#craptastic construction

[squeekleen2]

honestly the first thing i thought of from this ep vhgvdhfz

[chattingwiththelightkeeper]

A Display Of Twue Dumbinance

I am going to start with this, I know I spelled true wrong in the title. Calm your britches trolls because “twue” is lifestyle slang for balderdash. Now that is out of the way, I want to talk about this guide to finding a true/real dominant that I bumbled upon the other day. This little ditty has zoomed around Tumblr and I am sure many of you reading this have read it and maybe even liked/reblogged it because on the surface some of it sounds great. As I read through it, I found myself cringing, facepalming, and the more I read of this supposed guide to finding “twue” dominance I knew I would be talking about this here on my blog.

As I read through this list the very first time, I was convinced that I wanted to do something I very rarely do and address the hogwash point by point by linking back to the original post and blog. However, when I reached the end of the drivel came a surprising statement that this post was not this “master’s” but he liked it, copied, and pasted it to his blog without ever crediting the person who originally concocted this nonsense. I did discover some great news upon reading Master Cox’s (name changed to protect the guilty) about me section for the ladies of Tumblr, please feel free to submit a nude and/or boobie selfie because he will be happy to post and comment about your body and boobs. It does come with the disclaimer that you may not like what he has to say about your body. This is pure Tumblr gold! Send him a picture, he will body shame those he wishes and as a bonus, he saves all photo submissions for his personal use. Ding, Ding, Ding, ladies we have a twue wiener! So as much as I want to quote this craptastic masterpiece of malarkey, I will paraphrase since crediting the original dumbinant is sadly not an option.

Submissives, did you know that a twue dominant will never approach you demanding your submission, naked pictures, and/or gangbangs? I know, this is a huge news flash and we better call the news networks to get this unfair and unbalanced revelation out to the masses (This is such big news for the masses that I bet we could get the Pope to talk about it at mass!). In all seriousness, a respectable d-type will not contact a submissive with incredulous demands, and a dominant worth their salt will be respectful in all communications. This is cynical but if you believe that this lifestyle works by dumbinants making crass demands and then following them, please change your self-identifier from submissive to stupidmissive. Sorry, this is not news but is simply common sense.

Hey submissive ladies, did you know that a twue dominant man can get laid anytime he wants? Oh, you betcha (said in my best Fargo accent). The reason for a twue d-type’s ability to bow-chicka-wow-wow three hundred and sixty-five days a year with an equal amount of different women is because all women just cannot resist dominance. All a d-type has to do is approach a lady in the produce section, show her his kumquats, and they will be shagging in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot five minutes later. Okay back to reality, this goes to the crap-o-la that dumbinance preaches about all women naturally desiring a dominant man. If you are submissive, single, attracted to humans with penises, then you may want a dominant man as a partner but sorry Master Malarkey, not all women want a dominant man. There are women to want a submissive man because they are dominant and there are other women who are vanilla and do not want a dominant or take-charge guy (in vanilla terms). Now, this one blows the minds of the twue dumbinant, but not all women want, need, or are attracted to people with penises. As shocking as this news is, the twue dumbinant never grasps that all women do not want him, and there are women who are not attracted to humans that have baloney ponies and are involved in the lifestyle. Being dominant does not suddenly make someone so sexy that all the ladies of the world swoon when he passes near.

It is time to get into a bit of shady business and it is whatI call the Christian Grey effect since this has become fake news fodder since Fifty Shades of Hay descended upon the lifestyle. This twue dumbinance theory goes like this, all real dominant men are successful, wealthy, white-collar professionals and all a submissive needs to do is check the brand of cars driven, logos on clothes, and bank account balances to find out if a d-type is the real deal. So college students, construction workers, mechanics, HVAC techs, those who work in the trades, or an enlisted person in the military are all excluded from being d-types. This twue myth links career to the lifestyle and is simply rubbish because how anyone earns their living has nothing to do with the lifestyle or their role within it.

I would like to dedicate this tale to the submissive ladies out there. Okay, ladies, the reason why you have never had a successful relationship in the vanilla world is that men who are not dominant are scared of sex. Yes, ladies, it is twue, Vinny Vanilla is just soooo scared of sex that when you asked to be spanked, he ran home and cried to his momma. This tale tells that all vanilla men are scared of sex, sexuality and thus this lifestyle leaves them cowering in fear. The simple truth here is that if a person needs, wants, and desires to have this lifestyle be part of their relationship then engaging in a relationship with someone who is a vanilla bean is going to leave some things unfulfilled no matter if you are a dominant, submissive, switch, or any other lifestyle role.Once again, it is time to cause Master Malarkey’s mind to blow, vanillas can have sex, even kinky as heck swinging from the chandeliers sex, enjoy the living hell out of it, and some vanilla folks are even more sexually adventurous that lifestyle people. Sex is just sex and sex does not make a relationship nor does it mean that someone who is vanilla is scared of it.

Guess what readers, our guide to twue dominance is still hung up on sex, and get ready for some more sexciting news. Ladies, the good news is here! Your domly dream man is already god’s sexual gift because twue dumbinants are great in the sack, skilled in the art of making women orgasm, and will never engage in vanilla sex. I bet all the single, submissive women seeking d-type men and reading this are super excited to learn that he dominant of their dreams will never make love because whenever the bedroom boom-boom happens it will be of the kinky fuckery variety. A twue d-type must have had many sexual partners (seriously this part of the malarkey manifesto), so if you are a young man or a more life experienced man without a plethora of sexual partners, you better get out there, fornicate with as many willing women as you can find because until you have, you ineligible to be dominant. Did anyone else besides me facepalm here? Being male and dominant does not mean the guy has had many sexual partners nor does the role of dominant transform anyone into a sexual dynamo.

The menu of twue d-types is now moving a bit away from sex and into the realm of kinkicious play. The chef who created this dumbinant menu requires the man who wishes to attain twue dumbinance statues to acquire, have, and own accouterment of the lifestyle. If a dominant fails to have whips, chains, floggers, and the toy de jour then sorry Sir Charlie, a dominant you are not. I hope there is a collective of heads shaking because toys do not make a person, let alone a dominant. Maybe this ties back into the part of the myth about being Richie Rich and by having thousands of dollars in toys it is another symbol of wealth, success, and therefore dumbinance?

Whew, we are finally away from sex and toys (at least for now) but we do need to pause for a moment. Readers, please take this brief pause, to put your boots on because we are about to step into a few large piles of poops. Seriously, it is about to get worse…

Submissives, a twue dumbinant will select you. It does sound sort of nice and maybe a bit romantic to be selected by a dominant but there is a huge BUT here. Just like any relationship, a lifestyle relationship requires two people, or more if you are poly, to say I like you and want to be with you. Now it is time for that big but (Am I the only one here singing Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back now?). One of the most basic things in this lifestyle is that the submissive must offer their submission to the dominant of their choice. A dominant does not select, choose, or demand submission but it must be freely given by the submissive partner. So it may sound romantic to be selected by a d-type but this is rubbish. In my opinion, this is nothing more than a ploy to make it sound okay for a dumbinant to demand submission from a submissive.    

Everyone knows that humans are mistake-prone creatures and this mythology plays upon this. Remember a few points back when a twue d-type needed to be fabulously fornicating with many partners? Well, it is expected that one who follows this how-to guide would come from a background of many failed lifestyle relationships because the twue dumbinant will make mistakes along the way to the submissive they select. The thing here is that failed relationships might be labeled as mistakes sometimes but they are always life lessons. A broken relationship from the past is not something to chuck in the fuck-it-bucket and move forward. It is a lesson to learn as you move forward in life. What this myth is doing, I believe, is making people disposable as the twue d-type must fuck many, gain experience, before they “seize” the submission of who they select. This bit is just a way to justify the sordid past of a fuck boy. No more, no less.

So the break from sexy stuff did not last too long and this should give everyone a great laugh. The twue dumbinant will never, ever, never ask a submissive for nude or naughty pictures because d-types will “never beg” for anything. The twue man is soooooooo irresistible that a submissive who has conversations with him will just not be able to control themselves and will be “dying” to send him naked photos. Anyone else laughing out loud with me? So guys, if your inbox is not crammed with pictures of naughty bits every morning, the twue dumbinants are coming to take your dominant id card.

Remember when I warned about the poop level getting deep, well, here are the last two bits of the hit parade and it is going to get deep. I hope that everyone reading these words would agree with me that trust and honesty are hallmarks of a solid relationship and are even more important in a lifestyle relationship. So without further ado, it is time to get to the twue truth and it might hurt.

It is fairly common online to encounter a blog post from a submissive who discovered their dominant is actually in a relationship with someone else and they are simply the submissive side piece. Not to worry though because the twue dumbinant will never lie about being in a relationship because he will come right out and state he needs you to be his subbie side action, on the down-low. We should all applaud Mr. Twue for being honest with Subbie Susie, right? I am sorry but that is just crap. This lifestyle is all about being trustworthy and honest. So that is great that Twue has told Susie she is number two in his life, he still is being dishonest with number one in life (his wife) and is trying to build as well as lead a relationship that has a lie at its foundation. It is not going to work and Susie, you may think you are number two behind the wife, but depending on Mr. Twue’s day, you are number five or six.  

So, here is the last bit of twue d-type poppycock from this guide. It once again circles back to honesty. It has been established that it is acceptable for a twue dumbinant to be honest about being dishonest. Not only is that okay, but it is expected for the d-type to lie about somethings (Serious, a twue dumbinant will lie and it is supposedly okay). To paraphrase the twue example given (sorry this may gross a few of you out) but it is okay for a twuebie to say they agree with a submissive’s hard limit of no water sports but believe that swallowing a golden shower is right up that s-types alley (thus they are going to do it anyway). Relationships require honesty. It is that simple. Even hard questions such as does this make me look fat or aren’t you excited my mom is coming to stay with us for a month, can be answered with tact and honesty. There should never be a reason to disrespect a submissive by saying that you agree with a hard limit while plotting to make her swallow pee. It is simple, just be honest and say that you will respect the limit but also express if that is your thing, that it is a thing for you. Maybe someday the submissive will want to do to for you if you find yourself in a relationship with them. Be honest because if you are not your relationship will fail.

Okay, this concludes the busting of this twue dumbinant discovery guide. I know that it can sound amazing, especially if you are new, to have certain things to look for and/or lookout for. If you are new to the lifestyle, get to know people, ask questions, and learn from their experiences rather than read a blog post and think “oh that sounds good, I will go with this as a guide”. This guide about twue dumbinance has parts that sound great but when you dig closer, it is nothing but a document that excuses the behavior of fuck boys masquerading around the lifestyle as d-types. The thing about this lifestyle is that things may look amazing at first glance but you must always read between the lines as well as every bit of the fine print.

As with all of my writings, please see this disclaimer.

©TLK2021

[cosmagoria]

Apparently, I forgot to post my Inigo Montoya cosplay on Tumblr. Consider that mistake rectified! 

This was my 2019 Halloween costume. I decided last minute to wear him for ALA 2020′s final day (ALA is an early January con... so, this was actually the last cosplay I wore at a con). The reception to this costume is AMAZING and so much fun! Definitely a bright spot in the craptastic year 2020 turned out to be. I’ll be bringing him out for many cons to come once it’s safe to do so again. 

The majority of this cosplay was made with thrifted parts... his sword was by far the biggest challenge and took nearly two failed attempts before I was satisfied. Here’s the breakdown- 

Materials/Construction:

Belt- Scrap leather and a thrifted buckle Boots- Thrifted and altered (removed decorative straps and added top cuff) Gloves- Old suede gloves from my closet Pants- Thrifted suede pants, side seams taken in Scabbard- Flattened PVC pipe and vinyl leather Shirt- Pale gray cotton and tan leather cord (pattern drafted by me) Sword- Balsa wood, Wonderflex scraps, paperclay, gesso, aluminum tape (for blade), acrylic paint (for hilt), vinyl leather, rhinestones Vest- Thrifted suede jacket (heavily altered) and tan leather cord Wig and Makeup- Trimmed Arda Merry in Natural Black (some trimmings were applied with latex to make prosthetic chest hair). Cheek scars were created with liquid latex as well. The mustache is a crepe hair prosthetic (the same one I use for Zorro!)

[bobcatmoran]

Les Mis BBC, Part 5: lol politics wut

You'd think an episode with the barricade and romantic drama and tragic deaths would be more exciting. You'd be wrong.

Things that I liked:

• Momes! For those five seconds I thought we were actually getting that storyline. Ah, well, it was good while it lasted.

• Lots of women on the barricade!

• Also, workers having a major presence on the barricade

• The dude doing the cup trick calling Gavroche "gamin"

• Brief acknowledgement of the cholera outbreak (though no acknowledgement of how that may have been a contributing factor to the General Unrest). Also, not a bad alternative way of getting Thenardier out of jail!

• Gillenormand continues to be just the right sort of Awful

• Gratuitous Montparnasse Roses

Things that were upsetting:

• Cosette's little cringing arm raise to protect herself when woken suddenly

• The implication that Les Amis had approximately zero connection to worker's groups or the republican political movement and were basically just a drinking society that had one member who was unusually intense about politics

• Mabeuf getting shot pretty much out of nowhere

• The craptastic pacing and characterization decisions that led me to feel absolutely nothing when Eponine died

• "Don't worry, no one can get in, and if they did, you'd be killed before you knew it."

• Valjean didn't pay Gavroche for delivering the letter and told him to scram.

• I honestly don't trust this Valjean to let Javert go. Like, at this point, given how many of his actions are driven by impulsive anger, it'd pretty much be out of character for him.

Things that sure were Choices:

• The weird implication that the thing that triggered the Lamarque funeral protest was that he wasn't being entombed in the Pantheon

• An almost perfect reproduction of the scene with Grantaire kissing Matolette during the barricade construction

•Also, the very nearly verbatim exchange from the 2012 movie, “Stand back, or I’ll blow up the barricade!” “And yourself with it?” “Myself, too.”

• "Hey, Javert, there's an armed rebellion against the government forming." "Who cares. JEAN VALJEAN IS STILL AT LARGE. I'm gonna order all our resources to be directed towards him."

• "WHERE IS YOUR LEADER, JEAN VALJEAN?!?!"

• The facial expressions and actions that sure did make it seem like Les Amis "were schoolboys, never held a gun."

• Grantaire going "I'm with you" pre-barricade....then freezing at the attack and going to hide in the Corinth. (though if we're going with the "they were schoolboys, never held a gun" interpretation this adaptation seems to be going with, it's kind of justifiable)

• Apparently Eponine's constant ~sexy~ flirting with Marius was her way of expressing her crush??? And it was suddenly dialed back to zero this episode???

• Speaking of ~sexy~, Cosette had SO MANY shots of her dresses falling off one shoulder. Gross.

• I guess if we're not having Combeferre in this adaptation, <i>someone</i> has to show up with a small armory hidden in their coat. That someone is apparently M. "To be free" Enjolras. Sure. I'll go with it. Not like any of the other Amis showed up to the funeral with weapons, since none of them apparently know what they're doing.

[mama-ghostie-61542]

A Thousand Lifetimes

Rated M++ for language and themes

If you recognize it, IT AIN'T MINE.

Sorry for the OOC-ness

Chapter 4

Wolf--

"If I hear the word 'Mom' anytime in the next five minutes, you are, all three, gonna lose grandparent privilege's! Enough with the fighting. 'Kala, you need to get over there and do your homework."

"But, Mom," my younger son shouted. "I can't do it alone."

"Yes, you can, dear. All you have to do is write the words in the blanks."

Mornings here were always crazy. This year, they got worse, with all three kids home all day and me working three jobs from home, while taking a few classes to keep up my certification. But what would do my head in were the constant conflicts of scheduling the boys services around project deadlines. Especially when my childless brother was my boss...One of them.

A text came through ~'Hey, Bry, do you have those reports ready? I have to submit them to the bank this afternoon.'

Loveland Demolition was well known in the Midwest, and had been doing well before the pandemic, but now, we were expanding again. I dug around in my ever expanding pile of outgoing paperwork for the fax copy of the expense reports my brother wanted. Why everything with this end of the family business went through me, I would never know. Maybe it was because he had named me our VP of NE Operations. Like I didn't have a decent job already. I mean, I didn't get my Doctorate for it to look pretty on my wall.

Speaking of, I have a class in 15 minutes. Botany of Common Herbs.

I sent off a quick message, ~ I faxed them yesterday. Did you not get them before the boys did?~

My brothers pit bulls were notorious for grabbing the pages as they fell out of the fax machine and shredding them.

A few minutes later, he replied, ~Dammit, Pita! The Pain got 'em. Already in transit?~

~Yep. UPS grabbed it yesterday. Email?~

~Ok. No. Need hard copy. Will reschedule with the bank. Do good in class today!~

About that time I got a plastic cup thrown in my general direction with my oldest son yelling, "More water! Please, Mommy."

Thankfully, my Botany Professor understands me being a little late, as she has a Downie of her own.

I get his water, and as I am standing at the sink for a few seconds extra to breathe, I feel a cold spot on one hip and the pressure of a thumb on my cheek.

'You are amazing, my Queen. You've got this.'

I smile as the feeling, and the ghost of his smiling eyes fades. How does he always know when the stress is getting to me and just what to say; just what to do. It's like I don't have to say a word, he just knows.

Great....Now I am gonna be all giggly the rest of the day. Probably gonna get an email from my Professor, too; nosy old bat.

Kihyun PoV

It was almost 22:00 when I felt the wobble in thin silver thread that connected us. As I reached for it, I felt her stress and frustration start to bleed through and somehow, instinctively knew what to do. It bothers me when she gets this stressed, because she forgets to take care of herself. And then the tension lodges in her back, manifesting as a knot just to the left of her spine.

Settling myself into my meditation, I could almost see her standing at the sink, working on something. Always working, this girl; whether it's on her actual job, her side hustle, an Etsy store where she sells knit caps, or the boys' homework. She ALWAYS has something going on. Her brothers hare-brained decision to expand the family business does not help in the slightest.

As I settle in, I can hear the din of the kids yelling, a timer going off on something, and from some where, another louder ding. She is amazing, how she can just take it all in stride. Some how, I know, she just needs a second to breathe, so I imagine my hand on her hip; stopping her right where she stands.

I visualize my hand cupping her cheek, and whispering to her, 'You are amazing, my Queen. You've got this.' I can't help the smile that spreads across my face as I see her smile. That soft, sweet smile, that just borders on the verge of blushing. I send how I feel seeing her smile down that thread and, some how, just know that she will be smiling all day now.

Awakening from my meditation, I glance at the clock. Hmm. Time for bed. But first, I am curious about the next chapter. How in the hell, with everything else she has on her plate, did she find the time to write this.

I set back on my bed, my pillows piled up behind me, and start reading.

Still Joey

I couldn't sleep so I got up at sunrise and made coffee. Sis woke up a little while later. I heard her alarm go off and then, I heard her sniffle a little. As she stumbled to the kitchen for her morning coffee, her whole bearing was like all the wind had been sucked out of her.

My heart went out to her.

"Sis. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Joey. Just my own brain. Think I am going crazy. That's all."

I'm right there with you.

"Explain," I said.

Rather than use actual words, she put on 'Comatose' by Too Close To Touch. "This says it better than I ever could."

I set aside the story and brought up the song. As I sat there listening, I could almost feel how hurt she was. How she thought she was going crazy. I wanted, so much, to fly to her, where ever she was.

"Sissie," I sighed, "What is the matter?"

"I think I am losing my mind, Joey. I just don't want to remember, if remembering is always going to hurt. I'm afraid that it will cost me the one of the two things I am most afraid to lose; my kids or my mind."

"You aren't going crazy, Sis. Who told you that you were crazy for feeling like that?"

"Mom. According to her, I am. Apparently, it is all just a construct of my own mind. Can't be real because it's all in my head, but it is all that I could ever dream of. It makes me want to sleep until it is real. I want to forget the way his voice sounds, cause it hurts too much to hear it when I am alone. I want to forget the color of his eyes, but I see it everyday in my coffee. I want to forget it all, so it doesn't hurt anymore. There is no way he can be real. No way his smell can be real. The more I remembered, I guess, the more I want to forget."

"Bryn, tell me about him?"

"What does it matter? He is no more than a fantasy my own mind created," she said as she dug in a cabinet and added a more than generous amount of Jack Daniels to her coffee.

"Bry! Really??"

"What," she groused as she sipped on her coffee flavored whiskey.

"It is barely sun rise and you are already drinking. What would he say if he caught you?"

"Doesn't matter," she grumbled as her bottom lip pulled in a little and blinked rapidly, a sure sign she was fighting back her own tears. I could see her start to fold in around herself.

'No, my dear, I am very real. And very disappointed.'

"Bullshit," I yelled. "It does matter! I will prove you wrong. I'll prove to you that he is very real," I growled in my own temper, as I leaned over the table at her, "and I know him. He would be so disappointed in you, right now. Instead of working with the connection, you were trying to drown the memories in whis-," I came to a dead stop as I realized what was actually happening. "How long have you been fighting them? The memories, I mean."

'Told ya. Wait. What!? She'd been wrestling with our memories? Oh, my stubborn Wolf, you were never meant to carry them all yourself.'

She deflated and slid the mug away from her. Resting her head on her arms, she whispered, "I was 14 the first time I remembered anything. At the time it was no more than a whisper, a cold spot when I was upset or hurting. Which, lets be honest, was a lot of the time back then. When I was 16, I finally worked up the courage to talk to someone about my dreams. My mistake was telling Ma."

I cringed. I had heard nasty stories about her mom, but sat still and let her continue.

Is her mother really that bad? How much of this had she been keeping from me.

"She went off and let loose a litany of my supposed short-comings. I still remember it, to this day. 'You are so stupid. Why would any man, especially one like THAT, want anyone like you. Anyone else would be better than YOU; you stupid, worthless, ignorant, ugly, child.' After that, I went back to keeping it all to myself. This one," she said as she brought up Forest Blakk's 'Find Me', "Says it all."

I put on the song and knew how it had hurt her for years. My anger burned when the artist spoke of being told you were crazy. 'I want her, you Crazy Bitch. Good Mother, Please,' I started, before thinking better of the prayer that had been on my tongue a moment ago. 'Please watch over her, Grandmother.'

Hearing her own mother call her those things, was tough to listen to. But I could tell she still wasn't finished yet. I let her go, she had years of this pain to offload.

"As I got older, it changed. I was almost 26 when the burn of a kiss landed on my cheek. My ex-husband, at the time, saw the blister it left and went ballistic. Woke me up by kicking the end of the bed. 'I want a divorce. I don't know who he is, but I plan on making you pay for it. Now, get your stuff and get out.' And I paid for it, alright. Didn't even bother to ask if I had it the night before, just assumed I was sneaking out. I never did. Looking back now, maybe I should have left the first time accused me. The ink wasn't dry on the divorce papers when he got remarried. Literally, got them both done in half an hour."

"Are you kidding me? He wanted to accuse you, but he...," I will admit that I was finally starting to see just how messed up her life had been. "Did you love him?"

'Messed up,' I thought, 'No, Sir. Her life has been a craptastic shitshow of epic fucking proportions. Honestly, I would like to know what fucking moronic bastard ordered this shitastical fuckfest for my Queen! I'd like to fucking throat punch him.'

She shook her head. "No. My mother sat it all up. Literally walked into the house Friday afternoon and said, 'You are getting married on Monday at 9.' He was getting deployed and she thought he would be a good fit for me, that she would get grands out of the deal. She didn't find out he was fixed until he was already gone. That is where I learned to keep my hair really short. He used to drag me around by it and scream about all of the things I did. The next day he would scream and drag me around by it to yell about all the stuff I didn't get done."

"So it was more or less arranged?"

"Yeah. After that, I met the asshole. The day he left, I had just buried a brother, and I had lost my job; all on my birthday. After all that, I fell into a deep depression. To the point where I would wonder sometimes why I was still breathing. It was in that place that I saw him. It was no more than his eyes, the exact shade of my coffee, and that voice, but still; if not for him..." she trailed off, a haunted look in her eyes.

After a few minutes of her staring off into space, I prodded, "If not for him?"

She turned and looked at me, "I wouldn't be here. I would have cut ties with this world and willingly walked right into that darkness. I can remember him telling me once, 'Don't you give up. Don't you dare give up. Get up, keep moving.' It was those eyes though, watching them seem to burn in the darkness. They stayed with me so much that I drew them at least a thousand times."

"Really?"

"Yep. Dark eyes that burn," she chuckled. "Got called crazy for that one, too. 'Why do you always draw the exact same thing, ya crazy bitch? How about a tree or a nice mountain. Why is it always those damned eyes, Not that a worthless bitch like you can draw anyway.' So yeah, there's that."

"Hold it. She actually called you worthless?"

Bryn just nodded. "Multiple times, and ugly quite a few times. At the end with the ex, she told me, 'I hate that when I, and she stressed the 'I', put a block in your path, you seem to dance around it and go off into the woods and still end up on the other side. That you whip off of the beaten path, going God knows where, on some barely visible game trail, and somehow still come out on the other side, just where you meant to be'. She said nothing pissed her off more than my ability to adapt."

'That's my Ghostie,' I thought as I smiled proudly. 'Her ability to see things others miss, explodes lower minds.'

Now, I have seen pictures of her mom and old photos of Bryn when she was younger. Let me tell you, when she was young, Bryn was coltishly pretty before becoming ethereal. Not that you could tell it now. Now, she jokes that she traded looks for brains about the time she got her doctorate.

"So, how did you end up with Clark?"

"He was there and I was getting tired of waiting, tired of my Auntie's trying to set me up with whatever boy they could find. One tried to set me up with her ex-nephew. That was nothing but awkward. We are still good friends, almost family. He has said before, 'I love you to bits, but that is icky, you are like a sister to me. Now, please, go throw on a skirt, you have amazing legs and should show them off.' That boy can turn up the girlfriend vibe in 3 seconds...flat.

I know someone who can do that. Weird.

"In the end, I got tired of the pitying looks I would get at the family things. Truth be told, when I told him to either commit or get out, I thoroughly expected him to take off at a run, like he couldn't get away fast enough. Before I knew what had happened, he told everyone I had proposed and picked a Saturday. After that, it was a whirlwind and I almost took off."

"Took off? Eloped?"

She snickered. "No. Ran away. Far away."

"Oh. So you almost pulled a runner?"

"Oh yeah. Had my bestie stand up with me because I knew that if Haka showed up and objected, he would have knocked Clark to the floor to give me time to run."

'I very nearly did show up.'

I thought back to what I said when he finally left.

"What did I say?" I stood there, leaning on the doorway, arms crossed over my chest, fingers tapping on my bicep. The look on my face was thoroughly parental.

"That it would never work."

"And....."

"You were right, I was wrong, I am sorry."

"You gonna listen to me from now on?" My face was passive, but there if she had looked she would have seen the anger in my eyes. I wasn't mad at her, I was more than a little upset with him, though.

"Yes, Dear."

"Good Girl. I'll be home as soon as I can." I cupped her face, kissed her forehead, and said, "Don't do it again. Next time you won't get away with it, my stubborn Wolf."

"Next time?"

I was turning to head back to my body, "First one doesn't count. It was arranged. This one, you got swept up in. Don't do it again. Now, go to sleep."

I had to breathe a minute against the anger building in my chest. Then, I went back to the story.

"You call him 'Haka'? That's cute."

"Yeah, he's Heyhaka, the Elk. Haka, for short. Then there is Sweet Pea, and the occasional Assbag."

"And is he often a jerk?"

"Nah. Only when he is making promises he has no intentions to keep."

'Listen here, Lady! I fully intend to keep them when they are made, Woman!'

"I really don't think he would make them if he didn't intend on keeping them, Sissie. Sometimes, circumstance gets in the way, and then they don't get the focus they deserve. How does he phrase it?"

"All he says is 'Soon'."

I laughed. "The word 'soon' is not a promise. It's an open guarantee."

"What?"

"It's a half promise. He can't put a time on it so he just says soon. You know, sometimes you can be kind of dense."

'Exactly. You are kind of thick sometimes, Darling.'

Bryn's cheeks pinked. "Aww, shut the fuck up," She laughed.

"You've got a potty mouth!"

My jaw dropped. 'Naughty.'

"Like you didn't know or don't have one of your own. Has he not told you the extent of my sailor's mouth?"

"He doesn't know that I know you. I get to hear about everything from both sides. Kinda makes me wanna poke my ear drums out sometimes."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You two are fuckin' perfect for each other."

'I guess we are, huh?'

About that time, the kids started waking up. Davidd was first, followed by Mattie, and then Darryn. I was sitting on the couch, getting the walkthrough of how to turn on the cartoon channels when Mattie climbed up next to me and curled up in my side.

"Morning, Munchkin," I said cheerfully.

She sagged against me and whispered, "Morning, Uncle Joey. Can I have some new milk?"

I was taken aback by the simplicity of the request. "Shouldn't you be asking your mom for that?"

"I would but Daddy called and him and mama got into another fight."

'And that just cashed out my good night.', I thought as I could have sworn I heard a knock at my door.

A-N:) Please don't shoot the messenger. Spirit put up some of the tags. Lol.

[conversationalonion]

Great day today and finally took some time after it warmed up and the snow melted to get out and play a bit.  First things first though, a melting morning found me doing my morning dittly do chores and finding the cedar seeds I collected from the trees up front are doing more than sitting around, I’ve about 6 sprouts that I saw fit to move to mason jars of potting soil yesterday and figured I’d snap a pic today of one!

Look at him go!  I honestly expected nothing but a bunch of moldy seeds given that I tossed them in an empty chew container with some moist paper and forgot about them for a few weeks.  Hah the miracles of nature I suppose!  Everything I have read about these guys tells me the chances are incredibly close to nihl to get sprouts let alone grow some baby trees but it gave me something to do and puts a smile on my face today so why not!

Now on to the day with the saws!  I got the pleasure of dusting off the miter saw, my table saw, and my bandsaw again.  Off hip I did three cutouts on the band saw: another different kind of cat, a dog holding a leash, and an alpaca.  None of these have detail cut or burned in yet and are simply rough cuts but I’m not unhappy with how they came along given I used my craptastic art skills to try and trace and play with lines until things were semi agreeable.

I then let my random take over for a bit and did a “no plans” bench out of reclaimed fencing.  I opted to use the posts for well, posts!  And framed in with 2×4 doing two simple box frames for the bottom half.  The rear posts are cut with a 15* angle on the bottoms to lean the back “just so” and I used a third 2×4 along the top of the rear posts to support the pickets making up the back.

My original intention was to use reclaimed fasteners but since I have yet to sort my buckets for straight nails / screws I used my trusty 16 gauge nailer and outdoor construction screws.  2 1/2″ nails were used alongside 2 1/2″ screws for framing (all at angles) and 1 1/2″ nails were used to fasten the pickets.

I’ve still yet to sand and maybe do some smoothing of the corners with my plane not to mention whatever finish I choose but given I jumped in with no plans and just an off hip idea…  I’m pretty happy with it.

I’m thinking of doing some sort of cap to the rear posts and maybe adding a few slats on the lower box for a utility “shelf” but for a quick garden bench it’s quite comfortable at the angle I chose and the more I look at it the more I like it as a quick few hour project!

Tomorrow I have two appointments and will also be working on the ignition of my sweethearts van so it’s sure to be a busy and hectic day.  I’m glad I had the thought of using today more to play.  I’m sure I’ll have plenty of cursing and frustration in the future cutting the detail of the leash in doggo’s mouth as well as finishing out the rest of the pieces but hey, it keeps me busy!

.oO{The Conversational Onion}Oo.

Impromptu Woodworking Great day today and finally took some time after it warmed up and the snow melted to get out and play a bit.  

[therealbutlernews-blog]

Craptastic downtown hotel to be sold this month

The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Butler is expected to take action early next week on the closing of the sale of the Marriott Springhill Suites on East Jefferson Street. The buyer of the hotel has not been named publicly but the purchase price has- $7.3 million.

The structure is being sold by the developer.

The Marriott is still under construction and it’s unclear when it will…

[delicatefury]

I wasn’t gonna go to the LCS today

But I’m functioning on about 3.5 hours of sleep (what do you call this? Partial insomnia? Mild insomnia?) and just fell asleep on the couch for 20 minutes. Sitting upright. While playing my 3DS.

And while I desperately need to buy groceries, I did find a Hi-Ball energy drink in my fridge. Not my favorite thing in the world, but it should help. (Yes, it’s mine. I’m the only one in the house who buys them. My sister drinks monster when she needs a kick and my brother’s a red bull fan. I think both of those taste like liquid smarties).

Regardless, I think I might end up going to the LCS this afternoon or tonight anyway. They’re doing construction in the upstairs apartment of the duplex next to us. With the door that looks right into my office. The office that I don’t have curtains or blinds for because landlords and lease agreements make it extremely difficult to replace the craptastic ones that fell down on top of me a few months ago). I don’t mind people being able to see me at work or messing around while they go in and out of the apartment, but the door is propped open and they’re doing a lot of carpentry right inside the entrance. That’s just uncomfortable.

So, yeah, I might use my free drink tonight and go visit the LCS for the first time after dark since the Spring Equinox. I want my spiced cider.

[alaynestonebastardbrave]

GOT 7x07

Man, that's 80 minutes of my life I can't get back.

In the "Inside the Episode" one of the two Ds say that "we filmed for days in the Dragonpit" and let me tell you, it sure felt that was watching it all play out. We didn't need the Hound/Ser Gregor one sided verbal showdown (no Clegane Bowl in the show guys, sorry). Theon did not need to be there. Brien ne did not need to be there. Sansa's "interests" were nowhere represented in this parlay, not that they needed to be to begin with. Euron really did not need to be there. Nor Qyburn. Nor Missendei. Nor Jorah. Nor Davos. Or Varys.

Honestly, the fact that every single figure of strategic and military importance decided to show up was rather stupid. It would have been perfectly within character for Cersei to turn coat and kill them all. If we're really to believe she had no intention of ever helping the North against the army of the dead than she could have just ended it all right then and there. She literally had every major Targaryen and Stark (and Greyjoy I guess) person in her grasp. It was all just stupid.

And it really just took way too long. The first sixty minutes of this episode took way too long and could have easily been shaved down by half.

It never ceases to amaze me when the show still manages to lift a scene straight off the page of the books this late in the game. The scene of snow flakes falling on Jaime was very reminiscent of "winter" officially coming to the Riverlands at the end of A Feast For Crows and I guess show Jaime is FINALLY on his way to meeting up with the trajectory of book Jaime ... three seasons too little, too late.

Jon and Daenerys are officially cannon. I guess that's fantastic if you're a fan of the pairing. I've always kind of figured there might be a political marriage in their future but I've never seen it as more than an alliance and I doubt even one of them will be alive when all is said and done, let alone both of them, so it's a doomed romance. I might care a little more in the show of Clarke and Harrington had any chemistry whatsoever but seeing as how they don't I mostly just cringed through their scenes.

I'll wrap this up with my three biggest nitpics, all of which are really unfortunate for me personally because they are three things I've no doubt will go down in the books and they proved to be incredibly unsatisfactory in the show.

1. You guys couldn't find a better wig for Rhaegar than one that was clearly recycled from Harry Lloyd's stint as Viserys Targaryen in season 1? Really, costume department? That wedding scene was bad enough being hamfisted in the show with Bran's magical fairy powers (A literal line from the show: "That's not something you can just ... "see" ... is it?" I guess Bran is omniscient now. If he can truly see all things why not just tell us all how to defeat the white walkers rather than sit around all day sight seeing through crows? That means he should be able to see how the last Long Night ended, right?

2. Sansa turning on Littlefinger was not the least bit seeded at all and was robbed of all dramatic catharsis. I felt nothing and this is something I have been anticipating from day 1. I'm still not entirely certain what the hell happened in the last episode between Sansa and Arya because it did not at all come across as two sisters acting and playing Littlefinger. You know why? Because Littlefinger WAS NOT AROUND for any of their scenes. NO ONE WAS AROUND for any of their scenes. Are we supposed to believe their performances were for the benefit of the walls he was presumably lurking in? I guess he lurks a lot, but again ... those scenes were played genuinely. It felt like a couple of scenes were missing. No, you know what? It felt like entire episodes were missing and I'd like to say this is the consequence of a shorter season but we've already seen how this show's full 10 episode seasons play out and I have no doubt they would have still fucked up this turn.

We know Sansa's going to eventually be the one to destroy Littlefinger in the books because we have the benefit of her inner monologue correcting him every time he calls her his daughter when she's constantly referring to herself as "the blood of Winterfell" and "Ned and Katelyn Stark's daughter" in her head. I understand that we can't have Sophie Turner monologuing in the show without it coming across as a rip off of Twilight's god awful voice overs, but come on. There was not the slightest indication that the Stark sisters were conspiring with one another. It's just something that needed to happen so it happened, just like everything else on the show.

3. I've been waiting for that wall to come down since the dead marched on the wall all the way back in season 2 and it was sooooo disappointing. Because we don't even get the satisfaction of seeing the whole wall come down, just a chunk of it. Meh.

What can we glean from this season as far as what we might expect in books 6 and 7? Probably not much.

- I've still got my money on their being three dragon riders but I suppose if Dany were to lose one of her dragons it'll probably be to Euron and his dragon horn as we already know that the Night's King is a show construct and there won't be any member of the army of the dead to ride a dragon.

- Jon may have been legitimized. I've always speculated that Rhaegar and Lyanna married but seeing as how the books have already established the Targaryens practiced polygamy in Valyria, I'm more inclined to believe he took Lyanna for a second wife as the kind of still needed his first two children to be legitimate and that would mean no annulment to the first wife. If that scene actually appears in the books, it will be in front of a heart tree, because book Bran is not all omniscient. The magic in the books actually have rules.

- Sansa will be responsible for Littlefinger's death, but I think most of us already know that anyway.

- The wall will come down. But we already know that's coming as well.

Oy vey. Well that's it for at least another year and a half.

... I wonder if Gendry managed to make it out of Eastwatch before the wall came down. Hmm.

Also RIP Littlefinger and farewell Aiden. So sorry your last scene had to be so craptastically orchestrated. At least you are on to bigger and better things now.