#cowboy seven supremacy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marshmallowprotection · 3 years

Text

Andromeda

Pairing: Choi Luciel/Reader

Description: Your life had been bound to the seas since the day you were born. You knew what it felt like to taste the salt water and freedom, but at the same time, you were bound with shackles and on the edge of a plank your captain made for you. No amount of screaming was going to save you from the seas, so, you had to fight to survive and fight to be the person that you wanted to be... so, what do you do when he returns to your life out of the blue?

Word Count: 5900

Cowboy Seven x Reader

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

[Read On AO3]

Chapter Two

Saeyoung knew that he had messed up.

He‘d known that he was going to be walking into a fire the second that he came back to see you, but he wanted to see you. You had left a mark on him like nobody else ever had.

Those weeks that he had with you while he and Jihyun split up to search for clues about his father had been the most compelling time of his life. You made him momentarily feel like he was more than a con-man that stole to survive.

Seeing you staring at him with tears in your eyes, debating whether to give him a chance or not before you just decided to give him one more time was difficult. He thought that it would take you longer to make the choice, but you had seemingly chosen the spot to give him a chance. As long as he kept a promise.

A promise to never leave without telling you first.

It wasn’t that he wanted to leave you. He didn’t. But, he had a duty to his brother to finish what they started. Jihyun had run into trouble when he was getting the warrants for Saejoong and he had to get the hell out of dodge. It was safer for him to grab the last papers on his own, so he sent Saeyoung the word to head back to the desert to inform Saeran.

Because of some mistake that Jihyun made, Saeran could’ve been at risk and their entire plan could have been compromised. He promised to settle it and solve it as soon as he possibly could. But, that news had shaken him so deeply to his core that he panicked. He left a hasty message in your spot and he left. He had no time to think twice.

He had no time to hesitate.

Was it an excuse?

No, it wasn’t.

Saeyoung never wanted to leave you behind. You, the person with starlight in your eyes, had shown him this overwhelming sense of belief and faith. He knew that you were a vulnerable person and he knew that you were in a position that he felt a kinship, too, but he never should have left without a word in person. He just feared for Saeran.

His fear for his twin was something that always drove him. The need to ensure that his brother was safe all that it took for him to try and put down everything that meant something to him to be able to make sure that Saeran was happy.

His own happiness was something that he’d discount. He meant to save his twin, but he never meant to hurt you.

But, he had hurt you.

Even though you tried to hide it through a laugh, and saying that you would give him a chance to try again, he saw that pain in your eyes and knew. He knew that he was going to have to try harder than this to make amends. This was just the only way he knew how to approach you.

He could have gone to the docks but he didn’t know if you’d be stuck with your captain or not, and he didn’t want to put you at risk. It hadn’t been pretty the last time he had gotten a close call with your so-called captain. Thinking of that woman burned his blood and boiled his anger to the core. It wasn’t in your control, though.

Just as he had never had a choice to avoid his father.

You never had a choice to get away from your captain. You were bound in the same way that he had been, but you had had a caring mother. You had the one thing that he never did when he was a child, and that was your mother. You spoke of her fondly and thought of her time on this earth as the one thing that made you feel at peace.

Losing that had destroyed you in ways that he couldn’t imagine, and he still didn’t even know the full scope of the story. You hadn’t been ready to tell him about that. But, he had enough little pieces to try and fill in the cracks of what could’ve happened and what happened to you.

It stung to think that you were just a child, forced into the position of an adult after watching your mother succumb to the seas. In a way, he felt like you were kindred spirits. You both had seen your mothers meet their ends in such horrible, awful ways, and that kind of trauma was something that couldn’t be put into words or described.

But, it was written on your soul when you looked at someone.

It was in your eyes. It was there if you looked for it to see the truth, and frankly, Saeyoung knew from the moment that he saw you that you had that pain in your soul. It was intertwined with your very being. Just as it was with his… in ways that his twin could never know because he bore the burden of that image so Saeran would never know it.

Even if he heard the gory details.

He would never be forced to relive that memory as he slept.

Thinking of you had been what grounded him when he rushed back to Saeran to try and fight to make things right, even if his heart was tinged with regret of leaving so fast. After that day it had been a mess. He thought that he was going to be able to do something to change fate from the way that it seemed to be destined. He thought that he was going to be able to change the hand that you had been dealt.

Saeyoung thought that helping you would be the precursor to fighting his father, but he had failed you and left you alone to deal with your woes for months. He was sure that you hated him, but when you had decided to give him a chance, he didn’t want to blow it. He didn’t want to let you down after this could be his only chance to make amends.

Seeing you that night, he knew that he had to do something.

However, you weren’t the type of person to want to be saved.

You wanted to save yourself.

Yet, how could you do that when the cards were stacked against you from the start? He had to try to do something about it. He let you leave that evening after he told you everything. He sat down with you in the sand and held your hand as the stars twinkled overhead, as he spun the story of everything that he and his twin had done to fight their father.

He didn’t want to keep secrets from you anymore, he was not a man who wanted to be one. He didn’t want to be a secret anymore. You listened and hung to every word that he said like it was a lifeline. He was grateful for that. You didn’t have to listen to him or hear him out. You could have turned around and left him without a second thought, and he would have understood your choices tenfold.

He would have respected it.

Saeyoung would have never pushed you to do something that you didn’t want to do, but seeing you again had opened his heart when he intended to close it. It was just going to messy trying to make a new kind of sense of his life now. He wasn’t like Saeran. He didn’t go through what they had back in the desert with you.

Saeran had Cereus and Cereus had Saeran, and they held onto each other like a lifeline. He wanted to protect their love but at the same time, he yearned to know what it felt like to be close to you. He just had no clue how to do it. You were quiet, only asking questions now and again when he paused to take a breath, and not once did you judge him.

You seemed surprised that he had managed to do all of that with his brother, and dad, to fight Saejoong Choi. However, impressed that he was clever enough to use all of that information that he had gotten with Jihyun. You knew that he was smart, even if you nudged him in the side and sighed whenever he’d tried to mask that with a laugh.

The situation was a lot more serious, you knew.

However, you let him tell it like he was, and by the time he finished his story. You wrapped your arms around him for a small hug. You didn’t linger even though he could feel you hesitate before you pulled away; his breath hitched when you were that close to him, but he resisted the urge to corner you any more than he already had.

The peace offering with your taffy was just enough to soften the blow of everything. You had rested your hand against his shoulder and quietly said, “I’m proud of you, Seven… sorry, Saeyoung. I get why you left but it still hurts that you left. I’m gonna need some time to think about all of this, but I want to keep you seeing you. I missed you.”

His eyes softened. “I missed ya’ more than anythin’, Andromeda.”

“I want to believe that, Saeyoung, but you understand why we need to take this slow,” you left him with that thought and a kiss against his cheek before you left to return to your ship. “I understand and I get it… being trapped, I mean. I’m happy you’re free from that life that you were trapped in, same for your brother, but… I need time.”

Saeyoung held your hand tightly in his own hand and knew that he had let you go. He understood. He knew what he had to do. “I don’t want to rush ya’, either. Thank ya’ for givin’ me a chance. I ain’t deserve it by all accounts so we’ll do this yer way.”

He watched you disappear that night back to where you had to be before you got into trouble. You had already spent more time out than you were allowed, and he knew that was you risking a lot just to get a chance to speak to him for the first time in forever.

Your captain had always come back to this spot. There was always a chance that you could be gone in the blink of an eye. However, even if the ship was gone for weeks at a time, you would always be back to this spot here before too much time passed. He intended to stay this time around and prove to you and that he meant what he said.

Saeyoung sighed.

He was left against, munching on some taffy that he was still holding onto. He had used the sweets sparingly and ran out of them sometime in the middle of the crisis back home. They had grounded him when he needed to feel your presence because it reminded him of what it felt like to be close to your heart. You slid some into his bag that day.

That day was lingering in his memory like an anchor.

A lot happened then, and he had wanted to extend his hand to you so that he could grasp at you with stars in his eyes and see where these feelings could take him. Yet, he hesitated, and because of that, it’d stung you more when all you had was a letter. It was the best he could do and he was still ashamed of the feelings that came from it. Love was messy, wasn’t it?

Saeyoung stayed there on the beach for a while, he didn’t want to bother Cereus and Saeran, but he didn’t want to rush back into anything. He was constantly blurring between trying to play the fool for others and trying to be himself. He still couldn’t find the steady ground to know who he wanted to be. It wasn’t like Saeran, who had been forced to protect himself by sharpening his heart.

No, Saeyoung put himself in his pit since he was a child.

Not only to protect himself but to keep himself from making things harder for those around him. He never once had the time to think about what he wanted and if he got to doing it, he would be pulled in by a rope to the same place that he started from. This process was harder now that they weren’t living a lie to stay safe.

Freedom was meant to be a good thing, and yet…

Saeyoung felt lost.

He ran his fingers against the sand and just let the stars twinkle overhead. It was another thing that you’d taught him. You had shown him how to trace the stars to navigate. He had known a few tricks for it that Saeran had told him in the past, but since he was always working during the daylight, he never really got the chance to see the skies.

Not like this… with galaxy overhead, reflecting on the water in ways that he couldn’t even begin to understand and put into words. This was at least a view that he could have that brought him peace in a stormy sea. He just liked to stare at the reflection and lay there. This was still one of the most beautiful sights that he had ever seen.

That first day he saw the water, you painted scenery for him that was just beyond comprehension that he had at the time. The ocean was beautiful, and you, as one of the patrons of the seas, had shown him how to find beauty in something so simplistic. It may have seemed like every day to you, but the ocean in comparison to a river or a pond was vast… and intriguing.

Saeyoung wasn’t sure how much time passed him by, but at some point, Saeran had joined him by the water. Cereus must have been sleeping by that point, otherwise, his twin wouldn’t have left their side for a minute. He glanced at Saeran and then looked back at the sky, the two of them just enjoying the silence together as the faint hum of the ocean lingered behind them.

“That was them, huh?”

“Yeah. I reckon I deserve ya’ thinkin’ that they weren’t real. It’s what I get for tellin’ ya’ all those stories when we were kids every night.”

“They seemed mad at ya’. Don’t me ya’ got involved with them n’ just ran off. No wonder they wanted to drown ya’, then. I knew ya’ were pretty dumb, brother, but I ain’t think you were the kinda’ man that’d do that.”

“...Ouch. I guess I deserve that,” Saeyoung chuckled. He tipped his back and looked at the stars as he sighed. It was what he earned after all this time. “I left ‘em because Jihyun needed me to get back to ya’. But, I got to admit, Saeran, I was too scared to tell them goodbye face to face… so I just… left them a letter and ran off.”

“I guess I was… I don’t know. My life has always been about ya’, Saeran, and now that we’re safe from Saejoong… I don’t know how to deal with this stuff. I want to make things right with Andromeda, but I… I ain’t got no idea how to make things right. I guess yer’ the one with more experience now. I reckon I got a lot to learn about carin’ for others.”

Saeran was quiet. He seemed to be reflecting on that notion. He had gone through his period of dancing with his feelings with Cereus, but Saeyoung still didn’t quite know the extent of everything that the two of them had gone through. He had seen the two of them trade letters with one another, and slowly pull the other into dancing with a wildfire.

They had a relationship that couldn’t be broken apart by life and death.

They were willing to do anything for each other, no matter the cost. Saeyoung respected that and he had seen the two of them pushed to the brink of madness and back. He was willing to do anything for his little brother, too, and he had. He had dropped everything with you when he realized that his twin could be killed.

Just as Saeran had been ready to die if it meant that it would protect Cereus from harm.

Love could make you do anything, anything for the people that meant something to you; No matter if it was family, friends, and your lover.

A part of Saeyoung felt shameful for spending that time that he wasn’t hunting for Saejoong’s past with you, and it showed on his face whenever he thought about these things too hard. He wanted to be there for you. He wanted to be there for Saeran and Cereus, and when he wasn’t laughing and trying to mask that pain inside of himself… these thoughts flooded into his mind.

Another part of him knew that it was okay to want to desire something more with his life… that it was okay to be selfish with his wishes. He had told Saeran to follow his heart, and he was struggling to do the same thing on his own now. He didn’t want to dump these problems on anyone. He almost didn’t want to bring it up with Saeran, but they were being honest.

There were no more lies.

Everything was meant to be an open book now.

“Idiot,” Saeran nudged his shoulder with a huff. Saeyoung turned his head to see his twin looking at him with an exasperated expression. “Listen, stop carin’ so much about everythin’ else for a day. I’d reckon it’d do ya’ some good to be selfish for once. Cereus n’ I can handle things ourselves, ya’ know? You care about them… and for some dumb reason, they seemed like ya’. Stop thinkin’ about me for once. Do somethin’ for yer’ damn self.”

“Ain’t nothin’ gonna burn down if you spend some time with that pirate. So, quit yer’ blubberin’ and try to do something for you, Saeyoung. They mean something to you. You bought out an entire shop for them to soften whatever the hell ya’ left them with. I know you. Yer’ always trying to avoid yer’ damn problems by worrying about me… but y’ain’t gotta worry about me, dipshit. We’re not in the desert anymore.”

Saeyoung stared at him for the longest time. That was the longest and more sincere statement that Saeran told him in weeks. Saeran wasn’t often honest with his feelings and what was on his mind since it was hard for him to confront everything after what they went through. He struggled with being kind and gentle, even though that was his natural disposition.

Seeing Saeran growing as a person and finding himself again, warmed Saeyoung’s heart, and he was happy that Cereus was the one that found his twin. Saeran was right, Saeyoung knew, but it was going to take longer than a day to make things right with you.

That was the toughest part. He would just have to prepare himself for the coming weeks.

“When did ya’ get so wise, Saeran?”

“...My big brother taught me to live life to the fullest, and I reckon he ought to take his advice these days.”

His heart clenched. Saeyoung could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and as soon as the laugh escaped his lips, Saeran groaned and got back off of the sand before his brother could throw his arms around him and give him an affectionate hug.

It was a sign that things were getting better, and maybe this was the sign that he needed to give him a chance.

A chance to forgive himself so that he could make you smile.

—

“Andromeda! Where is that brat? I need them here, now!”

“Cap’n, they’re up in the crow’s nest. Do you want me to fetch them down for you? It won’t take but a minute.”

“It’s their job to listen to my every order without fail. They know the penalties if they fail to comply with orders.”

You had heard the sound of her shrill voice from your makeshift bed before she had even opened her mouth to fire off some complaints about you. She didn’t take no for an answer and she didn’t like to be put on the spot when someone didn’t seem to do what he wanted before she even commanded you to go and do it.

It was better to pay the devil before things got worse. She wanted you down there for whatever reason and you weren’t going to give her a reason to tip your scales over in the wrong way. No, you needed to stay on steady ground.

You had a late night. It was no excuse, and you hadn’t meant to sleep as long as you did. Sliding down from your spot, you made sure to call down with whatever excuse that you could think of as you got down to the deck. “Sorry about that, captain, I was up late charting our next course. You said that we needed the best way to get down the river—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Andromeda.” Her tone was flat and unamused. “Shut up.”

You were left staring at your captain, her dirty blonde curls fanning over her shoulder and the eyepatch covering the right eye that had been injured from… well, you still weren’t sure what had injured her in the first place but it was. She was younger than your mother by a long shot but that didn’t discount her cruel ways.

“Understood,” you bowed your head.

It was better not to argue.

You knew better.

She seemingly ignored you and belittled you at the same time, “If you’ve wasted your morning time sleeping, make up for it and start cleaning the deck. First mate Kang, fetch the travel papers from the crow’s nest and take it to my cabin. We’ll be working on fixing any of Andromeda’s mistakes. I’m sure we’ll find plenty given the last few times they’ve led us into the fire.”

Smiling through it, you managed to stand there without letting yourself get too worked up about her words. She believed that young people were meant to listen to their elders no matter what, and the only way to grow up was to be punished and pushed down until they broke down and understand that the world was cruel. Her lack of compassion taught you years ago that you needed to take care of yourself.

You hadn’t intended on coming back to the ship late, but you hadn’t exactly intended on meeting with Seven, either. It was a cloudy night and it had taken you hours to change your course from the last one that you’d made. There had been a band of miscreants on that river bend and although they bowed their head when they realized it was your crew…

It was tedious and your captain didn’t want to deal with idiots when she wanted to get her gold and silver when it needed to be done. She was all for destroying and torturing others on a usual day, but if it came to a paid mission that she intended to do, then that would come first, and then she’d come back to make them have hell to pay.

It was the same song and dance.

No matter what, someone was going to have hell to pay. Whether it happened right away, or a day later, people were going to taste the salt and smoke in their lungs before they died. Your captain wasn’t at all someone that you should doubt or turn your back on. You had gotten lucky today that she seemed to be in a hurry to check over her plans.

Normally she would scold you for long periods, letting you sit there for what felt like hours as she pushed you down and reminded you that you were nothing but a slave to everything that she had created, and that was all that you would ever be. You were nothing but someone who was to be used until you held no more use.

So, you knew better than to argue.

You just set about cleaning whatever you could. It was going to be a long day and even though you had known now that Seven was back in the picture, things weren’t going to change drastically. Your life still didn’t belong to you, it belonged to your captain. You were happy for him if he was truly free from his demons now. He deserved it. It was a hard-fought battle.

It was brave of him to face the devil.

Yet, you didn’t have it in you to do the same thing. This was different, you thought, hands working hard to rid the decks of lingering water from the choppy morning waves. His villain hadn’t lived with him. His villain made fatal errors and caught himself in a trap because of it. A moron who pretended to be a king.

The Bloody Emerald didn’t make mistakes. She was utterly ruthless, and it was at times like this that you wondered what had made her so vicious in the first place.

You were thirteen years old when it happened… when your mother was forced to meet her end in a watery grave, and that had only been three years after your mother had been employed by this captain to join the vessel. Three years of disregard and torment that was only made better by your mother who stood by you. It was meant to be better than the other crew that your mother had been employed with last.

However, it wasn’t.

A young captain didn’t mean that things were going to be better as it turned out, it meant that things were going to be worse. So, you tried to focus on your tasks instead of thinking of your situation at the moment. Thinking about a time where you had felt more control of yourself and your heart against all the odds stacked against you. These were what you had and what you could use.

Perhaps making sense of your memories could help you find a way to confront Saeyoung and how to move forward.

—

Sitting at the docks with the stranger that you had just started to come to know, you kicked your feet back and forth as you leaned back against the wood. You were just trying to enjoy the day, but Seven had come to join you when he’d been passing by and saw you all alone. He was watching as the water knocked into the wood. Seemed as though the water still fascinated him.

“So, what’re ya’ up to?”

“I was trying to relax since this is the first time that we’ve been docked at the port in a while. Takes a while to get your land legs back.”

“That so?”

“Yeah, you get used to it, though. Some people get sick on the waves because they aren’t used to the feeling of the world moving around them… but I always feel like I’m not out of place when I’m on the water. The ocean has always been my home. I imagine you must have a place that feels like home to you in that way, stranger.”

“...It’s less of a place and more of a person. Ain’t no home that’s mine ‘cept for the one that I make with my family. Y’ain’t gotta have a home in one place for it to be called home, y’know? I figure if yer’ boat is like yer’ home, then wherever ya’ go feels like home.”

“Kind of. I suppose that’s one way to see it, sir. I was born on a boat, and I’ll die on a boat. My home is the sea and it’s where I will return at the end of my days. It’s my home and it’s my end.”

“Ain’t a lil’ dark of ya’?”

“Says the man willing to chase his own death on horseback.”

Seven chuckled in response to that. He was rather clever in his own right, and he had been testing your limits and patience since you’d encountered him. He had an interesting perspective of the world that was easy to relate to, and yet, at the same time, it felt so disconnected from what you felt. It was rather interesting to have someone test your limits.

Still, that cheeky smile on his face was contagious. You had left your boat because the captain had finished screaming at you and you wanted to breathe again, and this was as far as you could go without getting into more trouble. It was nice to have a distraction from everything. You tugged a piece of taffy from your pocket and offered it to him.

It wasn’t much, but his conversation made you feel grounded again. You were isolated of your own choice and whenever someone could reach out to you and pull you from your slump, you would repay them for the trouble. He stared at the wrapped candy for a moment before he took it from your hands, unraveling the wrapper and sliding it behind his teeth.

Taffy was a sweet delicacy to you. Pulled sugar spun and spun until it became something sticky and soft at the same time. Your favorite was salt water taffy, and despite the name, it wasn’t made using seawater in the slightest way. There was salt used in the creation process, however, and that’s where it earned the name that it held.

If you had pocket change, you would always go and buy some for yourself simply because it was your favorite thing. You didn’t always have the funds to get as much as you wanted, but you were kind to share it with someone that seemed to deserve it in spite of how… well, selfish you were with this one little thing.

“Wow,” he said, chewing through the sticky candy with vigor. He was a fan. “I ain’t never had somethin’ like that before. There ain’t really a lot of sweets where I come from. Yer’ lucky if yer’ able to get some water that’s clean enough to drink. Yer’ mighty lucky to be able to have somethin’ like this, Andie.”

You scoffed at that. You had told him your name but he insisted on calling you Andromeda, and now he was using another pet name. You had the feeling that he was doing it because it seemed to get under your skin. This stranger was someone that wanted to tease others. No wonder he had been picking fights with anyone that dared to question him.

He seemed to love dancing into the fire and seeing where it would take him in the long run. That tongue of his was going to get this fool killed. Well, he had it coming whether he liked it or not, and you were going to say that because he thought he was being cute.

You slugged him in the shoulder with your fist and looked away from him. The urge to push him down was poking you. “I told you, my name is [Y/N], you don’t have to call me Andromeda! How did you even get Andie out of Andromeda? For the last time, just call me my name. How would you like it if I called you something that wasn’t your name? Like, Kevin. How would you feel if I called you Kevin of all things?”

“Well, I ain’t no Kevin, but I reckon if that’s what yer’ tempted to call me, I wouldn’t mind all that much, Andromeda,” Seven chuckled. It didn’t bother him in the slightest that your face had heated up and you were willing to push him back when he tormented you. “Or, wait, do ya’ think Andie would be cuter?”

That was when the idea flickered into your head.

So, you simply gave him a shove into the water. It wasn’t that deep so it wasn’t going to hurt him or anything. He looked surprised that you had caught the slip on him. He hit the water with a firm thud and the water splashing around him. You snorted at the sight and how peeved he looked now that he was utterly soaked to the bone.

“That’s what you get!”

“That ain’t playin’ fair!”

You were going to let him cool off first from being such a hothead. However, after a moment of his struggling against the water, you realized that… this idiot didn’t know how to swim. He was struggling against the waves and working too hard to stay above water. He didn’t know that he would float if he just relaxed. It seemed like he was just messing with you, but he wasn’t.

That wasn’t the gesture of a man that was playing around and know how to pull himself out of the water. That was a man that had realized that he was up the creek without a paddle to protect himself from the raging rapids that lay ahead of him.

It was funny for a moment, but—

Then you felt bad.

Because he slipped underneath the surface.

Seven seemed like a smart guy but the ocean wasn’t going to forgive him for not knowing how to catch himself against the waves. So, you jumped onto your feet and dived into the water without thinking a second thought, landing next to him and grasping his hand, letting him realize that you had gotten a hold onto him.

You helped him resurface as he caught his breath, and despite his desperation, you spoke to him to ease his nerves. “Hey, relax, relax, cowboy! We don’t sink unless you struggle against the waves. So, if you’ll stop thrashing for just a second, I’ll show you!”

Seven seemed to catch his breath as you insisted that he slow down. You had seen stronger men take far larger tumbles before. Men that didn’t realize just how the ocean could be if they weren’t mindful of the power that it held over all humans. Respect was important when it came to being able to exist like this.

It took him a moment for his legs to stop swinging and just relax against the waves as they pushed against his legs. Being in the water where your legs couldn’t touch the ground was definitely a change for someone like him who only knew what it felt like to be on solid ground. However, once he had begun to relax, you knew that it was alright.

You sighed in relief, feeling as the gentle waves came in from the bay. “Man, you should’ve said that you didn’t know how to swim!”

His hair was waterlogged now and clung to his forehead. His glasses were just as soaked through to the core. Now that you were close to him, you could see just how golden his eyes were and how bright they seemed to glimmer. You couldn’t bring yourself to look away as he huffed, “I reckon I thought ya’d take a hint knowin’ where I’m from! Ya’ can’t exactly swim in the dirt!”

“...Yeah, but what about the mud?”

“...You know what, I‘ve never tried.”

“See!”

“Hey, hey! Don’t shove the point! Ya’ pushed me in!”

“You needed to cool off, hothead! I thought the water would do you some good.”

27 notes · View notes

misteria247 · 3 years

Text

For the past two days I've been doing nothing but reading fanfiction about my two favorite cowboy boyfriends.

It's been absolutely wonderful.

#oli talks #ooc #muns ramblings #jojo's bizarre adventure #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure part seven #jjba part seven #steel ball run #Johnny Joestar #Gyro Zeppeli #look listen #if it's got cowboys and old western vibes to it I'm gonna be all over that shit #but adding gay cowboys to it and it's to literally die for #i just love these two okay???#johnny x gyro #someone save me from this cowboy fantasy cuz it makes me wanna be a cowboy so fucking badly you have no idea-#no thoughts head empty rn #only them #i believe in Johnny and Gyro supremacy

10 notes · View notes

justjensenanddean · 3 years

Photo

Jensen Ackles gets supe-d up as Soldier Boy in first look at The Boys season 3

A Captain America-esque figure, Soldier Boy is the original superhero. He's also the leader of the team Payback, which, in the world of the show, was the premiere group of superheroes before the Seven was formed.

Soldier Boy was active in the 1940s during World War II at a time when Vought founder Frederik Vought had "practical applications of Compound V tested in the field," Giancarlo Esposito's Mr. Edgar once said in season 2. "Soldier Boy killing Germans by the dozens" was one of those applications.

"Soldier Boy is the original badass," The Boys costume designer Laura Jean Shannon, who created Ackles' suit with concept artist Greg Hopwood, said in a statement. "Our goal was to highlight a bygone era of overt masculinity and grit. With that pedigree we dove headfirst into baking in an all-American quality grounded in a military soldier's practicality with a heavy dose of old school cowboy swagger. We knew that the actor had to have Steve McQueen looks and chops with a John Wayne attitude, luckily Jensen Ackles embodies all of that."

Showrunner Eric Kripke is just happy fans will finally "quit clogging" his "Twitter notifications with demands" to see Soldier Boy, he added in his own playful statement.

"When I cast Jensen as Soldier Boy, the first thing I said was, 'I'm most excited for you, because of the amazing process you'll go through with LJ, our Super Suit designer.' It took six months but the experience surpassed Jensen's expectations," he said. "LJ has made a work of art that tips its hat to the WWII Soldier Boy from the comics, while taking it in a sleek new direction. And if you think the photos are cool, just wait till you see Jensen in action. It's one of my very favorite suits."

It's unclear at this point if Ackles' character will also be involved in the present-day storyline of season 3, (SPOILERS) which picks up after the Boys disbanded and Congresswoman Neuman (Claudia Doumit) was revealed to be a head-exploding supe, but it seems likely. We already know Aya Cash's Stormfront has lived for decades without aging.

After tackling white supremacy, police brutality, alt-right extremism, and an actual Nazi in season 2, Kripke told EW season 3 will delve into "the history of the supes" and the team Payback in order to "tell a little bit about the history of America and how we ended up in the current fraught position that we're in... Soldier Boy gives us an opportunity to do that."

Clearly there are some big changes between the Soldier Boy in the comics and the Soldier Boy on screen. For one, Payback and the Seven operated at the same time in the comics. The character on the page was more of an anxious, insecure supe who was constantly belittled and overruled by his team member Stormfront (originally depicted as male). Soldier Boy was also vying for a spot in the Seven, which led to a particularly... intimate moment between he and Homelander during the comic arc known as Herogasm — which, as it happens, is being adapted in season 3.

By comparison, Ackles teased his version of the character on Instagram with an image of his Soldier Boy shield. "Every dent, every scratch, every mark tells a story. A story that ends with me, winning," he wrote.

Variety:

Ackles steps into the third season of the comic book-inspired drama as the original superhero, created by Compound V in the 1940s. He fought in World War II (killing German soldier by the dozen, it has been said) and then became the first super celebrity and a mainstay of American culture. In the comics, he was the leader of Payback, the second-strongest superhero team behind the Seven. (Though it should be noted he always wanted to join the Seven and mistakenly thought sleeping with Homelander was a test before being allowed to join.)

When it comes to Soldier Boy’s abilities, he is strong and agile, able to dodge bullets and blows equally easily. He also has a shield that he uses as a weapon, which has been incorporated into Ackles’ costume. (For a closer look at the shield, visit his Instagram.)

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/jensen-ackles-the-boy-season-3-soldier-boy-costume-first-look-1234989106/

https://ew.com/tv/the-boys-season-3-jensen-ackles-soldier-boy-photo/

#Jensen Ackles #Soldier Boy #The Boys #S3: The Boys #Bearded!Jensen #Long Haired Jensen #OMG HE LOOKS SO GOOD #AHHHHHHHHHHHH

2K notes · View notes

365days365movies · 3 years

Text

Western August I: Stagecoach (1939) - Recap and Review

Let’s start at the beginning...almost,

The Western arguably was born with the 1903 film, The Great Train Robbery. This 12-minute short film is a classic, and one of the earliest achievements in film-making. It’s also, unsurprisingly, a Western, and based on an actual train robbery. At the time it was made, the Wild West had only really ended a few years prior, with its heyday being about 40 years past. Which, yeah, is CRAZY. People who remembered the Wild West lived into the 1950s and ‘60s. It seems like so long ago, and it was, but it was still relatively recent from a historical standpoint.

From then, the Western remained a staple of cinema, and would be so for over half a century. And then, enter John Ford. Born in 1894, the Irish American director began his career in 1914 as an assistant and handyman, often working with his older brother Francis. Eventually, John took his place as a director, starting with silent films, especially westerns. Starting with the very successful film The Iron Horse in 1924, he quickly rose to stardom. He transitioned from silent films to talkies pretty effortlessly, and continued his streak. All the while, he was also one of the first directors to have a roster of actors in his company. You know how Tim Burton always uses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter? Or how the Coen Brothers always use Frances McDormand and John Goodman? Or Wes Andersen with Bill Murray and Owen Wilson? Yeah, that started with John Ford and...ugh...

Before I start...fuck John Wayne.

Dude was a racist homophobic asshole, and absolutely a dick. Look it up, or don’t if you’d rather not have one of cinemas most iconic faces completely ruined for you. But OK, outside of that one time that he said that the Native Americans were “selfishly trying to keep the land for themselves”, or that he believed in white supremacy over uneducated blacks...yeah, he’s a DICK...

Marion Robert Morrison was born in Iowa in 1907, and began his film career after becoming injured while surfing without a surfboard and ending his football career. Yes, really. His football coach was a friend of a film director named John Ford, who hired Morrison as a favor to him. Said football coach was also friends with an actual remnant of the Old West: WYATT FUCKING EARP. YEAH.

For years, Morrison was a bit player until starring in the film The Big Trail in 1930, a Western directed by Raoul Walsh. And he wasn’t exactly famous after this, but it was with this film that he took up a screen name: John Wayne, after a Revolutionary War general, Anthony Wayne, and...well, the name John. Anthony sounded too Italian. Yes, really. After this movie, Wayne continued to star in more Westerns, and even became one of the first film cowboys to sing on camera.

And then, 1939 came along, and John Ford came to him with a new film project. Being a classic Western, the film was about a group of settlers riding on a stagecoach together through the West. Strangers to each other, they find themselves attacked by a group of Native Americans belonging to the Apache tribes. This film, an adaptation of a 1939 short story, would come to be known as Stagecoach. And it would launch Ford, Wayne, and the Western genre into a Golden Age. So no more navel-gazing, let’s get started!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

I get reminded that I haven’t watched a Criterion Collection film in a while, and the film begins with a rousing Western theme, courtesy of...holy shit, this movie has SEVEN COMPOSERS? Well, OK, courtesy of somebody in that list of seven. From there, we cut to a camp somewhere in the Arizona Territory in 1880. Which, again, is only 60 years prior to this film’s release date. There, a group of men discuss the danger imposed on them by the Apache, stirred up by the legendary warrior Geronimo.

And from there, we go to the town of Tonto, where stagecoach driver Buck (Andy Devine) lets a group of passengers out. One of these passengers is Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), there to catch another shuttle to meet her husband in Dry Fork, New Mexico. However, the stagecoach gains an extra passenger in the form of the Marshal, Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft), who goes to find an outlaw also in Lordsburg.

The passenger list builds with the addition of Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) and Dallas (Claire Trevor), a drunk and a prostitute both driven out of town by the Law and Order League of Women, due to social stigma affecting them both. In a bar getting a farewell drink, Doc meets yet one more passenger, Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek), a whiskey salesman that Doc is glad to meet. Meanwhile, banker Henry Gatewood (Berton Churchill) also boards the vehicle, under mysterious circumstances.

Friends of Lucy are worried with her travelling a drunk and a prostitute (the ABSOLUTE SCANDAL), but she needs to visit her husband in Dry Fork. As she leaves, she meets eyes with the dangerous but enigmatic gambler Hatfield (John Carradine). And before they’re able to leave altogether, the carriage is stopped by the army, who warn them of the Apache and Geronimo. All of the passengers refuse to get off, and YET TWO MORE passengers board to protect the carriage: the Marshal and Hatfield. And finally, they’re off! But as they head out, they’re stopped when they encounter a recently escaped outlaw.

This is The Ringo Kid (John Wayne), who just got out of prison. The Marshal sees him, and takes him into custody on the way to Lordsburg, where they plan to drop him off into jail. And yes, he’s put on the fucking stagecoach. In total, we have Buck, the Marshal, Lucy, Hatfield, Doc, Peacock, Gatewood, and the Ringo Kid. Jesus, that’s a crowded-ass carriage, even if two of them are outside of it. Hell, Ringo’s sitting on the fuckin’ floor!

Anyway, the group interacts and introduces themselves. We learn that Doc once patched up Ringo’s brother, and was discharged from the Union Army for drunkenness. We learn that Hatfield is a true southern gentleman, and a veteran of the Confederate army (much to Doc’s ire), and that Ringo’s brother was murdered under mysterious circumstances.

The group gets to Dry Forks, currently under occupation by the army. Said army had accompanied them (outside of the carriage, thank God) to Dry Forks, and are staying there to guard against the Apache. Meanwhile, Lucy’s dismayed to find that her husband isn’t in fact there. This leads to the debate of whether or not the party should go back to Tonto, or head onwards to Lordsburg. Buck wants to go back to Tonto, as does Peacock, while literally everybody else wants to go to Lordsburg. And so, they continue onwards.

Before heading onwards, the group sits for dinner, during which Ringo is the only one to show any form of kindness to Dallas, as everybody else looks down on her for prostitution. Shit, man, they won’t even sit near her at the table. Jesus. Unfortunately, Dallas is used to this cruel treatment, and it allows her to bond with Ringo in her loneliness. Once again, character interactions reveal things about our cast. Lucy is feeling quite ill, and Hatfield reveals that he served under her father in the Confederate Army.

And from there, the coach continues on through the desert. Buck and the Marshal argue about letting Ringo free, as he aims to continue his feud with the outlaw Luke Plummer and his brothers, despite the fact that he’ll likely be killed by them. It’s for this reason that the Marshal wants to keep Ringo in his custody, as he was good friends with his father and doesn’t want to see him killed by the dangerous Plummers, whom Buck thinks should be taken down regardless.

Inside the coach, the banker reveals that he’s literally a Republican from 2016 (he rants about small government, and claims that a businessman should be President, holy shit), while people keep treating Dallas like shit, except for Ringo. They go through a cold mountain pass, which isn’t great for Lucy for some reason. It’s actually quite rough on everyone. Except for Doc Boone, who keeps drinking Peacock’s whiskey samples, which is hilarious.

Finally, the group makes it to the next stop, Apache Wells. There, Lucy discovers that her husband has been severely wounded in a battle with the Apache, and she falls faint. Despite being absolutely SMASHED, Doc sobers up to help her, with the help of Ringo and the Marshal. Meanwhile, Dallas watches over her, despite the rancor that Lucy’s tossed at her this whole time.

The group stays the night, attended to by Chris (Chris Pin-Martin) a Mexican man who’s married to Yakima (Elvira Rios), an Apache woman who...is played by a Mexican singer. Huh. I mean...it’s still technically redface, unfortunately. But then again, the attitude towards Native American actors at this time was...oh boy. And the portrayal of the Mexicans in the camp aren’t exactly great, as a group of them steal the group’s spare horses, meaning that they only have one set of horses to use from here on out.

But amongst the unpleasant is a pleasant surprise, and the reveal of the cause for Lucy’s mysterious condition: she’s pregnant. Or rather, she was, as the baby’s just been delivered, and is being held by Dallas. As the group celebrates, Chris warns Ringo to stay away from Lordsburg, as the Plummers will kill him. But Ringo has something else on his mind.

See, on seeing Dallas with the baby, he finds himself quite in love with her. He finds her outside, and tells her that his father and brothers were killed by the Plummers. In turn, she reveals that her family was massacred on the real-life Superstition Mountain. Their conversation ends in Ringo proposing to Dallas, which she protests to because of her mysterious past.

The next morning, Yakima’s left with Chris’ horse and rifle, and the group worry that she’s gone to tell the Apache. After Gatewood panics about his mysterious valise being possibly stolen, the group packs up and readies themselves to go. But Lucy is, of course, still ill from literally giving birth hours ago. Things are still tense between Lucy and Dallas, despite Dallas taking care of her the entire fucking night. Jesus, lady, that high horse is looking uncomfortable, you should get off it.

Dallas has something else to worry about, as she’s thinking on Ringo’s proposal. She consults with the doctor, who reminds her of her mysterious and checkered past being revealed if she goes. But she doesn’t seem to care, and she decides to accept the proposal. As for the rest, Gatewood’s freakin’ the fuck out. Because of Lucy’s condition, the doctor requests that they don’t leave until a day later. And Gatewood doesn’t give a single shit, as the Apache are close enough. Still, the party decides to stay, at Hatfield’s added insistence.

Ringo and Dallas talk, with Dallas both warning him of the Plummers, and also accepting his proposal. The men are all still arguing about whether or not they should leave, and they note that the Apache are likely between them and their destination. Ringo then takes the opportunity to escape and ride to Lordsburg for revenge on the Plummers. But he stops when he sees smoke signals on the hill. The Apache are coming.

No more waiting, it’s time to GO. Taking the still recovering lady and her newborn child Coyote into the stagecoach, they take off into the desert. Gatewood continues to run his loudmouth, to the ire of Hatfield and Ringo. And Peacock, to my delight, shows some kindness and “Christian charity” to Dallas, as she holds Coyote during the ride. And after all, they’re almost at the ferry!

Ah, shit, the ferry! Looks like the ferry, and the entire town of Lee’s Ferry have been burned. And if they ford the river, all of their supplies could be flooded, or the oxen could drown! Or worse, dysentery could set in! That’s what The Oregon Trail taught me! And yet, despite this, that’s actually EXACTLY what they do! And unlike me literally every time I’ve every tried to cross a river without a ferry, they make it through fine! Realistic educational games my ASS!

But it’s not entirely safe, as the group are being watched by none other than the Apache, who make their way down to intercept the group. In the carriage, meanwhile, the group is thankful that they’ve made their way from danger, and even Gatewood relaxes a little. Doc Boone makes a toast, and everyone seems to be getting along for once.

OH FUCK, PEACOCK GOT HIT!

The girlfriend IMMEDIATELY SAYS, “Now he really is Drew Peacock.” I leave and get boba to soothe my injured spirit from that well-timed joke. And then, the movie continues, and the chase is on! The Apache chase the stagecoach through the desert, and the groups trade gunshots and arrows, with Ringo shooting from the back. Gatewood panics so hard that Doc Boone punches him and IMMEDIATELY knocks him out, as he attends to Peacock’s injuries.

But despite their best efforts, the Apache group catches up to them, although many of them are killed by Ringo, the Marshal, Doc, and Hatfield. In the process, Buck is also shot, and Ringo literally jumps ON THE FUCKING HORSES, and commands them from the front like a goddamn badass. Things begin to get worse, as everybody in the stagecoach runs out of ammo, at the worst possible time. Hatfield only has one bullet remaining, and he considers using it...to kill Lucy! Holy fuck!

And just as he’s about to fire IN HER FUCKING FACE, the sounds of horns ring out as the cavalry arrives. And Hatfield, dick that he is, is shot. I think he was trying to spare her the indignity of being captured by the Apache, but Jesus, man! He collapses, and reveals that his father is a judge in Virginia before he...either passes out or dies, I’m not sure. The group finally gets to Lordsburg, where it turns out that Lucy’s husband is gonna be OK, and wasn’t severely injured. She tanks Dallas for everything that she’s done, and promises to help her should she ever need assistance. Good, finally, the lady needs a goddamn break.

The stagecoach rides through the busy town, and the arrival of the Ringo Kid gets the attention of Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler), who fetches his brothers Hank (Vester Pegg) and Ike (Joe Rickson). Time to get ready for a showdown, it seems. Dallas seems to know this, and goes to Ringo after the living Peacock (yay!) and the not-so-living Hatfield (oof) are brought in for medical help.

Buck’s also OK, but Gatewood isn’t. See, that valise he was carrying was actually full of money, and he had embezzled it from his own bank. He had counted on telegraph lines being down, so that he could escape with his ill-gotten gains, but has no such luck, and is led away in handcuffs! HA!

Ringo, meanwhile, is set to kill Luke Plummer and his brothers. The Marshal lets him escape, and promises to get Dallas safely down to a little ranch he owns in the South. Dallas and Ringo walk off together, and Dallas tries to get him to leave and say goodbye before he goes to his death, and before he finds out about her past (presumably as a prostitute).

See, they’re actually walking up to a brothel, where Dallas is going to stay and work. Because, yeah, she’s a prostitute. Sucks that she’s been so maligned, because prostitution fuckin’ BUILT the Old West! I guess it’s easier to see that with historical context. As Ringo finds out the truth about Dallas (which he might’ve known all along), he still insists upon marrying her...and upon killing the Plummers.

Doc, meanwhile, goes to the bar where the Plummers are waiting. He tells them that he’ll get them arrested, and Luke swears to come back for him after their business with Ringo is concluded. The brothers head outside, ready for the final showdown. It’s 3 on one, Plummers against Ringo. Ringo fires! A few more shots...then silence. And Dallas mourns.

Except that Ringo wins the fight, and goes back to her! A happy ending! I’m sure that’ll be pretty goddamn rare this month. The Marshal arrives to take Ringo away, and Ringo goes as promised. She asks to ride with him a bit, and the Marshal agrees. He and Doc watch them get on, then cause the horses of the carriage to stampede away, letting Ringo and Dallas escape into the desert, together. And that’s the end!

Y’know...I liked it! I really liked it!

This movie is often referred to as the greatest Western of all time, and the reason that the Western survived into the next several decades. And honestly, I get it! It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, and won for Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Mitchell, AKA Doc) and Best Original Score, both of which were quite deserved!

Review time!

Cast and Acting - 9/10: Sure, it’s a little hokey. But at the same time, it’s good classic Hollywood acting! Wayne, Trevor, Mitchell, Carradine, and Devine are standouts for me, all of which serving their roles well. Also, fun fact about Andy Devine: he’s the voice of Friar Tuck in Disney’s Robin Hood! KNEW I recognized that voice!

Plot and Writing - 10/10: Standard plot? Sure. Engaging as hell? Hell yeah! This is just a good story, plain and simple. No holes, no problems, no mistakes, and purely straightforward. Great writing by the original story author, Ernest Haycox, and great screenplay by Dudley Nichols!

Directing and Cinematography - 10/10: Great looking movie, too! All credit to John Ford, unsurprisingly. Cinematographer Bert Glennon also deserves credit for the beautiful landscape shots throughout. Gogeous film, even in black-and-white!

Production and Art Design - 8/10: This is pretty standard Western production design, so not a lot to write home about specifically. However, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. To the contrary, it’s quite good! Just does stand out to me quite as much as other movies. Might be a nitpick, but it’s still something against the film.

Music and Editing - 10/10: No complaints! Seven composers definitely make their presence known, and you can tell that this score heavily informed all Western scores after it. It’s iconic, and it’s perfect for the mood. As for the editing by Otho Lovering and Dorothy Spencer...it’s great! Perfect pacing, well-edited...no complaints whatsoever.

94%, and I had fun with this one!

I honestly did have quite a good time with this one. I can’t really call it a “fun” movie, but it definitely is a good one. Plus, it’s a John Ford/John Wayne film, which is basically a staple of the genre. So, what’s next?

Next: My Darling Clementine (1946), dir. John Ford

#stagecoach #stagecoach 1939 #john ford #claire trevor #john wayne #andy devine #john carradine #thomas mitchell #george bancroft #apache #western august #365 days 365 movies #365 movie challenge #western genre #user365 #usersasha #my gifs #mygifs

9 notes · View notes

mechanicalinertia · 3 years

Text

What’s next for Divine Patronage?

So my Ranma / Ah My Goddess! / other miscellaneous anime that take place in 1990′s Tokyo fanfic has become more popular than anything else I’ve ever written. I may have classes but this is my designated ‘leisure activity’ now for sure.

Anyway, I have a rough idea for this initial ‘arc’, and how it’ll end. Fine. Whatever. More importantly, though, I have continuing ideas about how to cross over more and more mid-90′s anime and other things into this mishmash where Urd and Ranma have to ‘problem-solve’ things. Christ I wrote like 9 possible arc setups last night; it’ll take me years to make good on them if I do at all.

That’s why I’m a-posting brief summaries of them here, so if I give up on these people can just steal em’.

1. CRIMES OF THE MISHIMA GROUP AGAINST GOOD TASTE

Sayoko Mishima and her zaibatsu god-nap Keiichi and in doing so royally piss off Belldandy. Urd has to snatch the poor kid, who is now a minor god, out from Sayoko’s clutches before Belldandy just loses it and nukes earth in silent rage. Ranma can’t beat the compound alone, though, so Urd turns to Akiko Natsume - the actual head of Mishima - and her all purpose combat android for some help. Unfortunately, the android has a cat brain. Cue Ranma struggling to confront his fears to save the world.

Crossover with: All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku, a medium-obscure OVA from the 90′s starring Megumi Hayashibara as the wacky cat-bot-girl with Saeko Shimazu (Kodachi’s voice among others) as Akiko. Good fun.

2. FATE / STRANGE; DAYS

Remember Lind, the Valkyrie from the Angel Eater Arc of AMG? Well, she back. She intervened in Fate / Zero’s Holy Grail War (assumed to take place around 1994) and contracted w/ Kiritsugu the way Urd did with Ranma. Now Kiri may have lost all his lady companions, but he gets Illya back from Germany and is raising her alongside Shirou with the help of Illya’s wacky maids. Maybe lil’ Rin and Sakura are involved, too, I dunno.

Anyway, Lind considers the Sailor Senshi a threat to the divine order (they do appear to predate human civilization) - especially since Saturn’s Glaive of Silence is believed to be the Norse Gungnir, Spear of Destiny, Odin’s superweapon that could (even in the OG myths) rewrite reality itself to render enemies nonexistent.

So Lind gets Kiritsugu, Arturia Saber, and Prisma Illya to go to Tokyo and track down Sailor Saturn with Ranma’s help. Then they end up teleporting to the distant past of the Silver Milennium, back when the Senshi’s magic rendered the other planets of the Solar System inhabitable. Cue a string of John Carter references.

Crossover with: Fate / Zero, Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Might even separate the Fate story from the whole Saturn / Gungnir subplot - they’re just hunting Kirei and Gil, then. Sure. Fine.

3. THE FUTURE IS HERE AND IT SUCKS

Skuld time travels into the future, only to find that almost every single timeline ends with humanity being wiped out before the 22nd century - perhaps by SM’s Great Freeze, perhaps by other factors. Unfortunately, she forgot to close her possible-future-timeline portals properly, which leads to various cyberpunk futures bouncing off one another for supremacy in 1996.

(Look I wanted to just fuckin do BGC or GITS crossover. Couldn’t decide. Why not both?)

Crossover with: BGC 2032 (Or my 2069 rebot), Ghost in the Shell, Silent Mobius (maybe)

4. GAMES OF THE GODS

The obligatory ‘gang plays an RPG’ sitcom episode, only a) it’s Cyberpunk 2020 because I’ve read that system’s books, and b) the goddesses all bring their boytoys along to be sucked into the game world as their player characters. (Urd gets Ranma, Bell gets Keiichi, Skuld is the GM, Peorth gets Ryoga, Lind gets Kiritsugu) (I guess I better do an arc where Peorth patronizes Ryoga to screw with Urd...)

5. GUNS, BOMBS, ROCK N’ ROLL

Ranma gets dragged along by Urd for a vacation, theoretically to LA. But then after getting bored of the Obligatory Beach Episode, Urd rediscovers that she has a daughter in Chicago - Rally Vincent. She and Ranma rush off to screw up the events of the manga and protect her daughter from the brainwashing of a lesbian rapist crime lord. (I wish I was making that last bit up). Maybe Priss of BGC tags along to really hammer in the WACKY KENICHI SONODA CROSSOVER thing?

Crossover with: Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean, maybe BGC

6. HEISEI BLOSSOMS BLOOMING

The Japanese government decides to reactivate the Teikoku Kagekidan project, this time using idoru as the mecha pilots instead of the Takarazura Revue thing they had going on in the 20′s. The K-on girls audition, the Love Live girls audition, someone in the Ranma cast or something tries out as well. Mecha are now nuclear-powered instead of steam-powered (whatever that means)

Crossover with: Original Sakura Wars franchise, Tite Kubo iteration non-involved. maybe K-on and Love Live

7. RANMA’S LUDICROUS EXCURSION: STAR-DIAMOND DUST IS UNCRUSADERABLE

Ranma gets a stand. Urd thinks it’s like her angel. Yare yare daze.

Crossover with: What do you think, genius?

8. ETERNAL SUMMER

Ranma gets trapped in a temporal anomaly centered around Tomobiki Town. Now it’s August 1982, Ataru and Lum are about to get married, and unless he can stop the total breakdown of the pocket reality within the seven days before the time loop resets he’ll become part of it forever. Trippy New Wave Existentialist Bullshit - Screwball Comedy meets Body Horror. Also see: Higurashi.

Crossover with: Urusei Yatsura

9. TRICOWBOYOUTLAW BEBOPGUNSTAR: EFF YOU, SPACE COWBOY

A valiant attempt to crossover all three of the late 90′s ‘Cowboy shonen’ anime of the time in one universe. A shared universe? Nah. We’re probably just gonna transplant all the characters into 90′s Tokyo again and watch the body count pile up.

Crossover with: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Trigun. Oh, and maybe one of those ‘robo-maid’ shows from the aughties (Hand Maid May, Mahoromatic, Steel Angel Kurimi), just to fuck with everyone.

10. COPS AND ROBOTS

Ranma gets in trouble with the police for sneaking onto the Babylon Project, forced into community service, and then ends up blackmailed into the long-running grudgematch between the SV2 Labor Squad and the Tokyo Highway Patrol.

Crossover with: You’re Under Arrest, Patlabor (original OVA mostly)

11. SUPERIOR AUTOMATRONIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION: GO NAGAI EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Skuld gets in a fight with some deities from some rival pantheons, and as a proper grudgematch resolution they all resolve to build Giant Robots and then Battle Royale them. Ranma has to pilot one.

Crossover with: NOTHING.

12. THE HOUND OF ULSTER BARKS AT MIDNIGHT

Cu Chullain, husbando of Ex-Valkyrie and turncoat Irish goddess Scathach, teams up with Ranma in Dublin to stop IRA extremists from resurrecting the Tuatha De Dannan, specifically the Morrigan. A teenage Bazett (from Fate) shows up and gets all fangirly.

13. TALES FROM THE OOPS

An abandoned particle accelerator built in the 80′s near Stockholm may or may not cause Ragnarok. Ranma and some edgy Swedish Teenagers have to deal with 90′s recession bullshit and clean the place out

Crossover with: Tales from the Loop, Things From the Flood

That’s about it, honestly. I have other things I’d like to crossover with, tbh, mostly mecha stuff. Among them:

- Cannon God Exaxxion

- Eva

- Gundam UC

- Muv-Luv

-Negmia / another Ken Akumatsu trashpile (and I mean that in the best possible way)

Shit this is fun. Imma make another one of these posts with even more ludicrious crossovers later. Peace out.

2 notes · View notes

protierras · 5 years

Photo

Greetings helmet know this is added seven points and 10 nike nfl jerseys from china

But even a $2 older kids Cheap Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys and $3 younger kids credit, available to all kids, would be a substantial expansion. One forward line you’ll see I didn’t tamper with was the top-line trio of Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews and Willy Nylander. And I’m grateful for it.” Landis’ saga isn’t exactly ancient history to MLB Baseball Jerseys McCabe and his teammates, but enough time has elapsed that it isn’t a deal-breaker, and they appear to regard him as a benign benefactor. In February, 2017, WVUE’s morning show nike nfl jerseys from china captured more viewers than any other newscast in New Orleans. Backup Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping The Columbus Blue Jackets got their first chance this season to play the Washington Capitals Friday night. The NYXL and London Spitfire’s inaugural season success along with more unlikely contenders in the Philadelphia Fusion and both Los Angeles teams overshadowed how disappointing the Dynasty were last year.

To search MLB Baseball Jerseys for players who were born on a certain date, for example all players born on December 25, choose the month, day and year with the drop down boxes and then choose the ‘Full Date Search’ option.

As Rosscup says, the best way to eliminate that unknown is for imperiled lefties to make the necessary adjustments:

Nie New Orleans Saints Ladies Tailgater Full Zip Hoodie Red

Price: $36.00

April 25: The biggest date in the NFL offseason calendar;

Surprisingly there haven’t been too many outlandish Bryce Harper takes since the star outfielder reportedly agreed to a huge deal Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping with the Philadelphia Phillies;

He knows what it looks like;

William Nylander Not Budging It is being reported that Toronto In today’s rumor rundown, the Vegas Golden Knights Cheap St.Louis Cardinals Jerseys are not close on a deal with Shea Theodore, nor are the wholesale jerseys Devils with left-winger Miles Wood. Whether it’s rushing the passer New Nike NFL Jerseys or stepping out into coverage, Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Mercilus brings this competitive fire and seasoned leadership skills into all facets of his position. It’s all about Transfer U: Technically, Miami is Manny Diaz’s second head-coaching job.

Cowboys #94 Demarcus Ware Blue Stitched Youth NFL Jersey

Price: $20.00

Food Brings Hope focuses on providing school children with opportunities and resources to discover their full potential. It might not seem like a big deal to lose in the playoffs against last season’s champions, but Valiant general manager Mike Schwartz told ESPN it’s indicative of an adaptability problem. Houston Baptist plays Nicholls State at home on Saturday. Finding a coach that can nurture the differing needs of eight to 12 players is no easy feat –especially in a game like Overwatch, which has only existed since 2016. espnW: What do you hope fans take away, or remember, from this routine? U18 Euro Championship A. While the fight at the front remains hard to conclusively call heading into the season’s first Saturday, the battle New Nike NFL Jerseys for supremacy in the midfield is – as expected – looking similarly tight and unpredictable. Copyright 2019 by AP. Navy Memorial with the Lone Sailor Award, presented to those who exemplify the core values of honor, courage and commitment. DADT is a really bad policy. — For more AP college basketball coverage: https: Collegebasketball and http: AP-Top25 — This was generated by Automated Insights, http: ap, using data from STATS LLC, https: Copyright 2019 by AP.

LEARN MORE Go behind the scenes and start the game where the pros do with the Calgary Flames Dressing Room Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Experience. on Sunday morning, according to 247Sports.

http://www.thebigboss.app/and-four-older-brother-liangelo-a-total-cheap-basketball-jerseys/ http://xn—-jtbargmbeedx0f.xn--p1ai/to-search-57-all-players-pitchers-lead-desire-wholesale-jerseys-china/

La entrada Greetings helmet know this is added seven points and 10 nike nfl jerseys from china se publicó primero en PROTIERRAS S.A.S.

http://bit.ly/2HkETFB

#protierras #PROTIERRAS S.A.S

0 notes

flauntpage · 5 years

Text

Need to Know Betting Info for Saints-Cowboys

It will be a battle for NFC SUPREMACY when the first-place Cowboys (I hate everything) and Saints kick off tonight in Dallas. Eh, supremacy is probably an oversell on the Cowboys, but this game carries significant playoff implications for both teams as New Orleans tries to strengthen its grip on the conference’s top seed, while Dallas looks to further distance itself from Philadelphia and Washington in a weak NFC East. They can do so by knocking off what appears to be the NFL’s most dangerous team.

Eagles fans will be locked in on this one, rooting hard for a Dallas loss that would open the door for a three-way tie atop the division should the Eagles beat the Redskins at home on Monday night. While that subplot alone creates plenty of intrigue, this much-hyped prime time game featuring two public betting darlings figures to draw a ton of action, so let’s take a look at some need-to-know information ahead of it.

Bonus: first bet matched up to $200

Minimum Deposit: $5

DraftKings Sportsbook

Ease of use

Variety of action

Modern interface

Live betting

DraftKings Sportsbook review

BET NOW

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800 GAMBLER.

21+. NJ only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See website for details.

The matchup

Here’s a quick trivia question: Can you name the NFL teams that have covered 10 consecutive games against the spread dating back to 2003? You can’t—because there are none. Only two teams since that season have covered nine in a row, and both teams failed to cover its next game. The Saints, a squad that has bulldozed opponents and the bank accounts of those bold enough to bet against them since Week 3, will attempt tonight to breakthrough and extend their ATS streak to double-digits.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys find themselves in unfamiliar territory as a 7-point home underdog. The last time Dallas was a touchdown or more underdog at home came back in Week 8 of the 2015 season when they hosted the Patriots. That one didn’t go so well for the home team, as the Cowboys were steamrolled in a 30-6 loss. In fact, this spot has historically been unkind to Dallas. The last four times the Cowboys were an underdog of seven or more at home they lost the game outright.

If Dallas is to reverse that trend, its defense, which is allowing a stingy 19.4 points per game, will need to slow down a Saints offense that has eclipsed 40 points on six different occasions and 30 points nine times through 11 games, so they’ll have a tall order in front of them tonight. Despite its stellar overall play, the Cowboys defense has allowed opposing offenses to complete 44% of third down conversions (29th in the league), while opposing quarterbacks have completed 69.1% of their pass attempts (28th). That’s a recipe for disaster against a Saints offense that is converting 47% of their third down opportunities (6th) and completing a league-best 76% of their pass attempts. Just how good has this team been? Relatively speaking, the Falcons did a respectable job keeping the Saints in check on Thanksgiving night…and still surrendered 31 points and, frankly, were never really in the game.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Cowboys hold the Saints under 30 points, so they will need a big night on offense. Ezekiel Elliott has been hot recently, rushing for a combined 394 yards over the past three weeks, but he faces a difficult test against a Saints defense allowing a league-best 73.2 yards per game on the ground. The Falcons didn’t even try to run the ball a week ago, totaling only 26 yards on 16 attempts. If Dallas is to hang around, Dak Prescott must make explosive plays in the passing game. The New Orleans defense is among the game’s worst in DVOA against both opponents’ No. 1 and No. 2 wide receivers, and it ranks 29th in DVOA against passes that travel 16 or more yards downfield. The addition of Amari Cooper gives Prescott a fighting chance to exploit this weakness, but he’s struggled thus far in 2018 on passes traveling at least 20 yards, completing only 36.4% of his attempts (26th in the NFL).

Dak Prescott can't miss opportunities like this against NO. pic.twitter.com/1aFhHYrz84

— John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 27, 2018

It is, however, worth noting that while those vulnerabilities exist in the secondary, the Saints have gotten much better play from their defense overall, particularly over the past three weeks in which it has surrendered only 38 total points.

The money

The Saints are commanding 68% of point-spread bets, but only 59% of the money, so there’s some big dollars on the Cowboys. Meanwhile, 78% of the action is on the over, but only 69% of the money. Despite the money backing the over, the game total has dropped from 53 down to 51.5 at many major books, including DraftKings and FanDuel. Fishy, fishy.

The trends

Everybody wants to bet on the Saints pinball offense. Explosive! Like a video game! While true, the over has hit in only 5 of 11 Saints games, while each of their last seven Thursday night games have stayed under the total.

The Saints are 5-0 against the spread away from home, winning by an average margin of 14 points per game. Even if you exclude their 51-14 massacre of the Bengals back in Week 10, they’re still winning by an average of eight points per game. The Saints are hot, too, totaling a +92 point-differential over the past three weeks. Here’s another trend backing New Orleans: the favorite has won each of the past eight Thursday night games between teams from the same conference.

As for the Cowboys, they have gone a respectable 10-8-1 ATS as a home underdog under Jason Garrett, but they have been a categorical disaster against elite teams during his tenure. Against opponents with a winning percentage between 80-100%, the Cowboys are 6-9-1 ATS, but they have been brutal at home, going 1-7 ATS against elite opponents.

Value

So where’s the value at tonight? In New Jersey, of course. [insert drum sound] As of 3:30 pm, those looking to take the underdog should head to SugarHouse Sportsbook where you can get Dallas at +7 (+100). Those backing the Saints can grab them at FanDuel -7 (-110). Totals bettors on the over should go SugarHouse, where they can get 51.5 (-107), while those on the under can get 52 with BetStars NJ.

Bonus: first bet matched up to $200

Minimum Deposit: $5

DraftKings Sportsbook

Ease of use

Variety of action

Modern interface

Live betting

DraftKings Sportsbook review

BET NOW

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800 GAMBLER.

21+. NJ only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See website for details.

Bonus: First deposit matched up to $250

Minimum Deposit: $10

SugarHouse Sportsbook

Established New Jersey casino

Live betting options

Exciting prop bets

Strong bonus

SugarHouse Sportsbook review

BET NOW

iOS app

Android app

21+ and Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler

Bonus: $500 risk free bet

Minimum Deposit: $10

FanDuel Sportsbook

Established brand

Backed by Betfair

Excellent interface

Live betting view

FanDuel Sportsbook review

BET NOW

Bonus: $500 in free bets

Minimum Deposit: $10

BetStars NJ

Excellent interface

Proven app

Incredible promo

Unique props and parlays

BetStars NJ review

BET NOW

21+. NJ only. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler

Also be sure to check out DraftKings’ special Odds Boosts tonight. Here’s the menu:

ODDS BOOSTS

Saints To Win By 14+ Points

Was: +200 Now: +240

Elliott & Kamara Combine For 2+ TDs

Was: -150 Now: -120

Brees Throws For 3+ TDs & Saints Win

Was: +130 Now: +160

Amari Cooper To Score First TD

Was: +1100 Now: +1300 pic.twitter.com/ZDEtprOeQF

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) November 29, 2018

Over at BetStars, users can take advantage of a Saints Stars Stack and Odds Boost:

Prediction

I absolutely see the value in taking the improved Cowboys at home against a team that has to have a letdown at some point. After all, there’s a reason no team has covered 10 straight games in well over 15 years, but betting against New Orleans feels insane right now. Sean Payton, a former Cowboys assistant, is a master motivator, and the Saints can potentially clinch a division title this weekend and are still playing for the NFC’s top spot. Payton has done a great job of getting a team that could have been fat and happy to get up week after week, and something tells me this didn’t go unmentioned during team meetings this week:

DeMarcus Lawrence has some words about the Saints ahead of their Thursday Night matchup

pic.twitter.com/PrMjZxPpwv

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 27, 2018

Truthfully, I’m not crazy about either side, nor do I feel strongly about the total. When you do the math, 52 points seems like a reachable total, but the trends, along with the fact that the total has dropped despite action on the over, suggest the under is the sharp play. Dallas also feels like the sharp play, too, but I don’t trust Jason Garrett or Dak Prescott, and I refuse to bet against the Saints right now. For these reasons, and although I’m typically hesitant about teasers, it feels like a good spot to grab 6 points and take the Saints to -1 and the total down to 45.5. And so that’s what I’m going to do.

Saints 34, Cowboys 27

The post Need to Know Betting Info for Saints-Cowboys appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Need to Know Betting Info for Saints-Cowboys published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

0 notes

marshmallowprotection · 3 years

Text

Andromeda

Pairing: Choi Luciel/Reader

Word Count: 8245

Cowboy Seven x Reader

Next Chapter

[Read On AO3]

The seas were where you felt like you were at peace.

There was nothing like the feeling of the wind in your hair and the sails strung high as the waves carried you from one land to another. You knew the sea life very well because every second of your life revolved around it and led you to always wind back up on the water. The ocean was your home, and the sounds of the crashing waves were like music to your ears.

This was where you loved to be, and it was where you were happy. Even though you had never had a choice in living on the ocean waves. It was a fate that you were bound to, not by choice, but by the acts of those that dared to think that you were nothing but a mere poker chip to bargain on the board in a gambling scheme.

You weren’t burned by those scars, not with the waters protecting you from the wildfire, and smiling broadly, you weren’t going to let it hold you down. You were going to make the best of what you had in this life and you weren’t going to let anyone tie you down as long as you had a say in it. Your eyes were directed at the freedom that you longed for that was out of your reach—

Taunting you and teasing you with the taste of something sweeter than the burn of saltwater taffy that you sampled now and again whenever you were able to reach any port city. There were worse things to be dealing with but you weren’t going to let it drag you down. You would continue tending to the ship that you were on, making repairs and mending whatever needed to be cleaned up.

Upkeep was specifically your job.

You were meant to make sure that everything was ship-shape and in working order. Most people didn’t like the grunt work, but you didn’t mind. Keeping a vessel running was a big task and this boat was like the back of your hand. You knew the in’s and the outs. There was nothing that could miss your careful eye on this boat. That was the luxury of being born and raised on a ship.

The ship became your life just as much as the ship provided your life.

You didn’t know any other life but that didn’t mean that you were lacking in that department. There were kind people on this ship with you that you knew and trusted very well. People that you knew that you could trust your life to and people that you knew would be there for you when you needed them. A couple of people were better than having no one.

You seemingly had no one on your side anymore except for yourself, but you had grown accustomed to that feeling.

To be fair, when you were on a ship, it didn’t matter whether you hated someone or not. Being able to look past angry and rivalry was crucial to being able to survive. The sea didn’t care if you hated that one person or not. All that mattered was that you knew how to keep a steady hand against the mast as the winds kept you at their mercy or retribution.

The sea was a cruel mistress at times, but at others, she was a calm and steady friend that could take you to parts unknown to you. That was what you loved the most. No matter how dangerous the seas could become, you would always embrace the water as it welcomed you into its waiting trenches to lull you to sleep every night. If you were so lucky, that was.

While your main job was to make sure that the vessel of the ship was in great condition alongside any of the others that were fortunate enough to be paid with pennies unlike you; You were the one that was in charge of navigation every night. The celestial navigation system had been used for such a long time and you knew the stars almost as well as you knew the seas.

No matter where you went on the planet, you could never get lost because you knew the way of the stars by heart. It was the one skill that the cruel captain had instilled into you from a young age.

It was all you were good for, by all accounts, according to your captain. You were the replacement for the last Wayfinder and it went without saying that you had to be good at your job or you would wind up in the same place that the last one had. The same place that your mother had found herself all those years ago.

The bottom of the ocean.

It didn’t matter how well you could swim, or how well you could navigate the stars. If you were thrown overboard in the middle of a storm, you were going to drown. Nothing would save you from the angry seas when they decided they were going to swallow you up and never let you see the light of day ever again.

The memory of that time still haunted you, but you pushed it down as it surged inside of your heart.

There were more important things to be focused on.

Like the maintenance of the vessel.

Rolling up your sleeves, you began to crawl down from the lookout tour after patching up some of the worn wood, taking the time to exhale as you slid down. It took a moment for you to get back down to the bridge but once you were on level ground again, you felt your stomach twist. It didn’t seem like any of the crew members were back yet.

You liked it better as long as you were alone on the ship. Not that there was anything wrong with the rest of the crew, sans the captain, but the tone on the ship changed drastically whenever business was back on schedule. There was no laughter, no light, and no feeling of liberation on the seas. Just the feeling of shackles against your ankles that would forever bind you to this fate. It wasn’t like you could run away from this life. It wasn’t like you could escape.

Oh, one could say that it would be easy to just jump from the boat and try to hitch a ride at the docks with another crew. However, that just wasn’t plausible. You couldn’t run and hide from a salty pirate that gripped your chains so tightly that you didn’t know what to do with yourself in the long run. It was to obey or taste the sting of saltwater in your lungs until you suffocated.

You weren’t a fan of the latter. You knew that no matter how far you tried to run, your captain would always yank your chains back to her. She was a cruel woman who didn’t care about anything but the thrill of the chase and the desire to control the seas. It wasn’t about the money, though that was surely a bonus in her book. What she craved was the infamy of destruction.

She was a tyrant, and the mere mention of her name made anyone who traversed the seas tremble in fear of what she would and could do to them if they dared to try and step on her power and control in any way. It didn’t matter if you sided with her or not if she simply saw you and your boat in the same area as her ship?

She would stop at nothing to make sure that your vessel sank to the bottom of the seas. Nothing could stop her from getting what she wanted. Challenging her or telling her that she wasn’t right in what she was doing would land you as good as dead. You’d seen it happen from a young age and you knew that nothing and no one could ever stop this tyrant.

The Bloody Emerald.

As long as you obeyed her orders, she didn’t come down on you too hard. She would allow you to live quietly on the ship and do what you wanted, as long as you made sure that your tasks were completed. Anything that deviated from her goals would put you on the walk to your grave. The last thing you’d wanted was to take a long walk off a short plank into the seas.

It was the last thing that anyone wanted.

So, you obeyed and did what you had to do.

Presently, you had taken care of everything that needed to be mended for the day. That was the good news… since the ship had finally docked in the harbor and you could stretch your land legs for the first time in a while. It had been a few weeks since you had been able to step on solid ground. You weren’t at all complaining about it, though.

As long as you knew that the land was the home for countless humans, you always felt drawn to the seas instead. The sea was your home, even if it was your captor at the same time. You pushed your hair out of your face and grabbed your bag from where you left it at the back of the ship. It was still bright out and early enough in the afternoon that shops would be open.

You wanted to stock up on some taffy again because it was your one saving grace in the evenings when it felt like you were going to fall asleep at the watchtower. The sugar was always just the jolt you needed to stay awake late at night. That and some decent fruit was hard to come by on the sea, and you didn’t want to be caught stealing apples from the kitchen again.

Your wrists still hurt from where the chef had smacked you with their ladle.

As much as that stung, you didn’t care about it too much. A little smack was nothing compared to what the captain would do if she knew that you’d taken things without asking again. A smack on the wrist was better than losing meal rights for two days.

Most of the crew did pity your position and knew full well that even if you pocketed something now and again—

You would repay it tenfold whenever you got the chance.

You were always good for your word. No matter what happened, you would make sure that you did things the right way. Well, the right way by the right people. Crooks and cons didn’t get that level of luxury. No pirate would ever dare trust another pirate with their livelihood least they were on the same crew and ship.

If it was somebody else, you wouldn’t have tried as hard to make things right.

Because, oftentimes, stealing from someone just meant that you were stealing from a thief in the first place. Now, that’d happened plenty of times before in your life, but when you entered this town and began to do your shopping, you were strangely reminded of a time when you took from someone and they didn’t try to start a fight with you in return.

—

It was a typical day.

Well, typical for you.

About as typical as your day could get when you were trying to duck and dodge your captain. It wasn't like you were trying to avoid her but it also wasn't like you wanted to be around her. If you had your saying things that you would pick to go with the latter. you didn't want her scolding you for something that you didn't even do.

You were the scapegoat.

The easiest person to blame in the room because you were the youngest out of anyone that was on this ship. God forbid you tried to do something for yourself for once. If she had taught you anything in your life it was that you had to fend for yourself. You would give her credit for that.

She had shown you that there was no mercy in this world and that you had to do what you had to do.

It was today that you just didn't want to deal with anything.

You couldn't smile and laugh as she tormented you and berated you for the smallest of things. You tried to play the fool to be able to survive, but it tended to backfire on you in the worst kind of way. She would just get angrier when you tried to last through your pain. Nothing would change that scowl on her face.

Even if you tried to keep things casual and very businesslike, that wasn't the response that your Captain wanted either. No matter if you were smiling or if you were frowning, your captain simply did not care. It had been difficult today because it was the day that lived in infamy and your mind. She knew what day it was and she knew what it would do to you.

And, she did what she knew best.

She kicked you around and she made you work the entire day without fail until your hand felt like they were going to break.

When all you wanted was just to get off the ship for just a few minutes to visit the edge of the coast so you could pay your respects to your mother. It was the day and the anniversary of your mother's passing. To your captain, it was a reminder that your mother blatantly failed and she was saddled with you because of it.

It wasn't like she didn't make money out of it anyway.

By the time that you were free from the ship, it was late into the evening. The sun had already begun to set and all you could think about was how the day had been taken from you. It was no different than when you were a child. whether you deserved it or not didn't matter, it just stung horribly to know that every year without fail, you would not be able to mourn in a healthy way whatsoever.

It stung because nobody was mourning for your mother except for you. There was nobody left who cared or would even think about it the way that you did. You had nowhere to visit for a grave since the ocean was her grave. But, you would always visit a small area of the beach to send out a candle in her honor to the waters to remind her spirit that her light would never be forgotten in your eyes as long as you lived.

While you had everything that you needed for the day, you still wanted to drop by the shops for something to eat since you hadn’t the time to stay on the ship and get dinner. A little snack wouldn’t hurt now and again. So you popped off to one of the shops and after you’d gotten what you needed, you paused in the doorway as you realized there was a bit of scuffle.

It wasn’t any of your business, but you were curious. As much as you knew better to avoid that sort of thing, you knew that sometimes it would lift your spirits to see someone knocked down a few pegs if they dared to do the wrong thing. Today it happened to be one of the crewmates from another ship in the docks that you had noted earlier in the day and a stranger that you didn’t know.

He was dressed quite… differently from everyone else.

The duster that he was wearing was better suited for desert terrain, and that hat of his was oriented differently from the one that a captain would wear. It struck you as odd because while you were used to seeing people of all kinds at the ports and docks that you visited, this wasn’t someone that you’d gotten to see before. This style of garb was something and brand new to you.

A cheeky smile on his face as he countered whatever the other man had said, “Now, now, gentleman, slow down n’ hold on a minute. What makes ya’ think that I took your things? I assure ya’, I ain’t do nothin’ of the sort. I’ll even empty my pockets if it helps ya’ out. I assure ya’, it’s a waste of time for ya’, though. Yer’ real thief is already long gone.”

The man scoffed, “It’s always the stranger that doesn’t belong here that is the criminal every time, sir country bumpkin. You ain’t got no excuse because you’re stalling for time. So, go ahead and save us the trouble, then. Empty your pockets, you’ve taken the money.”

Ah.

They were convinced that this stranger had stolen from them. Now, you weren’t going to say whether or not this guy had done it. You didn’t know. You had no way of knowing and it wasn’t your business. Only if the guy took from you or looked like a sleazebag would be an excuse for you to steal from him or get involved.

Though, there was something about his smile that made you want to lean in a little closer. That coy and dashing smile was dangerous and you knew it. If anyone let themselves get too close to another con, they would be conned just as quickly as they dared to get involved in the first place. Something was telling you to do something about this, though. If he was just being targeted for being different, you couldn’t just let that keep happening. It would be wrong.

And today, you knew that your mother would want you to step in and do the right thing for someone, even if they tricked you in the end. She always said it was better to be kind than criminal, but you could only take that advice so much from pirates, you know?

There was always a line but you were sure that you knew where to draw it in the sand.

Sighing, you knew better than this, but you smiled as you walked forward into the fray.

Flashing your eyelashes and waving at the crewmen. “Hey, boys. It seems as though you’re in some trouble with this stranger, you wouldn’t happen to need some help with that, would you? After all, the Bloody Emerald and her crew are here to offer help to anyone that needs it. Though, you’ll need a good price to pay me back for the trouble. I’d love to help, but if my captain finds out that you were causing trouble for our paying customers, she’ll be angry.”

The men blinked and realized quickly who you were, and despite the sweetness in your tone, they could tell that you meant business. Saying that name alone was going to bring someone into a mess of trouble that they didn’t want or need unless they were willing to pay the piper for the cost. They knew they were in for it, now.

“A—Andromeda!”

“Oh, God, it’s Andromeda.” They just bowed their heads, grateful that you had given them the option to choose to decide if they wanted to get involved or if they wanted to step off. “Forgive us for making a scene!”

The man shook his head, “Andromeda, no worries, no worries! It was just a misunderstanding. You don't need to get involved! We’re handling this. This stranger just thought he could get away with taking what’s ours.”

You merely stood your ground, “I’d hate for something bad to happen to you gentlemen. I understand if there’s been some kind of misunderstanding, but I can clear this up. Could you kindly leave this stranger be? He’s paying my captain for good service at the moment and I’m to see to his happiness. I can vouch for this guy being innocent. Though, if you are looking for a criminal here, I saw someone running off with gold and silver just around the bend over there.”

It was a little white lie, but nobody was going to fact check with your mistress to find out whether it was true or not. Your face was well known just as her errand person and seeing you could be a beautiful warning to disaster. The warning to watch your toes and pray for mercy before the Emerald would see to your demise. As much as hearing the name Andromeda made your head spin and whirl with unease and disappointment, it was useful at times like this.

“You said you saw something go around the bend, right? We'll go handle that. Don't go n' bother your captain!”

“On their way to the docks, guys, ”You waved your hand in the direction behind you, ”You might want to hurry, though. I believe he was wearing a deep maroon jacket and his hat seemed to belong to the Daybreaker ship. You know, Captain Kim and his band of thieves that think that they can take from anyone.”

“Thanks.”

“Please, don’t tell the Bloody Emerald.”

“Of course, not, boys. I would never sell someone out. Get along now, okay? Try to stay out of fights if you can.”

The men scurried off as fast as humanly possible. They didn’t want to push their luck and you were holding back the urge to laugh. People being frightened of you was a bit silly, but you could play the part of a criminal on the seas if you wanted. It was easy to slip into a role if you had to. That’s how you acted every day to survive with your crew.

Glancing back at the stranger, you offered a smile.

That was when you noticed that not-so-very-hidden bag of silver that he was holding underneath his coat. Yeah, he was a crook but he probably had a good reason for taking from those idiots. The ship they were from was filled to the brim with cons. You could smile and play friendly with them all day long but you knew better.

Those guys would cut your throat when you turned your back on them. You had to pull your leverage on them to secure your safety. It helped, enough, though. Those guys had it coming for being too clear with their crimes. That likely wasn’t their money, anyway. You knew it because the satchel was made of something far too luxurious to be from a couple of lackeys.

Some poor rich sucker had gotten jacked. Well, he probably had it coming, just like the crooks that thought that they were smart.

“Sorry about that, sir,” you said, cocking your head to the side as the stranger began to study you curiously. His golden eyes were watching your every move. “You have to be careful around these parts, there are pirates and crooks everywhere just waiting for an unsuspecting stranger to blame and steal from if he’s dumb enough to get caught red-handed.”

“Guess yer’ right, should’a been more discrete,” he chuckled. You adjusted your hold on your bag as he shifted from one leg to the other, extending his hand to yours. “Well, I reckon it’s nice to meet ya’. Thanks for savin’ me, there. I owe ya’ one. Though, I get the feelin’ ya’ tote yer’ power around like that quite a bit, huh?”

You took his hand as a common courtesy and noted how firm his shake was. It was just the right amount of pressure and not too light. Gesturing down the way that you were heading to, you decided that you could spare a few minutes to talk. He followed your step as you made your way down the boardwalk in the direction of the beach.

You expected to be alone in the long run today. Meeting a stranger felt like your mother sending you someone to talk to. A little talking and human interaction wasn’t something that you were going to turn down. Besides, this guy deserved to know that he needed to be more mindful if he was going to con people. He knew what he was doing but he seemed to be a little rusty.

Well, not everyone was prepared to swoop down from a rope and take whatever their eyes could see. A criminal on land was nothing like a criminal on the high seas.

You welcomed a distraction, “Only sometimes. Granted, normally, I might’ve just stolen what you stole from them just as a given to teach you a lesson about who you steal from, but you got lucky stranger. You’ve got a friendly face and I gotta give you credit for it. Let’s just say today is your lucky day since I was around. Those guys would have roughed you up and kicked you into the sea.”

"I could’a took ‘em,” he reassured you with a chuckle. He tipped his hat cordially at any stranger that you crossed. “But, I figure you must be in a heap of trouble yerself’, huh? I mean, you used your boss to get out of that one.”

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” you shrugged. It was true. You’d done that a few times before and it wouldn’t hurt anything. “Besides, it’s better not to bite the shark that will gobble you up if you don’t watch yourself. You got lucky that I was around, stranger. People don’t stick their necks out for guys like you.”

“Oh, I know,” he said.

“That doesn’t look very good on you, sir. Are you admitting that you’re a professional thief?”

“I’d like to say I’m a man of many talents. Pocketing a few coins just happens to be one of ‘em.”

“How charming. Do you flirt with just anyone using that?”

“Hahahaha… yer’ somethin’, that’s for sure. Mind if I ask about this Bloody Emerald you know? I reckon it’s not my business but ya’ can’t help a guy for being curious. I ain’t never seen two guys turn tail that fast before.”

“Well, if you’re not from around here, I would suggest you leave as soon as you get the chance. You don’t want to get caught up with pirates… trust me, I know that firsthand. Once you owe your life to the seas, you’ll never escape it, no matter how far you try to get away.”

“That so?”

You continued speaking to him late into the evening, taking a spot next to him on the sand as you watched the sunset over the horizon. He told you how he’d never seen the ocean before and was awed by its beauty and its wonder, and that dazed look in his eyes told you that he wasn’t lying. It was the face of someone who had just discovered something amazing.

As cruel as the seas could be, that childlike look in his eyes reminded you of whenever you were able to sail on your own right, letting your fingers touch the water and your body free from its shackles if only briefly. It felt like your mother was reminding you to not hate the seas for what they had done to her on the count of your captain.

The seas were not the devil nor were they the problem that sank people to the bottom. It was the people that were foolhardy and abused the seas and moved without thinking that were the problem, people who did the wrong thing for the worst reasons. There were bad people in this world, but seeing someone earnest and honest made you have hope.

Seeing this stranger who spoke of a desert of sands as far as the eyes could see without water made you imagine a world beyond your comprehension. That was what you wanted to do. See things and places that you couldn’t imagine. You wanted a ship of your own and you wanted to do what you wanted as you wanted to do it.

This man… this stranger criminal with his crooked smile, extended an idea of liberation to you just with his words alone. He spoke of chasing after the stars and extending his hand towards his freedom as he challenged the Gods. The stories he spun that evening made you laugh and made you think of the good times in your life.

Though a stranger, it felt like greeting an old friend.

You spoke of your tales of the sea and he spoke of his adventures in the desert. Neither of you was bleeding too much information about your lives, but sharing close calls and pushing the limits of what it meant to be a criminal that was just trying to survive, and pushing the idea of tempting fate against the wrong people.

You didn’t know at the time but this wasn’t going to be the last time that you would see this stranger.

It was far from it. You would go on to see him countless more times until one day everything changed once again. Leaving you right back where you started.

—

“Sorry, we’re all sold out,” the shopkeeper told you with a frown. They had been bought out by someone. All of that candy just disappeared as soon as they had placed it out. You couldn’t believe that someone had just come in and taken everything like the wave of their hand. It wasn’t fair. There was probably some rich bastard with a sweet tooth that purely wanted to spite you.

A sour look crossed your face. But, you knew that it wasn’t the fault of the shopkeeper. It was the bastard that wanted you to be denied your treats. Just your luck. That wasn’t what you wanted to happen today. You simply smiled and said, “Darn. Maybe I’ll be luckier next time, thanks for being honest with me, sir.”

You weren’t going to let that be the thing that ruined your day.

It wasn’t often that you had time for yourself to take care of things that you wanted to do. So, even if you were being denied your favorite treat… well, you could make the best of the day. It wasn’t the end of the world even if you lost out on something that you wanted. You could make the best of this mess!

It wasn’t at all that hard to try and find something to make matters better. So, you ran through some of your errands as best you could, grabbing what you did need with your pocket change and smiling your way through getting a few deals. People would give you this or that for free now and again, and it was nice.

Treats, trinkets, or a new scarf to keep you safe from the rustling sun overhead. It meant a lot to you to receive anything, and you were grateful for the kindness that you were shown by others. You smiled and thanked anyone who dared to help you. Even if you tried to reassure them not to do it, they would hand it to you anyway and you wouldn’t be able to say no.

So, you simply appreciated what you were given.

That was one of your saving graces, people often said that you looked like your mother, and for that reason, it graced you with good fortune even in a life of chaos. She had been a fair woman, kind and compassionate, but just the right amount of daring and willingness to chase the stars.

She was the kind of person that you wanted to be, even if you felt like you were failing that wish sometimes. You tried to keep a smile on your face despite everything that had happened to you but it was hard sometimes. Hard to stay smiling and positive when the world couldn’t help but slap you in the face over and over again.

You tried.

Trying was better than giving up, that’s what your mother would always say. Even though it had been a long time, you knew that her words still held weight to you. They always would. No matter if the day was good or bad, you were going to take your hits and keep walking forward.

Perhaps things would be better the next time that you had some free time to play around and leave the boat for a little bit with no captain looking over your shoulders.

By the time you cleared up everything that you needed, not as much time as you would have wanted would have passed. You weren’t ready to go back to the ship yet, but you weren’t exactly in the line of having something to do. As long as you had a viable excuse, nobody could bother you. You just needed to stay out of sight.

So, you decided that you would head over to the beach to spend the rest of your evening.

Sure, you spent all of your days on the water, but you never got to visit the beach! That was a different experience. You loved the feeling of letting your feet step deeper into the trenches of the water with a sigh against your lips, feeling relieved at the sensation of your body relaxing in the waves. The area that you visited in this particular area its own little alcove.

There was a private little area hidden deep within the trenches of the rocks on the coast that would open up during the low tide. That was a little haven for you, a place where you let some trinkets buried in the sand where nobody could find or steal them from you. It was a safer spot than in your little bed in the ship’s quarters that were maintained for you.

You ducked out of sight and followed the stone path alongside the beach until you got to your spot, pausing at the entrance of the little alcove when you heard the sound of voices.

You never allowed a single soul to venture into this area and it was well hidden. Nobody should’ve found it. You couldn’t help but peer into the opening to see who had dared to saunter into your personal safe space; and, upon seeing the glimmer of red hair peering back at you from inside, you had to pinch your arm and stifle the gasp that escaped you.

Standing there in front of you was the same man that you had met all those months ago, the man who had been like a whirlwind in your life for two weeks, only to disappear as soon as he appeared. He was not alone, either. There were two other people with him that you’d never met before. There was a man that shared his features, obviously a twin or a brother, and another person sitting next to him in the pit of sand.

It was Seven, his brother, and likely a friend. Though, those two didn’t look like they were friends with the way that their hands were interlocked together so very tightly as they spoke to each other as if the rest of the world didn’t exist nor did it matter. It wasn’t often that you saw couples up close as you never saw anyone get close to anyone. It filled you with a strange sense of comfort but that was washed away just as quickly as you realized that Seven was staring at you, now.

There was no way to turn back to step away from this one. Not that you were going to, though. This guy was just…

Because you saw that he’d been munching on your favorite delicacy. Was he the bastard that took all of your saltwater taffy? Ugh, why were you even asking yourself that? A memory of the two of you on the docks sharing sweets crossed your mind, but given how annoyed you were with the loss today, you had wanted to give him a stern talking-to despite how overjoyed you were to see him again.

Seven likely did that on purpose!

He knew it was your favorite.

He knew that you would get mad when it was sold out.

He knew that you would come to your space to—

Cheeky bastard!

“Hey, hey,” he cooed at you from the corner as his smile grew ear to ear. That smug look on his face was all you needed to see. He raised his hand and waved at you with the sheer confidence of a fool who had nothing to fear in the world. “I knew you’d come ‘round sooner or later! Nice to see ya’! Ain’t took as long as I’d thought it’d take ya’, though.”

His hat was tucked back around his neck and his jacket was off, his sleeves rolled up, revealing those arms that had been kissed by the sun. Those golden eyes of his peered back at you from his spot and you thought about slugging him in the arm to scold him for putting such a mean trick on you once again.

“You could’ve just come to the dock, you insufferable jerk!”

“That’s not as fun as gettin’ ya’ riled up,” he countered with a chuckle.

He beckoned you forward to come and join them. You stormed forward and proceeded to splash some ocean water against his face for that. He didn’t complain about that. He seemed to think that he had it coming after everything that had happened in the first place.

He rubbed the water from his face and offered you a peace offering, a few pieces of candy weighed heavy in your palms. You had given him some of yours the day before he disappeared in the shadows so receiving this felt like he was trying to pay you back for leaving so abruptly in the first place. You had been worried about him for ages, for months, and he just appeared out of the blue to do this to you of all things?

What had gotten into that head of his?

Had the desert sun melted his brains? What had even happened to him during that time? Your mind was swirling with questions that weren't going to get answers. You weren't going to get them by standing there and staring at him.

You clenched your fists, “Oh if you wanted to do that, trust me, you’ve already got me riled up today, Seven. You just left out of the blue without any explanation months ago. Did you think I was going to be happy when I was worried that one of the other pirates had finally caught onto your little thefts or something? You can’t butter me up with sweets and pretend that’s okay.”

The smile that he offered was apologetic, though. As irritated as you were with him, he knew how to make you feel better after a bad day. “I know, and I’m sorry about that. It’s a long story… one that I’d like to tell you. But, I deserved that splash. I ain’t got no excuse for leaving like that, so I’m not going to make one up on the spot.”

If he wanted to play that way…

“If you’re sorry…”

You stashed away the candy in your bag and offered him your hand. He stared at it for a moment until you took it, only for him to pull you down into the sand, the bit of water splashing around your legs as you cried in protest. He was a quick thinker, one that could guess what you were going to do and then make his counter strike.

Now your pants were a bit wet thanks to the ocean water, but that wasn’t a bother for you.

That would’ve happened whether he caused it or not. You groaned at that. You had wanted to do the same thing to him for his indignance. The last thing you expected was to be able to see him today, much less any day soon.

Everything was happening so quickly that you weren’t able to process all of it. Your brain was whirling with sensations and memories of the past. Lifting your head, you stared directly into those golden eyes of his. That cocky smirk on his face told you that he was mighty proud of himself for being able to do what you wanted to do to him first.

Nothing you did could hide the burn that invaded your features. This was mortifying, and he knew that it was. He seemed to thrive on torment and taunting. Leave it to Seven to take away every ounce of gall that you had just by flashing a stupid smile at you.

“Nice try. Yer’ gonna have to do better than that.”

Every part of you was telling you to walk him out into the sea and leave him there to float for a while to think about what he’d done. Too bad you taught him how to swim, otherwise that would’ve been a lot funnier than it should’ve been.

You clapped your hand against his shoulder as roughly as you could manage to prove a point.

He didn’t wince, there was still that coy look in his eyes. He knew what he was doing and he knew how it affected you.

Those sparks of electricity hadn’t just died because you had been separated for months at this point. Much to your chagrin, the feeling that invaded your senses was daring to bubble back to the surface just as quickly as you tried to bury it in murky depths.

You still stared into his golden eyes, “I see why you didn’t come to the docks. You knew that I would’ve pushed you into the bay.”

“I would’a pulled ya’ in with me, for sure,” he whispered.

“Not that again! The last time you did that, I had to drag you out of the water myself! You didn’t warn me you didn’t know how to swim! It took an hour to get you to relax so I could drag you back to shore.”

“I said I’d ain’t never seen the ocean before. Of course, I didn’t know. It didn't take ya' an hour, it was more like ten minutes.”

You groaned.

Nothing had changed. He was still trying to push your buttons. He was trying to invade all of your senses. It was what he had done since the very start. There was just something about him that kept drawing you in closer and closer. That had been the problem in the first place.

That was when you heard the murmur of conversation from the other two that were there, that you had almost seemingly forgotten about.

Seven’s brother seemed to be amused by how you were tearing into his brother with a huff and puff, and his partner seemed to be scolding him for teasing and poking fun at his twin. It seemed like they were close, though, you were still too caught up with Seven to think that hard about it. He had told you that he had a brother but not much beyond that.

Were they close? The man sighed, shaking his head at the scene in front of him. “Guess I owe ‘em that pie. They do exist, Cereus.”

“I told you to give Saeyoung the benefit of the doubt, Saeran,” his partner said, tapping his shoulder with their hand. “C’mon, I know that he tells tall tales sometimes, but it sounded too specific to be a story this time.”

“Little Cereus, yer’ too nice.”

“That’s my best trait, right?”

“Heheheh…”

Saeyoung…?

“Hey...?”You drew your attention back to Seven, who was kind enough to brush the stray hair from your face with a smile.

You were still peeved. You looked back at the opening for the alcove and he seemed to get the hint. You wanted to speak to him alone about all of this and you weren’t going to take no for an answer after all this time.

“Can we talk, then?”

He could laugh all he wanted.

Something needed to change.

“Always.”

It had sincerely seemed like he may never return ever again the last time that you spoke. All you had was a single letter to go off of and that didn’t tell you much. It just said that he had to go because he had found what he needed and that he would return once he was able to finish his mission that had to be completed no matter the odds.

Which, even that was a mystery to you, but seeing that he seemed so carefree now, you wanted to think that he was finished with whatever he needed to do. It seemed to weigh on him the last time you spoke, the weight of the world laying on him as he had to do something about the injustice of the town that he was living in.

He had his own tyrant, as far you knew, and just like the Bloody Emerald, you had to believe that someday, people like that would be taken down from power like they deserved to be. Life didn’t always work out the way you wanted. It wasn’t always a fairytale. It wasn’t always going to end neatly and nicely for everyone involved. Things just didn’t work that way.

You knew it.

And, deep down, you were pretty sure that Seven understood that, too.

So, you both stood together underneath the dwindling sunlight, not saying anything but knowing that there was so much that needed to be discussed. He seemed to be on edge about it. You hoped that he’d felt like he needed to be because he had to know what it felt like for you to have no way to see if he was okay or if he’d ever truly come back.

You thought he understood.

You thought that he understood how painfully closed off you were and that the last thing he should ever do was leave without saying a proper goodbye. Those two weeks were a whirlwind of your life and you thought you meant something to him. He had come to mean something to you and bottling it up and shoving it down never helped.

Seven had been a part of your life for a brief moment, and yet, he became saturated with your life to the point where it was hard to imagine not seeing him around.

“I am sorry,” he said, quietly. The two of you standing at the bank of the shore. “As I said, I reckon it ain’t gonna make things right but… it’s a long story. I never wanted to leave so abruptly but my brother needed me and I had to get to him as fast as I could. His life… was in danger, my life was in danger, and I had to do somethin’.”

“I’m not upset about that,” you said. “What I am upset about is that you left without saying goodbye after…”

After that day.

“I understand if ya’ hate me, now. I didn’t mean to break your heart. I wanted… I… I meant what I said in that letter. I wanted to come back to you and I’m here, now. I know it ain't to make up for what I did or what happened back then, but ya’ve been in my thoughts since back then. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought of…”

“Stop.”

You looked back at the redhead, ignoring that swirling feeling that was bubbling in your guts as you spoke up. His eyes drew you in like nothing else ever did. A part of you wanted to scream and another part of you wanted to cry. Seven was the one that treated you kindly and made you laugh, made you laugh. You missed him.

But, it hurt at the same time.

You reached over and brushed your hand against his, “I shouldn’t give you a chance, but I… I never was that clever. I don’t want you to leave without saying goodbye, again, Seven. I don’t think I could take it if you left again like that. Can you promise me that you're not going to do that again?”

“I’m here to stay,” he clasped both of his hands around yours. The earnest look on his face told you that he was trying to be sincere. “Can ya’ give me another chance to make things right this time? I’d understand if yer’ not in the market for that… but, I want to do right by ya’. I fought the devil and was able to win, and now I want to live to the fullest. So, I wanna get close to you without the rush.”

“...Okay.”

“Okay?”

“As long as you say goodbye if you have to leave this time around.”

“I don’t plan on leavin', but ya’ got a deal if it happens, Andromeda.” You scoffed at the mention of that name. He still seemed to be using that name for the wrong reason. No matter how many times you told him to use your name instead of the one that the captain had given you, he would continue to call you Andromeda instead. “By the way, I did buy all that taffy but I got for ya’, peace offerin’, n’ all.”

You held out your hand, expectantly. “Pay up, then. I’ll think about forgiving you, then. You've missed a lot since the last time I saw you so you're going to have to make up for it, cowboy. I won't let you off easy."

25 notes · View notes

thisdaynews · 5 years

Text

Inside the Summit for Trump-Loving Young Black Conservatives

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/inside-the-summit-for-trump-loving-young-black-conservatives/

Inside the Summit for Trump-Loving Young Black Conservatives

As a crowd listened to President Donald Trump speak in the East Room on Friday, chants of “USA” and “four more years” reverberated amid the gold drapes and crystal chandeliers. There were curiously no MAGA hats. But one woman was wearing a “Black AF” pin on her gray suit.

In attendance were some of the hundreds of young black conservatives who came to Washington this past week as a show to liberal America that African Americans can be conservative and support Trump—that the conservative movement is not just for old white men.

Story Continued Below

“The media narrative is that African Americans don’t support the president,” said R.C. Maxwell, a 31-year-old Republican consultant. “We are happy to demonstrate that there is a larger African-American community that appreciates the job that the president has done.”

These young people, including Maxwell, had traveled to the capital for the second annual Black Leadership Summit, put on by Turning Point USA, a national conservative, often Trump-aligned campus group. More than 400 people from across the country attended, a Turning Point representative said. And the three-day summit featured 17 speakers, including YouTube stars, pastors, a Breitbart News editor—and an address from the president himself. Speakers pushed a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” narrative, and panels touched on conservative values like free markets, gun rights and the Bible. Attendees were encouraged to organize as conservatives and go back to their communities as leaders to help change the norm for black voters.

“This is the herculean effort of the century,” Charlie Kirk, Turning Point‘s 25-year-old founder and executive director, said in an interview. “How can you get black America to think differently ideologically?”

That’s, of course, a tall order. Only 8 percent of black voters identify in some way with the Republican Party, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey. And in a recent AP-NORC poll, only 4 percent of black people said they think Trump’s actions have been good for African Americans. Young people, too—more than two-thirds of them, according to a recent Harvard IOP poll of 18- to 29-year-olds—overwhelmingly disapprove of the president.

But attendees at the summit said they believe Trump—despite the “birther” conspiracies, his “both sides” comments about the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and his referring to parts of Africa as “shithole countries”—has done more for black America than any other president. To them, accusations of racism against Trump stem from the media, not Trump’s own actions. Many said they admire the president’s personal success and believe he shares their values—in strong families, faith, criminal justice reform, a border wall and opposition to abortion. And they believe fellow black Americans can be convinced of the same.

Kirk said the Black Leadership Summit was the brainchild of Candace Owens—Turning Point’s former director of communications. Owens has become a popular, and controversial, figure in her own right, advocating for a “Blexit,” or exit by black Americans from the Democratic Party.

“For decades we have been disrespected by the Democrats. We have empowered their party, lined the pockets of their politicians, and gotten positively nothing in return for our blind allegiance and faithfulness,” Owens said in her introduction for Trump at the White House.

Many attendees said they see the First Step Act, which enacted criminal justice reforms; Trump’s welcoming of Christianity in the White House; his tough stance on immigration; and his tax bill’s creation of “opportunity zones,“ which encourages investment in cities, as concrete steps the administration has taken to support the black community. They also pointed to the country’s record low black unemployment, which economists say can be attributed to more than Trump’s presidency. (The summit was sponsored by conservatives organizations including Liberty University and The Heritage Foundation.)

On the matter of race, attendees said they were proud to be rebuffing the political norm for African Americans, and their existence as an anomaly gave an energetic undercurrent to the summit.

“Race should have nothing to do with your choice of thought,” said Kearyn Bolin, 20, the Turning Point president at Texas State University. Bolin stood on Trump’s side while he delivered his speech in the East Room, and she gave her own remarks in support of president. While he shook everyone’s hand on stage, he kissed her on both cheeks and complimented her silver box braids that stretch to her waist. Bolin says people have called her racist for her conservative beliefs, but that helps her empathize with Trump when people call him racist. She also rejects the idea that white people are inherently racist: “If I am half-white, does that make me half-racist?”

A recent convert to conservatism, Jono Thomas, 26, said the summit offered him a respite from his liberal hometown, Houston, where he is starting a vegan comfort food restaurant. After returning from the White House, Thomas, in a top hat, white dress shirt, gray pinstripe pants and wool scarf, gathered with four other black men and one Latino man in the Capitol Hilton. (Turning Point says it paid for lodging for all attendees between the ages of 15 and 28, and gave scholarship money to more than a quarter of the participants to be able to attend; the price of admission was $10.)

The young men talked about their political opinions almost as if they were swapping war stories. They bonded over family members who refuse to talk with them and friends who no longer interact with them. Although they agreed on positions like tough immigration laws and abortion restrictions, they said they hadn’t come to the summit for political reasons, so much as to learn how to be better leaders and advocates for their values.

The men said they support Trump because they think of him as anti-establishment, and that the establishment has repeatedly failed black America. They said they reject what they believe is a “victim mentality” in the black community and proudly defy the Democratic Party, which they believe takes black America for granted.

Thomas said he does not believe systemic racism exists in America. But he does believe bias exists. “Representation matters because you have to be able to relate,” he said, when asked about the high mortality rate of black mothers compared with white mothers.

Corey D. Fields, an associate professor of sociology at Georgetown University and author ofBlack Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African-American Republicans, said he believes in the sincerity of the conference’s attendees, but that they do not represent the majority of black Republicans. In his research on African-American Republican activists (who, he notes, are not necessarily reflective of all black Republicans), Fields has found that a majority believe institutional racism affects the black community and want the party to become more diverse. “The ‘blame black people types’ were in the minority,” Fields says.

In its seven years in existence, Turning Point, which says it now has clubs at 1,400 colleges and high schools, has been hounded by associations with white supremacy and has cut ties with several members who seemed to embrace the ideology. In May, the group fired the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, chapter leader after a video surfaced of him flashing the white supremacist “OK” sign, and saying racial slurs and “white power.” The group has publicly separated itself from at least three other members in the past year and a half for similar issues.

Kirk is quick to distance Turning Point, and Trump, from racism or white supremacy, which he calls a “wicked ideology.” “Anytime I encounter anything adjacent to that I repudiate it,” he says. (Turning Point also hosts a Latino and a women’s leadership conference each year.)

At their hotel after the Trump speech, attendees pulled out MAGA gear, flags and oversized foam hats while milling around and chatting. One wore a shirt that said, “Candance Owens is better than Beyoncé.” Some stayed and talked, networking and swapping tips about social media—how to get verified and comebacks to liberal arguments.

Among the crowd was Joel Patrick (who said he uses a fake last name to protect his family from doxers). musician and entrepreneur from Beavercreek, Ohio, Patrick, 24, has more than 50,000 followers on Twitter, where he calls himself, “THE LEGENDARY BLACK REDNECK!!!!” He stood out in his cream-colored cowboy hat and American flag-patterned Durango leather cowboy boots. (He had seemed in his element in front of the press at the White House when he laughed at aGuardianreporter’s question about the president’s potential impeachment. “Is that a serious question?” Patrick responded.)

Patrick said he believes the community he is from, outside Dayton, is more focused on “putting food on the table, going to work in the morning, staying healthy, staying fit,” as he put it, rather than the social justice issues and identity politics he attributes to the Democratic Party. Ultimately, he said, “I came to the conference to show that we are not a monolith, that African-American people can support whoever they want.”

And for him, that is Trump.

#black #Conservatives #Foreign #Politics

0 notes

jessicakehoe · 5 years

Text

Everything Coming to Netflix Canada and Crave in October

Here’s a monthly breakdown of all the movies and TV series we can’t wait to stream.

Everything Coming to Netflix

Living Undocumented — NETFLIX ORIGINAL From executive producer Selena Gomez, this docuseries follows eight undocumented immigrant families who, at great personal risk, allowed film crews to chronicle their lives as they navigated the US immigration system and faced potential deportation. Available October 2

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

youtube

Raising Dion This sci-fi comic book adaptation follows the story of a young mother (Alisha Wainwright) raising her eight-year-old son after the death of her scientist husband (Michael B Jordan). That child, Dion, begins to display mysterious, superhero-like abilities that she needs to make sense of before someone else gets to him first. Available October 4

youtube

Living With Yourself Everyone wants to be better. But what happens when you’re actually confronted with a better version of yourself? This new series explores that existential premise through Paul Rudd, a man struggling in life and trying to be better—and one day meets a new and improved model of himself. The two battle over his wife, career and identity over the course of this eight-episode show. Available October 18

youtube

And here’s the complete list of everything coming to Netflix Canada this month:

Available October 1 Carmen Sandiego: Season 2 — NETFLIX FAMILY Nikki Glaser: Bangin’ — NETFLIX ORIGINAL A.M.I. Agent: Season 1 Amityville: The Awakening Contagion Find Yourself: Season 1 Girls Trip I Spit on Your Grave I Spit on Your Grave 2 Seven Sinister Circle The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day The Rolling Stones: Olé Olé Olé! A Trip Across Latin America The Swan Princess

Available October 2 Living Undocumented — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Ready to Mingle (Solteras) — NETFLIX FILM Rotten: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Batteries Not Included The Best Man Holiday Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story Elizabeth Fried Green Tomatoes Kim’s Convenience: Season 3 Liar Liar Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Available October 3 Seis Manos — NETFLIX ANIME

Available October 4 Big Mouth: Season 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL District 9 El Dragón: Return of a Warrior — NETFLIX ORIGINAL In the Tall Grass — NETFLIX FILM Outlander: Season 4 Peaky Blinders: Season 5 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Raising Dion — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Super Monsters: Season 3 — NETFLIX FAMILY Super Monsters: Vida’s First Halloween — NETFLIX FAMILY

Available October 5 Despicable Me 3 Legend Quest: Masters of Myth — NETFLIX FAMILY

Available October 7 Heartland: Season 12 Justice League Match! Tennis Juniors — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available October 8 Deon Cole: Cole Hearted — NETFLIX ORIGINAL The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween — NETFLIX FAMILY

Available October 9 Rhythm + Flow — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Schitt’s Creek: Season 5

Available October 10 Riverdale: Season 4 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL (weekly episodes) Ultramarine Magmell — NETFLIX ANIME

Available October 11 El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie — NETFLIX TELEVISION EVENT The Forest of Love — NETFLIX FILM Fractured — NETFLIX FILM Haunted: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Insatiable: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL La influencia — NETFLIX FILM Plan Coeur: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL The Awakenings of Motti Wolenbruch — NETFLIX FILM YooHoo to the Rescue: Season 2 — NETFLIX FAMILY

Available October 12 Banlieusards — NETFLIX FILM

Available October 14 Martin Matte: La Vie, La Mort…Eh La La..! — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available October 15 Citizen Kane Dennis the Menace

Available October 16 Ghosts of Sugar Land — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available October 17 THE UNLISTED — NETFLIX FAMILY

Available October 18 The Yard (Avlu) — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Baby: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Eli — NETFLIX FILM Interior Design Masters — NETFLIX ORIGINAL The House of Flowers: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL The Laundromat — NETFLIX FILM Living with Yourself — NETFLIX ORIGINAL MeatEater: Season 8 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Mighty Little Bheem: Diwali — NETFLIX FAMILY Seventeen — NETFLIX FILM Spirit Riding Free: Pony Tales Collection 2 — NETFLIX FAMILY Suits: Season 8 New Episodes Tell Me Who I Am — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Toon: Seasons 1-2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Unnatural Selection — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Upstarts — NETFLIX FILM

Available October 21 Echo in the Canyon Only the Brave

Available October 22 Jenny Slate: Stage Fright — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available October 23 Ant-Man Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Dancing with the Birds — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy

Available October 24 Daybreak — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Revenge of Pontianak

Available October 25 Assimilate Brigada Costa del Sol — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Brotherhood — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Dolemite Is My Name — NETFLIX FILM Greenhouse Academy: Season 3 — NETFLIX FAMILY The Kominsky Method: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Nailed It! France (C’est du gâteau!) — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Nailed It! Spain (Niquelao!) — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Prank Encounters — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Rattlesnake — NETFLIX FILM It Takes a Lunatic — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Workin’ Moms: Season 3

Available October 28 A 3 Minute Hug — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Little Miss Sumo — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Roman Israel, Esq. Shine On with Reese: Season 1

Available October 29 Arsenio Hall: Smart & Classy — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 10/30/19 Flavorful Origins: Yunnan Cuisine — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available October 31 Creeped Out: Season 1 The Deep: Season 3 Kengan Ashura: Part ll — NETFLIX ANIME Nowhere Man — NETFLIX ORIGINAL Wentworth: Season 7

Everything Coming to Crave

Watchmen Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws because of their use of violence, this HBO series is a loose adaptation of the 1986 hit graphic novel of the same name. It comes with a cast of heavy hitters including Regina King, Jeremy Irons and Don Johnson, and is executive produced by Damon Lindelof, co-creator of mind-melding television shows like Lost and The Leftovers. Available October 20

youtube

Catherine the Great Starring Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, this four-part HBO miniseries follows 18th century Russian empress Catherine the Great towards the end of her 34-year reign, amid a scandalous affair with military leader Grigory Potemkin (played by Jason Clarke). Famous for her liberalizing reforms and encouragement of the arts and sciences, the formidable historical figure, along with Potemkin, “served as the architect of modern-day Russia,” according to the show notes. Available October 21

youtube

Mrs Fletcher Based on a bestselling novel, this HBO comedy starring Kathryn Hahn premiered at TIFF earlier this month. The series offers a fresh take on coming-of-age stories, following the separate personal and sexual journeys of a mother and son shortly after the son leaves for college, leaving an empty nest behind. Available October 27

youtube

And here’s the complete list of everything coming to Crave this month:

Available October 1 DIEGO MARADONA (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 3 RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK, Season 1, Episode 1 *Season Premiere* (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 4 KNUCKLEBALL (Crave + Movies + HBO) SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ (Crave + Movies + HBO) GLASS (Crave + Movies + HBO) ALI SIDDIQ – IT’S BIGGER THAN THESE BARS (Crave) WYNONNA EARP, Season 1 – 3 (Crave) FOREMAN (STARZ Programming) THE DROP (STARZ Programming) NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION (STARZ Programming) CHRONICALLY METROPOLITAN (STARZ Programming) SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (STARZ Programming) NATIONAL LAMPOON’S EUROPEAN VACATION (STARZ Programming) HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (STARZ Programming) KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (STARZ Programming) COWBOYS VS. ALIENS (STARZ Programming)

Available October 5 GARY GULMAN: THE GREAT DEPRESH (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 10 TORN APART: SEPARATED AT THE BORDER (Crave + Movies + HBO) FIRECRACKERS (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 11 THE SISTERHOOD (Crave + Movies + HBO) THE LADIES IN BLACK (Crave + Movies + HBO) GREEN BOOK (Crave + Movies + HBO) LETTERKENNY, Season 7 (Crave) ENOUGH (STARZ Programming) PLEASANTVILLE(STARZ Programming) NO GOOD DEED (STARZ Programming) SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (STARZ Programming) EASY RIDER (STARZ Programming) BOURNE IDENTITY (STARZ Programming) BOURNE LEGACY (STARZ Programming) BOURNE SUPREMACY (STARZ Programming) BOURNE ULTIMATUM (STARZ Programming)

Available October 17 LIBERTY: MOTHER OF EXILES (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 18 A COLONY (Crave + Movies + HBO) THE WEDDING GUEST (Crave + Movies + HBO) HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U (Crave + Movies + HBO) THE RED LINE, Season 1 (Crave) KILLJOYS, Season 5 (Crave) FLIPPED (STARZ Programming) BUCKY LARSON BORN TO BE A STAR (STARZ Programming) HITCH (STARZ Programming) ORPHAN (STARZ Programming) THE INFORMANT (STARZ Programming) HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (STARZ Programming) THE PURGE (STARZ Programming) TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE (STARZ Programming)

Available October 20 WATCHMEN, Season 1, Episode 1 *Series Premiere* (Crave + Movies + HBO) LEAVENWORTH, Season 1, Episode 1 *Series Premiere* (STARZ Programming)

Available October 21 CATHERINE THE GREAT, Season 1, Episode 1 *Series Premiere* (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 23 CASTLE ROCK, Season 2, Episode 1 & 2 *Season Premiere* (Crave)

Available October 24 SAUDI WOMEN’S DRIVING SCHOOL (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 25 THE UNSEEN (Crave + Movies + HBO) THE PRODIGY (Crave + Movies + HBO) GRETA (Crave + Movies + HBO) DEADLY CLASS, Season 1 (Crave) THE BOOK OF LIFE (STARZ Programming) I AM ALI (STARZ Programming) POLTERGEIST (STARZ Programming) EVIL DEAD (STARZ Programming) EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (STARZ Programming) FINAL DESTINATION (STARZ Programming) CHRISTINE (STARZ Programming) FINAL DESTINATION 2 (STARZ Programming) FREDDIE VS. JASON (STARZ Programming)

Available October 27 SILICON VALLEY, Season 6, Episode 1 *Season Premiere* (Crave + Movies + HBO) MRS. FLETCHER, Season 1, Episode 1 *Series Premiere* (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 29 ANY ONE OF US (Crave + Movies + HBO)

Available October 30 THE BRONX, USA (Crave + Movies + HBO)

The post Everything Coming to Netflix Canada and Crave in October appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Everything Coming to Netflix Canada and Crave in October published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

0 notes

kansascityhappenings · 5 years

Text

Kansas Jayhawks streak of Big 12 regular season titles snapped at 14 with loss to Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. — A Big 12 basketball champion or co-champions will be crowned on Saturday, and for the first time since 2004 the Kansas Jayhawks won’t claim the title. Bill Self’s program saw its 14-season reign of supremacy end on Tuesday night with a 81-68 loss at Oklahoma.

In 2004, Tony Allen and John Lucas led the Oklahoma State Cowboys to a 14-2 conference record and title, with Kansas finishing tied with Texas at 12-4. Ever since, the Jayhawks have owned the Big 12 with 10 outright regular season titles and four shared titles. It’s the best run in NCAA history, one more than UCLA’s 13 conference titles between 1967-1979.

Between the 2004-2005 season and 2017-2018 season, the Jayhawks posted a 196-36 conference record, good for an .844 winning percentage. Seven of KU’s titles came after the Big 12 moved to a round-robin conference schedule where they played each opponent home and away. The Big 12 has been the top-ranked conference by strength of schedule and simple rating system each of the last five seasons.

This season started out with lofty expectations in Lawrence, as Kansas was named the preseason #1 team in the AP Top 25 poll, and started 10-0. But a season-ending hand injury for big man Udoka Azubuike, and the NCAA eligibility saga that ended with Silvio De Sousa sidelined through next season left a young Jayhawks team thin in the front court and short on depth. Complicating challenges further, sharpshooter Lagerald Vick left the team for personal reasons at the beginning of February, his absence is indefinite.

But despite those key losses, and a dismal road record that’s now 3-8, Kansas still had a shot a sharing a title with two wins this week and a loss apiece for Kansas State and Texas Tech. Instead, the Red Raiders and Wildcats each play on Saturday looking for at least a share of the title with a win.

Kansas is now 22-8 (11-6) and ends the regular season hosting Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/03/05/kansas-jayhawks-streak-of-big-12-regular-season-titles-snapped-at-14-with-loss-to-oklahoma/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/03/06/kansas-jayhawks-streak-of-big-12-regular-season-titles-snapped-at-14-with-loss-to-oklahoma/

0 notes

citizentruth-blog · 5 years

Text

The Hidden Tribes of America, the Cultural Revolution Underway, and Why We’re Not as Divided as You Think We Are

I first realized something in America was changing back in November 2015. My family was on vacation in New Zealand to visit my sister who was studying abroad there. A Republican candidate for president, Donald J. Trump, was gaining in popularity on the right. Politics came up. I defended the Donald and I came under attack from my sibling. I became far too defensive. Things got heated and personal and have in the intermittent months since then. We haven’t talked politics for quite some time now. With Trump’s rise to the White House, things appear to have gotten only more divisive. At least on the surface. I hope you made it through Thanksgiving without any uncomfortable conversations over dinner. But with everything coming back to politics these days, I’m sure many of you were unable to avoid it. The nation feels more polarized than ever and we were already trending in that direction prior to Trump. He has accelerated the division and the hatred of left vs. right. The personalization of politics and the emotional state Americans have been getting in over politics has become unhealthy. I think it peaked during the Kavanaugh confirmation process, but who knows, things are likely to get worse from here as we are entering into the dreaded 2020 presidential race already (one more time for Hillary?). I contend that the division is likely manufactured and a solid majority of Americans have much more in common than many of us believe is possible. Still, it is impossible to ignore the rise of divisive rhetoric and actions in the country’s political discourse over the last few years. Political violence especially has gotten out of control. Politicians are being harassed at their homes and out at restaurants. Trump supporters are beaten and attacked for wearing a red hat. Senators are confronted in hallways and elevators for adhering to the standard of an accuser being innocent before proven guilty. Civility appears to be out the window today, prompting some to call for a disbanding of the union. Doug Casey, an investor and best-selling author, recently said, “The United States, for one, is way too big to be a single country at this point. I’m pretty confident that over the next couple generations, the U.S. is going to break up into several different countries.” I don’t think that is going to happen. We are different in many ways but that is what makes us great as a country. I’ll get into more on that later. Back in 2010, well before Trump came onto the scene, Pete Warden, CTO of Jetpac Inc and author of multiple books on data and mapping, wrote a piece analyzing Facebook data from 210 million profiles, the patterns that emerged, and how we can split the country up six ways. “Looking at the network of US cities, it’s been remarkable to see how groups of them form clusters, with strong connections locally but few contacts outside the cluster,” Warden wrote. “For example Columbus, OH and Charleston, WV are nearby as the crow flies, but share few connections, with Columbus clearly part of the North, and Charleston tied to the South.”

Just for fun, I’ll briefly summarize the six regions that could form new countries if we decided to disband the union and give up on the great American experiment that is the United States. Stayathomia: New York to Minnesota. People live near most of their friends and they don’t move far. God is low on the list of fan pages. Sports and beer pages are much more prevalent. Would be a solidly liberal country with New York City at its center. Dixie: the Old South. Atlanta is the hub of this network, but South Florida has some connections to New York. God is regularly in the top spot on fan pages. Definitely the most conservative country, even with the inclusion of Florida. Greater Texas: a big radius around Dallas. Ties between Texans and residents of Oklahoma and Arkansas put those two neighboring states into Greater Teas as opposed to Dixie. God is near the top of the list, below the Dallas Cowboys and other sports teams. A very red country, but becoming more Hispanic (on track to be largest group in Texas by 2022). Mormonia: Utah and a part of Eastern Idaho. Communities are very interwoven and unlikely to have many friends outside the region. Mormons make up more than 62 percent of Utah’s population. A pretty red country. Nomadic West: much of the western half of the U.S., outside of Utah, California, and much of Washington. Inhabitants tend to move around the country quite a lot. Residents in Boise, Bend, and Phoenix all have a wide range of connections, much more than what you’d expect from towns of their size. A mix of red and blue, but mostly red. Socalistan: LA, not San Francisco, is the center of this region. Almost everywhere in California and Nevada has links to LA. This is a tight clustered region with Californians connected to other Californians, outside of the two large megacities in the north and south of the state. God is not of much concern to many residents and Barack Obama is on top. A highly populated coastal country of mostly liberals. Pacifica: “the most boring of the clusters,” according to Warden, “the area around Seattle is disappointingly average.” These people are also tightly connected to each other and are not big travelers. When I lived up there it did seem a bit cliquey to me. Just 8 percent of Seattle voted for Trump. Uber-liberal country to say the least. The United States is devolving into a cultural revolution. People take politics far too seriously and way too personally. People increasingly believe political violence is acceptable. People treat others a certain way based on the other person’s political beliefs. Singles increasingly will only date people based on the others’ views of the current president. Families continue to move to locales that are more in line with their political philosophies. It’s all become too much. We need to be peaceful and tolerant of other people. We need to agree to disagree without hating the other side. We need to remember that we are all Americans and have much more in common with each other than we think. The mainstream media continues to stoke the fires of division. They highlight acts of violence and ignore the hopeful stories of unity despite our many differences. We do not need to retreat to our political camps and fight against each other for supremacy in DC. We need to remember that human beings, by nature, are tribal. Nonetheless, we are all of the same culture and creed: that of America. More in Common released a groundbreaking project on America’s current tribalistic tendencies in October, titled, “Hidden Tribes: A Study of America’s Polarized Landscape.” A new international initiative created “to build societies and communities that are stronger, more united, and more resilient to the increasing threats of polarization and social division,” More in Common surveyed the views of more than 8,000 American citizens including six hour-long focus groups and 30 one-on-one interviews with people across seven different population segments. The main takeaway from Hidden Tribes is the fact that today’s supposed division is brought upon us by the radical fringes of both ends of the political spectrum. The media has played an integral part in all of this. They would have you believe that our country is a 50-50 society, divided by two political tribes eternally in conflict. But we all know that Democrats and Republicans claim to fight one another and work for their constituents, all while enriching themselves and growing the size of government in perpetuity. The media’s misinformation and increased politicization has only furthered the apparent divide between the left and the right. Therefore, people think we are more divided today than ever before. More in Common’s research found a different reality, “one that probes underneath the issues that polarize Americans,” finding seven groups or tribes, “that are defined by their core beliefs, rather than by their political opinions, race, class or gender.” From Facebook feeds to the family dinner table, bitter political debates appear to be omnipresent. Most Americans are fed up with this tired “us-versus-them” mindset and are desperate to find common ground for the betterment of the entire country. We hold many different views on a wide range of topics, but more than three in four Americans (77%) also believe that our differences are not so far apart that we cannot work together. We are not a country of Democrats and Republicans. We are a country of seven distinct groups. We are bound together by what we believe, not by whose “team” we are on. These are the Hidden Tribes of America: Progressive Activists (8% of America): “are deeply concerned with issues concerning equity, fairness, and America's direction today. They tend to be more secular, cosmopolitan, and highly engaged with social media.” Traditional Liberals (11% of America): “tend to be cautious, rational, and idealistic. They value tolerance and compromise. They place great faith in institutions.” Passive Liberals (15% of America): “tend to feel isolated from their communities. They are insecure in their beliefs and try to avoid political conversations. They have a fatalistic view of politics and feel that the circumstances of their lives are beyond their control.” The Politically Disengaged (26% of America): “are untrusting, suspicious about external threats, conspiratorially minded, and pessimistic about progress. They tend to be patriotic yet detached from politics.” Moderates (15% of America): “are engaged in their communities, well informed, and civic-minded. Their faith is often an important part of their lives. They shy away from extremism of any sort.” Traditional Conservatives (19% of America): “tend to be religious, patriotic, and highly moralistic. They believe deeply in personal responsibility and self-reliance.” Devoted Conservatives (6% of America): “are deeply engaged with politics and hold strident, uncompromising views. They feel that America is embattled, and they perceive themselves as the last defenders of traditional values that are under threat.” If you want to see what tribe you fall under, take the short quiz here.

The two far wings of these tribes of America have hijacked the political discussion and receive an inordinate amount of media attention. Progressive Activists and Devoted Conservatives make up just 14 percent of the population, but they have taken over the national conversation. Along with Traditional Conservatives, who value much of what Devoted Conservatives do, these three tribes or wings of the Hidden Tribes make up just one-third of the population. These groups’ distrust and fear of the other side has created the polarized environment we have today. This divisive environment is important to keep in perspective, however, as two-thirds of the country are in the “Exhausted Majority.” Americans in the majority are much less certain about their views and hold a wider range of beliefs. They are also much more open to compromise and change while holding a much less hateful view toward those they disagree with. The wings dominate the conversation because the mainstream media has learned how to monetize divisive politics. News outlets have given up trying to be objective and are now pushing a political agenda to get more views, clicks, and likes. It’s all about politics these days because that is what sells. Fox News throws red meat to its viewers and doesn’t care about liberals’ point of view. CNN and MSNBC have become the anti-Trump networks and even late night talk shows have now become extremely political and anti-Republican. With this media climate, the most extreme and strident voices get the most airtime. Talking heads refuse to concede points to the other side or even attempt to see where the opposing viewpoint is coming from. “All this can make entertaining television and viral social media content,” More in Common writes. “But it is distorting how we see each other, fracturing our society, and adding to distortions in our political system that give undue weight to the most extreme views.”

Even though members of the Exhausted Majority hold views down the middle on average, most members of the majority are not political centrists or moderates. They hold a wide range of different views, but are also united in a number of ways: They have had enough of the polarization tearing our country apart They are often overlooked in the public discourse as the radical wings gain the most attention are are heard from the most They are flexible in their viewpoints and willing to endorse different policies depending on the situation, rather than remaining dead set on a particular issue They believe in compromise and think we can find common ground “While partisans argue and score political points, members of the Exhausted Majority are so frustrated with the bitter polarization of our politics that many have checked out completely, ceding the floor to more strident voices.” This despondent attitude is especially prevalent in the Politically Disengaged and Passive Liberals tribes, while Traditional Liberals and Moderates remain engaged no matter how troubled they are with the current direction of the country. Most importantly, the Exhausted Majority is not extreme or ideological and does not dismiss the other side as evil, bigoted, racist, or ignorant simply because they hold differing political views. “They want to talk and to find a path forward.”

Long story, short, we have much more in common than we think. While it might be hard to identify with the other side sometimes, we all want what is best for our country and our families. Though we have different ways of achieving that, we can all do a better job of working together and paring back the divisive rhetoric that is bringing us closer to a cultural civil war. Some examples of common ground: 81 percent of the population agree that racism continues to be at least somewhat of a problem in the U.S. 72 percent of Americans think we should end birthright citizenship, according to a C-SPAN Washington Journal poll Three-quarters of Americans believe Dreamers should be provided a pathway to citizenship if they serve in the military or go to college Four out of five Americans believe political correctness has gone too far in America In its November-released Midterms Update, Hidden Tribes stated that 86 percent of Americans felt exhausted by division in politics Here’s my final plea. We are all Americans. We cannot continue to be divided by the media, the two political party establishments, and our radical ideologues on separate ends of the political spectrum. We need to learn to come together and fight for America instead of fighting against each other. We need to learn to have open and productive debates about the many serious issues facing our country. We need to be open to compromise and willing to change our viewpoints so we can move forward as a country. And finally, we need to stop the acts of political violence before someone gets killed. Read the full article

#democrats #Division #elections #media #politics #Republicans #Tribalism #Unity

0 notes