, daylight fading, and our bodies aching from 6+ hours of kayaking. We could even “camp” overnight at Shit’s Corner if need be or take-out early at the farm take-out and walk back to the car. At least now we had a few options that were much better than sleeping in kayaks on the cattail water.

Around 6pm we pass Shit’s Corner (#C). With adrenaline kicking in, there’s no desire to stop to stretch or pee. Daylight is quickly fading with sunset targeted around 7:20pm. The next checkpoint is the farm put-in (#B). We put down another of our epic $100 bets with Cindy wagering we’ll hit that put-in around 6:30pm while I say 7pm. Cindy already owes me around $1100 from previous adventure bets and this bumps up a bit more as we hit the farm put-in around 7pm. She’ll never learn. Still no need to take-out at this point as we still have some light to finish with. And we’re not even sure where this country road leads to and how far it would be to walk to our car. And we have no flashlights.

So now it’s the final stretch to the St. Cloud take-out (#A). Cindy’s feet are dry and warm but her hands are starting to get wet and cold as the sun is setting. I’m still worried her shoulder is really hurting but she insists she is ok. I’m still doing fine with my wetsuit so nothing is too wet or cold for me. I have my back brace on and while my back gets uncomfortable at times in the kayak, I was extremely lucky it hadn’t stopped me from being able to paddle during any part of the trip. We’re both in pretty good shape for being in our early 60’s.

Go towards the light! While there’s light...

This last hour leg seemed to take forever. But we were rewarded with great sunset views along the western river bank. Cindy was able to snap a few epic sunset shots on her phone’s last bit of juice. Once the sun finally set around 7:20pm we had another 30 minutes or so of dusk where we continually searched for the limestone bridge right around the next corner. At this point we had both sunk into a zombie-like state with our focus on the finish line - and a stiff drink at the Marsh bar afterwards. 8 hours of non-stop kayaking was getting very old. And I was kayaking blind for the last half hour after I took off my prescription sunglasses in the dusk darkness. Tree stumps on the river banks started looking like bystanders mocking us on our return. Surreal experience.

FINALLY, around 8pm the limestone bridge appeared around the last corner and Cindy quickly beat me to it. BTW, my kayak is a heavy fishing kayak and Cindy’s lightweight kayak beats me to every destination. Anyways, her excitement was quickly quashed when she got stuck going under one of the bridge’s archways. The combination of a strong current and shallow passageway made it virtually impossible to paddle back under the bridge. While she was stuck trying to get thru her archway, I tried all of the other 5 archways and ran into the same issue with all of them. Can you believe this? So close! I finally heard Cindy shouting that she’s “had enough!” and was just getting out at the bank before the bridge. That works for me. It meant getting our feet and hands wet but this was the end for us. It was time to freaking exit stage right.

We yanked our kayaks out of the water and struggled to pull them up a little hill to the road by the bridge. Cindy quickly retrieved her car from the put-in around 50 yards away. While my feet were still ok (wetsuit booties) my hands now were freezing. I could hardly push in the nozzles on my kayak to deflate it. Cindy was also freezing. As we drove away we noticed how dark it was now and how close we were to kayaking in the pitch black darkness. Wow, that was a rather close call. Crank the heat girl!

We drove back to the Marsh campgrounds, picked up my car, and headed to the Marsh restaurant for a well deserved drink. To say the least. We were pleasantly surprised to find Cindy’s sister Lisa and family there having dinner and expecting to see us at some point. They bought us a couple of tall strong cocktails and listened intently to our harrowing story. Hard to tell if they thought of us as tough adventurers or morons. Maybe a 25/75 split. We settled down for a little hamburger dinner, another drink, and caught some of the March Madness UCLA-Gonzaga epic semifinal game. Our own Marsh Madness had ended in triple overtime and we had avoided elimination. Success, sort of. What a day. What a lesson…

Satellite image from 2 days ago. A much clearer picture of the blocked paths.

Epilogue: I learned that most Google Maps satellite pics may be 1-3 years old. I scoped out some free satellite images websites and downloaded 3 day old satellite pics of the Marsh which showed the cattail blockages. For future waterway adventures that involve risky paths we’ll be certain to check out recent satellite images to see if any potential dangers lay in our way. Also it’s a good idea to plan a path that includes the riskier portions early in the trip. For our Marsh trip, it would have been smarter to put-in at the Marsh and take-out at St. Cloud, even though that would have meant going upstream. We would have encountered the cattail blockages early on and had plenty of time (and energy) to adjust our plans. Live and learn. Adventure and live!

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theuniversitychallengereview · 8 years ago

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Episode 30 - Warwick vs Bristol

These two teams entered the quarter final stage with similar fortunes - they topped the aggregate score charts of the eight teams left in the competition, Bristol slightly edging their. It wasn’t there that the similarities ended - both were handed humiliating defeats by an Oxbridge college in their latest appearances, leaving them on the precipice of elimination.

And regardless of who manages to haul themselves up from the cliff edge for another chance to make the semi finals, a third of the remaining female contestants will fall out of the contest. Bristol and Warwick have two female and two male members apiece, but of the other six teams in the quarters, there are only two in total. Of tonight’s contestants, Warwick’s Rudd and Bristol captain Clarke have shown themselves to be two of the series’ entertaining contestants - the former for an abundance of exuberance and the latter for a distinct lack.

Of the two other women, Sophie Hobbs is still sporting the sling she wore in Warwick’s last match, which limits her to one handed buzzing, not that many contestants opt for the rarer two handed technique. And since this may be her last appearance, I’m also going to mention for the fourth time that Bristol’s Jackson shares her name with the protagonist from the novel, and film, Starter for 10 - a fact which will never stop providing me with at least a mild chuckle.

And because I’ll have plenty of time to discuss the gents later on in the tournament, I’ll only give a sentence to one of them. Bristol’s Rolleston is studying to become a history teacher, and if he doesn’t want to become part of his own curriculum he’ll have to put in the game of his life.

As it happens, he starts as if he means to do just that, taking his side’s first two starters as they danced into a narrow lead early on. A lead which, admittedly, was aided by one of the easiest bonus questions I’ve ever seen on the Challenge.

“Which building features prominently in the films King Kong, Sleepless in Seattle?”

If its likely that all one hundred and twelve individual contestants who started the series, plus probably at least 80% of people watching at home, would get that on their own whats the point in having it as a bonus question? There are plenty of complainants who argue that the difficulty of questioning on the Challenge has been falling over the years, and on most issues I would argue with them, but you won’t get an easier five points, even if, like Jackson’s namesake, you’ve had a sly peek at the questions beforehand.

The same could be said for a full set of fivers Bristol get later on darts, which amount to nothing more than rudimentary mental arithmetic, and of which they somehow conspire to miss one. 60+60+50=170? I’m fairly sure that if you’ve made it to the quarter finals of University Challenge you’re going to be comfortable adding together multiples of ten.

This week also saw a round on pop music, providing a welcome break from the endlessly guessable classical music rounds. Its far more difficult to pluck a random band name out of thin air (and for it to be right) than it is to run through a list of Italian composers and pick whichever one sounds vaguely the most likely. Now of course a lot of the time they do genuinely know the right answer, but when you can throw ‘Mozart’ or ‘Bach’ at Paxman with a reasonable chance of it sticking, you aren’t operating at the maximum levels of fun, are you? Its the same issue, as I’ve mentioned in previous editions, that you have with literature questions where the answer is inevitably Austen, Dickens, or a Bronte sister.

Its not like you can’t have arduous questions on popular music, either, as Only Connect has been showing for years.

Meanwhile, back in the match, Rolleston was living up to his early verve, playing like a man reborn with six tens to his name, having only managed a total of four from his previous three showings. His newfound prowess helped his team to a one hundred point lead, and looked to have consigned Warwick to a second consecutive defeat, and elimination.

But Warwick had had enough of rolling over and accepting their fate from their match against Emmanuel, and bounced back with five tens on the bounce to creep within one starter question of their opponents.

Its at this point that I have no choice but to quote Batman, for this is one of many scenarios in which he is solely apt. Riding high on the confidence of his six ten pointers, Joe Rolleston buzzed in with Henry V instead of VIII. If Warwick got the next starter they’d nick it at the death!

Rudd, with a poor, by her own standards, four starters at this point, looked both delighted and startled at the opportunity to win as she beamed out ‘Fritz Lang’ to claim the victory with seconds to spare.

“You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”.

The pendulum swings eternally, and it won’t be Rolleston’s dominant twenty nine minutes that will go down in his precious history, it’ll be the fraction of a second it took him to hand Warwick the tie.

Final Score - Warwick 120 - 110 Bristol

So a low scoring match, but given the conclusion, by no means a boring one. Next week will either be Edinburgh//Wolfson or Birmingham//Balliol, couldn’t tell you which at the moment. No idea why the BBC don’t release the schedule ahead of time for these, and as always, thanks for reading

#university challenge #bbc2 #warwick #bristol #jeremy paxman

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how2to18 · 6 years ago

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“I WANTED TO SAY something to you,” John Gilmore whispered to Charles Schmid Jr., who was sitting in front of him, alone, during a recess at Schmid’s murder trial in the Pima County courthouse. Schmid (who was known locally as “Smitty”) was accused of killing two Tucson girls, Gretchen and Wendy Fritz, though there was every reason to believe he’d also killed another teenager named Alleen Rowe. Gilmore, Schmid, and the bailiff were the only ones in the courtroom that afternoon in Tucson in 1965.

Schmid leaned back and Gilmore, who was then writing for the Los Angeles Free Press, quietly introduced himself: “I’m a friend of Lois Hudson’s.” (This was a friend of Schmid’s wife.) A bond would soon develop between the actor-turned-journalist and the accused killer, but Schmid’s lawyer, William Tinney, disapproved. “I don’t give a good God-damn if he’s a friend of Jesus Christ,” Tinney told his client. “You don’t say a word during the entire duration of this trial!”

The Charles Schmid case marked the beginning of one Los Angeles writer’s trip into certain dark caves of midcentury American insanity, which he would transform into a series of gonzo true-crime books and Hollywood memoirs. It was the moment when a handsome and promising young television actor named Jonathan Gilmore left Los Angeles and, in effect, disappeared — to be replaced by John Gilmore, nonfiction writer and firsthand witness to some of America’s gaudiest nightmares.

The author of Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip; Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder; Live Fast-Die Young: Remembering the Short Life of James Dean; and The Garbage People, one of the first books ever written on the Manson case, seemed instinctively drawn to negatively charged individuals like Schmid, the so-called “Pied Piper of Tucson,” a talentless wannabe musician whose Manson-like hold over his teenage followers extended all the way to killing-for-fun. (Gilmore would later claim that when he first met Charles Manson in 1969, the latter recognized Schmid’s name and exclaimed, “I love the guy!”)

Not since the gory murder spree of James Dean–aping garbageman Charles Starkweather in the late 1950s had Americans been given such a fright as by the Charles Schmid case. It seemed to represent to Americans in 1965 a collision of everything gone wrong with kids-these-days: not just sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but full-on motiveless homicide. Charles Schmid himself was an oddball to beat oddballs, with his troweled-on pancake makeup, a fake rubber beauty mark on his cheek, and the crushed tin cans pounded down inside his boots for height. He dreamed of becoming a duplicate Elvis, “except I’ll be better.” It was all daydreams and fluff. He played tape recordings inside his amp while pretending to strum his guitar.

To John Gilmore, a 30-year-old of considerable experience in late 1950s Beat circles and in the worlds of theater and television, Schmid was something else: a charmer capable of getting people to do anything he wanted, whose antisocial, rock-hard psychopathy was masked by genuine charisma. Gilmore was enthralled.

Schmid, in turn, recognized the hepcat from Hollywood as someone he could relate to and trust. “Of all these old newspapermen, he singled me out,” the writer remembered, decades later. “Smitty would look over at me whenever there was a mistake or a discrepancy in the testimony: an arched eyebrow, a nod, or a pursed, mocking smile.” This was a meeting between two simpatico personalities, representing flip sides of the artistic outsider: one ambitious, dishonest, pathological and manipulative, the other ambitious, openly curious, and talented.

“He was a consummate actor,” Gilmore recalled. “He’d never get angry. He was always cool, calculated, just calmly telling you, in that very convincing and soft baritone voice of his, ‘where it’s at.’ Talking about the prosecutors, he’d say, ‘this is just more of their way of building a case against me…’ He never raised his voice. Nothing rattled him.” During a recess in the courtroom, Gilmore watched Schmid talking with Diane, his new bride, “his head sort of dipping, insinuating, and I could see her knees sort of getting weak under the chair, shaking.” Any actor, not just John Gilmore, might have frankly admired such a performance.

He was present later, on a windswept afternoon when Charles Schmid led sheriff’s deputies to the lonely spot in the desert near Tucson where Alleen Rowe’s skull and skeleton were found, tightly buried underneath dry, hard-packed dirt. “Tight where he buried her. Shallow,” Gilmore remembered.

“Diane, the girl Smitty had just married, knocked on the door of my hotel room one day,” Gilmore told me in 2014. “At the door she said, ‘Smitty wants to see you.’” They drove to the Pima County Jail. There, behind glass, sat Schmid, who’d already decided to make Gilmore his personal manager: “I’ve already written 120 pages to give you.” Thus began Gilmore’s first business meeting (the first of many) with a murderer.

An agreement was reached. Thanks in part to his sudden ownership of Smitty’s writings, Gilmore was able to write his first true-crime book, The Tucson Murders (Dial Press, 1970). The book treats its readers to long, generous quotations from Schmid’s crazily verbose letters and his jailhouse musings, which carry a very special tang of ’60s kid slang: not just descriptions of his bitchin’ threads (“I sure miss decking out in my Continentals and vest and high-collar shirts like I used to, Baby”) but the sad delusions of his dreams of life after prison (“If this RCA audition falls through, I’ll try again and again and again until I prove I’m good enough to cut my songs. I know I can”). At its worst, the material is pop-psych schlock:

The uncertainties of tomorrow and the lost yesterdays add tangible fuel to my inner rebellion […] As I played and sang I projected sex with intent […] even the basic simplicity of my dancing became tainted with sexual suggestiveness […] Any mask I wear to disguise this becomes far more translucent and my carnal appetite becomes visible to the apparent embarrassment of my onlookers […] I truly wish I could be a great surgeon, or philosopher, or anything constructive, but in all honesty I’d rather turn my amplifier full-blast and listen to the noise until I’m enveloped.

(This reminds me that Gilmore later would mock the convoluted writings of Ed Wood, whom he had known both as a local Hollywood wino and a fellow paperback writer.)

Like James Ellroy, another son of Los Angeles who grew up addicted to crime books, John Gilmore made no bones about his relentless pursuit of fame. The difference was, Gilmore started out in life more or less on the high road. His early ’50s friendship with fellow aspiring actor James Dean is a matter of public record (in most, if not all, Dean biographies). His interactions with the young Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper, as well as with such “successful losers” in Hollywood as Ed Wood, TV horror-hostess Vampira, and actress-turned-prostitute Barbara Payton (all highlighted in his book Laid Bare), naturally became grist for the mill of a writer who’d once worked for Confidential Magazine back in 1958.

As his own half-successful quest for movie stardom seemed about to peter out by the mid-’60s, Gilmore took the advice of a Broadway producer who told him “you’re not an actor, you’re a writer.” Years of churning out cheap paperbacks followed while he was living at the Hollywood Tower on Franklin Avenue (circa 1962–’65) and taking occasional acting jobs, mainly in TV Westerns. His close friendships with Dennis Hopper and avant-garde filmmaker Curtis Harrington during this period should have produced something, but didn’t; though thoroughly committed to “the art life,” Gilmore was never an avant-gardist himself. For him, the human condition was always the target.

When the Schmid story broke nationally, in late 1965, the young paperback writer from Hollywood was able to inject himself into the case without difficulty. His book doesn’t purport to solve the mystery of Smitty’s urge to kill, but the current reprint edition (retitled Cold-Blooded: The Tucson Murders and published by LA-based Amok Books) lets present-day readers enjoy its seedy, mid-’60s desert-town ambience, and the incredulous spectacle of a teenage girl’s strange willingness to help someone lure her “best friend” out of her bedroom one night, after that someone suddenly decided, “I want to kill a girl tonight! I want to see what it’s like, and if I can get away with it!”

Gilmore is on record as stating that, in the 1950s, “if you didn’t want a business degree or want to get married, you were branded as an outlaw.” This chip on the shoulder against ’50s society seems to have cemented his personality (despite his pro-police sympathies; his father was an LAPD patrolman). He nursed lifelong obsessions for certain L.A. crime cases. To his peculiarly open mind, it was a short step from hanging out with James Dean to meeting in cheap bars with a shadowy skid-row character who may have killed the Black Dahlia.

A New York–based writer and filmmaker named Rémy Bennett, 33, has been working on a documentary about Gilmore’s life and work, to be titled L.A. Despair: Chasing Death with John Gilmore. She’s been fascinated by his books since childhood. “I was 13 when I pulled Severed off of my father’s bookshelf,” she remembers. “The story haunted and transfixed me with its sad and darkly beautiful telling of the life of Elizabeth Short, and the eerie atmosphere of 1940s Los Angeles that she inhabited.” Bennett would ultimately read through the entire shelf of Gilmore books, true crime and fiction, and come away fascinated by the writer’s own quixotic, “maverick” life: his relentless search for witnesses-to-the-crime and the damaged survivors of scandal, for the aging criminals, actors, and actresses he’d once known from the aborted movie career that might have been, had his luck run differently.

“Maybe he was too much of a loner himself to make it, in that collaborative world of acting,” Bennett wonders. As Gilmore himself boyishly put it in his Jimmy Dean memoir: “Other people had told me I was misanthropic…”

In late 1969, Gilmore decided to head up to Death Valley and interview Charles Manson, recently arrested and being held in jail in the town of Independence. He snagged the interview, and was appalled by the spastic facial contortions and con-man jive this particular monster was spewing forth. “You can’t really have an exchange with Charlie. You are the target […] for a gamut of histrionics,” he wrote in the resulting book, The Garbage People:

He had the shuck down to a first-rate act. Charlie talked and talked […] and to give his ricocheting mental aberrations a little religious zing, he’d mouth half of what he said […] as cryptic parables: a seer whispering through his beard. But to an eye trained to the cages, it was philosophical mumbo-jumbo. Basically it did nothing more than clog like wax. To me, having repeatedly supped with the Devil, you might say, it is very understandable.

In an April 1971 newspaper article titled “Manson: Happiness Is a Cell,” Gilmore presented extensive excerpts from his interviews, most of which never made it into The Garbage People. Here, Charlie’s crackpot philosophy was laid bare:

If you want to get to people and unlock their minds the basic way you get to them is through fear […] I told Sadie to sweep the floor and make me a sandwich, because this is all a woman is for. That is why God put them here […] (then) I can get to her mind and get inside her soul, and body. The Black Muslims know the way, they’re ahead of us,” said the failed race-warrior. “Fifty years ahead of us, fifty years ahead. They know what’s happening. I turn them on because I’m the only white guy in here who knows about Mohammed […] I have no fear of dying. I’ll know where and I’ll know when it is my time. I’m going to lie down, put a little white tag on my toe with the name Charles Manson on it and then I’m going to lie down and die.

The attraction to this kind of darkness never left Gilmore, but he survived unscathed. “I never had the self-destructive urge,” he once said, unlike so many of his earlier Hollywood friends who would fall by the wayside: Sal Mineo, noir movie actor Tom Neal (I guess you could throw Ed Wood in here, too), and, of course, James Dean himself — “Jimmy had talked about Paris, but he never made it out of the country except to Tijuana to see the bulls.”

Looking back at his work when we spoke in 2014, Gilmore said that he realized his “unconscious intent” was always to insert himself into the books as he wrote them, whether fiction or nonfiction: “The creative artist is always part and parcel of what he’s doing; basically, it’s the world according to me. However that sounds, selfish or not, why should I let that be buried underneath?”

The days of having business meetings with murderers were over by then. He’d spent his 60s writing more books, was interviewed for European TV, and had to shrug it off when a proposed David Lynch movie, to be based on his Black Dahlia book, fell through. He was living in a large, book-filled house in suburban North Hollywood, though he had always dreamed of leaving Los Angeles and retiring to the desert. “I’m a committed indoorsman,” he once told me, over coffee and pancakes at Du-Pars.

John Gilmore died at the age of 81 on October 13, 2016, from leukemia. He no doubt shared his friend Jimmy Dean’s outlook on the afterlife, which he quoted in Live Fast, Die Young: “‘What bullshit!’ he said. There was no God, there was only art, only the composer, the creator of the symphony. ‘No matter what they say, there isn’t any heaven. There’s no hell either. There’s nothing before you’re born and there’s nothing after you’re dead.’” Gilmore’s two children spread his ashes somewhere in Death Valley.

At the memorial held for him at Hollywood’s Museum of Death, writers and L.A. historian-types as diverse as Kim Cooper of Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Stuart Swezey (his publisher at Amok), and filmmaker Richard Connor remembered the maverick who chucked a budding Hollywood career for the hinterlands of the American psyche. “He never compromised,” his son Carson told the assembled. “I’ve seen personal relationships go straight out the window, if it meant giving up what he knew he had to do.”

Rémy Bennett flew out from New York to attend the memorial. When we met at the 101 Coffee Shop on Franklin Avenue, she told me that Gilmore’s empathy for the “Black Dahlia,” Elizabeth Short, had moved her:

She became more than just a symbol of “L.A. despair” to me. I saw a young woman whose yearning I could identify with, and a spirit of tragedy that “echoed” in so many lives of people that were lost and searching in those days in Hollywood. John’s ability to get under the skin of his subjects speaks more to a collective sense of grief, and a desire to understand rather than exploit. Cold-Blooded, I think especially, should be mentioned in the same breath as Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song. But somehow he’s remained in the shadows as a cult figure, not the innovator of new journalistic crime writing that I think he deserves to be remembered as.

She envisions her work-in-progress as an impressionistic montage of period photos, quotes, and recordings of Gilmore’s writings, talks with surviving friends, and shots of those places conjured in his books, including the Hollywood rooming houses haunted by Elizabeth Short.

At the memorial, one of the actor-writer’s old friends got up to speak. He looked around and said simply, “Well, John was a solo act.” He deserves an encore.

Anthony Mostrom, a former Los Angeles Times columnist, is currently a book reviewer and travel writer for the LA Weekly.

The post “Having Repeatedly Supped with the Devil…”: The Strange Muses of John Gilmore appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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thrashermaxey · 7 years ago

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Ramblings: Tentpole Defensemen (Mar 16)

Earlier this season I examined which players had recorded primary points on the highest percentage of their team’s goals. It was a meaningful exercise highlighting the players who could generally be relied upon to score regardless of the fate of their team because for the most part, these were the guys driving the bus. You may have noted that the list was comprised entirely of forwards.

What can I tell you? Defensemen simply do not drive offense as directly as forwards can. Rare is the defenseman who scores 10 goals, let alone the 20 or 30 that an average top-line forward might. When defensemen notch assists, half of them are of the secondary variety. They start the breakouts, rather than finishing them. This puts defensemen into an awfully precarious position. They cannot be relied upon to drive offense for a team the same way that forwards can. Even in the age of the offensive defenseman it’s forwards who are driving the bus.

Still, there are some defensemen who do a better job of driving things than others. Here are the defensemen who have recorded points on the highest percentage of team goals (before last night’s action):

Goals

Assists

Points

Team G

Point%

John Klingberg

201

0.289

Erik Karlsson

191

0.283

John Carlson

206

0.267

Brent Burns

203

0.266

Seth Jones

187

0.257

Shayne Gostisbehere

203

0.251

Drew Doughty

201

0.239

Alex Pietrangelo

188

0.229

Keith Yandle

202

0.228

P.K. Subban

220

0.227

Ryan Suter

214

0.220

Tyson Barrie

219

0.215

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

165

0.212

Torey Krug

229

0.210

Roman Josi

220

0.209

Dougie Hamilton

196

0.204

Victor Hedman

251

0.203

Rasmus Ristolainen

164

0.201

Only 18 defensemen in the league have points on 20% of their team’s goals, up from 16 last year. Here’s last year’s list:

Goals

Assists

Points

Team G

Points %

Brent Burns

219

0.347

Erik Karlsson

206

0.345

Victor Hedman

230

0.313

Kevin Shattenkirk

240

0.233

Tyson Barrie

165

0.230

Rasmus Ristolainen

199

0.226

Dougie Hamilton

222

0.225

Drew Doughty

199

0.221

Duncan Keith

240

0.221

John Klingberg

222

0.221

Torey Krug

232

0.220

Dustin Byfuglien

246

0.211

Alex Pietrangelo

233

0.206

Roman Josi

238

0.206

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

191

0.204

Keith Yandle

205

0.200

You’ll notice a lot of overlap. Indeed, 12 of last year’s 20-percenters are hitting that mark again this season. Only Keith (season from hell), Byfuglien (injuries + shooting slump), and Shattenkirk (injuries) have dropped out. This year’s newbies include: Subban (injured last season), Carlson (injured), Gostisbehere (sophomore slump from hell), Suter and Jones.

Notes on this:

What a red herring last year’s first half was in Columbus. Zach Werenski is awesome, but the incomprehensible run that he and Columbus’ top power play unit went on over the first few months did enough to put us off Jones’ scent. Even as Jones quietly was the Blue Jackets’ best defenseman in the second half it still seemed like Werenski was the 1A. Jones has blown those notions to bits. He is so far past Werenski that he’s but a speck on the rearview mirror.

There is room for both Jones and Werenski to be fantasy relevant, but you’ll note something else from the table above, there is only one team with multiple defensemen in on 20% of their team’s goals and that’s Nashville.

Nashville is one of the few holdouts in the league’s trend towards 4F1D power play looks, and that may simply be because their defense are good enough to get away with it. In Columbus, they don’t have that luxury. Not that Werenski and Jones aren’t good enough, but their system is flawed. They can barely piece together a decent power play with four forwards on the ice, let alone just three. Plus, they don’t have good enough third or fourth defensemen to operate on the second unit.

Jones has command of that top deployment in Columbus. There’s enough room for this to swing back the other way, but we only have a half season of dominance from Werenski. Jones has been at this for a year and a half now. Jones is on pace for 57 points this season. Can you imagine if the Blue Jackets had more clicking up front than just Artemi Panarin?

The Jones example highlights how important deployment is. The list above is basically a whose who of top PP defensemen. Only three of the 18 above average less than 3:00 of PP time per game: Josi (2:59), Jones (2:40 thanks to continued dalliance with Werenski as the PP1 option and Columbus’ inability to draw a penalty), and Hamilton (whose second half breakout coincided with a promotion to PP1).

Defensemen averaging over 3:00 minutes of PP time per game but not appearing above: Shea Weber (injured), Shattenkirk (injured), Kris Letang (0.182 points percentage), Nick Leddy (0.183), Byfuglien (0.167), and Justin Faulk (0.157).

Another important piece of the puzzle is offensive zone starts percentage. Of the 18 above, only Subban and Yandle start less than 45% of their shifts in the offensive zone. Teams generate more offense when the puck starts in the other end (duh), so the defensemen deployed in these opportunities get greater exposure to scoring opportunities. This highlights what brilliant seasons Subban and Yandle are having.

While were on Yandle, both he and Barrie had down seasons in 2016-17 but have bounced back with a vengeance. I don’t know if offensive improvements are coming for Arizona or Buffalo, but if they do Ekman-Larsson and Ristolainen are ready to be 50-point defensemen.

I made reference to this as the age of the offensive defenseman, basically, this encompasses the entirety of the time post-2005 lockout. Checkout the three-year volume for defensemen hitting various benchmarks:

10G

40P

50P

60P

PP/G

2001/2004

4.26

2005/2008

4.99

2008/2011

3.80

2011/2015

3.21

2015/2018

3.06

Indeed, defensemen are more frequently hitting lofty heights than their pre-lockout compatriots, but there seems to be a cap on this. Post-lockout we are averaging 26 defensemen per year hitting 10 goals, and 25 defensemen per year hitting 40 points. That’s basically one per team per season and it doesn’t appear to be changing. It may even be growing more concentrated if power play opportunities remain this low.

Outside of the post-lockout power play spike in 2005-06 power plays have been trending downward from the dead puck era. They spiked briefly this season before refs reverted to their reticent ways. While power plays are growing more efficient thanks to the 4F1D setup, the reduction in opportunities only reinforces the predominance of teams only boasting one defenseman of genuine fantasy relevance since there are fewer juicy minutes to go around.

Two assists for Jacob Trouba in his return to the lineup after a couple of months out. He skated only 14:42 with no PP time. The Jets are going to ease him back. It’s also worth noting that he wasn’t seeing much PP time earlier in the season when all three of Byfuglien, Trouba and Tyler Myers were healthy. It’s good that he’s back but he probably won’t be too much of a fantasy option.

Andre Burakovsky ended a seven-game scoreless drought last night. He was a popular breakout pick, but he has struggled to find his groove and has battled injuries. I wonder how much room there is for him to produce as a playmaking winger on a team with two dominant playmaking centermen. Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov are better served with players more willing to shoot the puck.

Both Zdeno Chara and Jake DeBrusk were ruled out for the weekend and will be re-evaluated next weekend. There goes two hot options.

Torey Krug did play despite also getting hurt the other night. He managed eight SOG in over 26 minutes of action.

Cam Atkinson notched a hat-trick. He has finally found his touch with six goals and 12 points in the last 10 games.

It’s time dump your Rangers. They are the only team in the league to play four games between now and March 25, the end of the standard fantasy playoffs. All of their games come on dense Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday slates so you may not even use them if you do keep them.

Calle Jarnkrok has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with an upper-body injury. He may miss the playoffs as well. It’s a good thing the Preds went out and added nearly an entire extra forward line at the trade deadline. On pace for a 40-point season, Jarnkrok wasn’t overly fantasy relevant, but his absence might be enough to get multi-category option, Scott Hartnell back into the regular rotation for Nashville.

Matthew Tkachuk is expected to be out again tonight, with no timeline set for his return. This will keep Micheal Ferland in the mix as the net-front man on the top PP unit.

Kris Versteeg is looking to make his return after hip surgery, but if his recovery is anything like Ryan Kesler’s, he won’t be particularly useful.

Great article here on the importance of fit on sports teams from a former NBA executive:

The only major roster difference between the 33-49 outfit from 2012-13 and the 54 win team of 2013-14 was Robin Lopez. Looking back, there may have been no more flawless fit for our team, both on and off the court. Kismet indeed.

If you were to ask what the cause of that sudden surge was, the reason why a team that was picked before the year to finish below .500 ended up spending significant time at the top of the conference, you wouldn’t be wrong in saying simply: “Robin Lopez.” But you also wouldn’t be right.

This is a fun concept to try and apply in hockey. How long did the Penguins try to find the right fit for Sidney Crosby? The best options they’ve ever found are mostly anonymous grinding forwards. Put Crosby with Phil Kessel on the regular and they both suffer. Put Crosby with two grinders, and he turns them into stars. Hell, Chris Kunitz put up 52 points in 48 games in the lockout shortened 2013 season!

How about the Golden Knights taking a pile of seventh forwards and fifth defensemen and turning them into division champs? Sure, Jonathan Marchessault looks like a star now, but do you think William Karlsson goes from fourth line center with 18 career goals to a likely 40-goal man without chemistry playing some kind of role?

How about the preponderance for aggressive offensive defensemen to play alongside steady, sometimes plodding, stay-at-home types? This has to be a fit thing. Sure, Werenski and Jones are proof that you can succeed with two aggressive options paired together, but generally an elite offensive guy can elevate a defensive option. And a defensive option can elevate an offensive guy. Marc Methot got Team Canada consideration because of his partnership with Erik Karlsson in Ottawa.

Talent will always be the most important trait. It’s the scarcest resource to build around, but it’s not the only consideration. These sorts of team-building anecdotes are always intriguing to me.

Thanks for reading, you can follow me on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-tentpole-defensemen-mar-16/

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otmaromanovas · 7 years ago

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those asks??? do em all buddy go nuts

ask and ye shall recieve

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?When You Believe, You Will Be Found, Danse Macarbe, 96000, Africa, and Hey Jude2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?Queen Elizabeth. She’s an absolute legend, and I’m going to be devastated when she dies. 3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.Maria Eva Duarte de Peron had in large quantities many of the qualities needed to lift her from obscurity to fame4: What do you think about most?What the hell I’m going to do with my life5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?“You up for DTBD tonight??”6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?Depends on the season. In autumn and winter I do, but sometimes summer can be way too warm (even at night)7: What’s your strangest talent?I can sightread sheet music perfectly8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)Girls will be girls. Boys need to grow the hell up.9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?Not explicitly, no. 10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?I honestly can’t remember11: Do you have any strange phobias?No12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?I had a piece of lego up there when I was a little kid13: What’s your religion?I’m Roman Catholic14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?Tanning, taking photos or reading in the shade15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?Behind it.16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?I don’t think I have one. I fluctuate between favourite songs, and bands are even harder17: What was the last lie you told?I claimed having to work so I could be designated driver so I didn’t have to drink18: Do you believe in karma?I do. I try to do good things so good things happen to me. 19: What does your URL mean?I’ve loved Elizabeth Schuyler since I was an actual child, and her familial nicknames were Liza and Betsey20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?I’m so awkward around people I don’t know. I like to think I am the most supportive person you will ever knoe21: Who is your celebrity crush?Gal Gadot22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?No!23: How do you vent your anger?Throwing pillows around and screaming24: Do you have a collection of anything?I’m working on a playbill collection of shows helmed by women. I started collecting shells from every beach I visit when I was a kid, and I still do that now.

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?Video chatting- I love seeing peoples faces when I talk to them26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?I’m content. I wouldn’t say happy yet, but I’m getting there27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?Microphone feedback is literally the worst. Orchestras warming up is the greatest sound you will ever hear28: What’s your biggest “what if”?What if I dropped out of my degree and moved down to Canberra now, rather than in two years?29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?I think ghosts are just the memory of people who have lived. I do believe people see them. I absolutely refuse to think that humans are the only sentient species in the entire universe. 30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.A mug of tea. A potted plant31: Smell the air. What do you smell?Freshly cut grass and cold air32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?A B&B in Sydney that boiled the sausages for breakfast33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?I live on an east coast, so I’m biased34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?If I had to choose, probably Calvin Harris35: To you, what is the meaning of life?Living to the best of your ability36: Define Art.Subjective37: Do you believe in luck?Yes38: What’s the weather like right now?Windy and kind of chilly. But not cold yet.39: What time is it?10:25am40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?I do! No (knock on wood). I’ve been in the car when it has crashed, but I’ve never caused it.41: What was the last book you read?The Book of the Dead by the New York Times. It’s a collection of the obituaries they’ve published since they were founded. It’s grim, but so interesting42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?A little, yes43: Do you have any nicknames?So many! My favourite is Goldilocks (I used to have really long, blonde, curly hair) 44: What was the last film you saw?Moana. I was babysitting my neighbours daughters and they suggested it.

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?Okay so I was a water polo player for years, and had some major beef with this girl. We played against each other in an interschool competition. It was a REALLY violent game. I ended up giving her a black eyes and I loosened some of her teeth- she gave me a concussion, a cracked rib, and managed to nearly dislocate my knee. Oh yeah, and I nearly drowned. Great times. We aren’t allowed to play on opposing teams anymore.

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?I almost always have a bouquet of flowers with me, and they like to land on me, but I’ve never caught one47: Do you have any obsessions right now?Vinyl records48: What’s your sexual orientation?Cis-straight49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?That I had sex with four people in a tent on the one night. Yeah, nope. This girl doesn’t have sex in tents. This girl doesn’t even camp.50: Do you believe in magic?Not the fairy magic, but yes51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?Oh my god yes52: What is your astrological sign?Aries53: Do you save money or spend it?I try to save, but usually end up spending it all.54: What’s the last thing you purchased?A pair of Rosie the Riveter-style overalls for a 1940′s themed costume party55: Love or lust?Love. It’ll last longer56: In a relationship?Not right now57: How many relationships have you had?Two. Maybe three, but we never defined what it was58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?No.59: Where were you yesterday?I was at work60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?My headphones, mouse pad and fingernails61: Are you wearing socks right now?No62: What’s your favourite animal?Quokkas. Literally the cutest things I have ever seen63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?64: Where is your best friend?In Sydney (I only see her once a year, which is just not good enough for me)65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.lucreziaborgia, runawayforthesummer, and that’s literally it. 66: What is your heritage?My dad is Italian, my mother is Australian. His family are Italian, her family are Irish and English67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?Drinking the university bar dry68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?Smith or Jones. Lucifer Smith sounds terrifying, does it not?69: Biggest turn ons?Neck kisses, a well-tailored suit, button up shirts with the sleeve pushed up over the elbow, a uniform (especially army), just a little bit of scruff70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?I think so, yes.71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?Save the dog. I’m the boss at work, so if I get fired, everything collapses.72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?I’d tell my family and close friends. I’d spend all my money on travel- see more shows, roadtrip, party. I wouldn’t be afraid.73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.Trust.74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?The Cha Cha Slide. so many good memories attached to that song, and it’s impossible not to smile when you’re dancing to it.75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?346276: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?Trust and openness 77: How can I win your heart?Flowers, a new edition of a classic book, and a love of music and theatre78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?Yes. It gives you a perspective that not a lot of other people have79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?Dumping my last boyfriend. That little shit was going nowhere in life. 80: What size shoes do you wear?I’m an 1181: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?“You still owe me money”82: What is your favourite word?Fuck. or serendipity because it’s so fun to say83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.Warm84: What is a saying you say a lot?“I’m just putting it out there”85: What’s the last song you listened to?Hello Hurricane by Switchfoot86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?Rose pink, mint green and sky blue87: What is your current desktop picture?My best friend and dabbing on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?Donald Trump

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?Have you ever gotten pregnant?90: Turn offs?Not showering, sexism/racism, cargo pants, CROCS91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?Invisibility92: where are your parents from? Dad is from Tully, mum is from Longreach93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?First boyfriend cheating on me. 94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?I dont’ know.95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?New York City96: Do you have any relatives in jail?Not that I know of97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?Nope. I’ve been driving when someone has thrown up, but never done it myself98: Ever been on a plane?All the time!99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?Y’all have got to fucking chill

#ned-the-cry-maker #brianna answers questions #ask meme

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