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natromanxoff · 3 years

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Queen live at Forest National in Brussels, Belgium - August 24, 1984

Some parts of the Hammer To Fall promo video were filmed during this show - the camera was filming the audience reactions during TYMD, Radio Ga Ga and Hammer To Fall. On the next day 20 fans from the Dutch fan club were invited to come again to the filming of the promo video.

At the gig, the band asked the audience to return the following day for the shoot. However, most likely assuming it was all a joke, the vast majority stayed away; in fact only a dozen fans turned up. Undeterred, the shoot went ahead anyway, with the band's performance that day interspersed with footage shot the previous night.

(x)

This is the first show of The Works tour.

According to the July '89 issue of Record Collector, Queen ran through about 40 songs during rehearsals. This list of songs rehearsed that didn't end up in the setlist comes from someone who worked on the tour:

Great King Rat (longer version), Brighton Rock (full song), I'm In Love With My Car, Sweet Lady, White Man, We Will Rock You (fast), Play The Game, Need Your Loving Tonight, Put Out The Fire, Las Palabras de Amor, Life Is Real (both Freddie solo piano and Freddie/Brian acoustic duet versions)

The keyboardist for this tour (and also the '86 Magic tour) is session musician Spike Edney. He would also lend some vocals to many songs and play rhythm guitar in Hammer To Fall. He and Roger Taylor would form a band called "The Cross" in 1987 which spawned three albums, and he would return to Queen in the 21st century to play on the tours with Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert.

Spike was recruited in a very informal way by a Queen associate. He went to Munich for their first rehearsal in early August, wound up partying for most of the first night, and missed the first day's rehearsal. It later transpired that everyone else had. He recalls, "The next day, we all managed to get to it eventually, to the first rehearsal, and all the gear was set up. The stage was huge, and I thought "Oh well, here we go then" and we got to the first song , and what I'd forgotten was that they hadn't actually played together for two years. So they said, OK, let's try one of the new songs, I think it was Radio Ga Ga, and we started playing it, and course, I knew it, I'd been studying it for weeks. You know, 1,2,3,4 and we start and we get about a minute into the song and the whole thing collapses. And they all look at each other, you know, very sheepishly, and they say, "Anyone know how it goes?" and I say "well, actually, I know. I know how it goes" and they said "Ah". And so I started showing them the chords and everything and Fred looked at me and said "You don't know the words, do you?" and "Well, yeah I do actually" so then they all came round the piano and we spent the whole day just going through songs, and I thought, "I'm gonna be all right here, this'll be OK"!"

The show started very late, as the band were still doing soundcheck when they were supposed to go on. Apparently over the previous week there were few occasions when all four band members actually showed up for rehearsal. Many songs (likely those listed above) never made the setlist, and soundcheck was an extensive cramming session, particularly for the older material that they hadn't played in years.

Roger Taylor later reflected that this European tour was one of his favourites, and many fans cite the early Works setlist as their favourite ever played by the band. Three medleys are now played, two of which have revived many old songs: Killer Queen, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Keep Yourself Alive, Liar, Stone Cold Crazy and Great King Rat. Staying Power from Hot Space returns to the set, as does Sheer Heart Attack from News Of The World. Only half of Staying Power is played, and it runs into Dragon Attack, followed by an improvisation running into a more compact version of Now I'm Here compared to previous tours.

Many people who attended shows on this tour recall Queen having a very heavy sound, especially on songs like Liar and Stone Cold Crazy. By 1984 they had gained a reputation as being one of the best live rock acts in the business.

Six songs from The Works are performed each night, and the introduction tape is from the album track "Machines". After the heavy G chords are heard on the tape twice, the band walk on stage in the darkness to play the chords the third time, which leads into the brand new "Tear It Up". This is yet another effective opening to a Queen show, something they would perfect time and time again.

I Want To Break Free is performed each night in 1984-85 as the first encore, with Freddie coming on stage sporting a pair of huge plastic breasts under a pink shirt. Part way through the song, he would remove the breasts and twirl them around for a while before finally throwing them into the audience. Some souvenir! As a result of this gag, Another One Bites The Dust has been moved from the encore to be earlier in the set.

This tour showcases an incredible lighting rig and an overall setup mimics the movie Metropolis, from which scenes were used for the promo video of Radio Ga Ga last year. The huge wheels behind the stage (modelled after the ones on The Works album cover) rotate at mostly random times - usually because they are turned manually by various crew members such as Roger's tech Chris "Crystal" Taylor whenever they have a free moment (Freddie Mercury's assistant Peter Freestone told the tale in 2021):

“Yeah, I mean Rio was… amazing. The feeling from that crowd… you know, something like 350,000 people. Oh, you can’t beat that. And when you’re flying in a helicopter over that crowd, it was stunning. But the thing is, I know this sounds really, really stupid but [laughs]… one thing I will always, always remember from that tour was, remember, in the back of the stage you had these wheels that turned every now and then, not constantly but just every now and then. That was because there was… the guy looking after Roger’s drums and me who actually turned those wheels. And there was no set cue or anything that, “Oh, it has to start on this bar, on this song.” No, it was when he wasn’t doing anything and I wasn’t doing anything, we’d say “Ok, let’s go and do it.” And we turned the wheels for a couple of minutes and then left them alone. He had then to do something for Roger and I would just sit there like I always did. And then you’d go back and you’d turn the wheels, like a hamster. We were like hamsters…”

However, a crew member who worked on the tour recalls otherwise: "I do know local crew members were used on the UK shows and certainly (a number of) European gigs. The other thing is that Radio Ga Ga had a set piece with the cogs and lighting, using low ambient lighting and strobes to emphasise mechanical motion of the cogs during the instrumental break. Would Roger Taylor be happy with no one covering him/his kit during a show? Possibly Peter Freestone is remembering production rehearsals when any spare bodies might have been asked to operate the cogs?"

During vocal improvisations on this tour, Freddie would often include bits of "Foolin' Around" and "Living On My Own" from his pending first solo album, which he had been working on during this period.

Freddie now plays a Telecaster for Crazy Little Thing Called Love. It would remain like this through the Magic tour.

The band no longer bring a gong with them on the road. Roger now does a cymbal roll at the end of Bohemian Rhapsody.

A fan recalls hearing the band running through Tear It Up whilst queuing up to enter the venue.

Freddie's voice is in superb shape for this show, but it will quickly weaken as the tour progresses. As incredible as Freddie Mercury was, he certainly did not take care of his voice at times, especially in the mid-80s. After a couple years of heavy smoking, Freddie's voice now sounds a lot deeper and raspier overall.

Before It's A Hard Life, Freddie says, "I think tonight we're gonna do songs from just about every album that we've ever made. You heard some very early stuff from the first album. Right now I think we're gonna do something very new, and we'll see what you think of it."

Freddie does a vocal exchange with the audience before Staying Power, singing "Get Down Make Love" and "Gimme Some Lovin" a few times. The band would improvise bits of the latter a couple times in 1986.

This is the only show on the entire Works tour where Roger plays regular acoustic drums on Another One Bites The Dust (before which Freddie teases the audience with a bit of Mustapha). For the rest of the tour, he'd play electronic drums. He'd also integrate the electronic drum kit into a few other songs, like at the beginning of Hammer To Fall, where one might argue that his sounds don't appropriately complement the guitar to create the intense, heavy sound.

The band sound very tight on this opening night of the tour, with the only exception being the rough transition from Stone Cold Crazy to Great King Rat. The keyboard and guitar solos are integrated together for the first few shows of the tour, during which Brian plays a few bits from Machines. Spike Edney uses his vocoder (a Roland VP-330) for the "machines" and "back to humans" lines heard throughout the tour during this spot (he would use his vocoder for the "radio" lines in Radio Ga Ga as well). After this segment, Brian then gets a few minutes to play on his own as usual.

Parts of the promo video for Hammer To Fall were filmed during this show. Claims from some (even official) sources state that Freddie invited the audience back for (what would actually be "additional") filming the following day aren't true. Here is all that Freddie had to say before the song: "This next song we're gonna use in our next video. So everybody just go mad and maybe later you'll see one of you guys inside the video one day. Oh, just go crazy, take your clothes off. It's called Hammer To Fall." After the song, he simply says, "Good night, you guys!" as that was the last song of the set.

Here is a fan's recollection: "On the night of the gig, there was a camera mounted on an arm that would swing over the front rows of the audience during a few songs. These audience shots were taken during Tie Your Mother Down, Radio Ga Ga, and Hammer To Fall itself. I guess they also had a camera up in the box at the back of the hall [as there are a few shots of both the audience and the band]. I don't remember any cameras onstage during the gig - just the one mounted on the arm."

The Dutch fan club invited only about twenty of its members to attend the video shoot the next day. They were instructed by a roadie to sit quietly on a chair and not to move or approach the band members. After a few hours, Brian came over and had a chat with them, checking to see if they were enjoying themselves and if they were hungry. He then promptly ordered them some take-out!

A minute of Tie Your Mother Down from this show was later broadcast on the Belgian TV station "RTBF" (x) (x). An audience-shot video allegedly exists as well, containing five songs.

After years of speculation, the existence of more footage from this show was proven when bits of it were included in the promo video for Let Me In Your Heart Again in 2014. About 30 seconds of Somebody To Love (largely crowd shots) were seen. There is, however, no accompanying audio. (x)

The first photo is from the autumn 1984 Queen fan club magazine. Brian is seen with a watchful eye over the proceedings. Tour manager Gerry Stickells and his wife are also in the shot.

Pics 2 through 6 were submitted by Alessio Rizzitelli, and the seventh pic was taken by Dave Matkin.

(x)

#queen #queen band #roger taylor #freddie mercury #brian may #john deacon #queen concerts

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just-a-fangirl13 · 3 years

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Why s5 *might* be the season MacRiley happens

Okay so...Hear me out! I'm not crazy I promise!!

Firstly, after 5x03 (and probably 5x04) it may seem very unlikely that MacRiley could ever happen. But I thought of a few reasons why they might actually happen by the end of s5 after all.... (it gets a lil long winded and kinda complicated but just stick with me till the end!)

1. All the MacRiley moments including the ones in 5x03.

[this Mac smile could not be an accident or something that slipped through both production and post-production right?! that in itself is a whole reason!]

Every Macriley moment we have ever had- whether it's the hugs, Riley saving Mac, Mac saving Riley, the ultimate show of loyalty when Riley went after Mac during Codex or even just the looks exchanged between the two- to any outsider it would seem pretty obvious that they are dating or at least in love. Keep in mind the writers would have written each of those scenes and Lucas and Tristan have acted them out with a specific build up in mind aka MacRiley.(think about the date episode: Riley just got dumped but was still thinking about how Mac might be hungry. She didnt have to do that. She could have just shown up at his place..) I mean how can they write two people so perfectly in sync and so perfect for each other and not have them end up together? It would just be a waste of all that tension and slow burn. (not to mention all the hugs and glances)

2. They know we exist.

The MacRiley fam is very active on twitter with the writers and while they were writing 5x01 they knew we were around. They know we are a huge group. They would not want to risk pissing 90% of the fandom off by not making MacRiley endgame.

[P.S.yes 5x03 was a bait and switch but if you were paying attention you would have noticed that neither Lucas not Tristan live tweeted or hyped up the episode. They knew we would probably hate it so they didnt publicise it too much! so in the future if you have doubts about the episode being a MacRiley one just check their stories or posts on twitter/intstagram]

3. Yes 5x03 happened.

I really think it was an episode they HAD to write. Ok so after 4x13 they had 7 more episodes planned and were filming 4x20 (aka the finale) when the pandemic struck. So they have these 6 episodes but no finale for it. [Idk if anyone else has noticed but in 5x01 there were clearly some parts cut out. For example the conversation between Desi and Riley towards the end seemed a bit jilted. Riley asking Desi to forgive her but Desi replied with yeah we are cool (still no apology ofc) I feel like something happened during that which ended up getting cut out so it could fit with the final story.]

This makes me think that they have rewritten a few bits to tie into the new finale episode. In 5x03 when Mac asked Desi to come fishing with him which was clearly something very personal to him she was like no do better.. then we see Mac's disappointed expression. She could have easily said okay but maybe not for our first date? Or its not really my thing? Or just about anything else rather than laughing in his face like that. Eventhough MD is together they still arent compatible. Mac’s final words in 5x03 was him being desperate. I truly think he is so broken and lost that Desi is the only safe thing left, the only thing he feels like he can fix right now. Once he finds himself again and heals...then it's going to hit him like a pile of bricks!!

4. But Riley doesn't have feelings anymore...WELL doesnt she?

When it comes to Mac, Riley is always in denial. We saw it in s4 when she tells Bozer not to make her say it. I think s5 will show her finally accepting it. Finally accepting that she is in love with her best friend and that it definitely isnt Codex adrenaline because she caught the feels when Codex wasnt even around. While Mac's arc would include realising he and Desi are never going to work and that he is unhappy and that RILEY is the one for him.

[why else would they give Riley feelings for Mac? Something has to come of it.]

5. The slow burn rule.[this point is a lil complicated]

Now season 5 is rumoured to have 13 episodes. So here’s what I think: If MacGyver follows the pattern that most shows do when it comes to slow burns, then technically MacRIley should have happened at the end of season 4. But since the season got cut short and they didnt get to air/finish their final episode the writers had to improvise.

From what I know, 4x19 which is 5x04 for us is the episode where Mac meets Desi’s parents and 4x20 was supposed to be the finale that was left unfinished.(they are definitely moving the timeline ahead if a pre finale episode is suddenly a mid season one.) There might have been a 4x21 or 4x22 but I haven't heard anything about those....EVER.

So what I think they have decided to do instead is extend the MD storyline a bit longer just so they dont end up scrapping all their s4 episodes where they would be together and write a new finale that ties everything together, aka MacRiley.

If you think about episode counts, s4 and s5 together would have 26 episodes which is a how long a normal season runs. Basically what im trying to say is if we follow the ‘slow burns end by s4’ and take season 5 as an extension of 4 then MacRiley should get together in the season 5 finale or maybe the episode just before. (IM REALLY TRYING TO GET SOME LOGIC INTO THIS)

This would be a typical TV thing too where the couple finds out about each other’s feelings while the main arc of the show is also at its peak, which perfectly sets up a future season where fans are hyped but still has a satisfying ending.

6. So what about MacDesi?

So far the macgyver writers have given us characters we love. Think of every character on the show apart from maybe Desi... Mac, Riley, Bozer, Jack, Matty, Leanna, Samantha, Russ and even Murdoc. WE LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. So then why is Desi such a strange character? I think shes purposely been written as an opposite to Mac or even Riley (I get she’s supposed to kinda replace Jack but Jack is really irreplaceable).

It's not necessarily a bad thing its just not a great thing to do or have great execution. People have said things like Desi is a badass and shouldnt have to apologise or say I love you back to her boyfriend because she is a strong woman...I'm sorry but your opinion of who a strong woman is, is EXTREMELY skewed. A strong woman is someone who can make mistakes and when she does, she is ‘strong’ enough to own up to it, she is loyal and fierce and also caring while being a badass who can take down bad guys. And for GODS SAKE, RILEY DAVIS IS A STRONG WOMAN...people have called her mushy and feminine on twitter and I'm just very confused by that.....

Anyways before I go off on a rant, it seems like Desi is intentionally being written this way. Every opportunity they get to redeem her and make her more relatable or just a better person they just dont take it. While Rileys character arc is one of the best I've ever seen. Either its intentional or they’ve forgotten how to write characters...which is worrisome but ill give them the benefit of the doubt.

The writers also know we dont like Desi. The amount of times we've tagged them in the toxic posts or pointed out problematic things we can be sure they've seen at least half of those. So theres no way they dont know. RIGHT?

So why then is MD still a thing you may ask??

Well for one they cant break them up again off screen because of those unreleased s4 episodes. (not to mention the other parts of the audience who arent as invested in mac’s love life would probably be very confused.)

Secondly Mac has to be the one to pull the plug, not Desi. 4x13 made it seem like Desi was the annoyed one not Mac. He apologised to her which meant he wanted to fix things.

Thirdly, they are opening the chpt one last time before they permanently close it. MD is going to be a stark contrast to macriley(it already is in every way possible). Every issue Mac and Desi had can be used to show how amazing macriley really is as two people who arent even dating yet.

Fourthly, MD being together is a sort of commentary on Macs mental health as well. We can see how happy he is with Riley but around Desi he becomes some one else. If the writers are doing this on purpose or subconsciously still remains to be seen.

And Yes keeping MD around for a few more episodes seems like a necessary risk right now but I have a feeling its going to be worth it later.

[I know we have had like 4 desi entered episodes already but I really think 5x04 will be the last of it since 5x05 is the Jack episode and 5x06 is Mac+Riley+Bozer episode with no mention of Desi at all!]

The writers know we are a dedicated bunch and they know that once MD breaks up for the last time the entire fandom will be waiting and watching. That's when the show will be at its peak. That will be the perfect moment to bring in MacRiley’s arc to a new start!

Congrats if you stuck with me through this whole thing! if you agree/disgaree with any of these or have other reasons why they could be endgame in s5 let me know!!

#MacGyver #Angus MacGyver #macgyvercbs #Riley davis #macriley #cbs #macxriley #macriley is endgame #otp #wilt bozer #Matilda webber #Lucas till #Tristin Mays #cbsmacgyer #russ taylor #macisback #macgyver season 5

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caroline18mars · 4 years

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A Man On Fire - Chapter 81

“Everything’s ready outside” walking back inside the kitchen, he was met by a spoon full of homemade guacamole “taste! Needs a lot more garlic, doesn’t it?” she puffed a strand of hair out of her eyes looking a little bewildered. “It’s absolutely perfect..” he licked his lips and then looked at the kitchen counter with a million pots, pans, bowls with the most delish food “wooow, wait a minute, you’re cooking up a feast and it’s just a little evening with friends” grinning he took another scoop of the guacamole. “I know but..no, I don’t know, I just thought it’s easier to talk with some good food..oh I still need to make the mozza bowls, arrghh” she spun on her heels but he grabbed her arm “will you just chill? You’ve done more than enough so you go take a nice shower, make yourself even prettier than you already are, I’ll take all this outside in the meantime..oh and stop being nervous, they’ll adore you, trust me”. He pulled her in his arms to plant a soft kiss on her lips that got too deep too quickly “stop it, I’m sticky” she pulled back, waving her fingers covered in guacamole and tomato sauce in front of his face, which was his queue to slowly put two of her fingers in his mouth, ohhh god, erotic much? She already felt her stomach tingle “Oh no you don’t, I know what you’re up to mister, no way, you’ll just have to wait until your bedtime”. That sexy, silly pout of his, walk away now or find yourself shoved against a kitchen counter while he takes you from behind, just the thought of her body being completely owned and possessed by him had her all moist, “Ok ok ok, I don’t like it, but ok” he let her fingers slip out of his mouth and reluctantly let go of her. “Good boy!” she quickly wiped her hands on a towel and hopped on out the kitchen, Jared had a grin from ear to ear until she was out of sight and was met again by a kitchen that looked like a bomb had exploded, sighing he opened the dishwasher door, it’s only fair, she cooked, you clean.

Hair, outfit..hmm, I don’t know, should I wear th.. her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell, ok leave it, it is what it is, you did your best, nervously she walked down the stairs, Jared was on his way to open the door when she walked down, wowww, she looked absolutely breathtaking. “You look..gorgeous” he smiled up at her, the fact that his friend were on the other side of the door completely forgotten about, “thank you! Uhm floppy hair, your friends are waiting” she giggled. “Heellooo sexy” a skinny, dark haired girl jumped in his arms, purring in his ear, a few friends he said..god, I hope there’s enough food for everyone, she took the last steps and slowly walked up to the bunch of people trickling inside. Should I introduce myself? Stop being so awkward De Robiano, just smile and act confident with the emphasis on ‘act’, “you must be Jared’s new flame” one of the girls noticed her standing behind Jared, “I’m Harper Coco, nice to meet you” she extended her hand, too formal maybe? I’m just not a hugger. The girl lifted her eyebrow at Jared like this was probably the most awkward way that she had been greeted in her entire life, yep Harper, you fucked up, what was it your mother said ‘you can never make a first impression twice’?. But after a few seconds she took Harper’s hand and lightly shook it, ugghh fishhands, Harper uncomfortably pulled back her hand, luckily Jared saved the day “alright alright, you know the way, we’re in the garden” he pointed at the back of the house. “You ok?” he whispered as the gang headed towards the back of the house, “yep, I’ll just go get the bottles” she smiled but he could see the nervous clench in her jaw, “it’s gonna be fine, trust me” he kissed the tip of her nose.

By the time every guest had a drink and something to eat, it was an hour later and the excited conversations were flowing around the table, with all her walking in and out there was only one spot free tucked away at the end of the table. Plopping down on her chair, she took a sip of her wine and tried to follow the conversation, but they were all so wrapped up in each other that she couldn’t get two words in, Jay looked completely in his element though, talking and laughing. Stop stressing, just enjoy the moment, enjoy your man who is in his element like you’ve never seen him before, she leaned back, lit up her cigarette and took a sip of her wine, the weather here reminded her of those Italian summer evenings in a way but did she warm up to LA yet? Nope! Not really, this just wasn’t her home..yet..would it ever be? Come on, make an effort, your man calls it home, then surely you can too. While the rest of the table was reminiscing about previous tours and things only they could know, the guy on her right gave her a friendly smile “so, how’s LA treating ya?”. She gave him an equally friendly smile back “I’m still trying to find my way round I guess..it’s not New York, that’s for sure!” he had really friendly eyes and seemed pretty genuine which was so refreshing in LA-la land. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? I don’t think we’ve been introduced, I’m Harper Coco” she extended her hand which he grabbed and gently shook “Oh you’re right, sorry, I’m Cooper..I’m with Marie-Lou” he pointed at one half of the twin sisters who are curling around Jared. “Aha..” she looked to get a better look of the girl but nah..still ordinary, oh for crying out loud Coco, stop it, for all you know she might be the sweetest woman alive “..and what does Cooper do, besides being Marie-Lou's boyfriend?” she turned her attention at the man again, “I work for a local art dealer”. Her head shot up, he really had her attention now “oh! You buying or selling? Contemporary or classic?” she took another drag of her cigarette, “I’m a buyer and I also scout new talent, shame that you signed with Charles already” he gave her a coy smile “your work is so, so..amazing!”. What?? A fan? “you know my work?” she said genuinely surprised, “know your work? Oh Harper, you really are too precious, how can anyone not be a fan of your work? everyone in the business is asking where Charles has kept you hidden for so long? Your work is such a breath of fresh air..it’s shocking and relevant and completely..” he rambled but paused to find the right words “new..it’s unlike anything anyone has ever seen before”. A warm blush crept around her cheeks, she never knew what to do with compliments of this magnitude “Uhm..thank you”, she wanted to shout at him that she was in a complete panic now that all her inspiration seemed to have dried up but she kept her cool and gave him a grateful nod instead.

”Excuse me a second, I think everyone is ready for a second round of drinks and nibbly things” she got up from her chair, oh come on Jay, get up for a second and help me, talk to me, I just want a few minutes with you, but he didn’t even notice, too wrapped up in his conversations. “Need some help?” Cooper spontaneously got up as well and followed her back to the house, in the kitchen she started rummaging through the fridge, taking out a huge pitcher of L’americano cocktail and then started taking out what seemed like a hundred different bowls of delish food “oh my, a crazy talented painter and a cook as well, Jared is a lucky man”. She never was good with compliments and this man was full of them “thank you, you’re too kind, but why don’t we take all this outside and then you have to tell me all about your job” she blushed and stammered as she handed him the pitcher. Walking back to the table with her hands full, she stopped behind Jared’s chair “Jay, can you make a bit of room and take these?” but he didn’t seem to hear her and the tray was getting really heavy. “Jay?” she kicked his chair a little to make him notice her but like this afternoon he was too wrapped in his bubble of friends, and it was exactly the same girl, Chloe?? Who had to make him aware that she was standing right behind him. “Oh sorry, didn’t see you there” he turned in his chair to take the tray from her, maybe she’d expected him to say something sweet or pull her against him for a second but there was none of that, trying not to look too frustrated she hurried back to her seat. “Try not to stress, I get the same thing with Marie-Lou, she forgets who I am when this bunch gets together, I only decided to come along when I heard who Jared’s new girlfriend was” Cooper shrugged when she sat down again. “I’m not stressing, anyway, let’s talk about you and your job” she quickly pushed a piece of bruschetta in her mouth.

”She’s awfully quiet, isn’t she? She didn’t even try and engage in the conversation” Chloe put her arm on Jared’s back as she stared at Harper sitting by the pool while the party was just getting started. Jared felt so lightheaded, he had way too much to drink “Harper? Oh Chloe, you don’t know what you’re talking about, she’s just got a lot on her mind..she’s been through so much with her family..and she’s still getting used to LA”. Chloe shifted in her seat not too convinced “whatever, just sounds like she's a lot of work, to me..anyway, come on old man and dance with me” she shot up, grabbed his hand and started yanking it. “No, leave it Chloe, I’m gonna check on Coco” he got up but then he watched her get up too, putting her phone to her ear she hurried back to the house, “oh come on, let her take that call, in the meantime you and I are gonna hit your cute improvised dancefloor right now” she pushed him in the direction of the pool. “We haven't talked since..well you know since that horrible night, you didn't return any of my calls, and I can understand why but believe me I've been so worried about you, I just wanted to see how you're holding up?” her brother's voice wurmed itself into her ear, why did she have to pick up? Sighing she sat down at the bottom of the stairs “I moved to LA..to get away from..them” she nearly puked the word “she's..gone way too far, Arno..listen, I know that you're trying to keep me part of the family but you're wasting your time..you heard what she said, she doesn't consider me a part of the family anymore so there's no real point in calling me”. This was a night to forget as soon as possible, who am I kidding, these last couple of days..this whole idea of following her lover to LA was something to forget all about as soon as possible, “you're still my little sister, Coco, that will always make you part of my family..how's LA treating you? And Jared, how is he?” he was determined to keep their conversation going. “Jared has been nothing but kind to me..LA on the other hand..” she pinched the bridge of her nose, no don't dive into all these negative emotions, just try and keep a cool head about it, it's only been days..oh god, I miss New York, I miss getting inspired. “Jared is great, you deserve each other so much, and as far as LA is concerned, it's just a city, and it's only been what? A couple of days? Give it a chance, you've lived all over the world in the past, surely LA will grow on you just like the other countries and cities did” bless him, he was trying to lift her spirits, whether it was working was a whole different matter. “I know..” she sighed, “and how's the painting going?”oh no, straight to the sore spot, “fine..just fine..” she lied, but he was having none of it “ok, out with it, Coco, what's going on?”. Harper bit her lip, should she? “nothing, just a little painter's block, nothing major” oh all those little lies, that is so not you Coco “listen Arno, I've gotta go, there's a party going on here tonight and Jared's gonna start looking for me soon, so..I'll call you next week if that's ok for you?”. Arno was very understanding about it so after saying their goodbyes, she threw the phone next to her, so glad she could stop lying, sighing she put her head on her crossed arms, oh Jared it would be so nice if you would actually come looking for me right now..but you're not are you? Just goes to show how different we really are, you have a life and I don't and boy did the truth hurt right now.

#jared leto #jared leto fanfic #jared leto fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #fic #30secondstomars #30 Seconds To Mars #30 secondstomars fanfic #30stm fanfiction #a man on fire #chapter 81 #Harper Coco #Harper and Jared #caroline18mars

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banjoknight · 3 years

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Research and Information Fluency

Research, research is the fuel for innovation, and the cure for ignorance. One question, however, is how doI go about this? Where do I find sources, where do I even begin to look? Well, if you are asking these questions I sincerely wonder what forgotten deity you had to sacrifice to in order to make it through school, and I might just have a much easier alternative to beseeching the blessing of an elder god, which we all know can be quite tedious. Perhaps if you already know how, you may be able to improve.

So what skills are necessary and how can you improve? Firstly, build your repertoire of sources, or places to find sources, books, people, sites, anything that can point you in the right direction. If its history, Britannica, Smithsonian or even a museum’s website will have you covered, from there you can often get in touch with specialists who can offer you questions or offer further reading. Wikipedia is great for sources about most things, as they often cite them and they can be quite extensive. For things not so academic it gets a bit more complicated, often bias and half-truths hide what is actually going on so cross checking and making sure to question the purpose of an article or report can greatly help. A news station that honestly tries to uphold its honesty despite its strong political preferences is NPR, which, if you don’t know, is an American radio network that tends to focus on local news. They tend to stay neutral and say just the facts, BBC is also good in this regard but make sure to take everything with a grain of salt. Both CNN and FOX are very biased and tend to exaggerate and manipulate, but they are a good source to see the opinions of political groups. Russia Today is propaganda and should rarely be trusted. Now to employ your newfound skills, don’t trust anything I just told you, go look for yourself and make your own conclusion, they may be informed or guided by this but do not take them at face value. So now that you know some skills you might be thinking, “yeah, but how do I actually do it?”

Well, I’ll show you, If I were given a topic that I had to do a project on and knew absolutely nothing about it, how would I research it? First I would ask someone who knows a bit more about the topic the very basics so that I can get an understanding which will allow me to research more effectively. Then I would search up some general information and do some basic reading, nothing too specific. After that I would start searching for key terms that relate to the topic more closely and answer some of the questions I want to write about, with these it is especially important to check the authenticity of the information and check for bias. I would make sure to write all the sources down and if I took anything specific to note what I used from the source. This will be particularly useful when explaining the topic to someone who does not know about it, knowing your initial questions will help you answer theirs. After that all that’s left is to organise your list and you’re done. I have made myself out to be some all knowing research sage, but I am certainly lacking in some areas.

I fail at many things when researching, most of which I am most likely completely oblivious to. However one thing that I am made painfully aware to, particularly in about the middle of my project is the weakness of having a question, and then researching it, instead of just researching everything you need before you start so that it is much easier. Another flaw in my researching habits is that I rely on the internet too much, I would have a much deeper and more personal grasp of the topic if I were to say, read a book, or watch a lecture, as I sometimes only know the information about a subject that specifically concern my topic and often miss the bigger picture.

Ok, it’s that time again, the time for self improvement! Well, this week it has all broken down due to the undeniable fact of my monthly quadrupling of my work load. I still have tried a few things, not wise things, but I guess that makes them even better since I can learn from them. Well I went on a camping trip and caught a very bad cold and got back so late on a weekend that I had no time for the massive amount of homework that had collected for Monday. I also have been practicing scales on my banjo to improve my comprehension and improvisation. I have tried to be nicer to my sister and have been going to the gym with my father quite frequently, although in the last week due to school work that has somewhat gone to the gutter. Now it’s time to wrap this up so lets just go over some things before we end, shall we?

So, researching skills are essential in the 21st century and there are many skills that you can develop to improve them, from learning about news sources to authentication and sorting techniques there is plenty you can do. Make sure to have a good process too and stick with it. I have a certain way of doing things and it can be vastly improved. I also took a few steps forward in my own life, and a whole bunch more in the opposite direction. Anyway, thanks for putting up with my rambling, have a nice day.

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legedsrebornamyheroacademiastory · 4 years

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MHA Legends Reborn Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Plan

(Disclaimer I own nothing of MHA)

A few years back…

Someone was watching the battle between All Might and All For One.

All Might had just lost his muscle form and was close to being defeated.

"Did you really think you had a chance against me?" All for one asked, "You're weak, and I am stronger than you."

All Might knew that he was strong, but he still had to keep going, for the good of his people and friends.

He looked to Deku who had gotten his friends out of a scrape.

"So, you passed your quirk on to someone else believing someone will continue your legacy."

All for One charged at All Might.

"Well too bad you won't live long enough to see it happen!"

All Might got into a fighting stance.

He then charged up for a punch.

At the last second All Might regained his muscle form and pushed him back with a Texas Smash.

The kid was looking at All Might and was infuriated.

Inside his body, a quirk begun to manifest itself.

Now….

Students were watching a tribute video about the All Might

Some students had tears as they had admired him and his heroic deeds.

Mina and Kirishima appeared on the screen.

"Gone….. but never forgotten," Mina said, "This year was nothing short of historic moments."

"You said it sister," Kirishima said, "Stuff is like legit nuts."

"Almost a year ago this day, we had lost who would be considered to be the great hero, All Might, who gave his life to defeat All for One," Mina said, "He was a great champion who had always managed to save the day with a smile on his face."

Footage was shown of him fighting All For One.

"This year has been stressful, but the time has come for us to move on to a new phase."

"Well hopefully nothing crazy , cause is All Might's legacy even a thing anymore?" Kirishima said, "Does anybody here even have a plan!?"

Class had ended and Deku was talking with Iida.

"Alright, I got a plan," he said.

"Lay it on me Midoriya."

"So we have this trip around the world right?" Deku asked, "So on the plane I'm gonna sit next to her and bring a headphone adapter so we can listen to music or whatever."

"Alright," Iida said.

"And then when we get to Brooklyn, I'm gonna buy her a necklace and place this picture in it."

He showed it to Iida.

"And then our last trip is Detroit which happens to be Uraraka's birthday," Deku said, "And that night there's gonna be a big fireworks display, so I'm gonna bring her to the top of a building, give her the necklace and tell her how I feel."

"Don't forget the next step," Iida said, "Don't do any of that."

"Why not?"

Iida sighed.

"Listen Deku, I like your plan, its well thought out, with many good ideas… but…. A hero shouldn't overcomplicate his plan to stop a villain."

Deku scratched his head.

"Listen what I'm trying to say is…. You really ought to be yourself, and just tell her."

"I don't know how," Deku said, "I've never felt this way about anyone. She's encouraging, nice, professional and beautiful and….."

"I get it," Iida said.

"Speaking of Uraraka, where is she?" Deku asked.

Uraraka was outside.

"So Deku… we've been friends for a long time, and…" she said, "I'm just really happy that we're such great friends…. I just said friends twice."

She sighed.

"Deku the thing is… I've always admired how you…. ugh, why is this so hard."

She looked at the picture of Deku in his hero costume.

"Deku, I'm not really one to talk about feelings or come out with what I want to say but the thing is…. I just really… GAH!"

Amii appeared from nowhere.

"Confession practice?" She asked.

"No….. Yes," she said.

"I knew it," Amii said, "You do have a thing for Deku!"

Uraraka shushed her.

"What if someone heard that?" Uraraka said, "I don't want things going bad between us."

"Well, don't worry, I've has you covered honey," Amii said, "I got an idea for how this trip goes. First off, I think you should sit next to Deku and watch movies with him the entire trip. That's the only step I got so far, so I'll improvise during the trip."

"Listen…. Don't tell Mina," Uraraka said.

Mina arrived.

"Don't tell Mina what?" She asked, "You planning on confessing to Deku finally?"

"…..yeah."

"About time," Mina exclaimed, "Now come on, the cafeteria awaits."

In the cafeteria the gang was talking about the big trip.

Deku and Uraraka were right next to each other.

"So this trip should be awesome," he said.

"I know right," Uraraka said, "The chance to see other heroes in action across the globe. Pretty soon one of us will be out there too."

Momo noticed someone sitting by himself.

"Who's the new guy?"

"Whoever he is, he seems cute," Mina said.

Amii approached the new boy.

"You're not alone are you?" She asked.

The boy nodded.

"Well, why don't you join us," she said, "There's plenty to go around."

He nodded and came over to their table.

He was staring at a candy bar that Jiro had.

"So….. what are you called weirdo?" She asked.

"I am Beta," he said introducing himself.

Amii pulled our an extra candy bar.

"You want one?"

Beta sniffed it and then took a bite.

He then started to eat the rest of it.

"Well it looks like he likes it," Iida said chuckling.

Beta stopped.

"It seems I've forgotten my manners," Beta said, "Thank you very much. I am eternally grateful."

"Listen, there's no need to be so formal," Amii said, "Just try a thank you."

"A… thank you."

"Close enough."

Deku faced Uraraka.

"So listen Uraraka," Deku said, "I know your birthday is coming up."

"Yeah," Uraraka said, "Detroit is gonna be a great city to visit on my birthday."

"Well, is there anything special you…."

All Might approached them.

"Izuku, may I have a word with you in private?" He asked, "I'd like to do some training with you before the trip."

"Ok," he said, "I'll see you later Uraraka."

In an unknown area someone was putting on some kind of suit.

He had a lot of news articles about All For One and All Might.

One article had his grasp out of all of them; The one where he chose Deku to be his successor.

"For months I have been waiting for this day to happen," he said, "Once I find and eliminate All Might's successor, I shall be the one on top."

He clawed the article into pieces.

#deku #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #legends reborn #dekuraka #ochako uraraka #izuocha #izuku mydoria #deku my hero academia

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iampikachuhearmeroar · 5 years

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okay, y’all, i’ve gotta back on my tl;dr bullshit soapbox about something:

so, the other day, i was just mindlessly scrolling through my corporate & capitalist hellscape facebook™️ (i.e. LinkedIn) and came across this totally trite mostly bullshit meme that was shared by some corporate executive search man (whose name i decided to crop out bc eh):

so i obviously agree with the last three points on this list, bc god yes my life would’ve been a bit better if I didn’t get all my dialogue about mental health only from teen mags and horrible portrayals in teen tv shows (and also this hellsite). and hell yeah everyone, and I mean EVERYONE needs to learn that failure is okay many situations (like failing a class in uni or school) bc everyone fails at something sometimes. and dealing with failure is HARD. and time management is something that I’m pretty sure everyone lies to fuckin hell about on their resume, bc lots of people really suck at it, myself included. so yeah. that needs to be taught. and i also agree with the “how to manage your health” point. bc thats becoming ever more prevalent and important with career burn out etc.

but entrepreneurship? people management? conflict resolution? creativity? how to manage money? public speaking? like y’all. three of those ARE taught/learned in school, who the fuck wrote this meme?

for anyone who actually paid attention in maths class, (which is probably very few people outside of the top performing classes), there WAS A WHOLE FUCKING UNIT that focuses on financial maths (in australia anyway). I ignored this unit as well as maths in general at school, bc I generally hated maths and was convinced that I was somehow never going to get a job. but i remember the gist of the overall topic and its subtopics. one subtopic teaches you how to calculate your wages in various contexts (overtime, double-time and a half, holiday payments, im pretty sure maternity leave pay was jammed in somewhere? idk if other countries would have double time & a 1/2 like australia though). another subtopic teaches you how to calculate interest on bank loans and credit rates on credit cards. a third subtopic teaches you how to calculate savings (obvs in terms of discounts in shops)....im sure there was a bit about budgeting in there somewhere? im pretty sure there were some questions were about tax payments somewhere as a subtopic enrichment exercise? but you get my gist. are these not money management skills? in some sense? like if i could find one of my old maths textbooks or old maths books i’d give an example of a question, to make my point stronger. but the problem, like i said before, is that a load of people (myself included) just zone out in maths in high school and stop trying with it. they forget what they’ve learnt, and just remember how much they hated algebra and how they’ll never use it again. maths was one hell of a fucking strong bitch, guys. but maybe i’m wrong.

creativity? excuse me? have people forgotten about art classes? drama classes? english classes? music classes? need i go on? okay don’t get me wrong, most of these classes did focus a lot on memorising quotes or facts about people (artists/writers/poets/composers/dramatists etc) or specific periods/movements in art or theatre or literature for example.... but the amazing sculptures/paintings etc people created in art for their final projects in year 12, or even in year 10 were works of their imagination. the scripts people write in drama or maybe english (if you had a fun teacher who did a screenwriting unit, for example) are creative asf. especially in year 12 when they do their major projects, where they may produce a monologue or a short movie, and then there’s a group piece. drama students might even make their own costumes for these performances. LIKE AIN’T THAT A LOT OF CREATIVITY RIGHT THERE Y’ALL????? and english. lowly old english. THEY HAVE A WHOLE FUCKING TOPIC ON CREATIVE WRITING FOR FUCKS SAKE. the original music people might create for their final projects too in year 12? does that not count as creativity? like yes, i know a lot of these things do still have to meet bs assessment criteria (especially in catholic schools, where the main things are you don’t offend the catholic education office and jesus/god lmao) to be considered worthy of a mark for your year 12 exams. but FUCK. HOW THE FUCK AREN’T ANY OF THESE SUBJECTS COUNTED TOWARDS BEING CREATIVE???????? like fuck your corporate creative ideation or w/e bullshit, Callum. drama and english even lend themselves to improvisation in some instances, like public speaking, which is examined further, below.

next, we move on to public speaking. this shit is basically taught from the first goddamn day of “show & tell” in kindy/kindergarten, and this fucker has the gall to say that it’s not fucking taught in schools? someone call in miley cyrus/hannah montana to throw the fuck down in this motherfucking hoedown BC THIS STUPID-ASS MEME-FUCKER HAS NERVE. i hated public speaking. absolutely hated it. even though it was ironically one of the places i ended up excelling in in english classes. even when i fucked up in my english speeches with like “oh, fuck.... said nelson mandela, i’ve seem to’ve lost my palm card. wait, shit! there it is... excuse me while i pull it out of my ass. whoops, sorry miss” *bats eyes and finger guns at my year 9 english teacher who has her head in her hands and is done with my shit, while the class laughs at my gaffe* i’d still end up with like 73% or like 26/30. it was baffling. but for people who weren’t the class clown/smart alec like i was from years 7-10 (and like i actually wasn’t once i moved schools).... public speaking is like the leading cause of anxiety, right? like by the time i got to doing speeches/presentations at uni i was having panic attacks... the thought of presenting to my classes made me fucking sick with fear and anxiety. nearly every subject i did at uni (even when i tried to avoid subs with public speaking assessments) and throughout school had some type of presentation/speech whatever you want to call it project/activity in it. even fucking SPORT/PDHPE at school and even philosophy at uni. and these fuckers are saying its not taught in schools. FUCK OFF. like yeah, i get that they actually mean it in the professional sense.... where people can give the sappy bs motivational speeches or an insightful ted-talk worthy 20-minute presentation... or a great sales pitch. but like??? save that for mike “my dad phoned in to EY and i have a job waiting for me after uni” mcfuck in a business major or law degree? or for clubs like toastmasters? fuck. ok enough of the skills we learn in school. let’s move onto the businesslike-sounding ones of “people management”, “conflict management” and fucking “entrepreneurship”. like. what the fuck? okay in some sense people management and conflict management could potentially be used in managing friendships and relationships in your personal life. but like. i can feel the business underpinnings and i dont like it lmao. like why do you want fully functioning adults straight out of school, franklin? and there’s extra credit conflict management subjects at uni??? or at least my home uni had it... and i never did them bc they were intensive courses during summer break lol. but the one that pissed me off the most was entrepreneurship. LIKE ARE KIDS NOT FUCKING ALLOWED TO BE KIDS NOW????? well apparently: “NO! YOU MUST ALWAYS THINK OF MONEY MAKING WAYS TO BE RICH! YOU MUST BE ENTREPRENEURIAL!!!!!! YOU MUST GENERATE BUSINESS IDEAS FROM THE TIME YOU CAN FUCKIN’ WALK!!!!! AND SPEAK!!! CHILDHOOD AND BEING A TEENAGER DON’T EXIST WORKER BEE!!!! CAPITALISM FOR ALL!!!! WORKER BEES!!! CAPITALISM IS YOUR FRIEND!!! OWN A BUSINESS BY THE TIME YOU’RE 8 YEARS OLD!” like it’s insidious asf. and it doesn’t acknowledge that most entrepreneurs are already privileged people anyway, who usually have some type of money to start off their venture (or that’s what it feels like anyway). and yeah throw all the “THIS BOY IS AN ENTREPRENEUR AT 18!!! 18!!!???? BY STARTING HIS OWN BUSINESS AT 12!!!! WHAT A CHAMP! 😁🙃” clickbait news stories at me, but i don’t fucking care. the concept and perceived over-importance and almost preaching mindset of entrepreneurship is slowly becoming insidious and toxic asf. call me paranoid. but that’s what it feels like.

but with those last three topics, i want to make a point that school curriculum’s (in australia at least, and probably worldwide) are so jam-packed already with sport (which is pointless and shitty), geography (ok how to read maps is important, but i never bothered to learned to do it properly), history, science, english etc etc etc..... that like.... where the actual fuck are the gonna jam the above bs (people management”, “conflict management” and entrepreneurship) into the curriculum???? and also teachers are already over-worked enough as it is, they don’t need another load of shitty subjects pushed onto them. and they sure asf don’t earn enough (especially in the states) to have this bs pushed into their subject schedules either. keep them at uni, where they should be. or just in the workplace/in the general public where they belong. and if people suggest that you could probably push these subjects into the year 11/12 business studies programs or elective commerce courses in years 9/10, save your goddamn breath. like i remember looking at business studies hsc papers in years 11/12 to see what they did.... and it was pretty chock-a-block anyway. and my experience of my year 9 commerce was horrible, to say the least. let kids be kids, for fucks sake. they shouldn’t have to be fully functioning adults in the workplace, by the end of high school, for fucks sake. AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL SKILL????!!!! FUCK OFF WITH THAT SHIT, WILHELM. anyway. that’s my rant over about how i hate how corporate people are trying to be #relatablewiththeyouth🙃 with their shitty versions of “10 things i wish we learned in school” memes.... and failing.... without realising that this is why millennials are suspicious and cynical about meme usage by corporate people/corporations.

#life #about me #shut up ilona #ranty mcrantrant #ilona rants about shit #warning: a too long didnt read/tl;dr post #for lazy tumblr peeps who never read long posts is ahead #BEWARE!!!’#and strap in for the ride #but yeah tl:dr ahead #learn to read long form posts you fucks #it was in my replies #so read my tags y’all

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sherlolo-land · 6 years

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Ok first, right off the bat, Devil’s Claw doesn’t exist. Next,

“Johnlock as wrote in Canon is not a healthy partnership. Holmes is far too callous and uncaring of Watson to be his intimate partner.”

Here are some examples of Holmes being “callous and uncaring” towards Watson:

“I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities. It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear fellow, that I am very much in your debt.” -The Hound of the Baskervilles

“It was worth a wound – it was worth many wounds – to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.” -The Three Garridebs

“ ‘I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end, I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done. Who knows?’” – The Devil’s Foot. —-> “ ‘By the Lord, it is as well for you. If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive. Now, sir, what have you to say for yourself?’” – The Three Garridebs.

“ ‘I think that I had better go, Holmes.’ ‘Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my Boswell.’” -A Scandal in Bohemia

“ ‘…If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on….’” - A Case of Identity

“If I burden myself with a companion in my various little enquiries it is not done out of sentiment or caprice, but it is that Watson has some remarkable characteristics of his own, to which in his modesty he has given small attention.”- The Blanched Soldier

“It is here that I miss my Watson. By cunning questions and ejaculations of wonder he could elevate my simple art, which is but systematized common sense, into a prodigy. When I tell my own story I have no such aid.” -The Blanched Soldier

“Let us walk in these beautiful woods, Watson, and give a few hours to the birds and the flowers.” -Black Peter

“ ‘Look here, Watson; you look regularly done. Lie down there on the sofa, and see if I can put you to sleep.’ He took up his violin from the corner, and as I stretched myself out he began to play some low, dreamy, melodious air—his own, no doubt, for he had a remarkable gift for improvisation.” -The Sign of the Four

“Now, Watson, there is cocoa ready in the next room,” -The Adventure of the Priory School (Holmes when waking Watson up)

“ ‘My dear doctor,’ said he kindly, ‘pray accept my apologies. Viewing the matter as an abstract problem, I had forgotten how personal and painful a thing it might be to you.’”- The Sign of the Four

“I felt Holmes’s hand steal into mine and give me a reassuring shake, as if to say that the situation was within his powers and that he was easy in his mind.”-The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton

“My dear Watson,” said the well-remembered voice, “I owe you a thousand apologies. I had no idea that you would be so affected.” - The Return of Sherlock Holmes

“For two hours we rambled about together, in silence for the most part, as befits two men who know each other intimately.” - Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

“Don’t forget Watson. You won’t fail me. You never did fail me.” - His Last Bow

“This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before myself.” - The Speckled Band

“And yet the accounts of Holmes’ slights and verbal jabs to Watson is endless.”

You can’t just pick and choose examples of Holmes being abrasive and say he’s verbally abusive towards Watson while ignoring all of the love and affection between them. Second, if you can ignore Sherlock’s verbal jabs and insults to Molly in favor of the moment’s where he’s kind to her, then why can’t a Johnlocker do the same? Especially considering the love between Holmes and Watson far outbalances any harsh slights. Can the same be said about the hetero romances you support? Both in BBC and in canon?

As for the “potential hetero interest in Lion’s Mane,”

How is it that it’s so easy for you to see a romance in The Lion’s Mane but not between Holmes and Watson, given the above examples and many more?

In Lion’s Mane, Maud Bellamy is introduced by someone describing her to Holmes as “a real beauty … who would draw attention everywhere.” Holmes sees her and agrees she’s beautiful, and describes her to possess “strong character as well as great beauty” and says he’ll remember her fondly….. And that’s it. That’s literally it. That’s a potential romance? In that case Watson has a potential romance with everyone, considering how often he praises Holmes’ physicality (and other men) and speaks highly of him. Or does that not apply anymore because it’s two men?

#the lion's mane #acd canon #sherl0llian logic #double standards #canon holmes and watson #maud bellamy

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troutfishinginmusic · 3 years

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Interview: Tim Kinsella (2012)

In 2012 my life was chaotic. I was working on my degree at Wayne State University and working two jobs. I was also going through some trauma in my personal life, which I’ve only recently sorted out. During all of this, I interviewed one of my favorite artists. Tim Kinsella has been a part of numerous musical projects (most notably Cap N’ Jazz and Joan of Arc). I was lucky enough to interview him when he did a limited run of living room shows at the time. I wrote an article from the interview for my college newspaper. I really don’t like how it turned out. This interview appears on another Tumblr page I made at the time and have since forgotten all the login stuff (including the email). Joan of Arc recently concluded after over 20 years, so I thought it would be fitting to post it again with a bit of light editing. The interview happens at a creative high for JOA and a commercial low. Kinsella currently performs in Good Fuck.

What made you want to tour living rooms?

It was really a very practical decision. I’ve been working as an adjunct teacher around Chicago and I have a better job that starts in February. I didn’t want to go back to my old job yet and get lots of music done. But by the time I found out I wasn’t working it was too late. It was too late to book clubs; to do a normal tour. It was very much just a backwards kind of a panic. Dave Bazan of Pedro the Lion and Tim Kasher have been doing this. So I got hooked up with the guys who booked those. And I’m excited this is the first one.

What subject and where did you teach?

I taught two semesters at the Art Institute [of Chicago] teaching a weird first year seminar. I taught classes on Utopia that I made up. But that’s just while I was in school there. But then I taught at Harold Washington, which is part of the Chicago City colleges, and I taught popular culture and mass media studies sorts of things. In February I start teaching experimental fiction writing at the University of Chicago’s night school program. That’ll be more exciting for me, teaching writing classes.

Are you going to write a follow up the “Karaoke Singers Guide to Self Defense”?

You know I just finished the second one and I can’t find a publisher. I actually just finished a first draft of the third one in the last two and a half months. So that means it’s still about two and a half years away from being done. I sent out the second one to 28 different publishers and have gotten 12 or 13 rejections so far and haven’t heard back from the other 14.

Why not put it out with the last publisher?

That’s part of there deal they don’t do two books by anyone. Half the people they put books out by have deals with bigger publishers, so this is like their weird side project thing. So they’re helping me find people to send it to. And I’ve become really good friends with them. So they’re on my side but they won’t do the book.

I saw in another interview that you were starting to move away from song-based albums to larger instrumental pieces. On the new self-titled album there is one side devoted to song-based material. Do you see yourself continuing to move away from that in the future or is it kind of up in the air in terms of Joan of Arc?

It’s hard to say. I remember when Joan of Arc Dick Cheney Mark Twain came out in 2004 and, when we finished mixing it, we met this friend of mine who’s in this band called Disappears, who’re really awesome, and telling him how excited I was about the record and gushing about how it does this and it does this and how we balanced it’s so crazy. He was nodding along patiently and he was like ‘you know it sounds like you just described the first Joan of Arc record to me.’ And I went ‘oh…right. I guess so’ But I don’t know I feel like I’m getting better at the craft of song writing. They’re very separate disciplines in my mind; song writing and playing music. I feel like I’m getting better at both, but they’re definitely separate disciplines in my mind.

Does it feel strange doing very different things under the same banner?

Yeah, from my perspective it’s very unified. Ideally, it should have contradictions. I don’t know. Have you ever seen a really depressing movie or read a really fun book and think ‘oh man I want to make something like that.’ That never lets up or never goes one way or the other. Realistically, I’m sad a lot of the time and I’m funny a lot of the time.

You wouldn’t want to box it in or anything?

If it’s going to representative then it needs to be multi- dimensional. So I’m comfortable with it. I understand it’s hard to sell. And at the same time when I feel like I’m getting better at these things, but the business aspect of it has never been worse. Our audience is shrinking and shrinking as I get better and better at what I mean to do.

Were any of the east coast shows canceled due to hurricane Sandy?

I guess I’m doing them. I’ve talked to all the hosts. There was one show at a friend of mine’s house in New Jersey that we moved to Brooklyn anyways so we could sell more tickets there. His street was destroyed but that show was canceled anyways. The only show that would’ve been canceled was already canceled…so it might be weird getting in and out of places…but I don’t know. Yeah I’ve been in contact with all of them and they’ve said ‘no you have to do it everything’s fine.’ I guess it’ll go neighborhood to neighborhood.

Are you going to make another film after Orchard Vale?

It’s a thing I think about a lot. Both novels started as script ideas. I found I have an easier time realizing the thing when it was just me, a laptop and a notebook. The movie was very frustrating. It didn’t turn out like I hoped it would. The tension of it ended my marriage because me and my ex-wife made it together. My girlfriend now is an experimental filmmaker and she’s really great, so we collaborate on some little things. I’ve done some music for a couple of her films and we’re constantly talking through ideas, but I don’t think…I mean I would love to, it would be my dream.

What made you want to soundtrack the Passion of Joan of Arc film?

This festival asked us to do something, it could be whatever we wanted. But they wouldn’t tell us how much money they had. They said ‘well how much do you guys want?’ Well for this little bit of money we’ll improvise to a 10-minute experimental film, for a lot of money we’ll do an original score to the Joan of Arc movie. It just popped out of my mouth. I didn’t think about it. They said ‘oh that sounds cool let’s try that.’ The one time we preformed it was in an old church this old church that was really perfect. There were stained glass windows, some people sitting in pews and a big pipe organ sitting to the side. We tried riding with the pipe organ, but we couldn’t get things in tune with it. The a-lot-of-money turned out to be very little money considering the amount of time we had to put into it. They called my bluff.

How much did the film influence the band name? Did it feel like it was coming full circle to do that?

It did feel great to do that. My relationship with the name Joan of Arc has gone back and forth a few times over the years. At first we thought it was a good idea because we wanted this familiar thing. Then there were some years where I was like this is a stupid band name, why are we stuck with this? It felt like claiming it as our own. I mean obviously it belongs to everyone. Our original idea was Sony. But our first label wouldn’t let us be named that. We just wanted a name that everybody knew that we could change the meaning of the name to certain people.

How’s the Owls reunion going?

It’s going great. It’s really fun. It took us a really long time to get momentum Sam [Zurick] moved back to Chicago last Valentine’s day. He was living on my couch so he needed to find a job and had to find a place. Then my brother had a second baby. I think we wrote the whole record twice and threw it away. It just wasn’t working. It had been 12 years since we all played together even though all of us play in Joan of Arc some of the time. Now we finally have momentum. We have enough songs where we’re throwing songs away. I think if we had to record next week we could but we’re waiting until the spring because we’re enjoying playing together and not tweaking things or making it a public thing right now. It’s fun for us to cultivate.

Did you plan to release three albums in a year? Is it hard to do that or is it more of a natural process?

No we’re totally backlogged right now, the labels hate us. Two years ago we did 113 shows we were all just miserable and exhausted. So we were like OK let’s stay at home and figure things out. It was a good year we all enjoyed it, but it’s difficult to sustain it. We’re just staying home but we still like playing music. Most days of the week we play music together. We throw away a lot of stuff you know.

The three records are very different: the soundtrack is a very specific thing, Pinecone is a very specific thing and this acoustic record. There’s three records for next year too. We aren’t trying to, it’s just how it kind of naturally occurs. I mean there’s the Owls record and our main focus has been our soundtrack to this performance art piece. We did it in London in April I guess and that’s a very specific thing. We’ve been doing this funny greatest hits record of rearranged old songs. The label’s saying you sound better live than you ever have, you should make a record as a live band.

They’re very distinct. And that’s a music industry thing really, I mean if you love what you do you’ll want to do it every day. It doesn’t seem weird to me. I understand the labels hate it because the records come out in very small pressings now.

Do you still bartend at all?

You know, I just started again and it’s fine. I was miserable the first couple shifts, but I’m just doing it until I can start teaching again. I’m just not used to being up that late.

Did that inspire the book at all?

I’ve lived above the bar I worked at. I’m not in there very often when it’s open and crowded unless I’m working. But the owners and managers there are my best friends. So I guess I’ve just been around the bar. And my Dad was a governor of a Moose Lodge, so he was like a bar manager too. So I’ve always been around bars I guess.

#tim kinsella #joan of arc #owls #capnjazz

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ramblinganthropologist · 7 years

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Inkjournal Day 3 - Have a Drink

Summary: When the going gets tough, the tough use virulent walking bomb. Only... we’re pretty sure he’s not supposed to be able to do that. WTF? Word count: 1581

---

The funny thing about being between a rock and a hard place is that you rarely notice you're there until your back is getting stabbed by a boulder.

Kaaras' shoulder was broken badly, and he grit his teeth against the pain as he ducked behind a rock. In front of him, the Iron Bull lay prone, unmoving. He had been that way for a few minutes now, and his posture matched Dorian's. Both of them had been knocked out by the force in front of them.

Whoever had forgotten to warn them about the giant in the Emerald Graves was going to catch hell from him later if they got out of it alive.

“Never thought we'd wind up dying in the graves of our ancestors. There's gotta be irony there.”

Akri was nearby, grinning despite the broken ribs that were making blood trickle down his mouth. He was holding his stomach with one hand and clutched his short staff in the other. Both were trembling, and it was doubtful he had more than two good spells left in him.

Kaaras managed a grim smile as he nodded. “Too bad Jackel's not here to point it out, huh?”

She was back at the base camp, sleeping off a broken leg from having fallen into a badger warren. Though she had considered it a bit of bad luck, both brothers realized now that perhaps she was in the best position of any of them.

Maybe if they survived, they could tell her that themselves.

“Man, I regret never learning some healing magic.” Akri winced as he prodded his side. “That's at least two broken ribs.”

It got worse, as Kaaras looked to their scant supply of healing potions. All that remained were empty bottles and a faint stain where one had leaked out earlier. Maybe that could have been their salvation as they looked towards the giant.

“How many lyrium potions do we have left?”

There was relief there. Tucked away, two last potions glowed bright blue in the darkness of his bag. Two last shots for a mage to try and take the giant down. While it wasn't enough to heal them, it might just work.

Kaaras dug one out, wincing as his shoulder throbbed in agony. Carefully, he handed it over to his younger brother, ducking as a spray of dirt from the side reminded them the giant was still there and very much alive and angry. Primal magic, Akri's specialty, might just get it done.

However, Akri didn't drink from the bottle. Instead, he grimaced and nudged it back into his older brother's waiting hand. When he was met with a confused glance, the young man grinned as best as he could.

“Have a drink, bro. My shit's too wrecked to be a big damn hero.”

And then he coughed, blood spurting down his front as emphasis. From the look on Akri's face, he didn't have much time before he was out like Bull and Dorian. It was left now to Kaaras as he stared down at the glowing blue bottle.

Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and turned back to his younger brother. “Get as much cover as you can. I think this is going to be messy.”

And without another word, he uncapped the bottle and drained it in one gulp. Every sense was on fire, and the urge to throw it all back up was so strong that Kaaras almost doubled over. However, the lyrium did its job as he felt the energy welling up from within his usual meager reserves.

Not many people knew the Inquisitor was a mage. That was the way he liked it.

Another deep breath, and Kaaras grabbed his brother's short staff. It hummed under his hands as he ran for cover yards away. All the while, the giant nearby thrashed with its large arms. From where he was standing, he could see some blood. It was hurt.

Good.

“Creators, let this work.” Another silent prayer, and then the staff began to glow. Gritting his teeth, he broke into the best run he could with a broken shoulder. With his speed and where he was headed, there was only a small margin of error.

Up above, his target roared so loud that the ground shook. It swung its massive improvised club, a tree it had ripped out of the ground, but it missed. Kaaras let out his own cry as he swung the staff as hard as he could, feeling it through his entire body as the ironbark head made contact with the giant's ankle.

Bones cracked, but that wasn't the point. He let go of the spell he had been charging, feeling the energy leave him in a great wave. It was so strong that he was thrown back, landing hard against a tree with a dull thud. However, he managed a pained grin as he looked over.

The giant was roaring, and not because of a broken ankle. By now, it was feeling the energy burning it from the inside, turning it into one giant bomb ready to go off. It just needed the finishing touch, and then it would all be over.

For one last time, Kaaras raised the borrowed staff. Weak energy made it turn white once again. With all the will left in him, he let it go. A purple bolt of energy struck his target somewhere in the knee, setting off the reaction from his previous spell.

“Now stay down.”

---

“I'm going out there!”

“Lady Lavellan, you have to stay here!”

Jackel grimaced as she pushed past an Inquisition agent. Her still tender leg protested every movement, but she was already armored up. When everything was over, she was going to give Kaaras and Akri one hell of a piece of her mind for leaving her behind.

“Those idiots are going to die without me! We can fix my leg later!”

“The Inquisitor told us to keep you-”

Words were drowned out by a massive explosion somewhere to the west of the camp. It shook the trees around them, sending loose branches toppling to the ground. Jackel hit the ground as well, her shaky balance overpowered by the unsteady soil she stood on.

Scouts around her geared up to check it out, some of them with bottles of healing potions should the blast have caught the forward party in it. However, she just sat there, staring at where the burst of bright light had just started to fade.

“Fuck... what happened out there if he did it?”

Grimacing, she stood to make it out of camp. This was going to take a lot explaining, and if her fears were correct, she would need to be the one to do it. The piece of her mind got upgraded to a full blown ass kicking as she limped down the path. Though, when she was going to be able to kick was another story altogether.

---

It was hours later that they were all reunited. Kaaras' shoulder had been set and healed, while his concussion and sore back had been seen to. Out of the four, he was the least injured, and so he sat by the fire waiting to hear the good news that the healer had finished with his friends.

A fist came from the darkness and pounded him straight in his recently healed arm. Wincing, Kaaras held up his good hand to avoid anymore blows. By chance, he caught Jackel's small fist in his palm just as it was about to slam again.

“What the fuck, Kaas?!”

She plopped down next to him, fit to be tied. Her leg was bandaged, with strict orders not to run out of camp again if she wanted to keep it. Honestly, he doubted she would listen to healer's orders for more than a day. After that, all bets were off.

Jackel wasn't finished in her tirade, of course. “I wake up, you're gone, and then the whole fucking forest explodes? Somebody could've seen you!”

“Dorian and Bull were knocked out. The only one there awake was Akri, and he's not exactly telling anyone.” Kaaras winced as he rubbed his arm. “If I hadn't done it, we would've died.”

He knew that well enough without a healer. His team had been in such a bad state that he could've sworn he'd heard Falon'Din swooping in. Now he was at bay for the moment, and they could all catch their breath.

It appeased his cousin somewhat, but she still pouted. “Next time don't go fighting a giant without me, ok?”

A tired smile stretched across Kaaras' face as he patted her on the head. “Sure, I'll drag you along next time. Maybe you can shake your broken limbs at it.”

And then he was dodging again, but nothing was serious. A levity had returned for the moment, where before there had only been the heavy feeling he always got after consuming lyrium. No doubt he would be sick as a dog in the morning, but for now he could handle it.

Though, she was right. He was lucky no one had seen or thought to ask questions. In the future, he would need to be even more careful. But that was for another time. Right then, his biggest problem was not getting beat up by his cousin.

That would've been insult to injury.

#ramblinganthropologist's writing #Kaaras Adaar #Akri Adaar #Jackel Lavellan #Dragon Age Inquisition

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myotishia · 5 years

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Time hopping part two

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None I don't think but tell me if I've missed anything. Characters: Owen Harper (Past and present), Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc) Rating: Teen and up Tropes: We’re fixing things right over here.

Blurb: After being swept into Owens plan Elise is going to have to face her own actions and the effect they have on others. Not only that but she’s been given an important duty, to keep Toshiko Sato distracted.

After another time jump that almost ended with Elise losing what was left in her stomach the pair headed to a hotel. Owen, to the receptionist at least, looked like a normal patron. He flashed a credit card and the receptionist nodded as if this happened all the time. Elise followed the woman in an expensive looking suit to a room that was larger than Elise’s own flat. Owen finally broke the silence as he waved off the receptionist.

“You look exhausted. You should get some sleep.”

The brown eyed woman sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off her boots. “What was that about?”

“Torchwood. Sometimes after something went down we all just couldn’t face going home so we have a tab here. Thought you might need it.”

“Yea… I mean I’m practically homeless right now.”

“You can order room service if you want.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “I haven’t eaten in at least twenty four hours but now I can’t even think about food… I’m going to take a shower.”

“Will you be ok on your own?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I’m going to check on the aftermath. I need to relax for a while anyway.” He held up his hand as it dispersed into the air like salt in water.

“I’ll be here.”

She watched him dissolve completely before heading into the bathroom, turning on the shower and attempting to patch clean her jeans, mud from the field dried into the knees. She hung them on the radiator to dry and stepped into the shower appreciating the warmth. The day hit her like a bus. She sank to the floor and sobbed, overwhelmed. It was as if she really had jumped into the bay, drowning in the darkness, pulled under by death himself. She traced the scar on the back of her hand with her fingertips. She wasn’t alone anymore. For the first time in years she wasn’t completely alone. The warmth seemed to finally permeate her core and she pulled herself up, washing away the day and the thoughts that weighed her down. Finally she stepped out and bundled herself up in the fluffy white towels and a very plush dressing gown.

After a short trip as the crow flies Owen drifted watching two familiar figures below.

Gwen leant next to her workmate on the bars dividing them from the bay water.

“Are you ok? You’ve been quiet… I mean quieter than usual.” She asked.

Ianto continued to look out across the water, “I lost someone a few nights ago.”

“Oh god Ianto I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say? I’m sure Jack would’ve given you some time off.”

“I’d rather work to be honest.”

“Who were they?”

“Someone I loved… She’d been gone for a long time in a way. I just hoped…” He paused, words lost on the wind.

“Oh sweetheart.” She pulled him into a hug that he didn’t fight.

Elise had closed her eyes for only a moment when she found herself in darkness, far from the sounds of the hotel tv. Drifting. Weightless. Far off, huge footsteps echoed, the vibrations hitting her in the chest. She tried to feel which direction it was coming from but it seemed to come from everywhere. A final loud bang pierced the air and a sharp pain bloomed in her chest followed by a falling sensation.

Owen looked up as Elise jolted awake with a loud gasp, as if she’d just resurfaced from a deep pool.

“Woah Elise, it’s ok.”

“Hurts.” She gasped, a hand over her heart.

The doctor took a swift step forwards, watching her carefully. “Take a deep breath. Can you tell me what hurts?”

“I…” She took a few deep breaths. “It’s gone… Bad dream, I think.”

“Are you sure?”

The cocoon of towels and blankets nodded. The worry in Owen settled but a sharp phantom pain shot through his own heart. A pain he thought he’d long forgotten. A pain he wanted to forget.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you… I hate to be a pain but will my debit card work in this time?”

“No. It won’t have been created yet. What do you need?”

“Just a change of clothes and a few other things if you plan on making me run or anything.”

“I think Torchwood can owe you that much but you’ll have to emerge from your blanket fort.”

“No deal.” She pouted, pulling the dressing gown tightly around her as she got up and headed into the bathroom. Her jeans were dry and they hadn’t stained thankfully. As soon as she got something else to wear she’d throw everything away. She didn’t want to look at them.

One new coat, two new sets of underwear, one new pair of jeans, two new shirts and a set of hairbands later Elise was ready to go.

“Is this next job a little nicer?” she asked.

“Depends how it goes. Hopefully you can just keep Tosh distracted while I keep track of someone.”

“How would I keep her distracted?”

“Easy. Tell her you know about Torchwood.”

“And when she asks how?”

“Improvise”

“I’m not good at lying.”

“Then don’t. You are from the future, just show her your phone or something.”

“My phone’s old.”

Owen stared at her for a moment before the pin finally dropped. She pulled the phone from her pocket and compared it to the ‘new’ models in a nearby shop window.

“How did people deal with having less than a terabyte of storage at least. Even this old piece of junk has three.”

“Exactly. You can use the money I gave you just don’t get drunk. I don’t want to have to wait for you to sober up. Just keep her away from the blond at the bar.”

“I need to send a message. Will you be ok on your own?”

“I’m not a bloody child!”

“Says the woman who was found in a blanket fort.”

“Just go.”

Gwen leant back in her chair. “Just admit it, you left me the note.”

“I was with you, when would I have had time? I’ve checked the cameras.”

“You mean the ones that conveniently glitched out?”

“There was a sudden wave of electromagnetic interfearence. They didn’t glitch.” Tosh interjected. She was sick and tired of this conversation. It had been going on for over a week and it sounded like Owens usual nonsense.

“See? Right from the expert. Wasn’t me.” Owen threw a ball of paper into the bin that sat across the room.

“Then who was it?” Gwen continued, as stubborn as ever.

“Fuck if I know. I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“I got a new body this morning.”

“Shouldn’t you be working on it then?”

“It’s just bones. Not as if whatever did it is still walking around.”

“Maybe.”

Owen paused before standing. “Ok, if you’re so smart you can tell me what happened.”

“What?”

“I’m serious. Come on.”

Gwen shook her head but followed anyway.

Tosh moved to grab her coffee but it had long gone cold. It was just the last part of a very frustrating day that had given her a stress headache. She couldn’t concentrate. Pulling her bag onto her shoulder she headed out. If Owen was going to act like Gwens best friend then maybe she’d find someone who actually wanted her around. That or at least get a drink.

Elise sat down next to the woman Owen had pointed out to her and smiled.

“Hi.”

Tosh jumped as if she’d been pulled from a daydream. “Oh sorry. Hi.”

“I’m Elise. You’re Toshiko, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“I know about Torchwood. How’s Ianto holding up by the way... Don’t worry, I don’t mean you any harm.”

Tosh had gone quite pale but she kept her composure. “Slow down. How do you know about Torchwood?”

Elise took a sip of her drink. “An agent stopped me from doing something I’d regret. He was drifting through time and long story short I ended up travelling with him.”

“Do you have any proof?”

The brown haired woman placed her mobile phone on the bar. “Go ahead. If you have a look at the news sites they should have a short history saved. I can’t connect to the internet here but maybe you can.”

Tosh turned the unfamiliar phone over in her hands, checking the ports and any brand naming. Nothing she recognised. Even opening it up didn’t show her anything she’d seen before, at least not in such a compact form. The sim card and memory cards had names she’d never heard of printed on them. She wanted to double check but at that moment she realised that, in her frustration, she’d left her own mobile on her desk. Next she switched the device on and hit a roadblock. It needed to be unlocked.

“Sorry. One second.” Elise said, taking the phone back and holding it up. “Retinal scanner. A bit much I know.”

Once it was unlocked Toshiko immediately hit the web browser and it did bring up well known news sites but all the dates were for over twenty five years in the future.

“Can I keep this?” She asked.

“The speaker doesn’t work very well. I had to resolder a few of the connections more than once but go ahead. It’s not as if I have anyone I can call. Even in my time the only one to answer would be my roomba.”

“You still have those?”

“Yea. I got mine from a friend who worked at my local scrap yard. It was old but it still worked. Just needed a bit of care and attention.” Elise smiled softly at the memory. “I reprogrammed him because he was oversensitive. He’d make his little warning beep whenever he hit the doorframe or got stuck under my bed. I gave him a little AI that could tell where he was. It went a bit far when I walked in on him humping the base of a lamp.”

Tosh nearly choked on her drink as she laughed.

“I’m serious. I think he just hadn’t worked out that it wasn’t a ramp with an obstacle. Of course I gave them my blessing. At least he could get a date.”

“Do… Do you want to get something to eat?”

“I’m starving. You lead the way. I doubt any of the places I went to are here yet.”

Owen, his future self at least, had enjoyed watching the creature known as Mary get exactly what she deserved. Eons of looking back had amplified his bitterness, remembering how heartbroken Tosh had been. The feeling of broken trust around the hub. It had been the same with Ianto, doubting every interaction. They deserved a win before the next case that would fall to them. Of all the monsters and eldritch abominations they’d faced somehow humans were the worst. There was no one thing he could do to change the events to come, like a perfect storm it would blow through, unstoppable. He just had to do his best to limit the damage of the aftermath. He knew the notes he’d left for both Gwen and himself wouldn’t be enough to stop his past self being an idiot. He just hoped the anonymous message he’d sent to Rhys would be. “Gwen’s been given a sensitive project at work but she doesn’t want to go to counselling. When she gets back I've set up a date for you both to try and help her decompress from the whole thing. Below I’ve included all of your reservation details. Everything has been paid for. She may not be able to talk about her work but maybe a night to forget about it all will help.” It was a risk to leave evidence of his existence and he was sure it would end with them investigating his activities but it had to be done. Owen had to fix his mistakes, for his own sake if no one else's.

“-And he’s spending all of his time arguing about notes like a schoolchild.” Tosh continued over a spoonful of sorbet.

“Sounds a bit desperate if you ask me. Didn’t you say she had a boyfriend?”

“Exactly. Who does that?!”

“It’s not worth stressing out over. I mean you’re smart, beautiful, you’ll find someone worth your time.”

She blushed lightly at the compliment. “Not in this job.”

“And you have people who love you. That’s worth way more than a few dates.”

“Didn’t you have anyone?”

Elise paused and took another bite of her cheesecake. “Not really. I haven’t spoken to my parents in years. Not that I’d want to. All they ever did is put me down and use me. I fell out of contact with my school friends long ago and my workmates just aren’t into the same kinds of things I am. They go out drinking and I’d rather go home and build something. Nearest thing I had to a friendship was the guy at the junkyard and I didn’t even know his last name. The night before I met… The agent… I came home to my flat and it’d been ransacked. Everything was gone… Sorry. I brought the mood down.”

“No. It’s ok.” She leant down to her bag and pulled out the phone. “You should keep this.”

“Are you sure? I’ve got nobody to call.”

“Yes you have.” She let Elise unlock it and started typing her number in. “Now you can call me.”

“I hope I can… Tell you what. I’ll give you all of my details and we’ll see if we can keep in contact even when I’ve time jumped again.”

“That sounds good. Thank you for tonight. I think I needed this.”

“Me too. Just remember, even if I don’t answer right away I’m still out there somewhere and after whatever Jobs we need to do get done I think I want to come back. We can go out for dinner again or something.”

“I’d like that.”

They were interrupted by a waiter stopping at their table. “I’m sorry to bother you miss. There’s a gentleman outside looking for you.”

Elise’s heart sank slightly. “Ok. Thanks could you tell him I’ll be out in a minute?”

“Of course miss.”

Elise grabbed a napkin. “Do you have a pen?”

Tosh grabbed one out of her bag and handed it to the woman as she stood.

“This is my number, my email address and my backup email. I’ll see you again Tosh. I promise.” She handed over the napkin with the money for their meal before turning and heading out with a smile on her face.

Owen was waiting just outside but out of sight of the windows. “I said distract her not take her on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date.”

“You were giving her the fuck me eyes the whole time.”

“I was not! Were you watching us the whole time?!”

“Not the whole time. Anyway, we have work to do. Time’s already been shifting so I’m having to compensate. Originally this nights events were set to begin in another three weeks. They’re all going to be called out to the brecon beacons so we have time to sneak into the hub and fix a few things. I can introduce you to Janet.”

“Who?”

“The hubs resident weevil.”

“I’ve seen bugs before.”

“Janet isn’t a bug. You’ll see when we get there. Ready for a time jump?”

“I’ve just eaten.”

“Lucky you.”

“If I throw up I’m going to aim for you.”

“I’m a doctor. We’re trained to dodge vomit.”

“You’re such a dick.” She punched him gently in the arm.

Owen was caught off guard by it actually connecting but found himself smiling. It had been so long since he had any real human contact.

After a jump and a short walk Owen switched on the lights in the hub. They didn’t have to sneak like the last time they had visited so Elise took a moment to walk around. She looked over the desks and anything that had been left out stopping at a large jar containing what looked like a severed human hand inside.

“Owen… What the fuck.” She said, pointing at the floating limb.

“Yea, we need to take that with us too.”

“I say again, what the fuck?!”

“It belongs to Torchwoods most wanted. Known only as The Doctor. He’s a time traveller and Jack is more than a little bit obsessed with him. The bigger the problem the more likely it is to be connected to captain Jack fucking Harkness.”

“Right.”

“I’ll deal with it. Come over here.”

Elise made her way over to where Owen was standing, looking up. She followed his gaze to see something moving far above them hidden by a balcony.

“Myfanwy!” He called.

The thing moved over to the edge before revealing itself as a large pteranodon. It flew in a spiral before landing clumsily, chirping and snapping its beak.

“That’s a dinosaur.” Elise gasped as if it weren’t obvious.

“A pteranodon. She’s the hub pet.”

“Can I touch her?”

“If she lets you. She won’t hurt you but she gets bitchy if she hasn’t been fed recently.”

She reached out a tentative hand towards the creatures beak. It tilted its head and sniffed her before nudging her hand gently, or as gently as a large creature can.

“Easy girl. It’s ok. Good girl.” cood Elise as she pet Myfanwy's beak.

“When you’re done we can go down to the cells so you can meet Janet.”

“Isn’t Janet as friendly and this big soft bird?”

“Depends what you mean by friendly. It’s a weevils nature to bite whatever they see. They leave nasty bites too.” Owen tugged at the neck of his shirt, showing a large set of scars etched into the skin of his shoulder.

“Christ!” She walked away from Myfanwy who launched herself into the air and back to her nest. “Is that what… killed you?”

“No. I spent a while in hospital after it. Luckily Jack dragged me out of there and stopped me bleeding out. I should have died then.”

“What did ... um…”

“Kill me? An arsehole with a gun. Shot me in the chest. Fucking cops didn’t search him.”

“At least it was quick.”

“Not as quick as you’d think. Come on, I’ll show you the cells.”

Owen was quiet in the lift down to the cell block, staring at the wall.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“I know. Just forget it.” He walked through the door the second he could and towards a cell that was lit up. Each had a clear glass wall and a metal security door at the other end of the room. An odd sound rose from the cell that Owen stood in front of. It was a whimpering or crying but it wasn’t human. It was similar to whale song but rougher.

“This is Janet.” He said. “She’s afraid of me now. As soon as I came back from the dead she started reacting like this to me. Usually she growls and tries to charge at whoever goes past.”

Looking into the cell Elise finally saw what was making the noise. A humanoid figure dressed in a blue jumpsuit cowered in the far corner. It had dark eyes and wrinkled skin, its lips pulled back in a snarl that showed pointed, shark like, teeth as soon as it saw the woman.

“What is it?” She asked, transfixed on the figure.

“She’s a weevil. They fall through the rift and gather in the sewers. Sometimes they come out at night to hunt anything that moves. They don’t need to, they can eat pretty much anything but they seem to almost enjoy it. From what I could tell Janet was… Is old. Kicked out of her group and left alone. We tried to send her back to the sewers but we found her on the doorstep the next morning.”

“She sounds lonely.”

The viewing area once again filled with weevil whale song.

“Come on. We have more we need to do before we go.”

Elise followed silently, her mind trying to process what she’d seen. Owen snapped her out of her daydream by waving a hand in front of her face. She realised she was sitting down and had completely missed how she’d gotten there.

“Sorry. I’m saying that a lot today.” She said, rubbing her eyes.

“Too much if you ask me. Have you ever been in a fight?”

“What? No.”

“Ever fired a gun before?”

“Of course not!”

“Shit. I’ll have to teach you that too. Right, first we need to grab a couple of things from the archive and then I need to walk you through disposing of one of the bodies we have in cold storage.”

“I didn’t follow anything you just said but ok.”

“We haven’t got time to let things settle, just try and keep up.”

#torchwood #jack harkness #ianto jones #toshiko sato #owen harper #gwen cooper

0 notes

oh-beyond · 7 years

Text

Saviour AU - Part 11

He wasn’t rich like the others, he didn’t really fit, but he was part of the group, the rich boys that had investments in one of the biggest companies in the country, they were powerful and handsome and they could get anything the wanted, money had corrupted their every day actions, money that Byun Baekhyun didn’t have, to what extent was he like them? You were lucky enough to be delivering the coffee every morning, you just wanted to see him, and to see him meant seeing the others too… You had faith that he was different… just don’t trust him too much he might surprise you, and not in a good way.

Business AU/Angst/Smut

Baekhyun x Reader ft. Chanyeol, Chen, Kai & Lay (Mentions of EXO OT12)

Masterlist

Saviour Masterpost

< Part 10 - Part 12 >

Summary: Baekhyun’s behaviour in facing the new reality… he has inner battles to deal with, he doesn’t know what to do. Just one thing is clear, he loved his best friend, he also held a special place for you…

He got up and headed downstairs, he didn’t look back and didn’t even say goodbye. He just got up and left. You didn’t find it strange, you knew that it was something related to Chanyeol. Baekhyun had a soft spot for his asshole friend, and nothing and no one could change that. You were just happy that he was accepting the new feelings he had towards you, because he did feel something. You felt felt it.

You got up and took the mug to the kitchen, you met Lay in your way and he had that face expression of being glad to meet with you alone finally.

“___! Where is Baekhyun?”

“He had to leave”

“Leave? Without saying anything? It’s not even prudent”

“Don’t worry about him, he got a text and straight away he wanted to leave, so I guess is related to Chanyeol-ssi”

“That pigheaded idiot- sorry ___, are you alright? I mean, I couldn’t properly talk to you because of Xian, and then you and Baekhyun seemed kind of closer than what I thought… we are not lying to Xian anymore, are we?”

“I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what Bae-”

“Baekhyun!?” exclaimed Lay looking straight.

You turned around and saw Baekhyun walking fast towards you, taking long steps almost running.

You opened your mouth and before your could verbalise anything his lips were on yours, one hand around your waist and the other around your shoulder.

“OK… what the fuck Baekhyun?” said Lay trying to look elsewhere.

Baekhyun kissed you thoroughly but fast, he released your lips with a pop, moving your hair away from your face.

“I will make it right, trust me, I won’t let you down, I won’t lose a jewel like you”

You nodded your head wiping the excess of moist in your lips.

“Yah!” exclaimed Lay, he wasn’t taking in all the surprises thrown at him, too much to handle at once.

Baekhyun hugged you and kissed your neck squeezing your cheeks.

“Look at this bastard! I’m talking to you Baekhyun!”

“Yes hyung”

“Yes hyung? About time! What is all this?”

“I will make it right, I promise” replied Baekhyun shyly.

“So it’s official? Like I can go today to the office and say Baekhyun is dating ___? In front of everybody? Including Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun sighed loudly looking down shoulders shrugging in defeat, he rubbed his head looking back up “I need some time hyung”

“Alright Baekhyun, I will give you time, until then… this” he pointed from Baekhyun to you “not happening”

You were going to protest but Lay stopped you raising his hand.

“This sudden hormonal bursts you are having… no!” he looked at Baekhyun into the eye getting closer “I will not allow it, because you have a lot in your plate Baekhyun. It’s Chanyeol we are talking about, and I am still not sure you will prioritise ___, you have a lot of work to do before considering getting anything. I’m sorry for doubting”

“Bu-”

“But nothing Baekhyun, before it develops into something serious and then you need to break her heart. I might sound intrusive, but I won’t allow you to hurt her, she’s had enough bull shit already”

“You are right Yixing-ssi” you said, Baekhyun frowning at you “I think I’d like to befriend Baekhyun-ssi... for now”

“And stop addressing us so formally, right Baekhyun-ah?” Lay’s tone sounding softer.

“Yea-yes, call me- you can call me…”

“Call him oppa, that’s what he means, and you can call me oppa too, or gege, whichever feels more comfortable. I’m going to take care of you like a real brother, because you are too good. We really don’t deserve you, any other girl would be draining us in a lawsuit, and she wouldn’t be wrong, thank you ___”

You tugged your hair behind your ear smiling at Baekhyun.

“And that also goes for you Baekhyun, friends until further notice. I swear I’ll make you regret it if she ever complaints about you, I won’t take your side… ever”

“Yes hyung”

“Now you can go wherever you were going, good luck”

Baekhyun bowed at Lay turning his head at you, he offered his hand for a handshake, you extended your hand and he squeezed it hard before kissing it and winking at you.

“Yah! Fuck the hell out of here Baekhyun!” shouted Lay.

Baekhyun smiled when he acknowledged that you were happy with him, he finally run taking the stairs to leave.

Once alone again Lay exhaled worryingly, it made you nervous, as if he didn’t approve to this.

“I have to say I am a bit surprised, as if I didn’t get surprised enough to learn that Chanyeol liked you since high school. When did all this happen ___?”

“Since high school” you giggled covering your mouth.

Lay doubled his eyes in size, he was trying to understand… “but then him- you?”

“It was me, he never liked me, so when I was lucky enough to meet him again, I knew it was my second chance to make him notice me. A little bit at least”

“I feel happy for you two, but at the same time sorry for the three of you, this is not going to be easy, I want you to prepare for the worst ___, Chanyeol is the closest person to Baekhyun, they’ve been the best friends for each other”

“I don’t want them to break their friendship for me, I swear that is not what I want, despite how upset I am with Chanyeol-ssi, I would never wish that for Baekhyun. He would never forgive me”

“I like how you think, you are a good person ___, and I will always be here if you need me”

Baekhyun arrived at the office, as soon as he got out of the car he got cold sweats, he wasn’t sure how to face Chanyeol, should he talk first? Or let him talk first? He was afraid of what he was going to hear, he didn’t want to hear Chanyeol saying how much he loved you, because he was simply not having it, but also he had no other choice but to listen to him. Baekhyun was never going to lose Chanyeol no matter what.

What a dilemma.

Baekhyun made his way to the last floor, the gossip seemed to have travelled all around the offices because he could clearly hear the whispers of the employees and he walked.

As soon as the elevator arrived to the last floor he met with Sehun waiting to take the elevator to go down. Before he gave the younger one the opportunity to speak he brushed him off and went straight to Chanyeol’s office. He didn’t want to lose focus.

He knocked the door and entered.

Chanyeol got up from his chair behind his desk taking long steps embracing Baekhyun into a tight hug, Baekhyun was surprised to say the least, he felt how Chanyeol lifted him up from the floor.

“Bro!”

“Put me down Chanyeol, it feels like we are making a movie scene”

“I love you!”

“OK lower your voice, realising ___ isn’t for you is going to make you confess to me finally?”

“Fucker!” said Chanyeol putting Baekhyun back down “I’m sorry for yesterday”

“It’s alright butt-face, but it’s not me who you need to apologise to, you fucked up Chan. You crossed the line man”

“I know Baekhyun, I just-” Chanyeol rubbed his head messing his hair “she drove me crazy, I think I like her more than I thought”

“No Chanyeol. That is not it, you just didn’t take her rejection too well, you are not used to get rejected. I mean you never really experienced one before, have you?”

“I will make her love me Baekhyun, with your help” announced Chanyeol sounding determined.

Baekhyun swallowed thickly, was Chanyeol being serious right now?

“Chanyeol no woman would take you after how you behaved yesterday, I wouldn’t take you myself if you did that to me” Baekhyun tried to sound casual.

“Yah! Fucker! You wouldn’t? Are you sure?” Chanyeol responded to his joke now starting an improvised punching game as they were used to.

They laughed and played, finally crushing on the couch catching their breath next to each other. The laughs dying into an awkward silence. Baekhyun knew this wasn’t the end of it. Even if he tried changing the subject.

“Let’s go out tonight man, get drunk like the old days”

“Baekhyun…”

“Yes?” Baekhyun’s voice sounding hesitant.

“I don’t think I can get over her”

Baekhyun needed to do something, this wasn’t just going to get forgotten, he knew that he had to protect what was his, even if it was Chanyeol himself who wanted it.

You were Byun Baekhyun’s girl. His and no one else’s.

Period.

“Remember when we were young Chan? I didn’t have anything, and you shared and got me everything I wanted, you spoiled me man”

“Yes I remember, but why are you bringing this up? You are doing everything for me now, don’t compare the tenders worth millions with a bar of chocolate or a skate board”

“That skate board you gave me is worth all the millions in the world. That day was very special for me Chan”

Baekhyun remembered that day you stood there watching him…

“Baekhyun are you confessing to me right now?” asked Chanyeol bringing Baekhyun back from his memories

“To make me forget about ___? It’s working man, bro I love you” continued Chanyeol.

“Bro, I love you too” confirmed Baekhyun.

They bursted into jerks of laughter. This was what Baekhyun missed, no woman should interfere in their unique brotherly friendship…

“We never liked each other’s girls, I think we would of fought if I asked you to give me your girl, don’t you think?” added Baekhyun.

“Bros before hoes man” stated Chanyeol “if you liked a girl I liked, I would of stepped out”

“What if I told you I like ___? Would you step out?”

Chanyeol straightened himself knitting his eyebrows “you wouldn’t tho, because you know I love her, for a long time”

“Answer my question, just let me prove a point here” smiled Baekhyun tapping on Chanyeol’s back.

“No Baekhyun I wouldn’t, this is not just me wanting to sleep with her, forget the image of yesterday. I want to hold her hand, I want to look at her eyes and tell her she made my heart feel things I never felt with any other girl”

Shit…

Baekhyun was having the worst time hearing this, he was referring to you in this loving manner… he was reminded of how he took your virginity the night before, but never done those things Chanyeol was referring to.

The things he knew he wanted to do do, the real demonstrations of love.

It stung for more than one reason.

One. Because he knew he betrayed his best friend in the most horrific possible way.

And two. Because he couldn’t hear another man speaking that way about you, he felt overprotective, the words were ripping his heart.

“Chanyeol that doesn’t sound coherent, you can’t feel like that about someone who doesn’t correspond those feelings. Man I know this is because of her rejection”

Chanyeol shook his head “you are my best friend, how can you not feel that this time for me is different?”

“I just don’t like seeing you like this!”

“Then help me Baekhyun, please. Help me talk to her, help me get the woman of my dreams”

Baekhyun clenched his jaw in disgust.

Coward and traitor. Coward for not being able to say that you were his girl. And traitor because he took you from him.

Disgust…

“Alright Chanyeol, I’ll try my best”

“Are you sure you are alright to be at the office today ___? Chanyeol will be there, I don’t want you to put pressure on yourself” spoke Lay as he parked the car.

“I have to. I had an agreement with Jongdae-ssi, I cannot fail him, besides I owe an explanation to Saehyo, she’s been texting me all day yesterday and I ignored her” you smiled and opened the door of the car to get down.

Lay stopped you before getting out holding your hand to sit back down.

“___, I just have a small request, please try to understand what I am going to say”

You got worried, Lay’s face expression gave out that this wasn’t going to be pleasant to hear.

“Just don’t fall in love with him. Not yet, please… you don’t deserve to get hurt”

“What makes you think I would get hurt? Don’t you trust Baekhyun?”

“I trsut him more than myself, but you don’t know what Chanyeol is to him, his favourite person in the world is your least favourite at the moment, and that combination doesn’t work”

“I understand” you sighed “but that came too late, I love him no matter what he decides to do”

“I wish this works for you guys because you are good people, and you deserve to be together”

Those last words you liked better, having Lay’s blessing made you feel at ease, even tho it could still not work.

You met Saehyo at the cafe, she was doing great by her own, you knew she only needed that confidence push, and in less than 2 days she was doing everything herself with the help of her friend Eunbyeol that Xiumin agreed on hiring to help her.

You took a table and had a nice chat, you agreed on meeting out during the week to tell you about the updates she had in regards to Xiumin, and judging by her happy face it looked like good news. She also asked for one last private class to teach her master the art of dripped brewed coffee, because Xiumin kept whining about not being the same as yours.

She left to attend the customers that formed a the queue, leaving you with some time to go through Chen’s files waiting for him to arrive to the appointment you have scheduled with him.

It looked quite easy, Suho had no right whatsoever in regards to Chen, if Chen was going to be forced to resign or forced to sell his stocks and shares it was going to cost Suho a lot, and you knew Suho was more intelligent than that.

Kim Junmyeon was screwed.

“Your face tells me you are in a good mood today, I didn’t want to bother you yesterday, I apologise for not checking on you after what happened ___”

You stood up and greeted Chen offering a seat next to you.

“Don’t worry Jongdae-ssi, I wasn’t going to answer the phone yesterday anyhow, believe me”

“How are you?”

“I’m perfectly fine! And I was looking through the contracts and all the file… Jongsae-ssi, let’s just say Kim Junmyeon-ssi will drop this without even going to court”

“I owe you my life ___, thank you”

“Don’t mention it, I owe you my freedom, we are even” you smiled squeezing his hand “now let me just go make some copies of the documents I need, also if you could look through the folder I prepared for you while I’m doing the copies”

You stood up and leaned closer behind him showing him the documents you needed him to sign.

You walked through the corridor and stopped at the little photocopier room. There was an employee scanning some documents, so you waited outside for him to finish. You leaned on the wall and saw Baekhyun smiling at you from outside Chanyeol’s office door, it made you very shy, you waved at him and tugged your hair behind your ear. However this beautiful moment was interrupted by the taller man behind him. Chanyeol looked at you, you turned around and avoided making eye contact.

You peeked into the small photocopier room, now that was empty you entered and closed the door behind you. You exhaled trying to forget about Chanyeol by starting what you came here for.

“Please ask her, ask her to meet me, I just want to apologise” whined Chanyeol.

“Man relax! Why are you acting like a 5 year old?”

“Baek~~~ please”

“Alright, alright… I will go, now go back to your office and wait for me there, don’t come after me!”

“Thanks man! I could kiss you in the mouth” said Chanyeol lowering himself to Baekhyun’s eye level.

“Don’t you just want to just as much as I do bro?”

“Bro” replied Chanyeol fist bumping each other.

The room was small and the sound of the photocopier was loud. You rested your weight into one leg crossing your arms over your chest when you felt a pair of arms wrap around you.

“You are in trouble young lady” whispered Beakhyun into your ear making your clenched muscles relax when you realised it was him.

Your head fell to your side exposing your neck were he placed a gentle kiss making your eyes close involuntarily.

He turned you around bringing you close by your waist finally softening his expression looking at your face in detail.

“Why Byun Baekhyun-ssi?” you asked smiling before nipping at his lips.

“Don’t lean so close to Jongdae when you show him the documents” he roughly pulled you closer to him “lean on me only”

“How close Byun Baekhyun-ssi?” you asked pressing your chest on his.

You felt his hands at your ass “jump” he commanded and you complied, wrapping your legs around his waist, he lifted you and sat you atop on the empty desk next to the scanner.

He kissed your neck again more feverishly this time, your head fell backwards giving him full access, all while his hands were busy unbuttoning your shirt.

“Baek? What kind of friendship we agreed to? This-”

His mouth traveled from your neck to the valley between your beasts kissing the sensitive skin there, as he made sure your nipples erected under his fingertips.

He groaned one last time lifting his head to meet your eyes again.

“What have you done to me? I was coming here and none of this was in the agenda”

“I missed you” you said taking his hand in both your hands kissing it.

“You are so cute cupcake, look at your cheeks all flushed”

“Baekhyun-ssi~~~”

“Oppa when we are alone cupcake” he said pecking your lips “you taste so good, so sweet, so addicting, fuck!”

“You better go back now, will I meet you again today?”

“Yes, listen… about that… I-kind of- well I need to go with Chanyeol today, you know we need to talk and stuff, I d-”

“It’s alright oppa, don’t feel bad about it” you caressed his cheek gently “he is your friend”

“Your smile. Fuck this, you are too much. I am going to miss you, I’ll see you tomorrow”

“I will always be waiting for you” you added jumping off of the table buttoning your shirt back “I have Jongdae-ssi waiting, let me go now, call me alright?”

“I will cupcake- but I wanted to talk to you about something else”

“Tell me, quick!” you said taking the copies arranging them in your folder.

“Chanyeol…”

“Yes?”

“He wants- amm- to apologise” he said almost whispering-stuterring.

“I’m sure someday I will accept his apology, when we figure out all this. For you I will baby”

“No am-” he rubbed the back of his neck “I meant he wants to meet you… alone”

Oh…

________________________

A/N: what do you think Baekhyun is doing? You support his behaviour so far?

Please let me know what you think, I love your comments

Thanks for reading ^_^

147 notes · View notes

placetobenation · 4 years

Link

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Release Date: June 3rd, 2001 (released June 15th nationwide)

Inspiration: The legend of the lost city of Atlantis

Budget: $90-120 million

Domestic Gross: $84 million

Worldwide Gross: $186 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 49%

IMDB Score: 6.9/10

Storyline (per IMDB): 1914: Milo Thatch, grandson of the great Thaddeus Thatch works in the boiler room of a museum. He knows that Atlantis was real, and he can get there if he has the mysterious Shephards journal, which can guide him to Atlantis. But he needs someone to fund a voyage. His employer thinks he’s dotty, and refuses to fund any crazy idea. He returns home to his apartment and finds a woman there. She takes him to Preston B. Whitmore, an old friend of his Grandfathers. He gives him the shepherds journal, a submarine and a 5 star crew. They travel through the Atlantic ocean, face a large lobster called the Leviathan, and finally get to Atlantis. But does the Atlantis crew have a lust for discovery, or something else?

Pre-Watching Thoughts: We continue on through the 2000s with a film that I believe has slipped through the cracks and I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone actually remembers that this film exists. However, there are some that do believe that this is film is slightly underrated and that it doesn’t get the credit that it deserves, and I will be the judge of that as I have never seen it before and am hoping that it pleasantly surprises me.

Voice Cast: After the last film which had probably one of the biggest casts of any of the Disney films, we go back to having a moderately sized cast though it does consist mostly of newcomers. We did have a few returning actors as well as we have the return of David Ogden Stiers who voices Fenton Q. Harcourt in a minor role and Corey Burton who voices Gaetan “Mole” Moliere in a memorable role. We now move onto the newcomers as we have star Michael J. Fox who voices Milo Thatch as he was hitting the peak of his career by this point, and then we have James Garner who voices Commander Lyle Rourke as he was nearing the end of his career. We then have Cree Summer who voices Princess Kida as well as her mother though she is better remembered for voicing Kida, and I will of course all give a mention to Natalie Storm who voices Kida as a child. Next, we have Don Novello who voices Vinny Santorini and in a fun note, all of his dialogue was improvised which is pretty impressive, and then we have Phil Morris who voices Joshua Sweet as he was in the prime of his career at this point. We then have Claudia Christian who voices Helga Sinclair in one of her only animated film roles, and then we have Jacqueline Obradors who voices Audrey Ramirez though she was more known at this time for being on numerous TV shows. Next, we have Florence Stanley who voices Wilhelmina Packard in what would be one of her final roles, and then we have John Mahoney who voices Preston Whitmore as he was starting to wind down his career by this point. We then have, Jim Varney who voices Jebidiah Farnsworth in his final film role as he sadly passed away a year before the film released, and finally we have the legendary Leonard Nimoy who voices King Nedakh though he will forever be known to the world as Mr. Spock of “Star Trek”. It is always interesting seeing a mix of actors who mainly work in film with those that are better known for their TV careers, but they usually mix very well and help bring these characters to life.

Hero/Prince: We have a very unique hero to talk about here as he seems like a nobody that everyone thinks they can step on, but he is a lot more than what he appears to be and that is Milo James Thatcher. He is the grandson of a famous explorer and he firmly believes that Atlantis is real, but no one takes him seriously as he is left doing minimum work at the Smithsonian including linguistics and cartography. He is summoned by Preston Whitmore who reveals that Milo’s grandfather found the Shepherd’s Journal and is asked to join an expedition to find Atlantis, and the expedition would eventually make its way through a volcano and reaches Atlantis though Milo is still treated like dirt by Rourke and his mercenaries. Milo meets Princess Kida and she learns that he can speak Atlantean so she has him decipher old writings long forgotten, and they find their way to the Heart of Atlantis only for Rourke to turn on Milo and they capture Kida who has merged with the crystal. Milo is tasked by the King to save Kida and the crew turn on Rourke by siding with Milo, and with the help of the Atlanteans they defeat Rourke and his crew while recovering Kida and escape the volcano which awakens. Kida is separated from the crystal and Atlantis is saved as the crew return to the surface while Milo stays in Atlantis to be with Kida. Milo is a classic example of someone who is extremely passionate about his love and desire to fulfill his family’s legacy, but he is ridiculed by people who believe he is simply chasing a fairy tale and no one takes him seriously until they do find Atlantis. He has plenty of traits that make him endearing to people which leads to the crew joining his side to save Atlantis, and he elects to stay in Atlantis and help the people there so while he might not rank too high amongst the other princes and heroes, he is a fine hero for this film.

Princess: On the surface, it first seemed like this film would not have a princess in it, but surprisingly enough it does and that is Princess Kidagakash Nedakh or Kida for short as we first meet her as a child when a tidal wave threatens Atlantis. Her mother is consumed by the Heart of Atlantis which creates a dome around the city to protect it from the water, but in the process it is sunk to the bottom of the ocean and becomes legend as well as just a myth. We meet her again when Milo and the crew arrive at Atlantis and she befriends Milo as they tell each other about their different cultures, but when Rourke betrays them she is forced to lead them to the Heart of Atlantis where she becomes merged with the crystal. They kidnap her and intend to sell it though they are stopped by Milo and the crew, and they return her to the city where she creates a shield to protect the city from the lava of the volcano. She is restored and becomes the new Queen of Atlantis as Milo stays with her as they rebuild the city. Kida reminds me a lot of Princess Eilonwy from “The Black Cauldron” though I believe she is more important than Eilonwy because we see her in her kingdom and she is a central figure of the story, and while she is fine in the film she will more than likely not rank too highly when compared to the other princesses in the canon.

Villain: You would think for a film like this that we would have a pretty unique villain to talk about and to really stand out amongst some of the other villains, but we instead have a fairly generic villain and that is Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke. He leads the first expedition to retrieve the Shepherd’s Journal and then he leads the expedition to Atlantis, and he looks down on Milo and makes it seem that he is generally interested in finding Atlantis. In reality, he reveals that he intends to capture the Heart of Atlantis and sell it to the highest bidder, and after Kida is consumed by the crystal he has her locked up and they head towards the volcano though the crew leave his side and join Milo. Milo, the crew, and the Atlanteans attack Rourke and the mercenaries as they attempt to escape the volcano, and Rourke easily overpowers Milo who then slashes him with a shard of the crystal which turns Rourke into a stone and he is destroyed by a propeller. As mentioned, Rourke is pretty much as basic a villain that you can get as he is solely motivated by money and will do anything to get what he wants, and at this point you need more to help you stand out amongst the other villains in the canon so he will most likely not rank very high.

Other Characters: So much like the last film, we do see a lot of characters throughout the course of this film but we only have a handful of them to talk about as most of them play a pivotal role in the film. First, we have the King of Atlantis Kashekim Nedakh who is ruling when Atlantis sinks to the bottom of the sea, and he is weary of Milo and the crew when they arrive though Kida warms up to Milo and his friends, but when Rourke betrays them he mortally wounds the King to find the Heart of Atlantis and the King entrusts Milo to save Kida and Atlantis before passing away. We then have millionaire Preston B. Whitmore who finances the expedition to Atlantis to repay a favor to Milo’s grandfather, and when the crew returns and lies about what really happened he is skeptical until he reads a note from Milo that convinces him that Milo is ok and that Atlantis is real. Next, we have Helga Sinclair who is Rourke’s lieutenant and second-in-command as she is just as greedy as Rourke is and stands by his side for the most part, but in the Rourke attempts to sacrifice her to escape the volcano though she survives long enough to bring his aircraft down before succumbing to her injuries. We then have the rest of the crew which includes demolitions expert Vinny Santorini, Dr. Joshua Sweet, mechanic Audrey Ramirez, radio operator Wilhelmina Packard, chef Jebidiah “Cookie” Fansworth, and geologist Gaetan “Mole” Moliere. They are initially cold to Milo though they end up befriending him as they tell him their personal goals, and they at first side with Rourke due to the money they might receive though they ultimately turn on Rourke and stand with Milo. They help him defeat Rourke and his mercenaries while also saving Kida as well as Atlantis, and they return to the surface with a large amount of treasure to fund their goals though they tell Whitmore that Milo, Rourke, and the others went missing. Finally, we have Fenton Q. Harcourt who works on the board of the Smithsonian Institute and he dismisses Milo’s claims that Atlantis is real though we don’t see him after denying Milo the funds needed to do an expedition. It’s never a problem when there aren’t a lot of characters as it puts more focus on the main ones and helps move the film along, and having big groups in the background helps fill out the scene.

Songs: N/A

Plot: Going into this film, I’m sure that many were familiar with the story of Atlantis and there were some that believed that it was a real place that had been swallowed up by the sea, and while to this day it still hasn’t been proved if Atlantis existed or not it is interesting to see if still be considered a real place. Having said that, you knew that if anyone could make a story about Atlantis and the finding of it, it would be Disney and that’s what we get here as the film starts with the city being swallowed up by the sea thanks to a tidal wave. Thousands of years later, linguistic teacher Milo is ridiculed for his belief that Atlantis was real and a friend of his grandfather finances an expedition. Joined by Rourke and a full crew, they traverse the sea and an underground dormant volcano where they finally find the hidden city, and they are welcomed by the princess of the city Kida though her father the King is skeptical of them. Milo befriends Kida and she shows him the ways of the city until they are betrayed by Rourke who desires the Heart of Atlantis which he plans to sell and become rich, and Kida leads them to the Heart where she is encapsulated by the crystal. Rourke imprisons her and leaves for the surface though the crew sides with Milo who is tasked by the dying King to save Kida and Atlantis, and Milo is joined by the crew and the Atlanteans as they battle Rourke and his mercenaries. Rourke is turned into a stone after being slashed by the crystal and he is chopped to pieces as the rest of the mercenaries are defeated, and they bring Kida back to Atlantis as the volcano comes to life and erupts. Kida creates a barrier that protects the city from the lava and she is restored to her old self, and she is crowned Queen as Milo stays by her side and the rest of the crew return to the surface. It is fairly obvious that we have seen this storyline done many other times in other films and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a film like this set in Atlantis in a live-action setting, and while it would’ve been nice to do something different it never hurts to do something familiar as long as it’s done right.

Random Watching Thoughts: I do like how they incorporate the logo into whatever the background is; “…in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea.” – Plato, 360 B.C.; Looks like something landed on Earth to cause that large of a tidal wave; It will forever be a mystery as to how Atlantis was able to be so technologically advanced in the time when it disappeared; In a fun fact, Disney brought in Marc Okrand to create the Atlantean language due to his creating of the Klingon language for “Star Trek”; If she had just let Kida go get her bear, she probably wouldn’t have been captured by the light; It was clear they were very ill-prepared for something like this as a lot of people wound up dying due to being left out; We never do learn when exactly in 1914 the film took place because of how casual everyone was being, it means that World War I must not have started yet; In another fun fact, Michael J. Fox was also offered a chance to be in the film “Titan A.E.” and he let his son choose which film he did and that’s why he’s in this film; The way Milo had things set up, you really thought he was talking to actual people and not just dummies; That is quite the mistranslation to get Ireland and Iceland mixed up; That was perfect how the chalk ended up on his vest without getting any smudges; He kept the hat all this time and went as far as to make a shrine out of it; They move his meeting up on such late notice and they act surprised that he didn’t show up on time; Did he really think he could hide behind that small plant and not be seen?; He either didn’t care that Milo was quitting or he just assumed he was bluffing; Helga laying the sex appeal on strong to draw Milo to her; She never bothers to put her shoulder strap back on her shoulder; Whitmore able to do all those yoga poses even at his age; So if his grandfather had the journal the whole time, why was it never revealed at any point?; Whitmore sounded like Milo’s grandfather was crazy though he genuinely cared about him and wants to see his reputation restored; Whitmore really went the extra mile to make sure Milo was taken care of; “Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children”; He says he’s so excited he can barely hold it in, and then he literally can’t hold it in on the ship; We’ve all had that moment where we got sick and see something that we don’t remember eating; Motor Poo; The four food groups according to Cookie: Beans, Bacon, Whiskey, and Lard; Only a demolitionist would consider items like dynamite and gunpowder as office supplies; I get that Whitmore is a millionaire, but still how much money was he able to spend in 1914?; Mole literally brings patches of dirt from around the world with him on any expedition; Mole’s archenemy, a bar of soap; That picture of Milo on the beach could certainly scare away even the toughest Navy man; I can’t say that I even remember the Bible mentioning a creature called the Leviathan; Clearly, they aren’t the first ones to attempt to find Atlantis; They realize it is a giant lobster attacking them and Rourke wants him dead so he can eat him; They are under attack and all Packard wants to do is read a magazine; All that work to build that huge submarine and it gets destroyed before they even get to Atlantis; Clearly Milo has never driven a stick shift before; How many trucks were they able to fit on that tiny ship?; He was so confident they had to go left only for that monster to force them back; I would think if Milo drank nitroglycerin, he would’ve died immediately; I think it would be best to ask how all of this was able to survive under water and how close they were to the core of the Earth; So Milo’s knowledge of boilers actually comes in handy; Milo should’ve suspected something was up when everyone pretty much admitted they were in it for the money; Audrey’s dad jinxed himself asking for sons only to get two daughters instead; Literal fireflies; Even though the volcano is dormant, it’s still probably not a good idea to fire off a flare in it; Classic example of foreshadowing with the volcano; Atlantis feels like a whole other world hidden deep in the Earth; If they smell fear just by looking at you, why would you be quiet?; I can only imagine how long it took the cast to have to learn a made up language; I don’t know what Mole said to Kida, but it sounds like he deserved to get punched in the face; It’s amazing that those trucks were able to get across that rickety bridge; It is a bit fitting that not only did they have the man who created the Klingon language involved in the film, but that they also got Mr. Spock himself to be in the film; Clearly Kida’s father is content where his people are and Kida wants to bring them back to their former glory; Mole so desperately wanted to get close to Kida and was upset when he wasn’t picked; So Milo is a scholar because of his lackluster physique and large forehead according to Kida; So it seems like the Atlanteans are very similar to the Greeks in that they had multiple Gods; Kida looks great for being 8,500 years old; Milo knows more Atlantean than Kida who is an actual Atlantean; Yeah, I think that can go really fast; Kidagakash is quite the mouthful, it’s a good thing most just know her as Kida; You know Milo is thinking that his grandfather should be here with him to see this; So Cookie was off because by 1914, there were 48 states and not 38; So they’ve been in Atlantis for a while and know the air is not toxic, yet they put on gas masks anyway; So they have an underwater cavern under the ocean; They swam quite a long way and Milo was able to hold his breath for a long time; Considering that Plato is a famous philosopher and wrote a lot about Atlantis, you would think people would take it more seriously and not consider it a legend; Considering Milo knew that there was a missing page and that Rourke led the expedition to find the journal, you’d think he would put two and two together that maybe he had a hand in the page missing; Adventure Capitalist; Of course Rourke wouldn’t count to 10 fully before pulling the trigger; Clearly, these people are so driven by money that they don’t care if they start a World War; Milo knew exactly what she was saying, but lied to Rourke by saying he wasn’t sure; The crystal knows it’s in trouble so it merges with Kida to protect itself though it ends up causing trouble; Milo basically causes everyone to feel guilty for putting money over their morals; Packard says that they are going to die yet she still leaves and sides with Milo; What was P.T. Barnum right about?; The King foolishly thought he could use the crystal as a weapon and paid the price for it; As the old saying goes, “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it”; If Rourke did end up selling the crystal to Germany, who knows how World War I would’ve turned out; So a tuna is sporty to Vinny; A little premature of Rourke to declare victory when he hasn’t gotten out of the volcano yet; How often do you see a dogfight in the base of a volcano; The saw can cut through a femur in 28 seconds, but we’re talking about chains here and not bones; Boy, Rourke wasted no time in throwing Helga away like she was nothing; She was able to survive that long fall just enough to shoot the balloon down; So he was turned to stone yet somehow came back to life only to be broken to bits by the propeller; Remember the foreshadowing from Mole earlier, well sure enough the volcano has become active once again; I don’t think Milo should be able to walk on a cracking ground that is about to erupt in just simple shoes without burning himself; So apparently she can summon giant beings to create a barrier to protect them from the lava; This reminds me of Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask where the four giant creatures are able to keep the moon from crashing down and destroying the world; So the barrier not only protected them, but cooled down the lava quick enough to make it break apart; Considering what she just went through, you’d think Kida would either be much weaker than she is; Where did all that treasure come from?; So all this time, they were able to get pictures yet not once did we see anyone with a camera; They all cleaned up well; Did Whitmore know they were lying before he opened the package and received the crystal, or was he in it all along and was just having them go over the alibi?; Milo quickly integrated himself into being an Atlantean really quickly; Even though there were no songs in the film, I will make mention of the single from the soundtrack we hear during credits “Where the Dream Takes You” performed by Mya.

Overall Thoughts: Overall, this was a perfectly fine film that wasn’t anything really special, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world either as it was in essence just average. Having never seen any of the films in this stretch, I have heard that they are considered by many amongst the worst in the canon and I always like to be very optimistic before I watch them. But to be honest, these last few films have not done much to change the perception that I had going in which is upsetting given how much the films from the 1990s were extremely enjoyable. I can hope that it does get a bit better going forward and that something from this decade ends up being better than expected and perhaps that will start with the next film. As for this film, it is about as average as you can get and that is pretty much all I can say about it.

Final Grade: 5.5/10

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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anneedmonds · 4 years

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Life Update: The Lullaby Master

It’s life update time again, and rather than bore you with all of the tantrums and CIA-level negotiation we’ve been having to do around here, with our three and a four year old, I thought we could talk about bedtime routines and (more specifically) some of the crazy things I’ve done to get the kids to bed over the years.

Because the other day I suddenly realised that I’d almost forgotten the first little baby bedtime routines. The ones that we started right in the beginning. Those halcyon days when you could just plonk them in the cot and they couldn’t get out. Bliss! Now the routines are more like challenges on Crystal Maze; “can YOU get your three year old boy into his racing car bed without cracking a dent into one of your shins and saying F*CK F*CK B*GGER at the top of your voice whilst managing to give him a drink of fresh water and not allow it to spill which would mean changing his duvet? Work it out, release the crystal and I’ll stand here outside the bedroom door tootling away on my flute.”

I’m not saying that the baby days were easier – the crackling of the baby monitor, half an hour after you thought they were asleep! The feeling of utter weariness at having your three hour window of “me time” interrupted again! – it’s just that bedtimes now are so much more demanding. I’m like a court jester crossed with a minimum security prison officer. I love it and treasure the moments, because I know that in the blink of an eye they’ll be teens and I’ll be barred from even entering their rooms, but my God is bedtime intense!

I’ve nearly always done my daughter’s bedtime, mainly because my son, who is eighteen months younger, never used to go to sleep until he had breastfed from me for hours on end, and so when he was about ten months old Mr AMR started to give him a bottle to make things easier. We then inevitably ended up splitting off into our separate teams in the evening – one child each, and each of us with our own little bedtime quirks and (probably inadvisable) habits.

We’re very lucky in that – mostly – both of us are around for bedtime and so we’ve kept up this “girls’ team / boys’ team” sort of split. Trying to put two young children to bed on your own is chaotic and soul-destroying in equal measures, like herding cats, and I absolutely doff my cap to anyone who does it on a regular basis. Or all the time.

But let’s rewind back to the first proper bedtime era that’s still reasonably fresh in my memory: we can call it the Robot Head Cinema Era. I had bought the kids an Early Learning Centre plastic robot that was large enough to house a moon buggy (toy, not real one) and spacemen figurines. I worked out that if I opened up the doors on its head, the resulting space was exactly the right width for gripping my iPhone horizontally.

And so I used to fire up iPlayer, select a trippy programme called In The Night Garden (if you don’t know what this is then I recommend a viewing for research purposes, but only if you’re not taking mind-altering drugs. It would be enough to send you permanently bonkers) and we would watch baby TV from inside a plastic robot’s cranium.

Total madness, really. I would sit there hunched over, watching along with her (I have no idea why we did this on the world’s smallest screen when we had a huge telly directly beneath us, and a comfy sofa, and a roaring fire, etc etc) and I would feel my neck begin to slowly fuse to my shoulders and my lower back go into spasm, but I was always too tired to shift position.

Then there was the “rap song nursery rhyme” phase. I have no idea why I started this, and it’s the sort of thing that really you should take to your grave, not write about to hundreds of thousands of people, but anyway: I used to do this very bad “beat box” thing and then rap out a version of Little Miss Muffet.

Don’t even ask me to do a rendition, it is never happening and so it’s pointless going there. (I can tell you though that after the “whey” I did do a very funky “hey, hey-hey-hey!” I also did a vague form of twerking when the spider “sat down beside her”.)

The rap rhymes started off a new phase, what is now known as “doing the lullaby”, and we’re still going strong a couple of years down the line. Ah, that’s sweet! you might think, especially as my daughter is going to be five in the summer. But no. It’s not sweet. It’s a magnificent feat of poetic improvisation, that’s what it is. Because not only do I have to make up a new song ON THE SPOT every night, the song also has to rhyme and it also has to be relevant to the chapter of the book we’ve just read.

So, for example, we did a great lullaby about George’s Marvellous Medicine and the horrid grandma, although admittedly I did completely crib the tune (and some of the words) from the CBeebies Christmas panto. (Sniff-Sniff, Delicious Children!)

I sang about Grandma’s puckered mouth looking like a dog’s bottom and her face being as hairy as a mole, except that I had to make “bottom” rhyme with “mole” so ended up saying “bottomhole”, which isn’t ideal.

But it’s actually a very good brain workout, making up rhyming songs with no notice. Firstly you have to think of a tune (usually I nick one from an advert or popular song du jour) and then you have to – completely on the hoof mind! – come up with some lyrics.

And it’s not like Baby 1 is a particularly easy customer – she frowns at anything resembling a half-rhyme and definitely picks up on nonsense words that I’ve just thrown in because I’ve gone into panic mode.

George stirred his pot all day and night

Grandma was really in for a fright!

He stirred it with his wooden spoon

And even put in some of the moon…

“Mummy what? How did he put in some of the moon? Are you sure he did that?”

Anyway, it’s fun and I wanted to write it down because one day she won’t want the lullaby, she’ll say “ugh, you’re so embarrassing, get OUT OF MY ROOM!” and my heart hurts to think of that so I want proof that it happened.

Mind you, some nights I am totally not up for composing what amounts to an eighth of a low-budget West End musical on the spot. Especially if the chapter we’ve read, the chapter that must (it’s the rules) provide the inspiration and bulk of the content, doesn’t quite lend itself to a lullaby.

Last night I read the bit in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Grandpa Jo uses his last pennies to buy a chocolate bar for Charlie, in the vain hope that there might be a golden ticket inside. It’s called Chapter 10: The Family Begins To Starve.

Not so jolly.

“Do a lullaby about the chapter, Mummy!”

“Why don’t we do yesterday’s chapter, about Charlie’s walk to school and the smell of the chocolate? Sniff-Sniff, Delicious Chocolate?”

“No, it has to be about the old people in the bed and the cabbage soup and the snow. And don’t sing it in the Oompa Loompa tune again!”

Last night’s lullaby tested my artistic talents to the max, I can tell you. I’m the flipping lullaby master. I know you’re desperate to hear some of these lullabies, but again: not going to happen. Satisfy yourselves with the knowledge that I sang about cabbage soup to the tune of a Les Mis hit and managed to rhyme “cabbage” with “baggage”. That has to be enough.

The current nighttime routine doesn’t end with the lullaby however; I then go into Baby 2’s room, negotiate his floor, which should be called “The Torture Garden” because you can’t go two steps without spearing your foot on the upright plastic ladder of a toy fire engine, or the spines of a toy Stegosaurus, and I have to sing him a lullaby.

He only likes two tunes: the first is Soldier Soldier (won’t you marry me with your musket fife and drum? Oh no sweet maid I cannot marry you for I have no [insert item of clothing] to put on)

and the second is Five Little Ducks (went swimming one day, over the hills and far away. Mummy duck said “quack quack quack” but only four little ducks came swimming back).

With both songs, I have to think of more and more outlandish versions to keep him satisfied. In terms of the soldier’s clothing, we have moved on from actual items (pants, socks, a gaberdine) to abstract ideas (sadness, time, reluctance); last night the solider had “no happiness to put on” and had to get himself a “loud thunder” from the grandfather’s chest.

In the “five ducks” song, the ducks have become dinosaurs. Which would be find, except that they don’t quack, which totally bollocks up my rhyming pattern. I can’t work like this. The pressure is too immense. Especially now that “five little dinosaurs” have become “five big stegosauruses” and they stomp instead of swim, roar instead of quack. I should be paid for this level of superhuman lullaby effort.

Anyway, I’m sure this is boring you to absolute tears, so I leave you with the comforting fact that the bedtime routine, including fetching dolly from two floors down, then coming back up and going back down to fetch Calpol, then coming back up and going back down to find Batman, Bumblebee transformer and Heat Wave transformer, then going to the bathroom to collect fresh water – cold tap run for forty-five seconds to ensure suitably icy temperature – and then supervising various toilet trips and so on, consumes approximately 2,300kcal, which means that the many chocolate-based “evening snacks” I subsequently devour are completely A-OK and justified.

What’s your bedtime routine? Kids, no kids, dogs, no dogs; I need to know any weird, over-indulging stuff you do. If it involves a robot’s head, all the better.

The post Life Update: The Lullaby Master appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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zenosanalytic · 4 years

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HoXPoX Liveblog: House of X #3

Ok here’s HoX 3 and Here’s The Link

Not a lot going on in this one symbolwise, but it feels... Deceptive *looks around shiftily*

Time to continue the HoXPoX readthrough with House of X #3! This is a second printing so the cover’s the same deal as the last; a duochrome variant of the 1st cover the x-men in yellows/golds down the right side&a menacing sentinel-head as the background.

before getting into it though, I’m wondering abt the implications of the PoX3? Like: X2 was the 9th TL, but what about X3? Given Cylobel and the archive the obvs assumption would be X3’s a continuation of X2, but there’s no guarantee similar events dont happen in dif tls.

The thing is: if it was just the future of 9 PAST learning Nimrod’s inception date, then why would we keep following it? If all following X2 did was show us how TL10 got nimrod’s birthday, then why would we need to even KNOW abt X3? I feel like there’s something more going on

Also: why would X in 10 need to steal this information if they already had it from Moira? Also Also: some STRONG circumstantial simultaneity vibes from these repeated heists, which also also also contribs to me feeling like this story’s being a bit deceptive abt what’s going on.

Anyway: open’s on an Xavier quote: “you make me so *proud*” *indicating italics cuz twitter has no font options >:|

X1 Krakoa. Cyclops framed by an unactivated portal, center-frame, backlit/haloed by a light-blue sky. He’s telling X and M he’s put together a team which accepts the mission’s a suicide run. X and M are colored in whites, full-figure but dwarfed by Cyclops’s bust-closeup.

X promises he wont allow him of his team to die. M that the only true death is to be forgotten which “the righteous” will never be. Their narration calls him “the founder of a nation”. M is oft melodramatic & here he’s decidedly biblical: “righteous” “mighty works”

Of course the assumption is that we already know how this turns out. He and the rest will die and be “resurrected” by the RootTree as we saw at the beginning of HoX#1 Like I said tho, I get the feeling there’s some deception &the depictions of X&M here reinforces that; Impish.

Anyway: the two closeups of Scott here are really well done. The major difficult with him is conveying emotional state when his eyes are always covered of course, but the shading above his visor&turn of his mouth manages to convey his worry and doubt excellently.

Cyclops explains the sitch to his team in a really flippant way. He’s established as someone preemptively managing the emotions of those he leads, so considering them, and ironically acknowledging the dangers/absurdities to make them seem smaller than they are.

His team looks like: Wolverine, Dazzler, Angel, someone I dont recognize(Braddock/Psylocke? dont rec the costume)?, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, and Mystique.

The team immediately begins debating the plan(Scott encourages debate and the XMen aim for collegiality; well characterized) The one I dont rec isnt Braddock but Monet; not a character I’m too familiar with.

Cyc asks Mystique if she’s listening; she’s wonderfully and appropriately dismissive. Jean and Scott talk about minimizing casualties; there will be “innocent” civilians. Wolvie points out “innocents” dont build genocide-machines. Jean says “they’re just scared of their future”

Jean’s last line is actl super-ominous; it’s the last frame on the page, and the last two frames are bathed in that neo red-purple which up to now is usually associated with endings and death. I think, ironically, Jean might end up killing lots of these people.

Another cool bit; in the forth frame, where Mystique is mouthing off to Scott for his condescension, the sun is placed just behind&above Mystique’s head, placing it btw her and Jean, shadowed frame left, & making it’s glare imply Jean using her telepathy…

… it could be that Scott’s comment isn’t as unnecessary and condescending as it seems; it could be Jean’s been listening to Mystique’s thoughts, saw her intent to go off-mission,& informed Scott so he could head that off now. Maybe why she brings up question of casualties?

They’re launching from the Summers Moon Mansion. As they do Wolverine comments: “Just scientists huh? How exactly do you think humans went from sticks to bombs?” Obvsl he sees the whole installation as a threat.

An infopage on Sentinel progression. Starts with the well-known giant combat bot Alpha model, then mastermold(Alpha factory), Mothermold(mastermold factory capable of designing nanosentinel tech), then Omegas(nanosent infected humans), then Nimrod(pure nanosentinel construct)

Followed by a timeline of the plot from L9 to L10. Bscl confirms this is X1. States that Moira&Apoc have id’d that, while emergent AI is unavoidable specifcally antimutant ones, Nimrods, arent. Mentions the files Apoc acquired are incomplete, but imply preventable tech thresholds

mentioned in passing but may become relevant later: Moira&X had technopath mutants create a system that could detect Nimrod tech thresholds called Sleeping Giant.

Cut to Sabertooth being tried at Project Achilles, a “supervillain supermax”. The proceedings are about as farcically unconcerned with justice as you’d expect(treating the defense attorney as a joke is pretty Ick, as well).

Sabertooth's not having any of it, drawn center-page, towering over everyone else(though I wouldnt say security's drawn as frightened of him; more alert). Seems like a breakout attempt is imminent as he notices the smell of jasmine(?) and tells his attorney he's fired

:D It's Frost & two of the Cuckoos :D :D Emma's halo'd by a sun-like light on her entry. Judge IMMEDIATELY draws a guns XD Frost reminds them all Krakoans have diplomatic immunity(doesnt work this way but whatevs), judge calls him a Thing, Bravado Bravado...

In the end they walk out with only mutual chest-thumping. An important point; Frost says mutants wont be judged by human courts any more, so apprntl the treaties include jurisdictional concessions.

an infopage on the Omega Process; how a human is transformed into a sentinel by nanosent tech. The focus this is getting suggests this'll be plot-relevant(wonder if a mutant is infected?) Seems like a year's long process which inevitably ends in a anti-mutant exterminator.

cut to the Mother Mold; Karima/Omega and Doctor Gregor are arguing abt Orchis's plan(Karima against). Of course it's a bad idea; any being you make caged is going to resent you, and if you give it the ability to make things it designs it will design itself free of you.

(of course the reality of AI is that basic common sense, let alone originality, is way more difficult to code that humans think, and meat way better at information processing)

the X men Attack! And it's immediately thwarted, seemingly, by an improvised explosive. In hindsight all the red-purple images of the Blackbird's cockpit were Not Promising :T Oh! There's a Krakoan alphabet at the back ^u^

Well that was anti-climactic, but surprising, but also I think something else is going on still, so we'll see what's up in future issues.

#X Men #Marvel #HoXPoX #Hickman et al #House of X 3 #House of X #HoXPoX Liveblog #zA Liveblogs

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vitalmindandbody · 6 years

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Eddie Izzard:’ Everything I do in life is trying to get my mother back’

Transgender hero Eddie Izzard has done standup in French and German, guide dozens of marathons, and is now in a period drama with Judi Dench. But, he reveals, his can-do attitude has a sorrowful source

There was a literal turning point in Eddie Izzard’s lifelong pursuit of personal freedom. It came one afternoon in 1985 when he had gone out for the first time in a dress and heels and full makeup down Islington high street. He was 23 and he had been planning- and forestalling- that time for just about as long as he could recollect. The turning point came as he was chased down the road by some teenage girls who had caught him changing back into his jeans in the public toilets and wanted to let him know he was weird. That chase ceased when eventually, faced with the screamed question” Hey, why were you dressed as a woman ?”, he chose simply to stop running and deflect and illustrate himself.

He spun around to give an answer, but before he got many paroles out the girls had run in the opposite tack. The suffer schooled him some things: that there was dominance in tackling dread rather than avoiding it; and that from then on he would never tell other beings define him. After that afternoon, he says, he not only felt he could face down the things that fright him, he went chasing after them: street perform, standup comedy, marathon leading, political activism, improvising his stage show in different languages- all these things seemed relatively easy after that original came to see you as what he announces” transvestite or transgender “.” You envision, if I can do something that hard, but positive- maybe I can do anything .”

The ” anything” he has been doing most recently is to take on the challenges facing acting opposite Judi Dench and Michael Gambon. In Stephen Frears’s interpretation of the real story of Queen Victoria’s late-life love with an Indian servant, Victoria& Abdul , Izzard plays a full-bearded, tweed-suited Bertie( afterward Edward VII ), reining in his comic inclinations to inhabit the outrage and scheming of a son encountering his mother apparently making a gull of herself. Izzard has done abundance of movies before- he was in Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt and the rest- but nothing that has required fairly this height of costume drama self-restraint. He loved it.

Watch a trailer for Victoria& Abdul .

He and Dench are old friends. She has been a regular at his stage shows and has been in the habit, for reasons forgotten, of sending a banana to his dressing room each opening night, with” Good fluke !” written on it. Construing her channel Victoria at close quarters was a daily masterclass. The movie was hit partly at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight( the first time any cinema gang had been allowed inside by English Heritage) and the throw would let their mane down in the evenings. One age, Izzard remembers:” I was dancing with Judi to Ray Charles’s’ What’d I Say ‘. She felt like a young lady, a young teenage daughter virtually. Judi has this amazing activated of vitality that traces all the way back to her youth .”

Watching the film, you’re so ready to see Izzard slip into one of his rebellious meanders of consciousness that for a while it seems odd that he stays on write. Does it feel that mode to him very?

” Not now ,” he says.” My early wreak as an actor wasn’t very good because I precisely switched all my comedy muscles off, and I didn’t know what to replace them with. I envisage I have learned more how to just’ be’ on movie now. It is similar to knowing how to both travel a bicycle and drive a car. If you are in a auto you don’t want to lean sideways to turn a angle. You know the difference .”

Ever since he bunked off academy and conned his direction into Pinewood Studios as a 15 -year-old and strayed the film sets for a day, he has imagined himself relevant actors. The first thing he did when his comedy ultimately took off after years of trying and often failing to constitute parties laugh was to get himself a drama agent and see if he could engage a twin vocation. He has never been satisfied with simply doing one thing, and it is suggested that determination to alter has only just proliferated. He’s 55, and because of his running- which peaked at 43 marathons in 57 daylightsin the UK and 27 in 27 daylights in South Africa for Sport Relief– he gazes lean and almost alarmingly bright-eyed. We are talking in a hotel chamber in London, and he is garmented sharply in” son with eyeliner” mode. He works on the notion, he says, that human beings were never made to sit still or decide, but to target themselves in objection places, and then work out how to cope.

” World battle two is a good example ,” he proposes.” People got fallen behind enemy lines with no hypothesi of what they were going into. They had to learn to do a great deal under extreme distres and on the move. And they proved we are able to. In a very different way, I make came to see you as transgender let me to make myself in other scaring situations and wreak them out once I was in them. I knew I would get through the bad, panicking bit- and there was a lot of that when I was a street performer- and eventually get to a more interesting place .”

Leading one of many marathons for Sport Relief in July 2009. Photograph: Alfie Hitchcock/ Rex

He has, of late, paused to reflect on the same reasons behind that motivation, first in a documentary film, Believe: the Eddie Izzard Story , made by his ex-lover and long-term collaborator Sarah Townsend, and then in an autobiography, Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens . The first two elements of that latter subtitle primarily preceded Izzard back to his mother, who died of cancer when he was six years old. Representing the film, Townsend came to suggest that all Izzard’s invigorated digressive attires curved around this fact, and in his journal, in opening sections extremely harrowing to read easily, he expands on that thought.

” Toward the end of the film, I started talking about my mother …” he recalls.” And I said something revelatory:’ I know why I’m doing all this ,’ I said.’ Everything I do in life is trying to get her back. I think if I do enough acts … that maybe she’ll am coming .'” When he said those texts, he says, it felt like his unconscious speaking. The thought remained with him that” I do feel I started performing and doing different kinds of large-scale, crazy, ambitious happens because on some height, on some childlike magical-thinking degree, I saw doing those things might introduce her back .”

I wonder, having went those happenings out into the public, nearly half a century on, if it has changed how he thinks about himself?

” I surely feel I am in a better place ,” he says- but also it has given him a sense of his own strangeness.” There is that situation where people say wow about the marathons or whatever. And I kind of say wow very, because there are some things I did that, looking back, I don’t know how I did them. Running a double marathon on the last day in South africans. It was 11 hours of not fun. And about five minutes of euphoria. I’m not sure how I did that .”

One of the things about marathons- even if you are running, as he was some of the time in the UK, followed by an ice-cream van reverberating the Chariots of Fire topic- is that there is an dreadful spate of meter for recollecting. Does his intellect ever pause for sigh?

” I have a luck occasion ,” he says,” which is that I am interested in any question- how did we get here? all the religions. I can think about anything. For sample when I did the 43[ marathons] I led past a signal saying’ the Battle of Naseby: 1 mile’ and I’m immediately off “ve been thinking about” Cromwell and Fairfax, Prince Rupert maybe, and how this path I was leading on would have been a track back then and maybe the cavalry came down it, how did they get cannon round that bend, all that, at every moment …”

Campaigning for Labour during the general election in 2015. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/ PA

Talking to Izzard, and watching him act, you feel he has a kind of the requirements of not ever wanting to miss any scrap of experience. It’s partly, he intimates, why he has widened his range of doing standup in different languages in recent years.

” German has been the hardest so far ,” he says. He is doing Arabic next, contriving a show in the Yemen( he was born in Aden, where “his fathers” worked for a experience for BP) to draw attention to the harsh civil battle there, and after that, Mandarin Chinese. As he clarifies this, blithely, I’m prompted both of the aisles in his notebook where he writes about the strategies he developed to overcome severe dyslexia as a child, and his apprehensive relationship with his late stepmother, Kate. The antithesis of performing as a younger human for the memory of his mother was a refusal to be limited by Kate’s efforts to control him. She craved him to be an controller because he was good with digits, if not with speak. He echoes her once telling him:” You’ve got to understand that you are a cog in the machine. As soon as you understand that, they are able to fit in and get on with life .” You can only imagine how that was downed. Does he ever think he will become more assume of limits?

” I have a very strong sense that we are only on this planet for a short period of time ,” he says.” And that is only ripening. Religious people might think it goes on after demise. My look is that if that is the case it would be nice if simply one person is coming and make us know it was all fine, all proven. Of all the thousands of millions of people who have died, if just one of them could come through the clouds and say, you know,’ It’s me Jeanine, it’s brilliant, there’s a really good spa ‘, that would be great .” He pauses.” Although what if heaven was exclusively like three-star, OK-ish. You know,’ Some of the taps don’t work …'”

He gives his success down not to any particular knack, but to his being” brilliantly accepting. Some beings are maybe brilliantly interesting. But I have the opposite knack .” That, and staman, and that unlimited curiosity about the world.

For a BBC series about genealogy he went to Africa to find percentages per of his genetic make-up that was Neanderthal. It buttressed his sense that there was nothing new under the sun, that parties had always been the same.” We never think of cavemen being resentful of the neighbours with the better cave, but no doubt they were ,” he says.

In villages in Namibia, dames were mesmerized by his nail lacquer; some of the men, more.” You know if you have a football and some tack refine and a smile you can walk into any hamlet in the world and find friends ,” he says.” There are 7 billion of us on countries around the world now and we should be connecting up more. Ninety-nine per cent of us would be live-and-let-live and’ Hi and how are you ?’. But the 1% aren’t glad with that, they want to actively stimulated it up and tell us that is not the way to go on .”

Satisfying the Bakola Pygmy in Cameroon for a BBC series to trace his genetic make-up. Photo: BBC

Talk of politics is a reminder of Izzard’s involvements in last year’s referendum campaign, in which he tried to use his experiences of doing humor in French and German and Spanish as an example of how Europe might be a place where you could share culture, rather than be defensive about it. In those fevered weeks, his arguments were sometimes made to look naive; the Mail and the rest cooked him after an awkward encounter with Nigel Farage on Question Time .

He admits that he is sometimes still learning in politics, but is unrepentant about his efforts to try to advance a campaign that he has been engaged in as a performer for a long while.

” Running and secreting from Europe cannot be the way forward for us ,” he says.” The thought that Britain can go back to 1970 and it will still be all the same exactly can’t be an option .”

Does he think there is still hope for Remainers?

” It seems to me beings are always capable of being either courageous and curious or hideous and suspicious. If you track humanity the whole way through, the periods of success for civilisation are those periods where we have been brave and strange .”

There is plenty of panic and idea in the world though. How does he think it will go?

” I don’t know. If you look at the 1930 s there are obviously clear examples of how individuals can twisting this type of panics and twist them, and then you get what historians often announce mass-murdering fuckheads in supremacy .”

He has long talked of looking to run as a Labour MP in the next election. Is that still the occasion?

” Yes, the plan was always to run in 2020, though Theresa May has changed that with her failed supremacy grab. So now it’s the first general election after 2020.”

He will also employ himself forward for Labour’s national executive committee at the working party meeting this year. He didn’t make it last era, though he got 70,000 votes. And if and when he becomes an MP, he will give up behaving and acting?

” I would. It’s like Glenda Jackson; she gave up behaving for 25 years to concentrate on it, then she alters up back as King Lear .”

With Ali Fazal, Judi Dench and head Stephen Frears for a screening of Victoria& Abdul at the Venice film festival. Image: Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images

I wonder if another desire, to eventually have children, still exercises?

” I always said children in my 50 s. But I likewise ever felt that I had to do thoughts firstly. Get this trash done. But yes, I haven’t given up on that .”

For someone who was treated an early lesson about the fragility of life, his long-term planning sounds peculiar. Does he feel that inconsistency?

” I think we should all choose a year we would like to live to, and do everything we can to establish that work. I make it could all go wrong at any point, patently. But we also know that if we don’t get ailment or get hit by a bus we are able ourselves by drinking enough ocean and keeping as fit as you were when you were a kid. As we get older and we get a bit creaky we take that as a signed to stop doing material. My sense is we should push through creaky. I was detecting a bit sluggish lately, about a month ago, I believed right, I’ll do seven marathons in seven days. And off I croak. The first four were a bit rubbish, but you push on through that .”

He must have good joints?

” I mutilated my knee up a while ago, trying to move over a barricade ,” he says.” But it healed up, and now it deplores only when I don’t use it enough .”

Is there some genetic cause for his energy?

” Dad adored football, played until his late 30 s. I don’t know about Mum. She liked singing and slapstick and Flanders and Swann but I’m not sure about boast .”

I discover his articulation interruption just slightly. Izzard still can’t really talking here his mother easily, at least not in an interrogation. In his work he describes how in the immediate consequence of her demise he and his father and his brother wept together for half an hour and then stopped in case they went on for ever. In lieu of regiman father bought his sons a pattern railway adjusted and they improve it in the spare chamber and immersed themselves in it. The give recently resurfaced when Izzard had it restored and donated it to a museum in their home city of Bexhill-on-Sea, another part of his excavation of that time.

” Dad supported us with it after Mum succumbed ,” he says, by way of justification.” He made a counter for the americans and we invested hours and hours constructing it. Then in 1975 my stepmother, Kate, came along and it was put away into containers and never came out again. It moved from Dad’s attic to my brother’s attic, and he didn’t know what to do with it. I supposed, why not give it to the museum in Bexhill? I predicted there might be batch of simulation railway enthusiasts in Bexhill, and they rebuild this thing, it’s kind of a collector’s item. They are now going to build another one, a Christmas version. We had a grand opening and Dad came down to see it .”

He likes the facts of the case that he is in a position to prepare these kinds of things happen. Is he happier now than ever?

” I ever craved the various kinds of chart that they are able to leverage to do the things you miss ,” he says.” There is no path into it. You have to work out how you get there- over the wall, or tunnel your practice in. I always considered doing the same situation was actually going backwards. And if you start saying’ Hi, I like chicken’ on some advert, you know you have probably contacted that quality .”

You hesitate a little to ask him what he is working on next, but I do anyway.

” I’ve written my first movie ,” he says.” It is called Six Instant to Midnight , set in the summer of 1939. I’m developing a show in French in Paris. This December I am going to be on a boat, just below Notre Dame, doing two shows nightly. What else? I’m not a good reader but I always wanted to read all of Dickens, so I have found someone who will let me read them as audiobooks- I have done a third of Great Expectations and it took four dates. So: 12 eras. And then there is the premiere of Victoria& Abdul for which Dad is coming up from Bexhill to invest his 89 th birthday with Judi Dench …”

Out of all the things he has done, I question, of what is he proudest?

” Mostly I hope I have done things that help other people to do them ,” he says.” That was the thing with coming out as transgender, and “its been” the same happen doing the marathons, or discovering the languages. I hope people might think, well if that moronic can do it, why can’t I? I signify, I’m just some guy, right. Nothing special ?”

I’m not quite convinced.

Victoria& Abdul is released on Friday 15 September. Imagine Me issued by Michael Joseph( PS20 ). To ordering a transcript for PS17 going to see guardianbookshop.com or announce 0330 333 6846. Free UK p& p over PS10, online orderings simply. Telephone guilds min p& p of PS1. 99