#[i understand fyi. just board is a bit... not smart]

[i-give-chess-pieces-to-people]

In my language the rook is called a “top” and when you say something is “top” in my language you’re saying something is great

So all I’m saying is top is top

Right! ...I think.

[Board is having a bit of trouble understanding what you said, but figures its probably a compliment to the rook.]

[sweet-rabbit]

Have a sample of chapter 2 of A Most Peculiar Fondness that was SUPPOSED to be posted this week but, uh, it's growing in length and needs to be split up into two chapters and I am of no clue to how long this fic will be now. With the bits taken out for a different chapter I got 14k words and STILL need to finish those sections. But yeah, proof of concept right here (that is not really edited, fyi):

Without alerting him, Mithrun pressed his palm firmly against the floor molding, a click being heard before the wall practically shifted to the side to widen the line to a gap. They then heard a gasp from the other side. Kabru stood, pulling at Mithrun to follow as they watched the wall move to the side and the tapestry flip up revealing a servant. This one was not the red haired gnome, but a half foot boy. Most likely a kitchen boy. He appeared quite startled to see the two of them on the other side, probably not used to seeing the Lord and Lady of a house at all. Or perhaps it was Mithrun still being in just his chemise. A very probable answer given the boy's wide eyes glued onto his wife, his large, rounded ears becoming redder by the moment. Kabru was concerned they were going to give the entire staff blood pressure issues before their stay was complete. They were apparently just that good at being undercover as newlyweds. With a cough to gain attention onto himself, Kabru said, "Apologies, young lad! My wife seems to have tripped and unlocked a servant entryway by mistake." Standing up straight from his slouched position, the boy stiffly bowed forward. "Not to worry, sir!" he proclaimed as he quickly stood back up, still stiff as a board. "I shan't tell a soul about your dalliance!" Kabru held in a groan. That was what this looked like, wasn't it? But, well, this would work in their favor. "It is very much appreciated. I trust, also, that we have not disturbed any of your duties?" "None at all, sir! Just checkin' the fires from our end. Gotta make sure coal and wood's where it needs to be, wouldn't want our Masters to be cold during their, uh, h-holiday…" Ignoring the boy's obvious thoughts, Kabru's brain decided to work in another direction. A child, despite being stuck working like an adult, was still a child and thus easier to convince of aiding in what they would view as an adventure. And Kabru desperately needed at least somebody who could inform him more clearly of this manor's ins and outs. Not to mention the more lowly a servant, the less attention was drawn to them should they scamper off so long as their duties would be fulfilled. Further, he noted the boy had a pale of coal with him, confirming his status of kitchen boy. There was typically only one and even with the House of Kerensil's extravagance, there was not way the Lord and Lady would allow more then one when serving just their unwanted son and his tall man of a husband. This lead to a prime opportunity to excuse him to their quarters for a quick chit chat. Perfect. Mind made up, Kabru dug in his pocket and retrieved a gold coin. Seeing the kid's eyes widen, Kabru leaned forward with it to keep his attention. "And you've done a marvelous job of keeping the fires strong! I could very much use a smart boy like yourself in regards to making our stay here more comfortable. Would it trouble your day if you were to… report to me about any concerns you may hear from the higher staff? I'm sure you can understand that I, as a tall man, worry that being in such a position over others in an otherwise elf household could ruffle some feathers." "Y-Yes sir!" the boy crowed. Then, quieter, "For the week, yes." Damned but the boy was actually smart. "You get one gold coin at the start to cover the past few days, then a silver each week following." "Deal!" Snatching the coin and stuffing it into his sock, the half foot boy picked up his coal bucket and scurried past the two into the hallway with a kick behind him to make the wall slide back into place as if nothing had moved once the tapestry slid back. He also tried to sneak a few looks over his shoulder at Mithrun, making Kabru tuck his wife closer to him to cover his bareness.

[douxreviews]

Outlander - ‘If Not For Hope’ Review

By Laure Mack

"We've lived with the fear of the unknown before, not knowing if the other is alive or dead."

Well, this was something. Not a spare moment with something happening in every corner of the board but it still somehow felt like mostly filler?

That opening was pretty effectively jarring. We haven't seen a modern setting in quite a long time. The first time through, I didn't immediately realize they were trying to trick us into thinking Roger had gone back. I was too taken aback by what I was seeing to see the implication. Poor Roger. We didn't see a lot with him or how he came to be recaptured so we're still left wondering if it was his decision to stay. Not seeing it makes me think that the reveal is being saved for something juicy and dramatic.

Can we be honest for a second? Am I the only one struggling to care about Roger and Bree as a couple? I think we are supposed to take their connection as a fact, but we didn't have enough of the build up of that connection. We've mostly just watched them argue and take turns abandoning each other and that simply did nothing to invest me in their journey to find each other. There were times that Claire and Jamie were separated that my heart would just break for the loneliness the characters were feeling. I get none of that here. I'd go so far as to suggest they date other people... if they, you know, asked my opinion.

Then we find Bree at River Run and she's had a busy (few?) months. She's very pregnant and sassy and into her art, bro. And very very busy pushing against the norms and racists and snobs. I kept waiting for some fallout. I was worried a few times that Bree was going to land Phaedra in some very hot water and I'm happy that I was wrong. I hope I stay wrong. Brianna wasn't too busy though, thank the stars, to make friends with Lord John. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I just never loved this character but I did really enjoy what looks like the beginning of a strong friendship. There was an ease between the two of them that felt very natural and lovely. I hated that Bree went for the threat of outing his sexuality though. Not cool, not what friendship is made of. Or a marriage for that matter, I guess.

Watching Jocasta work that Mackenzie magic to set Bree up on her own version of The Dating Game was somehow really heartwarming. I never thought I'd miss the days of Colum and Dougal scheming to use those around them to their own ends but Jocasta fills those fiery and smart and cunning shoes well. I chuckled when she was beaming with pride at Brianna for securing the proposal from John.

Back in Wilmington, Fergus, Murtagh and Marsali are all vying for best supporting character status. I just love Fergus so very much. Always loyal, he of course welcomes Murtagh into his home and helps him to fulfill Jamie's request to find Bonnet. Even with a family to think of and trouble finding work, he's able to be there for the people that he cares about without question. What a standup guy. And I've been waiting to see him and Murtagh together onscreen for weeks now and I wasn't disappointed. Their companionship and camaraderie jump right off the screen as people that know and trust each other. I wonder if I'll get lucky enough to see the two of them in a room with Jamie and Claire before the season is over?

I guess I shouldn't press my luck with Murtagh in the slammer now, though. I might be in complete denial but they wouldn't dare kill him off or write him out again, right? Right?? RIGHT??!!?! Especially not with Jamie gone.

Marsali is so cool. I loved her waking Murtagh up and chastising him for putting dirty boots on her cleans blankets. For pushing him to make her husband feel useful and whole and I loved loved loved the look on her face hearing Fergus decline to leave her and Germain behind. She is the greatest.

As much as I liked anything else, though, none of it compared to Jamie and Claire finally talking, hashing things out and getting back on the same page. Or on the same sleeping bag as it were. This relationship is still the glue that holds Outlander together for me. It's still the glue that draws me back every week. And I hate when they get pushed to the periphery for story lines heavy with relationships that I just don't care about as much. Claire has been sacrificed the most here. At least Jamie's blossoming relationship with Brianna had earned him some screen time. Sam Heughan spends so much time as Jamie breaking our hearts. This week he hit a new stride with it, though. It wasn't heavy handed or overly done, but he wore his pain so visibly and it was affecting. He pretty much seems to have given up on being able to be a father to his daughter. His daughter with Claire. The baby he sacrificed twenty years with his soulmate for. He has no hope of earning back a place in her life and if mourning that loss was difficult for Heughan to play, he didn't show it for a second. His pain felt palpable and tangible, and what's more – believable, throughout the hour. I think realizing that Claire didn't hate him did something to ease his pain but nothing to heal the actual loss he feels like he has suffered.

Give me more Jamie and Claire or give me death. Just kidding. I don't want death. Unless it's Bonnet's.

2.9 out of 4 spirit tunnels

It feels like it should be less, but there wasn't anything terribly wrong with the episode. Am I crazy or was it a little dull?

Bits and pieces

This review was hard to write. Like squeezing water from a rock. Or whatever that analogy is.

It was fun seeing Ian squirm trying to play Dr. Phil for his aunt and uncle. He really didn't like seeing them ununited. So say us all, Ian. FYI, I know ununited isn't a word, but divided feels wrong.

How much time has passed? Sometimes Bree looked very obviously pregnant and sometimes not even a hint of it.

Not that it matters in any way but did Jocasta just tell us that Jamie and Jenny's brother Willie wasn't a Fraser by blood? I guess Ellen could've been knocked up by Brian.

How is Stephen Bonnet, a man wanted for murder, running around Wilmington without a care in the world while Murtagh is recognized and arrested on his first boys' night out?

Why did John change his mind and agree to marry Bree? More deference to Jamie?

This is me not mentioning how hideously distracting Claire's wig in particular was in the tent at the end.

Did you watch the preview for next week? I don't usually comment on previews but I have to say it seemed bizarre and disjointed. I watched it three times thinking that I must be missing something. Maybe I should try again when I'm not so exhausted.

Lizzie: "God in heaven, what have I brought you to? A monstrous darkness, you're possessed." Bree: "Lizzie, I'm not possessed. I'm hurt and angry." Lizzie: "It's all my fault." Bree: "No, you made an honest mistake."

Jocasta: "You canna live on hope."

Fergus: "In Milord's eyes, I'm whole but to them, here, I'm less than a man."

Marsali: "It is burden enough harboring a wanted man under our roof." Fergus: "He would do the same for me."

Marsali: "If I wanted him shot, I'd do it myself. Besides its be unfair to shoot him first as he didn't put his boots on my clean blankets."

Marsali: "I'll have a whole man or none at all."

Lord John: "Your father would never divulge to me anything that you did not wish me to know. He's an honorable man." Brianna: "Don't talk to me about my father."

Claire: "Sometimes it's hard to separate fact from fiction." Jamie: "When you dinna have two sides of the story, aye, it is." Oooooh, burn!

Claire: "I'm sorry I didn't tell you it was Stephen Bonnet when I knew. Had I, it might have saved Roger. I never thought I would keep a secret like that from you." Jamie: "Until Brianna." Claire: "When I made you that promise there was no one else in my life that would come before you. But I don't know if I can keep that promise anymore." Jamie: "I understand, but I cannot be a father to her." Claire: "Of course, you can. She's just hurt right now." Jamie: "She doesna need me. I never thought I'd be jealous of a dead man." Claire: "Of Frank?" Jamie: "You heard what Bree said. Frank would have never said those things to her or made the mistakes that I have." Claire: "Frank made plenty of mistakes. All parents do." Jamie: "Bree thinks he's a better man. I thought perhaps you were beginning to feel the same, Sassenach." Claire: "You fool. Come here. She didn't mean it. She doesn't want you to go to hell."

I honestly could have quoted everything they said in the tent. It was so very good and so classic Jamie and Claire straightforward(ness).

[writingspeakingxyz]

Writing Resources You NEED to Know About

Many aspiring authors spend hours and hours, alone behind their computers tap, tap, tapping away. Then those hours turn into months, and of course, the months slip into years. This is admirable. If I’m confident of anything, it’s that to be an author you have to be willing to spend hours of your life equivalent to entire years out of your life slaving away writing. I’m just for sure that you need to read at least just as much. One thing that gets unfortunately overlooked by many is that you also have to be willing to leave your books and your computer behind sometimes. To engage others. Not that you can’t be an introvert. Thousands of widely regarded successful authors were introverts. That’s is because in some way or another they were able to overcome, albeit sometimes only briefly, their restrictions and step outside of their comfort zones. That’s because while writing can take many forms; journaling, hobbies writing, personal letter writing. Authorship is a profession, and that means that it falls within a business structure. No matter how sincerely you believe that Jack Kerouac went from nothing to a fantastic book within two weeks of boozing (which FYI, in reality, he didn’t). If you want to move books from shelves, you will need to approach the task earnestly. With a humble attitude that is open to working with others. The business of writing, designing, editing, publishing, marketing, and selling your books requires a multitude of strangers. Regardless of whether you have a small budget, or you’re JK Rowling. In fact, the small your budget, the approach is better suited to involving a large number of people each with small, potentially volunteer style task. For instance, having friends complete a narrative edit before giving it to a professional editor, to reduce the amount of paid time the editor has to spend on the manuscript. For your first book, I highly suggest having a strong group of people who can offer various products, services, and insights to help you stay focused, motivated, and up-to-speed on the ever-changing self-publishing landscape. Being a successful author requires a lot more than just writing a great book. You have to get into the weeds, be willing to change out of your writer’s cap and into a variety of other hats depending on where you are in the process. You may not have the skills or willingness to tackle everything with your own two hands, and that’s why it’s so important to develop your own file of go-to resources along the way. Here are 30 more resources to tap into along the way! While this list is mostly self-publishing focused, if you’re going the traditional publishing route, you should still have a rigorous shift through them to make sure you are familiar with what is out there. Useful Blogs and Sites 1. The Write Life This workhorse blog is a one-stop-shop offering all you need to figure out how to work with clients, navigate the changing landscape of publishing, learn the ins and outs of social media, grow a following for your blog and find a community that will support you along the way. You’ll always find something useful for your book business here. Try not to get lost in the rabbit hole though. There is so much helpful information here I try to time my visits to make sure I’m not eating into my writing time! 2. Kindlepreneur If you want to dig deep into the goulash of marketing your books, Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur is your man. His strategies are groundbreaking. Every successful author has to wear many hats, and Dave shares his years of marketing experience and success to show you how to promote the heck out of your books. 3. The Book Designer Joel Friedlander, the creator of The Book Designer, says “Writers change the world one reader at a time. But you can’t change the world with a book that’s still on your hard drive or in a box under your bed.” This embodies the Community Writer mentality. Joel gives you everything you need to get your book out of the box with a variety of self-publishing guides, advice, templates, and toolkits. With his experience in book design and advertising, Joel has the creds to help you produce and sell a great-looking book. 4. The Creative Penn The Creative Penn is run by Joanna Penn, who has been wildly successful with fiction and nonfiction. In her blog and podcast, she covers every aspect of what it takes to start and run a successful author business. She also has a grab bag of books on various self-publishing topics if you can’t get enough on her blog. 5. Jane Friedman’s website Jane has more than 20 years of experience in the book and magazine publishing industry, with expertise in digital media and the future of authorship. Her site is full of actionable content and detailed strategies for the aspiring author from someone who’s been there and done that many times over. Podcasts Worth Your Time 6. Podcast – Neuralle (Uncommon) Please forgive the shameless self-promotion here, but aside from the fact that I will be most likely appearing on this podcast at some point, Neuralle is a fantastic self-development podcast and in my humble opinion a must for any aspiring author or entrepreneur. Past guests have included Venture Capitalists, Entrepreneurs, Chefs, Restaurant Owners, Body Builders, Strength Coaches, Activists, Winemakers, Filmmakers and many, many more. 7. Tim Ferris Podcast This show is the first publishing-related podcast that I followed, and it’s still an all-time favourite. It’s hosted by Tim Ferris an American best-selling author, entrepreneur, self-proclaimed “human guinea pig”, and public speaker. 8. Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing Every green writer should bookmark this podcast. With helpful and insightful tips on grammar and storytelling, Mignon Fogarty’s podcast is sure to help you improve your narrative and technical writing skills. 9. The Writer Files Hosted by Kelton Reid, The Writer Files is a long-running podcast that delves deep into habits and habitats of famed writers. Reid interviews writers from a broad spectrum, giving each listener a chance to see into the mind of an accomplished wordsmith within their genre or interest. Forums 10. Neil Gaiman Board Neil Gaiman’s Official Message Board. Enough said. 11. Goodreads Groups Goodreads is the mega-site (with over 20 million members) for authors and readers. They have more specific groups than you can count, and if you can’t find an answer or inspiration here, then it doesn’t exist. You might feel a bit overwhelmed, but here’s a smart article on using Goodreads to support your author business. 12. Scribophile There are tons of writing forums out there to choose from, so I suggest you have a play with a few of them. This one works a bit differently which is why I like it though. Scribophile provides detailed and helpful critiques from a member exchange. The analyses you’ll get are so much more than just a pat on the back – you’ll get actionable ways to improve your writing. Writing Tools 13. Scrivener Scrivener is a powerful writing tool for authors that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring your documents. Get a free 30-day trial and watch some brief YouTube tutorials to get acquainted with the system quickly. 14. Grammarly This proofreading application is an improved version of your standard spellchecking program. Just copy and paste blocks of text into Grammarly, and it will check your writing for common mistakes. The reason it’s better than most spellcheckers is that it provides useful feedback that will improve the overall quality of your book. You will learn a lot very quickly by taking heed of the side bar suggestions and explanations. 15. Hemingway Editor Excellent writing is quite often straightforward writing, and Hemingway was the master at that. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, your narrative should get to the point with simple language. With the Hemingway software, you will learn how to simplify your writing. Book Publishing and Freelance Help 16. Archangel Ink Archangel Ink is a one-stop solution for getting your book ready to publish. Archangel offers a range of services to help you with cover design, editing, formatting, audiobook production and much more. I feel that if you haven’t published before you learn a lot by manually going through the process of completing your manuscript via Scrivner, finding editors/cover creators via say Reedsy/Freelancer and then uploading it to KDP/Createspace. However it can be frustrating, so I completely understand throwing down some cash and handing of some or all of this to someone else. I’m currently considering using Archangel Ink to produce and audiobook for me. 17. 99 Designs This is a service where you post a design project, like your book cover, and dozens of freelancers submit mock-up examples. You then select finalists based on the submissions and choose the winner to work with you to create a finalised version. 99Designs can be pricey, but it’s a great option if you want a professional cover design for your book. 18. Grammarly I won’t rant on this too much as already do that frequently enough if you don’t have the free version of this you need to get it now. What some of you might not know, is that via the paid version they have an option to connect you with a professional proof reader. I haven’t used this before but considering the calibre of everything else they do I think it’s worth investigating. 19. Freelancer One the most significant websites for hiring freelance talent. If you want to find the largest pool of people, then this is a great place to look. The app makes chatting with prospective freelancers seamless so you can manage your project and selection of the perfect candidate on the go. 20. Reedsy Reedsy offers a boutique experience in editing and cover design. Most freelancers here have worked in the publishing industry, so they have a thorough understanding of what will work for your books. But you should also expect to pay more for the freelancers you find here. If you’re going the self-publishing route within fiction, a professional editor is a must, an absolute necessity, seriously. Reedsy is a great way to find one, with almost every budget available. If you can’t afford the lower tier, I suggest saving your pennies or going the traditional publishing route, where a publisher will provide you a professional editor to work with. Getting Feedback 21. Survey Monkey Is an easy to use survey builder; ask multiple choice questions and get demographic information about your audiences, like age, sex, or occupation. You can use it for your current email list, or post a survey with a lead magnet somewhere your target audience will see it (forums, pay-per-click ad etc.) 22. PickFu PickFu allows authors to get instant feedback on your book before you publish using audience polls. This is a more advanced option for those who already have income streams, again I don’t suggest paying for a resource unless you’ve used a free version and had equitable success with it. Email Marketing 23. AWeber With a drag and drop email builder, unlimited image storage and an easy to use interface, AWeber is a great option to manage your email marketing communication. 24. MailChimp MailChimp offers 12,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers – free. That’s what MailChimp can do for you. A great email marketing resource if you’re just getting started. MailChimp is easy to set up, easy to manage and offers an easy to scale pricing plan as your list grows. As the Wix email option ‘Shoutout’ has a capped number of emails you can send but an exportable email list. You can use MailChimp to send additional emails if you are pushing the boundaries of the free Wix option. 25. Constant Contact You can’t call yourself constant contact and then not be available to your customers. And that’s just what makes this email automation company shine. They offer round the clock support 7 days a week. They also offer 60-day FREE trial. 26. SpyFU Search for any domain and see every place they’ve shown up on Google: every keyword they’ve bought on AdWords, every organic rank, and every ad variation in the last 11 years. This combined with Wix’s seamless SEO makes key words unbelievably easy. You don’t need to have some ten years long. Learn how to connect with these domains, too. Find online and traditional leads methods — social media, email, phone, and address — you can’t find anywhere else. So you can look at other authors within your niche and find out exactly where readers are going to find them. Staying Organized 27. Google Keep Keep is an excellent organisation tool. It stores every idea, research plan and content structure. Which can quickly be dumped into Scrivner later. 28. Evernote Another option this is with a few more features is Evernote, you can save snippets of content you find online and go back to all of it in a searchable, taggable easy to find notebooks on Evernote. It also connects to my Google Home via IFTTT which frustratingly Google Keep doesn’t seem to, so I can handsfree keep notes easily. 29. Google Drive Accessible from anywhere with internet, Google Drive is a great collaborative tool for teams to use when you’re working with content, files, or images in tandem. Google Sheets and Google Docs makes group work seamless, and all work can easily be shared with hyperlinks. 30. Tomato Timer The Pomodoro Technique is a time management strategy preferred by many authors. It’s not always easy to keep track of the non-writing tasks related to your book projects. With Brain Focus Productivity Timer, an excel sheet (or just pen and paper) and Scrivner’s session tracking you can keep motivated with tangible evidence of how hard you’re working. Not only time associated with the project. Team Viz is another excellent paid alternative to this method, and you can’t forget the simple Tomato Timer (tomato-timer.com) 31. Slack It’s like super chat. Instant communication. Instant file transfer. Indexed and Searchable. It is fantastic for collaboration if you have a specific project you are working on. Again, use wisely, if you are co-authoring for example. Not if you’re just working with a freelancer for a short time, instead use the platform’s chat for content protection! 32. Lander App You can learn more about A/B testing here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A/B_testing I have experimented with A/B testing in the past but didn’t feel that it was hugely beneficial. I think that you have to have a relatively sophisticated reason to use A/B testing. Potentially I’ll use this for a book launch with a landing page in the future. Of those that I experimented with, I found Lander App to be the most straightforward to use. Again, if you don’t know what A/B testing doesn’t worry, you don’t need to! Don’t jump to trying to use A/B testing, focus instead on the following: – Mailing list Opt-in rate – You unique visitor Site traffic – Total engagement (comments, email responses) / Book Sales For the third point there, you concentrate on engagement if you haven’t released your first book yet! Website Hosting 33. Freenom – A Name for Everyone One of my favourite hosting companies, if you’re just starting out, I don’t suggest spending any money on anything if you can avoid it. This is perfect for this, as instead of choosing a.com or a.net you can get a free domain and easily swap with redirection later once you’re profitable. Personally, I use Wix for all website things, but this is an excellent option if you’re just starting out. 34. WP Engine WP Engine is a hosting company that provides managed WordPress hosting for websites around the world. They have great support, and their servers help your WordPress site run a top speed. I use Wix as I find it far more user-friendly, however, the advanced features do require a minimum annual cost. With WordPress, most features can be scaled up for free, but a bit more mucking around with add-ons and tech stuff.

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[relaxandlaughatyourself]

Recap of Ika’s IG Live 2-28-18

Talk of makeup and skincare, BBCAN6, bettering yourself and some random stories.

Link to screenshots.

She’s supposed to be going to an event. The people who did her facial thing invited her, but her uber app is not working. But her face feels so good since that procedure thing.

She doesn’t want to wear heavy makeup much anymore, partially because she has trouble finding something that matches her tone but also because her face skin is doing so well. She wants something light, like a tinted moisturizer or something.

Her skin is very dry: “You know my boyfriend is younger than me and I feel as if dry skin is the leading cause of aging and I don’t want to age. I need Demetres to hurry up his aging process.” She’s so jealous of Dem’s skin, it’s so nice and even everywhere and he doesn’t have to lotion.

She’s so excited for bbcan6, especially to see Arisa on her screen every week. Says she’s not doing bbcan6 interviews, doesn’t think she’s doing any bbcan6 stuff. This has nothing to do with Big Brother Canada. She has no insider info on bbcan6 or anything, just fyi. She says do not boycott or be hating on bbcan or ET Canada; “we’re not those people”. Says she lied about CBBUS because she really couldn’t tell us.

Ika says she is not entitled to anything, she keeps in mind that she was just on a reality tv show for a season and she’s been lucky and is appreciative of the opportunities she has gotten because of it. She understands they can’t always use the same person. New people are coming out, new people for us to see and support. It’s going to be amazing. She doesn’t think she’ll be at the premiere. She’s not doing any viewing parties. She says the premiere is about the new houseguests, not the thirsty past houseguests.

She says we see a lot of her, we can’t be too greedy lol She’ll be on twitter and watching bbcan6 with us. Says the BBCAN twitter account is goals. Also feels like Arisa makes the show more fun because she watches and engages.

She would love to see Pandora’s Box.

Someone mentioned how bbcan needs more iconic  gay guys. Ika feels like Mitch and Gary were goals and great.

Says Julie Chen was nice, she was decent. She didn’t talk to her other than the interview.

Someone asks about Amazing Race; Ika: “out here with your nosey ass questions.”

Her flight sucked so bad yesterday. Dem and her were at the same terminal, and the gates were right next to each other and boarding at the same time. They were the last ones to board on their flights so they could spend every second together. She says it’s always hard leaving him. She thought they would get better and it’s not getting better. They thought that after a year they wouldn’t be as crazy, but they feel as if they are getting crazier, going from bad to worse.

Dem’s birthday is coming up, he said she can tell people he’s 29 now, not 26.

The only reason she’ll block people on IG is if they spam her pics. She doesn’t want fans to interact on her content with these people. If someone leaves one rude comment it’s whatever, but it’s the ones that spam.

She says good for Jess and Cody for doing well on Amazing Race, but she doesn’t think about them so she doesn’t care about them in that way, she doesn’t have an opinion on them because she doesn’t know them.

Hasn’t been back to Jamaica in four years. She misses the food.

Would never walk away from an interview if they asked a shady question. She would just throw shade back.

She was talking to Dem about working on herself a bit, because she’s the type of person where if you do something shady to her or she feels like you said something rude or shady, the person inside of her tells her she has to give it back to them. But in business that’s not good to do. She needs to learn how to act oblivious, it’s not always smart to say something back. Dem does that very well and she needs to work on that.

She’s been around people where she knows the color of her skin bothers them (when she’s with Dem too) but she doesn’t say anything and doesn’t give them life (they don’t mention it, you can just tell).

She had to go to this event and thanked us again.

[lady-alayne]

Game of Thrones: An Angry Recap

Season 7 Episode 7: The Dragon and the Wolf

Outside of King's Landing:

As Dany's troops are positioning themselves all around King's Landing, Bronn and Jaime have a deep and meaningful discussion about the construct of masculinity between the conflicting priorities of cocks and what-even-is-the-point-of-not-having-a-cock. Oh, the subtle socio-anthropological nuances of Game of Thrones, more refined each episode.

But back to Dany's troops! The Unsullied, motionless as ever, stand still as an army of Dothraki rides through their ranks making... scary noises? Where did they pick those up? I'm pretty sure the Dothraki were not yodeling like that in season 1. But, whatever, who cares about continuity? Most characters have been replaced by a caricature of themselves this season, so why not make the Dothraki more foreign and more different? Apparently it's supposed to make for some good TV instead of, you know, raising a lot of eyebrows and bordering offensiveness.

The real Team Dany, meanwhile, sails into King's Landing, and we find out that Jon is completely healed! Based on the established timelines, it took him about 10 minutes to heal and put his cothes back on, as this is approximately the time it takes to sail from the North to King's Landing. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Aaaaaaaaaand our sexist joke counter immediately goes DING! as Tyrion mentions the far superior King's Landing brothels. I mean... sure. The best brothel in show!universe was undoubtedly Littlefinger's fine establishment, which is not operating any more, so... someone else must have taken over? And how would Tyrion even know? Has he been to all the brothels? (Okay, he probably has.) Based on the show's characterization, I'd say the best brothels are in Dorne, but... who cares. Maybe D&D are contractually obligated to mention sex all the time. Or they probably just think it's worthy of all the Emmys, which, sadly, seems to be the case. Ugh.

The Dragonpit:

On the way to the dragonpit Missandei, who, if I may remind, IS THE QUEENS MOST TRUSTED ADVISOR, DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD BE A SMART MOVE TO CONTAIN A BUNCH OF GROWN UP KILLER DRAGONS. Thankfully, Jorah is there to mansplain how dangerous dragons can be. You know, to the woman who witnessed Dany's dragons torching countless flocks of innocent sheep, and eventually a child, which made Dany LOCK THEM UP. But, oh, what could the Dragonpit possibly be there for??? Tyrion then supermansplains how the last dragons died, because as soon as another male character (except for Jon) has more than 10 seconds screentime, Tyrion must be brought into the mix to remind us all how awesome he is.

Thankfully he is interrupted by Bronn, who came with Brienne and Pod for some reason, who seem to have teleported into King's Landing. Because it's Pod and there seems to be a law, Bronn makes a joke about Pod's magic cock. Sigh. Why won't D&D ever let us forget about that?

After a Brienne/Sandor and Tyrion/Bronn reunion scene, the gang finally makes it into the Dragnpit, which is FUCKING TINY. Even for one fully grown dragon it wouldn't be enough space to spread their wings and fly. But for several??? No wonder the dragons got the blues and stopped growing. Dude.

Finally Team Cersei arrives, and then—CLEGANBOWL GET HYPE!!! Or.... not, as Sandor chooses to walk away. Lame!

Dany shows up 15 minutes late without Starbucks, but on her dragon, which impresses Cersei exactly 0.00. Just as Tyrion is about to instigate a peaceful negotiation, Euron heckles him, leaving Theon... unperturbed??? What happened to your PTSD, Theon? I guess it comes and goes as the plot demands it. Realistic!

Cersei tells Euron to shut the hell up, and Team Dany finally have the chance to explain the threat beyond the wall to the Queen and even have their wight show-and-tell. Jon explains and demonstrates how to defeat them while looking like he's shooting a “How To” youtube video, which seems to convince Cersei, who accept the truce, and scare the shit out of Euron, who jumps up and yells, “SCREW YOU GUYS, I'M GOING HOME.”

By the way. Jon explicitly states that wights CANNOT SWIM. THEN HOW DID THEY GET THE DRAGON OUT OF THE WATER????

In other news, Cersei's truce comes with one condition: That the North does not take up arms against the Lannisters, even after the White Walkers have been defeated. Unfortunately Jon's compromised dick honor prevents him from accepting those terms, and Cersei storms out. Brienne then tries to reason with Jaime by yelling “Fuck loyalty!” WHICH MAKES ABSOUTELY NO SENSE AND GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING BRIENNE STANDS FOR ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Saint Tyrion, who knows he is protected by plot armor, volunteers to talk to Cersei again and manages to sway her mind in about 3 seconds, which seems very plausible. Don't forget, the plot demands it.

Meanwhile we are treated to Jon's cringey attempt at flirting with Dany, who tells her, “You're not like the other girls! You're, like, super special!”

By the way, isn't it insanely warm under those furs? Why is Jon still dressed in his Northern collection?

Cersei reappears to promise her armies. Which makes me wonder... WHAT ARMIES??? Weren't they all torched by Dany on their way back from Highgarden, and the ones she spared bent the knee and are fighting for her now, anyway? What was even the point of this meeting? What armies can Cersei contribute???

An hour later we find out.... None. Because Cersei lied, and she has no intention to join the fight. This does not go over too well with Jaime, who gets into a heated argument with his sister and eventually storms out to ride... somewhere, just as the first snow is falling on King's Landing.

Dragonstone:

Back in their free castle, Team Dany are figuring out how to move the troops Norths. In one of the more obvious WHICH ONE WILL SHE CHOOSE??? moments, Jorah and Jon both suggest different ways for Dany to get there, and to no one's surprise she chooses Jon. Jorah, for real. You're better than this. It's just painful. MOVE ON.

Jon and Theon later have a heart-to-heart in the throne room that LITERALLY STARTS WITH THEON SAYING “YOU ARE ALWAYS GOOD AND SMART AND PERFECT.” Oh my god. Do D&D really think we are THAT STUPID? Do they really think we would not UNDERSTAND how PERFECT Jon is if it is not REPEATED OVER AND OVER??? To “help” with Theon's identity crisis, Jon then tells him he can be both a Greyjoy and a Stark, which... doesn't really help Theon at all, but it's the thought that counts I guess? Inspired by Jon's council, Theon then decides to rescue Yara. The Ironborn are TOTALLY against that, but then Theon beats one of them to death, so they are all for that. Hooray!

Now here's the thing. Theon's arc was amazing. He was a smug little asshole who made all the wrong choices and came to pay for them dearly. Ramsay broke him, in all ways a man can be broken. Theon became Reek. But his empathy with Sansa redeemed him, and Theon fought off his Reek state. And he found that last, tiny bit of strength, and let that fuel him. He was still broken and scared, but he ignored it because, finally, he wanted to do the right thing and help Sansa. That was beautiful.

What is NOT beautiful is having Theon repeat this arc over and over and over. He has spent the last two seasons in a perpetual Theon/Reek/Theon/Reek/Theon hamster wheel, always having the personality that would fit best into the rest of the bullshit D&D are trying to sell us as coherent plot. He's triggered by all the violence and jumps overboard when Euron abducts Yara, but when he faces him again in the dragonpit he cracks jokes about Euron and doesn't give a fuck. A little while later he is broken and remorseful again and regrets his life choices, once again deciding to rescue a damsel in distress to redeem himself, and is “empowered” by killing a man. (I will talk about D&D's idea of “empowerment through violence” in a later post). Not only does this once again underline the misogyny of GoT—women are merely used as props in men's character arcs, which a few exceptions—IT ALSO MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE. What are you??? REEK OR THEON??? Stop yoyoing back and forth, for fuck's sake.

And don't even get me started on the Ironborn. Yara's crew is supposed to be the most loyal crew there is. These men are supposed to go through hell for their captain. But, no, as soon as it gets a bit inconvenient they decide to choose raping and pillaging instead, altought YARA WAS TOTALLY AGAINST THAT. And Theon beats one of them up and THEY IMMEDIATELY CHANGE THEIR MINDS AGAIN??? Honestly, if I was Theon, I would not trust these men AT ALL.

Winterfell:

Petyr Baelish is smart and wonderful. When Sansa gets a letter from Jon that must have read “Hi sis, just fyi, we're Targaryen bannermen now!” he notes that IT IS NOT EASY FOR RAVENS TO FLY IN THESE STORMS, thus proving that 1) he is the only character that somehow makes sense (despite his season 5 jetpack!) and 2) he absolutely has to die now because D&D can't have a character that's smarter than him. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord Baelish.

Sansa is understandably not super happy about Jon bending the knee, which makes Littlefinger suggest that she could be Queen in the North instead because IT IS HER BIRTHRIGHT ANYWAY. When Sansa notes that Arya might not be on board with that idea and murder her because of the cult she recently joined, Petyr smartly replies “I never trust godly men.” Which, you have to admit, makes him simply wonderful.

Then Sansa and Petyr discuss how likely it is that Arya wants to murder Sansa. And let's face it, based on everything that went down last episode, it seems pretty likely. Arya did threaten her WITH A DAGGER. And talk about WEARING HER FACE. So........ I REST MY CASE. IT SEEMS PRETTY LIKELY.

But who cares about logic, amirite? In the most foreseeable plot twist in the history of Game of Thrones, it turns out the Stark sister did NOT want to murder each other, but instead teamed up to take down the man whose only function had become to be an evil creeplord, so all the viewers would know that he should definitely be killed.

And once again Game of Thrones chose supposed “shock value” over consistency, logic, and good storytelling. Let me sum this up.

Petyr Baelish STARTED THE WAR OF THE FIVE KINGS because HE IS SUPER SMART. He knows everything about everyone and, more importantly, he knows how to use that knowledge to his advantage. He then used the ensuing chaos to RISE EVEN HIGHER in this world. Along the way he also RESCUED SANSA from King's Landing AND from being pushed through a moon door AND from being slaughtered during the battle of the bastards. Okay, he also sold Sansa to Ramsay, which was... stupid, and I hate D&D for making him do that. But all he did, he did for Sansa. Because he truly and genuinely LOVED HER.

But this poor, poor, unfortunate soul was not “badass” enough for D&D. They did not know what to do with this wonderful, complex character. And, frankly, they didn't care. All they cared about were the fans they were servicing. And the fans wanted to see him dead. So D&D went on tumblr and read the hate posts. And they put him on a mock trial for that. Sansa accused him of many things, things she had no reason to know, and don't tell me that Bran just KNEW THIS. We later see that Bran is not an omniscient superbrain. He merely has the power to see everything he chooses to see. That means Bran must have consciously chosen to watch Petyr Baelish throughout the decades to uncover all his crimes, so his sister could then accuse him of them. Seriously???

But who cares. Not the fans D&D are servicing. The wanted to see Petyr dead, because they, too, did not understand his character. They only see the world as black and white. Petyr was not good, so he had to be evil. And therefor he had to be killed. By three teenagers. Three kids, really. Three kids who are not evil, and therefor they had to be good, their actions reasonable, their violence justified.

This does not explain why Arya was threatening Sansa last week. Was it just a show for Petyr? Then why do it behind closed doors? Or did she actually mean it? Then when did she have a change of heart? It just makes no sense. It makes no fucking sense. 

I mourn the death of one of the last complex, morally ambiguous characters. One of the original players. He set it all in motion. He played the Game like no one else. And he looked smoking hot doing it.

Rest in peace, my Lord Protector. You deserved better than this. And know that you will be avenged. In metas, in fanfictions, in fanart... We will right the wrongs that have been done to you. And you will live on in our hearts, and, for some of us, under our skins. Fly now to your rest, my sweet mockingbird.

***

But the story does not end there for the Winterfell gang. Bran is visited by Sam, and they talk about how Jon is actually... AEGON TARGARYEN????? WHAT?!?!?!?!?! THERE ALREADY IS AN AEGON TARGARYEN??? OR DID D&D DIMISH ELIA'S CHARACTER EVEN FURTHER AND CHOSE TO ONLY GIVE HER ONE CHILD INSTEAD OF TWO??? WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THIS?!?!?!?! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way... GILLY FOUND OUT THAT RHAEGAR GOT MARRIED TO LYANNA, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE TOERAG. But Sam takes all the credit. THIS IS NOT OKAY.

And apparently Bran can now see everything from everywhere??? What happened to “You have to warg an animal or look out of a heart tree???” Too inconvenient for D&D?!?!?!?

Somewhere on the Narrow Sea:

Epic Boat Sex(TM) is actually a thing, y'all. I mean, it wasn't epic, more like... sweet. Until we found out Jon's banging his aunt. So... take that as you will.

Beyond the Wall:

JUST BURN THAT MOTHERFUCKING WALL TO THE GROUND AND KILL THEM ALL. I AM SO ROOTING FOR YOU. KILL THEM, BABY. KILL THEM ALL.

[dictacontrion]

I'm a different anon to the previous and I'm actually really interested to hear your thoughts on Pansy and Draco now. I would love it if you could write some meta on it? <3 your work and blog, just fyi.

Prefect!Pansy and Prefect!Draco - it’s an interesting question, right? Thanks for being lovely about it, anon!! Here’s why I think Pansy and Draco were the right choices.

As with Ron, we have to consider the options, and consider them in the context of the war. Dumbledore would have needed prefects who were as tactically advantageous as possible, but in the context of Slytherin house, and given the choices he had there, he would’ve needed to use slightly different criteria than he would for Gryffindor. He wouldn’t have been able to think so much in terms as making the Order stronger, as in terms of making sure that the Death Eaters didn’t gain strength or attack Hogwarts.

Unlike with Ron I don’t think we can make an argument that at 15 either Pansy or Draco were especially upstanding or full of leadership potential (nor do I think that Dumbledore would have made those arguments) so it comes down much more to a question of damage control.

First, the girls:

Millicent Bulstrode had shown that she was inclined towards brute force (as when she broke the rules at Duelling Club to put Hermione in a headlock, which in a magical context would suggest that she’s both violent and unpredictable). We also see signs that she’s neither liked nor respected by her peers, and JK Rowling has suggested that she’s a half-blood, which would’ve had the potential to put her in the position of having to prove herself to the Death Eaters. It’s unlikely that she would have been able to do much as a prefect in terms of keeping order or lightening the adults’ load, and hard to know how much damage she would have done. You don’t want to give authority to someone violent, unpredictable, and with something to prove to your enemies.

Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis are question marks tbh which probably puts them in the same category as Dean for the Gryffindors, wherein they could have been fine but, as far as we know, were not particularly advantageous (and if they were going to be particularly important to the war in some way that would make them advantageous or dangerous, we would know more about them)

Pansy Parkinson has some of the same liabilities as Millicent Bulstrode, but more advantages.

She’s already the leader of the pack so is going to be taken most seriously by her peers, and she’s going to have an interest in maintaining her status, so she’s most likely to lighten teachers’ loads (thereby giving them more time to devote to the war effort) by dealing with things independently and exercising judgment about what really really needs adult attention.

She’s not physically or magically violent. Mean, yes, and laughs and encourages it when other people do bad things, but she doesn’t instigate violence, which limits the amount and type of violence she’s going to cause with her authority as a prefect.

The Golden Trio probably could have taken her. Push comes to shove, she wasn’t going to be able to get in their way.

Pansy is clearly motivated but not clearly principled. This would be a liability in an ally, but is an asset in an enemy. She doesn’t give any sign of having actually bought into the idea of blood purity, it’s more that she’s interested in her own influence, power, and comfort. Even when she wants to turn Harry over, it’s more about an easy solution than an ideological crusade.

All of this would have made her easy for Dumbledore to manipulate if he’d needed to. She wasn’t ideologically motivated enough to go on a recruiting spree, and she was predictable in her responsiveness to promises of status, safety, luxury, and comfort -  which, by making her a Prefect, Dumbledore was demonstrating that he could make and keep.

Then the boys:

Vincent Crabbe is everything Dumbledore wouldn’t want in a prefect. Violent, loyal and closely tied to the Death Eater cause, lacking the independence or critical thinking skills to question Death Eater ideology or to negotiate/finesse orders to mitigate damaging shows of force, lacking the foresight to consider even the possibility of losing and to hedge his bets accordingly (/act less poorly/respond to incentives from Dumbledore), willing to recruit, and willing to recruit through coercion and threats. He would’ve been a disaster.

Greg Goyle is in the same position as Crabbe, basically.

Theodore Nott might have been an interesting choice, because he’s smart and because he’s not a joiner/part of Draco’s gang, but he is the son of a Death Eater and we don’t see signs that he wasn’t on board with that, plus his loner status probably made him harder to manipulate. Also, tbh, making him Prefect likely would have incurred the wrath of Lucius Malfoy, which Dumbledore needed not to do - more about that below.

Blaise Zabini could have been another interesting choice, but with the same issues as Theodore Nott - not clearly manipulable, not as clearly influential, and not a problem to not pick him.

Draco Malfoy was basically the only possibility because of his father, and outside of that he’s a compromise choice in a lot of (understandable) ways.

If Draco hadn’t been made a Prefect Lucius would have thrown a fit and retaliated. We know that Lucius is on the Board of Governors and was able to arrange to have Dumbledore expelled from the school in Chamber of Secrets. That wasn’t a risk Dumbledore could take.

If Draco hadn’t been made a Prefect Lucius would have been genuinely angry and might have lashed out. Following Fourth Year, when Dumbledore had to make the decision, Lucius and the Death Eaters were ascendant and Lucius still felt he had, and did have, the power to direct their attention. Giving him a reason to be angry, and to direct that anger at Hogwarts (which he’d already shown he would do - children were definitely not off limits, as with the whole Chamber of Secrets/basilisk situation), was unwise. Not that Dumbledore couldn’t have taken him, but that it could have caused collateral damage that would have made people panic, disrupted the social order, had kids pulled out of Hogwarts (where especially the half-bloods and Muggle-borns would be even more vulnerable), and depleted the Orders resources and attention.

Like Pansy, his social status means that he has an interest in maintaining his authority by dealing with things himself instead of calling in the adults unless it’s really necessary

Having Draco as a Prefect gave Dumbledore and other adults in charge a legitimate reason to keep an eye on him and interact with him. If they’d succeeded in bringing him over that would have been a good cover for convincing him and arranging meetings, and if, as happened, he was going to becoming a Death Eater that meant that they were going to be more able to get to know how he worked and to monitor his behavior.

Being a Prefect would keep Draco busy - it filled his time, kept him out of the common room, kept him on patrol and therefore meant that he was often being patrolled by both the other Prefects and teachers.

Draco talked a big game but, like his father, was largely interested in power. Being the one to give Draco power meant both that Dumbledore could see how he was going to behave once he had it (which could be useful for any number of reasons to do with understanding and changing how the war might unfold) and that Draco would have a little bit of an incentive not to go against Dumbledore too openly or to associate working with Dumbledore with getting what he wanted. At least, it would have made Draco understand that his father wasn’t the one and only power broker in town. 

tl;dr: Neither Pansy nor Draco was a perfect choice, but they were the best ones available as far as we can see. Neither of them is a hard-line advocate of blood purity, neither of them is gratuitously violent, both are predictable and can be manipulated, both of them would have done the basic job without needing a lot of energy/time from the adults, both have enough social power that it would have been advantageous for Dumbledore to get a sense for how they worked and to give them reasons to understand what he could offer them, and both of them were worth keeping a close eye on. And, with Draco, picking him was probably very tactically necessary.

[xojilli]

Will I be lucky enough to save “Lucky”? …. but these are the facts.

🍀"Lucky" a boxer mix dog that I became familiar with in August 2016 … & his owner (who should be his best friend) Tom.

When I first saw then it was a chilly Sunday night …

Sunday: The night I saw him we were on the way to have dinner so James ordered them a double cheeseburger with fries, an extra patty & a tea. We drove around for almost 2 hours looking for them. For many nights after I met this dog & his owner Tom - I cried and sobbed and tried to think of 1000 things that I could do for them.

They were homeless.

Monday & Tuesday: I looked around for them. I didn’t know if they were passing through town or here to stay. I cried and sobbed when telling family members how I felt. Like a disgusting snotty, hard to breath cry. So I knew I had to do something, or atleast that’s what God told me. I never saw them until …..

Wednesday: My heart was happy and I immediately knew they were not passing through & here to stay. I pulled over to tell him my family drove around for hours looking for him & that I’ve been praying for him. That’s when he told me his dogs name was Lucky.

Thursday: So I packed up a bunch of stuff & I went with my gut and gathered them things I knew they could is like: plastic bags, instant oatmeal & grits packets, bottled water, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, Benadryl, small plastic reusable bowls, men’s grooming supplies & so much more.

Friday: I gave him all the stuff I had. He was so appreciative which made it worth it. I know, I know - I’ve heard everything from don’t give & do give to the homeless but I did what I felt was best. He never smells like alcohol or smoke, his pupils are normal and never seemed fidgety. We had a good talk. I understood his story a little bit but as many of you know me - I do my own research.

From then until last Monday (1/30) I would occassionally see them and ask him if he needed anything … many times he would say no & rave about how he was just given this and that. So I know he & Lucky were being looked out by the community. ❤️

Well, for the past 7 days my heart has ached over a dog whom many, quite possibly the entire community know more of now as “Tom & Lucky”.

Lucky was hit by a car Monday (1/30) & fortunately made it to the vet for treatment and care. I have been I touch with Tom about Lucky since then.

It has been made clear to me that Tom is nothing without Lucky. I understand, a mans best friend. But this is not necessarily the case.

I, along with a powerful & determined group of ladies have been in touch with Tom as a group this week taking care of Lucky & trying to help him get his life back. We have went down every avenue to help this man. He promises me every day that he is clean. He also tells me that he wants off the street and is looking for work. This is all great news!!! We understand life brings unforeseen circumstances but we are here to help without any judgement. We do not want to take Lucky away and throw Tom away. We want to help him & that we did!!!

Well - with our determination we have managed to accomplish all those things. We have found him a job, home and even available foster for Lucky until Tom gets on his feet. (with a legal contract of course) Then Lucky can heal up nicely from his accident. Let me say this again, A JOB, HOUSING & FOSTERING FOR LUCKY ALL FREE UNTIL HE GETS ON HIS FEET! I’ve informed Tom of ALL of these things. All he is worried about is getting Lucky to sit with him on the rock.

Shall I even inform you that it’s the same rock he has already received a city ordinance ticket from.

This has now brought us to “the know” - that Tom refuses it all. ☹️He would rather be on the streets and make Lucky stay out in the cold/heat. I am beyond disgusted.

I have been attacked through social media by being a voice for a dog who doesn’t have one. I’m not the slightest bit bothered or upset about it. In the words of DMX, “Meet Me Outside” (outside the device your typing behind).

First & foremost … majority of the attackers who are hiding behind their smart phones & computers have no idea …. 1. Who I am 2. My relationship with Tom & Lucky 3. What I have invested for this man & his so called “boy” aka: the dog who has no choice or voice.

I know now Tom doesn’t want to get on his feet. He wouldn’t even stay in his hotel the night that it was 20° outside that was paid for. He would rather live on the streets but for him to do this to Lucky is sickening.

He has said that somebody offered him $1500 for Lucky and he wouldn’t take it. I don’t know if I believe that.

I don’t think there’s enough money to buy Lucky because Lucky is Tom’s absolute meal ticket for any sympathy, any money, any food, and he has people bring him stuff out of the woodwork’s all the time. Tom thinks he is a celebrity now and the expense of Lucky getting hit. It’s a truly sad situation.

3 weeks ago when the snow came through - Tom lost Lucky and let him run off without even looking for him. Lucky was found by 2 ladies & Tom was nowhere in sight!!! He made no effort to find Lucky, he was eventually found sitting cozy in his hotel room watching TV. 😡

He doesn’t want help. He wants people to feel sorry for him, give him things, give him money & buy him hotel nights & God knows whatever else. Everything always gets “stolen” … he uses Lucky as a lure for the compassionate people. Period.

This past Wednesday after the community came together to help pay for Lucky’s veterinary care … Tom picked Lucky up from the vet & dragged him up & down East Innes Street when he knew Lucky needed to stay still and rest. So, we checked Tom into a hotel Thursday night & gave him money for the hotel Friday night. (I know - I know, don’t even say it …)

It was only a matter of time before we saw the truth come out. We gave it to him so he could check in as early as 2pm that afternoon. Well, he was out walking the streets that night(Thursday) & at midnight (20degrees outside) when he should have been in his hotel with Lucky, he was “visiting” over at O'Charleys. Keep in mind this hotel stay had already been paid for with a portion of money that the community donated.

The money we gave him for his Friday night hotel was gone … it was gone Friday morning. I knew that when I picked up Lucky and took him back to the vet Friday morning. Tom can not take care of Lucky and I know that. Tom knows I know that. That’s why he trusts me to take him.

There’s no telling where that money went. That money is gone and he is saying whatever to get more money.

Community, Definitely do what you want - No need to look below the surface and actually get involved and invested. We’ve already did that & Tom is on his pedestal. Give what you want if it helps you sleep at night, so be it. Is that all you want is a “feel good moment” and nothing more?? Just think about that poor dog who has no say so then call me about it. I’d be more than happy to speak face to face or on the phone. Messaging me your opinion is for cowards. When you lay down at night - please think about Lucky in the cold / heat while his “Dad” refused a better life for both of them.

FYI - I’m the one who picked Lucky up Friday and took him back to the vet to get checked out then I made the decision to board him. Thomas had no desire to go with Lucky to the vet. He didn’t care about his “boy” NONE whatsoever!!! He said he was going back to the hotel room til 1pm which was check out & then to peddle for more money because the money he had was gone. (That’s the $70 … gone) He can go to the homeless shelter but won’t. Lucky needs to rest and that’s why I boarded him. Thomas trusts me with Lucky. This morning, Tuesday (2/7) Tom picked Lucky up from the vet. Last night I asked Tom to live Lucky there til he is better & he told me everybody missed him. “Everybody” as in the people who have made Tom think & appear as though he is the greatest dog Dad ever. 🙄

Per the Unofficial Salisbury Outreach Facebook page - Lucky is still limping. Imagine that. I’m sure Tom is so happy to see Lucky because Lucky is his free ride. It’s sad, sickening and downright disgusting that Lucky is living like this.

It’s clear & apparent that Tom doesn’t want help. He wants people to feel sorry for him, give him things, give him money & buy him hotel nights & God knows whatever else. Everything always gets “stolen” … he uses Lucky as a lure for the compassionate people. Period.

I dont know if I will be lucky enough to save “Lucky” … but I’m trying little buddy. Miss Jill is trying. 🐶🍀❤️