#Patrick Weekes mentioned this in a live stream

[mrs-gauche]

The Dread Wolf Take You (Part 1)

~~Link to the complete 31 page comic here~~

"Imagine that, overlooking the god in your mids!"

May I present, my attempt at illustrating the last four pages of Tevinter Nights. 😁 (Also, the first time I'm posting art on here!)

As the whole thing was quite literally too long to post on tumblr, I uploaded the full version on a customized site made for reading webcomics (via ComicFury). Feel free to check out the link above if you like to read the rest! Also, if you're on mobile, there's a "Scroll View" option for easier navigation. :)

And, obviously, HUGE spoilers for those who haven't read Tevinter Nights!!

On a personal note though, I can't believe I actually finished it... As it had been a *very* long time since I drew (and finished) anything, let alone a 31 page comic and reading Tevinter Nights again finally sparked my motivation (and the courage to post it lol). So I want to thank Patrick Weekes for helping me overcome this massive art block and over two decades of Case Closed mangas for inspiring me how to draw an overly dramatic "exposing the imposter" moment. 😂 I tried my best to be as faithful to the book as possible and it took me forever, so... hope you like it! :D

[agendabymooner]

from the ground up ! fernando a. x ofc (professional wrestler!canadian!ofc)

“this life will go by in a blink of an eye but i wouldn’t wanna spend it without you by my side.”

summary: weeks after their 15th anniversary, trish and fernando alonso introduced the newest members of their family to the world. f1 twt were also posting about… everything alonso-related, including the names of their kids (in a loving manner)

content warning: mentions thirsty!grid of years 2023 and 2005, literally fluff, long ass names of the alonso kids, pregnancy/birth announcement, crappy spanish translations + taylor/fernando alonso references

note: i can see you lurking and i just wanna say hi 😩 everything’s been a bit of a flop, i know 🥲 there should be some pierre gasly content otw as well- but idk who else to write for (thinking about este and checo atm)

let me know what you think!! send me an ask- tell me what’s going on, etc. enjoy xx

masterlist

[1st image: “back in 2013, your husband - f1 driver fernando alonso - started a rumour about your firstborn’s name being seven something words long. you never addressed anything about it despite it being asked repeatedly. then you confirmed that that’s the case after you had given birth to your second child. the youngest.” trish: she’s not going to be the youngest soon enough but yes.]

[2nd: just for the record, our kids freddy and rey have been given at least three middle names. and since they were both born in spain, their surname follows after what the practices tell us. i didn’t honestly want to tell anyone outside our family about it but nando was so excited that he told his grid friends. sebastian vettel’s the one to basically cause chaos and said “yeah the two named their son after their ancestors.”]

[3rd: it became a recurring topic that would show up once in a while. we don’t like making a big deal out of it — our kids don’t need to have their legal papers be published or spread to the public because they are entitled to the privacy that they have now. though the two have been bragging about their names in front of a camera whenever they could. especially when their papa gets interviewed— oh god, they actually tell everyone their full name.]

[4th: “yes! i remember the press conference with him and the kids!” t: i was hoping that it wasn’t streamed live when they had that but what can i do? it’s already out there hahaha. they’re really proud of their name. “would you be willing to repeat what they introduce themselves as?” t: i might as well. so, their names are frederico hugo fernando patrick and reyna severina odette anastasia alonso staedtlander— don’t look at me like that. i know it’s long.]

tagged fernandoalo_oficial

liked by lance_stroll, estebanocon, amydumas

amydumas holy shiiii- more godbabies for aunt amy!! liked by thetrishalonso

thetrishalonso i carried them all for you to spoil them!

user1 what’s up with the names 🥲

user2 what are their nicknames?!!!

thetrishalonso tino and tiago 💕

user3 name inspo?!!

thetrishalonso rubén = rubens barrichello and michael = schumi ❤️

user3 IM IN LOVEEEEEE

lewishamilton oh my god you and rey are outnumbered 😂 liked by thetrishalonso

thetrishalonso there’s no need to point it out 😂

carlossainzjr cannot wait to see the chicos, beatrice!! liked by thetrishalonso

thetrishalonso hurry up, tiago’s waiting to meet his godfather for the first time 😉

estebanocon congratulations, trisha and fernando!! liked by thetrishalonso

user4 look at my bestie, getting noticed by the grid crush of the season

astonmartinf1 just found our drivers 1 and 2 for the 2041 wdc season 💚 liked by thetrishalonso

thetrishalonso freddy’s looking forward for the 2032 season 😂💚

astonmartinf1 he’s welcome to be lance’s no. 2 anytime!

fernandoalo_oficial estoy tan bendecido de tenerte a ti y a nuestros hijos 😍 i’m so blessed to have you and our kids liked by thetrishalonso

thetrishalonso thank you so much for your love, mi amor ❤️

[translation: i am so incredibly grateful for my wife and her strength to carry not just one, but four children that i am sure i will love and appreciate as long as i can breathe. freddy, rey, tino and tiago, you will always have a place in my heart. freddy, you are an incredible big brother to all your siblings, and i can't wait for you to make them feel proud when you start your career as a racing driver. reyna, you will always be the best girl in my eyes, don't let other people say otherwise, princess. tino and tiago, you are the miracles that your mom and i have been asking for for years and i am always glad that you have come into our lives as nothing but surprises.]

tagged thetrishalonso

liked by nicholaslatifi, mickschumacher, lance_stroll

comments have been limited

amydumas congrats alo!!! i’ve always known i trusted you with trish for good reasons 😉 liked by fernandoalo_oficial

lance_stroll look at tino! he’s just as handsome as his godfather 😎

fernandoalo_oficial eh, you’re not that handsome.

lance_stroll wOW MEAN

sevstaedtlander congratulations nando and trish! their cousins are excited to meet the two liked by fernandoalo_oficial

tillywolff aww 😍 much love from me and the whole pack! liked by fernandoalo_oficial

thetrishalonso thank you tils! we can’t wait to have a play date with the wolff cubs and have you and toto meet the twins!

danielricciardo man you’ve got some balls 🤣 congratulations on the twins, nando and thetrishalonso!

thetrishalonso thank you danny, i can’t wait for your little one to show up too. though word of advice: please don’t refer to the kids as “some balls” ever again 😭

maxverstappen1 me and sylvie are up for babysitting if you ask for it 😉

mickschumacher hell no, i’m watching the alos

charles_leclerc you guys are funny

landonorris the bigger alo kids literally love me. have you been considered a favourite by either? no? exactly.

lance_stroll bold of all of you to assume they’d even allow anyone to watch the kids

carlossainzjr you might be a favourite but me and lance_stroll are the godfathers. so, keep trying nonetheless 👍

[redlegumes]

If it's just till St. Patrick's Day: Excerpt from Thanksgiving

Chapter Summary:

An orphan Thanksgiving with their strange family. Steve reveals some new secrets to Eddie. Steve proposes a new arrangement for the holidays which they start. After Thanksgiving, Eddie offers Steve his support. Can be read stand-alone

"They’re just hookups though. Steve put his pants on after and left after. I shouldn’t, agh. That sounds so cold. It hasn’t been that cold. But it’s definitely a ‘friend with benefits vibe.’ Though… Eddie mused, our friendship was always odd too. Forged in supernatural hell. Now that the supernatural hell was gone, he had kinda worried how long their little trauma family would hold on. But here they mostly were, in November, still maintaining various group chats, hanging, and celebrating holidays."

Complete tags and finished fic on A03

CW: Smut, Closeted trans character, Tobacco use, Mentions of (not overtly detailed)- alcohol use, past physical abuse parents, family transphobia, disownment

( 〃● ₃● ) ~ 🍁🍂 🧡EXPLICIT CONTENT AFTER THE CUT 🧡🍂🍁

"Who knows what will be, But I'll make you this guarantee, No way November will see our goodbye"

Mrs. Henderson had set out a big spread. She was hosting a bit of an Orphan Thanksgiving for the ‘family.’ Not everyone was around, Nancy wouldn't be back from Boston till Winter break and Robin was off visiting family in Ohio, but those who were tried to make the Henderson house’s gracious invitation to eat there. Mrs. Henderson apparently hadn’t wanted to travel to see her family that year. She’d bought such a big bird, and said it seemed a shame for just her and Dustin to enjoy it.

Eddie learned all this from Dustin, surprised he made the cut for invites. It was still a big group making time for the evening meal. He and Wayne never did much for the holiday, normally turkey frozen dinners, football (that he didn’t watch), and cheap beer. So after a quick check-in text, he said yes.

Hopper and Joyce Byers were in, which included Will, El, and Max. Jonathan was in school for photography now, but he was coming in from Chicago. Mike got permission, as well as Lucas since his family was having their meal closer to lunch. Family was staying with the Sinclairs that week, and his house was going to be packed. Lucas practically begged for a break from his cousins that would be sharing his room over the holiday.

…

Turkey day arrived, and Eddie spent the beginning of the day hanging with Wayne, just catching up. He drove over afterwards to Henderson’s, feeling a little bashful that he was the last to arrive, the others showing up early to help cook and prep the table. The food was plentiful and damn close to the commercials and movies Eddie’d seen when he was a kid. So this is Thanksgiving. Wild.

He even assumed their ‘family’ followed the classic tropes. Before the meal was set out, he and Jonathan took a little ‘walk’ to wet their appetite. The kids mostly bickered and ran around, some watching the game, others watching a stream in Dustin’s room. Eddie hadn’t expected Harrington there, but then he remembered he had picked up Mike and Lucas. For some reason he kind of just assumed he’d drive off after, to his own Thanksgiving. If this was a regular one Eddie could only imagine a rich people version of the holiday.

…

After the meal, Eddie volunteered for dish duty. It only seemed right since he hadn’t done any of the prep. Steve joined him. Most everyone else had relocated into the living room where a game of Mario Kart had been agreed on. Based on the yelling and the huddle around in front of the tv, it appeared as if the game was in full swing.

Mrs. Henderson wandered over with a shot of brandy for the adults. She patted his cheek and then Steve’s before handing them two little glasses. She delivered some platitudes about it being the holidays and moved on to the next room.

He and Steve exchanged shrugs and grins before turning back to the last pots and pans. Steve knocked his brandy back once they finished washing; Eddie'd waited to follow suit. Steve had hopped up to sit on the countertop. He looked good. Maybe it was just that extrovert glow. Or maybe it's because he's one-on-one with me for the first time this evening.

They'd talked since Halloween. Mostly flirting over texts, which wasn't too new, but things had gotten… perhaps… maybe… just a teensy bit more complicated. Steve had been over to his twice now without booze and slutty costumes to provide an easy excuse for ‘bad’ behavior. They'd done the dirty on a total of three occasions at this point and each time it had been good. We both got off. Hell, more than just getting off. Recalling Steve, fucking him on his bed, instantly made Eddie’s cheeks red.

They’re just hookups though. Steve put his pants on after and left after. I shouldn’t, agh. That sounds so cold. It hasn’t been that cold. But it’s definitely a ‘friend with benefits vibe.’ Though… Eddie mused, our friendship was always odd too. Forged in supernatural hell. Now that the supernatural hell was gone, he had kinda worried how long their little trauma family would hold on. But here they mostly were, in November, still maintaining various group chats, hanging, and celebrating holidays.

Eddie had sat down in a kitchen chair, broken from his thoughts by the tap of Steve's foot on his knee.

"Eddie."

"Yeah?"

Steve’s volume was low, but the house had gotten so noisy Eddie doubted anyone could hear their conversation. "I was just saying it's cuffing season. Look, I’d, ah… I’m good with hooking up for the holidays."

Eddie felt himself do the double take. "What?"

"I know you heard me that time."

"Yeah, but cuffing is a little more than just fucking." Eddie gazed up at Steve, still somehow cool and calm above him. Eddie wanted to run a hand through his hair but he'd tied it up. He settled for picking at a fraying rip on his jeans. Cuffing… that’s practically. Nope. Not even gonna think it.

"We could keep it casual but exclusive. You do like it don’t you? That way we could do fewer barriers. It’s fun, Munson. Been real fun. So, let’s keep it going." Steve winked at him. No no. I am the winker. I’m the bad boy here. Who does he think he is? "I want more, but I like a little structure. And if true love shows up in between for either of us, we break it off. No hurt feelings."

"No hurt feelings? We’re just above tolerating each other as it is." Aren't we? I'm always teasing and pushing. Well, is that it? Is he finally pushing back? What's it gonna be, Munson, he asked himself. Take him seriously or… nah. Obviously more teasing. "Former fuckboy."

Steve snorted. "E-girl wannabe."

"Fantasy footballer.” Eddie stuck his tongue out. “Best you can do, without enough skill for a scholarship."

"Shows what you know. I still didn’t have enough cash to go to State, even with the scholarship."

Why lie about that? "That’s fucking bullshit. You’re a ‘Harrington,’ as in Harrington Law Offices with that, y'know. The awful jingle on the radio." Eddie snapped his fingers but couldn't remember it.

Steve’s face soured, and he slid off the countertop. "Disowned."

Okay. That. That I couldn’t have heard right. "Steve. Wait. What?"

Steve looked at him as though calculations were running through his head. "Not here," he jerked his chin out toward the backyard.

Eddie flicked the light on as they walked out. As soon as the door shut he launched what felt like the first of a few million questions he had. "Since when? Also who knows? And Steve, we can fill out a fucking FAFSA for you. Why not? You can still go to college, man."

Steve stuck his hands in his pockets and jumped a bit in place as though he'd experienced a chill. It wasn’t that cold outside, considering the time of year. "You got smokes on you,” Steve asked instead of answering one of Eddie’s many questions.

Eddie patted his pockets. "Fuck. The pack's in the van."

"That's fine." It didn't look fine. Steve rocked on his feet.

"You sure?"

"I wanted to go on HRT." Steve said, suddenly focused on his Adidas. "I wanted to transition."

Eddie looked over Steve. To his eye nothing had changed. His hair was a little long, but it wasn't as long as Eddie's. He knew Steve shaved all the time, but that was explained as a holdover from his swimming days, and of course now he knew how some of Steve's partners probably liked that but… trans? Eddie knew better. He already felt shitty for ‘looking’ for clues. It didn't matter how Steve presented now. If the 'he' wasn't good for him, she should be able to be a her.

Steve was nervously rambling a little. "Yeah, I won't exactly be treating you to too much if we do hook-up for the holidays. Why did you think I was here and not with my bio family anyway? Family?" He muttered, "this is what I’ve got."

“You want to transition." Eddie hated the disbelief betrayed in his tone as he made the statement. That’s not what he, she? he? needs from me right now. Fuck. Why'd he say wanted? Past-tense. What the hell happened?

Steve finally looked up and met Eddie's eyes. "I did. End of high school, I spoke to my doctor about it and was trying to start shifting the way I present, just a little and… And then I told them… Bye bye insurance, home, financing for college. I would have had to take out too much in personal loans." Steve had turned away from Eddie, head thrown back as he stared at the visible stars above them. "I didn't qualify for financial aid when I was with my folks. Luckily, the car was in my name, so I got to keep that. But… I was homeless for a little and…" Eddie walked around to Steve's front, an urgent need to be in his space. "I mean, I got out with a duffle bag."

Steve's hand went to his face in a gesture Eddie recognized. If he thought of his past battles or his losses, Steve always had to check his face to make sure the cuts had healed and the bruising had gone away. It 'grounded' him, Robin had once said.

That motion with that story. "They didn't," Eddie gasped. He held the hand on Steve's face with his own, gripping Steve's waist with the other.

Steve's big eyes met Eddie's. He whispered, "I can take a hit."

Eddie's eyes raked over Steve's face. He held him a little tighter. "You can dish ‘em out too."

"Not in that moment." Steve chuckled, and he let his hand leave his face. He shifted it to hold Eddie's hand and shrugged. "That's what he wanted. Restraining order with an assault charge strapped to it. Make things a lot easier to explain versus, 'I disowned my son because he was trying to be my daughter.' Easier for others to digest. Though, I guess they say whatever they want about me now." He shared the last piece of information as though he was contemplating it for the first time.

"Steve." Eddie dropped his hand and flung his arms around him, holding him as tightly as he dared. "I can't believe… this whole time you’ve been on your own like that. Who else knows? Why? You've never said."

Steve pulled back a bit to shake his head. "Eddie, you know why."

Because he would've had to have said why they did it. Explained. Eddie looked hard at Steve's saddened but resigned face. He thinks his plans for his future, including transitioning, died that night. Jesus Fucking Christ.

"Robin knows about everything. Dustin knows something happened and about my apartment. Hopper probably knows that I'm cut off and living independently, but he was a detective basically so..." Steve sighed, and Eddie watched him brace, as if he was waiting for some sort of rejection. "Now you know everything too," he said softly.

Eddie looked at Steve’s big eyes glistening magically like they did, even under the poor strength flood light in Dustin Henderson's backyard. Guess I was always kinda right. Eddie had privately believed that eyes so starry and big could only exist due to princess powers. His heart broke for the sweet princess in his arms. He couldn’t help but be reminded, standing in each other’s embrace, that Steve was very, very pretty.

He kissed him, and, at first, Steve tensed. Then he relaxed in Eddie’s hold, letting him kiss deeper. Steve’s lips were just as welcoming and sweet as the last time they’d kissed. Okay… Eddie had made a decision. I want this.

He let them part, stifling a little moan when he did. "’Cuffed’ or ‘exclusively hooking-up’ so shit isn’t so bleak with all that holiday Hallmark crap plastered everywhere. Whichever, whatever. I'm in. Okay?"

Steve bit his bottom lip and then ran a hand up the side of Eddie's neck. "Okay," he whispered back. They kissed again till Steve got anxious that someone might come out to get them.

Eddie felt as though he couldn't care less, but there was pie waiting inside to be considered.

…

"How's the apprenticeship going," Hopper asked.

Eddie was moments from taking a huge bite of pumpkin pie, but he set it down to answer Hopper. "It's fine, and no nights. So, in theory, I could gig again when I want to."

"You with a wrench seems like a menacing image," Hopper replied. Eddie knew him well enough now to know when he was fucking with him. He stuck his tongue out and went back to his pie. The mechanic apprenticeship was going well, they paid him to learn a trade. All in all, a good deal from where Eddie was sitting.

Dustin piped up. "You should see him with a guitar."

"Will you play some tonight," Mike asked.

There was a general begging from the table, and Steve appeared at his shoulder. He held out Eddie's keys that had been in his jacket pocket and dropped them in his lap. "He'll play. There's always a guitar in the van."

He knows me too well. "Fine. Yes, but a total of three requests only! And then whatever I want until I get tired. So you better get to brainstorming."

He returned with the guitar to find the family had split into teams.

Hopper, Joyce, and Mrs. Henderson requested 'Alice's Restaurant.' Eddie played a few rounds of the chorus for them. He didn't know the whole thing and didn't want to try. It was a goddamn long 'song.' His boys and Jonathan requested 'Hellraiser' next 'cause they were good like that. After came Steve, crouched on the rug between El and Max. He smiled wickedly up at Eddie.

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."

"No," Eddie said firmly.

"Yes," hissed his traitorous audience.

But they cheered and he relented. Damn my vanity.

Steve watched intently when Eddie played. Even now, settled between the girls, he knew there was that spark between them as Steve watched him perform. Imparted in that instant was the knowledge of who would be following him home that night. It made it hard to focus, but Eddie managed to finish his requests and strummed through whatever came to mind afterwards. Everyone in the house had settled down, full and content. The evening was at an end.

…

There were plenty of hugs and 'happy Thanksgiving's' on the way out the door. Mike, Lucas, and Will were staying the night, and Jonathan had driving duty to ferry them back home in the morning. It gave Eddie the strong feeling his wishbone wish went through.

He put his guitar back into the van and waved at the Hopper-Byers group filling up their SUV. Steve leaned against his car as Eddie closed his back van doors.

"Angel, you having car trouble? 'Cause I never work on German automobiles." Eddie leaned back next to Steve. "But for you…" He made a show of looking Steve up and down, checking him out. "I could make an exception."

Steve fluttered his eyelashes and pushed up off the vehicle. "Mmm, lucky me." He dropped into his driver's seat and shut the door.

The hell? The car started but didn't move as Eddie walked to the driver's door, and peered in to see Steve smiling. Tease. He lowered his window and Eddie leaned down. "Your place or mine?"

"Yours?"

"Heads up. Nothing else is getting stuffed tonight baby." Ate too damn much.

"That's fair. But you forget… maybe I'm still hungry." Steve looked at Eddie's crotch and licked his lips.

The lethargy Eddie had felt after the pie melted away. Excitement pumped through his veins, waking all of him up. Fuck-buds for the holidays. Perhaps this is a brilliant idea.

He drove back to the apartment far too fast, grateful there were rarely cops on the back roads. Eddie locked his van, unlocked his door, and went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. He'd finished when he heard Steve knock and enter. He also heard the sound of the deadbolt turn.

He walked out of the bathroom and looked back over his shoulder at Steve standing in his little hallway. "Hey, do you want to change into something with an elastic waistband?"

Steve had a flirty little smile on his lips. "God, Munson. Where were you hiding that kink?"

Eddie smacked his lips, walked up, and slid his arms around Steve's waist. "Oh no. Sweatpants and a cock like yours? That's not hidden baby."

Steve pulled back Eddie's hair to rest his lips on Eddie's neck, just below his ear. "Then I'll have to slip into a pair."

He resisted the urge to do more in the moment, moving instead to the bedroom. Eddie rummaged in his drawers for a pair of promised sweatpants and threw them on the bed. Steve was just about to reach out and grab them when Eddie pressed up behind him. "Can I help you?"

"Now that you mention it, I could use a helping hand." Steve stood back upright and undid his jeans, letting Eddie help him push them down, followed swiftly by his underwear. Steve patiently stood still as Eddie eagerly pulled off his shirt and then his own. He left his pants on and wrapped one hand around Steve's chest, pulling their bodies close together. Steve angled his head back, seeking Eddie's lips as his free hand wrapped around Steve's hard cock.

Steve moaned as Eddie held him, jerking his cock, pressing his own denim covered erection against the bare swell of Steve's ass. His lips ranged over Steve's neck and shoulder, murmuring into his skin every promise he wanted fulfilled for Steve that night. "I want you to bust in my hand baby, feel it against my chest when your spine tingles, give you that release, let you melt back into me. You beautiful angel…"

Steve moaned, and Eddie tugged at a faster pace, keeping his hand at the same firmness. He wanted to wet it some but was loath to do anything that changed their position. Instead he sucked love bite after love bite onto Steve's shoulder. He let his short nails rake across Steve's chest and with a shudder and a cry, Steve came. Eddie drew up his hand to catch what he could, waiting for the last pulse of his cock before letting Steve go. Steve turned and sat on the bed.

"How did you make a reach around… Fuck.” Steve was flushed, his pretty lips wet and pink. "Eddie, my legs are literally weak."

Eddie could feel himself blush a little as he cleaned off his hand. "I didn't know that you would, dry… I, um. No shame in admitting it I guess…" He rubbed his hand across his mouth. Damn. Am I getting self conscious over my body count? "I've been getting cocks off for a bit now."

Steve looked up at him with big eyes and pouted. "Eddie. I'm still hungry."

Christ. Eddie unzipped and lowered his pants and underwear that time. Steve pulled Eddie's hips forward till he stood between Steve's knees. He ran his lips over the side of Eddie's cock. He teased the wet pleasure of his mouth by tonguing the whole of the underside of Eddie's cock, from balls to tip. Eddie flinched, fighting the urge to grab and manhandle Steve.

Steve seemed to know he was holding back. "You can put your hands wherever," Steve said sweetly. "I trust you not to choke me. Three taps for out, two for slow, one for keep going."

"You have been a naughty thing, haven't you? I'd've never guessed and now you’re sitting so pretty, holding my cock, telling me your non-verbal signals." Before Eddie could tease him more, Steve had wrapped his lips around Eddie's member and had half his length sucked into his mouth. Steve's mouth met with his hand around the base of Eddie's shaft.

Eddie's hand shot out and buried itself in Steve's luscious hair. Eddie held his head in place, so that he paused Steve's motion. He wanted to savor the depth a while longer, the tongue pressing against his cock. All fluctuating pressure and spit. He liked the precautions Steve had set up for himself. He wasn't as worried about gagging him when he started to lightly pull on Steve's hair. Eddie pushed his head forward and back at a varied pace. Steve's mouth slid and sucked obediently, focused on Eddie prompts.

"That's good baby. Who taught you to be so good," Eddie asked. Steve's eyes shot up to look at him. Light brown irises nearly imperceivable, Steve's pupils had expanded so much. They were a little teary too, making them glisten even more than normal.

Eddie couldn't tear his eyes off of Steve either. Mouth stretched, gazing up at him, so focused on his pleasure. So pretty and pink cheeked. "Lovely," he whispered. "You're so lovely, baby."

Steve kept going, and Eddie lost himself to the sensation. He kept his hand on Steve's head but let him continue at the depth and speed he'd last set. It was all consuming. Eddie barely recognized when it built so high he finally spilt over. The delight etched in his body in waves, as Steve sucked his release down.

Steve's voice was a little graveled when his mouth popped off of Eddie's spent cock. "You're teaching me gorgeous. You're teaching me how to be good for you."

Eddie felt like his heart stopped before pounding at high speed again in his chest. He leaned down and angled Steve's head up, index finger curled under his chin. Eddie kissed him softly. "Very, very good Stevie." Steve's face rapidly covered in a blush, and Eddie felt a grin spread across his own face.

They both put on sweatpants, Steve threw his undershirt back on, and then he lay down in Eddie's bed. Steve stayed the night.

…

Now that Eddie was looking for it, little pieces of dysphoria seemed to be everywhere.

The way Steve was always more comfortable with the girls than he’d been with his buddies on his sports teams. Those friendships hadn't stuck, but with Nancy and Robin... Steve talked to them on the daily. Any guy could be protective of his friends and kind to kids, but all the maternal jokes and the babysitter ribbing now sprang to mind. Any guy could care about his appearance and fuss with his hair, but now Eddie couldn’t help but think how proud and pleased Steve was over the length of his locks and look. Those things didn't make him a woman, they were just parts of Steve. Yet… don't those details mean a little more now?

Out of everything Eddie considered, if he knew anything about Steve it was that he would put aside his own discomfort and pain for others. The longer Eddie dwelled on the matter, the more he felt like it was deeply fucked that Steve had abandoned his transition. Steve had shoved it to the side as he worried about having to get by, and killing Vecna, defeating the Mind Flayer, and caring for the kids. How much of his stress had piled deeper? How much had he struggled with that core element of himself… herself?

When Eddie woke up with Steve still in his arms, sound asleep that Black Friday, he was determined to help her however he could. He hadn’t asked her yet about pronouns, but mentally he’d already made the switch. She deserved the help to be herself. I want her to be happy. I want her to feel whole.

Chapter continues *•.🍁.•* Keep reading on AO3

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

Once upon a time on the network it was Joe Friday in Dragnet. Today, it's Joe Kenda on the stream in Homicide Hunter. We watch Kenda almost every night before we turn off the lights.

Joe Friday, portrayed by actor Jack Webb, was the central character in the classic television series "Dragnet." The original "Dragnet" series aired in the 1950s and early 1960s, and it was known for its realistic portrayal of police work and the "just the facts" approach to solving crimes.

Joe Kenda, on the other hand, is a real-life retired homicide detective, and his experiences and cases are the focus of "Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda," a true crime documentary-style series that aired from 2011 to 2019. Unlike Joe Friday, Joe Kenda is not a fictional character but a law enforcement officer who worked on actual homicide cases during his career.

We assumed it was kind of an idiosyncratic guilty pleasure, that we didn't talk too much about. A couple of weeks ago, we stopped over at Mark and Dar's. We asked them if they had ever seen Joe Kenda. At first it didn't ring a bell until we mentioned Homicide Hunter. The bell rang. Dar said they've watched every episode.

Wow

Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda," first aired on the Investigation Discovery channel from 2011 to 2019. It lasted for 144 episodes. Mark and Dar had seen every one.

Now because Mark and Dar live near us, are related to us and are friends with us, we consider them to be "normal" people like us. They too are refugees from Rochester.

Joseph Patrick Kenda, known as Joe Kenda, is a retired American law enforcement officer and television personality. He was born on August 28, 1946, in Herminie, Pennsylvania, USA. Kenda is best known for his role in the television series "

The show featured Joe Kenda recounting his experiences as a homicide detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department, where he served for over 20 years. He solved more than 350 murder cases during his career, earning a reputation for his high clearance rate and his dedication to solving crimes.

"Homicide Hunter" became popular for its gripping storytelling and Kenda's distinctive narration style. The show showcased his investigative skills, his personal anecdotes from working in law enforcement, and his efforts to bring killers to justice. Joe Kenda's work in the show and his contribution to law enforcement have made him a well-known figure in the true crime and television world.

Joe Kenda, known for his distinctive and often candid way of speaking, has delivered many memorable quotes during his time on "Homicide Hunter."

"My, my, my…"Joe Kenda often begins his stories with this signature catchphrase.

"The moment you pull the trigger, there's no taking it back. There are some things in life you never forget, and this is one of them."Reflecting on the gravity of violent crime and its lasting impact.

"The bullet always tells the truth."Emphasizing the importance of forensic evidence in solving cases.

"I've seen so many of them. So many victims. And I remember every one of them."Highlighting the emotional toll that dealing with homicide cases can take on a detective.

"Murder is a virus. It is an infection that spreads because nobody cares enough to get in its way."Expressing the idea that solving homicides is crucial to prevent further violence.

"Evil exists, and if you pretend it doesn't, you're a fool."Acknowledging the existence of evil in the world and the importance of confronting it.

"If you kill someone, you get caught."Underlining the idea that murder cases are often solvable and that justice will prevail.

In Homocide the names are not changed, the innocent are not protected.

This was not the case in Dragnet. Jack Webb took real life stories and changed the names of the people in order to "protect the innocent" and produce fictionalized portrayals. In doing so, Dragnet became a forerunner to both metaphysiction and faction which had/has a resounding impact on Thornton Krell and all of his students.

Just as Kenda has his personal idiosyncratic sayings, Joe Friday has a set of his own that have gone down in the history of teevee.

Joe Friday, the iconic character from the television series "Dragnet," played by actor and creator Jack Webb, is known for his straightforward and no-nonsense style of speaking. Here are some famous Joe Friday quotes from the show:

"Just the facts, ma'am."This is perhaps the most famous catchphrase associated with Joe Friday, emphasizing the importance of sticking to the facts in an investigation.

"This is the city: Los Angeles, California. I work here. I carry a badge."Joe Friday's opening lines from the show, setting the tone for his role as a dedicated police officer."

"We were working the day watch out of robbery."Joe Friday often began episodes by narrating the specifics of the case he and his partner were investigating.

"All we want are the facts, ma'am."Reiterating his commitment to obtaining accurate information during interrogations.

"The story you are about to see is true; the names have been changed to protect the innocent."Joe Friday's disclaimer at the beginning of each episode, emphasizing the show's commitment to depicting real-life police work.

These shows illustrate the evolution of crime-related television programming, moving from fictionalized portrayals " to real-life accounts reflecting the changing tastes, viewing capabilities and interests of audiences over time. Both shows have left a mark in the crime and law enforcement television genre.

True crime television has evolved from being a niche interest or guilty pleasure into a significant and mainstream genre within the television industry. It has gained a substantial following and a dedicated viewer base. Many factors contribute to its popularity and transition into a mainstay of television:

Diverse Content: True crime television now covers a wide range of subjects, from historical cases to contemporary investigations, cold cases, forensic science, and legal procedures. This diversity allows for a broad audience appeal.

Engaging Storytelling: Many true crime series and documentaries are expertly produced, offering compelling storytelling that keeps viewers engaged and eager to learn about the cases.Human Interest: True crime explores the human condition, including motivations, psychology, and the impact of crime on victims and their families, which can be emotionally resonant for viewers.

Educational Aspect: True crime shows often delve into investigative techniques, forensic science, and legal processes, providing an educational component that appeals to viewers interested in these subjects.

Discussion and Social Commentary: True crime programs often spark discussions about criminal justice, ethics, and societal issues. This engagement in real-world topics contributes to its enduring appeal.

Streaming Platforms: The rise of streaming platforms has made true crime content even more accessible, allowing viewers to binge-watch series and explore a wide variety of cases.

Cultural Influence: True crime has influenced other forms of media, from podcasts to books, and has become a part of popular culture.

True crime television has evolved from a niche genre to a prominent and enduring category of television content. Its ability to captivate viewers with real-life mysteries, investigations, and the human drama surrounding crime has solidified its place in contemporary television programming.

This is all true but how big a "place" does true crime occupy in Modern teevee which brings us back to Mark and Darlene and even further back to Mary and Jon. We share a stream with Mary and Jon. Mary as you know by now is our daughter and Jon will soon be our son-in-law. In our eyes, they are even more "normal" than Mark and Dar.

One night we were choosing episode of Homocide when we noticed a white bar under the episode that we were thinking of watching. The white bar indicates that we've already watched the episode. Neither Lynn nor myself recognized the episode from the description. We watched it and sure enough it was new to us.

Hmmm

how could this be?

Aha

Mary.

We asked Mary if she watched Joe Kenda. She said, "Oh yeah."

Did she watch the show a lot?

Oh yeah.

We told her about the white bar that came on our screen when we attempt to choose episodes that we haven't seen yet.

That's when Jon came in and said that Mary often falls asleep with the teevee on and she tends to fall asleep while watching Joe Kenda which means the show keeps playin through out the night and the white bar goes under each of the episodes that has played while Mary slept so Mary wasn't exactly sure how many of the episodes she had actually watched and which ones had been playing during her sleep.

Therefore when she, like we, picked out an episode to watch we could never be sure if we had seen it before. So we take a guess. Many of the episodes are similar so it's not unusual to get fifteen minutes into an episode before realizing that we've seen that one before.

Mary has the same problem.

So now, having invested fifteen minutes into an episode that we've already seen should we just keep it playing and watch it again or try to find another episode that may or may not have the same situation.

Usually, we watch it again.

Some episodes we have seen three or four times and a few we haven't seen at all.

Now the story that you just read is true but I've changed the names of the characters to protect the innocent. I didn't even write this. Thornton Krell did.

How many episodes are there of Homicide HunterChatGPT

"Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda" aired for nine seasons, with a total of 144 episodes. The show originally premiered on the Investigation Discovery channel in 2011 and concluded in 2019. Each episode featured Joe Kenda sharing his experiences as a homicide detective and recounting various murder cases he had worked on during his law enforcement career. The series was known for its dramatic re-enactments and Kenda's distinctive storytelling style. It remains a popular show among true crime enthusiasts.

Once upon a time, in the network it was Joe Friday on Dragnet. Today, in the stream, it's Joe Kenda on Homicide Hunter. ChatGPT

Your statement draws an interesting parallel between two iconic law enforcement figures from different eras and television formats.

what are some famous joe Kenda quotesChatGPT

These quotes capture Joe Kenda's no-nonsense and dedicated approach to his work as a homicide detective and his commitment to seeking justice for victims and their families. His unique storytelling style and memorable catchphrases have endeared him to fans of "Homicide Hunter."

Joe Friday famous quotesChatGPT

"There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."

Joe Friday's closing lines at the end of many episodes, suggesting that the cases he worked on were just a small part of the larger tapestry of urban life.

These quotes capture Joe Friday's no-nonsense and focused approach to solving crimes, as well as the show's dedication to presenting realistic police work. "Dragnet" was a pioneering series in the crime drama genre and left a lasting legacy in television history.

Joe Kenda's opening lines from the showChatGPT

Joe Kenda often began episodes of "Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda" with a signature opening phrase that became associated with his storytelling style. His famous opening line was:

"My, my, my... If you think you're going to do whatever you want, and get away with it, well, you're wrong."

This distinctive introduction set the tone for the show and signaled that viewers were about to hear a gripping and often cautionary tale about real-life homicide cases.

[dailyrugbytoday]

RLWC 2022: Kangaroos-Italy Rugby Match information

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/rlwc-2022-kangaroos-italy-rugby-match-information/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/rlwc-2022-kangaroos-italy-rugby-match-information/

RLWC 2022: Kangaroos-Italy Rugby Match information

RLWC 2022 the Kangaroos final round pool match of the World Cup against Italy on Sunday morning (AEDT).  you’re at the right place!  Rugby League World Cup Kangaroos vs Italy Rugby live stream from anywhere around the world by following the mentioned steps bellow.

Each pool’s top 2 teams will advance to the quarter-finals and the finalists will be qualified for the 2025 Rugby League World Cup:

Quarter Finals on Friday, 4 November, 5 November , and Saturday, 6 November 2022

Semi-Finals on Friday, 11 November and Saturday, 12 November 2022

Grand Final on Saturday, 19 November 2022

Watch Men’s Rugby World Cup 2022 live from anywhere

Watch the Rugby League World Cup 2022 live (RLWC) , the 16th international men’s rugby tournament, starting from October 15, 2022 till November 19, 2022. In 1954, the first Rugby World Cup was held in France.

The tournament will be held in England and it is organized by International Rugby League and will be live streamed by ITV.

These teams represent their respective countries at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup:

Group C G W L PTS PD 1. Australia 2 2 0 4 +118 2. Fiji 2 1 1 2 +22 3. Italy 2 1 1 2 -32 4. Scotland 2 0 2 0 -108

Australia Rugby League Preview

Nathan Cleary and Daly Cherry-Evans are set to combine in the halves together for Australia after coach Mal Meninga opted to rest Cameron Munster for the Kangaroos’ final round pool match of the World Cup against Italy on Sunday morning (AEDT).

Munster, who leads all players in the tournament with five try assists in the opening two games, has not been named as part of the Kangaroos’ 19-man squad.

Instead, it is expected that Cleary and Cherry-Evans — who split the halfback duties in the opening two games — will combine together to face the Azzurri, with a win officially confirming the green and golds’ place in the quarter-finals.

The tournament’s leading try-scorer Josh Addo-Carr has also been rested by Meninga, along with hooker Harry Grant, while forwards Angus Crichton and Jake Trbojevic have been left out after featuring in the earlier two matches.

Cowboys trio Reuben Cotter, Jeremiah Nanai and Murray Taulagi all return to the squad, while Latrell Mitchell is also back after being rested last week.

Kangaroos-Italy Rugby League Squad

Kangaroos team to face Italy (alphabetical order): 12. Matt Burton, 6. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 13. Patrick Carrigan, 2. Daly Cherry-Evans, 14. Nathan Cleary, 15. Lindsay Collins, 16. Reuben Cotter, 18. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, 19. Campbell Graham, 4. Valentine Holmes, 3. Ben Hunt, 21. Liam Martin, 8. Latrell Mitchell, 11. Cameron Murray (vc), 22. Jeremiah Nanai, 23. Murray Taulagi, 1. James Tedesco (c), 10. Jack Wighton, 24. Isaah Yeo (vc).

Italy: 1 Luke Polselli, 2 Richard Lepori, 3 Daniel Atkinson, 4 Ethan Natoli, 5 Jake Maizen, 6 Jack Campagnolo, 7 Radean Robinson, 10 Anton Iaria, 9 Dean Parata, 15 Luca Moretti, 11 Ryan King, 12 Brenden Santi, 13 Nathan Brown (captain), 14 Joey Tramontana, 16 Gioele Celerino, 19 Luke Hodge, 20 Jack Colovatti, 18 Kyle Pickering, 17 Ronnie Palumbo

[raceweek]

whats ur top 5 underrated alex moments or pieces of alex lore? im trying to expand my collection xx

oh my god okay five????? okay okay. so watch me remember like all of my underrated alexlore moments tomorrow instead of now but to give it my best effort:

im starting off light with The Original Alex Noise. i cant leave it out, it deserves its own category. the moment that created alex noises as a concept. all hail The Original Alex Noise

2018 as a whole like the lore of starting the f2 season with almost no financial backing, racing on a race by race basis, waiting to hear until the tuesday or wednesday of a race week that dams hadn’t found someone with enough money to replace him with and okay he can fly out to compete and not only doing okay but getting poles and winning races and being in the championship fight with that amount of uncertainty and against lando and george and nyck of all the competition is insane and then. kris jenner voice. just calling helmut marko up and over the course of the sochi 2018 race weekend being so impressive that he turned a hard don’t even ask into an f1 seat. like??? literally one of the only drivers in recent times to get to f1 without an academy or significant financial backing. incredible. amazing. can drive very well. will hurt anyone who claims otherwise

as a general george subheading because. well. im a cheater: the alex and george basically living together for 2017 needs a mention like george eating more meals at alexs house than alex, The Great Mountain Biking Incident of 2017, The Throat Infection Incident of 2019, The 45 Minute Phone Call After Hockenheim Passing Mention (buried in a stream but i can call up if requested), The Publication of N*des Request of New Years 2020. The Are You Going To Answer My Calls Now of 2021. mad lore. absolutely mental and that’s like. a hundredth of it

i mean. a lot of patrick and alexs relationship. like patrick gaining qualifications in mental coaching during alexs struggles with his mental health in 2020 is YEAH. but this particular podcast particularly is maybe an advanced lore staple to me. please don’t listen to it if you struggle with disordered eating or with descriptions of weight, i did a mini snip of one of my fave bits of it here if you want to listen to a part without any fear of being triggered. but yeah i feel like patrick is so so so expressive with how he talks about alex it’s really nice

under a general lily alex origin theme: alex getting stuck in a gate the first time he ever met lily (coincidentally also whilst he was on a lads holiday with george. rip to those plans) which is just so classically alex like. bro. and lily telling alex on their first date that she hates boring boxed roses which alex remembered and so he gets her personalised bouquets with notes. and then this first polaroid that i stumbled upon on my blog is what i would like to end this whole journey on bc im not sure how else to end this on okay byyyyyyyyeeee xxxxx

[edmontontoilers]

Kühlbox LIVE meets NHL: At Home With Leon Draisaitl - pt 1 [English notes/summary]

A while ago I stumbled across an interview by Magenta Sports from February 2020. The basic conceit of the Kühlbox (cooler/icebox) show seems to be that they send the interviewer, Patrick, with a cooler to interview people. With Connor McDavid’s mansion (derogatory) trending again, I had to think of this glimpse into Drai’s home, and to my surprise it doesn’t seem that anyone has provided a translation.

I don’t have the wherewithal or, tbh, the German skills to do a full line-by-line translation but I thought I could at least do a bullet-point summary. It’s a 40-minute interview so I’m gonna break it into parts; this is part 1, up to roughly minute 19. I apologize for any awkward wording, mistranslations, typos or mistakes left in my notes, etc. The sound quality isn’t always the greatest and the interviewer in particular has a bit of an accent that I’m not familiar with, and my German is like... “I have German family and can only speak clumsily but understand reasonably well”. But I did my best! I welcome corrections and additions on anything I missed or mistook.

Quick highlights:

- Leon can’t cook (his friends claim he could burn water) and gets his groceries bought for him by friends

- Claims that if he could get any player, worldwide, past or present traded to the Edmonton Oilers it would be Frederik Tiffels (or as Leon calls him, “little sweet Freddie”)

- Mentions Bergeron as a player he finds particularly tough to play against because he tend to think the game vs playing physical

Starts off with general intros, how-are-yous, etc. Patrick (the interviewer) is evidently live-streaming; mentions that it’s 10pm in Germany. Leon’s feeling fresh/energized after arriving home yesterday off a loss to the Sharks, which he doesn’t want to talk about.

Fabian and Nico, his “best friends”, are over to visit - they come once a year for about a week, to catch 3 games and hang out

There’s really no actual house tour (just shows the living/dining area), but Leon mentions he has a basement with a pool table and dartboard (but spends most of his time upstairs)

Talks about how he wishes his dog were here when showing off the living room with TV and fireplace, explaining how his “little dog” likes to stretch out in front of the fire

Has a 29 jersey from the Haie lying on the kitchen island; explains how some of the managers and bosses came by and left it as a token of thanks - talks a little about his dad, basically just says he’s doing really well.

Mentions his favourite restaurants in Edmonton: apparently there are a couple of Italian restaurants he likes, but (after stopping to tease his “boys” Nico and Fabian for “chilling in the background - they don’t do anything else, just chill”) says that he actually spends a lot of time here at home and enjoys spending time at home when he can due to travelling so much

Livestream question: apparently the Haie are having a rough streak, so in the livestream a fan Marcel asks about how he feels about that as a “Koelner Jung” (Cologne boy). Lowkey (highkey?) he’s such a funny motherfucker to me. He thinks about the question for a moment then affects a sort of pompous/pretentious expression and tone and says, “Mein lieber Marcel, was sag ich dazu?” Which just translates to: “My dear Marcel, what can I say?” but the entire tone, expression, etc is this tongue-in-cheek formality out of nowhere. Then says: “no, to be serious, but like I’ve often said, I’m still a huge KHC [Haie] fan…and therefore I feel for the boys with what’s happening and hope that they squeak into the playoffs somehow.”

Mentions at one point that it’s his lifelong dream to play in the DEL - wants to stay “over here” (NHL) and do his thing as long as possible, but a few years in Cologne was actually always his plan. (Interviewer: never say never)

As an aside, there is SO MUCH mutual flirting with the interviewer - near the very beginning, Patrick talking about how bad his hair looks, the first time assuring him it looks good and Patrick being like “oh, do you think so?” all delighted; the second time, Patrick fussing again then saying “but what matters is that you look good, and from that perspective we’re all set”. Also in the livestream, shortly after the Marcel question, Leon reads out a fan saying “you’re the best” and then he and Patrick argue over who she meant (with each guy claiming she clearly meant the other).

Question from the livestream about what training is like in the NHL during the season (“how much time do you really have in the NHL for training when you play so many games?”) - replies that it’s really not that much, practices are usually 15-25 minutes in order to keep them fresh for the games, unlike European leagues where there’s more of a focus on training.

The contrast between his whole house and Connor’s (but especially their fridges) is hilarious. He says he likes to eat, and when the interviewer expresses astonishment/admiration for how well-stocked and healthy the food is, admits that “the boys” (Fabian and Nico) and friends grocery shopped for him before the video. Leon: “so, I’ll eat it all, but bought probably none of it”. Interviewer is super impressed by how healthily he feeds himself - “is there anything sweet there? Nothing.” But then Leon shows him the junk food cabinet. Says his favourite sweets are mini-eggs.

Asked about his favourite (or toughest?) opponent. Says the toughest opponents are those who play smart. Says he’s someone who looks for contact, i.e. plays physical, and so for him players like Bergeron who are more about the brain (think the game more) are tougher than those who just try to grind you into the boards.

If he could get any player worldwide traded to Edmonton, who would it be? A little bit more flirting with the interviewer (Patrick: “I don’t play anymore, sadly”, Leon: “yeah, I was just thinking about that”, P: “you’ll have to pick someone else”). Eventually says Freddie Tiffels… then asks if Freddie is watching the stream and calls him “little sweet Freddie, where is he?”

Another question from the streams: “opinion of the Flames?” The interviewer after reading this out immediately says, “ah, there probably is no opinion” (literally “da gibt es keine Meinung” rather than “du hasst keine Meinung”, the latter of which would mean “you have no opinion” - the read I got off of it was that the interviewer immediately surmised this wasn’t a question Leon would be willing to answer) and Leon immediately shakes his head and says “no, no opinion there to [??? - couldn’t make the last word out - but basically no opinion to share]”.

Getting a hundred points and fifty goals last year, especially since it was the first time for him, was really special

Question from the interviewer about what it’s like for Leon, having come into the NHL no doubt idolizing players like Crosby, to now be one of the stars of the NHL who’s looked up to by the younger generation. Leon: “Growing up, one of the players I looked up to a lot was Anze Kopitar, and now, a couple of weeks ago, I [played with him - lit “sat in a cabin with him”] - and that kind of thing is always cool, and one sees that hard work, and the right hard work, pays off. And I hope that boys - girls - whoever - are watching [me], I hope that shows someone that regardless of which country you come from, where you come from, that there are no limits to how good you can be and how hard you can work. Yeah, I’m proud that I’ve been able to experience both sides [of that experience].”

Patrick: “now I naturally have to ask your boys if you truly are the way you’re just acting right now, therefore I have to ask, what kind of flaws does Leon have?” Nico: “I think he’s already kind of given it away - we all like to eat, but he can’t cook anything. He could burn water.” [Leon cracking up in the background and saying something about how he tried to make spaghetti bolognese one time] Flirt break: Patrick goes to ask Fabian the same question but then says “beautiful picture, by the way, of both” and flips the camera view to show Leon and Nico, Fabian says “one has to appreciate the outfit too” (Nico and Leon are both wearing a T-shirt and shorts). Back to Leon’s flaws: Fabian confirms he’s bad at cooking, but then can’t think of anything else. Finally Patrick goes to ask Leon: “what are your flaws even? You have to say three.” Leon: “Cooking… um… there are no flaws. No, I don’t know, I no doubt have numerous flaws, even when I can’t bring them to mind myself…” Livestream comment: “Leon should cook water live sometime.” [general laughter]

Then there are some horrible experiments with camera filters. And that’s where I’m going to end for this part.

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (February 7/2021) - End of Week

I hope you all are caught up on your Tom Gravy hotdog-eating Olympics lore.

Also, the server’s first attempt at a prison break...? I guess??

---

VOD LINKS:

HBomb94

Foolish Gamers

Tubbo

Ranboo

Nihachu

GeorgeNotFound

Captain Puffy

---

- HBomb explores the SMP mainland and looks at the L’manburg Crater, wondering if he should build a house there. He runs a poll and it’s 50/50.

- H runs back through the Nether. Sam asked him if he wanted to visit Dream at some point and H said yes.

- He discusses the possibilities of future catmaid bits. Would Sam let him be a prison maid?

- Foolish asks H for 16452 sandstone. Unfortunately, HBomb doesn’t have it.

- H gets filled in on all the SMP lore and figures out the ultimate truth:

Sapnap wrote the books in the Inbetween.

Sapnap can time travel.

Sapnap is the answer.

- H speaks with Foolish, and H mentions the gold bar labelled “HBomb’s maid service” that he got from Fundy...

- Foolish says he does need some sandstone...

- Dream logs on the server. He dies in lava and leaves.

- H tells Foolish the story of how he killed Technoblade 27 times, and asks if he knows about the obstacle course.

- H and Foolish meet near the Community House and Foolish is...surprised...by HBomb’s skin.

- Foolish brings HBomb to the Temple of Undying.

- Then they go to Snowchester. 

- Later, Foolish continues work on the Temple.

- Tubbo speaks with Scott Smajor.

- Ranboo goes mining while Tubbo makes a sandwich.

- Niki shows off her secret city. It’s been coming along well!

- Tubbo is just trying to get Ranboo DMCA’d at this point.

- Niki starts working on building the secret city some more.

- Niki’s character still deals with night terrors and isn’t sure what to feel about Wilbur. She sleeps in her own chamber and writes in a diary about what she’s going through.

- George has woken up!

- He comes onto the SMP after speedrunning and wonders what to do. He needs new supplies, because he has absolutely nothing now.

- He asks if Sapnap has his stuff, but Sapnap says no. He gave it all to Karl. George calls Karl. Karl can’t give his stuff back at the moment.

- Dream and Quackity fill him in on how Tom Brady got a home run and won a gold medal in the Olympics World Cup.

It begins.

-

--- THE FOOTBALL LORE ---

-

Gronk, Greg, and Tony Romo all pulled their weight as well. One got bronze in the Grand Prix. They also talk about how Tom Gravy’s been doing. There’s also Tony Gravy, who is Tom Gravy’s brother, but they mean to talk about Tony Romo and how many laps he finished.

The football stans took over the trending tab with their profile pics.

- Bad joins the call and they start filling him in on the Olympics. Bad mentions the Superb Owl.

- Tony Romo is the 11th time gold medalist of the Grand Prix who is going to retire soon to become an announcer for the Bikini Bottom competition. 

- Tom Gravy never dies. Well, he said that he might in a couple years, but by then he’ll have won several more medals. His goal is to eat 10,000 hot dogs by 2022. He burns off calories by running around the Grand Prix track. Tony Romo gives him all the advice.

- They have different maps for Tony Romo and Tom Gravy, one of which is in Russia. Change of scenery.

- Tony O’Brown got one of the goals and that was it, but the real dagger was by Patrick, who threw an interception. 

Tony Romo ran a red light in Alaska, having won the Grand Prix with 21 laps, and got a mugshot for it, but got a medal for Sexiest Mugshot so it wasn’t too bad. His goal is 22.

- They also have a pizza restaurant called Tom and Tony.

- Wait, Patrick got the mugshot gold medal for running the intersection. Tony Romo went to Russia.

- Gronk faked his retirement, then lied and showed up at the Olympics, won anyway and got a gold medal. He was pretending to train but he never actually trained. He took different videos with different shirts to pretend that he was training on different days.

- Gronk wanted it to be surprising when he won. Him and Tom Gravy were very good friends. They met before the first Olympics while training together.

- George asks if there’s a Wiki to learn all this lore from. Dream says there is, but it’s on the Dark Web.

- Though Patrick had the sexiest mugshot, there were plenty of others that weren’t so sexy.

- Tom Gravy is now trending.

- George has just been mining throughout all of this.

- Karl joins the conversation. Tony Romo retired because of the money but also because he had a kid, according to Quackity. 

- Taylor Swift named something after the number of hotdogs Tom Gravy had to eat daily last year, which was 22. They call him “The American Patriot” for all the hotdogs he eats, but this year he was more of a Pirate. 

- During the Olympics recess, Tom Gravy was sponsored by Hard Mikes. 

- Greg is in his flop area at the moment. He was a Patrick fan, actually, but then the whole incident happened with the intersection.

- Out of the last 20 Olympics, Tom Gravy’s won 7 and been to 10. This is the Hotdog-Eating Olympics, though, not the world Olympics. The Hotdog-Eating Olympics happens at the rate that the Grand Prix happens divided by 2.

- There was a cheating scandal where he was accused of inflating his stomach. “Inflate-Gate.” 

- Tom Gravy ate 200 hotdogs in 12 seconds, which is called a “Scarf Ace” in the contest.

-

--- THE FOOTBALL LORE IS OVER ---

-

- Foolish gives George Netherite.

- Ponk attempts to kill George. George escapes to the Holy Land.

- Bad points out that because the enforcer of the Holy Land’s neutrality rules is in the prison, they’re free to kill Ponk. Dream says no, they’ll get punished if they do. He also asks why there’s a turtle in the Holy Land, and asks to delete it.

Callahan, Bad and Foolish all come join them in Church Prime.

- Ponk steals Oogway and a fistfight breaks out. Captain Puffy arrives.

- George tricks Puffy into killing him in Church Prime. Dream says that George’s stream was conveniently blacked out for some reason. They start talking about pictures.

- Callahan kills George in the Holy Land. Dream says it was blacked out again.

- Ponk kills George in the Holy Land. Dream saw that one and Ponk falls out of the world.

- Dream finally reveals the truth behind the old Bedwars clip after several months of mystery.

(It was porn)

- One thing leads to another, Dream drops some glass water bottles and sings “Mad World” in the background after being rejected by George for Valentine’s Day.

- They start leaking Rat pics.

- George is preoccupied and doesn’t notice as Ponk boxes him in with obsidian. Puffy arrives to help him out.

- Foolish shows George his summer house and gives him supplies.

- Quackity tries to insist that he’s not a competitive hotdog eater, but everyone already knows the truth.

- Karl comes online and gives George the Netherite.

- The chaos continues as they pass it back and forth. Callahan joins in.

- George goes to the prison and tries to break in. GEORGE LORE STREAM?? NOT CLICKBAIT??

- He finds a very secret and important area. 

- (It’s a lightswitch)

- George starts breaking a blackstone block in the wall to rescue Dream. 

- Dream tells George to keep trying to break him out, saying it’s been long enough. Karl says that, in his very canonical opinion, it has not, in fact, been long enough yet. 

- Dream warns George that he actually has to hurry, in case Awesam logs on.

- George sits there mining for a good few minutes. One block between Dream and freedom! Callahan comes to watch.

- He finally breaks the block!

...

...

- Aaaand behind it is obsidian. 

- George immediately ends stream.

---

Later, Awesam places the single block back...

...And threatens to take all of George’s canon lives if he ever messes with the prison again.

---

Upcoming Events:

- Many, many visits with Dream

- Many meetings with Technoblade, with Puffy’s specifically happening very soon

- Prison guard introduction stream this week

---

END OF WEEK RECAP:

2/1: Ponk’s dream, Ranboo speaks with Awesam

2/2: Ponk reads Jack’s Journal, Tommy takes a piece of the Crimson, Awesam and Fran

2/3: Puffy attempts to destroy the Crimson, Tales From the SMP: “The Masquerade”

2/4: Nothing much happens

2/5: Jack Manifold becomes the main character

2/6: Puffy searches for parrots

2/7: The 5-Hour Tom Gravy Stream

[thebookworm0001]

My very messy thoughts/highlights during the da writer’s stream today

John Epler hits up name generators

Sheryl Chee- scout Harding was originally ‘steel Harding’ b/c she wanted a porn name for the male scout that later became lace (wanted to keep the action-movie sounding name)

Patrick Weekes has a riding crop. presumably related to a ‘bdsm and kermit’ question that’s mentioned

Sten has a ugly cookie sweater that ends mid-chest. Sten has an ugly cookie sweater turtleneck crop top

Companion Spider fears: Bull-funny version=demons, real answer=the dead who were killed in seheron; josie - failing her family/live up to her family name (Patrick says sticky notes w/her appts running away from her); Blackwall - younger bloody awful Tom Rainier, or worms;

What flavor are the frilly cakes that solas loves (self righteousness, says Chee) Patrick says they’re an ‘anderfels chocolate interior and Apricot filling; ganache on the top, maybe buttercream but that may be too sweet - he likes spicy. maybe a piece of fruit on the top. Epler says solas says his fav is obscure but in reality he just likes vanilla (Karin Weekes - ‘over complicating the hell out of everything’)

P.Weekes ‘there’s a deep process to this and that process is I’m kind of a hack’

Who would make you the best breakfast. P.Weekes- “oh bull would make you breakfast ;););)” a lá Joey tribiani; blackwall does the drinking eggs breakfast. So would bull then hit the pastry isle. Josie is buying out the market and hiring someone to make it; cole gives you three fresh (uncracked, uncooked) eggs, a carrot with dirt on it, and a stuffed animal you lost as a child;

Fav holidays/vacation - Josie says it’s wintersend/Christmas but by the end she’s burnt out and it’s actually something more lowkey like valentines or st patricks; combo of festivals/quasi-April fools in thedas for Solas (seems silliest but it’s about freedom) wouldn’t do the pranks but smile at the people doing them, blackwall believes he doesn’t deserve holidays so he goes back to his barn and cries “why would you write characters if you don’t want to beat them up constantly” - Chee

Which companions who’ve never met do you think would be fun together - Patrick-Wynne and Cole (cole gets a mom), Solas and Dog; Chee- Isabella and Sera, also Isabella and Josephine, Sten and Iron Bull; Sylvia- Isabella and Josie, Shale and Ironbull, Zev and Blackwall; Karin - Dorian and Wynne (they go clubbing together)

Question: ‘Why did they make Solas so damn Thicc’

Patrick. Is. Killing. Me.

I don’t. You just have to watch it. Oh my god. There is no way to transcribe this.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Riot Fest 2021: 9/16-9/19, Douglass Park

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Much like Pitchfork Music Festival earlier this month, this past weekend’s Riot Fest felt relatively normal. Arriving at Douglas Park every day, you were greeted by the usual deluge of attendees in Misfits t-shirts and dyed hair, the sound of faint screams and breakneck guitars and drums emanating from nearby stages. The abnormal aspects of the fest, at least as compared to previous incarnations, we’re already used to by now from 2021 shows: To get in, you had to show proof of vaccination and/or a negative test no older than 48 hours, which means that unvaxxed 4-day attendees had to get multiple tests. Props to the always awesome staff at Riot Fest for actually checking the cards against the names on government-issued IDs.

For a festival that dealt with a plethora of last-minute changes due to bands dropping out because of COVID-19 caution (Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.) or other reasons (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle because of concerns around Mike Patton’s well-being), there were very few bumps in the road. Whether Riot Fest had bands like Slipknot, Anthrax, or Rise Against in their back pocket as replacements or not, it very much felt like who we saw Thursday-Sunday was always supposed to be the lineup, even when laying your eyes on countless “Death to the Pixies” shirts. Sure, one of the fest’s main gimmicks--peeling back the label on Goose Island’s Riot Fest Sucks Pale Ale to reveal the schedule--was out of date with inaccurate set times and bands, and it still would have been so had Faith No More and Mr. Bungle stayed, since Fucked Up had to drop out last minute due to border issues. But the festival, as always, rolled with the punches.

The sets themselves offered the circle pit and crowdsurfing-inducing punk and metal you’re used to, with a few genre outliers. For so many bands of all styles, Riot Fest represented their first live show in years, and a few acts knew the exact number of days since their last show. For every single set, the catharsis in the crowd and on stage was palpable, not exactly anger, or elation, but pure release.

Here were our favorite sets of the festival, in chronological order.

WDRL

Last October, WDRL (which, amazingly, stands for We Don’t Ride Llamas) announced themselves with a Tweet: “y’all been looking for an alt black band,, well here you go”. A band of Gen Z siblings, Chase (lead guitar), Max (lead vocals), Blake (drums), and Kit Mitchell (bass guitar), WDRL is aware, much like Meet Me @ The Altar (who, despite my hyping, I couldn’t make it in time to see) that they’re one of too few bands of POCs in the Riot Fest-adjacent scene. Their set, one of the very first of the weekend during Thursday’s pre-party, showed them leading by example, the type of band to inspire potentially discouraged Black and brown folks to start punk bands. Max is a terrific vocalist, able to scream over post-punk, scat over funk, and coo over slow, soulful R&B swayers with the same ease. The rest of the band was equally versatile, able to pivot on a dime from scuzzy rock to hip hop to twinkling dream pop. Bonus points for covering Splendora’s “You’re Standing On My Neck”, aka the Daria theme song.

Joyce Manor

Joyce Manor’s self-titled debut is classic. The best part of it as an album play-through at a festival? It’s so short that you can hear it and you’ll still have half a set for other favorites. So while the bouncy “Orange Julius”", “Ashtray Petting Zoo”, and ultimate singalong “Constant Headache” were set highlights, the Torrance, CA band was able to burn through lots from Never Hungover Again, Cody, Million Dollars to Kill Me, and their rarities collection Songs From Northern Torrance. Apart from not playing anything from Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (seriously, am I the only one who loves that record?), Joyce Manor were stellar, from the undeniable hooks of “Heart Tattoo” to the churning power chords of “Catalina Fight Song”. After playing “Christmas Card”, Johnson and company gave one final nod to the original fest cancellation, My Chemical Romance, who were slated to headline 2020, then 2021, and now 2022. If you ever wondered what it would sound like hearing a concise punk band like Joyce Manor take on the bombast of “Helena”, you found out. Hey, it was actually pretty good!

Patti Smith

Behold: a full Patti Smith set! After being shafted by the weather last time around, a sunglasses-laden Smith decided not to fuck around, leading with the inspiring “People Have The Power”, her voice as powerful as I’ve ever heard it. Maybe it was the influence of Riot Fest, but she dropped as many f-bombs as Corey Taylor did during Slipknot’s Sunday night headlining set. After reluctantly signing an adoring crowd member’s copy of Horses, she quipped, “I feel bad for you have to cart that fucking thing around.” It wasn’t just the filthy banter: This was Smith at her most enraptured and incendiary, belting during “Because The Night” and spitting during a “Land/Gloria” medley, reciting stream-of-consciousness hallucinogenic lyrics about the power of escape in the greatest display of stamina the festival had to offer.

Circa Survive

“It feels good to dance,” declared Circa Survive lead singer Anthony Green. The heart and soul of the Philadelphia rock band, who cover ground from prog rock to post-hardcore and emo, Green was in full form during the band’s early Friday set, his falsetto carrying the rolling “The Difference Between Medicine and Poising Is in the Dose” and the chugging “Rites of Investiture”. While the band, too, can throw down, they’re equally interesting when softer and more melodic, Brendan Ekstrom‘s twinkling guitars lifting “Child of the Desert” and “Suitcase”. Ending with the one-two punch of debut Juturna’s introspective “Act Appalled” and Blue Sky Noise’s skyward “Get Out”, Green announced the band would have a new record coming soon, one you hope will cover the sonic and thematic ground of even just those two tracks.

Thrice

Thrice played their first show since February 2020 the same day they’d release their 11th studio album, Horizons/East (Epitaph). To a crowd of fans that came to hear their favorite songs, though, the Irvine, California band knew better than to play a lot of the new record, instead favoring tracks like The Artist in the Ambulance’s spritely title cut and Vheissu standout “The Earth Will Shake”. Yeah, they led with a Horizons/East song making its live debut, the dreamy, almost Deftones-esque “Scavengers”, and later in the set they’d reveal the impassioned “Summer Set Fire to the Rain”. But the set more prominently served to emphasize lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue’s gruff delivery, on “All the World Is Mad” and “in Exile”, the rhythm section’s propulsive playing buoying his fervency. And how about Teppei Teranishi’s finger tapping on “Black Honey”?!? Thrice often favor the slow build-up, but they offered plenty of individually awesome moments.

Smashing Pumpkins

William Patrick Corgan entered the stage to dramatic strings, dressed in a robe, with white face paint except for red hearts under his eyes. He looked like a ghost. That’s pretty much where the semi-serious theatricality ended. The Smashing Pumpkins’ first Chicago festival headlining set in recent memory was the rawest they’ve sounded in a while, counting when they played an original lineup-only set at the United Center a few years back. It was also the most fun I’ve ever seen Corgan have on stage. Though they certainly selected and debuted from their latest electropop turn Cyr, Corgan, guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and company more notably dug deep into the vault, playing Gish’s “Crush” for the first time since 2008, Adore’s “Shame” for the first time since 2010, and Siamese Dream barnburner “Quiet” for the first time since 1994 (!). Best, every leftfield disco jam like set opener “The Colour Of Love”, “Cyr”, and “Ramona” was quickly followed by something heavy and/or recognizable, Chamberlin’s limber drum solos elevating even latter-day material like “Solara”. At one point, Corgan, a self-described “arty fuck,” admitted that years ago he would have opted for more experimental material, but he knew the crowd wanted to hear classics, the band then delving into a gorgeous acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight”. And while Kate Bush coverer Meg Myers came out to sing Lost Highway soundtrack industrial ditty “Eye”, it was none other than legendary local shredder Michael Angelo Batio who stole the show, joining for the set closer, a pummeling version of Zeitgeist highlight “United States”. Leaning into the cheese looks good on you, Billy.

The Bronx

Credit to L.A. punk rock band The Bronx, playing early on a decidedly cooler Saturday early afternoon, for making me put in my earplugs outside of the photo pit. Dedicating “Shitty Future” to Fucked Up (who, as we mentioned, had to drop out), the entire band channeled Damian Abraham’s energy on piercing versions of “Heart Attack American” as well as “Superbloom” and “Curb Feelers” from their latest album Bronx VI (Cooking Vinyl). Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne’s guitars stood out, providing choppy rhythms on “Knifeman” and swirling solos on “Six Days A Week”.

Big Freedia

The New Orleans bounce artist has Big Diva Energy, for the most part. After her DJ pumped up the crowd to contemporary Southern rap staple “Ayy Ladies” by Travis Porter, Big Freedia walked out and showed that “BDE”, firing through singles like “Platinum” and “N.O. Bounce” as her on-stage dancers’ moves ranged from delicate to earth-shaking. At this point, Freedia can pretty much do whatever she wants, effortlessly segueing between a cover of Drake’s “Nice For What” to “Strut”, her single with electropop DJ Elohim, to a cover of Beyone’s “Formation”. Of course, the set highlight was when she had volunteers from the crowd come up and shake and twerk--two at a time to keep it COVID-safe--all while egging them on to go harder. Towards the end of the set, after performing the milquetoast “Goin’ Looney” from the even-worse-than-expected Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack, she pulled out the beloved “Gin in my System”. “I got that gin in my system,” she sang, the crowd singing back, “Somebody gonna be my victim,” a refrain that compositionally not only leaves plenty of room for the thundering bass but is thematically a statement of total power--over sexism, racism, the patriarchy--even in the face of control-altering substances.

Les Savy Fav

During Les Savy Fav’s set, lead singer Tim Harrington at various points--*big breath*--went into the crowd, deepthroated an audience member’s mohawk spike, found a discarded manikin head with a wig on it, revealed the words “deep” and “dish” painted on his thighs and a drawing of a Red Hot on his back, rode a crowd member like a horse, made a headband out of pink tape, donned ski goggles, surfed on top of a door carried by the crowd, squeezed his belly while the camera was on it to make it look like his belly button was singing, and referred to himself as a “slippery eel.” Indeed, the legend of Les Savy Fav’s live show starts and ends with Harrington’s ridiculous antics, as he’s all but out of breath when actually singing dance-punk classics like “Hold On To Your Genre”, “The Sweat Descends”, and “Rome (Written Upside Down)”. We haven’t heard much in terms of new music from Les Savy Fav in over 10 years--their most recent album was 2010′s Root For Ruin--but I could see them and the extremely Aughts genre in general become staples of Riot Fest as albums like Inches, The Rapture’s Echoes, and !!!’s Louden Up Now reach the 20-year mark. Dynamic vocalists, tight bands, and killer grooves: What’s not to love?

State Champs

This set likely wins the award for “most immediate crowd surfers,” which I guess is to be expected when you begin your set with a classic track 1--album 1 combination. “Elevated” is the State Champs number that will cause passers-by to stop and watch a couple songs, the type of song that can pretty much only open or close a set. And because they opened with it, the crowd immediately ramped up the energy. It’s been three years since the last State Champs full-length, Living Proof, so they were in prime position to play some new songs. As such, they performed their bubblegummy “Outta My Head” and “Just Sound” and faithfully covered Fall Out Boy’s “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago” (releasing a studio version earlier this week). But the tracks from The Finer Things and Around the World and Back were, as usual, the highlights, like “All You Are Is History”, “Remedy”, “Slow Burn”, and set closer “Secrets”. At the end of the day, it didn’t entirely matter: The crowd knew every word of every song.

Bayside

Putting State Champs and Bayside back-to-back on the same stage made an easy decision for the many pop-punk bands at Riot Fest. Bayside’s been at it for twice as long, so the breadth of their setlist across their discography is more variable. Moreover, they’ve thrice revisited their discography with acoustic albums of old songs, so even their staples are subject to change. They provided solid versions of Killing Time standouts “Already Gone” and “Sick, Sick, Sick”, Cult’s “Pigsty”, and older songs like their self-titled’s “Montauk” and Sirens and Condolences’ “Masterpiece”. For “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, though, they brought out--*gasp*--an acoustic guitar! It was a rare moment not just for one of the most popular pop punk sets but the festival in general, a breather before Vacancy shout-along “Mary”.

Rancid

“Rancid has always been anti-fascist and anti-racist,” said Tim Armstrong before the band played “Hooligans”. It was nice to hear an explicit declaration of solidarity from the street punks, reminding the crowd what really matters and why we come together to scream and mosh. The band expectedly favored ...And Out Come The Wolves, playing almost half of it, and they perfectly balanced their harder edges with more celebratory ska songs like “Where I’m Going” from their most recent album Trouble Maker (Hellcat/Epitaph). My two favorite moments? The breezy, keyboard-laden “Fall Back Down” from their supremely underrated 2001 album Indestructable, and when they asked the crowd whether they wanted the set to end with “Time Bomb” or “Ruby Soho”. “We have 4 minutes left, and it’s disrespectful to play over your set time,” said Armstrong. It’s easy to see why Rancid continues to make an impression--instrumental and moral--on touring bands new and old.

Run the Jewels

The brilliant hip hop duo are masters of balancing social consciousness with the desire to fuck shit up for fun. Live, the former tends to come in between-song banter, the latter with their actual charismatic, tit-for-tat performances of the songs. However, Run the Jewels also are probably the clearest live performers in hip hop today, Killer Mike and El-P’s words, hypersexual and woke alike, ringing in the ears of audience members who don’t even know the songs. (Looking around, I could see people smiling and laughing at every dick joke, nodding at each righteous proclamation.) Some of the best songs on their most recent album RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/BMG) are perfect for these multitudes. Hearing both RTJ MCs and the backing track of Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha chanting “Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar” on “JU$T” as the rowdy crowd bounced up and down was the ultimate festival moment. For those who had never seen RTJ, it was clear from the get-go, as Killer Mike and EL-P traded bars on “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)” that they’re a unique hip hop act. For the rest of us, it was clear that Run the Jewels keep getting better.

The Gories

It felt a little weird that legendary Detroit trio The Gories were given the first set of the final day--I’d have thought they’d have more draw than that. No matter what, they provided one of the more satisfying and stylistically varied sets of the festival, showcasing their trademark balance of garage punk and blues. Mick Collins and Dan Kroha’s guitar and vocal harmonies were the perfect jangly balance to Peggy O’Neill’s meat and potatoes drumming on “Sister Ann” and “Charm Bag”, while folks less familiar with The Gories were treated to their fantastic covers of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and The Keggs’ “To Find Out”. Smells like time for the first Gories album in 20 years!

FACS

I thought it would be ill-fitting to watch a band like FACS in the hot sun, early in the day. Their monochrome brand of post-punk seems better suited for a dimly lit club. But the hypnotic nature of Brian Case’s swirling guitar and Alianna Kalaba’s slinky bass was oddly perfect in a sweltering, faint-inducing heat. Just when you thought you might fade, squalls of feedback and Noah Leger’s odd time signatures picked you back up. Songs from their new album Present Tense (Trouble In Mind) such as “Strawberry Cough” and “XOUT” were emblematic of this push-pull. And everything from the band’s red, white, and black color palate to their lack of stage banter suggested a cool minimalism that was rare at a festival that tends to book more outwardly emotional bands.

Alex G

On one hand, Alex G’s unique combination of twangy alt country and earnest indie rock makes him an outlier at Riot Fest, or at the very least a mostly Pitchfork/occasional Riot Fest type of booking. On the other hand, like a lot of bands at the festival, he has a rabid fanbase, one that knows his back catalog hits, like “Kute”, “Kicker”, and “Bug”, as much as if not more than hyped Rocket and House of Sugar singles, like “Bobby” and “Gretel”. Backed by a band that knows when to be loose and when to tighten up--and the instrumental chops to do so--Alex G was better than he was a Pitchfork three years ago. He still sings through his teeth, making it especially hard to hear him on louder tunes such as “Brick”. But when the honesty of his vocals combines with the dreamy guitars of “Southern Sky” and circular melodies of “Near”, it’s pure bliss. 

HEALTH

The formula for the LA industrial noise band has pretty much always been Jake Duzsik’s soft vocals contrasting John Famiglietti’s screeching bass and pedals and BJ Miller’s mammoth drums. Both in 2018 and Sunday at Riot Fest, the heat affected Famiglietti’s pedals, which were nonetheless obscured by tarp. Or so HEALTH claimed: You wouldn’t know the difference given how much their sound envelops your whole body during one of their live sets. Since their previous appearance at the festival, the prolific band has released two new records on Loma Vista, Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear and collaboration record Disco4: Part 1. Songs from those records occupied half of their excellent set, including battering opener “GOD BOTHERER”, “BODY/PRISON”, and “THE MESSAGE”. It was so wonderfully loud it drowned out K.Flay’s sound check drummer, thank the lord.

Thursday

Last time Thursday played Riot Fest, Geoff Rickly was battling heroin addiction, something he talked about during the band’s triumphant late afternoon set on Sunday. He mentioned the kindness of the late, great Riley Gale of Power Trip in extending a helping hand when he was down and extended his love to anybody in the crowd or even the world at large going through something similar. To say that this set was life-affirming would be an understatement; after 636 days of no shows, Rickly was at his most passionate. He introduced “Signals Over The Air” as a song the band “wrote about men beating up on women in the pit,” that a record exec at the time told them that it wouldn’t age well because he thought--no kidding--sexism would eventually end. Rickly’s voice, suffering from sound issues last time around, simply soared during Full Collapse’s “Cross Out The Eyes”, No Devolucion’s “Fast to the End”, and two inspired covers: Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Texas Is The Reason’s “If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours”. The latter the band played because TITR guitarist Norman Brannon’s actually on tour with them, though Rickly emphasized the influence the NYC post-hardcore greats had on Thursday when they first started. Never forgetting where they’ve come from, with self-deprecating humor and radical empathy, Thursday are once again a force.

Devo

Much like the B-52′s in 2019, Devo was the set this year of a 70′s/80′s absurd punk band with some radio hits that everybody knows but with a swath of die-hard fans, too. It’s safe to say both groups were satisfied. You walked around the fest all day wondering whether the folks wearing Devo hats were actual fans or doing it for the novelty. By the time the band actually took the stage after a career-spanning video of their many phases, it didn’t really matter, because it was clear the band still had it, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale’s vocals booming throughout a massive crowd. They ripped through “Peek-a-Boo”, “Going Under”, “That’s Good”, “Girl U Want”, and “Whip It”, which caused the fans waiting for Slipknot (and presumably some Devo heads) to form a circle pit. And that was all before the first costume change. Mark passed out hats to the crowd, fully embracing converts who might have only known “Whip It”. The feverish chants of “Uncontrollable Urge” and synth freakouts of “Jocko Homo” whipped everyone into a frenzy. And the band performed the “Freedom Of Choice” theme song for the first time since the early 80′s! I had seen Devo before, opening for Arcade Fire and Dan Deacon at the United Center, but the atmosphere at Riot Fest was more appropriately ludicrous.

Flaming Lips

“The Flaming Lips are the most COVID-safe band in the world,” went the ongoing joke, as throughout the pandemic they’d give audience members bubbles for their bubbles to be able to play shows. The normally goofy and interactive band scaled back for Riot Fest. Before launching into their traditional opener “Race For The Prize”, Wayne Coyne explained that while the band is normally proud of where they come from--Oklahoma City--they’re saddened by the local government’s ignorant pandemic response and wouldn’t risk launching balloons or walking into the crowd because they might be virus spreaders coming from such an under-vaccinated area. To his and the band’s credit, they wore masks during the performance, even when singing; Coyne removed his only when outside of his bubble that had to be deflated and inflated many times and that sometimes muffled his singing voice even more than a mask. Ever the innovative band, they still put on a stellar show. Coyne autotuned his voice on “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″, making it another instrument filling the song’s glorious pop melodies. Less heavy on props, the band favored a glitchy, psychedelic setlist that alternated between beauty (”Flowers Of Neptune 6″, “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”, “All We Have Is Now”) and two-drummed cacophony (“Silver Trembling Hands”, “The W.A.N.D.”). They’ll give a proper Lips show soon enough, but in the meantime, it was nice to see them not run through the motions.

Slipknot

Apart from maybe moments of Slayer, I’ve never witnessed a headliner at Riot Fest as heavy as Slipknot was. Even the minor ethereal elements present on their most recent and very good album We Are Not Your Kind, like the chorus of voices during “Unsainted”, were all but abandoned live in favor of straight up brutality. Sure, there were moments of theatricality--Corey Taylor’s menacing laugh on “Disasterpiece” and pyrotechnics in sequence with the instrumentation on “Before I Forget” and “All Out Life”--but for the most part, Slipknot was the ultimate exorcism. Taylor’s new mask, with unnaturally circular eyes, seemed like it came from a particularly uncomfortable skit from I Think You Should Leave. They bashed a baseball bat to a barrel during the pre-encore performance of “Duality”. And the songs played from tape, like the gasping-for-breath “(515)”, were designed to contrast Slipknot’s alien appearance with qualities that were uncannily human. For a band whose performances and instrumental dexterity are otherworldly--who else can pull off tempo changes over a hissing, Aphex Twin-like shuffling electronic beat on “Eyeless”--the pure seething emotion on songs like “Psychosocial” and “Wait and Bleed” shone through. Like Smashing Pumpkins, and like so many other successful Riot Fest headliners, Slipknot abandoned drama for pure, unadulterated dirt.

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a commonplace book

9pm saturday, march 20, 2021

some part of me wants to start numbering these, there are suddenly a lot of them? how is time progressing so damn quickly, where did march go?

reading mostly fic, if i’m honest, but also a bit more of shadow of night by deborah harkness because a close friend has become obsessed with the series and i wanted to try and see what she saw in them. so far, although i’m still not far into it at all, i’m neither massively against nor massively for this book! i’m not one of the medievalist grad students i know who are dismissive of its every detail, but i’m also not about to swoon for mr. controling-vampire-romance-man. i’ll probably try to finish it, but it’s not at the top of my list.

watching i’ve never gotten asmr, it doesn’t seem to work for me (or, not in a way that brings me back to it ever), but someone recommended this during chelsea’s stream on friday and i did watch the whole thing and find it extremely soothing: https://youtu.be/QwNENr8omM0 

listening crit role campaign 1, episode 97ish-- spoilers-- keyleth nearly actually fucking dying, in the stupidest way, because of a goofy choice and some dice rolling the way they did, is now a thing i get to think about, i guess???? maybe i’m still a new baby player (which is true, i’ve only played for 1 full year as of this month!), but i cannot imagine!!

playing not really apropos of st. patrick’s day, but i did dig out my binder of ceilidh band tunes from oxford 2013 not too long ago, and just noodled for an hour and a bit. i want to get better at memorization, i want to get better at playing by ear, i want!! to transpose most of these into a different key so the flute fingerings don’t suck (i feel like i could be imagining this, but did someone mention the binder had been compiled by string players? that would track tbh)

making baked today, had to shake the starter out of her most recent slumber-- M has suggested we call her ‘Ursula’, which is a name i never really liked but M pointed out that it means ‘little bear’ (!), because the starter does periodically hibernate only to be awoken, and i actually find this enchanting. the slime has gone unnamed for like ten months now, that’s long enough to ensure she’ll live i think! Ursula it is! also, introducing the very English M to US-style floury biscuits continues to be a treat. these today weren’t stellar, but the need to keep practicing is no burden.

working on between the three different research-assistantships i’m juggling this semester, i have done a lot of ~paid work~ this week (and kept on top of the associated emails w/ various ra-ship supervisors/collaborators/egos) and still feel like i have jack to show for it. oh well! it’s not like it’s time i should be spending reading for fields ANYWAY but i’m decently proud of how i’ve kept them all happy this week, ish, and at least the graphs in my timetracker app / the plants i’ve ~grown~ in flora are there for me to look at as tangible products of my effort.

[ao3feed-lokiangst]

Oh my Fuck

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/31ArIto

by pathologic_trash

This is sooo freaky lol!! You gotta read it to believe it!!!! Comment like subscribe there’s more to come my little fandom freaks!!!!!!

Words: 43, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Мор. Утопия | Pathologic, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars - All Media Types, Sanders Sides (Web Series), Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Artemiy Burakh | Artemy Burakh, Stanislav Rubin, Daniel Dankovskiy | Daniil Dankovsky, Loki (Marvel), Loki, Self-Sides (Sanders Sides), Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders, Thomas Sanders (Video Blogging RPF), Tony Stark, Vlad "The Younger" Olgimskiy | Vlad "The Younger" Olgimsky, Hunk (Voltron), Lance (Voltron), Lance's Family (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Keith's Wolf (Voltron), Keith's Father (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt, Shiro (Voltron), Allura (Voltron)

Relationships: Artemiy Burakh | Artemy Burakh/Daniel Dankovskiy | Daniil Dankovsky, Artemiy Burakh | Artemy Burakh & Daniel Dankovskiy | Daniil Dankovsky, Artemiy Burakh | Artemy Burakh/Daniel Dankovskiy | Daniil Dankovsky/Stanislav Rubin, Artemiy Burakh | Artemy Burakh/Stanislav Rubin, James "Bucky" Barnes/Thomas Sanders, Dogma (Star Wars)/Hunk (Voltron)/CT-5385 | Tup

Additional Tags: Smut, Fluff and Smut, Eventual Smut, Shameless Smut, No Smut, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Sex, Vaginal Sex, Sex Toys, Semi-Public Sex, Public Sex, Gay Sex, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s), Original Character Death(s), Relationship(s), Minor Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Interspecies Relationship(s), Major Original Character(s), Loss of Parent(s), Long-Term Relationship(s), Assassination Attempt(s), Dead People, Presumed Dead, Talking To Dead People, Nobody is Dead, Everyone is Dead, Inspired by The Walking Dead, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is Robin, Omega Jason Todd, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Omega Verse, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Jeanne d'Arc | Joan of Arc References, Waterbending & Waterbenders, Water, Water Sex, Waterboarding, Watercolors, Water Balloon Fights, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Based on a Tumblr Post, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, NSFW Art, Art, Digital Art, Inspired by Art, Podfic Cover Art, Gift Art, Alternate Universe - Art School, Alt Modes, Alternate Universe - Alternian Invasion, Alternate Universe - Altered Carbon Fusion, Episode: e044 Crisis of Leadership and Oatmeal, St. Patrick's Day, St Mungo's Hospital, St Bartholomew's Hospital, Bottom Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Top Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Hurts So Good, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Sobbing, So Married, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Galra Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Bottom Keith (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Top Jeon Jungkook, Top Toni Topaz, Top Harry, Top Kim Taehyung | V, Don't Examine This Too Closely, To Read, Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, To Download, To Rec, To Comment, Love, Falling In Love, Love Confessions, Unrequited Love, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, Boys In Love, True Love, Dorks in Love, Love/Hate, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Ten Years Later, Years Later, Latex, Late Night Writing, Tags May Change, How Do I Tag, Tags Are Hard, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags Are Fun, Dog Tags, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, AO3 Tags - Freeform, DONTNOD Entertainment, Saarebas, Sabaody Archipelago, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, WWE NXT, Where We Are Tour, We Just Love Each Other, Strong Woman/Weak Man, Wow, Reverse Ed Edd n Eddy, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Episode: s09e01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here, Threesome - F/M/M, Episode: s01e13 Le Morte D'Arthur, E-mail, Episode: e002 Living Pictures, Episode: e001 The Coldest Cut of All, Episode: e003 River of Night, Post-Ending E (NieR: Automata), Episode: s07e01 Makaukau 'oe e Pa'ani? (Ready to Play?), Chuck E. Cheese's, Moaning, Mob Boss Steve Rogers, Alternate Universe - Mobfell (Undertale), Park Minkyun | MK-centric, SPN A/B/O Bingo, Human E. Aster Bunnymund, Good W. D. Gaster, Scientist W. D. Gaster, Inspired by Kimi no Na wa. | Your Name., Parent W. D. Gaster, Pre-Accident W. D. Gaster, W. D. Gaster Being An Asshole, Underfell W. D. Gaster, Goopy W. D. Gaster, Face-Fucking, Fuck Or Die, Fucking, Breast Fucking, Fuckbuddies, Phrack Fucking Friday, Threesome - F/F/M, Threesome, Threesome - M/M/M, Threesome - F/F/F, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Firebending & Firebenders, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Earth, Middle Earth, Earth C (Homestuck), Homelessness, Home, Homecoming, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Period-Typical Homophobia, Male Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Alex Mercer's Parents Are Homophobic (Julie and The Phantoms), Wraith, Wraith (Stargate), Don We Now Our Gay Apparel, Modern Assassins (Assassin's Creed), Leonardo da Vinci is an Assassin (Assassin's Creed), Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Assassins & Hitmen, Attempted Sexual Assault, Quintessential Works for Everyday Reasons To Yield (QWERTY), Villain Ojiro Mashirao, Song: Bitch Lasagna (Dylan Locke ft. Felix Kjellberg & Party In Backyard), Community: hh_sugarquill, community: xmen-on-lj, Episode: s09e10 Pio Ke Kukui Po'ele Ka Hale (When the Light Goes Out the House is Dark), H/D Food Fair 2018, H/D Erised 2018, H/D Fan Fair 2019, H/D Career Fair 2017, Episode: s05e02 Good God Y'all!, Pokemon X & Y Spoilers, Episode: s02e05 Smell Ya Later, Ya Dead Ya Dead (Achievement Hunter), Hydra (Marvel), Post-Civil War (Marvel), Arachnophobia, Alternate Universe - Arabian Nights Fusion, Arab Character, عربي | Arabic, Racism, Rabbits, Race, Alternate Universe - Race Changes, RuPaul's Drag Race References, Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Episode: e045 The Great Race, Racist Language, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Racing, Fairy Tail: When We Take Different Paths, Renaissance Faires, Fabletown (Fables - Willingham), Ryuu ga Gotoku | Yakuza 0 (Video Game), Mentioned Demon Brothers (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Murphamy Week Winter Weekend, Cute Ed (Ed Edd N Eddy), JJ Style Week, Studio Ghibli, Butt Plugs, Butt Slapping, Butterflies, Butterfly Effect, Peanut Butter, Butt Dialing, Butterfly Miraculous, Wade Wilson Likes Peter Parker's Butt, Butterbeer (Harry Potter), Steve Rogers's Butt, Protective Star Butterfly, Butterfly Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Dick Grayson Has a Nice Butt, Ass Play, Assassination, Ass to Mouth, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Assassin's Creed III, Video, Embedded Video, Video & Computer Games, Webcam/Video Chat Sex, Video Format: Streaming, Video Game Mechanics, Porn Video, Were-Creatures, WWE Draft, WWE SummerSlam, WWE Royal Rumble, WWE Extreme Rules, WWE Money In The Bank 2016

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/31ArIto

[spencers-dria]

Lost in a Daydream

Someone to Stay Ch. 14

Content/Trigger Warnings: darker topics on death and mentions of alcohol

You step into your patients room, closing the door gently behind you. The palliative care nurse is already in the room, breaking the news to the husband.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Gray. I know you love Cristina very much. This is a difficult time, and we are here to help you through it in any way we can."

"Help?! You're not helping!" He yells as he stands up, pushing the nurses hand off his shoulder.

"If you were really helping you'd be saving her not letting her die!" Tears start to stream down his face as he clenches his fists, his face red with anger.

"I know it's hard to understand. There's nothing else that can be done. It's been 30 days on the ventilator. Do you remember the paperwork she filled out? She didn't want to live like this."

"Don't you dare tell me what my wife wanted! And I don't care about any damn paperwork! I'm her husband, and I should get final say!"

His body language has definitely become more aggressive. You step in to help diffuse the tension, and act as backup if needed. You quickly page the charge nurse, before things escalate. You'd rather have too much help than not enough.

"I know you're hurting Mr. Gray. We truly are sorry. But your wife made legally binding choices, and we have to honor her wishes. We will help you through every step and make her as comfortable as possible."

"I've heard enough! I'm not gonna stick around here to watch you people kill my wife!"

He storms out pushing past both of you, nearly knocking over the charge nurse on her way into the room.

The three of you share a look, knowing how hard this can be on families. You get ready to continue the process, making sure you stick by Cristina Gray's side so she's not alone.

A couple hours later, it's the end of shift and you're completely beat, emotionally and physically. Luckily you made plans for a girls night, and if anyone can cheer you up, it's Penelope Garcia.

You arrive at Penelope's apartment to find that Aunt JJ and Emily have already arrived. They're all sitting around chatting with full wine glasses. 10 things I Hate About You is on in the background, a classic. You plop down on the couch, reaching over to the coffee table to pour yourself a glass of wine.

"Long day, huh?" Emily asks, looking genuinely concerned.

"Yeah we had to let a patient go. The family didn't take it too well."

"I'm so sorry, Y/N." JJ says while wrapping an arm around you to give you a comforting squeeze.

Penelope gets up from her seat to embrace you in a hug. You needed that.

You take in a deep breath before responding. "Thank you, all of you. But I'll be ok, I'm pretty used to it. Tonight I just want to relax, and have fun!"

"Well in that case, how are things going with Spencer?" Emily raises her eyebrows, giving you a smirk.

"Emily!" JJ chastises her, giving her a look of exasperation.

You laugh it off. "No it's okay. We're good friends. We are uh... well we are planning a trip. He's never been to The Wizarding World in Orlando. So..."

You feel your face start to burn as the three of them give you knowing looks, JJ included.

"But you like him right?" Penelope pipes up.

Your eyes go wide and you know you've turned completely red. "I don't uhhm...well I don't..."

You bury your face in your hands, gripping at your hair. You finally breath the words out. "I don't know." It's the closest you've come to acknowledging that there might be something between the two of you.

"Well, I will say this, he's a wonderful guy. And the two of you seem to really enjoy your time together. Now if you don't feel that way, that's fine too. There's no pressure."

How is it that Aunt JJ can always put you completely at ease. You look up at her with a nervous smile.

The other two chime in "Yeah no pressure!" "We're just being nosy!"

Penelope whispers a little to loudly to Emily "They'd be really cute together though..."

"I know right!" Emily grins.

You can't help but giggle, a smile breaking through on your face. It wasn't the worst idea.

"I wanted to kiss him the other day, I think."

That got their attention. They've now gathered around you, prodding for more information.

Penelope insisting you tell the whole story of what happened. You recount how he showed up at your door, calling you pretty when you felt you looked your worst. You explained how the two of you had laid closer for the movie, how having your head on his shoulder made your heart race.

"So, when are you going to tell him?" JJ asks.

"Oh! Oh no...I couldn't. I can't! There's no way he would ever..."

Emily cuts you off. "Yes there is way he would ever." She laughs, rolling her eyes. "You're gorgeous and kind and funny. Based on the way he looks at you, it's a pretty sure bet he knows all of that to be true."

"The way he l-looks at me?" You falter at the thought. You'd never noticed anything.

"Oh my gosh yes!" Penelope squeals. "He looks at you like you're the best thing he's ever seen, like he'd do anything for you. It's straight out of a romance novel."

You feel your face turning red again, as you swallow the growing lump in your throat. The thought of talking to Spencer about any of this really does a number on your anxiety.

"We'll see. I'll just...well maybe he'll say something."

"Have you met Spencer?" Emily jests giving you a look that says that's a stretch.

You just laugh it off. Now that you think about it, you've been growing feelings for him for weeks now. You'd even admit to feeling something at Rossi's dinner party. But you were just now coming to terms with this. You've barely processed it yourself. You're definitely not ready to dump it all on Spencer.

Attention slowly turns back to the movie as the other three continue sipping on their wine, chatting about what a great match Kat and Patrick make. But your thoughts are anywhere but the movie. You find yourself imaging what it would be like to date Spencer. He's already such a wonderful friend,

you can't help but wonder how he would act in the role of boyfriend. You wonder what it would be like to kiss him. He's probably so shy and timid, knowing Spencer. He's such a sweetheart. The thought has you smiling to yourself.

The other three ladies notice your attention is elsewhere as the see the look on your face. They all exchange knowing looks and smiles.

————————————————————

Spencer POV:

Since the girls were having a night together, Morgan insisted we do something as well. Somehow we landed on the gym, which I certainly did not vote for. Hotch and Rossi both had plans so it's just me and Morgan. After dragging me to several different machines, he finally lets us take a water break.

"You're getting better at keeping up pretty boy. I remember when you first started and you couldn't make it through more than 5 minutes," he laughs.

I roll my eyes but decide to take it as a compliment.

"You gotta keep in shape for the ladies am I right? Or should I say lady?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me a huge grin on his face.

"I don't know what you're taking about." I look at the wall in front of me as I sit to do some stretches, avoiding his gaze at all cost.

"Oh c'mon don't play dumb with me man. I've seen the way you look at Y/N. And don't you two spend all your free time together?"

"Morgan, no! We're just friends!"

"Oh okay. You're telling me, you've honestly never thought about dating her?"

I open my mouth to respond but nothing comes out. He's not wrong. I sit there for a minute, thinking about all the times the thought had crossed my mind. I remember the butterflies I felt when we were sitting in the coffee shop together. I think about all the movie nights where I had to stop myself from grabbing her hand. Then there was the night at the bar, when it was all I could do not to lean in and kiss her as she danced with me. I must look completely lost in a day dream because Morgan sees the look on my face before responding.

"Yeah that's what I thought pretty boy."

I jump back up and make my way over to the weights, which I usually do my best to avoid. Weights are more of Morgan's arena. I put all my frustrations about not understanding my own feelings into every rep. Morgan walks over to spot me, hell bent on continuing the conversation.

"So how are you going to ask her out?"

I set the weights down, wiping the sweat off my head with a towel and running my fingers through my hair.

"You think I should ask her out?" My voices raises a few pitches, out of nervousness.

"Heck yeah! She'd be crazy to say no to a great guy like you!"

I roll my eyes, giving him a quick shove as I can't help but laugh. Derek may pick on me a lot, but he always has my back. His confidence in me boosts my own confidence a bit.

"I don't want to mess things up. She's my best friend..."

He sits down beside me, taking a serious tone.

"You two have gotten pretty close. If the two of you are as tight knit as you seem, I wouldn't worry about that. Either she'll say no and you'll both let it go, continuing a great friendship..."

"Or?" I question, worry covering my face.

"Or she'll say yes and the two of you will have a wonderful wedding."

And Morgan is back at it again. I roll my eyes at him as I stand to head to the locker room. But as I walk away, I can't stop smiling.

I decide to bounce some ideas off of him, about what I could do for a first date. I don't want to just do dinner and a movie. I want it to be special and unique just like her. After we throw out a couple ideas Morgan finally asks "Well why don't you use something the two of you have done or talked about? Or maybe something she told you about herself? When did you first start having feelings for her? That could be a good place to start."

I think back to when she joined me for phantasmagoria and we spent the evening in the coffee shop/music store. She told me how wrapped up her feelings were in music. An idea starts to blossom and I quickly tell Morgan, hoping to work through all the details. It has to be perfect. If it works out like I plan, I can ask her out and have our first date all at once. I want to show her how much I care, and I can't think of a better way to do it.

[jackdawyt]

Since my last news update in March, today I’m dissecting everything that has come out of the woodwork in April and May regarding Dragon Age 4. So, get some tea and let’s get this show on the road, because we’ve got over 4,000 words of news to delve into!  

Reveal? (game shows/new hire/remaster):

Following the cancellation of E3, EA Play 2020 Live has been officially confirmed as a digital show, taking place on June 11th, at 4:00 pm PST / 7:00 pm EST. 

Before the outbreak cancelled E3 2020, we knew Mike Gamble, the Project Lead on the next Mass Effect game had plans to make a physical appearance at E3/EA Play. So, the question remains, will BioWare still have a presence at EA Play this year?  

Mike Gamble is one of the key members of the Mass Effect team, I highly doubt he’s talking about revealing the next Mass Effect game which is currently in very early stages of development, and won’t release until after Dragon Age 4. Perhaps, Mike back in 2019 was hinting at revealing the heavily rumoured Mass Effect Remaster this EA Play?

Earlier in May, EA had a quarterly conference call and it revealed some fascinating information regarding future unannounced titles. Currently, EA have “one more EA HD title, Four EA Partner titles and two mobiles games still unannounced”. Also, EA said "multiple titles" are set to launch on Nintendo Switch this year.

The EA HD title refers to a remaster of an EA game, hence why most people are speculating at the Mass Effect Trilogy. Venturebeat went on to officially state that this title was indeed the Mass Effect Trilogy.

So, there’s one rumoured possibility for the Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster to be revealed this EA Play, which is cool! BioWare may have a presence this year after all! But I know you all didn’t come for Mass Effect; you came for Dragon Age. So, what do we know about that franchise and a potential reveal?

Jo Berry, a Writer at EA retweeted EA Play Live’s announcement with a party emoji! 👀  

This could be absolutely nothing, but at a whim, perhaps a reference to a Dragon Age 4 teaser, or EA Motive’s new I.P since she has worked within both teams....  

On top of that, Brianne Battye, Writer at BioWare tweeted about her 8-year journey at BioWare. She’s very grateful for sharing her work, and the awesome people she’s worked with along the way.

Patrick Weekes replied saying they: “Cannot wait for everyone else to see what you've been working on recently. :)”

Then, Brianne said: “Right back at you :)”

Two HUGE witters on the Dragon Age team are excited for everyone else to see what they’ve all been working on recently! 👀 When I saw this tweet, I was trying to stay calm and keep my expectations low, but come on when you see a tweet like this, you just get so excited! The question is, when will we see what they’ve been working on, and is it anytime soon? Please?

Well, there is something else we need to talk about that may relate to a potential tease.

Hilary Heskett, who used to be EA’s Global Product Manager has returned to work at EA and BioWare. Put simply, she’s a Digital Marketer for BioWare.  

Hilary; particularly, was heavily involved in Dragon Age: Inquisition’s marketing! In fact, the majority of her work at EA involved representing BioWare as a brand online creating trailers, key art, screenshots, packaging, and advertisements. So, it’s a fair assumption that she’ll be fulfilling the exact same role for future BioWare titles like Dragon Age 4.  

With Hilary joining the team at this point in development, could the marketing stages of Dragon Age 4 soon begin, perhaps at EA Play? Or later on in 2020? Or is she going to be marketing the Mass Effect Remaster?

I sound impatient, but, in the past BioWare have a habit of starting the marketing stages of their products at least two years before an initial release.  

With that, we’ve got to ask ourselves, is hiring a marketer at this point in time a mere coincidence? or is it preparation for when marketing does start? Are we on the verge of seeing Dragon Age 4 official content soon?  

Not to waffle on, because we’ve got a lot to talk about in this video, but I was hired as a Digital Marketer for an app company in the UK. As I understand it, you normally enter projects, mid-to-end of production, because what would a marketer do in the early stages logically? Your role is to be there for the advertising of the product.  

So, in BioWare’s case, it's my understanding that Hilary has joined the team with one year full-swing production, is she about to begin the marketing stages of the next Dragon Age game? Is the game ready for that stage? If anything, I think with Hilary’s background, she’s the perfect person to market Dragon Age 4.  

On top of EA Play, Geoff Keighley announced Summer Game Fest, a new industry-wide celebration of video games. Showcasing digital news, In-game events, & playable content. EA are headlining the event with EA Play, but there are many other world premieres spread throughout the summer. So, there’s a potential for other trailer reveals later on in the year, not to mention The Game Awards.

And, there’s also this leak that shows Dragon Age 4 on a list of PS5 games from the newest issue of PlayStation magazine UK. PlayStation are having an event on June 4th, so we’ll find out if this leak is true soon enough.

If we’re going to see anything Dragon Age 4 related this year, EA Play is the biggest contender for a reveal. I know the whole world could do with that right now! At this current moment, there is no schedule for the show. However, Saria, myself, Fusselkorn and maybe other content creators will be streaming EA Play, no matter what, so turn those reminders on and come join us in our clown suits.

Development (teases/production):

Moving on to teases and development updates. Currently, BioWare are hiring a ‘Senior Outsource Producer.’

This is a pretty big deal, to those who don’t know what a ‘Senior Outsource Producer’ would do...

“Outsourcing development means to hire out any process of a business to third party. The process helps your company or organization to grow.”

To grant more perspective, during Mass Effect: Andromeda’s development, major aspects of the game's animations were outsourced to other EA studios. 

However, this isn’t going to be the same for Dragon Age 4, this role is for one Producer to help the outsourcing team into a robust and comprehensive department that supports BioWare projects in all aspects of development.  

I have friend in triple AAA games, and they had something to say about outsourcing regarding Dragon Age 4: “To be honest, I'd say (outsourcing is) different per studio due to scope. But with something big like Dragon Age I'd probably say outsourcing would start early to mid-production as they have a hell of a lot to do. Some studios outsource from the get go though so that's also possible. And It's rare that outsourcing starts in the final leg of development.”

What I understand from the job posting is that BioWare are looking to hire a producer who will be dedicated to outsourcing so they can establish a pipeline and maintain proper standards for outsourcing. This hiring was posted in May, so the studio might be a few months early from when they actually have to outsource. However, this process will be coming up soon in major development.  

Moving on. In early April, Mark Darrah went on a twitter rampage sharing many tweets relating to Dragon Age 4. One tweet stated: “Is tweeting more going to make you all speculate more or less?”. Followed by a poll with the answers “more”, “less” & “Dragon Age 4!?”

The following week, Mark Darrah teased his three Wolf-Rook books he has placed on a shelf at home.

Later on, in the month, he decided to stack each of them, prompted with the caption: “Spoiler: these are a terrible building material…”

Just last week, Mark tweeted the Wolf-Rook book once more, with the following meme: “Dear men, what is preventing you from looking like this?”

This cheeky tease encouraged Melissa Janowicz (Gameplay Designer) to join the fun and share her own Wolf-Rook book! She said: “It's an absolutely gorgeous book. I'll treasure it for life.”

Ahhh. The secrets these books could hold about Dragon Age 4’s core concepts.... And Mark Darrah is just staking them together, making book forts out of them, as you do! 😂 Maybe one day, we’ll uncover the secrets held within every page, but that day is not yet upon on.

On the same memey day, Chris Anderson, (Application Development/Publishing Support at BioWare) tweeted: “Other people are teasing things, so what the hell, here's an image that I used in something I was working on today.” With a pink image shown.  

Chris and Melissa followed a Twitter conversation about pink being the “perfect colour for when you need something that screams temp.”

Basically, this pink actually has some context for the development of Dragon Age 4. ‘Temp’ means temporary textures, the first blocked out layer of a texture before actual detailed textures are added.

This can refer to many scenes or models in the early texturing phases, as art assets are still in the approval stages. On a wild, out-there whim, perhaps the team are wrapping up a trailer for a reveal? Maybe?... please?

John Epler (Narrative Director) shared his most controversial opinion of all time:

I loved the Hinterlands, but as a fan of the previous Dragon Age game’s ‘linear with freedom' approach, I appreciate John’s take on open world’s since Dragon Age: Inquisition, perhaps this will shape the way forward for future BioWare titles?  

Alix Wilton Regan, voice actress of the Female British Inquisitor retweeted Autumn Witch’s poll asking if people believe the Inquisitor will return as a voiced appearance in Dragon Age 4. Alix tweeted: “C’mon #DAI Fans, you know what to do ;)”

Patrick Weekes replied to Alix’s post with an eye's emoji 👀.... I think I speak for everyone when I say, in some capacity, the Inquisitor has got to return in the next game!

In another tweet, Patrick Weekes teased potential new companions when a Twitter trend placed 5 Dragon Age characters in 6 different camps went around the platform.  

When choosing their preferred camp, Patrick Weekes tweeted: “Finally, in Camp 7, it's turned into a bit of a mess, with coffee grounds spilled everywhere and the couch inexplicably on fire after a drinking game gone wrong. But that's another story.” 

Of course, there’s not much to tear apart here, but we have acknowledgement of the next party members! It sounds like they’re a wild bunch already!  

In early April, Mark Darrah answered a few current development tweets:

So, that’s...Splendid.

Karin Weekes (Editor) tweeted that they “got to sort/catalog/document updates to made-up languages at work today.”  

Following that tweet, @ladyiolanthe asked Karin: “Do you think BioWare might ever be able to release Qunari, Dwarvish, and Elvhen lexicons in a World of Thedas Volume 3 sort of book? Or is that unlikely since they're ciphers and maybe there isn't a standardized grammatical structure, etc?”

Karin replied with: “That’s an interesting idea - I, for one, would find it a hoot! I might send out some feelers…” Any books of made-up languages I can get my hands on would be greatly appreciated!  

Alain Baxter, (‘Production guy’) tweeted: “BioWare review of content today. All I can say is “Scriplet”. 😎

Apparently a ‘Scriptlet’ is an action verb. Alain is teasing premature scripts as they ‘perform their function’ So, something exciting is going down in the scripts, to be worked on in-engine. Or maybe it’s just an inside joke?

John Epler tweeted a great design message about “how 90% of ‘bad’ decisions are, in fact, the best decision at the time. For John, that will always be the camera zoomed conversations in DA: I. People didn’t like it, and asked why not just make them full scenes. But that’s not the decision they make in-house. It was 'make them simple conversations or else cut them'. Game dev is all about making the best decision you can at the time, with the resources you have .A lot of stuff you thought was weird or awkward came down to a gut call of 'this is the best I can make this and I trust it's good enough'. Sometimes we're right, sometimes not.” 

 Awesome words to think on, Dragon Age 4 will be amazing, I’m sure, but just remember to set your expectations right and realise everything design-wise, happens for a reason.  

Shifting to other design aspects. Jos Hendricks (Senior Level Designer) tweeted:

Mike Jungbluth (Animation Director) tweeted: “Just reviewed something in game that hit THIS LEVEL! Hot damn, moments like this are what I live for.” 

Both tweets are incredibly excited and telling of development for Dragon Age 4, it sounds like they’re building and prototyping an epic scene equivalent in scale to the attack at Haven scene? Perhaps, Solas destroying the Veil? Who knows, but it sounds epic, and I’m living for both dev.'s enthusiasm!

For the final tweet regarding the development side is from Åsa Roos (Principle UX Designer)

A UX designer writing about Solas? That must be for codex entries? Right? More lore on our Rebel God!  

Unannounced Dragon Age Game:

In my previous March news update, I discussed brashly about the developers on Dragon Age 4 still claiming that this project has not officially been announced yet, however, The Dread Wolf Rises teaser in 2018 certainly alluded to an announcement regarding the next Dragon Age title. Following this story, we have many sources providing clarity on Dragon Age 4’s current ‘unannounced’ situation.  

Patrick Weekes confirmed that they are “working on an unannounced game in the Dragon Age universe.”

Patrick said: “We would LOVE to be able to say more. We are really excited about what we’re working on. But we can’t share anything right now. Sorry!”

In April 2019, I painted this unannounced situation rather conspiratorial, I said that perhaps the Dragon Age dev’s can’t share anymore on the next game because Anthem was the next project, and EA are forcing them to not speak on Dragon Age. In an attempt to maintain the crowd by not letting BioWare developers regard Dragon Age 4 as the next working project in the works.

However, I don’t think it’s that deep. I think the developers are just under an NDA, and literally can’t speak about the game.  

In Episode 121 of the Anthem-based ‘Freelancer Codex’ Podcast - as a guest, Melissa Janowicz shared that the developers on the secret Dragon Age team cannot talk about the next game, in fact, they can barely talk about the contents of The Dread Wolf Rises teaser trailer.

Chris Anderson also emphasised this same point in a tweet:

As a side not, someone asked Chris why not lie and come up with fake answers to fool the fans, and Chris said: “That can, unfortunately, get me in nearly as much trouble!”

Which shows the validity and value in BioWare developer tweets. The developers can’t just lie about the project either. Which honestly helps someone like me out.

As we know, a game is coming, yet it’s still is very much unannounced, probably because as Jason Schreier reported in 2018, Dragon Age 4 is going to change at least 5 times in the next two years, perhaps BioWare don’t want to show us anything because they don’t want to set anything in stone, or show gameplay that is not representative of the final game.  

But that doesn’t extend to a CGI trailer, or a full title drop, Maker knows that would be amazing, and is within the realm of possibility.

New Lore/Fun:

We have some new lore, and other fun things I wanted to share.  

Dragon Age Comic Writer, Nunzio DeFillipis talked HUGELY about the red lyrium idol and what was originally planned for their comics.

Nunzio recently mentioned in the Unofficial Bioware Forums that the comic characters from Deception were originally chasing the red lyrium idol.

Nunzio stated that the original plan for the comics would've had the characters retrieve the red lyrium idol. Only to have Solas take it back. Eluding to the idol's planned whereabouts before the plot changed since Joplin's cancellation and BioWare's shift regarding this idol in the comics.

Does this still mean that the location of the red lyrium idol is most likely in the hands of Solas and might only be discovered in Dragon Age 4? Or does the next protagonist have a shot at retrieving the idol before Solas finds it?

It seems like a bummer that the original comic idea was scrapped and the writers were forced to change narrative direction regarding this particular idol.

As a funny tweet I saw. Emily (Domino) Talyor tweeted using her overheard in the office hashtag:

BioWare dev’s can’t even tell their kids, folks.

And, regarding the Fuzzy Freaks livestream. Patrick Weekes’s response to my question, asking how does Solas kill dwarves in their sleep if they have no connection to the Fade, was “very effectively.”  This will be a mystery I will personally be investigating when we have our hands on the game.  

Considering it was really fun for those who watched the Fuzzy Freaks livestream, I’m going to share other silly takeaways:

Patrick Weekes doing a New York accent for the Carta Dwarf is amazing!

“DREAD DUMBASS” - is a jokey dialogue option that Karen Weekes scribbled notes for future reference.  

Patrick likes soft romances and happy endings! IRONICALLY.

Patrick’s style of writing is less high fantasy and more modern.

@DrunkDalish, Co-founder of Dragon Age Day interviewed both Karen and Patrick Weekes. As a lover of Dragon Age lore, these interviews reveal so many loving tidbits that you should read for yourself. However, something I noted that was very significant regarding the future is based on Masked Empire’s ending. So, spoilers for that, but Felassan’s fate isn’t what it seems. Perhaps this elf could come back in the future if needed.

Wellbeing:

And, we come to the last topic, this one is centred on the BioWare staff’s wellbeing. Last year, there was a Kotaku article revealing the crunch and working conditions at BW, there was a lot of worry and confusion in the air that the people working on these games were struggling mentally because of senior management and many other reasons. With that in mind, I’m dedicating a section in these news updates to the wellbeing of the developers, any signs/tweets of positivity and hope will be shared in an effort to see if there has been any change in the BioWare offices since Anthem’s release.

It seems like things are going pretty well and people seem happy and optimistic about the next Dragon Age.  

If there are any major updates to a Dragon Age 4 tease at EA Play, I'll be sure to make an update video, but otherwise, be sure to join our livestream as see for ourselves what waits us this EA Play.

Let me know your thoughts down below, what do you think about a potential EA Play teaser, where are your expectations at?

[maybewecandreamalittle]

Twin Beds

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831922

When Patrick emerges from the bathroom after his nightly shower, he expects to find his husband bundled up in bed waiting for him. Instead, he finds that the sheets are barely touched and empty, no traces of David in sight.

Patrick pulls on a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt and leaves the bedroom to hunt for his wayward husband, expecting to find him in the kitchen downstairs, rummaging for snacks in the unfamiliar pantry.

When Johnny Rose told them about the beach house the producers of Sunrise Bay gifted them with for a week, David immediately set out to write a packing list for their summer vacation.

“David, we’ll only be gone for a week. You don’t need 5 bottles of sunscreen,” Patrick had told his husband as he watched him carefully pack them away in his suitcase.

“We both know that this is not for me,” David replied. “Red has never been your best color, honey.”

They arrived at the beach house this morning, Mr. and Mrs. Rose already settled in.

“You act as though we don’t call every night,” David grumbled as Mr. Rose gathered him into his arms. But when Patrick watched David tighten his arms around his father anyways, he makes sure not to mention it.

Alexis arrived shortly after they did, Patrick pretending to go off to use the bathroom as David and Alexis latched onto each other tightly.

The house is massive, 5 bedrooms in total. Stevie will be arriving the next day, finishing up her latest round of motel renovations over in Pennsylvania and catching the next flight in. So every Rose and honorary Rose will have their own bedroom to sleep comfortably in.

Patrick pads quietly down the stairs, knowing the elder Roses have already retired for the night.

He looks into the kitchen and doesn’t find David. He walks into the living and doesn’t find David. He peaks out into the back porch and doesn’t find David.

Eyebrows furrowed tightly together, Patrick makes his way back upstairs, thinking maybe his husband has found his way back into their borrowed bedroom. But as he hits the top landing of the staircase, he notices that the fifth bedroom’s door is slightly ajar with light streaming out.

The fifth bedroom was expected to go unused because it was the smallest and had two twin beds instead of a full sized bed like all the other bedrooms had. But as Patrick gently pushes the door open, he finds his husband curled up in one of the twin beds, his sister sleeping in the adjacent one. They’re facing each other, both of their faces lax with sleep.

Patrick leans against the doorframe and smiles. When Alexis moved away 8 months ago, David had a hard time adjusting to not having his sister by his side so readily. After the move, they did their best to fill in the gap, sometimes falling asleep on the phone together, Patrick carefully pulling David’s phone away from his ear and tucking him in.

So he’s really not surprised that David and Alexis found their way here, sleeping two twin beds next to each other. As if nothing has changed. They’ll never say it out loud, but Patrick knows them both. They’ve missed this.

He walks in quietly, pulling the blanket at the foot of the bed over Alexis and turning to do the same for David. As he turns to leave to go back to the other bedroom, Patrick feels David curling his hand around his wrist and tugging down.

“Turn off the lights and come to bed,” David mumbles sleepily.

Patrick flips the switch and tries to quietly maneuver himself into the tiny bed with David, which doesn’t end up being very quiet, Alexis saying, “Oh my God, please be louder I beg of you.”

“Shut up, Alexis,” David replies back with a yawn, burrowing into Patrick’s side once they’re settled.

“Goodnight, Alexis,” Patrick says.

“Goodnight, favorite brother.”

“Okay, stop this now.”

And as the years continue to roll by and more and more family vacations stack on top of each other, Patrick makes sure every house that is rented has two twin beds just in case.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

25th November >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 21:12-19 for Wednesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time: ‘Your endurance will win you your lives’.

Wednesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time  

Gospel (Except USA)

Luke 21:12-19

Your endurance will win you your lives

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 21:12-19

You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.

Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

Reflections (5)

(i) Wednesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today we begin a week of witness for persecuted Christians (25th November to 1st December). It is an opportunity to Christians in Ireland to stand in solidarity with, and bear witness to, the heroic example of our persecuted brothers and sisters in faith across the world. We are invited to pray not only for persecuted Christians but for the persecutors of Christians as well. Today, the first day of the week of witness, has been designated Red Wednesday. We are asked to wear something red as a mark of the blood lost by Christians in defence of our faith. This evening, there is a Red Wednesday launch with Archbishop Eamon Martin live streamed from St. Patrick’s Cathedral Armagh at 7.30 pm. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples that people will seize them and persecute them and hand them over to religious and political authorities. That warning of Jesus is still coming to pass in our world today. Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world with at least 80% of all religious persecution globally inflicted against Christians in any given year. Over 9,500 churches are attacked annually around the world. We are fortunate to live in a society where freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Constitution. We can best support our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ by living our own faith courageously, relying on the promise of Jesus in today’s gospel reading to give us the eloquence and the wisdom we will need when our faith is put to the test. What Jesus calls for above all at the end of that gospel reading is endurance. We need to keep witnessing to our faith in the Lord when times are difficult, such as in these Covid days.

And/Or

(ii) Wednesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

It was Mother Teresa who said that, in calling us to share in his work, the Lord does not ask us to be successful but to be faithful. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus paints a bleak picture of what lies ahead for his disciples, as they set out to bear witness to him. The story he tells of what is to come is anything but a success story. He speaks of persecution, imprisonment, betrayal, hatred from others. What the Lord looks for in all of these negative experiences is mentioned in the last line of the gospel reading – endurance or perseverance. The Lord wants us to be faithful in the midst of apparent failure. It is tempting to lose faith when our relationship with the Lord, - our efforts to serve him - seems to bring us more grief than joy. We can identify easily with the seed that fell on rocky soil, those who endure only for a while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. It is the Lord who makes possible our endurance to the end, rather than just for a while. Jesus promises his disciples and us in today’s gospel reading, ‘I myself will give you eloquence and wisdom’. In times of struggle and failure we are invited to rely on the resources the Lord gives us, so that we may endure to the end, and not just for a while.

 And/Or

(iii) Wednesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading this morning reflects the reality of life for many Christians at the time that the gospels were written. Bearing witness to Jesus and to his values in that culture meant being put on trial by religious and political authorities, leading to imprisonment and, sometimes, to death. It often meant the experience of betrayal by family members and closest friends. It was bearing witness to one’s faith publicly which generated all this hostility. It was possible for believers to keep their faith private in those times, and to live a reasonably undisturbed life. Yet, authentic faith is always public. Our relationship with the Lord may be very personal to each of us, but it can never be relegated to a purely private sphere. Our relationship with the Lord is to be the most important relationship in our lives. If that is so, it will impact publicly on all our other relationships, on everything we say and do. We don’t just keep the faith in some kind of private space; we live the faith in a public way. That will never be easy, in any culture. Yet, the Lord assures us in today’s gospel reading that he will give us the resources we need to enable us to witness to our faith when it is difficult to do so. His enduring presence to us will make it possible for us to endure.

 And/Or

(iv) Wednesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus paints a very dark picture of the future for his disciples. He speaks of persecution, betrayal, hatred and, even, death. That was the reality for many of the earliest Christians. We only have to think of the persecution of the church in Rome by Nero in the year 64 arising from the great fire in the city that year. Yet Jesus inserts a great light into the midst of that dark picture. He promises to give his disciples the resources they need to withstand the hostility they will experience. As a result, not a hair of their head will be lost. That same promise is made to all of us. When our following of the Lord, our response to the Lord’s call, brings us into difficult and threatening territory, the Lord will always be there with us. In the darkness of the struggle, he will always be our light. He will always provide the resources we need to remain faithful, or in the language of the gospel reading, to endure. Faithfulness, endurance, is what the Lord asks of us, and it is his resourceful faithfulness to us in difficult times that will make our faithfulness possible.

 And/Or

(v) Wednesday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading is set shortly before Jesus enters into his passion. In this setting Jesus speaks to his disciples about their own passion. He tells them that they will be seized and persecuted, handed over to the authorities and to imprisonment, all because they bear the name of Jesus. Those words of Jesus have come to pass throughout the history of the church. Indeed, people are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus today in huge numbers. Although, we are not being persecuted for our faith here at home, it is more difficult to be a believer in today’s world than in the more recent past. The social support is much less. In a sense, every Christian generation has its problems and difficulties. In the gospel reading, Jesus assures us that he himself will be with us when we find ourselves facing opposition and hostility and are tempted to discouragement. ‘I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist’. At such times we are not left to our own strength. Moreover, because the Lord is with us to support us, the trials and tribulations that come our way because of our faith are an opportunity for us to bear witness to our faith. Jesus declares ‘that will be your opportunity to bear witness’. We witness not in our own strength but in the strength the Lord gives us. Jesus goes on in that gospel reading to make a wonderful promise to all who are faithful to him during difficult times, ‘your endurance will win you your lives’.

Fr. Martin Hogan.