elipsi

[trashbatistrash]

,

[acaplaya-musings]

Not-Fully-Human Voiceplay AU (part 2)

(Yeah so I was originally planning on posting this either the same day of or the day after the original post, but turns out I had a lot more thoughts than I first realized, and typing it all became trickier than first expected, and I realised I was overthinking things just a little and this is supposed to be fun) A follow up to this post that's basically "what if Geoff wasn't actually 100% human (and neither are Layne and Eli), with me adding elements of magic/fantasy to the real-life story of Voiceplay so far (some of it anyway - I don't claim to be an expert and this is not a flawless/fully fleshed-out story or whatever, it's just a mostly-coherent collection of ideas that my brain came up with, and it's just a bit of fun really). Go look at Part 1 if you haven't already, then click the Read More to keep reading!

When 4:2:Five's original beatboxer, Scott Porter, left the quintet [to become an actor], Layne was more than happy to take over the role. He was shown the ropes of beatboxing by Geoff [true], and was a fast learner, especially when he started to have fun with it.

The lineup of the group changed a little, and 4:2:Five became Voiceplay, which brings me to...

Eli: [I don't know when exactly he joined the group but I'm guessing it was at some point after the name change.] Human who keeps getting reincarnated after death. Started out in the Norse/Viking era (that's as far as his memories go back anyway), was a travelling bard during the Middle Ages, rode on pirate ships here and there during the Golden Age of Piracy, and was in a rock'n'roll band for a while in the early 2000s [true, though I don't know the exact years he was in the band for], before finding his way to Voiceplay.

Eli is, by and large, mortal (on a physical/physiological basis at least), though he often seems to have a little less need for air while singing than the average human [no seriously go watch VP's Part Of Your World mini]. And he's of course a bit more knowledgeable about certain parts of history than most, but don't expect him to help you with any history assignments ("you probably can't remember everything that happened in your life, let alone when, but you think I can keep all my lives straight and chronological in my head? Please."

Now I can start getting into the interesting bits, like the matter of subharmonics! First of all, here are the genuine reality facts that I know: Geoff stumbled across a video talking about subharmonics and how to do them while touring with the rest of Voiceplay. I don't know exactly when this was or even what part of America they were currently in at the time, but I also know that the first video that he used subharmonics in was a Twenty One Pilots mashup video that VP did with Kurt Hugo Schneider on his channel, which was released in November 2016. Now here's how I'm explaining things, using the lack of other specifics to my creative advantage:

I really wanted to have Geoff have some sort of association with earthquakes, because well, y'know, and after doing some snooping around on Wikipedia, I discovered that a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred in Oklahoma in September of 2016, and it's apparently the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the state.

Maybe it was just a "regular" earthquake, maybe it wasn't, but one way or another, it unlocked something deep within Geoff (who was in Oklahoma at the time while touring with Voiceplay), and though the ground did not in fact swallow him whole, the rumbles and vibrations sent him a message; he was still no ordinary human being, and constantly trying to act like one was only wasting his potential.

(I know the common trope is "half-human half-fantasy-being comes into their abilities when they enter puberty or first reach adulthood", but that doesn't really fit with the "real" timeline here, and I've got my own explanation, though it may seem a bit contrived).

Geoff would have been 36 when this happened, his birthday being a couple weeks earlier in August, and hear me out: half of 666 (the demonic/'devil's' number) is 333, and what do you get if you add the second and third individual digits together in the number? 36! (insert It's Always Sunny meme here)

So Geoff and the guys are rehearsing in the tour bus one day, like let's say the day after the earthquake, and suddenly Geoff hits a low note that he's never hit before, without barely even trying, and it sounds... different.

Earl: "Woah, that was impressive! What did you do?" (Earl is still human, but knows The Truth, given that he went to school and college with both Geoff and Layne) Geoff: "Currently, your guess is as good as mine."

In this universe, Geoff's subharmonics (which Eli ends up nicknaming "subterraneans") are different to the human equivalent of them. Think of it like a world where magic-users (witches/wizards/warlocks/etc) exist, but there are still ordinary humans that can do "stage magic" using special props, trick items, sleight of hand, etc. So the Youtube video on subharmonics is used as a cover story/explanation, which then makes it easier for Layne to convince Geoff to start using them in their song covers. Layne reasoned that the collab with Kurt Hugo Schneider was the perfect opportunity to properly try them out in a video, because if Geoff wasn't fully content with the final result, it didn't matter as much, as it wasn't going to be on their own YouTube channel anyway, and it could just be explained as a special "gimmick" or the like.

As it was, Geoff didn't do a subharmonic/Subterranean on camera again till months later, the following year [the earliest sub I can identify in one of Geoff's vocal lines on a Voiceplay cover is Daddy Sang Bass]. And well, the rest is history!

Right, enough linear narrative stuff, time for various headcanons and stuff that inspired me to make this in the first place!

Maybe the decision to grow his hair long was in some way connected to his true nature, maybe it wasn't, but one way or another, it went neatly hand-in-hand with Geoff's shift to "insane bassmaster 3000" that lured in new fans and had pre-existing fans loving him even more.

All the stuff about Geoff calling himself "old and boring" or "a baritone with a bass range"? Yeah it's a cover; a personal attempt to make himself seem like a "normal human", kinda like Clark Kent attempting to avoid any possible suspicions of him being Superman whatsoever. (A lot of Geoff's fans think he's way too humble, if not just in a whole lot of self-denial).

Occasionally, when Layne arranges a cover for the group, Geoff will see his part and be like "there's no way I can sing this", but not because it's too difficult, but because he believes it to be pushing the limit of believability just a little too much in regards to appearing/acting human (he can occasionally be persuaded though, like with that glorious ~15 second B0 Sub in Valhalla Calling)

Alien!Layne, though, has no such qualms about showing off his full vocal abilities, and will make vocal percussion look like literal child's play (see: the These Boots Are Made For Walking mini for Layne being absolutely unhinged). Sleigh bell noises? Sure! Bubble sounds? Easy! Inhaled bass? Pretty uncommon for humans to do it, but heck, let's hit an A0 while we're at it! (Sh-Boom).

Geoff, however, would be lying if he said he didn't also get into the spirit of fun and theatrics from time to time, and well, after the massive response that Oogie Boogie's song got, there was really no turning back

Oh and finally, J None also finds out the truth, but Cesar hasn't yet. The others swear that they will sooner or later, they just "haven't found the right opportunity yet".

I could go on, but I think I've typed enough for the time being, and if literally anyone is interested in this and wants to talk to me about it, I'm down! But that's all for now! I'm out!

[ofcdizaino]

meet cleo

tw: gun mention

— BASICS

full name: cleo sherece di zaino

nickname: clebear (only by family and close friends), songbird

preferred name: cleo

age: thirty-five

birthday: july 15th

zodiac: cancer

birthplace: essex, united kingdom

current residence: new york, united states

nationality: english

ethnicity: english, saint lucian, dominican

affiliation: the brotherhood

occupation: lounge singer at INSERTHERE & thief for the brotherhood

— PERSONAL

gender: female

pronouns: she / her / hers

sexual orientation: heterosexual

romantic orientation: heteromantic

relationship status: single

education: general certificate of secondary education

positive traits: adaptable, candid, alluring, incisive, resilient

negative traits: brazen, sarcastic, irritable, sly, deceitful

— FAMILY

birth father: jerome di zaino

birth mother: dahiana di zaino (neé bello)

sibling(s): older brother (36-40)

— BIOGRAPHY

Living the life that Cleo had now quite literally looks glamourous and she was proud to strut around looking like a million bucks, regardless of the fact that she more than likely stole majority of what she wore. The life she has now wasn't exactly the dream she had in mind but she was proud of herself either way because she clawed her way from rock bottom and she was never going to forget that.

It all started when she was around eleven years old.

Those first ten years of her childhood were average to say the least. Her parents were high school sweethearts and acted like every day was their honeymoon and her older brother was the role model of anyone's dreams. Cleo looked up to her brother because everywhere they went he was always so kind and helpful or people were praising him for the kindness he extended to their community. She wanted nothing more in that moment and for her future to receive the same prise her brother did and be someone's role model so she made the plan for herself to follow in her brother's footsteps to achieve this goal.

Cleo followed her brother around, even when he wasn't aware that she was there, to make sure she did everything he did and on one occasion, Cleo was following her brother into town and picked up on something that she almost missed and had missed the number of times she'd trailed after him before. She watched as her brother did nothing but smile and shake hands while also stealing from people's bags and pockets with such practiced ease that it amazed her.

Later that day, Cleo went to her brother's room and confessed to following him around and to seeing him take things from people. Her brother was less annoyed that she was following him and more concerned that Cleo could tell their parents and shatter his golden boy image; he worked hard to cultivate this persona and it was the cover he needed to be able to steal in the first place. Cleo quickly spoke on how amazed she was by his skill and didn't want to tell anyone else about it because she wanted him to teach her how to steal like he does. Her brother was put off at first because Cleo was so young, younger than he was when he first started stealing but she was his little sister and the soft spot he had for her was fairly large. From that day on, every day after school, Cleo and her brother went through "workshops" to learn and master the art of pickpocketing.

Within the next couple years, Cleo was excelling at stealing. She was so quick, in and out of peoples' pockets and purses, and better than her brother was at her age and even now. Cleo's eyes became bigger than her stomach so to speak and the desire to steal bigger things than petty cash and wallets grew with each small score. She expressed this desire to her brother and he shot her down very quickly. Cleo was only thirteen years old and there was no way he was going to allow her to be involved in the bigger, heavier jobs that she came to learn were carried out by her brother and a few of his friends which he tells his parents is just "charity work". Cleo begs every day for her brother to teach her more or even just let her come with him on one of his jobs and eventually Cleo wore him down to the point of allowing Cleo to be the lookout for him.

The excitement buzzed throughout her entire body as the day of the job approached; Cleo was could barely contain herself as she counted down the days, hours and even minutes. The night of the job came and as far as their parents were aware, Cleo had a sleepover she was going to and her brother was going to drop her off before heading to an event for his "charity work". Her brother had gone over the plan many times with Cleo and his team, not wanting to screw this up with his sister being present. The job itself was lifting three antique cars from a secured lot without tripping any alarms or alerting the owners whose home was located on the property of the car lot. Cleo did her own due diligence and studied up on boosting cars despite the fact she was told she would only be the lookout but her study came in clutch. One of the members of her brother's team had fallen through and the plan only worked with four of them; three to boost the cars and one to drive Cleo away when all was said and done.

Cleo told her brother she was more than capable of help him break into the car; she had even brought along her own creation of a device that allowed her to be able to reach the gas and brake pedals to drive away. Her brother tried to shut down that idea and call the whole thing off but Cleo proved herself with the knowledge she gained and the rest of the team agreed this was their only shot; the getaway driver was just that and boosting cars was not his specialty. Cleo's brother felt like he had no other choice and reluctantly agreed to allow her to fill the spot on the team. Everything was running smoothly and going according to plan but the one misstep that they never considered was the silent alarm and the sound of sirens put everyone in high alert. Cleo's brother and the other man on the theft team weren't close to getting their cars ready but Cleo had sailed through her part in record time. Her brother wanted to abort everything and hightail it out of there but Cleo was running on a high and told her brother she was getting her car and he should go in the getaway car.

Without another word, Cleo hopped into the driver's seat and started the car up and before her brother could even stop her, one of the owners comes barreling out of their home, shotgun in hand, and Cleo told her brother again to get out of their before anyone is put in jeopardy. With those last words, her brother and his friend take off towards their getaway car and leave the lot before the police round the corner and Cleo puts her car into gear and dangerously speeds away. When she retells this story to people, no one ever believes she not only successfully broke into the car but that she got away with it. It was like something out of a movie and the rush of it all was the most thrilling thing she'd ever felt, a feeling she planned on repeating.

When she finally met back up with her brother and his friends, no police on her tail and in the antique car, they were more than impressed and thus started a very new path for Cleo. At the age of 14, she shifted from small petty theft to boosting cars and she had the record to prove it. Cleo at one point just did things for the thrill of it and getting caught was quite literally not a big deal in her mind. Her parents were completely disappointed in the life their daughter was choosing and kept droning on and on about being more like her brother. They surely had no idea how much like her brother Cleo was becoming. As she got to the end of her teenage years. Cleo was very well known amongst the local law enforcement and she was even running around with her own crew. Her brother was impressed with how far she'd come and even started working jobs with her and her crew.

By the time Cleo reached her early 20's, she was one of the most skilled thieves in England and it had even come to the point where she, on her own or with her team, was being hired for jobs and being paid to steal. Cleo did always say when she was little that whatever she decided to do in life for a career that she hoped it was something she enjoyed doing and getting paid to do it, she just didn't know it was going to be in a criminal aspect.

Since she decided to go down this path, Cleo's parents felt they could no longer tolerate her way of life or hearing about her being arrested again so they made the tough decision to cut Cleo out of their life and subsequently her brother as well. Cleo never once regretted the turn her life took, she found something she was good at and she found a family that had her back in any situation. Life threw her a curve when she met a man that changed her life.

Cleo could admit she wasn't one for a serious relationship; at this time, at the age of 31, she hadn't had anything close to a steady relationship or really even a steady fling. Majority of the men she went out with were just covers for a job or to use them to get information and then there was the small portion that were just there as something to do when she got bored. This rare jewel came out of nowhere and definitely when she least expected him, especially coming out of an Edgar Allen Poe themed speakeasy. The moment she spotted him at the bar, he truly in her mind was nothing more than another conquest, another warm body for the next night or whenever she needed him. The night progressed as all the other had; she turned on the charm, light but flirtatious touches, and in almost a blink of an eye, Cleo and her new man of the night were entangled in the sheets until the sun came up. The next morning, Cleo was all ready to give the guy the business and see him out but after the first four hours went by of nothing but good conversation and laughter, the gears in Cleo's head began to go into overdrive in realizing she was genuinely enjoying his company.

One night turned into a week and that week turned into months and before she knew it, Cleo was celebrating a year together with a man she thought was only going to be a distant memory. Her brother and team would poke fun at her for the fact she was "going soft" but she knew it was all in good fun as they were happy for her for finally finding happiness in someone and trust in another person. He never questioned what she did for a living, mostly because she told him she was a "consultant", nor did he poke or pry as to why she and her parents were no longer in contact. What she hadn't known was how her criminal lifestyle was going to turn everything in her relationship upside down.

Despite the arrests on her record or any injuries she and her team sustained, Cleo felt like she was on a high and living a very lucrative life. Until her last job in England.

She was hired for a solo job that was supposed to be very intense and possibly dangerous; her brother had strongly advised her to turn it down because he'd always told her that no job was worth risking her life over. Despite her brother's warnings, Cleo took the job in the hopes that the money she earned from it would give her and her team better means of living as their previous jobs weren't of the high caliber that could give them a high status lifestyle. The job was supposed to be stealing from a very prominent and powerful man in London; she wasn't told what she taking nor did she question it because she knew the less she knew the better. It was supposed to be quick and simple, no mistakes, but it all went wrong.

See what she hadn't known was that the man she had been sharing her bed with, the man that she was so vulnerable with, was an agent for MI5 and had been tasked with getting close to Cleo to figure out her operation and arrest her and her team. They could never get close to figuring things out in the past because Cleo had been so careful about how things were carried out as to not be traced back to them; she could be brought in for questioning over and over again but they would never be able to trace anything back to her.

Until now.

In a matter of minutes, the sound of thundering feet were heard and several agents were in the office, guns drawn and aimed at Cleo. To this day, she can still remember the heartbreak of watching the man who claimed to love her step forward and aiming a gun at her. She was brought in for questioning and with everything that had happened that night, plus the small amounts of evidence from various crimes she'd committed, there was no way for her to finesse her way out of this. Of course this was all made worse by the fact her now ex-boyfriend was the one that was interrogating her. She felt a burning anger with each question, an anger she'd never felt in her entire life.

News broke about her arrest, very outlet and form were running the story and it was the only way her brother knew what had happened to her as she would've normally checked in with him and it had been nothing but radio silence for far too long. Based on the information reporters were saying, Cleo's brother knew she was in deep trouble and no lawyer or special loophole was going to get her out of this one. The team had suggested hacking their way into the system and getting her out somehow that way but her brother knew that not only would MI5 trace that back to them but Cleo wouldn't want them to take the risk and end up where she was. Her brother had mentally exhausted all their options to help Cleo except for one that he was hoping he wouldn't have to use. Years ago, when he first started stealing himself, he had made the mistake every novice thief makes — stealing from the wrong person. Well in this case it was the right person; the woman he stole from had actually stolen from who he later found out was a member of the Brotherhood gang. He retrieved the item and returned it to the member and was told that if he ever needed a favor to just call. He had no clue what would be done or even if there'd be any help at all but it was the only solution.

Her brother made the call, not much information on Cleo having to be said as the story was running everywhere, and without another word from him the reply "We'll take care of it" was said and the call ended.

Back at MI5, the hours of interrogation were draining for everyone — Cleo and the agents included. The lead agent was just about to call it as they said they had mountains of evidence that added up to a conviction and lengthy jail sentence when a phone call came in. Cleo was left alone and in suspense for all of two minutes, the seconds ticking by on the clock in the room ever so loudly, before her ex and the lead agent came back with a woman in a suit in tow; she revealed herself to be her lawyer and that the interrogation was over. She didn't miss the look on the agents' faces as she walked out of there.

The next time she saw her ex again was in court when her case was being presented for the first appearance. Each piece of evidence and testimony that the prosecutor had presented was just torn to shreds by her lawyer, with doubt placed on almost everything or a plausible explanation given. By the end of the hearing there wasn't a single piece of evidence that hasn't been refuted; they were even able to provide evidence that she worked for the man she was attempting to steal from as security consultant to test possible threats. The judge felt like he had no choice but to rule that all the charges be dropped and for Cleo to be released immediately. The shock and disbelief was evident in the courtroom but no one was more shocked that Cleo; she's not one to have fear in her majority of the time but from the moment she was arrested, she truly believed everything was over.

Her brother greeted her as she exited the courtroom and she had never been so happy to see him. Before he could explain to her what happened, Cleo's ex came up to her and expressed he was shocked and angry that she was getting off without consequence, that he doesn't know how she made it happen but she better realize this streak of luck will run out before leaving the two of them and leaving the courthouse. Cleo's brother reassured her that everything was going to be okay and that there was someone she needed to meet. He brought her to her lawyer which confused Cleo as they'd already met but her lawyer explained that she has connection with people in New York who have had their eye on her based on her reputation and an offer was being made to put her talents towards a greater purpose.

Cleo was blown away that she was practically being scouted but hesitant as she knew accepting this offer meant leaving those her team and her brother behind. Her brother could sense her hesitation and spoke up, telling her he knows she has some reservations but that MI5 wouldn't stop coming after her and for her sake, being protected under a large organization would be better than having to do things on her own. She knew he was right and with his encouragement, Cleo accepted the offer and made plans to leave for New York immediately.

It's been four years since she made yet another decision that put her life in a new direction but Cleo now is the woman she knew she was meant to be. She was more guarded of her heart and places no trust in anyone unless they can prove they are worth her trust. Cleo is not the same person she was at eleven when she first started on this path, nor was she the same person she was at 30 but one thing she knows for sure is that the woman she is today should be feared and admired.

— EXTRA FACTS

cleo is very much a chameleon and good at it; she has a number of wigs and disguises in the event she needs to have a certain persona when she carries out a job

she speaks multiple languages, including french, spanish, portuguese, and greek

cleo speaks with her brother every now and then, as often as she can really, and checks in with him and her old team to see how they're doing

despite not being fearful during a job, cleo is very much afraid of the ocean and elevators

cleo always said that if she hadn't followed in her brother's footsteps then she would've gone onto university to become a museum curator because she loves art and talking about it

she never thought about going to school for this but on her own time, cleo learned about greek mythology, as well as mythology of roman, norse, and other countries because the stories were so fascinating to her

she has a tattoo of a jack of hearts card and her brother has the ace of hearts on the back of their necks to represent each other because he would call cleo "ace" and she used to tell her brother he was a jack of all trades

— WANTED CONNECTIONS / PLOTS

HER OLDER BROTHER (36-40); she still talks to with him and misses him dearly and she's grateful for everything he's taught despite having to leave london

MEMBER OF HER OLD TEAM; she hasn't kept in contact with any of them since she came to new york, more so to protect them, but wishes she could've said one last good bye before she fled

HER EX; she, with good reason, absolutely despises his for betraying her but there is still a strong part of her that still loves him and misses him

OLD AND NEW CONTACTS; people she had come to in the past and now to help her when she was in a jam or needed information

BROTHERHOOD MEMBER THAT HELPED HER; this member is someone that Cleo and her brother feel like they owe everything to as well as the Brotherhood itself

[privilege-rpg]

ZACHARY WILDE

☆ FULL NAME: Zachary "Zach" Oliver Wilde ☆ GENDER: Non-binary ☆ PRONOUNS: He/They ☆ AGE: 36 (April 14th, 1988) ☆ TYPE: Full sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Knoxville, Tennessee ☆ JOB: Professional Animator; Animation Professor at PSU ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Pansexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Chris Wood

ABOUT ZACHARY

tw domestic violence, tw mental health

While everyone thought Aaron Wilde was the perfect Christian man, Zach knew from a very young age that he was not. While he preached Christian values in public, he was incredibly different behind closed doors. Zach would say the wrong thing, be too loud, or question the wrong thing and the next thing he knew he was getting backhanded by his father. The one continuous thing in his childhood was the constant beatings from his father. Zach learned early on that the best thing to be around his father was quiet and compliant. As his parents started having more children, he would step in front of them to make sure he took the brunt of it. He made sure that his father never laid a hand on any of his siblings, and that all of the anger went to him. Zach didn’t understand much at that young age, but what he did understand was that he loved his siblings and he would do anything for them.

Zach never felt any connection to god or religion, but he always pretended to be the perfect golden child of the Wildes. This continued on until he was about fifteen years old, and Wilde Faith was on the air. They were questioning him about his father, a bunch of cameras on him, and Zach had a full-blown panic attack. He ended up getting physical with the camera men. Them pushing the cameras in his face even during this panic attack made it worse. The next thing Zach knew, his parents sent him off to a mental hospital rather than dealing with him. He stayed there for three months, and came back a lot happier. He was prescribed anti-anxiety medication that changed his life. Zach was adamant about taking this for the first few months back, but soon enough his father denied him of his medication.

He started to refuse to be on camera, and would threaten to hit the camera-men again if they got near him. Oftentimes he’d go other places, hanging out with friends and partying. He wanted to rebel, and be nothing like the Christian boy that everyone expected him to be. While Pacific State University was still close to the church, he didn’t care. All of his friends were going there, and he finally was living on his own. (He didn’t understand why his parents still gave him money, but who was he to say no to money without work? Not Aaron.) Zach had always been in love with art and animation, so he double majored in both, falling in love with art and everything about it. Being in college allowed him to be the person he was actually meant to be: goofy, happy, exploring his sexuality (and even gender at times). He still deals with anxiety, of course, and is very diligent about taking his medication (weed and/or Xanax, depending on the severity) and seeing a therapist once a week.

Zach still has issues, but for now: he’s happy. He’s dealing with those issues in an incredibly healthy way, and he loves his life more than anything. He currently writes and animates a series that he posts on YouTube, and it’s his absolute passion project. He also works on animating things for commercials, which is where he actually tries to make his money, and something he loves doing as well.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

At first, Aaron Wilde was just like any other pastor. He was loved by many in Knoxville, and that’s how it stayed for many years. As the years went on, though, he grew in popularity. Everyone in Tennessee would travel to see him - especially the housewives with nothing better to do. Did Aaron’s good looks have everything to do with his popularity? Absolutely. Which is why it was no surprise when someone in Los Angeles called him, asking him if he’d like to have his own church (that seated 17,000 people). He agreed, of course. Aaron moved his whole family to Los Angeles so he could be the pastor of Pacific Grace Church. Aaron Wilde became the best-known pastor in the United States, with several people from all over the United States coming over to see him give sermons. Every sermon was televised. Aaron did this for seven years, and then was offered a reality television deal. They named the show Wilde Faith, and it followed around the Wilde family to show off how they were a perfect Christian family. Wilde Faith was on for six seasons, as Aaron continued to be the pastor at Pacific Grace. After the six seasons, they decided to end because Aaron said “he talked to God and He said it was time to stop”. Aaron continues to work at Pacific Grace to this day. Elizabeth is the happy and dutiful wife to him, and that’s about it.

[zololacan]

A Working History of the Immernachtreich

Ok maybe a cringe title but it probably got the point across. Hi guys! So hopefully you've checked out my first topic already because there's some foundational material there you'll want to know so all my theories from here on out will make sense. If you haven't click here. Done? So about a year ago when Moonchase was happening we learned something about Archons. (I mean ok we probably should have guessed because of Andrius but Moonchase stated it outright.) Madame Ping tells us that gods aka Archons can't actually die. This ended up being about Guoba who used to be the Archon Marchosius so that got me to thinking who else might be alive in this diminished state? Guizhong as Ningguang? Remember when that used to be a theory?So taking that into consideration I sought out humans that might have once been Archons. Now how do we figure that out? Well we know some trends with Archons right? Barbatos, Morax, Beelzebul/Baal, Orobas, Ose and Marchosius. Every last Archon has a name found in the Ars Goetia. Guessing by the title of this theory who do you think also fits this trend? That's right. Amy the President of Hell commander of 36 legions.Now you might be thinking this is stupid. Amy is just a name and a chunibyou does not an Archon make. But wait. There's more. (so much more)I'm actually going to jump ship a little and we're going to the recent event in the Golden Apple Archipelago. We had a huge quest chain all about Fischl where we learn plenty of things about her that could be tied to her time as Archon.

Let's start with this. This is everything we get out of the Narrator during Fischl's Domain. Notice how we open with when Amy might have done her Archon thing and set up her region. "During the Time of Chaos" and "roughly six hundred years" before something called the "Era of the Saints." Era of the Saints? Current era, where the "saints" would be the Seven. 600 years before that pretty much means 600 years before they came into power, that would be the end of the Archon War so that's 2000 years ago and 600 years before that is 2600 years ago which would be around the time Venti was usurping Decarabian and setting up New Mondstadt. And that already answers what the "Time of Chaos" would be. Archon War. Now that's just where I've plotted it out but there might be more to it because other information seems to suggest this region had to be set up before Venti. More on that later.

"The Prinzessin harbored much sympathy for all living things." Zhongli Story 5. The old Archons in the Seven had the duty of guiding humanity. Zhongli protected his people for 3700 years before retiring just recently. This same duty was not upheld by the newbie Archons like Ei. So now we have a link tying Amy to the old Archons.

That paragraph also talks about resettling her people which we know both Venti and Zhongli had to do and we also know that these people would have started out as the unified human civilization which was displaced when Celestia went crazy and split them up. (sinking Enkanomiya in the process for example) It also might establish Amy's Archon title. You know how Venti's the God of Freedom and Zhongli's the God of Contracts? Amy's into poetry and theater. Maybe she was the God of Arts.

Skip a few paragraphs and we get to the end. "She picked up mere stones to carve out mountains and oceans, before bestowing upon her people castles and towns." Venti reshaped the Mondstadt basin, drowned Pilos Peak, shaved off the tops of some mountains and chucked them into the sea making the archipelago. Zhongli- well Guyun Stone Forest and the Jueyun Karst look like that because he "hurled his spears" at other Archons. They're still buried under those places. And Watatsumi exists because Orobashi shed some coral off himself.

Is there more? You betcha! Soteria is Fischl's other other name right? Google it. Soteria is the God of Deliverance but she's also an epithet of Persephone the Goddess of the Underworld. Now this next part is going to get long-winded but try to stay with me. Where does Fischl say she comes from? Immernachtreich right? That's German for the Realm of the Evernight. Where else have we seen the word Evernight? Enkanomiya. Another name for Enkanomiya in game is Tokoyokoku but you can actually read this as Tokoyo no Kuni. Google that. It's Okinawa's version of the underworld. (Japan's is Yomi or Naraku.) I'll get to Tokoyo no Kuni itself in the future but for now just know Enkanomiya is just a place not an actual underworld. Instead the underworld reference here works well for Immernachtreich since Fischl is related to Persephone.

On top of that this lets us know that Oz is the Archon Naberius. Naberius is an Ars Goetia demon and if you look into it he's actually based on Cerberus you know Hades pet dog Spot. Persephone is his wife. But here's something you might not know. Hades is newer lore. Persephone existed since Mycanean Greek times. She was by herself the Goddess of the Underworld so it makes sense that Oz is her loyal servant aka doggo. (His name Ozvaldo also means God's power.)

Now Naberius is actually in Genshin. Rhinedottir and Albedo find his heart and right after that Rhinedottir ditches Albedo in Mondstadt. Curious right? So if Oz is Naberius and his heart isn't with him well this means Oz is also in a diminished state but now this important part of him is with Rhinedottir. We know who she is. She's Gold the crazed alchemist who attacked Teyvat doing things like sending Durin at Mondstadt, Rifthounds and other monsters at Inazuma and an army in "an iron meteorite" at Liyue's Chasm while Morax's forces were dealing with their main force in Guyun. This caused Khaenri'ah to be destroyed by Celestia and that caused the Abyss Order to be born.

The Abyss Order. Remember back in Lisa's Quest they were looking for a fairytale book for some reason? We still only have 1 chapter of this book and it talks about something interesting, the Night Mother who hails from a Land of Night. Sound familiar? But of course the rest of that story doesn't make sense if we wanted to apply it to Fischl right? Well neither would the Abyss wanting to find someone like the Fischl we're seeing here in the recent event. But we know something happened. Somewhere down the line Fischl stopped caring about the things happening in the world.

I'm thinking this "Night Mother" thing is mostly fairytale but what it's describing is Amy at the end of her reign as ruler of the "Immernachtreich" region. Keep in mind how Fischl describes her home. It's gone. This event "brought it back." We know the real region is also gone because there is no Archon Amy anymore in the modern day. And again keep in mind that Immernachtreich is an underworld but the one described in the event is definitely no underworld.

What I think the Abyss believes is the other side of the Fischl story. Let's head over to the books for the Legend of the Shattered Halberd and Flowers for Princess Fischl!

This topic's already dragging pretty long and it's only about to get longer so I'll skip over the details of these books and go straight to the points they bring up. First Fischl as "the Prinzessin der Verurteilung" is set to absorb the pain and suffering of all people of the world and then burn away the old world to bring forth the new one. Another thing she's set to do which is only revealed in the last volume of Halberd is that she's actually the "divine halberd" that will reconnect the Ley Lines. It's also important that this is only mentioned in the last volume but that's a topic for another day.

This story should tell us why the Abyss might be interested right? Their plan as we learn from our sibling is to destroy this world and remake it. If Fischl is meant to do this she's key to their plans. And that's also how Oz fits in which is why Rhinedottir ditched Albedo as soon as she found his heart. I think she might want to use the heart to blackmail Oz to aid the Abyss. She might have already done this.

If you read Fischl's backstory she got her Vision when she was having a crisis of identity. Oz showed up at the same time as her Vision. Now here's the thing. If she's an Archon she doesn't need a Vision. And if she doesn't actually have a Vision then Oz isn't actually a result of her Vision. I think Oz might have helped the fallen Archon Amy become the human Amy and had been watching over her the whole time. Then Rhinedottir happened so he decided to "activate" Amy by giving her a "Vision" and becoming her "familiar." His actual goal here with respect to being a pawn of Rhinedottir is to nurture Amy's Fischl identity so that she'll be willing to become the Night Mother/Prinzessin that will remake the world one day according to the stories.

Another parallel here? Ars Goetia Amy was banished but it is said he will (yes this Amy's a dude) will eventually rise up again and claim the 7th throne of Heaven. If our Fischl is also set to "claim" a throne for example Celestia's throne I think the Abyss would call that a bonus. In the stories also in that last volume I specified before she's set to pierce her "father" the "God King" with the divine halberd. Also when it comes to absorbing the sins of all people Fischl's Constellation 2 is literally "Devourer of All Sins."

But now here's the thing. Oz has shown that he's devoted to Fischl. Even if Rhinedottir had his heart I don't think he'd betray Fischl like that. Instead I think he's playing her and the Abyss. That second thing that Fischl's said to do; she will be the divine halberd that reconnects the Ley Lines. We've seen that Celestia broke the Ley Lines of Teyvat over time. It killed the Irminsul of Sal Vindagnyr and most recently we found out that Khaenri'ah's king was Irmin aka Odin likely also meaning that he became an Irminsul aka Yggdrasil and that Celestia would necessarily have to destroy him to destroy Khaenri'ah.

According to Leon Oz created a prophecy. Now how prophetic it was is still anyone's guess but ultimately I think Oz is working on it. He needs to remind Amy of who she is because otherwise if Rhinedottir and the Abyss get their hands on her and force her Archon self back into being as the "Night Mother" she might actually do tremendous damage to Teyvat. Would she stand a chance against Celestia namely Phanes? Doubtful. Otherwise she wouldn't have stood idly by as "the shadow engulfed" her region. Similar to Decarabian she probably saw the writing on the wall and decided to take her fall gracefully.

Now there's that other side to the books and that's what I think Oz might be working towards. Remember that Fischl is meant to pierce her "father" and reconnect the Ley Lines. Piercing the "God King" that is Celestia is probably not meant to be taken literally. My guess is it would still sock it to Phanes though if Amy was able to reconnect the Ley Line trees like the one in Sal Vindagnyr. Imagine what might happen if that tree connected with Makoto in Inazuma and Rukkhadevata in Sumeru? Teyvat might become fortified against Celestia.

Of course to do that remember Fischl needs to use herself as the Divine Halberd. That could mean permanent depowerment. And that's probably the other side to Oz's plan. In the scenario I have in mind what'll happen is that the Abyss will force Amy to become her Archon self again. They might find something like her heart just like Naberius or they might just use his heart to power Amy. Awakening like that could be seriously disorienting and Amy would lose all control. This starts Rhinedottir's plan. That's when we'll step in probably to fight Amy so we can weaken her Archon power just enough for Oz's plan to take effect.

I need to take us back a little. There's another place Fischl's related to: Sommernachtgarten. Translated that's Summer Night Garden and it's related to the Midsummer Courtyard. Isn't it interesting how that Domain specifically is where the Ascension Domain is? Why did miHoYo pick that one? Also the Ley Line Disorder of the normal Domain is Pyro good, Cryo bad. Now I'm not sure about the Cryo part yet but Pyro being a recommended element does work. One of Amy's oldest friends is Bennett.

Time to add in some drama. So as the legend goes to remake the world Fischl will first take on the sins, the pain and suffering of all people and also swallow their dreams. Makes sense why Midsummer Courtyard fits then right? Ascension Domain. All the progress of all people gets recorded here. If we took the game mechanic literally every person needs to come here and take on this trial to move on in their journey. How many dreams and how much pain must this place have seen over the years? Fischl will absorb all of them. Then she'll burn away her own heart. Of course a heart could also be a love interest right? That's sappy enough for Hollywood it could work for miHoYo. So maybe Bennett gets burned. Last time we saw this it was an older mentor character also with a fire affinity who sacrificed herself to save someone else who lost control due to a super powerful entity inside of her. So this is totally up miHoYo's wheelhouse.

Ok ok but Genshin's much happier than that and we just so happen to have a heart to burn already. The Heart of Naberius. I think that'll be Oz's endgame. So the plan is for the Abyss to find some way of reawakening the Archon side of Amy. This forces her to confront herself. Then to fulfill the "prophecy" of saving the world he intends for Amy to exhaust her Archon power and rediminish herself permanently and the Archon power will act as the "divine halberd" to reconnect the Ley Lines and protect Teyvat from Celestia's future attacks. We've seen what Archon power can do. Marchosius used up his to safeguard Liyue and Makoto became Inazuma's Irminsul Tree the Sacred Sakura which saved it from Khaenri'ah. So after she uses her Archon power up she needs to separate herself from those powers so she can sever that fate and live out her human life. To do that Oz's heart that the Abyss uses to power her will need to be destroyed. Bennett will get that done. Unfortunately that will also permanently diminish Oz and in the end what we're left with is the same old Fischl and Oz that we've always had so the character doesn't need to change at all.

Bennett might be officially shipped with Fischl after that just like we've gotten hints of Ningguang and Beidou. Oz will forever remain with her now as an actual part of her "Vision." For added drama if miHoYo wanted they could have Oz silenced which would make sense for a summoned creature powered by a Vision. Kokomi's jellyfish for example. But that might be too dark for Genshin so I think Oz will be fine. If anything he'll pretend like his consciousness is gone only to juke us in the end. The Abyss loses again but probably won't learn their lesson. If our sibling is part of this operation and I don't see why they wouldn't be we'll have another tearful parting with them but you guys know it'll be fine. (you guys did see my first topic right?) And finally with the Ley Lines protecting the world we'd move a step closer towards defeating Celestia.

Wait did you think that was it? You guys are new to my theories. Poor you. Anyway moving on!

So I was saying the timeline of the "Immernachtreich" is weird. We know a few details already about Venti's Mondstadt so if we added Amy to this it'd be a really crowded place. Remember that in the early days of Venti's era Mondstadt was also run under Istaroth the God of Time. There's zero mentions of any other gods but since there is still traces of Istaroth around Mondstadt I think it means Amy's region had to have predated this maybe existing only around the time of Decarabian's Mondstadt.

There's a little precedence for this too. Let's say first that the era of the saints was just when the unified human civilization first engaged with Celestia. That would be after the Ark's Opening a long long time ago. Back then the world was also messed up and Celestia tamed it for the humans so that could also work as a "time of chaos." Anyway if the "Immernachtreich" is that old I'd say from a historical inspiration basis Decarabian's Mondstadt would be the founding of the Holy Roman Empire while Venti's would be later periods of it leading up to the German Confederation during Napoleon's time. This fits with Fontaine being the empire's neighbor of West Francia which would eventually become France today. And if that's true then Fischl's Immernachtreich is a defined place: Prussia.

But I'm just pulling that out of thin air aren't I? Nope. Let's go back to the event. Fischl says a bunch of stuff that doesn't really make sense but if you pay attention to her Fischlspeak she lays out some gems. Sanssouci.

It's a real place. It does in fact have a garden because a grapevine garden was a deliberate feature of it. Sanssouci is actually the name of a mansion designed by Prussian King Frederick II.

Of course Prussia could still work with Venti's Mondstadt. I mean we know the dude's pretty weak. Who's to say he didn't have help doing all that landscaping in the beginning? Now if Diluc's mansion with its vineyard is any kind of sign then maybe Immernachtreich was located around that area. It is the closest area to Decarabian's Mondstadt so it would make sense. Or it might be around Starsnatch Cliff or Stormbearer Point if real world geography played a role in miHoYo's map design which I mean it did for Inazuma, Sumeru and possibly Fontaine so far.

Yeah we're still not done yet. Knowing it's Prussia and having some kind of layout of Teyvat during that time period we can figure out something else that happened. The whole focus of Fischl's Domain was on this Tasraque thing that attacked and how Fischl would eventually defeat it. In discussion the characters just said this was a metaphor for Amy being upset nobody was supporting her chuni thing. But there's a real Tasraque in the world.

This guy! It's called a Tarasque. Tasraque. Tarasque. Subtle miHoYo. Anyway it might interest you guys to know this monster is French. And it's also a water dragon. Let's think hard. What kind of water "dragon" do we know of that came from a region based on France like Fontaine? How about this guy?

Any old players reading this? You guys remember that Endora event? We learned that the original Hydro Archon sent out a bunch of Oceanids all over Teyvat because she wanted to connect every region together using the Oceanid network. We also learned (because we keep farming her) that not every region thought it was a good thing to have these Oceanids from a foreign nation occupy their lands. Paimon even called sus on Endora because she said the Oceanids were spies. It doesn't take too much effort to believe that Amy might be one of those Archons that didn't appreciate an Oceanid popping up in her land. So she called it a Tasraque and defeated it. Then because she loves a good play her subjects made it into an epic story of her triumph.

Speaking of enemies in Flowers for Princess Fischl there's another one called Gesamtkunstwerk. Yeah try saying that if you're not German lol. You might be surprised to know it's also an English word technically. Anyway Fischl's supposed to fight this thing and it's meant to be a really really powerful enemy. Who is this? I'll get more into it another day but for now just know Gesamtkunstwerk means "total work of art" and that could relate to other terms we use to mean "total works of art." Can you think of one? Stay tuned.

Ok ok ok I've kept you for long enough. Let's end it by talking about how exactly Oz planned to get Fischl to separate from her Archon self. Any of you guys fans of Persona?

See while her Domain told us the whole story that's not what we were playing right? We were playing the quest of everybody learning more about Fischl's home life and her personal struggles namely her chuni thing that nobody in her life was supporting. And how did that end? Oz nurtured Fischl to accept her creativity so she doubled down on being Fischl but knowing that that's just a story and she's actually Amy. It taught her that she was actually very good at telling a story (except for that Drama Phantasmagoria quest god that was annoying!) so she should embrace that. In Persona a young adult has a crisis of identity and buries a part of themselves they feel ashamed of. In this case Fischl felt ashamed that her life was essentially a sham since she's really Amy and not some princess. If she chose to continue deluding herself she might have been beaten by her Shadow the Immernacht Fischl and (well in Persona 4 you die) maybe she'd end up becoming Hylic. Since she won though (she gets a Persona!) she is now able to accept the side of herself that's make believe because it's make believe.

Once this whole Archon Amy thing happens though it'll be a different chapter of this identity crisis. She's always wanted to be the Prinzessin. Now she'll learn that that's actually becoming a monstrous fallen Archon. Had she always deluded herself into believing she was Fischl then she'd end up succumbing to the raging Archon's consciousness and that'd be it for her. Since she was able to accept that she's a gifted human storyteller that version of who she is is now a thing and she can latch onto that and become truly human once Bennett destroys the heart.

Congrats to anybody who made it all the way through and got to the end. I hope you enjoyed the read and I'd love to know what you guys think about all this!

[news4usonline]

Steph Curry drops 50, Clippers prevail

LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) - The matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors seemed like an NBA playoff preview. Both teams are jockeying for a better seed position as the regular season winds down in a few weeks.  The Clippers are holding on to the No. 5 seed, while the Warriors, the league’s reigning champs, are pulling up on Los Angeles at the No. 6 position. 

Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul George (13) plays keep away from Golden Warriors star Klay Thompson on March 15, 2023. Photo by Dennis J. Freeman for News4usonline So, in a mid-March game played at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, the two teams locked horns in a real meaningful game. Well, they all are at this point in the season. Nevertheless, from the opening tip, the buzz around the game felt electric. That theme played all the way through until the Clippers finally managed to turn back the Warriors with a 134-126 win in front of a sellout crowd.  “I mean tonight they made runs,” Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard said after the game.   “Golden State’s going to make big runs. Great players, great mindsets on the floor. When they come down , coming down, knocking those big shots, threes, two or three in a row, like you said, we kept our composure. We stayed steady. Leonard continued, “We came down and executed on the offensive end and made shots. We were able to go on a run ourselves. It’s kind of like that throughout the game, but we did a great job at staying at it in that fourth quarter even when they were in the bonus pretty early. We kept fighting, we got in the bonus. We made big plays.” For the Clippers to earn their 37th win of the season, Los Angeles had to weather the storm that is better known as Steph Curry. Generally recognized as the best shooter in the history of the league, unleashed another Curry-like performance before what appeared to be a pro-Warriors crowd. Curry went through a myriad of magical shot attempts and came up with 50 points against the Clippers. He made three-pointers. He drove to the basket. There was playground stuff thrown in the mix. For a pretty good night’s worth of work, Curry made 20 of his 28 field goal attempts as he kept the Warriors in the game with his mini-runs throughout the contest. “I think especially when I guy like that explodes, to keep your composure and keep staying with the game plan I thought we kind of tried to take them out of what they were doing and Steph just made a borough of shots,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said during his postgame comments. “We try to blitz, we try to fire, he split it, he dribbled around it. Made some tough shots, some scoop shots falling down. He had it going tonight. But I just like the way we kept our composure. I thought in that first quarter defensively we were good and after that Steph got going so it was kind of hard to gauge how good our defense was.” To counter Curry’s herculean effort, the Clippers got double-digit scoring from six players, outrebounded the Warriors (44-36), and picked up more second-chance points (27-11). Clippers guard Paul George said hitting the glass and playing defense is something the Clippers have done a lot better during the current win streak the team is on.

Los Angeles forward Kawhi Leonard (2) battles with Golden Warriors guard Steph Curry for position on March 15, 2023. Photo by Dennis J. Freeman for News4usonline He attributes that to the work the team puts in when the Clippers are not playing a game. ”Practice,” George said. “Practice is what has been helping. We’ve been drilling it at practice. And it’s been carrying over.” The Warriors, who beat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Finals after last season, need more than practice. They need bodies. The team had already faced the reality of losing key players like Gary Payton II, James Wiseman and Otto Porter Jr. from last season’s championship run. The Clippers dominated the paint because the Warriors have no real presence in the middle. And now they’re faced with the prospect of not having Andrew Wiggins on the court in the postseason, which puts even more pressure to come up big night in and night out. “Y'all know me,” said Curry. “It’s nice to play well, shoot well, it’s what I expect to do every night, no matter what the stat sheet looks like it’s frustrating when we can’t get over the hump and figure out a way to get a win, especially with where we’ve been all season on the road. Our job is to just keep playing and keep competing at a high level and just try to figure it out. Whatever I got to do in the process individually, just going to keep doing that.”   Read the full article

[imperiuswrecked]

do you feel namor's birth year is the one listed on his hero id card, or do you think he's existed for much longer? with him being called the first mutant multiple times in several different iterations of sub-mariner and x-men canon, it makes me think he's probably a lot older than just 98? but i also know there's some information on atlanteans living on average ~120 years, so i wanted to get your opinion on it!

Yes, I do feel Namor’s birthday is the same as the one on his hero card. Namor actually had a different in canon birthday date in the golden age, February 2.

Sub-Mariner Comics #36 (1954)

But as we know, Marvel considers the Marvel Universe to have started with the Silver Age and the first comic of Fantastic Four (1961), so his current Birthday is February 22, 1922. We know that Namor was sent to fight the Surface World by his mother and grandfather when he came of age and he arrived in New York in 1939, and that later he went to fight in World War ll so he was a very young man/teen. Keeping to the 2/22/1922 birthday he would be 17 years old the first time he left Atlantis and came to the surface world.

I don’t think Namor is older than that because Fen meets Leonard in 1920, which is stated several times through out many different comics.

There is an limited amount of time between their meeting and Namor’s birth.

A good 1 to 2 years are not fully fleshed out, but we do know Princess Fen spent months with Leo spying on the humans and reporting to her father, Emperor Tha-korr, before falling in love with Captain McKenzie.

(Repeated many times in different comics but this one is from) Saga of the Sub-Mariner (1988) #1

They married, and we also know that Fen and Leo had an adventure with Captain Nemo during that time.

Defenders (2012) #8

Then Fen was dragged back to Atlantis against her will when her Father’s men caught up with her, leaving Leonard for dead (he survived but Fen and all of Atlantis thought he died during the fight).

(Repeated many times in different comics but this one is from) The Order (2007) #7

As for how long Atlanteans live, Marvel never made that clear, In the first picture I posted you can see Namor writing “I found I can live indefinitely”, possibly meaning he learned he was immortal, or at least long lived so long as nothing killed him. So Atlanteans could live anywhere between 200 or more years. Older Atlanteans like Vashti are called ancient ones, and when they get older they do go off to die.

Hulk Annual 1998

The only thing we do know for certain is that Atlanteans age very slowly. Also Namor is often one of the only heroes still living in most future timelines, and how he looks ranges anywhere from barely older than what he is now to old man Namor, depending on how far it is into the future or how old looking the writer/artists want him to be. (Major X (2019) #4 has an older looking Namor but it’s a Liefeld comic so I try not to blind myself any more than necessary)

Defenders (2012) #11

As for why Namor is called the first mutant, that’s a totally different thing. You see Namor is the first Marvel character, he predates X-Men publication by decades, and has had his wings since he was first created by Bill Everett in 1939. The term mutants wasn’t even made yet.

Fire & Water: Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner, and the Birth of Marvel Comics by Blake Bell

Fun Fact! Namor is called the First Mutant because he is the first mutant in real world publication, as in the first published mutant character, in Marvel Universe continuity it’s meant that Namor is the first public mutant or the first modern modern mutant birth of our age. Hence why he has the name: Namor the First Mutant. This name was used on covers of his comics throughout the years.

Namor is the prototype mutant. He is the First Mutant because of Sub-Mariner comics issue 38. In Feb. 1955 Bill Everett wrote a comic called “Wings on his Feet” which explained why Namor has his ankle wings.

When Namor was 14 he & his mother were in a dangerous situation & Namor manifested his wings as a way to save her and himself from being trapped in the ice. This was when Marvel still wasn’t Marvel, it was Atlas Comics, and this was eight years before the first X-Men comic which came out in 1963. So teens manifesting their mutant abilities during times of high stress, gaining powers in their teens was taken most likely taken from this. (I say most likely because it’s never confirmed but Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were long time mainstays of Marvel even before it became Marvel, and they had worked with Bill, so its most likely his comic inspired them when it came time to explain the Mutants.)

As for when Namor was called a mutant in Marvel continuity, that was in Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1961)

[allisondraste]

Temperance (36/42)

Pairing: Nathaniel Howe/ Female, Non-HoF Cousland

Story Summary: Nathaniel and Elissa were childhood friends, but time and distance tore them apart. In the aftermath of the Fifth Blight, and Ferelden’s Civil War, both Elissa and Nathaniel must attempt reconstruct their tattered lives. As a series of events lead them to be reunited, both are reminded of so many years ago when things were much simpler.

Chapter Summary:     A visit to Amaranthine stirs up everyone's emotions, and Liss must weigh her own happiness against concern for others.

Author Note:  The last flashback chapter from Liss' perspective has finally arrived. I'm particularly sad about saying goodbye to the Couslands, but did try to tie off any loose ends and end it on a *relatively* happy note. Nothing can be truly happy when we know what happens to the Couslands. Still, thank you all for your patience with update, and I hope you enjoy!!

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

[AO3 LINK]

Fereldan Countryside, 9:29 Dragon

The carriage ride from Highever to Amaranthine was long, the view from the window filled with an endless expanse of dull hills and grey skies that teased of rain that had yet to fall.  It was an unusual journey, and one that Liss had made few times in her life, many before she was old enough to remember, none since Lady Eliane had fallen ill.  In her mind, Vigil’s Keep was a ruin, torches burned out, cobwebs nestled in every dark, damp corner while ghosts of footsteps pattered down long empty halls.  She did not imagine it to be the sort of place one would host festivities, and she certainly could not understand why Arl Howe had so suddenly and graciously offered to host a gathering for Summerday celebrations.  

Liss had been unable to provide an appropriate excuse as to why she should remain at home, or at least nothing her parents believed to be suitable.  A shame she could not have suddenly caught some highly contagious, yet nonlethal illness that would have kept her in bed for days.  It was an even greater shame that she was a grown woman and she still had to do as her parents bade.  She loved them, but resented their insistence that she paint on a pleasant face and make political appearances, to ignore the rumors that still spread about her throughout Ferelden, to pretend like she liked Rendon Howe for any reason whatsoever.  There was no doubt that she was unfit for such a courtly lifestyle, that she’d been born into the wrong part of society. 

“Darling,” her mother spoke up from the seat directly across from her, an unstated plea in her voice, “I know that it might be too much to ask, but perhaps you could try to make it through one party without entirely shattering the ego of every young man who happens to look at you.”

Without turning her gaze from the window, Liss replied numbly, “It would be easier were their egos not so fragile.” 

“Elissa.”

“I tried at the last gathering.  I really did,” Liss explained melodramatically, turning to face her parents.  She smirked when she saw the laughter sparkling in her father’s eyes. “But I simply couldn’t pretend to find Lord Vaughan’s story about slaying a grand and majestic beast compelling.” 

Her mother appeared to stifle a chuckle. “It sounded like quite the arduous trial.  It is a wonder he survived.” 

“It was a ram, Mother.  Oren nearly hugged one to death last week, and he is tiny.” 

“Pup,” Papa chimed in, seriousness in his voice that she could not quite place. “If you do not wish to be courted, if you never want to marry, your mother and I are not going to make you.  We want you to be happy.”

“And to not embarrass your suitors in the process.”

Liss’ fists tightened around the fabric of her skirts, agitated.  The only men she had embarrassed were those who thought it appropriate to speak to her as if she were a cut of meat or some delicate trophy to be placed upon a shelf.  She’d insulted Vaughan because he made vile remarks about not only one, but several of the servants.  Of course she’d refused to tell her parents about such things, and she was not certain if it was because she did not want to worry them or if it was because she did not trust them to view the situation in the same light she did.  For all their wonderful qualities, Bryce and Eleanor Cousland were not without blind spots of their own. 

“What will make me happy,” she bit back, words sharper than she would have liked, “Is for Arl Howe to leave me alone.  Poor Thomas, too, for that matter.  If that means I have to marry an empty suit of armor, then I will.”

“You know,” Mother said, shrugging, “Thomas would be an excellent match.” 

“Yes,” Liss sighed, throwing her hands up,”Completely good and not at all awkward.” 

“Why ever would it be awkward,” the other woman teased, smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. 

“Mother. Please.”

Her parents both sighed and exchanged knowing looks with one another before turning their gazes back to her, sympathy in their expressions making her skin crawl. 

“You know, sweetheart, if you keep searching for Nathaniel in the faces of anyone else who dares get close to you, you will always be disappointed.” Mother leaned forward to place a hand on Liss’ and squeezed.

“I’ve told you a thousand times.” Liss shook her head and offered them a laugh she did not feel. “I’m over him.  It was just a ridiculous adolescent infatuation.” 

“Whatever you say, pup.”  Papa smiled a small, sad smile and leaned back in his seat. “You’ll be lucky to find someone who loves you more than that young man.” 

“He doesn’t love me,” she snapped again, hot tears burning in her eyes.  “If he loved me, he would answer my letters.”

“If that is what you must believe, then believe it,” he said with a sigh, “But I do not think you are giving the boy enough credit.” 

“Can we… stop talking about this,” Liss asked, leaning against the wall of the carriage, eyes drawn back to the window, “Please?” 

Her parents exchanged skeptical glances and eyerolls before looking back at her and nodding in unison.  She wished she had ridden with Fergus and his family after all.  Oren’s million repetitions of “are we there yet,” and fussy complaints of being bored would be far preferable to the oppressive sympathy and understanding with which she currently contended. 

Liss  knew her mother and father not deserve her cold-shouldering and hostility, that they only worried for her and her happiness.  They also knew Nate better than most, and a small part of them must have believed him to be Liss’ person.  She had believed it for many years.  Still, the longer she waited without a word from him, the more unlikely it seemed that he had the same opinion. 

The remainder of the trip was quiet, but comfortable, her father occasionally breaking the silence to hum hsoftly or tell a joke in an attempt to pull Liss from her melancholy. It would have worked had she not been so stubborn.  As they arrived in Amaranthine, to Vigil’s Keep, it was not as stark as Liss had envisioned.  Large, stone walls encircled the fortress home of the Howe family as well as several small buildings that lined the walls of the battlements, most likely serving as houses for those who worked in the castle.  Bright golden, bear-adorned banners hung from doors and decorated battlements and lively, happy people milled about excitedly, brought down only by the downpour of rain that began as the clouds broke open.  

Howe guards ushered Liss and her family inside to the main hall.  It was large, open, and lined with large wooden beams.  Deep red carpeting ran the length of the room, from the entrance to the large pair of thrones at the front.  A large brazier stood in the center of the room, unlit yet inviting all the same, and torches burned along the walls illuminating bookshelves and gorgeous portraits.  Liss could scarcely imagine that such a lovely place could belong to someone as cold as Rendon Howe.  

“Liss,” shouted a familiar voice, excitedly, pulling her from her thoughts, “I am so happy you were able to make it.”

Liss turned just in time to see Delilah embrace her, long, thin arms wrapping easily around her shoulders, before pulling away.  It had been over a year since they had seen one another in person, and Liss’ chest tightened to look at the other woman.  Delilah was tall, and had always been thin, but not so thin that she seemed as fragile as her embrace felt.  Her bright blue eyes were sunken in and sat above dark circles.  The smile she wore on her lips did not quite reach the rest of her face. 

“Delilah,” Liss finally said, taking Delilah’s hands in her own and squeezing gently before letting go, “Are you—”

“Let me show you around,” Delilah interrupted the question, very deliberately, taking Liss’ arm and tilting her head toward the direction of one of the few doors in the room.

Liss followed Delilah, down the corridors, looking as she showed her the kitchens, dining hall, and several different wings.  Ending with the Howe’s specific living area.  She’d seemed nervous, frantic the entire time, and nothing like the even, happy girl Liss remembered. 

“This is Father’s room, Thomas’, mine,”she explained.  pointing at the various doors.

“Delilah.” Liss said her name gently, hoping the concern in her voice would warrant some explanation for the obvious anxiety.

Instead she continued the tour and pointed to the final door on the wing. “That one is Nate’s… or at least it was when he was—“

“Delilah.”Liss grabbed her arm, and she turned, tears sparkling in her eyes. “You know you can talk to me, right?”

Heaving a shaky sigh, the other woman whispered an answer. “Just before you all arrived, Father informed me that I’m… that he’s…” She trailed off, obviously struggling to speak the words.

“It’s okay,” Liss said, placing her hands on Delilah’s shoulders.

“It’s anything but okay,” Delilah stated sharply, sniffing between words, “I am to marry Vaughan Kendells.  Father and Arl Urien came to some sort of agreement.”

“You can’t,” Liss said urgently, “Vaughan is—“

“Horrid? Vile? I know.” Delilah took a breath and composed herself, straightening her posture and meeting Liss’ gaze.  “Unfortunately, I was not consulted on the matter.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Well, at least maybe now he’ll leave the servant girls alone.” Delilah laughed bitterly and shrugged out from under Liss’ touch.  “Father tells me this is only the case because your father refuses to make you marry Thomas. He intends to obtain influence one way or another, I suppose.” 

“My parents do not believe in arranging marriages,” Liss explained, pretending not to feel the sting of her friend’s words.  Delilah wouldn’t blame her for this, would she? 

“So this was your choice?”

“Yes.”

Delilah’s lips pressed into a thin line and she shook her head in disbelief.  “Can you not get over yourself?”

The question pierced Liss’ chest as well as any arrow could, and she nearly released an audible gasp. “But I thought—“

“You thought what?  That Nathaniel was going to come back at any moment?”  She was speaking loud enough that her words echoed down the hallway.  “You know, I tried to believe the same.  I really did, but it’s been seven years, and he hasn’t said a word to any of us.  He’s gone. He’s not coming back, and now I am to pay the price for everyone else’s selfishness.”

How frightened Delilah must have been to become so agitated, so uncharacteristically pointed. Liss didn’t want to cry, didn’t feel as if she had the right, but nevertheless the tears fell, and Delilah flinched. A worried knot formed between her brows and she reached out. 

“Maker, Liss,” she said gently, “I am so sorry.  I shouldn’t have— that was completely unworthy of me.”

“No. I understand why you’re upset with me.  It isn’t fair.”

“Nothing is fair,” muttered Delilah, smiling sadly, “But I shouldn’t take it out on one of the few friends I have. Please forgive me.”

“Of course.”

They embraced, and Delilah excused herself to clean up and make herself appear “presentable” again.  Liss turned to walk back down the hallway, toward the main hall, hoping to regroup with her family before guests began to arrive.  She couldn’t shake the uneasiness in her stomach that lingered from her friend’s words.  Was it truly her fault that Delilah was being forced into a marriage with Vaughan?  Wouldn’t Arl Howe certainly have made the arrangement regardless of Liss’ decision about Thomas?  How many lives did that man intend on ruining to make himself happy? 

 Just as she neared the staircase that would take her down to the main area, a large portrait that hung on the wall caught her eye, and she moved closer to get a better look.  It featured two, young, uniformed men.  One had raven hair, blue eyes, and an icy expression.  The other was only slightly shorter, with sandy brown hair and a wide smile.  It was a portrait of her father and Arl Howe, painted when they were much younger, likely around her own age.  She tilted her head and examined the young arl more closely.  She had not seen Nate since he was just seventeen, but the resemblance was still striking. 

“Ah,” remarked a voice behind Liss, causing her to jump and turn around.  It was Rendon himself, and Liss’ stomach twisted back into knots.  “Lady Elissa, there you are.  Your parents have been looking for you.”

“Delilah was showing me around,” she stated politely, “It has been so long since we visited your home, I had forgotten how lovely it is.”

“You are too kind, my lady,” he replied with a smile that almost appeared genuine.  Then he turned his gaze to the painting, smirk forming at the corners of his mouth.  “I see you’ve found the one portrait for which your father ever convinced me to sit with him.”

“It is a beautiful piece, my lord.”  Liss eyed him skeptically, but his expression was still sincere as he moved closer to examine the painting himself, hands behind his back.  

“It was just after my wedding to Lady Eliane,” he explained, “Your parents were the only guests in attendance.”

Liss shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows. “Why?”

“Our wedding was not long after the end of the Rebellion.  Despite the fact that my brother’s choice to join the Rebellion turned the tide of the efforts to retake the throne, despite his death in service to King Maric, and despite my own injuries at the Battle of White River, many among the nobility still mistrusted the Howes.  We were thought to be cowards and opportunists whose loyalties depended entirely upon who had the greatest odds of winning.”

“And those sentiments remained after the war had passed?”  

“Yes.” The answer was abrupt, but Liss could hear the emotion behind the word. “Eliane’s family held that opinion more fiercely than anyone else, and especially regarding me.”

Unsure what to say, and desperate to be out of conversation with the man, Liss helplessly muttered, “I am sorry to bring up painful memories, my lord.”

As if he did not hear her remark, he sighed and continued.  “Nathaniel was always so much like Leonas, always skeptical and questioning.  My word never satisfied the boy.”

Liss’ chest tightened.  Was this his aim, to taunt her with Nate again?  “And so you sent him to Starkhaven as punishment?”

“I sent him to Starkhaven for his own good,” Arl Howe said through his teeth, true colors bleeding through the facade of geniality he’d been wearing just moments prior, “I am not the monster he would have you believe.”

“Arl Howe,” Liss stated as boldly as she could, “Nate didn’t talk about you. Not unless it was to explain why he had to pretend I did not exist for days.”

“I see.” He frowned, and stood silently for longer than Liss would have preferred. “You are still quite taken with him, aren’t you?”

“No,” she answered tersely, eyes welling up with hot, angry tears, but she held them back.  “In fact, I’m not certain I could even still call him my friend.”

“Well, that is good news, indeed,” he said, still smirking,  “You are a lovely young woman, Lady Elissa, and it would be a shame to see you wasted on that fool boy.  I hope you reconsider your refusal to marry Thomas.”

Liss’ temper ignited immediately, but before she had the opportunity to snap at the arrogant man, to tell him where he could shove his arrangement, he nodded politely and left down the hallway, toward his quarters.  It was alarming and uncomfortable, his last words repeating themselves in her mind, a silent “or else” attached to the end, a vague threat of nothing or anything.  While she would have preferred anything to giving him what he wanted, she could not help but wonder if it might be better to appease him.  Thomas was kind and gentle, and not similar enough to Nate in appearance or demeanor that it would be too uncomfortable.  Would it be so terrible?

When Liss finally made her way back down to the throne room, several guests had already begun to arrive.  A handful of lesser lords from the bannorn mingled about, talking quietly, almost drowned out entirely by the boisterous Guerrin family, Bann Teagan in particular making jokes and rubbing arms with Liss’ father.  Arl Eamon stood some distance away with his lovely wife and son, speaking to Fergus and Orianna while the two little boys played.  They all looked so happy, so contented with this way of life, with stroking one another’s egos and pretending that nothing could possibly ever go wrong.  

Liss caught a glimpse of Lord Daerios, across the room, as well.  He was surrounded by young women, daughters of other Banns no doubt.  His eyes met hers and he winked, causing heat to rush to her cheeks.  She smiled and waved, ignoring the pangs of regret that she had been unable to love him.

In the far corner of the room, sulking in the shadows stood the only person who seemed remotely as miserable as Liss was, a kindred spirit among the revelry.  Thomas had once been such a cheerful boy, mischievous and fun.  She had always wondered how he was even related Nate.  However, in the years since his brother had left, Tom had struggled to live up to his father’s expectations for him, turning to the bottle to cope.  She approached him somberly, and he nodded when he saw her, a sad, knowing smile on his lips.

“You look like you’ve spoken to Delilah. Or Father.  Both, perhaps?”

“Both,” she answered, one persistent tear streaking it’s way down her face.

“Oh, no. Don’t do that.” Thomas said, patting his pockets until he found a handkerchief and pulled it out, extending it to her.  “I’m horribly bad at comforting women.”

Liss took the handkerchief and laughed as he continued.  “Come to think of it, I’m not very good at comforting anyone.  I can’t even make myself feel better most of the time.”

“Sorry, Tom.  I just—“

“Want to go for a walk, my lady?” Tom offered his arm to her. “We could go outside, maybe get some air.”

She tilted her head and laughed again. “But it’s raining.”

“Even better,” he said with a shrug, “It does seem to fit the current mood.”

“You have a point.”  Liss smiled and looped her arm through his, and allowed him to lead her out the front door and into the courtyard.  For a brief moment she wondered if anyone saw, worried what they might think.  Then, she decided she didn’t care.  Thomas was perhaps the only person in the world who knew exactly how she felt, who understood, and she refused to give a rat’s about how leaving another party with another man would look.  It wasn’t like that with Tom anyway. 

Outside, the rain fell with much more force than Liss had expected.  It was less of a somber stroll in a drizzle, and more of a dash through a torrential downpour to reach the entrance to the battlements.  They ran up the stairs and out to a covered area that looked over the courtyard.  Water drenched her hair and clothes, making them heavy.  A glance up at Thomas, and she saw water droplets fair from his dark brown curls.  He chuckled, tousling his hair as if that would help the situation.  

“Well then,” he remarked, staring out at the sky as if it had personally offended him, before sitting down and leaning his back against the parapet.  

Liss sat down next to him, and returned his handkerchief, now thoroughly wet from the rain.  “Think of it this way: We now have ample excuse not to go back inside.”

“Sorry I missed your ridiculously boring affair, Father, but Lady Elissa and I were lost at sea.” He waved his arms dramatically.  “We had to swim for days!”

“I am certain that he would not be amused.”

“Well, no,” he admitted, smile fading, “But what else is new?”

Several quiet moments passed in which she did not know what to say.  Thomas stared off into the space in front of him, scowl hardening his soft features.  It was the first time she had ever really thought he resembled his brother.  Unable to bear it any longer, Liss sighed and spoke.  “You know, we could save ourselves and everyone the trouble, and just get married.  It wouldn’t be so bad.” 

“Yes, the perfect reason to get married: not awful.”  He laughed and turned to face Liss. “Besides, I’m content with my father’s unhappiness.”

“What? It would only be on paper, and for formal occasions.” She laughed.  “All the other times we could go on as if we were not married. “

“What about when we have to make an heir?”  Thomas raised an eyebrow and heat rushed to her face as if she were suddenly modest.  

“That’s one of those ‘cross the bridge when you get to it’ sorts of problems,” she replied, waving her hand dismissively.

“It is a bridge I would rather not have to cross,” he admitted, looking down at the floor beneath him.  

“Am I that unappealing?”

“You are very beautiful, my lady.  Strong, fun, intelligent.”  He laughed and shook his head.  “It made sense that Nate would like you, but… I don’t, not in that way at least.  I’ve never liked any woman in that way.” 

“Oh,” Liss muttered, feeling awful for putting him in such a position that he disclosed something so personal to her.  

“I’ve not talked about it with anyone except Nate,” he explained, “And now you.  Please don’t tell anyone.  Not even Delilah.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” 

“Anyway,” Tom continued, finally bringing his eyes back up to meet hers, “What I am trying to say is that I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will not be allowed to freely be with whomever I want.  Not while father still lives and breathes.”

“Then why not be with a friend, someone who understands?”  Liss didn’t want to marry Thomas, now less than ever.  Yet she hated the idea that he would be miserable. 

“Because you should be with my brother,” he said, seriously, frowning. “You deserve to be with someone who loves you like he does at the very least.” 

“Tom,” she argued, “Nate hasn’t spoken to me in years.”

“I know, Liss.  He hasn’t spoken to me in years either.”  His words were pointed, but not at her.  “He’s a ridiculous, stubborn arse, and he’s going to regret that he ever thought he could pretend we don’t exist.  That doesn’t make him any less my brother, and it doesn’t make him any less in love with you.”

“I —”  She began to protest, but did not even know where to start, or if she even wanted to.  She wanted to believe that Nathaniel cared about her, but that made everything more difficult.  There were no easy answers if he still cared, no quick and easy solution to locking away her own feelings.

“I could probably have said that more gently, couldn’t I?”  He smiled apologetically. 

“Just a little,” she joked.  

They sat up in the battlements until the rain slowed, and their clothing was dry enough that their return to the main hall would not cause a stir.  The guests had all arrived, and music had begun to be played.  Everyone danced happily.  Even Delilah had cheered up as she twirled around with Fergus while Vaughan stood off to the side grimacing.  Oriana watched, eyes glittering with amusement. 

It was Oren who first noticed Liss’ return, grinning and flailing his arms excitedly as he ran to her.  She scooped him up in her arms easily and embraced him.  He wrapped his tiny arms around her neck, hands tangling up in her hair.  

“Auntie Liss,” he said, words lilting up into a question. 

“Yes?”

“Why are you all wet?”  He leaned back, eyebrows furrowed in concern. 

“We were lost at sea,” Thomas chimed in, pinching Oren’s little nose playfully, “Your auntie here is the only reason we didn’t drown.” 

“Thomas,” Liss scolded, but was unable to keep the laughter out of her voice. 

Oren’s eyes widened and he looked back to Liss, bringing his hands to her cheeks. “Is that true?”

“It’s completely true,” Thomas answered in her stead, “She even had to fight an enormous whale with her bare hands.” 

“Tom,” Liss scolded again, words muffled by her cheeks being squished together. 

“Oh wow,” Oren exclaimed, “You’re the bestest auntie ever.”

“And your the bestest nephew ever,” she answered, doing her best to hold back the blissful tears that welled in her eyes. 

“Oren, let go of Elissa’s face, child,” Oriana said as she approached.  She was both stern and gentle at the same time.  

“Mama, Auntie Liss and Thomas got lost at sea and Auntie Liss got them back here by fighting a whale.” 

Oriana raised her eyebrows and smiled, looking from Liss to Thomas.  “Sounds like quite the adventure.  Perhaps we can join next time, yes?”

“I love you, Liss,” Tom said, dryly, “But I am not getting lost at sea again for your family’s amusement.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I intend to return to my corner to sulk.”

Liss and Oriana both laughed as Thomas walked away, grabbing a glass of wine from one of the servants before doing so.  He’d be completely drunk within the hour, and Liss couldn’t say she blamed him.  She turned her head back so that she could look at Oren, still gazing up at her in adoration.  

“Hey Oren.”

“Hmm?”

“Want to dance with me?”

Oren grinned widely and wiggled down out of Liss’ arms, balancing himself before bowing and extending a hand to her as formally as a four year old could.  Liss looked up at Oriana who beamed proudly.  

“Well are you not just a proper gentleman,” Liss said, as she took his hand and walked him out onto the dance floor.  They spun and laughed and twirled, completely ignoring the steps to the Remigold, or whatever other ridiculous dance the others performed.  For the first time in years, Liss felt something she could only describe as contentment.  Nothing was perfect.  In fact, many things in her life, and in the lives of those around her, were the opposite of perfect.  However, they all had one another, and maybe that would be enough.  

[leonkennedystuff]

coming home (leon kennedy x reader)

[RE6!Leon]

Summary: ! REQUESTED ! If you are still taking requests, How about Leon (RE 6 or Vendetta) meeting younger reader parents? With a tense situation because reader parents thinks that Leon is very old for she, and Leon tries to win their approval to ask for reader hand(?

Warnings: none

this took FOREVER to make and I’m sorry for the quality of this - writer’s block was so bad :( I hope you still enjoy though, anon and other readers <3

(Note: This takes place pre-Resident Evil 6, more or less 2 months before the Tall Oaks incident to keep it as canon-compliant and neat as possible.) 

Your restless hand runs through your thick, (H/C) hair once again – although you do it to put it in place, your unnecessary finger-combing does the opposite of that.

If it weren’t your repetitive movements, your restive lip-gnawing and your consecutive sighing was what made apparent how on edge you were currently feeling.

This was all too bittersweet, all of this – after nearly 3 years of being away, you were finally back in your hometown.

Seeing the quaint, two-story bungalow house of white and red brick made your heart swell with beautiful memories – of a time that seems like a lifetime ago, when the world hadn’t turned so malignant.

You didn’t realize just how much you ached to be home; now that your mind wasn’t inundated with your work, you finally felt full-force the weight of your pent-up homesickness.

Just standing in front of the weathered brown door got you feeling overwhelmed - like you couldn’t believe it was actually before your eyes. It was a very welcome change though; you were sick and tired of hopping from country to country, from hotel room to hotel room.

Although light chips littered the intricate floral patterns of the door’s face and more scratches decorated its surface, it holds a deep-rooted charm that was unlike any other. Sentimentality, you thought.

Your job had forced you to be away for so long from all that was familiar and comfortable, subjecting you to witness and experience first-hand the cruelties and terror of the world you and the rest of mankind now lived in.

Bio-organic weapons, mutations, viral outbreaks that reduce whole cities to non-existence… It was reality, the horrendous truth, and you were selected from your former position in the USSS for your great skills and your achievements to work under the D.S.O. operative of the United States government to combat these kinds of bioterrorism.

Although young at the just-turned age of 27, you’ve been an agent of theirs for 2 years now and you’ve seen unimaginable things – no matter how long and how much you’ve gone through, the heartbreak of losing a team mate, a friend, and the crippling fear towards these creatures only worsens each time it’s encountered.

But it’s why you never stop fighting - no matter how daunting, no matter how perilous, no matter how deadly.

You want nothing more but to avenge the lives lost in the grips of these terrorists, to protect places dear to you like here, (Your Home Town), and people like your parents. For you, there were no greater reasons than those.

Picking absent-mindedly at the hangnails on your fingers, your bright (E/C) eyes shift from the familiar door of your childhood and to the tall, handsome man beside you.

Your line of work is dangerous, probably one of the most precarious jobs available, if not the most. It’s left you with permanent scars – on your body and on your psyche. Indeed, saving the world time and time again came with grave and detrimental prices but if there was one thing you were tremendously grateful for in your time as an agent – it’s him. Without a doubt.

Leon Scott Kennedy, your partner – in and out of the field.

“Are you alright?” You break the silence, a nervous smile making its way to your face as your fingers continue to fidget with one another. You couldn’t help the unusual grin; something about the current situation was both nerve-wracking as it was droll - for you, anyway.

Evidently, your voice caused the distracted blonde man to crash back down from whatever thoughts were running wild in his head. He turns his attention to you, blinking before a small grin of his own widens his lips.

“I am,” He replies, although you sense that he wasn’t being totally honest. Despite the kind and reassuring look he was displaying, his impeccably blue eyes still seemed occupied with thoughts.

You don’t press on it though, mostly because you knew he just didn’t want to admit the tension he was feeling. It was mutual; you didn’t want to make each other more nervous than you already were.

“Ready?” You glance over him one more time, a thoughtful nod accompanying your movements. Leon gives you his green light with his own head moving up and down, a lungful of air exhaled in a form of a sigh.

You reach out to take his large, slightly calloused hand in your softer, smaller one and give it a heartening squeeze. Wanting to return his own support, he tenderly steals a moment to bring your knuckles to his soft lips.

Your face flushes and you try to contain the smile threatening to rip the corners of your mouth; the fullness of his skin and the feeling of it soft and flush against yours made it almost impossible though.

Be still, restless heart, you chastise yourself, shaking your head.

As he lets go, you gingerly bring your hand up to the doorbell, taking in a deep breath before pressing it firmly, feeling the old thing click under your touch. Hearing the faint buzz resonate from inside, the nerves that you thought had finally settled instantly returns – this time with a vengeance, hitting you harder than before.

Your whole body was in turmoil after sealing your faith - stomach churning, chest pounding, face prickling, hands growing clammy.

You haven’t seen your parents in a very long time, a period much longer than you wanted – does your mother still wear the same perfume? Was your father still as healthy as you remember? How would you react seeing them? How would they react seeing you?

How would they react seeing Leon, or when you introduce him as the man you’ve been dating for a year and a half now? Or when they find out how much younger you were compared to him, if they haven’t already noticed just by looking at you both– you, still fresh-faced and barely north of being 27, and him, more matured, in the middle of being 36?

Definitely, there was an age-gap running between you both – but it didn’t matter to you, and Leon, although struggling sometimes with insecurity, knew that the care and love he had dwarves the doubts that would sometimes cloud his head. You were his best friend and, on top of that, the person he trusted the most.

“Who is it?” A gentle voice, slightly faint from the distance, calls from beyond the door, footsteps padding and more audible as they grew closer.

The breath you take is shaky, and it’s like the inside of your chest shakes with it; you could recognize that motherly voice anywhere and hearing it in person for the first time in years makes your eyes grow moist.

Beside you, Leon catches your emotions. You’ve told him about your parents and your golden childhood; how close you were to both your mom and dad and how heartbroken they were to send their only child off. He knew you missed them terribly, but he didn’t quite expect this. He couldn’t help but smile.

Leon takes a small sidestep to close the distance between your bodies and rests his warm hand on your hip, an effort to be encouraging. You melt into his side, moving into his touch, his familiar aroma filling your lungs and your own hand hovering over his.

When the door in front of you both finally opens, you – as if on cue- tighten your grip on the blonde man.

Your mother appears and you let your breath go, not even realizing you were holding it. Your heart had started to race, and it seemed that hers’ was as well.

“(Y/N)?” Your mom peers through the screen door, her aged (Y/M/E/C) eyes wide at the sight of you, like she was seeing a ghost. You were probably gaping at her the same way; asides from a few strands of white hair and a slimmer face, she looked the same way – healthier, even.

“Mom,” You beam, your voice catching slightly as you take a step forward, like her figure had beckoned you over.

Hearing your voice, your mother looked like she was going to have a heart attack right then and there. “Oh, my life!” She exclaims, her right hand clutching her chest, “(Y/D/N)! Come here, quick! Hurry!” Your mom calls for your father, turning her head for just a split-second before quickly whipping back to you, as if afraid you’ll disappear from view if she looked away for too long.

“Come on in, come in – my dear girl, I can’t believe it!” She sobs, rushing to open the door that divided your bodies and letting you and Leon enter the house. It seems, though, that her shock was still too overwhelming for her to notice the man you had brought with you.

Once inside, you were immediately wrapped in a tight and very earnest embrace. You returned it with just as much vigor, feeling your heart soar in a way that made you lightheaded. If a simple action could make for lost time, this embrace would bring years back.

“What’s going o- (Y/N)!?”

Your head quickly turns to see your dad appearing from behind the cedar wood staircase. Your attempt in keeping your tears behind your eyes had been fruitful until this very moment – watching your father’s kind (Y/D/E/C) eyes widen at you finally broke the dam.

“Papa!” You sob softly as he rushes over, his arms overlapping your mom’s to join in a hug that was long overdue. For a tranquil moment, the three of you remain as you are – huddled together in a reunion that’s been yearned for years.

It seemed like your eyes were closed for minutes, just basking in the warmth of your parents, and when you finally reopen them, the first thing in your line of sight is your partner, smiling thoughtfully. Regardless the enthralled look on his face that suggested he didn’t mind being minded, you felt very bashful for having momentarily forgotten about him.

You straighten yourself a little bit, causing your parent’s hold on you to loosen up slightly. Your knowing gaze doesn’t leave Leon’s sapphire regard when you grin at him, nodding with silent intent.

“Mom, dad,” You break away, their eyes following your hand as you gesture towards Leon - Leon who already had a polite smile on his full lips and masking perfectly the small jabs of his nerves.

You could have chuckled seeing your parents’ surprise to finally take notice of him. Your dad was the first one to approach; he looked so grateful making his way towards Leon and you were in awe.

The reason as to why you were nervous bringing him home and introducing him to your parents was because of how conservative they can be and how nit-picky it tends to make them. You were anxious with their reaction, especially with the age-gap. Although they don’t dictate your decisions, you wanted terribly for them to like and approve of Leon.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Mr. -?” Your father clamps Leon’s hand in a firm handshake, regarding the blonde man with the utmost interest as he waits for his name.

Leon returns the grip, “Kennedy, Leon Kennedy,” He nods with the best of manners.

“Mr. Leon Kennedy,” Your father smiles, looking back at you for a second to send you a quick wink. You frown at him playfully. “I take it that you’re (Y/N)’s boss?” He asks, although sounding more like a conversational statement rather than a legitimate question.

With that, the frown on your face quickly turns real. Oh no, you thought.

You clear your throat, catching your dad’s attention.

“Papa, Leon isn’t my boss,” You start with a soft shake of your head, chuckling a little despite the nervous somersaults in your stomach. Your eyes move to rest on your mom beside you before returning to your dad who was beginning to look a little confused.

Taking a breath, you walk over to the blonde man – to the man who has been home to you for the few years gone by and - you hope and pray - for many more to come.

Despite your small worry, you take his hand in your own, looking up to him warmly and finding comfort in his beautiful ocean-eyes. You relax even more when his thumbs run across the humps of your knuckles.

“Leon is my boyfriend.”

                                    ____________________________

Your hands were wrapped around a white ceramic mug filled with tea, black tea, and you were thankful for the warmth your palms were stealing from it. Moreover, you were thankful to have something to hold and have your nails tap at when the tense silence in the dining table grew.

Around a quarter of an hour has passed since your formal introduction of Leon and it was more than accurate to say that your parents were not over the moon with it.

For Christ’s sake, your father thought he was your damn boss! You remind yourself, hastily so.

You bring the mug to your lips, taking a small sip and focusing on the faint bitter tones invading your mouth. You weren’t thirsty, you weren’t so crazy over tea either, but it was better to do something - anything at all- even for just a few seconds, to distract from the torn expressions on your parents’ faces.

“So, uh, how long have you both been together?” Your dad clears his throat, trying to start a conversation with a smile that seemed way too conflicted to pass as genuine.

“A year and a half now,” You answer him, bringing his eyes and attention to rest on you. He merely says ‘Ah’ and nods his head, giving your mom a quick look before looking back at his own drink, as if to say ‘Your turn’.

It took a lot of will to keep the peeved sigh from escaping past your mouth; you didn’t like the turn your homecoming took. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t expect their initial reaction, but you didn’t expect it to bother them this much.

“So, Leon, how long have you been working in the DSO?” Indeed, it was your mom’s turn to say something. All eyes, including yours, look to the man beside you.

Leon moves his hands from resting on the tabletop to his lap, dusting his fitted black jeans despite the absence of any stain or lint. You understood his slight unease – he didn’t like talking about his work to civilians, it brought back some very vivid memories he’d do almost anything to forget.

“Since 2011, Mrs. (Y/L/N),” He replies kindly, which your appreciated.

In the DSO, Leon was the prime operative, the main agent, especially valued by Mr. Adam Benford, the founder of the organization and the President of the United States.

You’ve heard of Leon Scott Kennedy prior to being transferred from the USSS; “The Raccoon City Survivor”, “Operation Javier’s Golden Boy,” “President Graham’s favorite agent” – these were just some of the titles he’s earned himself from past missions that you knew him by. Regardless the silly labels though, your coworkers from the DHS respected him a lot.

So, when you found out you were to be tested as a fit to be his field partner? You were beyond intimidated by the task, but were extremely overjoyed and flattered when you were chosen out of the other potential agents. To work with someone so skilled and so praised the way Leon was – you knew you wouldn’t get another opportunity.

Never in your wildest dreams nor did it ever cross your mind once that you were going to fall in love with him though; albeit you were 25 at the time, you were mature and a professional in your job and that entailed professionalism in all aspects. His attractiveness, though not unnoticed, had never bothered you and his seldom thoughtful comments was only enough to make you blush.

So, naturally, it came as a huge surprise to not only you, but Leon as well when the easiness of your friendship and comradery blossomed into something so much deeper and intimate – much deeper and intimate than you both saw coming.

It didn’t take long when you and him started to develop profound emotions for each other – it took just a matter of months but strung along for a year and a half now.

You love him, you really do, and you know he does too.

Breaking yourself from your own reverie, you tuck your plump bottom lip between your teeth and bask in the feeling of warmth spreading in your chest for a second.

“He saved my life more times than I’m sure I can recall,” You share, coy but very fondly, with a small simper accompanying your kind string of words. “In all ways,” You continue, your voice growing soft as you intended for only Leon to hear the last bit.

Beside you, he holds your gaze, letting every bit of your sentiment seep into his beating heart. Leon, for a very long time, has struggled to show or accept affection – since he was ‘recruited’ in US-STRATCOM after the events of Raccoon City, and even the events during, his scarring experiences had hardened him.

On that tragic night in ’98, Leon was catapulted into a life he had never envisioned – one so dark, deceiving and so utterly frightening he couldn’t stand to believe at first that it was all real.

Definitely, he believed in all of it now, even as it continues to evolve, grow more dangerous and horrific – it’s the only truth he’s known for so long, his life revolved around it.

One thing that never gets easier to believe though was losing someone - a teammate or a whole unit, a friend, even civilians he’d failed to save. His once vigored heart turned to stone, and it seemed to be easier that way. He believed that deaths would be much easier to cope with if there wasn’t enough reason to miss them.

Despite what he believed though, you were the first person he’d open himself up to as fully as he can bring himself; he’d been left behind by a woman he survived hell with in Raccoon City with a child who had just turned orphan on the same night, he’d been tricked, lied and betrayed by a woman he’d pined over for years countless of times, and he’d had comrades rat him out, causing him to lose so many people.

You were a fear of his, but there was just something about you that made it so impossible to stay away; like Icarus flying too close to the sun.

You were loving and caring and kind and warm and gentle and everything that he had been starved of. You were a breath of the freshest air and confiding in you was the best risk he’d ever taken.

Smiling at Leon, you reach out from under the table to hold his hand. With his thoughts about you, he was quick to return the grip, a need to be close to you nipping at his subconscious.

When you look from him to your father, you were slightly surprised to see his softened features.

“You really care about each other, huh?” He nods, a redolent expression etched on his aged yet gentle face. His eyes, kind eyes that crinkled at the slightest suggestion of a smile from years of happiness of having a loving family, switches to rest on your mother, your mother who seemed to be thinking the same thoughts and feeling the same feelings as him.

“Reminds me a bit of you and me, huh, (Y/D/N)?” Your mom pipes, sharing a smile. “Your dad and I may not work jobs as heavy duty as yours, but we care for each other the way you two seem to do,” She says meaningfully, her long fingers intertwining. She turns to your father, a knowing grin being passed on, “It’s good – it’s always good to see someone love. I can tell just by the way he was looking at (Y/N),” She gestures towards you and Leon.

“I don’t know where I’d be without her,” Leon adds, still slightly reserved but there was a tenderness in his voice and the way he looked at you that made your breath hitch blissfully.

“You’ll take good care of her?” Your dad poses, and Leon can’t help but grin. The answer to that question was always definitive, but he had given it more thought recently – he’ll always take care of you, no matter what, for as long as you wanted him to. He hoped forever.

“There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to ask…”

[thecollegefootballguy]

The Real Big Ten West

Hello everybody. I enjoyed my look at the various three-way rivalry series in college football and I came to the conclusion that there should be a few more.

One of the three-way rivalries that absolutely needs a trophy is the original Big Ten West: Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. All three of these schools consider each other rivals and have some of college football’s oldest and coolest rivalry trophies: Paul Bunyan’s Axe and Floyd of Rosedale.

I propose a new trophy be created and handed out to the winner of the three-way series. Call it something related to that region or those schools. Something original like Floyd Bunyan’s Axe. I’m gonna go ahead and say that the rules governing the trophy be modeled around the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy or the Michigan MAC Trophy. The simplest tiebreakers are often the best, so if a tie comes up just leave the Trophy in the hands of the current champion.

Of course I took the trouble to chart out the history of this fake trophy, so let’s go and see who wins Floyd Bunyan’s Axe.

-

The Early Days: 1890-1917

We begin our story on November 5, 1890, the first time that Minnesota and Wisconsin met on the gridiron. The Golden Gophers won 63-0. A year later Minnesota and Iowa played for the first time, a 42-4 Gopher victory. It took three more years to complete the circle when the Badgers and Hawkeyes played, a 44-0 Wisconsin win.

Minnesota and Wisconsin were founding members of the Western Conference in 1892. It was the first ever college football conference and the original incarnation of the Big Ten. Iowa joined in 1899 and were very much treated like a junior partner for some time.

Minnesota and Wisconsin immediately dove into a competitive rivalry. Their game began being played later in the season, though usually it wasn’t the end of season game. The Gophers and Badgers traded off streaks in the series, with no team dominating for more than four years.

The Iowa rivalry took much longer to develop as a program. Those early meetings turned out to be one-offs. After their first game in 1891, the Hawkeyes wouldn’t play Minnesota again until 1901. Even then it was an on-again, off-again kind of thing. Wisconsin played Iowa even less frequently.

Under head coach Henry Williams, the Gophers turned into one of the top teams in college football. In Williams’ first season in 1900, Minnesota went 10-0-2. In 1903 they were again undefeated with an impressive 14-0-1 record, with the one tie coming against fellow undefeated Michigan. In those early years, the Wolverines were Minnesota’s biggst rival. Both schools were two of the first big national powers outside of the Northeast.

In 1904, the Golden Gophers were a perfect 13-0 and claimed their first ever national championship. It was a definite high point under Williams. The Gophers would win five more Western Conference championships but wouldn’t again compete for national titles until the 30′s.

This whole time, Iowa remained marginalized by Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the rest of the conference. The Hawkeyes had several good seasons but were clearly far behind the others, who would not have considered Iowa rivals back then.

Floyd Bunyan’s Axe Record Minnesota: 16 Wisconsin: 12

Minnesota and Wisconsin completely dominated Iowa in this era. Of course, neither team played the Hawkeyes all that much in this span which contributes to this disparity, but when they did play Iowa couldn’t manage a single win.

Despite the Gophers’ national championship period in the early 1900′s, Minnesota only just edges out Wisconsin. The Badgers were able to get the better of their rivals in the late 1890′s and late 1900′s.

-

Iowa Joins the Fray: 1918-1931

In 1916, Iowa hired former Yale national champion coach Howard Jones to come to Iowa City. Jones immediately flipped the dynamic between the Hawkeyes and their would-be rivals. Iowa beat Minnesota in 1918, their first win in the series. They won their next four games against the Gophers and five of the next six. Howard Jones left Iowa following the 1923 season, but that was after two undefeated seasons in ‘21 and ‘22.

In 1924, the Hawkeyes played Wisconsin for the first time in seven years, and finally notched their first win over the Badgers. UI and UW would meet for the next five seasons. They weren’t annual rivals yet, but the series was beginning to be played on a more regular basis.

By the mid-20′s Minnesota reasserted themselves as both Iowa and Wisconsin receded to the bottom of the Big Ten. The Gophers weren’t yet back to challenging for the conference championship every year but they won a league title in 1927 under Clarence Spears, who would later coach the Badgers in the mid-30′s.

Floyd Bunyan’s Axe Record Minnesota: 21 Wisconsin: 13 Iowa: 8

Iowa makes a splash under Howard Jones, winning five trophies in a row and seven of eight from 1918 to 1925. Never mind that half of them via tiebreaker scenarios, but if Wisconsin wanted the trophy they should have played the Hawkeyes. 1925 itself was a weird year because both Minnesota and Wisconsin tied with a 1-0-1 record in the eligible games, but 0-2 Iowa got to keep the trophy because no winner could be declared.

Minnesota did a good enough job in the late 20′s, though it was mostly because both the Badgers and Hawkeyes fell towards the bottom of the standings. Wisconsin was pretty miserable. The Badgers should have had some kind of claim on the tiebreakers that Iowa won from 1920-22 and 1925, but it didn’t play out that way.

Minnesota was able to distance themselves from Wisconsin in the all-time standings, and at the same time formerly hapless Iowa was able to make up a lot of ground despite remaining in last place. At least Iowa was finally able to start playing the Golden Gophers on a yearly basis from this point on.

-

The Bierman Era: 1932-1949

In 1932, Minnesota hired star Tulane head coach Bernie Bierman to replace the departed Fritz Crisler. Bierman wasted absolutely no time turning the Gophers back into a powerhouse. Minnesota went a unique kind of undefeated in 1933, going 4-0-4. The following years, the Golden Gophers smoothed over those ties and began to properly win out.

Minnesota went 23-1 from 1934 to 1936, winning back to back to back national championships. The Gophers were a perfect 8-0 those first two seasons and were awarded the first ever AP National Title in 1936 despite a 7-1 finish. Minnesota won Big Ten championships in the following two years, but didn’t claim any AP titles.

After a reset year in 1939, the Golden Gophers again went undefeated in 1940 and 1941, and claimed national titles both seasons. Minnesota was suddenly the hottest program in the country, having won five championships in eight years. It’s interesting to think what would have happened if World War II didn’t come and mess everything up.

Bierman was drafted into the Army, where he served as the coach of the Iowa Pre-Flight team in 1942. The Gophers muddled through several so-so seasons before Bierman came back in 1945 to again turn things around. Unfortunately Minnesota wasn’t as good this time around. While competitive, the Golden Gophers were unable to win another Big Ten or national championship before Bierman retired in 1950.

For the most part, Wisconsin and Iowa fell between average and below average during the Bierman era. However, the Badgers did manage an 8-1-1 campaign in 1942 that saw them finish 3rd in the AP poll. The loss was against Iowa. Wisconsin was awarded a national title by the Helms Athletic Foundation, likely for beating #1 Ohio State.

Floyd Bunyan’s Axe Record Minnesota: 36 Wisconsin: 15 Iowa: 9

Minnesota completely dominated its rivals under Bernie Bierman. The Golden Gophers were more in competition with Michigan and Ohio State for mastery of the Big Ten than with their regional rivals and that’s more than reflected in the all-time standings.

As all three of the rivalries were strengthened during this period. A trophy called the Slab of Bacon was introduced between Minnesota and Wisconsin starting in 1930. The Slab showed either an M or W depending on the way it was hung and the winning team was able to claim they “brought home the bacon” upon winning. It’s so charmingly Midwest. The Slab was lost in 1942 following a rare Badger victory during this period. In 1948, the Slab was officially replaced by a new Trophy, Paul Bunyan’s Axe, which would become one of the more iconic travelling trophies in football.

In 1935, Iowa and Minnesota began competing for Floyd of Rosedale. It was a friendly gesture meant to smooth over an ugly racial incident between Minnesota’s team and fans with Iowa’s star halfback Ozzie Simmons. The first year a real pig was exchanged, and then a large bronze trophy was made to be passed down through the subsequent years.

In 1937, the Hawkeyes and Badgers finally started playing on an annual basis, completing the proper 3-way rivalry.

-

The Age of Parity: 1950-1976

Well, it wasn’t quite real parity, but each team got some licks in. Following the retirement of Bernie Bierman following the 1950 season, Minnesota hired Wes Fesler who didn’t win and was then fired him three years later. Fesler was replaced by the much more capable Murray Warmath.

Warmath would stay in Minneapolis for nearly two decades, and was the Gophers’ last coach to truly achieve greatness. Minnesota wasn’t a consistent powerhouse, but they would ping pong up and down the standings, sometimes competing and sometimes failing. In 1960, the Golden Gophers were managed an 8-1 record in the regular season and were accorded their most recent national championship by the major polls. Of course they then lost the Rose Bowl to #6 Washington, but hey, things were different back then.

Minnesota would make and win the Rose Bowl in 1961, and would tie for the Big Ten championship in 1967, but after that they entered a period of decline that they really haven’t ever recovered from. Never again would the Gophers be a true blue blood program.

One of the teams that the Gophers beat in 1960 en route to their “championship” was Forest Evashevski’s #1 Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa hired Evashevski in 1952 and immediately broke back into the upper crust of the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes made and won their first Rose Bowl following the 1956 season, wrapping up a 9-1 campaign and a #3 ranking. Two years later Iowa achieved a final #2 ranking behind an 8-1-1 season and another Rose Bowl. The Football Writers Association sought fit to award Iowa a national championship for their year, though the consensus title went to undefeated LSU.

The Hawkeyes ended the 1960 season in the top three and a share of the Big Ten title once again, though they had to see their rivals crowned national champions. Following the season, Evashevski stepped down as coach to become Iowa’s AD. Evashevski wasn’t capable of hiring a coach as good as himself, and the Hawkeyes entered a tailspin for the whole of the 60′s and 70′s, passing through a series of coaches, some of whom hated the domineering Evashevski.

Despite both Iowa and Minnesota hiring two of their best coaches near simultaneously, Wisconsin was able to keep up with their rivals for the most part. The Badgers would never go undefeated, but they would occasionally win the Big Ten and make Rose Bowls in the 50′s and 60′s. Wisconsin was led by Ivy Williamson from 1949 to 1955, and went 41-19-4 in that span with a Big Ten championship in 1952.

Milt Bruhn was in Madison for a decade and took the Badgers to two more Rose Bowls in 1959 and 1962. #2 Wisconsin’s 37-42 loss to #1 USC in Pasadena cost them a national championship.

As the 60′s turned to the 70′s, all three programs began long periods of decline.

Floyd Bunyan’s Axe Record Minnesota: 45 Wisconsin: 28 Iowa: 14

This two and a half decade period is easily the most competitive between all three teams, though for different reasons. Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all had outstanding seasons in the 1950′s and early 60′s. The trio won or tied for several Big Ten titles in this span. However, by the mid-60′s each team was on the way out, and each series remained competitive mostly because all three were clustered together towards the bottom of the standings.

Football in the Big Ten was more and more centered around the twin suns of Michigan and Ohio State, who attracted the best talent and dominated the conference for the next several decades. One or more of Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin may have been able to attract or develop better players, but they were also boxed out by Nebraska and Oklahoma of the Big 8, who snagged all of the best guys in the Western half of the Midwest the same way UM and OSU dominated the Eastern half.

Wisconsin wound up with 13 Trophies compared to Minnesota’s 9 and Iowa’s 5. The Badgers did have the most help from tiebreakers, while the Hawkeyes received none. This leads to more of a stratification in our all-time standings. Wisconsin has double the number of trophies as Iowa, but nearly half as many as the Gophers who hold a commanding lead.

-

The Fry Era: 1977-1996

Iowa was pretty terrible in the mid-70′s, but so were Minnesota and Wisconsin. That all changed in 1979 when former SMU and North Texas State head coach Hayden Fry came to Iowa City. Fry took two years to straighten things out but then Iowa turned into a competitive force in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes went 8-3 in 1981 and tied Ohio State atop the league standings, earning a Rose Bowl berth. Iowa won at least eight games a year for the next six seasons. From 1981 to 1988 the Hawkeyes attended eight straight bowls and finished ranked seven times. 1985 was the apex: Iowa went 10-1 in the regular season, at one point rising to #1 in the polls before falling to Ohio State. The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten outright but lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl to sink to 10-2 and #10 in the final AP.

Iowa would win the Big Ten again in 1990 despite an 8-4 finish, and in ‘91 the Hawkeyes went an impressive 10-1-1. They’d never again reach these same heights under Fry, but Iowa continued to be a presence in the conference throughout the 90′s.

And what were Minnesota and Wisconsin doing while the Hawkeyes were nipping on Michigan’s and Ohio State’s heels? A whole lot of nothing. The Golden Gophers were treading water through the 80′s and 90′s. They weren’t always that bad, but they were almost never good either. The Badgers were usually even worse. Outside of a few 7 wins seasons in the early-80′s Wisconsin was a regular bottom feeder.

However, everything changed when Barry Alvarez was hired in 1990. It took Alvarez a few years to clear away the rot, but he turned the Badgers back into a regular powerhouse. Wisconsin went 10-1-1 in 1993 with a win over UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

Floyd Bunyan’s Axe Record Minnesota: 48 Iowa: 31 Wisconsin: 28

As you can see, Iowa made up a ton of ground, leaping over Wisconsin in the all-time standings by absolutely dominating the 80′s and 90′s. There was some weirdness from 1978-81. For four straight years Minnesota beat the Hawkeyes, but lost to Wisconsin while Iowa beat the Badgers. This led to a three-way tie every year so the Hawkeyes got to keep the trophy each time, having won it in 1977.

Minnesota won a couple trophies here and there but really, this was the Iowa show. Much of this success can be attributed to the Hawkeyes’ complete domination of Wisconsin. Iowa didn’t lose to the Badgers for 20 years from 1977 to 1996. At the very worst they would tie the Gophers in the standings during this period.

Like I said, Barry Alvarez had Wisconsin turned around by 1993, but the Badgers weren’t yet able to capitalize on their success by beating the Hawkeyes. The series took a two year hiatus in 1993-94 from a scheduling hiccup following Penn State’s entry to the league, which was probably Wisconsin’s best chance to beat Iowa until close to Fry’s retirement.

-

Kirk Ferentz vs Wisconsin: 1997-2019

The Badgers really came into their own at the end of the 90′s, winning two straight Rose Bowls following the 1998 and ‘99 seasons and finishing in the top 5 both years. It was easily their best period in program history in over 50 years. It came right as Iowa began to fall off towards the end of Hayden Fry’s tenure.

The legendary Fry had pulled Iowa out from irrelevance, but it was his time to go. The Hawkeyes went a pathetic 3-8 in his last season in 1998, but that only brought down his all-time record in Iowa City to 143-89-6. Fry’s replacement was Kirk Ferentz, who was a disciple of Fry’s in the early 80′s before becoming an NFL OL coach.

After a couple of transition years, Iowa was once again back on top, competing with Michigan, Ohio State, and rival Wisconsin for the top spot in the league. The Hawkeyes tied for the Big Ten title in both 2002 and 2004, though they weren’t selected for the Rose Bowl either season. Iowa was never a consistent contender for the conference championship, but Ferentz has kept them above .500 for the better part of two decades. The Hawkeyes did make the Rose Bowl in 2016 after finishing as league runner up behind Michigan State.

Barry Alvarez retired following the 2005 season and a career 119-72-4 record, handing over the reigns to DC Bret Bielema. Bielema was able to keep the train rolling, and the Badgers surged forward as both Ohio State and Michigan hit rough patches in the late 2000′s and early 2010′s. The Badgers attended three consecutive Rose Bowls from 2011 to 2013 before Bielema left for Arkansas. Gary Andersen’s brief tenure gave way to another Alvarez disciple, Paul Chryst, who has won 10 or more games in four of his five seasons in charge.

Minnesota hasn’t done as well. Glen Mason was able to pull the Gophers back into respectability in the early 2000′s, but was fired all the same for not continuing to improve. His successors have been far less successful. Indeed Minnesota almost seems cursed. The Gophers are on the far Northwest edge of the conference, unable to draw 4 and 5 star talent to Minneapolis as long as OSU, Penn State, and Michigan are sucking up all the oxygen, and nearer rivals Iowa and Wisconsin are plucking up all the good 3 stars.

Jerry Kill was building a strong program but he was forced into retirement by health issues. Kill’s replacement, Tracy Claeys, was doing nearly as good a job but was fired for bungling the PR in a criminal case involving his players. PJ Fleck also seems to be pointing the Golden Gophers in the right direction, but time will tell if they can keep up with their rivals.

Floyd Bunyan’s Axe Record Minnesota: 48 Wisconsin: 44 Iowa: 38

As you can see, it has been all Wisconsin and Iowa in this new century, and mostly Wisconsin at that. The Badgers have won 16 trophies to the Hawkeyes’ 7 in this span.

Minnesota has seen their large lead in the all-time series standings quickly erode. Only 10 titles separate the Gophers and third place Iowa. It really does come down to coaching. Minnesota hired dud coach after dud coach starting in the 70′s and have never been the same. The few good coaches they have either leave (Lou Holtz) or are forced out by unforeseen circumstances (Kill, Claeys). Glen Mason’s firing is really on the Gopher administration, that really shouldn’t have happened.

Meanwhile, Iowa and Wisconsin have made stellar hires. The Hawkeyes moved from strength to strength when Hayden Fry turned over the reigns to Kirk Ferentz. Those two men have kept the Iowa competitive for the past 40 years. Wisconsin’s revival under Barry Alvarez has similarly been sustained by his successors.

-

It’ll be interesting to see where this three-way rivalry goes from here. My money is on Wisconsin staying on top, the Badger brand is strong and there’s no guarantee that Fleck will have Minnesota being able to compete on a yearly basis. Ferentz has to retire at some point, so Iowa has to once again hit a slam dunk hire to stay in the running.

Since their accession to the league in 2011, Nebraska has made this something of a four-way rivalry. The Cornhuskers transformed their existing on-again, off-again out of conference rivalries with Iowa and Minnesota into trophy games to replace their old Big 8 rivalries.

Whether Nebraska is or isn’t a part of the equation doesn’t matter too much to me, but Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin absolutely should make a three-way rivalry Trophy. Maybe don’t call it Floyd Bunyan’s Axe, but do it!

Thanks so much for reading. I'll be doing a few more of these hypothetical rivalry trophies because, well, we might not be getting real football any time soon.

-cfbguy

[tracyk13]

36 and what a world I have seen

Honestly I’ve been terrible at journalling lately. Love handwriting in quill and ink style, but my current life leaves me exhausted after work and most of my time spent in education. But currently the Covid-19 pandemic made me consider the important world events I have witnessed. 

Born in 1984 I lived in a world of rapidly changing technology but still being forced outside to play. We always had an Apple computer in our house for as long as I can remember. Played the Oregon Trail in black and white, then in color. That was the standard computer game of my childhood. Mom got us Mario Teaches Typing, probably the only “video game” I ever played at that point. AOL was a thing. All those CDs in the mail with updates. I never really got into it, but my twin sister did.

Also a child of the Disney Golden Age of animation. Dramatically influenced my life to the point I went to work for Walt Disney World after college. Still a Disney fanatic to this day. 

Apparently my family visited Yellowstone National park (age 4? too young to remember anyway) then not too long after the park had the fire. 

Was alive though not conscious of world events when the Berlin Wall fell. Watch the birth of CNN during the first Desert Storm when my dad was there overseeing some of the first drone flights. The military required a pilot on hand for those flights. He told us later how some Iraqis would surrender to the drone plane, not that it was ever one of the ones he supervised. And according to my mom I frequently asked to NOT watch the 24 hour stream of news because it was too depressing and I knew that’s where dad was. 

Really started to pay attention to news (not that l enjoyed it but that’s the timeline for how chidden develop) during the O.J. Simpson trial. 

By that point I had lived on both coasts of the USA, crossed country twice, lived in many different environments from Washington’s cold wet seasons to California’s deserts California’s coast to landlocked suburbia of Georgia. 

Where I learned to drive, had a single Nokia phone for me and my twin in our tiny Cabrio convertible (I hate convertibles). Got a personal computer for the first time, where before it was a single family computer. The iMacs were coming out right when we were heading to college. My sister got the desktop, I got the laptop and have never looked back. Still have my gumstick shuffle iPod floating around and it still works.

Got to watch the insanity of Indecision 2000 and appreciate political humor for the first time.

I’ve been to 9 different schools for 12 years of school, not including college. That would make it ten. Was a freshman in high school when the Columbine shootings happened. Some weeks later we had a pipe bomb threat at our school which forced all the students out to the football field. From the top of the bleachers we could see the bomb squad and their dogs entering the school. All I could think of was if someone really wanted to kill at lot of people, there on the bleachers would be the place to do it. Then at some point in my adult life someone did it at a movie theater showing The Dark Knight. 

Saw the images of the Oklahoma City bombing. Heard about the Unabomber. Watched the Waco Texas incident.

But my senior year was the time of 9/11. My math class was out in the hallway doing a math related science type experiment, can’t tell you what it was. But that day was the only day I have ever heard a school of nearly 5,000 students absolutely silent during class change. Thus Desert Storm part two happened. 

Right before I headed off to college. So I wasn’t super savvy about applying to colleges. I only applied to one. Didn’t have a clue as to what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve done a wide variety of sports, been writing fiction since at least 10 years old, drew and painted fairly well, thought about doing animation or architecture (did a semester learning thing with a local firm, decided it wasn’t for me). 

Ended up getting a degree in two foreign languages but not fluent in either. It did greatly improve my understanding of the English language. And I had the privilege of an exchange program for a school year to Japan, plus of study abroad summer to Germany. Would never regret any of that. Even if it didn’t get me a degree that got me a job. 

Instead I went to Disney World as part of their internship program. Been in foods and hospitality for a significant portion of my life (thus far). Loved working there. Got to work with the Characters and it was fabulous. Even with the frustrations of all work environments. 

But it couldn’t last. Minimum wage was raised, but the cost of living out stripped the earnings for a single person living alone. Prompting a move back home with parents to get another degree. Then the Housing bubble burst, loans defaulted, mortgage crisis, resulting in the Great Recession. It did get me a house in my name but basically an income property for my mom as her inheritance from my grandmother. All the while I’m going to school to be a nurse.

Now let’s not forget about the many weather crises I’ve witnessed via the news. Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Maria to name the ones I easily remember. The Class 5 tornado that wiped out a midwestern town. The volcano in Iceland rerouting planes. The tsunami in Indonesia and Sumatra. The massive earthquake in Haiti. These are only the ones that easily come to mind without researching what happened during the years I’ve been alive.

Not to mention the diseases that I’ve seen via the news. First to mind was the Ebola outbreak while I was in nursing school. Saw the hype on the Swine Flue, SARS, Avian flu to name a few easily remembered. Those never reached me personally. Now it’s Covid-19 unfolding. Called SARS-CoV-19 now, but that later.

But its not all disasters. Went to the Atlanta Centennial Olympics still have the t-shirt. Was alive during the first black president. 

Took part in the massive phenomena that was Harry Potter and still love it to this day. It showed me that fiction/fantasy could be a mainstream genre to write for. I started writing FanFiction at that time to fill in the long spaces between books. Started when fan fiction.net had the 7or 8 main characters to choose from for tagging. It was like the Wild West of figuring out what you were about to read. Learned about Slash, yaoi, lemons and such the hard way. But being exposed to it that way did open my eyes to what goes on in other people’s heads. Knew immediately that just because I didn’t like something didn't mean I had to hate on it. I left it alone once found and kept going. Really helped increase my tolerance to other cultures and thoughts.

Met my best friend on a role playing site and we wrote nonstop during our college years. Went to her wedding, have a lovely Renaissance style dress as a bridesmaid gift. Still am in touch with her. We don’t write together any more as we have moved in our lives with adulting. But I still have all those stories and hope to turn them into something.

Had my first camera cell phone in Japan as just a basic free phone. Was shocked to find cameras in the States were not standard. One of my friends in Japan kept doing selfies before they were called selfies. Blind positioning of the camera for pictures. Then came the iPhone and the world never looked back.

Joined Facebook when it required a college email. Used MSN messenger and Yahoo messenger to communicate with people around the world. Didn’t join the Twitter or Tumblr movement until after they became established. Saw the boom and bust of the Dot.Com bubble. Watched the Dow Jones numbers increase without the income to invest the way they said to.

Lived right above the poverty line during the Recession. Not knowing if I could make it the next month. Never being able to claim poverty on the tax forms. Caught in the income dead space of not being able to afford health insurance from the markets but in a state that didn’t allow for Medicaid expansion.

But I do not have the worry now thankfully. 

Jobs wise I’ve been a telemarketer, dishwasher, a line cook, a hostess, server, janitor, assistant manager, and now I’m a nurse. I started on med/surg, ED, Cardiac, and ICU. In a small rural hospital getting smaller in a time when rural were shutting down because of no funding. They serve areas with a high rates of unemployment, uninsured, drug and alcohol abuse.

Worked at a busier hospital were no bed was left empty. Sicker patients. Work in a mid-size place. Some days super busy, some slower. 

Covid-19 had the affect of somehow doing both. First few days was almost empty, now it fluctuates. Mostly rule outs. And the protocols are changing hourly which makes life frustrating for us. It’s the constant unspoken threat of going into work not knowing if you’ll have the right equipment to do the job. I’m not scared of the virus itself, not even of the collapse of the economy. I’m scared of the surge that will put my coworkers at risk.

I live alone (my little sister lives with me now) so very little contact with others. But they have kids and a much closer physical distance to their older parents. I know I will add days to my weeks if they have to stay out for any length of time. 

So this is the first time a world event as truly affected me. It is a terrifying time which prompted this summary of my life so far.

I went into a restaurant and saw no one. I never thought I’d see that day. I don’t want people to loose their income, but if people were to go about their daily activities we would loose so many in one go. All I can do is my job.

The more I watch the more depressed and stressed. At work is worse.

I’m teaching myself a new craft because of this. I have taken up leather working to make masks. It helps the creativity outlet. I started drawing class early in 2020 and was set to continue drawing and add painting when the social distancing started. I admit it felt overblown in the beginning. Now the numbers are changing rapidly and we are really seeing what happens in close communities. Just keep working. It’s part of life now. No matter how much if feels like a movie plot line.

But back to other things I’ve seen.

LGTBQA and others coming into the forefront of society. Saw legalization of gay marriage. Quite thrilled with that.

Didn’t hear the term Asexual in reference to a sexual preference until my early 20s. Immediately recognized similar stories to me. Never had an interest in sex or having a partner. A name did make things more relatable, but I will never fully understand people who seem to base their entire existence on their sexual preference.

I’ve been call sir many times based on how I dress. I still sound like a female. Can’t fault anyone for using the appropriate pronoun for what they see in front of them. But that’s a culture that’s growing. Preferred pronouns. But I have to admit that an online friend referred to me as “they” despite a lady being in my username and it felt nice. So in honor of the Special Snowflake term that floated around, I’m an nonbinary aromantic asexual. Probably with a fem-romanitic leaning. 

Saw the rise of the Millennials. I’m caught between Gen X and the Millennials. Now that all the Millennials are of age to vote, perhaps change is underway?

I’m back in college for my 3rd and then 4th degree. In nursing. Online. Watching the world combat a virus.

A US that is split down the middle politically. A world with more pollution problems than we can handle. Governments preferring to coverup mistakes and corruption than help their citizens. The term Public Servant is obviously not taken seriously in some places. See Flint, MI and their water. Lobbyists creating bills that benefit corporations rather than people. Politicians that never retire and keep getting lucrative reelection donations from those very corporations. 

The rise of narcotic drug use, prescription drugs. Pill mills. 

Sex scandals taking center stage in the news rather than things that actually affect daily life. Among things I will never understand is the fear of Transgender women in the women’s restrooms when it was always a straight conservative man who was the center of all these sex scandals. 

Asexual brain at work. I simply do not understand. Conclusion: If you look like a certain gender, you’ll most often be treated as that gender.

What I do miss were the kid shows and cartoons in the 90s. They were super progressive with great literature themes. I knew the story of some of the greatest classic literature simply by the references in those shows. 

Also the era of War on Drug commercials. Recycling promoted. 

My favorite: Captain Planet. Not only was it pushing for a cleaner earth it had different nationalities. Stereotypical, but a far better representation than what I am seeing in kids shows today. It was diverse in that multiple skin tones were seen on screen together rather than specific skin tones marketed to that specific demographic. Now I do like how many more cultures are represented, I just want them shown in ways where color and culture is not the primary focus. 

It also surged a desire to protect the planet. The knowledge that we need clean water and air. Educational shows like Magic School Bus and Bill Nye explained what is happening in the environment long before Global Warming became political. With the global shut in we see the world cleansing itself. 

Now the marijuana legalization issue. No one has died from overdosing on weed. Unlike Alcohol. Yes smoke isn’t good for your health like cigarettes, but the complications are not as prevalent, well studied, or as life threatening with what is known. The disconnect of state legalization and national illegalities is mind blowing. I hope to see that break so we can study it.

Overall I know I have seen a lot of historical events and I hope to live another 36 plus years to see more. 3 decades, the change of a century and the change of the millennia. Y2K hysteria included. 

The world is changing. The outcome is unknown. Peace be upon us all.

[tighnaurri]

Cloudtop Pt. 1 // Mark & Jaemin

NCT as Angels and Demons  (recommended to read beforehand, but not required)

Angel! Mark X Reader X Jaemin

Rating: PG-13

Length: 1,637 words

Summary:  Every morning you wake up with small wounds; just little scrapes and bruises you attribute to flailing in your sleep. This morning, you woke up with a huge cut across your hip, a glowing golden dagger plunged into the wall, and what looks an awful lot like a dead angel on your floor.

Masterlist

-

For weeks, you’ve been getting these little cuts and scrapes during the night with no explanation. At first, you thought you might be flailing and hitting your nightstand, so you tried pushing it further away, but the cuts appeared without fail.

It was starting to get pesky, especially at work. Bustling around a busy flower shop with multiple bruises was quite painful when you constantly had to lift heavy pots and avoid bumping into people.

This morning, however, you weren’t met with just small wounds – you were met with a 3-inch gash across your hip splaying from the peak of the bone to the soft flesh of your gut.

That wasn’t all, though. In the wall was a glowing golden dagger, longer and sharper than any mortal knife you’ve ever seen. Beneath in lied a body resting in a pool of blood, motionless. They looked human besides the fact that, well… they had wings.

You gather the sheets of your bed and pressed it to the wound on your hip, attempting to slow the bleeding. It worked well enough for now.

Reaching for your phone, you cursed yourself for having pushed your nightstand farther away a few days ago. It was too far for you to reach in your current state, stretching with a gaping wound far too painful.

You moved gingerly, slowly bringing your feet to the floor, and stood. You could barely walk, but two steps were all you needed to reach the device. You reached out, grasping for it, but it slipped from your fingers, clattering onto the ground.

The seemingly dead body awoke with a startle, mouth gasping for air. It shocked you, sending you stumbling back onto the bed. You winced at the impact, despite it being soft. The angel you thought was dead pushed themselves to their feet, clutching their right shoulder.

Blood caked their front, staining the white linin and making it cling to his chest. His skin was sallow, but far too vibrant for that amount of blood loss. Any human would’ve been dead, you know that for sure.

He pulled the dagger out of the wall and stumbled towards you, straightening to his full height. When he pulled his hand away from his shoulder, you could see that the wound was closed up completely. The only sign of injury was the saccharine liquid coating his form.

“Stay still,” he said. His eyes, wide as a doe, compelled you. You found yourself unable to move even if you wanted to.

He came close, pulling the sheets away from your wound. You gasped, fingers scrambling for purchase on the bed. He placed his hand on your bare skin, cupping the flesh as if it was precious. He bit his lip, worrying the plush edge with his teeth as your skin began to feel warm.

When he pulled his hand away, he was shuddering with exertion. You reached down, pressing your fingers to the cut, only to find that it had vanished. In fact, all your cuts and bruises were gone – not a single one remained, even as you searched your skin over and over.

“Thank you,” you whispered, glancing up.

He was gone.

-

For weeks following the incident, you were fine. You convinced yourself that it was a dream, even though you had to throw out the carpet he had bled out on and bleach the sheet you had covered your wound with four times before the stains were finally gone. It was just a dream - an incredibly strange dream.

That was until you began waking up with cuts again.

Six weeks following the incident, you woke up with a large bruise on your right thigh – about the size of a small apple. It hurt like a bitch and prevented you from doing some of the heavier lifting at work, much to your distaste. You excused it for the time being, but then three days later, another appeared.

It was time to investigate.

-

You bought a camera online and hooked it up in the corner of your room, trying to get the best angle possible. Whatever was hurting you in the night couldn’t come in without being caught on tape, unless, of course, the camera couldn’t see it. You weren’t quite sure how this whole “supernatural entity” thing worked.

You checked the footage every day before you went to sleep, finding nothing for five days besides a flicker every here and there, but nothing genuinely suspicious. The sixth day, though, was a different story.

At approximately 2:34 am, the footage went black. At 2:36 am, the footage resumed – but this time the room was not empty. There were two figures, one white and one pitch black. The pitch-black entity was pinned to the wall, the same glowing gold dagger you had seen those six weeks ago pressed to its throat.

A voice crackled through the receiver, barely audible. You had to turn the volume all the way up on your computer to be able to understand it.

“Do not return.��

The white entity plunged the dagger into the pitch-black one, forcing the figure to dissipate into a cloud of black smoke that vanished as quickly as it appeared. The white figure remained where it was for a few moments before relaxing, sitting on the edge of your bed.

It reached for your hand and grasped it between its own. It brought the hand to where its face would be, seemingly kissing the back of the appendage. As you watched this, you could feel the back of your hand tingle ever so slightly. It felt like how you imagined the angel’s soft lips would feel.

You shivered, covering your mouth with the same hand he had kissed. He, the bloodied, blonde-haired man with wings as white as snow. He, the angel who stood watch over you each night.

He, your guardian angel.

-

After you found out you had a guardian angel, you slept both easier and worse.

On one hand, someone was watching out for you – a very capable, determined angel who did his best to protect you from harm. On the other hand, this meant that you had something to be protected from.

Something was hunting you each night. You weren’t sure if it was to get something from you, to kill you, or to taunt the angel, but it didn’t matter. A demon of some sort was after you, and that was terrifying.

You found yourself sleeping less and less, scared to lie down for fear that you might not wake up, or worse, wake up with gouged flesh, or no organs, or god knows what else a demon might do. Your coworkers were becoming worried, seeing your condition get worse and worse day after day of little to no sleep. You wished you could go back to the time when you were blissfully unaware of the fights taking place over you unconscious body.

You began to pray, but that did not work. You bought charms, but they also seemed to be useless. You hired a priest to bless your apartment, but nothing changed. You kept loosing sleep and kept waking up with a melody of cuts and bruises whenever you actually became tired enough to pass out.

Maybe I could move back in with my parents.

If you did, you’d have to leave your job. They lived too far away to make the commute worth it.

Desperate, you looked up nearby apartments, but none were within your price range or location. You were about to give up when you spied an ad - a person nearby was looking for someone to room with. The rent would be split, the cost per person less than what you were paying now for your current apartment. It was also close to both work and your university, so your commute would be the same if not less.

You replied to the ad immediately, no hesitation.

-

Within two weeks, you had co-signed the lease and happily moved in. Your roommate was a sweet boy named Na Jaemin. He went to the same university as you did, except instead of studying environmental sciences like you, he studied biomedical sciences. The two of you got along instantly, bonding over a cup of coffee before your appointment with the landlord.

It was an instant friendship, and quite the turn of luck. It almost felt too good to be true. Almost.

As you were settling in your last few boxes, there was a knock on the door.

“I got it,” Jaemin called. “You can keep unpacking, if you like.”

You shrugged, pushing the box aside. “The boxes can wait. It might be one of the new neighbors.”

Jaemin looked through the peep hole and smiled at your statement, “You’re right.”

You smiled back, cheeks warm. The med student really had a way of worming into your heart.

Jaemin opened the door wide, letting the person in.

“Long time no see, Mark,” Jaemin drew teasingly. His voice had a certain lilt to it that you couldn’t identify.

You smiled looking over your new neighbor. He was carrying a tray of cookies and had a strangely familiar form, his shoulders reminding you of something you couldn’t quite place. His hair too – it was a soft, pleasant shade of brown that complimented his skin.

He turned towards you, and your smile fell.

It was the angel. The angel who had saved you night after night, golden dagger in hand. He seemed to recognize you too, smile falling as his hands loosened on the Pyrex dish. The angel – Mark, apparently – let go of the cookies, staring at you even as the glass shattered into a million pieces across the hard wood floor.

Jaemin looked at the mess on the ground and sighed.

“I’ll get the broom.”

-

This started as a drabble and then turned into a chaptered series,,, fml.

As usual, feedback is appreciated :) thank you for reading!!!

Masterlist // Part 2

[meditativeyoga]

Why Many Are Now Drawn To Holistic Healing

Learn why holistic recovery is becoming an increasingly popular choice to western medicine.

Joanne Perron, M.D., spent five years practicing medicine in a busy OB/GYN workplace, where the individuals rotated with as if on a production line-- in and also out in 10 mins. 'I was exhausted,' she remembers by phone from her home in Monterey, The golden state. 'By the end of the day, I really felt disconnected and also emphasized. Eventually, I got extremely aggravated as well as disillusioned and also started to ask myself, 'Is that there is?"

Perron needed to encounter that she wasn't the therapist she had actually laid out to end up being. 'Traditional medication is like a religion,' she claims. 'You get indoctrinated at an early age, and afterwards often you begin to doubt your idea system. You begin to ask, 'Why?'-- or, more crucial, 'Why not?"

The doubting began as she realized that the points conventional medication had educated her didn't often treat her people. As well as several of those patients came back to inform her they would certainly gotten much better after attempting different therapies-- for instance, botanical treatments for menopausal symptoms, Chinese natural herbs for uterine bleeding, or acupuncture for discomfort. In Georgia, where she was after that exercising medicine, petition is typically employed in order to help healing as well. 'I really felt there was a void in my expertise. My people were pursuing points I understood absolutely nothing around,' she claims. 'I had discovered all that I could, but I recognized I required to discover more.' Perron reduced her hrs at the workplace as well as began taking yoga classes, in time, she signed up in a 200-hour yoga educator accreditation program.

Perron's patients belong to the expanding group of Americans transforming toward complementary and also natural medicine to cure their ills and enhance their lifestyle. A national survey launched last Might by the National Facility for Complementary and Natural medicine (NCCAM) and the National Center for Health Stats found that 36 percent of UNITED STATE adults utilize corresponding and natural medicine. That number jumps to 62 percent when prayer made use of specifically for health factors is consisted of in the definition. The factors for alternate medication's popularity go past the useful, according to a 1998 Journal of the American Medical Association post authored by John A. Astin, Ph.D., labelled 'Why Clients Use Different Medicine.' Astin composed that individuals looking for alternative medication aren't always dissatisfied with traditional medicine, yet they find 'these healthcare choices to be extra congruent with their very own values, ideas, and philosophical orientations toward wellness as well as life.' It holds true, there has been a considerable evolution in our time towards a much more proactive, all natural sight of health. Conventional medicine has a lopsided sight of the physical, mental, as well as spiritual body,' surmises Andrew Weil, M.D. By currently a cultural symbol with his friendly smile and also big grey beard, Weil has long been willing to handle the clinical mainstream and also supporter exactly what he calls integrative medication. His definition of the term is really simple: healing-oriented medication that considers the entire individual (body, mind, and also spirit), consisting of all elements of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic partnership between customer as well as healer as well as utilizes all proper treatments, both standard as well as alternative.

In 1994, Weil was important in developing the University of Arizona medical college's Program in Integrative Medication, the first detailed, continuing-education fellowship to give doctors the possibility to find out about alternative treatments such as botanicals, acupuncture, Reiki, massage, diet plan, and also reflection-- and how they could be made use of to improve clinical care, protect against ailment, as well as improve lifestyle. However more crucial, this program encourages a thoughtful shift in the technique of the healing arts. 'Instead of simply bringing these treatments in with an emphasis on condition, we're taking a look at the entire body, at way of life, at the partnership between the expert as well as the patient,' Weil discusses. 'Not just is this the sort of medication individuals want, but it has the possible to recover the core values of medicine in an age of handled treatment.'

Perron registered in the College of Arizona's Integrative Medication program specifically to return to a path a lot more straightened with her original objectives for coming to be a medical professional. 'I wished to feel more like I was taking part in recovery,' she explains.

Perron remained in the second graduating class of an associate fellowship program that requires 1,000 hrs certainly work (mostly online) over a two-year duration and also three on-site workshops. Until now, the University of Arizona's Program in Integrative Medication has ended up 151 doctors that have found out the best ways to integrate the most effective of the East and the West into their medical techniques-- and also right into their very own lives.

Yet, how far have we actually come since Weil began his program, considering there are more compared to 800,000 medical professionals in the country? Medical schools are loath to require an integrative curriculum. Also the University of Arizona medical institution does not require an integrative program, integrative medicine stays an elective. Under these situations, what type of impact can 150 or so physicians make?

Even though some people in the clinical establishment refer patients to therapies like acupuncture or massage therapy, there still exists a bias towards allopathic (that is, conventional) medication. Perron has actually experienced this resistance from medical coworkers that are doubtful of her integrative approach. 'There is this uncertainty that just what I'm attempting to do is also 'woo-woo,' also much out in left field,' she says.

Weil has certainly took on his reasonable share of flak, a few of it virulent. As an example, in a 1998 New Republic post, Weil gadfly Arnold S. Relman, M.D., former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and also teacher emeritus of medicine as well as social medication at Harvard Medical College, believed," Breathing' is a crucial and persisting style in Weil's prescriptions for wellness as well as healing, and it holds a popular place in [ Weil's book] 8 Weeks to Optimum Wellness, which showed up in 1997. As far as I can see, his viewpoints on this subject are largely nonsense.' Relman, apparently unknown with the yogic arts, included, 'In the lack of sustaining proof ... skepticism is certainly in order, specifically considering that idea in much of just what Weil is claiming concerning body and mind, and the ability of consciousness to run in the physical world, requires a rejection of the essential physical legislations upon which our present views of nature and the human body are based.' Weil rejects these remarks as a tirade from 'the quackbuster group. They'll pass from the scene. They're ideologues declaring to be doubters.'

With or without Weil, the medical facility could not neglect the pattern towards integrative medicine, especially taking into consideration the economics. In 1998, Americans invested $23.7 billion on alternative health and wellness care companies, in 1999, they spent $4.4 billion on herbs, up from $2.5 billion in 1995. In addition, the percentage of healthcare facilities supplying complementary and natural medicine has actually increased, from 8 percent in 1998 to 16.7 percent in 2002, inning accordance with the American Healthcare facility Organization. Clinical institutions have taken note: virtually two-thirds currently provide some sort of elective integrative medication curriculum.

Tracy Gaudet, M.D., supervisor of Fight it out College's Facility for Integrative Medicine (she was formerly the executive director of the University of Arizona's integrative medication program), has given herself as well as her cohorts a big charge. 'Our objective is to change the entire strategy to health care in this country,' she describes. 'We realize that it's not nearly using botanicals or obtaining acupuncture. Individuals are stating they desire the entire standard of therapy to change towards an extra aggressive concept. People wish to intend for their health as well as not await something bad to happen. In this way we're checking out the entire range of a person-- mind, body, and spirit, not just the body.'

To that finish, Gaudet and also her coworkers at Duke have created what they're calling a 'prospective' health and wellness care version, one that provides patients with individualized health care preparation and goals making use of a variety of modalities outside the clinical mainstream-- practices and also sources like yoga, mindfulness, reflection, and nourishment. Maybe the most innovative element of the Fight it out design is the principle of a 'health and wellness instructor,' a person educated to encourage actions modification. Initial results from a 10-month pilot research study, provided at an American Heart Association conference in 2014, suggest that participants in the treatment group significantly reduced their risk of developing heart problem. As well as this year, Duke will release outcomes showing that this group worked out extra regularly as well as consumed more healthy meals compared to the control group.

Renée Halberg, a licensed scientific social employee at the Battle each other College Eye Center, registered in the research study to assist take care of tension and also menopausal weight gain. At her consumption interview, she learned that her family members history of adult-onset diabetes and also hypertension, combined with her being overweight, greatly enhanced her danger for those diseases. 'I found out how much I might alter that negative outcome,' she states. 'It was worrying when they provided me with these threat variables expressed in lab results. It was also really motivating.'

The most valuable skill Halberg found out was the ability to change her habits towards the anxiety in her life. 'Like hundreds of various other people, I replaced food for things I lost: I was depressed. I was grieving over not having had a youngster. I underwent a divorce. And I acquired 60 pounds,' she remembers. 'That was terrible, particularly given that I didn't have any type of devices to do anything regarding it.'

The program, particularly the mindfulness and reflection training, aided her locate her self-confidence as well as motivation.

So far, she has actually lost concerning 25 extra pounds and also transformed her diet plan to incorporate whole grains, seeds, veggies, and health foods and also to remove fats and processed carbs. Her high blood pressure went from 150/90 to 120/80, and also her cholesterol levels are stable. The breathwork and also leisure skills are exactly what have helped her the a lot of. 'Whenever I have the impulse to consume something like a sweet bar, I do deep breathing or progressive muscle mass leisure,' she says. 'It takes my mind off it, as well as by the time I'm completed, I shed the wish. I feel focused as well as refreshed, and also I understand I can depend on myself rather than simply reacting to the tensions of the external globe.'

Research like Battle each other College's is vital to impacting change within the clinical establishment. Without it, it's really tough for the clinically minded to approve an extra integrative method to medicine. Fortunately is that funding for alternate treatment research has expanded significantly, owned mostly by the production of the NCCAM. From a first annual spending plan of $2 million in 1993, the center has actually expanded to a projected 2005 budget plan surpassing $121 million, and also today it is moneying groundbreaking research.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Facility in New york city is one of the organizations taking benefit of NCCAM's grant cash. Having actually opened up an integrative medicine center in 1999 both to deal with patients and also to better clinical analysis of corresponding therapies, the research healthcare facility has a number of studies in progress. One is checking out the results of acupuncture on bust cancer cells patients experiencing from chemotherapy-induced hot flashes, another is exploring massage therapy, and a third is discovering whether certain Oriental herbs can minimize or eliminate off tumors. The facility's healing as well as research study job is nicely intertwined and also accessible-- for instance, its Internet site (www.mskcc.org) consists of an 'Concerning Natural herbs' data source of natural herbs, botanicals, vitamins, and supplements that is examined and monitored by an oncology-trained pharmacist as well as a botanicals expert. It gives overviews of study, communication info, as well as damaging results, and mentions the benefits of natural medicine-- overall, a significant resource.

But also the world-renowned cancer facility experienced resistance when it initially opened its integrative center. 'It certainly took child actions,' claims Simone Zappa, the facility's program director. Once the doctors saw that alternate medication was efficient at handling symptoms like pain, queasiness, and also fatigue, however, points got easier. 'I think I could state that we're 90 percent there currently. There are still particular points we have to be aware of. Medical professionals aren't going to take us seriously if we begin chatting concerning chakras and power. Whatever our idea is, we need to maintain credibility in the doctors' eyes.'

Sloan-Kettering's integrative medicine center supplies both in- as well as outpatient care. For people in the medical facility, specialists come to the bedside as well as offer massage, meditation, hypnosis, and also yoga sessions-- at no added charge. Simply 3 blocks away, in a spa-like setup, is the Bendheim Integrative Medicine Facility, Sloan-Kettering's outpatient integrative medication center. Simply inside the entryway is a gurgling water fountain and also soft, relaxing shades. Crystals and also mandala art poise a few of the wall surfaces. Organic tea, fruit, or juice breaks and also discussion take area in a small kitchen location. At this facility, people and also their households could take yoga exercise classes, discover hypnosis or reflection, get a massage therapy, see a nutritionist, receive acupuncture, or take qi gong. 'We are very involved with the family members as well,' Zappa explains. 'Households are typically neglected in cancer circumstances, as well as we desire to provide them reflection, therapy, massage, and anxiety management methods.'

[dramioneasks]

What are your favourite post-hogwarts dramione fics with D + H being in their mid- to late-20s? I need some new reading material of my favourite dramione scenario and I've already checked your tags. Completed would be great :)

Hello, I have quite the list for you. We also have some Post Hogwarts stories in the queue as well!

Those Three Words by Wolf Blossom - T, one shot

What is love? Was it the way Hermione looked at him with her big innocent brown eyes? Or was it the way his heart raced when they walked down the corridors holding hands? Whatever it was, Draco wanted to know: What exactly does love mean? One Shot.

Cold by CindyBarnard- M, one shot

Written for the Quills & Parchment Scandal OS Competition. LM/HG - DM/HG. Hermione is left cold by her lover of two years. When she breaks down who will be the wizard to stand beside her? And what will the wizarding community’s reactions be when certain secrets get revealed?

Monsters by viv-heart- M, two shot, complete

After Hermione’s mysterious disappearance, the last person who saw her alive is brought for questioning to the Auror’s office: Draco Malfoy. He is the Auror’s only hope on finding out what happened to her. And what is Pansy Parkinson’s involvement in the whole affair? Dramione, EWE, dark, alcohol abuse, manipulation, swearing, GENERAL ABUSE & VIOLENCE WARNING, COMPLETE

Avalanche by setissma- Explicit, 3 chapters complete

It didn’t mean she liked him, or forgave him, or particularly wanted to live in the same castle. But Slughorn’s second retirement had been more of a necessity than a suggestion. Hermione wanted someone exceptional in the position more than she wanted someone she liked.

Redemption by Solemnly_Swear (Fitzsimmonsx)- T+, 5 chapters, complete

As penance for his actions during the war, Draco Malfoy is assigned the position of assistant to the third member of the Golden Trio: Hermione Granger.

The Right Choice by Trinkisme- T+, 9 chapters, complete

He had always been the boy who had no choice…until he became the man who made the right one. Even after unbearable loss, love can be found…if one will look for it. If one will choose it. A Dramione love story.

Come Sail Your Ships Around Me by JuweWright- M, 14 chapters, complete

Five years after graduating from Hogwarts, there’s a week-long reunion of the whole year. Draco never officially graduated, so he is not invited. But although he has tried to avoid any contact to his former comrades, there’s a part of him that wants to return… and be it just to see a certain young witch again, who once sent him a letter in his worst hour. But will she be able to see past his history and the marks that the War and its aftermath left?

I had to up the rating because this became way darker half way through than I had expected when I set off…

Waiting Room by Nelpher- T+, 14 chapters, complete

A series of encounters with Draco Malfoy in the waiting room at St. Mungo’s teaches Hermione about love, friendship, and the intersection thereof.

First They Came for the Death Eaters by Kyonomiko- M, 17 chapters (Description states that it is on hiatus but it feels like it is complete)

The outcome of the Wizarding War was what no one expected. Hermione Granger finds herself in a position to show Draco Malfoy the ropes when it comes to living in the Muggle world. The future is unsure but she is determined to see him take his place in this new world. EWE Dramione. Mostly book compliant. On hiatus but left off at a relatively satisfying romantic position.

The Guard by NJ Coffee Queen- T, 21 chapters, complete

All Hermione could think about was Draco Malfoy. How could they ever work together? Would they kill one another before her mystery attacker could? Most importantly, though, she wondered - what was Harry thinking?

Proximate by In Dreams- M, 21 chapters, complete

Following a tumultuous break-up with Ron, Hermione finds herself intoxicated and relatively prone to poor decision making after she runs into Draco Malfoy in a club, having been years since she has seen him. Upon seeking to escape the following morning, she realizes he is her new neighbour and is quite insatiable. DMHG Post-war.

 Granger’s List by jessiy- M, 24 chapters, complete

After Voldemort’s defeat, magic is exposed to the world. Muggles, fearing magic, start a witch hunt. A small group of muggle-borns hunt and hand over the pureblooded to save innocent children. Draco begs Hermione to save him. Spoilers for Fantastic Beasts.**Chapters have changed**

Find Your Way Back by Musyc- M, 25 chapters, complete

Draco Malfoy, employed at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Creatures, is assigned to a case that could end the rules and restrictions he’s been required to follow in the fifteen years after the war. All he has to do is deal with one potential ghost. When Hermione Granger gets involved in the case as well, they both discover several other ghosts from their past. Dealing with all of their ghosts, together, will put everything in their futures at risk.

Heavy Lies the Crown by luckei1- M, 36 chapters, complete

For seven years, Draco has carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and just when he thinks he’ll be released, something happens that will make him seek help from the last person he could have imagined.

No More Broken Dreams by TheCrownprincessBride- T, 39 chapters, complete

Hermione is still recovering from her destructive marriage to Viktor Krum when she meets her new colleague Draco Malfoy, who somehow manages to break down her protective walls. But how could it possibly work: Ex-Death Eater and War Heroine? Won’t her secrets destroy their relationship in the end? Or could she this time have all she ever dreamed of?

Crazy For You by Annamonk- M, WIP (currently 42 chapters)

Some people never go crazy, What truly horrible lives they must live. -Charles Bukowski They aren’t my characters, but I just had to play with them.

The Last Gift by kirsant - M, 43 chapters, complete

Draco finds Hermione, obliviated, riding a train. What happened to her, and why has the muggle world become such a dark place? Post-Hogwarts, Dramione. 

- Wynken  

[coppicefics]

Masked Omens: Week Two

New chapter here, or read from the start here!

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[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads 'Masked Omens'.

Image 2 - Twitter trending topics. For full transcription, see below the cut.

Image 3 - A hand holding a copy of News World Weekly, dated Saturday 2nd January 2021. The front page and part of the back page are visible. Full image description and transcription below the cut.]

Twitter What's Happening 1. Politics – Yesterday Former Transport Secretary Lawrence Richmond calls for end to OAP 'Freedom Passes' 2. Politics – Trending #NOT2OLD2VOTE 2,202 Tweets 3. Trending in United Kingdom The Masked Singer 2,617 Tweets 4. Trending in United Kingdom #BONFIRE 1,580 Tweets 5. Trending in United Kingdom DFS Sale 5,809 Tweets 6. Rap – Trending P-White: From CBBC to the Grammys 7. E-GATE (verified) – Last night Bagman wedding: will the striker's foodless reception set a new trend? Trending with Dr Raven Sable, Chow Show More

News World Weekly – Saturday, 2nd January 2021 Front Page [Side ad:] NOW BOOKING FOR SPRING & SUMMER 2021 “BLEW ME AWAY” CELESTIAL OBSERVER “NEVER SEEN A SHOW LIKE IT” INFERNAL TIMES “YOU HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT” TADFIELD GAZETTE THE AMAZING [obscured by thumb]-ll [obscured]-UND [obscured]-ITH [obscured]-RACULOUS FEATS OF ESCAPOLOGY HYPNOSIS CONJURING AND MANY MORE MARVELS BOOK NOW

[Masthead:] NEWS WORLD WEEKLY Mockup by DailyMockup £1.20 Saturday, 2nd January 2021

[Top bar:] DIET DOCTOR Lose weight the easy way with 10 top tips from Dr. Raven Sable - page 9 – Meal plans and more! SPORTS Esther James leads England Women to Six Nations Victory – back page – Jane Adams scores most tries MUSIC Has “Narrative Devices” made folk music cool again? - page 28 - HOROSCOPES by TV's Madame Tracy - page 12 -

[Main story:] WAR RAGES ON IN WESTERN CELESTAN Military presence increase as rebels approach university city of Ghadon [Image: Troops ride in military transport vehicle, their backs to the camera. End ID.] Photo by Diego Gonzalez on Unsplash CELESTANI ARMED FORCES “MUST ACT NOW”, SAYS TOP OFFICIAL [Image: Small close-up photo of Carmine Zugiber, a white woman with red hair and a solemn expression. End ID] War Correspondent – Carmine Zugiber It is unusual for a war correspondent to receive a telephone call on the way to the airport. As a rule, departing journalists are not favoured with exclusive information – certainly not without having to work for it. It was with some surprise and trepidation, then, that I agreed to meet a mysterious contact in the departure lounge for a brief interview about Celestan's domestic situation. For those of you who are not familiar with the conflict currently raging within the borders of this once proud nation, allow me to give you an overview. Rebels in the west of the country – particularly the Ferran Hills and Celestan's third-largest city, Nori – became unhappy with the decisions made for the country by officials in the east. After months of largely peaceful protests which fell upon deaf ears, many in the western reaches of Celestan began to call for independence – an independent state of Fernor, which would encompass most of the western half of the current nation. Peaceful protests turned into skirmishes, skirmishes became all-out guerrilla war, and now the rebel armies are sweeping through the countryside at an astonishing pace. The official who contacted me on my final day in Celestan was Gabriel Herald, a high-ranking civil servant of the variety that does not state his job title upon introduction. “It's becoming increasingly clear that the situation in Celestan is becoming untenable,” he told me, adding that I ought not to publish this article until I was back in London for my own safety. “The rebels are destroying the very land they lay claim to, and nobody in Government has the appetite for a long, drawn-out war. If there is a way to stop the fighting, naturally, we intend to take it.” When pressed on what that might mean, he explained that various options were being considered. “Our priority at the present time is to protect the eastern half of the country, where the effects of the insurgency have not yet been felt. Residents of central Celestan can expect to see an increased military presence, but I want Celestani citizens to rest assured that the Government will not permit the entire country to be laid waste to, as the western reaches have been.” Was there any truth, I asked, to the rumours that the Celestani Government were considering acquiescing to the rebels' demands and establishing an independent state of Fernor? “I can't comment on that at this time,” Herald told me, “but should Operation Lestern become necessary, citizens should take comfort in the knowledge that we are prepared for all eventualities and will protect and will protect our people from any and all consequences it is within our power to control.” Since this interview took place three weeks ago, the situation in central Celestan has developed, and it was unclear whether releasing this article was in the best interests of the people. However, it is now crucial that all parties understand the situation, and as a result the decision was taken to print it in (Continued page 2.)

[Left-hand column:] Inside your paper today... MASKED SINGER BOOSTS VETERAN YOUTUBER'S HIT COUNT It's no secret that ITV's The Masked Singer is a sensational hit, but some competitors may not be entirely prepared for its success. Week One saw an unlikely star unmasked in the form of Sergeant Shadwell, the man behind the popular YouTube channel Wytchfynder. In videos uploaded to the channel twice a week, Shadwell embarks on daring urban explorations and paranormal investigations in order to debunk all manner of conspiracy theories, urban legends, and rumours. While some videos are more dynamic than others – one features Shadwell venturing into the crypt of an old church, while another consists entirely of him sitting in his armchair at home and running through the evidence for an [sic] against his next-door neighbour being a witch – Shadwell, who retired from the army twenty years ago, says hits on all his uploads have doubled since his unmasking. “I get a lot of comments now along the lines of 'this story rings a bell',” he admitted to our reporter. “It wound me up at first, but now I'm just enjoying the surge in interest. We must always be vigilant in our fight against charlatans and misinformation.” (Continued on page 13.)

MP RICHMOND BRANDED “BUS PASS BANDIT” Lawrence Richmond, MP for Toffley South, came under renewed fire for his proposal to scrap the Freedom Pass system that allows older people and children to travel by bus or train for no charge. “We have an enormous budget deficit that needs addressing,” Richmond told the House of Commons yesterday, “if people don't want to buy tickets, they can drive their own cars instead.” Richmond, who lives in an historic 12-bedroom manor house with his wife Victoria and son Horace, has encountered staunch opposition from his political opponents, but his own (continued on page 7.)

COMPETITION: YOUR CHANCE TO WIN NEW NUTTER SET Be among the first to own a full set of the newly-redesigned Agnes Nutter books, including beloved favourites such as Picking the Winner, Time to Shine, Burn and Out with a Bang by entering our competition. Nutter herself said of the new covers, “I've always had a special place in my heart for my first novel, Picking the Winner, but this new cover is so vibrant and captures the spirit of the story so perfectly that I think I prefer it to the old one!” Agnes Nutter's new novel, Blown Out of Proportion, is due out in August and is not included in the prize. (Enter on page 22.)

Back page [Only the very edge of the page is visible.] -PORTS -VICTORY -JAMES' SIDE” -ADAMS SMASHES -APTAIN'S RECORD -hile Esther James may be the -tain of the England Women's -gby Team, her teammate and -artner Jane Adams has just -shed her record for the most -es scored in a single season. -ams' stunning performance -sterday's 36-16 victory over -nd saw her score her 11th and -try of the season – overtaking -iend James, who has no for -eleven tries for the national squad this year. -asked for comment, Adams -characteristically modest; -just an honour to be a -such a phenomenal team -score tries with that team. -team effort, definitely.” -es was more effusive; -know I think Jane's the -credible woman. Now -he stats prove it.” -DIT PULSIFER -VAR ROW -the first time, football -tor Newton Pulsifer has -d to fans after having a --air dispute with the -stant Referee during -'s Premier League -est Ham U [The rest of the article is obscured by the hand holding the paper.]

End of transcription.

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Who Can Defeat Canelo Alvarez?

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Published: January 29, 2021

Boxing fans are now less than a month away from the in-ring return of arguably the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs).

Alvarez will be making one of the quicker turn arounds of his career when he defends his WBA and WBC Super Middleweight titles against WBC mandatory challenger, Avni Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs).

Yildirim isn’t an elite fighter, and in his previous bout in February 2019, he lost a decision to Anthony Dirrell after the bout was stopped due to a clash of heads.

The news of Yildirim being Alvarez’s next opponent was met with apathy as the continuation of the title belt organizations forcing fighters to face at times what would be considered less than stellar opposition has felt like more of a nuisance over the last few years.

The expectation is that Alvarez should quickly dispatch the Turkish fighter.

In his most recent bout, the Mexican fighter put on one of the best performances of his career, winning a dominant unanimous decision over the United Kingdom’s Callum Smith.

It seems now at 30 years of age, Alvarez is at his peak as a fighter, having put together all of the teachings from his trainer Eddy Reynoso to go along with the best resume in the sport sans Manny Pacquiao.

The expectations are at their highest with Alvarez as winning will now be just as important as how he wins. There is also the expectation that Alvarez will forego the standard two-fight a year program that boxing has been on for the past 20 plus years and step in the ring at least three times in 2021.

After Yildirim, fans will demand that the Mexican fighter step in the ring with a fighter who stands a chance at defeating him.

The question is, which fighter has the best chance at toppling the pound-for-pound superstar?

JERMALL CHARLO (31-0, 22 KOs)

Houston, Texas’ Jermall Charlo currently holds the WBC Middleweight title.

Last September, Charlo defeated top Middleweight contender Sergiy Dereveyanchenko, firmly establishing himself as one of the top Middleweights in the world.

The Ukrainian Derevyanchenko gave current IBF Middleweight titleholder Gennadiy Golovkin all he could handle in October 2019 and came close to defeating Daniel Jacobs in 2018. Charlo’s performance against the Ukrainian eclipsed those of his contemporaries.

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe feels that Charlo is now the best fighter at Middleweight and would beat Alvarez should they ever meet in the ring.

“Jermall Charlo is the best Middleweight in the world right now,” Ellerbe stated to BoxingScene.com. “There are few other guys at 160, namely Canelo, who will have something to say about that. Jermall is on a mission to prove something to the world. Jermall’s style is all wrong for Canelo. They would never put him in there with Charlo. I don’t think Canelo goes anywhere near Jermall. He’s an animal.”

Unfortunately for Charlo, Alvarez recently relinquished his WBA Middleweight title, making it unlikely that he will return to the division.

However, Charlo may be willing to move up to Super Middleweight as he stands at 6 feet compared to Alvarez’s 5’8.

Charlo represents a challenge, and unlike many of the available opponents for Alvarez, the Texas native could make for a major pay-per-view event that could have a large crowd if the bout were to take place in Texas.

CALEB PLANT (20-0, 12 KOs)

On paper, Caleb Plant, the IBF Super Middleweight champion out of Nashville, Tennessee, looks to be a stylistic nightmare for Alvarez.

Plant is younger and bigger than Alvarez, with an ability to fight off the back foot using lateral movement with fast hands.

While Alvarez has alleviated many of his past weaknesses, such as fighting in spurts, he still has slow feet. If Alvarez is unable to close the distance against Plant, he could find himself behind on points.

Plant will be making the third defense of his IBF title against Caleb Truax this upcoming weekend.

If Alvarez’s goal is to become the undisputed champion at Super Middleweight, starting with Plant would be a step in the right direction.

���I know that’s a fight that me and him both want,” Plant said to DAZN’s Brian Kenny in an interview. “At some point, me and Canelo are going to get in there and do our thing. We will have our showdown, and when we do, I can promise you it’s going to be fireworks. I think Canelo is a great fighter, but I feel like I have all the tools and the weapons to beat him. I will get my hand raised when we fight, I can assure you that.”

GENNADIY GOLOVKIN (41-1-1, 36 KOs)

At 38 years of age, IBF Middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin is no longer at his best. In his last two performances, he struggled against Sergiy Derevyanchenko and scored a seventh-round stoppage against the relatively unknown Kamil Szeremeta in a mandatory defense of his title.

Golovkin may not be the threat to Alvarez he was when they first fought in September 2017; he does represent potentially the most significant payday out of any opponent.

Their first two meetings sold over a million buys on pay-per-view, and their rematch won the 2018 fight of the year award from numerous publications.

Their first fight ended in a highly controversial draw, and in the second encounter, Alvarez won a disputed majority decision.

Alvarez is currently at his best while Golovkin seems to have left his best days behind him; however, their previous bouts were closely contested, with a majority of fans and pundits having Golovkin winning both bouts.

The question would be if Golovkin could be to Alvarez what Juan Manuel Marquez was to Manny Pacquiao?

A rival that gives you trouble no matter where they are in their career.

“I don’t have anything to prove to anyone, I did my job already by beating him twice, and right now, I want to stay at 168, and if Golovkin wants to move up, we’ll see what happens, if that’s what the fans really want,” Alvarez stated to The Ring. “I’m at 168, and I don’t have to do any favors for anyone. I’m at 168, and our goal is to unify here.

“I feel like I’m at my peak, and I continue working hard. If a fight happens a third time with Golovkin, I feel so good that I could most likely knock out and do some serious damage.”

Alvarez would undoubtedly be the favorite in a rubber match against the Kazakhstani puncher. However, based on how their previous encounters turned out, Golovkin could still prove to be a worthy challenge.

ERROL SPENCE JR (27-0, 21 KOs)

Along with Golovin and Charlo, Errol Spence Jr. represents a substantial potential payday for Alvarez. Both Spence and Alvarez have had bouts at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and a fight between the two could fill up a stadium.

However, how much of a chance does the unified Welterweight champion have against Alvarez?

Spence recently returned to the ring in December 2020 after a severe car crash and won a unanimous decision over top Welterweight contender Danny Garcia.

The performance against Garcia was impressive as he shut down the Philadelphia fighter while controlling the range in which the fight was fought.

But, it didn’t provide enough evidence to predict him to come out victorious against Alvarez.

The Texas native is big for the Welterweight division, but it’s unknown how well he would do at Junior Middleweight, let alone at Middleweight.

“I think it’s a great fight, especially at 160,” Spence said to DAZN’s Chris Mannix regarding a fight with Alvarez. “I’m a guy that sucks down to 147. I mean, I really think that a lot of people see probably 80 or 70 percent of who I really am at 147 pounds. I’m holding around because I wanted to be undisputed champion at 147, but if there’s a great fight at 160, I can definitely go up to 160 and fight easy.

“I think it’d be an all-out-war. Have it at AT&T Stadium, 100-thousand plus.”

At 31, Spence still has unfinished business at Welterweight with Terence Crawford, but should an opportunity arise to face Alvarez, a more well-known and accomplished fighter; he should take it.

DEMETRIUS ANDRADE (29-0, 18 KOs)

WBO Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade hasn’t secured a major fight with any of the other top Middleweights. Despite fighting on the same streaming network (DAZN) as Alvarez and Golovkin, he has yet to face either man.

At 32, the southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island, has a relatively thin resume and is arguably unproven. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Andrade wouldn’t be a formidable opponent for Alvarez.

Andrade has a vast amateur background winning numerous Golden Glove championships, and is a fighter that can fight in many different styles.

Unfortunately, Alvarez may view Andrade as a high-risk-low-reward fight and is unlikely to face the Rhode Island native unless he can defeat other elite fighters.

The problem for Andrade has been getting elite fighters to step in the ring with him.

“It’s like Jermall Charlo, Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and GG have a poster of Canelo over their beds and be like, please pick me Canelo, please pick me,” Andrade said during an interview with DAZN. “I feel bad for Canelo. We need to start fighting each other so that we can demand the Canelo fight. Canelo shouldn’t have to fight me, GGG, Charlo, and all these guys. We need to fight and eliminate who needs to be eliminated.”

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS (30-0, 14 KOs)

According to ESPN, the next man in line to face Alvarez should he come out unscathed against Yildirim is WBO Super Middleweight title holder, Billy Joe Saunders.

Saunders arguably falls within the same category as Andrade as a fighter who may be better than his resume suggests.

Last May, Saunders was in line to face Alvarez, but the fight was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saunders last defended his WBO title against Martin Murray in December 2020 where he won via unanimous decision.

The undefeated United Kingdom pugilist's best performances came in 2017 when he won dominant unanimous decisions over Willie Monroe Jr. and power puncher David Lemieux.

Saunders has the look of a natural southpaw who can fight on the move in a relaxed state. With Alvarez’s greatest weakness being his slow feet, Saunders could prove to be a problem for the four-division champion.

When Saunders has stepped up in competition, he has always enhanced his game. Against Alvarez, he will be a big underdog, but he should be at his best.

If Alvarez plans to fight in the United Kingdom, a fight with Billy Joe Saunders could be the fight to do it.

There are other fighters throughout the Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions that could provide Alvarez with a challenge, such as former two-time WBC Super Middleweight champion David Benavidez and WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.

The only fighter at this time that would be a favorite to defeat Alvarez is unified WBC and IBF Light Heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev who may be the hardest puncher in all of boxing.

However, Alvarez’s pit stop at Light Heavyweight in November 2019 against Sergey Kovalev was a one-time occurrence as an opportunity to win a title against a fighter who still has a name but is no longer at their best.

Alvarez has a plethora of options that could make him more money at a lower risk. It's unlikely that the four-division champion would face Beterbiev in the near future.

Alvarez is at a pivotal point in his career. He stands on top of the mountain as the number one fighter pound-for-pound and boxing's biggest moneymaker.

The Mexican's motto over the last few years has been "No Boxing, No Life." With that motto behind him, it may not be until he is past his prime that he suffers another defeat.

(Featured Photo: Matchroom Boxing)