#boys trip !! they had started going to local gigs to seem cool and interesting

[badnew2005]

falling asleep telling myself stories of macden going to see an early fob show . self indulgence is fun sometimes !

#it’s the halloween 2003 one . charlie didn’t want to leave the state and they were like fuck no dee ur not coming w us #boys trip !! they had started going to local gigs to seem cool and interesting #and like dens college buddy told them ab this one #they’re jumping and dancing and screaming at eachother in some corner . forget ab picking up girls

[akaashisupremacy]

Connecting Flights w/Iwa

Summary: On Hajime Iwaizumi’s flight back to Japan, he meets an unexpected friend from his past who is a little hung up on someone else. 

Iwaizumi x fem!reader/Oc || Read it on A03

Genre : romance, friends to lovers (wc: 2.2k) 

Notes: Hiromi Miura is an original character, but readers are free to put themselves into her shoes! Coming of age fics are fun to write but I wanted to explore a world centered around adulthood that included a work life outside one’s significant other. Hope you can give me feedback on whatever world-building I’ve done. Successive chapters will def have more Iwa. 

Hiromi Miura packed the last of her toiletries into her large black check-in luggage. Rolling the luggage out into the hallway, she checked her phone for the third time in ten minutes. Her boss, Hayate Hoshizora stood in the hallway waiting for her with her own luggage standing beside her.

“Where’s Tsuchida?” she asked.

Itsumi Tsuchida was the third member of their team of three and Hiromi’s room mate for the trip. She handled production and logistics so Hiromi and Hayate could write and shoot their articles on food history without worry. Despite her astounding efficiency with her work, Itsumi had a habit of being late.

“Itsumi is almost out. She’ll be here in a minute.” said Hiromi.

The three checked out of the small business hotel before going their separate ways for their last minute shopping. Hiromi wanted to window shop for shoes and cosmetics while Hayate set out to buy some omiyage for her family. Itsumi offered to accompany Hiromi on the condition they stop by for milk tea.

“Let’s meet outside of Time Square before 12 for lunch. I’m going to buy some jerky and maybe some dried goods. Do you guys want anything?” asked Hayate before they set off.

Hiromi declined. Itsumi asked for some jerky for her own omiyage.

As the two junior members of Hayate’s team entered Time Square, Itsumi noticed Hiromi was checking her phone again. She had been doing so whenever she could during the trip.

“Still no texts from Eita?” she asked Hiromi.

“Nope,” sighed Hiromi. Everything had been going smoothly just last week. She had been texting consistently with Eita. He even offered to call. She would send him photos of their first day in Hong Kong and he would eagerly reply.

Come the day before yesterday, he stopped replying all of a sudden. Hiromi had begun to worry that things had fallen apart without knowing why. Their last conversation was on Hong Kong protests. Eita fumed against the injustice, Hiromi agreed with him and nothing came after that. Maybe he joined the resistance?

“I don’t know what went wrong. I thought he liked me.” she moaned, “We have similar political views. Maybe I wasn’t enthusiastic enough when I replied to his call for justice or something.”

“Maybe you should just ask him about it.” Itsumi suggested, rolling her eyes.

“He ignored me for two days what else is there to say?”

“So why are you still looking at your phone?” Itsumi asked, with her brow raised at her co-worker, “Come, let’s go shopping to keep your mind off things.”

————————————————————————————

Hiromi and Itsumi had a penchant for hole in the wall restaurants. For their last meal, they asked to eat at a restaurant at the back of Time Square, nestled between narrow shopping alleyways. It was the first restaurant they ate in upon arrival and it would be their last meal too. They both ordered a bowl of wonton noodle soup and  a serving of bok choy shared between the three of them. Hayate ordered chicken noodle soup for herself.

The restaurant was small and narrow, not to mention humid from all the steaming and the boiling from the kitchen. Although the lunchtime service was quick and brash, the two did not seem to mind. The girls were well-travelled and cosmopolitan. They were used to environments different from the quiet efficiency of Japan. Hayate found it chaotic but the team did not get many out of country assignments so she took what she could.

Hiromi in particular specialized in writing about Southeast Asian diasporic (meaning a scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale) cuisine. Noise hardly fazed her but apparently boy problems did.

“Hiromi, you looked so forlorn. Are you really that sad about leaving Hong Kong?” she joked. Hiromi’s focus in her work was second to none. Her tolerance to mediocre young men, less so.

“There’s a boy who hasn't been texting back…” trailed Itsumi.

Hayate didn’t pry, but the girls opened up to her for just about anything.

“Oh, hmmm don’t overthink it.” she said.

“It’s ok, I mean he’s smart and artistic and he knows my friends, but I guess I wasn’t interesting enough.” wailed Hiromi in between bites of her noodles.

“Honestly, if he can’t be bothered to speak with you clearly, he doesn’t deserve your time.” said Hayate, sipping her scorching hot red tea burning a bit of throat in the process. Her eyes grew wide as her throat grew numb.

“That’s true, besides I feel like you’re more worried about why he doesn’t like you than the actual relationship.” sighed Itsumi, mixing some soy sauce, chili oil and black vinegar for their wonton dip.

“Enough moping, let’s eat and talk about something else.” exhaled Hiromi, raising her hand to call for cold water for Hayate.

The topic shifted to work. They were excited about editing the photos. Hayate couldn’t wait to unpack but was a little sad about going back to the office again. Itsumi dreaded doing the liquidation and desk work for their Hong Kong trip. Hiromi was buzzing with ideas for their next assignment and was hoping to pitch recipe ideas to the cooking staff at their next meeting.

Just before boarding, a familiar figure caught Hiromi’s eye. A tall, tanned boy with a lean muscular physique stood a few rows in front of her. He was wearing a white shirt and black athleisure pants. Iwaizumi from college?

The three were seated separately on the plane. Hiromi was seated near the back while Hayate and Itsumi were on the second row. As she got to her seat, Hiromi was surprised to find Hajime Iawizumi beside her, blinking sleepily at the seat in front of him.

“Miura-san!” he said in incredulity realizing that his college friend was right beside him in his Hong Kong layover.  

“Iwa! It is you! I thought I saw you while we boarded.” she said, shoving her carry on onto the storage, “Also, do you really have to be so formal?”

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“What are you doing in Hong Kong?” she asked simultaneously.

“I just finished my time in LA. I’m moving back to Japan. This is my last layover.” he yawned, popping a breath-mint into his mouth.

“I work as a food writer and researcher for a publication in Tokyo. My team and I are just finishing up our assignment in Hong Kong. We get out of country assignments from time to time. I’m still kind of new, but when I become a veteran I’m hoping to get more regular trips.”

“Cool! I’m moving to Tokyo next week because I got a gig training members of a Division 1 Volleyball League! This week, I’ll be home to do some laundry and just get things in order.” he said.

“If you need help moving or settling in let me know. I moved to Tokyo just last year.” she offered, “It was crazy.”

Iwaizumi nodded and thanked her for her offer. They continued catching up as the plane took off and soon the stewardess began handing out food.

“I’m so tired of plane food. It’s all I’ve eaten in the past twenty four hours,” he sighed.

“This has definitely got nothing on everything I’ve eaten so far” she exhaled, “I can’t wait to go home, even my own cooking is better than this. I got lots of new recipe ideas to try too.”

“I thought you said you were a writer. Do they make you cook at work too?” he inquired. It seemed like her job required an awful lot of skills for one position.

“I can cook to some capacity. I don’t really cook at work, it just helps if I know how.” she waved.

They ate in silence, chewing through the mediocre airline food.

“By the way, I need some boy advice. Do you have space to hear me out?” she inhaled, gathering her courage before she unloaded her questions on her friend.

“Sure? What about it?” he shrugged.

Hiromi opened up about her latest romance and its frustrations. She gave him a bit of background on who he was and how they started the relationship particularly the wishy washy feelings about their courtship.

“Do you really like this guy? You’re having more questions and doubts than answers. That’s not really a good sign. You can go ahead and be upfront but is this guy worth it?” he asked thoughtfully.

“I don’t know. I want to give it a chance but each time I think about him I get more confused and anxious.” she sighed, putting down her utensils. She bumped her head against the chair in front of her.

“He also hasn’t texted back in a few days without saying why.” she promptly added, looking to him. Iwa jerked back, his arms in a flurry.

“Scratch what I said. I don’t think the relationship is going to work. It’s not serious enough for him if he can’t at least let you know why he goes off the grid.”

Her face fell, shoulders sinking into her back.

“Sorry,” apologised Iwa, pausing to empathize with her.

“I kind of already know this and I guess I just hate uncertainty suspense. I don’t know why I feel so affected to hear it out loud.” she groaned, massaging her temples. Iwa was not good at hearing about boy problems. He didn’t really know what to say.

“Why’d you go for him anyway?” he asked, thoughtfully chewing some eggs and shifting in his seat. The seat was obviously a bit narrow for his shoulders. Hiromi moved a bit to her right to allow him more space.

Her poster straightened up while she plopped her elbows onto the table. She clasped her hands together and thought for a bit before turning to him, her eyes wide and a tad bit glassy.

“He just ticked the boxes you know? I knew him from college and we understand the other worlds we worked in. He’s smart, artistic and apparently he’s been crushing on me since freshman year or something like that. I wasn’t seeing anyone so I thought I’d give it a shot.”

“But why are you adamant to make it work is what I mean?”

Hiromi shrugged her shoulders, “I can’t help but feel like it reflects on me. I feel like I’m not worthy enough when I can’t make a relationship work with someone who ticks the boxes.”

“I really hate dating and letting someone have this much control over my emotions though.” she growled at the chair in front of her.

Iwa had a small smile to himself, glad he was not in her place. She had always been the one better at giving advice when they were in uni together. He wished he could return the favor.

Before he got together with his college girlfriend, he was swimming in a lot of doubts about himself. It was difficult for him to speak about just anyone, but Hiromi was one of few who could coax the subject out of him.

“So how are you two getting on?” Hirom had asked him.

They were sitting together in the school cafeteria for lunch. Usually they sat with common friends and some classmates, but today they were alone which meant she could pry on Iwa’s love life. Even when Iwa wanted to talk about his girl problems, he had difficulty opening up. She saw it as her mission to initiate the conversation to help him out.

Iwa scratched the back of his head and sighed, “I don’t really know how I could be a better replacement for her ex. I’m not her first anything. I’m not any more good looking, or smarter or more athletic than he was. I’m not even nicer. I really don’t know if I’m worth the shot.”

His brow furrowed in concern. His lips were midway between a pout and a scowl.

She choked on her lunch. More often than not, it was Iwa encouraging other people and giving square judgement. Iwa was by no means arrogant, but he was also not self-deprecating. Hearing him speak about himself this so despondently was out of his character.

“Iwa, dating is not a competition!” she managed to say while pounding on her chest. Iwa handed her some water.

“I guess…” he mumbled.

After slugging down some water, Hiromi composed herself, “Yeah, her ex may have been great, but you’re great too! She likes you now which is why even if her ex is still in some of her friend circles she’d still rather date you.”

Iwa perked up a bit and smiled at his food.

“Just because you’re not her first doesn’t mean you can’t have a meaningful relationship right? What’s this obsession with being first? It’s not added value.” she said thoughtfully, putting her face between her hands as she leaned into her tray.

That lunch seemed so long ago. Who would’ve known that their next lunch after college would be a plane in between Hong Kong and Tokyo?

“Hey, are you still using the same email? Let’s keep in touch when we get back. I’m holding you by your promise to show me around.” he grinned, handing her his phone.

She continued sulking in half-hearted despair at the seat in front of her while she took his phone.

“Cheer up! I’m sure you’ll find someone in Tokyo.” he added, settling himself back into his chair looking at her.

-------------------------------------

Taglist: @scrappydaisies @itstheee-ha-chan

#iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi x y/n #iwaizumi x you #iwaizumi hajime #haikyuu!! #haikyuu fanfiction #hq fanfic #hq iwaizumi #hq writing #haikyuu fanfic #hq fic #hq fics #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu x me #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fic

[lgcyunhyeong]

hey there!! this is my first time in lgc and i’m super excited to be here! i’ve been eyeing this place for a while and i’m glad i finally mustered up the nerve to join. this is cho yunhyeong, 21, works part time at his local gs25. he’s been a trainee for little over a year and is hoping to eventually debut in a band! he plays the bass and sings a little bit, and he also wants to get into songwriting and composition eventually. he’s generally kind of a weird kid--super spacey, often distracted, your local space nerd--but he’s a good egg in spite of that. compared to some of the other trainees, he’s pretty aimless and chill, but he does genuinely love music and performing, so...!

you can find some more info about him on his about and background pages but they’re kind of messy so i’ll drop some quick facts about yunhyeong under the cut, along with some connection/plot ideas to hopefully kickstart things! if you’d like to plot, please hit like on this post and i’ll hop into your ims! i also have a discord if you prefer to plot there - just ask me for my username ♡

quick facts:

born and brought up in seoul - very local, most comfortable in his neighbourhood, the most exciting vacation he ever took was to busan (and it was #lit). his parents own the best hot pot restaurant in seoul, and yeah he’s biased but that doesn’t mean it’s not true! 

has an older brother currently in law school and their relationship is best described as ‘i tolerate you’. they’re complete opposites - his brother is super driven and loud and outgoing while yunhyeong is not so they’ve never really clicked beyond the fact that they are siblings and therefore are obligated to love each other

was the quiet kid growing up, had a very chill and subdued personality. didn’t really speak unless spoken too, didn’t play much with others. most of the time he kept to himself and focused on his hyperfixations - first, it was dinosaurs, and then space! and he’s been stuck with space ever since

his mom put him in music lessons when he was younger in hopes that a relatable hobby might help him make friends?? also that it’d work as a conversation starter but it didn’t because yunhyeong remained as weird and solitary as ever! he did fall in love with music as a result though

in high school he decided to branch out and make friends by starting a band - new age sexy aliens or NASA for short. his recruitment process was like: whoever shows up to join is part of the band! it worked out for the best since he and the band members got really close

they started off playing covers but then branched out into their own original music (yunhyeong helped write some of their lyrics). most of their songs used heavy space imagery and they were really pretty but also low key about aliens

yunhyeong loves aliens

nasa had a pretty dedicated fanbase both online and in their school! did well, were thriving, living their best lives and playing hella gigs, and then their lead singer got scouted by an entertainment company. it was the beginning of the end for them; the rest of the members went their own ways as well and the band officially disbanded in 2018 rip

yunhyeong started to busk on/off since he wasn’t attending university and didn’t really know what the heck else he wanted to do with his life outside of the band, and that’s where he got scouted by legacy! joined the company because like... well... why would he not...

wants to debut in a band if he can... and focus on songwriting and music composition as a secondary career path. he isn’t like... super motivated though? has always had issues with setting goals and being ambitious... he’s more like, eh, i’m just gonna go where life takes me! 

personality wise, he’s still a pretty quiet kid unless you get him talking about one of his interests, in which case he will never shut up EVER. he gets distracted easily and will sometimes zone out when you’re talking to him but has a good memory of like, the most random shit you wouldn’t expect him to recall

easygoing as hell, rarely gets riled up over anything. on the flip side, he doesn’t really come across as sincere (even though he almost always is!) in his emotions because people are like... hm... just feels fake. tries to stay as positive as he can and doesn’t dwell on stuff that might upset him. sometimes people think he’s shallow! but he has #deepthoughts. he just doesn’t share them

unmotivated when it comes to most things! has no goals, no ambition, doesn’t care much for academia or being forced to like, conform to things. his mom calls him a free spirit but she’s probably just making excuses for him. it’s more like he’s stuck in some sort of limbo?? scared of growing up but scared of being left behind. it’s complicated

he’s really a sweet guy though. a little odd - he’s not the best at showing affection and sometimes he can be really... strange? offbeat? you never know what the fuck is going on in his head. but he’s a Human Being Just Like You (sadly) and simply trying his best to live every day

connection/plot ideas:

he didn’t really have many friends growing up, but still - childhood friends! maybe you were the exception. maybe you didn’t mind that he was awkward and quiet and a little weird! maybe you tripped and fell on the playground and he gave you a star-patterned purple band aid and you decided you would die for him. who knows! 

friends in general who understand him and look @ him with fond exasperation... must be able to tolerate his antics. liking aliens is a bonus. jk, but he’s a sweet guy who loves his friends! please be kind to him

fans of his former band, nasa (or antis?). he was the bassist and a sub vocal and didn’t stand out too much compared to some of the other guys, but he always did the intros and he’ll happily talk about nasa all day! discuss the symbolism of their songs with him

exes? i genuinely cannot think of a single reason why anyone would want to date him but i feel like he’s had at least (1) relationship before... maybe you took a chance and after you started dating you were like, god, i’m running away

crushes, whether one-sided on his part or your part or reciprocated but you don’t know it yet?? he’s holding out for his alien bae but maybe you don’t know that and just think he’s like, this quiet mysterious pretty boy. maybe he thinks you’re cool for a human! 

fellow trainees who can play instruments... yunhyeong needs someone to #jam with because playing the bass alone is kind of lonely (and since he’d like to eventually get on the band track, making some connections would be cool) 

fellow trainees in general, especially ones in his training group!! he’s not as hungry for debut or as ambitious as some which means he’s a) non-threatening and b) chill to hang with. you could be into that or it could absolutely infuriate you since he doesn’t seem to be taking things seriously! maybe you think he doesn’t deserve to be here

met online on an alien enthusiast forum and you talk almost every single day about various theories and moves and all that kind of stuff but you’ve never met irl! and yunhyeong really wants to meet you in person! 

idk bully him 

you’re buying a bunch of weird shit from the convenience store where yunhyeong works at like 2 am and he has so many questions and won’t let you pay and leave until you answer them

alternatively, you find him sleeping on the job and you want to wake him up but the moment you touch his arm, he makes this high pitched screeching noise and you fall over and take an entire shelf of candy down with you

you invite yunhyeong out for drinks but he took one sip of soju and he’s a mess... you didn’t sign up to take care of a giant drunken baby but guess what! you will be! if he tries to kiss you, dodge him

you always bum free meals from yunhyeong’s parents’ restaurant because his parents think you’re his best friend. tbh you actually don’t really like him but he doesn’t realize it so he never bothers correcting his parents either!

you didn’t realize yunhyeong was allergic to cats and dogs and you brought your cat/dog near him and oh my god he is having the UGLIEST allergic reaction

yunhyeong can’t swim. you push him into a pool as a joke. chaos ensues

you play various video games together and yunhyeong is really good but he’s more interested in stardew valley than in league of legends and you keep pestering him to play with you dammit i need you on my team

you slipped a love letter under his door for one of his roommates but yunhyeong thought it was for him and now he keeps (kindly) rejecting you whenever you see him and you don’t even know how to react

Oh No We Are Trapped In This Room And The Power Went Out And I Am Scared Of The Dark Please Hold My Hand For Science

yunhyeong loves smoothies and one day you catch him trying to blend a slice of pepperoni pizza into a smoothie because he is, and i quote, “tired of chewing”

IDK ALL THESE IDEAS ARE BAD BUT PLEASE PLOT WITH ME ANYWAY

#lgc:intro #( * out of ufos ! ) #( why did i write so much ) #( this post is long and ugly ) #( ummmm i'm sorry but i'm excited to be here!! ) #( pls plot with my weird dumb baby )

[dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade]

Shoelace

So this is the first request I got, thank you anon, hope you’re seeing this and you like it!! Title isn’t quite the best, sorry about that lol

Request:  I know the boys have mentioned that they go to thrift and antique shops often and that's were they get most of their clothes. Could you write a story about shopping in an antique shop and (literally) running into the boys there? Warnings: none Word count: 1418 words Thoughts and memories are written in italic. 

You woke up really early in the morning, the loud sound of the cars being the reason. You usually liked to sleep in, but since you were already up, it was no use to go back to sleep. You figured you could just watch the sunrise.

While you changed your pajama with the clothes you chose for the day, you watched the calendar on your wall. Tomorrow was the day. You had a big smiling face drawn next to the number of tomorrow’s date.

Finally. It felt like this day would never come, you thought and smiled to yourself as you put water in the kettle, waiting for it to boil.

You have grown up in a music-loving family and you easily picked up this love for bands, and music in general. You have always dreamt of having your own band and seeing the world, but most importantly, you dreamt of expressing your feelings with people and connecting with them.

Tomorrow was the day you would finally see Greta Van Fleet live. You bought tickets months in advance. It blew your mind how these boys that were your age managed to get so far already, and the idea that this is just the beginning of their evolution blew your mind even more. Even though their home town was in the same state as you were living in, you never got a chance to see them perform.

While you were sitting by the window, deep in thoughts and your excitement almost sky-rocketing, you noticed that the water for your tea just started boiling. You poured yourself a cup, and put in the tea packet and kept the cup in your hands, warming yourself.

Today you had a free day from work; actually even better- the whole week was free. You decided to call your best friend and ask her to join you to a day out. You needed to go thrifting to find the perfect outfit for the gig tomorrow.

Like she read your mind, your phone lit up. You read the text message: “Figured since tomorrow is the big day, we need to go shopping. Meet you at 11 by the fountain. Love ya”

You smiled and just answered her text with a thumbs up emoji.

You let your phone fall back on the bed sheets and returned to the window and admired the beauty of the sunrise, while slowly sipping on your tea.

Before going out, you decided to have a look in your closet and tried to put together an outfit, but nothing had that vibe you were looking for.

Time passed faster than expected, so now you were running late. You were always running late when you had to meet your friends.

It was 15 minutes pass 11, and Lisa, your best friend, wasn’t there either. You rolled your eyes and waited patiently. Soon, she appeared down the street, not hurrying and taking her time. You two were almost opposites, but the way you could understand each other made your friendship work. You were like Ying and Yang.

You greeted each other and started visiting the thrift shops one by one. In each one you found several good pieces, but none were exactly what you were looking for, but you still took them anyway.

Three hours must have passed since you and Lisa were walking from store to store, and you finally reached the last one, which was actually one of your favorites.

This shop always met your dreams. Whatever pieces you had in your mind, you could always find it there – from sweaters, to pants, handmade dreamcatchers and antique jewelry.

You and Lisa walked in, ready for action. The moment you entered the store, your eye caught a couple of items. You picked them off the shelf, and on your way to the dressing cabin, you picked up a couple more.

You tried on what you got and asked Lisa to come in and give her honest opinion on the outfit you put together, but she didn’t answer.

“Lisa!” you called out one more time. Still no answer. You put on your shoes and picked up the clothes you were previously dressed with and stepped out of the cabin. You looked around the corner and once you saw she wasn’t there, you jogged to where you’ve last seen her.

In your brisk jog, you stepped on your untied shoelace and tripped over, almost falling over a group of men that were looking at the vintage shirts section.

“Holy- “ you heard the moment you realized you didn’t hit the floor, but you were dangerously close to it. You had your eyes tightly shut, waiting for the moment of the impact, but since it didn’t come, you dared to peek at the surroundings.

That was the moment you would have fallen again, if you weren’t already kept inches off the floor by a strong pair of arms. It was like one of those cliché movie moments, when the guy catches the girl just before falling in front of him.

“Are you okay?” the dark haired man asked you as one of his shorter- much shorter- friends came to your help.

“You almost had quite a fall,” the shorter one talked and laughed.

As surreal as it seemed, they were the boys from Greta Van Fleet. You gulped and your cheeks heated up.

“Yeah, thanks for catching me,” you managed to say. “I would have probably been missing a tooth now if it weren’t for you,” you tried to lighten up the atmosphere.

“Daniel, actually Danny,” the man who caught you presented himself and his lips formed a smile. But you already knew who was each one of them, and honestly, you were trying not to fangirl.

“Y/F/N,” you introduced yourself.

The shorter one stretched out his hand. “Josh,” he said and you grabbed it and shook it. “These are my brothers, Jake and Sam,” he added and pointed to each one of them. The two of them witnessed the whole thing as well, but immediately resumed looking through a small basket of necklaces.

“I’m a big fan,” you spoke up and your cheeks heated up a little bit more.

They all stopped what they were doing, and a smile spread on all their faces. “Happy to hear that! It is an overwhelming feeling, at least for me, every time we meet fans, because we have been fans all our lives, and now we are the ones sharing a message and people are taking it in with love,” Josh said.

His little speech made you smile and just as you were about to say something, Lisa approached you.

“Have you seen this-“ she started but stopped. “Oh my…”

The boys laughed at her reaction as you stood in silence, figuring you already had the color of a tomato, but it didn’t matter.

“Are you coming to the gig tomorrow?” Sam asked, his brown eyes looking straight into yours. You just nodded as an answer. “Do you live here?” he questioned again and this time Lisa confirmed.

“Cool! Can’t wait to see you there!” Josh joined in the chat. “You said your name is Y/N, right?” he asked again as he took a post-it note out of his khaki pants’ back pocket and took a ballpoint pen off the counter in the store. You nodded again and watched him with interest.

“Here you go,” he said quickly and handed you the post-it. It had a VIP backstage code that stood instead of a pass for the concert tomorrow. Both you and Lisa got one.

You gasped as your eyes burned a little, that little burn before the tears. You hugged Josh and thanked him multiple times. “Sorry, shouldn’t have done that,” you admitted slightly embarrassed at your behavior.

“It’s alright darling,” he smiled and hugged you back.

The hugs continued for a quite a while. These boys were so humble and down to earth. They had the kindest souls that you have ever crossed paths with. It still seemed so surreal. Meeting them in your local thrift store wasn’t something you expected when you woke up that morning.

“So since you’re locals, would you want to show us around for a good place to have lunch?” Jake asked and smiled.  Lisa let out an excited squeal and nodded.

“What kind of place would you like to go to?” you asked, trying to contain yourself.

“Whichever is your favorite, since you two will be joining us,” Josh grinned.

Tags: @myownparadise96, @jeordinevankiszka, @littlegeekwonder

#greta van fleet #greta van fleet fanfiction #gvf #gvf fic #gvf fanfic #requested #anon #thrift shop #thrift store #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #music #fanfiction #writing

[intergalacticsuperstar]

Extraterrestrial | Alien!Tom Holland AU | Part 8

Hope everyone likes part 8! Thanks for reading! Give me some feedback when you’re done?

if you enjoy this, will you reblog? :D

Series Summary:

You had been waiting for something exhilarating in your life to happen for as long as you could remember. It was easy to get bored when you live in a small town, live alone, and work in a grocery store. You dreamed of living an exciting life, and your wishes were about to come true. One day, a naked glowing boy shows up in your backyard speaking about things that are simply out of this world.

Words: 1473

Warnings: none

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Part Eight

You were embarrassed. 

You knew that you were not the one who should be freaking out. The new aliens on your planet were not aware of your existence. At least, you were assuming they weren’t.

When you got home, you had calmed down quite a bit. The drive was fast but had a ringing sense of normality and structure that made your mind quit swimming in circles.

You knew Tom was concerned. You wish he had said something to you on the ride home, but he was silent. For the entire trip, his head was tilted down as his mind was obviously spinning, trying to comprehend what was happening. Tom’s kind was here, and they wanted to kill him. Or at least, Hazzion did anyways. It seemed, however, that Hazzion’s sister, the Grand Duchess of Commerce for the planet of Maxmirius, had other plans. 

When you finally entered the safety that was your living room, you turned and looked at Tom. He stared back at you with an identical, ‘What do we do now?’ expression.

“So, that was your cousin, or cousins, I mean?” You asked him.

He nodded, “Yes, that was my cousin Hazzion and my cousin Zenira. And their minions that they insisted on bringing, of course.”

He scoffed. He set his jacket on the couch and sat down with a huff. 

“If I hadn’t been so...dumb. I should’ve stuck with my normal crew and none of this would’ve happened.” He added.

You shook your head and sat down next to him, staring at him sympathetically. “No, Tom, you can’t blame yourself. You had no idea what they were planning.”

He looked at you graciously and sighed, “Maybe, but either way, my entire planet is about to fall under that idiot’s leadership if I don’t get home.”

You wanted to be able to help him, but truthfully there was nothing you could do except provide a place for him to hide.

“What about the escape pod? What if they find it and just take it?” You asked him, worried.

He thought for a moment and then added, “No. The breakaway capsules are extremely difficult to reattach. They would need mechanics from Maxmirius, and they don’t have any.”

You nodded, accepting the answer. After a while of peaceful silence, the alien asked, “Are you okay? You were pretty shaken up back there. I know that was pretty scary.”

You shook it off, trying to make yourself appear not as terrified that you really were. “I’m fine. It’s just...How can they be so hateful? All for power? And your planet is supposed to be more developed than mine.”

He smiled at your facial reaction towards the end of your sentence. You could stare at his smile all day. 

“Just because a planet is a stage 5, does not mean it is perfect. Besides, our planet is one of the top powers of the universe. We’ve known about other worlds long before the intergalactic stage laws were put into place.”

“Okay, okay, prince or duke or whatever- of the universe. I get it, you’re special.” You both laughed, while he made a mocking face.

You and the alien calmed down and the room grew in silence as if you had both realized that there was a group of aliens trying to kill your alien. 

“So… I guess we lay low for awhile?” You said, and he just looked at you confused. You sighed and had to explain to him the phrase before agreed that it would be in your guy’s best interests to stay in the house until it was safe. The only question was: when would it be safe?

----------------------

Three days passed before you started to get cabin fever. The past 72 hours had been full of education between you and Tom. He wanted to know about your world, and you wanted to know about his. 

You had learned so much about him. He described his favorite places to go on his planet, his favorite planet to visit, his favorite hobbies, favorite food. You also learned more of what he could do in his alien mode. You knew he had the abilities to transform into any species he wanted to and speak their language perfectly (which was already really cool), but he could also sense when an object from his planet was around, and he also had really insane night vision. 

It was strange how normal he seemed, despite being an entirely different species. You wished you would be here for when the rest of the galaxy revealed itself to the Earth. Would the humans react well?

Around three o’clock on the third day, you were growing antsy. Tom was sprawled in front of the TV watching the fifth Harry Potter movie. 

You groaned and sat up dramatically, pausing the TV, “I have to get out of here.”

Tom perked up and furrowed his brow at you, “But, what about...you know?” He was referring obviously to his cousins, but you were over it.

“It’s been three days! They’ve probably already searched here anyways. I want to go dancing or something! I’m bored!”

You sounded like a whiny child, but you didn’t care. You just wanted to get out of the house.

Tom sighed, and then looked around at the very lived in living room. You could tell that he was also dying to get out and do some exploring. “Fine, but we have to be careful and you're staying with me the whole time.”

You immediately agreed and then went to your room to get dressed. You made yourself look presentable and then went back to Tom to make sure he was alright. He looked nice, considering the fact you had both been in pajamas for three days. 

You had decided to take him to one of your favorite bars. It wasn’t insanely crowded, but still fun and upbeat. There was always a live band, but it was also pretty easy to socialize in. When you arrived, Tom announced that it smelled ‘awful,’ but you just smiled and gave him a drink.

Tom was all into the band, which was mediocre at best. They were just some local band that the bar had given a one night gig to, but if you asked him, they were a top charting group.

You held Tom’s hand, trying to walk through the crowds to the other side of the room by the large windows, but you bumped right into someone. It was your cousin, Michael.

“Y/N? Twice in the same week? This is crazy.” 

You smiled and gave your cousin a hug. He nodded to Tom awkwardly and then turned his attention back to you.

“What are you doing here?” He asked you.

“I’m just showing Tom the greatest bar in town.” You answered with a smile. 

The three of you hung out for a while until eventually, you pulled Tom out to the dance floor, just playing around and jumping wildly. You had already had a couple of drinks, but you felt fine. Tom seemed awkward at first, but then he saw how much fun you were having and joined in, smiling ear to ear. 

You danced for a long time until both of your guy’s feets were aching, but you didn’t care. You had made fun cheering for this average-at-best band and you were having an amazing time with your alien friend and your cousin.

Around midnight, you had to use the bathroom. “I’m going to go the restroom! I’ll be right back! Go talk to Michael.” You shouted to Tom over the band’s sloppy cover of “Crocodile Rock.” He nodded and smiled at you as you walked away. 

You enter the bathroom flustered. The first thing you did was look in the mirror. Your cheeks were red, your hair was wild, and there was a never-ending grin sitting happily upon your face. You were glowing. You didn’t remember the last time you felt so alive and free, and with a cute boy nonetheless, even if he was an alien.

You stepped into a stall and relieved yourself, but it wasn’t long until you heard the door open. Not thinking much of it, you stepped out to wash your hands. A girl was staring in the mirror, checking her hair. 

Finally, she turned to you with a forced smile, “Having a nice evening?” Assuming she was simply making small talk, you smiled back and said, “Yeah. It’s nice. You?”

“Great.” She said, the smile never leaving her lips. 

You walked to the paper towels, grabbed one, and walked in front of the mirror, trying to control your hair. But then, your heart dropped. The girl was right behind you. 

“What are you-” You tried to manage a sentence out, but before you could a syringe was plunged into your neck.

Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good. What do you guys think is going to happen? Thanks for reading!

Taglist: @casualprincess77 , @thollcnds , @isabellamozarella03 , @hopelesslywaitingforfood , @shakaholland , @emmeanintellectual , @aussie-mantle

#tom holland #tom holland au #tom holland imagine #tom holland fic #tom holland drabble #tom holland fluff #Tom holland angst #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fanfiction #hollanders #tom holland fandom #Tom Holland series #tom holland spiderman #tom holland spider #spiderman #spider man: homecoming #spider man #spider-man #spider-man: homecoming #marvel #avengers #au #fic #fanfic #fanfiction

[deanmiles13]

AND THE AWARD GOES TO... My time on Hollywoods dime.

The Musicians Wanted ad in the back of The Rocket read: 

Guitarist looking to join up with like minded individuals. Influences include Iggy and The Stooges, Sonic Youth, and The Cramps. 

That was all I needed to see. This had to be my guy. I was looking for musicians, having just left Rancid Vat and Alcoholics Unanimous. 

AT SMEGMA STUDIOS WITH RANCID VAT 1992

My own project, for the 1st time. 

Actually, I had another “project band” in Tucson called Butchers 4 Piece. 

I wanted to start a “Dirge” band. Pre “Grunge” The Melvins were pretty much as heavy as you could get. B4P was my need to play heavy guitar and write with my best buddy Abel. We picked on every clique in the scene with the lyrics. 

Having heard the Melvins on tour in 87’, I was blown away. We were in Riverside CA with a band called Twisted. 

The band I was in, Opinion Zero from Tucson, was gonna be on Alchemy Records, which is the label the Melvins 1st album was on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mascara_Snake

 SO, these Twisted fellas say… “Hey, you ever heard of these dudes, The Melvins?” 

“Uh…. NO. What kinda name is The MELVINS!!!” 

The sound that came out was a methed out, metal riffing, band that stopped on a dime and then went into a heroin paced dirge that was heavier than Black Sabbath.

I loved it!!! 

Song titles likeThe Heaviness of the Load, Big as a Mountain, Over From Under the Excrement. Man!!!

Anyway… 

I was hoping to get back to doing a HEAVY band again and this ad just spoke to me. The Rocket was a Seattle-Portland Rock magazine, in newsprint form. 

It was the Bible for what was happening throughout each month in Seattle and Portland. Feature articles on local musicians and all the club listings and personal ads! It was priceless, in that sweet spot we had going in the 90’s. 

I get on the old land line phone and end up gettin a hold of this “Jerry” guy and we make plans for him to come over with his guitar to jam. The day comes, he shows up with his guitar, amp and a 6 pack.

We set up in the attic at 27 N. Thompson, where I was living. We make small talk and then I’m propose…

“Lets play a Cramps song!!!” 

I can see this makes him a slightly uncomfortable and he shifts in his seat and says 

“Which one?” 

“Anyone!” I replied. 

He starts to play Goo Goo Muck or Human Fly, and it’s not really all there. Already, I can see the ad was more of a description of bands he was INTO and not really his ability level or influences. 

No worries… 

We jam a bit more, and in my mind, I figure I’ll just keep on looking. After wrapping up our best attempts at a jam, we talk some more. 

Little did I know that I would be spending more time with this guy, inside of a van, than ANY band I have EVER been in.

 He starts by telling me he is from Portland (Salem actually) and had moved to L.A. for a bit and was just getting back to Portland. He played with a band called Trashcan School, a band I knew of and had read about. 

JERRY LA BUCK AND HIS FIRST BORN.

I was impressed!!! 

I asked what he did for work, he said he ran a security company in L.A. 

He told me, mainly set security for movies. 

Now, this IS “Hollywood” and his resume had titles like, oh…

Chopper Chicks From Zombietown

 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103959/

Your usual B list movies, I thought, but he explained that movies worked under working titles sometimes to keep people off the scent. You couldn’t say “Yeah, we are filming Rocky 8 but keep it under your lid!” Although that would have been good….

So this all sounded pretty interesting to my ear.

Myself, I had done security before and had actually recently been fired from my job of 3 years. It was my first job in Portland and it’s where I learned Screen Printing. 

My profession, basically. 

It was at Goldsmiths in Old Town on 5th and Burnside.

https://goldsmithcompany.com/our-story/

Anyway, I got fired from there. Can you believe it? 

ON a side note… 

One day I got a call right after this, and it was the daughter of one of the older Vietnamese women that I worked with. She was old school and spoke no english. 

Mooey!!! 

That’s was her name…. 

I loved all 4’5” of her. Such a lovely woman. 

So her daughter called the house one day and it sounds like someone on tour or something.

A foreign voice and kind of broken up, and we are speaking over each other… 

I can’t really think of who I know on tour in Japan. 

It’s Mooey, having her daughter translate to me that she misses me at work and can’t believe they fired me. She said she loved me and I was a good guy. 

Man, I will never forget that phone call EVER.  I tried real hard to learn what I could while I worked with that crew of Vietnamese. What I learned was, that you can come to America after being lost on the ocean for 3 weeks on a raft, and end up owning 3 homes and a small market. That’s just one of the many incredible things I learned. 

Inspiring/Respect

Back to Jerry…. 

He said he wanted to do something similar up here with the movies and security thing. 

He had a few connections with location managers, but what he really needed was security team. 

He had been doing most of all this work by himself. A lot of this was just sitting in a car and watching a trailer or some prop on set. But still, that could be hard work. And he needed help. So, I threw my hat in the ring and said let me know if you end up getting a movie.

 Right away, he had a gig. 

And it was big. 

I wanna say, a 3 month shoot?

Almost all of it being shot in Portland. 

Timothy Hutton, Faye Dunaway, and Murdock from the A-Team were the main actors he said. 

I had no car at the time and Jerry had a 65 Dodge Dart we called the Clam. 

The trunk didn’t latch and had been connected with bungee cords. Every single bump in the road, that thing would start bouncing up and down. It looked like it was talking to you. 

Man, we had barricades and cones and all sorts of stuff in that car.

We had to block off parking spots and various roads at certain hours for shoots. 

(To annoy a Portland that WAS NOT Hollywood friendly)- Pre Portlandia. 

“Go back to California!!!” was the most common one you were guaranteed to hear. 

We had half of Downtown ready to kill us one afternoon. The shot never even made the final cut. 

Another incident we had all lanes of the Marquam Bridge blocked on a Friday morning, at rush hour, just to get a helicopter shot. 4 TIMES AROUND!!!! There was one guy who followed us to the off ramp, down to Old Spaghetti Factory. 

Pretty scary!!! 

I mean SCARY, like when we had to move all the big wigs out of their personal apartments. 

We found dildos, handcuffs and all sorts of stuff. All the crap they were definitely not taking home. 

There were many things I can recall from those long days on my feet, but I’ll just throw a couple at you.

Towards the end of the shoot one day, Timothy Hutton had a tape he wanted the Make Up guys to play. 

It was a tape of prank phone calls. 

The Jerky Boys. 

First time most people had heard that stuff at that point.

Speaking of Make Up, I witnessed nothing short of miracles come out of those Make Up  trailers. 

The magic they can do with the human face.

Speaking of magic and faces… 

I ended up gettin some face time with Faye Dunaway.

I had my Barfly book, by Bukowski, with me and had an angle to get it signed by the time she was done. 

On the last day, it was the day to do it. 

I asked her P.A. and she shut me down. 

NO WAY. 

Well, this WAS her last day and Faye seemed in a really good mood. 

As she was leaving, Some people were  getting autographs. I wasn’t too much concerned how we looked as a security team, as I was a fan and wanted MY book signed. 

I put it in the mix of outreached hand and she looked at it with a surprised expression. 

She said she had not seen this. NICE… 

I had the page marked and she thumbed her way towards it, stopping to remark on certain pictures and relate little stories. Everyone was enraptured and I was the hero.

Man, was her P.A. fuming by this time. 

Faye signed it and handed it back to me with that smile. 

NO WIRE HANGERS!!!

I shrunk off a little awkward but victorious.

I ended up working one last movie with Jerry and Buckeye Security. 

This one was awesome. 

It was…  Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.

From Wiki:

According to film critic/historian Leonard Maltin, "The novel was hopelessly dated, and there is not enough peyote in the entire American Southwest to render this movie comprehensible or endurable...K.D. Lang's score is the picture's sole worthy component.”

Directed by Gus Van Sant. 

A legend in Portland. 

Whole slew of stars in this one. Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover et al. 

Totally different vibe on this movie. 

With Gus, you had a more laid back, punk rock, “we are all in this together” feel. 

Most actors made themselves available to chat up and get to know. 

This set was SO laid back, I remember Gus had some Nitrous Oxide delivered to the Camera Truck for the purpose of “cleaning lenses” he said. 

Well, as soon as they gave a brief rundown of the how’s and what not’s, we all made a B line to get a hit from the tit. 

It was pretty sweet. 

It ended up at his house later that night, I heard, for his NO on 9 benefit party. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Oregon_Ballot_Measure_9

  The wrap party itself was pretty cool, because Tom Robbins the author of Cowgirls showed up to the tiny little bar they had rented. 

The premier that afternoon, was a trip as well. It was the first showing ever and in the opening credits he had JUST ADDED a dedication to River Phoenix. 

River was in Gus’s “Private Idaho” and was also in Cowgirls. 

Pretty sad day. 

There were a lot of actors in this film that made cameos and also just NW legend types. 

We had hired a kid to help us on security and he told us he was the son of Ken Babbs. 

His name was Simon Babbs, and he was a total sweetheart. 

His father was joined at the hip with Ken Kesey and these cats were the real deal when it came to being there on the edge of counter culture. 

They practiced what they preached, and also I wanted some of the sacred sacrament. 

This was the guy who turned the nation on as far as I’m concerned and punks is hippies.

Well… I put my request in via the son of the gun who road shotgun with Kesey. 

It came through. Nice stuff. 

Years later, I would end up on the Further Bus with Ken Kesey’s son, buying sheets of acid art (non electrified!), but that’s another story.

ON BOARD FURTHR2 WITH ZANE KESEY 

We also had a dude on our crew that was training to be a fire fighter. 

He and his lady had recently split and he was moping around, being a sad sack. 

This really got to him and his good friend could really notice his mood changes etc. 

He actually felt sorry for this hard working kid and saw his determination to be a fire fighter, to train all day and then come and do this stupid job. 

So this friend put pen to paper. 

He told Aaron’s girl that she was really missing out on a good guy and that if she maybe just gave it another shot, who knows?!?! 

I watched this whole thing go down. I then watched him give Aaron the note, to give to his uncertain lover. 

And that “friend” of his was none other than Keanu Reeves. 

That guy was so down to earth and a genuine, righteous dude. 

I don’t know if this whole thing worked for the girl or not, but I sure know it worked for me. 

It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen. 

Really…. From Bill and Ted to Rivers Edge, that guy may come off like a “HImbo”, but I saw just the opposite. Totally aware and compassionate person.

I would like to thank Jerry for letting me make mad money while getting to zip up Sean Young’s dress when she couldn’t reach it. 

For being able to help Crispin Glover get in character. 

He had asked me for a cigarette and I told him “I don’t smoke! I don’t have any cigarettes.” 

He said “Neither do I.” and walked away. 

It was totally Crispin Glover. 

CRISIN GLOVER AUTOGRAPH.

He later walked past me holding a cigarette very awkward and asked me how to hold one. Weird dude for sure.

And, thanks Jerry Sandifer for putting that ad in the Rocket. 

If you hadn’t we would have never met and I would have never met Ken Stevenson. 

It’s this connection that brought my wife and I together. Ken would come to mean so much to me in my life and would later marry me and Darcy. 

Jerry and I would eventually live together for a while, 

THIS IS ME PLAYING JERRY’S GUITAR (WHICH I OWN) PLUS THIS IS AT THE HOUSE WE LIVED IN TOGETHER ON SHERMAN ST. IN BETWEEN CHRIS TENSE FROM POISON IDEA AND THE BLOODMEN HOUSE.

We would also play music in a Halloween themed cover band called the Punkins. So, I guess the ad did work… Just took us a while.

Kind of a full circle thing… 

Friends for life my brother.

[mfmagazine]

Reed

Article by Erik Schultz

Sitting down with the boys from Reed, I could tell that they were cool very talented down to earth cats. They were quick to compliment their lead singer Reed in regards to his songwriting and his passion for the music. Reed (the band) consists of four classical and jazz trained musicians led by the rock and roller Reed. They all make good money doing studio gigs but feel that the sound behind this band is worth playing for nothing. This is what a band is supposed to be. About the music.

I know you have changed names a couple times. Are you still working on the name or is REED the final cut?

Reed: Just variations of my name somewhere since it started off as my project. I am Reed Allen Hutchinson. So we are trying to figure that out. Some labels we are talking to are giving their option on the name also.

What labels are you talking to?

Reed: A new independent label from Seattle and then Sanctuary is one that No Doubt is on and Black Sabbath.

So tell me how it all started.

Reed: I started with more rock kinda bluesy kinda stuff with my cello player Aaron.  We have always wanted to do this acoustic thing. So we might as well go straight into a rock band that is predominately acoustic instruments. Most acoustic rock bands are all sunshine and bubblegum. Makes you think of more Unicorns. But you know because I played metal stuff for a long time that hearing electric guitars busting out the riff is not interesting at all but if we have string sections doing the same riff it sounds killer. So Aaron and I started building the band from that. So then I found these cats.

So that's where these cats can chime in.

Trevor: I'm Trevor and I play violin and piano. Aaron invited me to come play and right away it seemed real great. These songs incorporate the textures of the violin or the cello. We do a lot of work with textures on what Reed is doing. So that's when I started playing.

Reed: The funny thing is that the other players are more jazz and classical trained guys and I am just the rock guy and it's my band. (Laughs) So it's like the blind are leading the not blind.

Who would you say influence your writing?

Trevor: I don't know how much of my listening influences make there way into this band. I grew up listening to classical music and played jazz through most of my young life. I can't really pick out a hand full of records that I think this is what we sound like. We are all coming from so many different directions. If I was going to pick out a band that I totally think are awesome that I think we are similar to I would say ELO and the Beatles but more scripted down. Not as operatic as ELO.

(Aaron walks in the room) I am glad you could make it Aaron. Perfect timing as my next questions goes to you and Reed. I have read that you have played in a few other rock bands around the Seattle area.

Aaron: I played in this band called Sprit Device. Then I met up with Reed and I was doing both bands for awhile until I just got overloaded. Spirit Device was done and I stuck with Reed because my heart was in it and the music was so much better.

Reed: I played in a band early on when I was like 17 called Feast. It was an old school Seattle band. One of the top bands of Seattle. Both Alice in Chains and Soundgarden noted them as one of their influences. We always had a little problem with our singer. We had some interest from some labels but that kinda fell through.

Tell me about your trip to Paris.

Reed: I went over there by myself to just play on the streets and met some people that used to work at Virgin Records International and they were like, "You sound great. Do you have a show?" and I was like no I am just playing in the streets of Paris, just living my dreams. I always wanted to play Paris before I die. I had a club owner come up to me and offered me a show. So I went to play at the club and invited the folks from Virgin and they were like, "You're great. You should come back." So we saved our money and went back and played a showcase. The showcase was really great.

You just spent the month of October in Paris playing also.

Reed: Yeah, one show was at House of Live. I love Paris. I would love to live there. There is something out being in Europe that is incredible. I feel like that is my home. I feel like it is a place I would like to make my home someday. Most of the music I listen to is from over there. Everything European.

What would you like people to get out of your live shows?

Aaron: How the chord structures can really snake around and just have so much interest and be really engaging. A lot of variety in the songs for sure. Stuff that just whispers to just stuff that's an outburst. This unleashing of emotion.

What local bands do you think would be great to play with that would compliment your sound?

Aaron: There are a lot of local bands that we would blend well with. The Decemberists. They seem like a good fit. Death Cab For Cutie.

Reed: Rob Benson of Dear John Letters. Rob knocked on our door at our practice space and said "you guys totally rule. What's your name? Who are you?" I didn't know who he was at the time. He is a super super sweat guy.

[selenityshiroi]

Okay, so we have new Otabek canon facts and our boy is even cooler than we imagined.

Our boy has an interest in DJing (whether this means he’s just a hobbyist or he’s an amateur who has played some local clubs or he’s actually done some professional gigs is up for interpretation).

He has ‘mischievous’ friends and is considered cool. He’s an ‘ex-delinquent’. He’s a bit of a cool street lad.

This kind of threw a spanner in the works of the symbiotic fandom head canon we all seemed to be developing (of quiet, introvert Otabek) but I’m happy to start over!

I bet he is still the rational impulse control for all of his friends

Like they plan a wild night out and he is totally up for it but he is also the one who stops his friend from going off with that really skivvy dude she picked up in one club and he decks some shit head who another friend gets into a fight with because his friend is too drunk to throw a proper punch and the other guy deserved it anyway and he totally confiscates everyone’s keys at the beginning of the night and even at his worst is still able to call them all a cab and get everyone back to someone’s home (even if they all end up crashed on someone’s living room floor)

And all of his friends know better than to offer him anything because ‘professional athlete, people’ but he totally has had to nurse one or two of his friends through a bad trip

In return he has totally drank one too many drinks after a poor event or bad week at practice and his friends have totally coddled him after (but still filmed him throwing up in a gutter and sent him snapchats featuring his greatest hits of drunken philosophising)

His friends try setting him up with people but they have the worst fucking taste

Except not really they deliberately pick awful people because they are little shits and they find it hilarious to watch the bitchfaces he makes

(and everyone knows he’s been crushing on the same guy since before he knew what a crush even was...this is like the one thing they don’t tease him about)

Actually, they also don’t tease him about his skating because a) they know it is serious fucking business to him b) they recognise that he is also really fucking good c) they will punch anyone in the face who says that figure skating isn’t cool because have you seen their boy???

They do tease him about the fact that his costumes sometimes feature things like cravats...they aren’t made of stone (and they are pissed off that he can pull it off)

Most of his ‘delinquency’ can be chalked up to the fact that he got into fights that he was lucky to not get charges for

Many, many of these fights were defending his friends against the trouble they got themselves into

Quite a few were because people thought it would be easy to pick a fight with him because he is a figure skater...dudes learned their lessons about the physical shape of a professional athlete real quick

He totally has some really, really awesome mixes that he would love to skate to

He tends to skate his exhibition skates to his own mixes but no one really realises that it’s his mix because he’s not 100% confident in putting his work out there to an international audience

He also makes mixes for his friend’s birthdays

Which is how Yuri Plisetsky ends up doing a season worth of exhibition skates to the mix of his favourite songs that Otabek gave him and was happy to credit him for at several international competitions

Otabek was torn between high key embarrassment and high key pride but it worked in his favour because he got a lot of positive response to his music and it gave him the confidence he needed to make his work more public

When he starts working clubs he gets his friends in but realises really quickly that he has to ignore them because they are really distracting (only 80% on purpose)

He once leapt out from behind the decks, ran across the room and knocked a drink out of a girl’s hand because he spotted her date drop something in it

Having to be pulled off of a shithead date rapist by security apparently still makes your set a success

He totally takes Yuri out for his first clubbing experience

They discover that Yuri hates the really crowded clubs because he hates being too closed in by strangers but will enjoy himself and dance at lighter clubs

If Otabek is working a crowded club this is the one time he allows someone behind the deck with him, because he knows Yuri wants to see him work when he can (because they spend so little time together) but he hates seeing him uncomfortable

His friends totally love Yuri because he’s the only person who seems to attract trouble more than they do and Otabek is even weaker to him than to them

They don’t tease him though because holy shit this kitten can bite and Otabek doesn’t even hold him back when Yuri tries scratching their faces off

Instead they reach an agreement as the top members of the Otabek Altin fanclub

Otabek despairs because now he is the rational impulse control for his friends+Yuri which is a disaster in the making

#yuri on ice #otabek altin #beka bear #otayuri #just a little though #mostly just otabek being the badass hero to all of his friends #and being fucking awesome

[st0xinbris]

Hello again! I’ll try to start this where I left off last. I believe I left you with my brothers trip out here, needless to say, the rest of January and all of February were just as eventful. Immediately after dropping my brother off I had one last essay to complete so the next few days were spent in the comfort of the University Library. Once I successfully submitted my essays a night out with my course mates was in order See Pictures here. With a couple of weeks to go until the next semester started, I decided to go back to London once again to visit my friend Kelsea and check out some of the many sites the city has to offer, see pictures. Upon returning to Bristol my buddy Ryan and his girlfriend April invited a couple of us back to Hereford and Wales for a long weekend. I couldn’t think of anything better than to spend the weekend driving down country roads listening to Ed Sheeran with my mates, not to mention going back to the Rule of Tum. In Hereford, we deemed it important to indulge in a quintessential English ritual, another “night out” as they say over here. After a nice recovery day, Ryan took me and our buddy Patrick back to Wales to visit pay a visit his girlfriend family and go clay pigeon shooting. Now one would think Americans could shoot better the then British… However, after a few rounds, I realized the only times I had ever gone shooting in the states was shooting at still targets not moving targets!! Needless to say, I was slightly embarrassed. Luckily After a few more rounds I acclimated quickly and was keeping up with the English boys, so thankfully I think I redeemed myself and left the guys with a more favorable impression of American stereotypes. See Pictures here!  Inevitably, classes for the next semester officially started in the last week of January. I am enrolled in 3 classes including Pop Culture and International Relations, Theories of Violence, and Military, Militarization, and War. My Pop Culture and Military class are easily my favorite, as they offer material that is extremely interesting to me and in the case of my pop culture class, extremely diverse content ranging from music to sports. I can also now report that I have submitted my dissertation proposal on the subject of social media and its relevance to terrorism so unless other the university seems that topic inappropriate, expect updates on that topic. I can also report that all my essay submissions went well, so essentially, I passed my first semester of grad school. The second week of august proved to be amongst my favorite so far, I had booked a week away with Ryan and his girlfriend’s brother and father to Alpbach in Austria. The main purpose of the trip was skiing but I think you are starting to get the trend that food and alcohol were definitely present in our escapades. The plan for us to drive to Alpbach and fly back from Munich, which was, in essence, the cheapest route. It took us two days to drive to Austria, and unfortunately. the weather was not the best so I didn’t really get to enjoy the drive as much as I had hoped. Luckily Once were made it to Austria all our bad luck went away and I can wholeheartedly say that my first view of the Alps was absolutely breathtaking. After settling and grabbing our ski gear, yes you heard me right, ski gear! I was going to learn how to ski. I figured what better place to learn how to ski then Austria. For those of you that know me, you know I am a big snowboarder, not a skier so you can imagine the stick I received from all my friends and family for betraying my snowboarding roots. I must say that there are benefits and downfalls to both snowboarding and skiing. After 3 brutal days of falling down on my skis, I was finally able to keep up with the group. So, after those 3 days, I was anxious to get back to my board. One of the biggest take a ways was the ability to just get off the lift and go, where is if you are snowboarding you have sit down and strap in, Skiing can be frustrating sometimes as there are poles and such you have to worry about. Going off jumps and off trail, and catwalks are better for skiers. Although currently, I am faster and more comfortable with a snowboard I can foresee that after some more practice skiing will be faster on skis. Enough of the antics on the slopes, the best part was the food and the culture of Austria. Schnitzel, Spätzle and beer, beer and more beer make for a durable mountain man! One of the more interesting foods I had was, in the only way I can describe it as an Austrian Teppanyaki. Basically, it’s a metal cone that allows you to cook a variety of meat at your own pace. Check out my ski and food pictures here, here,  here, here, and here Also check out this cool yodeling video. After a couple of school focused weeks, I was invited by my old mates for uni at Hertfordshire to meet up with them in London to hang out watch some rugby and attend a gig. Fortunately for me, the gig was a band I very much enjoyed, the Chainsmokers. I didn’t get many pics on the night but I did manage to get a few videos, here, and photos check them out here. The very next day I had a Rugby game in Bristol to catch and luckily I had a friend from Bristol that was in London to drive me back to Bristol and attend the game. Basically a few weeks earlier I had settled on a return date to the states (June 27th) and that it was time to start checking things off my English bucket list while I was still here and Rugby was one of those things. Also on the list was a football match for my local team here in Bristol and a trip to Scotland, which I will talk about later. The Rugby was fantastic, and although when I first started watching the game I was a bit confused as to how to play however with the help of my mates I was able to pick it up. I’m not going to lie, rugby is a brutal sport, sorry to my Americans back home but the NFL doesn’t have anything on Rugby. Bristol Rugby was playing Bath rugby. Bath is right down the road and has one of the best teams in the country, so it was a huge game and is considered a big rivalry. Check out the pictures here and Videos Here. The next couple of week were spent in Bristol focusing on school, but I did manage to take some good photos. This brings us to March and next on my Bucket list was a football (soccer) match with my Mexican buddy David, who you may remember from my earlier blog entries. Bristol FC plays in the championship league which is a league below Liverpool FC. Bristol was playing Norwich FC. The game was fantastic and the crowd was lively, check out my videos and photos here. I spent the next weekend going to an American country concert in London with Kelsea. This is a second time I’ve been to this rendition of C2C (country to country) in London. That first time the concert was held was in 2013 luckily, I was in England at the time and attended with Kelsea. That time was saw Tim McGraw and Little Big Town. During the current event, we saw Marty Stuart and one of my favorite country bands the Zac Brown Band. See photos and videos here. I was just as busy the next week as one of my childhood friends Karl was in town. Once again, I met up with him in London for Saint Patrick’s Day. Following an English/Irish Pub crawl, I acted a tour guide for Karl and his family for the next couple of days in London, hitting all the major sites. See our pictures here. Phew…. That was a lot to catch up on, Until next time!

[jugs-and]

2016 through music.

I wouldn’t say that music has become less of a thing for me in 2016. Music is great, it’s how I’ve met a lot of people, but I feel I hit a lot more musical dead-ends than previous years. There was this point--multiple points--where I couldn’t really figure what music I liked. It was different from previous years, as I spent more time in search of new music, than having a lot of playlisted albums to listen to. 

Music did not necessarily feel less important to me, it merely was not quite the marker for passage of time as well as previous years. As a consequence, my music tastes were a bit all over the place: I feel I began the year listening to a lot of UK hardstyle and  grime, then I went through a period with very dark, industrial techno, gabber beats--not related to any life event, it was just what I enjoyed at the time. Beyond that, I dabbled in some folk and country towards the end of the year, with some rap/gospel-- a la Chance the Rapper, A Tribe Called Quest both releasing excellent albums. This year ended with a lot of musicals and show-tunes to finish it off.

January - Of all the celebrity deaths this year, nothing topped David Bowie for me on the 10th of January. I actually was listening to “Blackstar” on Spotify the days leading up to his death, after hearing to the title track premiere on BBC Radio in December. I make it sound like a competition, but no other death even came close in 2016. The thing about Bowie was how timeless his music was in its ability to be “pop” and just something off-the-wall completely. It was always so recognizably “Bowie” but never quite tame or relaxed, his music always seemed tense as if in some sort of dichotomy. So long, Starman.

Honestly, the only person that I would be more upset about is if Brian Eno died.

 Lazarus - David Bowie

February - From the sunny glory of January, I got into the groove of a lot of UK hardcore and classic happy hardcore. 

It was really warm this month. I remember trying to build my PC, and walking to R-’s house to borrow his battery pack. That same weekend, I was browsing the hardcore section at Real Groovy. I remember this story specifically because I told this story for Rd- at work. A 30yo.+ guy started chatting to me recommending <those> hardcore mixes--the ones with the salacious covers with cartoon fake tits with suspicious names like DJ Candylicious. I swear I didn’t know this guy.

The gateway into this genre was a RobDaBank mix I was listening to on Spotify, there was an Elf Kid track. I loved the flow and sense of genuine fun, I want to note that I liked it before it became super cool. I can literally trace it back to that one track which made me pull out old Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Basement Jaxx, Skepta, DJ EZ albums, and ultimately into UK hardcore.

Golden Boy - Elf Kid

March - Early March when I went to see Sufjan Stevens. I went by myself because I bought my tickets incredibly late, it was amazing. The set was the material that dreams are made of, my dreams specifically.

He played through most of his new album with bombast and sincerity. There was a certain restraint to his set considering the content concerning the death of his mother. His encore set was a sparse affair with a three man band armed with mandolin, trumpet and double bass--tracks from Seven Swans, Michigan, Illinoise e.t.c.

I cried a little when Chicago played.

Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens

April - April was uneventful, I don’t remember very much specifically about these days. I know I actually completed Fallout 4, the first video game in years that I’ve committed time to actually complete. It wasn’t even that great of a game, I generally don’t have the patience or the time to commit to something like that. I tried to replicate this with The Witcher 3--multiple times in 2016, but I have not found success so far.

The Irish flatmate had just moved in and he made it clear that I lacked a certain finesse around preparing potatoes. He set down his phone, he often walked around the flat with music blaring from his phone as if to announce his entrance.

Baz Luhrmann - Wear Sunscreen (Mau Kilauea’s Tropical Remix)

May - A lot of late nights at work. I don’t even remember what I was working on that was so important to warrant late nights. I’m trying to be a lot better with leaving work if I don’t need to do it till the next day. The late nights, I listened to a lot of mixes, and Traumprinz’s RA mix really stood out to me as well as his Giegling mix. There wa s a lot of distractedness digging through his discogs and finding his EPs.

There Will Be XTC is my favourite track that I’ve heard this year. The drum loop is so simple and emotive, the whole track is just so heavy.

Traumprinz - There Will Be XTC

June - While I did say Bowie’s death was incredibly upsetting, I feel the death of Christina Grimmie was probably the most devastating death this year. I don’t think she is quite a celebrity, outside of youtube I don’t think she was particularly well known. The nature of her death was just devastating, and so completely bizarre that it really bothered me for days. The whole fragility and unpredictability of human life still really bothers me.

I remember going to work on Monday after following the news stories, and just completely numb. I don’t really follow her music much at all, she was a relic of a time past. The month just went by quickly marking the halfway point in the year, I worked on some pretty good projects.

Just a Dream - Christina Grimmie and Sam Tsui 

July - Family holiday in New York, we were all walking on the boardwalk at Coney Island and this was playing. It’s all a bit nostalgic, though I’d never been there before in my life. I’d seen the landscapes and the pier that reaches out into the water in so many movies.

The “Cyclone” ride was all the more exhilarating because I feared for my life and safety on that rickety timber framing, than any intended thrills. It was an excellent ride though, there is a certain art to it all.  

Kent Jones - Don’t Mind

August - A close friend got married this month in Devonport.

It was an awesome wedding, it made me really hopeful. The wedding was basically crowd-sourced, and put together for nothing. The entire thing was  fueled by the generous giving of the church I attend. In fact, the wedding date was only decided two weeks before because the church hall they were interested in had an opening.

I woke up early the morning of the wedding, and caught the sunrise from the North Head. The ferry I wanted to catch, I actually missed, and I sat in McDonalds, I bought two Egg and Bacon McMuffins. My headphones had Azealia Banks playing and I remember wearing my Sunday best while clambering up the grassy bank, trying not to mess up any of my clothes.

But oh my gosh, I love this track. It’s so braggadocio and so unashamedly AB.

Azealia Banks - Big Big Beat

September - I did my second Tongariro Crossing. A lot has changed since I did it last--dare I say, it’s a lot easier now, a lot of stairs instead of clambering up half-formed tracks. It was starkly empty compared to the summertime I completed last time. We hired crampons and ice-axes and climbed up Mount Doom. It was a great time, though the weather for long periods of time made it seem unlikely.  

In the car ride down, I sat with Colin. I fell asleep in the front seat, and did that thing where you jerk awake. I also assumed someone’s name wrong because he was Spanish and another guy in our group was Spanish, and they both looked the same. There were a lot of other episodes, including driving down a country road in pitch darkness for fun, and Lady Gaga was playing on the radio inbetween Te Kuiti and the backpackers.

Lady Gaga - Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) 

October - I ran a half-marathon this month, it was a week after my birthday. My training up to the marathon was a bit stunted with an injury two weeks before the run cutting my plans to a half. The entire run, I was listening to hardstyle, which I hastily downloaded beforehand. There was a Kutski mix from a Dublin show--I was mostly too tired to concentrate on it too much, I remember having to constantly increase the volume higher and higher to keep it having any relevance to my motivation.

Donald Trump won the US Presidential Elections as well this month. I’m probably more upset about it now, than I was on the day itself. His cabinet picks are <incredibly> establishment. It’s all rather disappointing, I just look forward to the resounding loss that the Republican are going to receive next election.

The second Presidential Candidate debate based within a town hall meeting, some writers suggested Donald Trump’s performance was akin to the single mom was summoned to the Harper Valley PTA. Donald Trump was the mirror that highlighted the imperfections of the Republican Party and I’m not sure if I agree. It’s a bit of a desperate comparison, but that Loretta Lynn album is great. 

Loretta Lynn - Harper Valley PTA

November - I went to a Nina Kraviz show. I followed a lot of artists on her Trip label and adored her sets on the BBC Radio Residencies. I actually missed out on tickets initially, I don’t keep up with local music gigs. I don’t keep up because I find Auckland, in general, to be very thin on culture per capita. I did end up snagging some at the last minute off facebook, someone was offering tickets and I messaged him within a minute.

It was great, I loooooove techno a lot. It’s dark, it’s cerebral, it’s spiritual--I just lose myself in it. I missed the set by Bjarki which I am slightly peeved about because I slept from 11pm - 1am because I’m not a weirdo who parties all night. I’m the weirdo on the dancefloor just in another world--actually, I guess there are quite a few of those but on ecstasy.

Ghetto Kraviz - Nina Kraviz (Regal Sad Remix)

The days seemed to be going by so slowly at work. Christmas felt all so close and yet so far away. Desperately slowly. I occupied my days with headphones at work, keeping a low profile and listening to Hamilton. There were days where I would listen to the soundtrack three times to mark the passage of time. When the third listen finished, it was time to go home. Wait For It really stood out on first listen, but Satisfied is the best track for sure, and there are so many good tracks in there. The whole track is just reminiscent of sitting at the office, which is an unfortunate thing. 

Wait for It - Lin Manuel Miranda

December - The last month before the new year. Contrasting the previous month, this seemed to all pass so quickly. Especially that last week, the entire office was rushing projects one after the other for three important client meetings.

At the end of year party, I think I was a bit intoxicated. I hadn’t eaten anything and drank two beer and left pretty early, forgetting my Secret Santa gift and my plane itineraries. I’m back in Wellington for Christmas, my brother is here as well. I’m kind of sick at the moment--I just started sneezing on Sunday, hay fever on Boxing Day, and it just never stopped with the running nose and sore throat.

The first day I felt maybe over 50%, we drove up to the Tararuas yesterday, and just jammed Eminem and twenty one pilots--all the greatest road trip music. I do like this twenty one pilots track a lot--though, I am extremely unlikely to watch Suicide Squad ever.

Heathens - twenty one pilots

Wow. That was long. Hi. 

tl;dr - playlist. 

[dandelliongirl]

It’s April tomorrow

and spring has sprung!

The season is changing slowly but surely... Too slowly for my current liking though.

Ha - I did manage a March blog post (it’s the 31st today). Overall the entire month of March dragged on for a needlessly long time with nothing too exciting going on so I didn’t particularly feel like blogging. My guy and I have been to two dance rehearsals for my graduation ball in May so far and it has been a lot of fun. I’ve loved being silly and goofing around with him. He did the dances a total of 3 times in high school (his friends’, his own and mine) and mine was only 7-ish years ago so both of us know the steps pretty well from memory. I don’t know if dance rehearsal is as much fun for him as it is for me but I’ve been loving spending time with him. My outfit for the ball is almost finished. My top for the evening needs to be sewn together and the hemline of the skirt cut and finished to be the right length. I just got shoes last week and ordered my graduation ring so everything should be in order.

I did my gig judging the dance competition in February and it was an interesting experience. I liked seeing all the choreographies but the juding process was needlessly complicated with a long form that all of us 3 judges had to fill in for each competing group. In addition we only had from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes between each performance so I felt like I couldn’t really give any actual constructive criticism. Also we had to decide on the winners in less than 10 minutes, which was pretty stressful. In the end we all agreed but it was really difficult and my hand hurt for many days after from writing so much and so fast.

My guy’s friend from Japan visited us for a week at the end of February. The boys spent a lot of time together and I spent time with mum. We went and got facials together, and I celebrated a friend’s birthday making brownies with her. Mum had her second big surgery on the 27th but it went better this time around and dad was on his spring break so he could pick her up and bring her home early.

March was a very busy month at work. The good kind of busy though. The kind that makes me feel important and doesn’t give me time to question being hired to do nothing. We’ve been training faculty coordinators and helping them create timetables for the upcoming academic year. I’ve been in charge of these trainings and I really love it. I love helping people and coming up with solutions to their problems. Whenever the coordinators apologise for the inconvenience of their stupid questions and their constant complaining regarding the new data systems I like to tell them that as long as they have questions and complaints I have a job. Their bitching is paying my mortgage and I know it’s directed at the system not at me, so I really don’t mind. It’s completely understandable and most issues these people have are issues I’ve discovered myself and agree with completely. So all in all I’m really grateful to be in the job I’m in for two more years. I’m still looking forward to summer break though and all the exciting springtime events like Easter break, dance recitals and the big official conferment of degrees. I have felt like everything’s at a standstill so I’m hoping spring will pick up it’s pace.

My friend is currently on her first 3 week trip to Japan. I’m super happy for her but it does make me miss Japan terribly. Last year at this time I was over there enjoying the warmth and the beauty of the cherry blossoms. I’m already planning to go back, hopefully next spring. I’m obsessively updating my friend’s instagram feed to see when she’ll be posting pictures from her trip. I gave her a list (and a reference picture) of some Sanrio products I want her to try and get me from there and I’m really hoping she can find at least some of it.

Ballet is still a struggle. Now that my friend (the one who’s in Japan right now) only goes once a week and I have no other real friends there I have no motivation and literally have to force myself to go. Not that I don’t enjoy ballet itself but it’s frustrating because I feel like we’re not making any progress and we’re stuck repeating the same things over and over. Also we’re still stuck in the stupid regular gym hall with those few crappy portable mirrors and either the wall bars/ladders or portable bars. I want to see what I’m doing, I want friends and I want new challenges. I’m glad we only have two months until summer.

I’ve started working on a bit of a book project. It’s more like a collection of essays regarding various topics that are relevant to me and my life than a book but I’ve wanted to collect my thoughts for a while now and since I’ll be turning 25 in a few weeks I thought it’d be cool to write down a collection of thoughts to celebrate a quarter of a century. I’ve been loving reading and writing now that I don’t have to do it for school/uni. I’ve already planned a somewhat of a structure for it and written down some ideas and topics. Today I’m planning to start with the first essay, which will be about me and who I am as a 25 year old. The project will span my entire 25th year so I’m definitely not trying to finish by my birthday.

My guy has spent this weekend visiting his parents. His dad is working hard on his electoral campaign for the parliament so my guy wanted to go see how it’s going. My guy is going to be working as an election officer on the actual election day.

With my guy being gone I’ve also spent the weekend with my parents. Yesterday we went to the grocery store and visited the cottage for a campfire and roasted sausages. Dad and I went  on a 40-ish minute snowshoe walk and it was a lot of fun. I got to explore parts of the forest I would otherwise never go to because during the summer it’s filled with mosquitoes, snakes and scratchy shrubbery. This was a whole new realm for me and I haven’t been on snowshoes since I was probably like 9 years old or younger. Nature really has a calming effect and I could feel the stress I didn’t even know I was holding onto melt away as I navigated between the branches and fallen trees. My new sleeping cottage is supposed to be finished by Easter and I absolutely can’t wait to get to take in the furniture, start decorating the place and plant flowers. It seems like such a far away future in which it’ll be summer and I’ll be reading books, playing Animal Crossing and taking naps in my new cottage.. It’s been over a year now since the project started and I cannot wait to have it finished...

Dad bought me my 6th Maileg bunny from the flea market this Saturday. His name is Basil and he’s my birthday present. Dad got all 5 of my Mailegs from Sweden whenever he went on his annual fishing trip but it’s been more than ten years since my collection grew. I brought my old clothes that grandmum made my original bunny (the one called Rose whom my little sleeping cottage was named after) and I can’t wait to get them in some fresh outfits.

Today dad and I went for what was probably our last ski trip this season. It was a nice and warm day and we spent almost an hour out on skis but it was really messy from all the pine needles and twigs and the snow was much more like slush with occasional ice fields than snow. In any case I got some fresh air and exercise and that felt nice. I woke up really early today to vacuum the house and put up Easter decorations before going skiing with dad and so today feels really productive. I love weekends like this that feel both relaxing and productive. And I’m proud for getting up early despite daylight savings!

We still have no news on Animal Crossing Switch.. The fandom seems to be holding out hopes for an April direct before Reggie retires as president of Nintendo of America, and because Nintendo doesn’t usually go without a direct before E3, but I’m not holding my breath. The only thing I’m hoping for regarding the new game, is that local multiplayer, visiting dream towns and having at least one person visit you over the internet would be possible without the switch online service bullshit. I’m sure local wireless will be possible. As for the rest I’m not too hopeful.. I’d be fine with having to pay to access 8 people online multiplayer as long as I could keep trading turnips with one person and not pay 40€ a year for it... I also don’t want Animal Crossing to change too drastically. I just want a better New Leaf with more customisation, new items, bigger towns and better villager interactions... I also want to be rewarded for my ACPC grind in some way.. Anyway, in the meantime I’ve been enjoying some Sims 4. For the first time since I was a child I’ve been playing through an actual story. It’s the story of a young adult called Theodore (Theo), who moved away from home to start working as a bartender and gain money to win custody of her teenage sister Journey. She adopted Journey and they lived together in a very crappy starter home for a while, but I just moved them into a two bedroom house in Willow Creek, and renovated Journey’s bedroom into the cute teenager room she deserves. Journey works hard as an A student and a fast food employee. She just got a boyfriend and she’s a hopeless romantic (and loves cats). Theo also got a boyfriend and I think he’s going to be moving in as soon as we get some more money to renovate the house a bit and build Theo a greenhouse. Eventually the girls are also going to adopt a cat for Journey and Theo is going to have a child. I’m thinking I might buy City Living next summer so that Journey and her boyfriend can move out and start their own life in San Myshuno. I’m excited to have a rags-to-riches type story that I’m playing without cheats and with characters I’m invested in. I’ve been so bad at coming up with actual storylines and have stuck with build/buy for years this feels like a whole new game for me.

Wow that was a long bit about Sims there. I’ve been writing for almost an hour now. It’s time to go meal prep and make myself a pasta salad for next week. Then I’ll start my essay collection and then I’ll play some more Sims. My guy isn’t coming back until late this evening so I get some more time off. Happy April! ♥

#personal #diary #March2019

[grapsandclaps]

Graps and Claps does Guest Blogs Part 3 - True Grit Wrestling

Hello everyone!  Ben Corrigan here, feeling very honoured to have been invited back to present another guest edition of #GrapsAndClaps.   My last stint as a GUEST GRAP CLAPPER was a few weeks ago when I told you about my trip to 3CW; you can read all about that one (as well as a bit of background on myself) here: https://grapsandclaps.tumblr.com/post/165973966028/graps-and-claps-does-guest-blogs-the-755-show. This return edition will focus on my recent visit to True Grit Wrestling, held at Fibber’s in York last Saturday (21 October 2017).  This was my 59th live wrestling show of 2017, with the big 6-0 coming the following night in Leeds at TIDAL Wrestling (which I’m sure your regular #GrapsAndClaps host Andy will be along to tell you all about shortly).   This one wasn’t really an “away day” for me: it was the local-est of local graps, taking place a mere 10 minute walk from my front door.  Thanks to Storm Brian, however, that brief walk was cold, wet, windy and rather unpleasant, though did give me chance to consider whether “Brian Storm” would be a good wrestler name (I concluded that no, it would not…). The venue itself, Fibbers, is a noted live music spot in York.   I used to come to this building years ago when it was ‘Toffs’ nightclub.  It’s since been ‘Tokyo’ and ‘Tru’, and as of a couple of years ago now plays host Fibbers at the back, York’s Barvarian-styled Bierkeller at the front and a, erm, “gentleman’s club” club upstairs.  While regular readers of this blog will be horrified, the local nature of this show meant that I hadn’t planned on visiting any of the local drinking establishments beforehand.   Given the inclement weather, though, there was no chance of me queuing outside so I popped into the aforementioned Bierkeller to dry out and wet one’s whistle.  In true bierkeller fashion, they offer a variety of German beers served as either pints or steins.  I was tempted by the Warsteiner, but settled on the Lowenbrau at a reasonable £4.40 a pint.  Wunderbar. As for True Grit Wrestling, they originally started running shows in Leeds nightclubs in 2014, then moved to Wakefield for a single event, before stopping altogether when that venue became unavailable.  Those original shows were effectively the “big grown up sister” events to West Yorkshire-based GRAPPLE Wrestling, very strong on in-ring action and featuring many of the top names in northern BritWres.  GRAPPLE itself has been running Fibbers for over a year now, with the shows there recently rebranding under the returning True Grit banner.   As a university city, they’d put effort into marketing the show to students and it paid off, with the biggest crowd I have seen packed into that venue (150, I’d say), mainly young adults treating it as a night out.  It’s an ‘intimate’ setting for wrestling, with the all-standing crowd gathered looking down on the ring, which is set low down in a pit (the ‘dancefloor’).  The room and set-up doesn’t offer great sight lines unless you manage to get to the front of the standing areas (as a gig venue, it’s mainly intended for everyone to see the stage, not low on the floor), so it’s worth getting there a little early if you can.   I was lucky enough to get a decent vantage point (though next to the constant dripping of the leaking roof…), but with the strong attendance on this occasion there were plenty that were struggling to see. Inside waiting for the show to begin, we were treated to a soundtrack of WWE themes both old and current, including Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Kane, AJ Styles (that had people singing along!), Evolution, Los Guerreros, Ember Moon, Sanity and more.  There was chance to go to the bar, which has everything from your usual draft lagers to an impressive selection of bottled real ales and canned craft beers.   I started on the Goose IPA at £4.80 a pint (“One!” “Two!” “GOOSE!”  No.), before later moving onto Becks Vier (£3.90) until it ran out halfway through the show, pushing me onto the Stella Artois (also £3.90). The show itself opened with ring announcer Ricc “Dombrowski” (the name being a spoof on the former 1PW commentator) introducing Danny O’Doherty as the “host” for the show.  He was really good in this role, drinking beer, engaging with the audience, chipping in with comments before each match and leading chants during them.   He set the tone for the show as being a fun night out and encouraged people to get involved.  Good stuff. The first match saw The Evil Within (Sean Only & BA Rose) retain their GRAPPLE Tag Team Championship (or, to quote what is hilariously misspelt on the rather-crap-looking title belts, the “CHAMPIONATOS DE PAREJAS”…) over ‘Amazing’ Matt Myers and Ace Matthews.   The match was good, with Evil Within beating down their opponents and Myers & Matthews making spirited comebacks.  Rose reminds me of a mini Dave Mastiff, not only in the looks department but also with much of his offence (back sentons and cannonballs).  It was Only that scored the fall, though, pinning Ace after a curb stomp. The next match started off as a friendly bout between popular fan favourites the “Bhangra Bad Boy” Amir Jordan and “Hot-Blooded” Dom Black.  Black is pushed as “York’s Own”, and he did have his vocal fan club in the crowd there specifically to see him.  He’s a talented young performer that shows a lot of potential.  All friendliness came to a halt a few minutes later, though, as “Your Naan’s Favourite Wrestler” faked an injury as an opportunity to get a jump on Dom.   From that point on it was a heated brawl, with the entertaining Jordan showing annoyance at the audience’s support of Black.  The pair brawled out into the crowd, and referee Mark Rolls had no choice but to count them both out.  It was at this point that it was revealed that True Grit’s return date would be 20 January 2018, featuring a championship tournament with tonight’s matches acting as qualifiers.  As Black and Jordan were both counted-out, it was announced that both would be in that tournament.   So, the rivalry is to be continued, by the looks of it.  I like that they’re building some rivalries now that they seem to be running here semi-regularly – it always makes the matches more interesting than basic goodie vs. baddie. Next, former Super League player Luke Menzies showed off his power in dominating and beating Olly and Bradley (apologies, I missed their surnames) in a handicap match.  I’ve been incredibly impressed with Menzies on the few times I’ve seen him now; as I mentioned in my last appearance in #GrapsAndClaps he looks to have all the tools and aptitude to be a star in this business.   So this match was basically him just launching these two kids all over the place with ease and it was BRILLIANT.  Luke quickly put them out of their misery with a huge powerslam.  Consider me well and truly aboard the Luke Menzies train. The final match of the first half was billed as a “RI:SE guest match”, where WWE:UK’s MUSCLECAT Saxon Huxley bested Joe Vega with a shoulderbreaker.  RISE runs gritty cool-looking “underground”-type shows in Leeds gig venues, themed around attitude-fuelled brawling and out-of-control action.   They have a show coming up on Saturday 28 October at ‘Temple of Boom’, so that got a heavy plugging here.  I do want to check out a RISE show, as they are pretty local to me and do look very cool and chaotic in a good way, but they always tend to clash with other shows I’m already attending (as is the case with their show next week, as I’ll be in London for wXw that day). Vega was a regular on the north-west scene a number of years ago, but then had a long spell out with injury.  He was good here as the arrogant little prick.  Much of what Musclecat does is basic, but I noticed that he does do those basics very well indeed; he’s a solid and capable wrestler.  Danny O’Doherty spent most of this one leading chants of “JESUS!  JESUS!” over the microphone, based on Saxon’s biblical appearance. After an interval in which drinks were refilled and raffle tickets were bought, Boris Koslov beat The Pop Punk Kid in a colourful and entertaining contest with the air raid crash.  Boris, an alter-ego of longtime British wrestling personality JC Thunder, is no longer the “Russian Nightmare”, but a dancing, drinking friendly Russian party animal.  PPK is billed from Chicago and came out with a box of pizza to match his pepperoni pizza tights.   This match was daft but also loads of fun, with pizza getting thrown around (and out into the crowd) and Boris Cossack dancing and swigging from his vodka bottle to power-up his moves. A number of lounge chairs were brought into the ring next (then taken out… then put back in…), together with a potted plant, for a segment only described as “SPEED DATING WITH COWBOY JOHN PARKER”.   Cowboy John Parker is a manager on GRAPPLE/TGW shows, and wears a cowboy hat and cowboy boots.  Like a cowboy, you see.  He also fancies himself as a bit of a lothario, so this was about bringing out some of the female wrestlers (including Ruby Radley and Evee Black) for him to “woo”.  Instead, he insulted each of them in turn, before Evee smacked him round the head, called the segment “the most degrading thing I’ve ever been involved with in wrestling… and that’s saying something…” and challenged Parker to a match on the next show.   This whole thing was nowhere near as cringeworthy as I thought it could be; a daft bit of throwaway fun. Before the next match, in which THE LION KINGS Seb Strife & Nsereko beat Bison Reid and (a partner whose name I didn’t catch), it was time for that all-important raffle, often the highlight of a British wrestling show.  Starting a theme that would last all weekend, I only went and won the top bloomin’ prize – a family ticket to the 20 January return show.  So there.  The match itself was fine, a good showcase for the Lion Kings and featuring plenty of “RRRAAAAARRRR”ing.  Oh, and Bison Reid is literally the best name for a wrestler. The main event was a rematch from the last True Grit show in Fibbers, in which Martin Kirby had defeated ‘The Grafter’ to relieve him of the GRAPPLE Championship.  This return match was a streetfight, and while neither man “brought their jeans” for the occasion, it did involve an entire bagful of Poundland’s Halloween toys, including a severed hand which made a wonderfully satisfying noise when Kirby used it to chop Graves.  Being a streetfight, it was quite fitting that they went outside Fibbers and FOUGHT, on the STREET.  Most of the audience ran outside to watch, but I stayed inside and waited for it all to calm down…  Sure enough, they fought back to the ring, where they bumped the referee and Kirby hit a Sablebomb on top of a pumpkin for a desperate nearfall.  I am not making this up.  After surviving such devastation, Graves hit Kirby with a spear to win back his belt. And that was that.  Actually, no it wasn’t, because the show closed with a massive brawl between all the guys in the 20 January tournament and more.  Referees & trainees couldn’t separate them, and it was only when the onlooking Big T Justice jumped in to lend a hand that everyone thought “f*ck that” and wisely backed down. And THAT was that.   A fun little show that I really enjoyed, and I’ll likely be back for the 20 January championship tournament show (I did win the raffle, after all).  Good local undergraps.  Some good upcoming talented performers in a good atmosphere. And nothing that could be described as “bad”.  You can find out more about that show and True Grit Wrestling in general on Facebook and at @TrueGriPromote on Twitter.  As for me, you can read more about my adventures at @BritWresAwayDay and maybe one day back in another guest edition of this blog… Until then, keep supporting Andy and #GrapsAndClaps, and I’ll see you out there!