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#my sister was a big astro fan and it’s been a hard day for us all but i know it’ll be okay
enluv · 1 year
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i don’t think I can speak any words better than what has already been posted but i wanted to say that i will be praying for moonbin’s family and friends and any people he has touched within his lifetime for the next few days and then some. it’s so hard to find words when something like this happens but please know that whatever you’re feeling right now is valid and it’s okay to be upset, this is a heavy and hard matter and that’s okay. you can cry, you can celebrate his life, you can do anything you feel is necessary for you and if you need someone to talk/rant/vent/etc to, i am always here for you. remember you are loved and cherished.
places to find me if you need to talk : @enluv & @haisuken
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rosie-rosem · 1 year
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I'm done.
I'm getting so fed up with my sister. We are both big fans of K-pop, and both like Astro, so hearing about Moonbin has made us both very upset. Although, my sister was talking to my mom about it earlier and basically saying how hard of a day she's been having because of the news. She was talking more about her day and how she wanted to talk to someone who would "understand" and then she goes on to say how I'm not as upset about it as she is, like what the hell. Just because I don't say how upset I am, or cry and grieve Infront of people or my friends doesn't mean I'm not grieving. She does this all the time. She will come into my room crying, usually about something K-pop related (which is fine) but then when I ask her what's wrong, she'll be like "oh you didn't see/hear what happened?" she makes it seem like she's better than me because she found out something before me. I'm just annoyed, especially about the fact she's telling people that I'm not as upset as her about Moonbin, and yes, I understand everyone grieves differently and some might even be sadder than others, but wth, yk?? I like to grieve alone, away from everyone. It's fine to grieve, but to literally compare something like that is just rude and disrespectful. even though I'm upset at her I'm not going to hypothetically go on and compare how much I know about them that she doesn't, or when I started stanning them compared to her. like its just dumb, we both love Astro and Moonbin so why is there a need to compare.
sorry for this rant I'm just really emotional and upset so I needed to share my feelings. Overall, I love my sister, it's just these types of things she does that piss me off.
-rosie (4.19.23)
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the-hidden-writer · 3 years
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And Into The Fire
Chapter 14: Choosing Sides
Summary: Months after the Mitchells saved the world, Linda gets a phone call asking if she’s seen two defective Pal MAX bots. Powerful people are after Eric and Deborabot 5000, and it’s up to the Mitchells to protect them.
Taglist: @squidsushi , @astro-aye , @shitmyex, @sharks-are-friendly, @snakeguy99
Check reblogs for AO3 link!
Choosing Sides
So Mark was having a pretty eventful night as it was, ever since the Evil Warden came back and Katie Mitchell was thrown into his office-prison with him. Not to mention those damn bots turning up earlier. That was a pretty huge development too.
And then the other Mitchells showed up out of nowhere, acting as a perfect distraction to allow the pair of them to escape.
As he watched Katie reunite with his family, Mark had a million thoughts swimming through his head. His own family had practically cut him off since Pal went haywire, and though he could probably patch things up with them, it was going to take some time. He couldn’t help but feel jealous at how the Mitchell family supported one another without a second thought. They had to have a pretty strong bond with one another to be able to do that.
But hadn’t Katie said those bots were part of their family, too..? They even had names: Eric and something-or-other. Were they really that trusting to accept murderous robots into their home?
And, more importantly, whose side was he safer on? The American government or one simple, loving family?
“Get them.” Ward ordered, her voice cold and menacing- nothing like the deceivingly polite woman who’d first marched into his office many months ago.
That’s when Mark made his decision. Despite the fact that they’d just broken into his building, he’d much rather side with the Mitchells. Besides, they saved the world once- they could do it again, right? And if Ward’s ultimate goal really was to mass produce a robot army… the Mitchells were definitely the safest bet.
He couldn’t have another worldwide disaster looming over his conscience.
He’d brought the Mitchells into Lab 3. Not only had it been abandoned since Ward took over, but it also had no security and a small service staircase in the back. A perfect escape route.
And because there was no security, the door was designed to be impossible to break into when locked. Without special equipment, at least. That bought them some time.
As Katie told her story to her family, stuff she’d already told him, it suddenly occurred to Mark that he had nowhere to escape to. Ward would find him straight away if he fled to his house, and his family were off the table at the moment.
...Would the Mitchells take him with them?
“-Hey, Dr Bowman!” A finger was snapped in his face.
“Huh? Yeah?”
Katie sighed in frustration. “Where’s Interview Room 7?”
Oh yeah. Mark had almost forgotten about the bot still sitting in there. The Mitchells probably wanted to rescue it too, but that wouldn’t be easy since…
“It’s right next to the balcony.” He explained. “You can see it from the entrance- it’s basically impossible to get into without being seen and caught.”
“Dangit.” Katie’s Mom, Linda Mitchell, swore. “Are you sure? No secret back-entrance to that room, either?”
“Apart from a mirror attaching it to another room, nope. Sorry.”
Linda groaned in frustration, and their weird little dog let out a yelp.
The room fell into a tense silence. The Mitchells must’ve been thinking about a way to reach the Pal MAX bot, though Mark was perfectly content with just focusing on escaping. At the end of the day, it was just a robot. Robots could be replaced.
“...Those things are really freaking me out.”
“Huh?” Mark looked up to see Rick Mitchell staring at the holograms at the front of the lab. “Oh, those.”
“They’re so realistic!” Rick continued in astonishment. “I thought we were done for when we first came in.”
Katie’s brother whimpered for some reason.
“Well, thanks. They were designed to be realistic.” Mark said, walking toward the four tall figures. “We were planning to use them as an upgrade to the Pal Maxes. As a, y’know, ‘design your own robot helper’ sort of thing, so the hologram would get projected over the bot’s base.”
He smiled wistfully. He’d dreamt about that upgrade being the one that boosted sales tenfold, and the one that would win him all sorts of awards that he didn’t already own.
“But, uh… when all the Pal MAX bots got destroyed, we started repurposing the technology to be made from hard light. So that it didn’t need a base and can be used in escape rooms and haunted houses and stuff to stop actors from getting hurt. That’s why these four look so scary.” He let out a nervous chuckle as he gestured to the costumed holograms. “We, um, didn’t get very far with that though, since Ward showed up…”
Katie slowly walked toward the holograms, seeming to be in awe of them. And though he wouldn’t admit it (being a fan of her work) Mark secretly felt very proud that she was taking an interest in them.
“Are the designs based on real people? Or are they custom-made?” She asked as she pushed her arm through the one in clown attire.
“They’re custom.” He answered. “Every single feature is designed individually. From the hair to the nose to the body type...”
“And they were made to go over the bots?”
Katie was asking very specific questions, and Mark couldn’t help but feel more than a little nervous. She was a bright girl, after all. “...Yeah, the hard light ones are. The ones at the front are just for show, but we manufactured a chip that would let the bot download the update for custom designs. We tested them on spare VR bodysuits first though. Why?”
Her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“Do you have an idea?” The little boy asked his big sister- who looked as if she was about to burst.
“I think I know how we can get out of here!” She cried.
“How?” Mark asked at the same time as Rick.
After a brief pause, Linda gasped. “You don’t mean…”
“I do mean!” Katie grinned. “It’s perfect, especially if they’re all waiting for us outside the front while we sneak out from the back.”
“Are you sure it will work?” Linda continued with concern. “If the technology hurts him… or if he’s being guarded… and what about Er-”
Rick put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “There’s nothing we can do about him right now, remember? As long as we escape, we can always come back when he’s in one piece.”
At first, Mark was very confused about who they were talking about. Were there secretly more Mitchells?
Then it hit him.
His entire conversation with Katie earlier, she said they thought those damn robots were family. And if they were talking about his hologram technology and escaping at the same time then that meant…
“Wait, hold on-”
Katie rushed back over to the group in order to hug her Mom. “I think it’ll work. But there’s only one way to find out!”
Comments make my day! :)
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let-it-raines · 5 years
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Catch Me If You Can (21/?)
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298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.
But then he came back and won the World Series.
It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.
Asking her out live on-air will do that.
Rating: Mature
a/n: I technically don’t have a horse in the race for the World Series that’s currently happening (tonight could be the last game 🙀), but since this lil’ universe exists because of @wellhellotragic​, I’ll be pulling for the Astros to actually win a game at home! 
@resident-of-storybrooke​ remains the best for reading these words, which include some more meeting of the fam jams! 
Found on AO3: Beginning | Current
Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
Tag list: @eala-captian @galaxyzxstark @xellewoods @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury​ @superchocovian​ @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog@cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings​ @youraverageshipper​
-/-
New York City in the summer is both the best and the worst.
There are approximately a million things to do, which is pretty much always true for this city, but things seem to multiply this time of year compared to any other time. Well, maybe besides around Christmas, but then every street is so full of tourists that Emma can’t do anything for fear of losing her temper and yelling at a middle-aged couple simple trying to enjoy their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary trip.
Bah-humbug.
And as much as Emma likes the way she can wear her jeans with a cozy sweater and coat draped over her with a warm beanie covering her ears, summertime is pretty much the prime time for her with so many baseball games happening and with the US Open coming around at the end of August. But it is decidedly not the end of August since it’s more like the end of July, and all she feels right now is like a big puddle that’s ready to melt whenever she walks outside. Also, that she smells like garbage, but that’s more likely the city than her considering she showered this morning and used vanilla body wash that she can smell on herself.
As well as sunscreen.
And sweat. There is definitely some sweat involved despite the fact she is only wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top with a hell of a lot of deodorant. She literally has deodorant in her backpack next to her laptop and notebook full of stat sheets.
Her hair is really gross too despite the braid it’s in, and the game hasn’t even started. It’s going to be a long day. For a multitude of reasons.
David, Mary Margaret, and Leo walking toward her in the hallway is near the top of that list.
“Emma,” Leo gasps when he sees her, quickly running toward her and leaving his parents behind in the dust. He’s got on a Captain America shirt and the signed Killian Jones hat gracing the top of his head. They didn’t explicitly tell Leo that she and Killian are dating – kids being kids and not being able to keep secrets and all that – but he pretty much knows. And he’s definitely going to after this.
“Hi, bud,” she laughs, squatting down the slightest bit (he’s getting too tall) to wrap him up in a hug that she knows is far too tight. “Long time no see.”
“I saw you for dinner last night.”
“That is too long.”
“You’re clingy,” Leo scoffs before pulling back from her hug to look at her with those furrowed little brows of his.
“Clingy? Who taught you that word?”
“Mom said that about dad.”
“Hey,” Mary Margaret huffs, sliding her arm around Emma in greeting, “don’t be telling tales.”
“It’s true.”
“I’m clingy?” David questions, his forehead wrinkling when he raises his brows. “Since when am I clingy?”
“That’s a conversation for another time.”
“But I – ”
“Okay,” Emma claps, breaking up the argument that is very inevitably about to happen no matter how small it’s going to be, “so I’m going to show you guys to your suite before I have to go out onto the field for a bit.”
“Emma, I know my way around the stadium,” David grumbles like he always does when there is any implication that he does not know absolutely everything that he needs to know, but then he’s kissing her cheek in greeting and gently patting her back in that David way of letting her know that he’s teasing even when she already knows this. It’s, like, a whole full circle thing. “Why is it that you are taking us to a suite today instead of us just sitting in my seats?”
The scorecard keeps ticking higher on David mentioning his investment in baseball by mentioning his season-ticket seats, but honestly, she can’t even say anything.
“Because,” Emma sighs, wrapping her arm around Leo’s shoulder and pulling him forward, “you are a workaholic who needed to get out of the office and spend some time with your family, and I made some special arrangements for that. Also, it’s crazy hot outside today, and the suites have air-conditioning.”
They’re in one of the first suites that Emma comes to, and she unwraps her arm from Leo’s shoulder to flash her badge at one of the security guards in charge of the player family suites before a door is opened for them to go inside. Liam, Elsa, Anna, and Kris are already inside sitting down on the couches that are in front of the TV monitor, and Addy and Lucy are watching something on an iPad, pink headphones covering their ears.
“Emma, are those?” Mary Margaret asks, trailing off at the end.
“Yep, that’s Killian’s family.”
“But we haven’t even met Killian yet.”
“Oh,” Emma sighs, smiling a bit to herself at them reacting to this exactly the way that she knew that they would, “I know. He’ll be up here when he finishes with the game though, okay? I’m feeding him to the lion’s den while I’m working, but he’s going to take us all to dinner afterwards so that you guys can do your creepy interrogation like Liam did to me.”
“He did what now?” David fumes, reaching forward to gently grab her elbow while Liam himself turns around, finally spotting they they’ve entered the room.
Emma can’t help but roll her eyes while her stomach does that twisting thing that is pretty much becoming its trademark. All of these people are ridiculous. “It’s fine, David. It was a joke. But seriously. I might be in and out depending on how the game goes, but Killian is going to come up here after he finishes his cool down, and afterwards, we’re going out to dinner.”
“How is that going to work if you guys are keeping things quiet?”
Emma shrugs her shoulders, a little bit of nervous energy washing over her. It’s something she and Killian have talked about a lot in the past week now that everyone important knows about everything important, and while they’re still figuring things out, they’ve decided that it’s probably safe to go somewhere low key for dinner as long as they’re in a group. Maybe eventually they’ll be able to go to dinner with just the two of them without Emma looking over her shoulder. It’s not like Killian is Brad Pitt or anything, but her worries of being spotted are legitimate. She’s in a very happy little bubble right now, and even though a bit of it has been burst, it’s still holding strong.
She deserves this. Killian does too.
“We’ve got it figured out,” she tells David before walking toward Liam and greeting him with a hug and doing the same with everyone else. Killian’s family are a bunch of huggers, even for people they don’t know very well, and that’s something she’s figured out very quickly. “Okay, so I’m about to do some quick introductions, so everyone brace yourself.”
“David Nolan,” David interrupts, reaching forward to shake Liam’s hand in what Emma can tell is a far too hard handshake to show off some kind of weird masculine authority. “It’s nice to meet you – ”
“Liam Jones. And this is my wife Elsa, her sister Anna, and Anna’s husband Kris. The two munchkins ignoring us are my daughter’s Addison and Lucy, and I bet they will be great friends with your son.”
“How old are they?” Leo asks. “Because I don’t want to be friends with anyone younger than four.”
Elsa actually snorts while Mary Margaret’s intake of breath might as well be a sign that death is coming with how dramatic it was.
“Leo,” Mary Margaret admonishes, “that is not very nice. You should apologize.”
Elsa stops laughing to wave Mary Margaret away, a kind smile on her face. “It’s fine, I promise. I get it. The girls do stuff like that all of the time, and luckily for Leo, they are both a little bit older than that. Plus, Addy really likes Captain America too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, why don’t you go over there and talk to her?”
Leo smiles and nods his head before sprinting over to the girls, plopping down on the couch hard enough that Addy and Lucy might as well bounce off of it.
“I’m really sorry about that,” Mary Margaret says again. “He was stuck with me working with a bunch of younger kids the other day, and I think that’s scarred him.”
“It really is fine,” Elsa smiles. “At least he’s a kid and there’s a bit of an excuse. Anna here sometimes says things like that, and she’s an adult.”
“Only technically,” Anna laughs.
“This is true,” Kris adds in.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to talk about me like that.”
“What? It’s true. It’s how you are. You have the enthusiasm of a kid with a bag of skittles. It’s wonderful.”
“Yeah, but you guys aren’t supposed to say things like that when we’re trying to make a good impression with Emma’s family. We’re supposed to look normal.”
It’s Emma’s turn to snort and shake her head before reaching forward to squeeze Anna’s forearm. “There’s no such thing as normal, which I’m sure you guys will realize as soon as I leave you all here to make some awkward small talk.”
“There isn’t going to be anything awkward about it,” Kris smiles before bumping his hip into Anna’s, “unless Anna keeps talking.”
“You are something else today.”
“You guys are all something else,” Emma laughs, hoping to everything that this is going to go well. This isn’t something she’s ever really had to do before, and it’s kind of terrifying. “But I trust that you can all get along with your spouses, since that seems to be a problem today, and each other. Now I’m going to go sweat my ass off outside, but you guys have a good time up here. And if they bring in those cheeseburger sliders, save me some.”
With that, she turns to walk out the door, knowing she doesn’t have time to go through proper goodbyes with all of them (she’d be there forever), and quickly makes her way to the elevator so that she can get to the tunnels that are going to take her out to the dugout. She always loves the days where she gets to spend some time in there, to really get a behind the scenes feel at it all, and while she’s a bit wary of some of the players now, she knows that it’s all going to be fine.
This is a game, but it’s also a job.
Al nods his head at her when she pushes open the door and walks toward her designated spot at the end with the water cooler and bat racks. August and Lance greet her, the rest of the guys sitting around ignoring her, and she’s thankful when she finds Jeff already in his seat.
“Hey,” he mumbles, his legs shaking up and down.
“Hey, why do you look nervous?”
“I’m fucking hot.”
Emma laughs and takes her seat next to him, and Jeff hands her the microphone pack and her earpiece, which she immediately turns on even though she knows Ruby is probably about to bombard her with questions.
“We can go inside for a bit when the first inning is over. I don’t plan on being out here the entire time.”
“Thank you.”
Emma knocks her knee into Jeff’sJeff’s,but he ignores her and turns his head to look out at the field. He’s always such a character.
“So,” Ruby teases, her voice breaking through the static, “how did the meeting go?”
“Fine. I bolted pretty quick, though. Also, Rubes, we can’t really talk about this stuff while I’m working.”
“Why not – oh, wait, never mind. I got you. There are a lot of people around who can hear you.”
“Yep,” Emma sighs, shaking her head a bit, “so tell me what kind of coverage you want me to get for this game. Jeff and I are already dying of heat.”
“Fine,” Ruby grumbles, and Emma can practically imagine the roll of her eyes, “I guess I will give you instructions for your job instead of gossiping about your life.”
-/-
Killian only pitches three innings, and while it’s a bit unusual, Emma doesn’t think anything of it. They’ve got their first road game in Boston next week, and she imagines Al doesn’t want anything to happen to Killian’s arm. And there’s no reason for him to overexert himself when they’re so easily winning and have already got this series in the bag no matter what happens the rest of the afternoon.
Plus, he winks at her when she finishes doing a quick interview with him after he’s pulled from the game, and the smile on his face tells her everything that she needs to know about how good he’s feeling.
She hopes that he feels that way after he goes upstairs and meets most everyone.
They probably should have eased everyone into it, but honestly, she thinks Killian will be more comfortable with his family around.
“Are you going to make me do one of those Instagram filters again today?” Will questions, as he plops down on the bench next to her, tilting the water cup back and drinking it down in one gulp. “Or am I playing twenty questions? Do you want to talk about my wedding? Or maybe even the game?”
“Shut up, asshole,” Emma laughs before reaching up to fan her face and wipe the sweat from her brow. “You’re the worst.”
“Um, actually, I believe you quite like me.”
“That’s debatable.”
Will hums as there’s some shuffling in front of them with Arthur King reaching around Emma to get his bat and helmet. Anxious shivers run down her spine when she sees him now, and her entire body stiffens until there’s a gentle pressure on her forearm from where Will is squeezing it.
“Hey,” he whispers, dipping his head down to look up at her, his goofy grin replaced with a soft smile that she usually doesn’t see with him, “you okay?”
She nods her head, wishing that her stomach wasn’t twisting like this. “I’m fine.”
“He’s not going to say shit like that again, Emma,” Will promises as his hand squeezes her arm again. “You are a member of this team, just like me and Killian and Rob, and we’ve got your back no matter what happens. I don’t let people talk shit about anyone but especially my friends.”
“Are we friends now?”
“Jones told me that we had to be.”
Emma scoffs and rolls her eyes, but she still knocks her knee into Will’s, a smile curving at the corner of her lips. Who knew that Will Scarlet was going to be so in her corner this early on? Or at all.
“Thanks. I’ll let you pick the filter you use the next time I do Instagram stuff simply because of that.”
“Sounds like music to my ears.”
-/-
Emma doesn’t get any chances to go back up to the suite during the game, but afterwards, when she’s wrapped up all of her work stuff and told Jeff goodbye, she finds herself walking through the suite doors only to find Killian standing at the counter wrapping sliders in a paper towel while talking to David.
Should she focus on the fact that she knows that Killian’s wrapping those up for her even though she asked everyone else to do it or the fact that Killian is talking to David?
Probably both.
“Hey,” she says slowly, stepping up to the two of them so that they both glance over at her, small smiles gracing both of their lips. Okay, good, that’s a good sign. “How are things going?”
“Just dandy,” Killian tells her, lifting his arm so that she can step into his space and press up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Dave is telling me about how he makes me look good on TV.”
“Dave?” she questions, and all Killian does in response is brush a kiss over the hair at the crown of her head.
“That is not exactly what I was saying,” David clarifies. “Killian asked me about work, and I explained it to him. Him thinking that he needs help to look good is all on him.”
“I mean, I get it. I help him look good every week when I could very easily make him look awful.”
“You are so kind to me, darling.”
“I know.”
Killian smiles down at her in that way that makes her heart stutter and her breath hitch, and there are so many emotions flying through her right now that she’s not entirely sure what to feel. There are also a million questions she’s going to have to gulp down, and Emma already knows that she’s going to have to ask Mary Margaret or Elsa for all of the details how everything went.
She really, really, really  wants Killian and David to get along. That’s, like, everything to her even if she didn’t realize it when this whole thing started. Ruth and Mary Margaret will like anyone who is nice to her, but David has seen so much of the shit that’s happened in her life that he’s a little bit more particular.
Okay, a lot.
“Are these sliders for me?” she asks even though she already knows the answer.
“Aye. I figured you’d want something to eat on the way to the restaurant since I didn’t see you eat during the game. Were you avoiding it so as not to get on camera again?”
“Kind of. It was also too damn hot to eat.”
Killian’s lips tick up on the right, his brow arching high on his head, and she knows that there’s a dirty joke rumbling around in there. It must be hard for him not to be able to say it, but they are most definitely not at a comfort level where he can talk about having sex with her in front of David. In fact, it’s probably best if they never get to that comfort level.
“Dad,” Leo groans as he walks over to the them, “Mom said to ask you when we can go eat.”
“I think we can go now since Emma’s all finished with work.”
“Thank goodness. I thought I was going to starve to death.”
“You know, kid,” Killian laughs, dropping his arm from around Emma’s shoulder, “you sound a lot like your aunt.”
What can she say? She and Leo like to eat.
They go to a low-key pizza place six blocks over from Liam and Elsa’s townhome. All of them are so spread out in different boroughs of the city that it’s pretty much impossible to meet in the middle, but Liam suggested the place since he knows that it’s quiet and that the girls like it a lot. Emma’s honestly pretty nervous walking inside, Killian following right behind her with his hand ghosting over the small of her back. It’s odd to have been dating someone for this much time and never really been out with them, but this relationship is never going to fall into the category of ordinary anyways. It’s always going to be a little off and a little funky, and that’s fine with her because it works. She’s never been one to need to be wined and dined anyways.
And maybe she’s also nervous because of the fear that someone is going to see them and that connections are going to be made, but Elsa quickly talks to the hostess and has them moved to a large corner booth in the back that no one else in the restaurant can really see. Bless Elsa. Honestly and truly. Emma knew she would be great for how Killian always talked about her, but Emma had no idea that she was going to so quickly hit it off with the woman so that they almost feel like friends now too.
It’s been a week since they met, but everything goes so naturally that it feels like so much longer.
This isn’t her or her life or the way things usually go. Emma doesn’t just make friends with people she meets and doesn’t integrate her life with others. The only constant friend she’s had over the past six years that isn’t somehow quasi-related to her is Ruby – toss Graham in there too – and if it wasn’t for Ruby pretty much demanding that she and Emma get along, Emma would probably still think of the woman as just her producer.
How different life would be.
So Emma is definitely not the type of person to have multiple people texting her throughout the day or asking about plans, knowing and understanding that the rigorous game scheduling makes those plans kind of difficult to make. But here she is at a table with ten other people where the conversation is easily flowing from subject to subject because all of these people are making an effort to get along for she and Killian.
She’s got some pretty awesome people around her, the man whose hand keeps inching up on her inner thigh included.
Emma twists her head to look at Killian and tell him to stop teasing her by squeezing her thigh, but instead of seeing the smirk she was expecting, his free hand reaches up to cover his mouth as he yawns.
“Are you tired?”
Killian nods as he keeps yawning, small tears escaping the corners of his eyes, and when the yawn finishes, he has to keep blinking the tears away. “Exhausted. I could go for an entire vat of caffeine.”
“Or get an IV of coffee in your arm.”
“What?” he questions, very obviously not getting her reference.
“Gilmore Girls reference, twenty-nine,” Emma sighs, patting his hand on her thigh. “Gilmore Girls. I know we’ve talked about it before. You should watch it when you have time. It’s, like, a peak early 2000’s show. But you can skip the last season.”
“I’ll keep that in mind when I inevitably forget about this conversation and the show.”
“Do you need to go home? We can leave whenever.”
“No,” Killian promises even though he yawns when he says it, “I’m good for a little while longer.”
“Is it past your bedtime?” Lucy asks quietly from her seat next to Emma.
“Do you think your uncle goes to bed before you, sweetie?”
“He looks sleepy. Do you want my pizza?”
Emma’s not exactly sure where the correlation is there, but that’s kind of how kids are. It’s much more entertaining than talking to adults sometimes.
“No, Luce,” Killian promises, leaning over Emma to talk to her, “I don’t want your pizza, but thank you. That’s very sweet. I think it’s past your bedtime though.”
“It’s not Lucy’s bedtime for another hour,” Addy helpfully adds in, much to the amusement of everyone else. “Mine isn’t until eight because I’m older.”
“Mine is at nine,” Leo says.
“I wish I could go to bed that early,” Elsa sighs as she reaches down to pick up her glass of water. “You guys don’t know how good you’ve got it sleeping that much.”
“I don’t like to sleep,” Addy laughs.
“Me either,” Leo says back to Addy, giving her a high five.
Mary Margaret is probably already planning their wedding or something ridiculous like that for how much fun they seem to be having. Actually, Mary Margaret is probably planning hypothetical weddings for several people at this table, but that is not something Emma is going to start thinking about. Nope. Not anywhere near to even being close to being ready and the little thoughts need to chill the hell out. So, if Mary Margaret is going to plan creepy hypothetical weddings, it can be her son’s.
They’ll probably have Captain America-themed plates with baseball hats and stuffed animals from the zoo lining the aisle.
Okay, now Emma is the crazy one.
Maybe she’s a little tired too.
“So, Killian,” David starts, very obviously changing the subject, “I mean to ask earlier, but why did Al pull you out of the game so early?”
Killian’s hand squeezes her thigh, nails digging into the skin a bit roughly, but then he’s letting out a breath and releasing her thigh so that he can scratch at his jaw. “Ah, preservation for the Sox series. Nothing to worry about. I wasn’t feeling top notch, and it’s better not to risk it, you know?”
“That makes sense. I feel like I spend so much time simply making sure things run smoothly on camera that I never get to actually pay attention to the game, so today was nice.”
“See,” Emma huffs, looking between the two of them and pushing down that little feeling of worry over Killian not feeling well today. It was probably just the heat. “I told you that it would be nice. You got all defensive about sitting in the suite.”
“To be fair, I had no idea we would be meeting Killian’s family today.”
“Yeah, hon,” Mary Margaret sighs before picking up a slice of pizza and taking a bite, “we were blindsided a bit, and apparently everyone else already knew.”
“I didn’t want you to prepare questions or some kind of actual interrogation or something else ridiculous beforehand. You have a tendency to be a little too much on the friendly scale.”
“I do not.”
“You totally do.”
“How?”
“Marg,” Emma laughs, “you probably would have been like Ariel and tried planning a vacation for all of us before you even shook Liam’s hand.”
“I would not have.”
“I bet if I looked at your phone right now there would be flights pulled up to Aspen or something.”
Mary Margaret narrows her eyes at Emma, but then Anna is clapping her hands together and making everyone look at her. “Oh, I just love this too much! I think a group vacation would be the most fun.”
Everyone starts laughing, and Killian picks up his bottle of beer to tilt at Anna. “Emma was right when she said that you and Mary Margaret get along swimmingly. It’s uncanny, actually, how similar you are.”
“Friendly people make friends, little brother.”
“Liam, I don’t know how many times I have to say that there is nothing little about me. Ask Emma.”
“Oh my God,” Emma gasps, reaching back to slap his chest, “no. We are not talking about that. You’re an idiot. There are children here.”
“To be fair,” Kris starts, and everyone turns to him, “they got here by the either little or not-so-little attachments we’re alluding to.”
Nothing like alluding to dicks to make a group of people come together.
Okay, that thought could be taken a lot dirtier than Emma intended, so it’s a good thing she’s not thinking out loud.
They all quietly leave the restaurant half an hour later, the conversation and laughter not at all slowing down for the rest of the time there. Maybe it was the bit of alcohol that most everyone had or maybe it was simply hitting a stride in conversation, but it doesn’t really matter. All Emma knows is that her stomach hurts from laughing and she’s got this smile on her face that she hopes stays for awhilea while.
“Today was nice,” Mary Margaret sighs as the two of them stand outside the restaurant while David and Killian settle the bill inside. “I like Killian a lot. I really like that he makes you smile.”
Emma blushes, and her smile increases despite her best efforts not to let it. Who in the world is this woman who is smiling all of the time? This is not her. But maybe it is now.
“You are such a mom, Marg.”
“Literally I am.”
“You know what I mean, though.”
“I do, I do,” she sighs, wrapping her arm around Leo’s waist and pulling him closer so that he doesn’t wander off the sidewalk and into the street. “But you’re basically my first baby even though this one came so close after I met you. All I want is for you to be happy, and that man makes you happy.”
“Yeah, he does.”
“Emma,” Leo asks, looking up at her as the restaurant doors open behind him, “can I meet Will Scarlet now too?”
“We’ll see, kid,” Emma laughs. “We’ll see.”
“You ready to go, love?”
Killian walks over to her and moves to wrap his arm around her shoulder before stopping himself, eyes glancing to the few people around them, and Emma’s heart sinks at that. But she knows that this is for the best, and Killian not being able to wrap his arm around her shoulder when they’re about to get in the car isn’t that big of a deal. It’s really not a deal at all, and Emma pushes down her worries so that she can look up at Killian and smile.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
The two of them say their goodbyes to everyone else before walking two blocks over to find Killian’s car where it’s parked, Killian opening her door for her even when she insists that she do it herself so that Emma can quickly slide into the passenger’s seat.
“You and David took a million years to pay.”
“Did we?” Killian hums, very pointedly taking a little too long inspecting the gearshift.
“You did. Did he go all big-brother on you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Swan.”
“You, Killian Jones,” Emma scoffs as Killian pulls out of the parking spot and onto the street, “are a liar.”
“And obviously not a very good one either.”
Emma sighs as Killian twists his head and winks at her, a mischievous smile painted on his lips. “What did David ask you?”
“About my intentions with you.”
Groaning, she sinks down further on the leather seat, wondering if it’s acceptable to unbutton her shorts because she’s eaten pizza and cheeseburger sliders in the past three hours and has food babies inside of her stomach. Multiple. That’s how much she has eaten.
“Seriously?”
“Yep,” Killian laughs, turning the blinker on before reaching over to grab her hand and bring her knuckles to his lips to brush a kiss there, the charmer.
“What’d you tell him?”
“That I love you and am very much in this for the long haul as long as you’ll have me. Now do you want to go to your place or mine?”
“Mine,” Emma tells him as her heart stutters in her chest at his words and all of the implications behind them. “Let’s go to my place.”
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lunebinnie · 5 years
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(1/11)Oh my gosh yesss I'm glad that you like long messages too because I talk way too much 😂 (And yeah about my friend and just hanging out w/ her more that's exactly what I was thinking 😂) It's actually kind of funny bc just yesterday I was hanging out at her house and her younger brother needed to go to Walmart and I was like 'I've been meaning to go to Walmart, I'll take you' and ofc since I have a bluetooth radio adapter the whole drive I had my Spotify going with some quality k-bops, lol
2)And as we were driving I noticed him kind of jamming and I was like 'Oh my god Mickey do you actually like this???' And he was Like 'yeah, these are some good bops 👍' I was shooketh. I had to go home before I had the chance to show him any music videos but he says he's open to watching some with me next time I see him. One way or another I'm going to turn someone in my social circle into a kpop fan you mark my words ☝ and then maybe we can team up and try to work on his sister some more 😂
3)I only started first getting into kpop last June so I'm still very new, but it's definitely super frustrating how so many ppl act like it's an inherently bad or cringey genre of music just bc it's kpop! The stigma is ridiculous! I also started out with BTS (lol) and since they're pretty popular in the US at least I was able to be like 'See, this isn't just a niche thing, lots of people know abt and like this group' but of course my dad still says 'Just cause it's popular doesn't make it good'
4)And I'm like? You're a band teacher, you of all people should understand that music doesn't have to be in your native language (or even have lyrics) in order for you to enjoy it, but go off I guess... It's the same with one of my college friends. They make fun of me for liking kpop but this is coming from some who still treats March 22nd (the day My Chemical Romance broke up) as a day of mourning. Like, no tea no shade no pink lemonade, MCR was a good band nothing wrong with liking them.
5)But like if you're 22 and you still haven't grown out of your emo phase do you really have room to pick on other people for their music taste?  🤷 Anyway that's the person who follows my main that I didn't want to know I had a kpop sb. I think I made it around July. Tbh it was pretty dead for most of 2018. But like I said I've started using it way more since I recently revealed that it exists, lol. Especially since that good good Astro cb 👏💗😩 But honestly Astro is such a blessing
6)Idk how I lived so long w/o them. When I first got into kpop I was planning on just sticking to BTS since the reaction to me being into kpop was so volatile. I was like 'I'm only into one group, ppl already are negative about me liking kpop so I'm just gonna stick to this and not become a full on multifandom fan' and then in Nov I accidentally let myself fall in love with Monsta X and that plan was foiled. And realizing I wasn't gonna be able to stick to just one anymore opened the floodgates
7)And I was like okay in that case, let's just start getting into *all groups* Lol. My story of getting into Astro was actually bc of my best friend's roommate (can you tell I have like one friend and my whole social circle kinda revolves around her? Lol) so this roommate when she heard me being sad about having no kpop friends was like 'oh hey, I'm kinda into kpop' and it turns out she didn't like very many groups and was one of the ppl who blah blah BTS is overrated, which ya know isn't ideal8)But I was just really desperate to have someone to talk about kpop with. And Astro was her favorite so I was like, okay I'll get into them so that I have something to talk about with her! So I started watching some videos and I fell in love with them pretty much instantly! And I was real excited bc #1 now I can talk about kpop with someone! And #2 this group is actually amazing? Bonus! ... And then they got in a big fight about their living conditions and the roommate ended up moving out RIP
9)So that didn't work out, lol (Your story about finding them during that internship sounds amazing though! Haha) But yeah, so this is my first cb too! And although I love them w/ my whole heart and would have loved to have them in my life even sooner what an amazing cb to be your first! The concept was wonderful, the album was excellent, the visuals were to *die* for. They worked so hard and I'm so proud of them and I'm so happy we got to see their work come to fruition and get them a win 🤧🤧
10)The dance practices though? You're so right omg 💗 Me and my Rocky bias *fully* understand 😂 All of them are such good dancers?? I never fail to be impressed. Of course you know who I always end up watching tho 👀 lol (̶i̶f̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶l̶f̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶R̶o̶c̶k̶y̶'̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶o̶t̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶e̶y̶e̶s̶.̶.̶.̶)̶ ̶ I also love how at the end they always pause all dramatic for a minute and then start screaming 😂
11)It's like? Amazing talent *and* dorky personalities? What more could you ask for? Lol. In regard to your last question though Unfortunately I also won't be able to see them 😔 I live in the smack middle of the US and since they're only going to coasts all of the venues are way too far away to get to. Esp since it's the school year and I can't skip class to drive cross country for a concert much as I'd like to (Holy lord I talked over twice as much?? Why am I like this?) Talk again soon! -ASA
Okay SO I’m very sorry I haven’t had the time to answer everything until now bc I’ve been busy studying for midterms and also I was a lil trashy today since my uni closed bc of freezing rain so I slept in but I’m glad that FINALLY everything got sent like damn tumblr you really don’t want us making friends huh. 
Yessssss I love the feeling of seeing someone else also get into the same interests! I’ve been pretty lucky in the sense that I grew up around mostly other asian americans, so kpop was never something that was considered super “weird,” like some people were into it and some weren’t but even if you weren’t you still would’ve been familiar with the more popular groups from when you were younger. Even now, I have a bunch of friends also into kpop (one of them is even my roommate) so tbh I was definitely the one in my friend group late to the party aha. Even my university hosts kpop nights at our bar and I’m pretty sure we have a kpop dance team as well? So tbh if I met someone new there’s probably like a 50% chance they’re into kpop or at least listen casually. 
Tbh I used to be a little bit judgy too but moreso because of the obscene amount of money I’ve seen some of my friends spend (no joke one of my friends has spent probably like $500+ on Loona stuff in the past month and a half and another friend bought like 5 copies of the same album for herself like damn idk how do you have that much money).
I also really don’t like it when people bash other people’s music tastes, since I feel like it’s something so personal? Idk but for a long time I used to be really self conscious about sharing my music with other people and even now I feel like that sometimes. For me after getting into BTS I kind of expected to get really into other groups since I was in Korea anyway and I was already listening to a lot of other artists casually. For me it started with NU’EST (fell for them immediately at the same concert that I saw Astro at) and then after was Astro, and then I just started slowly getting into other groups after that (even though I haven’t totally been able to get into Got7′s music they’re SO funny and I just kinda fell for their personalities  you know). 
I honestly think that they did such a wonderful job with this comeback too! I like seeing their concept evolve and mature but they’re not straying too far from their original cute concept so I feel like it’s a nice middle ground that’s very unique to them, you feel? Also I feel like the visuals especially and the execution of the whole plant concept was just done so well?? Even my friend who’s not in kpop was like “k idk who they are but that was the prettiest music video I’ve ever seen”. What are your favourite eras and songs? For me I’d have to say either the Spring Up or Baby era BUT right now my favourite song is probably Again/Should’ve Held On though tbh my mood and my tastes change like every few weeks loool. 
I have no idea why I tend to be most attracted to the dances rather than vocals or rap (maybe has to do with the fact that it’s something I’ve always wished I could do but have always been bad at lmao). But Astro’s stood out to me for the exact same reason! I just thought it was so funny seeing them all break character at the end because you really get to see how hard their choreos are and you get a glimpse of their personalities like damn, how can you not stan these dummies?
That’s really unfortunate that you won’t get to see them either :/ They’re also coming to the closest city to me but it’s on a Tuesday, but I *hypothetically* looked up flight prices and tried to see if I could get away with just missing a day of classes if I flew back in the middle of the night since I have some friends who did the same thing and drove down to Buffalo but I seem to have underestimated the size of New York State LMAO. But apparently my university’s too far from the airport so it’s “not realistic” (and also I’m hella broke from travelling to Taiwan and Japan while I was in Korea but that’s a minor issue ig). I hope we do both get a chance to see them live though! Who knows, after the success of this comeback I’m expecting a lot more cbs and world tours out of them ;)
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98aroha97bangtan94 · 7 years
Text
I Can’t be your big brother
Pairing: MJ X Reader
Genre: Fluff!
Word Count:1,201
Summary: You have been signed to Fantagio as a member of their new girl group. One day you are practicing alone and you meet someone, what will happen?
A/N: Y/N is the common “your name” insert, G/N is “group name” insert, and S/N is “stage name” insert. Also at this time Astro has been around for 4 years
Hey guys so this is a drabble written for MJ hope you guys like! ~Mod Ice Queen
You had just finished your meeting with your new manager and the five other girls who you would from now on be spending a lot of time with. You and all the girls had known of each other and talked to each other before but this was the first time you had all been in the same place at the same time. It had been hard to find times to speak with you all until he last of you had moved to Seoul.
The meeting had gone over just fine and you had found out you were going to be like a little sister group to the company’s one male group, Astro. You had been told you would be the “little” of the group’s MJ and so you two would need to meet and get to know each other. That earned a small laugh from the girls but it changed when they were told the same thing about the other boys. However, ironically enough for you, you knew who MJ was. You weren’t just an idol under Fantagio now, you had been a fan for years before hand and Astro was one of your favorite groups. Worst part was…MJ was your bias.
Yep, you biased MJ and now you had to spend time getting to know him and having him practically mentor you. Least to say you were both thrilled and a little terrified. What if he didn’t like you, thought you were weird, or worse thought you didn’t have what it took to be an idol. You shook your head to clear the negative worries and opened the door to the practice room. Since coming to the building a few days ago this room had become your solace. The one place you felt you could clear your head. You had unlimited access unless a group had it for something and so it was the perfect place to go after the meeting had left you with so many worries. You shut the door behind you and looked at the covered mirrors, you chose to leave them covered and set your bag under the table along the wall. You hooked your phone up to the speakers and started playing your playlist. The first song to come up was Astro’s Innocent Love.
You slowly started to stretch out and then began to slowly dance around the room. You never noticed when someone stopped by the window and stood there, still as could be, watching you. He was smiling from ear to ear, his hair a tousled mess and his face almost pressed to the glass. He watched in awe as you moved and could hear through the door that had only made it part of the way shut the lyrics to a song he knew so well. He continued to watch you as different songs played and his eyes lit up each time you began dancing again. How you hadn’t noticed him was a mystery to him but he was thankful you hadn’t.  After watching you dance to a few more songs he finally had enough of just watching you and slowly made his way to the door. Giving it a few seconds he stood and waited before gently knocking and pushing the door open slightly.
You turned to face the door and your eyes widened. Coming into the room was none other than the person you had been anxious to meet. You bowed and respectfully greeted him and he greeted you in return. “I’m S/N of G/N” you said nervously and mentally kicked yourself for sounding so scared. He laughed and looked at you. “Nice to meet you S/N, now is that your actual name or your stage name?” He tilted his head and looked at you curiously. You smiled slightly and looked at the ground. “Stage, my real name is Y/N.” You look back up but try to avoid his gaze. MJ noticing this moves to be in front of you and looks at you. “Well nice to meet you Y/N, I’m MJ, also known as Myungjun, call me either just know unless we’re the same liner or you’re older I expect a little respect.” He laughs and ruffles your hair lightly, “Sunbaenim is also just fine.” He smiles as he teases you. “So Y/N if you’re a part of G/N that means one of us in Astro is your “big” correct?” He asks you as he goes to lean against the table. You only nod. “So who is it for you then?” Your response to him is to simply point at him as you are still slightly embarrassed.
MJ’s face lights up as he realizes. He smiles and scratches his neck. “That so? Well I assume we’re supposed to get to know each other then huh?” You nod slowly and he motions you over. You slowly walk over, your hands twisted together. He laughs “Don’t worry I don’t bite…people I don’t know yet.” He looks at you waiting for a reaction and sighs in relief when you laugh. “So tell me about you.” He smiles warmly and looks at you with kind eyes.
You told him about you, where you’re from and random other things he asked. He did the same about him and you slowly got more and more comfortable being around him. Eventually you two looked at the time and realized you had been in the practice room talking for three hours and that it was past ten at night. This only caused you two to explode into a fit of laughter as you chose to ignore it and continue talking. You shared likes and dislikes, dreams, past experiences with anything and everything and by the time midnight rolled around you felt like you two had been friends for years.
Finally MJ stood up and stretched, “we should probably get going it is getting super late” he smiled and offered a hand to help you off the floor. You smiled taking it gratefully and nodded in agreement. “So do this again sometime?” he asked sweetly, his eyes still shining making your heart flutter at the thought of spending more time with him. You nodded, not able to find words. He smiled and reached out his hand “Can I see your phone I’ll give you my number” he smiled as you handed it over. He put in his info and smiled at you, handing it back, he started to leave. “Oh, Y/N thanks for today, can’t wait to see where you’ll go.” With those words he left. You gathered your things and started to leave but before you could your phone buzzed. Being your mentor will be easy, but being your “big brother” that I don’t know about… take that how you want –Myungjun
You blushed at the text and couldn’t wait to talk with MJ the next time you could.
MJ stood by the door of Fantagio as he pressed send, a childish smile across his face, “she was so cute and so sweet” his cheeks turned red as he left for the dorm. The guys would definitely tease him when he got back but he didn’t care he had met you, and that made it worth it. 
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fightingdiamond · 7 years
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KCON LA 2017 fanaccount!!
part 1: Seventeen-teen-teen (I got to hi-touch them!!!) and a bit of VIXX~ 
Oh my goddd it's past 2 am as I'm writing this and I'm really worn out + still going to the convention tomorrow (Astroooo) but I wanna write this up before I go to sleep and forget 😂😂😂
First a bit about day 1, my early morning flight got delayed so I was like 😱 bad omens but the convention check-in line was amazingly smooth this year, I was prepared to wait hours in the hot sun from what I'd read online about previous years???? That didn't happen so 👍🏽
I was praying to get a Seventeen or GOT7 hi-touch with my ticket (to be clear, I only wanted GOT7 to trade for Seventeen 😉) but I got SF9 instead. Which is fine, I would've been happy to do SF9's hi-touch if I hadn't gotten Seventeen. I spent most of Friday in the trading area desperately looking for a Seventeen hi-touch, and was almost resigned to my fate/actually bought an Astro hi-touch because I thought I wouldn't get Seventeen. But one popped up at the last minute!!! I was expecting to be asked to pay $400+ and I love Seventeen but I'm not willing to spend that much money just for a hi-touch, but the seller was really kind so it worked out!!! 
I don't think I really did much else Friday, just walked around looking at merch and wondering whether to buy or not 😂 I filmed myself saying random stuff about the convention to my sister! She's at school so she couldn't come with me 😓
Saturday morning I woke up and had a few minutes of panic because HOLY CRAP I'M SEEING SVT TODAY. I GET TO TOUCH SVT TODAY. It was totally unreal and I wasn't even at the event or even the convention yet, I was literally in my bed 😂 I couldn't believe it was really happening!
I felt really bad because I sold the two Seventeen audiences I got on Friday as contingency, and I know my fellow Carats really wanted that hi-touch 😭 I'm sorry Carats!!! Next time!!!
I went to the Carat fan meeting event for a bit, it was pretty cute! I've never seen so many Carats in my life before 😂 so many of them came with their parents too~
Around noon or so I was just sitting outside the expo hall and I noticed people were starting to line up, so I went over and asked what was going on. Supposedly ~some idols~ were gonna come through, maybe VIXX! So I stuck around - I wasn't planning to go to VIXX's fan engagement because it was right before Seventeen's, and I needed to line up for a good view for Seventeen 😂 
I want to say it was anticlimactic, but it kinda wasn't? Sure, I was waiting there for a while, and I'm short so it was hard to see what was going on. And when they actually came through, they walked so fast I didn't have time to react! I wanted to shout Hakyeon's name but it all happened so fast that I couldn't get the words out 😂
But I did see them in real life! I was literally like, 5 feet away from them?? Hyuk was first and I actually wasn't sure if it was him for a second, either I've been out of VIXX for too long or he looks different in real life? Probably at least a bit the latter, haha. Not in a bad way tho! His face just looks softer in real life. Also, he's really tall! But at the same time, not as tall as I expected? Like, it felt like I was expecting all of them to be almost larger than life. It was really amazing seeing them in real life and just having that world-changing reality check that yeah, these are real, living, breathing humans who just happen to be celebrities. They looked so....normal, in a way? Like I see them and I realize that in some other universe where they're not idols, they're just regular people I might've known. Idk if this is making any sense, haha. Of course I've been aware of the fact that I shouldn't put idols on a pedestal - VIXX themselves have definitely taught me some lessons about how to deal with it when idols that I love do problematic things - but it's one thing to accept intellectually that idols aren't perfect, and another to actually have them in front of you without any of the usual digital barriers, just casually walking by like any other stranger you pass by on the street every day. So yeah, overall it was pretty amazing to see them, really refreshing in a way, even if it was only for a few minutes, if that. 
Mm anyway, Hongbin looked as pretty as ever and Wonshik was really charismatic (although I wish he had smiled). I remember while I was doing my research for KCON tips and tricks, someone said Jaehwan looks like a doll in real life? Whoever that was, you're totally right. Can confirm. I was a bit surprised honestly, I never thought of him as a top visual in VIXX but he's astoundingly pretty. Taekwoon.....lmao I'm so sorry, I literally don't recall seeing Taekwoon 😂 I must've been distracted 😕
Overall I was pretty pleased with my luck XD I totally forgot that they were coming to the expo hall at all and I'm glad I was there just in time. Most importantly, I was really glad I'd seen VIXX first, because I felt a lot more prepared for Seventeen after that 😂
Also Kevin Woo (U-KISS' Kevin) walked past me on his way to a panel, so that was kinda cool. 
It was still more than two hours until Seventeen's engagement, but I saw one of my twitter mutuals said they were already lining up for it??? So I hurried over and got in line. The fan engagements are all standing, no seats for some reason, so I really wanted a good view 😂 I talked to people in line, and made a new friend! That was actually one of my biggest fears about KCON - I'm really shy about talking to people, and I also kind of feel out of place among KCON fans. That's still kinda true, but at least I made one friend 😄
I was so nervous while I was in line, and I don't think I stopped being nervous until Seventeen had come in and were on stage, tbh. Seeing them in front of me was so calming ❤️ It was so nice being surrounded by so many Carats tho! On the screen in the hall they were playing MVs of the artists in the lineup and everyone was cheering and singing along for Don't Wanna Cry. 
I recorded the whole fan engagement session including Seventeen walking in and I can upload that later, so I'll just toss out the things that stuck in my memory:
-I was WHOLLY unprepared for Jun to walk out first?????? He looks like a goddamn elf in real life, he's so beautiful. I'll still grumble about his hair being blond and grumble a bit louder about how he should eat more and fill out those cheeks again, but he's so beautiful. Similar to Hyuk, not as tall as I expected (also, I think he just has lousy posture). 
-Dino????? Is so tol???? But also so smol?????? Also I'm sorry, this is going to sound REALLY weird, but his head is kinda big proportional to his body? 😂😂😂😂😂 he's still a cutie tho. 
-Coups was so excited and happy, he was smiling and waving with both hands and I swooned. His black hair is gorgeous and I feel so blessed. 
-Jeonghan had glasses!! I swooned again. 
-Seungkwan is ADORABLE. I think up until he came out I'd just been cheering, not yelling members' names, but when he came out I just suddenly found myself screaming his name lmao. I love him ❤️
-I'm not a makeup expert by any means so I could be wrong, but they all seemed to have pretty heavy makeup on? Not a bad thing at all!!! Just a comment. It made all of them look really gorgeous. Especially Woozi, his skin looked so pristine and soft. 
-I kept waiting for Hoshi but he never came 😔 I hope he's resting well and that he isn't too sick!!!
It's getting a bit late haha so I'll skip the actual session for now and talk about the hi-touch, since I don't have a video for that! They made us put our phones away, although one of the girls with me just left her phone recording in her pocket 😮 tips for next time!!
So my plan was to alternate saying 수고했어요 (you've worked hard) and 건강하세요 (be healthy) because I knew I wouldn't have time to say both to each member, and they were all close together so I hope they each heard both phrases 😅 and I was planning to speak English to Joshua and say "take care of your health", and Mandarin - 您辛苦了 (you've worked hard) and 祝您身体健康 (be healthy) - to Jun and Minghao. I really wanted to say something meaningful in the short time I had! I didn't want to say something as trite as "saranghaeyo" or anything. 
Actually my rehearsed lines went pretty well, I should really give myself more credit for that. I couldn't really tell if they were more happy to hear my message than normal - of course they're always happy to meet their fans, but I couldn't tell if they were more happy than that to hear their native languages, ya know? I hope they appreciated it though 😓 ironically I actually stumbled on the English - I don't remember why, maybe I looked at Jisoo's face or something haha, but I suddenly got really shy and instead said "thank you for coming" while not looking him in the eye. He thanked me though, and I could hear the smile in his voice 😌
I'm really mad at myself about the eye contact thing though! I keep feeling bad about not looking some members in the eye; I hope they know it's out of shyness and not because I love them any less! Honestly I have this problem in real life too, my eyes will just wander during conversations 😒 I need to fix this (and not just for if I ever meet Seventeen again 😂)
Individual impressions:
-Woozi, oh, Woozi, my poor Jihoonie. He seemed super exhausted. I don't want to cause any trouble but I think Carats understand - he seemed really happy to see his fans, but at the same time very tired. His smile seemed like one of those polite smiles, but like I said, I totally understand. His lil dimples were really cute too! Also, he has a really manly vibe? LOL idk he’s so smol but also surprisingly manly????
-Seokmin, my sunshine, I think I might've talked over him by accident?????? Lmaooo I have no idea, it happened really quickly. As I was moving from Jihoon to Seokmin I think Seokmin was saying something to me, probably just hello, but I couldn't hear and by the time I realized, I was already opening my mouth to talk. I can't really remember much about his face or expression or anything but I remember getting the vibe that he was a really sweet person. It was probably his smile 😍
-Joshua: see above. I'm sorry babe! I love you, I'm just shy!
-Seungkwan, my baby boo, I'm so sorry, I barely remember hi-touching him 😭😭😭 if I ever see you again Seungkwan, I'll give you lots of love!
-Jeonghan, my angel, I think I was also too shy to look at him? I don't remember his face 😂😂😂 I love you Jeonghan! 😭
-Vernon, oh my god, Hansol, my child. He said hello to me as I moved up to him with his like, classic crooked grin and I about died on the spot. His voice is so lovely, oh my god, and the way he was smiling with his eyebrow quirked I just can't! I didn't realize until way way later that he'd talked to me in Korean (or rather, the importance of that fact). I wonder if he thought I was Korean because he heard me speaking Korean to Jeonghan? I'm under no illusions here about my Korean ability lol so I'm not sure. Either way he seemed really excited to be hearing Korean spoken to him and my heart melted when I realized that. I had purposely decided that I was going to speak Korean to Hansol for this very reason - because I remember reading about how he's lived in Korea for so long and how he said before he identifies more with his Korean side. I figured he'd appreciate a message in Korean and I feel really proud that I was right. 
-Mingyu, my darling, I think I was still freaking out from talking to Hansol lmao. I love Mingyu more than....a lot of things but he didn't make much of an impression on me? Like, he was exactly how I expected him to be, no more, no less - very tall, very beautiful, very excited. It's not a bad thing 😂😂😂 thank you for saving my heart, darling!
-Coups, my love, I feel bad that I couldn't show him more love with the time I had. I had another attack of shyness around him and didn't look him in the eye 😭 I tried to touch his hand a little longer to make up for it...also I'm SO regretful that I didn't look at his face more attentively because I know he was smiling, but I didn't even take the time to appreciate his dimples 😭😭😭
-Wonwoo, my precious, I'm sorry I also don't remember much of him. Whose idea was it to have hip hop unit line up together?????????? I, a lowly hip hop unit stan, am DECEASED. I was already so overwhelmed from the others that I didn't have the capacity to appreciate Wonwoo 😭😭😭
-Minghao, oh god, Minghao, my everything. I'm not gonna lie, he stole my heart today. Recently I had been feeling increasingly fond towards him for no particular reason, so I kinda saw it coming, but after the hi-touch I was just like, wow. My life has been changed. Right before the hi-touch started, as we were lining up, I was yelling Minghao's name trying to get him to notice me. No luck 😔 but I spoke Mandarin to him during the hi-touch, and he gave me this radiant smile and thanked me in Mandarin. Holy shit, his voice. I'm still getting shivers thinking about it now. I swear to god my heart wanted to fly out of my chest. In hindsight though, I think he seemed a bit tired, similar to Woozi? I'm not sure if it's just his smile lines but yeah, he seemed kind of tired. He was really gracious about the whole thing though. 
-Chan, what a smol, especially sandwiched between the two giants that are China line. LOL I mean he’s actually pretty tall too, he just gives off the vibe that makes me want to coddle him 😅 I hope he got to meet a lot of people who bias him! He deserves the world ❤️
-Jun, wow. I feel a little bad for reiterating that he's beautiful? The boy's talented too, make no mistake! Appreciate Wen Junhui 2kalways! But anyway he seemed a bit tired and withdrawn during the hi-touch, I felt a little twinge in my heart. I had a split second where I freaked out mentally over the Mandarin so I just ended up saying "you've worked hard" to him even though I'd already said it to Minghao. Actually I don't think I ended up saying anything about staying healthy to any of the members of performance unit who were present.....I feel like there's some kind of cosmic irony here. Anyway I hope Jun appreciated the Mandarin even though he didn't say anything! 😅
I really wanted Hoshi to come so I could tell him to get well soon, but of course I don't blame him. I hope he's back on his feet soon!
I was curious about Seventeen’s actual heights lmao but they were all kind of bending down/crouching to accommodate the fans! So sweet of them 😍 (but I still will never know how tall they really are.......hahaha)
God it's 4:40 already 😂😂😂 anyway! I'm gonna sleep now! I'll talk more about the concert later, but it was So Good oh my god. I've now adopted SF9 as my babies and reaffirmed my belief that Seventeen are gods 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 Vernon and Seungkwan are the sweetest little things and Mingyu and Minghao are precious together. 
TL;DR: I went in to the hi-touch a Coups bias and I left a Minghao bias 😂😍😂😍😂
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tophatal · 6 years
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     Let My People Go  ….
Well the  NFL preseason is almost upon us  and the    first  game   of the  preseason  schedule will be the Hall of Game featuring the   Chicago  Bears    facing  the  Baltimore  Ravens   on   Thursday  2nd August,  2018.   Meanwhile  off the  field  , the  big  news’ story   within the  league  has  been  the  comments  from  Stephen Jones    and  his  father  Jerry  Jones ,    front  office  executives   for the  Dallas  Cowboys .   Jones   Sr   has  let  it  be  known  that any   player  on the team’s  roster   refusing  the  stand  during the playing  of the  National  Anthem    could  face  dismissal  from the  Cowboys  as  well  as the mandatory fines  likely  to be levied  by  the  NFL  hierarchy.
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As  the  NFL  continues  to  try  and  justify their  latest  policy  change  , it is  becoming  increasing  clear  the  owners  have  taken   a  stance  with   the exception  of   New  York  Jets’ owner    Woody  Johnson  who  has  stated categorically  ,  he  is  prepared  to stand by any  player   on the   team    who   wishes to  oppose  the   ruling  now  in  place by  the league.   NFL   Commissioner   Roger  Goodell , has  somehow  engulfed  the  league  in a   public relations’  nightmare  which it  cannot  win .     Former  CEO  and  founder  of   pizza  chain restaurant  Papa  John’s    ,   John   Schnatter has  resigned  from the  company  after  his   racist  comments were  made   public.  Schnatter  at  the time,   was  speaking  with a  public relations’   firm   seeking their  input   into  ways  of   increasing  sales  , when  he  chose  to use  certain racially  derogatory  terms  to  describe   African-Americans  and  Hispanics.    Had he not resigned  , then  it  was  almost  certain that  his    Board  of  Directors   would  have  sought  his ouster.   Papa  John’s  still remains  an  NFL  partner  , but  has  seen  it’s   association  with  several    NBA  franchises abruptly  come  to  an  end.
From my own  standpoint ,  this  upcoming  season within the  NFL   will  not  be  one  where  I will  be  taking  a  keen  interest  in the   regular  season , let  alone what   might  take  place  during the  postseason.  This league  has  lost  all  credibility , while the NFLPA  (players union)  remains  a body  unwilling  to  support  when  of their  own  when  needed  the  most.
The NBA off-season has proven to be an interesting one with the departure of LeBron James , as he left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Los Angeles Lakers . James fulfilled the wish of his hometown franchise by bringing them their first professional franchise title in over five decades. However, the team that LeBron James now leaves behind will not be one that will be considered among the favorites within the Eastern Conference for the upcoming regular season. James’ departure might be seen as a big coup for the Lakers, but not less than forty-eight hours after the announcement was made , reigning NBA champions the Golden State Warriors were able to swoop in and sign DeMarcus Cousins to a one-year $5.3 million deal , veteran’s minimum . For those now crying foul , please stop with the idiocy and the complaints of the league lacking parity and competitiveness. The money now involved in the NBA, now creates a chasm between the top teams and in actuality to my mind , this has more to do with the culture now sought by front office executives and NBA hierarchy led by Commissioner Adam Silver . His predecessor , David Stern simply did not do enough by way of a league salary cap or seeking to keep those contracts in check.
This season , the number of players in the NBA earning more than $25 million a year will be at an all-time high , with the Russell Westbrook being the highest-paid player in the league by way of his contract. The long held belief that Gregg Popovich is a master tactician is not lost on many , but somehow in spite of his coaching prowess , this five-time championship winning coach was unable to persuade Kawhi Leonard to remain with the San Antonio Spurs . Instead the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year has found himself a new home, having been traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan , one of the most productive players in the NBA over this past season.It will be interesting to see what the veteran forward can offer the Spurs as they embark on another season .
MLB enters its second-half of the season after an interesting first-half and an All Star Game Weekend of festivities filled with a great deal of excitement . The non-waiver trade deadline is now in focus and there are likely to be several players on the move by 4:00 pm today, the deadline for all trades . The Baltimore Orioles now appear to be in a rebuilding process and it would seem that after their trade of Manny Machado , there is the likelihood that Adam Jones could be the next player on the move. Not racked by injuries but this is a team which seems to be lacking in confidence and where manager Buck Showalter now has to look to the future. Chris Davis is no longer the player who hit 50 home runs in a season , while powering their offense. If this season is anything to go by the Orioles have been a non-starter.
Over their last ten games the Baltimore Orioles have posted a moribund 5-5 record . They’re out of the wildcard contention and their divisional record is abysmal . The Orioles are in action today where they face the New York Yankee s on the road , with Yefry Ramirez of the visiting team facing Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees , as part of their regular season schedule.
If you can’t beat them, then you just give up , continue to make excuses for your incompetence. There’s no other way to describe the continued woes of the New York Mets . Often seen as the ugly sister to their crosstown rivals the New York Yankees. The Mets continue to be abysmal for a variety of reasons , while their long-suffering and idiotic fans make excuses for the ball-club’s malaise. This Micky Callaway managed team has a look of defeat about them which has become so contagious and bewildering. The best performing player for the Mets this season has been Jacob deGrom , around whom there are now constant trade rumors concerning the starting pitcher. It is likely that the Mets’ front office will listen to offers for deGrom and quite possibly his teammate Noah Syndergaard . With two months left on the schedule , it seems now might be the time to take the chance on looking to the future by calling up several of their most promising players within their farm system. Micky Callaway will prepare the Mets for their next several games , starting off with Tuesday’s contest against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Ballpark in Washington, DC.
Once again the Tampa Bay Rays find themselves in a position where at this point of the season they are sellers rather than buyers. News now circulating , based on conditions of anonymity , the Rays will be trading their starting pitcher Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates . Archer was one of the few desirable starting pitchers sought at the deadline and it is believed that the Rays will obtain Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow in return for the AL ace . Archers’s last start for the Rays was in game against the Baltimore Orioles, a 15-5 loss , where he pitched six innings in the contest . . Chris Archer’s contract becomes an amenable one for the Pirates to have , with just two years remaining on his existing deal. Rays’ manager Kevin Cash and senior members within the front office will have a hard time trying to convince the fans that this proposed deal will be in the best interests of the ball-club.
The Tampa Bay Rays have nothing to play for but their pride as their season winds down. Next up for the Rays will be a three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels beginning on Tuesday .
There’s no doubt in my mind that Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers remains under the gun and with the Dodgers failing to win the World Series in 2017 , with their first appearance in the Fall Classic, with their falling to the Houston Astros. I have to ask myself how much more can Mark Walter and Magic Johnson take as the primary owners of this ball-club ? Since acquiring the ball-club from Frank McCourt via bankruptcy proceedings the Dodgers have committed over $1.6 billion in salaries on a litany of players. This year the Dodgers possess one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball ,with their starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw leading the way with a whopping $33 million price-tag for his services in 2018. While the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves with a struggle within the NL West , the question remains what will this team have to do in order to bring the franchise their first World Series’ title in almost three decades?
Dave Roberts and the Los Angeles Dodgers will be in action on Wednesday afternoon when the team faces the Milwaukee Brewers at home in a clash between NL counterparts. The front office of the Dodgers made some moves which they deem to be beneficial, as they look to wind down their regular season schedule. While Idon’t believe that Mark Walter and Magic Johnson will fire Dave Roberts should the team fail to make the postseason , I do believe there will be rumblings among the fan-base for something to be done.
What do you believe are the main stories now breaking within the world of sports and do you feel that the comments made by both Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott have any basis in merit ?
Tophatal ………….
NFL news
NFL Hall of Fame Game
NFL week on preseason
NFL standings (division preseason)
NBA news
NBA transactions
MLB news
MLB standings (divisional) and wildcard standings
MLB schedule three days at a glance (31st July to 2nd August )
MLB transactions
Byron Scott, the now fired former coach of the Hornets. GM , Jeff Bower who has now assumeed the position of head coach on an interim basis. And assistant coach , Tim Floyd. It’s safe to assume that the reins may well be handed over to Floyd at some time in the future given the fact Bower has no experience as a coach of any kind with regard to the NBA . picture apears courtesy of nbae/ getty images / Richard Tyson …………..
Rays’ third baseman , Evan Longoria at the plate for team. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Vic Hallam
Carl Crawford’s three-run home run in the sixth inning highlighted Tampa Bay’s three-game sweep of the Angels. The Rays are five games over .500 for the first time in team history. photo appears courtesy of the Associated Press/ Mike Carlson ………….
Gatots’ player Tim Tebow (15) and his coach Urban Meyer discuss their options during a game. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Chris Dickson ……………….
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s steroids proposal, made to the union last month, calls for a 50-game ban for first offenders, a 100-game penalty for second offenders and a lifetime ban for a third positive test. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press / Adam Roundtree …….
Carolina Panthers’ Julius Peppers saluting fans as he walks off the field after the Panthers’ 23-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C. The Panthers have decided the price is too steep to keep their all-time sacks leader. It means five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers is about to become one of the top prizes in free agency. Agent Carl Carey says the Panthers have told him they won’t place the restrictive franchise tag on Peppers for a second consecutive year at a cost of more than $20 million. The move Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010, comes two days before the tag deadline. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Rick Havner ……
Mike Dunleavy (#17) of the Indiana Pacers goes up for the lay up against Brendan Haywood (#33) of the Dallas Mavericks during a game at the American Airlines Center on February 22, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Glenn James ……………….
University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, left, and head football coach Rich Rodriguez, right, are shown at a news conference in Ann Arbor, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. The NCAA has found that Michigan’s storied football program was out of compliance with practice time rules under coach Rodriguez. Incoming athletic director David Brandon disclosed the finding Tuesday. He says there were no surprises in the NCAA findings. He also says Rodriguez remains the coach. Michigan has 90 days to respond and will appear at an NCAA hearing on infractions in August. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Paul Sancya ……
Los Angeles -January 13th 2010. New head coach of the USC Trojans Lane Kiffin shakes a hand as he makes his way to his press conference at Heritage Hall in Los Angeles, California. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Harry How ……………..
Duke’s Jon Scheyer collides with Virginia Tech’s Malcolm Delaney, left, during the first half. Scheyer scored 25 points and collected 10 rebounds in the win. The Blue Devils defeated Virginia Tech (Hokies) 67-55 in the game . photo appears courtesy of Associated Press / Sara Davis ……………..
Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts speaks to the media Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010 at the Chicago Cubs spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz. photo appears Assoc. Press/ Matt York ….
Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella, right, along with coaches Matt Sinatro, middle, and Lester Strode watch pitchers warm up during spring training baseball camp practice Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010, in Mesa, Ariz. photo appears courtesy of Assoc. Press/ Ross D. Franklin ………..
Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Mauer swings in the batting cage at baseball spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press/ Nati Harnik …….
Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, left, watches batting practice with Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez during spring training baseball Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, in Jupiter, Fla. With the smallest payroll in the majors last year, the Marlins won 87 games and finished six games behind eventual league champion Philadelphia in the NL East. Visiting spring training to watch the first full-squad workout, Loria said the 2009 Marlins underachieved. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press/Jeff Roberson ……..
Israeli model Bar Refaeli seen here doing a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition phot-shoot.
Ray Allen (#20) of the Boston Celtics looks for a play against LeBron James (#23) of the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 25, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Brian Babbineau …..
Floyd Mayweather, left, and current WBA welterweight super champion Shane Mosley exchange words during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The press conference was to promote their May 1, 2010 fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press/ Seth Wenig ……..
Floyd Mayweather, left, and current WBA welterweight world champion Shane Mosley pose for a picture during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The news conference was to promote their May 1, 2010 fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press /Seth Wenig
Scott Boras, chided for bonus demands for amateur clients, says the Major League Baseball draft needs restructuring. “In this system, everybody thinks this is about money. No, this is about saving money. It allows for less mistakes,” he says. photo appears courtesy of USA Today Jason M. Millstein ………………..
Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig and actress Sarah-Jessica Parker take part in an on field presentation during the 79th MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on July 15, 2008 in the Bronx borough of New York City. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images North America / Jim McIsaac ……………
Stacey Dash , actress , designer and entrepreneur .
Jennifer Aniston shows us that she’s more than willing to be your ‘friend’ ?
Model & Playboby playmate Naureen Zaim . Who wouldn’t mind teaching her a lesson or two on human anatomy ?
Cuban American actress & model Natalie Martinez
Martinez again looking good as only she possibly can !
Oh mon ami ! she possibly can ! Je t’aime !</strong
Who wouldn’t want to play with Natalie Martinez ?
Well hello there !
Model & actress Natalie Martinez ……….
Actress & model Natalie Martinez …….. Who wouldn’t want to get ahold of her rims ? I know I would !
New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez watches his fly-out in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, March 26, 2010, in Tampa, Fla. photo appears courtesy of Assoc Press / Mike Carlson ….
Sarasoata , Fl ,. Infielder Adrian Beltre (29) of the Boston Red Sox throws over to first for an out against the Baltimore Orioles during a Grapefruit League Spring Training Game at Ed Smith Stadium on March 27, 2010 in Sarasota, Florida. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ J Meric ……….
St. Louis , Bobby Maze (3) of the Tennessee Volunteers looks to shoot the ball against Mike Kebler (20) and Draymond Green (23) both of the Michigan State Spartans during the midwest regional final of the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Edward Jones Dome on March 28, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. Michigan State beat Tennessee 70-69. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Dilip Vishwanat …
The Duke Blue Devils hold up the trophy after a 78-71 win over the Baylor Bears in the south regional final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Sunday. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Ronald Martinez …
Butler’s Nick Rodgers hold up the West Regional trophy as the team returned home to Indianapolis amid a throng of fans after earning a spot in the Final Four with a victory over Kansas State Saturday. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ A J Mast ………..
West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler and Joe Mazzulla hug after the game. Butler scored 18 points and Mazulla pitched in a career-high 17 to help West Virginia hold off the Wildcats. The Mountaineers would defeat the Kentucky Wildcats 73-66 to make their way the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Jim McIsaac ……….
Russian actress & model Anya Monzikova . Who wouldn’t want some of Monzikova alongside some fresh Beluga caviar ?
2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. The player is widely expected to be taken number one overall in the upcoming NFL Draft. The team with the first pick are the NFC’s St Louis Rams . photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Chris Rogers ………..
Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb. The player is said to want to remain with the Eagles but it’s becoming clear that he will be traded sooner rather than later. Eagles’ coach Andy Reid and team President Joe Banner are willing to listen to offers for the Pro Bowler. photo appears courtesy of US Presswire/ Jody Gomez ………….
Tebow (15) left is seen here alongside his former college coach Urban Meyer. The two proved to be very sucessfule as a team combining to win two national titles in four years. photo appears courtesy of boston.com/ articles …………
DeMaurice Smith Executive Director of the NFLPA. Smith who assumed the position after the death of his predecessor Gene Upshaw. He was elected to the position by the board members of the Players’ Association. Smith was a corporate litigation attorney for the DC law firm Patton Boggs. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Phillip Mitchell
Carlos Boozer #5 of the Utah Jazz has his shot challenged by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on April 2, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers would go on to defeat the Jazz 102-96 in the game . photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Andrew D Bernstein ………..
Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles. The player was traded to the Washington Redskins a divisional rival in the NFC East. It adds to the flavor this upcoming season when the player meets his ‘former team’ . photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Hugh Malcolm ………………..
Baylor’s Brittney Griner and U Conn’s Maya Moore are seen here during the women’s Final Four game between the two teams. Geno Auriemma’s Huskies would go on to defeat the Baylor Lady Bears 70-50 in the game played at the Alamodome in San Antonio , Texas , Sunday April 4th 2010. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Alicia Mack ………..
Cleveland Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers and his lawyer Patrick D’Angelo, center, talk to reporters after leaving Cleveland Police Headquarters where Rogers was charged with one felony count of carrying a concealed weapon on Friday, April 2, 2010, in Cleveland, Ohio. Rogers was arrested at Cleveland Hopkins International airport on Thursday after he tried to take a loaded handgun through airport security. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Jason Miller …..
Butler head coach Brad Stevens , left to right, Gordon Hayward and Ronald Nored smile during an interview session for the men’s NCAA Final Four college basketball championship Sunday, April 4, 2010, in Indianapolis. The Butler Bulldogs will face Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke Blue Devils in the championship game Monday night to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis, Indiana. This in many ways will be very much a “home game” for the small and in-obtrusive college team from Indiana. The furor over over their improbable journey has resonated within the state and across the nation. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press/ Mark J Terrill ……………
Los Angeles, April 4th 2010. Manu Ginobil (20) of the San Antonio Spurs goes to the basket against Luke Walton (4) of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday. The San Antonio Spurs would go on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 100-81 in a game played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. photo appears courtesy of NBAE/ Getty Images/ Noah Grahame …………….
Tiki Barber and his wife Gina Cha. Barber’s wife is six months pregnant with twins and is now in the midst of separating from the former NFL star. photo appears courtesy of Wire Image/ Duffie Marie Arnoult ………….
23 year old Traci Lynn Johnson an intern with NBC Universal and who works alongside Tiki Barber on the NBC morning show “The Today Show” . Barber and Johnson are romantically involved and the former NFL star has now separated from his wife of 11 years , Gina Cha. The couple have two children with twin now on the way in terms of Cha’s pregnancy. photo appears courtesy of Social Media SEO ……….
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/tracker#dt-tabs:dt-by-round/dt-by-round-input:1
Playboy Playmate Kayle Collins …………August 2008. Is there a need to proceed further concerning Kayle’s attributes ?
Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic goes for the layup in the Eastern Conference semi-final game played against the Atlanta Hawks. NBAE/ Getty Images/ Fernando Medina ………
Head Coach Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz fields questions from the media following his team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NBAE Getty Images _ Andrew D Bernstein
Kobe Bryant (24) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots against Deron Williams (8 )of the Utah Jazz in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NBAE Getty Images/ Noah D Bernstein
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 24: (L-R) Robert Vittek, Martin Skrtel and Radoslav Zabavnik of Slovakia celebrate victory after knocking Italy out of the competition during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group F match between Slovakia and Italy at Ellis Park Stadium on June 24, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images ……
Johannesburg , South Africa – June 24 th 2010. Kamil Kopunek of Slovakia celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group F match between Slovakia and Italy at Ellis Park Stadium on June 24, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images ……
Fabio Cannavaro, captain of Italy, leaves the field dejected after being knocked out of the competition by Slovakia during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group F match between Slovakia and Italy at Ellis Park Stadium on June 24, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images ………
In this Sept. 18, 2010, photo, Florida Marlins’ Dan Uggla bats in a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Miami. Uggla has been traded from the Marlins to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Omar Infante and left-hander Mike Dunn. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
This is a 2008 file photo of Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins baseball team. Uggla and the Atlanta Braves have reached a preliminary agreement on a $62 million, five-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press Wednesday Jan. 5, 2011 on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet final. (AP Photo/Rob Carr, File)
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Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen (16), of Taiwan, comes into the dugout following the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
ST. PETERSBURG – AUGUST 04: Designated hitter Jeff Keppinger #7 of the Tampa Bay Rays fouls off a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles during the game at Tropicana Field on August 4, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
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Brady
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Let My People Go ….      Let My People Go  .... Well the  NFL preseason is almost upon us  and the    first  game…
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taesthetes · 6 years
Note
(1/?) Travel-anon-hi! Sorry for the late reply, I've been feeling a bit under the weather D: But wow! That's so sweet of you for what you did for your mom! My family's not big on celebrating parent days, but we do go out for dinners - my mom's bday is a couple days before, so we merge the two ;u;~ Thank you! I'll probably come back with a pile of photos, and be super picky which to instagram, haha. Oh! Good idea with the perfume! I normally don't carry any, but this sounds like a good reason to.
(2/?) Aw, you had to give up your internship? I’m sorry D: but on the bright side, vacation? Would you be able to do the internship another time? In terms of expensiveness, I think HK topped it for me. The livelihood there is super high end and overpriced to me :/ And ikr! I wish it were like that here too, but North America’s just too big and spread out for that unless you lived downtown, but that’s expensive D: In December, one Japan night was 24 degrees celsius ouo;; that’s pretty much summer
(3/?) But it does depend where you’re at in Japan! That night I was in Tokyo! It’ll be colder if you’re farther north~ I don’t know if the magikarp promo is still going D: but if it is, you definitely have to try it! I actually like the “crispy sandwich caramel” haagen dazs! I can’t get it where I’m from ;u; so depriveeeed. Your convenience stores sound so much better than mine! All mine have are dollar store things and candy OTL? Usually super grungy looking too. Aw, that’s cute! Do you visit?
(4/?) For the cat, not your sister (well, I guess her too), haha. I don’t remember, did you say you’d try to get a pet in the future for yourself, maybe? Yep! Certain holidays or popular events cause tickets to be more expensive to those countries during those times~ It’s still modern art?! Why isn’t there any traditional ones D:?! I actually prefer modern art, haha; mostly the interactive type ones! I don’t particularly have a favourite artist; I appreciate based on how interesting their-
(5/?) concepts are and how well they executed it. I mean, we did drop a lot of cash on the machines (and won nothing a lot of times), so I’m pretty sure that’s why they took pity on us, haha! I hope you’re lucky enough to either win it yourself, or find someone to help you! I also wish for you to be good at those games ;D! Have you had any more ramen since I last spoke to you? You’re still making me crave for it, and I can’t have any right now ;u; Oo, barely any jet lag can be a good thing!
(6/?) I don’t jet lag much when I travel, but the bits that I do, I accounted for, and used it for long-term traveling within the country! Oo, I hope I get to try a vietnamese hot pot some time then :D! If we ever manage to meet up in another country, let’s hit up vietnamese hot pot, haha. Omg, both of those movies were so good!! Infinity war, I really hope you do get to see it soon D: There’s so many spoilers out already, and it would suck if you got completely ruined to it beforehand!
(7/?) I preordered all 4 albums when they first opened it :D;; If I was only getting 1 of them though, I’d have gotten O! What about you? Did you preorder, or are you going to hit up a store when it’s released where you are? Which is your favourite concept? And, omg, yes. Jimin’s pretty hardcore when it comes to going 0 to 100, so I tend to die fairly often, haha. How do you manage to keep up with Tae?! He’s just as bad, if not worse, than Jimin’s 0-100?! He’s too pretty and amazing as a person!
(8/8) I was going to end this at 7, but well, here’s 8, haha. I follow on yt, and when a notice pops up, I listen and fav the song if it matches my tastes :D NCT is going haaard right now, like wow, almost every other week or two OTL I’ve been into kpop for so long that I like a lot of groups, so it’s hard to recount all of them, haha. What about you? Who else do you listen to? How long have you been into kpop? How was the Tswift concert?! Did you have an amazing time?? How early did you lineup?
hello, m’love!! oh noo, i’m so sorry to hear that ): are you feeling better now? make sure to drink lots of fluids and rest up! and thank you :’) i hope you had a good dinner with your family!! and happy belated birthday to your mom 💕 oh gosh, my instagram is a mess, i just post sporadically and nothing matches. but i think i’ll start trying to make a nicer instagram page though haha. yeah, it’s pretty helpful with the perfume because you can’t bring pepper spray onto planes or anything for travel, so i just pack a small perfume bottle instead!
yeah, i’m excited for the vacation!! i won’t be able to do an internship until next summer then unfortunately. oooh, i heard kong kong is really nice! but i’ll make sure not to go there until i have money lmao. yeah, the only way walking is fine in north america is if i live in one of the big cities, like nyc. oh my god, in december??? it’s going to be even worse since i’m going in the summer D: i think overall it’s going to be very hot in japan because it’s summer when i’ll be there. 
ahhh, even if there’s no magikarp, i’m still excited to eat taiyaki!! omg ok, i’ll make sure to get that ice cream flavor when i’m there :o and that really sucks ): hopefully, you’ll get to come back to japan soon and then you can get the ice cream :D ah yeah, there’s a lot of dollar store items and travel items too and candy. i think most convenience stores are pretty grungy tbh. i visited her last year! but that was before she got a cat sadly ):
and yes!! i want to get a dog and a cat in the future! i suppose there are a few traditional art pieces on display? but i think most people here enjoy modernized art more, like even the buildings and such in the usa are much more modern compared to europe. i guess it’s because the usa hasn’t been a country for as long as european countries, so everything is newer looking. oooh nice!! interactive art is always fun! :D modern art is really beautiful too, but sometimes, i see something like the entire canvas is painted one color with only one stripe down it and i’m like ??? how is this worth 91283472319 dollars???
asdfjkads that’s going to be me. i’m going to spend all my money on the crane machines and win nothing, so let’s hope someone will help me ahah and thank you!! fingers crossed! :’)  and i haven’t had any ramen since ): ramen isn’t the healthiest, so i try not to eat it often. ajsdhfalks but you can’t have any right now? D: did you run out? oooh, and that’s smart! i really hope the jet lag won’t hit so hard because i want to explore everything, but there’s never enough time. and yes!! we’ll definitely get vietnamese hot pot, and then you’ll have to show me all your favorite food places too :D ahhh, i want to see both of them soon! i took my last midterm yesterday, but i still have papers and several projects to do ): and my weekends are packed since i have some things to go to for my friends’ birthdays and i think we might do a road trip for the upcoming memorial weekend since we get monday off.
and omg so lucky!! all four wow :o well, i didn’t preorder it, but i don’t know which album i want either. maybe R or O? because they all look good in denim, but tae had that lip ring.. and unfortunately, they don’t sell kpop merch in stores anywhere near me /: so i’ll have to order it from amazon if i do buy it! honestly all the concepts are pretty though. jimin’s stage presence vs real life is mind blowing with how he can switch so fast. askdlhfjaj i barely keep up with tae, he’s too perfect and he’s such a sweetheart pluS HIS DOGS AND CAT ARE SO CUTE I LOVE THEM SO MUCH
asdf,nasd oh my god i love nct so so so much, like nct dream is my ult boy group favorite, and i’m so sad mark is graduating from the dreamies after this year ): did you see their chain mv? who’s your bias? oh my gosh i’m so excited to hear you like nct alskdjfhalew i really, really, really love taeyeon, like she’s my ult bias, but i also love shinee and blackpink (when will they release a new song)!!! i follow up with those three and nct the most. but i also listen to red velvet, gfriend, twice, kard, day6, wanna one, monsta x, infinite, vixx, astro, and f(x) like when are they coming back ): oh and (g)i-dle!!! i pretty much listen to whatever group that currently makes a comeback, so i know the title songs of most of the kpop groups, but i don’t know each of the members’ names. and i’ve been into kpop since early 2014 :’)
ooooh my god, the taylor swift concert marks the best night of my life, likE I LOVE HER SO MUCH I’VE BEEN A FAN SINCE 2006 AND I CAN’T BELIEVE I FINALLY GOT TO GO TO HER CONCERT!!!! but i got there two hours early for the lineup, and when it started, i sang along for every single song, and when she sang a mashup with long live included, i was over the moon, plus before the concert, i was like oh hey what if she sings the best day because it’s mother’s day tomorrow anD SHE ACTUALLY DID AND I CRIED OMG I GOT SO EMO i was shaking like i tried to get good videos on my phone, but my phone also died and the video will show you how shaky i actually was and wow i just– best experience, i will definitely go to her concerts over and over again and i just loved it so much. so yeah i was pretty excited and super happy overall :’) and how is your week going? 💗
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everettwilkinson · 7 years
Text
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, But Sounds Hawkish… – Daily Pfennig
November 2, 2017  
* 3rd Consecutive day of little movement in the currencies
* Eurozone PMI prints strong again!
* Palladium knocks on the $1,000 door!  
  Good Day… And a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday to you! As usual, you’ll have to pick up the slack from me having an infusion today, for Tub Thumpin’! Congratulations to the Houston Astros, who beat the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series last night… I tried to stay awake for the end, but just couldn’t, as the game dragged on with all the pitching changes. I was glad to see that nothing happened after I went to bed!  Head East greets me this morning with their song: Never Been Any Reason…  My good friend, Duane and me have breakfast now and then at the Olivette diner, where the picture of Head East members sitting at the counter was taken many years ago…   
Can you say, three days in a row? I knew you could! HA!  But that’s what we had yesterday, a third consecutive day of little or no movement to speak of in the currencies…   the early morning gains in Gold couldn’t be held onto by the shiny metal, and the price of Oil slipped for the first day in a week. The Dollar Index moved 2 ticks in the past 24 hours, and there you have it. I’ll Talk to you Monday…  Just kidding…  I can write for hours about things on my mind, if that were the charge…    
The Fed left rates unchanged as suspected they would, but changed one word in their statement that got the markets all riled up… The Fed decided to change their outlook for growth from “moderate” to “strong”…  Makes sense given the fact that Fed Chair, Janet Yellen has used the phrase “strong and robust” to describe the economy in the past.  The Fed had two other points for us… “Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to remain somewhat below 2 percent in the near term but to stabilize”, and :  “Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced”   
The Fed sure sounds like a Central Bank that’s hell bent and whiskey bound to hike rates at their next meeting in December…  But something about that just doesn’t feel right to me, and I’ve said it for several months now that the Fed is finished hiking rates in this cycle…   Two years ago all points were directed at a Fed rate hike in December, and I held my ground on no rate hike, and had to wipe the egg off my face after the Fed hiked rates for the first time in a decade…  I sure don’t want to have to go through that again, and I truly don’t believe I’ll have to!  
It’s a real problem that’s going on with the Petrol Currencies of Norway, Russia, Brazil, Canada, and few others. I told you yesterday, that the Petrol Currencies hadn’t been able to rally with the rise in the price of Oil…  But boy did they sure get sliced when the price of Oil slid lower yesterday… The slicing was done thinly, so the losses to the Petrol Currencies was not much to speak of, but it was a loss nonetheless. 
Have you been tracking the price of Palladium in the past week? Letting Gold get all the headlines, Palladium has moved, stealthlike, up the $900 handle with ease, and is knocking on the door of $1,000 this morning. Remember last month when Palladium passed Platinum in price, and reached levels it hadn’t seen in 16 years, only to have the rug pulled out from under it, by “the boys in the band”?  It takes about 100 days of production of the this metal to meet the short positions that have been taken in the metal…  I’m just saying…   But will they leave Palladium alone to rally this time?  I doubt it…    
Boy, you sure sound negative this morning Chuck! Sorry, I’ll try to do better..  This morning, Eurozone PMI printed for Rocktober. For all of you new to class, the PMI is a Manufacturing Index that has a line of demarcation between expansion and contraction at and index number of 50…  PMI actually stands for Purchasing Manager’s Index…   Well, the Eurozone’s Rocktober PMI remained strong at 58.5, the same figure that printed for September.  But the euro can’t seem to find a bid to move higher this week, even with a strong economic print like this!  
Today is the day the U.S. Tax Reform bill is supposed to be made public, which means the clock is ticking for a passage of the bill before the lawmakers leave for their Thanksgiving break. That’s less than 10 days as I see it, and given the battles that go on in Congress, I just don’t see it happening…  And the longer it goes on without any resolution and vote, the pressure will begin to build against the dollar… 
This is why I believe we’re seeing the no or little movement in the currencies each day… Traders don’t want to make a call on the direction of the dollar, until this Tax Reform thing gets settled…  And we also have the nomination of a new Fed Chairman that’s supposed to be done before the President heads to Asia next week.  Will it be Jerome Powell, or Kevin Warsh?  Either one is a dove, and will keep rates low..    it sounds like it will be Powell, and it will be announced today… 
So, that’s one of the things that was helping the dollar along that will be out of the way…   The saber rattling with N. Korea has been put on the back burner for now, and as I see it, the dollar should be getting back to the underlying weak trend soon..   
The Swiss franc is at parity with the dollar this morning, trading at 1.00…  This move in francs has nothing to do with things in Switzerland…  It’s all about the cross with the euro, and with the euro weaker, the franc gets stronger, and then that carries over to the franc / dollar cross…  The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has stated over and over again that they want a weaker franc… Negative deposit rates, haven’t done the trick for the SNB…  If that’s the case then forget about a weaker franc and embrace a stronger franc with positive deposit rates! 
I’ve not been a fan of the SNB since they put that floor on the euro/ franc cross years ago, and then removed it to everyone’s surprise (except the wife of the SNB president! HA!) a few years later… The SNB has tried everything under the sun, moon and stars to weaken the franc, and that immediately gets you put on Chuck’s list…  Which is someplace you don’t want to be!   
As I said above Gold wasn’t able to hold on to its early morning gains of $9.40 yesterday morning…  the “boys in the band” were working hard and saw to it that 363,000 contracts were traded in Gold yesterday…  That’s right I said 363,000 contracts….  That’s crazy folks!   The price of Gold flip-flopped a couple of times yesterday, as the short sellers would bring it down every time the shiny metal would mount a rally…  Gold did end the day on a positive note, but up only $3.90 to close at $1,274.30 on the day. 
The U.S. Data Cupboard has the stupid Productivity report for Rocktober this morning, along with the Unit Labor Costs…  These are interesting data prints but not market moving, even though the Fed members have been making a BIG Deal about the lack of productivity…  Yesterday’s Data Cupboard has the ADP Employment Report for Rocktober, and it showed that 235,000 jobs were created in Rocktober..  WOW!  The ADP report is more reliable than the BLS report which will print tomorrow…  
I of course will be resting and not looking at the markets at all tomorrow morning…  
To recap… Another day of little or no movements in the currencies… Gold couldn’t hold its early morning gains but ended the day up nearly $4, and the price of Oil slipped.  Eurozone PMI was strong for Rocktober, but wasn’t able to give the euro the traction it needs to move higher. The Swiss franc is at parity to the dollar this morning, and it’s all about the euro/ franc cross, nothing that the SNB has done.   
For What It’s Worth…  You’ve got to love it when a plan comes together right? Well, the plan in Russia was to make doing business easier, and they have done just that!  This is where you can find the article:http://russiafeed.com/russia-soars-global-ease-business-rankings/    
Or, Here’s Your Snippet: ”  Russia has jumped five spots to 35th in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report that evaluates the ease of doing business in a country.
The Doing Business survey ranks 190 national economies based on 11 areas of business regulation. Russia’s new ranking places it ahead of many Western countries such as Belgium and Italy, and just behind Japan.
Last year, Russia ranked 40th based on categories evaluating the ease of starting a business, registering property, getting loans, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts.
Russia has steadily risen in the overall “Doing Business” rankings over the years. After the country had ranked 120th in 2011, President Vladimir Putin signed a “100 steps” decree the following year with the goal to reach 20th place by 2018.”   
Chuck again…. WOW! Now that’s the way to set a goal and then go about achieving or meeting that goal!    
Currencies today 11/2/2017… American Style: A$ .7706, kiwi .6916, C$ .7787, euro 1.1638, sterling 1.3250, Swiss $1.00, … European Style: rand 13.98, krone 8.1437, SEK 8.3915, forint 266.85, zloty 3.6390, koruna 21.96, RUB 58.19, yen 114.05, sing 1.3603, HKD 7.8014, INR 64.66, China 6.6136, peso 19.05, BRL 3.2690, Dollar Index 94.66, Oil $54.24, 10-year 2.37%, Silver $17.10, Platinum $931.15, Palladium $995.75, and Gold…. $1,277.10…
That’s it for today, and this week, as today is an infusion day, and tomorrow is Infusion Confusion…  I had a great lunch yesterday with some friends from high school, and with a 3 month old baby girl, named Poppy..  One of my friends was on grandma duty so she brought the baby to the lunch, and we all loved it! I was happy with the Astros winning the World Series, good thing for Houston. My two sisters live near Houston, so I’m sure they were excited!  Next week I’ll be writing to you from S. Florida…  And I’m sure to be in a better mood each day!  Depeche Mode takes us to the finish line today with their song: Personal Jesus…  And with that, it’s time for me to reach out and touch faith, and send you on your way to a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday! Be Good To Yourself! 
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from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/fed-leaves-rates-unchanged-but-sounds-hawkish-daily-pfennig/
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melindarowens · 7 years
Text
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, But Sounds Hawkish… – Daily Pfennig
November 2, 2017  
* 3rd Consecutive day of little movement in the currencies
* Eurozone PMI prints strong again!
* Palladium knocks on the $1,000 door!  
 Good Day… And a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday to you! As usual, you’ll have to pick up the slack from me having an infusion today, for Tub Thumpin’! Congratulations to the Houston Astros, who beat the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series last night… I tried to stay awake for the end, but just couldn’t, as the game dragged on with all the pitching changes. I was glad to see that nothing happened after I went to bed!  Head East greets me this morning with their song: Never Been Any Reason…  My good friend, Duane and me have breakfast now and then at the Olivette diner, where the picture of Head East members sitting at the counter was taken many years ago…   
Can you say, three days in a row? I knew you could! HA!  But that’s what we had yesterday, a third consecutive day of little or no movement to speak of in the currencies…   the early morning gains in Gold couldn’t be held onto by the shiny metal, and the price of Oil slipped for the first day in a week. The Dollar Index moved 2 ticks in the past 24 hours, and there you have it. I’ll Talk to you Monday…  Just kidding…  I can write for hours about things on my mind, if that were the charge…    
The Fed left rates unchanged as suspected they would, but changed one word in their statement that got the markets all riled up… The Fed decided to change their outlook for growth from “moderate” to “strong”…  Makes sense given the fact that Fed Chair, Janet Yellen has used the phrase “strong and robust” to describe the economy in the past.  The Fed had two other points for us… “Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to remain somewhat below 2 percent in the near term but to stabilize”, and :  “Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced”   
The Fed sure sounds like a Central Bank that’s hell bent and whiskey bound to hike rates at their next meeting in December…  But something about that just doesn’t feel right to me, and I’ve said it for several months now that the Fed is finished hiking rates in this cycle…   Two years ago all points were directed at a Fed rate hike in December, and I held my ground on no rate hike, and had to wipe the egg off my face after the Fed hiked rates for the first time in a decade…  I sure don’t want to have to go through that again, and I truly don’t believe I’ll have to!  
It’s a real problem that’s going on with the Petrol Currencies of Norway, Russia, Brazil, Canada, and few others. I told you yesterday, that the Petrol Currencies hadn’t been able to rally with the rise in the price of Oil…  But boy did they sure get sliced when the price of Oil slid lower yesterday… The slicing was done thinly, so the losses to the Petrol Currencies was not much to speak of, but it was a loss nonetheless. 
Have you been tracking the price of Palladium in the past week? Letting Gold get all the headlines, Palladium has moved, stealthlike, up the $900 handle with ease, and is knocking on the door of $1,000 this morning. Remember last month when Palladium passed Platinum in price, and reached levels it hadn’t seen in 16 years, only to have the rug pulled out from under it, by “the boys in the band”?  It takes about 100 days of production of the this metal to meet the short positions that have been taken in the metal…  I’m just saying…   But will they leave Palladium alone to rally this time?  I doubt it…    
Boy, you sure sound negative this morning Chuck! Sorry, I’ll try to do better..  This morning, Eurozone PMI printed for Rocktober. For all of you new to class, the PMI is a Manufacturing Index that has a line of demarcation between expansion and contraction at and index number of 50…  PMI actually stands for Purchasing Manager’s Index…   Well, the Eurozone’s Rocktober PMI remained strong at 58.5, the same figure that printed for September.  But the euro can’t seem to find a bid to move higher this week, even with a strong economic print like this!  
Today is the day the U.S. Tax Reform bill is supposed to be made public, which means the clock is ticking for a passage of the bill before the lawmakers leave for their Thanksgiving break. That’s less than 10 days as I see it, and given the battles that go on in Congress, I just don’t see it happening…  And the longer it goes on without any resolution and vote, the pressure will begin to build against the dollar… 
This is why I believe we’re seeing the no or little movement in the currencies each day… Traders don’t want to make a call on the direction of the dollar, until this Tax Reform thing gets settled…  And we also have the nomination of a new Fed Chairman that’s supposed to be done before the President heads to Asia next week.  Will it be Jerome Powell, or Kevin Warsh?  Either one is a dove, and will keep rates low..    it sounds like it will be Powell, and it will be announced today… 
So, that’s one of the things that was helping the dollar along that will be out of the way…   The saber rattling with N. Korea has been put on the back burner for now, and as I see it, the dollar should be getting back to the underlying weak trend soon..   
The Swiss franc is at parity with the dollar this morning, trading at 1.00…  This move in francs has nothing to do with things in Switzerland…  It’s all about the cross with the euro, and with the euro weaker, the franc gets stronger, and then that carries over to the franc / dollar cross…  The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has stated over and over again that they want a weaker franc… Negative deposit rates, haven’t done the trick for the SNB…  If that’s the case then forget about a weaker franc and embrace a stronger franc with positive deposit rates! 
I’ve not been a fan of the SNB since they put that floor on the euro/ franc cross years ago, and then removed it to everyone’s surprise (except the wife of the SNB president! HA!) a few years later… The SNB has tried everything under the sun, moon and stars to weaken the franc, and that immediately gets you put on Chuck’s list…  Which is someplace you don’t want to be!   
As I said above Gold wasn’t able to hold on to its early morning gains of $9.40 yesterday morning…  the “boys in the band” were working hard and saw to it that 363,000 contracts were traded in Gold yesterday…  That’s right I said 363,000 contracts….  That’s crazy folks!   The price of Gold flip-flopped a couple of times yesterday, as the short sellers would bring it down every time the shiny metal would mount a rally…  Gold did end the day on a positive note, but up only $3.90 to close at $1,274.30 on the day. 
The U.S. Data Cupboard has the stupid Productivity report for Rocktober this morning, along with the Unit Labor Costs…  These are interesting data prints but not market moving, even though the Fed members have been making a BIG Deal about the lack of productivity…  Yesterday’s Data Cupboard has the ADP Employment Report for Rocktober, and it showed that 235,000 jobs were created in Rocktober..  WOW!  The ADP report is more reliable than the BLS report which will print tomorrow…  
I of course will be resting and not looking at the markets at all tomorrow morning…  
To recap… Another day of little or no movements in the currencies… Gold couldn’t hold its early morning gains but ended the day up nearly $4, and the price of Oil slipped.  Eurozone PMI was strong for Rocktober, but wasn’t able to give the euro the traction it needs to move higher. The Swiss franc is at parity to the dollar this morning, and it’s all about the euro/ franc cross, nothing that the SNB has done.   
For What It’s Worth…  You’ve got to love it when a plan comes together right? Well, the plan in Russia was to make doing business easier, and they have done just that!  This is where you can find the article:http://russiafeed.com/russia-soars-global-ease-business-rankings/    
Or, Here’s Your Snippet: ”  Russia has jumped five spots to 35th in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report that evaluates the ease of doing business in a country.
The Doing Business survey ranks 190 national economies based on 11 areas of business regulation. Russia’s new ranking places it ahead of many Western countries such as Belgium and Italy, and just behind Japan.
Last year, Russia ranked 40th based on categories evaluating the ease of starting a business, registering property, getting loans, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts.
Russia has steadily risen in the overall “Doing Business” rankings over the years. After the country had ranked 120th in 2011, President Vladimir Putin signed a “100 steps” decree the following year with the goal to reach 20th place by 2018.”   
Chuck again…. WOW! Now that’s the way to set a goal and then go about achieving or meeting that goal!    
Currencies today 11/2/2017… American Style: A$ .7706, kiwi .6916, C$ .7787, euro 1.1638, sterling 1.3250, Swiss $1.00, … European Style: rand 13.98, krone 8.1437, SEK 8.3915, forint 266.85, zloty 3.6390, koruna 21.96, RUB 58.19, yen 114.05, sing 1.3603, HKD 7.8014, INR 64.66, China 6.6136, peso 19.05, BRL 3.2690, Dollar Index 94.66, Oil $54.24, 10-year 2.37%, Silver $17.10, Platinum $931.15, Palladium $995.75, and Gold…. $1,277.10…
That’s it for today, and this week, as today is an infusion day, and tomorrow is Infusion Confusion…  I had a great lunch yesterday with some friends from high school, and with a 3 month old baby girl, named Poppy..  One of my friends was on grandma duty so she brought the baby to the lunch, and we all loved it! I was happy with the Astros winning the World Series, good thing for Houston. My two sisters live near Houston, so I’m sure they were excited!  Next week I’ll be writing to you from S. Florida…  And I’m sure to be in a better mood each day!  Depeche Mode takes us to the finish line today with their song: Personal Jesus…  And with that, it’s time for me to reach out and touch faith, and send you on your way to a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday! Be Good To Yourself! 
 Source link
source https://capitalisthq.com/fed-leaves-rates-unchanged-but-sounds-hawkish-daily-pfennig/ from CapitalistHQ http://capitalisthq.blogspot.com/2017/12/fed-leaves-rates-unchanged-but-sounds.html
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