#alphabetical won out by two votes

[hoshidensha]

ABC Fanart Challenge time! Got a bunch of suggestions from a bunch of my friends so I'll be putting my results in this thread :D

Original template is by @/noaheisenman and can be found here!

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Voting matters and voting works

Don't listen to anyone who says that there's no point in voting. Voting is important. It's the only way we have to exercise our individual and collective power in politics. But the impact of voting goes beyond an esoteric exercising of rights or having our voice heard. Voting leads to tangible results.

Whoever controls the house controls the committees and controls the legislative agenda. Without control of the house, Biden's can't legislate. With control of the house, Republicans can launch real investigations into Fauci and the handling of covid. They can end farcical political witch hunts like the Jan 6 Commission. Or they can keep it going and subpoena all the people the current commission refuses to question about what really happened and what really led to the protesters being let into the building.

Control of the senate is just as important, if not more so. With control of the senate, especially if it's by 2 or more seats, the Supreme Court is secured for another two years at least. This is the most important function of the senate right now, because the Supreme Court is one of the only protections we have right now against far left extremism in government. And the court has been turning in some really god decisions. Recent decisions have: paved the way to declare almost all gun control laws unconstitutional; severely limited the power of non-elected regulatory agencies like the EPA; strengthened religious protections in schools; struck down a Maine ruling that said state tuition couldn't be used to attend religious schools; struck down vaccine mandates as unconstitutional; strengthened election integrity in PA; and more. Coming up soon are two cases that might further reign in the administrative state by limiting or outright removing alphabet agencies powers to hold internal trials when they're being sued. In addition to the Supreme Court, taking back the Senate will further kill Biden's legislative agenda and get people like Rand Paul back in charge of important committees. It will protect the filibuster and keep Biden from packing the courts. It will be a big middle finger to the idea that only "moderate" Republicans can win national office. And it will be the beginning of the end of Mitch McConnell's stranglehold on the national Republican party.

Those are just a few examples of why voting works, but what about why your vote matters? I've mentioned it before, but in local and state elections, every vote is important. Local elections are often decided by a few thousand votes, total. That means only a few thousand people vote at all. A close race could literally be decided by you and your family. In 2020 Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa won her seat by six votes. That's you, your parents, and your aunt and uncle showing up to vote. Even in national races your vote matters. Even in blue states your vote matters. Just look at what's happening in NY with Lee Zeldin. He has a real shot at being the first Republican governor in NY since 2006. He won't be elected if Republicans and right leaning independents stay home because "their vote doesn't matter". Your vote matters. Your voice matters. Use both, as loudly and as often as you can. If the red wave fizzles out, it will be because of two things, voter fraud and low voter turnout from the right.

Don't be complacent. Vote.

[airlock]

SO, for the first and fastest bit of CYL nerdery for me to do this year, there’s something new!

this year’s poll came with a fucking hilarious novelty, y’see. we had our midterm results as usual, except... they were unranked, in alphabetical order, betraying not a trace of who was actually winning

at that time, just for the love of guesswork, I made predictions as to what was most likely going to be shape our top 20s would actually be taking. so... how close to the mark was I?

let’s find out.

first things first, I estimated that Soren, m!Byleth and Felix were the top contenders on the male side. I probably meant to count m!Robin among the top contenders as well but I seem to have forgotten to jot his name down anywhere in my predictions, whops. anyway, that blunder aside, the remainder of those predictions all composed the actual top 4 on the male side, so! we can scratch that as a win.

(that aside, though, I was not expecting that, if only one of Soren or Felix would get a foot in the door, it’d be Soren. I sure wasn’t expecting him to be just 500-odd votes shy of even putting a dude between himself and Felix, at that. color me impressed, ye stans of old)

Sigurd, Leif and m!Shez were the ones I admitted I couldn’t really predict on the male side. in the end, they’ve landed, respectively, #5, #9 and #12. moderate results all around. pity that Thracia 776 remains nowhere near breaking out of its rut, although at least this isn’t one of those years when fucking Reinhardt is the game’s top contender--

but speaking of my unknown quantities, hey, guess, what? one of them won the female side. by almost 3000 votes over the runner-up. which is to say -- either the last couple months in FEH have been real interesting, or some of yall need a date--

my other non-predictions on the female side were Sharena, who finised at #7, and f!Shez, who finished at #14. seems like, most of the time, those unknown quantities landed themselves firmly in the middle of the pack.

(speaking of which -- f!Shez was more popular than m!Shez, but by a margin of only 39 votes, probably the smallest differential we’ve EVER seen between two differently gendered versions of the same character. certainly the smallest to happen to a character who gets thousands and votes and not, y’know, Kana)

speaking of Kana, their mum is our other winner this year, so -- Gullveig aside, how well did I do at anticipating the female top placements? well, I guessed that our top contenders were f!Robin, Anna, f!Corrin, Azura, Bernadetta and Hilda. these guesses were mostly correct; these characters occupy the rankings spanning #2 to #6... except for Anna, who only earned herself a #9 ranking. we’ve fallen far off the year when she almost won, that’s for sure. but who knows what Lady Anna might pull off next year?

top contention and unknown quantities aside, I also had guesses as to which of our remaining characters were unlikely to win, but likely to make it to the top 10. these were Dorothea and Tharja (#12, #9), then Lyon, Black Knight, Takumi, Leo and Yuri (#13, #7, #16, #18, #8). close enough on the female side (much as I hate that Tharja being top 10 is such a safe guess), but whoops, that wasn’t a very good guesswork all in all on the male side. I suppose the leokumis of the world were too busy this year either stanning Corrin, stanning Azura, or arguing over Soren and Felix--

anyway, here’s to Elincia, Alfonse and Sylvain blindsiding me and making it to the top 10. one of these is a very happy surprise, another a just kinda mid one, and the final of them I’m going to guess is the reason why Felix couldn’t stay competitive with the other winners-- (look, I’m just saying, both Soren’s and m!Robin’s most popular dates were inelligible this year.)

lastly, an interesting question: did anyone outright fall off from the midterm top 20s? it doesn’t seem to be the case, unless the two characters on each side that I didn’t put in a guess for were not just the ones I forgot about in the midterm, but instead, the ones who unseated whoever else was there. so... it’s just a matter of whether Petra and Ferdinand have been on this list this whole time or not, I guess

anyway, the TMS#FE gang has put on a stronger showing than ever this year, but it doesn’t look like Fódlan’s vise grip on the overall rankings has lessened at all, so... I guess the most interesting things that will remain to be observed are how well the new characters from Three Hopes fared, and how much shit is imminently going to be eaten by each of the characters who finally made it to FEH last year. in any case, it’s time for me to start chewing the top 100, without gender divisions!

[f1]

REVEALED: The F1 team bosses choose their top 10 drivers of 2022

Formula 1’s team principals have voted Max Verstappen as their number one driver of the year for the second successive season in our annual poll, following the Red Bull driver’s successful defence of his title. We asked all 10 team bosses to submit their list of the top 10 drivers of the year, under the proviso that their individual ranking would remain secret. Drivers were given scores based on the current F1 points system – 25 for the top driver down to one for 10th. Those scores were then combined to create a ranking. HEAD-TO-HEAD: Which drivers came out on top in the battle of the 2022 team mates? After wrapping up his second championship in Japan with four races to go, Verstappen – who won a record 15 Grands Prix this season – has crushed the opposition in this ranking, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 63 points. Leclerc, who secured a career-best runner-up spot by beating Sergio Perez to P2 in Abu Dhabi, was second – with George Russell completing the podium in his maiden season with Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton endured a Formula 1 campaign without a Grand Prix victory for the first time in his career and ended up fourth, with Verstappen’s team mate Perez slotting into fifth. READ MORE: The team principals' top 10 drivers of 2021 McLaren’s Lando Norris was a superb sixth, having finished best of the rest in the championship, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz dropped three places to seventh. Fernando Alonso, who leaves Alpine after two seasons to replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin next year, was eighth, just one point behind his countryman Sainz. Valtteri Bottas maintained ninth in this ranking for the second successive year, having switched from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo, with Sebastian Vettel a new entry in 10th in his final season in F1. The team principals who took part in the vote (in alphabetical order) were: Mattia Binotto, Jost Capito, Christian Horner, Mike Krack, Andreas Seidl, Guenther Steiner, Otmar Szafnauer, Franz Tost, Fred Vasseur and Toto Wolff. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[yessoupy]

out lgbtq+ olympians!

this is my third attempt at this post. I am using the list compiled by outsports here. i highly encourage you to click through and read about each of these athletes.

below the cut is the list of the 182* out lgbtq+ athletes at the tokyo games. from the outsports list i have added some scheduling information -- if they've already competed, how they did, and if they are still competing/are yet to compete, when you can catch them. all times are US central daylight, because that's where I live.

representation in sport is SO important for lgbtq+ kids. allies, PLEASE make it a point to post about these athletes on your social media. making the olympic team is a HUGE accomplishment for anyone, and the social barriers that exist for most lgbtq+ athletes make it even MORE amazing.

Arranged by alphabetical order of sport. I have bolded the names of athletes who are still competing or will compete later in the Olympics. Athletes' names are italicized when they win a medal.

lgbtq+ medal count lol:

gold: 11 silver: 12 bronze: 9

3x3 Basketball

Stefanie Dolson (USA) - Team USA won GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Basketball

Julie Allemand (Belgium) - Belgium lost to Japan in the quarterfinals.

Marjorie Carpréaux (Belgium)

Kim Mestdagh (Belgium)

Ann Wauters (Belgium)

Sue Bird (USA) - Sue was a co-flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies, as voted upon by her fellow Olympic athletes. Team USA's won gold!

Chelsea Gray (USA)

Brittney Griner (USA)

Breanna Stewart (USA)

Diana Taurasi (USA)

Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage (Puerto Rico) - Puerto Rico finished group play 0-3 in Group C.

Dayshalee Salamán (Puerto Rico)

Leilani Mitchell (Australia) - Australia was defeated in the quarterfinals by Team USA.

Shaina Pellington (Canada) - Canada finished group play 1-2 in Group A.

BMX Freestyle - NB: You'll find BMX listed under "cycling" when looking at online scheduling.

Perris Benegas (USA) - Perris competes in BMX Freestyle and placed fourth.

Hannah Roberts (USA) - Hannah also competes in BMX Freestyle and won the silver medal!!

Chelsea Wolfe (USA, reserve)

Boxing

Rashida Ellis (USA) - Rashida competes in the women's lightweight event and was defeated in the Round of 16.

Kellie Harrington (Ireland) - Kellie, the flagbearer for Team Ireland, competed in the women's lightweight event and won gold!

Michaela Walsh (Ireland) - Michaela competed in the women's featherweight event. She lost in the Round of 16 to the Italian, Irma Testa, 0-5.

Nesthy Petecio (Philippines) - Nesthy competes in women's featherweight and won the silver medal!!

Irish Bagno (Philippines) - Irish competes in women's flyweight and was defeated in the Round of 16.

Canoe Slalom

Evy Leibfarth (USA) - Evy placed 20th in the K-1 slalom with a Run 1 score of 125.85 (lower scores are better). This put her into the semifinal where she placed 12th and missed qualifying for the final by two places. Evy placed 18th in the C-1 semifinal.

Florence Maheu (Canada) - Florence placed 13th in the K-1 slalom with a Run 1 score of 114.29. In the semifinals she placed 23rd.

Cycling

Georgia Simmerling (Canada) - Georgia competed in the women's team pursuit on the track. Team Canada placed 4th.

Valerie Demey (Belgium) - Valerie competed in the women's road race but did not finish.

Diving

Tom Daley (Britain) - This 4-time Olympian won his first gold medal in Tokyo on the 10m platform synchro with his diving partner Matty Lee. Tom won bronze in the 10m platform!

Anton Down-Jenkins (New Zealand) - Anton's event is the 3m springboard individual. Anton placed 8th in the final!

Equestrian

Cathrine Dufour (Denmark) - Cathrine competed in Team Dressage, in which her team placed 4th with a score of 7540.

Edward Gal (Netherlands) - Edward also competed in Team Dressage, finishing in 5th with a score of 7479.5.

Hans Peter Minderhoud (Netherlands) - Hans Peter is Edward's teammate.

Carl Hester (Britain) - Carl competed in Team Dressage, earning the bronze medal with a score of 7723!

Domien Michiels (Belgium) - Domien competed in the Team Dressage event, ranking 10th in the qualifying rounds with a score of 6702.5, missing the finals by 2 places.

Nick Wagman (USA, reserve)

Fencing

Astrid Guyart (France) - Astrid earned a silver medal in the women's team foil event!!

Field Hockey

Sarah Jones (Britain) - The British team won bronze!

Leah Wilkinson (Britain)

Susannah Townsend (Britain)

Grace O’Hanlon (New Zealand) - New Zealand was defeated by the Netherlands in the quarterfinal.

Anne Veenendaal (Netherlands) - The Dutch team won gold!

Golf

Mel Reid (Britain) - Mel ended the tournament in 55th.

Alena Sharp (Canada) - Alena ended the tournament in 49th.

Handball

Babi Arenhart (Brazil) - Brazil finished 1-1-3 in group play in the women's tournament.

Nathalie Hagman (Sweden) - Sweden finished the tournament in 4th.

Alexandra Lacrabère (France) - France won gold!

Amandine Leynaud (France)

Judo

Alice Bellandi (Italy) - Alice's quest for gold ended in the semifinals of the women's 70kg event.

Amandine Buchard (France) - Amandine competed in the women's 52kg event. She earned SILVER! The gold was earned by Uta Abe of Japan. She earned gold in the mixed team event!

Nina Cutro-Kelly (USA) - Nina competes in the women's +78kg event and she was defeated in the Round of 32.

Jasmin Grabowski (Germany) - Jasmin competes in the women's +78kg event. She was defeated in the Round of 32. In the mixed team event, she won bronze!

Natalie Powell (Britain) - Natalie competes in the women's 78kg event. She was defeated in the Round of 16 by South Korean Yoon Hyunji.

Tessie Savelkouls (Netherlands) - Tessa competes in the women's +78kg event and was defeated in the Round of 32.

Sanne van Dijke (Netherlands) - Sanne competed in the women's 70kg event and earned a BRONZE MEDAL!

Guusje Steenhuis (Netherlands) - Guusje competes in the women's -78kg. She was eliminated from the competition in the repechage contest after the quarterfinal.

Raz Hershko (Israel) - Raz competes in the women's +78kg event where she placed 9th. She won a bronze medal in the mixed team event!

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rut Castillo Galindo (Mexico) - Rut competed in the Individual All-Around, where she placed 22nd in qualifications with a combined score of 82.750.

Rowing

Saskia Budgett (Britain, reserve)

Kendall Chase (USA) - Kendall and her women's four teammates won Final B with a time of 6:33.65.

Gia Doonan (USA) - Gia was part of the women's eight, qualifying for Final A by winning their heat. Gia and her team placed 4th in Final A.

Meghan O’Leary (USA) - Meghan competes in women's quadruple sculls. She and her team, including Ellen Tomek, placed 4th in Final B.

Jessica Thoennes (USA) - Jessica is Gia's teammate in the women's eight and placed 4th in Final A.

Ellen Tomek (USA) - Ellen is Meghan's teammate in the women's quadruple sculls.

Emma Twigg (New Zealand) - Emma won gold in women's single sculls!!!!!!!!!!!

Julian Venonsky (USA) - Julian competes in the men's eight and placed 4th in Final A.

Maarten Hurkmans (Netherlands) - Maarten competes in the men's eight. His team qualified directly to Final A in the heats. Julian placed 5th in Final A.

Katarzyna Zillmann (Poland) - Katarzyna competes in women's quad sculls and won the silver medal with her team!!

Rugby

Elissa Alarie (Canada) - Canada placed 9th in the women's tournament.

Britt Benn (Canada)

Ghislaine Landry (Canada)

Kaili Lukan (Canada)

Kelly Brazier (New Zealand) - New Zealand won the gold medal, defeating France in the final!

Gayle Broughton (New Zealand)

Portia Woodman (New Zealand)

Ruby Tui (New Zealand)

Isadora Cerullo (Brazil) - Team Brazil placed 11th in the women's tournament.

Marina Fioravanti (Brazil)

Megan Jones (Britain) - Team GB placed 4th in the women's tournament, losing to Fiji in the bronze medal match.

Celia Quansah (Britain)

Alev Kelter (USA) - Team USA placed 6th in the women's tournament.

Kristen Thomas (USA)

Lauren Doyle (USA)

Sharni Williams (Australia) - Team Australia placed 5th in the women's tournament.

Sailing

Jolanta Ogar (Poland) - Jolanta's event is the women's 470, and she won the silver medal with her sailing partner Agnieszka Skrzypulec!

Cecilia Carranza Saroli (Argentina) - Cecilia's event is mixed Nacra 17 and she and her teammate placed 7th.

Shooting

Jolyn Beer (Germany) - Jolyn placed 17th in women's 10m air rifle. She placed 6th in the women's smallbore rifle, 3 positions.

Aleksandra Jarmolińska (Poland) - Aleksandra competes in women's skeet, where she placed 19th in the qualifying round with a shot average of 0.912.

Andri Eleftheriou (Cyprus) - Andri also competes in women's skeet, placing 7th in qualifying with a shot average of 0.952.

Katarina Kowplos (Australia) - Katarina competed in three events during the Olympics. She was ranked 45th in the women's 10m air rifle; 36th in women's 50m air rifle, 3 positions; and the Australian team placed 22nd in the mixed 10m air rifle.

Skateboarding

Margielyn Didal (Philippines) - Margielyn placed seventh in the women's street final.

Annie Guglia (Canada) - Annie placed 19th in the women's street final.

Poppy Starr Olsen (Australia) - Poppy competed in women's park, and placed 5th in the final!

Alexis Sablone (USA) - Alexis finished just out of the medal picture in women's street, placing 4th.

Alana Smith (USA) - Alana, nonbinary, placed 20th in women's street at this Games.

Soccer - way to represent!!!!

Yenny Acuña Berrios (Chile) - Team Chile finished 0-3 in Group E play

Christiane Endler (Chile)

Fernanda Pinilla (Chile)

Andressa Alves (Brazil, reserve)

Bárbara Barbosa (Brazil) - Team Brazil was defeated by Canada in the quarterfinals.

Marta da Silva (Brazil)

Formiga (Brazil)

Letícia Izidoro (Brazil)

Aline Reis (Brazil)

Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada) - Team Canada won the gold!

Stephanie Labbé (Canada)

Erin McLeod (Canada, reserve)

Quinn (Canada) - Quinn is a trans non-binary athlete!!!

Kailen Sheridan (Canada)

Rachel Daly (Britain) - Team GB was defeated by Australia in the quarterfinals.

Fran Kirby (Britain)

Jill Scott (Britain)

Demi Stokes (Britain)

Carly Telford (Britain)

Tierna Davidson (USA) - Team USA won bronze!

Adrianna Franch (USA)

Kelly O’Hara (USA)

Megan Rapinoe (USA)

Anouk Dekker (Netherlands, reserve)

Sisca Folkertsma (Netherlands) - Team Netherlands was defeated by Team USA in the quarterfinals.

Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands)

Sherida Spitse (Netherlands)

Daniëlle van de Donk (Netherlands)

Shanice van de Sanden (Netherlands)

Stefanie Van Der Gragt (Netherlands)

Merel van Dongen (Netherlands)

Abby Erceg (New Zealand) - Team New Zealand finished 0-3 in Group G play.

Hannah Wilkinson (New Zealand)

Magda Eriksson (Sweden) - Team Sweden won silver!

Lina Hurtig (Sweden)

Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden)

Caroline Seger (Sweden)

Emily Gielnik (Australia) - Team Australia finished 4th in the tournament.

Sam Kerr (Australia)

Chloe Logarzo (Australia)

Teagan Micah (Australia)

Tameka Yallop (Australia)

Softball

Ally Carda (USA) - Team USA earned a silver medal!

Amanda Chidester (USA)

Taylor Edwards (USA, reserve)

Haylie McCleney (USA)

Larissa Franklin (Canada) - Team Canada earned a bronze medal!

Joey Lye (Canada)

Kaia Parnaby (Australia) - Team Australia ended group play with a 1-4 record.

Anissa Urtez (Mexico) - Team Mexico finished just out of the medals in 4th place.

Surfing

Silvana Lima (Brazil) - Silviana competed in women's shortboard, scoring an 8.3 against Carissa Moore, eventual gold medal winner, in Quarterfinal 3.

Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) - Sofia competed in women's shortboard, scoring 9.90 against Carissa Moore in Heat 5.

Swimming

Rachele Bruni (Italy) - Rachele competed in the women's 10km open water event and placed 14th.

Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) - Ana Marcela won gold in the women's 10km open water!

Amini Fonua (Tonga) - Amini qualified for the Olympics in the men's 100m breaststroke. In the heats he was disqualified. :/ I haven't seen what it was he did to be DQ'd, but my guess (I swam breaststroke in high school and college) is that he did not finish his breakout dolphin kick before beginning his stroke off the blocks/wall. Will update if I figure it out.

Mélanie Henique (France) - Mélanie placed 11th in the women's 50m freestyle with a time of 24.63. She tied with Simone Manuel of America.

Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (Finland) - Ari-Pekka is a sprint freestyler. In the heats of the men's 100m freestyle, he placed 46th overall with a 50.48. Ari-Pekka placed 26th in the men's 50m freestyle heats.

Erica Sullivan (USA) - ERICA SULLIVAN WON SILVER IN THE 1500M FREESTYLE BEHIND KATIE LEDECKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Markus Thormeyer (Canada) - Markus is a backstroker who also competed in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay, where Team Canada placed fourth. He placed 19th in the 100m backstroke and 16th in the 200m backstroke. Markus swam in the prelims and final of the men's 4x100m medley relay, placing 7th.

Taekwondo

Jack Woolley (Ireland) - Jack, who is bisexual, competed in the men's 58kg event. He lost to Lucas Guzman of Argentina in the Round of 16.

Tennis

Demi Schuurs (Netherlands) - Demi competes in women's doubles. She and her partner lost to the Russian Olympic Committee team in the second round in 3 sets.

Sam Stosur (Australia) - Sam and her tennis partner lost to the Swiss pair of Bencic/Golubic in the quarterfinal round of women's doubles.

Alison van Uytvanck (Belgium) - Alison competed in women's singles. She was eliminated from the tournament by Garbinye Muguruza of Spain in the third round.

Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) - Carla placed 17th in the women's singles tournament and 9th in women's doubles.

Track and Field

Michelle-Lee Ahye (Trinidad) - Michelle-Lee qualified 10th in the 100m and 8th in the semifinals, not earning a time or place qualification to the final. Her 4x100m relay team placed 15th in the heats of the relay.

Dutee Chand (India) - Dutee placed 45th in the 100m heats. She placed 38th in the 200m.

Ramsey Angela (Netherlands) - Ramsey won the silver medal in the men's 4x400m relay with his team! He also ran in the mixed 4x400m relay, where his team placed 4th.

Geisa Arcanjo (Brazil) - Geisa placed 30th in the qualification round for the women's shot put.

Raven Saunders (USA) - Raven won the silver in women's shot put!

Tom Bosworth (Britain) - Tom competed in the men's 20km race walk and placed 25th overall.

Erica Bougard (USA) - Erica placed 11th overall in the women's heptathlon.

Aoife Cooke (Ireland) - Aoife did not finish the marathon - it was very hot and humid!!

Izabela da Silva (Brazil) - Izabela placed 11th in the women's discus throw.

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford (Canada) - Gabriela placed 5th in the women's 1500m.

Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela) - Yulimar placed 1st in qualifications for the women's triple jump. In the finals, she won gold AND set a world record!!!

Senni Salminen (Finland) - Senni just missed qualifying for the final in women's triple jump, placing 13th in qualifications.

Trampoline

Dominic Clarke (Australia) - Dominic placed 8th in men's trampoline after qualifying in 1st. It looks like he had a few misses in the final.

Volleyball

Ana Carolina da Silva (Brazil) - Team Brazil won the silver medal!

Carol Gattaz (Brazil)

Paola Egonu (Italy) - Team Italy is 3-2 in pool play. Italy was defeated by Serbia in the quarterfinals.

Douglas Souza (Brazil) - Team Brazil finished the tournament in 4th place.

Water Polo

Rowie Webster (Australia) - Team Australia ended the tournament in 5th place!

Weightlifting

Laurel Hubbard (New Zealand) - Laurel, a trans woman, will competed in the A final of the +87kg women's event and did not finish.

Wrestling

Kayla Miracle (USA) - Kayla will compete in the women's freestyle 62kg. Kalya lost her bout to Long Jia in the Round of 16.

Gymnastics

Caitlin Rooskrantz (South Africa) - In qualifying, Caitlin placed 61st individually.

BMX Racing

Elke Vanhoof (Belgium) - Elke competes in women's BMX Racing. She placed 6th in semifinals and did not advance.

Archery

Lucilla Boari (Italy) - Lucilla won a bronze medal in the women's individual event and placed 7th in the women's team.

Table Tennis

Caroline Kumahara (Brazil) - Caroline placed 9th in the women's team event.

Beach Volleyball

Ana Patricia Silva Ramos (Brazil) - Ana Patricia and her beach volleyball partner Rebecca Cavalcanti were eliminated by the Swiss pair in the quarterfinal round of the women's tournament.

Please let me know if you notice an error here! Send me an ask or a DM. Please be kind, this was a lot of work and I'm sure I made an error somewhere.

[siriuslyblackblog]

Professor 》Remus Lupin (18+)

《 (3) 》

If it's easier for you to read on Wattpad, tap here! Please don't forget to vote or leave a comment❤

❈────────•✦•❅•✦•────────❈

Remus Lupin had just finished eating the third chocolate that day. It was evening already and he had ruined his supper. He wasn't feeling hungry, so he stayed in the classroom and waited for the student to arrive. Nancy's words had left him speechless. No girl had ever told him things like that. Remus thought it was funny at first, but when he caught himself thinking about those words, he quickly shook his head and stood up. He found an occupation, but his mind didn't cooperate. It's been so long since the last time he just looked at a girl in a different way. The fire in his heart he had for Nymphadora Tonks was slowly dying out. He did miss her, but if she came back this moment, he wasn't sure if he would want a relationship with her. It just wasn't the same.

He heard shuffling, then doors being opened. The redhead entered the classroom, dressed more inappropriate than in morning classes. He wasn't even sure that was possible. Merlin, he wasn't sure how Filch didn't notice. Not only him, but anyone.

"Good evening, professor," she greeted.

Her professor sighed, then placed another stack of books on one of the front desks. Remus already knew that she was going to be a tough one and he was already tired. Perhaps he should keep eating chocolate until he gets chubby so no girl approaches him? As much as he missed someone, he had to be focused on being a good professor this year. The rest will easily come. Although, he wasn't stupid. He knew what he looked like and he noticed all the attention he got from female students. Many seventh years purposely started getting in trouble just to get detention with me. Unfortunate for them, all of them mostly suffered detention from their House Heads.

"These books need to be checked and sorted alphabetically, Miss Pennington."

"Of course, professor."

Nancy pulled out her wand and got ready to cast a spell. Just as she opened her mouth, the stern voice of her professor interrupted her.

"No magic, " he said.

The redhead frowned first, then calmly put her wand back in her pocket. She adjusted the skirt so that a bit of her thighs were visible. The cold air hit her skin and made her shiver a bit, but she collected herself and put on the best smile she could.

"As you wish, professor."

Remus left the girl to do her task and went back to his place. While grading the tasks he had given the sixth years, he noticed one was missing. He counted the papers again, but couldn't get the number he needed. Then, he remembered. The girl which left the class almost in tears. The man furrowed his eyebrows, remembering her red face. He hated when people were sad. He knew how awful it is to hold back tears in a room full of people and he didn't want anyone to feel like that. He let her leave the class so she could let it all out in peace. Still, he wondered what caused that reaction.

"Miss Pennington?" He called out, abandoning the papers on his desk.

The girl turned around, waiting for the next words. Remus stopped for a moment, thinking if it was a right thing to ask about a student. Asking about someone's wellbeing isn't wrong, right?

"The girl from this morning. Miss-?"

"Periculum. Roseanne Periculum."

"Right, Miss Periculum. Is she feeling better?"

Nancy shrugged, then went back to arranging the books. Remus frowned, dissatisfied with the answer. This girl was supposed to be a good friend of Miss Periculum, yet all she had was shrugging? It must be terrible not having anyone to ask about your problems. He was lucky to have amazing friends with him during his bad times. He missed them.

"Do you happen to know the reason behind her behaviour today?"

Nancy rolled her eyes, annoyed with the attention professor Lupin was giving to a person that wasn't even in the room. She felt a bit guilty for not asking Rose about her problem, but at the end of the day, she didn't ask anyone. Rose shouldn't be feeling left out. Whatever it was, she'll get through it. Everything comes and goes, nothing stays.

"No, professor."

༻❁༺

The week passed by rather quickly and Rose was soon getting Coco off of her so she could get ready. Nancy was still asleep. She had decided last night that she wasn't in the mood for classes, so she'll pretend to be sick. Dell was already dressed and sat patiently on her bed, waiting for Rose. Rose didn't really despise Dell like she did everyone else. The blonde haired girl was funny and interesting to be around. Maybe it was because of her relationship with Fred Weasley, but who knows. Maybe Rose finally liked someone who wasn't a Weasley. Speaking of Weasleys, they bombarded her with questions the next day she showed up at Transfiguration. Rose didn't want to explain that her insecurity kicked in, so she said the one thing girls always complained about: period. The boys quickly shut up, not asking her any more questions.

Next to Dell laid the fourth roommate. Priya Patil was the older sister of Padma and Parvati Patil. It was interesting how the initials of all three were P. P. Just like Dell, Rose also didn't mind Priya. She minded her best friend, Elisaveta Yakusheva. Her father played a big role in almost everything, just like Mr Malfoy. Elisaveta - or Lisa, like Priya and her close friends call her - is almost as popular as Nancy. Of course, Nancy's red curls and green eyes won over Lisa's blonde straight hair and blue eyes. Nancy was also a million times nicer, as unbelievable as it sounds. Priya was stuck between the two girls. She loved both of her best friends, but most of the time she faced the problem of choosing sides. In those moments, Rose was happy to have less than five friends.

This morning, Dell noticed that the brown haired girl had gotten up earlier and was spending a big amount of time in front of the mirror. She also noticed a chocolate peeking from her bag. Little did she know that it was a creation of the Weasleys. Rose was supposed to hand the chocolate to the new professor today. She wasn't sure what it was supposed to do. Fred didn't want to tell her and George only laughed whenever she asked.

"Rosie, I feel like I'm watching Nancy. What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't wear your skirt that way. And you've been trying to fix your hair for hours now. Is there something I don't know?"

It was true. The skirt was placed higher on her waist, revealing her knees and a bit of thighs. She had seen professor Lupin only during meals, but he was so far away to see her. Today she will finally see him again. She couldn't wait to hear his voice and look at him properly this time. Tired of her shuffling, Dell stood up to help her roommate. She cast a spell to fix the mess on her head. Soft brown waves replaced split ends and tangled strands. It has been so long since her hair looked like that. The last time she put effort in her looks was when she was in love with Oliver Wood.

Rose split up with her roommate and entered the classroom alone. The twins were in their seats, both of them sending a mischievous smile her way. She wished she knew what the chocolate actually was.

"Why a chocolate? What if he thinks I'm trying to flirt with him?"

George laughed at her words, then took the chocolate from her. He admired it as if he wasn't the one who made it. "Our professor has a sweet tooth, love. He won't be thinking about you when he sees it."

Needless to say, the girl was disappointed. That's honestly what she wanted. Him to see her, to think about her. One thought led to another and she found herself thinking about what happened that Monday in detention. Nancy came back looking like a mess, her lipstick a bit smeared on her bottom lip. She was jealous. So jealous that she could feel her head burning. Her thoughts were interrupted when George touched her leg with his under the desk. The professor entered the classroom with a good morning, then sat down. Rose crossed her legs, feeling a bit of fear because of the way she wore her uniform. Maybe she could let her tongue loose too and earn herself a detention with him. Just maybe...

After giving everyone a task, Remus remembered the girl and allowed himself to glance at her. She had her head down, her hair slowly getting puffy again. She seemed fine today and it made him feel better. He didn't like to see his students come to class in pain or anything like that. The girl then raised her head, looking directly into his eyes. Her eyes widened, surprised that the professor was already looking at her. Her head was soon in the previous position, her face now hidden with hair. Just as Remus wanted to go back to the lesson, he noticed something. He noticed how Rose was uncomfortably shifting under the desk. Then, he noticed her bare thighs. She had her legs crossed, her hands fixing the skirt every few moments. The redhead next to her shot her a few confused looks. She didn't look like that last Monday. She looked like a mess back then. Remus also couldn't help but notice that one white lock of hair and her plump bottom lip. She was a refreshing sight. Of course, all girls in Hogwarts were stunning, but they all looked the same. Roseanne didn't have long skinny legs and long nails. She also didn't have lots of makeup on her face. Remus wasn't sure when was makeup even allowed. He remembered how his friend once got in trouble for putting on lip gloss. A bright red lipstick? Merlin, what else will he see in this school?

Rose felt her cheeks burning as she felt professor Lupin's eyes on her. Finally, she thought. But she also felt disappointed. Did she really have to dress up that way to get noticed? What kind of a man is he? Rose also wondered if she really wanted to get close to a man like that. A man who only noticed her after she changed her appearance and copied the style of other girls. They always tell you to be yourself and be unique, but then you get excluded for being too different. It's hard to live, really.

The first class came to an end and everyone was too busy gathering their belongings to hear professor's words. Rose managed to write down the task he gave them for the next class, then gathered her own things. George playfully pulled her sleeve, then nodded towards the chocolate in her bag.

"Do I have to?"

"What are you scared of, Rosie?"

"I just don't want to get in trouble."

But she did want to get in trouble. A trouble called professor Remus Lupin. She glanced at the chocolate, then her professor. He was busy taking off his jacket and collecting his books.

"Since when?" George asked, surprised with the sudden change in his crush's behaviour.

Rose bit her bottom lip, thinking about the situation. The classroom was almost empty, a few students still pushing each other to get out. George pinched her cheek, then kissed her head. She despised contact of any kind, but head kisses and cheek pinching from the twins were different. She would occasionally hit their shoulder, acting like she hated it. The redhead was the last to exit the classroom, leaving Rose alone with the professor. He had gotten up and was arranging the books on the shelf. His jacket was placed on his chair and he only wore the white shirt. Rose couldn't help but notice his back muscles through his shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the veins on his arms. The brown haired girl stood behind him with the chocolate in her hands, lost in the way his fingers went through the pages and the way his back muscles moved. She didn't even notice her jaw slowly dropping as the man set the books back in place and stretched. Rose wasn't sure he was aware that she's still there.

Remus turned around, running his fingers through his hair and letting out a sigh. He finally had some free time. Enough to eat one chocolate bar. Maybe two. The man stopped in his tracks when he noticed a girl standing in front of him. Her mouth was slightly opened, her cheeks pink and her chest slowly rising and falling. He wasn't stupid. He was aware of his looks. He just didn't think it was worth that much attention. There were men who looked far better than him. Then why did all the girls still go after him?

"Miss Periculum," he greeted, putting his hands behind his back.

The girl closed her mouth and gulped, then looked down. The chocolate seemed like a normal one you could buy at Hogsmeade, but Merlin knew what it actually was. She noticed professor Lupin eyeing the chocolate, making her more nervous than she already was.

"Oh, before you say anything..."

The man walked over to his desk, picking up a few papers and looking at them. Rose watched as his fingers moved, her eyes following the veins all the way up his arms. She could feel her cheeks heating up again, her mind creating pictures she would've loved to see happen in reality.

"...because you left the classroom last Monday, you missed a task I need to grade. I hope you understand that you can't be the only one without a grade."

The brown haired girl nodded, mimicking the previous action of her professor by putting her hands behind her back. "When will I do it, professor?"

Remus mentally slapped himself. The way his student called him professor made his mind go crazy. She had a quiet, silky voice and he just wished to hear it one more time. So he asked, "Sorry?"

"When will I do the task, professor?"

Rose repeated the sentence a bit louder and Remus had to use all his strength so he wouldn't smile with satisfaction. He needed to see her again as soon as possible and as often as possible. Her voice was addicting. He would do anything to hear her call him again. Remus also wondered what his real name would sound on her lips. He dared to wonder what it sounded like in more than just a normal way. The man turned around towards his desk, going through the papers to hide his heavy breathing. He did feel disappointed in himself. How dare he think about a student that way? But he still couldn't help himself and say:

"Tonight, Miss Periculum."

[artielu]

[Yes, this is long, but it is worth your time to read the whole thing.]

January 6, 2021 (Wednesday)

Today the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capitol.

This morning, results from the Georgia senatorial runoff elections showed that Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff had beaten their Republican opponents—both incumbents—by more than the threshold that would require a recount. The Senate is now split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, so the position of majority leader goes to a Democrat. Mitch McConnell, who has bent the government to his will since he took over the position of majority leader in 2007, will be replaced.

With the Democrats in control of both Congress and the Executive Branch, it is reasonable to expect we will see voting rights legislation, which will doom the current-day Republican Party, depending as it has on voter suppression to stay in power.

Trump Republicans and McConnell Republicans had just begun to blame each other for the debacle when Congress began to count the certified electoral votes from the states to establish that Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. The election was not close—Biden won the popular vote by more than 7 million votes and the Electoral College by 306 to 232—but Trump contends that he won the election in a landslide and “fraud” made Biden the winner.

Trump has never had a case. His campaign filed and either lost or had dismissed 62 out of 63 lawsuits because it could produce no evidence for any of its wild accusations. Nonetheless, radical lawmakers courted Trump’s base by echoing Trump’s charges, then tried to argue that the fact voters no longer trusted the vote was reason to contest the certified votes.

More than 100 members of the House announced they would object to counting the votes of certain states. About 13 senators, led by Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), agreed to join them. The move would slow down the count as each chamber would have to debate and take a separate vote on whether to accept the state votes, but the objectors never had anywhere near the votes they needed to make their objections stick.

So Trump turned to pressuring Vice President Mike Pence, who would preside over the counting, to throw out the Biden votes. On Monday, Trump tweeted that “the Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” This would throw the blame for the loss onto Pence, but the vice president has no constitutional power to do any such thing, and this morning he made that clear in a statement. Trump then tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”

It seemed clear that the voting would be heated, but it was also clear that most of the lawmakers opposing the count were posturing to court Trump’s base for future elections. Congress would count Biden’s win.

But Trump had urged his supporters for weeks to descend on Washington, D.C., to stop what he insisted was the stealing of the election. They did so and, this morning, began to congregate near the Capitol, where the counting would take place. As he passed them on the east side of the Capitol, Hawley raised a power fist.

In the middle of the day, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani spoke to the crowd, telling them: “Let’s have trial by combat.” Trump followed, lying that he had won the election and saying “we are going to have to fight much harder.” He warned that Pence had better “come through for us, and if he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country.” He warned that Chinese-driven socialists are taking over the country. And he told them to march on Congress to “save our democracy.”

As rioters took Trump at his word, Congress was counting the votes alphabetically by state. When they got to Arizona, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) stood up to echo the rhetoric radicals had been using to discredit the certified votes, saying that public distrust in the election—created out of thin air by Republicans—justified an investigation.

Within an hour, a violent mob stormed the Capitol and Cruz, along with the rest of the lawmakers, was rushed to safety (four quick-thinking staffers brought along the electoral ballots, in their ceremonial boxes). As the rioters broke in, police shot and killed one of them: Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran from San Diego, QAnon believer, and staunch Trump supporter. The insurrectionists broke into the Senate chamber, where one was photographed on the dais of the Senate, shirtless and wearing a bull costume that revealed a Ku Klux Klan tattoo on his abdomen. They roamed the Capitol looking for Pence and other lawmakers they considered enemies. Not finding them, they ransacked offices. One rioter photographed himself sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk with his feet on it.

They carried with them the Confederate flag.

Capitol police provided little obstruction, apparently eager to avoid confrontations that could be used as propaganda on social media. The intruders seemed a little surprised at their success, taking selfies and wandering around like tourists. One stole a lectern.

As the White House, the FBI, the Justice Department, and the Department of Homeland Security all remained silent, President-Elect Joe Biden spoke to cameras urging calm and calling on Trump to tell his supporters to go home. But CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins later reported that she spoke to White House officials who were “genuinely freaked… out” that Trump was “borderline enthusiastic” about the storming of the Capitol because “it meant the certification was being derailed.”

At 4:17, Trump issued his own video, reiterating his false claims that he had been cheated of victory. Only then did he conclude with: “Go home, we love you, you’re very special.” Twitter immediately took the video down. By nighttime Trump’s Twitter feed seemed to blame his enemies for the violence the president had incited (although the rhythm of the words did not sound to me like Trump’s own usual cadence): “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

Twitter took down the tweet and banned the president for at least twelve hours for inciting violence; Facebook and Instagram followed suit.

As the afternoon wore on, police found two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., as well as a truck full of weapons and ammunition, and mobs gathered at statehouses across the country, including in Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, California, and Georgia.

By 5:00, acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller issued a statement saying he had conferred with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Vice President Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and had fully activated the D.C. National Guard.

He did not mention the president.

By late evening, Washington, D.C., police chief Robert J. Contee III announced that at least 52 people had been arrested and 14 law enforcement officers injured. A total of four people died, including one who died of a heart attack and one who tased themself.

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone urged people to stay away from Trump to limit their chances of being prosecuted for treason under the Sedition Act. By midnight, four staffers had resigned, as well as Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger, with other, higher level officials also talking about leaving. Even Trump adviser Stephen Miller admitted it was a bad day. Quickly, pro-Trump media began to insist that the attack was a false-flag operation of “Antifa,” despite the selfies and videos posted by known right-wing agitators, and the fact that Trump had invited, incited, and praised them.

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis laid the blame for today’s attack squarely at the feet of Trump himself: “Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, and effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice.”

The attempted coup drew condemnation from all but the radical Trump supporters in government. Former President George W. Bush issued a statement “on insurrection at the Capitol,” saying “it is a sickening and heartbreaking sight.” “I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election,” he said, and accused such leaders of enflaming the rioters with lies and false hopes. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) was more direct: “What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States.”

Across the country tonight are calls for Trump’s removal through the 25th amendment, impeachment, or resignation. The Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have joined the chorus, writing to Pence urging him to invoke the 25th. Angry at Trump’s sabotaging of the Georgia elections in addition to the attack on our democracy, prominent Republicans are rumored to be doing the same.

At 8:00, heavily armed guards escorted the lawmakers back to the Capitol, thoroughly scrubbed by janitors, where the senators and representatives resumed their counting of the certified votes. The events of the afternoon had broken some of the Republicans away from their determination to challenge the votes. Fourteen Republican senators had announced they would object to counting the certified votes from Arizona; in the evening count the number dropped to six: Cruz (R-TX), Hawley (R-MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

In the House, 121 Republicans, more than half the Republican caucus, voted to throw out Biden’s electors from Arizona. As in the Senate, they lost when 303 Representatives voted in favor.

Six senators and more than half of the House Republicans backed an attempt to overthrow our government, in favor of a man caught on tape just four days ago trying to strong-arm a state election official into falsifying the election results.

Today the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capitol.

[Heather Cox Richardson is a Professor of History at Boston College. She has daily posts on Facebook that summarize the day's political events and puts them in historical context. The Facebook post link's first comment are her citations to sources.]

[victory-rose]

January 6, 2021 (Wednesday)

Today the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capitol.

This morning, results from the Georgia senatorial runoff elections showed that Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff had beaten their Republican opponents—both incumbents—by more than the threshold that would require a recount. The Senate is now split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, so the position of majority leader goes to a Democrat. Mitch McConnell, who has bent the government to his will since he took over the position of majority leader in 2007, will be replaced.

With the Democrats in control of both Congress and the Executive Branch, it is reasonable to expect we will see voting rights legislation, which will doom the current-day Republican Party, depending as it has on voter suppression to stay in power.

Trump Republicans and McConnell Republicans had just begun to blame each other for the debacle when Congress began to count the certified electoral votes from the states to establish that Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. The election was not close—Biden won the popular vote by more than 7 million votes and the Electoral College by 306 to 232—but Trump contends that he won the election in a landslide and “fraud” made Biden the winner.

Trump has never had a case. His campaign filed and either lost or had dismissed 62 out of 63 lawsuits because it could produce no evidence for any of its wild accusations. Nonetheless, radical lawmakers courted Trump’s base by echoing Trump’s charges, then tried to argue that the fact voters no longer trusted the vote was reason to contest the certified votes.

More than 100 members of the House announced they would object to counting the votes of certain states. About 13 senators, led by Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), agreed to join them. The move would slow down the count as each chamber would have to debate and take a separate vote on whether to accept the state votes, but the objectors never had anywhere near the votes they needed to make their objections stick.

So Trump turned to pressuring Vice President Mike Pence, who would preside over the counting, to throw out the Biden votes. On Monday, Trump tweeted that “the Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” This would throw the blame for the loss onto Pence, but the vice president has no constitutional power to do any such thing, and this morning he made that clear in a statement. Trump then tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”

It seemed clear that the voting would be heated, but it was also clear that most of the lawmakers opposing the count were posturing to court Trump’s base for future elections. Congress would count Biden’s win.

But Trump had urged his supporters for weeks to descend on Washington, D.C., to stop what he insisted was the stealing of the election. They did so and, this morning, began to congregate near the Capitol, where the counting would take place. As he passed them on the east side of the Capitol, Hawley raised a power fist.

In the middle of the day, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani spoke to the crowd, telling them: “Let’s have trial by combat.” Trump followed, lying that he had won the election and saying “we are going to have to fight much harder.” He warned that Pence had better “come through for us, and if he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country.” He warned that Chinese-driven socialists are taking over the country. And he told them to march on Congress to “save our democracy.”

As rioters took Trump at his word, Congress was counting the votes alphabetically by state. When they got to Arizona, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) stood up to echo the rhetoric radicals had been using to discredit the certified votes, saying that public distrust in the election—created out of thin air by Republicans—justified an investigation.

Within an hour, a violent mob stormed the Capitol and Cruz, along with the rest of the lawmakers, was rushed to safety (four quick-thinking staffers brought along the electoral ballots, in their ceremonial boxes). As the rioters broke in, police shot and killed one of them: Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran from San Diego, QAnon believer, and staunch Trump supporter. The insurrectionists broke into the Senate chamber, where one was photographed on the dais of the Senate, shirtless and wearing a bull costume that revealed a Ku Klux Klan tattoo on his abdomen. They roamed the Capitol looking for Pence and other lawmakers they considered enemies. Not finding them, they ransacked offices. One rioter photographed himself sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk with his feet on it.

They carried with them the Confederate flag.

Capitol police provided little obstruction, apparently eager to avoid confrontations that could be used as propaganda on social media. The intruders seemed a little surprised at their success, taking selfies and wandering around like tourists. One stole a lectern.

As the White House, the FBI, the Justice Department, and the Department of Homeland Security all remained silent, President-Elect Joe Biden spoke to cameras urging calm and calling on Trump to tell his supporters to go home. But CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins later reported that she spoke to White House officials who were “genuinely freaked… out” that Trump was “borderline enthusiastic” about the storming of the Capitol because “it meant the certification was being derailed.”

At 4:17, Trump issued his own video, reiterating his false claims that he had been cheated of victory. Only then did he conclude with: “Go home, we love you, you’re very special.” Twitter immediately took the video down. By nighttime Trump’s Twitter feed seemed to blame his enemies for the violence the president had incited (although the rhythm of the words did not sound to me like Trump’s own usual cadence): “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

Twitter took down the tweet and banned the president for at least twelve hours for inciting violence; Facebook and Instagram followed suit.

As the afternoon wore on, police found two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., as well as a truck full of weapons and ammunition, and mobs gathered at statehouses across the country, including in Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, California, and Georgia.

By 5:00, acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller issued a statement saying he had conferred with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Vice President Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and had fully activated the D.C. National Guard.

He did not mention the president.

By late evening, Washington, D.C., police chief Robert J. Contee III announced that at least 52 people had been arrested and 14 law enforcement officers injured. A total of four people died, including one who died of a heart attack and one who tased themself.

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone urged people to stay away from Trump to limit their chances of being prosecuted for treason under the Sedition Act. By midnight, four staffers had resigned, as well as Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger, with other, higher level officials also talking about leaving. Even Trump adviser Stephen Miller admitted it was a bad day. Quickly, pro-Trump media began to insist that the attack was a false-flag operation of “Antifa,” despite the selfies and videos posted by known right-wing agitators, and the fact that Trump had invited, incited, and praised them.

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis laid the blame for today’s attack squarely at the feet of Trump himself: “Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, and effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice.”

The attempted coup drew condemnation from all but the radical Trump supporters in government. Former President George W. Bush issued a statement “on insurrection at the Capitol,” saying “it is a sickening and heartbreaking sight.” “I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election,” he said, and accused such leaders of enflaming the rioters with lies and false hopes. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) was more direct: “What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States.”

Across the country tonight are calls for Trump’s removal through the 25th amendment, impeachment, or resignation. The Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have joined the chorus, writing to Pence urging him to invoke the 25th. Angry at Trump’s sabotaging of the Georgia elections in addition to the attack on our democracy, prominent Republicans are rumored to be doing the same.

At 8:00, heavily armed guards escorted the lawmakers back to the Capitol, thoroughly scrubbed by janitors, where the senators and representatives resumed their counting of the certified votes. The events of the afternoon had broken some of the Republicans away from their determination to challenge the votes. Fourteen Republican senators had announced they would object to counting the certified votes from Arizona; in the evening count the number dropped to six: Cruz (R-TX), Hawley (R-MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

In the House, 121 Republicans, more than half the Republican caucus, voted to throw out Biden’s electors from Arizona. As in the Senate, they lost when 303 Representatives voted in favor.

Six senators and more than half of the House Republicans backed an attempt to overthrow our government, in favor of a man caught on tape just four days ago trying to strong-arm a state election official into falsifying the election results.

Today the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capitol.

[radramblog]

nuzlocke competitions

I’ve been involving myself in a multitude of what I can only describe as Nuzlocke Competitions as of late. It’s a combination of giving myself direction as to which games to play and what rulesets to run, ensuring I take the runs seriously and better my skill, get some pride points, and actually have people to talk about runs with. Because I don’t really know anyone IRL who’s as into running Nuzlockes as I am.

There’s little nuances between each that make them all interesting, and that’s what I’m going to describe, I guess.

Universal Communitylocke (UCL)

The first one I joined, and the only one that isn’t so much a competition as a challenge, the UCL is as simple as it gets, and about as lengthy as you want it to be. The challenge: pick one Nuzlocke ruleset, and run every single region with it. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and now Galar. If you don’t have access to later gens (seeing as while GBA and DS emulation is easy, 3DS and Switch is less so), you can do a truncated list if you want, but you have a year to do it from when you sign up. That last bit actually changed for the currently running season 3, with everybody’s deadline being December 31, 2022.

I believe I’m one of the few people to have completed both seasons 1 and 2 of the UCL, having run a standard set for the first one (though doing the alternate, no-3DS mode) and an alphabetlocke for the second (in which your team’s nicknames are randomly generated and the first 6 alphabetically must be your team). This made season 2 much tougher than season 1, since I had to work around pretty much not getting to pick my team, and I deliberately ran the harder Third Version games (and B2W2/USUM), and it thoroughly put me off doing Alphabetlockes ever again, given the choice.

I’ve actually yet to sign up for Season 3, even 8 months after it started. It’s a combination of a lack of time restriction (though there is still a deadline), lack of motivation, and the UCL discord being, kinda dead this time around. I do plan on running it, though, considering I want that Triple Senpai title. Since there’s less of a competitive element, I can wholeheartedly recommend this one even to newcomers.

Nuzlocke World Cup (NWC)

The Nuzlocke World Cup is the first of these that is actually a competition, with teams and knockouts and the like. Eight teams of five, all named after one of the main series regions, compete in a double elimination tournament that tests both Nuzlocke skill and that of competitive Pokemon in general. Each round, 5 games are listed, and each team assigns one of their own to each game, head-to-head against the member of the opposing team playing that game- points are assigned based on death count in the run as well as through a battle between the final teams of each player. The runs (and games) get harder as the tournament progresses, and I’ve seen the general skill level- it’s fucking high.

The first season of this I was on the Unova Units. We went out round 2. It wasn’t great.

Season 2 had team captains draft 2 participants with the other 2 being randomly assigned, and so I found myself as the last pre-random pick added to the Johto Thundercats. And we’ve been utterly crushing it, with multiple near-flawless victories and not a single loss to our name. For reference, most of my runs in this have been deathless, and I’ve won 2 of the 3 Battles I had to do. We’re now in the semis, and I…haven’t gotten very far in the run yet because I’ve been doing other stuff. Oops.

Unlike UCL, NWC is both restrictive and has a massive average skill level, especially as teams get knocked out. But it’s been fun and rewarding, a confirmation that my skill is, in fact, pretty real.

Nuzlocke Premier League (NPL)

(this one wasn’t attached to the nuzforums so I don’t have a link)

An offshoot of the NWC, themed after the Premier League of Soccer. I think. Teams of four are in a similar tournament structure, however the ruleset completely changes each round, and everyone plays the same game every round. While only 3 players per team need to play each round (save the finals), there’s an additional rule: The coordination rule, in which no two players on a team can have the same Pokemon on their in-game team. This led to some difficult teambuilding, particularly with round 5 – Red and Blue with TMs banned meant that so many of the game’s very limited species pool were utterly unusable, and not that many Pokemon make it out of such a ruleset unharmed.

My team, the Opelucid Dreams, made it all the way to the semi-finals before falling. I kind of blame myself a little bit- after running the first 6 rounds in a row (partially due to a teammate being absent), I wasn’t involved in the final 3 as a result of uni, then exams, then just everyone starting before I’d looked at it. And we didn’t make it out of the BW2 Wedlocke alive. Still, I’m proud of our performance, and I imagine there’ll be a second season for me to join soon enough.

Nuzvivor: Johto

The final and most complicated run, themed completely around Survivor. The reality TV series. There’s tribes, there’s a confessional, there’s challenges, you name it. It’s actually really interesting. And hard to explain if you haven’t seen the show or know how it works.

I don’t have as much of a story to tell for this one, because it’s still early days. At time of writing, we’re going through the second immunity challenge, and my (Shio) tribe is likely to lose it. We’ve won both Reward challenges and the previous Immunity, though, so I’m fairly confident. Assuming I don’t get voted out this round, which would suck. There’s an actual social game to this, which is supremely awkward for me when the three people who have remotely similar time-zone to me are all on the other tribe.

This one I actually recommend being in the discord for, because from what I can tell watching this is actually super cool. Just don’t tell me anything if you do, that would be cheating.

[daybreak-dragon]

January 6, 2021

Today the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capitol.

This morning, results from the Georgia senatorial runoff elections showed that Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff had beaten their Republican opponents—both incumbents—by more than the threshold that would require a recount. The Senate is now split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, so the position of majority leader goes to a Democrat. Mitch McConnell, who has bent the government to his will since he took over the position of majority leader in 2007, will be replaced.

 With the Democrats in control of both Congress and the Executive Branch, it is reasonable to expect we will see voting rights legislation, which will doom the current-day Republican Party, depending as it has on voter suppression to stay in power.

Trump Republicans and McConnell Republicans had just begun to blame each other for the debacle when Congress began to count the certified electoral votes from the states to establish that Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. The election was not close—Biden won the popular vote by more than 7 million votes and the Electoral College by 306 to 232—but Trump contends that he won the election in a landslide and “fraud” made Biden the winner.

Trump has never had a case. His campaign filed and either lost or had dismissed 62 out of 63 lawsuits because it could produce no evidence for any of its wild accusations. Nonetheless, radical lawmakers courted Trump’s base by echoing Trump’s charges, then tried to argue that the fact voters no longer trusted the vote was reason to contest the certified votes.

More than 100 members of the House announced they would object to counting the votes of certain states. About 13 senators, led by Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), agreed to join them. The move would slow down the count as each chamber would have to debate and take a separate vote on whether to accept the state votes, but the objectors never had anywhere near the votes they needed to make their objections stick.

So Trump turned to pressuring Vice President Mike Pence, who would preside over the counting, to throw out the Biden votes. On Monday, Trump tweeted that “the Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” This would throw the blame for the loss onto Pence, but the vice president has no constitutional power to do any such thing, and this morning he made that clear in a statement. Trump then tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”

It seemed clear that the voting would be heated, but it was also clear that most of the lawmakers opposing the count were posturing to court Trump’s base for future elections. Congress would count Biden’s win.

But Trump had urged his supporters for weeks to descend on Washington, D.C., to stop what he insisted was the stealing of the election. They did so and, this morning, began to congregate near the Capitol, where the counting would take place. As he passed them on the east side of the Capitol, Hawley raised a power fist.

In the middle of the day, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani spoke to the crowd, telling them: “Let’s have trial by combat.” Trump followed, lying that he had won the election and saying “we are going to have to fight much harder.” He warned that Pence had better “come through for us, and if he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country.” He warned that Chinese-driven socialists are taking over the country. And he told them to march on Congress to “save our democracy.”

As rioters took Trump at his word, Congress was counting the votes alphabetically by state. When they got to Arizona, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) stood up to echo the rhetoric radicals had been using to discredit the certified votes, saying that public distrust in the election—created out of thin air by Republicans—justified an investigation.

Within an hour, a violent mob stormed the Capitol and Cruz, along with the rest of the lawmakers, was rushed to safety (four quick-thinking staffers brought along the electoral ballots, in their ceremonial boxes). As the rioters broke in, police shot and killed one of them: Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran from San Diego, QAnon believer, and staunch Trump supporter. The insurrectionists broke into the Senate chamber, where one was photographed on the dais of the Senate, shirtless and wearing a bull costume that revealed a Ku Klux Klan tattoo on his abdomen. They roamed the Capitol looking for Pence and other lawmakers they considered enemies. Not finding them, they ransacked offices. One rioter photographed himself sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk with his feet on it.

They carried with them the Confederate flag.

Capitol police provided little obstruction, apparently eager to avoid confrontations that could be used as propaganda on social media. The intruders seemed a little surprised at their success, taking selfies and wandering around like tourists. One stole a lectern.

As the White House, the FBI, the Justice Department, and the Department of Homeland Security all remained silent, President-Elect Joe Biden spoke to cameras urging calm and calling on Trump to tell his supporters to go home. But CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins later reported that she spoke to White House officials who were “genuinely freaked… out” that Trump was “borderline enthusiastic” about the storming of the Capitol because “it meant the certification was being derailed.”

At 4:17, Trump issued his own video, reiterating his false claims that he had been cheated of victory. Only then did he conclude with: “Go home, we love you, you’re very special.” Twitter immediately took the video down. By nighttime Trump’s Twitter feed seemed to blame his enemies for the violence the president had incited (although the rhythm of the words did not sound to me like Trump’s own usual cadence): “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

Twitter took down the tweet and banned the president for at least twelve hours for inciting violence; Facebook and Instagram followed suit.

As the afternoon wore on, police found two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., as well as a truck full of weapons and ammunition, and mobs gathered at statehouses across the country, including in Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, California, and Georgia.

By 5:00, acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller issued a statement saying he had conferred with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Vice President Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and had fully activated the D.C. National Guard.

He did not mention the president.

By late evening, Washington, D.C., police chief Robert J. Contee III announced that at least 52 people had been arrested and 14 law enforcement officers injured. A total of four people died, including one who died of a heart attack and one who tased themself.

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone urged people to stay away from Trump to limit their chances of being prosecuted for treason under the Sedition Act. By midnight, four staffers had resigned, as well as Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger, with other, higher level officials also talking about leaving. Even Trump adviser Stephen Miller admitted it was a bad day. Quickly, pro-Trump media began to insist that the attack was a false-flag operation of “Antifa,” despite the selfies and videos posted by known right-wing agitators, and the fact that Trump had invited, incited, and praised them.

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis laid the blame for today’s attack squarely at the feet of Trump himself: “Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, and effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice.”

The attempted coup drew condemnation from all but the radical Trump supporters in government. Former President George W. Bush issued a statement “on insurrection at the Capitol,” saying “it is a sickening and heartbreaking sight.” “I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election,” he said, and accused such leaders of enflaming the rioters with lies and false hopes. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) was more direct: “What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States.”

Across the country tonight are calls for Trump’s removal through the 25th amendment, impeachment, or resignation. The Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have joined the chorus, writing to Pence urging him to invoke the 25th. Angry at Trump’s sabotaging of the Georgia elections in addition to the attack on our democracy, prominent Republicans are rumored to be doing the same.

At 8:00, heavily armed guards escorted the lawmakers back to the Capitol, thoroughly scrubbed by janitors, where the senators and representatives resumed their counting of the certified votes. The events of the afternoon had broken some of the Republicans away from their determination to challenge the votes. Fourteen Republican senators had announced they would object to counting the certified votes from Arizona; in the evening count the number dropped to six: Cruz (R-TX), Hawley (R-MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

In the House, 121 Republicans, more than half the Republican caucus, voted to throw out Biden’s electors from Arizona. As in the Senate, they lost when 303 Representatives voted in favor.

Six senators and more than half of the House Republicans backed an attempt to overthrow our government, in favor of a man caught on tape just four days ago trying to strong-arm a state election official into falsifying the election results.

Today the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capitol.

-Heather Cox Richardson

American historian and Professor of History at Boston College

[ahnsael]

Going in alphabetical order of states, Arizona was the first state to have their electoral votes challenged. Each house of Congress now convenes separately for two hours, and then the joint session of the House and Senate reconvene to vote.

And each and every objection (which some 150 Republicans have signed off on making this happen), will result in separate two-hour debates by the Senate and the House.

This could go on until tomorrow in this case.

And yet the outcome has been decided. It’s showboating by Republicans -- who are at LEAST as fractured as Democrats (who are also fractured).

The Democrat-led House is not going to uphold these objections. The election has been decided. And the Republicans are just drawing it out. Possibly (and this is conjecture, not fact) to stoke the sense of anger in the part of the MAGA crowd. But even this morning at work, I saw Fox News, of all people, telling their viewers that this was over, that Trump was acting on misinformation being fed to him by Rudy Guiliani (yes, Fox News LITERALLY said that), and that the “game changer” that Mike Pence could be, according to Trump, was Constitutionally impossible (I never thought I’d see Fox News call out Trump and cite the Constitution to say that Trump is wrong).

And to Pence’s credit (the first time I’ve given him credit), he is presiding according to the rules set in place, and not throwing out votes like Trump said he could/would.

But Pence has no power to overturn the election, and has expressed his desire to not overturn the vote. As loyal to Trump as he has been, he is doing his job as prescribed in the Constitution today. He’s not as far gone as Trump is. He knows his side lost, and while the objections (as in the case of Arizona) do constitutionally require debate, I don’t believe anything that happens today (or tomorrow, or however long this draws out) will change the result.

Congress has no power to overturn the election, despite the showmanship of certain people who think that catering to the MAGA crowd will win them reelection, because their biggest fear is losing the power that they have.

Also, Democrats have won one of the two Senate seats in Georgia. The other Georgia run-off is too close to call (as of when I came home from work). The other race was leaning Democrat as well, but still too close to call (it was 50.1% to 49.9% when I got to work, then by the time I left work it was 50.2% to 49.8% in favor of Democrats, but with 1% of votes still to be counted, so the outstanding vote counts could change things). If the second race also goes to the Democrat, Democrats will hold both houses of Congress.

But...with threats of violence, even from Republican politicians, this is going to be an interesting year. Throw on the pandemic on to of all that, and here goes my next anxiety attack. I feel good about Biden being sworn in in less than two weeks. But I feel bad abut the possibility that all of Trump’s threats of violence, as well as Republican House of Representatives member Louie Gohmert’s statement that “street violence” is the only recourse, we could still he heading to another Civil War.

[littlemissfundip]

Close is Good Enough

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Pairing: Uraraka Ochako/ Bakugo Kitsuki

Summery: Ochako thought that manning Class 1-A's kissing booth was going to be little more than an unfortunate way to spend an hour. When Bakugo shows up with a hand full of yen and a challenge though Ochako finds herself facing a whole series of uncomfortable truths. School festivals are as good a place for self-discovery as any right?

Note: I'm trying to get back into writing fanfiction after being out of the game for a while so please be gentle. I found this super cute list of alphabetical fluff cliche prompts by @memorizingthedigitsofpi​ and now I want to try writing for them all. We'll see how that goes.

Ochako was totally, utterly, and completely bored.

The kind of bored that made every minute feel like an hour. The kind of bored that made watching paint dry feel like a three-ring circus. The kind of bored that made her long for the piles of unfinished homework sitting in her dorm.

It really was too bad, because it was a beautiful day. The sun shone cheerfully over the annual U.A. High School festival. Laughter and music floated through the air as crowds of people wandered from stall to stall enjoying the food and entertainment. All in all, it was a gorgeous day filled with sounds of merriment ringing out from every corner.

After the class performance last year, a kissing booth did seem a bit lame in comparison. Still, the class had voted, and the kissing booth had won so there really wasn��t much of a choice in the matter.

Personally, Ochako was pretty sure that Mineta, Sero, and Kaminari had rigged the voting somehow but she had no proof so she couldn’t really complain too much. In retaliation, the rest of the girls had unanimously decided to tape the little creep to the roof for the duration of the festival or none of them would have gotten behind the counter.

At first, the whole idea had seemed really embarrassing and time consuming. Fortunately, the class had agreed to split manning the booth up over the two days and each shift lasted only an hour giving everyone time to experience the festival. None of them had gotten to enjoy it the year before so this year they really wanted to take advantage.

Ochako hadn’t had the highest hopes for manning a kissing booth. At best it was going to be embarrassing and at worst downright disgusting. During the weeks leading up she had prepared for the worst.

What she had not prepared for however was for it to be so boring.

Almost forty minutes had passed since she’d taken over for Momo and so far, she had only had two customers. Near the start of her shift Iida and Deku had dropped by and each bought a kiss on the cheek.

It had been more silly than anything, though Deku looked like he was about to pass out from blushing so hard and even Iida looked embarrassed. If nothing else, Ochako was grateful she had shed her girlish crush on Deku over the summer or the whole thing would have been mortifying.

Apparently, that was the only action she was going to see though, because after her friends had left there had been a complete and utter absence of customers. To be fair, the stall was a little out of the way and the Miss UA competition had just started. That was probably why business was so slow, Ochako told herself as she checked her phone for what felt like the hundredth time.

Her reasoning became a little more difficult to rationalize, when any boy who passed the booth would immediately avoid eye contact like she was Aizawa looking to erase their quirk. At first it seemed like a coincidence. Maybe they were just shy. After the 6th or 7th person Ochako was starting to see a trend.

Maybe she just wasn’t trying hard enough. She hadn’t been particularly enthusiastic and maybe it was showing on her face and putting off customers. It wasn’t like she wanted to do this, but she had agreed to do the job and it was her responsibility to see it through properly.

Putting on her best hero face, Ochako caught the eye of a passing student, smiling at him in a way she hoped was inviting. For a moment it seemed to work as the boy took a step in her direction with an unsure smile of his own.

Unfortunately for Ochako, just as she was sure she was about to make a sale with a decently cute boy the sound of a car backfiring in the distance cut through the noise of the festival. Apparently, the sound was enough to scare the boy as his spine went ramrod straight and he took off running like a startled deer.

With a disappointed sigh, Ochako slumped against the cool wood countertop of the booth.

This was getting a little embarrassing.

“Oi Round-face, what’s your problem?”

Ochako wasn’t sure how long she stayed like that, but it must have been long enough because the sound of a nearby voice nearly made her jump out of her skin.

Bolting upright Ochako found herself face-to-face with a scowling Bakugo. Not that the scowling part was surprising. Ochako could count on one hand the amount of times she had seen her classmate with an expression that wasn’t some level of displeased.

Despite all that, Ochako wasn’t entirely sure what she had done lately to irritate him. She thought back for a moment but nothing specific came to mind.

“Oh, um, hi Bakugo-kun,” said Ochako slowly. “Can I help you?”

“I asked what your problem was,” Bakugo repeated, ignoring Ochako’s question. “You look like someone ran over your dog or something.”

Sighing Ochako rested her elbow on the countertop and cradled her chin in her hand. Of all the people to catch her sulking it had to be Bakugo.

“It’s nothing.” Ochako said. Hopefully Bakugo would have the social grace to know she didn’t want to talk about it and just leave her in peace.

“Bullshit,” Bakugo grunted, folding his arms across his chest. “Tell me that again when your face isn’t all messed up.”

Nice, Ochako thought dully.

For a moment they stared at each other, silence stretching awkwardly between them as neither wanted to make the first move.

It was Ochako who gave up first, as Bakugo’s silent intense glare proved more effective then his explosive temper ever was.

Straightening up Ochako raised her arms above her head to work out some of the stray kinks. Training had been taking a lot out of her lately and to be honest she would rather be back at the dorms having a nice long soak rather than wasting her time here at this stupid booth, explaining herself to Bakugo of all people.

“It really is nothing.” Said Ochako, shrugging apathetically. “I…just haven’t had many customers is all.”

That clearly was not the answer Bakugo was looking for because his face twisted like he’d just eaten something sour. Though with the way his face looked normally it was hard to tell.

“What? You want to kiss a bunch of extras or something?”

“No!”

Ochako was aware that her voice was louder than it needed to be. Thankfully the general noise of the festival kept her little outburst from drawing any unwanted attention. This was not a conversation she wanted anyone else hearing. Heck this wasn’t a conversation she wanted to be having.

“It’s not that I want to kiss a bunch of strangers…” Ochako trailed off trying to figure out how best to phrase it. “I just feel like I’m not pulling my weight. You should have seen how much money Momo-chan made. They had to get a second jar.”

It wasn’t the most accurate explanation, but it was the closest approximation she could muster at the moment and, to be fair, it was mostly true. As much as she did not want to be the one kissing a bunch of sweaty high school boys on the cheek it was something, they all agreed to do. No one else wanted to do it either, except maybe Mina who seemed to thrive on the attention. Compared to Momo’s overflowing jar of earnings Ochako’s piddly pile of yen seemed embarrassing in comparison.

“I mean I know I’m not the prettiest girl in the class, but I didn’t think I was that bad.”

Immediately Ochako’s hands went to her mouth like she could force the words back in if she moved fast enough. But it was far too late and her words were already hanging heavily in the air.

Maybe if she activated her quirk on herself and floated into space Bakugo would forget it ever happened.

Sure, it was a thought Ochako had had more than once during the last hour but she sure as heck hadn’t meant to say it aloud especially to Bakugo of all people.

It also wasn’t untrue.

The rest of the girls in the class had all out earned her by a significant margin. Momo, Tsuyu, Mina, and Hagakure had all earned more than five times what she had. Even Jiro with her prickly temper had managed to surpass Ochako by an embarrassing amount.

Most of the time Ochako hated comparing herself to her classmates. Something she considered the worst part about Hero Rankings was how it pitted them against each other. Usually about pointless stuff like how thin or fashionable they were.

Still, looking at her classmates with their pretty hair and their lithe bodies, the way their hands weren’t covered in scars and their shins weren’t covered in bruises. It made her feel ugly and clumsy. Like a big old fake who never belonged at U.A. in the first place.

Now was not the time for melancholy however, Ochako realized, remembering suddenly that she was not wallowing in self-pity alone.

Glancing up at Bakugo, Ochako felt herself balk. The look on his face reminded her of a statue of Asura she had seen at a temple as a little girl. Face twisted into a furious scowl, she could practically see the smoke leaking out of his ears. Or maybe it was just his palms. That was always an option too.

Of all the people she could have said that to, it had to be Bakugo. Class 1-A’s own King of Explodo-murder and Crown Prince of Arrogance.

“Never mind. I was just kidding,” said Ochako.

It was a lame attempt even to her own ears, but it was all she could think of at the moment.

Clearly even that was too little too late, as Bakugo leaned across the counter.

Even with his hands in his pockets and his slouched posture he seemed to tower over her. Maybe it was his larger than life attitude. Whatever it was, it took every inch of Ochako’s stubborn lack of self-preservation to keep from shrinking back.

“Look here Cheeks,” Bakugo snarled. His stare was intense as ever, daring Ochako to look away first. “I’m going to say this once so you better fucking clean out your ears and pay attention. Got it?”

Well what do you even say to that? Ochako wondered, nodding dumbly.

“You’re not ugly.”

Ochako stood silent for a moment, waiting for the rest. Apparently, Bakugo felt he’d said all there was to say because he leaned back on his heels looking somehow both grumpy and smug at the same time.

That…that was it?

For a second, Ochako was struck dumb.

She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting but clearly, she had been expecting something. Because whatever the heck Bakugo had just said to her was not it.

Slowly, taking in Bakugo’s smug/grumpy posture, it dawned on her. Maybe in some strange, blunt, Bakugo way this was his way of making her feel better? Maybe?

All things considered it was pretty terrible, but he was obviously trying his best. Maybe it wasn’t the most eloquent extolling of her virtues but in spite of herself Ochako couldn’t help but cheer up a little. If nothing else Bakugo was known for being brutally honest so if anyone’s opinions on her ugliness or lack thereof could be trusted, it was probably his.

The whole thing was so surreal that Ochako could barely hold back a confused giggle. Now was not the time for that though. Later, when she was alone in her dorm and there was time for hysterics to set in would be a different story but right now, she needed to keep some semblance of composure.

“Thank you Bakugo-kun.” Ochako smiled sincerely because honestly it was the thought that counts. “That’s really nice of you to say.”

“Don’t mention it.” Bakugo grunted, steadfastly refusing to make eye contact now that he’d said his piece. Unfortunately for him, it left Ochako with a perfect view of the tips of his ears turning a rather telling red. “Seriously though don’t mention it to anyone or I’ll fucking kill you.”

It was such an obvious smokescreen to hide the fact he was being nice for once but Ochako chose not to call him on it.

“I will take it to my grave.” She promised with faux solemnity.

Normally even the slightest hint of mockery would have been enough to set Bakugo off on a tirade but Ochako must have caught him on a good day because all she got in return was a snort and a muttered idiot.

Sadly, like all good things, the moment had to come to an unfortunate end.

“Well, if it isn’t a pair of losers from class 1-A.”

Ochako wasn’t in the habit of making enemies. That was more the area of expertise of a certain classmate of hers. With that being said, Ochako had never been a fan of Monoma. While he had never really bothered her personally, she found his loud voice and contemptuous smirk to be more than a little obnoxious. To be fair, Bakugo was just as arrogant at times, but he at least had the skill to back up his bluster. Monoma on the other hand was full of hot air.

Speaking of air, the air surrounding Bakugo seemed to crackle dangerously with every step Monoma took towards them.

“What the fuck do you want shit stain?” Bakugo snarled, proverbial hackles raised.

Hands raised in mock surrender, Monoma sauntered over to the pair, unaware or uncaring of Bakugo’s characteristic ire.

“I was just coming over to see how much money your class had raised.” Monoma said, the picture of fake innocence.

Ochako glanced at the nearby jar, sitting nearly empty and winced. Part of her wanted to shout that they had raised plenty of money. It was just Ochako that hadn’t earned any, but it felt a little too pathetic to even say the words aloud.

“That is pretty pitiful,” said Monoma, shaking his head in mock despair.

Ochako had to bite back another wince at his words. He wasn’t wrong but he didn’t have to say it.

“Though I’m not really surprised. It is Class A after all,” continued Monoma. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a single 500-yen coin. “Well, I suppose I should do my part. At this point it’s practically charity.”

There was a lot Ochako would do for money. Embarrassing things like living off nothing but cheap ramen and day-old bread so she could afford to go to U.A. if the first place.

As it turned out, one of the things Ochako would not do for money was kiss Monoma. Not for all the money in the world. To be honest she would rather kiss Mineta and that was saying something.

Regrettably, it wasn’t like she had the luxury of turning anyone away at this point. Even if she weren’t desperate for a sale, Ochako knew Monoma well enough to know how this all would end. If she turned him away, he’d just make a fuss and that was more of a hassle than she wanted to deal with at this point. As unpleasant as the thought was, it seemed like the only way out would be for Ochako to swallow her pride and kiss the jerk.

Ew.

Suddenly a hand slammed down on the counter startling both Ochako and Monoma.

“Are your eyes broken or are you too stupid to understand how lines work?” demanded Bakugo. Glaring at Monoma like he’d enjoy nothing better than just punching him straight in the face.

Frankly he had shown an uncharacteristic amount of self-control thus far and Ochako was a little impressed.

“What?” replied Monoma, too confused to be insulted.

“Line ass-wipe.” Bakugo gestured to himself then Monoma. “I’m next in line.”

It took Ochako a full minute to realize that when Bakugo had slammed his hand on the countertop he had left behind a rather astonishing pile of 1000 yen notes. After that it should have been pretty simple to connect the dots but Ochako had to admit it took her another minute to understand what Bakugo was saying.

Thankfully, it looked like Monoma was having a similar problem as he stood there gaping. Scrambling to regain his composure, Monoma crossed his arms with a smirk.

“Are you going to get on with it then?” he said, waving his hand disdainfully at Ochako. It was a little too tempting for Ochako who wanted nothing more than to reach out and snap his skinny wrist like a twig. “I bet you don’t have the guts.”

Up till now Bakugo had shown significant restraint. Well, significant restraint for Bakugo. Ochako wasn’t sure if it was a sign of growth or if he had been dosed with something but whatever it was Bakugo had reached his limit.

Stance wide and palms up, Bakugo let loose a string of moderately sized explosions.

“Who the fuck do you think you are ordering me around?” Bakugo roared, towers of smoke rising from his hands. It truly spoke to the kind of school they went to that everyone of a five-meter radius simply took one look at the source of the commotion and kept on going.

Bakugo, as per usual, was oblivious to the attention he was drawing, too consumed with his rage.

“You think your gonna just stand there and watch, fucking pervert? Get the fuck out of here.”

If there was one thing to be said about Monoma he could rile people up like nobody else. Along with that however, he also seemed to know just how far to push to get a reaction before pulling back to keep himself from facing the consequences of his actions. It was practically a skill in and of itself really.

Shaking his head in dramatic dismay, Monoma turned on his heel and wandered off in search of someone else to bother. Though Ochako was able to take a little pleasure in the fact that his stride was just a little faster than necessary.

Eyes still a feral, Bakugo watched Monoma walk away until he finally disappeared from sight. It was a bit of a toss up for Ochako as to what was more of a relief. The fact that there hadn’t been a brawl in the middle of the festival that got them all expelled or the fact she could continue her life without the knowledge her lips had touched Monoma in any way.

Whatever the reason there was definitely some appreciation in order.

“Thanks, Bakugo-kun,” said Ochako.

It was possible Bakugo had forgotten she was even there because his head snapped around aggressively at her words. His expression was a confusing mixture of emotions as he tried to go from 0 to 100 back to 0 again. Or as close to zero as Bakugo ever got.

“I did not want to kiss him,” Ochako continued, sticking out her tongue theatrically.

Sure, it was a little over the top but since Bakugo had just come to her rescue the least she could do was give him an excuse to get himself back under control. Ochako’s gambit seemed to work as Bakugo’s shoulders came down and the tension left his body.

“I would fucking hope not,” said Bakugo with a sneer, though it was directed less at Ochako than at the situation as a whole.

The look was so full of disdain that Ochako couldn’t help but giggle. Not one to be laughed at, Ochako half expected him to snap at her but instead, a silence stretched between them that was more than a little confusing.

“So…?” prompted Ochako, hoping the hanging question would elicit some type of explanation as to what Bakugo wanted of her.

“So what?” Bakugo said, shoving his still smoldering palms into his pockets. “You’ve still got a job to do.”

Well that was both mystifying and a little cryptic, Ochako thought to herself as she stared at him blankly. It was only when Bakugo’s eyes darted down to the pile of money still sitting on the counter that realization dawned.

“You were serious?”

It was a stupid question, but the words left Ochako’s mouth before she could stop them.

“Of course, I was,” Bakugo snapped. “Do I look like a fucking clown to you? Walking around making stupid ass jokes or something?”

While Ochako had only been classmates with Bakugo for a little over a year, she liked to think she understood him about as well as anyone else in their class. Maybe not Deku or Kirishima, of course, but they were pretty exceptional exceptions. That being said, if Ochako didn’t know better she would almost swear that Bakugo was…embarrassed.

As soon as the thought entered her head, Ochako gave herself a mental shake. That was a weird line of thought and she was not going to pursue it any further. Today had been weird enough and she was not chasing that particular rabbit hole no matter how tempting.

Unfortunately, that still left Ochako with one temperamental classmate whose already short fuse was diminishing by the second.

“I just…I mean I thought you were just trying to scare Monoma-san off.” Ochako trailed off a little lamely.

Staring at her blankly Bakugo raised a single pale eyebrow. “If I wanted to do that, I would have just punched him in his fuckoff face.”

Shifting uncomfortably, Bakugo's shoulders seemed to hunch even further into a posture that would have looked defensive on anyone else but he somehow managed to make menacing.

“Look, if you’re that much of a wimp then I’ll just take my money and go.” Scowling, Bakugo reached out to grab his money off the counter. “Never figured you for a coward though Cheeks.”

Distantly Ochako was aware that her jaw had dropped open at Bakugo’s challenge but more presently she was fighting the overwhelming urge to grab Bakugo by his stupid spiky hair and chuck him into space. It’s a lot harder to be a jerk from orbit.

“Who said I wouldn’t do it?” Ochako sputtered, slamming her hand down on top of the money before Bakugo could take it. Like hell she was backing down from such an obvious challenge. “I never said that so just give me a minute.”

Face so blank it bordered on boredom, Bakugo leaned against the booth.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” He grunted, pinning Ochako with an expectant stare.

This left Ochako in a bit of a predicament. Bakugo was intense at the best of times and with a five-foot radius. Having him this close, looking him in the eye, it was just too much for poor Ochako to handle.

Waving a hand in his general direction Ochako tried to hide her growing blush. No good making him think it was because of him or something.

“Your eyes are freaking me out okay? Can you just close them or something?”

This time it was Bakugo’s turn to give a long-suffering sigh but, surprisingly, he did what she asked.

Staring at Bakugo’s still too close face Ochako felt like she was having a mini-heart attack.

This was entirely different from when she had kissed Iida and Deku. With them it had been fun. Silly even. This felt way more serious. Like Bakugo was going to give her a report card at the end with a letter grade ranking her performance.

Now that she thought about it Ochako wouldn’t put it past him.

Alongside the looming possibility that Bakugo was secretly judging her kissing skills, Ochako was forced to come to another uncomfortable realization.

Studying his face up close Ochako had no choice but to confront the fact that while Bakugo had the personality of a wet cat, he wasn’t horrible to look at. It was hard to tell most of the time since his face was twisted up in a perpetual scowl but seeing him all calm and not screaming in anyone’s face Ochako was shocked to find he was kind of a pretty boy. Not that she would ever say that to him.

She liked her eyebrows where they were thank you very much.

This uncomfortable epiphany must have done some damage to Ochako’s brain because staring at Bakugo’s vulnerable face gave Ochako a renegade thought. For the festival Ochako was only obligated to give patrons a kiss on the cheek. That had been a condition the girls in the class had insisted upon and most of the boys had agreed though there had been a few vocal dissenters. They were of course dealt with quickly and without mercy.

That being said, staring into Bakugo’s stupid grumpy face Ochako couldn’t help but wonder what he would do in she kissed him right on his stupid lips.

Oh, that would serve him right wouldn’t it?

Sure, it might mean losing her first kiss to Bakugo of all people, but it would be worth it just to see the shocked look on his face.

That would teach him for calling her a coward.

Mind fully made up, Ochako leaned in to do the deed. As she got closer though an unexpected wave of butterflies exploded inside her stomach like Bakugo had set off a Butterfly Howitzer.

For someone so strict about personal boundaries as Bakugo, Ochako couldn’t remember ever being this close to his face before. So close, in fact, she could count his nearly invisible blonde eyelashes and much to her surprise she could see a handful of tiny scars littering his cheek bones. Collateral damage from his quirk she realized.

Just as she was about to press her lips to his though a tiny alarm went off in Ochako’s head.

Abort! Abort!

It was as though her brain had finally caught up with what she was doing and was trying desperately to stop her before she made a truly embarrassing mistake. What was she even thinking? She couldn’t kiss Bakugo. Not after he’d just saved her from Monoma.

They might not be friends per say but acquaintances didn’t kiss acquaintances on the lips without their permission. That was something villains did. All Might would be ashamed of her if she did that.

Swerving sharply at the last minute, Ochako pressed a quick kiss to Bakugo’s cheek. Okay maybe it caught the very corner of his lips but that didn’t count because…reasons.

It didn’t count. It didn’t count. It totally didn’t count. Ochako chanted to herself mentally as she pulled away.

Another distant part of her brain was busy wondering how Bakugo’s skin was so soft and whether the nice boy smell he had was specific to him or did all boys smell like that? Ochako quickly shoved whatever fried thought process that was to the very back of her brain because she was not dealing with that now.

Right now she had a metaphorical and sometimes literal time-bomb to deal with and there was simply no time to contemplate boy-smell.

Thankfully it seemed that Bakugo didn’t notice her mental breakdown as he pulled back, an complicated expression on his face.

“I told you I wasn’t a coward,” said Ochako trying to cover up the wild pounding of her heart and the fact that her face probably looked like a sunburned tomato.

For a second it looked like Bakugo was going to say something. His mouth hung open before stretching into what could charitably be called a smile. It was definitely more on the side of a smirk but Ochako counted it as a win nonetheless.

“I guess not.”

Internally Ochako heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that Bakugo hadn’t noticed her near slip. Oh man, how had she almost made such an awful mistake? How would she ever be able to look Bakugo in the eye again if she had actually kissed him?

The thought alone was so embarrassing that Ochako had to find something to do with her hands lest she start pulling at her own hair. Trying to find something to do that didn’t involve looking at Bakugo, she quickly began to tidy up the stall.

It wasn’t like there was much to take care of but the pile of money was still sitting ever so innocently on the counter. Making a grab for it Ochako began to tidy the bills before moving to place them in the jar.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Ochako jumped, nearly knocking over the jar. To be honest she’d expected Bakugo to make a break for it at the first opportunity. She hadn’t really been expecting him to hang around. Yet he continued to surprise her.

“I’m getting ready to switch off,” replied Ochako casually. Trying to play it off like she hadn’t just jumped a foot in the air but fooling no one. “My shift is almost done.”

Bakugo scoffed, gesturing to the fist full of bills in Ochako’s hand. “You think that little peck is worth all that? That doesn’t seem like a fair trade to me”

Glancing down at his phone for a second, Bakugo met Ochako’s baffled stare.

“You’ve got 10 minutes left before the next girl takes over?”

Ochako could do little but nod. Where the heck he was going with this was a question she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer to.

“Better make it count then.” Bakugo’s gaze shifted slightly, taking on a considerable amount of challenge with a hint of smug satisfaction. “If you can.”

Okay first of all, how dare he? Ochako thought furiously as she stared in open mouthed shock at the audacity of the boy in front of her. Her second thought, although practically unconscious since she was already on the move, was how much she wanted to make this boy regret his entire damn life up to this point.

Hand braced on the counter-top Ochako leaned forward and grabbed Bakugo by the collar of the shirt. His smug, smirking face chasing any rational thoughts from her head and overriding any alarm bells that might have been going off.

Oh, she’d make it count all right. One of them was going to regret this and it sure wasn’t going to be her.

Probably.

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Rage Over the 2020 Election Could Last Well Past Trump (NYT) For many Trump supporters, the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. this week will be a signal that it is time to move on. The president had four years, but Mr. Biden won, and that is that. But a certain slice of the 74 million Americans who voted for President Trump [do not feel that way]. On the contrary, interviews in recent days show that their anger has deepened. “I can’t just sit back and say, ‘OK, I’ll just go back to watching football,’” said Daniel Scheerer, 43, a fuel truck driver in Grand Junction, Colo., who went to the rally in Washington this month, but said he did not go inside the Capitol and had nothing to do with those who did. He said he did not condone those who were violent but believed that the news media had “totally skewed” the event, obscuring what he saw as the real story of the day—the people’s protest against election fraud. “If we tolerate a fraudulent election, I believe we cease to have a republic,” he said. “We turn into a totalitarian state.” He continued: “This just isn’t like a candidate that I didn’t want, but he won fair and square. There’s something different happening here. I believe it needs to be resisted and fought against.” Mr. Scheerer said that he was not advocating violence and that he was not part of any group that was. But he echoed the views of many who supported the recent events in Washington: a fervent belief that something bad was about to happen, and an instinct to fight against it.

Biden to propose 8-year citizenship path for immigrants (AP) President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump’s restrictive policies and mass deportations. It provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favored by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.

Make America California Again? That’s Biden’s plan (Los Angeles Times) After four years of being relentlessly targeted by a Republican president who worked overtime to bait, punish and marginalize California and everything it represents, the state is suddenly center stage again in Washington’s policy arena. California is emerging as the de facto policy think tank of the Biden-Harris administration and of a Congress soon to be under Democratic control. There is no place the incoming administration is leaning on more heavily for inspiration in setting a progressive policy agenda. The incoming administration is embracing some of California’s most pioneering initiatives, such as programs for rapidly decarbonizing the electricity grid and tuition-free college, as well as more obscure, incremental policies. “California is not just about pushing the envelope, it is about tearing it apart,” said former state Senate leader Kevin de León, who helped the state implement some of the innovative ideas the incoming administration wants to pursue. “The state is full of disruptors and malcontents who are impatient and have no problem challenging the status quo.”

A new COVID-19 challenge: Mutations rise along with cases (AP) The race against the virus that causes COVID-19 has taken a new turn: Mutations are rapidly popping up. The coronavirus is becoming more genetically diverse, and health officials say the high rate of new cases is the main reason. Each new infection gives the virus a chance to mutate as it makes copies of itself, threatening to undo the progress made so far to control the pandemic. So far, vaccines seem to remain effective, but there are signs that some of the new mutations may undermine tests for the virus and reduce the effectiveness of antibody drugs as treatments. It’s normal for viruses to acquire small changes or mutations in their genetic alphabet as they reproduce. In March, just a couple months after the coronavirus was discovered in China, a mutation called D614G emerged that made it more likely to spread. It soon became the dominant version in the world. Now, after months of relative calm, three more potent variants have emerged.

Russian Court Orders Aleksei Navalny Held for 30 Days (NYT) A judge ordered the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny to be jailed for 30 days, ahead of a decision that could put him behind bars for years, after an extraordinary, rushed court hearing on Monday held inside a police station within a day of his return from Germany. Moments after the judge announced her decision, Mr. Navalny called for protests in a video message to his supporters. One of his top aides, Leonid Volkov, said Mr. Navalny’s nationwide network was preparing to organize demonstrations across Russia on Saturday. The fast-paced events came the day after Mr. Navalny, who spent months abroad recovering from a near-deadly poisoning, was arrested at a Moscow airport on accusations of violating the terms of an earlier suspended prison sentence.

Russia’s Putin marks Orthodox Epiphany with icy dip (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin, dressed in nothing but a pair of blue swimming trunks, immersed himself in the freezing water of a cross-shaped pool near Moscow on Tuesday, observing an Orthodox Christian ritual to mark the feast of Epiphany. Russian state television broadcast footage of Putin, with the air temperature at minus 14 Celsius (6.8 Fahrenheit), removing a sheepskin coat to enter the icy waters and submerging himself three times beneath the surface, in front of an ice-sculpted cross. Putin, 68, grew up under Communist rule where open shows of religion were frowned upon. As president, he has become a frequent attender of Russian Orthodox ceremonies, and has given the church a major voice in society. Each year on Epiphany, Orthodox believers immerse themselves in rivers and lakes to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan.

The cost of avoiding 39, and the profits therein (Foreign Policy) Afghanistan’s traffic authorities are to stop issuing license plates with the number 39 in a bid to cut down on bribery. The figure is considered shameful to Afghans because of its associations with pimping and prostitution—a notorious pimp in the city of Herat reportedly drove a car with the number—leading car owners to go to great lengths to avoid the taboo combination. In announcing the move, Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that drivers had spent as much as $300 to persuade traffic officials to give them a more favorable plate number. Abdul Qader Samoonwal, an official at Kabul’s Traffic and License Registration department, suggested a more nefarious motive behind the aversion to number 39 in an interview with NPR in 2011. “Car dealerships and those who work for the mafia started the rumors about 39 so they could buy cars with 39 plates cheaper and sell them back for higher prices after changing the plates,” he said.

Amazon Web Drama Draws the Wrath of India’s Hindu Nationalists (NYT) Bollywood once again has fallen into the cross hairs of India’s Hindu nationalist ruling party—and major Western streaming services like Amazon and Netflix increasingly find themselves caught in the middle. Two separate criminal complaints were filed with the police over the weekend against the makers of “Tandav,” a splashy new big-budget web series on Amazon. The fast-paced political drama, which seems to borrow heavily from India’s political scene, may cut uncomfortably close to current events and the country’s biggest controversies. The complainants, which include a politician with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have insisted that the government pull the series off the air or take out key scenes. Among other objections, they accused the series of disrespecting Hindu gods, belittling members of individual castes and sullying the office of the prime minister. If the police find merit to the complaints, Amazon and the show’s promoters could wind up in criminal court. Defenders of the show say those complaints are pretexts. The pressure on Amazon to drop the series, they say, is part of an increasingly intolerant atmosphere in India that affects even Bollywood, India’s film and entertainment industry. Actors, comedians, producers, artists and anyone who dares to question the government, even indirectly, can find their careers in peril, they say. The true objection to “Tandav” may simply be that it’s too real. The opening episode looks almost like a newsreel. It cuts from farmer protests to student protests to police killings—all events that have happened in recent months under the administration of Narendra Modi, India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister. Even the episode’s title is provocative. It is called “Dictator.”

North Korea’s Kim could be planning missile launch to welcome Biden administration (Washington Post) North Korea appears to be taking steps toward a new test of a powerful submarine-launched missile, U.S. weapons experts said, as it steadily dials up the pressure on President-elect Joe Biden. Last week, a beaming Kim Jong Un presided over another demonstration of his country’s military might in a nighttime parade in Pyongyang, kicked off with a fireworks display. Now, it appears he might be planning a very different fireworks display to greet the incoming U.S. president. On show at the parade was a new ballistic missile designed to be launched from a submarine, with state media over-enthusiastically describing it as “the world’s most powerful weapon.” Satellite evidence has emerged of work at a naval base in the port city of Nampo on the country’s west coast that suggests preparations could be underway for a test launch of a similar missile. While the evidence is not conclusive, it does fit a pattern of steadily more aggressive posturing from North Korea’s leader.

Chaos as snow hits Japanese highway, 134 cars in crashes; one dead (Reuters) At least 134 cars were involved in a series of crashes in Japan on Tuesday when a snow storm struck a stretch of highway and one person was killed and a dozen hurt in the chaos. The crashes occurred on the Tohoku Expressway in the northern prefecture of Miyagi at around noon, on a stretch of road about 1 km (half a mile) long, the government said. Some 200 people were caught up in the crashes with 12 of them sent to hospital. Parts of Japan have seen unusually heavy snow in recent weeks.

Thai woman sentenced to 43 years in jail for insulting monarchy (Reuters) A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced a 65-year-old woman to more than 43 years in jail for sharing online posts criticizing the royal family, her lawyer said, the country’s harshest ever sentence for insulting the monarchy. Her sentence comes at a time of unprecedented youth-led demonstrations in which protest leaders have openly criticised the monarchy, risking prosecution under Thailand’s strict law known as lese majeste, which carries a 15-year penalty for each violation. Anchan Preelert pled guilty to 29 separate violations of sharing and posting clips on YouTube and Facebook between 2014 and 2015, her lawyer, Pawinee Chumsri, told Reuters. Authorities briefly stopped using the lese majeste law in 2018 but police started to invoke it again late last year after leaders of the protests, which drew tens of thousands of people, began openly criticising the monarchy. Since November, more than 40 youth activists have been charged under the law.

Israel moves to rein in rights group over ‘apartheid’ use (AP) Israel’s education minister says he is banning groups that call Israel an “apartheid state” from lecturing at schools—a move that targets one of the country’s leading human rights groups after it began describing both Israel and its control of the Palestinian territories as a single apartheid system. The explosive term, long seen as taboo and mostly used by the country’s harshest critics, is vehemently rejected by Israel’s leaders and many ordinary Israelis. In a report released last week, the rights group B’Tselem said that while Palestinians live under different forms of Israeli control in the occupied West Bank, blockaded Gaza, annexed east Jerusalem and within Israel itself, they have fewer rights than Jews in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Israel seized east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war—lands that are home to nearly 5 million Palestinians and which the Palestinians want for a future state. B’Tselem and other rights groups argue that the boundaries separating Israel and the West Bank vanished long ago—at least for Israeli settlers, who can freely travel back and forth, while their Palestinian neighbors require permits to enter Israel.

Vapes (ABC News) A University of San Diego study published in the journal Pediatrics found trying an electronic cigarette or vape before the age of 18 more than tripled the chance of becoming a daily smoker, with the risk increasing from 3 percent to 10 percent. Who could have possibly foreseen that giving teenagers access to one of the most addictive substances on earth, but flavored like candy, would lead them to eventually pursue that same addictive substance, but made to look cool? From 2013 to 2019, youth vape use increased from under 5 percent to 30 percent in the U.S.

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

2020 Megaman Valentine’s Day Contest - Cat. 1 (Talent) Results!

Thank you to everyone again for your patience! This is getting posted way later than I wanted to. As much as I try to keep it short and sweet, I never do, so bear with my walls of text. 

For the talent category this year, the theme was about killing Mega Man with kindness. More specifically, entrants had to create their own original love/Valentine’s-themed Robot Master or equivalent boss character that was created to defeat Mega Man with the power of love! Even though the theme title and concept alluded more to the classic Robot Master character contests, designs for any series were acceptable. But other than one Navi and one Reploid entry, everyone stuck to a Classic-series themed creation. So you were all pretty consistent! 

There were a total of 16 entries for this category this year. Thank you all for your participation! It was extremely hard to choose winners for this category, because you all had really clever and creative concepts based off of this theme. So thank you for thinking up such clever and cool characters!!

Also thanks to Reploid 21XX for the coloring book prizes and for some additional insight. 

Again, raffle prize winners will be contained in both posts, so keep an eye out between your name and your art. Not all raffle prize winners are contained in this post. I’ll be contacting all winners soon enough, so sit tight! Might be late after work tonight, so don’t panic if you don’t hear from me right after this is posted.

Your category winners and full gallery of entries are right here, after the break:

Category 1 (Talent) -  Dr. Wily’s Greatest Creation: Killing Mega Man With Kindness

[Full Talent Gallery]

1.) @mo-sketchbook​:

*For coming in 1st, mo-sketchbook has won $100 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value AND a Rockman 7 Coloring Book.*

First and foremost, I appreciate all the effort you put into covering so many aspects of your creation, from the various design viewpoints, weapon get form for Mega Man, and showing the weapon in action. I really loved all the things you integrated into the design to give off the feeling that it is a love-based character. The “love bug” form, cherub-like Heat/Plug-type facial features, and how you utilized hearts in different ways for his design and powers. 

I’m no Keiji Inafune, but I feel like this is a concept he would greenlight, in terms of it following his Robot Master design formula. It doesn’t need to be super detailed or flashy, but still fits the mold very well! The thought of the hearts missing their target and love energy then getting weaker is actually pretty clever, too. Cute, and I wuv it. 

2.) @peachycircuits​:

*For coming in 2nd, peachy has won $50 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value AND a Rockman 7 Coloring Book*

As usual, on the technical side of things, your art is one of the more polished and clean entries of the bunch. Combining a couple different aspects - swans as a creature known as a symbol of love, bonded for life like in marriage, and turning that into an inseparable pair of Robot Masters, was a clever way to think about your design, in terms of the theme of this category. 

And then echoing that with the iconic Swan Lake, making them ballet dancers, is like taking Tundra Man and Gemini Man’s concept up another notch. Plus, not gonna lie, amused seeing Mega Man getting equipped with a tutu. LOL So even if it’s not as heart-themed as most of the other entries, I totally liked how you thought outside the box a little bit for this. 

3.) Komito Amae:

*For coming in 3rd, Komito has won $25 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value*

I figured a cupid-styled arrow theme would pop up in a bunch of entries, but your Reploid, Beta, here caught my eye. Both in terms of the hearts, arrows and wings incorporated into her armor, and the pretty sweet looking buster that she and X both have equipped. 

While I’m not sure how it would play out in the game, I think it would be interesting to suddenly take control of random enemies in a stage, and be able to change perspective as them for a short time, after you have shot them. Whether it would be to take out an enemy horde, or perform a task X can’t that the enemy could, it would be different! Can’t see it quite having the same powerful effect on a Maverick boss, but it’s certainly neat to think about how that could work!

And the rest of the wonderful entries, in alphabetical order by alias: 

@autobot-bumblebee​:

*Raffle Prize Winner*  Dreamwave Comics: Issue 4 Page 15

I’m sorry you didn’t win a cash prize this time! Please don’t take me hostage! I totally loved the creative vintage chocolate factory mascot backstory, along with making your entry like an Ariga-styled character sheet page. Certainly get that retro feel with her clothing design. Her rose blade kinda reminds me of other hand-turned-blade-like-weapon characters, such as Alan Gabriel in the Big O or Ed transmuting one in FMA. Which is always a snazzy transformation for a robot!

@drewblossom​:

In all honesty, if I hadn’t placed you in the humor category, I think this would have very likely been somewhere in the top 3 for this category. A cuddly teddy bear with a massive Ariga-Quick Man-sized heart for a chest, extending flailing tube arms, who just wants to hug Mega Man to death is so amusing and awesome of a design. Hugs for everyone!

FluffyFrostyFury:

Your take of heat-seeking arrows and the added high jump powers were certainly a different take compared to the other cupid-styled creations. Definitely would be nice gameplay bonuses when equipped. I like how Mega Man also has the wings sprout out of his head, to mimic Cherub Woman’s pigtails, rather than the usual spot you would assume, on his back. 

HealerCharm:

Hahaha, I love how your creation has caused Mega Man to wave the white flag after falling in love...wait, it isn’t White Day, and he should be giving her a gift if it was! XD Her hair tied up into a heart was a creative touch, much like how her dress flows into all those heart shapes. Adorable!

@inanehipsterslang​:

Um, can...can I count on you to vote for Bernie this election year?

Remember kids, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, looks don’t matter. Everyone deserves love, even those you consider ‘vermin.’ This was certainly an unexpected take on the theme, and gave me a good laugh, too. ‘Boiling-hot water...with a hint of citrus!’ It burns, but it smells so lemony-fresh!! XD But the two different moves fit together well, to protect and attack. 

I like how you still incorporated a heart shape into Rodent Woman’s design with, both in her chest shape and the “nostril” area which is echoed in the Rodent Rover. And also props for giving her the non-armor form, unique compared to other entries. 

Mattasaurs:

On the one hand, your design feels so different for a Robot Master, and maybe more Navi-like. But then I get the Astro/Galaxy-type eye vibe, and sort of a Plant Man~ish body with Devil hands feel, and see how it’d fit into Classic. It’s a unique look, and I liked it the more I inspected it. I really do love the idea of the heart bubble entrapping more and more enemies, and the big ol’ group hug ending up bursting their love bubble. It’s a different concept that stood out!

Minnie:

Our Navi of the bunch combined the love bug and cupid design, but your concept changed up the attack to suck out the energy of it’s target. Which almost made me think she should have an arrow-like mosquito nose, to feast on her target that way. XD I liked your wing shield concept and RiCO-styled skirt of hearts. Rock gets some cool shades in his Love Soul/Cross form, and I get the ProtoSoul vibe, with the shield transferring to his arm as well.

@pstart​:

Another Heat/Plug-type design Share Man looks cute and sleepy, but is also “clumsy and weak.” His ability is to share body parts, so “the danger is in him sharing his less than ideal parts with his opponents.” It’s a totally neat concept, to see Mega Man lose his buster almost by accident, and now be powerless to stop Share Man. His split color scheme drives home the concept that his parts might not all be his own, and sort of a Frankenstein bot at times. Props to that idea!

While his weapon gives Mega Man the power to make enemies docile and sleepy, I really almost want to see Mega Man get dumb parts of enemies, too! Helmet switched to a Met helmet, Batton wings, a big Suzy eye! It’s now I’ve got your power...but...but what am I supposed to do with it? XD

RetroNinjin:

Unlike most others, your entry pushed the heart theme heavily in her armor design around the entire head and shoulder parts, so I definitely felt the love vibe. The color scheme fits well. Just would have liked to have had seen a little more information about her attack and concept.

RoninApprentice:

Mega Man having a “Wing Man” to set him up is a hilarious and clever idea! I give you kudos for thinking outside the box a bit on your concept and theme here. The shipping chart certainly drives the idea home, too. You still give him a classy/formal look, and keep the wing man aviation origin apparent in his attack style. Certainly a different idea having the heart bowtie transfer to Rock’s helmet in the form change, but it really doesn’t look that bad there, opposed to around his neck like it would be normally.

@star-crossed-swords​:

Different from the other cupid concepts, Eros Woman utilizes a Search-Man like targeting system to hit her targets. I like the heart scope addition over her and Rock’s eye when they go into firing mode. You took a different approach to the wing concept compared to others, echoing Cinnamon’s hairstyle in many respects. But it certainly fits with the rest of her design nicely, and looks good for Mega Man’s equipped form.

@star-shaped-soul:

Love that you were able to both include a drawing and your own sprite, to mix in with the weapon equip ones. That is one powerful crush Mega Man has on his enemies now! I feel bad for Crush Man with how big and heavy those snare trap hands of his are. This seems like a Robot Master too cute for Wily to design; more like he stole him and added horrible, cruel hands onto him! This is taking a crush on someone to a whole different level! XD

Yuri Kadry:

When equipped with Cupid Man’s power, I like the visor Mega Man gets. I think this is also a clever use of the weapon, having enemies shot attracted to one another, causing them to collide into each other. Well thought out! Love the original sprite art, and he stands out nicely against the pinks and purples in the background. 

[shreyamistry]

Valentine’s Day Together - It Lives Series

Pairings: Ava, Andy, Dan, Danni, Imogen, Lily, Lucas, Noah, Parker, Stacy, and Tom x MC

Summary: How you spend Valentine’s Day together. 

Word Count: 5.4k+ All Together

A/N: Hi all, happy early V-Day!! This is my Valentine’s Day series, if you recall I wrote ‘Realizing You’ve Fallen In Love’ - ILITW edition back in October for ILITW Appreciation Week and dedicated I wanted to another one of those, but for Valentine’s Day. My friends voted and Spending Valentine’s Day Together won the vote! Includes all It Lives Series LIs (Does not include Connor, because I don’t know how to write for him. Sorry about that). With that said, each ficlet is about 500 words and is in alphabetical order (excluding ava & andy, i forgot my abcs it seems lol.)! Hope you like it, thanks for reading! Find the first one and this one on my masterlist, link in bio!

Thanks for reading! I hope you like it!

Ava:

Ava invites you over to her apartment on Valentine’s Day, she promises to watch movies with you and enjoy the ‘commercial’ holiday with you. When you get there, she has bowls of candy on the table along with an array of pizzas from Pizza Overlord. She’s even gotten your favorite toppings on the pizza.

She wraps the both of you in a blanket and turns on her favorite Valentine’s Day movie, The Silence of the Lamb, she doesn’t even flinch during the scary parts or suspenseful parts. Instead, she laughs at you any time you jump and throws candy at you when you least expect it to freak you out. By the end of the movie, you’re certain you’ll have nightmares about this movie but at least you got to spend time with Ava wrapped up in her blankets cuddling.

“That was a good movie.” She says as she slides off of the couch approaching her Blu-Ray player. She rummages through a few select films before holding them up in your direction a wicked grin on her face. “1981 My Bloody Valentine or Let The Right One In, with subtitles. The remake was garbage.”

“My Bloody Valentine, I guess.” You reply and she pops the movie into the Blu-Ray player with a smile you rarely see before she falls onto the couch beside you holding a twizzler between her teeth. She raises her eyebrows at you, earning a laugh from you. You take the other end of the candy into your mouth meeting her in a cherry flavored kiss before she pulls you into her arms kissing you.

She presses your back into the couch leaning over you, her kisses on your neck and jaw, as the movie plays on with a lot of screaming. Not that you’re bothered to look when you have your goth girlfriend on top of you. After a while, she pulls away a smile on her lips before she leans over grabbing the remote off the table.

“You hear those screams, makes it sound real.” She hits the volume button a few times. You watch the film a few moments seeing a woman in paled by a man on a spike. Ava shakes her head with a laugh, “That’s a classic. Want to recreate it?” She pretends to stab the remote into your chest causing you to scream in surprise leaving her to fall into a fit of laughs. You shove her shoulder pouting at her.

“I hate you.” You huff, taking a handful of M&Ms tossing them into your mouth.

“Happy Valentine’s Day babe.” She replies, laughing to herself as she tunes into the movie pulling you back into her arms, snuggling up against her form as you finish watching the movie the both of you falling asleep before the movie ends.

Andy:

Andy invited you on a date to play Paintball for Valentine’s Day where his team practices. They held a couples competition for anyone interested with a grand prize of a gift card to a restaurant and bouquet of roses to give to your significant other. Andy and you decided you needed to win and try out this place for a free dinner date. When the match starts the two of you pair up together and explore the arena to take out your enemies. Before long the two of you have dominated much of the field together, luckily you’ve been able to be a strong distraction so he can get precision shots in.

The both of you finishing wiping out another team, you get the final close-range shot on the girl who stepped into your way by accident trying to flee from Andy. She smiles and congratulates you on the shot before making her way off the field. You and Andy pant catching your breath.

“You’re fucking killing it.” He grins, he gives you a high five. “If I knew you were this good, I’d have added you as the new team member when Jason quit.” You smile in response leaning onto Andy’s frame for support,  running a hand through your hair to brush it out of your eyes.

“How many people are left?” You ask as Andy inspects the leader board on his phone.

“Two people.” He replies, “We have 12 points and they have 12.”

“You ready to kick some ass than Kang?” You grin at him and he grins back.

He pulls you close to him, his hands around your body holding you close to him. “They don’t call me King Kang for nothing.” He laughs, brushing his fingers over your face, tucking your hair out of the way of your face. You can’t help, but smile at him leaning in slightly, his lips brushing against yours as his hands fall onto the small of your back. His mouth moves against yours perfectly, making you dizzy and intoxicated with the scent, feeling, and taste of Andy.  He lets out a moan, as you tug on his lower lip with your teeth before pulling away from him with a smirk.

“You’re going to give away our position, Kang.” You warn as he shrugs, trapping you against the wall, both arms on either side of you. You wrap your arms around his torso as he captures your lips in another kiss, enjoying the feeling of his kisses. Your hands running over his back with excitement, as he flicks his tongue across your lower lip when you hear someone tripping coming from the column beside you. You break apart sharing a secret smile, he nods in response, raising his paintball gun. “Give em hell, Kang.”

“Naturally.” He radiates confidence, turning down the other side of the column. You wait for him to reach the end, giving each other thumbs up before jumping into the other lane surprise attacking the team from both sides leaving them splattered with paint as you and Andy cry out in battle.

Dan:

Dan’s roommate leaves for the night to stay at his boyfriend’s house leaving the two of you to stay in his dorm alone together. He gathers a bunch of blankets and sheets building the both of you a tent out of the furniture in his place, cozying up with you on a homemade bed made out of pillows and his thicker blankets he didn’t use to make the canopy. He sneaks his tiny TV under there along with a cardboard box loaded with foods and snacks.

He cuddles up to your side, taking a handful of cheese off of the tray popping them into his mouth as your favorite Disney movie plays on the screen. You can’t help but stare at him. Your heart weighed down by how much you loved him as you stare at his handsome features, ducking your eyes down from him when he notices you staring.

“I’m glad we got the place to ourselves.” He takes your hand into his own, threading his fingers through your own. You rest your head on his shoulder nuzzling up against him. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here with you.”

“You say the sweetest things,” You kiss the football captain on the lips. His free hand falling onto the back of your neck holding you to him as tilts his head to the side granting him easier access to kissing you. His lips are sweet and gentle against yours, the hand on your neck sliding down to your shoulder and down your arms resting on your shoulder. You break the kiss with a soft pant as he leans in kissing your nose. “I love you, you know that?”

“I love you more, you know that?” He smiles brightly. “You’re perfect in every way.”

“Flatterer.” You grin, kissing the corner of his mouth. “You make me want to be my best self.” He smiles at you, brushing the back of his hand against your cheek lovingly. You brush your nose against him at the closeness. He reaches out to take another few cubes of cheese off the table popping one into your mouth and the other into his own.

“This cheese is fantastic.” He comments, “Almost worth the twenty dollars I spent.”

“You spent TWENTY DOLLARS on cheese!?” You ask in shock as he blushes with a laugh.

“Guilty as charged. I wanted today to be special for you.” He shrugs, “And my therapist says it’s nice to splurge on yourself and your loved ones.” You brush your hand against his cheek this time, laying a sweet kiss to his lips.

“You being here, makes it special enough for me.” He smiles at your words cozying up to your side against letting your head fall onto his shoulder as the both of you continue to snack on cheese and grapes, ignoring the shitty wine he stole from his roommate content with your boyfriend and Disney film.

Danni:

It surprised you to find Danni invited you on a late night hike for Valentine’s Day, the air was cold and crisp and you were both bundled up in sweaters as she leads you through a patch of trees. When you realize you’ve stumbled upon a meadow out of bloom.  You notice the blankets, a glass of sparkling cider, and a cookie tin.

“Danni?” You ask as she grins at you with no words leading you up the path to the blanket. She pulls you onto the blanket the both of you cuddling up to one another as she encases you with blankets. Your head on her chest listening to her beating heart in her chest as you stare at the sky. The sunset nearly there as the skies hues of purple fades a deeper shade as the sun disappears.

“I love coming out here,” She says, “the view is stunning. I wanted to share it with you, it means a lot to me. My mom used to take me here when I was younger.”

“Danni.” You whisper in response kissing her cheek. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“Someone’s gotta appreciate the view and I sure as hell wasn't going to bring Eagle Scout here.” You laugh at her comment thinking of her and Parker sitting quietly watching the sunset and then going home without saying much else. “The view is better from here. Okay, that was so cheesy, I feel stupid saying it.”

“I hope it was worth the endless teasing the group chat will give you.” You laugh, as her hand cups your cheek brushing your hair out of your face.

“Not the group chat.” She reigns fake horror and the two of you laugh until your stomachs hurt. “Do you care if I take a picture? This scenery and that outfit are too good to pass up.”

You shove her shoulder playfully as she fishes her phone out of her pocket opening the camera app. “I demand you be in the picture too.” She rolls her eyes, but obliges anyway, she holds the phone out in front of the both of you and just as she captures the picture you catch her lips in a kiss. She gives in instantly after stiffening being caught off guard, her free hand on the back of your neck and she snaps a few more pictures. You relish in the moment, her lips are soft and sweet, she smells delicious as her perfume catches in your nose. Your hands running over her sides, holding her close to you by the waist.

You break the kiss to catch your breath and Danni can’t stop staring at you. She brushes her thumb along your lower lip, kissing you again gently. “I love you.” She whispers against your lips.

“I love you more.” You roll on top of her straddling her hips as the two of you plant sloppy kisses on one another, her hands in your hair and yours cupping her cheeks. After your make-out sessions, she insists on doing a photo shoot of you and the view, the two of you spend a lot of the night cuddling under blanket taking pictures and enjoying yourselves together, laughing into the wee hours of the night. You don’t even mind the cold you’ll get in the morning.

Imogen:

Imogen invites you to an ice cream parlor for your date, she buys the both of you the extra large cones of your favorite ice cream. After paying the tab and loading up your cones with different toppings, she walks hand in hand with you down the town square telling you her adventures of Pine Springs she and Kyle had together.

“Look at this!” She pulls you towards the edge of the town square overlooking a cove leading to the beach. She smiles brightly as she turns to you licking some of her ice cream that dribbles down her fingers. “This is where we ran away too. I forget what happened, but Mom was mad at the both of us and she asked him to go home and I said I wouldn’t let her do it. And she sent me to my room. He stood outside hiding, and I snuck out of the window and we met down by the cove and planned our new lives in that cove. That was my rebel moment.”

She laughs excitedly. You can’t help, but smile leading her towards the steps off towards the side leading down to the cove. She giggles chasing after you before the both of you fall into the sand looking at the sky keeping your ice cream from spilling.

“What’s our future look like?” You ask, turning to look at her. Her eyes are sweet and kind as she smiles at you, brushing her hand against your cheek, stroking your skin for a few moments before turning her attention to the sky.

She smiles, “We’ll have a horse. And a kitty cat or two.”

“Two kitty cats?”

“Obviously.” She laughs, “And we’ll be happy. Yeah, most importantly we’ll be happy. We’ll have a cute little town house big enough for both of us and Elliot, maybe even kids. We can always adopt.”

“It sounds like a perfect future, Genny.” You grin taking her face into your hands. “Because I’ll have you.” She blushes leaning in and kisses you sweetly on the lips, her hand holding up her ice cream cone from falling as she delves your hands into her hair kissing her deeper. You break apart briefly to grin at one another brushing a few strands of hair out of her face.

“I love you.” She whispers.

“I love you too.” You whisper back, kissing her nose.

The both of you untangle yourself standing from the sand and she looks at her ice cream that’s mostly gone. She frowns softly turning to you with a hopeful smile. “What do you feel about another ice cream cone?”

“Hell yeah.” You smile, throwing your arm over her shoulder leading her back towards the ice cream parlor. She goes back into another story about her and Kyle, enjoying the warmth of your body against hers in the breeze of the February cold.

Lily:

The cat café near the gaming studio Lily works at was hosting a lover’s tea set party with cats evening. Lily was super excited to go, and she knew you’d love hanging out with cats with her. You met Lily there since she had to work beforehand and find her wearing a pretty laid-back with her hair up in a cute style.

She blushes as your mouth falls open, “Oh hush!” She pushes on your arm. “The girls at the office heard we were coming and thought it’d be cute to do my hair for me.”

“You look stunning, babe. As you always do.” You place your hands on her forearms holding her there, smiling at her as you lean in to kiss her sweetly on the lips. “I feel underdressed now.”

“You’re gorgeous, you always are.” She smiles back, encasing you a hug. She tears away from you, taking your hand before leading you into the cat café. She talks to the hostess and before long the two of you are in the café sitting by yourself with cups of tea and cats surrounding you. Dewey the Cat naps in Lily’s lap, occasionally waking up to lick her paw or glare at Lily for laughing too loudly at your jokes.

You pet the cat that continues to brush against your arm, taking a sip of the sweet berry flavored tea. “I can’t believe you managed a reservation here, on a Valentine’s Day special.”

“I may have woke up at 6am to call as soon as someone got in.” She giggles, taking her half-eaten finger sandwiches popping it into her mouth. “My girlfriend deserves it.”

“You’re the best, Lil.” You smile as you place the mug of tea back onto the table. You lean down and place a chaste kiss to the top of the cats head half in your lap before crawling over to Lily’s side of the table. She smiles as you slide up next to her, scratching the chin of the cat in her lap your other hand falling on her cheek. “I’m happy we got to do this.”

“Me too.” She smiles, leaning in close to you. The warmth of her breath on your skin and yours on her. She smells sweetly like floral and roses as she meets you for a kiss. Her hand on your elbow as you cup her cheek with one hand and the other moves to the back of her neck holding her close to you. Cherishing the feeling of your girlfriend’s touch and kiss against you. 

She pulls away after a while, her teeth digging into her lower lip hiding her blush and smile. “I’ve been looking forward to that all day. I almost coded a character kissing a character they shouldn’t in the game!”

“You’re a nerd.” You smile brushing your nose against hers. “I love you with my whole heart.” She smiles back kissing the tip of your nose before saying it back. The both of you sit in a comfortable chill environment talking about anything and everything, treating yourself to cute sandwiches and cats to tasty fish flavored treats 

Lucas:

Lucas invites you on a date to his favorite museum near his university. He leads you through exhibits telling you the history behind it, listing off facts you’ll never remember and have no difference in your life. Despite it, you can’t help your growing smile your hands threaded together looking over the vast historical setups.

“Did you know-”

You cut him off quickly, “Every time you say that I do not understand what you’re talking about.” He laughs in reply running his free hand through his hair to fix the loose strands. “I love you, but you forget I’m kind of a dumbass.”

Lucas rolls his eyes in response, a soft smile spreading over his lips, “You’re not a dumbass. We're getting towards the end of the tour, want to hit the gift shop?”

“Do you think they have food there, I’m starving.” You reply exaggerating the word starving. “Typically, Valentine’s Dates include food for your hungry significant other. No?”

Lucas laughs, pulling you close to him. “I promise we’ll get food after this. The rainforest cafe is towards the entrance.” He kisses you gently on the lips, walking backwards as he faces you holding your hands in yours towards the gift shop. “Starvation takes 30-45 days to kill you if you hydrate correctly. Hopefully, you’ve hydrated before this or you might lie down and die here.”

“Now that you say that, I’m feeling feeble and weak.” You sigh, pulling the both of you to a stop. You pretend to trip over your feet falling into his arms, he catches you quickly his lips curling into a smile. “How will I go on, I am starving and weak. Lucas avenge me.” You lower yourself carefully onto the floor getting a few looks from people passing by.

“So, I lied earlier. You are a dumbass.” He nudges you with his foot. “Are you going to die, baby?” He squats down low to hear your response as you dramatically whisper to him peeking one eye open to look at him.

“No, I need kisses to save me. You wouldn’t let me die would you?”

Lucas laughs at your comment before pressing a kiss to lips softly and sweetly. His hands cup your cheeks and the scent of his cologne register on your nose. You inhale the scent of Lucas and fall into the kiss before he finally pulls away a blush on his cheeks as he glances around at the few people ‘awwing’ at the both of you. “Get up.”

“Fine. But you’re buying me something epic in the gift shop.” He helps you up, wrapping an arm around your waist leading you towards the gift shop with a laugh. The both of you enjoy the rest of your date at the museum ending with the tastiest sandwiches you’ve ever eaten in your entire life.

Noah:

Noah invites you to a concert to see one of his favorite underground artists. The drive there is silent besides their music playing as the both of you enjoy each other’s company without words. Once there, the show is in full supply and you and Noah find yourselves front row. He can’t stop smiling and it makes your heart flutter in your chest as you pretend to know the lyrics while the singer holds the mic out towards the audience.

Noah grabs you by the waist pulling you in close to him whispering the lyrics between the two of you, moving to the beat as he sways you. “You look happy.”

“I am happy.” He smiles, leaning in close to whisper in your ear so you can hear him over the music. “I’m with my favorite person at my favorite show, it doesn’t get better than this, kid.”

You smile back at him, “You should smile more. You look beautiful when you do.” He brushes his hand against your face, letting his cheeks grow red with a blush.

“Shut up.” He shakes his head, despite his words you can still see the corner of his lips curled upwards in a cute smile that he’s desperately trying to ward off. “You shouldn’t tell people to smile more, they’ll think you’re a freak.”

“You already thought that, dummy.” You laugh, the distance between the two of you, even more, none existent. His fingers thread through your hair as you are drawn together into a kiss as the band crashes down the chorus of their best song. The words swarm in your head mixing with the excitement of his lips against yours.

His lips are soft, but you can feel where he bits at the skin on his lip when he’s nervous. His hand on the small of your back the other on your cheek. Yours on either side of his neck holding him close a fear of losing him. The kiss lasts for an eternity and you swear you’re holding the entire world in your hands.

When you break apart you lean your weight against him and he holds you as the band switches to one of their slow songs. A steady sweet rhythm with romantic lyrics fills the room as the lead singer encourages everyone to dance with their partner and celebrate their love this Valentine’s Day.

“Thank you for inviting me,” You glance around at the ground before settling your gaze back on him, his eyes full of emotions he can’t express properly, “I love sharing your world with you, baby.”

“I like having you in my world.” He whispers back before the two of you fall silent enjoying the embrace of one another, the music, and the love in your heart long into the night as the band plays.

Parker:

Parker being the gentleman he is invites you to a small restaurant that he’s been going to since he was a child. He tells you stories of his youth his face bright with excitement and you listen intensely to his story happy and content to be on a Valentine’s Day date with the perfect man. The food comes out and you talk more.

“Do you like it?” He smiles politely.

You take another bite speaking with your mouthful, “It's deliahcous.”

Parker laughs, before taking a fork full of his favorite chicken pasta. Before he can even take a bite, you snake your hand onto his own, taking his fork stealing his food. His eyes widen in surprise before settling into a smile. “Really?”

“Mmmmhm.” You manage out, the hot food burning your tongue slightly, “Perfection.”  Despite himself, he smiles, plucking his fork out of your hand shaking his head. “What?” You ask at the look he gives you, his eyes glossed over with a look you’ve never seen before, but it’s healing and makes you feel loved. He smiles softly from his resting face casting his eyes down at his food before speaking.

“I just love you a lot.” His voice faintly above silence sharing the intimacy of his words between the two of you, a faint blush on his cheeks as he meets your eyes a sincere look in his eyes making your heart flutter in your chest unsure of how to respond his random declaration of love. He reaches across the table taking your hand into his own before scooting his chair towards the side closer to you. He meets your lips in a passionate kiss that tastes like chicken and sends your heart flying. His hand cups your cheek letting his tongue brush against your bottom lip. Before the kiss can last too long he pulls apart. “Wow.”

“Almost as good as the food.” You grin, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before taking another bite of pasta. He laughs to himself, tugging on his tie to reposition it back into place. After the both of you finish eating he invites you back home. On the car ride to his house, he holds your hand in his lap, brushes his fingers back and forth over your skin absently as he concentrates on the road.

You finally break the silence, “You know, I just love you a lot too, Officer Shaw.”

“You better.” He breaks into a grin back, he brings your hand to his lips kissing it. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in life and then some.” His eyes turn back to the road as the light turns green driving the both of you back to his place in a comfortable silence the radio purring a romantic song as you hum along to the beat feeling content and love pouring through your heart, trying to stop yourself from smiling which never happens. You’re too in love with him for your own good.

Stacy:

Stacy invites you to her house, she meets you at the door with a kiss on your cheek. She takes you by the hand leading you into her apartment. Her house smells of fruit and cinnamon and she leads you to the table where she has a set up of a cooking sheet and a microwave and a few bags of groceries.

“I thought you might like to make Chocolate covered strawberries with me.” She pulls out the chair beside her patting it for you to sit down. Her hands pull on the sleeve of her purple crop top blushing softly. “Felt tacky to buy them pre-made.”

“Sounds fun, Stace.” You smile taking the seat and she sits beside you preparing the skewers as you measure out the chocolate into bowls, she bought a variety of colors to make it more fun for the both of you. Shades of pink with matching sprinkles. The two of you melt the chocolate laughing and having fun, stealing chocolate melts while Stacy isn’t looking. She skewers the strawberries and the two of you continue to decorate your Valentine's Day treats.

While she puts them in the fridge to cool, you find a box of Valentine’s Day cards for kids on the table a grin growing on your lip as you think back to your youth of passing them out in elementary school to all of your friends; you remember giving your favorite one to Stacy every year and she’d do the same.

“I thought it might be a good laugh,” She replies seeing you look over the box. She saddles up behind you, resting her hands on your shoulder placing a kiss to the top of your head. She moves her hands up your neck to brush her fingers through your hair styling your hair to her liking giving you a head massage with her fingers.

You open the box, “I think it will be. If they’re anything like they were when we were kids, I’ll give you a vaguely flirty one since I didn’t realize I had a crush on you.” She laughs in reply reading over your shoulder as you show her the first card. “You’re the apple of my eye, Valentine.”

“Shopkin Valentine’s Day cards are so cheesy.” She laughs, taking the next card from your hand. “This one has a smiling strawberry. Have a Berry Happy Valentine's day!” You laugh in reply and she leans against the table.

“Are you having a berry happy Valentine's Day?” She asks.

You think for a minute, “A few kisses would make it even better.” She grins in reply leaning in to meet your lips in a sweet kiss. The taste of strawberries and chocolates on your mouth, as she delves her hands into your hair you arms moving to encase her body holding her firmly against you, enjoying the moment. Before long you break away smiling and blushing at one another and she suggests watching a movie and you curl up on the couch with your treats watching her favorite Rom-Coms.

Tom: 

Tom invites you over to his house the night of Valentine’s Day, when you get there you’re overwhelmed by the smell of chocolate - burning? - coming from the kitchen. You walk into his apartment finding him a mess with hair down falling over his shoulders a burnt tray of brownies in his hands.

You can’t help, but laugh as he turns around and he has chocolate frosting on the corner of his lips and he startles noticing you nearly dropping the brownies onto the floor. With a laugh you take an oven mitt off the counter taking the tray of brownies from him, kicking the oven door closing.

“Wait! I’m treating you, stop doing stuff.” Tom whines, trying to take back the tray.

You lean in placing a sweet kiss to his lips, “Were a team, baby.” He smiles in response taking a breath of relief as he steps out of the way, letting you place the warm tray onto the stove balancing between a tray of Dino Nuggets and tater tots. “Dino Nuggs and Tater Tots?”

“A restaurant seemed above our pay grade.” He blushes, “We can go out if you-” You break him off with a gentle kiss against his lips, your hands grabbing the front of his shirt holding him close to you a few moments enjoying the sweetness of the chocolate on his lips.

“It’s perfect, Tommy.” You kiss him on the forehead. “I’m gonna kick your ass in Lookout.”

Tom laughs shaking his head, “No way in hell.”

“We’ll see!” You grin, grabbing two plates out of the cupboard for you as he grabs two glasses. The both of you load up on food and sweets and the drink of your choice he always carries your favorite drink in his house. Carrying the food you leave to the living room laughing about a stupid joke he made.

Settling onto the couch next to each other yelling and playing videos games, he surprises you with a gift! He gives you a fuzzy stuffed bear holding a heart with a cutesy handmade card. You kiss him and thank him for the gifts giving him your gift before the two of you get back into your intense game play. You try to steal his control away from him when he starts to win the both of you fighting over it laughing until he’s on top of you, looking into your eyes with his sweet smile before he leans in capturing you in a kiss, as both of your characters die on screen, not that either of you notice currently; being preoccupied and all.

“You’re too good to me, Tom.” You whisper as he breaks the kiss, your foreheads against one another. He shakes his head no giving you a quick peck on the lips before climbing off of you.

“You’re too good for me, if anything.” You grin at each other before returning to your gameplay stealing smiles,  distracted kisses, and looks at one another that makes your heart flutter and Tom blush late into the night.

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REVEALED: Your favourite race of the 2022 season so far

Last weekend, we gave you the chance to vote for your favourite race of the first half of this exciting 2022 season. And after collecting all the results of the poll, the British Grand Prix has been voted as you, the fans', favourite race of the season so far. The crowd was treated to a spectacle at Silverstone, as we saw plenty of impressive side-by-side racing between the drivers and a heart-stopping start-line crash, before Carlos Sainz went on to seal his maiden win in Formula 1. And with 50% of the vote, the British Grand Prix has been crowned as the fans’ favourite race of the season so far. GRILL THE GRID: The drivers take on the geography round – can they name a circuit for every letter of the alphabet? The Hungarian Grand Prix – won by Max Verstappen – came second in the poll, receiving 18% of the votes. Tied in third with 6% of the vote were the Bahrain and Austrian Grands Prix – two races that witnessed scintillating battles between Verstappen and title rival Charles Leclerc. Check out the highlights of the above races in the videos below... 1. British Grand Prix Carlos Sainz converts his maiden pole position in Formula 1 into his maiden victory on his 150th Grand Prix start – but in a far-from-straightforward manner. Race Highlights: British Grand Prix 2. Hungarian Grand Prix After starting from 10th at the Hungaroring, Max Verstappen produces a stunning comeback drive, overtaking rival Charles Leclerc to seal his eighth victory of the season. Race Highlights: 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix 3= Austrian Grand Prix Leclerc was the man to beat at the Red Bull Ring, overtaking Verstappen three times on track and managing a throttle issue to seal his third win of the season. Race Highlights: 2022 Austrian Grand Prix 3= Bahrain Grand Prix The season-opening race in Bahrain saw Leclerc come out on top in his battle with Verstappen, holding off the attack of the Red Bull driver on his way to victory. Race Highlights: Bahrain Grand Prix via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com