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riverdale-retread · 1 year

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Riverdale S7 E8 Hoop Dreams

I kid you not, this thing is 20 pages. Enter at your own risk. (ILY for reading even part of this.)

Jughead Jones tells us that while “some towns are football towns,” Riverdale isn’t. My longing for OG Tabitha, the angel of chronokinesis and savior of FailAdult Jughead Jones, is such that I pondered if this is Tabitha’s touch - to make a town that for six seasons has been all about football (insert the immortal “Highs and Lows of High School Football” quote gif here if you’re able, which I am not, so you’ll just have to imagine it for this summary) stop caring about that sport altogether and switch over to basketball, which might be her favorite.

Please come back, chronokinetic angel Tabitha, God of Time Loop Manipulation!

The funny thing is, even though Jughead says with what sounds like regret that Riverdale has but a “so-so football team” there’s a banner over the in progress basketball game that says 1942 RIVERDALE HIGH FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS. Granted, it doesn’t say WHAT they were champions of, but I suspect Jughead might be wrong about everything he’s saying, because the other banners say things like Riverdale High Field Hockey Champions 1944, Riverdale High Boys Basketball Champions 1945 and Division II State Champions Field Hockey 1952. Jughead insists that kids only play hockey on the river in winter, implying that they only do that because there’s nothing else to do. Granted, field hockey isn’t ice hockey, but it’s still hockey, and they were champions of this twice across eight years, so - basically, Jughead currently only thinks basketball is cool because (a) his girlfriend-god that he’s been (tw: Harry Potter reference) obliviated into forgetting wants him to think that and (b) Archie in the 1950s AU that we’re in plays basketball not football.

I wondered if the reason, say, that the one and only time the Riverdale football team was the champion was because of WWII or if that war had something to do with this spotty history of performances from the high school of at town that is completely obsessed with sports in every iteration, but I don’t think it quite lines up. WWII was between 1939 and 1945, and the US entry into that war was in 1941.

One more irrelevant point - in OG Riverdale True Timeline of previous seasons, SWEET PEA played basketball. So did Reggie Mantle. And now - now that the tallest boy Riverdale ever had is gone for good, NOW is when they make basketball a thing. O Riverdale Why Are You Like This?! (All Hail the Members of the Cult of Sweet Pea of which there are about five at any given time). I only say this because they actually cut to Fangs, playing basketball, which spiked my stress levels.

Basically, every time I see Fangs I’m enraged because that actor - while beautiful in the face and body - makes for a very terribly unintimidating Serpent and a very terribly unintimidating US Civil War warlock, and a deeply inappropriate basketball player because everything about him says gymnast weightlifter.

Anyways! Even though Fred Andrews, who is basically a saint now in Riverdale because Luke Perry was apparently a very kind man as well as valuable actor who died tragically young during the production of this show, led the team to become champions of the state three years IN A ROW, there are no signs to actually commemorate this achievement in the current halls Riverdale High where his son, Archie Andrews, plays basketball. Granted, doing some rough math, if Archie is 17 in 1955, his dad’s high school career would’ve been in the mid thirties, so the basketball glory days of Riverdale High would’ve been between like, 1934 and ‘37 (assuming Fred was born in 1918 and had Archie at age 20 in 1938 - omg this makes this Archie so old to me - 1938?!?!). Do they only put up banners for wins from the last 10 years? (But then why the 1942 win?)

I tried really hard to see what team kicked the Riverdale basketball team’s butt so hard they lose 63 to 32 (with the announcer saying “that’s another big loss for Riverdale” while all the worthies - the evil vile boyfriends the HS principal and shrink, Hal Cooper, the Blossoms, Betty and Veronica, all mourn the loss) but they had very small print on red jerseys and I could not make it out. Uncle Fucking Frank reacts with violence against innocent paper cups that Dilton Doiley with literally Long Duk Dong hair (ARE THEY SERIOUS?) cringes beside him.

I always wonder about actors who get hired for roles that essentially play a hateful racist stereotype based on their racialized phenotype. Is the actor’s ‘cringing’ reaction portrayed here so awkward because he’s a bad actor, or because the scene is bad, or is he ‘resisting’ the Asian Dweeb stereotype he’s being forced to portray by being very unnatural? (There was a black and white film from the 1940s I watched for a college class whose title escapes me where white people go do things in “China” - a set - that had as its plot device and local color provider character a “Chinese” girl who spoke surreal pidgin English, and the obviously California born-and-raised Asian actress insisted on delivering these “Me Help For You Go Get!” type of stupid lines with the most So-Cal Accent of all time). Anyway, Dilton cringes because the awful white man beats up his paper cups because he sucks as a coach.

Choni, looking amazing in those cream turtleneck sweaters (I really want a cream turtleneck sweater with something navy emblazoned on it because of this), are so very upset about this loss. They find it unspeakable. Further, Toni is discomfited by the fact that Lizzo the Lesbian who dresses in proto Tom of Finland outfits and looks very hot came to sneer at her and only her for being a cheerleader.

In the locker room, Archie, because 1950s Archie is adorkably wholesome and a natural leader, is trying to give his discouraged teammates a pep talk. He sounds so decent and sweet. The other redhead, because really, there is room for only one redhead to be supreme in this town, the Julian who isn’t Jason, interrupts him with a generic sort of homophobic slur against them all - “Not if we keep playing like pansies!” before launching into a shouting rant that Archie cuts off. Nostrils flaring, Julian invokes St. Fred’s sainted “legacy” of having gifted Riverdale with a streak of wins at Archie, who is very very peeved. Julian makes sure to mention the fact that his parents sponsor the team, to which Archie fights back with a very pointed pronunciation of the title, “Captain.”

After the game, Uncle Fucking Frank is begging Clifford Blossom for something. When Archie asks him in his 1955 voice (which I now realize is a very creditable impression of the tenor husky tone of Luke Perry actually) what Blossom wanted, Uncle Fucking Frank says that he’s been permitted to bring in an outside player.

And here we come to it.

This is another Very Special Episode of Riverdale S7 - subtitle, The Thorny Question of Race in America.

Uncle Fucking Frank has many many MANY MANY flaws but he is a middle aged white man in 1955 who is entirely free from not just racism but any sort of prejudice or racial awareness whatsoever. Which - what? How? Does Uncle Fucking Frank have prosopagnosia or something? I mean, he called with evident, drooling joy, Betty Cooper in her underwear that he happened to see without her permission in her skivvies “a ripe peach of a girl” to Archie his nephew, but this is what he has to say about Reggie Mantle, about whom the first thing literally everyone other than him notices is his Not Whiteness:

- Farm kid out of Duck Creek

- Kid who knows how to win games

- 6ft 3, 220 pounds, pure muscle, fast.

- Nickname: ‘The Blur - cause you never see him coming.”

Zero mention of Reggie not being white, of being Asian (or as he may more likely have said, Oriental), or Korean. Zippo, nothing, nada. Just the barest locational and socioeconomic background, no mention of immigrant status, and only what needs to be known for his credentials as an ace basketball player to be communicate to Archie.

Do I - must I - stop hating Uncle Fucking Frank quite as much? I mean I’ll always hate him, but I might have to downgrade from Despise to just Hate. Frank, Sir, you are coming up in the world.

Wait no, I figured it out. I still can still hate Uncle Fucking Frank despite the fact that he manages to talk about Reggie Mantle purely limited to his traits as an ace basketball player with zero mention of his race, ethnicity, being oriental, what kind of Asian etc etc. During the past few years I have seen and heard in passing analyses about how pro and college football will populate their winning teams with not-white athletes, build out hugely profitable merchandising using these same athletes but not pay them their due share. I’m sure coaches that recruit students for this sort of enterprise also don’t really go into what color their skin is or their facial phenotype: they only want to know if they have the physique to render them profitable for the team. Same with Uncle Fucking Frank. He’s not enlightened, just desperate.

Meanwhile, Cheryl and Toni are working off the stress of cheering for a losing team (and in Toni’s case, whatever that meaningful look was between her and Lizzo at the end of the game.) Cheryl, who manages to not have her siren red lipstick all over her face after this make out session looks very fetching in her red neckerchief (omg the clavicles on this chick are to die for) proposes that she and Toni “go steady, just for us." Toni, looking equally fetching in with her thick bangs and leopard print scarf (do they wear these to hide the hickeys or are they too sophisticated for that?) is not nice about it. She points out that they can’t walk down the hall at school holding hands nor can they ‘pin’ each other.

Uh. That’s struck me as quite nasty, and a weirdly underhanded blow at that. 1955 is only five years after the founding of Mattachine Society which moreover was just white men, and it’s not clear to me that those dudes would’ve necessarily welcomed either of these girls. Why is Toni pointing out that they are living in a homophobic society to blame Cheryl for it?

When Cheryl finally gets the hint (“Unless you don’t want to!”), Toni finally says that monogamy is too ‘square’ for her. (What the hell is happening with her and Lizzo?) Cheryl though is nothing if not obnoxiously persistent, so she works her way around Toni’s refusal, which was I will note once again, not at all gentle, by concluding that “it’s kind of like we’re already secretly going steady if you think about it.” Way to be suffocating, Cheryl. Toni is annoyed.

We are now finally going to meet 1955 Reggie Mantle. A very dusty blue pick up truck drives down a road to turn into a yard with lots of goats. It turns out to be Archie Andrews’ ride. The farm house looks pretty huge, though not particularly fancy. Reggie is moving bales of hay from one truck to the other. His hair is all glossy and shiny looking as he does this. Archie asks apparently for the second or third time if he can’t give Reggie a hand, to which Reggie who is very Eyeore in 1955 says no.

The second thing that Archie says to Reggie is to ask if Reggie is “from Korea.” Which means at some point Frank told him he was Korean.

Maybe American and European awareness of Korea existing waxes and wanes, but this question surprised me, as in, it struck me as very unrealistic. It’s only in literally the past seven or so years (i.e. since BTS hit it big in America in 2017) that an Asian looking person is going to be asked if they are Korean first and foremost. My, how we’ve come up in the world, I guess? (Except this more like that one nutty Englishman who plastic surgeried himself into ‘being Korean’ for a bit before deciding that he wasn’t Korean after all.)

Reggie gives a very, like, 1990s answer to this “Where are you from” question, politely answering with his genealogy - Mom is “Korean.” Then he goes on to say his dad “was born here,” before adding “I was born here.” This convoluted writing is necessary because the show doesn’t want to say if Reggie’s father is ethnically Korean or not. If Reggie was born in 1938 like I’ve calculated already for Archie, and let’s just say for the sake of argument they’re all the same age, Reggie’s father was born in 1918 in the US and his mother managed to enter the US (that’s what “from Korea” or “Korean” here is supposed to mean) before the 1924 Oriental Exclusion act banning all Asian immigration to the US, which stayed in place until 1952 (My head hurts. Why did they have to make his being KOREAN a thing on this show?). This makes her the wrong age to have come to America as a picture bride (1905-1924). Also what the heck does Reggie mean by “here”? Most of the initial immigration by Koreans to the US were to Hawaii (prior to annexation) and to California because those land masses are closer to Korea (Koreans moved east to America).

Reggie looks very hot in his baggy jeans and brown belt and work gloves that match his tan boots. Of course this is a bit of a call back to the Jarchie Run Away from Hiram Together moments where Archie takes his shirt off and moves bales of hay as Jughead watches peevishly because he gets annoyed whenever Archie does things that are likely to get him laid.

Apparently, Reggie used to play basketball for Stonewall Prep, but then dropped out. While he’s willing to be polite about explaining his ethnic background (kind of - we know his mother’s ethnicity and his father’s immigration status, to be accurate), Reggie gets testy when asked this question about his history as a Stony. He says he dropped out, as Archie smiles ruefully at the rebuff (“You writing a book?”) which seems very harsh because OG Archie of course has difficulties learning things from books.

I was wrong- it wasn’t Archie’s truck, it was Frank’s. Frank has come out of the farm house to tell Reggie that things are “squared away with your folks” and that Reggie should “say his see you laters.” I don’t think this is intentional, but it’s actually accurate. Certain types of Americans do lay it on super heavy with the colloquialisms when they are speaking to someone they didn’t expect would have an American accent.

When Reggie walks past Archie towards the house, Archie looks exactly like I would if a panther just casually walked by me in the street. He’s so amazed by Reggie that he gives Uncle Fucking Frank a ‘Oh My Golly Gosh Did YOU See That Too?’ look to which Frank gives him an understanding nod. Frank apparently doesn’t find this reaction ‘bent’ at all.

So now we’re at the dinner table at the Andrews home with Mary politely trying to make conversation.

I’m gonna have to break the summation again once more to note the huge problems that trying to be ethnically accurate about Charles Melton the actor (his mom is ethnically Korean and his father is not) for this season that they’ve set in 1955 causes the show. In S2-6, they gave Reggie a Tiger Dad type father who looked Asian (or part Asian) and his mother was cast with an Asian (or part Asian) actress. But in 1955 we’re having to go with the idea that Reggie was a mixed race kid born in 1938, without actually going into anti- miscegenation and laws associated therewith (I am not going to research this ok? I just know Loving v Virginia was decided in 1967. FML. I hate history so much and here I am having to do this for my RIVERDALE HOBBY - , like wtf is my life rn).

The thing is, THE THING IS, the set up they have for “dad born here, I’m born here, I speak fluent English with an American accent” Reggie is that of an exchange student far from home, an alien guest in an All American Caucasian Household.

Long Duk Dong set up (from Sixteen Candles, which is a movie Molly Ringwald was in, who now plays Archie’s Mom) ONCE AGAIN. There’s a classic Margaret Cho quote from decades ago about how Asian Americans aren’t allowed to just, like, EXIST in American shows and movies. There’s always got to be some reason that justifies their existence - foreign exchange student being one of the most benign go-tos. Riverdale is reproducing the Explain Your Existence, O Surprising Oriental trope even as they pretend to actually engage with Asian American identity.

Friends, I have written five pages, single spaced and so far I’ve covered literally FOUR MINUTES of the show. Let’s move faster.

Mary Andrews has heard that Reggie grew up on a farm, and wants to know all about it. Uncle Fucking Frank is seated at the head of the table like somehow he has a right to be there. Anyway, Reggie is bouncy and discreetly proud of himself when he says that his dad was injured in the Korean War (“Came home with shrapnel in his shoulder”) so he has to step up, because it’s his family’s legacy.

These are all words designed to ping every string in Archie’s heart - Dad, Korean War, Family Legacy, Stepping Up.

Times are hard, is what Reggie is telling them, so Archie asks why they couldn’t get assistance from the GI Bill. “We’re not considered eligible” is what Reggie tells Archie. So… is Reggie’s Dad a Not Korean But Asian person? Who was born in America in 1918 and got drafted into the Korean War while Asian? I mean, I have no idea how many that might be actually, and the Korean War was an international police action that had battlefield participation from, like, Ethiopia, Turkey and South Africa, so there were bunches of not Korean men fighting that war. (Oh and uh, if you bring up MASH to me I will curse your bloodline and block you because NO.) So where the US government refused to do right by its veterans of color, Clifford Blossom's need to have his pet basketball team win something will provide the assistance the Mantle farm apparently needs and should’ve received from the US government.

Reggie is going to be roommates with Archie. He gets a bunk, lots of blankets, and a dresser drawer. Reggie looks very glum about this, though the adorable clueless 1955 Archie whom I do like so much is being very sincere in his efforts to be a good host. Reggie happens to glance out the window to see Betty Cooper, very fetching in green and white polka dots, settle on her bed

“Who’s that?” he wants to know. He says everything in this dour, serious tone, which I guess is meant to convey that the weight of the world is on this Reggie, as opposed to the one that lived in the permanent year 2020. Archie tellingly refuses to say her actual name, describing Betty as “his neighbor” that Reggie will “get to meet at school tomorrow.” Then, just to make things extra weird, he firmly notes that they’re both supposed to keep their window curtains shut from now on - no further explanation. Reggie clearly has a ton of questions but decides not to ask any.

Hal comes to give Betty a visit. Werthers has advised Hal that Betty might be better off burning off her excess energy by becoming a cheerleader. The fact that her school shrink is talking about Betty's sexuality with her dad is supposed to give me the heebie jeebies but it doesn't. When this town's adults don't like something about their kids they straight up shove them into a mental institution run by a pseudo Catholic cult (both in the OG Universe and 1955 AU) so what Betty is getting is cosseting. What's more interesting is the very All American conviction that repeatedly keeps getting voiced that Sports Will Fix Sexual Problems In The Young. Kevin's unacceptable homosexuality was supposed to be cured by participation in homosocial team sports. Betty's unacceptable sexuality in general (because God forbid women do anything) is also supposed to be cured by participation in a homosocial team sport. Nobody sees the contradiction in any of this. When told that she must join the Vixens - AND without auditioning! Join through back channels! - Betty looks completely disgusted. And yeah there's a very Rivderdalean triple pun here, of a sexualized virgin being forced to join the most objectfied female activity in American high school AND acquire the title VIXEN into the bargain! I wonder if this is the show advocating for teen girls to send nudes to boys - because that's what Betty would've done had she had the technology, right?

The next morning Lizzo the Lezzie is waiting for Toni at the school. I thought Lizzo dropped out? Is she just an incorrigible morning person? This is a disturbing level of stalking of Toni is it not? To come super early to the grounds of the school you dropped out of to provide sneering commentary on someone else's relationship is a LOT. And Lizzo is so carefully dressed too : Tom of Finland leathers hat and jacket, maroon pants, belt with a big interesting buckle that is the same color as her huge hoop earrings. She tells Toni she's "figured out a good hustle." She picks put "ripe" closeted girls, brings them out and uh deflowers them, then ditches them.

Oooh is this Toni Topaz having a toxic trait? Because her relentless pursuit of Cheryl, who was all manner of unwilling (plus the usual lack of sexual frisson between these two performers- also sidebar rant WHY WONT THEY GIVE VERONICA A GIRLFRIEND) was in truth a little icky right?

Toni looks shifty and avoidant when she spots Tabitha Tate and simply leaves Lizzo in the lurch.

Tabitha says that Mrs. Till was all the things that sound exhausting to have to be ("so strong, so inspiring") but that the tour trying to voice the racial injustice of America took a personal toll on her. This is the start of a severely, comically fucked up race related discussion vis a vis African Americans on this episode. First of all, you have two African American women explaining white racism to each other, very calmly, without expressing anger or fatigue and even managing to experience some surprise. That is so weird. Second, Toni says she "can only imagine" the hatred and racial injustice that Tabitha just got through encountering up close and personal. Excuse me? Why can she only imagine? Wouldn't Toni actually KNOW? Because anti black racism doesn't exist at all in Riverdale 1955?? (But she was one who pointed out exactly what some of the more obvious ones were to Featherhead!) When Toni confesses to Tabitha that she's now a cheerleader, she prefaces by saying "Don't laugh" and doesn't say the BS she tried to push on Lizzo at the start of her River Vixen career - that being the first black cheerleader is somehow meaningful. Tabitha evidently doesn't feel anything other than horror at the idea of being a cheerleader so she instead asks about whether Toni is still writing think pieces for the Blue and Gold. She isn't. Tabitha completely runs out of things to say. OK so thus far, 1955 Toni is a bit of a predatory lesbian lothario who will get sanctimonious about race only when she thinks she can get away with it, and Tabitha is a judgmental prig. I suppose this could be considered a sort of progress for characters who used to be all about their “race,” each with the designated role of being the only one with the braincell because that’s clumsy representation but it’s better than a hateful depiction, but the dark sides shown here are still a simplistic flip of the equally nuance-free ‘light’ sides that were dominant for both.

In the student lounge, Betty, Veronica and Cheryl (who really would be an ultimate throuple - with Veronica as the hinge person, if only, well, if only all of them didn’t have the various issues they’ve always had) allow Kevin to sit with them, which I simply do not understand. Betty is too good for her own good, to coin a phrase. Veronica is deeply amused by Betty being a “RiverVixen” to which Cheryl makes it clear that she did not want this to happen - for Betty to join the cheerleading squad NOR the nepotistic way she joined it. Veronica now owns the Babylonium - complete with “paperwork.”

Why. Do they do. This. with the Contract Mentions. [fists clenched, vibrating with rage] Finalized by who? Which paperwork? Is Veronica an emancipated minor too like Jughead probably possibly is or has she been lying all this time about being the same age as everyone else purportedly is in this universe?

In any case, Betty, who has developed a new oral fixation with lollipops, finds Veronica’s penchant for business as adorable as Veronica finds the thought of Betty in a cheerleader uniform. Veronica is wearing a very un-1950s Veronica outfit - the collar goes right up to the collarbone, the sleeves are puffy, the color subdued. Now that she’s recovered some element of her OG Universe self (compulsive entrepreneur), she is now speaking of herself in the third person and archly. The camp is dialed up so high the knob breaks off. (“Veronica Lodge likes to burn rubber” which is, what, three layers of pun? Burn Rubber = goes fast. Rubber = slang for condom. But Veronica is a virgin, etc). Betty and (Sighhhhh) Kevin think so too, because they give each other a look.

Or it could be because their 17 year old friend suddenly talking like she’s a 1940s screen diva at a waning stage of her career AND talking about herself in the third person using her full name is just fully very strange.

To make matters worse, Archie brings in Reggie Mantle to this little group, trying to do his best to integrate this valuable new teammate (and roommate, and all round amazing looking cool handsome guy that he thinks is just the tops on first sight) to his coterie. Veronica fully falls into an erotic fugue at the sight of Reggie, and starts to speak in tongues - “Are you gonna introduce us to your strapping flutter bum of a new pal?” 1950s Archie smiles nicely at her while not answering, which is the usual thing that he does when he just doesn’t understand wtf the other person is saying but doesn’t feel safe asking them to explain in case everyone else understands and they all wind up finding out that he’s dumb.

Reggie apparently expects Riverdale people to be completely insane because he doesn’t even do a double take at this exceptional sentence from this girl he’s meeting for the first time. He just soberly introduces himself. I mean, given that he has first met Uncle Fucking Frank on a mission from Clifford Blossom of all people, and then had Archie say what he said about the curtains and Betty, he’s not wrong.

Veronica is laying it on an inch thick - “I suspected a tall drink of water like you was a sportsman!”

She’s taking all her behavioral cues from an earlier era of movie diva, I think. This is like, Marlene Dietrich (“Marriage? [scoff] I never found a man good enough for that.”) or Greta Garbo (“But I vaaunt to be aloonnne”) with a certain brassy kind of young Joan Crawford making movie after movie with Clark Gable.

The original high-camp archly-haute queen of Riverdale, Cheryl, fights for her crown. She interrupts whatever next thing Veronica was going to say by snapping that Veronica “might get a ticket for speeding.” This doesn’t just mean that Cheryl really dislikes it when people are very heterosexual around her (though she does feel that too). Veronica first of all is intensely wlw-coded, which is why it irks (the closeted) Cheryl that Veronica is laying it on so thick with the attraction to big handsome man’s-man Reggie (which of course goes all the way over the maximum virility level to loop all the way around to being gay!). (In a way that Toni never actually appeared to like or interact with other women, OG Veronica absolutely LOVED other women and made the personal political in a very principled way). And it shows that Cheryl not only closely listens to everything Veronica says but also really thought the whole ‘burn rubber’ triple pun was great, which is why she references it in her attempted put down.

She tries to demonstrate how she thinks not-straight girls should react to someone with Reggie’s glossy hair and sculptural face. Cheryl puts on the most anodyne professional face to tell Reggie what “professional” (ahem) connections they have, and makes sure to say that the two of them “will be working closely together.” She does this very well. But the thing is, she looks even more insane than before because the flip of the switch from her sniping at Veronica (an explosion of genuine feeling) and this ‘groomed professional’ self is so abrupt!

Reggie is like, okay so hot girl 1 is nuts and so is hot girl 2, but maybe hot girl 3 (and neighbor) is not insane, so he asks Betty if she’s a cheerleader. Kevin makes a face like he knows exactly Reggie’s thought process (but honestly, fuck you Kevin. Die in a ditch.). Betty does give the most sane reaction out of the three. When Reggie calls her ‘neighbor’ though, Veronica AND Betty AND Kevin all have a reaction. (Cheryl already knew and possibly doesn’t care so she doesn’t say anything). Kevin and Veronica look over at Archie, while Betty scrunches her forehead at Reggie.

Archie is still looking at Reggie like made of solid gold. “He’s gonna help turn things around for the Bulldogs.”

Veronica is so bored by Riverdale. She must be. Why else is she acting like this? She immediately tries to monopolize Reggie’s attention, calling him “Reginald” and interviewing him like she’s a celebrity journalist trying to win some sort of tabloid spirit award. Reggie continually gives her looks that blatantly say, Are you really like this - like, really?? Yet Veronica is utterly undeterred. What she reminds me of is Samantha from Sex and the City. No woman talks like that - that was a ‘woman’ written by gay men who thought THEY would talk like that and behave like that if THEY were women (which no, they would not. There are reasons why actual women can’t talk or behave that way). Veronica tries to lay out all her best cards (she thinks) on the table, concluding with “I own my own business, yes” and calls her movie theater a “movie palace.”

Oh Veronica. Being a entrepreneurial girl in a heterosexist world is exactly like being a logical confrontational girl or a scientifically rigorous girl. Being these things is surely a strength, to be aspired to and will fuel you to achieve self actualization, but no straight boy ever found these things hot. They like us in spite of these strengths, not because. Sad, but true.

Reggie clearly just doesn’t believe her, possibly adding ‘mythomania’ to his assessment that already includes ‘speaks strangely’ and ‘incomprehensible’ about Veronica.

When showing off her fabulous gift of the gab, her perfect face, and her entrepreneur skills fails to make an impact on Reggie, Veronica gets annoyed. In response to his saying his town just did not have a movie theater AND his parents never owned a TV (possibly, never made enough to buy one), she offers Reggie a job, which will come with a side order of sexual harassment from a very attractive female boss.

Cheryl Blossom, who knows all about Reggie’s financial dependence on her father, finds the mention of money horrible (Cheryl Old Money vs. Veronica New Money dynamic). She calls Veronica uncouth (“Raised by wolves!”). Reggie has had more than enough. He used to go to Stonewall with rich WASPs so can tell when things are about to go sideways. He literally backs away from everyone, asking to be shown the gym.

Veronica AND Kevin leap at the chance to get near Reggie and a shower stall at the same time, so Archie comes to his rescue to show him the way. Reggie gives Kevin a Et Tu Brute?!? look, not because he’s homophobic, but I think because he thought a big muscled fit person like Kevin might conduct himself with better comportment. Archie gives Kevin a look before leaving.

Tabitha approaches Jughead in the hall. They are wearing perfectly matched outfits. She’s wearing a fabric with a pink-and-green checkerboard pattern, while Jughead is wearing a vest with shades of green in a grid over a pink shirt. His locker door is very interesting. He’s got a big cover of the Super Duck comic issue taped in the honored central location, which I take to mean that not only is he actually really working on the Super Duck comics but he actually is proud of and excited by the work (Unless this is some super tightly thought out trickery against Werthers and Featherhead). There’s also that month’s calendar with each day crossed out - is this him working on his personal writing ‘every day’? To be true to himself, there’s also some sort of movie postcard about SPIDERS and another one about TOMB. I wish I could make out more of what’s on there but I can’t.

Anyway - Jughead apparently has NOT been doing anything to help Tabitha keep abreast of her schoolwork like he promised her a few episodes ago. Tabitha smilingly takes him to task for it, and he’s full of stammering apologies. Tabitha says that she didn’t actually have difficulties keeping up with school, so Jughead is “hereby absolved.” She even wants to know why Jughead was so preoccupied, like he tried to explain during his apology.

The way Tabitha and Jughead keep echoing each other in this little scene is just so cute. Their outfits exactly match, as I’ve said. Jughead says that he “got a job” writing a “broad range” of comic books and that he’s also working for Bradberry. Tabitha has read Bradberry because she “reads across all genres, including science fiction.” The cuteness of these super attractive nerds with their pretty faces just moisturizes my dry little heart. Their twitchy little body language tells of excitement and shy liking also match - they both shake their heads a little when they suggest something, to indicate Please Don’t Say No, and bounce on their heels and do minute little up down motions with their shoulders. Whereas 1955 Archie is wholesome in a slightly clueless way but also because he’s trying to be perfect as a way to grieve the loss of his father, these two, memory-wiped Jughead and 1955 Tabitha, are genuinely wholesome. When Tabitha takes her leave, Jughead looks at her with slight disbelief at his own good fortune.

At the ‘movie palace,’ Kevin, who like Cheryl pays very close attention to everything Veronica says I guess, asks Veronica for a job. He’s also obsessively watched Singing In the Rain so many times that he’s gotten it memorized end to end. (This is yet another way Kevin is not friendshaped to me - I’ve always been a Fred Astaire girl.) One of the (spoken) prerequisites of getting a job at this theater is to love movies. One of the half-spoken prerequisites, however, is a willingness to get involved, either directly or not, in Veronica’s attempt at having a sex life in Riverdale. Veronica really thought that becoming a sort of mogul would help her land straight guys.

Oh honey.

Veronica (sort of like Toni, actually) is sexually predatory and also desperate in a way I find curious. She’s been hitting on Clay for a while, apparently, but even though hes just NOT RESPONDING (which is very woman-coded of him) she refuses to take the fucking hint. She makes it blatantly clear that she only hired Kevin because he is friends with Clay AND will help her “suss him out.”

Oh honey!

We finally get to the reveal of Reggie The Blur Mantle's basketball skills! Uncle Fucking Frank calls his players "turkeys." Waterboy Dilton is there wearing an especially unflattering rotten greenish Grey color sweatshirt while everyone is in either a blue or a yellow jersey. I guess gold was too expensive? I can comfortably hate Frank again because a teammate tosses a used paper cup right at Dilton and another gives him a fist bump for it in a very visible act of denigration and Frank neither notices nor cares. Maybe it's this inability to see detail and perceive reality by this coach that is the cause of this team sucking so badly?

Reggie’s purpose in being brought on is made crystal clear to everyone. He's either to be an unwelcome alien element that provokes the existing property team members to hitherto impossible levels of competence and, if that doesn't work, use his own proven excellence to drag them over the edge. Frank has no interest in Reggie’s quality of life or smooth integration into the team, accordingly. I've been hired a part of a reform and upgrade effort like this one and lemme tell you - the push back from the existing people who are told We Are Bringing Them In Cuz You Suck is insidious, nasty, brutish and persistent. People don't like being insulted nor shown that they are replaceable.

So Fucking Frank makes Julian the captain of one team and Reggie the captain of the other. The only two that initially join Reggie’s group are Archie and Fangs. Archie thinks it's a no brainer - he dislikes Julian, this is his uncle's big gambit, and he thinks Reggie is just tops. Fangs joins, I assume, because Reggie has black hair like him. When everyone else joins Team Julian, Fangs objects (3:7 is unfeasible).

Reggie invites Dilton to join. Dilton lights up as that fucker Frank looks back at him as he's seeing him for the first time. Maybe he has. I've had white teachers "forget" wholesale that I was in their class when the class had only 6 other students when assigning roles for a semester length project. (Riverdale got this right, is what I'm saying.)

The thing is, I HAD TO be in that class.

Why Dilton puts up with this especially when he had no ability in it is confusing to me.

Archie is worried about this decision but he does nicely ask Dilton if he's up for it, then prompts him to get on the court.

This is by the way fascinating kingly behavior on Reggie’s part. The easier choice when you're bullied is to avoid the people who are the same type as you.

The Vixens filter in. I didn't realize the cheerleaders were obliged to sit and watch team practice. That is truly terrible. No wonder Betty was so annoyed.

And we're off!

I do not care about sports and therefore have zero knowledge or reference but is this sort of angle normal for basketball??

Reggie scores a point immediately. I'm assuming that what he does here - a sort of demi tourne en-l'air as he scores- is awesome because they show it a) in slow motion and b) most of the Vixens clap and all react like they saw something amazing. Cheryl especially looks shocked.

I am again so enamored of their outfits this season. An extra wears a beautiful pinstripe skirt with stripes of color mixed in - white, red, and mustard - with a grapefruit cardigan over a white shirt. I covet this outfit. Betty is fetching dressed only in pink and white. I LOVE IT when they put Cheryl in navy, like they do here, because it makes her look like three scoops of vanilla ice cream. Midge looks extremely not pregnant in her cinched-tight skirt. Toni is trying to dyke it up while matching Cheryl in navy tones - tight blue jeans and a matching sweater.

Julian makes like he's going to smash Dilton's glasses (or face) with the basketball in his hands. Dilton cringes, costing his side however many points Julian immediately scores. He's crushed. Reggie comes up from behind to reassure him with pats to the stomach, maintaining eye contact with Dilton to make sure he is OK.

The fucker Frank seems worried at this show of solidarity that Reggie feels with other Asians.

Reggie scores every time he attempts to. He looks right at Betty as soon as he scores the first one, and Betty is getting into it with every score Reggie uh, scores. (I am bored and I also know very few sports words.)

Julian fully elbows Dilton right in the chest, knocking him over, before scoring too. Abusing Dilton seems to be what helps him achieve excellence. I'm wondering what exactly was wrong with this team to begin with because Julian at least seems as good as Reggie at scoring, albeit in less aerodynamic ways.

Muscles rippling, Reggie lifts Dilton up off the ground. I feel a grim obligation to look up a Dilton/Reggie tag for s7 on Ao3. (Grim because I much prefer the other Dilton, the feral one that eventually grows his hair long and has that secret close friendship with Jughead).

Oh and when Julian scores the banner behind him says Victory Is Ours! whereas when Reggie is helping Dilton out the banner behind the two of them says Go Team Go!

Frank shouts something about game point, and Dilton, whose dusty skills are irrigated by one instance of skin on skin contact by Reggie, actually manages to score. Frank looks pleased but I think he's not proud of Dilton so much as pleased for himself that Reggie’s excellence transfers to other people.

Reggie, Fangs and Archie hoist Dilton into the air to celebrate his single solitary winning moment in life so far in the 50s alternate universe. The two Asian boys helped each other win against Julian Blue-Blood Blossom and to make sure you got it, Riverdale gave the Asian Boy Team members yellow jerseys. Guess what color Julian's jersey is. Later, Julian is so pissed he kicks a basketball.

In the locker room afterwards Dilton is shown collecting laundry to haul off somewhere. Just like I didn't know that cheerleaders were forced to attend the practice and training sessions of the players, I didn’t know that to be a water boy was to be an unpaid maid for the other players. Remind me once again why Dilton wants to participate on these terms?? (Also, an Asian boy with laundry duties is actually worse than Long Duk Dong. Having the less stereotypical Reggie (though at this point, the Super Asian Who is Good At All the Things is ripening into almost a fully fledged stereotype) doesn’t counteract Dilton’s portrayal. That’s not how this works.

Everyone other than Dilton is pretty glum, because the player that was brought in because they suck has proven himself to be superior to them. Archie suggests that they all take him out for burgers at Pop’s. Possibly for the first time in his life, Archie is met with silent treatment from a bunch of people. He wants to know “what gives?” Reggie gets it immediately, so he tries to recuse himself. Ominously, Julian suddenly says he wants to go, and that’s because when Julian is down in the dumps the immediate next thing he alights on is to use his money to squash someone. Knowing that Reggie doesn’t have a car, he sets up a race - “Last one to Pop’s treats!” knowing it’s gonna be Reggie. Archie didn’t think of that, so he feels alarmed. Dilton is permitted to come by Julian. The four of them - Fangs, Archie, Dilton and Reggie - awkwardly stare at each other.

In the extremely constricting looking cheerleader practice outfits - the button down shirts with tightly belted blue shorts - the Vixens are assigned their ‘designated’ player by Cheryl. Cheryl thank the lord gets Julian (which she doesn’t mind and is great for everyone). She describes this duty as “personalized support, baking him cookies” and “helping with his homework.” Neither Veronica nor Betty have ever heard of this. Cheryl assigns Archie to Toni, and Reggie to Betty. Toni is full of questions and suspicions about this choice, but Betty seems more than pleased.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Jughead (him wearing the felt crown, which unlike the beanie I can’t ‘unsee’ and her in a pink bandeau headband) are visiting Apartment 407 which belongs to Bradberry. The author is not responsive to Jughead’s knocking. Tabitha suggests leaving him a note, and Jughead, while scribbling, asks if Tabitha wants to go see a movie. lOoh, sort of like how Jabitha started - with her asking him to hang out!! “I would love to go to the movies with you” is what she says, in her melting sweet voice and her huge soft eyes which can’t be fully obscured by those huge glasses frames. It’s a completely unromantic movie, about being attacked by a giant octopus, yet Jughead gets starry-eyed when she says Yes without hesitation. Having written his note, Jughead takes out a piece of gum from his mouth that he hadn’t been chewing this entire time to attach it to the door. Jughead and Tabitha giggle cutely at each other as they head off to the movies.

In the changing room back at school, Toni is changed into her Hot Beatnik Chick outfit. Cheryl asks what’s wrong, to which Toni ominously replies, “We need to get real, Cheryl.” So, this emotional rollercoaster that Toni keeps dragging Cheryl on - is this supposed to serve as some sort of corrective to the way Choni ultimately worked out in the OG timeline? Lizzo’s critiques about how Toni’s predatorily self-serving ways being correct doesn’t really do anything for me until they do more with Lizzo as a character. Toni, though, is not wrong when she says, “Baking for my own personal meathead is not really want I want my life to be about.” Hear hear. Plus, I don’t think that it was general knowledge that this level of handmaidenhood was what was required of cheerleading, so this probably is far beyond what Toni is willing to put up with for a girlfriend. Cheryl seems infinitely sad at the dismissive way Toni says “cheerleader” when she says that isn’t what she wants to be. Then she asks a really scary question, so scary that she closes her eyes the entire time she is asking. Cheryl wants to know if this whole rejection of everything square and cheerleader and so forth is because Cheryl asked to go steady. Toni says no, at first, but then says that she needs to “figure herself out” plus she “needs space.” Again, I must reiterate my question about what making Toni not just a bohemian but such a toxic one supposed to show me. Cheryl is left alone with two sets of paper shakers lying like dead animals on the bench. Poor Cheryl.

At the movie theater, Jughead is ordering a LOT of food because he is flush with cash from his writing gigs I guess - popcorn, large cola with ice, two packs of ‘Senior Mints,’ a ‘Butterflinger’ with a hard emphasis on the G, Mint BoGos, Buccaneers and a Skit-Skat.

I happen to love KitKats and calling them SKAT is hurtful to me in a personal way. The official ‘joke’ of this little bit is that all of this is entirely for Jughead’s solitary consumption. Tabitha, who is grossed out by this collection of foodstuffs, has no appetite. There’s an inflation joke too, because Veronica says all of this is 75 cents. The thing that’s truly an insider level of joke about this bit, of course, is that Jughead seems to have entirely forgotten that he and Veronica had a pretty long term flirtation where they dated and she fixed up his residence and he read her his first drafts.

Veronica tells Clay that she founds it “interesting” that Tabitha and Jughead are at the movies together. Clay does not care about straight people’s shenanigans, plus it’s apparent that Veronica will not stop bringing up the topic of sex to him, so he deflects as politely as possible.

Veronica however has not forgotten their entanglement, which she describes as lasting as long as a “New York minute.” Now Clay has no choice but to show interest. Clay thinks Jughead is “plenty handsome” to which Veronica rolls her eyes before saying a very lukewarm, “I suppose.” Veronica says that Jughead is an oddball, which she makes sound like a bad thing, before trying to butter up Clay by telling him that she prefers her men to be “continental” and “worldly” and with an “air of mystery.” Cut to Kevin’s POV (Kevin is sweeping up the front hall of the theater while Veronica has Clay trapped in close proximity with her behind the concession counter. The signs on the wall immediately behind Clay read:

Refreshments

Hot Buttered (much small writing: Popcorn)

FRISKY (sandals - is this a movie?)

FLESH (eating spiders).

Clay gives Kevin a helpless look before deciding to beat a swift retreat. He’s got reel changing duties to attend to. Before he can fully get away, however, Veronica turns it up a notch to fully sexually harass her employee: “Just think about picking up what I’m putting down” she says, placing pointy manicured fingernails against his hand. Clay gives Kevin yet another Oh Help Me look (unseen by Veronica). Kevin is trying to figure how to rescue his boyfriend.

At the student lounge, Betty is trying to provide support for Reggie. She asks him what he got for a certain question, to which Reggie says she doesn’t have to do this. Betty tells him straight out that this is part of her job as a Vixen. She also wants to know what his favorite cookie is because she’s obliged to bake him some. Reggie doesn’t want her to do that either. Reggie is either some sort of paragon (Uhhh Model Minority?) or sexually repressed (Sigh) or gay because he seems ultra unreactive to Betty, being gorgeous and friendly. Betty is repressing a lot of anger about being made to participate in any of this, so it comes out in this arch, sarcastic way. I also think that she’s defensive about her ‘reputation’ so she pretends she doesn’t care as she tells him how her innocent sexual exploration (“A peep show, in our windows, if you can even call it that”) was violently taken out of the realm of privacy and ruined her reputation in town, leading her to flash her underwear on live television.

Reggie has fully had enough. He looks very concerned for her sanity as well as his own safety. Betty belatedly realizes how insane how she said what she said makes her sound but her panic makes her unable to order her thoughts. (“We didn’t— No, we’re not— I’m completely–! [dissolves into adorable mouthsounds of incoherent reassurance]). He decides he should just go. This is very reminiscent of the “Am I the only one here who hasn’t gotten rid of a dead body” moment from Killing Mr. Honey, except a bit less funny because Reggie’s personality is so tamped down for 1955. Overwhelmed by this girl mentioning “peep show” and “flashing panties” in her first real conversation with him, he tells her that she’s hereby “relieved of your, uh, Vixen duties, okay?” As he takes off, Betty puts a hand to shield her face. She is just the cutest.

Reggie is practicing basketball when Archie finds him at the gym. Archie invites him to lunch, but Reggie refuses. Archie insists that it’s not with the team (shitty people) but instead his other friends (hypersexual crazy people) so Reggie politely declines double.

Then we come to a comical bit that I don’t know the show knows is comical. Clay, Tabitha and Toni are sitting together to discuss Toni’s idea of starting a literary society at Riverdale High for black students because of …Emmett Till. That’s a really weird jump to me, but OK. Clay and Tabitha seem excited. This isn’t what I find comical. What I find comical is that this is an oblique discussion about anti-black racism by three black students who are all dating white people in an episode that decided to focus on Reggie’s Korean ethnicity.

Toni wants to highlight Black voices and writing. Clay is a prolific writer off screen - he writes poetry, literary criticism and short fiction. He wants a forum and probably deserves it -except he did spoken word that one time at the coffee house, and it’s not clear to me why he had to wait for Toni to get bored with her jaunt to Caucasian Squaretown to do this. Tabitha really hates cheerleading. Does she know about the baking and the helping with the homework and being assigned a personal meathead and all of that? It’s strongly implied Tabitha really wants Toni to give it up for an idea that she approves of as much more worthy. Toni says she gave up cheerleading because she was gay for Cheryl Blossom. Neither Tabitha nor Clay have a reaction to this at first. Tabitha enthusiastically agrees when, in an attempt to steer the conversation away from her personal life, Toni says her ‘journal’ would make a big difference to (just) the black students. The fact that Tabitha and Toni take it as a given that absolutely no white students would read this journal is an interesting commentary.

Clay wants to know what happened to which Toni gives a toxic significant other answer: ”We’re just so different.” I say it’s toxic because all the things she names about Cheryl - family background, race, financial status - were fully upfront and known and contributed to why she pursued Cheryl in the first place (according to Lizzo). Clay calls bullshit on it immediately - that it’s not ‘impossible’ to date someone who is very different (i.e. white, if you’re black) from you. Toni really needs writers for her upcoming journal so she graciously concedes his point about how “everything is a conversation” (when what she has been doing to Cheryl this whole time is making demands, ignoring refusals, and now, issuing unilateral decisions), but then needles him back with the fact that both Kevin and Clay are preppies. “I guess it depends on how much you like the person,” is Clay’s retort.

They’re actually fighting while making really sweet faces at each other. Clay is very interesting.

Tabitha, who is dating the show’s officially strange person, and the one that freaked everyone out weeks ago in this universe with his nutty theory about comets and the future and the internet etc, says absolutely nothing. Did she know both Clay and Toni were gay? I can’t tell if she’s just mulling over what they said or she’s in over her head and this is stunned silence.

At the theater, Veronica is stalking Clay, who isn’t there. She asks Kevin where Clay is, so Kevin has had enough. He calls her a slut first (because of course he would - “You’re coming on really strong”) but then Kevin says a correct thing: “Is that really appropriate [given that he works for you]?” Veronica thinks there is “nothing wrong with a little workplace flirtation.” Um. So Kevin (???!??! wtf wtf??) is like, literally decades ahead of his time (the COINAGE of the phrase sexual harassment wasn’t until the late 70s by the very great legal scholar Catherine MacKinnon who is a personal hero of mine and in a direct connection - not really- to this episode visited S. Korea in 2019 where I got to meet her at a talk she gave). All because he wants to safeguard his boyfriend. Anyway, not only is this the They Say the Word Korean Too Many Times For My Comfort episode, this is also the episode where all the gay people come out to someone. Kevin outs Clay first (without asking, and in a fit of pique, which is so shitty) and then himself, to Veronica.

Oh but not before he’s hateful to a beautiful woman first. When Veronica dejectedly notes that Clay “isn’t remotely interested” he answers in the most swinish way possible: “He’s not. I know that for a fact.” Have I mentioned enough times that I hate Kevin? I do. I hate Kevin.

Veronica does a huge about face to say that “she knew” both Clay and Kevin were gay. I think she’s lying. I might give her the point that she knew Kevin was gay (from all the obsessive Singing in the Rain watching, which is really about looking at Gene Kelly’s ass) but Clay? She didn’t.

Anyway she adjusts to reality really fast, thinking swiftly on her feet when Kevin confronts her with, “If you knew that, why would you make a play for Clay?” to retort that it was all to test her hypothesis, “of course.” She can’t sustain the lie, however, because her bored horniness takes over. The immediately next thing she does is to ask if Clay could possibly ever be bisexual. I really doubt Kevin has ever asked Clay this, but he states that “he doesn’t” before presuming to answer a question that Veronica did not ask - he includes himself when he says “we” don’t swing both ways. Veronica lies again and says that she was only ‘double checking.’

Her disappointment is so crushing that she turns into Mae West. She makes up some gibberish - that it’s better to have “hunky friends who are boys” than a hunky boyfriend. I’m not at all this type of woman (the old skool term for this is a double whammy of homophobic misogyny so I won’t use that word here) so maybe I’m missing something, but if Betty Cooper’s experience in this universe is anything to go by, Kevin is no friend to any woman because he hates women. Being homosexual doesn’t do anything to ameliorate his misogyny - in fact, it makes it much, much worse. He’s disgusted by female human bodies. Stay the hell away, Veronica!

Veronica in her disassociated Mae West persona is too much for Kevin to handle at this moment. She claims to have had more fun with the “Toni and Tab” types than Dennis Hopper and Steve McQueen which can’t possibly be true if you’re a woman attracted to men. Like COME ON (Tab is Tab Hunter, and I guess Anthony Perkins is Toni?). I Have got to hand it to Veronica for having a can-do spirit about everything. “This hick down is finally starting to feel like home,” she says, in the immediately aftermath of being told that the guy she’s been panting after for weeks and weeks will never be interested. Kevin seems moved, but since I hate Kevin, I don’t care.

At basketball practice, Julian has an announcement: Tomorrow is the “Bulldog Booster Basketball Mixer.” We know that it couldn’t possibly have been Julian who came up with this mouthful of a title - it has Cheryl stamped all over it. It’s a fundraiser to build a new gym, girls will be there, and everyone has to “dress spiffy.” Coach Fucking Frank forces Julian to issue a nastily worded invitation for Reggie in particular. All the boys are wearing the identical Chuck Taylor high-rise sneakers - is this part of the Blossom sponsorship?

Reggie I guess always stays later than everyone else to practice a bit more (and to avoid Julian), because when he heads into the locker room the only one there is Archie. Archie tries to get Reggie to commit to coming to the mixer (“They’re always a gas and a half!”). Reggie shuts him down forthwith.

In an echo of Mad Dog Munroe from the OG timeline, Reggie of 1955 wants to get a scholarship for college through his sports skills. Archie is wearing yellow to show his, uh, solidarity I guess with Reggie. (I rarely recall Archie in yellow, but also I am cranky now from all this unprecedented history research I’m being made to do.) Archie really, really, truly, desperately, like a WHOLE LOT wants to be friends with Reggie, not just roommate and host. He wants to know why Reggie can’t “cut loose a little.” He even tries to gloss the turd that Julian laid with his reluctant invitation, upgrading what Julian said (“We’ll be welcoming our newest Bulldog to the family, I suppose”) to “you’re the guest of honor.” Reggie refuses to go along to get along. In response to being called “naive,” Archie calls Reggie “a killjoy.” He wants Reggie to meet Riverdale’s Bulldogs “halfway.” This turns out to be a trigger for Reggie to tell his story.

Oh, before he tells his story he correctly points out that outside of Archie, who is tone deaf and determined to not see any unpleasantness even as it’s right in his face, nobody else has taken any sort of step towards him.

Bret (who is also alive - yay! - and a basketball player in this universe) of Stonewall Prep put up a hugely labor intensive prank of getting a really big bag of rice into Reggie’s locker, tearing it halfway open and then wedging it so that as soon as Reggie opens the door an avalanche of cascades from it all over the floor. He also concocted some sort of mean line (“You guys like rice” and “Enough to take back to the farm” and also “Yellow belly” which is kind of funny actually - if someone called me Yellow Belly I’d laugh, but I suppose any of the actually on-point racist epithets aren’t allowed on American television). The sheer amount of effort that something like this takes marks people who are bullies to be absolutely psychotic. Bret and Co. basically ran Reggie out of the school. Reggie in the OG universe felt safe telling Archie his most painful secrets (back then they were about his father who was openly abusive to the passive observation of everyone else in town, which is also a sort of racist reaction - “Those people are just like that” - which, no we are not). Reggie is so hurt. He’s determined to not “give anyone a chance to humiliate” him “ever again.”

OK so this is a great character moment for Reggie, but of course, people of color having to relive their most wounding moments of racist trauma in a way that feels sufficiently authentic, and/or literally bare their broken bodies (i.e. the open casket photo of Emmet Till which started this season) for the edification of single special white persons is a racist trope which keeps getting regurgitated as being meaningful in American popular culture. This time, Archie is the special white person. Plus, instead of just being ashamed of their appalling ignorance, the white person always gets to have their say according to the trope, which Archie does here as well. (“We’re not like that here.”) Reggie though gets the final word, which is very nice; “Aren't you?”

Wounded Reggie is wearing the navy jersey top. Wounded Cheryl is wearing a violet-navy long coat, with red accents (gloves, collar, shoes, file folder, patent leather shoulder bag) as she descends the steps of the school. Can we just talk about how hard it is to get the exact same shade of anything for an outfit like this, nevermind red, and across so many different articles of dress? I covet the coat and the bag, especially.

Toni is waiting for her. The way she says “hello” like a scared little cat filled me with tenderness. This season’s highlight of Cheryl’s essential softness has been wonderful for me. Cheryl says she’s being “stoic and strong for the sake of” the Vixens. Toni doesn’t really pretend to care about that. Instead she directly asks for money. Toni sells the journal idea to Cheryl as “a way to express ourselves on our own terms.” Cheryl indicates that she’s all for it, but that Featherhead might nix it.

Because Toni is doing this social justice type thing but the only three black students with actually speaking parts are all dating white people and there is a statistically anomalous over representation of not-straights, the show has a black extra stand on the steps of the school to show that there are indeed other black students. His legs stay in view the entire time Toni and Cheryl are talking .

Cheryl even volunteers to bake for a fundraising bake sale, if it comes to it.

Cheryl then asks if she was dumped for being white. Toni says yes, which is very brutal. I have no idea what the hell this is supposed to indicate because um, what is wrong with Toni? Did she somehow discover that she is more black than she thought? But she’s dated not-black women before, no? Her and Lizzo are exes, right?

At the fundraiser mixer thing at the Blossoms, a mixed race couple (a white man and a black woman) pointedly walk across the screen. Fangs is posing for Midge, which Cheryl intercepts by hauling Midge off screen as the camera moves on in one long take towards ARchie, who is hanging out at the food spread. The Blossoms own what looks like an enormous oil painting based off of an Audubon print. Why that bird and why this shot I don’t know. Betty approaches him for a chat.

When asked how being a Vixen is going, Betty says that she’s been forced into it by Werther, who thought it would “burn off excess energy.” They both agree that adults are really stupid about the fact that becoming more cardio-fit doesn’t actually make you LESS horny. Plus the outfits and all the looking at boys in short shorts? How exactly would this make Betty not think about getting naked with boys? Betty tries to tell Archie that there’s a weird system of “taking care” of basketball players on the cheerleading squad but Archie is not listening at all. Oh- by the by - now that Toni is off the squad, does this mean Archie is the one boy without an assigned cheerleader?

Anyway, drawn by the power of recessive genes, Archie has made eye contact with Clifford Blossom. He is summoned to the circle of people of the inner sanctum at this party - the Blossom parents, Julian, Uncle Fucking Frank and one more dude whom I don’t know named Dennis. Penelope is wearing the most extraordinarily unflattering terrible dress of all time. I am so fascinated. It’s a long dress with sewn on details all down both sides from the waist to ankle mimicking the effect of a hoop skirt, making the extremely narrow and petite Penelope look as wide as a barn door.

Clifford Blossom wants to discuss Reggie, his “secret weapon.” Clifford, with Julian behind him, says that being forced to share a room with Reggie is a “sacrifice” that he appreciates Archie for being willing to take on. Archie is “cranked” to do it. Dennis says he wouldn’t be able to tolerate such a thing, having to “bunk with a…..” [Korean yellow belly? Lol why does that sound like a species of bird or fish?] Penelope chimes in saying that having Reggie around is “a necessary evil.” Clifford Blossom is obsessed with winning. Oh and he was also a former Bulldog basketball player. He then turns to Frank to say that he was initially skeptical of bringing on a “Korean prodigy.” Clifford is offended by Reggie’s absence, even though he finds what he’s seen of Reggie’s basketball skills very impressive. Archie, possibly because he had that talk with Reggie earlier or maybe because the recessive gene holders communicate better with each other, realizes that he needs to say the right things to Clifford Blossom and tries to appease him, by saying that Reggie “doesn’t want to fall behind on his schoolwork,” which is why he’s not here at this party kissing Clifford’s ass. Clifford, intending that this message be conveyed by Archie, threatens Reggie that if he doesn’t keep smiling while bringing home the championship trophy, there will be “trouble for his family.”

Why? Why will there be trouble for his family? What is Reggie’s father? Are both his parents illegal immigrants? (But how was his father able to enlist for the army?) Is this something to do with his mother’s status? Did they break anti miscegenation laws? WHAT?

Dennis smiles evilly at this threat, but it has no teeth because I have no idea why it’s threatening. Archie is perturbed enough to take his leave right then. We scan to Cheryl, having overheard this entire exchange, also look quite upset.

At the movie theater, Veronica is very pleased to see Reggie. She needles him right away, and he banters right back - I thought you didn’t like movies vs I didn’t say that, I just said my town didn’t have a movie theater. Why oh why is Veronica so desperate though? She hits on Reggie in the most nakedly fishing-for-compliments way. And why oh why are these dudes so brutal to her? Reggie bluntly says he didn’t even remember he might run into Veronica at this theater. Forgot all about her. What the hell.

Veronica rewards his churlishness with free popcorn. 1955 Veronica being overly generous to whatever boy she is interested in is upsetting to me the way 2020 Adult Veronica was never not drinking liquor. When Kevin points out that what Reggie just said was quite rude (as though he himself did any better? Hypocrite.) Veronica says this about Reggie:

“Take a powder, Herman Melville, because that is the real Moby Dick.”

I’ve already made the post about how this is a joke about Asian Dick Size. But also, a second layer of this is that she called an Asian guy a Great White Whale.

Meanwhile, Jughead has taken Tabitha all the way back to his home that Veronica has fixed up for him for free.

Actually the line progression is very hilarious:

“... that is the real Moby dick.”

[pinging music]

Tabitha’s voice: “Wow this is like the Orient Express!”

So they managed to work the word “Orient” in here I guess. Well done. Tabitha has brought Jughead a book gift. “Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil by WEB Du Bois.” Jughead pronounces it Du-Bwah, which Tabitha corrects as Du-Boyz. We’re not allowed to make a pun about Du Bois I guess, like call him Trois Bois. Jughead is impressed with the title, so Tabitha tells him to read “The Comet” first since he likes science fiction. She describes the actual real story written by Du Bois, which is “one of the first times an interracial relationship has been depicted in science fiction.” She wants to read it aloud together with her new white boyfriend. Jughead looks entranced by the twitchy cuteness of Tabitha as she suggests this activity.

Archie has come back home to find Reggie reading Super Duck(written by Jughead??) on his bed. Reggie wants to know if the cheerleaders looked pretty at the mixer, but Archie is too burdened by the choice of whether to convey Clifford Blossom’s threat to Reggie, and opts the path of least resistance. He doesn't convey the message, and skips out on further discussion about the event with Reggie. Reggie seems to take this as a dismissal of his overture which is intended as an apology and a gesture of friendship.

The next day, Julian is being obnoxious at the basketball practice. Uncle Fucking Frank is ‘in a meeting’ so Julian runs warm up, to bully the shit out of Reggie. At some point he calls Reggie “Banana Boy” which is another ridiculous epithet. I kind of wish they would either not address the fact that hate speech exists or just use the actual examples because this and Yellow Belly just aren’t cutting enough. In any case, Reggie reacts like he’s been called a proper slur. Reggie refuses to pass the ball to Julian, instead giving it to Archie. Archie, however, decides to um, White Knight the situation. He punches Julian so hard he knocks him flat on the ground.

I mean, it can’t be that hard, because Jughead Jones managed to do this on behalf of Ethel Muggs. But the violence startles Fangs and Dilton on the bench, and Reggie grimaces because he just wants to get his NCAA scholarship and get out of this general area.

Archie gives an anti-racism speech to his teammates about Reggie, based on Reggie’s merits. Merits based arguments in service of anti-racism only feed the racism, so I’m not sure this is better for Reggie’s life than just not saying anything. Moreover, in a very strange move, whoever directed this decided to have a black extra stand next to a white one as the main 2 people that Archie appears to be directing his speech at (Julian is still flat on the ground). Um. The look that the black student gives Archie can only be described as disassociated. Archie says that if any player can’t get on board with being true teammates and supporting Reggie be his excellent self, they are free to leave. He even tells Julian “that includes you, too, captain.”

Meanwhile, at the offices of the Blue and Gold, with the world “Gold” in huge font right behind her head, Cheryl hands Toni a check. It sounds like she’s committed a form of embezzlement, diverting funds that were originally intended for something else, on her own cognizance, without Featherhead final approval. Even though Cheryl took a huge personal risk, her toxic ex girlfriend Toni does not give a shit. She even shittily helps herself to a ‘plausible deniability’ option (“Well I won’t ask any more questions.”). Cheryl is so disappointed.

Toni stops her just as she’s about to step out the door, to ask what her plans are after cheerleading practice. Oh Cheryl. She’s twisting her hands, almost breaking them off the stem, when she tells Toni she doesn’t have plans, because she is so hopeful. Toni asks her out on another date. “About what it would mean if we tried again.” Cheryl is so happy her eyes are tearing up, but I hate this. It reads to me just like Toni has realized she has more ways she can use Cheryl than just for the power trip of bringing someone out and taking their virginity.

Meanwhile, Reggie and Archie are sitting together in the boys’ locker room. “I didn’t sock Julian for you,” he says, confirming that that is indeed what he was doing. He’s had a realization, he seems to say, that Riverdale is “just as messed up as any other place.” Then he says the pivotal thing, the only true thing he can say with any conviction: “I don’t know.”

In a weird reward for his outburst of violence, Reggie accepts the friendship overture at last, asking of Archie wants to grab a burger “on the way home.” This is as sour to me as Toni wanting to restart things with Cheryl only after she has the check in hand. Archie says sure.

Jughead has stayed up all night reading the “Comet” story (about a comet hitting NYC and only two people surviving) and talking about it with Tabitha. Why can’t we at least get a montage of this? Why do all the important Tabitha things have to happen OFF screen?

In any case, because the experience was so “swell” he runs immediately to his adopted daddy to tell him all about it. When he gets to Rayberry’s apartment, however, he is told by Sheriff Keller that Rayberry has killed himself. (They are just now covering the body on the gurney with a sheet). “I can no longer continue living this way.” Jughead is deeply upset. Keller is kind enough to say he is sorry because he knows Jughead was friends with Rayberry.

#riverdale #riverdale recap #riverdale opinion #too many thoughts about riverdale #but this time I've gone too far #riverdale ep 7.8 #if you say the word Korean in your show once too many times you summon a korean reaction which is a whole LOT of reaction

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gerardlesudiste · 1 year

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Portrait de femme : La Lieutenante Amanda Lee, première femme pilote de jet de démonstration des célèbres et mythiques "Blue Angels" de l'US Navy.

Le lieutenant Amanda Lee est originaire de Mounds View, Minnesota. Elle est diplômée de l'Irondale High School en 2004, où elle a participé à des compétitions de soccer, de hockey sur glace et de natation. Pendant ses études à l'Université du Minnesota Duluth, Amanda s'est enrôlée dans la marine américaine en tant que technicienne en électronique d'aviation (AT) et a eu son premier commandement avec le Strike Fighter Squadron 136 (VFA-136) "Knighthawks". Elle a été sélectionnée pour sont admission en service en tant que pilote par le biais du Seaman-to-Admiral (STA-21) programme de mise en service en 2009.

L'année suivante, Lee a assisté à la Naval Science Institute (NSI) pour la formation des officiers à Newport, Rhode Island, et a commencé simultanément ses études à Old Dominion University à Norfolk, en Virginie, où elle a obtenu un baccalauréat ès sciences en biochimie. Amanda a obtenu sa commission dans la marine américaine en août 2013 et a fait rapport à la Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, en Floride, pour commencer sa formation de pilote naval.

Elle a suivi l'Aviation Preflight Indoctrinement (API) en Avril 2014 et a terminé la formation de vol primaire en novembre 2014 dans le T-6B Texan II au NAS Whiting Field tout en étant attaché au Training Squadron Two (VT-2) "Doerbirds". Ensuite, elle s'est rendue au NAS Kingsville, au Texas, où elle a terminé sont entraînement en vol intermédiaire et avancé dans le T-45C Goshawk tout en étant attaché au VT-22 "Golden Eagles".

Amanda Lee a été désigné aviateur naval en avril 2016. Après avoir gagné ses ailes d'or, Amanda a été intégré au Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106) "Gladiators"a la NAS Oceana à Virginia Beach, Virginie, pour s'entraîner sur le F/A-18 Super Hornet. Sa première affectation à la flotte était avec le Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81) "Sunliners" de la NAS Oceana, Virginie, où elle a effectué deux déploiements de combat à bord du porte-avions USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75) soutenant l'opération Inherent Resolve (OIR), l'opération Freedom Sentinel (OFS) et l'exercice Trident Juncture de l'OTAN. Parallèlement au vol, elle a occupé le poste d'officier des horaires, Officier du mess du café, officier de la division de ligne et normalisation de la formation et des procédures d'exploitation de l'aéronavale (NATOPS) Officier.

À la fin de son déploiement 2019-2020, Amanda est revenue au VFA-106 en tant qu'instructrice F/A-18 E/ Super Hornet, pilote (IP) pour former les aviateurs navals nouvellement ailés et les officiers de bord de la marine dans l'emploi tactique du Super Hornet. Tout au long de son séjour à VFA-106, Amanda a été agente des horaires, chef des opérations Représentant, officier de planification du détachement, officier de quart principal et chef d'équipe de démonstration de Rhino.

Amanda a rejoint les Blue Angels en septembre 2022. Elle cumule plus de 1 400 heures de vol et plus de 225 atterrissages arrêtés sur des porte-avions. Ses décorations comprennent quatre médailles d'honneur de la Marine et divers récompenses personnelles et unitaires.

Photos © US Navy.

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mariacallous · 2 years

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In 2021, Shippensburg University won the NCAA Division II Field Hockey championship, completing an undefeated season with a 3-0 victory over archrival West Chester. The “Ship” Raiders also won it all in 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2013, which I know because I saw it written in big letters on a banner festooning the fieldhouse on Ship’s campus in south-central Pennsylvania when I visited last month.

Ship was in fine form. Young men and women wearing logoed Champion sweatshirts bustled between buildings. There was a line at the coffee shop in the student union. It was the kind of bright-blue autumn day that you would see on a brochure.

There was no way to tell, from the outside, that Ship was a shrinking institution. Or that the problem is about to get a lot worse — not just here, but at colleges and universities nationwide.

In four years, the number of students graduating from high schools across the country will begin a sudden and precipitous decline, due to a rolling demographic aftershock of the Great Recession. Traumatized by uncertainty and unemployment, people decided to stop having kids during that period. But even as we climbed out of the recession, the birth rate kept dropping,and we are now starting to see the consequences on campuses everywhere. Classes will shrink, year after year, for most of the next two decades. People in the higher education industry call it “the enrollment cliff.”

Among the small number of elite colleges and research universities — think the Princetons and the Penn States — the cliff will be no big deal. These institutions have their pick of applicants and can easily keep classes full.

For everyone else, the consequences could be dire. In some places, the crisis has already begun. College enrollment began slowly receding after the millennial enrollment wave peaked in 2010, particularly in regions that were already experiencing below-average birth rates while simultaneously losing population to out-migration. Starved of students and the tuition revenue they bring, small private colleges in New England have begun to blink off the map. Regional public universities like Ship are enduring painful layoffs and consolidation.

The timing is terrible. Trade policy, de-unionization, corporate consolidation, and substance abuse have already ravaged countless communities, particularly in the post-industrial Northeast and Midwest. In many cases, colleges have been one of the only places that provide good jobs in their communities, offer educational opportunities for locals, and have strong enough roots to stay planted. The enrollment cliff means they might soon dry up and blow away.

This trend will accelerate the winner-take-all dynamic of geographic consolidation that is already upending American politics. College-educated Democrats will increasingly congregate in cities and coastal areas, leaving people without degrees in rural areas and towns. For students who attend less-selective colleges and universities near where they grew up — that is, most college students — the enrollment cliff means fewer options for going to college in person, or none at all.

The empty factories and abandoned shopping malls littering the American landscape may soon be joined by ghost colleges, victims of an existential struggle for reinvention, waged against a ticking clock of shrinking student bodies, coming soon to a town near you.

Ship was founded in 1871 as the Cumberland Valley State Normal School, to train young women to be school teachers. It became the State Teachers College in 1927, and stayed that way until something happened that would transform higher education and much else: the baby boom.

Some 4.3 million American children were born in 1957, a number that would not be matched for another 50 years, even as the overall population almost doubled to over 300 million.

The relationship between demography and higher education is always a two-decade delay of cause and effect. The college years of one generation fall in the birth years of the next. The baby boom meant that by the 1970s, campuses were bursting as the children of midcentury fecundity reached early adulthood and women increasingly sought degrees in professions that were finally opening up to women.

This put college leaders in a difficult spot. In the short term, they needed dorms and classrooms and teachers to handle the boomer wave. But birth rates had been declining for nearly 20 years, and they saw what that would mean for them in the near future. The talk then was much like today: Future enrollment trends looked bleak, and some colleges were already struggling.

But the 1980s enrollment cliff never really arrived. Higher education was saved by tectonic shifts in the labor market. As predicted, the number of high school graduates declined, from 3.1 million in 1976 to 2.5 million in 1994. But college enrollment rates actually increased, driven by deindustrialization and the collapse of well-paying blue-collar jobs. In 1975, the percentage of high school graduates who chose to immediately enroll in college was only 51 percent. By 1997, it was 67 percent.

Colleges found themselves in the extraordinarily lucky position of being the only places legally allowed to sell credentials that unlocked the gateway to a stable, prosperous life. That was enough to smooth out the bottom of the demographic trough until the children of the baby boom arrived.

And sure enough, the millennial college years began as expansionary times for places like Ship. From 1985 to 2007, the total number of undergraduates nationwide increased from 10.6 million to 15.6 million. And while birth numbers had been cycling back downward from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s, they began to move up again in 2006 and 2007 as older millennials reached parenting age.

Then everything went to hell.

The immediate effect of the Great Recession on higher education was financial. State tax revenues cratered, and university budgets were slashed. From 2009 to 2012, Pennsylvania cut public funding for higher education by more than 19 percent, some $430 million. Nationwide, state funding for college dipped by 9 percent.

But the global financial calamity also created a bomb with an 18-year fuse: Birth rates immediately reversed course and began to plummet. From the early 1970s until 2007, the number of annual births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 stayed between roughly 65 and 70. Starting in 2008, the ratio went down, down, down, to 56 in 2020, the lowest rate in American history. There were 4.3 million births in 2007; last year, there were 3.7 million.

Colleges have been left to manage a complex mix of past, present, and future demographic trends. Early on, state funding cuts were offset by a surge in enrollment and tuition revenue, as laid-off workers went back to college for retraining and the millennial wave peaked in 2010, with a record 18.1 million undergraduates. For some community colleges, the big problem in the late aughts was too manystudents and not enough money to teach them.

But in the early 2010s, enrollment began to drop. In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, undergraduate enrollment was down to 16.6 million. (That number could have been worse: Bush-era school reform policies contributed to a rise in the percentage of teenagers graduating from high school, which offset some of the demographic drop.)

The problem now is that colleges have likely hit a ceiling in terms of how many 18-year-olds they can coax onto campus. The percentage of young adults with a high school diploma has reached 94 percent. And the immediate college enrollment rate of high school graduates was flat, right around 70 percent, from 2010 to 2018, before dipping in 2019 and 2020 as the job market heated up for less-skilled, lower-wage jobs.

Some parts of the country are already experiencing an enrollment bust, mainly because of internal migration. According to the census, 327,000 people moved to the Northeast (which includes Pennsylvania) from elsewhere in the United States in 2018-19, while 565,000 moved out, for a net loss of 238,000 people.

By contrast, the South (which includes Texas and Florida) saw a net increase of 263,000 internal migrants, and another 447,000 people arrived from abroad, more than twice the number for the Northeast. Fertility rates are also lower, and falling faster, for white people, and the Northeast and Midwest have proportionally more white people. This was true before the Great Recession, too.

All of which made states like Pennsylvania a kind of canary in the demographic coal mine. In the 2010-11 academic year, Ship enrolled 8,326 students. Last year, the count was down to 5,668.

Nathan Grawe, an economist at Carleton College in Minnesota, has projected all of these trends forward to create what he calls the Higher Education Demand Index, a forecast of college enrollment that takes into account regional differences, various types of colleges, immigration rates, and differences in birth rates and the likelihood of attending higher education among demographic groups.

According to Grawe, highly selective colleges and universities will be least affected. They have power in the marketplace for students, and the United States’ very wealthy, very unequal society has produced a sizable upper class that is eager and able to buy access to sought-after schools. By immunizing themselves from the effects of enrollment decline, elites will shove the problem down the ladder of institutional status and make things worse for everyone else.

The future looks very different in some parts of the country than in others, and will also vary among national four-year universities, regional universities like Ship, and community colleges. Grawe projects that, despite the overall demographic decline, demand for national four-year universities on the West Coast will increaseby more than 7.5 percent between now and the mid-2030s. But in states like New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Louisiana, it will decline by 15 percent or more.

Demand for regional four-year universities, per Grawe, will drop by at least 7.5 percent across New England, the mid-Atlantic, and Southern states other than Florida and Texas, with smaller declines in the Great Plains. Community colleges will be hit hard in most places other than Florida, which has a robust two-year system with a large Latino population.

Immigration is a factor, and tricky to project far into the future. The Trump administration erected many barriers to legal immigration, while immigration seems to have bounced back under President Joe Biden. But it’s likely that under any circumstances, immigrants will arrive at higher rates in California and Texas than, say, the Northeast or Upper Midwest.

The economy is another headwind. Shippensburg is next to I-81, a pulsing artery of commerce for the Northeast. The first thing you see after turning off the interstate is a 1.7-million-square-foot Procter & Gamble distribution center. There’s an Amazon warehouse at the exit on the other side of town, five miles away. These giant companies have a version of the university’s problem: fewer people of typical employee age in the hiring pool. So they pay more: a minimum of $22 an hour at P&G.

Colleges are offering increasingly expensive, often debt-financed credentials with a long-term payoff that can seem uncertain compared to a steady, increasingly large paycheck in hand. The state of Pennsylvania has made matters worse by chronically underfunding higher education, forcing schools like Ship to charge tuition that doesn’t compare well to other states, or even some private colleges. All of this makes the shrinking pool of 18-year-olds even harder to recruit.

Meanwhile, the pandemic threw millions of students into online classes, and some of them seem to like it there. A recent survey found a small but noteworthy increase in the number of high school juniors and seniors aiming for an online degree. If this continues, it would further burden colleges that have enormous amounts of money tied up in their buildings and physical plants.

Birth rates did not recover after the Great Recession, even as the economy eventually did. Grawe notes that American fertility is now in line with comparable economically advanced nations, and is well below the level needed for the native-born population to sustain itself. The new normal is just normal now. Higher ed’s eight-decade run of unbroken good fortune — always more students, more money, more economic demand, and more social prestige — may be about to end.

As we walked across the Ship campus, president Charles Patterson pointed to the student union named after Anthony Ceddia, who led Ship for a quarter-century and built much of what was around us during the long boom years. Those kinds of presidencies are in the past, Patterson said. “Presidents these days are in the business of deconstruction,” he said — not in the sense of tearing down what their forebears created, but of rethinking and reconfiguring what universities have and who they are, for leaner times.

“Deconstruction” is about to become the watchword in campus boardrooms nationwide. How this affects you depends on whether your local colleges succeed or fail at it.

Public colleges and universities tend not to disappear entirely. They have the backstop of public funding and local political support. But they can diminish over time. Ship is part of the 14-campus Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). As in the rest of the country, system enrollment peaked in 2010-11, 20 years after the top of the millennial birth wave.

But some campuses acted like the students would always keep coming. In 2007, Edinboro College, in the northeast corner of the state near Lake Erie, spent $115 million to construct new dorms. They opened in 2011, when Edinboro had 8,642 students. Last year, it had 4,043. The new dorms are empty, and for sale.

Private colleges are even more vulnerable. Many have small financial endowments and get by year to year on tuition revenue. Unluckily for them, private colleges are disproportionately located in the Northeast and Midwest — the same regions that will be hit hardest by declining enrollment. When they shut down, they leave a void of employment and tax revenue that local communities can’t easily fill.

Finding a good buyer for empty campuses can be difficult. The defunct Marlboro College in Vermont was sold in 2020 to a charter school entrepreneur whose plans to resell it at a seven-figure profit possibly in exchange for a new cryptocurrency called “Chronotanium” were interrupted by his arrest and eventual conviction on federal wire fraud charges. That same year, the former Green Mountain College, also in Vermont, was auctioned off for pennies on the dollar to a liquor entrepreneur whose previous claim to fame included hitting on Anna Kournikova and being fired by Donald Trump on The Apprentice. Neither campus has reopened as an accredited school.

At colleges that survive, as most of them will, the biggest effect of the enrollment cliff will be on how students experience higher learning. Administrators will be hustling to give them new reasons to turn down that $22-an-hour warehouse job. Sports will play a growing role. The biggest athletic schools in America, measured by the percentage of undergraduates who participate in a varsity sport, aren’t the Division I behemoths you watch play football on Saturday afternoons. They’re the Division II, Division III, and NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools that are most vulnerable to an enrollment shock. If you loved playing field hockey in high school, the chance to play for the national champions is a powerful draw.

Colleges will very likely step up their use of “enrollment management,” a controversial and sometimes exploitative technique for combining marketing, recruitment, and high-powered number-crunching to maximize tuition revenue from every student.

But the most powerful force driving the post-cliff transformation, by far, will be the labor market. First and foremost, students go to college so they can start a career. As tuition and student debt have increased, on-the-job training has declined, and as the unforgiving job market has raised the bar for well-paying careers, students have moved away from the traditional humanities toward degrees in business, health care, and IT.

The enrollment crisis will shift this trend into overdrive. Ship is responding to all the distribution centers out on I-81 by developing programs in logistics and supply chain management. It’s looking to create more short-term, job-focused certificates that lead up to a bachelor’s degree, and others that supplement BA’s after graduation. Other nearby colleges are expanding nursing programs, developing professional master’s degrees, and creating new courses for adults looking to change careers.

Colleges won’t just be going along with the strengthening alignment of the higher education experience with the labor market. They will be actively promoting it, jettisoning “unprofitable” majors that used to be sheltered inside universities with more than enough students. The next generation of higher education leaders will take scarcity as a given and “return on investment” as both sales pitch and state of mind.

This will be good in some ways and bad in others. Good, if it means colleges are more focused on helping students stay in college and graduate, instead of just maximizing the size of the freshman class. Bad, if academic standards are sacrificed to the “customer is always right” ethos. Good, if colleges build better relationships with local employers so students have a clear path toward a career. Bad, if they cut deals with for-profit companies to spin up overly expensive, debt-financed online degrees.

But there is no arguing with demography. Colleges are about to experience something outside of living memory, and not all of them will make it through.

Is there an upside to all of this? After all, a lot of the students who came through college during the early-century boom years were shackled with student loans and had a hard time launching their careers. Why force someone down a college path that isn’t best for them and load them up with debt when there are good jobs to be found?

These are fair questions, and it’s certainly true that college is not always worth it for everyone. Before the student loan collection system was frozen in 2020, a million people were defaulting on their loans every year.

But people who graduate from places like Carnegie Mellon and Swarthmore aren’t handing their kids a brochure for jobs at the P&G distribution center. They’re sending them back to Carnegie Mellon and Swarthmore, where the humanities are alive and well. The payoff to college, particularly bachelor’s degrees, comes less in the first job than the second and those that follow, on the path to graduate school and management careers.

The financially motivated vocationalization of less selective colleges and universities will further divide students by income and class. First-generation students are not going to discover their calling in academia at the local university if all the quiet and quirky majors have been eliminated in the name of financial efficiency.

If your political leanings are progressive, you may know that Democrats have a concentration problem, clustering in highly educated metropolitan areas in a way that puts them at an electoral disadvantage. People sometimes joke that 150,000 liberals should decamp to Wyoming and grab its two Senate seats. But the enrollment cliff will, no joke, likely make this problem worse, killing some colleges and shrinking others in many of the same Northeastern and Midwestern places that helped Donald Trump overcome a 2.9 million-voter deficit in the 2016 election, while pushing more college-educated voters into states and districts that are already safely in Democratic hands.

In the midst of all the enrollment doomsday prepping and general pessimism, there was a small piece of good news. After a steep 4 percent decline from 2019 to 2020, the number of births in America ticked up by 1 percent in 2021, with the largest increase among women ages 35 to 39.

Perhaps it was an artifact of the lockdown and the downward trend will resume, particularly with a new recession looming. Or it might be something longer-lasting.

Either way, its effects will not be felt for decades. The near future of higher education is one of decline, and its consequences will reshape the American landscape.

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laresearchette · 2 years

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Saturday, October 15, 2022 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: AUTUMN IN THE CITY (W Network) 8:00pm THE OWL HOUSE (Disney Channel Canada) 9:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT? QUEEN ELIZABETH II: THE WOMAN BEHIND THE CROWN (CW Feed) WHO THE (BLEEP) DID I MARRY? (TBD - Investigation Discovery) LET’S GET PHYSICAL (TBD - Lifetime Canada) MY BOSS’S WEDDING (TBD)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA ALMOST CHRISTMAS ANGEL OF CHRISMAS THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS AT GRACELAND CHRISTMAS AT HOLLY LODGE A CHRISTMAS BELLS ARE RINGING CHRISTMAS CONNECTION CHRISTMAS COOKIES CHRISTMAS EVERLASTING CHRISTMAS GETAWAY CHRISTMAS IN EVERGREEN: LETTERS CHRISTMAS IN HOMESTEAD CHRISTMAS IN THE AIR THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS FINDING SANTA A HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS HOME OF CHRISTMAS DAY JOURNEY BACK TO CHRISTMAS A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS KUMARI SHRIMATI MINGLE ALL THE WAY MISS CHRISTMAS NASHA ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE ONCE UPON A HOLIDAY P.A. ROAD TO CHRISTMAS THE SWEETEST CHRISTMAS A VETERAN’S CHRISTMAS WINTER’S DREAM

CBC GEM THE RAVENOUS (LES AFFAMÉS)

NETFLIX CANADA BLIPPI’S SPOOKY SPELL HALLOWEEN DESPICABLE ME DESPICABLE ME 2 THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN IDENTITY THIEF KNOCKED UP LES MISÉRABLES MINIONS TOM AND JERRY UNDER THE QUEEN’S UMBRELLA (Season 1)

2022 FIFA U17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP (TSN/TSN5) 6:48am: France vs. Tanzania (TSN/TSN5) 10:18am: Japan vs. Canada

MLS SOCCER (TSN4) 12:00pm: NY Red Bulls vs. Cincinatti (TSN4) 3:00pm: LA Galaxy vs. Nashville

MLB BASEBALL - DIVISION GAMES (SN/SN1) 2:00pm: NLDS: Atlanta vs. Phillies - Game #4 (SN360) 4:00pm: ALDS: Astros vs. Mariners - Game #3 (SN1) 7:30pm: ALDS: Yankees vs. Guardians - Game #3 (SN360) 9:30pm: NLDS: Dodgers vs. Padres - Game #4

NHL HOCKEY (SNPacific) 4:00pm: Canucks vs. Flyers (CBC/SN) 7:00pm: Sens vs. Leafs (City/SNEast) 7:00pm: Habs vs. Capitals (CBC/SN) 10:00pm: Flames vs. Oilers

CFL FOOTBALL (TSN/TSN3/TSN5) 7:00pm: Argos vs. Elks (TSN/TSN3) 10:00pm: Blue Bombers vs. Lions

W5 (CTV) 7:00pm: The Death Debate; The Songwriter

THE SECRET GARDEN (Crave) 7:15pm: Sent to live with her uncle, a young orphan discovers a magical garden of wonder in 1947 England.

WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP (TSN3) 7:45pm: Italy vs. Canada (TSN/TSN3) 10:00pm: Wales vs. New Zealand

IRON MAN 3 (CTV) 8:00pm: After a malevolent enemy reduces his world to rubble, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) must rely on instinct and ingenuity to protect those he loves as he searches for a way to avenge his losses.

BIG FOOD BUCKET LIST (Food Network Canada) 8:00pm: Hip Hip Churr-Ay!

A SLICE OF CHICAGO ROMANCE (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: In a Chicago suburb, the two best pizza restaurants have competed with each other for years. However, as the new generation takes over the businesses and a new pizza chain moves in, the new owners can't help but fall in love.

JAILBREAK LOVERS (Lifetime Canada) 8:00pm: When Toby loses her job and starts a nonprofit to rehabilitate abused, rescued dogs at the local prison, she hatches a plan to break her lover out of prison by smuggling him out in one of the dog crates, sparking a federal manhunt.

REDEEMING LOVE (Crave) 9:00pm: After meeting Michael and experiencing love for the first time, Angel, facing demons that seem unbeatable, learns that she has the power to choose the life she wants.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD (Super Channel Fuse) 9:00pm: A kid must decide between choosing the future his father wants and following his dream of becoming a pro skater.

#cdntv #Cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #W5 #big food bucket list #fifa world cup #mls soccer #mlb baseball #nhl hockey #cfl football #women's rugby

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jilllamontagne · 3 days

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Field Hockey Competition Levels in the US

Field hockey is a popular sport in Europe and Australia, with the latter country winning four Olympic gold medals in men's and women's events since 1988, but it pales in comparison to ice hockey in the United States. Field hockey has been contested at every Summer Olympics since 1928 and American teams have won just two medals, a bronze for the men in 1932 and bronze for the women in 1984. However, field hockey has high participation rates in US high schools, while USA Field Hockey, the sport's national governing body, recently announced a partnership with Skyhawk powered by Stack Sports to expedite its growth at the grassroots level.

According to NCSA College Recruiting, there are more than 60,000 high school field hockey players in the US. While there are 263 college field hockey teams in the country spanning various NCAA divisions, American players have to compete with recruits from other countries, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, for scholarships.

Field hockey is most popular in the US in northeastern states such as Massachusetts and Maine. Many of the top-ranked college programs, including Northwestern, Harvard, Liberty, and Rutgers, are located on the east coast. However, North Carolina and Louisville, among others, also have highly regarded NCAA Division I field hockey programs. Students can also earn scholarships to Division II and III programs at schools like Adelphi University (New York), Clark University (Massachusetts), Connecticut College (Connecticut), and Framingham State University (Massachusetts). These schools tend to offer a more balanced schedule of athletics and academics.

Beyond the college level, the ultimate goal for competitive field hockey players is the Summer Olympics. USA Field Hockey selects the men's and women's national teams, which also compete in Olympic qualifiers and the FIH Hockey Pro League. The fifth season of the FIH Pro League, which featured nine men's and nine women's teams, concluded on June 30, 2024. Speaking to the need for further development at the youth level, the US women's team lost all but one of its 16 games this past season. The champion of the league earns automatic entry into the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026.

USA Field Hockey also has men's and women's development and U-21, U-18, and U-16 national teams, which compete in international events such as the Junior Pan American Championship, U-21 Nexus Championship, and FIH Junior World Cup. Moreover, USA Field Hockey hosts national events to support player development. These include the Summer Bash at the Beach, which is celebrating its ninth year in 2024, and the National Hockey Festival.

Held in partnership with 3STEP Sports, the 2024 National Hockey Festival is scheduled to take place at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples, Florida, from November 29 to December 1 and will feature tournaments in multiple age groups, including U-10, U-12, and U-14 co-ed as well as U-19 boys and girls and adult co-ed.

Finally, USA Field Hockey is hoping to increase youth participation through its partnership with Skyhawks, which Franchise Magazine lists the as best youth sports franchise. Skyhawks will organize player development camps throughout the US during the next three years, and offer training to prospective youth coaches. USA Field Hockey is hoping this strategic partnership encourages thousands of young people to pick up the sport.

#Jill Lamontagne

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brookstonalmanac · 5 months

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Events 4.26 (before 1950)

1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux. 1478 – The Pazzi family attack on Lorenzo de' Medici in order to displace the ruling Medici family kills his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral. 1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of birth is unknown). 1607 – The Virginia Company colonists make landfall at Cape Henry. 1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz. 1777 – Sybil Ludington, aged 16, allegedly rode 40 miles (64 km) to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces 1794 – Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France. 1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist. 1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. 1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia. 1900 – Fires destroy Canadian cities Ottawa and Hull, reducing them to ashes in 12 hours. Twelve thousand people are left without a home. 1903 – Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded 1915 – World War I: Italy secretly signs the Treaty of London pledging to join the Allied Powers. 1916 – Easter Rising: Battle of Mount Street Bridge. 1920 – Ice hockey makes its Olympic debut at the Antwerp Games with center Frank Fredrickson scoring seven goals in Canada's 12–1 drubbing of Sweden in the gold medal match. 1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey. 1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic. 1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established by Hermann Göring. 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by German Luftwaffe. 1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead. 1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden. 1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt. 1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete. 1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht. 1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army liberate Baguio as they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

#Events

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ledenews · 7 months

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Footsteps: Two Sons Following Two Fathers in the World of Hockey

Tim Army and Peter Laviolette Have Served as Lifetime Mentors Derek Army was a hockey player’s hockey player during his padded career, and he traveled every corner country trying to make his dream come true. And it kinda-sorta almost did. On September 19, 2017, Army was a Nashville Predator during the NHL’s preseason. These days, as the Nailers ride high on an 11-game winning streak, Army is chasing another dream, the real dream, the former forward insisted, is to coach at the highest level like his father, Tim did with the Capitals (1997-2002) and the Colorado Avalanche (2011-17). Army has been the man in charge for Wheeling since June 2021 and an interim and assistant coach before taking charge, and he’s already fifth all-time for most coaching victories (84) as the Nailers’ head coach. “It is an honor, honestly, to be the head coach here in Wheeling because this is the place where I played the majority of my playing career and I love it here,” Army said. “But hey, someday, I’d love to get to the NHL level. Of course, I do, and that’s why I’ve watched my Dad so closely during his career.” Derek Army has been the full-time head coach in Wheeling since the beginning of the 2021-22 season. Army, though, isn’t the only one on the Nailers’ bench with the whole “follow my father to the NHL” goal. One of his players – the one who wears #11, stands at 6-4, and was born in Wheeling in December 1997 when his dad was Wheeling’s head coach at the time – wishes for the same destiny. Wheeling forward Peter Laviolette III, son of Peter and Kristen Laviolette, is in his second season with the Nailers because, yes, he loves to play the game, but also because he’s a student of the sport. “(Army) reminds me a lot of my Dad and the way I’ve always seen my Dad go about what he does to be so successful at the highest level, so yeah, I watch Coach (Army) closely because that’s what I want to do in the game,” he said. “I wanna be a coach in the NHL like my Dad.” The Laviolette family traveled to Wheeling when the record-setting NHL coach was inducted into the Nailers' Hall of Fame in March 2023. Laviolette II currently is the head coach for the New York Rangers, the same team he played 12 games for during the 1988-89 NHL season, and his squad currently is in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 69 points (33-16-3). He coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006, guided the Flyers to the finals in 2010, and Nashville, too, in 2017. He is the winningest American-born head coach in NHL history. “My father has had an incredible amount of success in his career and we’re all very proud of him. It’s his passion and I love to watch him work,” junior Laviolette said. “He started his head coaching career here in Wheeling so that’s why I think it’s awesome I’m here now learning a ton from Coach ‘Arms’. “I love playing the game, I really do, but I know if I’m going to stay in it, it’s going to be as a coach,” he said. “(Army) has a great locker room because we all know we’re in it together, and my father does a lot of the same, too, with his players. It’s the right way to go.” Laviolette is not on the active roster for every Nailers game this season. Like Father, Like Son He and his brother and sister grew up in the world of hockey as Dad coached in New York, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Nashville, Washington, and now, New York again. He’s won more than 750 games and has advanced to the playoffs 13 times in 21 seasons. So, following his footsteps is one thing, but filling his shoes is completely another. “’Lavs is learning how he wants to go about coaching after his playing days are over, and I doubt he[s worried about matching what his father has done in the game. His father is the No. 1 American-born coach in the history of hockey,” Army said. “Plus, even though you’re a son, you still have different personalities because you’re different people. “And Lavs has a great mentor in his dad and here in Wheeling he’s able to see from a player’s perspective how things works and how we go about things on this level,” the head coach said. “So, that way he gets to formulate his own kind of coaching mind. It’s all part of the process. He'll take some things from his dad that he's learned all his life, and then there'll be some things from his playing experiences as he develops his own way of doing things.” While Laviolette will be on ice this evening against Reading, he’s not on the Nailers’ active roster every evening and doesn’t travel every road trip. “I’m working hard on my game so my teammates can count on me when I get my chances, and I’m also concentrating on taking advantage of the playing opportunities I get,” he explained. “I know (Army) has a job to do and he’s awesome at it and he makes me a better player every day. That’s why I believe he’ll get to where he wants to go in this game.” Read the full article

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mitchbeck · 10 months

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#AHL #AmericanHockeyLeague #DavidQuinn #EdmontonOilers #HartfordWolfPack #JamieTardif #JeffMalcolm #KeithMcCambridge #KrisKnoblauch #LiasAndersson #NationalHockeyLeague #NewYorkRangers #NHL #VitaliKravtsov #XLCenter

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riilsports · 2 years

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By the numbers . . . RIIL Boys Division II Hockey Championship (at Schneider Arena) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8TAx5J2Fr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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giovannimatteoangeli · 2 years

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American International College provides over 35 different sports

American International College is one of the most varied higher education schools in the country. It offers over a dozen undergraduate and graduate academic degrees in over 35 different subjects. International students are increasingly studying in the United States. These youngsters have the potential to benefit our economy. During their schooling, they also encounter distinct hurdles.

Ice hockey is a contact sport that requires both athletic ability and physical contact. It is played on an ice rink by two teams of six players each, with the purpose of propelling a vulcanized rubber disk called a puck across a goal line and into a net guarded by a goaltender.

The sport originated in Canada and has since grown to become one of the most popular sports in the world. Many viewers enjoy it because of its speed and frequent physical contact.

College hockey coaches recruit differently than coaches in other NCAA sports. They place a premium on junior hockey players and international athletes.

Players should begin compiling a list of coaches in their target locations to improve their chances of a successful recruiting effort. They should also create and transmit a highlight film of their hockey talents to the instructors as soon as feasible.

College soccer is a popular sport among students at colleges and universities all around the world.

It is a team sport that emphasizes speed, skill, and teamwork.

College soccer is divided into three divisions: NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NAIA. These divisions provide varied levels of financial assistance to their students.

Each division has its own playoffs and title game. These competitions may be held across the country, requiring students to travel on a regular basis.

St. Louis University (SLU) and the North Carolina Tar Heels are two of the top men's college soccer teams. These two colleges have won 10 and 21 college cups, respectively.

Baseball is very popular at American International College, and it's easy to understand why. The team has a lot of skill, including some well-deserved All-Americans. If you want to enhance your game and earn a spot in the legendary halls of fame, visit the program's recruitment webpage for more information. The team is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, which is home to the oh-so-sophisticated NE10 Big Cheese. The best part is that there is no fee to join!

College basketball is a worldwide sport, and athletes from all over the world attend NCAA Division I colleges. Every year, over 20,000 international students engage in NCAA athletics, and that figure is only going to grow.

Some of the greatest teams in the country are leveraging overseas recruiting to augment their rosters with difference-makers who may have fallen through the cracks. Mark Few at Gonzaga is a master of the game, and he has helped construct the program around stars like Killian Tillie, Rui Hachimura, and Przemek Karnowski.

Utah State coach Craig Smith has also made extensive use of international recruitment, and his Class of 2022 will include three overseas players. Nate Tomlinson is likely to be the first Australian to play at Utah State, and he hopes to recruit some other high-level talent to join him. Randy Bennett, the head coach of Saint Mary's, has also done an excellent job of foreign recruiting in recent years, and he has a good relationship with Australia.

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hotspottimes · 2 years

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The college-age population is about to crash. It will change higher education forever. - Vox.com

The college-age population is about to crash. It will change higher education forever. – Vox.com

The population of college-age Americans is about to crash. It will change higher education forever. Vox’s home for ambitious stories that explain our world. In 2021, Shippensburg University won the NCAA Division II Field Hockey championship, completing an undefeated season with a 3-0 victory over archrival West Chester. The “Ship” Raiders also won it all in 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2013, which I…

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trustbuilding · 2 years

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Philips arena

#PHILIPS ARENA FREE#

The hotel is pet friendly and offers free Wifi. Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center – 0.2 kms – Located close to Philips Arena in a great area.Multiple parking lots located around the arena with pre-purchase parking available.Once you get to the Dome station, simply follow the signs to Philips Arena. Philips Arena is easily accessible via MARTA, located to the Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN station on the blue/green rail line, just one stop west of Five Points.Compare prices and locations, pick a spot that works for you, and they’ll email you the parking pass. Visit their website to pay for parking ahead of time. A service called Parking Panda offers guaranteed parking reservations at garages and lots within easy walking distance of Philips Arena.Philips Arena Guide: Parking and Transportation Hawks Shop is open during all Hawks games and also other non-event days.It offers Wifi, a great view of the court and also offers for tickets and food. It can hold up to 30 people or else you can adjoin rooms to include up to 60 people. You can host your next business meeting or social event at the Comcast Business Zone which is a private meeting room inside of Philips Arena.Philips Arena offer party suites that are perfect for hosting an event with 20-120 people and offer the ultimate entertainment experience.Many concession stands located throughout the arena including the Buckhead Life mini-restaurants in the Club.It also offers terraced seating for a premium view of the court as well as a centrally located show kitchen for guests to enjoy watching the chef make meals. It offers tiered level seating within the restaurant and bar space allowing for optimal visibility of the court. RED by Wind Creek is open from the time doors open until the end of Hawks games and other ticketed events.It used to serve as the home of the Atlanta Thrashers in the National Hockey League before they moved to Winnipeg. It is home to the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Atlanta Dream of the Women’s National Basketball Assocation (WNBA). Philips Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. Address: 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30303.The finals of Division II and Division III were held at the arena as part of celebrations of mens basketball tournament in its 75th anniversary.Our Philips Arena Guide below outlines all of the information you need to know when visiting this multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia including Amenities, Attractions, Parking and more! And a year later in 2008, the arena hosted the first NBA playoff game. And the first NHL playoff was hosted in the arena two years later. The first time that Philips Arena hosted a playoff game was in 2005 when Georgia Force won their first playoff game. For concerts, Philips Arena comes in first positions among the busiest arenas worldwide. The Amsterdam based Royal Philips Electronics has bought the rights to arena upon building. The luxury boxes and club seats are aligned along one side, while admission seating aligns other 3 sides. The layout of Philips arena is a bit special and unusual. The group of investors that owns the arena is the same group of owners of the Hawks. And for NBA, the arena is home to Atlanta Hawks, and Women NBA team Atlanta Dream. Philips Arena was home to NHL team Atlanta Thrashers from 1999 until 2011 when the team moved to Winnipeg.

#Philips arena

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gaywoso · 5 years

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Turkey Women’s National Ice Hockey Team

#woho #women's hockey #turkey wnht #they're division ii group b #which is like 5th out of 6 tiers in 2019 #myupload

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savoies · 4 years

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three times you told sidney if he wanted kids and one time you told him you were gonna have a kid.

Pairing: sidney crosby x reader.

Summary: the title says it all.

Word count: 1.1k

Warnings: maybe one bad word and hints of sex.

A/N: thank you to caitee@pierreslucdubois for helping bring up this idea and enjoy my first 3 + 1 fic. also the current divisions aren't present here.

taglist: @nhlpetey @mitch-slap @frostythegoalman @ryanssuzuki @aria253264 @josty @kaitieskidmore1 @kiedhara @laurenairay @teenagekook @alxvlasic @hockeyallthetime @barzy-baby @officialgritty @bowenbyram @mems06 @joshsandersons @connormcdavo @maattamatthews @pierreslucdubois @selenophileangel @boqvistsbabe @ana-maa @stars-canucks @quinnhughxs

tagging some buds: @npatrickz @beauvibaby @heybarzy @tkachuk-yeah @cozycozzy @2manytabsopen

(*credit to gif owner*)

You and Sidney had been dating for a few years now. Seeming more like a married couple overall anything. No one really talking about what the next step was or what your future would look like. Honestly with Sid it was more about just seeing what was to come and that everything would come when the time was right. Being basically somewhat married already except not having the title, rings, and wedding.

It was your three year anniversary. Both of you really not wanting to do anything special since you were kind of over that. He had practice earlier in the day but had asked his coach if he could leave a bit earlier.

You at home making your guy's favorite meal. Setting up everything before he arrived home.

~~~

Much later after the meal and a few glasses of wine both of you sat on the couch ignoring the sound of the television and just talking about whatever came up, and for you it was kids.

"Hey Sid have you ever thought about having kids?" You looked questionably at your boyfriend not really ever having brought it up before.

"I mean yeah of course. Teaching them how to play hockey like how my dad taught me, why?" He asked as his soft smile was illuminated by the light of the tv.

"Just curious" You said as you placed your head on his shoulder and watched whatever silly rerun was on tv.

II.

Before Sidney had gone on a road trip you had spent the night and most of the day in your room. Wanting to spend every single minute together trying to memorize every single inch of each other like you guys didn't already know everything about the other.

Bringing you to one month later. Sidney currently being somewhere on the West Coast and you standing in your bathroom waiting for the five minute timer to go off.

You had been feeling sick the past few days. Thinking maybe it was something you ate but it sooned dawned on you as your friend was talking about her pregnancy symptoms.

So now here you stood in your bathroom. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting. You had texted Sidney earlier just a quick text along the lines of a hypothetical situation of you being pregnant and what his reaction would be which he replied to with a simple id be excited.

Now weren't sure how to feel as the timer went off. Did you want to be pregnant? Were you gonna be sad if you weren't? Was Sidney gonna be okay with you not being pregnant? Your breath unsteady as you turned around the test and saw that it only had one line indicating that you were in fact not pregnant.

You let out a breath but you felt a sadness overcome you. Then you remembered what Sidney always told you. The right time will come.

III.

Baby showers. Some people loved them and some people hated them. Honestly some people just thought it was a way for women to tell their husbands they wanted another kid.

Your friend had been expecting and now here you were at her baby shower/gender reveal with Sidney.

Both of you sitting in one of the corners of the backyard participating in all the silly baby shower games.

Sidney seemed to be quite into them more than you and you laughed at his enthusiasm to win the prizes.

"Sidney honey you do know you don't have to play every game right." Your eyebrow raised as he had his nose stuffed into a diaper trying to guess what chocolate was smeared on it.

"I don't know about John over here but I want to win the prize." He said as he pointed over at your other friend's husband currently in the same situation as Sidney in trying to guess the chocolate.

You laughed as you got up to get a drink and stood by the table overlooking everyone and in the corner of your eye you saw your very pregnant friend waddling to you.

"Y/N!! I'm so glad you are here." She smiled at you definitely having that pregnancy glow that everyone talked about.

"Happy to be here. This all turned great. " you smiled.

"So are you next?" She looked up at you with her eyebrow raised.

You choked on your drink as you processed her words. You definitely did not expect to be asked about kids at her baby shower.

"Wait have you and Crosby not talked about it?" She looked at you as she registered your reaction.

"We have a few times but it hasn't come up recently." You looked over at him still trying to beat your friend's husband in another game.

"Hey Crosby." Your friend yelled across the lawn as she waddled to your boyfriend.

"So you planning to knock up Y/N soon?" She crossed her arms as both of your eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh, i can not believe you just said that." You said shaking your head.

"Well we aren't really trying right now but if she gets pregnant then i'd be happy." He said as he looked at you and smiled.

Sidney had just gotten back from a game. One of the games that really mattered. The season was wrapping up meaning they needed to step their game up and try to get as many wins as possible.

Of course Sidney being Sidney came back with a win. And couldn't wait to show you how much your support meant to him.

You had taken a test earlier in the day after he left. Having been more hopeful this time since your symptoms were definitely stronger.

Now here you sat on the couch waiting for him to walk through the door and tell him that your life was about to be different.

"Y/N babe i'm home." He spoke up as he set his things down.

"In the living room." You yelled back. "I need to tell you something." You said as you patted the seat on the couch next to you.

"Oh ok. Everything ok?" He asked as he searched your eyes for a sign.

"Yeah, at least i think so. Can you close your eyes for me please." You said as you grabbed his hands, opened it, and placed the pregnancy test on them.

"Ok you can open them now." You said.

"Wait. No. Are you serious? Is this for real? Are you fucking with me?" He asked as his thoughts registered in his mind.

You shook your head as a few tears pricked at your eyes.

"You're pregnant." He said as he hugged you tightly. "Oh I'm sorry, can't be hurting the baby." He said with the biggest smile on his face. Sidney was right, the right time did come.

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pucksnsticksnhockeyboys · 4 years

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joking about you

summary: four times you thought Matthew was just teasing and the one time you realized he wasn’t.

warnings: mentions of alcohol, swearing, the works

word count: 3.9k

note from the writer: I’m not in love with how the first part or so turned out but it gets better at the end? at least I hope I wrote it at 2 in the morning

Crowds were definitely not your favorite thing. Especially when the crowd involved numerous hockey players that were celebrating a win over their division rivals. Normally, you didn’t mind as much, but you were too sober to deal with what the boys were putting you through. More specifically, you were a few drinks short of being able to deal with Matthew.

It wasn’t that you didn’t like him, in fact, that was the whole problem. You had a massive crush on him, the kind where people who didn’t even know you wondered just how long you had been pining after one of your closest friends. Long story short, you were incredibly obvious in your affection. And it was fine, you were dealing with it, but it didn’t help that Matthew decided his favorite pastime was teasing you about your feelings.

You had excused yourself from the booth you and a few of the guys and their significant others had claimed, making your way to the bar for a refill. It was only your second drink, having promised Matthew that you would make sure he got home safe. The two of you had a rule that whenever you guys went out together, you would take turns in who would watch over the other. It was a sweet gesture, and Matthew never failed to make sure you were in your own bed by the end of the night.

“What’re you drinking? I’ll buy it.” A stranger said as he leaned against the bar counter next to you. You smiled at him, not at all interested but still grateful for the gesture.

“Uh, no thank you. But thanks for offering.” You smiled politely, and just as he opened his mouth to argue your statement a heavy weight fell over your shoulders. You would’ve jumped, but you recognized the newcomer without even having to look.

“Not interested, already on someone else’s tab.” Matthew told the guy smugly, and you rolled your eyes at his cockiness. You weren’t really one his tab, but you would’ve said you were if it got the guy to leave. It did, and you turned to Matthew with a grateful smile.

“I would’ve scared him off all by myself, you know.” You teased, smile growing wider as Matt laughed at your statement. You were anything but scary, but he didn’t comment on it. The bartender set your drink on the counter, and you took with a polite smile before turning back to Matthew.

“It’s more fun if I get to chase the guys off. Let ‘em know you’re mine.” He grinned, and your own smile faltered for a moment. You felt your cheeks flush, though you could tell from the slight slur of Matt’s words that he was a few drinks in and wouldn’t notice. You hated how easily he could make your heart skip a beat with comments like the one that he made about you being his.

“You wish.” You mumbled, brushing past Matthew and back to the table where the rest of the boys were. You slid back into your seat next to Johnny, having lost Matthew in the crowd once he spotted Noah.

“Where’s your boy off to?” Johnny teased, tapping his glass to yours in an unspoken cheers before taking a sip. You copied his actions, taking the extra moment to compose yourself enough to be able to come up with a response other than ‘he’s not my boy’ that sounded just desperate enough that if he didn’t already know how you felt, he would after.

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” You settled on saying, despite the fact that it sounded just as desperate and opened the door for Johnny to tease you some more. And as he opened his mouth to just that, you decided to save yourself and change the topic. “We’re still on for brunch tomorrow, right guys?”

Your question was directed to not only Johnny, but Sean and his wife, and anyone else at the table who was listening. As long they didn’t give Johnny the time he needed to poke fun at your obvious feelings, they were invited. After a few confirmations, you were dragged into conversation with one of the other guys. Before you knew it, Matthew and Noah were stumbling over to the booth, clearly had their fair share of drinks.

“Ready to go, big guy?” You teased, standing up out of the booth to prepare to leave. Matt nodded, one of his arms slung around your shoulders the moment you were out of the booth. You stumbled a bit under the weight of him, pressing your hand against his chest to try and steady him.

“You must be so excited to get to take me home.” He shot back, grinning wide with just a hint of smugness that had you rolling your eyes despite the slight blush on your cheeks.

“You wish.” You mumbled, just loud enough that the boys heard, and as you led Matthew out of the bar to wait for the Uber you had ordered, you were followed out by the sound of their hoots and cheers.

Sometimes, you really hated your friends.

As much as you loved nights out, hanging in with the boys was just as fun. With Johnny and Matthew on either side of you on the couch, you knew that you were in trouble if the moment arised. And arise, it did.

“Why did we let Chucky pick the movie?” Johnny groaned, dropping his head against the back of the couch. His distress earned chuckles from the rest of the guys—them being Noah and Elias. Your snort must have caught his attention, because then he turned to you and the mischievous look in his eyes was easily recognizable. “We get you’re in love with him, but why couldn’t the rest of us tell him no?”

You wished a hole would open up underneath you and swallow you up. Your face burned bright red as you glared at Johnny, your hands fisting at your sweatshirt. The boys were all laughing, chuckling at you and you wondered just why you called them your best friends.

“What can I say, I’m irresistible.” Matt, who had been busying himself with scrolling through the movie selections, decided to pipe up. You shouldn’t have expected him to stay quiet on the subject, always looking for the chance to tease you about your feelings without doing any real harm. You knew the boys would never say anything to intentionally hurt you, but they were hockey players, and getting under someone’s skin was their specialty.

“You wish.” You muttered, though you wished that you could take it back because Matthew viewed that as a challenge and he was easily the most competitive person you knew. His grin turned wicked and he tossed the remote to Noah, deferring movie picking powers to him and his fingers easily dug into your sides. You squealed, trying to escape but he was clearly much stronger than you, and before you even knew it, he had you laying across his lap with your feet in Johnny’s as he continued to tickle you relentlessly.

“Get a room!” Elias jeered, and thankfully the comment made Matthew stop his assault. Though, if the look he was giving you was any indication of what was going to happen next, you were in trouble.

“Why don’t we?” He was wiggling his brows at you suggestively, and you gasped in shock. The boys were laughing as you shoved his shoulder, finally pulling yourself to a sitting position in your previous spot. And, okay, maybe, you would’ve loved to go get a room with Matt, but there was absolutely no way you were ever going to admit it to them—even if they already knew.

“You guys are the worst.”

iii

The house was already packed by the time you arrived, and you were too busy trying to weave your way through the crowd and look over people’s shoulders to find someone you knew that you didn’t notice Matthew approaching until you were wrapped in his arms.

“Hey, Matty.” You greeted, accepting the hug as soon as you realized who it was. You could tell he was already a few drinks in by the way he nuzzled his head deeper into the crook of your neck. You giggled at the feeling of his scruff on your skin, knowing your face was aflame at the small act of affection. You rested your hand on his chest, using it to push him away just enough that you could look up at him. “Who even are all these people?”

“I dunno. Hanny invited them.” You tried not to let it show just how much his touch was affecting you, he always got clingy like this when he drank—except, it was only with you and the guys. You had seen him on more than one occasion pestering Johnny for piggy-back rides that were never a good idea. “C’mon.”

You were going to protest, but then his hand slipped in yours, and suddenly you were being dragged halfway across the party to a pong table you hadn’t seen earlier. When you finally stopped at the edge of the table, you spotted Noah and Johnny were partners, and a pair of annoyed guys who had clearly just lost were vacating the opposite end. Matt slid into their spots, and you were given no choice but to follow after him.

Also, your mind was a bit too hazy to come up with any intelligible remark because he was still holding your hand.

“You guys actually won?” Matt chirped, earning eye rolls from his teammates standing across from him, setting the cups back up. He started to do the same, finally dropping your hand in order to move the cups back in place.

“Okay, Chucky. Wanna put some money where your mouth is?” Johnny teased, and you raised your brows. There was no way you were going to put any money down on a stupid game of beer pong, especially since you were playing with three professional athletes who all had considerable amounts of disposable income. Matthew, on the other hand, wore a grin that grew two sizes at the thought of a bet.

“Alright, what’s the wager?” He encouraged, and you pouted, partly wondering if you could get Matt to put up your side of the bet, and he did owe you gas money. Noah’s smile turned wicked and you knew you were screwed.

“If we win, you guys have to kiss.”

On second thought, you might have a twenty in your wallet you could spare for the game.

“And when we win?” Matt shot back easily, his arm slung over your shoulder to tug you into his side. Your jaw was slack, and your gaze was bouncing between Noah and Johnny and you tried to figure out just why they thought that bet would be a good idea.

“If you win, we’ll tie your skates for you for the next week.” Johnny decided, and you were going to speak and announce that you really weren’t getting anything out of this deal, but you decided that the best thing would be to probably not draw attention to yourself. Your cheeks were surely bright red, and you were rooted in your spot at the mere thought that you would kiss Matt.

“Deal.” Matt grinned, squeezing you into his side before releasing you, getting ready to play. He may have been one of the most clingy people you had ever met, but he also was the most competitive.

You really were not good at beer pong. On a good night, you could usually hold your own. But the whole bet really threw you off your game. Instead of trying to focus on sinking the ping pong ball in the red solo cup, you were too busy trying to figure out just why Matt hadn’t turned down the idea of kissing you. Besides his taunts, you figured he never saw you in any light other than the friendship role you had been stuck in.

“Are you trying to lose?” Matt teased after a particularly terrible shot by you. Johnny had to search through the crowd for the ball, and you narrowed your eyes at the curly haired boy next to you. He was grinning mischievously, and you briefly wondered if he knew just how attractive he looked—and if he was doing it just to see you squirm. “You know, if you wanted to kiss me so bad, you could just ask. You don’t have to throw the game.”

“Oh, fuck off.” You spluttered, unable to form a thought over the idea that maybe his words held a deeper meaning than just to get under your skin. Matt, sensing your annoyance, wrapped an arm around your neck and tugged you into his chest, lips coming down to press a kiss to your hairline as Johnny and Noah laughed obnoxiously at you from across the table.

You and Matt ended up winning, by way of a miracle, and for the next week Johnny and Noah were tying your shoes.

When the boys went on road trips, you got a bit of a reprieve from their teasing. These were the times when you remembered just why they were your closest friends, snapchats of them being idiots in each other’s hotel rooms or wherever they were never failing to make you laugh.

But it was also during these trips that Matthew showed his softer side, especially if they were away for longer periods of time. Currently, they were finishing their east coast trip, a week and a half of being away from home. You had received dozens of snapchats from the boys of Matthew moping around, even a video of him complaining that he missed you. He didn’t know he was being recorded, and you tried to pretend that it didn’t tug at your heartstrings.

Those updates from his teammates were why you weren’t surprised that Matt ended up calling you. It was late in Calgary, so you knew it was really late in New York where he was.

“Hey.” You mumbled into the phone. You were laying in bed, covers pulled up to your chin and already feeling the effects of sleep taking over. But if there ever was a time that you didn’t answer Matt’s calls, something surely must be wrong.

“Hey, you better not be falling asleep on me.” Matt teased, and you hated how you could practically see the grin he was no doubt sporting. Despite your racing heart—and the fact that he couldn’t see you—you rolled your eyes.

“It’s past my bedtime. Might have to call you back tomorrow.” You joked back, though you were rolling over to a more comfortable position to continue the conversation. Matt chuckled, and even though the sound was slightly distorted over the phone, was still the best thing you had ever heard.

“You love me too much, you’d stay awake for hours just to listen to me snore if I asked.” His comment was said offhandedly, and it was obviously a joke, but it struck a chord with you. You sat up in bed, comforter coming to rest around your waist as you pressed your lips into a thin line to try and compose yourself.

“Don’t… just don’t say that.” You settled, though it didn’t make much sense to you, so Matt was understandably confused. You just couldn’t handle it at the moment, the fact that your feelings were so unrequited. You knew it, but he didn’t have to throw it in your face.

“What? That you love me? ‘Cause I know you do.” His tone was somewhere between puzzled and teasing. You squeezed your eyes shut, drawing your knees to your chest as you felt a lump form in your throat.

“Can you stop fucking joking about my feelings? I get that you don’t feel the same, but lay off for a minute, please.” The last thing you wanted was to cry on the phone with him, but about halfway through your first sentence your voice tightened and when you hit the plea, it cracked. You heard Matthew suck in a breath at the sound, and you wondered if you took it a step too far.

But you also knew this was a conversation you needed to have. You were done just sitting by and letting him tease and poke fun at how flustered you’d get around just because you were harboring feelings for him. He hadn’t done anything inherently wrong, but you just needed him to know how it was affecting you.

You were brought back to the moment by Matthew mumbling your name softly, and you bit your lip at how easily it slipped past his lips. How right it felt for him to be saying your name in the gentle way he did. You knew he was thinking of what to say next, probably some elaborate way to let you down easily while still preserving your friendship. And nothing seemed worse than hearing him feed you some lines about how you could still be friends and that it wouldn’t be awkward next time you hung out—it would, and you knew that. And once more, despite knowing he couldn’t see you, you shook your head, pinching the bridge of your nose in a desperate bid to keep the tears at bay.

“Goodnight, Matthew. I’ll see you when you guys get back, I guess.”

You hated to admit it, but you were ignoring not only Matt’s texts, but also the messages from his teammates. It was only the day after you blew up, hanging up on him before he got a chance to explain himself, but you were already feeling the effects of losing one of your closest friends.

A knock on your front door startled you, you weren’t expecting anyone and when you looked through the peephole, you felt a heavy weight settle in your stomach. You knew you couldn’t avoid him forever, but his plane had landed only half an hour ago—you had assumed you’d at least get a few days respite before one of the boys showed up and made you face the consequences of your actions.

Swinging your door open, the curly haired boy wasted no time in slipping past you and into your apartment, shedding his coat and dropping his keys beside yours on the small table you had by the door. Your stomach twisted at how domestic it felt, him coming home to you after his latest roadie.

“Why the fuck don’t I have a key to your apartment?” Matt asked, finally speaking. He had made it a few steps inside before turning to face you with a genuinely confused expression. You were so caught off guard, because that was certainly not what you thought he’d ask you first, that you answered genuinely with the first thing that came to mind.

“Why the fuck would you?” At your response, Matt’s puzzled pout turned to a grin. You wondered if he just wasn’t going to bring up what had transpired over the phone the previous night. You were already falling back into your typical back and forth, but like usual, you weren’t so lucky.

“Because people who are in love have keys to the other’s apartments.” Matt explained easily, like he always did, and you brushed past him. You weren’t sure where you were headed exactly, but you really didn’t need to be around him when he refused to acknowledge the fact that you were upset by his teasing. “Or not. Maybe we could move in with each other.” He had followed you, the kitchen is where you ended up and you braced yourself against the counter, back to him.

“Can you please stop joking? Just leave, if you can’t help yourself.” You snapped, knuckles turning white from how hard you were gripping the edge of the countertop.

“I’m not leaving, and I don’t know why you keep thinking I’m joking.” Matt’s tone was devoid of any of his usual teasing, only seriousness evident in his tone. Your shoulders slouched at his comment, and you slowly turned to find him standing just a few inches away from you. One of his hands fell to the counter beside you, the other reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of your face, his fingers ghosting down the side of your jaw until he was tilting your chin up towards him with his index and thumb. “You’ve never been a joke to me.”

And then his lips were on yours, and you felt every longing look shared, unnecessary touch, and forehead kisses that were simply his way of convery how he felt. You would get flustered, he would want to pull you into his lap and make jokes about how you belonged there—because to him, you did. Every comment you thought was a jab at how you felt was just Matt trying to get you to realize how he felt.

It was so goddamn annoying, and so Matthew, that you couldn’t help but laugh into the kiss.

“What? I’m not that bad at kissing, am I?” Matt grinned as he pulled away just enough to look at you. You rolled your eyes, Matt was a fantastic kisser and he knew it, he just wanted to hear you say it.

“You couldn’t have just told me that you like me, you just had to go and tease me every chance you got, huh?” Your hands, at some point that you don’t really remember, had found their way around his neck and were threaded in the curls on the back of his head. The grin he wore was devastatingly handsome, and you easily gave him the kiss he ducked down towards you in search of.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered.” He muttered against your lips, kissing you after the end of his sentence. “I wanted to see how long it took before you admitted that you like me.” Another kiss. You tilted your head back and laughed at the absurdity of it all, how not even two minutes earlier you were ready to kick him out of your apartment and now you were certain you were going to die if he even thought about leaving.

“Bet that didn’t go as planned. You know, me hanging up on you, one comment away from crying.” You teased, and a look of regret flashed in his eyes that had his smile melting off of his face. His hands moved to your waist, as if keeping you in place so you couldn’t run, not that you would.

“I made you cry?” He sounded so devastated by your confession, fingers flexing against you as he squeezed your hips. You reached up, cupping his face and absolutely melting at the way he leaned into your touch. Your thumb brushed across his cheekbone, and he softened a bit.

“Don’t worry, Matty. It’s fine.” He didn’t seem convinced, and you leaned up onto your tip-toes to peck his lips once more. “I know a few ways you could make it up to me.” You pressed a kiss to his jaw, giggling when he nodded his head emphatically like a little kid. His mischievous grin was back, and you decided then and there you would spend the rest of your life trying to get him to smile.

“Lead the way.”

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