#my christmas list is probably plenty big

[wanderingmind867]

I have a plan to help me with my Christmas List, Me and my dad renewed his library card (although he forgot to renew mine), and i'm planning to pick some books out from the local public library. Specifically, I'm mostly going for the Rick Riordan Presents books, and Rick Riordan's novel Daughter of the Deep. Then I'll skim them and see if they seem to be up my alley. If they are, I'll add them to my Christmas list. If not, then I guess at least I'll know they're not for me? Either way, I'm pretty much all set for books on my Christmas List now. All I might want to pad my list out with is video games and dvds, now. So I just need to think of some of those now. sigh...

In doing this, I also realized my public libraries website has changed a lot over the years. The last time I used it was probably five years ago. And wow, it's really changed a lot over the years. It looks nice, but it certainly felt harder to navigate than the old website. Maybe that's just the nostalgia and reminisce talking, but it's true. It felt harder to navigate, so let's just hope I actually did put all the books on hold.

[amazinglyegg]

hi!! i want to say i love ur blog sm. its amazing and one of my fav blogs.

i have a hc where sole picks up children’s toys, teddy bears, jangles the moon monkey, and giddy up buttercups while walking thru the wasteland looking for shaun. could u write a react for fo4 companions asking why they pick up “that junk” vs their reactions after finding out the reason why?

Thank you so much!! And this is the most adorable headcanon ever, I love it <3<3<3 I can only imagine how hard it'd be for Sole to constantly see all the toys they was planning to get Shaun for Christmas all broken down and rusted. Plus not even knowing if he's alive or if he would like any of them anymore... augh my heart </3

Companions react: Sole who collects toys for Shaun

Ada

She doesn't even bat an eye when Sole goes around picking up every toy they see

Sole probably only tells her the truth once they overhear Ada calling it scrap

After that Ada will make very sure she doesn't scrap any toys she finds and instead leaves them in a nice pile for Sole to sort through and keep any they want

Might even find it hard to scrap the toys Sole doesn't want (because they're too broken or unsalvagable)

She definitely gets wanting to keep something to remember someone by, and seeing Sole do this might just convince her to keep a transitional object that reminds her of Jackson

Cait

Cait immediately feels like crap for complaining so much

Not only because she kept complaining about Sole's habit, but she had definitely made comments on how dumb and boring the toys are in the past

She doesn't really get it since she's not a parent (and never wants to be), but she still feels like she should have realized it sooner

It also hits a bit close to home for her because she never really had many toys as a kid, so realizing Sole cares about Shaun so much they're constantly looking for trinkets for him is almost unreal to her

She'll probably not say much about it for that reason, too awkward and vaguely in disbelief that parents actually do that for their kids for her to make any comments

Codsworth

Oh he is SO supportive of Sole

Even before Sole tells him they're for Shaun he's pointing out how much Shaun would love them

Probably has Sole's Christmas list for Shaun still stored in his memory (because let's be honest Sole was definitely obsessing over their baby's first Christmas back in October) so he'll point out whenever they find a toy that was on the list

He'll probably go out of his way to grab any toys he sees for Shaun as well

Shaun's bedroom is going to be PACKED with toys before he even gets out of the Institute

Curie

Definitely more curious than frusturated with Sole picking up toys

Might push Sole too hard for an answer at first, but realizes her mistake and apologizes when Sole tells her the truth

I can imagine her having wildly different reactions on it, especially while she's getting used to emotions

One day she's going "but Shaun already has three blankets, no?" and the next day she's crying at the sight of a broken teddy bear

Grief is such a big emotion for Curie and she's so empathetic she's 100% going to be more weepy than Sole is a lot of the time

Danse

Sort of stuck when Sole tells him why they collect toys

On one hand it's his job to tell Sole to drop down the unnecessary stuff and travel light... but on the other hand... they're grieving

So as much as he wants to complain, he probably won't

He gets this is Sole's way of coping and whatnot but he's never been too good at empathy in general, so he won't really know what to say

He definitely won't bother Sole about it, but he will also just kinda ignore it

If him and Sole are close he might (rarely) bring them a toy in good condition he found (he's a scavenger at heart, of course he'll be looking for those things)

Deacon

Probably one of the most initially annoyed companions in this list

He hates kids and everything to do with them so before finding out he'd make plenty of half-jokes half-complaining jabs at how much the kids toys suck

Every time Sole picked up another toy Deacon's saying "Why did they have to make that face so weird?" "Did kids really play with this crap?" "If Santa got me THAT as a gift Christmas would be ruined forever!"

But once Sole tells him the truth he feels like a major asshole

He's another emotionally stunted man who won't know what to say!

He'll mostly ignore it and look the other way, but he'll also sometimes offer to carry the toys for Sole if their pack is too full

It's the least he can do after being so rude to them

Father

He definitely felt Something when Sole told him that fact (sympathy?? Longing?? Who knows)

The fact that he never left Sole's thoughts even while they were struggling to survive in the wastes means a lot to him (he has parent issues okay?)

Gets a bit weirded out if they still insist on gathering toys and giving them to synth Shaun

Like... he's a robot... he doesn't play with toys... why are you grieving me when I'm right here (he's also very emotionally stunted. Unsurprisingly)

Generally not too empathetic about it, and will definitely comment on it if Sole tries bringing dirty/broken toys into the Institute

Gage

Least likely to back down and apologize like the other companions after Sole admits the truth

Probably takes the realist approach of "There's toys everywhere... why can't you just wait until you actually find Shaun and then bring him to an old toy store or something?"

Will be a lot easier on them once he knows the truth though

It's just weird when they're surrounded by toys everywhere. They're literally in an amusement park. Can't Sole just bring Shaun there once they get him??

He's also a bit worried about Sole seeming like a softie, or trying to leave Nuka World once they get their kid back

A toy car or a deck of cards is fine, but you are NOT parading a five foot tall teddy bear around Nuka World. Gage will put his foot down for that one

Hancock

He'll probably only get annoyed with Sole's collection if it manages to get in the way of their work

He has always found childrens toys creepy... he's pretty thankful not many kids wander around Goodneighbor for that reason

Once he finds out the truth his demeanor will change from mild annoyance to "you know what? You do you"

He'll probably find an old tire or something and go "You think Shaun would like this??"

He doesn't know what kids like!! Especially old world kids. When he was a kid he would have been entertained for HOURS with just a stick... why wouldn't Shaun??

Either way, he lets Sole go do whatever they want to do. He won't judge as long as he doesn't have to look at Jangles for any longer than necessary

Maccready

Feels like a complete asshole for not connecting it together sooner

Childrens toys, missing child... how did he not SEE that

Hell, HE grabs little toys for Duncan every once in a while. Obviously he can't judge

He might be a tiny bit salty though

He's had to teach himself to not pick up every toy he thinks Duncan would want because he simply can't send them all to him, so seeing Sole constantly fawn over plushies and trinkets... just kinda hurts knowing he can't do the same at the moment

That being said if he finds something he wants to give to Duncan but can't, he'll give it to Sole instead

Ends up being a pretty good system for them both

Nick Valentine

Out of all of the companions he'd be best at emotional support

He'll sincerely apologizes for bugging Sole about the "junk" they've been lugging around and will reassure them that Shaun would love it

He still remembers which toys were popular at the time and will talk to Sole about it whenever they find one

Catch him and Sole repeating commercial jingles back and forth

He gives them a lot of space to grieve and never complains about all the toys once he finds out who they're for

He doesn't shy away from gently putting his foot down if Sole gets a bit ridiculous, but he does so very, very gently

Like "Hey, that teddy is in tatters. How about we find one that's a bit more... huggable?" or "Shaun doesn't need two Giddyup Buttercups, but if you're okay for it I know a little girl in Diamond City who's been begging for one all year"

Old Longfellow

Aw hell, why not?

Definitely empathizes with them

He feels bad for Sole once he learns the truth so he's perfectly happy to just shut up and let Sole do whatever they need to do to grieve

He's also not really a toy person so he doesn't get it

Like "you think your kid would like THAT??"

But whatever. Sole knows their own kid better than he knows them. If Shaun gets traumatized by seeing Jangles the moon monkey, that's Sole's fault

Piper

Likely to take an "aww, that's sweet" approach to things

Similar to Hancock in that she... doesn't really get it??

Like who needs all these old toys most people don't know how to play with?? Nat played with a rock and a loose piece of string when she was little and she was just fine

Tries to show enthusiasm but ends up going wayy off the mark

She grabs a Barbie doll and says "wouldn't Shaun like this?? He can... I don't know... brush her hair??"

"Shaun would love this!" "Piper that's a mechanical keyboard... with no computer" "Well maybe Shaun would like pretending to write stories!"

Preston

Straight up apologizes for being so harsh to Sole

He didn't need to be so rude about Sole picking up toys. It's their backpack, they can fill it with whatever they want

Appreciates what Sole's doing and will make sure the kids in any settlements don't touch Shaun's toys

He's pretty curious what a lot of toys actually do. He'll ask Sole things like "so do kids... just... sit on the Giddyup Buttercup? And do nothing else??"

Will offer to carry some toys or have caravans bring them back to settlements if they're too much for Sole to carry

X6-88

(assuming Sole's either keeping the toys for themself or wants to give them to synth!Shaun)

Doesn't get it

Father is right there?? Why are you grieving his childhood and focusing on a synth instead of being proud of his achievements??

Going into headcanon territory here but I assume the Institute probably makes toys for (the scientist's) kids to play with already

Not to mention the Institute is pretty anti-clutter, and Shaun doesn't "need" toys to begin with

He just can't wrap his head around why Sole feels the need to hoard a bunch of old broken toys when good ones are in the Institute already

If Sole just insists on keeping the toys in the old nursery he'll be a bit annoyed but won't show it (gotta respect the future director and all)

[eddiestightywhities]

SATURDAY SHNIPPET

posting apropos of nowt bc i've worked on this today and am a bit in love with it (cross your fingers for me the feeling lasts!). it's from my buddie accidental sexting wip partly inspired by the absolute masterpiece that is @wildehacked's I Love You But I Need Another Year. it's eddie pov with manchurian catholic undertones and i'm just under 5k and ed's hasn't even got a hand on his dick yet lmao. large font is the boys texts (buck's have Buck: as a precursor). buck's dating tommy 👀 as this is during the nun!marisol/pent-up eddie thing.

!! mature !!

.

Badly need to switch my brain off, you know? Just don't really know how to do that right now. 

Which is—a bit of a lie. Eddie's learned plenty of relaxation techniques over the years. He knows several breathing exercises and an array of calming mindful practices he could employ. It's just that Eddie's sort of become low key invested in whatever Buck's version of Eddie relaxing might be. Which is probably just because Buck knows him so well, and will be at least able to continue distracting Eddie till Eddie gets tired enough to drop off.

Right?

He really could do with loosening up first, though. 

Buck: OK. so you gotta think about like. something you don't usually think about…… 🧠❓🤔 

Fuck knows why but the Buck&Tommy porn reel is at once scrolling Eddie's brain again, his dick twitching a little in interest against his thigh and—Jesucristo, Eddie has to concentrate really fucking hard now to get his messed-up head somewhere very much other than his best friend's sex life. 

What is wrong with him?

Sure, Buck and Tommy fucking is definitely something Eddie doesn't usually think about, but shit. He has to shake his head to dislodge the image of Tommy's hulking silhouette bracing Buck, and he's really, truly hoping his manchurian Catholicism hasn't been harbouring some sort of weird latent homophobia all this time. 

He just does not want to be thinking of Kinard while feeling this horny. Buck's image, however, is so familiar to Eddie— seared into the lining of his grey matter—that he's not really sure there is anything he can do about getting rid of it. Not unless he wants to run the risk of the stuff he's so desperately trying not to think about sneaking it's way to the forefront of his mind once more. 

Buck: got something in mind? 

Um. 

Buck: picture it now

Buck: and i don't mean like the weekly grocery list or whatever btw

Buck: something sexy 

There's a record scratch in Eddie's brain. 

Hang. The Fuck. On.

Is Buck really doing what Eddie thinks he's doing? And is Eddie—is Eddie really contemplating just… Going along with it? 

Eddie's thumbs are moving across his phone screen of their own accord.

He can't let himself think sexy thoughts. All he can think of is Buck. But Buck did say something different...

Eddie types.

Yeah.

Fuck. 

Buck: alright. okay. take a deep breath. in fact take a few

Buck: and picture…… whatever it is. then start tracing your fingertips over your belly in small circles. start around your belly button. then make them bigger. big, sweeping circles

Buck: but slowly

Buck: and softly 

What in the name of Eddie's sanity is actually happening right now? And why is Eddie's body just—doing exactly what Buck is telling it, without Eddie giving it permission? 

Eddie's fingers are rough against the soft skin of his abdomen, the tips catching a little in the hairs just below his belly button. 

Like a bur on a sunny afternoon. 

He's thinking of Buck. Nothing sleazy, of course. Just Buck in his turnouts. Buck wearing that really nice burnt orange sweater Maddie and Chim got him last Christmas. Buck in a tank and shorts at the station gym. Just—Buck. 

And this, and touching his body the way Buck is telling him to, it all feels... It feels good, actually. Really fucking good. 

Buck: still with me eds? 

Eddie has to type the message out with his left hand, the right one busy drawing strange patterns over his own skin.

Ueah. Feels nice. 

¿Qué carajo?!

Buck: now do the same but up and down your thighs

Eddie does, and—oh, damn, it's—he really likes that. Thinks about Buck's hands doing the same over Buck's thighs. Wonders if Buck is doing it himself. Then he tries to worry about him thinking about that, but can't because Buck is texting him again.

Buck: and keep taking lots of big, deep breaths

Eddie breathes, big and deep, on Buck's instruction, and finds himself sighing quietly when he exhales. His fingers roam across his right thigh, then up the left, then up and over his belly, and back again. 

His phone buzzes against his chest. 

Buck: good? 

Eddie's picturing Buck holding his phone propped up on his own chest, other hand stroking his belly, just like Eddie.

Jeah. good

Buck: now touch your chest

Eddie keeps breathing, slowly, thoroughly, his hand doing exactly what Buck tells it. Then his fingertips skim over his right nipple and fuck, fuck he really likes that, so he finds the left one and does the same. Then he kind of rolls it between his forefinger and thumb pad before absently pinching at it—which rips this strange, strangled sort of sound out of him from somewhere deep in his chest, part gasp, part grunt, and his already fairly plump dick now springs up to full attention, bouncing slightly beneath Eddie's makeshift bedsheet blanket fort.

Buck: you still with me? 

Here. With yio

Eddie really, really wants to touch his dick—only Buck hasn't said that he can. 

Oh fuck, oh fuck, what the fuck.

.

play or nay, tags are under the cut! let me know in the notes if you'd like tagging if/when i finish this!

@inell @rosieposiepuddingnpie @sortasirius @angela-feelstoomuch @woodchoc-magnum @kitteneddiediaz @watchyourbuck @treasurehuntbuck @daffi-990 @eddiegettingshot @mazzystar24 @colonoscopys @shitouttabuck @lamardeuse @exhuastedpigeon @lamardeuse @veronae-buddie @wildehacked

[mrs-kodzuken]

Christmas Magic ♡

Pairing: Aged up!Kenma Kozume x fem!reader

WC: 1.6k

Genre: mostly fluff, marriage, sexual tension

CW: fem!reader, lots of sexual tension at the end, long haired!reader

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I scrolled on my phone looking through a baking app, skimming across it for new recipes to try out. I wanted to bake something for Kenma and I even though it was only one in the morning.

Currently, I was sitting on the counter in our beautiful kitchen. The bar stools were always an obvious choice to sit in but alas I loved our granite counter. I screenshotted three recipes for three different types of cookies to try out.

Gingerbread sandwich cookies, Peppermint patty-stuffed chocolate cookies, and some DIY YouTube emoticon cookies, those were for Kenma.

Speaking of my husband, he had told me about thirty minutes earlier that he was going to stream live. Which is most likely what he was doing right now.

I looked through the ingredients on the list and quietly headed upstairs to the second floor. Even though Kenma was an entire floor above, in his gaming room, of our three story house, I still tried to be as quiet as possible.

I mean, it was one am after all. Time didn't really bother Kenma and I because of our schedules.

Entering our bedroom, I grabbed a measure of clothing. Hat, scarf, winter jacket, sweatpants, and warm socks. Grabbing my snow boots from the closet floor I headed back downstairs to the door.

I looked up at the snowy sky and took a deep breath in of the sharp icy air, which felt like needles poking my lungs. Winter is here and it's my favorite time of the year.

Smiling at the decorative lights flashing on our house that we put up a couple of weeks ago. I started my walk to the closest market, I didn't want to travel too far just for some cookie ingredients.

Some of them we didn't have either. Hopefully, they'd be open because I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. And I needed something to busy me whilst my husband was streaming.

I headed in and heard the bell ding as the warm air from the small convenience store heated me up.

Immediately, I went to the baking and ingredients section. I tried to balance the objects in my arms while walking up to the front counter because I didn't think to grab a cart.

"Hello." I spoke to the cashier and carefully set my items down.

"Hi Mrs.Kozume, do you plan on making something this late?" The old lady had asked with a light laugh. The crinkles by her eyes creased and shown her age.

"Yes ma'am, I wanted to bake for my husband. He's working right now and probably won't be sleep for a couple more hours." I laughed with her.

Since I would always come here for plenty of household things, at any time of day or night, I knew most of all the workers.

"Ah, well I hope the two of you have a good night." She placed my ingredients in two plastic bags then held them out for me.

"You too. Thank you." I waved at her and opened the door, leaving as the cold air from the chill night surrounded me once again.

Not after hearing a mumble of 'such cute youngens.' I had quietly laughed to myself and continued my short walk home. Eager to bake and be in warmth again.

Passing all the colorful decorations of houses, I stared in awe. Small snow flurries had began to fall as well. Christmas is such a wonderful time, isn't it?

Finally coming close to a familiar decor, I quickly got inside. The coldness nipping at my nose and body as I shivered from it.

"Baby? Are you back?" I heard a deep voice fill the air as I took off my winter boots and continued to strip until I was in my regular house clothes.

"Yes hon, I went out to get some things." I answered my husband while hanging my big coat on the rack and leaving my snow boots by the door.

"Did you finish your streaming?" I questioned, tilting my head as he rounded the corner from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it was a short one." He muttered, his eyes focused on the bags in my hands.

I walked into the kitchen, setting them down on the counter before heading upstairs, kenma following my every move.

"What'd you get?"

"Just a few ingredients for baking." I opened our closet and picked out my pink Christmas pj's that Kenma bought me. They had small green Christmas trees on them and were very soft.

As well as reaching for some big fuzzy socks to warm up my cold feet.

I took off my house clothes and slipped that on, not bothering to cover up my body. It's not like Kenma hasn't seen any of this glorious body before.

I watched as Kenma's eyes trailed down my body and gawked at my every move.

"My love, do you wanna your Christmas jammie's on to match me?" I asked, silently begging so we could be cute together.

He came from behind me as I reached into the drawers to pull out his set. Ken hugged me from the back, his arms wrapping around my waist and his head on my shoulder.

"Sure baby, I'll be right down." Kissing the nape of my neck, I sighed peacefully and broke our hug.

Heading down, I waltzed kitchen, pulling my hair up and started with the basics.

I could basically feel his eyes staring at me while I started getting the bowls and utensils out as well as my ingredients I had bought.

"Yes, my love?" I turned around to face him, getting ready to start whisking the batter.

"Can I help?"

I smiled softly at him, my heart bursting into flames full of love. Especially since he looked so precious in his pajamas that matched mine.

"Of course you can, here." I gave him the batter I was just about to whisk and started on a new task.

"What kind of cookies are these." He sniffed the batter, his nose twitching.

"These are gingerbread sandwich cookies. I have two others that i wanted to bake too. I'm gonna start on the peppermint patty-stuffed chocolate ones." I gave him my phone that had all the instructions on how to bake the Gingerbread cookies.

He set the bowl down and his eyes skimmed down the phone to the last one. I saw a soft smile grace his handsome features.

"Can we make the last one next?"

"Sure, let me finish with this chocolate first and you put those in oven." I directed, happy that we were bonding.

Baking with Kenma was always nice, even if we stopped a few times here and there because he wanted to make out for some unknown reason.

"Are they done?" I asked him, peering back while he opened the oven. I cleaned the last couple of dishes that we used for baking.

"Yeah, but they're hot so be careful." He warned me as some of his two toned hair fell into his face. Ken put the cookies on a platter and set them on our granite counter, waiting for them to cool.

I grabbed my step stool and set it where I could fix his hair, as per usual. I, unfortunately, had to stand on my tippy toes from how short I am.

Lightly taking his hair out of the messy back bun I had put it in earlier, and changed it to a ponytail.

"Your hair is so soft and long baby." I gently racked my hands through his hair.

"Oh please, your hair goes down to your ass baby." He retorted as if I meant it as a bad thing.

"It's not a bad thing honey, most guys don't wear it long. It looks sexy on you." My face flushed and I stepped down, putting the step stool away to where it goes.

I didn't hear an answer from him as I made my way towards the cookies. They should be cool enough by now to eat.

Gently, I touched one before picking it up just to see if it would burn my hand or not.

Seeing as I could pick it up I turned to Kenma with it.

"Say ahh." I broke the cookie in half so I could feed it to him.

He stared down at me with watchful eyes and an eyebrow raised like I was dumb. Nevertheless he did as I asked.

"Good boy, does it taste good?" I could have sworn that he almost choked when I said that. I was just proud that the cookies we made came out looking so good.

"That's new. It's usually Daddy." He smirked, his cheeks flushing bit red, watching my expression.

My face burned a bright red because I knew what he was talking about. And it was, in fact, true.

"How does it taste?" My voice high pitched because of his response, I cleared my throat to fix it.

"Eh, you taste better."

I could have died right then and there.

"You're such a horny person, Kenma." I laughed at him, feeling the sexual tension in the air.

I thought this was supposed to be wholesome and yet here my erratic husband is, trying to be sexy.

"You're one to talk.." He trailed off, analyzing my face.

"Anyway! Do you want to watch home alone? I'll bring the cookies up while they're still warm?" I said getting a glass of milk for us to dip our cookies in.

"Sure baby," He kissed my jaw in the same place of where he had set a mark he made a couple nights ago.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I can't believe I married a horny tornado." I muttered and focused on the sweets in front of me.

Knowing damn well that later I would be getting some Christmas magic.

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a/n: this is from my “Haikyuu x Reader Oneshots” on Wattpad! I hoped you enjoyed and let me know if you want more!

the header is from lena!! on Pinterest

[microcroft]

WEEWOO WEEWOO! IMPORTANT REMINDER: If you got a gift card over the holidays go and register it online now!

Gift card draining is a pretty big scamming industry (1/4 people have given or received a gift card with stolen funds) spanning all over the U.S.. I wont go all into the hows and whys because I don't want this post to be a whole novel but all you gotta know is they steal the numbers. Back in September 2022, I decided to use a $100 Visa gift card that had just been sitting in my room still in the packaging since Christmas. I opened it up and went on the site to register it, I found that it only had about $5 left on it, up at a Target in California in January 2022, while I was all the way across the country in coastal Virginia probably playing Minecraft.

There's probably more stuff I'm missing here but these are the most important bits, there's plenty of info out there on how to avoid it when your buying a gift card but its hard to find a good list of what to do if you are given a gift card and I didn't know what to do other than just calling the number on the back of the card when it happened to me.

Note: This only really applies to physical gift cards and is probably American-centric, digital gift cards are far more protected against this kind of fraud.

(In no particular order)

Get the receipt and keep it with the card.

2. Check the balance on whatever site is on the package/card. If it has already been used call the customer service number on the back of the card or listed here ASAP, within 60 days if possible (listen, I know calling anywhere, especially when you have to sit on hold sucks but this is unfortunately the only way to get that money back)

3. Contact the store it was bought from because keeping the gift cards untampered with and if it happened to one of them, there's probably others that were messed with too.

4. VISA has this policy (found at the bottom of the page, the physical card holder agreement):

"Zero Liability: In accordance with the network rules, if you are able to register your Card with us and you do so, you will not be held responsible for unauthorized transactions if: (i) you have used reasonable care in protecting your Card from loss or theft and (ii) you promptly reported to us when you knew that your Card was lost or stolen. Please note this zero liability protection does not apply to unregistered Cards."

Meaning if you register it on the site ASAP, once you do and if you you notice a charge you did not make, report it within 60 days and you are basically guaranteed to get that money back. Otherwise, find a Karen to argue with whichever customer service manager or supervisor is on duty until they relent (I do not typically endorse Karen behavior but I do believe it is possible to be a White Hat Karen).

5. if you are a victim of any sort of fraud report it to the FTC here: reportfraud.ftc.gov probably wont do anything for you but it may help them stop it from happening again in the long run which is important.

[tagsecretsanta]

From @scribbles97

From @scribbles97 to @angelofbenignmalevolence

It was cold. 

There was ice in the air and snow promised in the heavy clouds that blanketed the city. 

If it weren’t the week of Thanksgiving, Scott might have felt that the atmosphere was perfectly fitting for Christmas. Sure, he’d been to New York plenty of times over the winter months, but that had always been for work and had involved fancy cars ferrying him from meeting to meeting. He’d missed the crisp air against his cheeks that he remembered from his childhood, and the way the city lights seemed to shine all the brighter against the backdrop of snow clouds. 

Though he had to admit, of all the cities in the world, Edinburgh hadn’t ever been high on his list of favourites. The antique charm built up around the castle was something John had always been one to appreciate, and was probably one of the reasons his brother continued to agree to guest lecture at the university. 

A city with a historic relationship with the arts, and a university that excelled in both arts and engineering -- Scott was sure there was another brother that would have been better suited to walking the historic streets. 

Hell, even Gordon might have been better, if his chatter about Sports Science at the college a few months prior had been anything to go by.

“I still don’t get,” Scott huffed, watching the ghost of his breath float away in the crisp winter air, “Why you wanted me to come with you?”

John tutted, digging his hands deeper into the pockets of his long woolen coat, “Come on Scooter, you were the only one that used to even try to keep up with my mathematics.”

Scott smiled as his mind cast itself back to far simpler times, when getting through the school day without a brother getting in trouble had been his biggest concern, and math class had been a straight race between he and his younger brother as to who could finish their work first. He remembered teachers and parents alike rolling their eyes at the quiet sibling rivalry, John had always acted like he didn’t care, but Scott had seen the fond smiles that crept through when both had stood at the same time to hand in their papers. 

Never in a million years did he anticipate simple races would end in his brother cajoling Scott to join him in Edinburgh for a week of guest-lectures. 

He had been promised he would enjoy the time away, not that he would spend the time in Astronomy lectures that went eighty percent over his head. 

Not that he would complain, despite the below freezing temperatures of the city, it was nice to get away for something non-work related. Dad had a handle on the business, and their new GDF recruits had demonstrated exceptional capabilities in supporting International Rescue. 

For the first time in years, he and John could sit and enjoy their coffee without the looming threat of some disaster. 

Well, they had been, until John had realised the time.

He had rushed them both out of the little shop and along the streets towards one of the older buildings that reminded Scott of their university days and long forgotten visits to Oxford. 

“This is the math building?” Scott frowned, catching the sign drilled into the brickwork next to the oversized old oak door, “You’re not lecturing in math this week.” 

John rolled his eyes in that fond exasperated way he always had in school when Scott had lost their races due to rushed silly mistakes. 

“Well, big brother,” He smiled, leading them up the stone stairs, turning to look at Scott as the doors opened automatically, “You might not know this, but having a name for yourself and being pretty good in your field means you can pull strings to get what you want.”

Scott paused, hand on the railing, as he looked to John, “What did you--”

John didn’t wait, stepping into the building as he explained, “Did you know Doctor MacGregor is doing a guest lecture here today, presenting her work on Banach Space and the Invariant Subspace Problem?”

Scott had known MacGregor was due to give a guest lecture on her work in the city. What he hadn’t known was that it had coincided with their trip. 

Dates of lectures were things that had long since vanished from his radar, too busy on all fronts to consider having or taking time for things that wouldn’t actively contribute to his work. 

“That isn’t even your early Christmas present.” John grinned, clearly smug with his plot, “Now, come on, I don’t plan on being late.”

He headed straight for the original stone staircase, clearly already knowing where they needed to be and how to get there.

“But--” Scott stuttered as he went to dart after his younger brother, unphased by the grand architecture of the old building, “But Doctor MacGregor! John! Do you--”

“I do.” John’s smile was wicked as he dipped a hand into his satchel, “Which is why Virgil sent me with this.”

Both ducked to the side as students tried to pass them, clearly unimpressed by being held up on their way to their own lectures.

Scott was transfixed on the data-pad John was holding out to him, something already brought up on the screen with his own familiar scrawl adorning the margins.

Scott’s annotated version of MacGregor’s previous paper.

As soon as recognition dawned, John snatched away the tablet, turning to continue up the stairs.

Scott was quick to follow, not daring to be late as his brother had said.

“But, she’ll have places to be--”

John paused at the top of the stairs, letting Scott catch up before heading down a hallway, “If by places you mean dinner on Princes Street with us, then yes, she will.”

“But--”

His younger brother raised an eyebrow as they stopped outside a lecture theatre, the doors pegged open and students still filling seats. When Scott glanced in, he could see the Doctor in question chatting to a member of faculty.

They were about to listen to a Doctor MacGregor lecture, live and in person. 

John’s hand on his shoulder grounded him before Scott could die on the spot.

“Few people enjoy math as much as you do, big brother. Besides, MacGregor was quite keen to discuss your annotations with you, though she did ask why you hadn’t pursued the area further.”

“You gave her my notes?”

Never mind, he was ready to die on the spot. 

Those notes weren’t meant to be read, they’d been rough and full of silly mistakes like those John had used to roll his eyes at. He had meant to go back after he had slept and correct them, but rescues had happened and he had all but forgotten them.

As first impressions went, it hadn’t been the one that Scott had wanted to make. 

“It’s your Christmas present, albeit a month early,” John shrugged, glancing into the theatre before looking back to Scott, “You don’t get out enough, perhaps you’ll take this as a hint to do the things you enjoy more. Doctor MacGregor was quite eager to help me convince you to go back to school.”

Scott had to admit, the astrophysics lectures that week hadn’t been the worst thing in the world. It had been soothing to listen to the explanations given of various theories, and refreshing to take the time to learn something that had nothing to do with his lines of work. 

Judging from the smug smile John had let slip again, that realisation had been part of his plan all along.

Scott couldn’t help but be grateful, not that little brothers needed to know as much.

Folding his arms, he fought his own smile, “You’re a shit.” 

John nodded, eyes drifting to the people within the theatre, “I love you too.” 

Scott reached across to him, waiting for him to meet his eye before nodding himself, putting everything that he could into the words, “Thank you.”

For all his little brothers could be a pain in his butt, he knew that they looked out for him as much as he did them.

“You’re welcome,” John’s shoulder rolled under Scott’s hand, “Can we hurry up now? We’re going to be late.” 

Chuckling to himself, Scott gestured for his brother to lead the way.

If he stumbled slightly on the steps down to the front row seats, that was between him, John, and Doctor MacGregor. 

[jess-suvari]

holiday prompt → tara mikami.

001. under the mistletoe—

Her first kiss under the mistletoe was probably around middle school with some random kid at a friends holiday party, nothing special, just something she did to get out of the way cause all her friends already had and she wanted to fit in.

This year she was hyper aware of where all the mistletoe was considering how Willow and Jess were set on pushing this friendship between her and Chan and the more than usual amount of mistletoe at both of their houses. Nice try.

002. in front of the fireplace, cuddled up under a blanket with a hot drink.

If there's any takers hit a girl up *finger guns* Honestly she probably just dissociated in front of the fireplace when the rest of them broke off to do their own thing. Probably just went to her room to watch rom coms once she felt like enough of a third wheel.

003. snowed in from a heavy snow storm.

people she would want to be snowed in with would be: 1. Margaux. Her best friend. As smart and resourceful as she is pretty. Could probably keep each other distracted while everyone goes Lord of the Flies on each other. 2. Her uncle Ace since he would probably find a way for them to get out of any situation in 5 minutes, max. 3. Chan. Not that she necessarily cares to have him around. He could probably keep her entertained though and if worse came to worst she could offer him up as a sacrifice. 4. The dance rival who injured her. Just to see how tough she is when she doesn't have her posse backing her up. 5. Harper. Even though she would be a drama queen about it the whole time. She had plenty more people who would care where she was and would actively go rescue her.

004. at a busy dinner table, food piled on the center and family chaos ensuing around the house.

Like Christmas wasn’t gonna be a whole Lost Boys love fest? Especially now that Polo’s back in the mix? Probably loud, rowdy, and runs into the next day.  A little awkward for the younger ones this year with all the unresolved tension between Polo and the rest of the Mikami kids. So a lot of tip toeing around each other to not ruin the holidays for everyone else. Someone sit them down and make them talk please.

005. standing in front of the christmas tree, decorating it with an assortment of baubles, lights and tinsel.

Usually it’s probably Harper taking the lead, decorating it according to whatever is trending at the time, so that it’s to her taste when she takes her pics for social media. Typically it usually calls for a big tree with a lot of lights. Tino probably tries to sneak in some gag ornaments on the tree and he and Harper fight about it until she let him add them on, to the back of the tree lmaooo

006. setting out snacks for santa and his reindeers. don't forget the milk and cookies for christmas hardest workers!

Gonna be real the best parent out of the pair was probably Polo. Not that Jess didn’t entertain the idea of the whole Santa thing but with his enthusiasm and playful attitude she let him take the lead on all that. And helped him put the presents under the tree and finish the cookies he couldn’t stomach. So when he went to prison the quality on all that kinda went downhill. Which is probably when the kids stopped believing in all that. 

007. at the mall, waiting in line to sit on santa's lap and spill your christmas gift wishes. will you be deemed naughty or nice?

She would probably be on the nice list. At least she hopes she would be. She’s a kind person with a lot of love to give even though she sometimes has trouble expressing that. Anything shitty she’s done has mostly been to the detriment of her own well being. 

008. exchanging and open gifts, anticipating what gift they may get. is it something cool or just another pair of socks?

There were a few material items on Tara’s list, very on brand for my little coquette girlie. A locket ring, lots of cute platform heels, some over ear headphones to block out her family’s bickering lately. As for non material things she would want but would never say out loud she would like to not be in pain anytime she dances anymore.  And I guess it would be kinda cute if someone put in the effort to help her break her pointe shoes in.

009. auditions are now open for the town christmas extravaganza !!!

Considering she’s been doing ballet for almost as long as she’s been walking, Tara’s always been in some winter recital. But her favorite performances and best memories were the little shows she and Harper used to organize a la Little Women style and dragged all the kids in their family friends circle to take a part in, whether they liked it or not.

010. in the trenches of snow forts, amidst a war of a snow fight! who will win?  

Girlypop runs for her life when it comes to any kind of confrontation, snowball fights are no exception. As much as she would consider herself an athlete and has always had a very active lifestyle her aim is shit. So she can be caught hiding behind cars or even using others, usually Tino, as human shields.

[prophbuilds]

MBF-P03D Gundam Astray Blue Frame D – A Review

Looking back over the kits I’ve built over the years, I think this is the longest one has been in some sort of active build without being some kind of over-the-top mod. Started in April of 2022 and finished in May of 2023. It’s not because of it being particularly hard or complicated. No… it's from something far less fun. My shoulder just isn’t what it used to be.

That said… this very pointy boy was one heck of a fun kit to make. = ) Here’s my review of the MG Astray Blue Frame D.

So… I Think it was either my birthday or the Christmas of 2019 that my friend gave this big ol' box. It was the fist time I've had in my possession a proper Master Grade kit. It was the MG Astray Blue Frame D – one of the few Blue Frame Astrays that Bandai like to release and the something that wasn’t just another Red Frame like they REALLY Like to release.

I’m a fan of the Astray line and a sucker for them Blue Frame so this was a very nice surprise for me. It took a while to finally get around to it but, a couple of days before my birthday in April of 2022, I decided to start in on it. I’ve built 1/100th sized kits before and I used to build model planes with my Dad back in the day so neither the size nor the amount of parts really threw me. No… it was my shoulder that got me.

I’d start working on the kit for a night and, by the time I had the arms or the torso built, my right shoulder (My drawing arm) would Burn like some kind of weird twist on a G Gundam special attack. Instead of it telling me to defeat folks, it would angrily tell me to stop. I’d pack things up in the box and park them on my scanner – a tool I need regularly to, you know… scan the artwork for my comic – and that's where it lived until I either needed my scanner or I felt up for working on it again.

‘Cause nothing keeps a kit on your mind like having to physically move a box of parts out of the way just about every week. = P

Smash cut to yesterday. I'd just finished up a recent Story Bit and I’m taking a break to do stuff like research things, practice drawing an old character in my Comic style and just trying to check things off my list. I also finally got my hands on the unobtaniaum that is the MGSD Freedom Gundam – a kit I swore I would start until I finished the Blue Frame. And that’s how we got here. So what can I say about this build… Well, MG’s are definitely a different beast from the HG’s and SD kits I’ve been building. It really has more in common with the older military kits I built with my Dad as a kid than the ones I’ve built as an adult. Everything is so nicely detailed that I’m almost tempted to go through this thing an paint it. Thanks to the excellent color separation on the parts that could have that done for them, I wouldn’t have to paint much.

The part that kills me a bit is there is So Much that’s hidden. There are inner frame details and on parts like on the inside of the armor that are pretty much just there for one person and one person only: The one putting the kit together. It's just a joy to make. = )

The flexibility is pretty great, too. Like my SDCS kits, it can balance on one foot without drooping or needing extra supports. In fact, the only time I could put this thing into a pose that it couldn’t handle was when I added the Striker Pack on the back. Even then, it was only a few non-standard poses. If I was hard up for it, it comes with a simple solid stand.

The Astray Blue Frame D is a Very pointy kit. Plenty of swords and stabby bits. It is one of those kits that kinda’ requires some extra touches. Aside form the traditional metallic camera and eye stickers (which don’t quite make sense 'cause the eyes and head camera are a lovely clear green), it comes with some nice and simple dry transfers and a sheet of mediocre stickers for if you want to go the MG-style warning stickers galore. Although I plan to come back and do some panel lining later, I’m probably going to avoid the stickers. The dry transfers look to be mostly for the weapons system and I have better water slide warnings than what it came with.

All in all, this was a fun build. If you dig the Astray kits and want something with more swords than the fanciest of Exias, I highly recommend it. It has the articulation you’d expect from a more modern Master Grade and a level of detail that is just fun to deal with. = )

[shembl]

Moby Dick FNP Chapter 22 - Merry Christmas!

Posting this here our of order compared to the other stuff for a couple of reasons. The first reason is it’s Christmas, so merry that, for all who celebrate or observe, and the second reason is that Whale Weekly has absolutely blasted past our pace and I think we should probably stick with the zeitgeist a bit I think.

We’ll still be pasting chapter by chapter, but here’s a little christmas treat; the sight of me desperately clinging to the discourse in an attempt to piggyback off Whale Weekly’s popularity.

We have more chapters in the bank which I’ll get around to posting soon, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas and please enjoy this slightly reworded, list-bulleted version of Chapter 22 of Moby Dick, now for Normal People

🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳 🐳

Chapter 22: Merry Christmas

There were a few last things to be done on the ship before we got going, mostly this was Charity, that nice lady from earlier, she was dropping off various gifts and nice things for the crew, including a nightcap (the hat type, not a drink) for this guy called Stubbs who was the second mate and also her brother in law, and also a spare bible for the steward, who’s name and familial links I am hazy on.

Then, Peleg and Bildad came out and stood all official-like.

Peleg turned to the chief mate and said “Now, Mr. Starbuck, are you sure everything is right? Captain Ahab is all ready—just spoke to him—nothing more to be got from shore, eh? Well, call all hands, then. Muster ’em aft here—blast ’em!”

“No need of profane words, however great the hurry, Peleg,” said Bildad, “but away with thee, friend Starbuck, and do our bidding.” I don’t know why, but Bildad always seemed to phrase things in the most ominous way possible.

Talking like a pair of big important order-givers weren’t they? At least for people who weren’t actually going out to sea with us! Don’t get me wrong, they probably know their stuff, but really shouldn’t Ahab have been the one up here shouting at everyone? Then I thought about it and remembered that his leg was bad, and that even if that wasn’t case, some captains just like to get drunk in their cabin, I’ve seen plenty of that in my time on boats, so really it was all okay. I relaxed a little. Not for long though, because just then Peleg started yelling at everyone.

“Aft here, ye sons of bachelors,” he cried, as the sailors lingered at the main-mast. Everyone over there started running around, wild-eyed.

“Strike the tent there!”—was the next order. I’d thought it was odd that there was a tent on deck to start with, so I suppose that taking it down was like a ritualistic re-boatening of the vessel, because tents don’t go to sea.

“Man the capstan! Blood and thunder!—jump!”—was the next command, and the crew did all these things.

The ship was getting under way, and anyone who knows ships knows that under way means it’s time for singing. Now, Bildad was never much of a party man in my experience, and he showed that at this time by singing some sort of boring religious song and tutting at the sailors who were en-masse, raucously roaring the hit shanty of the time “The Girls of Booble Alley.” 

I found myself somewhat comforted by this bizarre scene, there was us on a ship made of bones, with heads full of dark prophecy and a crew singing rude songs, but somehow this pious little paragon of virtue called Bildad, maybe we weren’t all totally damned, if someone like that could put up with us, could have a stake in all this, then surely God wouldn’t fuck us all up, would he?

By now I had stopped moving the capstan and told Queequeg to do the same, I can’t really think and do manual labour at the same time and I had quite some pondering to do.

My leg almost exploded with some outside blunt force trauma slamming into them. I looked around and saw Peleg’s own leg dragging back across the deck towards him. He was swearing at everyone and especially at me. That was my first kick of the voyage.

“Is that the way they heave in the marchant service?” he roared. “Spring, thou sheep-head; spring, and break thy backbone! Why don’t ye spring, I say, all of ye—spring! Quohog! spring, thou chap with the red whiskers; spring there, Scotch-cap; spring, thou green pants. Spring, I say, all of ye, and spring your eyes out!” And so saying, he moved along the windlass, here and there using his leg very freely, meanwhile.

“Captain Peleg must have been drinking something to-day. Methinks!” I quipped hilariously as my leg went completely numb.

Finally the anchor was up, so were the sails, and the ship was moving. It was almost enough to make you forget that today was Christmas, nobody had gotten me a present, but instead of a little to open, the world itself lay open before me, truly the greatest present of all. And in that world there were whales waiting for me to hack up!

It wasn’t exactly a white christmas, no snow or anything like that, but it was bloody cold and bloody wet and you know what that means, weather fans, that means it was icy!

Massive icicles were forming on all the ropes and bones about the place, hanging down like big cold daggers ready to take your eyes if you look the wrong way, for a seasoned sailor like me, it was just business as usual. Business on Christmas Day.

The winds howled and the sea splashed at us but all the time, right on the front of the ship, steering us through was weird old Bildad, singing a merry, optimistic and religious tune, cutting right through all the weather-related atmos.

“Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood,

         Stand dressed in living green.

      So to the Jews old Canaan stood,

         While Jordan rolled between.”

I wasn’t fully sure what he was actually talking about, but that’s art for you isn’t it, it’s not about the content, it’s about how it you feel, and I was taking some time out from all that backbreaking labour to have a stand around and a feel. Losing myself to the music I felt optimistic, I felt like it wouldn’t be long before I was off running and rolling around in verdant fields with a happy sky and loads of lovely food within easy reach, I let myself go there in my mind, away from this damp and cold body that imprisons it, away from the ship made of bones and the guy who kept yelling at me and kicking me. For just a moment I was free. I was optimistic.

Eventually it was time for Bildad and Peleg to leave. They’d gotten us out of the port, so it was time for them to head back to land. Their little sailboat pulled up and they got ready to go. Peleg seemed alright but there was something odd about old Bildad. He clearly didn’t want to leave, it wasn’t just a boat, here is a list of things it also was to him;

-A ship set for a very long and perilous voyage

-A ship with thousands of his dollars invested in it

-A ship with an old (almost as old as he) buddy in it (the captain) who was set to revisit all the all the terrors of the pitiless jaw

-A ship with everything important in his life contained in it

To express this anguish, poor old Bildad lingered long and;

 -Paced the deck with anxious strides

- Ran down into the cabin to say goodbye a few more times

- Came back on deck and looked windward, at the wide and endless waters

- He looked towards land

- He looked aloft

- He looked left

- He looked right

- He looked everywhere

- He looked nowhere

- He wrapped a rope around its pin

- He wrapped his own hand around Peleg’s

- He held up a lantern so that his face could be seen, and he wasn’t crying.

- He and Peleg stared at each other for a bit

- He said “Nevertheless old friend Peleg, I can stand it. yes. I can.”

Peleg took it all a little bit more sensibly, like a philosopher, a philosopher who isn’t afraid to cry.

And with that, Peleg offered a few words of support to his old pal “Captain Bildad—come, old shipmate, we must go.” he whispered before going full yelling-mode at the rest of the ship; “Back the main-yard there! Boat ahoy! Stand by to come close alongside, now! Careful, careful!—come, Bildad, boy—say your last. Luck to ye, Starbuck—luck to ye, Mr. Stubb—luck to ye, Mr. Flask—good-bye and good luck to ye all—and this day three years I’ll have a hot supper smoking for ye in old Nantucket. Hurrah and away!”

“God bless ye, and have ye in His holy keeping, men,” murmured old Bildad, almost incoherently. “I hope ye’ll have fine weather now, so that Captain Ahab may soon be moving among ye—a pleasant sun is all he needs, and ye’ll have plenty of them in the tropic voyage ye go. Be careful in the hunt, ye mates. Don’t stave the boats needlessly, ye harpooneers; good white cedar plank is raised full three per cent. within the year. Don’t forget your prayers, either. Mr. Starbuck, mind that cooper don’t waste the spare staves. Oh! the sail-needles are in the green locker! Don’t whale it too much a’ Lord’s days, men; but don’t miss a fair chance either, that’s rejecting Heaven’s good gifts. Have an eye to the molasses tierce, Mr. Stubb; it was a little leaky, I thought. If ye touch at the islands, Mr. Flask, beware of fornication. Good-bye, good-bye! Don’t keep that cheese too long down in the hold, Mr. Starbuck; it’ll spoil. Be careful with the butter—twenty cents the pound it was, and mind ye, if—”

“Come, come, Captain Bildad; stop palavering,—away!” and with that, Peleg hurried him over the side, and both dropped into the boat.

Ship and boat diverged; the cold, damp night breeze blew between; a screaming gull flew overhead; the two hulls wildly rolled; we gave three heavy-hearted cheers, and blindly plunged like fate into the lone Atlantic.

[wanderingmind867]

I have a plan to help me with my Christmas List, Me and my dad renewed his library card (although he forgot to renew mine), and i'm planning to pick some books out from the local public library. Specifically, I'm mostly going for the Rick Riordan Presents books, and Rick Riordan's novel Daughter of the Deep. Then I'll skim them and see if they seem to be up my alley. If they are, I'll add them to my Christmas list. If not, then I guess at least I'll know they're not for me? Either way, I'm pretty much all set for books on my Christmas List now. All I might want to pad my list out with is video games and dvds, now. So I just need to think of some of those now. sigh...

In doing this, I also realized my public libraries website has changed a lot over the years. The last time I used it was probably five years ago. And wow, it's really changed a lot over the years. It looks nice, but it certainly felt harder to navigate than the old website. Maybe that's just the nostalgia and reminisce talking, but it's true. It felt harder to navigate, so let's just hope I actually did put all the books on hold.

[nickgerlich]

A Really Big Deal

The industrial age brought about a great deal of change for the US. It marked the slow but steady transition from rural and agrarian economy to one that is more urban with a burgeoning retail environment. We didn’t need to make or grow everything we consumed, because we could just buy it.

So we did, patronizing newly minted department stores starting with Macy’s in 1858, followed by Montgomery Ward in 1872 and Sears in 1893. But there was still plenty of opportunity and unmet need, which motivated James Cash Penney to open his namesake store in 1902 in Kemmerer Wyoming. It was an eyebrow-raising move, because whereas his predecessors were based in New York City and Chicago, his was in a very remote part of a very remote state. I had an opportunity to photograph that original store a few years ago.

But that did not stop JC Penney from being successful. He added stores quickly, and in 1916 ventured east of the Mississippi into the territory held by those predecessors. By the 1920s, JC Penney was nationwide with 120 stores.

Skipping forward to the modern era, JC Penney found itself less and less in small towns, and more and more in suburban shopping malls, where they have been a mainstay now for decades. The company has hit some potholes and speed bumps this century, though, with a failed attempt at Everyday Low Prices (EDLP) that turned off their bargain-hunting customers, and then a bankruptcy filing in 2020. They were scooped up in a partnership of two shopping mall developers, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.

With that ownership came access to much-needed capital to try to revive their stores and the brand itself. It’s part of a billion-dollar plan to turn a very important corner, and it finds JC Penney doubling down on Christmas with an ad campaign airing on Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football. The plan is also heavy on the in-store experience and partnerships with high-visibility celebs. Online is still part of the equation, but since its owners run the malls in which JC Penney resides, it is understandable they want to push the brick-and-mortar aspect.

The partnerships include notables like Martha Stewart, the octogenarian who is synonymous with domestic life, and Shaquille O’Neal, the retired NBA star turned entrepreneur. This gives us a hint at their target market, meaning Gen-X and older.

But I will be honest. JC Penney is going to have to work hard to convince me to shop there. The Amarillo store has been allowed to slide into retail hell, with poor merchandising, stockouts, and the like. I have walked out frustrated more than once, and in fact, probably for the last time.

As for their current pricing strategy, which is an endless onslaught of online promos and special codes, I feel like there is never any reason to pay the supposed list price, because if it’s not on sale this week again, it will be soon. The whole idea of promos is to convey urgency, but I feel that nothing is urgent there. Just skip the list prices, please.

Yet early results show that JC Penney’s efforts are paying off, with sales being 50% higher than forecast. At least some people are buying into the campaign.Yet I see something else happening here that really caught my attention.

Amazon, which paid $11 billion to broadcast Thursday Night Football for 11 seasons, is selling ad slots to its competitor!I have to wonder about the thinking behind this move. Are ad sales not what they expected they would be? Could Amazon be earning more by directing customers to its own website as opposed to selling those ads? Or are they just being nice guys and sharing the customer base?

Good questions. I am not sure what it is going to take for JC Penney to get me back in their store again. I have lingering memories of empty retail space, but with merch still strewn haphazardly across whatever racks they still had. It was a retail wasteland. It is hard to un-see something like that.

The fact that the company is wagering a billion dollars, though, says that maybe—just maybe—they might be able to make that turn. Hey, at least they’re still alive. Two of those three predecessors are dead or nearly dead, and the other is shuttering stores faster than leaves falling in autumn.

Dr “Keep Trying” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[finalgirlminamurray]

while i'm here i might as well do something of an introductory post.

horror as a genre has been a big special interest of mine for a long time. i've always been kind of drawn to "scary" things out of...i don't even know, some kind of interest in why certain things were considered scary and an inherent fascination in things that were deliberately designed to be scary because of that. i didn't really grow up watching horror movies like some people did (because as a kid i assumed i wasn't allowed to watch anything r-rated and i didn't have a strong interest in seeking out movies that were above my age) but i sure did read a lot and there's plenty of genuinely scary kids' books out there, even before i read my first stephen king novel (misery, age 13, borrowed from my aunt-who-was-really-mom's-friend who knew i could handle it.)

anyway once i turned 18 and went off to college i took full advantage of being able to watch whatever i wanted and started watching every classic horror film i could find and never looked back. i like horror from all decades and subgenres - i like to think i have a good variety in my tastes. i'm pretty desensitized at this point so i don't often find that movies actually "scare" me; that's not the primary reason i watch them. it's just my favorite genre.

it would be impossible to list all of my "favorites" but here are some particularly special and important movies to me:

the texas chain saw massacre (1974) - obviously. i was fascinated with this one ever since i heard the title and my brain latched onto it and wouldn't let go. there's just so much there to talk about with it and i've found it an endlessly compelling setting to work with. i'm also very fond of the texas chainsaw massacre 2 (1986), which is mostly a more "fun" movie but i still feel doesn't get analyzed enough. i watch both every year on the 18th of august. i know there are other films in the series but. i don't care for them.

the wicker man (1973) - i'm a big fan of folk horror in general but this is the ur-example for a reason. the soundtrack alone would probably have pushed this into my top 10 and yet it's still an extremely well-made fascinating film. another annual watch for me because how else are you going to celebrate may day

black christmas (1974) - i don't really think of myself as a slasher fan but the ones that i like i REALLY like. i really feel this one does not get its due in terms of the influence it ended up having on the genre nearly enough. great characters great atmosphere great sense of dark humor while often being genuinely scary. also coming up on its 50th anniversary this year so we should do something to celebrate

a nightmare on elm street (1984) - another slasher i really like. when wes craven's films hit they hit. nancy thompson one of my favorite horror protagonists ever. strangely enough i often find i'm alone for liking the first film best in the series. i would probably like 3 better if nancy didn't die. sorry!

re-animator (1985) - this is what i think of when i think of 80s horror. again the perfect combination of good characters great practical effects and an excellent dark sense of humor. it just suffers from regrettable treatment of its only female lead character but there's also always bride of re-animator which ups the wacky frankenstein nonsense without any scenes you have to warn people about before they get into it. jeffrey combs' herbert west one of my favorite little freaks in horror fiction.

american psycho (2000) - if you don't get the satire of this one that's on you. i just enjoy this one so much. it's brilliantly executed (ha!) i did read the book but i think the film does a very good job distilling and presenting its ideas in a more marketable but no less effective way. i really hope it doesn't develop the reputation of being an overplayed Meme Movie because it's such a good film.

the ring (2002) - okay i don't know if i'm putting this here because i think it's a great movie or if it was just such a formative experience for me but i'll allow myself one nostalgia choice. this was the first real horror movie i ever watched (anyone else's middle school have a pre-halloween event night where they'd have costume contests and show spooky movies? well we used to have one pg-13 rated film each year and this was the one that made an impression on me.) normally i hate 2000s horror remakes and this one does itself no favors by being an american remake of a foreign film (it does have more in common with the film adaptation of ringu than the original novel) but it's probably the best you can get with one of those. i was obsessed with this for a year after watching it and it's probably what actually kick-started my horror film interest. i went down a rabbit hole of ringu lore on my own at age 12-13 and sadako yamamura ended up being the first horror villain i really loved as a character in their own right while everyone my age made a big deal out of being terrified of "the ring girl". that might say something about me or it might not.

that's a brief tour of my horror history i guess. there are so many more films (and books!) i love and i'm always looking for more. my favorite decade of horror is almost definitely the 70s but there's something to love in every era (there are trends but they're not monoliths) and i love seeing new stuff. i can be pretty opinionated and can get a little pretentious, in a way, about my chosen genre so be assured it all comes from a place of love. i like more things than i hate, i think.

i'll be using this space to drop my thoughts about various scary movies and books i've seen and read recently or not so recently. i'm just glad to have a repository for All Of My Opinions.

final note: it's horror if i think it's horror based on vibes. hope this helps

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #645

Top Ten Reasons the Summer Sucks

One of the few things I’m looking forward to as I get older is being old enough to legitimately become a curmudgeon. In the meantime, I’m just a grumpy chip-pisser, and it is this spirit that I bring this week’s list.

As the school year screeches to a rapid halt, we face six unbroken weeks of summer. As I write this, it’s chucking it down, so there’s that. But whilst my title this week is probably hyperbolic, I’m really not much of a summer person. Give me autumn or winter any day: warming, hearty food; crisp autumnal weather; leaves underfoot; the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Ah, bliss. But summer? Well, for reasons outlined below, I don’t really get on with it.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t actually hate the summer. There are plenty of things I like: barbecues, sunglasses, drying your clothes on the washing line. Also pretty much everyone else seems to like it, and whilst in general I view the opinions of the world at large as scary and wrong, enough people that I actually like like the summer, so I bow to them and gladly allow them the joy of, well, sun and warmth and all that jazz.

But maybe I’m not alone. Maybe there are other wannabe curmudgeons out there, for whom the prospect of weeks or months of summery sentiment induces a sigh. For those – the grumps, attempting to suffer in silence so as not to rain on everyone else’s sunny parade – this list is for you.

Now. When do the kids go back?

It’s too hot: I mean, this is the biggie, right? It’s just too damn hot. When it’s cold, if you’re cold, you just put on more clothes. The worst case scenario is, like, you burn something. But when it’s hot? Basically, you just have to sweat. Uncomfortable stickiness, unflattering hairlines, damp patches on your clothes, and disturbed sleep are the way forward. Yuck.

It's too bright: the sun is bright! It is very bright! You can’t go anywhere without squinting or wearing sunglasses. But more than that, it’s bright for a long time; have you ever tried putting a young child to bed when it’s actually kinda late but also beaming sunshine? It messes with your rhythm. It ain’t natural, I tell ya.

There are bugs: have you heard about this? There are all these tiny creatures, flying and crawling and being icky. They live outside for the most part, and in the summer they fart about getting in your face or landing on your food and stuff. Some of them – get this – some of them sting you. They’re all over the place! Outside! Madness. It’s madness.

You have to wear sun cream: sunscreen, sun tan lotion, call it what you want; it’s a ballache. It’s horrid and messy and sticky and sometimes it ruins your clothes. And you have to slather yourself in it because the bloody sun is actively trying to kill you. Screw smoking; you’ll get murdered by the summer just by setting foot out your door. All this before we even factor trying to get sun cream on a child. I mean, Jesus Christ.

Summer clothes are unflattering: I’m too English to wear shorts. It looks and feels wrong. I’m just not built for summer clothes. T-shirts don’t give you any cover. No jackets means no nice inside pockets. And don’t get me started on footwear; sandals and flip-flops are horrible, so you have to wear little shoes with those silly tiny socks. It’s rubbish. Give me multiple layers, dark jeans, heavy coots, and massive boots.

Summer food is less interesting: yes, okay, I’ll give you a barbecue; they rock, because it’s fun to set stuff on fire. But generally speaking, when it’s quite warm, you don’t really want to have the oven on, cooking a big, hot meal. Chances are you’ll want something light and – possibly – cool. But all the nicest food is hot and hearty! This isn’t me being anti-salad or anything; I’m just saying, a full roast dinner is tastier than a cool bowl of Greek pasta.

You’re kind of expected to be outside a lot: I’ve already explained how everything outdoors is trying to kill you in the summer, from bees to the actual sky; but you’ll find yourself being outside anyway, because that’s where everyone else is. I don’t want to be a misery, and I certainly don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun; but for me, eating al fresco is just less enjoyable than being inside. Too many variables, too much wildlife. People – normal people, I guess – don’t like hiding inside with the curtains shut in the summer. So you’re obliged to join them outdoors.

You can’t see an LCD screen in the sun: in the past, I’d have been very happy to be outside if I could have used my laptop; nowadays, I find genuine reasons to require a phone in my hand. But can you actually read the damn thing? Can you buggery. As well as burning your skin, it turns out the sun’s lethal rays also make it really, really hard to see an LCD screen. This is, I think you will all agree, rubbish.

All the best holidays are in the winter: it’s true! Halloween, Christmas, my birthday: all the cool dates in the calendar occur when it’s a bit chillier. Even at the start of the year, everything from Valentine’s Day to Easter happens when it’s generally a bit spring-y at least. This means the best parties, the best feasts, the best presents, don’t happen in the summer. Facts!

The kids are off for ages: six flippin’ weeks! What the hell are we meant to do?!

I will say one genuinely great thing about summer: the films. Summer blockbusters are amazing, even the rubbish ones, and stepping out of a dark, cool cinema into the bright warmth of a summer’s day is such a fantastic sensation. See? I’m not always grumpy.

I also quite like ice cream.

[rataster]

12.11.2018

A lot has happened these past few weeks. A lot of realizations and self-reflecting. Also I've gotten back into Attack on Titan. It reminds me of 2015, very bitter sweet. I was such a different person back then, it's almost surreal. I remember hanging out with Lyn and AZ. I hope Lyn's doing ok. The last time I spoke to them was probably a year ago. I remember watching Attack on Titan crack videos, Vandetta Cosplay videos, Sky High Production, the Alchemist Fox, the animated big 4, Hiccup, Jack Frost, Merida and Elsa. It's all coming back and I miss it a lot. I need to make a list of all nostalgic things, but I feel like it would take away from the nostalgia. I should download a bunch of videos/music, put it on a flashdrive, and watch it when I'm 18.

On a lighter note, I started skateboarding again, and I'm going to catsit my neighbor's cat these next few days. Last week I met up with Libby at Red Eye to study for advanced chemistry. Jackson (I think) came to fifth period and sat with Libby and I. I waved to Jackson in the parking lot. This year has been good socially- I feel like I'm myself and I know more people. I just need to work on keeping up if we lose daily contact.

For Christmas this year, I asked for:

Eren Yeager, Equestrian Figure :D Purple Hair dye Thunderhead by Shusterman Moon and Stars Tapestry Two Door Cinema Club Tshirt Mother Mother CDs

and probably a few other things. I really want some Attack on Titan figures, they're all freaking cool. Right now I'm listening to the Attack on Titan soundtrack and dang it gets so emotional and amazing. Especially eye-water, Attack on Titan, Barricades and so much more. Midterms are next week so I should prob study. I've been thinking to, I want to get a tattoo with some of my favorite anime. Very small, but as a reminder to be myself and the emotions it taught me. Haha if I died people would totally laugh at that XD. Some things I should include:

Wings of Freedom/104th Cadet Seraph of the End (Yoichi's bow) Assassination Classroom (logo? knives)

I have plenty of time to think about it though.

[letthesunburnyourskin]

the list of specificly american/non american things as someone who grew up in a small french village 🫡

you'll see some tractors in fields advertising local events sometimes, usually during summer but it's something i've seen less and less

yes, yellow buses are your thing (my brother got really excited when he saw a real one lol)

frats are not a thing here, we have student parties but no frats

we do know beer pong but i've never see it play (my friends and i usually stick to the beer cap game)

we have discount stores (Tedi, B&M, Stockomani, and others)

we also have thrift stores

malls is a thing but you won't find them in small cities

i feel like young dumb boys is a thing everywhere (i never saw one bring a ball to class but i've witnessed many shenanigans)

we have motorcycles. I know plenty of bikers

i've had to stop the car to let cattle cross (the school bus had too) it mainly depends where you live. Sometimes you don't see cattle so

deer crossing signs exist, you'll see them in places where there are deeers around. I don't think i have around here BUT i live close to a stud farm and we have horses crossing signs

^just like this one

i don't think we have a share the road sign, but we def have something about bicycles

tailgates parties are not a thing

we have coolers

motorhomes are also a thing, but that's expensive af

never went tadpole hunting but also i'm scared of frogs

never set foot in a mattresses store but it exists

you could technically ride your horse to school or a tractor but why? (also if you're like me from a village you were usually dropped off at elementary school by your parents, mine had a bus because my elementary school was in fact a group of 3 schools in 3 different villages so yeah, if you lived in x village but your class was in z village, you had a bus. Then middle school and high school you'd have a school bus if you didn't live in the city your school was in, if you were you took public transports or walked/biked to school)

we have trailer parks (it's becoming popular among retired people apparently)

slushies are my life. you'd usually find them at fairs but some places have them during the summer!

yeah, never had a smore and PB&J is not a common snack but some people do eat it

having a safe (or two) is not really a thing unless you own a gun (which isn't that common i guess unless you're a hunter) then you need a safe for said gun. it's the law (and yes, authorities will come and take a look at the safe)

nah we usually only have one fridge, some people have a second smaller one outside but it's not really common

we have eggnog, usually drink it around Christmas (we call it lait de poule so, "chicken milk")

we have 4 wheelers but like it's not a really common thing either. I guess it depends if you like it. My neighbours growing up had them (i went and drove one when i was around 8-ish)

mason jars became kind of popular when youtube lifestyle vlogs were a big thing, but yeah it's an american thing i think

a lot of my friends had stocking shelves in their garage growing up! I don't think we're big on pickled things tho

if you know a hunter, yes they'll probably have hunting trophies on the wall

we have gun ranges but i can't tell you what they look like, i never went

things I've seen in America since living here my whole life that I feel are strictly American things

parking old semi trucks in fields and hanging banners up on the side as advertisement

yellow school busses ?

frat parties

beer pong

discount stores like Ross and Marshalls ?? not thrift stores, actual discount stores

thrift stores come to think of it

Malls ?

boys throwing balls at each other in the middle of class

motorcycles ??? idk I've never been outside of America guys

having to stop your car to let cattle cross the street

deer crossing signs

"share the road" signs with the silhouette of the man on the ATV

tailgate parties

the white unfoldable tables

coolers. like the boxes you put drinks in

motorhomes ??

tadpole hunting. yknow when you and your friends walk barefoot and shirtless down to the creek with your green plastic net thingy. and catch tadapoles. i can't see a European doing that

Mattress stores.

riding your horse to and from school

riding your tractor to and from school

riding your four wheeler/ATV to and from school

trailer parks

7/11 especially slushies. US of A i feel is the only place you can get slushies

I've heard s'mores and PB and J is strictly an American thing

having two safes in the house, one for confidentials and one for guns

having two fridges, one inside as a regular fridge, and a cheaper one outside for drinks and party food storage

eggnog ?

actually just four wheelers in general. especially learning how to ride one when you're like 4 years old

Mason Jars, specifically using Mason Jars to drink out of

shelves and shelves of canned/pickled food in the pantry/garage

hunting trophies on the wall?? yk like deer mounts

^ hanging Christmas ornaments on the antlers of the elk trophy

gun ranges? the little warehouse looking things in the old fields where you can practice shooting??

Hunter's Safety Classes that everyone takes when they're ten or younger. with the vending machine where you can get cookies

for reference my family has been US. based for hundreds of years, I have never been outside the US, so this could be completely wrong but these are my thoughts

[britishchick09]

rapsittie street kids livewatch

welcome to the last livewatch of 2022! ...and probably the worst since we’re watching the infamous ‘rapsittie street kids’! i’ve seen countless reviews on this special, but i’ve never seen the full thing. today is its 20th anniversary, so why not watch it now? it’ll be bad, it’ll be cringe and it’ll be a whole lot of fun! ;D

the instruments at the beginning are really good! :D

...too bad the visuals aren’t :/

why does the bus sound like a clock?

ooh it’s rap time! B)

ricky: “but if you’ll kindly find the time to deliver gifts 7, 8 and 9 from my list!” rip gifts 1-6 :/

i’ve heard the beginning of the rap so many times that the part after sounds so weird! :o

aw he only has 3 coins rip :/

that could buy a book at st. vincent de paul’s! ;)

a car just slides out of frame lol :D

has he walked like that this whole time? :o

the voices in the music sound a bit creepy...

omg he kicks a basketball and it just  f l o a t s  lol! ;D

aww his mom died :(

she gave him a bear before she died... AND NOW HE’S GIVING IT TO A GIRL WHO DOESN’T EVEN LIKE HIM NOOOO :(

the bear just  f l o a t s

blue haired kid: “another day, another ‘d’ at rapsittie elementary...” says the teenager! :o

nicole got a dino bonk! :o

HOLD UP WHY IS ONE OF THE KIDS NELSON FROM SIMPSONS :o

ricky is talented! :D

the adults in the back tho...

he just throws ornaments on the tree like he’s in the charlie brown christmas special! :o

ok wow he’s just gonna rap and rhyme this whole special isn’t he :/

blue teen: “duuuude! that was soooo coooolll...” and that was so not cooollll... ;)

i’m pausing this to upload my new video and i guess this came out on november 25th not december 14th! the anniversary passed, but we’re in the middle of rapsittie season so i’m still watching it!

it’s all christmas and then  S U A R S

smithy: *sees the bear on the floor* ‘what’s that?” ricky: “that’s for nicole honey, i know she’s into money!” that bear is priceless tho! :o

smithy thinks liking nicole is gross lol! ;D

the teacher is fed up with everyone!

knockoff nelson: “hey ricky! let me know any time you want to fall down again! i’ll be sure to shove you in the right direction!” BUURRNNN!!!!! :D

ricky is the only kid to be bummed about recess ever!

teacher: “i said after recess BECAUSE I NEED A RECESS!” ricky: “oooohhhkayyy....” lol! ;D

ricky: “you won’t catch me.... hesitating!” lol! :D

the teacher needs a vacation...

oof this song is cringy! :o

when you wanna be the charlie brown christmas special...

omg nicole and glasses girl are doubling down laughing at that! :o

nicole: “watch what i can do!” ricky: “i’ll watch you nicole!” nicole: “not you, ricky!”

he’s the only one watching her tho...

also why is he wearing a short sleeved shirt IN THE SNOW???

ricky: “and i thought it couldn’t get any colder out here...” oof :/

omg knockoff nelson stole smithy’s sandwich! :o

and it just slides down smithy’s scarf...

the shot zooms out to the teacher and kids with presents but it looks slow mo?

lenee: “oh that looks really cool!” nicole: “here.” *drops it right onto her feet* lol!

nicole’s gift is the best because she bought it from the mall! ;)

OMG WAIT IS THAT JOHN DELANCIE AS THE PRINCIPAL???? :o

turns out it’s not but it sounds so much like him! :o

nancy cartwright, jodi benson, mark hamill and page o’hara are in this so there’s plenty of talent here already! ;)

he walks away slowly... (just like me seeing this!)

kids: “merry christmas!” blue kid: “principal dude B)” lol!

the kids ignore the teacher lol ;)

nicole thinks she’s sooooo perfect because she gets things at the mall?

oh no it’s the bear! :o

SHE CALLED IT A NASTY OLD THING YOU BISH!!!! >:(

ricky called her stupid yas you get her! ;D

why are lenee’s arms twitching?

lenee: “we go to this really big store and it starts with a ‘w’!” omg wallymart...? ;)

it’s the floating candle!! :o

AND THE GRANDMA YAAAS!!! :D

aww ricky has a santa letter! :D

grandma: “rdfgdjfdfjgh sendin’ letters!” lol!

it just... floats away from his armpit?

AND IT HAS AN @ SYMBOL???

nicole is insulting lenee AND HAVING A SEIZURE OMG :o

nicole’s mom: “has my princess been a good girl?” nicole: “i’ve been a good girl all year long!” YOU BISH! >:(

NO NO NO NOT THE SONG!!!!!

nicole: “♫ look at me! ♫“ no thanks!

the snowflake is traveling to lenee’s house!

this is a nice colored sky! :)

aww i feel so bad for lenee :(

her mom doesn’t nod... she bows!

mom: “come on, it’s christmas! cheer up!” that didn’t sound very cheery of you...

oh no nicole is reading the letter! :o

she feels bad... :/

YAS GRANDMA GIBBERISH!!!! :D

grandma: “dgdfgjjgsogisigsdfhsfdf christmaaaaas!” lol! ;D

OMG NICOLE THREW THE BEAR AWAY???? :o

nicole, smithy and lenee are in an abandoned building!!!! :o

smithy: “i can so blackmail you guys!” wtf lol?

they looked everywhere but alas! :/

omg dogs are chasing them!!! :o

bully: “look at the babies scared of little doggies!” i’d like to see you get at them! ;)

smithy threw his sandwich at the bullies... and they had their own chase! :D

yay they found the bear! :D

lenee: “let’s climb on that tree and jump over the wall.” nicole: “a lady does not climb trees!” smithy: “now is not the time to be a girl!” lol!

this animation is so awkward tho??

they made it! :D

aww nicole is giving ricky his bear! :)

nicole: “but doesn’t that mean a lot to you?” ricky: “yes. and so does................. friendship.” that pause tho! ;D

ooh lenee’s fam!

MARK HAMIL IS HER DAD OMG :o

lenee sees santa! :D

cloud santaaaa!!!! :D

omg lenee song! :o

WHY IS NICOLE’S MOM OBSESSED WITH THE MALL TOO

dad: “nicole has my good looks... and your spending habits!” lol! ;D

omg nicole’s grandma wanted a videobox... which is what ricky asked for! :o

ew nicole’s parents winked and it was weird :(

aww nicole gave her gift to ricky! :)

and lenee’s sister got... that...

ricky, grandma, nicole and smithy are visiting! :D

nicole apologized! :)

grandma: “dhdhhdfgfjfghg christmaaaaas!” iconic!!! :D

dad: “SHUT THAT DOOR!” the perfect way to end a christmas special! ;D

that was rapsittie street kids! it was just as bad as all the reviews say, but i still had fun watching it! visually, it’s the worst christmas special, but it still has good moments unlike other baddies (looking at you ‘the christmas tree’!) the plot was nice and so was the acting... mostly! i’m glad i got to finally see this special after hearing about it for so long! happy 20th anniversary, rapsittie street kids! :D