#feat. holly

[artificerdusty]

@hcllywheeler

 it’s reassuring hearing that the other wasn’t annoyed about her interrupting the conversation. god forbid she found someone who was engaged with talking and didn’t want to do anything else right now. “you’re fine, as long as you can help me out with these, we’re even - i felt weird just standing around in there.” holly admits under her breath, hands tapping the top of the coffee pot. she was here for her family but she even felt out of place here, like maybe she shouldn’t have even came back to hawkins for all of this. maybe it wasn’t at all worth it.

   “only at coffee pots?” there’s a touch of amusement in her voice, turning to look back at dustin with a raised brow. “it’s a good thing i just need the coffee for everyone outside, huh?” making herself busy, not allowing herself to get caught up in the stories about joyce that she definitely didn’t remember. it sucked to be one of the few people who didn’t remember much about the woman. “so… were you close to..” did she keep it formal? informal? “- mrs byers?”

Dustin's flirty smile tightened for a second at the reminder of why they were there-- Mrs. Byers-- but he figured everyone was wading through those complex emotions today. And, well... Will's mom had always liked him. Dustin thought she'd even liked him best, definitely more than Mike but maybe not as much as Lucas-- surely she'd want Dustin to be happy, even if right now being happy looked like flirting with a cute girl. The more he thought about it, though, the guiltier Dustin felt, which made him clumsy.

With a playful grin, Dustin gathered the coffee pot in his hands, accidentally sending the lid clattering to the floor. "Shit!" he called, shifting his weight in a pathetic attempt to catch it. "Uh... yeah. Coffee pots only, not even lids," he said, joking in an attempt to salvage his coolness. Still, he followed the blonde dutifully, placing the pot where she showed him, and only felt a little out of breath by the end of it all.

Were you close to Mrs. Byers? It was a fair question, one that Dustin had been asked multiple times already, but... he still didn't quite know how to answer, without bringing up the Will and El of it all. Perfect way to make a bad situation worse. So, vaguely, he stammered: "Uh, yeah, I was... close to her son." Maybe she'd assume Jonathan. "You-- uh-- you a friend of the family?" Dustin asked, peering closer at the blonde in an attempt to place her face.

[krispyweiss]

Little Feat with Los Lobos at PNC Pavilion, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 18, 2024

When writing about a two-band gig, journalistic norms dictate leading with the headliner. But where Little Feat and Los Lobos are concerned, such guidelines are bunk.

For on June 18 at Cincinnati’s PNC Pavilion, support act Lobos, a band with its core quartet in place for 51 years, was the brightest star on a stage shared with the recently reconstituted Feat, with original keyboardist and onstage traffic cop Bill Payne; Dixie Chicken-era members Sam Clayton (percussion) and Kenny Gradney (bass); Let it Roll arrival Fred Tackett on guitar, mandolin and trumpet; and new additions Tony Leone on drums and Paul Barrere vocals and Scott Sharrard on guitar and Lowell George vocals.

What the fans who filled some one-third of the venue’s 4,000 seats received in return for braving the outdoor sauna was an hour from one of America’s longest-running and stable bands - horn/keyboard man Steve Berlin joined in 1982 - and 90 minutes from the world’s-best Little Feat tribute act with members of Los Lobos sitting in on multiple cuts.

It was still near 90 degrees when Los Lobos wrapped at 9 p.m., yet the fans dancing to the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha,” which morphed out of “Not Fade Away,” rewarded the group with a standing ovation. And Cesar Rosas (guitar, percussion, vocals), Conrad Lozano (bass), Louie Pérez (guitar, jaraña, drums), David Hidalgo (guitar, accordion, vocals), Berlin and touring drummer Alfredo Ortiz earned the accolades with a career- and-genre-spanning set bridging decades, cultures and influences.

The sextet opened with “Flat Top Box” and “Love Special Delivery” from 2021’s covers album, Native Sons, songs that featured Berlin’s baritone saxophone underscoring the 1950s vibe. Hidalgo’s Hendrixian guitar solo on the latter added trippy color to the song Rosas typically calls “LSD.”

It was off to the stratosphere from there with Lozano, who spent the gig seated on his amp, and Ortiz signaling a deep-pocketed “Dream in Blue” with an extended sax solo from Berlin. Rosas was on maracas and Pérez on jaraña for “Maricela,” instrumentation that would be reprised later on “Chuco’s Cumbia.”

Jazz was the hallmark of a 10-minute plea for peace on “The Neighborhood;” blues and a dedication to John Lee Hooker on “Don’t Worry Baby;” and the band looked to the East (“Kiko and the Lavender Moon”) and South (“Georgia Slop”) when Hidalgo strapped on a squeezebox and Pérez retuned temporarily to his original spot behind the kit.

Though Lobos’ opening set was necessarily truncated, Berlin, Hidalgo and Rosas had more stage time to come, as each sat in during Feat’s performance, bookended with “Fat Man in the Bathtub” and “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now.” Harmonica blower Michael LoBue also appeared for “Mellow Down Easy” (with Hidalgo) and “Long Distance Call” (Rosas) from Sam’s Place, the band’s 2024 blues covers album with Clayton on lead vocals.

These songs, Payne’s “Oh Atlanta,” and 1988’s “Hate to Lose Your Lovin’” sounded like the band that recorded them, as Sharrard (Gregg Allman Band) is more adept at channeling Craig Fuller than George.

Other tracks from Feat’s golden era were less successful. “Willin’” featured a mandolin solo and was akin to John Mayer singing “Ripple” for Dead & Company; Leone (Chris Robinson Botherhood) didn’t quite capture the essence of “Old Folks Boogie;” and “Dixie Chicken” - outfitted with trumpet, bass and synth solos - lost its momentum in the gratuitous showcases.

But “Cold, Cold, Cold,” “A Apolitical Blues,” “Spanish Moon” and “Skin it Back” - the latter two with Berlin reading charts from a piece of paper taped to a mic stand and honking on a baritone sax - almost sounded like Little Feat. Not quite. But almost.

In the end, Los Lobos met the absurdly high expectations that come with being the best live band in America on any given night, while Little Feat exceeded the more-modest hopes for a group of veterans and ringers.

Grade card: Little Feat with Los Lobos at PNC Pavilion - 6/18/24 - B/A

6/19/24

[wastclanders]

nate and nora. pre-war.

[forksthousands]

fey touched

[diegogtratty]

I think if a minigiant can limbo beneath the clearance bar at a drive-thru successfully, they should get their order for free.

[vivelegalite]

guys. michael afton but it's mike wheeler with a lot of regrets

[frankenshane]

i found a california wild rose at the nearest native plant nursery and i’m so excited to go back there for more plants!

[slverblood]

Discovered a feat from older editions that resulted from someone having a "personal connection" to one of the Seven Sisters, and honestly??? About to take that idea and make a variant for Aylin

[fellsilver]

I love that there was a feat in 3e for being friends with one of the Seven Sisters

[beatsboy]

july in music

[thebibliosphere]

Listen, if you’re messaging me to tell me you hate how slow I am at making “content” (i.e. 120k novels) and you wish I was less sick so you can get more “content” you can just go ahead and unfollow me now.

You’re being neither kind nor supportive by telling me you hate my disabilities because they prevent you from having fun.

“so-and-so has X disability too and that doesn’t stop them—“

I’m so pleased for them, but disabilities are not a monolith. We don’t even experience the same conditions the same way. Please never ever use one disabled person’s experiences or capabilities to negate the life experiences of another.

Also, the “if you have time to write fanfic you have time to work” comment was super shitty.

I have been exceptionally open with my struggles with mental health over the last few years. Do you know how hard it’s been for me to find enjoyment in anything since 2020?

Do you know what it means to me to finally have something that’s fun and just for me again that I’m not beating myself up over because I “Should” be working?

Obviously not, or you wouldn’t send messages like that. You can just kick rocks, as far as I’m concerned.

To everyone else who sends me sweet messages telling me they love Hunger Pangs and can’t wait for more but also to work at my own pace: thank you. I don’t get to reply to as many of you as I’d like, but it means a lot to me to know you care about my health and mental wellbeing.

Have a Holly Mop watching over me. (Feat Mothman)

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: James Taylor - “Everyday” (Live, March 27, 1986)

What sounded just fine in the 1980s sounds totally dated in the 2020s.

It’s this truism that makes James Taylor’s vault releases from the 1970s more contemporary than their counterparts from the following decade, the latest of which is “Everyday,” as performed March 27, 1986, for West Germany’s “Ohne Filter” television program.

Taylor, his musicians and singers are in fine form but Bill Payne’s synths are intrusive and peg the video to its time. And in its time, this “Everyday” was well-received. But today, it might make Buddy Holly cringe and even longtime J.T. fans are likely to pine for music from the ’70s, the ’90s and beyond over specimens such as this.

Grade card: James Taylor - “Everyday” (Live - 3/27/86) - C

4/18/24

[corpsebridalshower]

Cowboy Alastor, don’t look at me with those eyes

I really enjoyed drawing him in different attire! I didn’t want the outfit to stand out to much from Alastor as a character. Actually now that look at him, not sure if he looks cowboy enough.

[buckets-and-trees]

What You Want

Fandom: MCU Characters/Pairings: lawyer!Bucky x curvy!female assistant reader Word Count: 2.7k Summary: Your boss, powerful lawyer Bucky Barnes, insisted he needed his indispensable assistant to accompany him on his trip to Norway. He also promised he would have you home in time for Christmas, but the weather decided to strike its wrath and decimate international travel, leaving you stranded for a few more days.

Content Warnings: modern AU, slight power dynamic, periphery/secular reference to the Christmas holiday, vaginal fingering, use of "plum" as a term of endearment

Logistical Notes: Written for @sstan-hoe Vee's Holly Jolly Challenge - I was given a selection of prompts including "That noise...keep making it," reindeer, and lawyer/assistant power dynamics. Also my December entry for @buckybarnesevents Build-a-Bucky-Bingo using the FLASHBACKS prompt. Divider by @saradika.

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

You heard the door open and close behind you and then familiar footsteps approaching, but you didn’t turn to look, instead keeping your eyes on the beauty of the frozen wilderness on display before you.

“Peace offering?” Bucky spoke as he stepped up beside you at the rail of the balcony, holding one of two steaming mugs in his hands toward you.

You sighed but gave him a small smile and took the mug. “You don’t need to apologize. You’re a very powerful man, Bucky, but I’m relatively sure you don’t control the weather.”

“Not yet, but I’m trying to pull some strings,” he said with a smirk, and you smiled.

“It’s not your fault we can’t get a flight back to the States when a blizzard has taken out half the Eastern Seaboard.”

It was unlikely that even with all of James Buchanan Barnes’ considerable lawyering power and money that he would be able to get you back home before Christmas. The main international airports in New England would have to live through the record raging blizzard, dig out, and then there would be hundreds of thousands of passengers to accommodate in and out of the country. Reasonably your guess was that you wouldn’t be returning until as early as the day after Christmas at the earliest.

“I should still apologize though. I said I would have you home for Christmas.”

You took a sip of the hot coffee. “You should apologize, but you’re not.”

He smiled. “No, I’m not.”

He turned and looked out over the forest and frozen tundra with you, the snow sparkling by the moonlight. This side of the resort hotel Bucky had booked the two of you into looked out over the wilderness.

“How long are you going to stay out here?”

“Until I see a reindeer. You brought me to Norway in December. I want to see a wild reindeer.”

“Fair enough.”

After a few more minutes, Bucky spoke again. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat, though? They said our accommodations should be ready after dinner.”

It had been a bit of a feat to find any place this close to Christmas that wasn’t closed or completely booked, but Bucky had managed to find this place that although they said they didn’t have a place immediately available, they had late check outs that just needed to be cleaned and refreshed for new guests.

“It’s a very fine restaurant.”

“Alright, let’s go eat.”

“If that will be all for the evening, I’ll be happy to escort you to your suite, Mr. Barnes,” the maître d’ said. He had been attentive all evening, but being with Bucky on this business trip you had quickly learned only the most excellent service was a common thing for him.

“Yes, thank you, I think we’re finished,” Bucky replied, looking to you, and you nodded. You both scooted your chairs back from the table and then followed the man out of the restaurant, through the hotel lobby, past the bar, past the observatory lounge and balcony you’d visited earlier, and to a pair of elevators.

Dinner had been quiet, but not an uneasy quiet by any means for the two of you. Bucky was an intimidating man, power emanating from him very naturally, but after the first few weeks as his assistant, you had gotten over your nerves. After sitting with him through many lunches, plenty of meetings, taking notes from him on cases and projects, and a fair few late nights, you had grown comfortable around him, learned that he could be easy to talk to, but didn’t strive to fill a silence for conversation’s sake, something you appreciated.

The hotel Bucky had found was an upscale, moderately sized wilderness and ski lodge. When you arrived on the fifth and top floor, there was a cozy hallway that only boasted three doors, and you were led to the one at the very end, where the man unlocked the door, stepped in to hold it open, and then handed the key to Bucky.

“If you should need anything at all, simply pick up the phone and our staff will assist you,” he said. “Have a good evening, and we hope you enjoy your stay, even though we know it was unexpected for the holiday.”

“Thank you, dinner was fantastic, and the place looks wonderful, you’ve been great, Lucas. Have a good night,” Bucky said, and pressed what you were sure was a generous tip into the man’s hand.

All your and Bucky’s things had been left neatly to one side of the entry of the suite. A quick look around revealed that there were two rooms off either side of the spacious sitting area as well as a small kitchen and bar, and on the far side full floor to ceiling windows and a balcony. You had hoped for two rooms like you’d had at the previous hotel, but two rooms in a suite would be perfectly fine, especially since the stunning view out of the sitting room’s windows wasn’t the only beauty in the place. There was a fireplace with a gorgeous mantle with a roaring fire already ablaze and a stunning Christmas tree with gorgeous trimmings in the Scandinavian style.

“It’ll do, yes?” Bucky asked, watching you take in the beauty of the tree.

You smiled warmly at him, then looked back at the tree. “Yes, it’ll do just fine.” The sitting room was spacious and rivaled your cozy studio apartment back home for size. You stepped further into the suite. “Do you want to take a look at the rooms and pick which one you want?” you asked. All the trip was on the company’s expense account, and as his assistant, although you suspected he might be a gentleman and offer you the better room, you would defer to Bucky to actually pick.

“We’ll share whichever one is better,” he said with a shrug.

You scoffed. “No, there are two rooms in this gorgeous suite, I’m sure they’re both fantastic, I don’t mind taking the one you don’t want. Might even sleep on the couch so I can stay by the tree and look out those windows all night.”

He chuckled, low, and suddenly at your back. “You misunderstand me, plum,” he said, placing his hands on the curve of your hips and pressing his chest up against your back. He leaned in to speak the next words directly in your ear. “I’m having you in my bed tonight.”

Your breath caught.

You couldn’t move, and a soft, “Mr. Barnes,” was all you could say.

“Aw, none of that, plum, you haven’t called me Mr. Barnes for months, and I won’t it happening again now.”

“We shouldn’t,” you tried to protest, but even as you said the words, a traitorous part of you didn’t put much feeling behind them.

“Shouldn’t we? You’re smart enough to know I didn’t really need to bring you on this trip with me, but I wanted to. Didn’t want to go that long without seeing you, wanted you by my side in a charming Nordic country during the height of its festive season, and you said yes, like the perfect assistant that you are. I told myself that was enough, didn’t go knocking on your door any of the nights we were at our first hotel, kept it professional despite wanting more and more of you every day we spent together away from the office.”

His hand moved from your hips to circle around your front, his left moving over your soft stomach over to the other side to rest over the front of your right hip, and his right further up your torso, his hand brushing the underside of your breast and resting firmly just below it, bringing you flush against him.

“Fate won’t let me get you home for Christmas, so why deny what it’s dangling right in front of me now?”

He pressed his lips to the sensitive spot just below your ear, and a small whimper escaped your throat.

“Let me have what I want,” he murmured, leaving a slow trail of more kisses down your neck. “I know you want it, too.”

“I – no, I don’t – I”

It was impossible to put up the words of protest when he licked the shell of your ear. You shivered in his arms instead.

“Let me ruin my perfect girl,” he pressed, slipping the hand that was at your hip into the waistband of your trousers. His hand stopped when his fingers met the lace edge of your panties. He turned you around abruptly and kissed you full on the mouth, cupping your face with both hands so you had no choice but to take the heat of his kiss, and the flame he’d been sparking started to catch more dangerously in your core.

He had somehow maneuvered you further into the sitting room so that when he suddenly broke off the kiss, you were in the middle of the space, the warm glow of the fire and the tree lights casting over you both.

Bucky stepped back, and you frowned in confusion, still breathless. He trailed a finger up the column of your throat to the tip of your chin, his blue eyes dark and hungry. “Undress,” he said.

He moved to the couch and sat, his eyes returning to you as he settled in.

“Undress,” he repeated.

That commanding tone struck another spark right to your cunt. You knew you were already growing wet for him.

You toed off your shoes one at a time, then took off your socks – those requiring you to move a little less elegantly than you wanted with his searing gaze on you. Standing aright again, your hands moved to the button of your trousers, fingers trembling since you had never stripped in front of anyone before. You weren’t a virgin, but although the partners you had been with before had been eager to have you naked, none had ever asked you to undress for them like this, like they wanted to see your full figure, not just fuck it.

Bucky spoke your name in a way that had you pause and look up at him again.

He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “You know I pride myself on my instincts. I think we both want this, but there are two rooms here.”

You bit your lip.

He was offering the veiled choice if you wanted it.

Your mind raced with flashbacks of conversations and thoughts you’d had over the past few weeks clear back to the first few meetings with your boss.

Insisting to your mother that your boss did absolutely need you to fly with him to Norway to assist him with meetings with an international client the week before Christmas.

Your best friend insisting on a shopping trip for your fancy work trip to a foreign country “because if your hot boss isn’t going to seduce you, have a foreign fling!”

Your heart stuttering the first time your eyes met your boss’s deep blues the day you interviewed with him.

The same eyes that were riveted on you now.

On you.

You unbuttoned your trousers and lowered the zipper. You glanced down as the fell to the floor, then stepped carefully out of them. When you looked back up, you saw even more hunger in Bucky’s eyes, and it warmed your blood. Looking right into those eyes, you reached for the hem of your sweater and lifted it up and over your head, letting it drop to the floor as well.

“Mmm,” he hummed in approval. “C’m’ere,” he beckoned, sitting back on the couch again, but beckoning you into his lap as he watched your every move.

You concentrated on his eyes and on keeping your breathing steady. When you were close enough for him to reach for you, he held out his hand. You took it and let him pull you gently down to straddle your legs on either side of his.

“My perfect plum,” he murmured. His hands moved up your thighs, over your hips, up your waist, and back down.

“Your plum?” you asked, watching his face as his eyes roved over you up close.

“My perfect plum - I want to savor every delicious curve of your body,” he said before dropping a kiss to the top of your breast. Your hands went to his shoulders to steady yourself. “When I felt that lace of your underwear, I thought maybe you did want this, too.” His lips moved to the other breast where he kissed the exposed skin, then traced his tongue along the edge of the lacy cup, causing you to shiver. “There isn’t any other reason you would be wearing such pretty lingerie, is there?”

“No,” you admitted immediately.

“Just for me,” he said as he moved his hand to your mound and immediately slipped a finger beneath the fabric to stroke along your folds, making you gasp. “Good girl, already wet for me.”

You keened as his finger traced your warm hole but didn’t go in, instead taking the slick there and pressing it up over your folds. He continued tracing them up and down before moving up to find your clit, knowing he found it the second your head dropped back, and you let a, “Yes,” tumble from your lips. “More.”

His other hand skimmed up from your hip, up your side, to your neck, and then angled your head back down for another kiss. Your lips met his eagerly, mouths parting, you licked into his mouth, and he growled his approval. He moved his finger from your clit, but your whine was brief as he slipped that finger along with a second straight into your cunt, stroking in and out, over and over again. You canted your hips into his hand, and you felt the rumble of a chuckle in his chest, but he didn’t stop kissing you. Instead, he curled his fingers forward with each stroke, quickly finding the spongy spot that made you tremble and moan.

Breathless, it was you who had to break off the kiss first, but you pressed your forehead to his. “Feel good, plum?” he asked, and you registered that he sounded as earnest as you felt, his voice deep and a little breathless, too.

“Yes, sir,” you gasped.

“Mmm, sir? I like that,” he said, and rewarded you by moving his thumb to start circling your clit.

You moaned openly.

“That noise…keep making it.”

He sped up his motions just slightly, seeming to feel how your body was tensing up, building toward a powerful release.

“Ready to cum for me like a good girl?”

“Yes, sir!” your answer was more like a plea. “So close.”

Keeping up the rhythm on your clit, he applied more pressure with each thrust of his fingers up inside of you, hitting that sensitive spot on the front of your walls, and with just a few more strokes, the wave crested and rolled over you.

“That’s it, plum,” he cooed as you trembled above him, his other hand coming to smooth unhurriedly up and down your back as his fingers continued to stroke your channel, slowly extending your orgasm. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

He removed his fingers and brought them up to your mouth. You sucked them in, laving your tongue over them. “Can’t wait to see you come for me again,” he said. And too impatient for you to lick his fingers clean, he withdrew them and crashed his lips back into yours.

“Earlier tonight when I said I should apologize, and you called me right out for not doing any such thing?”

“Yes?”

“This is why I didn’t apologize. I was in no way sorry that I had more time with you, and I’m going to use it to take you apart and put you back together all night.”

You would think about all of this later. But he emptied your head of anything but him and the pleasure between you, making more than good on his promise to take you apart until you were completely spent and ruined in his bed.

READ THE SEQUEL: NOW THAT I SAW YOU

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

[jpopstreaming]

🆕 「 I Am (feat. IO, DONY JOINT, Gottz, Holly Q & KEIJU)」 by KANDYTOWN, IO, DONY JOINT, Gottz, Holly Q, KEIJU Available for streaming worldwide!🌐 Added to our weekly playlist 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3lgjH73

[metropolisyaoi]

anatomy practice feat. holly grayelle that i forgor to post