#2 was what would happen if jack never won the tickets

[winter-turtle]

Philosophy class: *basically asks us to write post-canon, AU, canon divergence fanfic of Titanic*

Me, a fanfic writer:

[teamfreewill2pointo]

Transcript of End of the Road Special

Transcript of End of the Road Special. 

Please let me know if I made any errors in transcription. Twitter version Family Don’t End with Blood Transcription Winchester Mythology Transcription

Dabb: Ultimately, we came up with something that we're all very proud of Singer: You never know what the audience is going to like so we really tried to say "what would make us happy? Would we be satisfied with where we've taken them?"

The Carry On song was a guideline.

Singer: The myth of what these brothers were throughout 15 years... We didn't shy away from fatalism, but we wanted to be able to have it be kinda uplifting as well.

Dabb: If you're going to do something that feels like a complete arc, you have to kinda go back to the beginning of it (clips of them hunting vamps from s1 & 15.20) When it comes to Sam & Dean- it's all about getting back to, in some ways, these two guys on the road in this car.

Dabb: They've been doing this job for 15 years now. They've fought everyone from demons to vampires to God himself, but at the end of the day, they're still working guys, out there on the road & taking cases. We've tried to never lose sight of that.

Dabb: There are times when we've been wrapped up in our own mythology a little bit. We've always tried to get back to the basics, which are: these two guys, saving people, hunting things. 

Eugenie: I think we sort of knew generally what the ending would involve.

Eugenie: We might not have known the mechanics, but we sort of knew there would be a victorious, glorious sacrificial ending bc I think sacrifice is a big theme in the series.

For every great thing you do, a cost must be paid.

Singer: Andrew & I talked about it. We were in agreement pretty quickly... talked to the rest of the writing staff & let them know what we wanted to do and we were open to suggestions. And then we pretty much pitched it to Jared and Jensen.

Jensen talks about flying to LA. Jensen: So before we ever even started 15, we knew how the last portion of the story was going to go. We didn't know how we were going to get there, but we kinda knew the final- the finish line- we knew what... what that was going to look like.

Jared: I don't think there's ever been a season of SPN in 15 years where the way the writers thought the show would play out for that season- ended up being the way it played out And so we were aware of that. They told us here's what we're thinking, here's what happens to Castiel

Jared: In the finale, Dean dies & Sam lives on. And then we think they're going to meet up in heaven. 

I remember Jensen... just because I know him so well- he seemed to bristle a little bit.

Jensen: It was hard to hear then & it was hard to read now. Not because I didn't like it, not because I wished it had gone differently... I'm not adverse to it. I think it's a great ending. I'm proud to film it.

Singer: And we just aimed for that, you know, throughout the season. We knew where we were going.

Jensen: Reading it & knowing that... there's just a weight that is so much larger reading these scripts than I've ever experienced before. 

There's an emotional weight that these scripts are going to carry & these episodes are going to have that I don't think we've ever seen before.

Brad: [J2] were so young when all of this started. They brought to it such conviction & such commitment to the effort. 

That's one of the things that kept the show going for so many years... a show that was designed for very young guys, footloose & fancy free, & on the road…

Brad: To see these guys grow up b4 your eyes into- men, not boys any longer- was amazing. 

BABY Jared: Though the story does involve Sam & Dean chasing supernatural things, it really is a story about two brothers that love each other & ultimately will do anything for each other.

Jensen: There's really one person that gets it on the level that I get it, and that's Jared. Jared: I've never spent as much time with another human being as I have with Jensen Ackles. He will be my friend and brother forever. And I know that.

BABY Jensen: There's a lot of dynamics between the two brothers, there's a lot of history between them, there's a lot of banter between them... it's good stuff S15 Jensen: We had a partner in crime & we leaned on each other for, you know, for times when it was tough.

Jensen: But we also won together. We got to share the experience of success & the experience of getting picked up for another season. Watching these two characters go through what they're going through, when we're working 14 hours & it's 2-3 o’clock on a Sat morning and we're just now finishing filming out in the rain and mud and we gotta race to the airport to get on a plane because we've got a photoshoot in LA & we've gotta do on camera interviews and we gotta promote the show that we love so much that we were just in the mud & the rain filming hours before we're exhausted and it's like there's only one person that gets that right now. That gets how I feel and that's this guy standing next to me. That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool to have somebody like that.

Brad: We knew it was going to be impossible to tie up every aspect of all of the cans of worms that we opened up. 

We did want to bring a proper ending to the guys, the guy's relationship.

Brad: Then of course we had this huge corner we painted ourselves into with the most powerful thing in the universe being the big bad of the season. We try and find a proper send off for Jack & for Cas. What to do w/ the boys & is that a together farewell or an individual?

It was just... lots of moving parts. 

Dabb: I give a lot of credit to Bobo who really was the one who started banging the drum early & often to ending the mythology in 19 and end the characters in 20.

Brad: You're battling God & battling God & you have this epic situation going on through the first 3/4 of the show & then what? You send off Dean in act 4? That just felt wrong. Eugenie: We had this obligation, it was really mandatory, that we tie up the mythic narrative and leave the final episode for the emotional resolution. I [was] more on the side of not wanting to best God. To have God change to be more like his creations. So there were philosophical arguments, but we always knew God's resolution was going to be a big ticket item.

Jensen: We'd started day 1 of the 2nd to last episode, 19. We were 1 day down on that episode & we were just about to start our 2nd day & we got the call that morning that we were not going to be coming in that day.

Jensen: So we figured ok, we'll figure out protocol, figure out what we need to do, & we'll just regroup, come back on Monday. As that day progressed, it was like- this looks like more of an apocalypse that is ascending upon us than just a bad cold.

They pulled the plug & they said everybody go home. 

Singer: Fortunately, we got assurance from both the studio & the network that one way or another we were gonna finish the series. That was comforting to us, but we didn't know when we were going to go back.

Eugenie: We didn't know what we were going back to... if this was the last time we would ever see the set. There was no plan. It was just get out of dodge. Dabb: When it first happened, we thought it would be a couple of weeks, maybe a month.

I had conversations w/WB where they expected everyone to be back shooting in June & then things got worse & pushed & pushed.

Eugenie: Slowly as we settled into that 4 or 5 month period, discussions were going on w/the studio, & the networks, & the actors. We knew there would be restrictions on what we were allowed to shoot, but finally, the mechanics were figured out. 

Singer: So they were ready to go pretty quickly, shooting in Van, where covid wasn't quite as virulent as it was [in LA].

Dabb: We were one of the first shows, one of the first WB shows to start back up. So in a way, we were kinda a guinea pig. But, in being that, I think everyone took it really seriously. We had 0 positive tests. Crew members weren't going out on the weekends.

They were like look, if I get sick, it hurts the whole show. That speaks to the family culture up there, where we've had so much of our crew for so long. Where J2 & Singer provide such great leadership.

Singer: When I was in prep for 20, I was basically in the office but couldn't go to the set. It was very odd for me not to be able to go to the set while I was in prep. 

Everybody just hung in there & did what they were supposed to do.

Brad: Then we were faced with the dilemma of having to rewrite a lot of the stuff bc of the pandemic bc of the limitations that we knew were going to come on the production.

Jensen: We were gearing up for, not only the end of that season, but the end of the series. There was a lot of big, big things written-packed- into those last two scripts.

Jared: At first, it was supposed to be a lot of our old cast from prior seasons in a Roadhouse with Kansas.

Everybody had already agreed. Kansas was going to be in Van. We were going to have dad there & mom there. Just probably 20 or 30 different actors & actresses who had been a part of the SPN's canon over the last 15 & a half years.

Jensen: It was scheduled to be the last day that we were going to film, so it was almost like rolling right into a nice wrap party on camera. 

Brad: The idea of flying a boatload of ppl up there to quarantine for 2 weeks so they could shoot for a day was making less & less sense.

Eugenie: How do we make this work? And while you're doing that, you also don't want to sacrifice the heart and soul of the project. 

So we came up with a reduced, much more intimate ending. It has been replaced by something equally magical & rewarding.

Singer: I felt an enormous responsibility in directing the finale of a show that's been on for 15 years. Andrew, when he saw the cut, he said some really nice things to me as to, you know, the way I handled the material.

Jensen: The scenes that were filmed on our last day on the sound stages were filled with the most emotion of the final episode. 

Singer: One of the really hard things was we're on another stage that wasn't the MoL stage & they started wrecking the MoL sets

They'd been working on this set and been apart of this- this family for just as long if not longer than the set's been around. I was like "it's really sad seeing this get taken down" and the other guy said, "I'm trying to hold back tears while I'm swinging this hammer."

Jared: As we start saying goodbye to characters, to locations, like it just seems like every day you would wake up and there would be some reason to cry. 

Misha: This is a show ultimately about love, & empathy, & caring, & I think that Castiel embodies that.

Misha: Half the crew was crying. It was really such a sweet, supporting environment to be in for the demise of a character that, of course, for me is really important. 

But it was so lovely to see that, you know, the folks that I'm- I'm working with were also there for Cas at that moment. 

Alex: To get to work with these caliber people & see your friends every day is really special & is not something that often happens in this business for this long. It's been definitely a topsy turvy last couple weeks here with us and the crew. 

Jared: Friday of the final full week was the big scene in the barn with the vampires where Dean suffers his fate. They did the first two days with the entire stunt team & the young boy actors. 

And then they cut it for Thursday night and they're like, okay, Friday, tomorrow, we’re starting the dialogue. Dean, you're on the post. Sam, you just cut off the last vampire's head.

That was the scene- that was where Supernatural was really encapsulated. 

Jensen: And then the next week we kind of had this- on the road encore get together filmmaking scenario that felt more like we made it & it was more pats on the back as opposed to tearful goodbyes. 

Dabb: In a weird way you can look at the 15 seasons is like Sam & Dean's emotional evolution. You know instead of therapy, they kill vampires, but other than that it's kind of the same & brings them both to a very good place. And a place where they can, as the song says, you know, lay their weary head to rest. 

This felt like the most honest & emotionally fulfilling episode for these characters to us. Jared: I got thinking about how Supernatural started & how the majority of times how I thought it should end. It started with Sam & Dean Winchester. I think it's proper that it ended with Sam & Dean Winchester together again. 

Jensen: When the cameras stop rolling & Bob yelled, “Cut!” and Bob yelled, “That’s a series wrap on Supernatural.” There was- a there was a loud cheer that echoed through that canyon we were filming in. I will- I will happily say that there were hugs that happened and that needed to happen. Those are people that I spent not just years with, but so much time with- it's like brothers in arms and so to put it to bed the way that we did felt really good and then felt good to hug some people, I'll tell you that much. Singer: I thanked everyone, but I wanted to really thank people who had been with us from the beginning and as I looked around, there were so many people who had been there from the beginning.

We really were a family. I always say about this show is one of the reasons that it was a success and is that it was not only about the Winchester family, but it was about the Supernatural family. 

Jared: So now that's all said and done, I guess I can look back at it and just be proud that I helped this show carry on and I'm really proud of the blood, sweat, and tears that I put in, and I feel like- I feel like that sacrifice was also maybe one of the things I learned from Sam, you know? Sam had to sacrifice a lot. So, I'm honored and flattered and grateful that I got to be a part of that journey.

Dabb: You're never going to have another show like this. You're never gonna have another experience like this. For a lot of different reasons, from how long it ran, from the family that the show became, from the amazing fans that we have. [Footage of us] From the emotional investment people can put in over 15 years of their lives. 

Some started watching this when they were in high school, when they were 15, they're 30 now, they might have kids. That's their- that's like half their life. They've been with this show. You're not gonna have that again. Shows just aren’t gonna run this long, especially genre shows, but I don't know that I'm ever gonna do anything else in my career that I'm gonna be more proud of than having been involved in this show. 

Jared: The things that stick out are just how important it is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And keep on working and wake up every day and treat it like it could be your last and- and if you make it out the other side, you'll be happy and proud of what you did. 

Jensen: The crew had packed up, they had cleared the bridge, and they were all starting to, you know, load their trucks and get moving. And Jared and I just kind of hung back, and we just took a moment. I looked at him and I said, “I’m proud of us, man. I'm proud of what we've done.”

We know that that's the collective we, that is everyone that is involved, that is- you know from the top down. You know, for our portion, for what we contributed to this monster of the show, he and I reflected on that, and still able to see and smell the roses.

[coldmilkcreamery]

First Class Dinner, Third Class Dance

Part 1 of 2: A First Class Dinner

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: na jaemin x male reader 🌹

𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 1228

𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: titanic au, jack!jaemin and male!rose (male reader)

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝘀: none

𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 ⭐️

𝗮/𝗻: requested by @cherubsandswans, thank you so much for your request, you are our first request and we really hope we did good and that you enjoy the story, this will be split into two parts btw ^_^

> 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 <

-

“I was right!” Your aunt jubilantly cheers. “You and my son are just about the same size.”

“Pretty close.” Jaemin says in agreement, eyeing his reflection in the mirror. He fiddles with his clothing and wiggles his forearms to adjust the fit of his tuxe’s sleeves.

“You shine up like a new penny.” Your aunt whistles, following up with a sonorous chuckle.

“Now you go to dinner, I will meet you there.” She urges Jaemin, patting his back and ruffling the shoulders of his top.

Jaemin nods as a smile manifests on his lips. “Thank you ma’am.”

“It’s no big deal.”

He slowly struts to the entrance of the grand staircase, his posture stiff and rigid under the tight collar of his dirty white dress shirt and the skimpy fit of the tux your aunt had lent to him.

Stringing his fingers through the collar of his tux, Jaemin makes his way to a polished windowed wooden door. The doors' glass windows uniformly spread across its center reveal bits of the grand staircases palatial interior.

There is a sense of excitement that courses through Jaemin’s veins as the view of the intricately carved walls, the dome shaped ceiling and the symmetrical stairway gets bigger and ever closer.

Throughout his life he never thought he would sail on the Titanic, let alone be able to see and visit its grand staircase, or get acquainted with you, a first class passenger.

A man opens the door to greet Jaemin. “Good evening sir.” He says as he welcomes him into the grand staircase. Jaemin smiles and bows his head as he passes the man.

The grand staircase’s interior radiates opulence and is as extravagant as the people roaming it. He watches the sea of feathered hats, fur lined coats over silk dresses, and men in tuxes just like his at a bird’s eye view from the second level of the grand staircase.

Jaemin almost slips on the marble floor, barely catching himself on one of the pillars that cords through the staircase. Its rails consisted of mazelike spirals laced with patches of gold.

He makes his way down the staircase he never thought he would have even been able to see, bowing heads and smiling to occasional passersby.

Turning his back away from the staircase, Jaemin gestures and mumbles to himself, mentally rehearsing what he was going to say upon seeing you.

You make your way down the staircase from the second level, where Jaemin had been just a few moments back, to catch him doing this.

He makes a glance to the side, catching you in his field of vision. Too slow to react to seeing you, he looks back to where he had been the past few minutes before doubling back and meeting your eyes.

The grand staircase seems to morph into a blur at the corner of Jaemin’s eye as he meets your gaze. As you walk down the carpeted steps, Jaemin walks up a step to you. He clemently pulls at your fingers with his own, bringing your hand up to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to your knuckles.

“I saw that in a nickelodeon once and I’ve always wanted to do it.” He giggles forcing a smile onto your expression.

Jaemin walks you down the remaining step of the staircase. With arms linked, you bring him over to your mother and fiancée.

“Darling.” You nudge the shoulder of the former. “Surely you remember Mr. Na Jaemin?”

“Na Jaemin?” Your fiancée marvels at his difference in attire. “That’s amazing, you could almost pass for a gentleman.” She snidely remarks.

“Almost.” Jaemin muses.

Your fiancée leads your mother away with her. You trail behind them and seat yourselves at one of the silk lined tables in the first-class dining saloon.

Biscuits, bread and billows of steam are scattered across the table, in the middle of fine chinas and glimmering cutlery.

“Caviar?” A waiter offers, lowering a small tub of it for Jaemin to reach.

“No caviar for me, thanks.” Jaemin declines. “Never did like it much.”

“And where exactly do you live Mr. Na?” Your mother queries, lightly nibbling on a biscuit spread with caviar.

“Well, right now, my address is the RMS Titanic. After that, I’m on God's good humor.” Jaemin says with a subtle snicker as he takes a sip of his champagne.

“And how is it that you have the means to travel?”

“I work my way from place to place, you know, tramp steamers and such.” Jaemin answers, bringing up his index finger to scratch under his eye. “But I won my ticket on the Titanic here at a lucky hand in poker, a very lucky hand.”

“All life is a game of luck isn’t it?” An elderly man seated at your table affirms.

“A real man makes his own luck sir.” Your fiancée speaks up, holding the wine glass in her fingers, bringing it away from her lips by its stem. “Right Jaemin?”

Jaemin hums in response before your mother continues with her string of questions.

“And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing do you?” Your mother gripes, parading a look of disapproval earning a glare from your aunt seated across you.

“Well, yes ma’am I do.” Jaemin modestly replies after pausing a few seconds, grabbing everyone’s attention once again. “I mean, I’ve got everything I need here with me. I’m an artist and I have air in my lungs and a few blank sheets of paper.”

“I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s gonna happen or who I’m gonna meet.” Jaemin continues as he shoves a piece of bread into his mouth.

“Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am, on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people.” Jaemin adds, raising his glass and pointing it to everyone on the table garnering a band of soft laughter. “I figured life is a gift and I don’t intend on wasting it, you never know what hand you’re gonna get dealt next.”

“You learn to take life as it comes at you, to make each and everyday count.” He concludes.

“Well said Jaemin.” Your aunt applauds as others on the table hum in agreement.

“To making it count.” You utter your first word of the night, raising your glass as you continue to gaze into Jaemin’s eyes.

You weren’t sure whether it was his nonchalance or the happy go lucky, go with the flow lifestyle but hearing his stories gave you some sense of relief and it was refreshing.

“To making it count!” The table cheers, raising their own glasses.

An hour or two passes as you finish dinner. You walk side by side with Jaemin, inches apart as you trudge down the staircase. Jaemin halts his steps, stopping both of you in your tracks.

“What is it?” You ask as Jaemin puts his arm in front of you.

“Just wait.” He whispers, keeping his eyes glued on what seems to be your mother and fiancée walking towards the exit of the grand staircase.

“For what?” You reply, looking to where Jaemin is.

As the two women disappear behind the exit, Jaemin suddenly grabs your hand in his and dashes towards a different exit.

“Where are you taking me?” You mumble.

“Just follow me.”

-

𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙: 01.14.21

𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙: ongoing

(PART 2 HERE)

[internalsealpanic]

Dick Grayson x Mercenary Reader HCs Part 1

a/n: This is basically a Dick Grayson/ Reader thingy that has been stuck in my head for months but I haven’t plotted out an actual fic for. Basically, I have the relationship mapped out in my head but I have no scenarios. I was hoping someone could suggest a plot I can play with. This part is mostly platonic with hints of a future relationship. This is pretty much in a weird version of canon running around in my head. 

masterlist

You’re Deathstroke’s apprentice. (This version is the version from the Knights and Dragons movie so he isn't a complete and utter asshole. Look, I just really like that version.) Let's just say you had more moxie than self preservation. It also helps that you’re a meta with a pretty unique power. Anything drawn on your skin turns into a physical object. (You basically have a bunch of permanent markers on you in addition to your usual equipment.)

Dick doesn't like you because of your profession but has a grudging respect for your skill. You think Dick is annoying for getting in the way but you understand that he's just trying to do his best to help the city in his own useless way.

YOU LORDING YOUR HEIGHT OVER DICK WHEN YOU'RE KIDS AND YOU QUIETLY CURSING WHEN YOU STOP GROWING.

You and Dick never set out to be friends. You honestly had no clue when this even started. Maybe it was because you keep accidentally saving each other or maybe because you two have a lot to bond over such as murdered parents and emotionally inept mentors. 

When it actually started: You, in full  costume, recognize your least favourite bird and see that he's crying and that he not only has an ugly bruise in his face but also a bunch of other injuries. you simply sit with him and throw your arms around him letting your muscles relax as if to tell him ‘it's ok and that you’ve got him’. You let him cry into your shoulder. You understand that you have a little more in common than he's willing to admit. You use one of your motion tattoo wings as a cover from the rain and the other to keep Dick warm. When Dick finally calms down enough to think, he's jarred by how nice you are acting. your general demeanor loosened at this point you let your offense show and the very petulant look on your face draws a tired laugh out of Dick. your angry look melts to give way to something resembling relief. You stay there for a while not speaking before Dick decides he needs to leave. Without a fuss you let him go.

After that, instead of fighting each other during encounters, you two kind of just sit together and start talking about what happened since your last encounter. Or you two play rock, paper, scissors to see who ‘won’. 

Dick realizes that your personality is hilariously incompatible with your chosen profession. You rant about how Slade lectures you about learning how to lie better and when they tested how bad you were at it Dick was sure Alfred would politely word it as wooden. you had good control over your body language but you had a look caught between pain and annoyance etched on your face. 

Mini scenario: 

Dick is really stressed out with school and vigilanteing and with Bruce that he just starts wandering around Gotham. 

It was a bad idea. Wandering around Gotham is generally a bad idea especially if your head isn't on straight but there is something relaxing about just wandering around. 

Dick ends up at one of Gotham's old movie theatres. One of those businesses that you're pretty sure is a front for something because you can't wrap your head around how they could possibly still be in business. 

Then there you were a foot from the ticketing windows. His mind instantly recognizes you. You, in turn, recognize him instantly. 

When neither of you launch into an attack, you decide to watch a movie together. After bickering for 15 minutes about what movie you should watch, you decide on a coin toss. Because you won, Dick was subjected to your love of terrible movies. 

You go out for burgers afterwards and joke about the movie. You complain about the bad acting and the ridiculous story line. You even come up with how they should have done it.

Your lunch was spent outside in the parking lot of the burger joint. 

You walk around some more after you explain that you haven't been to this part of Gotham and Dick gives you a mini tour. 

You talk about a mix of mundane teenager things and some complaints about their occupations.

You check your watch and explain that you need to go to the grocery store for ingredients. 

Dick goes with you just because. He won't admit that he's having a lot of fun.

Being teenagers they fuck around. Being exceptionally athletic and intelligent teenagers you fuck around entertainingly. 

At first, you play 'the price is right' because Dick wants to prove he isn't a spoiled rich kid. He doesn't prove jack. You don't do much better but it's on the opposite end. 

You get bored and frustrated so you start a scavenger hunt much to the terror of the other customers. How would you feel about 2 terrors zooming around screaming about butter and backflipping over you?

Dick is busy gloating about his victory when the store gets robbed. Dick can't do anything because right now he is a rich boy extraordinaire and should not be capable of fighting. you on the other hand is sore from losing and just yeets a can into one of the robbers faces. 

Everyone's attention pans to your as you ready to lob another can at them. The robbers run leaving their unconscious friend on the floor bleeding. 

You still pay for the can but ask Dick to get another one. 

 Walking down the street, Dick notices how many take out places are on the way and asks why you don't just eat from there. you simply tell him you like home cooking more. He notes that for next time. 

You exchange phone numbers so you can plan a next time. 

The next time they hang out you both bring homemade snacks to sneak into the theater.

They start hanging out in civvies and do really mundane civilian stuff you want to try and that Dick doesn't get to do enough. 

You become a sort of hub of normality for Dick. He can talk to you about all the weird stuff without worrying about your not getting it or your judging him while also doing the most mind numbingly human things. 

What do they usually talk about:

Casual nerdy stuff

Weird history shit you reads about

Vigilante stuff

Funny henchman stories from the perspective of a vigilante and a higher level henchman

Sometimes they talk about trauma but they only vaguely mention it

They debate over dumb things like whether there's too much variety in cereal. Guess who's on which side. 

Sometimes they discuss fighting techniques. 

Dick teaches you Romani and about the Romani culture

You sometimes explains various myths and superstitions from your own culture

Dick sometimes talks about school and galas and you end up making fun of weird rich people. They also end up making fun of the various rich people who hire you.

You'll talk about almost everything with each other

You bring him to one of your safe houses for a home cooked meal after he tells you how he lives off of cereal. You were horrified. 

The Titans, Batman, and Alfred get really suspicious about Dick's new civilian friend. 

Slade gets suspicious of you frequently visiting certain cities. 

Somehow they figure out that you are the wraith. 

They all lecture Dick about it. 

Slade just finds the whole thing amusing and debates on whether he can actually convince you to give up some of Grayson's secrets. 

I just love the image of them casually hanging out in civvies with Batman questioning Dick's life decisions and what your has been influenced by his relationship with Catwoman while Deathstroke and Wintergreen are just quietly amused by the situation at some point they were worried about you discussing merc stuff but neither talk about current business unless it's safe to. 

Wintergreen isn't particularly worried since Grayson is a good kid. Wintergreen once joked that you should convince him to join their side. You said that Dick didn't have the right personality to be a merc. The irony of this was completely lost on your. 

You spending a ton of your hard earned mercenary money to win a stuffed toy that you think little Rose would want. Dick making fun of you for not getting it then he ends up spending too much money but he eventually gets it. You and Dick pass by a shop and you see the exact same stuffed toy in the shop window for a sixteenth of the fortune you spent at the arcade. Good news though, Rose still has the stuffed toy. 

 Both of you being petty at dance dance revolution. 

When you rant to each other in less than private areas, you rapidly switch languages.

Unbeknownst to Slade, Dick actually knows a bunch of his safe houses and unbeknownst to Dick, those are Deathstroke's safe houses.  You are technically not lying when you say it's yours. 

You have a silent pact not to blow each other's covers unless they deem it completely necessary (when people's lives are at stake). The only person who knows this pact is Jason and they have bought his silence. 

You will both go out of their way to help each other out of a bind. 

Sometimes when Bruce and Alfred are out of town and the stars align to have you visiting for a job, you end up helping Dick babysit. Jason gets confused and defensive at first. You have dealt with distrustful youngins. Neither Rose nor Joey wanted anything to do with you at first. You, however, grew up wanting siblings so you tried your darndest to look after them and it is really fucking hard to not let this munchkin grown on you. 

When you're old enough to hit the club they often go drinking together. You once tried to have you wingman for Dick. Using the ‘fantastic’ negotiating skills you got from mercenary work, you ended up getting the number for yourself. You once told Rose and Joey about it and both of them made lighthearted jokes about it. 

Dick gets confronted by Slade at sword point and asks what his intentions are with his kid (He honestly isn't at all serious but he likes how scared Dick got because the man is terrifying.)

Dick also gets interrogated by Joey and Rose because, you know, this is their big sister. 

You often insist on family dinners at least once every 2 weeks with your siblings, sometimes with their mom (Adeline is kind of not ok with you and Rose being present but is trying her best for Joey's sake), sometimes with their dad, occasionally with their uncle Wintergreen. 

You usually just casually call Slade 'pops'  and you drawls 'dad' when you’re pissed and 'papa' when you’re emotional. You try your damndest to only call him Slade or Deathstroke on the field but sometimes you slip up and calls him pops in the field

You have batnapped each batkid at least once. Batnapping meaning seeing a baby bat and throwing them over your shoulder when you’re pretty sure they’re going to get killed. This isn’t limited to kids. You still do this when they’re adults. The image of you throwing Dick over your shoulder when you two were tiny gives me life but you throwing Dick and/or Jason over your shoulder when they’re huge has me cackling.  

You basically accidentally become a de facto big sister/ mom friend to the batkids purely through your friendship with Dick.

Images from this scenario I can’t get out of my head:

Stargazing

Teaching Dick how to cook. He just ends up going to your place for a meal though. 

Running around during a rain storm huddled under a jacket with Dick because neither of you checked the weather

Casual affection you two share because you’re both tactile people. Casual affection as in just sitting on the couch in each other’s space, bumping shoulders to communicate, leaning on each other, hugging each other when greeting each other, and all that good stuff. 

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

Thanks for reading! I’m really sorry for the grammar and disorganization. 

If you guys are interested in the more bickering dialogue heavy part 2 either comment here or send an ask or pm me. *shrugs* This is just really self indulgent on my part. 

taglist: 

@idkmanicantenglish

@birdy-bat-writes (I will stop tagging you when you run out of good ideas for me.)

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

1960: John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson vs Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey vs Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller

1968: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie vs George Wallace/Curtis Lemay

1972: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs George McGovern/Sargent Shriver

1976: Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale vs Gerald Ford/Bob Dole

1980: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale

1984: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro

1988: George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen

1992: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Ross Perot/James Stockdale

1996: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs Bob Dole/Jack Kemp vs Ross Perot/Pat Choate

2000: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs Al Gore/Joe Lieberman

2004: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs John Kerry/John Edwards

2008: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs John McCain/Sarah Palin

2012: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan

2016: Donald Trump/Mike Pence vs Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine

2020: Joe Biden/Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump/Mike Pence

The same candidates tend to show up year after year. Not just President running for re-election, but Vice Presidents running for the top slot themselves, incumbents or candidates, successful or not; Richard Nixon (1952, 1956, 1960, 1968), Hubert Humphrey (1964, 1968), Walter Mondale (1976, 1980), Bob Dole (1976, 1996), Al Gore (1992, 1996, 2000)

I would expect John Edwards (D-2004) to try and make a comeback, though he was only a one term senator from North Carolina, so that’s looking increasingly unlikely. The state swung for Obama in 2008, but hasn’t voted blue since (except for governor, but he has no power because the Republicans control the state legislature)

Paul Ryan (R-2012) will be back for sure; he retired from the House in part over of disagreements with Trump, but one doesn’t just give up being Speaker and slink away into obscurity (just look at Newt Gingrich, he refuses to shut up or die), so I think Ryan is just biding his time and hoping the whole Trump thing blows over in the next decade. If the party shifts away from Trump, he might offer himself as a slightly more moderate (“moderate*”) alternative.

Or maybe Sarah Palin (R-2008) will try and reclaim the presidency for herself; she’s a hardcore right wing nutjob, she was a Bush supporter AND a Trump supporter, and she’s still relatively young, so I could see her stepping back into the spotlight to try and “being the country back” to the traditionalism of the early 2000s. Nostalgia is cyclical, so I figure around 2028 or 2032 people will start looking back fondly on the Clinton and Bush years (Clinton more so than Bush, what with 9/11 and the wars and such)

Tim Kaine isn’t even one of the famous senators; there are some senators that everybody knows, even if they’re not from your state, like Chuck Schumer, Joe Manchin, Lindsey Graham, Bitch McConnell, big names with big reputations. Tim Kaine is a nobody, just a bland and inoffensive white dude Clinton picked to be as uncontroversial as possible (she couldn’t pick a woman or a black person because then the ticket would have been “too diverse”). He’s not the future of the Democratic party, but I could see him trying to become part of the Senate leadership. Maybe the whip (vice leader), I don’t think he has what it takes to be leader outright.

I don’t think Mitt Romney (R-2012) will run for president again; that ship has sailed. Moderate Republicans are critically endangered, extinct in the wild, with single specimens in captivity (in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maryland). After back-to-back losses in 2008 and 2012, I don’t think Republicans will run a moderate candidate ever again. Romney could maybe just maybe become the whip if he so desired, he’s a big enough name with support enough to become their presidential nominee, though he’ll never be the leader; McConnell was their golden goose, he gave hem exactly what they wanted and changed the game to give them an advantage even in minority. They will only ever elect hardliners like him from now on. Romney is too soft; he cares too much about the other side (he’s not liberal by any stretch of the imagination, he’s a Mormon for Brigham’s sake, but he voted to impeach Trump twice which means he may as well be a liberal in the eyes of the public)

Mike Pence has committed political suicide. Democrats hate him for his homophobia, sexism, racism, classism, and weird relationship with his wife who he calls “mother.” Republicans hate him because he didn’t break the law to re-elect Trump. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. He’s ultraconservative and super religious, so under normal circumstances he’d be a shoo-in for the nomination, but after breaking with Trump in January he’s dead in the water (he didn’t even really break away, there was literally nothing legal he could do; if he had tried anything it would have been struck down by the courts). And besides that, Pence is boring as hell. He’s milquetoast, he’s a saltine cracker without the salt because it’s too spicy, he orders plain hamburgers with ketchup on the side, all his steaks are cooked well done, he gets a boner when he sees a woman’s ankle and has to self-flagellate for penance, he sends back water if it has too much ice because it makes his teeth hurt. He’s the sacrificial lamb they’d nominate specifically to lose so they can save a stronger candidate for later when there’s no incumbent.

Kamala Harris is basically president-in-waiting (or rather nominee-in-waiting; who knows if she can actually win?) Biden ran on the unspoken promise that he would step down in 2024, making her the front runner, but he has recently walked this back and says he plans on running for a second term himself, pushing Kamala back until 2028 at least. She has good PR and has convinced half the country that she’s a progressive instead of a cop, so if she runs she’ll definitely have an edge over Democratic challengers. The media picks the nominee, and in 24 or 28 they’ll pick her for sure.

It’s becoming increasingly harder for people to stay relevant over multiple decades. I can’t imagine any 2004 candidates running in 2024, but Bob Dole managed to get on as Ford’s #2 and come back as #1 himself twenty years later (he lost both times, but still). Richard Nixon beat the odds and actually got elected in 68 after losing the presidency in 60 and the governorship in 62; he was pretty much coasting on Eisenhower’s legacy, selling himself as the anti-Goldwater, who lost in 64 to LBJ in a landslide.

Trump is acting like he’s going to run again, but whether or not he’ll fully commit is up in the air. On the one hand, his least insane niece says that he doesn’t want to put himself in a position where he could lose again, his ego couldn’t take it, he’s so embarrassed he can’t even admit it happened the first time. On the other hand, he’s too proud to accept defeat and just let some other candidate take his spot as leader of the Republican Party; the Republicans haven’t had a leader since Eisenhower, every other president has disappeared after leaving office.

Nixon resigned in disgrace

Ford was elected out

Reagan disappeared in the 90s because he didn’t want the country to see him deteriorate from Alzheimer’s

Bush Sr was elected out

Bush Jr was despised with approval in the 20s (record low), and could potentially have been tried at The Hague if Obama had balls

Now Trump wants to stick around, even though he’s older than Reagan and FAR less healthy. He’ll probably be dead in 15 years anyway; no way he reaches 90. His mind may already be going, but unlike Reagan he isn’t self aware enough to know it, so he might try to stay in the spotlight even after the dementia sets in. Wo knows?

What his niece says, and what I think is most likely to happen, is that he will pretend like he’s running in order to scam donors out of millions of dollars to pay his exorbitant legal fees, but then bow out of the race before the primaries. Whichever candidate he personally endorses will become the nominee and go up against Biden. Biden will win the popular vote, but I don’t know if he’ll win the electoral college; if this happens for the third time in a quarter century, I expect nothing less than chaos in the streets, perhaps even civil war (well, I expected civil war after 2020, and we’re still standing, so again, who knows?). All I know is that congressional Democrats will throw a hissy fit but do nothing to stop the Republicans from sneaking their way into office without a mandate AGAIN.

The last Republican to legitimately win the presidency was George Bush Sr in 1988. Jr lost to Gore, and only got re-elected in 2004 because he invaded Iraq the year prior. Democrats have won 7 of the last 8 elections, including the last 4 in a row. There are more Democrats and left-leaning independents than Republicans and right-leaners. If the Republicans lose-but-win AGAIN, I don’t think the county could take it; there would be phony calls for secession on TV and legitimate whispers behind the scenes, there would be lawsuits, there would be an even bigger assault on the Capitol than January 6, people would riot, the National Guard would attack brown people with impunity while peacefully corralling the white ones with shields and loudspeakers.

There hasn’t been an assassination since 1963, and no assassination attempt resulting in injury since 1981. Someone threw a grenade at Bush Jr in 2005, but they wrapped a handkerchief around it so the lever didn’t release. I think multiple politicians on both sides of the aisle might be targeted in the event of another electoral college screw up.

Trump could face jail time for his tax crimes, though given his high profile I think he’d get off with a slap on the wrist. He has never faced consequences before, so why would they start now?

[love-bokumono-fics]

WIP Wednesday - Friends of Mineral Town, Part 2!

I'm going to make 2 WIP Wednesday posts today for the FoMT WIP Wednesday feature. When I sorted by Date Updated, I realized that the most recent 10 fics have all received a feature on the blog over the last couple months. Which is great! But I also want to take time to feature some of the WIPs that haven't been updated in a little bit, but still deserve some time in the spotlight. Part 1 featured the first 10 fics on the list, Part features the next 10! Happy reading! Do you have a FoMT WIP that didn't get featured today? Drop the link to it in a Submission box! We're always happy to feature submissions! to cure what ails you - by indoorsy; WIP, 7/?, 22k Rating: Mature; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationship: Claire the Farmer/Doctor Trent; Characters: Claire, Doctor Trent | Torre Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, his name is Doctor Summary: Claire, a perpetual people-pleaser with a sensitive soul, uproots her mundane city life to take over her grandfather's farm. Her endeavors are supported by the friendly community of Mineral Town - including the town's eccentric doctor. A Happy Lamp for an Unhappy Life - by MacchiatoRodion; WIP, 7/?, 17k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Major Character Death; Categories: Gen, Multi Fandoms: Back To Nature, A Wonderful Life, Friends of Mineral Town, Havest Moon DS Cute Characters: Cliff, Old Nina, Galen | Guri, Mary the Librarian, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Basil the Writer, Celia | Seperia, Marlin | Mash, Pony | Aya | Jill, Jennifer, Gray, Kai, Carter the Pastor, Popuri, Rick, Manna, Lillia the Shopkeeper, Aja | Adge, Doctor Trent, Dr. Hardy | Paddock Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Suicidal Thoughts, Child Death, Past Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Tags May Change, Childhood Memories, Child Abandonment, Domestic Disputes, Poor Life Choices, Flowers, Developing Friendships, Healing, Child Neglect Summary: Cliff was once considering committing suicide, so his instinct is to jump off the edge of Mother's Hill, where so many lovable people had perished before. But something compels him to look down at the area where the bodies should have landed. To his surprise, there was an entire village at the bottom. He decides to investigate since he doesn't anticipate that anybody will miss him while he is away. He ends up meeting someone who shows him the impact of even the shortest life to him. This story begins in the summer leading up to the beginning of Friends of Mineral Town and the first chapter of A Wonderful Life/DS. Story of Mineral Town - by CustardPudding; WIP, 2/?, 5k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town, Harvest Moon 64, Back To Nature Relationships: Claire the Farmer/Gray, Cliff/Female Farmer, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran/Brandon, Kai/Popuri, Harris/Mary the Librarian | Marie, Elli/Doctor Trent | Torre, Karen/Rick; Characters: Claire, Sara, Cliff, Gray, Jennifer, Karen, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Doug | Dudley Additional Tags: Chickens, Angst, Family Drama, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, More like medium burn? I don't really know, Some Fluff, But also quite a bit of angst, Canon couples, Ann/Brandon is kinda cracky, Some underage drinking, Which is mostly Karen, Minor Swearing Summary: Claire and Sara, sisters who have been inseparable for their whole lives, are vastly different. With Claire's quiet and responsible nature combined with Sara's hotheaded and standoffish one, many wondered how they could possibly be related by blood. But they took care of each other nevertheless. So when they inherit their late grandfather's farm, they expect it to be an easy thing. Take a few looks at it, restore it to its former glory, and then sell it and move on. They were wrong, of course. Rival After Events - by LuxBeacon (Number13teen); WIP, 4/13, 7k Rating: General

Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationships: Elli/Doctor Trent | Torre, Kai/Popuri, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran/Cliff, Karen/Rick, Gray/Mary the Librarian | Marie, Harvest Goddess/Pete | Jack, Kappa/Claire, Male Farmer | Yuto/Huang | Won; Characters: Elli | Elly, Doctor Trent | Torre, Popuri, Kai, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Cliff, Karen, Rick, Mary the Librarian, Gray, Pete | Jack, Claire, Harvest Goddess, Kappa, Won | Huang, Gourmet - Character Additional Tags: Fluff, Rival Marriage, LGBTQ Themes, Wholesome, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net Summary: A series of one shots detailing the lives of the Mineral Town bachelorettes and bachelors after marrying their rival. Each story references different locations and characters from across the franchise and each chapter takes inspiration from actual events in the games. Pure Fluff. Year One - by pawprintmusical; WIP, 7/?, 10k Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town, Harvest Moon DS Cute, A Wonderful Life Relationships: Claire the Farmer/Zack, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran/Cliff, Elli/Doctor Trent | Torre, Gray/Mary the Librarian, Kai/Popuri, Karen/Rick; Characters: Claire the Farmer, Zack, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Cliff, Elli, Doctor Trent | Torre, Gray, Mary the Librarian, Karen, Rick, Kai, Popuri Additional Tags: MFoMT, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, alcohol mention, didn't want to tag the whole town but they're here with a chunk of AWL people too, Tags Added As I Go, Pre-Relationship, Not Remake Compliant Summary: Claire needed a change, and Mineral Town seemed like just the ticket. She just never expected how much it would change her. Rainy Day Vignettes - by Shelookstothesky; WIP, 7/?, 31k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life, Harvest Moon DS Cute, Friends of Mineral Town Characters: Marlin | Mash, Pony | Aya | Jill, Rock, Muffy | Muumuu, Griffin | Garfan, Takakura, Celia | Seperia, Vesta, Claire Additional Tags: Vignette, Eventual Romance, Angst and Drama Summary: This fanfic is a collection of scenes I wrote with the Jill/Pony and Marlin paring back in 2016 and decided to reread and edit them just for fun. I'm not sure if I'll actually write new scenes in addition to the original ones I wrote back in 2016. I suppose it will depend on how engrossed I get back into the plot. I hope you enjoy anyway!~ Life is like a Festival - by LeafBubble; WIP, 7/?, 26k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationships: Many relationships will happen, Final pairing is a mystery; Characters: Rick, Popuri, Barley | Mugi, May | Mei, Saibara, Gray, Duke, Manna, Basil the Writer, Anna, Mary the Librarian | Marie, Thomas, Harris, Old Ellen, Elli | Elly, Stu | Yu, Jeff, Sasha, Karen, Doctor Trent | Torre, Carter the Pastor, Cliff, Doug | Dudley, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Kai, Gotz | Gotts, Brandon, Jennifer, Zack, Won Huang Additional Tags: Adult themes are present, Depression, Angst, Prejudice, Sexuality, Abandonment, Happy Themes, Life gives the good and the bad Summary: Claire is a young woman who led a comfortable life. Great up bringing, amazing schooling, landed a dream job. As the days go by she feels as if she was doing nothing, but being a cog in the machine. A chance get away on a cruise forever changes her life. A forgotten land, facing turmoil when crops and animals begin to decay. A goddess is in disarray as she needs to find a new farmer to help restore the town. After making a deal with a goddess, Claire vows to find the man who saved her life. Will she decide to take on the challenge of being a farmer in an unfamiliar town and find this mystery man, or pack her bags and face reality? Friendships will be tested, and love will be fought and lost. A slow burn story that will go through the lives of the many

characters of Mineral Town and their connections to each other. all that glitters - by christinahosetti; WIP, 3/?, 5k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/F Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationship: Claire the Farmer/Jennifer; Characters: Claire, Jennifer Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Worldbuilding, Eventual Smut, Fae & Fairies, not gonna tag the whole town but they're all there basically, claire is called clover Summary: “You’re not completely solitary, though,” Clover points out, now harvesting the blackberries into a tupperware container she’s fished out of her rucksack. “You hang out with me all the time. And Mugi, and Lillia, and Harris.” “That’s true. They’re all people with peaceful energies, though, so I don’t mind them so much. No drama or nastiness.” Clover gives her an odd look. “I’m not sure that applies to me.” “Well, you’re the exception.” - Jennifer has secrets to keep, but the farmer makes her want to spill them all. Harvest Moon: The Novel - by CurtTheGamer, WIP, 5/?, 8k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence; Major Character Death Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town, Back To Nature Characters: Pete | Jack, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Doug | Dudley, Mary the Librarian | Marie, Karen, Elli | Elly, Old Ellen, Gray, Jeff, Cliff, Gotz | Gotts, Sasha, Maria the Mayor's Daughter, Anna, Thomas, Manna, Doctor | Trent, Duke, Saibara, Stu | Yu, Won | Huang, Kent, May | Mei, Barley | Mugi, Kai, Popuri, Lillia the Shopkeeper, Rick, Basil the Writer, Harris, Jennifer, Zack, Dog, Horse Summary: Pete is a young man from the big city. He hasn't dreamed of having a job outside the city, nor does he want to. But when an old friend from a small village dies, Pete inherits his farm. Though reluctant, he agrees to leave his city life to become a farmer. Will he live happily ever after, or will the old-fashioned country life become a bore? What is Art? (Not That) - by FosterTheBananas; WIP, 1/2, 1.2k Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: Gen Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Characters: Won | Huang, Brandon Summary: Huang heads to Mineral Town to help oversee shipments for his cousin. While there, he tries to buy some art in the hopes of reselling for a profit, but instead he catches the attention of an eccentric artist who. just. won't. go. away.

[tracynotabi]

Riptide Day 0-1

So I wasn’t going to record my time in Ohio, just because I forgot to take pictures and we weren’t really mobile, but looking back, there were just too many memories to forget and I just really wanted to share with everyone how much fun this community is, despite the fact that we were canceled.

Most people will be referred to by their names, but I’ll introduce them with their tags first. If you see this and would like your name removed/changed, please let me know.

Also, some of this is not a perfect play-by-play because I am writing purely from memory.

Also, please note, there is degeneracy.

Thursday; September 9, 2021

Starting off the day, Kevin (The Doctor) and I had basically no sleep. We woke up at 7am PDT (read: 6:30am but too lazy to get out of bed) after getting to be around 4-5am mainly because Kevin wanted to hang out with his friends in Discord before he leaves them for the whole weekend. Me? I was just procrastinating on packing.

Joey (Big Large) texts in our group chat that we never got rid of from Emerald City that they’ll be at my place in 10 minutes with Ivan (Ivayne), because they were driving up north from Elk Grove, which is about 20 minutes south of where we live.

The plan was to drive to Robert (PotatoesAreYum)’s place and then make the two hour drive to San Jose, where we would catch our 1:45pm flight.

Why did we do this? Because our tickets were canceled for Blacklisted 6 and we couldn’t get refunds so we only had credits to work from, but apparently, Sacramento Airport did not have available flights to Ohio that were by Alaskan Airlines.

We took off, leaving Sacramento and heading to Davis. Part way through, we get a text from Robert asking how far out we were, because he had to poop, but we were 11 minutes out.

Robert, the descriptive man he is, describes that his poop was ready to crown, so he was good. I thanked him for the visual, because goddamn, I needed another one after getting a Snapchat from Joey the night before of his ass hanging out in jorts.

Robert: At least I didn’t sent a picture like Joey. But if you want a picture, I could send you one. Me: I would cancel your flight.

We end up driving south to Kevin’s brother’s house, where we tried to find a Jack in the Box that was on Google Maps. We spent about five minutes looking for it before ultimately giving up and going to a Hawaiian BBQ/Donut shop. We were just as confounded as you are probably right now. Food was OK.

Kevin’s brother insisted the Jack in the Box was there but for the life of us, we could not find it. He took us to the airport and off we went to Chicago. Yes, they played Smash at the airport, because this is what Smash players do. 

They also played on the flight. Sidenote: there was this very loud cat in the aisle across from me that was meowing like crazy.

Flight from Chicago to Cleveland sucked. It was hot and cramped and they took our baggage away.

We land in Cleveland at about 11pm? Parker (Boringman [Sip Mastah]) was waiting for us at our gate because he had landed an hour before us.

We go down to Ground Transportation to reach our shuttle when I read the little red tag one of the flight attendants gave me. It said that our baggage would be given to us at the end of the flight.

... Well, we had just passed through security and going down the escalator at that point.

Well, fuck.

We run into Washington at baggage claim and I’m panicking because I have no idea if our luggage is going to pop out at baggage claim. Joey, Kevin, and I go up the escalator - the WRONG escalator and we go up a flight too much. We go back down and the airport’s just empty.

Makes sense, it’s 11pm EDT and there’s not a single worker in sight.

Robert texts us saying our luggage popped out and I hate life because the wording on the ticket, I swear, implied it wasn’t going to come out of baggage claim.

We go back down, grab our luggage, say bye to Washington, and head on our to the shuttle wait area.

There, we run into Luke (Yung Quaff) and Will (Twisty) from Massachusetts. Apparently, they had been waiting for the shuttle for over an hour and it was about 11:30pm at this point in time and we’re so tired because we’ve been travelling the whole day and there were people waiting for us to goon with.

We get to the shuttle and it’s an hour to the resort. Crying inside.

We check in and our room is on the other side of the resort from Guttey and Spencer (Mr. Watch and Learn)’s room even though they provided our confirmation number when they got their hotel room. What the hell.

Seeing everyone in that room was so amazing. I can’t remember everyone there exactly, because let me tell you, that room at one point probably had more people than it should have and we most definitely violated some kind of fire hazard.

Friday; September 10, 2021

Twisty ended up staying the night in our room because we had a two bedroom, two bathroom suite with six people. Our suite had a king bed, two queen beds, and a queen pull-out from the couch. Joey and Robert - the two largest people - stayed in the king bed. Kevin and I shared a queen. Ivan had a queen. Parker had a queen. Though I believe the first night, Parker and Ivan shared the queen (?) and Twisty stayed on the pull out.

Twisty barrel-rolled the whole night.

The bed squeaked so much it was insane. I think it only really bothered me, but that was fine because the guys needed their rest more than I did.

Spencer, the god that he is, ended up driving from Long Island to Ohio, and he offered to take us to go get some groceries for his room and us at Meijer.

It seated five, but I don’t really count as a full human size-wise, so I sat at Kevin’s feet, who was sitting in the passenger seat, underneath the dashboard, while Guttey, John (Gluteus), and Luke sat in the back.

Shoutouts to Meijer. Had a ton of awesome stuff.

A bunch of wings and thighs that probably weighed as much as a chicken itself plus 2 Liter Coke for $8.

It was all a blur, but we ended up in the Chad Room at some point - the Presidential Suite, just as crews were starting.

We end up meeting Yuko, who had a very large speaker about the size of me curled up. He ended up making an entrance and there’s a video on Twitter where you can just hear Joe (Qtip) go, “I’m scared.”

Also ran into Zoey (Frost) again. :) Haven’t seen her since she left NorCal. We ended up just talking a bit, catching up, before I think Kevin needed me to go back to our room for a Wii.

I ended up walking entirely back to our room on the other side of the hotel - next to the convention center, getting out Wii, only to find out two things:

1. We didn’t have composite cables. 2. There was no other outlet.

We ended up getting kicked out after Qtip’s team won anyway.

Can’t remember anything else, other than the goon was too hard and too real but if you would like for me to include anything that happened while I was there, let me know! :)

[dawnwave16]

Not what I Expected.

Heya, so this is my very first fanfic and it was ment to be a one shot but it has run away and is taking me along for the ride.  Before anyone asks, I do have HC’s for it but no idea how far this will go!

1(Here); 2 ; 3

Anyway here’s Chapter 1:

Takes place during CM: BB episode 5 “ The Lonely Heart”

The case just didn't make any sense what so ever. First, the eyes were mutilated, then the head was removed.  What was the connection and what were they missing? Matt Simmons was sitting in the park near a school trying to clear his head as he asked himself those questions. In the distance, he could see a man feeding the pigeons and a policeman arguing with someone over a parking ticket. He closed his eyes trying to keep himself focused, forehead resting in his hands and his elbows on his knees.

“Sir?” He looked up again at the sound of a soft feminine voice. “Are you alright?” the voice continued. 

Matt sighed. “I'm alright, just trying to figure out the answers to something,” he replied then looked at the person talking to him. She was fair-skinned with ravens wing black hair that shone blue in the sunlight. Her eyes were a vivid blue, yet somehow, strikingly familiar, and she had freckles on her nose. If he had to guess her age he'd have said she was possibly 15 at most. 

“ If you stuck on a question and don't have all the answers, why don't you think of something different for a while? I find that always helps me when I'm trying to design and can't quite get it to look right.”

“What do you suggest I think about then?” Matt asked with a smile.

 “Well, I heard your stomach grumble so maybe you should think about some food? Or you could think about something you know will make you happy.” It was at this moment a scream was heard. Matt was instantly searching for the source of the scream. “Oh, not again!” The girl seemed almost exasperated and he was struck by how familiar it seemed. She looked at him calmly and said: “Head to the bakery that's behind you, tell the woman at the counter that Marinette sent you and she should help you.”

 “Wait I could-” 

She cut him off before he could continue, “No offence but you'll only be in Ladybug and Chat Noir's way if you try help out. I'm going to try to keep Alya from getting killed, not that she'll listen to me anyway!” The last part was said in a disgusted mutter and Matt made a mental note to ask her about it. It would have to be later though as she had already disappeared from sight.

Matt shrugged, he might as well do as the girl said. Marinette, she said her name was Marinette. Even as he walked to the bakery his mind lingered on how familiar she seemed, yet he knew he had never met her before. As he entered the bakery he was hit was the mouth-watering scent of fresh bread and pastries. 

“Welcome to Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, I'm Sabine Cheng, please feel free to look around and if you have any questions or would like to place an order I'll be with you as soon as I can!” The voice was cheerful yet edged with exhaustion and came from a small woman who looked very similar to Marinette.

 Must be her mother, he thought. He was quiet for a second then said “I was sent here by Marinette when the screaming started. She said you could explain it to me as she was going to try to stop a friend of hers from getting hurt.” 

“Oh! It's just an Akuma attack, we have them quite regularly these days, unfortunately.” She then told him everything that she could about the attacks and how they were handled. At one stage Jack Garret called to get an update and Matt explained where he was and that he would give a full debrief when he got back to the station. Suddenly, a swarm of red ladybugs seemed to fly through the air and Matt watched as everyone instantly relaxed again. Sabine smiled, “Looks like Ladybug and Chat Noir won again, I hope they didn't have too much trouble!”

Before Matt could ask what she meant Marinette walked through the door. Her hair was messy and she seemed to be trying to hide her face, her eyes downcast. 

“Marinette?” Sabine asked softly. Marinette looked up, a bright red handprint was visible on the face and it was slightly swollen. “What happened?” Sabine hurried over to her daughter and looked at her closely. “Who hit you?” Marinette sighed 

“Ayla did, Maman, Lila told her that I was trying to make Nino cheat on her and Ayla just took off. She refused to listen to me when I said it wasn't true!” 

Matt frowned, “Does Lila often do this type of thing? You seem resigned about how this has happened.” 

Sabine looked at Marinette and seemed to come to a decision. “Let me close up the shop and we can head upstairs to talk about this.” Marinette seemed about to protest so Matt spoke up. 

“I'm with law enforcement so maybe I can help come up with solutions with you. You have helped me today so please, let me help you.” Marinette pouted, then winced as it pulled her skin. 

“Ok, I guess I need to put ice on this too.”

Sabine walked to the door and flipped the sign then led the way upstairs.

“Where do you want me to start?” Marinette said warily, her eyes closed. She held an icepack wrapped in a thin towel lightly against the throbbing handprint on her face.

Sabine looked at Matt and seemed to come to a decision.

“While your papa and I know most of this it might be best for you to start at the beginning so that SSA Simmions can get a clear idea of everything that has happened. He might be able to see something that could help.”

Marinette kept her eyes closed but nodded in understanding.

“It all started with a new girl joining our class...” Marinette then told Matt everything that had happened since Lila had joined her class. She spoke about Mr Agreste's book and how Lila had stolen it, she spoke about the fact that she had been threatened in the bathroom and her near Akumatisation. She spoke about how her teacher kept saying she had to set an example for the rest of her class. As she spoke she seemed to almost fold into herself as she fought to keep herself from falling apart.

Matt was stunned as he listened. Here was a girl whole had gone out of her way to help him, a stranger, who did all she could to help everyone she could and yet this was the nightmare that she was living with. He wondered how she hadn't snapped yet, after all, he'd delt with unsubs who had snapped after far less. He also couldn't help but see his sons in her place and had to fight to stop himself from getting angry on her behalf. All the while he kept thinking that she reminded him of someone, he just wished he knew who it was. Then she said something that had him snapping to attention.

“Wait did you just say she claimed to be related to David Rossi, the author?”

“Yes, it's one of the few names I didn't recognise to I don't know if she is lying about that one or not. They have the same surname but that doesn't mean anything and to be honest, she could be lying about her name and none of us would know.”

“I can make some calls to check but I'm pretty sure Dave only has a grandson and no granddaughters, certainly none that would be your age.” He was about to say more but at that moment his phone went off. It was Clara saying that Jack was getting annoyed with how long he had been away and that they had a lead.

“You have to go don't you?” Marinette's voice was slightly hoarse from talking so much.

“Unfortunately yes but I would like to keep in contact and see what I can do to help.”

“Well then,” Sabine spoke up from the kitchen “You and your team are welcome to come round for a meal or even coffee to help relax before you fly home. I won't take no for an answer, either.”

“I'll tell the team. In the meantime here is my card and if I can get your number I'll call as soon as I can, either with ideas to help Marinette or when we are done.” Matt smiled slightly then he looked at Marinette. “As for you little lady, I will get hold of David to double-check about his family and do a bit of research to see what I can find.”

“You don't have to-” Marinette started.

“How could I not? I have children of my own and if they were in your situation I would do all I could to help them, just as your parents have done. I just happen to have more resources at my disposal,” he said with a wink.

Marinette smiled her first true smile of the afternoon as far as Matt could see, then nodded.

“Ok, then Agent Simmons.”

“Call me Matt.” He smiled, “I'll see you soon.”

As he left he thought over what he had heard. He also thought about why some of the things she did as well as her eyes seemed familiar. It was only as he scrolled through his list of contacts to find Garcia's name and saw one in particular that he realised why that was. Her eyes had the same tired quality as most BAU agents he knew but even without that, he should have recognised them. After all one of his contacts had the same eyes, identical in colour, shape and depth. Aaron Hotchner. 

[beatleszeppelin]

Summary: Zach has never seen Titanic, so you make him watch it. There’s naked people, rabbits, and crying.

Warnings: Swearing, and mention of huge... DICKS

Word Count: 974

The doorbell rang at a quarter to 8, Whistler and Brit were stood on the doorstep. They had keys to use for emergencies, but you told them time, and time again that they had to ring the doorbell before they came in (to avoid any more incidents). “Come in,” You yelled from the kitchen. “We could just go over, and open the door,” Nathan said from the couch. “That would be too easy.” “Hey, so, what movie tonight?” Whistler asked standing in the kitchen, hands in his pockets. “Zach’s never seen Titanic, so Nathan and I are forcing him to watch it, next week is The Breakfast Club,” “Wait, he’s never seen The Breakfast Club?” Brit asked, grabbing a fistfull of popcorn from the counter. “Apparently not,” you told her, making her more and more disappointed in the boy. “Is Jake coming tonight,” she asked. “ That’s what she said” came from the couch. “No, he called and told me he was going to tend to his rabbits, he’s a weird boy,” You explained. “Is that sentence too sad to add that's what she said after?” “I’m gonna run to the bathroom, then we can start the movie,” Brit said walking out of the room. “While your upstairs get Zach.” “Okay” You grabbed some chips, and Nathan got the popcorn and wine. Whistler had already gotten out 2 blankets, and was setting up a pillow nest in the corner that he would inevitably fall asleep in, like he did every Saturday night. Outside it was already getting dark, and it had been barely raining all day, but gray clouds covered the sky giving the room a nice environment. Whistler laid on a beanbag in front of the corner of the couch where Brit always sat. Nathan was to my left, he, Zach, and you always shared a blanket, with me sitting in between to stop some of the fighting. Suddenly from upstairs a scream, followed by a stream of sorrys, and Brit came back downstairs, sitting down, and staring at the blank tv. “What happened up there” You asked. “He wasn’t in his bedroom,” She said blankly, “bathroom, getting out of shower. Naked.” “Oh my god, I’m sorry.” whis cooed, putting a hand on her leg. “I’m surprised It hasn’t happened before, considering tours.” you added. “It has happened before, just not when he looked like this. Last time he was, little, skinny, he hadn’t evolved yet.” “It’s so much better now, right?” Nathan added. A few minutes later heavy footsteps filled the ever growing silence in the room, everyone looked up to see him, but he kept his eyes down. “Heard Brit saw your dick” Whistler said trying Zach. “Was it… was it big?” Whistler asked seeing if he could try to embarrass Zach, which was a personal goal ever since the incident of 2014. “‘m not answering that” was all she would give. “Dude his dick’s bigger than mine, and that’s saying a LOT” Nathan complinented. “Like 5 inches… 6, no 6 and a half, you can tell me when to stop… it’s not 7,” Whis was now astonished. “I mean I’m not saying the size, but I will say it wasn’t small.” She added. “I’ll be in my room, you guys can watch the movie without me,” Zach said face burning getting up to go to his room. “Here, I’ll give you a quick summary before you go: Leonardo de Caprio is all like get off that ledge baby, and have sex with me and your whole life would be bettter, like maybe you could just FUCK with me , and your life would be better.” Whistler said waving Zach away. “No, no, no, don’t leave come sit down with us, so we can start the movie.” you said, patting a spot next to you and Nathan. “ One more mention of my penis and I leave, and it is 7 and one fourth,” he said joining you and Nathan under a blanket. Whis leaned over and turned the lights off, then you started the movie. “That luck won’t last long buddy,” Nathan yelled at the screen as a young Jack won tickets to the unsinkable ship. About half way through the movie we realised that it was 3 hours long and nothing exciting has happened yet, except now Zach knows where the “It’s been 84 years... “ meme comes from. An hour later the ship started to sink, the musicians had kept playing, and Zach was fast asleep on your shoulder. Whistler was passed out due to boredom, and Brit was laying down with her head on the edge of the bean bag that Whistler's soft snores were coming from. You looked over to see that Nathan was fixated on the screen, Rose and Jack, freezing on that door, waiting to be saved. His eyes glistened with the light of the T.V. showing tear streaks down his cheeks. You put your arm around him and he leaned in to you with a shudder, still holding back a sob that you had found yourself helping him through before, but only when everyone else had fallen asleep. Zach’s long legs kicked a pillow off the couch, and Nathan clung to your shirt as you watched the infamous “I’ll never let go Jack” as his lifeless body sunk down. Rose threw the necklace into the ocean, and you turned off the movie. Throwing your blanket over Zach, and getting up, Nathan looked at you with big puppy dog eyes, and tears shining in the light from the kitchen. He asked if he could sleep with you that night. Of course you obliged, seeing as he went in between yours and Zach’s bed every other night, but you knew that tonight would be a night you would end up holding him as he fell asleep on you.

[toddbeeson]

Ghost Busting

The spirit appears and works in mysterious ways.  Last Tuesday, I revisited my collection of writings to find something I had written in November of 2006 and had posted to my MySpace account.

I found a list of 20 things that I written about, made some slight edits and added another item to the list!

See if you can detect what song was the subject of 19-21.

Read below to find out!

Connecting thru music!

More musical gifts Current mood:  awake

I can’t sleep…I feel like a detective possessed by solving a mystery…kind of like they do in the movies…the person has no real home life, they just have to solve the mystery.  Ever since the Rick Allen incident, I have been followed by Def Leppard music. Lately it has turned itself up a notch…the songs come flying at me instantly. Check out these recent events involving Def Leppard and a few companions…I will type this up in a chronological form.

1) Oct 9th, 2006.  While  I was driving back home to LA from El Capitan Canyon, north of Santa Barbara, I pondered on a Jack FM concert that I saw in August.  Before that concert, I had told my brother that I would only go if I could go as a VIP.  Well...that never happened...until the actual day of the show my good buddy Jason had an extra couple of tickets--  he won VIP tickets.  It featured Def Leppard as the headliner.  I thought about that band a bit on my drive.  As I was driving I had to pull over to go to the can at a gas station near Calabassas…and somehow met the Def Leppard drummer, Rick Allen (i wrote a song called “Whistle on the Pot” inspired by the story.  Long story short– we were in line for the bathroom…however he didn’t even end up going to the bathroom– so it seems he was there just because I thought of him– it was very surreal.)

2) I started hearing Def Leppard songs everywhere…I wish I had written them down…but you’ll see how they showed up in November.

3) Fast Forward to Friday, Nov 3. I had a date that night…on my drive to her place, my choice of car music was the U2 album “Unforgettable Fire.”

4) Saturday, Nov 4. Oops…I find out I left a mark on my date’s neck.  It was embarrassing, frankly.

5) Sunday, Nov 5. The very next morning while walking in Trader Joe’s I heard “Love Bites” by Def Leppard– Laughed out loud…now that is funny!

6) Monday, Nov 6. My radio alarm clock wakes me up to “Foolin’” by Def Leppard.  True! Not foolin ya!

7) Just before bed time, I sent an email to that same woman I am dating w/ the song “Sugar” in it by Dan Wilson and express that it was beautiful when she mentioned the word “Surrender” to me a few weeks previously.

8) Tuesday, Nov 7. The next morning, I woke to a song called “Bad” by U2 from their “Unforgettable Fire” record... just before Bono sings the line “Surrender.” Amazing...

9) Later that evening, I entered my studio w/ my Itunes on random playing the song, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard…thousands of songs and it happened to be a DL song w/ the word “Sugar” in it.  Wowza...

10) Wed, Nov 8. My date called to say she heard a song at yoga class and wanted to know what it was…she sang a few lyrics, I knew it to be “Landslide” by Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham. I told her that Lindsey Buckingham is actually playing The Wiltern Theater and that I would mail her an mp3 of “Landslide.” I found “Landslide” on “The Dance” album of Fleetwood Mac. Also on it, an amazing version of Lindsey playing and singing “Big Love” acoustically and forwarded that song as well.

11) Thurs, Nov 9. I taught the song “Blackbird"  to a guitar student. Later, I did an IM (Instant Message) with a friend who just happened to be emailing with the songwriter, Paul McCartney, at that moment.

12) I visited my friend’s place and told him that I am reading the book "Living, Loving, and Learning” by Leo Bascaglia…he then pointed to a bunch of furniture in his home that used to belong to Leo.

13) I made arrangements to attend the Lindsey Buckingham concert…which I gracefully got to attend for free.

14) Friday, Nov 10. I attended the LB show…walked into it late…but perfectly about 10 minutes before LB plays “Big Love.” He performed it intensely and the crowd erupted…I sat and then stood in wonder.

15) Sat, Nov 11. Upon returning home from the health club in my car, I listened to a radio station that was going to play a song by a band called Wired All Wrong…I turned the station because I thought that the name choice is not very ultimate (My band, The Lift, had a song called Wired- -which is about being connected to peeps) and turned it to a station that happened to be playing “You Can Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac, sung by Lindsey Buckingham…and performed by him the night before…now that was the station for me! The next song, “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” Okay…I am starting to go thru the roof with this…thankfully, I was driving my bro’s convertible!

16) Sun, Nov 12. I told a few friends all these stories…including my bud, Braden.

17) Mon, Nov 13. I got in my car to go teach elementary schooI and  turned on the radio to find a re-broadcast of the in-studio appearance w/ Lindsey Buckingham– within a minute he is playing “Big Love” live…I called Braden to tell him…he happened to be listening to “Landslide” at the time. HOLY FREEKIN $#*t!!!

18) I emailed a few peeps about #17- including my brother, Brett.

19) While emailing my brother during a school break, a student came back into class during recess..and mentioned that her “uncle” had written and recorded a popular movie soundtrack song from the mid 80’s– I told her that I happened to know him and that his wife was my modeling agent.

20) Ten minutes later, I called my brother to get his reaction from 1-18…he then said, “I don’t know what to think about it, though I did hear a song twice today, and I had not heard that song in years.” That song happened to be the song in #19.  He had no idea of #19 when I called him...

Speechless.

21) Tuesday, October 13, 2020, I read this writing for the first time in years…and I had just one guitar lesson for that day…and guess what…my student asked to play the song that was the subject of #’s 19 & 20.

[kaitlynpcallmebeepme]

Food and Wine Festival

Food and Wine Festival

Tom Holland x Reader 

Warnings: Fluff and Food

Summary: A trip to Disney World, but seeing it in a new light. 

A/N: This is my first of two works I have for @peeterparkr and @marvelousxtsh (now @lovestrucktom) for their Rom Coms writing challenge. Both of them are separate from one another. I am VERY LATE on this, but I had to get my college readings annotated before band camp starts because I know I will have no time then to work at all.

#mandnchickflicksummer

I’ve only been to Epcot once on a band trip and I realized why I don’t like it (or maybe it’s just my family). I tried to do some research before writing this. Comments and feedback are always appreciated. Requests are open and Messages are open if you want to chat. I’m trying to make these shorter because I’m behind on some of my writing. Also, sorry for not really putting the events in order by where they are in the park. I haven’t been there in years and forget how it’s set up. P.P.S. As I was googling stuff, the question came up on what phd does Dr. Doofenshmirtz have on reddit? The person who asked had a username of u/SEND_ME_YOUR_D1CK and that made me laugh at 5 a.m. I’m going to link the two videos that helped me out. One is from Disney Food Blog which gives great coverage on disney snacks in all parks and one is a vlog from one of my favorite youtubers, Syndicate (on his Life of Tom vlog channel)

Disney Food Blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNk550AeBuY

Life of Tom vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG1-M-EqdLo

P.S. Ok, I’ve now seen Far From Home because I won a bet and my mom said she’d take me to see my first Marvel movie in theaters. I’m going to write something else about what happened that day. ♡

Tag list: Send me an ask if you want to be added. 

@trashinaglass and @peter-pan-hoe ( @definitely-not-black-cat and @nnatasha you two seemed to like my stuff so I added you, tell me if you want me to take you off) 

Song Prompt:

1. I see the light – Tangled

Word count: 1,383

This ended up being so much longer than I intended.

"Tom. Please. I've been to Disney World a million times. I can probably make it around Magic Kingdom without a map that's how well I know it." It was late summer, before the hussle of school and work swept everyone away, Tom wanted to get away for a mini vacation with you.

“Please come with me. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. And you know how much Disneyland freaks out when there's a celebrity there. Also, you can go on different things that you wouldn't normally go on.” You don’t like to admit when he’s right. Your family can be a little controlling when it comes to vacations. Like why does a baseball game need to be involved in every one.

“You know that won’t stop people from coming up to you.”

“We’ll just wear our matching bucket hats and be that couple. Please.” You couldn’t resist his puppy pout anymore, and you both needed a break.

“Ok, as long as we don't go on roller coasters if I get sick from one.” 

“I won't make you go through that. Especially the amount of stories you tell me about someone being sick on vacation.”

After a long plane ride and a good night's rest, you two are ready for a trip. You got your backpack with the old school Disney World logo ready to get your weekly tickets. You got the tickets while Tom was spending time with a couple people who noticed him. You both never minded it as long as they were respectful. You thank the lady as Tom heads back to where you’re standing. 

“Ok, you want to head to Epcot first?” 

That five letter word made you choke on your own spit.  You followed Tom up the railway to the monorail. As you waited in line, you felt the need to tell Tom what's been eating at your mind. “Tom, you know I don't really like Epcot that much.”  

“What! Why?”  

“Well, the only other time I've been here was with my family once we went on the band field trip here. You know my dad never keeps his opinion to himself about how he thinks all of this ozone layer and eco saving thing is bullshit and how he hates culture. He just kinda complained that whole day, so I've never liked the park. Also, there's more food than rides here and you know I’m not a big food guru.” 

“Is your dad coming with us?” 

“What?”

“Is your dad coming on our vacation with us?” 

“No. But what does that-.” 

“Then his opinion and voice should not affect our judgement.” To be fair, Tom has changed your opinion on a lot of things, football (English kind) being one of them. You just didn't know if you could shut up that annoying tick in the back of your head that repeats all the things your Dad would say about this place, but you were willing to give it a shot. You grabbed a food passport and map in front of the golf ball and off you two went.

Before entering the park, you booked fastpasses for the one thing you knew you loved at Epcot, and that was Sorin’. It felt like you had wings and earth with its gravity could never take hold of you again. Even with the fastpasses the line wasn’t too long because people wanted to be the first to get the food in all the countries. It reminded you how Harry would have his drones to get the cinematic videos of the ocean washing up on the beach that look gorgeous. But alas, you had to touch ground again and continue. 

You two went to have a good time eating stuff. Like you wanted to order everything from the Irish stand, except the alcohol which Tom took so you could keep the decorative cup (best boyfriend ever), so you settled on chocolate pudding with custard and the two of you split the Irish sausage with potatoes and gravy. You two weren’t worried about overfilling yourselves because 1) everyone does that at the food and wine festival and 2) there weren’t many rides that could make you throw up afterwards. 

You grab a Light Lab Phosphorescent Phreeze (you secretly wanted to collect all the cups you could) and signed up to do a Perry the Platypus adventure in the UK (just to see if Tom liked their stereotyping). “Okay, well this is from and American Disney Show Phineas and Ferb where they do a bunch of crazy stuff during the summer, and the subplot is their pet platypus is a secret agent that stops this not-so-good supervillain every episode. Dr. Dofesnberg-something was his name. You basically have to go to different shops within the country, follow the story video on our phone, and some objects will move as you interact with stuff. Basically stopping this guy from carrying out his completely elaborate and unnecessary evil scheme to rule the world.” 

“Okay, and of course it’s about golf. How can you get more British than that.” Apparently the adventure included tea once you told the cashier a secret word phrase, so yes, it got more British than golf. 

You guys stopped by Canada and you could not stop doing impressions of Ryan Renolds as you stopped for a quick snack as the Perry the Platypus mission took an hour. You ordered a Canadian Cheddar Cheese and Bacon soup with pretzel rolls to split (of which you only at the pretzels because even Tom doesn’t know why you don’t like bacon).

After the Frozen ride and a couple more snacks along the way you settled in China and watched some acrobatics and get out of the heat. You couldn’t do everything in Mexico, but the San Angel Inn would be a place you save for a different trip. You got your faces painted to be half skulls with decorative details. It definitely helped you get recognized less. 

Last stop of the night before the fireworks/water show you traveled to Japan. The architecture was realistic and you just thought of the time it took for someone to design and construct that. You both waited in line to try to see if you could get a pearl out of an oyster. You both end up getting one with the lady being very excited for you two. “Mine was 7 ¾ mm, and what was your Tom?”

“7 ½ mm. But you know size doesn’t matter.”

It wasn’t long before the fireworks and lights danced on the water’s surface and you two were heading back from a long day. Tom wanted to take the ferry boat back complaining that the line for the monorail was too long. It always is but the boat was very slow. You gave into his wishes because he was the one who made you enjoy the park today. You stood over the bow of the ship looking at your reflection upon the water until Tom broke you from your thoughts.

“So, didn't I say you would have a good time?”

 “Yes you did. My dad's opinion did not affect my judgement as much as I thought it would. It’s still hard to see things with my own opinion, but I’m getting better at it. Thank you Tom.” 

“My pleasure princess. Maybe next time we can crack some oysters and keep the pearl” You two share a sweet kiss and the fireworks in Magic Kingdom across the water started going off. Nothing could make this moment more romantic. “But there's still one more thing to do tonight.” 

“Thomas Stanley Holland. Do NOT follow that statement with ‘when we get back to the hotel’.” 

He laughed so much that he leaned back and his eyes crinkled in the corners. “Not what I was going to say darling.” You’re still confused at his intentions, until he starts playing music from his phone and holds your arms out while you two are on the tip of the boat; keeping his hands on your hips.

“Only you could turn this into a Titanic moment. “I'm flying Jack. I'm flying.”

The moment had gotten better once you realized Tom had asked a crew member to take your picture, and now you have a new phone background and a new perspective.

[bongaboi]

Arizona State: 2019 Sun Bowl Champions

EL PASO — In a scene imagined by few if any before it actually happened and almost assuredly never preceded by anything quite like it, Arizona State players poured a cooler of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes on the head of their coach in celebration on Tuesday.

It was not the traditional Gatorade bath that invariably comes with the biggest of wins. There will be no lighting of victory cigars. There may be some champagne toasts in the aftermath but those will primarily be to ring in the New Year and only more obliquely related to the outcome of their football game played several hours earlier.

But, still, the Sun Devils ended their 2019 season the right way and so they bathed their second-year head coach Herm Edwards in breakfast cereal and he certainly didn't mind it.

"First time I've ever got a bucket full of Frosted Flakes, that's new," Edwards said. "That helps. That's not cold. All I needed was some milk and I would have been fine."

In the play-calling debut of its new defensive coordinator Tony White, ASU forced six turnovers — more than in any game since October of 2009 against Washington State — and perhaps needed every one in its 20-14 win over Florida State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in front of 42,412 fans in the 86th playing of the game. The win concluded ASU's season at 8-5 overall, better than their initial 7-6 season under Edwards. Florida State finished its season at 6-7 overall.

Though they have aspirations for more extravagant celebrations in the future, the Sun Devils are content with where they are currently at two years into the Edwards-experiment, which was initially widely panned but now has taken on an unmistakable aura of emerging success.

"It shows the potential for our defense and how strong we're going to become," freshman safety Willie Harts said after collecting one of four ASU interceptions on the afternoon. "We're very young and still experienced and we're going to learn so much over the years."

With both teams missing key players due to early-NFL declarations and undertaking significant staffing changes including a new coordinator on both sides of the ball for the Sun Devils, there was a lot of sloppy, forgettable play on Tuesday. But also, some very memorable moments.

The Sun Devils held a halftime 9-0 lead and appeared to have the Seminoles offense in a vice grip before a five-minute stretch late in the third quarter that flipped the game upside down.

With multiple deep reserves on the field for ASU's defense due to the absence of starting redshirt freshman safety Cameron Phillips and injuries to junior cornerbacks Chase Lucas and Jack Jones, Florida State marched 91 yards in 11 plays including a fourth-and-3 conversion to score its first points at 3:47 of the third quarter and make it a suddenly close 9-7 ASU edge.

After redshirt sophomore punter Michael Turk — excellent in the game with eight punts for a 45.8 yard average with four inside the 20 — ended ASU's third straight series of the quarter with a punt on its next possession, the Seminoles immediately struck again to take a 14-9 lead. With Lucas and Jones watching from the sidelines, sophomore cornerback Timarcus Davis gave up a 91-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Tamorrion Terry, a one-play scoring drive.

It didn't dent ASU's confidence whatsoever. On their next possession, the Sun Devils marched 59 yards on 12 plays in a drive that included a highlight-reel 27-yard scramble by freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels on third-and-10 and ended with sophomore kicker Cristian Zendejas making his fourth field goal of the day to tie a Sun Bowl record and cut his team's deficit to 14-12. But it was the Sun Devils' fourth red zone trip and they only had 12 points to show for it and still trailed.

That's when Harts sprung into action on a miscommunication between Florida State sophomore quarterback James Blackman and a receiver that placed a ball directly in the arms of the safety who started in place of Phillips. With a clear path to the end zone, Harts pushed ASU's lead to 20-14 after a successful 2-point try. The interception was Blackman's third of four on the day, with the Sun Devils needing two more turnovers later in the fourth quarter to salt the game away.

On Florida State's next drive, sophomore ASU linebacker Darien Butler made a tackle-for-loss on a fourth-and-2 get his team the ball back. Blackman then threw his fourth interception of the day to ASU senior linebacker Khaylan Kearse-Thomas on Florida State's next drive. And even with all of that, the Seminoles had one more chance in the game's final two minutes when Terry lost a fumble to ASU forced by sophomore linebacker Merlin Robertson and recovered by sophomore linebacker Tyler Johnson.

"Can't say enough about our kicker and our defense," Edwards said. "We get six turnovers we should probably win a game. That being said, these guys kept fighting back for us. They really did. I'm happy for our seniors. To end the season with a bowl victory for them is very important. We hit a slump during the season where we had lost four in a row. I reminded the players, when you get tired of losing, you're going to win again. We've won three in a row now. This is a good way to set the 2020 season off for us, with a bowl game (win). That's very important to us."

Kearse-Thomas, who early in the game was given a reprieve when a hit on Blackman was called targeting on the field but overturned on review, and Williams excelled in their final ASU outing. Kearse-Thomas had a team-high six solo tackles and nine total in addition to his interception and a quarterback hurry. Williams concluded his season without giving up a touchdown pass in coverage and was excellent throughout a game in which ASU's pass defense yielded just 155 yards excluding the 91-yard touchdown.

"I can't say enough about Khaylan and Kobe," Edwards said. "These guys are seniors. I take my hat off to them. When you get a coaching change and you put in your defense, that's hard. It's hard on seniors. It really is. They're looking at a new staff, saying, 'you're playing all these young guys, what about me?' Without these two guys we're not the defense we were this year.

"I'm glad for these guys because of what they've meant to me personally. I lean on them. They were always there, always energetic. They were the keys to the defense to be quite honest."

The Sun Devils won despite being out-gained in total offensive yards 470 to 282 because their defense held up well other than the flagging late third-quarter stretch and Blackman committing five turnovers on his own out of the six total by the Seminoles. Robertson had perhaps his best game of the season and forced both of Florida State's lost fumbles and recovered one of them on his own. Sophomore safety Aashari Crosswell and junior safety Evan Fields each had a first-half interception to contribute to the shutout pitched by ASU before intermission, the latter doing so after promising his mom he would get one for her on her birthday.

While Daniels — sacked three times on the day and under duress throughout — received the game's MVP honors for the Sun Devils despite a low-percentage 12 of 28 passing performance for just 195 yards in part because he led the team in rushing with 36 yards on 12 carries, it was the team's defensive playmaking that took center stage in the absence of senior receiver Brandon Aiyuk and junior running back Eno Benjamin.

Moreover, it was White's successful first attempt at calling plays after being promoted from cornerbacks coach to defensive coordinator, which resonated with Edwards and ASU players in the game's aftermath, particularly as it came in White's hometown in front of a large group of family and friends.

"One hundred tickets," Edwards said. "'One hundred tickets Tony White.' He has a fan base now. He grew up here. It was fun, we visited his brother's high school, worked out over there when we got here Thursday. He was excited. I'm happy for him. Gets to take over as the coordinator. I thought he did a great job. Had a shutout going in the first half."

Added Kearse-Thomas: "He got us prepared really well. I mean, we had all month to really prepare. We were very detailed in what we were doing and then he got the play call in for us and told us to go. [Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce] told us before the game, 'This could be a stat game if you want it to be.'"

Stats make players happy and especially so when it includes winning football games and having fun doing it. Under the team's previous coaching staff, that was not the case for some Sun Devils who now believe they are passing a torch to the next generation with a lot of fuel for what they see as an even brighter future.

"It's changed tremendously (under Edwards)," Kearse-Thomas said. "It's like (the movie) Coming to America. "Coming from a dictatorship ... just the freedom. Coach Herm, he allows us to be us. A couple years back we couldn't do that. It played a role in the success with ASU. I feel like him letting the kids be kids is a big step for the program."

[gamsbo]

This goes with the pictures below

It is A Women: Yep and Hear Me Roar (This is for the Young women of today)

As most of you that have read some of my post know that I worked in the oilfield; I have told some of what I did and what happened to me as the “first women”, but here is how in 1974 affirmative action entered my life or how I became the token women.

A week or so ago I was looking for some papers I needed and ran across a magazine (I thought I had junked all the write ups. Guide To The New Texas Frontier Autumn 1982, the article was called Women in the Oilfield.

As stated in the article it started with a $50 dollar bet and stubborn streak when a friend bet me that I would not apply for a roustabout opening at Gulf Oil; I applied because no one was going to tell me I won’t or could not do something. I won the bet and know way could I know how my life would change. Because up to that point in my life “I didn’t know I was different, I just thought I was a human being” no more no less. I was a 30 year old wife and mother of 2. I sure was in for a shock.

I am in my 60’s (update 75 now )and when I look back at that time most of the women I knew were either nurses or school teachers, I did know one lawyer(my sister-in-law who had graduated from the UT Law School in the 50’s I think she said there was 2 women in the class). So I showed up for my first day, wow; I was put in a gang truck with the other 2 affirmative action tokens but I must say they were treated different because they were men.

There was not a-lot of training just get the water can filled up get in the truck , we need to go balance some counter weights. I really put my foot in it a few times that first day or so. On a pump jack there is a rod that is called a polished rod, I ask what that shine pole, didn’t live that down for a long time. So many other things happened I told you some when I wrote Remembering the Oilfield and I said I would tell more later. So here are a few more things that shocked me and at times made me feel less than human.

First let me explain the title of this post ; after about 2 weeks in the field I was up on a pump jack fixing a hose and there were some men working on something about 100 yards away. They keep looking over and then it got the best of them they came over looked you at me and said “it is a woman” I looked down and sang as loud as I could I am Women Hear Me Roar. They walked away shaking their heads.

Continue Part (2)

During the 2008 election I had to wonder how far we had come as women; yes we were lawyers, doctors, judges, engineers, and heads of major companies but the sexism was still there. I listed as governor Palin was called the same names by both men and women that I had been called in the 70s and 80s.

There were so many things, I can remember one day it was so bad I got 3 speeding tickets just trying to get home (I don’t know why he stopped me I was just doing 110) because if I could get home I knew there was someone that liked me there. Things were worse in Mississippi (by this time I was a single mom) they really did not want a women; I can tell you ever dirty job they could find was given to me, from doping pipe to cleaning the men’s bathroom. One guy thought I was really dumb. we had to dig a 2 foot deep by 30 foot long ditch to replace a joint of pipe. Now I know I not real smart but I did know that me digging while standing in it and shoveling the dirt out as versus him stand in front of me with his shovel saying “I will just stand up here and knock the dirt into the ditch for you even I knew I was working hard than him.

Yes Mississippi was bad (I did make a few good friends or at lest men that treated me the way they would want their wife’s or daughter treated) but the stress of Mississippi became so bad that I had a light heart attack; came back to West Texas and went to work for ARCO as a lease operator and later Enserch as a Production Supervisor.

I was offered a position at ENMU to teach Petroleum Technology; I wish I could say things were better but I had three problems:1 my boss put me over all the women allowing then to come to me an discuss their problems with the men teacher, 2. I was show and tell, 3. they were hiring the same men who I had faced when I worked in the field; if you want to add a 4th the students liked me and I also won the so called prestigious Kosa award as the outstanding vocational teacher of the year (I was the first instructor to win the award as a first year teacher).

I could tell you more but I don’t think this is a place to go into some of the sexual things that happened, the total disrespect ; I will tell you one man made a sexual advance toward me and realized that was not what I was about he came back to me and apologized and became came my defended.

In someway I could understand some of what the men felt; a-lot of them had worked for Gulf for 20-30 years and here was this woman making the same amount of money and being interview by Time Magazine and newspapers; this had never happened to them, so yes I could understand that but what I could not and never would understand was how cruel and vulgar some of these men could be, where was the humanity.

Did affirmative action work for me, it got me the job; but what it didn’t do was show the company that hired me how to integrate me into a work force that was dominated by men. The future for women depends on the young women of today. Could it also be different for women because of the young men of today? I think so.

What has happened to me since I left the Oil Field: I went back to school and got a 4 year business degree in 2 ½ years (started with 27 hours) Went to work for Wayland Baptist University as the Assc. Register over the off campus programs; worked towards an MBA (became ill and did not finish still need 9 hours).I took care of a friend that had Alzheimer’s till they died; wrote and self published a book about being a caregiver.

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 26 - TOR - The Eichel Standard

6-4 Regulation Win

Let’s have a moment of honesty. I’ll start. I expected this to be a signed sealed and delivered loss (I think many of us did). I had a rip-roaring time watching that epic Buffalo Bills game on Thanksgiving to the point where I was near dreading a home and home series with the team I hate more than any other in the world (I think many of us did). The Buffalo Sabres, losers of 11 out of 13, up against a hated Leafs squad fresh off the firing and roasting of their former coach rattling off three straight wins, is the setup for a massively painful loss… or a very cathartic win... and a playoff spot at the moment *Heavily suggestive nudging*. We’ll come back to that. One more moment of honesty: I have begun to feel dirty roasting the Leafs fans who file into Key Bank Center in droves as of late. The reality that has been attested to me a dozen times is these are mostly folks who haven’t and may never see a Leafs game in Toronto. They’ve been priced out. Instead of feeling offended that so many thrifty season ticket holders in the lower bowl sell their tickets to Leafs fans… we should really pity these Leafs fans and give them good treatment. They are priced out by an organization that has sucked ass for half a century and not even granted them the dignity of watching it live. Just a thought. I digress. What is the greatest game against the Leafs in Sabres history? Greatest Game Against for this divisional rival actually has scanter options than you might think. There is no Leafs-Sabres game in the top fifteen of the Buffalo News’ top 50 games in franchise history. These teams are rarely good at the same time and the one time they were gave us the only playoff series between the two in the 1999 Eastern Conference Final, a series won by the Sabres I may add. The Greatest Game Against the Leafs in franchise history comes in that series: Game 5. The 4-2 win sealed the second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. Like many big moments the team got in the late 1990s it was backstopped by Dominik Hasek being the best goaltender in the world but nonetheless the Sabres won a trip to the biggest series for the organization since the mid-70s so whose complaining? That series allows us to carry the historical playoff edge against the Leafs into a playoff series I now feel is as inevitable as Thanos. I guess we’ll see about that. Last night was a boost, no doubt about that.

Buffalo did what they’ve been good at lately: getting a neat little hot start and getting our hopes up before absolutely roasting our turkey. There are nights where Jack Eichel has a game. There are nights when Linus Ullmark has a game. Last Night they both had a game. William Nylander outmaneuvered Johan Larsson and Marco Scandella back on the other end and suddenly found himself on a breakaway. Linus Ullmark said: ain’t no problem. He scooped it up to thunderous applause. I wasn’t at this game so I’m not going to comment on the Leafs jerseys to Sabres jerseys ratio but from the sound of it both fanbases had the power of applause. Auston Matthews disappeared throughout this game; but the guy who was mature enough for the C did not. This game could be framed as the battle of the Captains. John Tavares broke the scoreless tie late in the first period with a quick shot from Ilya Mikheyev. I think Linus Ullmark was screened by both Leafs and Sabres players on that one. Sometimes it seems as though this club either doesn’t know how to defend the net or defends it so hard the goalie can’t do his job. Either way it was 1-0 after one period. Tavares struck again early in the second period. Eichel and Spezza had both gone to the box creating a 4-on-4 and some space for creative players on the Leafs. This 2-0 goal I feel comfortable blaming on Ullmark. Tavares leads a 2-on-3 and the puck ends up way behind the net. Ullmark splayed out on his belly way too early and JT got his own rebound and tapped it in. I suppose it also would have helped if the Sabres defenders were a little tougher on Tavares but hey, they held Auston Matthews off the score sheet so I’m not complaining, well at least not after the Buffalo Sabres arrived in this game shortly before six minutes into the second period.

Brandon Montour kept the puck in the offensive zone on a failed Leafs zone exit and passed it to Johan Larsson. Larsson goes in and doesn’t see his shot, so he drop passes it to one of the best trailers in the league in my humble opinion: Jeff Skinner. Yes, Skinner on a line centered by Johan Larsson is some interesting strategy from Ralph Krueger and you probably have seen the roasts of the strange deployment. Me, well I’m going to save those roasts for the losses. Skinner ripped off an Eichel-esque wrist shot that Michael Hutchinson never responded to. Just right in. Funny part of this story as we go onto the flowering of the Sabres offense here: man-of-the-people new Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe asked the players what they thought of the difficult backup position they got up there and they wanted Hutchinson called up. Hutch must feel like he got the raw end of that deal, eh? Spoiler Alert: he let six goals in. After the Skinner goal both teams botched a powerplay and as the Leafs’ one expired Jack Eichel came out of the box to pick up a juicy stray puck that had wandered into the neutral zone. Him, Marcus Johannson and Conor Sheary go off to the races on a 3-on-1. Jack Eichel does a Jack Eichel Special and this game is tied. If you watch this team regularly you probably know what a Jack Eichel Special is: quick release wrist shot from the point, preferably on the rush. That’s yummier than Thanksgiving stuffing! The feast had just begun! Marco Scandella shot from the point and Casey Mittelstadt bats at it to create a redirect of the year candidate for the 3-2 lead. Now if you want to find some similarities between these two teams its not hard. One might be that both have enough skill guys to draw defenders out of their coverages. That’s what happened when another Leafs powerplay was ending and Jack Eichel had the puck. He has the puck behind the Leafs net along with 3(?) blue & white defenders… yeah, you know who that left open: Victor Olofsson. Goalofsson is no longer in an exclusive relationship with the powerplay, now he’s taking shots in all situations and he puts the Sabres up 4-2 to put a nice little bow on the first forty minutes of this game.

Almost seven minutes into the final frame Dmytro Timashov get a shot off through the woods and the Leafs are back within one. You can’t sit back in this league, the Sabres have learned that the hard way. But with the Leafs you can’t only not sit back, you need to bury them alive. You have to beat them so bad they’re thinking of their next opponent to beat these guys. The third period was a kind of touch-and-go experience as the Leafs closed in and the Sabres extended their lead. I was in a movie for this game and when I was looking at the scorers afterwards I saw Jimmy Vesey unassisted and thought to myself: three unassisted breakaway goals in the three games? What are the chances? I come to find out it wasn’t a breakaway, but it was one of those embarrassing goals you watch happen and think: “Yeah, that’s going to be showed in a Leafs video session.” They gave up the puck right in the slot and Jimmy Vesey takes it and hardly has to do the cotton eyed joe to get through the defenders right up to Hutchinson. When Vesey got there he put a goal that actually merits the name “Greasy Vesey”: five hole from point blank. Oh, this was the moment this game became cathartic. Not only is Jack Eichel roasting the Leafs, now its his BU drinking buddy tapping in five-hole stingers. Kasperi Kapanen closed the Leafs to within one again mere minutes later on another goal Ullmark probably wants back. And so it would be a one goal game for the last eight minutes until Jack Eichel got the puck in the defensive zone with a Leafs empty net and launched an ICBM all the way down ice into the open cage for the final score line of 6-4. That’s right, the Sabres didn’t just beat the Leafs, they did it in regulation like a bunch of Gs. If we could have a game like that every night a lot fewer fans would be calling Buffalo’s turkey roasted at this phase of the season.

The NHL gave three stars honors to Eichel, Vesey and Tavares but I’m going to change one of those. Jack Eichel was not only good on the score sheet; he literally had a perfect game in zone entries and breakouts. Those are the stats of a leader. If that behavior infects his teammates we won’t be talking about another lost season much longer. If we see players on this team at least showing Eichel’s drive to win each night then what could happen? The answer is beautiful things with the Eichel Standard. Star number two ought to be Linus Ullmark who has secretly been behind some of the Sabres recent almost success and tonight: actual success. Ullmark has a .913 save percentage, which is very much on the good side, having started five of the last seven games. Think about the last seven games, how many of them do you think the goalie came out looking that good? The tide might be turning on this tandem. The time is shortly before noon on Saturday I’m going to post this. A lot can change in the next 24 hours in this league, not to mention the outcome of a second game between these two teams tonight in Toronto; but as of right now the Buffalo Sabres sit in a playoff spot at third place in the division. Say what you will about this club wasting a fantastic October, or losing in spectacular fashion against lesser teams, or even the seeming inability of the GM to rotate out some defensive depth so his Coach can stop rotating good defenseman out of the lineup; this team is not out of it. Not yet. I did Thanksgiving Playoffs last postgame remembering that most of the teams in the playoffs on American Thanksgiving are in the dance come the end of the season. The playoff picture in the east right now is tight AF. No, frustrated we might be game to game this season has all the makings of not being over. Stop writing the epitaph while the body is warm. Being a Sabres fan sucks but you got to give it the space to not suck sometimes.

After the Leafs tonight we have the DEVILS who are just as bad as the last time we checked. After that the Sabres fly out on a Western Canada road trip I’m not too afraid of. I’m not telling you they’re going to create separation in the standings, we’ve watched this team enough to know opportunity is often squandered, but I doubt we’re as doom and gloom about this team when we see the Leafs again in three Tuesdays. Just an idea, I’ll probably be wrong, right? Tampa is also waiting to come alive like a loaded coil sitting outside the playoff picture so I should be more hesitant to get excited, eh? Like, share and comment on this blog to hop on board to remind me when I’m wrong. Happy Holidays, it seems as though we can be happy this holiday season just off Bills energy. Call me a fool but I’ve got some serious Sabres energy going on right now too. Let’s Go Buffalo!

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. The Tim Hortons Rivalry. Let’s make that a thing. Nobody outside Southern Ontario or Western New York knows wtf the QEW is so let’s not name the rivalry after a fucking highway. This is a sleeping giant of a rivalry that we are naming after a fucking road. Think about it. The more you think about “Tim Hortons Rivalry” the more it makes sense.

[thesportssoundoff]

“It’s not that bad and YET” UFC Fight Night: Sacramento Preview

Joey

July 9

The show AFTER the big July PPV always tends to have some sort of bad vibes attached to it and I guess this one isn't any different. In 2016, injuries took us from Michael Chiesa vs Tony Ferguson to John Lineker vs Michael McDonald (two guys no longer in the org). In 2017, the UFC loaded up their July PPV slate and gave us Gunnar Nelson vs Santiago Ponzinibbio the week after an injury (and sinus infection) cursed card from Vegas. Last year, the UFC gave us Blagoy Ivanov vs JDS and Sage Northcutt vs Zak Ottow after Miocic vs DC. This year's card after Vegas is either good or bad depending almost solely on how you feel about the main event. Fights 2-13 are your usual garden variety Fight Night mix of intriguing and irrelevant but the main event, a clash between Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd, will likely determine whether it's the worst thing ever or a totally acceptable main event. I can kind of see the two sides at play here. WMMA title fights are acceptable main and co-main events but convincing MMA's audience that there's quality outside of the title fights is often met with chuckles, snickers and some derisiveness. MMA fans work in doses and drips and so foistering this main event upon the audience even years after the rise of WMMA requires some understanding that there's a chunk of fans who won't see this as a quality headliner. Aspen Ladd to my knowledge has never been on a main card and GDR has had one fight in two years. On the other hand if one had the ability to view both fighters objectively, this is a pretty damn good fight. Headline worthy? I mean why not. It's a pseudo #1 contender fight with a former champion and a rising prospect. Seems totally acceptable to me. Either way we got thirteen fights to talk about so let's just get on with it.

Fights: 13

Debuts: Brianna Van Buren, John Allan, Wellington Turman

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 5 (John Phillips OUT, Wellington Turman IN vs Karl Roberson/Gian Villante OUT, John Allan IN vs Mike Rodriguez/Cynthia Calvillo OUT, Brianna Van Buren IN vs Livia Souza/Sara McMann OUT, Julianna Pena IN vs Nicco Montano/Martin Day OUT, Vince Morales IN vs Benito Lopez)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 8 (Urijah Faber, Josh Emmett, Beneil Dariush, Andre Fili, Julianna Pena, Nicco Montano, Darren Elkins, Cezar Mutante)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Darren Elkins)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 9 (Germaine De Randamie, Ricky Simon, Aspen Ladd, Beneil Dariush, Drakkar Klose, Mirsad Bektic, Livia Souza, Ryan Hall,Pingyuan Liu)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 24-11-2

Aspen Ladd- 3-0 Germaine de Randamie- 2-0 Urijah Faber- 0-0 Ricky Simon- 3-0 Josh Emmett- 3-2 Mirsad Bektic- 2-1 Beneil Dariush- 2-2-1 Drakkar Klose- 4-1 Karl Roberson- 2-2 Wellington Turman- 0-0 Cezar Ferreira- 2-2 Marvin Vettori- 1-1-1

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Featherweight-  3 (33) Bantamweight- 3 (36) Women’s Bantamweight- 2 (12) Middleweight- 2 (23) Women’s Strawweight- 1 (19) Light Heavyweight- 1 (28) Lightweight- 1 (43)

Welterweight- (38) Heavyweight- (18) Flyweight- (8) Women’s Flyweight-  (18) Women’s Featherweight- (6)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (18-40)- Brianna Van Buren, John Allan, Wellington Turman

Short Notice Fighters (16-25)- Brianna Van Buren, John Allan, Wellington Turman, Julianna Pena, Vince Morales

Second Fight (38-15)- Nicco Montano

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (12-26)- Urijah Faber (I could/should put him in the debut category but Faber was never cut and so I figure he's better suited here?), Nicco Montano, Julianna Pena, Marvin Vettori, Mirsad Bektic

Undefeated Fighters (25-27)- Aspen Ladd

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (9-8)-

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (17-16)- Nicco Montano, Ryan Hall, Karl Roberson

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- It's only fair to start with what can only be described as an experiment of sorts by the UFC. We currently have on the calendar four WMMA main events and rumors of a 5th (I've heard some rumblings about Rose vs Nina Ansaroff in the late Fall) is out there. The UFC is clearly giving us more WMMA main events and taking some chances in the process. Part of this is clearly an ESPN design; you give them four shows a month more or less and you're less concerned about popping a number on a digital platform. The scheduling and the assembly line of "See UFC product, get UFC product" on ESPN+ allows you to be a bit more flexible. It's kinda cool that in a span of four weeks, we've gotten a massive HW fight, a big UFC PPV, this show with a credible WMMA main event and then a pretty solid San Antonio main event with RDA vs Leon Edwards. We get a little bit of everything and I'm glad Ladd vs GDR occupies a part of that. With less of an expectation to do a one off rating (Ladd vs GDR probably would've been the lowest rated show on FS1) then I hope we see more credible WMMA main events. In a vacuum, I'd rather see two top 5 fighters at strawweight headline an event than two big doughy guys at LHW or HW just because we're afraid the audience might not like it.

2- At the same time I have zero problems admitting GDR vs Aspen Ladd as a main event wasn't making me want to rush out and buy a ticket if it was in my town. The more I think about it though. the more intrigued I am about it. Maybe it's just the "it's coming to get excited!" aspect of an approaching card or what but I'm genuinely excited by this main event. Maybe it's because GDR could either be Amanda Nunes' next opponent or the ultimate 'Whatever happened to?" story.  Germaine de Randamie's title shot was somewhat circumstantial  at best but be it by hook or by crook, she DID win the UFC's first ever featherweight title. After pulling out of fights on and off for three straight years (and with wins over Anna Elmose and Larissa Pacheco of all people), Germaine was ushered into a fight with Holly Holm in a makeshift main event. She won the first three rounds in my estimation, lost the final two and in a fair and just world, probably loses the fight with points deducted for repeated shots after the bell in rounds 1 and 2. We don't live in an alternate universe, we live in a current reality and SO de Randamie beat Holm on points to become champ. What happened then? Well....de Randamie copped to a hand injury after the fact, hinting she wouldn't fight Cyborg. She came out a bit later and said she wouldn't fight Cyborg because Cyborg was a PED user. She was stripped of the belt, hinted at retiring, came back, got hurt, hinted at retirement some more and then finally returned in a one sided breeze vs Rocky Pennington. The point of all that is to say that GDR is either about to break out into the best version of herself with a dominant win over Aspen Ladd or she's going to just disappear for two years after this fight.

3- Is Aspen Ladd more or less rushed than when Sara McMann got a title shot off of beating Shayna Baszler and Sheila Gaff? Ladd's got some credible wins but she's still super green and like a lot of green WMMA prospects, she pretty much gets by on her ability to be aggressive and dogged in firefights. Offensively though she's so much fun to watch. This fight in tight with GDR's crisp powerful boxing vs Ladd's aggression, pressure and fearlessness could be a real treat. Also let's not forget that Ladd absolutely has the strength to just bowl over GDR the way Nunes did as well.

4- Fun question; would you prefer the winner of this fight vs Amanda Nunes at bantamweight or up 10 lbs at featherweight?

5- The total lack of hype from the UFC on the return of Urijah Faber almost makes it feel like they're embarrassed he's even trying this.

6- Karl Roberson's UFC run thus far has been pretty easy to figure out. He's had four fights and gone 2-2 with an easy enough pattern; guy gets him down? He gets subbed. Guy doesn't? He wins. He subbed Darren Stewart which is still a pretty impressive win in hindsight and beat up on Jack Marshman in November. He took a really short notice fight vs Glover Teixeira in January and was beating the shit out of him before Glover did as he do; got on top and subbed him out in the first round. Roberson gets the debuting Wellington Turman and it's going to be an interesting test to see if he can avoid getting taken down against a guy making his debut on short notice. I still think Roberson has high upside and is more or less a victim of some unfair rough matchmaking.

7- Julianna Pena is back after taking a year and change off and it's surprising just how little fanfare her return is getting. Pena's last fight was on Fox in the headline spot vs Valentina Shevchenko in a fight she lost by armbar in the second round. Before that though, she had beaten the likes of Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano and looked to be on her way to maybe becoming something in the post Rousey landscape. The fact she's sort of just slipped into the picture as a late notice replacement for a filler prelim fight is so weird. Pena is just 29 and even if her striking was really rough to watch, she's the sort of fighter who has enough in her arsenal as a strong (yet clunky) wrestler that I can't rule her out in what remains at 135 lbs. We've seen the likes of Rocky Pennington get title shots and Nunes is close to cleaning out the division so maybe Pena (or even her opponent Nicco Montano) has a shot at creeping back up in the title picture quickly.

8- Casual reminder that Nicco Montano was the first ever UFC women's flyweight champ. Kinda gets forgotten given how things played out with her.

9- So are we officially off the Mirsad Bektic hype train now?

10- Ryan Hall vs Darren Elkins is such a weirdo fight on paper that I can't help but want to see how it plays out. At the very least we know (hope) Elkins won't take any significant damage via strikes.

11- Sheymon Moraes vs Andre Fili is a really good fight that almost feels misplaced as a prelim fodder fight but will be worth your time if you search it out. A damn good fight between two solid mid level FWs.

12- Does any card better encapsulate the collapse of TAM like this one does?

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Living with the Original Drake™ might include (Part 2)

A/N: Ok, so we're getting pretty hot in here. And I just feel like Samuel would be a kind of hipster/indie person if he had the chance. That's all. Here we go then:

Ok so, how we have established, living with this hooman being is so hard, man. It's the kind of thing you need to get through to be a true adult.

It an energy drowning experience to stand him sometimes, ok?

The worst part of living with him would be him watching movies. 

Especially the historic ones like documentaries and so on. He just gets so pissed every time they have something wrong and then he had always that need to explain to you what actually happened.

You actually have a big collection of videos/snapchat photos when he's just mad and yelling at the TV because of how lies they present there. You're planning to do him an epic collage/montage for his birthday. 

But he quite enjoyed the Pirates of Carribean saga. Seriously - he even managed to catch up some new phrases from them, using them in normal conversation. 

His favorite one is from the captain Jack himself, responding to Beckett about that he's mad: 

Thank goodness for that, 'cause if I wasn't this would probably never work...  And that was without even a single drop of rum.  

Like when he went on to trying new shady things. Like when he smuggled some shady things from one of his jobs and sold them for a serious load of money, when he smoked weed and redistributed it or when he went every Wednesday to play poker for money in a local shady pub.

But he always won money there and brought to you as a payment for food and rent. So you didn't ask much about it and he didn't talk about it too. It was a symbiosis.

Or like the in the times when he got his new PC, oh boy, you didn't see that coming.

When he discovered YouTube and memes, you thought you hit the top - but yet the worst was only comings. Like you had a marathon of cat videos, he needed to explain EVERYTHING and don't remind me of that that he decided to have a Facebook.

"Ok, so that lady wrote from yesterday me very specific and interesting message."

"Samuel, I don't need actually to know everything, thank you."

"She wants some dic pics? It's like that I just take a photo of my..."

"Jesus Fucking Christ. I'm going to my room and I'll not get out until tomorrow's morning. Don't you dare to come to me with any more questions."

So that's how Samuel got some really... Interesting night meeting. Yeah, they were talking about history, his life and...

No, you actually heard about fifteen ladies screaming his name in the middle of the night. Where are the times he played guitar until three a.m.???

So that's basically how your little alcoholic era started. Like you weren't constantly drunk (one of you had to have stable work, right?), but you managed to get at your friend's/co-worker's/everywhere when he told he's got a lady coming over. For some time it was cool, you were somehow pretty sober when you came home, but one day your friend carried you home completely shitfaced. Like you could barely walk and your words sounded more like a lunatics' mumbling.

The lady who visited him that night actually left hours before you came come. 

Well... Came wasn't a word to summarize it at all. Let's say you were really glad you showed your friend the apartment to ring on.

So he took you to bed, paid the cab for you and then dressed you into a nice, clean loose t-shirt which was probably his. He was nice and gentle with you, not even thinking about using the advantage against you. But you got the Devil himself on your shoulder that night.

"Sounds like you're great in bed, Sammy."

"Well, I can't judge that, you know? I can see only my point of view."

"Why don't you fuck me like one of your French girls?" (Yeah, you always used Titanic references when you were shitfaced.)

"Because I'm ruining your life enough for now. We don't don't need ruining that pretty little pussy too, don't we? Now get some rest."

Jesus Fucking Christ, you were mesmerized by his answer, but you were too fucked up to trying to find the meaning of his words.

And it was out. You said out loud that you want to bang him. Like hey, you were a woman of needs and he was a fucking dude in his forties. What's the deal? And you were roommates. (clearly referencing to that "They were roommates" vine).

Who wouldn't think about it? It just felt natural to think of it as a thing to come.

Yet, you were living together for a fucking year and he didn't even touch in some... Not jokingly-flirty way, if we're on the same page and you get me.

But don't worry, you've completely forgotten about that before sleep encounter in the morning.

He even held your hair, when you managed to finally vomit the shit out of your body.

But Samuel, like a little shit he is, really enjoyed his time referring to the event you didn't even know what happened.

Whenever he was feeling like it, he could tease the rationality out of your body. (One day you took some pretty heavy book and slapped him over the back of his head, making him laugh more.)

Like you guys were just people - he walked in a towel in front of you completely normally and frequently putting his chest on a full display, you didn't use to do this so often as he did. It was no big deal. But did he saw something he wasn't supposed to see? Like your little sanctuary as he completely clearly referenced?

Samuel didn't even notice that you could be a woman in any way. Or at least you thought so.

One time he came completely naked to the living room. Like NUDE. He was a total nude dude. You saw everything he got; she bullet scars on his left hip, that really nicely built body and that weenie between his legs. Well you could say that he's DEFINITELY attractive. But you were still only roommates.

By that time you just were convinced he's clearly sure you got somehow sure that you have a weenie between your legs too because you were his buddy for everything.

Getting drunk? Check. Time to time getting totally stoned or smoking with him one or two cigarettes? Check. Watching movies with him? Check. Having time to time movie marathons? Check. Laughing your ass off because of his cheesy jokes? Check. 

The worst phases he ever had was his music ones.

Like when he discovered indie rock. Man, you were listening to Arctic Monkeys for a month straight. There's nothing bad with them, they kinda get you into that badass rock mood with their songs and so on... But their effect on Samuel was huge.

Or The Neighbourhood, oh shit don't remind me of that.

They practically became the soundtrack of your life. 

He even brought a new leather jacket to show himself. He felt like kinda badass and dangerous, like those boys who you kinda fell for, because they're sexy, edgy and mysterious and stuff, but man... It just felt so strange for Sam.

Then he kinda went through a Lana del Rey phase. Smarty and You can be the boss were your daily jams. That man just fell so hard for the independent genre. It just felt like awakening to him. He was a free-spirited, independent man, so unpredictable and stuff, so it just felt natural when he listened to this... Yet it felt strange in a way.

Samuel even tried to send you subtle messages in a form of she sang in You can be the boss, but you just didn't catch it. 

And man, don't you get me started on how he discovered little concerts of those street artists.

"Well, I was in the city today, Y/N."

"Sounds like it was an adventure, Sam. What have you discovered?"

"I got some free tickets from some really nice young lady to some... Student action in a pub at the downtown. I still don't look like I belong to the rusty iron."

"Oh, you can invite some of your friends on foreplay heat up concerts." (That sly perfectly knew you are directly referencing to his Facebook friends.)

"If you want to call it foreplay heat up..."

And that little shit just left one of the tickets next to your notebook. He had a clear smirk on his face, slowly walking to his room with a cigarette in his hand.

"Then I'll expect some pretty hot night."