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reasoningdaily · 1 year

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As summer approaches, many hip-hop lovers are excited to see their favorite artists perform live once again. This year, some of the biggest names in music will be hitting the road for summer 2023. From Queen Bey to Drake, here are five artists you won't want to miss.

Comments Off on Beyoncé, Lil Durk, Moneybagg Yo & Other Hip-Hop Artists Who Will Be Hitting The Road For Summer 2023

Moneybagg Yo Announces “Larger Than Life” Tour, Featuring Special Guests

Updated By: Kynedei Hobbs (6/9/23 at 5:36 pm)

Moneybagg Yo, who recentlycollaborated with Rap Snacks alongside Lil Durk, took to Instagram to share the exciting news of his upcoming Larger Than Life Tour. The tour, set to kick off on August 3 in Orlando and conclude on September 30 in Memphis, promises to be a memorable experience for fans.

Special guest appearances from talented rappers like Finesse2Tymes, Sexxy Red, Luh Tyler, Big Boogie, and YTB Fat will join the Memphis rapper. With tickets soon being sold, fans eagerly anticipate witnessing Moneybagg Yo’s captivating performances on his first tour since the successful A Gangsta’s Pain Tour of 2021.

NEWSNBA Superstar Zion Williamson Faces Backlash After Revealing He Is Expecting A Baby Girl; Adult Star Speaks Out

Lil Durk Announces “Sorry For the Drought Tour” To Promote Upcoming Album

Lil Durk is set to embark on his highly-anticipated “Sorry For the Drought” Tour in Summer 2023. The tour will coincide with the release of his upcoming album, Almost Healed, scheduled to drop on May 26.

Lil Durk will be joined by a stellar lineup of artists on tour, including rappers Kodak Black, NLE Choppa, and DD Osama. The “Sorry For the Drought” Tour will kick off in Tampa, Florida, on July 28th and conclude in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 7th.

Presale tickets, available through Live Nation, went on sale on May 17, with general ticket sales starting May 18 at 10 a.m. local time. Prior to the tour announcement, the Chicago rapper made headlines by challenging New York rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine to a high-stakes boxing match with a staggering prize of $50 million.

Additionally, in an ongoing feud that spanned several years, NBA YoungBoy also aimed Lil Durk with a diss track.

Killer Mike Announces The High & Holy Tour to Support Upcoming Album “Michael”

Grammy-winning rapper Killer Mike has announced The High & Holy Tour to support his upcoming album, “Michael.” The tour includes 19 stops across the United States. It is set to start on July 10th in Birmingham, AL, and end on Aug. 5th in New Orleans, LA.

Killer Mike, known for his politically charged lyrics and activism, is hitting the road to promote his first solo album since 2012’s “R.A.P. Music.” “Michael” officially goes on sale on Friday, May 5th, 2023, and includes a special fan presale on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. The tour will feature 19 stops, including a performance at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago on July 23.

“MICHAEL” promises to provide a holistic introduction to the totality of Michael Render, a lifelong rap fiend who has been seeped in the sounds of multiple eras of southern rap flows, Sunday church service, and barbershop discourse.

The High & Holy Tour is sure to be a treat for Killer Mike’s fans who have been eagerly awaiting his return to the stage. The tour is expected to start on July 10 in Birmingham, Al. and end on Aug. 5 in New Orleans, La. Fans can look forward to experiencing a show filled with energetic performances of his new and old hits.

The announcement follows the release of his new single “DON’T LET THE DEVIL (feat EL-P & thankugoodsir).” Other singles include “RUN (ft. Young Thug)” and “TALK’N THAT SHIT!”

Updated By: Chris Samuel (5/2/2023)

Beyoncé – The Renaissance World Tour

Queen Bey will start her tour on May 10th in Stockholm, Sweden, and end on September 27th in New Orleans. The tour promises to celebrate Black culture, fashion, and music. It is set to feature songs from Yonce’s latest album, Renaissance.

Lil Baby – “Its Only Us” Tour

Lil Baby recently took to Twitter to announce the news of his summer tour for 2023, revealing his excitement to perform for his fans in cities across North America. In a clip of him lounging in a pool, the “Yes, Indeed” rapper unveils the full city line-up while also hinting at who could possibly join him such as fellow QC Records label member Gloss Up.

The Atlanta native has become one of the biggest names in hip-hop over the past few years, and fans can’t wait to see him perform live. Fans can expect to hear songs from his latest album It’s Only Me which is Baby’s third No. 1 album.

Erykah Badu – Unfollow Me Tour

Updated By: Nicole Bartley (4/19/23 at 11:31 am)

Grammy-winning artist Erykah Badu has taken to her Instagram to announce her upcoming “Unfollow Me” tour, which will feature fellow artist Yasiin Bey (Mos Def). Tickets officially go on sale on April 20, and the first show will be taking place on June 11 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX.

Fans have been eagerly anticipating Badu’s return to the stage since her energetic twerking session with Megan Thee Stallion during a surprise appearance at the Red Rock Amphitheatre in Colorado.

Don Toliver – Thee Love Sick Tour

Houston rapper Don Toliver will embark on his Thee Love Sick Tour on June 18th, starting in Denver, CO, and ending on July 16th in San Francisco, CA. This tour will be a great opportunity to see Don Toliver perform tracks from his latest album, Love Sick.

Drake – It’s All A Blur Tour

Canadian rapper Drake will be taking his “It’s All A Blur” Tour to cities across North America. The tour begins on June 16th in New Orleans and ends on September 5th in Glendale, Arizona. With a string of hit albums and singles under his belt, Drizzy will surely put on an unforgettable show.

The “Gods Plan” rapper will be headlining with 21 Savage, who recently did a collab album for Her Loss. However, it is still unclear if Drake and 21 can tour internationally due to 21 Savage’s immigration status.

Drake is rumored to sing many throwback songs from his previous albums.

Bryson Tiller – “Back And I’m Better” Tour

Louisville-born singer Bryson Tiller will be starting his “Back And I’m Better” Tour on May 4th in San Diego, CA, and ending in Seattle, WA. Tiller’s unique blend of R&B and hip-hop has won him legions of fans, and this tour promises to be a showcase of his incredible talent.

Megan Thee Stallion Returns To The Stage

Megan Thee Stallion officially performed for the first time this year.

On Friday, March 31, the March Madness Music Festival AT&T Block Party in Houston was the first time Meg was spotted on stage since the December trial that found Tory Lanez guilty of shooting her.

#Beyoncé #Lil Durk #Moneybagg Yo & Other Hip-Hop Artists Who Will Be Hitting The Road For Summer 2023 #Black Music #Black Music Month #Black Music News #Music

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earthstellar · 3 years

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I can’t believe we got a Kup design for TFP, which was basically a re-deco of WFC Ironhide, and I don’t think it was used for anything aside from an RID figure in like 2012

that having been said, WFC/TFP Kup would probably not have been super kid-friendly, thinking in terms of the general target demographic/TV audience for TFP, lmao

notice how they kept the facemask on him, possibly to help justify why he isn’t constantly chewing on a cigar in this continuity LOL

I don’t really think the WFC Ironhide design works that well when re-deco’d for Kup, but then, I’m so used to him being a grey-green-teal cygar chomping rectangle of a bot that I fully admit anything else is jarring to me, lmao

also the specific shade of green is a bit weird to me; I like green on most bots that feature it as a primary paint colour, and TFP Bulkhead’s green works great, but idk, the green they used here just seems a little bit too lime-coloured?

it just seems like a very bright tone when accented with the light metallic silver, and that doesn’t really read as “old beat up bot” to me; it seems a little too fresh or clean, if that makes sense???? maybe if they covered him in superficial battle damage like scratches on his armour etc. it would fit a little better for the character. it just reads as young to me, for some reason. (and the faceplate is very G1 Wheeljack-like, which is also a little jarring, although I like the way it’s applied on the actual face model here with the angles carrying up into the optics which then lines up with the helmet centrepiece. it just doesn’t read as Kup to me, either.)

but then, TFP somehow never really had a solid toy line, so IDK I feel like Hasbro really screwed the Aligned Continuity in general when it came to figures. still blows my mind that we somehow never really got a full, complete line up of the basic main character bots.

the sun has gone down, so here’s where I rant briefly about TFP’s comparatively shitty toy releases lmao

especially as there is absolutely a good number of people who would love a TFP release of figures, like holy shit, how did THIS show not get a strong toy line???? it’s so bizarre to me lmao

like TFA had some great figures (Shockwave/Longarm in particular was cool as hell) and Cyberverse had some really killer ones too (I really like the Grimlock design from that lineup) but they just dropped the ball with TFP/Aligned designs/figures

not even gonna talk about RID because I’m still pissed off about so much of that content lmao, I just think about how they made Bumblebee a dipshit bigoted cop in that series and I physically recoil away from anything produced under that whole branding line altogether lmao, god dammit :(

people are losing their shit right now over the RED Series Knockout figure, which looks pretty screen-accurate and it’s fucking incredible, and it’s like, whyyyyy did they not do this kind of thing with TFP/Aligned designs to begin with, why are they only just testing the waters right now like a decade or more later??? please Hasbro, let us have this lmao

ANYWAY, BACK TO KUP

I’m not intentionally trying to be down on the TFP Kup design or anything, it just doesn’t read as Kup to me all that much. hard to pin it down, but I think it comes down mostly to the overall design just deviating perhaps a bit too much from what made Kup visually distinct from others (I get that he’s a re-deco here, but was the Ironhide model the most appropriate to re-deco into Kup? I’m not sure, there were so few overall figures for this line that options were limited, sigh...) and the fact that his paint tones and overall vibe just doesn’t read as an old, war-hardened, beat up gruff guy to me.

IDK this is probably just down to individual interpretation, but let me know what y’all think, I’d be interested to hear if anyone feels like this design works for Kup’s character within the context of the general WFC/Aligned Continuity designs or not! :)

that having been said, where’s my TFP episode where Kup shows up, immediately starts trashing shit with Wheeljack and Bulkhead, fifteen minutes later Miko’s asking Ratchet what a “cy-gar” is and he finally loses his shit alongside Ultra Magnus who was already begging Optimus to make it stop, lmao

#tfp kup #kup #transformers #maccadam #long post #tfp #transformers prime

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takeiteasypeasybaby · 4 years

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Save Me: Chapter 10 - The Storm

~Hey guys! This is Chapter 10 of ‘Save Me’ ❤️ I can’t believe I’ve already posted 10 chapters of this book but heres to many more! 🎊 This chapter focuses on Negan’s lineup and who he kills, Molly’s life at the Sanctuary and her encounter with Negan after he returns. Hope you enjoy and chapter 11 will be released on Sunday 😊 ~

Whether or not Molly knew it, this would be the point where Molly would change forever. Everything she knew, or thought she knew would be dissolved and the man she saw something in would be estranged to her. But she would not know this until later.

The war had begun. Molly knew this, but she had no idea of the scale of it. Who she would lose.

At Alexandria, after Rick's meeting and subsequent letting go of Dwight on the premise that he would help us, Carol was starting to spiral again.

As much as Daryl tried to help her, she could only find comfort in Morgan who also wanted to stop killing.

Carol had made lists and lists of all the people she had killed and vowed she couldn't do it anymore, at least not at Alexandria.

As much as she wanted to say goodbye to Daryl, she knew that he would try and make her stay so she fled in the night with Morgan by her side.

They didn't know where they were going, but they both needed somewhere where they wouldn't be reminded so much of death and the desensitisation that came with it.

She had left a note so Rick and Daryl wouldn't worry or come after her, just to let them know that she was okay and would be so long as she took a break from the place.

They had taken a car and were on the road for a good few hours before being stopped at a small village by a blockage of cars in the road.

At least four men were inside. They jumped out of the car while the men demanded that they give over their weapons for Negan.

Saviours, of course. Negan really was everywhere.

Carol had hidden a pistol in her coat sleeve while she gave over her knives and other gun.

Morgan passed over his stick.

They asked them to turn back and provide more goods for them just as Carol decided to shoot one of them.

He was dead instantly.

This started a shootout with both Carol and Morgan running behind their car while Carol slid out a gun that was hidden in the car and passed it to Morgan.

Both hesitant, not wanting to kill any one else, they took a moment before Morgan shot the next one.

With only two left, they crept round to see where they were.

But, while Carol's back was turned, Morgan was taken by one of the guys and held in a chokehold with a gun to his head.

'Listen you bitch! You're gonna regret that, give us your shit or your buddy here dies'.

Carol regretfully opened the boot where they had stuffed all the supplies they would need for their trip and as he was taking them out, there was a gun shot.

The man taking out the supplies was dead, when Carol and Morgan turned around they saw a woman wearing armour and a spike in one hand and a gun in the other.

She shot the other man shortly after saying he had to die even though he backed down.

Carol was sobbing into Morgan's arms before she came over and said 'your welcome, come, your friend needs to rest' she said speaking to Morgan.

'Who are you?' Carol asked.

She smiled saying 'I'm Dianne, please, let me escort you to the Kingdom'.

Carol and Morgan looked at each other suspiciously.

'The what?', she chuckled, 'we get that a lot, it's this way, you could follow me on horseback if you prefer? The Kingdom is our home, we're a community, we have farms and a school'.

'Okay, we will stop for water, that's it' Carol said sternly.

'As you wish' Dianne answered smirking.

Rick’s Group//

Daryl upon finding Carol's letter was heartbroken, as was Rick.

But this was their chance, Dwight had cut down trees to block the Saviour's path which they saw in the distance but they had to make it to Hilltop, for Maggie.

Maggie was sick, worse than before and with the pregnancy, she needed Dr Carson.

So everyone set off in the RV, Maggie, Glenn, Rick, Michonne, Abraham, Sasha, Eugene, Carl, Daryl, Jesus, Aaron and Rosita.

The plan was that once they got to Hilltop, they would stay a while to make sure Maggie would be okay.

Then they would go back to Alexandria, hoping that the people left there would have handed over their supplies to the Saviours without bother.

This would not be the case.

With the outpost, the guys Molly had exploded, the ones Carol and Dianne had killed, Negan was pissed and they had crossed a line.

At every turn, they were intercepted by a small group of Saviours, which gradually got bigger at every stop.

There was no way out, they were surrounded.

A large booming voice came from the trees, alongside many whistles which seemed to surround them and gradually get louder and louder.

'Alright pricks, you've had your fun, now it's time for you to take your punishment' said a man with a large moustache.

'It's time to meet Negan' he said while forcing them out of the RV and lining them up one by one in front of another RV.

It was almost midnight, the only light coming from the Saviour's motorcycles which surrounded them.

'Let's meet the man' he said while knocking on the RV door.

As soon as everyone was lined up, out came Negan.

'We pissing our pants yet?' he said smiling sinisterly.

He sauntered over to them, 'boy do I have a feeling we're getting close', swinging Lucille over his shoulder as he scanned over each one of them.

'Its gonna be pee pee pants city here real soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader?' he pointed at all of them questioningly.

'It's this one. He's the guy' a Saviour called out from behind Rick and pointed at him.

Negan turned to face Rick, smiling down at him.

He sighed.

'Hi, you're Rick right, I'm Negan and I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people! Not cool, not fucking cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But, I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly' Negan said smirking.

Negan took in a deep breath while Rick quivered on the gravel.

'You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes. Yes, you are!'.

He smiled.

'You see Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the New World Order and the New World Order is this and it's really very simple. So even if you're stupid which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready? Here goes, pay attention' Negan boomed.

He swung Lucille down beside Rick's face and said 'give me your shit or I will kill you. Today was career day, we invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now, you have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now I know there is a mighty big nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly mother fucking shall!'.

He bent down, hovering over Rick before saying 'you ruled the roost, you built something, you thought you were safe, I get it. But, the word is out, you are not safe, not even close. In fact you are fucked, more fucked if you don't do what I want and what I want is half your shit. If that's too much you can make, find or steal more and it'll even out sooner or later'.

He stepped back, 'you understand?' Negan asked.

Rick was silent.

'What? no answer?' Negan said leaning down.

Negan scoffed before saying, 'you don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished, now did ya? I don't wanna kill you people, just wanna make that clear from the get-go. I want you guys to work for me and you can't do that if you're dead now can you? I'm not growing a garden, but, you killed my people. A whole fucking lot of them, more than I'm comfortable with and for that, for that you gotta pay. So now, I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you'.

He brought his bat closer to Rick's face again, 'this, this is Lucille and she is awesome. All of this, is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honour'.

He walked over to Abraham, seeing his moustache he said 'huh, I gotta shave this shit. I'm tryna impress a girl. Always the way aint it?'.

Rosita looked at him and scowled, knowing exactly what he meant.

He strolled over to Carl next.

'You, got one of our guns, you got a lot of our guns. Shit, kid. Lighten up, at least cry a little' Negan said kneeling in front of Carl.

Carl looked at him, like he would kill him right then and there which made Negan chuckle.

He strolled over to Maggie next, 'Je-sus, you look shitty. I should just put you outta your misery right now'.

He held up Lucille, hovering over Maggie's head before Glenn shouted, 'NO!' and lunged for Negan.

Saviours dragged him back beating him up in the process, 'stop it!' Maggie screamed.

'Nope, get him back in line' Negan said in frustration.

'Gahhh, don't! don't!' Glenn shouted pleadingly.

Negan smiled before sighing, 'Alright listen, don't any of you do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free, it's an emotional moment. I get it'.

He turned to Rick again, this time the smile had vanished off of his face, 'sucks don't it, moment you realise you don't know shit'.

He looked at Carl, smiling.

'He's your kid right? This is definitely your kid!' Negan said excitedly.

'Just stop this!' Rick screamed.

'Hey! do not make me kill the little future serial killer, don't make it easy on me! I gotta pick somebody. I simply cannot decide'.

He suddenly became wide eyed and grinned.

'I got an idea! Eeny, meany, miny, moe, catch, a, tiger, by, it's, toe, if, he, hollers, let him go! My mother, told me, pick, the, very, best, one, and, you, are, it' Negan said moving along the line, until his bat fell on Abraham.

'Anyone says anything cut the boys other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell, you're all gonna be doing that!' Negan shouted.

He cracked down Lucille onto Abraham's head, blood spilling down his face.

Everyone screamed in reaction.

'Wow! would you look at that. Taking it like a champ!' Negan said admiring his work.

Abraham rose, saying 'suck. my. nuts'.

He swung at Abraham again, this time he was dead.

'Did you hear that? He said suck my nuts!' Negan said chuckling to himself.

'Oh my goodness! Look at this, look at my dirty girl!' Negan said swinging his bat, splashing Abraham's blood everywhere.

He walked over to Rosita, saying 'sweetheart, lay your eyes on this! Oh damn, were you together? That sucks. But if you we're you should know there was a reason for all this. Red? Hell he was, is and will forever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team! So take. A. Damn. Look. Take a damn look!'.

At that Daryl rose up and punched Negan in the face.

He was instantly tackled to the ground and held there.

‘That! oh my! that is a no no, not one bit of that shit flies' Negan said stumbling back up.

'Do you want me to do it? Right here!' Dwight said holding Daryl's crossbow to his head.

'No you don't kill that. Not until you try a little. I already told you people, first one's free, then what did I say? I said I would shut that shit down. No exceptions. So, back to it!' Negan said hovering the bat near Glenn.

With that he swung Lucille down onto Glenn.

Maggie screamed a blood curdling scream.

'Buddy are you still in there? I just don't know! It seems like you're trying to speak. But you just took a hell of a hit, I just popped your skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out!' Negan said leaning towards Glenn.

'Mmm-aggie, I will find you' Glenn managed to say before Negan finished him off.

'Ah hell, I can see this is hard on you guys. I am sorry, I truly am. But I did say, no exceptions!'.

Negan took another swing.

He was dead now.

'I'm just getting started!' he said swinging Lucille repeatedly over the pool of blood and flesh that was now Glenn.

'Lucille is thirsty! She is a vampire bat!' Negan said as he splattered Glenn's blood all over the gravel.

He strolled back over to Rick, smiling to himself.

'What? was the joke that bad?' Negan asked, still smiling.

Rick took a moment before whispering 'I'm gonna kill you'.

'What was that?' Negan asked, testing Rick.

'Im gonna kill you. Not today, not tomorrow, but I am gonna kill you' Rick added.

Negan kissed his teeth before whispering 'jesus. Simon, what'd he have a knife?'.

'He had a hatchet', Simon replied.

Negan looked like he was about to laugh, 'a hatchet?'.

'An axe' Simon corrected as Negan chuckled.

'Simon's my right hand man. Having one of those is important. I'm guessing Molly was yours right?' Negan taunted him.

Rick looked up at Negan again, as did Rosita.

'I mean what do you have left without them? A whole lot of work' Negan said smirking at Rick's distress.

'Gimme his axe' Negan ordered Simon.

Negan took it and put it in his belt before dragging Rick into the RV.

Rick barely remembered what happened after he went into the RV.

It was all a blur after losing Glenn and Abraham.

But when he got back, Negan had told Rick to cut off Carl's arm as punishment for threatening him.

Just when Rick was about to swing the axe, tears flowing down his face.

Negan stopped him. It had been a test.

But they hadn't passed.

Negan told Dwight to take Daryl and put him in the truck. He said he was useful to them.

They then told Rick they would be back in a week to collect.

Leaving them in the early morning light with Glenn and Abraham's bodies lying there.

They had taken pictures before they left.

Molly's POV//

I had woken up restless like every other morning, though this one felt different. I kept wondering whether Rick or Rosita would be working on a plan to get me out of here, but to no avail.

Fat Joey came to let me out, Negan was still hell bent on recruiting me so he had decided to give me a little freedom. Give me a taste of a Saviour's life.

But he wasn't at the Sanctuary last night or this morning, neither was Dwight or Simon.

I just suspected at the time that they were on a supply run.

Negan had given orders before he left that I was to be allowed to walk around the main hall but that was all, then I was to return to my cell in the evening.

I had hardly spoken to anyone at the Sanctuary, but I was intrigued and I wanted to take the time to understand these people.

As Fat Joey guided me to the main hall, I reached for his hand.

He didn't resist, but just smiled thinking I was genuinely into him.

When I got to the main hall I smiled at Joey before winking and saying 'thanks joey, see you soon'.

He stuttered before going red and saying 's-see you, Molly!'.

I smiled to myself, it wouldn't be long now before he would be my bitch.

I walked around the room, people stared at me.

Eyes burning into the back of my head, men whistled as I went by.

I shot them a look, that said I'll kill you assholes.

I was about to go over to the food market when I spotted a little girl sitting alone at a bench.

I walked slowly over to her, wondering why she was by herself.

'Hi, I'm Molly. What are you doing by yourself?' I said warmly.

She looked up slowly, all the while holding onto her teddy bear.

'My mom is working at the moment, so we can eat later' she said quietly.

'So you guys are going hungry, huh?' I said sadly, sitting down next to her.

'Not anymore, Negan saved me and my mommy' she said quietly and smiled genuinely.

I frowned, 'but your mommy has to leave you alone during the day?'.

She looked down at her teddy.

'We were hungry before, now we survive. Together' she said.

I looked at her, smiled slightly before saying 'thank you, you've helped me a lot'.

She smiled back and asked 'will you stay and play a game with me?'.

'Sure' I said happily.

'My name is Grace, this is Buddy' she said pointing to her teddy.

'Will you join us for a tea party?' she said in her most sophisticated voice.

I smiled, almost chuckled, 'why thank you Grace'.

She pretended to pour tea into empty cups.

Saviours watched, frowning but trying not to smile.

So much death and destruction had passed through my life, I forgot what it was like to have genuine fun like this.

Without even realising it, Grace had shown me what it was like to save people, bring safety and joy to people's lives, to keep families together and bring back order.

I pondered over the idea of becoming a Saviour as Joey told me it was time to go back to my cell.

'Excuse me Molly, sorry to interrupt but it's time to go. Sorry' Joey said awkwardly hovering over our tea party.

I smiled at him while the other Saviours scowled at his weakness.

They laughed thinking something was going on between us. So, I shot them a glare before getting up to leave.

Grace shouted 'wait!' before running to hug me and asking me to hug Buddy as well.

I smiled before saying 'see you around'.

She smiled before running back over to her table, her mom coming over to her after work and running to hug her.

As we walked away, I could see Grace talking to her mom about me, she was smiling before she waved at me.

I waved back with a smile.

Once we got to my cell door, I asked Joey if he could do something for me.

'A-Anything!' he said.

He actually seemed like a nice guy so I was starting to hate to manipulate him like this.

But it was way too easy and I needed someone on my side in here.

'Do you have a pillow and a blanket? It gets real cold at night'.

I touched my own skin seductively as I talked watching his eyes linger over my fingers.

'I-I Yes! of course, yes I will. Don't tell Negan' he replied before running to go get them.

'I won't! promise' I said sweetly, with a fake smile.

~flashforward~

Meanwhile, Negan had just returned from Rick's group.

I didn't know this then but that was the reason why Joey had asked me to leave the main hall when he did.

Negan was back and wanted to address his people without me knowing or hearing.

He had made a speech about how the Saviours had gone out and fought the dead again, destroying the enemies in Rick's band of pricks as he called them.

Dwight was the only one who knew Glenn and Abraham's names whereas the other Saviours just passed around the rumour that Negan had killed two of Rick's group but didn't know who.

Either way, Negan told his people that under no circumstances was I to know about this and if I found out he would kill whoever was responsible.

This scared everyone into silence on that topic when ever I was around, they would instead talk about something completely unrelated.

To all the other Saviours, me finding out about what Negan had done wasn't worth dying over but for Dwight, every time he talked to me I could sense he wanted to say more than he did.

Negan had said that he didn't want me knowing because I could turn on them and he wanted to recruit me.

He just didn't want me to hate him, and he knew that I would.

Present day...

With Joey occupied getting me what I wanted, I planned on just waiting in Negan's room but seeing him walk down the hallway, he stopped and smiled slightly.

He looked exhausted from being out all night.

'Hi darlin, who let you out?' he said walking slowly towards me, almost warily.

'You need better guards. I want to talk to you' I replied softly.

He rolled his eyes, obviously agreeing with my statement he smiled, 'what about doll?'.

He was now standing close to me, no one else around us.

I took a second, looking into his auburn eyes, lit with fire.

'I get it now and I want to help' I said hesitantly.

His smirk turned into a sceptical grin.

'Really? What's affected this change?' he asked amusedly.

'Well, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon thanks to you. So, I want to at least be useful. I want to save people' I said half in annoyance, half joy.

At this he knew I was serious, the smile shifted to a genuine soft smirk.

He said softly and whispered 'okay, if that's what you want'.

He was about to turn away before I stopped him by grabbing gently on his arm.

He flinched slightly, before turning back around.

'This doesn't mean that I want to be Saviour. I never will be. But, I believe in this' I said while gesturing around me.

'I want to help people here, but I can't betray Rick, you know I can't' I said softly.

His smirk turned to a frown when I mentioned Rick.

He almost looked saddened by my speech. He looked me over again as I gently took my hand from his arm.

I had never touched him before, It felt strangely comforting despite thinking I knew what he was capable of.

So naive.

He nodded slowly before he said 'never say never darlin' and walked away swinging Lucille back over his shoulder.

I watched him as he walked away.

When he stopped at his door, he looked down before turning to look at me one last time before walking in.

Why did I feel like this?

For someone like that? I blame this fucked up world.

~flashforward~

Meanwhile, Daryl was being dragged through the Sanctuary, through the opposite side of the building Molly was living in.

Daryl was covered in dirt and cuts all over barely conscious before he was thrown into a cell.

Then it started.

'We're on easy street and it feels so sweet!'

#negan x original female character #twd negan #negan #negan imagine #twd #twd fanfiction #negan fanfiction #slowburn #thewalkingdead #jdm #daryldixon #twd daryl #twdromance #lucille #negan smut #rickgrimes #rosita espinosa #mollychambler #slow build

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tisthenightofthewitch · 6 years

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As critical and commercial accolades continue to amass at the feet of Ghost – those Satan-loving retro rockers from Sweden – one might be forgiven for wondering if founder/singer Tobias Forge (aka, Papa Emeritus I, II and III and currently Cardinal Copia), might have really cut a deal with the Devil. After all, over the course of four studio albums, the band have earned the feverish adulation of both fans and critics, not to mention the likes of Dave Grohl and James Hetfield. They notched a 2016 Grammy for Best Metal Performance and after a complete lineup change in 2016, Forge and the band’s latest iteration released this year’s Prequelle, their finest work to date and current leader of the Metal Hammer fan poll for best 2018 album so far.

If you’re just getting involved or you enjoy making and slagging off lists, here are Ghost's ten best songs.

10. Per Aspera Ad Inferi

On 2013’s Infestissumam Ghost took their occult flavour of nihilism to extravagant heights with this towering hymn of damnation. From the word “go,” the devilish Swedes have cheekily borrowed traditional Christian constructs – prayers, hymns and imagery – and inverted them into kitschy Satanic paeans. On this track, Papa Emeritus II twists the encouraging Latin maxim, Per aspera ad astra (“Through hardship to the stars,”) into something infinitely more bleak – Per Aspera Ad Inferi, (“Through hardship to hell”). Warm guitar tones and punchy, one-two tempos drive into one of the band’s most memorable and ear-wormish choruses.

9. Elizabeth

Four years after forming in Linköping, Sweden, Ghost released a three track demo, followed by a 7” vinyl of Elizabeth (with Death Knell as the B-side). Inspired by the sonic grandeur of Mercyful Fate, the lyrics spin a wistful ode to Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, known as the most prolific female serial killer in history. With the snarling chug of the rhythm guitar, eerie waves of echo-drenched leads and stunning vocal harmonies, the track became their first single, easily earning a slot on their Grammis-nominated debut, Opus Eponymous.

8. Ghuleh/Zombie Queen

Infestissumam’s stunning fifth track was somewhat lost in the playful reverie of tracks like Secular Haze and Body And Blood. However, it remains one of the most important offerings in the band’s catalogue, revealing Ghost’s ambitions as extending far beyond the safe confines of 80s hard rock. Opening with soft, mournful piano and Papa’s spectral hiss, Ghuleh/Zombie Queen builds into a dizzying freakout of carnivalesque organs and punchy surf-rock tempos, finally erupting into a full-throttle rocker. Clocking in at seven-and-a-half minutes, Ghuleh/Zombie Queen established that even as they mined the familiar veins of the classic rock landscape, Ghost were anything but predictable.

7. Ritual

For many, the third track of the band’s debut served as their introduction to Ghost, a stupidly-addictive ode to the polished hard rock stylings of 70s legends like Blue Öyster Cult and Pentagram. Velvety swaths of organ meld with a driving bassline, crunchy riffs and golden vocal harmonies that cut a jarring contrast against lyrics so overtly Satanic that they include a Luciferian “Our Father” just for good measure. Other throwback outfits had managed to tap into the polished studio sound of 70s hard rock, but their inability to convert that sound into memorable new hits left the genre feeling uninspired. With Ritual, Ghost established that their ability to channel the spirit of their influences into bona fide, stadium-rocking anthems left them without peer.

6. Cirice

Edging out the likes of Slipknot and Lamb Of God, Cirice snagged the 2016 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance, catapulting the band further into the mainstream. Where the previous album had balanced the guitar tones much more evenly alongside bass and keyboards, third album Meliora saw the band shift their focus back onto the power of the mighty riff, with Cirice leading the way. Behind its spine-chilling opening melody and the slashing momentum of the verse, the band’s most successful single (to date) is a maelstrom of darkened riffs interspersed with dramatic flourishes of piano and infectious, shout-at-the-ceiling chorus.

5. Year Zero

Great satire uses subtlety to separate the ones who get it from the ones who don’t. From the opening notes of their 2010 demos through the commercial triumphs of Prequelle, Ghost flaunt a superb ability to take their Satanic pageantry to absurdly-exaggerated heights, while leaving just the teensiest, tiniest speck of doubt that, “Holy shit, these guys just might be serious after all.” Year Zero straddles the line between its over-the-top, ‘Hail Satan’ lyricism and a ginormous chorus, bursting with sugary pop hooks. It’s a weird balance that dominates the Ghost catalogue, with themes of darkness and inhumanity woven into bright, hopeful melodies that in lesser, more literal hands, might end up as sappy ballads or generic radio rock. Subtle and affecting, you’ll find yourself still humming Year Zero days after you’ve last heard it.

4. Con Clavi Con Dio

Deus Culpa opens Ghost’s studio debut with the baroque purr of an organ but it’s the swinging thrust of the bassline in Con Clavi Con Dio that establishes that we’re a long, long way from church. Everything that you love about Ghost is here in spades – smooth layers of guitars, keyboards and gauzy atmospherics, with more hooks than a coat room. But it’s the otherworldly melodies that most closely identify Ghost – eerie note choices that centre on the tritone interval, aka 'The devil’s interval.' This interval dominates Con Clavi Con Dio, investing the track with a menacing sense of sacrilege and some of the finest riffs the band have ever composed.

3. Rats

Though Prequelle draws heavily upon the themes and imagery of the Black Plague to inform its identity, it fits equally well in our current turbulent landscape. With its growling opening riffs, pummelling tempos and fist-in-the-air refrain, Rats sees the band again celebrating their melodic hard rock influences, mixing in a bit more of NWOBHM swagger and just a dash of Swedish pop (to wit: the “ooh-aah” after the word ‘Rats,’ in the chorus). Although it follows the album’s intro, Ashes, it’s the first proper track on the record, heralding something fierce, new and aggressive. In the wake of 2016’s lineup change, Rats is the sound of Forge doubling down on his commitment to evolving Ghost’s sound while retaining its most familiar elements.

2. Miasma

Let’s cut to the chase – there’s a goddamned saxophone solo on this track – and it’s glorious! One of Prequelle’s two magnificent instrumentals, Miasma sees the band voyaging into the cosmic recesses of 80s prog, with a blitz of synths, dramatic atmospherics, kaleidoscopic dual fretwork and yes, a sax solo at the end. Like many of their finest tracks, Miasma twists and evolves into something entirely different from its opening; in this case, it begins with a moody slab of space rock, but the final minutes see the track gathering into a breathtaking barrage of steely riffs, slamming tempos and a not-so-subtle nod to the King Of Pop himself, Michael Jackson (see minute 4:04). Ambitious, expertly polished and catchy as hell, the beings of the Universe will still be listening to Miasma long after our species has left the planet.

1. Square Hammer

With its serpentine melodies, pounding rhythms and a chorus large enough to swallow a black hole, the opening track of 2016’s Popestar, the band’s second studio EP, sees Ghost at their catchiest. From start-to-finish, Square Hammer is an absolute belter, delivering chugging riffs, groovy guitar solos and a siege of slamming, radio-friendly hooks. The only original track on the EP, Square Hammer quickly ascended to Number One on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock list and it remains a set-ending staple of their live show, due to its soaring energy and shout-out refrain. Square Hammer is one of those rarified hits that people tend to play with back-to-back-to-back devotion for days and even weeks at a stretch. The fact that Ghost are releasing some of the most vital and enjoyable music of their career bodes exceedingly well for the future of Cardinal Copia and his cursed congregation.

So happy Elizabeth is on there!

#The Band Ghost #Ghost Band #Ghost #Cardinal Copia #Tobias Forge #Nameless Ghouls

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yakumtsaki · 6 years

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I only call you when it's half past five, the only time that I'll be by your side, I only love it when you touch me, not feel me, when I'm fucked up, that's the real me, when I'm fucked up, that's the real me, BABE ♪

Here we fucking go again, desperately trying to make the fuckboi wolf commit to a serious relationship. My plan to turn Komei into a werewolf crashed and burned last generation and Jojo has had the want locked for like 10 years and it just won’t fucking happen. I’ve never had a non-cheaty werewolf in this game, I don’t know how other people do it but I’m having a ridic hard time with it. Victor’s ghost is judging me and who can blame him.

Speaking of, Shajar’s makeover is this wolf shirt, and yes, full shade intended. I still can’t believe she rolled popularity, way to single out your weakest spot and make it your life’s purpose. I mean that would be like Wyatt rolling fam- ..nevermind.

UGH. Will you pick a fucking attitude and stick with it you furry asshole???

What kind of defective cuck wolf even is this. He won’t befriend us but he won’t attack either, he just sits around with his plastic bone playing house. USELESS. I didn’t know it was possible to hate a digital animal this much..

..but here comes Maxx to defy all expectations. Happy birthday Maxx, you look so wholesome and Lassie-like, I’m sure life with you will be like a vacation!

LOL. Is antagonizing Sophie really how you want to start your adult life, Maxx?? Well I guess having eyes is overrated.

SOPHIE WTF. You beat Victor but can’t take on this flop? Where is your holy warrior spirit??

- I’m old af and starting to worry about my eternal soul, so I’m literally turning the other cheek.

Nice, thanks for nothing. God I miss Victor.

Man, Maxx has ISSUES. He doesn’t even have a mean personality or a bad relationship with the cats, why are you like this you freak??

NOOOO not the fucking pet fight club again omg MAXX YOU DICK

Great, amazing job, Goro! The real Goro is rolling in his grave. All this went down in literally under a minute after Maxx grew up, talk about determination.

-HA, kneel before Zod!

That’s not even from Mortal Kombat, Maxx, god, can you not make this worse than it is?

-Yea like I give a shit, what am I, some kind of fatass nerd cat?? I’m a dog, bitch, I like running..

Omg.

-And playing outside..

OMG.

-And being affectionate to my owners!

STOP. Christ, what kind of monster have I brought into our lives???

-One day in and I’m already the alpha.. Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? Oh yes, Maxx is.. The best boy. And soon this cat legacy.. will be history.. the Age of Dog.. is finally.. upon us.

💔💔💔💔💔

Not that we needed further proof that Maxx was given to us straight out of Satan’s unholy womb, but guess who else loves him on top of Cyneswith?? Why, Wyatt, of course, chief of police married to a serial killer, truly the best judge of character the world has ever known. Show me your friends..

..and I’ll show you who you are. UGH DAGMAR

-As a mailwoman I’m programmed to hate your kind, but I feel such a connection between us.. It’s like the universe conspired-

GTFO. Don’t test me, istg I’ll marry you in..

..you actually don’t look half bad compared to what else is out there. Shajar brings Toadface McBooberson here home from school which. why does bigger cleavage clothing even exist for teens and why do I have it, I really need to stop downloading default replacements in the dark. Anyway, hope you’re all ready for the adventure called ‘What is Shajar’s sexual orientation/does she even have one’!

Ugh, this certainly feels familiar. Shajar please, PLEASE fight your Jojo genes, I mean everyone loves Cyneswith, this is shaping up to be Gunter/Jojo volume 2 AND I CAN’T DEAL WITH IT AGAIN

-So, Butterface, my ambition in life is to have my own music theme play whenever I enter a room, like Darth Vader or Mary Poppins-

-Isn’t the sound of people already in the room sighing enough of a theme for you?

-Well it looks like one little frog around here isn’t getting turned into a princess!

Yea, I really don’t know what I expected?? Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Speaking of daddy dearest, let’s check in. How’s it going, Jo? Great? Thought so, ok bye-

-DON’T YOU DARE PAN AWAY AND LEAVE ME TO MY MISERY MY ASPIRATION IS SCARLET RED

I’m sorry Jo but I’m a hear no evil, see no evil, spend-legacy-time-on-no-evil type of bitch and your life just bums me out at this point. But if it’s any consolation, it’s all your fault!

-HOW THE HELL IS IT MY FAULT I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS BULLSHIT

Um, YEA YOU DID. This is generation 2, we’re barely middle class and being heir is quite literally a shit job. Of course you could have minimized the impact had you chosen someone else to marry, but you just HAD to have Wyatt Narcolepsy Monif so.. talk to you later?

-Wyatt I’m worried our ship is sinking and no amount of rotting birthday cake can ease the pain.

-Oui, my estomac hurts toό.. Nothing 14 heures of sleepé won’t remédit of coursé :)

-DIDN’T NEED SUCH A GRAPHIC REMINDER THAT LIFE IS GARBAGE

God, wtf more do you want, 15k and still whining-

-OH. Well this just has Wyatt written all over it, but omg he tried to do a household task, just got confused at the very end. Bravo, leaps and bounds!

Meanwhile Shajar is having a successful interaction with a family member!! It’s a toddler who can’t get away, but whatever, it counts. Looks like this is a game-changing night for everyone.

-YES IT REALLY IS.

Jojo how about you take a page out of Komei’s book and devote your leftover energy to cats or cooking contests or banging Marissa Bendett instead of this constant, obnoxious guilt-tripping?? Man I really didn’t appreciate Komei while I had him.

7 a.m., the usual morning lineup, start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean, polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up, sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15,

and so I'll read a book, or maybe two or three, I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery, I'll play guitar and knit, and cook and basically-

-just wonder when will my life begin? ♪

And of course that’s Victor making his nightly appearance and helping put Jojo out of his misery. What a sweetheart!

With the addition of Wulf and his 10 active points generation 3 has officially evolved past sleep, we’re talking 10/10/9 (Shajar you lazy bum) and it’s seriously exhausting. You know how when sims are asleep you can check your phone or eat smth or w/e, yea that’s simply not happening anymore, I’m in constant vigilance all night long..

..and thank god because otherwise I would have missed Allegra and Victor’s ghosts playing??? WTF MAXIS. I’ve never seen this before and it’s the rare combo of sad and adorable. Right in the feels ❤️💔

THAT WASN’T AN INVITATION TO EXPRESS YOUR SADNESS FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME JOJO

Oh “ok” it’s a cockroaches related freak-out. I don’t see anyone else crying over them but that’s Jojo for you. Exterminator bro if you’re that grossed out by a pile of dead insects I have some bad news for you regarding your profession. And while we’re on the topic of professions and crying:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You may recall that Wyatt has been one promotion away from his LTW for about 150 years and all we’ve been doing since is trying to amass the 8 friends needed for it. Welp, we finally got them through our blood, sweat and tears, so what does Wyatt do the day he was supposed to get promoted?? Get fired of course, what else!

Honestly I’m not even mad, this truly is like the culmination of everything we know Wyatt to be. I mean just cast your minds back to the final moments of this post. We knew what we were getting into. Rock on, Wyatt!

-Nό, there is no disgracéd police capitaine in this maison! Quelle?? I’m not even Français! Et toi shouldn’t be calling personnes at 5 p.m when everyόné is sound asleép!

Time for the black sheep to get the full Kylo Ren treatment. Looking good, Shaj! Now let’s put that hot makeover to use-

-NO.

Here we go, HUMAN contact. Toadface was a bust so let’s try a dude. Shajar do you mind talking about something other than your dead pets??

-But I don’t want to talk about anything else!

Yea and I don’t want to overstate things but I’m getting the distinct feeling finding you a partner is gonna make Daniel’s run at it look like Californication.

Well, the data we’ve gathered so far points to Shajar being a noogiesexual, I’m sure somewhere on tumblr there already exists a pride flag for it.

That’s right, mop up the dog piss from that grass and think about the face you present to the world.

HOW IS YOUR ASPIRATION GONE TO SHIT AGAIN. WTF ARE YOU DOING WHEN I’M NOT LOOKING, GOING AROUND FACING YOUR FEARS?? JFC

-I have a perma fear of leading the miserable life I’m trapped in.

-Oh look, my kid is potty trainted and I get 5k points.. I’m soooo happy... Definitely don’t miss my serial killer days...

Ok I can’t take this anymore, either Wyatt will have to take up more household duties..

..or we can aim for something within the realm of reality and build a robot servant instead. And if you’re thinkering you’re not whining! Everyone wins.

In the dead of the night, a time when only 12 year old children are awake and watching god knows what-

-Game of Thrones! Team Stark!

Ugh, of course you are-

-Wulf grows up!

-Woo happy birthday Wulf! Don’t even try to come for my golden child crown, I’m as perfect as my grades.

I don’t like what Game of Thrones is doing to you, Cyn.

First thing Wulf does after his pj makeover is head for the keyboard, which makes the choice for his general makeover clear as day:

Wulf...Wolf...WOLFGANG. I mean, some things are just written in the stars..

..AND SOME THINGS AREN’T, in this case Shajar’s dating life. We get another Butterface McBooberson (wtf is it with this dress in this town) but this one is also sporting terrible hair as a bonus. Score!

Great, we’ve moved from music themes to dead pets to world domination. At least we’re committing to the Kylo persona. Butter 2.0 is into it?? Get a grip girl.

-Um why do you think I have this last century hair? I’m very into monarchy.

This is not only going non-disastrously but dare I say, well?? I can’t tell if I want it to work or not though, on one hand I’ve made my feelings about this face template abundantly clear.. on the other hand this is the first human (except her 10 nice point sister) to like Shaj..

..thankfully it looks like there’s no need to solve that dilemma after all. Btw at the time of this writing I literally still don’t know if Shajar is into girls or dudes, or both. No reaction to anyone whatsoever.

Meanwhile even after the noogie Butter is super receptive and doesn’t hate us? I was as shocked as you are, if we were rich I’d think she has some ulterior motive but nop, it’s just low standards. God bless them-

-cause we made our first friend!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank the fucking lord Shajar’s LTW isn’t friend related, take a wild guess what it is instead.. And of course, the answer is ‘become Mayor’. I can just see the banner now: ‘vote Shajar Union or face the deadly consequences’.

-Ahh my dear, finally, no screaming toddlers ruining my life while you pretend you can’t hear them.. Now I can slowly start un-resenting you.. Maybe there’s hope for this marriage after all..

Not if Cyneswith has anything to do with it! After spending her entire childhood cockblocking by sleeping in her parents’ bed, she literally grew up just as they were about to woohoo for the first time in 10 years. how in character. Wanna know what isn’t in character??? Hold on to your seats, everyone..

............

....................................

..............................................

OK THEN. Much like Wolfgang there is but one appropriate look for the above:

Did anyone think fucking Lolita Cyneswith was remotely possible, let alone probable?? ROMANCE?? And into the elderly???? I thought that combo was bad enough, I mean then you bring in the tinkering factor on top of it and it’s like, Waylon Fairchild and college profs won’t know what hit them.. How naive I was. Things can always, always get worse, and in this family, they usually do. You can probably tell where I’m going with this.. Fast forward a few days and the LTW shows up..

..........................................yup. You know it’s been months and you’d think I’d have articulated a response by now that isn’t just screaming or miscellaneous incoherent sounds, and yet! what can I say, sometimes emotions are so powerful that words fail us. In lieu of a written reaction please listen to this song after the specified time stamp. It’s 3 minutes long and the only lyric is ‘oh no’.

#ts2 #gen 2

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queenof-fiction · 7 years

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Heated (Carl X Reader)

Word count: 1189 Warnings: language

“Let’s leave.” He whispered quietly into your ear as your head laid on his chest. You looked up at him shocked.

“What?” You asked.

“Let’s leave. I know a place not far from here. Sun will be up real soon.” He said sitting up.

“Alright. Well, let’s go then.” You smiled. You watched as his face lit up at your agreement.

“Let’s go.” He smiled stood up slipping on a pair of pants. You both got dressed quietly making sure you guys didn’t wake Rick or Michonne. Carl slipped on his shoes, as you grabbed your backpack. Slipping your knife into your belt, you followed Carl downstairs.

He quietly opened and closed the door and you guys snuck out into the early morning. You guys walked hand in hand across Alexandria towards the back wall. Upon reaching the wall you noticed metal rods protruding from holes in the metal beam.

Carl gestured upwards insisting you go first. You didn’t hesitate and climbed to the top.

Carl followed you up and you both hopped down and started off on your little journey.

“Where are we going anyways?” You asked realizing that he never did tell you.

“Just wait and see.” He replied.

“Ugh. Fine.” You sighed.

He continued to walk deeper and deeper into the woods. You were starting to get worried that he was lost. You were about to ask him whether he knew where you guys were. Then, he lead you into a large clearing. In the middle was a large wooden cabin. The surrounding field was covered in wildflowers. The sunrise was casting a nice soft glow over the field.

“Come on this way.” He smiled and grabbed your arm as he ran towards the cabin. Just as you guys got within a good range of the house Carl abruptly stopped. He held his arm out in front of you. Telling you not to go any further.

You slowly reached behind you. Your fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of your gun.

“You might wanna hand that over now.” Someone said from behind you.

You turned around slowly. Pressing your back against Carl’s back. About 50 people dressed in all black holding large guns and knives, hell one was holding a machete surrounded you guys slowly.

“What do you want?” Carl asked.

“I want you guys to hand over your weapons. Now!” Someone yelled. You looked over to your right to see a tall guy making his way through the crowd of people. Unlike everyone else, he wore a bright red scarf and a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire rested against his shoulder.

“Well look what we have here. Our little future serial killer and look he even brought a friend.” He said loudly. “Now I suggest you cooperate and no one gets hurt.”

You looked over your shoulder at Carl. “Carl? Who is this?” You asked. You could feel his heartbeat picking up.

“I’m offended. You didn’t tell them about me? Well shit! Now I must introduce myself.” He smiled and walked over to stand in front of you. “I’m Negan.”

You breath got caught in your throat. Negan? Holy shit. You laced your fingers through Carl’s slowly.

“Oh shit. You two? Well shit, I didn’t know there was a thing going on here. Well, I’ll be damned to hell. I definitely didn’t fucking see this coming. How about we take you guys back with us.” He smiled. You pressed yourself closer to Carl.

“Well, Negan. I’m glad we met, but we better get going.” You said bitterly. It took everything you had not to go after him right then. This was the guy who killed your father. Abraham.

“We just met though. At least tell me your name.” He said and You sighed.

“Y/N. Y/N Ford.” You said and Carl squeezed your hand.

“Sir?” Some woman said from the crowd.

“Yes, Alex?” Negan said with annoyance laced in his voice.

“Ford was the last name of the guy in the lineup. The redhead you killed.” She explained and Negan turned towards you. The way she said it lit a fire inside you. You were furious. Something overcame you and you lost control of all your senses. You let go of Carl’s hand and spun towards her direction and shot at her. She fell to the ground. You looked back towards Negan and shot at him. Before you could get another shot in you were ripped away from Carl and surrounded. Someone ripped the gun from your hands and before you knew it you were lying on the ground.

Someone’s foot kept you anchored to the ground by pressing on your chest. You heard Negan angrily yelling at someone, as he stormed over to you.

“This shit will not be fucking tolerated! God Damn you!” He screamed.

Tears were rolling down your face. Through the tears, you saw someone holding Carl back as we watched in horror. “Let him go.” You demanded.

“You are in no place to order us around.” Negan said anger laced strongly in every word.

“You don’t know what this like, asshole.” You screamed at him.

He stared at you. Something clicked inside him. A very dangerous thing. He crouched down. “Trust me. I know what it’s like. You’re still a child. Don’t go fucking around telling me what I know and don’t know.” He explained.

“What are you saying you wouldn’t have done the same thing I did. Finally, find the guy who killed your father and not try and kill him. Hell, you so many people, so I know for a fact that you would. So, don’t treat me like I’m 5 years old and simply throwing a fit. Do what you want to me. If you want to kill him the same way you did my father. Then. Go. Ahead. Just let him go and you can do whatever you want.” You said in an eerily calm voice.

Negan sighed. “Get them up.” You were lifted to your feet. “Take this as your one and only warning. You or your little boyfriend mess up at all, then it’s over for the both of you. Don’t make me fucking regret this.” He explained.

“Get them in the trucks. We are taking them back to Rick.” Negan ordered. You and Carl were forced into the back of one of the trucks. You were pressed between Carl and some guy named Simon.

It was a short drive, but it felt like forever. The moment they pulled up to the gates, they swung open. Behind the open gate stood a very upset Rick.

“I can’t believe you two.” He started as you guys walked up. “Get over to the house now.”

“Dad.” Carl started.

“Now, Carl.” He demanded. “And Y/N. Your dad would be very disappointed in you.”

That was the most hurtful thing he ever said to you. You just looked down and walked away. The truth is, your dad would be furious. He would never approve of this. You and Carl quietly walked back to his house and sat on the front porch.

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junker-town · 5 years

Text

The Donovan Mitchell superstar blueprint

Donovan Mitchell has to raise his game to another level for the Jazz to be a true title contender.

For the Jazz to be the best in the West, Mitchell needs to take his game to another level. Can he do it?

Donovan Mitchell’s team needed a rebound, and he was ready to do anything necessary to get it. Before Turkey’s Cedi Osman could react, Mitchell’s chest was above his head. By the time he jumped, Mitchell’s fully extended right arm was batting the ball out of the sky. Before he could process losing one of the most important rebounds in Turkey basketball’s history to a guy seven inches shorter, Osman watched that same player step through a trap and find Jayson Tatum standing well beyond the three-point line.

This is the ruthlessness Jazz fans have come to adore out of Mitchell. “Enter, Spida-Man Mitchell,” read the recap from SB Nation’s Jazz site SLC Dunk, referencing his ubiquitous nickname while evoking images of Peter Parker swooping in to snatch an innocent child from a collapsing building. That the rebound came in the game’s most important moment is exactly the point. Few players period, much less ones Mitchell’s age, are better at erasing 39 minutes and 50 seconds of spotty play with one Holy Shit! sequence.

The thing is, those 39 minutes and 50 seconds of spotty play count, too. In that time, Mitchell shot 3-12 from the field, struggled on defense, and committed a back-breaking turnover on the previous possession. Gregg Popovich benched him for most of the ensuing overtime, despite his pre-tournament status as the co-star of the team along with Kemba Walker. Did that clutch rebound save a poor performance, or merely obscure it?

This is the challenge of properly rating Mitchell. He has all the bona fides of a cornerstone player. He can score at all three levels. He’s willing to pass and possesses excellent vision. He takes over when he feels he must, but also functions in a team setting. He galvanizes the fanbase with signature moments, both glamorous and blue collar. He has elements of prior stars’ signature style, aggregated to create his own. He’s high-flying, but also smart enough to adjust to the flow of games. All that means he implants many unstoppable moments and games into our memory, such as his 27-points-in-three-quarters scorcher in the quarterfinal loss to France three games later.

Now is the time when the Donovan Mitchell star equation needs to add up

Yet so far, those elements have added up to something less than the sum of their parts. Mitchell’s pejorative reputation as a volume scorer is more than fair. Of the 38 players that ended more than 25 percent of his team’s possessions while on the floor last season, Mitchell ranked 31st in true shooting percentage, 29th in effective field goal percentage, 34th in two-point percentage, 28th in player efficiency rating, 29th in win shares per 48 minutes, and 24th in free-throw rate.

Now is the time when the Donovan Mitchell star equation needs to add up. The Jazz took off the kid gloves this summer, trading significant future assets for 32-year-old Mike Conley, then handing 30-year-old Bojan Bogdanovic a four-year, $73 million contract. Mitchell and the Jazz are suddenly overflowing with elite spot-up shooting, a wide open floor, and secondary playmaking after having significant deficiencies in all three during his career. With the NBA landscape resetting after a wild free agency period, the Jazz have picked the perfect time to level up.

But for Utah to be a serious title contender instead of merely a paper tiger, Mitchell has to actually play like the star guard he occasionally mirrors. For that to happen, Mitchell must follow the path another electric young guard walked.

Nine years ago, third-year point guard Derrick Rose fielded a question about his ambition during the Bulls’ preseason media day.

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”The way I look at it, why can’t I be the MVP in the league?” Rose said. “Why can’t I be the best player in the league? I don’t see why not.”

The claim was outlandish at the time. On Oct. 26, 2010 — a month after he put the thought of winning MVP in the public’s head — Rose was listed with 18/1 odds to win the award, behind a list of 11 players that included Brandon Roy (15/1), Amar’e Stoudemire (15/1), Steve Nash (12/1), and Carmelo Anthony (6/1). After Rose defied the odds to become the youngest MVP in league history, that bold preseason quote became iconic.

Rose’s production improved that season in two significant ways. One was by replacing many of his long two-point jumpers with threes. The other was by making the same change in technique and mentality that Mitchell must now make. Rose was more ruthless all the time, and not just in brief moments.

It may sound odd now, but Rose was an inefficient scorer around the hoop, the very area his skill set would suggest he dominate. He was such a gifted athlete that he jumped to avoid contact rather than seek it.

In practice, that meant he took a lot of floaters and off-balanced layups instead of on-point layups and free-throws. In 2009-10, Rose took twice as high a percentage of his shots (64 percent) from short and mid-range areas as he did at the rim (32 percent), according to Cleaning the Glass. Meanwhile, he scored only 4.66 points per 100 possessions at the free-throw line and shot less than 54 percent on shots classified as layups. He was just good enough playing this way to think he was maximizing his best self, but he wasn’t.

Rose spent the summer of 2010 improving his technique to address that shortcoming. In an interview with Chicago Magazine, Rose said that after watching film over the summer, he discovered that he was “picking up the ball too early.” The new Bulls’ coaching staff noticed he often drove without a plan, so Tom Thibodeau urged Rose to attack, in Rose’s words, “north-south,” and “not as much east-west.”

The difference year-to-year was staggering. In his MVP season, Rose took nearly as high a percentage of his shots around the basket (39 percent) as he did in the two mid-range areas combined (41 percent). His shooting percentage on layups rose to 58 percent, and he jumped up to 8.33 free-throw points generated per 100 possessions.

Rose was no more powerful or athletic in 2010-11 as he was in his first two years. He just applied those traits more consistently by cutting out the cute stuff. Rather than use his power to produce fancy moments, he channeled that energy into consistent, punishing pressure on the basket. That in turn made him a more efficient player, one whose collection of offensive skill and athleticism actually added up to the sum of its parts.

Those technical improvements stemmed from a change in mindset. As he told Sports Illustrated: “The best players are killers all the time.” (He didn’t say “on the basketball court,” but let’s assume it was implied).

Is Donovan Mitchell a killer all the time? He certainly is a killer some of the time, often when his team needs a hoop. But these are not the finishes of a killer. Instead, they’re the finishes of a player operating as if he gets bonus points for degree of difficulty.

These were shots Mitchell took in crunch time, but his tendency to make the simple play complicated was even more pronounced during the flow of the game.

These were the shots Mitchell fell in love with, so it’s no wonder his overall scoring efficiency plateaued. Twenty-nine percent of his shot attempts were classified as “short mid-range” (between four and 14 feet) last year, according to Cleaning the Glass. That put him in the 93rd percentile for players at his position and was more than 10 percentage points higher than his portion of shots from that range as a rookie.

That section of the overall pie was gobbled up from a combination of all other zones on the court. Mitchell ended up taking proportionally fewer shots from every other spot on the court, all so he could take more floater-range shots. How’d he shoot on said attempts? Thirty-six percent, a conversion rate lower than from any other zone.

Thirty-six percent on short mid-rangers isn’t horrible — it puts Mitchell in the 37th percentile at his position on such shots, according to Cleaning the Glass — but it’s not great. Mitchell has the capability of getting better looks for himself than this, even if he sometimes makes them.

This leads to an obvious question: why didn’t he generate more efficient shots last year?

One popular reason is that he was victimized by Utah’s cramped spacing. He had to take these shots, the theory goes, because he had no driving lanes to create anything better. This is a modified version of the who else gonna shoot line of thinking that has been used for years to explain away the low efficiency of high-usage stars.

There’s some truth to this claim — otherwise why replace the bad shooters with great ones this summer? — but the effect is overstated. If Mitchell really was a victim of his team’s cramped spacing, you’d think he’d generate better shots when the Jazz ran out lineups with more shooting in them.

However, lineup data suggests otherwise. In both seasons, Mitchell has been more efficient and taken fewer short mid-range shots with notorious non-shooter Ricky Rubio in the game than with him on the bench. Even more significantly, Mitchell was actually more efficient and took fewer floater-range attempts with both Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert on the floor, as opposed to just one of them.

(It should be noted that the opposite was true when Mitchell was a rookie. Still, the data clearly doesn’t show a consistent trend of Mitchell performing better without those two bigs clogging up the paint).

The reasons for Mitchell’s inefficiency have more to do with Mitchell himself than his surroundings. In particular, his technique is surprisingly poor for someone with his level of athleticism. Like pre-2010 Rose, Mitchell picks up his dribble far too early, though for a slightly different reason. Whereas Rose often looked to pass too early, Mitchell starts his shooting motion too soon. He thinks that he can cover all this ground with two steps and a gather and finish on balance, but he simply can’t. He’s a 6’3 guard, not Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James.

The whole point of taking two long steps after the gather dribble is to set up the defender with the first step, then tap-dance around or bulldoze through them with the second. That’s why the Eurostep is such a devastating move: it pulls the defender one way, then goes back the other. But by picking up his dribble so soon, Mitchell removes the setup effect of that first step.

That makes his drives a lot easier to defend than they should be. Canny defenders can hang back knowing that no matter how large that first step is, it’s not going to cover enough ground to force them to react. Without that reaction, the second step that’s supposed to go around or through them is functionally useless. That’s why Mitchell second step is often sideways rather than forward, and it’s why he throws up so much junk like this.

Mitchell’s balance at the point of attack also hurts him in these situations. He has a tendency to veer outward before advancing to the cup, rather than moving in a straight line. That’s a bad habit because it allows his primary defender to slide back into position and angle him off. It’s common to see Mitchell appear to get a step on his man, only for them to recover and force an ineffective sideways Eurostep that turns into more junk.

Even when Mitchell does get closer to the hoop, he attempts too many wrong-footed layups that lack the necessary power for strong finishes and/or drawn fouls. Mitchell’s leaping ability is second to almost none in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean he’s strong enough to negate bigs from this position.

Wrong-footed layups are an essential part of any player’s diet these days, but they’re best used for quick finishes when the offensive player already already has an angle on a rim protector. They’re much less effective when that driver is coming straight at them.

Just like Rose, Mitchell’s improved technique must also come with a change in mentality. Too often, Mitchell plays like a magician eager to show off all his tricks in a single act. Opponents don’t fear Mitchell’s diverse palette of moves. They fear his theoretical ability to put pressure on the basket with powerful, high-flying drives.

Similarly, Mitchell’s playmaking should service his hard drives, not the other way around. Subtlety is nice, but too much subtlety is counterproductive. On plays like these, Mitchell should be attacking decisively to dunk on the entire state of Texas, not trying to impress them with a side-to-side tap-dance floater.

There’s a place for careful surveillance of the court, but Mitchell is too athletic to be playing so indecisively. Hit the damn hole!

Put another way, Mitchell needs to be more ruthless. We know he has it in him, because he’s already shown an edge in so many high-pressure situations.

But to be the player the Jazz need to be taken seriously as a title contender, he needs to heed Rose’s words. Killers are killers all the time, not just some of the time.

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big-low-t · 7 years

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I was tagged by @dangerkeith3000x to list ten songs I am currently into... so here it goes...

“My Atonement” - Sodom - Sometimes I forget about a band, mostly bands that were not my favorites even though I liked them... Sodom is one of those bands that every once in a while I remember them and realize they put out some pretty good stuff, such as this killer song.

“More Than A Feeling” – Boston - I wish some of these modern Auto Tune artists would listen to how incredible these guys sound and Brad Delp sings. Then they can hang their heads in shame for a moment until the next paycheck comes in.

“Tatooed Love Boys” - The Pretenders - Sometimes it is about attitude, and Chrissie Hynde has plenty of it for everyone in this song.

“I Got Mine” - Motorhead - Yes I know this lineup of Motorhead imploded and only made one album, but damn I find myself coming back to it time and time again. Brian Robertson did not fit in Motorhead, but his guitar playing on this album and this song are the best Motorhead ever had.

“Riff Raff” - AC/DC - Holy crap does this riff just stick in my head... did anyone ever do straight up hard rock better than AC/DC? I don’t think so.

“77” - Red Animal War - Post-Hardcore done right by these guys. They weren’t as good as Jawbox or Jawbreaker but this song, which I think is their best, stands up with the big boys.

“Wonder Beer” - Naked Raygun - No one I know ever gets into Naked Raygun like I do. I don’t understand. Brilliant punk rock from Chicago... and for this song toss in the subject matter of beer and that damn fine catchy sing along chorus. What’s not to like? “If there are Gods, they must be drunk.”

“Purgatory” – Iron Maiden - Look, I will admit this, if I could only take one Iron Maiden album with me to a desert island it would be Killers. I probably have listened to Number of the Beast more than any of their albums and I think Piece of Mind or Powerslave are probably their best works... but I would still take Killers. It’s the rough edges that are still there, with the singing, the little bit of punk rock hiding in the corners and the hint of classic rock leaking through here and there... that’s what gets it for me. And this songs just sticks with me for days when I hear it.

“Jobseeker” - Sleaford Mods - You know those bands you just don’t understand why, but you like them? These guys. I shouldn’t like this. Minimalist beats, spoken word over the beats and the bass line. An angry English bloke screaming about working class pains in the UK. Is this hip hop? Punk? Post Punk? Electronic? Is it Shit? I dunno. Seriously I don’t... but I love it. It probably doesn’t help that I’m looking around to change jobs... so no wonder this song is stuck in my head right now...

“Rockaway Beach” – Ramones - This is simple. It’s the freaking Ramones, it’s catchy. They were the greatest rock and roll band to grace this planet. I consider myself lucky to have seen them live in concert. This isn’t even their best stuff, but it’s still awesome.

“Superblast” - Lush - Yeah, I know this makes 11 songs out of 10, but it’s been swirling around my head... the vocals, it’s like two ethereal beings singing in a dream-like way that can only cause calmness and peaceful thoughts.

So there you have it, the songs stuck in my head at this moment in time. Don’t ask me tomorrow it would probably be a completely different set of songs.... Enjoy and love yourselves.... or at least get a good nap in!

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stevecanmakeanythingnerdy · 6 years

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Battle #16

Krokus: Pay It In Metal (Side 2)

Vs.

Kiss: Animalize (Side 2)

Krokus: Pay It In Metal (Side 2)

Krokus were founded in Solothurn, Switzerland in 1975. This particular album is the band still in their early years before worldly success. They were popular in their native Switzerland, but had not yet broken through with their very A/C D/C influenced heavy metal. You might remember Krokus from a recent RRW session. Well, these Swedes are back for more rock and roll action, on this their 3rd album. The year was 1978 and most of the world was still enamored with (gross) disco (gross). This album was kind of the next link in the evolution of the band to a more pop metal sound. It also is pressed under the title Pain Killer, I believe, in Switzerland. The album didn’t produce any big hits or even have marginal radio noise, but it’s still a fairly tight and compact collection of tunes for fans to enjoy. “Rock Me, Rock You” starts with that oh so subtle A/C D/C blues bar riffage. No really, 100%, If I didn’t know better I would just swear it WAS an unreleased A/C D/C tune. I can’t really expand anymore than this. “Deadline” is really just a faster version of the above. Clearly modeled anyhow. I really can’t understand HOW these guys were not more popular at this time. No press coverage? The vocals are front and center, but production is weak on the other tracks. A short one too, at just over 2 minutes. It’s probably one of the more rocker numbers though. “Susie” is a ballad...I guess? The closest thing to one anyhow. I’m not really gettin much metal out of this. Even mid-80s glam meta was still metal. This is just...fluffy pop. Pay it in mediocrity? (#seewhatididthere). Ok, just kidding. “Pay It” is next and we are back on track. I would like to consider this the title track. This one has balls. Not the biggest balls of them all (#seewhatididthere) but big balls all the same. Even the aforementioned production gets buff on this tune. You been working out, bro? It’s A/C D/C-core but hell, if you’re good at something....right? “Bye Bye Baby” is the last song and this time Krokus explores bigger riffs and gang vocals. I like the direction here! Screaming leads that bleed, where was this shit the whole time?!? I take it back, THIS is the best tune on here, hands down! Even a wicked breakdown! Save the best for last, I guess. Overall it’s definitely not bad, but there are better, later Krokus albums. The band is like wine, they improved with age, experiencing growth and originality. Again, not terrible but by and large an A/C D/C cover band in the waiting.

Kiss: Animalize (Side 2)

Ok. Who doesn’t know this band. Seriously. And you are reading this right now and legitimately do NOT know this band, please see yourself to the nearest parking lot and proceed to kick your own lame buttocks. KISS is an American rock band formed in New York City (no, not Detroit) in January 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley. Well known for its members' face paint, stage outfits, and comic like persona, the group rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 1970s with their elaborate live performances. These featured fire breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits, and pyrotechnics. Holy $#!t who WOULDN’T want to see that?!?! The band has gone through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons the only remaining original members. The original and best-known lineup consisted of Stanley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Simmons (vocals and bass), Frehley (lead guitar and vocals), and Criss (drums and vocals). In 1983, Kiss began performing without makeup and costumes, thinking that it was time to leave the makeup behind. The band accordingly experienced a minor commercial resurgence, and their music videos received regular airplay on MTV. This album falls smack in the middle of this time period. In the mid 90’s and through current times really KISS has experienced a nostalgia boost. They recently announced that their 2019 tour would be the group’s farewell tour. After much controversy and line up changes, Animalize came out. This is the first album after Vinnie Vincent left the band. He was replaced by a session guitarist and tour support Mark St. John. Animalize followed the success of Lick It Up, and due in part to consistent MTV play for the "Heaven's on Fire" video, Animalize was the band's best-selling record in America during the decade, with over two million albums sold. If you are like me then you have mistakenly always lumped this era of Kiss in the “lame” section. I identify as only a casual fan of KISS. I’m not a card carrying member of the KISS Army or anything, but rather appreciate the band for what it is. Good old fashioned rock and roll with flair. Well, let me tell you, listening to this album for the first time in quite a while has opened my ears. “Under The Gun” contains some powerful shredding riffs and gang vocals that are merely missing the makeup. The rock is still there, and maybe turned up a notch if anything! Stanley is in top notch form for his vocal prowess and the blanks are filled in with punchy timing and meaty bass. It should be noted that this particular tune was co-written by Desmond Child. Just FYI. “Thrills in the Night” are also a wall of vocals with some very Ratt-like pop metal elements. This is right around the apex of those types of bands, including Cinderella, Poison, Crew, etc. Perfectly incorporated. The production is through the roof too. “While the City Sleeps” is another deep cut, and sure you won’t find many of these songs on any greatest hits album, but these tunes are classic in their own right. KISS is playing like they have something to prove on Animalize. Welcome to the 80’s!! The last cut of meat is “Murder in High Heels”. The title leads you to believe it will be equally earth and ear drum shattering with great potential for maximum rock carnage...however, as my set has indicated, not the case. It’s a “sassy” riff and honestly kind of a clunker. More Whitesnake or LED Zeppelin here. Less Maiden. Meh. “Heaven’s On Fire” was the Big single off this one but that’s on the flip. It’s just Gene and Paul with the new crew (Eric Carr and Mark St. John) stepping up to fill in. In many ways this is similar to The Ramones catalog. Good beginning, good ending...things in the middle (Brain Drain) are for fans only, but I must admit, listening to Animalize has made me take a second look.

So today Mercury label mates duke it out. Krokus tried to pay it in metal, burning 126 calories over 5 songs and 17 minutes. That is 25.20 calories per song and 7.41 calories per minute. KISS puckered up and got Animalized, unleashing the beasts to burn (also) 126 calories over 4 songs but only 16 minutes. That is 31.50 calories burned per song and 7.88 calories burned per minute. Looks like the KISS army marches on with or without makeup!

Kiss: “Under The Gun”. They may well be the ugliest men alive. Even more so than The Ramones, but dang do they make up for it in showmanship and guitar shredding.

https://youtu.be/lm5yw3JtXRc

#Randomrecordworkoutseasonsix

#Randomrecordworkout

#randomrecordworkout #80s music #80s #vinyl #records #80's music #hair metal #randomrecordworkoutseason6 #kiss #KISS #gene simmons #paul stanley #krokus #animalize #metal #heavy metal

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writteninthestars288 · 8 years

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Taken But Wanted

Request: Margot is Rick’s girlfriend but Negan decides he wants her.

Thank you so much for @borntobeafamousmonster for requesting this. I am super, super sorry it took so long. I hope you all like it.

P.S: And can I just say tonight’s episode of TWD was amazing! It gave me so many ideas for the next chapter of Always Mine!

Rick's eyes widened as The Saviors pulled more of their people out of the back of the truck. He watched as Michonne was pulled out along with Rosita, Glenn, Daryl and...

“Margot.” He whispered as he watched Dwight pull his girlfriend out of the truck and push her to the ground right in between Glenn and Daryl. She immediately started looking around, her eyes locking onto Rick's. He could see her shaking as she looked at him. He silently asked her if she was okay, getting a shaky nod in return.

“I'm okay,” she mouthed. Rick gave her a once over before turning back and glaring at Simon was standing in front of all of them.

“Alright! We got a full boat. Let's meet the man.”

Everyone turned their eyes to look at the RV. Margot watched as the man knocked on the door. A few seconds later it swung open and a man walked out, a smirk on his face. Margot's eyes immediately zoned in on the bat that was wrapped in barbed wire that was perched on his shoulder.

“Pissing our fucking pants yet? Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting fucking close.” He looked around the group and nodded. “Yep. It's gonna fucking be pee-pee pants city here real fucking soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader.”

Margot felt her heart start to race as one of the men pointed at Rick.

“It's this one. He's the guy.”

Negan walked up to Rick and sighed.

“Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not fuckin appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my fucking people to kill your fucking people for killing my people, you killed more of my fucking people. Not cool. Not fucking cool. You have no idea how not fucking cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna fucking be up to speed shortly. Yeah. You are so gonna fucking regret crossing me in a few minutes.”

They all listened as Negan went on about the new world order and how you shouldn't mess with them.

“You fucking work for me now. You have shit, you fucking give it to me. That's your job. Now I know that is a mighty big, nasty fucking pill to swallow, but fucking swallow it you most certainly will.”

Margot watched as he cockily started walking up and down the lineup.

“This is your fucking life now. The more you fight back, the harder it'll fucking be. So, if someone knocks on your door...” He trailed off with a laugh. “You let us in. We fucking own that door. You try to fucking stop us and we will knock it down. You understand?” He asked, once again stopping in front of Rick. Rick just stared at the ground making Negan laugh again.

“What? No answer?”

He just laughed again and lent his head to the side. His face suddenly grew serious and it scared Margot.

“You fucking killed my people. A whole damn lot of them. More than I'm fucking comfortable with. And for that, for that you're gonna fucking pay. So now...I'm gonna beat the fucking holy hell outta one of you.”

Margot felt her heart drop as tears stung her eyes. One of them was going to die tonight and there wasn't anything any of them could do about it.

Negan started walking back up and down the line. She felt Glenn tense up next to her when he stopped in front of Maggie.

“Jesus. You look fucking shitty. I should just fucking put you out of your misery right fucking now.”

“No! No!”

Glenn went to get up but Negan's men were immediately on him, shoving him back down the ground. Maggie cried out as they beat Glenn. Teears fell down Margot's cheeks as Negan wagged his finger.

“Nope. Nope, get him back in fucking line.”

They pulled Glenn back up to his knees.

“No. No. No.” He sobbed. “Don't. Don't.”

“Alright listen. Don't any of you fucking do that again. I will shut that shit down, no fucking exceptions. First one's free. It's an emotional moment, I fucking get it.”

He walked down the line and both Margot and Rick froze when he stopped infront of Carl. Although she wasn't his real mom, Carl was like a son to her. She never wanted to replace Lori but she didn want to give both Carl and Judith a motherly figure.

“This is your kid, right?”

Rick glared at him making Negan laugh.

“This is definitely your kid.”

“Just stop this!” Rick yelled.

“Hey! Do not make me kill the little future serial killer. Don't make it fucking easy on me.” He started walking back up the line. “I gotta fucking pick somebody. Everybody's at the fucking table waiting for me to order.” He started whistling a random tune. Margot felt her heart stop when he stopped in front of her.

“Well hello there!” He turned around to look at everyone. “You didn't tell me you had a fucking model in your group, Rick.”

Margot's breath was coming out in spurts as Negan turned back around and squatted down in front of her. He grinned at her, showing off his straight, white, teeth. “What's your fucking name, sweetheart?”

She slowly lifted her eyes up to his. A shiver ran down her spine at the look in his eyes. As Negan stared at her, he felt a familiar bubble growing in his chest. A bubble he only got when he saw something he wanted. And he wanted her.

“M-Margot.”

“Well now that's a pretty fucking name for a pretty fucking woman.” Margot's breathing stopped when he reached up and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

Negan's grin grew as did Rick's anger. When Negan reached up to tuck a piece of Margot's hair behind her ear, Rick lost it.

“Don't touch her!”

Margot's eyes widened and she quickly looked over at Rick. Negan turned his head to look at the angry man.

“What the fuck was that, prick?”

Negan's men immediately pulled a gun and pointed it at Rick's head.

“Now didn't I fucking say I would shut that shit down?”

He stood back up to his full height and walked towards Rick. “Are you trying to fucking make this easy on me Rick?”

Margot's heart was racing.

“No please don't!” Negan turned back to Margot. “P-please don't.”

Negan looked between the two, seeing the way they were looking at each other before he started laughing.

“You fucking together?” Negan asked Margot. Margot sniffled and nodded. Negan laughed and ran a hand over his face. “Should have fucking guessed it. All the good ones are always fucking taken.” He walked back over to Margot. “But who knows, maybe after today you'll be fucking single.” Margot couldn't help but glare up at him. Negan just chuckled and walked away.

“But I have to fucking pick someone.” He stopped and smirked at all of them. “I got a fucking idea.” He walked over to Carl and started doing eenie, meenie, miney, mo.

More tears fell from her eyes when he finally stopped infront of Abraham.

“Anybody more, anybody fucking says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his fucking father and then we'll start.” He turned back to Abraham. “You can breathe, you blink, you can fucking cry. Hell, you're all gonna fucking be doing that.”

He then raised his bat and slammed it down on Abraham's head.

Margot covered her mouth with her hand as she started sobbing.

“Ho! Ho! Look at that. Taking it like a fucking champ!”

Margot looked away as Negan kept at it. By the time he was done, Abraham's brains were all over the ground. Margot looked at Sasha, who was sobbing.

“Oh my goodness! Look at this.” He waved his bat, making some blood splatter on Rick's face. “You guys, look at my fucking dirty girl!”

Margot watched in horror as Negan tried to make Rosita look at the bat. She gasped when Daryl popped up and punched Negan square in the jaw.

“Daryl!” Rick yelled as he was knocked down the ground by Negan's ment.

“No!” Negan yelled as the men held him down. “Oh, no. That...” He pointed. “That is a fucking no-no. The whole fucking thing, not one bit of that shit flies here.”

“Do you want me to do it?”

“No you don't fucking kill them...Not until you try a little. And anyway...Tha's not how it fucking works. Now I already fucking told you people, first one's free, then...What'd I say?”

“Sweetheart?” He turned back to Margot. “What the fuck did I say?”

Margot shook her head.

“Please don't.”

Negan smirked.

“You know, it's pretty fucking hot seeing you on your knees and begging. I hope to see fucking more of it.” Margot couldn't stop the disgusted look that crossed her features as Rick scowled and clenched his hands together.

“I said I would fucking shut that shit down. No exceptions. Now I don't fucking know what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with, but I'm a fucking man of my word. First impressions are fucking important. I need you to know me.”

Margot didn't like the fact that Negan was staring at her when he said that.

“So...Back to it.”

Everyone gasped as Negan swung the bat and hit Glenn right in the head.

“No!” Maggie sobbed. Margot looked next to her in horror. Negan had hit him so hard, his eyeball was popping out. “Maggie, I'll find you.”

Maggie started sobbing harder as Negan hit Glenn again and again. Some blood splattered on Margot's jeans and tears flowed down her cheeks as she watched one of her closet friends die before her eyes.

Negan stopped and he turned around to see Maggie was crying and shaking.

“Oh. Oh hell. I can see this is hard on you guys. I am sorry. I truly fucking am. But I did say it. No exceptions!”

By the time Negan was done, there was nothing left of Glenn's head. He walked back over and squatted down in front of Rick.

“I'm gonna kill you.”

Negan smirked. “What? I didn't quite fucking catch that. You're gonna have to fucking speak up.”

Rick sniffled and locked eyes with the man.

“Not today. Not tomorrow. But I'm gonna kill you.”

Margot's eyes widened slightly. Negan just smirked. He looked behind Rick, and asked on of his men what weapon Rick had on him.

“Sure. Yeah. Give me his fucking ax.”

He took the ax and tucked into one of his belt loops. He then grabbed Rick by the collar of his jacket and started dragging him towards the RV. Margot's eyes widened.

“I'll be right fucking back. Maybe Rick will be fucking with me. And if not, then maybe I'll be there to fucking comfort you sweetheart!”

It was early morning when the RV finally rolled through the clearing. Margot immediately perked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She had been crying ever since Negan took Rick and had only just stopped when she heard the roar of the RV's engine coming near them.

Everyone waited on baited breath. Margot was sure her heart was going to jump out of her chest. She had never been much of a prayer but she had prayed an awful lot that Rick would be okay.

It seemed like forever until the RV door swung open and Negan pulled Rick back out. He threw her down on the ground and looked around, his eyes once again zeroing in on Margot.

He winked at her before looking back at Rick.

“Let me fucking ask you something, Rick. Do you even know what that little fucking trip was about?”

Rick just shook his head as he breathed harshly.

“Speak when you're fucking spoken to.”

“Okay. Okay.” He rasped out.

“That trip was about the way you fucking looked at me. I wanted to change that. I wanted you to understand. But you're still fucking looking at me the same damn way. Like I shit in your fucking scrambled eggs and that's not gonna fucking work. So...Do I give you another fucking chance?”

Rick nodded.

“Yeah.”

Negan chuckled.

“Okay. Alright. And here it is, the grand prize game. What you do next will fucking decide whether your crap day becomes everyone's fucking last crap day or just another crap day. Get some fucking guns to the back of their heads.”

Margot's heart dropped when she felt the barrel of a gun being pushed against the back of her skull. She watched on as Negan called Carl over to him. He tied a belt around his arm before telling him to get on the ground next to Rick.

“Simon you got a pen?”

Simon nodded and threw him a pen. It suddenly clicked in her head what Negan was going to make Rick do. She wasn't the only one who realized. Rick started crying and shaking his head. The sight broke Margot's heart. She hadn't seen Rick this way since Lori had died.

“Please. Please. Please don't.”

Me?” Negan chuckled making Margot angry. How could someone be so heartless? “I ain't doing shit. Ahh Rick, I want you to take your fucking ax and cut your son's left arm, right on that fucking line. Now I know, I know you're gonna have to fucking process that for a second. That makes sense. Still, though, I'm gona fucking deen you to do it or all these people are gonna die. Then Carl dies, then the fucking people back home die. And then you eventually. I'm gonna keep you breathing for a few years just so you can fuckign stew on it. And who knows, maybe I'll keep our little Margot over there and you can fucking see me with your girl.”

Margot shot him a glare making him laugh. “Don't fucking tempt me with that glare, sweetheart. I know it's fucking meant to look mean but it just looks fucking hot. Anways. I'm gonna fucking need you to cut right there on that fucking line. Now, I know this is a screwed up thing to ask but it's gonna have to be like a salami slice. Nothing nesst, clean, fucking forty five degree angle. We got a great fucking doctor, the kid'll be fucking fine. Probably.”

“Rick, this needs to happen now. Chop, chop. Or I will fucking crush the little fella's skull myself.”

Rick just sobbed and shook his head.

“It can ...It can...It can be me. It can be me. Y-You can do it to me. I c-can go with .” “No. This is the only fucking way. Unless Margie over there fucking offers to come with me.”

Margot just glared at him, making Negan laugh again.

“That's fucking okay, sweetheart. I like the fucking chase.” He turned back to Rick. “Rick, pick up the fucking ax.”

When Rick didn't move Negan sighed. “Not making a decision is a big fucking decision. You really want to see all these people die? You fucking will. You will see every ugly fucking thing.”

Rick just cried as Negan groaned.

“Oh my god. Are you gonna make me fucking count? Okay Rick you win. I'm fucking counting. Three!”

“Please!” Rick cried. “Please. It can be me. Please!”

“Two!

Margot's mind was racing a mile a minute as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. When Negan hit one, she heard Carl tell Rick to just do it. Her eyes widened when Rick picked up the ax and held it in the air. She clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see it.

“Rick.”

Margot opened her eyes and quickly saw Negan had stopped Rick before he actually cut Carl's arm off.

Rick was breathing heavily as Negan squatted down next to him. “You answer to me. You fucking provide for me. You belong to me. Right?” Rick just nodded. Negan scowled and grabbed his face. “Speak when you're spoken to!”

“You fucking answer to me. You provide for me.”

“Provide for you.” Rick repeated

“You belong to me, right?!”

Rick nodded. “Right.”

Margot's heart broke completely. She had never seen Rick this broken before.

“Right. That... is the look I wanted to fucking see.” Negan stood up to his full height. “We did it... all of us, together... even the fucking dead guys on the ground. Hell, they get the spirit award, for sure. Today was a productive damn day!”

He looked around the group as he let out a low sigh. “Now, I hope, for all your sake... that you fucking get it now... that you understand how things fucking work. Things have changed. Whatever you fucking had going for you... that is over now.”

“Ah. Dwight... load him up.”

Daryl fought against Dwight's grip as he was pulled up and thrown into the back of the truck they had been in earlier.

“He's got guts . Not a fucking little bitch like someone I know. I like him. He's mine now. But you still want to fucking try something? "Not today, not tomorrow." "Not today, not tomorrow"? I will fucking cut pieces off of... Hell's his name?”

“Daryl.”

“Wow.” Negan laughed. “That actually sounds fucking right. I will fucking cut pieces off of Daryl and put them on your doorstep. Or, better yet, I will bring him to you and have you fucking do it for me.”

He just laughed again and lent to the side. “Ahh! Welcome to a brand-new beginning, you sorry shits! I'm gonna leave you a fucking truck. Keep it. Use it to cart all the crap you're gonna find me. We'll be back for our first offering in one fucking week. Until then...fucking ta-ta.”

He threw Rick's ax on the ground and started walking away before he stopped. Spinning around on his heel, he smirked as he walked back over to Margot.

He motioned for his men to pick her up. She winced when someone gripped her arm roughly and pulled her to a standing position.

“Just fucking thought I should make something fucking clear to you, Doll.” He lent forward so he could whisper in her ear. “I always fucking get what I want and you're not fucking exception.” Margot felt her blood run cold at his words. “Like I said, I like the fucking chase. And I can not fucking wait until I have you fucking begging for it. Cause trust me, you fucking will.”

He pulled back and smirked at her. He gave her a wink before walking away. His smirk stayed on his face even after they pulled out of the clearing. He had wanted Margot from the first time he laid eyes on her. But after he learned she was with Rick, it just made him want her even more. And Negan was a man who got what he wanted.

“Oh I hope you're fucking ready Margot. Cause you're in for one hell of a fucking roller coaster.”

TAGS: @opheliadawnwalker3 @idonthavehusbandsihavelovers @livinontheegebigtime @deekaahtj @girlwhoisfearless @thecynicalnerd @katshitcrazy @bruhimabitch @crowned-with-laurels @littlebloodorange @winterhurricane @negansbby @negans-network @negans-girl @ryangoslingstanktop @toxic-ink @kawaiirepublic @flissworld @autumnjade22 @straightestgay-voice @ruthlessluzifer @xxxm1m4xxx @rheesgrimes @theonethatgotaway213 @youknowdoctorwho394 @gallifreyansass @maliadestiny @elinyaes @soullessbody @andrealind24 @sraka-z-dupy-robaka @autumn-in-azarath @babystarwitch @stephie161221 @dvrkmischief @tyrelliotr @angelfuzzy2 @ghostly-illusions @ashzombie13 @haleyea @ellaprime68 @shinydixon @kellyn1604 @namelesslosers @nohatarek17 @sweetwittlebosco @its-bri19 @afterdarkrose @coolgh0st @daydreamsandchai @negandaddyjdm

#negan #negans thirst squad #the walking dead negan #negan one shot

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twdfanfics · 8 years

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Slap

Request: Yes, anon

Can I request a CarlxReader where they’re dating and in the lineup Negan shows an interest in her but Carl kinda goes crazy and tells him not to touch her or anything, and then later in that scene where he’s talking about Carl’s eye, she just gets up and punches him in the face but that only seems to make Negan like her even more. Something with a happy ending please

WARNINGS: IT HAS NEGAN SO SWEARING

Words: 1227

This is a longer one. I kinda changed it up so it’s not at the eyeball part she slaps him but when he threatens to cut off his arm / just brings Carl up in front of Rick. Sorry if that bothers you, but I just started writing it and that’s how it ended up. I did take a fair amount of Negan’s dialogue from the show so I don’t own those parts or characters, you already know that though

——————————————————————————————–

We’re forced down onto our knees, guns pointed to the back of our heads. My mind starts to race with possibilities of what could happen.

“C’mon, got people to meet.” You come out of your mind to see Daryl, Glenn, and Michonne getting hauled out of a box and put into line. Michonne looks you in the eye as she being forced down and you can tell she’s scared. Scared for everyone. Just scared.

“Maggie…” Glenn says, looking at his wife. She looks like she’s dying and you can see the concern on his face.

“Let’s meet the man,” the guy says as he walks over to the RV. We all watch and look at each other for support as the door creaks open to reveal Negan.

“Pissing our pants yet?” he asks. You’re surprised that’s his first words once he exits the RV, but don’t question it, of course. He walks closer to you all “Boy, do I have a feeling we’re getting close. You watch as he walks around, getting a look at all of you. He asks who’s the leader and one of his own men answers for us.

“Hi, you’re Rick, right?” Negan asks. Your heart feels like it’s about to explode when you realize what he’s holding. A bat. Covered in barbed wire. You swear you can see blood stains on it, but you can’t be sure in the dark. All you know is that he’s not going to be playing around here. He’s going to get things done his way. “…you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is, but I think you’re gonna be up to speed shortly. You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes.”

What he says doesn’t make you feel any better. You really doubt that it’s supposed to though. A hand grabs your own and you almost jump right out of your skin. Carl looks over at you discreetly, making sure Negan doesn’t see, fearful of what he’d do.

“We’ll be okay,” he mouths. You’re not sure if he believes it himself. Hell, his eyes show that he doesn’t. He’s just saying that to make you feel better. Your whole body is shaking and it’s hard to control it, but you have to manage. Weakness isn’t something Negan seems to like. Or maybe that’s just a feeling you’re getting. Weakness gets you killed.

Negan drones on. You start to zone out until you hear him going on about making us pay. You wish you’d been paying attention. Carl will fill you in later if you ask him too, but you’re guessing it’s not too important. Just him showing off his giant ego or something.

“I’m going to beat the holy hell out of one of you.” …what? Breathing starts to become harder as you look around at everybody. You’d die if anybody here died. You’re all a family. A family that’s grown closer than blood.

“You had one of our guns.” He walks and stand in front of Carl. Carl doesn’t seem scared. “Shit kid, lighten up. At least cry a little.” He looks from Carl to you. “Well, who’s this little cutie right here? What’s your name, darling?”

You don’t answer him and he nods.

“Strong, defiant, stubborn. You’re beautiful, you could come back with me. I’m always looking for a new wife or a beautiful woman to help out at the Sanctuary.” His hand trails along your jawline.

“Don’t touch her,” Carl growls. Negan removes his hand from your face and you relax just a little, but your attention goes to Carl. Why’d he have to be a hero?

“Oh, I see. You two. How adorable. You’re lucky, I know it’s an emotional time so I’ll let that little comment slide. But the next time, I may have to bash her beautiful little head in.” Nothing in his face shows he won’t do it. He’d do it in a heartbeat to get his point across. Carl sees it too, but the angry look in his eyes doesn’t fade away. If anything, it grows. Carl’s hold on your hand tightens, showing you that he won’t let you go or let anything happen to you. You’re thankful that he’s next to you. Or just here for you in general.

Negan begins to walk away, but backtracks to Rick. He looks over at Carl and laughs.

“He’s your kid!” he exclaims. “Definingly your kid!” Rick yells something but you don’t understand him. You fear for Carl, scared he’s going to pay for what his father did. “Do not make me kill the future little serial killer! Don’t make it easy on me.” It’s your turn to squeeze Carl’s hand. Only not out of reassurance, but fear. Carl keeps his head straight, ready for anything that comes his way. “I simply cannot decide. I got an idea.”

“Eeny,” he says, going to Rick.

“Meeny.” Maggie.

“Miny.” Abraham.

“Moe.” Michonne.

This continues for everyone, over and over. He puts Lucille in your face and stops for a moment. Carl stares daggers at Negan and he continues, smiling all the way through.

“It.” He lands back on Abraham. Your whole world.

“If anybody moves cut the boys other eye out and feed it to his father. Or his girlfriend, either one.” He takes his first swing and you can’t even believe your eyes. The sound that comes, the blood spray, the everything. Your whole mind and body begins to shut down.

“Taking it like a champ!” He takes another swing and more blood flies everywhere. Over and over and over and over… Everything happens as if it’s in fast forward. Daryl lashed out, you can barely remember why, and Glenn’s bashed in. You’re completely numb by the time Rick is hauled away and you’re still on the ground. Time passes and he hasn’t returned, but you don’t care. You stare off and think of everything that’s happened.

Carl draws circles on your hand, attempting to comfort you, but it does nothing. You can barely feel it. However, soon Negan returns and takes Carl.

“No!” you scream out, catching Negan off guard.

“She does speak!” he exclaims. “Though, at the worst of times. You get a break on that. Come back with me, won’t you? I’ll–” You get up and slap him, everyone freezing. You immediately want to take it back. Carl looks at you, fear in his eyes.

Negan’s men come forward, but Negan tells them to stay back.

“No. Go ahead and slap me again. I liked that.” He grabs your arm and brings you closer to them. “I’ll be visiting you back in Alexandria. I’m gonna be looking forward to that each and everyday. One of these days you’ll come back with me. I know it.” Negan takes a look back at Rick, seeing a completely broken look in his eyes.

“Pick the boy back up. We’re done here.” You stand still as everyone leaves. Carl jumps up and tackles you in a hug.

“Never do anything like that again, you understand me?” he says. Your bury your head into his shoulder, finally letting yourself cry.

“I won’t. As long as you promise not to either.”

“I promise. He’ll never get you. Not as long as I’m alive.” He kisses you on the forehead and lets you bury your head back into his shoulder.

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thedesperatehousehusband · 6 years

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2018. The Year That Was.

The Desperate Househusband is going to use the first post of 2019 to take a retrospective look back at 2018. I realize that most year-end reviews were written and published two weeks ago but sometimes I am not able to be timely. So deal with it. But I want to discuss the highs and lows of the year. The trials. The tribulations. The beer. The food. The travel. Just the shit that Juan and I did over the course of the year. To reminisce. To remember the year that was.

January

Bitch, I don’t know what I did in January of last year. It’s damn near 13 months ago. My mind is not the steel trap that it once was. Alls I can recall is that it was colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra on New Year’s Day. I think it was 2. I remember this because Juan’s dad was visiting us from Mexico and that type of cold weather about does him in. So let’s just skip forward to…..

February

First, February always brings my birthday. I celebrated my 44th year on the planet and I gotta tell you, it’s all pretty fucking good. Yes, I have some stress and there’s a bit more creaking in my rusting bones but, dammit, I don’t look 44. Expensive creams, y’all. Along with my birthday, we visited our friends, Andrew and Angela, in Granger, IN. Folks, there is nothing going on in the greater South Bend shithole region. Which is why Andrew and Angela are moving to Grand Rapids, MI in June. We look forward with much excitement about visiting them in their new home in such a craft beer mecca. As if on cue, we attended the Brewer’s Guild of Indiana’s annual Winterfest at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Mama Mia, is that an event! Sample until you can’t sample no more then enjoy a nourishing and gluten-rich snack from the box of Wheat Thins that’s hanging around your neck.

March

The end of winter took Juan to his annual pilgrimage to South By Southwest in Austin, TX. Oh, how he loves that event. The hipster-ness of it all. He learns a lot then applies it back at work. My work travels took me half way across the world. Or maybe more. I’m not sure how to measure it but I went to Sydney, Australia for a business trip and, fuck a duck, is that journey! Business Class or not, 13.5 hours in a tin can from LA to Sydney is intense. But Australia has long been one of the places I yearned to visit most and it did not disappoint. We didn’t get to do ALL the fun stuff but we did all we could on our days off. The Opera House is the real deal. Koalas actually DO HAVE chlamydia. Aussies eat a LOT of red meat. Red wine is next level. Craft beer is OK. And kangaroos are impossible to smuggle across the border. Customs did not take kindly to little Bindi, who I was trying to bring home as a pet.

April

April was a good ass month because it involved a very, very, very amazing evening at Alinea in Chicago. It’s the first time we ever did the downstairs tasting menu that happens at the same time to all 16 (or so) people. It’s indescribably incredible. Along with Alina and it’s 2 Michelin stars, we also managed to hit 2 ADDITIONAL restaurants with Michelin stars that weekend. Thus creating a theme. I hate to brag, and others say this, but we are living our best lives and I don’t care who knows about it.

May

As he does each May 14th, Juan celebrated his birthday. Turning 42 in New York. We travelled to the Big Apple for our first theater excursion of the year. We saw Angels in America, which was a 2-day theatrical event of epic proportions that left us bereft and exhausted but it was amazing. We followed that up the Mean Girls and My Fair Lady. Then we hit the upfronts. A very special TV network week that is for work. Getting to preview the fall TV lineups, meet celebs and mingle with our TV reps never disappoints. We closed the month with a #ohiobeercation over Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed time in both Columbus and Cincinnati. There is good fucking beer in Ohio. Rhinegeist is such a happy place as is Brew Dog. We also eat really, really well in C-Bus and Cinci. Do I remember where we ate? Not exactly. So you’re just going to have to take my word for it.

June

I’m positive we did shit in June. I’m certain we saw a Cabaret show or two. I’m sure we went out for beer. I’m sure it was hot. But I’m not recalling anything overtly special about June. Let’s just say that June was a relaxing month of summer fun and the return of My Dad’s Sweet Corn at the Farmer’s Market. If you live in Indy and this is not your corn of choice, you are dead to me and I actually think you’re dumb.

July

I do remember July very vividly. Independence Day was quite possibly the hottest I have ever been. EVER. We went to Metazoa Brewing’s 4th of July Fest. We nearly melted. And I kid you not….the band playing outside in the sun experienced a keyboard that ACTUALLY melted. It was so fucking hot and humid and miserable. But we are NOT afraid. We went to the fest. We hung with Joe, Cathy, Jon and Kelly for fireworks at Joe & Cathy’s place. Then we took showers to wash off the sweat that was pouring out of all bodily orifices. My drawls were beyond damp and moist. We also returned to Chautauqua for a road trip adventure with the Sullivan’s. The Chautauqua Institution is one of our favorite places and we are so lucky to have experienced it so many times with such wonderful friends.

August

There are many highlights each year but August 2018 is our big month as it involved a 2-week European holiday to Copenhagen and Stockholm. Two places that we could truly see ourselves living less the darkness that consumes the winter. I need more daylight than Stockholm in January can muster but it’s pretty killer when it’s still light at 10:30 PM in August. These cities are lovely. Just delightful, cultured, civilized places that prioritize the things that are important to us. Art, food, design, wine, beer, cocktails, fashion, culture, music, architecture. And when you can spend two weeks debating where you ate the best cardamom buns each morning, then you have had a successful vacation.

September

I feel like we sat on our asses a lot after our Scandi vacation in August. So September is feeling quite quiet. But we did make another trip to Granger to see Andrew and Angela with the added benefit of getting to meet their baby, Benjamin Jack, for the first time. We ate that baby. Completely gobbled him up. Andrew took us on a day-trip through Southwest Michigan for beer and autumnal fun. We drove around with the baby, who was incredibly good and basically just slept in his stroller while we enjoyed beer al fresco. Good parenting is so rare.

October

I don’t know if it’s a full-on tradition but in 2017 and 2018, October brought was road trip vacations. Or Beercations as they have become to be known colloquially. This year we trekked to Nasvhille, TN. What a fun-ass place. We ate really well. We drank really well. We bought very cool jeans. We walked around cool neighborhoods and the Vanderbilt campus. We listened to music. Then we drove home. I would for sure do that trip again. It’s a perfectly lovely 4-day weekend and an easy drive. You’re on the same damn highway the whole time.

November

I feel like November was incredibly busy and stressful but I’m not necessarily recalling major events. We had the Cabaret’s fundraiser which featured this insanely talented Swedish woman named Gudrun Carling. Our dear friend from Atlanta, Erika, attended with us. We did Thanksgiving at my mom’s and we let Whole Foods do some of the work. I gotta tell you. That’s the way to go. Their sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberries and jalapeno cornbread were right on time. The stuffing was less so. But we have long been spoiled by Juan’s mom’s stuffing recipe which is second-to-none.

December

What a wacky month December was. We jetted off to NYC for our second theater weekend the first weekend of the month. This is when we saw Harry Potter & the Cursed Child Part 1 & Part 2. Holy hell. It’s one of the coolest things ever. We spent a full day in the exact same theater seats. We also saw The Prom which is a hilarious. As well as the Ferryman which is not hilarious. But it wasn’t supposed to be. As soon as we got back to Indy, Juan left for Santiago, Chile for a TV shoot. He was gone nearly two weeks. He returned just in time for the Nutcracker and the final few days of work. We enjoyed a few days at home before going to my mom’s for Christmas. Then a few more days at home before heading to Mexico City for New Year’s with Juan’s dad. We ate alllllll the food.

And now it’s January so we need to get back to work because all this travel and fun shit ain’t free. We work to live not live to work but we still have to work.

Happy 2019!

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