#putting on the pep and trying to manage a group of 13 year olds

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC Camp

The Batfam force Damian to go to summer camp to socialize with kids his own age and have some normal childhood experiences

That’s all well and good, but normal does not describe his cabin’s councilor, one Daniel “for the love of Ancients call me Danny” Fenton

Between the son of the bat and a Fenton, camp is going to be weird

[spicykoreantatertots]

Camp Blue Side - Part Three

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x Reader

Genre: Summer Camp AU, Non Idol AU

Rating: 18+ (eventual smut)

Word Count: 5.5k

Warnings: Swearing, angst, (more in future parts)

Summary: Last summer, sparks flew between you and Hoseok. He had an unforgettable smile, and you were putty in his hands. By the end of the summer, promises were made and you shared your phone number. But he never called. This summer, you're back at camp with a vengeance. Ghosted or not, you're ready for some friendly competition. He may be a Camp Blue Side veteran, but you won't back down.

Notes: This fic has been updated and is now part of the Summer of Love Collab! Please join us as we finish summer strong with seven summer themed fics!

Summer of Love Masterlist

Banner: @sunshinejunghoseokie​

Camp Blue Side - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four

~~~~~~~

How did it come to this?

You are walking slowly to the camp office where you will meet with Hoseok and the LCT. The two of you will likely be reprimanded, but could she fire you? Would she fire you halfway through camp? She’s had a stick up her ass all summer, but would she actually go as far to remove you from Team Two?

This isn’t who you are, the yelling and screaming. But the competition, wanting to crush Hoseok, has affected you too much. It’s affecting the kids too, and it honestly makes you sick. As you drag your feet to the meeting, the events of the past three weeks unfold clearly in your mind.

~~~~~~~

Kick Ball

“Who wants to beat Team One?!” You shout to a crowd of campers, and they cheer in response. You’ve got a great group of campers this year. It’s still day one, so everyone is still pumped and not too tired to give it their all.

Jessica, an athletic 13 year old, is up to pitch the kickball to Team One’s first kicker. The anticipation builds as she finds her grip on the rubber ball. Hoseok is muttering something to his kicker, some kind of pep talk as he walks up to the plate.

“Great pitch!” Mack yells as Jessica throws the ball down to home plate. Hoseok’s kicker strikes himself out and you’ve never been so stoked to see a child fail to kick a ball. You wouldn’t let them see it, but you’re beaming inside.

“Yes! Great job Jessica!” You cheer from the sidelines.

“That’s alright Braden, you’ll get it next time buddy!” Hoseok comforts his kicker as he returns to the back of the line. You feel a little tug on your shirt and look behind you to see a short boy looking up at you. What is his name again?

“Y/N, can I pitch in the next inning?” The scrawny boy asks. Jessica has already managed to strike someone out, taking her off the pitching mound would risk the game.

“Well, uh, champ, let’s see how Jessica does and then we’ll decide, okay?” As the words come out of your mouth, you feel dirty. You know this isn’t what camp is about.

But Jessica strikes out two more players from Hoseok’s team before they can score any points. Hoseok has his back turned to you, talking to his players, but Yeonjun looks frustrated already and that feels fucking great.

“Let’s keep it going! Who are my strong kickers?” You ask everyone, not addressing the camper in front of you again. The boy sulks away, and doesn’t ask to pitch again.

~~~~~~~

Egg & Spoon Race

An American classic event, the egg and spoon race. It is simple, but by no means is it easy. Especially not when the spoons are held by uncoordinated children. Luckily, Seokjin protested the waste of real eggs and the kids are using ping pong balls instead. So at least there won’t be a huge mess.

The first week of camp is almost over and you’ve had the chance to get to know your campers a little more. Currently they are taking turns running down the field with the spoon. They have to run down the field and come back to tag the next person in line. So far, they are pretty even with their opponents, Team One and Team Three.

“Hey, Y/N, Jakobi said he doesn’t want to do this activity, what should I do?” Mack asks.

Jakobi, poor Jakobi. He was the kid that you turned down for pitching in kickball earlier this week.

“I’ll go talk to him.” You reply. He is standing out of the line of campers, and you jog over to him. “Hey buddy, what’s going on?”

“I don’t want to play this game.” He sulks. “I’m not fast enough.” His explanation hits you in the chest. This is your fault, isn’t it?

“This game isn’t about being fast! It’s about having a steady hand.” You reply cheerfully.

“What do you mean?” He asks, looking up at you with his big brown eyes.

“Here, hold your hands out like this.” You put your hands out in front of you, and he follows suit. “See, your hands are frozen, not moving at all! You won’t drop the egg, and that’s more important than being fast.”

Jakobi, pleased with this response, gets back in line and waits for his turn to help the team. You hadn’t been paying attention to the race for a few minutes, but it looks like your team has actually managed to pull ahead of Hoseok’s.

“Alright Jakobi! You got this!” You cheer as he gets tagged in. Jakobi begins walking down the field. Slowly. “Maybe a little faster, champ!” You cheer again.

“You said I could go slow!” He stops in the middle of the field to talk to you.

“You can, you can! Just keep going please.” You try to reassure him, but you know the smile isn’t convincing.

“Ja-kob-i. Ja-kob-i.” You begin chanting, and the rest of your team does as well. Jakobi, still walking at a slow pace, makes it to the end of the field without dropping the egg, now he’s just got to make it back.

Unfortunately, Hoseok’s team is now on their last few campers. You look over and see Hoseok grinning like a fool. He’s pleased because he knows he’s going to win. You can feel the urge to scream at Jakobi to run, but before you do you lock eyes with him.

He’s beaming.

“I didn’t drop it!” Jakobi celebrates as he finally returns to his team and tags the next person in line.

“You did a great job Jakobi!” You smile and give him a high-five. Your team may lose this game, but at least they all played.

Team One’s last player crosses the finish line, then Team Three’s, then Team Two’s. The winning team cheers gleefully, celebrating their victory. The campers disperse from today’s Team Game and head to their cabins to get ready for dinner.

Hoseok is collecting the supplies from the game to return to the equipment. Your kids handed you the spoon and ping pong ball, so you have to hand it over to him. He’s already walking toward you to gather the supplies.

He’s wearing a white tank top and his beige bucket hat. Somehow he makes it look like high fashion. Just a few days into camp and he’s already gotten a tan. His golden skin glows in the sunlight.

“Hey Y/N, great game.” He laughs, words dripping with sarcasm. You stop about five feet away from him and drop the spoon and ping pong ball on the grass before walking away. “Come on, don’t be a sore loser.��’

“Don’t be a sore winner, Hobi.”

It stops you dead in your tracks. The nickname that you called him last summer just slipped out in your frustration. A lump forms in your throat, and before you can even think about what to do, your feet are running away from him.

~~~~~~~

The Prank

Early in the week, a few counselor’s decided to sneak into cabin 13. Of course Jimin and Jungkook were involved, along with the two female counselor’s they’ve been wooing. Seokjin told you that they were found out because they ran screaming from the cabin after they saw a ghost.

Cabin 13, the long abandoned cabin at the edge of camp, has been used for smoking weed, secret rendezvous, and pranks. Officially, it’s on standby in case the infirmary fills up or if something contagious breaks out.

Several times last summer, you and Hoseok snuck out about a couple hours after lights out to chill and smoke weed. The weed he brought to camp wasn’t very strong, so it really just took the edge of things. The conversations you had there are what cemented your romance. He loved to talk about the stars and what lies beyond them, and it filled the air with mystery.

“Guys, guys! Guess what!” Ryujin approaches you and Seokjin outside the Mess Hall, just after dinner.

“What is it? I don’t like to guess.” Seokjin responds.

“Yeonjun asked me to meet him at cabin 13.” She’s beaming. Her excitement reminds you of the feeling you had when Hoseok first asked you to go there with him.

“Shh!” Seokjin hushes her. “Don’t let anyone hear you say that. Especially not those two.” He adds, pointing at Namjoon and the LCT.

“What? I thought you guys went there.”

“Yeah, sometimes. It’s an open secret, but you still don’t want to get caught there.” You explain.

“Being out past curfew is technically against the rules too, and Namjoon is a stickler for it.” Seokjin adds.

“Oh, well... Hoseok will be there too, he goes there like twice a week. We’ll be careful!” Ryujin turns and walks away.

“Did you hear that Jin?” You ask, a devious smile spreading across your face.

“Oh god, what are you thinking?” Seokjin replies nervously.

“Well, as Lead Counselor of this fine establishment, I think you should be in charge of ghost hunting.”

“Ghost hunting?” He questions.

It wasn’t quite ghost hunting you had in mind, actually. But manufacturing a ghost. One thing you know about Hoseok is that he firmly believes in spirits. It’s honestly surprising that he’s still willing to visit cabin 13 after Jungkook claimed to have seen a ghost there.

A little after midnight, Seokjin taps lightly on the door of your cabin. You open the door slowly and tiptoe out, white sheet in tow.

“What is that? They’re not gonna fall for that.” Seokjin whispers.

“Yes they will, once we prime them for it.” You respond.

Sneaking across camp is a little nerve-racking, but you manage to make it to the side of camp with the boys cabin and then to the north side of camp when cabin 13 is located. You hold up your hand to stop Seokjin from moving any closer.

Holding a finger up to your lip, you signal him to be quiet so you can listen. You can hear giggling coming from the dark cabin, they’re in there.

“Let’s move.” Your whisper is barely audible.

As you approach the cabin, you can hear the group more clearly. Yeonjun is giggling and Ryujin is coughing. Hoseok, is muttering something you can’t make out. His voice is monotone, mellow. Seokjin and you lean up against the side of the cabin, under the window on the back wall.

“Okay so what’s the plan?” Seokjin whispers.

“We’re going to start by making scratching noises and thumping noises, then you’ll get in position.” You explain.

“What do you mean I’ll be getting into position?!” Seokjin whisper-shouts.

“Shh! Did you hear that?” Hoseok asks from inside the cabin.

“No, what was it?” Yeonjun asks, holding back his giggles.

“Just thought I heard something.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes and takes the sheet and wraps it around his shoulders. You search the ground and pick up a stray stick. You tap it against the wall a few times, but there’s no reaction from it. Instead of tapping it, you decide to scrape it against the wall slowly.

“Okay I heard it that time too.” Ryujin says.

“There must be something outside.” Hoseok replies, voice wavering.

“Yeah, it’s probably just an animal.” Yeonjun says.

You motion for Seokjin to cover himself with the sheet and crouch in front of the window, ready to jump. There is some whispering inside, so you decide to bang your fist against the wall loudly.

“Fuck!” Hoseok shouts.

“Just look out the window, it’s an animal!” Yeonjun replies. You hear some hesitant footsteps inching closer, then Seokjin springs up from the ground.

“GHOST!” Hoseok wails, and then you can hear the three of them scrambling to get out of the door on the other side of the cabin. The footsteps fade away as they sprint back to their respective cabins.

You and Seokjin fall on the ground, shaking with laughter.

“I can’t believe it worked” Seokjin gasps for air between laughs.

You stand from the ground after the laughter settles. Standing on your toes, you peer into the cabin window.

“Oh shit he left his bag of blunts! He must have really been scared.”

The two of you walk around to the front of the cabin and inspect the cabin. There’s a few empty beer cans and chip bags and the bag of blunts.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” You say, and Seokjin smiles.

~~~~~~~

Red Rover

In the heat of the afternoon, your campers are lined up across the field from their competitors, Team One. After a long day of singing, crafting, and other various outdoor activities, your campers are exhausted. It’s a triple digit day, and even you can’t deny that you’re feeling sluggish.

Red rover is a simple enough game, but Team One has more older boys and you’re afraid that your team won’t stand a chance, especially when they would much rather be cooling off in their cabins. Mack is currently attempting to give everyone a pep talk.

“I think we’re ready, Team One!” Mack yells across the field to Hoseok and Yeonjun. Both groups of campers hold hands with each other and prepare to hang on tight.

“Y’all won the last game, so go ahead and start us off!” Yeonjun announces.

“Let’s call for Tony.” You say in a loud whisper to your campers. You don’t trust them to pick an appropriate runner from the other team.

“Let them play.” Mack hisses at you. You look over at him, puzzled. “They are tired and you just need to let them play.” He must be grumpy from the heat.

“Fine, fine.” You raise your arms defensively.

“Red rover, red rover, let Tony come over!” Team Two shouts in unison. Tony, one of the smaller boys on Team One, does his best to sprint the distance between the two lines of campers. He tries his best, but does not manage to break through the bond on Team Two, so he is added to the line.

“Red rover red rover, let Hyuka come over!” Team One’s rebuttal is to take another small boy. Team Two naturally cheers for Hyuka as he runs over to Team One and he is successful in breaking through. He grabs a member of Team One and drags them over to your team.

“Great job guys! Keep it up!” You’re a little surprised that your team is actually winning right now.

After a few more rounds of red rover, the kids are really starting to sweat in the heat. But Team Two is still winning! Even after Jessica got taken into Team One.

“Hey campers, why don’t we go ahead and grab some ice pops in the Mess Hall!” Namjoon enthuses, practically sneaking up behind you.

“What? No! We’re winning!” You protest.

“Y/N,” Namjoon says, tilting his head at you. “It’s over one hundred degrees out here.”

“Ah... yes. Let’s go inside!” It’s embarrassing to let Namjoon catch you not putting the kids first. Even more embarrassing to watch him write something down his clipboard before motioning for the campers to follow him back to the Mess Hall.

“God, can you believe that?” You whisper to Mack, letting a good amount of distance fall between you and the flock of campers.

“You know, I honestly can’t believe you.” Mack stops in his tracks, glaring at you.

“What?” You gulp.

“Listen, you know I want to win games as much as the next guy, but you’re not putting campers first anymore. We’re almost halfway through the summer and you’re letting your stupid competition with Hoseok ruin the summer for our kids. I’m tired of it, Y/N.”

You’re completely speechless. You’ve never heard Mack yell at anyone before and now here he is, and Junior Counselor, berating you for ruining the summer?

“Just do better.” Mack says before jogging to catch up with the campers.

~~~~~~~

Freeze Tag

“If you see one of your teammates get frozen, make sure you help them get unfrozen. Does everyone understand?” All the campers agree to the rules of the game, and to the small bit of strategy you offered up.

This time, your team isn’t just up against Team One, but Team Three as well. It’s every man for himself, last man standing, truly a free for all. Though, you’re not too worried about Team Three. Their leaders are... distracted.

One of them is a young JC and the other is Jungkook’s new love interest. You don’t envy her. Every girl at this camp, campers and counselors, want a shot at Jungkook, but she’s the one who caught his eye. She did have an unfair advantage though, they were childhood friends or something like that.

“Ready, set, go!” The LCT yells and then blows her shiny whistle. The kids are off, scrambling every which way, trying not to get tagged. You are watching your campers closely, but they are getting tagged left and right.

“AVERY!” You shout at the top of your lungs. “Nikki is on your team, you don’t have to freeze! And Nikki, don’t tag your teammates! Ugh!” You should rather loudly. You shake your head and continue watching your team. You notice Hoseok talking to the LCT and she jots down something on her obnoxiously decorated clipboard.

She looks up from her notes and over at you, giving you a little nod. She walks away, clipboard in hand and you have a feeling she’ll be observing your activities a little more closely. Hoseok turns his attention back to the game.

His team is doing well, only a few of them seem to be frozen and the rest are still zooming around the field. Your team, however, is not following your advice. They’re too worried about being tagged to find teammates to unfreeze.

“Jessica, can you please go unfreeze some of your teammates?” You say as Jessica runs by your post. She stops and turns back to you.

“What did you say?” She asks.

“I said go unfreeze your teammates! Wait, look out!” Just as you’re explaining yourself, a Team Three camper comes up behind Jessica and freezes her. You let out a sigh. “That’s alright Jessica.”

“It’s just a game! Hopefully someone will come by and freeze you!” Mack jogs up to where you and Jessica are standing. “It’s just a game.” He says again, directly to you this time. He’s annoyed.

“I know you’re right, I just want to win.” You sigh.

“Well we have already lost. All of our campers are frozen.” Mack replies.

“WHAT!” You screech. Mack puts a firm hand on your shoulder as a reminder of his earlier words. You try to take a deep breath and you search the field to find Hoseok. He’s looking back at you, a smug grin on his face.

~~~~~~~

Flag Football

The rules of traditional American football have always gone over your head. The flag version of the game is a little more simple, but you still opt to let Hoseok explain the game to both teams. You’re listening intently to his explanation, and he’s doing an annoyingly good job of putting it in terms that the kids (and you) can understand.

Once his explanation is completed, all four team leaders help the campers put on their flag belts. They could probably do it themselves, but everyone wants to make sure that the belts are as secure as possible.

“Huddle up!” Mack calls to your team and everyone forms a circle around him as he doles out assignments for offensive players and defensive players. He was very insistent on doing this part himself. Perhaps it’s because he’s a football buff, but it seems more likely that he wants to evenly spread the assignments and doesn’t trust you to do it.

Mack has been taking more of a leadership role on the team because he thinks you are compromising the team due to your own selfish desire to win. It’s hard to admit, but you know he’s right to some degree.

The teams are lined up across the field from each other, Team One starting with the ball. Your team’s defensive line up is good. Yeonjun blows his whistle and the game begins. Bodies are running all around the field, every which way.

The kids are just aiming to grab flags, they aren’t being strategic at all. They are snapping flags left and right and before Team One can get their ball very far, more than half the field has been de-flagged.

“Wow, their lack of strategy is actually working for them this time.” You laugh.

“Yeah, it’s amazing what happens when you let kids be kids.” Mack chides.

You sulk away from him and walk down to the other end of the field to get some distance. From here, you’ve got a great view of Hoseok. Always wearing his bucket hat.

Suddenly, the whistle blows loudly and Hoseok sprints to the middle of the field where you notice that one of his kids is down. He’s clutching his knee and holding back tears. Hoseok runs to the child and takes a look at the injury.

It can’t be more than a scratch, but Hoseok scoops the camper up in his arms and walks him off the field. He comes to the Team Two side, simply because it’s the fastest way to get off the field.

“Do you want me to take you to the nurse to get a band aid or an ice pack?” He asks as he sets down the camper.

“No, I think I’m okay. Can I just sit out for now?” The camper replies.

“Of course you can, I’ll sit over here with you until it’s time to get ready for dinner.” Hoseok pats the camper’s back.  

Mack walks over to see how things are going and chats with Hoseok for a moment. He gives you a look.

“Are you taking notes?” He asks you loudly, in front of Hoseok and everyone. If you could give him the middle finger, you would.

~~~~~~~

The Obstacle Course

The heat between Team One and Team Two has hit an all time high. Earlier this week, your team scored bonus points by staying in the Mess Hall after dinner to scrub the tables after a particularly messy spaghetti night. But after hearing about this, Hoseok decided his team would take some of their free time to tidy up and organize the equipment storage room. This earned Team One even more points.

You’re determined to take him down at today’s obstacle course. It’s already been set up by Seokjin when the teams arrive. The LCT is here to observe the event.

There are different obstacle courses almost every week. This week, it’s your turn to demonstrate the steps for the kids. Crab walk here, hula hoop, hop on one leg, weave, run, skip, and sprint back to the start.

Once the demonstration has been completed, and you are thoroughly sweaty, Hoseok announces that he will flip a coin to see who gets to start off on the practice round.

“Heads, Team One, tails, Team Two!” You yell over at Hoseok and the LCT who are searching for a coin. She has one in her pocket and she flips the coin. Come on tails!

“Going first is... Team Two!” The LCT says, and you cheer. You always like having the edge and going first, even if it is just a practice round for now.

“Alright, Team Two, in a line!” You shout, leading the campers to the starting point. You decide to go through it again, showing them how it’s done one more time. Leading by example, pointing on the tricky parts as you go.

Hoseok is watching you closely. He’s learning too. When it’s his team’s turn to do a practice run of the course, he stands to the side and let’s them run it themselves. He points out the hard parts and cheers them on as they go. It’s frustrating how natural he is at these things.

Hoseok’s team lines back up, going first for the timed speed round. You feel nervous, you know they got through faster than your team, some of them are tired out now, so it will come down to can your campers pull this off and win?

“Alright, Team One, let’s go!” Hoseok cheers and his kids cheer back, letting him know they’re ready. “LCT - you’ve got the stopwatch!” He looks over at the LCT who is either doodling or jotting down notes on her colorful clipboard.

“Oh!” She says, grabbing her phone in her pocket. “Is this Grease? Do I wave a flag?”

“Just count down and say go.” You respond, rolling your eyes at her reference.

“On your mark, get set, go!” She yells.

Hoseok’s team gets off to a good start, but they have a few fumbles. Someone trips and another is painfully bad at hula hooping. It takes everything in you not to do a happy dance when one of Team One’s campers stops in the middle of his turn to slowly tie his shoe back up.

When it’s time again for your team’s turn, they all line up at the front. You and Mack cheer for them to get them hyped up, and now all you can do is hope for the best.

So far, not bad. They are all doing their best and that is surprisingly good. By your own mental clock, they are not far behind Hoseok. After Nikki finishes, Matthew will be up next, and of course you’re a little nervous. He’s notoriously clumsy, but he’s done fairly well this summer. Jessica is behind him and she will likely make up for any time he loses.

Matthew starts off strong with the crab walk, but anything that takes place on two feet slows him down a bit. The backwards running, though, is what takes him down. He trips and lands on his back on the grass.

“Get up!” You shout, trying your very best to sound encouraging. Get up! Keep going, come on! Just a step further! You can do it Matthew, come on!” By the time you finish your encouragement, it’s turned to full blown yelling. But Matthew is refusing to get up and he’s started crying.

You turn away for a moment, rubbing your eyes in frustration. At Matthew and at yourself.

“You can’t yell at a kid!” Hoseok snaps at you as he runs over to Matthew to comfort him. All of your team has huddle around him on the ground by the time you walk over.

“I didn’t! I thought he could have still gotten up!” You reply defensively.

“You yelled at him!” Hoseok reiterates.

“You yelled too!”

“I did not!” Hoseok replies, defending himself against your claim.

“You did! You’re the reason why we’re -”

“Leaders!” The LCT shouts from her post about ten feet away. You’re in trouble now.

“Yeah?” You ask, already tucking your tail between your legs.

“What’s up?” Hoseok asks.

“During your breaks, I will see you both in my office. Do not go to your cabins, do not hop to the Mess Hall for snack, do not stop and talk to anyone unless they are Seokjin or Namjoon, do you understand?” She is breathing fire. Scolding you in front of your campers. It’s embarrassing, but you can’t say you don’t deserve it.

Hoseok agrees and you can barely get a word out, so you just nod and mutter an agreement. The LCT instructs you to get back to the campers. Mack has already started walking Matthew to the infirmary.

Your campers look concerned, so you offer them a heartfelt apology. Hoseok suggests that everyone lines up together, both teams, and does one last run through the obstacle course for fun. You agree.

~~~~~~~

The Meeting

You know you deserve to be here at this meeting. Standing outside the office, you have a hard time taking any further steps. You don’t know what fate awaits you behind that door and you are not looking forward to finding out. Especially with Hoseok sitting next to you.

“Hey.” You jump. It’s Hoseok. “We should go in.” He says.

You take a deep breath and turn to look at him. Your competitor, your enemy, and previously your lover. His eyes are soft. He doesn’t look angry, just tired. He reaches past you and opens the door to the LCT’s office and let’s you step in first.

“Sit.” She says before you even have a moment to take in your surroundings. You’ve never been in this office before. You and Hoseok both slide into the chairs in front of the desk. She pauses for a moment and you look around the room. It’s just an office with supplies and paperwork. The only thing in the office that has any personality is the clipboards hanging on the wall behind her. A collection of decorated and personalized clipboards. How nerdy.

“Let’s talk about what hap -” The LCT starts.

“I just want to say that - that I didn’t mean to yell at him, and that I’m -” You cut her off, wanting to get ahead of the scolding. You know you’re in the wrong here.

“Do you plan on interrupting me this entire time?” She snaps at you, and you sit back in your chair, a little caught off guard.

“I’m sorry, I just, I made a mistake and I’m sorry.” You try again.

“Sorry for interrupting me or sorry for your behavior on the field?” She interrogates you.

“Both?” You reply, a little dumbfounded by her attitude. “I was just -”

“I don’t care what you were ‘just.’” She stops you again. You know you deserve punishment, but who pissed in her fruit salad? “What I witnessed today on the field was completely unacceptable. There is no situation, no occasion at Camp Blue Side where how you two interacted and treated your campers is acceptable. You are so lucky I was the one who witnessed it, instead of Seokjin or Namjoon.”

Hoseok is fidgeting next to you, but you’re paralyzed. You’ve never been spoken to like this from someone you considered a peer. And she’s wrong, if Seokjin had seen it, he would’ve been on your side.

“You are also so unbelievably lucky that your camper isn’t too scarred from your blatant disregard for his wellbeing. You must’ve been graced by the gods today, that all he suffered was a bump on his head and a scratched arm, because if it had been worse, a concussion, a broken bone, a skull fracture, there could’ve been legal ramifications.” She pauses and sighs before continuing. “I cannot believe that either of you have worked yourselves up to such a high level of competition and competitiveness that this was the result.”

“I didn’t mean to yell.” You whimper.

“We’re sorry it got out of hand.” Hoseok sighs.

“I feel awful.” You add.

“We were too into it.” Hoseok sighs, shaking his head.

“I don’t care what you were. That’s the inherent problem with you two, and I knew, I knew this was a possibility of having you on opposing teams, but I hoped it wouldn’t happen. I hoped you would be mature enough to handle this.”

“Hoped?” Hoseok questions.

“Yes, because clearly not only was I wrong, but Seokjin and Namjoon too. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, if it’s just tension, or some sexual repression, but what happened on that field is not Camp Blue Side.” Her words send a chill down your spine and a blush across your cheeks. How could she say that in front of him?

“You both have been here long enough to know what’s acceptable Camp behavior and what isn’t. I never thought I’d have to have this conversation with you, but this summer is full of nasty surprises. Do better, both of you. Now, get out.”

You and Hoseok waste no time in exiting that office and shutting the door behind you. All you want to do is run back to your cabin and bury your face in the pillow. But you know you owe Hoseok an apology.

“I’m sorry.”

“You better fucking be sorry.” Hoseok replies, bitterness coating his tongue. “And that will never happen again.” He adds before walking away.

It’s a slap in the face on top of a punch to the gut. You are guilty, there is no denying that, but you aren’t the only one. How dare he act like he didn’t start this whole thing. He ghosted you. All he had to do was say “Hey, sorry, I'm actually not interested.” But he didn’t even have the balls to do that.

You have to tone down the competitiveness, but this is certainly not over.

~~~~~~~

[natedelmore]

Nathaniel “Nate” Delmore

Chris Evans & he/him, cis-male ‷ watch out , Nathaniel Keaton Delmore has crash-landed into roswell !! he looks 40 years old and celebrates his birthday on June 13th . He is from Washington, D.C., resides in Moonbeam Gardens and is currently working as CFO of Delmore, Inc.. one thing you should know about him is he loves stargazing with his ESD Cosmo - Written by Steph

The Basics:

Nathaniel Keaton Delmore

Age: 40

Birthday:  13 June

Nationality: American

Gender/Pronouns: Male, He/Him

Sexuality: Heterosexual-ish

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: CFO of Delmore, Inc. 

Note: Mirrors Cargill

Physical Appearance:

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Blue

Height: 6′0

Build: Fit

Distinguishing Marks: 

Scars on chin, throat, back, wrists, and ankles

Various tattoos on his arms and chest that are not visible when in a shirt with sleeves / professional attire

Other Details: Due to kidnapping for ransom in college, Nate has PTSD and has an emotional support dog (ESD/Service dog) to alert him when he’s triggered. He struggles with large gatherings and crowded places, as well as with unexpected loud noises.

Personal:

Profession: “Glorified Accountant” and Delmore “Poster Boy” at fundraisers

Hobbies: Reading, writing poetry, stargazing, jogging

Languages: Fluent in English, Spanish, French; Proficient Japanese and Chinese

Residence: Large estate in Moonbeam Gardens

Note: Property is owned by the Delmore family and is not to Nate’s taste. He owns a cottage in the suburbs around Boston that is very much his style and then a townhome in D.C. and penthouse in NYC that are owned by the family and not to his taste.

Birthplace: Washington, D.C. but considers Boston ‘home’

Religion: Christian (non-practicing), considers himself to be ‘spiritual’

Fears: Crowded places, public speaking to strangers

Relationships:

Spouse: None

Children: None and reluctant due to his age and family

Parents: Mother and father are married and live in Wayzata, Montana with homes in various locations around the world “for business”

Siblings: Older sister (Samantha goes by Sam/Sammy with Nate and is 48)

Other Relatives: Yes, all working for the family company and living in various locations depending on their job.

Pets: Cosimo, who Nate lovingly refers to as Cosmo or Cosi, is his service dog and as close to a pet as a service dog can be.

Traits:

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

Biography:

Nathaniel Keaton Delmore was born into Delmore empire, a leading company in the United States. Being part of the one-percent had a singular perk: never having to worry about money. Nate learned pretty quickly that that was where its benefits stopped. He was the second of the Delmore children, and his mother never let him forget it. While she had reluctantly taken time off to care for his older sister, Samantha Marion Delmore, they waited until she was eight before they had him and more often than not they left Sammy to take care of him as if he was part living doll and part puppy. Developmentally it delayed him in walking because he was either carried or strolled around. It had also resulted in a stammer that was made worse by his parents frustrations in his inability to articulate words correctly. Though he would overcome those issues with little to no trace it left him with anxiety and a fragile sense of self.

He learned that if he kept good grades and kept his head down there wasn’t really anything his parents wouldn’t let him try. Anything he showed a natural talent for they supported until he was no longer the best in show, once again treating him more like a pet than a person. Be it piano, singing, basketball, horseback riding, or fencing; Nathaniel found himself having to find his own way. In high school, when his interests turned to debate and forensics teams because of a friend, his parents tried to put their foot down. Despite the lack of a stammer, they told him he’d be no good at it, seeing their quiet son as damaged once more. It was with his uncle’s support that he managed to make excuses and even attend summer camps. Public speaking became a way for him to face his anxiety and, with practice, he became unbelievably good at it, but not without anxiety.

With no support for college unless he legally agreed to major in microeconomics, Nathaniel finally left home to experience a slice of the real world. MIT was practically an entirely new planet for him and, despite being low key, there was really no surprise that people figured out who he was with the last name of a major American business. Just when he thought he was settling into a routine after a few years at MIT with a bartending job (much to his parents’ dismay), a co-captain position on the forensics team, and a close group of friends, he was kidnapped, tortured, and held for ransom.

After his rescue, Nathaniel would find the hardest part of the ordeal being the realization that no one knew he was missing for weeks. His job thought the rich kid had quit, though he never flaunted his money other than picking up the tabs shitty people cut out on. His friends thought he was sleeping with ‘that one girl’ that kept flirting with him at every party, though he swore there wasn’t anything there- just lending an ear to a heartbroken friend. His professors’ T.A.s were too overwhelmed to note his absences in the large classes. Then the forensics team thought his parents had finally pulled the plug on his participation because he’d divulged that they never really supported it when they didn’t attend any of the big competitions.

Through physical therapy his body healed from the torture, even though the scars remain. Concerned that therapy would look bad for the family they decided to allow him a service dog that was discretely trained and, after a hefty donation to the university and NDA paperwork, Sirius was allowed to follow him into his classes and any place around campus. Trying his best, the rest of his college experience was very much left in recluse. He took to reading and running to clear his head and avoid the reality that upon graduation he would be stepping into the CFO position of Delmore, Inc. Life seemed to be filled with dread outside of the travel the job would entail.

Managing to coerce his parents into agreeing to a masters, he delayed the inevitable a bit longer. Now, a decade later, he was settled into the monotony of corporate life and after Sirius passed and he took on a new service dog with the refusal to hide that part of his life any longer. It wasn’t lost on him that Samantha’s pep talk to do so likely stemmed from her own desire to climb the corporate ladder. The result was the same, his parents used him as the mouthpiece for the company’s charity work. They called the dog Cosimo, he called him Cosmo. They called him a survivor, he held his tongue that they’d treated him just as poorly. Through it all, he remains a dutiful, loyal, reserved; if not a bit more inclined to speak out against injustices than the average person. His decision to live in Roswell was out of a fib of convenience that he could fly out to west and east coast meetings best if in the central part of the U.S. So long as he plays his part and stays in line, they’re not going to complain.

[mtvswatches]

10 Things I Hate About You

Obligatory soundtrack 

1) The late 90s/early 00s were filled with contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays - Julia Stiles starred in three of those, coincidentally - but, in my opinion, none has been more iconic than 10 Things I Hate About You. It’s been over 20 years since the movie was released, and it’s certainly become a teen/rom-com classic. It’s definitely a feel-good movie, and even though it obviously had great source material to work with, it did so in such a unique and fun way. And it was kind of woke for its time, too.

Disclaimer: I am a bit afraid this whole review will turn into me taking screenshots of the movie and just writing “iconic.” You’ve been fairly warned.

Anyway, let’s get into it!

3) I really love how they managed the “show, don’t tell” technique with Kat’s introduction. Her first scene really shows who she is – a jaded, kind of rebellious teenager, who marches to the beat of her own drum. Or to the beat of Joan Jett’s drum…

She’s shown as the opposite of the other girls, but it doesn’t feel like a criticism of the other girls' more cheerful, sunny disposition. We very quickly learn what she is like, but we have yet to find out why.

4) The next characters we meet are Cameron and the school’s guidance counselor. Cameron is the new student and the guidance counselor is just…

I love her. And Allison Janney proves how talented an actress she is by making the token counselor character both memorable and unique.

5) We also meet Patrick Verona, the resident Bad Boy who had “exposed himself” in the cafeteria. Oh, Heath Ledger, you are truly missed!

6) Michael Eckman  shows Cameron around and he basically delivers the token “school cliques scene”, and since I’m not American, I’ve always wondered if this is a real thing in schools? Like, are there really so many cliques that are so visually different from one another? Each group dressing in a particular style and hanging out at a specific spot? Anyhow, the cliques here are the beautiful people (or rather, the assholes), the coffee kids (?), the white Rastas (or white stoners), the cowboys (?), and the yuppies.

7) Michael’s tour gets cut short when Cameron spots Bianca, and he’s instantly infatuated with her. I’ve always found it hard to root for Cameron at first because I’m not really a fan of insta-love, and he ends up doing A LOT of shady things for a girl who he doesn’t know AT ALL. But more on that later. In fact, the movie kind of makes a point of how ridiculous it is for Cameron to be in instant-love with Bianca by having her deliver this little lecture on love:

BIANCA: Yeah, but see, there's a difference between like and love. Because I like my Skechers, but I love my Prada backpack.

CHASTITY: But I love my Skechers.

BIANCA: That's because you don't have a Prada backpack.

Bianca clearly grows a lot over the course of the movie, but it’s clear that Cameron was in love with her appearance and not her brains or personality, which makes his quest to sweep her off her feet misguided at best.

8) And then Michael presents the main plot point…

The question then is, how is Cameron going to get the girl? It’s his quest to get a date with Bianca that creates a domino effect that brings all the characters together. 

9) See what I mean? ICONIC!

And can I say that I just love Kat? Not only is she smart, but also, she didn’t take any bullshit from anyone, especially not males. She was a feminist before being a feminist was cool. And she does grow a lot. 

10) Okay, two things, A) I love Mr. Morgan, and B) foreshadowing? Sort of?

11) Iconic.

12) Michael seems to have a lot of preconceptions about Bianca – and most of them were kind of accurate, at least at the start of the film. She was kind of vapid and shallow and self-absorbed. For someone who believes that Bianca is not only completely out of Cameron’s league but also not worthy, he does get very involved in trying to get Bianca to date Cameron.

13) This is one of my favorite lines in the movie, probably because it sounds a lot like Buffyspeak…

14) This is so random…

And the movie does have a lot of these little moments of slapstick comedy that almost seem to belong to a different type of movie, but for some reason, they work?

15) And this reminds me of the Veronica Mars of yore, the one I used to love…

16) We meet Cat and Bianca’s dad, and he is very overbearing at first, but he truly grows on you once you understand where all his rules are coming from. And of course, he establishes The Rule, which sets off the movie’s shenanigans – Bianca cannot date unless Kate does.

17) Bianca does prove a lot of Michael’s preconceptions right during her interaction with Cameron, who asks her out on a date, and even though he has been tutoring her she can’t remember his name and after he reminds her of it, she calls him “Curtis.” Bianca very clearly sees in Cameron the solution to her dating problem, and she very obviously manipulates him when it’s clear she’s not interested in dating him. She’ll get him to do the dirty work, and then let Joey rip the rewards. On the one hand, this is wrong. On the other hand, Cameron sort of had it coming? He was only interested in Bianca because of her looks, and he was about to manipulate Kat with total disregard for her feelings, so...

18) So Michael and Cameron set out to find a match for scary Kat. And what do you know…?

They figure the only way to convince Patrick to date Kat is by paying him, except they don’t have any money. So they turn to Joey, who gladly agrees to invest if it means this will get her Bianca.

19) Patrick and Joey strike a deal, and let me tell you, this deal never made any sense to me? Like, after some bargaining Joey agrees to pay Patrick 50 dollars? And I might be daft but how would Patrick be making a profit here? If he took her out, he’d be spending most of that on the date, making the whole thing pointless if he’s not making a profit? And Joey was supposed to be loaded, so why not offer more than that, to begin with?

20) I really love how Patrick assumed all he’d need to do was say hello and Kat would be at his feet, and she gloriously turned him down and put him in his place. He tries again the next day and he gets turns down, again. And I can’t blame her, he was acting like an entitled douchebag and assuming she’d want to jump his bones only because he was hot and asking her to go out, like that’s all it’d take.

21) And Joey gets a little bit of what’s coming to him…

22) This leads to Kat getting into an argument with her dad, making a lot of valid points…

WALTER: Is this about Sarah Lawrence? Are you punishing me because I want you to stay close to home? KAT: Aren't you punishing me because Mom left? WALTER: You think you could leave her out of this? KAT: Fine. Then stop making my decisions for me. WALTER: I'm your father. That's my right. KAT: So what I want doesn't matter. WALTER: You're 18. You don't know what you want. And you won't know what you want till you're 45, and even if you get it, you'll be too old to use it. KAT: I want to go to an east coast school! I want you to trust me to make my own choices... and I want you to stop trying to control my life just because you can't control yours!

I can see both sides of this argument, though. He wasn’t punishing her because her mom left, I think he was just afraid they’ll get hurt again and that’s why he was so overprotective. And Kat had just crashed her car on purpose, so I really don’t understand how she managed to turn the whole thing against her father?

23) Patrick renegotiates the terms of his agreement with Joey, demanding a 100 bucks per date. He can’t have had getting something for Kat as his goal at this point, but I think he was just trying to screw Joey over as much as possible, which kudos to him.

24) Michael and Cameron approach Patrick and inform him that they’re actually the masterminds behind this date-Kat plan, and they agree to help him woo her. And I get that Kat was not the most agreeable person to begin with, but it’s still very disheartening to see that literally no one considered her feelings in this whole thing? Like, all of them were so proud they were playing Joey, but she was the one getting played the worst? And Bianca even allows Cameron to go inside Kat’s room and go through all her private things? Everyone was an asshole in this movie, is all I’m saying.

25)

26) And then…

Probably in spite of herself, he managed to get through her shell a little bit.

27) Bianca finally begs her sister to go to the party so that she can go, and what do you know? Kat does have a heart after all, and she agrees to show.

28) Which leads to…

29) Kat seems very happy to see Patrick at her door, although she quickly puts the bitch rest-face back on and pretends his keeping his word and coming to get her did not affect her at all…

30) So, now that she got to the party and gets to hang out with Joey, Bianca demands her sister do not address her in public, and I’m like, wtf?! Kat then begs her to listen, and again, Bianca shrugs her off and tells her to go off and “enjoy her adolescence”, which pisses Kat off and probably hurts her, too. So she decides to enjoy her adolescence the way everyone seems to do, getting trashed and embarrassing themselves.

31) Further evidence that Bianca was, indeed, an asshole… Cameron is the reason she got to go out at all – after he pulled off this elaborate plan to get her sister a date – and she manipulated him by feigning to be interested in him, and now…

But karma is a bitch because Joey might be the most popular boy in school – god knows why! – but he’s as dull as dishwater, and she quickly finds herself regretting her decision to brush Cameron off in favor of Joey.

32) Meanwhile, Kat is truly enjoying her adolescence…

And thank god Patrick was there to catch her because if he hadn’t, I don’t think anyone would’ve helped her.

33) I really love Patrick’s pep talk to Cameron…

CAMERON: It's off, okay? The whole thing's off. PATRICK: What are you talking about? CAMERON: She never wanted me. She wanted Joey the whole time. PATRICK: Cameron, do you like the girl? CAMERON: Yeah. PATRICK: And is she worth all this trouble? CAMERON: I thought she was, but, you know, l... PATRICK: Well, she is or she isn't. See, first of all, Joey is not half the man you are. Secondly, don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want.

34) And Patrick taking care of drunk Kat is the sweetest thing ever…

35) Of course, now that Bianca no longer wants to hang out with Joey and her friend leaves her high and dry, she asks Cameron for a ride home.

36) On the way home, Kat actually opens up to Patrick, a lot. She admits she’d love to play in a band, and that her father wants her to be someone she’s not – her sister. Patrick admits that he doesn’t really get what everyone sees in Bianca, and Kat delivers what’s probably the greatest compliment you could get from her…

She puts herself out there… and gets shut down. Of course, Patrick was probably feeling remorse about the way he’d gotten to know this girl and the way he’d been playing her because now that he’d gotten to know her a little bit better, he could see that behind that badass façade she was extremely vulnerable and sensitive. Kat feels rejected and humiliated, and who can blame her? He’d been relentlessly pursuing her, and now that she’d opened up to him and offered to kiss him, he’d turned her down…

Anyway, Patrick’s behavior, later on, makes no sense after the way he acted here, but more on that further below.

37) Cameron finally confronts Bianca about her manipulative behavior, and to her credit, she is honest and owns up to being selfish when he calls her on it. And I guess she finally sees he’s worth it…

38)

39) This exchange is so silly and hilarious?

Like, Cameron’s answer seems silly, but what type of answer was Patrick expecting? Where could she have possibly kissed him? On the knees?

40) Kat is clearly not yet over the rejection…

41) See what I mean about the jokes in this movie?

And they just look over and go on talking, as if she hadn’t just nailed her teacher on the ass with an arrow...

42) Joey goes to Patrick yet again and offers 200 dollars to get him to take Kat to the prom. Patrick tells him he’s sick of this game, and Joey ups the ante and offers him 300 dollars, which Patrick somewhat begrudgingly takes. I just would really like to know if it was at this point that he thought he’d used this dirty money to buy something for Kate. Otherwise, he was still being a jerk...

43) This scene just gives me butterflies, okay?

And as charming as he is, Kat is still not over the humiliation of putting herself out there and being rejected.

44) Cameron returns the favor and gives Patrick some very good advice, the reason for that glorious scene later on…

CAMERON: Look, you embarrassed the girl. Sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity and even the score.

This gets Patrick thinking…

45) And I’m just going to add the video here because this whole scene is just rom-com perfection and bless Heath Ledger again, okay? And why didn’t we get more of him singing in everything he did? His voice just makes me feel things, okay?

Seriously, how do you say no to that boy asking you to let him love you? You don’t say no, that’s how.

Same, Kat. Hard same.

46) Kat goes into detention and distracts the coach while Patrick attempts to escape out the window, and then…

And the teacher is looking directly at her tits? And while the distraction tactic worked, how was she not sent to the principal’s office? Patrick was sent to the principal’s office for “exposing himself” with a bratwurst while joking with the cafeteria lady, and Kat is literally exposing herself and she walks scot-free? Hmm.

47) Patrick and Kat have another heart to heart, and to be honest, it always melts this cold heart of mine…

PATRICK: So, what's your excuse? KAT: For? PATRICK: For acting the way we do? KAT: I don't like to do what people expect. Why should I live up to other people's expectations instead of my own? PATRICK: So, you disappoint 'em from the start and then you're covered, right? KAT: Something like that. PATRICK: Then you screwed up. KAT: How? PATRICK: You never disappointed me.

Same, Kat. SAME.

48) #SWOON

49) And this is the part that doesn’t make sense to me. They’ve just had this perfect date, and they’re growing closer, and they’ve kissed, and he clearly likes her. And the reason he didn’t kiss her after the party was that he was feeling guilty about the way he’d gotten her to go out with him and fall for him – through deception and manipulation. And now that they’re much closer and into each other, he tries very hard to get her to go to prom with him, pushing her in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable, and like, why? They’re clearly not the type of people who go to proms, so why not take Joey’s money and screw the deal? Why did he have to keep his promise? Why not be honest with Kat? Why not tell her, I like you a lot and this idiot is paying me to date you even though I’m honored to do that for free so why don’t we team up and scam him? I know the answer is “conflict”, but it’s always pissed me off.

50) Seriously, though, Cameron. Why?

51) In true teen-rom fashion, everyone needs to be paired up, right?

52) See what I mean about the jokes?

53) Loved the Dawson’s Creek reference…

Believe it or not, a lot of people thought DC was scandalous at the time. And DC was so naïve compared to its predecessors The OC or Gossip Girl…

54) Kat finally opens up to Bianca and explains why she has so many issues and why she doesn’t want to conform to high school’s social rules and expectations and stereotypical idea of “normalcy.” She’d had a less than stellar dating experience back when she was way too young and far too vulnerable with none other than Joey, who had slept with her and dumped her right after. Oh yeah, and it all happened right after her mom had left them. In an attempt to prevent the same thing from happening to her little sister, she had agreed to their dad’s rules, effectively preventing Bianca from experiencing anything on her own. It’s kind of a case of the pot calling the kettle black, considering she’d complained about the very same thing to her father.

55) Kat finally realizes she’s been unfair to her sister and decides to go to prom, to their father’s dismay. Kat even swallows her pride and actually apologizes to Patrick for questioning his motives to ask her to the prom, and he has the nerve to forgive her. Dude, you do have ulterior motives, and the girl you like is actually apologizing even though she’s done nothing wrong and you’re blatantly lying, and he doesn’t even bat an eyelash when he tells her “You’re forgiven.” I mean, I love Patrick, but still… not cool.

56) Bless Walter.

57) I guess they’re a thing, because why not?

58) And this is, among many other reasons, why I can’t hold anything against Patrick Veronica…

He got her favorite band to play in the prom.

59) Chastity is such a bitch for no reason? Like, she and Bianca were close friends, and then, all of a sudden, they aren’t? And she’s so mean to Bianca!

60) And leave it to Joey to ruin everything…

61) And I truly love that Bianca is the one to put him in his place…

62) See? He’s a good guy, he was just trying to protect his daughters the only way he knew how…

WALTER: Bianca did what? KAT: What's the matter, upset that I rubbed off on her? WALTER: No, impressed. Fathers don't like to admit it when their daughters are capable of running their own lives. It means we've become spectators. Bianca still lets me play a few innings. You've had me on the bench for years. And when you go to Sarah Lawrence I won't even be able to watch the game. KAT: When I go? WALTER: Oh, boy. Don't tell me you changed your mind. I already sent 'em a cheque

63) And I also have to include the video for this scene because it’s just… *chef’s kiss*… Julia Stiles absolutely nails this one, and it never fails to bring me to tears…

Same, Patrick. Same.

64) And while the fact that he doesn’t immediately run after her always has me screaming, he does make up for all of it…

KAT: A Fender Strat? Is it for me? PATRICK: Yeah, I thought you could use it, you know, when you start your band. Besides, I had some extra cash, you know. Some asshole paid me to take out this really great girl. KAT: Is that right? PATRICK: Yeah, but I screwed up. I, um... I fell for her. KAT: Really? PATRICK: It's not every day you find a girl who'll flash someone to get you out of detention. KAT: Oh, God. You can't just buy me a guitar every time you screw up, you know. PATRICK: Yeah, I know. But there's always drums and bass and maybe even one day a tambourine. KAT: And don't just think you can...

65) This movie is hardly a masterpiece, but it doesn’t intend to be either, and not every movie needs to be. It’s a feel-good movie, and it delivers on so many levels. It’s funny, it’s tropey, it’s cute, it’s romantic, it has a great soundtrack, and you just feel a whole lot better after watching it. It’s the 90s at its best, and that’s why it became a classic.

What I love the most, though, is Kat’s character development. We see this girl who is a badass and super smart, takes no bullshit, holds everyone accountable for their shitty behavior, and has a great wit. But she is not without flaws. She’s closed off because she has been hurt before, both by her mother and her first love. She holds everyone at bay because it’s easier that way. Throughout the movie, however, she shows empathy and a lot of vulnerability. And she soon finds out that she had been missing out on a lot of things by shielding her emotions. She’d missed out on having a good relationship with her sister and on finding love again. What is truly admiring about Kat, though, is that when she’s hurt the most and she has every reason to close herself off again, she does the exact opposite. She opens herself up not only in front of the guy she’s in love with but everyone. The shrew cries and bares her soul for the world to see. Regardless of the happy ending, I think that in itself s truly inspiring, don’t you? 

66) Bonus: bloopers!

67)  Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi. Thanks!

[smallnico]

do you have any trivia info about the actors or crew that you can put in a post like you did with the carpenters?

i definitely do, i was just waiting for someone to ask :p

crew:

- the crew have the weirdest fucking conversations in the box and over the headsets. they need to be paying attention to cues, and for the most part they are, but between cues, jay n kash are in the box having an intense debate about their old sonicsonas and what they think aspects of said sonas really reflect about their old wounds. meanwhile qi’s just standing over them pinching the bridge of his nose and occasionally reminding them to do their jobs, and mandy’s somewhere backstage being very quiet and responsible until the intermission, when she softly drops the bombshell that she once wrote sonic/shadow fanfiction when she was 13 and that it’s still out there somewhere. kash loses her goddamn mind.- jay has a huge crush on mandy, and as a result is very afraid of talking to her. kash tries to be a good wingman, but she’s not a good wingman, and most of her pep talks boil down to “the more you go out of your way not to talk to her the more you’ll freak her out”. like she’s absolutely not wrong but the various intricacies of social interaction and social anxiety go careening past her and crash into the nearest wall. kash is about as sensitive as a rock but she’s doing her best.- speaking of which, jay and kash are in the same computer engineering program on top of working on adjacent switchboards. they’re the closest bond in the crew group, with qi and saadah as a close second. qi spends more time with lani and olivia than with anyone else in the theatre, but he also gets along pretty well with saadah, the only person who can touch (and cut and style) his hair without sending him into a downward spiral. mandy and qi are also sort of friends, but they’re not the sort of friends that meet up much outside of work. saadah’s closest friends aside from qi are beau and theo.- kash also has a (far less debilitating) crush on mandy. she doesn’t know about it and isn’t planning on becoming aware of it any time soon.- mandy has a crush on hugh jackman.- saadah’s one of those people who radiates trustworthiness and chill. she knows a lot of secrets about people, and won’t share them unless she has to. she won’t judge anyone for the bad choices they’ve made in the past, as long as they’re putting in the work to make better choices in the present. she draws the line in reasonable places most of the time. she will absolutely not abide by tacky fashion trends. silly bandz are her sworn enemy. olivia once came in with about a hundred on each of her arms and saadah refused to speak to her for two days.- jay’s bedroom is covered in plants. one of his attempts to trounce his anxiety led to him bringing in the spiderettes off one of his spider plants into the theatre and offering to advise anyone who wanted one how to plant and take care of it. many of them still have their baby plants today.

cast:

- sofiya is miko (director, theatre dad #2)’s actual blood daughter! she’s the reason he stopped doing his old job and started doing this cool new one. she’s repressed every memory of his old job and has a potful of psychological issues, but she’s alright. really. she’s fine. it’s fine- this means her family unit consists entirely of theatre people, including miko, theo, grace, and beau. she’s at the heart of the whole huge round river found family, cus most of the structure of the relationships in round river is built around this one core grouping.- dom gets along well with literally everybody, with the singular exception of candace, who reminds him entirely too much of his very catholic mom for him to relax around her. candace is just trying her best to make sure her friends are all leading happy, healthy lives, but her methods of encouragement come off as. judgemental. dom doesn’t respond very well to judgement or shame, which is why he hasn’t tried to reach out to his estranged family in close to eight years. - lani tries to get along well with literally everybody, but she’s only beloved among the cast (and qi), who think she injects a pure sort of fun into their lives. the techies (including qi) all think she’s the absolute worst because of how many props and costumes she’s managed to remove from the premises, and because of how much inopportune improv she’s prone to do during rehearsals while they’re just trying to set cues and blocking. also, if you don’t get along well with lani, she will know and won’t care, as long as you’re not ignoring her.- chris and maven dated once for about a month. no one’s quite sure when this one month took place, and erol has a conspiracy theory going that the two of them are still hooking up in secret. maven will adamantly deny this. chris will not. (x files music)- chris has gotten both maven and grace out of jail, either by pulling favours or shelling out bail money, respectively. she’s the big reason why they’re both at round river. - candace doesn’t have any close friends in round river. she likes a lot of the others, and Wants to be friends, but she has trouble connecting with them, with the exceptions of sofiya and mandy, who make sure she gets included in things. candace is nice, she was just born with the soul of a white suburban pta mom. she’s the second newest to the theatre after grace.- erol holds the current record for “most hookups through workplace connections” at round river. they haven’t had a stable relationship since high school, but they’re having fun. i won’t tell you who of the other theatre kids they’ve slept with, but i’ll save you some trouble and say that it’s only three of them. the rest of erol’s record is filled out with temporary hirees and choir folks.- erol’s (very intentional on their part) insufferable hipster image is somewhat hampered by their very real caffeine addiction.- leandro gets along incredibly well with grace of all people. he too would kill for you, except he can’t stand the sight of blood, so actually, you’re on your own there. they have some shared life experiences. he keeps trying to convince her to try acting at least once.- leandro wishes more than anything that fewer people hit on him. everyone thinks he’s a twink, because he is, but he wants nothing to do with dating and even less to do with sex. he’s just a gnc aro/ace whose favoured response to being hit on is “how dare you presume to speak to me”.- on a scale of the most to least needlessly dramatic: leandro, chris, lani, candace, erol, sofiya, dom. mind you that on a scale of 1-10 they’re all still like, in the 7-10 range, with the exception of dom, who i’d put at around a 3, but only because he doesn’t have the energy to be very dramatic unless he’s performing.- lani and chris are those two girls you knew in high school who set their relationship status to “married” on facebook with one another even though they’re not even dating. they compete against each other for roles.- dom is the party guy. he’s the only one who lives alone, so the group usually ends up using his house for cast parties, but he’s also the go-to guy to call if you need someplace to crash for whatever reason. his couch is your couch, and the presence of a guest gives him a much-needed excuse to buy something other than cereal to eat.- sofiya is responsible for the only one of beau’s four rats to have a non-french name. there’s bebe, emil, eloi, and lasagna. lags for short.

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

Notes on SPN 14.02

So! I saw 14.01 yesterday, which was for the most part, surprisingly, a blast, and since I have a bit of free time today I thought I’d keep a hold of the momentum and watch and liveblog 14.02 as well. I’ve heard it’s one of those Buckleming plot-a-paloozas, but I’ll try my best to provide semi-reasonable commentary instead of incoherent ranting.

Right. As always, typing this post up as I watch. SPOILERS for the episode ahead.

1. We start with a recap of last season’s finale, and Show, do you really want to remind us this many times about that wire-fight?

1.25. Show’s lore regarding possession has been dizzyingly inconsistent, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me that Nick is alive? Because Nick couldn’t actually house Lucifer for very long in s5—he was deteriorating, which was why Lucifer needed Sam so urgently. The last we saw of Nick, he was dead/dying in a dingy room in Detroit, when Lucifer jumped ship to Sam. Even if Lucifer assumed Nick’s visage in the Cage and afterwards when he was brought back, Nick-the-person with Nick-memories and Nick-feelings isn’t there anymore.

1.255. So what does this mean? Like, if this was explained away sometime over the last two seasons--I’m very sorry, I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention to large chunks of them—please let me know. If there’s no explanation, then has Lucifer disappeared inside a Nick-construct? Did he use a loophole to escape the worst of the Archangel Blade right at the moment Dean plunged it into his side? Lucifer was “human” for a while in s13, iirc. Did he have enough “human” to hide behind and recover? And has he filled that human with the memories/personality of one of the humans he knew best? Is it because he spent centuries assuming Nick’s body in the Cage that he’s most comfortable being him here?

… I don’t know. Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but, hey, it’s fun to speculate.

2. We start off with people artfully tied up in an artfully derelict church illuminated artfully by artful lightning.

… *groans* I hope we aren’t getting a torture scene already.

2.25. Well, Michael’s certainly chirpier than he was last episode.

2.5. Is he trying to make new angel minions, is that it, by feeding them blood and his grace? Leaving aside the lack of creativity in the mechanism, the whole thing kind of makes a weird sense. Michael is looking for those with purity of purpose—among religious leaders (and refugees, apparently), angels, and then finally monsters—and rejecting those ‘poisoned’ by nuance and experience and supposed sin. After all, no being whose wants are even slightly more complex than ‘food’ is going to be a perfect follower.

It also plays into his assholey, self-righteous personality and, well, god-complex.

(Dean would’ve appreciated this quest for pure purpose.)

3. There’s a kind of sitcom-y vibe to this little expository scene: Bobby talks shit about angels only for Castiel to walk in with a quirked eyebrow; the group talks about Jack and Lucifer only for Jack to walk in and go, “hey, you talkin bout my father again?”

(these are the tiny ways I feel SPN is at cross-purposes with its own theme of ‘found family’. Everybody’s obsessed with blood relations, to the point that Lucifer and Jack are constantly referred to as ‘father and son’ when there is no need to bring that relationship up. Last year, even Castiel referred to Jack while talking to Lucifer as ‘your son’ without any prompting from Satan. Words are so powerful, and so revealing.)

3.45. Castiel “as you know, Bob”-ing is hilarious. Oh, Buckleming.

3.5. Um, not to dismiss or compare Castiel’s considerable trauma at the hands of Lucifer, but is anybody going to acknowledge even once that Sam, who appears to have taken the brunt of caring for Nick so far, is also going to have trouble looking into his abuser’s face??

4. Nick continues to make no sense to me.

(I like little touches like Castiel telling him that he needs to remind himself to eat.)

4.5. I kinda like this scene, sue me. It makes sense to me that Nick would obsess over and over again about how he could’ve let himself say yes to Lucifer, although Lucifer is as old as time and had all the power in that situation. The ‘monster’ bit is a little too on-the-nose for me, but I like it. Really drives home what an intimate, horrifying violation possession is and how scarred and twisted it can leave the survivor who spirals down a well of undeserved guilt and self-loathing.

I wish Sam was the one talking to him now, or was at least present. He’d talked in the previous scene about how Nick was only ‘housing’ and deserved a chance to rebuild his life, and that hard-earned generosity of spirit would’ve been a balm to all three of them, I think.

5. ETA on the TOD, Bobby? *sporfle* Seriously though, I love this role-reversal: usually it’s Bobby who’s rolling his eyes at SamnDean’s eff-bee-eye shenanigans.

5.25. Ah, but where this Bobby has become an expert now is in telling the difference between smiting patterns!

5.5. I wonder if trying to appear non-threatening is just Sam’s default whenever he meets with, uh, ‘civilians’.

6. I really, honestly hate that the Bunker just happens to have ‘lore books’ on whatever the hell random question they’re having that day. I just kinda hate the Bunker in general, now that I think about it.

6.25. But doesn’t that ‘human component’ (lol) make a Nephilim strong enough to take down even archangels?

6.5. As pep talks go, that wasn’t bad. A few notes:

a) there’s an earnestness to the words that I’m sure that Castiel learned from Sam.

b) I think this is the first time that Castiel—or anybody—has referred to the events of 8.23 as “The Great Fall”. It’s interesting that it’s already gotten a name among angelkind and that Castiel would call it that, given how close he was to the events that led to it.

c) I want to both laugh and cry at Castiel’s assertion that Sam and Dean were there for him after he lost his grace. He was mostly left to fend for himself, obviously, but there’s no space for that in a pep talk.

d) Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Jack is actually just only a year old. Asking him not to dwell on something so… immediate is a tall ask.

7. Ok, so that was a nice snappy little counterpart to Lucifer-talking-to-Sam-in-the-mirror from the s5 finale. I like how Michael is blunt and matter-of-fact while Lucifer relished in the moment, bragged about how he’d had Sam’s number all his life, and seduced him with violent revenge. This is nice.

I don’t know, guys, I’m really enjoying this episode so far!

8. Sooooo Lucifer is residing in some subconscious layer of Nick’s mind? Is this PTSD shaped by his possession? Is Lucifer bleeding through his own construct? Are we going to find that it was actually Nick who killed his own family? (I think we are.)

8.2. Castiel looking for residual Lucifer in Nick reminds me of when he was doing the same for Sam re: Gadreel, and that reminds me of Dean’s ‘teen mom’ joke from that episode and now I’m pissed off.

8.5. Nick is fascinating, but is he fascinating enough that I care about his little revenge sub-plot? Eh. Jury’s out. Plus I just can’t stand the actor anymore

9. Sam’s just kinda there to move the plot along. Give him some more character moments, episode!

10. Michael reminded me of Dean in the scene with the werewolf. I’m really not getting a capital P personality from Michael, though that may be due to a personal choice. Or maybe because Michael was never a distinct character to begin with, and this is far more noticeable when Ackles plays it and ‘Dean’ threatens to take over any minute.

Or going meta for a second—maybe Michael’s deliberately infusing some Dean into his persona. Possession isn’t simply putting a thing inside a box: both entities are influenced and informed by the other, but only one has all the power.

11. … ok, so my interest in this Nick subplot is rapidly decaying. Nick did it. He killed his family. It’s not a mystery.

11.5. The emotional dynamics of this scene… checks out, actually. Of course Nick is projecting all his rage on Castiel. And of course Castiel regrets destroying Jimmy Novak’s life the most. More than toeing the party line and being instrumental in almost bringing the Apocalypse about in s4; more than releasing the Leviathan; more than trusting Metatron in s8; more than killing his brethren, who’ve tortured him back and tried to kill him on more than one occasion. But Castiel has been both angel and human—both possessing and being possessed—long enough that he’s intimately aware of the devastation it leaves both within and without. And there are no excuses for the way he and other angels have done that damage—so carelessly, so casually. Even the most well-intentioned angels are deceptive and manipulative and give not a second thought about their hapless vessels. It’s a sign of Castiel’s growth and compassion that he recognises his responsibility in this and that he invokes Jimmy’s name with both reverence and regret. In all this shouting and crying that Show doesn’t acknowledge the deep-seated trauma of possession survivors, this is actually a great moment.

12. That werewolf leader looks familiar. Has the actor been on SPN before? He kinda reminds me of one of the leads on Suits.

12.5. That’s a lot of clunky dialogue, but Michael is basically confirming what I speculated in point 2. Cool.

13. How Jack managed to get away and find his grandparents is never explained, but that’s a familiar Buckleming trope—characters are put together in a scene without any regard to how it might connect to other scenes or how/why those characters might’ve gotten there.

13.2. That said, it’s kinda poignant that Jack, having lost his angelic powers, is now trying to understand the human side of his heritage. He’s trying his best to adapt to his situation; this one year old kid is more well-adjusted than most of the adults on this show.

13.5. Well, holy shit, Jack talking about Kelly to his grandparents is just… making me feel emotional in a way this show hasn’t made me feel in a long, long time. This Calvert kid is good.

13.6. It is bizarre that Kelly’s parents are mostly ok with not knowing Kelly’s whereabouts for over a year—I don’t think we ever found out what position exactly Kelly held in the President’s office, and I can picture them in a bit of denial by telling themselves the reason they haven’t heard from Kelly is because she is in the middle of super-secret government work. I don’t know! But it’s just about handwave-able though, and their scene with Jack is worth it.

14. Honestly, Castiel, how did he travel so far and for so long without you noticing? So much for “Don’t worry, Sam, I will babysit this defenceless creature.”

(Speaking of Sam, wheeeerrreee’s Saaaaammmm)

“I suppose there are worse ways to be human than to be kind.”

“Have you heard from Sam?”

I LOVE YOU, JACK.

14.5. No, actually, Dean wouldn’t want it any other way. He said as much when Gadreel took over Sam completely back in s9.

15. Shoo, Nick.

16. FINALLY MORE SAM. With only like 4 minutes of episode left. What, Show, did you think you spoiled us too much last episode with all that glorious, glorious Sam content?

16.25. And finally a bit of action! The rapid-fire editing is making my head hurt, though.

16.5. Soooooooooooooo Dean’s back? Obviously Michael is playing a long game here, but it says something about the show that they can’t keep Dean away for more than two episodes without getting the shakes. I honestly miss Sera Gamble and her desire to rattle the status quo: in s6, she kept the so-called ‘real’ Sam away for half the season, which gave us imo some of the best storytelling, characterisation and acting from both Padalecki and Ackles in the entire show. In s7 she took away all the Winchester markers: the Impala, weird motel rooms, Bobby’s house. Of course, after she left the show settled back into a familiar rut (substituting Bobby’s house with that thrice-damned Bunker). I wish the show would take risks with these two again. s9 and the beginning of s10 were so very promising but there was no follow-through.

I guess they want to MotW fillers for a few episodes and that would be weird without SamnDean SamnDeaning it in the Impala, but Show, why don’t you just say ‘fuck it’ and try weird on for size? What do you have to lose? I mean, seriously?

17. Nick’s the murderer—called it!

18. This wasn’t terrible, you guys. 95% of the episode was just people sitting around having conversations, the dialogue was clunky, ideas derivative, scenes progressed without any rational links between them, the pacing was wonky, and there was too much exposition. But the emotional beats were solid and the set up is reasonably intriguing. I’ve seen far, far worse BuckLeming episodes.

Pacing is a real issue in this season, though. And Michael is not remotely intimidating as a threat.

[paulbenedictblog]

%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Fox news Roughnecks QB Walker tosses 4 TDs in win - NFL.com

Fox news

After going undrafted out of Temple in 2017, Phillip "P.J." Walker frolicked on and off the Indianapolis Colts' be aware squad and signed two reserve/future contracts sooner than within the discontinuance being waived by the group for the third and closing time in August 2019.

Walker's spectacular XFL debut on Saturday night made that call seek love it goes to also have been of the "mercurial" variety.

The Houston Roughnecks' 24-one year-historical signal-caller build on an absolute level to in front of the dwelling crowd at TDECU Stadium, amassing 272 passing yards (23/39) and four touchdowns within the group's 37-17 have interaction over the L.A. Wildcats.

Walker dodged, ducked and dipped his formulation to a series of spectacular performs that have already established him as a skill to see within the burgeoning league. The finest valid blemishes on his in another case excellent night used to be a sack for an absence of seven and a have interaction within the closing minutes when Houston used to be up by what ended up being a game-deciding 20-level margin.

On simply his 2d pass strive of the night, he carried out a 50-yard bomb to receiver Cam Phillips (4/67/1). His. 2nd. Strive. Of the night. That's simply ridiculous, girls folk and gents.

With 1: 10 to transfer within the most essential half, Walker took the snap, regarded downfield, sensed the stress coming, evaded two defenders, rolled to his left and slung a 39-yard pass at some level of his body into the waiting arms of wideout Sam Mobley within the left nook of the endzone. it used to be Mobley's finest have interaction of the night. Wow.

One other highlight came early within the third. Walker stood within the pocket and fired a 29-yard bullet down the center of the area to receiver Reduce Holley (4/50) that went simply over the center linebacker and easily in between the safeties. A mountainous throw by his QB but an even more spectacular feat by Holley, whose high-tail to the XFL featured three torn ACLs and a broken serve over the route of his life within the sport.

Performing how Walker did and being within the identical metropolis as Texans star Deshaun Watson will with out a doubt evoke severely understandable albeit untimely comparisons but he gentle has a protracted formulation to transfer sooner than entering that form of debate. Walker used to be with out a doubt in a league of his possess on Saturday, although.

In actual fact, most of this contest used to be a one-sided affair. The Roughnecks' D-line positively earned the "tough" piece of their moniker with their effort, manhandling the Wildcats' O-line from commence to quit.

Linebacker LeTroy Lewis and 2014 2d-round draft have interaction defensive discontinuance Kony Ealy feasted against L.A.'s O-line. Lewis nabbed two tackles, two sacks, three QB hits, a pass defensed and one compelled fumble; Ealy earned three tackles, five QB hits and 0.5 sacks.

Security Deatrick Nichols led the formulation for the secondary with five tackles, a sack, an INT and two passes defensed. Houston totaled 11 PDs, two INTs, 16 QB hits and five sacks.

It wasn't all inappropriate for the Wildcats, although, as WR Nelson Clear was the XFL's first 100-yard receiver with 11 receptions for 103 yards. Clear managed to set himself as a stride-to are trying despite QB Charles Kanoff (21/40, 214 yards, TD, INT) having a unlucky night. Kanoff, who obtained the starting up with NFL journeyman Josh Johnson out with a thigh wreck, used to be moreover sacked three occasions.

After playing within the preseason for the Jaguars in 2019, working serve Elijah Hood took the area for the most essential time since ideal August, and contributed 12 carries, 43 yards and one insane hurdle on a fast flee within the 2d quarter. Hood performed four preseason video games for the Panthers in 2018 and frolicked with the Raiders the one year prior; he's been hampered by injuries for many of his pro profession.

Extraordinary for one more stress-free tidbit from this game? Both groups efficiently carried out the most essential two-level put up-TD conversions in XFL historical previous; the Defenders did so twice (flee, rec.) whereas the Wildcats (rec.) did it once.

D.C. Defenders 31, Seattle Dragons 19

Effectively, that used to be assorted.

The inaugural game of the XFL kicked off Saturday in front of 17,000-plus fans internal of Audi Stadium, and noticed the D.C. Defenders (1-0) pull out a actual 31-19 victory against the Seattle Dragons (0-1).

Led by outdated Ohio Assert star quarterback Cardale Jones, the Defenders came serve from a 13-12 halftime deficit to outscore the Dragons 19-6. Jones, a fourth-round have interaction within the 2016 NFL Draft, completed the day 16-of-26 for 291 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came within the third quarter.

Standout receiver Eli Rogers, whose three years with the Steelers used to be marred by injuries, caught all six of his targets for a bunch-high 73 yards, demonstrating simply how abominable he can also moreover be when healthy. Khari Lee, a outdated tight discontinuance of the Bears, Lions and Bills, secured a 39-yard pass for D.C.'s first TD.

The Defenders' defense moreover came to play, snagging two interceptions -- one a 69-yard time out to the dwelling from cornerback Bradley Sylve within the fourth -- apart from four tackles for a loss and 9 passes defensed. The defensive line equipped a ton of stress all afternoon, most noticeably linebacker Jonathan Massaquoi, who had three tackles and recorded the group's lone sack.

Defenders nose address Elijah Qualls came away with a fumble recovery on a botched handoff by Dragons QB Brandon Silvers with five and a few change to transfer that zapped the little momentum Seattle, down by 14, had been making an strive to attain in direction of a comeback of their very possess.

Silvers carried out 21 of his 40 pass makes an strive for 217 yards, three TDs and two INTs. Silvers' first TD toss -- a pin-level 14-yarder up the center to tight discontinuance Austin Proehl -- will stride down because the most essential TD within the brand new league's historical previous. As the pocket collapsed round him on his third TD, Silvers displayed ultimate consciousness by scrambling up the area and finding Proehl (5/88/2) for a 57-yard have interaction-and-flee accumulate. Both "Play of the Day materials" but for entirely assorted reasons.

Defenders kicker Tyler Rausa contributed the most essential choices (level to the excellence) of kickoff day on a 34-yarder. The outdated Boise Assert special teamer completed 2-of-3 on the day, including a profession-finest 54-yard FG to quit the most essential half.

It be worth noting both groups efficiently utilized the different PAT alternate choices, with the Dragons changing a one-level pass strive and the Defenders changing a one-level flee play. As a substitute of the essential rule differences, which you might possibly net yourself up to the tag with right here, one more engrossing a part of the game used to be the stay mic frail by both groups for the length.

Defenders coach Pep Hamilton, whose old skills comprises stops with the Jets, 49ers, Bears, Colts and Browns, apart from at the collegiate level with Stanford, Michigan and Howard, will seemingly be heard delivering performs to his starting QB. Jones, in flip, might possibly possibly moreover be heard going by his cadence sooner than the snap.

Dragons coach Jim Zorn, who is terribly conversant in the DC dwelling because the Redskins' head coach from 2008-09, will seemingly be heard doing the identical. He seemingly wants his "revenge game" would've ended a little bit in a single more draw. Zorn's assorted stops consist of stints with the Seahawks, Lions, Ravens, and Chiefs, apart from within the NCAA with Boise Assert, Utah Assert and Minnesota.

The new mic used to be moreover featured moderately interestingly in sideline interviews with gamers as they came off the area; topics ranged from celebratory chatter about the play they had been beforehand excited about to irritated breakdowns of what went execrable and so forth and heaps others.

All in all, it used to be an bright origin to what ought to be an bright new skills for the XFL.

[thisdaynews]

Jadon Sancho: How single-minded schoolboy made his dream a reality

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/jadon-sancho-how-single-minded-schoolboy-made-his-dream-a-reality/

Jadon Sancho: How single-minded schoolboy made his dream a reality

Jadon Sancho scored his first England goals when he struck twice against Kosovo in September

Jadon Sancho drops his schoolbag and sits down. His white shirt – sleeves rolled up and blazer discarded – hangs from his 14-year-old shoulders. His burgundy-and-gold tie is knotted loosely around his neck. He and his team-mates from Watford’s under-15s have been excused from their classrooms and, one by one, called into one of the school’s small upstairs offices.

Their coach, Louis Lancaster, is there to meet his players and discuss their ambitions. When asked what he wants from football, Sancho’s reply comes without hesitation. “I want to play for England, and I want to play for one of Europe’s top clubs,” he says. “I want my family to be proud of me.”

Aged 19, he has achieved all of those feats and his goal for Borussia Dortmund against Barcelona in the Nou Camp on Wednesday was his latest footballing landmark. Whether he has many more at the club remains to be seen, with reports suggesting he is set to leave in January after a falling-out over “disciplinary issues”.He is, it seems, wanted by many of Europe’s leading clubs.

Being at the centre of such a high-stakes transfer saga is a world away from the environment in which Sancho gained his earliest footballing education. That came in the cages – the all-weather sports courts – near his home in Kennington, south London. He was childhood friends with Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson and Ian Carlo Poveda, who later became a Manchester City team-mate. He was spotted by Watford aged seven and would travel across London three nights a week to train with the Hornets until, at 11, he was old enough to attend the club’s partner school, the Harefield Academy in Uxbridge, west London.

The commute from Kennington to Uxbridge was too long to be feasible daily, and so came the first of many sacrifices the young Sancho would make in pursuit of his dream: he left his family home to move in with an aunt in Northolt, and was ferried the 14-mile journey to school by taxi each day. When boarding facilities were opened at Harefield, Sancho left his family to live on the school grounds.

From Monday to Friday, his routine revolved around football. Morning classes were interrupted for training. He’d return to school in the afternoon and, when the other kids went home, he’d have to make up for the lost lesson time before evening training began. Then it was back to the boarding house, rinse and repeat.

Perry Price was a left-back in Watford’s academy and a schoolmate of Sancho’s. “He’s always mentioned big clubs – Real Madrid, Barcelona,” Price tells BBC Sport. “It was always part of his plans. He sacrificed his youth for football.”

Sancho was not a disruptive student but, during school time, football dominated his focus. “I remember one of his teachers saying: ‘Jadon, can you get off YouTube and carry on with your work,'” recalls Lancaster. “I look over at his computer and he’s got Ronaldinho on the screen. Down goes the browser. She turns around, I look back – Ronaldinho’s back on the screen.”

Lancaster admits there was little internal hype over Sancho at Watford, but when he first saw the winger in action as a 13-year-old, he was in no doubt he’d seen a future star. Leading a summer session that included boys as old as 16, the coach ran the players through a drill in which they could lay the ball off simply to either side to earn one point for their team, or dribble around a defender for three points. Not once did Sancho take the safe option.

“I just remember everything being so smooth and elegant for Jadon,” says Lancaster, who now coaches the Chinese Taipei national team. “He didn’t break sweat. He was effortless. When I drop a shoulder, no-one moves; when he does it, people fall over.

“What I liked about him was his fearlessness. He was always looking to take players on, to try new things and be creative.”

Sancho soon joined Lancaster’s under-15 side. He was playing a year above his age group but was, by some distance, the team’s best player. He lit up one midweek match against Arsenal with a solo goal of jaw-dropping brilliance. On the pristine main pitch at Arsenal’s Hale End academy, Sancho collected the ball near the halfway line and burst between two defenders. The Arsenal youngsters were unable even to keep up with the shadows Sancho cast under the floodlights as he unleashed a 35-yard shot that arrowed into the top corner.

On another occasion, against Colchester, he scored into an empty net after replicating one of Brazil great Pele’s most famous tricks – rounding the goalkeeper without touching the ball, using only body feints and misdirection. And at 14, he began to feature regularly for Watford’s under-18s.

To continue improving, Sancho needed to be challenged, and nobody was more aware of that than the player himself. Lancaster would often set up uneven teams for training games, testing his players in matches of nine against seven or 10 against six. Sancho always wanted to be on the side with fewer players. And when the coach reversed the usual dynamic one time – insisting the winners, rather than the losers, were to do punishment sprints – Sancho was just as determined to be victorious as ever and led his team through the forfeit.

Manchester City had been tracking Sancho’s progress since he was 13. In March 2015, the month Sancho turned 15, City swooped. Under the rules which govern all elite academies in England, the teenager was signed for an initial compensation fee of just £66,000.

Opinion of Sancho, strange as it seems with hindsight, was divided among scouts at this stage. Some felt he lacked the athleticism to make it at the highest level; others likened his dribbling style to England legend Paul Gascoigne. “He was able to beat players with body movements, swerve, momentum and intelligence,” one scout told BBC Sport. “When you can do that, you don’t have to be super-quick. If a bit of pace comes, it’s a bonus.”

Figures close to the deal insist, despite reports to the contrary, City’s interest was not rivalled. For Sancho’s part, he was certain going to City was the right next step in his development. He is described as being “very single-minded” in his ambition to move north, and the switch happened quickly.

“He just left,” Lancaster remembers. “I didn’t even know he’d gone.”

The St Andrews floodlights illuminate the dusk of a mid-spring Monday evening as Sancho lines up to face Birmingham City in his Manchester City debut. He wears black boots – as dictated by club policy for all players below under-18 level – and the same button-collar, purple shirt as his team-mates. Yet, starting as a central striker, he instantly stands out. City demolish their hosts 8-3. Sancho zips into dangerous positions, weaves through crowds of defenders and scores five.

A talent-loaded under-16 side coached by former City striker Gareth Taylor went unbeaten throughout Sancho’s first full season with the club, and he was instrumental in a run to the FA Youth Cup final as an under-18 in 2017. There was a healthy competitive spirit among this gifted crop. In the under-16s, Sancho played predominantly on the left wing, and would never want to be outshone by Luke Bolton on the opposite flank.

During a pre-season session on one of the outdoor pitches at City’s impressive academy facility, Sancho was among 20 players being put through their paces by coach Jason Wilcox. The players – including Brahim Diaz, now at Real Madrid, and Rabbi Matondo, who has since joined Schalke – were completing the bleep test. As the intensity of the 20-metre shuttle runs increased, the group dwindled, dropout by exhausted dropout, until just two remained. Sancho and Phil Foden looked across at each other, still running hard. “Let’s stop together,” they agreed.

Sancho, pictured here in 2016, had the option to continue learning at Manchester City – but he opted for the more immediate prospect of first-team football at Borussia Dortmund

Among such high-quality peers, Sancho’s determination to impress only grew. He was “obsessed with winning player of the tournament everywhere we went”, one member of City’s academy staff recalls. “There were moments in training where he’d do things and you’d wonder how he did it – and he’d be able to reproduce it in games,” says another.

In the summer of 2017, City offered Sancho a first professional contract – worth a reported £30,000 a week – and manager Pep Guardiola was ready to take the young winger on the senior side’s pre-season tour. But Sancho weighed up his chances of breaking into the most expensively assembled squad in world football against a more frictionless route to first-team football on offer at Borussia Dortmund. He rejected City’s offer and moved to Germany in a deal worth in the region of £10m.

At Dortmund, a detailed plan for his integration was drawn up. He would combine training with the first team with additional sessions and matches with the club’s second string – led by Jan Siewert, who went on to manage Huddersfield Town in the Premier league – and the under-19s.

“It was clear when he came that he needed an optimal relationship between load and recovery, because he was not used to men’s football,” Siewert says. “The club had to build him up quite carefully. In 2017 when he came, he had just three games with me. We started him with 55 minutes, then 65 and, at the end, 75. And within the week, he played with the under-19s team.

“The good thing was he came and didn’t think he was anybody superior in my team – he just wanted to train and work hard.”

Jadon Sancho (fourth from left) was part of an England U17 team featuring Manchester City’s Phil Foden (far right) and Manchester United’s Angel Gomes (third from right)

Sancho had been named player of the tournament as England reached the final of the European Under-17 Championship in May 2017. He was directly involved in 10 of England’s 15 goals before defeat by Spain on penalties. When the Under-20 World Cup came around in September, he was desperate to help the Young Lions go one better.

Sancho scored twice against Chile in England’s opener but it was decided he should return to his club after the group stage. While he was disappointed to leave his team-mates – who went on to hammer Spain 5-2 in the final – behind, Sancho understood he had outgrown that level of competition and his development was better served back in Germany.

“Before the game, he sent a video message to his guys, and England won,” Siewert says. “He committed fully to the work. I think at that time he realised it was his career and the way he performed in my team led him to the first team.”

The transfer to Dortmund saw Sancho leave behind his mother and sisters in London, but his father, Sean, moved with him. Sancho’s close relationship with his dad, who used to inspire his young son with videos of John Barnes, is cited as a positive, grounding influence by everyone who has worked with the Dortmund player.

Those who know him best insist Sancho has retained his humility during his rapid rise to stardom. He is still the same harmlessly cheeky, football-loving kid from Kennington. Signed shirts are dispensed on request to old friends, and last summer he visited his old primary school to talk to students, preaching the gospel of hard work and self-belief. When returning from the Nations League finals in Portugal last June, Sancho jumped straight into a taxi and headed to Islington, north London. He was carrying with him a signed Dortmund shirt and was en route to surprise a friend who had supported him during his days in the Watford academy.

Now one of the first names on the Dortmund teamsheet – when he is on time, at least – and an England regular, Sancho’s decision to try his luck in Germany has been vindicated. He has become the youngest player to reach 15 Bundesliga goals, the first player born this millennium to play for England and is one of the most consistent assist providers in Europe.

It is impossible to predict how things would have worked out had he stayed at City, but it is instructive that he has played more than nine times as many minutes in the Bundesliga as Foden has in the Premier League.

When Sancho saw an obstructed pathway, he decided to create his own. And several English youngsters have followed his lead in going abroad in search of opportunity – including childhood friend Nelson, who spent last season on loan at Hoffenheim.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s walking out on Hackney Marshes or Wembley in front of 80,000 people – it’s football, it’s fun,” Lancaster says. “What you’ve seen of him is nothing compared to what’s to come.”

That laid back, confident 14-year-old discussing his football dreams alone with his coach in a small school office could not have imagined he would achieve them all by the age of 19. Sancho’s story is one of opportunities seized, his success is a triumph of will as much as talent.

Sancho has become one of Dortmund’s key players since joining the German club in August 2017

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[realrhythmskrp]

+1 ACTING, +6 SINGING, +1 RAPPING, +2 DANCING

DISPATCH, (07/13/17): Prime Media has officially released information about soloist Kim Jihye, also known as Kim Nari, on the official website! Nari is an ‘90 liner and has been beloved by fans since her debut in 2011. Find out more about Nari below!

I, (KIM JIHYE), have read and understand the terms and conditions as my position of (SOLOIST) and agree to honor the standards that are to be expected of me as an employee of (PRIME RECORDS).

OOC INFORMATION

Preferred name: Veronica

Pronouns: She / her

Timezone: Currently GMT+2, soon back to GMT+1

Other muses: n/a

IC INFORMATION

Faceclaim: Hong Jinyoung

Name: Kim Jihye

Stage name (if applicable): Kim Nari

Idol concept: When Jihye made her debut as a singer, it was decided that she should play on her strengths as Kim Nari, the young and pretty trot singer. She was to be upbeat and outgoing, laugh loudly and smile brightly – and in every way try to as much of a contrast to the rather dull and oldish world of trot as she possibly could. Nari’s image was shaped into one of ”the nation’s flower”: beauty, youth and a bit of flirty fun.

At first, it was the easiest thing in the world. She faced her new career bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, excited to meet new people, appear on TV-shows and perform her music. Her concept as an artist was shaped around her and she thrived for the first couple of years.

Then, slowly, the novelty of idol life wore off. Jihye’s personality had shifted, turning colder and more cynic with the realization that her life would forever be scrutinized by the media. Her wide smiles turned stiff, the winks she had always been so generous with became forced, and her bright and bubbly laugh morphed into something high-pitched and fake. Instead of mirroring the happy-go-lucky person she was at debut, it all turned into an act, and Jihye grew to hate the exaggeratedly cheery Kim Nari that she had to be in front of the cameras.

Points Sorting: +1 acting, +6 singing, +1 rapping +2 dancing

Birth date and age: August 9, 1990 – currently 26 years old

Company name: Prime Records

Group Name (if applicable): n/a

Group Position (if applicable): soloist

Strengths: Jihye’s main strengths are her singing and her versatility. She knows how to adapt her style and technique to easily fit the song, and is decent both at trot and pop music. Although not an excellent dancer, she is still very quick at picking up choreography and as she is good at capturing an audience, she is a great performer.

Weaknesses: Jihye tends to cave in under pressure, no matter if it is judgement and criticism from others, or if it is  her own ambition and perfectionism that makes her struggle with a task. Neither her vocal range or her dancing abilities could be described as impressive. Recently, she has also been struggling slightly to keep up her image in shows and in front of fans.

Positive traits: Ambitious, Intelligent, Loyal

Negative traits: Pessimistic, Selfish, Harsh

PERSONAL HISTORY

• 1990 She is her parents’ first (and will end up being their only) child. They name her Jihye, meaning wisdom, thinking that intelligence and wisdom might be the only thing that could bring their child good fortune. The couple might not be rich nor live in a grand house, but they have their daughter and they love her and that is all that counts.

For as long as Jihye can remember, both her house and the family restaurant have been filled with music. Her mother seems to have a different soundtrack for every house chore and only turns the volume down when Jihye needs to concentrate on her homework, rather than on humming along. And every time the girl walks into her parents naengmyeon restaurant, she ends up sitting by the counter singing duets with her father, the repertoire ranging from nursery rhymes to the latest songs by her parents favourite singers.

• 2002 Jihye has just turned twelve years old, and she has found out that she likes nothing as much as she likes being in the spotlight. In school she’s loud and talkative, and she surrounds herself with quite a big group of friends, all of them as thick as thieves. Together they put on elaborate plays and concerts in the school yard, forcing all their class mates to watch them perform. The quality of the acts may vary (and the songs Jihye sings always sound a bit dated compared to the h.o.t. and fin.k.l. songs performed by her friends), but they all have a lot of fun. Jihye has started to dream about a life where she could do this every day – being famous and able to sing and act for work sounds like the most amazing thing one could do!

• 2005 For the first time in her life, Jihye feels almost lonely. Her closest friends have all found themselves boyfriends, and somehow they no longer have any time for her. Her mother’s well-meant pep talks don’t manage to cheer her up very much either (”You will find a boyfriend too soon” – well maybe she didn’t want to!). And what do you say when your friends ask you if there’s someone you like, when you can’t tell them the truth without risking them finding you weird or disgusting? Jihye finds support and comfort in music instead, hiding in a corner of their restaurant with headphones on, letting the songs wash away all of her troubles.

• 2008 Jihye did surprisingly well on the college entrance exams, and managed to get into a rather good university. She plans to major in chemical engineering, although she struggles to see herself actually working with anything related to chemistry in the future. She still hasn’t quite managed to let go of her childhood dream though, still wishing for a life where performing could take center stage. It just won’t work out, not with the hours she has to put into studying, or helping out at her parents’ restaurant.

•2011 At last she takes the big step and auditions for an entertainment company. Mirage is a new company and, to be quite honest, Jihye isn’t exactly sure of what she is getting herself into. She auditions as an actress, knowing that there has been rumors of idol groups in the making. She figures that if acting isn’t right for her, they might turn her into an idol trainee instead – she will trust their judgement as doesn’t know herself what she is best suited for. After only two months of training she is casted in a supporting role in her first drama. Despite doing her very best, her high hopes of excellent critiques take a plunge as her performance passes by almost unnoticed by the press. Following that drama, it almost seems as if Mirage has forgotten about her, and after months of being sent to no castings at all, she manages to terminate her contract.

Deciding that acting might not have been her destiny, Jihye goes on to audition for another company only weeks later. Surprisingly, Prime Records take her on, despite her singing one of her mother’s favourite old trot songs for her audition. The contrast between her age and the music she sings so very well is what ultimately lands her the contract, and she has never been happier than now – holding in her hands a ticket to a life of music and fame.

• 2012 There is much for her to learn, never having received proper training before. That doesn’t prove much of an issue though, as she is a quick learner and easily follows both the instructions of her vocal coach and the simple choreographies she is set to practice. Jihye doesn’t blend too well with the other trainees, but that doesn’t bother her too much. She is set to debut as a soloist after all, and with all the training that has do be done, she doesn’t exactly have the time to be nice and friendly to everyone all the time.

Come late 2012, she is finally ready to debut. The song is recorded and the music video planned out – there is only one thing left for her to do. She needs a stage name, something that stands out more to the public than her own name. Having the most popular name of your age group is not a sure way to get remembered, let’s be honest. She settles on Kim Nari, naming herself after her favourite flower – the lily.

• 2014 The debut of Kim Nari two years ago had been a bigger success than Jihye could ever have imagined. At first it had all been great fun – everything was new, shiny and exciting. Then, as she got used to it all, she started to realize that everything wasn’t glitz and glamour. She is completely exhausted, sick and tired of performing the same song more times in one week than she can count, and fed up with having to be careful at all times not to cause negative headlines. The straw to break the donkey’s back is Jihye falling head over heals in love with one of her stylists, only to realize that even if the feelings were to be mutual, she could never act on them. There is too much to lose, and if it would be leaked to the press it would all be far worse than a simple dating scandal.

She turns to her work to try and distract herself, but it is rumored among staff both at Prime and and various television companies that the once so easy-going Kim Nari has turned rather hars and difficult to work with.

• 2016 Although she knows she has been lucky, being signed at a company that doesn’t try to work her until she collapses, it all becomes too much for Jihye. She goes on a hiatus (although nothing is announced officially), only releasing the occasional collaboration with company friends along the way. It was very much needed, as she struggles to paint on her cheery image as Kim Nari even for short periods of time. Most of her time is still spent working on new projects at the company building, but she is allowing herself to relax for once and not beat herself up for not working hard enough, being good enough. She finally finishes her studies and graduates as a chemical engineer – she didn’t want to leave it unfinished. For the first time in a couple of years, there is a spring to her step and a smile on her face on the regular.

• 2017 More than two years have passed since her last solo promotions, and Jihye knows it is time for her to get back out in the spotlight. To be fair she misses the performances, the feeling of singing in front of people who have come just to see her. She doesn’t regret her career path in the slightest. What she isn’t looking forward to is having to sit in interviews and tv shows and pretend to be the happiest, most outgoing person in the industry. Jihye grows tired only thinking about it – yet she is afraid of the reactions any deviation from her image might bring. A change now, when she has been gone for so long, might be devastating. No, Jihye has to stick to what works, and that means slowly easing back into the saccharine Kim Nari: young, beautiful, fun and flirty trot singer – even though the girl feels anything but rosy pink and happy inside.

[torentialtribute]

Raheem Sterling reveals his pain at losing his 13-year-old friend Damary Dawkins to cancer

Raheem Sterling has a catch in his throat while being transported back to last December, to the emotion of an afternoon that might never leave him.

His eye contact is usually strong, but not if there is Damary Dawkins, the 13-year-old boy who lost his battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March.

Sterling stares into the distance and looks back to when they first met at the University College Hospital in London . Their encounter and subsequent friendship had a profound effect.

Raheem Sterling (left) taking a photo with Damary Dawkins (right), the 13-year-old boy who lost his battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March

The Manchester City unveiled a t-shirt to celebrate the young man's life after five days after the young boy's death had scored against the Czech Republic

& # 39; I'm getting really emotional with things like that & # 39 ;, Sterling says. & # 39; I don't handle it that well.

& # 39; We always go on a hospital visit and because you want to see as many children as possible, you don't get much time.

& # 39; This was much more like a sitdown, a conversation and getting to know and understand him. I looked at him and thought of me at that age. How would I be. It touched me. & # 39;

Sterling was on a free day in London for a special visit, after he had heard about a young person's condition through a friend. He took the train down with his family and the couple played pool together, then stayed in touch.

Damary was an attractive child who dreamed of becoming a professional football player and had been in the Crystal Palace development program. There is a lack of Afro-Caribbean stem cell donors and that is why Sterling contacted his family.

Damary eventually found a donor following worldwide public calls with support from Sterling, but he fell back. The city ahead unveiled a T-shirt to celebrate the young person's life after being scored against the Czech Republic five days after the boy's death in England. Sterling paid for the funeral.

The Manchester City forward is pictured playing a game of pool with his deceased friend

& # 39; It was about making these communities, my community, aware, & # 39; he says. & # 39; People need help. Sometimes you sit at home and complain that your Sky or internet is not working and you realize that there are many people who are worse than you.

& # 39; When I saw him, how happy and outgoing he was – not giving up something or falling down, just being himself – it made me appreciate my life and everything that was going on with me was

& # 39; Thanks to everything you have been given. It's just something that really touched me and I had to keep communicating with him. It wasn't long, but it was definitely something that will stay with me for a long time. & # 39;

Sterling meant business on the trip from Manchester City to Asia.

Operating as a central striker in the absence of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, he scored twice against West Ham last week and once in a club of Kitchee in Hong Kong. His only stain was a penalty miss against Wolves in Shanghai.

There is extra certainty when he breaks through on goal, a little more definitively. Pep Guardiola has the & # 39; small details & # 39; perfected and Sterling has benefited from simplifying his game.

Thirty-one goals for club and country last season were clearly not enough for a superstar who has very real ambitions to become the Balloon d & # 39; Or.

Sterling benefits from one-on-one tuition from Manchester City- boss Pep Guardiola

Sterling scored three goals during the preseason of City – including this one against Kitchee

The 24-year-old is desperately seeking to improve those figures, but in terrifying, has not attached great importance to City lifting the European Cup. For him, the Premier League remains the Holy Grail and defending that is the superior performance over any Champions League glory.

& # 39; I was really happy for Liverpool, happy for some of the players I know to lift the Champions League & he said.

& # 39; What we did last season – every day, week in, week out – was exceptional. The Champions League is huge for us as a club, but our most important thing is winning the Premier League. That is our main goal to enter this season.

& # 39; The Premier League is your bread and butter. The Champions League looks nicer, the most prestigious as people say, but you switch on every weekend. You go to difficult places … you go to Crystal Palace, Burnley, it's hard, you know. You have put so much time into it. That is why we cherish it.

& # 39; It will be harder than last season. Doing this three times in a row is a huge challenge for us.

& Liverpool, all these big clubs, will try to get titles from us. But there is not a single player here who thinks he is at his best. There are no egos in our dressing room, no player who thinks he is Skin or Maradona. & # 39;

Sterling would rather win the Premier League next season than the Champions League

One Guardiola thinks it wouldn't allow anyway. The TV cameras zoomed in on the manager and Sterling on the Wembley grass after City completed an unprecedented domestic treble in May.

Sterling had scored twice in a one-sided final against Watford, but Guardiola saw room for tweaks. The conversation was surprisingly animated, even for Guardiola. There are plenty of them during their three years together.

& # 39; Oh, I don't know how to explain it … you see excerpts from him talking to you, but it's not like that every day! & # 39; says Sterling.

& # 39; It is an incident in which he speaks to me. He talks to us as a group. You learn If you don't learn, you don't play.

& # 39; It's not like he was in a room with a pen and paper writing things down about what I should do.

& # 39; People will judge me from now on, so I have to get better every season. If you don't want to improve yourself, there's nothing that Pep can do to help.

The English international is happy to learn his trade under the energetic Guardiola

& # 39; He sets such high demands and it rubs off. That has improved me the most: the standards that he sets. It makes sure that I don't fall out of mine. & # 39;

The importance of self-criticism is something that Guardiola has impressed on Sterling and he is also happy to help others.

He sees a lot of himself in England, teammate Jadon Sancho: a flamboyant winger, black, from London. Sterling knows what a teenager can mean in the spotlight.

He sends Sancho subtle advice messages about facets of the life of the young Borussia Dortmund. & # 39; Even when I got a lot of negative things, I would never sit there and be someone I am not, & # 39; says Sterling.

& # 39; I talk how I talk. I want people to accept me for who I do and they do that now. I am really grateful.

& # 39; If there is anything that I think can put Jadon in a bad light, I make sure I pull it on. He is a good child. He does much more outside the field than I was at that age in terms of his preparatory work.

I am pretty close with Ian Poveda (teenage Colombian midfielder) in City. It is a similar story: the north came from London. He always sat next to me in the coach. He is sometimes a bit annoying, I tell him that every day!

& # 39; He is my little friend, I am trying to give him advice. I let him feel things myself, but when I see something, I go there. & # 39;

[1945909] Sterling accompanied England teammate Jadon Sancho because of their similar upbringing "class =" blkBorder img-share "/>

Sterling has accompanied England teammate Jadon Sancho because of their comparable upbringing

Sterling has an extremely relaxed appearance. He discusses how life goes well when football goes well. Since he and City have hardly taken a wrong step in the last two years, it is safe to assume that this is the happiest he has ever been.

He and fiancé Paige Milian and their children mill restlessly around Knutsford, Cheshire, just south of Manchester and spend the summer vacations in Miami or Jamaica, where Sterling was born. He was only two when his father was killed there.

By staying away from friends in the game, he also helps to keep a lower profile and Sterling only really expects to maintain a handful of football friendships after his career.

Sterling likes to keep himself low with Paige Milian when he dismisses football

& # 39; At the end of a day, I don't want to talk about football when I get home. I just want to relax, & he says.

& # 39; If you are with three or four other football players, there is more attention than you need.

& # 39; It doesn't mean that there are people I don't like or that I can go on with, but when you're done playing football, you just want to go back to your normal life.

& # 39; It's just like finishing. I can't drink a glass of wine every night, but you have to work around it.

& # 39; Manchester is a wonderful place. I love the small villages. I can go out, have a little lunch and chill with my family without needing the center of town. We are really very happy up there. From childhood I have always wanted to play abroad, but I am happy in Manchester City. & # 39;

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[junker-town]

Floyd Mayweather's 50 wins, ranked

Floyd Mayweather if 50-0 after beating Conor McGregor, and we have ranked every single fight of his illustrious career.

Floyd Mayweather is now 50-0 as a boxer, battling (mostly) the best of the best throughout his career. Out of the ring, Mayweather has done plenty to tarnish his reputation and legacy as a person, from arrests to statements made. Viewed as a whole, it’s hard to be positive about him, and I personally am not.

But in the ring, he’s made his case to be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter of his generation, and by eclipsing the 49-0 mark of Rocky Marciano, he’s done something that nobody else has done at this level.

There are many caveats to Mayweather’s in-ring career, from his arguable loss to Jose Luis Castillo in 2002 to his tendency to pick his opponents carefully in the latter half of his career. He faced some of the best boxers of this generation in his final 10 or so fights, but almost all of those fights were long overdue after his opponents were out of their prime.

His technical boxing is second to none. He peppered his early record with knockouts of fighters who went on to do nothing of note, and in his later years has rarely managed to finish his opponent.

But what he has been able to do is frustrate the best of the best, and drag them into deeper waters than they’ve ever been before. So many of Mayweather’s fights started off even and ended with his opponents gasping for breath, unable to land a single punch, completely defeated.

The Bottom Tier

50. Mayweather vs. Roberto Apodaca (10/11/1996, 0-0) 49. Mayweather vs. Tony Duran (5/9/1997, 6-0) 48. Mayweather vs. Louie Leija (9/6/1997, 9-0) 47. Mayweather vs. Jesus Chavez (7/12/1997, 8-0) 46. Mayweather vs. Jerry Cooper (1/18/1997, 2-0) 45. Mayweather vs. Tony Pep (6/14/1998, 16-0) 44. Mayweather vs. Edgar Ayala (2/1/1997, 3-0) 43. Mayweather vs. Kino Ridriguez (3/12/1997, 4-0) 42. Mayweather vs. Reggie Sanders (11/30/1996, 1-0) 41. Mayweather vs. Gregorio Vargas (3/19/2000, 22-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles)

Most of the fights above are from very early in Mayweather’s career. His first professional fight against Roberto Apodaca ended with a TKO in the second round, and Apodaca went on to finish his professional career with an 0-4 record. The bout with Jerry Cooper was a terrible one-round fight, but it sure was entertaining seeing Mayweather beat up on somebody rocking a very unfortunate mullet.

The match with Vargas was a weird one. It’s the latest match in this group and it was a bad 12-round decision win for Mayweather. He barely hit Vargas, he looked uncomfortable, and he complained that his right hand and wrist were injured. The commentators talked a lot more about Mayweather’s contract disputes than the bout itself.

40. Mayweather vs. Angel Manfredy (12/19/1998, 18-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles) 39. Mayweather vs. Bobby Giepert (4/12/1997, 5-0) 38. Mayweather vs. Carlos Balodmir (11/4/2006, 36-0, retained IBO Welterweight title and won WBC, IBA and The Ring Welterweight titles) 37. Mayweather vs. Larry O’Shields (6/14/1997, 7-0) 36. Mayweather vs. Angelo Nunez (11/20/1997, 11-0) 35. Mayweather vs. Felipe Garcia (10/14/1997, 10-0) 34. Mayweather vs. Carlos Hernandez (5/26/2001, 25-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles) 33. Mayweather vs. Miguel Melo (3/23/1998, 14-0) 32. Mayweather vs. Justin Juuko (5/22/1999, 20-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles)

The fight with Balodmir was the first time Mayweather talked about retirement following a win. It was a bad fight, one where very few punches were thrown despite a lot of hype going in. People left the fight before it was over. The bout with O’Shields was an early one that showcased Mayweather’s eventual style: one of patience. O’Shields lasted the whole fight and Mayweather was unable to knock him out, but also showed great technical skill defensively.

Juuko pushed Mayweather a lot more than most boxers were able to push him. He lasted until deep in the match, but Mayweather ultimately turned it on and knocked Juuko down in the ninth. He was unable to get up in time. Mayweather’s nose was bloodied in the Melo bout, and he touched Mayweather a couple times. But the fight was taken on three weeks notice and Mayweather eventually scored the TKO. The Manfredy bout should have been so much more, but instead a passive Manfredy talked trash about Mayweather’s other title defenses and ended up getting TKO’d while doing basically nothing.

The Middle Tier

31. Mayweather vs. Sam Girard (2/28/1998, 13-0) 30. Mayweather vs. Henry Bruseles (1/22/2005, 32-0) 29. Mayweather vs. Hector Arroyo (1/9/1998, 12-0) 28. Mayweather vs. DeMarcus Corley (5/22/2004, 31-0) 27. Mayweather vs. Carlos Gerena (9/11/1999, 21-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles) 26. Mayweather vs. Jesus Chavez (11/10/2001, 26-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles) 25. Mayweather vs. Carlos Rios (2/17/1999, 19-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles) 24. Mayweather vs. Victoriano Sosa (4/19/2003, 29-0, retaine WBC and The Ring Lightweight titles) 23. Mayweather vs. Sharmba Mitchell (11/19/2005, 34-0) 22. Mayweather vs. Gustavo Fabian Cuello (4/18/1998, 15-0)

Fighting with his father in his corner for the first time, Mayweather stood and traded with Girard, who went down quickly in the second round. Cuello was the first boxer to go a full 10 rounds with Mayweather, who started to earn his label of arrogant in that fight, taunting Cuello through most of it.

Against Rios, Mayweather was actually trying to show the world that he was capable of going a full 12 rounds. Little did everyone know, that’s how Mayweather would win the majority of his career fights. Rios hung with Mayweather for the whole fight, too, but it was a clear Mayweather win.

21. Mayweather vs. Andre Berto (9/12/2015, 48-0, retained WBA (Super), WBC, The Ring and Lineal Welterweight titles) 20. Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero (5/4/2013, 43-0, retained WBC Welterweight title and won The Ring Welterweight title) 19. Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana II (9/13/2014, 46-0, retained WBA Super Welterweight, WBC and The Ring Welterweight and WBC Light Middleweight titles) 18. Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz (9/17/2011, 41-0, won WBC Welterweight title) 17. Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (9/19/2009, 39-0)

Against Maidana the second time, Mayweather was dominant, but it was still a huge fight. Following a two-year break, Mayweather fought Marquez, and it looked early on like he was showing some serious rust. As expected though, he fought back and eventually took a dominant win.

Ortiz let his guard down with a second left in the fourth round, and Mayweather earned a controversial knockout. Mayweather then got into a spat with HBO’s Larry Merchant during the post-fight interview. Merchant told Mayweather, “If I was 50 years younger, I would kick your ass.”

Then there’s the Berto fight. It wasn’t much of a contest, and Mayweather looked as good as advertised. The reason it’s rated so highly is because Mayweather looked so fast despite his age. It gave him win No. 49.

Top Tier

16. Mayweather vs. Genaro Hernandez (10/3/1998, 17-0, won Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles)

The earliest fight to make it to the top 15, the bout with Hernandez was hugely significant for Mayweather’s future. Hernandez was past his prime, but he’d been dominant at the weight class for years. He’d defended his title 12 times and even when he wasn’t at his best, he was a fearsome opponent. Mayweather boxed circles around him until Hernandez quit after the eighth round, retiring from the fight and the sport altogether.

15. Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton (12/8/2007, 38-0, retained WBC and The Ring Welterweight titles)

So many people thought Hatton had what it takes to take out Mayweather, but it wasn’t even close. Hatton’s looser style did nothing against Mayweather, who picked him apart and, for good measure, ultimately put him down. Mayweather fought his own gameplan despite Hatton’s ability to take people out of their comfort zone. Thousands of British fans attended in the hopes that Hatton would win. They were sorely disappointed.

14. Mayweather vs. Philip N’dou (11/1/2003, 30-0, retained WBC and The Ring Lightweight titles)

Mayweather, feeling the heat from fans for some pretty terrible fights the previous year, went out and boxed N’dou aggressively. He stood in the pocket and traded despite that not being his style, and he gave fans a show. Ultimately, he scored a TKO over N’dou in the seventh round.

13. Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (5/2/2015, 47-0, unified WBA (Super), WBC, WBO and The Ring Welterweight titles)

The so-called “Fight of the Century” was a shadow of what it should have been. They should have fought years earlier when Pacquiao wasn’t completely and utterly out of his prime. But the fight was made, and it made a ton of money. Pacquiao had nothing for Mayweather, but once again, it was incredibly impressive just how fast and accurate Mayweather looked.

12. Mayweather vs. Zab Judah (4/8/2006, 35-0, won IBF and IBO Welterweight titles)

This fight was a big one. First, Judah landed hard on Mayweather in the second round and came very, very close to scoring a knockdown. But Mayweather made it through the round eventually took control of the fight, ultimately working his way to a victory. In the 10th round, Judah hit Mayweather with a low blow and a punch to the back of the head, which prompted both corners to spill into the ring for a good old-fashioned brawl.

11. Mayweather vs. Emanuel Augustus (10/21/2000, 23-0)

Augustus was one of the most entertaining fighters to watch due to his weird style and antics in the ring. He taunted, he danced, and he brawled with literally anybody who would agree to it. He was poorly managed overall, but he enjoyed every second of his journeyman career. Mayweather eventually said that Augustus was the toughest boxer he’d faced, though Mayweather took a ninth-round TKO.

10. Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor (8/26/2017, 49-0)

Surprisingly, this fight delivered. McGregor definitely flustered Mayweather early, and it forced Mayweather to do exactly what McGregor wanted: come forward. Unfortunately for McGregor, he faded later while Mayweather kept coming forward. Suddenly, it was no longer a blessing for McGregor, and he eventually found himself on the losing end of a TKO. Still, McGregor did much better than anybody expected, even against a slower, older Mayweather, and it made for a rather exciting bout and an important one in Mayweather’s history.

9. Mayweather vs. Arturo Gatti (6/25/2005, 33-0, won WBC Light Welterweight title)

Gatti was well-loved, but he was embarrassed by Mayweather, who called him a “club fighter” prior to their match. Gatti retired from the match after six rounds, and at one point ate four consecutive lead right hands that were telegraphed from a mile away. It was domination for Mayweather.

8. Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez (9/14/2013, 44-0)

Canelo is one of the most technically sound boxers, and he hung with Mayweather early. His performance in the earlier rounds was definitely something to be excited about, but as is usually the case for boxers fighting Mayweather, he got tired and in deep waters by the end of it. After the majority decision win for Mayweather, Alvarez admitted he couldn’t keep up with Mayweather and left no doubt that he was on another level.

7. Mayweather vs. Jose Luis Castillo II (12/7/2002, 28-0, retained WBC and The Ring Lightweight titles)

The first fight against Castillo was better for a lot of reasons, but Mayweather indisputably won the second meeting, and that’s significant. Castillo threw more than 600 punches in the fight, but Mayweather used his frustrating defensive style to keep himself out of range. Castillo barely landed, and Mayweather took a unanimous decision win.

6. Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley (5/1/2010, 40-0)

One of the rare times when Mayweather consistently came forward late in his career, the Mosley fight was an all-out brawl. It’s one that Mayweather wasn’t really harmed during, but it was still impressive and fun. He threw and landed more punches than Mosley, and after the fight told the fans he gave them what they wanted.

5. Mayweather vs. Diego Corrales (1/20/2001, 24-0, retained Lineal and WBC Super Featherweight titles)

This is one of the few fights where Mayweather took on the best at their prime, or near enough. Corrales was dangerous, with 29 of his 33 wins coming via knockout. He was also much bigger than Mayweather. He stalked Mayweather for the first few rounds and many felt the power shots were coming. But Mayweather never slowed down, and by the seventh round, he was boxing circles around Corrales, who suddenly needed a knockout to win. He didn’t get it, and was knocked down three times in a single round by a ferocious and much faster Mayweather.

4. Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana I (5/3/2014, 45-0, retained WBC and The Ring Welterweight titles and won WBA Super Welterweight title)

The entire match was watched with held breath as Maidana, the bigger and more powerful fighter, went all out for a knockout from bell to bell. He came forward, and forward, and forward, but Mayweather stayed out of danger, outside a cut opened from a head clash. Mayweather didn’t throw enough punches of his own to get a dominant win, but he was never truly in danger against Maidana.

3. Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya (5/5/2007, 37-0, won WBC Light Middleweight title)

This wasn’t as a good a fight as people hoped, and De La Hoya was out of his prime, but the hype and spectacle around the fight made everyone sit at the edge of their seats. De La Hoya was active enough and Mayweather was passive enough that the fight did ultimately come down to a narrow split decision win for Mayweather. He said after the fight that it was a “masterpiece” of boxing, and though it’s hard to agree with that, he did execute his gameplan perfectly.

2. Mayweather vs. Jose Luis Castillo I (4/20/2002, 27-0, won WBC and The Ring Lightweight titles)

The most notorious Mayweather fight is the one — the only one — that you can really argue that he should have lost. The judges’ scorecards were so out of line with the match itself it would have been humorous. Castillo controlled the fight, he bullied Mayweather, and he absorbed little damage. The crowd booed. Experts railed against the judges. It was a bad decision. Mayweather should have been 27-1 after this fight.

1. Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto (5/5/2012, 42-0, won WBA Super Light Middleweight title)

Cotto pushed Mayweather like nobody else since Castillo a decade earlier. Cotto landed early and he landed often, bloodying Mayweather’s nose. Mayweather claimed Cotto pushed him harder than anybody else. It was a huge fight, and Cotto was rarely in danger. He wasn’t in his prime, and that was a disappointment. If they met earlier in their careers, when Cotto was so famous for his soul-crushing body blows, it may have been different. But as it was, it was an incredible spectacle that was closer than most give it credit for.