#this is one of the two songs from that coyote post earlier

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: August 21

“Tightrope” by LP

[makethatelevenrings]

Angel by the Wing - THREE

Chapter Warnings: alcohol, allusions to smut but nothing descriptive, finally getting into the plot of the movie

If you want to be added to the tag list for this series, let me know!

Series Masterlist

“Well, well, here comes trouble and make it double,” you sang as the two men approached your counter. “It’s good to see you again, Javy.”

“How’re you doing, little lady?”

“You left me here with him all alone, Javy,” you teased. “I’ve had to suffer through Jake being Jake all by myself.”

Javier placed a hand over his chest in mock horror. “My god, how have you survived?”

“It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it.”

“Alright, alright,” Jake grunted. He leaned against the bar counter, signature toothpick dangling between his lips. “I’m standing right here.”

You patted his hand in a conciliatory manner and then turned to grab their usual drinks. Coyote grinned as you passed him his usual Miller Lite. He tossed his card to you and you caught it and affixed it to the register with the receipt under his name. Jake passed you his card over the counter and you winked, his Stella Artois clutched in your other hand.

“Price has raised, Hangman. What’ll you pay for it?”

“How about a kiss?”

You pushed up onto the counter as he pecked your cheek. Coyote rolled his eyes at your little public display of affection, but he said nothing. You lowered yourself back down and patted Jake’s hand again.

“Alright, outta my way. I have other customers, y’know?”

He leaned in close, his eyes darting around at the customers pouring into the small bar. “Ring that bell four times, darlin’, and we’ll be right over.”

“I know, Tex. You got my back, Coyote?”

“You know it.”

They left the counter and you figured they were heading back towards the dart boards. A few other customers were beginning to settle in at the other seats. The energetic beat of David Bowie began to stream through the speakers and you nodded along to the song as you made up a gin and tonic and passed it to the customer.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” you asked the new customer seated at the bar. He was probably around Penny’s age and wore an old leather aviator jacket. Probably here for Top Gun, you deduced. He offered you a small, tight smile.

“Whatever’s on tap,” he said. You stared at him blankly for a moment and then sighed.

“Well, we got about eight of those so…you want to hear some options?”

He chuckled at your response and nodded, so you forged on ahead. “We’ve got a pale ale, some local brews, Blue Moon, two IPA’s, a Bavarian, and an American brown ale. I’m not a huge beer drinker, but I know folks like the pale ale or Blue Moon.”

“I’ll try the pale ale, then.”

You pulled a draft of the pale ale into the pilsner glass and set it before him. He passed you his card and you added it to the growing list of tabs. It was getting closer to six so that meant the post-work crowd was starting to spill into the bar. Your focus was affixed entirely on getting orders and getting drinks out.

Penny was talking to the guy you served earlier and you let out a breathy laugh when she rang the bell, clearly catching him for breaking the phone rule. People crowded the counter for a free drink, but luckily you were used to the rush. In a way, it was exhilarating. You didn’t have time to think aside from the practiced moves of measuring, shaking, and pouring out drinks. It was all muscle memory at this point.

“Penny, my dear, and sugar darlin’.” Jake leaned up against the bar next to where you were working.

“Yup?” your boss replied.

“I’ll have four more on the old timer.”

You pulled the beers out of the ice buckets below and slid them across the counter. “Phoenix here yet?”

“Yes, indeed, ma’am.” You perked up at the thought of seeing one of your closest friends. The two of you ganged up on Hangman and Coyote, but she struggled to understand how you could constantly put up with Jake. Her ribbing was always more harsh towards Jake, but you stayed out of it. Their beef was a pilot thing and you knew better than to get between two pilots.

“Go play nice with the others, Hangman,” you drawled.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jake winked at the guy who was paying for the round. “Much appreciated, pops.”

“You are such an ass.” The warmth in your tone betrayed your words and he shot you that cocky, panty-dropping smirk that usually had girls tripping over their feet for him. You simply raised your middle finger up and smiled brightly. He stopped at the jukebox first and switched the song to Foghat.

God, what a tool.

You gathered up some glasses and brought them to the kitchen where Chelsea, the dishwasher for the night, was glaring murderously at the dishwasher. You chuckled and set your tray down next to the sink.

“Is it giving you trouble again?”

“No, it’s just slow as fuck,” the college student replied, blunt as always. You patted her shoulder and looked around at the kitchen.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Nah. Penny mentioned that y’all might be low on soda soon for the mixers.”

You headed back to the cellar to grab more cans and thanked her on the way out. Pushing open the door, you entered into what appeared to be chaos. Hangman and Coyote were escorting the guy Penny had been chatting with throughout the night out the door and into the sand. The jukebox radio had stopped playing and you could hear the chords of the piano being struck.

“What the fuck did I miss?” you exclaimed as you passed Penny at the counter. You added the crate of drinks to the dwindling supply under the counter and then stood next to her.

“Never get involved with a naval aviator, hun,” Penny sighed. “Aw shit, wait. You and Hangman, right?”

“Eh, it’s less being involved and more…” You trailed off, unsure how to phrase it for the woman who was practically a second mom to you. She nudged your shoulder with hers and jerked her chin out towards the throng of people.

“Do you mind cleaning up around the floor? I can hold down the fort here.”

“I mean, you do pay me to do things like clean so I guess.” Your phone buzzed with a notification but you swiped it away without looking. The only people who would be contacting you this late at night were all in this bar so it couldn’t be important.

Grabbing an empty tray from under the counter, you waded out into the crowd of bodies and started collecting empty and discarded bottles and glasses around the bar. Everyone was crowding around the piano and singing along to the old Jerry Lee Lewis song, Great Balls of Fire.

Phoenix spotted you moving your way through the crowd and she waved you over. You settled your tray on top of one of the tables and pressed yourself against her side. Her normally tough facade melted at the sight of her best friend and she pulled you in for a quick hug.

“You saw me a few days ago,” you pointed out.

“Semantics.” She flapped her hand dismissively in your direction. “C’mon, you should meet my friend. He’s in town for work, but he'll probably be around here a lot.”

She tugged you closer to the piano just as the final notes petered off into the bar. Someone plugged the jukebox back in and the heavy thud of bass poured into the air. Phoenix stopped just next to the piano bench and proudly patted the top of the instrument.

“Rooster, this is the friend I was telling you about,” she announced. The pianist turned, his brown eyes locking with yours. Your breath caught in your throat and you lost all semblance of thought for a solid ten seconds. No way. There was no way he was here. Four days ago, he was in Virginia. Where he lived.

“Hi,” he said casually, but a small smile played at the corner of his lips. The same lips that had devolved you into a moaning, wanton mess. And that same damn mustache that had scraped deliciously against the inside of your thigh.

The only word that came to mind was simply eloquent, in your opinion.

“Shit.”

Tag List (strikethrough means it wouldn’t tag you): @mizzzpink​ @xoxabs88xox​ @dreaminglandsworld​ @khaylin27​ @loveforaugust​ @phoenixssugarbaby​ @atarmychick007​ @mak-32​ @shanimallina87 @itsmytimetoodream​

[the-ace-with-spades]

Some like a monkey pilot lore/behind-the-scenes no one asked for because there's a lot and I love this fic with my whole heart...

It's first title was a supersonic man (Don't Stop Me Now by Queen obviously) but I've used this song as Ice's ringtone for Mav in slow down (in a future chapter 6) and it just seemed to suit Mav better

Second title option was (I am) the man in the making, from Number One by Chaz Jankel - Number one is a hard time in the making / Number two is the one plane I'm not taking and I am (I am) / The man in the making / I'll stake (I'll stake) / My claim (my claim) / I'll make (I'll make) / My name (my name) / My love (my love) / My game, my vocation. In the end, I thought it might sound too literal and cliche.

The story was originally supposed to be about Rooster transitioning but without the running away from Jake bit - so sort of like a small AU of this fic - where Jake would still be very dense about stuff and a lot of the breakdowns and emotions would still be in place, but Rooster stayed in Lemoore with Jake and they got married while he was in transition. Jake still had a hard time adjusting even if he personally thought he was adjusting very well - at some point when Jake was on deployment, Bradley's state got bad enough that he still landed in the hospital and Mav and Ice were called and he moved in with them. It's part of life for many trans people (family and loved ones thinking they're supportive while not really and getting better at it only when drastic stuff happen) and it is something that hit me a bit too hard and emotionally, it'd be difficult to write so the story was changed.

First Jake POV deleted scene from earlier chapters (1 or 2?) was him and Coyote talking about the topgun winner with some squad buddies and Jake hearing 'Bradshaw' and going a bit crazy only to get all depressed when he hears it was a dude (in 2016, about a year before the recall), missing finding out about Bradley by a minimal chance

Another deleted scene that was never finished because I emotionally couldn't write it was the bar scene but in Jake's POV, when he meets Bradley for the first time. He and Coyote actually leave the Hard Deck when Bradley starts playing the piano and have a talk about how Jake feels about all this new info. While I get finding out your loved one is trans can be a lot, I personally never would have cared even a bit so it was just emotionally draining to try to express Jake's thought process

There is also a deleted scene of Ice talking to Slider and Sarah (who are married in this fic) about Bradley's hospitalization and the start of his transition (from Ice's POV) -- it concentrates on how bad Bradley's mental health is at that moment and how visible it is to them, as well as the guilt Mav and Ice have for not intervening early. And a scene when they get the call from the hospital (from Mav's POV). Both are not finished and stuck as mostly dialogue.

So far there are also two more deleted scenes: Mav and Ice being at Bradley's first T-shot appointment while he's being taught how to do the injections and a scene where Bradley is at Ice's doc appointment when he finds out about cancer

Chapters 9-15 are post-canon and a bit Jake's POV heavier. He's going to be such a dumbass in them.

This fic might or might not have a sequel about reintroducing Bradley back into the Seresin family. Some readers hopefully realized that Jake's mom wasn't Bradley's fan when he was still female-presenting and certainly isn't after he transitioned. There's a whole lot of drama in that sequel involved, especially about her -- Jake's the youngest sibling (a miracle baby born a few years after his last sister) and has always been babied a bit by his mom and never experienced how bad she could be the same way his sibling had and he'll have to face it along with her awful behavior toward Bradley.

[enderexplorer1212]

Coyote Club Ch3

Finished this yesterday, didn't post until now though.

I don’t actually know what a croissant tastes like. I know it’s like this french thing that they eat, but I’ve never actually had one. I guess I’ll get one since I’m like here and I kinda should like, you know, eat something so I don’t like die or anything. Also seems kinda like rude, to like, go into Starbucks and not get anything, I don’t know. I guess I’ll get a water as well since like I don’t drink coffee. People really seem to love coffee, but I just don’t get what’s so interesting about it, it’s like, bitter and shit, and all it does is prevent you from going to sleep. Like I already have stress-related insomnia, I don’t need that to be exacerbated. But I don’t know, people like it, and I guess this is a cool place to hang out. I don’t know why Gabriel wanted to hang out here either, since like I don’t think he drinks coffee either. But who knows. Gabriel’s here right now, he’s also getting a water, but he’s not eating anything, since he said he ate earlier. Which means I’m the only one eating this croissant. Found a nice table by the window, waiting for my name to get called. Me and Gabriel are talking about stuff, mostly classes.

“Classes are starting to get annoying” «Tell me about it» I think they may have called Phillip, but I can’t actually tell, since this place is kinda noisy. “Hey, how come you wanted to go to starbucks? I thought you didn’t drink coffee?” «Yeah, I don’t. I don’t know why I came here to be honest. I think I just thought that like, hanging out in a cafe was cool or something.» I guess that makes sense. He’s writing something on his laptop, I know he’s like good at writing or something, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen his work. “Hey, what are you writing?” «Oh, just some stuff you know» “Can I see?” «Oh, sure I guess» I look over, he’s writing some song lyrics. Seem kinda neat I guess. Don’t know what it’ll sound like though. Personally, I don’t really care about what he’s writing, I just want to be able to view what he’s doing. No clue why, I think I’m just weird or something like that, I don’t know. Hold on a minute, I need to get my croissant. They should have called my name now, I’ll go check. “Seems pretty cool, have to get my croissant though hold on.” I check over at the counter, it’s not there, but I see at the corner they have a bag. I check the name, Phillip. God damnit. I go back to my seat and look at the croissant. Doesn’t look like stereotypical french croissants. I take a bite. Tastes like weird buttery bread, but not like the good butter. I’m going to have to eat this shit. You know, it’s kinda funny. Gabriel’s working on a laptop in a starbucks. “Hey, I just realized, it’s kinda funny that you’re like working on a laptop in a starbucks.” «Oh, heh, yeah it is, just realized that. I guess I’ve become my worst enemy, generic white guy working on his laptop in a cafe.» This croissant hasn’t improved in taste. Gabriel’s waving to some guy outside, doesn’t look like anyone I know. 「Excuse me, are you two Coyote?」Who said that? Oh, it’s some guy. Hope he’s not trying to like do some stupid thing about how brave or proud we are or something, although it doesn’t sound like it. “Yeah, we’re Coyote. Why do you ask?” 「Oh, it’s cause I wanted to meet y’all」Is this guy southern? He looks southern. «That’s cool, I guess» Oh god, this is starting to get awkward, and I hate those situations. I can’t watch like shows and stuff where they have embarrassing stuff happen. 「Yeah, it’s cool cause I live on a reservation.」Wait, what? “You live on a reservation?” 「Yeah, I’m from the Onategoren Nation」Damn, that’s cool. “Oh, yeah, that is cool.” «Woah, that’s cool»「Yeah, well, I wanted to meet other Coyote, since I’m not Coyote myself, but my family is, so I wanted to get to know them.」Hold on. “What do you mean by that?” 「Oh, I’m adopted, so I’m white, but my family is Coyote, that’s how it works. So like I said before, I’m not Coyote, but I know the culture and stuff I guess.」Damn, wait a minute. This guy knows more about the Coyote than either me or Gabriel does. What the fuck? 「Hey, so do you mind if I sit with y’all?」I guess I don’t mind, cause this guy seems like he’ll be pretty interesting I guess. “Yeah sure, I guess you can sit with us.” 「Alright, great」Ok so this guy seems cool, since like he’s actually lived on a reservation, which I guess is kinda funny since like we don’t live on reservations ourselves, so he probably knows more about Coyotes than us, which is funny. Also, now that I give a shit about this guy, let me see what he looks like. Brown hair, blue eyes, kinda light, wearing a dark red long sleeve shirt, and what looks to be jeans. This guy definitely looks rural. Doesn’t appear to have any Coyote attributes to him, looks just generic white guy. He has a beard, don’t know how you would describe it, like a chinstrap I think you call it. Hair is short and straight. «Hey, cool, so what’s your name?» 「Oh, I’m Abraham.」Like Lincoln. “Like Abraham Lincoln?” 「You would not believe how many people have said that to me heh. What’s y’all names?」”Oh, I’m Phillip, and this is Gabriel.” 「Well it’s nice to meet you Gabriel and Phillip.」«You too.»

Ok, so this guy is from the Onategoren Nation, despite being White. I don’t know how much relation he actually has to the nation though since like I think some of them are pretty white, but I don’t know. “So, what’s your story, I mean like, what’s the reservation like?” 「Well, I’m not Coyote myself, as you can probably tell, heh. However, my family’s Coyote, because I’m adopted.」Damn, this guy is like the opposite of my situation, that’s funny. 「I think my parents said they adopted me from like Maine or something, which is really far and also kind of weird how they did that, but you can’t change the past, can you? Otherwise, I guess my life was kind of rural as you would expect, don’t know where y’all are from?」«I’m from around here, on Long Island.» “Yeah, me too.” 「Alright, well I’m an only child, and I was in a pretty Coyote town, so I was the only non BCA white kid there. So I felt a little out of place, but not too much. I’m into driving and guns, but I do like spending time on the internet even though our house had crappy internet. My parents were nice, I think they worked at a government job or something, can’t quite remember. I know my dad served in the military, so he’s a veteran.」Man, this guy is rambling on and on, don’t really mind though cause I like that stuff. It’s weird, like I really want to know everything there is to people, because I’m kind of interesting myself, being Coyote and all, but like I sometimes worry that I’m not that interesting beyond being Coyote. Like that’s like the first immediate noticeable thing about me, and it’s weird cause like it’s cool telling myself about that, but beyond that, I don’t know. I wonder if Gabriel ever experiences that. Gabriel’s kinda fidgeting, think it’s because he wants to go. I’ve noticed that, he’ll sometimes seem as though he’s like fidgeting or something, and it’s usually followed by him leaving. Can’t blame him, I think he just has situations where he has to get out of there and go back to the safety of his dorm. «That’s really cool and interesting, but I’m so sorry, but I have to go back to my dorm to finish up some of my work, I'm so sorry. It was really cool getting to know you though, hope to hang out with you in the future.» That’s a lie. Gabriel never works on Saturdays, he always does shit on Sundays. 「Alright thats cool, I should probably be doing other stuff as well to be honest. Maybe we can meet up next weekend or something?」Oh thank god, didn’t want this to become awkward or anything, that would be painful. “Yeah, that sounds good I guess. I guess we’ll meet up next Saturday or something.” «Yup, that sounds cool. Was really cool getting to know you though. Bye!» “Alright, see you soon, bye!” Wait a minute, shit I need his number. “Wait, actually, what’s your phone number?” 「Oh yeah, here you go」Adding him to my contacts, so that way we can actually meet up. I hate having to type numbers on a phone. “Alright, thanks a bunch, sorry we had to cut it short I guess, but it was still great meeting you!” 「You too, bye!」”Bye!” Damn, that was really cool actually, can’t wait to see him again. Hope to learn more about what the Onategoren nation is like, and what an actual reservation is like as well. That should be cool.

[polikszena]

For a little bit of sunshine - Chapter 7

Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick

Rating: Teen and up audiences

Summary: He is one of the country’s best naval aviators, she is a dance instructor and a writer. He has been called back to Top Gun for an extremely dangerous mission, she is battling her insecurities. They meet at a bar. This is their story.

Relationships: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Female OC

Chapter 1 I Chapter 2 I Chapter 3 I Chapter 4 I Chapter 5 I Chapter 6

Chapter summary: After she learns about Admiral Kazansky's death, Maggie gets two phone calls: one from her mother and another one from Rooster.

Warnings: Mention of death, some swearing

Songs: It’s Not Too Late by Phil Collins, Never Too Late by Elton John

Word count: 2237

A/N: Actually, this chapter isn't really about Maggie's relationship with Rooster, but rather the latter's relationship with Maverick. And we meet Maggie's mother for the first time. Also, this chapter serves as a checkpoint to keep in mind where we are in the movie's plot as this story is parallel to that (at least, for now). And when Maggie mentions Phil Collins and Elton John, she is referring to the fact that Phil Collins has a song titled "It's Not Too Late" and Elton John has one titled "Never Too Late."

Chapter 7 - Never too late

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our commander, Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky.

Maggie Rose Miller stopped scrolling on Facebook when she saw this post. Her heart sank as she read the full announcement. It happened on the same day Phoenix and Bob crashed with a bird and had to eject from their jet. They were okay, but had to spend the night in the hospital under observation. They were about to meet that night, but Phoenix texted her that she couldn't make it due to that accident. Maggie felt relieved that they were fine, but reading that their jet crashed was a smaller shock for her. They almost lost a third member of the team as well: Coyote, Hangman’s roommate who lost his consciousness due to the high gravitational force in the cockpit, as Phoenix told her. It happened right before they hit that bird. 

First came the news about Phoenix and Bob, and now the announcement of Admiral Kazansky's death. Even though she didn't know him much, she was shaken by his passing. Maggie befriended his daughter in college as they were neighbors in the dorm, but became more distant since Magda had got married and moved to Boston. And Frank, his son, was a friend of Henry's and Maggie made the routine for the opening dance at their wedding.

Once she overcame the initial shock, she texted Magda to express her condolences and ask if she needed any help with anything, still astonished by the news. However, she had hardly put her phone down, it started ringing. Thinking that it was Magda, she quickly grabbed it again, then raised a brow when she saw the word “Mom” on the screen. They had already spoken earlier that day when she still didn’t know about Phoenix and Bob or the admiral. What did she want?

“Hi, Mom, what’s up?”

“Have you heard about Admiral Kazansky?” she asked.

“Just read the news,” Maggie replied. “So sad.”

“How’s Magda?”

“I don’t know, she hasn’t replied to my text yet. She must be devastated.”

Maggie heard her mother sigh before she continued:

“I wanted to ask you a huge favor.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t go to the funeral. I will be in Washington for a conference,” she told her.

“I thought you canceled that trip,” Maggie said.

“In the end I didn’t,” the other woman replied. “Well, I couldn’t. I will be the chair of the Physics in Defense session.”

“Right, I’ll go and feed the dogs,” Maggie nodded.

“It’s not just the dogs,” she said. “Dad wants to send a wreath, and since I won’t be here, I wanted to ask you to take care of it.”

“Of course.”

Being deployed, her father must have felt sad he wouldn’t be able to attend the funeral. 

He always talked highly of Admiral Kazansky, both as an officer and a pilot. However, the picture Maggie had in her mind of the admiral was him smiling proudly walking Magda down the aisle on her wedding day. Or how happy he was when he danced with his daughter at the reception.

“Thank you, it will be a big help,” Her mother told her.

“No problem,” Maggie said with a small smile. “Has Dad sent anything to you about what kind of wreath he wants?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll ask him later, then,” she said, being sure that she would receive a very elaborate description of the wreath he wanted and then he would ask her to send photos of it before taking it to the cemetery.

“Thank you so much, darling, it’ll mean a lot to him.”

After saying goodbye to her mother, Maggie noticed she had a new message. She thought it must have been Magda, but she was wrong again.

"Can I call you?" Rooster wrote. "I need someone to talk to."

Realizing that she wouldn't be able to work on her novel anyway, she wrote back a yes.

"Are you okay?" she asked once she accepted the call.

"Not really, no," the aviator replied and he sounded sad and weary, which made her worried.

"Is it because of Phoenix, Bob and Coyote?" she wondered. Knowing how close they were with Phoenix, it must have been shocking for him as well.

"Yes, and Ice… I mean, Admiral Kazansky. Have you heard that he's gone?"

"I've just read the announcement. Did you know him well?"

"He was at Top Gun with my dad," he told her.

Oh yes, Maggie remembered that picture in the station: Him, Rooster's dad, and Captain Mitchell standing next to each other in the group photo.

"Was he a friend of your family?" she asked.

"Kind of, yes. Although he mostly came with Maverick… Captain Mitchell, that is. He always brought model planes," he told her. "You know, the ones you have to build yourself."

"Oh yeah, we had those, too, but with ships," she said with a nod. Charles Miller wasn't impressed when he saw that carrier ship painted baby blue with stickers on it, but Maggie liked it a lot.

"I was very bad at building those as a kid," he admitted. "And he wasn't much better than me. It was a waste of time and glue, to be honest," he added with a small chuckle. "I remember him trying to get those small plastic pieces off his hand before the glue dried and making an effort not to swear in front of me. It took me a while to figure out what 'flying horseship' actually meant."

"Flying horseship?" Maggie echoed with a small laugh.

It might have been inappropriate and disrespectful, but she couldn't help imagining Admiral Kazansky saying 'flying horseship' when hitting the doorframe in the dorm, carrying Magda's boxes.

"I thought it was a hydroplane designed to transport horses, but when I asked Maverick, he just started laughing and said: 'it's fucking horseshit, kid.' And you could see Iceman doing a facepalm in the background."

A smile touched Rooster’s lips as he recalled the picture. His mother was there, too, laughing - she could never be angry with Maverick, no matter what he said or did. How strange it felt that none of them were a part of his life anymore. Or at least not in the way they used to be, as Carole and now Iceman were gone and Maverick betrayed him. The smile slowly faded as his heart became heavier and heavier.

He remembered that he reached out to Iceman for help when Maverick pulled his papers for the Academy, but he told him he couldn't. Rooster accused him that he just didn’t want to because Maverick told him that he, Rooster, wasn't ready. The memory still made his muscles tense and woke up his anger. Well, the joke was on them, he thought, because now he was flying, too. He had to take the long way round, but he eventually got there.

The last time he spoke to Iceman was after his graduation from Top Gun. He came to shake his hand and Rooster just said a polite ‘thank you’ and that was all. He heard the news about his illness, but didn’t follow what was going on with it, he admitted to Maggie. That was why his death shocked him so much. And that wasn’t the worst.

“I was with Maverick, when Warlock… Admiral Bates came with the news,” he told her. “He almost lost three of the team today, and now this.”

Tears stung his eyes as he recalled the picture of the fastest, most daring pilot collapsing into a chair, unable to say a word or even breathe. Rooster could swear he heard his heart breaking in the silence that followed Warlock’s announcement. It wasn’t Iceman’s death that hit him the most, it was Maverick’s reaction to it. He felt a lump in his throat he couldn’t swallow ever since. It was still there, making his voice creak as he spoke.

“With Iceman he lost everyone,” he continued. “He has no-one left, he is totally alone.”

And he not-so-kindly reminded him about that, right before the news. He deserved it, he thought with his hand clenching into a fist. It was his choice. No-one asked him to be alone like that. However, he couldn’t ignore that growing feeling inside him that wrenched his heart. Guilt. For telling Maverick that no-one would mourn him which couldn’t be more true now that Iceman was gone.

Maggie knew that Maverick had pulled out Rooster’s application for the Academy and that he hadn’t spoken to him ever since. She also knew he felt betrayed by him, the man who was the closest thing he had to a father; and listening to him now she figured out that he still cared a lot about the aviator. More than he admitted it - even to himself. She could tell that Maverick's reaction shocked him more than the actual news.

“Perhaps he isn’t that alone,” she said softly.

“If you think I’m going to forgive him because of Iceman’s death, you’re wrong!” Rooster spoke; louder and sharper than he should. Maggie didn’t know how it felt to be betrayed by someone he looked up to, she just couldn’t know that. Yet she was still implying that he should forgive Maverick - or at least that was what he understood.

Maggie’s eyes teared up hearing Rooster’s last words, and she opened her mouth to apologize, but then she realized there was nothing she should be sorry for.

“Hey!” She snapped back. “I know you’re upset, but there’s no need to bite my head off. I didn’t say you should forgive him. I just said that he might not be as alone as you think.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” he asked.

“There are other people in his life, not just you,” Maggie pointed out. “Recently I saw him quite a lot with Penny Benjamin, the owner of The Hard Deck. That’s what I meant.”

This wasn’t the entire truth, but it seemed that the aviator wasn’t ready to face his feelings yet.

Rooster let out a small sigh. He felt bad for yelling at Maggie; she didn’t deserve it. And she was right: there were other people in Maverick’s life; friends he didn’t know about, although probably none of them was as close to him as Iceman and his father had been.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m not sure Penny Benjamin was the best example, though,” he added after a short silence.

“Why?”

“Women were never his forte,” he told her.

“Who knows, he might have changed,” she said.

“He? Never,” Rooster shook his head, but he had to admit that the man preparing them for the mission was not the same one who stopped him from applying to the Academy.

“What did you do when Warlock came in?” Maggie wondered.

“Said condolences and left,” he replied. “I didn’t really know what else I could have done. After what he did to me, I couldn’t just sit down with him, could I?” He felt his voice going creaky again, so he decided to stop talking. 

Maggie pressed her lips together, not being sure what to say. She had never seen - well, heard Rooster being so vulnerable before. She was glad he opened up to her, but she also knew that it happened only because he probably didn’t want to disturb Phoenix who had enough trouble for this day. She realized with a wrenching heart that just like Maverick, Rooster was alone as well. 

“He took four years of my life, because he thought I wasn’t ready to fly! And he keeps telling me that even now! But I’m ready. I know I am.”

Maggie understood his anger, but keeping in mind how dangerous that mission was, she could understand Maverick’s concerns as well. She took a deep breath before she started to speak:

“Perhaps he just doesn’t want to lose you, too,” she said softly.

“Too late,” Rooster shook his head. “He already did.”

He tried to swallow the lump again, but there was no use.

“It’s up to you what you do with this, but I think it’s still not too late,” she continued.

“Trust me, it is.”

“Phil Collins and Elton John say it’s never too late,” she said, half-joking.

“They are wrong.”

“One of them might be, but both Phil Collins and Elton John? That’s impossible,” Maggie stated. “But as I said, it’s all up to you.”

“Thank you, Maggie,” Rooster said after a short silence. He didn’t agree with her, but he didn’t want to yell at her again. She was just trying to help. It wasn’t her fault that this relationship was beyond repair.

“No problem,” she said, smiling.

***

Her words were echoing in his head a few hours later as he was staring at his phone’s screen with his thumb hovering over the ‘Send’ button. It wasn’t a long message: five words only: I’m so sorry for Iceman. ‘Phil Collins and Elton John say it’s never too late.’ Then he remembered Maverick telling him he wasn’t ready and he shook his head. You are all wrong, he thought and deleted the message.

A few days later, at the gathering after Iceman’s funeral, Maggie spotted Maverick standing outside, watching the stars. Then she saw someone walking to him: a tall man with a mustache, holding a bottle of beer. It seemed Elton and Phil were right after all.

Chapter 8

***

Tagging: @lj13oct, @discojohndeacy, @luckyladycreator2, @moechen86, @katieshook02, @the-untamed-soul, @literary-lesbian, @a-littlebit-ofeverything, @jascasandra, @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth, @angelinagabriel, @alanadetigy, @multiple-fandoms-girl, @heaven-bvck, @agentlyddon, @carlaangel86, @yuewengao, @justahopelessssromantic, @lais06, @gabby-youremymiracle-dawson​

If you would like to be added to the list or removed, please let me know!

[lord-radish]

The Weepies: An Introduction

The Weepies are an indie folk duo who formed in 2001, made up of singer-songwriters Deb Talan and Steve Tannen. They were individually active as musicians before 2001, both of them being fans of each other's work - and then they met, got involved and began making music as the Weepies.

Over the course of their 20 year career, they released five albums and one live recording. They also wrote for Mandy Moore on one of her albums, and they released a handful of singles for compilations and soundtrack albums.

This is probably gonna sound really silly, but the way I want to describe their music is "lovecore". A lot of their music has a very blissful, very romantic sort of sound to it - songs like "Gotta Have You" and "Happiness" are really positive tunes about being in love and having each other. A lot of their music offers a very earnest perspective on love and relationships, and it's really pleasant to listen to.

Albums

(song links are in pink if you want to listen to any of them)

Happiness: their debut album, featuring the songs "Somebody Loved", "Happiness" and "Simple Life". The cover features a pair of salt and pepper shakers, which adds to this vibe of two complementary forces finding each other and working well in tandem.

Say I Am You: my favorite album of theirs. The production and writing on this project are a big step up from Happiness, with songs like "Gotta Have You" breaking some really interesting creative ground and being very endearing. This album also has one of their biggest singles in "World Spins Madly On" - if you're a Scrubs fan, you've heard that one on the deja vu episode where JD and the Janitor play out the same plotline as an earlier episode.

Live Sessions EP: notable for the renditions of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen's solo material, as well as a song that would appear on their next album Hideaway. The songs on this EP are my favorite versions of them on any project - "Old Coyote" and "Rocks and Water" are GOAT songs on this EP, but I would heavily recommend listening to them using headphones.

Hideaway: contains "All This Beauty" from the Sex and the City soundtrack, "All Good Things" which was co-written by Mandy Moore for her 2007 album "Wild Heart", and "Orbiting" which is a really pretty-sounding song about changing orbit in your life and realising that someone you care about isn't on your side.

Be My Thrill: I don't have much to say except that "Hummingbird" is one of my favorite songs of theirs. It's very busy and very warm, and it feels like when the sun is setting in late summer so everything is warm and lazy and tinged in a strong amber glow.

Sirens: their final album, and notable for the context surrounding it. Deb Talan was diagnosed with breast cancer, and this album was produced during the course of her recovery and released after she had received a clean bill of health. Contains a cover of Tom Petty's "Learning to Fly", as well as originals like "Sirens", "Brand New Pair of Wings" and "River from the Sky".

Content Warning: There is a song called "Ever Said Goodbye" that contains a slur for Romani people. My opinion is that it was used in ignorance, given the twee nature of the song, but my intention isn't to downplay the term or give it a pass. I'm making this post because I've connected with this band's music a lot, but I understand if this invalidates whatever goodwill you may have had towards the band and I understand why that would be the case. I don't condone the use of the word.

Music

A majority of the songs made by the Weepies feature Deb Talan on lead vocals and Steve Tannen on backing vocals. One notable exception is "World Spins Madly On", which may be their biggest hit - that's a prominent example of Steve taking the lead and Deb backing up his vocals.

I will say that I prefer Deb's voice, and I prefer the songs she sings lead on. No hate to Steve Tannen, but most of his songs don't really vibe well with me and - to be frank - his songs can occasionally feel a bit weird and reductive. This goes into their solo stuff too; the Deb Talan material on their Live Sessions EP is better than the Steve Tannen material, in my opinion.

One thing I think they really mastered was the short-form song - just a handful of chords, a couple blunt verses and a single-line chorus. "Somebody Loved" and "Keep It There" are some of my favorite songs of theirs - skeletons of songs at ~2 minutes apiece, but which hit hard and go home.

And to mention the cover of Happiness again, where the salt and pepper shakers symbolise two complementary people working together and forming a more robust whole, I think that their harmonizing and back-up singing on each other's songs works really well. Steve's voice isn't as melodic as Deb's is, but he can enhance her songs by backing up her singing in lower registers and adding texture. Similarly, Deb's voice can add an incredibly sweet flair to Steve's songs - her voice really makes those songs soar.

The End of The Weepies

In late December 2021, the social media feeds for the band sent out some bad news. Deb and Steve were divorcing, and the Weepies were disbanding.

This hit me had for a couple reasons. The first reason was because the Weepies were this light in the darkness that I found just before the pandemic came down - like damn, so much other stuff has gone wrong, and now one of my favorite bands is about to break up. That sucks, goddamn.

The second one was because of the "lovecore" vibe that the band exudes. They're this awesome married couple with all of these songs about love, and they're getting divorced - it makes a lot of that lovecore vibe kinda sad in retrospect.

It's not entirely surprising that things ended like this, the last Weepies album was six years ago and Deb's last solo album was four years ago - but it was still a huge downer when I heard about the split, y'know.

But the music is still there, and it helps to have something so cheery and earnest to contrast with the grimness of the real world. And the band don't just make bright and cheery love ballads - "Sirens" has this undercurrent of death to it, and every album since "Say I Am You" has had at least one introspective song about insecurity, loneliness or the end of a relationship. There's a lot of depth there, and it helps to build hope for a better life going forward and to process bad things that have happened in the past. It's just really good, healing music.

Conclusion

I hope that by making this post, I can fully express my appreciation for the band - I hope that someone gives them a shot and ends up enjoying what they hear. I also encourage people to visit Deb Talan's solo work; three of my favorite songs of hers are "Rocks and Water", "Forgiven" and "Comfort".

Thank you for sitting through this post, and I hope it was of some informational/entertainment value to you.

[giantroboticplatypusbutt218]

I finished watching Loonatics Unleashed and I have Some Thoughts. I guess this is like a part 2 to the other post I made about the show so yeah.

I swear I don’t intend for everything I write to be an essay but whatever. It’s all under the cut. No massive story spoilers, but I will talk about episodes and will warn accordingly. (But who actually cares about being spoiled on the plot of Loonatics Unleashed?)

Alright so I finally figured out why Ace has laser vision. ...It’s kinda dumb but it’s because rabbits eat carrots(in cartoons). It’s... a reason at least. Still kinda sucks that it’s his only power when everyone else got 2 and some change. Kickass swords don’t count, even if they are magic. Seriously; Transformation. Duplication. Imitation. Tons of other “ation”s. They could’ve leaned into his trickster side but no. He eats carrots... so he got laser vision. Also he only ate carrots like three times in the show so wtf...

Okay so the pacing... improved somewhat in season 2. Don’t get me wrong there were still problems in some episodes but at least they learned how to build the stakes until the climax. They still sometimes went from zero to eighty after the opening credits, but at least it wasn’t zero to a hundred. Much less whiplash was had is what I’m saying. 

I don’t think I really mentioned the villains before but they’re uh... generally not very good. They’ve got cool gimmicks but most of the time they’re just two stereotypes and a cliche in a trench coat. Season 2 brought back classic anthro characters to be villains a few times, and while they still weren’t well written and just referenced old bits half the time... at least they weren’t dehumanized humans. 

I also don’t think I mentioned the animation so... it’s fine. It’s got cut corners but all cartoons do. Sometimes fight scenes look cool, sometimes they’re stiff. Sometimes the slapstick is well timed, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes the facial expressions match the voice acting, sometimes they don’t. Speaking of voice acting, it’s good. There’s not really anything stand out to perform in the first place but everyone does a good job with what they have. 

Okay random note before getting deeper into things... the intro themes were... not good. I swear the first song ended on a note that it wasn’t supposed to. The second song fixed that but added people announcing the characters which... is just worse to me. Not much else to say because I skipped them after the first few times. 

(Very mild spoilers for the general plots of episodes past this point.)

Ace and Lexi improved a little in the second season, but I still find them kinda bland. Ace still just feels like zero calorie Bugs Bunny. His wit is confined to being the leader, snarky comebacks, and some decent sleuthing skills... and that’s really it. He doesn’t really play around with the villains the way Bugs would. Ace was also supposed to have an arc learning to use his magic sword which... didn’t really happen. Lexi’s defining trait outside of her powers is still that she’s “the girl” which... sucks... Uh... she upgraded to Gamer Girl in the second season which while neat, amounted to nothing outside that one episode. At the very least she was never kidnapped for more than 5 seconds?(That “honor” goes to Zadavia) They also never really brought up their backstories in a meaningful way again, which sucks. 

I still like the rest of the team. Slam got an episode about wrestling that built on his backstory and was fun to watch. Duck discovered that his egg powers work differently in water which was neat and matched him being a waterfowl.(Lexi’s powers work differently in water too but it’s never brought up again). Rev is still Rev and I still love him. He got an episode about his family and struggle to impress them(specifically his parents) despite his career choice which was also neat, but I will be coming back to this episode later. Tech is also still Tech and I also still love him. But uh, every character and also me wanted to see him get out of the lab more, and then he got like a nibble of an episode to get out of the lab, and then the show was over. Oof.

Speaking of Tech, it might be for the best he hardly ever left the lab because his powers are... possibly way too effective against all the robots and machines the team fights. Now, him being “overpowered” could’ve been used as a fun writing challenge. Robot goons aren’t a good option for villains anymore. Fighting against him in a city filled with metal is harder. Villains can’t rely on simply killing him thanks to his regeneration. Fight scenes including Tech would have to be handled in a fun and interesting way. But... no. In a team with two tech guys, the one with super speed and flight comes with while the one who can control metal and literally can’t die stays behind. Oh well. Doubt they could’ve added him into more fights without accidentally dumbing him down anyway. 

Oh crap I forgot to talk about Zadavia! Uh... she exists. She’s the team’s boss who sends them out on missions. Uh... I can’t talk too much about her without spoiling what little overarching plot this show has, but just know that she’s neat, but affected by the usual sexism going on in the show’s writing.

(Character and episode spoilers past this point.)

You know, for being The Loonatics the main cast wasn’t very loony. You know who were though? Basically all the villains. Yeah I don’t wanna go there but oops here I go anyway. It’s pretty messed up that all the main characters’ zany traits were dialed down, while the defining feature of practically every villain (besides their stereotypes)is that they’re insane. I mean, if you’re looking for good mental illness rep in The Looney Tunes you’re gonna be disappointed, but at least in the shorts almost every character was a little unhinged and a bit of an asshole, making none of them stand out for those traits specifically. 

Also messed up is that a lot of the villains are disfigured and made fun of for it by the main cast. Hot take of the century, but I think making fun of people for having a big head or only one eye is... bad. Oh and if they’re a woman then they’re also judged on how hot they are. Actually all women in the show are subjected to sexist writing. I remember like one episode where women were treated with a sliver of respect for a split second and that was in the obligatory “the cast comes across an island of amazon women” episode. However since most of the time was spent painting them as villains until the “actually sexism is bad” ending, there was hardly a moment of reprieve from the bullshit if a woman was on screen. 

I’m not the best person to speak on this but uh... it’s fucked up that since literally every notable human is a villain, all the people of color are bad guys, right? Like, obviously it’s not as bad as some of the shit the old shorts pulled, but that’s like saying getting punched is not as bad as getting stabbed. It’s true... but I’m sure most people would prefer neither. 

And here’s where I bring up that Rev episode I mentioned earlier. Rev’s parents are racist against coyotes (cartoons sure love to make carnivores allegories for black people don’t they?) and obviously with Tech E. Coyote being his close friend, that causes trouble. ...Right? Uh, no. They say some racist crap to Tech, and that’s it. There is not even an attempt to correct their behavior from anyone. It’s just treated as some unfortunate quirk. In fact the episode’s conflict actually revolves around Rev’s brother, Rip. Honestly, I doubt that they could’ve handled a decent “racism is bad” episode anyway. But they could’ve also... just not brought up racism if they couldn’t handle it? I’m sure having no racism topic at all would be better than having Tech just take the parents’ racist bull crap lying down and then help Rev impress them with an invention he doesn’t get credit for. Also at one point Rev says if Tech wasn’t a coyote and a guy he’d kiss him, which has two uncomfortable implications, but this section is already too long. 

(Spoilers end here.)

Overall... yeah the show’s not very good. Of course it wasn’t. It was always going to be a little garbage. And no not because of the darker style or strange setting or any of that superficial crap. Team dynamic shows are popular and with Teen Titans doing so well WB probably thought they might as well shove out a 2 season Looney Tunes version to grab a little more cash, probably minimizing the budget to squeeze out as much profit as possible. If anyone working on the show was passionate about it, I doubt they had the budget or time to act on most their ideas. 

Still, there were things to like. There are some funny jokes throughout the show, a few of which even managed to come out of Ace’s mouth. Danger Duck was literally just Daffy and he’s always great. Ironically, Rev and Tech were the most fun to listen to, and also to watch interacting in general. Slam didn’t do much but was a sweetheart who deserves success. There managed to be some decently twisty twist villains, if only because Disney ruined my brain with their ceaseless and lazy attempts at them, and I wasn’t looking out for them in this show. And, while almost nothing was properly developed, at least the concepts and characters are fun to think about?

I can’t say I’d recommend this show to everybody, but uh... if you’re a Furry with low standards and too much free time like me, maybe you’ll like it? Just go in with low expectations so when nice things happen you’re decently surprised. 

[ziraley-j-crow]

Just a Peek!  Arthur Morgan x Reader.

Disclaimer: So, judging on the reaction I got from posting the first chapter(?), I feel more confident to post more! So thank you guys! Keep liking, re-blogging or anything, because it feels good to see that y’all appreciate it!

Also, a huge thank you to @narutoast-yt for helping me with this one! Go check her out, guys! 😁🎉

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Female Reader

You had managed to keep yourself busy for the rest of the day. There had been washing done, dirty dishes and cups now cleaned. Basically, you had to do something so that Miss Grimshaw wouldn’t holler at you in front of everyone else. That’s what the girls taught you when you first joined the gang, as you learned the hard way.

The sun was now setting, casting a calming glow over the camp. Everyone was finishing up their jobs, dusting themselves off for the day. Some were heading to grab a drink to sit by the camp fire. You folded your arms, sighing contently as you admired the sunset, the birds getting quieter in the dark trees below. Dutch was playing that awful music on his gramophone. 

“Turn that feckin’ thing off! You’re scarin’ the squirrels!” Sean yells from his spot by the fire, earning a few agreeable laughs from Bill and Lenny. You giggled, silently agreeing. Eventually the music was turned down, and the moment’s silence was filled with the soft sound of a guitar. You turned your attention towards Javier, who was sitting cross-legged by the fire, playing a little tune to himself. Everyone began to hush, waiting to see if he’d play something. You decided to lean on one of the barrels near the fire. 

“How’ve you been keepin’, Miss (Y/L/N)?” Arthur’s voice surprised you suddenly, and you turn to see him on your left, arms crossed. 

He had cleaned up since you last saw him in his tent. He was wearing his dark Union shirt, the sleeves rolled upwards and the buttons undone, barely showing his chest. His hair was swept back, the sides were faded nicely like he always had done.

Still handsome.

The orange glow from the fire softens his gruff features, and you noticed he was waiting for your response. You chuckled nervously, avoiding his face until you composed yourself.

“I’m good! I’m tired but good. How are you feeling? Is your arm alright?” you asked him, and you glanced at his left arm. He was much more taller than you, with a solid build and broad shoulders. He lightly rubbed his wound.

“Nah, it’s fine now. Susan did a fine job on it, and some whiskey helped too.” he said with a smile. 

“She’s good though. I made sure to keep busy in case she pitched a fit.” you finished your sentence quietly, hoping Susan wouldn’t hear. That made Arthur chuckle, and seeing him like this made you feel warm inside. Or was it the camp fire?

Either way, you made him laugh!

You couldn’t help but giggle too, your smile never leaving your face. The two of you stood side by side, not sharing a word. Javier continued playing and some of the gang sang along to the tune. You recognized this song, softly tapping your foot along with it.

“Now I am a prisoner, in the Stillwater jail I lie..” Arthur quietly sang along, his voice so deep it was almost a growl. His voice trailed off, he must have forgotten the words. 

This felt nice. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, with a drink in hand and a song on their lips. The sun was long gone and the moon was taking it’s turn, casting a silver glow on the trees and grass surrounding the camp. You looked up at the dark sky; cloudless, with countless silver stars scattered everywhere. The embers danced up to the sky, joining the stars. You inhaled through your nose, the cold air tickling your nostrils.

“Beautiful.” you hear Arthur say, and you catch him looking right back at you.

“Excuse me?” you ask him, puzzled. His eyes widened and he looked up at the sky.

“I- What I meant was, the sky. The sky is beautiful.” he managed to say sheepishly, avoiding your eyes. You smirked to yourself, trying no to think otherwise. He rubbed his beard with his hand, stopping to scratch below his ear. You noticed he had also trimmed his beard, which you thought complimented his face.

Duly noted.

You realized the music and singing had stopped. Only Hosea and Charles remained sitting around the fire. They were deep in conversation about hunting, Hosea telling him about the giant bear himself and Arthur went after. The others had either walked or stumbled back to their tents. 

“Hey, I know where we can see the sky better.” Arthur nudges your arm lightly, and starts walking away from the fire.

“Oh yeah? Where?” you follow him eagerly. You walk beside him, the grass rustling under your footsteps. He didn’t say anything, but you could see a faint smile on his face as he led you to the spot. The moonlight was spilling through the trees, lighting the way to go, although Arthur seemed to know very well where he was going. 

It was just a stone’s throw from the camp. Arthur slowed to a stop, his hands resting on his belt buckle. When he heard you stopping beside him, he stole a glance at you, and turned away with a smile of approval on his face.

The moon was highlighting the hundreds of trees stretched across the seemingly endless valley. The slow river mirrored the sky above, it, and the ripples glistened with a silver glow. If you looked closely, you could see a handful of soft, orange flecks on the isolated mountains. You wondered what cosy little homes they were. The air was quiet, yet busy - a faint breeze sighed through the pine trees behind you both. A coyote was yapping somewhere below you, an owl was flying across the trees, hunting for prey. Peaceful.

You loved it.

Arthur let out a deep sigh, his breath escaping like smoke. It felt like he wanted to say something. He was thinking.

“I uh.. I wanted to thank you, for earlier..” he began, looking out at the view. Your heart skipped a beat, a nervous chuckle escaping you.

“Thank me? For what? I just did what I was told. Anyone could have done that.” you shrugged it off as it were nothing. 

But it was something. He has no idea how glad you were to help. He has no idea how worried you were about him either. 

“Yeah.. But I wanted to thank you properly. I’ve been shot and injured before and Susan would always get one of the girls to help her. They would do as their told and get on with it. But this time ‘round, was different.” he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

You didn’t say anything in response, but you studied him. His yes scanned the quiet valley, searching for what to say next, but it simply stared back at hi in silence. He cleared his throat before continuing, and turned to face you. 

“What I’m trying to say is..” He paused, letting out a quick huff before continuing. His eyes focused on you. “Is that it feels nice to be cared ‘bout, ‘s all..” he almost mumbled the last few words, looking down at the dirt, almost ashamed. 

You felt your heart almost drop at that. He wasn’t the big, scary fella who could kill O’Driscolls in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t the grumpy cowboy who would greet strangers with a grunt. He was just a man, standing under the moonlight, maybe dismantling his tough exterior. 

“Arthur... Arthur, of course you’re cared about. I care about you!” you say, absolutely stunned. You stepped closer to him, gently placing your hand on his arm. He looked back up at you, ‘confusion’ written on his face as he slowly shook his head.

“You shouldn’t, Miss. (Y/L/N). I’m not the type of man you should care for.” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. It almost sounded like he said it a thousand times before.

You couldn’t stand to hear that. How could he feel this way about himself? Sure, in this way of living, you gotta get your hands dirty and make a living for blood money. But there was worse ways to be living.

“Arthur Morgan, you stop that.” you almost sound like a picky mother scolding her child, and he looks baffled at your tone. You place your hands on your hips, almost on your tip-toes to meet him eye-to-eye.

“Arthur, I’m not gonna let you stand there and tell me you’re not worth caring for, when you’re the most caring person in this gang. I don’t know who has made you feel this way, but I’d love to give them a good clatterin’. Nobody deserves to be cared for and loved more than you. I swear if-”

He just stared at you in awe. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He watched the way your eyebrows knit together, how you expressed words with your hands. He listened to your voice raising and lowering in tone as you spoke. He was just fascinated by you. Fascinated that someone could talk about him like this, in a positive light. That someone had so much to say about him with so much emotion. He couldn’t sheath the emotion that was threatening to spill.

“-and whoever says otherwise is as ugly as a burnt boot.” you finish with a huff. You were so caught up in your fluster, you had trailed a little ways away. You whip around to look at him, a little embarrassed. “..Arthur?”

You gently walked over to him. His head tilted down, so you couldn’t see his eyes. But you heard the unmistakable sound of a sniffle escape him, his hand reaching up to his face. Your eyes widen in panic.

“Arthur, what’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?” you asked in a slight panic. He shook his head, quickly wiping at his eyes. 

“It’s fine, ‘m fine. It’s just that.. Nobody’s every said nothin’ like that ‘bout me before, ‘s all.” he said, his voice trembling. Your heart sank at that. You didn’t know what to do, what was okay to do to make him feel better. He sounded like he had a lot on his mind.

“C’mon.” You walk over to the edge of the cliff, sitting yourself down so your legs were hanging over the verge. You turned to look back at Arthur, patting a space on the ground beside you

“Come sit. Sit and talk to me.” you said gently, and held out your hand for him. He hesitated, but he then walked over, and he took your hand in his. His hand was cold, somewhat rough from years of handling guns and leather. It was much bigger than yours, you felt small holding his hand. But it felt comforting too.

He sat down beside you, quite close as a matter of fact. When he got comfortable, he let out a grand sigh.

“I don’t know what to say..” he said, almost sounding guilty. 

“Take your time, I’m in no rush. Say whatever is on your mind” you reassured him.

At first he seemed unsure on how to begin, but once he was talking, there was no stopping him. The poor guy had kept his thoughts bottled up for so long it seemed. But you listened. You hung on to every word he said. With how much he was sharing, it felt like he was trusting you, which felt good. You even shared some of your life stories with him, showing him that he wasn’t alone.

You didn’t know how long you two were talking, but it must have been for hours. You noticed the sky wasn’t so dark, but more navy with less stars. Behind you, you heard the early birds, waking to catch a meal. The land down below was brighter, a soft mist was sailing through, leaving dew drops on everything it touched.The day was beginning.

“Fuck.. How long have we been talkin’?” Arthur asked after a yawn, rubbing his face awake. He began to get up, dusting off his clothes before holding out his hand for you. You looked up at him and chuckled.

“Just returnin’ the favor!” he said, amused. You took his hand, which he firmly grasped, and helped you up. He’s strong, you thought to yourself.

“Well, thank you kindly!” you said, while doing a mock curtsy, and he shook his head with a smile.

“I should be the one thanking you, ma’am.” he said, his tone a little more serious. He was standing closer now, his gaze fixated entirely on you, and you felt small under his gaze.

“I-It was nothing, really.. I was ju-”

“No, it was something, (Y/N). It meant a lot to me. I have never spoken like that to anyone. Not even to Dutch.” he was serious, his voice lower this time.

“Well, shame on them for not listening. Tonight, I learned how much more.. Phenomenal, you are.” 

Shit! You actually said that out loud! IN FRONT OF HIM.

You covered your mouth in disbelief, caught red handed.

Idiot.

He said nothing, which didn’t seem good. His lip were parted slightly, but he said nothing. You turned away from him, embarrassed by your thoughts. There, you had a perfectly good friendship, and you ruined it, (Y/N).

You suddenly felt his hand on your shoulder, a gentle grasp, guiding you to turn back to him. Your heart was racing now, expecting the worst.

His lips were suddenly on yours, almost hungry to feel yours. He couldn’t help himself, the warmth he felt in his chest was too much right now. You inhale sharply, obviously taken by surprise. Was this happening right now? It suddenly hit you..

The small smiles after you’d say hello to him, or talk about your day. The lingering stares you’d catch from across camp. How he’d say “Hunting is another skill.” as you’d join him on another trip. But you noticed none of the other girls would hunt. When you had asked him before, he just made up some excuse, that they weren’t the type.

‘His type’, more like.

It all made sense. You pulled away from him for a breath, waking him from his trance.

“I-I’m sorry, Miss (Y/L/N)..” he muttered, embarrassed. As he faced away from you, your fingertips caught his chin, turning him back to look at you.

“Don’t call me that, you make me sound like a teacher.” you say playfully, pulling him in for another kiss, which took him by surprise. You felt him smile against your lips, his arms snaking around your waist to pull you closer to him. He began kissing under your ear, which tickled, causing you to gasp.

“Why don’t you teach me a lesson then, ma’am?” he growled, his lips attacking your neck.

FIN

[argylemnwrites]

Fire Inside

Character: ??? 😮 ???

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu) referenced

Book: The Royal Romance (The Royal Heir, various chapters)

Word Count: ~2100

Rating:  PG-13 (adult language)

Summary: Doing what needs to be done isn’t for the faint of heart. Sometimes channeling that fire inside will bring out enemies, but only the timid worry about that.

Author’s Note: So, this is something pretty different from what I usually write, but the idea popped into my head and wouldn’t leave me alone. I don’t know if anyone else will like this, but I had a lot of fun exploring motivations of this character. I just wanted to dislike this character for interesting reasons, not hate them for dumb reasons that lack all nuance. So, yeah, not trying to defend this character, just trying to make them a dislikable human instead of a silly, annoying trope.

Inspired by Day 4 of the Choices November Challenge - Rage. Tagging all my TRR peeps, so apologies if this isn’t your thing. Like I said, I know this isn’t my usual style.

How did that old saying go? You catch more flies with honey than vinegar? Something like that. She’d heard it plenty of times throughout her life. She just never really understood it.

It’s not that she didn’t get the intent; she wasn’t stupid. But she just didn’t quite get why anyone would want to catch flies in the first place. Swat those annoying buggers away. Let them live their life while she lived hers. Why would you want to attract nuisances when you could scare them off instead? And no point drawing them in to kill them. There would always be plenty more pests coming after them.

But growing up, everyone seemed to tell her she should be more nurturing, more caring. Buying her dolls for her birthday and for Christmas. Trying to get her to care for the chicks after the coyote got into the pen and ate the hen. Scolding her when she hadn’t held Bee’s hand and wiped away her tears with gentle thumbs and soothing words when she’d fallen from the tree and broken her arm, but instead had carried her back to the house, arm wrapped in her own shirt as a temporary sling. But her practical solution hadn’t been enough. She was supposed to tend to her sister’s emotional pain, not just the physical.

They all wanted her to be sugar, spice, and everything nice. Well, if that’s what little girls were supposed to be made of, it never made sense to Leona that everyone seemed to ignore the middle ingredient. You wouldn’t call two pieces of bread on either side of some sliced ham a bread sandwich. That’s a goddamn ham sandwich. So why did everyone think that girls should be sweet little angels, not spitfires full of heat and intensity? 

Leona was never cut out to play the damsel, dependent on someone else. She would fight for herself, fight for what she thought was her due. And she was never going to apologize for being that way. Her fire served her well. It’s how she got out of taking home ec in high school, instead getting herself a spot in shop class. She could live with rips in her clothes that she couldn’t mend well and food that filled her belly without winning a prize at the state fair for its flavors. But if the equipment on the ranch broke down, well being able to fix that herself would save her whole family time and money. And that just seemed a hell of a lot more useful than learning how to be a perfect little homemaker. 

Of course, in shop class, none of the boys or Mr. Linvel had viewed her as anything other than a novelty. She wasn’t sure which was worse, the boys who laughed at her anytime she made a mistake, or the ones who assumed she couldn’t do it herself, always coming over to “help” her. What they didn’t understand is that she never needed their help. They weren’t better than her just because their fathers had taught them those skills already. She would do it herself, no matter how many tries it took. 

Because the world was a harsh place. It never made sense to Leona that she was expected to stay soft. She didn’t understand how anyone could. But all the girls around her seemed to manage it just fine. Cathy and Linda and Susie braided each other’s hair and shared lipstick. They giggled and gossiped and swooned over Chip and Bobby and Kenny. They hugged each other and passed around hankies when those same idiot boys all fell head over heels for the new girl, Patty, with her bleached hair and bell-bottom jeans. They all cried over their Dolly Parton records, moaning about how “Jolene” was their song. Leona didn’t get it. Why waste any time on some boy who was inevitably gonna let you down?

But one by one, she watched them go off, get married, start their families. Cathy caught the eye of some traveling salesman, Linda finally got Bobby to put a ring on it, and Susie moved to Houston to go to secretarial school, but quit and got married 4 months after her first posting. And one by one, she watched them get broken, by bills and mortgages, by baby after baby, by unfaithful and cruel husbands. And as they cried on the front porch, wondering how they got to that point, a not-so-small portion of Leona kept thinking, “I told you so.” She didn’t feel bad for thinking it either. Because she knew what they thought of her. Bitter. Cold-hearted. Bitch.

But she took it all, because she knew that life wasn’t a fairy tale. It’s a series of hardships you just had to face head on. She told her sister that everyday, not wanting her to make the same mistakes that so many of the other girls made. And for a long time, it worked. It was just the two of them and Dad, taking care of things on the ranch. But eventually Bee wanted more. She wasn’t content, always dreaming of something different. She saved her money. Traveled. When she came back, she was full of stories. But she was different every time. Still could pull her share around the ranch, but she was teasing her hair. Had new blazers with shoulder pads in addition to her practical work clothes. Talked about some fancy-ass coffee drink she had at some restaurant. And then she saved enough to go overseas, coming back a few months later, holding hands with some fancy European asshole. Told Leona she was moving to some country called Cordonia to marry that man. Left the ranch without a backward glance, leaving Leona and Dad to manage it all. She made promises of coming back in a couple of years after Jackson’s service requirements were complete, but first a son came along, and then a daughter. And each year that went by, Leona knew that Bianca was never coming back. Sure enough, phone calls promising a move back next year soon became phone calls promising a vacation. The life they had known together was now a novelty, an escape, not a reality. She only did make it back to the ranch once with the kids.

Those two were lost causes, as far as Leona was concerned. Brought up in a world of gold and diamonds, parties and designer clothes. Hell, the boy was best friends with one of the princes. And when she was the one who had to bury Dad in the orchard all by herself, six feet down, right next to Momma, she knew she was the only one left in the family with any common sense or perspective. She just hoped that Bianca remembered a little bit of the toughness she’d tried to teach her when those ass-kissing, stuck-up nobles she’d surrounded herself with inevitably screwed her over.

Leona was surprised that Bianca lasted over there as long as she did, nearly two decades before it all came crashing down with Jackson’s death. But she did crash, hard. Her life fell apart. And who did she call up, but the sister she’d abandoned, left to carry on the family business all alone. And once again, she wanted Leona to be softer. To offer sympathy and comfort. Well, she offered a roof over her head and food in her belly when her so-called “friends” somehow couldn’t be bothered to spare a dollar. That would have to be comfort enough. 

She’d heard Bianca crying many nights. At first, she knew it was over her husband, a man who gave his life for some over-important royals, leaving behind his own goddamn family. And after years of watching her sister struggle to finally heal from that, the crying started again when Drake called, frantic, saying Savannah was gone, asking if by any chance she’d come to Texas. She recovered faster that time, though. Leona hoped that she was finally learning, that she was tougher. Stronger.

But that all came crashing down one fall morning, when Bianca bounded into the barn, telling Leona that not only was Savannah back in their lives, but that she had a baby. Baby Bee was a grandma. Not only that, but she was going back to the hellhole of Cordonia to see this baby and to watch Drake marry some fancy duchess of some sort. She was optimistic and energetic. It was as if she’d learned nothing from her first time there. 

They’d fought, Leona asking her sister how many times she was gonna get her hopes up about that place. Bianca saying that things would be better this time. Yeah, right. Leona had seen enough to know how this would end. Bianca brought her kids up in the world of posh nobles and fancy rich people. It was only a matter of time until they decided they were too good for her again.

But Bee ignored her warnings, not only flying out there for some pompous hoighty-toighty wedding, but offering to host Savannah’s wedding to some frickin’ Duke of snobbery, the same man who knocked her up and then neglected her and the baby not two years earlier. Amazing what you could get away with when you had money.

To make matters worse, Bee invited some motley crew of royals and nobles to come stay on the ranch for this wedding. They weren’t outwardly disdainful, so maybe they did learn some manners from their fancy pants educations, but still. Leona had a ranch to keep afloat. The last thing she needed was to babysit a group of rich kids playacting at being cowboys. 

She felt a little guilty selling info on Drake and his wife to the press. He was the most helpful of the group, and he was family, after all. He seemed to remember a few things from his visit as a child, seemed to have kept a handful of practical skills. But his wife was overeager, annoying, and seemed to think that she had something in common with Bianca and Leona just because she used to wait tables. That growing up in a fancy city like New York was somehow equal to hard, physical labor because she hadn’t been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. If he had chosen to marry someone like her, then he probably wasn’t much different than the rest of them. The fact that they were orchestrating some bizarre political move to get their kid onto the throne just sealed the deal for Leona. So she did what she had to do. Granted, they all ended up being much kinder than she’d guessed them to be. But their kindness wasn’t going to keep the ranch going long term, keep the hands hired and the electricity on. So, Leona kept on selling any info she had. Morality was all fine and dandy when you were privileged, but it had no place in the real world.

It wasn’t until Riley was screaming at her, yelling about how she would never forgive Leona, hand protectively placed across her very pregnant belly, that she saw something more than kind but spoiled little princess. She saw pure anger, fire-forged and intense. She saw rage and hunger. She saw someone that maybe had been hardened by life, but kept that intensity hidden away, covering her true strength with silliness and laughter.

Leona couldn’t be sure, of course. She barely knew the woman, and she had no illusion that she and this woman would be bonding as in-laws going forward, so she probably wouldn’t get the chance to find out. She had never been naive, after all. She knew that bridge was burned. But she wasn’t one for regrets. She’d made her choices, and while she’d hoped maybe her nephew would understand her reasons, calm his wife down, she wasn’t surprised when that didn’t happen. So she went back to Texas, to her parents’ ranch. To her ranch, really. What was done was done.

She hadn’t anticipated her sister’s anger. Bee had never been the overly-protective, Momma-bear type, after all. But she’d yelled, alright. Told her off about betraying the family. Selling out her own nephew. Making it so that Drake and Riley were never going to be willing to bring the grandbaby to visit. Bianca expected grovelling, contrition, regret. But she wasn’t going to get that. Leona had the fire raging inside of her to keep moving forward; she would never apologize for that. And if anyone took issue with that, well that was just their own damn problem. No one else was going to solve it for them. Certainly not Leona. Anyone who expected such a weakness could just go fuck themselves.

Tags: @choicesnovemberchallenge @dcbbw @mfackenthal @yaushie @jovialyouthmusic @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @riley–walker @thequeenofcronuts @notoriouscs @butindeed @octobereighth @ao719​

[charliedoyleloves]

Notes and Musings

For reference, this will be posted on my Ao3 both the same title and username.

Summary: People can hear the music that their soulmates are listening to. Many people use this to track them. Charlie, or Angelina as she was called earlier in life, was no exception. Even if annoyed her soulmate.

Especially if it annoyed her soulmate.

The story is under the Readmore.

When Charlie was four, still named Angelina, she started to hear the music. It was interesting, listening to music that another was trying to enjoy. Especially since no one around her town would listen to such fancy music, it was all trilling flutes and booming bass.

Not at all like the tang of the guitar or fast-paced fiddle that her family played.

When she asked her mother about it, she was ecstatic.

"It means your soulmate enjoys such music." The darker haired woman pressed a kiss to her small forehead. Running her hands over the girl's hair, she cupped her cheeks before speaking again. "If you hear it often, that means he must be listening to it quite often. You must get used to it, and learn the quirks of it. Find out who plays that and follow it to him."

At four, she didn't question it further. Not until she was six when her parents got her first fiddle from a second-hand store. While her soulmate continued with the more melancholy classical, she knew that her heart needed to balance it out.

Reels and dances were what she wanted to learn. The folk songs that her grandparents and mother played and sang. The ones that caused everyone in the community hall to smile during their festivals and dances. Considering that was how her parents met, it made sense that she and her future husband would do the same.

It was an impressive skill, to be able to play music by ear while also having her soulmates music in her head. It became a tradition for her to practice early in the morning with him. Each was trying to see if they could mess the other up. She could picture the swooping movements of his bow while she plucked and trilled with hers.

Vaguely, she wondered if he could picture the same thing.

The travel to her new home was exciting. Travelling nearly across a country as large as Canada didn't leave much to do. So while everyone was moving slowly with their horses and supplies, she would find the highest point and play her fiddle. She could almost feel his annoyance, but she would sing songs of travel to help him understand what was happening.

In reply, he would play lullabies with her when she went to bed. It was a small moment of victory when she managed to get him to play 'Irish Lullaby' with her though his other songs were just as soothing.

Finally reaching the new settlement in the Prairies, she danced with her family all night. Even at eight years old they knew that it would be a time for celebration. Especially since the next few years would be hard as they had to build their new lives.

She was concerned when she played her folk songs, and there was the sound of an orchestra in her head. He was as skilled as her and didn't seem to mess up.

It was less concerning when she finally got large enough to try her mother's guitar, the violin not having the same tones as her plucking and strumming. She was curious why he was only learning the one instrument instead of branching out. But they had fallen into new patterns, with her and him playing whatever instruments she wanted to complement to him with at the end of her night.

In return, he would play a sweet soothing melody in the afternoon. Such music was odd to hear in the middle of the day, and it only made her curious as to where he was.

A thought crossed her mind when she turned twelve when she heard the unmistakable sound of the opera. Was it possible that her soulmate was not in Canada? When she asked her parents about it, they laughed. It was better than what her mother heard, being the local burlesque performances.

But that only cemented the fact that her soulmate was upper-class. At this fact, her grandmother was thrilled. Her little girl, the only girl in her family was going to be marrying up. Something in her mind recognized that it didn't always work like that. Something from the operas sunk in after all.

Not all destined romances actually happened.

Growing up, she expanded her repertoire of instruments. The banjo was interesting, and she could hear the screech of his violin when she played it for the first time. Apparently, it shocked even her unflappable soulmate.

As she sat upon the little lookout she had built for the field at fifteen, Angelina heard the music of a music box that she could not have with her. It was calming, allowing her rifles to aim to be a bit better against the coyotes that got a little too brave. She wasn't sure if he could hear the gunshots.

She wondered what he would think of it. His soulmate was someone who could put a bullet between animals eyes from 200 feet away. Or that she grew up around the Sharps Rifle that she now had slung around her shoulder.

Sitting back after scaring off the other coyote, she started to hum. It wasn't something that she had heard before, but rather something that should be something her own. After repeating it a few times, she could hear the faint sound of a violin repeating it back to her. Together they played around with the tune.

When she returned home, she picked up her fiddle and repeated to him what he played. Together the two of them performed their duet, complementing each other's notes. A duet that no one else might ever hear.

At sixteen she moved to her Aunts orphanage to help her run it. It was closer to the city and therefore, better education. And better-educated men that might be her soul mate.

The downside was that her music choices became repetitive. A part of her felt bad for the young man, likely trying to keep to his studies, having to listen to the twenty plus children she worked with sing various nursery rhymes. Especially if it really where the middle of the night for him when they were finally let out of their classes for their afternoon.

He played revenge early in her mornings. His violin would screech early in her morning before the rooster would caw on its own. The only way she could get him to shut up was to repeat the proper chords back to her. In that way, he taught her a few more classical feeling songs.

It would be more impressive if she could know what they were called.

When she was twenty, she decided it was time to search out this damn annoying musician in her head. Every few days he would play for hours on end as if there were nothing else he could be doing. Her family noted that it was inappropriate to be travelling as a woman on her own.

With Angelina's Aunt's help, Charlie decided to be something else. Using his fiddle and keeping his trusty pistol Angelina with him, he gathered money as he travelled back to the coast. Playing in pubs and inns for his stay, he wondered what his soulmate would think of him.

Months later, back in Halifax, he worked in a pub. Partially a bartender and partly a player, he was saving money up to head to England. From there, he could figure out where his soulmate was. He just needed to track the opera performances, and it could be done.

He sang to himself softly in his apartment. Lullabies that his mother taught him, songs that the sailors had taught him. The silence was uncomfortable, and he tried desperately to fill it. A violin helped fill in the gaps, and together they figured out tunes and lyrics for them as well.

On one occasion he even sang back, a lullaby about a fox and a dog. While it was calming, Charlie wasn't sure if the ending was all that satisfying.

At twenty-two, he had managed to gather enough money in wage and tips for both the fare to merry ol' England and possibly even a few months rent.

There was a party for when he left. Songs and dancing until he had to go in the morning. Given how many times "Farewell to Nova Scotia" was played in the past year and a half, his soulmate joined in on the final serenade.

On the ship, he often busked with his fiddle. It was even more hours of playing. Fingers, even though they were heavily calloused, still occasionally bled. By the end of the night, he could hardly stand even the thought of more music. But again, his soulmate played.

Something about it wasn't necessarily wrong, though.

Docking at London, the first thing Charlie did was look for work. An idle moment would not do him well. For a few months, he played no music. In response, or perhaps solidarity, neither did his soulmate.

But walking into the Irish Pub at the edge of the river, far too close for anyone respectable, Charlie knew that he had found his place for a bit. With a reel and a drink poured, he gained employment.

His soulmate started to play in retaliation again.

For a year, he worked the bar and the stage when needed. In the afternoons, before his shifts started, he walked around the richer areas of the city. With his ear open, he tried to find a tune that played twice. But from the open windows, none of them were right.

He read the papers, of course. It helped support the local kids, and he always tipped well. He read those stories published by some doctor about his adventures with a private detective. It reminded her of the stories her parents and grandparents told about Pinkertons.

When a server at the bar went missing, he knew where to turn. As he approached, there was lazy music floating through his head, but it stopped when he got across from his destination. Knocking on the door of the flat, he was greeted by the strange detective and doctor.

"Please, sirs, I don't have much for the service, and I know that her family has less." He thrust his case towards the detective. The man towered over him, judging her from his long nose. "But take my fiddle. It's worth something, and you might be able to cover the services with it at a pawn shop."

It meant something else, though. Something that no one ever talked about. With Charlie's only instrument leaving his possession, he was possibly losing his connection to a soulmate.

"Is this young lady worth it?"

"Any young lady is worth it, sir. Especially one who was doing so much for her son."

And he meant it honestly. If he giving up his soulmate would improve one person's life, then so be it.

In the end, the detective did not take a payment. It seemed like a poor business decision, but he was not going to complain. Especially not when Mary was swept off her feet by the constable that helped her away from the lout she married.

When Mary was officially divorced from her previous husband, the entire bar celebrated. At her request, Charlie had dressed in her nicest skirt and bouse. She was going to be the maid of honour, after all.

Even Ryan was still up, spinning around with his mother as she sang alongside her friend. With celebrations in full swing, they hadn't noticed the faint double of the music. Only when the door opened, and Wilkins, Holmes, and Waston did the pair get assaulted with it.

While Mary spun back around to greet her husband to be, Charlie stood on the stage to the side to figure out which one was hers. Starting another tune on her fiddle, she watched the pair. It was one of the first Reels she had learned.

That was when fate decided that she deserved a break. Soon after she started, there was another that joined in. Holmes was on the other side of the pub, playing the same tune. Smiling from over the heads of the dancers, she amped it up to start playing the song that was uniquely theirs.

When he caught her eye and joined in, she couldn't help but laugh. Of course, it had to be him.

At least things would be interesting.

[echelonlab-blog]

Echelon Author Interview -- Lolainblue

Echelon Author Interview

Your URL: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lolainblue

Your name: Missie (Blue is my nickname)

Link to your Masterlist: https://lolainblue.tumblr.com/post/174506158608/masterlist-20

What was your first experience with 30 Seconds to Mars? A friend had bought their first album and brought it over while hanging out. We listened to a few songs, I immediately fell in love. She asked me “Guess who the lead singer is? It's Jordan Catallano!” I was so stunned. 

Your Favorite Mars song? I could never pick one. There is one for whatever mood I am in. I love Attack, a lot of the old stuff, Buddha for Mary... They have changed so much over the years but I still love all their sounds.

Has anything ever happened to you solely because of being a 30STM fan? There are people that I met only because of Mars, and friends I have made in the fandom I wouldn't have otherwise.

What is your favorite thing about the fandom? Your least favorite? I think this is a very welcoming, supportive, and open fandom for the most part. It does have certain cliques, which is all right, everyone has their things they're into, but it would be nice if they got along a little better.

Is there any advice you would give to someone who is new to the fandom? Don't get too caught up in rumors. There are some people who are crazy obsessive and love to trash talk. It's a strange combo.

How long have you been writing? Since I was in elementary school.

Why did you start writing? (Either in general or for Mars specifically) I went through a catastrophic health event a few years ago. I found myself stuck at home and mostly bed bound, looking at a slow recovery. I started reading more, and also reading more fanfiction. I restarted my Tumblr account and came across some Mars writers. @thepromiseofanend and @fyeahproudglambert were actually among some of the first writers I read here and very much inspired me to keep writing for the fandom.

Do you write for other fandoms? If so, which ones? I have written for other fandoms in the past but right now the only one I am writing for is Mars.

Do you share everything you write? If not, is there a reason why? No. Not everything I write is Mars related, and some of the pieces I am working on only sporadically and I will share when I have more of them written.

Have you written things that aren't fanfic? If so, could you tell us about those works? I have written plays and screenplays, short stories.. I write a lot I am currently working on a paranormal novel that is original fiction.

Of all your works, which is your favorite and why? I think Fangs and Fairytales is probably my favorite, I love horror and vampires and the paranormal, and it's fun to play with an alternate timeline like that.

Is there one that was particularly difficult to write? Why? There is one I am working on currently that is not yet published that I draw from some difficult personal experiences and struggles. I am not entirely sure I will share it when I am done.

What is the ideal writing environment for you? At your desk? Quiet? Music? I work on my laptop and I prefer to have silence. I can't stand having the television or music on when I am writing. The location doesn't matter much but the silence does. If I can't get silence I will put on headphones with ambient sounds, like thunderstorms. When I was writing the first part of Thunderbirds, I had a site that had cafe sounds that I listened to a lot.

What type of fanfic are you most comfortable writing (drama, fluff, angst, drabbles, series, etc.) I absolutely love to write angst. I torture my characters mercilessly. I also tend towards long pieces.

What is your favorite fanfic trope? Enemies to Friends, Ooops there's only one bed, Mutual Pining

Is there any trope or subject that you won't write? There are certain kinks that I don't care for, and extreme stuff is off the table. Don't make me name them all.

Are there any special tools that you use when creating or writing your story? I use either Open Office for short pieces or Scrivener for longer more structured stories. Grammarly is a lifesaver.

Do you write your story in order or do you jump around and then string it together at the end? Mostly in order. I am a very linear thinker.

Do you outline, or do a great deal of prep work or do you 'fly by the seat of your pants'? I have a general outline and a plan for each story. Some are more detailed than others.

How do you usually get your inspiration? Dreams, music, other stories, movies... I get so many ideas, it's the execution that's an issue more than inspiration.

Do you have ideas on the drawing board or in progress currently that you haven't shared yet? Yes. I have two series that I am working on. One I had originally planned to be ready in a few weeks but due to illness I am behind.

If you have an unpublished work in progress, please pick two to three sentences and share them without context.

Jared assured me however that he was fully prepared, gripping me ever tighter as he pressed me into the upholstered bench seating, no sign of shyness in regards to the driver who was currently ferrying us through damp and intimate back streets. The evening's earlier rain had broken and everything was left looking freshly glazed, colors amplified in reflection. It would have been a lovely drive through the Latin Quarter if he had paused from his advances long enough to look out the window.

Do you like requests? Would you like more or less of them? I love requests but I don't always have time. I have several series I am actively working on for myself, several things in the lab, another collaboration as well as original work. But one of my favorite oneshots (Overtime) came from an anon request. You can always ask. I may not be able to fill it but you can always ask.

Is there an upcoming project from you that you are excited about? Why, and what can you share about it? I am excited about all my writing. There is one piece that won't be coming for a while but it's a new Shannon series with a rather different romantic interest.

The best piece of writing advice you've ever received? Eliminate your inner audience. Whenever we write we have a tendency to think of the people who might be reading it and how they will react. It can limit us from being true and fearless with what we are producing. Write for the characters, focus on the story, and don't mentally allow other people to look over your shoulder. Especially when writing smut.

The worst piece of writing advice you've ever received? For overcoming writer's block: Just sit down and write. If I could do that Karen, I wouldn't be complaining about writer's block.

What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting to write fanfic? Don't worry if you don't get a lot of attention to start. Don't worry if your stories aren't as good as others. Just keep writing and try to make each piece a little better than the last one. Compete against yourself. Your writing will grow and develop as you continue to work and as it does you will find your audience.

Three (stories, series, scenes, etc) written by others that you really like or that inspire you? Only three? I think Save Me by @spillinginkwithlove was probably the thing that truly drew me in. Closer to the Edge (@thepromiseofanend) has my OTP of Mia/Jared. @darklydelicousdesires has my favorite piece of Shannon smut, Double Measures

Are any of your characters closer to being “you” than others? Any reason in particular?  All of my characters have tiny pieces of me in them, whether it's a taste in food or future aspiration. In a lot of ways, I think I'm more Jane than anything, a lot of Jane and Roger’s childhood memories come from my own experience growing up in small towns in Illinois and Indiana -- but there are characters in two pieces I am working on that draw deeply from a lot of my life experiences.

Are any of your characters based on someone you know? Roger (from Thunderbirds) is actually very strongly based on an old boyfriend of mine.

Are any of your plots based on something that happened to you? The upcoming pieces Bodies, Rest and Motion and Mirror Ball both draw strongly on my own personal experiences, although the characters are unique as are the circumstances. The stories aren't autobiographical in any way, I have just drawn on things that I have been through and know to create something that conveys those experiences.

Favorite font for writing? Segoe UI ( In 14pt because I'm blind)

Do you consider yourself a reader outside of fanfic?  Yes. I love to read.

Your favorite book? I don't know about any one book, but I love Brandon Mull, Tad Williams, and Charlaine Harris. Also Poppy Z Brite, Terry Pratchett, so much science fiction and horror.....

Your favorite things to do when you're not writing? I love to cook, watch movies, binge Netflix, hang out with my dogs, play video games and just be with my family.

Two truths and a lie? I owned and ran my own catering company, I lived briefly in Italy, I was the drummer for a punk band

Something surprising about you? My original career ambition (and the college program I started in) was for experimental high energy (particle) physics. I still love science. I am a huge nerd.

Favorite food to enjoy while watching Netflix? Popcorn, of course.

Favorite way to spend a Saturday night? The activity doesn't matter to me as much as the company. I just want to be surrounded by good people. I love a good meal and a card or board game with friends and family. (I love tabletop games and have a small collection. Gloom and Betrayal at House on the Hill are two of my favorites.)

Blankets Tucked or Untucked? Untucked!

Do you have any pets? Would you like to tell us about them? I have two rescued pit bulls that are big love bugs (Twilight and Lokii) and two cats, Coyote and Mayhem. Lokii is the only one that is technically mine (Twilight is my son's dog, and the cats are just household pets) and Lokii never leaves my side. He is very protective and watches over me when I am feeling ill. He is also very goofy and loves to play

Are there any particular battles or struggles in your life you'd like to tell us about? I've been through a lot. I have somehow managed to pick myself up and keep going each time I've been knocked down. You have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, no matter what. There's really no other choice. Just keep going. There's always something good ahead.

Anything you'd like to add? I am horrible at initiation and maintaining friendships. It's mostly an anxiety issue, I feel like I'm annoying people, I think they don't want to talk to me, that they simply tolerate me... I know there are lots of you that can relate to that. Chances are really good that I'd like to talk to you, even if I seem stand-offish or seem to have withdrawn. Please don't ever take it personally. And if we've never talked, well feel free to say hi, or ask me a question. I love to chat, I really do, I'm just bad about keeping things going until I get used to people. I take ridiculously long to get used to people. I guess what I'm saying is I'm a big mess and I have social issues but if you're into that, come chat with me.

[aion-rsa]

The Christmas Chronicles 2 Review: Kurt Russell’s Hot Santa Sequel is Too Nice

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

While nearly every Santa Claus-centric movie concerns the potential loss of Christmas, arguably the fear of missing the holiday is most keenly felt in 2020. Netflix’s The Christmas Chronicles (the 2018 film that kicked off this jolly old franchise) indeed tapped into that when it starred two kids learning to believe in Santa, or else; and Chris Columbus’ The Christmas Chronicles 2 strikes at the source of Yuletide cheer again with a plot to destroy Santa’s Village at the North Pole. But what could be the root cause that’s so extreme as to endanger the entire magical foundation of Christmas for the foreseeable future? Apparently, teenage angst.

Kate Pierce (Darby Camp) is a sulky teen spending Christmas 2020 in Cancún—and, clearly, an alternate universe. While there she bemoans the lack of snow and her mom Claire (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) bringing along new boyfriend Bob (Tyrese Gibson, seemingly here only to sing “O Christmas Tree”), plus his son Jack (The Witches’ Jahzir Bruno). It’s not that Kate’s renowned status as a “True Believer” in all things Christmas is in any danger. She’s just in dire need of an attitude adjustment, as she’s broken the cardinal rule from the classic song: You better not pout…

Unfortunately for stubborn Kate, the same thing that will make her feel better—visiting the North Pole—is exactly what the sequel’s villain Belsnickel (Deadpool 2’s Julian Dennison) needs to literally wage war on Christmas. Teleporting Kate and her adorably neurotic soon-to-be-stepbrother Jack through the aurora borealis allows Dennison’s rogue elf to infiltrate Santa’s Village and steal the Christmas Star, which combines light from the Star of Bethlehem with the energy of the aurora borealis. When the Star is on Santa’s tree, his workshop and village are powered with magic; when it’s gone his village is suddenly visible to the whole world.

Kudos to The Christmas Chronicles for expanding its own internal mythology: Santa’s Village is ur-Christmas cheer, designed like Harry Potter’s Hogsmeade to the nth degree and populated with the Minion-esque elves who aided Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) in the first installment. But the real magical figure is Mrs. Claus (Goldie Hawn), elevated from the typical nagging wife to a sort of witch doctor who heals wounded reindeer and bakes exploding gingerbread cookies. Even Belsnickel, cursed to take on human form when he committed the elven sin of developing an ego, has a knack for clever steampunk-y inventions that somehow fit perfectly within this Christmas-village-come-to-life.

But the story lacks the cohesion of the first movie, which had a relatable throughline in saving Christmas for all the boys and girls on Santa’s list. The sequel, by contrast, feels like an overstuffed stocking: Reindeer/Yule Cat/jackal-coyote-hybrid chase scenes! Toy-making montages! Elves going full Gremlins! Another unnecessary musical sequence! Time travel! Russell and Hawn are clearly having a blast as the ultimate Yuletide power couple, yet none of the plot elements satisfyingly fit together. Worst of all, these flashy interludes distract from an actually solid emotional lesson about how the holidays change as one gets older.

The Christmas Chronicles movies are clearly trying to grow with their audience; Kate remains the POV character, but instead of unrealistically clinging to her earlier naïvete, she’s taken over her older brother Teddy’s (Judah Lewis) role as the cynical teenager. The movie’s conflict, instead of some vague lack of Christmas spirit, concerns those who deliberately reject the holiday for not fitting some narrow, quintessential mold. 

Like Kate, the villainous Belsnickel had friction with his surrogate parents, the Clauses, right when he hit the elven equivalent of puberty—the confusion and rejection of which Dennison plays with surprising gravitas. The movie establishes these compelling parallels about the communication breakdowns between teenagers and their parents. But before it can do anything of note with that connection, it pivots back to childish fare, like elves carousing to “Who Let the Dogs Out” or another baffling musical number that reinforces Russell’s confusing hot-Santa vibe while also stalling the plot.

With Columbus at the helm, one might hope that The Christmas Chronicles 2 could conjure some of the brilliant, generation-spanning appeal of his 1990 masterpiece Home Alone. Alas, it won’t be remembered after this year. Yet it might be distracting enough for hyperactive kiddos, and relatable enough for over-it teens, that it can carve a few hours out of the holidays.

In a year when a stay-at-home Thanksgiving and potentially Christmas will look very different from what many people expect and hope, The Christmas Chronicles 2 is like so much escapist candy. Just make sure you stuff your movie queue with the aforementioned Macaulay Culkin classic and a snarkier standard like The Santa Clause to remember the real quality Christmas chronicles.

The Christmas Chronicles 2 is available Nov. 25 on Netflix.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post The Christmas Chronicles 2 Review: Kurt Russell’s Hot Santa Sequel is Too Nice appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/361iwkH

[bestdjkit]

R&B Legend Erykah Badu Makes Suprise Appearance at Marc Rebillet Drive-In Show

Marc Rebillet's first musical guest was none other than the Grammy-winning queen of neo soul, Erykah Badu.

During one of the final stops on his trendsetting drive-in theater tour, the unpredictable loop station maestroMarc Rebillet was joined by a special guest of truly epic proportions.

Unannounced and unaware, fans were stunned to see the illustrious Erykah Badu take the stage at the Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth, Texas over the weekend. Considering Rebillet never has a setlist and improvises each and every performance, creating every track on the spot, fans were blown away at how seamlessly the two artists collaborated. As you can see from the short clip below posted on Twitter, the duo had a lot of fun letting loose during a time where there are almost no concerts. 

The featured clip is quite short, but those who weren't able to make it to the Texas outing might be in luck as he has been known to post full clips from his past performances. When replying to fans online, he shared how much of an honor it was to take the stage with a legendary act like Badu and how she was actually his first musical guest to join him onstage.

Marc Rebillet just finished his monthlong run last night after his performance in Houston. After one of his earlier shows, he shared how much the tour meant to him in the comment section of one of his now-viral songs. "I am seriously having the best fucking time on the road, y’all...getting to be around you and playing these shows has restored my faith in humanity," he exulted. "And I know how lucky I am, especially at a time like this. It’s a true privilege to be able to make stupid shit up for you night after night! Anyway, more to come soon. Love you."

FOLLOW ERYKAH BADU:

Facebook: facebook.com/erykahbadu Twitter: twitter.com/fatbellybella Instagram: instagram.com/erykahbadu Spotify: spoti.fi/2NGmUM4

FOLLOW MARC REBILLET:

Facebook: facebook.com/marcrebillet Twitter: twitter.com/marcrebillet Instagram: instagram.com/marcrebillet YouTube: youtube.com/marcrebillet

from Best DJ Kit https://edm.com/news/marc-rebillet-erykah-badu

[a-kettle-of-vultures]

Tagged

Tagged by, @hoata​  (First of all, holy shit, I got an @. Second of all, I ...exist??? Like, other people wanna tag me??? H-holy shiiiit)

Name: Eh, I go by my mains name - Higeki, but you can call me anything you want. Nicknames: Red, That Fuck (and like 100 other things that need context, feel free to make up ur own) Gender: Potato Star sign: Aquarius Height: 5,4 Time: 9:18 PM Birthday: Jan 27 Song stuck in my head: Quid pro quo - Crazy Eight Eight Last movie I watched: -squints- Fully watched? HTTYD 2. Tuned in half way and didn't really pay much attention to? The Robinsons. When did I create my blog: Uuuuuuuuh 2014 ish (I think) for my main a year or two ago for this one. Last thing I googled: The gif of that guy doing a double take in shock bc I meant to add it to this post but it wouldn't load up :< Do I have any other blogs: My main - for rp and shit posting. 3 HTTYD rp blogs, one DGM Rp blog, this one, a suggestion blog (which is mostly just lyrics), A fandom blog (mostly steven universe and pokemon at this point), a handful of others but I dont upkeep them much so....they're dead to me. Do I get asks: Every blue moon I will receive one ask - usually a spam bot. Why I chose my url: Im a vulture - seeing a metric TON of circling vultures makes me happy - learn said metric ton of vultures was called a kettle - Queue excited screeching as I imagine a ton of vultures spewing like a geyser out of a kettle - voila, one URL Following: 649, Followers: (on this one) 618....Huh....Impressive. Hello you all. I hope you are enjoying the ride. Average hours of sleep: On average four to five. If I'm lucky - six or seven. Sometimes I sleep 9-14 hours - but that is incredibly rare. Lucky number: -finger guns at the number 4. I grew up with all my desks and lockers having that number on it. My social security has 4s in it, my ID has 4s on it. 4s....4s everywhere! Instruments: If I could afford one - Id like to learn guitar and drums. What am I wearing: Jeans and a casual shirt. Dream job: iunno. Something similar to Steve Irwin or Coyote Peterson probably. Everything else is just too restricting it seems...Let me hug the damn mountain lion, Karen! Dream trip: Mmmmmmm Idk, Im fond of a lot of settings, but beaches are hella rad! love playing in the water and digging in the sand~ Favourite foods: seafoods vegetables and chicken make the best meals. Pretty much anything with these in it is usually A+++ Nationality: American (I feel dirty, greasy, just for admitting this....) Favourite song right now: Theres a handful.

1 2 3 4 five six 7 8 9 10 11 12 (+ the one stuck in my head from earlier =3) (kinda depressing but very real TW on 2 and five. Those are hiphop\rap. volume warning on 3 six and 7 bc Uuuh screaming vocals. 4 will always be  fave bc ...I feel it in my bones.  12 is special bc its screamo rap =3c Theres like ten more but, this can go on FOREVER so...have the sampler - even if most of its metal]rap hip hop atm...Im so sorry OTL)

Tagging: @49scribes  get in here u slut, @thepunguin @windycube @duskdragonxiii (draggin both u sinners into this bc I don't have anyone else to tag -shrugs loudly-

[paradoxicalca]

r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 6: Tropical Depression Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Nov 4, 2019 - Nov 10, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (27/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.59)Washington Capitals113-2-32-0-0The boys are buzzin. The top line isn't slowing down and our shiny new second line of Vrana - Kuznetsov - Wilson is tearing up the weaker competition. MacLellan's new look bottom six is still giving teams fits with their mix of speed and size. The defense is the best it's been since Mike Green ran the PP. Samsonov is the prince that was promised. Aside from a surprise mid-season extension for Backstrom there really isn't anything more a humble Caps fan could hope for.2 (3.03)Boston Bruins-111-3-31-2-1Well, this is a slump. Nothing but sloppy, uninspired hockey this week from the Bruins. The fact that we beat the Penguins is a shocker. Lost a close game to the Habs, stunk against the Red Wings, and played 40 minutes of bad hockey against the Flyers after having 10 shots through 40 minutes. Bruins showed signs of life in the 3rd period against them but ultimately fell in the shootout. PS: Pasta, get good at penalty shots.3 (3.68)New York Islanders-12-3-12-0-1Despite the rough loss to the Penguins the point streak is still alive. All throughout the goal-tending has been fantastic by both Greiss and Varly. With Eberle now back we will have to see if he can recapture the magic he has with Barzal, which was missing at the start of this season. Even without Matt Martin, Cizikas and Clutterbuck combined to have an outstanding week. On defense, Adam Pelech is playing like a top d-man. Other teams and fans will hear more about him if he keeps it up, but for now he is one of the most underrated players around.4 (4.76)St. Louis Blues412-3-33-0-0The bad news is that the Blues really aren't playing the best hockey they're capable of. The good news is that we're still winning. Many close games but the duo of DP57 and ROR is dragging us to some wins, our D is stabalizing, and our goaltending is proving good enough to compete. Would like to see some depth pieces begin to contribute more, and the loss of Tarasenko is just beginning to set in, but at the end of the day we're leading the Western Conference and we can still definitely get better from here. There also might not be a more trusted ownership/GM combo in the League than Army and Stillman. It's a fun time to be a Blues fan.5 (6.74)Edmonton Oilers-12-5-22-1-16 (6.76)Colorado Avalanche110-5-22-1-0The Avs have awoken. It took about two weeks, but the Avs finally figured out chemistry against Nashville & Columbus. Bad News two new injuries this week, now with 6 players out with Grubauer the only one set to return soon. Sakic looks smart for acquiring all the depth this offseason. The new top line is fun, not as skilled, but no players work harder than Donskoi and Calvert and Mackinnon benefits from the chaos they create and they benefit from the chaos he creates. Francouz has been sufficient in Grubauer's absence but isn't really playing himself into a potential 1B role. Avs start a Western Canadian Road trip this week and look to keep the momentum from the last couple games. First up a big 4 point game in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Calder Watch: Makar had an insane week, with points in all three games a 3 point night and a 2 goal game with his first GWG. He is now at 17 points in 17 games which ties him for third in scoring amoung NHL dmen, Crazy!7 (9.82)Nashville Predators39-5-31-1-1I'm away from my computer this week so I'll keep this one to a single point: /u/dabz14, I'm a true believer after the Red Wings game this past week. That second period was brutal, and the Preds made sure I understood that by being on the other side of the brutality against the Avalanche.8 (10.26)Pittsburgh Penguins610-6-12-1-0Almost as soon as we got Malkin back, Crosby gets knocked out. Please start wrapping these players up in bubble wrap.9 (10.5)Carolina Hurricanes-59-7-10-3-0The lack of top tier star power is starting to show. Each of the last 4 games should have been winnable but they ended up not even being close.10 (11.53)Buffalo Sabres-49-6-20-2-0Three more games until we hit .500.11 (12.59)Vegas Golden Knights19-7-31-2-1Tough week for the Golden Knights going 1-2-1 on the road trip. Blown leads in the 3rd period has plagued the team lately and really needs to change.12 (12.91)Vancouver Canucks-39-6-30-3-1Ever since rushing to jump on the ill-conceived and somewhat forced "Team Like That marketing campaign, the Canucks have indeed become a team like that. The team like that has since lost 5 of their last 6, with their only win coming against a floundering Sharks team. Over this period the powerplay has lost some the luster shown earlier in the year, and Canucks fans must face the tough reality that a team (like that) might not win 70% of its games this year. The club remains competitive, but this string of losses should slide them down to the middle of the pack in our power rankings - the "playoff bubble" position most anticipated the team would inhabit at the start of the season.13 (13.41)Toronto Maple Leafs29-6-42-1-1The Leafs are a confusing team. The week started with a sloppy 3-1 win against the Kings on Tuesday which made it a two game winning streak, which was extended on a 2-1 OT win against the Golden Knights (Did you see Ceci's beautiful setup for Pacioretty!?), which was won by captain Tavares himself. Unfortunately that streak ended Saturday night, after the Flyers got shootout revenge, highlighted by Marner taking an awkward tumble. After trying to take another shift, he was sent to the dressing room and shut down for the game, and after an MRI, for four weeks. Looks like leaf fans are still gonna annoy r/hockey by saying this team still isn't fully healthy yet :). Is that an excuse for letting up 4 goals in the first against the Blackhawks? Oh it's the second half of a back-to-back. That excuse. Made the game close, but not close enough. Overall, another confusing week for leafs fans14 (13.5)Arizona Coyotes-19-6-21-2-115 (14.18)Calgary Flames110-7-32-0-1The Flames had a good week, getting 5 out of a possible 6 points. The team appears to have a completely different effort level when they are down in the third period, having multiple late goals to tie both Arizona and St. Louis, forcing overtime. If only they could play with the same sense of urgency at all times. Johnny Gaudreau continues a large slump. While he's still getting points, he doesn't look like himself and his turnovers and defensive game make him feel like a liability at times. The Flames have already played 20 games this year, so hopefully their schedule slowing down a bit will give them some time to solve a few issues.16 (15.18)Anaheim Ducks-59-8-10-2-0This season feels like a rerun. Looks like a losing home stand came 1 month earlier than last year. A poor effort against the oilers after 4 days off. Similarly poor effort against the wild. I don’t see the fight. I don’t see the ducks ready to start any game lately. Song of the week: Free fallin’ - Tom Petty and the heartbreakers17 (15.35)Tampa Bay Lightning28-5-22-0-0Hard to take a ton away from just a back to back against the same team, but I did like what I saw from the team. Got some depth scoring, so that was nice. 3/7 on the PP isn't too shabby, and killing off all 4 penalties is quite nice too. Very happy only seeing 4 PP's given up, seems Tampa decided they were just having no fun sitting in the box.18 (15.76)Montreal Canadiens-19-5-32-0-1This week the team made big strides in improving their penalty kill (albeit in large part to Price in the net). Victor Mete is making up for all the goals he didn’t score to start his career and it helping beat the Bruins makes it all the better. Ryan Poehling finally has first few games of the season but if all Julien is going to do is play him for 9 minutes a game I would rather see him getting more time in the AHL.19 (15.97)Philadelphia Flyers210-5-24-0-0Its been a very Fly week this week, not a Die week. Myers has been on fire since scoring his first of the season, Coots, Lindblom, and TK line is actual sex on ice, our goaltending is stabilizing, and we are making teams regret starting their backup against us. 3 games in 4 nights against teams in playoff spots, and having pulled a majority of the points from it means we are doing a good hockey. Giroux with an absolute slapper in the SO, Moose and Hart are being the tandem we need them to be, and the team responding well under AV means things are well. We may never go pointless in a game again. Also PROVY PLEASE JUST KEEP YOUR GAME SIMPLE YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO BE PLAYING AS POORLY AS YOU HAVE BEEN RECENTLY. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk pt.2. Praise Gritty20 (17.68)Winnipeg Jets-10-7-12-0-121 (19.47)Florida Panthers-38-4-51-1-1Panthers' games are absolutely crazy. 4th in GF/game and 4th most GA/game. Half their game have been to overtime...it's not good for my heart. Recap; decent game against the Caps. Good game against the Islanders, should have won but Greiss was fantastic. Good game against the Rangers, Monty was bad, but the team rallied to with it. The Panthers don't give up and that's great.22 (20.74)Dallas Stars-8-8-21-0-1Only two weeks this game. Big win over the Avalanche and a OT loss to the Jets. Standouts? Faksa, Bishop. Takeaways? We played great against the Avalanche, and the Jets loss was hard-fought A 1-1 record doesn't always spell improvement - and it's sure not as good as last week - but we're playing better than our first 10 games. That's what matters.23 (23.56)New York Rangers-7-6-22-1-1Just another week at the office for the New York Rangers. We opened the week by losing 6-2 to the Ottawa Senators. This one was tough and really showed how young this team is, but a game like this was necessary. Next, we bounced back against the Wings by winning solidly 5-1. The next day, we got to see vintage Hank against the Canes. Even though we got outshot 47-19, we somehow walked out with a 4-2 win. To cap off the week, we had a shooting gallery of a game against the Panthers, falling 6-5 in the shootout. Some positives to come out of the week were that the kids are finally catching their stride and really developing. Kakko, Chytil, and Fox have looked great the past few games. Lindgren also deserves a shoutout for his play lately. Strome continues to put up points as well. Here's to another successful and entertaining week (also hopefully Lias gets more minutes).24 (24.41)San Jose Sharks37-10-13-0-0Much better week for the Sharks, but there's still a lot of work to be done. They were able to squeeze out 3 wins, but almost blew late leads against the Hawks and Wild. If the Sharks want to be back in the playoff picture they'll have to clean it up and play consistently tight defence for the next two weeks, with the upcoming divisional games against good teams like the Oilers and Vegas. The forwards are looking better and they've had some periods with really good defence, but they can't have those 10 minute stretches where they almost blow the entire thing, because good divisional teams will pounce on those opportunities.25 (24.47)Columbus Blue Jackets-16-8-31-2-0Bemstrom got his first and his second career goals this week. The two games we were pretty close, which is an improvement over our 5 game skid, but we're still 1-6-1 in our last 8. Things are looking grim if we don't improve by American Thanksgiving.26 (26.5)Chicago Blackhawks-6-7-42-1-1After a disconcerting California road trip, the Blackhawks managed to go 2-0-1 against the Canucks, Penguins, and Leafs. Kane has 5G, 6A and points in each of our last 6 games. Keith has been playing well, and is averaging over 25 min in ATOI, which is around his career average, but is significantly higher than the past 2 seasons. Lehner has been fantastic, and is 2nd to only Greiss in SV%.27 (27.21)Minnesota Wild26-10-12-1-0Wild fans are in this weird spot right now where they want the youngsters to show signs of development but the collective team is being cheered on to tank. Kevin Fiala has shown, to quote the GM-who-shall-not-be-named, "gamebreaker" qualities in the past few games. Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek have finally looked in the mirror and realized they have big bodies meant for a physical brand of hockey. Ryan Donato...well, he's still looking pretty lost. Can't win them all I suppose. As much as this franchise needs a number one pick, it did feel good to see four pucks go past Mr. Darcy on Saturday night.28 (28.03)Ottawa Senators36-9-13-1-0With the Sens recording 5 wins in their last 8 games, I'm suddenly feeling a sense of...what's the opposite of "shame"? Less shame. That's it. Make no mistakes folks - even though they've had a good week thanks to the heroic efforts of guys like Pageau and Nilsson playing absurdly well, this team is going to finish in the bottom 5. They NEED to finish in the bottom 3 in any case, so as to have the best chance of picking up a generational forward talent at this stacked draft. This means not winning against other bottom tier teams like the Kings and Rangers, which we unfortunately were unable to do this week. Good games for team morale but certainly not for draft position!!29 (28.26)New Jersey Devils-15-7-42-2-02-2-0 This week, nothing too out of the ordinary. Back in Sept. r/devils did a straw poll about Hynes' leash and most said he had until Halloween to turn it around. A week after the devils are 5-7-4 and severely under-performing for the talent level of the roster. This roster shouldn't be 5-11. Shero should already have a list in his mind at this point to replace Hynes. The Good: Blackwood seems to have rebounded from his rocky start and has taken the starter reins from Cory. Hughes is still playing great. He isnt always scoring, but seeing him play with hustle every shift is amazing to see. The Bad: Hall is cursed. He has 2 goals on 59 shots, only 3%, while his career shooting percent is over 10%. The Ugly: We're still barely 0.500 hockey week to week and sitting at the bottom of the metro, only 1 point above the Sens ins the same 16 games. The talk has already started on Hall's fetching price come trade deadline time.30 (28.56)Los Angeles Kings-55-11-10-2-1I was fortunate enough to watch the Kings play the Leafs in Toronto this past week. We look slower than molasses right now and its a pretty boring brand of hockey almost worse than the ‘wear you down’ of Sutter’s time as coach. Some of the young guys are doing well but its crazy to think that this core won 2 cups.31 (29.59)Detroit Red Wings-16-12-12-2-0Robbie Fabbri and Jonathan Bernier stole the week for the Red Wings. With a jam packed schedule of four games the Wings continued their walk of shame with piss poor effort against the Preds and breakdowns against the Rangers. Jimmy Howard gets the start and the hook in both games. Then the trade for Fabbri happens and Bernier gets the start in both games against Boston and Vegas and now the parade planning begins. In reality, the Bruins were at the tail-end of a 11-2-1 stretch and Vegas was back to back after getting beaten up by the Capitals. However, this is what we should expect from the Wings. The plan is to stay competitive and transition to the next phase of the rebuild. Detroit needs to be in these games against top teams who are struggling and limiting their chances. Boston and Vegas combined for 30 shots against the Wings at 5v5(47 All Situations) which is an incredible defensive performance considering the power those offenses have. r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 6: Tropical Depression Edition Source

[yespoetry]

An Interview with the Authors of 'DICTIONNAIRE INFERNAL' (And Download It For Free Here)

DICTIONNAIRE INFERNAL is a co-authored with Chris McCreary and Mark Lamoureux and was originally published by Empty Set Press on Halloween 2017. With the close of Empty Set earlier this, we have partnered up with ESP and are offering the chapbook as a free ebook. You can read a poem from the chapbook here, an interview with the authors below, and download the collection here and below.

Did you write this collection to any kind of music?

Mark: This is a hard question to answer, because I listen to music more or less constantly and I listen pretty widely (Bill Corbett once told me I have "big ears").  Looking at the poems in Dictionnaire Infernal I see references to Skinny Puppy, Big Black and the theme song for The Karate Kid Part II by Peter Cetera, but that was probably Chris.  I'm sure I was listening to a lot of other stuff, too, but it's impossible to say what.

Chris: In general, I write while listening to instrumental music. The band Earth is probably my favorite for this. That said, this chapbook does have a sestina, “Abraxas,” that is in part a riff on lyrics from the band Baroness, who we both admire. (After the chapbook was published, I sent a message to the band’s singer asking if he would want a copy, but I never heard anything back from him. This might be for the best - it would be mortifying if he read the poem and didn’t like it.)

Describe your favorite meal.   

Mark: There's the socially responsible answer to this question and the honest one.  

The socially responsible one is good moules frites and a bottle of burgundy.  Red wine with seafood because I’m a madman who lives on the edge.

The honest answer is a cheeseburger that they serve at a dairy restaurant where I grew up called Shady Glen where they fry a specific type of American cheese on the fry table so that it gets sort of brown and curled and bubbly, paired with a vanilla milkshake.  Said restaurant was more or less the inspiration for my chapbook 29 Cheeseburgers.  It’s definitely Americana kitsch where the servers all wear these anachronistic uniforms and these little paper hats. 

Chris: Jenn McCreary makes great vegetarian chili. If I could cap off that meal with coffee and a salted chocolate chip cookie or three, all would be right in the world for a moment.

Choose three books that you've always identified with?  

Chris: I’ve always felt an affinity for Tolkien’s hobbits, who mostly want to avoid trouble and stay at home with a book and a good snack. Maybe The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings count as two of the three books?  I think The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was probably formative for me as well, particularly in terms of its fatalistic dark humor. 

Mark: I’ve definitely always identified with Satan in Paradise Lost--he is actually an ethical person who has no choice but to fractiously rebel against his creator because that’s how he was made.  He feels bad about leading the fallen angels into a conflict they are destined to lose, but he doesn’t know how to do anything else. Like Chris, I was weaned on fantasy and science fiction books--the first book I ever took out of the school library of my own accord was Ursula le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea because I liked the cover.  I felt an affinity to the main character, the wizard Ged, who winds up in a conflict with his own shadow, which he liberated in a ritual he was not supposed to be doing.  The shadow winds up killing his beloved pet otak, which spoke to me at the time because my parents had just gotten divorced and my mother bought me a jet-black rabbit at the state fair that I named Obsidian that was eaten by a coyote about a week later. 

Before I read “serious” books, the first books I read were comic books and I was obsessed with the X-Men, particularly the character Nightcrawler, who was the most freakish of the already freakish team. There is a graphic novel called God Loves, Man Kills in which a televangelist tries to exorcise Nightcrawler, which I found particularly moving.  I have a drawing of Nightcrawler’s signature “BAMF” onomatopoeia that appears when he teleports done by his late creator David Cockrum for me at a comic book convention when I was 12 or so that is one of my prized possessions.

Choose one painting that describes who you are. What is it?  

“The Sphinx & The Milky Way” by Charles Burchfield (Mark)

“Torches Mauve” by Franz Kline (Chris)

What’s a gif or meme that you relate to?

Mark:  I see this as akin to Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog but with more screaming. 

via GIPHY

Chris: This meme is a pretty solid representation of chronic anxiety.

What do you imagine the apocalypse is like? How would you want to die?  

Chris: In middle school, I thought a lot about nuclear war and assumed that we’d all die in a fireball at any moment. (There was a period of several months where I didn’t want to be in a room without a radio or TV playing because I wanted to be able to hear the warning broadcasts as soon as they started.) Now I imagine the apocalypse as slow moving, a game of inches where basic resources like clean water are hoarded by the wealthy. As for how I’d want to die… I hope I’m at peace with friends and loved ones, no matter the circumstances.

Mark: Under the Baron Trump administration, faculty at Trump National Stable Geniuses University College must, in addition to their yearly self-evaluations, submit paperwork detailing how they are employing The Art of the Deal Parts 47-72 in their curriculum to Make America Great Again Again Again in order to justify their annual rations of Trump Sausage and potable water.  I will forget about the deadline and be summarily executed the last semester before I retire at age 108.

If you could only watch three films for the rest of your life, what would they be?  

Chris: The Empire Strikes Back, The Fellowship of The Ring, and Heathers.

Mark: Labyrinth, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  (It was really difficult to just pick three). 

Where do you find inspiration lately?

Chris: The second season of the show Fleabag is one of the best things that I’ve seen in ages. 

Mark:  I have been writing poems to Bill Evans compositions lately, as well as finishing up a project where I “write” poems to episodes of the old Leonard Nimoy paranormal TV docuseries In Search Of.  I have done almost all of the hundreds of episodes, so I will need to find something else pretty soon.  

Where did you write most of your book? 

Chris: The poems in Dictionnaire Infernal are part of five years’ worth of poems that Mark and I have written together. Each April (aka National Poetry Month), we’ve written a poem a day and posted it to a blog. At the point when we were writing this particular series, one of us would choose a picture of a demon and riff on it, then the other person would finish the poem from there. I would often write my half of the poem first thing in the morning before homeroom at the high school where I teach or maybe later in the day while proctoring a study hall. 

Mark:  Likewise, definitely written either at home or at my office at Housatonic Community College. 

What was something surprised you recently?

Chris: This summer, we went to the shore for the first time in a few years. Our kids, who are now 16 years old (they’re fraternal twins), just got up and… went to the beach with a friend, aka without us. It was a jolt to realize that, Oh, right, they’re at an age where we don’t have to watch them in the water the whole time and scold them if they swim out too far. Although of course we ended up doing some of that, too. If I turned this anecdote into a piece of creative nonfiction, I’d begin to work some sort of metaphor here. 

Mark: At the risk of sounding cliché, as Chris mentions, parenting is pretty much a continuous stream of surprises.  To be honest, I was pretty ambivalent about becoming a parent, but ultimately I find it to be the best thing in the world.  Even at 2, my daughter is my best friend and we continue to discover surprising things about the world. I find it really easy to adopt the perspective of a small child and to see the world in that way, which is a nice panacea to the way I usually see the world. 

What do you carry with you at all times?   

Mark: Major depression and my iPod.  Yeah, I still have an iPod. 

Chris: Journal, iPhone, a 20-sided die, and an asthma inhaler.

Tell us a bit about your writing process. What works and what doesn't? What doesn't, but you keep trying it anyway?

 Chris: Left to my own devices, I’m a fairly slow, fussy writer who builds from scraps and takes a long time to shape those fragments into whole poems. I’ve tried to push myself to approach the process differently, often through the use of source texts, but the idea of a larger “project” tends to fall flat each time, and I end up writing more lyric poems with Duran Duran references in them. Collaborating with Mark over the years has freed me from my own obsessiveness - with those poems, I work quickly and don’t look back. Sometimes, though, there is still some Duran Duran.

Mark: I guess I am an ideal counterpoint to Chris because I tend to work quickly and improvisationally.  I identify with Jack Spicer’s adage that writing is dictation--it’s like capturing a mere segment of a steady flow of words.  Most of the “writing” occurs in revision and making things more (or less, depending) lucid and readable to other people, although I don’t necessarily concern myself with this too much.  It helps to have something to focus on, so I do a lot of what might be called ekphrastic writing, though the pieces themselves are rarely that ekphrastic.  Oftentimes I wind up with pieces titled for the source of the inspiration or improvisation that have little or nothing to do with the source content. I liken this to the jazz tradition of improvising upon standards. 

When I try to write something specifically “about” something starting from scratch, it usually fails pretty miserably.  Lately, though, I have been able to write more narrative things stemming from my quotidian life, which is definitely something I’ve had trouble doing in the past. 

 What are some of your daily rituals or routines?  

Chris: I’m trying to get better at establishing healthy routines. I want to meditate more regularly, for instance, but I have a tough time really establishing it as a daily practice. A lot of my established ritual is based around preparation and consumption of coffee, ideally La Colombe’s Corsica blend with Silk soy milk and raw sugar. 

Mark:  Routines are literally impossible for me - despite even my conscious intentions I will subconsciously sabotage anything that smacks of routine to my unconscious brain, which is troublesome when one is caring for a routine-oriented toddler.  I do my best to adhere to her strictly ritualized schedule nevertheless. The only part of my day that is really sacrosanct is reading non-work related stuff, sometimes for even just five minutes due to exhaustion, before I go to sleep. 

What was the hardest part about writing this book?

Chris: The most difficult aspect for me was the self-imposed deadline of finishing a poem every day, but it was also liberating. Mark and I have now completed five Aprils worth of poems - 150 of them! - without missing a day.

Mark: With these and some of the other ekphrastic projects Chris and I have done for NaPoWriMo, it is challenging to write something that isn’t merely a description or a riff on the song or image that we are writing to or about. 

Define happiness for you.  

Chris: Taking an unnecessarily long nap with my cat Frida.

Mark: Hanging out at the beach with my daughter.

Chris McCreary is the author of four books: [neüro / mäntic], undone : a fakebook, Dismembers, and The Effacements. His review of Arrive On Wave, the Collected Poems of Gil Ott, is forthcoming in Tripwire. Mark Lamoureux is is the author of four full-length collections of poems, It’ll Never Be Over for Me, 29 Cheeseburgers + 39 Years, Spectre) and Astrometry Organon. A fifth book, Horologion, is forthcoming from Poet Republik, Ltd. in 2019. Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente