#save the celebration for when you actually secure that win

[goldielia]

what if (all i need is you)?

a part of: call it what you want au

will’s in the locker room after practice when he thinks about it for the first time. they’re talking about cutter, how he’ll probably be signed after the championship game. where all the other boys will go, that they think they’ll be signed by the end of the next season or the one after that.

ally breezes through the hallway by the open door (they promise her to not keep it open while anyone is indecent and usually it’s closed until after they’ve been showered and are shirtless at most) and it spikes a thought. one he hadn’t even considered, used to being a couple steps ahead on the ice but keeping his mind in the present off of it.

he’ll leave boston. for san jose. probably before his college time would be over if he simply got his degree. he’s a fourth overall pick, there’s people waiting to see him on the ice for the sharks, people that would rather him score for their nhl team then have him finish college.

but leaving boston would mean leaving home. leaving ally. he doesn’t know if he simply pushed that thought to the back of his mind or if it hadn’t crossed his mind at all. the worst thing about it is that he doesn’t know when. maybe they had meetings about it, have decided to give him a call after the championship game if he wins, that they won’t if he doesn’t. or they still might, win or lose.

maybe he’ll be back in boston, snuggled up in their corner of the library with ally. maybe he’ll be in minnesota still, barely back in the hotel room after a devastating loss or raging celebrations. he has to look up the time zones, actually, maybe that wouldn’t even be possible. his mind is going there regardless, though.

in fact, his thoughts are running a mile an hour. what if-questions are kind of always on his mind, inevitable with hockey really. what if i’d realized his play a second earlier? what if i passed to my right instead of my left? what if i shot a fraction of a millisecond earlier, would the goalie still have saved it?

what if ally leaves him when he has to go to san jose? what if she dumps him the second he tells her? what if she doesn’t, tortures both of them with long distance for a few weeks before she breaks up with him over text? what if she agrees to it, loves him over miles and time zones and then falls in love with some other blond, blue-eyed hockey player in boston and forgets about will?

the what-ifs torture him, constantly and for days. he can’t quite bear talking to anyone about them, feeling stupid one second and like they’ll confirm his fears right after. gabe and ryan try to get through to him multiple times, cutter tries to talk to him as well. even eamon starts an attempt of a conversation. he blows all of them off.

the only person he might want to talk to is the one who doesn’t pressure him. there were multiple instances over the months they’ve been together when will got into his own head, about hockey, about school, pretty much anything. ally doesn’t urge him to talk, doesn’t try to solve problems for him unless he comes to her with them. she takes care of him, quietly, and just like she normally would, and waits him out until he’s ready to talk.

she’s making sure he eats, hydrates, secures his sleep by scratching his back or caressing his skin or burying her hand in his curls. massaging the sore spots after games and applying balms on bruises, kissing him when he plays well and holding him when he doesn’t and she knows he beats himself up for it.

ally just knows he wants to talk to her when she settles into his passenger seat one monday, somehow she feels it in her bones. his right hand may find its place on her thigh, like it always does, but he’s tapping his fingers down on it like he does when he’s nervous. it only stops when she slips her own hand into his, entangles their fingers and slowly drags her thumb over his knuckles.

after she presses a soft peck to his lips and another to his cheek she keeps her eyes trained on their hands, painting shapes and letters onto his skin and playing with the bracelets on his wrist. it’s become a habit, a thing, if you will. love letters and secret messages traced into skin, trails of conversations and silent reassurances traded wordlessly and blindly.

she uses just this to hopefully make will feel less anxious as they’re in the car, tells him i love yous and little hearts through her touch until they’re at his chosen destination. he parks the car at the rink on campus and she goes with him without protest, lets him lead her center ice and follows him when he lays down on it.

they stay there unmoving except for ally slipping her hand back into wills, breath leaving their mouths in small clouds as they’re staring up to the ceiling. ally’s glad to have chosen a hoodie when she left the house in the morning, thinks she might be able to better fight off the cold for as long as will needs. he squeezes her hand once before he starts speaking, a shaky breath before his voice sounds through the empty rink.

“i was drafted to san jose.” ally briefly closed her eyes, having feared this talk would come at some point. after taking a deep breath she squeezes wills hand, silently telling him to continue. “i don’t know when they’ll want me to sign with them but, like- i guess i just want you to know i won’t say no to them. if they do want me.” her green eyes shoot open, head turning to her left to find wills face. “what?” she sounds breathless, scrambling to sit up and turn his head towards her with the hand that’s not in his.

“you think i’d want you to stay here? instead of playing in the nhl?” before will can even nod or talk or do anything, really, she continues. “will, i wouldn’t hold you back. not from achieving your dreams.” her voice breaks slightly somewhere between hold and back and his body acts before his brain catches up when he sits up and wraps her up into his free arm. “that’s not what i’m saying, gorgeous.” he whispers, lips brushing her ear. “i just-, i might, probably, not be around for graduation. or maybe a year before that.”

ally pulls back slightly, leaning her forehead on his and squeezing his hand once more. “i know.” will keeps quiet for a second, the only thing there is to hear is their synchronised breathing. ally thinks they must be a poetic picture, really. center ice in an empty rink, barely enough lights on to find the way to the ice and back. two teenagers all tangled up, foreheads touching, a hand intertwined and wrapped up in the other, breathing in sync and thoughts racing.

“i just need to know how this- how we’ll work. if you’d be up to trying long distance or like, what your plans are.” will continues, his words somewhere between a whisper and a breath. “hey” she murmures gently. “ever thought about what happens if all i need is you?” his eyes shoot open in surprise, clearly having waited for rejection, to be let down gently.

“san jose has a school for criminology, they have a pretty good grad school program for criminal psychology.” she smiles softly at the way his eyes widen. “plus, i only have two more years here” her warm hand squeezes his once more before she breathes deeply, hiding her face into his shoulder after a moment, not only to mask her expression but also the tears forming in her eyes. after she feels a kiss pressed into her hair she lifts her head again.

“i thought you were going to tell me you had to break up with me because they signed you and you didn’t want me to hold you back” her voice is shaky like he’s never heard it and her words make him pull her into his arms fully, fingers detangling and wrapping around her waist instead. with her face pressed into the crook of his neck, he nuzzles his nose into her hair and kisses the top of her head before speaking hoarsely.

“i thought you were going to break up with me because you didn’t want to do long distance” he’s concerned when her shoulders start shaking, thinks she has to be crying but after a second he realizes she’s in fact giggling into his skin. will hesitates for a few more breaths before he, too, can’t hold back the laugh building in his chest, breathing all his anxieties out with it. “i love you, you know” she mumbles into his lips when she’s lifted her head before pressing a lingering kiss to them. “i do know, you looked up schools in san jose for me” he grins.

#alaska argent #goldie's call it what you want au #will smith hockey #will smith hockey imagine #will smith hockey x oc #will smith hockey x reader

[iluvshinytwink]

heyy so i have a rq bc god save me your angst writings are the best ✨

i was wondering if you could write a lil fic abt Jude where he cheats on the reader and she finds out via social media and then she breaks things off and he's super broken and stuff and he all of a sudden remembers all the happy memories and the ending is bittersweet and there's no fluff except for the memories? like the ending is super sad?

you're writing is actually the best i've read in tumblr like girl publish a book already 😍

Lovefool - Jude Bellingham

"Dear I fear we're facing a problem. You love me no longer, I know and maybe there's nothing that I can do, to make you do."

Now Playing . . . Lovefool by The Cardigans

It's crazy how a few hours night out could break your relationship with someone/ The mind makes you do things, your body makes you do things, your emotions make you do things you know deep down in your heart you'll regret when you wake up in the morning. And yet you still do it.

Jude went out with his teammates to celebrate a huge win for their season. You declined Jude's offer to accompany him and he accepted your refusal with a small smile.

You remember bidding your boyfriend goodbye as he stepped into his car, waving your hand with a smile.

"Be back before 2." you said. Jude pops his head out his window with a smile. "Okay, ma." Jude said jokingly.

You went back in the house as the car drove away from the driveway and the hours ticked to what would be the end of your relationship.

You woke up in your bed as usual, the air around you felt awkwardly cold. Your head turns beside you and the side of your bed was left empty. The sheets you didn't hog and you reserved for your boyfriend was still there, clean and untouched. A red flag went off in your mind. Something was wrong but you didn't know whether to panic or stay calm.

Your hand reaches for your cellphone. Your lockscreen was filled with notifications. Twitter and Instagram quickly filled your notifications. Your eyebrows knit in confusion.

You clicked on one of the notifications and it leads you to Twitter where a video plays.

In the video, the atmosphere was dark and the only source of lights were artificial lights coloring red, blue, and yellow. The camera shakes and the music was loud. The camera then pans to a man, a man you knew all too well. A man that you found was your boyfriend.

Jude's hand was secured on the girl's neck as the camera's flash helped you see that Jude and this girl's lips were connecting.

Your heart dropped and a lump crawled up your throat. Your head spun as you tried to contain your thoughts. You felt sick. The video kept playing and your hand instinctively threw the phone into the bed.

Your hand touched your mouth as tears quickly fell from your eyes. You sobbed into your hand. Your body shook.

Did he love you no longer? Did he drop signs that you were too love-sick to see?

Did he lose feelings whilst you clung onto them?

That wasn't Jude, that couldn't be Jude. You thought to yourself as more tears brimmed your eyes.

Suddenly, you hear the front door open. Your heart dropped once more.

Why would he do this to me, to himself? You thought.

Footsteps began ascending the stairs. Your teeth bit into the palm of your hand as you tried to think of something, anything but the video you just saw.

What were you going to do? Turn a blind eye and act like you saw nothing? Or face him for what he did wrong and risk losing the person you spent loving for all these years?

Before you could conclude to your final answer a figure appears on your bedroom door.

Jude.

Your stomach twisted into knots and you felt sick once more. Jude looked at you with a tired and sympathetic expression.

He knew what he did.

And by the tears streaming down your face, you did too.

Your hand removes from your mouth, Jude feels his heart breaking away.

You stood up with shaky legs.

"Why?" you whispered. Jude's hand began accumulating sweat as his heart began beating out of his chest.

He asked himself the same thing. Why? Why did he do this to you? After years he had loved you unconditionally, why?

"I'm sorry." he croaked, tears of his own slipping down his cheek.

Your legs walked toward him. You didn't know what to do, what to think. You loved Jude, you did. But did he love you back after what he had done to you?

"I thought you loved me." you whispered, looking into his eyes. "I do, baby. I love you so much." he whispered, his hand shaking. He wanted to hug you, to kiss you. But he knew dee down you wouldn't kiss back. He knew that if he kissed your lips, your lips were loyal to him, and his weren't.

His eyes were glossed with tears and feelings. Emotions that you could only describe as pity and sadness. But those were the eyes you longed to look at everyday. The eyes which you loved. The eyes that once looked at you with nothing but adoration.

You wanted to find in the depths of your heart any sympathy you had to forgive him because you wanted to believe that he truly did love you. His lips were yours even if his lips kissed another.

"You don't mean that." you hissed. "If you did, you wouldn't have done that to me." you looked at Jude in his eyes once more. His eyes broke underneath yours. Your eyes were glossy from old and new tears and it was because of him.

"I'm sorry." Jude whispered, his hand nearing to touch your shoulder which your hand quickly flicked away. "Don't." you said lowly.

You slipped out the bedroom door, quickly making your way down the stairs leaving Jude by himself and his thoughts.

There was nothing you could do. If he had fallen out of love, you would accept that. If you spent your years loving him for all of that to be thrown away in a night, you would accept that. If you could accept the fact that the lips you thought were yours and yours alone, you could.

Minutes pass and Jude hears the door slams shut.

Jude looks down on the ground, tears falling.

Memories quickly surge his mind.

Never again would he hold your hands when he was nervous, happy, or sad. Never would he hear your laughter that echoed throughout his mind every time he heard it. Never would he see the smile that made his heart ache. And never would he hear the heartbeat that once beated for him and only him.

The eyes that once looked at him lovingly with nothing but love, looked at him with hatred. The lips that brought words of affirmation and affection spat venom and acid.

The heart that mended his own, he broke.

#jude bellingham #jude bellingham x reader #jude bellingham x you #jude bellingham imagines #iluvshinytwink #imsoslaying #delulu hours exe

[trash-can-sam]

There is something so delicious abt the intertwining of failure and success when it comes to the narratives of pathologic.

Daniil enters the town a success, a celebrity doctor, well know and well liked, desperate to save his lab and secure funding but ultimately it isn’t the end of his life if the Hail Mary doesn’t turn out- he still might find a way to save it. Even though the details are uncertain, Daniil Dankovsky enters the town mostly a success. Artemy enters the town hated, suspected of patricide, denied his inheritance, in p2 he didn’t get the degree his father wished of him (it was more about the actual learning than the degree but still) because he was drafted into the war. His old friends dislike him and all hate eachother, by all metrics, Artemy Burakh enters the town a complete failure.

However, even when Daniil gets the Utopian ending, his entire time in the Town is a never ending cycle of little victories that ultimately end in failures. He barely does jack shit, even his medicine sucks ass and doesn’t work. He’s technically the only person here with a medical degree even if both Rubin and Artemy are qualified, yet he functions as a bureaucrat most the time. Even if he gets the utopian ending, he still has failed to save his lab and his old life, it’s all still in ashes.

In Daniils quests, even the ones you do well, half the time it still feels like you’re losing. Daniils story is the story of a man who lost everything he held dear in the span of 2 weeks, the entire time getting punched in the balls.

However, Artemy, even though he enters the town as a failure, retakes his place. He manages to disprove his guilt, he finds his fathers murderer, takes his revenge, he takes his rightful place in the kin (debatable how much he wanted to but like, he didn’t want literally anything so yk), he reunites his friends, his medicine is so good, even when you’re playing as Daniil it’s THE most useful medicine you can create by far. HE ADOPTS CHILDREN FOR FUCKS SAKE.

If Daniil wins, he’s destroyed the town and the people will forever hate him for taking it away. If Artemy wins, he’s the town hero, the one who successfully filled his fathers shoes and saved the town from a deadly outbreak.

Does Daniil deserve such a title for his ending? Absolutely not lmao, he’s an outsider afterall. This was never his world to come in on, merely all he had left. But it’s simply showing how Daniil is doomed to be a failure, and Artemy has the chance of being a hero.

AND the way this feeds into burakovsky is great I feel, the town hero and the disgraced doctor. The one who had it all and lost it all vs the one who lost it all and gained so much more than he ever could’ve expected. Not to say Artemy has only won, but he comes out of the outbreak with far more of a purpose and direction in life, he has a job to do. Daniil has nothing at all, the closest thing being his old friends who spend all their nights drinking away their lives mourning the dream of Utopia. Artemy has set up the future of the town, the children who will ultimately succeed him. Daniil has lost the closest thing he had to a child as well as his own hope.

The story of Daniil is getting beat into the ground where the story of Artemy is climbing your way out of the pits of hell. And idk. I think. I just think it’s fun. (AND both of these things do LITERALLY happen- with Daniil getting the shit beat out of him in the abattoir and whenever you talk to Clara before Artemy jumps in the pit. Or in p2 whenever it’s arguably even more clear that he jumps in a glowing red pit and makes his way out of the bowels of the earth yk)

#Daniil saying he’s used to winning is such a cruel joke when his whole route is him repeatedly losing over and over again #before eventually losing himself #ITS SO GOOD. I just love how you never feel like you’re winning as Daniil. it’s fascinating. #he gives me so many feelings #truly a man doomed by the narrative #I fear this is mostly nonsense but hey #first pathologic text post #innane ramblings #probably relatively milque toast observations but whatever #daniil dankovsky #pathologic #pathologic 2 #artemy burakh #wont tag burakovsky because I don’t go into much depth but know it is about them in that way. #and yes I mix p1 and 2 events with little regard for how much sense it makes- sue me #I make my own canon

[formulatrash]

top 5 seasons in any motorsport?

nothing makes me madder than when I craft a good reply and tumblr eats it!!!! don’t make me redraft you chaos vortex of a half-baked gif workshop, how dare you force me to “improve” my “””writing””” I will deliberately make it much worse.

anyway, this was a good question! whoops under a cut to save your dashes

5. Season 4, Formula E

ok this... it might not actually have been that great a season. and you’ll never know now because the races aren’t on YouTube!!! but like, indulge me here: it was my season and I managed to not think about Sam Bird or his title chances so much, so hard, over so many races that it was him and JEV in contention at the end of it all. my horrible faves!* and it was the end of Gen1 which surely meant something. and there was so much comedy drama! Daniel’s win getting cancelled, then him taking Audi’s first win for a second time and them being pure mad about it because they’d wanted to bin him off for Rene Rast only Lucas had thrown a shitfit and then there he was completely justifying his place on the team!! (I don’t think the direct Audi team thought this but there were corporate machinations) and the absolutely dogshit Andretti car which, my word, you had to feel sorry for Antonio dragging around week after week but which had some truly comedy failures. and Alex Lynn!!!!! all season!!! that wouldn’t happen again until season ruddy seven ffs. shame the car sucked. anyway, good year, good year. we all assume hurling ourselves into the unknown from a relatively secure and financially lucrative corporate position will be rewarded by seeing our faves and perhaps the driver we most horrifically project onto rewarded and it worked!!!! 

4. 2020 Formula 1 season

no I know this is a weird choice but I... really liked the 2020 season. it was so weird, obviously and quiet but that somehow. felt right. like there was something changing somewhere, like there was time to think. I don’t really like the glitzy grift side of F1, can’t have an annual Celebrity Interview Discourse Month if you’ve got no celebs can ya and also this was the most reasonable-length season for ages. maybe I simply think of it fondly because FE dropped the ball so chronically in 2020 and also that there was that big, long dark period of nothing so having something at all felt like a lifeline but. Lewis quietly winning the title in Turkey might be my favourite win of his. a little comfort championship after a terrible year.

3. 1997 Formula 1 season

I know what you are about to say!!! unless it’s ‘fuck off grandma’ in which case, yeah, fair. but yes I know I should like the 1996 season more but - and this is the only time in which I will allow this - 1997 was the banter timeline. Jacques Villeneuve won but honestly, that’s totally immaterial to whatever the hell was going on with everyone this year. hardly anyone could finish a race 

also I was, like, 11. so. also this was the year when Hungary just decided to commit violence when Damon dragged that piece of shit Arrows to the second row in qualifying and then!!! the lead!!!! and it shat itself in the final laps like the miserable little hangover of an F1 it was. I have been well set up for disappointment ever since. 

2. 2017 World Endurance Championship 

flipped around a bit on this but actually yeah. yeah!!!! this was the last year of there being two competitive hybrid LMP1 teams (Porsche and Toyota) and without Audi making everyone look like total idiots it was suddenly a genuinely big old battle. and at the same time, LMP2 got really competitive, which it always had been but maybe it was just it was getting more air time at last. and there was actually a proper LMGT pro field with more than one make! ah, heady times. also Le Mans that year was this made dustball of swirling heat and every LMP1 retired in the space of 15 minutes at like 3am while I’d lain down in a bit of warm dirt by the side of the Dunlop curves and then the one Porsche did qualifying laps for the entire rest of the race to get back to the front. Jota nearly won it outright! ok, WEC is allowed to be banter. that is basically what it’s for. 

1. 2000 World Rally Championship 

listen, someone needs to let me write the simmeringly homoerotic screenplay (Rush-style) about Colin McCrae and Carlos Sainz Snr. these fucks couldn’t stand each other at all! and even worse, the idea anyone else might be their closest rival or team mate. intolerable. 2000 was when they met back up at Ford after a few years of pretending they could ever despise other people as much as each other and it was also a real classic of a fight. Sainz and McCrae ended up scrapping for third while Gronholm and Burns ran away with it and perhaps it was that, the title out of the window, that made this one of their most tender and terrible years. the Ford sucked and they both knew they were better than it, united in disgust for the car and each other. weep.

*’horrible’ and ‘fave’ here being used as a) hyperbolic way of expressing I love them and admire them, b) obviously all of them are my faves. well, apart from that one. faves is an evolving concept that encompasses all my terrible (see point a) sons (see point b)

#motorsport asks

[ramsri0369]

p Commerce Honest Review

   Create Professional, Persuasive, Custom Video Proposals In Minutes, With A Legally Binding Contract Ready For Them To E-Sign, And Close Clients Fast On Any Device.

    Host All Your Proposal Videos On VidProposals’ Servers For Super-Fast Delivery

    Create Custom Thank You Pages To Celebrate The New Deal

    100% Beginner Friendly. Fully Cloud Based

    24 Ready-To-Go Professionally Designed Proposals Included

    ​​Use Our Built-In Video Creator To Record & Create A Stunning Video That Can Be Then Included Right Inside Your Proposal​​​​​​​

    Engage Your Customers And Make Them Take The Action You Want By Adding A Persuasive Call-to-action Right Inside Your Videos

    Generate Your Proposal Super-fast Using Vidproposal’s Built-In Content Generation And Reuse Tools

    Automated E-Signature Tracking Offers An Added Layer Of Security – Providing Proof Of Who Signed The Document And When it was Opened, Viewed, Or Completed.

    Send One Email With The One Link To Give Your Client All The Relevant Information

    VidProposals Doesn’t Allow Signed Proposals To Be Deleted, Keeping Them Secure And Legal

Let's finish the year STRONG 

 Exciting news for this week!

5 figures in passive income  this holiday season?

In just two days from now, Neil Napier is hosting one of the most anticipated webinars of the year. 

I sent you an exclusive invitation in my last email but if you missed it…

You can still use this link to register. [Your Affiliate Link]

But don't leave it for the last minute because seats are extremely limited.

And you can’t afford to miss out on this one. Especially since we’re in the 4th quarter of 2022 already.

So, what’s so special about this call, what exactly are you going to learn?

Well, in a nutshell:

    How to make considerable income from the comfort of your home this holiday season.

    Why now is the best time to start your own online biz.

    How to earn more by selling what people actually want.

    The One thing you need to start doing right now to be financially free.

    The secret method to always earn NO MATTER WHAT THE ECONOMY IS DOING

    How to make money selling other people's products

    -How to collect payments securely via the secret p2p payment method

    And how to do all this w/o any technical expertise.

Plus Neil will be unveiling his brand new software and training called pCommerce that makes all of this possible.

When you attend live you get a chance to win a premium copy and instant access to some very expensive bonuses.

Register for this call right now and save the date on your calendar.

#PCommerce review #PCommerce bonus #PCommerce review bonus #PCommerce bonuses #PCommerce software preview #PCommerce #buy PCommerce #get PCommerce #PCommerce walkthrough #PCommerce software review #PCommerce demo #PCommerce Review #PCommerce Review Demo #PCommerce Demo #PCommerce review demo #PCommerce review and demo #PCommerce review and bonus #PCommerce review and bonuses #PCommerce upsells #PCommerce otos #Youtube

[winklerklit5]

replica kelly bag 19

Replica Hermes Kelly 25 Handmade Bag In Himalaya Croc Shw The Shockers used an 18-2 first-half run to construct a lead after thirteen minutes of play. They have been up 16 at halftime and by as many as 21 early within the second half. The other factor about Beadle’s contract, and certainly one of you emailed me this, is Beadle screwed ESPN as a end result of when she left for NBC nobody followed to observe her present. So this additional satisfied ESPN that what mattered wasn’t the talent, it was the network. This has been ESPN’s hypothesis for years, that they make the celebrities not vice versa. If I’m a Kentucky fan this morning I am cursing John Calipari to the high heavens. With this in thoughts, I thought that my opinion of many years had been appropriate and that there were no good replicas. high quality replica hermes kelly Suddenly, and virtually accidentally, I discovered and noticed what I would name “SUPER FAKES” . At first, I thought it was too good to be true because the photos had been of excellent quality. To get the ball going, I despatched an email to the company to ask if they had products that weren't on the website, and they responded quickly with photographs of exactly what I needed. The new rule will decrease the highest deployment pace to 160 mph, and many air baggage will inflate at even lower speeds. Air luggage have saved the lives of at least 1,750 drivers and passengers over the last decade, the NHTSA said. Hermes baggage at extra inexpensive costs however amazing values handbags, hermes outlet, what sort of purses do you select? In my opinion, hermes baggage is your absolute best different. Hermes luggage is amongst the preferred designer baggage model name everywhere in the world. PurseValleyFactory was also a pioneer in crafting the true Hermès replica bags over the many years. Listen reside on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen. Division I college basketball's longest-tenured duo, Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl are in their forty first season collectively on radio. Kennedy is in his forty second season as Voice of the Shockers. I virtually always have access to my telephone, but my schedule is wacky so my largest communication problem comes when people text me round midnight and then I see it four hours later after I get up. She gave me the ladies contact details and I spent aday considering if I should get in touch and so on. I didn't want to lose my cash as for 2 years I actually have been saving as a lot as treat myself however each time I have gone to Chanel and seen the new costs, I truly have determined not to buy. I’ve just bought a Hermes birkin at hermessales.ee. The query, scientists say, just isn't if but when. Pressure is continuing to construct along the lots of of miles where the Juan de Fuca plate is pushing underneath the North American plate. The epicenter of runway information, street type, and rising trends. Catsuits had been the story one yr ago, and second-skin menswear continues to pattern. However, it is suggested that readers contact event organizers earlier than they attend. For probably the most up to date version of the calendar, please visit or troyrecord.com. With the Czech Republic up 2-1, Pejzlova secured the win by beating Chen by way of the legs after being arrange by a blue-line-to-blue-line move from Pavlina Horalkova. The versatile forward has been a national team staple for 11 years. Alex Carpenter celebrated with teammates after scoring certainly one of her two objectives in within the US girls's hockey staff's win over Finland. Dawkin's Stanford team defeated the Shockers, 70-56, in the 2009 CBI quarterfinals. Walker, a former top-25 recruit within the Class of 2019, has taken a step forward in his second season after transferring from Oregon. He's averaging 8.zero points and shares the group rebounding lead (5.8) with 6-11 UNLV transfer Cheikh Mbacke Diong (7.1 ppg, 1.5 bpg). Finally, the lettering - letters are smaller and paler on the authentic steel plate whereas they look bolder in the proper image; it may not look unhealthy however it certainly is different from the original look. wikipedia handbags The genuine steel part of the strap is as skinny as paper with sharper definition and exquisite details. On the opposite hand, the replica steel is embossed, thicker, and fewer defined. Heron Preston, Bianca Saunders, and, in fact, Nigo at Kenzo rethought total-denim seems on the runway this season. A denim monogram brocade dotted with flowers at Louis Vuitton and the laser-etched Psycho scenes on the back of jackets at Undercover. To revist this text, visit My Profile, then View saved tales. This up to date Hanger was meticulously handmade by master artisans one piece at a time. It is therefore fairly tough, if not impossible to mak... Fashion modeling to the basic Hermes Birkin Bag platinum package deal for the prototype, adhering to the elegance of the unique article, to be modified on the shape that has become the new darling of the younger girls love. Hermes Birkin gradually advanced into an indispensable when a journey hand baggage bag. This design is easy, elegant, exquisite, new trends, capability spacious, comfortable texture, manufacturing of sophisticated, high-grade materials, price having. Thankfully, there are Hermes replica luggage at affordable prices. From the Hermes kelly replica bag to the replica Hermes Birkin.

#kelly bag replica #replica kelly bag #replica hermes kelly

[birchlimit8]

Metro Detroit's Greatest Food Trucks

Event Diagramming Collaborative event administration software that saves time, boosts revenue and drives loyalty. NEW Sales & Catering CRM Seamlessly manage and optimize group sales efficiency throughout your complete portfolio. NEW Client Services Get all of the help you want on your events as a result of we know hospitality issues. Free Planning Tools Diagram events, wow attendees, and win shoppers with free planning instruments. Despite their reputation, they don’t break the financial institution for occasion organizers. In truth, meals truck catering could be considerably cheaper than conventional catering. After an extended reception of dancing and mingling with visitors, attendees will rejoice when a late-night food truck pulls up to your occasion. Make like this couple who hired the Kimchi Taco Truck to dole out Korean fare with daring flavors. They provide tacos, bowls, burritos, and sides and permit you to select between using them for a late-night snack, as a part of a meal, or a full dinner. One of an important issues to assume about when selecting a cell bar is that it's able to accommodate the scale of your visitor listing. It is easy to turn into overwhelmed during the holidays and begin stressing in regards to the things that actually don’t matter, which may make the holidays a lot much less enjoyable. This is why it is important to set a while apart for yourself. If you have all the time been the host for the vacation get together, you in all probability have mastered the decorations and introduced the wow-factor yr after 12 months. 外燴 ’s faculty commencement, whether or not it is in the summertime or winter, must be a celebrated event. Planning a winter commencement, very like a winter marriage ceremony, can embrace a ton of fun winter themed decorations, actions, and catering, making it special and unique. At ROUGE Fine Catering, we may help make your party a success with our delicious gourmand meals options. We can cater to any of your get togethers, from a Friendsgiving to New Year’s Eve bashes. Wedding Ceremony Reception Meal The single most necessary factor within the success of your wedding reception is the talent and experience of the caterer you hire. Knowing what type of catering is best for your occasion is one thing you can work by way of logically, drawing on the experience and insight of a seasoned catering professional. There’s no purpose to make this decision alone — find a reputable caterer and use their experience to assist you make the best name. As many know from experience, practically half of the common marriage ceremony budget goes toward catering and meals. A plated meal will value a mean of $26 per particular person, so the worth of meals would be approximately $5,200, not together with service. Many caterers additionally require you to hire china, glassware, and cutlery, so remember to ask about extra prices. By holding your marriage ceremony at a venue that gives catering in-house, often these things wouldn't have further costs. This additionally seems good to have if the reception or wedding is in between meals. We are truly here to help you in any way and we are going to go above and beyond to guarantee that your day is stress free with meals that surpasses your standards. We are here to be your information that will level you in the course of your dream wedding ceremony day. Our shoppers become like household and we sit up for sharing one of the most important days of their lives with them by offering our scrumptious wedding ceremony menu. Benefits Of Catering Any Event We call them the #bestofthewest and are proud to recreate soul food that's healthy, flavorful, made with real ingredients and most of all made with love. Windswept Acres is a veteran owned household farm and small batch specialty selecting firm. All of our merchandise are shelf secure, HACCP primarily based and security examined on the University of Arizona food safety lab and available for wholesale purchase, and private labeling is on the market. Whether you want to us to deliver our culinary delights to your home or venue, or handle your complete occasion from setup to cleanup, we'll make your occasion a memorable experience. You did a fantastic job and we commend you and your staff. Our son shall be graduating school subsequent summer season and we'd like to throw a casual yard celebration for him. Chef Kathy & Team knocks it outta the park each time we want Specality desserts for up scale events at Hawthorn Woods Country Club. This will take some of the stress off of you while preserving everyone on observe. • Write an inventory of every little thing that needs to be done and set priorities – Before you can start stress-free wedding planning, you want to know everything that must be done. Make a list of all the most important duties and then set priorities and work your way down the listing. The best method to avoid a headache is to make use of a company that makes a speciality of marriage ceremony planning with a no-drama method. Hopefully, your thoughts is abuzz with all of the ways you presumably can incorporate these catering ideas into your subsequent event. From mini meals to “build your own” food bars, occasion catering make an enormous impression in your visitors. Create something wonderful and they'll speak about you and share it on social. Give them a lackluster expertise and you probably won’t see them once more. One of the primary steps in beginning a catering business is brainstorming concepts on your catering menu. Meals Trucks & Concessions Second, you need to make sure your menu is straightforward to organize. You aren’t technically fast meals, but keep in mind, your diners don’t have wherever to sit down quietly, drink a glass of wine and wait 20 minutes for his or her meal. It can be exhausting deciding what to serve at your meals truck. Haus isn’t shy about emphasizing the freshness of its merchandise, using solely natural elements, like locally sourced fruits, herbs, and botanicals. On top of this, farmer’s markets are an excellent place to meet potential prospects in person. While the volume of customers could be smaller than on-line, face-to-face gross sales alternatives tend to provide more value in phrases of buyer loyalty and word-of-mouth sales. Fragola understands that it needs to determine trust with its customers instantly. The brand also maintains an enormous online neighborhood by way of Instagram, helping to build a stronger relationship with its audience. Sauces can be a great product to sell for first-time merchants. Food aficionados are all the time looking for new tastes to try, so they are usually extra receptive to much less familiar brands in phrases of sauces. Personal cooks are trained cooks employed to supply at-home meals for his or her shoppers, who often might have special dietary wants or preferences. They could be employed by people, families, or caterers, or for particular events. If you’ve ever been in gross sales, you realize the abilities wanted to build a private relationship along with your purchasers. One proven way to deliver nearly any sort of meals is on a stick. You don’t must be a “creative” sort to develop a singular concession menu. Here are some approaches to ensuring you at all times have an thrilling concession menu. Follow this strategy and you’ll never run of profitable ideas. Occasion Catering In Virginia Seaside, Va Just plan your wedding ceremony to suit the Bride and Groom and don’t worry about what the guests need. It is basically about what the Bride and Groom need. Normally it comes from those who really care about all of the issues that actually don’t matter an extreme quantity of to the general wedding visitor. SO mainly the guest don’t care about anything? I don’t know about anyone else, however I cant help it in relation to critiquing someone’s marriage ceremony. Ski lodges and mountainside resorts, such as The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, provide dramatic ridgeline backdrops for wedding celebrations yr spherical. They’re excellent for adventurous couples who take pleasure in snow sports activities or climbing. Extend your stay and transition seamlessly to your honeymoon after bidding your visitors farewell. Verdant fields, vaulted timber ceilings, wood-plank flooring perfect for dancing — rustic type is built right in if you guide a barn or farm venue. With fairy lights, mismatched classic china, and blanket-covered hay bales for seating vary, these venues have a homespun charm. With chandeliers, velvet accents, and white-washed furnishings, barn and farm venues offer sophistication with a country twist. I really have to agree with this when attending weddings these lists are accurate… However I’m attempting to remember the following pointers as I plan my own proper now… Hard to not get caught up on the little things on particulars. The venue was basic however the chapel was attractive, the visitor list small and the meals scrumptious, and the night was merely a celebration of our love and the beginning of our life collectively. I tell my family on an everyday basis my budget is $5k and everyone has the same response – understanding, proud but finally involved. Just listening to individuals have low price range – joyful weddings keeps me motivated on my goals! Enjoying a decadent meal with loved ones is a deal with for visitors, so make certain your food selections are crowd-pleasers. 3 Amazing Catering Ideas Your Guest Will Love Or, add a cart that serves an array of tequila-based cocktails. This puts the meals and drinks in a centralized location. It ensures your visitors won’t miss any moments during your event. We regularly work with many wonderful occasion venues and we're a preferred () Caterer at several of them as well. We have a big selection of hot or chilly lunches that can add a personal touch to your next lunch meeting. Ask your Event Coordinator about well-liked packages. How do they cope with complaints and issues which will come up during an event? When you propose your event with Beda’s Biergarten, we’ll work with you to create memories, not simply one other get-together. From start to finish, we are your companions in get together improvement and we take pleasure in seeing your vision come to life as a lot as you do. Your friends might be talking about your party long after it’s over. As the host or hostess of a party, you may have many responsibilities. One of crucial is socializing with the visitors and ensuring that everybody is having a good time and that nobody is being overlooked. Power breakfast of smoothies and acai bowls — Your visitors will surely get an vitality kick from this fun catering idea. Do you could have extra suggestions and recommendation to add about occasion catering? If it’s a multi-day event, host a dinner away from the venue. It’s usually cheaper to lease a restaurant and also you won’t pay for set up. Switch your occasion to the daytime so that you don’t really feel the need to have a bar. Duties And Duties Of A Caterer Glassdoor has millions of jobs plus salary data, firm critiques, and interview questions from people on the within making it easy to find a job that’s right for you. The most profitable job postings for a Caterer are on Indeed – however on average, employers submit to thirteen boards on the identical time, using tools like Workstream. Publishing to a quantity of job boards without delay helps you get your first applicant in 4 hours on average, which is shorter than the nationwide average for Caterer positions. Ability to manage in a various setting with a concentrate on client and customer companies. A Successful Catering Manager has the ability to wear many hats. They see to it that each one home services are carried out smoothly. The scope of their duties and obligations may involve the recruitment of staff members. They perform administrative tasks in an organization or institution such as a theater, concert corridor, or restaurant. It is their job to handle the preparation and day by day operations of those areas. We are on the lookout for a artistic and friendly caterer to be answerable for consulting with clients to create menus for consumer events and events. The caterer will want to adhere to contract necessities relating to dietary preferences, timelines, and budgets to help in delivering a easily run and introduced event. Once all of the the details have been agreed upon, the catering company will draft a contract for evaluation. A good catering company might be clear with their costs and clarify to the shoppers why they made the choices they did, for example hiring X number of servers or selecting one wine over one other. Is, you should also know that a good caterer ought to have the flexibility to adapt shortly, since both the client’s wants and event happenings are ever-changing. Throughout each event, your catering team plays a big role in the seamless execution of the experience since they are also the first clean-up and tidy crew. A good catering staff will decide up all dirty plates, unattended drinks, sweep up broken glass, and even deep clean the venue at the finish of the night time to help you get your deposit back. This dedication retains the occasion secure and looking flawless at all times.

#外燴

[happyselves]

Law of Attraction { Lando Norris x reader }

Disclamer : Swearing !!!

It was a busy weekend for the Mclaren team, they were about to get associated with a new partner. It was a huge contract and it was your first big deal. Mclaren just hired you, you were on probation before your contract will be real. You couldn’t mess up, you needed this job, needed to make your proof. You just got your law degree and it was your first job as a lawyer and you got lucky that you found yourself working as a Mclaren F1 Team new attorney.

This contract was important for both parties and it would go to the press as well. You were set to make your client sign during the next grand prix weekend and it was this weekend.

You spend hours and hours in your office reading the partner offer but something was bugging you and you couldn’t put your finger on it . You had to fly this afternoon to join all the team in Austria and you were starting to feel stress because you knew you had to put that deal on your boss table for him to sign, but that it wasn’t a good one and that we would basically get screw over by some clause or something, you knew it in your guts, you just need to find which pieces of puzzle you were missing. If the partner attorney thought he could easily screw you over like this because you were in your first year of work, he was wrong. You might be a newbie but one thing your mentor had taught you was to never show your weakness. That’s why you spend all night writing a new contract, word by word like the original, to find that little detail and you end up finding it. You were ehausted and tomorrow was the signing day, but now you were ready to show that we can’t fuck you over easily and that nobody should ever underestimated you. That was probably why mister Brown had give you the job, hearing things from is old attorney and your mentor was one thing, but proving how worth of the job you were is another and it will be soon be your moment of glory, but you couldn’t celebrate victory to soon, another thing you mentor had teach you.

Today was the day of the signing, you were stressed, you didn’t know how this would turn out. You were scared to have made a mistake and the lack of sleep was starting to rub on you. You had your plan in your mind, letting the other party think they had the upper hand and not tell them you had found the hair in the soup that will make your client profit and not lose all his money. It was important for you to not show your whole game to the adversary, but let him build his ego before you put that last card that will make you win the whole game in hand.

To make it official, Mclaren had to make the deal in their motorhome, Mister Brown wanted his two drivers to be there with him while signing as well because it was an important partnership for the whole team. It will be your first time seeing them since you entered the company, you were based in the factory back in Woking, but never had met any of them. You were quite intimidated, but the job was coming before anything else, no matter how many hours you spend in your free time to search about these two drivers, focusing on one in particular because he was around your age and something was telling you that the two of you were somewhat alike in certain ways of your life. You would lie to yourself if you didn’t find him attractive as well, but your personal preference when it comes to man can’t interfere with your work, it was your first and most important rule in your code of conduct you had set yourself on when you started studying law.

You arrive early in the paddock, hoping to visit around and discover this whole new world that you knew nothing about. You gotta visit the garage of your team, mechanics were happy to explain to you one thing or two, having a silent competition between them for the one that will have the testosterone level at his highness and find a way to make you fall for them. You already know their little trick going to law school with men, nothing could surprise you anymore. You knew you were pretty or had a little something more perhaps, but seeing gentlemans thinking the same was actually really flattering. After this pleasant little escapade, you find yourself walking the stairs of the Mclaren motorhome reading to meet everyone in the meeting room. You were the last one to enter the room, but you could give yourself the right to make an entrance after the thing you discovered during your sleepless night of searching dirt on the company represented by the douchebag sitting on the opposite side of the table. By his face you knew this man was an asshole and that it wasn’t his first rodeo and you were ready to put a stop into his little illegal business.

However when your eyes meet the drivers, especially the youngest one, your heart skips a bit, before you turn yourself and find your boss judging your rather late presence. You quickly apologize with a nod of the head before inviting them all to sit around the table and start the meeting.

Everything was going smoothly, everyone was happy, except you. You already hated what you were about to do,but you had to act fast otherwise it will be too late and the papers would be signed in front of your eyes.

“ Excuse me, I have one more question before we head toward the signature. “ You interrupted the conversation, looking at your boss, waiting for his approval to continue. After all you were only doing your job to assure everything is well covered, he couldn’t argue on that. The opposite camp didn’t have any objection for you to give a go to your wonder, thinking it would be innocent coming from a young lawyer that is still learning about the job. He made a gesture toward you, avoiding getting over this.

“ Well, mister Backfield, without due respect I was wondering why you were so eager to help our company, I did some research, you know. Usually you are investing in smaller businesses, which will lower profit. Why show the Mclaren F1 Team when it's new territory for you ? “

And action, you knew that every word that was about to leave this man’s mouth would only be total lies, but he didn’t know that. You had the upper hand by far and you won’t give him the satisfaction to put down this team and family.

And he tried hard to explain, save his case, defend himself and if you were naive you would have believed the guy but you weren't and could give a shit about his speech.

" Well I'm afraid I can't let this go on further. "

Everyone around the table was stunted, not knowing what to say. Mister Brown was reading to make you go before you heard him a piece of paper and that's when his face changed and he let you continue.

" You see Mister Backfield, you thought you could screw us over and try to go fish at a bigger price. Unfortunately for you I find out who you truly are. A piece of garbage buying company when they must need it, making them believe you will help them develop until somehow by some miracle they are forced to declare bankruptcy a couple years ago and then you buy them twice the price they truly worth before miraculously going back on the high to sell them three times the price. I don't know you but I call that stealing and corruption and I'm not ready to let my company get fucked over by an asshole like you so you can take you goddamn deal, walk away from here and never show your face around us again or I can talk to the press and trust me they are going to love it. One thing for sure is that if it happens I might win big and no negotiation put on the table will make me give you your money back. " You threw him middle fingers as you stood up and showed him the door.

Everyone was so shocked they couldn't speak, not because of the revelation in itself but how you had handled the whole situation like a true boss, with confidence and pride.

Someone in the room was even more impressed and couldn't even close his mouth, clearly admiring you. If you knew better you would say that right there Lando Norris was falling in love with you and if that wasn't boasting your ego then you didn't know what will.

Mr Brown was the first one to come to you as you all watched the security guys escorting Mr Backfield out of the paddock. He was about to say something but the rush of adrenaline was making you bold and you beat him to it.

" I am so sorry mister Brown I know I should have informed you before the meeting, but honestly I wasn't even sure before entering in that room that my information was right and I only received the confirmation a minute before being here, explaining why I was late. Truly I'm sorry if I put your entire team in a difficult position, I will try to find the best replacement for you I promise you. " You were almost out of breath as you finish you log apologize but realize soon enough that it didn't really matter here.

" I am impressed with you, first month on the job and you are already making yourself irreplaceable, you shouldn't have to apologize and I certainly should be thanking you and giving you a raise. Your mentor was right to gush about you. You are someone else." Proud could be seen in his eyes and his smile couldn't leave his face as he hugged you awkwardly saying thank you one more time before leaving and going back to the garage with Daniel who made sure to wink at you and make a big thumbs up at you before heading out.

However, someone hadn't left his seat, Lando. You thought he was just going to stay there and ignore you but as you were opening the door he smashed it back close behind you.

" I observed you all weekend, wondering why such a little fragile person was headlining such a big deal like this but it turns out I was wrong, never judge a book by it's cover. I'm learning it the hard way. "

You turn to face him ready to get back at him but his lips on you made you shut up. He pushes you against that door again, putting his hands on your lower back. At first you were confused as to why he was kissing but eventually you just stopped resisting and let yourself enjoy the moment. You had a thing for him and you were now sure that these weird eye contacts weren't that innocent. He had a thing for you too.

His kiss could make you reach the roof, you never felt something like that before, not that you had much experience, he knew exactly what would make you moan into his lips and lose balance so he could tighten the grip around you. You needed air but you would not allow it to yourself, you wanted more, you wanted him.

The adrenaline in your system was still pumping through your veins and you couldn't really think straight, your hands found the back of his head, playing with his loose locks of hair. You were holding on for dear life on this ride despite the fact you barely knew the guy.

Lando ends up breaking it up and you realise you were hooked around him as he put you down on your feet again.

" Just for the record, what you did before was so fucking hot that I would gladly be a criminal if that means you would be the one to put me in jail. "

He made you laugh, you were gasping for air, messy hair, swallow lips and redness on the cheeks, no speaking of your clothes being runned and unfolding and your shoes not even on your feet anymore. Everyone knows what they say about aan that can make a woman laugh and you wouldn't argue on that, not with him anyway.

Now that you had a taste of Lando, you wanted more, so much more and by the look on his eyes he was willing to explore the " more " area with you too.

" Okay that was unexpected, but the good kind, so here's what we're going to do. You will knock twice on my door at 23pm tonight, room 344, not a minute before and not a minute after, hope you know what punctuality is because you won't get a second chance. " You gathered all your things, trying to clean yourself to make it look like nothing had happened before you caught Lando's chin in your palm.

" Hope you will have a good defense, because tonight is going to be the trial of your life " You blow him a kiss before leaving his sight, a pride face drawing on you.

MASTERLIST

#lando norris fanfic #lando norris imagine #lando norris x reader #lando norris one shot #lando norris fanfiction #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 one shot #ormula 1 fanfiction #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 one shot #f1 fanfiction #formula one fanfic #formula one imagine #formula one x reader #formula one one shot #formula one fanfiction #happyself #happyselves

[esther-dot]

It's 2021 and people are still arguing that Sansa is not main character despite grrm mentioned that Sansa, Arya and bran are important characters. It didn't matter because according to original outline had big 5 not 6. So what if grrm had increased her role she still a secondary character. I sometimes wonder why they are so hell-bent on proving Sansa is secondary character. Sansabuts cried that we elevate her importance than required when we just wanted to recognise her importance in story.

In a fandom that celebrates the most minor of characters, the dedication people have to insisting a POV character isn’t important is very weird. Sansa could have no POVs and that wouldn’t lessen her political importance as the oldest surviving Stark, and she could have twice as many chapters and it wouldn’t make her more so. Martin didn’t leave it there though, and has been presenting the idea of power via relationships, beauty and kindness conquering brute force and cruelty, ideals vs the reality that would destroy them in her POVs as well. 

The Hound brags that he fears no man because he has a sword and Sansa breaks him with a song. 

A world away Jorah insists swords win battles while a wiser man says slick grass may win it or a lady’s favor. 

I’m pretty sure attempting to argue that the only people who matter are those who wield tangible power is ignoring something very dear to the author: Sansa and what she represents. 

He uses her chapters as the battle ground for female autonomy, Sansa’s refusal to be conquered (consummate her forced marriage) can be read as the parallel to the North’s fight for independence. As in, Sansa may not simply end up ruling the North, she is the North. Beaten for its victories, married off to secure it, and will finally, throw off her oppressors and gain independence.

Sure, we have a lot of protags, a handful of mains, some of whom will take a more central role in the battles to come, but you can’t read the story and not have a sense that the author wants to subvert the idea that the person with the biggest army wins, or that the one anointed as savior will actually save. Martin believes in certain ideals, and Sansa is not only the incarnation of what good people fight to protect, but possesses the necessary ideals herself to create peace in a broken world.

She doesn’t need to rule or have the most words written about her for us to understand that she’s going to matter. 

#dot chat #< tag to filter if y'all don't want to read these! #sansa stark #sansa as the north

[bluejayblueskies]

i cannot stop thinking about tma hell's kitchen au

(@f0xesand0wls thank you for enabling me)

- elias is the head chef, and peter and gertrude are his sous chefs. there are 20 total chefs in the competition: red team: jon, tim, georgie, daisy, naomi, agnes, gerry, jordan, helen/michael, oliver blue team: martin, sasha, melanie, basira, mike, jude, julia, jared, jane, manuela

- the black jackets are jon, martin, tim, sasha, georgie, and melanie, and the finalists are jon and martin. the winner is probably martin, but it doesn't really matter, because the actual plot of this is a jonmartin rivals-to-friends-to-lovers slowburn

- annabelle is the one who puts all of the film and audio together at the end. jmart watch the show once it's put on television and go 'what the fuck i didn't say any of that' because that's how reality tv is babey

- martin is one of those chefs who does poorly at the beginning but gets better and ends up in the final two. even though he's not on the same team as jon, jon is like 'this guy sucks' and maybe martin messes something up for jon early on and jon decides he does not like martin.

- jon is so nervous that he's going to screw up and get sent home early (he doesn't have formal culinary training and feels deeply underqualified) so he's very stiff and overly professional at the beginning. he relaxes over time as he becomes more confident in his own cooking and as he does well at challenges and dinner services.

- somewhere around chapter/episode 5, martin tells jon that he doesn't have any formal culinary training and that he said he did in order to get into the restaurant job he had prior to coming on the show. he's been cooking for his mother since he was ten though, and jon surprises himself by saying that that's a lot more impressive than studying technique in france or something. that's the catalyst of their transition from rivals into friends

- somewhere around episode 8, jude (who got switched to the red team a few episodes prior) gets eliminated, but on the dinner service before she does, there's an incident in the kitchen and jon's hand gets burnt pretty badly (not so badly that he has to go home, and he fights through the rest of dinner service because of course he does). he insists he doesn't have to go to the hospital for it, and elias reluctantly agrees and has the medic look at it. in the dorms later, martin helps jon unwrap it and put more burn cream on it and change the bandages and... yeah <3

- daisy and jon do not get along at first, and daisy actually tries to sabotage jon early in the season/fic. jon nearly gets eliminated because of it and he is not happy. then, a good few episodes later, the red team wins a challenge and they go on some sort of outdoorsy award and something happens and jon saves daisy from getting seriously injured. they're on better terms after that.

- when jon, tim, sasha, martin, melanie, and georgie get black jackets, elias (like every actual season of hell's kitchen) brings their family members/friends in for them to see. jon gets his grandmother, tim his brother, sasha her mother, georgie her best friend alex, and melanie some of her ghosthunt uk (the restaurant) friends. the only person martin has is his mother, and they tell him that she was too sick to come, but he can't shake the feeling that she just didn't want to. she didn't even agree to make him a video. it's a very awkward affair, and after the challenge (which tim wins) jon stands by martin while they're... idk, peeling 200 pounds of potatoes or something and they talk about it and they talk about a lot of their personal lives. for most of the competition, they're very aware that they're on camera at all times, but jon decides that being there for martin is more important than worrying about that.

- jon wins the next black jacket challenge and, when asked who he wants to invite on the reward, invites martin. they get to go wine tasting in a beautiful vinyard together and then they get some time to sit in the vinyard and just relax. martin probably realized he had a crush on jon around... episode/chapter 8? pretty soon after his admission that he doesn't have formal training. this episode is when jon realizes that he has a crush on martin, and the wine tasting suddenly seems very romantic and he gets very flustered. martin just thinks he's getting nervous since they're getting closer to the end of the competition.

- it's martin and jon in the finals. martin has tim, melanie, basira, and agnes on his bridage and jon has sasha, georgie, daisy, and gerry. in the middle of the entrees, something goes very wrong in martin's kitchen (not because of martin, because agnes burns like... ten racks of lamb or something ridiculous like that) and it looks like martin might not even be able to finish and he's freaking out just a little bit, so jon does something incredibly stupid and tells sasha to take charge of the kitchen for a moment and goes over into the other kitchen and pulls martin aside and takes martin's hands in his and is like 'it's okay, you're okay, everything's going to be okay. you're extremely talented and an amazing chef and an amazing person and i love you and this is not your fault and you're going to go back out there and get things back on track.'

jon goes back to his kitchen, elias yelling at him the whole way, and martin kicks agnes out and gets his kitchen back under control and they have no other issues that night. and martin's brain completely skips over the 'i love you' until the end of service, when the adrenaline wears off and they start to clear down and jon gives him this smile and suddenly martin remembers and he's like 'oh fuck'

but jon doesn't say anything about it so martin assumes he hadn't meant to say it, because of course he didn't, because they're competing for a job and $250,000 and he probably just heard jon wrong or something. jon probably said 'i love your cooking' and martin's just being stupid and letting his crush get away from him. so they both go back and sit in the dorms and wait for elias to call them up to his office. meanwhile, jon also remembers that he accidentally let i love you slip and he's having a bit of a crisis about it because on the one hand he meant it, but on the other hand he should not have said it then and martin hasn't said anything, so maybe he didn't even hear.

still, martin needs to thank jon. so he's eventually like 'thank you for what you did back there. i don't think i would have made it through service without what you said.' then, after a moment, because it is a competition: 'why did you help me? you could have let me drown and you'd have a secure win'

and jon just shrugs and says, 'because you needed help, and i... i care about you. i didn't want to see you fail. you are a good chef, martin, and i... i know you deserve this job just as much as me. you can go work at elias's restaurant and i can go back to mine and... and that'll be okay, if that's what happens'

and martin realizes suddenly that jon lives across the country from him normally and he doesn't know if he'll be able to see jon after this (chefs are busy people, after all, not a lot of time for family and such) and before he can really think about it he's like 'i wouldn't be okay with that' and then when jon just looks at him he clarifies, 'i... i don't want to just go back to living in [washington?], working all day and coming home to an empty apartment, and you'll go back to [new york?] and i... will i even see you again? because it's been so nice, being here, being with you, and i want to see you again, jon. every day.' he hesitates a moment, then decides fuck it, if i'm wrong, at least i'll only be embarrassed for a little while longer and says, 'what you said during service. did you mean it?'

and jon, tentatively, is like, 'that you're a good chef? yes, martin, i meant it, of course i did' and martin's like 'no, the... the other thing you said. right in the middle of it all. i- i don't know if i heard you right, and i just... i need to know if you meant it'

and it would be easy for jon to say no, to pretend like he didn't. but instead, he sits next to martin on the couch and takes martin's hand in his and nods and says, 'i... i've meant it for quite some time, i think' and he smiles at martin, a little bit shy, and martin's overwhelmed with affection and he reaches for jon's face, leans forward, and--

and the phone rings. unfortunately. because elias made a decision

- martin's door opens and jon's doesn't. jon thinks he should feel crushed, and he does feel disappointed, but mostly he's just so, so happy for martin. martin is stunned, and tim and sasha and georgie and melanie and basira and daisy are waiting for him below to congratulate him. martin's stuck in a round of thank yous when he turns and sees jon, who's run down the stairs to join the celebration and is looking at martin with those same eyes he would get when he was determined to win a challenge or finish a dish that needed two more minutes in one minute. and then jon just hugs martin, so tightly martin can barely breathe, and he mumbles into martin's neck, 'i would very much like to kiss you, but i very much do not want our first kiss to be on national television' and martin laughs and hugs jon tightly in return and mumbles back, 'i love you too, jon. just in case it wasn't obvious' and even though jon just lost, he's never been happier

- (they watch the show when it comes out together half a year later, in the little bit of free time they have around running their own respective restaurants, and they spend the whole time picking it apart

jon: okay i did not say that, where did they even get that from??

martin: god do i really look like that from behind...

jon: oh christ. martin, i- i think they thought i wanted to have sex with you. ugh, they've put on weird romantic music. red lighting. i hate this. i clearly did not--no, martin, don't give me that look, you know what i mean.

martin: wow, this makes us look like terrible chefs

and, at the end:

jon: christ, of course they were recording us in the dorms after the last service. this is a cooking competition, not a romance.

martin: eh, it was a bit of a romance.

jon: hush, i'm trying to watch. they're about to announce the winner. i don't have much hope for this chef martin; after all, he did burn that risotto back in episode 2--

martin, trying not to laugh while he glares at jon: oh my god jon let it go)

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin #i have so many aus already rolling around in my head begging to be written but 👀 #have another incredibly obscure one relevant solely to my own interests lol #my fic #my writing #basically lol this is... a lot

[itsclydebitches]

I’ve been seeing an uptick in “anti-RWDE” posts lately  — which is a phenomenon I’d like to comment on at a later date  — but for now one of them (quite unintentionally) made me realize something about the finale that I haven’t seen others discuss yet. 

So RWBYJNOR saves everyone, right? Let’s just put aside the animation for a moment  — which didn’t show any army members making it out  — as well as the forgotten side characters  — Maria, Pietro, Qrow’s group isn’t forgotten, but still left behind  — and take things on good faith here. We’ll read the finale through the thematic intention: RWBYJNOR saved “everyone” in the Kingdom of Atlas in Volume 8, deliberately contrasting them with Ironwood who was willing to sacrifice a chunk of the Kingdom in Volume 7. Forget all the messiness and just accept that regardless of the consequences  — like a destroyed Kingdom and a “dead” team  — the heroes are heroic because they didn’t give into a “lesser evil” thinking and managed to save everyone. 

Now, how was that possible? 

Let’s go back to the beginning of the seventh episode of Volume 8, “War.” Salem’s grimm have just burrowed through Atlas’ defenses and taken them out. The shields are gone. She flies Monstra into the fields and releases an army of darkness that immediately heads for the city. What’s the very first thing Ironwood does? 

Soldier: Yes, sir?

Ironwood: I am evacuating all citizens to the subway. Prepare Manta Squad Omega, and dispatch to every part of Atlas.

Soldier: But sir-

Ironwood: Now!

He evacuates the people, with “the people” meaning all the Atlesians and however many Mantle folk got to the city prior to Salem’s arrival. When this episode aired I mentioned being confused as to why the soldier was so hesitant. Why wouldn’t you want the people to get to safety when a grimm army is heading their way? Fans against Ironwood took the soldier’s side, claiming that Mountain Glenn proved that any underground evacuation is a death sentence and thus he obviously doesn’t really care about the peoples’ safety. Fans in support of/neutral towards Ironwood pointed out that this is a pretty big leap, no one is coming up with a better idea for what he should do instead, and that within these circumstances it reads like the soldiers is illogically against this idea simply because everyone is against Ironwood now. The show wants characters criticizing his decisions and making him out to look like a crazed dictator... even during moments when it doesn’t make any sense to be upset with him. Shooting the councilman yes, trying to keep the people safe no. Basically, this small exchange was a mess, but the rest of the volume proved that this was a sound call. The subway never collapsed and no grimm ever made it to that enclosed space to pick the civilians off like fish in an underground barrel. 

So, why didn’t that happen? Well, one answer is because Oscar and Ozpin destroyed the whale. But how did they have time to do that? Without the people dying while they were being tortured, talking to Hazel, escaping with Emerald, fighting Salem, etc.? A lot happened between Salem starting her attack and Oscar ending it, so why wasn’t 2/3rds of the Kingdom’s population decimated during that time? 

Because Ironwood sent his army out to keep the grimm occupied. 

Outside of Ironwood’s cartoon villain actions  — random murders and bomb threats  — which get the most attention due to how deliberately, over-the-top horrific they are, these are the two actions that get the most negative attention from both the story and the fanbase. The soldier seems horrified by the order to evacuate. Marrow is devastated that young adults are fighting in this battle. The fandom is disgusted by both aspects of Ironwood’s character: giving orders that, as general, he expects to be obeyed and having an army that follows those orders. Putting side that cartoon villainy, this is what supposedly makes Ironwood the antagonist here. These are the qualities that have existed since Volume 2, resulting in a “he was always a bad guy” interpretation. These are the qualities that have resulted in anyone who likes his character being labeled as a “bootlicker.” We know these qualities make the fandom hate him because otherwise, more people would be confused as to why a presumably heroic character randomly shot Oscar. Orders, armies, and general military associations are at the heart of Ironwood’s presumed villainy. 

So let’s remove them. 

Ironwood has no evil army. Ironwood gives no evil orders. Power and control lies solely in the hands of our non-military heroes. Everything is better! 

...well, no. Because we saw in Volume 8 precisely the choices our heroes made when the attack started: half of them focused on saving a single individual (Oscar) and the other half kept to the sidelines. At no point did our RWB group act after sending the message and prior to securing the Staff. AKA, during the attack of Salem’s army. We got a very explicit moment in which Ruby looked out the window at the battle going on and turned away from it, continuing to discuss ethics instead of joining the fight. The people of Atlas (which, again, includes many Mantle citizens) had no one but Ironwood and his army because a third of the group was trying to rescue Oscar (they never even had a plan to blow up Monstra — that was also Ironwood), a third of the group was up in Amity, and a third was sitting in the mansion. They did nothing to help the people of Atlas being attacked by grimm. 

Thus, if you remove Ironwood’s actions, everything goes to hell. There is no longer an order to evacuate to the subway. Maybe some people go there anyway. Most probably don’t. They run in a panic wherever they can. Hide wherever they can. Go back home for some semblance of safety. 

There’s no longer an army. Either it doesn’t exist because we’ve determined it’s simplistically bad despite RWBY’s grimm-specific context, or Ironwood likewise never gives the order to protect Atlas’ border. Salem’s army moves unimpeded through the city, killing countless people as it goes. How do we know? Because they’re civilians who can’t defend themselves and there’s literally no one else to help. Remember: Ironwood is not giving orders, there is no army, RWB is in the mansion, YJOR is in the whale, Penny is out of commission, the Happy Huntresses are in Mantle. Those in Atlas are entirely alone. In time, Oscar destroys the whale, but by then it’s too late. There’s no concrete way to theorize how many have died, but it’s inevitably a lot. Everyone else is scatted across the city, trying to survive. 

So this scene 

no longer exists. 

When the group gets the Staff and creates portals for “everyone” to escape through, Mantle is ready to go. They’ve gotten everyone into the crater and can funnel them straight to Vacuo. Atlas, however, is in chaos. When Jaune enters the subway there’s only a few people there, many of which may be wounded or dying. He’s right back where he started, in Mantle at the beginning of Volume 8: needing to go door-to-door to find where people have hidden themselves, trying to convince them all to follow him (remember Oscar commenting to Ozpin about how difficult that was?). Except now, he and Nora are the only ones trying to get people to safey, the city is filled with far more grimm, a significant amount of time has passed for people to be killed or injured (making evacuating them even harder, both due to injuries and an unwillingness to leave hurt/dead/missing loved ones behind), he’s trying to convince these panicking people to go through magic portals, not just walk to a crater, and he’s aware that there’s a very short time limit for this task. 

Jaune returns in a panic of his own, explaining how difficult it will be to get that 2/3rds of the Kingdom to Vacuo. How many are already dead. Barricaded. Missing. Closeup on Ruby looking horrified, but then she rallies. They can do it. Atlas is falling, but residual dust gives them just enough time to find, calm, and evacuate those people. They’re heroes after all. Beating the odds is what they do. 

Then Cinder attacks. 

Suddenly, the group can’t evacuate people because they’re trying to keep themselves safe from her. Maybe Cinder gets the powers because Jaune was off looking for civilians, leaving Penny without a mercy kill. Maybe Nora dies because she’s still trying to help people on the city that plows into the one below. Regardless of how details might change, they’re not getting a spread out, decimated population through those portals before Cinder changes the wish and makes them disappear.  

In this version, the story starts with Ironwood wanting to sacrifice 1/3rd of the population to save 2/3rds and the future of the war. It ends with 2/3rds of the population dying instead. 

This is what I mean when I say the majority of the fandom wants to view a very complex situation through a ridiculously simple lens. The fandom wants to denounce every bit of RWBY’s fictionalized military, the context issues of that aside. The story wants to paint RWBYJNOR as the only heroes, in part because they succeeded in saving everyone (“everyone”) in the Kingdom when Ironwood gave up. 

But they only managed to save everyone because of Ironwood. Because he kept fighting for his people to the bitter end. This is why, though his horrific actions obviously exist in the story, they make no sense (he’ll threaten to kill his people so he can... save his people?) and mess up what little is working in the finale. The story wants us to celebrate the group for evacuating Mantle and Atlas, but the Atlas evacuation would not have happened if not for Ironwood’s actions  — the actions that are ignored in favor of having Winter blame him for everything and then killing him off. The rescue of “everyone” was very much a joint effort. RWBYJNOR’s win is not actually a contrast to Ironwood’s intended sacrifice, for the simple reason that their win depended entirely on Ironwood’s actions. 

If we’re going to celebrate the group getting everyone to safety, we should probably also celebrate the guy who got them all to an easy evacuation point and ensured they weren’t eaten before then. Does that mean Ironwood never did anything wrong? Of course not. As established, the story went out of its way to make him into a villain. Rather, it means that other parts of the story failed to maintain that black and white view, complicating the heroism of RWBYJNOR in the process. If we want Ironwood to be incapable of heroic action, always the bad guy, nothing good to say about him whatsoever... then we likewise need to accept that the group is rather unheroic in many regards too. That, on their own, they would have failed to save everyone, just as Ironwood’s plan failed to save everyone at the end of Volume 7. Because they chose their friend over a kingdom. Because they sat around in a mansion. Because by the time they took action again and tried to escape, without Ironwood’s help they would have lost a larger majority than they originally insisted be saved. 

#rwby #rwde #mymetas

[retorioworld]

Taylor Swift is Leading the Candidate Experience Revolution (Really)

An applicant may not be a pop star, but word travels quickly in this digital age. Twitter. Glassdoor. Reddit. LinkedIn. Word on the street about a poor interview experience and a company could be trending hashtag.

Taylor Swift at the American Music Awards (AMA) may be now the new record holder for most wins (29) at the awards ceremony (surpassing Michael Jackson’s 24), but she’s become a defacto candidate experience coordinator of sorts. 

Swift’s kerfuffle with music mogul Scooter Braun backlights her current war with her former music label, Big Machine: she’s not legally allowed to redo her old songs. In an unprecedented move, Swift took to social media, notifying her fans of the legal stand-still and its effect on upcoming projects. Her experience in the music industry showcases how serious an issue it is that big industries continue to fail to prioritize candidates and their overall interaction with a company.

Swift’s publicized legal battle drew the attention from all different areas, including politicians, like Senator Elizabeth Warren. The saying, “any publicity is good publicity” may be popular, but also certain publicity could be the death knell of companies. Remember viewing the flight passenger that got dragged off a United Airlines flight? The airline's stock price fell after the and CEO Oscar Munoz was forced to issue two public apologies.

Companies must fundamentally understand this modern phenomena: the customer is the candidate.

As much as companies believe they prioritize customer service, they are failing to miss the biggest blindside: the people they hire. Ask Richard Branson’s Virgin Media. They calculated they lost more than $5 million in revenue due to poor candidate experience. Individuals coming in for an interview were met with inconsiderate interviewers, unclear interview procedures, and more. In turn, a considerable amount of applicants, 6%, canceled their Virgin Media subscriptions. Disgruntled applicants and former employees (like Swift) are looking for a candidate experience coordinator---a person or a system that respects the time and work it takes to apply to a position, work at record label, or wait years to re-record some tunes.

What can companies do now?

Create a transparent interview process

We understand what abuse of power is. It’s when a person of authority uses their position to prey on or demean those in less-powerful positions. Could it also not be termed to be an “abuse” when applicants are kept in the dark about the whole recruiting and hiring process? In each stage of the pipeline, individuals should be told in advance what the hiring manager is looking, what the role’s expectations are, and how the entire interview process shall proceed. Some HR departments fail to meet this standard, withholding valuable information from an applicant. Candidates may prepare for an interview by focusing on the wrong area; or they may be unaware of the person or department they’ll be working for.

Companies need to create a consistently transparent and easy recruiting process. Enhance and streamline HR functions like pre-screening assessment, mobile-friendly application process, and a “roadmap” of action items and hiring decision timelines. Edelman found that 1 in 3 employees don’t actually trust their employer. If a first interaction with an employer is confusing or humiliating, the relationship suffers, even if the employee signs on the bottom line. Hiring managers must build transparency into their employee experiences, which is the gateway to a trusting relationship.

Invite the digital experience

Taylor Swift swung a mean punch by taking her Scooter Braun feud to Instagram. Not only did that provide a rare insider peek into the world of music celebrity, it highlighted how fundamental that an easy, digital experience is for applicants. Candidates want convenience, ease, and piece of mind. Think of LinkedIn’s Easy Apply feature. Thousands of job postings are listed daily on the global networking site. Companies, from big corporations to one-person agencies, are hunting for the most qualified talent. With LinkedIn, applicants can upload their resume (CV), save it, and then hit “Easy Apply” to certain job listings. With only a few clicks, a company tore down a huge barrier in creating a broad talent funnel. Technology could be considered the back office candidate experience coordinator: it could exponentially improve the lives of both hiring managers and candidates.

Integrate AI-powered chatbots to quickly answer candidate's common questions, like IBM does. Or make sure that interviews can be held via a video phone call. Or better, use a convenient tool like Retorio to have candidates record short video clips of their responses to interview questions, anywhere and at anytime. Pre-employment assessment does not have to be dull or reminiscent of a 1970s office tool. It can be convenient, intuitive, and streamline the entire interaction.

Keep it human

Most people just want to speak to a human. The ease of smart phones, the beauty of near-instant delivery services (hey Instacart!), and how we can sit in our pajamas to watch the latest blockbuster is all pretty useful. However when we’re making a life change or a key career move, like deciding whether to work at a company, we crave human interaction. We need the assurance that someone is invested in their work to find the best fit and because of that, we’ll receive humane and thoughtful treatment.

Taylor Swift at the AMAs revealed her need for fan support and how she wants to be treated fairly. Companies should take note of building trust with personable interaction. It could be training the assistant to greet applicants with warmth when they arrive for their in-person interviews. At Boston Consulting Group, candidates receive a little note telling them a bit about the person sitting across the table from them. All these little steps to add in the “human touch” means plenty to a candidate.

Companies are awaking how key a positive full-cycle is for their bottom-line. Many are creating a new position, that of a candidate experience coordinator. This person is in charge of creating and managing the entire interaction and operations in the candidate search funnel. They strategize with marketing to figure out how to reach candidates via social media, email, or other venues. They look to emanate personalization and authenticity to candidates with each and every touchpoint, even the undesired rejection email. A candidate experience coordinator can be a linchpin in securing the “good feeling” a candidate has about a company. Even if candidates are not offered a job, they’ll be able to walk away feeling valued and respected. This kind of trust can pay dividends in the future.

If trust is not delivered...well, ask Taylor Swift.

Retorio is a video-based behavioral assessment powered by AI. It uses facial expression, language, gesture, and voice to create a Big 5 Personality profile. Companies like BMW and Lufthansa use Retorio.

LEARN WHAT MAKES ELON MUSK, ELON MUSK?

Popular Posts You May Like:

Which Psychological Defenses Do You Bring to Work?

Use These 5 Psychology Tricks for Your Next Video Interview

Taylor Swift Highlights a BAD (Blood) Candidate Experience

#interviewtips #psychology #taylorswift #candidate #hiring #tswifttext #tswiftcreatorsnet #tswift #interview #AI #AIinrecruiting

[greenhappyseed]

what did think of death arm and your reaction to him quitting his job

A FAREWELL TO DEATH ARMS!!!

(No, I don’t immediately see any thematic or literary correlation between Horikoshi and Hemingway aside from the rain, but the wordplay amuses me.)

Real answer: I think Death Arms is supposed to represent an average pro hero who sees “hero” as his job rather than a calling. He’s not one of the top ranking celebrity-heroes, and he’s not a hot new up-and-comer. He’s an average working hero. Death Arms is introduced on the third page of Chapter 1, helping move civilians to safety including a gawking, rubbernecking Midoriya. Death Arms is basically a crossing guard in a crop top, illustrating the level of hero saturation in BNHA society. (In the war arc, he’s the one who arrests Slidin Go, which is probably the least dangerous place a pro could have been that day, although we later learn he led the charge to arrest all spy heroes.)

When shit actually goes down in Chapter 1 and Bakugo is attacked, Death Arms is impotent. “If only I had the power to blow [the villain] away!” he yells with a wide-eyed snarl, as if his…arms…can’t do anything to help. When Midoriya dashes towards the villain, Death Arms is playing crossing guard again, holding the crowd back. His reaction to Midoriya is the polar opposite of All Might — he’s not inspired, he’s not calling himself pathetic for being a bystander. He calls Midoriya a fool, asks if he has a death wish, and says he’ll die for “nothing.” (I don’t think he means Bakugo’s life is worthless; rather that Midoriya can’t make a save where the “pros” failed.) After All Might steps in, Death Arms is the hero that berates and lectures Midoriya for his reckless actions.

During the Sports Festival, Death Arms is forced to work security for the event so he’s watching on big screens at the stadium. He’s the first reaction shot we see after Midoriya wins the obstacle course (placed above Inko!). He’s stunned, remembering the kid from a year ago. A few chapters later, he smokes in the break room and talks with Mt Lady about the harsh reality of pro hero work. No, not the All Might “put your life on the line” reality, but the “how do I get paid enough to eat” reality. He calls the Festival a simulation of the “dog-eat-dog society of heroes” the students will soon be a part of, and says if your agency can’t cut it, then you can’t put food on the table. “Sometimes we gotta drag others down to get a piece of the action.”

This is the rot of hero society. It’s “heroes” unwilling to lend a helping hand because they’re not paid enough, and who won’t team up because it’s against their financial interest (is that part of the reason for all the navel-gazing during the slime villain attack? That the heroes would have had to work together and then split the payment?) Mt Lady and Kamui Woods argue the counterpoint, that sometimes team ups are necessary so students need to have those skills; but they are ranked and far more popular — and presumably much wealthier — than Death Arms.

But also, Death Arms shows us most heroes are not wealthy and well-resourced like the main cast we know and love. If heroes can’t help each other put food on the table, how can they help people like Tenko, Toya, Keigo, and Himiko??? Given his history of not overextending himself and his references to financial struggles, I’m not surprised that Death Arms quit the hero gig. He was in it for the adulation and public support; once that dried up he didn’t have a reason to keep going because hero work wasn’t his passion or his inspiration, and the money wasn’t good enough to balance out the stress. It’s also an interesting counter to how All Might tried so hard to inspire and light the way for other heroes; that is, career inspiration and “following your dreams” are luxuries when you’re worried about where your next meal comes from.

————————

(I tried putting together some images but I think they’re getting eaten and showing up in low quality on Tumblr?? Sigh. I tried!!!)

#mha #my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero academia #death arms

[justlookingvm]

Tessa Virtue’s leap from Figure Skating Olympic Champion to Executive MBA | Kneading Dough Canada

https://youtu.be/JAAkEDRFJ1A

Host: Vinay Virmani

T: If you’re going to build something, you need options in your life. I’ll say this especially as females, it’s important to be independent. To feel like you can be self-reliant and to take care of yourself.

[Intro presented by Tangerine]

V: Tessa, welcome to Kneading Dough Canada.

T: Thank you so much for having me.

V: It’s a pleasure. Kneading Dough Canada is a financial empowerment platform as you know, where we talk money, we talk mindset, we talk about financial lessons that you’ve learned along the way to hopefully inspire the next generation.

T: Well I’m so grateful to be on, I really appreciate it. I think it’s always refreshing to hopefully lend that female lens but also maybe that perspective from the amateur sport world too.

V: Yeah, you know Tessa you’ve accomplished so much, both in your personal and in your professional life. As an athlete you have achieved so many incredible honours, you’ve represented us, this country of Canada at the highest of international levels, but what I’m really excited about is you’re about to add another accomplishment in the form of three very special letters, MBA behind your name. Talk to me about that decision.

T: It’s been you know lingering in my mind for a long time. Education was always a priority in my household growing up in my family, and I thought about law school for quite some time and then I retired at 28 or 29 and thought maybe that’s too long (giggle) and realized also I wanted to flex a bit of a creative muscle. So this MBA program has been a dream of mine for quite some time. I want to be a student again in every sense of the word and I’m eager to learn the ins and outs of the business realm and that corporate sphere that I’ve had a unique perspective of, you know for 10 15 years, but if I’m going to take on a new role whatever that may be then I really want to feel like I’ve adopted that rookie mindset once again, and earned my stripes, I’ve gotten the credibility to to deserve a place there.

V: I want to take it to the world of figure skating though, because the world of figure skating is so glamorous as a sport. You know

T: I wasn’t sure where that sentence was going to land. It could have gone so many directions.

V: I I’m so like fascinated by the world of figure skating because the glamour, the imagination, the costumes, the drama, the whole production value. It looks so beautiful and elegant, but behind it there’s also rigorous routine, training and it’s not cheap.

T: Uh huh

V: So growing up, dd you have those conversations with your family and did you understand the investment that it was taking to sort of put you through the highest levels of figure skating.

T: The 2 things that my parents were always wiling to invest in or prioritize were education and sport. And it was important to them that we were exposed to as much as we could be. I’m the youngest of four. You know I’m of two minds because on one hand I do believe they tried to shield me from the burden of that sacrifice, that they made for all kids and for you know all of these adventures. But I was also keenly aware of it. I knew the the toll and I knew the cost and um you know I felt that responsibility…

V: Was there anything that you remember early on where there was an incident or a moment where you were like, I recognize like you talked about the toll.

T: My parents were so conscious to ensure that I wasn’t carrying that weight, and yet I moved away from home  when I was 13 and I was kind of budgeting at that age for groceries and 7-eleven runs (laughs), whatever it is that a 13 year old needs. Taking taxis everywhere and I made a decision when I was 15 um to be able to do it on my own. My mom was always quick to say you know you have to look after yourself and you always have to make your own way and she was all about sort of creating that sense of security and freedom, so that I had options.

To be honest I had a tumultuous relationship with my father when I was a teen and I think it was just a decision, at that point. I didn’t feel right.

V: Yeah

T: I didn’t feel right accepting that kind of support anymore um and maybe it was a bit of pride you know, not wanting to

V: You don’t want to be dependent on anybody.

T: Totally. Yeah, and that’s not to say that I’m not aware of the privilege that I had growing up to have those opportunities. It was just a real marker of OK, if this is the path I’m choosing, um and I really need to make sure that I can I can do it on my own or in a way that really isn’t such a burden.

V: You know talking to you today has reinforced independence. You know being independent, not being dependent and and just being self-sufficient. And how gratifying that is, you know I think a lot of people, especially as you said, I hope a lot of young women watch this show and and really listen to your advice. And the fact that you took that decision at such an early age.

T: You know it’s interesting I found old journals not too long ago, and there was a page in one and I don’t know, judging by my handwriting I might have been 12? 11 or 12? And I had written my goals and that were, you know the to win the Olympics, be on Oprah, which I’ll settle for uninterrupted and Kneading Dough, uh buy a cottage, like buy a family cottage

V: Right

T: And at 12 that was on my mind and the feeling of walking into this cottage that my mom and I were able to dream of and then buy together, is so visceral and it’s it’s so much about, like I think back to being young and maybe not having, especially for her like that sense of security and and just really feeling like that can be a safe place now. Um so again it’s more of the representation of that.

V: I’ve heard you say something that has really resonated with me always because it’s something that I believe in. That the highs are so much better when you’ve experienced the lows. And obviously Scott Moir and yourself accomplished so many great things together. Something that I always try to tell the younger generation is, sometimes you have to just sit back celebrate your failures.

T: Well we learned to embrace it by making it part of our process, in that, not only did we anticipate failure and expect it and embrace it, well, we practiced it. So we learned to fall on demand, get back up, refocus, and

V: OK

T: be back into our program still trying to amalgamate as many points as possible.

V: You know I remember once um I must have been in grade school and I and I failed a few subjects. I was never a good student.

T: OK

V: And you know we didn’t have a lot of money at the time and I remember my my dad, I was really afraid to tell him that you know I’ve failed these courses and blah blah blah, but he said to the family, he said, alright everybody get ready we’re going for dinner. And we went to this restaurant that was only saved for like birthdays or anniversaries. And so we get there and he’s ordering all these great things on the menu and I’m like “dad, I don’t think you heard me like I failed, like I failed and here you are taking it t the restaurant.” And I remember he looked at me and he said “You know I want you to celebrate this failure. I want you to take it in because if you’re winning all the time, you’re not going to learn anything.”

T: Wow, and obviously that stayed with you

V: Oh yeah, you’re always going to learn so much more from the losses.

This next set of questions is called the two cents round, so you can’t overthink these things.

Tessa, we all know about your discipline but what do you splurge on?

T: Clothes

V: Clothes, OK, all right. What part of your budget are you working on lowering?

T: Clothes (big laugh). Actually not really because I will say, it’s more what it represents like part of that is like my I love it and it’s become also intertwined with my career and my brand if you will. Um

V: Its an investment in yourself.

T: I think so, that’s how I twist it

V: So, what is us the best financial decision you’ve made so far?

T: Hire the right people

V: Building the right team around you.

T: Yeah absolutely.

V: Describe your financial persona in just one word.

T: I want to say careful?

V: Careful.

T: Careful in that I’m strategic

V: I like that, OK

T: But I’m willing to have some fun.

V: OK, all right. Tessa if you could run any business, what would it be?

T:  My own.

V: Your own. OK. All right I’m not going to push you more. [Tessa laughs]. They say patience is a virtue, how long did your first paycheck last?

T: I mean I spent my whole career basically operating at a deficit, so everything went back into training. I worked towards certain things and the you know I was really fortunate to get some funding and bursary grants, and then eventually sponsors and um was able to build this little nest egg, but mostly  it went right back into training.

V: Tessa, this year we’ve been having such important and meaningful conversations about women in sport. And you know of course there’s such a long way to go for those conversations really to achieve equality, but as somebody who’s such a big advocate for women’s empowerment in sport, how do you feel that you want to lend your voice to those conversations?

T: I think, currently the biggest impact I feel I can have is really connecting with those young female athletes at that precipice of maybe dropping out um for all the heart breaking reasons that we’re learning about through research. Whether that is you know body image, or lack of self-confidence, lack of self-worth, it’s just not good enough. Like the access to resources, there are opportunities, um I think those conversations are really important and that’s where I’ve been feeling most fulfilled, when I’m able to connect with those athletes and you know I’ve been able to benefit from all of the lessons and the opportunities that sport has lended it uh to my life. And I just so want that for other female athletes. And you know we’re seeing that there are more mentors, more representation, more access to viewing these formidable female athletes, and I hope that resonates.

V: Tessa, we’ve uh had the opportunity to work on a few branded campaigns together. There’s this Tessa grace, and there’s this element of everything being held to a certain standard. In everything that you do, especially things that are public facing. Talk to me a bit about that.

T: I hate the word brand but I’m going to say it, my brand has been

V: I mean you definitely have a very strong brand

T: Well it’s been built on the very foundation of me and my personality and if those values aren’t upheld in every sense of you know the word, then I’m I’m not useful to anyone. Then I’m then no brand would want to hire me, um because it if it gets diluted, then I then I just think um it’s losing the very essence of what resonates with people. And I’m really careful about that like I only partner and pair with brands that I would authentically stand behind and feel really good about promoting.  

V: I love that

T: And I’m conscious of where I lend my voice and my likeness, a very clear mission statement, and you know I love to be hands on but that’s where like the creative fulfilment comes in

V: Right

T: And honestly that’s where the most successful engagement also comes. If I’m involved and it’s a collaborative process, um it’s much more successful for the brand too.

V: You know, over this past year, there’s been such a strong connection to mental health and financial wellness. Many Canadians have a very high debt to income ratio, which can be very stressful. For you, how do you protect not only your mental health, but when it comes to financial wellness. How do you really protect your sanity?

T: As an amateur athlete I grappled with that um day after day. I think it’s important to find purpose in saving and planning. So, you know my mom started those conversations with me when I was young but that was all to sort of plant the seed of like you need to plan for this. And if you’re going to build something you need options in your life. For me you know it’s helped having a corporation for example, because a lot of my money is tied up there and it it’s great um but, it’s also made me very careful and strategic in how I spend it.

V: What is your one big piece of financial advice to all young women out there?

T: Surround yourself with the right people and set yourself up for independence.

V: I love that. Financial freedom.

T: Financial freedom.

#Tessa Interview: Kneading Dough

[caiminnent]

For the kissing prompts : 12 "Sneaking away to a hidden corner to share a secretive kiss." + kylux.

(Not sure if you're saving them for later or actually want requests? So no pressure!)

Hey, there! I am taking requests, although my brain latched onto this prompt so hard the moment I saw it in my inbox that I couldn't not write it anyway. Hope you enjoy it!

-------------------

The celebrations last five days.

It’s the longest week of Kylo’s life.

He understands the need for extravagance. As the Supreme Leader and the Grand Marshal, they represent the all-powerful and resourceful seat of the First Order. With the way congratulatory notes—both digital and physical—rained upon them after the announcement, each trying to secure an invitation to the ceremony, they couldn’t book anything short of a two-mooned planet to accommodate their hundred-page guest list, allocating the time to personally greet and entertain every individual.

Why the kriff that means he can’t be alone with his husband for five minutes on their own wedding, he doesn’t understand.

Hells, he doesn’t even know where Hux is. Since they got pulled in different directions earlier, he’s only caught glances of Hux here and there—schmoozing with dignitaries from systems under their rule, laughing with sympathizers they’re trying to sweet talk into a formal alliance, making sure the holocams get his good side.

The official schedule puts Hux in the Gold Coast Hall, which is bantha shit; Kylo’s just been there and didn’t see so much as a flash of Hux’s black-gold uniform. The Wanderlust has been off limits since that incident with the Chiss aristocrat. That leaves seven rooms Hux could be in—rooms that are connected to the next one with long, narrow glass walkways that show off the rust-brown ocean under their feet, full of guests Kylo would rather cut off his left arm than interact with a second longer—

Cloaking his presence with the Force, he flees from the building.

The gardens are as artificially lush as the rest of this cursed planet. He follows the glass pathway until he stumbles upon a free bench surrounded by garren trees, where the pressure of minds against his isn’t as persistent and the deep notes of the orchestra blends into the background noise.

Part of him feels like he’s failing Hux by hiding out here. They’re equals in responsibility as much as power. Kylo should be by Hux’s side, keeping the conversation flowing when Hux gets too tired for it, redirecting the attention onto himself before Hux gets overwhelmed. Is Hux disappointed with him? Does he regret marrying a lousy excuse of a co-ruler even before the ceremony is through?

If he is, Kylo wouldn’t blame him for it.

Someone clears their throat.

He jerks his head up with a crack, his hand flying to the empty lightsaber holster at his waist. Against the backdrop of streetlamps lining the pathway, Hux is a vision. His golden laurel and the lines of his uniform shine under the low glow; the rest of his outfit eats up the light like a black hole. His steps are quiet on the soft soil as he approaches the bench, the hem of his cape dancing by his ankles.

How did Kylo get lucky enough to call him his husband?

“Will you remove the—” Hux gestures vaguely in Kylo’s direction. “—the Force around you? I’d like to be able to look at you directly.”

Ah. Kylo dispels the cloak with a wave. Even though it’s not a physical barrier, a cool breeze surrounds him immediately, untucking a few strands from his loosened bun.

Brushing his hair out of his eyes, “I needed some air,” Kylo explains—a weak excuse even to his own ears. “I was about to go back in.”

Hux raises a brow in amusement, sitting primly on the bench. “Were you?” he asks, crossing his ankles. “Shame, I was looking forward to having a few moments alone with you.”

Kylo’s heart expands painfully in his chest. Hux smiles like he’s content to waste his time doing nothing with Kylo, seated with his thigh and shoulder pressed against Kylo’s on a bench for five. Kylo throws an arm over the backrest and Hux burrows into his side, unconcerned with rumpling their uniforms.

In their periphery, the venue towers over the tallest trees, bright like it’s trying to be seen from the space.

“Won’t they come looking for us?” Kylo can’t help asking. This feeling of eyes on his back, of being hunted down, has followed him since they stepped foot onto this planet. He isn’t sure that he’ll be able to shake it off even after they leave.

“Not soon. I’ve got nine lieutenants stationed in every room, telling people I’m somewhere else when asked. By the time somebody realizes I’m nowhere, the night will be over.”

Hux, scheming to get away from work? Narrowing his eyes, Kylo turns to look Hux in the face, feigning disapproval. “Are you playing hooky, Grand Marshal?”

Hux shrugs his free shoulder, a glint in his eyes. “We are playing hooky, Supreme Leader,” he corrects Kylo, sliding a hand over Kylo’s chest, shoulder, nape before tangling his fingers in Kylo’s hair. Kylo is leaning closer even before Hux pulls him in, his heartbeat quickening. “And we’re winning.”

Hux’s lips carry the plum wine they serve in the Starset Lounge, a syrupy aftertaste that Kylo chases blindly. So that’s where he’s been, crosses Kylo’s mind briefly before Hux’s fingers tighten and Kylo couldn’t kriffing care less anymore.

Inside, the ceremony goes on, thousands of souls celebrating in their name.

#kylux #Kylo Ren #Armitage Hux #Star Wars #finished fics #Cai does words #the sheer amount of details I wasn't able to write in #I've got so many feelings about evil space husbands being cute and soft for each other

[oakensherwood]

Okay, let’s talk about Maid Marian. Let’s really talk about Marian. So often I see her character disparaged as a damsel in distress without agency of her own, but that is honestly so far from the truth. In fact, Maid Marian is considered to be one of the earliest examples of the “strong, independent woman” character archetype. Not only is it untrue to call her a damsel in distress, it’s also unfair.

As with many stories, Robin Hood is a story filled with men. I love it, but there’s no denying it’s a story filled with men. As the only prominent female character in a story that has been retold for close to 1000 years, centuries of ideas about femininity have been funneled into this singular character. Among the array of male characters, we see many ways to be masculine: smart, witty, artistic, strong, brave, charitable, loyal, both fighters and lovers. All of the characters have been adapted through the years, but Marian can still be distinguished as the only canonically present female character in the main cast.

Other women we traditionally see include Alan’s bride, the Prioress of Kirklees Abbey who murders Robin, Marian’s serving woman, and a few queens. Various contemporary novels, films, and TV representations have added women to the cast to even it out, but Marian is still the only primary female cast member. As such, centuries of what it can mean to be a woman have been reflected through her.

Let’s take a look at what exactly that has looked like through the years.

One of the things I love best about Robin Hood as a legend is that it is constantly evolving and changing for the needs of the audience. Across centuries and decades it has been changed to suit the ideas of the day. Even the oldest extant documentation of Robin Hood is not considered the “original version” because there is no way of really knowing when or how these stories started, or how long it took for them to be written down. 

So, just as there isn’t a standardized Robin Hood, there isn’t a standardized Maid Marian. We know that she was added later in the Robin Hood tradition, during the 15th century as part of May Day celebrations, and quickly became a common character in future iterations of the Robin Hood story. Her origins are still murky at best, and it’s impossible to pinpoint the very first time she was introduced. 

Her many origins include a shepherdess named Clorinda from Child Ballad 149, an unrelated Marian character in 15th century May Day games who happens to also have a lover named Robin, and a historically based woman named Matilda Fitzwalter appears in Anthony Munday’s “Huntingdon” plays from the 15th century. Furthest from our understanding of Marian is a play titled Robin Hood and the Friar, very merry and full of pastime, proper to be played in May Games. In this play we find Marian as a “trull” a.k.a. prostitute, employed by Friar Tuck. A far cry from how we know both Marian and Friar Tuck today. So far, she’s a working woman, a noblewoman, a romantic interest, and a prostitute. 

The best known and most enduring of these early variations is Child Ballad 150 (you can read it in full here). In this ballad, we see Marian dress as a boy, and go into the forest fully armed, to seek out her lover, Robin Hood. When she finds him and does not recognize him, they begin to fight and Marian handily beats him in their sword fight. Robin immediately asks her to join the Merry Men, they recognize each other, and return to camp for feasting and a “happily ever after” full of adventures. 

- Child Ballad 150

“With quiver and bow, sword, buckler and all,

Thus armed was Marian most bold.”

This ballad is reminiscent of introductory stories of the Merry Men -- Robin meets a stranger, they fight, the stranger wins, and Robin offers them a place in his band. 

We can clearly see in Child Ballad 150 that Marian was considered Robin’s equal and a regular member of the group from early on her individual tradition. Other parts of her early tradition survive as well -- she’s a romantic partner for Robin, and a noblewoman.

As we progress forward in Robin Hood traditions, we continue to see the story change. Notable changes occur during the Victorian period, when general interest in Robin Hood stories was revived thanks to the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe (1819) and Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883). Marian does not appear in Ivanhoe and is mentioned only once in Pyle’s book, and is effectively written out of the story entirely. 

Despite this, we see other novels and stories released as Robin Hood grows in popularity, and here is where we begin to see the idea of a damsel in distress begin to gain traction. As is true in every retelling of Robin Hood, the story changed to suit its audience and to suit the ideas of contemporary society and intended audience. 

Victorian literature is full of interesting and lesser known works of Robin Hood, as a result of a Victorian obsession with medievalism and with Robin Hood. Maid Marian and Robin Hood: A Romance of Old Sherwood (1892) by J.E. Muddock features a very distressed Marian who does need rescued and has very little agency. Other Victorian works take a similar tone and cast Marian as a damsel, but this is not the narrative that ultimately survives this period of Robin Hood resurgence. 

Thomas Love Peacock published a novella simply titled Maid Marian (1822). Interesting to note, because Robin only appears briefly as a supporting character in Ivanhoe, this is actually the first true Robin Hood novel as a story by itself. Here we see an active, and independent Marian, evocative of Child Ballad 150.

‘Well, father,’ added Matilda, ‘I must go into the woods.’

‘Must you?’ said the Baron, ‘I say you must not.’

‘But I am going,’ said Matilda.

‘But I will have up the drawbridge,’ said the baron.

‘But I will swim the moat,’ said Matilda.

‘But I will secure the gates,’ said the baron.

‘But I will leap from the battlement,’ said Matilda.

‘But I will lock you in an upper chamber,’ said the baron.

‘But I will shred the tapestry,’ said Matilda, ‘and let myself down.’

- Thomas Love Peacock, Maid Marian (1822)

Matilda does indeed go to the woods, takes on the name Maid Marian, and rules the forest with Robin Hood. Other Victorian works take a similar approach to Marian and show her as involved and capable including Maid Marian, or the Forest Queen (1849) by Joaquim Stocqueler, which follows a more traditional Robin Hood storyline filled with adventures and danger.

Later classic works include an active Marian as a member of the outlaw band, as well. Roger Lancelyn Green (1956), Charles E. Vivian (1927), and Paul Creswick (1917) all write a Marian who speaks for herself and works with the outlaws, often dressed as a man. 

Hollywood enters the scene of Robin Hood retellings as early as 1908, but the oldest surviving Robin Hood film is Douglas Fairbanks’ Robin Hood (1922). This silent movie, groundbreaking in budget and sets, features Marian (played by Enid Bennet) as a strong character who holds her own throughout the film. After this, we see another groundbreaking film, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. This film is widely thought to be the gold standard of Robin Hood films, and I am definitely in that camp. Marian has more agency in this movie, and the lovely Olivia plays a rather coy noblewoman. While we don’t see her taking up a sword in this film, we see her developing the plan that ultimately rescues Robin from the hangman’s noose, successfully warning Robin and his men of Prince John’s plans, and standing her ground while on trial and defending her ideals. Yes, she is rescued from prison in the climax of the movie, but she also plays a vital role in rescuing Robin earlier in the story.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) begins with a woman of action, but at the end sees Marian rather helplessly forced into a marriage and moments away from being sexually assaulted when Robin literally catapults himself through the window to save her. 20 years later in Robin Hood (2010) Cate Blanchett’s Marian is fully capable in combat and is shown to be a responsible and dedicated lady of Loxley, working the fields and caring for her home.

Meanwhile in a contemporary TV adaptation, Marian is depicted as a Robin Hood figure herself, known as the Nightwatchman. (2006, BBC’s Robin Hood) Although the writers later did a disservice by (unpopularly) killing her character as a season finale, Marian was still depicted as competent and in charge of her own choices and actions, and in fact rescues herself from an unwanted marriage. 

Contemporary Robin Hood literature also features an active Marian. Jennifer Roberson’s Lady of the Forest (1995) and Lady of Sherwood (1999) present Marian as a noblewoman who, over the course of the text, takes control of her own story in her capacity as a member of gentry, Lauren Johnson’s The Arrow of Sherwood (2013) sees an incredibly historically inclined retelling of the Robin Hood story, and includes a dedicated and politically savvy Marian. She doesn’t run into the forest, but makes a real difference through her smart decisions and political manipulation. Robin McKinely’s The Outlaws of Sherwood features Marian as an excellent archer, better than Robin, and she easily slips in and out of the outlaw camp as needed, is skilled in woodscraft, and is a valued and substantial member of the outlaw group. Honestly, I think it would be difficult to find a literary retelling that doesn’t include an active Marian character. 

So where do our ideas of Marian as a damsel in distress ultimately come from? I have a few theories.

First, we see the archetype of damsels in distress throughout other fairy tales and folklore, so it’s tempting to assume that Marian is the same and portray her as such, and there are examples of her character playing that role either in whole, or for part of the narrative.

There are unfair assumptions made about medieval women in general, that ignore the powerful positions women could hold, and the amazing things that women did during this period. When people picture medieval women, they are often embroidering tapestries, being forced into unwanted marriages, being beaten by their husbands, and dying in childbirth. There is truth in stereotypes, but there’s also room for deeper understanding of the historical context, and a wider story to be told that includes women standing up for themselves and exercising their own strength and skills. (It’s not good feminism to overwrite real women’s history.)  

We see this stereotype most often in movies and TV adaptations, which are highly visible and memorable, cementing ideas about the Robin Hood legend (and Marian) in the general psyche. 

Children’s picture books, perhaps one of the first introductions a person might have to Robin Hood, tend to play out the story like a traditional fairy tale and Marian is again likely found in an upper tower, calling for help. 

Some find it demeaning for Marian to ever require saving, or to be saved by anyone other than herself. I feel differently about this. People rely on other people, and it’s not inherently weak to ask for support from someone, especially from a romantic partner. The story of Robin Hood is good fun, but it’s also full of danger and peril. It’s not surprising that various characters need to be rescued by friends and lovers throughout various tales. Robin Hood, Little John, Will Stutely, Sir Richard of the Lea, Alan A Dale’s bride, and yes, Maid Marian. All of these characters have stories where they require smart and daring rescues, and they’re exciting stories! Because Alan’s bride and Marian are women, this does not exempt them from the support of their male friends. They deserve to have someone watching their back. I am not offended by Marian needing help; it’s not only human, it’s a staple for a multitude of characters in Robin Hood lore.

As with much of media, Marian is the single female in what’s otherwise mostly a boys’ club. She has been the single point of reference in this story for women for centuries. I find that incredible. She was my favorite character as a child because she was the only woman, the only person I could potentially see myself in. With a global story such as Robin Hood, that’s not an insignificant role. No matter what her part may be in any given retelling, there are pieces of women from centuries long past and not so distant. I find that fascinating, worth respecting, and that’s why she’s my favorite character to this day.

tldr: Drink your respect Maid Marian juice.

#maid marian #robin hood #long post #my gang to me 2021