#bit city USA adventuring party

[teeswrites]

C.L- Never be the same

Masterlist

Synopsis

Playlist

Chapter 1

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Chapter 2: airports and dirty dancing

November, 2023

Newark, New Jersey, USA.

She couldn't hate anything more than she hated airport's lounges. Why wait so much to catch a plane? Why do they always say "come 3 hours earlier to check in" if check-ins take less than 3 hours to be done? Stupid airlines. At least she had company: Lando Norris. They were in Newark, New Jersey, he was heading to the United Arab Emirates, she was too, her winter vacation was going to be hot in Dubai that year. Their meeting wasn't an accident, Lando informed her about his stopover in the city next to hers, and she, for some reason, booked her flight to that same airport. They didn't get the same plane, tho. Her flight time was an hour later than his but they had a little time together at that insignificant airport lounge."Seems someone isn't here today" his voice called her. She didn't move from the spot she was staring at "If you are alright blink once. If I must call the ambulance because you got paralyzed don't blink" she tilted her head and turned to him "if I were paralyzed how would I blink?" "Exactly" she chuckled "hey, you are socializing!" "Sorry" she sniffed, "Just wanna get into the plane and sleep like a rock" "if you want to start your adventure now..." he sat closer to her "... My shoulder is all yours" she smiled without showing her teeth, warming his heart, he loved when she was sincere. She hasn't been very sincere lately "thank you, mr. Norris" she stood up and kissed his face "I will hop into the cafeteria first. Want anything?" "what are you having?" "Iced coffee" "how do you intend to sleep if you are taking coffee?" "I am immune to caffeine" "so why drink coffee?" "Tastes good" she shrugged, he laughed "you're very complex person" "I know that" I would like a latte and a doughnut, please" "Which flavor?" "Jelly" "okay, be back in a minute”

…

"Porte quatre, porte quatre..." Pierre mumbled to himself, struggling to find the correct gate, so when he saw Lando, sitting with his headphones in his head, he felt nothing but relief "please tell me this is gate 4" the British man places his headphones on his neck and opened a bright smile "Gate 4 and driver number 4" "Enfin!" Lando chuckled "Are you good, mate?" "I am now" he placed his bag on a chair and tugged in there his passport "Is not easy to find a gate on a foreign country with a Japanese lad hanged on your hair" "Yuki?" "Yeah" "Where is he?" "What do you mean?" the French guy turned around to see his former teammate knelled on the floor, wearing a shoe he probably lost on the way "cette putain de merde..." Lando laughed to the scene of Yuki running with his bags to reach Pierre and the other standing with his hands on the hips, a feet tapping the floor quickly and repeatedly "I told you to stay close to me" "sorry, it was my shoe" "seems like you become a father" "I think so" "it was an accident!" "Why haven't I been invited to the party?" She showed up with a Starbucks cup in one hand and Lando's latte in the other with a bag between two fingers on the other "the party just started" "This is Pierre. She's Daniel's girlfriend's friend" "I thought I was your friend too!" "You are, for now" Pierre turned to her, stretching his arms to a handshake "Hi, nice to meet you" "Salut, plaisir. Comment allez-vous?" "Tu. S'il te plaît. Je suis pas mal. Et toi?" "Bien. Pourquoi t'es pas mal?" "Could be better" he came back to his bag "What happened?" "We got a bit lost" "We?" he stepped to the side "that's Yuki" he smiled like a child and stretched his hand out "nice to meet you" she shook his hand "I would say the same but you just placed your stuff where I was siting so..." he widened his eyes "oh my God! Sorry, I- I will take this out and..." "I am kidding! Is nice to meet you too" "but you were sitting here" "I can stand or sit on the floor. No big deal" "I can't let you..." "She can sit on my lap" Lando said. The trio looked at him "at least you rather sit on my lap, I think you can take the chair, Yuki" Pierre and she laughed "alright" Lando pulled her onto his lap, she giggled "Your doughnut. It only had glazed" "No problems. Thank you! Tell me how much it was so I can pay you back" "No, no. You don't have to" "Come on! I insist" "that's your problem. You don't have to pay me back" "Are you sure?" "Yeah" she could tell Lando was disturbed with that "You buy me something next time" "okay" his face muscles relieved "coffee?" "I am good, sweatheart" "okay" "Doughnut? "Sure! Glazed is my favorite flavor" "And it happened to be the only flavor left, huh?" she giggled "I swear to you" he smiled,  she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they both carried on listening to the Alpha Tauri's and Alpine's pilots argue like a married couple while shared the doughnout.

…

Charles had his eyes off the phone for less than a second and the first thing he saw was her. She was smiling, laughing of something and the place she was sitting on didn't make him any happy. Nor her behavior with her new "chair". His gaze landed at Lando's hands: one was resting on her soft thigh and the other feeding her with a doughnut. Huh, disgusting thing. The doughnut and the scene which became even more worst when he noticed her fingers running through the McLaren's driver hair, caressing his curls as it was an ordinary thing. 

He couldn't feel less dirty: on his phone screen he had his girlfriend wishing him a good flight along with heart emojis and a warm 'I love you' and even so he was jealous of a person who didn't belong to him but he would give up of tons of things for it to be the opposite. And it got even uglier when he replied Alex with the same warm 'I love you'. Did he really mean that? The truth was he had been exchanging messages with her during the past 6 months. Without having any guts or rights to invite her to do something. He also knew Lando have been stopping by way too much in NYC which made him even more furious.

 "When did this happen?" he questioned himself "When did I become that person?" he continued, before greeting Pierre and Yuki. He knew that he must forget about it, but he couldn't  help but feel annoyed with them acting like that "where's Esteban by the way?" "He left yesterday" Pierre said, quite relieved "Oh! What about Daniel?" "I have no idea" Yuki answered focused on his videogame. She stretched herself "hey, Charles, am I invisible to you now?" "Oh, I wish" he thought "no! I was just about to greet you. Both of you, beautiful couple" he leaned and kissed her face, tapping Lando's back, friendly "we aren't a couple" she defensed herself "sure" he said with a disbelief tone "we really aren't" "I believe you guys" "she is taken already" Lando joked. Charles' heart stopped "With her job, of course" "That's true" Charles exhaled the air he was holding and said "Yeah! Me too. Not with my job, with a girl. A woman..." "we already know that..." Lando continued "yeah, just reaffirming" he talked in a rush, he sounded breathless, like he had ran a marathon, but it was only the anger taking control of his body in the same pace her nails lightly scratched Lando's nape "Charles, are you okay?" "Yeah!" he said almost shouting, out of control "I just had too much Redbull" " "Are you drinking RedBull?!" Lando asked, incredulous"yeah?! I just need to sit a bit" he placed his bag on the floor and sat down. "Hey" Yuki started "hum?" "will you be joining us in Abu Dhabi?" "Not Abu Dhabi, Dubai" "what are you doing in Dubai?" "I decided to take my ass to vacations" "so you are going on vacations and decided to spend your time with 4 guys in an airport lounge?" "I didn't ask for that" they looked at her "I mean, the lounge and waiting part, I like you guys" "why don't you join us at a night out tomorrow?" "What night out?" Lando asked "the one I am inviting you to. Pierre?" "I am there already" he said while ate his peanuts "What about the two of you?" "Well, I heard is close to Abu Dhabi" she grabbed her phone "Oh! Very close. Count on me, I'm a party animal, babe" "if she's joining, I'm in" "Charles?" "Hum… oui! Porquoi pas" Yuki looked at Pierre "Oui is yes, right?" "Yeah" "Great!".

//

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Why has he agreed with that? "Terrible idea" he looked himself in the elevator’s mirror, he could tell hundreds of reasons for not accepting. And he couldn't regret more when he saw her walking through the hotel pool, wearing a nice bubblegum-pink top tank blouse and ripped white jeans shorts and a pair of golden glittery flip flops. Her breasts were like perfect and firm pillows. No bra. Nipples were showing under the blouse. Her not too much but still toned thighs looked so squeezable and he prayed, oh he prayed, to not be seen by her. Sometimes it feels like Jesus, Buddha, Ali, Shiva, Dalai Lama, Papa, The Queen of England, Santa Claus, any sanctity, didn't exist cause the first thing she did was to direct her gaze to the bar behind him. Damn! He should have hidden. She smiled and waved, walking towards him. He smiled back and walked into her encounter as well "hey!" "Hi!" she hugged him, she smelled like vanilla ice cream and strawberry lip gloss the one he found at that club's floor in Miami. The one he would adore to taste. Directly from her lips. "you look nice" he let her go against his own wishes. He turned around showing his look, he wore a white shirt and beige shorts with a Lacoste salmon slip on shoe "thanks! You too" "Merci, monsieur" "De rien, mademoiselle" she got weak hearing him speaking French, it hurt more than anything on her core. She smiled, tho, when he offered an arm "Puis-je avoir le plaisir?" she tangled their arms "Sure!" he giggled. They walked to the bar where Pierre, Yuki and Pierre's girlfriend already were "Hey! There you are" "Where's Lando?" she asked, Charles frowned "I'm right here" he appeared from behind her and pulled her for a hug "I'll order some drinks. What do you want?" she thought "Something that tastes like Strawberry "I bet your lips does" Charles thought "Alright. Anything for you" she giggled "Can I join you, Lando?" "Sure, Char".

...

"So? Are you guys dating?" "What?! No. We told you" "Hooking up, then" "Not yet" "Lando" Charles leaned on the bar's counter "Can't you flirt with other girls?" "What?!" "There are so many girls that would like to be in your bed, can't you make them happy?" "Why can't I flirt with the girl I want?" "I don't like when you flirt" "Why not?" "I..." he cleaned his throat "I just don't like it. I know I have zero rights to say something like that but I just dislike it" Lando sighed "It's because of it that you freaked on the airport?" he nodded "Does your girlfriend knows?" "Not a single clue of her existence" "I see" "We are not doing anything but... I don't know. I don't have a clue why I asked you to not flirt with her. Just forget about it!" Lando touched his shoulder "I definetly won't stop flirting with her. At least not while you still have a girlfriend and she's out there single" That's fair" "But if you decide to flirt with her even in your condition... I won't put myself in between tha two of you" "Are you teeling me to..." NO! No, no, no. I ain't telling you to do anything. I'm telling you that I don't have a problem if we both hit on her. If we do, she's the one who should choose, you know? And if she chooses you, I can't do anything about it" Charles nodded "Okay" Lando poked the shouder he had his hand on , then turned to the bartender to grab the drinks leaving Charles with his mind poisoned by his ideas "Give me some help here, bro" "Sure"

…

 That night something happened. Something new for her: she saw a slightly drunk Charles. Maybe tipsy only. But one thing she was sure about: he was a very weak person for alcohol. "Bonsoir, madame 'je suis très ivre pour me souvenir de ton nom'. Comment allez-vous?" "I'm excited, mr. Lord Percival. And you?" he giggled "Moi, j'étais perdu, mais j'ai vous trouvé. Le feu dans ma noirceur" she giggled "You're too sweet" "And you are excited, hein? Why?" "I love a night out every now and then! Don't you love it?" "Ouais... De temps en temps" he stared at nothing. She smiled, he looked so cute when he got lost inside his own head "revenons à la drague..." she gasped "what?!" "Puis-je m'asseoir ici?" "That's your chair, Charles" "Sure... In this case, I'll sit here" she giggled "Ok" "Would you like a drink?" "Already have mine" she lifted her glass "Thanks anyway" "Je vous en prie" he lifted his own drink, sipping it "donc... Avez-vous quelqu'un dans votre vie?" She grinned "I don't. My job only. And you already know that" "Can you please play my game!?... S'il vous plaît?" she smiled "Ok. And you, do you have someone in your life?" "Oui. J'suis pris déjà" "So you can't flirt with me" "But I ain't sure if I'm happy in this relationship" her smile faded away, she frozen and her hands got cold "Anyway, do you have a girlfriend?" He nodded "So you don't flirt with me!" "Ok, ok. Je te drague plus" she sipped her drink "You said you are not sure, huh?" "Eh... I'm but from time to time I don't. We both spend so long apart... Well, that's complicated" "I see" "Anyhow... Would you like to dance?" "Yeah! Let's go" he gave a big sip on his drink "Alright, let's go!". At the dance floor, Charles couldn't be more lost "I never danced reggeaton before" "It's very easy. I teach you" she paused to think "You just have to move your hips like Shakira" she showed him "And rub your body on your dance partner's body" "Like that?" "Yes" he slightly rubbed his hips on her ass, she closed her eyes, feeling her legs shaking "What about now?" "Place your hands on my belly" he did "Like this?" "Exactly. And now we move" they did "Et voilà! We are dancing latin music" "That's nice. You're a good teacher".

...

They danced for 20 minutes "It was funny!" "That's true but I'm very tired. Might call it a night" "okay" he said disappointened. After saying goodbye to Pierre, Kika and Yuki she called herself an Uber "That's sad I can't say goodbye to Lando" "I deliver your message if I find him" "Thanks. You're an angel" but Charles was anything but an angel, he knew exactly where Lando was and made very sure that she wouldn't find him"Voulez-vous que je attends votre voiture avec vous?" she giggled "What?" "You" "Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?" "When you're drunk, you speak french. Formally" "I... I am not that drunk anymore. The dance made me feel better" she smiled "I would love if you waited with me" "Good" They had a silent ride till the hotel lobby. A true walk of the shame. "Sorry for flirting with you" "It's okay. You were just kidding, it's fine" "Yes, but..." she stopped in front of a glass door and he approched her "I wish it wasn't" she blushed "Char, I..." the tension between them could be cut with a knife "I've gotta go. Thanks for the night, have a good rest of it" she leaned up and kissed his cheek "wait" he held her arm. He felt guilty and she felt cheap. What was the worst? He hitting on her? Or she almost bending to it? "I..." "Charles, no" "Please... I'm sorry. So so sorry" "you have nothing to be sorry for" "I do have. I'm taken, I was drunk, had hit on you... I shouldn't have. I'm really sorry" "/ should be the one apologizing. You have a girlfriend, I knew that from the beginning. I don't know what happened, I would never dance like that with someone already taken" he locked his gaze on hers "but danced with me" "yeah..." She looked away "that's exactly why I'm so ashamed of myself". He reflected for a few seconds "Fine. We're both ashamed, both sorry, I accept your apologies, do you accept mine?" "Of course..." he exhaled "that's good" "But..." "Oh, no, no, no. No buts" "We should stay away from each other" "No..." "Yes. I ain't going to be in between your relationship, Charles" he looked to his feet "Charles..." "Hum?" "You know I care about you" "I care about you too. That's exactly why we shouldn't distance from each other" "it's exactly why we should" he sighed "I don't agree with that. I will text you as soon I land in Monaco" "who said I will reply?" he smirked "You will, I know you will. Tu peux pas résister à moi" she blushed "well, I..." He smiled "just keep an eye on your phone" he winked at her "bye, Charles” "Bye…” he waved at her before she opened the door and left. He wanted to walk out the door but his girlfriend's face kept him from doing that. Instead, he tucked his hands in his shorts pockets and made his way back to the elevator, pressing the button without being sure of anything but where he was going to spend the rest of the night: at the bar.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (10-16 Sep 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 'Til The End Of Time (fandomfluffandfuck) - 66k, stucky, basically PWP with stucky + pre-war bucky (due to multiverse/time slip shenanigans) [reread, fave, really quality filth 🥵]

😊 Rapidly Becoming (Ayes) - 67K, drarry, immediately post war, Draco goes missing & Harry inheirits Malfoy Manor - enjoyable, I'm always a sucker for a magical house story

😍 Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) Podfic (GhostCwtch, narrator; spitandvinegar, author) - 107K (14 hr podfic) - well done podfic of a forever fave post-WS recovery fic

🥰 A Fire at the Exhibition (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #10) (T.E. Kinsey, author; Elizabeth Knowelden, narrator) - Emily & Flo contend with the village art exhibition, theft, murder, bicycle races and amateur treasure hunters. 🥰 The Uses of Adversity (MonstrousRegiment) - 65K, Dreamling, very entertaining canon-divergent AU where Hob accidentally becomes a criminal mastermind (sort of) and finds & rescues Dream in 1957

💖💖 +143K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

A Cornstalk Fiddle (notbecauseofvictories) - Devil Went Down to Georgia (Song): The Devil/Johnny, 32K - brilliant short story about what happened after - Johnny won once and he thinks he can do it again to get what he wants...

You've Got A Face With A View (Brenda) - Top Gun: Ice/Mav, 3K - it's 30 years into their relationship & Mav's still wild about his hotass husband and is going to tell and show him why and how.

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Maine Cabin Masters - s6, e2-8

Harley Quinn - s4, e10

Only Murders In The Building - s3, e7

Dirty Laundry - s3, e1

D20: Mentopolis - "Case Closed" (s1, e6)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Bit City USA" (s14, e6)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Re: Dracula - September 10: Make Yourself Strong

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Fenway Victory Gardens

Re: Dracula - September 11: Grim Purpose in All I Do

Today, Explained - Hunter becomes the hunted

Into It - Is Rotten Tomatoes…Rotten?

Re: Dracula - September 12: The Pain of the Fear of Sleep

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Jimmy Fallon And Strike Force Five

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Bridget Cleary

Vibe Check - Pumpkin Spice is Not My Ministry

Re: Dracula - September 13: All the Powers of the Devils

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center

⭐ 99% Invisible #552 - Blood in the Machine

⭐ Switched on Pop - Next Year in Margaritaville

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Atomic Clock

Dear Prudence - My Partner’s Relationship With His Ex Makes Me Feel Like the Third Wheel. Help!

Into It - The Backlash to Drew Barrymore

⭐ Endless Thread - Lofi Girl

Today, Explained - Blame Capitalism: Profit over everything

Welcome to Night Vale #234 - The Boy

⭐ Hit Parade - Insert Lyrics Here Edition

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

True Metal Warriors

'80s Metal

Ozzy Osbourne

Judas Priest

Jimmy Buffett

Presenting Nine Inch Nails

Lord Of The Lost

Peaceful Summer Night 🌃 Night Lofi Playlist 🌃 Deep Focus To Study/Work [ Lofi Hip Hop - Lofi Chill ]

Lost Legends Of Surf Guitar

Herb Alpert

[maxfosh1]

Bachelor Party Ideas in the USA: Top Destinations, Activities, and Budget-Friendly Stays.

Planning the perfect bachelor party in the USA is no small feat, but the variety of incredible destinations and activities available makes it easy to create a memorable experience. Whether you're looking for adventure travel, nightlife, or a laid-back getaway, there’s a U.S. city that caters to every bachelor party style. This guide will explore the best bachelor party ideas across top cities in the U.S., covering activities, nightlife, and affordable accommodations with b0arding.

1. Las Vegas: The Ultimate Bachelor Party Destination

Las Vegas is often hailed as the bachelor party capital of the USA, and for good reason. The city offers a wide range of entertainment, from world-famous casinos and high-energy nightclubs to incredible shows and luxurious pool parties. Whether you’re looking to hit the tables, enjoy the nightlife, or relax at a poolside cabana, Las Vegas has it all.

Activities: Plan a VIP night out at top clubs like XS, Hakkasan, or Omnia, or explore unique bachelor party activities like renting luxury sports cars or taking a helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon. Daytime fun can be had at pool parties like those at the Encore Beach Club or Wet Republic.

Stay Option: Instead of a traditional hotel or casino stay, opt for b0arding. Located close to the Strip, B0arding provides a comfortable, quieter, and more budget-friendly option for those looking to stay away from the constant excitement of the Strip, offering a great base for relaxation between adventures.

2. Miami: Sun, Beaches, and Nightlife

Miami is a top destination for bachelor parties, offering a mix of beaches, vibrant nightlife, and luxury dining. The city’s unique blend of Latin culture, stunning oceanfront views, and endless party options make it a prime spot for guys looking to relax during the day and party by night.

Activities: Spend the day lounging on South Beach or rent a yacht for an epic party on the water. At night, head to famous clubs like LIV at the Fontainebleau Hotel or E11EVEN for a late-night party. If you're looking for a more laid-back vibe, enjoy Miami’s renowned food scene or explore the trendy Wynwood Arts District.

Stay Option: For an affordable stay close to the action, consider b0arding. It offers convenient access to the beach and nightlife while providing a cost-effective alternative to the more expensive beachfront hotels.

3. Nashville: Music, Whiskey, and Southern Charm

For a bachelor party full of live music, whiskey tastings, and Southern hospitality, Nashville is the place to be. Known as Music City, Nashville offers a more laid-back vibe with a focus on honky-tonk bars, live country music, and craft breweries.

Activities: Take a bar crawl down Broadway, known for its endless honky-tonk bars with live country music. Visit a whiskey distillery, such as Jack Daniel’s Distillery, or experience a VIP backstage tour at the Grand Ole Opry. For those looking to add a bit of adventure, consider an ATV tour or renting a party bus.

Stay Option: Choose b0arding for affordable accommodations close to Nashville’s top music venues and bars. Offering both comfort and convenience, B0arding is the perfect option for groups who want to stay in the heart of the action without splurging on a luxury hotel.

4. New Orleans: Party in the French Quarter

Few cities can match the energy and uniqueness of New Orleans. The city is renowned for its vibrant culture, incredible food, and legendary nightlife, making it a perfect bachelor party destination. From the bars on Bourbon Street to live jazz music, New Orleans offers a non-stop party atmosphere.

Activities: Start with a bar crawl along Bourbon Street, which is packed with lively bars and nightclubs. For something more unique, join a ghost tour or a steamboat ride on the Mississippi River. Don’t forget to indulge in local cuisine with classic dishes like gumbo and beignets.

Stay Option: b0arding provides an affordable, modern accommodation option just a short distance from the French Quarter. It’s a great choice for groups looking to explore the city’s nightlife and return to a comfortable and quiet space afterward.

5. Austin: Live Music and Adventure

Austin, Texas, is the perfect mix of outdoor adventure and lively nightlife. Known as the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin offers great food, live music venues, and fun outdoor activities like paddleboarding and hiking.

Activities: Enjoy live music and local craft beers at 6th Street or head to the Barton Springs Pool for a refreshing dip. If your group enjoys outdoor activities, rent kayaks or paddleboards on Lady Bird Lake, or take a hike in Zilker Park. At night, explore Austin’s renowned food truck scene or plan a private brewery tour.

Stay Option: b0arding offers budget-friendly accommodations near Austin’s top attractions. With easy access to both nightlife and outdoor activities, it’s a great choice for bachelor groups who want a comfortable place to stay without breaking the bank.

6. Denver: Adventure and Craft Beer

For the groom who loves the great outdoors, Denver is an ideal bachelor party destination. Known for its proximity to the Rocky Mountains and craft beer scene, Denver combines adventure with laid-back brewery tours and fantastic nightlife.

Activities: Spend the day hiking or mountain biking in the Rocky Mountain National Park, or take a brewery tour at some of Denver’s most famous craft breweries. If your group prefers to hit the slopes, you can also plan a ski or snowboarding trip to nearby resorts like Breckenridge or Aspen. At night, head to LoDo (Lower Downtown) for lively bars and nightclubs.

Stay Option: For an affordable and comfortable place to stay, check out b0arding, which provides easy access to both the city and the mountains. It’s the perfect base for adventure-loving bachelor groups.

7. Chicago: Cityscape and Sports

Chicago offers a great mix of sports, city life, and vibrant nightlife, making it a top choice for a bachelor party. Whether you’re a sports fan, food lover, or just want to enjoy the bustling city atmosphere, Chicago has plenty to offer.

Activities: Catch a game at Wrigley Field or take a private tour of Soldier Field. During the day, you can explore Millennium Park, visit the Art Institute of Chicago, or indulge in the city’s famous deep-dish pizza. At night, head to the River North neighborhood for rooftop bars and nightclubs.

Stay Option: For a more affordable stay that doesn’t skimp on comfort, b0arding offers budget-friendly accommodations in Chicago, providing easy access to the city’s main attractions and nightlife.

Conclusion: Planning the Perfect Bachelor Party in the USA

From the bright lights of Las Vegas to the live music scenes in Nashville and Austin, the USA is full of incredible bachelor party destinations. Whether your group prefers nightlife, adventure, or a mix of both, you’ll find endless activities to suit your taste. And when it comes to accommodations, B0arding provides the perfect blend of comfort and affordability, ensuring that you can focus on having a great time without worrying about breaking the bank.

For your next bachelor party, consider these top destinations and make lasting memories with your crew.

[mst3kproject]

The Neanderthal Man

Since I'm taking a break from fishmen, I might as well let Bigfoot catch up a bit.  The Neanderthal Man isn't exactly a Bigfoot movie, but it’s along the same lines and its entire starring cast has MST3K pedigrees.  Robert Shayne was in Indestructible Man and Teenage Caveman. Richard Crane was Rocky Jones, Space Ranger! Beverly Garland was in Swamp Diamonds and Gunslinger. Even the composer, Albert Glasser, wrote music for Invasion USA, Last of the Wild Horses, and almost all of MST3K’s Bert I. Gordon movies.

Some little mountain town in the middle of the Sierras (which the Portentous 50's Narrator takes some trouble to tell us is a primeval place where 'the defacing hand of civilization has fallen but lightly') is having a rash of saber-toothed tiger sightings!  At first these are laughed off, but when the game warden himself sees one cross the road in the middle of the night, it's time to do something about it.  The warden shows a cast pawprint to Dr. Ross Harkness in Los Angeles, who is interested enough to come up and see for himself. Local Mad Scientist Dr. Groves pooh-poohs the whole thing, which is enough to tell me that we're not dealing with a local cryptid here.  Somebody is making prehistoric monsters.

So... I may not have actually run out of movies, but I seem to be running out of plots, because this is a remarkably similar movie to Monster on the Campus. The major difference between the two films is that Dr. Blake turned himself into a caveman by accident, while Dr. Groves here is doing it on purpose.

Another difference is that Monster on the Campus' story, while silly, was linear – events escalated in a way that felt logical, and there were reasons why things happened when and where they did.  By contrast, The Neanderthal Man feels like a first draft.  At the beginning of the film, we're dealing with the saber-toothed tigers that Groves has been creating by injecting cats with his de-evolution serum.  We hear about these slaughtering game and livestock, and it seems like only a matter of time before they move on to human beings.  The beginning of the film is quite upfront about the fact that Groves is responsible, too, as it is only mildly mysterious in its depiction of one of the creatures escaping his lab.

Sometimes the saber-tooths are represented by an actual tiger, usually filmed from behind or at a great distance so nobody has to put the prosthetic teeth on it.  They do have prosthetic teeth, but they're only visible in a couple of shots. Imagine being at a bar and some guy tells you his job is sticking fake fangs on real tigers for a caveman movie!  For close-ups, there's a hilarious puppet head that looks like the sort of thing you'd see mounted on a frat house wall as a joke.  The director had the sense not to linger on this in motion shots, but later we see still photographs Groves has supposedly taken of his experimental subjects and they're even stupider-looking than we imagined.

Anyway, this goes on for a while with rising action, as the game warden goes to get Harkness and they manage to shoot one of the animals, only to have it vanish from the kill site when they try to show it to Groves (the movie never bothers to explain how that happened, incidentally. The ending suggests that the creatures change back when they die, but there's definitely no dead kitty cat at the scene, either).  The whole movie could easily have just had the cats and their creator as the antagonists, perhaps even ending the same way as Dr. Groves proves his work to the other characters by injecting himself. That's not what happens, though.  Instead, the story mostly forgets about the cats one we find out Groves has also been carrying on human experiments.

(Before himself, Groves' first experimental subject was his disabled Latina housekeeper.  Another series of photos show her half-transformed into a cavewoman who for some reason is wearing drag queen false eyelashes.  And as long as I'm talking about the movie being gross and bigoted, there's a bit where a woman is violently raped.  This happens off camera, but the audience is not allowed to entertain any illusions about it.)

The problem is that before we see him give himself an injection in the arm, we have had absolutely no indication that Groves has been giving his serum to anything besides the cats! Cats are stealthy, cryptic creatures and if one of those has been seen wandering around killing things, then surely a full-on caveman beating people to death would not be able to stay out of sight!  If what we were seeing were the first time Groves had tried the formula on himself then that would be an explanation, but his notes reveal that he's been doing it for so long that he's on the verge of losing control of the transformation and permanently reverting to a pre-human status, as indeed he does for the climax.  Much like the stupid dinosaur in The Beast of Hollow Mountain, the movie's main monster is given no build-up whatsoever!

There's worse yet, though.  The main characters, Dr. Harkness and Groves' daughter Jan, are barely involved in the 'caveman' part of the plot. They get phone calls about the various murders that Groves is committing in caveman form, and they snoop around the lab to figure out things the audience already knows.  The same story could have been told without them, perhaps with the game warden and the hunter as protagonists, and it would probably have been more interesting. The script also repeatedly has Dr. Groves wander in and bluster about how the tiger sightings are hallucinations and tall tales, which seems a little unnecessary when we already know he's responsible. The film-makers can't seem to decide whether they want us to know that or not.

Dr. Groves wears glasses.  Maybe the reason his primitive alter-ego is angry and breaking shit (although it does politely open and close the window it climbs out of, which made me laugh) is because it can't see. This is also my theory about why the Hulk smashes, and what do you know?  In Avengers Endgame he's got Hulk-sized spectacles and only smashes when he's told!

The direction of The Neanderthal Man can probably best be described as 'serviceable'.  It shows us what's going on, but doesn't particularly add anything to the proceedings.  The 'Neanderthal' mask is immobile and uninteresting, not much better than somebody's Party City Sasquatch costume.  Even the eyes are just painted on, meaning the poor guy in the costume can’t do much because he can’t see where he’s going.

The dialogue is often very strange, with characters talking like they're in a Jules Verne novel. If only one person did this, it might seem like a character quirk – it works for Dr. Groves, for example – but it's everybody. Seeing the cat carcass is gone, Harkness declares, “I refuse to believe in the supernatural!  There must be some logical cause and effect to this unholy adventure!”  Groves' fiancee Ruth berates him for ignoring her, saying, “I want you, the man I once knew!  The good companion, the cheerful friend.  I want the happiness we once found in each other.”  It's bizarre to listen to, and often audibly awkward for the actors.

Monster on the Campus was kind of trying to be about how humanity must choose to evolve away from our inner savage, although the finale didn't bear that out.  There's a scene in The Neanderthal Man in which this movie seems to be trying to go in the opposite direction, saying that we were never savage to begin with.  Dr. Groves is speaking to a panel of scientists about the size of the brain in various 'primitive' species of human.  He points out that by the time we reached Homo erectus we were already working with four times the cerebral jelly of a chimpanzee, and argues that our ancestors would have been recognizably human in their behaviour and problem-solving capacity.

(Amusingly, his chart of human evolution includes Piltdown Man, which was proven to be a hoax literally a few months after this movie's release.  What makes this even more tragic for the writers is that their list of primitive humans seems to be the only place where they actually did any research.)

The problem with Dr. Groves' theory is that he already knows it's wrong. We soon learn that he's been experimenting on himself with his serum for a while already, and his notes show that he knows very well he regresses into a near-mindless animal.  The movie does not even try to reconcile these ideas.  If Groves were continuing his experiments in the hope that perfecting his serum would give him a more accurate reconstruction of ancient man, that would be one thing, but the script never goes there.

So now that we've had two 'man turns into caveman by injecting science juice' movies, of course I have to ask which one is better.  Monster on the Campus wasn't a good movie but it was definitely an improvement on The Neanderthal Man in several respects, and although I don't have any way to find out for certain, I suspect it was an intentional remake.  It's definitely more entertaining and gets bonus points for including the Meganeura dragonfly, but nothing in it is nearly as funny as The Neanderthal Man's fake tiger head.  I guess if you're gonna watch one or the other, stick to Monster on the Campus, but if you're gonna watch both, start with The Neanderthal Man and do them in chronological order, the better to spot the inspirations and references.

Before I go, a fun paleontology fact: current thinking is that the saber-toothed cat's eponymous fangs actually didn't show when it had its mouth closed!  There are zero cave paintings or ancient sculptures of a saber-tooth cat with teeth visible, and when scientists looked at the structure of the enamel in the canines, it suggested that in life the teeth were hidden by big, fleshy, St Bernard jowls.  Google 'smilodon lips' and behold how this looks fully three hundred percent more ridiculous than you're imagining.  I love nature.

[antialiasis]

Worldbuilding June (Pokémon edition), Days 8-12

Whoops forgot to post these for a couple of days, too busy with a load of Things as always.

8. Who rules in your world?

TQftL never brings up government, but each region has its own human government, generally just standard representative democracies similar to what we have in the modern world. Ouen has an elected parliament and president. It's a fairly utopian world with little scarcity and politics play kind of a background role - they keep things running, they have some different parties, but there's low polarization and usually they work pretty smoothly together and have little conflict. The situation in other regions is similar - movement is very free and conflict between them is rare and minor in the grand scheme of things.

QftLverse Pokémon, once again, have their own societies and are not subject to human rule except in a limited way while they're with a trainer, as per the Agreement, an all-encompassing contract dictating how the relationship between humans and Pokémon should work. Different Pokémon species govern themselves differently, but their societies are generally based on smaller self-governing groups. The Scyther society has a single leader, who is meant to be the simply strongest in the swarm, and anyone can challenge them to a duel to the death to take their place at any time.

The Morphicverse is once again close to Earth, with different countries having different modes of government. The Poké-USA's politicical climate resembles the actual USA's political climate in ~2007, but if I ever wrote references to the current president I wouldn't make him an outright Bush expy or anything, beyond being from the conservative one of the two highly polarized parties.

9. What religions and myths/legends exist in your world?

The QftLverse's human society is basically post-religious. Legendary Pokémon are revered, but not worshipped - people don't pray to them, ascribe natural phenomena to them, expect them to watch over them personally, perform symbolic rituals associated with them, etc. That said, humans do have myths concerning them - not always accurate ones. The story describes the human myth behind one set of legendaries early on before the reality much later turns out to have been fairly different, for instance.

QftLverse Pokémon have their own myths, legends, religions and beliefs. The Scyther society explored in the spin-offs has a bit of a vague mythology going on explaining the sun, moon, stars and clouds, but it's not very important to them, more of a just-so story. Meanwhile, they live by a system of ethics known as the Code that they consider sacred and all-important, though it doesn't have a godly figure behind it as the source of it, only a philosophy. Other Pokémon might variously have straight-up religion (whether worshipping legendary Pokémon or something else), be entirely areligious, or something in between; most will have myths and legends in some form, though.

The Morphicverse has a form of Christianity, which is functionally a lot like ours; this also means they had a version of Judaism. Other specific religions don't come up, but they'd at the very least be as varied as real-world religions. Like in real life, there are many sects and variants, and as many individual interpretations of faiths as there are people. The villain cult in particular has fringe views that in no way resemble the mainstream. And like in real life, many people nominally believe but don't really practice their religion, and many are agnostic or atheist.

Legendary Pokémon in the Morphicverse are cryptids - there are myths and legends about them, and people think they're neat, write fiction and make movies about them all the time, but in the modern day, actually-for-real believing that they exist out there ranges from mildly eccentric to entirely unthinkable. Worship of legendary Pokémon exists, but in the way that modern neo-Paganism does. It's not remotely mainstream, generally seen as a weird hippie thing, and the notion of Arceus appearing in the flesh one day and declaring he created the universe is about as fantastical to most people as the notion of the Norse pantheon doing the same in our world.

10. What traditions are observed in your world?

QftLverse human traditions are mostly just secular holidays - commemorations of important days in the region's history, etc. It's tradition for most children to go out on a Pokémon journey the spring after they turn ten years old, and participate in a First-Timers' League in the autumn if they manage to stick it out for the whole journey and collect all the badges - there are kids who don't, but it's rare for them to not want to, and other kids may see them as no fun.

Every year in Green Town, there is a Pokémon Festival originally built around the legendary Pokémon Chaletwo's yearly brief visit to the outskirts of the city (which may or may not be ditched in the next revision); it hosts a number of Pokémon-themed events over several days. One of them is a starter Pokémon giveaway, where most kids go to get official starter Pokémon, who have specifically volunteered and been trained to work with beginning trainers - though many kids have had Pokémon as pets/partners since they were young and journey with them instead, or their parents otherwise get them a Pokémon who's up for a beginning trainer. (Many Pokémon kind of like the idea of journeying with a beginning trainer, in the way that many people like the idea of getting a kitten rather than an adult cat - just something special about having been with them from the start. Though getting a starter who's actually been trained to deal with kids is recommended over just finding any random enthusiastic Pokémon.)

Pokémon have all kinds of different traditions. The Scyther society as explored in the spin-offs has a number of traditions and rituals, including a sort of blood baptism of new hatchlings, the leader of the swarm teaching all the adolescent Scyther about the Code, and First Prey, where each of the adolescents is sent out to hunt prey on their own for the first time, with a male and female witness following, so they can prove their ability to kill and to feed themselves. Afterwards, they're expected to publicly offer a symbolic piece of the meat of their first prey to some members of the swarm, and doing so signals respect; you don't technically have to, but in practice everyone always offers it to the leader and not doing so would be taken as outright disrespect.

The Morphicverse is once again culturally similar to the real world and has mostly similar sorts of traditions. Pokémon training is less culturally ingrained there, but still a very common hobby for kids.

11. What are some ways people communicate with pokémon in your world, or pokémon with each other?

In the QftLverse, humans learn to understand Pokémon speech as a mandatory subject at school. Pokémon inherently understand human speech, but they speak anime-style, usually in syllables of their species' name (which is what the species are named after). They share one language, which is not based on exactly what the syllables are but the tone and the way they're combined, hence why it works regardless of the species.

In the current version of the fic, this is pure handwave worldbuilding: it's established that it happens at school at the beginning, and then we just move on to the story, where every human simply understands what Pokémon are saying at all times. In the next revision I'd give a bit more proper worldbuilding attention to it - let the language barrier be a little more present, humans vary in exactly how good they are at it (luckily it's already the main character's best subject at school), and otherwise treat it less like it's just an excuse to act like Pokémon speak English.

In the Morphicverse, Pokémon do communicate but they don't do complex communication - instead, it's closer to the sort of communication most animals do in the real world. They can express how they're feeling, draw attention to something interesting, sound the alarm about something scary, ask another Pokémon to follow, and can do this in a somewhat more efficient and intelligent way than most animals generally do. But one way or another, they don't communicate complicated abstract ideas, neither to humans nor to one another. Pokémon don't automatically understand human speech here, though they're very quick learners when it comes to commands, and they can pick up a fair amount just by being around humans, allowing them to get the gist of basic statements and requests without being explicitly taught them, though anything abstract would still be entirely lost on them. You could tell a Pokémon you've lived with for years "I lost my hat, can you help me find it" and they'll go look for your hat, but they'd be lost if you tried to ask them for anything much more complicated than that.

12. What is the gym circuit or adventuring organization like in your world?

In the QftLverse, gyms are meant to be taken on in a specific order and gym leaders are accordingly expected to keep their Pokémon below a certain level. To be officially sanctioned by the League, a gym needs to have a theme - usually a type, although Rick got away with a legendary theme because he gets away with everything because he is hypnotizing League officials with his Mewtwo super-clone I was twelve years old. Every year there's a First-Timers' League in the autumn in each region, where new trainers who have collected all eight badges of their region face off (except for the bit where I somehow made a guy who'd been training for years be part of it without thinking about it properly). There's also a global Old-Timers' League for more experienced trainers, which crowns a world champion; this doesn't involve badges and is just a tournament. Trainers are advised to stick to official routes, while Pokémon who want a trainer seek out the routes and others avoid them; going off-route has the potential to lead to run-ins with Pokémon who are more hostile to humans. It's not forbidden but it's drilled into kids' heads that you're not supposed to.

The Morphicverse's gym circuit is not too dissimilar to that, but gym leaders are expected to carry a variety of Pokémon teams to take on challengers of different skill levels, who can take on the gyms of their circuit in any order. Kid trainers are strictly meant to travel only along official routes, which are thoroughly monitored to be safe, and often take public trainer transportation; when they're eighteen they can get an adult trainer license with which they can take their Pokémon anywhere they like, at their own risk. Mostly kids do it as a hobby, and many young children dream of being professional trainers, but only a fraction are actually good enough to make money off it, so most either quit it after a few summers on realizing it's not for them (they might release their Pokémon or keep them as pets, depending on how high-maintenance they are), or continue to do it as a side hobby. There exist college-level training schools for those who really want to dedicate their lives to it, but by that point in time most people will have dropped their pro trainer dreams.

[gdwessel]

G1 Climax 31 Night 4 - 9/24/2021; Government Looking To Lift State Of Emergency At End Of Month; Suzuki v. Homicide (and Ishimori v. Deppen) in GCW, Suzuki/Archer v. Mox/Kingston in AEW Both Air Last Night; ELP Returns To Impact to Assist Bey & Hikuleo

Well I DID say my time was short yesterday in the last post...

G1 Climax 31 continued on Friday, in a show you can see now on NJPWWorld. B Block matches continued on this particular show. Only 816 persons at this one. Not good.

- 9/24/2021, Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi d. Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] (Small Package, 14:10)

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Tama Tonga [Bullet Club] d. Chase Owens [Bullet Club] (Gunstun, 12:59)

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Jeff Cobb [United Empire] d. YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] (Tour Of The Islands, 13:21)

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Taichi [SZKG] d. SANADA [Los Ingobernables] (Black Mephisto, 25:15) 

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] d. EVIL [Bullet Club] (Rainmaker, 21:46)

Okada naturally declared he would win G1 once again, same as last time. Taichi and Cobb look like the next likely runners-up this time around. 

Current B Block standings:

Cobb - 4pts (2W 0D 0L) Okada - 4pts (2W 0D 0L) Taichi - 4pts (2W 0D 0L) EVIL - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) SANADA - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Tanahashi - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Tonga - 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Goto - 0pts (0W 0D 2L) Owens - 0pts (0W 0D 2L) YOSHI-HASHI - 0pts (0W 0D 2L)

I mentioned last post that I had some things to talk about but didn’t have the time. That would be the reports that the government may be lifting the state of emergency at the end of September, owing to lowering rates of infection since they peaked in August. What with the coincidental timing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party holding leadership elections soon, and a general election due to happen before 11/24/2021, it is entirely possible this is a political move rather than one based in science or statistics. Certainly Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would like to step down on a good note. 

With the state of emergency going away (if it does), this would certainly allow for bigger crowds at events, including, hey, pro wrestling. Attendances being down is not something that is only affecting NJPW -- Big Japan, for example, has been drawing pretty low (less than 100) crowds themselves recently. One thing that has been mentioned was lowering the requirement of government-decreed quarantine sites for travelers into Japan; travelers WOULD still be required to quarantine on their own, however. (There are also reports that the USA will be lessening restritctions for UK/EU travelers as well, so maybe we WILL get Shooter in the USA soon?) We won’t know anything for certain until the orders come down.

Last night was a real treat for Minoru Suzuki fans, what with two matches in NYC being shown on various networks, and there wasn’t even any real overlap so you could potentially have seen both.

First off, Suzuki once again main evented a GCW event, beating indie icon Homicide at Get Lost A Lot from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens. Both men looked like they were having the time of their lives in the match. Afterwards, Suzuki got the mic, and said “I speak little English. Thank you New York City, and thank you fucking Homicide!” The match was a banger, in a night that had several bangers, not least of which was Bone Soldier, Taiji Ishimori, defeating Tony Deppen in a thriller. Seriously, spend the $15 on FITE TV (or $20 if you want to bundle it with Thursday’s GCW show Emo Fight, also from the same venue). 

Later on in the night, TNT aired the episode of AEW Rampage taped Wednesday night following Dynamite at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, main evented by the Lights Out match between Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston v. Suzuki & Lance Archer. This was a wild hardcore match that did see the babyfaces win, but post-match, Suzuki-gun laid out Eddie Kingston, duct-taped Mox’s hands behind his back, and began WHIPPING Mox until Homicide (who has teamed with both Mox and Kingston in the past) made the save. Nice little bit of continuity there even if the timing was a bit off due to the vagaries of tape delayed wrestling. Overall this show was very good too, so hope you were able to catch it.

Suzuki’s American adventures continue this weekend at the Autumn Attack NJPW Strong tapings in Garland, TX, which I’ll talk about a bit below at the end.

Meanwhile in Impact, El Phantasmo has returned, helping out Chris Bey and Hikuleo in beating down FinJuice in the aftermath of David Finlay Jr.’s victory over Hikuleo. Good timng, what with the Impact X Division title being vacated by NJPW Strong guest Josh Alexander recently, so expect ELP to get involved with that tournament. This episode also saw the shock return of Christopher Daniels, late of AEW, in his first Impact appearance since Impact were TNA back in 2014.

The tour resumes tomorrow with A Block matches. Tonight, however, is the first night of Autumn Attack. I’ll be listing the cards, but I will not be listing the spoiler results, as I’d like to have something to write about when the relevant NJPW Strong episodes air. These shows will not be streamed live, but the second episode from tje Fighting Spirit Unleashed tapings will be aired tonight at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT on NJPWWorld.

- 9/26/2021, Hyogo Kobe World Memorial Hall

Master Wato v. Kosei Fujita

Yuji Nagata v. Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Great O-Khan [United Empire] v. Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Toru Yano [CHAOS] v. Tanga Loa [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] v. KENTA [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Kota Ibushi v. Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG]

Autumn Attack (NJPW Strong Taping) - 9/25/2021, Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, TX

Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] v. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs [Team Filthy]

Ren Narita v. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor [Team Filthy]

Juice Robinson, Lio Rush [FREE], Clark Connors & TJP [FREE] v. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Chris Bey & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Karl Fredericks v. Will Ospreay [United Empire]

Fred Rosser v. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG]

More TBA?

[sawyer-craft]

50 questions about your OC: Answered

1. How old are they? 28 years old in 1899.

2. What gender are they? Male/Nonbinary.

3. What is their romantic/sexual orientation? Pansexual/Ace.

4. How tall are they? 5’11

5. What do they look like? (See #caleb jackson tag for picrew images.)

6. What are their defining features? Caleb is tall, nearing 6ft in height and it makes him stand out in a crowd.

7. Does their name have a meaning? No, but his nickname does! “Crow” Jackson was a nickname he developed by reputation by becoming a successful collector and a vicious competitor.

8. What family do they have? As of 1899, Caleb has one younger brother (Elijah jackson, 21) and his mother. (Elanora Jackson, 49)

9. Do they have a good relationship with their family? Caleb has a close relationship with his mother and a somewhat distant but friendly one with his brother.

10. If not, why not? (Relationship status established above)

11. Where do they live? Saint Denis, USA

12. Is it a safe place? Somewhat. The law enforcement is large and mostly capable but the cities crime rate is still high, conflicts with outlaws happen often and the police themselves are known for making unjust arrests.

13. Are they poor, middle-class or wealthy? Caleb is in the middle class! His job as a collector helped him bring his family out of poverty and keeps them stable for now.

14. Do they look up to anyone? Caleb looks up to his mother for her determination, something that never faltered whenever the Jacksons were dragged through hard times. He looks up to his brother Eli for his bravery and sense of adventure, and admires him for it.

15. Who is their best friend? Unfortunately, Caleb hasn’t made a friendship close enough to call someone his ‘best friend’. He’s worked with people around the city, made some reliable informants and casual friendships in different towns but remains, for the most part, alone.

16. Do they have any enemies? He has plenty of rival collectors and writers, and has even gotten into a few close calls with outlaws on the outskirts of town. (See question below for more details.)

17. Who is the person they hate most in the world? Angelo Bronte, the local tyrant of Saint Denis. Caleb hates him the most for the way he’s taken over the city, for the way he throws his wealth around and most of all, his child trafficking business. Caleb’s investigated it before and his goal is to reveal Bronte’s crimes to the public and take him down so that his wealth will be ripped away from him (and hopefully redistributed to the community) his ridiculous mansion can be repurposed and the children he’s roped into working for him or sold off can be returned to their families. Caleb hasn’t been caught before but he’s sure Bronte knows he’s been snooping around. Bronte and Caleb occasionally bump into each other during city gatherings (parties held by mutual coworkers) and their interactions are full of barely restrained venom.

18. Do they have any love/hate relationships? Not with anyone currently, no.

19. Have they ever fallen in love? No, but its something Caleb thinks and worries about often. He’s been in a few relationships before, but they were short and they never sparked any feeling in him. It makes him feel as though there must be something wrong with him, and as a result he feels very lost.

20. Who is the person they love the most in the world? Caleb loves his mother and his brother the most, they are the people he’s closest to.

21. Does that person love them back? They do!

22. Have they ever hurt or lost anyone? Caleb’s lost his father to tuberculosis when he was a child and Eli was still very little. He’s hurt people around him as he was growing up as a result of lack of communication, anger over losing his father, and conflicts with his brother-turned-outlaw. He’s lost romantic partners before for similar reasons and he’s lost a few pets too.

23. Are they a good shoulder to cry on? As much as Caleb would like to be able to comfort and reassure without issue, he’s not the best person to rely on for it if you aren’t close to him. He panics when no immediate or logical solution comes to mind, has difficulty understanding emotional reactions to certain situations, and gets rather awkward with his words. He’ll offer his hanker-chief and listen to what you have to say but that’s about the extent of his abilities. He’s much better at offering support to his family, he allows them to hug him and sometimes words won’t be needed at all, he knows how to calm them down.

24. Are they well liked? Caleb can sometimes come off as cold or uncaring to a stranger. He’s not hated, but he’s not well known either, and he ends up unintentionally blending in as another passerby in the crowded miserable city.

25. How do they handle being complimented? Caleb does not handle a genuine compliment well, he’s more used to careless formalities since those are the types of conversation that he’s familiar with. He’ll have a hard time believing that someone has something nice to say to him, he’ll probably deflect it to divert the attention on to something else. But he won’t forget it.

26. Are they an affectionate person? When you get to know him, yes. Caleb expresses his affection in many different ways, through gifts, keeping track of someones favorite things and special days, and occasionally an affectionate touch. (It just takes awhile to break through his shell.)

27. Are they very driven? Yes. Caleb is very passionate and works hard, when he puts his mind to something he’s not going to stop until the task is completed.

28. Are they very political? Not really no.

29. What kind of state is the world that they live in? As much as he would like to think otherwise, the world around Caleb isn’t safe or balanced. It’s not hellish but problems and stressors follow him constantly, and it’s very hard for him to maintain a routine that will keep him and his loved ones out of danger.

30. What are the world leaders like? The technical leader of Saint Denis is Bronte, because of his tyrannical control you can only imagine what he’s like.

31. Does the character worry about their place in society? Yes. While Caleb has worked hard to get where he is now, he worries quite often about how long it will last. He worries that more powerful people in society will take everything he’s built and achieved away from him, and that he’ll end back up at square one.

32. If they could change one thing, what would it be? Caleb would move his family far far away, somewhere quiet, open and safe. Somewhere like California, where they could settle down and stay close to one another.

33. Do they like themselves? Caleb likes how he looks, he knows who he is and what he is capable of, but he feels incomplete and unsatisfied with himself.

34. Are they a good person? Caleb is Lawful Neutral and his intentions are good. While he’s not high honor, he’s not morally gray either. Caleb falls somewhere between the two.

35. Are they very forgiving? Caleb might be quick to forgive a transgression but he never forgets it either.

36. Do they believe in destiny? No. Caleb thinks more logically.

37. Are they trustworthy? If you are close to Caleb then absolutely, theres little he wouldn’t do for you. But if you are a stranger or competitor, don’t be so sure.

38. Are they a good liar? Yes, and a bit of a compulsive one too.

39. How do they react to criticism? He takes criticism quite well if it’s constructive, he welcomes it and will correct and learn quickly. If it is not constructive however, he’ll have a few choice words for you.

40. What is their moral alignment? As stated above, Lawful neutral!

41. Can they fight? Ultimately, no. Caleb can wrestle fairly well as someone who grew up with a brother usually is but in terms of a proper fistfight or brawl he’s not very skilled. In a gunfight he’s decent but not quite as good a shot as his brother is.

42. Would they ever purposefully hurt someone? Mentally? Absolutely. If they are a competitor or an enemy he’s not above using his words to cut people down, but it’s something he reserves for dire situations and people he despises. Physically he would never hurt someone and he would never consider intentionally hurting a friend or someone close to him with his words either.

43. Have they ever been seriously injured? Yes. Caleb’s been stabbed and fallen into critical condition before on the job. He was once bitten by the Saint Denis ‘vampire’ and was nearly killed, but managed to escape and recover with aid.

44. Do they know first aid? Yes, Caleb learned from his mother, a retired nurse.

45. Do they have any other survival skills? Caleb’s not an outdoorsman by any means but he’s skilled in first aid and can build a stable campsite.

46. Are they a fast learner? Yes!

47. How intelligent are they? Academically, he’s exceptional.

48. What is the school system like? Caleb didn’t go through the school system when he was a child, and learned most of the things he knows from his mother and books. He learned other skills by watching and listening to people around the city.

49. What is their job? Caleb is a writer and a collector.

50. Do they enjoy their job? He enjoys both his jobs very much.

[justgottafinishthischapter]

Worldbuilding Tips: The Five Visitors

You’ve done it. You’ve come up with an idea for your fantasy world, but right now it’s mostly curb appeal and decorations without much else. So, you have the skin and flavor of your fictional world, but what if you’re having a bit of trouble coming up with the meat needed to make your world juicy and delicious? Well, I have a little game that can help flesh out your world.

Imagine a ship or whatever other kind of vehicle arriving on the shores or outskirts of your fantasy land and from that vehicle emerges 5 people from our own mundane world: a historian, an economist, an anthropologist, a diplomat, and a cartographer. There are some other visitors, but these are going to be the most universally beneficial.

The Historian:

This person is going to be interested in the backstory of your world. They don’t need to know every minuscule detail (though they wouldn’t turn that much information down) and just a general overview would be much obliged. Many fantasy worlds such as Tolkien’s Middle Earth and Martin’s Westeros are far more rich and interesting due to the amount of effort put into crafting their world’s histories. If you’re stumped, look to real world history for inspiration. It doesn’t even need to come from the middle ages so long as it works for your story. You should be able to answer questions like: How long has the dominant civilization been around? What are the biggest defining moments in your world’s history? What things are common knowledge that every child is expected to learn (such as George Washington being the first president of the USA) and which stuff is known more by historians and social studies teachers? And as you’re discussing the rest of the visitors, think back on how the answers you give would impact the historical aspect.

The Economist:

You don’t have to know the exact cost of every single thing in your world, but have a good guess. Be able to at least have a scale of price. If someone can buy a loaf of bread for 13 of your world’s currency, but a house costs 17, that would mean that either that bread is very expensive, that house is very cheap, or each unit of your currency is equal to a lot of real world money. Whatever you use to refer to your currency, keep not only price scaling in mind, but economics. If you have a port city, there’s going to be a lot of merchants in that area. The first primary export you’re likely to see in such a port town would be seafood, but also keep in mind the things that are closet to that port, as well as the climate. Greece for instance is a very rocky and mountainous country, so while they can grow crops, they would not have been any match for medieval French Aquitaine, the crown jewel of medieval farming territory. It’s also worth remembering that food in the middle ages was far more valuable than it is today. There was an old saying that wheat is worth its weight in gold. It was southern France’s bountiful soil that caused it to become one of the richest and most coveted territories in medieval Europe.  So, keep in mind where resources would come from and where they would need to go, as well as trade that would be useful. A seaside farming town might not have any good access to raw minerals, while a city in the frozen mountainous north might not be able to grow crops, but are bountiful in minerals. The correlation of supply and demand now opens a vital trade route between them. This becomes more complex when the topic of war comes into play. The kingdom that supplies your crops and food is at war with your oldest ally. Now there’s a dilemma between having enough food to feed your people, or betraying the trust of a long time friend. Now your world building can be used as a part of your drama and narrative tension. The economy also impacts culture. What is considered a display of wealth, or is a common status symbol? What are the living conditions of the poor, the working class, the rich, and the aristocrats? Is there upward mobility? In the middle ages, you were what you were for the most part, especially serfs: peasants tied to their land. It was illegal to leave your territory, but there was a saying in the middle ages that “city air makes you free” that once a serf made it to a city, they’d be free of the life they’ve escaped.

The Anthropologist:

Every society has a culture. The way they act, think, dress, believe, talk. It’s all impacted by culture. Beliefs tend to be tied either to what has come before, or based on the world as observed. While many modern fantasy pantheons are based on ancient Greece, it’s not the only model to live by. In a loose interpretation, religion in it’s earliest stages was a rudimentary science used to explain why things happened. A culture that developed along rivers, sea coasts, and other popular trade routes are far more likely to be diverse melting pots due to the frequent traffic of people coming and going, and the common sight of foreigners choosing to set down roots. Meanwhile, a more out of the way and isolated culture is far less likely to have widespread cultural diversity. Tying back into history, a country that has experienced a number of successful wars may tend to think of themselves as invincible, or may try to police the issues of other countries, assuming they’re always on the right side, or that they can’t be defeated. The same culture may ask a high price of any other culture that asks them for militaristic support. Ask what things your people value, be they material or abstract ideals. However, try to refrain from creating a Planet of Hats, a trope often seen in Star Trek and similar Sci-Fi shows and even some Fantasy stories where everyone of a single race all have mostly the same skills, interests, personalities, and roles in the global culture. This is also the time to start thinking about myths, legends, folk heroes, and historical people and events worth celebrating, as this may be when you start to craft holidays or celebrations. This could also lead into discussing religion, and the gods or lack there of that might be celebrated by your culture. How does your society reflect itself in art, music, literature, dance. Does the way someone dresses tell you something about their place in society? Some taboos come from simple logic. The reason it’s frowned upon to eat a cow in India is the same reason it’s immoral to eat horse in western culture. Both are beast of burden livestock worth a lot more alive than dead. Cows produce milk, a source of nutrients and health. Horses are strong and were used in just about everything from plowing fields to pulling entire families or communities a great distance. Horses even became status symbols, as even in modern culture, owning a horse or pony is still considered to be (largely) a snobby rich person thing. Understanding not only what your people believe, but even just a vague idea why they would believe it is a vital aspect.

The Diplomat:

As this landing party is your fantasy world’s first contact with our own reality. How would they react to the newcomers? If there’s more than one society in your world, how would each society, country, kingdom, race, etc. react to something completely foreign? Would they try to forge an alliance? Open trade negotiations? Declare war? Prepare a feast? How would they feel about the way we dress? act? talk? How would they react to different levels of progression in technology? Could an unbiased third party from our world help two feuding sides come to peace with one another? How would they feel about knowing of a world beyond their own? Are there actions or behaviors acceptable in our own society that are considered offensive to them?

The Cartographer:

Although it’s not necessary that all fantasy worlds have a fully designed map, it is a good idea to have at least a rough idea of where things are in relation to one another. This can tell you about climate, resources, wildlife, natural borders, natural disasters, food chains, and more. It’s worth at least taking a crash course in understanding how geographical biomes tend to be laid out in order to make your world feel more real. Some authors claim that a world map is the single most important feature, others say it’s not that important. Frankly, trust your gut based on the kind of world you have. You may need a map, you may not. It really depends on the size and scope of your world. For instance, with Disney’s

Zootopia

, the entire world doesn’t matter. The audience doesn’t need to know where in the world Zootopia is, or what climate or biome it’s in. Zootopia itself is the world being built, and the separate districts and biomes of the city explain the world that’s being focused on.

Secondary Visitors:

They may still be important to your world, but are less likely to be universally helpful to all people.

Biologist: if your world has creatures beyond those found in our real world, it may be worth exploring how their bodies work on a more scientific level in order to give more realistic weight to their supernatural abilities.

Linguist/Translator: If you feel compelled to come up with a language no matter how basic or complex, it may be worth while to consider the problems with communication. this may also extend to unique idioms, colloquialisms, and slang native to your fantasy world.

Teacher/Scholar: Regardless of whether or not there is a formal education system in place in your world, a teacher may be interested in how knowledge is passed down, and what information the culture might have that would be unknown to people of our world. Whether that’s how to keep a wild animal from charging you, to knowing how to forge a mineral that exists only in your world, being able to readily answer questions is generally considered to be a good thing.

Healer: There may be healing spells in your world, there may not, but most fantasy stories tend to involve either action or adventure, both of which tend to cause fights. And since fights tend to lead to injuries, it’s important to know what can and cannot be treated, and how readily available these healing abilities are to the public.

[hellyeahheroes]

Heroines of WOCtober: Kamala Khan

Kamala Khan was a normal nerdy Pakistani Muslim girl from Jersey City until the day she was caught in the cloud of Terrigen Mist that was released during a battle between Thanos and Black Bolt - leader of the Inhumans, secret  society of genetically engineered by Kree superhumans. Everyone caught in the cloud who was a descendant of an Inhuman would be transformed, gaining superpowers and Kamala got abilities to shapeshift. She decided to become a hero and protector of Jersey City, taking up old codename of her idol, Carol Danvers - Ms. Marvel

Recommended Readings:

Ms. Marvel #1-19 - Kamala’s original series that introduces us to the character and her supporting cast.

All-New All-Different Avengers #1-12 + Annual - Kamala meets Sam Alexander and Miles Morales, who will become her closest superhero friends, as three of them become protegees of a new Avengers team.

Standoff: Assault on the Pleasant Hill - A crossover with Uncanny Avengers, new Avengers and Captain America: Sam Wilson that ANAD Avengers took a part in issues

Ms. Marvel #1-38 - Kamala’s second solo series, first issue is set after ANAD Avengers #3.

Champions #1-27 - Pick it after #11 issue of her second series, it has Kamala, frustrated about Avengers’ various failures as of late (*cough*CivilWarII*cough*) set of to start her own team with Miles, Sam, Amadeus Cho the new Hulk, Vision’s daughter Viv and time-displaced teenage Cyclops. 

Avengers #672-674 - Part of crossover with Champions issues #13-15

Secret Warriors #1-12 - Happening during Hydra takeover of USA Kamala was absent from an issue or two of Champions and this is where she was - teaming up with other Inhumans - Daisy Johnson, Karnak, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur and Inferno - to stop Hydra from hunting down members of that species.

Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel - Kamala is transported to the part to team-up with Carol Danvers during her Ms. Marvel days

Champions #1-10 - Direct sequel to the original series, Champions go globally but things quickly start to go wrong once a classic Marvel villain takes an interest.

Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl & Ms. Marvel - A miniseries for some godforsaken reason published as a series of one-shots with confusing titles, it’s about Kamala’s team up with Squirrel Girl to stop one of her schoolmates from descending into supervillainy. Thankfully also collected as a Graphic Novel.

Marvel Rising #1-6 - Second Marvel Rising series, now a proper team-up with other teen heroes liek Squirrel Girl or America Chavez against Morgan Le Fay.

Avengers: Back To Basics #1-6  - what starts up as Kamala watching recordings of unknown Avengers’ adventures turns into her having to fight one of their deadliest foes.

Marvel Team-Up #1-6 - Has two stories where Kamala teams up with Spider-Ma and then with Captain Marvel, ends in November

Magnificent Ms. Marvel #1-ongoing - Kamala’s current series by Saladin Ahmed.

Guest Appearances

Amazing Spider-Man #7-8 - Kamala hears there is a supervillain impersonating Carol Danvers and runs to fight her, joining forces with Peter Parker in the process.

S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 - Kamala teams up with agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and she and Phil Coulson try to outnerd one another.

Nova #3-4 - set during the ANAD days, Kamala, Miles and Sam go on a patrol together.

Spider-Man #3, #8-10, #239-240 - Respectively - in #3 Kamala shows up to tease Miles a bit during ANAD days; #8-10 deal with events of Civil War II, first with Kamala, Miles and Sam coping after witnessing Hulk’s death and then Kamala and Sam searching for Miles as he goes missing; #239-240 has Kamala among Champions who come to aid miles against new Sinsiter Six.

Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur #9-11, #18, #37 - Kamala’s team-ups with fellow Inhuman, supergenius Lunella Lafayette and her pet T-Rex Devil Dinosaur

Nova #2 - Kamala and other Champions are called by Sam when he runs into his suddenly resurrected predecessor, Richard Rider, it’s few pages but they’re hilarious.

Totally Awesome Hulk #15-18, #23 and Incredible Hulk #715-717 - #15-18 has Kamala and Amadeus among Asian superheroes who participated in a charity event together, later went for dinner and then got to fight aliens; #23 has her among heroes Amadeus asks for help reining in his inner Hulk and #715-717 has her among heroes who try to stop Amadeus once he loses control of that Hulk.

Spider-Gwen #17 and Spider-Man #14 - Yes, Kamala shows up to basically shill on the idea of Miles and Gwen hooking up, buuuut she is also the best part of these issues.

Shuri #6-7 - Team up between Shuri, Kamala and Miles

Tony Stark: Iron Man #11 - Kamala is among other Champions who try to stop Controller’s rampage

Gwenpool Holiday Special 2015 - Not on ComiXology. It has Kamala in her own story and also on Avengers’ Holiday party with Gwen.

Alternate Versions

Exiles #1-5, #11-12 - An old, grizzled veteran Kamala from postapocalyptic future.

Attilan Rising #1-5 - Set during Secret Wars on Battleworld, a mash-up of alternate worlds, ruled by Doctor Doom, in this one Inhumans are torn in conflict between Black Bolt and Medusa and Kamala is

Secret Wars: Secret Love - Another Secret Wars story, this time with alternate versions of Kamala and Robbie Reyes

All-New Wolverine #33 - Set in utopian future where Kamala is THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Other Media:

Kathreen Khavari voices Kamala in animated Avengers Assemble and Marvel Rising series as well as in video game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Kamala is main character of the novel Ms. Marvel’s Fists of Fury

Sandra Saad will be voicing Kamala in the upcoming Square Enix’s Avengers games

Kamala also appears in video games Lego Marvel’s Avengers, Avengers Academy, Marvel Future Fight, Marvel Contest of Champions, Marvel Heroes, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 and Marvel First Strike.

- Admin

[birdlord]

Every Book I Read in 2019

This was a heavier reading year for me (heavier culture-consumption year in general) partly because my partner started logging his books read, and then, of course, it’s a competition.

01 Morvern Callar; Alan Warner - One of the starkest books I’ve ever read. What is it about Scotland that breeds writers with such brutal, distant perspectives on life? Must be all the rocks. 

02 21 Things You Might Not Know About the Indian Act; Bob Joseph - I haven’t had much education in Canada’s relationship to the Indigenous nations that came before it, so this opened things up for me quite a bit. The first and most fundamental awakening is to the fact that this is not a story of progress from worse to better (which is what a simplistic, grade school understanding of smallpox blankets>residential schools>reserves would tell you), in fact, the nation to nation relationship of early contact was often superior to what we have today. I wish there was more of a call to action, but apparently a sequel is on its way. 

03 The Plot Against America; Philip Roth - An alternative history that in some ways mirrors our present. I did feel like I was always waiting for something to happen, but I suppose the point is that, even at the end of the world, disasters proceed incrementally. 

04 Sabrina; Nick Drnaso - The blank art style and lack of contrast in the colouring of each page really reinforces the feeling of impersonal vacancy between most of the characters. I wonder how this will read in the future, as it’s very much based in today’s relationship to friends and technology. 

05 Perfumes: The Guide; Luca Turn & Tania Sanchez - One of the things I like to do when I need to turn my brain off online is reading perfume reviews. That’s where I found out about this book, which runs through different scent families and reviews specific well-known perfumes. Every topic has its boffins, and these two are particularly witty and readable. 

06 Adventures in the Screen Trade; William Goldman - Reading this made me realize how little of the cinema of the 1970s I’ve actually seen, beyond the usual heavy hitters. Ultimately I found this pretty thin, a few peices of advice stitched together with anecdotes about a Hollywood that is barely recognizable today. 

07 The Age of Innocence; Edith Wharton - A love triangle in which the fulcrum is a terribly irritating person, someone who thinks himself far more outré than he is. Nonetheless, I was taken in by this story of “rebellion”, such as it was, to be compelling.

08 Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis; Sam Anderson - Like a novel that follows various separate characters, this book switches between tales of the founding of Oklahoma City with basketball facts and encounters with various oddball city residents. It’s certainly a fun ride, but you may find, as I did, that some parts of the narrative interest you more than others. Longest subtitle ever?

09 World of Yesterday; Stefan Zweig - A memoir of pre-war Austria and its artistic communities, told by one of its best-known exports. Particularly wrenching with regards to the buildup to WWII, from the perspective of those who had been through this experience before, so recently. 

10 Teach us to Sit Still: A Sceptic’s Search for Health and Healing; Tim Parks - A writer finds himself plagued by pain that conventional doctors aren’t able to cure, so he heads further afield to see if he can use stillness-of-mind to ease the pain, all the while complaining as you would expect a sceptic to do. His digressions into literature were a bit hard to take (I’m sure you’re not Coleridge, my man).

11 The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences have Extraordinary Impact; Chip & Dan Heath - I read this for work-related reasons, with the intention of improving my ability to make exhibitions and interpretation. It has a certain sort of self-helpish structure, with anecdotes starting each chapter and a simple lesson drawn from each one. Not a bad read if you work in a public-facing capacity. 

12 Against Everything: Essays; Mark Greif - The founder of N+1 collects a disparate selection of essays, written over a period of several years. You won’t love them all, but hey, you can always skip those ones!

13 See What I Have Done; Sarah Schmidt - A retelling of the Lizzie Borden story, which I’d seen a lot of good reviews for. Sadly this didn’t measure up, for me. There’s a lot of stage setting (rotting food plays an important part) but there’s not a lot of substance there. 

14 Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy; Angela Garber - This is another one that came to me very highly recommended. Garber seems to think these topics are not as well-covered as they are, but she does a good job researching and retelling tales of pregnancy, birth, postpartum difficulties and breastfeeding. 

15 Rebecca; Daphne du Maurier - This was my favourite book club book of the year. I’d always had an impression of...trashiness I guess? around du Maurier, but this is a classic thriller. Maybe the first time I’ve ever read, rather than watched, a thriller! That’s on me. 

16 O’Keefe: The Life of an American Legend; Jeffrey Hogrefe - I went to New Mexico for the first time this spring, and a colleague lent me this Georgia O’Keefe biography after I returned. I hadn’t known much about her personal life before this, aside from what I learned at her museum in Santa Fe. The author has made the decision that much of O’Keefe’s life was determined by childhood incest, but doesn’t have what you might call….evidence?

17 A Lost Lady; Willa Cather - A turn-of-the-20th century story about an upper-class woman and her young admirer Neil. I’ve never read any other Cather, but this felt very similar to the Wharton I also read this year, which I gather isn’t typical of her. 

18 The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months of Unearthing the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country; Helen Russell - A British journalist moves to small-town Denmark with her husband, and although the distances are not long, there’s a considerable culture shock. Made me want to eat pastries in a BIG WAY. 

19 How Not to be a Boy; Robert Webb - The title gives a clue to the framing device of this book, which is fundamentally a celebrity memoir, albeit one that largely ignores the celebrity part of his life in favour of an examination of the effects of patriarchy on boys’ development as human beings. 

20 The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (And Your Children Will be Glad that You Did); Philippa Perry; A psychotherapist’s take on how parents’ own upbringing affects the way they interact with their own kids. 

21 The Library Book; Susan Orlean - This book has stuck with me more than I imagined that it would. It covers both the history of libraries in the USA, and the story of the arson of the LA Public Library’s central branch in 1986. 

22 We Are Never Meeting in Real Life; Samantha Irby - I’ve been reading Irby’s blog for years, and follow her on social media. So I knew the level of raunch and near body-horror to expect in this essay collection. This did fill in a lot of gaps in terms of her life, which added a lot more blackness (hey) to the humour. 

23 State of Wonder; Ann Patchett - A semi-riff on Heart of Darkness involving an OB/GYN who now works for a pharmaceutical company, heading to the jungle to retrieve another researcher who has gone all Colonel Kurtz on them. I found it a bit unsatisfying, but the descriptions were, admittedly, great. 

24 Disappearing Earth; Julia Phillips - A story of an abduction of two girls in very remote Russia, each chapter told by another townsperson. The connections between the narrators of each chapter are sometimes obvious, but not always. Ending a little tidy, but plays against expectations for a book like this. 

25 Ethan Frome; Edith Wharton - I gather this is a typical high school read, but I’d never got to it. In case you’re in the same boat as me, it’s a short, mildly melodramatic romantic tragedy set in the new england winter. It lacks the focus on class that other Whartons have, but certainly keeps the same strong sense that once you’ve made a choice, you’re stuck with it. FOREVER. 

26 Educated; Tara Westover - This memoir of a Mormon fundamentalist-turned-Academic-superstar was huge on everyone’s reading lists a couple of years back, and I finally got to it. It felt similar to me in some ways to the Glass Castle, in terms of the nearly-unbelievable amounts of hell she and her family go through at the hands of her father and his Big Ideas. I found that it lacked real contemplation of the culture shock of moving from the rural mountain west to, say, Cambridge. 

27 Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of Lusitania; Erik Larson - I’m a sucker for a story of a passenger liner, any non-Titanic passenger liner, really. Plus Lusitania’s story has interesting resonances for the US entry into WWI, and we see the perspective of the U-boat captain as well as people on land, and Lusitania’s own passengers and crew. 

28 The Birds and Other Stories; Daphne du Maurier - The title story is the one that stuck in my head most strongly, which isn’t any surprise. I found it much more harrowing than the film, it had a really effective sense of gradually increasing dread and inevitability. 

29 Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Faded Glory; Raphael Bob-Waksberg - Hit or miss in the usual way of short story collections, this book has a real debt to George Saunders. 

30 Sex & Rage; Eve Babitz - a sort of pseudo-autobiography of an indolent life in the LA scene of the 1970s. It was sometimes very difficult to see how the protagonist actually felt about anything, which is a frequent, acute symptom of youth. 

31 Doctor Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party; Graham Greene - Gotta love a book with an alternate title built in. This is a broad (the characters? are, without exception, insane?!) satire about a world I know little about. I don’t have a lot of patience or interest in Greene’s religious allegories, but it’s a fine enough story. 

32 Lathe of Heaven; Ursula K LeGuin - Near-future sci-fi that is incredibly prescient about the effects of climate change for a book written over forty years ago. The book has amazing world-building, and the first half has the whirlwind feel of Homer going back in time, killing butterflies and returning to the present to see what changes he has wrought. 

33 The Grammarians; Cathleen Schine - Rarely have I read a book whose jacket description of the plot seems so very distant from what actually happens therein. 

34 The Boy Kings: A Journey Into the Heart of the Social Network; Katharine Losse - Losse was one of Facebook’s very earliest employees, and she charts her experience with the company in this memoir from 2012. Do you even recall what Facebook was like in 2012? They hadn’t even altered the results of elections yet! Zuck was a mere MULTI-MILLIONAIRE, probably. Were we ever so young?

35 Invisible Women; Caroline Ciado Perez - If you want to read a book that will make you angry, so angry that you repeatedly assail whoever is around with facts taken from it, then this, my friend, is the book for you. 

36 The Hidden World of the Fox; Adele Brand - A really charming look at the fox from an ecologist who has studied them around the world. Much of it takes place in the UK, where urban foxes take on a similar ecological niche that raccoons famously do where I live, in Toronto. 

37 S; Doug Dorst & JJ Abrams - This is a real mindfuck of a book, consisting of a faux-old novel, with marginalia added by two students which follows its own narrative. A difficult read not because of the density of prose, but the sheer logistics involved: read the page, then the marginalia? Read the marginalia interspersed with the novel text? Go back chapter by chapter? I’m not sure that either story was worth the trouble, in the end. 

38 American War; Omar El Akkad - This is not exclusively, but partially a climate-based speculative novel, or, grossly, cli-fi for short. Ugh, what a term! But this book is a really tight, and realistic look at the results of a fossil-fuels-based second US Civil War. 

39 Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation; Andrew Marantz - This is the guy you’ll hear on every NPR story talking about his semi-embedding within the Extremely Online alt-right. Most of the figures he profiles come off basically how you’d expect, I found his conclusions about the ways these groups have chosen to use online media tools to achieve their ends the most illuminating part. 

40 Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm; Isabella Tree - This is the story of a long process of transitioning a rural acreage (more of an estate than a farm, this is aristocratic shit) from intensive agriculture to something closer to wild land. There are long passages where Tree (ahem) simply lists species which have come back, which I’m sure is fascinating if you are from the area, but I tended to glaze over a bit. Experts from around the UK and other European nations weigh in on how best to rewild the space, which places the project in a wider context. 

FICTON: 17     NONFICTION: 23

[blackkudos]

Martin Lawrence

Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence (born April 16, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, talk show host, writer, and former Golden Gloves boxer. Lawrence came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably in the Fox television sitcom Martin and the films House Party, Boomerang, Bad Boys, Wild Hogs, Nothing to Lose, Blue Streak, Life, Big Momma's House, and A Thin Line Between Love and Hate.

Early life

The fourth of six children, Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence was born on April 16, 1965, in Frankfurt, West Germany, to American parents. His father, John Lawrence, was serving in the U.S. military at the time. Lawrence was named after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. President John F. Kennedy. When Lawrence was seven, his father left the military, and the family moved from Germany back to the United States, settling in Landover, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C., area. After his parents divorced in 1973, Lawrence rarely saw his father, who was a police officer. His mother, Chlora (née Bailey), worked several jobs, including as a sales representative and cashier at various department stores to support her family.

During his teen years, Lawrence excelled at boxing.

While living in Maryland, Lawrence attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School and Friendly High School, and he lived in Apple Grove, becoming a Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender.

Career

In his early days, Lawrence did comedy shows in the Washington, D.C., area and supported himself through odd jobs. Comedian, Ritch Snyder saw his act and suggested Lawrence make connections in New York. Lawrence ended up moving to New York City and found his way to the legendary The Improv. Shortly after appearing at The Improv, Lawrence won a performance spot on Star Search. He did well on the show and made it to the final round, but did not win. However, executives at Columbia Pictures Television saw Martin's performance and offered him the role of Maurice Warfield in What's Happening Now!!; this was his first acting job. Upon cancellation of that show, Lawrence found bit parts in various films and television series. His breakthrough role was as Cee in Do the Right Thing. Other roles followed in films such as the House Party series, Talkin' Dirty After Dark, and the Eddie Murphy vehicle Boomerang. During this period, entertainment mogul Russell Simmons selected him to host the groundbreaking series Def Comedy Jam on HBO. Def Comedy Jam gave many comedians (including Chris Tucker, Dave Chappelle, Mike Epps, Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer) mainstream exposure.

During his stint with Def Comedy Jam, Lawrence appeared in his own hit series, Martin, which aired on Fox. The show ran from 1992 to 1997 and was an enormous success. Martin was the flagship of Fox's Thursday-night line-up, which drew millions of viewers away from NBC's "Must See TV" line-up. He hosted Saturday Night Live on February 19, 1994, where he made crude remarks about women's genitalia and personal hygiene; the monologue was completely edited out of NBC reruns and syndicated versions, and Lawrence was banned from the show for life. Martin's ratings continued to skyrocket so much that Fox became more of a contender against NBC and came closer to being considered among the top television networks.

After Martin ended its run in 1997, Lawrence found work in comedy films. He often starred as the second lead opposite actors including Eddie Murphy, Danny DeVito, and Tim Robbins. Many of his films were blockbusters at the box office, including Nothing to Lose, Life, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House. He also starred in critical- and box-office failures, including Black Knight and National Security. Regardless, his salary steadily increased to over $10 million per film role. He continues to work in film, with such films as Big Momma's House 2, which opened at No. 1 at North American box office and grossed almost $28 million its first weekend, and Wild Hogs (2007), in which he played a bored suburbanite seeking adventure on the open road in a biker comedy alongside John Travolta, Tim Allen and William H. Macy.

In 2006, Lawrence appeared on Inside the Actors Studio, during which Lawrence briefly brought back to life some of the characters he had portrayed on Martin. He also appeared in Open Season as Boog, one of the main characters of the film. The movie also starred Ashton Kutcher, Debra Messing, and Gary Sinise.

In 2008, Lawrence starred in Disney's College Road Trip co-starring with Raven-Symoné. It was his first G-rated film, but not his first appearance in a children's film: he supplied a voice for Open Season (2006) opposite Ashton Kutcher.

At the 2009 BET Awards he appeared in a spoof movie trailer with Jamie Foxx for a fictional movie, The Skank Robbers, that featured their respective television characters Sheneneh Jenkins and Ugly Wanda. In 2010, Fox announced that it was producing a film based on the sketch, featuring Foxx, Lawrence, and actress Halle Berry.

In 2011, Lawrence reprised his role as FBI agent Malcolm Turner in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, the third film in the Big Momma series.

In January 2013, it was announced that Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer were considering pairing up to star in a comedy for Lionsgate TV. Partners, paired the two actors as Chicago lawyers from "vastly different backgrounds who unexpectedly meet in court on the worst day of their lives." The show premiered August 4, 2014, but was cancelled after one season after receiving poor reviews.

In 2020, Lawrence reprised his role as Detective Marcus Burnett in the third installment of the Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys for Life, again alongside Will Smith. The film was considered a financial success, grossing $112 million in its first four days of release.

Personal life

Relationships and family

Lawrence was engaged to actress Lark Voorhies in 1993. He married Miss Virginia USA, Patricia Southall, in 1995. Lawrence and Southall have a daughter, Jasmine Page (born January 15, 1996). They divorced in 1997. In 1997, Lawrence began a relationship with Shamicka Gibbs. They married on July 10, 2010, at Lawrence's Beverly Hills home. Actors Eddie Murphy and Denzel Washington were among the 120 wedding guests; Lawrence and Gibbs have two daughters, Iyanna Faith (born November 9, 2000) and Amara Trinity (born August 20, 2002). Lawrence filed for divorce from Gibbs on April 25, 2012, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for joint legal and physical custody of the children.

Lawrence owns a farm near Purcellville, Virginia. For several years, he owned a large mansion in the Beverly Park community in Beverly Hills, where he wedded Gibbs. However, following their divorce, the property was available for lease at $200,000 per month in June 2012. In 2013, the property was up for sale for $26.5 million, and eventually he sold it for $17.2 million to Bruce Makowsky, buying an Encino, Los Angeles property for $6.63 million.

Arrests, lawsuits and health problems

In July 1995, while on the set filming A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Lawrence lashed out in a violent rage and was then hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

On May 8, 1996, he became increasingly erratic and was arrested after he brandished a pistol in the middle of an intersection on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles, screaming, "They're trying to kill me!" He was again hospitalized, with his public-relations agent citing exhaustion and dehydration as the reasons for this episode.

In January 1997, Lawrence's Martin co-star Tisha Campbell-Martin filed a lawsuit against him, alleging sexual harassment and abuse both on and off set. By April 1997, Campbell had settled the lawsuit, and returned to appear in the last two episodes of the series.

In March 1997, Lawrence was arrested after punching a man in a Hollywood nightclub.

During August 1999, Lawrence slipped into a three-day coma after collapsing from heat exhaustion while jogging in 100 °F (38 °C) heat in preparation for Big Momma's House while wearing heavy clothing and a "plastic suit." He recovered in the hospital after nearly dying due to a body temperature of 107 °F (42 °C), his breathing assisted by a ventilator.

Filmography

FilmTelevision

Discography

Awards and nominations

Blockbuster Entertainment Award

NAACP Image Award

Kids' Choice Award

MTV Movie Award

ShoWest – Male Star of Tomorrow (1995)

Teen Choice Award – nominated for Wipeout Scene of the Summer (2000) for the movie Big Momma's House

BET Comedy Award – won Icon Comedy Award (2005)

nominated with Eddie Murphy for Favorite Comedy Team (2000) for the movie Life

nominated for Favorite Actor (2001) for the movie Big Momma's House

won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1995) for the series Martin

won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1996) for the series Martin

nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1997) for the series Martin

nominated for Favorite Television Actor (1995) for the series Martin

nominated for Favorite Television Actor (1996) for the series Martin

nominated for Favorite Movie Actor (2001) for the movie Big Momma's House

nominated with Will Smith for Best On-Screen Duo (1996) for the movie Bad Boys

nominated for the movie Big Momma's House

nominated with Will Smith for Best On-Screen Team (2003) for the movie Bad Boys II

[darkangeldesignstudio]

Dark Horse

Sorry for the late post you guys. Its been hard to actually write these past weeks and I didn't want to make myself do it because I felt it would appear forced. This chapter is pretty long, mostly because of the information dump in the middle about how most of our characters came to be where they are now. But, as promised, we are adding our new character into the mix today. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter as it will be a lead up into more intense chapters in the following weeks. Also, this chapter has not been beta’d, so any mistakes are completely my own fault. Sorry I couldn't get this to you in time @sexykitty96.

Warnings: Angst, Violence, Death, Attempted Rape, Strong Language, Mentions of Animal Abuse, and Eventual Smut and Fluff

Setting: Post Civil War era USA. Marvel Cowboy AU.

Preface: Your home is attacked by the Hydra gang and you are rescued by Steve, Bucky, and their group. The government agency, known as Shield, wants them captured and Hydra wants them dead. With nowhere else to go, you join their ragtag group and set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Helping those less fortunate along the way, your small group grows and so does your affection for these two rough and tumble outlaws. When the chips are down, will you all be able to escape unscathed? Or will the boot drop and leave you heartbroken and alone again?

Song: Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith

Previous / Next

Chapter Eight: Back to the Past

After a peaceful night of sleep, you awoke refreshed and ready for the day. It was time to pack up and move eastward. Back to where your life began.

Dressing for the cooler mountain temperatures, you headed out the door. You were met with a flurry of activity. It seemed you were late to the packing party, even though the sun was barely above the horizon.

“Good morning sunshine.” Nat bounded up to you, a tin cup of piping hot coffee clutched in her gloved hands. Handing it over to you, she smiled as you wallowed in the scent of the dark brew.

“Thanks for this, Nat. Though I wish I would have woken earlier so I could help pack up.” She immediately waved off your melancholy tone.

“Don’t sweat it, love. When Bucky saw how soundly you were sleeping with Soldat, there was no way he was going to let us disturb you. Especially since Soldat looked as if he would rip someone’s throat out if they tried.” She giggled as you felt the blush rise in your cheeks.

“You can’t be serious. Soldat loves Buck.” You felt bad, as if you were turning the pretty wolf-dog against his best friend. You honestly weren’t trying to, and you didn’t even remember falling asleep with the oversized pup. Looking over to the pair now, Bucky packing up Sergeant’s saddlebags as Soldat followed at his heels, it was unbelievable.

“Oh, I’m serious, Y/N.” Nat smirked, examining the two as well. “He growled something fierce when Bucky opened that door this morning. Was even loud enough to wake Steve in the other room.”

You gaped at Natasha’s beaming visage. This was terrible. The last thing you wanted was to cause trouble and that seemed to be all you could do lately. Your hands flew to your cheeks, rubbing them down your face in worry. The rough texture of your gloves on your chapped skin was a welcome punishment until strong arms wrapped around your torso, stopping the motion of your arms completely.

“Stop those thoughts right now, doll.” His gruff voice made you gasp, shivers trailing your spine as excitement and the fear of being captured raced through your body. Peering at Nat, you watched as she walked away with a grin and a little wave, the smell of coffee lingering behind her.

You looked over your shoulder and into Steve’s ocean blue eyes, still holding a bit of the helplessness in your heart. You sighed. “I feel like such a-”

“A burden?”

Sagging in his hold, you only nodded, staring towards the snow-covered ground as tears burned the back of your eyes. You weren’t used to being so helpless. From the time you turned seven, you had always pulled your weight, no matter how slight that weight might have been or how menial the labor, you were happy to do the work. It gave you a reason for living.

You were never going to be some simple-minded woman, only interested in getting hitched and having children. You were a free spirit, looking for purpose in a world that didn’t accept you.

His hold tightened slightly, comforting you as the tears threatened to fall. “Y/N. You will never be a burden to us. I want you to know that. We all want you to know that.”

When you refused to look at him, Steve gripped your shoulders lightly - careful of your injury - and turned you to face him. “Look at me, dollface.”

You wanted to refuse, scared to peer into those eyes and see the pity there. Scared the tears would fall again, make you weak in his eyes.

The toxic voices in your head grew louder with your doubt. You wanted to cover your ears, but Steve’s hold on you made it impossible. Words full of hate and jealousy from your past were roaring through your skull, making your jaw clench at the onslaught. Striking you with their venomous fangs and sinking their inky-black talons into your chest, you began to shake in Steve’s arms.

Then a roar of a different kind filled your ears. Boda’s voice screamed through you, followed by the howl of a wolf and the screech of an eagle, and all of those dark memories fell away like stones. The spirits your grandmother spoke of, they lived in your heart too and they would not allow those thoughts to persist as they were. Your shaking stopped and you were finally able to read his eyes. 

There was no pity in his gaze, only pride. He leaned into you, close enough to kiss if you would only take the plunge. Your face grew hot with his smirk. You couldn’t help glancing from his blue gaze, where little flecks of green lived, to his full pink lips. This man made you uncomfortable in a way you had never known before, in a way that you hoped would never stop.

Your breath came in little pants as he finally gave you a bit more space to breathe, finished with his bit of teasing. For now, at least. Then a deep rumble of a growl filled your ears and made your breath catch.

Soldat stood at Steve’s back, ears pinned and eyes narrowed. The wolf-dog wasn’t too pleased with the way Steve was touching you, a thought made apparent by his baring of overly large canine teeth and his white fur that stood on end down his spine.

Taking the hint, Steve threw his hands up in surrender and took a tentative step back while Soldat stalked him. “Easy boy. I was only teasing.”

Soldat glanced over his shoulder, meeting your eyes before turning back to Steve with a huff. Trotting back into camp and past Bucky, who was slumped at the waist with his hand covering his mouth to stifle his laughter. His amused gaze met yours and you all began to laugh heartily.

Bucky walked over and clapped a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I would suggest not teasing for a while, Stevie. Seems she’s been claimed by yet another protector.”

Steve huffed out a laugh watching as Soldat left to stand by Boda at the hitching post. “I think you are right about that, jerk. Are you okay, doll? Forgive me, I didn’t mean to make you so uncomfortable.” He turned to watch you with his puppy dog eyes and you waved him off.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Steve. All of that was just my past trying to get to me. It wasn’t something you did.” You smiled fondly up at him.

He felt his face begin to flush red under your gaze. Rubbing the back of his neck, he stammered a bit, flustered. “T-thanks, Y/N. W-well I should probably get back to work.” With that, he jogged back to the wagons and began tossing supplies inside.

Looking up, you caught Bucky staring at you and had another blush rise in your cheeks. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Bucky chuckled, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “No, doll. Just glad to see you made friends with my boy. He doesn’t usually take to others so easily. Took me months to get him to trust me, Steve even longer. It makes me happy.”

Your blush grew hotter as he tapped the brim of your cowboy hat affectionately. It was something your brother had always done, but it seemed different when Bucky did it. His storm cloud eyes shone like jewels as he caressed your jaw, making you shiver with pleasure. He smiled sweetly, removing his hand to point towards Bodaway.

“I tacked him up for you. Once everything is packed, we can be on our way.”

Shaking yourself free of your trance, you nodded. “What road are we taking?”

He shrugged, his large shoulders flexing beneath his dark winter coat. “Was hoping you knew a good path, one less frequent for traffic, but quick and easy enough to get us East.”

“Do you have a map?”

He smiled, taking you by the hand and leading you to the table where Tony and Nat seemed to be arguing over prospective routes to take.

“Berthoud Pass takes us through Denver.” Natasha says, exasperated with Tony’s reckless behavior. “Denver is crawling with Hydra goons, we would never make it out of there unscathed.”

“But the Cheyenne Pass will take an extra week of riding to get through, Natasha.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “We don’t have that kind of time to waste.”

Stepping up to the table with Bucky, you placed your finger along a shorter pass just south of the Berthoud. “How about Cochetopa?”

They all looked up at you with different levels of intrigue. Natasha spoke up first. “The Cochetopa is closer, but it’s a dead end that leads straight into Fort Massachusetts.”

“But, we can bypass the fort if we veer off-trail and follow the Rio Grande Road to Dodge City. There is an abandoned fort along the way that we can take shelter in. Rest the horses before we make our stop in the city for supplies?”

Tony nodded, appreciating the help, even if it foiled his plans to knock a few more Hydra heads together along the way. “Sounds like a plan to me. Thanks short stack.” He petted you on the head as he walked away with the map and joined the others at the wagons.

You scrunched up your face at the nickname. “Short stack? I’m only a few inches shorter than him.”

Natasha chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. He gives everyone nicknames. It’s part of his charm, right, tin man?” She smiled slyly, poking Bucky in the chest.

He grimaced. “Yeah, I still don’t get that one.”

“What about you, Nat? Did he give you one?”

Looking towards your new friend, you saw as her teasing smirk turned to a, particularly evil, grin. “Yeah, he gave me one. And I kicked him in the balls for it too.”

Bucky flinched a bit, reflexively covering himself as he remembered. “Never seen him go down so fast in my life.”

You hid your smile with your hand as Natasha chuckled. “Well, I better get Krasavitsa ready for the trek. Thanks for your help, plotting our route, Y/N.”

She placed her hand on your free shoulder, giving you a little squeeze and a smile as she passed.

Bucky took a step closer to you, to let her pass, causing you to have to look up to meet his gaze. He smiled down at you and placed his hand on your head. “Yeah, thanks for the help, short stuff.”

Growling at him, you popped him a quick elbow to the ribs. He grunted a bit with the force and lowered his arm back to his side, but otherwise didn’t move. His smile was beaming and it made you happy to know he was getting more comfortable around you now, but not happy enough to accept the new nickname without a bit of teasing in return.

“No problem, Buck, but I think your ribs would prefer you not using that name often.” You laughed as you watched his hand skate over the place you had jabbed with your elbow. “Just stick to calling me doll and you’ll come out of this just fine, Bucky.”

Giggling, you left him at the table, a blush starting to color his cheeks.

_______________________________________________________________________

It was midday when you reached the entrance to Cochetopa Pass. A wide road, created originally for railroads to be built, stood between a multitude of Aspen trees, dusted in snow. The trek was fairly easy with the gently sloping hills. You, Steve, Nat, and Bucky rode ahead, scouting for danger while Tony, Bruce, and Jarvis brought up the rear with the groups supply wagons.

Tony was cursing colorfully as his cart horses, Dum-E and U, were goofing off with each other and shaking the cart. Jarvis, who had been sitting stoically beside his friend, looked as if he were struggling to keep his laughter at bay as Bruce and his cart began to steadily leave them behind.

“Sir, why don’t you allow me to drive for a while? You can get some rest in the back and see how Butler and Mark II are doing on the tethers.” Jarvis smiled politely.

“Sure thing.” Tony quickly handed his friend the reins and began climbing to the back. “Thanks Jarvis.”

You all chuckled a bit, even Jarvis had a slight twinkle to his eyes as your group continued along the trail in relative silence.

A few hours passed before you reached the toll road within the pass, veering into the forest, you led the group down a smaller path and onto the Rio Grande Road, bypassing two other government toll roads with the shortcut.

Steve turned in the saddle and realized what you had done and smiled gratefully. “Smart move, doll. We never would have gotten past those tolls without Shield finding out.”

You smiled at him in return. “We still have a ways to go yet, Steve. Why don’t y’all tell me more about your little group? I’d really like to learn more about you all.”

Steve smiled, happy that you wanted to get to know them all a bit better. “Sure, Y/N. I don’t mind spilling a few secrets along the way.” He winked, causing a blush to rise in your cheeks.

Steve does a bit more than spill secrets along the way, though. He fully opens up, telling you all about Shield and Hydra, and how each of them got onto the groups’ wanted dead or alive lists.

Steve, Bucky, and Tony had once been a big part of Shield, working for the government in different areas and degrees for a few years until they took note and recruited them. It didn’t take long for both men to find out that Shield was a different entity all together. At first, they were all for helping the people. Doing what was right to help people get on their feet in the aftermath of the Civil War. They dispatched groups of men to round up criminals and provide the rich and famous with private security and military forces, much like the Pinkerton Agency in Chicago.

But, just when everything seemed to be on the up and up, Steve discovered something they didn’t want him to know. One of Shield’s groups was running as a second entity, causing chaos to keep the Shield agency in business. They tore through the streets, killing innocents in the towns that had become peaceful, creating a bigger need for Shield to come in and “save” them.

“I didn’t want to be a part of that, but then, they took Bucky.” Steve’s head hung low, regret filling his features as he glanced towards his brother. “They used him to get to me. Made me comply, but it didn’t take long for the jerk to escape. As soon as I heard, I deserted the Shield agency, taking a few of their secrets with me.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Family should never be pitted against one-another.” Your blood boiled and you gripped Boda’s reins harder, knuckles turning white beneath the warmth of your gloves. “You both have such kind hearts, and I hate that you had to be put through such a thing.”

Bucky reached out, covering your hand with one of his as his knee brushed yours. “You don’t have to be sorry, Y/N. Everything happens for a reason.”

Steve chuckled, reaching out with his booted foot to tap your calf lightly. “Yeah, just think about it, doll. If none of those things happened, you wouldn’t have met all of us.”

You smiled at their attempts to cheer you up, even if your heart still hurt for them. Steve was right, but you didn’t have to be happy about it. Huffing a bit, you began to pout. “I know, but I still don’t have to like what you went through.”

Bucky and Steve just chuckled before going back to the story.

Tony and Jarvis had apparently been part of Shield even earlier than Steve and Bucky. Tony’s father had been a founder of their organization. He was a great inventor, made countless weapons for the government to use in their endeavors, but it seemed there had been no love between father and son.

Jarvis was remarkably close to his young companion, acting as a father figure to the boy when his real father was too busy to deal with him. Tony inherited his father’s legacy when he died, going to work for the government at a young age with only Jarvis as a companion. Many of his father’s associates resented Tony for taking over, they didn’t believe him capable, but his work ethic kept them quiet for the most part.

When Tony had learned of Hydra’s plans, he too cut ties with Shield. Refusing to make any more weapons for them and destroying a multitude of blueprints for future projects. He and Jarvis fled, running into Bruce and Natasha along the way, and eventually Steve and Bucky.

You stared intently as they all spoke of different parts of the story, cutting in when they felt details had been left out or making little jokes at each other’s expense, it wasn’t until they talked about their meeting Natasha and Bruce that you recognized something was off.

Natasha became silent and melancholy for a few moments before joining back into the story and gentle ribbing they were all sharing, but her smiles and laughter didn’t reach her eyes from that point on.

Her demeanor perplexed you, even more when she looked up into your eyes and you saw panic there. “Y/N, why don’t you tell us about you? I think we would all like to know how you came to live with your brother out west.”

You frowned a bit at Natasha’s change in subject, seeing it for what it was. An out. She didn’t want to speak about whatever was bothering her at the moment. You nodded, smiling a bit. “Sure. I don’t mind sharing, especially since y’all have been so forthcoming.”

Looking down the path ahead, you saw the outline of Bent’s Fort on the horizon just as the sky began to darken. “Let’s set up camp for the night and I’ll tell you all about me.”

The group readily agreed, taking only a few minutes once they unloaded themselves to get a campfire started and gather around for your life’s story.

“I grew up in a small settlement on the banks of the Neuse River. My family was close knit, living in a community where most everyone was happy until the civil war broke out.” You stared into the fire, remembering the day everything changed.

Your father had gone to fight in the war, recruited by the Union army. Even though he was a southern bred man, your father had always been a just man, helping those of any background and race. There wasn’t a bigoted bone in his body, but that caused problems among the other circles of people living in the south.

Your mother and grandparents faced many hardships during the war. Sickness and exhaustion taking each of them, one by one, leaving your brother and you to run the farmlands your family owned. When your father came back from the war, he was sick. A bullet had scraped his thigh, leaving an infection in its wake. He advised your brother to go west and make a home there before the government came looking to recruit him. He was only seventeen, but the army wouldn’t have cared about his age, so he left as your father had told him to.

A few months passed by as your father taught you all you would need to know to run the farm on your own. He knew he wouldn’t make it for much longer and wanted to prepare you as best he could for the coming years.

He died not long after, leaving all of his estate to you. This caused a rift between the men that worked for your father. Many of them didn’t wish to be under the employment of a lowly woman and left. Others stayed, taking the opportunity to sabotage operations at every turn and the farm steadily went under.

When the state came to collect, they claimed that an unmarried woman of your “heritage” had no claim to such a fine piece of land and gave you an ultimatum.

“They told me I could wed a man of status and keep the farm, or I could willingly give it up, along with everything on it. Then they left, giving me a week to make my decision.” You looked around to your new friends as they listened to your story. Natasha’s jaw clenched in anger, Steve and Bruce were fairly vibrating with it, but it was the stoic posture of Bucky that caught your attention. His body radiated calm, but Tony was slowly shifting in his seat, putting another inch of space between the two of them just as Soldat began to growl in displeasure.

Bucky’s steel blue gaze was murderous as he stared into the fire. Orange and yellow light reflected in his eyes as he slowly turned his head to meet your eyes with his. You smiled, throwing his words from earlier back at him. “Everything happens for a reason, Bucky.”

His shoulders relaxed a bit and he began to leisurely stroke Soldat’s head, calming him. He smiled. “As you are here now, I’m sure you told those asshats to take their deal and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”

You chuckled at his lazy tone, seeing the anger slowly leave everyone’s body with his quip. “Oh, you know it.”

As that long, arduous week went by, you began preparing yourself for the choice you had to make. You gathered the money you had saved over the years, and began packing it under a board in the stables, along with your father’s gun that he had left you and a few items of clothing.

Then you meticulously began releasing your father’s prized horses, until all of them were freed into the wilderness surrounding your land. All that was left on the premises was yourself and Bodaway when they came for your answer.

So, what will it be little lady? Will you get married, or will you turn the farm over to us?

You had smiled at the sleazy little man before looking around you once more. You took in the sight of the house you had lived in for your entire life, the land you had grown up on, the barn that stood at the back, housing the only things you had left in this world, before turning back to the men and sneering at them.

I will leave, on one condition. The man had frowned at you, but you continued undeterred. I wish to keep my horse and some of my personal belongings with me.

They had tried to fight you, claiming that any horses that were on this land were part of the deal they had made. You smiled slyly, knowing they wouldn’t be able to hold the stallion when his temper blew, but decided to play a little game with them.

You hung your head, an expression of sad disappointment covering your features. Okay. I will fetch him for you. He’s not terribly trusting of new people.

Turning towards the barn, you made your way to Boda’s stall and opened the gate. Hey there, big guy. There’s been a change of plans.

“It took all of five seconds for Boda to trample, kick, and bite at the men after I led him out before they were running for the hills.” You laughed gleefully at the memory, staring across the fire to the sleeping stallion, huddled with the other horses. All power and grace, even as he slept like a baby.

Bucky and Steve looked to one another, not a word passed between them as you finished your story, but the message was clear.

She’s fucking perfect!

_______________________________________________________________________

A few more days of riding landed your group on the outskirts of Topeka, where you set up a temporary campsite within a deep grove of trees. With plenty of game and a small stream nearby, you would easily be able to stock up on meat for the coming trip, but your group was running low on some essential supplies.

“What do you say, Y/N? Feel like making a run to town with me?”

Tony’s suggestion struck you as odd, but you weren’t about to let his destructive butt in town without a babysitter. “Sure thing. Just, let me tack Boda and…”

Tony shook his head and pointed a thumb over his shoulder to where Dum-E and U were hitched to a waiting supply wagon. “No way, short stack. You’re riding with me and the bums today.”

His nickname for you still irked, but you only smiled and followed along behind him. Bucky and Steve looked about to protest your going, but stopped when you smiled a dagger-like grin their way.

“Let them go, boys.” Natasha’s smooth-as-silk voice skated over them, creating goosebumps.

Turning to the redhead they saw a matching smile grace her lips as she regarded Y/N and Tony climbing onto the wagon. “I have an impression she’s gonna teach ol’ Tones a lesson on this little trip.”

Steve and Bucky turned back, watching as you disappeared through the trees with Tony chatting away at your side.

_______________________________________________________________________

During the short ride with Tony, you asked about his past, wishing to know more about him. It really didn’t seem fair to not put in any effort to make friends with the man who seemed so interesting and lonely.

Even surrounded by all the people who cared about him, he just seemed so alone. Jarvis was able to pull him out of that shadow a few times over the course of your trip with the group, and in those moments, he was so charming and bright like a star in the night sky. But, he would immediately retract back into himself as soon as the conversation wavered. It was like a candle being snuffed out in a dark room and it made your soul want to reach out.

“How did you come to find these beautiful beasts, Tony?” You pointed to the two red roan Belgians pulling the wagon. “They are so big and beautiful.”

Looking between the pretty mare and gelding, you were a bit taken aback when Tony began to laugh heartily. Turning to him, you observed that inner light of his begin to take hold of him again. He wiped a few tears from his eyes as he chuckled. “Sorry, Y/N. I’ve never heard anyone say such a thing about these two knuckleheads.”

Tony’s smile was beaming as he told you about the day he found the two. “I was out riding, just trying to get a bit of peace out on my own when I saw two mounds of hair laying next to each other in a field. They were all alone, just two big freezing babies out in the middle of nowhere and without a mother. Seems their mother was a prized mare for a neighboring rancher and when she died giving birth to these two, the owner couldn’t bear to look at them and threw them out on their own.”

“That’s awful.” You immediately began seeing red. How could people be so heartless?

“Don’t worry, short stack. He got what he deserved in the end. Man’s entire herd escaped one night and they never could find who took them.” Tony winked causing you to giggle despite the irritation from his nickname for you.

“So, what? You just took them home with you? How did you manage to feed them?”

Tony chuckled darkly and a bit of light dimmed from his eyes. “Well, fortunately or unfortunately, one of the mare’s my father had gifted me had lost her foal a few days prior, and when I brought these two lugs into the stable, she immediately took to them. Fed them every day, protected them from threats, it was amazing to see. A miracle even.”

You watched as the lightness of his eyes began to fade more and more with every word, but just as you were about to ask him about it, the town came into view. “Well, little lady, seems this is our stop.”

Tony pulled the wagon up to the hitching post outside of the town’s general store and hopped down from the seat. Showing his more gentlemanly side, he helped you down from your seat as well and led the way into the store with his usual swagger firmly in place again.

Entering the store together, you each took a few turns around the interior. The wood floors creaked as you looked through the shop owner’s wares. Oil stained shelves and dusty cans greeted the brush of your fingers as you gathered the things you were looking for. Apples, carrots, and fresh produce came first, with a few cans of beans, peaches, and corn thrown in for good measure. Then came the oatcakes, cigars, and liquor that Tony tried to sneak into the pile before you just as sneakily put the majority back. A few rounds of ammo, medicines, and multiple cans of coffee rounded out your purchase as the shop-keep’s sons helped to carry your purchases out to the wagon.

As Tony paid for the items, you turned to leave and almost barreled into a woman entering the shop. Your breath hissed out through clenched teeth when your injured shoulder connected with hers.

“Oh, dear. I’m so incredibly sorry.” Her voice was soothing and sweet, but it held a nervous edge to it.

You looked to her face, noticing the fading bruise over her cheekbone and her strawberry blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders before waving off her apology, not wanting to cause her any more trouble. “Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“You’d think a woman with a bullet wound would pay better attention to her surroundings.” Tony’s voice was a bit strained and worry lined his eyes as he looked between you and the woman. He seemed worried about your injury, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the beautiful woman in front of you for too long either. You couldn’t blame him, the woman was fairly gorgeous, but something was wrong.

You stepped to the side, pulling Tony with you so the woman would have room to continue shopping without worry and you could study her while Tony checked your bandage. Whoever she was, she was dressed beautifully, seeming extremely out of place in the small town you were currently in. Coupled with the bruise on her face, you could only assume she was on the run from something, or someone.

Tony tapped your hand when he was done inspecting your bandage, deeming it clear of blood, but the look in his eyes said he was more concerned about the other woman now. She was moving quickly and nervously around the shop, glancing about to the men within the store as she gathered supplies akin to what you had just purchased.

Looking to Tony, you realized he had come to the same conclusion as you had. She was running, and you both wanted to help.

Motioning Tony out the door, you sidled up to the woman and introduced yourself. “Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for running into you earlier.” You held your hand out for her to shake. “My name is Y/N.”

She took it tentatively, with a small smile on her lips. “Virginia Potts. Sorry for hitting your shoulder, too. How does a lovely woman like you get shot? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

You chuckled, rubbing the back of your neck as she fidgeted. It seemed she was really feening for someone to talk to, but you had to be careful with what you said to keep from scaring her away. “That’s a long, sad story, Virginia. I’m just glad my friends were there to get me out when they did.”

Taking a few items from her overloaded arms, you helped take everything to the counter. “Would you mind if I helped you take these out?”

She began to fidget again, seeming to become more and more uncomfortable. “Why would you want to do that? Shouldn’t you be getting back to your… husband?”

Shocked, you froze for a moment, your face becoming hot when you realized she meant Tony. Chuckling you waved your hands in denial. “Sorry to laugh. Tony isn’t my husband, just a friend.”

“Oh, ok. Sorry for making an assumption.” Her cheeks were blushed as she shifted her gaze around the room, not meeting your eyes from embarrassment.

You placed your hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. “Don’t worry about it, Virginia. Most would assume such to be true when you see a man and woman shopping together as we were, but as of now, I am unattached.”

Smiling brightly, you graciously picked up the first crate. “Now, lets get these crates to your wagon.”

She smiled back, accepting your help with a nod and leading the way to her own wagon and the single cart horse tethered to it. He was a pretty chestnut Ardennes and he nickered sweetly with your approach, causing you to smile.

Loading the two crates onto the small cart, you moved towards the horse at the front and stroked through his thick mane as Virginia climbed onto the driving bench.

“I hope you don’t mind me being too forward with you, Virginia. But, my friends and I are camped just outside of town if you would like to join us. We can keep you safe from whatever you are running from. You don’t have to be alone.”

The shock and fear came first, then shame coated her features and she deflated before your eyes. “I don’t want to be a burden. I-I just can’t marry that cruel man.”

Her tears began to fall and you reached to take her hand in yours. “Who, Virginia? Who hurt you?”

“My fiancé… Obadiah Sta-”

“Obadiah? Obadiah Stane is your fiancé!?” Tony’s angry voice hissed from behind you. Clearly he had prior knowledge of the man that you were not privy to, and from the sound of his voice, he didn’t have fond memories. “So, you are the infamous Pepper Potts?”

Whirling around you saw the anger and awe at war on Tony’s face. It was as if he were trying to solve a particularly hard puzzle and this woman was at the center of it.

“I-I have to go. Thank you for your help Y/N.” The shear panic in Pepper’s voice had you turning back to her and reaching out, but she was gone before you got the chance to say anything. Pushing her cart horse into a swift trot down the bumpy dirt road, disrupting a few of the locals in her escape.

Turning on Tony, you saw the shock on his face as his eyes trailed after her cart. You wanted to be angry with him, but you understood the outburst. He was a man who worked on gut instinct and intellect over all else and if he were to hear an enemy name come up in conversation, he would be expected to react in earnest. Especially if that enemy was a threat to his friends. That’s one of the things that made him such a good man.

So, you couldn’t get mad at him. But, you could settle with irately frustrated.

Sauntering up to Tony’s frozen visage, you stopped by his shoulder and swiftly smacked him across the back of the head. Not hard enough to hurt him, but just enough that you hoped it would knock some sense into his thick skull.

He rubbed the back of his head, blushing slightly at his blunder. “Sorry, Y/N. I wasn’t trying to scare her off.”

“Don't worry about it Tony.” You smiled up at him before walking back to your own cart where he helped you onto the driving bench. “I think she will be okay. The woman has grit, but I wanna know what that was all about. Who’s Obadiah? And why did you go off like that?”

Taking the reins, Tony began steering your cart back to camp. His face held a sullen expression, but his eyes were lit with angry fire when you spoke that name. “He was an associate of my father’s before he began working for Shield. His nephew, Justin Hammer, is a genius. Much like yours truly.”

His mischievous grin made you chuckle as you shook your head. He really couldn’t help himself, apparently.

“When his nephew was passed up to be a lackey working under the Stark name. Obadiah did all he could to sabotage operations. And he started with introducing Hydra thugs into Shield.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, scratching through his groomed beard for a moment. “You know… now that I think about it. He was probably one of the main reasons Hydra could take over Shield in the first place.”

You nodded sagely. That was something you would need to talk to Steve and Bucky about when you got back. Seems Tony had mores ins to Shield’s workings than they had originally gathered. “And Virginia? How does she come in to play here?”

“Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts. Her father is a rich politician, worked in the higher ranks of Shield and was friends with my father before he died. I always had a bit of a crush on her growing up. I never imagined I would run into her out here.” He smiled fondly before a sour expression coated his features.

“Her father died about a month before I stopped working for Shield and she stopped speaking to me. I thought she hated me, and so, I never even thought to ask her what was going on before I was put on Hydra and Shield’s capture list. Then I was too busy running for my life to bother worrying about it.”

You observed as shame began to weigh on his shoulders. Tony really seemed to be beating himself up about it all, and you didn’t want him to suffer that way. He was a good man.

“Tony?” You waited for him to look at you before you placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. “Don’t fret about it too much. I believe that we will see her again. Then you can tell her all of this yourself.”

A suave smile crept across his features before you cuffed him in the back of the head again. “Don’t even think about putting the moves on her, though. That woman has been through hell and she will need a while before you can turn that charm on her.”

Blushing profusely, Tony only nodded and rubbed the back of his head.

Turning back to the road ahead, you silently prayed that your words wouldn’t turn out false. Not only for Tony’s sake, but for Pepper’s too.

[nazario-sayeed]

Mardi Gras, New Orleans and Nightbound

After that Nightbound sneak peek, I started to furiously research about Mardi Gras and New Orleans. I'm obsessed and bombing @lahelalove​ and @nazariortega​ with all information I can get, but I decided to organize my thoughts and what I've learned in a few minutes. English is not my first language and this is way too much information that I'm trying to summarize, so please bear with me. I'll put the information under a cut because it turned out way longer than I previously thought. There might be some sensitive sexual content under the cut, so proceed with caution. 

First of all, the concept of Mardi Gras may not be familiar for non americans (I had no idea of what it was until a hour ago). So, what the hell is it? According to the internet, "Mardi Gras is a tradition that dates back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of spring and fertility. When Christianity arrived in Rome, religious leaders decided to incorporate these popular local traditions into the new faith, an easier task than abolishing them altogether. As a result, the excess and debauchery of the Mardi Gras season became a prelude to Lent, the 40 days of fasting and penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday." It is also known as Carnival or Carnaval, and the most famous celebrations around the world happen in Brazil (where I'm from so y'all don't mind if I scream), Venice and New Orleans. I can't talk for the celebration in other places, but here in Brazil it's all about celebrating the pleasures of the flesh, it's about excess. Food, drinks, sex... A few days of profanity leading up to 40 days to cleanse your soul or whatever before Easter (I'm not religious so I'm not sure how it works exactly, sorry). And for what I've read online, what happens in NOLA is not that different. Mardi Gras literally means Fat Tuesday, even though it's more focused on the food aspect of the tradition- eating fat, rich food (especially King Cake) in the days leading up to the Lent.

Although we still celebrate Mardi Gras to this day, its earliest record comes from ancient times, from the celebration of a fertility festival called Lupercalia that welcomed the arrival of Spring. This Lupercalia celebration has been described as “a drunken orgy of merrymaking held each February in Rome, after which participants fasted for 40 days.”

The word Lupercalia caught my eye when I started to research. Thanks to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I knew it was somehow related to wolves and fertility, and that it was celebrated on the day after Valentine's Day. Let's learn a bit about its origin and meaning: "In its classical manifestation, Lupercalia (“The Wolf Festival”) was a bizarre ritual where young men (who were called Luperci, the wolf people) would run around whipping women with goat skin thongs. (...) Some writers associated the celebration with the Luperca, the she-wolf who fed the twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. Most often, however, the celebration was associated with the god Pan- the Faunus. Pan was a half-man half-goat divinity. A god of sheepherders, Pan was a divinity of the forests, wild life, and, remarkably, fertility. The sexuality of Pan would indeed explain the young men’s lashings of women at the Lupercalia festival. The whippings were supposed to induce fertility and can be seen as a symbolical sexual act. If the festival of the Lupercalia was in honor of Pan, how could we explain the name of “Wolf Festival”? Pan was not obviously associated with wolves, but rather with goats. However, the Pan celebrated in Rome was, we are told, Pan Lykaios, the wolf-Pan. St Augustine tells us that this Pan was so named because he held the key to the mystery of men becoming wolves. In other words, Pan was the master of werewolves." 

As I said before, New Orleans holds one of the biggest Mardi Gras celebration across the world- and it's definitely the most famous one in the USA. "The city is obsessed with eating, costuming, bead-tossing and parading that increases in intensity as Ash Wednesday nears. On the weekends leading up to Fat Tuesday, parades roll all over town". Does it ring any bells? In the very first chapter of Nightbound, we got to experience all of this: parades, bead-tossing and partying. I can only imagine that Mardi Gras itself will take place in tomorrow's chapter- and shit will go down. 

The festival is linked to wolves, so I think we might be getting some wolf content tomorrow (probably a Cal scene, or maybe we'll get to see some others wolves again). I doubt they would give us sex scenes two weeks in a row, but Mardi Gras is about fertility and debauchery, so maybe they will explore that side we can only hope so. Another important thing about Mardi Gras': the masks and the parades. When we found Thomas last chapter, he was in some kind of deposit and we could see Mardi Gras props on the background. Those masked skeleton things attacked us as well, which showed us that Thomas could control then. So yeah, he'll probably attack us in the middle of the parade with those things. 

I don't know if anyone read everything and to be honest I don't even know what is the point I'm trying to make with this post. I just thought all of this was interesting and hopefully someone will think the same. Maybe we'll learn more about Mardi Gras in tomorrow's chapter, but I guess I thought it would be nice to go into the chapter knowing at least a bit about all of this. 

[enterinit]

Gears 5 and other games coming to Xbox One this week

Gears 5 and other games coming to Xbox One this week. Torchlight II (September 03, 2019) The award-winning action RPG is back, bigger and better than ever! Torchlight II takes you back into the quirky, fast-paced world of bloodthirsty monsters, bountiful treasures, and sinister secrets - and, once again, the fate of the world is in your hands. Torchlight II is fast, fun, and filled to the brim with action and loot. Adventure solo or form a party online with your friends. Features: 4 player co-op online. Experiment with hero synergies and take on the fiercest opponents together, for the world’s most awesome loot.Create and customize characters from one of four distinct classes. Each class can be played as male or female, and robust skillsets and equipment variety give tons of opportunity for unique builds.Explore vast overland areas and multiple hub towns. Fight through rain and snow, day and night. Level randomization ensures fresh new layouts, paths, loot, and monsters every time you play.Choose how to empower your pet with special transforming consumables. Your pet can fight by your side or make a run to town to sell loot so you don’t have to.Once you've beaten Torchlight II's primary campaign, you can start again with the same character for a significantly greater challenge. You'll keep all of the skills, gold, and gear. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered (August 03, 2019) It is a time of war. The Republic of Galbadia, under the influence of the sorceress Edea, mobilises its great armies against the other nations of the world. Squall and other members of SeeD, an elite mercenary force, join hands with Rinoa, a resistance fighter, to fight against Galbadia's tyrannical rule and to prevent Edea from fulfilling her ultimate goal. This product is a remaster of FINAL FANTASY VIII, featuring multiple enhancements including additional options to customise your gameplay experience and difficulty, such as: Battle assist options (HP, ATB gauge, and Limit Break boosts)Game speed boost (x3)No random encounters Gaijin Charenji 1: Kiss or Kill (September 04, 2019) A punk narrative shoot-them-up where you not only shoot to kill, exterminate, and destroy but you can also kiss your enemies to make a more loving world. Originally designed for the Dreamcast in 1998 by Yoshihiro Takahashi, Kiss or Kill has completed it 21 years later by his son Yosuke Takahashi. Post War Dreams (September 04, 2019) POST-WAR DREAMS is a 2.5D Story-Rich, Side Scrolling Action Game, set in the wasteland of USA, plagued with constant war. Following the collapse of the economy, government, and society, you must brave heavily armed militia, lawless gangs, dangerous streets, desolate buildings and underground bunkers on your quest to escape this post-apocalyptic wasteland alive. The road to a new life is paved with danger, hope and constant reminders of everything that’s been lost. You will engage in combating the gangs and militia in order to survive and may choose to help other survivors who are full of their own personal misery, hopes and dreams, where everyone is trying to see the next sunrise in this chaotic wasteland. SUMMARY The United States has broken, and violence fills the streets. Freedom and patriotism have disintegrated, replaced with war and famine, and life is only a reminder of what’s been lost. If Garrett Mitchell hopes to survive this new world, he’ll have to fight his way through dangerous militia soldiers and members of the ruthless gang The Remnants while deciding whether or not to help his fellow survivors. Following years of mounting tensions within the United States, civil unrest caused Washington DC to shut its doors and borders to the rest of the world six short months ago. As lawlessness took over the Midwest, spreading from coast-to-coast, the financial system crashed and soon DC and the surrounding cities became a fortress for the privileged with the rest of the country left to fend for itself. Now, the streets run red with the blood of innocents as militia, gangs and rogue soldiers use lethal means to secure food, water and supplies that will allow their societies to keep going. For those civilians caught in the middle, each day is a fight for survival. As supplies dry up, these neutrals flee from the cities in hopes of starting over somewhere new. Holding onto a shred of hope, all the civilians have left are the clothes on their back and their post-war dreams. Players are introduced to Garrett, their mysterious vehicle through the wastelands of the United States. In the months since society’s collapse Garrett has done all he can to survive, dodging soldiers, gangs and other civilians, but with food, water and other survival resources scarce, he must find his way out of the city if he wants to live another day. Just as Garrett believes he can exit the city scot-free he’s waylaid by enemies and rescued by Kara, a former EMT (emergency medical technician), who is trying to lead her own group outside the city limits to probable safety. Her group is made up friends, neighbors, co-workers as well as strangers she’s encountered along the way. While Kara has medical training and cunning, which have allowed she and her group to survive the weeks since the war began, they lack combat skills and Garrett is a logical choice to help ensure everyone’s survival. The player may choose to help Kara and her friends or go it alone, with the impacts of the decision coming into view as the first few levels progress. Whatever the course, the player will ultimately end up a part of Kara’s caravan whether reluctantly or by choice. While Garrett’s fellow travelers will be excited to learn more about their new compatriot, the player may choose to not be as friendly or forthcoming. As the levels continue on and Garrett is exposed to different backstories, his successes or failures may also lead to the deaths of those he finds himself growing closer to. Himmo (September 04, 2019) Himno is a non-violent, no death platformer. Use wall-jumps, slides & dashes to reach new heights in randomly generated maps! Using intuitive and easy to learn controls, parkour through each map to overcome platforming challenges to reach new districts. Level up as new heights are reached, bringing vibrant lights as torches are ignited and the music begins to change. Rescue wisps to light up the darkness around you, while temporarily upgrading abilities that allow you to move further to other disctricts. Features: Your actions in the world trigger emotional soundtracks and vibrant visualsPlay at your own pace without pressureWatch bright wisps dance around youEnjoyable by a wide variety of player skill Monochrome Order (September 04, 2019) The world must forever make choices. The Arbiters' mission is to use the ancient magic known as “Judgment” to follow their own justice and guide the world to a better place. A newly-appointed Arbiter, is assigned to a desolate country where he will have to make various Judgments. However, not everyone will agree with his idea of justice. When faced with two extreme choices, which will he choose? Your Judgments will greatly affect the story and your character's role in both good and evil paths. As there are multiple endings, explore different routes to guide the world toward the right direction! Get up to 18 allies from your Judgments to try various formations and overcome challenges with each character's unique skills! Features: Guide the world toward the right direction through Judgments in a fantasy RPG with multiple endings!Your Judgments will greatly affect the story and your character's role in both good and evil paths.As there are multiple endings, explore different routes to guide the world toward the right direction!Get up to 18 allies from your Judgments to try various formations and overcome challenges with each character's unique skills! Throne Quest Deluxe (September 05, 2019) Throne Quest Deluxe is a seem-less open-world Action Role Playing Game (ARPG). Delve into an adventurous world full of dungeons and crypts, fighting many types of vicious monsters and search for huge amounts of loot. Change between 11 classes throwing your axes, fire, harps and even a djenty-guitar in fast-paced combat whilst gulping potions and collecting drops to level-up and become a champion. Explore your way through the dangers of the lands on an epic quest to reach the central castle- to claim the Throne held by a demon boss. Features: Seamless Open-world Fast-action-RPG150+ Items90+ Monsters11 Classes River City Girls ( September 05, 2019 ) "There's trouble once again on the mean streets of River City, but this time the boys are in over their heads! In this all-new entry in the legendary beat-'em-up series, hot-blooded heroes Kuni and Riki have been captured, leaving it to their hard-hitting girlfriends, Kyoko and Misako, to serve up some payback. As you punch and kick your way across town - either solo or with a friend in local co-op - you'll gain new skills, chow down on power-ups, wield an assortment of weapons, and unleash an arsenal of combos, throws, and special attacks that will leave the bad guys crying for mama - all in outrageous 16-bit style! The awesome action is punctuated by manga story panels, anime cutscenes, and an epic synth-pop soundtrack. It’s an old-school rumble for a new generation! Features: Wild beat-'em-up action for one or two players!Glorious pixel-art graphics plus anime and manga cutscenes!Fantastic soundtrack featuring Chipzel, Christina Vee, and NateWantsToBattle!Six large city regions to fight through, complete with shops and side quests!Loads of weapons, items, and abilities to power-up your heroines!Guest appearances by classic River City characters!

Gears 5 Ultimate Edition (September 06, 2019)

Campaign: The world is crumbling. The Swarm has corrupted the Coalition’s robot army and is descending upon human cities. With danger closing in, Kait Diaz breaks away to uncover her connection to the enemy and discovers the true danger to Sera – herself. Escape: Outrun the bomb, outsmart the Swarm, and escape the Hive! Escape is a new, aggressive, high-stakes co-op mode featuring a three-player suicide squad that must work together to take out enemy hives from within. Versus: May the best team win! Rack up points and trade up for superior weapons in Arcade, a frenetic playlist built for jump-in, over-the-top fun. With ten other game types plus new and classic maps, Versus rewards every competitive style, from casual to pro. Horde: Can you and four friends endure waves of ever-stronger enemies and bosses? Survive using new hero abilities, building defenses, collecting power, leveling up your skills and working as a team. Map Builder: Create custom Escape hive maps and experiences to share with and challenge your friends. Features: Three-player Campaign Co-op: Battle alongside your friends in three-player online or split-screen co-op.Tours of Duty: Rank up from new recruit to four-star general in Gears Tours of Duty. Take on new and exciting challenges, earn awesome rewards, and show off your loot.Boot Camp: New to Gears or just a little rusty? Bootcamp is a fun way to learn the ropes, from the basics to advanced combat techniques.Play as Jack: Play as Jack, your personal flying support bot that can protect allies and damage enemies - perfect for players new to Gears.Visual Showcase: Play every mode in 4K and HDR at a smooth 60 frames per second on Xbox One X. Accessibility: Customize your gaming experience with updated accessibility features, including: full controller remapping, single stick movement, Adaptive Controller support, narrated UI and menus, improved subtitles and more. *Some modes including Escape, Versus and Horde, and online multiplayer require Xbox Live Gold on console, membership sold separately. Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne (September 06, 2019) Let your hunting instinct take you further than ever! "Iceborne" is a massive expansion that picks up after the ending of Monster Hunter: World and opens up the new "master rank!" New quests, monsters, weapons, armor, and story await to take your hunting to the next level! Creature in the Well (September 06, 2019) Creature in the Well is a top-down, pinball-inspired, hack-and-slash dungeon crawler. As the last remaining BOT-C unit, venture deep into a desert mountain to restore power to an ancient facility, haunted by a desperate Creature. Uncover and upgrade powerful gear in order to free the city of Mirage from a deadly sandstorm. Pinball with swords: Charge up energy orbs, then bounce and ricochet them to reactivate dormant machinery and stop the sandstorm.Defeat the Creature: Escape the many challenges set by the Creature and confront it in intricate, skillful battles.Dungeon-crawler: Delve deeper into the mountain as you unlock eight hand-crafted dungeons, each filled with unique gameplay themes, unlockables, and secrets to uncover.Over 20 unique items: Customize your playstyle with upgradeable weapons and clothing that change how you play the game. NBA 2K20 (September 06, 2019) NBA 2K has evolved into much more than a basketball simulation. 2K continues to redefine what’s possible in sports gaming with NBA 2K20, featuring best in class graphics & gameplay, ground breaking game modes, and unparalleled player control and customization. Plus, with its immersive open-world Neighborhood, NBA 2K20 is a platform for gamers and ballers to come together and create what’s next in basketball culture. Restless Hero (September 06, 2019) You are about to be a part of an adventure of the Dark Age. Follow Rick in his damned path of vengeance and help him to redeem his soul. The life of your beloved is in danger. Hurry up and make a wise choice. Along the way complete challenging platforming levels and upgrade your powers. Unfold the story by reading dialogs and finding crucial items on the levels. Items are key to the puzzle of the story. There are a variety of obstacles for you that can be destroyed with the help of power. Castle has 3 floors with its set of enemies and obstacles. Find a key to defeat each enemy. Explore the castle and find all of the hidden chests! Read the full article

[jaxcns]

y’all know this mans? yuh.. really gets ya thinkin that men might deserve rights after all huh? i mean they dont but it makes ya think! anyway.. i’m urayai ( uri for short ), eighteen, she/her, and from bumfuck nowhere usa over in the est timezone. we livin in a winter wonderland over here rn issa nightmare :) if ya feelin the vibe now then check out my statistics page yuh maybe i went the extra mile MXDDDN! anyway if ya poppin ya p*ssi to nct, love wastin time playin the sims, or are prayin for both taes scalps then smash that heart! we need validation in order to live in this economy laid ease!

basic details

( wong yukhei, cismale, he/him ) — meet jaxon wu, the nineteen year old sophomore at washington state university. i heard that the hedonist is a literature major who spends most of their time either practicing on the soccer field or interning at dorrance publishing two days a week. if you ask around, you’ll find out that the scorpio was born on october 28th, that the last song they listened to was uncomfortable by chase atlantic, and that they currently live in the kappa zeta nu fraternity house. ever since the death of carter hayes though, the only thing anyone can seem to recall when it comes to them is that they used to share a room with him at the frat house.

+ smoke-filled lungs, constellations in his eyes, denim jackets, disappearing acts that rival houdini, heart-shaped boxes, thumb rings, lazy grins, broken promises, and rainy mornings.

full sleeve on his right arm plus a chest piece in progress

ears and nose pierced but he doesnt always rock the nose

emotionally stable? no. financially stable? also no.

on an athletic scholarship for soccer but he loves hockey more so its #emohours

plays soccer, hockey, and baseball

loves the finer things in life but can barely afford the free breadsticks at olive garden ja feel

hes a snake who loves that 5 finger discount

selfish but also too invested in people he cares for

impatient as hell like.. chile

middle child ya he was dealt only the best cards in life

loves space and conspiracy theories #wow so original amirite

gets super obsessive over projects hes def a perfectionist

bisexual / bitter / bilingual

mom is a bank tell and dad is a professor at boston u

not very close to his older brother since hes off gettin his doctorates degree

very close to his little sister tho they’ve always been best friends

enjoys goin on hikes to clear his head

other than writing he also enjoys all other things creative like painting, drawing, sculpting, photography, etc

he attends a weekly art class in the city

he def dabbles in drugs so if ya lookin he can probs hook ya up

he was carters roommate 

ADAMANT — stubborn as shitttttt like fr. once he sets his mind on sumn and believes hes completely right cant be wrong then theres no changin his mind! at all! even if he realizes later that he was wrong he’d rather lower himself into the grave than admit it. he’ll also argue with you til the ends of the earth until the bitch literally dont have vocal chords anymore!

CONFIDENT — if i could’ve picked an alternate label for him then it woulda been the bellwether. he always carries himself with confidence which he gets from wearin nice clothes and accessories plus always bein well groomed ig? like his hair is always done, you’ll never find a speck of dirt on his shoes, that type of shit. even when his hair is messy it was done that way he would never go outside lookin like a wreck so jot that down!

IMPETUOUS — this bitch reckless af! he does things to benefit himself and only himself most of the time without taking into consideration other peoples feelings or how it might impact them. thats not to say that he doesnt regret it after the fact but lbr he normally? doesnt? see: selfish. hes just tryna get ahead tryna get dat coin tryna get him sum gucci slides!

PETULANT — sulky, bad-tempered, etc is jax thru and thru! and he aint afraid to take everyone down with him either. hes def the type to stir up drama ngl but he’ll back it up too and he aint afraid to throw hands! hes been in his fair share of fights and with his shiny new fake id y’all been knew hes been in more than one bar fight with more to come i’m sure!

plot ideas

MUSE — pretty self explanatory i think? this person just ignites fuckin inspiration for him whether it be thru takin pictures of them, writing about them, filmin them, drawin them, etc etc. jax always knows that when hes in a slump he can find them and that shit will come back as quick as flippin on a light switch!

RIDE OR DIE(S) — y’all already know wtf it is! we love those friends who just talk shit with each other, those that’ll go to bat for one another, but also arent afraid to be like “yo step back ur gettin a lil outta line” ja feel? literally gimme all that!

ANGST — i live for anything angsty tbh like im one of those bitches that gets bored when things are goin too well for my chara so i need someone to fuck that shit up fam!

RELATIONSHIPS — im here for it all! im talkin enemies, friends, rommates, party buddies, smokin buddies, fwb, exes, partners in crime, etc etc! im here and ready to snatch em all up!

TEAMMATES — jax plays hockey, soccer, and baseball so if ur chara does too then? uhhhh we def gotta plot cause we could go any way with the teammates thing like imagine teammates who hate each other and purposely try to hurt one another durin practices.. ugh we love pettiness!

ADVENTURE BUDDIES — hiking, goin to abandoned / haunted places, spontaneous road trips, etc! need someone or multiple people who’re down to just drop everything and go. doesnt even matter where tbh they’re just always up for a lil adventure.

SEESAW — lemme be basic for a sec ok just hol on! i rlly want a plot based off of yoongis song seesaw where maybe the two of them were together and at first it was great but then they just fell out for wtvr reason and obvs didnt wanna be together anymore. neither of them wanted to let go tho maybe it was like a comfort thing? so they just kept repeatin their same old shit and actin like everything was cool until one of them finally took the step and ended it just.. ik there’d be angst ik it and i need it!

PARADISE — the new song by chase atlantic! bitch! i felt it in my soul maybe i cried? jax dabbles in literally everything hes truly a mess so havin someone who just checks on him would rip my soul in half? someone who gives him a call randomly in the middle of a sunday night and is just like “hey ya been ok? not fallin back on bad habits are u?” shit like that. it would def be a thing where he falls a lil bit in love with them because its smth hes not used to tho that def doesnt mean at all that they feel that way about him! it can unrequited i dont rlly care tbh.

ik i forgot sum shit and ik this is a damn m e s s but if ya wanna plot then just lms and i’ll hit ya up! we can brainstorm or pick from one of our wcs idc just give this h*e sum plots i’ll literally die without em? im def the type whos down to prettymuch™ fill anything so if ya got a plot that ur rlly wantin but no one seems to be takin then give it to me i’ll 100% take it lmao! ya im desperate what about it?

[apartyofone]

Athens..... at some point.

Athens Day 2. Or 1. I’m still not sure.

I’m writing this missive out around 5 pm local time on Sunday. I’m rapping this out on my now ancient and yet well traveled iPad keyboard on a balcony that’s overlooking a Greek Temple in the National Gardens. It’s loud - but that’s OK, it’s a city. A little cool - but more than OK since the USA is about to get smacked with another arctic blast. All in all a wonderful international outpost - one that I thought I would actually never see. This wasn’t my idea but I’m happy about it.

We got here about 30 hours ago and despite the crazy time changes we’re all in really good shape. The apartment is very comfortable by AirBnB standards. I’m just thrilled when the pictures actually match the place.

We wandered down near the Acropolis last night for dinner at a traditional Greek restaurant recommended by our hosts. Authentic? Maybe yes, maybe no. But we gave the owner of the place our Airbnb landlords name - his eyes lit up - and our menus were taken away. He said: He would take care of things. Boy did he. We felt well taken care of - including my kids introduction to:

1. Green yogurt with honey

2. Ouzo

We staggered home and tried to stay up to become accomodated to the time zone. It worked for the most part. I went to bed watching the true international BBC news in my bedroom.

I slept like a rock - my kids less so but eh, they’re young. I’m not. And about to get older on this trip. More about that much later.

Today was simply amazing, starting with great food, relics from the dawn of civilization and walking through some back streets of Athens. And I also almost died. More about that later as well.

We’re in an AirBnB apartment selected by my daughter S. This was an Xmas gifts to both my kids. I’m no longer giving “stuff” - I want shared adventures. Pssst. Next year I’m thinking of Norway/Sweden. Glad they don’t read my trashy T blog.

Those chose the locales in advance of my annual Euro book conferences. It took them about an hour to come up with: Greece. Italy. So we’re spending 3 days here in Athens and four more in Rome before we split up. They go home to resume work and school lives. My adventure continues in London and Paris, two well trod locales that are becoming very familiar to me. I have work and personal commitments happening in both of these cities - with a huge surprise to my kids coming later. Again: More about that later.

Today we started off with a stroll down near the Acropolis. This AirBnB could not be located in a better place. It’s in the Plaka district of Athens - the most historic by far. S searched AirBnB 4 months ago to pick this place out and its wonderful. Clean. In a 50 year old building - about average for Greek apartments as I look out on the horizon. The city stretches out for MILES around the harbor - there are very few buildings over 5 stories.

We found a good breakfast place - again I think they cater to the tourists but I can’t get picky - yet. Fortified we headed to the New Acropolis museum that sits at the foot of the mountain that houses the ancient temple. I don’t use the word mountain lightly - I’m an Oregon boy after all - but this peak dominates the region like few I’ve ever seen in an international city. I think the museum was established in time for the semi recent Summer Olympic Games - the spectacle that bankrupted the entire country. As I look at this city for all of 36 hours I realize how unsuitable this place was for a multi-billion party for the pretty people and athletes. I’ll have more thoughts later I’m sure.

We traipsed through the museum - beautiful displays and lengthy, informative information placards about each set of displays. My knowledge of Greek history is almost nil - I avoided this in school. And yet after just 2 hours in that museum I have a much better perspective.

So it was around 11 am when I apparently had a death wish and went with my children to hike up to The Acropolis. Hike is not the right word. Climb. And not just on a path or steps - although there were plenty of both of those. No it was random uncovered marble steps, hard side by side with course gravel or soil. For a long upward trek.

The American Disabilities Act was not in place. Nor were railings. Water fountains. Guides that might tell you about a different and easier route up - there was.

Twenty years ago I would have sprinted it. (Maybe)

10 years ago it would be a fair trek.

Today for a guy with broken bones in feet and the recent knee injury joy, it was a pathway to hell.

The only thing that could make me embark on this trek was.....one of the world’s most amazing sites was on the top of the mountain.

Also did I mention that 8000 other people were coming up the path behind me?

I got separated from my kids - I angrily told them to go ahead. Not angry at them - angry at my loss of youth and mobility. For the first time on my travels I took out this portable, collapsing cane that I had packed. Up to now it was an option, a protection device.

For this trek - well I simply wouldn’t have made it to the top and back down. And I’m grateful for my self realization that I now require such a device. And cursing at the gods - and oh, they were plentiful here apparently - that I now require this kind of crutch.

Had I known the terrain was going to be so treacherous from start to finish - even at the top it’s like slick and uneven marble that can fell even those most able bodied - I wouldn’t have attempted it. Ignorance was bliss in this case. I conquered it - in a minor way - took my pictures. Marveled. Reflected. There were 1000s of people up on this site at the same time - I image the high tourist season is even more crowded. And still the sheer size of the ruins and grounds was awesome. What a tribute to the sheer spirit of man - primitive mankind - to produce this wonderous temple. Truly there is no place on earth like it. I’m so glad I overcame my growing physical obstacles to get to the top. I was the only guy with a cane - no wheelchair access up there.

I finally found my kids down at the bottom of the mountain - I relied heavily on the charity of others to help make sure I didn’t topple badly. I took a couple of falls today - gonna bruise more than just the body with that knowledge.

We reunited and wondered some of the backstreets - I was so happy to find semi-level ground I was pleased to walk some more. Happened upon an obviously very local place in a working class neighborhood right by the Greek Orthodox Church in that district. We beat the crowd, coming in a grabbing a good table to watch the dozens of families that followed up. I’m sure they aren’t used to tourists - they had one person speak to us about the menu and give his recommendations. I think they liked the fact we avoided the obvious tourist joints. It was a too-big lunch - that’s getting to be a habit I’m afraid - and we all had a chance to reflect on how important this kind of travel is for us - go to the locals, not try to bring the comfortable, USA culture with us. I’m thrilled they have both embraced this approach.

We staggered back to our apartment - some literally - and after a bit of rest the young ones went out to the famed Athens Flea Market. The best day to hit this place is on a Sunday - so out they went. And here I am - resting the knees and glad I’m alive after that crazy climb to the Gods and history.

All up to date, Sunday night as of 6 PM