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1ddotdhq · 3 years

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🎤Wed 9 Dec ‘20❄️

LOUIS!!!!!! I am posting this from beyond the dead because Louis’ trailer KILLED MY MIND! But THEN, it brought my body back to life because I HAVE to be around on Saturday to see this show go down. NEW LOUIS SONGS!!!! I AM NOT READY!!! First Eleanor kicked off promo for the livestream day by modeling Louis' purple Balenciaga windbreaker for us with a caption about her “BF”. I mean, it’s a look! No dogs today tho :(. Oddly though after posting herself in the outfit and saying that she was going to go out in the get up, she didn’t! Changed right back into her own clothes after all. Just like how Louis liking her post a few weeks ago was the first sign of action, this too was an indication NEW THINGS COMING! And boy, did they come! After Louis this posted his fifteen (15) second long clip, which included at least one full second each of an as of yet untitled song, KMM, Too Young, Walls, and a badass unidentified riff by Michael Blackwell (POP OFF, dude)! Louis was NOT done there though; fans were wondering what the unfamiliar songs in the trailer were. In what seemed to be a hint, Louis tweeted “copy of a copy of a copy”, which, when googled, turned up with two musical results. The only one that matters is the song ‘Copy of A..’ by Nine Inch Nails (“I am little pieces. Pieces that were picked up on the way, invented with a purpose, a purpose that's become quite clear today”). According to the band, this song is about breaking out of an image that no longer fits you: “How dare you have the audacity to not perform in the role you have been placed in”. Nine Inch Nails has also been really vocal about the importance of artistic freedom and the struggle to maintain it in the face of label interference, which I’m sure Louis can relate to. But! It turned out the untitled song that fans were wondering about isn’t ANY of these, it is, instead a “New song. Not a cover!” according to Louis himself! Let’s be clear: this does not mean that he WASN'T tweeting that lyric about doing a Nine Inch Nails cover, just that the snip in the teaser ISN’T ‘A Copy of A…’. Okay guys, I didn’t say this when the show came up, but now I will: I am IN LOVE with 12/12!! Last year, we got Fine Line on the 12th, and THIS year, we get BRAND! NEW! LOUIS! SONGS!!!!!!! This is one trend that is welcome to keep continuing!

And, for the TRUE piece de resistance: LOUIS’ HAIR! It is long long long, and slightly curly at the ends, and “HIS HAIR” (in all caps) was trending under “Beauty” immediately after the trailer was released. As it SHOULD! It’s BEAUTIFUL! And, in the middle of all of this, we got pictures of Louis from outside his rehearsal studio two weeks ago - OP said he said not to tell anyone about his hair, so they posted them the second after the trailer went up like “well if HE'S showing everyone..' They also scribbled out his hand. People asked does he have a new tattoo?? A ring?? Nope! It seems that he was probably holding a beer, which was edited out because yes certainly fans should jump in to take on the role of 1D management circa 2011 and preserve Louis' squeaky clean teen idol image! If Louis didn't want to be photographed with something he wouldn't come out to do fanservice holding it, give me a break, you really think he's sharing actual secrets with you? Grow up! Anyways, while on twitter Louis followed Isabella Signs, who he met through the charity work that she does for her younger brother. She has a YouTube channel by the same name and does A LOT of really cool SSE (Sign [language] Supported English) covers of all the boys plus 1D, check her out!

The Naughty List music video is OUT! It is a #quarantinevideo made with the green screen that Liam talked the other day about having had set up in his living room for days and how much he disliked that. It features Liam in a Snow Globe and Dixie and her friends dancing in a photobooth in colorful outfits (Liam in a red sequin vest with nothing underneath anyone?), pastel and glittery backgrounds, and lots of Christmas cheer! More than Liam had today, that’s for sure! Dixie loves Christmas, but Liam said that if it wasn’t for his son “pfft, Christmas can pass me by” in the joint live Liam/Dixie did to introduce the video. Steve the Manager (who made Liam’s naughty list for “making him work today”) spent most of the time feeding Liam questions for Dixie and trying to keep him on track. Liam and Dixie shared stories of Christmas presents (Dixie’s best Christmas was when she got a four wheeler), who made their Naughty List this year (Dixie: No one, Liam: “NIALLLL” - no he did not say why), and if they’d ever been kissed under the mistletoe (Dixie was when she was 12, Liam has not yet because he’s “a loonneeelyyyy boyyyy”, but then went on to say, “Mayaaaa you gotta kiss me under the mistletoe!!” so I guess that’s that). Steve the Manager kept cutting Liam off before he could even TRY to do his Harry voice, so we didn’t get any of that, but we did get a nice solo Liam alarm to wake up to this morning, where he did a meditative bit and reminded people that it’s almost Friday!! And he's added some signed Naughty List single CDs to his store and merch! Really cute hoodies-- I'm not personally sure I want my chest to say Naughty List all over it but Liam can work it and it is a cute design. He also went on a radio show (not Roman’s) to promote Naughty List and revealed that he had NOT done any Christmas shopping yet, which IMMEDIATELY put him on their naughty list. Not to worry Liam, I think you’re still pretty nice!

And my favorite larrie is BACK: we got a sneak peek of Harry’s Jingle Ball set and, surprise, surprise, it’s the pre-recorded set with the Free Nationals! The description is, “Harry Styles and the Free National light up an LA backyard celebration with a hit-stacked set”. So, uh, I guess he’s not going to be playing in front of a blank wall - it’ll be a garden with a camper van, little blue flags, and fairy lights strung up. His shirt matches the small flags in being That Color Blue, and my one and only prediction for the set is that he’ll be covering Blue Christmas. I gotta say that I have NEVER seen anyone as dedicated to that - or ANY color - as Harry is. He still hasn’t popped up anywhere, but this is EXCITING! A new Fine Line set!!

Zayn made Martyre’s Instagram story again, and though you STILL can’t see his face, it’s his neck this time instead of his hands! I think that he’s meant to be modeling the necklace he’s got on, but the picture is too blurry for me to make it out. Alas. Anyways, I’d love to see some pictures of his FACE if Martyre has those? Please? Meanwhile, Niall promoted a beloved Doncaster native musician... no it was Yungblud! On Instagram, of course: he did tell us he wasn't going to be on twitter for a while!

#louis tomlinson #liam payne #harry styles #zayn malik #niall horan #damn EVERYONE did something today huh #well i did some research about the copy of a .. thing so here's the second thing i found #The SECOND thing I turned up was an EP by a small indie rock band named Foxhole Stacks (which is RIGHT up Louis’ alley)#named “Copy of a Copy of a Copy of a Copy” - there were two songs on the EP the first being “Turntable Exiles”#lyrics: (“Where the skinny boys sing their songs the turntable exiles...and they wander and wander and wander around leave them headed for a #different sound”)#and the second is “The Law of Averages” (I’m tired sick and tired of letting it go/The law of every average I know”)#in case you wanted to know #theyre pop punk and DC based and GREAT and if anyone is lurking and wants to hear something AWESOME!#anyways on a seperate note im sending lots of love to liam today #anyways!#song of the day!#Turntable Exiles by Foxhole Stacks

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nattikay · 3 years

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So I saw this post while browsing toa tags the other day. While I don’t think being obsessed with the school mascot automatically makes Toby a furry (though it is funny to joke about lol) since “being a furry” actually just means “being a fan of anthropomorphic animals” and doesn’t necessarily require any form of costuming or interest in such, it did get me thinking, hmmm...if he was a furry, what would his fursona be? 🤔 And from there I started wondering what Jim’s and Claire’s would be as well because y not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

BUT WAIT, I hear you say--haven’t you already drawn the trio as werewolves and wolfwalkers etc.? Wouldn’t those be their fursonas??

Well yes....but actually no.

I guess it’s a little hard to explain, but there’s a nuance between “[person] but as an animal” and a proper “fursona”. While a fursona is an animal character used to represent its person, it doesn’t have to physically resemble them at all as you would expect [person]-but-as-[animal] to. For example, if you were to design me but as a cat, you’d probably give it light brown fur and green eyes like I have irl. But my fursona, unlike my human self, actually has blue fur and purple eyes. You can give your fursona matching physical traits to your own if you want to, and some people do, but most use only a pinch of their irl appearance, if any at all.

The choices people make when designing their fursonas vary wildly from “it looks like me irl” to “it looks like who I want to be” to “I just really like this color scheme” to “this particular color/marking holds deep personal meaning to me” to “this particular pattern represents a particular defining moment in my life” to “idk it looks cool and i vibe with it” etc. etc. etc. Everyone has different reasons of varying depth for the decisions they make in designing their fursona.

Therefore, to design a fursona for Toby etc., it’s less a question of “what would this character look like as [insert species here]?” and more of “how would this character choose to present himself with his own [animal] character?”

And that’s a much trickier game than just transferring a character aesthetic to a new species. ^^; We have to kinda dive into the characters and makes some guesses about how they, if given infinite creative freedom to design an animal avatar with no rules or limits, would choose to present themselves.

So all that said, here’s what I came up with:

Starting with Toby because he’s the one who inspired the post. I think Toby might choose a wolfdog fursona. A lot of people who choose wolves as fursonas consider themselves to be overwhelmingly loyal to their friends, a trait that fits Toby very well. However, while Toby likes to be “cool”, I don’t think he really thinks of himself as much of an “alpha” type--he’s more of a sidekick, and he knows that, and he’s ok with that. He’s the wingman. So what better way to incorporate that than to add dog into the mix? Man’s best friend=Jim’s best friend. Sociable, humorous, and unwaveringly loyal. Wolfdog it is!

With the species decided, we can move on to the design itself.

I can’t imagine any form of Toby in anything other than warm colors. This is extra emphasized by the flamelike patterns on his legs and tail, which both speaks to his desire to be totally awesome-sauce as well as acts as an allusion to his flaming warhammer. It’s fairly common (not universal, but common) for people to give their fursonas a more “ideal” physique than the person actually has as a sort of way to live by proxy physical goals or fantasies they’ve been unable to attain irl for whatever reason. Given that we’ve seen Toby struggle with fitness from time to time, it wouldn’t shock me to see him take this route. His wolfdog self is still relatively short and stocky, but it’s all muscle, babey.

This fursona is strong, fun, boisterous, and generally just kicks butt. Concentrated awesomesauce flows through his veins. Just don't mess with his friends, or you’ll feel the flames!

Moving on to Jim. Jim was the hardest to nail down, and most definitely the hardest to keep my personal biases out of oof. Which I may have failed to do anways because yes, ok, I made my favorite character a blue feline, sue me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But hear me out first!

For Jim I ultimately settling on a cheetah/lion hybrid.

Cheetahs, in a way, are sort of the underdogs (er...cats?) of the feline world--at least, in their local ecosystems. They are built wholly for speed, not strength--and as such, just about every other large predator in their environment has them beat when it comes to raw strength. Remind you of a certain Trollhunter? plus the long lanky legs. don’t forget those lol

However, because of this disadvantage, cheetahs...usually surrender. They know it’s not worth it to defend their kill from larger, stronger opponents, so they’ll give it up and just catch something else. This aspect doesn’t quite fit our protective, selfless protagonist all too eager to risk everything to save his loved ones--so a pure cheetah may not be the right choice.

So what animal is brave and protective? That’s where the lion part comes in, of course!

Why not just make him a pure lion? Well, a little similar to making Toby a wolfdog instead of a pure wolf. A straight-up lion feels a little too “chad” for our sweet Jimbo. Too much of a jock.

Jim has the humble underdog nature of a cheetah as well as the bravery and fierce protective drive of a lion. Cheelion? Leetah? idk, but let’s design it!

Like Toby and warm colors, I don’t think I can possibly associate Jim with any color but blue. While it’s never directly stated, given that we’ve never really seen him wear any other color (with the exception of the Eclipse armor), I think it’s pretty safe to assume that that’s his favorite. Blue sweater, blue jeans, blue shoes, even his backpack and bedsheets are blue. So naturally, his fursona would be predominantly blue as well! Plus some yellowish accents to (somewhat) match the natural colors of his chosen species(s).

I imagine he originally designed the character without horns, but then added them after becoming the Trollhunter, since it became such a major and impactful aspect of his life.

His lion’s mane also continues down his back in imitation of the “mantle” found on baby cheetahs. This youthful feature could subtly represent the fact that he’s been forced to grow up too fast and take on so much responsibility so young--so his fursona can still be young and carefree as long as he likes even while his real self struggles with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

This fursona is relaxed, calm, and confident. He’s not just cool--he’s crispy!

Lastly but not leastly, we have Claire. Out of the three, I think Claire was actually the easiest to choose--or at least, I had the clearest idea of what I thought she might go for.

Claire is a bit of an interesting duck, because while she’s shown to be fairly popular at school, she’s definitely far from the stereotype of The Popular Girl™. Yes she’s smart and pretty, but she’s also a little spunky or even a bit quirky--she’s a theatre kid, she’s a huge fan of hard rock band Papa Skull, and while I wouldn’t quite call her “rebellious” per se, she’s certainly willing to bend some rules if she feels the situation calls for it (not telling her parents that she was going to the concert with Steve, literally sneaking into Jim’s basement to try to find out what was up with him, etc).

That said, I think Claire might go for a hyena fursona--something a little out of the box, but not totally out of left field. (she also shows a slight Gurl Power™ streak here and there “the staff was not meant to be wielded by man--” “I am not a man!!!”) and if you know anything about hyenas...well, yeah lol)

I think Claire would lean into her punk-rock “rebellious” side with her fursona design. This character is completely free of the pressure of being the councilwoman’s daughter and having to maintain her mother’s public reputation, and thus allows Claire to express a less restrained side of herself. She has a bold semi-edgy color scheme with bright accents (and some earrings to match her person’s hair clips) while still remaining feminine and (her own brand of) fashionable.

This fursona is spunky and sassy; she’s spicy and sweet all rolled up into one. She knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to chase it down. She lives her own life and she’s dang proud of it.

....sooooo yeah there’s my take on what Toby’s, Jim’s, and Claire’s fursonas could hypothetically be. And I guess since this post was inspired by a joke about Toby’s infatuation with the school mascot, here’s just some quick thoughts on how they might approach fursuiting to end us off:

Jim I don’t see as much of a suiter. He might try it once or twice if given the opportunity, but at the end of the day it’s not really his cup of tea--he’d rather act as the “handler” for his friends, if anything.

Toby and Claire, on the other hand, I could definitely see as suiters. In fact, with her interest in acting, Claire would probably particularly enjoy it--she’d be one of those suiters who really gets into character, absolutely refuses to break the magic publicly (outside of any actual medical emergency), and popular at cons because she just performs so well.

Toby, meanwhile, would be the more chill type--uses his normal voice in-suit, isn’t really too stressed about “breaking the magic”, just kinda hanging around like he would normally except “look I’m a talking dog, cool right?”.

also while I was typing this it occurred to be that since Eli is canonically a cosplayer then he could be a fursuiter as well; in his case i imagine he actually made his own suit it’s a protogen and it’s full of little LEDs and other electric gadgets, it’s not the prettiest thing ever as sewing is not his forte but boy did he try!! good for him. good for him

#so anyways I put way too much thought into this...enjoy I guess?#trollhunters #tales of arcadia #toby domzalski #jim lake jr #claire nuñez #furry #my art

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peterrparrkerr · 3 years

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Zombie apocalypse au - read on ao3

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Peter doesn't remember life before the virus. He was only five when everyone got sick.

He's seventeen now, and he's never set foot outside of the city. Well, outside of the tower.

There's a curfew -has been since the virus. Those who go into the city for supplies or to work the garden and tend to the livestock have to be inside by five every day.

Peter doesn't have a green thumb, nore does he have a way with animals. And he's got two left hands when it comes to weaponry. So he stays in the tower.

The tower used to be Stark Industries. When the outbreak hit New York, people locked themselves inside, tried to wait it out.

Peter had been with his aunt. She tells him they'd gone to get ice cream and bring some back to his parents.

Aunt May had ran into the closest building -Stark Industries- and had hidden in the basement with Peter. He doesn't remember.

Tony Stark -the owner of Stark Industries- had offered his penthouse to the few who had taken refuge in his building.

After a week, many of the workers left, off to find their families. They never came back.

A month passed, and scouts confirmed the virus had taken over the whole city. Stark tower was the only building the monsters couldn't get to.

So, it became home. Peter grew up running up and down the industrial hallways, playing with the golden retriever one of the hideaways had.

He didnt know anything different. Everyone took care of him, raised him. He was the only kid in the tower.

He might even be the youngest living being in all of New York at this point.

His favorite people to visit and hang out with were Steve and Bucky. They had been walking their new puppy Goldie when the world ended.

They had been married for ten years before. They celebrated their twenty year anniversary a couple years back. Goldie was almost eleven, and didn't like playing as much with Peter -though she still liked to sit with him in the living room when he tinkered with old tech.

Natasha and Clint worked on the ground, so Peter didn't see them much. They could fight a whole swarm of monsters and not get bit. They were the best.

Bruce and Aunt May tended to the garden under their watchful eye. Steve, Bucky and Sam took care of the livestock.

Its strange. The zombies leave animals alone. They only go after people.

Tony, Bucky and Clint go scouting a lot. They run the city, looking for any survivors, or anything the tower could use.

The tower is self-sufficient thanks to Tony's genius. He'd been working on making the entire tower self-sustaining even before the outbreak.

He's only managed to get the top three floors. The rest of the tower has no electricity or running water. That's fine though. Theres not many of them left, and three floors is plenty of space.

The living area is the penthouse. They eat, sleep and breathe there. The second floor down holds all of Tony's old tech, and projects in the works. The third floor down is the weapons and medicine floor.

Peter is on the second floor when the scouting party comes back. He only knows this because of the AI Tony created tells all three floors when people come or go.

Peter sets down his tools and rushes for the staircase. He sails down them and opens the door bodily, nearly falling flat on his face.

"You're back," Peter called, running down the short hallway to the ammunition room. Clint, Bucky and Tony are all unloading their haul and their weapons.

Clint's weapon of choice is a bow and arrow, as well as a long range rifle -he's the eyes, always taking out zombies before they get close enough to spot them.

Bucky is unloading his knives and pistols. Hes best at close combat.

Peter jumps onto the table, watching as Tony checks the magazine of his .9mm, then settle it back into the holster on his thigh.

"How was it," Peter asked, eyeing the two duffle bags on the table, surrounded by magazine clips and disassembled weaponry.

"We made it all the way to the hospital this time," Bucky grinned. Peter's eyes widened. They don't get to the hospital that often, since its clear on the other side of the city, and usually swarming with zombies.

They don't need to go on medical runs much anyway, but Tony likes to keep stocked in case.

"And we hit the motherload," Clint grinned, unzipping one of the bags and revealing canned food from vegetables to soup, the labels all sun bleached and color faded.

"Whoa." Peter reached in, pulling out an old Cambells can, looking at the faded red and white label. He can barely make out the words. "Tomato soup!"

"Thats not all," Bucky hummed. Peter looked up just as Bucky reached into his back pocket.

Peter sets the can down and his eyes widen when Bucky pulls out a deck of cards.

"No way!" Peter leaps off the table, snatching the cards.

"Its a full deck," Bucky grins proudly. Their current deck was a mix of two different cards, and cardboard and plastic pieces they'd drawn the suits and numbers on.

It made it hard to shuffle, and they all knew the suit and number of the makeshift cards. It made for a boring game.

Clint laughed and ruffled Peter's curls before grabbing the food and heading for the penthouse to restock their cupboards.

"Thanks, Bucky," Peter grinned, pulling the cards out of the brand new -but still sun faded- case. He's never seen cards this new before.

"Dont thank me, Tony's the one who spotted them," Bucky said, giving Peter a knowing grin before grabbing the medicine and heading for the medical wing.

Peter blushed, then turned to Tony -who wasn't there. He scowled and looked around in confusion. He didnt notice him leaving.

Peter quickly puts the cards back in the protective box and drops them into his cargo shorts pocket before running out of the room.

After raids, Tony usually likes to spend time with his old tech -projects he'll never be able to complete, in a workshop he'll probably never get rid of.

He finds Tony at one of the work benches, fiddling with something Peter -to this day- can't figure out what it is.

"Hey," Peter said, walking over to him and sitting down on the stool at the end of the bench. Tony glances up and gives a small smile.

"Thanks for the cards," Peter continued, picking at his nails and looking down at his lap. "Bucky said you got them for me."

"You're welcome, kid," Tony hummed, eyes focused on a project he'll never finish. Peter thinks it makes Tony feel better. Makes him feel like he's back to before the virus, when he was making things all the time and helping people.

All he's got now are old robots that break down more often than they run, and dust over most of the place he used to call home.

All Tony has is JARVIS and the others, but Peter sometimes gets the feeling that that sometimes isn't enough for Tony.

The two sit in silence for a while, Tony hard at work, and Peter deep in thought.

"Hey Tony?"

Tony hums.

"Whats it like dating?" Peter says it fast, worried he'll lose his nerve and chicken out. Tony stops his fiddling and looks over, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you asking for dating advice?" Tony asked. Peter can't meat his eyes when he nods and Tony sets his tools down. "Who's the lucky person you're crushing on? Anyone I know?"

"You know everyone I do, Tony," Peter huffs. Tony crosses his arms and smirks, amused. Peter hunches his shoulders.

"Who is it?" Tony asks.

Peter takes a deep breath. He's gotta just come right out and say it. If he doesn't, he'll never do it and then it'll be too late.

"You," he breathes. Its quiet. Peter's hands sweat. This was a bad idea.

"Pete," Tony sighs. Peter manages to look up. Tony looks pained, regretful. Its not the look Peter wanted to see. "I'm too old for you."

"So?" Peter finds himself asking.

"So, you should be dating people your own age."

"Do you know of any other seventeen year olds running around?" Peter asked, waving his hand around dejectedly.

"There's always a chance-"

"Please don't," Peter interrupts. "Please? Its been twelve years. No ones come looking for us, you haven't found anyone during your raids. Its just us."

Tony opens his mouth to speak, but Peter's on a roll now, and he can't stop even if he wanted to.

"And don't say to wait. I've been waiting. For all we know we're the last people on earth not a zombie, and I want- I want to have my first kiss before I'm forty."

"Peter-"

"I want to experience things," Peter continues, steamrolling over Tony. "I want to go outside, and I want to have a boyfriend and I want to have sex-"

"Kid-"

"Please, Tony," Peter said. "I like you, and- and I don't want to experience this with anyone else in the tower, and I don't want to wait for the point one percent chance of someone my age coming along."

"Listen, kid," Tony sighs.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Tony," Peter said, sounding desperate. He looks at Tony with wide eyes, begging for the older man to understand.

Tony -hell, everyone in the tower- had a life before the virus. They got to experience the world. Peter hadnt.

Its all he wanted. He wanted a normal life. A life he was robbed of. He's desperate for it.

Tony doesn't say anything. He looks at Peter, calculating. Peter sees his shoulders begin to slump, and finally he breaks. Peter feels a little giddy at the thought of getting his way, though he remains put.

"No," Tony said on a sigh. "I suppose you're not."

Peter doesn't know whatto say after that. He's made his case, there's nothing more to say.

"Its hard," Tony said after a while. "I still think of you as a kid. I still think you're ten."

Peter chews on his lower lip, head dipped down and shoulders hunched in on themselves.

"So you don't like me back?" He managed to ask, even as his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth.

"Kid-" he sighs. "Peter."

Tony settles a hand on Peter's shoulder, and Peter looks up at him.

"I like you," he says. Peter feels himself beginning to smile and quickly clamps that down, biting his lip. "God knows this situation isn't ideal. This would've been bordering on illegal, before."

"If you're uncomfortable, I understand," Peter said. Tony shakes his head.

"Thats not what I'm saying, Pete."

Peter didn't know what he was saying then.

"If we're going to try this out, there's gotta be rules," Tony continued. Peter looked back up at him.

"First rule is there's no hiding it. If we're gonna date, everyone knows about it or its not happening."

"Okay," Peter nodded.

"And we're taking this slow," Tony adds. "Like, cold honey slow, got it?"

"Got it," Peter nodded. His smile is getting too wide to hide. Tony's hand squeezes his shoulder.

"Good."

He removes his hand from Peter's shoulder. He gives Peter a small smile back.

"Could- is kissing going too fast?" Peter asks. Tony's smile grows a little, and he shakes his head.

"No, its not too fast."

The older man leans forward and Peter eagerly closes the distance between them.

The kiss is close lipped, and their noses press against each other, but its perfect.

#marvel #peter parker #tony stark #starker #ao3 #sfsummerbingo21 #my writing

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papermoonloveslucy · 4 years

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MY THREE SONS at 60!

September 29, 1960

“My Three Sons” was a situation comedy produced at Desilu Studios. It premiered on ABC TV on September 29, 1960 and finished its first run on April 13, 1972, with 380 episodes making it the second-longest running live-action sitcom in TV history after “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett” (1952-66).

Seasons 1 through 5 were aired in black and white on CBS. In 1965 it moved to CBS when ABC declined to underwrite the costs of airing in color. The series was initially filmed at Desilu Studios in Hollywood, but at the start of the 1967–68 season, the cast and crew began filming the series at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California due to Lucille Ball’s sale of Desilu to Gulf + Western, which owned Paramount Pictures. The sale also affected the filming location of another family sitcom, “Family Affair.”

Incredibly, “My Three Sons” ran concurrently through both “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” Both Steve Douglas and Lucy Carmichael (and later Carter), where single parents raising children.

September 16, 1965 was a big night for CBS airing the very first episode of “My Three Sons” after moving from ABC titled “The First Marriage”. It was also the first episode of the series broadcast in color, something “The Lucy Show” did three days earlier with “Lucy at Marineland” (TLS S4;E1). The premise of the series is a widowed father (Steven Douglas) raising his three boys with help of his extended family. Initially, the three sons were Chip, Robbie, and Mike, but in 1967 Mike was written out and replaced by Ernie, whom Steve adopted. The extended family at first consisted of Bub, Steve’s father-in-law and the boys’ maternal grandfather, but in 1964, that character was replaced by Uncle Charley, Steve’s uncle and Bub’s brother.

The leading role was played by film star Fred MacMurray, who the series was built around - including his hectic schedule. To suit MacMurray, scenes would be shot out of sequence and even alone on a soundstage and later edited to create a complete episode. This was not MacMurray’s first time at Desilu. In 1958 he played himself on the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Hunts Uranium” set in the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas. He was joined by his second wife, actress June Haver. MacMurray (1908-91) appeared in over 100 films in his career but is perhaps best remembered for the film Double Indemnity (1944), which Lucy references in this episode. MacMurray’s name was first mentioned by Ethel in 1953 in “The Black Eye” (ILL S2;E20) when flowers arrive for Lucy mistakenly signed “Eternally yours, Fred.”

Although Lucille Ball was their landlord (and ultimate boss) she never acted on the show, but many of the actors who appeared on Lucille Ball’s sitcoms did appear on “My Three Sons”.

From 1960 to 1965, MacMurray was joined by William Frawley as Bub O’Casey, the family’s live-in maternal grandfather. Of course, Frawley came to fame on “I Love Lucy” as the crusty landlord Fred Mertz. Frawley had worked with MacMurray in the 1935 film, Car 99. When Frawley had to leave the show due to ill-health (and it was too costly to insure him) he was replaced by another Desilu alumni, William Demarest, as Uncle Charley. Like his previous co-star, Vivian Vance, Frawley was not especially fond of Demarest personally or as an actor. Demarest had, however, done three films with Lucille Ball. Frawley kept watching “My Three Sons” on his TV set bitterly. He never really got over being replaced by Demarest. On March 3, 1966, Frawley died of a heart attack.

For Christmas 1959, Frawley and Demarest both appeared with Lucy and Desi in “The Desilu Revue” (above with “December Bride’s” Spring Byington). At the time, Demarest was working on the Desilu lot appearing in NBC’s “Love and Marriage.”

On “My Three Sons” two of Steve Douglas’ boys had been seen on “The Lucy Show”: Don Grady (Robbie Douglas) had played Chris Carmichael’s friend Bill and Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas) had played Mr. Mooney’s son Arnold. Ted Eccles, who assumed the role of Arnold Mooney when Barry Livingston was busy on “My Three Sons,” also did an episode.

The children of “The Lucy Show,” Ralph Hart (who played Viv Bagley’s son Sherman), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), and Candy Moore (Lucy Carmichael’s daughter Chris) were also on episodes of "My Three Sons.”

Other “Lucy” performers who were on “My Three Sons” include:

Mary Wickes ~ Jeri Schronk (1964)

Doris Singleton ~ Helen & Margaret, 8 episodes (1964-70)

Shirley Mitchell ~ Sally, 2 episodes (1968)

Barbara Pepper ~ Mrs. Brand (1966)

Verna Felton ~ Mub (1962)

Kathleen Freeman ~ Lady Checker (1967)

Jerry Hausner ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1964 & 1966)

Reta Shaw ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1965)

Elvia Allman ~ Maude Prosser (1967)

Eleanor Audley ~ Mrs. Vincent, 9 episodes (1969-70)

Burt Mustin ~ Various Characters, 5 episodes (1962-70)

Olan Soule ~ Various Characters, 5 episodes (1963-70)

Alberto Morin ~ Professor Madoro (1967)

Herb Vigran ~ Caretaker (1967)

Maurice Marsac ~ Various Characters, 3 episodes (1964-72)

Tim Mathewson ~ Various Characters, 3 episodes (1962-63)

Bill Quinn ~ Doctors, 4 episodes (1964-66)

Barbara Perry ~ Mrs. Thompson & Mrs. Hoover, 3 episodes (1964-72)

Nancy Kulp ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962)

George N. Neise ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1960 & 1967)

Maxine Semon ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1964 & 1967)

Roy Roberts ~Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1967)

Lou Krugman ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1966 & 1967)

Richard Reeves ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1965)

Dorothy Konrad ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1961 & 1962)

Ed Begley ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1968)

Gail Bonney ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1970)

Rolfe Sedan ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1968 & 1971)

Tyler McVey ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1967)

J. Pat O’Malley ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1963 & 1964)

Paul Picerni ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1967)

Sandra Gould ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1963 & 1964)

Richard Deacon ~ Elderly Man (1960)

Mabel Albertson ~ Mrs. Proctor (1964)

Joan Blondell ~ Harriet Blanchard (1965)

Leon Belasco ~ Professor Lombardi (1966)

Dayton Lummis ~ Dr. Blackwood (1963)

Lurene Tuttle ~ Natalie Corcoran (1968)

Robert Foulk ~ Pop Action (1962)

Dick Patterson ~ Bunny Baxter (1963)

Jamie Farr ~ Itchy (1964)

Larry J. Blake ~ Policeman (1968)

Amzie Strickland ~ Cora Dennis (1968)

Barbara Morrison ~ Mrs. Murdock (1969)

Louis Nicoletti ~ Caddy Master (1962)

Frank Gerstle ~ Policeman (1964)

Gil Perkins ~ Painter (1963)

Tommy Ferrell ~ Mr. Griffith (1964)

Eve McVeagh ~ Clara (1966)

Remo Pisani ~ Pepe (1970)

Dub Taylor ~ Judge (1963)

Frank J. Scannell ~ Emcee (1968)

Ray Kellogg ~ Henshaw (1965)

Romo Vincent ~ Charley (1964)

Stafford Repp ~ Sergeant Perkins (1969)

Jay Novello ~ Vincenzo (1966)

Leoda Richards ~ Restaurant Patron (1966)

CHILD STARS!

Other child stars who appeared on “My Three Sons” included Butch Patrick (“The Munsters”), Jay North (“Dennis the Menace”), Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, Angela Cartwright (“Make Room for Daddy”), Flip Mark (”Lassie”), John Walmsley (”The Waltons”), Tony Dow (“Leave It To Beaver”), Erin Moran (“Happy Days”), Maureen McCormick (”The Brady Bunch”), Ann Jillian (Gypsy), and Heather Menzies (The Sound of Music).

On November 22, 1977, ABC TV (and Dick Clark Productions) brought together a reunion of two of television's favorite sitcoms "The Partridge Family" and "My Three Sons." Hosted by Shirley Jones and Fred MacMurray this would be the only time that the surviving cast members would get together to celebrate the series which included clips, a song from David Cassidy, and an update of what each cast member was doing in 1977.

Also in 1977, some of the stars of the series reunited on a morning program titled "The Early Show", including Stanley Livingston (Chip Douglas), Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas), Tina Cole (Katie Miller Douglas), and Don Grady (Robbie Douglas).

TRIVIA

In “Lucy Helps Danny Thomas” (TLS S4;E7) in 1965, there is a large framed photo of Fred MacMurray in the studio hallway. He is joined by other Desilu stars like Jim Nabors (of “Gomer Pyle USMC”), Andy Griffith (of “The Andy Griffith Show”) and Danny Thomas (of “The Danny Thomas Show”).

#My Three Sons #Lucille Ball #Desilu #1960 #TV #Desilu Studios #Fred MacMurray #William Frawley

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mogoona3000 · 5 years

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Irondad & Spiderson Extravaganza—Fanfic Author Appreciation Day Edition

In honor of Fanfic Author Appreciation Day, here’s the fic list that haunts me at night, that list I cannot stop reading even if I wanted to. There are a few more but this was going to run too long, so I’ll just add my AO3 bookmark link because wow. Everything I bookmarked deserves the look over. Promise.

Lights to Guide You Home - @jolinarjackson

This is that story I cannot stop reading, and I love it more each time I do. It introduces other characters from the MCU, and honestly, Jules can give the Russos a run for their money with the way storylines are connected here. It’s elegant and perfectly paced. It’s one of my favorites. I recommend the entire series wholeheartedly.

What We Are - @yellowdistress

A sucker for biodad Mr. Stark = me.

Guys. The very first chapter--the very first line in this story holds right at your PULSE. And it doesn’t let go, not until it wants to. Which is never. Precious Peter Parker is an UNDERSTATEMENT. You want some AU Stark boys going through their lives as best as they can? With your canon “chaotic & heart of gold” Tony, and “walking disaster & too pure for this world” Peter? This. This is it. The whole series. The whole thing.

The Third Option - Uncertainty_Principle

My very first fic in this fandom and it was, indeed, the best start I could’ve possibly gotten. This AU is outstanding. Man, what a job well done. I have so much to say that I can’t even begin to express it all. This fic blew the door wide open for me. It’s..yeah. This is masterful.

Hydra’s Not a Home - @tempestaurora

Ugh. There is something about biodad Tony that just fills my lungs with air. This entire series was so complete, so well done; it was fun, and witty, and hurtful and feelings were everywhere. Also, also..Pepper is everything and more in here, and I love when she’s heavily involved. And it’s done well. It makes me FLY. Needless to say..yes. So much yes. The entire series. The whole entire thing. A must read. A muuuuuust. Yes.

Webcams and Webshooters - @losingmymindtonight

I’m trying very hard to keep my composure because THIS SERIES RIGHT HERE, MAN. WOW. These two chaotic messes are being ridiculous on Peter’s YouTube channel and it’s the funniest, the most enjoyable thing. Nothing short of the most loving and endearing clips until it punches you in the mouth, leaves you bleeding, and then patches you up. All at the same time. If you listen closely, you can still hear my love and tears over this. Goodness, this was outstanding.

It’ll Be Over (And I’ll Still Be asking When) - @jbsforever

My heart. The jokes. The tears. The Bruce. The way this story is handled, the way Peter Parker..I just..And there is that one scene that I just go back to all the time, because y’all just write the coolest things, and my nerd tears are LOUD. Someone read this and geek out with me. Message me right after you’re done. RIGHT AFTER.

Reviving Peter Parker - @yellowdistress

Here’s what happened: I read this and it took me the h out.

You know, some times we wish for things that we know cannot take place. And when they actually do happen, because in the world of Tony Stark, aliens and gods walk amongst him so nothing can really surprise him anymore, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Denni has a way to tell a story with such very human-like emotion, and responses from our boys, that it’s almost too much. The tears were present right with their sibling pain. Read it all. All the parts. You won’t regret it.

The Closest Thing He’s Got - @ grilledcheesing

The..things I underwent with this wonderful work..All the emotions in the spectrum. Just so many things to feel.

You love Steve? Read this. You hate Steve? Read this.

You love Spidey? Read. This. You hate Spidey? Read this, but good luck.

You love Irondad & Spiderson trope? Read this!!!!!

You love Tony Stark? Read this right now. Because he’s dong his best and everyone needs to back off.

You hate Tony? Read this and eat your heart out.

Read this. Read this read this read this

5 Times Peter Parker Saved Tony Stark - @madasthesea

There is a special place in my heart for all things “Peter Parker saving himself + others” and Tony just impressed with him each time. Because yeah, Tony. You found a good one. And he loves you just as much as you love him. “Ugh. So proud of that Spiderbaby” was what I murmured throughout this whole thing, with the occasional scream :)

5 Times Peter Made Tony Laugh Out Loud - @ grilledcheesing

There were tears rolling down my face when I read this. It was the funniest thing. I love Peter, that walking disaster. I’m just glad Tony is in his corner. Please read this and have yourself a good laugh. It is the best. But beware that all jokes must stop at some point.

5 Times Everyone Thought Spider-Man was Iron Man’s Favorite Superhero - @madasthesea

Mr. Parker deserves all the love, and all the support. All the encouragement. All the good and “doing his best to be good” Irondad. This is the fic where my boys are loving on each other and everything is right with the world.

Here’s to All the New Beginnings - @groo-ock

There is no retired Irondad like this author’s retired irondad. Gosh, Tony is a MESS, but what a good one he is. This gives you origin pieces here and there, and Tony being comically distressed over Peter, and loving him so much, it’s almost unhealthy. Also, love me some Pepper Stark nei Potts. I laughed so hard and then cried just as much. Peter’s growing and Tony can’t handle much of it.

Honey Bee Theorem - @ closingdoors

There are so many ways Tony’s life could’ve been lived, so many things that could’ve happened, so many things that could’ve been said. Pepper explores all of them, and it leaves you breathless no matter which way she presents them. This was quick and painful and gorgeous. We stan Queen Stark nei Potts. And we might not be okay, but yeah, he can definitely rest now.

Soul of Wit - @yellowdistress

Sometimes I’m in bed at night thinking, “hmm, Denni is out for blood.” And by that, I mean she’s out for mine specifically. This ridiculous one-shot shot me right in my chest. Leave it to Denni to literally show you the world as it is, and make you feel this..ache in your chest, and have you THANK HER FOR THE PAIN SHE’S CAUSED. I love her work so much, that talented bean. Read this. Till the very, very end. It’s gonna suck, but I promise you’ll love it.

Holdfasts - @groo-ock

“I know this is just my under-treated anxiety talking,” Tony says, “but if I leave this chair or close my eyes even for a second, the kid is going to die. So I have to stay here.”

Tony and Peter are a walking disaster. It’s so bad, oh my gosh. It’s so bad. The laughing while simultaneously panicking as I read this was unbelievable. The things these authors make me FEEL. Y’all don’t understand how good this is. Like, lol, seriously. This is just straight up phenomenal. Phenomenal.

Four Paragraphs - @iron--spider

WOW. Okay. The softest thing in all the land is what takes place when this majestic author creates a story. I mean, seriously, these were the best four paragraphs I’ve ever laughed and cried through. The love, the pride, the longing, the gentleness. “Everything is alright. We’re okay” is always the theme with iron--spider and honestly? I STAN SO HARD, IT MIGHT BE ILLEGAL. Loved this so much. So much.

Call This Fixer-Upper Home - @3wworms

Amy has a way with words. It’s surreal how a simple one shot about a couch can have someone aching, eyes prickling, and long after the tab for the story is closed, the thoughts of it all produce salty tears. Maybe it was the note she left before the story started. But..nah, Amy has a WAY with WORDS. It’s unmatched. It’s surreal.

I Am One of You Forever - @groo-ock

Say goodbye to your canon broken heart because this is coming for it full force. This was entirely too beautiful; it was easy. Simple. Genuine. It was SO moving. The closing chapter to the brand new book. Like a dream. Mundane, loving, friendship, love. You name all good things, this one-shot has got it. The tears will be inevitable. On multiple occasions.

Star Child - @iron--spider

This is so organic and so soft. It’s wholesome, so much so it made me cry. These two really deserved more time. And I will never thank this author enough for giving it to them. Always. My Pete is undoubtedly a star child. Don’t fight Tony on it.

The First Birthday After - @iron--spider

Goodness. No words. Just tears.

Happy Birthday, tincan.

We miss you.

Flight of the Navigator - @3wworms

Everything, and I mean everything Amy posts is truly organic, mature and just nothing short of phenomenal. This is my favorite from her. The level of detail and characterization displayed here leaves me speechless. Always. I literally run from her fics. She pushes things out of me with the most mundane, simple concepts. A conversation, a thought, a LINE. Goodness, did I cry when I read this. It’s elegant and intelligent, insightful. It’s just so great. There is a tone to everything she creates, and it’s always so heartfelt. Everything. Everything everything is truly a work of art.

Blankets and Brain Melting Fevers - @hailing-stars

I love some ridiculous, overprotective, comical Tony Stark. And I love even more the way Peter’s heart always has a thing for showing something new to this man. Something as simple as spaghetti-o's, and to make me CRY real tears. This was so funny and truly wonderful. Uncalled tears! But wonderful nonetheless.

On My First Son - pansley

I almost didn’t include this. There are some things some would say are better left..unread. But what a disservice would that have been to you, to us, to the author.

I cried throughout the entire time I was reading this. Literally. The moment you meet Peter, you already lost.

This is absolutely incredible. What a piece.

This one is the definition of a tear jerker. Period. It will wake up things inside of you that you’d never even know you’d felt for these characters we grew with.

I cannot emphasize this enough: I was dangerously dehydrated.

Heavens, what a story. I was breathless.

Read this, but sincerely do so with extreme caution.

Hold on to everything, because this one-shot is coming like a tsunami. No ifs ands or buts.

#iron dad and spider son #iron man #spiderman #tony stark #peter parker #fanfic author appreciation day #fanfiction

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thestuckylibrary · 4 years

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A Year in Reading: 2019 - Julia

2019 wasn’t kind, but fandom is always there to cheer you up. Under the cut is a list of my favorite 2019 reads <3

Please make sure to check the additional tags for each of them and happy reading!

January

The Pajama Party Incident by follow_the_sun (oneshot | 1,455 | T)

A pajama party goes horribly wrong, then wonderfully right.

heartbeat going strong by fireflyslove (oneshot | 4,364 | T)

Steve's been sent to kill the dragon holding the Princess hostage, but the Princess isn't a hostage, and the dragon isn't what he seems.

I’m a Sucker for a Wild Boy by jinlinli (complete | 9,897 | T)

Steve is a vampire who’s never met a werewolf in his life before. Bucky is a werewolf who doesn’t even know vampires exist. Naturally, neck biting means two very different things to them.

In which Steve goes for a midnight snack and accidentally gets himself werewolf married.

The Very Heart of It by merryofsoul (oneshot | 17,743 | M) - Restricted

In which Captain America adopts a dog from Bucky and they become friends — and then more.

call me old-fashioned by I_mNotYourEnemy (oneshot | 7,458 | T)

Steve rises before the sun, runs through various exercises until his muscles burn and sweat gathers on his brow. He showers and dresses and eats, and then heads out the door with dampness still clinging to his hair. His path doesn’t cross with anyone else’s until he reaches the local subway station. He jogs down the stairs to the platform and sees the man waiting there once again, the sergeant.

Or: Bucky joins Steve on his morning commute. Steve draws him and gets his number.

the long walk home by Deisderium (oneshot | 3,566 | E)

On the walk back from Azzano, Bucky keeps touching Steve's chest. Then he touches it some more. And more.

Steve bites his lip raw. AKA tiddy fic

Heckin' Chunker for Love by canistakahari (oneshot | 2,708 | T)

On the inside of the big floor to ceiling window of the office across the street, someone has used Post-it Notes to spell out a message:

W H A T I S Y O U R C A T ’ S N A M E ?

February

bucky barnes and the art class by belovedmuerto (oneshot | 1,420 | T)

Bucky takes an art class, because he wants to spend more time with Steve.

Patience by cleo4u2 (oneshot | 5,073 | E)

You should never Google yourself. Steve knows that, he's been out of the ice for over a year, but he just can't help himself. After finding a gorgeous, sexy brunette thirst tweeting about calling him Daddy, he can't help himself from responding, either.

i want it, i got it by bornes (oneshot | 1,499 | T)

Ten minutes into their impromptu mall adventure, Steve has offered to buy Bucky a designer sofa he had sat on briefly to rest his legs, a $600 headband, and a diamond-encrusted butterfly clip

Remember How to Love by betoning (oneshot | 3,852 | T)

“We shared a bed,” Bucky remembers, "and your toes were freezin’. We didn’t – nothing more, though.”

“No, Buck,” Steve swallows. “Nothing more.”

(Bucky wants more.)

tease me, squeeze me by goodmanperfectsoldier (oneshot | 3,757 | E) - Restricted

It isn’t his fault that Steve has absolutely no sense of modesty. It isn’t his fault that Steve has no desire to be in his Captain America uniform any longer than strictly necessary. It isn’t his fault that Steve tends to start disrobing as soon as they hit friendly airspace, so that he can pull on a t-shirt and sweatpants before they even make it back to headquarters, much less get home to their apartment.

The Fool in the Mirror by thepinupchemist (complete | 111,489 | E) - violence, check additional tags for warnings!

The Avengers, SHIELD, and the world at large have underestimated the pain that Steve Rogers is in.

The night after a near brush with a suicide attempt, Steve discovers the world of support omegas, and in his desperation for relief from the battlefield of his brain, demands to have one.

Enter Bucky Barnes: retired marine, millennial, amputee, brother, son, and support omega. He maybe, just maybe, can help a broken alpha heal in the twenty-first century.

The Best Way to Wake by LeeHan (oneshot | 42,285 | E)

James Buchanan Barnes lay in a glass pod in the middle of the table, frozen since he fell. Steve’s hands were on the glass before he realized he’d moved. “Wait, Captain!” “Get him out,” Steve whispered, his hands searching for a clasp, a keypad, something. “Captain, we need to keep him in stasis—“ “I said get him out!”

March

Taken by Surprise by Mireille (oneshot | 1,606 | E)

It turned out that there were things Bucky didn't know about Steve, after all.

In the Shadow of Armistice by superheroresin (complete | 63,491 | E)

Sedryn Amathion is a young Ñoldor elf born of lower Himring near the end of the harrowed Second Age. Vice-Captain of the Forlindon Shieldmasters, herald of the High King Gil-Galad, and devotee of Eärendil, the Star of High Hope.

Or, as the ragtag Dúnedain troupe known as the Howling Commandos calls him, Steve.

The Commandos are to sabotage an orc signal tower deep within the Ephel Dúath mountains, clearing the way for the armies of the Last Alliance to march on Barad-dûr and rescue all of Middle-earth from the clutches of this new and terrible Dark Lord.

“Steve” has no way of knowing that love formed deep behind enemy lines would settle so completely inside his immortal heart, defying time, distance, and ultimately death itself.

Tinder Is the Night by rohkeutta (oneshot | 6,802 | E)

It’s the quality that gets him first. The profile photo looks like it's been taken with a semi-professional camera: it's sharp and remarkably unposed compared to most people on Tinder. The guy in the photo is the size of a fucking fridge but with Marilyn Monroe’s waistline, accentuated by the way he’s standing half-twisted towards the camera.

He’s also in the process of getting arrested.

Steve, 28, it says under the photo. New York City. Some say I have an arresting personality. This photo is from my good side. The other has a shiner.

Introduction to Fake Dating Your Best Friend 101 by crinklefries (oneshot | 24,627 | T)

Bucky stares at his best friend as though he’s absolutely lost what’s left of his dumbass mind.

“Excuse me?” he asks dumbly.

Steve sighs and sags back onto the couch, covering his face dramatically with one large, well-manicured hand.

“Dean Coulson thinks we’re dating. And gay. But like, for each other. And now I need you to fake date me so I can convince the Chancellor to fund my research.”

or;

Steve and Bucky are a pair of professors who have to fake date for academic purposes and are real dumb along the way. It's not so much a forest of pine as a whole landscape of it. It turns out fine, probably.

straight from your heart by luninosity (oneshot | 10,516 | E) - check additional tags for warnings!

Steve doesn’t mean to have the orgasm. Not exactly. Not the first time, anyway.

It’s the leather and the buckles and the capable stance. It’s the determination: familiar, and not. Steve doesn’t even know which mission this had been. Where this snapshot of the Winter Soldier had been captured, a splinter out of time. Too many to choose from. But that doesn’t matter.

His skin prickles, his heart races in supersoldier extra-double-time, with want.

Things That Go Bump in the Night by seapigeon, velleities (complete | 38,266 | E)

Many an odd critter and item have ended up on the front porch of the property Bucky house-sits in the Middle Of Nowhere, but a bleeding blond man is a first. A short inspection reveals the man to be none other than Steve Rogers; ex-Captain America, vigilante, and a wanted fugitive. Steve’s stay of a few days of recovery is prolonged, under instructions for him to lie low until the Avengers can sort out the mess that has become the Sokovia Accords. Bucky is pretty sure that he’s committing an act of treason by providing Steve a place to stay. He is also pretty sure that lengthy interaction with Steve makes one prone to impending headaches and possibly ulcers. And he is certain that he is, very assuredly, in danger of falling in love with Steve.

skin by mcwho (oneshot | 1,945 | E)

Steve is spooning Bucky, an arm draped loosely around his middle, laying on the large sofa opposite the TV. His lips are against Bucky’s hair, breathing him in.

It’d be an average Thursday night if it wasn’t for Steve being buried to the hilt inside of him and showing no signs of moving any time soon.

Rouge Fétiche by bangyababy, Neutralchaos (oneshot | 6,941 | E)

“Steve,” Bucky breathed, coming closer. “Stevie, what’s all this?”

Steve made no move to cover himself, now that Bucky had seen it, there was no point. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the ground. “What’s it look like?” he bit out. “I’m wearin’ women’s panties, that’s what it is.”

Steve has been keeping a secret from Bucky-sometimes he likes to wear women's underwear. He thinks it's wrong and he shouldn't want to do it, but he can't help it, so he keeps it to himself. But when Bucky walks in on him one day, Steve eventually has to explain himself. Of course, as it turns out, he was worried about nothing.

Army Proof by aetataureate (complete | 18,423 | T)

Despite his recent and unexpected promotion from green recruit to national icon and media darling Captain America, Steve Rogers still lacks the skills and experience necessary to thrive in the Army. First Sergeant Tony Stark has dealt with decades of tomfoolery from his subordinates, but nothing has quite prepared him for the particular brand of chaos that trails in Steve's wake.

Steve's team includes at least one competent adult in Sam Wilson, but also contains Clint Barton, a mechanic who cheats at cards and still loses, and Natasha Romanov, their terrifying police escort. Together, the gang must navigate across Eastern Europe without causing Steve’s next major international incident.

On the other side of the world, Bucky Barnes is contending with a new reality while doing what he can to keep his accidental hero boyfriend on the path that will eventually lead him home.

much tattoo about nothing by Deisderium (oneshot | 14,576 | E)

Steve Rogers gets a lot of email requests, but never one like this: James Barnes wants to use his healing factor to practice tattoos.

Turns out tattoos give Steve boners.

before we can breathe easy by belovedmuerto (oneshot | 22,052 | T)

No one touches Steve.

Bucky sets out to do something about that.

April

Count On Me Like One, Two, Three by MacksDramaticShenanigans (oneshot | 4,235 | G)

“I also need to get one of those scooter things,” Bucky adds. “That’s gotta be better than these damn crutches.” Steve’s eyes drop down to the crutches again, and he frowns. “Crutches are never comfortable,” he agrees, shaking his head. “You want a piggyback ride?” He asks, grinning as he laughs at his own joke. Bucky ducks his head and laughs along, a good-natured smile settling over his lips. “Yeah, that would be real nice, wouldn’t it?” He says, not thinking anything of it. When he looks back up, however, Steve’s already in the process of shrugging his backpack off of his shoulders. The smile melts off of Bucky’s face and his brows furrow together. Was that… a serious offer?

stay by birdjay (oneshot | 1,318 | T)

The platform buzzes, and suddenly goes quiet. The cycle has finished. Bucky doesn’t bother to look. There’s no way Steve’s coming back when he has the chance to stay. He moves to walk away, to move on with his life, somehow.

“Buck -- ?”

Bucky whirls around, hair flying.

might never be normal again (but who cares) by napricot (complete | 51,540 | E)

The beginnings of a plan took shape in Steve’s mind, as clear and simple as a tactical frontal assault. He’d prove to Bucky that this was it, he was staying: Steve was retired from the fighting game, Steve wasn’t going to let anything keep pulling them apart. Maybe then when Steve finally told him he loved him, Bucky would believe him.

All things considered, Steve thought he’d handled the whole Thanos killing half the universe thing and the ensuing bitter, desperate quest to defeat him pretty well. Sacrificing his super soldier serum to use one of the Infinity Stones wasn't a problem either, not when it meant getting back the half of the universe they'd lost, and especially not when it meant getting Bucky back. But retirement and finally confessing his feelings for Bucky? Those were proving to be more challenging.

May

Smile by WinterTheWriter (oneshot | 2,205 | E)

They say Bucky never smiles, and that's true.

Almost.

The Settler by charlesdk (complete | 52,203 | M)

“What do you want to do?”

Steve pauses and looks at them.

What he wants is to stay with them. He doesn't have any family left, they all died before he even joined the war and became... this. Captain America turned whatever he is now. But Natasha and Sam have become his family over the years. Not just because they're on the run together, fugitives and vigilantes, but way before that too.

He doesn't want to leave that.

But he knows that, realistically, he can't stay with them and they can't stay with him.

So he looks at them with a smile and lies. “I don't know.”

OR; In which Steve retires and finally finds a place to call home.

And fill our bodies up like water till we know by caughtinanocean (oneshot | 22,705 | T)

Wolves mate for life. It's both the best thing about Bucky's life, and the most inconvenient.

After six days in Steve’s arms, Bucky dreams again, for the first time since the ice — wolf dreams, four feet on the ground, the smell of the earth, and his eyes in the sky.

The moon is coming, and this reprieve — like all reprieves — is temporary.

June

Home Is Wherever I'm With You by cydonic (complete | 88,570 | E)

This is what happens when you buy a house to flip having only seen the online images: you get more than you bargained for. Bucky Barnes brings all the tools to handle a dilapidated home, but he's hardly prepared for a smart-mouthed child (with poor aim), a crying baby, and the hottest dad he's ever seen in his life living right next door.

That House-Flipper!AU.

People Change, Love Doesn't by Kateis_Cakeis (complete | 119,144 | E)

Bucky didn't fall from the train. Steve didn't die when he jumped out of the plane. They survived.

But suddenly, it wasn't enough to keep their feelings hidden. They had both almost died, only to come back stronger. Well, Steve was done pretending they were only friends, and Bucky was done too.

Surviving the war, however, brought so many challenges. Being SSR agents, eventually becoming SHIELD, building a family with their friends. Living. What would happen as the years ticked on?

miles to go before i sleep by alby_mangroves, obsessivereader (complete | 34,079 | E)

Vietnam vet Bucky is just trying to get a hot meal, and maybe a job, in the small town of Hope, but the local law enforcement has other ideas. When their brutality triggers a flashback, Bucky snaps and escapes from their custody. Hunted, exhausted, injured, he finds shelter for the night next to a cabin in the middle of the woods. He means to be long gone before the cabin's occupant awakes. Things don't turn out quite the way he expected.

All of Your Love is Sunlight by canistakahari, WarlockInTraining (oneshot | 22,657 | E)

Sometimes the path to happiness involves bad timing turned good, a butt plant, and a little everyday magic. For Steve and Bucky, it's all that and more.

if you're looking for jesus (then get on your knees) by voxofthevoid (oneshot | 18,171 | E)

S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Bucky Barnes is captured on a mission and meets Commander Steve Rogers, the erstwhile Captain America.

A Year in the Life of Sarge's Person by Angst_BuriTTo, BlueSimplicity (complete | 189,125 | E)

This is the tale of a year in the life of Sarge’s person, AKA James Buchanan Barnes, as he tries to recover from everything that’s happened to him over the past eighty years. During that time, he is forced to deal with bad therapists, people with their own agendas, memories he doesn’t want, horrible losses from his past and almost insurmountable odds.

But this is also the story of all the crazy people Bucky meets along the way, who help him when he’s at his lowest, point him in the right direction when he feels lost, make him laugh, grow to love him for who he is, and most importantly, give him hope when he needs it most.

It’s a long and difficult journey, as Bucky works not just to let go of his past, but to also rebuild his own identity and a future for himself. And with Sarge at his side, Bucky slowly comes to realize that not everything he once loved is lost, and if he can just have enough faith in himself and those around him, he might, just might, get his very own happy ending.

Bucky IS Sarge’s person after all. As the once abandoned puppy Bucky saved one night from freezing to death, he knows, more than anyone, just how much Bucky deserves it.

Let this be light work by caughtinanocean (oneshot | 8,628 | T)

On the run with Sam and Natasha, Steve finds the words to describe his commitment to Bucky. As with most of Steve’s decisions, there are unintended consequences.

July

everything the water can be by jehans (oneshot | 5,622 | E)

“So,” Bucky continues slowly, his blush deepening, “you get the best time today. . . ,” he takes a breath, drops his voice even lower, and soughs, “I’ll let you take off my clothes. All of ‘em.”

Shit.

Steve suddenly realizes what a fucking moron he is for having initiated this line of flirtation here at the pool and right before practice.

it don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing) by carissima (oneshot | 6,375 | M)

“Alright,” Bucky says and stands with his hands on his hips and gives Steve a narrowed glare. “Hit me. What went wrong?”

“I uh, don’t actually know?” Steve says, and now he feels an embarrassed flush creep over his cheeks. “She stood me up.”

Bucky stares at him. Blinks once. And stares some more. “You,” he says flatly. “You got stood up?”

An Act of Kindness by greyhavensking (complete | 12,716 | T)

In which Bucky Barnes ignores personal boundaries and Steve Rogers gets increasingly flustered.

(Or five times Bucky manhandled Steve + one time it was the other way around)

crowding the hitter by rooonil_waazlib (complete | 12,917 | E)

But the trash monsters are coming closer, and Bucky’s going to be pissed if he has to get his grate replaced tomorrow.

He turns off the panini press, heads into his bedroom, and pulls his college baseball bat out of the closet, pausing only to pull on the slacks he’d just taken off. He’s going to go defend his shop, and he’s not going to do it in his underpants.

August

time on my hands (could be time spent with you) by thedoubteriswise (oneshot | 23,024 | M)

"You doing okay, kid?”

Steve releases a breath, deciding how honest he wants to be. No point in lying. No point in telling the truth, either. "Glad to see you."

"That’s not what I asked, but same to you, punk."

Quench by AidaRonan (complete | 9,417 | E)

Or the one where archeology intern Bucky Barnes meets actual archeologist Steve Rogers and reaches levels of thirst scientists once believed to be theoretically impossible.

I'll hold on a little tighter (maybe you'll stay the night) by glittercake (complete | 10,393 | E)

"No strings. I ain't got time for strings." Steve murmurs.

Bucky nods helplessly.

"Be discreet." Steve continues kissing his neck and talking, now also rubbing and squeezing his thigh. "Condoms, always. Back out anytime you want. And sweetheart—"

"Hm?" Bucky hums in a delirious daze as Steve works all the way down to his collarbone and bites, making Bucky jolt forward.

"I like it rough, don't do it any other way. If that ain't your thing, we gotta call it off right now."

this love immortal is an assassin's delight by voxofthevoid (oneshot | 12,954 | E)

After the Battle of New York, Captain America refuses to work for S.H.I.E.L.D and remains in New York. Alexander Pierce activates the Winter Soldier to handle the situation and unknowingly signs Hydra’s death warrant.

Watch With Glittering Eyes by Kellyscams (oneshot | 6,746 | E)

Witch Steve and familiar Bucky have a fun night together.

Happiness is a handful by pamurai (oneshot | 1,274 | E)

Steve's pecs compel Bucky's memories to return faster. Together they explore what makes them happy and what the future holds.

(It's Steve's tits.)

It's Been a Long, Long Time by non_tiembo_mala (oneshot | 11,862 | E)

It's been a thing almost as long as they have, since before Steve grew up and filled out his serum-given body. Connection, comfort-- whatever it is, it grounded them then and, as it turns out, it grounds them now, many decades and disasters later.

Or: the one where Steve's beautiful tits help Bucky get his memory back.

September

Do What You Did by Bentrumors (oneshot | 1,075 | E)

“Come finish what you started,” Bucky mumbles into the pillow.

“I can’t. Sam’s waiting for me.”

Bucky turns his head and glares at Steve through bleary eyes. “You’re going to leave me hanging?”

Steve shrugs.

a slow start by birdjay (oneshot | 2,689 | E)

It’s a gorgeous sight, Steve spread out like this. He wants to lick, wants to bite, wants inside where he’s hot and tight. Wants to make Steve make that gasping noise that he loves so much.

All in good time.

An Apple in the American Pie by Kimra (oneshot | 2,479 | M)

At the end of CAWS Steve runs off with Bucky, and also falls pregnant. Go figure.

October

All the sweetness and all the glory by pes (oneshot | 2,916 | M)

“Do you know,” Steve began softly, mindful of the sleeping child, “I can’t tell whom she takes after the most just yet, but one thing I know for certain. This,” he said, tracing Annie’s dimpled chin with the very tip of his finger, “this she got from your side of the family.”

(In which a visit to Bucky's new niece kindles all sorts of feelings, and a precious little secret comes to light.)

Give Up the Ghost by humapuma (complete | 44,541 | E)

Bucky Barnes is an anomaly; he's physically an Omega but has the body of an Alpha. He has a lot of the stubbornness too. Steve Rogers is an anomaly; he's a romantic and he believes in the traditions his parents raised him with. There's something about Steve that makes Bucky's Omega brain say, Mine. There's something about Bucky that makes Steve want to be more than a little reckless.

ever just as sure by ariadne_odair (complete | 7,938 | M)

“Your boyfriend is here.”

It’s take Steve a second to realise Sharon is talking to him; it then takes him even longer to respond and to stop choking on his reply. “I - er, is he?”

Sharon eyes him up like he’s lost his mind. “Well, the guy currently parking his crappy car in our car park is definitely not mine.”

Steve and Bucky are idiots. They're also in love. Obnoxiously so. Alternatively titled: Five times someone has a front-row seat to Steve and Bucky's relationship.

Where the Heart Is by Chancy_Lurking (oneshot | 12,133 | T)

“Couples are more than welcome to room together.”

Steve freezes up, feels his eyes go a little wide before he can help himself. He stumbles over his words, “Oh, I—No, we’re not—”

“We’re not going to give you any trouble about that,” Fury presses, turning to squint at them head on. “Stark likes to say we’re opened minded and close-knit. Your private life is your business, but you don’t need to hide here, understand?”

Steve goes to reiterate that they’re not a couple, but startles when Bucky’s hand settles on the small of his back. He looks at him like he’s lost his mind, but Bucky’s just smiling at him. “Never can be too careful these days,” he says.

(Steve and Bucky pretend to be a couple when they move in, but at some point, it stops feeling like pretend.)

Like gifts under trees by pes (oneshot | 6,528 | T)

Inside the leather satchel, bundled in a few layers of cloth, was the smooth swell of an egg. A dragon egg, dark, and shiny, and fluttering with life in its makeshift nest.

“I think it’s about to hatch,” Steve breathed, clutching the bag to his chest helplessly.

Bucky didn’t need to think twice.

Your voice is all I hear somehow, calling out winter by chaosmanor (oneshot | 13,597 | E) - stucky/symbiote

Bucky is remarkably functional, considering what he's been through. Then, sometimes, it's like a sullen killer is wearing his skin.

(Or, the fic no one asked for, where Bucky has a symbiote named Winter and everyone has to work out how to live together.)

Misery I Need by mwestbelle (oneshot | 2,592 | M)

"You've seen his file, right?" She let out a low whistle. "What a shame. To do that to such a pretty omega."

They thought he was asleep. She didn't mean anything by it, and if she knew that he'd heard he's sure she would have apologized. But it's her voice that he hears whenever he feels out of place, uncomfortable in his skin. What a shame.

OR a different take on Steve Rogers' body issues

November

Simple by Ellessey (oneshot | 4,043 | T)

Steve's holding Bucky's drink out to him and he's looking at Bucky in that way he does. It makes Bucky want to cover his face. It makes him want to peek inside of himself and see if he can actually spot the butterflies.

"Here you go," Steve says. "Extra hot, so be careful, 'kay?"

"Okay, thanks..." Bucky says. And then he has to swallow again, and his throat feels awfully tight but he practiced this last night and he can do this. He can. He opens his mouth again and adds, "Steve."

Every morning Bucky walks to a nearby coffee shop as a kind of exposure therapy. He isn't going there for the coffee, and he's not actually sure he's going there for the therapy anymore, but he's definitely going there for Steve Rogers' smile.

Every Move the Feeling Follows by thepinupchemist (oneshot | 5,412 | E)

After the Avengers win the battle against Thanos, everyone gets to go home. Steve and Bucky retire, get mated, and get surprised. They have a baby, and they get to start their lives again.

not idiots at all by icoulddothisallday (oneshot | 2,297 | M)

Somehow, despite the seventy years in the ice and his overwhelming fame and popularity, Steve’s words have never been recorded anywhere. He suspects that he has Peggy to thank for that. The words have always been a source of embarrassment for Steve, for one reason or another. When he was a child, his words were just another thing that set him apart from others. Other kids had common words - mostly names, as that was what you were supposed to say to a stranger. Some kids got dealt generic words like excuse me and good morning. Steve’s words didn’t make much sense, the ones that did were...not intended for polite conversation.

Thursday Nights with Bucky Barnes by Ellessey (oneshot | 4,662 | T)

Steve has a comfortable, well-worn routine for his Thursday nights, until the old man who runs the laundromat breaks his hip.

Then Steve has Bucky instead.

Rare Is This Love (Keep It Covered) by histoires_eternelles, musette22 (complete | 66,773 | E)

It's 2014. Captain America has been out of the ice for three years and is trudging along, saving the world and trying to get used to living in the future. Steve thinks he knows how the rest of his life is going to pan out – a life of duty, which he chose when he signed up to be Erskine’s science experiment. But then, he meets Bucky Barnes: the out-of-this-world-gorgeous mechanic and war vet, who turns Steve’s life upside down and makes him question everything he thought he knew. Slowly, Steve comes to realize there is more to life than duty and punching Nazis. Just one problem though: how on earth does a 96-year-old virgin who only just realized he may not be entirely straight make the transition from crush to relationship? Cue healthy amounts of self-doubt, awkward flirting, pretty blushing, existential crises, emotional growth, and maybe, possibly, a sexual awakening.

rather be a lover than a fighter (found peace in your violence) by voxofthevoid (oneshot | 4,355 | E)

The dust has settled, and the world is healing. Men are too.

The Soldier's Revenge by LeeHan (complete | 76,406 | E)

Bucky Barnes turns himself in to SHIELD two years after dragging Captain America out of the Potomac River. He was deprogrammed in Wakanda and has been hunting down Hydra ever since, but he needs help if he wants to take proper revenge on his captors. He turns to his old enemies: SHIELD and the Avengers, but it'll take more than a few words to win their trust after the Winter Soldier brought SHIELD to its knees not long before. Now at SHIELD's mercy, the only thing that stands between Bucky and his revenge is the approval of Captain Rogers: a self-righteous asshole that Bucky barely knows.

All Those Little Pieces by Ellessey (complete | 40,516 | M)

Steve has never forgotten Bucky Barnes. Not their childhood together, not the horror of the moment Bucky fell too far for him to reach, and not the way he's loved him all the while.

Bucky has forgotten everything about Steve, at least at first. But there's still a feeling there, warm in his chest—and maybe now that he's found his way back to Steve Rogers and his sunny apartment, there's a chance it might turn into something more.

December

No fics for this month, since it was a difficult one.

In any case, I hope you enjoy all of these recs above and have a great 2020! <3

#mod picks #mod julia

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tjlunneyworld-blog · 5 years

Text

*Contextual Leadership and Exceptionalism*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHz26UfgOVI Stop clip at 3:57

*Contextual Leadership and Exceptionalism*

In this entry, I will examine the critical question: How does this artifact define what it means to be an exceptional nation? What does it mean that you/we/they are defining it that way? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this definition>

To investigate this question, I examined a portion of March 10th, 2019’s episode of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”. This video does define what American exceptionalism is not, with a focus on Donald Trump’s media responses Oliver analyzed and bashed some of Trump’s “funny moments”. The video defines American exceptionalism as everything Trump is not doing, to look at any of Oliver’s snip bits and brand our president as an exceptional American would be irresponsible. If Americans are exceptional, America is exceptional so defining this will require Oliver and Trump to both be held accountable. The disadvantages and advantages of this definition are astronomical but, evident in the video a few stand out.

Trump getting media bashed in a guerilla warfare fashion by Oliver shows how our president is depicted as a comedian with a lot of power. The artifact neatly compiles and structures a set of interviews in which Oliver discusses after each how Americans should view the clips. Trump, for example, is seen signing hardcover Bible’s and is compared to other president’s. Oliver’s weapon of choice to bash Trump is metaphors and similes, this proves useful for this CQ since Trump’s is shown only in a negative shade.

Do we have a responsibility to think the U.S. is exceptional? This question boggled my mind, it led to my viewing of this video to civil religion and how America has its own capital T truths.

Civil religion is the collection of morals, beliefs, symbols & institutions the people of the U.S. pledged to uphold. A belief shared by many Americans is that the Bible is Holy, you swear an oath with your hand on the Bible for example. To enhance the gravity and seriousness of any given situation the Bible is of course used to swear in the next President of the United States. Defining American exceptionalism for when Trump refuses to state his favorite verse from the Bible works well because if he did the opposite of what he did that would actually, be good. This means neither you, me or Oliver expects this bizarro behavior of actually acting presidential. Oliver say’s other presidents have in fact signed Bibles, but never the cover and never in sharpie. A clear disadvantage of defining American Exceptionalism as everything trump isn't doing judging by Steve Warren author of “Was it wrong for Trump to Sign Bibles? Here’s What He Once Told CBN About the Bible”. Warren (2019) states “Presidents have a long history of signing Bibles, though earlier presidents typically signed them as gifts to send with a spiritual message. President Ronald Reagan signed a Bible that was sent secretly to Iranian officials in 1986. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the family Bible his attorney general used to take the oath of office in 1939”. Probably signed with good moral Trump unintentionally gets flack for this by the people, Oliver uses this signing scandal to build up another Bible related punchline against when Trump refused to state some of his “Favorite books”. Oliver continues and states how Trump lying about knowing Bible verses is worse than stating a quote from the movie “A Christmas Carol”. Following up with this, disadvantages come along defining how exceptional it is that Oliver is saying the movie quote is better than what trump states at 1:45. This video having the comedic narrative definitely sways the attention and points out how exceptional Americans have to be judging by who the president is. If we are responsible to think the U.S. is exceptional than Oliver is saying we can laugh at all this small antics shown in this video like messing up the Apple CEO’s name. Oliver constantly switches to a very serious tone and shows Trump messes up, but will he mess up like we all expect him to.

The video uses subtle hints to the audience that what Oliver is saying should be taken seriously. Filmed in front of a live studio audience is also noteworthy and reminiscent of old Athenian culture. Where Trump would be the best rhetor and Oliver would be one that didn't wield as much authority but had listeners. For Pericles there was one dispute his people had against him, this one decision affected Athenians in life-threatening ways. Warren (2019) states that the Trump Bible signature scandal was considered a fake controversy, it is kind of media fluff agreed. The video at 0:25 seconds shows that this story was aired on MSNBC at 4:01am PT, not exactly headline news. Compared to how Pericles spoke in his 2nd speech Oliver does sound as though he is rallying the people to unite almost. Pericles states “A man may be personally ever so well off, and yet if his country is ruined he must be ruined with it”. This captain going down with the ship mentality Pericles states is interesting, with this video it's almost the opposite. Our captain Trump seems to be going doing and taking the ship with him. In conclusion, this video does, in fact, define what nation exceptionalism is, by showing how to respond to what our leader does.

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i-have-been-changed-for-good · 6 years

Text

A Little Bit of Something

Monday - In the morning I’m talking to Joyce while she’s at the coffee machine, so I turn to Scott really quick to say hi because I have no choice while Joyce is watching me. I barely make eye contact with him. I don’t even wait long enough to see how he responds to me. When I look at him again, he is passing by me and he has no expression on his face. So before Scott came in, Steve and I were observing a snake caught on a sticky trap in the warehouse. We both want to help it. After Scott comes in, I go to my computer and look to see what helps get creatures unstuck, and cooking oil comes up. I go to their office to let Steve know, and he calls Linda, who says she has olive oil. At one point, I can tell Scott is looking at me. I turn to him and he’s beaming at me. I light up too and we look at each other for a few seconds. Not long after, Steve comes to my desk and asks if I’m ready. We open the warehouse door, put on gloves, and grab the snake. I look at Scott, who is facing his office door and was looking at me. He put his head down to look at his cellphone, which is in his hands. Steve takes the snake in to Scott and I follow. We talk for only a few moments and then Steve walks out. I follow. When I pass by Steve’s window to look in at Scott, he quickly puts his head down again. Steve and I successfully free the snake. It took us maybe 10 minutes or so. It was really cool cuz we got his tail loose first, but he kept swinging it so I was trying to stop his tail from getting stuck again. The snake wrapped his tail around my finger a few times. It was awesome and I very much enjoyed that. I’m going to ShopRite for lunch today and I message Scott at 11:47 if he wants anything. He doesn’t respond. I go to his doorway and ask if he wants anything and he tells me he just responded to my message, that he only just saw it, but he doesn’t want anything. I don’t know how he missed it since messages blink. Steve hasn’t gone to lunch yet, but I don’t know if I should ask if he wants anything, so I don’t. When I go in Scott’s office, I ask how his day is. He says it’s okay. I ask about his weekend and he tells me he finished painting his garage. He asks me about my weekend and I tell him I went over my dad’s Saturday night and we had dinner and then watched Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok. The only Marvel movie Scott has seen is Deadpool, which he liked. I tell him about the snake this morning and how it wrapped around my finger. Once we freed it, it tried to bite Steve, and then it coiled as if ready to attack if we came closer. After about a minute or two, it slithered away. I say how I don’t think it was very grateful and Scott laughs and says “Of course not, it’s a snake.” Scott says he doesn’t feel like working and we joke about that. I see on the other side of his desk that he brought a water canteen today. I see the words “love you mom” and I can see a hand. Most likely it’s a picture of his daughter on there, and probably a gift Scott got his wife. I look away from it, and I don’t realize I am staring into a void, lost in thought. Scott asks me if I’m okay, which snaps me back to reality. I say I’m just tired. Scott says he could use a latte, but the ShopRite near our work doesn’t carry the one he likes. He asks me how ShopRite was and I tell him it wasn’t busy. I got aloe water but they only had grape flavor, which isn’t my first choice. Scott tried aloe water over the weekend, but he got a brand that has chunks in it. Chunks are gross. He couldn’t finish it. I mention how I really want to try oat milk and how I’m probably going to buy some this week. Scott says he bought almond milk yogurt but doesn’t like it, and he has one left. I tell him I don’t like it either. Then he offers it to me. “I just said I don’t like it,” I laugh. Scott says for me to take it anyway since he doesn’t just want to throw it out. He asks me if I have gum and I go and grab my pack. Steve comes in so I offer him a piece as well, trying to hopefully make up for not asking if he wants anything from ShopRite. He declines. I look back at Scott, who is smiling softly at me. When I leave, I look back at him through Steve’s window. He turns to look at me at the last second before I pass behind the wall.

I use the bathroom and come up the hall just as Scott comes out of his office. He asks me if I want anything and I decline. Some time a little later, I go to take an order out into the warehouse. As I reach the door, I see someone walking toward me on the right. It’s Scott walking back to his office. I give him a little smile, and he gives me a little smile back. When I talk to him at the end of the day and ask how his day was, he says he’s glad it’s over. I tell him that he always says that. I forgot to take my blue light glasses off and Scott asks me about them. I tell him I feel less tired since I’ve been using them, but I don’t know if it’s a placebo effect or not. It feels weird when I’m not looking at a screen though because the glasses have a yellow tint to them, so it feels good sometimes to take them off. I say how glasses are terrible all the time. If it rains, it’s annoying because then you can’t see and your glasses are wet. When it’s sunny, you can’t just put sunglasses over them. You could get the tinted ones, which look stupid, or have the clip ons, which also look stupid. Saturday is the first day of fall so I’m going to bake something and bring it in Friday. I would like to make some cool donuts, but I have no idea how to make donuts. Scott says I could just buy something, but I want to make it. I want to do these apples covered in black caramel, but Scott says that’s too Halloweeny. He’s leaving on time today. Scott passes my cubicle while I’m still getting my things together, but I hear him use the bathroom. I go outside and close my passenger door just as Scott comes walking out. He has a little crooked smile on his face. We look at each other and say bye.

Tuesday - When I greet Scott in the morning, he seems happy. I like when it feels reciprocated.

During my lunch, Scott is working on a return, so I ask him questions about it. I’m just curious. He is kind of pissed because he’s fixing someone else’s mistake. He had an order that someone wanted sent overnight, but no one ever shipped it. So the person who ordered cancelled the order. Then, 2 days later, someone decided to ship the order out. So now Scott has to put everything together for a return. I don’t blame him for being mad. In between me asking him questions, I look at the map on his wall. Montana has a profile view of a face on the left side of it. I point this out to Scott. He never noticed it either. He asks me how my day is going and I say it’s okay. I was having really bad pain again last night and couldn’t really do much. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I hope I don’t have IBS or some other really shitty condition like that. Scott still has his stomach issues, and sometimes under his ribs hurt. His doctor keeps telling him that pain is unrelated, but Scott thinks it is. Scott says I look like I could fall asleep. I am sleepy. He takes off his glasses. Aside from my cat, Scott has my favorite face. I tell him he looks tired too. “Really? I don’t feel tired. I don’t know if that’s good that I look tired but don’t feel like I am.” I’m sure caffeine helps. He was up late watching football since players in his draft were playing. Scott’s hungry. I ask if he has snacks and he said he needs to stock his drawer. I tell him I have snacks if he ever needs anything. He thanks me. I tell him I have pistachios (Scott says he loves these, as do I), plantain chips, and those mini cheese rice cakes. My legs are draped over the side of his desk. I have my flats on, which Scott says look like slippers. I don’t think they do, but I say how they are really comfy. Scott is cleaning his glasses off, or trying to at least. We both agree that there is just no way to get glasses 100% clean. While he’s cleaning them, the song that is on starts playing sex noises. My body tightens. I look at Scott, then look away. He just focuses on cleaning his glasses. Scott looks at me a lot during the time I’m in there. He tends to look away when I look back at him though. At one point, I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m playing with my tongue between my teeth and then up and over my top lip. Scott just watches me, then he smiles. Steve comes in and I turn to Scott to say I’ll talk to him later. He’s staring at me. Toward the end of day, I come out of Joyce’s cubicle and Scott goes into his office drinking water. He looks at me at the last second. My tongue is out over my top lip. I print an email then use the bathroom and hear the men’s room door close moments later. I see it’s Scott when I come back to my desk. I hear him grab a faxed paper but when I turn to look, he’s gone. At the end of the day, I tell Scott how Pete talked to me today about me being hired. He also went to HR because it’s ridiculous I’ve been waiting for so long. Scott had taken off his glasses and is giving me his full attention. I say how I had coffee so I feel better. Earlier in the day I was tired and in pain, and now I’m just in pain. Scott laughs and says that sucks.

I come out of my cubicle and hear Scott turn his office light out. I linger for a few seconds, but he doesn’t come out. I start walking. I hear him not too far behind me and when I reach the end of the hall, I turn. Scott says bye to me and that he has to pee. He doesn’t take long in the bathroom and when he comes outside, I wave. Wednesday - I end up greeting Scott at the coffee machine in the morning, which doesn’t happen that often. I get an order in the early afternoon and notice a part is priced at one cent, which obviously isn’t right. Scott put the order together, so I go ask him about it. I printed the unfinished invoice, and he says “This isn’t my order.” The Sales Order sheets look different. I tell him to just ignore how it looks. He’s looking into why the part got changed from $75 to $.01. “How did this happen?” he asks me. I say I don’t know, and he says he wasn’t actually asking me, he was just talking out loud. He didn’t ask it like a rhetorical question though. He has to erase the picked order and create a new one. I watch him work the whole time and am in awe. He’s clicking from one thing to another and to another. I keep admiring how intelligent he is. I also take the opportunity to observe him while he works. I love doing this with Scott. I like all of the familiar things about him, plus noticing new things. I see some freckles on his tanned arm, under all of his dark hair. I also notice a very small chunk missing from the right side of his nose. I’m there about 10-15 minutes. Scott had also gotten a phone call during that time, so he had to pause working on my order. When he finishes, he hands me back my paper and we lock eyes. I thank him for his help. During my lunch, I ask if he’s busy and he says he always is. Scott gives me a little smile as he stops working to just stare at me. He does this several times during our conversation. And always when I’m not looking at him. I tell him I’m trying to decide what to bake for Friday. I’m scrolling through Pinterest and going over some ideas that I have. I mention making something black, like black cupcakes. Scott says he wouldn’t eat anything black, which I find strange. He asks me if I’m baking just because it’s autumn or for Halloween. I tell him for autumn, but that I may also bring in something for Halloween since it falls on a Wednesday. Scott asks me if I dress up, and I tell him not really. I was going to put a little outfit together last year, but wasn’t sure if anyone at work would be celebrating. I think all I have are bat socks though. Scott finds this funny. I may buy a shirt for this year though to wear to work. I tell him I love to decorate though. I got a bunch of decorations last year for Halloween. I didn’t even decorate for Christmas, though that was because I didn’t have money to, which I don’t tell Scott. I see Scott has blueberry gum, so I ask if I can try a piece. He holds a piece between his first 3 fingers and when I grab the gum, I also touch his fingers. Scott’s hand lingers for a moment after I grab the gum. Scott asks me how my stomach feels, and I think it’s almost back to normal. Scott’s neck is stiff today. I wish I could massage it for him :/ Our conversation continues with Scott asking me a lot of questions. I feel like I talked over him a few times, which I didn’t meant to do. I’m sitting at my desk and turn left to grab some papers just as Scott happens to come over to my cubicle. He asks me if I want anything from WaWa. I don’t, but it’s so sweet he always asks me. Toward the end of the day, I come out of the bathroom, and when I reach the end of the hall, I see Scott on my left. I look over my shoulder as I pass and we both say, “hey.” At the end of the day, Scott is still a little busy. I tell him how Ryan, Angelo’s replacement when he retires, talked to me today. He is really pushing for my company to take the hold off of hiring since I’ve been waiting for so long. At the very least, they will at least pay for me to have health insurance. Ryan also asked me if there’s a penalty for not being insured and I tell him there is a fine, which makes me believe my company is willing to pay that as well. I tell Scott I decided on pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and ask him if white chocolate chip or milk chocolate sounds better. He says milk, which is what I was thinking too. I want him to know I value his input. I ask if he’s leaving on time and he says he is in a minute. I go and grab my things, trying to take my time. After I say bye to Pete and Joyce, I go to Scott’s doorway and it looks like he’s still working, so I say bye and that I’ll see him tomorrow. His car starts right when I get to my passenger door. I look really good today, so I’m in the middle of taking a selfie when Scott comes out. I try to play it off, though I’m sure he caught me lol. I just wave. Selfies below :) The first one I took at work, and the second one I took when I pulled into my apartment complex.

Thursday - Scott comes in late today. I get worried and consider asking Steve if Scott is okay. When I’m refilling my water bottle some time a little after 10, I hear the back door open and a plastic bag ruffling. Scott. It immediately clicks in my brain that he had his doctor appointment today. He told me about it earlier in the week. Sure enough, on the way back to my cubicle, I see Scott walk into his office. After about a minute, I grab documents I had printed and Scott comes out of his office. I turn and he puts his hand up in greeting right before he passes behind the wall. I say “Hey, Scott” and I hear him respond, “Hey, Dana.” Not long before my lunch, I go out into the warehouse to take out orders. When I come in, I see Scott walking toward his office door with his empty water cup. I give him a small smile, but he doesn’t exactly smile back. I don’t know how to describe his face, but it seemed like he was stuck somewhere between a frown and a smile, some sort of in-between. When I go in during my lunch, I ask him how his doctor appointment went. He says as he expected. He has to get an ultrasound done, and if they don’t find anything, there’s a few other things they might do as a next step, which includes sticking a tube through his nose down to his stomach for 24 hours. We talk for a bit about all of that. Scott says he hopes they find out what’s wrong with him before the new year, since the new insurance sucks. We get on the topic of insurance for a bit. Toward the end of that topic, we talk about how no matter what your salary is, we all have the same deductible. Scott says, “Yeah, pretty much we’re all gonna be making $3000 less.” Except we won’t. I don’t realize it until much later in the day, when I’m at home, in the shower, but we will not all make $3000 less. That deductible is for people who are insuring others in addition to themselves. Scott’s daughter…and his wife. At some point early in our conversation, Scott takes off his tinted reading glasses. I stare at his face, which appears bright and open. He tells me his friend’s funeral is tomorrow but that it’s in the middle of the day, and he doesn’t really want to take the whole day off. Plus, it’s in northeast Philly and he hasn’t seen the guy in 15-20 years. I get the impression he feels kind of bad for choosing not to go, so I support his decision and kind of talk him through it. I tell him how I bought all of my cookie stuff last night and how I’m determined to do this. I went to a different ShopRite, one a bit further from me, because they have oat milk, which I’ve wanted to try. Scott asks me if it lived up to my expectations, but I hadn’t tried it yet. (I have since tried it, and it doesn’t have much of a taste. It’s a bit watery like almond milk.) I tell him how they had other milks, like macadamia and plant based, both of which I also want to try. Scott asks me if I drink regular milk. He says he’s just curious. I say I don’t buy it anymore and go into a short, informative rant about how our bodies aren’t made to have dairy after we’re no longer babies, how the lactase in our bodies decreases, and that our body really only keeps making lactase because we keep consuming dairy. So being lactose intolerant is common because it’s actually natural, though we tend to think of it at unnatural. A lot of health people I follow and health podcasts I listen to promote being dairy free, even if they eat meat. I also talks about dairy’s affect on our bodies. I do still consume some dairy, but not much. Scott watches me the whole time I’m talking. I often wonder if I talk too much, but Scott never makes me feel like I do. He’s attentive. I talk a little about veggie “meat” as well. I tell Scott I have some avocado left if he wants it, but it won’t really go with his lunch and he doesn’t like to eat it plain. His daughter likes it plain though. Scott says it’s not flavorful enough and I say it is. He says no, flavorful would be like an apple, and I say how an apple only appears more flavorful because it’s juicy and refreshing. He thinks it over and then agrees with me. I tell him I’m considering getting Thai food for dinner, since I saw Paul’s container of food when I handed him an order. “I didn’t know what was in there, but my brain went ‘Mm Asian food’ and now that’s what I keep thinking about.” Scott laughs. He doesn’t really like too much Asian food aside from sushi. We talk about that for a bit. Scott had given me a sweet look a few times while I was in there. Once in particular, was when I was draping my legs over the edge of his desk. I remember looking at his lips at one point, wondering what they’d feel like against mine. I ask him how his neck is feeling and he says it feels better, but it would be nice to crack it. He jokingly asks me to crack it for him and I say I wouldn’t trust myself to. I heat my afternoon coffee in the microwave and walk back down the hall. Right as I’m about to turn and pass Scott’s office, he turns and looks at me. I have a small smile on my face, but he just keeps his neutral stare. At the end of the day, when I turn around from the paper bin and walk toward Scott’s office, he actually turns toward the door and watches me walk in. It’s a nice change. He’s giving me a sweet little smile. I ask him how the rest of his day has been and he says not bad. His whole body is turned toward me and as I walk closer, I can see his eyes are on my breasts. He has his tinted glasses on, but I can see where his eyes are looking. I watch as his eyes flick up to my face. I sit down. His chair has been in the same position all day, facing his wall. I ask if he’s sat at all today and he says he doesn’t think he has. I tell him I’m tired today and that I don’t know how people wake up and go to bed at the same times daily. I woke up at 6:40 yesterday and 7:20 today. Scott says I’m lucky that I live so close and that he wishes he could wake up at 7:20. I tell him I hate waking up late because then I’m rushing and don’t have time to do some stuff. Scott says he never rushes to get anywhere. I noticed. We both laugh. It’s time to go. Scott is leaving on time. Scott walks out of his office right before I walk out of my cubicle. He gives me a crooked little smile. As we walk down the hall, he asks me if I want to race today. I tell him I always win. "That’s because we’re never racing.” I agree, and say I’m going to win anyway. Scott keeps smiling a toothy smile and I feel warm inside. His smile is my favorite. He tells me not to get caught. “Get caught?” “Yeah. Speeding.” We say bye. I win.

Friday - I’m changing one of the ink cartridges when Scott comes in. He’s wearing his dark gray shirt, my favorite on him. I’m wearing the light gray company t-shirt I always wear on Fridays. Our jeans are also pretty much the same color, his a bit darker than mine. I turn to him and say, “Hey, Scott” and he replies, “Hey, Dana.” I turn away for a second then turn back to him and say, “Good morning,” which he says back to me. He asks me how I’m doing and then looks at the cookies as he passes. He gets to his doorway, turns, and asks me how the cookies turned out. I say “pretty good.” He goes into his office but comes back out 30 seconds later to go down the hall. I don’t think he looked at me. Since the printer needs to calibrate after the ink is changed, I make my coffee. Scott had already gone back into his office. I go to the mini fridge to put my creamer in my coffee and when I start walking back down the hall, I see Scott had been looking at me while he was talking to Steve. He looks back at Steve and as I get closer he turns to face his computer. I print stuff and I hear someone come in from the warehouse and walk by to use the bathroom. I have a feeling it’s Scott, and I see he’s been away 5 minutes. I continue to print what I need without any urgency. I know our chance encounters will happen when they’re meant to. I go over to the printer and then hear the men’s room door open. After I sift through the papers to make sure everything is mine, I turn around. A guy, Billy, is right there, and behind him is Scott. I beam at Scott who gives me a cute little crooked grin. During my lunch, I ask Scott how his day has been. He says it’s pretty good, but his back hurts him a little bit. I ask him if he’s got any plans for the weekend, and he says probably just working on his garage. He might paint the floor, but he’s not sure yet, and he has to put everything back together in there. His eye is bothering him, and he’s not sure if something is in there. We stare into each other eyes and then I focus on just the one. I tell him it’s not red or anything. I ask him if he tried my cookies and he says he hasn’t yet, but he heard they were good. I say how Steve liked them, and of course that’s who told Scott they were good. I was up late making them since I only had one baking sheet and didn’t think ahead of time to buy a second one. I say how this is the first time I’ve made something from scratch without it being disastrous and Scott says, “So you’re a baker now, huh?” I reply pompously, “Yeah, I guess you could call me that.” Scott laughs. I say how I might decorate tomorrow since it’s the first day of fall. I have some new decorations but don’t know where I’m going to put some of them. I have these lantern things, and I could probably tack them to the ceiling, but I’m not tall enough to reach. Scott comments how I’m pretty tall and I say how I’m only 5'4". Scott thought I was taller, but I say maybe because I wear my boots a lot. Scott jokes how with those on I look 6 feet tall. Even so, Scott should be aware that I’m not really tall. Scott asks if I have stools and I say I do, but it’s only one step up, not 2 steps, so I still can’t reach my ceiling. He keeps rubbing his eye. We stare again. I say how its starting to look a little watery. I just want to staring into his eyes. I sit back and put my legs up on the corner of his desk. Scott smirks down at me. I ask if it’s supposed to rain this weekend and he says only Sunday. I tell him I don’t care about Sunday because I hate looking out the window at how nice it is and how I’m stuck inside working. The restaurant is supposed to close for a week, most likely in October. I hope it’s my birthday weekend. Scott asks me when my birthday is, which he should already know since I’ve mentioned it before. Plus it’s the same day as his, just a different month. I tell him the 15th. I say I could use another coffee and Scott says he’s going to WaWa if I want something. I decline, saying I will just make coffee here. I tell him I won racing yesterday and he says he kept getting stuck behind other people, which is true. His eye won’t stop bothering him so I ask if he wants to take a look at it in my compact. I go and get it for him, then he asks me for contact solution. He goes into the men’s room. Steve comes in, and he asks me about my aloe water. We start talking about different drinks. Scott comes back in. When Steve and I finish talking, I look back up at Scott, who is sweetly looking down at me with a little smile. It’s unexpected. I feel my body flood with warmth and affection. I tell him I’ll talk to him later. When Scott goes on lunch, he still asks me, “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” I say, “No, I’m alright. Thanks, Scott.” I do kinda want something, but I only have $2 and I’m not sure that will cover any canned drinks. I am walking toward the bathroom when I hear the back door sound. I’m sure it’s Scott, and sure enough, I hear the second door start to open. When I open the women’s room door, I look over my shoulder and see him start to come into view. When I come out of the bathroom, Scott is walking over to the cookies. He sees me and grins. He has his back to me as he grabs a cookie, so I take the opportunity to get a good look at the butt. When I get closer, he asks me what the bread is for. I stand right next to him, very closely, though he never turns to me. I stare at his his lips as I speak. “It soaks up the moisture so that the cookies stay soft. The bread will usually harden.” I feel the bread and add, “It hasn’t gotten there yet though. There’s your baking tip…if you ever bake.” Scott laughs and says he doesn’t bake. He can’t get the lid closed. “How do you close this thing?” “I got it.” He laughs as he walks away and my heart lights up. A little later, I come out of my cubicle and Scott is right there, turning down the hall to use the bathroom. I have a little smile on my face and he says, “hey.” I cannot explain how I always happen to run into him. It just happens. I go out into the warehouse not long after, and when I come in, Scott is sitting down and has his cell in his hands, but he turns to look at me. When I turn to look at him, he looks away. I hear Scott later in the day say hey to someone he passes by. I turn and see a part of him come into view. When he comes out of the bathroom, he grabs another cookie. “Grabbing another one?” I ask. He says something but I don’t hear him, and he walks away before I can say “What?”. Within minutes of Scott grabbing a cookie, a few other people do too. They’re a big hit :) Joe had grabbed one and walked away with it in the direction of Scott’s office. Scott comes in through the warehouse and I hear him ask, “They’re good, aren’t they?” Joe replies, “mm-hmm” as he eats the cookie. I feel myself light up. When I go in to talk to Scott at the end of the day, I ask him if he liked my cookies and he says he did. I tell him I think him and Steve are the only ones who went back for seconds, but not many people went to the printer today like they usually do. Scott says he saw Joey eating some and I say how Joey asked me first if he could have one and laugh. I tell him Steve asked me about the bread too. “You guys are like 2 peas in a pod.” Scott smiles. I ask him why he only ever has one paper on his desk to write notes on instead of grabbing a notepad, and he says he uses scrap paper so it doesn’t go to waste. He says Steve will get mad of he wastes paper. I laugh and ask why, and Scott says he doesn’t know. He asks me what people like that are called and I say I don’t know, maybe an environmentalist. I point out how Steve has paper all over his desk and Scott says he knows, it makes no sense. I ask if Steve still uses plastic and stuff and Scott says he does. “What? You have to be consistent.” Scott agrees with me. He calls Steve a tree hugger. It’s probably not that funny, but we laugh anyway. A weird song comes on and I ask Scott why he’s listening to Latino music. He says it isn’t Latino, but I say it is. We go back and forth for a minute or so. Scott laughs and it’s magic. It’s time to go. As I grab my stuff, Scott just turns down the hall. Pete is at the printer and starts talking to me, so I end up talking to him for a few minutes. Scott had used the bathroom, and when he comes out, he doesn’t wait for me. After another minute, I go outside. Scott is sitting in his seat but has the door open still. I wave and he waves back. I look down as I go down the steps, and when I reach the bottom, I look back at Scott, who is still looking at me. We wave again and I say, “Bye, Scott.” I get hit with a feeling in this moment, something that I think was the cumulative result of many different interactions this week: Scott looking at me a lot, his asking me a lot of questions, stopping and staring into each other eye’s pretty much daily. As much as I keep stuff held in on my end, I have at least let some of it out. Scott on the other hand, has not. I can’t possibly know for sure what’s in Scott’s heart or what he’s feeling, but it’s something. There’s something there. For me. And I am beginning to wonder if I may soon find out just what exactly it is.

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lilshhiit · 6 years

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Timid

Summary: Reader is very quiet and soft spoken and Billy comes to her rescue when someone snaps and tells her to speak up

Y/n sighed in content her large maroon wool sweater bringing in the warmth from the library “Y/N!!” The party surrounded you watching you pull out your books “Yes?” She giggled watching as the boys leaned in always being considerate that you spoke softly, “Did you bring your notes?!?” Y/n smiled “Of course” she turned bending down to pull out her leather book with her name printed on a gold plate on the spine “Here, Bring it back to me when you’re done it was a gift” Dustin hugged her “Will do thanks Y/n” Y/n watched them leave in a hurry turning back towards her book pulling open, Billy watched from afar curious he’s noticed you before but today he took more time studying your features. You were wearing a oversized poofy sweater that he didn’t know if he liked or not, your tight mom jeans showed off some of your hour glass figure. Your boots were a worn brown leather accompanied by a one in heel, your hair was pulled back by a clip giving him a good look at your doe eyes and soft features your lower lip pulled back by your teeth in concentration, “Hey Y/n!” Nancy and Jon joined your table “Hello” she tucked her chin in shyly “What are you reading today?” Jonathan’s hearing was always heightened around you “pride and prejudice” Nancy tilted her head “A school assignment?” She queried, Y/n shook her head giggling “No I like the book this is my fifth ti-” a boy rammed into the back of her chair lurching her forward in her seat, “Oops my bad freak-” Y/n refused to look up, tears brimming her eyes when she noticed that a page on her book was torn. “Leave her alone!” Nancy scowled, the boy turned back around causing Jonathan to stand. The boy retreated but not because of Jonathan no because the glare pointed by Billy Hargrove. Y/n whined begging Jonathan to sit down and leave it alone, Nancy looked down at Y/n’s watch grabbing her wrist looking more closely in surprise, “Nan-” Nancy looked up at the schools clock before shooting up “Bye Y/n gotta go see you later!” Yanking Jonathan with her,

Billy’s eyes trailed over Y/n’s hands that smoothed over her book one hand lifted the torn page, he watched her lips form ‘oh no’ he wanted to go up to her and comfort her. Her eyes watered she blinked rapidly turning to put it back in her bag pulling out a different book resuming her reading “Creep” Steve murmured slipping past him “Fuck off”. Steve rolled his eyes “How original” Steve ruffled your hair winking at you when you looked up, he kept walking dropping his books on top of the desk much to the librarians irritation. Y/n’s long eyelashes brushed her cheeks as her eyes skimmed through the words, boisterous voices interrupted the silence when the party came tumbling into her table “Thanks for lending us your book! Again Y/n your facts on biology and science is incredible!” Your leather book was shoved into your hands frantically “Uh thank you Dustin,” Max peaked over the club “Who’s this guys?” Max queried “That’s Dustins Baby sitter-” Lucas said, “What he means is this is the genius future scientist or English professor Y/n L/n” Y/n smiled ruffling Dustins hair “So sweet” max tilted we head “Huh?” mike gave her a look “Y/n doesn’t talk loud so if that bothers you open your ears,” “Mike” Y/n chided, Lucas glared at Mike. Dustin sighed “and that’s our que to leave bye Y/n!” They left in a hurry as usual, Y/n returned to reading smiling as she flipped the page, Billy turned to leave when he heard a chair push back he turned seeing her pack her things up. Y/n zipped her bag up pulling her coat on she slipped her bag on bumping hips with Steve who gave her a grin before returning to arguing with the librarian. Billy followed about to turn the 'charm’ on, his eyes narrowed when a group of boys he’s seen around were huddled around the cars. Y/n looked around her dad was never late to picking her up, “Hey babe need a ride?” One boy with enough grease in his hair to start a forest fire sauntered up to her “no I’m good my dads coming-” The boy narrowed his eyes in irritation “Speak up stupi-” Billy stomped over flinging him back “She said no, but you know that huh? If you cant hear clean your ears out punk” The boy sized Billy up before cowering back, “My bad dude,” Billy turned towards Y/n, “Let me give you a ride home,” Y/n looked unsure, Billy gave her a genuine smile melting her resistance “Sure” Billy grinned hooking his arm around her shoulders guiding her towards his car. He opened the door for her heading to his side getting in, Billy pulled out the parking lot noticing her uneasiness he sparked up a conversation “I noticed you were reading a book in the library, what’s it called” Y/n smiled “The painter of signs, it’s one of my favorites” Billy smiled “Do you have a favorite line in the book,” Y/n hummed “ Yes, I have it memorized. 'Past is gone, present is going, and tomorrow is day after tomorrow’s yesterday. So why worry about anything? God is in all this’ I don’t know why it just reassures me of something,” Y/n told him her address, he nodded turning his radio on he hummed along winking at Y/n whose eyes seemed to be focused on his face. He chuckled at her blushing face pulling in front of her house, she turned to unbuckle her eyes locking on her cursing dad his tire was flat he must’ve ran over a nail. “it was nice talking to you Billy,” Billy grinned leaning on his wheel “So you know my name?” Y/n rolled her eyes giving him a small smile “ of course I do the new king of Hawkins is always the center of attention, everyone’s talking about you.” You turned to hop out the car missing his disappointed gaze. He sped off thinking of changing your mind set.

The next day Y/n was collecting her books for her routine meeting with the party, they had set up meetings explaining to the principle that learning new things from the honor student would be inspirational and keep them out of trouble, “Y/n!” Y/n turned around her sunflower yellow cotton sweater hugged her body perfectly her light blue hip hugging mom jeans had paint stains, she was wearing brown leg warmers and brown lace up boots. Billy had to stop a foot away and collect himself you were too breathtaking with your hair in a high bun strands framing your face, “I wanted to give you something,” he quickly shoved something wrapped in brown paper in your hands “Uh-” Billy grinned shushing you “Just open it please” Y/n unwrapped it revealing two books one a brand new copy of Pride and Prejudice, the other was called Song of the Swallows. “Oh Billy thank you, ive never heard of this one-” Billy blushed averting his gaze “the lady at the book store said it’s a good one.” Y/n smiled leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek “Well thank you” Y/n turned around heading towards the library. “No thank you” he murmured sighing in contentment.

#billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove #stranger things x reader #stranger things #reader insert

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adscampaign · 6 years

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Cardi B Teams Up with Steve Madden New Shoe Collection

With her breakout hit ‘Bodak Yellow’ under her belt, rapper Cardi B lands her first major fashion collaboration with Steve Madden. The shoe brand tapped the 25-year-old New Yorker for a new campaign featuring on-trend footwear styles. Handpicked by Cardi, the silhouettes range from pumps like ‘Daisie’, thigh-high boots such as ‘Dominique’ and lace-up booties like ‘Satisfied’. Prices range between $89.99 to $229.95. Cardi also appears in a series of short clips, describing the shoes in her own, unique way.

Related: Steve Madden | ‘Caught Red Handed’ 2017 Lookbook

“I’m so excited to be collaborating with one of my all-time favorite shoe designers! As a little girl I would die for a pair of Steve Madden shoes, now I’m working with him! It’s really a dream come true,” said Cardi B in an official statement.

Courtesy of Steve Madden

#Cardi B #Steve Madden #Collection #fashion #Footwear

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ratherhavetheblues · 5 years

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QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ‘ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD’ “Lightning in a bottle…”

The films of Quentin Tarantino are arguably the gold standard of amusement while indirectly excoriating the history of reverence. His recent shot, Once upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019), attends in a rather special way toward his enmity regarding pious foot-soldiers on guard for the sake of half-truths, at best. The target of Hollywood might seem to be a rather minor concern, not to mention that nearly everyone intuits its flaws already. But do they?

We take a ride with Cliff, a movie stunt man/ and double, for actor, Rick, in Rick’s cream-colored Cadillac convertible. While the actor attends to his well-known métier of Western adventures, overblown, underwhelming but passionately popular, Cliff, not being needed to spare the daring in this outing, takes up his other functions as chauffeur and handyman at Rick’s mansion in the exclusive hills. This day, there is the insupportable collapse of the perhaps, sinking brand’s television antenna, the year being 1969. Two magical events occur during Cliff’s hiatus. The first is the remarkable agility of his reaching the roof—sheer acrobatics in leaping from purchase to purchase. When on the irregular roof, his panache is not only bankable but poetry. The second surprise occurs on the freeway with the top down, of course, and music on the radio, to a tune called, “Gamblin’ Man.” The pitch and volume of the sound inundating the fast car can be discerned, with the driver in closeup, that intensity of this degree is, however unspoken, a field of grace. Much remains to be explored regarding Cliff’s solitary day off; but this film invites disparate, rare and desperate action to coalesce. Some months later, and late at night, with the sidekicks about to go their separate ways (and making a last-ditch party of the crisis), Cliff and his pit bull, Brandy, take a walk in the vicinity of Rick’s opulent (but now financially threatened) castle. The acrobat, saying nothing of the earthquake but feeling much, evokes another ecstatic song, far more explosive than the treacly film productions which made the actor affluent, namely, far from matinee-idol, Chris Farlow’s, one-hit-wonder, “Out of Time”—“Baby, Baby, Baby, you’re outta’ time…” And it’s freeway-time again, because the Stones (far more explosive than the earnest writer) know their Hollywood-Rare. The latter’s, wisely distorting the phrase, “Baby, Baby, Baby, you’re outta’ ooaa” [connoting, both “time” and “sight”]. The fateful musical presentation penetrates the mansion next door, the short-lease range of the now-pregnant starlet, Sharon Tate, where a dizzy anti-climax is about to unfold, which obliges us to consider a step far more demanding of nuance than Hollywood can afford. Back to Cliff, on the rich man’s roof, who couldn’t miss hearing the neighbor’s music, a bemusing effort by the laughably named, “Paul Revere and the Raiders.”

We had been up close to her the night before (at an intersection between convertibles; the play-list no improvement on her home choice), on their drive back to Rick’s, not the restauranteur, of course, but the ravenous, for Bogart’s fame. Here she was accompanied by her recent husband, Roman Polanski, still, at that point, a bright light of European avant-garde movies. (His elevated stature depended upon two early 1960’s efforts, Knife in the Water and Repulsion; from there he coasted and became a notorious child molester.) Rick, regarding this sighting as an epiphany, gushes to a less than thrilled Cliff, “He’s been living next door for a month and this is the first time I’ve seen him. I could be one pool party from starring in a Polanski movie…” Rather typically, he cites the big name for bringing to us, Rosemary’s Baby. The “glamorous couple,” dressed in rococo-era costume (once-stifling for all it’s worth in the 18th century) were en route to the Playboy Club, where Sharon cavorted as more polka-Polish than anyone else in the establishment. She and Mama Kass were the life of the party. But the real story had to be “no-bullshit,” tough-guy, Steve McQueen, describing, Louella Parsons-style, the tangled affections of Sharon’s depths. (A pan, while Cliff was still fighting off her music on Rick’s roof, discloses very briefly a lithographic poster by Alphonse Mucha. The sensitivity of the woman’s presence in that work must clearly derive from Polanski’s better days. That day, the so-called auteur was tossing a ball to her miniature dog, while the sweetheart slept snoring.)

There is about the first moments of our film today such miasma-inducing artificiality, that a whole universe of sensibility has to be invented to counter such an aberration. Firstly, there is a clip of a re-run of Rick’s television series of yore, namely, “Bounty Law,” the facile and preposterous rhetoric there being perhaps engaging for an eight-year-old. But soon we realize that those far more advanced in age than that swear it to be some kind of elixir. In the instalment mentioned, after dispatching five attackers in two seconds, he intones, “Amateurs don’t make it!” Cut, then, to a TV fan program where Rick can do no wrong. The peppy master of ceremonies, one, Allen Kinkaid, congratulates himself for including Cliff—by which he gets to maintain that the viewers are not “seeing double.” Rick explains that Cliff saves him from falling off his horse in high action. He admits, “Yes, I can fall off a horse.” This causes mysterious mirth all round. Then Cliff, convinced that the exercise doesn’t make it, blurts out, “I carry his load,” and more slippery goodwill fills the airwaves. Scatology closing the mainstream show. But there is more to Allen Kinkaid (and more to Hollywood madness) than that. The seeming inconsequential host is sitting on Hollywood gold dust, in the figure of Jeramiah Kinkaid, a farm boy and his black lamb, in the Disney film, So Dear to My Heart (1948). Jeramiah brings the lamb to the county fair and goodwill prevails. But the action having occurred in 1903, the lamb and the boy are no longer a joy. (The boy, played by Bobby Driscall, died destitute at age 31.) The skills invested in that little story did manage a topspin that fans are not to be ridiculed for cherishing. But, in failing to vigorously discern the hardness and settle for a pathos rapidly becoming bathos, those fans fail to appreciate how few such gems obtain; and they fool themselves that sentimental and melodramatic extracts are close enough to the template. They actually, in great numbers, become an uncritical and militant cult. Rick moves on to an appointment with his agent who urges, in light of his frequent drunkenness wrecking for good “Bounty Law,” and doing “guest appearances” on the order of a cover of the “Specialty Song,” “Green Door,” that he reboot in Italy, where American has-beens enjoy a second life. Over and above the insider’s savvy pragmatism, he enthuses about what is obviously his client’s favorite role, from some time quite long ago, as wiping out much of the Nazi hierarchy with a flamethrower, in the movie, “The Fourteen Fists” [recalling the many fists in play, killing the fearful pagan, Johan, in the Ingmar Bergman film, Hour of the Wolf ]. The unctuous go-getter, mimes the attack and we hear our protagonist call out the comic-book line, “Anybody for sauerkraut?”

Before plumbing here any more details of this nearly inscrutable myopia, let’s bring to bear more detail of that vigilante saga—from 1968 (set, wouldn’t you know it, in Germany)—where another homogeneous group of militants see fit to kill a painter who does not subscribe to an infinite future in a heaven. The painter, Johan Borg, could be described as some kind of acrobat, inasmuch as he has ventured to reach a dimension of life with which the vast majority are unconcerned. (“Borg,” denoting, in Swedish, a mountain, a castle stronghold. The film in point being set on a German island, there would be the very different lexical sense of a male castrated pig when young.) Cliff, a self-styled, easy-going guy, carries his skillset with significantly more panache than Johan. But, like the artist, who had repeatedly crushed the skull of a rude boy on a deserted beach, along a steep cliff, there is a past in which Cliff has murdered, in this case, his wife; and gone free, as with the kills Cliff delivered during his military days. (The relentless smashing of an intruder at that swan song party, by the sometime reckless athlete, will give us much to ponder.)

During his day with Rick’s Coup de Ville, Cliff, giving a lift to a teenage girl (1969, again)/ entrepreneur who’d rather do tricks than go home, show’s no enthusiasm for the trade (and its possible quicksand); but, on hearing that “home” is the ranch just beyond LA where the boys worked on “Bounty Law,” he persuades the hooker to ease up for the afternoon and let him see a place he hasn’t visited for years. What he sees is another homogeneous group bent on murderous coercion of heretics—a group, however, right across the board, so inept, you’d think they were in some form of rehab, their main action watching television series, in the energies of a seraglio. This being the notorious Manson marauders, another form of resentment arrives therewith, to make us think. “Pussycat,” the unthinking navigator bringing the Cadillac to the cesspool, declares, angrily—after our protagonist discerns that the once-friend and owner of the property receives, as rent, daily favors from a dogma official, named, “Squeaky”— “You’ve embarrassed me!” She, operatically, like the patrician wolf-pack, in Hour of the Wolf, sneering that the now-non-owner whom the cult kept from Cliff on a pretext of his blindness, is a lie, “He’s not blind—you’re the blind one!” (Her ready playfulness, before the reversal, lingers as somehow at least a bit incisive.) More to the matter of short fuse, by remote soulmates, Johan and Cliff, one of the few males of the entourage (the big beachboy nowhere to be seen) has had, while Cliff was weighing the weight, the temerity to cut one of Rick’s tires. On discovering this, and seeing the sneering perpetrator nearby—a scrawny boy looking as if he should get a checkup—our anti-hero, in the course of ensuring that the inmate install the spare, beats the rascal, repeatedly and very bloodily, to within an inch of killing him. That the first punch lifted the vandal skyward, as in Hollywood cartoons, brings to bear Cliff’s state of far from immunity from the general crap. Later he crushes a sneering Bruce Lee during a lull of a very-short lived assignment. And later still, as mentioned, when Squeaky and a few others (still sans-Manson), have the temerity to invade Rick’s place with Cliff visiting, the latter, receiving a superficial gunshot wound (like that received by wife, Alma, from Johan, the hopeful killer), the retaliation is his taking the pudgy lieutenant by the neck and smashing her face, very often, and very hard upon the telephone receiver (more 1969) and other appliances, leaving her unrecognizable as a head. (Could there ever be anything about that sorority which makes your day? Come to think of it, early on, as the so-called “doubles” [Rick and Cliff] pass by to do their storied errands, there are several of them scavenging through a dumpster, pleased to discover and catch by the wind some white sheets [somewhat like Johan’s lost wife and her sheets in the wind]; and as they squeal like happy seagulls, they have something. They have something far more palatable than do-gooders, Simon and Garfunkel, chiming in here, with their so arch, “Mrs. Robinson.” Hollywood being predictable, but Tarantino, not.)

The anticlimax—a maneuver in the same league as Bergman’s theatrical jolts—pertains, not to movie lore in general, nor to crime thrillers in particular, but to the explosive and lovely ways of intent within everyone’s grasp to sustain, however difficult. Tarantino’s priority is to see how advantages, far more cruel and formidable pieties than stupid murder, derive their monstrous power, and can be, though never not numerically dominant, eclipsed by courage and wit. The dust-up with Bruce Lee, eliciting from the now marginal pieceworker, Cliff, the sneer, “You are a little man who [far from the boast he could beat up Cassius Clay] couldn’t hope to carry his [the boxer’s] trunks,” concerns a ridicule of the entire Hollywood Establishment, perhaps a failing of taste, on Cliff’s part, but a revelation of the metaphysical crisis here. More modulated mockery is to be seen during Rick and Cliff’s evening watching old tapes of “Bounty Law.” Depressed Rick can only register contained grief for a lost past. Non-depressed Cliff laughs out loud, seeing through the dramatic travesty, from beginning to end.

It is, then, the seeming fine Sharen Tate, who can lead us, in special ways, to the poison. We first see her returning to LA from Europe, accessing her priority luggage—including a small dog—in the vicinity of a carousel nudging her to be forever a child, as recommended on the highest authorities. She strides, in a slight slow-motion pace, along a corridor with only one exit, emphasized by the glimpse of her Pan-Am stream-line plane. Soon there is a day, like Cliff’s roundabout at the ranch, where, in her tiny, convertible, foreign vehicle (a 1969 phenomenon), she picks up a woman hitchhiker, very unlike Pussycat. Seen from above, there is no doubt that Sharon, granted good bones and good skin, can be as congenial as the girl next door. (The prelude to the lift is a Buffy Sainte-Marie anthem, in tremolo on the radio— “The Circle Game”—a decided improvement over what she listens to at home.)

(“And the seasons they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We’re captive on the carousel of time

We can’t return we can only look behind

From where we came.

And go round and round and round

In the circle game.”)

(But does this bit of taste rise to the celestial heights her promotors would insist? Or does it speak to the volatility of cogency?) Arriving to the studio and giving the stranger a goodbye hug, we see the sign reads, “Fox.” (The infrastructure by Bergman reads “Wolf.”) Foxy advantage, all the way. Soon she’s done for the day, and she comes upon a movie house showing a film she’s in, along with Dean Martin. We can report she’s not another Jerry Lewis, but her enjoyment of seeing herself cavorting to little palpable effect finds her at some level of apparently remarkable fulfilment. She kicks off her sandals and places her dusty feet on the chair in front; and she foxes down every laugh and cheer in the theatre regarding her supposed martial arts skills. (Back to Cliff and Bruce; and wouldn’t you know, the latter—with his effete wolf howls—is a frequent guest of hers.) She had basked, coming into the show, in finding the cashier and the owner of the theatre typically elated by the presence of a goddess. But there’s a coda to this day even more edifying, in the goddess’ excellent day. On the way home she stops by a bookshop (remember them?) to pick up an order of the Victorian novel, Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891), by Thomas Hardy, for her brainy husband who must, like her, be a Victorian softy. (Bergman kicks ass, similarly, in Cries and Whispers [1972], where Charles Dickens is seen to be an antiquated wimp, and avatar of advantage in the sense of precious careers, precious families and precious patrimonies. Since we’re drawn, by both Tarantino and Bergman being adept dramatic phenomenological philosophers in lodging a pushback against lead-pipe dogmatists, we seem to require mentioning that maniacal, militant careerists, and such, stem from that ancient Platonic myopia as to dynamics while overestimating inert matter. From there, religion, and its causal conclusion, humanitarianism and its obligations to coincide with the former, and science and its quietist retreat have enjoyed pushing around those who see much farther and braver than those who have gone too far with Plato.) With that ascension coming to bear in the anti-climax, we find Rick, a near-perfect wimp, out on the private road, invited to Sharen’s—she being tantamount to an addict of Rick Dalton action television (when she’s not listening to Paul Revere and the Raiders—“Hungry for the good life, baby!”) She wears a team jersey showing 17, her emotional age.

The suffocating majority that is Hollywood is at its apex with the pedantry of those behind the scene—producers, directors, agents, promotors, lawyers, accountants… The breathless Kinkaid raises “double” about our protagonists, only to show he doesn’t know what to do with it, having, the years gone by, allowing a swollen prose to predominate and a withered poetry to die. Earnest cheering for lead-pipe nonsense (see the hunks, see the babes) is the order of our function here. Just as egregious as the bishops presiding over The City of Angels, there is Rick, in semi-depression that his career options have dwindled, meaning that others will man the idiocy where he used to be quite paramount. Before the fading actor takes the advice of the savvy cash-sniffer sold on Italy, there is one more push we need to take into account—involving a director, seemingly near dementia—showing the last of Rick’s several-year stint as a villain. (Immediately after the interview about Italy, Rick rejoins Cliff and cries on the vigorous acrobat’s shoulder. “Don’t let the Mexicans see you crying,” the latter urges, a concern reaching as far as the appalling Mexican directors’ film coups of the present day.)

The obsequious last American helmsman he’ll see, for quite a while, probably aware of a disaster in the making, but knowing a way to lessen the cheapness, promises that modernity and novelty will be the watchword. His patter and timbre of voice about the quality of the chestnut in point somehow overruns his standard positivity, in fascinating ways. Aiming for “lightning in a bottle” and “zeitgeist,” he’s all about changing Rick’s image to “Hell’s Angels” and a new hair style. “I want this to be caliber, not cowboy… Hip…” Rick balks in hearing “hippie…” Though our fading star has for years seen himself as a lucrative entertainer first, to those easily entertained (having purchased a castle of sorts with a pool segueing to the heavens, Architectural Digest-perfect); and a participant in the arts running about #99th (the Polanski moment being a rare jog), that he cared at all would perhaps have factored in the eccentric leader’s rhetoric. And there’s something else crossing Rick’s path which Sam, the inflected snake-oil cheerleader, had to regard as a big plus. Waiting at lunchbreak for an early afternoon first take, he wants nothing more than to read his cowboy novella, and he pauses along a shady point of the concern’s walkway. Nearby, a little girl is reading a script. He asks if he could sit down there; and, after a long pause she says, “Sit.” Not the most cordial welcome; but her presence being far more mature than her age, he becomes curious. Lighting a cigarette and responding to her not small ego, he learns that she never eats before going in front of the cameras, because she wants to concentrate upon her persona. “If I can be a tiny amount better, I will.” She then, the sense of deep resolve losing some traction, declares that Walt Disney is the greatest human to have lived over the past hundred years. She goes on to ask about his book—with a topic about a once-world’s-best wild horse trainer in his 20’s becoming far less than that in his 30’s. Falling, as he would have done during those later acrobatic feats, he’s facing the future with “spine troubles.” “He’s not the best anymore. He’s far from it…” This state of affairs rather oddly brings upon Rick a spate of tears. She tries, by her sincere caring, to help lift the spirits he in fact seldom deals with. But the presence of a vigorous, though wobbly, commitment, has dredged up something he has failed to master, an acrobatic challenge demanding nerve and wit far beyond the ways of those million-dollar dogs. In this crisis, the strain of cheapness cannot be stanched. “Fifteen years, you’ll [the girl] be living it!” [no longer disinterestedly transcending that horde of wolves]. On to the oater and its cliché-fest. Rick flubs many lines; and on a break, back in his trailer, he beats himself up for being so unprofessional and being a drunk. (There are, as mentioned, stories tossed around about his addiction causing the end of “Bounty Law”—lacking bounty and lacking law. Having been inspired by the serious girl, he determines to stop drinking and yet he has a shot before tossing out the bottle). Rick does some homework and his subsequent deliveries of evil do surpass—for how long? —his usual Saturday morning television bilge. (This lost cause is interspersed with Sharen’s delight in a film of hers not noticeably any better than Rick’s. Moreover, Cliff’s radio, as he drives Pussycat to the Spahn Movie Ranch, plays, “Brother Loves Travelling Salvation Show,” another touch of bathos to make to make full sense of.) With a staged conflict between Rick’s “evil” emoting and a Bostonian rationalist, we have the goofy makings of a primal conflict no one is ever going to see as such. The empathetic girl, who was supposedly being held for ransom, tells Rick, “That was the best acting I’ve seen in my life!” Sam, sticking to his sticky story, finds that Rick had reached Shakespearian levels.

There is one more current to add, needing as much pondering as we can manage, that being Cliff’s. We’ll see how amenable our picaresque protagonist can see fit to be stronger and brighter than the level he’s settled for. After the brush with Polanski and Sharon and their effete, rare roadster, the “double” retrieves his severally damaged, early 1960’s Karmann Ghia convertible from Rick’s spacious entrance, performs a little UCLA huddle unwind and returns home—home being a severally damaged trailer at the backside, mud bowl of a drive-in movie of poor status, amidst a terminal truck, various bits of garbage and an operating oil well. (Would that latter apparatus have anything to do with depths?) He kisses and plays with his pit bull, “Brandy,” and presents him with a “Wolf Tooth” dog bone. The easygoing “nonentity” does demand some decorum and patience, at dinner, from the companion/ Alfa. His television, seemingly never turned off, is tuned to a pop singer in a tux, namely, Robert Goulet, a Canadian far less alive than Buffy Sainte- Marie. Discerning the spigot of entertainment may be a large obligation most of us neglect. How Cliff performs, as it happens, is far more momentous than that of anyone else in view here, and we’re obliged to see where he’s going. (Another prelude to a hidden slippage of dialectic is the two hand chow cans being slowly pulled by gravity to the bowl.)

Where he’s going, on that putatively fateful farewell party is far from transparent. It doesn’t involve Brandy chewing off one the intruder’s cock; but hostility does reign. Getting a bit closer is the Manson irregular and enduring fan of “Bounty Law,” lawyering, “My idea is to kill the people who taught us to kill.” Though far from a debater, Cliff, were he to have been able to listen to such entitlement, he’d have recognized the mob murderousness, in lieu of serious discernment. He’d have recognized it, because everyone around him uses it, in order to rough up those, like him (far from fully acute), by way of ostracism, contempt and sabotage. Even more a setback than the flesh wound contracted in the skirmish, there would be weepy Rick, using a flamethrower to kill a wounded sitting duck; and dissolving a supposed friendship and livelihood, for reasons of clinging to advantage. (How anyone can see staunch buddies here must indulge in large selective cognition. Sure, Cliff goes over old episodes with the star, and enjoys them. But he’s especially savoring the stunts [the acrobatics]. Anyone on to “Outta Time/ Sight” is not apt to be a fan of what Rick does.) After the Manson massacre, there’s the likelihood of some contact, on Rick’s terms. More good-natured balance and risk.

In the run-up to Sam’s hoopla, Rick lobbies to the producer to give Cliff some work, somewhere. “He’ll do anything…” That’s tastes of an in-crowd regarding a no-crowd. (On the plane home from Italy—where the jobs were easy for a Hollywood name, and Rick showed much more acute critical powers about European entertainment errors than the American brand—there was the name and his new wife in opulent “Business Class;” and Cliff getting drunk amidst the also rans.) On trampling Bruce Lee, Cliff loses that job, but occasions more gold than the studio is worth. Alma, the widow in Hour of the Wolf, the endeavor being consulted by Tarantino’s golden touch here, quite remarkably shows very little concern for her artist’s husband’s having stoned to death a young boy. Cliff, too, doesn’t lose any sleep about killing his wife. Here we’re in a volatile territory of crime, coming face-to-face with the heroes of civilization (Rick’s work) being strains of a plague the body-count of blasted fruition impossible to count, especially in view of the fact that it will never end. But the tuning is remarkably upbeat, because dudes like Cliff find a way. A T-shirt of his, somewhat covered by a full shirt, spells Champion. (Our film today, despite so many coincidences with the somber defeat in Hour of the Wolf, becomes a cornucopia of inflected verve.)

A coda at the ending credits, finds black and white Rick urging the viewer to smoke, “Red Apples Cigarettes,” which cuts down “bitter, dry” intake and delivers “healthy flavor.” Hollywood and its dubious logical props not nearly seen for its poison the way cigarettes have come to be discerned.

Someone who would have had no difficulty spotting the poison of world history and the merchants getting rich on it, is Heraclitus (flourishing about 500 B.C.); but left behind by pedants and sissies. One of his aphorisms, paradoxically counselling long-term, creative civilization, proceeds, “War is the father of all and the king of all; and some he has made gods and some men, some bond and some free.”

Let’s close things here with those well-known Heracliteans, the Stones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tyCOV3SyQc

#Quentin Tarantino

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thebiggaylion · 7 years

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Steve Aoki @ EDC Orlando 2014 (Part 1 of 2)

Oh, we’re getting real close to EDC Orlando 2017 now, ain’t we? Did you get your shipping notification about your tickets yet? I sure did! If you haven’t, I’m sure that’s no big deal... they’re probably printing them in order of purchase. I ordered one for me the day they went on sale, and I got e-mailed about that one only... the one the husband of the guy behind The Big Gay Lion hasn’t gotten his notification yet, but he didn’t order until much later. But... we’re almost in OCTOBER! That’s, like, the LAST MONTH before November! While I was excited (and doing research for this post), I ended up checking the official EDC Orlando website, and noticed something: Wilkinson is out, and a B2B featuring DC Breaks and Loadstar is in! I wonder what happened there... Wilkinson was at circuitGROUNDS, so I imagine this new B2B will be scheduled for that venue. The two new additions are both drum and bass acts, so it makes perfect sense that they would do that. Guess I’ll have to keep a closer eye on the official site to see if any new, unannounced surprises slip in! Anyway, you can tell I’m excited, and as such, I wanted to so one of my favorite shows from EDC Orlando’s past. Let it be known you’re only looking at the first half of the original post for this performance. If you need part two, go here!

Oh yeah, Steve Aoki! His specific brand of music is a bit out there, and there was a nice feature of him in The Electric Daisy Carnival Experience documentary, so I knew the show was going to be crazy... it was. SO crazy! I didn’t take one photo or set of Burst Photos during this whole set. Enjoy the video stimuli! But first, let's start with an interstitial:

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YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Remember when I posted that one interstitial clip that didn’t have a whole lot of exciting things in it? Well, this is the same one, BUT since I knew what to expect on Day 2, I saved my recording for the good parts! The first video attempt looks terrible in comparison, but at least I did it justice (I think?) in this one! Loved that Arty song, and these interludes made it a classic EDC memory for me! Arty feat. Angel Taylor - Up All Night https://soundcloud.com/interscope/arty-up-all-night-feat-angel-taylor

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YouTube | Facebook | Instagram This is a pretty good capture of the intro. At least in length, if not visually. I mean, I caught most of it, but my angle of view was limited because I like to get close heh. Neon Future I had just come out about a month before this, so naturally he’d chose something from that release as his intro. Steve Aoki - Neon Future (feat. Luke Steele) https://soundcloud.com/steveaoki/steve-aoki-neon-future-feat-luke-steele

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YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Oh my god. Here it is, folks. One of my favorite EDC moments of all time. In hind sight, maybe hearing a song like Wonderwall isn’t all that uncommon, but it was pretty unexpected for me. As you can tell, I wasn’t about to sit still for this one, so forgive the shaky camera work... I was dancing! Oasis - Wonderwall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hzrDeceEKc Bastille - Pompeii (Audien Remix) https://soundcloud.com/audien/bastille-pompeii-audien

Okay, that’s it for part one. Visit part two next, or see it all in one shot over here!

#thebiggaylion #video #throwbackthursday #tbt #edc #electricdaisycarnival #edcorlando #edcorlando2014 #tinkerfield #kineticfield #steveaoki #kineticcathedral #arty #angeltaylor #lukesteele #oasis #bastille #audien #edcorlando2017

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gizedcom · 4 years

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‘Yes we exist’ – Black fans eye NASCAR’s work to diversify – Examiner Online

Kevin Johnson became enamored with NASCAR as a kid through clips on “ Wide World of Sports,” decades before billion-dollar broadcast deals when auto racing shared precious air time with barrel jumping and demolition derby.

Raised in the South Bronx, Johnson considered himself “a closet NASCAR fan,” without a friend or family member who truly shared his interest in catching the latest race.

“As you can imagine,” Johnson said, “there just simply weren’t a lot of people receptive to the sport given its history.”

Johnson recalled staying in his Temple University dorm during the massive blizzard that wreaked havoc on the East Coast in 1979 to watch the Daytona 500, broadcast live in its entirety for the first time. His roommate was stuck elsewhere because of the weather, leaving Johnson alone with the TV.

“Nobody knew,” Johnson said, laughing. “As a Black person in an urban area, it wasn’t acceptable. I wasn’t really out there. But that love continued to this day.”

The 61-year-old Johnson, who has retired to Miami, shares his passion for the sport with a Black NASCAR Fans group on Facebook. The group’s bio says: “Yes we exist.”

The fans share favorite race memories, photos of their collectibles and, yes, stories of the historically uneasy relationship NASCAR has had with the Black community.

Johnson has been called racist slurs at the track, felt queasy at the sight of the Confederate flag and often wondered if the good-ol’-boy Southern attitudes seeped in the sport would ever fade.

The catalyst for change has come for the U.S. with the death of George Floydin the custody of Minneapolis police. Not long after that, driver Bubba Wallace shoved NASCAR toward the overdue step of banning the Confederate flag, for decades a waving, nylon symbol to Blacks that they were not welcome in NASCAR Nation.

FILE – In this June 10, 2020, file photo, driver Bubba Wallace waits for the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Martinsville, Va. Some Black NASCAR fans have felt uncomfortable at the track. They’re worried about hearing racial slurs or feeling unwelcome from a predominantly white fan base. The catalyst for change has come. Bubba Wallace prodded NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag last month. There is hope the ban opens the doors to more fans. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

The thought of facing the flag and the potential of alcohol-fueled anger from its staunchest defenders has kept many Black fans away and made the ones who did come watch their step. Johnson said banning the flag will make NASCAR “more inviting.”

“We need to get more people, encourage more people of color to come and enjoy what goes on around race weekend,” added Brad Daugherty, the lone Black team owner in NASCAR.

According to NASCAR, the latest demographics show an overwhelmingly white fan base — 75% — but the multicultural slice of 25% has climbed from 20% in 2011. Black fans make up 9% of the total.

The sight of Black fans lined against the Talladega fence to cheer for Wallace a day after a noose was found in his stall was a heartening moment for NASCAR. But earning the trust of a new generation of fans extends beyond “if you ban it, they will come.” NASCAR and its tracks need bolder attempts at ticket and community outreach programs, much in the way baseball, the NHL and the NBA celebrate pride or ethnic-themed nights.

Minorities may not necessarily become the dominant demographic for the stock car series, but they can certainly grab a larger share of the marketplace.

“I think the challenge for NASCAR is this: they spent a lot of time and money over the years building up a specific brand that centered on Confederate flag-waving Southern white folks as their target market, and aligned themselves with business partners and politicians who also found symmetry with this demographic group,” said Joshua Newman, a Florida State professor and author of “Sport, Spectacle, and NASCAR Nation: Consumption and the Cultural Politics of Neoliberalism.”

“This worked well to create a very specific NASCAR culture, a spectacle of celebrity politicians, military flyovers, conservative symbolism, an all-white driver line-up — for many years, but not always — and grandstands filled with predominantly white consumer fans,” Newman said. “It was unique in the North American sports landscape for its racial homogeneity and pronounced affiliations with one political party.”

But cultural politics can change and NASCAR’s boom has faded. To Newman, that means NASCAR limited its growth potential and now must find a solution.

Could Wallace, who f inished second in the 2018 Daytona 500, engage new fans if he won a checkered flag or two driving for an underfunded team? Would a diversity program that places more drivers in the Cup Series — where Wallace is the only Black driver — broaden exposure and create fans of all genders, ethnicities and backgrounds?

NASCAR has worked on building awareness among multicultural audiences for years, including Latino-focused efforts at Auto Club Speedway in California. Last year, NASCAR and the Urban Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas teamed with a local youth group to bring a group of Black children to the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Drive for Diversity program dates to 2004 and a separate effort to work with key minority business and community leaders started three years later.

“If people look at the sport and see the stars of the sport are representative of different groups, I think it’s just another step toward making the sport feel more open to a larger audience of folks,” Drive for Diversity director Jusan Hamilton said. “If people look at the sport and feel that it’s open, that in turn will help make more folks be interested in coming to the sport.”

The few Black drivers who came before Wallace have heard that hopefulness before only to often end up discouraged at the frayed bond between NASCAR and minorities.

“It’s time to realize it’s a new day,” said Bill Lester, who made 145 career NASCAR starts from 1999-2006. “Not all the race car drivers happen to be white. There are people of color. There are women out there who want to race.”

Lester said he believes NASCAR President Steve Phelps, who tearfully told Wallace about the noose in the garage, and veteran executive Brandon Thompson can provoke tangible culture change within the sport.

“There’s a willingness to listen and engage that NASCAR has that I don’t believe they were sincere about earlier,” Lester said.

Still, Wallace is one of just a handful of non-white drivers. Daniel Suarez is Mexican and Aric Almirola is of Cuban descent. Kyle Larson, who is half Asian, was fired in April for using a racial slur.

NASCAR met this month with the Rev. Greg Drumwright, who organized members of his ministry to make the trip to Talladega to support Wallace. Drumwright said he and his group planned to attend other races, too, and he posted a series of encouraging interactions on his Twitter feed from the All-Star race at Bristol on Wednesday.

FILE – In this June 3, 2020, file photo, Rev. Greg Drumwright, right, greets people at the memorial site for Greg Floyd in Minneapolis. Drumwright, a minister at the Citadel Church & Campus Ministries, helped organize a group of Black fans to attend the NASCAR race at Talladega and support driver Bubba Wallace. Drumwright now hopes he can become an advocate of change for NASCAR. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

“We don’t want window dressing,” Drumwright said. “This is a national dialogue.”

Toni Addison, her husband and three children of Newark, Delaware, have never attended a NASCAR race. They drive by Dover International Speedway on race weekends and catch a glimpse of the carnival-type atmosphere at the track and wondered if they’d feel welcomed.

“It sounds like something we’d be interested in,” Addison said. “But guess I couldn’t wear my Black Live Matter shirt or my Barack Obama shirt to that. I’m a (Dallas) Cowboys fan. It’s kind of like a Cowboys fan doesn’t go into the Eagles stadium, at least not with all the Cowboys gear on.”

She’s become one of Wallace’s newest fans (“I didn’t even know there was a Black NASCAR driver”) and watched him slap hands with fans at Talladega, but acknowledged “fear may keep me away from that.”

“My impression of it is they’re mostly Trump supporters, Confederate flag supporters,” the 51-year-old Addison said. “I don’t know how comfortable I would feel fitting in.”

She could talk to fans like Johnson who, while hurt by the slurs, generally have a great time on race day and want all fans to draw the same enjoyment from the sport he has for more than 40 years.

One memory rises about the rest: Johnson and his wife, Julie, attended a meet-and-greet at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart in the mid-2000s. The couple were fervent supporters of Smoke, who asked a group of fans in a suite if they had any questions for him.

Julie stepped up from the back and told Stewart, “As probably your only Black female fan, I really don’t have a question, I just want a hug.”

Stewart smiled and her invited her up for a big hug and later sent over several autographed photos.

It’s the kind of moment that can make a fan forever — from any walk of life.

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