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corlds-world · 3 years

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MCC 16 Predicting Game Order

Hi I’m kinda doing a thing today, which basically includes my predictions of how MCC 16 is going to turn out. I know this isn’t reddit but I don’t have a reddit so we’re using tumblr today.

I want to start out by saying that it’s completely random what’s going to happen and I can’t read a content creators mind and I don’t know how much practice they put into anything but here goes nothing. Also it’s literally impossible to predict game order but I want to give it a go. Another thing is: I don’t really know how the Sapphire Simmers vote since they just play for fun, so I’m more looking at the other nine teams.

The order of which I put these games benefits at least five of the ten teams. I also base where these games are played off of trends. Ex: let’s say playing Parkour Tag early benefits five of the ten teams, I will then believe that Parkour Tag will be played early. So the games I think will be played are:

Early: Build Mart/Hole in the Wall/Ace Race

Middle: Parkour Tag/Battle Box/Sky Battle

Late: Sands of Time/TGTTOS/Survival Games

I’m not sure which game will get skipped, but I think it will either be Build Mart or Survival Games.

Looking from a team’s perspective, I would pick early games based on 1) I am I good at this game? If not, I need to not chance it and get it out of the way early. 2) Is another team that is better than my team really good at this game compared to my team? If that is true, I should probably play this game early so the opposing team doesn’t.

Build Mart: One of Red’s, Aqua’s, and Pink’s worst games, this definitely doesn’t suit half of the teams to be played late. It benefits each of the teams I mentioned before to play it early, just in case it gets played later and doesn’t get skipped. I also think Red, Aqua, and Pink are the risky types to try and skip Build Mart. Another team that should play Build Mart early is Green. However, all the other teams benefit from playing Build Mart towards the middle or later end of the event. However, I think some of the teams, such as Orange, would want to try to avoid a late Build Mart for the sake of trying to keep Purple and Lime from advancing. One last thing is that Preston has never played Build Mart, so that might account for Cyan wanting to play it early or just skipping it. This game is either played first, or skipped.

Hole in the Wall: One of Orange’s and Pink’s worst games, this isn’t a good game for over half the teams in the event. Cyan, Yellow, and Lime all benefit from playing Hole in the Wall early on. However, Hole in the Wall is generally played towards the middle of the event. A counter to that is this is Red’s and Purple’s best game, and it would be in the previous five teams’ best interests to play Hole in the Wall earlier.

Ace Race: Green’s worst game. The past two events, this game has been played 6th. Orange, Green, Lime, Aqua, and Pink benefit from playing Ace Race early. I wouldn’t say that this is necessarily going to get played early. I think it could be played later. One thing about Ace Race is that it’s not worth many points, and I’m not sure the five teams I mentioned would want it to be worth a lot of points. I don’t mean to pick on Purple, but they are one of the best teams in the event. Ace Race is one of Purple’s best games, and the five teams above need to play Purple’s games early if they want to stand a chance.

For choosing the middle games, I would pick games based off of which games haven’t been played, but I’m still not good at. It’s not about taking down the competition, but boosting yourself as much as possible.

Parkour Tag: Parkour Tag usually can be played anywhere in the event. Nobody is very good or very bad at this game, except Cyan and Pink. This is one of Cyan’s worst games versus one of Pink’s best games. I would say Cyan needs to play this game as soon as possible, but it hasn’t been played, yet, because Build Mart and Ace Race were played. This isn’t one of Red’s strong suits compared to games like TGTTOS and Sky Battle. I would also say Aqua and Purple would want to play Parkour Tag. Aqua needs to save Battle Box and TGTTOS, while Purple needs to save Sands of Time and Sky Battle. Perhaps Lime and Green would also hop on the bandwagon. For Aqua, Purple, Lime, and Green this is not their strongest game left in the event, so I think they would consider playing this game somewhere in the middle.

Battle Box: Battle Box is another game that can be played anywhere in the event. Orange, Yellow, Lime, Green, and Purple benefit from playing Battle Box now. Battle Box is one of Purple’s worst games. I would say Purple should just skip Battle Box all together, but that’s definitely not going to happen, so they should probably play it now. Orange, Yellow, Lime, and Green still have games left that they are better at.

Sky Battle: I have a very strong feeling that Sky Battle is going to be played 5th. Why? Because that’s when the polling happens, and it’s Red’s choice of game. Sorry Dream, but a team of both Tommy and Ranboo gets to choose. It’s a bit of a special case, but with that much power, I suspect Tommy would want to play Sky Battle. It’s his best game, and he would not want it to get skipped. It’s also one of Red’s best games.

For the late games, it’s do or die. You pick the games that you desperately don’t want to get skipped. These later games are much more simpler to talk about.

Sands of Time: Cyan, Aqua, Purple, and Pink all benefit from playing Sands of Time late. All of these teams are good at Sands of Time and would definitely save it for the end. Also there was a trend of Sands of Time finales at one point.

TGTTOS: This is one of my favorite games for some reason, so I might be biased. Playing TGTTOS late benefits Red, Yellow, and Aqua. I think to some extent, this benefits Cyan and Pink as well so it doesn’t get skipped.

Survival Games: I think Survival Games will either get skipped or be late. The teams Survival Games benefits to be skipped: Red, Yellow, Aqua, and Purple. The teams Survival Games benefits to be late: Orange, Lime, Green, Cyan, and Pink. As you can see, it’s pretty even. I am more leaning towards Red wanting to play Survival Games (because of Tommy), but I don’t think that’s a good idea for Red (because this is Ranboo’s and Will’s worst game). So it really could go either way for Survival Games.

So what does this mean for team outcomes? Using ultrasheeplord’s spreadsheet on reddit, I got this outcome for each team.

Game Order: Build Mart - Hole in the Wall - Ace Race - Parkour Tag - Sky Battle - Battle Box - TGTTOS - Sands of Time

Outcome: Red, Purple, Aqua, Orange, Cyan, Yellow, Lime, Pink, Green, Blue

Congrats, Red Rabbits fans! Your Walmart SBI wins! Funny enough, Tommy is not enough to carry the Red Rabbits through Survival Games. Also, even if Purple’s best games are played in the beginning, they still manage to get to Dodgebolt. And Aqua got third unexpectedly with this game order so good for them. If Purple doesn’t do so well, Red Rabbits vs. Aqua Axolotls???

Game Order: Hole in the Wall - Ace Race - Parkour Tag - Battle Box - Sky Battle - Sands of Time - TGTTOS - Survival Games

Outcome: Orange, Cyan, Purple, Red, Lime, Pink, Aqua, Yellow, Green, Blue

I guess skipping Build Mart worked out for Cyan after all, given they’re second in coins. And Orange’s best game (Survival Games) was played last, so it probably explains why Orange gets first. Also Purple still got third, even if their best games were played early. Purple is literally so stacked and I hope Grian gets his 1st win.

Conclusion: I have no idea who is going to win. This is also all based on statistics. It all depends on what gets skipped. Maybe Grid Runners is coming to MCC and both Build Mart and Survival Games gets skipped. What a twist that would be!

I think I’m now gonna make a post on why I want each team to win, because I’m so hyped.

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concealeddarkness13 · 3 years

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WHG 15 Impostor Syndrome Part 1

Triel is going to have a fun time! Tagging: @sparkles-and-hens, @knmartinshouldbewriting, @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses, @thoughts-of-nora, and @ratracechronicler!

I wandered outside the district as my thoughts wandered through my plan one last time. Today was the day. I was going to volunteer as tribute and give the Capitol a big middle finger as I helped as many tributes as possible escape from the arena and to freedom. What could go wrong?

It was going to be foolproof. It had to be, right? I had to project confidence, or no one would believe in my scheme. And it would work. It had to.

“Sparrow, what are you—” I barely heard the voice before I bumped into someone. Not just someone. I grinned as I looked up. Aunt Reeves. She was here!

I flung my arms around her, and she hugged me back in one of her signature bone-crushing hugs. I held on tighter. “I could ask you the same question!”

She grunted. “You didn’t even let me finish it.” She paused. “We’re here because Graem wanted to talk to you.” She lowered her voice. “Don’t tell him I said it, but he’s worried about you.”

“I heard that.” I pulled away from Aunt Reeves as Uncle Graem walked up. I grinned and ran over to him to get crushed by one of his hugs too. When we broke apart, he sniffed. “And I’m not worried about you. I just want to talk over your plan a little.”

Aunt Reeves snorted in the background, and I probably should give some exposition about who these two were. They weren’t really my aunt and uncle. First, they weren’t married, and they weren’t my blood relatives. Aunt Reeves was a pirate captain, and Uncle Graem was her first mate. They found me when I was a baby, and I had been cast out to sea. There’s more to my backstory, but I’m not going to divulge everything yet.

I grinned and nodded. “So, I’m planning on volunteering for the Hunger Games and convincing as many tributes as I can to escape from the arena, where my airship and crew will be waiting for them to take them to safety!”

“And where is safety?”

“I’ve been eyeing this interesting fabled mansion that has anti-Capitol defenses that should keep us all safe. Shine will be in control while I’m in the arena, and they [yes, they’re non-binary…and deaf, just to let you know] will make sure everything runs smoothly on the outside.”

Uncle Graem frowned. “And what happens if it doesn’t work out so perfectly?”

That was the big problem, wasn’t it? And no matter how much I thought about it, I hadn’t come up with a solution. It would all go to shit if it didn’t go well. I smiled sweetly. “Could I ask for your help?”

Aunt Reeves snorted. “You can—”

Uncle Graem nodded. “—but we won’t be helping you in this scheme. I must say, I was impressed in how you found Nesri and hid her from the Shades [exposition to come about those guys], so I want to see where you’ll go after achieving so much. We will only be impartial observers.”

I had known that would be the case. I nodded. “Thanks. I hope you’re impressed.” I bowed theatrically, and Uncle Graem and Aunt Reeves were gone as soon as they had come.

Now, I could explain about the Shades and Nesri. The Shades joined the Capitol and somehow were able to give kids this magic that made a person glow and float and crystallize liquids in a certain radius around them, and the crystal was as strong as a diamond. The Shades were behind the fear mongering about the people who had the glowy magic, so the Capitol thought they could control them. And for the most part, that was true. But Nesri was able to escape, and I had found her a month ago. She joined my pirate crew, and the Shades had no idea where she was. Unfortunately, she was a Victor, so she had to show up to the Reaping and the Hunger Games, but I wouldn’t let them take her.

Everything was going to work out. I just had to work my hardest, and everything would be fine.

I jumped when the bells rang. The Reaping would start soon. And my plan would be put into motion.

But first, I had to fix my look. Last night, Shine had made a bet with me, and they had won. Because of that, I didn’t have a cool hat or coat anymore, so I had to get those for the Reaping. I headed over to the Victors’ houses to find suitable replacements.

I went to Cahira’s house first. She was one of the oldest Victors, and she still defied the Capitol whenever they weren’t paying attention. She was an information specialist, and I had gone to her to get the information I needed for my plan. So, she wouldn’t be surprised to see me.

I knocked on the door, and Cahira herself opened it after a slight pause. She grinned at me and patted me on the shoulder. “To what do I owe the visit, my dear?”

I smirked back. “Wardrobe change.”

Cahira laughed and let me in. “I’m not attached to any of this stuff, so you can have it, as long as it fits you. But you should hurry. The Reaping’s starting soon, and I heard from a little sparrow that it will be an exciting one.”

I nodded and started walking. “Don’t worry. I don’t mean to miss it.”

Cahira left me to it, and I stalked through the hallways, looking for a promising room to raid. Before I could get very far, however, I froze at the light on in one of the rooms. I snuck up to look inside, and I smirked. Oh. Cahira had a guest.

She was a dashing beauty, with curly, dark blue hair and bright green eyes. She didn’t have make-up caked on her face, unlike most of the rich snots in the Capitol. But she was from the Capitol. No one from the districts would have such an impressive (read: ugly) wardrobe.

As she was perusing the selection, I walked up with my best dazzling smile, eyeing the perfect long, black coat and wide-brimmed hat just hanging in there, asking to be taken. She didn’t even startle; she just looked over at me with a smirk.

“And what is a local doing in Cahira’s mansion? I thought she was a loner?”

She certainly sounded like a Capitol snot. Light, breezy voice that sounded like she wanted to give a tinkling laugh in your direction at any moment. I smiled wider. “Miss Cahira invited me to find the perfect outfit for the Reaping here. And I’m glad I took her invitation. I wouldn’t have found such beauty here otherwise.”

She did give the tinkling laugh. “How cute. If you’re able to be Reaped, I’m too old for you.”

“Does that mean I can’t appreciate beauty when I see it?”

She cocked her head, still smirking. “Is there any reason why you came to my room in particular?” She paused, gesturing at her expansive wardrobe. “Anything catch your eye?”

A trap? Her eyes were amused, and she crossed her arms. I turned to the clothes and pretended to look over them. Most of them were gaudy Capitol things. It was kind of odd that there was anything normal in this selection. “Honestly, Capitol fashion has always intrigued me, but this—” I pointed to the long coat and wide-brimmed hat, “really confuses me. How does this fit with the rest of the styles you have?”

She laughed that same annoying laugh. I couldn’t tell if she was toying with me or not. I couldn’t read her at all. Who was she?

She took the coat and hat down and set them on her bed. “Truly a curious trend. It happened a few Hunger Games ago, when the tribute who won refused to wear anything fancy during his interviews or chariot ride. So, we decided to hop on the bandwagon and wear casual things, but casual things are such a drag. I only brought this along just in case a local came looking for good clothes. Why don’t you take them?”

Oh, she was totally toying with me. I eyed her. “What’s the catch?” I could get away with just stealing this. She wouldn’t be able to use me after the Reaping, since I was going to be a tribute. So, there wasn’t a huge risk for me. But still…

She cocked her head. “Oh, I’ll think of something before I leave. I’ll find you after the Reaping. Wear the coat and hat proud until then.” She winked.

I nodded. That was acceptable. I wouldn’t have anything to give after I became the Capitol’s property. So, even if she could get to me during the visits, it would be useless. I snatched the coat and hat and ran out of the room before she could change her mind.

#writeblr hunger games #writeblr

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amoveablejake · 3 years

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Sunday Morning

A few words from our sponsors at The Velvet Underground

Don’t worry. Infact, don’t worry about anything ever but that’s more of a general reminder than what I’m writing about today. I put don’t worry up top there because I wanted to reassure you dear reader, that this is not a sell out piece to some big business, not that The Velvet Underground should be considered big business and if I did sell out to someone it could be worse. No, the above is a little joke, with myself really. Let me explain, this morning I have found myself back in the cabin in the woods and as I gaze out of my bedroom window I thought that it might be worth doing a Sunday morning piece. So what is a Sunday morning piece exactly, well, in a way it’s what this blog was born from. When I started A Moveable Jake it was in part inspired by columnists, particularly in small town America or in New York who write about their week and seemingly about nothing in particular. These pieces can often really resonate and contain such hidden beauty in the everyday despite their seemingly mundane subject matter. Tom Hanks is no stranger to this format as he used it in his rather marvellous work of fiction ‘Uncommon Type’. So, all of this is to say that I thought this Sunday morning, as I listen to Oscar Peterson and also the birds outside of my window I would talk about nothing in particular and see where we end up. I know, a big change from our regularly scheduled programming.

As we’re discussing nothing this week, it is fitting that ‘Seinfeld’ should make a triumphant debut (it may have been on it before but I haven’t fact checked myself and at this point won’t out of a matter of principle) on Netflix. I had seen a trailer a few weeks ago for ‘Seinfeld’ appearing on Netflix in the states and whilst this did seem like the tipping point to get me to move out West I held fire and well, now, George Costanza has come to me. As I’ve spoken about before the sitcom ‘Frasier’ is my absolute favourite, actually no calling it that is doing it a disservice because it has such a firm and absolute place in my heart and means the world to my Mum and I. ‘Seinfeld’ however, may be second. And admittedly, I’m sure that I’ll remember some other sitcom later as I’m driving back to the city and I’ll slap my forehead for forgetting it and then slide off over a cliff which come to think of it has only just appeared overnight in the forest and as I fall I’ll know it’s my penance for forgetting (insert great albeit forgotten sitcom title here). But we don’t need to worry about that impending doom quite yet, for now, let’s revel in the mastery that is ‘Seinfeld’. It’s not groundbreaking to say that ‘Seinfeld’ is a masterpiece but I’ll jump on that bandwagon happily as it really is such a joy to behold. It is a show about nothing and well, it’s perfect. The situations that the characters find themselves in are ones that have spiralled out of control and yet, are completely plausible. They’re the sort of situation where, oh I don’t know, one moment you’re walking along the street and you see an elderly lady smile at you the next you’re trying a taster menu for a leading supermarket chain trying to think of at least six ways to describe mushroom soup. Is that from the show or my life, whose to say. The point is sometimes those scenarios in Jerry’s life really do hit home and that feels reassuring to watch and other time, well, any scene with Kramer is worth your time.

A little disclaimer, I’ve picked this up back in my city apartment and I am now listening to Guaraldi as the rain falls on my window. But for once this piece isn’t about the rain or Guaraldi (well, not completely) no, the next thing I wanted to touch on was Ivy League style from the 1950s. My clothing choices for quite a while have tended to lean towards the 50s and recently I’ve realised that the leaning was towards the Ivy League looks of that time and now I am fully leaning into it. I’m not sure where I’ve picked this look up from, I think it’s one of those things that is deeply rooted in my mind from various films and books that I’ve read. I do know however, that this yearning for this look has been strengthened by some Japanese fashion magazines that I’ve been reading that do revolve around the 50s American look which is quite the meeting of two cultures and the coolest one at that. And a brief note on that, I am new to the world of Japanese fashion and lifestyle magazines and yes, I can’t read a single word in them but oh boy are they a cut above visually and stylistically. And the fact that the clothes they show the inside of my head helps aswell.

Usually when we reach Sunday my mind is firmly placed on the NFL and ofcourse the Green Bay Packers (how about that win against the 49ers) but this week, whilst I am undoubtedly sweating about coming up against the Steelers (mainly because it should be a straightforward win) there is another team of mine which has taken precedence today. Sunday is a day for the Green Bay Packers but today, really, it’s about my Seattle Mariners. A few weeks ago when I wrote about how I had fallen head over heels for the Mariners I honestly didn’t think we’d end up here. And by here, I mean one night of potential elation and heartbreak. This evening, the Mariners come up against the Los Angeles Angels (Ofcoure it had to be against my favourite player Ohtani) in a bid to secure a play off spot. Now, for the Mariners to get to this spot they will need some favours from the results for the Yankees, Red Sox and the Blue Jays but there is a chance that they will hit a 91-70 record and in doing so get a playoff spot. Look, am I optimistic, well ofcourse I am because you have to believe as is the teams current slogan. Am I pained that this is happening on the same night, at the same time as a Packers game, you bet. Am I completely aware that it will be the apple of my eye Shohei Ohtani who breaks the Mariners and crushes the dream. Without a doubt. But, it’s moments like these that sports fans wait for and well, no one ever wanted it to be easy anyway.

I started writing this Sunday column (let me live this columnist fantasy please) in the morning and now it’s being finished up in the afternoon. I hope that it has been somewhat interesting reading as you potter about on a rainy Sunday afternoon thinking about what you’re going to do next which may be not a great deal at all, well, obviously you’ll be keeping an eye on the Mariners score for me but that’s a given. For me, I’m going to set my pen down and listen to a little bit of the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead aren’t always on my roster, but they’ll float in today as it would have been my Dad’s birthday yesterday and ‘Touch of Grey’ is one of those songs that feels like somewhere out there in the universe we’re listening to it at the same time and that, that’s enough for now.

-Jake, a man ready to hop on to a plane to Seattle if they get to the World Series, 03/10/2021

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path-of-my-childhood · 5 years

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Taylor Swift: ‘I was literally about to break’

By: Laura Snapes for The Guardian Date: August 24th 2019

Taylor Swift’s Nashville apartment is an Etsy fever dream, a 365-days-a-year Christmas shop, pure teenage girl id. You enter through a vestibule clad in blue velvet and covered in gilt frames bursting with fake flowers. The ceiling is painted like the night sky. Above a koi pond in the living area, a narrow staircase spirals six feet up towards a giant, pillow-lagged birdcage that probably has the best view in the city. Later, Swift will tell me she needs metaphors “to understand anything that happens to me”, and the birdcage defies you not to interpret it as a pointed comment on the contradictions of stardom.

Swift, wearing pale jeans and dip-dyed shirt, her sandy hair tied in a blue scrunchie, leads the way up the staircase to show me the view. The decor hasn’t changed since she bought this place in 2009, when she was 19. “All of these high rises are new since then,” she says, gesturing at the squat glass structures and cranes. Meanwhile her oven is still covered in stickers, more teenage diary than adult appliance.

Now 29, she has spent much of the past three years living quietly in London with her boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn, making the penthouse a kind of time capsule, a monument to youthful naivety given an unlimited budget – the years when she sang about Romeo and Juliet and wore ballgowns to awards shows; before she moved to New York and honed her slick, self-mythologising pop.

It is mid-August. This is Swift’s first UK interview in more than three years, and she seems nervous: neither presidential nor goofy (her usual defaults), but quick with a tongue-out “ugh” of regret or frustration as she picks at her glittery purple nails. We climb down from the birdcage to sit by the pond, and when the conversation turns to 2016, the year the wheels came off for her, Swift stiffens as if driving over a mile of speed bumps. After a series of bruising public spats (with Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj) in 2015, there was a high-profile standoff with Kanye West. The news that she was in a relationship with actor Tom Hiddleston, which leaked soon after, was widely dismissed as a diversionary tactic. Meanwhile, Swift went to court to prosecute a sexual assault claim, and faced a furious backlash when she failed to endorse a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, allowing the alt-right to adopt her as their “Aryan princess”.

Her critics assumed she cared only about the bottom line. The reality, Swift says, is that she was totally broken. “Every domino fell,” she says bitterly. “It became really terrifying for anyone to even know where I was. And I felt completely incapable of doing or saying anything publicly, at all. Even about my music. I always said I wouldn’t talk about what was happening personally, because that was a personal time.” She won’t get into specifics. “I just need some things that are mine,” she despairs. “Just some things.”

A year later, in 2017, Swift released her album Reputation, half high-camp heel turn, drawing on hip-hop and vaudeville (the brilliantly hammy Look What You Made Me Do), half stunned appreciation that her nascent relationship with Alwyn had weathered the storm (the soft, sensual pop of songs Delicate and Dress).

Her new album, Lover, her seventh, was released yesterday. It’s much lighter than Reputation: Swift likens writing it to feeling like “I could take a full deep breath again”. Much of it is about Alwyn: the Galway Girl-ish track London Boy lists their favourite city haunts and her newfound appreciation of watching rugby in the pub with his uni mates; on the ruminative Afterglow, she asks him to forgive her anxious tendency to assume the worst.

While she has always written about relationships, they were either teenage fantasy or a postmortem on a high-profile breakup, with exes such as Jake Gyllenhaal and Harry Styles. But she and Alwyn have seldom been pictured together, and their relationship is the only other thing she won’t talk about. “I’ve learned that if I do, people think it’s up for discussion, and our relationship isn’t up for discussion,” she says, laughing after I attempt a stealthy angle. “If you and I were having a glass of wine right now, we’d be talking about it – but it’s just that it goes out into the world. That’s where the boundary is, and that’s where my life has become manageable. I really want to keep it feeling manageable.”

Instead, she has swapped personal disclosure for activism. Last August, Swift broke her political silence to endorse Democratic Tennessee candidate Phil Bredesen in the November 2018 senate race. Vote.org reported an unprecedented spike in voting registration after Swift’s Instagram post, while Donald Trump responded that he liked her music “about 25% less now”.

Meanwhile, her recent single You Need To Calm Down admonished homophobes and namechecked US LGBTQ rights organisation Glaad (which then saw increased donations). Swift filled her video with cameos from queer stars such as Ellen DeGeneres and Queen singer Adam Lambert, and capped it with a call to sign her petition in support of the Equality Act, which if passed would prohibit gender- and sexuality-based discrimination in the US. A video of Polish LGBTQ fans miming the track in defiance of their government’s homophobic agenda went viral. But Swift was accused of “queerbaiting” and bandwagon-jumping. You can see how she might find it hard to work out what, exactly, people want from her.

***

It was girlhood that made Swift a multimillionaire. When country music’s gatekeepers swore that housewives were the only women interested in the genre, she proved them wrong. Her self-titled debut marked the longest stay on the Billboard 200 by any album released in the decade. A potentially cloying image – corkscrew curls, lyrics thick on “daddy” and down-home values – were undercut by the fact she was evidently, endearingly, a bit of a freak, an unusual combination of intensity and artlessness. Also, she was really, really good at what she did, and not just for a teenager: her entirely self-written third album, 2010’s Speak Now, is unmatched in its devastatingly withering dismissals of awful men.

As a teenager, Swift was obsessed with VH1’s Behind The Music, the series devoted to the rise and fall of great musicians. She would forensically rewatch episodes, trying to pinpoint the moment a career went wrong. I ask her to imagine she’s watching the episode about herself and do the same thing: where was her misstep? “Oh my God,” she says, drawing a deep breath and letting her lips vibrate as she exhales. “I mean, that’s so depressing!” She thinks back and tries to deflect. “What I remember is that [the show] was always like, ‘Then we started fighting in the tour bus and then the drummer quit and the guitarist was like, “You’re not paying me enough.”’’’

But that’s not what she used to say. In interviews into her early 20s, Swift often observed that an artist fails when they lose their self-awareness, as if repeating the fact would work like an insurance against succumbing to the same fate. But did she make that mistake herself? She squeezes her nose and blows to clear a ringing in her ears before answering. “I definitely think that sometimes you don’t realise how you’re being perceived,” she says. “Pop music can feel like it’s The Hunger Games, and like we’re gladiators. And you can really lose focus of the fact that that’s how it feels because that’s how a lot of stan [fan] Twitter and tabloids and blogs make it seem – the overanalysing of everything makes it feel really intense.”

She describes the way she burned bridges in 2016 as a kind of obliviousness. “I didn’t realise it was like a classic overthrow of someone in power – where you didn’t realise the whispers behind your back, you didn’t realise the chain reaction of events that was going to make everything fall apart at the exact, perfect time for it to fall apart.”

Here’s that chain reaction in full. With her 2014 album 1989 (the year she was born), Swift transcended country stardom, becoming as ubiquitous as Beyoncé. For the first time she vocally embraced feminism, something she had rejected in her teens; but, after a while, it seemed to amount to not much more than a lot of pictures of her hanging out with her “squad”, a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham. The squad very much did not include her former friend Katy Perry, whom Swift targeted in her song Bad Blood, as part of what seemed like a painfully overblown dispute about some backing dancers. Then, when Nicki Minaj tweeted that MTV’s 2015 Video Music awards had rewarded white women at the expense of women of colour, multiple-nominee Swift took it personally, responding: “Maybe one of the men took your slot.” For someone prone to talking about the haters, she quickly became her own worst enemy.

Her old adversary Kanye West resurfaced in February 2016. In 2009, West had invaded Swift’s stage at the MTV VMAs to protest against her victory over Beyoncé in the female video of the year category. It remains the peak of interest in Swift on Google Trends, and the conflict between them has become such a cornerstone of celebrity journalism that it’s hard to remember it lay dormant for nearly seven years – until West released his song Famous. “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex,” he rapped. “Why? I made that bitch famous.” The video depicted a Swift mannequin naked in bed with men including Trump.

Swift loudly condemned both; although she had discussed the track with West, she said she had never agreed to the “bitch” lyric or the video. West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, released a heavily edited clip that showed Swift at least agreeing to the “sex” line on the phone with West, if not the “bitch” part. Swift pleaded the technicality, but it made no difference: when Kardashian went on Twitter to describe her as a snake, the comparison stuck and the singer found herself very publicly “cancelled” – the incident taken as “proof” of Swift’s insincerity. So she went away.

Swift says she stopped trying to explain herself, even though she “definitely” could have. As she worked on Reputation, she was also writing “a think-piece a day that I knew I would never publish: the stuff I would say, and the different facets of the situation that nobody knew”. If she could exonerate herself, why didn’t she? She leans forward. “Here’s why,” she says conspiratorially. “Because when people are in a hate frenzy and they find something to mutually hate together, it bonds them. And anything you say is in an echo chamber of mockery.”

She compares that year to being hit by a tidal wave. “You can either stand there and let the wave crash into you, and you can try as hard as you can to fight something that’s more powerful and bigger than you,” she says. “Or you can dive under the water, hold your breath, wait for it to pass and while you’re down there, try to learn something. Why was I in that part of the ocean? There were clearly signs that said: Rip tide! Undertow! Don’t swim! There are no lifeguards!” She’s on a roll. “Why was I there? Why was I trusting people I trusted? Why was I letting people into my life the way I was letting them in? What was I doing that caused this?”

After the incident with Minaj, her critics started pointing out a narrative of “white victimhood” in Swift’s career. Speaking slowly and carefully, she says she came to understand “a lot about how my privilege allowed me to not have to learn about white privilege. I didn’t know about it as a kid, and that is privilege itself, you know? And that’s something that I’m still trying to educate myself on every day. How can I see where people are coming from, and understand the pain that comes with the history of our world?”

She also accepts some responsibility for her overexposure, and for some of the tabloid drama. If she didn’t wish a friend happy birthday on Instagram, there would be reports about severed friendships, even if they had celebrated together. “Because we didn’t post about it, it didn’t happen – and I realised I had done that,” she says. “I created an expectation that everything in my life that happened, people would see.”

But she also says she couldn’t win. “I’m kinda used to being gaslit by now,” she drawls wearily. “And I think it happens to women so often that, as we get older and see how the world works, we’re able to see through what is gaslighting. So I’m able to look at 1989 and go – KITTIES!” She breaks off as an assistant walks in with Swift’s three beloved cats, stars of her Instagram feed, back from the vet before they fly to England this week. Benjamin, Olivia and Meredith haughtily circle our feet (they are scared of the koi) as Swift resumes her train of thought, back to the release of 1989 and the subsequent fallout. “Oh my God, they were mad at me for smiling a lot and quote-unquote acting fake. And then they were mad at me that I was upset and bitter and kicking back.” The rules kept changing.

***

Swift’s new album comes with printed excerpts from her diaries. On 29 August 2016, she wrote in her girlish, bubble writing: “This summer is the apocalypse.” As the incident with West and Kardashian unfolded, she was preparing for her court case against radio DJ David Mueller, who was fired in 2013 after Swift reported him for putting his hand up her dress at a meet-and–greet event. He sued her for defamation; she countersued for sexual assault.

“Having dealt with a few of them, narcissists basically subscribe to a belief system that they should be able to do and say whatever the hell they want, whenever the hell they want to,” Swift says now, talking at full pelt. “And if we – as anyone else in the world, but specifically women – react to that, well, we’re not allowed to. We’re not allowed to have a reaction to their actions.”

In summer 2016 she was in legal depositions, practising her testimony. “You’re supposed to be really polite to everyone,” she says. But by the time she got to court in August 2017, “something snapped, I think”. She laughs. Her testimony was sharp and uncompromising. She refused to allow Mueller’s lawyers to blame her or her security guards; when asked if she could see the incident, Swift said no, because “my ass is in the back of my body”. It was a brilliant, rude defence.

“You’re supposed to behave yourself in court and say ‘rear end’,” she says with mock politesse. “The other lawyer was saying, ‘When did he touch your backside?’ And I was like, ‘ASS! Call it what it is!’” She claps between each word. But despite the acclaim for her testimony and eventual victory (she asked for one symbolic dollar), she still felt belittled. It was two months prior to the beginning of the #MeToo movement. “Even this case was literally twisted so hard that people were calling it the ‘butt-grab case’. They were saying I sued him because there’s this narrative that I want to sue everyone. That was one of the reasons why the summer was the apocalypse.”

She never wanted the assault to be made public. Have there been other instances she has dealt with privately? “Actually, no,” she says soberly. “I’m really lucky that it hadn’t happened to me before. But that was one of the reasons it was so traumatising. I just didn’t know that could happen. It was really brazen, in front of seven people.” She has since had security cameras installed at every meet-and-greet she does, deliberately pointed at her lower half. “If something happens again, we can prove it with video footage from every angle,” she says.

The allegations about Harvey Weinstein came out soon after she won her case. The film producer had asked her to write a song for the romantic comedy One Chance, which earned her second Golden Globe nomination. Weinstein also got her a supporting role in the 2014 sci-fi movie The Giver, and attended the launch party for 1989. But she says they were never alone together.

“He’d call my management and be like, ‘Does she have a song for this film?’ And I’d be like, ‘Here it is,’” she says dispassionately. “And then I’d be at the Golden Globes. I absolutely never hung out. And I would get a vibe – I would never vouch for him. I believe women who come forward, I believe victims who come forward, I believe men who come forward.” Swift inhales, flustered. She says Weinstein never propositioned her. “If you listen to the stories, he picked people who were vulnerable, in his opinion. It seemed like it was a power thing. So, to me, that doesn’t say anything – that I wasn’t in that situation.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump was more than nine months into his presidency, and still Swift had not taken a position. But the idea that a pop star could ever have impeded his path to the White House seemed increasingly naive. In hindsight, the demand that Swift speak up looks less about politics and more about her identity (white, rich, powerful) and a moralistic need for her to redeem herself – as if nobody else had ever acted on a vindictive instinct, or blundered publicly.

But she resisted what might have been an easy return to public favour. Although Reputation contained softer love songs, it was better known for its brittle, vengeful side (see This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things). She describes that side of the album now as a “bit of a persona”, and its hip-hop-influenced production as “a complete defence mechanism”. Personally, I thought she had never been more relatable, trashing the contract of pious relatability that traps young women in the public eye.

***

It was the assault trial, and watching the rights of LGBTQ friends be eroded, that finally politicised her, Swift says. “The things that happen to you in your life are what develop your political opinions. I was living in this Obama eight-year paradise of, you go, you cast your vote, the person you vote for wins, everyone’s happy!” she says. “This whole thing, the last three, four years, it completely blindsided a lot of us, me included.”

She recently said she was “dismayed” when a friend pointed out that her position on gay rights wasn’t obvious (what if she had a gay son, he asked), hence this summer’s course correction with the single You Need To Calm Down (“You’re comin’ at my friends like a missile/Why are you mad?/When you could be GLAAD?”). Didn’t she feel equally dismayed that her politics weren’t clear? “I did,” she insists, “and I hate to admit this, but I felt that I wasn’t educated enough on it. Because I hadn’t actively tried to learn about politics in a way that I felt was necessary for me, making statements that go out to hundreds of millions of people.”

She explains her inner conflict. “I come from country music. The number one thing they absolutely drill into you as a country artist, and you can ask any other country artist this, is ‘Don’t be like the Dixie Chicks!’” In 2003, the Texan country trio denounced the Iraq war, saying they were “ashamed” to share a home state with George W Bush. There was a boycott, and an event where a bulldozer crushed their CDs. “I watched country music snuff that candle out. The most amazing group we had, just because they talked about politics. And they were getting death threats. They were made such an example that basically every country artist that came after that, every label tells you, ‘Just do not get involved, no matter what.’

“And then, you know, if there was a time for me to get involved…” Swift pauses. “The worst part of the timing of what happened in 2016 was I felt completely voiceless. I just felt like, oh God, who would want me? Honestly.” She would otherwise have endorsed Hillary Clinton? “Of course,” she says sincerely. “I just felt completely, ugh, just useless. And maybe even like a hindrance.”

I suggest that, thinking selfishly, her coming out for Clinton might have made people like her. “I wasn’t thinking like that,” she stresses. “I was just trying to protect my mental health – not read the news very much, go cast my vote, tell people to vote. I just knew what I could handle and I knew what I couldn’t. I was literally about to break. For a while.” Did she seek therapy? “That stuff I just really wanna keep personal, if that’s OK,” she says.

She resists blaming anyone else for her political silence. Her emergence as a Democrat came after she left Big Machine, the label she signed to at 15. (They are now at loggerheads after label head Scott Borchetta sold the company, and the rights to Swift’s first six albums, to Kanye West’s manager, Scooter Braun.) Had Borchetta ever advised her against speaking out? She exhales. “It was just me and my life, and also doing a lot of self-reflection about how I did feel really remorseful for not saying anything. I wanted to try and help in any way that I could, the next time I got a chance. I didn’t help, I didn’t feel capable of it – and as soon as I can, I’m going to.”

Swift was once known for throwing extravagant 4 July parties at her Rhode Island mansion. The Instagram posts from these star-studded events – at which guests wore matching stars-and-stripes bikinis and onesies – probably supported a significant chunk of the celebrity news industry GDP. But in 2017, they stopped. “The horror!” wrote Cosmopolitan, citing “reasons that remain a mystery” for their disappearance. It wasn’t “squad” strife or the unavailability of matching cozzies that brought the parties to an end, but Swift’s disillusionment with her country, she says.

There is a smart song about this on the new album – the track that should have been the first single, instead of the cartoonish ME!. Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince is a forlorn, gothic ballad in the vein of Lana Del Rey that uses high-school imagery to dismantle American nationalism: “The whole school is rolling fake dice/You play stupid games/You win stupid prizes,” she sings with disdain. “Boys will be boys then/Where are the wise men?”

As an ambitious 11-year-old, she worked out that singing the national anthem at sports games was the quickest way to get in front of a large audience. When did she start feeling conflicted about what America stands for? She gives another emphatic ugh. “It was the fact that all the dirtiest tricks in the book were used and it worked,” she says. “The thing I can’t get over right now is gaslighting the American public into being like” – she adopts a sanctimonious tone – “‘If you hate the president, you hate America.’ We’re a democracy – at least, we’re supposed to be – where you’re allowed to disagree, dissent, debate.” She doesn’t use Trump’s name. “I really think that he thinks this is an autocracy.”

As we speak, Tennessee lawmakers are trying to impose a near-total ban on abortion. Swift has staunchly defended her “Tennessee values” in recent months. What’s her position? “I mean, obviously, I’m pro-choice, and I just can’t believe this is happening,” she says. She looks close to tears. “I can’t believe we’re here. It’s really shocking and awful. And I just wanna do everything I can for 2020. I wanna figure out exactly how I can help, what are the most effective ways to help. ’Cause this is just…” She sighs again. “This is not it.”

***

It is easy to forget that the point of all this is that a teenage Taylor Swiftwanted to write love songs. Nemeses and negativity are now so entrenched in her public persona that it’s hard to know how she can get back to that, though she seems to want to. At the end of Daylight, the new album’s dreamy final song, there’s a spoken-word section: “I want to be defined by the things that I love,” she says as the music fades. “Not the things that I hate, not the things I’m afraid of, the things that haunt me in the middle of the night.” As well as the songs written for Alwyn, there is one for her mother, who recently experienced a cancer relapse: “You make the best of a bad deal/I just pretend it isn’t real,” Swift sings, backed by the Dixie Chicks.

How does writing about her personal life work if she’s setting clearer boundaries? “It actually made me feel more free,” she says. “I’ve always had this habit of never really going into detail about exactly what situation inspired what thing, but even more so now.” This is only half true: in the past, Swift wasn’t shy of a level of detail that invited fans to figure out specific truths about her relationships. And when I tell her that Lover feels a more emotionally guarded album, she bristles. “I know the difference between making art and living your life like a reality star,” she says. “And then even if it’s hard for other people to grasp, my definition is really clear.”

Even so, Swift begins Lover by addressing an adversary, opening with a song called I Forgot That You Existed (“it isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference”), presumably aimed at Kanye West, a track that slightly defeats its premise by existing. But it sweeps aside old dramas to confront Swift’s real nemesis, herself. “I never grew up/It’s getting so old,” she laments on The Archer.

She has had to learn not to pre-empt disaster, nor to run from it. Her life has been defined by relationships, friendships and business relationships that started and ended very publicly (though she and Perry are friends again). At the same time, the rules around celebrity engagement have evolved beyond recognition in her 15 years of fame. Rather than trying to adapt to them, she’s now asking herself: “How do you learn to maintain? How do you learn not to have these phantom disasters in your head that you play out, and how do you stop yourself from sabotage – because the panic mechanism in your brain is telling you that something must go wrong.” For her, this is what growing up is. “You can’t just make cut-and-dry decisions in life. A lot of things are a negotiation and a grey area and a dance of how to figure it out.”

And so this time, Swift is sticking around. In December she will turn 30, marking the point after which more than half her life will have been lived in public. She’ll start her new decade with a stronger self-preservationist streak, and a looser grip (as well as a cameo in Cats). “You can’t micromanage life, it turns out,” she says, drily.

When Swift finally answered my question about the moment she would choose in the VH1 Behind The Music episode about herself, the one where her career turned, she said she hoped it wouldn’t focus on her “apocalypse” summer of 2016. “Maybe this is wishful thinking,” she said, “but I’d like to think it would be in a couple of years.” It’s funny to hear her hope that the worst is still to come while sitting in her fairytale living room, the cats pacing: a pragmatist at odds with her romantic monument to teenage dreams. But it sounds something like perspective.

#taylor swift #interview #by taylor #the guardian #lover era #lover album #not sure how I feel about the interviewer's approach...there's a lot of irony in it #but a fun read for us nonetheless

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keneerike · 3 years

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Floyd, Chauvin, and Race in America: Where Do We Go from Here?

[My audio commentary here:

https://soundcloud.com/user-31492767/floyd-chauvin-race-relations-where-do-we-go-from-here-jttg-may-2021]

This article employs race relations as the backdrop for tackling some universal challenges we all face.

It's less about politics than it is about exploring two skills that serve well in all walks:

1) A knack for asking the right questions.

2) The ability to get others aligned with your way of thinking.

Through that prism, it's an intriguing read for anyone.

I've fielded some questions about the Floyd/Chauvin case, now that the verdict has been handed down:

Where do we go from here? What are some of the implications surrounding race relations, public and personal accountability, and activism?

A few thoughts:

1) There are (visible) cracks in the Blue Wall.

John 3:20: "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light."

Exposure to natural light dries up the conditions that allow bacteria to flourish.

Ditto for bad actors.

Public pressure, however misguided, is leading to important questions that are holding municipal departments accountable. It's increasingly-difficult for police unions to sweep criminal malfeasance under the rug.

You'd like to see the public do more of this in other arenas, like public and private education, but independent, critical thinking is seldom found in the middle of a herd.

2) Will More Conversations About Race Lead to (Significant) Change?

Doubtful.

Setting aside the question of what the specific goal is for some of these movements, how often does "talk" actually lead to change?

Intentional, thoughtful action is what gets things done.

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement will struggle to produce meaningful, positive change for reasons I've outlined in the past:

Two problems facing the protest community:

1) Inability to Create Change

2) Sullied Reputation: “Protesters are Thugs.”

“They only have one question: What’s in it for them?

Why should they invest the time and effort to help you, beyond offering empty gestures and lip service? It could be an emotional reason or a financial one.

It could be to create tranquility inside their own minds. You have to give people a reason to get off the sidelines.

Article: Freddie Gray, Dirty Cops, & The Problem With (Peaceful) Protests

As we've seen with many would-be revolutionaries of the past, how the spoils of early victories are divided reveals much about BLM's long-term viability. Integrity of leadership is one of the canaries in the coal mine for spotting movements that can stand the test of time. Unchecked spending from BLM organizers has brought increased scrutiny over how donations are being managed.

BLM leadership putting winning Monopoly strategy to good use.

Most campaigns sputter because they ignore one---or more---of the following tenets:

Three Steps to Producing Effective Community Organizing Campaigns:

1) Provide clear information on the problem, including reasons why people need to join the cause. Use incentives.

2) Present specific actions for participation that further the cause, including easy access to donation links and support for policies that actually move political and economic levers.

3) Routinely examine strategy and tactics, assessing how much progress has been made and whether the current course of action is appropriate for the scope of the problem. Adjust accordingly.

Article: Slacktivism: The Problem With Social Media Movements

Shaming people, especially when your own hands aren't clean, isn't going to get anything beyond nominal concessions.

Most of the old boy network---or, "The Man", to put it more humorously---knows this. That's why they can get on board most any cause, with little fear of any real loss. They know standards for change agents worth supporting have plummeted, so companies are happy to capitalize, picking up market share and goodwill in exchange for token displays of support.

The biggest sports leagues in the world have gotten in on the act, hopping onto the protest bandwagon that first picked up steam a few years ago. A few commercials and planned anthem demonstrations are hollow gestures that will ultimately do nothing to help minority communities advance.

(Although the dollars that have been pledged to aid communities could do some good---if used properly.)

3) How do we avoid being killed by the police?

Stay out of the line of fire.

Looking for a "safe" stance on police-related incidents that won't get you “cancelled”?

Me neither. :)

But hey, this site doesn't shy away from controversy.

If you live in an impoverished community, you're more likely to have interactions with the police. When they're not setting up speed traps to meet monthly quotas, they're patrolling high-crime areas where illegal activity is fiercest.

The cops have mandates to hit areas where their efforts can register the biggest impact. Those tend to be areas with higher concentrations of minorities.

You're much more likely to be hassled by police in East St. Louis than you are in East Hampton.

Although ongoing calls for change may lead to negative unintended consequences for those inner-city zones.

You can only campaign for reduced police presence so long before politicians start to listen. People respond to incentives: Shifts in policy come when jobs get threatened. Pushes to defund the police---an ill-conceived response to relatively-rare high-profile incidents---will lead to an increase in crime. Remove deterrents to crime---police presence, policies that punish quality-of-life infractions---and you'll see anti-social behavior spike.

But if you're paying attention, you already knew that.

That's something to think about in the most vulnerable communities, where per capita income leaves residents least capable of defending themselves when the wolves are at the door.

City life without cops.

So, how do we avoid fatal encounters with the police?

What’s the lesson here?

The onus is on the public to recognize that the police are human, subject to the same fears and frailties that we are. You’ve got to minimize your exposure to danger as much as you can.

Article: What We Learned from Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and Ferguson

Do not resist arrest.

You may have been profiled or detained unlawfully---fair enough. If you're still alive, you will have a chance to fight your case later.

We've got a lot of agency, ability to influence the world around us.

It's up to you whether your run-in with the cops ends in a conversation, a citation, or a trip to the hospital.

And, unfortunately, nowadays one has to define what "resisting arrest" means:

Yelling at the police, attempting to wriggle out of handcuffs, running away, brandishing a knife---these are no-nos that could get you killed.

This is common sense and goes without saying among older generations. They understand you can be respectful without being obsequious.

But in a society where subtle messaging and normative cues are fed to individuals less-practiced in critical thinking, population manipulation is easier to achieve.

Be careful whom you accept marching orders from.

The media has no stake in your individual well-being, so they'll tell you whatever they think will get you agitated and ready to do what they want you to do:

Support the right interests and buy products and services.

Emotional thinkers make great consumers.

I love feedback, so do share your thoughts.

#George Floyd #Derek Chauvin #race relations #Black Lives Matter #police brutality #Controversy #Strategy #Business

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verai-marcel · 5 years

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Midnight Rendezvous (Vampire!Arthur x Fem!Reader, RDR2 Fanfic, 18+, Part 1 of 2)

Summary: It's 1905. Working as a saloon girl in a respectable establishment in a small town west of Tumbleweed, you are intrigued by a man who begins to spend his time sipping whiskey at a corner table and writing in a worn journal. He turns out to be far more than he seems.

Author’s Notes: Finally hopping onto that vampire Arthur bandwagon, because anon requested a fic at the right time.

Tags: vampire Arthur, medium honor Arthur, female reader, sorta virgin reader, biting, blood, gentle sex, rough sex, light angst

AO3 Link is right here!

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

Chapter 1 - Meetings

Word count: 1769

“He’s here again.”

You looked over to the corner of the saloon where a man dressed in a worn blue shirt, a burgundy vest, black ranch pants, and black boots sat down at a small table. He had come in almost every night since the beginning of the week, slowly sipping a whiskey and writing in a journal. Watching him with some curiosity, you noted how he took out that journal from his satchel, placed his old stalker hat onto the table, and started writing, occasionally looking around the room, observing his surroundings.

“Get him to buy more than just one drink tonight, would you?” Your boss, the barkeep, gestured towards him. “You’re usually pretty good at that, ain’t ya?”

“Usually,” you mumbled as you straightened your skirts and sashayed your way to the man in the corner.

“Good evening sir,” you said with a simper, pulling up a chair and sitting coquettishly next to him. “May I ask what’re you writing there?”

He chuckled, a self-deprecating tone laced between his mirth. “Just my idiotic thoughts. Nothin’ too grand.”

Your heart warmed a bit at his humble demeanor. “Can I see?”

He shrugged. “I guess.” Handing his latest page over to you, he sat back and sipped his whiskey slowly, watching as you read his flowing script across the paper.

It was wonderful. You sat, enthralled by his every word, until the last sentence ended and you were forced to stop reading.

You secretly loved to read, a hobby that didn’t match your profession. You were supposed to play the floozy, the flirtatious lady who would offer her companionship to the lonely men that came to the saloon for a drink and be doted upon by you and your fellow saloon girls.

Handing the journal back to the man, you had to swallow before you could speak. “It’s… it’s fantastic.”

The man smiled as he looked down and scratched the back of his head. You could see by the way he tried to hide his face that he wasn’t used to such compliments. “None of the other ladies seemed interested in my writin’. They all just wanted me to stop and drink with’em.”

You felt a bit guilty; you were here to do the same thing. But after reading such wonderful prose, you couldn’t help but be honest. “Well, to be fair, they’re just doing their job.”

The man nodded. “Sure. But you actually asked to read my book.”

“So you’re writing a book?”

He shrugged. “Tryin’ to. Thought it might be… interestin’, I guess.”

You nodded enthusiastically. “It definitely is! The way you write is so unique, so authentic, I loved it!”

The man blinked in surprise, clearly taken aback by your zeal. “Well, I… thank you.”

“What’s your name?”

“Arthur.”

“Like the king.”

He chuckled. “I guess so.”

His smile was warm, like a fireplace on a cold winter night, and you suddenly grew much more interested in him.

***

Ever since that night, you had come up to him every time he came in, asking him questions about his book. He was always happy to see you, and would answer you in an earnest tone. He started to ask your opinion, if the latest paragraph he had written felt a certain way, or if his words were too convoluted.

But then one night, when you came to work a little later than usual, you saw another woman at Arthur’s table. She was one of the newer saloon girls, and she was flirting with him, much more than you did. You could clearly see three whiskey glasses at the table, and when she caressed his arm, he didn’t shy away; not only that, his smile grew.

Your heart cracked a little bit, but you took a deep breath. He was just a patron, no one special.

You were just lying to yourself.

Putting away your emotions to sort out later, you continued to work the rest of the night, avoiding the corner of the saloon.

***

Admittedly, you were distracted and unable to convince enough men to buy more drinks like you normally could. A bit sad that your wages would be lower tonight, you left work at midnight, walking through the alleys to get to your little room in the boarding house. You hated walking along the main road, where cars would sometimes come by, stinking of fumes that irritated your nose. It was about a twenty minute walk, but you hurried home at almost a jog, knowing that at this hour, it wasn’t the safest place to be.

A soft feminine moan made you pause. Was someone in danger? You reached under your skirt and pulled your dagger out of its holster wrapped around your thigh. Inching forward quietly, you peeked around the corner of the nearest building to peer down the other alleyway.

Under the light of a streetlamp, you could make out the profile of two forms: a woman, her back against a wall with her arms and legs wrapped around a man, thrusting against her, his clothes still on, his hat familiar to you.

As she moaned louder, you watched as Arthur leaned in and kissed her neck, making her moan turn into a high pitched cry of pleasure. You recognized her as your newer coworker. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

When he pulled away, you saw a glint, a flash of a fang. Blood stained the corner of his lips before his tongue quickly licked it away. His eyes glowed an ominous red, and he grinned like a cat that had eaten the canary.

It clearly was not a kiss. And you knew, clear as day, that Arthur was a vampire.

You stepped away from the building and quickly scurried home, locked the door, put a chair in front of it, and attempted to sleep.

Sleep did not come to you until the sun rose and you felt safe from the night.

***

You were tired and terrified, for when you came to work that evening, Arthur was sitting in the corner of the saloon once more, writing in his journal. The other woman was nowhere in sight. Was she home sick? Or worse, was she dead?

Then he suddenly looked up and met your eyes. Unable to look away, you couldn’t ignore him when he beckoned you over.

"He's askin' for you," your boss groused. "Don't just stand there, go make your wages."

You gulped and slowly walked over to Arthur, warily smiling. He returned your smile with an easy grin and a wave of his hand to the chair next to him. Feeling as if a lion had invited you to sit beside him, you sat down, perching on the edge of your seat, your back stiff as a rod.

"What's the matter, darlin'?" Arthur asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

"N-nothing!" you replied almost too quickly. You quietly took a deep breath. "How's your writing?"

Arthur watched you silently, not answering you for a while, long enough that you squirmed in your seat. You fidgeted with your dress, your hands bunching up the fabric at your thighs. He finally let out a defeated sigh.

“You saw.”

You nodded.

“And yer scared.”

You nodded again.

“Well, don’t be.”

You looked at him, aghast. “How can you tell me that when I saw you suck the blood out of a woman last night?” you whispered frantically. “I don’t even know if she’s alive—”

“Hi there, sugar,” a sweet voice said. You and Arthur both looked up to see the woman from last night, alive and well, with a scarf around her neck.

“Hullo,” Arthur greeted politely. You just nodded, too dumbstruck to speak.

“If you get bored with that one,” she said, nodding her head towards you, “You know where to find me.” Winking at him, she wandered off, her hips swaying a bit too much for your liking.

“See? She’s fine.”

You turned back to Arthur. “So… you don’t kill your victims?”

“They ain’t victims,” he shot back. “They is… donators.”

You raised an eyebrow at him.

He sighed. “What would I do if I killed everyone I drink from? I’d be found out eventually. Then what? I’d have to move on. Best if I keep a low profile and just take only what I need. And I offer my… services, in return.”

“So you need to…” You couldn’t bring yourself to say the exact words. “Need to have relations before you drink?”

“Blood tastes best, right when a lady lets go,” he said, his voice deepening.

Something inside of you shifted, and you suddenly felt incredibly jealous of the other woman. What would it feel like, to have such a dangerous creature taking you, taking your body and your blood?

You felt a hand on yours, and looked up at him. His eyes, a swirl of green grass, blue sky, and the yellow sun, mesmerized you for a few seconds before you shook your head.

“Don’t try any funny stuff.”

Arthur laughed. “I can’t do any mind tricks. Ain’t one of my abilities.”

“So what can you do?” you asked, as curiosity began to outweigh your fear.

“Well, I’m stronger and faster than a regular person, and my eyesight is real good,” he said matter-of-factly. “My teacher said a lot of yer vampire powers are based off what you was good at when you was alive.”

“Oh, so you weren’t a con man,” you said offhand.

“Nope, sure weren’t,” he confirmed, chuckling.

“You had a teacher?”

“Yep. When she changed me, she said she could teach me how to survive for one year, then I’d have to move on, find my own territory, before our instincts took over and she’d try to kill me.”

You soaked in all of this information. You couldn’t believe it, and yet you had seen it. A real live vampire. You wondered vaguely how old he was. How long he may have been around. Were his friends all gone?

What a sad thought.

“So you can’t be with other vampires?” you asked.

He shook his head and sighed. “It’s in our nature to be alone, I guess.”

Your heart broke, hearing his words tinged with melancholy. You put your other hand on top of his, sandwiching his hand between yours. “Arthur…” You didn’t know what else to say.

He gave you a wry smile, but his eyes were still filled with loneliness. “S’okay, sweetheart.” He touched your arm gently, and began to lean closer to you.

You didn’t pull away.

Leaning in closer, he kissed your cheek tenderly. “Thank you,” he murmured. “Fer bein’ understandin’.”

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

Chapter 2

#rdr2 fanfic #arthur x reader #arthur x fem!reader #vampire arthur #rdr2 #arthur morgan #writing #lemon fanfic #nsft #tumblr request

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bearpillowmonster · 5 years

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Top 15 Movies

I made that Top 15 Games post so I decided to do movies as well, same rules apply here but you’re going to see mostly Marvel and Disney movies anyway so I made it one per franchise such as one Star Wars, One Avengers, One Guardians, with that Guardians Vol. 2, Pirates: Curse of the Black Pearl, Spider-Man: Homecoming were the runner ups. No particular order.

Incredibles: I went to the theaters to see this and I feel so happy that I did, I remember being so impressed with Dash running on the water then beating those goons. It really set the bar and holds up today considering I hold it higher than it’s sequel and it made me a fan of Brad Bird.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse: Am I hopping on the bandwagon here?...Nope! I was making this list and I was going to put either the first Raimi film or Homecoming and I started thinking...why not Spiderverse? I really adore the other ones but there are a few glaring problems with them, this one...I can’t actually name any.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: I really enjoyed this when I saw it, it’s one of those where I can watch it again and again and not get tired of it. I’m not sure why but it was a lot more fun than I expected, it also had ONE of the best villains of the MCU (in my opinion) as well as the worst.

The Losers: I see this as a staircase to the Marvel universe, I mean we have Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans here, what’s not to love. I think we all know what my favorite part was...

The Three Musketeers: Mickey, Donald and Goofy: It did justice to the characters and made a classic story into something new and entertaining. It’s underrated. And who can forget this part:

Tron: Legacy: This or Tron, This or Tron? Both were very good but this one has a little better effects obviously as well as doing a lot of things that the original already does, add Daft Punk’s killer soundtrack in there and you got yourself a formula for an uprising. #TronLives #FlynnLives

Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Good voice acting, cool effects, a nice aesthetic with the glowing lights, crystals, and ancient technology (I guess you can say I like blue lights judging by my previous entry) But I remember first seeing it and immediately feeling the weight from that beginning with Kida’s mom. It’s a nice adventure and makes me wish that it’s sequel wasn’t so iconicly hated because it gives the title a bad name. I refuse to watch the sequel if it really is that bad.

The Lion King: Can you blame me? Do I even have to explain? Animation is gorgeous, designs are peak, music is top notch, and expressions that they get ‘Oh so right’ that no live action remake could ever recapture. This is considered a masterpiece. I can quote it on the daily, remember even the tiniest details and just the amount of times I’ve seen it makes me want to say it IS a part of who I am.

The Avengers: Infinity War was close but this was the cake. You can walk into a room with this playing at any given moment and be like “Oh yeah this is a good part.” They spend every minute doing something interesting.

Captain America: The First Avenger: A lot of people overlook this one because of the other 2 but this one will always be my favorite. I remember seeing it the first time, just came out on DVD and my mom went to her baby shower, me and my dad watched it and she came back AS SOON as it was done, as if this was just to pass that exact amount of time. Cap is a character you want to root for, his morals are worth fighting for. Iron Man may have started the MCU but I say Cap shaped it and made it better, this was the real start (as Avengers was next. Red Skull is just a villain I like, both movie and comic as well.

Baby Driver: I was superhyped to see Spider-Man: Homecoming so I traveled just to go see it as early as I could, I said if anything went wrong, I would go see this. I ended up being fine and waited until this was on DVD. Edgar Wright has some of the best editing in his movies, the way this movie uses music, the tone, the idea of it being in the perspective of the ‘Getaway driver’ it makes it exciting and gives it spunk, it makes you like the character, the music, and heck root for a criminal. I wasn’t a big fan of the big twist everyone likes with the villain but that’s ok.

Inside Out: I went to Disney World and when I learned they were still playing this in theaters there, I dropped everything and went to go see it. Little did I know how right I was because I really enjoyed it. It’s an emotional film, gets me crying probably more than any other film, it really nails what’s it’s talking about...feelings. Mix that with glowful animation, good voice acting and a lesson that makes you think and really ponder.

Guardians of the Galaxy: I thought this would try and be like Star Wars and just be a giant battle in space. Nope! This has charm, character, and maybe a little bit of rudeness but man! I mean escape from prison in zero gravity, freezing in dead space, singing in the middle of everything and once again the villain. Why do I like the underrated villains? I think it’s a good contrast with the goofy personality of the characters to have a serious, brooding, and gritty character. As well as a proper introduction to Thanos (yeah he’s still number 1 villain in my book)

Star Wars: Somewhere, somehow, this had to be on the list. One way or the other, Star Wars is a phenomenon that can’t simply be ignored, with all the controversy and misdirection within the community right now, for some reason I keep getting tossed and turned but I find myself coming back e-v-e-r-y-t-i-m-e! I’ll say A New Hope is my favorite but really, I could say just about all of them. Something about seeing Luke, Vder, Leia, and Han in the same place just tops it off. The witty duo of R2 and 3PO, the original Death Star, the quotable moments that make you wish you were on that planet yet also find yourself relating with the way Luke wanting to get away but at the same time missing his old ways.

Black Panther: I’ll be honest. I don’t really like Black Panther in the comics. I felt like he was a cool secret weapon in the cartoons but I never really gained my appreciation for him until Civil War came out, then I really liked him. I figured out why too, I just really didn’t like how bland his suit was in the comics, I ended up reading a few anyway after the movie. I think he’s worthy of the Infinity Gauntlet like in the comics. Well this movie came out and I saw it opening day to a big crowd, it had good music, good style, a fresh take and blend between ancient and modern styles (kind of like how Atlantis did) as well as giving it a sense of culture, and not shying away from that. It’s almost like the Lion King, I never felt the same way about a film but those two feel similar and for that alone is a feat.

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thevintageconnection · 5 years

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My Favorite Vintage Music: Part I

All graphics created with Canva

Hey, guys! Before we get into some of my favorite vintage music, I want to introduce myself and this blog!

Welcome to The Vintage Connection! I’m Morgan, a college student studying Digital Media and Spanish, who loves vintage aesthetics and content. After helping my grandma at my hometown’s historical society since I was ten, as well as growing up influenced by my grandparents’ and parents’ tastes, I developed my own interests in old music, movies, fashion, and more.

I am often known for recommending old artists like Fleetwood Mac and Sinatra over most current popular music and am ready to share some of my vintage favorites from the 1940s and on to a wider and younger audience via this blog, The Vintage Connection! The blog introduces audiences––anywhere from vintage novices to diehard vintage fans––to my favorites, and how to incorporate history and vintage aesthetics into the modern-day.

As an advocate for equality and activism, I also analyze the relationships between my vintage favorites and similar things today. What does it teach us in the present day? How do we feel about it now? How can we access or incorporate this content into our lives today?

The Vintage Connection is all about the various ways that we are still connected to the past, and how we can ensure that connection remains strong.

If you’re a newbie to the vintage world, or you’re a huge fan, or you are older and actually lived through some of these times, welcome! There’s room for everyone here.

Alright, let’s get into some of my favorite music from each decade, beginning with the 1940s, and how these connect to today!

While I’m not well-versed in much music from the 1940s, I couldn’t leave out some of my favorite pieces of all time!

Billie Holiday - “I’ll Be Seeing You”

What an absolutely gorgeous song to begin the list. It makes me feel a certain nostalgia for a time and a love I’ve never experienced. The piano, the trumpets, her melancholy tone, and the crackle of the old recording all produce such a calming and languid sound that makes you melt into your seat.

Édith Piaf - “La Vie en Rose”

Even though I’ve never been to Paris, I have an enormous adoration for that city. It’s at the top of my travel bucket list. This song makes me feel as if I’m strolling down the cobblestone streets of Paris at night, cafés glowing around me, while the Eiffel Tower shimmers in the distance.

Frank Sinatra - “I Fall in Love Too Easily”

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I have no clue how many times I’ve listened to this song. Whenever it pops up on my playlists, I’ll repeat it over and over and over again. Sometimes when I think of it, I’ll search on YouTube for the clip of him singing it in the movie Anchors Aweigh. I had to link it for you guys so you don’t live any longer without seeing this gorgeous scene. What a beautiful soul. I have a soft spot for young Sinatra, especially in this song.

Ugh. So many favorite songs and artists from this decade! 50s music is often so dreamy.

(Be prepared to read “dreamy” a lot from now on in this post and on the rest of my blog and other social media. It’s one of my favorite words, and I love dreamy content!)

Billie Holiday - “Blue Moon”

Here Billie appears again with another song! I have a particular fondness for the moon, and this song also makes me feel like I’m daydreaming when I listen to it, so it will always be one of my favorites.

Ella Fitzgerald - “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, “I’ve Got a Crush on You”, and “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)”

I meant to choose just one to share, but I love Ella too much. Her music is always so dreamy and wistful. I can listen to it when I’m doing homework, just hanging out, or doing literally anything.

Paul Anka - “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”

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THE EPITOME OF DREAMINESS. This song makes you reminisce of young love, even if you’ve never experienced it. My favorite version of this track is the 1959 version, which features a young Anka. He definitely maintained a beautiful voice in the years following, and still maintains it today, but there’s just something about the original version that is so endearing and calming. Just like with Sinatra, young Anka holds a special place in my heart.

The linked video above is a live performance from 1962, a few years later than the 1959 recording, but it perfectly captures just how people––not just women––were so enamored of him.

Elvis - “Love Me Tender”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight”, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, and “Suspicious Minds”

Okay, here I ran into the same issue as I did with Ella Fitzgerald. I tried to not list too many tracks in one decade, especially several from each artist, but I couldn’t help myself with these. And of course, some of my favorites of Elvis’ are his sad songs. I have a weird obsession with sad songs, and even have a Spotify playlist full of sad music. My love for Elvis definitely comes from my dad, who loves him so much. Thanks, dad! ♥

What a beautiful time for music. I have waaaaay too many favorites from this decade, but I managed to narrow it down to a few!

The Beatles - “Here Comes the Sun”

Do I even have to explain why I love this one? This song always gives me that euphoric feeling of that first day in spring where it’s finally sunny again, you don’t need a winter coat, and the snow is mostly melted.

The Drifters - “This Magic Moment”

As expected from the title, this track is pure magic. The swirling instrumental at the beginning before the vocals come in, and that repeats often during much of the number, reminds me of a Disney movie. This is one of those songs that I would love to twirl around to in a 1950s a-line dress until I fell over from getting too dizzy.

Frank Sinatra - “My Way”

Sinatra appears again, this time with one of his more well-known songs. If this music doesn’t make you want to get up and scream the words, I don’t know what to tell you. This track was an original power anthem.

Etta James - “At Last”

Ah, everyone’s favorite wedding song, even to this day. I love how timeless it is. Even if you’re single this song will make you feel like you’re in love.

Ben E. King - “Stand By Me”

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To end the first part of this list here is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. I don’t know exactly what it is about this piece, but it is one of my favorites of all time. This is another one I can play on repeat nonstop for an hour. Hearing this song always puts a smile on my face, no matter how I’m feeling.

This is a section that I will feature on most, if not all, of my posts, that connects my vintage favorites to today!

I think when people look back on old songs, they tend to focus on the popular white artists of the time and forget about the minorities who often paved the way for various styles of music. I’m always looking for different music to listen to, especially by lesser-known artists and minorities, so if you have any suggestions––and not for just songs––send them my way!

When I listen to some of these songs, especially “This Magic Moment”, I always picture a 1960s dance floor filled with dancing couples. Images like these from movies and old photographs make people of younger generations wish dating, and sometimes life in general, was still like how it used to be back in the day. I do still sometimes yearn to be at a 1950s/60s dance, wearing a gorgeous a-line dress, but I try to not hop on the bandwagon of “I was born in the wrong generation”. I think most of this wish comes from the want to experience a time without modern technology, so I can kind of understand where people are coming from. I never sympathize too much, though, as society is still full of issues today, and I could do without the extra racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. of the past.

Thankfully, all of these classics are fairly easy to find online today: on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, etc.

For convenience, here’s a link to my Spotify playlist of these songs!

If you are looking for a more comprehensive list of vintage music from the 1940s to 1960s, check out this other playlist of mine, called “Darling”, that features almost 100 vintage tracks. I add to this playlist all the time!

I absolutely adore creating playlists for different moods and situations. Follow me on Spotify (it’s on my personal account for now) and check out any of my 50+ playlists!

Stay tuned for Part II of my favorite vintage music, which will continue from the 1970s to 1980s! I’ll update the Top Vintage Favs playlist when I post Part II!

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Morgan 💕

Social Media Links!

Twitter: @connect_vintage

Instagram: @connect_vintage

(Personal) Spotify: Morgan Krull

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tfcrp · 5 years

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THE FOXHOLE COURT: DECEMBER 10-DECEMBER 16

ONLINE:

“Results in the Southeastern District came right down to the wire, but with the Foxes beating the Gamecocks 5-2 and the Jackrabbits beating the Dolphins 3-2, the Foxes inched ahead in the tiebreaker, pulling them ahead of the Jackrabbits for the fourth and final spot in the Spring Championships—by a single goal.”

“How does it feel for the Foxes to make it to Championships for the second year in a row? ‘It’s amazing,’ said junior striker Leo Duarte, who played for the first time since October after breaking his hand in a game against the Ravens. Perhaps even more shocking than the Foxes pulling off a last-minute victory was Duarte, who scored his first goal after a season marred by injury and poor play. On Friday, the relief was palpable: 'I’m really hoping that there will be more goals from me come Championships,’ Duarte added.”

“Freshman backliner Basil Walcott, seemed to agree, when he wasn’t sniping with reporters. ‘The Foxes are champions: never forget that,’ Walcott said. Bold words from a player whose team, prior to last year, hadn’t even qualified for the Championships anytime in recent memory. We’ll see if the Foxes are able to back up those words come January.”

- COLLEGE EXY ONLINE, “SOUTHEAST SHOWDOWN: FOXES EKE OUT VICTORY.”

“The 2018 regular season is in the books, and after a season of ups and downs and some incredible upsets, we know who will be fighting for the Class I title in the new year:”

“Southeastern District: 1) The Edgar Allan Ravens; 2) The Breckenridge Jackals; 3) The Belmonte Terrapins; 4) The Palmetto State Foxes. Even with the top two spots falling into predictable place, the Southeast was more competitive than ever this year, and after the dust settled on a photo finish, the surprise victors were none other than the Foxes, who just managed to sneak into fourth place and back into the Championships for a second year in a row.”

“Northeastern District: 1) The Ohio State Buckeyes; 2) The Penn State Lions; 3) The Boston Terriers; 4) The Depaul Blue Demons; 5) The Binghampton Bearcats. The story in the Northeast is the story of the rise of the Buckeyes, who took first place in their district for the first time in history—but also the story of the fall of the Lions, who just barely managed to hold onto second place, after losing their entire coaching staff in the wake of scandal. But this story could be gearing up for a twist: in the odds bracket for the first time, the Buckeyes will have to fight through the other top-ranked teams to get to the semi-finals, while the Lions will have a much easier path through the evens bracket.”

“Southwestern District: 1) The UT Longhorns; 2) The UNLV Rebels; 3) The Arizona Sundevils; 4) The Baylor Bears. The Longhorns continue to hold onto the top spot, as the Sundevils continue to fall just short in their quest for past greatness, falling behind not only the Longhorns but the surging Rebels as well.”

“Northwestern District: 1) The USC Trojans; 2) The UC Davis Aggies; 3) The Washington State Cougars; 4) The UCLA Bruins; 5) The Idaho Vandals. While the rest of the districts have seen some upheaval, the Northwest remains predictable—save for the Vandals, who qualified for the Championships for the first time since making the jump to Class I in 2015.”

- COLLEGE EXY ONLINE, “WELCOME TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: YOUR TOP 18 TEAMS.”

“Sadly, since the Foxes pulled out a win, we can’t offer you any Fox tears—but can we interest you in a Vixen absolutely eating it over and over and over again? That’s right, we’ve got the gif, and we’ve been staring at it nonstop since Friday. Just when you thought this squad couldn’t be any more embarrassing, they find a way to pull it off. What is that saying again? Laughter (at others) is the best medicine? Take it from us, this will do the trick.”

“It looks like two other Foxes have taken each other off the market—for now. We can’t say we’re surprised when two filthy rich trainwrecks hook up, but it does seem like an exercise in narcissism, doesn’t it? And if this party boy can keep it in his pants for his new lady love, we’ll be shocked.”

“The victorious Foxes might have tried to keep us out, but we’ve got gossip for you anyway. And we’ve got a riddle: what’s sloppy and drunk and red all over? Yelling at one boy, disappearing for some private time with another girl, and ending up with someone else at the end of the night? Seems like someone was busy.”

- FOXWATCH, YOUR SOURCE FOR GOSSIP AT PALMETTO STATE UNIVERSITY

ON CAMPUS:

Even with finals rapidly approaching, the Palmetto campus is awash in orange and good spirits: and with both the Exy and football teams heading into their respective Championships, the stupid body seems willing to hop on the Exy bandwagon and temporarily claim the Foxes as their own.

With their spot in the Championships secure and no Exy left to play this semester, the Foxes enter into an abbreviated practice schedule, allowing them to maintain their conditioning and keep their on-court skills sharp, but still recover from their push to the postseason and conserve some energy for the coming Championships, where there will be a lot more brutal Exy to play.

The host for this year’s Winter Banquet is none other than the Edgar Allan Ravens. After an undefeated season that saw them squarely on top of the Southeastern District once more, the Ravens will welcome teams from both the Southeastern and Northeastern Districts into Castle Evermore on Saturday, December 15.

Of all the teams in the Foxes’ district, none are further away than Edgar Allan, and the over seven hour journey is a reminder of what’s to come next semester, when they take on even farther-flung teams.

With their banquet attire in tow, the Foxes and Vixens meet in the Court parking lot on Saturday morning to begin their journey. While they have no desire to stay in Ravens country for longer than they have to, the cumbersome journey means they’ll be staying overnight, and so when they arrive in West Virginia they check into their hotel and begin getting ready for the evening ahead.

(Further details about the Winter Banquet will be posted on Friday night!)

#tfcupdate #leo duarte #basil walcott #aaaand we've got a lot of gossip so....#first bullet:#ripley van sant #second bullet:#sasha hart ashby #(more leo)#third bullet:#rosemarie tommasi #caleb fournier #mckenna monroe #patch doe

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anoutlandishfanfic · 7 years

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Sound of Music AU - Roll Call

This delightful tidbit is where Nurse Claire (Maria) meets Captain Fraser's (Captain von Trapp's) seven children for the first time. ;) You can find more here

Enjoy!

...

One - two - three - four - five - six. There should be seven.

Sure enough, there was an obvious space between children numbers four and five. Loud footfalls were heard as a young girl flew thru the door and skidded into position.

Captain Fraser stepped forward with an outstretched hand and eyebrow raised in silent rebuke. The girl handed him a book, her finger still holding it slightly ajar to mark her page. She made a small noise of dismay as he clapped it shut and handed it to me.

Collected Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the spine read. A mystery lover reading far above her age group.

Having collected his contraband, he inspected his troops.

Each child had something at fault to be fixed and he corrected them without so much as a word. His eldest’s son’s posture wasn't all it could be, the youngest daughter’s bow was coming loose from her auburn curls.

He resumed his place at my side and cleared his throat, “Now, children, this is your new nanny, Mistress Beauchamp. Ye may address her as Nurse Claire or Mistress Claire.”

Seven sets of eyes fixed on me with renewed interest, their gazes ranging from mild curiosity to downright disapproval. I swallowed hard and tried to smile at them.

Buck up, Beauchamp, the fiends can smell fear.

"Listen carefully, Nurse, so that ye ken how to call them when ye want them.” He glanced at me to admonish this before turning back to his children. “Ye will step forward and give yer name when ye hear yer signal.”

He pulled a metal whistle from his pocket and began an indistinguishable series of dots and dashes, the tone and pitch each command deafening in the confines of the room. I placed one hand to my ear as I tried to hear the names being shouted at me as the children bopped in and out of their line.

“Ellen!” “William!” “Janet!” “Brian!” “Marsali!” “Joan!”

All went according to the Captain’s instructions until we got to the littlest of the Frasers. Freckled cheeks flushed, the sweetheart stomped forward, just like her siblings, but returned to her place without a word. I caught her father's expression out the corner of my eye as I tried to hide my smile. His slight amusement was tempered with undeniable pride as he prompted her again.

Her little chin lifted in determination as she repeated her actions, still without introducing herself. It was the Captain’s turn to hide a grin, something he did with great skill.

“Margaret,” he provided.

Little Margaret pulled a face and it was all I could do not to laugh.

Gracious, she was adorable.

He handed me something, saying, “Let's see how well ye listened.”

The hell was I going to whistle for a child like a dog.

“Oh, don't trouble yourself, sir. I'll learn their names,” I tried to brush him off. “You've given them such beautiful names, it would be a shame not to use them.”

He sighed, obviously losing his patience with me. “Nurse, Lallybroch is a large estate and I willna have ye shouting after them like a fishmonger. Take it, the children will help ye.”

I accepted the metal tool of belittlement from him. Of course they would help me, they'd help me right out of a job. I wasn't born yesterday.

“When I want ye, ye’ll hear this,” he continued and began another pattern of notes.

“Stop!” I cut him off. He and the children stared at me, eyes wide with surprise. “I will not answer to a whistle, sir. Whistles are for dogs and other beasts, not for children and certainly not for me.”

He gave me a cold look before turning to leave, apparently finished with my instructions. I blew a short blast on my whistle.

He may be done with me, but I wasn't done with him.

The man froze, visibly bristling, then turned to face me.

“You didn't tell me your signal.” I said simply.

He rose up to his full height and glared at me, “Ye can call me Captain.”

With that, he was gone. I stared out the door he had just disappeared thru and heard a chorus of giggles behind me. Maybe they were children after all. I turned back to them and they all snapped back to attention.

“At ease, soldiers.” I commanded, rolling my eyes heavenward when they immediately responded. “Now that we're alone, could you tell me your names again? And how old you are?”

The eldest Fraser stepped forward. Her dark chestnut hair was plaited over one shoulder, her eyes flashing blue fire as she spoke. “I'm Ellen. I'm sixteen years old and I don't need a nanny.”

I smiled, “We’ll just be good friends then, shall we?”

With a look of skepticism, Ellen stepped back and her brother, a tall and redheaded chap, stepped forward. “I'm William. I'm fourteen and I'm impossible.”

“Are you?” I laughed, “Who told you that?”

“Mistress Josephine, four nannies ago,” he answered, clearly proud of himself.

The next child, a young teen with freckles and strawberry blonde curls, moved forward, announced “I'm Marsali,” and stepped back into formation.

This one was going to be trouble.

“You didn't tell me how old you were, Janet,” I grinned, letting her know she didn't fool me for a second.

“I'm Marsali,” The bookworm stepped forward and shot a look of superiority towards her elder sister. “She's Janet. She's thirteen years old, and you're smart. I'm ten, and I think your outfit is the ugliest I ever saw.”

I looked down at my clothes as the real Marsali stepped back in line. I knew I wasn't wearing the latest fashion, but what was wrong with jeans and a button up blouse?

“Marsali, you shouldn't say that.” A chubby cheeked boy between Janet and Marsali scolded.

“Why not? Don't you think it's ugly?” She retorted.

“Of course, but it's not nearly as bad as Nanny Louise’s.” He explained in a matter of fact way, then stepped forward to introduce himself. “I'm Brian. I'm eleven. I'm incorrigible.”

Grinning, I responded, “Congratulations."

“What's incorrigible?” He asked, smiling back.

“I think it means you want to be treated like a boy, not a man.”

Satisfied with my answer, he stepped back in line and the next child stepped forward. She looked up at me shyly, motioning me to come closer. I did so and she took my hand.

“I'm Joan, and I'm going to be seven on Tuesday,” her voice was so sweet and innocent, “and I'd like a pink parasol.”

I winked at her, earning me an even sweeter smile. “Pink is my favorite too.”

Little Margaret stomped her foot beside me and I knelt in front of her. “Yes, sweetheart, and you're Margaret?”

Beaming at me, now that we were on the same level, she held up all five fingers on her left hand. A leftie perhaps? “You're five years old?” I feigned astonishment, much to her delight. “Why, you're almost all grown up!”

Margaret and Joan shared a giggle, completely disregarding their former rigid formality. A look down the line told me the rest had as well. They now studied me in wary curiosity.

Who could blame them? Twelve nannies in, what, five years? That's a new nanny every five months, on average. And hadn't Captain Fraser mentioned that the last one only stayed two days?

“Can I tell you a secret?” I asked in a loud whisper, now that I had their full attention. “I've never been a nanny before.”

Janet got a mischievous gleam in her eye and I suddenly regretted voicing that thought. “You mean you don't know anything about what you're supposed to do?”

I shrugged, deciding to run with it since the cat was already out of the proverbial bag. “Not a thing. I could bandage a wound with my eyes closed but I haven't the foggiest idea what to do with children.”

Brian snickered as Janet closed in on me. “Well,” she began slowly, “the best way to start is to tell Father to mind his own business.”

I tipped my head back and laughed outright. I had to admit, the idea was tempting. William eagerly hopped on Janet's advice bandwagon as the rest of them crowded around me, “And never come to dinner on time!”

Marsali giggled, adding, “Never eat your soup quietly!”

Brian slurped loudly in my ear before practically shouting “Always blow your nose during desert!”

“Don’t listen to them, Nurse Claire!” A new voice sounded from behind me and I turned to see Margaret glaring at her siblings with all the wrath a five year old could muster, which was a considerable amount.

“Oh?” I chuckled. “Why is that?”

Throwing her arms about me, she proclaimed, “Because I like you!”

My heart felt like it was about to melt into a puddle right then and there. These children were so precious and they desperately needed the love I could give them.

I hugged precious little Margaret as a boisterous voice announced the housekeeper’s arrival. “Alright, children, ye best be off on yer walk. 'Tis half past two an’ ye ken how yer father gets when ye are behind yer time,” the plump woman ensconced in an apron commanded as she began to shoo the children out of the room. “Dinna dawdle. Quick, quick, quick.”

They reluctantly obeyed, leaving by a door I hadn't noticed before. The younger girls peeked over their shoulder to catch a last glimpse of me before going out and my heart skipped a beat.

“Nurse Claire, I'm Lallybroch’s housekeeper. Ye can call me Mrs Fitz, as everyone else does,” she extended a callused hand and I shook it.

“Pleased to meet you, and do call me Claire,” I requested. “‘Nurse’ is far too formal.”

Mrs Fitz shook her head, giving me a compassionate look. “If it isna formal, it isna acceptable a’ Lallybroch. Come, I'll show ye to yer room.”

She led the way thru the door the children had exited from and I caught a quick glimpse of them as we started up the stairs.

“Poor things,” I commented quite to myself. I thought I heard Mrs Fitz make some sort of Scottish noise of amusement, but was distracted by a sudden movement in my pocket. I dropped my bags in surprise as whatever it was made a desperate attempt to flee. My hand closed around something slimy as I removed the wriggling creature and I let go of it on reflex.

A rather perturbed looking frog hopped away from my feet as Mrs Fitz spoke, “Ye got off lucky, 'twas a snake wi’ Nanny Louise."

#outlander #outlander fanfic #sound of music au #roll call

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andrewuttaro · 5 years

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New Look Sabres: 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs according to the Sabres

We know how to cheer for other teams. Don’t pretend you don’t. It’s been eight years since the Buffalo Sabres last had a postseason berth and if you’re telling me you haven’t found other teams to cheer for in those postseasons since then you’re lying. Doing this with some teams feels more wrong than others and its all really just different drugs to stave off the sorrow of the Sabres not making it again. That said, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are just too compelling not to dive headlong into. If you’re a hockey fan its must-watch programming. If you’re not, it’s probably the best entryway into the sport. I’ll be really honest and say watching the playoffs is how I got into NHL Hockey. It’s the best hockey on earth and players, past and present, are on record saying its war. It is a two-month gauntlet for the players, and it hurts like hell by all accounts. Luckily, we don’t need to actually play the game. If you’re a former player I’d be honored to hear what you have to say about it but either way it’s just too good to ignore. Even as other teams duke it out for Lord Stanley’s Cup there is still that feeling of missing the Sabres. So today we’re going to look at the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs according to the Buffalo Sabres… or Buffalo Sabres fans at least. It’s going to break down into three parts: general rooting interests, former Sabres, and predictions. We’ll start with a general guide of which teams to cheer for and which teams you shouldn’t cheer for from a Sabres perspective. Former Sabres is a pretty self-explanatory section but its not always easy to cheer for those who used to wear the Blue and Gold. Last season one of my favorite former Sabres, Brian Gionta, found himself on the Boston Bruins roster in the playoffs. That was a confusing feeling! Making some predictions at the end is the fun part you read through all this for. If you want to be a jerk then go ahead and read ahead but I think we’ll have fun before we get to that point! With no further ado, let’s do that Hockey.

Sabres fans rooting for good playoff hockey have some pitfalls to avoid. This postseason we will, for the second postseason in a row, get the single solitary scenario that justifies rooting for the Boston Bruins if you don’t have a personal connection: a playoff series with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A lot of our friends up in Toronto are feeling this series is a foregone conclusion. A smart and happy Sabres fan will hope those losers are right. I think its pretty safe to feel confident the Lightning will polish off whoever survives this series, but you got to root against the Maple Leafs. That’s one of the most fundamental rules. Speaking of Tampa, the President’s Trophy winners generally don’t win the Cup but if you’re rooting for such a goliath of a division rival you better hop on that bandwagon from square one. If they’re the feel-good story by the time we get to the Conference Finals its going to feel kinda dirty honking their horn. 100 percent you need to root against the Carolina Hurricanes no matter what. Fuck those guys for a million reasons from a Sabres perspective. If you’re pulling for the Washington Capitals to repeat like the Pens did you probably should do that from the start as well but either way Caps versus Canes will be a fun series. Columbus stands out as the something-special team in the East this year so I might hop on that wagon from the start, but I know that’s a risky bet for a lot of reasons, not least of which that they’re taking on Tampa in the first round. You may be shocked that I labeled the Blue Jackets the special team in the East and not the New York Islanders. I wish nothing but good things on Robin Lehner and we’ll get to him later, but I can’t imagine a fan base more up their own asses right now. They just don’t deserve it the way Columbus sports fans need anything from the Jackets right now in the postseason. I don’t know how you root for the Penguins as a Sabres fan. Like seriously, if you are then comment on this and tell me why, you madman. That’s gross. The Pens-Isles series might put out levels of fan toxicity that will break all prior bad-take records. On the Western Side of the bracket St. Louis stands out as the fuck them team. We’ll talk about former Sabre Ryan O’Reilly’s sway on this in a bit but its my feeling that if you do the inverse of what the Sabres did this season in having a great second half than you can go fuck yourselves. I trust the Winnipeg Jets to take care of that business. There is still enough hatred for Dallas to root for Nashville in that series and the two other Western Conference matchups are toss-ups in terms of Sabres fan interests. Personally, I’ll be rooting for the Sharks over the Golden Knights because the Knights have had their fun and my father-in-law is from the Bay Area. Calgary versus Colorado is probably the series I am most likely to forget happened in this year’s postseason.

Now: former players. There is an art to rooting for former Sabres in the playoffs. You got to tread lightly in certain circumstances. Ryan O’Reilly and Robin Lehner are the big tickets this postseason and I am not going to pretend to speak the fan consensus on what we want to happen to them. With those guys this is my opinion. Ryan O’Reilly had annoying quirks and didn’t do as good as he could have here in Buffalo. That said, he was scape-goated for the disaster that was the 2017-2018 season in many ways. I for one am pulling for him. I’m rooting against his team, so I suppose I want him to score a lot in a losing series. Robin Lehner on the other hand is a less confounding conundrum. There is reason to wish the best for him. He’s a recovering addict and he’s getting his life back together on a team that is doing a fantastic job after their superstar left. For that reason alone, we should probably just cheer for the guy. If you’re one of those all-or-nothing defend-my-city types who takes issue with his comments about a toxic media and atmosphere in Buffalo then I suppose that’s you’re prerogative. He also went out of his way to give Jason Botterill props so maybe cool down. The rest of the former Sabres in this year’s playoffs reads like a list of punchlines from a past era. Jaroslav Halak is a Bruin for these playoffs and he maybe platooning it with Tuuka Rask given the organization’s distrust of Rask for no good reason. Halak was briefly a member of the 2014 tank Buffalo Sabres. Nobody remembers that and whatever, right? Tyler Ennis is a Toronto Maple Leaf. He’s being used as a fourth liner up there and its been ok for him this year. Unfortunately, he’ll get the same treatment O’Reilly gets from me this postseason: do well in a losing series. San Jose has Evander Kane and unless you’re a real patronizing hockey dad I can’t imagine Sabres fans will have trouble cheering for the player or the team in that case. I want the Sharks to win the Cup to be perfectly clear. Chad Ruhwedel will play another postseason with the Pittsburgh Penguins. No offense to Chad but I just feel nothing for him as a former Sabre. Taylor Fedun made the playoffs with the Dallas Stars but again, nothing on the feels spectrum about him. William Carrier is still on the Vegas Golden Knights. I was interested in his play as a Sabre for about ten seconds in 2017. Finally, there is the Winnipeg Jets who have everyone who we were hot and bothered about in 2013 in terms of prospects. That’s all a long time ago and when it comes to cheering interest I think those feelings are probably pretty moot at this point. That said, I still see Tyler Myers jerseys around Buffalo so maybe that’s not a good take. Grill me in the comments if you’re a Sabres fan really pulling for the Jets.

Predictions. I have a better record predicting March Madness than the Stanley Cup Playoffs; but I’m not into basketball and Lord Stanley’s Cup is the closest thing to an Old Testament-style idol in my life. When it comes to who wins the 30-pound silver beauty I struggle between logic and feels. My heart tells me San Jose wins the whole thing, but my head tells me Tampa Bay. NHL.com had a grossly high number of commentators’ pick Boston to win there way to the Cup Final and my repulsion to that prospect is the perfect example of my bias. Buffalo rivals disgust me so much that it clouds my ability to do this logically. On the other hand, I’m too logical to pick upsets like Columbus over Tampa or St. Louis over Winnipeg so perhaps I’m the worst possible guy to go to for playoff predictions. It’s time to stop beating around the bush: here are my predictions. In the east the first-round winners are Tampa in 7, Boston in 7, Washington in 5, New York Islanders in 6. The second round goes Tampa over Boston and Washington over New York in my book. The East Final will go to seven games again but in this rematch of last year Tampa wins. Out West its Calgary in 6, San Jose in 7, Nashville in 5 and Winnipeg in 6 in the first round. The West Semifinals will see San Jose prosper over Calgary and Winnipeg knock out Nashville again. The West Final will be an absolute War that goes to seven games between San Jose and Winnipeg before the Sharks limp across the finish line into the Stanley Cup Final. And then the drama really happens: an older Sharks team battered from three hard rounds edges out Tampa in the first seven game Stanley Cup Final we’ve seen since 2011. I can’t help but envision a tired, old Joe Thornton hanging his body over the Stanley Cup having finally done it. I’ve never rooted for a California team in anything, but I’d like to continue the trend of first-time Cup winning teams, please! As we said: when the Buffalo Sabres aren’t in it we’re just cheering for a bunch of malarkey come the postseason, aren’t we? It’s just too fun to watch, eh? Well those are my picks and I am prepared to be grilled for them. I know they’re not going to be perfect and I’m at peace with that.

This is technically the first post of the new, New Look Sabres Season. With the Sabres failing to clinch a postseason berth in spectacular fashion there is nothing I’ll be writing about on this blog until… June? Yeah June probably. This is my offseason I guess: just sitting back and watching the real season. If the Sabres announce a new coach before someone raises the silver chalice I may write about it but don’t hold your breath. I think we are all on the same page that whoever is hired as the next coach will need to see an offseason that builds a newer, better version of the Sabres before we’re excited again. I know I feel that way and I’m the optimist. Like, comment and share this blog. If you want a more intensive exploration of the past season than the Season Retrospective went up before this post on the blog and it’s a real long piece of work by New Look Sabres standards. I’ll be reading some of the postgame posts myself, I am going to miss the Sabres and now I have something additional for reflection beyond highlight videos. Nice. Until the Sabres bring us together again: Let’s Go Buffalo!

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Sign Jeff Skinner. Sign Jeff Skinner. Sign Jeff Skinner. Sign Jeff Skinner. Sign Jeff Skinner.

#buffalo sabres #hockey #blog #nhl

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williegomez35 · 4 years

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5 Reasons To Visit Greenville

5 Reasons to Visit Greenville, South Carolina this Summer,

…and maybe move there yourself!

Greenville, South Carolina is a little slice of alpine paradise, situated at a major travel nexus connecting New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Florida. If you thought no town is perfect, guess again!

With a plethora of things to do, an economy on the rise, and some of the best landscape in North America, Greenville may just become your new hometown. And we certainly wouldn’t be surprised if you hopped on the boat and called residential movers to move you to this wonderful city!

1. Majestic Views of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Totally Gasp-worthy

Greenville is nestled snugly at the feet of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which beckon to those seeking adventure and a return to nature. Stunning vistas can be found on the many hiking trails in the area, just waiting for you to witness them. With so much natural beauty surrounding Greenville, it becomes clear where it got its name.

There are so many different parks and nature trails in the area, I couldn’t possibly list them all. Whether you’re interested in day hikes, camping, fishing, hunting, or maybe just viewing them from the comfort of your car, the Blue Ride Mountains have a bit of something for everyone.

2. Big-City Amenities, Small-Town Charm

All of the Benefits, None of the Headache

Big cities tend to be crowded, noisy, dirty, and cursed with continuous traffic. Small towns tend to lack certain modern amenities that residents of larger places have become accustomed to. Greenville eliminates both of these problems, while achieving the best of both worlds.

With a steadily rising population of 65 thousand residents, Greenville is large enough to attract common-place and beloved national business while still feeling and operating with a small-town vibe. The residents are friendly, and welcome visitors and new neighbors alike.

Gas is cheap, amenities prices are low, and cost of living is actually affordable! And as an added bonus to any who are tempted to migrate, there are 10 Universities and colleges within driving-distance of Greenville, as well as the best public schooling in the region.

Whether you come from a cultured, modern big city, or a sleepy, humble small town, you’ll feel right at home in Greenville, no matter where you’re from!

3. Takin’ a Trip Downtown

Culture, History, Beauty… and Trolleys!

A trip into historic downtown Greenville is well worth your time. With a smorgasbord of shops, galleries, and restaurants, the opportunities for fun are endless. Perhaps you want to visit a high-class art museum as well as spend the afternoon being wined and dined by some of the best chefs in the region?

Simple! Just tear your mesmerized eyes away from the paintings and sculptures at the Museum and Gallery at Bob Jones University and hitch a ride with one of the newly upgraded trolley-cars to your very own Greenville culinary tour! Gorgeous architecture blends stunningly into the picturesque landscape, lending downtown a sense of beauty and charm that is hard to replicate.

Countless venue options to choose from means there’s a constant list of new events and shows passing through. A typical weekend in Greenville, South Carolina may host as many as five different unique events. The excitement never ends in Greenville, come and see for yourself.

4. Water, Water Everywhere!

Get Ready to Make a Splash

Greenville is within short driving distance of not one, but two waterparks, each technically classifying as aquatic heaven. Spend your time floating peacefully down a lazy river, or go all out and brave the mega slides, whatever floats your boat! Not a fan of waiting in line?

Try a kayaking trip down the scenic Green River Gorge; or plan a whitewater adventure with Wildwater to go rafting down the Chatooga River, a beautiful stretch of freshwater rafting amidst some of the most prime landscape in South Carolina.

Looking for something a little more… calm? Well, paddle on over to Drift Float & Spa, a state-of-the-art meditative spa fully equipped with mind-bending sensory deprivation tanks that will have you floating on cloud nine. Greenville is absolutely fantastic for those of us who are pretty certain we spent a past life or two as a fish.

5. Local Suds Ain’t No Duds

See-It-to-Believe-It Local Beer Scene

Greenville boasts some of the best locally-made beer in the country, and has enough breweries to make a pub-crawl turn into a pub-trek. Try out some farmhouse-style beer crafted in the old-school way out at the Birds Fly South Ale Project, then walk next door to the taco shop for some seriously good food.

Looking for something with more of a local specialty kind of vibe? Thomas Creek Brewery has got your back, with its hand-crafted ales, stouts, and IPA’s made with fresh, pure water from the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of town. If you’re interested in more of an eat-and-drink combo, why not take a peek at the Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant? Their Upstate Kölsch was made specifically for the region, matching a blonde ale with sunny Greenville.

For those who enjoy live music and hanging out with the buds, Quest Brewing Co. has it all. A backyard stage hosts musicians most nights, and food trucks frequent the cozy bar for hungry customers. Last, but definitely not least, is a brewery that has a major claim to fame. Yee-Haw Brewing Company in downtown showcases the World Beer Cup award-winning Dunkel, as well as pretty much everything else you could dream of.

After you’re nice and toasty, you can show your friends how awesome you are by whooping them at any of the yard games available outside.

Summary

Greenville has captured the heart and soul of many a person over the years, and it’s easy to see why. The population has been growing recently as more and more folks realize just how amazing Greenville really is. Many people call upon their movers to get on the bandwagon and move to this wonderful city.

With so many things to do, explore, and experience, a person could spend a lifetime in Greenville and still want more. Come and see for yourself, but as you’re packing your house and family to move there, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

The post 5 Reasons To Visit Greenville appeared first on Busy Beez Movers.

from https://busybeezmovers.com/reasons-to-visit-greenville-sc/

from Busy Beez Movers - Blog https://busybeezmovers.weebly.com/blog/5-reasons-to-visit-greenville

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wiliamhagerman1 · 4 years

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5 Reasons To Visit Greenville

5 Reasons to Visit Greenville, South Carolina this Summer,

…and maybe move there yourself!

Greenville, South Carolina is a little slice of alpine paradise, situated at a major travel nexus connecting New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Florida. If you thought no town is perfect, guess again!

1. Majestic Views of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Totally Gasp-worthy

2. Big-City Amenities, Small-Town Charm

All of the Benefits, None of the Headache

Whether you come from a cultured, modern big city, or a sleepy, humble small town, you’ll feel right at home in Greenville, no matter where you’re from!

3. Takin’ a Trip Downtown

Culture, History, Beauty… and Trolleys!

4. Water, Water Everywhere!

Get Ready to Make a Splash

5. Local Suds Ain’t No Duds

See-It-to-Believe-It Local Beer Scene

After you’re nice and toasty, you can show your friends how awesome you are by whooping them at any of the yard games available outside.

Summary

The post 5 Reasons To Visit Greenville appeared first on Busy Beez Movers.

from Busy Beez Movers https://busybeezmovers.com/reasons-to-visit-greenville-sc/ from Busy Beez Movers https://busybeezmovers1.tumblr.com/post/620583655569604608

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