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dansnaturepictures · 1 year

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Round up of our long weekend in Norfolk 17th-19th February 2023

I used two days of leave either side of this weekend and we headed to Norfolk for a couple of nights; a wild flat land of Marsh Harriers, pretty churches and windmills, and euphoric birding thrills. The three days visiting various reserves and spots did not disappoint; on it we saw so much getting eight bird year ticks to take my year list to 145 well ahead of where any of my others were on this date in past years which is fantastic, two of them life ticks (both seen on Friday, the first time I’ve seen more than one new bird in a day for five years and all but one of my five visits to Norfolk at different times of year since 2013 has produced at least one bird life tick for me and on the one that didn’t we saw something new in Suffolk before getting there which underlines the quality of this part of the world for birdwatching), seeing marvellous mammals, beautiful views in great weather and oh so many Red Kites, Lapwings and Wigeons among many other birds the latter two a real splendid taste of winter.

It started with a bang on Friday as we called into the Cley Spy shop in Glandford where the famous Long-eared Owl seen there this winter had been sighted. It was an honour to get stunning views of this mesmerising bird on our first stop of the time away, what a phenomenal species. It was the first I’ve ever seen notching me up to five owl species seen in my life I’ve seen three this year now and this one I had wanted to see for years. What a great job the Cley Spy team are doing letting people see it in return for donations to the Oriental Bird Club and making it so accessible to all. Then it was onto Blakeney where as hoped we saw some Twite, also my first ever a charming little bird I was buzzing to see. My first Skylark of the year, wonderful Kestrel and Marsh Harrier views and Wigeon and Lapwing were other highlights here.

The Cley Spy Long-eared Owl

Holkham was the first port of call of Saturday with what was up until us seeing the one at Milford in Hampshire late last month the main target of the trip in mind, Shore lark. We were spoiled to see five or six, what an honour to watch this flamboyant coloured adorable bird picking about in the fenced off area. It was lark delight with Skylark seen here too, perhaps the first time I’ve seen two lark species in a day and we were looking at both at once at one point. Snow Bunting became a main Holkham target after seeing Hampshire’s Shore lark and I was over the moon that we spotted one or two at Holkham, a powerful moment watching one flying and settle down whilst watching the Shore larks another year tick and a crucial one being a bird I love so much. Amazing views of Grey Partridge and Red Kite were also great to see at Holkham. Cley was the next stop on Saturday where we got astonishing views of the striking and graceful Long-billed Dowitcher. Another golden bird of the trip getting our best ever view of the species only the fourth time we’ve ever seen one and third individual bird we’ve ever seen. There was also an exhilarating surprise moment when from the cafe at the centre when having a cup of tea we saw the Whooper Swan, one we don’t see too often and one I love seeing a massive year tick. Ruff, great views of Spoonbill and Marsh Harrier were nice to see at Cley too.

One of the Holkham Shore larks

After checking out of the hotel yesterday before heading home visits to RSPB reserves Titchwell and Lakenheath Fen (on the border with Suffolk) produced more swashbuckling moments of natural splendour. My first Bar-tailed Godwits of the year a very useful one to pick up, Sanderlings, Goldeneye, Shoveler, Teal, Avocet, Lapwings, Golden Plovers, Spoonbill, a lovely group of Linnets, Treecreeper and a raptor fest of acrobatic Red Kites and multiple majestic Marsh Harriers were key Titchwell sightings. The last year tick of the trip awaited at Lakenheath Fen as despite it looking like they might have flown off we managed to see the three Bean Geese that had been here flying over. Such a great moment, only the second I’ve ever seen and a key bird seen this year so far. Here also we got breathtaking views of and also possibly heard a lone angelic Whooper Swan on the Little Ouse River joining two Mute Swans which was nice to see and for comparison later on. A stunning intimate experience. Lots of Gadwalls, Great White Egret, Little Egret and raucous Rooks and Jackdaws flying to roost I believe completed the highlights here.

Whooper Swan at Lakenheath Fen

Away from birds it was a wonderful weekend of mammals. This mostly down to two species, Muntjac Deer and Brown Hare. The Muntjacs were an absolute revelation of the trip, we saw so many. Many more than we’d ever seen before and getting better views than we ever had of these elusive mammals that we had seen a handful of times before. From the quirky image of seeing one cross a road and go into someone’s hedge on day one our first of the year, to the pinnacle seeing four of these petite, charming and exotic deers at Holkham in fields which was amazing it was an honour to see them. We saw some in the woods and on the washlands at Lakenheath Fen seeing them so much on journeys across the days too. Getting towards their amorous time of year we got cracking views of the Hares a quintessential part of this landscape.

One of the Muntjac Deers at Holkham

In the way of flora and fungi snowdrop covered verges and the woods at Titchwell were a sight to behold with daffodils and crocuses seen from the car too and red deadnettle I saw a lot too. At Titchwell also in the woods we enjoyed some succulent looking ruby red scarlet elf cups too one of the mushrooms I like most. In terms of insects a few flowers being out and the sunny and quite warm weather allowed my recent pleasing run of seeing bees to continue whilst away. It was a weekend of taking in brilliant landscapes too in lots of sunny weather with the reedbeds, marshes, river, shiny beaches, sand dunes, fields and trees looking so lovely. There were nice dramatic sky scenes too and fantastic scenes towards and at sunset. Something photographically I was looking forward to having never been to Norfolk in February (April the first time we went the closest to this time of year), was how that gorgeous winter light would look in the mostly flat landscape and it did look so stunning and special. Ten years on from us first ever visiting to Norfolk I am happy we managed to do this trip, and I felt sharply why I love this extraordinary and wild place. It was good to get away generally and have some great relaxation.

Scarlet elf cup at Titchwell

View at Blakeney

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voidsteffy · 1 year

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I posted 16,791 times in 2022

That's 13,564 more posts than 2021!

617 posts created (4%)

16,174 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@karinaisloud

@nnon-but-cwnancydrew

@infp-obsessing-over-everything

@bisexualalienss

@voidsteffy

I tagged 1,631 of my posts in 2022

#asks - 104 posts

#nancy drew cw - 76 posts

#rrr - 76 posts

#spotify - 52 posts

#desiblr - 52 posts

#nace - 51 posts

#tagged - 45 posts

#nancy drew cbs - 45 posts

#manu answers - 40 posts

#nancy drew finale - 35 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i need the rain shots....the shot of them meeting for the first time and then them *meeting for the first time*.... all the funny ones.....

My Top Posts in 2022:

Why am I noticing right now that Ram also takes parts of the spiked whip in his hand.... so Bheem is not the only one bleeding

......kill me why don't you

144 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

third time watching hill house and i just noticed some things:

luke's "treehouse" wall has the number plates of all the important cars: the plate of the funeral home van that brings back nell's body, nell's car in la and steve's car and so on

the Tall Man came into Luke and Nell's room because he was "checking up on his kids after they fell asleep" and then he found the hat

the names of the actors show up in the start credits only when their respective statue shows up. like, carla, victoria and everyone has a specific statue when their name appears and that statue is linked to their characters

the Tall Man and Poppy Hill had met in a mental institution and Luke and Joey met in a rehab

When mom was sad, she made the sky hail, and what if one of the siblings had made it rain the day that lady's husband died in the ravine?

steve protests in the two storms episode that "why do i need protection from the truth" while he represents Denial that is technically a mechanism of protection from the truth

Nell sees Vance at the bottom of the staircase before she dies, just like Hugh sees Liv wake up from the dead as a ghost and walk away thinking it's all a dream. the bottom of the staircase, after all the spirals of life, might be where your loved ones stand, waiting for you

I'm—

145 notes - Posted July 22, 2022

I—

148 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

What I loved about this moment was not just Ace literally risking his life because he trusted Nancy and wanted to eventually bring justice...

But that Nancy stayed rooted to her place while everyone else jumped in various degrees of shock.

Like, "Oh shit this adorable himbo that I thought was tagging along with me... He actually trusts me? AND HE WOULD HAVE DIED IF THAT WAS POISON!"

Her widened eyes say it all.

Beyond horrified at what Ace did, she's also spellbound by his trust. She felt responsible for him in a new way. That guy would be stupid enough to run into a dilapidated poisoner-housing building to be with her. That guy would be stupid enough to drink poison because they might share the same drive for justice and facts.

For me, that's when Nancy actually knew she could trust him too.

Of course Maybe she liked him before that but this is when she knew.

SHE KNEW.

183 notes - Posted January 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Friday without Nancy Drew be like

212 notes - Posted February 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #last post reminded me of another fri without nace #for those who tagged me in their ayitr thanks boo! this is me replying!#manu answers

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soberchella · 2 months

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SOBERCHELLA has happened every year since 2009.

This grassroots AA meeting takes place both weekends on the fields at Coachella!

Shout out to Joseph, Kory, Jewrl and Erica who started this awesome tradition.

The meetup times are usually around 1PM-2PM!! .

We have connected 100’s of sober festival goers thru GroupMe, email [email protected] or [email protected] to join the google group

GROUPME

Weekend 1 has 55 members

Weekend 2 has 145 members

Almost 200 soberchella peeps over the next coming two weekends have been connected. Wow!!

Based on previous years we’ve had 10-35 people come to the afternoon meetings and our chairs and fellows are always around for support, text or calls.

This information is good for both weekends.

THURSDAY CAMPGROUND MEETING

MEETINGS FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY

Indio Market Place under BEER/COCKTAIL sign

All twelve step fellowship participants are welcome, and we do ask that you identify as an alcoholic or an addict if you wish to share

WEEKEND 1 - CHAIRING ARE TAYLOR

& DERRICK

WEEKEND 2 - CHAIRING ARE SAM & GARY

BE SURE TO CHECK GROUP ME UPDATES FOR THE SCHEDULE AS IT CAN BE FLUID OUT ON THE FIELD

9pm - Thursday Campground Meeting Campsite. Will send exact location VIA GROUPME after designated chair sets up camp.

1:30pm (Estimated time) - Friday Indio Market Place Northeast corner under Cocktail sign.

1:30pm - Saturday Indio Market Place Northeast corner under Cocktail sign.

1:30pm - Sunday Indio Market Place Northeast corner under Cocktail sign.

We’re wishing you all a safe & sober weekend and hope you get to meet and hang with others in the SOBERCHELLA community.

Watch some sets with your new Soberchella buddies:

This is a great opportunity to plan some meet ups. In the past one of us has saved space just in front of or to left of sound/light booths. It’s a mishmash of who does what, so please volunteer or chime in for plans etc. or to add to the list below.

We Are Responsible...

When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, we want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: we are responsible.

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adamgant · 6 months

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145: Conflicting parts and calming our nervous system with Megan Blacksmith

145: Conflicting parts and calming our nervous system with Megan Blacksmith https://ift.tt/rGLW6Qq Hi friends! I have a podcast episode up and am so excited to share this one. I’ve super topical with the holiday season and everything we have going on this time of year, so I really hope you’ll take a listen. Today, I’m chatting with Megan Blacksmith, and here and some of the topics we discuss: – Conflicting parts and what to do when one part of our body or brain doesn’t agree with the other part – Calming your nervous system and strategies you can use – Her tips for being Healthy in Real Life and so.much.more. Conflicting parts and calming our nervous system with Megan Blacksmith Here’s a bit more about Megan: Megan Blacksmith is a holistic health coach, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, speaker, NLP Trainer and mindset ninja. She is the co-founder of Zesty and the Becoming Zesty podcast. She trains coaches, practitioners and leaders with the tools for faster (inner) transformation without fighting themselves along the way through Functional NLP, a combination of the principles of NLP, functional medicine and compassionate coaching. Connect with Megan on Instagram here, check out the Becoming Zesty website and podcast. She recently hosted a Masterclass on parts. You can watch the replay here since we dive into this quite a bit in the episode! If you’re interested in attending their January event, the details are here! GIVEAWAY: Leave a podcast review if you enjoy the show, and be sure to add #zesty so we know you’re entering to win a free ticket to the January event. (Travel not included.) BONUS entry: Screenshot this episode, share on IG stories, and tag us @fitnessista @becomingzesty More resources from this episode: I love love love the meals from Sakara Life! Use this link and the code XOGINAH for 25% off their meal delivery and clean boutique items (Black Friday deal). This is something I do once a month as a lil treat to myself and the meals are always showstoppers. If any of my fellow health professional friends are looking for another way to help their clients, I highly recommend IHP. You can also use this information to heal yourself and then go one to heal others, which I think is a beautiful mission. You can absolutely join if you don’t currently work in the health or fitness industry; many IHPs don’t begin on this path. They’re friends who are passionate to learn more about health and wellness, and want to share this information with those they love. You can do this as a passion, or start an entirely new career. You can use my referral link here and the code FITNESSISTA for up to $250 off the Integrative Health Practitioner program. I highly recommend it! You can check out my review IHP Level 1 here! I just finished IHP2 and will share a review of my experience, too. I’m still obsessed with my sauna blanket. This is one of my favorite ways to relax and sweat it out. I find that it energizes me, helps with aches and pains, I sleep better on the days I use this, and it makes my skin glow. Link to check it out here. You can also use my discount (FITNESSISTA20 for Black Friday deals or my regular code FITNESSISTA15) for the PEMF Go Mat, which I use every day, and the red light face mask, which is a staple in my weekly skincare routine. Get 15% off Organifi with the code FITNESSISTA. I drink the green juice, red juice, gold, and Harmony! (Each day I might have something different, or have two different things. Everything I’ve tried is amazing.) Thank you so much for listening and for all of your support with the podcast! Please be sure to subscribe, and leave a rating or review if you enjoyed this episode. If you leave a rating, head to this page and you’ll get a little “thank you” gift from me to you. The post 145: Conflicting parts and calming our nervous system with Megan Blacksmith appeared first on The Fitnessista. via The Fitnessista https://ift.tt/mRYtFPs November 30, 2023 at 06:47AM

#The Fitnessista

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bamfdaddio · 3 years

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X-Men Abridged: 1981

The X-Men, those back-to-the-future mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!

(Uncanny X-Men 141 - 152) - by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Brent Anderson, Dave Cockrum, Jim Sherman, Bob McLeod and Josef Rubinstein

While I also committed various fashion atrocities at the age of 14 (tye-die and fauxhawks, oh my), even Liberace would find Kitty’s outfits too much. (Uncanny X-Men 149; Uncanny X-Men Annual ‘81)

We dial back from the v. epic scope of the last few arcs. Instead, 1981 is just a lot of fun! We get:

Storm and Emma doing a Freaky Friday!

the X-Men vs. Magneto (again!)

A surprisingly effective Alien rip-off

An dystopian future! (OoOoOoOo)

Last year was the year of the Dark Phoenix, this is the year of Kitty Pryde. That’s not to say Jean’s death is swept under the rug: all throughout, we see her friends mourning her loss or remembering her fondly. (Scott even gets to have a demonic adventure about it.) But in general, Claremont puts Kitty in the forefront, fleshing out his YA-addition to the team. And what would a YA heroine be without a grim dystopia? Roll out the iconic Days of Future Past!

To be fair, 2013 was a dark time for all of us: What Does the Fox Say somehow got to the top of the charts and I was still watching Glee. (Uncanny X-Men 141)

How cool would it have been to see a name like Jonothon Starsmore or Eva Bell on those tombstones?

Anyway, that’s Kate. Kate’s had it rough. Mutants are at the bottom of the foodchain, most X-Men are dead and only a small cadre of resistance fighters remain, Sentinels dominate, and while she is married to Piotr, her children have been murdered. Bleak. Luckily, the rebellion has concocted the plan to shunt Kate’s spirit back in time to prevent this awful future from happening. (You’ve seen Days of Future Past, the last passably good X-Men film, you know what’s up.)

Let’s do the time warp again! 1981!Kitty’s mind gets taken over by 2013!Kitty, who promptly tries to convince the X-Men that a new Brotherhood of v. Evil Mutants will try to kill Senator Kelly, a presidential candidate who tries to put the mutant menace on the agenda. (Mutants tend to blow stuff up when he’s around.) Since the X-Men recently took a literal trip to Dante’s Infero and also befriended a cosmic world-ending entity, they basically shrug and go: “Yeah, this checks out.”

Off to Washington they go (zoommm) and there, they happen upon the Baddest Bitches in Herstory:

“How dare you hate mutants, senator Kelly! We’ll fix that by killing you!” (Uncanny X-Men 141)

This All-New, All-Different Brotherhood consists out of:

Destiny, a blind woman who can see the future. Definitely the eeriest member of this group. Badass lesbian, though that won´t be canon for years.

Avalanche. Greek who makes things shake. Is a long-standing member of the X-Men Rogue’s gallery, but rarely features in the spotlight. I think he got more characterization in four years of X-Men Evolution than he ever did in the comics.

Mystique. Shapeshifter. Ruthless and unhinged, the Cersei Lannister of the X-Men universe. Absolute legend, secretly the wife of Destiny, currently not as unhinged as she’ll be later. Immediately implied to be related to Nightcrawler: it’s the yellow-eyes-blue-skin-combo.

Pyro. Can manipulate fire, not create it. Absolute pillock, in all the best ways of the word. Originally intended as gay, but they decided to make him Australian instead. (?!)

Blob. Big, strong, immovable. We’ve seen him before.

One of the details in this fight I enjoy is that Storm is still struggling with her leadership, although she has a better grip on things than Cyclops:

Wolverine then proceeds to use those iconic but deadly claws about twice per issue for the next, oh, forty years. (Uncanny X-Men 142)

While the X-Men fight the Brotherhood in the present, we cut back and forth to the future. There, the X-Men consist out of some familiar faces - Storm, Colossus, Wolverine - and some surprises: Magneto (in a wheelchair), Franklin Richards (son of) and an unfamiliar ginger girl called Rachel. (She’ll be important later.) We even learn (one of) Magneto’s names: this is the first time he’s canonically called Magnus.

One of the strengths of Days of Future Past lies in its brevity, the way it tantalizingly taunts us with a brutal but familiar future without giving away too much. It’s single-handedly responsible for all those dark future timelines the X-lines are so fond of which will eventually culminate in time-displaced grandsons from alternative dimensions and the impossibility of a succinct answer to the question: “Who’s Cable?” Too much of a good thing and all that.

Still, what Days of Future Past does so successfully is:

Put the idea of the mutant menace back at the forefront, hammering home the metaphor of mutants being a minority. Mutants being put in camps and being forbidden to breed should - regretfully - make us think of all too many real life equivalents. (Specifically, all of the imagery harkens back to the Holocaust.)

It starkly shows what happens should the X-Men lose, reminding everyone of the stakes. The X-Men are here for a reason: bridging the gap between mutants and humankind. If they fuck up, we end up with mutant concentration camps.

It helps that the X-Men in the future almost all die horribly: Franklin is incinerated, Storm is impaled… It's brutal stuff. The only one to survive is Rachel, who wonders if their plan actually changed the future or if they created an alternative timeline. (It did the latter, sorry ‘bout it, Rachel.)

In the present, Kate chases after Destiny, who trains a gun on senator Kelly. I always wondered how this works: if Destiny saw the future, she knew that killing Kelly would trigger a terrifying future. What in the current Marvel timeline made her decide that the Days of Future Past was better? Did she see her own death? Did she see the Onslaught-crossover coming? The Chuck Austen run? What was it?

In any case, time-anomalous Kate stops Destiny from killing Kelly and the future is safe! For now. Kate disappears, Kitty returns to her body and some of the Brotherhood are apprehended. All is well, for now.

After being a key figure in DoFP, Kitty is also the main character in the Christmas special, which is basically a straight up horror and a pastiche of the Alien-movie.

Seriously, John Byrne still isn’t sure why he wasn’t sued by Ridley Scott for this. (Uncanny X-Men 143)

If you love Kitty Pryde? Read this issue. If you’re not convinced you like 80’s Kitty? Read this issue. It’s not continuity relevant and it’s basically Kitty playing the part of a Final Girl in a horror where she’s being chased by a demon, but it’s so good. It showcases all her strengths and her foibles. Kitty’s intelligent, cute (sometimes preciously so) and brave, but she’s also young, self-conscious and hot-headed. And it's not as if the other X-Men automatically adore her: Storm berates her all the time, she’s afraid of Kurt because of the way he looks (though she grows out of that) and she fights with Professor Xavier a lot. Moreover, she has a clever power-set for a young superhero who faces menaces on a daily basis: a thirteen year old who can go intangible is far less likely to have reality ensue on her and be dramatically offed because she's better at protecting herself.

I’m sure there are people who thought Sprite was hogging the spotlight, but I, for one, say she brings more to the table than, say, Angel. She’s not the Dawn Summers of this franchise.

Scott also gets a side quest. Poor guy can’t catch a break: first the love of his life dies, so he quits the X-Men, then he realizes he can’t do much else than be a superhero. He becomes a sailor on the ship of spunky captain Lee Forrester, is drawn into the sadistic plans of a demon unironically named D’Spayre and then shipwrecks in Bermuda with Lee.

The X-Men, meanwhile, are tormented by a team-up of Doom (who’s currently Latverialess and working on a comeback) and Arcade, that annoying crony. Locke, Arcade’s dom, has kidnapped the loved ones of the X-Men (Moira MacTaggart, Jean Grey’s parents, Illyana Rasputin and Amanda Sefton) in order to blackmail them into getting Doom to free Arcade. Apparently, Arcade accidentally insulted Doom and DOOM DOES NOT FORGIVE THAT FOLLY.

While the B-Squad (Polaris, Havok, Banshee and Iceman) goes to save Arcade’s hostages, the X-Men sneak into Doom’s castle. Well, except for Storm, who doesn’t give a single fuck and simply flies up to Doom, demanding an audience. Doom likes the cut of her jib and invites her to have dinner. (This is pre-Tinder, so this is a legit way of scoring a date.)

If Storm has a flaw (I said if!), it’s got to be her atrocious taste in men. (Uncanny X-Men 145)

The X-Men find Arcade’s cell empty, while Arcade casually saunters up to Storm and says hi. Storm realizes too late that this is a trap: while the X-Men are all trapped in Saw-like traps, Storm is encased in ‘living chrome’.

If you remember she’s claustrophobic, you know why this is a bad move.

While the X-Men free themselves from their traps - Polaris hilariously has to deal with a murderous merry-go-round - Storm is slowly driven mad in her prison, triggering a worldwide tempest. (She causes Lee and Scott to shipwreck.) Under the threat of Wolverine’s claws, Doom releases Storm - or rather, unleashes her.

“Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!” (Uncanny X-Men 147)

The memory of Jean brings Ororo back to herself and she starts undoing the superstorm she created. (If only climate change were reversed that easily.) Their confrontation ends by Storm easily forgiving Doom, because she apparently trespassed on his grounds without adequate cause.

Mkay.

All of Arcade’s hostages return to their homesteads, except for Illyana Rasputin, Piotr’s sister: she’s staying at the mansion for a while. Angel, who’s sort of been a part of the team since the Phoenix thing, has had it with Wolverine and his ‘tude, and decides to quit the X-Men : he doesn’t want to be a part of an outfit that has a killer like Wolverine on it. (Or maybe he’s just mad Claremont didn’t give him any storylines: his presence has been mostly pointless.) It’s too bad he left before Kitty started experimenting with her outfits: I bet he would have loved her ugly-ass costumes.

Equally inconsequential is the introduction of a brand new character, who then proceeds to disappear from the narrative for the rest of the year:

Black Tom has tried to kill you at least twice, but him sending you a long-lost daughter doesn’t give you pause? Ugh, Sean, you deserve Moira. (Uncanny X-Men 148)

Intrigued by Theresa? TOO BAD, WON’T SEE HER AGAIN ANYTIME SOON.

Another new character is the lonely, decidedly mutant looking Caliban, who can sense “people like him” and is on the lookout for companions. Like many lonely people who try and grasp at friendship, he decides to overshoot his shot and ruin the night of Storm, Kitty and Jessica Drew at a Dazzler concert. Because he tries to kidnap Kitty, the girls react a trifle aggressively. When they realize their mistake - the eerily pale Caliban is a simpleton rather than a menace - he’s already fled. No mention is made of the Morlocks yet!

There’s also another dull annual where the X-Men team up with the Fantastic Four to save Arkon’s dimension from the Badoon and yaaaaawn. Far more interesting is the landmark issue #150. Slowly, through the adventures of Scott and Lee Forrester, Claremont has been setting things up for the return of a favorite villain. While the X-Men investigate Magneto’s old base in Antarctica on a hunch of Professor X and tangle with Garruk, Scott and Lee survive Storm’s tempest, only to wake up next to a strange island that seems to have been raised from the ocean.

It’s apparently some ancient citadel from a long forgotten civilization with a fondness for squid statues. (I don’t know man, I’ve never been to the Bermuda Triangle, maybe this is just super-accurate.)The tentacles make Lee Forrester feel very amorous, but before Scott can tell her he is way too repressed to just have sex with an attractive someone he’s known intimately for a month or two, Magneto saves his ass by revealing he, in fact, raised this island from the seafloor.

Oh, Magneto. So extra.

My ambitious little mutant demagogue then proceeds to take the entire world hostage, showing how much he’s grown from the pompous, raving madman from the sixties. (Sure, Magneto is still a bit of a madman, but increasingly, he starts being on the right side of history.)

“I’m trying to make Magneto more sympathetic.”

“Just put him on a page with some bigger villains who are less noble, like the Vanisher, Count Nefaria, or…”

“Reagan, Thatcher and Brezhnov?”

“Er.” (Uncanny X-Men 150)

It’s obvious Magneto is being pivoted as a more noble villain, codified into the well-intentioned extremist we know and love today. Not only do we get the first hints at his past, fleshing out his motivations, he’s also not wrong. Humans are historically not great at taking care of the planet or each other.

When the Russians call his bluff and launch nukes at Magneto’s new island, he quickly disarms them. His retribution is swift and ferocious: the entire citadel is a machine that massively amplifies his powers. He sinks the submarine that launched the missiles, condemning the entire crew to death, and he casually erects a vulcano in a Russian city in Siberia.

Damn. Not messing around this time.

Despite his good intentions, Magneto is still definitely in the wrong: not only because of his methods, but as Scott points out: if Magneto unifies the world under his kind of benevolent dictatorship, all of that will simply fall apart as soon as Magnus dies.

In a way, Magneto is just as big a dreamer as Charles is: Charles believes in peace and integration, whereas Magneto believes his iron fist will be enough to make a perfect world happen. Both of them ignore the reality that acceptance is difficult and messy, because you’re trying to change essential human nature: the fear of the other. Magneto believes in big, sweeping gestures that will fix the world in move, while changing the world is also boring, hard work. One step forward, two steps back. Magneto just wants to leapfrog to his ultimate goal.

The X-Men fly over the citadel, returning from Antarctica, and their plane crashes into the ocean. (Magneto does not brook planes over his territory, humans!) The Professor is also nearby, looking for Scott with Moira, Peter Corbeau and Carol Danvers. The X-Men sneak onto the island, but to their horror, their powers are nullified by some machine of Magneto. They reunite with Scott, who formulates a plan to thwart the would-be ruler of the world.

While the rest of the X-Men go to trash the machine, Storm, Kitty and Lee infiltrate the control chamber where Storm finds a sleeping, shirtless Magneto. Once again showing her terrible taste in men, she is not weak in the knees at the sight of a sleeping Magnus: instead, she contemplates killing him.

Storm knows how dangerous he is, but she also knows that he’s a great man who’s fighting for ideals, no matter how misguided. She hesitates too long: Magneto stirs, suspects an attack and tosses her out of the window, to her death.

Magneto quickly undoes the sabotage the other X-Men have wrought to his machine. A fight erupts. Storm, meanwhile, has managed to grab hold of a ledge. She crawls back up and smashes an important-looking computer, restoring everyone’s powers.

The battle turns grim, but Scott sends Kitty away to wreck Magneto’s machinery. She sneaks off, following Scott’s orders and destroying both Magneto's power-up device and all of his plans by phasing though the computer circuitry. Magneto senses this and furiously gives chase. Overcome by rage, he attacks Kitty and disrupts her phasing power with a magnetic bolt, seemingly killing her?

Everything about this story beat is great: mama bear!Ororo, mournful Magnus and even the fact that Kitty’s godawful outfit serves a narrative function: highlighting to us (and Magneto) just how young she is. The fact that Kitty’s Jewish is just icing on the cake. (Uncanny X-Men 150)

And thus, the softening of Magneto commences. 1981 might be a year with wildly varying narratives, but it has given us at least three enduring legacies to the X-Mythos: a new kind of Magneto, a fondness for dystopian futures and the character of Kitty Pryde, who's really come into her own this year.

Ugliest Costume: Kitty! Purposefully, but still. Best costume, by the way, goes to Destiny, with her creepy, creepy golden mask. Just imagine this lady casually strolling across a battlefield, eerily calm and collected, dodging everything you throw at her. Awesome design.

Best new character: I usually pick one character - what good is having a shared award when declaring the best of anything? - but this year, it’s going to one of my favorite couples: Mystique and Destiny. Can’t wait to see more of them.

Most audacious retcon: Blob somehow retroactively becomes a member of the original Brotherhood, which is not what happened. Ever weirder is Xavier pondering that he never met Magneto before his attack in X-Men #1, while their cordially adversarial relationship rooted in a youthful friendship would soon become a cornerstone of the X-Men.

What to read: Uncanny X-Men 141 - 143 and 150 - 152

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just-dreaming-marvel · 3 years

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I’m From Brooklyn, Too ~ 145

OUT OF TIME MASTERLIST

I’M FROM BROOKLYN, TOO MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 1,500ish

Summary: The final battle begins. (Look who actually updated, lol.)

Notes: You must read Out Of Time in order to understand this. The chapter numbers continue from Out Of Time.

Y/N coughed as she began to come to. There was smoke, and dust, in the air. Sitting up, she saw what was left over of the compound. Virtually nothing. Just rubble, debris, jetted out metal She looked around, almost instantly noticing Steve’s shield off to the side. Y/N stumbled in the Iron Man suit as she got up and went to the shield. She took and and looked around for her brother.

“Steve,” she gasped when she saw him not far off. She hurried to him and knelt down beside him. “Come on, Stevie,” she shook him gently. “Wake up.” He let out a groan, eyes blinking. “There we go.” Y/N held up his shield. “Please don’t lose this again.”

“What happened?” Steve asked, looking around as he sat up and took his shield.

“When you mess with time, it tends to mess back. You’ll see.”

Y/N helped Steve to his feet. Together they walked through the rubble until they found an opening. There they spotted Thor, looking at something out in the rest of the destruction. Following Thor’s line of sight, they found Thanos sitting with a weapon on a rock.

“What’s he been doing?” Y/N asked, coming to the left side of Thor and Steve went right.

“Absolutely nothing,” Thor responded.

“Where are the Stones?” Steve asked.

“Somewhere under all this,” Y/N replied, motioning around. “All I know is he doesn’t have them, but they aren’t too far. I can feel them.”

“So we keep it that way.”

“You know it’s a trap, right?” Thor said.

“Yeah,” Y/N answered. “And I don’t much care.”

“Good. Just as long as we are all in agreement.” Thunder cracked as Thor stretched out both hands, summoning Stormbreaker and Mjolnir (which he had brought back from 2013). His casual clothes transformed into an armor and cape, with his beard becoming braided. “Let’s kill him properly this time.”

The three of them walked down the rubble they were on and towards Thanos. Y/N was searching out the Stones, trying to gather the strength. But she wasn’t stupid. She knew it would take a lot of energy for her to fight off Thanos with the power of the Stones and she needed to save it for the perfect moment. Y/N was currently grateful for the suit that she had around her, and for FRIDAY’s ability to sense what she needed.

“You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me,” Thanos stated, as the three slowly moved to surround him. “I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

“Yep,” Y/N said. “We’re all kinds of stubborn.”

“I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do.” Thanos stood. “I will shred this universe down to its last atom.” He placed his helmet on his head. "And then– With the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given.” Thor began crackling with lightning. “A grateful universe.”

“Born out of blood,” Steve responded.

“They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them.”

Then the fighting began. Not wanting to waste her energy by using her abilities just yet, Y/N relied heavily on Tony’s suit. Thankfully, FRIDAY basically took control because she had no idea how to use it. The three heroes were working together, battling Thanos.

“Thor!” Y/N shouted, her suit opening. “Hit me!”

Thor banged his two weapons together, sending an enormous amount of energy at her back. The suit absorbed the energy and Y/N shot it out of the chest piece and hands, aiming for the Titan. Thanos twirled his blade fast to divert the energy. Thor grabbed Stormbreaker and used it to bat Mjolnir to his Thanos. Thanos quickly grabbed Y/N before she could attack and used her as a shield, resulting in damage to the suit. She was tossed away, her head bouncing around in the helmet as she slide to a stop.

“Y/N, wake up!” FRIDAY urged when the AI noticed that Y/N had passed out.

“Y/N!” Steve exclaimed.

When his sister didn’t immediately answer, Steve growled and went after Thanos. Steve tried to attack Thanos but was easily shielded away. Thor’s attack was quickly blocked by Thanos’ sword. Thanos grabbed onto Thor and lifts him up by the neck, choking him, before slamming him down and punching him. Mjolnir is flicked away as Thanos relentlessly beats up Thor, throwing him into a tree and socking him before throwing Thor over rubble and socking him again. Thor tried to grab Stormbreaker but Thanos grabbed it and used it against Thor.

Form not too far off, Mjolnir began to float off the ground. Thanos was digging Stormbreaker into Thor, when suddenly Mjolnir flies into Thanos. It zoomed past, stopped, and then flew back the way it came. Both Thanos and Thor looked back in amazement as Steve wields the hammer.

“I knew it!” Thor said.

Frustrated, Thanos kicked Thor to the ground. Steve charged at the Titan, swinging Mjolnir, and hitting him in the face, knocking him down. Steve threw his shield and Thanos deflected. Steve threw Mjolnir to his shield, creating a shockwave and knocking Thanos off his feet.

Steve then threw his shield at Thanos, quickly hitting it back at the Titan again with Mjolnir. He lined his arm up with Thanos to channel lightning his way.

Thanos eventually got the upper hand, removing his helmet. He stabbed Steve’s leg and knocked Mjolnir out of the Captain’s hand. Thanos proceeded to destroy Steve’s shield with his double-bladed Soward and threw him across the battlefield. Steve staggeredly tried to get up.

“In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter,” Thanos said, “it was never personal. But I’ll tell you now, what I’m about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet—I’m gonna enjoy it. Very, very much.”

The entirety of Thanos’ army was then summoned to the ground. Upon seeing the army descending onto Earth, Steve slowly got back to his feet. With a fierce determination, he tightened his broken shield to his arm and stood against the army. Alone. Suddenly, a crackling came in on his comm.

“Hey, Cap, you read me?”

Steve stopped and looked around.

“Cap, it’s Sam. Can you hear me?”

A portal began to form behind the Captain.

“On your left.”

Steve looked behind to see the portal on his left side. Three figures stepped through; Okoye, Shuri, and T’Challa, all ready to fight. Sam then zoomed in from above. As he did, dozens of more portals opened up all around the battlefield. Through one of the portals, Doctor Strange appeared, joined by Drax, Mantis, Star Lord, and Spider-Man. Everyone on the battlefield watched in confusion and awe as more and more heroes arrive through the portals from all the corners of the universe.

Y/N came to, her helmet disappearing as she sat up. Giant-Man (Scott) appeared out of the rubble with Rhodey, Bruce, and Rocket. Every one was lining up behind the Captain, all the teams and armies that Strange and the other sorcerers brought in to help. Y/N could feel the cry of happiness that wanted to be let leashed as she looked around. Suddenly, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Bucky was rushing towards her, a big gun in hand.

“Doll!” He exclaimed. “Y/N!” He stumbled to a stop in front of her, quickly pulled her up and checking for injuries. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? What are you doing in Stark’s suit?”

“Bucky,” Y/N breathed out, not really believing her eyes. Her armored hand shook as she reached up to brush some hair behind his ear. Her hand rested on his check.

“Hey, doll,” Bucky smiled softly, putting his own hand on her cheek.

“I missed you, so much. And… we need to talk. But—“

“After.” Bucky nodded.

Y/N nodded as well. “After.”

Bucky pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Stay safe.”

“You need to stay safe to, okay?”

“Of course.”

They took gave each other one last look before Y/N’s formed covered her face again and they joined the others.

“AVENGERS!” Steve shouted, everyone gearing up as he summoned Mjolnir. “Assemble.”

next chapter >

I appreciate all likes, comments, asks, and reblogs! Thank you for all the positive support!

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#bucky barnes x reader #the avengers x reader #avengers x reader #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #marvel x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x rogers!reader #the winter soldier x reader #winter soldier x reader #the white wolf x reader #white wolf x reader #bucky barnes #mcu x reader

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 3 years

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Fluffy Fridays—Chapter 160: Once Upon a Flower Shop, Ch. 2 of 3

Pairing: Captain Swan

Summary: A series of unrelated, fluffy one shots featuring Killian Jones and Emma Swan and the relationship that makes us all swoon. Will contain both canon and AU stories. My contribution to Operation Rainbow Kisses and Unicorn Stickers (aka, my attempt to drown out the season 4 finale angst with ridiculous levels of fluff.)

Other Chapters: ( 1) (2) ( 3) ( 4) ( 5) (6) ( 7) ( 8) ( 9) ( 10) ( 11) ( 12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31) (32) (33) (34) (35) (36) (37) (38) (39) (40) (41) (42) (43) (44) (45) (46) (47) (48) (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) (54) (55) (56) (57) (58) (59) (60) (61) (62) (63) (64) (65) (66) (67) (68) (69) (70) (71) (72) (73) (74) (75) (76) (77) (78) (79) (80) (81) (82) (83) (84) (85) (86) (87) (88) (89) (90) (91) (92) (93) (94) (95) (96) (97) (98) (99) (100) (101) (102) (103) (104) (105) (106) (107) (108) (109) (110) (111) (112) (113) (114) (115) (116) (117) (118) (119) (120) (121) (122) (123) (124) (125) (126) (127) (128) (129) (130) (131) (132) (133) (134) (135) (136) (137) (138) (139) (140) (141) (142) (143) (144) (145) (146) (147) (148) (149) (150) (151) (152) (153) (154) (155) (156) (157) (158) (159) (161) (162) (163) (164) (165) (166) (167) (168) (169) (170) (171) (172) (173) (174)

(ao3) (ff.net)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Killian pulled up in front of his farmhouse, parked his old pick-up, and checked the bed to make sure his flowers had fared well throughout the short journey. Nodding in satisfaction, he gathered up his pots and headed inside just as the sun was beginning to set.

He liked his life; he really did. Out here at the farmhouse, he was surrounded by peace, quiet, and serene natural beauty. It was a simple life where he could tune out the hustle and bustle of modern life, where he could make a living doing something he enjoyed while still having plenty of time off to simply enjoy life.

Aye, life was good, but sometimes it was also lonely.

Killian had moved to Storybrooke five years ago after a nasty break up with his previous girlfriend, Milah. When she’d chosen to go back to her ex rather than stay with him, it had rocked his world and scarred him deeply. He’d wanted nothing more than to just...get away from anything that reminded him of her or their life together, and so he’d packed up and moved across the ocean.

He knew the decision had mystified Liam, but his brother had supported him, helped him and encouraged him to follow his dreams, whatever they may be.

Normally, during those rare moments when the loneliness hit, Killian could stave it off by losing himself in a good book, working, or watching a favored movie on TV, but tonight something was different.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her.

How was it that five minutes with Emma Swan could play such havoc with his equilibrium? He was no stranger to beautiful, fascinating women. He had his share of dates whenever he wished; and yet, he could think of no woman--not even Milah--who had captured his imagination, his interest, maybe even his heart with the swiftness that Swan had.

Killian reheated a bowl of soup and paired it with bread, feeling the need for something warm and comforting for dinner. He thought of Emma as he ate, trying unsuccessfully to focus on the book he’d chosen as his dining companion. He thought of her as he soaked his tired muscles in a warm bath. He thought of her as he climbed into bed later that night.

Was his plan to meet her again truly a good idea? Would it meet with her approval, or would she find him presumptuous? Would she see his offering as romantic or as intrusive?

One thing was for sure, he thought as the rising sun shone in upon him the next morning, waking him with its warmth and brightness--he needed to at least try with her, or he’d forever wonder what might have been.

And so he set to work pairing a lovely pink amaryllis--symbolizing beauty but a value beyond mere appearance--and white tulips, to show his desire for forgiveness. He filled out the bouquet with forget-me-nots the color of his eyes and buttercups, like the tiny tattoo he’d seen on her wrist.

Perhaps he was overthinking all of this, and perhaps she’d reject his offering and slam her door in his face, but perhaps--perhaps this could be the first step toward something extraordinary.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Emma I love them! It was so thoughtful of you to send me flowers for my birthday!”

Emma could hear the smile in her sister’s voice over the phone. The smile and the relief. It was the relief that made Emma’s guilt rear its ugly head again.

Mary Margaret had been trying so very, very hard ever since the two of them reconnected a year ago, but it was difficult for Emma to trust; to let her walls down and to let anyone in. That’s what happens when everyone has abandoned you all your life.

Though they were sisters, Mary Margaret and Emma couldn’t have had more different childhoods. Their mother, Cora was...well she was a real piece of work. Once she’d given birth to Mary Margaret, she had her one, perfect daughter, and she’d never wanted another child.

Which is why becoming pregnant with Emma two years later was not a cause for celebration, but a problem to be solved. Emma had been put in the system from the start, and while she didn’t like to dwell on the painful details, suffice it to say it was nothing like the idyllic childhood Mary Margaret had.

It was sheer coincidence that the two sisters met again last year. Emma, looking for a new life out of the city after a nasty breakup with her boyfriend Walsh, had taken a job as the sheriff of the tiny seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine.

The tiny seaside town where Mary Margaret just happened to live.

Mary Margaret had been expansive in her affections from the beginning. She loved fiercely, and once she found someone, she never gave up. Never.

Mary Margaret hadn’t learned she had a sister until she was an adult, given the fact that she was only a toddler when Emma was born, and the second daughter was never spoken of. Once Mary Margaret knew of Emma’s existence, she’d worked for years trying to locate her, feeling to her bones the pain her baby sister must have felt. She wanted to do something, to make good on the debt she felt her family owed.

They’d first met during a “Careers in Storybrooke” convocation at the local elementary school where Mary Margaret worked as a fifth grade teacher. Emma had been invited to speak to the school about her life as a sheriff, and she’d begun her talk by sharing about her difficult childhood. She’d hoped that by doing so, she’d give the kids hope; show them that if you work hard enough, if you want something hard enough, you can overcome even a thoroughly crappy childhood.

Emma’s story had struck a nerve in Mary Margaret. She’d pulled Emma aside after the convocation, and through a few very specific questions, she’d learned the truth: Emma Swan was her long lost sister.

Emma had rebuffed her every effort to reconnect until finally Mary Margaret’s husband, David Nolan, had found her sitting by the beach one day and convinced her to give Mary Margaret a chance. Their relationship had been good ever since then.

Good, but new and fragile.

Mary Margaret seemed to walk on eggshells around her, afraid that at any moment she might sever the tenuous connection they’d built. It was a big reason Emma had been insistent on sending her sister flowers on her birthday. She wanted to let Mary Margaret know that she trusted her--loved her even. She knew that whatever wrong might have been done to her in the past, it wasn’t Mary Margaret’s doing.

She wanted her sister to know they were family, and Emma wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m glad you liked them,” Emma said. “Sorry they were late. Mix up at the florist’s.”

Mary Margaret chuckled. “Oh I know all about that.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” she said, her tone shifting to something speculative, maybe even scheming. “The bouquet was delivered personally by the shop’s owner. I couldn’t help but notice he’s pretty cute.”

Emma’s heart rate picked up at the mention of the shop owner. Mary Margaret was wrong about him. He wasn’t “cute” he was drop-dead gorgeous--sinfully hot. Emma hadn’t really registered this fact in the moment she met him, of course. She was too angry, too busy telling him off to notice his far-above-average physical characteristics.

But afterwards, when she’d gotten home and her anger had cooled, she’d realized two distinct things. First, she rather regretted her angry outburst. Clearly it was a simple mistake that the shop owner was already busy rectifying. It wasn’t a personal affront or anything like that. Emma knew she’d overreacted, and her overreaction was borne of her complicated relationship with her family.

Second, there had been definite interest in the shop owner’s--Killian Jones’--eyes during their brief encounter. Emma knew she was an attractive woman, and she wasn’t unused to receiving male interest. She wasn’t, however, used to feeling an almost overwhelming reciprocal pull to the guy, but there was something different about Killian, something that told her there was potential there. Something that told her if she gave in to the mutual attraction, it could be the start of something so achingly beautiful the likes of which she'd never known before.

Not that there was any chance of that now, of course. She’d pretty much blown any opportunity the two of them had to explore the...whatever it was...between them the moment she’d handed him his ass for screwing up her flower delivery. Chances were good he’d never want to see her again.

The thought sat heavy in her stomach.

“Yeah, I guess,” Emma said uncomfortably. “But it’s not like we’ll ever see each other again anyway.”

On the other side of the line, Mary Margaret chuckled. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Emma.”

“Why not?”

“Because he already wants to see you again,” Mary Margaret said simply. “He told me he has something for you, a tangible apology of sorts. I hope I didn’t overstep, but I gave him your address.”

Emma’s heart pounded. “He...he’s coming here?”

“Any minute, I’d expect,” Mary Margaret confirmed.

As if to punctuate her point, the doorbell rang at that precise moment.

“Emma, was that your doorbell?!” Mary Margaret asked, excitement in her voice. “Go get it! I bet it’s him! Afterwards you have to call me back and give me all the details!”

Emma took a deep breath, trying to calm her suddenly frayed nerves, said a quick goodbye to her sister, and then opened her apartment door.

“I rather think an apology is in order, Swan,” the man himself said in his devastatingly sexy British accent. He pulled a large, beautiful bouquet from behind his back and presented it to her. “Please accept this as a token of my regret for yesterday’s debacle.”

Notes:

--A big thank you again to jrobi64 for her beta services! I’d also like to thank the ladies on the CS Movie Night discord for suggestions about flowers for Killian’s apology arrangement.

--Up next: (Next Thursday as long as the muse cooperates) We pick up right where this chapter left off. What will happen when Killian gives Emma his bouquet? Will she let him in? Will they explore their mutual attraction?

NEXT CHAPTER-->

#cs ff #cs friday fluff #fluffy fridays #my fanfiction #cs au ff #florist killian au #once upon a flower shop

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aestheticvoyage2022 · 2 years

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Day 145: Wednesday May 25, 2022 - “Comeback Hero”

I was looking down at my phone, queuing up Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero” when I heard “He Scores!!” and something in my brain after years and years of listening to sports, and knowing how the home crowd sounded that I knew it was the Blues and before I had even looked up at the screen, the song started and I screamed, (seriously SCREAMED) out in joy. I honestly don’t think Ive been that loud and intense since I called the shot on The Big Rig sending the Stars to pasture. Literal sudden death will do that to you. The Blues had won in Overtime. I Need A Hero was turned up to 11. Hows that for timing? I counted out the dog treats before it even dawned on me that I had no clue who had scored or how it had happened- all I knew was that they had pulled it off.

Sometimes joy is made sweeter by surprise.

The game started with the AVs running a track meet. Here we go again. Before we knew it, it was 3-0 all the momentum was all one way halfway through the game. I kept watching and to make it interesting I threw down a $10 bet that the Blues would win, against the odds. Maybe just maybe. They tied it with just a couple minutes to go, then the Hat Trick came and all those Avs fans threw their Hats on the ice thinking it was all over. The Ball Arena was shaking a Mile High. We needed a Hero. An elite Hero. And Rob Thomas delivered with less than a minute. The crowd was silenced. I poured some whiskey and alerted AC that it was time for playoff do-or-die hockey. It was a requirement, I said, that they come watch with me. I never did sit down although I was ready for the long haul. They didn’t leave me standing and hoping long. Just as soon as I decided we needed a soundtrack for this, they scored. The soundtrack was for the celebration. Wm and I chanted We Want The Cup until AC took him to the bathtub as I checked my phone to raz my friends in Denver and check how that long-odd bet paid out. Way to go Boys. Somewhere I could hear Joe Buck saying “see you Friday night”. Thanks Bozie Baby.

Then they started to claw back. We’ve set the table for a fairy tale now. This series has been epic. 10 Ws to go.

Song: Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For A Hero

Quote: “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” ― Robert Jordan

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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years

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The Weekend Warrior 5/7/21: WRATH OF MAN, HERE TODAY, THE UNTHINKABLE, MONSTER, THE WATER MAN and More

It’s a new month, and I guess going by previous years pre-COVID, this weekend would normally be the start of summer. This year, we’re instead getting a summer with a lot of movies that would normally be dumped into April or February or some other uneventful month. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t or won’t be any good movies, but really, there’s nothing that feels like a summer movie until A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella open on Memorial Day weekend.

There’s been lots of great developments, though, including the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn reopening this Friday and then in a few short weeks, theaters may be allowed to be open with no capacity rules although social distancing and masks will probably still be in place. Believe me, it’s been a confusing week as the city that got used to being on the backburner when it comes to reopenings, especially with movie theaters, is now dealing with arguing politicians competing to see who could throw open the then most doors fastest. It’s actually pretty embarrassing.

That aside, this week’s The Weekend Warrior column is brought to you by the new album “Coral Island” from Liverpool band The Coral, which I’ve decided to listen to on loop until I finish this column, because it’s taking me so long to get through it. (Eventually, I switched to Teenage Fanclub’s “Endless Arcade,” since I hadn’t had a chance to listen to it yet…. And to an old standby, Royal Blood, with their own excellent new album, “Typhoons.” At least the record business seems to know it’s the summer!)

Before we get to this week’s new movies, a couple tidbits. First of all, I’m thrilled that my friends Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu’s documentary FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH can finally be seen by the entire world, or at least the United States. It debuted on PBS World Channel on Tuesday night as part of the “America ReFramed” series, but for the entire month of May until June 3, you can watch it On Demand HERE, and that is huge! (There will be other ways to see it that you can read about here.)

This is an amazing MUST-SEE doc that looks into the little-known Chinese communities that took root in Mississippi in the early 20th Century and how they became such a huge part of that area with their markets, also bonding with the African-American communities that were similarly dealing with racism from the typically white post-Civil War South. It’s not just a history lesson, and it’s an incredibly moving story about a family trying to find its roots in the most unexpected places. There was a good reason why the couple’s short “Finding Cleveland” won the Oxford Film Festival while I was on the jury that year, and Far East Deep South similarly won an award there last year after its World Premiere at Cinequest was almost scuppered by COVID. It’s amazing how much more relevant and important this film has become since I first saw it last year, since both Asians and African-Americans are dealing with serious racial issues, and this movie shows that more than anything, they should be working to boost each other rather than fighting. Do check it out On Demand this month if you get a chance!

Another musician making movies is Mr. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. I mentioned his documentary WHAT DRIVES US last week, but I actually only got to watch it on Thursday, and like his previous film Studio City and HBO mini-series, Sonic Highways, it’s a fantastic look at the music biz, this time through a variety of artists who began their careers by piling into vans and driving around the country. That is, except Lars Ulrich from Metallica, who mentions that the band was never so small or indie that they didn’t have a bus. But Grohl has used his vast connections to bring in a lot of great musicians including The Edge from U2, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more, making this a very entertaining movie both for fans of the various bands but also live music fans in general. I gotta admit that as much as I loved What Drives Us, it did bring me down a bit since it’s been almost 14 months since I’ve seen any live music, and I really miss it. This is now streaming on The Coda Collection, which you can subscribe to through Amazon Prime Video.

Guy Ritchie is back with his latest movie, WRATH OF MAN (Miramax/MGM), which reunites him with Jason Statham for the first time since 2007’s Revolver, I believe. Statham plays the enigmatic Paul “H” Hill who works at cash truck company Fortico, responsible for moving hundreds of million dollars around Los Angeles each week. Fortico has recently been hit by a lethal robbery, and H’s team soon learn that there’s a lot more to their new coworker, who happens to be looking for revenge against the man who murdered his son.

(Unfortunately, reviews for the movie are embargoed until Thursday at 6pm, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not. Until Thursday night. Sorry!)

But I will talk about the movie’s box office prospects, because why not? Ritchie’s last movie, The Gentlemen, opened in January 2020, during the “before times,” with $10.6 million, but that was more of a classic Ritchie ensemble crime-comedy. Wrath of Man is more of the type of movie Statham has been making over the past few years, a cross between a revenge thriller and a heist flick. In fact, Statham has done a pretty good job creating his own brand through a variety of action-thrillers as well as a number of franchises including “The Transporter” movies, “The Expendables,” and eventually joining the “Fast and the Furious” franchise as Deckard Shaw with Furious 7 in 2017. Statham then went off to make Hobbs and Shaw with Dwayne Johnson, which didn’t do bad with $174 million. Before that, Statham starred in The Meg, a summer shark attack movie that grossed $145 million. Statham going back to help his old mate i.e. the director that gave Statham his start is pretty huge.

But as I said earlier, those were all in the “before times” and with the box office the way it is, it’s hard to imagine that the exciting reunion of Statham and Ritchie can open with more than $10 million but maybe closer to $8 million, because MGM/UA just doesn’t have the marketing clout of a Warner Bros. or Universal. Even so, that should be enough to be #1 this weekend as both Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer continue to fall away. Unfortunately, if the movie *is* any good -- and I can’t tell you one way or another -- then by the time reviews hit, people will already have other plans for the weekend than to go see the movie. So yeah, that’s pretty dumb on the part of MGM, huh?

UPDATE: MGM is putting the movie into 2,876 theaters and maybe I'm being overly optimistic, because, as you'll read below, the movie IS pretty good and reviews have remained positive with the American reviews rolling in last night, still at 70% Fresh at this writing. Maybe that'll help the movie do a little better, maybe as much as $9 million, although I'll probably owe MGM an apology if it cracks $10 million, and I don't think it will.

Mini-Review: If you’ve seen the trailer for Wrath of Man, you might go into Guy Ritchie’s latest thinking you know what to expect, because it’s sure being sold as another typical Jason Statham revenge thriller. Don’t be fooled by the marketing, the movie really is Ritchie’s chance to make his own version of Heat, an L.A. heist movie that owes as much to Rashomon as another movie being released this week.

Wrath of Man begins with the heist of an armored truck that turns deadly with the wanton murder of a couple guards. From there, you might think we know where things are going when Statham’s “H” company whose truck was hit, and on his first day, he stops a similar heist by killing the truck’s attackers. H is immediately the hero of the company, although he still has quite a few suspicious coworkers and the feeling is quite mutual. Ritchie’s film then slips into the second episodic chapter which goes back five months to that initial heist where we learn that Statham’s son was killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t want to go too much deeper into how the movie and story play out, because like The Gentlemen and some of Ritchie’s more intricate films, there’s a lot that purposefully isn’t made very apparent at the beginning. To many, this movie will be seen as even more macho than most of Ritchie's films, to the point where even the only woman guard, Dana, being just as macho as the men. As the movie begins, there’s a lot of joke-cracking and crotch-grabbing, all while Statham’s character silently observes and only acts when necessary.

The film’s shift to more of a classic Ritchie ensemble does slowly take place, but by the third chapter, it shifts to the group perpetrating the cash truck heists with an “inside person,” taking the movie to yet another place that makes it more obvious that this is Ritchie’s attempt at delving into the L.A. heist genre that other filmmakers have done so well.

Oddly, Statham doesn’t have too many lines, acting almost like a Terminator in his determination to right wrongs, but as always, Ritchie puts together a fantastic ensemble cast including a number of great American character actors who we rarely get to see in such great roles. I was particularly impressed with Jeffrey Donovan, who has appeared in a number of otherwise forgettable crime films this past year. The same can be said for Holt McCallany as H’s truck driver “Bullet,” but Ritchie also cast the likes of Josh Hartnett and Scott Eastwood in smaller yet still significant supporting roles, all of whom become more interesting as you start figuring out who all the players are.

Like I said, the movie is fairly macho and the few women play very small roles, but it’s how things are set-up in the first few acts to then change course and build to an absolutely amazing third act that will undoubtedly bear comparisons to Heat. And yet Wrath of Man (which is actually based on a little-seen French crime-thriller) does branch away from some of Ritchie’s standards, first of all by being far darker and even more violent with any of the wisecracking humor that pervades a lot of Ritchie’s work to counterbalance such violence disappearing once the flashbacks begin. It’s all punctuated by a fantastically tense score by Christopher Benstead, which seems a bit much at first but eventually settles into the perfect pace and tone for the action.

Despite disappearing for a good chunk of the movie, Statham is still great, basically killing everyone as his characters are wont to do, but watching how all of the different ideas come together leads to such a satisfying conclusion that one hopes those who might be put off, thinking they know where it's going due to the somewhat pathetic and obvious marketing will give it a chance to see how Ritchie has changed gears as effortlessly as he did with Aladdin a few years back.

Rating: 7.5/10

After even a longer time since he directed a movie, Billy Crystal once again takes the helm for HERE TODAY (Sony/Stage6), a movie in which he plays comedy writer Charlie Burns, whose chance encounter with Tiffany Haddish’s lounge singer, Emma Payge, leads to an unlikely friendship, as he struggles with early stage dementia.

I’ve known about this movie for over a year now, and I was pretty excited to finally get to see it, since I was such a fan of the other movies Crystal has directed, 1992’s Mr. Saturday Night and 1995’s Forget Paris, and it’s just amazing to me that he hasn’t directed a movie since.

At first, it seems like it’s the type of meet-cute we’ve seen so much in Crystal’s past filmography, but his pairing with Haddish isn’t something that might work on paper, but in fact, their comic styles mesh so perfectly together that it’s amazing that no one thought of putting them together before.

Crystal wrote the film with comic Alan Zweibel, who adapted it from his own short story “The Prize,” which refers to Haddish’s character winning Charlie in an auction for a lunch. Actually, her ex won the lunch, and she decided to use it because… free lunch! It’s a pretty simple set-up but one that allows the filmmakers to explore some of the odder things that happen in life.

Much of the movie’s humor plays upon the differences between the two characters, and how unexpected their friendship is. I can totally relate, because I have a lot of good long-time friends who most people might never expect us to be friends, but Crystal, Zweibel and Haddish pick up on that and create a movie that’s very funny but has enough other characters around the duo toa allow their characters to show how they’re just really nice people. We see that with how Charlie takes a young writer at his late night show under his wing or how Emma livens up the bat mitzvah of Charlie’s granddaughter. Oh yeah, and Haddish sings. She actually has a number of great performances in the movie, and seriously, anyone who watches this movie is gonna wanna see a smart filmmaker put Haddish in a musical immediately.

The film also acts as a truly touching tribute to Crystal’s friend, the late Robin WIlliams, who was diagnosed with the exact same type of dementia after his suicide death, and knowing that fact, makes the film even more poignant. More importantly, it doesn’t use Charlie’s condition for laughs, and for that alone, I feel like this is ten times better than that overrated Oscar winner The Father.

Here Today’s biggest problems come in the third act when it feels like the movie is starting to over-extend its welcome, even going into somewhat expected places, but it recovers from that rough third act to land a really nice ending. Crystal has always proven himself to be a really strong mainstream filmmaker (ala Rob Reiner and others) who makes crowd-pleasing movies, and it’s so nice seeing him going behind the camera for a movie that’s obviously very personal but also highly relatable.

As far as box office, I certainly have high hopes that Crystal still has an older audience of fans who might want to see him on the big screen again. I’m just not sure if this will be in more than 1,000 theaters, and though I’ve seen quite a bit of marketing, I just haven’t seen Crystal or Haddish do nearly as much in terms of getting out there that would be necessary to reach an audience that might want to venture out into movie theaters to see the movie vs. waiting until it’s on cable/streaming. There’s also Tiffany Haddish’ fanbase, and there could be some benefit for the movie coming out the same week as her new CBS show “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

I’d love to be optimistic with this making $4 to 5 million but it’s probably more likely to be closer to $3 million especially with capacity limits still in place for most theaters and the audience generally being older.

UPDATE: Maybe I was a little too optimistic, because I enjoyed the movie so much and it will probably be closer to $1 or 1.5 million since other reviews aren't as great.

Next, we have two movies finally being released many years after their festival premieres…

The Swedish apocalyptic thriller THE UNTHINKABLE (Magnet), directed by Victor Danell, is finally being released after playing genre fests in 2018 and 2019. It stars Christoffer Nordenrot as Alex, a young piano virtuoso who ran away from home due to his abusive father Bjorn (Jesper Barkselius). Years later, he returns home for his mother’s funeral after she’s killed in a terrorist attack on Sweden. At the same, there’s a virus that’s erasing people’s memories, but Alex is still in love with Anna (Lisa Henni), the girl he had a crush on when he left, and the three of them will have to help each other face all the horrible things hitting their home at the same time.

As I was watching this movie, a lot of it felt eerily familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I actually HAD seen the movie before. Sure enough, I saw this movie over two years ago at the “What the Fest?!” in New York two years ago, and I honestly don’t remember loving it. Still, I decided to give it a fresh look, hoping to get more out of it on second viewing.

Some of the same things bothered me on this second viewing, because it’s really hard to figure out exactly what is going on and whether the horrific events are natural, man-made or a combination of both. For some time, we get so mired into Alex’s lame relationship with Anna, and when he returns home, his conspiracy theory-driven father is busy protecting a bunker that’s being invaded by foreign military troops he thinks are Russians. We cut between these two disparate scenarios while sometimes returning to the capital of Sweden and throwing in a few big set pieces. It’s so disjointed that you feel like you’re watching a lot of random unrelated events, maybe a bit like last week’s About Endlessness -- maybe it’s a Swedish thing?

There are aspects of The Unthinkable that are quite commendable, particularly those action moments and how the mystery about what is happening develops as the film goes along. Eventually, the film does find a more consistent pace, and things start becoming a little clearer, which makes the final act better than much of what we’ve watched earlier. Even so, it’s still quite annoying how long it takes to figure out what’s going on, even on a second viewing, and for most people, that may already be far too frustrating to get through it.

Hitting Netflix on Friday over THREE years after it premiered at Sundance is music video director Anthony Mandler’s directorial debut, MONSTER (Netflix), based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers. It stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) as Steve Harmon, a 17-year-old film student put in jail, accused of murder in a bodega robbery. His defense lawyer (Jennifer Ehle) is trying to help him be released, but he’s fighting against the odds of a judicial system that sees him as a “monster” because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have to be honest that I did go to see this at Sundance the week it premiered, and for whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it, so I only really caught about twenty minutes of it. Watching it now with more time and a little less weary than I usually am towards the end of Sundance, I was able to appreciate Monster more for what it is. On the surface, it’s just about Steve’s case and how what really happened unfolds before our eyes and we learn more about those around Steve and how their influence may have pulled a smart and studious young man into the criminal world that now has him in prison with much more violent life-long criminals.

We already knew that Harrison was a great actor, but Monster shows us that he was already on his way to greatness with this movie that for whatever reason got buried even as it dealt with issues that have been in the headlines almost every day since this debuted.

Mandler takes an interesting approach, both non-linear and also with blatant nods to Kurosawa’s Rashomon, which is even cited by Steve’s teacher, played by Tim Blake Nelson. Jeffrey Wright and Jennifer Hudson are decent as Steve’s parents, but they’re generally smaller and non-showy roles compared to the moments between Harrison and Ehle. Much of the film takes place in the courtroom with flashbacks showing what happened through the viewpoint of whomever is on the stand, which eventually includes Steve himself.

The way Mandler handles the material may lean more on the artiness rather than something more mainstream -- Michael B. Jordan’s Just Mercy comes to mind -- but it’s just as powerful in showing how someone like Steve can be othered by society into being a criminal. Sure, there have been other handlings of this sort of material that I thought were better films, but if you know anyone who has ever had dealings with the “justice” system and know how unfair and horrible it can be even to the innocent, then Monster will certainly strike a chord.

Also hitting Netflix this week is the new series based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely‘s comic books, JUPITER’S LEGACY (Netflix), another kind of twist on the superhero genre ala Amazon Prime Video’s series based on Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. I love the comics, and I can’t wait to finally get around to seeing Netflix’s first adaptation of a Millarworld property.

David Oyelowo makes his directorial debut with THE WATER MAN (RLJEfilms), a movie about a young boy named Gunner Boon (Lonnie Chavis), whose mother (Rosario Dawson) is battling leukemia. In an effort to cure her, Guner goes off on a journey along with a teenage girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) to find the mythical Water Man, who can provide them with a magic token that might save Gunner’s mother’s life.

I’ve interviewed Oyelowo a few times before, and I really like him a lot, so I had really high hopes for him as a director since I feel he’s just a terrific actor. Unfortunately, the material here is just not strong enough that I think even a far more experienced filmmaker could make something out of it.

Set in PIne Hills, we meet Gunner, a bright kid who loves drawing comic books, but he has trouble connecting with his father (Oyelowo), so when he has an idea that might help his sick mother, he goes off with a head-strong teen named Jo, in search of the Water Man, a summertime adventure permeated by a lot of very bad low-budget visual effects.

Honestly, I’m not even sure where to begin with where The Water Man falters, because Oyelowo has such a great cast, including Alfred Molina and Maria Bello in tiny parts. The story is a problem, as is the writing, which is just so bland and dull, that there’s really nothing in Oyelowo’s direction or any of the performances that really can salvage it. Neither of the child actors have much charisma or personality, and even Dawson’s performance, which would normally be a showstopper is repeatedly lessened by the constant cutting back to the kids. (And as someone who beat leukemia myself, I’m never a fan when cancer is depicted in movies as a death sentence rather than just another hurdle in life that needs to be overcome.)

Oyelowo himself may be one of his generation’s best actors, but he brings so little to the role of Gunner’s father, maybe to not take away from his younger star, but it hurts that he doesn’t do more to create a stronger conflict by making the character more horrible to drive Gunner away. The actual Water Man doesn’t improve things when he finally shows up, essentially talking like a pirate but not even remotely paying off.

Honestly, The Water Man seems like such a misguided venture -- Exec. Produced by Oprah, no less -- and it might have been totally forgettable if the characters didn’t keep saying the title of the movie every five minutes.

Hitting theaters Friday after a festival run is Tran Quoc Bao’s action-comedy THE PAPER TIGERS (WELL GO USA), starring ALain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mikel Shannon Jenkins as martial artists once known as “the three tigers but now middle-aged men must set aside old grudges and dad duties to avenge the murder of their teacher. I’ve had a screener of this since last summer when it played at Fantasia Festival in Montreal, and I just never got around to watching it, but if I’m able to squeeze it in before the weekend, check back here for my review.

Streaming on Shudder this Friday is Ryan Kruger's South African comedy-thriller FRIED BARRY (Shudder), starring Gary Green as Barry, a violent street junkie who is abducted by aliens who take over his body in order to… well, actually… they do a lot of drugs, have a lot of sex and other craziness. It’s a pretty strange and bizarre movie that reminds me a little of movies like a lower-fi Under the Skin or Beyond the Black Rainbow, and much of it is driven by the insane and unique performance by Green and the odd characters he encounters that I think will find its fans for sure, but it will definitely be for a very select audience of genre festival fans, as this is by no means a mainstream genre film.

Speaking of which, another movie out this week which I wasn’t allowed to see in advance is Gia Coppola’s MAINSTREAM (IFC Films), starring Maya Hawke as a young woman seeking internet stardom by making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Andrew Garfield, until “the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.” Yup, it’s one of THOSE movies. It also stars Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman and Johnny Knoxville, but I haven’t heard anything good about it, and I’m not sure my curiosity is piqued enough to spend any of my own personal money to check it out.

Hitting Amazon on Friday is the doc THE BOY FROM MEDELLIN (Amazon) from Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts, Cartel Land), a portrait of musical superstar J. Balvin, as he prepares for a massive sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, which is hindered by the growing civil unrest in the area.

Lots of other movies this week, but a few that i just wasn’t able to get to this week, including:

ABOVE SUSPICION (Lionsgate) INITIATION (Saban Films) ENFANT TERRIBLE (Dark Star Pictures) QUEEN MARIE (Samuel Goldwyn Films) SILO (Oscilloscope) CITIZEN PENN (Discovery+)

That’s it for this week. Next week, Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (Lionsgate) and Angelina Jolie returns for the thriller THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD (New Line) and Timur Bekmambetov’s thriller, PROFILE (Focus Features). That’s right. This will be the first weekend in over a year where we’ll have three or maybe even four new wide releases.

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #WrathOfMan #HereToday #Monster #The Unthinkable #TheWaterMan

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lusciousbitch0411-blog · 5 years

Text

“I Found.”

Prologue

He held his waist, pulling him closer for a kiss. He held his hands above his head with one hand, and the other hand unbuttoning his polo. His breaths were heavy and hot. His kisses trailed down his neck, which made him threw his head backwards. Down to his chest, and to one of his nipples. He gasped, groaned and moaned. He was busy licking his pink nipples, sucking and slightly biting them, making them twitch. He stopped. “What do you want me to do?”

“So class, we have an upcoming community service. We will be visiting elementary schools this February 1, Friday. The activity will be by pair. Your roommate will be your pair. We will stay there for 1 week. Prepare your things, okay? That’s all. Class dismissed.” The last teacher said. He heard other students complain, some excited and some didn’t care. Well, he’s alone in his room. No one would be willing to be his roommate and he didn’t bother to know why. ‘That’s much better,’ he always thought. He stood up and headed to his room. Room 143. ‘Cliché,’ he thought whenever he sees his room number. He went in and started packing his things for the activity that will commence three days from now. It’s not that he’s excited, it’s just that, he wants to adapt to a new environment for inspiration to write. He brought his camera, his laptop, his headphones, and other necessities. He was almost done packing when the door flew open. A guy, maybe 2 years older than him, with perfectly fined jaw, thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, broad shoulders, white skin, pink lips, white hair, and those blue eyes, went in his goddamn door. ‘I didn’t check him out,’ he defended himself. He looked at the guy and the guy looked at him too. The guy looked down at the small notebook he was carrying, and looked at the room number, and back to him. “Is this really room 143?” The guy asked. “Obviously.” He replied shortly. Irritated, he finished packing and faced the guy. “Why are you looking at me like that?” The guy asked. ‘Seriously? Why the fuck is he so dense?’ He thought. “You should knock.” He retorted. The guy said nothing and went in. “Who told you to go in?” He asked. Not caring if he’s being rude to a newcomer. “This is my room.” The guy said. “No. It’s MY room. Maybe it’s 144 or 145. Room 143 doesn’t exist in this school, got that? Now, turn around and get the hell outta here.” He said. The guy looked at him, amazed. The guy continued to walk, until he was in front of him. Not too close, though. “I’m Daemon Rayle Elric. Nice to meet you, roommate.” The guy offered his hands. ‘Hah… This is going to be hell.’ “I have a name. Kris Ezequiel Villanueva.” He accepted his handshake. They both heard a growl and he flinched. Quickly climbing the double bed and covering himself with a blanket. The guy was left dumbfounded. “W-what was that? D-do you have a d-dog?” He stuttered, his voice shaking, like he was in a verge of tears. Daemon looked up and smiled. It somehow calmed him down, but still his tears fell. ‘Weird,’ he thought. Daemon laughed and scratched the back of his head. “That was my tummy. Got any food?” He shook his head ‘no’. “Then do you have ingredients inside your fridge?” He shook his head again. Daemon sighed. “Come down here. Let’s go eat outside and buy some stock for your fridge.” Daemon gently said. He shook his head, and sobbed. Daemon reached out his hand and he was thinking twice whether to accept it or not. “If you accept my hand, it will mean you trust me. It’s okay if you don’t, I understand.” Daemon explained. Something tickled his heart, making it beat faster than it should be. In the end, he accepted it and went down.

I looked at him as we were strolling down the chocolate section. His eyes sparkled and he slightly smiled. ‘Beautiful,’ he said in his mind. We were supposed to be buying healthy foods because when I first saw him, he was so slim and pale. Like he didn’t eat for days. I was brought back to reality when he put 3 boxes of different kinds of chocolate into our cart. I was about to protest when he cut me off. “I’ll pay. That’s mine.” He said. I sighed, and held his wrist pulling him beside me. I saw him look up at me through my peripheral view. I saw him pout his lips when we entered the vegetable section. I bought cabbages, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and other things. I also bought some fish, meat and fruits. When we headed back to the room, he walked past me and opened the door because my hands were full of bags.

I opened his fridge and saw nothing but a cup of an unopened instant noodles. “Do you even eat, Kev?” I asked from the kitchen. I saw him sat down with his laptop earlier. “Who the hell is Kev, idiot?!” He shouted back. “I’ll be calling you Kev. Now, do you even eat?” I asked while stomping back to the bed. I saw him with glasses, typing the hell out of the laptop. ‘Cute,’ I shook my head with the thought. “Just breakfast.” He said and pressed his lips into a thin line. I sighed, ‘It’s my first day and I’m so stressed,’ it made me laugh. I went back to the kitchen and cooked soup. I looked at the wall clock hanging in the kitchen. It’s 7:26 in the evening. “Kev! C’mon. Let’s eat.” I called for him. I heard his footsteps and we ate in silence. I broke the silence. “So? What do you want to do next?” I asked him. He looked up while chewing. I laughed at his face and he swallowed. “What? It’s delicious.” He honestly remarked. “Arigato.” I replied. “Are you an otaku?” He asked. “Oh? I am. Don’t tell me you are too?” He nodded and swallowed. He was busy eating. “I neber thouft fyu fstill watcfh animfe! (I never thought you still watch anime!” O…kay. I understood that a bit. “Eat first, let’s talk later.” I chuckled. I sighed, I’m sleepy. I closed my eyes and yawned.

In fairness, his cooking is delicious. I didn’t want to eat the cabbage but he said he won’t let me eat my chocolate when I don’t eat my cabbage first. I saw him yawn and I felt a bit guilty about being rude to him. “I’m sorry. You can rest now. I’ll wash the dishes.” I offered. He looked at me and shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ll do it.” He smiled. I finished eating and I did what I was told. I waited for him to finish because we decided to watch One Punch Man. I heard about that a lot but didn’t have the time to watch. He was back within 10 minutes, that I incredibly thought the fastest guy in the world. He turned on the air conditioner, sat beside me and shared the blanket with me. We were in episode 9 when I noticed that it’s 3 am already. I looked at my side, where he was sitting, and found him asleep. Heh, weak sauce. I shut the laptop down and fixed his position on the bed. MY bed. I sighed, ‘an otaku never sleeps, baka.’ I looked at his face. His fine features defines perfection in every angle. I climbed up and closed my eyes, slowly drifting to sleep. I woke up because of the smell of… BACON! I immediately ran to the kitchen and found him wearing my grey apron with just boxers on! What the fuck! I turned around, “Put some clothes on, pervert!” I shouted at him. I didn’t hear him laugh. I didn’t expect that. I turned to look at him, and I saw how serious he was. The stove was turned off and there was this deafening silence. He slowly walked towards me, locking his gaze unto mine. I stepped back until my back was pressed against the cold hard wall. He cornered me with his big arms. I can’t help but to gulp and look away. “Are you gay?” A question I wasn’t expecting at all. I thought last night was the start of the friendship I was looking for. But he’s right, there’s no use denying it. His tone was serious, cold, and… I can’t explain it. I looked up, and looking directly into his eyes, “I am.” I bravely and honestly said. I didn’t stutter nor cry. I’m too tired dealing with the people who can’t accept my sexuality. He removed his hands and turned around, not saying anything. “That’s why I told you… Room 143 doesn’t exist. You can tell the principal to switch rooms and we can pretend this didn’t happen. Forget everything I said.” I said, pressing my lips into a thin line. He climbed up to his bed and started packing. I went to the kitchen to drink water. I feel like there’s a lump in my throat, stopping from breathing properly. My hands were shaking, and I felt hot liquids streaming down my face. No, I’m used to it anymore… Stop. Don’t cry! You’ve accepted that a long time ago! Stop… SHATTER! The glass of water shattered into pieces, I picked it up, not caring if I get hurt or not. I wiped my tears, but they fucking keep on falling! “I should’ve been used to it by now…” I whispered to myself. I winced when a shard of glass cut my skin, making it bleed. I felt numb, pathetic. I kept gathering the smallest shards and pieces, until his hand reached my wrist. He opened my palm, that I unconsciously closed, and one by one removed the shards that dug in deep into my flesh. He finished removing them and put it into the bin. I sobbed, feeling the stings, the pain. He held my wrist and made me sit on the bed. He stood up and went to the bathroom, and came back with a kit. He cleansed it and wrapped it with a bandage. The room was so quiet that I can only hear my sobs. He stood up and I heard the clacking of glass. He cleaned it up. I laid down, closing my eyes, drifting to sleep.

“I’m sorry…” I whispered to him, wiping a tear that fell. I was shocked and amazed when he bravely said he was gay. I didn’t mean to pack my things, and it didn’t mean that I’ll leave. I wanted to laugh so hard, when I heard the shattering of glass. I hurried down, but heard him say, “I should’ve been used to it by now…” I didn’t say a thing or stopped him picking up the shards, but my heart ached when I saw him clench it with his bare hands. I didn’t mean to hurt him and make him cry. I didn’t mean to break his heart and make him feel the pain again. I just saw the announcement beside him, that there will be a community service. I finished packing my things up and looked at his face. He’s gay but he doesn’t act like one. I want to know more about him. ~ I woke up because of the coldness. “Brrr…” I rubbed my arms and hands together. The room was quiet, and cold. I peeked through the window and saw it was still dark. ‘A swim wouldn’t hurt. Today’s the community service, though. I’ll just hurry.’ I know my eyes are puffy because of last night. I shook my head to dismiss the thought. I hurried down, carrying just a towel because I have extra clothes in my swimming locker. The school’s swimming pool is on the rooftop. It’s open, so I bet its cold. I climbed the stairs and opened the door. The cold wind passed by me, sending shivers to my spine and making all the hair on my body stand up. I headed towards my locker and started to undress, leaving me with my swimming boxers. I went in, wincing at the coldness of the water. I went in until the water reached my chest, and I relaxed my head on the concrete, spreading my arms. I looked up, the moon was still there, the stars too, and it was beautiful. I rinsed off around quarter to 5 and put my clothes back on. I was in the middle of changing when the rinsing room door flew open and I saw Daemon looking at me, intently. His eyes trailed my body and I remembered that I don’t have anything on except my polo and briefs! I hurriedly covered my body but he was quick. He snaked his arms around my waist, and then, everything happened in a blink of an eye, his pink tender lips touched mine. ~ ‘It’s so soft.’ I held his waist and pull him closer, deepening the kiss. 10 minutes earlier “Brrr…” I heard him say. I wanted to get up and say sorry, when I heard the door creaked open. I waited for the door to close, getting up, I went down and followed him. I saw him turn right, and climbed the stairs which I assume the rooftop. I heard the metal door clang, and didn’t hear it shut. I climbed the stairs too and saw him took his clothes off. I can’t help but look at his body. It’s slim, his pale skin is glowing under the moonlight, and the wind ruffling his soft black hair. He went in the pool and I saw him look up, resting his head on the concrete. A few moments later, he went in to the rinsing room to wash off and I felt myself getting hard. Back to Reality “Hmph!” He tried to push me away but I’m stronger than him. He stopped resisting and kissed me back. I held his hands above his head with one hand, and my other hand unbuttoning his polo. His breaths were heavy and hot. My kisses trailed down his neck, which made him threw his head backwards, I sucked and licked his Adam’s apple, which moved up and down. My kisses went down to his chest, and to one of his nipples. Kev gasped, groaned and moaned. I was busy licking his pink nipples, sucking and slightly biting them, making them twitch. I stopped. “What do you want me to do?” I asked him. His mouth was open, and his lips were wet from the kiss we shared earlier. I looked into his eyes, they were ocean blue, and it was glistening because of the water. I let his hands go, and I thought he would punch me and walk out. Instead, he snaked his arms around my nape, and gave me a quick kiss. It shocked me that I didn’t have the time to kiss back. He looked down, but thanks to the sun slowly peeking through the horizon, I saw his ear and his face all flushed. I chuckled. I let him finished changing and I watched him changed, of course. “Let’s go back. Today’s the community service.” I offered my hand, and my heart jumped when he accepted it. We headed back to our room with my hands intertwined with his. He walked first, pulling me with him. He looked back at me, and smiled while blushing. ‘He’s a miracle…’ That’s what I felt. We entered the room and I can’t help but kiss him as soon as the door behind us closed. I pinned him on the door and kissed him. I forced my tongue inside his mouth that made him groan. My hands travelled down his chest, and forming tiny circles on his navel. I felt him tremble at the gesture and pulled away from the kiss. “N-not now…T-the…hngh…community s-service…” He said, panting. Damn, I felt myself tighten inside my jeans. I saw how he flinched and covered his middle part. “I’ll take a bath first.” He quickly said, scurrying to the bathroom, leaving me standing there, turned on.

[Hey, so I’m new here. Just looking for something to write in and share my ideas. I’m open to any ideas, opinions, suggestions and the likes. I know people nowadays hate gays. I mean, they said it’s a sin, well I do too. But sometimes society seems to be too judgmental. I admit, I love gay sex, though I, myself, is just a 14-year old girl, born on June 17, 2004, and my Zodiac sign is Gemini. Geminis are creative, artistic and great at literary works. Anyway, enough with the introduction. I want you, yes you, the one who will be reading this, to give me your best and worst opinion about this story. Don’t worry about my feelings, I want to know what my readers will feel. This story is on-going and I hope you like it! Enjoy! And please correct me if I misspelled or if my grammar is wrong. I’m open to anything. Have a good night/day! God bless!]

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deeeelightfuldee · 2 years

Text

Has anyone ever told you that you looked like a celebrity? yes. but its never ever ever been even close to accurate lol

When was the last time you got something done to your hair? i dyed it and chopped it a little this week.

Do you have any change on you right now? no

What color is the pillowcase(s) on your bed? i have like 200 pillows on my bed you would need to be way more specific.

Do you have a favorite day of the week? i like fridays.

Cutting your hair extremely short, would you do it? ive done it before but aside from an illness i don’t think I’d go shorter than a bob.

Have you ever been in an art show? yes

Would you considered yourself to be well-exposed to life or sheltered? probably more on the sheltered side

How high is your pain tolerance? high. I’ve been sick all my life so it takes a lot to get my threshold bothered.

If you're in a relationship, how long have you been dating? uhhh two weeks!

Have you ever played the game Halo? just for a few minutes.

Are you wearing any jewellry at the moment? i had to check but no lol

Is there a sport that you love to play? volleyball probably the most.

Has anything made you sad in the past 48 hours? yes. mostly just losing K.

Have you ever had to learn lines for a play/skit/movie? many times. I grew up acting and was in a lottttt of plays.

Do you like your nose? im not bothered by it. It has a very specific shape, but its not obnoxious in any way. I like it fine. but it doesnt match any nose ive seen so im always a little skeptical.

Is there a hair color you prefer on the opposite sex? no, i dont care what color your hair is.

Kissing someone with facial hair, do you mind? the only time im bothered is if its super long or if their upper lip hair is hitting their lip that bothers me.

Would you ever like to be a stunt person? nope. no thanks.

Are you a pyromaniac? not even a little. i was pretty heavily burned as a child

How soon is your birthday? umm let me ask google. 145 days

Are you one of those people who listen to songs on repeat? chyea! if its good.

Can any of your friends sing very well? em can but wouldn’t admit it.

Would you ever enter any kind of pageant? Nope

Do you have piano fingers? no. i dont know what that is but no.

What is your preferred curse word? i dont cuss

When someone's drunk, the truth comes spilling out, correct? sometimes! i know the times ive been tipsy ive been inclined to speak freely lol

Have you ever shouted something random at someone out a car window? no

Have you ever slept on a beach? yes

Would you like to be taller? no, im tall enough lol

Are you a fan of piercings on the opposite sex? tbh, no.

Have you ever listened to Celtic music? yes and it is not my thing

Do you enjoy making up words? lol sure

Have you ever been attacked by an animal? yes as a kid my friend at the time had a REALLY awful beagle.

Do you have sympathy for hobos? i dont like that name but anyone who has fallen on tough times i have sympathy for.

Who did you dance with last? uhhhhh mom.

When holding hands, do you intertwine fingers? usually yes. i once dated a guy who had really thick fingers (he was always working construction so his hands were ginormous) and he would tell me my hands were too big to fit into his which made me super self conscious of handholding. but not anymore.

Do you have an old pair of pyjamas that you just can't throw away? lol ugh yes.

Is there a movie that makes you cry every single time you watch it? ps i love you

Do you ever talk to the TV? sure!

What's your opinion on Johnny Depp? i think hes talented. but he is not my style of actor.

Have you ever watched the Tudors? no

Can you speak in different accents? not accurately or for a long time. though, that doesnt stop me from trying anyway sometimes.

Who was the last person you mocked/mimicked? mom and i do this all the time to each other.

If you write, isn't writer's block the most horrible thing? when that happened for school it was TERRIBLE.

Can you sew or knit? yes!

Do you have a favorite pair of jeans? frig yeah. im debating wearing them tomorrow but its going to be warm out for one day before we get hit HARD with 10 inches of snow the following day. so i might wear a dress tomorrow just to spice things up.

What size shirt do you normally wear? whatever is largest. even tho im smaller on top i just prefer my tops large. my stomach always bothers me.

Has anyone ever aimed a gun at you? so unsuccessfully yes. My dad loaded his gun for me.

Do you think it's possible for a person to be fearless? yes. you can have a damaged amygdala and genuinely have no fear factor. its incredibly dangerous.

Do you know anyone who doesn't seem to have a conscience? i do not know a genuine sociopath, no.

What is the first letter of the person's name you last kissed? Z

Do you use myspace for following celebrities, and facebook for friends? lol wut. no. i don’t use either.

Have you ever written a song? no

Do you believe their is life on other planets? there*. perhaps! I think it is wildly inappropriate to put God in a box and say it is impossible.

If you think about the universe long enough, it's baffling isn't it? its absolutely mind boggling.

When was the last time you fell? a couple days ago. my joints are super weak from lupus and my ankle gave out.

Would you consider yourself to be poor, middle class, or rich? Middle class as a family. as an individual, quite poor.

Are you a fan of Christian Bale? i liked him in batman. Idk his other works.

Do you have any sort of debt? student loans. i literally just need them gone. gotta start paying on them this week.

Is there an accent you prefer? british is nice, southern, australian, NZ’n, idk

Have you spoken to the person you love today? love is an interesting word

Would you ever travel to Los Angeles? uhhh maybe. My brother works out near there and he says its not a safe place to be right now

Have you ever been through a natural disaster? yes! 2 earthquakes, 1 tornado, 2 blizzards, 1 arctic vortex, 2 floodings, 1 hurricane lol Is there a specific time period that interests you? omg so many times. the 50s. the 20s. austen time.

Do any of your friends own an expensive car? my boyfriend has a sports car which i would imagine is pretty expensive.

Have you ever been on a train? many times.

Is there a memory that embarasses you to think about? oh sure. plenty.

Have you ever used different colored paper clips? of course

Where exactly are you right now? I’m in bed.

Don't you admire those people who know exactly what they want to do? i do but also i kinda think they might not be telling the truth

Is there a guy you can talk to about anything? that used to be K.

Have you ever been in a parade? No.

Would you ever consider being a news reporter? nope

Are you, or anyone you know, an atheist? people i know are. i am not.

Has anyone ever told you to "get a grip"? uhhhhhhh when i was a kid -- which btw is an incredibly inappropriate way to teach kids about emotions but hey.

Do people say you look your age? Or younger or older? typically younger. idk if thats accurate.

Have you ever sent a celebrity fan mail? no

Do you ever have those days where you feel you're the ugliest person ever? yes. its usually about my weight. which is so dumb.

Beauty is both external and internal, correct? it should be internal.

Have you ever been in a musical? yea

When was the last time you swam in a pool? gosh.. so long ago. i miss it SO bad.

Is there a friend's family that makes you feel like you're family too? yes

How do you know someone is your best friend? i think when its like.. you know you both have shared so much about yourselves and youre still like TELL ME MORE. or when you feel comfortable enough around them. you just get one another. when you get news and youre instantly like “OMG I GOTTA TELL _______”.

When was the last time you used a highlighter? doing my Bible study about a week ago.

Has a flashlight ever ran out batteries on you in the dark? Yes. but i was only in a fort in my living room so it was nbd.

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years

Text

Among the excitement of UFC 224, one problem lingers far above the noise

Joey

May 14th

To read a different point of view on what I'm about to spend way too much time angrily punching keys over; check out the Anticool's attempts to try and fix the 135 lb division: http://theanticool.tumblr.com/post/172326343465 It's a pretty comprehensive guide of what he would do.

Amid the bluster and drama of a fight card with 11 finishes and a gaggle of insane moments, three of the plagues of the UFC (and by extension MMA) popped up their ugly heads. This is a sport where there is no good without double the bad and as such, even after an event that was thoroughly amusing, we've gotta point out some bad. I originally intended to write about bad weight cuts and bad cornerwork but here's the deal; I've given up. Fighters are going to continue to abuse their bodies before they get to the point to get paid to abuse their bodies. California tried and it didn't work, ONE FC wanted to try and I'm not sure that's worked either. Mackenzie Dern walked into Brazil weighing 140 lbs for a fight at 115 lbs where she'd need to weigh in on Friday. From Tuesday to Friday she was going to make a conscious effort to drop 25 lbs. The scary part is that I'm sure for some fighters that's not only doable but their usual methodology of cutting weight. This isn't going to change and fighters will continue to do whatever it is they do to make insane weight cuts. I've done a complete 180 on Rocky Pennington's corner. Fighters want it that way and so ya know what? Fine. Go ahead. Go on with your bad selves! Almost every fighter I've seen is in support of what Pennington's corner did so this is a rather bad cultural philosophy in MMA that's not going anywhere until something bad happens. I'm going to stop giving myself grays about all this. Let's talk about another problem, something that HAS to be fixed and fixed in short order:

The collapse of women's bantamweight

Rocky Pennington has been in the UFC since November of 2013. That's quite a good long minute. She's had 9 fights and gone 6-3 in the organization which is absolutely a substantial and reputable number. She earned her shot vs Amanda Nunes with a four fight winning streak. All of these are to set the stage for the next part of this little study:

How many people has she beaten who are still in the UFC? 4 depending on whether Bethe Correia is still in the UFC.

4 out of your 6 wins is a stupendous number! It's a credible number of wins for a title challenger. Let's get a bit more....specific.

How many people did she beat who are still at bantamweight?

1. Roxanne and Ashlee Evans Smith now ply their craft at flyweight, Jessica Andrade is now a strawweight. She has Bethe Correia.

Rocky's last two wins? One has retired (Miesha Tate) and the other got released (Elizabeth Phillips) so you have to go back to April of 2016 to find a credible 135er she beat and even SO she won a split decision vs Bethe Correia.

All of this isn't to bash Rocky Pennington but to prove a point about how the bantamweight division has been basically capsized. The women's bantamweight division is in such a broken state that the best option for Amanda Nunes was to trot out a fighter on a near two year layoff coming off a broken leg who has one credible ACTIVE bantamweight win under her ledger. A fighter who had last fought a retiree, a released fighter and quite possibly another fighter who should be released if wins and losses were all we care about. The other options could've been a Marion Reneau (who at the time had just one fighter who remained in the UFC on her win ledger and zero at bantamweight), Germaine De Randamie (who has pulled out of two fights in a row and is playing her craft at bantamweight) or Ketlein Veiera in a really bad match up for all. Rocky Pennington as a title challenger under these circumstances is the equivalent of when the UFC turned to Chris Cariaso as a title challenger for Mighty Mouse. You've exhausted your options and you just need SOMEBODY to do SOMETHING.

This is the state of 135 lbs, a state that's beginning to look an awful lot like the drained and picked over remains of 205 lbs. It's not entirely a lack of quality either but a lack of numbers overall and a lack of believable challengers who could justifiably generate some excitement. Marion Reneau could earn a title shot with a win over Cat Zingano----who is on a three fight losing streak with yet another long layoff thrown into that mix. So you have 1) Women not fighting enough and taking long breaks, 2) women retiring out of the blue (Miesha and Ronda are gone with GDR and Holm likely behind them sooner rather than later) and 3) the influx of new weight classes draining the already thinning talent pool.

Want a fun reference point? Here's the 135 lb rankings on June of 2016:

Champion: Miesha Tate (Retired) 1 Holly Holm (Retiring soon/145 lbs) 2 Ronda Rousey (Retired) 3 Cat Zingano (Three fight losing streak, took a year off) 4 Amanda Nunes (The champ) 5 Julianna Pena (last fought Jan of 2017) 6 Sara McMann (a very active fighter who could be categorized as a bust) 7 Valentina Shevchenko (Flyweight) 8 Liz Carmouche (Flyweight) 9 Raquel Pennington (Doing well) 10 Jessica Eye (Flyweight)

Imagine taking any division and then removing the top 4 fighters in it. Then imagine the bottom half of its "elite" decided to all change weight classes at once. Then have the other half of the division seemingly all deciding to either go up OR down in weight.

But wait! There’s more! Click inside (and no $4.99 extra cost mind you) and continue a long descent into madness about WMMA:

Here's Jan of 2017 a week before Pena and Val Shevchenko faced off:

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT Champion: Amanda Nunes (champ champ) 1 Valentina Shevchenko (125 lb champ in waiting) 2 Julianna Pena (inactive since Jan 2017) 3 Holly Holm (145 lbs/retiring?) 4 Ronda Rousey (Retired) 5 Raquel Pennington (Still chillin', out for over a year) 6 Cat Zingano (0-3, took a year off) 7 Sara McMann (0-2 slumping) 8 Liz Carmouche (Flyweight) 9 Bethe Correia (I mean....) 10 Germaine de Randamie (145 lbs/retired?) 11 Alexis Davis +1 (Flyweight) 12 Ashlee Evans-Smith -1 (Flyweight) 13 Marion Reneau (Aye) 14 Jessica Eye (Flyweight) 15 Leslie Smith *NR (Released)

So right off the jump you can see the reversal of fortune for 135 lbs just by the quick difference of a short by MMA time period five months. Then when 125 lbs rolls around, the division is further drained. Not even lightweight aka the world's greatest weight class according to many could survive half of the top 6 fighters either disappearing, moving out or retiring. Imagine 155 lbs without some combination of three of Poirier, Alvarez, Khabib, Tony and Conor. It's just too much water to take on before things sink.

It's made worse by the fact that this entire operation was reliant on three megastars. As I spoke about in 2012 when they first trumpeted out Ronda and as AntiCool has written about previously, this division's reliance on Ronda was always going to be a life or death decision. Long before Ronda Rousey was selling bonkers PPV numbers, I said the division will not survive on her but the strength of the people to come after her. To its credit, the likes of Holm and Tate were able to come along and really keep the ship upright after Ronda's loss. Holm's out of town and Miesha's retired with her money----so what we're left with is Amanda Nunes and a cast of characters who 1) either have all lost to someone else in the division or b) are so nondescript as people and fighters that it's hard to get excited about them. As I asked on the DTP, would you pay money to see Amanda Nunes fight ANYBODY but Cris Cyborg? Would you pay $60 to see her headline a card vs, say, Marion Reneau? Ketlen Viera? How about Julianna Pena? After watching two back to back dull fights, who could you possibly roll out there to get fans excited about wanting to pay 60 bucks in a crowded and dead PPV economy?

Part of this falls on the UFC for sure. Their inability to develop and cultivate talent over the long term shows up here. They had a golden goose and did what every promotion does; ride it until the wheels fall off and then try to regroup afterwards. They got three 1 mil+ PPVs out of Ronda Rousey and plenty that scratched the surface of the number. I can't fault them for understanding who the draw is but I can fault them for not preparing. Then again, I'd argue that the complete evaporation of the division is something they probably didn't expect to happen nor something you can plan for. You can't plan on Miesha Tate deciding she had lost her fire in the same year Ronda lost hers for MMA. You also can't plan for Cat Zingano to disappear for a year and then disappear again for another year. You can't account for GDR's hand injury (I suppose) or for Julianna Pena getting pregnant. In some ways this is blatantly their fault and in another ways, as is so often in the MMA world, ya gotta just go "well shit happens." I'd fault them more for not being reactive enough afterwards than for not being proactive at this point.

Then there's just the fact that the division itself doesn't seem to be all that hot in any organization. It's easy to find flyweights especially overseas. That's not the same with female 135ers or 145ers. Invicta, the presumed top feeder league for the UFC, has Sara Kaufman as its champion. We've been there and done that, right? Before that it was Tonya Evinger who didn't even make it on TUF. We can say both are good fighters and be 100% accurate. Evinger is 36, Kaufman is 32. The UFC has tried on two different occasions to find new 135ers for a TUF and both instances the bodies weren't there. The one time they did do TUF for 135ers? Of the eight women who made the show? Two remain active in the UFC (Rocky and Sarah Moras) while a third seems to have no interest in fighting currently (Julianna Pena). The rest are either out of the org or out of the weight class entirely. If you extend it to the 16 women who FOUGHT to get on the show then that produced a scary low 25% of bantamweights with Moras, Rocky, Pena and Gina Mazany (Evinger is a 135lber but to this point she's only fought at 145 lbs in the org). A 25% hit rate on TUF is great if you're talking lightweight or welterweight. At a brand new weight class that is SCARY low and SCARY bad. Given how hot the Ronda division was, the fact no other top org could start some kind of a 135 lb weight class is pretty scary. The Ronda MMA returns aren't there yet so we'll see what happens in a few years from now. The hope is that Ronda Rousey will have planted a love for MMA in the hearts and minds of female athletes but.....I mean we have nothing yet to really substantiate that. Taking it one step further; even if she did, what's to say they'll all be bantamweights anyways?

And lastly there's the simple fact that the depth of a division is almost 150% reliant on who the champion is. The division was pretty thin when Ronda was champion but Ronda was Ronda and she sold like Ronda sold. She basically at one point talked Jessica Eye up into being somebody people almost half assed wanted to see her fight. Bethe Correia owes 75% (AT LEAST) of her success to Ronda Rousey hyping her up as the only undefeated opponent she had ever faced plus Bethe doing her own thing with the trash talk. Ronda got people into a third Miesha fight on the premise of "I've never fought somebody three times!" A champion in many ways is as responsible for their challengers as anybody else is----and that brings us to Amanda Nunes. We can argue that the UFC could do more. I'd argue they've tried. I've argued Amanda Nunes dug herself a hole she couldn't get out of when she spent the first few weeks post UFC 207 blasting Ronda Rousey to her fans. I'd argue the hole got even deeper when she pulled out of the International Fight Week main event the day OF the show and I'd argue that she's officially come the other side of the Earth after the second Shevchenko fight at this point. The fact that the building sounded half empty when she was fighting Pennington and looked empty when she started to give her post fight speech is a scary piece of business. That's Mighty Mouse levels of panic.

The problem now is that while the UFC is normally loud enough to cover this up, Amanda Nunes is the victim of three important truths about combat sports. One; it's not the fighter's ability that draws an audience. Two; no matter what you're told, not everybody gets to be a star. Some fighters are destined to be the best friend in the movie. Three; marketing dollars wasted on non-stars are wasted dollars because you either got it or you don't. The UFC has a champion it doesn't care, a champion it can't promote and a champion the public doesn't want ALL in a division where there is no immediate rival to spur the interest of the public. There's no Ngannou or Conor McGregor to sell her against----and even if there was? There's no middle ground to safely build that fighter up. If some new exciting brash young 135er walked through the door, how long before by virtue of just a lack of depth that fighter is fighting somebody she probably isn't anyway near ready for? What's more, how can you expect the division to advance if none of the middle of the pack fighters are fighting?

The 145 lb division has a champion who is a modicum of a draw in this PPV market. 115 lbs will never be a top level drawing belt but it's got depth, some fighters who people want to see and it's got a role as the co-main event/third title draw for "big" shows. 125 lbs will probably be used as an ESPN+ bonus of sorts while Valentina Shevchenko as champion could probably headline in Peru or Russia. The women's bantamweight division is without a draw, without depth, without youth and without real options to solve the problem. You can try to influx a bunch of new athletes into the sport (an idea I'd try) but without a real middle ground, they'll just be fighting each other or a bunch of fighters they're clearly not going to be ready for. You can try to sign each and every single regional fighter under the sun but there's an old pro wrestling theory that bringing in too much new talent at once just dilutes the talent. Besides if most of the new talent are fighters you've already whisked away (Larissa Pacheco, Kelly Faszholz, Sara Kaufman for instance) then I guess it defeats the purpose of the whole damn thing. In a division where there's a sector of your audience that hates them on principle, it's going to be somewhat transparent if you're trying to convince them that some of these fighters are not just here to fill a spot on the show.

Cris Cyborg will not be a UFC problem for much longer. 145 lbs will be out of here quicker than we realize in all likelihood. 135 lbs is here to stay and it's turning into a problem that's no longer avoidable.

#MMA #UFC #Amanda Nunes #WMMA #Fights

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thebestintoronto · 3 years

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10 Free Things to Do in Toronto

Toronto is an enjoyable city to see, with a diverse range of destinations. While it isn't especially famous for being the most affordable area, there's still a sensibly great selection of cost-free things to do in Toronto. In most cases, this comes down to just discovering the city and also its vibrant areas, specifically those in and around Old Toronto. Each has a distinctive and also attractive environment, ranging from the vibrant Kensington Market to the historic Distillery District. Nonetheless, if just strolling the streets isn't your idea of enjoyable (or if it's raining), there are a couple of interior tasks you can do without investing a cent.

1 Nathan Phillips Square

Take a selfie by the Toronto Sign

The square in front of Toronto Municipal government is usually bustling as people appreciate resting by the fountain and the huge city sign. With 3-metre-tall letters, it's fairly a legendary place for a selfie. There's additionally a good coffee shop in Nathan Phillips Square, with plenty of various other choices close by. The appearance of the Municipal government building itself is a little controversial. Some call it striking and advanced and also applauded when it appeared in a 1989 episode of Celebrity Expedition: The Future Generation, while others call it ugly (especially when contrasted to Toronto Old Town Hall, which is next door) and also supported when it was exploded in 2004's Local Wickedness: Apocalypse. Konum: 100 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2, Canada Açık olduğu saatler: Monday-- Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm (shut at weekends). Telefon: +1 416-392-2489.

2 High Park.

The play ground was created by kids, for children.

Amongst the many eco-friendly rooms of Toronto, High Park sticks out as the most family-friendly. Located to the west of downtown Toronto, the 161-hectare park has a significant play area, which was partly created by kids. You'll also locate sports facilities, 18 barbecue locations, treking routes and unique events throughout the year. Have a look at the mini-zoo to see llamas, deer, buffalo and also peacocks. The beachfront, along Grenadier Fish pond, is particularly stunning, but finest appreciated in springtime, when the cherry blossom trees are in flower. Konum: 1873 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6R 2Z3, Canada.

3 Kensington Market.

Browse through stylish restaurants in an imaginative part of Toronto.

The Kensington Market location, just north of Chinatown, is home to a fashionable, bohemian ambience as well as a terrific collection of vintage stores, art galleries and also, certainly, a market. A lot of the Victorian-era buildings along the tree-lined roads in the area show outstanding jobs of road art and contain a great range of international restaurants, bars as well as cafés. The market itself is experts in fresh produce, meat and fish and is popular with the students as well as households who live close by. Attempt to see on the last Sunday of the month, when the area goes car-free to enable a huge street market.

4 The Distillery Historic Area.

A lovely part of Old Toronto.

The Distillery Historic Area is was as soon as a huge, Victorian-era scotch distillery. That sector may have carried on, but the striking old buildings stay, currently housing an outstanding choice of store bars, restaurants, art galleries and stores. The charming patched roads are home to a number of outside art work as well as normal road performances throughout the summer, however really revive in December, when they organize the Toronto Christmas Market. The pedestrianised location is right by the Distillery Loophole public transportation station.

5 Canadian Opera Firm's complimentary performances.

At the 4 Seasons Centre.

From the end of September to May, the Canadian Opera Company hosts totally free online performances in the modern Richard Bradshaw Arena of the 4 Seasons Centre, just over the road from the Osgoode subway terminal. Typically hung on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and also Thursdays, you can expect to see musicians from worldwide doing amazing vocal, piano, jazz, dancing, chamber and globe music pieces. The shows mostly start at noontime. Seating is limited, make sure to secure your place in line early. Konum: 145 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5H 4G1, Canada. Telefon: +1 416-363-8231.

6 The Beaches.

A sandy shore near downtown Toronto.

The location called "The Beaches" is where you'll locate the beaches-- Torontonians like to keep points simple. There are practically 3 coastlines, however Woodbine, Kew as well as Balmy beaches are all one linked stretch of yellow sand. Woodbine is a stylish location, with normal coastline volley ball games in the summer season. Pleasant is quiet and private. Kew remains in the middle, both geographically and in regards to its environment. You can take a walk along the boardwalk, have a dash in Lake Ontario, loosen up in the color in the nearby parks or check out the coastline club.

7 Free times at Toronto galleries.

Or pay what you wish.

Toronto has an outstanding-- if eclectic-- selection of museums and also art galleries, a few of which provide free entry on specific days and at specific times. You can appreciate free access to the major collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario from 6pm to 8.30 pm on Wednesday nights and you can look into the Aga Khan Gallery free of cost from 4pm to 8pm, likewise on Wednesdays. Admission to the Bata Shoe Gallery has a "pay-what-you-wish" plan every Thursday evening from 5pm to 8pm. The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) makes use of the exact same plan in any way times.

8 Toronto Botanical Gardens.

Be influenced by stunning boundaries.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens contain 17 themed gardens, varying from a kitchen area and herb garden to a grand show yard. There's a particular concentrate on education in the 4-acre grounds, demonstrating exactly how you can still have a lovely garden, even if you can just grow in containers or the superficial soil of a roof covering garden. Take the free guided tour for more information concerning the plants around you or loosen up while appreciating the free outdoor songs efficiencies. There's an onsite coffee shop and a natural farmers' market every Thursday during summertime, along with a number of various other parks and gardens nearby.

Konum: 777 Lawrence Ave E, North York, ON M3C 1P2, Canada. Açık olduğu saatler: Monday-- Friday from 9 am to 4 pm, Saturday-- Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. Telefon: +1 416-397-1340.

9 Evergreen Block Functions.

Take a look at the nature routes and also weekend markets.

Şunlar için uygun:: AilelerEkonomikFotoğraf. The Evergreen Block Functions is a creative repurposing of an old quarry as well as industrial site in the Don Valley. The previous quarry is now a park as well as the time-worn structures currently house environment-friendly area as well as cultural centres. The centre and its surroundings consist of a number of huge as well as amazing artworks along with instructional exhibits, every one of which you can take a look at completely free. The treking routes are specifically gorgeous and, if you come on a weekend break, you should look into the Saturday Farmers' Market or Sunday Craftsmen Market.

Konum: 550 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4W 3X8, Canada. Açık olduğu saatler: Monday-- Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, Saturdays from 8 am to 5 pm, Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm. Telefon: +1 416-596-1495.

10 Chester Hillside Search.

Among Toronto's a lot of charming point of views.

The Chester Hillside Hunt is in a somewhat weird place, going to the end of a residential street in the Playter Estates area to the north-east of Old Toronto. However, the quiet cul-de-sac offers among the very best cost-free views of the city's sky line around. Watching out across the Don River and the bordering park, you'll see striking Bloor Viaduct in the foreground, with the CN Tower standing tall behind it. No other view layers Toronto's all-natural, industrial and business surroundings in such a way.

Konum: Chester Hillside Rd, Toronto, ON M4K 1V4, Canada.

The article “ 10 Free Things to Do in Toronto “ was appeared first on Hotels.com

The IV Lounge - IV Therapy Toronto Drip Clinic

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witchesofmysticfalls · 4 years

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Friday Night Bites - 4

It's the next night and everyone is reunited at the school. Everyone is crowded in, about to celebrate the football teams first game, and Tanner the football coach is giving a speech.

Stefan and I exchanged numbers last night at Elenas place, he texted me last night saying he had an idea to protect Elena. He gave her a locket, filled with vervain. He got the idea from my locket, I steal glances at the locket right now.

It's silver, with a single red ruby encrusted in it. It's pretty I'll give him that. And a good precaution, I don't need Damon using anymore of my friends.

Above the noise, I faintly hear screaming, fighting. Everyone notices and I make my way through the crowded to see what was going on. Tyler is on top of Jeremy, hitting him, while Vicki is screaming at the both of them.

"Tyler, Stop!" I rush to her side and grab a hold of her, and start screaming at both men.

"Stop it, Tyler!"

They don't listen and instead keep brawling like cats. Stefan comes and grabs a hold of Tyler, Tyler in turn punches him in the stomach.

Jermey who is now regaining balance gets up and grabs a hold of a piece of a glass beer bottle. "Jeremy, No!" I scream, aware of his intentions.

He goes to hit Tyler with it, but Stefan grabs him, the glass cutting into his hand. "Jeremy enough!" Elena screams as she pulls him away.

I look at Vicki with worry. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" I ask looking her over. She shakes her head, and I wrap an arm around her, giving her a hug.

I look as Elena inspects Jermey, and he pushes her away, storming off. Vicky looks at him with fear. Tyler is being held off by the other football players, and Elena goes to Stefan to check his hand.

She grabs his hand in inspect the cut, she furrows her brows in confusion and looks up at Stefan. He says something to her that I can't quite hear, when Stefan leaves her side she stares after him in confusion. I turn towards Vicki "Come on, let's go watch the game"

I walk side by side with Matt and Stefan. I had to leave Vicki with her friends because I'm a cheerleader and I have to perform.

"You gonna be able to play?" Matt asks Stefan. "Oh, yeah. I'm good"

"Uh, what you did back there...you had Jeremy's back" Matt says coming to a stop, facing Stefan. "Ah, he's a messed up kid. Someone's gotta look out for him" Matt nods.

"I know. This week at practice, I was a dick" Stefan smiles a little. "You had your reasons"

"No excuse" He holds a hand out and Stefan takes it. "Good luck tonight. We're lucky to have you" I smile at the exchange. I pat Matt on the shoulder.

"See you on the field"

He nods and smiles makes his way to the locker rooms. I turn to Stefan. "I'm gonna go find Elena before we start" He nods and I turn to go but stop when I hear clapping.

"Isn't That Nice" I turn along with Stefan to see Damon leaning against the wall. "Stefan joins a team. Makes a friend. It's all so 'Rah, Rah, Go Team, Yeah!' Isn't it mermaid?"

I scowl at the nickname. "Not tonight, I'm done with you" Stefan says turning away, I turn with him and gasp in shock when Damon appears in front of us.

"Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess-vervain in the necklace?" He asks Stefan before turning to me and eyeing my locket. "Same with you" He turns to Stefan.

"I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion" He says with a smirk. "Where'd you get it?" He asks.

"Does it matter?" I respond, and walk past him. "Guess I could seduce her the old-fashion way. Or I could just..eat her" Stefan and I stop and turn to Damon.

Anger spilling from my face. "No. Your not gonna hurt her, Damon" "No?" Damon's asks. "Because deep down inside. There is a part of you that feels for her"

I'm taken back by what Stefan just said. Even Damon is. Seriously, he has feelings? I'd love to see that.

"I was worried that you had no humanity, left inside you. That you may have really become the monster that you pretend to be"

"Who's pretending?" Damon shoots back.

"Then kill me"

"Well I'm tempted"

"No Your not. You've had lifetimes to do it, and here I am, still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 year"

I look away and do the mental math, 162 years old. Wow. I look back when Stefan brings up his ex.

"Katherine is Dead, and you hate me, because you loved her, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, that is your humanity" The both stare at each other

Stefan like if he just won, and Damon who is pissed. "Salvatore!" Calls out a voice Tanner. We all turn to see him standing by the door.

He approaches us with arms outstretched.

"What the hell? We've got a game to play!" Stefan ignores him and turns back to Damon.

"If that's my humanity..then what's this?" In a swift motion he pushes past us and goes towards Tanner. Biting him in the neck.

"No!" I scream and try to run to him but Stefan grabs me and holds be back, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me back and I struggle against him.

Damon let's go of Tanner and let's his body slump down. I gasp and cover my mouth to stop a sob from escaping.

"Anyone, any time, any place" Damon threatens. His eyes bloodshot and his mouth and teeth covered with Tanners blood. "Let me go!" I yell at Stefan as I try to break from his grasp.

"He's dead Ariel!" I collapse against him and sob. Tanner was a dick but he didn't deserve to die. "Come on, we got go" He says and leads me to the women's bathroom.

I rush inside and go to one of the empty stalls and throw up my dinner. I just witnessed murder. I just saw Damon kill Tanner.

"You okay in there?" Stefan asks from outside. "Define okay!" I shot back as I get up and flush the toilet.

I head to the sink and wash my face. I must have been inside the bathroom for hours cause when I come out the cops have already come and are taking Tanners body away.

Stefan heard with his vampire hearing that Matt found him, when he told me, I immediate run to find him.

He's sitting in the back of a truck. I rush to him and grab a hold of his hands and will him to look at me. "Are you okay?" I ask, my voice cracking at the end. He nods slight

"Yeah, I'm fine" I don't believe him and hoist myself up to his side, resting my head on his shoulder.

When we get home, both Matt and Vicki pass out after the events that happened today. I try sleeping but I can't. I keep seeing Damon's face, Tanners body, Eventually, like at 4 in the morning, I fall asleep.

#tvd au #tvdedit #tvd fandom #part four #series #rewrite #elena gilbert #stefan salvatore #damon salvatore #bonnie bennett #mysticfalls #timber wolf #high school #vampires #witches

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