#because i got my switch for Christmas in 2021 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writerman · 6 months

Note

Are you still taking fic prompts? Because if you are then omg, Barduil first meeting for that 'stuck overnight in an IKEA' post... 'I was just there for a table, he was only there for the meatballs and... well... by the time we were all allowed to go the next morning I had my table, he'd had his meatballs and we both had a boyfriend... It was love at first Ypperlig...'

Hi, anon, did you know you sent me this request in 2021??

If you still follow me or ever followed me to begin with, I am so sorry.

Here is your IKEA Barduil prompt.

Happy NaNo!

--------

Fandom: The Hobbit

Ship: Bard x Thranduil (Barduil)

Word Count: 5,541

--------

Anyone travelling out there stay safe, the storm is supposed to be coming in thick and fast by this afternoon. Local authorities and the MET office have asked that if you can stay home please do!

On that note here is a little song for anyone taking on the blizzard today. Snow Bird by Ann-

Bard smacked the radio as fast as he could, numb fingers fumbling with the off switch while he kept his eyes on the road. The snow hadn’t hit blizzard levels yet but the sky above him hinted that it wouldn’t be long.

The snowfall the night before had blanketed the world in white that was already about a foot deep, but it hadn’t deterred many from leaving their homes. There were a few brave souls battling through the snow-covered sidewalks- no one had come to clear a path but no one appeared to care that much.

It was fine, it would be fine, he only had to run into IKEA for a replacement coffee table as Bain had body-slammed the other one and left it in two halves in the living room. Of course, it had been an accident and that was what Bard got for letting him watch the pro wrestling stuff on TV unattended.

Of course. An accident.

So, a replacement was needed and somehow the exact replica of it existed (imagine that!) within the blue and yellow labyrinth of IKEA, patiently waiting for the myriad of other shoppers to swoop in and collect it only to have their Christmas visitors exclaim that they too had the same table at home!

Thankfully, parking was easy. The place was practically deserted because everyone else had more sense than to drive out into an impending snowstorm to buy furniture!

Then again, everyone probably didn’t have a child like Bain to contend with. He was a good kid, just energetic and very impressionable at his age. It wasn’t as though something like this hadn’t happened before.

Why am I even out buying a table? The kids are with their mum this year. All I need is to rest a cup on it… Shaking the snow off himself at the entrance, Bard tried not to let his entire being sag at the thought of Christmas on his own and then he recalled why he had gotten out of the house in the first place.

It had been too quiet.

Amid his thoughts, someone brushed past him hurriedly sending him crashing into a metal basket of stuffed sharks. Before he can topple over into the pile of plush toys a strong hand wraps around his wrist and pulls him back to his feet.

“Sorry, so sorry, I didn’t mean to knock you over like that!” Apologies flew fast from the stranger’s mouth and Bard cleared his throat before smiling awkwardly trying to brush it off.

“It’s all right, I was in the way.” He mumbled this as he checked himself over, and as he glanced up to his would-be attacker and rescuer he felt his heart do an odd sort of little skip before resuming the staccato rhythm it had taken up in the moment of surprise.

“No, not at all.” The stranger’s voice seemed to have dropped an octave now his apologies had been done and dusted and he promptly released Bard’s wrist from his grip upon realising that he still held on to him. “I was not paying attention; you know this time of year leaves everyone… harried.” He trailed off as he said the last word and it looked as though he was unsure if he meant what he was saying.

“Honestly, I'm alright. Don’t worry about it.” Bard urged again, really he wanted some space between himself and the stranger because he was experiencing what could only be described as a sexual awakening but incredibly bisexually.

“If you’re sure you’re fine.” The stranger continued but when Bard nodded again they merely nodded back and turned neatly on their heel and hurried away with the same speed they had entered the store.

After that encounter Bard didn’t see them again, in fact, he saw very few people that didn’t work there. Most of them stood huddled around a work computer whispering urgently about the oncoming storm.

Likely wishing idiots like him would piss off home so they could head home too.

Yes, he felt awful that they had to be there, and he did honestly feel bad for going in but he really wanted to replace his table- he had time and nowhere else to be. Though, the employees didn’t seem to harbour any ill will towards him when he asked for help finding the section he needed.

Bard had spent a grand total of 20 minutes in the store by the time he reached the checkouts and as he approached one he realised there were no members of staff to be seen. Scratching his head in confusion, he looked about for any sign of the employees who assisted him earlier.

No one.

Someone at his side groaned.

“Just wonderful,” They griped shifting from one foot to another jostling whatever it was in their hands. “The snow has blocked the door; the employees are trying to figure out what they should do.”

Turning to look at the stranger, Bard comes face to face with the very man that had bowled him over in the entrance.

“Hello, again.” He shared the grim expression held by the stranger as he greeted him. His attention is then focused on the now shut off automatic doors. A few members of the staff were stood looking at the heavily falling snow, one of them jumping backwards as a sudden gust of wind rattled the doors and the lights flickered around them.

“You don’t suppose the restaurant is open, do you?” The stranger spoke again, and Bard glanced down at his flat pack table at his feet for a second before picking it up and turning to look up at the signposts that hung above them both.

“Let’s find out.” He tried for cheerful, it came out quiet and he cursed inwardly at how nervous he was around the man. The same man that had been so very sorry for knocking into a bunch of stuffed sharks not 20 minutes earlier.

“Yes, let’s. I’m Thranduil, by the way. And again, I am so very sorry for knocking you off your feet. Not how I like to introduce myself to people, hopefully you sustained no injury.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice and Bard felt the slightest blush warm his cheeks.

“No injury, fighting off sharks stuffed or otherwise is just days’ work for a dad with 3 rambunctious kids.” They head toward the restaurant and Thranduil offers a knowing nod, they had found some common ground.

“Oh, uh, I’m Bard. Nice to meet you… Thranduil, was it?” It was an unusual name, but honestly, so was Bard. Though, people didn’t tend to comment on it as much as he assumed people might about Thranduil’s.

“So, do you play music?” The question came right out of the left field and left Bard silent for a moment until he caught on and let out a loud laugh.

“Funny, not musically inclined at all, played the odd bit of guitar in university, you know how it goes.” He tried not to think about the cringe-worthy image of him sitting beneath a tree strumming the whole three cords he knew just humming songs uncaring that they didn’t match the chords.

“Yes, yes, we’ve all been there. The mortifying act of trying to reinvent yourself only to discover you don’t know how to begin remodelling your life aside from drastically changing your wardrobe only to never wear any of the ridiculous items ever again.” Thranduil gave a flourish of the hand before grimacing at the memory of it.

“Ah, the hubris of youth.” Bard sighed.

In a surprising turn of events, the restaurant was open and the few customers who still lingered, rather against their will, had made their own way over to buy coffee and pastries to wait out the storm until eventually, like animals, they could be released back into the wild again.

“Coffee?” Thranduil set his unpurchased item on the chair next to him before shrugging off his long coat from his incredibly tall form. He dressed any dad might, jeans, boots and a jumper and yet the clothes seemed to fit him better than they had any person Bard had ever encountered before.

Not that he was staring.

IKEA was certainly not the place to consider his wavering sexuality, no that was better suited to a queer coffee shop or whatever, he wasn’t sure. He had really had to think about this kind of thing before.

Not that he was expecting a full-blown love affair to come from their meeting. After they were set free they likely wouldn’t see one another ever again.

“I’m sorry that I asked such a complex question when I offered to buy you coffee, shall I rephrase it?” Once again, there was a touch of amusement in his voice as he spoke.

It took an embarrassing amount of time for Bard to realise he had just been standing silently looking at Thranduil for at least 2 minutes. No words uttered he had just stood there like an idiot letting his mind wander while Thranduil waited patiently for a response.

“Aha, sorry, yes coffee is fine.” He shoved his hand into his jeans pocket to fish for change, but Thranduil chided him with the click of his tongue and walked off without taking any of the money he had attempted to offer.

Bard took this chance to take off his own coat after sliding his unpaid for table down by the table and the restaurant wall.

How badly he wanted to put his hands over his face and scream into them. This had never happened to him before. He had never found another man attractive before. However, by the look of it, Thranduil was used to it as many of the other occupants actively and openly stared at him as he passed them by before their eyes snapped over to Bard with questions burning on the tips of their tongues.

Mortifying, mortifying, awful, terrible.

When Thranduil returned he placed both cups on the table before digging into his own pocket for the sugar packets and little pots of milk he had acquired on his way back to their table.

“Does that happen everywhere you go?” Bard motioned to the people still watching him though trying to pull it off that they were merely having a good old gander at the restaurant and out of the windows.

“Oh, I suppose. I think it’s my hair.” Thranduil seemed disinterested and concentrated on peeling back the foil from the tiny milk pots.

Yeah sure, not the fact you’re the most beautiful person to grace the earth.

Nope, he wasn’t going there, after all this, he was going to have to sit down with his brain and talk to it about inappropriate thoughts.

Should go well.

“You do have nice hair, I suppose it makes sense people will stare at you, and you’re b- big… uh, tall!” Bard pulled his own coffee cup towards him and tore open two of the sugar packets dumping them into his coffee without looking at Thranduil.

His face felt hot.

“I am very big, you’re correct.” No further context was given and Bard near choked on his first sip of coffee upon hearing the words uttered.

Is he flirting with me? Surely not.

Bard cannot even begin to formulate a response and as if the Gods smiled up on him, the squeal and hiss of the tannoy above interrupted their conversation.

Dear customers of the store, unfortunately, due to the weather conditions we have been required to close the store for the rest of the day. Due to the ongoing storm and its severity, for your safety we have been advised to have anyone in store remain until the worst has passed.

We understand that this is inconvenient and may cause some upset, if you have any questions our staff are on hand to assist.

We strongly suggest that you remain indoors and do not attempt to leave the store. IKEA are offering free food and hot beverages to all customers affected for the duration of your stay.

Again, we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you.

When the announcement ended Bard could hear the throng of people gathered in the restaurant begin to grumble, muttering under their breath that they had places to be. He had no sympathy for them coming out in a storm with the intention of running errands.

Sure, he had done the same and maybe Thranduil had done, too. But he had nowhere to be. When he looked back at Thranduil he noticed the man was simply continuing to drink his coffee with not a single worry plastered across his face.

“Nothing waiting for you back at home either, ay?” Bard gave an empathetic smile when Thranduil nodded and set down his cup, leaning back in his seat he gave a cursory look around the room before he spoke.

“I have two adult children, well, university age, they are with their respective partners this Christmas, and I pretended I had made plans so that they didn’t feel sorry for their dear old dad being alone on Christmas.” As casually as he had tried to make it sound, Thranduil did come across as sad as he explained himself.

“I only ventured out for something to do. I had already promised I wouldn’t work over Christmas so IKEA it is. You know the hub of all social interaction. Joking aside, some good has come of it, well, the snowed in part of my day isn’t the highlight but I do have good company at least.” Thranduil lets the silence linger, and Bard swallowed hard, it was hard to know if this man was in fact flirting with him even if he wasn’t the way he spoke was just so fucking…

Suggestive

“We’re in the same boat, I only came out to replace a coffee table and only because I’m home alone for Christmas too,” It was a stupid thing to do, his brain was already telling him he was going to crash and burn but still his mouth disregarded the warning.

“I know you probably have a ton of friends you could hang out with, but you know my door is open to you if you want to spend the day. I know we are practical strangers- ah, I don’t know why I’m doing this. Sorry.” Bard fumbled at the last moment and decided it was better to rescind the invitation to save his already shaky ego.

“Strangely, I have very few friends. Something about being intimidating and having a- now what did Tauriel call it, ah yes! I have a resting bitch face that seems to put people off from talking to me.” The delivery was dry and still Bard let out a surprised laugh which he quickly smothered by taking a long sip of his drink hyper aware that others were now looking over at him.

“Now that is a nice sound.” Thranduil was resting his chin in his hand, elbow planted firmly on the tabletop looking across at Bard with a gentle and sincere smile. “So, is my invitation still valid or are you going shy on me?” He arches a brow and Bard can’t look away from him, and he knows he’s beet red.

“A-are you really flirting with me?”

“I have been this entire time, thank you for noticing,” The confidence that oozed from Thranduil was almost unbearable in how damn hot it was. No hint of arrogance just sheer and open boldness.

“You left me quite lost for words when I first set eyes on you, or rather… when I full body smashed you into a cart of BLÅHAJ, butchering the pronunciation but you get the idea. Could scarcely even look at you, with your beautiful brown eyes and dark wavy hair. That and you said I had pretty hair and I was big- ah, tall.” The corners of his mouth quirked up in a smirk and Bard felt like sliding out of his seat onto the floor hoping it would open up and swallow him whole.

“W-well, my invitation still stands if you’re interested.” How he had managed to even get words out in a coherent manner was beyond his comprehension seeing as his brain was on fire and there didn’t appear to be any extinguishers wedged into the grey matter.

The lights above them began to flicker before going out, the power had cut out and the wind and snow battered the side of the building brutally the sound of metal creaking faintly around them.

“Fuck- it’s getting worse.” Bard was thankful for the distraction and directed his attention to the windows, the snow was swirling through the wild gales. It came down fast and heavy blotting out the world beyond the glass.

“Let’s move on, I want to sit on something more comfortable.” Thranduil didn’t wait for a response as he stood grabbing his coat and scarf and leaving behind the tiny pack of scented tea lights.

It wouldn’t make any sense for him to carry them around until he could actually purchase them, so Bard followed suit, picking up his coat and leaving the flatpack box still resting between the table and wall.

Like a lost puppy he followed Thranduil until he was at his side struggling to keep up with the long strides the blond made until he came to a stop in the department he had sought out. Bard watched as he wandered through the sofas until he found one that looked comfortable enough, he gently laid his coat over the back of it before flopping down onto the cushions and patting the space next to him.

With as much grace as he could manage, Bard wove between the other sofas and proceeded to sit next to Thranduil, taking care not to have any part of him against the other. However, this didn’t seem to be how things were supposed to go because Thranduil shuffled himself closer so their legs touched from thigh to calf.

“Oh, now this is nice. Do you suppose we will be stuck here all night?” Thranduil had no qualms about being pressed up beside Bard, meanwhile, Bard was trying to as covertly as possible hide his heart attack whilst wondering if he needed to have a conversation with himself about the sudden attraction he had to men.

Because it was sudden like he was smacked with a bisexual stick as soon as he entered the IKEA.

Was it a requirement to be in IKEA?

“I- hope not. I don’t think a big metal building with no power will be a very comfortable place to sleep.” The idea was unappealing, and Bard shuddered though it turned into a shiver as the cold air began to seep in, whatever warmth there had been, it seemed was no longer apparent and he could feel a headache coming on.

“I’ll keep you warm, don’t worry.” The words were whispered into his ear, he could feel Thranduil’s hot breath ghosting over the shell of his ear and the vibrations of his words jostled Bard’s already frayed nerves to near breaking point.

As luck would have it, a store employee was hunting down customers and handing out blankets still in their packaging.

“You two look cosy, but this should help, too.” She was young, early twenties if that. Her cheery demeanour didn’t quite fit the predicament they were in, but it was nice to see that a snowstorm wasn’t dampening her smile.

She didn’t stick around, she had a cart full of blankets she had to distribute, all the while wearing one as a cape as she went.

Bard wasted no time in pulling the soft grey blanket out of its packaging wrapping it around him to ward off the chill, he watched as Thranduil did the same and was genuinely grateful when Thranduil plastered himself against Bard’s side again.

Heat was heat, even if it was the body heat of a particularly amorous man who looked like an angel. When he thought about it, knowing someone harboured obvious affection for him was nice.

New, but nice.

Before he knew it, the girl from earlier was shaking them both awake holding a torch, the bright beam blasting against the floor so as to not blind the both of them in the now pitch-dark sofa department.

“If you’d both rather sleep in a bed I can take you over there now, come on. Everyone else is already over there and the more people in one space the warmer it will be. There’s a small generator nearby too, we have a kettle if you want tea or coffee.” The idea of a bed was delightful and both Thranduil both murmured their sleep thanks as they stood up from the sofa.

“I don’t know about you, but at my age sleeping on a sofa in the cold is not a kind way to treat the body. I ache in the most atrocious way.” Thranduil griped as he collected his coat and scarf, Bard gave him a consolatory pat on the arm hoping it came across as sympathetic in the dark.

“Right there with you,” Bard responded, his hand dropped to his side, fingers accidentally brushing Thranduil’s, who saw the chance to grasp his hand in his. The lack of light other than a torch beam a few steps ahead of them a perfect cover to hide any embarrassment at the gentle touch.

It was such a soft gesture, endearing and sincere. More than Bard had experienced since his divorce, while amicable, it didn’t hurt any less.

But this man was actively pursuing him, in his heart he knew this was moving fast but it didn’t mean he would wish for it to slow down. Of course, he was confused but the excitement was overriding his common sense a little bit, whatever would come of this he couldn’t tell but it was thrilling.

There were several people already bundled up in the show beds, shoes and boots neatly set on the floor beside their coats, some giggling at the absurdity of it all while others looked worried, if not a little scared.

The young girl led Bard and Thranduil to a king-size bed mentioning under her breath that ‘Blondie needed room for his legs’ before smiling at them both and wandering off to assist others with their queries.

Of course, she had assumed they were together. She’d found them bundled up asleep under blankets almost glued at the hip and he really didn’t want the ordeal of having to ask her for his own bed.

It was one night, one night, fully clothed and in a room full of other people, nothing would happen and they couldn’t talk privately with beds set out barely a metre apart. It wasn’t that he felt unsafe or that he thought Thranduil might do something untoward but sharing a bed with him even unromantically… platonically, was fast fast.

Speed of light fast, he didn’t know this man’s last name, where he lived, what kind of car he drove, his favourite food… all he knew was that they were similar in age and were basically alone.

I’m overthinking this. We’re just going to sleep; I was fine sleeping on a sofa right next to him. I was happy to have him hold my hand…

It wasn’t until Thranduil reached out and nudged him that he realised he was being spoken to and wasn’t listening to a word that was said. Sheepishly he looked to Thranduil in the meagre light of one singular lamp that was situated at the edge of the display beds and offered an apologetic smile.

“Would you like me to find somewhere else to sleep?” Serious tone, his face set with determination, but Bard wasn’t sure what it was Thranduil was hoping to achieve. If he was trying to make him feel more comfortable it was working but the idea of sleeping alone when he had the chance not to was what forced him to respond.

“No, you don’t need to do that.” Bard turns away from him to sit on the bed and slip off his boots, placing them under the bed along with his coat. He feels the bed behind him dip as Thranduil moves to do the same.

“Sleeping together and we haven’t even had a first date, how scandalous.” Thranduil teased, though he still had his back to Bard as he spoke. An older lady in the bed next to them let out a chuckle and it managed to put Bard at ease, he locked eyes with her, and she gave him a wink.

Standing up he threw the covers back on his side of the bed and climbed in, but he didn’t lie down, he didn’t want to really commit to sleep until Thranduil was also beside him and comfortable.

It didn’t make any difference if Thranduil slept before him or not and he couldn’t explain to himself mentally why he was waiting for the blond and yet he did.

Thranduil was having a whispered conversation with someone in the bed across from him, but the conversation ended when Bard put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently to get his attention.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting, you cannot sleep without me already, hmm?” Another tease from him and even in the limited light Bard could see his triumphant smile.

When they both settled in bed, Bard was surprised to notice that Thranduil had not plastered himself against him but did welcome the space. Still, he wanted to speak to Thranduil before they tried to get some sleep.

Rolling onto his side he came face to face with him and he sighed before actively readying himself for what he was about to ask.

“Thran, can I call you Thran?” Stalling but when Thranduil nodded he continued, as his eyes adjusted to the dark he could see he held the other’s rapt attention. “How long have you been single?” He tried to whisper the question as quietly as he could and he knew Thranduil had heard it because he stiffened before rolling onto his back remaining silent for some time.

Eventually, he rolled back onto his side, his hand sliding over the space between them reaching for Bard’s hand.

“I know you’re worried about my intense interest in you, I understand it. You are right to be cautious, we know virtually nothing about one another.” His voice sounded so inviting even in a whisper, but his voice was so deep Bard had to move in closer just to hear him properly.

“This is a unique situation, I don’t think I’ve ever been snowed in in an IKEA before and I doubt I will again for the rest of my life, but this is advantageous a blessing in disguise. Would we have met if not for the snowstorm?”

We wouldn’t have met if Bain hadn’t decided to People’s Elbow the damn coffee table. But Bard didn’t say that Thranduil didn’t need to know that ancient re-runs of WWE were the cause of their meeting.

“The moment I realised I was interested in you I knew I couldn’t let you slip away. I was already so annoyed when I thought you’d already left. When you showed up at my side at the empty checkout I was beside myself. I wanted to make the time count, I made sure that we had a chance to talk again and when you so easily went along with it… I knew I had to trust my attraction to lead the way.” How earnest he was in admitting all of this, knowing how strange it was to feel as he did with so little provocation.

They both understood there needed to be far more put into whatever it was they were doing, this wasn’t going to be a fated lovers thing, even if that was how it felt right at that moment. In the morning they would part ways and it was up to them to work out how to deal with their strange evening and how far they were willing to go to make things work.

Even if Bard felt somewhat like a defeatist in thinking it would die out as soon as they stepped out of the store, he was willing to try. He was willing if Thranduil was, and it was apparent to him that Thranduil would put the effort in.

At least, he hoped he would. This gave Bard pause because he was just as eager to continue seeing Thranduil in any capacity. Would he regret it if he never spoke to him again?

This time he did not allow his brain to offer up an answer.

“Let’s talk about this in the morning, I don’t think I can keep whispering like this.” Bard gave Thranduil’s hand a squeeze and he smiled when it was returned.

Nothing else was said between them and it wasn’t long before Bard could hear Thranduil’s breathing slow signalling the man was already asleep.

In the morning, Bard woke with a start trying to work out where he was and who was lying in the bed next to him. The memories of the day before came flooding back and he covered his face with both hands sighing heavily.

Yesterday had been a lot.

Today would be more so.

It was then he realised the lights were now on. Power had been restored and people were getting out of their beds cheerily chattering away pulling on shoes and scouting the area for staff.

It wasn’t until they were alone that Thranduil opened his eyes, his hair was tousled from sleep, and when he mumbled a ‘good morning’ it was so deep it came out more like a rumble of thunder leaving Bard to scramble mentally to gather up his senses once again to return the greeting.

“You’re the last one up, sleepyhead.” Bard joked as he grabbed the blanket and threw back exposing Thranduil to the cold. In response to such callous behaviour, Thranduil groaned like he’d been stabbed before grabbing Bard by the front of his t-shirt pulling him down on top of him and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I consider this repayment for such hideous behaviour after I kept you warm all night.”

“Excuse you, but I was the one that kept you warm all night, not the other way around.” In a bid to keep himself from short circuiting, he had to volley right off Thranduil’s words because if he allowed himself to think of the kiss for a mere second he would probably explode.

I cannot believe I was about to lose my mind over a peck on the cheek. Get yourself together, Bard, mate.

“Let’s not start discourse of who kept who warm, instead let’s get coffee and breakfast and get the fuck out of this place. I’ve had no phone service all this time and I am sure someone is going to report me missing if I do not get in touch with the outside world.

My company are going to assume I’ve died.” Business like but he was smiling, thoroughly pleased with himself for the cheek kiss, probably.

They were not released from the yellow and blue prison until lunchtime and by that time Bard was willing to dig the place out himself. He wanted a shower, clean clothes and his own comfortable sofa and TV.

The time to decompress was a necessity, he needed time to overthink every single interaction he’d had with Thranduil, from the moment they met to the very moment he handed over his contact number before rushing off to his own car while on a conference call with his children and vice president of his company all who sounded as though they were wailing into his ear with relief.

With his replacement table securely in the back seat, and after having the car running with the heat blasting for 15 minutes, Bard made his own way home.

His house was blessedly empty, upon his return home. It was the first time in years he was pleased to have only the sound of silence in every corner. In a matter of minutes, Bard had the thermostat cranked up, his coat off and boots kicked into the hallway.

He had an important meeting with the sofa he couldn’t miss and probably a fair few calls to make to confirm he was not dead, he was ok and ‘You wouldn’t believe what happened last night’.

As he unlocked his phone, the first message to come through was an unsaved number, opening it up he realised who it was from almost immediately.

I wanted so badly to kiss you properly this morning, but we have time for that. See you at Christmas. T x

#Bard the Bowman #Thranduil #The Hobbit #Prompt #Writing

15 notes · View notes

platinumaspiration · 11 months

Text

well, @brandinotbroke just gave my ego the hugest boost with this tag game! I really shouldn't play this while in a bad mood tho :p

What’s your favourite sims death? I would have to say...probably flies. Never had it happen in my game (naturally), tho

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? 4t2 maxis match conversions, because it's gross and ugly :p No, but for real, I like all cc. People put a lot of time and love into what they create/convert/retexture/recolor. I think that should be recognized.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? No...who does that?

4. Do you use move objects? Yes, kind of have to sometimes!

5. Favorite mod? I had to go into my main save for this one haha. I'd say...all the anti-corruption mods. And to piggy back off of brandinotbroke, ACR! The rest I could probably live without if I could ever sort my folder. Oh, also, one mod I'd really like to give a try is Story Progression by LazyDuchess.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? First purchased was Christmas 2005. My parents gifted me Sims 2 and then my birthday a month later I got University, I believe. I should show you all the video of me opening it and running off to play haha. First played was, I wanna say Urbz! and Bustin' Out. We would rent those from the video store.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? Alive. I recently found out my IRL BFF pronounces it as Living. I've known her almost 20 years and feel like I don't know her anymore 😅

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Rhiannon, one of my model sims, but all 4 of my models are my favorite. I really should put Rhiannon as a townie in my uberhood. She deserves a life outside of posing.

9. Have you made a simself? Yes, like 18 years ago lol. Ended up corrupting the hood trying to move me with my 10 same face kids to a new neighborhood. I've really enjoyed the premade sims ever since.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? of sims 3 traits: absent-minded, light sleeper, brooding, over-emotional, nurturing, workaholic, frugal

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? TS4's #13 - Honey Blond

12. Favorite EA hair? probably aflongsimple or affuzzylongep

13. Favorite life stage? oh gosh... probably adult in any game lol

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? gameplay, I'll let @plumbtales and @kestrelteens do the building and inspo!

15. Are you a CC creator? I don't think I've created anything myself. I've converted a ton of stuff tho! I'd love to create something, but textures are so difficult for my brain to understand. I commend those who retexture!

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? Yeah! Baby Gang! lol, not like we do anything other than play online pvp games and share cc wips

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) 2 is my ultimate, though I'd love to dive back into Sims 3

18. Do you have any sims merch? Maybe someday @microscotch and I can make something palpable

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? Not gameplay (yet).

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Well, I had dial up internet until about 2010 so... figure that one out haha. But yeah, I was a semi-realistic kind of girl up until about... 2020? 2021? when i made the switch to 4t2. Still working on becoming completely 4t2.

21. What’s your Origin ID? n/a lmao

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? Oh gosh, there's too many. All my mutuals, I love ya and your cc! Even some people who are not mutuals with me are my absolute favorite. I could never choose haha.

23. How long have you had a simblr? I think I just had my 2 year anniversary.

24. How do you edit your pictures? I recently commissioned the Queen of Renders ™ @microscotch to take preview pics for me while i was out of town lol. She also made me a photoshop template as well. (Go get a commission, she's having a sale right now 😉) For gameplay, I let reshade do the work for me and crop/size it to 700x934

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Brandinotbroke gave the best answer haha. I honestly don't know what kit EA can come up with next

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? For Sims 2, probably Nightlife. The first 3 EPs, honestly. Sims 3 has to be Ambitions and Generations. Idk about Sims 4 as most I've played is about 2 hours in Strangerville as the Beakers.

Gonna tag baby gang, feel free to ignore! @microscotch @tvickiesims @lordcrumps @simsisit

thank you again to brandinotbroke for making my day, my week, my month and maybe even my year.

#tag game

33 notes · View notes

yakool-foolio · 3 months

Note

this is just a loser finding ways to partially vent but my story it's cringe, undeniably funny, and related to Danganronpa in ways So, uh yeah, if you want to read that'd be nice but if not I understand. When I say Danganronpa is the most impactful media I've ever consumed in my entire life I'm not joking.

I got into Danganronpa after GameGrumps played the first game in 2020, when they finished it I loved it so much I went on to watch someone else play Danganronpa 2. At the time my life was pretty awful, I was sort of becoming numb emotionally everything felt the same day after day, and it's stupid, but when Nagito Komaeda made me feel something after feeling so numb during that time I kind of got obsessed. It was so bad not only did I make myself so much lonelier, but I had to research hyper fixations to know I wasn't insane. So you could say Nagito caused me learning and acknowledging i'm autistic! Which sounds like a big impact until you hear the biggest one.

It was 2021 now, I was still obsessing over Nagito Komaeda and the fixation was so bad that I joined the fandom early before playing v3, Danganronpa on the Nintendo Switch was announced and I was eager and excited so I looked up a ton of reactions on Youtube. A day later Youtube recommended me a live stream, two guys were just joking and playing Danganronpa. My humor was changing but I knew that I laughed at their streams and videos so I stayed, I watched every stream I could and every video uploaded. Eventually I joined their Discord Server, I edit videos so after a while I asked the main owner of the channel for advice on videos and such, and then we bonded over some videos and songs like the v3 hated by life itself animation. After that I always thought of something to text to him every day, as a matter of fact we talked so much that I became behind on School because I'd be talking to him instead. After a while we started calling every day, and then we started face timing, and after that he had confessed to me. At the time I wasn't sure about my sexuality and I had repressed any attraction I felt for anyone out of "respect" So when he confessed to me I was able to think about it finally. It took me 3 days to think about my life and myself and I said yes and we started dating. We met in person 2 times, and dated for 2 years before he broke up with me a few months ago just because life has been hectic I suppose. The channel doesn't have any of its videos public anymore, the server is somehow barely alive for now despite one of the owners already leaving and the other just not talking much, and basically anything that came from all of it no one will know about other than the small group of mutuals that keep in touch and me making these. Most of those mutuals still don't even know that we ever dated. The channel is Emigc btw I think the only thing ever left public is someone reacting to a video he made on Danganronpa S.

anyway boohoo story sad ending but yeah that's how Nagito Komaeda helped me experience my first romantic love and know that i'm autistic, that's it. he's still funnily enough one of my favorite characters of all time i'm normal about him now at the very least Lmao. I finally got into Rain Code after the breakup since I got it for Christmas and it's stupid but it really does feel like the next step? if that makes sense? Danganronpa was the impact to my life, Rain Code is what I'm loving in the aftermath of what Danganronpa has done to my life. I honestly have loved Rain Code somehow even more than I loved Danganronpa, maybe not to the insane extent of Nagito though Lmao. Oh yeah, I also completely skipped over how Danganronpa helped me bond even more with my best friend who feels like a brother to me now but this is already long enough! I've just been making messages about what happened because those were the happiest years of my life and I miss it.

thanks for reading if you did

Goes to show that media really does have a grand effect on our daily lives. From my personal experience, I wouldn't have met any of my friend group, aptly named Ding Dong Bing Bong, without Danganronpa. Long story short, I started playing the first game after watching Game Grumps' playthrough of the 2nd game (and proceeded to spoil myself about the entire trilogy), and I did so in a Discord server. Someone ended up joining me during the start of the prologue, and we shared in voicing the characters. After a few days, another person joined, then another, then another. And now we're a tight huddle of ten after more than a year of playing games together!

It's interesting to hear how the Dangan series, Rain Code, and other media has affected other people as well. Meeting new people, discovering new things about ourselves, and watering our creative roots! Looking back on the moments can boost our spirits, too! I hope the future bodes well for you as you continue to enjoy your interests!

#i'll keep this on the down-low since it's the anon's personal story #if the anon wants me to delete this so its totally private i will respect their wishes #its cool to hear about the extensive histories people have with media they love #i have many stories of my own but ill save those for a rainy day #which could be any day really

3 notes · View notes

mountainmaven · 1 year

Text

Twenty Books Challenge

Hypothetically, you are only able to keep 20 of your books. Only one book per author/series. So what books are you keeping?

I was tagged by @the-forest-library - thank you!

This was way harder than I imagined (and I still messed up because I have 2 books by the same author oops). I was surprised by how many of the books I chose to keep are non-fiction. I also may have messed up with the rules with some of my collection books but oh well.

From the bottom up:

The Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane & Jackie Morris - just a beautiful book that reminds us how important words are.

The Uncle Wiggly Book by Howard R. Garis. One of the first books I read as a child, and this is the copy I've had since childhood. It's also the book that started my book collecting hobby.

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde - such a sweet, fun story and this one has great illustrations. (this is the book I'd switch out for something else since I messed up with the rules)

Hold Still by various. This was a project started by The Duchess of Cambridge during The COVID Pandemic. She and the National Portrait Gallery collected thousands of photos and went through and chose the top 100 to put into book form. It's a story of life during a modern pandemic. It's incredibly moving.

Collective Wisdom: Lessons, Inspiration, and Advice From Women Over 50 by Grace Bonney. A Christmas gift from one of my kids in 2021. It's a beautiful collection from women, most of whom are average, every day women, very few celebrities or well knowns are in this book. And the diversity is great too (Native, WOC, Disabled, Trans etc.).

The Complete Language of Flowers by S. Theresa Dietz the classic book of flowers and their meanings with beautiful drawings.

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky. 50 Inspiring and notable women in Science. Fun, cartoonish illustrations as well.

American Prince by Tony Curtis. Because he's so pretty, and his whole face lit up when I told him what I thought of his book when he signed it for me.

The Snow Queen and Other Winter Tales by various. Collection of tales from various Fairy Tale books and authors. I have a few of these but this one I think is my favorite.

The Works of H.G. Wells by H.G. Wells. A collection of stories by Wells. The Time Machine was the first Science Fiction book I'd read. I read it as a teen and I loved it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (and this would be the one Wilde book I'd keep since I'm only allowed to have one book by the same author). This is my all time favorite book.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. I have loved and own every book Allen has written, but I think this is my favorite.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I have a few copies of this book, it's a favorite. I chose this version because it's just very pretty.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Because Mother Nature DGAF. Also as I was being admitted to the hospital for my hysterectomy the admitting nurse who was doing all my vitals, giving me my IV etc. was reading this book and we discussed it. We both agreed that this book confirmed for us that we never want to climb Mount Everest.

Timeless by Gail Carriger. The final book in the Soulless series. I loved this whole series. I chose the last book, however, because it's one of the few series that I absolutely loved everything about how it ended.

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. The incredibly infuriating story of the women who risked their lives in watch factories and how little help they got. This book made me a better feminist and grew my understanding of the importance of women's rights and how important our history is.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I think this was the first Gaiman book I read and it's my favorite.

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. A series I read one summer in my youth. I chose this one because of its iconic cover, and because it's the first in the series.

The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell. One of my kids read this when they were younger and suggested it to me. It's one of my all time favorite middle grade reads. It's magical.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. My 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Bauer (my favorite teacher ever) read this out loud to us in class. I fell in love with the story. I never read it again until I was a married adult with children. It's the first book I ever re-read as an adult (Uncle Wiggly is the first book I ever re-read). And I re-read TLtWatW at least every couple of years. I tag anyone who wants to do this!!

#books #booklr #about me #20 book challenge

16 notes · View notes

orangelovesyou · 4 months

Note

Name your top 5 current brainrot go!

GRAGAGRAGWH*!,;+&!*!(!(!

1– my oc's

gfRGsvajka i think abt my oc's 80% of the day💔💔 the other 20% im sleepinf!!! i love them all, the idv, the abandoned genshin ones, the mk that only live in my head&!&! the non fandom specific GAGRAGSHJJ I LOVE THEM

2- mortal kombat

got a switch 4 christmas and eralier today i bought mk11 ultimate because it was on discount (8 MIL PESOS??? 8 DOLLARS 4 REFERENCE FOR A NORMALLY 50 DOLLAR GAME (56.990 en pesos shhhh) AND I PLAYED ALL OF STORYMODE IN A DAY. I MEAN. I FINISHED AN JOUR AGO SO A DAY AND A HALF BUTSVSIWKI!&!&&!*!*+*+ I LOVE IT ive been brainrotting on mk for a few months sice dead mwat released the 90's movies kill count but nOW THST I HAVE IT?????IWHWIALLWKABSHEJWLS I LOVE CASSIE!!!!!!!!&+^×^ I LOVE KITANA I LOVE LIU KANG I LOVE JOHNNY MWAHMEAJ

3- wild rift

MOBILE LEAGUEHAGSGRAGHS I LOVE THIS GAME i use it to pass the time because 1 match is easily 20 minutes and i 12 year old rage so hard💔💔💔💔 but it helps me take my mind off of things AND EZREAL IS THERE SO🙏🙏🙏🔥🔥🔥🔥

4-idv

this game has been following me since 2021 LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!

5- fran bow/fnaf

i HAVE TO REWATCH MARKIPLIERS GANEPLAY OF THIS GAMES AT LEASTONCE A WEEK OR I DIE. I SRSLY LOVE THEM😭😭😭 MY CHILDHOODJQNKQKA😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔 I LOVE FRAN BOW. SO MUCH. (And fnad has been following me since 2015 that i can't run from either💔)

#UEUEUESBWLMSIWJ😭😭#🍊.talks!

3 notes · View notes

sugarsweets9987 · 6 months

Text

Silly rambles, feel free to read or not. Just thought posting.

Saw a post from someone about SWSH and how it's a little funny coming back to those games and remembering how people complained about them, only for SV to release even worse.

It just brought up a thought for me. SWSH is like XY to me. And I mean this as in you will NEVER catch me whining about them or talking shit about them. Those games, despite their respective flaws, are both incredibly special to me for incredibly different reasons. I'll talk about both of them now because I want to.

XY were my first ever pokemon games. I got Y for my 8th birthday (or that christmas), if I remember correctly, and my sibling had X. I loved playing those games. They introduced me to Pokémon as a franchise entirely, and I still hold those games very dearly despite how everyone talks about how shit they are. I find them wonderful and a really fun trip down memory lane. I seriously hate seeing people so constantly and consistently hate on these games because of how important they are to me, but I get that not everyone feels the same way. These games mean nothing to most people, but everything to me. I wish the games got a little more love.

Sword and Shield, on the other hand, means a lot to me in a different way. Lets start with the innocent fun stuff. I'm going to be honest with you all right here and now; I love Leon. Almost everything about him I love. He's a silly and fun champion who just wants everyone to have a good time. Plus he has a Dragapult. Based. I also love Raihan and Hop. Raihan is just. S+, no notes. I can't explain why I love Hop, but I really just do. His whole arc of wanting to be exactly like Leon, then realizing that's not what he truthfully wants out of life and instead deciding to research pokemon to become a professor instead is just. Super appealing to me! He also probably just gets bonus points for being Leon's brother anyways seeing as how Raihan and Leon are tied for my favorite characters from SWSH lol. Also, all 3 of the starters are awesome. I love all 3 of them. Zamazenta and Zacian are also cool legendaries :) Spectrier too.

Now. On a more personal level. My dad started to play switch games with me and loved to watch me play during the pandemic. We played Animal Crossing New Horizons, Diablo III, Ace Attorney (Trilogy and Chronicles) and Pokémon Shield together. In Shield, he would do whatever he could to get me a pokemon I wanted, especially shinies. I have so many shiny pokemon just thanks to him trading almost all day for me. Most of them are hacked, yes, but I don't care. It was really just the thought that mattered to me. I have a shiny Porygon Z named Jitters that he went above and beyond just to get me. Unfortunately, in 2021 he passed away due to Covid. These Pokémon are. More important to me than ever. Because they were some of the last gifts he got me before he passed. Jitters specifically will always mean the world to me. And I will always name a shiny Grimmsnarl "Mr. Legs" based off a joke I had with my dad about its gigantamax form.

Damn. Now I want to hunt a shiny Scorbunny and name it "Sparky" (one of my dad's nicknames) since that was his chosen starter. I think I'll go start that now.

If you read this. Why? But also. Thank you. Sometimes I just need to talk about this stuff. And why certain things mean so much to me. Anyways. See yall later. Maybe I'll reblog and update this post if I get my Scorbunny.

#ramble

5 notes · View notes

actualbird · 1 year

Note

Hello! Do you know what the next event after Blizzardous Threads of Red is gonna be? And is there a way to find out the order of future events? Thank you in advance :D

hullo anon!!! i am not completely Sure what the next event after Blizzardous Threads of Red but my guess is that after BTR we'll get some card reruns and minigame events, and then the next card event will be the Butterfly Kisses MR Card Event for Valentine's Day season

i say guess because currently the only way to predict upcoming events for the global server is by checking what happened on the cn server at around the same time frame, last year. doing this has its caveats though, because it's been noted that the global server is kinda 'speeding up' in a sense, so it's not really a 1 to 1 "what happened in cn server january 2022 is gonna happen in global server january 2022" because sometimes some events come way earlier

for example,

Romantic Rail Getaway Part 1 happened in march 2021 for cn server, but global server got it in november 2021

Secrets of the Tomb happened in sept 2021 for cn server, but global server got it in april 2022

Dreams of Childhood happened in March 2022 for cn server, but global server got in october 2022

and most recently Artem's Blossom Personal Chapter 1 happened in feb 2022, but we got it in dec 2022

(note: there are way more events that we got earlier than expected, these were just the ones off the top of my head

all that being said though, there are some events that are "time-locked" and cant be sped up because they are required to happen at a specific date, so theyre easier to predict since they Need to happen at that time. this includes LI birthday events, anniversary events, new year events (since tot likes to have a Big event to commemorate chinese new year/lunar new year), and special days like valentine's or christmas or halloween and the such.

here’s a great excel sheet made by dailythemis on twitter that shows the calendar of past events in both the cn server and the global server. this is what i use to kinda make my own predictions, just switch through the sheet tabs and start shooting ur shot with guesses taking into account all the variables kjhvkJHVK.

but heres a summary of whats upcoming

after BTR (and btw theres gonna be a limited top-up Marius card for this event too, this was already announced in by tot eng in their event calendar for BTR, so watch out for that), some card reruns will probably happen

Butterfly Kisses MR Card Event in february for valentine's day

Vyn's Blossom Chapter 1 probably after that (actually now that i think about it, they could also put this right after BTR too if they dont wanna do reruns or a minigame)

Main Story Episode 8 probably after that

ive got the faintest hunch that theyre gonna release Cozy Couple's Getaway part 1 way earlier too, since CCG is kinda like RRG so they might keep with the tradition of bamboozling us there HAHA

so yeah!!

im very sorry this response is kinda a lot kjkjVKJHSF i answered an ask like this before actually but i wanted to be more in depth with this response so it can be clearer. i hope this helps!!!!

#why this game making me get a master's degree in excel sheets and divination...#tottips #<- btw heres my tag for ask responses that have anything to do with tips/game info for tot!!#asks #anon

13 notes · View notes

justviwriting · 1 year

Text

'Amy's Christmas'

Fandom: Doctor Who Characters: Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song, Eleventh Doctor (mentioned) Pairing: Amy/Rory Rating: G Words: 6.785 Summary: Amy writing down a story about all the different Christmases of her life. A/N: In 2021 I had the idea for a Christmas oneshot about Amy but I didn’t finish it in time to post it before/during Christmas so I decided to wait until next year. Obviously, I completely forgot about it lmao. And because I know I’ll probably forget again, I finished writing it and decided to share it now so it won’t die in my drafts. It’s a bit sad towards the end, just as a warning. Also, because the story is switching between tenses (and English isn’t my first language) I probably made some mistakes along the was ‘cause it got confusing, but I hope it doesn’t disrupt the story :)

[you can also read it on AO3]

I would like to tell you a story. A Christmas story. Not about a particular Christmas but about the many Christmases throughout my life. You might wonder how this could be an interesting story, but I have realised just recently that perhaps, the Christmases I have celebrated, and even the ones I haven’t, present the best way to but the insanity of my life into one short tale. Ever since I have started writing and publishing those stories you have probably read, I have told you, the reader, how many of those are not as fictional as they might seem. So, I wanted to share the story of my life. Now is perhaps the best time to do this.

When I was a child, Christmas had never been something I had looked forward to. I never hated the holidays but I never shared the excitement and joy all the other kids felt when Christmas approached either. For one, because I only ever had one wish, and that was for the Doctor to come back and take me on adventures through space and time, and with every Christmas that passed, I had less and less hope that he would actually return for me. So, no matter what gifts Aunt Sharon bought me, I never felt as happy as I should have been.

The lack of joy around Christmas was not just caused by my wish to see the Doctor again, though. There had always been an odd sadness rising inside of me every year, a sadness one should probably not feel as a little girl who had enjoyed a rather sheltered life at this point. A hollow sadness born from a distant memory of happy, bright Christmases that had been long gone.

I didn’t remember much about Christmas with my parents. Only a few memories had stayed with me in the back of my mind, like the smell of the vanilla scented candles my mother had put all around the house. And that old, worn-out star my dad had tried to put on top of the Christmas tree every year, hoping it would survive another. But really, that was it. I had been very young when my parents had died, or so I believed. I didn’t know how young, but I couldn’t remember when it had happened. Every year throughout my childhood, I continued to ask Aunt Sharon about our Christmases together with my parents, but for some reason she never wanted to tell me, even though I could see the same sorrow I had always felt inside me in her eyes as well. Still, she placed the few scented candles that still lay hidden in one of the drawers around the house, and also put the star on top of the Christmas tree, but only because I insisted. That was the first Christmas I properly remembered. The Christmas after I had met the Doctor for the first time. It had only been me, Aunt Sharon, and the dying star on top of the Christmas tree.

The year after that, Aunt Sharon had decided it would be fun to visit my relatives in Scotland during the Christmas time, so we wouldn’t be all alone on Christmas Eve again. I had not particularly looked forward to it, because I had known that I would be the only child there, and it was as insanely boring as I had dreaded. Before we left for the holidays, I had written a letter addressed to the Doctor and put it on the kitchen table, just in case he would finally come back, so he would know where to find me. I hadn’t given up hope yet that he might return and pick me up at any point. After all, he had promised. And I trusted him. To me, he was a friend, someone who wouldn’t lie.

To avoid the utter boredom of Christmas with my relatives the next year, I had spent the months before trying to convince Aunt Sharon to have my best friend Mels come join us.

“Please,” I had told her then, again and again. “I’m the only kid there. It’s boring. I need a friend with me.”

“I understand that,” Aunt Sharon had explained, “but can’t you pick someone else? That girl is only trouble. And God knows you’re already getting in enough trouble on your own.”

“Everyone else has a family to celebrate with,” I had continued persistently. “Mels doesn’t have any parents. She’s all alone. On Christmas. That’s not fair.”

Eventually, I had convinced her. Perhaps, in the end, she actually felt sorry for Mels, though she would never admit that to me.

Naturally, that Christmas was way more fun than all the one before – or at least the ones I could remember at that point. Every year, I had to convince Aunt Sharon again to take Mels with us, and every year I succeeded. When we were twelve years old, Mels had come up with the idea to give the Doctor a message. Next to the ancient house we were staying at, there was a huge corn field, covered in snow, so Mels had told me that if we dug through the snow to form the word Doctor, perhaps he would see it from outer space. So, we spent that entire Christmas on our message for the Doctor, ignoring my aunt’s pleas to come back inside. Sadly, however, he still didn’t show up, though I could have sworn that night I had heard the noise of that big blue box he travelled in.

As I grew older, I had stopped thinking about the Doctor. Well, that wasn’t completely true, but I had simply stopped trying to reach him, never giving up that small hope that he might return at some point. However, at some point, I had started to think that perhaps he had, in fact, just been part of my imagination. Somewhere deep inside me I had always known that wasn’t true, but it had been better to tell myself this than to keep waiting. And it made my aunt very happy, who, I believe, had been rather worried for my mental health.

Mels, however, was not tired of waiting. Sadly, she would not meet him when he did finally come for me. The Doctor did return, like he had said he would, just twelve years later than he had intended. He saved the entire world from aliens that tried to blow it up, then left again. As before, I waited for his return, but this time I stopped waiting early enough.

There was no Mels that Christmas after the Doctor, as she had ended up in prison, like I had always assumed she would. Instead of visiting my relatives, now nineteen-year-old me spent her Christmas by paying Mels a visit. She was the only person I could freely talk with about the Doctor. While aunt Sharon had seen the giant alien eyeball at the sky back then, she didn’t believe me actually meeting the Doctor. She had told me it had all been in my imagination, in a moment of fear, where an old childhood friend had come back to save me. She didn’t believe Rory either, because she had never taken him seriously regarding anything. Rory, my childhood friend and at that time boyfriend, also would rather forget what had happened. Well, the first days, even weeks, we had talked about nothing but the Doctor and the crazy events that had taken place, but then he had moved on. So Mels, mad at missing the Doctor, would keep asking me any sort of questions that Christmas. And I had to promise her, should the Doctor return, we would break her out and take her on adventures.

The Christmas after that, I also visited Mels – no words of the Doctor – and then spent Christmas Eve with Rory and his family. After I had told him I had no intention to visit my family this year, again, he had kept insisting on spending it with his family instead. Eventually, I had given in. I had always liked his family, they had always been friendly to me, but sometimes too friendly, too shallow in their conversations but at the same time too intrusive in their questions.

Before the dinner started, Rory pulled me aside, walking with me into the kitchen. I can still remember every little detail about that moment. The smell of the burned turkey, the slightly opened window to clear the smoke-filled air, and Rory’s very nervous, almost frightened face.

“Okay…so, there’s something…” He was taking several deep breaths in order to calm down, although that had rarely ever helped him calm his nerves. Had I not known him, I would have believed something terrible had happened. “You know,” he continued, “I was a bit annoying about you spending time with my family this year.”

“Yeah,” I simply replied.

“Well … there’s a reason for that,” he told me, his voice trembling more with every word spoken. “Something I wanted to do, but now … now I’m not sure how and when and…” He trailed off in his rambling.

“Rory,” I said then, laughing. “Take a deep breath and then tell me what you want to tell me.”

Another deep breath followed, and then he reached into the pocket of his jeans. The moment he took out a small box, exactly the size for a ring to fit in, the insides of my stomach started to turn, and for a short second I was not sure whether the cause had been joy or fear. When he opened it, and I saw the ring, I remember gasping slightly, but the feeling of fear had left me completely in that moment. He stood in front of me with the ring in his hand, which had been shaking so much, I was scared he might drop it, so I carefully took his hand into mine.

“I wanted to ask you, if you … if you want to marry me,” he said then. He had been looking at me the entire time, partly scared, partly hopeful, and so completely with love that I forgot to breathe for a second. However, his eyes had left mine then, looking down, as he said, “You know, I wanted to do it at dinner, properly, but then I thought … if you said no, that would be bad. And I didn’t want you to say yes just because you felt sorry for me, so I-“ He kept rambling on, looking at the floor, so in order to make him look up again – and also to shut him up - I had then taken his face into my hands, and once his eyes, still full of love and hope, had reached mine, I pulled him closer to kiss him.

“So…is that a yes?” Rory asked then as I pulled back, but leaving my hands around his neck, carefully caressing his hair. His hesitation and uncertainty made me realise then that perhaps my face was not showing my feelings properly, so I put on the brightest smile when I said, “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes,” I laughed, kissing him again.

We redid the proposal during dinner, and everyone was happy for us, obviously.

Among the laughter, childhood stories of us and champagne bottles, I suddenly came to the realisation that I was now an engaged woman. Not the little girl anymore. Not the girl who had spent hours sitting on the windowsill, looking out at the stars, waiting for the Doctor to come back. And who needed a Doctor when there was a Rory anyway?

But then, one night, I was awakened by a noise I never thought I would hear again. He had come back for me. Two years later, the Doctor came back. And I joined him. Forgetting about Rory, forgetting about Mels, I went on adventures with him. It was a childhood dream coming true, until the Doctor woke me up. He made the decision to take Rory with us, which, in retrospective, was the best decision he could’ve made. Well, there was that bit were Rory had died, but he came back to life, somehow. Most of you who are reading this probably know this story already, as I have written a whole novel about it – and yes, the story is true. But to summarise for everyone who is in the dark: We saved the entire universe and reset the timeline. Suddenly, I had parents. My parents never died, you see. They had been erased from time. And I brought them back to life. Like I had done with Rory before. Just my will against the universe. Not trying to boast here but that is pretty cool.

Anyways, suddenly there was that insane maze of memories inside my head. I remembered all my life, all the Christmases, with and without my parents. Suddenly, the scented candles had never left. Suddenly, Mels had spent Christmas at our house. Suddenly, Rory had proposed in front of my family, not his. But I still remembered the other Christmases as well. Like I said, a maze. Two different lives, but both real.

Then, we missed Christmas 2010. Weird to think about this now. I missed a whole Christmas. Not by not taking part in it, but by literally not being on Earth during that time. After mine and Rory’s wedding, we had left with the Doctor. Several months of traveling later, he dropped us off in February 2011. So, no Christmas. There was a Christmas 2012 though. But before I can get into that, there is some more backstory, because otherwise it would be way to insane to tell.

Now, this is a story I have never told before – or at least have never written about. And you will probably see why in a second.

I was pregnant which I had not known for a long time, because after the Doctor had dropped me and Rory off back on Earth, I had been kidnapped by some people calling themselves the Silence, which I can’t even remember ever happening. And I had been replaced by something called a Flesh, which is basically a clone, except that it only existed through my mental connection. So, I was in this place called Demon’s Run, somewhere in the future in space, but it felt like I was with the Doctor the entire time, going on adventures with him and Rory.

The connection between me and my clone had eventually been broken by the Doctor and I found myself at that place, pregnant, with contractions, giving birth … If you think that sounds bad, I can tell you it felt a hundred times worse than you could ever imagine. Which is why I have never written this story down before, and I why won’t go into details now either. Some things are better left unsaid.

What is important is that I had a child, a beautiful daughter called Melody, that I love with all my heart, despite everything that had happened. And then … then she had been taken away from me, kidnapped and raised as an assassin, raised to kill the Doctor.

And that girl turned out to be my friend, Mels, and she also was my other friend, River. Yes, I know, but stay with me. I had met my child several times throughout my life, without ever realising. First, by growing up with her, as my best friend Mels. Then, later, as a friend of the Doctor’s, taking part in some of our adventures, where she had also become my close friend. I know, that sounds confusing. Again, believe me, it’s even worse than it sounds. But it all turned out okay, eventually. I never saw Mels again, except for that time she had died and regenerated into River and then tried to kill the Doctor … But I met River again many more times. I never saw my baby again. I do love River with all my heart, however. And that is something.

So, at some point after all of that, the Doctor dropped me and Rory off back on Earth. He had bought us a new place, and Rory a car he loved, and we should’ve been happy, but I knew that this would be the last time I’d see the Doctor. The thing is, we had seen him die. A future version of him. And I knew that he knew. He had dropped us off to say goodbye.

Thankfully, River was there. A slightly older version of her. A version that had already lived through all this craziness a long time ago. She was there for us during that difficult time and also during Christmas as well. A few times I had tried talking to her about the Doctor, about his death, but I could never quite bring myself to do so. Rory was the one who had connected the dots; who had figured out that it would be her – our baby, our friend – who would kill the Doctor. I knew that it would have never been her intention. I knew she loved him. But it made sense that she would be the one, disguised in a space suit, killing him.

Then, the summer afterwards, I had woken up with a whole new bunch of memories buzzing inside my head, about a time that never was. A wedding between River and the Doctor in a weird, timeless place that resembled Earth, but not truly. Rory didn’t remember anything, but I realised what it was almost immediately: an alternative timeline. The Doctor had died. River had killed him, but only because he had insisted … After they had been married. Confusing again, I know, but at this point I couldn’t stop myself anymore: I invited River over, because I needed her in that moment. I told her about the Doctor’s death, and honestly, I was more than glad I had finally done so, after months of keeping my feelings and thoughts shut inside my head. Not only because it had helped unburden my heart, but mainly because she had intrusted me with a secret. A secret, I probably should not write out right now, but really, I doubt the Silence or anyone else of interest would read this story, so here it goes: He didn’t die. He was alive. He had faked his death, and River had always known.

River spent the next Christmas with us again. We waited for the Doctor to perhaps join us, but he didn’t come. Still, we had a beautiful time together.

Then, the next Christmas, he finally paid us a visit, had finally found the courage to tell us he wasn’t actually dead. I’m thankful River had told us before, because I would have most definitely punched him in the face otherwise. River joined us later, and we spent another beautiful Christmas together.

The year after that was the invasion of the cubes, another story I have published before. The Doctor had been gone for a while and didn’t come to visit us for Christmas, but River did, again. This time it was a younger River, so we had to be careful what we were talking about with her around, so to not share any accidental spoilers of her life. Overall, we still had a lot of fun. Well, until Rory’s dad came over.

He had entered, just rambling on about the weather outside, as if we had been expecting him. “So, are your parents coming, Amy? Oh, hello,” he added then, when he noticed River.

“Hello, I’m Brian.”

For a moment, every single one of us, even River, was speechless due to his sudden arrival.

“This is River,” I told him eventually. “She’s … she’s a friend of ours.” If River was in any way offended by my words, she didn’t let it show. She just smiled and reached out a hand to Brian, greeting him. “And no, my parents won’t come over,” I said then. “We’ll visit them tomorrow.”

“Oh, really?” Brian asked. “I know, I haven’t been in touch much with your family, but I’m ready to make changes. You know, spending Christmas alone isn’t really my thing anymore. Why don’t you invite them over? If they don’t have any other plans, of course.”

I was certain that, would I ask my parents, they would surely join us, but for a moment I thought that perhaps I should just tell him that they did, in fact, have plans of their own. We had kept declining their attempts to invite themselves to our Christmas celebrations, because we simply preferred spending time with River and the Doctor on Christmas Eve. It had become some kind of tradition, at least with River, and it was nice to have some structure and certainty in the otherwise uncertain life we led. And in our minds, all of them in one room had not appeared to be a good idea.

Still, I felt somewhat sorry for Brian, and I also knew that we would not be able to get rid of him either way, so I just said, “Sure, I’ll give them a call.”

After he had left to put the presents he had brought under the Christmas tree, River turned around to us, still a smile on her face. “I think it’s probably the best if I leave then.”

“No, stay,” I told her sincerely.

“I doubt that’s the best idea,” she replied, smiling.

“We don’t have to invite them over,” Rory said immediately. “My dad is fine on his own.”

River, shaking her head, replied, “You should be with your family. I have this,” she pointed at her vortex manipulator. “I can have Christmas whenever I want.”

She left shortly after that, and we spent Christmas with our family. Well, our other family. Or part of our family. Another part was missing.

After that Christmas, I made a decision. I had always known it wouldn’t be easy to tell my family about anything surrounding the Doctor. They had kept asking, and I had usually avoided their questions, but it was time to tell them the most important story of all.

I wasn’t even sure if I had never told them about River – Melody – because I knew they’d have a hard time understanding it, or because I was afraid of talking about it. About making it real. Somehow, in my mind, I could always separate those different people - Melody, Mels, River. I knew they were the same, but my relationship with them was different. Melody was the baby I had lost. Mels was the childhood friend I knew I would never see again. And River was the present, was one of my best friends, but she was neither Melody nor Mels, not really. I knew it wasn’t different for River. She had always known I was her mother, whenever she had met me previously, while I had been unaware. And sometimes I wondered whether she wanted me to be that person - her mother. She never said it, though, not even implied it. When she called me ‘mother’, it was usually in a less serious way, often jokingly. But I was her mother. And it was time that my parents knew that, too.

So, some time in November, Rory and I gathered my parents and his dad around in our living room. I had never been this nervous in my life before – and that said a lot. I was happy that Rory had been next to me, I’m sure I’d have never gone through with it if it wasn’t for him.

Then we told them. All of it.

Brian took it fairly well. I guess he had seen enough insanity in recent times. My parents needed a second. My dad continued calling me every day after that, always with a new reassuring message, that he loved me and wanted to meet River. My mum took a bit longer. I think she was a slightly scared. But as Christmas rolled around, and River appeared, my mum was suddenly smiling. This time, we were all together … well, except for one person.

Now, the Doctor had kept visiting us, and he had continued to take us on adventures, after letting us know he was not really dead, but he wasn’t there for Christmas. So, River had promised us to get him next time.

And then there it was. Christmas 2016. River appeared, the Doctor at her side. My parents were there, Rory’s dad was with them. A true family Christmas. If only we had known it would be the last.

Really, in a way, it’s beautiful. We didn’t know at that time, but we made that last Christmas memorable. Back then, I had hoped for more Christmases like that. A naïve way to think when you travel with the Doctor.

Rory and I had been sent back in time by a Weeping Angel. 1938 to be exact. None of our parents were even born yet and we were stuck in New York City. Where we also had to die. Or Rory did. Because I had seen his gravestone, which was the reason why the Doctor couldn’t come and get us. He would create a paradox, on top of several more paradoxes we had already created during that time, which, according to his words, could blow up New York. I had chosen to be here. My name had never been on that gravestone, but I hoped it was now.

That first Christmas we spent in a tiny, mouldy flat. It was cold, but we made due. Rory continued working as a nurse. Well, there was a world war about to happen, so there would be more than enough work for him to do.

That Christmas, however, we received a special gift. The manuscript to a book. A book River had written about our adventures in New York, right before the Angels had sent us back. A book, I had already read in some parts, because we had seen it before. Attached to it was a letter by River, which I still have with me. The paper now shines in a yellow hue, and the writing has faded slightly, but it’s still perfectly readable.

Dear Amy and Rory,

I’m sorry I have to contact you like this. I know I could come and visit you. I really could. Just using my vortex manipulator, I could go and talk to you, spend more time with you. I wanted to do it, but I decided against it. And please don’t take this the wrong way. I want to see you, more than anything, but I’m also afraid. Afraid, that the temptation would be too great. Could either of you, or me, really resist the possibility of getting you out of there? You know, I could get you back, right now. Back to your life, to your family. But then, we would risk a paradox, might risk the lives of thousand and millions of people. And in all honesty, I can’t tell you what way I would decide if I saw you, so I chose to stay where I am.

The Doctor is fine. I’m with him right now. He’ll be okay, and I hope you are too. I really hope you both are together, and are happy and love each other. That is all that matters. I sent you the manuscript to that damned book. I’ve finished writing it, but I need someone to publish it. I know you kept talking about writing books, Amy, even if you’ve never seriously considered it before. Now, I know that this is my story, but perhaps it can get you a foot in the door. When you get it published, please add an afterword, for the Doctor. He misses you and I feel like he would listen to you, so please tell him what he needs to hear.

I miss you, too. I wish I could come and see you, but I already told you why I can’t do so. However, if you want to talk to me, write me a letter, I attached an address. Please don’t come and visit it. I probably won’t be there either way, but I’ll check the mailbox every now and then, so you can send me letters from your time. Perhaps we can stay in touch that way.

I love you,

Melody

I had actually published the book. It took a while, but eventually I had found a publisher. And it became a bestseller. I’m also assuming you’ve read said book, if you’re reading this one now. So, yeah, the events were real, written out of the perspective of my daughter. We had also kept in touch with River through letters. We understood why she could not visit us, and we were not mad at her at all, because we, too, would probably take the opportunity to get out.

Several Christmases came and went now. No time traveling and missing Christmases and waiting for the Doctor anymore. That was in the past. Instead, we just lived our lives. Rory continued his work in the medical field, and I kept writing stories. Stories about our adventures with the Doctor. Some were a bit exaggerated, I admit, but for the most part it really was that crazy.

Then, in 1946, Rory and I decided to adopt a baby boy. We named him Anthony, and that Christmas we spent with our new, two-year-old son. We had always wanted more children, but after what had happened to me at Demon’s Run, sadly I couldn’t get pregnant anymore. Due to our insane and occasionally quite dangerous life, however, we had decided against adoption, as we were afraid, even if we did not travel with the Doctor anymore, that this part of our life would still eventually catch up with us. But now, that part was gone. Our family was gone, but we built a new one.

As the years went by, and our calm and happy life continued, things started to get a little more difficult again. Both, me and Rory, realised we were entering a weird time. For once, our parents had been born. They lived now, the same time we did. It was hard to resist the urge to go and visit them. But really, what should we tell them? And then there was 1969. We knew we had been there, in Florida and Washington. Our younger versions. Me, pregnant, not knowing yet. The Doctor. River. And then we realised River wasn’t just there once, but twice.

River had told us a bit about her childhood. She had said she couldn’t remember much, but I remembered her saying she regenerated as a little girl in New York in 1970. So, when that year arrived, I started looking for her. Rory had told me that it was a foolish thing too do, that the city was big and that I would only be devastated should I not find her, but I didn’t care. I kept looking. And eventually, I found a little girl.

She was about three or four, lost in the streets, but weirdly smart. She could communicate with me well, not like you would expect from a child that age. But that wasn’t what made me sure it was her. I just knew.

When I had taken her home, Rory wasn’t immediately convinced.

“What’s your name?” I eventually asked her, when I realised I hadn’t done so before. I had been so certain it was here that it had never even occurred to me to ask.

“Melody,” the girl replied. Then, as my heart made a jump, I saw Rory turning completely white. I went to give Melody something to eat in kitchen before I went back to the living room, where Rory still stood in shock.

“Don’t you see?” I said, tears in my eyes. “River told us about that old married couple taking her in back in New York. Now look at us,” I added. We were both well into our sixties now. Obviously, I looked better than him, but still, for a little girl we were both pretty old. “We were that old couple.”

Now, the tears also appeared in Rory’s eyes. “We can’t…”

“Of course we can,” I said. “We’ve already done it.”

It took a while to convince Rory, but eventually we decided to take care of her. We found a nice orphanage for her to live in, because we knew she couldn’t stay with us, as River had told us so, but every weekend she visited, and every Christmas we celebrated together. Me, Rory, Melody and Anthony. This was our family now, and the many Christmases we spent together made me almost forget the life we had before. Seventeen years of Christmas like this, until 1988. That was the year Rory died. He died the year he was born. The thing is, I had always known it would happen soon. I had remembered the age on Rory’s gravestone. Somehow, I had hoped I would die before him. Both, Anthony and Melody, were grown now. They didn’t need me anymore. But here I was, no Rory, just me and our children, one not knowing she was our child.

We had eventually told Anthony everything, including who Melody was. Despite us adopting him later in our lives, he was older than her and even though she didn’t know it, he cared for her like an older brother would. And we kept spending Christmas together, although times changed. Anthony had gotten married and I now had a granddaughter. Rory never met her, but he had known that she was on her way, so that was something. He knew we had a grandchild.

Now Anthony had another family, and while he spent Christmas with his in-laws, I decided to stay with Melody. Just like Mels and River, Melody had already decided to get herself into a lot of trouble. I had to keep an eye out for her, but I also didn’t want her to get too attached to me. The 1990s arrived and I knew Melody would soon go and meet my younger self. My younger self, that had just been born, across the sea… I knew I had to let go of her soon, while knowing everything she was about to go through.

Last Christmas I was putting up the decorations, thinking about whether I should encourage Melody to leave, while knowing I could never ever push her away, when someone knocked on the door.

“Did you forget your keys again, Melody?” I mumbled as I walked towards the door. “Or lost them? I swear, if I have to change the lock again, I’ll get you … River!”

I had opened the door and just starred at the person standing in front of me. It was Melody, but not the young version. It was her grown up version. A face I hadn’t seen in decades.

She just stared at me too, before a careful smile appeared on her face and she said, “Hello, Amy.”

I was simply speechless for a moment, at a loss of words like I had never been before. I had been sure that I would never see her again. When I didn’t say anything, River asked, “Is my younger self here or can I come in?”

“Er … no, no, just me. Come in.” I let her through the door and as we walked towards the living room I had just been decorating, I asked, “How do you know you were here as a kid? Did you always know?”

River turned around, still a smile on her lips. “I figured it out when you sent me that letter about adopting Anthony. And I remembered your names were Mr. and Mrs. Williams. That was just too much of a coincidence.”

I sat down with her on the sofa. “I thought you said you couldn’t visit us.”

“I know. That’s why I don’t have my vortex manipulator with me.” She showed me her empty wrist where her vortex usually was attached to. “I hid it away before I came here,” she explained. “I thought, after all those years, you might not want to get back, but I didn’t want to test it.”

I was glad she didn’t. Because, in all honesty, I didn’t know what I would do given the chance. Anthony had his own family, Melody would leave soon, and Rory was gone. It would have been good to see my family again.

“Rory is dead,” I told River then.

“I know,” she said.

“He would’ve loved to meet you again, too,” I said then. It wasn’t meant as an accusation, I was simply curious on why she decided to get here now.

“I know,” she replied with a sigh. “This visit wasn’t planned. I just thought about you both, specifically you, on this Christmas. With Rory gone and my younger self about to leave. Then I decided to get here. Talk with you for a bit, perhaps.” She smiled again, but this time it was a sad smile, and I noticed she started to fumble with the edges of the dress she was wearing, almost as if she were nervous. She rarely ever did that. “And also, I didn’t know whether you knew, but it was you who told my younger self back then to go and find you and Rory. I know I could’ve also told you that in a letter, but…”

“…but you came either way,” I said, smiling. “It’s great to see you again, River.”

We spent the next hours talking in the still not completely decorated living room. I told her all the details about my life in New York that never made it into my letters to her. She told me about what she had been up to lately, told me about my parents which I had asked her to comfort about my absence, and how the Doctor was doing.

Eventually, the door opened and Anthony walked into the living room. “Hey, I just wanted to check in with you and … oh, hello,” he said as he realised that I wasn’t alone.

“Hello, Anthony,” said River and Anthony just stared at her, confused at her for knowing his name.

“Anthony, this is River,” I told him, and slowly I could see the realisation hit him as he looked back and forth between us, stunned.

“River … you mean … Melody?” he asked, now staring at her carefully.

River gave him a smile. “Yes, that is me. But if I remembered correctly,” she added, gazing up at the clock, “I’ll be here soon. So, I’ll have to leave you two alone.” She got up and I walked her to the door, leaving a bewildered Anthony behind.

“You know, I always wondered,” I said then as she walked into the hallway, preparing myself to ask the question I wanted to since River had arrived. “When I got sent back by the Angel … did my name appear on that gravestone next to Rory’s?”

River looked at me, a sadness in her eyes that told me more than she probably wanted to. “Yes,” she said. “If not, I could just take my vortex and get you back to your time.”

“I know. That’s why I asked,” I told her. “You know, I never knew whether it was just Rory, and you simply didn’t visit us because you knew I wouldn’t leave him,” I said. “Now, I believe that also means that you know when I die.”

River’s smile faded. “Yes.”

I just nodded at her, putting a smile on my lips. Her eyes stared at me, with that sadness again, and even though I now looked noticeably older than her, I knew she was probably far higher age that I was. Her eyes had started to resemble more and more the way the Doctor used to look at me. All that age and wisdom and knowledge that most of the time felt more like a burden than anything else. Perhaps dying wasn’t too bad.

“Merry Christmas,” I told her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. The last time I had done that, she had been a baby.

“Merry Christmas,” River replied, the smile back on her face.

I spent that Christmas Eve with Melody. I convinced her to go look for her parents. On Christmas Day, Anthony and his family came for a visit. I took it all in. After that, I decided to write down this story. I know it will be the last story I will ever tell. Perhaps it is the only story that ever mattered.

#doctor who #doctor who fanfiction #amy pond #rory williams #amy x rory #eleventh doctor era #river song

2 notes · View notes

myfitnessblog0086 · 1 year

Text

This is my first post and I will share as much as I can about me in the coming posts and my past. It's a checkered past and not a pleasant journey but I am where I am.

I'm going to try to push as much positivity as I can here. If you want to turn your life around and do what I do, you're going to need it. Losing weight, and turning it into muscle is a very challenging route.

Everything on here is my personal opinion based on personal experience. Throwing yourself into my diet and workout schedule is really going to be difficult for a novice.

I may talk about products from time to time but I am in no way getting paid to talk about them. I am in no way endorsing them. I'm just talking about them and my personal experience with them.

Onto the MEAT! Lol

Part of my background with this blog is the pandemic. I found it much easier to handle the pandemic than most people. I by nature usually stick around my own home and play video games all day. It was also why I was 440 lbs overweight.

During the pandemic I discovered the Rocky series. About 2021. Yes, I know it's an old movie but I never gave it a chance until more recently.

Back in November 2019 I got a game called Fitness Boxing for the Nintendo Switch. By that point I had already been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, and after doing some research at the time I discovered that it was the best fitness program that was available for the Nintendo Switch at that point.

Fitness Boxing kept me going during the pandemic. I even used Super smash Brothers for a little bit of enjoyment. After a very quick minute round, (I call them mini battles. High damage, and only a minute long. Strike Hard, Strike Fast. No mercy. Cobra Kai Creedo) I would be lifting weights and eventually I got to 30 lbs lifted over my head.

For Christmas 2019 I got Zumba as well. It's a game that I don't play often but I still go back to every once in awhile especially on my days for low activity.

February 2021 I got Fitness Boxing 2. I couldn't stop playing the demo around Christmas time 2021.

March 2021 was when I really got into Rocky, and I mean the entire series. Getting into the characters, the actors, Creed series.

I even went to the special event, Rocky 4 director's cut at my local theater in November and that's when I found out about The Rocky Challenge.

So December 2021 I entered The Rocky Challenge the last minute contestant, so all of my medals say 2021 on them. And then because of my love of pac-man, I entered the Pac-Man virtual challenge in 2022.

The rocky challenge was supposed to be done at your own pace and I did it in my spare time while holding a job. I believe I got to the 100 milestone sometime in January.

In March that's when I entered the Pac-Man virtual Challenge and again I was a last minute competitor, but I got it all done.

In August of 2022 that's when I wrapped up the rocky Challenge and I'm looking for a new challenge this year.

Waiting for the rocky challenge to reset, or the Pac-Man challenge to drop again.

https://www.rockychallenge.com/

https://race-sfgiants.com/race_event/virtual-events/

As of November 2022 I had been doing my boxing for 3 years.

I'll post about my diet at a later date but I can't wait to get started with other virtual running challenges. Especially these ones as spring comes.

#boxing #fit #fitness #fitspiration #rocky balboa #adonis creed #rocky #positivity #muscle gains #nutrition #pandemic #fitness boxing #cobra kai #zumba workout #zumbafitness

1 note · View note

baenxietydad · 1 year

Text

I posted 279 times in 2022

That's 88 more posts than 2021!

12 posts created (4%)

267 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@davidhatter

@justkeepdancing-nemo

@massisnotproportionaltovolume

@rotanawrites

@animatedtext

I tagged 276 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#insp - 86 posts

#fc - 59 posts

#hatter - 58 posts

#nemo - 25 posts

#the mountain goats - 17 posts

#r: the baes - 7 posts

#snow - 5 posts

#sled - 3 posts

#r: sled - 3 posts

#jenny - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#// can't tell if this makes me sad or proud but this is the first time he's referred to nemo's eomma as my son's mothero ut loud vs my wife

My Top Posts in 2022:

Scat Cat Saturday | Zarlin

Task #7 – Business Savvy Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s businesses with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with.

It was Marlin’s day off from both the clinic and Pixie’s! This only came once a month or so, so instead of sleeping it away, Marlin was spending it at Scat Cat, hunting for some new records and for some Christmas presents for people. Surely there’s something someone would like...

He was buried in a record bin when he happened to look up, and spotted a pixie he wasn’t familiar with. Oh, that’s new!

He waved politely and greeted him quietly. “Hi there, what’s your name?”

See the full post

1 note - Posted November 8, 2022

Wearing Karen’s Drink On Your Sleeve || open

Marlin was having a great shift, actually, thanks for asking! Nevermind the thought that he’d been scheduled off tonight was in the back of his head. He’d picked up that sixth shift from [insert-name-here] on his own volition of course!

Of course, this made eleven nights in a row working, on top of being awake during the day some days to handle duties in the Hollow clinic. His patience for people was growing thin. Fortunately he wasn’t being tested much tonight.

Until some Karen tourist started yelling at one of the other bartenders-- like well and truly screaming at them -- and Marlin decided to take one for the team and interrupt. As everyone’s Work Dad (as several of them had him as in their phones), he took it a little personally when someone was screaming at his coworkers. Those were his work kids, thanks, you can yell at him instead.

He passed the other bartender the handful of drink tickets from the cocktail servers and went to try and calm Karen down. He wasn't sure what he said -- probably "ma'am, I'll remake the drink, but a tequila sunrise is literally orange juice, tequila, and grenadine and that’s what you got" -- but the drink in her hand ended up on his face and all over his shirt.

"Aish, so annoying." Marlin muttered to himself in Korean, as the bouncer made his way over to ask her to leave. “A toddler has better emotional regulation.”

...someone laughed.

At what he said.

He had, in fact, switched to grumbling to himself English.

“Uh. If you say you didn’t hear that, then your next round is on me?”

14 notes - Posted March 19, 2022

shut up and eat your kimchi jjigae || the baes

@justkeepdancing-nemo

Mu-yeol and Nemo were good at not talking about things when it suited them. They did not talk about how much money Mu-yeol had saved for uni so far. They did not talk about Robbie. They did not talk about how many extra hours Mu-yeol was working at Pixie’s, and how he only didn’t work seven nights a week because Peri was too good to let him.

They were just as good at talking about things they wanted to talk about, and getting better at things they needed to talk about. There was a third category. Things one of them wanted to talk about, but the other would rather avoid. Ninety-eight percent of the time, these were harmless but awkward topics. Both of them were good at bringing up these things.

Nemo was much better at it than his father, at tactfully, sneakily broaching subjects his father avoided. But...but he could too! He even had a plan to bring up one of them tonight!

With a trap of delicious kimchi jjigae.

“I knew you’d wake up if I started cooking something,” Mu-yeol teased as Nemo’s bedroom door opened. “I’m not working tonight, I thought we could have dinner together. I don’t feel like waiting in line at the Circle tonight.”

27 notes - Posted March 19, 2022

Karen Hours || Hatfish

@davidhatter

Marlin hadn’t been into Hatter’s much lately, less as a consequence of that weird making-out-with-him dream and more because he didn’t have the time or spare money for coffee. Every purchase was money he was taking from Nemo’s uni funds, he told himself, so he’d even been buying less food to cook at home. He went a full week without cooking anything for him and his son a couple weeks ago, which wasn’t at all typical.

Even the best penny-pinchers eventually had to give into the body’s need for rest -- by that, he means of course, ignoring it with coffee.

No telling if he’d make it to walk to [name redacted], and Hatter’s was right there so...sure.

When it was his turn in line, he came to realize he completely forgot to actually think about what he wanted and just said the first coffee-related words that came to mind.

“Uh, can I just get a latte with an extra shot of espresso, please?”

Manners, always, perhaps too many. Such is the curse of service industry workers, to always be excessively polite to your kind.

34 notes - Posted June 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

What’s Wrong With Secretary Bae? (Trope Extravaganza AU!)

@davidhatter

Sixty days until Secretary Bae’s last day

Marlin Bae has got this.

He was so convinced not only because he spent the last ten minutes hyping himself up in their building floor’s bathroom mirror, but because his son tossed both thumbs up before he left for school and told him he believed in him.

Right, it wasn’t like it was so difficult to hand Mr. Hatter an envelope.

It was only his letter of resignation for his job of thirteen years. He’d worked for Mr. Hatter almost as long as he’d lived in this country.

He entered Mr. Hatter’s office, and after running through his schedule with him, cleared his throat. “Sir? There’s one more matter. I have something to tell you.”

81 notes - Posted February 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

0 notes

callmeiyan · 1 year

Text

conflict

March 16th of 2022, the cold wind is touching my skin as I walk in the dark streets of our purok. I can hear the leaves of the bamboo beside me, branches of trees dancing with the soft breeze, dogs sleeping on the road, and birds softly chirping with ease. I sat under a tree with my head staring into the sky, hoping that the stars would calm the emotions within me. But I’m wrong. Yes... I was wrong.

It was Christmas season in 2021. Me and Tan are listening to our friend, Brix. He’s sharing about this girl named, Quin. He tells us how he feels about Quin. And it was a sad story. Brix and Quin are lovers before but on a blink of an eye, Quin lose interest in their relationship. Brix is thinking she was just busy and focusing on other things like school. But it’s been a month and still, Quin does not respond to his texts. He shares and we listen. We often comfort Brix and give him advice. One time we even help him what gift he should give to Quin. I gave him a music box for him to give to Quin. I once made a vintage letter with a poem and a drawing of a girl I found on google in it. I decided to give it to Brix in exchange for fifty pesos. Tan is good in giving advice so he’s that friend that always give comfort. This continued till the new year arrived. And Tan started to think differently.

A week after the new year celebration. Tan started to think that it was unfair that he only listen to Brix without knowing the side of Quin. He said he won’t tolerate himself to be one-sided. I did not get any updates after that. Till one day, he told me he chatted Quin and shared about the side of Quin. It’s like he switched sides. Brix noticed that Quin was different lately. Well, Quin responds to his texts occasionally and it’s the usual thing. But this time it feels different. I know what’s going on. I know.

Days passed and I know Tan and Quin are getting along. They started to talk things that are not connected in Brix or their relationship. Tan is telling me and I know what’s going on. Well, at first, I disagreed but I saw that Quin does have a point. I tolerated their doings. Brix is still sharing and seeking advice from Tan. And Tan here, giving advice to Brix. I don’t know how he got the audacity to do that. Sometimes they would go out together and Tan would ask me to come. I watch them betray Brix.

One night, I couldn’t handle it anymore seeing Brix suffering and does not know anything what is going on. So told him the truth. I told Brix that it was Tan who causes Quin to move farther from you. Everything was quite after that. The world was filled with silence. He couldn’t understand what he would feel. A mixture of sorrow and anger, I know he was angry that time. I saw a different Brix. The conflict between them started and it continued till the day that we decided to fix it. An open forum was conducted in our church. Not the church exactly, just the youth and us. We are conducting open forums to fix conflicts so that there will be no gap between members in the church. So it was fixed. That’s what everyone knows.

I saw Tan slowly losing interest on Quin. He started flirting with Anne, my crush before. Which he knows that I like her before. He cooled off with Quin for 2 weeks so that she could relate to Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Traitor”. In that 2 weeks he focused flirting with Anne. I was there all the time. I watch them. Two weeks passed and Tan is still giving cold responses to Quin. So Quin started to question and since Quin knew that Tan and I are always together she began asking me. Updating where Tan is or how he’s doing. She told me to hide the conversations from Tan because she don’t want Tan to see that she’s chasing him. So I did hide the conversation. Tan was getting curios about why I’m hiding my messenger every time he borrows my phone. He later found out that Quin and I we’re chatting. And he was furious. He confronted me and I tried to explain but he didn’t listen. “Ah what a déjà vu” He later cut ties with me. I was so down and I don’t know what to do.

Three days passed. It was March 16, 2022. We went to church at night. His cousin was the speaker that time. The sermon is about betrayal. His cousin, Venn spoke about how bad betrayal is. She gave an example about this friend of her that shares about how he was betrayed and how rude the traitor is. I know It was me. I was shot right in the face. Maybe what I did was wrong. Did I became a two-faced person? or I'm just being good on both sides so I could maintain our friendship? I went out of the church after the program with a heavy heart. I walked outside. I don’t know what to do. I just burst into tears. I cried a mixture of anger and sorrow. I sat under a tree with my head staring into the sky, hoping that the stars would calm the emotions within me. But I’m wrong. Yes... I was wrong.

0 notes

bobbiewhittakerart · 2 years

Text

Eco Friendly Art?

I said at the end of 2021 that I wanted to improve my business eco credentials so I thought I would give you a little update on how i’m getting on.

Why do I care?

So something you may not know about me is that my degree is actually in Geography. I’m passionate about the environment and I try to reduce waste and recycle as much as I can in my everyday life, so why shouldn’t I be doing this for my business.

Where I was this time last year.

All my prints were on recycled paper

My Christmas cards had recycled envelopes and no plastic packaging.

I recycled old canvases (it gives better texture anyway!)

My business cards are on recycled paper.

I save and reuse parcel packaging to ship your orders.

Where I am now.

I haven’t gone back on anything I was doing in the last year, so have kept up all the list above, but I have really tried to improve and I can now add the following to the list.

My print backs are now recycled and I ask my framer to use off cuts wherever possible for my mount boards.

My christmas cards are now printed on recycled paper - so pleased I’ve been able to make this switch, i’ve been trying to work out the costs for a few years now and I’ve finally found a great company with great quality recycled papers.

All my paperwork is printed on brown recycled kraft paper which I had my branding designed around, so it all looks pretty too!

My gift bags are all fully recycled.

I’ve stopped using white spirit to wash my brushes and instead i’ve invested in a water soluble cleaner for my oil paints.

My studio now has LED lights which are more efficient than the multiple low efficiency lamps I was using.

Instead of using tear off palettes and cling film covered cardboard, I now make use of recycled jars and food containers which I keep until they fall apart.

Even after repeated calls to use resin on my work, i’m not because of the environmental impact of the plastic.

I've invested in an ecotank printer which eliminates the need for ink cartridges and hence reduces the waste associated with them.

I ship my orders in batches and get the local postie to collect to save using a polluting car journey, as he’s dropping off our household post anyway.

What I need help with.

Obviously i’m not perfect so I would love to hear your tips and tricks for your businesses. I’ve also got a list of things I would really like to change as soon as it’s cost beneficial to do so, so if you know any good suppliers please send them over.

Print bags - clear, but I can’t cope with the noise of potato starch ones (autism brain) so a good alternative to those.

Bubble wrap alternatives.

Masking tape / parcel tape alternatives as I go through loads of the stuff!

From determined Eco Warrier Bob! xx

0 notes

redsoapbox · 2 years

Text

Here’s How I Put Together a 100-Track Christmas Compilation For

Following the success of V4Velindre | Various Artists (bandcamp.com), my fundraising album for the NHS which was named New Sound Wales’ Compilation Album of the Year 2021 and which received airplay on indie stations/blogs and podcasts across five continents, I decided to follow up by curating an album of original Christmas songs to raise money for Crisis. Every penny raised will go to the charity’s annual project to provide care for the homeless over the festive period and beyond.

Back in February this year, I commenced the process of tracking down songs for an album which was originally titled A Kaleidoscopic Christmas, and which has finally morphed into Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas* (HYAMIC). Although I love traditional Christmas songs, the last thing that I wanted to do was to compile yet another covers album. I hoped, instead, that there would be a goldmine of underground Christmas songs that no one had taken the time or trouble to unearth, and that if I was prepared to put the work in, I could curate a unique album. My strategy, while not exactly subtle, was at least all encompassing: Try everything!

I started out by googling ‘under the radar indie Christmas songs’ and simply switched the genre to punk, folk, electro, Americana etc. I then spent hours each day on bandcamp, searching artists and record labels from all over the world to see if they had Christmas songs in their back catalogues. I left messages with those bands that released impressive songs. If the bands had split up, I attempted to contact individual band members on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I visited Discogs and popped ‘Various Artists Indie Christmas Compilations’, or words to that effect, into the search box, which resulted in 723 responses and, after much sifting, three songs that ended up on the album! I wrote to record companies to ask whether they would make specific songs available to me from label compilations and I contacted organisations such as Musicians Against Homelessness and asked them for help too. I got in touch with music journalists, bloggers, podcast and radio show hosts to ask for their recommendations. Finally, I approached some of the bands who had contributed to V4Velindre last year and asked them if they would consider writing an original Christmas song for the project. Sometimes my ambition ran away with me, and I ended up tweeting the likes of Sam Fender and Taylor Swift, as well as leaving bandcamp messages for Yoko Ono! Did I hear anything back? Well, not from those celebrated individuals, but read on, as I did engage with, and receive help from, some very interesting figures.

All of the above paid off to some extent or other. The real game changer, however, was chancing upon Jim Goodwin’s Christmas Underground, a website dedicated to reviewing festive music outside of the mainstream. It turned out that Jim shared the same motivation as me. The premise of his blog was ‘not just to talk up bands that I like, because many of the bands I like put out terrible Christmas songs, but to specifically try to find great songs from smaller bands. Good holiday music is hard to find, so you have to search everywhere to find the good stuff’. Right on, Jim! It took me months to work through all of the incredible music Jim covered on his site alone and a month more to follow up all the links posted there for other Christmas-related blogs/podcasts/radio shows/specialist labels. Additional thanks to Christmas -a-GoGo, Mistletunes, Snowflake Singles Club.

As the weeks went by, I discovered that there were hundreds of wonderful Christmas songs swirling around in the ether that 99% of people simply wouldn’t be familiar with, including me. It was another thing, though, to get hold of them. Although I found, as with V4Velindre, that the musicians that I approached were by and large happy to help, there were any number of stumbling blocks to overcome before I could add a song to the collection. Very often musicians no longer owned the rights to a song (I am still waiting for a very well-known name to get clearance on a song from 2002), sometimes the bands had split up long ago and I had to wait for one member to get in touch with another to approve the tracks’ use. A fair number of musicians wanted to re-work the song in question and that is a process that can drag on. Some labels wanted me to sign licensing agreements, while others insisted on knowing which other artists were involved before committing themselves. Some of these negotiations went on for months.

The main problem that I faced though was just hearing nothing back at all from an artist, despite leaving bandcamp & Facebook messages or, indeed, contacting the artists via their own website. That, for obvious reasons, happened more with the bigger names on my hit list. I then had to try and decide whether to message them again. That was time consuming, but as I’d had some success with musicians that had missed the first and second messages, I felt compelled to retrace my steps and send additional messages. That sort of obsession paid off spectacularly on a few occasions and there were quite a few punch the air moments, such as when I finally tracked down a member of a Minneapolis band that had split up years ago and got the okay to include a Christmas song that marries the sounds of New Order/Joy Division and Interpol!

Not being able to reach some of the star names who had released seasonal songs (Blossoms, The Cribs & The Eels were high on my list) was super frustrating, but it did at least solve a real problem for me. The purpose of the album is of course to raise as much money as possible for Crisis, but as a music fanatic, and someone who has written about music for over a decade, I wanted it to be an album of songs that I personally loved and that I would want to play every Christmas. The 100 songs that make up the two volumes of HYAMIC are, to my mind, undiscovered classics. It’s a great kick to be able to shine a light on some wonderful artists and some astounding songs.

Embarking on a project such as this one can lead you into some interesting situations. Working on V4Velindre put me in touch with some of my all-time favourite musicians, and having the Wedding Present, Nightingales, BOB and Tot Taylor contribute to the album was a magical development for me. Incredibly, HYAMIC has resulted in an equally thrilling adventure. Again some of my favourite acts will appear on the album, which will include contributions from eight bands that have recorded Peel Sessions, two artists with a UK No.1 and another band with a platinum selling album to their name. Highlights included email exchanges with Robert Vickers (of the legendary Go-Betweens) now an A&R man, who recommended some bands that he represented to me, email conversations with Chris Butler of the Waitresses, who kindly offered me the use of the classic ‘Christmas Wrapping’, provided I got folk/rock legend Richard Thompson to record it! I’ve tried to reach the great man, but no luck so far. As a fan of the Webb Brothers, I approached them to see if they would “donate” ‘Every Day Is Christmas’ (still awaiting approval from Warners) and they suggested I also contact their father, the legendary Jimmy Webb! Nothing has come of it so far, but who knows what tomorrow will be bring?

Some people might question whether I’ve over-egged the (Christmas) pudding by opting for a bumper 100+ song compilation. In my defence, I would say that HYAMIC is all killer no filler and that the high standard is maintained throughout. Indeed, I had to leave a lot of really good songs off the compilation. My apologies, in particular, to those artists who kindly donated songs early on, but which I will not now be including. And to the charge that 108 songs (HYAMIC is being released in two 54-track volumes) might be too much of a good thing, I would say that not only is the album musically diverse but that the songs look at Christmas from every conceivable angle; of course there are songs here that celebrate Christmas, but there are songs that cast a cynical eye over the festive season too, songs that protest against homelessness, war and prejudice, songs that are spiritual or secular in nature and songs that simply use Christmas as a backdrop to tell a good, old-fashioned love story. There is even a song that rails against Christmas compilations!

Even though a dozen or so artists have yet to submit their songs, the fact that I have108 artists to unveil means that the process of unveiling the tracklisting on a two per day basis starts now. After all, it’s just under four months to Christmas, folks! It’s a great thrill, then, to announce that bis will be contributing to Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas.

Between March 1996 and February 1999, Glasgow’s bis charted seven times. Here’s how they summarise their story: ‘Since forming in 1994, bis have continually mutated their initial influences of Synth-pop, Riot Grrrl and DIY Punk into weird and wonderful songs with a natural gift for melodic earworms with a disco heartbeat. Sci-Fi Steven, John Disco and Manda Rin first caught the UK undergrounds attention with the Disco Nation 45 EP in 1995. Soon bis were playing “Kandy Pop” on Top of The Pops – as the first unsigned band ever to appear – and riding high in the “proper charts”. Bis are contributing “You Wrecked My Christmas” which was released in 2017.

bis

And here is that history making TOTP performance:

youtube

https://bistheband.bandcamp.com/

I can also announce that Green Seagull will be contributing a Christmas song too. According to Dave Thompson of Goldmine Magazine ‘Mega Dodo are pioneering the most significant, forward thinking psychedelic rebirth since the early 8os’. Green Seagull, part of London’s neo-psych scene, released their debut album, Scarlet Fever, for the label in 2018. They followed up with Cloud Cover (2020), described by Shindig as ‘magnificently channelling classic UK and West Coast psych vibes to enchant us with their harmony-drenched chamber-pop’. “First Snow of Winter”, a Snowflake Singles club release in 2018, is the perfect embodiment of their baroque pop sound and is a wonderful addition to HYAMIC.

Here’s ‘I Used to Dream in Black and White’ a single from 2017.

youtube

https://www.facebook.com/greenseagull/

Two down, just ninety-eight artists remain to be announced.

And a final massive thank you to all the artists and labels who are supporting the project.

0 notes