#why doesn't anyone question the out of service road they use to take off to sky high

[prkrt]

Sky High Would Have Been a Much Better Movie if Will Stronghold Never Got His Powers

So either last year or the year before I rewatched Sky High with my best friend for his birthday. Last I’d seen it I was probably like 5. And it was a fun watch. I’m a sucker for mid-2000′s media, and Sky High is as mid as it gets. While we were riffing on every little detail (like how Zach, Ethan, and Magenta look like Danny, Tucker, and Sam from Danny Phantom) eventually we got to the point where Will gets his powers. And then it hit me: “Why?”

Will not having powers is a pretty big deal in the movie. Having powers is a BIG deal even this movie. Even seemingly useless ones like glowing or melting into a puddle separate you from the average everyday citizen. So much so there’s an entire floating high school made just to train up-and-coming heroes. One could argue that entrance to the school requires having powers, and Will shouldn’t be attending at all.

And I think the movie could have genuinely drove the “Anyone can be a hero” message a lot more, and played with Will’s character a bit more, if he didn’t eventually just get superpowers out of nowhere. It’s really weird he does at all, because Will goes from an underdog who has all this shame about not having powers, which has forced him to lie to his father and be an outcast in his school, to Superman almost immediately. And Will only really becomes a jerk because of these powers, abandoning his friends, only to redeem himself later because the situation calls for it.

I think, genuinely, the film could have been a lot better if Will just never got his superpowers, and he had to prove he could be a hero without them. Instead of using his super strength to throw around Royal Pain, he’d be helping to stop the school from crashing into the ground and standing up to her even when the odds are against him. All with the help of his fellow sidekick friends. It’d be easier for the viewer to relate to (don’t we all feel a little small compared to everyone else?) and have an overall more positive message. Otherwise, it’s really just the story of some privileged kid getting everything he wants, just a little later than he wanted.

[andy-wm]

Please love me is Jimin's line today

The hardest few seconds for me to watch, were these...

Jimin was absolutely dreading appearing on screen without his trademark beautiful hair.

We know he left it as late as he could and didn't want to show anyone.

He looked like he was barely holding it together when he called attention to his hair being shaved. He must have genuinely been scared of the reaction he would get, even from Kook.

"It looks good on you"

Jungkook, you absolute fucking LEGEND 💜

He knew exactly what to say.

When Jungkook told Jimin he looked good (even with no hair) Jimin turned his face away <those feels choking him up> and when he turned back, the almost desperate look of gratitude mixed with relief was so clear.

Please love me is Jimin's line today.

This is not about vanity, ego or pride.

It brings home how fragile his confidence is. His need for approval and the assurance of being loved is strong. It’s so heartbreaking, but we know he hasn't had an easy road.**

Thankfully he did stand a little bit taller once JK reassured him...

But it wasn't an easy moment for Jungkook either.

Whether because he had to witness Jimin's fear and could do nothing more than pet his head, or because he was facing his own misgivings (probably both) he looked equally lost in that moment.

Remember that these boys have left their home once before and journeyed to a place that was less than welcoming. They've had to face the grim, disproving faces of unkind critics and a system that didn't support or value them.

I don't doubt there were echoes of that feeling on this day, that same sense of trepidation they've known before.

We know how the military treats men like them.

And then...

we got this:

You can take the boy out of Busan but you can't take Busan out of the boy.

(People say this about my home town too...)

The shadow of fear is still there in his eyes but.... he looks like a (very hot) backstreet thug who will absolutely fuck you up no questions asked.

It does occur to me that MS might be the reason Jimin has been learning to fight.

I mean really learning to fight.

Yes he's probably doing boxing too but i suspect something more than that ... you shouldn't get torn knuckles from boxing lessons unless you aren't wrapping your hands properly, just saying.

<Gotta love a person who can hold you and cradle your head, and also knock down an aggressor when they have to.>

If all else fails (words before fists, right?) I hope he can handle himself.

If he must defend himself, and someone (not him) looks like they've had a close encounter with his fists, I saw nothing.

I hope for both of them, their background will serve them well. In any case they will support one another and their love will see them through this. It's exactly why they are enlisting as companions.

🐰🐥

This is no easy journey, for these young men (all seven of them) or for their families, their friends, and their loved ones. Yes, it's reality of life for every person in Korea, but that doesn't make it easier when it's YOU or YOUR person who is going away.

I am seeing them off with an in ache in my chest - I know we all are. But I'm toasting their successful military service, and their quick return.

짠 지민아, 정국이! We love you 💜💛

See you soon, Angels.

** 'Hurry up and be me soon' ...

Some of us know how much it costs to put our authentic self out into the world. The sacrifices you have to be willing to make are huge. You're not only exposing your own vulnerabilities, but the flow on effect for your family and friends is real.

<talking specifically about Jimin here... how many times do you think his parents will have to say 'no, Jimin doesnt have a girlfriend, and no he isn't looking for one... No he doesn't plan to marry'.>

It's a long journey to self love and acceptance...

We know Jimin has been through a number of iterations of himself. He's been through the tough guy phase, the closed book, the siren, aloof and sophisticated, and the gently feminine.

The image he presents to the world is as much a construct as any person's is - and whether you're aware of this or not, all our public selves are social constructs.

"One size does not fit all" for queer people

For cis gendered heterosexual people, society has a few different ready-made constructs you can adopt, and the rest of society automatically understands the message you're sending. Most of them maintain the status quo of heterosexual cultural norms.

For anyone who DOESNT fit those norms, it's honestly never going to feel good expressing an image that isnt really you. Its like trying and make your circle self fit in a square box.

But theres nothing else that's readily available...

You really have to construct your public image from scratch.

When you aren't part of that typical demographic, figuring out how you want to be seen by the world can be an arduous and complex process.

How much do you reveal? How much do you risk?

You'll experiment with styles, behaviours, and social groups until you find a safe space you can occupy.

Jimin's safe space is with ARMY or his members, but it requires looking perfect.

Think about Jimin's hesitance to appear on camera without makeup. How carefully he chooses his clothes - whether for airport appearances, stage performance or out on the street. He usually has a team of people making sure he looks perfect. His hair is a trademark feature. It's always beautiful.

Remember that he's used to EVERYONE LOOKING AT HIM, ALL THE TIME.

Imagine how it feels to go out in public - against your will - with a shaved head.

Without hair, he would have surely felt naked. Plus, he's no longer in the safe embrace of ARMY, and his buffer of security and managers keeping him out of danger is gone.

He's immensely famous, but not universally loved (don't even go there) and bald, and small, and an IDOL, and very gay ... lets go with unlikely to be heterosexual.

No wonder he was feeling vulnerable.

Ngl, it broke my heart to see him so afraid but I'm sure he'll have a substantial group of supporters around him. I can only hope.

💜💛

[stormcrow513]

You know the thing that any of you who've had good dealings with doctors,

Is that you are not in the majority there,

Like I am white, I am decently attractive and only about 20ish pounds overweight,

I have never gotten any help from a doctor for almost any of the horrific shit that's happened and happening to me,

Like they gave me shots, they gave me a cast for a broken arm, and medicine when I came down with pneumonia when I was 10,

Also when I needed the most help was like 3 to 13 was when most severe shit happened to me,

And listen this isn't me tryna brag, I was a really fucking cute kid, like I was cooed over a lot,

The doctors themselves would coo over me, they still didn't do anything for me,

I got rolled by a horse at 4 years old the horse was at a good fucking speed too, and he ran me over, I was knocked unconscious, I remember this really good actually like surprising so, cause I remember like all the details I do remember right,

So ma first gets me inside clothes off and in the tub to both warm me and acess the damage, then she calls the hospital she needs to know what to do, and how to get me safely to the hospital,

They tell her to wait and see if I wake up, if I don't wake up, then bring me in, if I do wake up, then I'm fine don't worry about it, and don't bring me in,

My friends I just realized the night before that this little divot in my skull is not in fact a normal everyone has, skulls are werid feeling,

Nope dear me that is not normal threrd likely be a similar thing above or other brow, cause the body's decently symmetrical, see it's above my brow in my hairline, I've been rubbing that thing my whole, though this time I saw it for what it was, as I mapped a line a crack coming from that divot to my brow,

It's damage,

I had already concluded that the now chronic pain that I am in, in my left ribcage, is from that hit,

That my jaw being just slightly off, on the left side is from that hit,

Now seeing this left side head divot, and my memory of turning to look over my right shoulder to see the horse soming at from that side,

I got slammed hard, onto the Rocky ground, by a horse,

And the hospital told my ma not to bring me in,

And before anyone yells at my ma, the reason she listened and didn't bring me in is because they have turned her away before sent her right back out the door, 'you didn't need to come in/bring your kid in for that'

Repeatedly,

For various including very serious need of medical help,

So why pack my injured little body into a car drive me down the dirt road and into the city, only to be turned away and then I would of had to make the return trip with no help,

In fact her not putting my cracked skull through that likely saved my life,

That was when I was 4,

Also I've heard head injury can cause you to lose the ability to thermoregulate, I can't thermoregulate well even now, and ma kept asking them why, why doesn't she feel the cold?

And they said 'she'll grow out of it'

I did not, though it's changed some, so maybe my brained healed some during my mid twenties,

When I was seven I was 'sick' a lot,

I was pretending to be sick because I was being constantly bullied by my teacher,

I couldn't read like, at all, at that age, I'd ask for help she'd yell at me,

I'm not reading the whole thing to you, sound it out!'

This one boy kept trying to help me, he'd read the question and the answers out and let me picked the answer then helped me write it down,

She separated us when she caught on, and would yell at him anytime he slipped over to help me anyway,

So I well hell I was sick, she made me so scared I think it caused me to throw up one mourning while getting ready for school,

So the school said if I was this sickly then my parents needed to take me to the doctor for tests, if they didn't take me the school was going to send child services at us,

So my packed me and my sister the cause of all of this head trouble, down to the hospital,

Where they needed to get my blood, I was scared enough that as she sat down I dissociated so hard I blacked out,

Ma after I explained how I had no idea what happened, that one moment I'm next to her on a bench nurse sitting down and picking up the needle, next I'm screaming and there's these woman above me holding me down passing a needle around, and jamming it in this arm then over to the next arm while clipping my flailing knee with it, then to my wrist the finally I'm let up, and I go limp,

I don't know where I am or how I got here or why these women had just hurt me,

Ma tells me the first nurse tried to use adult sized needle on me, then after not being able to get blood from me after ya know doing it wrong, they sent us a floor up, ma tells me she had no clue that I was blacked out at that point cause I had docilely walked into the elevator and up to the doctor,

At that point the needles came out and I guess even fuge state me was like oh hell no, enough of this crap, and went off,

Took three nurses to hold me down at 7 when I was still really tiny, (I did grow into that strength throughout my teens)

I'm a little proud of that,

They acted like me having pneumonia at 10 wasn't a big deal, I now know that apparently really big deal actually,

Last time I went was before my ma's work would no longer cover my insurance at 26, I gave it one last go, as I knew I likely wouldn't be back to a doctor in a long time as I'm 31 now and still uninsured I'd say I was right,

Still expaing all this the doctor was like hmm, that's werid they should have done more, and then she did nothing herself,

If this is how doctors treat me a white cis woman, whose not noticably queer, and is pretty, and not overly fat

Then how do you think they treat people who aren't those things

[haechanokeh]

I'm Right For You [pt.9]

pairing: popular college! mark x average! reader

genre: romance, smut, angst, series.

warning (general): corruption, oral sex (both receiving and giving), cream pie, rough sex, mention of religion, rough sex, self-esteem, public sex, sub! reader, sex toys. possessive mark two-faced mark

[teaser] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 2 ] [ Chapter 3 ] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8]

when mark said that he will not touch you, he failed again. you're sore everywhere and exhausted.

"y/n?" mark poked your cheeks but you didn't respond at all or move an inch. you're weightlessly lying on top of him, cheek squished against his hard chest, arms on each side of his head, and legs spread, dick still touching your stickiness. you can still that the mixed liquids are dripping from you and mark also can feel it.

he played the tips of your hair.

"i love you." he whispered on top of your head and gave it a kiss.

"-mm too." you mumbled. he grinned as he fined it cute.

his phone suddenly rang and it wasn't that far so he reached for it. it's his mom. mark answered the call.

"mom?" he answered with forehead wrinkled in curiosity. it made you flinched and made you panic, you stopped yourself from cursing and was about to get off from mark's body but his hand on top of your lower back pushed you down preventing you from moving.

"stay still." he said with his commanding tone. so you did yet hoping that his mom didn't hear him.

"mark, where are you? your classmates are already here, they told me you weren't in class? what happened?" you could hear the concerned mother from the phone. your heart beating fast in panic and nervousness.

shit, they already knew he skipped class?

"where are my classmates? what do you mean?" mark ignore his mother's question on what happened why he's not in classes.

"we have worship service today mark, remember? you even invited your classmates"

you saw mark squeezed his nose bridge, brows furrowed, and he looked like he screwed up. it felt like you're at fault, if only you stopped mark from bringing you here and just pushed him to attend class. the truth was you loved the idea of staying alone with mark but now you could tell, it wasn't a good idea.

"mom, i'm sorry i forgot. it's because..." his eyes landed on you. mark saw your guilty face. he gave you a reassuring smile and caressed your cheeks. "have the headache today, i'm feeling under the weather mom. sorry."

he lied. you bit your lower lip. mark is a devoted christian and he will never lie about this kind of matter.

"oh my, okay okay. do you want us to go there?" his mom asked, totally fell from his son. mark's mom knew his son as someone who will lie and mark never skipped the worships unless he's sick.

"no, mom i'm fine. just have to rest." he replied. his mom told him to get enough sleep before she hangs up. mark placed his phone beside him.

"mark, you did not attend your worship." you were obviously guilty. "we should've gone to school."

mark didn't like the mood you're giving him, he translated it as if you regretted spending your day with him, alone. he also doesn't like that you're blaming yourself.

"but i got to spend my time alone with you, there's nothing wrong with it." mark smiled at you. his smiles always make your heart flutter but, this one... it's strange. "we don't have to worry about anything, won't go to hell for my absence in worship and my grades won't fall for skipping for a day." mark tucked some strand of hair in your face and tucked it behind your ear. there's no guilt or remorse for skipping two things that his world used to revolve into.

"you and me, that's only matters, hmm? do you not like being with me, y/n?" mark eyes were dark and icy, he smiled but it was cold. it made your blood run cold. he was asking you but he clearly was ordering you to answer him what he wanted to hear from you.

but it's taking you so long, mark looked slightly upset.

"y/n?" his hand grabbed your cheeks and squeezed it but it didn't hurt you, it was playfully but it felt like your heart was stabbed by cold spiked ice.

"yes." finally respond to him with a forced smile.

maybe he's lying, maybe he's just making me feel less bad.

you locked your front door and get inside in mark's car.

"how's your sleep." he started to drive the car.

"insufficient, i still want to sleep." you yawned. mark looked at you.

"do you want to sleep in my condo or your house?" he said.

"what? no, i'm good. i'll just sleep in class." you joked. mark smiled but he knew you will really fall asleep especially during pharma marketing.

"so, does your mom know that i exist?" mark changed the subject. you went silent. "no plans in introducing me to your mother?" he was calmly laughing but he's slightly upset.

"ahm no, well... she doesn't even know i gave friends but ahm, if she has a chance to meet ahm..." he touched your hand and squeezed it.

"relax, i know your mom is very busy." mark intertwined your hands with his. you're staring at him.

he's switching mood so fast.

"you're not yet even my girlfriend... yet." he added. he glanced at me and raised his brow but smirking.

"you can ask me again though..." you lowered your voice but you made sure that he will hear it.

his head quickly turned to you and you burst into laughter when you saw his eyes bulging out.

"yow, dude are you serious?!" his voice cracked and you couldn't stop laughing. you nodded your head.

"but mark if you want me to be your girlfriend, don't call me dude. okay?" you teased him.

"then can I be your girlfriend-- wait what?" both of you looked confused.

"mark!" you threw your head back and shaking in laughter.

"I mean, can you be my girlfriend, dang it." you chuckled and squeezed his hand.

"yes." your eyes were locking. "but eyes on the road."

"oh, yes! right!" he panicked.

it's been only 1 hour after you officially became his girlfriend but he's already pouting.

"mark, we should be careful. i don't like to be the center of attention just because you're my boyfriend." you said.

he stayed silent. well, he kept on insisting that both of you enter the school at the same time but you decline it because it's better if one of you go first just to avoid suspicion.

"I'm going first, okay?" you gave him a calming smile but it didn't reach him. he just stared at the steering wheel. you sighed and just stepped out of the car.

when you entered the room, same morning, no one greets you because the only person who greets you was sulking in his car. you sat on your usual chair, your class has no fix seating arrangement but everyone knows that the corner on the fourth row is your seat.

"hey." you looked up and saw lucas sitting beside you.

"hey." you smiled at him.

"where were you yesterday?" he put down his bag. you already prepared your excuse.

"fetch my mom in the airport." though your mom use land transpo.

"oh, i see well mark is absent to- oh hey dude." lucas offered his hand to mark for hand shake.

you looked up, he's infront of you but he's staring at lucas with his emotionless face. lucas fingers where slowly folding because it seems like mark will not take it.

"move, that's my seat." mark's voice was frosty and slightly loud but it didn't raise a pitch.

"dude, you seat everywhe-" lucas didn't finish his word when mark grabbed his shirt. he was looking up to mark who's standing and towering him.

everyone was alarmed and stood from their seats, including you.

"mark, calm down..." everyone was trying to pull you away from him, some were trying to remove his hand from lucas' shirt.

"mark!" you grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away from lucas who's stop dead in track on the seat.

"you thought you can have her just because everyone kept on saying that you and y/n look good together, that doesn't mean you can have her! stay away from my girlfriend!" he spat harshly. everyone saw the mark that they never expect to meet, eyes dark and glaring.

your jaw dropped when he announced your relationship that wasn't supposed to be revealed.

"mark!" you stomp on your feet and tried to pull his arms once more. "mark, let's talk!"

some of your classmates were staring at you and you started to over analyze it. your felt embarrassed and in verge of crying.

"mark, please." you voice was shaking and tears started to fell from your eyes.

when mark heard that voice he quickly went back in his senses and looked at you. he freed lucas and forget that they exist. mark was about to cup your face but you stepped back.

"let's talk, outside."

mark followed you until you reach the front gate of your school. you brought your bag because you haven't remove it from your back and so was he.

"what was that?" you angrily turned to face him.

"he likes you, but he doesn't like you like ido-"

"i don't care about him!" you raised your voice. mark was surprised from your voice and angry face. your chest was heaving and nose flaring, you face is also redden in anger.

you know that lucas doesn't like you anyway which made you angry more.

"i told you, we're not supposed to tell them that we're together."

"i didn't agree, because if i agree with you, that boy will try ask you out." he pointed his finger to you. "why are you so mad, i just tried to warn him."

"you just made a scene mark! that's not you!" you pointed your finger back at him.

"and you're not suppose to be talking to anyone or get too close to anyone because that's not you. i am the only one who talks to you, all these years i am the only one who notices you and they never did so i don't understand how did lucas casually sitting on the seat beside you which is by the way my seat." he growled, his face was inches away from you but his breath fanning your face. he was fuming in anger.

"you are mine, they are not like what you think they are. they are bunch of losers, blood suckers. i lied when i said that they want to befriend you, they never mention you because they don't care. i am the only person who tried to get close to you so fucking stay away from them!" he shouted.

you flinched. you were staring at him as if you're looking for something... or someone.

"who are you?" you whispered. "where's the mark that everybody loves? the kind mark that i always look up to?"

mark face slowly soften when he realized what kind of behavior he was giving you.

"you only like me because i'm kind." he looked disappointed. again, he wasn't supposed to feel that way.

"no, i love you because you're lovely." you sobbed. you bit your lip and burst into tears. you shook your head. "don't go after me." you were dead serious and walked away from him.

✨if you want to be added in I’m Right For You Tag List, you can DM or Ask me so i can add you ✨

Tag List: @babylion-mork @lalaname @cloudykeiji @jjikyuu @sunshinedhyuck @wassup-haeyadwae @mrklyy @resceluwu @jenonctcity @wanlore @watermelonlovermark @erisxczenie

[liaromancewriter]

Hi Lia,

I know that Cassie can drive so I have a few questions. I'm not sure if you've written about/answered any of these question before, so apologies in advance if I have you repeating yourself.

Has Cassie ever owned a vehicle before moving to Boston?

Does Cassie own a vehicle presently in Boston?

Has she ever driven Ethan anywhere?

What does Ethan think about her driving?

Has Ethan ever willing given her his vehicle to use?

Hi Rose. I don't think anyone has ever asked me this and I haven't talked about it either. So, thank you for these fun questions.

Has Cassie ever owned a vehicle before moving to Boston?

Yes, she does own one. Her parents gave her a Porsche Cayenne when she graduated from Wharton. She was moving to med school in Baltimore and having a car made it easier to visit her family.

She has always lived in urban environments. So on a day to day basis, she would call a cab or take public transit. Plus, up until she moved to Baltimore, she had Max to ask for a lift (they were at Georgetown and Wharton together) or could call her parents' car service as back up.

She left her car at her parents house when she moved to Boston and uses it when she comes down to visit them. It is getting old though, but as it was a present, she's not sure if she wants to sell it if it works just fine.

Cassie's Car:

Does Cassie own a vehicle presently in Boston?

No, she does not. Living in the middle of the city, she finds the T or rideshare services more convenient for getting around. She can always rent a car if she needs one for a day trip. But majority of her Residency period has had her sticking close to the hospital, so driving anywhere is a rare treat.

Has she ever driven Ethan anywhere?

Yes, much to his dismay. They were going to conduct a home visit for a patient that lived in Brookline. She begged him to let her drive his car saying she missed it; he agreed as he wanted to catch up on patient notes. So far that has been the one of a small handful of times. Here's why.

What does Ethan think about her driving?

He thinks she's a demon on the road and shouldn't belong anywhere near other vehicles or drivers. She thinks he worries for no reason. Yes, she loves to drive fast and will, on almost every occasion, ignore the posted speed limit once they're out of the city, and/or zip through lanes to get ahead. But she's never been pulled over or received a ticket. So according to her, his complaints are baseless.

Has Ethan ever willing given her his vehicle to use?

Only under extreme duress. Aside from that home visit, he has let her use his car to drop him off at the airport. One time, he let her drive them back from Providence to Boston, but only after she bartered various sexual favors. She's got his number.

Generally speaking, Cassie doesn't mind being a passenger as she gets to control the music (no opera!), can enjoy her roadtrip snacks, and post what's happening on Picta for her friends.

ps. Even though you didn't ask, of the twins, Max is the car enthusiast. He drives a sports car majority of the year, switching over to a SUV during winter.

[everlarkficexchange]

You're Not Alone

My apologies to the anon who submitted this prompt. I wish I could have had it done but like so many others, I find myself busier than ever. I am still working on it and I wanted to at least post part 1.

Prompt 70: Peeta picks up a hitchhiker in the mountains one night, only to find it’s his childhood best friend and now escaped convict Katniss Everdeen. In a panic he calls police but after hearing her side of the story comes to believe she didn’t actually murder anyone. Everlark on the run. [submitted by anonymous]

Written by @sunsetsrmydreams.  

Rated NA

Beta’d by @justajjfan, all mistakes are mine. Subject to change.

It’s dark, so dark that without the bright headlights, you couldn’t see a hand in front of your face…and it’s fucking freezing.   

   Peeta punches the buttons again, trying to force the heater to work a little faster, even though he knows it’s pointless. 

His car rattles with the effort and he prays that the old beast won’t leave him stranded on the side of the road. He’s not sure anyone would be there if he needed help. So, with a calm pat to the dash he stops messing with it and tries to get used to the cold. 

   Mother had put him on the early shifts after graduation and after 4 years, seemed to delight in his exhaustion. He was now too tired to fight back when she started on him about this or that and it made him feel just like his father, worn down and defeated. The thought makes him ill. It almost seems normal for him to feel so much older than his 22 years after working to that kind of daily grind year in, year out.   

All his friends had all gone off to college, far away from this little mountain town…but not him. There was no money for a third son’s education, especially since his brothers were off with their successful careers, leaving the responsibility of the Bakery all to him at 3! FUCKING! AM!  

   Peeta continued to work the double shifts so he could pay for the community college classes he took two towns over and giving up was not an option. Not if it meant he could someday leave the Bakery, his parents, this entirely unsatisfying life, all of it gladly behind him. 

  He sighs tiredly, rounding another corner on the pitch black of the mountain road. His foot hits the brake.

 Shocked. His eyes blink and a figure comes into focus. 

   What the hell? 

   Peeta slows the car and as it crawls closer, he can make out the small form of a woman who has a coat tightly clutched around her form as is limping down the side of the road. 

   Never pick up hitchhikers. That’s what he’d always been told, but Peeta wasn’t about to let this person freeze to death…not on his watch. 

   Pulling up beside her, Peeta rolls down the window and whatever heat the interior managed to accumulate, wafts out of the window and he grits his teeth against the cold. 

  “Miss, are you okay?” he asks, but the woman doesn’t turn to look at him and he notices her posture is rigid and fearful.

“I was just on my way to work so if you need a ride to town, I can drop you somewhere. Or you can come to the Bakery with me and use the landline. I know the cell service is bad out here,” Peeta tacks on the last part because he doesn't want her to think he’s presumptive.  

   She turns towards him, and at the sight of her shadowed features, Peeta starts to babble. “I work at Mellark’s Bakery, have you been there? Our baked goods are pretty popular and it’s not too much further.” 

He finally manages to stop talking and watches as she carefully opens the door and slides into the seat. 

 Her bones seem to creak from the cold and as soon as the doors closes, he starts pushing buttons again trying hard not to stare at the woman in the passenger seat beside him as they continue the drive to town. 

   “Are you new here?” Peeta asks just to break the silence, “I’ve lived here my whole life. My brothers left years ago but I’ll probably be stuck here since I’m the baby–” 

   “Peeta?”  

   His name, whispered like a question causes him to jolt and swerve slightly and he’s lucky no one is on the roads at this early hour. 

   “Yeah. Do I know you?” He sneaks a quick glance at her. He can’t see much but he can tell she’s pretty.

   “It’s me…Katniss.” 

Tires screech as he slams on the brakes, once they’re at a full stop at the side on the road Peeta switches on the dome light and takes a good look at her.

  Katniss Everdeen. His childhood best friend and first love. Her entire family disappeared from town the year they both turned fifteen. There were rumors that the family was relocated due to Mr. Everdeen’s job but that had never sat right with Peeta. There were no calls, no notes, nothing from her to let him know she was okay. She was just…gone.

  Peeta was depressed for months, but his mother repeatedly assured him that Katniss was probably just happy to be rid of the chubby bumbling boy he was back then.He had never stopped wondering about her though.

  “Katniss?” He tests her name as his eyes move over sharp cheekbones and pale skin. She looks frail, not at all the healthy, olive skinned girl he knew when he was younger. Her hair was still dark as a raven’s wing, but it was her eyes that made him believe. 

  Light gray and impossible to forget. 

  “Oh my god, Katniss! Where have you been!?”  Peeta didn’t expect her to break down at his words and was horrified when tears began to pour from her eyes. Shuddered sobs shook her frame as he watched helplessly from the driver’s seat.

  “We don’t have to talk about it now.” Pulling back on to the main road, he sped towards the Bakery. He could fix this..she just needed a warm drink and a cheese bun, those had always been her favorite.

“It’s going to be okay, Katniss.”

Distraction made the drive seem fast. They were pulling up to the side door of the Bakery in no time. Peeta shut the car off, moving carefully so he didn’t startle her.  She was half asleep and shaking so he kept his voice low and calm. 

  “I’m going to come around and help you get inside, okay? Then we’re going to figure all this out.” At her weak nod, he gets out and walks quickly around to the passenger side and opens the door. She spills into his arms. He helps her stand, bracing her against his side for the short walk, holding Katniss securely with one arm as he unlocks the door and flings it open. 

After half dragging Katniss to the office, and slowly shifting her onto the overstuffed leather couch, he races in to make a hot cocoa and warm a few of yesterday’s pastries. When Peeta returns he finds her unconscious and panic sets in.   

It takes her a couple minutes to come around with him shaking her shoulder and saying her name repeatedly, finally a  slow blink and then two and he lifts the cup under her nose.

  “You need to drink this, it’ll warm you up.” Katniss looks at the cup suspiciously and it makes him wonder what has happened to his friend in the years she was away. 

  “It’s hot cocoa.” Her eyes brighten slightly and Peeta smiles. “And I brought some pastries too.” he offers and her eyes widen.

  “Is that…are those cheese buns?”

  “You remember them?”

  “I remember everything about this place. I was happy here.”

  “What…what happened to you? Why were you out there?”

  Katniss looks down. Peeta follows her eyes and lands on the bright orange of a prison jumpsuit.

  He struggles to understand why she would be wearing it and it must show because with a shuddered breath, Katniss speaks.

  “If I told you I was in prison for killing a man, what would you do?” She asks.

  “I’d ask what he did to you. The Katniss I knew, would never do something like that unless it were life or death.”

  “People change, Peeta.” 

  “Yes. But not you…not that way. Please, I know it’s been years but I…know you Katniss. I care about you. And I’ll help if you’ll let me.”

  “It’s not safe. I can’t….it’s not safe.” She starts to panic, trying to stand but her muscles quake and she falls back. “There are people after me. Powerful, dangerous people.”

  “I know someone who can help but you’re not going to like it given what you’re wearing.” 

  She pales, afraid to ask the question.

  “I want to call the Sheriff.”

  “Are you crazy! You think the law is going to help me?” She grits.

  “You’re obviously terrified Katniss! We need someone on our side!”

  “Why do you think anyone would be on my side ,Peeta?”

  “I’m on your side and he has known us both since we were in diapers. He’ll believe you, I know it.”

  “No.” 

  Her voice was still ringing in his ears and hour later. Their short conversation had zapped what little energy she had left. Her eyes sliding shut against her will. 

Peeta sits quietly and contemplates her situation. She needs protection and he might not be enough. He stands and moves to cover her with a blanket before walking haltingly over to the phone, taking one last look at her sleeping face…he dials.

  “Sheriff Abernathy, it’s Peeta. I need your help.”

[fallinnflower]

royal admirer

jeonghan x reader (prince!jeonghan x actress!reader, fluff, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers!au)

It’s a bit of a pity, really — modern-day princes really do nothing. To be fair, Jeonghan isn’t the type of person who enjoys doing too much, and the pressures of taking care of an entire nation would definitely qualify as just that, but he really doesn't do much but serve as a face for the country. But even that is a role he shares with celebrities and other public figures; really, he feels more like Crown Prince is just a role he plays more than an actual title. All it requires is for him to sit and look pretty, and occasionally address the nation when he and his advisors make important political decisions. 

Maybe that’s why he’s always been so interested in acting. It feels like that’s all he does in his day-to-day life. 

Jeonghan was the type of child to absorb performances in their entirety, never disruptive but enraptured by them. His mother had a love for musical theater which she seemed to pass on to him, but Jeonghan expanded from musicals to operas to plays to film. And because of his status as Crown Prince, he was allowed the best seats and free admission to any premiere he wanted, worldwide. He’d been to dozens of events, seen countless productions and met numerous professionals in the industry — and then he met you. 

Jeonghan would be the first to admit he was a fan of yours. He’d watched you grow on screen since you were both in your early teens, when you began popping up in indie films he stumbled upon. You seemed born for the screen, able to slip into every role with such confidence and ease that Jeonghan was soon seeking out any scraps of you he could find; films, interviews, anything. 

But you were elusive. You didn’t seem to do many interviews, and when you appeared at red carpets you were often humble almost to a fault. Every time Jeonghan heard you say something even mildly self-degrading in an interview, he had to pause the video and take a deep breath. 

Jeonghan had seen many performances. He had met those performers, and not one of them held a candle to you in his eyes. 

It was after you were forced to go on a brief hiatus due to vocal cord strain that Jeonghan decided he had to meet you. Someway, somehow, he had to get in contact. 

Your first fan-mail letter arrived when you were fifteen. You had just gotten a relatively small role in a mini-series produced for a streaming service, and the letter was from a girl your age. That letter had been read so many times that you were concerned it would soon rip at the creases, so you seldom looked at it anymore unless you were in dire need of a pick-me-up. 

Eventually, more letters came — not a great many, but always enough and always right when you needed them most. However, when your hiatus was announced on your social media accounts, you were suddenly inundated with letters and comments on your posts. 

You received little drawings of yourself in-character from various people, get well soon cards, and then, strangely, one letter in an envelope with a wax seal and no return address. When it first appeared in your mailbox, you were extremely confused. You didn’t know anyone who used a wax seal, and you thought it was a mistake. Nonetheless, you brought it up to your apartment. 

At first, however, you couldn’t bring yourself to open it. You just stared at that wax seal in confusion, until eventually you decided to just stop wondering and open it. 

Shockingly, it was just fan-mail. The sender identified themselves simply as Jeonghan, no surname or other identifying factors. 

That was the first time you received a letter from Crown Prince Yoon Jeonghan (although you didn’t know it yet), but it wouldn’t be the last. 

Jeonghan sent letters all through your hiatus. In his third letter he offered you his email and asked if you’d like to form a two-person film reviewing club, to which you quickly agreed. However, those emails soon proved to be somewhat long-winded and inconvenient, which is when the primary mode of communication became text messages. 

The thing is, once you exchange numbers with Jeonghan, your conversations gradually increase and become more casual, straying from your weekly movie reviews. It’s strange, you consider him a friend despite hardly knowing anything about him, but something about him just puts you at ease. He has a melodic sort of voice, especially so when he’s making teasing remarks, and you can’t help but grow attached. 

He’s there for you when your hiatus ends and you start going through scripts, trying to decide on your next project. When you finally do, Jeonghan is the first of your friends to know about the new role you’ve accepted. 

You try to keep in contact during filming, but it’s difficult for you — long hours on set mean that you go back to wherever you’re resting your head that night absolutely exhausted, and you barely have the energy to scarf down a meal, let alone message your friends. But nonetheless Jeonghan is always sending messages of encouragement, patiently awaiting the release of your film. 

Eventually, those long hours come to a close and the premiere is approaching. It’s not a very big affair, due to the indie status of the film, but the director has gained enough traction to get it released in theaters. 

Premiers have always made you nervous, because you’re just you. When you play a character, you can have as much confidence as is necessary for the role, but when it’s just you being yourself you tend to shy away from microphones and flashing cameras. However, it’s part of the job, so the evening of the premier you wear a brand new dress. It’s long and black, with flecks of blue and bronze glitter in the flowing skirt that you think resembles the night sky. It isn’t overly flashy, but you think it suits your style well enough. Your image has never been a flashy one. 

You feel wonderful until you reach the interview portion at the end of the red carpet; when all your fans are wanting to shake your hand and congratulate you on your return to the big screen, you feel on top of the world. It takes you a moment to compose yourself when you finally do reach the end, because you’re dangerously close to crying looking out at the crowd gathered around. 

“Are you alright, Miss Y/N?” One of the reporters asks as you gently swipe your knuckles below your lash line. You let out a soft laugh and nod. 

“Yes— I’m just, I'm honored and overwhelmed by all the support I got during my hiatus and even now. I really appreciate it, even though I don’t know that I deserve it.” The end of your sentence is drowned out by cheers of excitement from the crowd, and you feel your eyes welling up with tears again. The reporter makes a teasing comment about your softness, at which you let out a watery laugh before you allow yourself to be led inside the theater by the director and your co-star. You can’t help but sniffle, trying to hold back tears—

Without any warning, a handkerchief suddenly appears before you. 

“Thank you,” you say, dabbing under your eyes in an effort to preserve your makeup. Whoever it is beside you gently places a hand on your lower back and resumes walking into the theater with you. 

“You should really give yourself more credit, you know.” At the sound of that voice, you nearly trip over your own two feet. 

“Jeonghan?” you ask, looking up into a pair of dark eyes that glimmer playfully in the low light of the theater. He smiles at you, and you feel your eyes widen before they well up with tears once more. You look up at the ceiling and blink rapidly, at which point Jeonghan laughs and takes the handkerchief from you, gently dabbing under your eyes. 

“No wonder you cry so well on camera,” he jokes, and you swat at his arm playfully. 

“Shut up,” you whine. “You never said you’d be here! How did you even get in?” Jeonghan’s cheeks flush slightly at that, and you gasp once you realize how rude your words might have sounded. 

“I didn’t mean— sorry, I just—” He cuts you off by laughing once again,

“You’re cute. I’ll explain later. For now, they’re all waiting for you in the theater.” He offers you his arm, and although you have a million questions racing through your head all at once, you simply nod and rest your hand in the crook of his elbow. 

One thing you’ve learned throughout your years as an actress is that you tend to have a hard time watching yourself act. It’s a surreal experience, and so you can’t say you’re surprised at yourself for focusing more on Jeonghan than the actual movie playing in the theater. At some point during the screening he offered you his hand, and you took it, making you feel an awful lot like a teenager on a first date. That feeling only intensifies when he drapes his blazer over your shoulders as you both prepare to go back outside, explaining that the temperature has dropped considerably in the hour or so you’ve been inside. You nervously chew on your lower lip as he holds the door open for you. 

“I guess I should hail a cab,” you muse, looking up at the sky. The stars are blotted out by dark clouds, and it already smells like rain — normally, you wouldn’t mind walking a bit, but you’d really rather not get caught out in the rain in this dress and heels. Jeonghan looks down at you with one eyebrow gently raised. 

“A cab?” You nod in response to his question. 

“The last bus is in four minutes, I won’t make it in time.” You can feel his gaze on you and so you finally turn your gaze away from the road, where you had been watching for a taxi to hail, and Jeonghan is looking at you with such bemusement that it makes you blush almost immediately. 

“What?” You half-grumble, looking away. He just chuckles and shakes his head. 

“Nothing,” he says. “My driver is here, if you want a ride?” 

“Driver?” You ask, but Jeonghan has already begun walking in the direction of his car, and you follow, desperate for answers to all your questions. 

“Where to?” he asks, opening the car door for you. You tell him the name of the hotel you’re staying at, at which point he slides into the seat beside you and gently raps his knuckles against the tinted glass divider between the two of you and the driver. He relays the address, and then the divider is shut again, just like that. You merely stare at Jeonghan, and as the driver pulls into the road he gives you a somewhat bashful look. 

“I suppose I have some explaining to do.” You simply nod at this, body turned towards him in the backseat. His gaze falls to where your knees are almost touching, a gentle smile gracing his features; you watch the colored lights of the city flit across his face, waiting for him to sort his thoughts. 

“Well,” he says, with a sigh. “I’m the Crown Prince.” All you can manage to do for a moment is blink, feeling all the breath gradually leave your body. 

“The what.” It isn’t even a question; it has no inflection as it falls past your lips, and Jeonghan flashes you yet another one of those seemingly embarrassed, shy smiles. He gently takes hold of your hands, which you barely notice because you’re pretty sure you’re in shock. 

“And a huge fan of your work,” he adds. 

“My— you’re a prince?” 

“Is that really so shocking?” he chuckles, leaning in a little closer to you. Although his gaze is playful as before, you can tell he’s being one hundred percent serious. 

“Holy shit,” you breathe. Then, realizing what you’ve just said, you quickly cover your mouth. “Sorry, just— oh my God.”

Jeonghan only laughs at your astonishment, as unbothered as ever, though his grip on your hands does tighten for a moment as if to anchor you. To your surprise, his reassuring gesture does seem to bring you back down to earth a bit. 

“Why didn’t you just tell me from the start?” you ask, and he shrugs. 

“I didn’t want to get special treatment. I wanted to get to know you organically, without my title influencing you.” You feel a blush rising on your cheeks and pull your hands from his to cover your face. 

“Why are you hiding?” he asks, his voice lower now, gentle. Hearing it you can’t help but think of all your texts and audio messages, and you let out a little whine. 

“I feel stupid.” Jeonghan chuckles, gently prying your hands away from your face and taking them once again in his own. You slowly let your eyes flutter open, allowing your gaze to drift up and meet his once again. 

You don’t think you’ve ever been looked at with such tenderness off-set. You’ve played a love interest many times in your life, but due to your hectic schedule you haven’t really had any meaningful, long relationships — but right now Jeonghan is looking at you like you’re the center of his world, and it makes you want to cry again. 

“It’s really nice to meet you, Y/N,” he murmurs, and you bite down on your lip. 

“Nice to meet you, too,” you say, and then, unable to keep the teasing smile off your lips, “Your Highness.”

He’s quick to playfully scold you for calling you anything other than his name, but while he’s distracted you lean forward and press a quick kiss to his cheek. It shuts him up immediately, and you grin cheekily, seeing your own joy reflected back in his eyes,

“Jeonghan.”

And when you exit the limousine at your next premiere, it’s on the arm of Crown Prince Yoon Jeonghan — or, as some know him, your playful, film-loving boyfriend.

[lastsonlost]

This is what it looks like when you can't see past your own bias.

Aka: what happens when your lived experience is inconvenient to the narrative.

By Andrea Thompson

Watching the movie “Brian Banks” is...awkward. To some extent, it's a classic sports underdog movie, but the struggles Brian Banks had to overcome are anything but conventional. As the movie continually points out, he's exceptional. And he is, in more ways that this movie is aware of.

Based on a true story, which the movie is quick to point out with dramatic music (uh oh), the title character, played by Aldis Hodge, muses on his great love for football, which he was on track to play professionally until he was stopped in his tracks at 16 years old. It's how he was stopped that would make anyone pause; Banks was falsely accused of rape by a classmate.

After some bad legal advice leads to jail time and some years struggling to navigate the conditions of his parole (and having to register as a sex offender), Banks struggles to simply find a job while simultaneously fighting to clear his name and reclaim his life. He also repeatedly writes the Innocence Project and asks them to take his case. Refusing to give up even after they reject him, Banks goes to meet with the lawyers on the project in person, first convincing them to give him advice, then take him on, and finally, actively fight for him.

It's impossible not to get invested in just how much Banks had to overcome, from his poverty-stricken childhood and the various legal road blocks that threaten to end his fight before it even begins. Banks wasn't imprisoned, so he was not a priority for the Innocence Project, and since he took a plea rather than going to trial, he needs completely new evidence rather than simply using what was already discovered. He also has to stay sane in jail, especially when he's put in solitary. Banks even took the initiative and managed to record his accuser recanting her confession.

Except. Except. Well, there was going to be misgivings about this film being released during the #MeToo Era, wasn't there? That the film would fully embrace Brian's perspective and his struggles is natural, even admirable. However, this type of story demands more, and what the movie doesn't say is far more noteworthy than what it does. It doesn't mention that the percentage of false rape accusations are not only incredibly low, the conviction rate for them is even lower. It limits its empathy for what many women have gone through to one scene, where Banks's love interest Karina (Melanie Liburd) reveals she was raped in college, and how devastating the aftermath was for her.

Even if there's little to no doubt of Brian's innocence, it's hard not to wince as his accuser is subjected to the kinds of questions which are used to discredit actual victims, as the men questioning her ask just what she expected to happen when she went off alone with Brian, why she didn't shout, etc. It also doesn't help that Brian and the people assisting him are all easily identifiable as various levels of middle class while his accuser and his family are...not so much, let's just say.

Yes, Brian Banks suffered a terrible injustice, and he proved himself to be exceptional not just for his athletic prowess, but the strength of character it took to fight for the truth over a period of years. The performances are also incredible, and help to elevate this movie above the simplistic melodrama it would otherwise be, although it also depicts faith and how it can be a bedrock for those in pain more respectfully than most mainstream films are typically capable of. It's all in service of someone who deserves to be vindicated, but it shouldn't have to come at the expense of so many other victims.

Rating: C-

Fortunately I wasn't the only one who took issue with this "review".

Cassandra3

This is a disgusting review of a great film. I can not believe that I read what I just read. And also why did you put "(duh duh)" after saying it was a true story. You give Feminism a bad name and I am embarrassed to even have someone like you even pretend to fight for women's rights. SMH

Andree4

This is a wretched review, that quite possibly reveals deep-seated implicit biases, on your part. You didn't review the movie, you made a political statement, rooted in radical feminist, and male-hating rhetoric. This man, along with other men of similar misfortunes, is the victim-not the woman who accused him. He is a human being, that has every right to have his story told, unmolested by contrived issues that would shift the focus off of him, onto a non-victim. And so what if his economic status is above his false accusers status: does it then justify her lies against this man, that resulted in his imprisonment? Nice attempt at a fake out, but I'm sorry-you miserably failed. At the core it appears as if you feel more sorry for false accusers of men, than the men who are falsely accused by these liars. It appears that way, in light of you inserting that jab. This pitiful analysis betrays your binary agenda: all women are truthful and good, in spite of potential liars and deceivers amongst them, whereas all men are just BAD-because they're men. And God help the men if they are assertive, confident and forthright, for then they'll be accused of having TOXIC MASCULINITY, whereas a woman with those same qualities will be labeled a BOSS. Look at the woman in the mirror...

Crystal4

This is a horrible review of the movie. It doesn’t even review the movie. It more about your perspective in the Brian Banks case. I have never seen so much bias. You make it sound like the movie forces you to see Brian Banks as a victim. When in all reality he IS the victim. He was accused of raping his girlfriend and it was completely false. It was prisoned and register as a sex offender. His whole life changed on a lie from a girl who’s family wanted money. What other victims did it come at the cost of ? He just telling his story. SHOULD HE LIE OR WATER IT DOWN, BECAUSE IT HURTS YOUR SENSITIVE IDEALS ? Should he not get justice? Please explain to me what you are trying to say.

Jesse4

Even in the face of a story that proves there are two sides to this extremely challenging issue, you demonstrate that you have no regard for men who can see their lives completely destroyed when false allegations happen. This review is equivalent to me watching The Accused then writing about how it was important to shine a light on violent gang rape, but not if the movie didn’t properly explore situations where men were jailed over false allegations. I also love how you threw in the problem with WHITE MEN when the movie is about a BLACK WOMAN FALSELY ACCUSING A BLACK MAN OF RAPE. Your ideology clouds your vision to where the hierarchy of victimhood drives all understanding of right/wrong and how any narrative should be interpreted. It’s transparent to 90% of us, but your kind lives in an echo chamber. You aren’t more educated...you’re more indoctrinated and I’m looking forward to the cultural shift that sees your viewpoints thrown in the dustpan of history.

Gordon Shumway4

At no point in this cinematic review did you review the movie on its story-telling, 'watchability', acting, or general movie presentation. You took your biased, personal opinion about the story, and decided that it does not fit your false narrative that the female is always the victim.

[buddha-in-disguise]

A full of fucking swearing long post about the shitstain that is Dominic Cummings. Plus where I can find them, at the end I will link fucking sources, just in case anyone wants to try and say otherwise.

Also, if you do start @ me over him, I'm blocking your fucking cunt of an arse. Clear enough?

Good. Then let's begin.

As a nation, we can be a fairly mild mannered lot. At least collectively. But as of now, the majority of Britons are a mass of anger. So much so, I've even agreed with pundits like Piers Fucking Morgan! That alone is distressing enough, but Dominic Cummings has pissed off just about everyone.

But first a little background on this heaping pile of shit.

Dominic Cummings was one of the main instigators of Leave Campaign in regards Brexit. Now for those who don't know or haven't cared until now, not only were they found to be in breach of the electoral law, Dominic himself was also found in contempt of Parliament when they tried to find out if Vote Leave used fake news to help achieve their goal.

To add to this, he took around 200k of subsidies from the EU for his properties. So a known lying fucking hypocrite.

Even before that, he was advisor to Gove, that spineless fucking weasel who has been out today spouting even more fucking bollocks over this. Funny that.

Don't think for a minute being Gove's Special Advisor meant Cummings was liked by others in the Tory Party. Cummings was pretty much despised by a lot in Government at the time. David 'Pig fucker' Cameron called him a career psychopath.

Fast forward to 2019. Cummings is now Special Advisor to another spineless fucking cunt known as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. BJ was never in control. Anyone watching what was going on knew that the moment Cummings had Javid's one aide uncermoniously marched out of her job, using armed police no less.

Only problem was, he had no authority to do that.

But never fear, BJ decided to change the rules, so lo and behold, he didn't break any rules (seeing a pattern here yet?)

So fast forward to the last few days. Now newspapers were reporting that Dominic Cummings drove his COVID-19 symptomatic wife, with a 4 year old in the same enclosed vehicle, some 260 miles to his parents location in Durham.

Oh now comes the fun part, and why as a nation we are all beyond extremely miffed, and fucking pissed off!

The offical guidance was anyone in a household with someone displaying symptoms (tested or not) was to stay the fuck at home. There was one exception to this rule. One. Extreme risk to life.

So Cummings took the decision to go and drive for fucking childcare reasons.

A man with his wealth, privilege and even with family in fucking London, couldn't do it at his home, but had to drive (thus risking his own child because of viral load you're going to get in an enclosed vehicle), himself and others (because he had to stop. Tell me of anyone with a 4 year old in the car they wouldn't be stopping anywhere?)

So anyway, they take a fucking jolly jaunt up to his parents.

But hold on, a Minister recently resigned for breaking lockdown rules. So why in the ever loving fuck was Cummings not resigning or being fired?

I don't know what Cummings has on BJ, but I suspect it makes wanting to fuck a dead pig seem like child play. Because not only isn't he fired, good old Jolly BJ comes out and fully defends and supports his senior advisor (who is unelected as well, just to add salt to that wound).

So by following his fatherly instincts (the fucking laughable defence given, when BJ couldn't even say how many fucking kids he has) and acting with integrity, (someone please give these fucking morons a dictionary), Cummings was given a free pass.

And then a load of fucking MP's including cabinet ministers all piled in saying how great a father he is, how it was exceptional circumstances that made him do it, you're all overreacting you terrible ingrate you, blah, blah, more horse shit, blah!

So, now all of those families who actually followed the fucking rules, and did what the government said are now being told, oh sure. You could've attended the funeral of your loved ones. Gone halfway across country to get child care for your kids, and so on and so fucking forth.

So basically saying, hah the jokes on you.

A few grumbles came out from the odd Tory, who might not have grown a spine, but were looking less like jelly (jello) being nailed to the wall, and more like thick fucking custard. A little more substance to them, but still slopping around with no spine.

We have a bank holiday coming up, and unusually good weather forecast, because as every Brit knows, Bank Holidays are normally shit weather wise. And a lot of people saying, fuck me if Cummings can do this, so can we. And all pile into cars for days out as if nothing had changed! No masks, no social distancing. Zilch. Great innit.

No it fucking isn't! The virus doesn't take a holiday you fucking morons!

So back to the other mess. Cummings now gives a press conference in the fucking rose garden of No.10. Also likely in breach of the rules, but as we know, he really doesn't give a flying fuck about rules now does he.

First of all he was 30 minutes late (you would've been sanctioned , therefore getting no money, for weeks, probably months if on benefits and did the same thing thanks to this government). But he eventually rolls up, looking slightly less like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards, but still looking like a dogs arse. Actually sorry dogs, you don't deserve that comparison. I'm really sorry!!

Anyway, here he is, about to fill us with more bullshit.

The shit now isn't just hitting the fan. In the immortal words of Terry Pratchett, The Midden has now hit the Windmill.

Cummings is trying to explain why he did what he did, oh and now we have the added delight of him being caught going out to a location some 30 miles from the family home, which is another breach of the law!

He sat there, and said, the public aren't angry at me, they're angry because of how the media have reported it. Woe is me, they're making me out to be the bad guy in all this .... blah fucking boo hoo blah.

This was supposed to calm us down.

Dear reader.

It. Did. Not.

So journalist after journalist (Beth Rigby gave a fucking masterclass) actually didn't let him get away with it.

These weren't just questions or accusations. They threw proof at him! Despite the collective rage, it was glorious to see them do it. If this was when stocks were still in use in the town square, Cummings would've been covered in excrement and anything else to hand. That shit was blown back so fast, it was hard to keep up.

Anyway, without going into too much here, his excuses ranged from he didn't feel safe because of demos outside his home (unverified and strangely enough, no neighbours reporting any disturbances either. Funny that),

Then, having gone to great lengths to say he drove up to his parents to keep his kid safe, he explains the additional trip he got caught out on was taken to test his eyesight, which had been affected because of being unwell with Covid19.

So not only is it highly fucking illegal to drive while impaired (including if eyesight is impaired) in this country, you decided to take your wife and kid, who you wanted to protect, not for a little jaunt down the road, but on a 60 mile fucking round trip.

Oh, and he hadn't stopped on the 260 mile trip up there, but his kid needed a stop on the way home, so a less than 60 mile trip required a stop. Yeah. Strange how that works.

He still kept blaming the media. Still kept up the woe is me, it was exceptional circumstances, and so on. Must get sore lips there Cummings, with the amount of smoke you try to blow up peoples arses.

So, to end it all, he has flatly refused to resign. No need to even consider it. The public will be jolly good chaps in all of this and see my side of things.

No we won't, you motherfucking cunt!

So this morning, various people including Gove are still making excuses for this fucking shitstain.

I now wish Cummings is fired, but better yet, thrown out of our universe, so he can never ever be seen again. But I've seen more spine on a fucking snake that I have Boris Johnson, who is just as much to blame in all this.

Before I end, we also had an infamous Tweet from someone in the Civil Service, who knew they were torpedoing their career. I'm including a screen shot. It was taken down, but it was genuine. Whoever they were, you deserve all the applause and a fucking medal!

Oh and a few sources for this and the cuntface Cummings. But you know, just Google the fucker. You can find this and much more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44856992

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47712040

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/10/dominic-cummings-owns-farm-got-eu-subsidy

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/18/david-cameron-dominic-cummings-career-psychopath

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dominic-cummings-boris-johnson-cabinet-minister-aides-civil-service-sajid-javid-a9109836.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52782913

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52553229

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-52792200

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52793991

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/dominic-cummings-trip-county-durham-18306147

https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules

[africanfemalearchitects]

AFA Open- Chat Series with Tosin Oshinowo pt 1

Listen to the important advices and conversation shared in this IG Live conversation with @tosin.oshinowo about the practice, being a woman in the field to planning ahead your career.

Moderator: Today, we are chatting with Tosin Oshinowo a Nigerian architect, creative entrepreneur, public speaker and author. Find introductory background on Tosin Oshinowo here.

Moderator: Tosin, you're welcome. Thank you so much for being here, and accepting our invite at the last minute.

Tosin: It's nice to physically see you. You've created an amazing platform. Well done! It's so important to create these converging spaces, you know; and finally to realize that you're not alone.

Moderator: Yes, definitely! That is one of the main reasons I'm going to keep it going; since it's connecting more than one person. Otherwise, this would be just a blog about architects, but it's becoming a hub, and a networking platform. Tosin, please, tell us a bit about yourself.

Tosin: My name's Tosin Oshinowo, I'm from Nigeria. I registered CmDesignAtelier in 2011, but I didn't start operations until 2012. Everyone approaches business very differently: some people have a clear game-plan from the very beginning; but I didn't have one yet. I had registered a company, but I was still working for another practice. I was still finding my feet; you know, that fear - 'Are you doing the right thing?' or 'Should I really be doing this or stay where I am?'. It did take me a while to step out; and even when I did, it took me a while to accept that I wasn't going back to work. At the time I set up my company, I was going through a few life changes, as well. I was looking for something that, I felt, that rooted a background I hadn't had in Academia with, and the work life. A lot of people do have that problem where they do big designs and all of a sudden, they get to the office and have to make it straight. Something contradictory to what I was taught in that utopian-ideal of design school that doesn't exist in real life. It's a surprise when I tell people this. I actually took a sabbatical year. Because I felt I was soul-searching more than anything. Moderator: That's important! Tosin: And I had a safety net, if it didn't work out; well, at least, I know I would have tried. As you're older, you also have responsibilities. You've things you've to do with money, it's not just to be happy with your job, so I needed that security. In looking for that, I created this safety net for myself. When I knew it was going to work, I went and told my boss; you know what, I'm not going to come back! But I had to be certain for myself, that the decisions I was making, were going to pay off. Moderator: That's wise. Funny thing though, you said you started your practice in 2011 - I think I was just entering university. Tosin: Haha aw, you just made me feel old! I think it's important to let people understand with everything in life- especially, with creative design and maybe not innovative business models to-do-with technology that makes you think everything must be quick, and easy to adapt with and to. With The principles behind technology and the people who are starting it: there are so much that goes in it. There might be something that first worked or didn't that led to another path. I think it's important to realize in life that everything is about picking your iceberg. There's so much that happens underneath the water line that shouldn't be underestimated as less important. It might not appear overtime to be of value, but I promise you it makes a massive difference.

I was talking with someone over the weekend. We just got featured in Wallpaper Architecture Issue, which is a big deal! I was telling the person that the building that was featured - I did it in a weekend! And he said; the years of training and practice is what allowed you to do in a weekend. It's not the fact that you did it in the weekend. Now when I think about it like that, that's a valid point. It's a combination of experiences, exposure, practice, labor, and time that allows it to happen in the weekend. Moderator: It's also passion-fueled, and perseverance within the field to even be able to allow yourself to go through that process and to reach this level. About your beginnings, what were the struggles and challenges when you were entering the market - in-between contractors, consultancy?

"It's important to have that safety net of working for someone to understand the nuances and the businesses and the market, that you're relating in..."

Tosin: It's a very wide question. That's why you have to have so many roads before you start. I worked in a firm for four years when I came back to Nigeria, before I set up on my own. I had met people. I didn't realize at the time, that's where I formed a network of people that I work with. I work with the same structural engineer ever since, unless if the client imposes one. I met him on a project, and he was working for a structural company at the time - so it's seamless; you grow with your network. The work we were doing has changed, but we have the same base, which I think is important. We met the QS then, the services consultants, etc - you learn how to maneuver your industry when you work for someone else; especially in Africa where things aren't straight forward. A lot of things are about relationships here. It's not like the yellow pages you can open and say, I need to find this person. It's important to have that safety net of working for someone to understand the nuances and the businesses and the market, that you're relating in; and the people you'll eventually work with; because we don't do this alone.

You grow with your network.

Of course, it was challenging starting business, and as a woman, I was then exposed to things that I was not exposed to when I was working for someone else. When you work for somebody else, most of the time, by the time the project gets to your desk as a project architect; any discussion in relationships with clients have been done. You literally get the design brief, and this is your client and you start your work. When you work for yourself, and you have to do those relationships discussions with clients: it's a completely different board-game. I'm not married, so people start saying silly things here and there - and you have to learn very quickly as a woman how to maneuver that space, without creating offense; because at the end of the day - business is about relationships; and people work with people who they like. If you come across as difficult, or stiff no matter how good you are, people won't gravitate towards you. But as a woman, you have to learn very quickly, how to ensure that you're not giving them an encouraging green light to misbehave. But you don't want to create an awkward tension that makes them think you're not easy-to-relate with. I don't know if this is the same anywhere else in the world, but I can say categorically for Nigeria, that people do not seem to understand a woman in work and a woman they're trying to have a relationship with. It is not the same thing! And people in this environment, because you're friendly and unapproachable; you're giving them the green light. I'm not giving you a green-light, I'm just trying to do my job. In The Chat: It's an African-thing! Moderator: Have you faced any form of discrimination in the field, and how did you deal with it?

you have to learn very quickly as a woman how to maneuver that space, without creating offense...

Tosin: Of course, we face discrimination everyday. To be Honest, I actually have not been assigned a project because I'm a woman; and somebody's wife was not comfortable, I mean what do you do? We all have our handicaps in life. So, I make sure I push boundaries. I don't think people do this consciously. It's not an intentional prejudice. But if a client is telling you, you're a pretty girl, and my wife is not going to be comfortable. So what am I going to do with that? Scar my face so that your wife doesn't worry? Haha, It's just the reality. I know that there are certain works I will not get, but the ones that I do get, I'll make sure that I do it well, and hopefully see that as a reference point, for people who are interested in that kind of work, will ask for my service.

Moderator: It doesn't matter which field you're in, as a woman that definitely happens. There's a job I had to cancel due to the same reasons. Tosin: It makes you wonder how many other opportunities have you not been told; because it's not a pleasant conversation to have. The irony that it is a woman causing another woman not to get work, for instance. It is what it is. There's no point in crying on work you don't get. Work that you get, you kill it! Just make sure that it counts, because you also know you have this potential handicap - where you might not have the same opportunities as your male colleague; so you make the best of your situation.

"It's just the reality. I know that there are certain works I will not get because I'm a woman..."

Moderator: Keep moving! In Nigeria, how does a young female graduate architect find a tribe or community? Tosin: For example, I was an awkward person, in the sense that I went to school in the UK, and I count how many people I knew who were black in the UK, or studying architecture less alone Nigerian. When I came back to Nigeria, I was a fish out the water - I didn't know anyone; but I worked in an office; whether intentionally or unintentionally; I built a network. There are people here, when they see me in that community they were surprised I didn't go to school in Nigeria: you have to be intentional! You have to seek people out! You have to befriend people. If you're looking for a community, you have to make that effort. In my case, I met the community through initial networks of working in a local practice and then, finding my feet and meeting people; and I grew from then. Now, I don't focus on my Nigerian community alone, I'm focusing on my global community, and make an intentional effort. Look at this interview, you told me, and I made sure that this is important, that I want to do this - that I'm building the network. I'm very intentional. Anyone who wants to get ahead, needs to be intentional. You have to learn how it works elsewhere, and you learn from these relationships. Things are not always the same, and other things are.

If you're looking for a community, you have to make that effort. Anyone who wants to get ahead, needs to be intentional. You have to learn how it works elsewhere.

Moderator: Everyone who is at the beginning of their career, currently, this is what we are struggling with. We have to push ourselves, be uncomfortable, and make those connections. Also, don't think just locally. There's a way with African Female Architects or outside of Africa, as an example, I hope we are going to create or find ways to reach out and connect with each other, work together and support each other. What is your perspective on African and local Architecture- in your country, and the practice ?

We were brought into modernism. Modernism was populated across the whole world not just in Africa, yes, in many terms it took the climate into consideration : modernism in Europe look absolutely different from Modernism in Tropical, to North and South Africa; and there are certain consistencies of modernism. But if we are looking for specific identities: I think we are just beginning.

To continue reading part 2

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Captain America: The Winter Solider

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where We Are Continuing Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

By Looking At The Second Outing For The Star Spangled Man With A Plan, Captain America In Captain America: The Winter Solider...

This Film Sees Captain America Teaming Up With Black Widow And A New Ally Called The Falcon (Played By Anthony Mackie) To Uncover A Conspiracy Within S.H.I.E.L.D. While Also Facing A Mysterious Assassin Who Calls Himself The Winter Solider, Will Steve Uncover This Mystery And Stop The Winter Solider?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Captain America: The Winter Solider...

The Film Opens At Sunrise With With Steve Rogers Running Circles Around Sam Wilson, A Former Pararescue Solider Who Now Works At The VA Who Steve Befriends And Talks With Briefly Before Being Picked Up By Natasha Romanoff Who Takes Him To His Next Assignment...

As Cap And His Strike Team, Led By Brock Rumlow Are Headed Toward A Boat Called The Leumarian Star Which Has Been Taken Over By Pirates, Led By Georges Batroc (Otherwise Known As Batroc The Leaper)

So In Other Words, (Impersonating Bad Guy From Captain Phillips) He's The Captain Now...

Who Are Demanding A Billion And A Half For The Safe Return Of The Ship And It's Crew (Which Includes Agent Jasper Sitwell) So, Cap Decides To Sweep The Deck To Find Batroc While Widow Kills The Engines And Rumlow And His Crew Sweep The Aft Of The Ship, Find The Hostages And Get Them To The Life Pods...

Jumping Off Of The Jet Without A Parachute, Cap Boards The Ship And Fights Off Enough Of Batroc's Boys So, Widow, Rumlow And His Boys Can Board The Ship...

However As Both Rogers And Rumlow Do Their Jobs In Fighting Batroc And Saving The Passengers, Widow Shuts Down The Engines But Also Gets Info From The Ship's Computer. Caught By Cap, Who Believes She Is Endangering The Mission, Cap Decides To Talk To Fury About This At The Triskellion

There, Fury Tells Cap That He Didn't Want To Do Anything He Wasn't Comfortable With Despite Cap Believing That A Team Should Trust One Another Which Leads Fury To Tell Him That The Last Time He Trusted Someone He Lost His Eye...

You Lost It To A Damn Flerkin, Fury! Stop Lying To Everyone And Tell Them The Truth!

But Wanting Cap To Trust Him, Fury Shows Cap What S.H.I.E.L.D. Is Up To By Showing Him Project Insight, Which Is 3 Next Generation Helicarriers Synched To A Network Of Targeting Satellites, Once In The Air They Never Come Down Thanks To Repulsor Engines Created By Tony Stark...

With Long Range Guns That Can Eliminate 1,000 Hostiles A Minute, They Plan To Stop Threats Before They Happen, But While This Sounds Good Especially With The World We Live In Now, Cap Doesn't See This As A Great Idea As He Doesn't Think That It Spells Freedom But Instead Spells Fear...

Telling Cap That S.H.I.E.L.D. Sees The World As It Is And To Get With The Times, Cap Tells Fury Not To Hold His Breath As He Walks Off And Goes To The Smithsonian Where An Exhibition On Captain America Is Going On...

There, They Have Information, Costumes, Videos Including One With Peggy And A Thing On Bucky All Being Narrated By Lieutenant Dan...

In A Sad Scene, We See Steve Visit An Old Peggy Who He Notices Has Lived A Good Life Without Him Even Though She Is Losing A Battle She Cannot Win With Alzheimer's...

Meanwhile In Fury's Office, Fury Goes Over The Files From The Leumarian Star That Black Widow Stole, But Unfortunately The Files Are Sealed Under His Orders....

Going To See Senior Secretary Alexander Pierce (Played By Robert Redford)...

That's Right, Ladies Let It Out!

Fury Asks Him For A Favor, To Call For A Vote To Delay Project Insight, Saying That What He's Looking Into Could Be Nothing But He Has To Be Sure, So, Pierce Says Yes On The Condition That Iron Man Stops By His Niece's Birthday Party...

Oh, I'm Sure That'll Go Over Great With Tony...

We Get A Little Bit Of Character Development As Steve Visits Sam At The VA Where He Tells Steve About His Partner Riley, Who Died Getting Hit By An RPG During A Mission Before We Cut To Fury In His Car As He Contacts Maria Hill Before Coming Under Attack By People Disguised As Police...

(End 3:50)

Going To Steve's Apartment After The Incident, Fury Acts Low Key As He Tells Steve That S.H.I.E.L.D. Has Been Compromised And There Are People Listening To Their Conversation Before Fury Is Shot By An Unknown Shooter, Before He Goes Unconscious, Fury Gives Steve A USB Drive And Tells Him Not To Trust Anyone...

With His Neighbor Emily Thorne Bursting In Revealing Herself To Be An Agent Assigned To Protect Steve, She Stays With Fury While Cap Goes After The Shooter Only To Not Catch Him...

With Black Widow And Maria Hill By His Side, Steve Watches As Fury Dies In The Hospital, Telling Them About The Shooter, Hill Takes Fury's Body For Burial As Widow Asks Cap About Why Fury Was In His Apartment But Before He Can Answer, Rumlow Tells Cap That They Need Him Back At S.H.I.E.L.D. H.Q. For Questioning...

So, As Widow Leaves, Cap Places The Drive Fury Gave Him Inside Of A Vending Machine That's Being Filled Before He Leaves...

Talking With Alexander Pierce, He Asks Steve Why Fury Was In His Apartment But Saying He Doesn't Know, Pierce Tries To Make Steve Believe That Fury Not Only Bugged His Apartment But Was Also Behind The Attack On The Leumarian Star Saying That The Hijacking Was A Cover For The Acquisition Of Classified Intelligence...

But Not Buying Pierce's Story, He Tells Cap Why He Took A Seat On The Council Of Morons And That's Because Nick Asked Him To Because They Were Both Realists Knowing That In Despite Everything The Only Way To Build A Better World Is Sometimes Tearing Down The Old One Down...

Asking Steve Again Why Fury Was In His Apartment, All He Tells Pierce Is That Fury Told Him To Trust No One, Not Liking That Answer Pierce Swears To Cap As He Leaves That He Will Find Out Why Fury Was Murdered And Anyone Who Gets In His Way Will Regret It...

Entering An Elevator, Cap Talks To Rumlow And His Team...

(Start At 1:51)

Revisiting The Hospital To Get Fury's Drive From The Vending Machine, Steve Finds It Gone But Soon Confronted By Black Widow, Steve Asks Natasha Where It Is?, She Tells Him It's Safe Before Telling Him That The Person Who Killed Fury Is Called The Winter Solider Who Has Done 2 Dozen Assassinations In The Last 50 Years And That Going After Him Is A Dead End As She's Tried And Failed...

Still Not Sure Whether To Trust Widow, Steve Still Accepts Her Help As The Council Of Idiots Brands Fury A Traitor When Pierce Tells Them That He Was Behind The Leumarian Star Attack And Demand The Immediate Relaunch Of Project Insight...

Going To A Mall, Steve And Natasha Go To An Apple Store Where They Borrow One Of The Computers To Discover What's On The Drive But With The Drive Being Heavily Encrypted They Decide Instead To Figure Out Where It Came From Before S.H.I.E.L.D Agents Pop In For Tea...

With The Trace Leading To New Jersey, Steve And Natasha Disappear And Drive To The Location In New Jersey Where They Arrive At A Familiar Sight, Steve's Old Training Grounds Before He Became Captain America...

With A Bunch Of Memories Flooding Back To Steve, They Come Across A Building That's Not Supposed To Be Where It Is Due To Army Regulations, So Being Suspicious, They Enter The Old 1940's HQ Of S.H.I.E.L.D Where They Come Across An Old Elevator That In It's Age And Condition Would Most Likely Send Them To The Twilight Zone If Anything

That They Take To A Lower Floor Where They Discover An Old Supercomputer...

Activating It, They Discover The Computer To Contain The Memory Of Arnim Zola, The Red Skull's Leading Scientist...

(Start At 0:48)

Steve Manages To Get Out With An Unconscious Natasha As Agents Led By Rumlow Scour The Area For Them...

As The Winter Solider Visits Pierce Who Tells Him That The Timetable Has Moved Up And Their Window Is Limited As He Orders Him To Kill Cap And Widow And He Wants Them Confirmed Dead In 10 Hours...

Going To Sam's House To Lay Low, Steve Talks With Widow Who Feels Betrayed Feeling That She Gave Up Being KGB To Be A Hydra Agent And Says That She Owes Him Which Gains His Trust...

With Cap Knowing Pierce Is Behind Everything And That He Could Launch A Domestic Missile Strike Need Be, Also The Fact That Zola's Algorithm Was On The Leumarian Star Along With Agent Sitwell So The Question Lies How Do 2 Of The Most Wanted People By S.H.I.E.L.D. Kidnap A S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent In Broad Daylight? This Leads Sam To Offer His Services...

Sam Kidnaps Sitwell As He's Guarding Senator Larry Sanders From Iron Man 2, Who Happens To Be A Hydra Agent...

Taking Sitwell To A Roof, They Question Him About Zola's Algorithm But Not Answering Them, Widow Throws Sitwell Off The Roof Only To Be Caught By Sam In A Exo-7 Falcon Suit They Got From The Military, Who Drops Him Mid Air...

Asking Him Again, Sitwell Tells Cap That Zola's Algorithm Is A Program For Choosing Insight's Targets Which Is Basically Anyone Who Could Be A Threat To Hydra Now Or In The Future...

Taking Sitwell In A Car With Only 16 Hours Left Till Insight's Launch Team Cap Decides To Use Sitwell To Bypass The DNA Scanners And Access The Helicarriers Directly But Before They Can Get There The Winter Solider Kills Sitwell And Causes Team Cap's Car To Crash..

This Leads To A Gun Fight Between Team Cap And Hydra On Not Just The Freeway But The Road Below...

Eventually The Winter Solider Goes After Widow Only To Fight Cap Who Discovers The Winter Soldier's Identity To Be His Friend He Believed To Be Dead Bucky Barnes...

Search Your Feelings, Steve, You Know It To Be True!

Surrounded By Rumlow's Hydra Forces, They Arrest Team Cap Only For Them To Be Saved By Maria Hill Who Takes Them To See Nick Fury...

Let Me Explain...Turns Out Fury Used Developed By Bruce Banner That Slows The Heart To 1 Beat Per Minute But While It Didn't Work Great On Banner It Works Great With S.H.I.E.L.D. So, Fury Used It To Fake His Death As He Didn't Know Who To Trust...

Meanwhile, Pierce Visits Bucky In An Undisclosed Place To Ask Him For A Mission Report But Before He Can Get It Bucky Starts To Remember Steve So They Say Screw It And Decide To Wipe Bucky's Memory Of The Entire Thing...

Back At Fury's HQ, Fury Tells Team Cap About Their Plan To Breach All 3 Helicarriers And Replace Their Targeting Blades With Their Own To Stop Them And Try To Salvage What's Left Of S.H.I.E.L.D. But Not Willing To Do That Steve Tells Fury He's Not Only Taking Down Hydra But S.H.I.E.L.D. With It As Hydra Grew Under Fury's Nose And No One Noticed...

With Hill Backing Cap Up On This, Fury Decides To Let Cap Take Charge Of The Mission..,

Going Outside, Steve Thinks About A Time After His Mother Died And He Was With Bucky Which Leads To Probably The Best Line Of The Movie That Defined Bucky And Steve's Friendship From There On In The MCU Till Endgame...

Warning Steve That Bucky May Not Be Redeemable, Steve Tells Sam That He Doesn't Know If He Can Fight Bucky But He Hopes It Ends Differently, Going To The Captain America Exhibit At The Smithsonian, We Get Our Stan Lee Cameo...

Stan Lee Cameo!

As Security Guard Stan Notices Captain America's Suit Is Missing From The Exhibit As Cap (In The Suit), Maria Hill And Sam (Now Calling Himself The Falcon) Head Toward A Security Room Where They Run Into Abed From Community...

However, As Pierce Is In The Middle With An Actual Face To Face Meeting With The Council Of Morons, Cap Comes On The Speakers Revealing Everything, Not Just To Everyone Who Isn't Hydra But To The World Security Council...

With An Employee And Steve's Neighbor Refusing To Do Rumlow's Orders To Launch The Helicarriers, It Turns Into Agent Against Agent While Rumlow Launches The Helicarriers Which Forces Cap And Falcon To Stop Them...

In The Aftermath, Steve Is Taken To The Hospital And Survives With Sam By His Side, Steve's Neighbor Becomes A CIA Operative, Hill Gets Hired By Our Friend Tony Stark, Senator Larry Sanders Gets Arrested To Tony's Possible Delight, Rumlow Survives The Destruction Of The Triskellion Only To Return To Make A Bigger Bang In Civil War...

Widow Deals With The Senators On Capitol Hill Who Should Be More Concerned About Bigger Problems In Washington and Fury Decides To Disappear In The States To Deal With Leftover Hydra Agents Overseas, Asking Steve And Sam If They Want In They Tell Fury That There's Something They Have To Do First As Widow Arrives Telling Cap That She's Going Off To Make A New Life For Herself Outside Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Before Giving Steve A File On Bucky As The Film Ends...

We Get A Mid Credits Scene With Baron Von Strucker Who Not Only Has Loki's Staff But 2 Weapons In The Form Of Quicksilver (Played By Aaron Taylor-Johnson) And Scarlet Witch (Played By Elizabeth Olsen)...

After The Credits We Go Back To The Smithsonian's Captain America Exhibit As We See Bucky Starting To Get His Memory Back As He Looks At His Memorial There...

And That's Captain America: The Winter Solider And....I Don't Think It's One Of The Great MCU Movies...Hear Me Out...

I Think The Action Scenes Are Good And There's Not Only Great Character Development In The Story But The Characters Are Very Well Written However, I Don't Think It Was A Good Idea To Destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. In This Movie Because Of A Few Reasons...

1. I Think Something This Big As Destroying S.H.I.E.L.D. Would Have Been More Suited For An Avengers Movie Instead Of A Captain America Movie...

2. This Event Completely Ruined The Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV Series Which Was Just Starting And Had Barely Anytime Before "Bam! S.H.I.E.L.D's Gone What Do We Do Now?!" And No Offense That Was Not What I Wanted To See From An Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Series I Wanted To See S.H.I.E.L.D Doing S.H.I.E.L.D Assignments With S.H.I.E.L.D. Gadgets...

3. They Ruined The Character Of Jasper Sitwell Who They Could Have Done More With Than Just Make Him A Hydra Stooge, This Guy Was Coulson's Partner Till His Death In The Avengers, After Coulson's Death And Demotion To Television They Could've Made Him The New Coulson. Or Here's An Idea, Instead Of Having Him Just Be Another Hydra Stooge, They Should Have Let Him Be An Undercover Double Agent That Gives Maria Hill Information On What's Going On Inside When They Discover What's Going On...

And Finally 4. While I Enjoyed Robert Redford's Alexander Pierce I Kinda Would Have Liked It If He Was Actually One Of Cap's More Well Known Enemies...

For This I'm Leaving Out Red Skull (As Hugo Weaving Wouldn't Come Back If Both Marvel And Disney Begged Him)Arnim Zola (Baron Strucker (Who Ends Up Becoming Ultron Fodder In Age Of Ultron) And Baron Zemo (Who They'll Screw Up In Civil War Only To Try To Make It Up To Us In The Captain America Less The Falcon And The Winter Solider On Disney + Airing Next Year)...

But I Do Suggest Maybe Madame Hydra Or The Daughter Or Granddaughter Of Red Skull Who Wants To Finish What He Started Years Ago...

For Those Who Like This Movie, I Understand Your Reasons But For Me This Is One I'm Skipping...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[nemesis-nexus]

Darkest Greetings and Salutations my Family how is everyone? I am doing well, it’s the first day of Autumn yet it’s in the upper 80’s with crazy humidity, go figure! It’s supposed to be like this for a couple more days and then Autumn (should) start to wander across the threshold! I hope everyone is enjoying their Mabon/Autumn Equinox, I am about to go take a walk in the early night Air myself but before I do, I will leave this here. Fair warning, this one is about 8 pages long so be pace yourselves!

Mabon/Autumn Equinox 2019

Not only is today the beginning of Autumn, it is a day to take some time to reflect on all the things that we have been blessed with this year; from the new friends we've made to the old friendships we've maintained, new jobs to new members of the Family!

There is so much going on in the world that we need to be thankful for the things that we have no matter how minor we may think they are; remember what is minor to us could be quite a big deal to another! Things such as clean water which we take for granted - turn on the faucet and there it is - is a major deal for those who don't have that luxury! Food to eat is another huge deal for those who are not privileged to have access to their own! A roof over our heads doesn't seem like it yields a whole lot to be grateful for until you meet someone who doesn't have even THAT much!

This Mabon while you are giving thanks for all these things, don't forget that there are others who don't have much and not for lack of want or trying but because they have simply fallen on hard times! Take a moment to take stock of your own life and realize how good you really have it even if you are going through tough times yourself! There are many things we can do to help out, donating to a charity in good standing, volunteering in a soup kitchen, handing out supplies to those who are living on the streets to help them get through the harsh Winter months are a few examples!

When you are gathering supplies for your Mabon feast consider picking up a few items to donate to your local food bank and donate some items that you no longer use such as: clothing, blankets, toys and books to your local shelter where they will be put to good use once again by those who need them! Remember that NOT all those who fall on hard times or are taking up residence in a shelter are adults and they too need a helping hand! Compassion for our fellow humans and the natural world should always be the norm, NEVER the exception and it should not require a holiday for it to take place, everyday someone out there is struggling to get by and while things may not be easy for us, we have it better than some!

On Mabon we light the Fires and we take some of what we acquired from the Harvest and we share with our own families and friends, we express our gratitude for all we have and we look to the future to see what we need to do to keep things moving forward! With all that is happening it is important that we do our part to improve our communities - keeping in mind that we live here too - so whatever we can do whether it's joining the school board, coaching a team, running for office or taking part in a protest - ALL of these things can help bring to the forefront the issues that are currently plaguing this country so that they can be addressed and resolved instead of left to fester and become even worse as time goes on!

Also while you are enjoying the company and festivities, take a moment to acknowledge all those who are not able to do the same because they are on active duty Stateside and around the world and give thanks for their service as they are the frontline of our defense no matter where they are stationed! It’s not easy for anyone to be away from their family especially during the holidays but they chose to shoulder this burden not for their benefit, but for OURS! RESPECT! I mentioned donating to food banks and homeless shelters, what is REALLY needed for our homeless Vets is access to psychiatric care ESPECIALLY those who are dealing with very real and very debilitating issues such as PTSD, depression, rage and suicide! Our Vets need to be taken care of by getting the medical attention they need and being given employment so they can bring in a paycheck and afford to buy basic essentials - it is the VERY least we can do for them for everything they were willing to sacrifice for the rest of us!

More than anything we should express our gratitude for everything we have that Nature provides from the Air in our lungs, to the Earth under our feet, to the Water of Life to the Fire that warms us and the planet itself because without these things we as a species would cease to exist - as would the rest of the natural world - which is why we need to start taking better care of our ecosystem!

Now is the time when the world begins to prepare itself for the Season of Death, when the leaves begin to change color and fall to the ground and the trees go into a state of suspended animation; when bears go into hibernation and the birds fly south; when the squirrels begin to gather nuts; when all those who live off the land Harvest their crops and hunt their meat to store it for the long Winter ahead! Mother Earth provides everyone, human and animal alike, everything they need to survive in any climate which is why we need to remember ourselves and treat her with the respect she deserves instead of taking for granted everything that is readily available! The more we waste things, the more we pollute things, the less there will be for future generations and what we do have will be completely useless because it'll be so toxic that consuming it or being anywhere near it would be deadly!

This Mabon I would like to wish everyone in my Family both Blood and Spiritual as well as their families, to my friends and their friends a very blessed holiday! May your tables never be barren, your cups never be empty! May you know prosperity as well as generosity! May your health always be on the uptick, may anything that is a source of stress be resolved! May your loved ones know peace and tranquility and may they never go without!

I would like to thank everyone for being a part of my life especially those of you who were around between 2012 - 2015 and are still here, your loyalty means more than you know because it reminds me that there are still people out there that won't just cut and run when times get tough! There have been those who I thought were loyal who turned out to be acting as double agents which I find to be pointless especially if the ones they keep running back to are only manipulating them and casting them aside when they are no longer useful until the next time they are, but better to know who the weeds in my Garden are so that they can be pulled rather than live in denial because I don’t want to accept that those I called Brother or Sister not only betrayed me but also tried their damndest to damage my reputation from behind closed doors because they for whatever reason thought I wouldn’t find out! I’m not worried, let’s just say that Karma has a way of sorting these things out…

I would like to thank all the members of the Temple of the Eternal Dragon, the Temple of the Ancient Dragon, the House of the Warrior Phenex and the Ancient Church of God, your presence is appreciated as without you neither my Temple nor House nor the ACoG would exist! While there have been some rough patches we have shown by example that so long as we stand together that nothing and no one can drive us apart! Loyalty in the face of adversity demonstrates the true strength of ANY bond whether it’s between two people, a group of people or an organization of any kind. This holds true especially if the group of people is all striving for a common goal in a sea of drama that constantly threatens to wash over anyone who isn’t paying attention!

The fact is that not everyone who smiles at us is our friend and a listening ear/reading eye can and oftentimes is also a running mouth especially when it comes to those who can’t hold a candle to you and yours and are so vindictively hateful that they will make up any story and tell anyone willing to listen in an effort to ruin your reputation and stop anyone else from having anything to do with you! We never need to concern ourselves with those who believe whatever they are told without question, however, if one (or more) of those people is in OUR House then it must be addressed and dealt with quickly lest this person become a liability by dispensing information revealed in private meetings or sharing personal information of other members with those outside the group! It’s a hard thing to accept to be sure but it makes ALL those who would never consider such actions shine that much brighter!

Most of all I would like to thank the Ancient Family who years ago reached out to me and never left my side even when I became an atheist in my teens and then back in December 2012 - go figure - reached out to me yet again when I began Walking the Gates of the Simon Necronomicon and showed themselves to me in various ways! We all start somewhere and even though the Necronomicon was overall a work of fiction, there are MANY seeds of truth sewn all throughout the pages! What I have learned since then is that no matter how lost we may get on our Path that the Ancient Family will always shine their Light to help us find our way, all we have to do is trust in ourselves and our Faith in them and let the Path reveal itself to us!

While there are always those who will read the stories and use that knowledge to present themselves as being superior, we know that no one who holds any real wisdom or power would use it to keep the rest of the people oppressed! We know this because for the last 2018 years those same stories were stolen and hidden away, their contents deliberately mistranslated and oftentimes outright misrepresented because those who chose the low road knew they were nothing special which is why they had to use violence and genocide to force their agenda on the rest of the people! Many of these people are the lowly decedents of Abraham, a reprehensible human being who embodies and represents the very worst of human nature! Through his thievery and deception he sought to make a name for himself by stealing and rewriting the stories of Sumer and other Cultures, casting down the ‘Pagan’ Gods until people were too afraid to remember them! I have news for that wretch and ALL his followers who demonstrate the same level of hatred and malfeasance towards the rest of us - YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!

One of the things that enrages me about Abraham is the absolute DEMAND of SUBSERVIENCE towards women, in the Ancient World it was NOT like this! In fact in Ancient Sumer men and women spoke two separate languages and the men ONLY learned the language of the women - the keepers of all things Spiritual, whose wisdom and assistance was sought out by everyone including soldiers and politicians - if the women deemed them worthy enough to be granted such an honor! I absolutely exalt NINHURSAG on the HIGHEST of THRONES and thank her and the rest of the Grand Council PROFUSELY for making me the way I am no matter how difficult and isolating it has made my Path at times because at the end of the day I can honestly say that I would never harm a child and I would be the first in line to take down any person or institution that would! I will NEVER tell people they need to hate anyone for something as trite as sexual identity or preference, same sex marriage has been legal in many places for a while now and I don’t recall the world coming to an end because of it, go figure!

The fact is all one has to do is look at the track record of ALL THREE of the Abrahamic Religions and then at the track record of legitimately practicing Satanists and you will see where the true “evil” is not only cradled but nurtured and unleashed! Then go back even further to the Ancient World and realize that for all their theft, lies and violence that the ONLY hold they have over anyone is PSYCHOlogical! Once a person realizes the truth about what REALLY happened and HOW things came to be as they are, they no longer feel obligated to feed that delusion! The second they stop feeding the delusion and they claim their independence of such debauchery is the second they are no longer a slave to Abraham and they are able to find the Path back to the REAL Mother and Father and the rest of the Family!

This Mabon I give thanks to the Ancient Family who lets me know that I am NO ONE’S SLAVE! That being said I would like to share on this Mabon/Autumnal Equinox all that for which I am grateful:

1) First and foremost I am grateful to the Ancient Family for helping me to find my Path, I admit it took a while to figure it out and there were many obstacles I had to overcome, but at the end of the day I understand why it was necessary.

It needed to happen this way so that not only would I have an actual appreciation for everything I gained through my personal trials, including wisdom and insight, but so that I would see the world with eyes unclouded, meaning that I would accept the truth no matter how much it might hurt. Part of this is accepting any situation – especially personal situations – for what they are and to not deny it out of a misguided sense of loyalty or duty to anything or anyone. One of the harshest lessons that lead to being able to do this was seeing people for who they are and to stop helping those who don’t deserve it! Unfortunately this can apply to family as much as friends and co-workers. One thing a person needs to keep in mind is that there is a huge difference between trying to help someone who is being resistant because they might have issues in their past that makes it hard for them to trust anyone and someone who takes both you and EVERTHING you do for them for granted!

The first may be dismissive because they aren't used to ANYONE giving a damn, the second has become so accustomed to others doing things FOR them that they don't bother doing anything for themselves or they continuously ask you for favors and get mad if you say no! There are those that will never accept your help no matter how sincere you are and then there are those that will not only accept your help but will milk it for all they can until such time as you cut them off, in both cases you have to let them go and move on!

2) I am grateful for my Family both Blood and Spiritual.

There are two forms of Family, our Blood Family whom we are connected to through biology and our Spiritual Family with whom we share a common Path and Belief. We may not always agree with our either one on everything especially religion, but we will go through the fire for them! Our Spiritual Family are the ones who offer us the kind of support that repairs most past damage that has been inflicted by those we have met all along the road called life and as such we in turn are able to help others through their difficult times. I am grateful for both because I know who I am and where I came from due to my Blood and Spirit; that is a privilege that many people are denied! I am grateful for my Spiritual Family because not only do we share a common bond through our beliefs but we also stand together regardless of where we come from or where we are going!

3) I am grateful for my Friends online and offline.

There are people that we meet in life who stay with us no matter what happens and these people may be physically present or they may be communicated with via the internet. While we may be able to hang out with our offline friends, go to the movies, have private conversations that can’t be hacked and go through the motions of life, our online friends are also a source of support especially in a social media forum where it can get so bad that it’s literally a free for all where it’s no holds barred. Online friends are also in many cases the only people that some have to talk to either because a person is deathly shy or because they need to talk to someone about something they feel they can’t speak to anyone in their immediate area about out of fear something may be overheard or that they might be betrayed by that person.

In essence online friends are something of a safe harbor because when we are in dire straits and there is no one else around to talk to, we can go online and talk to them. We must ALWAYS however be very careful who we trust because online friends CAN be a double edge sword, because unlike offline friends we can never be certain who we are talking to at first, however as time goes on and we become more and more familiar we can usually tell who is legit and who isn’t. Sad to say but people we know offline can be even shadier than those we meet online. It’s all a matter of paying attention and never taking anything at face value.

I am grateful to my offline friends because I have people I am able to physically be with and confide in and I am grateful to my online friends because no matter where I am (for example on a train for 24+ hours) I always have people to talk to! I am MOST grateful for those who start out as online friends and eventually become offline friends and in some cases Spiritual Family! Nobody crosses our paths for no reason, they are either there to become someone of importance to us personally or they are there to be a lesson to remind us that not everyone who enters our lives should be trusted and as such are not meant to stay.

4) I am grateful for my Temple as well as each and every member in it.

When I formed the Temple of the Eternal Dragon, it came on the heels of a VERY stressful time where I had to make a choice; either continue to be used by an ungrateful man child who felt he was entitled to have other people do his work for him while he took the credit and simultaneously disrespected me behind closed doors every chance he got, or lead by example and show the congregation that I had told many times to never be afraid to walk away from a bad situation and an equally toxic person.

I chose the latter and when I did that bad situation got even worse because not only was I accused of ruining the church while I was still running it, after I left I was accused of being a member of a terrorist group that exploited children and people were told to not trust me. There was so much more vitriolic and hateful things said but you get the idea. When I formed the TotED I vowed to not bring the drama into it and to also NEVER “recruit” members or otherwise bribe people into joining by offering automatic ordainments just for joining. In my opinion ANY rank or titled NOT EARNED is not only superficial, it is completely meaningless!

Ordainments should ONLY be offered if a person has demonstrated knowledge of the Path itself, the ability to think for themselves and not be lead by the nose and also has been a member of the Path long enough to prove their loyalty and that they are NOT just getting ordained because they can! There are too many people who claim all sorts of ranks and titles yet they have NO background in the Path and they don’t know anything other than what was dictated to them AFTER they joined the organization!

Mind you we all start somewhere and there is nothing wrong with learning about the Path after you join an organization, the problem is when the ONLY knowledge you possess is what is dictated to you and you demonstrate absolutely NO desire to learn anything else. This is dangerous because ALL cult leaders rely on their members to rely SOLELY on what they are told and to NEVER look things up for themselves. This shows a clear lack of personal application and NO ONE who lacks the desire to take part in their education or Spiritual awareness should ever be ordained because they have no more to offer someone else than the one who dictated copy and paste garbage had to offer them. In fact a person in that position stands to be more of a hindrance to someone else’s Spiritual growth and personal evolution than anything else. Not only this, but a person who cannot think for themselves or do their own research is someone who stands to MISREPRESENT the Deities rather than uphold his/her honor! This is an insult to the Deities primarily but also to the individual themselves as it insinuates that they are unable to stand on their own without the man behind the curtain feeding them their lines!

Enki, Ninhursag and Ningizheda created us to be able to stand together or alone, whichever the situation calls for, neither they nor the rest of the Ancient Family intended for us to ever become so dependent on another human - or THEM for that matter - that we are unable to function without them or to ever be so easily won over with empty titles and meaningless ranks that we would be willing to claim belief in something ONLY to hold said meaningless rank and titles!

There are few things I have and will ever ask from those looking to join or are currently in my Temple; one is that you join of your own accord as you will not be given anything except respect and support by myself as well as resources to begin your own personal journey on the Path. Your connection to the Family is your own, I cannot make it for you and despite what you may hear from other groups NO AMOUNT of contract writing in blood or any other medium will establish this connection. You need to approach the Family with respect and humbleness.

Two is that you are respectful of the other members keeping in mind that while you may possess advanced knowledge or at the very least MORE knowledge than some, that there are others who are just starting out and therefore there is no such thing as a stupid question. I would rather have someone ask me a question that has been asked 10,000 times before so that THEY know the answer than EVER have a member who is to afraid of retaliation in the form of harassment or flaming to even pose it in the first place! A person who is denied access to the same knowledge everyone else possesses is a person who will never know more than they previously did and that doesn’t help ANYONE trying to advance on their Path! Remember we ALL had our “first day” and we knew just as much then as the newbies know now, so for all intents and purposes we are not above them when it comes to following the Path!

Three is that you do NOT mindlessly attack ANYONE else regardless of their faith. If a person wants to be a Christian, Buddhist or Pastafarian that is entirely at THEIR discretion NOT YOURS and you have no more right or business to mock them than they do to mock us! If you emulate the behavior of your so called enemy then you are really no better than your so called enemy! Keep in mind if you want Satanism/Aasarism to be respected as a religion or Path then you need to ACT like you do! Also whenever you are out and about keep in mind that it is NOT just you or this Temple that you are representing when you talk to people, it is the entire Ancient Family and if you behave in a manner that reflects THEIR preconceived notions as to what Satanism/Aasarism is about or how Satanists/Aasarists behave then all you are doing is proving THEM right!

Words can never express fully how grateful I am to those who joined in the beginning - especially those who followed me from my old church - and stayed no matter how much drama was going on at the time! I am grateful that this Temple is 4.75 years strong with no signs of slowing down! I am grateful that people continue to join every day and while not everyone sticks around I take pride in the fact that they came in the first place! It shows that they were curious enough to want to know more and even though they decided this wasn’t for them, they could have just dismissed me completely as someone not worth their time!

There is so much more I am grateful for but at the end of the day but I think the thing I am most grateful for, aside from the afore mentioned, is that no matter how arduous the road that led me here has been, I kept moving forward and because I did I found my way back Home and even though new challenges arise every day in various forms, I know we will NEVER back up, we will NEVER back down! We will NEVER give up! We will NEVER give in! That so long as the Ancient Family is by our side, we can handle anything! It is my fervent hope that I convey all the lessons I have learned through my own experiences to every member of the Temple of the Eternal Dragon so that they may glean a little something from them and even avoid certain situations altogether so as to not have to go through what I did!

I would like to take this opportunity to say a resounding THANK YOU to the members of the Temple of the Eternal Dragon, to my Sister Cindy who has helped me and continues to help me with various aspects of my Path, to my Blood Family for putting up with me, to my Spiritual Family for their continued support, to my Friends online and off for not abandoning me and especially to my Blessed and Most Exalted Father and Mother for showing me the way and for helping me to remain strong during the very worst of times - THANK YOU ALL! HAVE A MAGICKAL MABON AND A VERY BLESSED AUTUMN EQUINOX!

“O now is the time of the Harvest,

As we draw near to the years end

Now is the time of Mabon

Autumn is the time to descend

Old Woman waits patiently for us

At the threshold of the labyrinth within

She offers her hand that we may understand

The treasures that await at journeys end

O Great Mother has given of Her body,

We give thanks for Her fruit and Her grain

We then clear the fields so that next harvests yields

Will be full and abundant again.

Old Woman leads us through the darkness

Our most ancient and trusted of friends

She carries the light of spiritual insight

And leads us to our wisdom once again

And as we journey through the darkness

And as we continue to descend

We learn to let go of what obscures our soul

And re-discover our true being in the end

- Lisa Thiel (“Mabon/Autumn Equinox”)

---

“In the Darkness we ignite the fire

And we dance in the light,

We feast, we drink, we laugh

We enjoy the company this Mabon night!

We work the Web that connects us all

Our focus we shall maintain,

We gather up all the energy

And send it into the Astral Plane!

We are thankful for everyone

All those who decorate our life,

We stand together in full support

No matter how severe the strife!

No matter where we are

No matter what we do,

We know we can count on Family

To always come shining through!

To the Ancient Family who stands tall

Their Honor tried and true,

You are the reason why we are still here

And tonight we revere you with endless gratitude!

-HPS Meg ”Nemesis Nexus” Prentiss”

ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA!

MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INCENSE!

Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una!

Semper Veritas, Semper Fideles, In NINHURSAG'S Nomen Nos Fides! AVE NINHURSAG!

(We Are ONE Even Though We Are MANY And We Stand STRONGEST When We Stand TOGETHER!

Always TRUTHFUL, Always FAITHFUL, In NINHURSAG'S Name We Trust! HAIL NINHURSAG!)

AVÉ IGIGGI!

AVÉ ANUNNA!

AVÉ DRACONIS!

HAIL THE GREAT SERPENT!

HAIL THE ANCIENT FAMILY!

HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss

[topicprinter]

Nothing really something i need help or approval with. Just a small (edit: Turned out to be quite a text. Sorry.) rant...So, i think our entrepreneurial journey is going pretty decent so far. Backstory: Me and my co-founder working full time in a business field, that has a pretty big pain. We've been bouncing around an idea for a whole now and jumped into trying to fix that pain about 4-5 months ago. On the path so far, we created a business plan and ran through numbers and financials. We built a road map and put together a rough strategy, at least pointing us in a direction. We (anonymously) reached out to other business professionals to have them participate in a survey about the problem that we identified, how they see this problem and what they think about our proposed solution: We got around 150 people to participate and a little over 90% of them acknowledged the problem, 86% of all participants think what we (roughly) outlined in the survey would benefit them. We talked to potential customers about their point of views of the problem, and ended up refining what we thought would be a great solution already. In the process, we dropped part of what we thought would be a good idea and worked in some other pointers. In the process, our product changed to what it currently is. We are now at a point where we have an MVP ready, recently started talking to other businesses in person, and are collecting signed Letters of Interest. We also got signed pilot agreements from companies, willing to participate in the pilot run of our product in Q1 2020. We got companies to "sponsor" our product and pitch in some money, to help us build it and put it on the market. Our product is - simply put - a web based solution to fix a problem in a physical, hands-on market.So, we are somewhat of a startup (even though we are not making any money and we are not live yet). We think we have done our homework as good as we could and didn't just jump into a "hey, we've got a perfect idea and don't need to verify the market need for it" kinda situation. Can we still fail? Of course we can, and we are fully aware of that.With this being said, i'll get to the point of this post. I recently started to network in the startup scene, meeting other entrepreneurs, see how other people do this thing, trying to get connections, learn a thing of five, maybe find a mentor. The usual thing you would expect. A few days ago, there was an event at a somewhat local starter space, where a mentor talked about the upcoming startup weekend and he presented two (successful and having a great idea imho) companies that he's been mentoring and he invested in. How he is always looking for "that unicorn idea". He's a mentor for the starter space, and also a private investor. After the event, he ended up talking to some of the other founders and me.The problem was: He simply wouldn't listen. Asking about our project, i told him we are building a service for the tradeshow/event industry. Halfway through my second sentence, he started:"So you are another event business in the event market!"And then he went on about how this starter space is always willing to help brick-and-mortar businesses, bust is actually focussed on tech or at least tech-enabled startups ("Take Uber for example: They solved a non-tech problem through tech"). About how we don't even have market fit, because "you think you might have a great product! But trust me, you haven't, before you talked to your potential clients"! About how we need to work on a business plan, before we actually start working on what we think is our product, and so on. He wouldn't even listen to my answers, just bouncing them back with "No, you haven't done it right".I wasn't offended or anything. Yes, we are a small startup with first-time founders. Yes, we are nothing yet. Yes, there is a 90% chance we will fail. And we are aware of that. That is why we would love to have a mentor, giving us his opinion and pointing us in the right direction. But i would expect to sit down and have a "so, what have you done so far"-talk, before giving us homework to do.I am just wondering about his mindset, asking people about their product and then literally cutting them off one-and-a-half sentences into their answer, telling them about how they haven't done our homework, unlike the companies he has been mentoring and he invested in.Not sure how to say this: I'm glad he's successful with what he's doing. But i don't think he'll ever find "that unicorn idea" when he's insisting on "no matter what business you're in: I've started previous successfull startups, so i know better than you".So, to leave you guys with a question: Anyone having similar experiences? I am sure that won't be the last time we run into a scenario like this, but how can i try to avoid this or turn it around in the future? Have a paper stack of our business plan / customer conversation / product history with me, even for informal events just so i can whip it out and show it? Or simply move on, walk away and find someone else to talk to? How do you handle situations like this?

[citycfangels]

text: charlie ⇄ raquel

Charlie: [http://68.media.tumblr.com/7dbebb4db2fe718f37b048eca14ded61/tumblr_onquqxCphs1va2efko1_500.jpg]

Charlie: here you have a post-work out good morning pic. you're welcome

Raquel: so really I get pictures just because now?

Raquel: is that your way of saying you miss me?

Charlie: i thought you'd appreciate seeing my abs after a work out session first thing in the morning

Raquel: I do appreciate it. It's like a really nice wake up call.

Raquel: Now you just have me thinking about you and post workout mode. Taking a long shower, water dripping off your muscles, you walking around in just a towel. You sending that picture was just an evil plan to get me to think about you.

Charlie: i'm an evil mastermind who wants to get you hot and bothered all the time. you caught me, babe

Charlie: how are you, besides awake and slightly horny?

Raquel: how had I not picked up on that sooner?

Raquel: I'm good. Great actually. Without you in bed with me I actually get some sleep 😜

Charlie: ooooh, it seems not having me in bed is almost as good as having me in there. nice to know you're well rested

Raquel: almost being the most important part of that sentence. I would have preferred to sleep next to you but maybe I'm just giving you enough time to miss me.

Charlie: and you needed some time to sleep and rest, and what kind of man would i be if i didn't let you rest?

Raquel: hmm technically still a good one. Especially with the ways you keep me awake.

Charlie: you have a point. if the sex wasn't that good, that's when i'd be a bad man.

Raquel: then in that case you're the best man I've ever met.

Charlie: you're good at boosting my ego in the morning, babe

Charlie: thanks, btw.

Raquel: well isn't that supposed to be a thing a girlfriend does? You know ego boost, emotional support, mind numbing orgasms. You know just to name a few.

Charlie: oh yes, that's a very girlfriend thing to do. cheerleading is also one of those too

Charlie: what are you doing now?

Raquel: and that's where you got an expert in cheerleading.

Raquel: besides texting you, I'm texting Casey because we're thinking of going out tonight. I'm still giving you time to miss me and time to be alone.

Charlie: my own personal cheerleader.

Charlie: oh good, go out with me. i have to work tonight anyways, but i think it'll be you the one missing me.

Charlie: i think you saw this question coming, but are you barely dressed by any chance?

Raquel: yup ready to bend, cheer and wear the skimpiest of outfits all for your benefit.

Raquel: me miss you? No chance.

Raquel: hmmm maybe.

Charlie: now you have to wear an uniform for me someday just because you said that

Charlie: no? well, i'm offended

Charlie: that's your answer? because my imagination is running wild right now

Raquel: You get me the uniform and I'll do whatever you want. I can show you just how flexible I really can be.

Raquel: Nope. I won't miss you at all.

Raquel: well

Raquel: [ http://68.media.tumblr.com/95bd42cd527dc67bb26bb91c59b300a1/tumblr_nur5ygPw5Z1upy1qao1_500.jpg ]

Raquel: just to stop your imagination from going too wild. Too bad you can't come over because you'd distract me from getting ready to go out.

Charlie: got it. i'm not sure where to get one for kinky purposes, but i'll figure it out. i hope they sell any at the sex shop

Charlie: boo you

Charlie: have i told you today how fucking hot you are, babe? because you look so fuckable in that pic

Charlie: i guess i have my hand to take care of myself today, but we'll make up for it tomorrow

Raquel: it really is too bad that I don't have my old one. They probably have on online or something. Unless you specifically want to wait for halloween then you'd have plenty to choose from.

Raquel: you hadn't said it but it is sort of implied. I don't think you'd be with me if I didn't at least try to be as hot as you are.

Raquel: oh so you just automatically think you get to claim me for tomorrow?

Charlie: i don't think i want to wait until halloween so i'll look for it

Charlie: being hot is a plus, but i'd be with you if you weren't

Charlie: do you have any plans for tomorrow? i had to try

Raquel: someone's impatient. You only would have had to wait four months. It's not like I'm going anywhere.

Raquel: so even if I let myself go you'd still be with me?

Raquel: I might have dinner plans with someone I don't want to have dinner plans with. Do you want to come over tomorrow during the day?

Charlie: four months to see you in a cheerleader uniform are four months. of course i'm impatient

Charlie: yes, i would.

Charlie: sure, i could use a different place to be. who are you having dinner with?

Raquel: fine then I can probably find one in a couple of days

Raquel: part of me is tempted to let myself go just to see if you would but then again that would be pointless.

Raquel: no one important.

Charlie: good

Charlie: i would still be with you, although you're perfect the way you are

Charlie: okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to

Raquel: it's thank to all the kale I eat lol 😜

Raquel: I'd just rather not think about it until tomorrow night. Just spend the day with me.

Charlie: i thought you hated kale

Charlie: okay, babe. we'll do whatever you want to make you not think about it. i can be there in the morning or whenever you want

Raquel: that doesn't mean you aren't supposed to have it.

Raquel: well chances are I'll be hungover so unless you want to end up with hungover me all night I think the morning is your best bet.

Charlie: still, it's gross babe. i don't know how that can be healthy

Charlie: then i'll bring you something for breakfast to help you, just tell me what you want. and then a bath or whatever you want to do after breakfast

Raquel: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4408/Top-10-Health-Benefits-of-Eating-Kale.html

Raquel: see it's good for you. You aren't supposed to eat it like in a salad. You can have it in like a smoothie or something. You won't even taste it.

Raquel: you are literally the best boyfriend ever. Where did they make you because you are like way too perfect.

Charlie: eh, i'll think about it. i'm not too much into these diets, but i'll give it a shot at some point

Charlie: in the backseat of a car in a rainy night, babe

Raquel: you can always have some of mine.

Raquel: well shoutout to your parents for knowing how to take advantage of mood setting.

Raquel: and you know the whole raising you to be the man you are now thing.

Charlie: all i know is that they were lost in a roadtrip and they couldn't wait to get into a motel room to fuck, so

Charlie: i hope you get to tell them that someday

Raquel: sort of sounds like something we'd do. You know if we ever took a road trip.

Raquel: you want me to meet your parents?

Charlie: yeah, i can see it happening. sex in the backseat of a car and then in a motel room. so fucking nice

Charlie: not now, but if you ever want to go to canada like you've told me i guess you'll end up meeting them

Charlie: you know, when things are more serious.

Raquel: jacuzzi sex. Putting up do not disturb signs and ordering room service.

Raquel: I do want to go to Canada. I want to see where you grew up.

Raquel: I'd go anywhere with you and if that means I get to thank the people who gave me the man I am crazy about then yes. I'll go whenever things get more serious.

Charlie: i've never had jacuzzi sex, so it'd be the first time for me

Charlie: okay. we can't go now, but we'll go there someday, i promise.

Charlie: you know that things getting more serious would mean making this official, right? once you break things off with Nathan and shit

Raquel: you and me both but it has been on my bucketlist.

Raquel: then that definitely means I need to have my passport in order.

Charlie: it's a nice thing to have in our bucketlist

Charlie: you should get it in order, just in case we make that trip soon

Raquel: oh there are plenty of other things like it on that list.

Raquel: well with expediting a passport it only takes a month. Unless you're planning on getting really serious really fast.

Charlie: what's on your list? i'm curious

Charlie: nah, not that soon, but it's good to have it in order

Raquel: mile high club, on a beach but not in the sand more like on those bed hammocks they have in like cabo or something. There are more but those are just to get started.

Raquel: you're right. I'm just surprised I hadn't gotten my passport sooner.

Raquel: then again I didn't really have a reason to travel outside of the us before.

Charlie: you want to fuck in a plane? we'll fuck in a plane then. and those hammocks seems good places to have sex in

Charlie: now you have a good reason

Raquel: who doesn't want to have sex on a plane? Well except for like southwest planes where its like being trapped in a tiny linen closet.

Raquel: yeah, and honestly there isn't anyone else I'd want to travel with.

Charlie: i never thought of it until now, but that sounds hot and exciting

Raquel: really? Never? Not even when you had like a hot flight attendant on your plane?

Charlie: not really. i didn't pay a lot of attention to them when i flew here. they weren't that hot, tbh

Raquel: that's a little disappointing. You got like the wrong first impression of what the u.s should be like.

Raquel: we never really talked about it hut why did you come to the states, not that there's any complaints from me.

Charlie: yeah, i was disappointed in that plane. i was hoping they had long legs to stare at whenever they walked by

Charlie: the beach, the weather and more possibilities of working at something that doesn't require wearing at least three layers of clothes everyday

Raquel: damn you whatever airline for crushing my baby's dreams. But if I'm going to be looking at a girl legs isn't what I would be looking at.

Raquel: well thank you for wanting to escape colder weather. If not we wouldn't have met.

Charlie: hey, legs are a good physical quality to look at on a girl. legs and ass, particularly. you can't blame me.

Charlie: at least that makes bartending easier, don't you think?

Raquel: and if I were looking for a girl I'd probably look for chest more than ass.

Raquel: it does a bit. Or at least you know people aren't just drinking to stay warm.

Charlie: two more amazing qualities to look at, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Charlie: well, that could be happening if i was working in a coffee shop, but being a bartender is cooler, i think

Charlie: plus i don't want too many people benefiting from my coffee.

Raquel: i guess you do have a point that you should start from the bottom up, and lucky for you I have all three.

Raquel: no, coffee is only for me. No one else can know I have my personal barista

Charlie: you have three very good attributes and i'm so lucky i can see them very often

Charlie: i meant that, silly. i'm not making coffee for anyone else, so you're a lucky one

Raquel: just not tonight. If I drunk text you you should know that I dont mean like much of it.

Raquel: no take backs and it's forever so too bad.

Charlie: i'll keep that in mind. i'd like to see the drunk raquel in you though

Charlie: i won't take it back, you'll be the only one to taste my coffee

Raquel: you've seen me drunk before. Well maybe tipsy.

Raquel: 😘

Charlie: you were the cute drunk at that new year's eve party, i kinda loved it

Raquel: but I thought you didn't do clingy?

Charlie: depends on the person.

Charlie: i wouldn't do clingy with candice bc it was just sex, but with you? it's not only sex. i don't really mind it bc clingy isn't the only thing that describes you and i really like you

Raquel: I really like you too.

Raquel: (an hour later) they keep playing crying in the club and i don't get it because no one is crying in the club. Well maybe in the bathroom but does the dj see something I don't? I'm confused.

Charlie: :)

Charlie: they should have chosen another song. there are better ones anyways

Raquel: or

Raquel: or

Raquel: he is like one of those alien people who can see things regular humans can't and he sees people crying. He does seem like a nice dj so maybe he is like here is this song to cheer you up.

Raquel: hopefully he isnt like the aliens in signs. But it's not like there is a lot of water around here anyways.

Charlie: aliens?

Charlie: okay, how drunk are you?

Raquel: yes aliens

Raquel: they're real. Like so real

Raquel: I dont know how to answer that

Charlie: how real do you think they are? would you like to meet any?

Raquel: they're so real!

Raquel: babe, listen.

Raquel: like we can't be the only people in the universe. Like we just cant so the only answer is aliens. Thats the only way.

Raquel: if theyre nice then sure but if they like want to take o we the world and like listen to donald trump or something then no.

Charlie: okay, you may have a point. they can be out there in the universe, it makes sense

Charlie: maybe they're nice to us and they can take donald trump. that would be nice

Raquel: then they would be true mvps and we wouldnt be mad at them for taking all of our water for their spaceships.

Raquel instagram post: https://78.media.tumblr.com/7e58412d60dbd342aad477a015ac0bf0/tumblr_oriui9KiIT1w7ltgxo1_500.jpg Quellersmal #ootd just because it took Casey forever to get ready #latergram

Charlie: whoa there, all of it?

Raquel: yup. All of it.no more water for us. Only tequila shots.

Charlie: but what about the plants? wouldn't they die?

Raquel: babe. I just said we would have no more water and only tequila and you are worried about the plans? Worry about me. What am I going to do? I would be hungover forever.

Raquel: the plants can get rain water but me? I cant.

Charlie: of course i'm worried about you, but the plants deserve water too.

Charlie: well, i hope they leave a bit of water for us at least

Raquel: okay true I shouldn't be thinking just about myself.

Raquel: maybe if we ask them nicely. They'd already be doing us a huge favor by taking a demon away from us so we probably shouldn't push it

Charlie: tru

Charlie: how's your night going? are you having fun?

Raquel: so mch fun so much drinks.

Raquel: and casey smels like marshamlws

Raquel: maybe nit marshmellows but somethmg sweet and its like i want to eat her.

Raquel: and i have like fice new friends

Charlie: i wish i was there, babe. i bet it's better than working

Charlie: does she? i bet she does

Charlie: that's good, babe. remind them you're taken tho

Raquel: maybe we shoud go there

Raquel: butt then i still wouldnt be able to liss you be ause youre not ssupposed to make out with your bartender or at least thats what people tell me

Raquel: mhmm I told them that at one poknt i has 2 bfs but now i only really have one and that i love him even if i just lied and just said like really like but really he should know that i mean love.

Charlie: ... how drunk are you?

Raquel: im not drink

Raquel: dunk

Raquel: denk

Raquel: okay i am

Charlie: okay

Charlie: shit, i have to go. break is over and i have to go back to work

Charlie: i will see you tomorrow at your place. i'll bring breakfast with me, babe

Raquel: :(

Raquel: kay bye

Raquel: 😘😘😍💋💋💋💋